#isbel rants

[angsty-worm]

ok ok hear me out I know that in general the tumblr queers I happen to associate with aren’t generally into americana and folk rock but if people on here found the lyrics of almost any jason isbell song without knowing the actual music I guarantee they would want to listen to it just cause of how well written and emotional it is

i feel like there was a point I was trying to make but now I’m just obsession ranting about jason isbell

not sorry

#but like daisy mae??? live oak?? cover me up?? chaos and clothes? overseas?? decoration day???? #king of oklahoma?? strawberry woman??? last of my kind?? masterpieces I swear #jason isbell #music #americana #folk rock #jason isbell and the 400 unit

[isbelstrash]

SO let’s talk about Sanditon. overall an entertaining series with good actors. howEver. is it Jane Austen? n o . i fail to see how it honors her perspective on the world at all. the only thing i liked about the series was what she actually wrote - the setting and a handful of interesting characters. (she actually only wrote 11 chapters, which covered half of the first episode. from there the adapters wrote whatever they liked.)

what i love about Austen is that she wrote almost exclusively about women, and the difficulties women encountered in that era - an era she used her stories to analyse and comment on. she gave us interesting, real women characters, who very much drove the story. i read a comment somewhere that said “her books don’t pass the reverse Bechdel test” which i absolutely love. FINALLY we get to take part in this extremely intelligent writing, from our own perspective! and what do they do with that? how do they honour one of the most astonishing writers of all time?

they make our heroine passive in her own story. i partly even forgot about her at times. they copy (very Badly) the Pride and Prejudice storyline, mix it with some Mr Rochester-nonsense - but manage to miss the whole point of the character developments in P&P. because lovely, opinionated Charlotte ends up apologising for not being “girly” and submissive enough. meanwhile our Love Interest Sidney, who was being straight up hostile, continually yelling harsh words at her with such hate (i straight up thought he might smack her at times) and ends up telling her that no - it’s okay, he’s the one who should apologise, he actually he loves her now! in the end only he has had a character development, only he has improved. she has “tamed” him (ugh we’ve seen this ENOUGH). she’s just insecure and dependent on his approval of her character now. he wins, she loses.

also - all the sexual acts? are so cheap, you’re not writing for Riverdale? one of the adapters, Andrew Davies, literally said: "I really aim to please myself, writing these things. I write something that I would like to watch. And I suppose the sexing it up thing comes in fairly naturally. If it's not there I feel that that's a shame, and I put some in." HOW is this honouring the incredible author who you Should be honouring? or the audience she wrote for, who you should be pleasing?

leave it to men to ruin something so important as our art and the meaning of our progress, to disrespect it with ignorance. if you don’t understand what Jane Austen meant for women at the time or even now (because honestly. we scarcely ever get anything different than this shit-show nowadays), you shouldn’t even breathe on it.

there’s plenty more to talk about, like the ending - but we all know that was out of character and just terrible writing, perhaps to milk the series for a second season.

#isbel rants #Sanditon

[aroconfusion]

turns out it’s aggressive aro-spec week so i thought i’d write abt some of my fav aro-spec headcannons:

from atla:

demi katara, that’s why she’s so confused abt aang and they don’t actually get together till way later bc aang is 12 literally a baby just let them be friends till later okay that’s all

non-sam aro toph, she don’t give a fuck, she thriving

aroace azula, she just Does Not Understand and i love her for it

from the good place:

aroace michael the whole kissing rant he went on, like yes pls

allo aro tahani, i thinks she’s bi aro bc i said so

from everything else:

aroace katniss, obviously the classic she uses a bow and arrow it’s too perfect

aroace charlie weasley form harry potter, another classic

isbelle lightwood from the mortal instruments/the shadow hunter chronicles, i think she’s aro-spec probably demi or greyro?

these are just my personal hc’s, do y’all agree? disagree? have any others?? i love to hear abt aro headcannons!

#aro azula #demi katara #aro toph #aro headcanons #aromantic headcanons #aro #aromantic #AggressiveArospecWeek #aaw21 #i hope i did that right

[kip-loric]

Okay, so, book rant.

I read the prey series, a trilogy by Tom Isbell, before the lorien legacies (the goal was to get over the prey with lorien legacies. It didn't work and now I'm obsessed about both of them :/). It's a science fiction series set in the future a couple decades after a nuclear war. The world is in ruins, there's no internet and barely any electronics.

It's not popular, and I haven't done a lot of digging on the books or the author, but I really like it. I definitely understand why people don't like it, the writing itself could be better and the romance is SO BAD. There's not a ton of character development, but the characters are still really cool and there's some representation in there! The two main characters are both POC as well as a couple others. The nuclear war made a lot of radiation and affected future generations physically, so at least half the characters are a little 'abnormal.'

I enjoyed the plot a lot and it always kept me captivated.

This three books have a special place in my heart, as I was going through a bunch of stuff when I read them, and they made me feel a LOT. When I finished reading the books a couple months ago I was devastated to find no fandom, fanart, or fanfiction. So,,, I drew some of my favorite characters from the trilogy!

Just ignore my bad cursive in the middle. Twitch is my favorite, but he didn't really get a bunch of 'screen time.' Book is one of the main characters.

#the prey #the prey series #the prey trilogy #tom isbell #the prey book series #its made me cry so many times #but i still luv it #the capture #this is for future fans mostly #enjoy

[motleyfuckingcruee]

Your Song (Izzy Stradlin x reader)

Requested:

Ok so what about Izzy being in love with the reader but they don't realize it and starts to hang out a lot with Duff so Izzy gets jealous and upset and confesses his feelings to them kinda angsty kinda fluffy, ya know ily girl💗🌸 requested by anon

COMMENT IF YOU WANT TO BE ON A TAGLIST! OR GO TO MY BIO TO ADD YOURSELF TO ONE!

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!!!

SONG THE TITLE IS BASED OFF OF:

Your Song

///

You and Izzy have been best friends for nearly twelve years now. You’ve been through thick and thin. When Axl was still William Bailey and Izzy was still Jeffrey Isbell, you had moved with them to the City of Angels. You were there when L.A guns was formed and when it failed. You were there then Guns N Roses had come together. Through the entire process you were there for Izzy, supporting him no matter what. Only you were absolutely clueless to his feelings towards you.

Now, you sit on the couch in the recording studio. Izzy is in the booth recording a guitar part with Slash. Izzy is wearing a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a grey vest over the top. A gray paper boy hat sits on top of his greasy black hair. Slash, who’s very intently looking at his guitar, simply wears no shirt and has his hair pulled back.

You smile at the rhythmic sounds of the guitars and let yourself relax. You’d been tense all week while trying to find a job. No one would take you since you didn’t have any experience. You genuinely had no idea what to do. You had to pay rent somehow.

A sudden weight beside you causes you to snap out of your thoughts. You look over to see a smiling blonde staring at you. “Hi, Duff.”

“Hello, gorgeous,” He says, the smile almost growing wider if that’s even possible.

You just let out a small laugh and look back over at Izzy. He’s staring at you and Duff. An almost jealous tint dims his eyes. But that doesn’t make any sense. Izzy doesn’t have feelings for you. He’s proved that with the many women he’s slept with or made out with in front of you.

“What’s the matter, Y/N?” Duff asks, once agains snapping you out of your thoughts.

“Nothing,” You quickly answer, your eyes turn to meet his hazel ones. You’re not in the mood to talk about how you’re struggling to support yourself. You hate talking about your problems.

Duff laughs. Not a normal laugh, however. No. It’s the dry kind that has no humor in it whatsoever. “I may not know you as well as Axl or Izzy, but I can tell something is wrong. I’m not that self-absorbed.”

“I would’ve said ‘vodka absorbed’,” You quip, causing a genuine laugh to come from the tall bassist.

“You’re very funny.” Duff reaches over and rests a hand on your knee. You don’t feel threatened by this. You actually feel comforted. It’s like when Axl does it to help you feel better. “Now, what’s wrong? I hate to see a pretty girl like you upset.”

You smile softly at him. You take a chance glance back over to Izzy. He looks almost mad to see Duff touching you. You slightly shake your head. There’s no way Izzy is jealous. He hasn’t shown interest before. You’re definitely imagining things. Your eyes move back to Duff’s concerned eyes. He genuinely is worried.

“I can’t find a job and rent is due next week.” You let out a ragged breath, feeling tears prick at your eyes. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t live on the streets. I’m not strong enough for that shit.”

Duff laughs at the last sentence which makes you feel a little bit better. “I’m sure the guys wouldn’t mind you moving in with us. We all love you. And as for a job, maybe you could be our manager? Hell, you already get us up in time for gigs and book us recording time. You’ve even got us a few gigs at the Troubadour. I’ve no doubt that you’d be an amazing manager. Plus when we get famous you could go on tour with us.”

You smile at how he’s trying to help, and it’s not a bad idea. In fact, it’s a great idea. You just don’t know how you’d feel living with five other guys.

“Sounds perfect,” You say, grinning.

Later that day after the guys had finished recording, you all headed back to the apartment. Before you could even take your jacket off, Izzy grabs your wrist and pulls you into his room. You stand in the middle of the room with a confused expression as Izzy shuts the door. He leans his back against it and crosses his arms. His dark eyes pierce your own.

“What were you and Duff talking about?” He demands, a condescending tone in his voice.

You absolutely cannot tell him about the trouble you’re having right now. He’ll only fuss about it for the next few months and will only worry about you. He can’t know until you have everything figured out.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Izzy asks in a disbelieving tone. “Nothing!” His voice goes higher. He kicks himself off the door. He immediately starts to pace back and forth in front of you, making you nervous. You sit down on the matress on the floor. You already know he’s about to start a rant. “It obviously wasn’t ‘nothing’. He was touching you! I hope you know that he only wants to get into your pants, Y/N. He’s not a guy that wants a relationship, and you’re not the relationship type! What the hell were you thinking? Are you trying to get yourself hurt? Are you trying to make yourself miserable? You deserve someone that will treat you like a princess! Someone who would drop everything, no matter what it is, if you need them! Someone who is willing to spend the rest of his life with you because he’s been so in love with you since he first met you! You need someone like. . .,” He trails off, stopping his pacing in front of you.

“Someone like?” You say, wanting him to finish that sentence.

He runs a hand through his hair, making the hat fall off of his head. He opens his mouth to say something, but instead rushes forward. He leans down and kisses you as hard as he can. You kiss back immediately. He pulls away, however. You can’t help but feel disappointed.

“I’m sorry,” He says, his cheeks flushing pink.

“Do you have something to tell me, Iz?” You smirk, crossing your arms.

He smiles back, laughing a little. “I’m in love with you.”

You stand up and wrap your arms around his neck. “Good, because I’m in love with you, too.”

TAGLIST:

All fics:

@the--blackdahlia @sugar-content @sharon6713 @siliwanoel @charlyallise @lo-bells @lauravic @livingdeadharley @kawennote09 @ozzypawsbone-princeofbarkness @hllywdwhre @abbysdogcollar @nikkisixxwiththebass @waywardprincess666 @tommyleeownsme  

@rock-n-roll-soul-frankie @unholy-brat @eak1996 @madsthegroupie @sinningsixx @Kissyourrosegoodbyemotley

Izzy:

@cheshirecat107

#80s music #classic rock #80s rock #rocknroll #duff mckagan #rockband #izzy stradlin #izzy stradlin x reader #reader imagine #reader insert #reader #fanfiction #izzy stradlin fanfiction

[vulcandyke]

Okay, I ranted a lot in the tags on that post I reblogged but I have a Lot Of Thoughts about country music so here we go! This got long so scroll to the very bottom for a tl;dr.

I grew up on what a lot of people consider to be “good” country: Hank Williams, George Strait, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Robert Earl Keen, etc. (Not to mention a lot of blues, which is objectively the biggest influence on country as a genre; without blues, we wouldn’t have country and similar genres at all, but that’s a topic for another rant.) 

Mainstream country has diverged from their styles a lot. Just look at songs like “Man in Black” by Johnny Cash. It’s about why he chose his infamous all-black style. Here’s the first verse: “I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down/Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town/I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime/But is there because he's a victim of the times”. It’s so exemplary of what country is supposed to be about; a way to speak out against injustice and give a voice to the voiceless. In the same song, a few verses later, he speaks out against the Vietnam War with the following lyrics: ”Each week we lose a hundred fine young men/And, I wear it for the thousands who have died/Believing that the Lord was on their side/I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died/Believing that we all were on their side”. Keep in mind that this album is from 1971, so it was a VERY big deal for him to be vocally anti-Vietnam, but he was. 

Now let’s look at what is, according to Billboard, 2019′s number one country song: “Whiskey Glasses” by Morgan Wallen. It’s not a bad song, and it’s catchy as hell, but it doesn’t hold the same weight that “Man in Black” does. Here’s a snippet of “Whiskey Glasses”:  “Don't wanna think about her/Or wear a ring without her/Don't wanna hit the karaoke bar/Can't sing without her/So make them drinks strong/'Cause, brother, she's gone/And if I’m ever gonna move on/I’ma need some whiskey glasses,”. The whole song is exactly what people think all modern country is; repetitive, simple lyrics without much meaning behind them beyond “My girlfriend left me and I’m sad”. 

But modern country music extends WAY beyond songs like “Whiskey Glasses” or “Big Green Tractor” or all the variations on “My Truck is Big and My Beer is Cold”. A lot of it gets labelled folk or americana, but there’s still a lot of good country music being made that has meaning. Let’s take a look at one of my favorite modern country artists, Jason Isbell. He’s got a song called “White Man’s World” that’s literally just about how awful the world is for anyone who isn’t a white man. I could talk about this one song for forever, but I’ll break it down. He starts off singing about how he has a baby daughter and he “thought this world could be hers one day, but her mama knew better.” He also references the current climate in modern country music in the next verse with the line “Mama wants to change that Nashville sound, but they’re never gonna let her,” referencing how the country scene is extremely hard to break into for anyone that isn’t a cishet white man. Then there’s the chorus: “There's no such thing as someone else's war/Your creature comforts aren't the only things worth fighting for/Still breathing, it's not too late/We're all carrying one big burden, sharing one fate.” Then he acknowledges how easy it is for people to shrug off discrimination/racism when it isn’t directly affecting them: “I'm a white man looking in a black man's eyes/Wishing I'd never been one of the guys/Who pretended not to hear another white man's joke/Oh, the times ain't forgotten”. He finishes it off by saying that “the man upstairs must’ve took a vacation” but that he still has faith because of the fire in his little girl’s eyes. This is a lot closer to what country used to be than “Whiskey Glasses”. Acknowledging injustice and working to make things better, and hoping for a future where that work pays off. 

Another modern artist that I would argue is one of the best today is Tyler Childers. A large portion of his discography is about poverty, particularly among coal miners. “Hard Times” is about a man who’s so desperate for money to feed his family that, when the mining job isn’t paying enough, he robs a gas station and gets killed in the process. “Coal” is about the overall struggles of being a coal miner, and it has some of my favorite lyrics out of any of his songs: “When God spoke out "Let there be light"/He put the first of us in the ground” and “Now it's darker than a dungeon/And it's deeper than a well/So sometimes I imagine that I'm getting pretty close to Hell/And in my darkest hour I cry out to the Lord/He says "Keep on a'mining, boy, 'cause that's why you were born". “Banded Clovis” is about a poor man who’s so desperate for cash that, when he’s out sifting for gold with his friends and one of them finds a Clovis point (a prehistoric tool that can sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars), he kills him for it and ends up in jail. So much of his music is the perfect shade of melancholy and it represents what it’s like growing up poor in the south with amazing accuracy. 

There’s also a lot of lighter-hearted modern country music, especially love songs, that are SO much better than what’s being played on the radio. “If We Were Vampires” by Jason Isbell has the lines, “If we were vampires and death was a joke/We’d go out on the sidewalk and smoke/We’d laugh at all the lovers and their plans/I wouldn’t feel the need to hold your hand./Maybe time running out is a gift/I’ll work hard till the end of my shift/And give you every second I can find/And hope it isn’t me who’s left behind.” There’s something so heartfelt about the fact that he wouldn’t want to be immortal because he wants to make sure that he appreciates her to the degree that she deserves to be appreciated. Slaid Cleaves has a really cute, lighthearted song called “Texas Love Song” about how he loves the subject of the song more than he loves Texas, which as any Texan knows, is a hell of a thing to say.

Anyway, I’ve talked a lot about Jason Isbell and Tyler Childers but my point is that there are so many artists out there who are making genuine art in the country genre, not the commercialized “bro country” that a lot of people are familiar with. There’s still a huge issue with POC and female representation in mainstream country, and believe me, I could spend hours talking about that, but I want to defend the fact that there’s still a lot of good country music being made. For every Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, and Blake Shelton, there’s also a Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell. You just have to know how to find it.

If you’ve somehow made it this far, first of all, bless you. Thank you for entertaining my rant. Second of all, if you’re interested in getting into country music, I’ve got a few suggestions. The best place to start is probably with the classics I mentioned earlier. Dolly Parton is a must, especially “9 to 5″, which I maintain is the modern musical Communist Manifesto. Robert Earl Keen is one of my all-time favorite musicians particularly because of how his songs feel so nostalgic. “No Kinda Dancer” and “Feelin’ Good Again” are both amazing. If you want to get into more modern artists, though, here’s a few:

Jason Isbell

Tyler Childers

Tejon Street Corner Thieves: you could argue that they’re closer to blues than to alt-country, but like I said before, blues is a HUGE influence on country and if you like one. I’m willing to bet you’ll like the other.

Colter Wall: I’ve just started listening to him but he has vibes similar to a lot of older country music. Deep voice, acoustic guitar. It slaps.

Justin Townes Earle: he’s got a really good song called “Harlem River Blues” about suicide. Also, he’s Steve Earle’s son!

Amigo the Devil: if you’re into darker themes and a little rougher music, you’ll love him. I’d classify his music specifically as “murder folk”. “I Hope Your Husband Dies” and “Delilah” (although the latter is a cover) are good place to start. 

Shakey Graves: his cover of A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart makes from Cinderella is fucking gold. I don’t think there’s a single song of his that I don’t like.

This is getting REALLY long, so I’ll stop. 

TL;DR Country music isn’t bad! A lot of people hate it because mainstream country is shallow and repetitive but it isn’t all like that! Broaden your horizons!

#music #country music #i really just wrote 1.5k words about country music jesus christ #and ik none of yall care about this #i just had to say it #ngl it bothers me when people act like all modern country is trash #as im sure you can tell from this fucking essay #ren rants #quarantine diary #this took me over an hour to word right dfdgsdgjslgkjsdl

[krispyweiss]

Album Review: Todd Snider - Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3

When Todd Snider released Eastside Bulldog - a hard-punching collection of lightweight garage-rock numbers - in 2016, he had this to say:

“I don’t think people that like me are going to like it that much."

That was then.

Now, the people who like Snider are going to adore Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3, a 35-minute collection of 10 acoustic tracks and two spoken-word intros that follows the arc of Snider’s wildly entertaining solo shows.

As the name suggests, Snider cut the LP at Johnny Cash’s studio. As the name doesn’t suggest, there are no preceding volumes, so there’s no sense in searching for them.

Twenty-five years in to a quirky, quixotic career, Snider’s place in the pantheon of the great, modern troubadours is secure. At a stage when most songwriters are tapped, Snider’s well is recharged on Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3.

And its release makes it official: Todd Snider is a national treasure.

Like John Prine, Snider can tickle the funny bone and crush the heart in quick succession. And he does so, reacting to impending societal collapse with an offhanded Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, motherfucker on the stream-of-consciousness rant that is “The Blues on Banjo,” and responding to daily outrages by gleefully singing, Ain’t that some bullshit? to the tune of "Spoonful" on “A Timeless Response to Current Events."

Then, Snider gets serious with Jason Isbell, one of only a couple of guests on the mostly solo, all-acoustic LP, on “Like a Force of Nature.”

May your hope always outweigh your doubt/until this ol’ world finally punches you out/may you always play your music/loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors/may you play at least loud enough/to always wake yourself up

Snider nods to Songs for the Daily Planet on “Talking Reality Television Blues;” recounts a beautiful, supernatural reunion of the living (the Coal Miner’s Daughter) and the dead (the Man in Black) on “The Ghost of Johnny Cash;” and sums up his career to date with “Working on a Song.”

When I woke up this morning, I was more than twice my age, the 52-year-old sings.

Snider has, indeed, matured a bit over the years. But the fact that he's mostly still the same smug, smart-ass kid who emerged on the national scene a quarter-century ago is his everlasting charm.

Grade card: Todd Snider - Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 - A-

3/20/19

#todd snider #johnny cash #loretta lynn #jason isbell #cash cabin sessions vol. 3 #songs for the daily planet #eastside bulldog

[newagesispage]

                                                          DECEMBER        2017

*****The Astros win the World series.

*****Jill Kimmel is doing stand up.** Her brother Jimmy’s childhood drawings were turned into flesh super heroes The terrific Ten.** Jimmy is in a twitter war with Roy Moore. After being called out by Moore, Jimmy is heading to Alabama to either fight or talk since he is unsure of what Moore is taunting him to do. He wants to dress like a girl scout since he feels that Moore only notices little girls. Kimmel would really like to talk Christianity because as a Christian he does not understand him.

*****So.. Scary clown has delayed his decision on elephant trophy’s which has angered hunting groups.** It is said that Rex Tillerson is about to be out and Mike Pompeo in. Business as usual!

**** The tax bill is atrocious. It adds a trillion to the deficit and the middle class tax cuts would expire.  They are trying to sneak in a caveat in the part about college savings plan. It would not actually change anything for savings now but it a backdoor way to have their way on abortion. It would introduce ‘fetal personhood’ into law which of course would be a short leap to taking away choice.

*****Scary clown 45 is ranting about the jury in the case of Kate Steinley who the jury says was accidently shot by an immigrant named Jose Inez Garcia Zarate.  Trump has been ranting about this case for a while now but the San Francisco trial just ended.** And we are really seeing what Trump and his fake news are doing to the world. His yelling about CNN put doubt into other countries about a REAL story they did on modern day slave auctions in Libya. These are real humans that need help and he has others doubting the very story. ** He also put out fake stories about terrorism which were debunked but Huckabee Sanders said it does not matter if the stories are real, the threat is real. The fake news also gave much free publicity to hate group Britain First.

*****The original Conklin’s barn was torn down on November 7. Fingers crossed that the donations will keep coming in so they can reopen by December 2018 as Barn 3. Time for some Days cast members to donate some fundraising time??

*****Patton Oswalt kicked ass in his new Netflix special Annihilation and also just got married to Meredith Salenger.

*****Boo Boo Stewart and Mark Derwin star in Lowlifes out in 2018. Lowlifes is the story of a second chance boot camp who stumble onto a terrorist group.

*****Meghan McCain seems so angry and it seems she wants to tear Joy Behar’s head off sometimes. She is supportive of some liberal agendas but automatically turns off some ideas simply because of who is proposing them. This is the very thing she rails against. I did love her take on sleezy Matt Lauer though, I too never had any respect for him after the Anne Curry thing. And c’mon ET all the Lauer clips you showed seemed to have him in front of Rolling Stones advertising.** Lauer has been accused of many things including exposing himself. Why do these men always think we want to see their dicks? They all think they have something special, they are not that fucking different. Keep it in your pants, most would be embarrassed if they were held up to other men. And I don not believe for a minute that Jeff Zucker did not know about it. I never trusted him either.

*****China says that Trump is proof that democracy does not work. They are benefitting from our misery and zeroing in on being number 1. Besides spreading propaganda, they are making lots of jobs with clean energy that they can sell to the world.

*****Steve Green of Hobby Lobby has finally opened the 500 million dollar Bible museum. The idea of making all guests sign a promise to become evangelicals when they leave was nixed.

*****$15 mil in taxpayer money has been spent on the sexual harassment complaints of congress.

*****James Jagger and Matilda Lutz are the face of Giorgio Armani’s fragrances Because it’s you for her and Stronger with you for him.

*****Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross declared the divestment of his holdings but he’s still part owner in a company. This Russian company has ties to Putin’s son in law.

*****Please Please Conan.. More Butterscotch the clown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*****The UK is having its own political and sexual misconduct scandals including a secretary of state Damian Green.

*****The Mark Twain prize for Letterman was filled with my favorites and was very emotional. Al Franken edited out? Maher is right: The liberals are pussies.

*****The Paradise papers about offshore finances were leaked.  The secret financial activities of the superrich show a lot of Russian dealings. There are also questions about Queen Elizabeth’s private estate and other business leaders.

*****The list of those accused of sexual misconduct grows, from Dustin Hoffman to Brett Ratner to Russell Simmons and more to come. Simmons is accused of raping Lena Horne’s granddaughter. We need a special kind of thank you for Ronan Farrow who is working tirelessly to blow the lid off of the Weinstein bullshit. I Can’t wait for his new book. He has exposed many things which have helped feel safe enough to come forward. So many helped in the Weinstein mess , including Dylan Howard, chief content officer of American Media Inc. which publishes The Enquirer. Howard was apparently a helper in the disgusting network of suppression. Sime sticks together like Levin sticks with Trump.** We need a real truth teller, an honest Cronkite type and I see it in Ronan. **Jane Seymour had her own story of sexual harassment with a powerful producer at the start of her career.** Charlie Rose is fired after his allegations. That one hurts.** I am so glad the women are coming forward. The bravery of citizens like in The Keepers is opening up a world of (hopefully) more truth, more justice. ** Are political operatives helping to dig any of this up?** A good portion of people I know are natural flirts. Are there some who don’t even realize that they are offending? Out and out rape and authority figures who try to stop an employee’s rise when they do not get their sexual way is obviously wrong.  We are human though and sometimes that line may be crossed unintentionally. I think each story has to be looked at for what it is. We must discern between real and cruel sexual situations and tasteless jokes and bad manners. All is wrong but there are different ways to deal with the accused. Listen fully to the stories from the victim’s mouth. Follow the evidence and force yes or no answers. This political speak of “let me tell you” or “I will say this” is nonsense. People out and out believe that celebs of journalists did the bad deed but politicians receive more skepticism. People take the side of their left or right hero without really listening. If you can’t see the difference I wonder about your ability to reason, about your moral compass. An Al Franken or Garrison Keillor seem to be a bit different from a Weinstein. ** Uma Thurman had a great tweet: Happy Thanksgiving everyone (except you Harvey, and all your wicked conspirators. I’m glad it’s going slowly-you don’t deserve a bullet)** Pelosi could be a little more eloquent and quit getting in her own way defending the left. Just before I put this page out, Pelosi says Conyers should resign.. WOW! complete turn around.** A woman came forward to the Washington Post trying to push some fake news about Roy Moore. She claimed that she was impregnated by him and then it was found that she was meeting with Project Veritas whose purpose it is to set up stings on the mainstream media. Of course there are REAL reporters at the Post so the story was not published.  Hmm imagine looking up facts and not getting your news from the 700 Club or online scuttlebutt. ** Isn’t all the money and power enough for these men at the top? Law and order SVU must have enough script ideas for another 20 years.** Is all the women standing up and not taking it anymore what we get for losing Hillary? It is like she had to sacrifice herself and gain liberation for the rest of us. So many can’t believe what got into the White house and real truths need to be out there. WAKE

*****Prince Harry and former Deal or no Deal employee, Meghan Markle are engaged .

*****The governor’s award honored Donald Sutherland

***** Fashion Police on E is over.

*****I watched Ozark on Netflix and wasn’t too sure after the first episode but tried the second and then I was in. There were times when I could not quite suspend my disbelief but then there were so many characters that I seemed to recognize from my real life. Bateman and many deserve some love for this project and I will miss Russ in season 2.

*****Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr story sounds like a great doc.

*****The Grammy noms are out and leading the way was Jay-Z with 8. That was followed up with Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, SZA, Childish Gambino and Khalid. Also on the list of nominations are Lorde, Lady Gaga, Imagine Dragons, Bob Dylan, Kraftwerk, Leonard Cohen, Jason Isbell, Gregg Allman, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Bruce Springsteen, Bernie Sanders, Carrie Fisher, Dave Chappelle, Queens of the stone age, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Hart and The Rolling Stones.

*****So glad Search Party on TBS is back!!

*****The Crowns Plaza hotel has a projection on the outside of the building that declares FUCK TRUMP.

*****Don’t take your eyes off this administration and the judges he is putting in place, the rules that he and his cohorts are changing and the rights he is taking away from all of us. We have a lot to deal with now but don’t let his tweets or his slick talkers distract you. Yes we need justice from the Russian probe but somebody is handling that,. I wish the news would let that play out and update us more on what they are taking from us.** If you can’t see what is wtong with a Trump or a Roy Moore, I have to wonder about your moral character.

*****Hooray for Washington Week for 50 years and Meet the Press for 70. Thanks Washington Week for your touching tribute to Gwen Ifill.

*****Dan Rather has a new book, What unites us.

*****Nathan Fillion is back on ABC with The Rookie. The program is inspired by a true story of the oldest rookie in the LAPD from the executive producer of Criminal Minds, Mark Gordon.

*****For the fifth year in a row Michael Jackson has been the top dead celebrity earner.

*****Laurence Fishburne is divorcing Gina Torres.

*****Papa John’s has apologized for blaming the knee taking football players for low pizza sales. C’mon who eats that pizza anyway?.. get a good product!** The alt right has named them their official pizza.

*****Voting has begun for the rock and roll hall of fame. This year we have Bon Jovi, the Moody Blues, Dire Straits, The Cars. Judas Priest, The Eurythmics, The Zombies, J. Geils Band( please finally!!!!!), Depeche Mode and Nina Simone.

*****U.S. court judge Colleen Kollar- Kotelly barred Trump from continuing with plans to exclude transgender people from military service and thinks those who have sued have a good case.

*****So.. What the fuck is the hinky biz going on at Guantanamo?  The place has its own rules and nobody can seem to agree on said rules. Brigadier General Baker found good cause for Nashiri, a suspect in the USS Cole bombing, to lose his lawyers. After the lawyers were allowed to quit, a judge ordered Baker to rescind that order but he refused.  The judge put the General in jail. The General , a U.S. citizen and  the 2nd highest ranking officer in the military claims the judge has no jurisdiction over him. We will have to see how this plays out.

*****James Comey is releasing his story in May with the book A Higher Loyalty.

*****Michael Lewis tells us about all the prep the Obama administration went thru to bring the Trump administration up to snuff in his new nook The Undoing project.

*****Brit Vandegraft married John Witt on October 14 and honeymooned thru Dallas and on to the West.

*****According to the pentagon, America has spent $250 mil a day on war every single day for sixteen years.

*****Donna Brazile’s book Hacks claims the Dem campaigns were offered a chance to bail out the DNC and get much support. The Bernie campaign declined but the Hillary campaign supplied the money. Brazile seemed a bit surprised and rattled about the reaction to her book in the beginning.  After a couple of weeks she settled into it and the defensiveness sort of faded.  She tells us that she has been in politics for fifty years and if we don’t like it ,we don’t have to buy it. She claims she enjoyed Hillary’s book and backed her all the way.  Brazile writes that she got to the bottom of everything when she took over the DNC and was threatened over and over again.

*****Days alert: WTF Adrienne?? Poor Lucas never gets to keep the girl! **Peggy McCay celebrated her 90th.** Keep Hope and Raif together. Damn!

*****So glad to see Katherine Erbe on How to get away with murder.

*****Spot on writing and acting on another level with Jane and Lily and Sam and Martin on Grace and Frankie. What treasures!!  Thrilled to see the appearance of Mary kay Place . Craig Welzbacher who played Myron on Days was on there too.

*****Dinklage, Harrelson and McDormand in Three Billboards… can’t wait.

*****This winter, Trump requested 70 foreign workers with special permission from the U.S. labor department for Mar –A- Lago. He also would like some for various golf clubs thru the H-2B visa program. There are currently 5,136 qualified persons in the area ready to work. America first?

*****The second part of Stranger Things just as good as the first.

*****Scary Clown 45 is being sued because he blocked twitter followers.  He now knows that since he uses his tweets as an ‘instrument of governance’ blocking is not allowed.

*****Fifty years brings Rolling Stone magazine an HBO doc, a rock and roll hall of fame exhibit and the whole thing up for sale.

*****Rand Paul was attacked by his neighbor as he mowed his lawn.

*****Ok.. I realize that shows like The View have to shift.. well I guess they do.. But I don’t get how they can talk about a shooting and then hey ”view your deal’.  C’mon, it just seems so inappropriate to suddenly talk about spending $ on silly things. I always tune out when this shit happens.. can’t this shit be at the end of the show. No offense to those companies but I do not watch for that. .. But good for Sonny Hostin for going to Puerto Rico to tell their story.

*****Sad to see Dale Earnhardt Jr run his last race. Is Chase Elliott the next Mr. popular ?

*****An American woman, Shalane Flanagan won the New York marathon.

*****Manafort had 3 passports and we won’t get to the trial for he and Gates until May.

*****Charles Manson is dead. Writer Phil Luciano still has some letters from him that he does not know what to do with. They are now headed into the Lincoln library in Springfield, Il.** How did Charlie wrangle such good publicity from American Horror story? The timing as usual is impeccable. Charles (Manson) in charge?** The History channel seems to have some unheard recordings from Charlie that will air on December 3 as Manson Speaks.

*****Prince Salmon Mohamed is purging in Saudi Arabia. His crackdown has included about 500 other Princes who have been rounded up. He is consolidating power and getting rid of enemies. Just days before Jared Kushner went for a visit.  It seems like so many ego driven men in the world today are grabbing all the power they can.

*****Check out Jeff Ross roasts the border.

*****The recent elections went pretty well for the left including Bill DeBlasio. Congrats to all the newly elected including the first openly trans woman and an African American mayor in Montana. Nobody should get too cocky.

*****The VA says they won’t help the dishonorably discharged per the Trump team.  Hmm no help from VA, no universal health care.. I guess soldiers should suffer in silence, beat their families or become addicts.

*****Wow Darrell Hammond was awesome on a Criminal Minds that Aisha Tyler directed.** BTW Did ya see the episode where Mantagna utters the line, “I don’t like a the snakes.’? OMG

*****HBO is making a limited series about the Jonestown tragedy with Vince Gilligan and Octavia Spencer.

***** Watch for Peter Fonda in The Ballad of Lefty Brown coming out December 15.

***** So.. Tiny kitchens are a thing?

***** Pumpkin spice has reached its peak. Pumpkin out: Maple in.

*****Check out Sean Astin as Paul Manafort in Houseguest (on Colbert).

*****I thought my head was gonna explode when Bill Maher had Michael Moore, Donna Brazile, Chris Matthews and Sarah Silverman on the same episode.

*****So the People mag sexiest man is stupid anyway but Idris isn’t the man this year? WTF??

*****Jim and Andy: The story inside the story inside the story of Carrey playing Kaufman. This is a great piece of work.  Is it wrong to say how hot it is that Jim gets this look in his eye about Andy? Even though he is no longer inhabited by Kaufman, something seems to bubble inside him when he talks about the man.

*****On November 14th Bob Corker held hearings on executive authority to use nuke’s .

*****The Louis CK film I was looking forward to ‘I love you Daddy’ looks like a wash.

*****They say the Pres has no control over fuel prices but Trump in.. prices soaring.

*****Rwanda has offered to host African migrants stranded in Libya.

*****Why do people always say they did not think it would happen to them or their communities when shootings happen? How long does it take to sink in to Americans that mental illness and this obsession with weapons is everywhere?  I will agree with a couple of things that the NRA says like we need to enforce the rules in place better a that mental health is a big part of the problem. If mental health is the real issue then where is the universal health care we need to take care of this problem?

*****GQ has named Colin Kaepernick citizen of the year.

*****Just as I am posting this the Mike Flynn charges were announced. They broke into the news with this news. A real reporter must never get any sleep in these Trump times. Apparently he is pleading guilty and cooperating in the Russian investigation. Go Go GO DOJ!

*****Why is the last sketch on Saturday Night Live usually the best?

*****R.I.P. Dennis Banks, Liz Smith, Lil Peep, Malcolm Young, George Young, Brad Bufanda, victims of the Texas church shooting, Gloria Fallon, Roy Halladay, Robert Knight, Chuck Mosley, John Hillerman, Paul Buckmaster, Mel Tillis, Della Reese, David Cassidy, Earle Hyman, Joseph L. White, Jim Nabors and Rance Howard.

��

[chorusfm]

The Best of 2017 … So Far (Encore Episode 150)

On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined once again by special guest Craig Manning. This week our main topic is all about the best albums released in 2017 … so far. As we hit the midway mark of the year, it’s time for our annual tradition of discussing what albums we’ve fallen in love with during the first six months, what didn’t make the list, what we were anticipating and how those stacked up, and all that jazz. (There’s also a rant about movie theaters at the beginning because some people can’t put their phones away.) What albums have you loved this year so far? We’d love to hear from you and see if there’s something new for us to discover as well. As always, thanks for listening. Sponsor Social Drinker: This week’s episode is brought to you by a band from Atlanta that will be releasing their new EP on September 8th. We play their new single “Holding.” It’s a mix of Taking Back Sunday, Third Eye Blind, and The 1975. A clip is played in the middle of the episode, the full song is at the end. You can find more information about the band’s upcoming release at their website. * Facebook * Instagram * Bandcamp Hosts * Jason Tate * Craig Manning * @encorepodcast Show Notes * Brand New cleared out their merch stores. * Baby Driver is awesome. * Craig’s blog on his favorite albums so far. Jason’s Top 10 * The Menzingers – After the Party * Bleachers – Gone Now * Kendrick Lamar – Damn. * Paramore – After Laughter * Muna – About U * Aaron Sprinkle – Real Life * Allie X – Collxtion II * Acceptance – Colliding By Design * The Maine – Lovely Little Lonely * Betty Who – The Valley Craig’s Top 10 * Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – The Nashville Sound * Steve Moakler – Steel Town * Natalie Hemby – Puxico * Colter Wall – Colter Wall * Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Vol. 1 * The Menzingers – After the Party * Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness – Zombies on Broadway * Ryan Adams – Prisoner * John Moreland – Big Bad Luv * Sam Outlaw – Tenderheart Subscribe You can subscribe to this podcast in iTunes, via any podcast player using our RSS feed, on SoundCloud, via Overcast, in Google Play, or on Stitcher. You can also find all of our previous episodes archived on our podcast page, iTunes, or on SoundCloud. If you have any follow-up, questions, or a topic you’d like us to cover on a future episode, please send a tweet using the hashtag #askEncore. If you’d like to follow this podcast on Twitter we are at @encorepodcast. We love hearing from listeners and are always looking for topics both big and small to tackle. So, let us know! If you like the podcast, could you please rate and review us on iTunes? It really does help. If you’re using the great podcast player Overcast, please hit the “recommended” button on the episodes you like. And if you have any friends that you think would like our podcast, please let them know! Word of mouth and telling people about this podcast will always be the best thing you can do to help us out. We really appreciate it. Information about sponsoring our podcast can be found on this page, and if you become a member you get episodes a day early along with a bunch of other perks. --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/podcasts/the-best-of-2017-so-far-encore-episode-150/

[isbelstrash]

i’m sorry but can we talk about the fact that your woman friends change so much when they get a man? as in plans you guys have had together. suddenly all of those plans are instead happening with their man. he never comes with suggestions about what they can do together, but expresses jealousy when he hears of the things you guys have planned - like trips or gift giving. he wants all that, but puts in no work himself. the difference is he wants to be waited upon. woman buddies put in equal work to make shit happen. to show affection. but now she’s excusing herself like “sorry i would, but i’m doing that with my boyfriend” like bitch?? we talked about The Thing for like three years and now ur gonna act like a better person came into your life that you Should be doing that specific thing with? cause couples are somehow Better and More Legit? than friendships you’ve had since you were a child?

#isbel rants #manbabies #i’m realising how much straight people frustrate me :(