#@hbo this is the succession merch that *I* want!

[monstress]

oh my, oh my god 예상했어 나 / i was really hoping that he will come through!

[bookshelfdreams]

ofmd wasn't "profitable" enough but I didn't even get the feeling hbo wanted to make money off of it. They didn't promote it when s1 dropped, and the promo for s2 was erratic at best. They don't sell merch. Or physical copies. There's no bts documentaries other than what actors (shoutout to Samba ilu) make themselves in their spare time.

It took more than a full year for me to be able to watch s1 legally! I still can't access s2 legally anywhere! It's not that ofmd is unprofitable, it's that hbo refuses to profit off of it, because - well, because profiting off of it would mean investing work and money into it.

And like. Of course, when you compare it to the juggernauts hbo holds rights to, like GoT, ofmd is small fishes. But.

How on earth do these clowns think cult classics happen?

A Game of Thrones was first published in 1996 and didn't make it on the NYT beststeller list until 2011. The first edition of the first Harry Potter book was 500 pieces. And yeah, TV shows are different, but if you look at today's media landscape, would things like Star Trek, or Buffy, or Doctor Who stand the slightest chance? These things take time, is my point. A piece of media doesn't become a massively profitable, beloved classic over night. It takes time and effort to build that kind of franchise.

And the thing is! Nobody who makes these decisions even likes stories. I'm convinced that whoever is in charge at hbo, at amazon prime, even at disney, thinks storytelling is dumb and for idiots. They think it's enough to just slap the name of something people love on whatever garbage they spit out, for it to be profitable. They think it's the brand that sells: Look this has "Lord of the Rings" on it! Look, this one has "Game of Thrones", you like Game of Thrones don't you? Watch my show, boy.

But this isn't how this works. It's not the name that sells (unless, I suppose, you're the MCU, and even there one gets the impression the trick is finally stopping to work), especially not when the product is bad. People aren't idiots.

But it's not about making something good. It's not about making a meaningful piece of art, or telling an engaging story. ofmd served its purpose; it drew in all the subscribers it ever would, so there's no point in letting it go on. Even in the s2 that we did get, this is evident: the penny pinching is palpable, it's clear that the studio didn't want to spend any more money than absolutely necessary on it, and then cut the budget by 40%.

It's not about art. It never has been.

And it's not even about profit, because to be profitable eventually, stories have to be allowed to thrive first. You tell a good story first, and success happens later, often much, much later.

And ofmd was incredibly, astonishingly successful. It was the most in-demand series for weeks after the s1 finale. But even that wasn't enough, it's never enough, ofmd could have made record-setting profits and it still would have been cancelled, because -

Well, I don't know. Because we live in a bad time for art. Because Orwell was right, and stories have become commodities, like shoelaces. Because. Well. It's not about telling a story, is it?

What's the point of a story? What's the point of making something for the joy of making it? What's the point of a piece of art, existing, if it cannot be transferred into numbers for the stockholders?

idk how to end this. I hope David Jenkins finishes the story he wanted to tell, even if just for himself. I hope, against all odds, that weird, fun, heartfelt, beautiful little stories like ofmd continue to happen.

But goddammit.

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

me: man i couldn't possibly want any of this succession merch from the hbo shop

this mug:

me: i spoke too soon

[bizarrelittlemew]

greetings, i hope you’re doing better today than we all were yesterday…

so i have a theory. it was clear that everyone involved with ofmd expected it to get renewed. it even seemed like hbo was planning on it (the merch, the billboards, the show on the front page). this all feels very last minute and i haven’t been able to comprehend it at all.

until i thought about the money aspect of things, because obviously, capitalism kills art. there’s no way that ofmd didn’t make hbo enough money. i dont buy it. i think that some higher up saw how successful the show was with a 40% budget cut and thought “well if they can make a season that good with so little why don’t we give them a bit less.”

yknow. because studios want as much output with as little input as possible. i think that they tried to slice the budget AGAIN and djenks + the crew just didn’t take it. which would be the right call imo.

idk, i might be wrong about the financial aspect of things. what do you think?

i woke up feeling worse lol i thought it was supposed to go the other way (i do have a lot of other difficult stuff going on in my life right now though so it's just a big complicated grief smoothie right now)

anyway i hope you're doing better!!

i definitely think everyone expected it to be renewed until a few days ago. seems like it was all ready to go ahead. i have no industry insight but i've been following @TheCozyPirate on twitter to try and gain some context - of course there's no way to verify anything for certain so treat it like that, but what they're posting seems reliable and makes a lot of sense to me (and also makes me so so angry at the current state of streaming in general and the highest-level execs at max in particular).

but yeah. essentially i think production was ready to go ahead, everyone involved was sure it was gonna happen, probably just needed the final stamp from the top, and max suddenly changed the renewal requirements from "profitable 3rd season and future possibility of spin-offs" to "needs guarantee that spin-offs can be milked for cash forever based on a guesstimate at best". so yeah, corporate greed and mismanagement

anyway these are obviously just my thoughts and i am still trying to wrap my head around it all. i love how the fandom is showing so much love and creating a lot of noise 💗💗💗

[isagrimorie]

I remember when I complained that Star Trek Discovery wasn’t in Netflix Philippines anymore and I should have known at that point.

CW pulled the same thing, pulling their licensed shows from Netflix and then placing them in HBO Max and then CW lost money. Because Netflix was the one that’s really providing CW money! Good money, placing their shows in HBO Max is just moving money around!

And now the CW we all knew barely exist. Zaslav sold CW to a conservative media group.

Netflix co-produced Discovery and from what I’ve read its been a success on Netflix in the international markets and then Paramount has the asinine idea of pulling all Star Trek shows into their own streaming service without securing rights and launching on International markets.

So Paramount + isn’t in the Philippines. So I can’t watch Picard and Disco and SNW in ways that would help Paramount+.

A year after Paramount pulled all Trek into their platform financials revealed Paramount is not doing well, and then the higher-ups think maybe merging with Showtime will help them!

It just added cost on top of cost.

And now shows that shouldn’t have been canceled are now canceled and being removed from the platform.

Also analysts have mentioned Paramount only has 1-2 years left, which for someone hoping for Star Trek: Legacy is not something I wanted to hear.

I also don’t want Netflix to own Paramount, I want Paramount to do the smart thing and start licensing their shows again, syndication, merch, International markets (hello, we exist!).

And I want them to stop pulling a goddamned Zaslav. Stop writing off you’re own content and removing them from your platforms.

Once again corporations acting like headless chickens because drop in stocks are making them panic.

Whoever it is in Sony who decided not to pursue streaming services and just continue licensing shows, give yourself a pat in the back because right now its not imploding like the rest.

[wordrage]

Yessss another Chris Columbus truther.

I think Cuarón did some really fun things aesthetically and, while I didn't like all of the changes, it was a good film and decent adaptation. I acknowledge as a film it felt more cinematic and focused.

My main criticism is the shift to modernize the clothing and the culture of the wizarding world, and certain characterization directions (do we even get told in POA Remus was a Marauder?). I understand the movies wanted to appeal to wider audiences and sell merchandise, but I'm still salty about it.

By OotP all witches and wizards are wearing Muggle clothing (I SEE YOU VOLDEMORT IN A SUIT), spells are just flashes of light that do force damage, Ron is basically a background NPC, the Death Eaters and Voldemort are just....campy, and the movies really start to buckle under how convoluted the plot has become, not to mention character arcs either cut or just fizzling out. So much was cut that if you didn't read the text, you would have a completely different understanding of the characters and story. In that regards, I don't consider the later films successful adaptations.

I don't know if Columbus' films would have done better. He and his team (shout-out to the badass creative team MinaLima) did have a strong vision and were using the books as inspiration for the aesthetic and feel of the film adaptations. They definitely did an effective job, as HP merch and subsequent films still lean or take inspiration from Columbus, MinaLima, and Judiana Makovsky's/Lindy Hemming's work.

I don't feel at all excited for the (supposedly) upcoming series with HBO or MAX or whatever they are called. WarnerBrothers likes and owns the David Yates adaptations, looking at Fantastic Beasts I think we can get a pretty good idea of how the TV series is going to look and feel. Sure they may do a better job adapting the plots and characters, but I am not optimistic. HP is a story for children and young adults, but WB will want the HP movie fans that are now adults watching too. (Obligatory "Fuck JKR" and I don't have any desire to increase her profit margins while she's being an active bigot and TERF.)

do you like the movies at all? do you think they have any merit as works of their own in terms of world building?

Honestly, I haven't watched the movies in years, so I don't remember them all that well. From what I do remember, they mischaracterized basically everyone and had holes in the plot that only made sense if you read the books. The biggest travesty for me was Harry himself. I love him so much in the books, and the movies made him into wet cardboard. The Golden Trio of the movies was just, way less engaging and felt less like actual friends to me. Harry's personality was non-existent, Hermione was too perfect, and Ron lost all his cleverness and skills.

The sad thing is, I liked a lot of the cast, for some of the characters they literally couldn't find better actors. With a different director, they could've been so good, which is the biggest tragedy. I actually love the feel of the Wizarding World in the movies. Especially the first two.

The aesthetic, the design of Hogwarts, the fashion, and the character design for some (Hagrid and Snape for example) were brilliant. When they changed directors for the third movie, they just lost the whimsical magic the Wizarding World had in the first two.

And that's like my biggest issue with the movies. There were a lot of good things in them, like the costumes (first two movies mostly), the castle, the feeling of magic, the soundtrack, and the casting, but then the writing and directing didn't make use of all the great stuff there.

[cleversuccseshname]

[chibimyumi]

Grell and Undertaker are extremely popular and always included in merch and other things along with the main characters Ciel and Sebastian, especially Grell who is always included in the "main trio" despite being a side character. Do you think there will be backstory chapters for them? The servants had their backstories revealed and they aren't very popular...

Dear Anon,

I think the chance of them getting a backstory is 50/50 for a few reasons I will illustrate below.

Undertaker

Undertaker is the third most popular character in the series, and in Japan, he enjoys this rank mainly because he is 1. a very powerful and handsome character (sadly, one cannot deny that many in this fandom are indeed mostly drawn by the eye-candy), and 2. a very mysterious character.

Backstory - yes

Of course, Undertaker is - until proven otherwise - basically the main antagonist of the series now, and the marketing of the manga might really benefit from having a backstory on him. Many readers are very curious about who he really is, how he came to be a reaper, and why he is so obsessed with the Phantomhive family. For the shippers among us it might be satisfying to see some type of romance being confirmed between him and Claudia Phantomhive. For the non-shippers, it would be gratifying see a narrative that focuses on whether he had any influence on Claudia Phantomhive as the Queen’s Watchdog herself (much like Sebastian has on O!Ciel).

In short, giving a backstory to Undertaker would serve to quench some curiousities in fans, and if not, then at least some thirst by presenting more panel-time.

Backstory - no

As I said above, part of the main reason why Undertaker is so popular (in Japan at least) is because he is mysterious. The core of mysterious characters is that there is a lot we don’t know about them, without the lack of information distracting from the appeal. (A character whose lack of information DOES distract from the appeal is not ‘mysterious’; that’s just ‘vague’ or ‘underdeveloped. Yes, it’s a fine line, but these do sadly get conflated a lot…)

There is an enormous risk to revealing too much about a character whose main appeal is the mystery. Once the disclosed canon backstory does not appeal to the fans of the character, this character’s popularity really might suffer. Of course, there has been a lot of theories in the fandom, and Yana could - if she had the time/wanted to - do research on what is the most welcome theory.

Yana has two things she could do then:

Give the readers the most accepted/popular fan-theory, either because the fans guessed right and continue her intended route for Undertaker, or start writing the story towards this route. Some readers might be happy that they were “right”, while other readers might be upset because the product would be “predictable”.

Give the readers a ‘surprise’, but risk the backstory not being well received, or worse, rejected.

Nowadays consumers of media really have this urge to ‘be as smart, or smarter than the media they consume’. In the internet age, it is impossible to stop the overexposure of fan predictions. In this constant ping-pong of information, many brilliant minds can come together and it is inevitable that at some point - IF the story is well written that is - readers will be able to find the solution to the puzzle.

Let us just consider the hot mess that is HBO’s Game of Thrones…

“I struggle with this because I do want to surprise my readers, [……] Some readers in internet boards got the clues. Do I change it? No, I can’t, as I had planted them and it would be a mess. I’ve been planting all these clues that the butler did it, then you’re halfway through a series and suddenly thousands of people have figured out that the butler did it, and then you say the chambermaid did it? No, you can’t do that.” - Game Of Thrones author George R. R. Martin.

“Pandora’s Box”

With the 2CT having went on for approximately a decade, Yana must be painfully aware of her cornered position as a writer in revealing the truth behind the Phantomhive twins. I personally think Yana might think twice about whether she is going to give readers anything about the Undertaker.

We have evidence from the past that Yana does not mind keeping the mystery in her stories.

“However, I’ll probably never state clearly what Sebastian’s true nature is […]”  Cited from the translation by @akumadeenglish .  

If she is not going to reveal too much about the titular main character of ‘Kuroshitsuji’,  it is not inconceivable either that she won’t for Undertaker.

The real question we (us fans as well as Yana) should be asking is; “do the readers really ‘need’ a backstory, or do they just ‘want’ it? If we do get one, then at what cost?”

Perhaps the Pandora’s box might better be left unopened.

Grell

Likewise addressed in the same post before, Grell is popular because she is: A super powerful reaper who transcends traditional gender boundaries, and is funny.

Backstory - yes

There is considerably less risk to revealing Grell’s backstory. Her backstory is not necessarily what the fandom is thirsting for, but the question really would be: “why not?”

Finny got a mini backstory, Meyrin seems to be getting one, so it would not be a stretch if Grell got one of her own too. The only real requirement her backstory would need is a timing in the current plot that would allow for one, without it distracting too much from the main plot.

On the other hand, Kuroshitsuji SEEEMSS to possibly, maybe, perhaps, be heading towards the end. Even though I am sure Yana’s earned enough money to live the rest of her life without worries, what is she going to do next?

It is VERY hard for successful manga artists to finish the successful franchise, start a new one, and to have that new story not be known as “by the same makers as XXX!” (See Death Note… See Fullmetal Alchemist.)

Also, marketing wise, Kuroshitsuji is ‘a’ or even ‘the’ support pillar of G-Fantasy. I am not sure how well G-Fantasy would do without Kuroshitsuji. Most mangaka have no say in when they can terminate their own story; they usually get the instruction to just go on and on, until the content is not ‘milkable’ anymore, and then get terminated by force. That is the exact reason why many mangas having a VERY dragged out and sloppy ending.

If Yana also has no say in whether she terminates the story or not, she might really use backstories, spin-offs, etc. to stretch out the material. Of course the main reason why Kuroshitsuji’s pacing feels very slow now is because 1. the chapters are very short for a monthly published manga, 2. the art is VERY detailed and it takes Yana double the time to draw X number of pages. But most importantly 3. probably because G-Fantasy wants her to drag it.

Backstory - no

Unlike Undertaker, the fandom (Japanese or otherwise) seems to be less busy speculating about Grell’s backstory. It is possible that it’s simply because Grell’s character just does not beg for as many backstory-speculations, as her main thing is not the mystery. (And also, probably because most people in the non-Japanese fandom have been too preoccupied with arguing what her gender is…)

Just like with Undertaker, disclosing a backstory might risk it not being well received. Most Grell-fans seem plenty satisfied with just knowing what we do already. As there is less thirst for Grell’s backstory, Yana does not have to risk her popularity.

Most fans would not MIND or are curious for a backstory, but the same question as above: “do we really need it?” is likewise the question here.

In Conclusion

Yana might give us a backstory for Undertaker, but it really would be a gamble on her side. As for Grell; she might, she might not. The risks are lower, but she does not need to take the risk.

Considering the nature of media consumption culture, perhaps Yana may better opt for ‘better safe than sorry’.

[doomedandstoned]

Doom in a Time of Corona: Konvent Speaks From The Lockdown

~By Shawn Gibson!~

Hello, Ladies! Nice to catch up with you again. Thank you for your time. How is everyone?

Hi, Shawn! Great to talk to you again. Everyone is absolutely fine, but as you may know this is a pretty weird time with the COVID-19 situation going on. But we’re all safe and happy at the moment and we really feel like that's the most important thing right now.

How are you dealing with novel coronavirus and what are you doing to stay busy in this down time? Any writing or recording?

It's no secret that it's a boring time for everyone. We are so used to meeting a lot in the band and going to concerts, etcetera, but right now we can’t do that. So we actually watch a lot of Netflix, HBO, and get early to bed -- like true rockstars. (laughs)

We have no recording right now. It is also almost only three months since we released our album, so we took the time to breathe out after a stressful period of album release, tour, etcetera, but we are currently focusing on writing new material for our next album. Sara and Heidi have been doing some new riffs and we’re working at our own place with the new material. It feels like the perfect timing to start experimenting with different things musically. It is also important for us that we have time to immerse ourselves and retain the joy of creation.

I hate that this virus has affected everyone from musicians, fans, venue owners, festival promoters, labels, and so on. Tell me about some of these kick ass festivals Konvent was supposed to play? Will they be rescheduled? Who was on the line up?

Yes, we really hate it too. But we were incredibly lucky because the lockdown happened only a week after we finished the last show on our release tour. So when our government announced the lockdown here of all schools, universities and jobs, we’ve just stayed home and worked from our apartments and have not met since, to follow the regulations and stay safe.

It’s no secret that the virus will have some consequences according to cancellations of the summer festivals. Some of them have already been announced and some of them not, so we’ll keep you guys updated about it. We had been looking so much forward to playing at the festivals this summer, but of course we hope to be booked for 2021.

Generally, we feel very lucky with some of the offers we have been given and this really gives us the courage to keep on going and make it even bigger for 2021!

Film by Black Label Pictures

Konvent has been very busy! Your newest album 'Puritan Masochism' (2020) is excellent. I have heard nothing but praise for this album. What has Konvent been up to since we last had a chat?

Thank you so much. It makes us so happy to hear people saying that they like the album. When we signed the deal in 2018, we only had a few finished tracks, so we were far away from going into the studio. Since we had quite many concerts in 2018, we didn’t have a lot of time to work on the album. So half of the record was made in the beginning of 2019 and some tracks were even made one day before going into the studio with Lasse Skov at Ballade Studios in Copenhagen. Napalm knew this and we agreed with them to have the album out either in late 2019 or 2020, so they were very patient and weren't rushing us in any way.

Going on the Puritan Masochism tour has also been amazing! This was our very first headliner tour and we got to go to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the UK. We have met so many cool people and we really love to go to places we’ve never been before. We have really been blown away by how many people who want an interview and how incredible people have been when it comes to buying our merchandise and album. We have gained more confidence as individuals, but also as a band.

We also experienced all the things that could go wrong on a tour. (laughs) The support band cancels, the car broke down, the guitar and drum broke on stage, but we somehow managed to defeat all these challenges and we couldn’t think of a better experience than we had on the tour.

How was the recording process for 'Puritan Masochism'?

We really wanted that raw, gritty sound, as if the music is coming from the abyss! And that’s why we chose to work with Lasse Ballade because he had made a bunch of cool records that we really admired. Lasse Ballade has a studio in the center of Copenhagen and we got together for 14 days and recorded the whole album live. I (Sara) think we have allowed ourselves to be more creative with playing with different riffs and rhythms this time.

When we recorded the demo we weren’t as relaxed with our instruments as we are now. It comes more naturally and we’re only getting better at experimenting with new stuff.

Our producer Lasse Ballade used a lot of time together with Sara and Heidi on finding the right sound for the guitar and bass and it was his idea to record some of the drums in his basement, to give it a more deep and kinda creepy basement sound. So he was definitely the one who really helped us find our sound, and we couldn’t be happier!

How is it being signed to Napalm Records?

We love working together with Napalm Records and they are very professional. We have come a long way since we signed the deal and Napalm plays a big role in order to make most of our dreams possible so far. We couldn’t think of any better label for us right now.

We would really like to go on bigger tours and play more festivals, as long as it can work out financially. And we are steadily getting more offers, so that’s really exciting! Our booker Thorsten from Napalm Events is handling all our offers, but we often get messages directly from bookers who want to put on a show with us and then we just direct it to him.

We are already so happy with what’s happening for us at the moment and we just try to enjoy it as much as we can and not put too much pressure on ourselves.

What are some death/doom bands that have inspired Konvent?

Almost all of our dads raised us on Black Sabbath. When Julie was little, she and her dad also listened to Kiss and led Zeppelin a lot. When Sara first learned the guitar as a teenager, her biggest influence was Nirvana. Heidi was a big fan of The Darkness in her teens. In Rikke’s early high school years she was listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers a lot, but then she discovered Rammstein and became a huge fan.

As we got older, our taste in music developed and we got more and more interested in metal genres like death, black, thrash, tech, hardcore, slam, and also punk. We still listen to a lot of different bands, but we all like bands such as Yob, Mantar, Candlemass, and Paradise Lost.

Konvent is one of the heaviest death/doom bands I know! The vocals still kick my ass, Rikki! Some guys can't sound like that!

That’s a huge compliment. (laughs) Thanks!

I'm very proud to have bought the CD and t-shirt bundle for 'Puritan Masochism.' I hope Konvent has great success with the album and merch sales.

Thank you so much for buying it. We really appreciate people supporting us. We have been really overwhelmed by how many people are supporting us with buying our merchandise.

Tell me about signing with Barsk Management Agency.

Our new manager Esben, who just started Bask Management, is a friend of the band and has earlier been the lead singer of Hatesphere for the past decade, where he's gathered invaluable knowledge about the music business and the metal scene, especially.

We realized a few months ago that we needed someone to help us with the practical stuff and tour management, in general. We are actually not a super structured band and we often forget things when we go on tour. (laughs) Esben contacted us a few months ago and we had a few meetings and agreed that we would like to start a corporation about management. We couldn’t be happier about this decision. It has really removed burdens from us according to the practical stuff so we’re are able to focus on the most important thing: music!

What are your plans for Konvent when this pandemic is over? Live shows and re-scheduled festivals?

We had some festivals and shows which were cancelled, but we have already been rescheduled to 2021 for some of them -- and we are really happy about that. We know that some bands are suffering a lot more than us so we just try to be happy over the fact that we got to release the album and finish the tour before the pandemic. But we have HRH Vikings Chapter III in the UK this Autumn, which will be our first time playing at a viking festival. (laughs) But we have a pretty crazy announcement very soon and we can’t say anymore at the moment, but we are pretty stoked about it. We’ll keep you updated.

What is in the future for Konvent?

We are already so happy with what’s happening for us at the moment and we just try to enjoy it as much as we can and not put too much pressure on ourselves. We have pushed ourselves out of our comfort zones many times now and that in itself is something to be proud of. Looking back, we feel like we have accomplished much more than what we could have hoped for, for example getting a record deal, playing at Copenhell -- Denmark’s biggest metal festival -- in front of 4,000 people, and playing Roskilde Festival, which is the biggest festival in Northern Europe!

At the moment, we are just really blown away by all the positive feedback on our debut album. But, of course, we still dream big! We hope to visit more countries around Europe and we would love to go overseas, as well -- the US, Canada, South America, Australia, you name it! But our biggest dream is to play at 70,000 Tons of Metal. (laughs)

Thank you for your time. I hope you all and your families are well during this tough period.

Thank you so much. Hopefully we’ll see you in the crowd someday!

Puritan Masochism by Konvent

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[eldritchsurveys]

957.

5k Survey LIV

2751. What's the most interesting assignment you ever had in school? >> I’m not sure. I hope people realise that my last moment in any kind of school was in December of 2005 (and my last moment in high school was June of 2004). I can barely be arsed to remember anything from 15 years ago unless it’s trauma-related. 2752. What's the most interesting thing you ever had to do for work? >> I thought working as a merch seller for local bands was very interesting. I had a lot of fun. 2753. Do you feel: insignifigant? unable to evoke change? like one person can't change the world? like one life and one person's suffering doesn't mean very much? If you answered yes to any of those can you describe why in detail? >> I, personally, feel insignificant fairly often, but that doesn’t extend to thinking that other people are also equally insignificant.  2754. Do you feel like you could contribute as much to society as ____ has? Albert Einstein: Abe Lincoln: Franz Kafka: Jesus Christ: >> Just because I already have self-esteem problems doesn’t mean I’m going to sit here and consciously make “do you have as much worth as these people” comparisons. 2755. Are you aware that your brain is the same size as Albert Einstein's brain? Do you realize that you have the same number of hours in a day as Abraham Lincoln? Did you know that Franz Kafka wrote all of his amazing litterature during his lunchbreaks at work? Did you know that we are all made of matter and that you are made of the Same Thing that Jesus was made of? Do you still believe that you couldn't contribute as much to society as they did? If yes than WHY? >> This is an immensely irritating line of questioning, I hope it’s over now.

2756. Is your mind in the gutter? >> My mind is not in the gutter. 2757. What do you have to complain about? >> Whatever I want to complain about. 2758. Do you remember rock n' roll radio? >> ... Yes? Pretty sure it still exists, regardless. 2759. Is there such a thing as a food that you burn more calories from digesting than you actually absorb from it? >> I don’t know, try google. 2760. Hey, if you've gotten this far than you and me go way back. We've been hanging out for a while now and I gotta know..do you like me? >> --- 2761. What are you doing, Dave? >> --- 2762. As far as love goes do you feel it is better to become complete before looking for someone or find someone who completes you? >> People are already complete, despite however they may feel about themselves. I don’t understand what it means to look for someone who “completes you”, that sounds immensely absurd to me. So I guess I can’t really answer this question except to say “I don’t think people should be thinking about relationships in these terms...” 2763. What attracts you about the opposite sex (or same sex, or both sexes)? >> --- 2764. Do you need people or do you not need anyone? >> Of course I need other people. The fact that I have an attachment disorder is a direct result of my inherent need for other people’s love and support going repeatedly ignored. Even besides that, I need other people to physically survive, because that’s how ecosystems work, and believe it or not, we are still part of nature and beholden to its cycles and systems. 2765. Is selfishness always bad? Is selflessness always good? >> No. 2766. Do you feel like your life is being controlled by a power structure? >> Of course certain elements of my life as a social creature are controlled by power structures. 2767. Can you name three things in society that send the message that being completely yourself and that looking inside yourself and contemplating what's within is a good thing? >> Sigh. 2768. Can you name three things in society that send the message that materialism and the accumulation of stuff is a good thing? >> The entirety of capitalism. 2769. What is more important, a picture or it's frame? What is more important, spirituality or religion? >> These questions truly do get more baffling as time goes on. 2770. How many definitions can you come up with for the wword 'fuck'? >> I don’t have to come up with definitions, google is right there. 2771. Is it less offensive when a black person says Nigger than when a white person says it? Why or why not? >> The context in which a Black person says it is often a far different context from the one in which a white person says it. So, yes. It usually is less offensive by default, unless the Black person being addressed is uncomfortable with the word even when used in a friendly context. 2772. Do you rationalize often? >> Rationalise what? 2773. Do you believe that america is an imperialist nation? >> I mean, yeah. 2774. Would you agree that: hot topic is the new abercrombie? pink is the new black: you are the new you? >> *stares dully* 2775. Do you have more internet or real life friends? >> I only have Internet friends. 2776. What IS the feeding of 5000? >> The what?? 2777. What's an easy way to make money? >> I don’t know. 2778. What's your favorite slang word and what does it mean? >> I don’t think I have a favourite slang word. 2779. Are you uncomfortable? >> Slightly, because of noise issues. 2780. Is anything definate besides death and taxes? >> Taxes aren’t definite for everyone, but death certainly is. I don’t know what else is that predictable. 2781. Would you rather live fast and die young or live slow and die old? >> Living slow sounds nice to me. However it ends. 2782. Can you name 4 people who have committed crimes against humanity? How do you think they live with themselves? >> Probably, but I don’t feel like it. I don’t care how they live with themselves. 2783. If you could imagine, pure fantasy, any God you could concieve, how would you want God to be? >> I can imagine any god I want to imagine. It’s really not that hard, there are already so many to choose from, even if just to use as a template. 2784. do you think the smashing pumpkins have a strong christian theme? >> I don’t know, I’ve never paid a whole lot of attention to their lyrics. Their songs just sound pretty. 2785. Do you think this survey has a strong christian theme? >> I didn’t think that. I hope I won’t have cause to think it in the future. 2786. Fill in the blank for yourself" Give me ____ or give me death! >> --- 2787. Have you ever heard of the USA patriotism act? Apparently they have passed laws making torture legal. Also the FBI can sneak and peek into ANYONE'S home. They don't have to ask or even tell you they were there. This is already the law. So, whaddaya think? >> I mean, yes, I know that. I live here. 2788. The people in power step all over the average citizen, trying to secure all the power and money for themselves and leave us with no rights and under their control. They have the audacity to do this because they know that we will not lift a finger to stop them. Are they right? >> I don’t know if they’re right or not. I’m also not sure what the fuck powerful-ass finger you think we common folk all have. 2789. The Free State Project is a plan in which 20,000 or more liberty-oriented people will move to a single state of the U.S. to secure there a free society. They will accomplish this by first reforming state law, opting out of federal mandates, and finally negotiating directly with the federal government for appropriate political autonomy. They want to be a community of freedom-loving individuals and families, and want to create a shining example of liberty for the rest of the nation and the world. What's your opinion? Could this work? Why or why not? >> Didn’t a bunch of libertarians want to do this at some point? Anyway, I don’t know if this could work or not. I don’t know nearly enough about any of the elements involved to have an informed opinion about the feasibility of this kind of project. It does sound plenty audacious, though (and way too vague). 2790. Have you ever seen the Neverending Story? Remember when Bastian has to prove his worth by looking in that mirror where you see yourself the way you really are with no pretenses, rationalizations or mental lying? Could you stand yourself if you looked into that mirror? >> I do remember that, vaguely. I wanted to rewatch this movie but then I didn’t get to it in time and HBO took it down :( Anyway, I don’t know if I could stand myself if I looked into a mirror like that. I can’t conceptualise what that experience would actually be like. 2791. What is soilent green? >> Oh, you know. (That’s another movie I’d like to rewatch, in fact.) 2792. What are you proud that you have never done? >> *shrug* 2793. What things are hopeless? >> *shrug* 2794. What Are People For? >> Making Soylent Green out of. 2795. What book do you feel could change someone's life? >> Any book could change someone’s life. 2796. Didja ever want to just walk up to the Bush administration and ask them, 'What the fuck?' >> No, I wasn’t really paying much attention to the administration during that time because I had a lot of personal issues taking up my immediate focus. But from what little I remember about it, it’d be a valid question to ask. 2797. How do you take your coffeee? >> Decaffeinated. 2798. Have you ever played: paintball? lazer tag? which is better? >> I’ve never played these. 2799. In what ways are you lucky? >> A lot of ways, I guess. A lot of fucked up shit has happened, but a fair amount of strangely fortuitous stuff has happened, too. Guess something has to even the other shit out. 2800. If Jesse Jackson wants reparations to be given to black people because he thinks that black people don't have equal opportunities in this country than why does he drive a Jaguar? >> “Black people don’t have equal opportunities in this country” is still a fact of life no matter what the fuck kind of car Jesse Jackson drives. Focusing on his personal “success” or whatever like that is just a diversion from the heart of the matter.

[lawonderlandwriter]

Sorry, but expecting HBO to ignore got's finale or modify it would be to expect them to ignore their own work, as it is HBO that is responsible, authorized and invested in everything that happened. And let's face it, for them it doesn't matter if it's faithful to the characters or not, the last season gave them success and money, so it serves its purpose, so whatever comes out of it will be with the canon that they created. We, the fans, might not have agreed with the ending but HBO did

Anon, the very fact that they're considering making a Jon Snow spinoff at all disproves your point.

If they were going to make a spinoff about any singular character from GOT that wouldn't be an entire reversal of that character's ending in Season 8, the last one on that list would be Jon (second probably, only to Dany, because she died).

You're right that HBO doesn't care about the writing and if it's faithful to the characters or not. But HBO does care about the franchise when it makes or loses them money, and HBO lost a lot of money because of the Season 8 ending. Subscribers unsubscribed. Merch stopped selling. Even with HOTD being as successful as it's been, the finale of GOT is still a stain on their reputation and they know that.

That they're entertaining a Jon Snow series at all (it hasn't been greenlit to series yet, that we know of, but it's in the works), shows that they don’t care about the ending to Season 8. And with all the Prince That Was Promised and Song of Ice and Fire stuff happening in HOTD, I think it’s safe to say they’re willing to let George do what he wants with each of these series. 

HOTD didn't need to do anything with TPTWP prophecy or confirm Aegon’s reason for conquering Westeros. None of that was in Fire and Blood and Season 8 didn’t even mention TPTWP prophecy at all. If HBO was requiring its spinoff series to stick strictly to Season 8 canon, they wouldn’t have included that. 

Hell, Season 8 didn’t even stick to GOT canon. Things got forgotten, left out, changed, retconned. Not like the execs at HBO are keeping that close a track of what had been previously established in the series. They don’t give a shit. If the idea Kit pitched to them was intriguing enough, and they think it will draw in an audience, they’ll go with it. And if it creates buzz by possibly snubbing Season 8 and either retconning it or glossing over it, hey, more free press for HBO. If it leaked that Emilia was back as Daenerys, they wouldn't even need to market the show because that alone would have people interested enough to come back, even if only out of morbid curiosity. They don’t care about protecting D&D’s precious canon. They care about numbers. Whatever brings in the numbers, they’ll do. Period. 

[safflowerseason]

I know that you’re a big fan of FRIENDS, I was wondering if you had any options you wanted to share about the hang out sitcoms that came after it?

I'm assuming you mean shows like How I Met Your Mother and New Girl, etc? I can't think of any others right now...those two were definitely some of the more successful hangout sitcoms post-Friends, anyway. I don't really have any super strong opinions about them as part of the Friends legacy or whatever, although I enjoyed them both when they premiered (and I still enjoy New Girl, S2 in particular, although I never actually finished it...in contrast HIMYM has aged really poorly that now overshadows its good dimensions). I feel both shows are still quite different from Friends regardless of the comparisons, each one embodying the particular cultural characteristics of the mini-eras in which they premiered (HIMYM the mid-late 00's, New Girl the early-mid 2010's). Obviously no hangout comedy since Friends had the same viewership or the same stratospheric ascent into global celebrity culture...television simply doesn't work that way anymore. Although I do think the comparative success of New Girl and HIMYM demonstrate how central cast chemistry is to a successful hangout sitcom...all three shows share excellent casting and their ensembles aged really well together. The difference with the Friends cast, though, is that their connection as a group was a huge part of the show's marketing in a way that I feel is genuinely distinctive from other hangout sitcoms...if I remember correctly, there weren't a lot of stories about how Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, and Jason Segel hung out all the time when they weren't working together. That's part of the reason people still like to watch Friends...that's half the reason they even did that silly HBO reunion (where the only parts that worked were the scenes when it was just the cast hanging out and talking to each other).

I do think it's interesting how both millennials and Gen-Z--to fall back on very loose and vague generational divisions--have continued to rewatch and rewatch the show and thus ensure that Warner Bros can continue to make new money off it, whether it's merch or televised reunions. Especially when you take into account that there were other, even bigger hangout comedies when Friends was actually airing. Like, what about Friends do the youths today find so compelling today that they don't find in Seinfeld? But that's a different issue.

Anyway, not sure if this answered your question, Anon--I think I mostly ended up talking about Friends than its legacy shows, whoops. Maybe that's an answer in and of itself 🙃

[coll2mitts]

#19 The Muppets (2011)

Imagine for a second you're Disney.  For over a decade, you've been in negotiations with the Jim Henson company to acquire the rights to their intellectual property.  You've had some partnerships in the past, and a few theme park attractions based on The Muppets, but you want the whole thing.  In 2004, your dream finally comes true.  You can do whatever you want with Kermit and the crew, but... what?  Television?  Holiday specials?  No, A MOVIE!  A movie that hearkens back to a time where The Muppets only existed to make people happy.  A time before they needed to advertise Red Bull, and Cars 2, and Mickey Mouse.  The only problem is, the Muppets have not been around for a long time.  People aren't clamoring for new Muppet content, which is terrible, because you just spent a lot of money on this thing, and you need people to buy t-shirts and theme park tickets.  So, the most important thing you need to communicate in this new Disney-funded project, is that The Muppets, are indeed, still cool.

But how do you communicate that?  Well, you hire Jason Segel to help write the movie.  He loves The Muppets, and people love seeing him on that TV show every week because he’s fucking adorable!  Not to mention, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of the surprise hit comedies of the last few years.  Have him write a script that could have been a really touching story about a neurodivergent boy's coming-of-age, and his brother's acceptance that he can thrive in a community of people like him, and BURY IT under Muppet references from the last 40 years.  Remember the super rich and famous contract?  The road trip to get The Muppets back together?  Jake being left at the car lot?  The Muppet Show theme?  THE RAINBOW CONNECTION?  The kids won't, but their parents or grandparents might!

OK, story is done, time to cast this thing!  Amy Adams was beloved in Enchanted, sign her on!  And while you're at it, scattershot a request to every celebrity to make a 20 second cameo for kicks!  The original Muppet properties used to do it, so it won't be that strange.  You want every audience-goer to point at their screen every five minutes and exclaim, "Hey, I know that person!"  But no human will really do anything of importance in this movie.  75% of the time Amy Adams and Jason Segel will stand in the back of scenes and make reaction faces to whatever The Muppets are doing, making the audience wonder if they are really necessary at all to tell this story.

Next, you need music, so you hire one half of the 4th most popular folk duo in New Zealand.  He has a ton of experience in the parody genre, and is like, HBO famous, so he's probably pretty reasonably priced.  He's going to do a great job writing original songs, and original songs are a staple of Muppet movies.  His songs are going to rightfully win you an Academy Award.  The problem is, original songs don't do anything to make The Muppets seem *hip*.  Again, making The Muppets seem relevant is the goal here, so pick a random smattering of pop songs over the last 3 decades for the Muppets to sing to, like the classic Jefferson Starship song "We Built This City on Rock and Roll", and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".  Make a joke, though, that it's weird that they're doing it, because otherwise people are going to read it too seriously.

Speaking of comedy, you're going to lean really heavily on physical gags to make the audience laugh.  Walter will get electrocuted!  Gonzo will somersault from a roof!  The Muppets will stand on each other to form one big Muppet Man!  They're going to work together to ninja chop Jack Black and force him to host The Muppet Show!  But practical effects are expensive, so you're going to add them all in post with the laziest CGI people have seen in a movie since 1996. This movie will also present The Muppets in high definition, which make the puppets themselves look... haggard and lifeless, because they're sponge, and most of their eyes don't blink.

Sidenote: The gag where they shove Jack Black in the trunk and Kermit flips out is the funniest scene in the entire movie .  If you skip the rest of this mess, please at least watch that, because I was rolling.

If you're lucky, you've nostalgia-bated enough people into attending your movie, making it financially successful!  Now, you need the final scene of the movie to reiterate that the viewer, and the general public, do in fact love The Muppets.  The entire street is filled with people holding signs and cheering for more!  Don't leave us again, Kermit!  We want to see your movies and watch your shows and buy your merch.  We'll like, share, and subscribe!

Then, the big climax... fireworks.  In the shape of a hidden Mickey.

I still liked it better than The Muppets Take Manhattan.

[stupidstubbornbravebitchoftarth]

I completely understand if you don’t want to answer this but honestly it’s been stressing me out so much since I sent the follow up ask to the first one a few days ago or whenever it was. About watching most of Got online like since it wasn’t available at the time when I knew you said you were waiting but when I could get this season on an actual payable website I obviously did do that. Just sometimes it makes me feel absolutely awful for before

I am sorry I didn't answer sooner but here I go. Like honestly if it wasn't for free online streaming platforms I probably never would have entered fandom culture at all. I didn't even have Netflix until like a year ago because – newsflash I am from a poor family and it took some real convincing to get my parents to buy it. Like if I have the opportunity to watch something legal I will do so but, Game Of Thrones is literally one of the most successful shows ever, the actors get paid hundreds of thousands of dollar for their episodes – it's not like GoT ever has been a struggling Indie show written by a diverse set of up and coming minority writers who need every viewer to make it to the next season, let's be real here. Those are the shows I always try to watch legally. The money has never been an issue. Like since my library has all seasons of GoT I won't bother looking up online streams anymore because I have an option to watch it legally but like honestly TV channels like HBO and streaming services like Netflix are the last who are allowed to complain. Netflix is a luxury and not everyone has the money to afford it – that should not exclude them from their right entertainment. Like it doesn't make you a bad person for wanting to watch the very thing you are a fan of. Also maybe HBO is not getting any money from me watching their show but am I buying tons of GoT merch etc. And since they have the copyrights they get their money one way or another. Like as long as you don't make profit from watching series illegally it's chill. And if you have the option like going to the library etc and watching it legally it's even better. Just don't worry. Like it doesn't make you a bad fan just because for some reason you don't have the premium versions of DVDs or whatever. Again, there are no surpreme fans or whatever, there are just nerds.

[biofunmy]

What Amanda Seales Can’t Travel Without

The stand-up comedian Amanda Seales keeps busy. She’s a series regular on “Insecure,” her HBO comedy special “I Be Knowin’” came out in January, and she is now the host of NBC’s new comedy competition show, “Bring the Funny,” which premiered in July.

Success over the last couple of years has changed the way Ms. Seales travels. She’s often on the road doing stand-up and her traveling comedy show, “Smart, Funny and Black,” but now she’s doing it in style.

“I’m really fortunate, because at this point in my career I’ve already done the grind and grit of it all. Now I fly first, and I get to be in rooms that don’t feel like sex trafficking happened in them, and I don’t have to think twice about drinking the hotel room water even though it costs $37.”

She’s still getting used to it, though.

“On Delta First Class, they always give you a little first-class bag kind of thing and I’m a hoarder of those,” she said. “I have so many of those little bags! I think that’s basically the best sign to let you know I’m still new money and this is still a luxury for me.”

Here’s what she can’t travel without.

Surgical mask

“I started wearing a black charcoal mask on the plane because I started getting sick all the time from the circulated air, and now I feel like I’m a ninja when I’m in the air. It also makes people feel like they can’t talk to you, so that’s fantastic.”

Clothes for gigs

“I do standup and at one point I just decided, I’m not going to be trying to figure out what I’m wearing anymore. I’m going wear shirts from my own merch line and fun leggings, and that’s how I’m going do it. Because I hate packing, it wears me out. Anybody who follows me on Instagram knows that I hate packing almost as much as I hate racism.”

Clothes for travel

“When I am traveling, I am the tracksuit queen. Nobody can mess with my tracksuit game. Don’t even try. If you’re reading this, stop, don’t even think about it, you’re wasting your time. At this point, people have come to understand, if you’re looking for fly tracksuits, look no further: Amanda Seales, she’s the one.”

Hotel shoes

“I was never a germaphobe until I had to be in hotel rooms so excessively. Then it was like, I’m not going become a germaphobe but I’m going to become germaphobe-ish. The first thing I do is take the bag from the ice bucket and I use it as the cover for the remote control. And then I always bring flip flops for the shower and slippers for the room.”

Scarves and candles

“I never used to care about this, but once you’re in hotel rooms a lot, you just start caring about ambience. So, I try to bring some candles or some scarves, especially if I’m going to be somewhere for a week. I stayed in a room recently that felt like if an office had dorms. I was like, why is there a conference table in my room? I was sleeping in the belly of the Koch brothers. And I tried to spruce it up and put my Hermès scarves all around, and add some light, add some color over a lamp, but eventually I was like, this one is too deep in the depths of hell.”

Vibrator

“It was uncovered at T.S.A. one time and I just had to decide to double down. I looked on the monitor and I saw they had flagged it. And I was like, ‘I see what’s about to happen here and it’s not going to happen to me. They’re either going to embarrass me, or I’m going to embarrass them.’ So I said, ‘I don’t know if you want to go in that pocket, because there’s a vibrator in that pocket. You got gloves?’ And he looked at me, and I looked at him, and he looked at me, and he gave me my bag and that was that. Flip the awkward, always flip the awkward if you can.”

Lipstick and heels

“I only have two modes at this time, and it’s either glam or ‘former women’s basketball coach.’ When I put on a red lip, I feel glam in anything. And I like to have at least one heel with me at all times. Because you just never know. And sometimes you may just need to level the track suit up by wearing it with a heel, and then you just screwed up everybody’s concept of what fashion is.”

Sahred From Source link Travel

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