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silentxxsoul · 2 years

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The 'this fandom is undefeated and Tim owes us all royalties' reaction dump:

I'm not kidding the way this fandom can sus out what they do and the amount of times they pull from us...Tim have your people reach out for a place to send my check 🥰

This, much like every week during football season is going to be a literal mess as I divide my attention once again. I feel like the Burnie meme, tbh - but it's not my fault the Chiefs play tonight and like its RAIDERS WEEK so what am I supposed to do here?

((pretend I have a modicum of an attention span))

Also: quick predictions to get out of my head:

The bike scene is going to end on a cliffy - we won't actually know if Buck gets squished until next week [if true sedate me fam]

Hen is going to be doing a lot of work to try and set up retaking her exam and/or pushing on to next year with the added caveat that she has to retake the course she failed. Can she do this? No idea, I do corporate/adminy things so...

We get a Hen/Denny moment

The lie Eddie catches Denny in is going to be relatively tame - I'm thinking like lying to miss school because of an assignment he forgot or he broke something relatively expensive and doesn't want his dad to panic.

Alternatively he lies to protect his dad - like he gets in trouble at school because someone makes a bad comment that relates to his dad (racist, possibly homophobic if they make inference about Buck being involved...) and lies about either his involvement or what it was really over. Or even if he's being bullied and doesn't want his dad to get upset like with Ana.

Eddie and Hen/Karen/Both bonding over parenting; or even bonding with Bobby and Athena over parenting

Low key I'm about to go back to streaming on Hulu if only to stop seeing Derek Schmidt's ugly, lying, racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic ass face on my TV

The ranger narrating is kinda funny, kinda creepy ngl

I REFUSE to believe that is possible I mean - the CGI on that vaulting back over ???? Babes. Baaaaaaaaaabes.

Captain Hen again ahhhh ♥♥♥

Pls don't lose another one pls pls pls

Bro you can't hit on her right now oh my godddd 🤣 It's giving B99 'Number 5 killed my brother' vibes lmao

BUCKLEY SIBLING MOMENT ON MY SCREEN YES

no no nanny buck could be good

Actually please someone fic that

Skipping science club? The kid who loves science? uh oh

BOBBY CALLING HEN CAP I CAN'T

WAIT NO HEN IT'S A TRAP

RUN

Karen snitched so fast, I love her

Bobby knowing she needs to recharge but knowing she'll never take it willingly

"Just say no" - oh that's gonna be a recurring theme I can feel it

Ok they're adorable

Mr. Fixer is gonna want to do whatever he can regardless of how it actually affect him, isn't he?

Eddie is two seconds from panicking over his kid growing up naturally he needs to deflect to a despondent Buck and boy does his husband need a hug rn

Also can we talk about how easily he believed that Chris would go to Buck over him i mean they're so relationship shaped ?????

Well, this is the drunk driver call and we know that later Buck is fine at Hen's house - so unless that was a dream--

WAIT

THE COMA THING

COULD HEN BE A COMA THING ????????/

--also that fucking bone out of his face I'm gonna vomit--

The song choice oh my god yesssss

Chim put your belt on you are making me so freaking nervous

Buck, babe I can't believe that worked either

"straight to jail"

Kick of timeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

look at my lil Bobby Witt jr banging the drum 🥰

OBLIGATORY FUCK THE RAIDERS

It's been :45 seconds and there's already a flag for a chop block. I have a feeling this is going to be a looooong game

If we don't get Buck reflecting on almost getting creamed by the car I'm going to be very upset. Which, isn't unusual for this show but still.

Eddie and his dad having a productive conversation? That is self deprecating in the right ways?!!!!!??!?!?!? IN THIS ECONOMY ?

with words of WISDOM TOO

Why are Buck's arms so biiiiiiiiig in that shirt I mean

Bro, does he ever 💀

he's giving Buck a sweet out, and honestly I'm glad they circled back because yea it was an odd way to ask him to father their child but at the same time having someone from his past call him a good person? That has so, so much weight!!

Buck always talks about his upgrades but he forgets he was always a good person. It isn't like he just started being a good guy with Abby, but a lot of the time I feel like the character does think that, when in reality there were small things about himself he had to refine (thank you Dr. Copeland) but none of those made him inherently bad. It speaks to his self esteem issues and idk if they're going to really give enough attention to how weighty that should have been for Buck.

Ok this next call is going to be so rough for me idk if I can watch this

Yall it was like 4th and 3 on the opposite 30 and you Adams torch you for a TD ???

At first I wasn't too sure about the new dispatcher (I blame Jonah) but I wonder if he's going to fill May's role while we get to watch her explore college life. Honestly I'd love that for them

God this must be so hard for Maddie to listen too

THE COP JUMP SCARED ME HOLY FUCK

ooooooooooohhhh the Hen/Buck scene is coming yessss

Is that a little Lizzo I hear okay, alright I see you

What a way to break into that lmao

"Donor not dad" 😔😭

Patty pls keep feeding Kelce

I'm gonna need yall to drop all the happy Dad!Buck fics ASAP pls and thank you

I really need a Buck-Eddie convo stat like I'm not asking Tim

WILL SOMEONE TEACH MAHOMES HOW TO SLIDE JFC 😂

The obvious PI goes uncalled, shocker

Wait the dog was THIS episode

Buck passed out at her table

"Are you two drunk?"

"Absolutely"

PLS I CANNOT WITH HIM

If by protective custody you mean the firehouse, I approve

"You did math in your HEAD..."

Oh no the Diaz boys are fighting no I don't like this

Honestly big props to Eddie for realizing the conversation was veering into unproductive territory and realizing he needed to take a step back and regroup before getting on the same level as Christopher by sitting in front of him to continue the discussion. Also meeting in the middle and compromising instead of just punishing, and understanding what Chris needed in that moment versus what Eddie was taught growing up.

Hey Chiefs defense I'm gonna need yall to get a stop here please and thank you

If we don't get a Buck-Eddie or a Buck-Maddie scene talking over this sperm donor dilemma I'm going to have to do a fix it fic, I stg

A practical exam ??? Ooooooooohhhhhh shit. Is this going to be going on while she's saving Karen and Denny at the lab? It is, isn't it.

Please don't, please let her fucking nail this

HE KEPT THE DOG

HE KEPT THE DOGGGGGGGGGGG

He's going to do it, isn't he? And it's gonna hit a road block with the Daniel stuff, isn't it?

If not I want this to parlay into Buck having an awakening of wanting a fam and Eddie pointing out he has a fam and like maybe a husband already idk

JFC The Chiefs are playing like their 2009 selves tonight and this is not the vibe

Anyway now I gotta go make a fucking fix it because we got no maddie or eddie insight and like, those are two of the most important people in his life and I refuse to believe he didn't talk to them about what was going on in his head at that time

10/10 loved it tho, so ya know. This season has been phenomenal so far ahhhhhhhhhhhh

#911 fox #911 spoilers #911 fox spoilers #this is a literal mess and im so sorry if anyone actually clicks into it #whoopsie

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appri-dot · 4 years

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AHHHHHHHHHHHH! TEAKTEZLTEZLY4SPYRZLYEZOYESOY4SOY5DPY4SPYRXPY4XP75D KFIO6DP75DP75DP75DP75DIU5DO75D

#peaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrllllllllllsssss!#JASPEEEEEEEEEEER!#inhale #WSIY4SY4SYI4S64S64D6O4DO64DI64SU64SO64DIT4XIT4STI4ST4SUT4 #yall should watch it #its on hulu rn bro #like 4 episodes out #but it may be different depending on which region you're in

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onepunchmiss · 5 years

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OPM s2e10 Live Blog

“Justice Under Siege”

ALRIGHT so despite the fact that it is the 1 week anniversary of my death, OPM has forcefully wrenched me from the underworld to come continue with the season. So here I am and I’ve already posted my guess for what this episode will entail so lets see how well I handle it! (see: how much I scream) As always, I’m watching as someone who is up to date on both the Manga and webcomic

ASDFGHJKL I OPENED OPM ON HULU AND IT IMMEDIATELY PICKED UP WHERE I LEFT OFF AT REWATCHING THE ZOMBIEMAN BIT HOW DARE I WAS NOT READY

lets try that again ok

AHA YES OMG we’re starting with this!! I was totally expecting to pick up exactly where we left off, with Destrochloridium at the HA but OK throw me for a loop! Mix it up! “ORA ORA ORA ORA” I love Saitamas VA, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I laffff oh my god it keeps going in the background as Kind talks I can’t

This is the scariest Saitama face I have ever witnessed wtf??? Why does it look so creepy?? Also, they added quite a bit to this scene huh? I guess They have to amp up the jokes since shit is getting pretty serious otherwise at this point in the series. OH SHIT THE DING ‘NO OTHER WORDS CAME TO MIND” OK Excellently done that got me I cackled fffffffffffffffff

OH MY GOD KING THAT SICK BURN?!?! I dont remember that I guess they’re really making it a point to be like ‘HEY LOOK THIS IS GONNA BE USED!!! IT EXISTS!!!’ but like I dont care cause it was worth it for the joke hhhhhhhhhhhJUST

Yanno, I just realised I think I know where every sing scene in the whole opening comes from down to the omake. Also just realised we are definitely getting Genos/Bang/Bomb vs Centipede cause that joint attack Bang and Bomb use is in the opening. Huh why did that only just now click anD OH MY GOD BB GENOS IM DYING NO

Ok now we’re where we left off and oh dear god I HATE that squish noise please stop no OK Gyoro’s weird Eye twitch was a cool touch. Oh wait Narinki is the highest ranking executive now? I thought he was just the top donor of funds or something? eh anyway- lol wow Gyoro puts on a convincing sob story voice this is so funny?? Cause its Complete BS and I wonder what my reaction would be if I didn’t already know that AHH OK BUT THAT ‘HEHIHIHIHIHI’ LAUGH THO OMG SO GOOD

WHEW ok but seriously just the MENTION of assembling all the heroes is raising my blood pressure asdfghjkl if I may have one thing in life PLEASE LET IT BE A THIRD SEASON PLEASE IM BE G G IN G

AHH YESSS!!!! YYYEEESSSS!!!!! DARKSHINE MY DUDE MAN BRO GUY YESSSS!!!!!!! I LOVE!!!!!!! I JUST!!!!!! HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR THE OTHERWISE NORMAL GUYS WITH OBSCENE MUSCLES LIKE DARKSHINE AND TTM!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!

ASDFGHHJKL Did Destrochloridium just shout Itadakimasu?? HULU y u no translate that??? DOI as he gets smooshed pfffffftttttttttttt omg the sound pls ohmigod everyone knows steel is no match for a hardened body i just fukken HEKK I love this show so much pls he sounds so concerned that destro DIDNT know that

“Better step up” OH MY GOD YES DO THE THING

OK WAIT This is actually badass and not just a joke?? Darkshine, er, Blackluster(??) stop u r 2 good I cant handle it rn

oooohhhhHH OH OH OH OH PLS SHOW EVERYONE I WANT PLS THE MONSTER ASSOCIATION!!! PLS!! SHOW ME WIFE?? CADRES?? PLZ?? yo total side note but I LOVE Murata’s monster designs?? Every time I reread opm I just oogle at a new one I never noticed before they’re all so unique and good. Also At least 3 of them in this sequence look like pokemon i swear- lol the silence no applause, if that was a joke in the manga i totally missed it uuuuwaAAAAAAAAAAA SCREAMING SCREAMING I AM SCREAM CADRE YES YES ASDFGHJKL ARE YALL READY TO SEE T H A T FACE FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES THUS FAR???? HUH????

ew oh wait I actually feel bad for Awakened Cockroach, and he twitches after getting eaten oh noooooonono ew oh no dude im sorry no AAAAAAAAA WIFE HELLO oh their voices are so sad when they’re terrified for their lives I dont like it :[ ITS OK UR SAFE 4 NOW ILY PLZ BE CAREFUL AND STAY AWAY FROM PRETTY MEN

YES THIS EPISODE IS GIVING ME EVERYTHING IVE WANTED SO FAR THANK YOU SO MUCH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LOOOOOOOK AAT THEMMMMMM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMY TRASH SON I HAVE MISSED YOU OH NO MY EYES THERES WATER IN MY EYES HELP ILY

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMYCYBORG SON MY HEART I WEAK GENOS BB PLS BE CAREFUL ILY TOO hey heres a WACKY and TOTALLY LoOnEy IdEa, what if,,,,,,,,,,,,,,WHAT-IFF,,,,,,,,,,, everyone was HAPPY???? Crazy I knowww I just want the best for my sons and babies and children boys wives daughters loves and husband, is it so much to ask???

Oh my god he looks so Sad here please no Genos everything will be ok please don’t be reckless do not be reckless listen to Dr. Kuseno you fool

[SCREAMING] ASDFGGHJKL LOOKIT HIM EATING OH MY GOD MY BOY MY DELINQUENT SON GET BETTER SOON oh my god i started out fine this episode but its KILLING ME there are TOO MANY PEOPLE AT ONCE i CANNOT BREATH

CHILD EMPEROR MY SON I LOVE YOU TOO BOFOI UR AN ASS oh my god please can you even TRY to be a good mentor for the kid???? Thats it Zombieman adopt him pls remove shitty Bofoi influence replace with Best dad man influence. ANYWAY ok that was a tangent huh oops sorry. Ok but look at him. Child Emperor is genuinely adorable and a sweetheart poor kid don’t lose your faith in adults.

Uh, the episode is running late still not to Garou yet either?? hmmmmmmmmm again I’m getting nervous are they gonna rush it?? lol the saitama throwaway OH OH FINALLY OMG MY HEART ISNT READY MY FAVORITE GAROU IN THE WHOLE SERIES OH MY GOD

im… im screaming… i love these two so much it hurts it does really. I was not prepared for how adorable it was possible to make Tareo either can I hug?? I must hugg?? And Garou’s voice is so calming and he’s being so sweet? I was really expecting to sound more… i dont know, whiney? Every time he shows up on the screen I love him more and more ffs

This is such a good shot. Desktop wallpaper material right here.

Oh my god, this moment. And the music is just yanking my heart strings stop.

Oh yeah, they interrupt right. I like these heroes and all, but none of them are particular faves the fact that I think SO MANY OTHER FAVES were are RIGHT before them this ep just kinda overshadows their existence for me. I think this is the ONLY time in the series where Garou goes up against heroes and i cheer for him 110%, don’t even feel a little bad about who he’s beating the shit out of, and that’s kinda messed up of me but thats how impartial I am towards all these guys?

Back to Garou and I love him. hhhhh.

He smak the table

He laughs. Oh no his laugh. OPM forcefully dislocated me from the underworld to watch this episode and has thusly YEETED ME TO HEAVEN THAT LAUGH. I really need Garou to be happy.

Do you see this man? Do you see him? I do and I’m crying thank you

Omg I got really caught up it watching them talk but the sparkles around death gatling whe Tareo was looking at them snapped me out of it. oi I cant handle this. Garou I want you to know that you have successfully turned the bad guy into the one everyone wants to win. You did it boy you did

WOAHMYGOD THIS IS BEAUTIFUL

OH MY GOD AND THE MUSIC IM SCREAMING

GAROU

YOU

ARE

AMAZING SON

like I know how this goes but I’m so anxious anyway the hhhhhhhhhhhhh the fight choreography is a little clunky but I don’t care OH ok cool Glasses actually kept his little spotlight nice but Garou GAROU PLS B CAREFUL OK except WHAT THE FUCK IS HIS MOUTH DOING THAT LOOKS SO STUPID WHAT THE HELL?? HOLY SHIT IM GETTING DIZZY STOP wh- wh- wait no. NO IM NOT DONE WITH YOU YET COME BACK PLEASE I NEED MORE WAIT NO UHG this is my reaction at the end of every episode when will I learn?????????????? never. The answer is never.

NO POST CREDITS STINGER and AS MUCH AS I LOVE GENOS’S FACE I already knew he would be in the episode next week. Yall I am so lost as to where the final episode will land. WTF.

This ep was a roller coaster oh my god. Non stop plot not that the tournament is done, and we saw like EVERY CHARACTER my feeble heart could not keep up. The ONLY thing that bothered me was part of the fight sequence at the end, like it was half drawn beautifully half animated so stiff and blocky ??? Threw me for a loop. But next week is only gonna get more intense??? I’m gonna guess we’ll get through the Elder Centipede fight??? But then what does that mean for the last episode??? I am full of SO MANY QUESTIONS??? I really don’t want the season to end yet, 12 eps is not enough. There’s only 2 more. Just. I’m not ready to let go of my bbs it feels like I only JUST got them… Well! Before I devolve into more of a blubbering mess, thanks yall so much for reading!!! As always, see yall next week!

#opmiss mumbling #i cant believe the season is ending so soon #just as shit is kicking tf up #s2e10 #opm #one punch man #live blogging #garou #saitama #genos #child emperor #metal bat #badd #black sperm #wind and flame

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glittergummicandypeach · 4 years

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‘Ramy’: A TV show for those who still care about religion

(RNS) — When he found the joke, Ramy Youssef had been searching for it for four months. It was the summer of 2015. He was back east visiting his parents in his native New Jersey and had driven his mom’s car out to Brooklyn to perform a quick stand-up set.

“I just started talking about what I was doing. I was like, ‘I’m fasting Ramadan.’” There were about 10 people in the crowd. “Oh your parents make you do that?” a guy shouted out. “I was like, no, this isn’t about anyone making me do this. It’s what I want to do.” Then the comic blurts out, “I believe in God. Like, God, God. Not yoga.”

“And there’s just this like, pop. Like a laugh,” Youssef explained during an interview over Zoom.

On the drive back to New Jersey, he said, he listened back to his set on his iPhone and then shot off a text to fellow comedian Jerrod Carmichael. “Dude, I think I found a joke.”

The first thing people tend to notice about “Ramy,” the A24/Hulu series written, directed and produced by Youssef, is that it’s the first American television show about a Muslim family. The show lives and breathes in the specificity of a millennial male raised in an immigrant Arab community in New Jersey, but what the show tries to reveal is something not spoken of much in public, and certainly not in Hollywood: people’s actual relationship to faith and to the greater questions of purpose and meaning.

The show is the product of the auteur-vision of 29-year-old Youssef, who has spent the last decade working as a comic and actor in Hollywood. It’s a culmination of what grew out of that first joke, and in two seasons has a firm grasp on a new comedic language for which to approach and to talk about spiritual matters in the generally secular, irreligious landscape of comedy and television. It’s only able to do this because it’s written from a deeply autobiographical place of ruthless self-interrogation, which allows the character’s questions to come through the screen with an authenticity that’s hard to ignore.

The character Ramy Hassan began as a fictionalization of Youssef’s own spiritual and emotional experiences more so than anything else. Oddly enough, Youssef didn’t build Ramy to be liked. He had an idea that Ramy would act as a representation of our lower selves, those purely egoistic unthinking qualities of our beings that irrationally oppose and battle our higher aspirations.

Actors Hiam Abbass, left, and Amr Waked, right, play the parents of Ramy Youssef's title character in “Ramy.” Photo courtesy of Hulu

But he’s not one-dimensional either.

Ramy is a well-meaning, earnest but immature seeker, and if he possesses any heroic quality, it’s his refusal to give up on his soul, despite his own seemingly constant moral failures. No matter how far he falls, he never loses the aspiration to be good, even when surrounded on all sides by forces that we recognize might stamp out that light of ambition if it were us in his shoes.

We see his world established in the pilot episode: On the one hand, he is a conflicted participant of a hedonistic culture of partying and sex, but on the other, he feels a spiritual strength and connection to his faith, despite elements of a closed-off, illogical conservatism. This all makes Ramy Hassan a most unusual protagonist, a character whose motivation is seeking a genuine connection to God.

“I’ve always felt like a very honest seeker, and I wanted to make work that felt like that. (Work) that felt self-examining,” Youssef explained. He came out to Hollywood at 19 years old, and in the first six or seven years appeared on a few TV shows and was doing regular stand-up, but he felt a yearning for his work to be representative of what was going on inside of him in a spiritual sense.

A poster for the Hulu series “Ramy.” Image courtesy of Hulu

He began by talking about his guilt on stage, mostly around premarital sex. Growing up and into adulthood, Youssef never questioned his faith, but he did start to doubt himself in it when he began to slip up.

“So much of my life I was saying, I want to do this the right way. I’m not going to have sex until I get married,” he said. “Somewhere along the way I broke those rules and then started to feel like the way the setup was around me that I should leave (the religion). And that made me really sad because I didn’t want to let go.”

The more a question scared Youssef, the more valuable it became for him to include it in his stand-up. If he got up on stage and didn’t feel vulnerable, or the most scared he’d ever felt to say something, it ceased to feel like the work he was supposed to be doing.

Taking a difficult feeling and then extrapolating the jokes and stories from it became Youssef’s art. “I’m putting myself under the microscope. And then, and then I started to think, oh, this will be really cool because I want these conversations to come up. I want this kind of self-examination to happen in our communities,” he explained.

Once he realized he could be a force to instigate real conversation and examination, Youssef brought together a team to build a show around this idea. “I actually have this vehicle where I can create this character for everyone to examine. You know, this character is not built to be liked.”

The show depicts a religious environment where every character except for Ramy seems content with the various mismatches between their beliefs and their practice of their faith. These are treated as humorous idiosyncrasies rather than as tragic character flaws — which allows them to serve as metaphors for the audience to pick up on unexamined faults and difficult questions we otherwise might be too ashamed to see and too afraid to ask.

In the first season, Ramy Hassan meets an earnest but simple white convert in the mosque who points to the moral lesson that undergirds the entire season: “You’re all like, I do these things and I don’t do things, so I’m this kind of person, right? It’s a trick of the devil, bro.” With this line and its characteristic non-chalance of Youssef's writing, the minor character delivers a deep spiritual lesson gleaned from the inner tradition of Islam: that to identify oneself with one’s actions is poison to the spiritual path. One will either despair because they see themselves as a sinner, or will be self-satisfied because of their pious works. The Sufis say a sign that a good action was not accepted by God is that one remembers he or she did it.

Season 2 proves Youssef’s vision for art can translate into stories outside of his own personal narrative. We are introduced to Shaykh Ali Malik, played by Mahershala Ali, the first person on the show who practices faith in a way that appears strong yet still relatable. He is a religious character who feels human, without being hypocritical. Ali plays a Sufi teacher whom Ramy latches onto in the beginning of the season, and he shows what a balanced approach to religion might look like.

Actors Ramy Youssef, left, and Mahershala Ali in Season 2 of “Ramy.” Photo by Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu

“Islam is like an orange,” Shaykh Ali explains to Ramy early in the season. “There’s an outer part and an inner part. If someone only got the rules and rituals, they might think Islam was tough and bitter … the rind without the flesh is bitter and useless. The flesh without the rind would quickly rot. The outer Shariah (religious law) protects the inner spirituality, and the inner spirituality gives the outer Shariah its purpose and meaning.”

Ramy offers up an entirely different set of questions in the second season. Ramy’s character appears better in some ways — he is, for the most part, no longer engaging in premarital sex, for example. But he’s swapped out that particular vice for a fairly regular diet of porn and candy. He tries to follow the instructions of his teacher but still continues to lie and not take responsibility for his actions.

Whereas the first season felt like an encouragement to the would-be religious, Season 2 seems like a parable for the religious: You might think you’re better because you’ve changed your circumstances, but without the self-examination and rigor Shaykh Ali represents, when tested, you will fall.

All comedy relies on tension; there has to be an inhale and an exhale. What Youssef has discovered is that the inhale can be used to take deep dives into the soul to bring out what was already there.

“It’s not about giving answers. I’m not in a position to do that. I would be idiotic if I tried to do that through any of the forms I create, but can I bring people closer to their questions? That seems to me to be my audience — people who need that, who want that, who are excited by that. Anyone who feels like they solidly have the answer probably hates my work.”

The first two seasons of “Ramy” are just the first few chapters for what might become a modern-day epic, an illogical and soulful morality tale for people who have questions they’ve been too afraid to ask or who are still interested in the future and health of religion in America. It’s a bizarre hagiography of a ridiculous man. Were Ramy Hassan a literary character, he’d be the Don Quixote of the spiritual path, marching forth in his mission with unending enthusiasm, undeterred by his own repeated failures.

This content was originally published here.

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viralhottopics · 7 years

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#TwitterHouse 2016 was about politics. In @realDonaldTrump’s America, it’s everything else

Image: Michael Mendoza/RPB Studio

South by Southwest Interactive’s claim to fame includes being the place where companies like Meerkat, Foursquare and Twitter have gotten their start.

Unfortunately for SXSW, most of those companies have struggled. Meerkat’s gone. Foursquare? Viewed as dead, but is in fact alive and embraced a new data business. And while Twitter is mentioned every day on national television, essentially leading our news cycle, it continues to have a tough time on the stock market and finding new users.

SEE ALSO: Yeah, Twitter’s watching you even when you’re not tweeting

But Twitter’s trying to make a comeback at the place it first rose to prominence, no less. This year, Twitter organized its first consumer push since launching at SXSW in 2007. They’ve always been here, but for the first time, Twitter had a house on Rainey Street (alongside Pinterest, Intel and CNN).

#TwitterHouse epitomizes how I feel rn http://pic.twitter.com/PecShwJ6fG

Kerry Flynn #SXSW (@kerrymflynn) March 11, 2017

They’re inviting not only business partners, but other SXSW attendees, to experience and learn about what’s happening on Twitter.

There were major events happening every single day of SXSW Interactive and into SXSW Music at Twitter House.

Last Saturday, Twitter held a casino-themed party with Warner Bros (“The House Party”) to celebrate the movie The House.

On Sunday, people could watch the NCAA’s Selection Sunday, and have a Wendys Frosty (Wendy’s is very good at Twitter).

On Monday, Twitter and NYLON held a happy hour and a party for Hulus upcoming show, A Handmaids Tale,as well as a live viewing of The Bachelor finale.

And finally, on Tuesday, Twitter kicked off the music portion of SXSW with a concert with SoundCloud.

Frances Cone live @twitter at #SXSW https://t.co/F1BBlivRSd

Mashable (@mashable) March 14, 2017

I sat down with Nola Weinsteinhead of influencer engagement and experiential marketing at Twitterbetween all these events (which she planned) to learn why there was so much happening for Twitter this year at SXSW (yet, sans- politics).

We met up in the backyard of the Four Seasons, where PureWow was hosting a brunch next door, and where we could finally enjoy the sun after days of rain.

“Our strategy?” Weinstein said after we talked about her job. “Twitter is the place for whats happening. It’s whats happening in the world. It’s whats happening in culture. We had a roster that focused on our core passion points, like elevating our super fanatics of The Bachelor.”

Super fanatics, like my colleague, Mashable’s digital entertainment reporter Saba Hamedy:

At @Twitter house at #sxsw for #bachelor finale viewing party. Look at the themed food & drinks http://pic.twitter.com/faq7CD39AQ

Saba Hamedy (@saba_h) March 14, 2017

The Twitter House itself was an intriguing venue.

“The space was designed to be very conversational, without barriers, standing outside or mixing outside. We had a photo booth, t-shirt printing,” Weinstein said. “The space itself we chose because it felt sort of like a clubhouse.”

Tshirt game was totally on point for #sxsw at #TwitterHouse http://pic.twitter.com/8g7qA33uGQ

Helen J. Stoddard (@helenjstoddard) March 15, 2017

Last year, Twitter’s much smaller presence at SXSW featured only a house a little far off the path of the main SXSW action. But they had a panel discussion with Ted Cruz’s digital director, among other political figures. The event was coordinated by Twitter’s policy and government team.

“That was not run by the events team,” Weinstein said. “At the time it was what’s going on. The theme is its what happening. We’re focused more around pop culture.”

#TwitterHouse on at #SXSW http://pic.twitter.com/riNHwWnCw8

Jen Marcus (@jenmarcus) March 15, 2017

Twitter did a host a somewhat political event, a brunch titled #SheInspiresMe with powerful female leaders.

Twitter organized a #sxsw brunch for a bunch of women who follow each other and made us sweaters. #SheInspiresMe http://pic.twitter.com/V4Trq06m1a

Elizabeth Plank (@feministabulous) March 11, 2017

“It’s about driving action, coming together. They are collectively supporting movements, passion projects on Twitter,” Weinstein said. “This is a chance for them to meet. It’s kind of like Twitter in real life.”

Throughout the day at the Twitter House, they had a live studio with various celebrities coming through to air videos. For example, Jon Hamm and Octavia Spencer both talked about their new movies.

Jon Hamm isn’t on Twitter, but wait… did he just Tweet? #BabyDriverMovie #SXSW #TwitterHouse http://pic.twitter.com/rYjg7r9ME6

Twitter Movies (@TwitterMovies) March 12, 2017

So, yeah: It was a big event. Still, big names in the tech industry are boldly speaking out against Twitter. Big Twitter investor Chris Sacca said Wednesday he sold all his stock in Twitter. Jason Calacanis spoke on CNBC’s Squawk Alley calling for CEO Jack Dorsey to step down, and to bring Twitter cofounder and now Medium CEO Ev Williams back.

For now, Twitter is still explainingone week before its 11th birthdaywho and what it is, at the place it all began.

“We wanted this to provide clarity around who we are,” Weinstein said. “The side of our house here, the questions and answers and excitement. It’s really incorporating our brand identity, catching people’s attention in new ways.”

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