#and i've been in a bit of a funk so if there are messages i need to respond to i'll get round to them soon i promise | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

daisynik7 · 6 months

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hello darling wife<3 i’m assuming that by the time you read this it’s morning or afternoon, if that’s the case i hope you slept well and had a good fill of breakfast and fluids to start, unless you don’t eat breakfast:) i have arrived for my bi-weekly(?) delivery of love and kisses for my pretty, pretty wife 🥰

one day until friday and then we have the weekend, whether or not you have plans, i hope it’s well spent ...cuddling me, duh. and nanami. here’s a reminder to do something extra nice for yourself today, and tomorrow, and the day after:) and of course bundle up, blankets in the dryer, and have some hot cocoa. my brain’s been kind of slow to process the change in seasons and colder weather conditions, and it’s just now starting to hit me lol.

i hope your spirits are kept high even with the colder weather, but if not it’s okay too! <3 i’d very much appreciate it if you’d do for yourself what you wish upon others. tend to your innermost needs, spoil yourself (i will accept no counterarguments 😶), and if it doesn’t financially compromise you, just do it. with work, social life, and this hellish app:/ i hope that in the midst of everything you find yourself and your needs a priority of utmost importance 🫶🏼

my sincerest apologies if the words are not wording, this just reeks of chaos and randomness it's 5 am and my bilingual brain has been brawling with itself lately and my English is actually starting to deteriorate 🫠, i’m also sleepy (i told you your wife is a sleepy girlie, it’s literally morning lol)

anyways I’M SO LUCKY TO HAVE THE PRETTIEST, SWEETEST, WIFE with THE PRETTIEST BRAIN WITH LOTS OF GROOVES AND SQUIGGLIES (i briefly read somewhere that the more texture, the smarter??? idk 😃), i’m saying it again but im so proud of you, even if you just woke up, you’re doing well! 🥹ok bye snookums have a good day! <3

accurate representation of me rn, need wifey and nanami cuddles asap 😤

snookums! my precious angel, my most decadent sweet! sorry this is a late reply! I've been out all day, but I'm back now, ready for your cuddles! I usually drink iced coffee as my breakfast in the morning whenever I'm working in the office, but tomorrow I wfh, so I may treat myself to a home cooked meal of some sort :)

I treated myself today! I went out with a friend for dinner and we shared chicken karaage, okonomiyaki, and takoyaki! here's pics of it to whet your appetite 😋

we also got boba and chatted in the car for hours, so it was very nice to catch up! I imagine this would be a typical date for you and I, indulging in delicious food, then some sort of dessert after. ♥️ and of course, snuggles to end the night!

make sure you bundle up too! it's been very cold where I am and I have finally broken out the hoodies and sweaters. don't forget your fuzzy socks and beanies (if you wear those)!

thank you for always reminding me to be kind to myself! I've been in a bit of a funk lately, but seeing you in my inbox is a huge help, more than you know. also, please never ever apologize because you are so eloquent and I'm always in awe after reading your lovely messages to me. 🥹 I hope you were able to get enough rest today (you were up early/you stayed up late!), but if not, I hope you can use this weekend to do so.

ahhhhh you are SO PRECIOUS. I'm the lucky one to have you! I love you so so much, thank you for always being so good to me, so sweet, so kind, so absolutely lovely in every possible way. going to fall asleep soon, dreaming of you and nanami, the two most precious loves in my life!! have an amazing weekend snookums!

also this pic is very much an accurate representation of us, don't you think? 😘

#my lovely thea #lovely moots #I LOVE YOU

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television-bodies · 7 months

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fic writer tag game

thank you for the tag @palmviolet ! love things like this. blessings upon you and all your sheep

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

five! my ao3 account is but a baby

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

63k. in approximately ten days this is going to jump by ~15k so perhaps i should have waited to do this tag but alas. impatience

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently only les mis. so many themes to explore... so many characters to sink my teeth into... so many dynamics to look at and so many situations into which i can drop people...

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i mean. this is going to be all of my fics but here's the ranking

suckerpunch

visiting hours

restoring the balance

tech week

the two sides of monsieur valentine (the perils of rarepairs)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yes!!! i love comments. fuel. life blood

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

well. there's a major character death marinating in my drafts, yet to be unleashed

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

currently all of them have pretty happy endings, which is something i'm sort of trying to change because i'm starting to get a little bored of writing that all the time. sorry. scared of getting myself into a funk! all things considered though, it's probably tech week. those final lines were in my head from the very start of the fic, and with the whole christmas vibe... yeah. that one, i think

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not so far! hoping that will not change!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

not as of yet and i can't see myself doing so if i'm honest but i'm also a big believer in never saying never because i don't know who i am (or more importantly, who i will be). so. not at the moment. but in ten years maybe i'll look back at this and laugh. you know

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

again, not as of yet! not a full crossover, with characters from each thing intersecting, anyway. i've got some AUs for les mis that are specific to other interests, but nothing closer than that.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i don't see many fics in the les mis fandom getting translated at all anymore! the fandom is so lovely but it's definitely quieter than it has been in the past, so it doesn't surprise me. i'd love for it to happen, but no, not yet.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nooo. i like the idea of it, if there was someone i think i worked well enough with -- but i don't know anybody over here well enough for that yet, i don't think. i am currently bad at messaging people/interacting on any level deeper than reblogging posts or commenting on their fics, which is really something i should work on. open to the possibility though!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

enjolras and grantaire, oh my god. living in my brain for goddamn YEARS now. years upon years. with that said, i do have certain Feelings about them -- maybe i'll go more into detail with this someday on some other post but really i think that the way they're done in canon is kind of perfect, which is why i don't write canon era fic for them. there's nothing i can do to that that would make it worthwhile, to me. but putting them in different time periods or situations? ohhh yeah

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i've got bits and pieces of a les mis AU for the BBC series race across the world which i am still sort of attached to but can't see myself doing anymore, purely because writing the logistical parts of how the race etc functions in that show was boring me, and i don't want to be bored by something that i'm doing for my enjoyment. but maybe i'll do a post at some point laying out the main plot points if anybody's interested because i do still like the concept

16. What are your writing strengths?

probably still nailing this down, if i'm honest. i like descriptions.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i always think i'm not great at dialogue, but i've been told the opposite, so who knows! i think my issue with it comes more from wondering where the conversation should go/what should go in the middle of two points i want the characters to make, rather than making it sound realistic. i think i'm fairly good on the realism front.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

occasionally i'll make characters say the odd phrase in another language, but nothing more than that. i'm not fluent in any language other than english, so unless it's something i'm sure of in spanish i think i'd just be worrying if the translation is correct, which isn't worth it to me (and there isn't much use for spanish in what i'm currently writing lmao)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

fanfiction dot net days are ones we do not talk about... a haze in my mind... banished to the darkness... but i actually do know the answer to this -- it was dracula, for some fucking reason. (i know the reason. but i'm not sharing)

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

i'm quite fond of suckerpunch, just because i think it's sort of speedrunning my personal exr manifesto, but i don't know! seriously no answer to this! taking that as a good sign: maybe my favourite is yet to come.

no pressure tags go to @pumpkinspice-prouvaire @sereendy @shamedumpster and anybody else who wishes to do it!

#tag game #my fics #got to do two of these sort of things recently what joy

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ruegracieuse · 9 months

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this is random and a little embarrassing but i was curious about ur blog so i read a little and then was charmed by the way you write and express yourself and found myself relating a lot to how you have described your relationship to creativity, to the daunting challenges by the actual praxis and being a midwife to one's own creative visions and dreams and i hope you have cultivated and realized more of your courage in actualizing your ambitions as i can already tell they would be delightful to experience and witness ! I hope life is being kind to you 🤍

Hi! Please don't be embarrassed - this message is so lovely! I've been in a bit of a funk today and it sounds silly but reading this really made the clouds break a little bit :-) I really love the way you express yourself as well, this message is so well-written and the beautifully written. I love the phrase 'midwife to one's own creative visions' - it is really true that fostering and sustaining both creativity and courage is a delicate, ongoing and often exhausting task, but one of the most precious things we can do.

As far as realising courage in my own life is concerned - there are so many ways I've been wanting to till and sow and raise the seedlings of my own creativity. I want to learn how to knit, I want to do my watercolours more regularly, but most of all I want to share my writing. That last one absolutely requires the most courage, and the most work - I'm pretty good at regularly writing little snippets in my notebook or on my phone, but I am desperately shy about sharing them. I also want to build short stories rather than keeping things as little creative micro-pieces or paragraphs. But perhaps beginning by sharing some of my small, off-the-cuff writings will help.

I'm in the thick of applying for PhD programmes at the moment, which I do think is a creative venture - all good scholarship I believe requires just as much creative thinking and practice as it does analysis. Contacting scholars I admire and asking if they'd like to supervise me and pitching my idea and growing it into a fleshed proposal has required a little courage, so hopefully I'm not fully failing myself on the courage side of things - it's just taken a slightly different form than what I was anticipating. This message is a little spur to put myself out there in the areas I care about, too - it really is so lovely, and so humbling, to think that someone else out there enjoys the way I have thought about and expressed something.

I hope life is being kind to YOU, and have a lovely day/evening, wherever you are <3

#qu #this is so nice #I've been reading a LOT of theory lately and doodling little illustrations from passages or images the writers use #mostly as an exercise to keep me paying attention ha but it's very satisfying #also once we FINALLY move out and get our own place I'm getting some knitting needles and op shop yarn and teaching myself how to knit!#I want little knitted headbands and a scarf so big and thick it borders on unwearable!#<3 I'm sending flowers to you with my mind!

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natromanxoff · 2 years

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The Big Issue In The North - September, 2006

Credits to Louise Belle and Queencuttings.com

Freddie Mercury

Exclusive unseen interview

‘Outrage is wonderful’

The world's first Indian and Persian rock star would have been 60 earlier this month. Fifteen years after Freddie Mercury's death, and with his songs remaining as popular as ever, the following previously unpublished 1984 interview reveals a performer at the top of his game

Words: Steve Lake

Lake: For a while, you captured an American black audience with songs like Another One Bites The Dust. Was that a surprise?

Mercury: Totally. I think if we'd consciously tried to write a song that would cross over to a black audience, we could never have done it. It was a song that John came up with and it just broke the barrier.

Lake: Were you listening to bands like Chic when you broke through the disco barrier?

Mercury: No. At that point I'd only really listened to soul singers. Like Aretha Franklin, whom I've always loved. Or Marvin Gaye. Since then of course I've been quite active with my Michael Jackson impersonations! I've moved from writing multi-layer harmony-type things. I like the very open-space black funk things. I think it showcases my voice a bit better. For the last eight years I've been struggling to get my voice through this barrage of guitars...

Lake: You've actually been working with Michael Jackson, haven't you?

Mercury: Yes. Nothing has come of it, because we're both very busy. We've got three unfinished tracks. One of them is called Victory and the bugger has gone and called the new Jacksons album ‘Victory.' I don't think the song is included, though. I hope not. If it is, I'll go apeshit and sue the f****r.

Lake: Do you enjoy working with other singers? I heard some disgruntled noises from Brian May one time when I asked him about working with Bowie on Under Pressure.

Mercury: Interesting you should ask that. David is a very good friend of mine. No, I get on well with David. Of course, there's always this temperamental thing between musicians. A degree of ego clashing. It has to be like that, because when you're working with other people you can't have it your own way all the time. That Under Pressure session was totally spontaneous and that was why it was so good. David and I are both people who get bored very quickly and we like to do things on the spur of the moment. I just think David and Brian have nothing in common, nothing to talk about together beyond the music.

Lake: The span of personalities in Queen seems to be more extreme than in most bands.

Mercury: Yes. I think that all stems from the fact that all four of us are songwriters. So, from day one, there was always competition within the band, as well as competition outside of it. I think it's healthy. And we all have amazing egos, of course we do. We all have a key role in the group. And even if we're talking about the same topic, you'll usually get four different views on it. We're quite open about our differences. If I say something and some of the others don't like it - tough shit.

Lake: Are song lyrics very important to you? Are you self-conscious about your words?

Mercury: Yeah. I am. Look, for me the song lyrics are just completely escapist. I don't feel that I'm equipped to write any heavy in-depth message songs. To me, a Queen song is just something to be listened to and discarded — like a tissue. It's like going to the cinema and forgetting your problems for an hour and a half. I'm not here so say 'Change your life by listening to a Queen song.' I don't want to change people's lives. John Lennon could write powerful message songs. Stevie Wonder. They've lived their lives that way. You can actually believe that they mean it, if it's a peace song or a peace message. I'm not like that. I like to write a nice song with a good tune and that's it, on with the next.

Lake: How do you feel about the new groups promoting a conspicuously gay or trans-sexual image? Groups like Dead Or Alive or Frankie goes to Hollywood and Culture Club?

Mercury: Some images are good, some images are bad. I like Boy George immensely. He's got a very hard role, it's a brave thing to take on and its wonderful, it's working. Outrage is wonderful. But sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it's a bit tacky. It just depends on the individual.

Lake: do you feel that you've played with that outrage quotient in Queen?

Mercury: Oh I think so. We started off with Roxy Music in that whole glam-rock era. When I started, all people were used to was bands recreating their albums on stage and wearing jeans. So when they suddenly saw Freddie Mercury in a Zandra Rhodes frock with makeup and black nail varnish, it was totally outrageous.

Lake: Of course in England, especially in papers like The Sun, much of the interest is focused on the sex life of pop stars.

Mercury: Yes, I know. You're going to ask about this story about me being "gay" that was in The Sun. As far as I'm concerned, I just f ** k whoever I want whenever I want. With Queen, the press have just printed whatever they want to print, and they can get away with it. I don't lose any sleep over it. But that thing was completely misquoted. What can I do? I can't think 'Oh my God I've got to let everybody know that this was wrong.' The whole Sun article... I think the woman who wrote it just wanted a total scoop from me and she didn't get anything. I said "What do you want to hear? That I deal cocaine or something?' so she went away and printed that I'd actually confessed that I was gay. And there's no way I'd do that. I'm too intelligent.

Lake: Cynically, it's a good time to be gay. It's good for business.

Mercury: Isn't it? But it's wrong for me to be gay now, because I've been in the business for 12 years. It's good to be gay now or outrageous in the business if you're new. If I even came out with that people would say 'Oh God, here's Freddie Mercury suddenly saying he's gay because it's very trendy to be gay.' It's not my scene. The only thing that matters to me is the music. If the music doesn't sell, I'll just give up.

Lake: Which leads on to the inevitable questions about longevity. Is there a point beyond which you think you can't be up there on stage doing the show that you do?

Mercury: The only testing ground is the record, to be honest. It doesn't matter what the press says, if you don't sell records that's it. At this moment in time I'm bored with the stage […]

"I don't want to come across as modest but sometimes it does mystify me as to why all this happened to me. I just sing the song to the best of my ability and do the best performance I can"

[…] shows. I want to do different things. I want to play places I haven't played before. We're thinking about going to South Africa and it's going to be very political and everything, but I don't give a shit. As far as I'm concerned I'm just playing music to people. We were one of the first groups to go to South America. It was an amazing experience. Two weeks after we'd finished Britain was at war with Argentina. But that shouldn't matter as far as musicians are concerned. Music is for everybody. I want to go to Russia. We wanted to go there three or four years ago but they looked at our album covers and decided we would corrupt their youth. These are the things that I want to get to — the other corners of the world — before I give it all up.

Lake: But do you think, though, that public acceptance is really any criterion of musical quality?

Mercury: Yes!

Lake: Really?

Lake: Yeah, that's how you gauge your success, but it doesn't say anything about the intrinsic value of your music, does it?

Mercury: Oooh... what a load of shit! I know what you're saying, that you can be a wonderful undiscovered musician. So what? What does that mean? I think talent means that you know how to ram it down people's throats! Talent is being in the right place at the right time. You've got to know how to get to people. Talent is image.

Lake: I was just remembering a Rolling Stone article about Queen in Argentina which described Queen as 'the first truly fascist rock band.' Does that say anything to you?

Mercury: Oh dear. Oh dear. Noooo... OK, explain it to me. What does that mean?

Lake: Well, I'm asking you.

Mercury: A whole lot of journalists came from all over the world to see us play those stadiums in Argentina. It had never been done before, and we just happened to be popular enough to do them. In San Paolo we played to 120,000 one night and 130,000 the next. It was very new to them and it was very new to us. It was not like North America. There was no such thing as any organisation. It could have turned out to be a totally unruly crowd, so they had the Death Squad doing the security. Before we came on stage, the whole military was up the front with bayonets. Just in case... South America is a completely different kettle of fish, and they thought that if anybody could get such a vast audience it could become very, very political. They pleaded with me to not say 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina'. When you have a mass like that in front of you, you're in command, you can actually control it. They were very worried that I could turn this musical event into a political rally.

Lake: How do you feel in the middle of a scene like that?

Mercury: Oh very powerful, very powerful. You feel like the Devil. You feel that you could run riot with all these people. Somebody else with a different mentality could really use it to their political advantage or disadvantage.

Lake: What does it do to you on a day-to-day basis when you're on a stage and thousands of people are chanting your name?

Mercury: It's wonderful. The adrenalin's there... Of course, it makes you feel completely powerful. But as far as I'm concerned, I just lose myself in the music. I just want to make sure that I do a good performance and have a riotous time. That's what I really think... I don't suddenly think 'I've got all this power, I can DESTROY!' It's not a destructive thing. I'm too wonderful for that. I'm too good.

Lake: Do you think ‘Yes, I deserve this kind of adulation'?

Mercury: (Laughing) No, no, no. That kind of adulation I'm quite overawed by, to be honest. I don't want to come across as modest, but sometimes it does mystify me as to why all this happened to me. I just sing the song to the best of my ability and do the best performance I can.

Lake: Do you prefer to be categorized as "star" or "musician"?

Mercury: Oooh, I don't know (laughing). I don't know. I'm just a human being. I'm just somebody doing a job. What does it mean — star or mega-star or whatever? I'm just doing my job. I don't mind being called a singer, or a singer/songwriter. I think I like that best.

Lake: Do you think you are overpaid?

Mercury: Well, there's a lot of money to be made in this game. No, I work hard for my money. What I like about it is that everything I've got is what I actually made myself. Nobody gave it to me. It wasn't handed to me on a platter. I worked for it. Everything that I have is worthwhile, because I made it myself. I like to work for my money. If all the success finished tomorrow, I'd try and regain this status in some other way, by actually working. I don't want to be given anything.

#queen #queen band #freddie mercury #queen scans #queencuttings.com #the big issue in the north september 2006

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therecordconnection · 1 year

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Ranting and Raving: "New Guru" by Vulfpeck

youtube

Did you ever hear the one about the eight guys that walked into a sauna all wearing silly red hats? So, these eight guys all walk into a sauna and then they start playing funk music...

That's the closest thing to a punchline that I've got.

If you're unfamiliar with Vulfpeck, let me catch you up to speed real fast. They're a funk outfit founded in 2011 by multi-instrumentalists Jack Stratton and Theo Katzman, keyboardist Woody Goss, and bassist Joe Dart. They had a meteoric rise through their impressive musicianship, humor, and cleverly shot and edited music videos on Youtube, most of which are just captured performances of the band playing their songs in what looks like your grandmother's living room (see: their video for the song "Dean Town".) Over the years, they've added to their roster with guitarist Cory Wong (not to be confused with the Vulfpeck song "Cory Wong") alto sax player Joey Dosik, and sometimes lead singer Antwaun Stanley. In their time, they've released several EPs, six albums, and a live album of their sold out show at Madison Square Garden back in 2019. In short, they've been groovin' for quite a while and their status as funk masters is nothing to scoff at.

On November 25th, 2022, after a roughly two year hiatus and a slew of side projects featuring the various members, the Vulf pack finally reconvened–with the aforementioned silly hats and in a sauna of all places–and began posting videos of them playing songs that would eventually be found on their latest album, Schvitz, which was released on December 30th. They are all worth your time, but one song on the album in particular gripped me the first time I heard it and is still just as wonderful after the three-hundred and eightieth time. That song would be "New Guru."

This song has claimed the top spot for my favorite Vulfpeck song and it's the one I plan to use to introduce people to this group for the rest of time.

Contrary to what you might think, the haze you see in the video (posted above) isn't coming from the sauna. It's actually from the heat coming off the groove of this song. Everything about this just hits. It's groovy, it's funky, it's fun, it's got a bit of disco in there that makes this fun to dance to. It's got all eleven herbs and spices and even some of the ones they don't tell you about. It's tight, it's concise, it's utterly fantastic and every single member of this band once again reminds you why they're some of the best out there right now.

I think it's appropriate that this song came out when it did (December 8th) because that's around the time everybody starts seeing an onslaught of corny social media posts that talk about all the changes and possibilities and good things people are manifesting for with the start of the new year. Most of those end up being complete bunk and I'm aware of that cynical view. We make New Year resolutions we know deep down we're never going to fully commit to keeping and after about a week into January the excitement of the new year dies away and we settle back into the same old dull routine. Once more, from the top.

Then this song came along and rattled my cage. I heard this song for the first time and I threw that cynical view into the garbage bin. It was mostly based on the lyrics for this song, which are some of the best that the band has ever presented. The lyrics fit the overall themes and ideas that you find creeping around at New Years, welcome and embrace the new, throw away and reject the old and broken. "I gotta say no no (no no) / To those old clichés / I gotta say go, go (Go, go) / To this brand new way." For a song on an album that came out two days before the ball dropped, I imagine the ideas presented on the song weren't lost on the band.

But it isn't just the lyrics that are great, it never truly is. To me, a song's message becomes great when it's in the hands of a performer that can really sell it. And Vulfpeck has that with their secret weapon: the stellar vocals and dynamite performance that Antwaun Stanley delivers on this track. Stanley has been the featured vocalist on many of my favorite Vulfpeck songs ("1612" and "Funky Duck" are two good ones that showcase just how good he is) and now I get to add his work on "New Guru" to the top of that list, because I'll tell you right now, he makes this entire song really shine.

This is the closest Vulfpeck will probably ever get to taking you to church. In a strange way, the sauna robes give off the look of makeshift church choir robes and Antwuan's delivery has the feel of an uplifting song you might hear in a church service... if that church presented music that was solely devoted to the funk. To me, the bridge and the third verse is where I get that vibe the most. Here they are in full:

When there's wrinkles in your sleeves You take off your shirt and you steam it When there's dishes piled high in the sink You get out the sponge and you start cleanin' All the menial tasks distract from the fact That there's a hole in your soul like a wall has a crack You put off the repairs, pretend they're not there And you failed to address the mess 'cause you're scared So you look for a source to carry the weight To lighten the load of a soul gone astray To wake you up and get you through the day To cut through the brush, show you the way

These lyrics are a bit silly and would sound dreadfully corny if left in the wrong hands, but thankfully, they're in Antwuan's hands. He presents these words with such authenticity, such genuineness, such love and care and grace that you buy what he's selling. I did the minute I heard it. The use of something silly like putting off household chores juxtaposed with all too real feelings of facing things head on and finding fulfillment in your life just creates pure magic. It's about seeking salvation and hopefully finding it. It also explains why people would get tricked into following false leads and con artists that offer nothing of real value. Everybody wants to be shown the way and find the answer to their plights, regardless of what they might be. If "patience has left you feeling miles away" or you found out you were lied to or you found that "hope is a fugitive that's on the run," Vulfpeck offer one simple answer: "Find you a new guru."

But, if you'd rather have a comparison that has no ties to religion, Antwuan performs this song similar to the way Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire delivered messages tinged with spirituality. The lyrics definitely fit the kind of message Maurice would've enjoyed and hyped up, the chorus especially. Hell, the groove on the chorus is pure Earth, Wind & Fire at their funkiest. It's such an infectious earworm (which is fitting, because the track before "New Guru" on Schvitz has a song sung from the point of view of an earworm, brilliantly called "Earworm".) It's a repetitive chorus, but a damn good one nonetheless. You hear it once and you just keep singing along with it (and keep singing it long after you've heard it.) The harmonies between Antwuan, Theo Katzman (who is drumming on this one), Joey Dosik, and the song's co-writer Jacob Jefferies all blend well together and just add to that infectious quality. It fucking hits and it's just such a fun song that's so well done, plain and simple.

One final aspect that I think adds flavoring to this song is Vulfpeck's trademark humor, which is here on full display, both in the video and the song itself. The silly red hats that look like the famous cone hats from DEVO's "Whip It" video were already mentioned, but other little bits include the video choosing odd moments to zoom in on things (like the close ups of Antwuan's face about 50 seconds in, Joey singing background vocals all the way in the back at 1:14, the camera following only Antwuan's hand at 2:29, etc.) and Cory Wong and Joe Dart both sneaking in the famous riff from "Dueling Banjos," of all things, during the third verse (it's at 1:58, Cory himself has a comment on the video that just says "dueling banjos quote made the cut." Ridiculously smooth.) However, the funniest part, arguably the part that keeps me coming back, is near the tail end of the song, when Antwuan asks the band for a key change ("Come on, y'all, take it up for me") only to immediately go back on that ("My bad, bring that down, bring that down.") It's such a little thing, but it puts a smile on my face and it makes me laugh every time I listen to this song. To make it clear, this is both on the album and video. The video adds even more humor by having Antwuan give Theo a thumbs up after the band brings it down, as if they're saying to each other, "We got it back on track now."

What Vulfpeck have done on "New Guru," and Schvitz as a whole, is something special. The band has provided such a fun and feel good song that feels right for this moment in time. Ever since the 2020s started it feels like we've been living with nothing but darkness (and there's been a lot of darkness these last few years...) but the pack are back to remind us that there is still fun to be had. We can still look towards the new with bright eyes and anticipation. We can find new hope and new things get excited about that will keep us going and help us find the answers we seek.

If you were looking for something uplifting to start off 2023, it ain't gettin' much better than this. What "New Guru" provides is a wonderful lesson and a damn fun song to keep us going through continued darkness.

So say no no to those old clichés and say go go to the brand new way. May the new gurus you find in 2023 show you the way and put the light back in your soul. And above all else:

Take care of one another. It's gonna be another crazy year.

#original content #ranting and raving #vulfpeck #new guru #Youtube

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leviackermanscleaningbuddy · 1 year

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Well happy late valentine's day to you too.

Not you putting Jisung and Minho with y/n in this one while I've literally been getting bias wrecked by Jisung for the past week or so now. 🥵

I'm a bit curious about the fun the other members got up to during their "dessert".

It's also funny that you updated today because just yesterday I was thinking about messaging you, just to check in because I hadn't seen you for a while. I hope that's not weird 😅 thanks for the valentine's gift.

(Also that’s not weird at all! It’s super sweet. Thanks for wanting to check on me. I’ve been in kind of a funk, but I think we’re on the up and up! 💜😘)

#skz #stray kids #stay #ot8 #skz!pack #new #update #ro #inbox #reply #ask #moots #mutuals #minsung #my submissions #submission

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decaffeinatedchaosdemon · 1 year

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youtube

I can feel the downward spiral into a depressive funk.

My chest hurts, and I can even feel it in my stomach. It hurts to exist. But I can't cry because there are too many things going on for my family, and really crying just to cry would be a little self centered. I still live with my parents. My mum is absolutely calculated and cutting when it comes to mental problems. Most of the time, yeah, she is a good mum, and I do love her. But I don't enjoy being around her anymore. I do it out of obligation. I like hiding away in my little apartment when I can.

Scratch that. I don't really.

My dogs are in the main house. So is running water and trash bags so I can clean in here.

But I constantly feel scared waking up whether I've slept too late or am being lazy already. She swings between being very compassionate towards my disability and understanding that it affects my sleep schedule and energy, to just saying that I'm lazy and unmotivated, hiding behind my illness. I never know who I'm going to get when I go out there, and these issues go beyond just my energy levels. She will be either sweet as butterscotch or picking apart every bit of my interests and personality and existence.

Today she told me that she wanted me to think of an idea for dinner, so I started asking what she was in the mood for and making nervous small talk. She said "I don't care! I just need something solid for the first time in a few days. Think of something." Granted, we have been fighting lately to find out if my sibling has a child from a one night stand, and their ex partner has been horribly toxic every step of the way. But today we have found out niece is in fact my niece. The whole ordeal, however, has been a legal fight of bushwhacking through lies and stalling tactics. She's likely just overwhelmed with trying to figure out how to break the news to our rather large family that we now suddenly have a seven month old out of thin air.

Anyway, keeping that in my mind, I went downstairs and got a box of chicken tenders and a box of onion rings, thinking it'd be a fun supper, and she seemed delighted. But her fridge was so freaking full of things that should have been thrown out. So I as I try to help her out with this, she tells me what to do, as I'm doing it.

"Obviously you can't fit that in there, you need to rearrange things." As I'm assessing the entire mess of things.

"You can't just move stuff, things need to be thrown out." As I was already getting up to get the garbage.

Finally I brought up my worries about my disability and whether it would hinder my siblings custody case. Ideally I would have done it later, but I knew that my brain would forget if I did, so I tried to get it out of the way. She just grew more and more exasperated. But I'm excited to be an auntie. We never grew up knowing our own, just because they decided that they wanted nothing to do with my father, their half brother. I want to be better than that. After she brought up a few good points, I thanked her and just let her know that I had been worried, because I never thought of these things, but it was met with a pointed "It's fine, but I'm not really in the mood to talk right now. I'm a bit busy posting about [sibling's] new baby."

Usually, I try not to have my phone on me. She only messages me personally to tell me to do things. My partner regularly brings up the concern that she uses my being housebound as a reason to use me as a free housemaid, even though I don't fully agree with him. But somedays she does bring up that it's the least I can do since she regularly "drops everything to drive me everywhere" and that she "built an apartment for [partner] and I to live in". He also brings up that she will regularly use my medical issues as an example or a "hey I'm a disability ally" in media posts, even though I dislike talking about my own disability around people I know.

We are saving up to move out. But days like today, and everyday really, are a cycle of tamping it down until every bit of my soul aches and I'm dysfuctional. But god forbid I should say something, because "I'm the spoiled child, and I don't get to complain if I have it this easy." Years ago I used to be suicidal, but I now talk myself out of the thoughts because a funeral would be to expensive, and I do have a partner and friends who need me as much as I need them. I live fairly remote, so my friends aren't nearby. Visiting them is a whole day, so we try to do it once a week. My partner works a nightshift, so he desperately needs to sleep during the days. I feel alone, and I've tried joining online communities. I can't get therapy because getting mental help is met with shame here.

But I feel like I live with a martyr. I'm not her daughter, just a tool for media and household maintenance. It hurts emotionally. To my very soul. I'm temporarily the only unemployed resident for the moment. She works from our home as a small business crafter and marketing consultant, and I'm proud of how far she's come. She's awesome at what she does. And I'm very happy to pull my own weight in the house, and to shut up while doing it. But I'm tired of playing the game of "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary". I'm tired of guessing which mother I'm holed up with for most of my day, everyday.

#help #i need somebody #not just anybody #mental health #mental health support

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madmaryholiday · 1 year

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usually i have SOMETHING i'm doing for new year's eve.

not like a party, but like. some kind of schedule so that i'm doing/watching/listening to something appropriate for the start of the new year.

i'm feeling pretty directionless tonight, though, ngl. part of it is probably because my mother is still miserably sick, and she's long since gone to bed, and my dad is hiding downstairs from her germs. usually, they'd be bugging me to watch the countdown on TV by now.

but also i've just been in a weird funk lately. it doesn't feel like new year's eve, or any day at all, for that matter. time just hasn't existed for me in any meaningful way for awhile.

things happen, but i don't really feel like they connect to each other. my birthday was apparently 17 days ago, but it could've been yesterday and it would feel like the same amount of time had passed. it's almost 2023, but i'm still stunned by the arrival of winter, while simultaneously unable to remember what autumn felt like.

i'm very tired.

i miss the days when i would be in a video chat with someone i cared about, and we'd wish each other a happy new year in our respective timezones while talking about video games or watching a movie. and the days when i'd be in a discord server or skype group chat and getting happy new year messages over a day and a half. or in somebody's livestream watching them play games while being intermittently interrupted by NYE countdowns and chat groaning about it.

i'm trying not to bring negative energy into the new year, but it's hard to sit here by myself and not feel a little bit lonely.

time to listen to "this year" on repeat for awhile, i guess.

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nighttimeoracle · 2 years

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🔮 feedback for nighttimeoracle’s soulmate reading:

well first off, before even getting the reading i know i had made such a good choice of reader because asteria is an absolute darling. she’s so kind and polite and is willing to answer any questions you have before booking as well as have a pleasant conversation. even if you’re not trying to book a reading, just go talk to asteria and you’ll instantly feel good.

the reading itself was EXTREMELY informative and it was sent so fast but also beautifully written. you can tell she has a passion for not only helping others but writing itself. it was a good mix of fun but also enlightening on the whole REASONING for your soulmate connection. it resonated a little too much to the point i freaked out. my situation is a bit complicated so the fact that she had hit the nail on the head i was like… wait a minute, are you my soulmate cause how do you know that? also her way of writing out the reading is sooooo enchanting like she definitely has a way with words, like the ones of bestselling novelists type shit. you won’t be able to stop looking at it or reading it. i had to reread shit cause i was so captivated by the way she would word stuff but also add her own flair in there. ALSO, the way she words the 18+ stuff is hot af but also elegant? how she does that idk but she does it and she does it wellllllll.

one thing i wasn’t expecting was seeing how much it was gonna impact me. i was struggling for a while on my own blockages/resistance when it came to love. i felt like something was missing. i certainly didn’t expect for this reading to “trigger” me (in a good way) into self-reflection for days. i couldn’t stop thinking about it and it was for a reason. i ended up having a breakthrough with this reading itself. i’m telling you right now, a reading (let alone a love reading) has never had me go through this. asteria is a true lightworker and healer, her words had me in a chokehold for days until i faced my trauma LMAO. but it was all good, i felt like ive gotten out of a funk and am ready to tackle the issues i have within love and relationships.

overall, getting a reading from asteria is soooo worth it and tbh was gonna tell her to up her prices because i think she undercuts herself a bit (yeah asteria girl, im looking at you 🧐) BUT i do feel like she means nothing but the best, her energy is wholesome, her readings are fulfilling and it’s soooo clear that the amount of effort she puts into her work is due to her passion for helping others.

YALL BETTER BOOK WITH ASTERIA RIGHT NEEOOOWWWW!

thank you so much asteria for your time and your energy, as well as clarifying certain things for me. you’re amazing! x

You have no idea how much this message means to me 🥺 I've been reading it over and over again! Speechless! While I pour my heart and guts on any reading, I could not know how anyone might be affected if I'm not informed, so I can only hope my efforts for providing guidance and healing are successful. Thank you for letting me know of your experience after the reading, the nice conversation we had prior, and specially for reminding me that I'm on the right path 💛

#tarot review #feedback #tarot readers #tarot readings #intuitive readings #psychic readings #love readings

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