#i will say the magic looks supremely funky

[jasontoddiefor]

people who talk trash about The Untamed but then praise the donghua need to take a break have you seen the pacing of that thing what the fuck

#i will say the magic looks supremely funky #and the donghua makes WWX seem more terrifying than the live action ever managed #BUT WHAT IS THE PACING OF THIS THING #mdzs #the untamed #mo dao zu shi

[project-paranoia]

Let’s Watch: Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity

I have watched this movie 85 Whole Entire Times and I do not regret.  The only thing wrong with this movie is that it wasn't a fifty episode series.  I cried, I laughed, I fell in love.  The cinematography is on point, the acting is amazing, the crew member who put snow on people's eyebrows did an amazing job, and the acting!  The subtlety, the gentleness, the love and affection, the discussion of race is one of the best I've ever seen.

As people have pointed out before in series like X-Men that fear of mutant's is practically if not thematically justified due to the laser eyes in a way that fear of ethnic minorities just isn't in real life.  In Dream of Eternity however humans are equally if not sometimes more super powered than the yao they hunt.  Demons - very much not in the Christian sense - are a mixture of spirits, resentful souls, and animals and plants who cultivated to human form.  They often appear human at first glance and in some cases the extent of their power seems to be the limited to turning into a smaller more vulnerable animal.  Qingming's deliberate care and gentleness not only reflects his upbringing as a Yin Yang Master, but parallels the experience of racial minorities labelled as aggressive.

The movie takes particular care as well in the way it looks at trauma, grief, and love.  The three of which haunt the main characters and send out ripple effects into the world around them.  In the world of Dream of Eternity no loss is purely private, it spools out into the world around the person effected until they make an effect to acknowledge and deal with their experiences.  Qingming's warmth and gentleness isn't just marked by his behaviour but by the orange light he's lit by and his variety of shishen - but he is also separate, standing alone in frame and facing away from the people around him.  Boya's loss has made him unforgiving and as cold as the blue light he's lit in, and yet he is open and instinctive, talking and acting as soon as the thought enters his head.  The Empress is lost and drifting, trapped and grief stricken, vulnerable to those who profess to love her.  The film is simple, it says and shows what it means when it means it - but it is also as complex as the very human characters it depicts.  

The movie is made even more complex by its pull from theaters.  Claims of plagiarism drench the edges of the movie, which as true as the assertion that Fan BingBing went on a spa vacation in 2018.  Although this blog is about Chinese censorship dealing specifically with BL content, Chinese censorship also effects those who criticize governmental policy.  I hope that supporters of this blog will also support Chinese media threatened by censorship for many reasons so that artists and others involved in film making can continue to make meaningful content.

Doing a watchthrough of a movie is not feasible, but please enjoy a few thousand words - with spoilers on Yin Yang Master included:

* That gentle chiming and rain soundscaping is so soothing, what a great way to calm and lull the audience before the movie even starts * Qingming is so small and isolated in the frame - cinema! * The lighting and cinematography is just so good * Shifu, soft gentle teacher * So much love stored in the Shifu * Instant grow * This boy is Sassy * This theme of deflection in Qingming's character is established early * Deflection with a teleportation portal and then immediately deflection verbally * Shifu is certainly an attractive man aged up, but his face is also soft and gentle, something to note when his double pops up later * Also the awkward question of don't you have someone you want to protect, maybe part of the problem is that shifu is just really bad at wording things * The answer that yes he does has several meanings, one of which is immediately apparent when Shifu acts out one of those Father Saves Child By Yeeting them youtube videos * ACtion MuSIC * I love them your honour * The spirit guardian's design is so specific and elegant, absolutely superb you funky little shishen * I wonder if Qingming ever thinks about that if he didn't come back with all his fellow disciples that Shifu would have been fine * Maybe it's not that he doesn't have someone he wants to protect and more that he believes that he's not capable of protecting those he wants to * subtle indication Shifu's qi is corrupted * Precious Magic Childe ;-; * The framing, I'm living for it * The Serpent graphic is lovely * Also the way they set things up * Qingming cares so much about his shifu * Mark Chao just has the ability to crumple his face like paper * Sad Time exposition involving the corrupting influence of desires * "When you're gone I'll be all alone" in just about all you need to know about Qingming at this point in the story * Also like, sympathy for Shifu in raising this lonely child.  By all accounts he was an absolutely superb father figure, and Qingming I'm sure was not an easy child to raise.  He's the sort of kid that would take a lot of calm and patience. * Slumber party! * It's kind of interesting that this is an activity Fangyue and He Shouyue are doing together.  He's definitely obsessed and in love with her and she's just doing friends and family activities with him * Also yellow/gold lighting is kind of their thing * It's interesting how they do the make up for He Shouyue.  The actor is very attractive, but they make him up to look doll like, a little too pretty, a little too shiny.  Like a porcelain doll. * Cool lit Boya and warm lit Qingming appear! * Camels! * The framing is so good, they're careful to be sure he's shown as obviously isolated as much as possible * And it should go without saying that I adore the City * The matte painting is outstanding * But there's also the lighting, the vignettes, the clusters, the foliage * It is a supremely beautiful set * The irony that Killing Stone is playing along with Boya's music and then it's Boya who kicks him around * A small note, but one I appreciate - even when Boya has warm highlight's they're red instead of orange * "It's Jason Bourne!" * I hope Qingming paid for that water taxi * It's interesting how Killing Stone goes from the safety of Qingming's orange light to the danger of Qingming's blue * Colour related foreshadowing! * Look at this poor sweet man, how could anyone suspect him of anything.  He's just a sad man who loves his dead wife * Qingming's use of a fan is interesting - battle fans show up all over wuxia and xianxia, but it feels like it also ties into the way he's so very careful in how he presents himself.  There's that quote that a sword can only be a sword but other weapons are also able to serve other purposes - not a perfect quote but the point is got across. * The way Qingming just knocks Boya back, like get An Clue, my dude * The way that Killing Stone curls around the pipa ;-; * So the movie is based on the book series 'Onmyoji' by Yumemakura Baku.  The books start with Seimei (Qingming) and Hiromasa (Boya) already in a relationship talking about various cases Seimei has recently experienced.  Plotwise, obviously the stories are different, however thematically Seimei and Hiromasa discuss why some yao stick around and solutions to the difficulties and dangers they might cause - which is generally from Seimei's very successful perspective to listen and treat them like humans.  So in that way the plots of the books and the movie are quite different, but the themes are just about identical. * Boya says Don't Talk Me I Angy and also that demons don't have feelings and Qingming's face takes out a billboard that's just like Ah, Another Fantasy Racist, Excellent * Qingming also does what should be done in this situation, taking care of the victim not the racist * Fight scene!  Fight scene! * Qingming's first few moves aren't to attack, they're to distract and just hold his fan up to block Boya's way and his view - it's only when Boya persists in attacking that Qingming fights back * Qingming's sassy smile, he is very much deliberately irritating Boya as much as he's refocusing his attention and distracting him * "nICE sWORD" * I've sighed that sigh before * This boy is taking great pleasure from teasing Boya, but also he makes a really good point * I understand and relate to what Qingming did, but also I can understand why Boya was ready to throw rocks at Qingming when he saw him again * Killing Stone lit in Qingming's orange light again * Killing Stone, my beloved * A good gauge to the state of the world for yao is no one has told this sweet boy before that demons have feelings too * There are several lines like this in the movie that just drop kick you with Implications * The same way Qingming clung to Zhongxing, Killing Stone wants to join up with Qingming to have some compassion in his life * The way he asks to be a spirit guardian is so formal too, and Qingming is so gentle with him, I cry ;-; * The warm orange light of Qingming's love ;-; * He heals the wounds * It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realise it's the actual imperial degree speaking and not one the of Jingyun Temple Masters * The mutual this guy again is delicious * "Is it because of your pretty face" * Boya draws his sword so fast and Qingming is so amused by it * Longye!  Queen!  I love her! * The two of them seem to understand each other instantly * Those sassy little smiles * He Shouyue looks even more like a doll than before * Longye has her head on a swivel from second one, she plays the Maiden so well like she's not a skilled master * And her customer service smile * Qingming is shooketh

* What happens next?  You'll have to watch and find out!

#1683 words #yin yang master dream of eternity #yin yang master #censorship #chinese censorship

[therenlover]

The Doctor Is In (Part Two of Till Forever Falls Apart, A Peter Maximoff/Reader Series)

Synopsis: Peter’s first few days in his new home are mostly uneventful, so he decides it’s the perfect time to dust off his running goggles and steal some shit. The building with the massive circular stained glass window seems like a great place to start! People with buildings that lavish are usually rich and weak, so what could possibly go wrong?

Tags: Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, Falling in Love, Attempted Theft, Secrets, Suspicions, 

Rating: T

Warnings: Mild Language, Slight Sexual Innuendo

Word Count: 2800~

This work, as well as the other completed parts of this series, have been crossposted to my AO3! 

-----

To Peter’s credit, it had all started with good intentions… okay, semi-good intentions, but that was the best defense he had to offer.

One moment he’s speeding into a funky building with a cool glass window looking for a knick-knack to take home to Y/N and the next he’s falling through endless darkness, searching for anything he could possibly grab onto. It was hell. Worst of all, though, he couldn’t use his speed. The world was only emptiness and darkness for as far as he could reach. Well, it was until he hit the ground.

It was a sudden jolt after what felt like hours of captivity when Peter hit the cool tiles of the flooring below him. The bright light after total darkness burned his eyes. He winced against it, lifting his arms to shield his face. There was no time to acclimate to his new surroundings, though, which were definitely not part of the building he had been inside before he might add, because the second his vision came back into focus a booming voice rang out from behind him.

“Peter Maximoff, what purpose did you have for breaking into the Sanctum Sanctorum?”

Peter spun around quickly on the ground to find a man floating behind him. Wait, floating? He didn’t even have time to question how the stranger knew his name while he was questioning what the hell he was. Was he a mutant? The man looked furious, his red cape billowing out behind him in an almost menacing manner while he stroked his goatee, eyebrows pinched together with rage. Peter had no clue what his deal was or who the hell he was looking at but he did know he had to calm him down fast if he wanted to avert disaster.

Apparently, he was thinking too long though because he wasn’t fast enough.

“I’ll ask you one last time,” the man’s hands came down to chest level, whirring with some sort of orange power, “why did you break into the Sanctum Sanctorum? This is your last chance,”

Somewhere in the distance, a dull thud sounded against the tile, like someone dropping a purse or bag. Peter didn’t have time to think about that, though. He was too busy saving his own life. All he had to do was get to his feet so he could run off! Unfortunately, that was better said than done.

“Woah, Woah, Woah!” he scrambled backward trying to stand but found his feet bound with the same orange sparks that were growing by the second in his attacker’s hands, “I have no clue what the hell a Sanctum Sanctorum is! I think you’ve got the wrong guy, man,”

His assailant cocked his head to the side. “So you’re telling me some other inhumanly fast kleptomaniac mutant from another dimension broke through all of my wards and tried to steal priceless magical artifacts from the Sanctum?”

Peter shrugged nonchalantly. “Magical artifacts? Dude, magic isn’t real. You’ve got the wrong guy,”

Thankfully, the man sighed in exhaustion, letting the orange sparks in his palms disappear as he pinched the bridge of his nose leaving only the ones around Peter’s ankles remaining. For the first time in his life, Peter was glad to be annoying.

“Jesus, I should have had my coffee before dealing with you…”

“I know right?” Peter propped himself up on his hands, “it’s always tragic when you catch the wrong guy, but I’m sure you’ll find your thief eventually. In fact, I think I saw some super speedy dude running towards Central Park when I was walking past that fancy building with the big circle window. That’s so weird! Maybe you should let me go so you can go find your guy,”

The man only seemed to get more pissed off the further Peter dug himself into his own grave. “Oh, I’m not planning on letting you go any time soon. I’m just avoiding a reckoning by letting your keeper know I’m taking you into the Avenger’s custody before we go,”

He was so screwed. “That’s not a-”

Before Peter could even finish his sentence, a crash echoed from across the room.

“STEPHEN STRANGE,”

Now, Peter couldn’t decide if he was saved or even more screwed than before.

There, across the room of what he had now gathered to be a large exhibit at some sort of museum, was Y/N. To say she looked furious would be an understatement.

The art on the walls seemed to shake in her wake as she stormed into the open center of the room, eyes boring holes into Peter’s assailant as she rolled up the sleeves of her paint-stained denim button-up. He could only imagine that this was the reckoning the magic dude was trying to avoid.

The man, Stephen, didn’t waver despite Y/N’s entrance. “Would it kill you to just use my title? I got my doctorate for a reason, you know,” His tone was flat and almost bored as Y/N seethed.

“Fuck you,” she spat, “what the hell are you doing with Peter? And bringing him here of all places? I thought you were supposed to be the responsible Avenger,”

“And I thought you were supposed to keep this menace under control. It looks like we both have a few responsibilities we aren’t keeping up with, huh?”

Across the floor, Peter winced. He hadn’t intended on getting anyone in trouble, he was just looking for a little fun to pass the time and maybe a housewarming gift that would fit in with the rest of Y/N’s antique decor. How was he supposed to know that a crazy, magic, floating guy would take him to what he could only assume was magic prison for breaking into his wizard’s lair? Surprisingly, Y/N picked up his movement.

“Peter, are you okay?” Her eyes never left Strange, flaming with a ferocity that bordered on homicidal, but her voice softened considerably as she spoke to him. He was quick to respond.

“I’m all good! A little tied up at the moment, but it’s nothing I can’t handle!” He shouted back.

Y/N nodded. “Good, just stick tight while I deal with this asshole,”

As the last words left her lips all the softness she had mustered for Peter’s sake dissolved, leaving behind pure, unbridled anger once more.

“You had no right to take him, Strange. We made a deal,”

“You’re right, we did make a deal,” Stephen responded, floating to the ground and taking a step closer to Y/N, “but my duties as Sorcerer Supreme will always come first,”

“That has nothing to do with him! He poses no threat to this universe!”

“He was attempting to steal extremely powerful magical artifacts, Y/N! If a mutant from another dimension had gotten their hands on the Book of Vishanti or the Clock of the Ages who knows what might have happened?”

Y/N stilled. “Peter,” her voice wasn’t the same as it had been when she was shouting at Strange, but it also wasn’t half as gentle as it has been before, “did you steal anything from Stephen?”

Peter, still dazed from the entirety of the experience, was quick to defend himself.

“No! No, I didn’t steal anything!”

One sharp look from Stephen and Y/N sent him spiraling for an excuse.

“Okay, I went in with the intention of stealing, but I had no idea that stuff was magical! I didn’t even know wizards existed! Witches I understood but wizards too? In the middle of New York? Besides, all of this is a moot point! I didn’t actually take anything,”

Surprisingly, Y/N’s expression seemed to soften once again. “See, Stephen? Peter didn’t mean any harm. Now let him go, and this can all be a thing of the past,” As she spoke, he could have sworn that her eyes began to faintly glow.

“I still don’t think it’s a great idea to let him roam free,” Stephen ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair and the restraints around Peter’s ankles tightened slightly.

“Then you’ll have to take him from me,” Y/N brought her hands up, small rippling balls of light beginning to grow in her palms. Peter had never been so scared and aroused in his life. Was this the ‘small power’ she had mentioned to him when he moved in?

“I have remained civil with you and the mages of your order, Strange, but you have no power over me, especially on my own home turf. You lack the time stone now, so you know what will happen if you and I go toe to toe again. Besides, none of that matters. Peter is mine. Mine to protect and defend until he returns to his rightful place in his universe. So, will you let him go, or will we have to settle this the old-fashioned way?”

Y/N’s eyes were definitely glowing now, a brilliant green gleaming from within her as a rough breeze began flowing in from the door across the room. Stephen made no move to attack though. Instead, he heaved a sigh. “You can have your man child back Y/N, calm down,”

Slowly, the glow dissipated, the orbs of light shrinking into nothingness as she lowered her hands. “Thank you, Stephen,”

In an instant, it was as if the pair had gotten along the whole time.

He nodded. “Don’t thank me, just keep him away from ancient magical secrets next time,” Strange paused as if he was finished speaking, but then chuckled softly. It was the most human Peter had ever seen him. “You know how this ends, Y/N. We both do. Are you really sure you want to go through with this?”

It was Y/N’s turn to nod. “I appreciate that you’re looking out for me, but I made my choice a long time ago. There has never been another path for me. Please respect that,”

Peter was clueless as to what any of their exchange meant, too busy rubbing the ache out of his newly freed ankles to think too deeply about whatever deep exchange was happening in front of him, but a nagging feeling in his chest made him think that it must have something to do with him.

Then, in a burst of golden light, Stephen Strange was gone, leaving Y/N and Peter alone as they took in everything that had just happened. It was silent for a moment, the two of them caught between being stunned and glad to see each other, before Y/N’s angry facade melted away.

“What a fucking asshole,” she snickered, making her way over to Peter and offering him a hand, “I hate that guy,”

Peter took her hand and, with a soft pull, was finally upright again. “I know, right? He seems like a total douchebag,”

“Right? Like, yeah it’s terrible enough to kidnap you and try to take you into Avengers custody, but trying to get me to hand you over at my job? That’s just rude on a whole new level,”

“You work here?” Peter gestured at the art on the walls, making Y/N smile.

“Yeah, this is where I go every day. Welcome to the Brooklyn Museum!” She began to lead him out towards the door, linking her arm around his in a strangely intimate act. Peter was sure that she didn’t mean it like that but something about her closeness made his heart flutter.

He guffawed as they walked, passing happy couples and exhibits packed full. “It’s cool here, but I just assumed you worked somewhere… I dunno, more hero-y?”

Y/N laughed. “Everyone always does, but I’ve been attached to restoring paintings since before I ever took up the whole hero gig. I guess it’s the one stable thing I’ve had for my whole life.”

Watching Y/N’s face light up almost made Peter forget that less than an hour earlier he’d been shoved in an infinite dark dimension and threatened with imprisonment by a wizard. It was like she was the only thing worth seeing in a building full of priceless art.

“I’ve always felt strangely comfortable in museums,” she continued, hand brushing against Peter’s bicep in what he could only assume was an accident, “being surrounded by history just feels right to me. It’s like coming home,” Peter couldn’t help but grin, holding back a snicker.

“I’m guessing that’s the real reason you offered to take me in,” he teased, gently ribbing Y/N and making her giggle, “just couldn’t help but bring home a blast from the past who still has their youthful good looks,”

“You caught me! I just couldn’t resist your elderly charms,”

In a moment of poor judgment, Peter found himself leaning into her touch but was surprised to find her leaning right back into him. His heart began to pound faster. He could only hope she couldn’t tell. The feeling of being close to Y/N, listening to her laugh, being the shoulder she leaned on… it was like nothing Peter had ever felt before.

The short remainder of their walk to Y/N’s destination was mostly quiet, but neither of them tried to pull away from the other. Their moment only ended when they reached a large door labeled ‘Staff Only’. Y/N finally unlinked her arm from Peter’s before turning to face him. He was proud to note the flush on her face.

“I’m gonna go grab my bag,” she muttered, worrying the edge of her lip with her teeth, “do you mind taking me home? Traveling with you would probably be faster than hailing a taxi, and way less expensive,”

Between the thought of getting to be close to Y/N again and the excitement of getting to show off his powers, Peter was eager to please. “Sure thing! Do you want me to grab your bag for you? I’m sure I’d be quicker?” He emphasized his statement with a wink. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the desired effect.

Instead, Y/N looked almost nervous as she shook her head no. “I’ve got it, Peter,” she insisted.

He quirked up an eyebrow in surprise. “You sure? We could be home in a minute tops, just say the word,”

“There’s just a lot of important museum stuff back there! I trust you Peter, but this is priceless art we’re talking about, so I’d rather not take any chances. I’ll be back in a second!”

She slowly backed towards the door, offering him one last smile before disappearing into the darkness beyond. Something about her expression turned Peter’s stomach. It wasn’t unfamiliar, she had acted similarly in a few days Peter had known her at seemingly random times, but it just seemed… suspicious, like there was something he should definitely know that he was being kept in the dark about. Despite everything, he shook off the feeling, chalking it up to him not understanding all the intricacies of this new universe. If love made him blind, he was willing to take that chance.

It only took a few minutes for Y/N to emerge, a small messenger bag in hand, but when she did she was joyful once again, offering Peter an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. Did I miss anything while I was gone?”

He shook his head, pulling down his goggles and offering her his hand. “Not much, just the end of the world,”

She giggled. “So do I just hop on your back or what?”

Peter’s heart skipped a beat. In a second he was down on his knee. “All aboard,” He did his best to keep still as Y/N settled herself on his back, then he was lifting her easily, arms hooked under her knees as she giggled into his hair. “What’s so funny?”

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders securely as he stood. “I just expected you to call yourself the Bohner express,”

It took all of Peter’s strength to keep his laughter under control. “You tell me that now? After the opportunity to use it has passed?”

Y/N squeezed him a little tighter. “I’m sure you’ll get to use it next time,”

The thought of a next time sent Peter’s heart rate through the roof. Oh, it was on.

“I’d hold on if I were you,” he said, smirking, “the Bohner express is leaving the station,”

Y/N was quick to snap back. “Let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint,”

“Oh Y/N, the Bohner express never disappoints,”

“Prove it,”

Peter had them back to the brownstone in record time.

#peter maximoff #peter maximoff x reader #evan peters #evan peters x reader #marvel #doctor strange #quicksilver #fanfic #wandavision

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Dr. Strange’s Apprentice

Stephen Strange x apprentice!reader

warnings:

a/n: for some reason i never retain any information from dr. strange stuff? so if this sucks its because i cant process it. i dont like how this one turned out i literally have no ideas

prompt: anonymous: “Hcs for being Dr. Strange’s apprentice?”

you were led to become strange’s apprentice after a tragedy and a brush with death

you woke in the hospital with bad news, there were no other survivors in the accident you had just experienced

while you were recovering, a doctor came in to visit you

“hi, y/n. im doctor christine palmer, and im so sorry for your loss. but i think i know a guy that could help you through this”

she gave you an address that you sort of recognized

“177A bleecker street? isnt that the funky looking house in greenwich?”

“something like that, just trust me on this one”

“thank you, doctor”

at first, you were a bit skeptical, but you tried your odds and hobbled to the place on your crutches

when you knocked, a man in blue robes and a red cape answered

“can i help you, y/n?”

“oh, hi? sorry, a doctor at metro-general sent me here”

“doctor palmer, im aware”

“ah, she called ahead?”

“no. come in”

you were very weirded out

“so, what is this place? and who are you?”

“you ask too many questions”

“oh, okay”

from the moment this wizard met you, he saw himself in you

lost, hopeless, upset with the way the world had treated you

“to answer your earlier question, i am doctor strange, the sorcerer supreme”

“oh...i dont know what that means”

he found you somewhat funny

“in time, you will”

he looked back on the teachings of his former master to show you what it meant to start your training

you honestly didn’t know what to think of the kaleidoscope of the world projected in front of you

“are you ready to commit to your training?”

“sure...i mean, i dont have anything else to do”

a valid reason, truly

“your leg will heal naturally, your mind, on the other hand...”

“i know, i gotta do some spiritual shit to help myself”

“thats one what to put it”

it took some time for you to understand what it was that dr. strange was teaching

but once you grasped the puzzling concepts, you excelled

there was a fine contrast between you and your master

he was much more sophisticated than you, but he had a sense of humor

you were on the bubbly side, always goofing around with your magic

“y/n, how many times must i remind you that opening portals into the freezer for the ice cream is misuse of your magic”

“oh, come on! i just cant resist the hunka-hulka burnin’ fudge!”

“just...just walk to the kitche—did you seriously just grab it while i was telling you not to?”

*through a mouthful* “sohwry”

wong watches the two of your sorcerers converse often, it’s one of the only things that really makes him laugh

calling the cloak of levitation “cloakie”

it drives strange crazy dbshahhsh

but cloakie answers to it just fine

during battles, it sometimes flies away from your master to give you a quick assist

“thanks cloakie!”

being assigned “homework”

so much reading it could’ve driven you mad

strange explaining the eye of agamotto and the time stone to you

“now listen, this comes before everything else, you must learn to protect yourself because i’ll let you die before i lose this”

“what a comforting thought”

stephen was pretty up front with you

he didn’t like the way that the ancient one kept so many secrets, so he informed you and as much as you should know

“those yellow gloves look like you’re getting ready to wash the dishes” (no hate i actually liked them lmao)

meeting thor and loki!

“i think i’ll just send loki through the looping portal while i take care of business with his brother, would you mind keeping him some company?”

“i’d love to!”

and then you gracefully fell with him, he didn’t enjoy your presence very much

stephen would tell you about his life before he became a sorcerer

all was well for a while after that but then lmaooo a famous scientist just happened to crash through the roof

“woah, you’re bruce banner! love your ice cream”

“not now, y/n”

“my bad”

meeting tony stark and just kind of...not vibing with him

but something about him seemed familiar

“no shit, sherlock” (seriously im mad i this wasn’t in a3 or a4)

epic battle on the streets of new york that led to your master being captured by aliens

you and wong went back to protect the sanctum, but you pitched in to help fight the real battle

much to the dismay of wong

and then wong dusted, so you were left to protect the sanctum

you missed your master very much

in the next five years, you did all you could to learn about your magic

and your skills proved spectacular

you suspected that you might need to take dr. strange’s place for good

until wong reappeared right in front of you

“hello again, y/n. did you miss me?”

“miss you? wong, i’ve been dying over here!”

“that seems like an exaggeration”

helping to open portals around the world (and galaxy) to get everyone to the big battle

and finding your master, all had become right once again

“doctor strange!”

“y/n! i have to say, im impressed at how you handled yourself after thanos”

“you mean youre happy i didn’t destroy the sanctum or become interested in. the dark dimension?”

“more or less”

a teamup to remember between master and apprentice

returning to the sanctum with strange

“did you move the relics around??”

“...i wanted to remodel”

i cant think of anything else???? im sorry shhshshshsh

#doctor strange #doctor strange x reader #doctor strange imagine #stephen strange #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange imagine #marvel #marvel imagine #marvel x reader #avengers #avengers imagine #avengers x reader

[lailyn]

A Funny Turn

For @kymera219

Pairing: Loki/Tony Stark

Prompt: Epilepsy

The first time it happened, Tony did not think too much of it. He had seen Loki all manner of injured since he talked Loki into joining the Avengers on missions; the more dangerous they were, the better. Like a magnet, the Asgardian prince attracted trouble wherever he went, a magnet without which they would not have won half as many battles. 

So it all balanced out in the end, Tony figured; a concussion here, a fractured ankle there. If it meant victory, Loki was all for it, his all-too-human lover less so, for Tony was beginning to wonder if the latest knock to the head was one knock too many. Magical exhaustion, Loki had said. 

Magical exhaustion my ass, Tony fumed. In order for it to be called magical exhaustion, by definition, a magical act needed to have been performed, before any sorcerer worth his salt could claim to have succumbed to such a thing. 

No. Loki had simply been watching the television when it first happened with Tony by his side; one second, he was playing idly with Loki’s black curls (unearthly fragrant ever since Nat introduced him to bubble bars and bath bombs - which sounded terrifying and dangerous but were actually things you chuck in the tub when you feel like luxuriating in the bath after a long, hard battle) and the next, Loki was sprawled on the living room floor, frothing at the mouth, his limbs jerking erratically like a fish out of water. 

Tony did not panic. At least, not until the five-minute mark had passed with no sign of the seizure planning to cease anytime soon. The sight of Loki’s bluish lips sent a bolt of icy fear into his gut and Tony damn near broke his phone trying to get someone on the line, when all of a freaking sudden, Loki stopped flailing. 

After the hair-raising first ‘episode’, without waking, Loki sank into a deep sleep that had Tony obsessively checking his wrist for a pulse and his chest for spontaneous breathing every five minutes (despite reassurances from Banner and Dr Cho that Loki was fine, all his vital signs were fine). 

The next morning saw Loki all bright and cheerful and flipping pancakes, for God’s sake.

“Are you okay?” Tony showered Loki’s face with kisses and got doused with flour for his effort but he persevered, for not many things in the world could scare him like the sight of Loki shaking and blue (even if blue was Loki’s default setting, bless his beautiful Jotun form), “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine! Stop kissing me!” Loki yelled, hitting Tony on the arm with a spatula. “What is going on with you?”

When Tony confronted him verbally about the ‘episode’, Loki only said, “Pish posh.”

When Tony confronted him with a five-minute-long video footage of Loki thrashing on the floor, his mercurial lover stared at the screen long after it had gone blank. 

“Magical exhaustion,” was the only explanation given Tony. 

What did Tony know about these things? He would have accepted the bizarre reasoning at face value had Loki not looked suddenly alarmed (a better choice of word would be terrified. Yes, Loki looked terrified) and the pancake all but forgotten. 

Of course, Tony did some asking around, and most of the Google doctors said the same thing: seizures were quite a common occurrence, one that could happen to just about anybody at any point in their life. And most people never experienced another episode after the first one. 

Well. Loki was not most people. 

Luckily (or not) the second episode happened in front of an audience, and Tony meant audience. 

Just the week before, Loki had saved a little girl from being thrown out of a tenth-story window by her mother who had fallen victim to one of Victor von Doom’s illusionary attacks and someone caught the rescue in all its magical glory on video. It spread like wildfire in a matter of hours. 

Of course, it warranted a medal ceremony that simply must take place; the mayoral election was just around the corner and Loki of Asgard could not possibly say no without having to answer questions. Loki hated nosy journalists; Tony did not mind them so much, especially the leggy ones.

So there Loki was, accepting his medal with the swagger of a successful pirate and all the surly demeanour of a teenager when lights flashed from the cameras and he dropped like a stone. 

“Medic!” Someone shouted. 

Never had Tony run up the podium so fast, but someone got to Loki before he did, and he damn near pushed the person off the stage before he realised who it was. “Strange!”

“Wong got a stomach virus,” Stephen muttered, already rolling Loki onto his left side to keep him from choking on his vomit. “I told him the tuna smelled funky.”

********************************

 

When Loki awoke, the unfamiliar surroundings had him scrambling for his magic to draw his daggers but the only thing he drew was a sudden bolt of pain spiking his temples. 

“Easy,” an annoyingly familiar voice said, deep and wary.

Loki gritted his teeth. “Second-rate.”

He should have known. The whole room smelled of incense and moth balls. 

“Loki, be nice.” Tony sounded hoarse, like he had been screaming. Or crying. “You’re at the Sanctum Sanitorium.”

“Sanctorum,” Stephen growled. 

“Tony, stop playing with my hair.” Loki flung an arm over his eyes. “What happened?”

“You tell me. And if you say magical exhaustion one more time…” Tony could not find the words to convey just how upset he was. 

Loki could not resist. He peeked through the crevice between his fingers. “You’ll what, spank me?”

“You stopped breathing on me, Bambi.”

Loki sighed. That would explain Tony’s red eyes alright.

“That’s unsettling.” He hoped his voice only sounded shaky to his own ears.

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Right. So here’s the lowdown. Ebony Maw left a piece of his torture instrument in your cortical gray matter back when you were...under.”

“Under.” Loki had to laugh. “Fancy choice of words, but accurate. In a manner of speaking.”

“You think this is funny?” Tony snapped. “Your heart stopped beating, Loki! If Stephen hadn’t been there - ” he choked.

“Tony,” Stephen called softly. “You’re not helping.”

Loki ignored his boyfriend and addressed the Sorcerer Supreme directly for the first time. “How do you know?”

“Because he practiced his art on me too,” Stephen said quietly. “Good thing Tony was there to stop him or I would probably be suffering from the same.”

Loki laughed again, a sad, soft chuckle. “I couldn’t get it out.”

“You knew?” Tony raged. “You knew you had that thing in you all this time and you didn’t tell me?”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Lokes.” Tony snarled, fighting hard to keep his composure but failing spectacularly. “This thing could kill you. It almost did.”

Stephen watched as Loki regressed slowly back into his shell, his eyes glazing over as Tony’s rant fell on obviously deaf ears. 

“Stark, I think that’s enough.” He grasped Tony’s shoulder and pulled him away from the bed. “I can help.”

Tony stared into his eyes and Stephen saw the kind of crazed desperation he used to see on a daily basis, back when he was living his old life, cutting into people for a meaningful living. 

“I can help,” he repeated; Tony dropped onto the bed, shell-shocked. 

Stephen redirected his attention to his once-nemesis who had snapped out of his stupor, just in time. “I just need you to consent.”

He watched Tony promptly pick Loki’s hand up to rub it in between his palms, wondering just what he had gotten himself into and if this was even the right thing to do. 

“So what will it be?” The Sorcerer Supreme crossed his arms impatiently. “Let’s be quick about it, I haven’t got all day.”

But things happened for a reason. Wong picked today to be sick for a reason, leaving him one man down with noone to stand in as security detail at the function.

Mystical threats were everywhere, even at silly award ceremonies.

Tony’s jaw clenched in suspense as he waited for Loki’s answer; when it came, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. 

“Yes,” the beautiful thing said. “Yes, I consent.”

 

THE END

#frostiron #loki #tony stark #sick loki #loki whump #fic #ask

[comic-panels]

Comic Review – Mister Miracle

Darkseid has often been presented as THE big bad for large DC Comics events. Much like how the Marvel Movies used Thanos (Thanos is basically a mashup of Darkseid and Metron). He is the existential threat, the final boss and because it's comic books he is an evil rock monster in space that Superman can punch. Darkseid can fill that role fine, but in comics I would say he suffers from overplay. It's hard to remain scary when you lose so many times.

More modern comics (Specifically Grant Morrison's work) have explored the Darkseid as a more internal threat. 

"Darkseid is."

Really playing on the pun of his name, he is the dark side of everyone. As with a lot of Jack Kirby’s work, Darkseid is both metaphor and supremely literal and frankly I think the magic of superhero comics lies in that duality. The part that’s metaphor allows them to be relatable and inspiring, but looking at them as pure metaphor and they break down. The X-Men don’t work as a representational metaphor because being gay doesn’t make you a living weapon who can murder people by looking at them, but it also can work because it can feel like that’s how the world treats you. Ideally there’s a balance.

Also there’s part where Darkseid is a joke.

My first experience with Darkseid was in Superman the Animated Series where he was a legitimately intimidating villain both because of the great voicework by Michael Ironside, and because the actions he took and their real impact.

But as a recurring existential threat he falls flat. Because he's pure evil, he's immutable. He's inflexible.

"Darkseid is."

Maybe that’s not fair. I think he can be a good recurring threat, but often isn’t because resolving a conflict with him takes a certain tact. As scary as he is, as powerful as he is, he’s a villain in Superhero comics. If it comes down to a fight he is going to lose. Superman will win that 1 on 1.

Darkseid as an in your face threat can fall flat because that pure good vs pure evil beat down is straightforward. Where Darkseid shines as a villain is in the shadows. The puppet master pulling the string. Because then Darkseid isn’t just a giant evil rock man in space for Superman to punch, he is also Granny Goodness, Desad, Kalibak, Lex Luthor, and every two bit crook along the way. He is every pain along the way, every compromise, every dark thought, every mistake, every failure.

“Darkseid is.”

But Darkseid is also a literal evil rock man in a skirt. And a joke. So the other way Darkseid really works is when he shows up on your couch.

“Darkseid is.”

Sometimes it’s just a comfy chair or handing you your McDonalds order but the point is he’s just there in the mundane part of the character’s life. His evil permeates everything and because he’s a literal evil rock monster from space sometimes that means an evil eight foot rock monster in a skirt is sitting in your house waiting for you when you get home. “Couchseid” he is sometimes called.

The reason I went through all that is that’s the thoughts and feelings I had about Darkseid going into this comic. The baggage of expectation and desire I had going in. And before I get into the details I just want to say that this comic completely nails this idea. In fact the entire comic embodies it, extending it out to the entire Fourth World. Contrasting the high fantasy war of good and evil Gods with the mundanity of normal life at every level.

Ok, now let’s dig into Mister Miracle.

Mister Miracle written by Tom King with art by Mitch Gerads and lettering by Clayton Cowles opens with Mister Miracle bleeding out in his bathroom having slit his wrists in a suicide attempt. That’s where we start.

“Darkseid is.”

Jack Kirby’s New Gods #1 opens with an epilogue. “There came a time when the old Gods Died!” That’s where we start.

Mister Miracle is a book about dealing with trauma and the trauma at the heart of The New Gods is the exchange; where Darkseid and Highfather exchanged sons to end a vicious war and bring peace to their worlds. This is the first comic I’ve seen question if that exchange was worth it. What does it say about Highfather that he was willing to sacrifice his infant son and condemn him to hell, even though that meant saving countless lives?

This comic can do that because this version of Mister Miracle, Scott Free, is so clearly suffering from abuse and trauma and PTSD and this version of Orion is such a jerk and unheroic.

For Scott and Big Barda the Earth is their home, they have an apartment there, they have normal domestic concerts. Being New Gods and fighting in that war is their day job. But for Orion that war is his life. He is single minded in his desire to destroy Darkseid and his own moral authority. He sees only in absolutes. He’s a cartoon, and in the real world that makes him a monster.

“Darkseid is.”

So there’s another aspect of Mister Miracle that I haven’t talked about that I love and that all starts with Funky Flashman.

Funky Flashman is Jack Kirby’s parody of Stan Lee. Well, of the public persona of Stan Lee. He’s out here shouting “ Excelsior!” and whatnot. Tom King and Mitch Gerads make the most of getting to have Stan Lee in their comic. The whole other layer to Mister Miracle beyond its plot is that it’s also a tremendous tribute to Kirby himself, including his work at Marvel. It’s extra crazy that that made it into this DC comic.

There’s Scott Free’s trial, which takes place in his apartment, that can be read as Kirby up against Steve Ditko’s objectivist beliefs. But the most blatant and amazing is a retelling of The Coming of Galactus and its place within this story. This is legitimately one of my favorite things in any comic I’ve ever read.

It just makes me so happy.

Mister Miracle is a comic I can’t get out of my head. It has so many perfect moments, whether they’re heartbreaking and tragic or uplifting and life affirming; emotional or frivolous, serious or hilarious. It knocks it out of the park on every front. It’s an unbelievable piece of craft.

Back to Darkseid.

In Kirby’s Fourth World Good is always stronger than Evil. That’s foundational. Superman is going to win. Darkseid eventually loses no matter how scary or intimidating he is. But...

“Darkseid is.”

He’s also pernicious and enduring. Ultimately, punches alone aren’t going to solve him. There is some catharsis in that. That’s how Superman: The Animated Series ended; with Superman pummeling Darkseid into submission. But it’s not quite what you want, or at least it’s not quite enough. What’s the answer to “Darkseid is?” What’s the counterpoint? “Darkseid is” is the setup, but you need a punchline.

At the end of Mister Miracle we get exactly that. It’s simple and perfect.

Mister Miracle written by Tom King with art by Mitch Gerads and lettering by Clayton Cowles is a masterpiece and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

So it goes.

Thank You For Your Time.

#mister miracle #the new gods #comics #dc comics #tom king #mitch gerads #review #comic review #comic books #clayton cowles #jack kirby #stan lee #Big Barda #Funky Flashman

[allthemslogans]

Army slogans or taglines help if you need to come up with a better slogan for the army of your country.

It has taken me a while to see what the “United States Army” really means. This had more to do with my own ignorance of the U.S. military system — I’m in some ways in my late 30s, after all — than an emotional commitment to the idea of armed force as the ultimate guarantor of peace and stability. But now, I’m coming around, mostly because of this: we’re at war, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it’s becoming obvious that it’s not clear what we’re fighting for. And that’s alarming, because for a long time the argument for war has been pretty shaky.

But let’s not discuss that here.

What we would rather look into is the fact that armies around the world can make or break the countries they serve for.

And to make any country’s army stronger, you need the citizens to fully support the army and contribute to it but being a part of it.

If that is the case, you can make use of army slogans or taglines that encourage people to become part of your army.

Listed below are some of the slogans or taglines of armies around the world that you can get ideas from, including new slogans or taglines that you can modify and make use of.

Let’s get started.

Note: These slogans are generated by our free slogan generator that uses AI and Machine Learning. Even though we've trained our model to provide you with the best slogans, you may still find some that do not sound perfect.

List of Army Slogans or Taglines for Your Business:

Following are some of the best army slogans or taglines to make use of.

A cavalryman’s horse should be smarter than he is But the horse must never be allowed to know this

A safe army is better than a safe border

An Army of One

An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot

Army Strong

Be All You Can Be

Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war

Death is lighter than a feather Duty is heavy as a mountain

Discipline is the soul of an Army

Do not forget that the armed forces are the servants of the people

Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy Do not interfere with an army that is returning home

Get behind the girl he left behind, join the land Army

He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks

I am not afraid of an Army of lions lead by a sheep; I am afraid of sheep lead by a lion

I can’t expect loyalty from the army if I do not give it

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends

I feel an army in my fist

I Want YOU for US Army

If I charge, follow me If I retreat, kill me If I die, revenge me

I’m not a leader now I’m a whole damn army

It is fatal to enter a war without the will to win it

Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way

Live for something rather than die for nothing

Look Sharp, Be Sharp, Go Army!

Neither the Army nor the Navy is of any protection, or very little protection, against aerial raids

Never tell people how to do things

None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army

Quartered in snow, silent to remain When the bugle calls, they shall rise and march again

Service with Pride

Skill and confidence are an unconquered army

Sleep peacefully at your homes, the Army is guarding the frontiers

Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them

Ten soldiers lead wisely will beat a hundred without a head

The army consists of the first infantry division and eight million replacements

The Army is the true nobility of our country

The army teaches boys to think like men

The conventional army loses if it does not win The guerrilla wins if he does not lose

The dead shall rise to become an army amongst themselves

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph

The only easy day was yesterday

The soldier is the Army No Army is better than its soldiers

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity

This is the army! Nobody can do the best they can

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything

To defend a country you need an army, but to defend a civilization you need education

To find us, you must be good To catch us you must be fast But to beat us… you must be kidding

Today’s Army Wants to Join You

Victory usually goes to the army who has better-trained officers and men

War is life multiplied by some number that no one has ever heard of

We live by chance, we love by choice, we kill by profession

Stop. Go. ARMY.

ARMY perfection at its finest

Oh my god it’s Army

Mamma Mia That’s a Spicy ARMY!

Award-winning ARMY

That’s Handy Harry! Stick It In The ARMY

Problem? The Solution: ARMY

ARMYrific

I wish I was Army

ARMY is the best forget the rest!

ARMY is a winner!

It’s the ARMY You Can See

Don’t Say Brown Say ‘ARMY’

You don’t want ARMY as your enemy!

Snap into Army!

Way to go ARMY!

ARMY – The Freshmaker!

Nobody does it like ARMY

ARMY is the best!

ARMY you’ll love it!

Worldclass ARMY!

ARMYized!!

Happiness is ARMY-Shaped

ARMY for you!

ARMY – now!

There’s only one true ARMY!

ARMY – play it!

ARMY – see the light!

ARMY – a class of its own

ARMY – a safe place in an unsafe world!

ARMY makes you sexy!

Start the day with ARMY

ARMY – Yabba Dabba Duh!

ARMY – go for it!

ARMY – as good as it gets!

ARMY the best you can get!

ARMY – it’s like heaven!

ARMY – to feel free!

Simply ARMY!

ARMY-Lickin’ Good

ARMY Making people successful in a changing world

The Sweet You Can’t Eat Without ARMY

Good To The Last ARMY

ARMY : Music to the ears

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking Through the ARMY

World’s finest ARMY

Nothing Comes Between Me And My ARMY

ARMY satisfies the need

ARMY – go for it

The Lighter Way To Enjoy ARMY

ARMY? Yes please

ARMY Is Forever

ARMY for everybody

Feel good with ARMY

Feel The Raw Naked ARMY Of The Road

Lucky ARMY

ARMY is the best

We Build ARMY

Fall Into The ARMY

It’s nothing but ARMY

ARMY right as rain

ARMY is the best forget the rest

How Refreshing How ARMY

Leggo my ARMY

ARMY chews ’em up and spits ’em out

ARMY wins again

The art of ARMY

I Can’t Believe It’s Not ARMY

It’s ARMY Time

Dial Down the ARMY

When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Get ARMY

ARMY perfection at it’s finest

Full Of Eastern ARMY

Who wouldn’t fight for ARMY?

ARMY since 1845

If there is a will there is Army

Never Knowingly ARMY

ARMY tastic

ARMY – Yabba Dabba Duh

One goal one passion – ARMY

I Scream You Scream We All Scream for ARMY

The ARMY spirit

Me and my ARMY

Come to Life Come to ARMY

We Bring ARMY to Life

There’s a bit of ARMY in all of us

ARMY ‘s got it all

The Dirt says Hot The Label says ARMY

Where is your ARMY?

One ARMY is better than two of something else

The World’s Favourite ARMY

ARMY rocks

Food or ARMY? I’ll have ARMY

ARMY just one more helping

I want more I want ARMY

ARMY for everyone

My ARMY your ARMY ARMY for all

Just ARMY

You’re in Good Hands with ARMY

Sometimes You Feel Like Army Sometimes You Don’t

ARMY loves you

Ooh la lArmy

ARMY will get you more girls

Race for the ARMY

ARMY something for everyone

From Our ARMY to Yours

Simply ARMY

Happiness is a Cigar Called ARMY

The Power of ARMY

Nothing is faster than ARMY

Taste the ARMY

Want a suggestion? – ARMY

ARMY makes you sexy

Feel it – ARMY

ARMY in touch with tomorrow

Melts In Your ARMY Not In Your Hand

Not Just Nearly ARMY But Really ARMY

If Only Everything in Life was as Reliable as Army

ARMY – as good as it gets

Think positive think ARMY

Cleans Right Round The ARMY

My ARMY to Yours

Let’s ARMY

ARMY the real thing

For The ARMY You Don’t Yet Know

I Feel Like ARMY Tonight

Follow your ARMY

Everything We Do is Driven by ARMY

ARMY yep that’s it

ARMY to hell with the rest

ARMY the clear choice

Funky ARMY

Because ARMY is Complicated Enough

Think different think ARMY

ARMY for me

Have Army and Smile

A nice shiny new ARMY

The ARMY of Confidence

ARMY – go for the game

See you at ARMY

Pure ARMY Pure Power

Happiness is ARMY -Shaped

ARMY – spice up your life

I see ARMY in your future

Ding-Dong ARMY Calling

We Don’t Make ARMY We Make ARMY Better

Wouldn’t You Like To Be ARMY Too?

Get More From ARMY

The Queen of ARMY

A leaner meaner ARMY

Show Me The ARMY

ARMY on the outside tasty on the inside

Be inspired by ARMY

You Like ARMY ARMY Likes You

I want my ARMY

So Easy No Wonder ARMY is #1

The ARMY Bars Are On Me

ARMY is a winner

Exceedingly Good ARMY

You Can On Army Can Do

ARMY Unscripted

Thanks ARMY

The ARMY people

This Is Not Your Father’s ARMY

Problem? The Solution: ARMY

Now with 50% more ARMY

Make ARMY Yours

Step into the light with ARMY

Make Room for the ARMY

The Best ARMY Under One Roof

Go far with ARMY

ARMY kicks ass

ARMY is the buzz

This Is The Age Of The ARMY

Give That Man ARMY

Make Someone Happy with Army

ARMY gets the job done

If You Want To Get Ahead Get ARMY

ARMY The power on your side

Get In My ARMY

ARMY for your kids

I fall for ARMY

Get Serious Get ARMY

ARMY shows good taste

Splash ARMY All Over

Leave the ARMY to Us

ARMY gets you through the night

Simply the best ARMY

ARMY for you

ARMY – be prepared

The ARMY That Refreshes

Nobody Does It Like ARMY

I can’t believe it’s ARMY

Simple Impartial ARMY

ARMY you’ve got it

Once ARMY always ARMY

I am Stuck on ARMY ‘Cause ARMY ‘s Stuck on Me

A Day Without ARMY is Like a Day Without Sunshine

ARMY Is Our Middle Name

The Incredible Edible ARMY

Moving at the Speed of ARMY

You don’t want ARMY as your enemy

ARMY eclipses the competition

ARMY takes good care of you

Designed for ARMY

ARMY your family will love you

ARMY can’t be beat

ARMY for your life

ARMY sees all knows all

ARMY – now

ARMY shines through

Feel the magic of ARMY

ARMY as far as the eye can see

ARMY first at the finish line

ARMY only if you want the best

ARMY wonder

Something Special In The ARMY

Do You Have The ARMY Inside?

Grab Life by the ARMY

ARMY keeps going and going and going

There’s only one true ARMY

You know when it’s ARMY

ARMY the best service around

I Wish They All Could Be ARMY Girls

Naughty little ARMY

Only ARMY Has The Answer

ARMY is your safe place in an unsafe world

The Curiously Strong ARMY

ARMY the only way to go

ARMY – It Looks Good on You

ARMY gets it done on time

ARMY always and forever

Go where the winners go – ARMY

Firstclass ARMY

Every ARMY Helps

Praise ARMY

Stop This ARMY is not Ready Yet

ARMY Tested Mother Approved

ARMY makes your day

Let’s talk about ARMY

ARMY brings out the best

ARMY A Day Helps You Work Rest and Play

Aaahh ARMY

ARMY Take Me Away

My ARMY

There’s only one thing in the world I want and that is ARMY

ARMY it’s guaranteed

ARMY – The Freshmaker

See the USA in Your ARMY

Your Flexible ARMY

Time for a Sharp ARMY

And All Because The Lady Loves ARMY

ARMY know-how

ARMY is always the one

A Tough ARMY to Follow

I’d Like to Buy the World Army

ARMY outshines the rest

ARMY do you need anything else?

ARMY reaching for the stars

The Home of ARMY

ARMY the only solution

ARMY is inspiration

Men Can’t Help Acting On ARMY

My way is ARMY

Call a friend call ARMY

Just Do ARMY

For That Deep Down Body ARMY

Just gotta have ARMY

Gotta LottArmy

ARMY is better than chocolate

I Learned It By Watching ARMY

ARMY – a class of its own

ARMY ‘s like heaven

The Passionate Pursuit of ARMY

ARMY innovate your world

Break through with ARMY

You’re Never Alone with Army

ARMY – to feel free

name_entry data-title=Start the day with ARMY

America’s Most Trusted ARMY

I Think Therefore ARMY

Easy ARMY

We Want To Be Smiths ARMY

Fast ARMY and Good for You

Did Somebody Say ARMY?

Tense Nervous ARMY?

I’d Walk a Mile for Army

ARMY – Your personal entertainer

ARMY quality you can see

Kick ass with ARMY

ARMY stands above the rest

ARMY the highlife

Our ARMY is bigger

The Future’s Bright The Future’s ARMY

ARMY love it or leave it

ARMY empowers you

ARMY for all

ARMY the secret of women

I’d do anything for ARMY

Make the world a better place with ARMY

Have ARMY Your Way

I Want My ARMY

ARMY when only the best will do

Wait Till We Get Our ARMY On You

Semper ARMY

It’s my ARMY

You Need ARMY

Gonna Be a While? Grab Army

Have a Break Have Army

Next stop ARMY

Tough on Dirt Gentle on ARMY

Just Like ARMY Used To Make

ARMY you’ll love it

ARMY the choice cut

ARMY – it’s like heaven

Endless possibilities with ARMY

The secret of ARMY

The ARMY man

Welcome To ARMY Country

ARMY building a better tomorrow

It’s your ARMY

ARMY will make you feel better

You’ve Always Got Time For ARMY

ARMY – a safe place in an unsafe world

Go farther with ARMY

The magic of ARMY>

The more ARMY the better

Discover the ARMY Difference

ARMY – first class

ARMY ized

ARMY a cut above the rest

ARMY Is Good For You

I’ve Seen The Future and It’s ARMY -Shaped

Don’t Say Brown Say ‘ARMY ‘

ARMY this is it

Your ARMY Right Away

I Liked The ARMY So Much I Bought The Company

Get ARMY before your friend does

Hey have you tried ARMY?

Keep That ARMY Complexion

ARMY the best you can get

ARMY Works Wonders

ARMY – once you have it you love it

ARMY what else?

Where’s The ARMY?

My ARMY is mine

Do you know ARMY?

ARMY online

ARMY Makes Everything Better

The Too Good to Hurry ARMY

Nobody Better Lay a Finger on my ARMY

ARMY one for all

Plink Plink ARMY

The Good ARMY Kids Go For

My Goodness My ARMY

You Can’t Get Quicker Than Army Fitter

ARMY – get ready

We’ll Leave The ARMY On For You

ARMY it’s as simple as that

ARMY for president

Be part of ARMY

Nothing Works Better Than Army

There Ain’t No Party Like ARMY Party

Made by ARMY

Only a Fool Breaks the ARMY

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These are some of the best army slogans or taglines that you can modify based on your own needs and then make use of.

via Slogans

#IFTTT #Slogans

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to the weekend!

Good morning to Barry Quinnell, who cannot bear it when I mention my blue towelling robe. Sadly, his very fertile imagination gets carried away at the mere mention of my robe but, fear not, Barry. I am wearing something under the blue robe ... my birthday suit!

If you thought yesterday’s status was a rant, you don’t know me very well. Yesterday’s status was a leisurely stroll down a leafy lane. I haven’t got angry yet. Somebody voted for this government (not me) and now we’re stuck with them. They are a godless set of self-serving philistines, so don’t expect anything from them (unless you’re one of rich elite?)

Today’s status is going to be much more upbeat. A much more trousers down, let’s-have-it kind of status. Today’s status is going to be full of much more optimism because optimism is what I do! I’m a writer and, as any creative person will tell you, optimism gets us through the day. We sit in rooms and write songs or scripts or novels. We spend hours and hours, locked away, trying to create magic. And then ... we wait ... hoping that someone will like it. And what gets us through the day? Hope and optimism. So, optimism is in my DNA. I will fight. I must fight. Evil will not prevail.

Let me pause momentarily to say a week has gone since the death of my friend Jacque Hylton and I am still not okay. To make matters worse, one of my cousins (on my Dad’s side), my dad’s age, passed away this week; a really lovely woman, full of life. So, it’s been challenging! I guess I need to spend more time with my friends? I guess I need to cry with them and get some proper big hugs from my crew? Certain people know how special Jacque was, so I need to see those people, so we can share that connection.

Many thanks to Ann Mathura Graville for reminding me that the English cricket team took a knee as well. You can’t be in professional sport and not have black friends. Whenever I see Ian Botham and Viv Richards together, I smile, and wonder how much beer and how many spliffs they’ve shared. Two right bloody troublemakers but they are bona fide role models.

Things are definitely changing! Yesterday, The Supreme Court decided that large areas of Oklahoma belong to ‘Indian Reservation’. No shit, Sherlock! I think you’ll find lots of America belongs to someone else!

Look forward to your company tomorrow afternoon at 1.00pm for ‘The A-Z Of Mi-Soul Music’. The Letter S (Pt. 6.) (Yes, I know it’s not long enough!) Have a fabulous and funky Friday! I love you all.

[blackkudos]

Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American R&B, soul and rock and roll singer and songwriter.

A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. Among his best-known hits are "In the Midnight Hour" (which he co-wrote), "Land of 1,000 Dances", "Mustang Sally", and "Funky Broadway".

Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, in recognition of his impact on songwriting and recording.

Early life

Pickett was born March 18, 1941 in Prattville, Alabama, and sang in Baptist church choirs. He was the fourth of 11 children and called his mother "the baddest woman in my book," telling historian Gerri Hirshey: "I get scared of her now. She used to hit me with anything, skillets, stove wood — (one time I ran away) and cried for a week. Stayed in the woods, me and my little dog." Pickett eventually left to live with his father in Detroit in 1955.

Early musical career (1955–1964)

Pickett's forceful, passionate style of singing was developed in the church and on the streets of Detroit, under the influence of recording stars such as Little Richard, whom he referred to as "the architect of rock and roll.

In 1955, Pickett joined the Violinaires, a gospel group. The group accompanied the Soul Stirrers, the Swan Silverones, and the Davis Sisters on church tours across the country. After singing for four years in the popular gospel-harmony group, Pickett, lured by the success of gospel singers who had moved to the lucrative secular music market, joined the Falcons in 1959.

By 1959, Pickett recorded the song "Let Me Be Your Boy" with Florence Ballard and the Primettes as background singers. The song is the B-side of his 1963 single "My Heart Belongs to You".

The Falcons were an early vocal group bringing gospel into a popular context, thus paving the way for soul music. The group featured notable members who became major solo artists; when Pickett joined the group, Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice were members. Pickett's biggest success with the Falcons was "I Found a Love", co-written by Pickett and featuring his lead vocals. While only a minor hit for the Falcons, it paved the way for Pickett to embark on a solo career. Pickett later had a solo hit with a re-recorded two-part version of the song, included on his 1967 album The Sound of Wilson Pickett.

Soon after recording "I Found a Love", Pickett cut his first solo recordings, including "I'm Gonna Cry", in collaboration with Don Covay. Pickett also recorded a demo for a song he co-wrote, "If You Need Me", a slow-burning soul ballad featuring a spoken sermon. Pickett sent the demo to Jerry Wexler, a producer at Atlantic Records. Wexler gave it to the label's recording artist Solomon Burke, Atlantic's biggest star at the time. Burke admired Pickett's performance of the song, but his own recording of "If You Need Me" became one of his biggest hits (#2 R&B, #37 pop) and is considered a soul standard. Pickett was crushed when he discovered that Atlantic had given away his song. When Pickett—with a demo tape under his arm—returned to Wexler's studio, Wexler asked whether he was angry about this loss, but denied it saying "It's over". "First time I ever cried in my life". Pickett's version was released on Double L Records and was a moderate hit, peaking at #30 R&B and #64 pop.

Pickett's first significant success as a solo artist came with "It's Too Late," an original composition (not to be confused with the Chuck Willis standard of the same name). Entering the charts on July 27, 1963, it peaked at #7 on the R&B chart (#49 pop); the same title was used for Pickett's debut album, released in the same year. Compiling several of Pickett's single releases for Double L, It's Too Late showcased a raw soulful sound that foreshadowed the singer's performances throughout the coming decade. The single's success persuaded Wexler and Atlantic to buy Pickett's recording contract from Double L in 1964.

Rise to stardom: "In the Midnight Hour" (1965)

Pickett's Atlantic career began with the self-produced single, "I'm Gonna Cry". Looking to boost Pickett's chart chances, Atlantic paired him with record producer Bert Berns and established songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. With this team, Pickett recorded "Come Home Baby," a duet with singer Tami Lynn, but this single failed to chart.

Pickett's breakthrough came at Stax Records' studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he recorded his third Atlantic single, "In the Midnight Hour" (1965). This song was Pickett's first big hit, peaking at #1 R&B, #21 pop (US), and #12 (UK). It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

The genesis of "In the Midnight Hour" was a recording session on May 12, 1965, at which Wexler worked out a powerful rhythm track with studio musicians Steve Cropper and Al Jackson of the Stax Records house band, including bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn. (Stax keyboard player Booker T. Jones, who usually played with Dunn, Cropper and Jackson as Booker T. & the M.G.'s, did not play on the studio sessions with Pickett.) Wexler said to Cropper and Jackson, "Why don't you pick up on this thing here?" He performed a dance step. Cropper explained in an interview that Wexler told them that "this was the way the kids were dancing; they were putting the accent on two. Basically, we'd been one-beat-accenters with an afterbeat; it was like 'boom dah,' but here was a thing that went 'um-chaw,' just the reverse as far as the accent goes."

Stax/Fame years (1965–1967)

Pickett recorded three sessions at Stax in May and October 1965. He was joined by keyboardist Isaac Hayes for the October sessions. In addition to "In the Midnight Hour," Pickett's 1965 recordings included the singles "Don't Fight It," (#4 R&B, #53 pop) "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A,)" (#1 R&B, #13 pop) and "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" (#13 R&B, #53 pop). All but "634-5789" were original compositions which Pickett co-wrote with Eddie Floyd or Steve Cropper or both; "634-5789" was credited to Cropper and Floyd alone.

For his next sessions, Pickett did not return to Stax, as the label's owner, Jim Stewart, had decided in December 1965 to ban outside productions. Wexler took Pickett to Fame Studios, a studio also with a close association with Atlantic Records, located in a converted tobacco warehouse in nearby Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Pickett recorded some of his biggest hits there, including the highest-charting version of "Land of 1,000 Dances", which was his third R&B #1 and his biggest pop hit, peaking at #6. It was a million-selling disc.

Other big hits from this era in Pickett's career included two covers: Mack Rice's "Mustang Sally", (#6 R&B, #23 pop), and Dyke & the Blazers' "Funky Broadway", (R&B #1, #8 pop). Both tracks were million sellers. The band heard on most of Pickett's Fame recordings included keyboardist Spooner Oldham, guitarist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Roger Hawkins, and bassist Tommy Cogbill.

Later Atlantic years (1967–1972)

Near the end of 1967, Pickett began recording at American Studios in Memphis with producers Tom Dowd and Tommy Cogbill, and began recording songs by Bobby Womack. The songs "I'm in Love," "Jealous Love," "I've Come a Long Way," "I'm a Midnight Mover," (co-written by Pickett and Womack), and "I Found a True Love" were Womack-penned hits for Pickett in 1967 and 1968. Pickett recorded works by other songwriters in this period; Rodger Collins' "She's Lookin' Good" and a cover of the traditional blues standard "Stagger Lee" were Top 40 hits Pickett recorded at American. Womack was the guitarist on all recordings.

Pickett returned to Fame Studios in late 1968 and early 1969, where he worked with a band that featured guitarist Duane Allman, Hawkins, and bassist Jerry Jemmott. A #16 pop hit cover of the The Beatles' "Hey Jude" came out of the Fame sessions, as well as the minor hits "Mini-Skirt Minnie" and "Hey Joe".

Late 1969 found Pickett at Criteria Studios in Miami. Hit covers of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (#16 R&B, #92 pop) and The Archies' "Sugar Sugar" (#4 R&B, #25 pop), and the Pickett original "She Said Yes" (#20 R&B, #68 pop) came from these sessions.

Pickett then teamed up with established Philadelphia-based hitmakers Gamble and Huff for the 1970 album Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia, which featured his next two hit singles, "Engine No. 9" and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You", the latter selling one million copies.

Following these two hits, Pickett returned to Muscle Shoals and the band featuring David Hood, Hawkins and Tippy Armstrong. This lineup recorded Pickett's fifth and last R&B #1 hit, "Don't Knock My Love, Pt. 1". It was another Pickett recording that rang up sales in excess of a million copies. Two further hits followed in 1971: "Call My Name, I'll Be There" (#10 R&B, #52 pop) and "Fire and Water" (#2 R&B, #24 pop), a cover of a song by Free.

Pickett recorded several tracks in 1972 for a planned new album on Atlantic, but after the single "Funk Factory" reached #11 R&B and #58 pop in June 1972, he left Atlantic for RCA Records. His final Atlantic single, a cover of Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me Not to Come," was culled from Pickett's 1971 album Don't Knock My Love.

In 2010, Rhino Handmade released a comprehensive compilation of these years titled Funky Midnight Mover – The Studio Recordings (1962–1978). The compilation included all recordings originally issued during Pickett's Atlantic years along with previously unreleased recordings. This collection was sold online only by Rhino.com.

Post-Atlantic recording career

Pickett continued to record with success on the R&B charts for RCA in 1973 and 1974, scoring four top 30 R&B hits with "Mr. Magic Man", "Take a Closer Look at the Woman You're With", "International Playboy" (a re-recording of a song he had previously recorded for Atlantic), and "Soft Soul Boogie Woogie". However, he was failing to cross over to the pop charts with regularity, as none of these songs reached higher than #90 on the Hot 100. In 1975, with Pickett's once-prominent chart career on the wane, RCA dropped Pickett from the label. After being dropped, he formed the short-lived Wicked label, where he released one LP, Chocolate Mountain. In 1978, he made a disco album with Big Tree Records titled Funky Situation, which is a coincidence as, at that point, Big Tree was distributed by his former label, Atlantic. The following year, he released an album on EMI titled I Want You.

Pickett continued to record sporadically with several labels over the following decades (including Motown), occasionally making the lower to mid-range of the R&B charts, but he had no pop hit after 1974. His last record was issued in 1999, although he remained fairly active on the touring front until falling ill in 2004.

Pickett appeared in the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000, in which he performed "634–5789" with Eddie Floyd and Jonny Lang. He was previously mentioned in the 1980 film Blues Brothers, which features several members of Pickett's backing band, as well as a performance of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love."

Personal life and honors

Pickett's personal life was troubled. In 1991, he was arrested for allegedly yelling death threats while driving a car over the front lawn of Donald Aronson, the mayor of Englewood, New Jersey. Pickett agreed to perform a benefit concert in exchange for having the charges dropped. The following year, he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend.

In 1993, Pickett struck an 86-year-old pedestrian, Pepe Ruiz, with his car in Englewood. Ruiz, who had helped organize the New York animation union, died later that year. Pickett pleaded guilty to drunken driving charges and received a reduced sentence of one year in jail and five years probation.

Throughout the 1990s, despite his personal troubles, Pickett was repeatedly honored for his contributions to music. In addition to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, his music was prominently featured in the film The Commitments, with Pickett as an off-screen character. In 1993, he was honored with a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Pickett was a popular composer, writing songs that were recorded by many artists, including Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, the Grateful Dead, Booker T. & the MGs, Genesis, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hootie & the Blowfish, Echo & the Bunnymen, Roxy Music, Bruce Springsteen, Los Lobos, the Jam and Ani DiFranco, among others.

Several years after his release from jail, Pickett returned to the studio and received a Grammy Award nomination for the 1999 album It's Harder Now. The comeback resulted in his being honored as Soul/Blues Male Artist of the Year by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. It's Harder Now was voted 'Comeback Blues Album of the Year' and 'Soul/Blues Album of the Year.'

He co-starred in the 2002 documentary Only the Strong Survive, directed by D. A. Pennebaker, a selection of both the 2002 Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals. In 2003, Pickett was a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Pickett spent the twilight of his career playing dozens of concert dates every year until 2004, when he began suffering from health problems. While in the hospital, he returned to his spiritual roots and told his sister that he wanted to record a gospel album, but he never recovered.

Pickett was the father of six children.

On September 10, 2014, TVOne's Unsung aired a documentary on him.

Death

Pickett died from a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Reston, Virginia. He was 64. He was laid to rest in a mausoleum at Evergreen Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. Pickett spent many years in Louisville after his mother moved there from Alabama. The eulogy was delivered by Pastor Steve Owens of Decatur, Georgia. Little Richard, a long-time friend of Pickett's, spoke about him and preached a message at the funeral. Pickett was remembered on March 20, 2006, at New York's B.B. King Blues Club with performances by the Commitments, Ben E. King, his long-term backing band the Midnight Movers, soul singer Bruce "Big Daddy" Wayne, and Southside Johnny in front of an audience that included members of his family, including two brothers.

Discography

SinglesAlbums

It's Too Late (1963, Double L)

In the Midnight Hour (1965, Atlantic)

The Exciting Wilson Pickett (1966, Atlantic) US: #21

The Best of Wilson Pickett (1967, Atlantic) US: #35

The Wicked Pickett (1967, Atlantic) US: #42

The Sound of Wilson Pickett (1967, Atlantic) US: #54

I'm in Love (1967, Atlantic) US: #70

The Midnight Mover (1968, Atlantic) US: #91

Hey Jude (1969, Atlantic) US: #97

Right On (1970, Atlantic)

Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia (1970, Atlantic) US: #64

The Best of Wilson Pickett, Vol. II (1971, Atlantic) US: #73

Don't Knock My Love (1972, Atlantic) US: #132

Mr. Magic Man (1973, RCA) US: #187

Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits (1973) US: #178

Miz Lena's Boy (1973, RCA) US: #212

Pickett in the Pocket (1974, RCA)

Live in Japan (1974, RCA)

Join Me and Let's Be Free (1975, RCA)

Chocolate Mountain (1976, Wicked)

Funky Situation (1978, Big Tree)

I Want You (1979, EMI) US: #205

Right Track (1981, EMI)

American Soul Man (1987, Motown)

Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits (1987, Atlantic)

A Man and a Half: The Best of Wilson Pickett (1992, Rhino/Atlantic)

It's Harder Now (1999, Bullseye Blues)

Live and Burnin' – Stockholm '69 (2009, Soulsville)

Live in Germany 1968 (2009, Crypt Records 2009)

Funky Midnight Mover: The Atlantic Studio Recordings (1962–1978) (2010, Rhino)

Wikipedia

#Wilson Pickett #03-18 #01-19

[alanafsmith]

The best use of social media — 2018 edition

Lawyers wow with Supreme Court selfies, Snapchat vac schemes and Suits recruitment vids

Social media’s popularity within the legal profession has gone from strength to strength over the past year. Embracing all things online, lawyers are signing up to Snapchat, taking on Twitter, familiarising themselves with Facebook and getting inspired on Instagram.

But who are the standout performers? Here, in alphabetical order, we outline ten of the best uses of social media this year, with the winner to be announced at the Legal Cheek Awards on 14 March.

Allen & Overy’s Snapchat

Tearing up the law firm social media rule book, Allen & Overy has dived head first into the weird and wonderful filter-filled world of Snapchat.

The account, AllenOveryGrads, is operated by the outfit’s social media-savvy graduate recruitment team and gives followers an insight into, among other things, its Silicon Valley-esque Fuse innovation hub and vac scheme life.

Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Vimeo interviews with students who have done their work experience schemes

Berwin Leighton Paisner has sat down with a group of wannabe lawyers to discuss — and demystify — the firm’s insight scheme and winter vac scheme.

Chatting informally over a cuppa, students wax lyrical about why they applied and what they learnt during their time on the popular programme. And, perhaps more importantly, its all available online for your viewing pleasure.

Clifford Chance’s ‘Are You Ready’ YouTube video

Clifford Chance’s latest recruitment video has a whiff of Suits about it. The short YouTube clip showcases the outfit’s plush Canary Wharf office as a well-spoken voiceover delivers a motivational speech that will leave you punching the air with enthusiasm.

While the video does concede life at the magic circle firm includes “late nights, hard work, early rises”, it does feature a plethora of perks including its swimming pool, squash court and gym. An honest account of life at the firm.

CMS Academy video series

CMS has produced a range of swish-looking informative clips to promote its self-styled ‘next generation’ vacation scheme. The CMS Academy video series — which has garnered thousands of views on Facebook — gives students a day-by-day breakdown of vac scheme life through a combination of interviews, montages, timelapses and that all-important funky music.

Dechert partner Miriam Gonzalez’s Instagram

The Daily Mail describes me today as a 'castanet – clacker'.

Likely to be because I dared to say at a GQ interview that their editor, Dacre, is to Theresa May what Steve Banon is to Donald Trump. Embarrassing that the Prime Minister is close to a newspaper that treats European emigrants like this. She fired her two main advisers this weekend- perhaps what she should do next is to ditch her almost daily calls with the editor of the Daily Mail?!

. @campbellclaret @britishgq

A post shared by Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (@miriamgonzalezdurantez) on Jun 13, 2017 at 9:24am PDT

Dechert partner Miriam Gonzalez is about as Insta-savvy as lawyers come. The Spanish-born EU trade specialist — who last year spoke to Legal Cheek about how law students should approach Brexit — entertains her 1,600+ followers with her cooking exploits, holiday snaps and witty news story critiques. Even her ex-Deputy Prime Minister hubby, Nick Clegg, makes the odd appearance.

Henderson Pupillages multi-media microsite

The bar isn’t known for its high-quality online content. Pupillage hunters are, unfortunately, sometimes greeted with a basic-looking website full of out-of-date information.

But that’s not the case over at Henderson Chambers. This London-based set has a dedicated pupillage website containing various videos and a detailed section on its specialisms, work experience opportunities and what it looks for in wannabe barristers.

Herbert Smith Freehills’ ‘Too Good to Miss’ competition

As part of its ‘Too Good to Miss’ competition, Herbert Smith Freehills invited more than 1,300 students from across the country to produce short videos explaining what makes them stand out from the crowd.

Last year’s winner, the University of Birmingham’s Laura Kendrick, entered a 60-second clip inspired by the ‘Visit California’ adverts. Kendrick’s prize? A jolly to Hong Kong and Australia where she hung out with lawyers at Herbert Smith Freehills’ international offices.

Linklaters’ Silks canteen Instagram

We celebrate The Chelsea Flower Show with floral adorned avo on rye! #chelseaflowershow2017 #linklaters #silks #floralfood #greengoodness

A post shared by Silks at Linklaters (@silks_at_linklaters) on May 22, 2017 at 7:02am PDT

Linklaters‘ special food-themed Instagram account is sure to leave you salivating at the mouth. Quietly launched last year, ‘silks_at_linklaters’ regularly posts delectable images of the food dished up to lawyers at the magic circle outfit’s London HQ.

Michelin-starred standard munch includes Chelsea Flower Show-inspired “floral adorned” avocado on toast. Expect baby veg with edible soil and grey buttermilk chicken burger with piles of curly fries, too.

Shearman & Sterling’s Facebook livestreams

Shearman & Sterling is one of only a handful of law firms to embrace Facebook’s livestream feature. The US outfit’s informative clips — which are produced by its graduate recruitment team — cover hot topics including common vac scheme application mistakes and how to handle those dreaded assessment centres.

And they’re proving popular. The latest offering, ‘What training do you get on a training contract?’, has racked up more than 1,600 views.

The UK Supreme Court’s Instagram

So we're all gutted about #Konta but we've got another British hopeful in training for next year…. (Lady Hale pictured at staff table tennis night

) #Wimbledon #BTS #FridayFun

A post shared by UK Supreme Court (@uksupremecourt) on Jul 14, 2017 at 7:27am PDT

Yes, that’s right, Lady Hale and her fellow justices are on Insta. The account — which went live last summer — is one of a number of initiatives by the Supreme Court to improve openness and transparency. Highlights include the court’s first trip outside London to Edinburgh and Hale playing ping-pong (no really).

The winner of this category of the Legal Cheek Awards will be decided by an independent judging panel. Check out the other Awards shortlists here

The post The best use of social media — 2018 edition appeared first on Legal Cheek.

from All About Law https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/02/the-best-use-of-social-media-2018-edition/

[theseventhhex]

Mega Bog Interview

Erin Birgy

Photo by Adam Gundersheim

Mega Bog is the moniker of song-dribbler Erin Birgy, a Pacific Northwest rodeo child with an unmistakable laugh who was allegedly cursed upon conception. Over the past 8 years the band has stretched and wandered in an upsurge towards musical freedom. Now based in New York City, Birgy has adopted a band of jazz musicians lifted from bands like Big Thief, iji, Big Eater, Causings, Hand Habits, Heatwarmer and others. Melodies always lush, erotic and free. Chords always dissonant, abstract and evolutionary. On their latest record, ‘Happy Together’, Mega Bog leapfrogs further into the storm, comprising of a Dizzying fusion of lounge, pop and bouncing rocks under poetic tantrums of love gone all the way wrong… We talk to Erin Birgy about nostalgia, moving to New York and keeping the mindset fresh…

TSH: How would you personally characterise the intent of the record ‘Happy Together’?

Erin: I remember writhing through most of the making of ‘Happy Together’. It parades through a specific anxiety involving sexual and emotional abuse by people considered part of the same community that helped me free myself from those worn foundations. There's a lot of excitement, and highs that we can experience musically/mentally, and it's laced with anger and moments of love that squeaked into the story from all sorts of directions.

TSH: Being drawn to strong melodies, what resonates with you mostly about a good melody during the crafting process?

Erin: I always think of the "Paranoid" Classic Albums where Tony Iommi is going on and on about Ozzy being a "melody genius" and I try to embody that feral masculine baby, but through my secret Ernie lens, which is more like a horse sent from hell, in a moment of liberation from the humanoid king of law and war, running through dark green moors with a message. I owe a lot of the melodic genius to the players on the record though, who either supplement their own true minds, or can follow a little dweedle I sing in an anxious way.

TSH: With this latest record, is the notion of nostalgia apparent at times?

Erin: Sure, I try to revisit things I've felt in music that seem to have been overlooked.

TSH: It’s been noted that your chords are often ‘dissonant and abstract’...

Erin: Luke Bergman (of Heatwarmer) told me a chord is just a group of notes you put together, and having no musical training, that twisted my rails and I started to find the planet I was happiest searching for. Music that explains the nuanced rodeo, rather than uses a literal tongue to crap out the feeling outside of tongues and pop music, standard chords, pop-punk (no dis on pop-punk, I just never could nail it).

TSH: For the track ‘192014’ was there a particular type of energy that you wanted the song to imply?

Erin: I had a great vision for this song! And it came out completely different (better) after playing it with my friends. Zach was trying out a drum beat he thought might work for a live version of ‘London’ but when he sat down at the drums, I showed him a new song we weren't even planning to include on the record. I dwelled the bass part and we did the skeleton, and when Aaron [Othiem], and Jacob [Rex Zimmerman] came up to The Unknown, they filled it in/took it more to the place you hear it now. We were all running around and giggling, like we couldn't believe what had just come out.

TSH: What are the origins of the track entitled ‘London’?

Erin: It was a demo, just a little jerk-off night time experiment with a synth Will [Murdoch] was letting me borrow. For the words, I was looking at a boa of photos an intimate and confusing friend had sent me, hanging on my wall. The photos are on the back cover of the "Gone Banana" LP. I just started singing along to the track, picture by picture. Zach spruced it up/added dynamics, a lot later. We listed in his room at Magic Lanes and got really sad, but he said "this would be the best track off of Strange Angels." But the best track off that album was already ‘Babydoll'.

TSH: Whilst sequencing the record, was ‘Fwee’ the natural choice as album closer?

Erin: It was the last song I wrote of the batch, and barely slipped it in before we were done recording basics. Zach and I were practicing it at Magic Lanes, and Will walked out of his room with a bass and joined in, which led to one of our last sessions in Washington, where the three-piece cranked out some of our favourite thumpers. It was inspired by our favourite band from Missoula, Ancient Forest, and a brilliant Halloween show where I dressed up like Subterranean Homesick Blues Bob, played drums in Bog that night, crowd-surfed to the front of the Ancient Forest set (and am convinced I knew every word I sang along to) and asked Kalen to marry me.

TSH: Having assembled much of ‘Happy Together’ on tape – what were the benefits of this approach?

Erin: A lot of it was recorded on tape, but I didn't finish the record before I moved from Seattle to Brooklyn, so I had to do many of the overdubs with borrowed gear on a broken laptop. I was really fortunate to land in Thump studio, my first NYC month, and Richard let me record vocals in his apartment during the day, and when I left Thump, I used more borrowed gear from James [Krivchenia], Matt [Bachmann], and Ezra [Tenebaum] who all had impressive home recording set-ups, patience, and love for me and this music to find completion.

TSH: Also, you moved from Seattle to New York - in addition to needing the change, did you feel empowered in various ways?

Erin: It was the first time in a long time I let myself be as happy as I really was, and found so much support and true love. So, yes, not to say I didn't have that elsewhere, but the time I moved to New York was timed pretty perfectly.

TSH: How pleasant is it to have a friend in Zach Burba in the band a lot of the time, and to turn to for numerous issues?

Erin: Ah, very pleasant. We've lived a lot together. He's a great force of freak and kindness. Beyond words, for sure.

TSH: Can you tell us about the Racer Sessions in Seattle and some highlights…

Erin: I just love them all so much. When people ask me what I miss, it's Cafe Racer, which is a place I could crumple into and always find some supreme creature who was mutually pleased we existed together. Racer Sessions in particular was one of the first places I saw grow into a truly inclusive weekly event, from hyper-masculine jazz students wailing their shits to heck and beyond, and visibly finding worth and greatness is the brave femmes who entered to jam and blew balance into reality. Everyone was growing with each other, at least while I was going. You could see people become more free and concerned in their playing as the patriarchy fell away.

TSH: Does having a keen focus on self-care inform a fair degree of your personal and musical activities?

Erin: I pretend I'm a physiologist pretty often, and have a band to explore the better earth and communication systems I believe in.

TSH: Outside of music, how do you like to keep your mindest fresh?

Erin: I videotape a lot of seemingly pointless sessions, I used to hike and swim a lot, but am re-learning how to do that on this coast. I read and organise with my communities.

TSH: Finally, what’s pleased you most about the impressive musical progression you’ve made to date?

Erin: I am so pleased to be working with many of the same friends I have been for years. We've worked on a lot together, and are always growing either together or reconnecting over and over. There are newer faces to Mega Bog since a lot of the ‘Happy Together’ songs were written, who are equally important and consistent in this funky family.

Mega Bog - “London”

Happy Together

#Interview #Mega Bog

[artsvark]

CTIJF adds 8 world class acts to 2018 line-up

Eight sensational, world class acts have been added to the 19th annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) line-up on 23 and 24 March.

CTIJF Festival Director Billy Domingo is enthusiastic about the upcoming programme, saying: “Great thought has been given to the nuances of the greater jazz form in this year’s line-up. This is reflected in the variety of the acts that will entertain this year’s festinos. I am delighted that our steadfast festival goers, as well as those attending for the first time, have such a wealth of talent from which to create their personal musical experiences and we look forward to sharing these moments with our audience.”

CTIJF 2018 Second Artist Announcement

Incognito’s (UK) undying love for funky jazz turned their acid jazz repertoire into epic anthems. Frontman Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick leads this cool ensemble, which has embarked on numerous fresh directions over time, producing winning material and unforgettable live shows. Expect a slick set chock-a-bloc with party spinners and smooth fusion.

Simphiwe Dana’s (SA) eye-catching imagery may project a fragility and beauty specific to this global chart-topper, but it’s her unique signature sound that confirms her status as a phenomenal artist. Her profound amalgam of jazzy Afro soul with traditional music is utterly distinctive – truly the hallmark of a remarkable musician.

The range of Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s work is vast, having contributed to over 500 recordings and scores with notable musicians such as Ray Charles, Flying Lotus, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Bilal, Seu Jorge, and Thundercat, and 1000’s of live concerts. He effortlessly bridges genres and generations of cultural elements into cohesive, magical presentations. He has performed, toured and recorded with ensembles ranging from electronic to avant-garde, jazz, classical, hip hop and pop. Atwood-Ferguson bridges orchestral textures with elements of soul, jazz, hip hop and improv. Hear him in Miguel Atwood-Ferguson: Suite for Ma Dukes (USA) – his tribute to hip hop MC/producer J Dilla.

Radiating South African heritage sounds and universal jazz influences, Sibusiso “Mash” Mashiloane (SA), explores the repertoires of Bheki Mseleku, Andile Yenana and Moses Molelekwa along with his Zulu-styled blues and neo-soul, swing-bop and hip hop inflections and will reinforce the tones of Africa at the CTIJF.

There’s an intensity to Manny Walters (SA) that’s rooted in the legacy of rhythm ’n blues, and enhanced by modern-day soul rock nuances. This local singer-songwriter and semi-acoustic guitarist delivers a focused set of works that draws on the seminal sounds of Richie Havens, Nina Simone, Tracy Chapman and Curtis Mayfield. Manny’s standout gritty voice steers his electric rhythm & blues/alt soul playlist with socially conscious lyricism and a gravitas that reels in the listener.

The Surge (SA/Russia/Slovakia/Morocco/USA/ Kyrgyzstan) is a product of OneBeat, an incubator for social entrepreneurship where innovative musicians launch collaborations designed to make a positive impact. An array of rare instruments also makes this Surge gig definitely one to head to. Trumpeter Mandla Mlangeni lends his weight to the outfit, while Abbay Misganaw, aka Haile Supreme, is a Washington D.C.-based rapper and member of Congo Sanchez – a hip hop group that synthesizes reggae, dub and Latin funk. Mehdi Nassouli is a guembri player with a passion for preserving Moroccan music who’s devoted to studying deqqa, a traditional form of art from Taroudant. Jan Kruzliak is a Bratislava-based violinist. His group La3noCubano performed free concerts in refugee camps. Sergey Balashov is a drummer from Moscow specializing in improvisation. Aisaana Omorova has studied the instruments of Kyrgyzstan (komuz, jaw harp and choor), apprenticing with Zainidin Imanaliev. Jeremy Thal, Co-Founder & Artistic Director of Found Sound Nation, is a horn player and educator. All in all, a unified excursion into the unknown.

Enigmatically soulful international recording and performing artist N8N (Belgium), counts himself amongst the lucky few who gets to do what he loves most: entertain. N8N has dedicated his life to honing his craft; a process which has afforded him the opportunity to travel the world. But, it was his love for the Mother City, which he considers his second home, that inspired him to write and release a tribute fittingly entitled Cape Town at the end of 2017. The track was born of a collaboration with Grammy award-winning producer Andre Harris and a-list song-writer Carmen Reece and features on his upcoming EP [Second 2 None}, which is due to be released in spring 2018.

The Liberation Project (SA) is part of a broader Liberation Project driven from South Africa, which features musicians who’ve joined forces to celebrate their liberation struggles from different corners of the world. This line-up has been specially commissioned by the CTIJF and their festival set is dedicated to Ray Phiri. This interesting pool of musicians combines Sipho Hotstix Mabuse (vox, sax, piano, flute), Tony Cedras (accordion, trumpet), Neill Solomon (vox, piano, acoustic guitar), Dan Chiorboli (perc), Tebogo Sedumedi (vox, bass), DRC kwassa kwassa star Bienvenue N’Seka (vox, guitar), Keeran Eshwarlall (Sufi vox, harmonium, santoor, harmonica) with special guest Roger Lucey on vox and acoustic guitar.

The 19th Cape Town International Jazz Festival will take place 23 and 24 March 2018 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Day passes are still available at www.computicket.com at R750 per person per day.

Corporate hospitality packages are available for the upcoming festival. To book your package or for more information, contact Samantha on 021 6710506 or email [email protected]

Rosies tickets will go on sale on Monday 12 February 2018 from Computicket. Please note, tickets for Rosies cost an additional R30 per performance. For the Rosies performance schedule, please go to www.capetownjazzfest.com or keep an eye on our social media for more details.

Official Sponsors of the 19th annual Cape Town International Jazz Festival are The Department of Arts and Culture, Independent Media and host city, City of Cape Town. Other sponsors include South African Tourism, Amstel, Johnny Walker and Peninsula Beverages.

CTIJF adds 8 world class acts to 2018 line-up was originally published on Artsvark

[ricardosousalemos]

Salt-N-Pepa: Very Necessary

In 1990, Salt-N-Pepa walked onto the Hollywood set of “The Arsenio Hall Show” ready to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS. The men in the audience were fervently doing the signature Hall bark well beyond the call of the show. The Queens trio—Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandy “Pepa” Denton and Deidra “Spinderella” Roper—were there to promote their spot in a fundraising traveling tour of Heart Strings, a new musical about AIDS and HIV featuring Cher and Magic Johnson, where they would perform their PSA-rework of “Let’s Talk About Sex” titled,  “Let’s Talk About AIDS.”  Maintaining its message that if you’re having sex, you have to talk about “all the good things, all the bad things,” the alternate version fine-tuned the song so that its focus on sexual health was more explicit.

But it was hard to tell who in the audience was there to hear Salt-N-Pepa and who was just there to look. “We’ve talked about the image of female rappers in the past,” said Hall. “Your image is a lot more lady-like. Do you think that’s the reason for these guys?” A clearly frustrated Salt responded, “We’ve gotten a lot of flack about that.” She looked exasperated. “I’ve heard people say we’ve gotten over on our looks. First of all, I ain’t know I look that good. To get over for six years on your looks? We’ve been around for awhile and if it’s just looks, then that’s messed up.”  

If their fan base included dudes who just had crushes, they only made up a sliver. The rest were there because S-N-P were spearheading a movement toward take-no-shit femininity that didn’t require them to dress like B-boys. “We’re not soft, we’re not hard,” Spinderella explained it to Arsenio. Salt lifted her Docs over his coffee table and told him their style was all lipstick and combat boots.

So much of the first decade of Salt-N-Pepa forged a path for women to follow for the next twenty years, both in rap and pop music, as well with social and sexual mores. The whole map of their conquest is laid out on their 1993 album Very Necessary. The confidence of “Push It”—which Pepa has insisted is about dancing, not about sex—and the emotional intelligence of “Let’s Talk About Sex” are present, but the womanly conviction here is far more plentiful than it had been in their music before. It was a palliative to the hyper-misogyny spewing from their male contemporaries. If Snoop Dogg and friends were going to harangue hoes, then in Salt-N-Pepa’s world, words like “hoe” and “hooker” were just as applicable to men. They maintained their themes of sexuality and empowerment—and were in good company with Queen Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.” and TLC’s “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”—but it got a new look. Whether in combat boots or pum pum shorts, their message was still clear: women need to have agency over their sexuality and, if she’s safe, she can express it however the hell she wants.

The album’s lead single “Shoop,” in particular, is unintentionally prescient about the contemporary inverted misogyny so many feminists engage in now, in jest or otherwise. In the video, Pepa tells Salt and Spin about her weakness—“men!” they chant in unison—while she scours guys on Coney Island playing dice. It is reverse catcalling, a playful way of leveling the field of objectification.

In a 1995 conversation with Mary Wilson of the Supremes for Interview, Salt conceded that the perception of the group changed once they started talking more frequently about their own sexuality instead forecasting what goes on behind other people’s closed doors. “When we get raw and sexy some people say, ‘Why do you have to go there?’ I feel like, as long as you’re letting the world know that you're intelligent and you're to be respected and you have a mind of your own and you're taking care of business, ain’t nothing wrong with showing off what you got, especially when you work out almost every day to get it. Of course, you have to show it with taste and with class. It’s about having an attitude of your own.”

Part of that attitude was putting men like the ones in the “Arsenio” audience squarely in their place: sometimes women get to do the barking and no one gets to judge them for it. Very Necessary is packed with anthems that are unafraid to look at men with the same ogling eye and do not accept being told it’s unladylike. “None of Your Business,” the album’s third single, denounced slut-shaming before it even had a name and is stridently dedicated to pushing a message that no matter how desperately you want to judge women, it will not matter to them. Spinderella calmly raps, “How many rules am I to break before you understand/That your double standards don't mean shit to me?”

Just as combative, “Somebody’s Gettin’ on My Nerves” is one of the album’s finer (and fiercer) points. Salt-N-Pepa make club records, but this track shows off they fare just as well when the bars are the focal point. Salt raps with a sober precision that only comes with a particularly refined and potent fury (it is not dissimilar to Ice Cube’s bite on N.W.A. diss “No Vaseline”). It is also the perfect playground for knockout punches like Pepa’s “You rolled up on me in your man's Beemer/And I could look at you and tell you was a meat-beatin' daydreamer.”

Some of this ferocity is bolstered by the production handled by Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor. While quips like, “Get off my bra strap, boy/Stop sweatin’ me” are part of S-N-P’s power, the track’s menacing bass is what keeps it ice cold. Azor had been mentoring the group since he put Pepa and Salt together as the duo Super Nature in the early ’80s. He had seen them through their four preceding albums, but after relinquishing production control to Salt for the Coltrane-sampling single “Expression” from their 1990 album Blacks’ Magic and a toxic romance between Salt and Azor ended, the women wanted more say in what went into Very Necessary. 

A 1994 New York cover story reveals that Azor found “Shoop” uncompelling and that he wanted the group to take an even softer approach. Despite how much of a hand Azor had in the album production, Salt-N-Pepa's interest in keeping it more "street" endured. Songs like “Nerves” and “None of Your Business,” do have the trappings of the gangster rap that was populating the charts, its toughness mainly comes from the take-no-shit vocality delivered by the group. The album’s textures are as sundry as the city they are from: Opener “Groove Me” is indebted to the outer boroughs’ West Indian populations; “Break of Dawn” lifts the ecstatic sax from the J.B.s’ James Brown-produced “The Grunt” and takes Joe Tex’s funky “Papa Was Too” and pounds them into Queens Boulevard brashness. Public Enemy may have been the first to use “The Grunt” on their 1988 track “Night of the Living Baseheads,” but Salt-N-Pepa were in good company, as Wu-Tang Clan and 2pac both used the same sample in that year.

On top of the beats, it was Salt-N-Pepa’s relentless campaign for social and sexual agency that drove the album. “Sexy Noises Turn Me On” may sound a little bit dated in 2017, but the frankness with which the women express their needs is anything but. It is the precursor to so many Foxy Brown one-liners and songs like Rasheeda’s “My Bubble Gum” and Nicki Minaj’s “Get on Your Knees.” There are calls elsewhere on Very Necessary for reciprocity, like when Salt raps: “You’re under my control/I got your heart and soul/Go down and take your time” on opener “Groove Me” but they were pushing to do even more than just smash the insidious taboo that women can only perform oral sex, not receive it that many of their descendants have rallied for (see: Lil’ Kim’s entire 1996 debut album Hard Core). 

This attitude bleeds through to tracks like “Step,” which uses a hefty sample of Hank Crawford’s jazzy “It’s a Funky Thing to Do” and comes off optimally unbothered. “Somma Time Man” is reproachful of male promiscuity (just like their 1986 Otis Redding-interpolating song “Tramp”), but so much of the critique is about infidelity and the lack of safety. Ultimately, Salt-N-Pepa’s mantra when it came to AIDS was, “If you don’t get it, you can’t spread it.” It is their entire ethos: sex is happening everywhere and it cannot be ignored because like all other thrills there are risks—risks you take with your heart and risks you take with health. If you’re doing it right, there’s no shame attached to it. It’s why they wrote “None of Your Business,” but also why they spent many of their television appearances talking about how easy it is to put on a condom.  

Pepa and Salt appeared on “Charlie Rose” a year before the album was released to talk about their activism. “Some guys don’t think it’s macho, some girls are insulted if you ask to use a condom,” Salt told Rose. Pepa offered, “It’s not macho to get AIDS… You have to wear condoms like you put on a jacket when it’s cold…” With many fans confiding in them their own diagnoses with HIV and AIDS, they felt it was their responsibility to keep the conversation going. Very Necessary closes with a skit unlike almost any that has ever appeared on a pop album. Titled “I’ve Got AIDS,” the sketch is a harrowing performance from two members of the multicultural peer education group WEATOC from Boston, Massachusetts. The script is bold and stark, featuring a female member, distraught, explaining to her boyfriend that she has just come home from a clinic where she was told she was HIV positive. Her partner then accuses her of being with other men because, even though he is untested, he couldn’t possibly have HIV. To close it with something so dark is to remind your audience to take care of themselves and that committing to your cause means using your platform to disrupt. Their fearless outspokenness has been unrivaled in the mainstream, conscious rappers be damned.

Salt-N-Pepa, however, do not explicitly call themselves activists or even feminists. In the same interview with Mary Wilson from the Supremes, Salt also said: “I think we’re feminists to a certain degree. But I have no problem with the man being the man, as long as the man knows how to be a man.” The biggest song of their career, “Whatta Man,” is a paean to good-looking respectful guys. Peaking at No. 3, the track united the trio with En Vogue, who were still riding high off of their star-making sophomore album Funky Divas, released the year before. Although the song’s ballast may be “good men are hard to find,” the use of Linda Lyndell’s classic “What a Man” and Spinderella referencing Whitney Houston deep cut “My Name is Not Susan” in her verse still keeps it a celebration of womanhood. The video co-starred Naughty By Nature’s Treach, Pep’s IRL man at the time, and remains one of their fluffier offerings. In the context of the album, however, it rounds out the robust portrait of women’s romantic interiors: Not all love is fleeting and when it is good, it is so good.

That lyrical flexibility made Salt-N-Pepa so versatile. Like their contemporaries Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, the group was interested in exploring their own world, from quotidian romances and jealousies to the ever-present threat of AIDS, as well as gang violence and drugs. This panoramic view of not just personhood but womanhood paved the way for someone like Nicki Minaj to be a pop superstar while still sticking to her Smack DVD roots. Whether they were thinking about it at the time, their output has always been about giving women opportunity to express themselves.

In a recent interview on BuzzFeed podcast Another Round, rapper Remy Ma noted that because it is a genre that clings to youth, its legends get brushed aside. The acclaim dwindles and no one graduates to become like the Who or the Rolling Stones. Salt-N-Pepa were celebrated at VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors in 2016, but the event was specifically about female MCs and the celebration was a catch-all including so many artists for whom they were the forebears. They are classic enough to have toured with both the Fat Boys and N.W.A. (who were the women’s openers!) but are now relegated to ’90s nostalgia package tours, top-billed with people like Vanilla Ice. Instead of being canonized for their contributions to the genre, they are playing side-by-side with someone whose one hit song made a mockery of it. But that’s the thing about Salt-N-Pepa: There is so much more there than what you see on the surface.

#reviews-albums

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to the weekend!

Good morning to Barry Quinnell, who cannot bear it when I mention my blue towelling robe. Sadly, his very fertile imagination gets carried away at the mere mention of my robe but, fear not, Barry. I am wearing something under the blue robe ... my birthday suit!

If you thought yesterday’s status was a rant, you don’t know me very well. Yesterday’s status was a leisurely stroll down a leafy lane. I haven’t got angry yet. Somebody voted for this government (not me) and now we’re stuck with them. They are a godless set of self-serving philistines, so don’t expect anything from them (unless you’re one of rich elite?)

Today’s status is going to be much more upbeat. A much more trousers down, let’s-have-it kind of status. Today’s status is going to be full of much more optimism because optimism is what I do! I’m a writer and, as any creative person will tell you, optimism gets us through the day. We sit in rooms and write songs or scripts or novels. We spend hours and hours, locked away, trying to create magic. And then ... we wait ... hoping that someone will like it. And what gets us through the day? Hope and optimism. So, optimism is in my DNA. I will fight. I must fight. Evil will not prevail.

Let me pause momentarily to say a week has gone since the death of my friend Jacque Hylton and I am still not okay. To make matters worse, one of my cousins (on my Dad’s side), my dad’s age, passed away this week; a really lovely woman, full of life. So, it’s been challenging! I guess I need to spend more time with my friends? I guess I need to cry with them and get some proper big hugs from my crew? Certain people know how special Jacque was, so I need to see those people, so we can share that connection.

Many thanks to Ann Mathura Graville for reminding me that the English cricket team took a knee as well. You can’t be in professional sport and not have black friends. Whenever I see Ian Botham and Viv Richards together, I smile, and wonder how much beer and how many spliffs they’ve shared. Two right bloody troublemakers but they are bona fide role models.

Things are definitely changing! Yesterday, The Supreme Court decided that large areas of Oklahoma belong to ‘Indian Reservation’. No shit, Sherlock! I think you’ll find lots of America belongs to someone else!

Look forward to your company tomorrow afternoon at 1.00pm for ‘The A-Z Of Mi-Soul Music’. The Letter S (Pt. 6.) (Yes, I know it’s not long enough!) Have a fabulous and funky Friday! I love you all.

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to the weekend!

Good morning to Barry Quinnell, who cannot bear it when I mention my blue towelling robe. Sadly, his very fertile imagination gets carried away at the mere mention of my robe but, fear not, Barry. I am wearing something under the blue robe ... my birthday suit!

If you thought yesterday’s status was a rant, you don’t know me very well. Yesterday’s status was a leisurely stroll down a leafy lane. I haven’t got angry yet. Somebody voted for this government (not me) and now we’re stuck with them. They are a godless set of self-serving philistines, so don’t expect anything from them (unless you’re one of rich elite?)

Today’s status is going to be much more upbeat. A much more trousers down, let’s-have-it kind of status. Today’s status is going to be full of much more optimism because optimism is what I do! I’m a writer and, as any creative person will tell you, optimism gets us through the day. We sit in rooms and write songs or scripts or novels. We spend hours and hours, locked away, trying to create magic. And then ... we wait ... hoping that someone will like it. And what gets us through the day? Hope and optimism. So, optimism is in my DNA. I will fight. I must fight. Evil will not prevail.

Let me pause momentarily to say a week has gone since the death of my friend Jacque Hylton and I am still not okay. To make matters worse, one of my cousins (on my Dad’s side), my dad’s age, passed away this week; a really lovely woman, full of life. So, it’s been challenging! I guess I need to spend more time with my friends? I guess I need to cry with them and get some proper big hugs from my crew? Certain people know how special Jacque was, so I need to see those people, so we can share that connection.

Many thanks to Ann Mathura Graville for reminding me that the English cricket team took a knee as well. You can’t be in professional sport and not have black friends. Whenever I see Ian Botham and Viv Richards together, I smile, and wonder how much beer and how many spliffs they’ve shared. Two right bloody troublemakers but they are bona fide role models.

Things are definitely changing! Yesterday, The Supreme Court decided that large areas of Oklahoma belong to ‘Indian Reservation’. No shit, Sherlock! I think you’ll find lots of America belongs to someone else!

Look forward to your company tomorrow afternoon at 1.00pm for ‘The A-Z Of Mi-Soul Music’. The Letter S (Pt. 6.) (Yes, I know it’s not long enough!) Have a fabulous and funky Friday! I love you all.

[blackkudos]

Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American R&B, soul and rock and roll singer and songwriter.

A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. Among his best-known hits are "In the Midnight Hour" (which he co-wrote), "Land of 1,000 Dances", "Mustang Sally", and "Funky Broadway".

Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, in recognition of his impact on songwriting and recording.

Early life

Pickett was born March 18, 1941 in Prattville, Alabama, and sang in Baptist church choirs. He was the fourth of 11 children and called his mother "the baddest woman in my book," telling historian Gerri Hirshey: "I get scared of her now. She used to hit me with anything, skillets, stove wood — (one time I ran away) and cried for a week. Stayed in the woods, me and my little dog." Pickett eventually left to live with his father in Detroit in 1955.

Early musical career (1955–1964)

Pickett's forceful, passionate style of singing was developed in the church and on the streets of Detroit, under the influence of recording stars such as Little Richard, whom he referred to as "the architect of rock and roll.

In 1955, Pickett joined the Violinaires, a gospel group. The group accompanied the Soul Stirrers, the Swan Silverones, and the Davis Sisters on church tours across the country. After singing for four years in the popular gospel-harmony group, Pickett, lured by the success of gospel singers who had moved to the lucrative secular music market, joined the Falcons in 1959.

By 1959, Pickett recorded the song "Let Me Be Your Boy" with Florence Ballard and the Primettes as background singers. The song is the B-side of his 1963 single "My Heart Belongs to You".

The Falcons were an early vocal group bringing gospel into a popular context, thus paving the way for soul music. The group featured notable members who became major solo artists; when Pickett joined the group, Eddie Floyd and Sir Mack Rice were members. Pickett's biggest success with the Falcons was "I Found a Love", co-written by Pickett and featuring his lead vocals. While only a minor hit for the Falcons, it paved the way for Pickett to embark on a solo career. Pickett later had a solo hit with a re-recorded two-part version of the song, included on his 1967 album The Sound of Wilson Pickett.

Soon after recording "I Found a Love", Pickett cut his first solo recordings, including "I'm Gonna Cry", in collaboration with Don Covay. Pickett also recorded a demo for a song he co-wrote, "If You Need Me", a slow-burning soul ballad featuring a spoken sermon. Pickett sent the demo to Jerry Wexler, a producer at Atlantic Records. Wexler gave it to the label's recording artist Solomon Burke, Atlantic's biggest star at the time. Burke admired Pickett's performance of the song, but his own recording of "If You Need Me" became one of his biggest hits (#2 R&B, #37 pop) and is considered a soul standard. Pickett was crushed when he discovered that Atlantic had given away his song. When Pickett—with a demo tape under his arm—returned to Wexler's studio, Wexler asked whether he was angry about this loss, but denied it saying "It's over". "First time I ever cried in my life". Pickett's version was released on Double L Records and was a moderate hit, peaking at #30 R&B and #64 pop.

Pickett's first significant success as a solo artist came with "It's Too Late," an original composition (not to be confused with the Chuck Willis standard of the same name). Entering the charts on July 27, 1963, it peaked at #7 on the R&B chart (#49 pop); the same title was used for Pickett's debut album, released in the same year. Compiling several of Pickett's single releases for Double L, It's Too Late showcased a raw soulful sound that foreshadowed the singer's performances throughout the coming decade. The single's success persuaded Wexler and Atlantic to buy Pickett's recording contract from Double L in 1964.

Rise to stardom: "In the Midnight Hour" (1965)

Pickett's Atlantic career began with the self-produced single, "I'm Gonna Cry". Looking to boost Pickett's chart chances, Atlantic paired him with record producer Bert Berns and established songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. With this team, Pickett recorded "Come Home Baby," a duet with singer Tami Lynn, but this single failed to chart.

Pickett's breakthrough came at Stax Records' studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he recorded his third Atlantic single, "In the Midnight Hour" (1965). This song was Pickett's first big hit, peaking at #1 R&B, #21 pop (US), and #12 (UK). It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

The genesis of "In the Midnight Hour" was a recording session on May 12, 1965, at which Wexler worked out a powerful rhythm track with studio musicians Steve Cropper and Al Jackson of the Stax Records house band, including bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn. (Stax keyboard player Booker T. Jones, who usually played with Dunn, Cropper and Jackson as Booker T. & the M.G.'s, did not play on the studio sessions with Pickett.) Wexler said to Cropper and Jackson, "Why don't you pick up on this thing here?" He performed a dance step. Cropper explained in an interview that Wexler told them that "this was the way the kids were dancing; they were putting the accent on two. Basically, we'd been one-beat-accenters with an afterbeat; it was like 'boom dah,' but here was a thing that went 'um-chaw,' just the reverse as far as the accent goes."

Stax/Fame years (1965–1967)

Pickett recorded three sessions at Stax in May and October 1965. He was joined by keyboardist Isaac Hayes for the October sessions. In addition to "In the Midnight Hour," Pickett's 1965 recordings included the singles "Don't Fight It," (#4 R&B, #53 pop) "634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A,)" (#1 R&B, #13 pop) and "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" (#13 R&B, #53 pop). All but "634-5789" were original compositions which Pickett co-wrote with Eddie Floyd or Steve Cropper or both; "634-5789" was credited to Cropper and Floyd alone.

For his next sessions, Pickett did not return to Stax, as the label's owner, Jim Stewart, had decided in December 1965 to ban outside productions. Wexler took Pickett to Fame Studios, a studio also with a close association with Atlantic Records, located in a converted tobacco warehouse in nearby Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Pickett recorded some of his biggest hits there, including the highest-charting version of "Land of 1,000 Dances", which was his third R&B #1 and his biggest pop hit, peaking at #6. It was a million-selling disc.

Other big hits from this era in Pickett's career included two covers: Mack Rice's "Mustang Sally", (#6 R&B, #23 pop), and Dyke & the Blazers' "Funky Broadway", (R&B #1, #8 pop). Both tracks were million sellers. The band heard on most of Pickett's Fame recordings included keyboardist Spooner Oldham, guitarist Jimmy Johnson, drummer Roger Hawkins, and bassist Tommy Cogbill.

Later Atlantic years (1967–1972)

Near the end of 1967, Pickett began recording at American Studios in Memphis with producers Tom Dowd and Tommy Cogbill, and began recording songs by Bobby Womack. The songs "I'm in Love," "Jealous Love," "I've Come a Long Way," "I'm a Midnight Mover," (co-written by Pickett and Womack), and "I Found a True Love" were Womack-penned hits for Pickett in 1967 and 1968. Pickett recorded works by other songwriters in this period; Rodger Collins' "She's Lookin' Good" and a cover of the traditional blues standard "Stagger Lee" were Top 40 hits Pickett recorded at American. Womack was the guitarist on all recordings.

Pickett returned to Fame Studios in late 1968 and early 1969, where he worked with a band that featured guitarist Duane Allman, Hawkins, and bassist Jerry Jemmott. A #16 pop hit cover of the The Beatles' "Hey Jude" came out of the Fame sessions, as well as the minor hits "Mini-Skirt Minnie" and "Hey Joe".

Late 1969 found Pickett at Criteria Studios in Miami. Hit covers of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (#16 R&B, #92 pop) and The Archies' "Sugar Sugar" (#4 R&B, #25 pop), and the Pickett original "She Said Yes" (#20 R&B, #68 pop) came from these sessions.

Pickett then teamed up with established Philadelphia-based hitmakers Gamble and Huff for the 1970 album Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia, which featured his next two hit singles, "Engine No. 9" and "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You", the latter selling one million copies.

Following these two hits, Pickett returned to Muscle Shoals and the band featuring David Hood, Hawkins and Tippy Armstrong. This lineup recorded Pickett's fifth and last R&B #1 hit, "Don't Knock My Love, Pt. 1". It was another Pickett recording that rang up sales in excess of a million copies. Two further hits followed in 1971: "Call My Name, I'll Be There" (#10 R&B, #52 pop) and "Fire and Water" (#2 R&B, #24 pop), a cover of a song by Free.

Pickett recorded several tracks in 1972 for a planned new album on Atlantic, but after the single "Funk Factory" reached #11 R&B and #58 pop in June 1972, he left Atlantic for RCA Records. His final Atlantic single, a cover of Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me Not to Come," was culled from Pickett's 1971 album Don't Knock My Love.

In 2010, Rhino Handmade released a comprehensive compilation of these years titled Funky Midnight Mover – The Studio Recordings (1962–1978). The compilation included all recordings originally issued during Pickett's Atlantic years along with previously unreleased recordings. This collection was sold online only by Rhino.com.

Post-Atlantic recording career

Pickett continued to record with success on the R&B charts for RCA in 1973 and 1974, scoring four top 30 R&B hits with "Mr. Magic Man", "Take a Closer Look at the Woman You're With", "International Playboy" (a re-recording of a song he had previously recorded for Atlantic), and "Soft Soul Boogie Woogie". However, he was failing to cross over to the pop charts with regularity, as none of these songs reached higher than #90 on the Hot 100. In 1975, with Pickett's once-prominent chart career on the wane, RCA dropped Pickett from the label. After being dropped, he formed the short-lived Wicked label, where he released one LP, Chocolate Mountain. In 1978, he made a disco album with Big Tree Records titled Funky Situation, which is a coincidence as, at that point, Big Tree was distributed by his former label, Atlantic. The following year, he released an album on EMI titled I Want You.

Pickett continued to record sporadically with several labels over the following decades (including Motown), occasionally making the lower to mid-range of the R&B charts, but he had no pop hit after 1974. His last record was issued in 1999, although he remained fairly active on the touring front until falling ill in 2004.

Pickett appeared in the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000, in which he performed "634–5789" with Eddie Floyd and Jonny Lang. He was previously mentioned in the 1980 film Blues Brothers, which features several members of Pickett's backing band, as well as a performance of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love."

Personal life and honors

Pickett's personal life was troubled. In 1991, he was arrested for allegedly yelling death threats while driving a car over the front lawn of Donald Aronson, the mayor of Englewood, New Jersey. Pickett agreed to perform a benefit concert in exchange for having the charges dropped. The following year, he was charged with assaulting his girlfriend.

In 1993, Pickett struck an 86-year-old pedestrian, Pepe Ruiz, with his car in Englewood. Ruiz, who had helped organize the New York animation union, died later that year. Pickett pleaded guilty to drunken driving charges and received a reduced sentence of one year in jail and five years probation.

Throughout the 1990s, despite his personal troubles, Pickett was repeatedly honored for his contributions to music. In addition to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, his music was prominently featured in the film The Commitments, with Pickett as an off-screen character. In 1993, he was honored with a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Pickett was a popular composer, writing songs that were recorded by many artists, including Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, the Grateful Dead, Booker T. & the MGs, Genesis, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hootie & the Blowfish, Echo & the Bunnymen, Roxy Music, Bruce Springsteen, Los Lobos, the Jam and Ani DiFranco, among others.

Several years after his release from jail, Pickett returned to the studio and received a Grammy Award nomination for the 1999 album It's Harder Now. The comeback resulted in his being honored as Soul/Blues Male Artist of the Year by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. It's Harder Now was voted 'Comeback Blues Album of the Year' and 'Soul/Blues Album of the Year.'

He co-starred in the 2002 documentary Only the Strong Survive, directed by D. A. Pennebaker, a selection of both the 2002 Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals. In 2003, Pickett was a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Pickett spent the twilight of his career playing dozens of concert dates every year until 2004, when he began suffering from health problems. While in the hospital, he returned to his spiritual roots and told his sister that he wanted to record a gospel album, but he never recovered.

Pickett was the father of six children.

On September 10, 2014, TVOne's Unsung aired a documentary on him.

Death

Pickett died from a heart attack on January 19, 2006, in Reston, Virginia. He was 64. He was laid to rest in a mausoleum at Evergreen Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. Pickett spent many years in Louisville after his mother moved there from Alabama. The eulogy was delivered by Pastor Steve Owens of Decatur, Georgia. Little Richard, a long-time friend of Pickett's, spoke about him and preached a message at the funeral. Pickett was remembered on March 20, 2006, at New York's B.B. King Blues Club with performances by the Commitments, Ben E. King, his long-term backing band the Midnight Movers, soul singer Bruce "Big Daddy" Wayne, and Southside Johnny in front of an audience that included members of his family, including two brothers.

Discography

SinglesAlbums

It's Too Late (1963, Double L)

In the Midnight Hour (1965, Atlantic)

The Exciting Wilson Pickett (1966, Atlantic) US: #21

The Best of Wilson Pickett (1967, Atlantic) US: #35

The Wicked Pickett (1967, Atlantic) US: #42

The Sound of Wilson Pickett (1967, Atlantic) US: #54

I'm in Love (1967, Atlantic) US: #70

The Midnight Mover (1968, Atlantic) US: #91

Hey Jude (1969, Atlantic) US: #97

Right On (1970, Atlantic)

Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia (1970, Atlantic) US: #64

The Best of Wilson Pickett, Vol. II (1971, Atlantic) US: #73

Don't Knock My Love (1972, Atlantic) US: #132

Mr. Magic Man (1973, RCA) US: #187

Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits (1973) US: #178

Miz Lena's Boy (1973, RCA) US: #212

Pickett in the Pocket (1974, RCA)

Live in Japan (1974, RCA)

Join Me and Let's Be Free (1975, RCA)

Chocolate Mountain (1976, Wicked)

Funky Situation (1978, Big Tree)

I Want You (1979, EMI) US: #205

Right Track (1981, EMI)

American Soul Man (1987, Motown)

Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits (1987, Atlantic)

A Man and a Half: The Best of Wilson Pickett (1992, Rhino/Atlantic)

It's Harder Now (1999, Bullseye Blues)

Live and Burnin' – Stockholm '69 (2009, Soulsville)

Live in Germany 1968 (2009, Crypt Records 2009)

Funky Midnight Mover: The Atlantic Studio Recordings (1962–1978) (2010, Rhino)

Wikipedia

#Wilson Pickett