#|| Jack's mini blog essays ||

[cobaltruff-blues]

Okay. I've looked at several papers, I traveled back to Blueberry Academy for a week, I did all the research I was allowed or had access to and it's just clear. While most Pokémon can form a stable ecosystem within the four biomes of the Terrarium, Minior population cannot reasonably be sustained under normal circumstances within the Bio-dome of the Terrarium.

Minior normally form in high altitudes of the atmosphere, where dust and other particles gather together and build up their cores and rocky exterior. Depending on what elements constitute the dust they consume, their core color changes.

Curiously, contrary to popular belief, this doesn't influence their Shiny Factor, Shiny Minior are not just "black core" Minior, in the correct amount of light, it's possible to see the core color Minior would be if they didn't Shine.

[Attached file: Two shiny minior cores floating before a direct sunlight beam going through some trees. One of the cores is floating higher than the other, it's dark core shining faintly orange, the lower Minior core is shining faintly in cyan as light goes through it.]

Back on track. When Minior shells become too heavy from the dust they consume, or they attempt to dodge a predator Pokémon in the high atmosphere, they rain towards the ground.

Often times, this causes their shell to break upon impact, exposing Minior's highly sensitive core to the exterior.

When this happens, Minior attemp to use their floating abilities to reach back into the high atmosphere, and eventually dissolve back into dust, that will let a new Minior be born eventually.

The places where Minior can be found raining down are rare, with Mount Hokulani on the Alola Region being a notable place to find Minior, especially those with shells that have not broken after their impact.

Now, Earth's ecosystems are open systems which allow external forces to affect them, in fact the main source of energy of our planet depends on it being energetically an open system, allowing sunlight to be absorbed and reflected by our planet and serving as the basis for most bioecosystems!

Minior's life cycle likewise is an open cycle, the space dust that Earth builds up through time condenses into new Minior, regardless of the amount of them that are able to return to the atmosphere.

Even if the dust scatters across the skies, or Minior are caught in Pokéballs allowing them to reform a shell safely without disappearing, Minior populations will not decrease significantly, nor will there be a massive impact on their life cycles.

However this is not the case for the Terrarium, which is a closed system with no ability to generate space dust that can birth new Minior. And yet Minior are still able to form within the confines of the Terrarium.

And at a rate that exceeds that of natural Minior encounters in the wild (understandably so, it's impossible to compare it to natural Minior formation in the wild, as the high altitudes on which they're born makes it increasingly difficult to study them in their natural habitats.)

Despite the fact that Trainers studying in the Blueberry Academy, or visiting the Terrarium, are encouraged to catch Minior like any other Pokémon, Minior population simply doesn't go drastically down until disappearing from the Terrarium.

There weren't any concrete answers as to why this was anywhere in the Academy, so I had to do my own research on what could possibly be affecting Minior formation within the Terrarium, and I think I finally know the culprit.

THIS THING.

[Attached file: The Energy Core that forms the centerpiece of the entirety of the Terrarium. Bubbling with a strange rainbow waving colored liquid, which seems to be crystalizing from within]

The Core in the Terrarium that replicates the conditions necessary for the Terastal Phenomenon in Paldea, and Kitakami. Which allows for abnormal crystal growths containing within strong Terastalized Pokémon, that allow Pokémon to be covered in a brilliant sheen of crystals naturally, and even the generation of new kinds of Paldea's Herba Mystica.

It may be that the core which fills the terrarium dome with Terastal Energy could be creating artificial particles that allow for Minior to form, but there's still more research to be done, and the possible dangers this could bring. I think It's time I prepare for a new trip to Paldea to study the Terastal Phenomenon directly from the source.

I might even bring a new friend I met last time I went there.

[radioactive-earthshine]

Do you have any lesser know dc comics to recommend? I followed you for Impulse content, but I see you talking about a lot of comics I know nothing about and I am very intrigued by them. Would love to get into some of them but I'm not sure where to start.

Apologies for the lack of Impulse content (lately), there are about 3 blogs currently doing live-blogs for his series so I didn't want to sort of shoehorn in.

Anyway as for lesser known or unpopular comics I would highly recommend;

1.) New Gods and the extended Fourth World by Jack Kirby.

I'm reading New Gods right now - I feel like opening up to The Fourth World is just a good idea for any DC fan as it circles back to the main universe for the heroes quite a bit in some way and it gives you a better understanding of who Darkseid is, at the very least.

As important and beloved by comic collectors and historians as these comics are, I've found that very, very, very few comic fans have ever picked up a single issue.

Start with New Gods 1971 #1

2.) Reboot "Post-Zero Hour Legion of Super Heroes"

If you love Impulse, then you may love LOSH as we get to see more of his beloved cousin Jenni. Despite it having dozens of characters each one gets to have lovely stories that make you care about each and every one of them.

Like with New Gods, I don't run into many that have read the 90s LOSH (or any LOSH) as it is an outlier to the main timeline. Still it is incredibly important to the main timeline in many ways and it gives us a whole new world to play in 1000 years in the future across the galaxy where finally the fucking Batman isn't relevant.

It is everything TTv3 should have been, and despite being older, it somehow is less problematic in every single area.

It's like Star Trek meets Justice League where every league member is a teenager and yet has MORE responsibility and power than they EVER did. There's something about it... these teenagers ARE teenagers but they are all basically expected to be adults at all times and they have varying degrees of successes. They are like the anti-Young Justice- whose message was 'teenagers are teenagers, not babies, not children, not adults' and instead they just don't.... GET to BE teenagers due to broken family dynamics or governmental interference.

Reads more like a manga which some may appreciate more.

Send a DM or an ask for reading order because to start it's weird and even I need to look it up.

3.) Orion by Walter Simonson

My absolute two favorite comics EVER produced by DC are 1.) Impulse then 2.) Orion. Everything about this series is literature as it goes through Orion's adventures as he dethrones Darkseid and rules on Apokolips. We get him falling, redeeming himself and finally truly accepting himself for who he is and finally discovering who he is. Also yes, he and Lightray are still madly in love. The art also slaps.

You start with Orion #1. It's also in TPB compiled into two books.

4.) Relative Heroes

This is a six issue mini that follows orphans/foster children as they flee authorities after their parents are murdered and they uncover some secrets about some of their siblings that endanger all of them. Each teen has a different walk of life, ability, age, race, and gender and the comic touches on some surprising things despite being released in the 90s like police brutality against poc and the hyper-vigilance of poc while in public due to being seen as inherently violent.

Crosses over with Impulse for an issue which is a delight.

Start with Relative Heroes #1.

5.) L.E.G.I.O.N. and R.E.B.E.L.S.

So this definitely has a CW for sexual assault for a female assailant against a male victim where it was not just implied, it was blatant, where the word 'rape' was used multiple times in comics and where the victim did in fact express his trauma from it a few times. Unfortunately, due to the time it was written (late 80s through mid 90s) it was not handled the best of ways and there's a good essay to make on how misogyny and toxic masculinity was involved in this incident but at the end of the day this is a complex DARK comic that is the anti-superhero superhero comic. It makes you think and it also will make you mad at times.

Although there is some more subtle sexism in the writing just due to the time it was released we do get some very powerful and INTERESTING female characters, and even GNC female characters (sadly she is an alien and normal for her kind so it follows that trope but it was still pretty profound for the time).

We also get to see some toxic AF dynamics which if you love that go for it - but we also get to see vulnerability and character growth and dealing with trauma in... less than stellar ways.

Interesting comic that will definitely stir a conversation and I have only run into ONE person in real life that has read this comic and it is the owner of my local comic shop and he's about 60.

Start with L.E.G.I.O.N. #1.

6.) Static: Season One and Static: Shadows of Dakota

These are CURRENT comics following Virgil Hawkins, Dwayne McDuffie's (RIP) iconic character Static, re-visioned and updated to current events. It is blatantly, loudly BLM and touches on the systematic racism and -ism marginalized people face in a concise way that is not brutal or painful to read.

If you watched the show Static Shock but had a hard time connecting with the original 90s comics then you might like this vision a little better as it takes DIRECT inspiration from the show in character designs, and characters. Richie Foley is Richie Foley and he is gay.

Virgil is smart, he's a literal LARP nerd, and he is kind and we all love him.

Shadows of Dakota is CURRENT, as in it is ongoing now. Please consider putting it on a pull-list. It's also fairly new so picking up back issues to catch up if that's your thing shouldn't be too hard.

All of Static Season One is in TPB now.

Start with Static: Season One #1 and read through to the next series.

7.) Spirit World

This is literally the most original thing I have seen from DC in YEARS. It follows an amazing non-binary Chinese-American spirit envoy named Xanthe. The creative team are all AAPI. If you love manga or anime you might really, really like this as there are some visuals and tonal inflections that are reminiscent of stories like Petshop of Horrors.

It is brand new and is CURRENT and ongoing, we have only just toed our way into a plot into the colorful, and dangerous, Spirit World with Cass and Constantine as Xanthe's companions.

Put this on a pull-list so help me. Start with Spirit World #1.

Additionally...

Have you read Reign of the Supermen yet? Definitely suggest that to get to know Kon's baby steps a little better and why... he's like that.

There's also Kon's solo series which you know sure as fuck hardly anyone has bothered to read even though he is a fairly popular character. You'll also find out why.... he's LIKE that.

Do you like cross-overs? Try picking up the Star Trek/Green Lantern series which is an absolute delight in that campy WEIRD Star Trek way. Hal Jordan and Jim Kirk in a room together should only ever be chaos and bedroom eyes but that's just me.

Green Lantern The Animated Series tie-in comics are also a delight as they tie into the animation which is heavily praised as being THAT GOOD and... it is that good. They are easy reading too an are episodic so no worries which one you start with.

Happy reading!

[erstwhilesparrow]

any book or tv show recommendations mayhaps?

oh! hello! (had a second of "WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DID YOU FIND ME" and then i checked your blog and was like, "ah, okay, never mind, you are entirely aware i am in the midst of being really pretentious about mcyt right now." welcome!)

under a cut for I Talk A Lot crimes:

hm. okay, tv shows first because i know that'll be short:

NBC's Hannibal (2013) - Huge massive content warning for cannibalism and gore but also the prettiest murders you've ever seen. Feels weird recommending this one because it feels so widely known, but I do love it and I don't watch a lot of other TV. Borrowed from Wikipedia: "FBI profiler Will Graham is recruited by Jack Crawford, [...] to help investigate a serial killer in Minnesota. With the investigation weighing heavily on Graham, Crawford decides to have him supervised by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter." Things only get worse for him from there.

Mars Red - Deeply cerebral anime about vampires. Full of theatre references, musings on life and time and death and what it means to sit on the edge / outside that as a vampire. Very very pretty. Plot-wise, it's about a group of not-particularly-connected vampires in 1920s Japan who've been recruited to a special military unit working to protect humans from other vampires.

Revolutionary Girl Utena - It's free on YouTube both dubbed and subbed. So much is happening. I am nowhere near done unravelling it and I may well be casting longing glances toward the project of unravelling it for the rest of my life. Utena Tenjou is a student at Ohtori Academy with dreams of being a prince straight out of a fairytale. She is drawn into a mysterious duelling tournament with Ohtori Academy's Student Council for the hand of the Rose Bride.

books:

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - Utterly enchanting. A man called Piranesi wanders the House, a functionally infinite building so enormous its upper levels are filled with clouds and its lower levels are flooded and have tides. There is a plot, but most of my love of this book comes from how we as readers get to explore and luxuriate in the House alongside Piranesi. I've seen this called 'anti-horror' because it takes a premise that would be really easy to do as horror (forever lost in an enormous impossible structure with almost no human contact) and makes it something looked with wonder and joy.

Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi - Fun! Funny? Playful for sure. Almost a fairy tale. It feels distinctly like sometimes the narrator is winking at you. A woman from a country that doesn't seem to exist on any map attempts to tell her daughter about where she came from, and about their family's history with gingerbread.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - A fairly significant part of the reason for my obsession with architectural / spatial horror. What if the thing that made a house haunted was not any particular ghost, but simply that something had gone wrong in the house itself? Eleanor Vance is invited to stay at the eponymous house while it is being investigated for supernatural occurrences, and attempts to navigate connecting with the other inhabitants of the house and escaping from the demands of caring for her mother.

My Own Devices by Dessa - I love Dessa's writing in whatever form it takes. I've seen plenty of writing described as 'sharp' or 'smart' but Dessa's one of the few people for whom I feel this is truly an apt description of her work. Her writing sounds like she talks fast, is terrifically smart, and knows what she's doing, and most terrifying of all, I think that impression is right. This is a series of essays, or it is, as the subtitle suggests, "True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love". It's delicious to read.

How A Poem Moves by Adam Sol - I love poetry; I am so bad at reading and talking about it. This is a way into reading / talking about poetry better! It's a series of mini-essays by a professor at the University of Toronto who teaches poetry! He takes a fairly varied collection of contemporary poems and talks about a few things that each poem does particularly well. It's designed to be accessible and even inviting to people who do not read much poetry. For a taste of his work, his blog here.

When Fox Is A Thousand by Larissa Lai - A retelling of a Chinese folktale. A fox spirit haunts a young woman living in (roughly) contemporary Vancouver and a poet of the T’ang Dynasty. I remember reading this, going, "Oh, that was Good," and never figuring out how to say why.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt - Six deeply isolated classics students at a liberal arts college in New England murder one of their friends. Apparently a pretty big part of popularizing dark academia. I think it would be fair to describe this as gripping / compelling / convincing. I can't quite figure out what else to say, though I loved it while I was reading it.

On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden - Graphic novel. Makes me ache in a way that reminds me of summer. I described it to a friend once as "full of that feeling of having to do something very frightening, and being reassured by the thought that you will be able to return to people you love for hugs and snacks afterward." A young woman named Mia joins the crew of a ship in charge of restoring ruins in outer space, while also searching for the girl she fell in love with years ago at boarding school. Available online free here, though physical copies do exist and can be bought.

[lovel-y]

Tag Yourself: WINX CLUB edition✨🧚‍♀️

💙 🔥 Bloom 🦋 🐇 : takes the subway to school; law student; has a lion heart; wears two scrunchies on their wrist; hot tea; tries their best; always fighting for her friends’ causes; wide-eyed; feels guilty a lot; messy hair; loves adventure; has a bad temper if you cross them; homesick; ed sheeran’s biggest fan; also listens to shawn mendes and now united; loves photography; giving their whole heart to someone; instinctive choices; post it note reminders; new year new me; learning to accept your flaws and be free; jeans; customized T-shirts

💚 🌸 Flora🍃🍑 : wears braids and flowers in their hair; lives in a cottage; bakes bread and cookies; fairy lights; watches pride and prejudice at least once a week; cures everything with tea or essential oils; pressed flowers everywhere; listens to hozier, roo panes and florence and the machine; wakes up early; dances in the sunlight; big juicy peaches; will knit you a scarf if they like you (probably will); literature student; writes poems on every piece of paper; summer dresses; ancient world lover; lots of lace; farmers markets

🐬 🐚 Aisha 🌊 💚: can’t live away from the sea; activist; loves jack johnson, ben harper and big mountain; goes everywhere by bike; drinks lemonade by the sea; vegan; practices yoga every morning; oceanography student; body goals; will invite you to go hiking no matter the weather; road trips; cargo pants; sketches strangers on the streets; the moon reflecting on the sea; cool tattoos; old films; mermaid hair

🤳  📱 Tecna 🎮 💜: black coffee; rainy days; up all night; dreams of going to Tokyo; heart to heart over DM’s: has the answer for basically everything; listens to imagine dragons, queen and lana del rey; loyal friend; cried when got their MIT acceptance letter; science is bae; comfortable outfits; always hungry; sarcasm gang; tags you in memes; the glow of city lights; plans everything; smells like lavender; changes their hair every two months; arcade dates

💄 👸 Stella ☀️ 💍: mini skirts and a big heart; carries lipstick wherever they go; reads Vogue for breakfast; always speaks their mind; fashion design student; owns a blog; impulsive decisions; listens to taylor swift, little mix and dua lipa; friends always borrowing their clothes; spends their weekends at their family’s place in Milan; good intentions, bad results; has an opinion about everything; never admits that they’re wrong; chocolate covered strawberries; asks the questions others are afraid to ask; matchmaker

🎧 🍬 Musa 🐞 🎼: has a playlist for everything; kinda clumsy; ladybugs; good girl likes bad boys; sees the good in everyone; perfect eyeliner; uncontrolled laughter; pink cheeks; lots of comic books; always watching a musical; blackberries; cries in almost every movie; goes to concerts every weekend; lives in the bustling NYC; sleeps a lot; writes lyrics as her diary entries; plays every instrument; judges a movie by its soundtrack; lots of glitter; reads fanfiction

BONUS: The Trix

❄️🤍Icy 🐥 🍾 : determined; hates to be compared to frozen; b*tch please, she’s way more powerful; born to rule; champagne at 10 AM; always on time; girl boss; wise but a rebel; very competitive; doesn’t catch feelings; really impatient; loves lady gaga; doesn’t need help; skipping gym to workout at home; glossy lips; expensive jewelry; fancy gowns

💎🔮 Darcy 🥀 🕷️ : 70′s girl; celebrates everything; has a pet spider; music festivals; plays the guitar but doesn’t tell anyone; will read your hand if you ask nicely; bottles up their feelings; seems laid back but really they’re stressed about everything; earl grey tea; deletes pictures to forget the memories; probably takes ceramics classes; becomes friends with uber driver

🌪️🌩️ Stormy 💥 🌒: one night stands; listening to the rain and thunder; here for a good time, not a long time; probably cares more about her nails than Stella does; 80s music; fancy drinks; writes their essay the night before its due; troublemarker; conspiracy theories; used to be punk; leather jackets; sneaks out the window; heartbreaker; has a thing for boybands;

[american-weekend]

Mini Book Haul!

Hey and welcome back! Today is going to be quick and short post, but it’s one I am always excited to write about…..Books. 🙂 Reading is at the forefront of my year and I want to pick up different genres of books that step away from non-fiction and spiritual books. While those will always be my favorite types of books to read, I want to branch out and delve into a different world of genres. I…

[musicblogben]

Composition Blog #2: February 18, 2020

note: this post has been copied from a blog on Wordpress I was doing for my Electro-acoustic composition class that I wanted to transition over here. I don’t claim these posts to be essays. Just practice in guided listening and hoping to share new ideas

benmakingsounds.family.blog

This week I added a couple sounds to my sound bank, created a new etude, and was working on a side project of my own, but I am happy to say that these three things are held strung together by the same line: I've begun work on incorporating my Gameboy Advance (GBA) into my composition (or at least, I've taken the first steps).

Composing on Gameboys is something that I have been doing research on for some time now. I've already been composing for 5-channel Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) with digital trackers, which is essentially software that allows me to emulate the effect of writing and playing back music on a true 80's NES. I was unsatisfied, however, I wanted to look into writing for Gameboys, which is similar, and after all, I own two GBA's that have been doing nothing but collecting dust for years at home. Although most Gameboy artists prefer doing work on older systems such as Dot-Matrix Gameboy (DMG) or a Gameboy Color (GBC), these are hard to come by and thanks to Nintendo's convenient cross-platform compatibility, most software won't be a problem using on my newer GBA.

This did require, however, dishing out some money and ordering some items online. A couple things came in the mail this weekend from Catskull Electronics, earlier than expected: the teensyboy, a link cable for the GBA, and two basic Gameboy 32k cartridges- mGB and Shitwave. The Teensyboy is a tiny (teensy) device with a mini-USB jack on one end and a Gameboy link port on the other that is used to allow MIDI data to be sent and received from the Gameboy to a controller or DAW or your liking. The mGB cartridge is used to with the Teensyboy to make it work, and Shitwave is just a neat little novelty ROM that I picked up for drone/noise stuff (and it makes your Gameboy seem broken). The teensyboy is where I started having issues. I wanted to to plug my MIDI keyboard directly into the device, but my keyboard has a USB type A output and the teensyboy has a mini-USB. I don't have such a chord; no one does. This ended up being beyond frustrating. I looked into a female to female USB adapter, which you can find for very cheap online. However, my impatience got the best of me and I decided on the rational option of cutting open the two USB cables I needed and combined the heads (USB-A and mini-USB). I did this professionally by twisting the wires together, wrapping them in electrical tape, and hoping they wouldn't come apart.

This actually almost worked, as in the teensyboy reacted and acknowledged it was receiving power. However, despite all my efforts, I was not able to actually get the MIDI data to find its way to the GBA to produce any sound. The only way I was able to get mGB to work was by plugging it into the computer and sending MIDI from Reaper. This is helpful though: this way I can actually compose entire songs via MIDI and have it played directly on the Gameboy without much issue. However, I'd like to take any DAWs out of the picture, if possible. I am still working on this.

update: this totally doesn’t work! USB doesn’t work like that with MIDI, there’s a receiving side and a host side. You need something like a USB host, which could be your computer or a product like this. I’m going to look into doing this on a Raspberry Pi. This video explains a lot...

For the assignment I used much more basic approaches to composing with the Gameboy. I recorded couple different start-up sounds as well as a couple drones from Shitwave. I ended up using the default GBA start-up sound for the entirety of my etude. The start-up sound is a gesture that consists of two distinct tones: a lower strummed chord followed by a higher pitched "bling" sound. I also incorporated the sound of me physically turning the power switch on and off. Equalization (high bandpass filter), looping, and panning allowed me to create a twinkly texture that floated in the etude, and this was contrasted by punchy cuts of the switch. The etude concludes with a deep, droning texture of the opening chord, time-stretched and looped until it fades away. Although I would prefer to use my own DAWs such as FL Studio or Audacity, I'm having little to no trouble figuring out Reaper and composing these short etudes.

I will see if I can post the audio of the etude separately, or maybe as a response to this post. I can’t figure out a good to embed the audio.

[segadores-y-soldados]

Um hello everyone??

??????

I hit another follower milestone and like???

HI

How are there so many of you here??

Thank you to everyone for your support!  I hope ya’ll are enjoying the stuff I put on this blog!

So for new and old followers here’s some stuff about me and a mini writing showcase:

Tumblr username: Segadores-y-soldados AO3 username: clickclickBANG Twitter: https://twitter.com/SegadorYSoldado (I am very new at the bird website, please send help) Semi-personal info: transdude from California, please use he/him for me Semi-relevant skills: slowly improving my Spanish - feel free to correct my nonsense (also, 00halle, I saw your comment - I’ve been meaning to respond!  Thank you again for the offer, I super appreciate it and will be coming to you with some questions when I get a chance)

Content: All Overwatch stuff, lots of Reaper76 shippy stuff - be sure to look at my About page to find my other ships I’ll reblog 

Things I’m most well-known for: My essays (tagged as “my essays”) including references on Reaper, Soldier, and Ana; little dialogue scenarios (tagged as “dumb stuff”), usually involving Reaper/Gabriel and Soldier/Jack in some way; doing research on lore and locational stuff in Overwatch; writing fics about Gabriel and Jack being ridiculous smartasses who are in love (and oftentimes the poor people who have to witness their shenanigans).

Little writing showcase:

SEP: Sunsets (written for the amazing Vapewraith!)

They’re in one of the halls of the SEP facility - tucked away into a deep mountainside “somewhere out west,” the building is hard angles and brutal concrete and cut-steel, as soft as titanium and as gentle as the injections they get every morning and evening.  Yet even here, in “wherever’s-range,” there is still beauty: the massive windows, normally just cold, crystalline glass, are open to the sunset, bleeding colors across the land and sky, dripping into the hallway with the vibrancy of oil paints.  Reds smoke into bright, endless pinks, golds melt into bold, sunshine yellows, oranges shift into liquid amber, and at the edges of the atmosphere, velvet purples sigh into silky blues, tinting the more vivid colors and steeped clouds with the dusk of night and the emerging stars.

It’s a sight neither Gabriel nor Jack will ever get tired of -

No matter how exhausted they are.

“The doctors will see you shortly -” the SEP instructor starts to say, reappearing at the far end of the hallway, before he looks up from the papers on his clipboard and scowls at the group of crumbling supersoldiers, snapping, “Is that what you call ‘lining up?’”

“Maybe if y’all didn’t work us so damn hard,” Number: 141 growls, his voice climbing into a hoarse yell, “We’d still have the energy to fucking stand!”

There are shouts of agreement and calls of “Yeah that!” and quiet mumbles of assent.  Gabriel huffs to himself, sliding himself onto the concrete barrier and trying his hardest not to wince as his muscles settle into a sitting position.  He’s used to hard work and even harder workouts, but today had been…brutal.  3 am running through the facility and into the mountains and back, to 10 am sparring and boxing and hand-to-hand combat, to 1 pm “simulation training” where they ran teams in rubber-bullet fire-fights, to 4 pm regulated work outs of push ups and squats and curls, to now - 8 pm - where they fall to their pieces in concrete hallways, waiting for doctors to take their biodata and continue churning them into statistics for the U.S. government before jamming more needles in their arms and sending them to brutal, uncomfortable cots in the dorms.

Jack slides himself up next to Gabriel, sighing just loud enough for his best friend to hear, “Today…was pretty bad.”

“Would’ve been easier on you if you hadn’t burned yourself out on those push ups,” Gabriel grunts back, pulling a pack of cigarettes from a pant pocket.  He taps one out, muttering with some confusion, “Why were you doing all those one-armed push ups?”

Old Habits (aka “the big fic”) - Rating: T - Action/Adventure for R76:

“PULL BACK,” Reaper’s shouting at the three goons who got blasted the fuck back with a concussive rocket, “ASSHOLES, THOSE ARE HELIX MARK VI, IF THEY FIRE A REAL ROCKET YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD.”

Louis is, remarkably, the only one who stays on his feet, although now that they’re all wearing their visors it’s getting difficult to tell who’s who.  The other two roll backwards, flipping over a few times before slamming into the cliff wall behind them.  Reaper could fucking push both of them off the ledge and into the depths of the canyon with how annoyed he is at them, but that’s not important right now.

Three of the Helix fliers pop up from behind the rock ledge, hovering just a bit above the ground - low enough to get shelter again, but just high enough to give them a subtle height and maneuverability advantage over the Talon and Deadlock ground units.  He hears Widowmaker and Henri fire off a few more rounds, but distant screams are the only reward for that - they’re aiming at the U.S. military soldiers who are stupidly rappelling down from the stable parts of the train still up on the tracks and making themselves easy targets.

“Widowmaker, Helix units, on the ground, below you!” Reaper growls out over the comms before he fucking dematerializes -

- and reforms himself directly behind the three Helix fliers.

God, that hurt like a FUCK.

He punches one of them in the back to make up for it.

FUCK THAT FUCKING HURT TOO

WHY DIDN’T HE JUST FUCKING SHOOT THEM LIKE A REGULAR ASSHOLE

(More under the cut)

76 + 127: How We Were Made - Rating: E - Reaper76 SEP fic

Jack stands by one of the dull, concrete walls and bends himself over before slowly reverse-walking his legs up the side.  The rush of blood to his already throbbing head just makes it feel worse, but the weird mix of exhaustion and energy courses through him and he -

He cannot tell if he wants to fight something

Or fuck something.

...Probably both.

That was the other thing: the fucking raging mix of hormones and chemicals - both natural and artificial - had only cranked individual personalities, energies, attentions, aggressions, and desires to the fucking max.  It had been apparent from the day of orientation that all 150 of them were between 18 and 25 years old - all physically fit, largely martially-oriented people from a multitude of military programs across the country.  Jack and Gabriel had been the top two picks from West Point, but Jack had recognized a handful of the others as being from the academy - like three upperclassmen and ten lowerclassmen and two from their own group - Adrien and Sarah.

So yeah

Of course both fighting and fucking had started occurring within the first week.

Pinche mierda, there had been packets of lube and condoms in their supply chests in their bunk rooms from the very first day onwards.  The program directors had certainly known what to expect from a bunch of high-energy, high-intensity young adults.

Jack sighs again, not sure if he loves or hates the pressure in his head and neck, before pushing his arms up off his elbows and onto his hands.

Upside-down push-ups suck.

Gabriel’s wide, smug, fucking charming grin flashes into his head.

Sharpshooter: Hit Me Like A Drum - Rating: T - McHanzo meeting fic

Jesse flicks his eyes from the apparent quiver back to the man’s amazing face and his dark eyes and immediately knows two things:

1 - This man is absolutely the most handsome person Jesse has ever had the blessed fortune of meeting.

2 - He does not understand a word coming out of the man’s mouth.

“...Pardon?” Jesse asks absently, blinking awkwardly. The...archer (?) tilts his head a little and scowls a bit - oh jackrabbit turds, I pissed him right off - before saying in flawless English, “It is your turn.”

Oh. Jesse thinks lamely. English.

“Oh uh, thanks, partner,” Jesse says awkwardly, glancing back towards the counter where one of the chefs is waiting with an expression of stern politeness that is fading into increasing annoyance. Jesse makes eye contact with the chef and she gives him a small handwave of “hurry up, tourist, I don’t have all day.”

“Uh…” Jesse glances back sheepishly at the man behind me, giving him an embarrassed smile, “You wouldn’t happen to know which one is the spicy pork ramen, would you?”

The man’s scowl fades for a quick second before returning, and he says with startlingly serious focus, “Oh. You can’t read it.”

“Uh…no, sorry ‘bout that, darlin’,” Jesse apologizes without thinking and the man raises an eyebrow, asking, “‘Darling?’”

OH FUCK ME AND MY DUMB ASS

Why, yes, please do, the wiseass side of Jesse cracks in his head and he fucking flounders over the barrage of shame and embarrassment and attraction.

“Oh, damn, shit, sorry - oh cheese on a cracker, I shouldn’t be swearing, oh god you’re gonna think I was never taught manners - shoot, sugar, I’m so sorry, it’s a bad habit I got from my pa and - Shit, I just did it again - sorry, it’s been a long trip here and, oh Lord, I just swore again, this is so embarrassing -”

A startled look of wonder blossoms on the man’s face and if Jesse wasn’t so fucking flustered, he would love to try and mentally catalogue how the man looks so open and surprised. Jesse is in the middle of tripping over his words when the unthinkable happens.

A miracle occurs.

The man gives a surprisingly broad and genuinely happy grin and starts to laugh.

[that-thing-that-feeling]

Some Thoughts on As You Are*

*Intended to avoid spoilers

I found it to be a haunting, lyrical film that lingers. It impressionistically captures various moments of loneliness, pain, longing, and that magical moment of finding a real connection with another person in a way that was both visually beautiful and had real depth. I was surprised at the extent to which I thought it was really a love story—both in terms of love extending in all different directions within a group of friends and also in the way that it felt like two characters were in love, but that love was not compatible with anything they understood about their place, world, other relationships, or most importantly, about themselves. And a network didn’t exist to understand and support it. So it felt like you were in part watching those characters Mark (Charlie) and Jack (Owen) just struggle internally with something they both felt deeply and had no idea what to do with, and that tension both manifested itself in quiet restraint and extreme volatility.  

The film was not without flaws (a scene a little too on the nose, a need for the grunge soundtrack the budget couldn’t afford, a plot point that was slightly forced), but it was high quality throughout. I also believe some of the controversies it could produce are all worthy of discussion and will raise some very fair points. It handled its subject matter with care, though.

I think it’s fair to say that the full story of the film lies in its performances, which are stellar across the board, from Mary Stuart Masterson’s lovely performance as Jack’s single mom, to Scott Cohen (Max from the Gilmore Girls) giving a nuanced, difficult to watch performance as Mark’s Dad (whose toxic masculinity manages to surpass even Lonnie, or just manages to manifest itself in different ways). Amandla’s part is smaller, but still crucial, and she’s so believable and lands so much quiet feeling in every moment that she is in. Owen also has this very subtle part because so much of it lands in his eyes and quietness, and he fills every moment. They are such excellent actors.

So—let me write a mini-essay here about Charlie’s performance (I mean, I’m essentially a Charlie blog, after all, so bias!), but even if I wasn’t, it deserves pause. First, the character is basically this charismatic, dreamy, angsty, hilarious, infuriating, beautiful, odd person that comes into someone’s life and is capable of waking everything up. He has a huge emotional range in it and is just so raw and vulnerable in his performance that he sort of breaks your heart. I can’t really emphasize enough how strong his work is. The other thing that’s sort of interesting is it feels like the camera in this film is in love with him: it lingers on him, its gaze constructs him as this object of longing, or intense fascination in a way that’s different from some of his other projects. While this might sound like a superficial point, to me it also created an actual problem in the film, which is that the character can be in a lot of emotional and physical pain in moments (I don’t think that’s giving away too much; you can get that from the trailers) and the camera almost enjoys this, wants to depict his beauty in it. I don’t think that this necessarily romanticizes forms of pain inflicted on his body, but it maybe walks up to that line. I actually have a lot to say on this point about a specific scene, but it’s too spoiler-y, so I’ll avoid it here until more people have seen it (or I’ll put it in a spoilers post?). I have a lot of questions about it, especially in relation to gender. Anyhow, it’s a really multi-dimensional role and I just hope he keeps getting other kinds of nuanced roles. He’s made really good choices between this and Stranger Things.

Anyhow, let’s hope the film continues to come to more theaters and gets to a streaming service soon. There’s so much to talk about in it!

[joe-mchatton]

Blog Post Citations 6-10

Works Cited

Baranowski, Jordan. “The Untold Truth of the Falcon.” Looper.com, Looper, 7 May 2019, www.looper.com/152238/the-untold-truth-of-the-falcon/.

Birth.Movies.Death. “Black Panther's Comic Book Origins | Video Essay.” Youtube, 27 Feb. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTKzrv2pRcs

“Captain America (1968) #117: Comic Issues.” Marvel, www.marvel.com/comics/issue/7498/captain_america_1968_117.

Carlson-Ghost, Mark. “Black Superheroes: A Brief History and Timeline - Mark Carlson.” Ghost, 20 Feb. 2018, www.markcarlson-ghost.com/index.php/2017/07/30/black-superheroes-history-timeline/.

“Comics Code History: The Seal of Approval.” Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, cbldf.org/comics-code-history-the-seal-of-approval/.

Duy. “EC Comics' Judgment Day - Simultaneously Outdated and Still Relevant.” The Comics Cube!, 18 Sept. 2017, www.comicscube.com/2017/09/ec-comics-judgment-day-simultaneously.html.

From Mini-Komix. “Lobo: The First Black Comic Book Hero - Mini-Komix.” Mini-Komix | DriveThruRPG.com, www.drivethrurpg.com/product/296752/Lobo-The-First-Black-Comic-Book-Hero.

Fuller, John, and Kathryn Whitbourne. “How the Civil Rights Movement Worked.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 6 May 2008, history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/civil-rights-movement.htm.

“Incredible Science Fiction.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Jan. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incredible_Science_Fiction.

“Jack Kirby.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kirby.

Markstein, Donald D. “BROTHERS OF THE SPEAR.” Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Brothers of the Spear, www.toonopedia.com/brospear.htm.

Mattimore, Ryan. “The Real History Behind the Black Panther.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 15 Feb. 2018, www.history.com/news/the-real-history-behind-the-black-panther.

Mattimore, Ryan. “The Real History Behind the Black Panther.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 15 Feb. 2018, www.history.com/news/the-real-history-behind-the-black-panther.

Mycomicshop. “Brothers of the Spear (1972 Gold Key) 1 FN+ 6.5.” Comic Books: Buy, Sell, Trade, Consign, Collect, www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=189821.

Narcisse, Evan. “Wakanda Was the Way Stan Lee Spoke to Me.” Polygon, Polygon, 16 Nov. 2018, www.polygon.com/comics/2018/11/16/18098440/stan-lee-black-panther-wakanda.

“Nice History Post: Complete Set of Dell's LOBO Comics Comics' FIRST African-American to Headline His Own Series.” COMICS WITH PROBLEMS #70: Complete Set of Dell's LOBO Comics, 2015, www.ep.tc/problems/70/.

“Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: Who Did What? / Chris Tolworthy - The Comics Decoder.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/thecomicsdecoder2/home/issue-10-winter-2017-18/stan-lee-and-jack-kirby-who-did-what-chris-tolworthy.

TaylorNetwork. “Character Spotlight – Lobo.” Taylor Network of Podcasts, 2 Feb. 2015, taylornetworkofpodcasts.com/2015/02/02/character-spotlight-lobo/.

[media-valtimes]

ROUND II OF THE MINI REFUSE (HAHA THIS JOKE STILL ISN’T FUNNY)

PART I: BLACK MIRROR//SAN JUNIPERO

While I was a fan of all of the Black Mirror episodes that we covered in class, this one really stood out to me. Not because it was scary, or sad, but because it was shockingly happy and sweet. The first episode of Black Mirror that I ever saw was Shut Up and Dance, and if I’m being honest it was scary. I watched it late at night at a sleepover, and it was essentially the equivalent of watching a horror or thriller movie for me. That’s the atmosphere of most of Black Mirror’s episodes. But San Junipero has an overwhelmingly positive energy, especially compared to the others. I’m sure most of us have thought about what life would be like if we grew up in a different decade, and the technology in this reality makes that possible- sort of. I really loved this take on immortality, because it really does seem like something that could be possible in the future. I also think that this episode posed an interesting question to its audience: if you had the opportunity to live forever, would you take it? They make it look so appealing! You can live in whatever decade you want, potentially with your loved ones, in a place where you don’t have to worry about anything. When I was younger, and this is gonna get morbid for a second, I always thought that I wanted to die young. But life is unpredictable! I might meet a person that I want to be with forever tomorrow. Or maybe I already know that person. Or maybe we won’t even have a choice of whether or not we want to live forever in the future! The point is, nobody knows what tomorrow holds and that’s part of what makes this episode so cool. 

Another thing that I wanted to talk about is the 80s aesthetic throughout the episode. Throwing it back to the 80s has become increasingly popular in modern media, with Stranger Things, The Goldbergs, Freaks and Geeks, The Americans, the list goes on, and I love it. I’m one of those annoying teenagers who constantly says “man, I just belong in a different generation”, and the 80s, while not my top pick, have always been very attractive to me. Performing in The Wedding Singer  this year also opened up my eyes to how fun 80s style really is. It was really refreshing to have a Black Mirror episode take place primarily in the 80s, especially when they are usually set in the not-so-distant future. Additionally, I loved the LGBTQ representation in this episode. I also thought that Yorkie’s story was one that a lot of people would be able to relate to, especially in older generations. Many don’t act on their sexuality for their whole lives out of fear of being publicly shamed, and Yorkie’s story is a perfect example that it’s never too late to pursue what you love. Good job Black Mirror, you made me cry instead of jump, at least for one episode.

(get ready for lots of gifs, after that gif comment in class)

PART II: THE KILLING JOKE 

It’s no secret that I am not Batman’s biggest fan, but I really did enjoy this comic. Prior to this unit I was 100% team John Green on this debate. Batman doesn’t even have any powers what’s so great about him anyway?!?!

I still keep some of my opinions from BB (before Batman), for example, I still think that Batman would be nothing without his villains, especially the Joker, but I now think that I understand why people love him so much. No one person is purely good or purely evil, and that’s what Batman is all about, in my eyes anyway. I also like the way that Batman is depicted in this comic, especially compared to The Dark Knight Returns. Batman in this version is much more focused on actually helping people as opposed to “fighting his inner darkness”. The Killing Joke Batman is a Batman that I can get behind. He still has his dramatic voice overs, but they aren’t so ridiculously over the top and cheesy. I also really like the art work of The Killing Joke, and the panels are way easier to follow. AND THOSE MOVIE LIKE TRANSITIONS! For someone not too familiar with comics, the cinematic approach made reading The Killing Joke much more enjoyable for me.

I mentioned that I still believe that The Joker is the real star of Batman, and I think that this particular comic strengthens that argument. The reader gets a sense of how evil he really is, but also the extent of his sanity. He’s chosen insanity to avoid dealing with his trauma, and the reader is more sympathetic to the Joker because of this. “Ignorance is bliss”, and the Joker is really just this common saying to an extreme. He would rather not feel anything at all than feel the pain that he was subjected to in his life, and I think that everyone can understand that, regardless of whether or not they agree with his choice. I particularly love the quote “I’ve demonstrated there’s no difference between me and everyone else! All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day”. 

PART III: THE SHINING

I did see this movie before we watched it in class, and I watched it again after, but I really valued the discussion that came from our group screening. I wanted to watch The Shining because of its “classic” status, and it also helps that it’s ranked #60 on IMDb’s top rated films. In fact on IMDb, the tagline that’s posted is “a masterpiece of modern horror”. As soon as the word masterpiece is tied to something, there’s a 99% chance I’m going to want to check it out, yes I’m a pretentious snob like that. 

I think part of the reason that I love this movie is that I’m not one who’s immediately turned off by a complicated and ambiguous story line, in fact it intrigues me. The Shining was like this year’s Psycho for me. It checked off all of the things that I would want from a movie: a unique score, dedication to character, innovative shots, and a plot that makes you think. Having a recognizable score is an amazing feat in filmmaking, and I think that The Shining accomplished that. Sure, you probably wouldn’t be able to hum a few bars like you could Jaws, or Star Wars, but you know it when you hear it, and knowing it when I heard it landed me a quick chat on twitter with one of my favourite social media personalities. It’s pretty crazy to me that Jonah Green was mentioned in my very first blog post over 2 years ago, and I’m still an active supporter of him to this day. Jonah has stopped posting regular videos, but over the past few weeks he has been doing nightly livestreams where he’s been talking about some more thought provoking topics that people in the comments suggest. During one of these streams he walked through a room where someone was watching a movie, and I caught just a couple seconds of what sounded like The Shining. A couple of hours after the stream he tweeted that he would be chatting with people for a little bit while watching some horror movies, and what happened next is as follows:

(probably what my face looked like after that exchange // side note: how is Jack Nicholson’s face so simultaneously hilarious & horrifying??)

In summary I’d like to thank Kubrick, Mr. Edwards, and the Academy for this award. In all seriousness, this was cool, but really it’s a testament to the power of film! I’ve only seen this movie 3 times but I was able to recognize it from a small audio clip! That’s how you know you’re doing something right. The classic Kubrick ambiguity of this movie only makes me want to watch it again and again. The characters are so defined and fully realized that I would definitely be extremely uncomfortable around Nicholson in real life, or want to give Duvall a hug. The amount of continuous tracking shots made me so excited (I mean, Birdman is one of my favourite movies if that tells you anything). I’m not a horror movie junkie by any means, but this is a movie I know I will continue to enjoy for years. To finish off this section let’s take a listen to that bit of the score that I’ve been going on about shall we? (skip to about 3:58)

PART IV: GENGHIS KHAN

My favourite, everyone’s favourite. It’s finally made it’s return.

This is probably one of my favourite music videos of all time. When my good pal Lacy sent it to me and said “we should learn the dance”, I’m gonna be honest I wasn’t expecting too much. Little did I know that opening up that link would have such an impact on my life. 

If this weren’t sent to me, I can almost guarantee I would’ve never stumbled upon the masterpiece of Genghis Khan (the video, not the cruel emperor). Honestly though, all jokes aside, I think this is a great video for a few reasons. 

1. That dance sequence really is spectacular, 10/10 choreography 

2. It showcases a family with two dads in a normal (ish) way

3. Catchy tune 

4. The song is much more meaningful alongside the video component

5. Face jewelry??

6. Visually pleasing shots with that 80s vibe again

7. Singing and dancing guards! Especially the little penguin flap move starting at 2:32

8. The best dance move ever at 2:55

9. Edwards put it on our grade eleven exam, which made me feel so much better after having an emotional break down from being late

10. The song never got too popular, so I don’t hate it for being overplayed 

As a gift to the world, I cut a particular clip which is my favourite part of the whole video, so I hope you like it.

PART V: EDWARDS

Here we go. What a crazy journey we’ve been on together, am I right ladies? I totally copied Brynne with this one, but there’s no other way I’d rather finish off this post. Edwards, we’ve been sharin’ laughs together since ‘13, how crazy is that? Back when I was obsessed with Grey’s Anatomy and the bottoms of your jeans weren’t ripped to shreds. Man those were the days. One thing that I won’t forget from grade nine is getting an essay back after you marked it and seeing scribbles all over the front page. My first thought was “wow, that bad?” but it turned out it was just the art of your son who wanted to help you mark. To tell the truth, I think you probably added a couple chicken scratches for your own satisfaction, but that’s beside the point.

Sadly, I’ve only got two other chicken scrath- I mean yearbook signatures from you (what was grade nine &ten me thinking??) but they’re pure gold.

I don’t think I’ll ever live down this Grey’s Anatomy thing, but don’t worry, I’m not cringing as hard as Kepner is about it.  Also, you’re eating your words now huh? You WISH I didn’t take your grade 12 class, you gotta be careful what you put out into the universe!

I’m only kidding, I know I’m your favourite student, and yes, I know that you can’t reply to this post to deny it. I really just wanted to give you the shoutout that you deserve for putting up with me for 5 WHOLE YEARS. Think of all the time you could have saved only marking normal-length blog posts instead of the novels that you get from me. Think of all of that time you could’ve spent making fun of other kids instead of just me (and Brynne obviously, you are ruthless with that one). Think of all of the laughter that you’d have accumulated within you because you weren’t exposed my quick wit and hilarious jokes. I wanted to thank you for always being there to share a laugh, a new video, or a difficult conversation. You’ve done so much for so many students and I know that I will never forget the impact you’ve had on my life as not only a teacher, but a role model. I actually remember the first day of high school, I was doing a tour of the building with my link crew leaders and as we were walking through the english hallway one of them asked, “Do any of you have Mr. Edwards this year?”. I looked down at my timetable and sure enough, there you were for second period english. They then said something like “Aw he’s an awesome teacher, you’re gonna love him”, but that was such an understatement. I know that I will be added to the bottom of the never ending list of kids who comes back to visit you, but I don’t mind. You’ll be at the top of my list of teachers who inspired me to be unapologetically myself, and that’s something I can’t thank you for enough. 

Alright, we’ve made it to that part of the post where I talk about the best Viral Friday submissions and I’m very proud to say that the class actually liked my picks this year. So, since I don’t have to fight anyone, I can simply appreciate the best submissions from the whole class (my own included obviously)

[thewritespace]

Good gourd.

You might wonder what possesses a person to go out in search of gourds at 9 pm on a Sunday night.

Or, you might not wonder.

I’ll tell you why anyway - because the Gourd Incident correlates to writing a blog, or not, while hip deep in home renovation.

Home renovation shares a few similarities to childbearing - having done at least four of each, I feel I speak with some authority. Not the least of the similarities is the amnesia endemic to both: once you see that shining face or space, you forget the blood, sweat and tears that went into delivering it. Such is the delight in this new being, that the pain and discomfort of the previous months fade into the mist, and before you know it, you’re talking your husband into another one.

And that’s why renovation and childbearing are not like rodeos. Lessons learned can’t carry over: “Not my first rodeo” does not attach in the blissful, amnesiac ignorance of reproduction and renovation.  The type of ignorance that can lull you into the belief that, not only will you be able to form a coherent sentence at the end of the day, but that you’ll do so with style, grace and high quality images over multiple social media platforms. You know…capturing the glory and the glamour, with wit and wisdom, of a yearlong renovation or the average gestation and neonatal period. (First pass on that sentence was ‘the gory and the glamour’, which is at least fifty percent closer to the truth. For either process.)

My hat is off to the scores of design and lifestyle bloggers out there who manage to do it with stylish professionalism, producing blogs that are engaging and informative, ripe with polished tutorials and photo essays of various projects. They make it look easy and effortless.

I’ve been hoping to find my place among them. I’m a designer. I like to problem solve spatial and aesthetic issues. I like to write. I like to take pictures. ‘Easy and effortless’, however, are elusive. It’s a challenge to follow many of the directives you might find in a ‘How To Blog’ blog. For instance, if you want to develop a following, you’re supposed to blog regularly. With a frequency measured in units smaller than years. You need to create quality content, identify key words, develop a calendar, et cetera, et cetera. I find that all much easier said than done. This stuff takes a lot of time.

In an effort to jump start my stalled blogging career, I hopped on the Instagram bandwagon, where images carry more weight and you don’t have to string too many words together. I still fell short on the ‘regularly’ thing. Looking for some structure to address that, inspiration arrived via the youngest member of the household, my grandson, Jack. Jack is into rainbows. Big Time. Everything he’s colored for weeks has been a rainbow. “Grom, what color comes next?” ROY G BIV is indelibly etched on our collective psyche and once it occurred to me that  I’d posted photos of pickled sour cherries and then cherry tomatoes on my counter…R…O – Insta Inspo! The ROY G BIV #counterproposal Protocol was born. Framework! Structure! I had at least one, two...seven weeks of a plan! I could do it any day of the week, preferably keeping the photo shoots at the same time of day for consistent light levels and maybe even do a few ahead to have in the InstaBank.

That worked until we got to Indigo. Indigo inspo was elusive. And, you know…life happens. All of a sudden it’s Sunday night and I have no Indigo. No daylight.

The #counterproposal was about to be tabled.

Until I remembered the paint for The World’s Smallest Powder Room which was custom matched to my Indigo Batik (SW7602) cabinets!!!

What to paint?

Another glance around the room and my eye fell on Jack’s little tiger pumpkin. But seriously, I want him to like me still.

And so...a quick trip to the grocery store, a coat of paint and before you know it there’s a trio of indigo mini gourds on my counter, waiting for their close up. I took photos as I painted, with the idea that maybe this is what they mean by ‘creating content’. Not unlike the thoughts I had as I cleaned out my closet last week. Write what you know. Sure, I could write you up a list of my Go To Living Room paint colors, but there are a lot of people doing a really good job at that. I’m still working on finding my niche, but I think there’s room for someone who can pair the proper wine with an indigo gourd project.

I was going to share a link to this post with my photo of the Indigo gourds on Monday morning, but...me. 

Still some skeletons rattling around in my perfectly imperfect closet.

[tragicbooks]

15 companies that took bold stands against Trump's immigration ban.

An exercise in putting people before profits.

<br>

Prominent members of the business community looking to put people before profits spoke out against President Trump's immigration order this weekend — an unexpected but welcome part of the backlash to the ban.

On Monday morning, Gillian Tett of the Financial Times appeared on CNBC to discuss the financial risks of businesses that face off against the president and how those risks leave many CEOs loathe to speak out against any individual policy, even if they oppose it on personal and professional levels.

"They are scared out of their minds about being attacked [by Trump] ... and what that's going to do for their business," she explained.

Those CEOs aren't wrong to worry, either. Since being elected, Trump has continually taken aim at companies that have criticized him, using his Twitter account to tank their stock prices. In December, after Boeing's CEO made an argument in favor of trade agreements, Trump fired off a series of tweets about canceling plans to use the company for the new Air Force One series of planes. As a result, the company's stock price fell by 1% before recovering. Trump's tweet about Boeing and a $4 billion contract was a bit of an exaggeration; the company has a $170 million contract, which a tweet cannot cancel.

Knowing that a Trump-fueled attack on their companies — and the value of their shares — could be waiting just around the corner, here are 15 companies and CEOs who took a stand against the immigration ban this weekend:

1. Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky offered free housing to people affected by the travel ban.

On a statement posted to its website, the company also offered a way for Airbnb hosts to volunteer help.

Not allowing countries or refugees into America is not right, and we must stand with those who are affected.

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 29, 2017

Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 29, 2017

2. Dropbox founder and CEO Drew Houston called Trump's order "un-American."

Executive orders affecting world's most vulnerable are un-American. Dropbox embraces people from all countries and faiths

— Drew Houston (@drewhouston) January 28, 2017

3. Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson spoke out against the order and urged others to contact legislators and support organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union.

We are a nation of immigrants, and are stronger for it. I oppose excluding people from US based on their nationality or religion, period.

— Chad Dickerson (@chaddickerson) January 28, 2017

4. Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted an essay to his profile sharing the story of his and his wife Priscilla's immigrant and refugee origins.

"We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help," Zuckerberg wrote. "That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today."

My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam....

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, January 27, 2017

5. Google created a crisis fund to support immigrant-rights organizations.

According to a statement provided to USA Today, Google has created a $4 million crisis fund for four immigrant-rights organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, International Rescue Committee, and UNHCR.

"We’re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," said the company. "We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere."

Google headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images.

6. Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta donated $100,000 to the ACLU — and didn't stop there.

In a short Twitter thread on Sunday evening, Instacart founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta announced a $100,000 donation to the ACLU, the creation of "office hours" with immigration attorneys for employees and their families, and a pledge to expedite H-1B visas and green cards for employees in need.

1/6 As an immigrant who grew up in one of the countries that was banned, I'm sad and angry with what is happening.

— Apoorva Mehta (@apoorva_mehta) January 29, 2017

7. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner used Trump's ban as an opportunity to boost and expand the company's Welcome Talent program for refugees in the U.S.

40% of Fortune 500 founded by immigrants or their children. All ethnicities should have access to opportunity -- founding principle of U.S.

— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner) January 28, 2017

Consistent with values that helped build U.S., let's support those looking to make a better life in a new country https://t.co/ybc0zX29Um

— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner) January 29, 2017

8. In a blog post, ride-hailing app Lyft's co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green committed to a $1 million donation to the ACLU over the next four years.

"We created Lyft to be a model for the type of community we want our world to be: diverse, inclusive, and safe. This weekend, Trump closed the country's borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin. Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community. We know this directly impacts many of our community members, their families, and friends. We stand with you, and are donating $1,000,000 over the next four years to the ACLU to defend our constitution. We ask that you continue to be there for each other - and together, continue proving the power of community."

A Lyft driver in San Francisco. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Lyft.

9. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings didn't mince words on his Facebook page, calling Trump's executive order "so un-American it pains us all."

Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these...

Posted by Reed Hastings on Saturday, January 28, 2017

10. Nike's president and CEO took a stand against the ban in an email to employees.

Looking to Olympian Mo Farah's statement on how Trump's ban would prevent the four-time gold medalist from returning to his home in the U.S., Nike President and CEO Mark Parker emailed employees, urging them to "[stand] together against bigotry and any form of discrimination."

Nike CEO Mark Parker sends rare political email to employees tonight, condemning POTUS travel ban. "This is a policy we don't support." http://pic.twitter.com/I9w48WA7e8

— Sara Germano (@germanotes) January 30, 2017

11. Postmates founder and CEO Bastian Lehmann — who also happens to be an immigrant — wrote a blog post skewering the Trump administration, saying, "I no longer believe it to be reasonable to remain silent."

He also pledged to match employee donations to the ACLU and International Refugee Assistance Project.

"The trade-off of these policies is obvious. In exchange for the guise of safety rooted in fear of those with different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds we will be abandoning the diverse melting pot of culture and ideas that has made the United States prosper. That is the bedrock that creative growing companies like Postmates have been built upon. Ignoring the dynamics of this diversity, which is distinctly American and has set our country apart from the rest the world throughout history is short sighted and damaging."

Bastian Lehmann at TechCrunch Disrupt London in 2015. Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for TechCrunch.

12. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff shared some poignant scripture and a well-known (if sadly ignored) piece of poetry, using the hashtag #noban.

When we close our hearts & stop loving other people as ourselves (MK 12:31) we forget who we truly are---a light unto the nations. #noban

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) January 28, 2017

I'm with her---> 🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽 http://pic.twitter.com/247YTCv6ws

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) January 29, 2017

13. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield delivered an impassioned argument against the administration's actions and shared his family's own story of immigration.

"My grandfather came from Poland between the wars, at 17, sponsored by an elder sister," he wrote. "Two more siblings made it. Everyone else died. Their parents were shot in the streets and thrown in a mass grave (we believe). Their other siblings died in the camps. Every cousin (and really, everyone they knew) was killed. That whole branch of the family tree snuffed out. And now we want to do this to others. It's bewildering and confusing and terrifying."

I guess we all need to periodically reaffirm the obvious. All human beings are equally valuable. Black lives matter. LGBT deserve marriage.

— Stewart Butterfield (@stewart) January 28, 2017

14. In a letter to employees, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz unveiled a four-part rebuke to Trump's actions toward immigrants and refugees.

The plan includes supporting DACA, hiring refugees, building bridges with Mexico instead of walls, and committing to support Starbucks employees if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

Schultz also pledged to hire 10,000 refugees in 75 countries over the next five years.

Message from Howard Schultz to @Starbucks partners: Living Our Values in Uncertain Times https://t.co/WoHkS3N9fB

— Starbucks News (@Starbucksnews) January 29, 2017

15. Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey called the executive order "upsetting."

On Friday, the day the order was signed, Dorsey shared a mini-documentary about Yassin Terou, a Syrian refugee living in the U.S.

The Executive Order's humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting. We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the U.S. https://t.co/HdwVGzIECt

— jack (@jack) January 28, 2017

11% of Syrian immigrants to the U.S. are business owners, more than triple that of U.S.-born business owners https://t.co/cU9UMKcG4r

— jack (@jack) January 28, 2017

Long before his political aspirations took flight, Trump was a CEO, which makes the response from the business community even more powerful.

If he refuses to listen to the American people and fellow politicians, perhaps it'll be the judgment of the country's corporate leaders that sways Trump's opinion one way or another. CEOs and business leaders who are willing to take a stand against some of Trump's harmful policies may be one of the more effective ways of communicating with him.

<br>

[tragicbooks]

15 companies that took bold stands against Trump's immigration ban.

An exercise in putting people before profits.

<br>

Prominent members of the business community looking to put people before profits spoke out against President Trump's immigration order this weekend — an unexpected but welcome part of the backlash to the ban.

On Monday morning, Gillian Tett of the Financial Times appeared on CNBC to discuss the financial risks of businesses that face off against the president and how those risks leave many CEOs loathe to speak out against any individual policy, even if they oppose it on personal and professional levels.

"They are scared out of their minds about being attacked [by Trump] ... and what that's going to do for their business," she explained.

Those CEOs aren't wrong to worry, either. Since being elected, Trump has continually taken aim at companies that have criticized him, using his Twitter account to tank their stock prices. In December, after Boeing's CEO made an argument in favor of trade agreements, Trump fired off a series of tweets about canceling plans to use the company for the new Air Force One series of planes. As a result, the company's stock price fell by 1% before recovering. Trump's tweet about Boeing and a $4 billion contract was a bit of an exaggeration; the company has a $170 million contract, which a tweet cannot cancel.

Knowing that a Trump-fueled attack on their companies — and the value of their shares — could be waiting just around the corner, here are 15 companies and CEOs who took a stand against the immigration ban this weekend:

1. Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky offered free housing to people affected by the travel ban.

On a statement posted to its website, the company also offered a way for Airbnb hosts to volunteer help.

Not allowing countries or refugees into America is not right, and we must stand with those who are affected.

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 29, 2017

Airbnb is providing free housing to refugees and anyone not allowed in the US. Stayed tuned for more, contact me if urgent need for housing

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 29, 2017

2. Dropbox founder and CEO Drew Houston called Trump's order "un-American."

Executive orders affecting world's most vulnerable are un-American. Dropbox embraces people from all countries and faiths

— Drew Houston (@drewhouston) January 28, 2017

3. Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson spoke out against the order and urged others to contact legislators and support organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union.

We are a nation of immigrants, and are stronger for it. I oppose excluding people from US based on their nationality or religion, period.

— Chad Dickerson (@chaddickerson) January 28, 2017

4. Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted an essay to his profile sharing the story of his and his wife Priscilla's immigrant and refugee origins.

"We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help," Zuckerberg wrote. "That's who we are. Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today."

My great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland. Priscilla's parents were refugees from China and Vietnam....

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, January 27, 2017

5. Google created a crisis fund to support immigrant-rights organizations.

According to a statement provided to USA Today, Google has created a $4 million crisis fund for four immigrant-rights organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, International Rescue Committee, and UNHCR.

"We’re concerned about the impact of this order and any proposals that could impose restrictions on Googlers and their families, or that could create barriers to bringing great talent to the U.S.," said the company. "We'll continue to make our views on these issues known to leaders in Washington and elsewhere."

Google headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images.

6. Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta donated $100,000 to the ACLU — and didn't stop there.

In a short Twitter thread on Sunday evening, Instacart founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta announced a $100,000 donation to the ACLU, the creation of "office hours" with immigration attorneys for employees and their families, and a pledge to expedite H-1B visas and green cards for employees in need.

1/6 As an immigrant who grew up in one of the countries that was banned, I'm sad and angry with what is happening.

— Apoorva Mehta (@apoorva_mehta) January 29, 2017

7. LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner used Trump's ban as an opportunity to boost and expand the company's Welcome Talent program for refugees in the U.S.

40% of Fortune 500 founded by immigrants or their children. All ethnicities should have access to opportunity -- founding principle of U.S.

— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner) January 28, 2017

Consistent with values that helped build U.S., let's support those looking to make a better life in a new country https://t.co/ybc0zX29Um

— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner) January 29, 2017

8. In a blog post, ride-hailing app Lyft's co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green committed to a $1 million donation to the ACLU over the next four years.

"We created Lyft to be a model for the type of community we want our world to be: diverse, inclusive, and safe. This weekend, Trump closed the country's borders to refugees, immigrants, and even documented residents from around the world based on their country of origin. Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft's and our nation's core values. We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community. We know this directly impacts many of our community members, their families, and friends. We stand with you, and are donating $1,000,000 over the next four years to the ACLU to defend our constitution. We ask that you continue to be there for each other - and together, continue proving the power of community."

A Lyft driver in San Francisco. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Lyft.

9. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings didn't mince words on his Facebook page, calling Trump's executive order "so un-American it pains us all."

Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these...

Posted by Reed Hastings on Saturday, January 28, 2017

10. Nike's president and CEO took a stand against the ban in an email to employees.

Looking to Olympian Mo Farah's statement on how Trump's ban would prevent the four-time gold medalist from returning to his home in the U.S., Nike President and CEO Mark Parker emailed employees, urging them to "[stand] together against bigotry and any form of discrimination."

Nike CEO Mark Parker sends rare political email to employees tonight, condemning POTUS travel ban. "This is a policy we don't support." http://pic.twitter.com/I9w48WA7e8

— Sara Germano (@germanotes) January 30, 2017

11. Postmates founder and CEO Bastian Lehmann — who also happens to be an immigrant — wrote a blog post skewering the Trump administration, saying, "I no longer believe it to be reasonable to remain silent."

He also pledged to match employee donations to the ACLU and International Refugee Assistance Project.

"The trade-off of these policies is obvious. In exchange for the guise of safety rooted in fear of those with different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds we will be abandoning the diverse melting pot of culture and ideas that has made the United States prosper. That is the bedrock that creative growing companies like Postmates have been built upon. Ignoring the dynamics of this diversity, which is distinctly American and has set our country apart from the rest the world throughout history is short sighted and damaging."

Bastian Lehmann at TechCrunch Disrupt London in 2015. Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for TechCrunch.

12. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff shared some poignant scripture and a well-known (if sadly ignored) piece of poetry, using the hashtag #noban.

When we close our hearts & stop loving other people as ourselves (MK 12:31) we forget who we truly are---a light unto the nations. #noban

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) January 28, 2017

I'm with her---> 🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽🗽 http://pic.twitter.com/247YTCv6ws

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) January 29, 2017

13. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield delivered an impassioned argument against the administration's actions and shared his family's own story of immigration.

"My grandfather came from Poland between the wars, at 17, sponsored by an elder sister," he wrote. "Two more siblings made it. Everyone else died. Their parents were shot in the streets and thrown in a mass grave (we believe). Their other siblings died in the camps. Every cousin (and really, everyone they knew) was killed. That whole branch of the family tree snuffed out. And now we want to do this to others. It's bewildering and confusing and terrifying."

I guess we all need to periodically reaffirm the obvious. All human beings are equally valuable. Black lives matter. LGBT deserve marriage.

— Stewart Butterfield (@stewart) January 28, 2017

14. In a letter to employees, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz unveiled a four-part rebuke to Trump's actions toward immigrants and refugees.

The plan includes supporting DACA, hiring refugees, building bridges with Mexico instead of walls, and committing to support Starbucks employees if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

Schultz also pledged to hire 10,000 refugees in 75 countries over the next five years.

Message from Howard Schultz to @Starbucks partners: Living Our Values in Uncertain Times https://t.co/WoHkS3N9fB

— Starbucks News (@Starbucksnews) January 29, 2017

15. Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey called the executive order "upsetting."

On Friday, the day the order was signed, Dorsey shared a mini-documentary about Yassin Terou, a Syrian refugee living in the U.S.

The Executive Order's humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting. We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the U.S. https://t.co/HdwVGzIECt

— jack (@jack) January 28, 2017

11% of Syrian immigrants to the U.S. are business owners, more than triple that of U.S.-born business owners https://t.co/cU9UMKcG4r

— jack (@jack) January 28, 2017

Long before his political aspirations took flight, Trump was a CEO, which makes the response from the business community even more powerful.

If he refuses to listen to the American people and fellow politicians, perhaps it'll be the judgment of the country's corporate leaders that sways Trump's opinion one way or another. CEOs and business leaders who are willing to take a stand against some of Trump's harmful policies may be one of the more effective ways of communicating with him.

<br>