#however nicky wire knows me by name

[plantboiart]

Okay because I’m just going to keep making these posts: here is every single song from my ‘Favorite Music’ playlist that I think about Kian Stone to (some with extra explanations) ((in the order of when they were added to the playlist))

Take me to church, mr loverman, cherry wine (i am a sucker for the interpretation that becky was aware of what she was doing when she killed him and i love toxic love in fictional relationships), like real people do, bubblegum bitch, oh no! (i can imagine every single jrwi pc to this song with minimal effort), teen idle (okay fun fact i didnt like add these three songs to the playlist like right after each other its just that none of the songs in-between fit kian), poika nimeltä päivi (a finnish song about being a trans guy. Its a banger, the name translates to ‘boy named päivi’ päivi being a finnish girl’s name), päiväkoti (another finnish song, pretty sure its about a breakup but i feel like it also really fits the vibes of like kian away from the other two after moving to hollywood. I have cried to this song before, the name translates to kindergarten), goodbye my danish sweetheart, hey little songbird (made a post about this one before), road to hell ii (okay this one is more about rand to me but its still kind of about both kian and rolan just imagine rand to it post canon), brand new city, 4st 7lb (you cannot convince me he doesnt have either some kind of body image issues), born a girl (someone tell nicky wire (the guy who wrote the song) about being transfem i think he’d benefit from it), nobody loved you (imagining. Imagining one of the other guys to this after kian’s death), hold me like a heaven (no real basis for this i dont even know what the song is actually about but its one of my favorite manics songs and i can interpret the lyrics however i want), car lights (nightmare blunt rotation if they dated as teens or alternatively kian and jesse), the moon will sing (youd think kian would be the sun but no. He is the moon. The sun is either becky, the other guys, or, my personal favorite way to imagine it: kian’s own rockstar persona because he doesnt see his selfworth outside of that), r-a-k-a-s (more finnish music, love song about a guy who left the woman he loved behind to move to the city but would throw everything away to be with her again pretty fitting if you ask me, the name translates to l-o-v-e (as in like calling your partner love as a petname not the concept of love)), syntisten pöytä (i think this might be the last finnish one, its just a generally queer song. The name translates to table of the sinful), gladiator (i once again have almost no basis i just like the song and if i reach i can make it fit kian), lookatme (just like. Look at the lyrics i dont need to spell it out for you), strangelove, real men (this song is literally him fr), smoke with the devil (this song is LITERALLY him fr), animal nitrate (its a song about gay sex of course im going to associate it with nightmare blunt rotation), can’t get enough (suede yes this is one i will specifically say the artist for because you will not find the correct song otherwise. Anyways some very trans nonbinary lyrics), boys dont cry (back to my if i reach far enough every song is about him bullshit), pictures of you, lovesong, burn (the cure not hamilton also literally named a fic after lyrics from this), underneath the stars (again. Named a fic after. Nightmare blunt rotation moment), line without a hook (it was on my playlist back in the dark days and then i recently added it back because i decided it slapped actually), stripped (becky @ kian be like yes let me remove your skin or something), modern boys (literally wrote an entire fic inspired by this song it is just like nightmare blunt rotation for real)

Thats it. I am taking suggestions for more songs to associate with kian stone if you have any

#i just spent like half an hour or something on this #anyways yes here is my music taste exposed #just roll with it #jrwi #jrwi show #jrwi bitb #jrwi blood in the bayou #blood in the bayou #kian stone #jrwi spoilers #jrwi bitb spoilers #bitb spoilers #jrwi kian #bitb kian #jrwi nightmare blunt rotation

[somecunttookmyurl]

gonna need you to elaborate on those 'famous people you've met' tags, queen. like what. what is your life.

god sorry this has probably been here all day but i’ve been belting out chicago songs all morning (the musical not the band) @scimmymunkeh can verify that my life, especially from like 2009-2014 (before i moved to scotland) was like. so weird.

in my misspent youth i travelled around the UK and europe seeing The Horrors just like. so many times. they were cheap enough to follow around on tour and i like travelling so that’s what i did. and i’m sufficiently not weird (lmao, i know right) as a person that i got to know them decently well (mostly rhys, tbf) so a some of it happened from that. side note - this actually gained me an honest to god real life stalker from tumblr who also lived in london and would like... see me out at the weekend and then send me anons about what i was doing? very weird time. anyway.

alex turner & miles kane - would go to cave club (a night ran primarily by rhys monthly) sometimes and because i am, again, not A Weirdo i’d be chilling with them. mostly miles, bc alex is pretty shy actually. but for some reason i truly do not know like don’t ask i have no idea every time miles and i got drunk we’d make plans to... buy... a pig? and raise it together? i think we were going to call it penny or peggy or something idk. quite what our plans were for co-parenting a FUCKING PIG in LONDON when we didn’t even live together were but. we really wanted to get a pig for some reason. technically i’ve also met alexa chung (this was WAY BACK when she was still dating alex) but she was deeply sus of any woman in his vicinity so just. left that one alone.

peaches geldof - was dating/later married a guy called thomas who was in a band called S.C.U.M. that rhys’ little brother was in. due to them being around all the time (also they were good listen to them) thomas and i knew each other. we weren’t friends or anything - mostly i was pals with sammy seven - but knew each other to talk to each other. something peaches apparently had a massive problem with because every time she saw me she’d shoot daggers at me across the room like oh my GOD i cannot express enough that i’m not interested in tom. chill. anyway she’s dead now.

i forgot about bobby gilespie (primal scream) and lou hayter (new young pony club) who also used to hang out at the cave.

adam ant - the first time i met him was at a 60s night. like literally an event called ‘le beat bespoke’. he was just... there? for some reason? i dunno. had a drink and a smoke with him. nice man. LITERALLY 2 weeks later on my actual 20th birthday i was at a night called ‘stay beautiful’ which was a heavily-manics-inspired regular event ran by music journalist simon price... adam ant turned up and did a ranom guerilla performance. which??? anyway he recognised me and we hung out for a bit again. he was VERY manic and off his meds at the time (adam ant is bipolar). invited me back to his hotel, nudge nudge wink, but uh. did not do that. as funny as “i boned adam ant once” would be as a story in my life............... no. dude’s old enough to be my dad. haven’t seen him since, just weird that it happened twice so close together in a city of 9 million people.

damon albarn - there was a very bizarre period of maybe 3-4 months where every time i went out i bumped into damon. like literally. every event i attended he was there. again, city of 9 million people, and we lived on opposite sides of it. permanently drunk, and asked me for a lighter every single time he saw me even though (at the time) i wasn’t smoking. at one point i bumped into him at waterloo train station like “okay that’s it i have to leave the city. i can never go outside again. this is getting fucking weird”. haven’t seen him since, either. on a related note i’ve met paul simeon as well.

richard oakes (suede) - saw suede a bunch of times and as one of the few people who love and appreciate richard oakes i always spoke to him and he was really excited about it and would remember the smallest details. had a backstage pass to a show in paris once. richard also has a side project called artmagic that i’ve seen and no matter how many years pass, he still recognises me and will run over like an excited puppy. met his parents twice, who are lovely people.

simon gilbert (suede) - similar but less dramatic, but will add fans on personal facebook if he’s seen you often enough bc he’s a lovely guy.

obviously i’ve also hung out with the rest of suede but didn’t interact with them as much. it’s mostly me x richard brotp 4eva.

sean patrick flanery (actor, boondock saints/mongolian death worm) - i made a joke about his hair being stuck in the 90s on twitter once and he’s followed me ever since which is at this point LITERALLY YEARS i really don’t understand.

#i'm not counting all the people i've met in a purely fan-creator setting #because that's a lot of people #however nicky wire knows me by name #'nicky wire is my dad' is a long-running joke #met all of pulp as well like #and i've met hozier #oh i've gotten WASTED with david keenan but he isn't that famous (yet) #he should be though go listen to david keenan #OH I FORGOT i've been at the same party as aidan gillen in dublin

[artificialqueens]

And All That Jazz - Chapter 2: When You're Good To Mama (Ninex/Branjie) - Gab

Summary: Last chapter, we got a taste of the merry murderesses of Cook County Jail and it’s new addition: the Dancing Duo of the R.A.C. lounge. This chapter we meet the ladies of the west block and their lawyer extraordinaire.

a/n: Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long! This chapter is way way way overdue, but it’s here finally! Thought I’d try my hand at some Ninex. Also disclaimer, we’re not going for roaring 20’s realism at all if I want my lesbians to thrive!!!! So yes, women can be lawyers even though the general public won’t believe they would murder anyone. That’s fanfiction for ya folks. Also murderess row is in the west block of cook county jail in this instead of the east block… for obvious reasons. Shoutout to barbiehytes for checking up on this fic! It’s still alive, although I’m not so sure about what to do with it quite yet. If you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions for where this should go, let me know either on AO3 or on my sideblog @gabby-writes ! Enjoy!

Chapter 2: When You’re Good To Mama

Word count: 2128

Ask any other chickies in my pen

They’ll tell you I’m the biggest mother hen

I love them all and all of them love me

‘Cause the system works

The system called

Reciprocity

The west block wasn’t the nicest place, it had the same layer of rust and grime that covered the entire prison, but not even the leaking pipes and smell of smoke could stop the reporters from snapping away at the gates, nor could it stop the stream of flowers from coming through the door.

Each of the other inmates wore the same gray jumpsuit and had the same cold bunk, but not the west block. With all the attention these girls were getting, management seemed to let some rules go a bit lax. A mix of glamour and perfume hung in the air above Chicago’s most infamous celebrity-making machine—cook county’s very own stars in captivity—and entering the holding area was like walking into a circus act, wondering when the next show was about to start.

These girls were relentless, always pining for the spotlight, but there was one thing that kept them together. One woman that is.

Miss Nina West herself.

On the outside, Nina was completely delightful, with a smile that could melt even the toughest officer. Nina wasn’t a fool however, and she knew it took a whole lot more to get people to work in her favor. She had tricks up her sleeve and in her bra after all.

It took a hell of a lot of work to keep diva murderesses in line, but Nina had more grit than a sheet of sandpaper, and more connections than a telephone wire for good measure.

She knew every girl in murderess row by name, crime, and whatever else in between. She knew every intimate detail of their lives, coaxed out of them through kindness, cigarettes, alcohol, or a careful combination of all three. Every girl knew that if there was any chance for them to make it out as stars, Nina was it.

Got a little motto

Always sees me through

When you’re good to mama

Mama’s good to you

She was making her way around the block, each holding area buzzing with life as the poor officers tried to quiet the girls down. They stood up in front of their cells to greet her, lines of outstretched hands and strategically placed dollar bills adorning the side of the hall.

“Miss Nina I can’t find my favorite Nightie, would you be an absolute doll and order me a new one?” a flirtatious and stunning redhead peered through her cell doors, a beautiful smile on her lips as she knelt on her bed, leaning on her cell bars. She was draped in a silk robe and lazily peered up at the older woman.

Nina never fell for Scarlet’s attempts at charm, but it was always a delight to watch her try. Besides, there was nothing that flattered her more than the starlet’s unabashed flirting. She stopped for a moment, leaning into the bars across her cell.

“If you stopped letting miss Oddly rip them apart, maybe they’d last longer.” Nina’s teasing tone was rewarded by the blush on the other woman’s face, the redhead’s smile never faltering.

“Oh come on mama, you know she’s got all these… frustrations,” Scarlet said suggestively, leaning in further to tease fingers over Nina’s chest.

“Besides, I can’t go without my nightie for the press tomorrow.” She leaned in closer, a wickedly sexy smile on her face. It was a known fact that Scarlet would never show up to her press conferences without a sheer slip dress under her loosely tied robe. Nina couldn’t deny her however, after all, she was the one who suggested it in the first place.

Besides, from the standpoint of the press, asking particularly hard-hitting questions was a tad more difficult when you were faced with Scarlet’s breasts nearly spilling out of her dress.

Nina rolled her eyes, reaching through the bars and down the front of Scarlet’s robe, pulling out a 50 dollar bill from her brassiere.

“I’ll give them a call in the morning.” “You’re a gem, mama.” Scarlet blew her a quick kiss before rolling over on her bed.

There’s a lot of favors

I’m prepared to do

You do one for mama

She’ll do one for you

Nina walked up to the girl who was cooly resting against the bars of her cell down the hall, the older woman snatching the cigarette from the inmate’s lips and placing it between her own.

“Hey! I paid for that.”

“Then maybe you’d work harder to hide it,” Nina said with a wink. “Now tell me, when is your trial date again?”

Yvie gave a small shrug along with a wide grin.

“It doesn’t really matter, you know how much I like it here.”

This is Yvie’s third time in the west block for allegedly killing another husband. Well this time it was her fiancé. And this time he mysteriously wrote off his fortune to her before he mysteriously…got murdered.

“You know, you don’t have to kill men to meet girls in prison.”

“Okay first of all, allegedly, secondly they were all assholes, and third, prison has all the fun girls mama,” Yvie said, pouting for a second before letting out a laugh in Nina’s direction.

“Oh right, I forgot crazy is your type.”  Nina muttered, putting out the cigarette and handing Yvie a fresh pack. Yvie laughed again, accepting the contraband and retreating back into her cell.

They say that life is tit for tat

And that’s the way i live

So i deserve a lot of tat

For what i’ve got to give

Nina would worry more about her girls—death penalty was a real threat after all—if she wasn’t so confident in their lawyer. And maybe she was a sight for sore eyes after dealing with hot messes all day, but she wasn’t going to be the first to admit it. She saw her often enough, but a new case to whet her appetite was always welcome. She smiled to herself, remembering the two new girls that were about to be brought up from administration, definitely in need of a lawyer.

Don’t you know that this hand

Washes that one too

When you’re good to mama

Mama’s good to you

She finished her rounds, tucked the wad of cash she collected into her pocket, and strolled into her office to note down the next few favors she had to call in. Of course, there was one more very important call she had to make.

—

“Miss X Change? The phone’s for you.”

A voice chimed into the room as soft classical radio played in the background. The radio gave a click before going quiet as a woman with short, platinum hair rose from her seat and headed towards the door, her bright red heels matching the red of her smile perfectly. It was late afternoon and the sun colored the smoky office in gold light, touching everything in the room from the gramophone in the corner to today’s headline, left on the desk.

“Speaking.”

“Have you seen today’s paper? It’s been a madhouse here since morning.”

A smile broke out across Monet’s face the minute she heard the voice on the other line. She let her hand linger over the buttons on her blazer, fiddling with the top button as she listened to the other woman.

“‘Dancing Duo Murders Club Owner in a Deadly Double Act’? Nina, baby, I’ll have the press printing their names all over the city before the week is up.”

“So you’ll take their case then?” The voice on the other side of the line sounded hopeful.

“Maybe you should invite me over first.” Monet smirked, already reaching for her hat, “To meet them, of course.”

—

“You know, you’re much better at flirting with my girls than actually getting them out of my block.”

“But if I got them all out, I’d miss you too much,” Monet strode straight towards Nina, arms outstretched as she went in for a hug. “Now tell me about the two new babes.”

—

“You good baby?”

Brooke watched as Vanessa dressed herself in the tiny cell they had been put in for the time being. They had just taken their mug shots, some medical exams, and various measurements. The two were completely exhausted.

“Didn’t think there’d be that much pokin’ and proddin’, apart from you,” She replied, giving Brooke a wink before pulling up her trousers. She walked closer to the blonde, putting her arms around her neck, savoring the bit of privacy they got before they had to go to their cells.

“You nervous?”

“Nah. Nicky’s gone ain’t he? Ain’t nobody can hurt me now,” Vanessa said sweetly, placing a kiss on Brooke’s lips. “Are you?”

“Nope, I think I can swing something good for us here.”

—

Nina knew exactly who she was dealing with from the moment she got the call about the murder at the R.A.C. lounge.  She was no criminal, that much was clear, but after dealing with so many you get pretty good idea of the next person to slip.

Brooke was a performer at R.A.C., a regular show girl that practically ran the establishment. Nina met her while calling in a favor, something that club owner Nicky Pike owed her plenty of. They were fast friends ever since, trading stories over dinner and whatever show came with it.

It was a few years later that Nina met Vanessa. She was a young performer from the countryside, much too eager, and far too pretty. Unsurprisingly, Vanessa quickly became Nicky’s favorite, his arm constantly draped low on her hip and his eyes wandering every which way. Vanessa never looked particularly keen, but Nina could tell from the way that Brooke clenched her fists and straightened her back around them that she did not like it. Not at all.

Nina could tell when people were about to slip, and she was sure Brooke wasn’t far off.

“Brooke Lynn!”

Nina’s voice carried across the detention center until it hit the blonde on the other side of the room. She was lazily running her fingers through Vanessa’s hair as the brunette practically purred on her lap. Brooke smiled as she saw Nina stride towards her.

“Long time no see?”

“I told you she was gonna get you in trouble one of these days,” Nina said, gesturing to Vanessa, who pouted playfully.

“Hey! It was a team effort,” Vanessa said, pausing for a moment, “if we did it.”

“You don’t know the half of it Nina.” Brooke smirked as she took the handcuffs from Nina’s belt and fastened it onto Vanessa’s wrists as the younger girl giggled. She then took another pair and placed it on herself, looking over at Nina’s raised eyebrows.

“I know how things work here.”

“I know you do. You should also know to not get drunk before getting caught, and definitely not to get caught between your girl’s legs.”

“I hear this lawyer of yours is real good.”

“You wanted to test it?” Nina could feel a headache creep up on her as she regarded the pair. They didn’t seem sorry at all, although knowing Nicky, she wouldn’t feel too sorry either.

“I always liked a good challenge anyway.” Monet walked up beside Nina, looking over the pair and giving a low whistle.

It was going to be a long day.

—

The evening wasn’t any quieter than the daytime, the noises of the street carrying through Nina’s office window and bouncing off the walls. She had sat down, kicking off her shoes and screwed the top of her flask open. Monet walked through the door as she took a swig, offering the smuggled drink to the lawyer.

“Those girls of yours are something else.” Monet handed back the drink, sitting on the other side of Nina’s desk. “Oh they’re mine are they? I thought we shared custody with all of them being your clients,” Nina emphasized, putting her feet up for a moment.

“Touché.”

“So, what do you think of Brooke and Vanessa?” Nina looked at the lawyer, trying to read her face.

“It’s not gonna be easy Neens, the evidence is everywhere,” Monet sighed, putting her hat back on, making a move to leave.

“Hey hang on, we both know that asshole club owner has been harassing Vanessa for months now,” Nina said, quickly putting her feet down and standing beside Monet.

The lawyer’s face suddenly shifted at the proximity, her tired expression turning into a smile.

“I know, I’m just messing with you,” Nina blushed at the words as she took a step back.

“I’ll take it.”

#rpdr fanfiction #fic challenge #musical theatre challenge #branjie #ninex #scyvie #smut #lesbian au #chicago au #and all that jazz #gab #musical theatre au #vanessa vanjie mateo #brooke lynn hytes #nina west #shuga cain #plastique tiara #scarlet envy #yvie oddly #monet x change #akeria davenport #s11 #tw murder #concrit welcome

[bthenoise]

Noiseworthy: Here’s Why Rare Americans Are Your Next Alternative Obsession

As much as you think it might be an easy task, it’s not always that simple to showcase new, up-and-coming artists. Usually when it comes to these sorts of things, if you aren’t familiar with the band’s name, what’s going to make you click our story versus the 231 Best At-Home Get Rich Quick Tips? Yeah, not always that simple.

However, putting all doubts aside, we’re going to keep highlighting emerging bands we believe in. Bands that stand out against the tiring monotony of our music scene. You know, bands like Vancouver risk-takers Rare Americans.

Blending alt-rock, hip-hop and ska like some zany Twenty One Pilots, grandson and Streetlight Manifesto science experiment, James Priestner and Lubo Ivan (along with Jan Cajka and Duran Ritz) have concocted something uniquely their own with Rare Americans. 

With infectious, mind-bending tracks like “Brittle Bones Nicky,” “Cats, Dogs & Rats” and “9 Times Out Of Ten,” the crafty Canadian crew is a refreshing addition to the sometimes-stale alternative genre.    

Now, in order to get to know a little more about the promising performers, we reached out to Priestner to hear all about his musical influences, dreams and aspiring hockey career. To check out our chat and discover your newest obsession, be sure to look below. Afterward, for more from Rare Americans, like their forthcoming LP Rare Americans 2, head here.

Where did you grow up? And was there a music scene where you grew up? James Priestner: I grew up in Edmonton, AB, Canada. It’s a city of one million people so we had all the major acts come through, plus a ton of mid-tier bands playing in the 500-1000 seat venue range. I have to say since moving to Vancouver, I realize there is a lot more of a “scene” here than in Edmonton though. I notice more musicians, more artists, filmmakers, managers, labels, more venues to play at, and more shows. I notice lots of US based mid-tier artists will only play major markets in Canada and Vancouver is one of them. What were you and/or your bandmates doing before your band formed? Jobs? School? I was an athlete. I was a goalie in the Western Hockey League, a developmental league that the NHL drafts from.

Who or what influenced you to start playing music? While playing in the WHL I had a lot of free time when I wasn’t at the rink. We had a 10pm curfew every night so after practice I would go home and try to be creative. When I was 17 I bought a guitar, took some lessons, and very quickly wrote a song. From there it was all over for me, I knew this was what I wanted to do. I had a lesson once a week, and I tried to bring a new song to my guitar teacher each lesson. 10 years later and I’m still doing it!! If you could collaborate with any artist of your choice who would it be? I would love to work with Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys. He’s an all-time favorite of mine. I think his voice is super captivating from the New York crooner type of vibe to his soft airy-tone, and his more punk rock side. I also love his lyrical wit and musicality. What’s the best live performance you’ve ever seen? I really liked Oliver Tree at Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver. I was just getting into him at the time and his show really sold me. He uses a lot of animation on stage which is something we do as well, and the costume changes, theatrics, and just his overall confidence and energy was really inspiring.

Are there any recent releases or performances that have inspired you? I went to so many shows last year to take inspiration for Rare Americans. Super sad about the demise of the live industry with COVID, really makes me appreciate live music. As I mentioned, Oliver Tree’s show, Arctic Monkeys' show after they released Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was fantastic as well. I’m late to the game on this one, but I also got into J. Cole this year who I really have come to love. If you could have one of your songs be on a TV show or movie of your choice what would it be? The Wire!! One of my all time favorite shows. Unfortunately they aren’t making any new seasons, but if we could go back in time... Three bands or artists that would be your dream to tour with? Gorillaz, Twenty One Pilots, Oliver Tree. What would you like to be remembered for? Musically or not. Deep question. I would say I want to be remembered as someone who really gave my all. Someone who tried to inspire those around me to believe in themselves that they can accomplish what they never dreamed they could. I love talking to fans that have wild dreams but no belief, and trying to inspire them to change that, to work towards their goals.

Best piece of advice anyone has given you? You have two ears and one mouth. Listen and try to put yourself in someone else's shoes before assuming you know what they are thinking or going through. What have you learned since being in the music industry? The more I know, the more I don’t know!! It’s like a spider web. You never know what's going to hit at any time. I also don’t think you can ever know what fans are going to resonate with. The minute you say “this is going to be a hit” it probably won’t be and that song you were thinking of not including on your album might be the one people like the most. I also realized the music industry, especially for a DIY band, is so much more than just making music. You have to be a high-level marketer and entertainer to make it in this industry. Artists are characters, fans are buying into their entire worlds, their artwork, their brand, their message, not just their song. The best thing currently on the internet is? The ability for anyone to make a career. The fact that one of the top Youtube earners in the world is a 9 year old who unboxes toys is wildly fascinating. I think it’s pretty cool that the internet provides this ecosystem for people to make content, be themselves, develop followings, and ultimately make a living from doing what they love. 

#Rare Americans #Noiseworthy Artist #Noiseworthy #interview

[doorsclosingslowly]

@sl-walker  asked a question: 1, 11, 13!

@jamaskywalker asked a quesstion: 1, 17, 25, 29 and 30 for the identity asks?

@darthbiscuits asked a question: (sorry if it's weird to send this so late, I kept  meaning to and not doing it) - for the numbered asks, 11, 13, 22, 25 & 26

Thanks <3 Doing everything in one batch because of overlaps!

1) if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?

Uh, a hard one. Tbh I don’t think a story that feels like me or whatever would ever get published because people would be too bored. I probably wouldn’t like it much either. The closest is probably Richard Ayoade’s film Submarine or the songs Ritual No. 1 and Derek Jarman’s Garden by Nicky Wire. Emmy the Great’s Paper Forest (In the Afterglow of Rapture). Also -- Ali Smith’s There but for the, because I often feel like just locking myself in a room and staying there. Revenge of the Sith, which is probably the film I related most to ever but that time’s over and I’m never letting it come back. Suede’s Picknick by the Motorway. When You Don’t See Me by the Sisters of Mercy. Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Of Walking Abortion by Manic Street Preachers, and also This Sullen Welsh Heart and Born A Girl. 

In terms of things that massively influenced me that’s probably Yu-Gi-Oh! which I watched religiously for most of my early teenage years and that mix of ludicrousness and horror is still what I look for in stories I think. Also -- regrettably -- Die Zähne in der Hand by the world’s most pretentious band, Samsas Traum, my first ever real favourite song. It’s about punching someone to death, except that someone is yourself and/or the personification of your mental illness & I can kind of see why people were so afraid for me when I was thirteen lol. I can trace a truly ridiculous range of things from being vegetarian to liking the Sisters back to my first internet buddy sending me that song on ICQ. To be honest I think she never found out that I was really young then haha

Alternatively, the fanfic I’ve written. Mostly Unmasked, Riches and Wonders, Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go and Your Death is a Number because they dive into Issues but everything is rooted in my thought process so.

11) describe your ideal day.

I wake up, stay in bed and fall asleep again (falling asleep in the morning feels v nice). Some weird non-breakfast food and a lot of tea, and then I go exploring a city or cliffs or something and listen to music. It’s really sunny. In the evening I meet up with a friend and we talk about random stuff and politics and Star Wars. I don’t have to think about what I should be doing instead because I have no commitments or work that I’m putting off. I don’t feel terrified about what I should be doing. My brain is quiet.

13) inside or outdoors?

Inside most of the time. I really like it though when it’s summer and I have the time to just pick a direction and walk until the day’s over. In cities usually because you can’t get lost there and if you do just take the bus to the main station.

17) would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”?

Not really. It’s not half as boring as I am. Although it’s probably a fair representation of my current interests, and the regrettable fact that I obsessively pick one thing and think of little else for months.

22) list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.

In ascending order of how many hours a day I spend doing them:

Thinking about things I want to be doing and not doing them.

Thinking about the things I should be doing, not doing them and worrying.

Playing Solitaire/Minesweeper/Sudoku instead, the filler paste of activities: addictive, not teaching you anything, and not that satisfying to be honest. But at least I’m doing something, which keeps the restlessness at bay. This sketch is so accurate. “Welcome to the afterlife. And here’s the final result of your life’s work: you managed to beat your computer at solitaire 7345 out of a possible 128312 times!”

Daydreaming, the less bad filler paste, because at least it occasionally results in writing fanfic.

Sleeping.

25) could you live as a hermit?

Unfortunately most likely not. I house-sat for when my parents were away for three weeks a few years ago and didn’t really leave the house at all and after a week I relistened to all podcasts I had ever heard because it was doing my head in, human interactions are incredibly stressful to me but I honestly couldn’t stay alive without them.

26) how would you describe your gender/sexuality?

Asexual, aromantic. Male, tough I’m currently swinging hard towards “Gender? No thanks” which idk whether that’s a defense mechanism for the fact that I decided years ago that everything was so much effort and it would just be incredible stress for nothing anyway if I went through with killing myself, so after the GP wasn’t helpful and I didn’t know what to do I put off transitioning until a nebulous time when I’d have more mental strength to invest in that. Or whether it’s anything genuine. Tbh I’m still not sure whether I want to even mention this on this blog because it’s not like it matters & Anton is the name I use when I think of myself, I’m least uncomfortable with he/him, but otoh it’s less bad than talking about this in meatspace and probably my obsession with body horror makes more sense now.

29) three songs that you connect with right now.

Niels Frevert – Ich möchte mich gern von mir trennen

Frank Turner – Get Better

Sneaker Pimps – Curl

30) pick one of your favorite quotes.

Where there’s nature, or where there is breathing, there are true moments of joy. You’ve just got to recognise them. And not take them for granted. And that’s what I try to do, have moments of elation in life, however small, five minutes a day, and be able to think “Yeah, that’ll do. That’ll do me, now”. Nicky Wire, Vox October 1996.

#sl-walker #jamaskywalker #darthbiscuits

[coshayphinelove]

5 character headcanons - cosima, felix, scott, art, mk, rachel, krystal, adele

i am so sorry if you are on mobile and the read more does not work properly and you see all of this.  

you have my deepest apologies.

Send me the name of a character and I will tell you my:

cosima

1. sexuality headcanon:  canon says she’s a lesbian, i just wanna say that despite what interviews beforehand said.  

and i’ve always had the idea that for a long time she had a complicated relationship with her sexuality.  she identified as bi and/or queer for a while and swore off labels for another.  like she had been with guys before and they were fun and everything.  and the girls she was with were also fun but she was only looking for fun there, too.  but now she’s gotten to the point where she’s looking for something more serious than fun.  and that led her to realizing that she Loves women way more and way more thoroughly than she likes men (if she even can really call it liking men at all).  and so she’s getting comfortable with labels and id’s as a lesbian now.

(i only think that because the two conflicting informations needed to be reconciled in my head.)  (i’m not a lesbian so please tell me if this is not cool or something that isn’t part of being one.)

2. otp:  coshayphine.  they’re just.  so good.  though i’m kind of dragging myself down a sarcoshayphine hole and there’s #noragrets.  (some ragrets, actually.  that is so many people and hands and emotions to keep track of.)

3. brotp:  if it’s not a sarcoshayphine thing, then sarah.  i feel like aside from helena and sarah they’re the closest.  and they just care so much for each other that if it didn’t get to a dating level then they would be the bestest of bros.  

and if it is sarcoshayphine then charlotte.  i’ve already decided that she calls her little buddy (even after charlotte gets taller than her)  (which is going to happen).

4. notp:  idk?  paul?  i really hated paul.

5. first headcanon that pops into my head:  I Have Too Many.

but i love the idea of her getting a hair cut like this or this (short sides and a floofy curly bit at the top) bc in my head she’s nonbinary.  so she’s got this big life change of turning over a new leaf and being free finally and coming to terms with some new identities and she just cuts all her hair off.  Symbolism.

6. one way in which I relate to this character:  i like science and girls and if they happened at the same time for me i would start coughing up blood too.

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: her seemingly putting her own needs aside and not talking to delphine.  like they start and she brings up good points, but delphine is written to be cryptic af so it just seems like she gives up on trying to find out what she wants or working their relationship into something more healthy.  and that makes me real uncomfy.8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?:  cinnamon roll!!

The rest are under a cut!!

felix

1. sexuality headcanon:  he is gay

2. otp:  either him and colin or felony.  i just miss tony a whole lot.

3. brotp:  sarah.  lov thos kids

4. notp:  ???  paul.  i’m just going to keep saying paul

5. first headcanon that pops into my head:  i have it outlined for the post s5 fic that once coshayphine move into their residence that they’re going to keep for the foreseeable future they hang up the painting of cosima.  and she hates being the only one with a 5 foot tall painting.  

so being a good foster brother-in-law or whatever they are to each other, he paints one of delphine and shay too, because that’s totally what cosima meant!!!!  not that she wanted it taken down/put somewhere other than the front room.  thanks felix.  sure thing cosima, what are foster brother-in-laws for?  and he paints delphine naked to make her just a little uncomfortable (one of his favorite past times), but it’s from the shoulders up.  so it’s not too weird.

6. one way in which I relate to this character:  sarcasm and using gay as a descriptor 

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:season 4.  like.  i know it worked out in the end.  but the fact that he didn’t understand why searching for his ‘real sister’ while there’s life or death situations bothered sarah was like.  the worst.  and i understand his side too, but like.. did it need to happen Right Then?  when evil corporations were stealing and copyrighting genomes??8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?:  cinnamon roll.

scott

1. sexuality headcanon: biromantic asexual!!

2. otp: hellwizard and/or rune wars.

3. brotp:  team science mega force

4. notp:  just gonna say paul right down the line, for Comedic Effect.

but for a while there were people who were like scott/delphine or scott/cosima and it was.  a no from me.

5. first headcanon that pops into my head:  has the unfortunate job of first one down to the lab in the morning.  he either wakes cosima and delphine up or walks really loudly to alert them that he is there.  he is usually someone who likes to start work early, but… he starts coming in later because he’s seen things that he Did Not Want To See.  he is unable to make eye contact with cosima for a week after she was going to run to the kitchen to grab breakfast naked but didn’t know he was there.  poor guy.

6. one way in which I relate to this character:  Uncomfortable Chortling™.

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: Uncomfortable Chortling™.8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?:  cinnamon roll.  the purest one.  he just really wants to help his bro.

art

1. sexuality headcanon:  bi art woulda been cool.

2. otp: safety and happiness.  i don’t know what we know about his ex but if it was healthy and loving but just dissolved bc of him working so much then maybe he could reconnect with her?  

3. brotp:  beth and art 5ever

4. notp:  sarah.  They Are Friends.

5. first headcanon that pops into my head:  is such a good dad.  plays dress up and does tea parties and when charlotte is having behavioral problems at school takes the time to talk to her and figures out it’s bc she’s bored and too smart.  had to be forced to stop bed time stories bc ‘that’s for babies, dad!!!’ was a little more than heartbroken.  is the dad that runs out onto the soccer field when his kid is taken down and appears to be injured.  cries openly when he finds out that helena named her son after him.

6. one way in which I relate to this character:  Guy Who Just Wants His Friends To Get Their Lives Together But Doesn’t Worry About His Own.

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: in the finale there was this shot of him while he was helping helena give birth.  and i think they went too close with a short lens while he was laughing because his face kinda looked distorted.  and it was a nice laughing face but the distortion kinda scared me.  made me think something bad was about to happen WHICH WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OKAY8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?: cinnamon roll

mk

1. sexuality headcanon:  asexual aromantic

2. otp: how just so totally alive she still is and how she killed freshanando

3. brotp:  nicki? nikki?  however you spell her name.  and also beth.

4. notp:  death.  canon.

5. first headcanon that pops into my head: got pretty much all of her money from embezzling and investing.  she only embezzled like $2,000 from each corporation, but she was so good at timing and watching the market she’s sitting on several million dollars.  but she likes her trailer so she just gives the extra away as it comes in.  at least now that she has family to gift it to.

cosima enrolls at University of Toronto and finds the exact amount for her tuition is wired to her account.

delphine needs to buy a whole new wardrobe and rebuild her life and an envelope full of cash is waiting in the mailbox at the comic book store.  (not the point right now, but where THE FUCK was she getting her clothes???)

alison is worried about the kids’ college tuition bc of their year of unemployment plus drug dealing and gets a transfer.

sarah takes some time in finding a job and is worried about making a payment on S’s house but then it magically goes away and so does the next one.

etc. etc.  and she never runs out of money, but everybody else just thinks she’s being so generous.  and they never ask for more, bc god how could you ask for more after gifts like that.  and so she just keeps accruing more and more interest so she starts just dumping all this money on charities.

6. one way in which I relate to this character:  i really wanna blow frickinanderino up.  

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:i don’t think there was anything...  but i don’t really remember much of s4... maybe the driving with the sheep mask on?  that was so dangerous and extra.8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?:  cinnamon roll

rachel

1. sexuality headcanon:  i’ve been seeing some people talking about lesbian rachel and i can get behind that.  like seeing the number of clones showing signs of ‘sexual fluidity’ or whatever the book phrased it as.  and she doesn’t want to be like them.  so she forces it down to be The Perfect Subject.  then later realizes that that made those subjects of more interest to some of the scientists.  or she never considered it for herself because they always gave her male monitors so she just didn’t think about it.  there’s some angst there.

2. otp:  propane.

3. brotp:  who was the guy she texted ‘update pls’?  bc whoever she felt she could text slang with they must’ve been close.

4. notp:  paul, but i mean it this time.

5. first headcanon that pops into my head:  go read @sharkodactyl s fic the sun that’s setting in the east.  

6. one way in which I relate to this character: is a sucker and would do anything for an authority figure’s approval.

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:anything to do with ferfuckle.  honey.  love yourself.8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?:  Problematic.  not even fave.  i felt for rachel, but it was very cool_motive_still_murder.gif.  unlike with other characters who did bad things, her intent was to harm.  even if it was misguided revenge against the wrong people.  though i am glad that she got out alive and can try to live a life that she actually chooses rather than what is chosen for her.

krystal

1. sexuality headcanon:  idk.. maybe pansexual?  or she just doesn’t do labels and has a whole speech about it.

2. otp: brie.  they even have a canon ship name in kay-bee.

3. brotp:  manicures, mimosas, & croissants as described here.  but basically krystal, adele, and delphine.  they go for brunch, get their nails done, and tipsily validate the everliving fuck out of each other.

4. notp:  paul, cuz why not.

5. first headcanon that pops into my head:  bc kay-bee is obviously canon... after the incident with brie’s hair krystal is extra careful when she plays with her hair.  and she takes extra special but sneaky looks to see if she’s getting any bald spots.  in short, she’s worried about her girlfriend and wants to make sure she’s okay.

6. one way in which I relate to this character:  does The Most but is dead wrong.

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:  the fact that john and graeme didn’t know that she was based on a kroll show bit and accidentally kinda stole her.8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?:  the cinnamoniest of rolls

adele

1. sexuality headcanon:  i feel like she is a straight person?  she just reminds me of my country relatives who have ‘live, laugh, love’ signs in their homes.  idk why.

2. otp:  getting help for her drinking problem and getting un disbarred.  re barred?

3. brotp:  as stated above:  manicures, mimosas, & croissants.

4. notp:  fuck it.  paul.

5. first headcanon that pops into my head:  she’s scarily good at video games.  she didn’t even realize it until she sat down to play with the kids, at their request, and finds out that she can’t stop winning.  the kids then ask her to leave.

6. one way in which I relate to this character:  is also very ready to drink at any time.

7. thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character:idk i feel like she was a wholesome addition to clone club.  maybe her inability to keep a secret even though everybody told her to not tell.8. cinnamon roll or problematic fave?:  cinnamon roll.

#Anonymous #i realized when i got to art that you probably meant just 5 for each of them #but it was too late #long post #very so long post #i didn't know i had opinions about any of this #cosima niehaus #felix dawkins #art bell #scott smith #mk #i refuse to tag her other name #rachel duncan #krystal goderitch #adele i dont know her last name #but i dont think anyones gonna be searching my blog or tumblr for my headcanon post #tbqh #headcanons

[readingraebow]

The Prestige Section Two

Part 3 - Part 4: July 12, 1900

1. Who visits the Angier family and why do they come? When Kate was two, Clive Borden visits her parents and brings Nicky, who was then two, along. The kids are shuffled off upstairs to play together for most of the afternoon while the adults talked downstairs. Because Kate was small, she doesn't know exactly what went on but she tries to piece things together. She thinks this was yet another attempt to patch things up between the two families. Clive is the great-grandson of Alfred Borden and Kate's father is the great grandson of Rupert Angier. And, later, when Kate realizes this, she realizes that makes Nick her rival. And the meeting honestly doesn't go well? By the time they all sit down to dinner, the kids aren't exactly behaving and that annoys the adults and makes them turn on each other. The kids are then shuffled out of the room again as the adults are left to fight.

2. What happens to Nicky in the cellar? So Kate's parents take Clive down to the cellar to show him Angier's machine. This was, apparently, what they'd been arguing about. So Kate's father turned it on and got in it and the lightning swirled around him and such. Well he started yelling at Clive to get in it because that's what he wanted. So Clive was holding Nicky and handed him to Kate's father. Well Kate's father ended up throwing Nicky into the machine and it killed him. Kate and her sister had snuck down after the adults and watched the whole thing. And at this point, their mother ushered them back upstairs. But they watched Clive clutching Nicky's lifeless body. So after that, the police were never called and Kate's parents told them that the police wouldn't be involved. And they never knew what happened to Nicky's body but they assumed Clive took it with them. It was only after she grew that Kate realized all of this was weird.

3. What is Nicky's relationship to Andrew? They think that's Andrew's twin. Or, rather, Andrew thinks Nicky is his twin. Kate thinks that they're somehow the same person. She thinks that Andrew is Nicky and that he somehow survived that night. But Andrew said that since he stepped foot in that house, he has felt a stronger connection to his twin. It's like his twin is somehow still there and still connected to the house. And since there's no record that Andrew ever had a twin, there might be a chance that because of the accident that night, the records were altered to erase Nicky's existence.

4. What event in Angier's life changes his circumstances? How does he retaliate? His father dies and his brother inherits the estate. Well, his brother decides to completely uproot their lives and basically kicks their mother out of the house (giving her a small cottage on the estate). He allows Rupert to stay in the rooms he presently occupies until he finishes school. Then he decides that Rupert may remain until he's twenty-one since he's technically his guardian until then. However, Rupert moves to his own lodgings but will still receive an allowance from his brother until he's twenty-one. His brother decided to keep the entire fortune for himself and basically not share it with either his mother or brother so Rupert will have to support himself after he's twenty-one. So he starts his career as an illusionist. However, it doesn't really go well until he meets a woman named Julia and she helps him with his performance. They also begin to perform a mentalist act which does help them make some money while Rupert practices and perfects his illusionist act.

5. What caused Angier's vendetta against Borden? So the Angiers discovered Julia was pregnant and by that time, they'd started conducting séances for a small fee this is where Angier's story begins to align with Bordens. So they'd started interviewing assistants to replace Julia during her pregnancy but hadn't found one suitable. So Julia was still assisting on the day when Borden appeared for the second time. During his struggle to expose Angier, Borden shoved Julia and she fell. Well she insisted she was alright and went to bed that night. But she ended up waking up bleeding and they had to rush her to the hospital where she had emergency surgery. She lost the baby and almost died herself. And, thus, Angier's vendetta against Borden began: because he caused the loss of their child. Which Borden, apparently, never even knew.

6. What makes Angier return to his diary after a ten year absence? So after Borden caused Julia's miscarriage, their feud went strong for a while but when Angier's anger eventually calmed down, he stopped fighting. But then Borden shows up at one of Angier's shows and ends up being one of the volunteers during part of the performance. It was during an illusion involving Angier being tied to a chair and six volunteers from the audience tying the knots. Angier and the chair are then lowered into a water tank where Angier is to escape. But Borden both distracted Angier and tied his knot way too tight. So Angier couldn't get out and almost drowned. Thankfully, it was realized in time and he was pulled to safety but it did ruin the show. And Angier felt that Borden tried to kill him and it renewed his anger once more and restarted the fire in the feud all over again.

7. Who is Root and what is the problem with him? When Angier replaced Borden for a booking, he read the contract and saw that a replacement act should be as similar to the act it was replacing as can be. So Angier decided he would try to incorporate Borden's Transported Man illusion. So he found a double: Root. Well, the illusion went well and for a while, it was a sensation. It was requested at all of Angier's bookings and could even double his earnings when performed. However, Root was a heavy drinker and would often show up to shows drunk. Angier tried to talk to him but it literally didn't work. Because assistants know a lot of secrets so they have a lot of power. And when Angier tried to talk to him, he ended up giving Root a raise. But then Borden went on a tour of Europe and without Borden to compete with, Angier no longer needed to include the illusion in his act so he discontinued it and fired Root.

8. How does Borden update his Transported Man illusion? So Angier started performing the illusion again but with a different double. But the audience wasn't impressed? That's when he heard that Borden had changed his act and his illusion was now much better. So Angier visited one of Borden's performances to see how the illusion had changed. Borden incorporated electricity into his act and he would grab two heavy wires and bring them together to make an electrical connection. Then he would vanish from where he was standing (the two wires falling to the floor) and instantly reappear on the other side of the stage. And then, once moved, he produces a flower chosen by an audience member earlier in the show. And Angier doesn't know how it's done but, at this point, thinks that Borden doesn't use a double.

9. What plan does Olivia propose? What is in the envelope she eventually gives Angier? Borden has been advertising for an assistant so Olivia plans to apply for the position. She means to go work for Borden, learn the secret behind his Transported Man illusion and come back and tell Angier. Because she realizes that all Angier really wants. But Olivia leaves and doesn't come back. She sends for all her things without a word to Angier. And, eventually, when she does come to visit him to explain, she tells him he must end his feud with Borden and, if he agrees, she will give him the envelope containing Borden's secret. Angier agrees and when he opens the envelope, printed inside is one word: Tesla.

10. After receiving the envelope, where does Angier go and why do you think he does this? Angier goes to Colorado Springs to meet Nikola Tesla. He goes, presumably, to discover Borden's secret for himself. But he ends up learning a lot about electricity and Tesla's contribution to it. He ends his first visit by Tesla inviting him back and Angier saying he has a proposition. So I think Angier wants Tesla to build him a machine like Borden's.

  Section Two Reading Journal

Okay so. I’m still not really ~loving this book. But I’m also not hating it either. Some parts of it I think are really good but some parts just feel really unnecessary. I still really don’t like the grandkids bit. I think that feels really unnecessary. You can very easily create the same twist with the magicians, as seen in the movie.

Angier’s journals, however, are fascinating and I’ve really been loving reading them. I do like that, with the book, we get more of each magician’s side of the feud rather than just seeing the whole thing more straightforward, as in the movie. Seeing it from two different perspectives is fascinating. It feels like you get to know each of the magicians a little better.

However, there are a few very bit changes in Angier’s story. In the movie, the feud started because of Julia’s death. But in the book, Borden causes Julia to miscarry. I honestly think Julia’s death is a little more powerful?? Especially since she’s essentially what started Angier’s career since she critiqued him a lot and worked with him in the earlier stages. That’s just a personal preference but when I read that I was like ????? That doesn’t seem as powerful to me???

Also. Let’s talk about Tesla. Because now I’m super curious. I know we won’t have an answer to this until the next section but Borden also worked with Tesla??? Is he cloning too?? Because I don’t like that as much....? And honestly if that’s what’s happening here... if Angier gets a machine built that’s just like Borden’s and literally just exactly copies him and they’re both cloning, I’m honestly going to be upset. Because I don’t like that at all....? But I’ll have more on that if that’s what’s really happening here. So I guess to be continued after I read the next section.

Honestly, I think I would’ve liked this more if I hadn’t seen the movie first. But since I have, I definitely see a lot of flaws with this book and a lot of things I think the movie did better. So it’s making it really difficult for me to enjoy this book. But, as I said, I’m not hating it. I’m just not really loving it either. But I can’t wait to finish and see what happens!

#trcbooks #2015: the prestige #2015 reading challenge

[makingscipub]

What R we talking about? Pandemics and numbers

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought us many new words and phrases, words and phrases that are reshaping our lives, such as ‘social distancing’, furlough, WFH (working from home), which I always read as WTF, zoom meetings, PPE and so on. It has also brought with it lots of numbers and graphs and other mathematical and/or modelling phenomena.

Numbers have always been part of disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics, especially numbers of cases and numbers of deaths, and the graphs plotting their ups and downs. More recently, there have also been mathematical models. So-called quantitative epidemiological modelling became a topic of discussion during the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in particular, when models decided which animals were to live or die.

Knowing your Rs from your elbows

However, this pandemic brought something else to public attention on top of numbers, graphs and models, namely a rather complex mathematical number which has now become the emblem of the disease and its management. That number doesn’t look like a number. It looks like a letter. It is R, called the R number, R rate, R level… – with other cryptic letters and numbers added, such as R0,Re, Rt, and so on.

I am not a scientist, but after talking with some, I have devised this ‘definition’ (all mistakes my own): The R number comes in two forms. The basic reproduction number R0 is the average number of people that a person with a virus would pass it on to, all other things being equal. This is a property of the virus and its host and it doesn’t change over time. It takes a larger value the more intrinsically contagious the virus is. The effective reproduction number, Re, or its value at a given time, Rt, depends upon various circumstances such as how many people are immune and how much social contact people have. What follows from that is that isolating people can have the same effect as vaccination.”

As you have all heard by now from the news: If the R value is one, each carrier of a disease passes the virus on to one other person, meaning the prevalence of the virus will stay at the same level. If the value of R falls below one, it will decrease.

Bringing down R has become the new ‘flattening the curve’. But how did politicians talk about this important topic?

A tale of two Rs

Boris Johnson

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced R prominently on 30 April. At one of the daily press conferences he said the following:

“And so to avoid that disaster our fifth and final test is that nothing as I say we do should lift the R or the reproduction rate of that disease back above one…And before I hand over to Patrick [Vallance] I am going to ask for a short explanatory clip about the one… And before we come to that clip, let me just emphasise that keeping the R down is going to be absolutely vital to our recovery, keeping the reproduction rate of the disease down, and we can only do it by our collective discipline and working together”. You can see the clip here, at about 9.15 minutes in – this is quite informative, but not spoken by the PM.

Angela Merkel

I noticed that people in Germany, in this case my 93 year-old father, started to talk about R about a month ago in the context social distancing. This happened especially after a speech by the Chancellor Angela Merkel in which she explained the significance of R in quite some detail and, most importantly, in a way that lay people can understand – good science policy communication in action. You can watch her explanation here. I don’t really want to repeat that. I just want to stress one thing that she made clear: little variations in R can have big effects, for good or for ill.

In an article about Merkel’s speech we read something that is becoming relevant now: “As societies begin to contemplate how to re-start their economies after weeks of shutdowns, epidemiologists have urged a multi-cycle strategy of ‘suppression and lift:’ a regimen of relaxing and tightening social distancing measures to fine-tune them, so that they are just right for a particular population at a particular time.”

That’s the stage the the UK government thinks we have reached about now, but we don’t hear about suppression and lift, we hear instead about ‘being alert’ and ‘common sense’ – but that would be another blog post/rant. (The Independent Sage Report, which has just been published, has more on suppression)

Back to Boris

On Sunday 10 May Boris Johnson gave an address to the nation which referenced R again. R became part of two, to put it charitably, ‘lay-friendly’ ‘explanations’, one a pseudo-equation, the other a pseudo-graph. Both were much lampooned on twitter the following day. They were a failure in science policy communication.

On Facebook, Gareth Roberts, a biology teacher, wrote the following: “Thought it would be fairly sensible to assess the ‘Boris does Science graph’ in the same way we would a GCSE or A-level student”, and the result is splendid. @trishgreenhalgh tweeted it out and it went a bit viral (Thanks to @GarethEnticott for helping me find out more about that image) Oh, and what’s Gareth’s overall assessment? “This work falls well below the standards required to meet your target grade. This is becoming a recurring theme of my feedback to you.”

R for dummies

When seeing and hearing Rs everywhere, I wondered whether there was something like R for dummies… and of course there is, but only about R as a computer language! However, not all is lost. I found two articles, one thread and one interactive game which might help. But there is certainly more out there!

An article in the BMJ (HT @RRITools) that sets out R very clearly, so that politicians can understand things better.

A short article in Wired explains R well, and all the caveats around it!

A more elaborate thread by epidemiologist Adam Kucharski goes into more detail.

And then there is this interactive ‘game’: “What Happens Next? COVID-19 Futures, Explained With Playable Simulations” 30 min play/read, by Marcel Salathé (epidemiologist) & Nicky Case (art/code) – have a go, play and LEARN!

The origins of R

Now, it turns out that Kucharski is the author of an aptly timed book entitled The Rules of Contagion: Why Things Spread – and Why They Stop, which came out at the beginning of this year. The blurb reads like this: “A deadly virus suddenly explodes into the population. A political movement gathers pace, and then quickly vanishes. An idea takes off like wildfire, changing our world forever. We live in a world that’s more interconnected than ever before. Our lives are shaped by outbreaks – of disease, of misinformation, even of violence – that appear, spread and fade away with bewildering speed.” That sums things up nicely!

I was looking at some media reporting about R when I found a review of Kucharki’s book by Steve Bleach in The Sunday Times, published on 16 February, that is, before R entered common consciousness! It starts like this:

“How many of us are going to contract coronavirus? The answer – or, at least, the best means we have of trying to calculate it – started taking shape as long ago as the 1950s, when a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine wrote a paper on the control of mosquitoes. Hidden away in the appendix was a novel idea about disease transmission: if you modelled what would happen when a single infectious person arrived in a population, it might give you a way to predict how serious an outbreak would be.

Twenty years later, a mathematician called Klaus Dietz picked up on the idea. What if you established the average number of people that a new case would infect? Call it the reproduction number, or R. You could then calculate how fast the disease would spread, how many people would catch it and, if you could intervene in a way that reduces R, how effective measures to fight it might be.”

So that’s where R comes from I thought! It might just be a letter/number, but it is hugely important. As Bleach says: “Suddenly, the R number looks less like an academic device and more like a matter of life and death. Coronavirus rates somewhere between R1.5 and R3.5, on current estimates [that was February, 2020]. That sounds like a small range, but as Adam Kucharski’s book points out, it has huge consequences.” (highlighted by me)

The future of R and of us

For something that is a matter of life and death, the science communication around it needs to be flawless, or at least try to be. One ingredient in good science communication is ‘trust’. Angela Merkel explained R in a way which implied that she trusted people to be able to understand and then act upon complex information. She didn’t dumb down R; she was clear about it and its implications. And she communicate in a context where actions that could ‘lower R’ were made possible through intensive research, testing, tracing, transparency, good hospitals  etc etc. (This does not mean, however, that everybody trusted her, see here)

This was not the case for the UK government, where science communication was poor and the context was poor too. There was talk about people using their ‘common sense’, which might imply trusting people to do the right thing, while at the same time not providing them with the opportunities to use it – namely clear and non-contradictory information, sufficient PPE, safe infrastructure and so on.

Trust in science and government has to be built into people’s life; it can’t be talked into people’s lives. At the moment this is not happening here in the UK. In such a context even good science communication, including engagement and dialogue, can only achieve so much. Words matter, numbers matter, but worlds matter too. To build better worlds we need better politics, not only better science and better science communication. Only then can trust be achieved and science communication work.

In the pseudo-graph mentioned above, it is assumed that “R will remain below 1 despite it only dropping to 0.9 after six weeks of lockdown“. But as Gareth Roberts asked: “Do you think it is realistic to assume R won’t rise above 1 when we reopen schools, workplaces, bars, restaurants and shops?” As the Independent Sage Report points out (p. 22): “Any easing of restrictions needs to be accompanied by not only effective, targeted messages, but changes in the physical and social environment that enable the key behaviours to suppress transmission”.

Image: Flickr, David Goehring

  The post What R we talking about? Pandemics and numbers appeared first on Making Science Public.

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Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Kanye West

Books & Music Did you know he got his start in the music biz as a producer — not a rapper? Jennifer Nied 2018-10-11

Getty Images | Noel Vasquez If there’s one thing you can say about rapper and fashion mogul (and Mr. Kim Kardashian) Kanye West, it’s that he’s not afraid to take risks. Here’s everything you may not know about Kanye, from the fact that he was once an awkward teen in Chicago to the fact that he was engaged once before ultimately meeting and marrying Kim.

Kanye Had An Awkward Phase As A Teen

Even the multitalented, trendsetting West had an awkward phase when he was younger. Rolling Stone reported that in high school, other kids teased him about his braces. It seems like it was worth it, though, because his smile looks great today.

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He Attended Two Colleges

He started at American Academy of Art in Chicago and transferred to Chicago State University. West dropped out before graduating and opted to pursue a career in the music industry instead. He named his 2004 debut album “The College Dropout,” though West received an honorary doctorate degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015.

Flickr | romanboed

He Got His Start As A Producer

West got his start in music with Roc-A-Fella Records as a producer for several of the tracks on Jay Z’s album “The Blueprint.” He wanted more than producing credits, however and convinced the Roc-A-Fella team to give him a shot on the other side as a rapper.

Getty Images | Michael Buckner

He Likes Nicknames

In September, West announced on Twitter that he now prefers to be called “Ye.” “Ye” is also the name of his latest album. Some of his previous album names have also matched his other nicknames, Pablo and Yeezy — notably, 2013’s “Yeezus” and 2016’s “The Life of Pablo.”

Getty Images | Neilson Barnard

He Was Engaged Once Before Marrying Kim Kardashian

In 2006, West proposed to his then-girlfriend, designer Alexis Phifer, over a romantic dinner while on vacation in Capri, Italy. The two ultimately parted ways in 2008, just months after his mother’s death in November 2007. At the time of the breakup, a friend of his told People, “Kanye has been going through a rough time.”

Getty Images | David Livingston

Kanye Was In A Car Accident That Nearly Killed Him

In 2002, while driving home from the studio at 4 a.m., West fell asleep at the wheel, crashed into an oncoming car and broke his jaw. (The crash broke both of the other driver’s legs and his pelvis.) He had to have it wired shut to let it heal. He ended up recording his first single, “Through the Wire,” with his jaw still wired shut.

Getty Images | Randy Brooke

He Had A Close Relationship With His Mother

His parents divorced when he was 3 years old, and his mother, Donda, raised West in Chicago. When he was a rising star, she left her teaching position at the University of Chicago to work as his manager. West frequently brought her as his guest to award shows and events.

Getty Images | Fernando Leon

His Mother Died Suddenly After Surgery

In 2007, Donda died after returning home following cosmetic surgery. People covered the aftermath and the coroner’s report, writing that the Los Angeles coroner concluded she “died of heart disease while suffering ‘multiple post-operative factors’ after plastic surgery.'” The sudden and tragic loss was understandably difficult for West. He named his new creative content and design company Donda as a tribute to his mother.

Getty Images | Kevin Winter

His Tastes In Music Are Surprising

During a Rolling Stone interview from 2006, West had a conversation with Willi.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas in which he said, “I love your album. The only albums that I listened to were yours, System of a Down and Fiona Apple.”

Getty Images | Frederick M. Brown

He Loves Stuffed Animals

When a Rolling Stone reporter noted the teddy bears on a windowsill in his house, West replied, “People give me bears all the time. I love stuffed animals.” His mascot Dropout Bear appeared on some early album covers, and apparently, the bear was a spontaneous choice for the cover. “The bear just happened to be at the school where Def Jam had booked the photo shoot for the album,” music exec Plain Pat told Complex.

West Compared His Lyrics To Advice From Mahatma Gandhi

West is never short on confidence. During an interview with Rolling Stone, he shared how he felt about a line in “Everything I Am” that goes, “Everything I’m not made me everything I am.” “In my humble opinion, that’s a prophetic statement,” he said. “Gandhi would have said something like that.”

Getty Images | Carl Court

He Has Directed Films

West was a director and a writer on the short fantasy film “Cruel Summer,” which tells the story of a car thief who falls in love with a blind princess. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. MTV compared it to his 2010 short “Runway,” saying it “plays like an extended music video.”

Getty Images | Michael Loccisano

He Relies On Others When Making Creative Choices

West bounces lyrics and new ideas off anyone who happens to be in the studio, and reportedly solicits advice from anyone and everyone. In fact, he has reached out to journalists, girlfriends and delivery drivers in addition to established industry professionals. In a Rolling Stone story, a former girlfriend noted she had to be careful about saying she didn’t like something, because he’d cut it.

Getty Images | Scott Gries

He Has Won 21 Grammys

West’s tally of mini gramophones ties him with Jay-Z. However, he has also had an incredible 68 Grammy nominations. West received his first Grammy in 2004 for Best Rap Album for “The College Dropout.”

Getty Images | Kevin Winter

He Has A Controversial View Of AIDS

West shocked the crowd at an AIDS awareness concert tour with his claim that AIDS was a “man-made disease” that had been “placed in Africa just like crack was placed in the black community to break up the Black Panthers.” During a Rolling Stone interview, he affirmed the widely discredited belief. “My parents taught me that AIDS was a man-made disease designed to get rid of the undesirable people,” he said.

Getty Images | Pascal Le Segretain

He’s Been Named One Of The Most Influential People In The World

West has made it onto Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world list twice, in 2005 and in 2015. He also earned GQ magazine’s International Man of the Year title in 2007, and GQ also recognized him as one of the 20 Best-Dressed Men in 2015.

Getty Images | Kevin Winter

He Has Blowout Birthday Parties

Thanks to his wife, Kim Kardashian West celebrated his recent 41st birthday in superstar style. The bash came complete with magic tricks and Kanye cookies. The guest list included Kardashian’s sisters and West’s musician friends. For his 30th birthday, West celebrated with friends Jay Z, Rihanna and John Legend at a Louis Vuitton store and had a teddy bear cake.

Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris

He Collaborates Often

West has collaborated with an incredible array of award-winning recording artists. He doesn’t just stick to R&B stars either. He has worked with Elton John, Lil Wayne, Pusha T, Alicia Keys, T-Pain, Fergie, Bon Iver, Chris Martin and Nicki Minaj among others.

Getty Images | Kevin Winter

He’s Writing A Book

West is a prolific writer when it comes to lyrics and Twitter, but a book is uncharted territory for the star. “I’m writing a philosophy book right now called ‘Break the Simulation,'” he told The Hollywood Reporter in April. “And I’ve got this philosophy … about photographs, and I’m on the fence about photographs — about human beings being obsessed with photographs — because it takes you out of the now and transports you into the past or transports you into the future.”

Getty Images | Tim Klein

He Sees A Philanthropic Future For His Yeezy Brand

“Yeezy will eventually become like a relief company,” West said of his clothing brand in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God. “If there’s a disaster we’re gonna dress. We’re gonna bring clothes and water. The same design perspective that can sell a $300 sweatshirt — we’re just going to give it. And eventually, that’s who we’ll be. You’ll look up, 5, 10 years from now, and Yeezy will be the biggest service provider of apparel.”

Getty Images | Dimitrios Kambouris

West Doesn’t Watch Much Television

West told an interviewer, “I don’t usually watch normal TV.” However, he said he likes documentaries and had enjoyed watching the 2018 Winter Olympics. He also mentioned wanting to see Wes Andersen’s “Isle of Dogs.”

Getty Images | Christopher Polk

He Marched For Clean Water

West consistently speaks his mind, no matter how controversial the cause, but this platform was surprisingly tame. In 2007, the superstar surprised about 50 Lexington, Maryland, residents when he joined them in observing World Water Day. West’s father organized the group, and they walked 3-6 miles for the U.N. initiative to raise awareness about clean drinking water.

Getty Images | Kevin Winter

He Became Addicted To Opioids After Cosmetic Surgery

“I was drugged out,” West said during an interview with TMZ Live. Mid-interview, he stands, turns around and says to the entire TMZ office, “Hey, everyone listen to this, please.” West then explained how he became addicted to opioids — and media stories about the appearance of celebrities — after cosmetic surgery. “I didn’t want y’all to call me fat, so I got liposuction. Right? And they gave me opioids.”

Getty Images | Jamie McCarthy

He Invested In His Father’s Business

His father Ray West is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He also worked as a Christian counselor. In 2006, West helped his father open the Good Water Store and Café in Maryland. The Kanye West Foundation loaned him the money for the cafe.

Getty Images | Frank Micelotta

He Bought Out The Covers Of 9 Publications

The cover buyout in September was a publicity push for the new Yeezy Adidas shoes. The New York Post was one of the publications that sold its cover for the advertisement, which featured the words “We Love” in 11 languages, as you can see in this Instagram shot from juniorrose_0731:

He’s Worth How Much!?

Kim Kardashian’s appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in July caused a stir when Kimmel asked her about reports that Kylie Kardashian had become a billionaire. Kimmel asked Kim, “You’re not almost a billionaire, are you?” she replied, “I would say my husband is, so that makes me one, right?” A writer at Celebrity Net Worth parsed out the rumors that flew after the appearance, and ultimately, the publication valued West’s net worth at closer to $250 million.

Getty Images | Jason Merritt

His Relationship With Kim Kardashian Began With Friendship

West made his true feelings for her pretty clear in the lyrics of  “Cold” before the famous couple began dating. “And I’ll admit, I had fell in love with Kim, Around the same time she had fell in love with him.” Complex noted that the lyrics revealed an overlap with Kardashian’s relationship with NBA player Kris Humphries, whom she was married to briefly in 2011. Not long after the song’s release in 2012, their relationship turned romantic.

Getty Images | Noel Vasquez

His Tattoos Are Meaningful

West has many tattoos, but two of them are extra special. He has the birth dates of his mother, Donda, and his daughter North tattooed on his wrists.

Getty Images | Craig Barritt

He’s A Vocal Supporter Of President Trump

West donned a red Make America Great Again hat and took to the microphone to support the president following his “Saturday Night Live” appearance Sept. 29. But this was only the rapper’s most recent show of support for Donald Trump. After a meeting with West in 2017, the president told reporters the two have been “friends for a long time.”

Getty Images | Drew Angerer

‘Ye’ Was His First Album That Did Not Go Platinum

West released “Ye” in June 2018. He completed the album on his ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. All of his seven other studio-produced albums have been certified platinum or higher in the U.S.

Getty Images | Mark MetcalfeOriginally published on The Delite. Previous post 2018-19 Jeep Wranglers being recalled for problem with frame, reports say Next post This is the most recent story. Read the full article

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[pardontheglueman]

Silent Forum Live

In fifteen, maybe twenty years time, when the various members of Silent Forum, Richard Wiggins (vocals), Olli Richards (bass), Elliot Samphier (drums), Dario Ordi (guitar) and Aaron Wood (guitar) are embroiled in an acrimonious legal battle over exclusive rights to the band name (e.g. New Order), or facing off over outstanding songwriting royalties (a la The Smiths), or, somewhat more dramatically, descending into an onstage fracas featuring drummer and singer (witness The Fall’s notorious rumble in New York), minds will inevitably turn to last night’s electrifying gig at the Cathay’s Youth and Community Centre (around 50 pop punters squeezed into a room no bigger than a student bedsit) and wonder how the hell did a band of brothers, whose openhearted camaraderie was utterly self-evident here tonight, end up in such a sorry bloody state? Maybe that third world tour inside four years wasn’t a good idea after all?

Before we continue our counterfactual history of the Cardiff combo, here’s the gospel truth about last night’s gathering: Silent Forum, supported by The Perfect Body, played a free gig to launch the band’s new E.P Sanctuary in what was, basically, a cardboard box of a rehearsal room. However, the small space actually worked in the band’s favour - Silent Forum play a claustrophobic strain of Indie noir which can be traced, through bands’ like Editors, Interpol, Motorama, Minimal Compact, Whipping Boy and The Danse Society, all the way back to rock’s’ year zero and the emergence of post-punk legends Joy Division. The group made the most of its enforced communion with the audience, winning over any doubters present by sheer force of personality.

It was a fine set, the band played a couple of tracks from the new E.P. - “When I See you Shake”, a tumultuous slab of Indie rock which got the show on the road in spectacular fashion (a crouching Wiggins springing urgently into life,  shifting from 0-60 in a nanosecond as the violent intro kicked in without warning*), and the more measured exploration of melancholy that is the slow-burning, sour-tasting “Humility”. There were brand new songs, too, with “How I Faked It” and the crepuscular ballad “Healer” making their first appearances in a Silent Forum set. (Talking with the band post-gig, it’s clear that they are in an incredibly fertile period, having written almost an album’s worth of material in a matter of weeks).

To close the set, there was an imaginary encore (the band couldn’t have forged a path through the crowd even if it had wanted to), in the shape of “How I Faked the Moon Landing” (the group’s given name up until a change of heart and direction in 2015, and not to be confused with the tune of a similar name quoted above); a “Story of Them” type diatribe on the music biz, which seems to suggest a deep-rooted frustration with the band’s current standing on the Welsh music scene - ‘We’re destined to be a local band / not on local radio …. You don’t know where to place us / that’s hardly our fault’.

I hadn’t actually intended to review last night’s gig (I was on a busman’s holiday and three sheets to the wind, which is why I am unable to quote, with 100% accuracy, the well-heeled gent who walked out after a particularly visceral rendition of “Limbo”, loudly pronouncing that this was ‘seriously great music’ and that Wiggins was ‘the new Bono’). Wiggins was, indeed, at his most animated, energetic and idiosyncratic as he cavorted around the Cathay’s stage and in and out of the crowd. An almost impossible performer to categorise, Wiggins is part Ian Curtis, part Samuel Herring and part Marcel Marceau, and his outlandish stage persona incorporates varying degrees of authenticity, theatricality, showmanship, and derring-do which all goes to make him one hell of a compelling frontman. For the moment, though, he remains the best-kept secret in Welsh pop.

Fast forward twenty years, as the band’s warring camps dispute each other’s recollections of landmark events (perhaps engaged in an ‘I swear I was really there at the Lesser Free Trade Hall’ the night The Pistols came to town’ type controversy destined to plague future biographers’ of the band), so let me place on public record that Nicky Wire was not present last night, Gruff Rhys was not present last night and neither was Richard Harrington, Huw Stephens, or Charlotte Church. Those who witnessed Wiggins bizarro performance, and thus an exotic piece of rock ‘n’ roll history in the making, included photographer Jaydon Martin, Oddbox Records’ impresario Trevor McCabe and Mr.& Mrs. Kevonhissoapbox!  I wonder who will play us all in the Palme d’Or winning Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle 2?

* This may or may not have happened last night, but it has been common practice at other Silent Forum gigs!

Check out the band’s limited edition cassette release Sanctuary +  https://silentforum.bandcamp.com/album/sanctuary