#this was a hit on twitter lets see how it fares here

[londonspirit]

I wonder what it says about a person* when their COMFORT ‘Go-To-When-Feeling-Shitty’ show is a fucking post-apocalyptic drama series that rips your heart out every fucking week and leaves you in shambles and sobbing on the floor for five (six in 24 hours) weeks straight! (Probably a field day for therapists!) 

-

-

* me, A PERSON is me

I did NOT expect this. NOT ONE FUCKING BIT!

I mean, I very often trust my Twitter (and Tumblr) when it comes to new stuff, new shows, new films. And I very often check them out - not always when they come out, but often enough (especially when MY shows are on hiatus don’t have an airdate yet).

And the hype was/is HUGE. I do understand that. Taking something that’s so beloved is always tough to get right. So people will love it WHEN they do. 

So yeah, I did see the promos and the tweets and since it’s one of the very few shows that are on SKY here at the same time as in the US, I was like, why the hell not.

Monday’s are my day off, so I didn’t think much when I hit ‘play’ on the first episode of The Last Of Us on it’s first day!!! 

I knew shit about it, NEVER played the game, and never heard about it before the show started to gain buzz.

Watched the first episode and was like ‘okay, yeah, looks okay enough, maybe a TAD too close to home these days, but hey, we made it more or less so lets see how they fare’

Watched the second one. Did a rewatch of the first one to better understand it. Impressed with how it was made, and I knew I would be sticking with it  - if only because it was something to watch on Monday mornings/noons.

And then the third episode came out. 

OH BOY!! 

I had an INKLING, maybe like wishful thinking when Bill fished Frank out of the hole. But I’m also too traumatized by too many shows to have actual HOPE of a queer episode. I full on expected the usual: some looks, some touches, some ‘im not queer’ excuses when the person is clearly interested/horny. 

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! (And again, this all would give a therapist a fucking FIELD DAY with everyone!) 

That was the most beautifully written/executed episode since ‘You wear fine things well’!!! I’ve lost count of the rewatches, and I will root for every fucking award show that episode will be nominated for (yes, the rest deserves some love as well but THIS ONE IS THE FUCKING PINNACLE OF EPISODES!) 

After that I started listening to the podcasts going with the show. (I NEVER do that!) 

E4 came out and I fell a little more in love with Ellie and Joel - I can’t even say what it was: his NEED to protect her, her softening up beside him… 

I just knew it was soo different from what I expected from a show/pairing like that. Easier, maybe? Them opening up (sort of) to each other without all the usual tropes of prying it from their cold hearts and rigid souls?

And then Joel laughs. He tries soo very hard not to, but he can’t help himself. (Sidenote: I was curious as to how they translated that particular pun into German - they didn’t. They used a different one that (naturally) wasn’t as funny as the original one). 

It’s dark, it’s scary, it’s not safe. And he lies there in the dark, giggling with all he has about a stupid PUN. Oh my heart (Hell, I'm grinning TYPING this, just thinking about it so yeah…)

Safe to say: I was HOOKED! 

(also: EYE CRINKLES. That man has laughed A LOT in his life, and it shows. I leave it up to you whether i mean Joel or Pedro!) 

And then there was the sniper scene in E5!!! 

ARGH!!! I don’t even know why, but I fucking LOVE that scene soooo freaking much!!! 

Ellie, among all those Infected, KNOWING that Joel will have her back after only knowing him for a few days (?). 

Joel, watching her like a hawk, not wasting ammunition and only taking out anyone that comes too close to HER! 

Her BLIND trust that he watches over her and takes care of her. 

His laser focus on HER, not caring what happens to him, the deep NEED to protect her. 

GUH!!! If I could give out awards for spectacular SCENES, this 10, 15 minutes would get ALL THE FUCKING AWARDS!!! 

So yeah. Now Im sitting here, on this grey, wet Sunday morning, about 14 hours away from episode 6, eagerly awaiting to get my heart ripped out AGAIN, typing away the things I feel about a fucking VIDEO GAME ADAPTATION SHOW!!! 

*shakes head at self* 

(That happens when MY shows go on hiatus - I fall in love with all the GREAT NEW SHIT that HBO puts out! Soo soo happy that they already got a second season so no need to worry about that! Still miffed that OFMD had to wait and worry for soo long. Ah well.) 

And since it’s me, and I don’t do shit by halves, I'm also falling in love with the cast. 

Yes, mainly with Pedro because DUH. Have you seen the man’s interviews? His SNL epicness? THAT SMILE??!?! I dare you NOT get all giggly and gooey when he starts cackling out of the blue about his own silly jokes! And I'm not even trying to resist, it's too damn late for that anyways! He's too fucking charming, and these days anything that brightens my days is very welcome!

The love and adoration he has for Bella is adorable. Their chemistry is insane. She’s soo young and yet so mature, and he treats her like an equal which is amazing. 

And I can't wait to watch ALL THE INTERVIEWS running up to the show. I’ve got lots of catching up to do. 

(I’ve also listened to a few podcasts already, and DAMN, he’s another DAMN GOOD EGG. Humble and funny, VERY down do Earth despite the (quiet) success he’s been having for YEARS now! I’ve been making a list with all the things I need to watch… and I’ve seen him in soo many things already. Just never really noticed. *sighs heavily* 

Silly silly me!

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

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(Im also slightly [read: HORRIBLY SO] terrified because once you get into the show, you also get spoilers from the game -it’s unavoidable- and even though i do NOT know for sure (and won’t actively look for it) I fear for his fate. I KNOW they deviated before with Bill and Frank, and they may do it again with others, so I still have hopes, but the bits I’ve seen… well.

And i will prepare myself for the worst - just in case. Not that it’ll help much but I can lie to myself for as long as necessary.)

-

SPOILERS DONE!

So yeah. 

You know the drill by now: New Obsession coming up. 

Tags will be on posts so feel free to blacklist. 

Or join in. It’ll be heartbreaking and terrifying, beautiful and shocking, and I cannot wait for the last 4 episodes to drop. We’re in for a damn wild ride, so buckle up!!! 

#personal #the last of us #tlou

[breadboylovin]

#text #the lost boys #the lost boys marko #alex winter #this was a hit on twitter lets see how it fares here

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[lettersfromn0where]

ZFAW: Self-Love Saturday

For the last day of @zkfanworkweek!

It’s no secret that I love writing more than almost anything in existence, or that I’m somewhat absurdly passionate about my work. I’m well aware that a handful of people probably think this is annoying (how many people who have had the misfortune to be in any kind of chat with me never want to hear the name “Hina Oyama” again? Probably most of them), and I was hesitant to do this at all because I know I can be self-centered and I’m trying to work on that. But I realized that I’m not doing this for feedback or because I want people to read my work - if I were to talk about my fic like this, it would be coming from a place of excitement about sharing something I love with others, not about finding new readers. (Have I done a little too much networking of that kind? Yes. Am I proud of it? Not at all. That’s why I had to make sure that that wasn’t why I was doing this.) 

So I’m going to go for it, and give you guys the background behind a few of my favorite things I’ve written. Stories below the cut. 

Story #1: The One That Taught Me That It’s Okay to Fail As a Writer

and I'll write you a tragedy (June 2020)

I wrote this back in June, when I was first getting into AtLA - I think it was my third or fourth published Zutara fanfic. I didn’t have many friends yet; most of the ones I talked to at the time, I've since lost touch with. So my participation in the fandom was largely isolated. I’d just write things and yeet them into the void without a care in the world - that’s what I did with “And I’ll Write You a Tragedy.” I had this grand idea that it would be ~the angstiest thing ever written~ and I was SO excited to get home (I was at the beach when I got the idea) so I could work on it...

Only to find that I simply wasn’t ready for the story I was trying to tell.

Oh, I wrote it, and it was...decently well-reviewed for something that caused me so much existential angst. But it fell so short of the concept that I had for it that, the moment I hit “post,” I was so frustrated that burst into tears. (Like a kindergartner. One can never say I deserve to be called an adult.) I wanted to establish myself in this new fandom so badly that anything I perceived as substandard was a crushing failure. And it was the process of talking myself through that frustration that taught me something I’ve tried to hold close ever since: every writer writes a dud every once in a while. No one is at the top of their game 100% of the time; those who appear to be probably don’t post the duds. Should I have posted this, then? Well, the jury is out on that. I still hate it. But it deserves a spot here just for the lesson it taught me. 

Story #2: the One That Broke the Angst Ceiling 

who lives, who dies, who tells your story (July 2020)

I have no idea how this took my angst from the coltish awkwardness of “sort of sad, but not very well-done” to genuinely depressing, but it did. Maybe I should blame quarantine and all of the difficulties that brought with it, or just the additional writing experience I had gained by that time. Whatever the reason, I remember this - even though it never got very popular - as an absolute triumph for me as a writer, because this is when I FINALLY learned how to write effective angst. For *years* I had thought I was simply incapable of writing anything sad, but this showed me that I wasn’t. I’ll never understood what flipped the switch (maybe it was @hiniwalay, whose help in forming this idea was invaluable...I love and miss you so much <3), but it’s a very important part of my writing journey even so. 

Story #3: The One That Got Inexplicably Popular

Tethered (Zutara Week - written in June 2020, posted in late July 2020)

Zutara Week 2020 was sort of the point at which I established myself in this fandom and I have super fond memories of the warm reception I received at the time. It was such a positive, encouraging experience - and perhaps the one and only time that people have actually wanted to indulge my somewhat ridiculous obsession with fluff. And this was sort of the peak of my entrance into the ZK fandom. 

And I am...not sure how I feel about that. 

Soulmate AUs are obviously super popular, so I knew that “Tethered” was going to be one of my better-recieved ZKW fics if I did it even marginally well. What I did NOT expect was that, by the time of this post, it would be exactly tied with The Waiting Game for my most kudos’d work. It’s almost insane to me that that is a thing, because, while I don’t hate how “Tethered” came out, I definitely don’t feel like it deserved the hype it got. It’s...just another soulmate AU, but seeing that I was capable of writing something that people would gobble up did wonders for my confidence - and, I think, for my reputation in the fandom as well. It was definitely a mile-marker on my journey, even if I would rather it have been a different ZKW oneshot (this one was my favorite).

Story #4: The Twitter Favorite

Four Days and Three Nights (written August 2020)

I will never, ever forget the day I posted this. 

I joined a Zutara group chat on Twitter just before Zutara Week 2020 began, and I quickly became...a little bit desperate for their attention. “The Waiting Game” (much more on that later) sprung from that desperation, but this was the one that actually did something about it. Which is funny, because it was actually a complete accident! 4D3N, as it is affectionately called on Twitter, was the result of my dumb butt reading “Five,” thinking “I want to write something that depressing!”, and just...going for it. I told myself not to overthink things as I desperately banged out the 3166 words of this story in two hours (because I needed to go for a run before it got dark and didn’t start writing until 3), and that is probably the one and only time in my entire life that telling myself something like that actually worked. Writing 4D3N was just sort of this rush that I barely even had time to recognize while I was caught up in it and the result was something I genuinely felt that I could be proud of - that’s pretty rare. My Twitter friends went slightly insane, half of them wanted to stab me (in a good way), and I finally felt like I actually belonged in this fandom - like I had done something to earn a place there. [Caveat: fandom is for everyone and you never need to “earn the right” to be in one, but my brain latched onto the idea that I didn’t deserve to be creating things for a fandom that didn’t want me and would not let it go. Figures.] Lately, I’ve been struggling with this one a little bit because it’s getting a lot of comparisons to “Five” in which it never fares favorably, for obvious reasons, and it was never actually my favorite fic to begin with, but it still means a lot to me. This is the one I recommend to people who are curious about my work and probably always will be. 

Story #5: The Sleeper Favorite

Lean On (written August 2020)

I have no earthly idea why I like this one so much, but it has to be my favorite oneshot I have up. It’s hurt-comfort and dives into the implications of the Agni Kai for Zuko’s health, both physical and mental - maybe it’s the uniqueness of that premise that endeared it to me, or maybe the personal-ness...is that a word?...of the narrative. The bare-bones summary: Zuko’s health is declining a year after the Agni Kai, Katara shows up to do something about that, and what follows is a year of Pain and Heartache for both of them as they try to navigate their conflicting feelings for each other. But really, it’s a story about healing: physically, yes, but also mentally and emotionally. I certainly relate a lot to Katara in “Lean On,” as I’ve been the friend caught in the crossfire of others’ battles with their mental health many times and I wanted to try to write from both sides of that conflict. But I think I probably wrote more of myself into Zuko than I originally anticipated, as well. Quarantine has not been good for my mental health...at all...and I’ve found myself lashing out at my family far more than I should without even knowing why, isolating myself and growing thorns so that no one would come near me. I hate seeing myself like that, and I hate that I can't seem to make myself do anything about it. So really, I was hashing out my own feelings both past and present, and what I ended up with, whatever you might think of its quality, came from the heart. I also, for whatever reason, really liked my writing here, so I have a special place in my heart for “Lean On.” 

Story #6: The Fluff I Didn’t Hate

Waffleosophy (written September 2020)

Look, there's not a lot to say about this, but it’s definitely my favorite fluff that I’ve ever written. I felt like I finally managed to hit the right note with this so that it came off as sweet without being saccharine, and it feels...I don’t know, wittier than what I usually write? I write a lot of fluff but something about “Waffleosophy” made it feel more polished and coherent than most of my other fluff. This was one that, as ridiculous as its premise was, I felt like I could truly be proud of; since I’m often a bit ashamed of how much of my work is fluff (it feels like “cheating” sometimes, as if I write this way because I lack the skill for real emotional beats), that’s saying a lot. 

Story #7: the Insanely Niche AU

Once In a Lifetime (ongoing)

This one gets updated at the speed of snail, but. ZK ice dance AU. It just makes me so HAPPY. 

Story #8: The One That Actually Did What It Was Meant To Do

Hanabi (written October/November 2020)

This heading is ironic because this was originally supposed to be an angsty slow-burn about surviving on an uninhabited island. Instead, it became as unerringly Sarah S---- as any fic ever has. Oops. 

Hanabi sprung from a desire to write something incredibly soft and wholesome. Seriously. That’s it. I had just finished writing a story that got a lot more violent and dark than I had expected it to, and I wasn’t comfortable with that; I wanted to return to my roots, if you will, and write something ~soft~. I wanted to write about good people, doing good things, being good to each other, with as much tender pining as I could cram in on the side. I wanted unique worldbuilding and a relationship that had to be built rather than handed over under the guise of Soulmateism (because this was the period in which I hated The Waiting Game and everything it stood for, aka...that. It was a weird time). And I actually? Did all of that? There’s this F. Scott Fitzgerald quote about how writers have to “sell their hearts” that I think about often, and I did that here. This has as much of my heart in it as anything ever will, I think, and if I had to pick a favorite thing that I have ever written, it would be “Hanabi.” I love it a lot. 

Story #9: The One You Knew Was Coming

The Waiting Game series (written July-October 2020)

I have so many feelings about this that I can’t even really articulate them all. Where would I even start? 

There was the fact that the first installment was written in two weeks (thirteen days, 94,832 words) to try to get the attention of a Twitter chat. There was the matter of Hina Oyama, my blog’s namesake, an OC who took on an absolutely massive life of her own to the point where she was quite literally my coping mechanism over the summer and I annoy everyone I know by constantly banging on pots and pans and screaming about her. There was the way this universe spiraled outwards from its original installment and now has three generations, two sequels, and a prequel in progress (Hina’s origin story, which I am writing for a friend but will most likely never post). There were the friends I made because of this series and all of the inside jokes and headcanons we’ve developed while discussing it. There were all of the existential crises I had (over negative comments, over whether or not this career-defining series is even decent, over the moral implications of writing about people getting stabbed in the sequel...please don’t ask). There is the fact that everyone I come into contact with now knows what Haang is, and that by a close-reading of any passage about Hina or Kya, you could probably learn a lot about me. 

But all I can say, in the end, is that I don’t know if I’ve ever written something that I fell in love with so quickly as I did “The Waiting Game,” or that had as much lasting impact upon me. (It has been five months, and I’m STILL writing in this universe, still talking about it constantly.) I know my TWG obsession is a little annoying, and I know that this universe isn’t really anything special - but it’s special to me, and it always will be. Will I shut up? Abso-freaking-lutely not. Do I care if no one knows what my username means because it refers to an OC in a fic not a lot of people actually like? Not in the slightest! I won’t pretend that TWG is a perfect story, or even that it deserves to be thought of as particularly good, but I will absolutely defy anyone who tells me that I need to “get over it.” (No one has, but my brain likes to tell me that everyone is thinking it.) 

I will never be over stories that move me, especially not ones I created.

And especially not Yangchen Oyama. 

~finis~ 

#zfaw #self love saturday #oh yeah. I went OFF #man #I have so so so many feelings #zkfanworkweek #zutara fanworks appreciation week

[mckinlily]

shalluraweek day 1: stars/sky

Summary: stars/sky Shiro had a celebrity crush. 

read on ao3: here

“Sure you’re not freaking out, Shiro?” said Keith, his voice bland and amused.

Shiro realized he was repeatedly doing and undoing the Velcro on the back of his (one) fingerless glove and quickly put his hands behind his back. Behind him, someone—probably Pidge—snorted.

Shiro breathed and looking around, forcing himself to take in his surroundings. Small office, lots of sound equipment, his and Keith’s guitars against the wall, air conditioner that made that annoying hum. Keith was nearest him, slouched in his leather jacket in a way that made Shiro wonder if he and Keith made it as a punk duo on Keith’s emo vibe alone. Sprawled across the couch was Lance, their PR and social media manager, sipping on a smoothie and clearly snickering at Shiro. Pidge was fighting Lance’s legs encroaching on her space on the couch. She worked on post-production with Hunk, a musical genius who played an impossible number of instruments and had a knack of fleshing out every song idea Keith and Shiro had into a massive hit, and helped Lance out where PR became technical. She was also definitely smirking at Shiro. Really, Hunk was the only one of them not actively laughing at him, and that was because his expression was worryingly close to pity.

Why did Shiro like these people again?

Oh yeah, because his band and the team behind it had become something like a second family.

And sometimes “family” meant “incredibly annoying.”

Shiro resisted the urge to fiddle with one of his piercings. “I’m fine,” he said stiffly.

“Yeah. Suuuuurre, you are,” drawled Lance.

Hunk shot Lance a look, clearly chiding him for not being sympathetic. He looked back to Shiro. “You really don’t need to be nervous.”

“Sure he does,” said Pidge, grinning over her glasses at him. Besides Keith, she has known Shiro the longest, and Shiro could see the blackmail in her eyes as she looked at him. She took on a sing-song voice, “It’s Allura.”

Just the look in Pidge's eyes was enough to make Shiro blush.

“Ugh, why are you like this?” Keith threw his hands in the air. “You sing your heart out to thousands of people an audience, take the lead in interviews, talk openly about being bi and having PTSD on YouTube, but having a conversation with one singer—”

“She’s not just another singer!” objected Shiro, scandalized. “She’s Allura. Do you have any idea the kinds of records she’s broken? Her latest album—”

“Yeah, yeah. We all know about your massive crush on Allura,” laughed Lance.

Shiro huffed. “That's not it.”

They didn't get it. It wasn’t just that Allura was totally hot (breathtakingly beautiful more like) or an incredible musician (which she definitely was) or had a voice that when she sang would make even sirens weep in jealousy (though she definitely did). She also was the kind of social activist Shiro dreamed of learning how to be. A political refugee who climbed her way to the top from nothing, she used her massive following to push for social change and speak out against inequality in all its forms. The way she handled personal attacks—on her race, her gender, her sexuality (pan, as seem on the flag in her Twitter profile)—with grace, dignity, and yet absolutely no apology left Shiro in awe. He respected the hell out of her, ever since the first time he saw a video of her neatly dissecting the intersection of racism and sexism in the music industry, and privately considered her one of his personal heroes.

And she was coming to the studio because someone thought it was a good idea for them to collab, and Shiro didn’t know how to deal.

“Okay, okay.” Lance rolled off the couch, picking up a can of whatever sugary death drink they were supposed to be promoting and opening it to hand to Shiro. “Time to chill out. Take a sip of our ‘paying for Pidge’s new sound system’ drink and remember you’rean internationally known star, too. It’s going to be fine. I planned it.”

“Oh, and that’s never come back to bite us before,” said Keith.

“Excuse you, I made Grumpy Cat Keith a meme! It’s was a stroke of marketing genius!”

Shiro opted to ignore Lance and Keith’s bickering, choosing instead to take a sip of the dubious promotional sports drink—

“I mean, worst come to worst, we could always use the footage to make another meme campaign if Shiro completely falls on his face.”

—only to immediately spit it out again. “Pidge!”

“Sorry,” smirked Pidge, unrepentant. Then her eyes fell on his shirt that he’d spilled his drink all over. “Oh. Uh. Actually sorry.”

Shiro looked down at his chest with mounting dismay. Of all the days to wear a white shirt (this was why he wore black: it wasn’t depressing, it was practical). The promotional drink was an unnatural red and splattered over most his front. It wasn’t something that could be hidden and Shiro could already tell the color wasn’t coming out.

“We could try rising it?” said Pidge, and she honestly sounded contrite.

“Dump the drink over all the shirt?” Keith offered.

“Hold on,” said Hunk. He started rummaging behind the couch. “I think Shiro’s vest from the Toronto show is in here. I know that shows off your prosthetic a lot without anything to go under it but—”

“That’s fine. You’re right: it’s probably the best option. Lance, when is Allura supposed to show up?”

Lance glanced at his phone. “Uh, now, actually?”

“All right. Not much time.” Shiro forced the panic to stay out of his voice. “Hunk—”

“Found it!”

“Good.” Shiro grabbed the back of his shirt, getting ready to pull it over his head. It had stuck to his chest where the drink spilled and was starting to feel sticky.

“Um, guys?”

Shiro yanked his shirt off, turning as he said, “Yeah, Pidge?”

But it wasn’t Pidge who answered.

“Oh my.”

Oh no.

Oh no nononononononono.

Allura—superstar, perfect, idolized Allura—was standing their doorway, blocking the way for the rest of her entourage. Shiro pressed his crumbled shirt to his chest in a vain attempt to preserve his modesty. Which was helped not at all by the way Allura (unfairly hot in skin-tight silver jeans and an adorable crop-top) was staring.

Staring. At him. Shiro. Who could feel that last of that godsforsaken drink drip to his bellybutton.

They both started talking at once.

“Sorry—”

“So sorry—”

“—I was just—”

“—Of course! Abs—I mean! Absolutely—”

“—you too—wait, that’s not—”

Pidge’s cackling laughter put a stop to their train wreck, but only gave more time for Shiro’s blush to attempt to melt his face off. Fortunately (or not so fortunately?), Allura didn’t seem to be faring much better.

“Should we give you two some privacy?” asked Lance, all waggling eyebrows.

“No, you should not,” said Allura, drawing herself up and doing a nice job of returning to professionalism considering Shiro was still half-naked and drowning in mortification. She brushes her hands on her pants. “Let’s return to business.”

Her assistant snorted behind her. “Like you can talk business when you just ogled his chest for five minutes.”

“Romelle!”

Well, at least Shiro wasn’t the only one mortified now.

“We’re here to discuss a collab, which is what we’ll do,” said Allura. But she met Shiro’s eyes looking sheepish and a tiny bit shy. "Unless..."

“Could I buy you a drink after this?”

That was not what Shiro intended to say.

But, holy crow, if Shiro had thought that pink crop-top looked hot on Allura before, it had nothing on the tiny, confident smirk growing on her face. “Hm. Are you referring to the one on your chest?”

Shiro's mouth continued to run without his permission.

“I was thinking we could work up to that.”

Keith pretended to gag behind him, but Shiro didn't care because Allura, freaking I-don’t-need-a-last-name-I’m-like-Beyonce Allura, was flirting with him and Shiro was pretty sure if he tried right now, he could fly.

“Ugh, gross. Gross! Hunk, don’t look!” said Pidge, scrambling to put her hands over Hunk’s eyes. Meanwhile, Lance was smiling like a shark.

“Perhaps we finish this up first?” said Allura. The way she was smiling at him made Shiro feel like there were tiny supernova going off in his chest.

“That—that works.” Frankly, Shiro was astonished his words still worked at this point.

Allura clapped her hands together with an authoritative “All right!” and yep, Shiro was in love. “Enough of this. Let’s get down to business.” She strode further into the room and consequently closer to Shiro. “On one condition,” she said, tapping Shiro’s chest.

“Yeah?”

“You keep that shirt off.”

Well.

Shiro felt his own smirk blooming on his face. He could work with that.

#shallura #shalluraweek2020 #mckinlily writes: VLD fic #can't follow a prompt to save my life but i'm going to try

[signor-signor]

A message for the WOY fandom

I speak to you all for the sake of Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, Noah Z. Jones, Alex Hirsch, Daron Nefcy, Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones, Chris Houghton, Shane Houghton, Matt Braly, Dana Terrace, and all the other creators of shows that get/got plenty of respect from Disney.

Here’s what happened 5 years ago, at least in my imagination and in accordance with what I learned about the cancellation...

EXECUTIVE: Gravity Falls is an absolute mega-hit! I wanted to give it a third season, but Alex insisted on ending it after two seasons. Oh well. Anyway, it's time for me to decide if Wander Over Yonder should continue. Let's see, counting the one-minute shorts that are going on as one full episode plus the 40 episodes from the second season that starts next week... that makes a total of... 80 episodes... hmm... No one ever did tell me if Craig had a third season in mind... I mean, I gave Fish Hooks three seasons without a second thought and it surpassed 100 episodes before it ended... It wasn’t as popular as Phineas and Ferb, but still... Maybe I could do the same for Wander...? Then again, viewers seem to love Gravity Falls and Star vs. the Forces of Evil even more - their ratings are the best I've ever seen. Wander, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have a lot of attention after the move to Disney XD. Also, it takes them a pretty long time to make even one episode. Y'know what? I think two seasons of Wander are enough. We have more cartoons in the works and we're on a time crunch here. Let me just pull out the cancellation stamp and note and we'll be ready. I’d hate to break the hearts of Craig and his colleagues, but that’s the business of television. Well, here goes nothin'...

(Wander stands outside, looking through the soundproof office window and trying to get the Executive's attention.)

WANDER: YOU'LL BE SAAHHH-REEEEEEEE!!!

Now, what is the takeaway?

Disney “didn’t see the need to make more” WOY for a reason. I always felt it involved the time spent making one 11-minute episode, the number of DTVA cartoons in the pipeline, and how well it fared in its first season on DXD when compared to GF and SvtFoE (at least in my opinion). Ever since the uncalled-for cancellation, I’ve been ambivalent about Disney’s television business and uneasy about the way the overrated shows are treated, but let’s get real here.

Lately, Twitter’s been getting some abusive posts that talk smack about Disney’s shows with SaveWOY tagged. This is all wrong. The shows Disney likes/liked best are not to blame for WOY’s misfortune, the “higher-up bosses of bosses of bosses” are. Believe me, I know. Did Hey Arnold fans aggravate fans of Nick’s most popular shows to get The Jungle Movie? No. Did Samurai Jack fans jeer popular CN shows and their fans to get one more season? No! Changing the bosses’ minds is all that matters. The cartoonists’ job is to make shows to entertain, not outclass each other, so dissing those shows won’t get us anywhere. By refraining from doing that, we’ll have a better chance at getting S3 for WOY. Be a Wander, not a Hater.

@crackmccraigen, whatever you’re up to, I hope you’re doing all right in these complicated times. I don’t know how long you plan to keep Kid Cosmic going, but I’m sure it’ll be a hit. That shouldn’t preclude the fact that Disney’s bosses will rectify their mistake and let you work on Wander’s third and final season, though, especially not after all the world has endured since the pandemic began. With so much effort the most dedicated fans have put in, they must be entitled to know just a little more about that third season, right? Who are you to leave your fans in a state of perpetual uncertainty? If you’re not in a position to give us more details, I understand. Whatever your plans are, I’m positive they’ll help make the 2020s more bearable. We don’t mind the delayed gratification.

What I’m trying to say is, we have a right to be bitter about the bosses’ actions, but as true Wander fans, we should know better than to deface the fan base. I am willing to check out the shows, but because of the bosses’ rash decision to cancel WOY after S2, I choose not to at this time. When you’re expressing interest in WOY, do it from the heart and think about how the people from all fandoms will feel when they discover your content. If anyone talks smack about WOY, just shun them, just like we learned from The Troll.

Be smart. Be logical. Be respectful of others. In time, you’ll gain more like-minded followers who’ll look up to you and find the inspiration they need to come up with their own meaningful ways to change the bosses’ minds. Someday, Wander will find proper closure on Disney+ as long as we keep our cool, ask nicely, have patience, and not lose our heads.

As the lyrics go, “all your helpful, friendly, good deeds will spread across the land!”

Man, that took a lot out of me.

#Wander Over Yonder #Save Wander Over Yonder #SaveWOY #SaveWOY 2020 #Long Reads #The Walt Disney Company #Disney TV Animation #Disney Television Animation

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Why The Early Pokémon Anime Was So Important To Its Audience

  The '90s was a big decade for anime. Iconic series like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop were born, shows that are still presented as the gold standard of what the medium can achieve. Studio Ghibli continued their string of soon-to-be classics, helping to cement Hayao Miyazaki into a globally-recognized “auteur” status, a title usually reserved for the creators of live-action fare. Meanwhile, Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, and others made their debut on the programming block Toonami, effectively introducing anime to an entire generation of Americans who may have otherwise never been exposed to it. 

  But what about the importance of Pokémon? That was pretty big, too, right?

    Obviously, the status of the Pokémon anime as it relates to Pokémon as a whole is clear. There has perhaps never been a franchise with more coherent brand synergy, none better at directing traffic so fans of one aspect could be easily guided to another. Aided by an almost supernaturally compelling catchphrase “Gotta catch ‘em all!,” the uncertain development and angst surrounding the first set of titles in the core game series Red and Blue were quickly left in the rearview mirror. Pokémon is seemingly an undefeatable pop culture hydra with the anime serving as one of its many heads.

  So how does Pokémon fit in the grand scheme of anime and what it can give to us? Because with all of that in mind, it’s hard not to look at it with a kind of cynicism, viewing it less as a fictional series with all the pros and cons that come with it, and more as an advertisement for itself and other parts of the franchise that has lasted over 20 years. However, I believe the Pokémon anime can be, depending on the specific section, very good at times. And though the explosion of “Pokemania,” as it was dubbed when the franchise landed in the United States, seemed to render it as an extended commercial urging kids to get their parents to buy them a Game Boy as soon as the "PokeRap" finished, I think the early parts of the series are particularly strong. 

    Because while the anime has formed a kind of cyclical pattern in its storytelling, one that allows newcomers to easily latch onto the series whenever they happen to discover it, I think the portions set in Kanto and Johto are extremely cool to examine. The space from the first time Ash Ketchum wakes up too late to grab one of the three “starter” Pokémon from Professor Oak to the time he says goodbye to Misty and Brock at the crossroads following the Silver Conference contains a really touching narrative. One about growing up and learning to rely on others and then, eventually, learning to rely on yourself.

  When we first meet Ash, he can barely keep things together. He’s desperate to be a Pokémon Master, but clueless when it comes to most of the techniques involved in actually doing that. He’s stubborn, but his confidence often reveals itself to be brittle bravado, a ten-year-old puffing his chest out only to be deflated when overtaken by an obstacle. His travel partners, Misty and Brock (and Tracey Sketchit for a little while,) obviously adore him, but their greatest shared trait is likely patience. Ash has a lot of learning to do.

    This learning is usually slow and painstaking. Critics of the series are often quick to point out that Ash rarely wins his gym battles outright, something that’s a requirement to progress in the games the series is based on. Thus, more important than a solid KO is the lesson learned due to the battle, often something centered around taking care of your Pokémon, yourself, and other people. The “monster of the week” structure usually has Ash learning these lessons again and again, like a child that needs to be politely reprimanded until they fall out of a bad habit.

  As the series moves from Kanto to the Johto region, Ash gains legitimate wins with higher frequency, gathering experience while his style remains eager, clumsy, and definitively Ash. His rivalry with Gary Oak — one initially informed by Ash’s seeming inadequacy and Gary’s loud, yet often precise assurance — evens out. At the end of the Indigo League in the Kanto region, Ash finally gets to battle Gary and loses. Then, in the Johto League tournament, Ash defeats Gary and the two make amends thanks to Ash’s defeat of his bully and Gary’s newfound serenity. It’s a nice payoff to their relationship, and Gary’s change of heart reflects the themes of personal growth found in the Original Series.

  Meanwhile, Ash’s personal growth often comes with much more heartache. In “Bye Bye Butterfree,” he bids farewell to his first-ever caught monster because it would be happier with its own kind. A few episodes later, in “Pikachu’s Goodbye,” he seems all too ready to let Pikachu live with a pack of the little yellow critters, likely because his experience with Butterfree indicated that it was the right thing to do. Of course, Pikachu comes back to him, because he’s Ash’s ride or die.

    Another relationship Ash learns from is the one with Charizard. Evolved from an abandoned and emotionally distraught Charmander, Charizard is rebellious to the extent that it causes Ash’s Indigo League loss, not because it gets knocked out but because it just doesn’t feel like fighting anymore. What follows is one of the most disheartening scenes in the series, with Ash shouting in anger and sadness at his Charizard to continue while Charizard just doesn’t respect his trainer enough to stand up. Though they eventually gain a sense of mutual reverence, their partnership is marked by this uncertainty.

  And finally, the ending, which sees Ash, Misty, and Brock go their separate ways, recalls one of the franchise’s most resonant homages, that of the '80s film Stand By Me. Referenced in the opening moments of the first game, the movie about setting off on your own adventure as a youth and learning where nostalgia ends and the harshness of growing up begins mirrors the ethos of the franchise constantly. At the end of that film, the characters depart one another and the main protagonist muses to himself, “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”

  You can get the same feeling from the affirmations of the importance of their friendship Ash, Brock, and Misty make when they head off on their own (though Brock quickly re-joins Ash in the next season of the anime). It’s here that Pokémon displays why it deserves its place among the notable anime of the '90s, not because of its massive marketing push (though that certainly helped its popularity) and not because of how it retold the story of the games (which, as adaptations go, is pretty hit or miss).

.

  Instead, it’s a story about growing up. By the end of Ash’s time in Johto, it becomes clear that strength was never the objective, that the point of the whole affair was not Ash becoming a "Master." It was about teaching Ash enough so that when the time came for him to go out on his own, he could. And though he finds new companions in the regions to come pretty quickly, the impact of this is not diminished. If you began watching the show when it first appeared in America in 1998, you likely grew up with Ash to an extent, and you likely experienced some major life events during that time, whether it was going to a new school or facing some kind of family change or attempting to achieve some new, grand goal. 

Ash and the Pokémon anime’s message was that you could do it. That the trials you’d experienced and the lessons you’d learned and the relationships you’d made had prepared you for it. And that while the future seems scary and unknowable, it isn’t insurmountable. Pokémon teaches you that you’ll be okay. That sounds pretty important to me.

      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

  By: Daniel Dockery

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[manjuhitorie]

Hitori-Escape Tour 2019 concerts 10-13

The previous 1-9 concerts of the tour: https://manjuhitorie.tumblr.com/post/188358977881/ Shinoda on vocals and guitar, Yumao on drums, and ygarshy on bass. performing Hitorie’s songs as the trio.

The standard setlist was: 

01 Senseless Wonder 02 Shutter Doll 03 Nichijou to Chikyuu no Gakubuchi

MC, usually consisting of Shinoda sharing greetings with the crowd, and breaking the ice a little bit.

04 Namid[A]me 05 Garandou Mae Zero Banchi 06 Inperfection

MC

07 SLEEPWALK 08 Loveless

MC

09 (W)HERE 10 Gekijougai 11 Talkie Dance 12 Unknown Mother Goose

MC

13 Karanowaremono 14 Little Cry Baby 15 Ao 16 Polaris

Encore intermission + MC

17 Odoru Mannequin, Utau Aho 18 Rolling Girl

10 Hitorie’s Hitori-Escape Tour, 10/17/2019 at CLUB RIVERST in Niigata prefecture! Report!

SND “Everybody, everybody everybody. It’s all about love. Do you have enough love? Do you have enough love in you, do you?”

During the intro of Loveless before the bass comes in, ygarshy had his instrument muted as he tuned it. Within that time frame, Shinoda, with his handheld microphone in one hand, went over to ygarshy and slapped his cheek twice (inducing laughter from the crowd). ygarshy’s face was hidden behind his hair, but what kind of expression did he make I wonder...

●SND was performing with a handheld mic, up until the guitar solo when the staff brought him a guitar to play.

●Which was, Leader’s own jaguar guitar. SND used it throughout (W)HERE and Gekijougai after. The emotional screaming numbers.

●For a while ygarshy had his head hung, performing with his back turned away from the crown or looking to his side, but during Talkie Dance his inner switch seemed to suddenly turn on, and from then onward he was aggressively approaching front stage. ●Then the encore intermission MC chat. SND stands in his usual position, but for this Yumao comes up front and uses ygarshy’s microphone so he can be closer to the crowd. ygarshy tucked away behind him.

●Yuma at SND “So, you were nervous about singing at the start of the tour, vyr are you feeling better now?” SND “I’m used to it. We’ve made it halfway through the tour and all.”

SND “But ahh, one day I dream of walking on top of the crowd’s heads and bridging all the way to the other side of the floor." Crowd “Get on us! Ride us!” SND “Naw, I don’t want to do something that’ll make the internet angry.” Yu “You're chill enough to want to walk on top of people. That’s a good sign.” SND “Yeah?” Yu “We’re halfway through the tour right, and you’ve already gotten halfway on top of the crowd. you were sitting on and climbing over on the stage railings earlier after all! You’re halfway there, next up is the other side-” SND “Uhm-”

●SND and Yumao jested about a role swap between them and the crowd, how crazy it would be, with hundreds of people on stage and three down in the crowd…. Crowd “Let’s do it!” SND “We’d get banned from the venue!”

SND continued to ask the crowd how they were feeling, as to which the majority responded “Hot.” While Rie were feeling comfy on stage, thanks to the air circulation system they set up. SND “For once! For once the tables have turned! We’ve always been hot up here and not vice versa. Is this a sign, is the crowd⇆stage role-swap going to become a reality next!?"

●Continuing, Yumao had a story to tell. At the commercial area near Niigata station, he and yga went out for food at a seemingly normal onigiri izakaya bar. (Here’s the store they probably went to: http://onigirisenka.com)

Yu “We walked in, we sat down, nothing out of the ordinary. But after a while we were like ‘? Why is the waitress still here at our table? What’s going on?’ We look around to see 5 girls who were blatantly hired based on looks alone, and one girl assigned to each table.” SND “You found your way into a god damn hostess club!”

Yuma “I'd be fine with it but this guy, ygarshy… Well, he's ygarshy. He can’t handle this kinda thing. We came to chat with each other but now there’s a girl barging into our conversations! And then she even asked us ‘Did you just come here on work~? You kinda look like you’re in a band~!’” SND “Hahaa you don’t wanna be caught up in that!”

Yumao loves to talk about this stuff, so on normal terms he would’ve just burst into conversation. But here he didn’t want to put yga in a traumatizing situation. So he bit his tongue and said “Band!? We can’t even play instruments!!”…. SND “Hahahaa.” Yu “Then she responded with ‘I love bands, I play the drums!’. Way to make it even more suffocating for me! She was talking to us so much that, ygarsh’s rice was gettin’ crusty.” ? “..Pot....”  yg, for the first time in ages, opened his mouth. He didn’t go up to the microphone or anything for this callout either, he just vocalized loud enough to be heard.

Yu “Pot!? Pot? I remember now... We had beautiful white rice inside of a pot, drying up!” The price was of your average izakaya, despite the hostess part too. SND “~~~” Yumao “.….Let’s go again”

●Yumao “Alrighty then let’s play...”

SND “Ah did you hear... It’s, an emergency it’s an emergency ygarshy! Apparently like 50 fire ants were found in Tokyo Harbor.”

yg *>>>BWOOOON<<<<* 　*It was in the news that yesterday. 50 poisonous specimens which could’ve easily been queens fertilized, + their offspring could’ve easily spread further into the country, was a fright. Especially for those with entomophobia-. SND’s tweet Niigata concert: complete, thank you. Take care not to catch any colds y’all,,, We’ll be back. Next up is the city where Leader was born and raised, Kagoshima. Hope to see you there.

11 Hitorie’s Hitori-Escape Tour, 10/22/2019 at SR Hall in Kagoshima prefecture

SND “Y’all are from Leader’s city, and this all you’ve got?!? Dance more! Yeah! I’d expect nothing less from the city that made him!”

During Loveless this time, SND tried to kick ygarshy. And while SND was floundering on stage, being crazy as he bounced to the music, he hit ygarshy again. And he bumped into ygarshy on the way onto the stage after the encore break. ●Yuma came out wearing the new Hitorie sweatshirt to promo it today. SND questioned his capability perform through the heat, Yuma responded with guts to continue!  SND “Well, you’re locked in now!” Crowd “You’re so cute~!!! Yumao~!! ” Yumao “Thanks~~” SND “How many times will we do this!? “So cute~~!!” “Thankies~~!” “Awww~~!” “Thanks. “ ●SND moaned and groaned with good means to back it up: the heat in the venue was crazy again. SND still holds the near-death Takutaku as the ultimate trauma but- It seems that wherever Rie journey to, the temperature outside rises up into the high 20’s. SND “Everywhere I go it suddenly gets hot, so people have started to call me Matsuo Kashuuzou. Yet the other members and the staff all come along too, so why am I the only one being framed? He’s not in me!” 　*Matsuo Kashuuzou, dubbed the fire fairy, is a former pro tennis player who has an optimistic flaming soul, abd never stops shouting things like “light it up!!” He was such fire that once upon a time on the internet he was memed to be the origin of urban heat island and global warming etc. ●Crowd “Did you eat Shirokuma ice cream?” (*A treat which is sold nationwide, but originated in Kagoshima). SND “No, but our cameraman Nishimaki did.” 　‘Nishimaki doesn’t tag along for the whole tour, typically he’s only around for the first and last shows. So Leader’s hometown really was a special one... ●Yumao took SND’s water bottle, gazed at the label and got the crowd to cheer the name of it: “Zaihou!” with him. “It’s a local but, famous mineral water provider. Cool.” Yu “Whoop” *Proceeds to throw the water bottle back at SND* ((What’s up with Yumao showing his wild side these days)) ●SND conveyed a sweet spot for the sashimi there, but since it’s something of taboo to eat such raw food up mid-country in Tokyo... “Don’t post what I just said on Twitter okay, the twitter police are out there, don’t expose that I eat food raw.” ●Yumao went up to the mic in the front but fairly quickly shifted back to his in the back; apparently because he wanted to be in range of the electric fan set up there. ●SND resisted drinking yesterday to preserve sober sanity before the concert, while next to him Yuma and yg were whole hog on “Beer! highball! beer!” “I now understand what it’s like to be on the other side, to be the one surrounded by drunks instead of being the loggerhead.” Yumao then begins combs his hair back with his fingers* “Ahh~~ so gwood~ delish~” SND “Is.. Is that supposed to be me?” Yumao “I’m topped off~” “Ahh I drank like a dream~~ *still holding his hair up*.” SND “Oi! If you’re gonna mimic me then at least raise the production value!!”

●SND “Alright Let’s perform” Crowd “Yumao you’re so cute~” Yu “Alrighty!” SND “You’re getting a life’s worth of cutes. In response to being showered in cuteness, all you have to say is ‘alrighty’ now?!?” Yu “..Alrighty!!”  (Disclaimer: he was announcing that he was alright and ready to start). ●SND “ygarshy, you know what sandbags are, right? yga *Nods*  SND “Apparently those are stuffed with a bunch of cloth, not sand?” yg ..... >>*BWWOOON*<<

SND’s tweet “Kagoshima concert: complete, that was crazy! How did you fare? I was fucking hot, thank you all so much. We will be back.” Also SND’s drawing was on display at the merchandise booth: https://en.deli-a.jp/products/item_Info.php?itemID=846

Nishimaki, the photographer, tweeted "It's been 6 or 7 years since I was last in Kagoshima, time well spent. Next is Fukuoka!!"   Megane Hirai, Rie's trusty trusty sound engineer, went to the concert and posted this too:

“Many emotions were felt during the 2 days I spent Kagoshima As I watched each song, The way he strummed his guitar right adjacent to me The way I would jot critiques as he sung his lyrics from the other side of the glass The way I would hear him say “Then how about this!” as we practiced trial and error with each mix The sights from those days would come flooding back. There’s different feelings and means of acceptance For me, going forward, I’m going to keep supporting these four”. 

12 Hitorie’s Hitori-Escape Tour, 10/25/2019 at SR Hall in Kagoshima prefecture

The concert was a musical marvel, Rie never cease to amaze... But I'm hopping right into the intermission chat. Because, after they left Kagoshima they stayed at a vacation lodge in Aso Kumamoto....!! Antics ensue! Shinoda “The sheer amount of flying ants the size of peanuts out there left me squealing, I’m really bad with bugs, but they didn’t faze Yumao at all” Yu “In the end it's only ants? No matter the size, right? And then I was bored, and also the air in the room was suffocating so...” SND “This fucker started opening the windows!”  Yu: “Yeah I opened them all up.” SND: “One guy who hates bugs and another who hated the indoor air, the worst combo.“ Yu “Ultimately we BOTH started sneezing like crazy and closed them though.” Yu “I'm exhausted though. The goal was to go there for a vacation, but, cause I drank too much the day before or whatever, I played around so much..!  Do you know how attics in the log lodges are like? A bunch of pillars? Of wood? coming together? What are they called? *Makes hand gestures to try to shape it out*" Crowd “Beams!” Yu “Yeah, beams! I dangled and swung from the beams up in the lodge roof. When yga walked through the door, he was in for it! “What a surprise~”, he laughed after he got a spook!” SND “Yumao was like a monkey.”  Yu “It sounds like I was the only one playing around but, this guy! He doesn’t talk about it much in front of you, hey he doesn’t talk about it much in front of us either but. ygarshy was jumping all over the beds! From asocial to bouncy. He was playing around more than us!” SND “As soon as we came back to our 3 bed lounge after a drink with the crew, I see these two bouncing on them. yga looked like a fish the way he was twisting his body.“ Yu “He still had his usual emotionless expression, even when he was beautifully bending." SND “He played a lot eh? He had the damndest smile when he took fireworks in his hands…”  Yu “He’s so mean sometimes, he smirkingly creeped up behind Shinoda and stuck fireworks right against his ankles! It took SND a bit to notice, but when he did... Boy did he scream! And yg doubled up with laughter!” Yu “It had been raining outside then too, so we were doing them under the small awning outside. When SND realized what ygarshy was scheming, he had ran away shouting “It’s hot it’s hot!!”, but then found himself shouting ‘It’s cold!!!’ out in the rain.” SND “I was hit with hot and cold element attacks both at once.” Yu “Don’t do try this at home now!” SND “Ahh yg don’t look so gloomy! Seriously we have no idea how you’re feeling over there....”  Yu “He laughed the most back when he saw me dangling though~!!” SND “That’s why we're saying yg, stop looking down, put your chin up!” ●SND “So uhhh, ygarsh, please share with us a few words about the Fukuoka Soft Bank Hawks victory!”  yg *>>BWOOON<<* 　*The Hawks are the pro baseball team of the prefecture, and they just won the entire Japan Series that week. They’ve won for the past 5 years straight now too. ●Cameraman posted the “Early winter fireworks”.

●Rie’s manager too posted:  The Kagoshima live, Kumamoto Aso, the Fukuoka live. Fireworks to bring the summer to a close. So many things to make our venture to Kyuushuu a heart-wrenching one. Good night😴💤 ●SND’s tweet: Fukuoka concert: complete, thank you. Baritone felt great to do today. I think it's been a long time since I last played on a high stage,,, Or has it been? Has it? Nonetheless I performed with my feelings at full power. Thank you so much.

13 Hitorie’s Hitori-Escape Tour, 11/6/2019 at LIQUIDROOM in Tokyo prefecture. The first one.

From 7 years ago till now, our dreams are still relentlessly crying out their first words evermore!!

●Yuma’s mom, Yurika was spotted at the venue! The family of two does live in Chofu of Tokyo after all.. Tabuchi of Unison Square Garden too. They sat in VIP seats. ●There were flower bouquets on display inside the lobby, one from fans and another from the Hitori-Atelier staff. ●Among some of SND's snazzy mid-show quotes were him screaming “A banger? An epic masterpiece? That's what you're about to hear... Karanowaremono, a present from Leader.”

●“I think I might be getting too old for this.” *Proceeds to do heartfelt vibratos, physical tricks, and giggle tons during the encore break! They didn't talk about the DVD which had released two days prior, but they did delve into some Hitorie history.... yga had recruited SND, who within 0.5 seconds of being contacted said “I'm in!” He didn’t know wowa’s face back then so he was nervous, but when the crew got on a skype chat and wo shared the first mp3 files, SND thought “This is the start of a revolution”... He was excited then, and that excitement lives on. ●SND “It’s been like, so long since I’ve last performed in Tokyo. Yumao you’re out doin’ truckloads of stuff, ygarsh you're doing the Wasure-whatever stuff.. But all I do is draw manga! I’m either stuck at home or in another part of the country! The last show we did here in Liquidroom was the nexUs with Passpied, and our last solo one was, 5 years ago?" Yu “Yeah, the one with a video up on Youtube, back when I was still performing in T-shirts instead of dress shirts.” ●Yu "At our first tour date you were so nervous about singing weren't cha SND. You were like 'Don't put me on the same level as you guys, work harder...’  But now you're fine haha! ...I've started to tease SND.  SND "Though backstage I tease you." Yu "When? :O "  SND "....Thinking about it, I don't really, do I-." ●They talked a little more in detail about their "relaxing" retreat to the Aso resort, which they had first mentioned in the Kagoshima MC up there ↑ .  yg came out of the bathroom, to see the back of strange black-haired drunk swinging from the wooden beams of their remote cottage. He was so scared! Until he realized the perpetrator was a restless Yumao. ●The story of when the trio were lighting firework sparklers and yga stuck them against SND’s ankles. SND “I didn’t even notice the flames until brown hair came into my line of sight.” Yu “And yg even had his phone ready! He recorded the entirety of SND's panic: from him running away from the heat right into the rain, to him shouting out there in cold.” SND “Ain’t he a freak psycho killer....  What are you even thinking about as you listen to us right now.” …Awkward silence. yg remains.

●Yu “In the cottage we were watching Mito Kōmon, the historical drama, ‘cause it was coincidentally playing on TV. Komon is supposed to be this hero of justice yet, he was taking down enemies with real underhanded tactics, it got SND and I cackling so hard. We kept calling out 'Ahh so underhanded! So underhanded!’ yga had been silent so I we assumed he wasn’t watching... But when the end credits hit, he spoke up to tell us “That was entertaining”. SND “So he actually was watching! I thought.” Yu “He does tell us things like ‘Today’s MC chat was long’ after shows too.” SND “Then you do it nice and concise yourself, I say!” ygarsh then turns his face to look right at SND* SND “What are you looking at... Wait, don’t look at me with those sparkly eyes...! Don't, don't...!!” ●Yu “Ahh. We haven't changed a bit huh…. I’m always like ‘wooAHHH! *💪 poses*’ levels of excited, SND is like ‘OY VEY SHUT UP!!’, and yg silently watches over us." ●Before they went back into the show Yumao promoted the merch. He uses the pouch to store his drum supplies, he likes it a lot, and he modeled too. To show us how the logo gets covered by the hood on the sweatshirt, he pulled it over and off~ over and off~ his head.

●Then the usual...  SND “As soon as we get home and already, Masashi Tashiro got arrested again, did you hear?“  yg *>>BWOON<<* 　*SND is using the news for this one. The celeb has gotten arrested countless times now for drug possession. He'd gone to rehab, and recently he’d been publishing books/posting videos/doing lectures to teach people about the horrors of meth but.. He's truly proving how fearful it is.. SND tweet: Tokyo concert: complete, thank you so much. Being up on the Liquidroom stage after so long moved my heart. We’ll be at Liquidroom again next week, hope to see you there. Though Takamatsu comes first!!

#super long post #hitorie

[sheldoningram]

The Hot New Way To Find A Profitable, Pandemic-Proof Franchise To Buy

New Post From The Franchise King®

(Valvoline® Image courtesy of jeepersmedia on Flickr)

I know what you’re asking yourself.

“Should I really be looking for a franchise to buy right now? In the middle of the pandemic?”

Guess what? If I was thinking about becoming my own boss I’d be asking myself the same thing. And I probably wouldn’t be sharing that thought with others because they would think I was nuts.

It’s clearly a crazy idea, right? Too risky.

You’re going to buy a franchise right now?

During the End Times?

(It’s not the End Times. This will pass.)

So, stay with me. The things I’m going to share with you will make sense. I promise.

  The Pandemic: I Have Good News And Bad News

First, the good news: pandemics don’t last forever. The latest prediction is that this one may last anywhere from 18 to 24 months. And believe it or not, that is good news. It is going to pass.

The bad news: the world economy is being hit hard. And no one knows when things will return back to normal.

In light of that, you should probably hunker down. Wait things out for a bit. It’s the safer thing to do. And I can’t blame you.

  Except playing it safe won’t get you very far.

“We really only have two choices. Play it safe or take a chance. For me, pulling back because of fear has always made me feel worse.”

– Gail Sheehy

Now, in a moment, I’m going to get to the heart of the matter…how to find Coronavirus-proof franchise opportunities.

Royal Hint: Every franchise can be grouped into one very, very, very, very specific business sector. One.

But before I reveal what it is, you first need to look inside yourself a bit, because going into business is a big step. Let’s make sure you’re ready.

  Look At Your Life

This is a great time for you to evaluate your life up to now. Especially if you’re thinking of going into a franchise business now.

This 3-minute video may help you get in the mood to do it.

Great song. Anyway…

I encourage you to take some “me time.”

That means taking stock of your life.

Are you happy where you’re at, or do you have more to do?

And remember…

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

– Jim Rohn

Finally, it’s not as if you’re alone in this. A lot of your fellow travelers are at a crossroads. But I only want to talk about you now. About a road you can take. One that’s proven.

  Franchising

When it comes to going into business for yourself, there are 3 ways to do it. You can:

Come up with an idea for a business and launch it

Purchase someone else’s existing business

Buy a franchise

I’m going with the last one.

Because when you own a franchise, you get:

A proven business model

A business system that’s been tested

Support

Technology that helps drive revenue

Turnkey marketing programs

Name recognition

Vetted suppliers

A built-in network of fellow franchisees to talk to

That’s good stuff, right? And I’ve only scratched the surface. Now for the easy part.

Choosing the right franchise opportunity to own.

Picking one franchise.

One out of 3500.

In fact, there are currently over 3500 different franchise opportunities being offered in the U.S. But don’t let that number worry you, because I’m going to show you how to quickly narrow your search down to only a few.

  The Franchise Segments You Need To Focus On

This pandemic has rocked the franchise world.

Every franchise business has been affected one way or another.

However, some have fared better than others. And those are the ones I want you to focus on.

Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, it’s not.

Case in point: fast food franchises.

  To be sure, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that fast food franchises that offer drive-thru service, curbside pickup, and delivery are doing pretty well.

(Pictured: NASA rocket scientists.)

It’s as if fast food restaurants were designed for pandemics.

Maybe McDonald’s entrepreneur, Ray Kroc, more of a visionary than previously thought.

With that in mind, it would behoove you to take a look at the fast food segment of franchising. It’s a segment that can be a very profitable venture (as long as you choose the right concept).

Of course you need to have adequate capital, a lot of energy, and good management skills to qualify for today’s food franchise opportunities.

But what if you don’t see yourself working 14 hours a day in a hectic, fast-paced environment? (Not that there’s anything wrong with it.)

In other words, what if you’re not at all interested in owning a food franchise?

What if you want to find other types of franchises to learn more about?

I’m referring to other franchises that can do well in times like these.

If that’s the case, give me a second. I need to get out of my chair and peel back the curtain.

  There we go.

  The Hot, New Way To Find The Right Franchise To Buy

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.

If you want to find profitable franchise opportunities that make sense to pursue during this pandemic, I’m talking about bullet-proof franchises, you need to focus on these two words: essential businesses.

Now, I’m not going to jump into a debate about what businesses are deemed “essential” and which ones are not. It’s a waste of time. But you need to key in on essential businesses.

That said, I have been able to identify essential businesses within the franchise industry. Like:

Healthcare Services

This Pet-Related Franchise

Automotive Franchises

Cleaning Franchises

Plus a lot of other franchise opportunities you need to know about. The essential ones.

As a matter of fact, I put together a massive list of pandemic-proof franchise opportunities you can start learning about right now.

List Of Pandemic-Proof Franchises

Just make sure you head back here after you look at the list.

But only if you want to learn how to make a smart choice in a franchise to buy.

  What To Do When You Find A Franchise That May Makes Sense To Buy In Times Like These

Finding franchises you think have potential is one thing. Doing the work needed to make sure they’re winners is quite another.

The best thing you can do (right now) is to read and bookmark my step-by-step guide on how to buy a franchise. Everything you need to know about buying a franchise in a really smart way is included in it.

Next, if you’ve found a couple of franchises that look promising, you need to grab “The Definitive Guide To Franchise Research.” Click the link to see why you need my all-encompassing guide.

Third, if you start getting close to buying a specific franchise, hire a competent franchise attorney to go over the FDD and the franchise agreement. That way you’ll be able to sleep at night.

To conclude, the hot, new way to search for the right franchise to buy is pretty simple.

Only look at franchises that must stay open during a pandemic, or that can adapt (with proof) their business model to the current conditions.

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The post The Hot New Way To Find A Profitable, Pandemic-Proof Franchise To Buy appeared first on Best Franchise To Own | The Franchise King®.

Originally posted on The Hot New Way To Find A Profitable, Pandemic-Proof Franchise To Buy via Starting a Franchise Information

#franchising #franchise opportunities #fitness franchises

[thegrandsolarminimum]

Warm Worries...Farmers Race Against The Clock For Needed Growing-Degree Days

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/Vv7OVB

Warm Worries...Farmers Race Against The Clock For Needed Growing-Degree Days

Check out Ice Age Farmers GDD Calculator HERE.

Farmers Race Against The Clock For Needed Growing-Degree Days

BY RANDY DOCKENDORF 

When it comes to fall harvest, many area farmers are hoping things heat up.

This year’s crop has become a race against the clock to overcome a slow start to the planting season. As a result, many crops are lagging in the number of growing-degree days (GDDs) needed for maturity.

Now, farmers are hoping their fields receive an above-normal amount of heat units for this time of year, according to Dennis Todey with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That’s particularly true for corn, said Todey, a former South Dakota state climatologist.

“The importance this year is that corn needs a certain amount of GDDs to reach maturity. Because of the late planting, we needed additional heat along the way to ‘catch up,’” he told the Press & Dakotan.

“September is a mixed message depending on the time period of the outlook. Right now, the next couple weeks look warmer than average.”

Hope remains for both corn and beans, Todey said. “Both crops are in decent condition, given the year. They’re just late,” he added.

While calculating GDDs follows a complex formula, the basic idea remains the same, he added.

“GDDs are a way of taking maximum and minimum temperature measurements on a daily basis and creating a value that, accumulated over time, relates to the growth of crops,” he said.

“Corn is the most directly related because you can pretty well assess how far along corn is during the year compared to the number of total GDDs needed. You can also use GDDs to track certain insects.”

The problems began last year with heavy rains in the fall and heavy snow in the winter. Those issues were compounded by a March bomb cyclone that dumped several inches of rainfall over a wide region within a few hours.

The continued heavy rains through spring and summer delayed or prevented planting for many producers, particularly in southeast South Dakota.

Fields remained flooded and roads were impassable because of the continued standing water and mud. Many farmers were blocked from entering or even reaching their fields, let alone working them.

“South Dakota was one of the largest locations with prevented planting this year,” Todey said.

The Yankton region set an all-time precipitation mark dating back 124 years of recorded data, according to South Dakota state climatologist Laura Edwards.

Southeastern South Dakota set a new precipitation record for the 12-month period of September to August, according to data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The region received 37.42 inches compared to the long-term average of 23.46 inches, Edwards said.

“This has been a very wet year, no doubt about that,” she said.

In terms of precipitation, Nebraska recently saw a record-setting month, according to state climatologist Martha Shulski.

“August 2019 ranks as the wettest on record (since 1895) for Nebraska. This was driven by heavy rains in the central portion of the state,” she said. “(Year to date), we are third wettest.”

Northeast Nebraska fared better in terms of getting a crop into the ground. However, portions of northern Knox County were hit by a late summer hailstorm that wiped out a number of fields.

Because of this year’s adverse conditions, farmers need a number of factors to fall their way — including a rapid number of GDDs, Todey said.

This year’s problems became compounded in August when areas didn’t receive the full “dog days” of summer, or last blast of heat, Todey said.

“We’ve actually lost more ground over the last 30 days with some below-average temperatures,” he said. “Corn can shorten the amount of GDDs it needs a little, but we need warm temperatures now and as late a freeze as possible.”

Earlier in the season, crops needed timely rains for developing the root systems, but that’s no longer the case, Todey said.

“At this point, root systems are developed,” he said. “Warm weather to push the crop is what is needed. Crops should have the moisture they need to finish. Dry down is most important now.”

However, the Yankton region has seen continued rainfall. The wet weather isn’t helping the situation, Todey said.

“If conditions were dry, crops would probably start running out of moisture and start drying down. That’s not the case anywhere in South Dakota this year,” he said.

“Crops will also take some time to dry down after freezing. Producers should be ready for a long fall waiting. The wet soils could make the situation even worse in keeping people out of fields. There may be crops that need to wait for harvest until the ground freezes.”

Both southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska trended cooler during the past week, according to the High Plains Regional Climate Center (HPRCC).

High temperature readings at some points only reached 70 degrees or cooler, but temperatures bounced back into the mid-80s and even higher, the center added in its weekly report.

The HPRCC report shows southeast South Dakota has varied from the average for both temperature and precipitation, Edwards said.

She noted the last 120 days — which captures most of the growing season — showed rainfall of 150 percent of normal for parts of the Yankton region.

“For temperature, it has overall been cooler than average, but there have been some warmer periods mixed in as well,” she added.

The one-two punch has affected the GDDs, Edwards said.

“As far as corn GDD goes, what I see from some spot checking in the area is that anything planted mid-April to mid-May is behind average on accumulated GDD,” she said.

“Depending on where you are, this could be 50 to 150 or more GDD behind. For anything planted around June 1, accumulated GDD are about on the long-term average, but then your likelihood of reaching maturity before frost/freeze also depends if you changed maturity to account for a shorter growing season.”

The mercury readings have remained a mixed bag, Edwards said.

“For temperature, it has overall been cooler than average, but there have been some warmer periods mixed in as well,” she said. “This region has been below average for much of the year, but not record cold.”

An active weather pattern appears on the horizon, Edwards said.

“The forecast for the coming weeks show a wet pattern to start, that will likely transition to a drier pattern about 1.5 to two weeks from now,” she said. “The next seven days could bring 1.5 inches or more of rain to most of the state. The outlook for 3-4 weeks from now, which is September 21 to October 4, is indicating a drier pattern over the Northern Plains and Midwest states.”

The region needs as late a freeze as possible, Todey said.

“Right now, we don’t see any indications of an early freeze,” he said. “Typically, we would be concerned around the end of September as the first times to start really being concerned for that hard freeze. But the average date is into October, depending on the location. And the trend in first fall freeze is toward later. That would be good news.”

The dates and types of frost or freeze play a major role in the outcome of a particular crop, Todey said.

“Some horticultural crops can be damaged (with temperatures) in the mid- to low 30s. Row crops can usually handle below 32 (degrees) for a period of time,” he said.

“Once we fall to 28 (degrees) or below, the crop is probably done for the year. Crops that are stressed can sometimes be damaged at higher temperatures.”

Edwards also doesn’t see an early frost this year for southeast South Dakota.

“Given the outlook and likely transition to a warmer-than-usual pattern at the end of September, I think we will see an average or later killing frost this year. Every day counts (during) this fall, and warmer-than-average days are even better,” she said.

“Also in our favor for an average or later frost are two other factors: our long-term trend is towards later frost/freeze in the fall; and we have high humidity in the environment.

“Typically we see early frost/freeze during drought years when the air is drier and cools down faster at night. We’ve had some cool nights, but the humidity has been high, which makes it hard to get a rapid drop in temperatures.”

The average killing frost of 28 degrees can vary, and the Yankton region benefits in that regard.

“Early October is typical for much of our region, but maybe middle of October in parts of the southeast and south central South Dakota,” she added.

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast for Yankton region calls for possible heavy rain through tonight (Wednesday). The area could see more than 2 inches in many locations.

The Thursday forecast calls for a slight chance of thunderstorms, with the chance returning Saturday.

The temperature forecast calls for the mid-80s today, dropping to the low to mid-70s Thursday and Friday before rising to the lower 80s Saturday.

Follow @RDockendorf on Twitter.

#GSM News Stream

[thesuper17]

On her fourth record, Ariana Grande locates a stylistic intersection within pop where she's not only comfortable, but masterful. sweetener is an album which carefully sidesteps direct reference to the infernal state of the world in 2018, and in the process, cements itself as one of the year's most important releases.

It's easy to approach Grande with a cynical predisposition. A product of the Disney machine, the sceptical listener may consider this impossibly flawless 25 year old an advertisement more than an authentic artist. The cynicism isn't entirely meritless either. 

Grande has been an international A-list celebrity since the age of 17, and embodies an almost idealized version of how a woman 'ought' to look. She can be seen applying makeup in several music videos, and along with a physically unattainable body type for the vast majority of women, it is difficult to think of a better subconscious sales pitch for the beauty industry and the fitness/wellness industry, or a better symbol of Disney's homogenous and sanitized dominion over popular culture.  

And yet. When she speaks, passionate to the point of tears, on mental health, or when she emphatically praises her fans, or when she opens her mouth and that angelic voice pours out, cynicism is rendered petty and dull. Grande is loudly supportive of and incredibly popular within the queer community. It's not uncommon to see fans, boys and girls, plastering Twitter and Tumblr with selfies, vocally expressing both self-love and gratitude towards Grande for helping them find it. 

This too will be observed cynically, a ploy to cast as wide a net as possible and exploit the insecurity of a young fanbase, but ultimately the impact is what matters*. One of the world's most aspirational celebrities actively embraces her marginalised fans and lets them know: you're loved, you matter.   - Enter sweetener, the fourth and most deliberately crafted record of the Floridian's career. More so than any of her output prior, this album reflects back the kaleidoscopic array of influences Grande has absorbed to develop her own unique voice.  It is also an album that feels miraculously unburdened by both the cultural and musical obligations female pop stars are typically subject to.

The overt sensuality that characterised Dangerous Woman placed it within a lineage of releases (see: Stripped, Good Girl Gone Bad), wherein the previously innocent girl proves herself an actively sexual woman. sweetener, while far from being sanitized, nevertheless largely forgoes the explicit in favour of the poetic. 

There is no value judgement (or indeed a clear dividing line) to be drawn between themes of romance and sexuality, but it's gratifying to hear Grande carve out an individual space where she feels free to shrug off pre-determined archetypes. 

This freedom extends to the sound of sweetener. A true A-list pop star, Grande is able to enlist the highest profile of talent in the studio, an advantage she exploits to the fullest, listing production credits from Pharrell Williams, Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh (among others) and performances from Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott. This affords Grande a stylistic and sonic flexibility that simultaneously presents the album its first major challenge. It’s not enough for Grande to simply demonstrate a wide ranging taste, she needs to convincingly sell sweetener as a cohesive project of her own design, one where she has determined the direction and executed it successfully. And, for the vast majority of the album's runtime, Grande is more than up to the task, an expert vocalist at the top of her game not merely justifying, but necessitating an album of sweetener's length and breadth. 

In a recent interview, Grande stated that while she loves pop, her 'heart and soul is more in R&B', and the addition of Pharrell Williams on production gives her ample opportunity to indulge this aspect of her sound. Early highlight 'R.E.M' is a simple but shimmering track, floating along at a relaxed tempo and layered with gorgeous doo-wop harmonies and backing vocals. The smooth, almost minimalist instrumental marks the first instance of a recurring device on the album in the use of breathing sounds as percussion. This isn’t a brand new idea (Kanye West's 'Black Skinhead' used this trick in 2013), but it's utilized especially deftly here, evoking carefree sensuality without obviously pushing it to the foreground. 

With the exception of a disappointingly phoned-in feature from Missy Elliott, 'borderline' is another stand out. The synths and beats are much fiercer here, with unpredictable and busy hi-hats accompanying the jazz-inflected harmony of the four main chords, repeated throughout. Grande is still comfortably within her range, delivering lines almost in neutral tones, and as the melodies cycle and repeat, they develop a seductive, hypnotic cadence.

Elsewhere, a more traditional pop voice emerges. 'breathin', an obvious successor to Dangerous Woman's bombastic 'Into You', blurs the line between 80s homage and pastiche, complete with a flamboyant synth solo. In a demonstration of Grande's understanding, both of genre conventions and her own strengths, the song's slow build pre-choruses end in a pregnant pause, clearly designed with the powerful and dexterous high runs she's known for in mind. For its final chorus, the deep breath prior to Grande's upper-register lead vocal is even included in the recording, setting up one of the album's most cathartic, fun moments.   

sweetener isn't strictly bifurcated into R&B and pop though. Grande proves herself able to fluidly incorporate forms of those genres and others besides, frequently within the same song. In tradition and lineage, the gospel choir balladry on the enormous hook of 'god is a woman', backed with wide and arpeggiated electric guitar chords, couldn't be further from the pseudo-rapped triplets of its pre-chorus. But somehow, the building pace of the verse collapses into the chorus' held first note in a naturalistic way that never feels stylistically disjointed. Even hints of Grande's time in musical theatre appear on the joyous, sweeping melody of title track 'sweetener' and its bold grand piano accompaniment. The pivot on this track into a trap-style hook is handled less gracefully however, with strange lyrics skirting the edge of comedy.

A sparse few songs across the album feel as though they could have been left out to produce a leaner, more consistent overall project. Regretfully, as the first track proper of the album, 'blazed' disappoints a little. The song is bouncy and fun, and its three-piece of keys, bass and drums builds into a classic Pharrell momentum (bringing to mind 2014's 'Happy'), but this is also the track's weakness. Where, on the remainder of the album, individual facets of Grande’s style are emphasised and supplemented by the production, Pharrell's voice (figuratively and literally) dominates 'blazed' in a way that relegates Grande to a more textural role.

Especially in preceding the excellent 'breathin', 'everytime' is another such track, listenable and enjoyable, but compositionally dry by the standards the album sets elsewhere. Even here though, Grande's aspirational radiance shines through. The track's lead vocal recording is left running after the final chorus and the listener hears her laugh, maybe in the relief of hitting the track's astoundingly high final notes, maybe for any other reason. The laugh is one of many smaller production touches on the album that help to elevate it above more standard fare, but it's also illustrative of sweetener's value as a piece of culture.

  Another easy route to cynicism over Grande (and pop music in general) is the notion she prioritises aesthetics over substance. Aside from being demonstrably incorrect**, the argument is reductionist and binary in a way that obfuscates the actual value of albums like sweetener. Here, aesthetic is substance. This ostensibly carefree, joy-filled music is the product of addressing and reworking real pain, and its promulgation to mass market reminds the audience of something increasingly easy to forget. No matter how bad things get, we can always make them sweet again.

*here your reviewer emphasises the vitality of criticism towards misogynistic standards women are held to, and concedes that Grande is a part of the culture which upholds those standards. Nevertheless, criticism towards Grande the individual on this basis feels much more often representative of a sneering dislike towards girls and the things they enjoy, than a case against the structures behind them.

** the work required to reach Grande's level of proficiency in vocal performance alone, let alone her musicality, composition and choreography far outstrip the, still considerable, effort required to maintain her appearance. although, for that matter, why one is considered so much more valuable than the other, and why women are critiqued so much more viciously in this avenue than men is reflective of structural issues probably outside the scope of an album review no one will ever read

#this #is #a #great #album #give #it #a listen #please #thanks #pop #ariana #grande #ariana grande #sweetener #review #sweetener review #dangerous woman #my everything

[thisguyatthemovies]

You say you want an evolution?

If predatory aliens really are headed to Earth to further evolve by highjacking our DNA, can they hurry up and do it before there’s another “Predator” movie?

“The Predator” – the fourth in a series that started 31 years ago; the sixth if you include the two “Alien/Predator” mashups – hit theaters recently, and many people will see it, regardless of a plethora of negative reviews. Including this one.

Shane Black, who had a role alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original “Predator” (almost universally regarded as the best film in the series), directed and co-wrote this time. And though he knows his way around these types of movies (he wrote the “Lethal Weapon” scripts and wrote and directed “Iron Man 3”), what he has given ardent followers of the franchise is a mess. But not even an interesting mess. Just your garden variety mess.

Take the plot. Please. “The Predator” mixes several story lines, none of them particularly appealing.

There’s Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook), a sniper for the military who has “first contact” with a predator, disables it and then thinks it a good idea to take some of its armor and mail it back home. This brings us to plot point No. 2, McKenna’s autistic 11-year-old son Rory (Jacob Tremblay), who opens the package and starts using the equipment like a virtual reality video game, thus summoning more predators to Earth and making him their target (the implication that those on the autism spectrum are the most advanced form of humans). Also in the mix, a scientist (Olivia Munn) brought in to study the genetics of the captured predator before things, of course, go horribly awry and she, like everyone else, is left to shoot anything and everything.

Throw in a ragtag team of disturbed former soldiers, a government agent who is at first trying to make sure Quinn McKenna is killed but then enlists his help, and a late-in-the-mix story about how “good” predators are trying to reach Earth to save everyone from the “bad” predators, and you get a sense for how much is going on in this movie. And yet there is so much going on that seemingly little happens.

Except … dialogue. The characters talk. All. Of. The. Time. A few lines here and there are about scientific mumbo jumbo, and we get brief snippets (but nothing more) of each of the (too) many characters’ back stories. But mostly it’s profanity and rapid-fire quips that miss the target more than they hit it.

The result is sigh- and groan-inducing. The most talkative scenes are exhausting to watch and listen to. Because there are so many characters to get to, a scene in a bus (Quinn McKenna is being transported to a place where he and the other PTSD-ravaged former soldiers will be killed by the government) seems to go on for weeks. It’s laced with off-color jokes straight out of a high school locker room. And the group includes a former soldier with Tourette’s (are you already laughing?), which at least gives him an excuse for making f**k or a variation thereof every other word to come out of his mouth. The other characters just say it a lot so that, you know, we get it that they’re tough guys.

The bus scene also introduces us to a former soldier played by the always funny Keegan-Michael Key. Only he’s not funny here. You must work to make Key not funny, but the makers of “The Predator” apparently put in the work.

Even during the unnecessarily relentless dialogue, the action never stops. Black kicks things into high gear from the get-go and never lets us catch our breath. Trouble is, most of the action takes place at night, and that, coupled with the frenetic pace, creates a kind of visual white noise effect. Following along can be difficult.

Making matters worse, almost everything is in CGI, and it’s not particularly good CGI by today’s standards. This despite seemingly everyone under the sun having worked on this movie’s graphics. Chances are you know someone on the CGI team. (The credits even include a note on how many jobs were created in the making of “The Predator,” which seems a way to say, “Please don’t criticize this movie.”)

The acting? Not notable, even by action movie standards, which isn’t exactly a high bar to clear. Holbrook is good at playing the nasty “dude bro” (much like he did in “Logan,” only here he is the good guy). Trevante Rhodes (“Moonlight”) has a nice turn as one of the crazy soldiers, having put a bullet hole in his own head, only to walk himself to the hospital. Tremblay seems in over his head, but he’s just a kid.

While Oscar certainly won’t be calling anytime soon, Munn and her character fare the best, though her role seems to diminish as the movie sprints along. She more than holds her own with Quinn McKenna and his band of solider misfits, not only in the killing department but with their nasty dialogue.

Munn made news before “The Predator” opened, rightly calling out Black for having included in the cast a friend who is a registered sex offender. Black at first said he was trying to help actor Steven Wilder Striegel; once the inevitable Twitter firestorm kicked in, he backtracked (doesn’t everyone?) and said the friend in question had lied to him about what his conviction was all about. Munn was upset that her fellow cast members didn’t rally around her, not at first, with at least one publicly wondering if Munn could have waited until after the film’s debut as to not damage its box-office hopes.

20th Century Fox responded to Munn by deleting the scene that included Striegel. After watching “The Predator,” one can’t help but think it’s unfortunate Striegel wasn’t in every single scene.

#movies #movie review #the predator #olivia munn #shane black

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

This story was produced in collaboration with ABC News and Ballotpedia.1

On the afternoon of July 18, President Trump tweeted his “full and total endorsement” of Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a candidate in the state’s closely matched Republican gubernatorial primary runoff. Kemp’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, had strong conservative chops — he enjoyed the endorsement of the National Rifle Association and the support of popular outgoing Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. But after the president’s tweet, the race began to look very different. Within days, Kemp surged in the polls and won in a landslide.

The Republican Party is a coalition of overlapping factions — pro-business types, libertarians, evangelicals, populists, single-issue advocates and more — but to whom does it really belong? To many, the answer is clear: Donald J. Trump. And the success of Trump-endorsed candidates in the Republican primaries this year seems to bear that out — but, according to our research, that’s only part of the story.

Between Feb. 27 and Sept. 13,2 774 people appeared on the ballot this year in “open” Republican primaries — those with no Republican incumbent3 — for Senate, House and governor. Like we did with Democrats earlier this year, FiveThirtyEight, Ballotpedia and ABC News teamed up to look at every single one of those candidates and see which GOP-affiliated people and organizations supported which candidates. Using campaigns’ financial filings, endorsement information from various interest groups and, of course, Trump tweets, we attempted to quantify which wing of today’s Republican Party best reflects the preferences and mood of rank-and-file voters.4 Here are some of the biggest takeaways.

Almost all candidates Trump endorsed won their primaries

How candidates endorsed by selected people and groups fared in open Republican primaries for Senate, House and governor in 2018

Candidates endorsed Total Winners Share that won Donald Trump 17 15 88% Koch network 21 18 86 Republican Main Street Partnership 17 11 65 Chamber of Commerce 8 5 63 Tea Party Express 16 10 63 Club for Growth 21 13 62 National Republican Congressional Cmte. 41 28 62 National Rifle Association 14 8 57 Susan B. Anthony List 23 12 52 House Freedom Fund 14 7 50 No Labels 2 1 50 Right to Life 74 33 45

Open races are those that do not feature a Republican incumbent.

Sources: Ballotpedia, secretaries of state, Associated Press, candidate websites, listed organizations’ websites, Federal Election Commission, Twitter, news reports

The Trump card

Let’s start with the kingpin of the Republican Party, the president himself. Trump endorsed 17 candidates in open Republican primaries this election cycle, and 15 of them won. That 88 percent win rate is the highest of any person or group we looked at. In early August, Trump tweeted, “As long as I campaign and/or support Senate and House candidates (within reason), they will win!” It was a bit of an exaggeration, but his success rate has certainly been high so far.

But the evidence is mixed on how much credit Trump deserves for actually driving those primary wins. On the plus side for Trump, in the GOP primary for Florida governor, state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam led in most polls before June 22 — but then Trump tweeted his full endorsement of then-U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis (who resigned from the House this month). DeSantis surged into the lead, and he topped practically every poll the rest of the way. On the other hand, in California’s gubernatorial primary, Republican John Cox polled about equally well both before and after receiving Trump’s endorsement. Cox averaged 16.5 percent support among voters of all parties — in California primaries, candidates of all parties appear on the same ballot5 — in four polls taken the month before Trump’s May 18 endorsement. Cox averaged 17.7 percent in three polls taken after the president’s endorsement.6 But the role Trump played in the Georgia gubernatorial primary is less clear-cut: We have some evidence that some, but not all, of Kemp’s rise was due to Trump. An Opinion Savvy poll that happened to be in the field when the president gave his endorsement found that Kemp was already outperforming his previous polling even before Trump tweeted.7 But the same poll also found that Kemp polled even better after Trump’s endorsement.

Trump’s win rate may also be inflated by the type of candidate he endorses. For example, several of the candidates he endorsed didn’t face truly competitive primary opposition, including U.S. Senate candidates Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Mitt Romney, who is running in Utah. Other candidates he backed are less firebrands in Trump’s own image and more straitlaced establishment types with broad appeal. Trump has repeatedly cautioned Republican primary voters to “remember Alabama” — where a Republican Senate candidate lost to a Democrat in a deep-red state after the GOP nominee was embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal involving minors — and vote for a candidate who can win a general election.

The old guard

But the Republican establishment isn’t leaving it all up to Trump. For example, the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” program steers donors toward the GOP’s strongest candidates in swing congressional districts by naming them to any level of their “Young Guns” program.8 The NRCC named 63 candidates to their Young Guns program; 39 advanced to the general election, for a 62 percent win rate. One caveat, multiple candidates running in the same district can be named to Young Guns. This lowers the NRCC’s win rate because only one GOP candidate per race appears on the general election ballot in most states. We couldn’t find any endorsements from the NRCC’s Senate counterpart.

A handful of groups that explicitly endorse more moderate or pragmatic Republicans have also had some success this cycle. The pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its state-level affiliates endorsed eight candidates in open Republican primaries; five of them won, for a win rate of 63 percent. The moderate Republican Main Street Partnership, which styles itself as the “governing wing of the Republican Party,” had a 65 percent win rate (11 wins out of 17 endorsements). And the bipartisan centrist group No Labels had a better record in Republican primaries than it did in Democratic ones: The two Democrats the group endorsed both lost, but of the two Republicans No Labels explicitly supported, one prevailed.9

The conservative diehards

But the establishment wing’s endorsements were frequently at odds with those of an old nemesis: tea party-style conservatives. Starting in 2010, hard-right Republicans won primaries under the banner of the tea party movement, and a number went on to win their general elections as well; today, many of those successful tea partiers wield significant influence as members of the House Freedom Caucus, and together they have successfully shifted legislation to the right in recent years. But despite this faction’s success in Congress, its popularity with the public is dwindling: Support for the movement peaked at 32 percent in 2010 but had fallen to 17 percent by 2015. Perhaps as a result, the Tea Party Express — one of the original and most influential organizing groups of the tea party movement — today issues fewer endorsements than it has in the past.10 But according to our data, the relatively small group of candidates backed by the Tea Party Express didn’t do too badly. They won 10 out of 16, or 63 percent, of open Republican primaries they ran in this year. The House Freedom Fund — the unofficial electoral counterpart of the House Freedom Caucus — did a bit worse, endorsing 14 candidates, seven of whom ended up winning (50 percent). In a trend that may indicate Americans are losing interest in the tea party, the House Freedom Fund lost six of the eight primaries in which it went head-to-head with the Republican Main Street Partnership.

Although the tea party appears to have largely gone out of style, we’d be remiss if we didn’t look at the endorsements of the individual power brokers most closely associated with the movement: the Koch brothers. Charles Koch (his brother David has retired) and groups affiliated with the Koch family, like Americans for Prosperity, continue to spend money and political capital on candidates who support their limited-government priorities. And it looks like they still have plenty left in the tank: This year, the Koch political network backed 21 candidates, 86 percent of whom won their races. That’s especially interesting given the Kochs’ opposition to Trump’s trade policies and Trump’s public feud with the brothers. In fact, Trump has bragged on Twitter that the Kochs’ “network is highly overrated, I have beaten them at every turn.” But at least in the open primaries we looked at, the two have not supported opposing candidates this year. By contrast, they’ve actually supported the same candidates in eight open races.11

The issue scorecard

Since its founding in 1999, the Club for Growth hasn’t been shy about spending money to elect fervently anti-tax Republicans. (The group says it is “focused on conservative economic policy, and does not take positions on social issues or on the immigration/borders debate.”) We identified 21 candidates endorsed by the Club for Growth; 62 percent of them won their races. That makes the club roughly as successful as the Tea Party Express, whose goals and endorsements often overlap with the Club for Growth’s.

The NRA is currently more popular among Republicans than it has been at any point since Gallup began asking Americans about it in 1989; 88 percent of Republicans have a positive view of the group. Puzzlingly, however, candidates who won the NRA’s endorsement in this year’s primaries are finding only middling success. The NRA endorsed 14 candidates in open Republican races, but only eight — or 57 percent — won.

If Republicans have an equivalent of Emily’s List, which strives to elect pro-choice Democratic women, it’s the Susan B. Anthony List. Its mission is to elect pro-life politicians, especially women. But if Republican primary voters are driven by the issue of abortion, it’s not showing up in the Susan B. Anthony List’s track record. The group has a win rate of just 52 percent (12 wins out of 23 candidates). The batting average of National Right to Life,12 another anti-abortion advocacy organization, is even worse — 45 percent, or 33 out of 74 — despite endorsing more than three times as many candidates.

So what have we learned? Generally, it doesn’t look like Republicans are single-issue voters or care much about identity politics; the Susan B. Anthony List, National Right to Life and the NRA had some of the lowest win rates of any group we analyzed. The conservative purists endorsed by the likes of the Tea Party Express and Club for Growth have fared about as well as the pragmatists backed by the likes of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the NRCC, although the House Freedom Fund is performing notably worse than other purists and the Koch network is performing notably better. (Perhaps access to money explains why the Koch network has outperformed the House Freedom Fund.) But the candidates with the best chance of success are currently those who have attracted the support of the president — so, in whichever direction the causation may run, an endorsement from Trump himself remains the most valuable prize in a Republican primary.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Meredith Conroy #Nathaniel Rakich and Mai Nguyen