#so pretty epic double whammy there

[spade-club]

Let’s play, “was I abused” game! Reblog and bold the things your parents have done to you! Italicize if you’re not sure. (copy paste it all and then bold)

(I found this and thought I might as well do this to help myself with denial later!! obvious abuse tw!! also I have a lot of stuff that came from outside the house too, but this is like. parent stuff yeah idk!!)

Physical abuse

parent slapped me to prove their point/teach me a lesson

parent spanked me as a “punishment” saying it was for my own good

parent pulled on my hair to force me to move

parent threw things at me while angry, things heavy enough to hurt me

parent trapped me into a room/corner so I couldn’t escape them

parent hit me when I wouldn’t obey them/tried to confront them

parent used a twig/stick/belt to lash at my body

parent grabbed me to force me to pay attention to them

parent pinned me down and physically prevented me from escaping

parent brought me into situations where I feared for my life

parent made it painfully obvious for me that I’ll obey them or suffer injuries

parent threatened to beat me if I wouldn’t do as they say

parent forcefully fed me something I refused to eat

parent made an attempt at strangling/drowning/burning me

parent banged my head/body into the wall/furniture

parent forced me into sexual activities

Emotional abuse

parent called me derogatory names and slurs more than once

parent said my name mostly with hatred and scorn in their voice

parent degraded and humiliated me in front of others for fun

parent insulted and devalued something really important to me

parent deprived me of something that meant the world to me

parent yelled and swore at me in anger more than once

parent blamed me for things that were out of my control/not my fault

parent shamed me for my physical appearance

parent guilt-tripped me for not pleasing them well enough

parent regarded me as a burden, and shamed me for needing them at all

parent insisted I couldn’t take a joke after I got hurt from their insults

parent never comforted me/got angry if I reached for comfort

parent punished me for crying/showing fear/showing trauma symptoms

parent humiliated me for showing excitement and happiness

parent subtly let me know that my feelings and my problems don’t matter

parent got angry at me for feeling depressed/angry/tired/suicidal

parent blamed me for feeling depressed/angry/tired/suicidal

parent compared me to cousins/other children to prove how I’m the worst

parent decided for me how I feel when it was convenient for them

parent told me that I was crazy/delusional/need to be locked away

parent threatened me with kicking me out/sending away if I don’t change

parent refused to accept my sexuality/tried to force it to change (gender but same deal)

parent required for me to act normal to protect family’s reputation

parent isolated me from family activities they all enjoy

parent assured me that nobody will ever want me

parent insisted that I was lucky and that I could have had it much worse

parent made me responsible for their well being and made me the caretaker

parent insisted that their harmful acts were all made “out of love”

parent demanded me to be available for their requests at any time

parent punished me for trying to establish boundaries

parent destroyed my belongings as a revenge

parent made inappropriate sex jokes and comments in my presence

parent denied doing any of this and insists that all the blame is on me

Psychological Abuse

parent kept pointing out my flaws as proofs that I wont achieve anything

parent called me stupid, incompetent, ignorant, while withholding information that I needed to know in order to complete tasks

parent would change their side of the agreement in crucial moment and then pretend it was obvious from the start

parent stalked me/distrusted me without any reason/invaded my privacy

parent attacked my insecurities and vulnerabilities in any argument

parent forced me into degrading actions while they watched me do it

parent threatened to leave me

parent accused me regularly of behaving the way they did

parent never acknowledged, praised or approved of my actions

parent always demanded they are right without any proof/explanation

parent insisted that they’re a great parent using financial support as proof

parent insisted that I should be grateful for how good they are to me

parent gaslighted me and tried to make me believe my memories weren’t real if I confronted them with what they did

Neglect

parent didn’t notice I haven’t been eating properly

parent didn’t notice I was sick/didn’t care for me while I was sick

parent didn’t notice I was injured

parent didn’t notice I didn’t have clothes/shoes I needed for school

parent didn’t notice I suffered from trauma

parent didn’t notice I was anxious and stressed

parent didn’t notice I was depressed

parent didn’t notice I was cutting myself

parent didn’t notice I was suicidal

parent didn’t notice I was being sexually abused

parent didn’t notice I was being bullied

parent failed to get me medical attention when it was needed

parent failed to teach me the very basics of self care

parent didn’t seem to notice any of my needs and feelings except the absolute minimum I required to survive (hardly even that)

when I notified them of these things, they denied it, accused me of lying, decided it wasn’t happening and/or blamed me for it

Financial Abuse

parent made me feel ashamed for needing money

parent made me feel like I’m a financial burden to them

parent only gave me minimal money to survive

parent made sure I never have a decent amount of money on me

parent took the money I earned from me

parent used the money to blackmail me

parent insisted since they “pay for my stuff” they have the right to control my behaviour and actions

parent had enough money for luxury but kept me without anything

parent refused to get my medicine/get me medical attention because it’s too expensive while they got everything for themselves

parent would keep me anxious over if they would pay my expenses or not

parent would make me do as much work for them as possible before they would pay for a necessity

parent kept me in the dark over family finances even when I was of age

parent would make sure I never have enough money to escape them

#oh man uh. hm. #literally im not kidding TODAY my parents told me I had it so easy compared to them #like. okay. you didnt hit me #congrats on that im sure that was so hard for you?? but like. that doesnt erase the everything else. #they literally started talking about the abuse they went through as kids and I was just like. I cant participate in this conversation. #and then my dad said its because I had it easier and im like. yeah sure well pretend thats why haha #anyway thank you emotional amnesia for allowing me to do this post easily. you suck but ily xx #also there was nothing for *dragging me through the house to get me to do what they wanted* but thats okay ig #also idk what forcefully undressing me and shoving me into shower classifies as either #so like. yk. there is some physical stuff too its just idk what to call either of those #oh also for the food one its bc I was allergic to the stuff they were feeding me and I told them that but they didnt listen!! #so pretty epic double whammy there #OH AND my mom would tell me after every fight *you better not be telling people about this* #to the point that I stopped telling people because I was scared she would find it and freak out #alsoalso the only reason she knew I was sh-ing was because she read my texts and then she demanded me to tell her everything about it #so she could *help me* or whatever. and then she promptly never brought it up again as if it never happened #so a lot of weird as fuck shit idk #also the way she checked my texts to make sure I was okay but didnt notice me being groomed online lol #and instead just taunted me about the crush I had that she found out about through that. fucking. okay. #okay thats enough oversharing I will just hit post now hehe

[fanfic-corner]

Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch Fic Recs

I'm going to see Multiverse of Madness today, so I thought there is no better way to celebrate than with my favourite fics featuring Stephen or Wanda! There won't be any spoilers in this post or any of these fics, so don't panic. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Invoking Groundhog's Day by IAmAllYetNotAtAll (60k)

This is one of my favourite Endgame fix it fics, and it's absolutely heartbreaking. It features a whole host of characters, but at its heart, it's a fic about the Time Stone, so... you can imagine Stephen is gonna get involved.

A Hundred Feet Under by thisisnotourlasthunt (59k)

Things were pretty awkward after Civil War, right? Imagine that, but all the Avengers are locked in an underground bunker together for an extended amount of time. It's surprisingly sweet and really well written, and it's got Wanda/Vision!

That Spin I'm In by poisonivory and Werelibrarian (8.8k)

I love MattFoggy, so a love spell AU? Incredible. Wonderful. Amazing. Go read it for the romance and also Stephen being a bit fed up.

Peter and the Jailbirds by beautifullights (86k)

A very angsty fic, but if you know me, you know I love some whump. It's got Peter, Wanda, Sam, and Clint trapped on the Raft, and even though it's definitely depressing at times, it's also very sweet. It's amazing, just read it!

Anew. by IViv (130k)

Of course I had to include an IronStrange fic in here. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and the plot can only be described as epic... it's one of my favourite IronStrange fics out there.

Identity Theft by KitCat992 (244k)

This one has Wanda and Stephen in, so it's a double whammy! I know it's long, but don't be put off. Both the writing and the story are fantastic and it's just so worth the read!

If there are any other fics with Stephen or Wanda in that you'd like to recommend, please let me know! And I hope you enjoy watching Multiverse of Madness, whenever you do.

#doctor strange #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #lina lore #fic recs #multiverse of madness #doctor strange and the multiverse of madness #marvel #mcu

[gobbluthbutagirl]

going to say two embarrassing things in one post. double whammy. but anyway first of all i forgot how fun it is to watch tv on account of not having done so at all this year until last night. like you guys know about this? shit’s insane. and two i think i may have watched emmy-winning sitcom arrested development too early in my sitcom-watching career for me to enjoy any sitcom that’s just ok. it was only the fourth sitcom i saw(first three were parks & rec, always sunny, and the office in that order) and oh let me tell you it was a game changer. i do maintain that all 5 seasons(NOT that godforsaken remix though) were tailor-made just for me but like. even the haters have got to admit the original run is UNTOUCHABLE. and then the next sitcom i watched was 30 rock(gay will arnett character to gay will arnett character pipeline flowing smoothly) and i was like hell yeah! alright! i love this! and then next i watched community and i liked community but the thing about community is it is basically the bare minimum standard for what i am willing to accept in a sitcom. some guy on imdb once described it as “hit or miss at times” or something of the sort and like. pretty much yeah. like when it’s good it’s some of the best shit ever and when it’s not so good it’s just kind of ok. and so basically if your sitcom is not AT LEAST as good as community i don’t even want it. i think it’s vile and wretched and it needs to be kept the hell away from me or i will either simply not even care about it one way or the other(hi mr schur if you’re reading this) or i will start behaving in a way not entirely dissimilar to the joker at the mere mention of it(if you know. you know. starts with “s” and ends with “chitt’s creek”). and also one more embarrassing thing actually. killing THREE birds with one post as a treat. you have never known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of being a bitch that loves sitcoms but hates laughtracks. to this day i have still only seen one single episode of seinfeld. and that’s my toxic trait

#i thought the one episode i saw was really funny and eventually i WILL go back and watch the rest(that’s a threat) #but what can i say. i saw that one sunny episode at 17 and it was formative for me

[startwithbrooklyn]

THE GREAT ND REWATCH OF 2021 / SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 // larkspur lane/the whisper box

this post is a double whammy cause they have 2 eps happen in the same day if u can believe it (thats how awful judging timelines in this show is!!)

-"hi josh..." LMAOOOOOOO

-BESS just breaking in lmaooo how many god damn times does bess just shit the bed in this show

-LOVE her frowny face at nancys closet ("my expectations are low" lmfaoooo but this would totally be me)

-"bet she meant it metaphorically" okayyy but then why did lucy say that at all? i feel like theres defo more to this story, combined with josh's cagey behavior (part of which is to get nancy to stop looking into shit d/t him and karen but still)

-"they dont accept visitors unless they're family" .....🙂

-ace "youre really good at that" to bess i fuckin love this friendship with all my heart (also love their talk at the claw mirroring nick & nancys talk in the last ep)

-also PINK AND ORANGE BESS ARE U BLIND (also 1) why tf would nancy own this and 2) where would she wear it??)

-okay wtf is vampire dip

-"boss??" see this is what i meant yesterday about nancy ruining everything for nick/george

-god DAMN she sucks at dealing with this news lmaooo that emotional competency babey + love george literally agrees to help bc she feels bad (AND nicks immediate look of "you just reprimanded me for helping her last ep and i know why youre doing this rn" lmaoooo)

-LOVE george noticing nick "shout out to jean valjean" lmaooo once again nancy would never have noticed/commented on something like that

-"get the hell out of here" was this foreshadowing for an epic dad joke for these two eps? "how do you make holy water? you boil the hell out of it" 😂😂😂😂

-so what i dont get about the whole haunting is the ball + kids' laughter but its all the emphasis on "mr roper" the adult? wtf like what kind of entity is this

-"how did you ever have a solo career??" 😂

-okay amaya's hair is gorgeous here (also "you feel like a snack" ....👀) *ahhh so the reason bess feels so off balance is bc its like a top vs a top scenario

-has anyone who's ever been to prison confirmed this is what it looks like?

-love how ace is the only employee there when they all leave so he had to fucking close the place when he goes

-why does she take the whole file? time constraints? it'd be smarter to take pics + replace it (better sleuthing) but this place is clearly not well run anyway 😂

-so this is a pretty decent cover she invents but theres no way she would get away with it so easily for a real guard

-love how ace recognizes ryan's car (+ is able to find it by driving around)

-"my father wouldnt do anything like that" LMFAOOOOOO SIS WHY ARE U DEFENDING HIM ironically, ace is actually the best person suited to engage w ryan here d/t the car accident + connection with laura being ryans SIL. its a unique set up

-i am fascinated by the concept of priests + holy water being so effective here combined with mcginnis' beliefs and basically nondenominational ghosts/seances etc after that. the show is very clearly big on diversity but definitely steers clear from too much WASP stuff yk? wonder if other stuff from christianity works against the ghosts/demons like taking refuge in a church "holy ground" or using silver etc

-"did this start after the night of sept 10?" *this is where you get the time line for the seance if you didnt know

-this is so fucking funny when u realize that patient sal talks to is actually a ghost so sal really is psycho i guess 😂

-bitchsplain/tall jar of mayonnaise 🙏🏻😌 2gether 4ever

-how did ace get this van? also heart attack when he yells at carson (but then grins at him like a goofball lmaooo)

-"for nancys sake and yours" damn she owes ace big time for all this shit

-"what do we do for 7 minutes?" ...ummm play 7 minutes in heaven lmaooo 👀🥵

-was not expecting ace to look this sexy holding an axe but okay (*ah, its his short sleeve shirt showing his arms. usually hes a sleeves guy)

-"desperate for attention" nancy (from gomber) vs "bc she's starved for attention" patrice --> lucy (and candace also...) we know nancys detective work makes her seem like an attention seeker, but what was lucy doing to make them all think that? she was trying to hide her relationship with ryan, not expose it. unless they just mean the rumors about her?

-so is patrice hiding lucy's "truth" talking about lucy being a whore or lucy being a ghost? what is lucy's secret? did patrice guess she was pregnant or did patrice's somehow garbled mind remember tiffany trying to show patrice the video with lucy on it?

-wonder what captain thom thinks of this stand off w ace lmaooo

-"like you do?" top v top shenanigans

-how awko for carson to talk to karen again like this

-"oh no" ACE 😂

-love how amaya says "be a human" like shes kind of admitting people in rich circles typically arent (^this is an interesting focus in s2 when bess's rich family rejects her, thus making her human again, but nancy embraces her rich fam and experiences subsequent moral struggle which is predicted with the wraith)

-wonder what ryan thinks he could get from the marvins (which he cant get now lmaooo)

-this damn whisper box. so many questions. who named it the whisper box? why are the ropers' old possessions still there? who decided to build a mental hospital on top of it? and patrice! she "hid lucy's secrets" hannah gruen thinks tiffany tried to show patrice video w lucy on it, which patrice then specifically says she hid in the thin mans book. so patrice knows of the thin man? can she see him? does she know he was a ghost/supernatural? she must have a supernatural sense to know about him (unless sal told or some shit) so then when tiffany shows up w/ lucy being supernatural in it patrice hides it to protect her? is this why she is "crazy" kinda like victoria? supernatural elements or ability to sense ghosts makes her unstable? this is why lucy being a ghost/nursery rhyme that she repeats makes patrice worse/"stroke"? how did patrice even get into the whisper box to put the key in the bible and get out without getting trapped? also, her dementia --> lucidity is really fucking off, some people mildly switch like that but usually with dementia they cant even register new shit anymore

-...so did bess take the ride? 👀

-interesting how celia says "your father will be disappointed" but nothing of her own opinion. wonder how much celia truly puts up with to keep everett calm and nonhomicidal

-like george asking nick follow up questions that nancy never really would have asked

🥞🥞🥞(ep13)🥞🥞🥞

-is this bitch just eating a plain pancake with her bare hand?

-"extra case load and excessive volunteering" ugh. nancy's family here are like, gross in how "good" of people they are // unrealistic, trying to paint carson in the best light/ no way ryan could ever compare (but the reality is theyre not that good of people for lying about nancy) **and shes arrogant to think shes better than everyone else ie the only one who truly lives virtuously, thinks she can do no wrong sometimes even tho using sex to cope, breaking and entering, etc is not morally "good" stuff she still thinks she is the only one who doesnt lie and plays fair (like in the pilot she lists everyone else as a suspect but herself- obviously we know she isnt guilty but no one else does. (i mean in theory we really dont, what if nancy was an unreliable narrator and was actually guilty, that would be a hella cool show)its reactions like that where she cant understand why others like the chief suspect her

-ooooh ironic that in the Good Place carson readily agrees to pay her for helping with cases as opposed to s2 in reality

-nick's house has "problems" so why does he need a lawyer? as opposed to an interior designer, plumber, or realtor?

-in the Good Place nick and george realize they are not going to work out after one date. does this failure in the Good Place predict failure in reality, or merely an easier way of figuring out the truth? does this mean that the "opposite" of the Good Place is reality, or only an opinion of what is better? (nancy says "you all like me" as her opinion of them liking her is skewed; does this then only reflect nancys version for what is the "perfect life"?)

-why is bess a hippie??? and love how george curls her hair and wears pink lipstick here

-if this dream is so realistic then why is the one thing it cant conjure smoke? like how random

-love the locket being a key realization bc with things like jewelry you dont notice the weight of them until theyre gone

-"you all like me" in her perfect life nancy means they "like" her objectively/regardless of circumstance even though liking her is still an objective choice (like they "like" her because of other reasons instead of her working at the claw? (like how you make friends with coworkers/people at school every day but after you leave the job/graduate you never speak to them again) and her "thanks for showing up!" as if theyre not doing exactly that in reality 😐like where is she getting this shit? she sort of acknowledges in earlier eps she is hard to like/that she puts mysteries before friends, but also pushing them away to avoid danger like the previous ep "why do u show up" etc

-is it just me or does the inside of nicks "house" look like the drews'?

-nick has a dick scar lmaooooo (or more likely was hit in the balls or smth)

-love how nick + george match their anger in confronting sal 100% on the same level

-so when did ace go back to work after having such a busy day earlier?? lmaooo

-damn father shane is a creep (casting defo hired him for his voice) and how tf did he just poof + escape? and what did he request???

-love bess's white hair bow here 😌+ her jacket, whole outfit on point as usual

-like how bess is right that nancy has to find her way out but thats kind of a nonstarter for a room full of panicked people wanting to help

-in the Good Place theres no bad blood between drews + hudsons bc nancy is really theirs

-"the only one who has the key is you" in the Good Place nancy has the key (smaller picture, to finding out what happened to lucy but bigger picture, post-reveal) but ryan has the clues nancy needs- following the Good Place's mirroring, this just means that in reality ryan will either be completely useless or an active hindrance (but you KNOW this is a dream bc in what universe would ryan remember clues like that 😂)

-so in a perfect universe ryan acknowledges his family's "criminal empire" as opposed to reality where he only makes under cover jabs about disengaging with being an "entitled corrupt legacy criminal" ie finding the bonny scot relics but does nothing about them, etc

-"strippers" 😂

-okay what is nancys obsession w her beanie?? bc her mom made it? "wear beanies do crimes?" idk

-making the call: nancy -unable to make up for lost time/both her mothers had to find out/suffer alone / in the Good Place nancy was able to be with kate while she called, and in reality she had carson; somethig about seeing the mother looking to the daughter for strength in the Good Place instead of the reverse (which is what reality sounded like, kate being strong for nancy through the illness despite the struggle)

-concept: nancy & nick "let's wait out the storm"

-"i believe that you believe it" nick in the Good Place + owen in reality both trust nancy when she says she's seen things (owen's is the teeth) but nick in reality (and not really knowing details) doesnt think much of their "moment" bc it wasnt real (so she had to leave the Good Place to save carson- but if she had known then he wasnt her real dad, would she have stayed to be w nick?)

-stranger - suede james 💙👌🏻

-"really anxious as a kid" v telling bc of her desire to know everything to remain in control of situations like she always does now

-"the medicine or the metaphysics?"/"you cannot beat supernatural with science"

-i love nancy playing with her pinky while saying goodbye 🥺

-"always seek out the truth even if it hurts" this is straight irony bc kate never told nancy anything. like does that include the truth about nancys parentage? they taught her to seek out the truth, but who taught her that the truth is the only thing to live by? ie things dont count anymore like carson and kate straight up raising her is tossed out bc she finds out its not "the truth" like all that work/stress to protect carson + she just drops him? with kate maybe shes just upset thst she spent all that time mourning for someone who lied. and would she do the same to ryan if needed? probably

-bess and ace head tilt 💙

-like how for all the time she spent there nancy only has a subconscious memory of blue curtains

-YESSSSS i LOVEthese beautiful overhead shots of hannah's hands. so out of character for the show lmao but so gorgeous

-i feel like future eps/grand future will be nancy going through the lock boxes to help people who asked hannah for help

-the video is officially dated Aug 22, 2019

-soooooo in the first ep nancy breaks into the hudsons house and finds tiffanys secret drawer w the nail polish and finds the amulet with a note that says "for your protection HG" yet on this video tiffany says she talked to a medium who gave her the amulet sooooo am i just confused? HG is hannah gruen obvi so is the address for the medium what hannah gave her? or was the address on the amulet which nancy dissolved in salt water to see? so how would tiffany know where to go? its chicken and the egg which came first hannah or the medium?

and lastly:

i close these two eps with a thought that everything in this show is sealed in death. all the lies, the imagery, the fake constructs people put up to get by all crumple the second someone dies- all the secrets come clean just like these doors have been unsealed.

#brooklyn's ND primer #nancy drew cw #the Great Rewatch of 2021 #you best start believing in ghost stories miss drew - you're in one

[suchalilyofthevalley]

I think you raised a lot of good points with how they're going to market both S and C moving forward...I have my own opinion on this "relationship" but regardless I've been surprised they've been promoted as a duo so much? i actually felt sorry for C that her album promo wasn't about her album. and i'm interested to see what shawn's major interview will be like. if it's a fluffy relationship piece i think it will do more harm than good. (part 1)

Also I think his foundation should have launched with an interview not necessarily for his fanbase but to attract corporate partnerships? Would like your thoughts on that and the foundation in general. I just feel like he was on an upward trajectory and that it may have stalled because of the current positioning, but I don't have any figures to back it up, it's just my impression. I do think some new advisors on his team could elevate him though.(part 2)

::cracks knuckles::

First off THANK YOU SO MUCH for an ask like this. It’s very well thought out/well written and it lets me go into what I LOVE about my job/PR - the build and strategy/positioning in regards to media. 

Before I do - the part about the next big interview for him: fan hat off, PR hat on. It NEEDS to be about him, about music, about what’s next. All fandom and mass pop has seen since last summer has been the THEM of it all. Most folks that know him or support him, are there for him and his music. not his relationship. These are the folks that are going to buy albums, concert tickets, merch, stream, tune into interviews, etc. They’re the ones that keep the engines fueled and the lights on. It sometimes feels like that’s forgotten about in the mix of everything. 

The massive Billboard article that dropped about the success of Shawn Mendes: The Tour at the end of January didn’t even get the love and push it should have. This was massive news and it like didn’t even get acknowledged in any way, even industry facing.

This has to/needs to be a legit interview. Not a 5 question curated thing that shows up in like PopSugar or InStyle or online video only with like BuzzFeed. And honestly, after the success of SM3/SMTT - it should be something that elevates his profile. He’s done some of the big ones in Variety, Billboard, Rolling Stone. Which all awesome. But time to build and keep moving forward and upward. 

This next big moment - it NEEDS to go next level to hit wider, more mature more male and female mass pop. My thoughts? Depending on what they’ve actually got to talk about - Vanity Fair or Vogue are both a bit a reach but that would be EPIC goals - especially if there’s something of substance to talk about and he’s willing to be open. More realistic? GQ, Esquire, Interview Mag, even Hollywood Reporter but that skews a little more industry. I don’t trust EW to have enough of a deft hand to handle what really needs to be done, it would be too floof and veering tabloidy for that next meaty piece. 

Total aside - the fact the team hasn’t pitched him for like Men’s Health/Men’s Journal yet BOGGLES considering some of the other folks that have been able to snag covers. To me? No BRAINER to have pitched that at album release or before the tour to talk and dive into his regiment and how he gets into shape to take on a tour/shows. 

For the foundation - there was absolutely Z E R O marketing/pr thought or strategy put out on it or towards it. This launched in the lead up to what was the biggest moment of the tour, his hometown stadium show in Toronto. They basically launched it and was like yeah it’s a thing here’s a sizzle video and some pretty graphics ok donate to us byeeeeee. 

No friends. No. 

You needed to LAUNCH this thing, really and truly. Not only for the general awareness, but like you said dear anon, for the corporate philanthropy of it. Your partners are tour folks who probably got looped in on the tour deal. So what’s happening now? Who else is backing this? How much have you ponied in to start this? What else have you been doing for it? What are your fundraising drivers other than soliciting to fan base and having a donate button on your website? What’s your ethos and mission statement? 

They’re under the umbrella of the Social Impact Fund for the States and Internationally to manage the financials/donation platform website, who also manages the charities/foundations from wii.i.am and Bradley Cooper. Which yay good legit and folks. So that means they’re using THAT team to do a lot of the heavy lifting on the back end with distribution, their charitable status, etc. I know I’ve heard noise/chatter on here before that folks think this is a sham, it’s a tax break/shelter, it’s not legit. The fund they’re using is a fully registered 501(c)(3) here in the States which means they’ve got folks they’ll need to answer to with legit breakdowns of how funding is being used, etc. Folks being the IRS. It looks like they’re under the Sick Kids Foundation/Sick Kids Charitable Fund with donating in Canada. So what this all means is that they’ve got the framework of the foundation without having to do the lift and say have an Exec Director on their staff managing everything.

However, they’re slow to the kick on everything the fan base says is important OR that he’s said is important/has backed before. It took a good beat to answer on the Australia wildfires and we’ve seen more recently with the COVID-19 response. There needs to be true thoughts and efforts put in, against and behind this. The fact that “our impact” on the website is literally links to Instagram posts? It would be a good idea to flesh that out a little bit more. Same with the partners they support - say what programs of theirs you’re giving to, what it’s going towards/for. 

Given this kicked off in Canada around this show, like Macleans would have been a good interview, CBC/CTV or given it’s his hometown show was coming up, the Toronto Star or even go national with the Globe & Mail. It would have been a no brainer to do something with a Billboard for this, loop it in with talking about the show. Even better if you want to go after the double whammy of mass pop and corporate that would span across borders? Forbes. I know the music guys there and that would have been AMAZING. There was so much that could have been done and there just...wasn’t. Which is sad. This could be something and it’s just like a thing that’s there. 

Coming off the album drop, the positive reviews, the blast through of shows/ticket sales followed by the actual tour success? Major positive forward motion and it feels like it’s stalled or backslid. I am all for him taking a beat to breathe and a break, but he shouldn’t do it at the detriment or demolition of everything he’s worked to build. He’s at a serious turning point. It’s also not out of the ordinary for artists to outgrow their teams or change teams. I know I’ve mentioned it before. It’s going to be interesting to see what he and the team, this one now or otherwise, do next all around.

#getting on my PR soapbox #cause publicists don't stop working #anon #Anonymous

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume Five, Number 11

Cold rain, dead leaves, political corruption, diplomatic betrayal…it’s been a bleak couple of weeks on the home front, but at least the music is good. This time out, we check in with the estimable Ezra Furman (pictured above) and his blistering punk rock album, as well as a smattering of shoegaze, a low frequency trio, a black metal endurance test, acoustic entropy and the sound of black holes colliding.  You know, same old, same old.  Our contributors include Andrew Forell, Bill Meyer, Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw and Ian Mathers.

Blushing — Blushing (Wallflower Records)

Blushing by Blushing

Blasting out of Austin, Texas come Blushing (married couples Michelle and Jacob Soto on guitar/vocals and drums, Christina and Noe Carmona on vocals/bass and guitar) with their self-titled debut album, an impressively sophisticated addition to the shoegaze landscape. Blushing displays finely tuned dynamics, a keen sense of melody and joyous rushes of controlled noise. The interplay of twin vocals adds an ethereal Cocteau Twins sheen to the songs but Blushing aren’t afraid to let rip with layers of guitar. Producer Elliott Frazier of Ringo Deathstarr achieves space and separation in the mix that elevates this album above the basic quiet-loud-quiet formula. Underpinning all this is simply terrific songwriting and musicianship. Opener “So Many” starts with whispered vocals over strums and washes of guitar before the rhythm section enters, there’s a slow build before the track blossoms into a widescreen squall of almost psychedelic guitars and pounding drums then wanes into a feedback outro. Highlights “Dream Merchants” and “The Truth” bring classic shoegaze tropes and add a dreamy panoramic depth. Blushing is a band to watch and this is a gem of a debut.

Andrew Forell

 CARL — Solid Bottom (Astral Spirits)

Solid Bottom by CARL

“Bass, how low can you go?” CARL’s flow differs drastically from Mike D’s, but the question is undeniably pertinent. The Houston-based trio comprises three low end instruments — Damon Smith (since departed) on double bass, Andrew Durham on electric bass and radio, and bandleader Danny Kamins on baritone saxophone — hitting sonorities that range from ankle high to sub-sub-basement. But bulbous pitches can still be nimble, and so it is here. The interaction pits genre against genre, bow thrust against amp buzz, melancholy phrase against floor-rattling rumble, resulting in music that never feels at ease. Hey, Texas needs some opposition, and these folks are ready to show the way.

Bill Meyer

 Ezra Furman—Twelve Nudes (Bella Union)

Twelve Nudes by Ezra Furman

It was about the time that Ezra Furman started expressing his distinct identity—queer, cross-dressed, devoutly Jewish—that he turned into one of rock’s great songwriters. Today, freed of the need for self-abnegation, his songs balance a razor-stropped wit with sharp, assaultive hooks; he is not afraid to tell you his story, though he’s too literate and clever to deliver it unadulterated. His songs have a shape and a sting at the end like a good short story, but a punch that is considerably more visceral. “The kids are just getting started/they’ve only just learned to howl, and most of them throw in the towel/by the time that they turn 23,” he shouts raspily in “Evening Prayer aka Justice” and it leads into the kind of stirring, anthemic chorus that Titus Andronicus used to be so good at. “What Can You Do But Rock and Roll” rampages in a short-circuiting stop-start attack, like Green Day before they got so serious about themselves. In short, it’s a rock and roll of the sort that the culture has mostly abandoned, the kind that large men push to the front of Hold Steady concerts for, that causes Japandroids fans to punch the air. And yet it is not wholly of this man-centric tradition, simply because of who Ezra Furman is – lipsticked, cocktail dressed, smarter than you and willing to talk Torah. In short, here is a songwriter who has been killing it since Day of the Dog and Twelve Nudes, his latest, punk-est album (inspired equally by Jay Reatard and the Canadian poet Anne Carson) may just be his best. He is of the zeitgeist and also not, and you kind of wish more people were paying attention.

Jennifer Kelly

 Great Grandpa—Four of Arrows (Double Double Whammy)

Four of Arrows by Great Grandpa

“That’s why I hate you-ou,” cries Alex Menne in “Digger,” their voice catching in a hiccupping way that invites intimacy even at high volume. Her confidences are couched in an explosive swirl of country rocking countercurrents, concocted by the band’s two main songwriters, bassist and singer Carrie Goodwin and guitarist Pat Goodwin and executed alongside Dylan Hanwright (also guitar) and Cam LaFlam (drummer). The Seattle band’s second full-length is less brash and rock-centric than the 2017 debut Plastic Cough, which, perhaps because of their northwestern roots, elicited the term “grunge” from critics. This one is fuller, more elaborate and entirely devoid of Soundgarden references. It is decorated with lush, multi-voiced singing and baroque instrumental counterparts, and critically, uses a warmer more organic palette of instruments. That’s a violin and a banjo building out “English Garden,” not the buzz saw guitars of “Teen Challenge.” This rich, tuneful, grounded experiment might remind you of Ohmme, Hop Along or the Moondoggies, sleek but vulnerable, blown out but in control.

Jennifer Kelly

  Hatchie — Keepsake (Double Double Whammy/Ivy League/Heavenly Recordings)

Could it somehow be the fact that Harriette Pilbeam (late of Aussie indie rock band Babaganouj and here aka Hatchie, a family nickname) plays bass instead of the more standard frontwoman guitar that makes the singer-songwriter’s debut LP of new wave dream pop confections so singularly striking? Probably not, but Keepsake is assured and ingratiating enough it does leave one looking for the secret ingredient. Whether it’s the swooning likes of “Without a Blush” or “Secret” or the rougher emotional and sonic texture of “Unwanted Guest,” whether it’s playing against a sampled loop of her own voice on the chorus of “Obsessed” or achieving a particular kind of downward gazing transcendence through drum machine and synthesizer on “Stay With Me,” all of the songs here manage to hit on just the right combination of genre-appropriate beauty in texture with genuinely impressive melodic songcraft that whether Pilbeam sticks with this sound or not, she’s one to watch.  

Ian Mathers  

 Imperial Cult — Spasm of Light (Amor Fati/Sentient Ruin Laboratories)

Spasm of Light by Imperial Cult

This record consists of a single, 34-minute, largely improvised track, captured live in the studio. It’s all about endurance: the band’s, who must gamely thrash and bash at their instruments, with all of black metal’s requisite speed and intensity; and the listener’s, who has to commit a fairly significant amount of attention to the thing. Hailing from Holland, Imperial Cult are a new band, subscribing to the minimal web-presence policy of some other hyper-obscure acts, so it’s tough to say if they are of the “Satanists-and-we-really-mean-it” variety of continental black metal. If they are, the record’s grandiose gesture makes a certain sense. “Spasm of Light” may thematize the notion of eternal hellfire and torment. That, in turn, would raise other theological questions (do these guys imagine that declaring themselves devil worshippers and making this sort of music is their ticket out of forever in Bedlam? or are they looking forward to it?) that this reviewer isn’t all that interested in. More immediately concerning is the music. It’s pretty good, though to these ears, it’s more evocative of the epically inclined USBM bands of the Cascadian school — especially the early records of Ash Borer — than purposefully underground European occult acts like Novae Militiae (yes please) or Deathspell Omega (no thanks). Musically, that’s a good thing. Ideologically, who knows? Do these dudes wear cowls and sacrifice small mammals? Do you really want to know? Jonathan Shaw

  Minor Pieces — The Heavy Steps of Dreaming (FatCat)

Just gorgeous. Tape hiss master Ian William Craig and a Vancouver-based songwriter named Missy Donaldson join forces in an album that hangs right in the spectral other-space between conventional song and ambient soundscape. Craig, who is a classically-trained singer, sings lead most of the time. His clear, vibrato-laced tones with clouds and miasmas of electronic wash, mass-y harmonies and fragmented bits of guitar and piano. The effect in opener “Rothko” is both luminously polished and dream-like. “Bravagallata” reaches further up the register, twining Craig’s androgynous, unearthly tenor with the warmth of nestling, caressing harmonies; it shimmers in the interstices between icy modernity and comforting folk song. “The Way We Are in Song,” arises out of glowing, shifting electronic tones, yet feels wholly natural and unaffected. The way we are in this song is beautiful, touchingly human, but more so.

Jennifer Kelly

 The Pheromoans — County Lines (ALTER)

County Lines by The Pheromoans

The Pheromoans look at the world sideways, buttressing a workman-like rock and roll sound with murky embellishments of violin and synths. With a wobbly, wavery flavor of post-punk that might remind you, a little, of Blue Orchids, they match up dense woozy riffs with literate mumbles. They are the sort of band to ask “Sharia or Sheeran” and leave you shrugging, what’s the difference? This is the Pheromoans’ fifth full-length; their diaspora previously landed them on Upset! The Rhythm; but here the edges aren’t sharp enough, the punches not hard enough to evoke that label’s other bands. Yet there’s a disconsolate appeal to these wandering tracks. “Troll Attack” eviscerates electronic interaction against a Casio beat; both the music and the lyrics poke at unsatisfactory surfaces to find darker, truer muck underneath.

Jennifer Kelly

 Matthew Revert — The Inpatient (Round Bale)

The Inpatient by Matthew Revert

Some people get ready for surgery by making a bowl of Jell-o and making sure that the Hulu bill is paid up. Not Matthew Revert. His preparation for a date with the surgeon involved pitching himself into a new creative endeavor. None of his recordings to date, which have mostly involved acoustic entropy and electro-acoustic construction, will prepare you for The Inpatient. The album comprises ten improvised but structurally sound songs, all sung in nakedly emotional Spanish. Imagine Alan Bishop adopting a persona that is not immune to shame, and you’ve got an idea where this stuff goes. Prepare to be bemused.

Bill Meyer                        

 Marcus Schmickler — Particle/Matter–Wave/Energy (Kompakt)

Space is a place that has been exercising the minds of composers of late with recent releases by William Basinski (On Time Out of Time) and The Kronos Quartet (Terry Riley: Sun Rings) being two examples that use recordings from the deep cosmos. German experimental producer Marcus Schmickler, best known for his work as Pluramon, imagines the sound of galaxies colliding on his new piece Particle/Matter-Wave/Energy, a 37-minute block of immersive ambience based on Schmickler’s use of an algorithm to model gravitational data as a tool for sonification, a process that translates information into sound. The result is huge waves of tones that rumble, whistle and bleep like a swarm fleeing a storm. Through headphones this is an almost vertigo inducing experience as Schmickler evokes the sense of plummeting through a vast endless expanse of darkness. A fascinating and often unsettling piece, Particle/Matter-Wave/Energy works as a soundscape experiment rather than a casual listen, perhaps more to admire than enjoy, but it has a fluid physicality that rescues it from mere abstraction.

Andrew Forell

 Stein Urheim — Simple Pieces & Paper Cut-outs (Hubro)

Simple Pieces & Paper Cut-Outs by Stein Urheim

John Fahey barely made it into the 21st century, but his influence looms as large as ever. Stein Urheim, a guitarist from Bergen, Norway, is merely the latest to commit his confrontation with Fahey’s legacy to wax. He tips his hat to The Yellow Princess and other recordings of that vintage in this album’s accompanying book of tablature, but even if he hadn’t put it down in writing, you could hear it in his playing. Urhein is no rooky. He’s been recording with various bands since around 2004, working with singers and playing jazz, but this is the first time he’s anything quite like this. Urheim seems to be drawn to Fahey’s most virtuosic and lyrical work, and he has the chops to back it up, but also the performative confidence to let the music develop in its own time rather than chase after it. One has to put a bit of yourself into the music if you want to transcend the “sounds like Fahey” blanket that covers so many American Primitive guitar LPs. Urheim gets this, and he doesn’t take the easy way out by, say, applying his bluesy, acoustic picking to rustic themes or folkloric sources. Nor does he go for Fahey-esque textual obfuscation or faux-mythologizing. Instead he incorporates some samba gestures into the tunes, keeps them pithy and presses them on vinyl (by no means an assured thing on Hubro, which usually markets music via CDs and the internet). The album title proclaims this music’s simplicity, but Urheim’s is not simplistic so much as clear.

Bill Meyer

#Dust #Dusted magazine #blushing #andrew forell #carl #bill meyer #ezra furman #jennifer kelly #great grandpa #hatchie #ian mathers #imperial cult #jonathan shaw #minor pieces #the pheromoans #matthew revert #marcus schmickler #stein urheim

[bthump]

top 10 berserk quotes?

lol this is a tough one. ok i’m trying to think of quotes that are good in and of themselves, bc it’s way too easy to pick lines that are just representative of scenes i like. but here goes.

10. “Not good enough, just two or three broken bones. If you wanna stop me, you’re gonna have to crush my skull or pierce my heart. Just like you, slug!“

That double whammy of badass and delightfully on-the-nose wrt Guts’ black swordsman monstrosity.

9. “The power to protect someone and the power to be with someone are different.“

So in part this is just selfish lol because it’s one of my defenses against the “Guts, protector of the branded girl” shit. But more generally I do love this as a distinction and it’s a theme that we see a lot of in Berserk - protecting/saving people vs actually being at their side.

8. “Those who die on the battlefield are not royalty, nobility, or commoners. They are the defeated, who die.“

This is just a really cool line lol. I mean it’s relevant to Griffith’s focus on equality from an interesting angle, like it’s great as an insight into Griffith’s mentality. But mostly it’s just cool af.

7. “Don’t talk to me in that same voice!“

It’s an obvious little line but to me it really sells Guts’ inner conflict and how agonizing this reunion is for him because he still loves Griffith. And it highlights the way Guts draws a distinction between human Griffith and Femto/NGriff. Also it was this or the “I’d forgotten my urge to kill” bit and I went with this for the sake of variety lol.

6. “Because people fear the unknown, they speak the same words to one another. Because they fear the unknown, they distrust words they don’t understand. Because they fear the unknown, they believe in a doctrine. Because they fear the unknown, they reject other gods. People must cope with their world because of the unknown. Because of fear, they label outsiders. Paganism. Foreign languages. Different races. All manner of social classes. Everything that separates people is here at this place. And so is that which proves that all this is mere child’s play. The ultimate unknown. Yet… why is it? My chest is filled with… no. Everyone here is filled with exaltation. What a radiant chaos this is!“

This is a nice climactic speech to usher in Griffith’s utopia, and a pretty good illustration of why it’s not going to turn out to be secretly evil lol. At the very most there may be positive and negative aspects, but this is p emphatically portrayed as positive. Also it’s just an epic speech to punctuate humans and apostles teaming up, and I dig this whole sequence.

5. “Even so… incidentally… I found someone I really wanted to have look at me.“

Oh Guts. This is the heart of Berserk right here.

4. “May we run rampant with hatred and wild joy just to crush with these fangs the true light that burns us.“

The true light that burns us is such a fucking line man. Guts wants to kill Griffith for the same reason Griffith made the sacrifice. To escape their feelings.

Like, yk how Ganishka and Griffith’s final confrontation had that whole high fantasy, spiritual connection between godlike beings who are the only beings that exist on the same level vibe? Complete with the whole apostle instinct to love their god, yk kind of like some takes on angels’ relationships to god/god’s light, yadda yadda yadda? And the climax of the MF arc has that grandiose line about “it’s within darkness that true light is discovered”?

Well I picked this version of the true light line because I swear all that intense thematic fantasy stuff is straight up just a metaphor for Guts and Griffith’s mundane, very human relationship. Like NeoGriffith’s magic aura that draws people to him is symbolic of what Guts felt for him, and he felt for Guts, completely without magic influence. It’s a not uncommon way of heightening the intensity + significance of a relationship/love in general by paralleling it to world changing fantastical magic stuff, and imho Berserk is playing completely into it, with Griffith and Guts’ relationship specifically.

3. “The life you couldn’t take by your own hand, the life of the person you loved the most and hated the most! You gave it to us! So that you could bury your fragile human heart.”

The purpose of this line is to tell us why Griffith sacrificed Guts, and I love it. I love going into the Golden Age knowing this. I love how the Black Swordsman arc sets up Guts and Griffith’s relationship so effectively. It’s so good.

2. “Man takes up the sword in order to shield the small wound in his heart sustained in a far-off time beyond remembrance. Man wields the sword so that he may die smiling in some far-off time beyond perception.“

Berserk.txt. I love it when a story lays its themes out for you like a welcome mat, and this is a great one. Swords as coping mechanisms is right here.

1. “Among thousands of comrades and tens of thousands of enemies… you’re the only one. You’re the only one… who made me forget my dream.”

This was the inevitable first choice lbr. It’s basically a description of my number one favourite romance trope as the immensely satisfying climax to an all around fantastic arc about these two dudes and their feelings for each other. It’s perfect.

Bonus:

“I’d forgotten that the night was this vast, this deep…”

especially paired with the title of the following chapter, when Griffith ruins his life: “Start of the Everlasting Night.”

I just cannot get enough of that light imagery in relation to Guts and Griffith, and vast, infinite night as an illustration of their lives without each other is ideal.

(Also just include Griffith’s torture chamber monologue in this list in spirit. I didn’t add it because there’s like 5 separate lines I could consider faves in it lol, and also it’s obvious and I’ve talked about it plenty before. But yk, that whole monologue is side by side with #1.)

#ty for asking! #ask #a #b #Anonymous #griffguts #theme: opinion

[alittlebriton]

Stray Thoughts from Stay With Me

Well. That was a very hyped ep, and for me.... well, various parts worked and various parts didn’t.

The good!

Lorenzo I super love you you secret softie. Javier really gave depth to him as a character and I was very into it. I thought the scene between him and Matt was acted superbly - Matt really sold the depth of his love and how much Magnus meant. I love that Alec visibly pushed down his angry emotions and allowed himself to be so vulnerable. 

Alec’s selfishness - weird to say it’s part of the good, but Matt leaned into it - the desperation that comes from not being able to see a life without someone. But in the end it was still all about him and his inability to live without Magnus (a terrible relationship model, don’t hitch your life to one person). He’s never going to understand that a life without magic isn’t a life worth living to Magnus. 

Magnus still lying. He might be lying to himself. But he’s definitely lying. Alec isn’t all he needs. Alec isn’t enough for him - nor should he be, as living for one person alone is a futile activity. You have to live for yourself as well. But oh, the look on his face during that hug. The knowledge that while Alec is thankful for your life, you can’t be thankful for it because it’s not a full life to you. Man, Harry’s acting was fabulous in all his scenes and he really showed the absolute pain and frustration and emptiness of a warlock without his magic. But buckle up. 

Oh Alec. Slow your roll. It’s been six months. Don’t propose. That’s a super dumb idea, when your boyfriend is depressed and bereft and grieving his life. Just. Oh boy, the emotional mess of that. This is going to lead to...

All the foreshadowed pain. Oh boy. So you’re gonna propose, huh? Well that’s great. Considering your boyfriend is about to voluntarily leave you to go back to Daddy to get his magic again. Possibly after you propose. So that’s a double whammy of a rejection. (Side note: I really hope they don’t do this because Magnus leaving Alec twice when things get too hard for Magnus to cope with is not a good relationship model and makes Alec the one always now chasing Magnus since the first season. Not great Bob.)

Eeeeee, Luke being part of the Praetor now! I’m both excited and worried for this but oh my gosh I finally am interested in what is happening with Luke! I’m bummed that this show won’t be able to go into what’s going on with this because of no Season 4. Fuck you, Freeform and Constantin and Netflix. 

Aww, Maryse. She signs up quickly for things, doesn’t she. Luke was widowed a hot two months ago, but yep, she’s on it like cheese on a crispbread. I love that she bought the bookshop - as expected by that contemplative look around it a couple weeks back - and bless Nicola for the influx of emotions when Alec asked for the ring. There was happiness and amazement and caution and worry all in there. You can tell she’s pleased for him but is possibly worried it’s too soon, possibly worried about the immortality thing (she doesn’t know he’s mortal, I guess) and probably worried about what the Clave will say and do and what it means for Alec’s career. Fabulous acting.

I actually bought into Sizzy in this ep. The pinky swear was cute and I LOVED that he dropped Clary like a hot potato when Izzy was about to be murdered. Good for Simon. 

ETA: Oh! Lilith and Jonathan! Hot damn that scene was fab. The way he apologise immediately. The vibe between them. The mistrust and the twisted love. Fabulous.

The not so good

The opening scene - so hyped, and yet, so cringe. I get terrible second hand embarrassment and I also hate watching people dance in shows so this scene was never going to be good for me. But this felt a lot like fanservice and also - I don’t see it as promising that Magnus is fantasising about Alec being great at dancing - something Magnus loves - when he’s not in reality. I also really, really wanted it to be memories of their time together, even memories of Magnus amazing Alec with his magic, to fit into the theme. But the banter was adorable (’I’m a lot of things right now Alexander’ was FIRE) and the actual dancing was pretty good.

Also, if someone interrupted my waffle time to ask me to dance they’d be dumped immediately. 

Clary and Jace. I roll my eyes so hard it actually hurt when she told him that he snaps her out of her demonic bond thing and that she can defeat it with him. Well, what was the point of summoning Lilith then? Yeah yeah we get that your love is pure and meant to be and epic but lord it’s boring and predictable.

Clary. I love Clary Stabchild. I dislike Clary ‘I’m not going to lift a finger when my best friend is about to get their throat cut’ Fairchild. She sucks. Can you imagine what Alec would have done to her if Izzy had died?

Why no Maia? Why does no one seem to give a shit about Maia except the Shadowfam? She’s fucking awesome. 

#shadowhunters #Shadowhunters meta

[chevrefoildreams]

Disney was a very exciting trip -- if not also incredibly exhausting for us adults! Pushing around a stroller and carrying an almost 20 lb baby in our current heat wave is no joke! Anne went on a bunch of the kiddie rides and met Belle. She seemed to really enjoy herself! 

The best part about Disney is that there are so many kids there, everyone understands when meltdowns happen. We had a pretty epic one on the bus going to Disney Springs -- she was just tired and done for the day and we really miscalculated on how long it would take to go to Disney Springs from our hotel. They also turn off all the lights on the bus when it’s moving so it got super dark and that’s when she started to get upset. The other people on the bus could have been annoyed but they were all incredibly understanding and were like “been there, done that”. 

Some big milestones for her though -- she’s starting to sit up fairly well on her own and she used the regular high chair throughout our whole stay. She also was interested in everything we were eating and touching on the table so we had a few “almost spills” where she went for a glass or bowl. She’s a fast little lady!

We’re still recovering from the double whammy of Disney and Daylight Savings though....and I have an awful cold (which she luckily hasn’t caught yet). 

[skylights422]

Vanoe Week Day 1

Hey everyone! Here is my short story for Vanoe Week Day 1: Living Together. I plan to write short fics for all of the prompts this week if I can. This one is partially crack and not overtly shippy (which is probably how most of my prompts will be), but I hope you all still enjoy it!

It all started simply enough. Noé and Vanitas were having breakfast on the roof as they often did; they were both a bit more exhausted than usual, last night they had defeated a particularly dangerous malnomen, saving the curse-bearer in the process, and then were woken early by Dante demanding the rest of his payment (they did a one-time down payment system since there was a chance the info could be incorrect; Dante was not happy, and nearly knocked their door down at five in the morning to make sure he wasn’t scammed). Noé was grabbing a sugar cube for his tea, but since he was tired, it slipped and went flinging into Vanitas’s soup.

“Hey! Watch where you’re throwing stuff!” Vanitas complained.

“Huh? I wasn’t throwing it, Vanitas, it just fell that way. Could you give me back my sugar cube please?” Noé said.

“Give it ba - it’s in my soup! You ruined my soup with your clumsiness!” Vanitas said.

“It’s not ruined, just scoop it out before it dissolves.” Noé said. Noé thought, as he often did, that Vanitas was simply unreasonable and making things difficult for no reason.

“You’d put soggy sugar into your tea!?” Vanitas said, disgusted and alarmed.

“It won’t be that soggy if you’d take it out already, hurry before it melts!” Noé said, starting to feel alarmed as well at the sight of the cube starting to get covered completely in soup.

“You take it out!” Vanitas yelled, shoving the bowl at Noé.

“Fine!” Noé shouted, grabbing the soiled sugar cube and throwing it at Vanitas. Which, in hindsight, was incredibly pointless and uncalled for, but at the time all Noé knew was that he was incredibly tired and Vanitas was creating drama over breakfast and ruining his sugar cube out of spite. Vanitas was nearly shaking with irritation.

“Aghh!!! Why you!! I can’t deal with this right now!” Vanitas yelled, and then stormed off across the roof. Noé briefly wondered where Vanitas was going off to, and if he should go and apologize; he decided he would do so later, however, after having eaten and maybe taken a nap. But that was his mistake. That was how it started.

Noé had been out most of the day, exploring Paris, since there wasn’t any new curse-bearers that needed saving at the moment. So when he returned home, he had all but forgotten the incident from that morning, his head full of shop displays, eccentric vendor owners, and a fanatic opera house.

Vanitas was sitting on his bed when Noé entered their tiny shared living space, which was a bit of a surprise, since normally Vanitas was Out Somewhere if not on the roof. There was a tray of food and tea on the desk.

“Oh, did Amelia already bring in dinner?” Noé said as he spotted it.

“Yeah, she did.” Vanitas said, not looking up from the magazine he was idly looking at.

“I’ll have to remember to thank her later, then, she always makes such nice meals for us.” Noé said as he went to sit on his own bed. He tossed his hat onto the desk chair and poured himself a cup of tea. Dropping a few sugar cubes into it, he took a sip thoughtfully; and nearly choked in surprise.

“Wha- WHAT IS IN THIS!?” Noé shouted in distress. The flavor was horrible.

“AhahaHA! It’s terrible isn’t it!?” Vanitas suddenly exclaimed, leaping up. “That, Noé, is salt! You won’t find a single ounce of sugar in this whole building!” he continued to explain with manic delight.

“What!? Why would you do that!? Now my throat burns with salt!” Noé yelled.

“Exactly! The perfect revenge for hitting me with soupy sugar this morning, wouldn’t you agree?” Vanitas said smugly.

“No!!! I did not make you ingest disgusting food against your knowledge! I just hit you! It’s not the same at all!” Noé said angrily.

“Would you rather I hit you, then?” Vanitas said with a smirk.

“Of course not! This was already too much revenge! Don’t think I won’t even the score, Vanitas! You’ve gone too far this time!” Noé exclaimed, and then grabbed a bread roll in a huff. It wasn’t the most climactic end to an argument, since Vanitas was still snickering and Noé didn’t actually want to leave his room so he couldn’t storm off anywhere. So they just sat in tense silence for the rest of the night.

Vanitas found out exactly how serious Noé was about his vow of vengeance the next day when his daggers had been replaced with candy ones.

“Where did you even find candy daggers like that!? And give mine back before I kill you!” Vanitas.

“And how exactly do you plan to kill me without your daggers, hm?” Noé countered with a grin.

“I’ll find a way!”  Vanitas seethed.

“Oh, and I found the replacements at a wonderful opera house I discovered the other day. They were a little strange, but very enthusiastic!” Noé said, briefly distracted by the fond memories of exploring Paris.

“I don’t care! Give me back my daggers!” Vanitas insisted.

“Alright, alright. Consider my vengeance fulfilled!” Noé said, tossing the real daggers back to their rightful owner. But Vanitas’ revenge was not fulfilled.

From there, things only escalated. Every day seemed to be a new prank. Vanitas stabbed holes into Noé’s bed and hat, to which Noé responded by hitting the ceiling with various objects all night to keep Vanitas awake.  They tripped, tricked, and otherwise infuriated each other for the next seven days without end.

On one of the days, Vanitas walked into his room, and was greeted by a pillow aggressively launching itself into his face.

“That’s not even a real prank! And I haven’t gotten back at you for stuffing my pillow with rubber ducks yet! ” Vanitas said in outrage.

“I know! It’s just something that had to be done!” Noé yelled back.

“Gahhh!!!” Vanitas yelled, too annoyed to be coherent.

But as the days went on, however, the mood behind the pranks changed. The genuine fury and outrage lessened as they both came to enjoy trying to anticipate what the next retaliation would be, and how they ought best to respond to it. Going on into the second week, they both were beginning to enjoy the pranks, excitedly planning several pranks ahead of time.

The culmination, of course, was a food fight of Epic Proportions. No inch of their hotel was spared. Donuts were flung like grenades, jam shot like bullets, and the scones, oh the scones, they were the bayonets. The only thing more frightening was the coffee, and that’s only because it had the double whammy effect of being both scolding hot and bitter. Once they had thoroughly exhausted themselves with the battle (and thoroughly wreck their room and much of the lobby), they stared at each dead in the eyes, taking in the others’ shambled appearance, and then burst out laughing. The staff behind the counter looked on in frightened bewilderment as the two men fell to the floor laughing in the lobby they had just wrecked beyond recognition.

“What are we even doing? I can’t even remember whose turn its supposed to be.” Vanitas said between laughs.

“I don’t know...hopefully we aren’t kicked out, though. That would be pretty inconvenient.”  Noé said, trying to calm down.

“Yes. Pretty inconvenient, indeed.” Vanitas said. Their moment was rudely interrupted, however, by Dante walking in and looking around with suspicious eyes.

“Yeah, so, if you got a minute Quack, I uh, got some info on curse-bearers. A specific one, to be exact.” Dante said, deciding it was wisest to not comment on the obvious.

“Ah, perfect timing, Baldy. Tell me all about it. Shall we call a truce for now, Noé?” Vanitas said, sitting up in a pile of smushed donuts.

“Yeah, of course.” Noé replied, his interest piqued.

“Okay, but first...I gotta ask. Which of you two actually won that fight?” Dante said, unable to contain the curiosity any longer.

“I did!” both Vanitas and Noé said at the same time. They glared at each other.

The truce was certain end sooner rather than later.

#vanoe week #vanoeweek2018 #vanitas no carte #vanitas #noe archiviste #fanfic

[popelei-blog]

Manuelita Mega Tour Roundup

And just like that, it´s all over. 8 weeks, 5 countries, 12 different venues and 29 performances (irritatingly just short of 30!) It’s been an epic journey. Truly a dream come true. When I first started with Manuelita in 2013 my dream was always to translate it into Spanish and take it to South America. And we’ve done it. I can't quite believe it. Special praise has to go to the amazing Camilo Menjura. I have learnt more in the last 8 weeks about music, rhythms, Latin America, Spanish language, bad dad jokes and how much rice and beans a vegetarian can eat than I ever thought I would and I am forever grateful.

So here we go...Top 5 best tour moments (for me):

1. The QUINTAS These were seriously the highlights for me. We performed in 3 state homes in Colombia and Peru - all 3 were places Bolivar had lived and 2 where Manuela would have visited and stayed. The first was La Quinta de Bolivar in Bogota. This was so special as it was the first place I visited back on my research travels in 2013 and where I first walked the floor where Manuela would have a walked. I cried at the end of our performance that was attended by over 200 grinning people. It was really emotional. The audience rocked (especially the little girls who were totally enamoured with Manuelita) and when they all sang along with Camilo’s Los Cucaracheros - an anthem for the capital - my heart had a little weep of joy.

The second was La Quinta De San Pedro in Santa Marta where Bolivar died and where tragically Manuela never got to in her lifetime, finding out about his death on her way to the Quinta. We performed in their open air theatre to 900+ people on a beautiful Caribbean evening. It was unforgettable. Finally, Manuela had made it to San Pedro. 

The third was at La Quinta de los Libertadores and was the final show of the tour, so a double whammy special. It was the house where both Bolivar and San Martin lived during their stays in Lima and where Manuela would have worked and stayed whilst visiting. We walked the tiles on which she would have stepped all those years ago and in the evening, in the cool fresh air of that great capital we gave our Manuelita an epic send off to 350 people. 

All 3 were spectacular in their own way!

2. Performing in QUITO This was the city where Manuela was born and where she grew up to become the wonderful woman she was. You can feel her story in the streets and as you pass the buildings in which she lived. Surrounded by luscious green mountains and full of history, it was such an honour to take Manuelita back home. We were both pretty nervous! She is seen as such a rock star there - I really hoped they felt my admiration for her. Additionally, I was able to show my years of work to Ana Maria Alvarez who back in 2013 had been a fountain of information about Manuela when I visited her museum. To have her in the audience that first show in Quito has to be up there in great moments. (And most importantly she loved the show, phew!)

   3. Zaghuate and Tayrona Most of the time we were hard hard at work...of course. But occasionally we got to have some fun. In Santa Marta we visited Tayrona National Park which I have always wanted to visit and which is truly stunning. Beaches of white sand and clear blue waters and a 6 hour trek was a great way to spend our day off. And of course, the bittersweet memory of Camilo's birthday trip to Territorio de Zaghuates - a sanctuary for mistreated and abandoned street dogs in the misty hills of San Jose Costa Rica was an animal lover’s paradise. Doggy heaven on earth. Dog people will get this - cat people might not!

   4. Petronio Alvarez Festival de Música del Pacífico. It had to be in there. It was during our week in Cali, which was a little tough for both of us but the music, marimba and tambores beat our worries away and gave us the energy we needed to keep going and give it our all for the last two weeks. I heard sounds that blew my mind and rhythms that made me want to dance until sunrise. (I had a rather wonderful Salsa night whilst there too and met a rather nice chappy so it's going in my list.)

   5. It’s a toughie but...PAITA Our show in Paita was arranged the day we arrived and was so last minute I thought no one would come. And no one did, until 30 mins after the show was supposed to start (Latino time). But in the end it was a great show with a lovely eager audience. They rarely, if ever, get theatre there and you could feel the energy of their  enthusiasm. The dusty port town in northern Peru where Manuela lived out the last days of her life was the biggest challenge and has to be one of the most rewarding.

So that's it. I've been a bit cheeky as that was more like 8 top moments but you can see why it's hard to choose. There was more too: meeting Toto La Momposina, the shows and the crew at Theatre Guild of Ancon in Panama, the second show in Bogota, meeting los Hermanos Ospina, our shows at El Gesto Noble, the standing ovation we got from our smallest crowd of 16 in Medellin, Ciudad Bolivar school, the hottest show of my life in Parrita...the list goes on. And the list of awesome people who we met on the way is even longer.

I’m super grateful to everyone that made it all happen. I really can't thank you all enough. Thank you.

I am off for a bit to write another play which has been inspired by all this Latin-ness surrounding me. Keep following our news and stay in touch.

Que Viva Manuelita!

#VivaManuelita #giralatinoamericana #teatro #theatre #colombia #costarica #panama #ecuador #peru #happyhappy #greatestlovestory #epicjourney

[paperbookteacat-blog]

Sorry all, I am pretty late on this one. This is due to a double whammy of a vacation and then getting seriously sick from the vacation. Better late than never some say. Here are my thoughts on Anime Winter 2019, any other anime I’m watching, and the Spring 2019 season thoughts…

Winter 2019 I watched:

Kemurikusa

Mob Psycho 100 II

Boogiepop wa Warawanai

The Promised Neverland

Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note – A Grave Keeper, a Cat, and a Mage

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka

Grimms Notes The Animation

Karakuri Circus

Anime I am watching, but not part of Winter/Spring:

Kino’s Journey, 2003 and 2017

Winter 2019

Kemurikusa

Synopsis

The story follows girls who fight with weird entities nicknamed “mushi” (bugs) and survive in a world of red fog.

(Source: Anime News Network)

-Image from LiveChart.me

Episode 12/12 (Complete!): I really loved this one and its a shame it was languishing on Amazon Prime. While I don’t think it ever would have been the season favorite, I will probably remember it for times to come. The characters manage to be charming even if they aren’t deep, I also loved the theme of sisterhood and how the girls stuck together no matter what. I enjoyed the build up of the mystery, the ultimate solution and even how certain things remained unresolved or uncertain. Ultimately I loved the vibe of the show. Despite the bleakness there was a hopeful spirit to it. For something that could have had an epic scale, instead it felt cozy and intimate. I highly recommend this if you want some cozy post-apocalyptic anime.

Mob Psycho 100 II

Synopsis

Kageyama Shigeo, a.k.a. “Mob,” is a boy who has trouble expressing himself, but who happens to be a powerful esper. Mob is determined to live a normal life and keeps his ESP suppressed, but when his emotions surge to a level of 100%, something terrible happens to him!

As he’s surrounded by false espers, evil spirits, and mysterious organizations, what will Mob think? What choices will he make?

(Source: Crunchyroll)

-Image LiveChart.me

Episode 13/13 (Complete!): I really enjoyed this one too! A heavy hitter of the season and deservedly so. Despite a few hiccups in the beginning, it ended up being better written than the first season. I don’t have any real deep thoughts on this one and hope there is a season 3 so we can see how the new Team Reigen interacts. Someone to out awkward Mob!

Boogiepop wa Warawanai

Synopsis

There is an urban legend that children tell one another about a shinigami that can release people from the pain they may be suffering. This “Angel of Death” has a name: Boogiepop. And the legends are true. Boogiepop is real.

When a rash of disappearances involving female students breaks out at Shinyo Academy, the police and faculty assume they just have a bunch of runaways on their hands. But Nagi Kirima knows better. Something mysterious and foul is afoot. Is it Boogiepop, or something more sinister…?

(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

-Image from LiveChart.me

Episode 17/18 (DNF!): I stopped caring and didn’t finish this one. An utter disappoint. I just recommend people read the light novels. The only parts that seem to be interesting are the ones around Nagi Kirima but she didn’t show up in the final arc so…. bleh.

The Promised Neverland: 12/12 (Complete!): I wasn’t planning on this but wow was this an incredible romp! That said, I have mixed feelings on the ending. It felt like this anime preferred SURPRISE! rather than telling a good story. There was one revelation in particular that made me feel like I was watching a completely different anime and certain scenes didn’t line up. But then there was the revelation between Mother and Ray that was actually well done?  IDK, while I enjoyed the ride, its hard for me to 100% recommend or go onto season 2 (if there is one).

Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note – A Grave Keeper, a Cat, and a Mage: 1/1 (Complete!): Although I’m not too invested in the Fate franchise overall I did enjoy Zero and Waver Velvet so I watched this. Well done and there is going to be another episode in Summer 2019 which I will definitely catch!

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka: 12/12 (Complete!): Another show I just happened to check out and it really it me in the soft spot. I love magical girls and bro-y military anime and this had both! Combined with some interesting world-building and character development and this show had me hooked. I hope there is a season 2, but the ending made it satisfactory, even if it does not.

Grimms Notes The Animation

Episodes 12/12 (Complete!): This one was ok to start but kind of went off the rails. At first it was sympathetic to fairytale villains like Snow White’s step mom and John Silver, but then completely forget them in order to hone in on the point that the good guys are fighting to preserve stories, even if they suck. I feel like Mattel did better on this subject. I don’t really recommend this.

Karakuri Circus

Episode – Current! – Ongoing!: This show is continuing on and should end with the Spring season if I am correct. It just put on its third and final opening, which is nice and uplifting. I still feel like this is an underrated anime. Every episode has been entertaining if not heart wrenching, and I love where most of the plot lines are going. It also weird to think of where this anime started.

Watching, but not part of the anime season

Kino’s Journey -the Beautiful World- the Animated Series

I don’t which remember which episode I stopped at but blargh this is sooooooo bad in terms of getting the point of the light novels and the Kino character. Its almost on par with Boogiepop in terms of how can you rip the heart and soul of an adaptation so badly? I kind of want to do a 2003 vs 2017 post but don’t want to finish this. ;_;

Also I watched the 2003 version and it surprisingly holds up well for an older anime. Shoot, my heart was in my throat for nearly every episode. I recommend this one.

Merc Storia: Mukiryoku Shounen to Bin no Naka no Shoujo

Slowly working my way through this one. Its cute but meant for a younger audience. I have a hard time watching as Yu is a boring protagonist.

Overall Winter 2019 was amazing for me. More great watches then disappointments. While I have my eyes open for Spring 2019 there isn’t anything calling to me that I can watch (*shakes a fist at One Punch Man Hulu exclusive*) so I’m concentrating on older anime that I missed out on. You might see them on this blog when I finish or DNF them.

A big problem this season is that there are so many supernatural anime, its hard to tell them apart so I’ll check out which ones people are still watching a few weeks in.

Also this is good for my other hobbies. I really need to finish Kingdom Hearts 3, I’m about 2/3 done with it along with some other games on my list. Also I need to concentrate on posts and social media more!

Hope you all had a good anime season! What did you like or not like? And thanks for checking out this Big Bite!

Finally going over #Anime Winter 2019. There was a lot of good stuff this season! And my plans going forward! Sorry all, I am pretty late on this one. This is due to a double whammy of a vacation and then getting seriously sick from the vacation.

#anime

[namelessblacksheep]

FUCK MY LIFE: WHY I HATE MONDAYS

It’s normally mid to late afternoon on a Sunday when all of a sudden that little timer goes off in your head. ‘Fuck me it’s Monday tomorrow’. Unless you absolutely love your job, or just can’t wait to dump the kids off on someone else after a troublesome weekend, chances are you are just like the rest of us mere mortals and don’t especially love Mondays.

Mondays suck. Tick the box, close the book.

That is why there are so many GIFs and Memes about Mondays because we all hate the beginning of a new week. Five more days of spending time somewhere we don’t especially like, with a bunch of people we may or may not especially like. The only thing we often have in common with them is that we work in the same office and they too fucking hate Monday.

Monday’s are often made worse because most of the ‘Clints’ and ‘Cynthias’ you work with. You know the type: do a chillax Friday also known as ‘working from home’ whilst actually either not doing anything or doing plenty, but nothing relating to work. These corporate clowns are the type who get to Monday and realise that they need their work request to be delivered ‘by the close of play’, even though they have known about it for weeks. And guess what, you are the lucky minion who gets to have your already shitty start to the week dumped on from a great height by one of these Clints.

The thing about Monday is that it is the realisation that your reality is not as good as you hoped it would be. The weekend was either spent getting absolutely shit-faced with your friends, a dirty weekend away with the object of your affection, a camping trip with the family or the quintessential Netflix marathon in your pants covered in a takeaway.

It is and always has been far better than being cooped up in work or doing something because you have a monster mortgage to pay for.

The weekend is the equivalent of day release for the masses who are imprisoned each week for at least four to five days a week in asylums filled with moronic minions acting out all manner of craziness. If you’re lucky, Friday is the transition into your weekend, you may be allowed to wear your own clothes and even kick back a bit, clock off early after a long lunch because all the ‘management’ is pretending to be busy at home. Even though their status is more often than not: ‘offline’ or unreachable.

Think for a second of the Clints in your office. He’s the kind of guy who turns up on a Monday full of stories to rub in your face, just how much better his weekend, no, his life, is than yours. Clint lives for Monday, he has no one else who will talk to him after 5 pm on a Friday, except maybe his mother because she feels obligated to or another bunch of other Clints from some other office.

Or perhaps Cynthia brings you back down to Earth with her tales of woe that just need an X Factor backing track and Samaritans on speed dial for when she’s done. Welcome to Monday, and that is after your shitty commute into the office.

The only good thing that ever happens on a Monday, is a bank holiday and they are best days ever. For the rest of the year, Monday is miserable. It’s confirmation that if there is a God, he fucking hates you because that’s the first day of the rest of your week.

The Monday Phenomenon

It isn’t just the work thang that gets up our nose when it comes to Mondays. Given it is a brand new week, we often set ourselves up for that belief that maybe a new week means a new you. Monday is suddenly a beacon of hope, a change in the grand scheme of things, a time for a change and new dawn.

This euphoric and inspired feeling often doesn’t last long, you are after all diving into a pool of zombie-like miscreants who just want the day to be over. Fuck it, they don’t really want it to start at all. Before long all of your mojo is drowned within a sea of dying souls all just keen to get a coffee fix and find a hiding place until lunch.

How many best intentions start off with a Monday launch?

Most I’d guess, it’s a fresh start; a new week. Time to hit the gym and start eating like a rabbit, having just consumed every last morsel of ‘naughty’ treats over the weekend that may have induced diabetes.

It’s okay though, Monday is here and the new you is going to kick ass like a Marvel superhero. Until of course, the Monday morning meeting sees all of your greatest hopes dashed as the reality of the week ahead drowns out the rays of sunshine with apocalyptic clouds of gloom.

Then Cynthia politely informs you that you are not going to get your expenses paid this month because you didn’t check something on her overly complicated form. It isn’t long before that new you has bent over and allowed Monday to royally roger it for another week. Then you’re off like an angry Gorilla, ploughing a trail through co-workers all the way to the vending machine.

Never use Monday as the day for a fresh start. You will never see a new dawn as long as you follow the first day of the week rule. Quit smoking on the weekend, after a heavy night of debauchery on the town, by lunchtime you’re like the Marlboro Man on crack, chain-smoking your way to lung cancer.

You see, we have been indoctrinated into hating Mondays, from an early age. From double Maths on a Monday at school, all the way through to your shitty 9-5 existence waiting for death somewhere doing something not entirely captured by your job title or paycheck.

Growing up, I loved the cartoon character Garfield and he absolutely hated Mondays too, even though he was a cat and had zero concept of what Mondays meant in reality. Point is, even he knew the drudgery and affliction of Monday-itis.

There are countless songs about how crap Monday is, ironically written and performed by people who probably don’t even work on a Monday because they are too busy coming down from immense highs from the weekend or banging groupies like a bunny with a Duracell battery up their bum.

From the ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ of The Carpenters, through to The Boomtown Rats ‘I don’t like Mondays’, and ‘Manic Mondays’ of The Bangles. They all caption our pain, whilst churning out huge royalties to these clever folks who wouldn’t know a true Monday if it slapped them in the face. Still, it’s good that they can give us some jingoistic anthems to get us through the fucking day. I am rather partial to some heavy metal or ‘Rage Against The Machine’ whilst simultaneously imagining myself armed with an AK47, creating COD4 carnage, on an epic scale. But, whatever floats your boat I guess.

Managing Monday-itis

That irritating cough or a lousy headache that emerged after 10 pints of Stella and a particularly raucous night of Karaoke classics has lingered throughout the weekend. Monday is coming for you like a Bailiff on commission and all of a sudden you realise, ‘haven’t taken a sick day in a while’. It’s easily done and routinely so.

Before long, Monday-itis will be rightly recognised for the debilitating illness it is. Much like ADHD and all manner of bullshit made-up conditions to justify people’s behaviour, Monday-itis is characterised by a sudden onset phobia to pressing work deadlines that were not met in the previous week. It leads the poor soul inflicted with this heinous curse developing all manner of ‘flu type symptoms’ that means they will be unable to attend work until the aforementioned work problem is resolved.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Chances are that after the self-certification is expired you will return again on a Monday, no doubt with two times the burden of a normal week. This double whammy Monday aka Thundercunt Monday will burn more than Satan’s balls when it comes around. There are other ways to manage the transition.

If your workplace operates a flexible working or agile culture, get your own back on management and make Monday, your work from home day. Technically, you are able to complete your duties and manage incoming calls and emails without anyone being able to micromanage or monitor you doing it. You’ll avoid all the usual office guff from the Clints and Cynthias about their meaningless and made up lives. You can do your work in your pants, or gimp suit for that matter, and no one would be any the wiser.

No commute, which is even better than a commute when the spawn of the planet are on their holidays. You can even reward yourself with a lie in. It’s a nice smooth transition into the work week without all the heaviness and bullshit that comes along.

If you have kids and need to drop the little buggers off at school, see if you can come to an arrangement with a friend or neighbour (preferably one with kids at the same school) to take it turns on alternate Mondays to drop them off.

Plan to do something on a Monday that feels like a reward or is something you actually enjoy. I work from home on a Monday and like to work out. My favourite day is Push Day, so, I save this for lunchtime on, and you guessed it: a Monday. Half the day has gone, and now I’m feeling pretty awesome. Before you know it, the end is near and you have escaped another wretched start to the week.

Then when the work day is done, because you don’t feel quite as pissed off as you normally do, you might even plan something fun for the evening. A few drinks, a takeaway, or back on to the Netflix marathon you began the previous weekend.

Over time, you will begin to find that Mondays are not so bad after all. Then, when you apply some of the same thinking to other days in the week and get a bit of a balance to life you’ll feel like a completely different person. Then when you are in work and only putting up with the nonsense a few days a week, you will not feel quite as drained. Cynthia will be miserable as sin, but she hasn’t got any friends anyway. This is actually you showing compassion to the silly sausage and creating space in her life to make some better decisions.

If working from home is not an option, create a Monday game in the office and get your co-workers to join in. Perhaps set up a sweepstake of Clint Bullshit Bingo, with the winner claiming the pot based on whatever nonsensical shit they correctly predict Clint spouting off about when he does his Monday monologue. You could also, inject some fun, by stealing items off of Cynthia’s desk and placing them all around the office creating a faux treasure hunt that means she’ll be occupied all day so as not to kill your Monday mojo.

If it is truly unbearable, set up an email or Whatsapp group and invite all your fellow Monday-itis sufferers to it and bombard each other with humorous messages and content to get the laughter flowing.

Book out your diary every Monday with a two hour private and busy meeting that on your monitor reads ‘Fuck all’. This should give you ample time to adjust to the new reality of the work week without allowing the more moronic minions the chance to rape your soul like a Harry Potter Dementor.

Try doing a gratitude journal for the first time, but do this as though you are coming from the perspective of how much worse your life could be if you were, say: a Clint or a Cynthia. Be careful not to type this out in plain view of said Dementors though, Mondays with an HR meeting on office bullying probably wouldn’t be a great start to the work week. Alternatively, you could write a long list of things you could be doing had you not been stupid enough to have children.

No More Manic Mondays

Too often the wonderful weekend has been cut short by the early onset of Monday-itis and the anxiety that its symptoms bring. The transition into another week in your miserable existence is ramped up tenfold on a Sunday evening and several times higher the following morning.

The stress of another work week Monday takes its toll on your soul. The pressure of a new beginning or the familiar anxiety of yet another week afflicts millions every single week. Then like the extras in The Walking Dead, we all descend to our paycheck prisons or weekly workhouses to be used and abused for another week. The only tool we previously had in our arsenal is the hope that either a bus would knock us down before we got there, or that we could sleepwalk through to Friday.

The truth is, Monday is just like any other day, the stigma attached to it is largely because we have to end something fun or something we chose to do (the weekend or week off) for something we have to do (to pay for the shit we do on said weekend or weeks off).

How we navigate this transition from awesome back to mundane is entirely down to our ingenuity and individual approach. Manic Mondays are often due to lazy arse Fridays, so as long as you play hard through the week and get sufficient stuff done then you can reward yourself with a stellar weekend of fun.

Monday is the first work day, so anyone who plans a Monday morning meeting at 9 am is probably worth avoiding in or out of work. These people tend to be the types who book the 4 pm slot on a Friday too. That’s classic Clint right there.

Making your transition into the work week should be your number one goal to stave off that Sunday evening bah-humbug feeling. To end the sleepless night before the Monday morning rush, find a more flexible approach: start later after a trip to the gym, start earlier and plan an evening event to look forward to, or work from home to avoid all those competitive conversations about who has the best/worst life of all.

Normally, once you have gotten past the mid-point of the day, you are back in work mode, so make sure you manage your diary and time in a way that is both rewarding and low pressure (where possible).

The week is a marathon, not a sprint, so getting everything done on a Monday morning just isn’t going to happen. This is especially true after a week or so off. Book out the morning for just acclimatising back to work, finding out who fucked up whilst you were away, flaunting your tan lines to colleagues and just ‘catching up’ with corporate bullshit life.

Saving favoured activities that motivate you and booking them into a Monday will also make it less likely that you succumb to the temptation to do a Monday-itis phone in.

Never start a new thing (diet, exercise routine, quitting a bad habit, etc) on a Monday as the pressure of the day makes it highly likely that you’ll get triggered and fall into the old pattern. You’ll end up hating yourself even more than you already did. And if you must, be sure to allow yourself a restart on a Tuesday or at some later point in the week. Mondays are hard enough.

Injecting fun shouldn’t be limited to a Monday, but may prove incredibly helpful in the navigation of this troublesome day. The stressors that trigger the Monday Blues, like those annoying co-workers you have imagined executing in multiple ways in your head, should be reframed within this humorous approach. Nullifying them from the monstrous problems they cause to realise the ant-like irritants that they really are.

When they start to get under your skin and you are close to a full-on transformation into the Incredible Hulk, just ask yourself what they didn’t get up to on the weekend. In all in all likelihood, work is the only place where anyone shows them a modicum of emotion, try to be gentle with them and feel free to fuck with them a bit, until they learn the error of their ways.

By the time you are done for the day, you’ll realise that Mondays can be okay. The things that worked for you can be applied throughout the week. Make life a bit more bearable and to give your hopes and dreams of becoming something better a real chance. Mondays do not have to suck. They just need to be managed.

The best bit about getting over your phobia of Monday is that your weekends tend to get longer. That period after tea on a Sunday creates an opening for something fun. If you’ve successfully made the work arena a little bit less like a prison, you might find that by Friday the ease down into the weekend is smooth and all things are in place for a nice restart come the following week.

If you’re a Clint or Cynthia and you’re reading this. Stop booking meetings on a Monday morning. While you are at it, try to make friends and then you’ll have some real experiences to share with, rather than vomit over, your colleagues the next Monday. Life is hard enough without Monday being a total motherfucker. So stop being you, and strive to be awesome.

Make Monday the new fun day.

‘Dear Monday, I want to break up. I’m seeing Tuesday and dreaming about Friday. Sincerely, it’s not me, it’s you’ - Anon

#office #humour #worklife #worklunch #monday #motivation

[hannewk]

The (not very concise) story of our sparkly Arcade Fire adventures (Chapter 14: Arcade Fire Rock Dublin)

The day we have been counting down to since July has arrived and to be honest it feels pretty surreal. We spend the day bumbling about, Jules breaks the hairdryer and we have some pizza. At about 3:30pm the glitter application resumes - OH GOD THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING AGAIN!! We really go to town this time applying a range of different colours to our cheeks, eyes, hair and hands - we are going to stand out!

The walk to the 3Arena passes in a haze. It has been raining for much of the day but the sun has come out and it is warm. We get to the arena and find our gate and end up being at the front with a lovely bunch of people who are also bubbling with excitement. The sun is gorgeous, it is shining on my sequinned bag creating a disco ball effect. After about a 90 minute wait the gates open and we speed walk (no running) into the arena. The staging is quite mind blowing with the lighting and the two enormous disco balls but it’s like a giant version of our Scunthorpe gig in a way. There is no one at the stage yet so we get to the fence and walk around assessing the setup and settling for the side that looks most promising (other fans are in agreement). Unlike Scunthorpe we are dead centre COMPLETELY DEAD CENTRE and at the front. AHHHHHHH BRING IT ON!!!!

It’s such a magical feeling being stood at the front, leaning on the fence and soaking up the atmosphere. The pre-gig playlist is virtually the same as last year so this gets the butterflies fluttering even more. We love watching all the setup as the roadies are buzzing about and the time is ticking away. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band are on first and they are just perfect, they get us all dancing and livened up - can’t wait to see them again!! Another short wait while the final preparations are made and it’s time ...... 😱😱

The band enter by walking through the crowd, people are leaning over to try and get a view but we’re patient; we’ll be getting a pretty good view soon enough! And then they’re there, walking up the steps a metre away from us, looking so cool and super pumped! Seeing them once again it’s like all those months haven’t past. It’s happening again and we know we’ve got a serious treat ahead of us.

EVERYTHING NOW

I spent much of this song processing but this didn’t hold me back from singing along. Jules and I link hands and punch the air in unison during each ‘whoop’, it’s nice to see Régine carrying out the same move.

REBELLION

Will is in front of us on the drum. During one of the choruses he throws himself into the boxing ring ropes that encircle the stage. We thought he was going to fall on us at one point 😂.

HERE COMES THE NIGHT TIME / NO CARS GO

The band are full of energy and clearly really enjoying this. Win throws some water into the crowd to our left.

HEADLIGHTS LOOK LIKE DIAMONDS

OH HOLY FUCK!!!! This was a dream come true! I’d had this tune in my head for most of the week and now it was taking place before our eyes. Needless to say it was ABSOLUTELY EPIC!!!!!!

ELECTRIC BLUE / PUT YOUR MONEY ON ME

I love both these tracks so much. Régine’s vocals are incredible and the performances were better than I ever could’ve imagined. At the start of Put Your Money on Me Win and Régine perform their little sexy dance. The green lighting is also lush.

KETTLES

Okay this one was a surprise. I can remember Jules saying a few times in my ear “What is happening? What are they doing?” Kettles is a special and very emotional track that we purposely left off our latest fantasy set list because we thought it would be ‘too emotional’. Well we were right! I held Jules’ hand all the way through and we made it to the end. The lights were on the crowd and people were illuminating their phone lights. It was such a beautiful and moving performance but .... FUUUUCK😭😭😭

ROCOCO / MY BODY IS A CAGE

What an incredible double whammy after Kettles. I really wanted to hear Rococo and they didn’t disappoint! We also love the lighting during My Body is a Cage that looks like cell bars.

TUNNELS

This is our song - no one else’s!! We hug and jump about and sing our hearts out with Win and Will in front of us. It kind of feels like no one else is there!!

THE SUBURBS / READY TO START / SPRAWL II

I love this Suburbs combo and they transition Ready to Start into Sprawl II by using the extended remix version - it was incredible!

REFLEKTOR / AFTERLIFE

I love these two as a combo too. Win sits in front of us looking like he needs a hug 😔.

CREATURE COMFORT

We knew they used a lot of smoke during Creature Comfort but this time we were stood right beside the smoke machine so there were times when we couldn’t even see our own hands in front of our faces! It was surreal with the strobe lighting and powerful music. At one point when we are completely surrounded by smoke Win throws water into the crowd and it hits us both in the face - this was quite refreshing but a bit of a surprise 😂.

POWER OUT

Still lots of smoke and passion and just awesomeness. For some reason I had a bit of an emotional outburst during this track it was just too incredible 😭😭. They even got in a bit of I Give you Power at the end. The band then left the stage.

WE DON’T DESERVE LOVE

Band return one by one but Win is in the crowd singing. At one point there’s a bit of a disturbance that I spotted but Jules missed - it turns out some wanker who thought he was funny pinched Win’s hat during the performance 🙄. For some reason I felt less emotional during this track and Jules did really well (months of desensitisation work paid off). At the end they play an excerpt of ‘Linger’ and the floodgates open again. Oh dear it must be time for .....

WAKE UP

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band join for this one (I love those guys). As always I think of dad and sing my heart out with the glitter sliding off my cheeks. It’s glorious but also agonising. And then they’re leaving the stage, parading off with Preservation Hall and the show is over.

We get a drink and slowly leave the arena not talking. It’s not until we are away from the crowds that we begin to relive and deconstruct. We sit on a bench beside the river both wondering how that all could’ve actually happened. And oh dear god we’ve got to relive it all again in a few days time!! 😱😱😁😁😭😭🦋🦋😁😁

#arcade fire #dublin 3arena #infinite content tour #emotionally violated #but we’d do it all again! #we are in fact #bring on london #to be continued

[gethealthy18-blog]

The Best Natural Face Sunscreens

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The Best Natural Face Sunscreens

The best advice my mother ever gave me? Wear sunscreen everyday! Her incredible skin is proof that daily sunscreen use works! So yesterday we discussed body sunscreens but today I wanted to focus on the best natural face sunscreens. Now I know it’s tempting to just slather that body sunscreen all over your face but I really wouldn’t recommend it. Oftentimes body sunscreens use way heavier oils that will likely cause clogged pores and breakouts. Natural body sunscreens, while more expensive than conventional, tend to be more affordable than natural face sunscreens because they can get away with using ingredients that are cheaper (in price, not quality) but also aren’t necessarily what you want to be putting on your face.

That’s why I use a different body and face sunscreen. Also natural sunscreen tends to give that “white glow” that you get from pure zinc oxide so you will likely want a different formula for your face so you don’t look like a ghost. Although if you’re into that – go for it!

I’ve spent the last few years trying out different natural face sunscreens but in the last year or so brands have come out with some EPIC products. I can honestly say that the natural face sunscreens you can buy these days are just as good, if not better than conventional sunscreen. So with that, I thought I’d share my favorite natural face sunscreens with you and why I think each one is worth investing in.

Also! As mentioned yesterday, always look for a product that has Broad Spectrum SPF. Okay let’s do this…

The Best Skin Nourishing SPF: ILIA Skin Tint (SPF 40)

Guys – this product is amazing! It is NOT a foundation but it does provide a light coverage that evens out skin tone. Not only that, but it also contains 40 SPF and skin benefitting ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. If you have oily skin I’d recommend using a setting powder after use but if you have dry skin like I do, this ILIA skin tint is the moisturizing and nourishing facial SPF you’ve been looking for.

Benefits: Super moisturizing, great ingredients for your skin, dewy finish. My shade: ST5

The Best *almost* Foundation SPF: Suntegrity Impeccable Skin (SPF 30)

Tanya and I have been looking for a product like this for a long time, and Suntegrity finally answered! Suntegrity has been in the facial SPF game for a long time and many people love their 5-in-1 facial SPF. This is the product Curt uses for his daily SPF (I prefer the Josh Rosebrook Daily Moisturizer – see below) BUT their new Impeccable Skin product is truly a godsend. This is more of a BB cream so it provides coverage that you don’t get from their tinted 5-in-1 which essentially just masked the white hue. While it isn’t entirely a foundation (I still need to use concealer for any zits I have), it does even out skin tone and dries down matte.

Benefits: Evens out skin tone, oil and fragrance-free and matte finish. My Shade: Buff

The Best Lightweight Moisturizing SPF: Josh Rosebrook Nutrient Day Cream (SPF 30)

If you’re an OG Healthy Maven fan then you know I’m obsessed with this product. It’s insanely expensive so I only buy it once a year in the big bottle at the Credo Beauty sale (20% off!). I always buy the tinted version and I love how moisturizing this product is but you barely notice it at all. This is for my no-makeup days, which is a lot more often these days. Honestly, there are some days where this is the only product I put on my face in the morning. 30 SPF, smells delicious and you can barely feel it. If you’re looking for a splurge item I can’t recommend this enough.

Benefits: Lightweight, hydrating. No shades but I buy the tinted version.

The Best Barely There SPF: Hynt Beauty SUN PREP (SPF 25)

Do I trust this natural face sunscreen for a day at the beach? Absolutely not. It even says on the bottle: reapply after getting wet and every 2 hours. This “barely there” facial SPF is exactly that: barely there. It’s the only sheer natural facial sunscreen I have found so if you want something that you can put under your makeup with zero white tint, you will love this one! I’m not obsessed with the smell, BUT it is also a facial primer and it works super well to fill in pores and fine lines before applying makeup. A good option if you’re a daily makeup wearer and don’t spend too much time in direct sun.

Benefits: lightweight, goes on clear, great primer under makeup. No shades.

The Best Beach Day SPF: Juice Beauty STEM CELLULAR CC Cream (SPF 30)

We all need a beach day SPF and for those days I reach for this Juice Beauty CC cream. It does contain coconut oil which is comedogenic for certain skin types BUT I personally haven’t found it correlates with any of my breakouts. That being said, it is reef-safe and has anti-aging benefits that none of the other facial sunscreens on this list have so it’s kind of a double-whammy. I will reapply it throughout the day but I trust that I won’t burn or overexpose my skin when wearing this.

Benefits: long-lasting, anti-aging benefits, light coverage. My shade: Desert Glow

There are plenty of other natural facial sunscreen brands out there that I didn’t include either because a) I don’t like them or b) I haven’t tried them. Consider this a running list that I’ll add to if I discover others I like, but for now this list of the best natural face sunscreens seems pretty comprehensive with at least one option for everyone. Let me know in the comments below if there are any other face sunscreens you love.

Like this post? Here are a few others you might enjoy:

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[xb-squaredx]

Gaming in 2018: The Good and Bad

2017 is largely considered an awesome year for video games as a whole. Plenty of fantastic titles and the impressive debut of the Nintendo Switch certainly meant that 2018 had a LOT to live up to. This past year has certainly been interesting in a great many ways; some of it’s good, some of it’s bad and a lot of it is just…business as usual. As the year is winding down, let’s take a look at some of the notable releases and happenings in the video game scene. Take it away!

The year starts off fairly strong, the first few months having a fair amount of quality titles, some even potential “Game of the Year” candidates. Both Monster Hunter: World and Dragon Ball FighterZ released not only to high acclaim and sales, but on the same day no less! A wide variety of games from several different franchises and genres dot the calendar. Co-op adventure games like A Way Out in March, the return of God of War in April competing with Nintendo’s odd Labo line of potentially over-priced cardboard and the controversial Detroit: Become Human in May. The summer saw a slew of releases, from a new entry in the Mario Tennis series with Aces, Octopath Traveler in July, and Spider-Man on the PS4 in September. The last three months see a sudden explosion of hotly-anticipated titles from some mega-franchises. Everything from Assassin’s Creed to Call of Duty to Pokemon and Super Smash Bros. sees a release, not to mention Red Dead Redemption 2 right at the end of October. Just looking at things generally, there’s a good spread, but let’s look at things more in-depth.

Fighting games had quite a few releases this year, though sadly I’d say most of them were considered underwhelming for one reason or another. Another entry in the Dissidia series was absolutely crushed by FighterZ and Monster Hunter to kick the year off, while niche fighting games like Blade Strangers, Fighting EX Layer, SNK Heroines and BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle were met with mixed reception overall. The anime crowd also got a 3D Brawler based on the My Hero Academia license…that launched the same day in the West as Red Dead Redemption 2 so…ouch. The year does see a bit of a rebound with titles like SoulCalibur VI and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate being fairly well-received. It’s nice to see the fighting game genre continue onward, and at the very least I’m glad to see attempts at innovating or just new ideas being thrown out, but they can’t all be winners.

Unfortunately, I’d say there were also a fair few stinkers released this year, or games that just failed to capture much of an audience. February saw a double-whammy of Dynasty Warriors 9 and Metal Gear Survive, two games that are largely viewed as massive step backs from their previous entries. Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Sushi Striker and Just Cause 4 released and were quickly forgotten by the general public. You have some games that received at least SOME coverage and potential success, like Ubisoft’s toys-to-life Starlink game likely being the closest thing we’ll get to a new Star Fox game for quite a while (on the Switch version at least), and a fair number of indies came out this year too, or in some cases, came to consoles and boosted visibility. Hollow Knight came out last year on Steam, but is now out on everything and that thing sold like crazy on Switch at the very least. Then you have things like Dead Cells or The Messenger, Celeste and Guacamelee 2 that also received rave reviews. While last year we had Crash Bandicoot’s remakes and Sonic Mania appealing to nostalgia, this year we saw Spyro get his turn at a remake trilogy, as well as Mega Man 11 and an 8-bit, classic-Castlevania styled throwback in the form of Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. All that said, let’s talk the big dogs.

Nintendo didn’t have nearly as many heavy-hitters in comparison to last year, though honestly I think it’d be hard to top that line-up anyway. The Switch’s library has ballooned since last year, a lot of that coming from ports, with that trend likely continuing into next year as well. The third party support is certainly welcome and fills out the Switch’s catalogue, though there’s an awful lot of first-party Wii U ports too. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, the Captain Toad game, as well as the first two Bayonetta games and Hyrule Warriors graced the system. Even the 3DS seems like it’s getting the shaft in terms of huge titles. Outside of a “greatest hits” of microgames with WarioWare Gold, there was a Luigi’s Mansion remake/port and…I guess Yo-Kai Watch still exists, so there’s that? The 3DS is clearly slowly being phased out, so as long as it still prints money, we’ll be seeing these strange remakes and ports…like…Kirby’s Epic Yarn coming next year…for some reason. As far as NEW titles, entries like Kirby: Star Allies and Mario Tennis Aces can be considered somewhat lacking, but it’s balanced out by a return to form for the Mario Party series, a great third-party exclusive in Octopath Traveler, a well-received DLC expansion/pseudo-sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and, of course, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Actually, I’d say that tips them back over into pretty darn good overall.

Sony did pretty well this year, though honestly they only saw TWO major exclusive releases. However, both God of War and Spider-Man, despite having uncreative names, are clear “Game of the Year” contenders, and it surely reaps the benefits of the various third-party hits on the platform…and Detroit: Become Human, I guess. Shame about Xbox though; as far as exclusives went there was Rare’s Sea of Thieves, seen by many as too devoid of actual content to play for very long. Its E3 show was good at least! Good at showing off a bunch of games that will also be on other consoles!

Industry-wide, the year was a bit of a downer though, with some notable layoffs and studio closures, some very close to one another. Cliff Blesinski of Gears of War fame, closed down his studio, Boss Key Productions, following two back-to-back flops with Lawbreakers in 2017 and Radical Heights in 2018. As the year winded down, Capcom Vancouver closed its doors in September, with Telltale Games following soon after, generating a fair amount of media buzz over the volatile nature of employment in game development and the concept of “crunch” time in games as well. Right as Red Dead Redemption 2 came out, Rockstar also received flak for their workplace conditions when news of employees working “100 hour” work weeks was brought up as if it was some sort of positive thing.

The game industry isn’t all sunshine and rainbows; for every success story, you have a studio closing, for every hit, you have a game that crashes and burns on release. It can be hard to tell what to expect in a given year with video games, what big franchises will do and what new tent poles might pop up in the meantime. Fortnite is suddenly among the most popular games right now, and after Nintendo’s last console flopped, the Switch is on the warpath to reclaim that status Nintendo has always been known for. In this year alone, we saw several sequels to iconic, major franchises. It can be easy to forget them all, but it’s important to soak all that variety in. New Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed games, Mario Party and God of War, for starters. There are toys-to-life games and cardboard creativity, alongside your annual Madden and Call of Duty and Battlefield games, and TONS of fighting games. Capcom in general seems to be on a hot streak of hits, which considering the reception of Street Fighter V and Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite last year, is saying something. I haven’t lost my love for gaming, though I do somewhat worry how certain modern monetization trends will affect things going forward. But there are also tons of things to be on the lookout for. PS4 and Xbone are going to be on their way out someday soon (relatively speaking anyway), Nintendo always seems to have surprises under their sleeves (like announcing and releasing a SMASH BROS. game all in the same year, for one) and there exist plenty of talented developers both large and small that continue to innovate, making fun, new ideas. Here’s to 2019 hopefully continuing the trend of being mostly good!

Happy Gaming, and until next time.

-B

#xb-squaredx #blog #2018 #gaming #god of war #red dead redemption 2 #celeste #spider-man #super smash bros ultimate #video games #retrospective #telltale games #dragon ball fighterz #monster hunter world