#2012 and 2016 were my 2 best years probably

[yakultii]

ever since I was little I never gave a fuck if anyone else liked me, I just wanted to like me and eventually I did for a little while but then I forgot how

[batbabydamian]

Hey, I started reading Robin son of Batman because of your recommendation (I literally have a print of your post on my phone to not forget lol). Honestly? One of the best things I ever read!!!

Thank you for opening my eyes! Damian has been one of my favorite characters for over a year, but I didn't read/watch much of him because of school, life (and probably an executive dysfunction in the mix).

Maya is incredible. I loved her.

I haven't finished all the issues yet, but do you have any other recommendations?

WAH this makes me so happy, i'm glad you still gave it a shot even with how busy life is!! ;v;

i’d love to give reccs, and i’ll try to go a beginner friendly route! tbh you can pick up whatever here, but since you've read R:SOB i’d immediately follow up with Batman and Robin (2011) #1-8! this first arc is what’s referred to in Maya’s introduction, and it's just. so good.

Main Books

Batman and Robin (2009)

Dick as Batman with Damian as his Robin!

#20-22 Tree of Blood: Dark Knight vs White Knight arc is done by Tomasi and Gleason, the team for the next Batman and Robin series

*Batman and Robin (2011)

Bruce and Damian figuring out their relationship as both Batman & Robin and father & son

imo you can enjoy the ride and read straight through this but i’ll add context to avoid as much confusion as possible since there’s the occasional tie-in or offscreen events, like Damian’s death nbd

Batman Incorporated (2012) #1-10

events leading to Damian's death - affects Batman and Robin (2011) from issue #18

kind of a tough read especially with how Talia's written, but a lot of iconic bits like Batcow, Damian's vegetarian declaration, Alfred the cat, "We Were the Best, Richard."

Robin (2021)

another self-discovery adventure, particularly after Alfred’s death and a fallout with Bruce (and questionable writing choices from his last Teen Titans run)

Batman and Robin (2023)

currently ongoing! after a number of events, Bruce and Damian are back as a duo

Damian Dynamics!

Batman: Streets of Gotham (2009) #7, 10-12

arc where Damian meets one of his first Gotham friends, Colin Wilkes

Batgirl (2009) #5-7, #17

Steph and Damian dynamic! "the bad cop, worse cop" dysfunctional duo

Red Robin (2009) #13-14

early Tim and Damian dynamic that of course includes fighting haha. funny enough, accidentally my first intro to Damian LOL

Teen Titans (2003) #89-92

Dick!Batman has Damian join the Teen Titans. Start of Damian and Rose Wilson dynamic that’s extended in Robin (2021)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Damian meets Cass and has a brief team up

Gotham Academy (2015) #7

Damian meets Maps Mizoguchi! they have a few other meetings, but outside of that the series itself is a great read!

Robin War Event (2015)

Robin War (2015) #1, Grayson (2014) #15, Detective Comics (2011) #47, We Are Robin (2015) #7, Robin: Son of Batman (2015) #7, Robin War (2015) #2

Duke and Damian dynamic! not exactly beginner friendly but these are the main issues in order for the event! you can also read the TPB version for everything including Tie-Ins

Nightwing (2016) #16-20, #42, #43

#16-20 Nightwing and Robin arc!

#42 Dick on a mission to save Damian! the one appearance of "Wiggles" the dragon

#43 Dick, Roy, and Damian team-up

New Talent Showcase 2018 "Catwoman: Pedigree"

Selina, Damian, and Alfred the cat

Batman: Prelude to the Wedding - Robin vs. Ra's Al Ghul (2018)

Selina, Damian, and Cheese Viking - Damian's fav game shown in Nightwing: Rebirth (2016)

Monkey Prince (2022) #1-4

Marcus Sun Shugel-Shen's main comic, but Damian features as a fun dynamic here before they're in more serious circumstances in Batman VS Robin (2022)/Lazarus Planet event

Superman (2016) #10 - 11

the beginning of the Super Sons! featuring Maya!

Super Sons (2017)

solitary arcs but there’s a few event tie-in issues later

Adventures of the Super Sons (2018)

literally more Super Sons adventures lol galactic shenanigans yeehaw

Challenge of the Super Sons (2020) 

Super Sons time shenanigans feat. the Justice League

Robin 80th Anniversary (2020)

"Boy Wonders" - brief Damian feature as Tim considers his next step in life

"My Best Friend" - Jon's thoughts on Damian and their dynamic

"Bat and Mouse" - refers to Damian's unfortunate Teen Titans (2016) run at the time of release which follows up with Teen Titans Annual #2 where Damian briefly gives up Robin

Extra Comics!

Superman/Batman (2003) #77

Kara and Damian in a Halloween team-up! also the appearance of "Li'l Matches" lol

DCU Halloween Special '09 "Cavity Search"

Damian out on a solo mission for Halloween night. Immediately after is Tim's Red Robin story "Then and Now: Our Father's Sins" which is more somber in contrast but also a good read!

DCU Halloween Special 2010 "Robin the Vampire Slayer"

a Dick!Batman and Robin story featuring the vampire Andrew Bennett

Cursed Comics Cavalcade (2018) "The Devil You Know"

Halloween themed comic with a sweet short story of Damian alongside Solomon Grundy

DC's Terrors Through Time (2022)

"Trick or Treat" a Super Sons Halloween story

"The Haunting of Wayne Manor" Damian and Deadman story - in the end, Boston kinda refers to Nezha's possession of Damian in Batman VS Robin (2022) which was happening at the time of this release

Batman: Li'l Gotham (2013)

lighthearted series that instantly makes me smile with the silliness and Dustin Nguyen’s art i love this dearly

Secret Origins (2014) #4 "A Boy's Life"

a retelling of Damian's origin story

Detective Comics (2016) #1001-1005

Batman and Robin vs the Arkham Knight (unrelated to the game)

Truth & Justice (2021) #6/#16 - 18 Digital First version

cute story of Damian’s birthday! Juni Ba’s art is so fun!!

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration (2021) “Special Delivery”

short story about Damian! and poisoned pizzas. completely forgot the artist Sami Basri drew Rebirth Damian here before catboy Damian lol Cass’s story “Sounds” is also cute! Marcus makes his first appearance in "The Monkey Prince Hates Superheroes"

DC VS Vampires (2021)

Damian makes appearances throughout this elseworlds book, but the one-shot DC VS Vampires: Hunters (2022) is vampire Damian-centric!

Batman: Black and White (2021) #5

“Father & Son Outing” short story written and drawn by Jorge Jimenez!

Batman: Urban Legends (2021) #20-23

#20 “My Son” Talia and Bruce focus

#20 - 23 “The Murder Club” 4 Parts

Tiny Titans (2008) #33, #39, #45, #47

a few appearances but SO CUTE, LOOK AT HIM

*Batman and Robin (2011) reading guide

i'm mostly trying to avoid the "what did i just walk in on?" kinda feeling when i first started reading comics LOL i'll list the comics where events take place, but you don't necessarily have to read them to go through this book since things are usually explained as quickly as possible in the first page or so

#0 Someday Never Comes

Talia and baby Damian before he grows up to meet Bruce

#1-8 Born to Kill

just an incredibly solid arc for Bruce and Damian!

#9 Court of Owls Tie-In Issue

Damian VS a Court of Owls Talon. While Bruce is occupied with a home invasion of Talons, Alfred makes a call for allies to protect targeted Gotham public figures from Talons. During Batman (2011) #1-11

#10-12 Terminus

Damian challenges the previous Robins sans Steph

Batman Incorporated (2012) is occurring at this time where Talia has placed a bounty on Damian and there's small mentions of that

#13-14 Eclipsed/Devoured

mostly solitary arc! end of it leads into the Death of the Family event

#15-16 Death of the Family Tie-In Issues

Damian and Joker face-off... Alfred's been kidnapped by the Joker, and Damian goes looking for him. During Batman (2011) #13-17

#17 Life is but a Dream - Death of the Family Epilogue

a sort of subconscious check-in through the dreams of Damian, Alfred, and Bruce. Nightwing (2011) #17 features Damian encouraging Dick after Death of the Family events

#18 Undone "Requiem"

Bruce dealing with Damian's death from Batman Incorporated #8

other reactions to Damian's death: Dick in Nightwing (2011) #18, Tim in Teen Titans (2011) #18

#19-23 Denial, Rage, The Bargain, Despair, Acceptance

Bruce through the stages of grief with some batfam appearances in each. also introduces Carrie Kelley into continuity as Damian's acting tutor.

Batman (2011) #19-20 also addresses Bruce's loss

#23.1-23.4

these could be skipped - villain stories, also related to Forever Evil event.

#24-28 The Big Burn

optional Batman and Two-Face/Harvey Dent arc, #23.1 is part of this story!

Damian's resurrection and return

#29-32 The Hunt for Robin

Ras took Talia and Damian's bodies from their graves, and Bruce goes after him.

-> Robin Rises: Omega

continues events from #32. if you don't want to jump to this, basically, Glorious Godfrey and a bunch of parademons from Apokolips are here for a chaos shard which Ra's put in Damian's sarcophagus. at some point, Bruce gets a hold of the shard where he sees a vision that leads him to believe Damian can be resurrected. Godfrey ends up taking the shard, along with Damian's body since it was emitting the same energy.

#33-37 Robin Rises

Bruce hellbent on retrieving Damian from Apokolips and reviving him

-> Robin Rises: Alpha

necessary to read and continues events from #37! Damian's back with a bang lol

#38-40 Superpower

Damian adjusting to having superpowers and being alive again

Annual #1 2013 Batman Impossible

sweet (and funny) one-shot of Damian sending Bruce on a meaningful scavenger hunt around the world while Damian gets to be the cutest Batman for a bit

Annual #2 2014 Batman and Robin: Week One

one-shot takes place during Damian's absence. after Bruce and Alfred find a mystery gift left for Dick, Dick recounts a story he had told Damian from his Robin days.

Annual #3 2015 Moonshot

one-shot Batman and Robin adventure on the moon!

...and of course after Batman and Robin (2011), Damian's story continues in his first solo Robin: Son of Batman (2015)!

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

The first presidential election in which every state picked their electors via statewide popular vote was 1868. Before that, at least one state had the legislature pick the winner (South Carolina was the last holdout). Back then, only white men over 21 could vote, but the electorate saw significant boosts in 1920 with the passage of the 19th amendment (white women) and 1972 following the civil rights movement (black men and women) and the passage of the 26th amendment (18 year olds).

The total number of eligible voters grows with the overall population of the country, and looking at the data since 1972 we can predict that there will be about 244 million eligible voters this year.

But eligibility is only half the equation. Actual voter turnout never even comes close to 100%. Since 1972, it has never gone above 66.6% (in 2020), averaging 57.2%

57.2% of 244 million voters would mean we'd see 140 million votes cast in November, but that's actually way lower than we would expect. Let's ignore turnout percentage (which fluctuates wildly between 50% and 60%) and look instead at the actual number of votes cast:

There were over 158 million votes cast in 2020, and given that we saw record turnout of 66.6% due to a number of simultaneous crises, it makes perfect sense that the total number of votes cast in 2024 would fall, but not all the way down to 140 million. Between 1984 and 1988, the popular vote dropped by 1 million. Between 1992 and 1996, the popular vote dropped by 8 million. Between 2008 and 2012, the popular vote dropped by 2 million. No polls seem to indicate an 18 million dropoff in voter turnout this year; that would be unprecedented. According to the line of best fit, it is much more likely that we'll see ballpark 150 million votes cast, probably closer to 151 million. That would indicate a voter turnout of around 62%, which is higher than average but more realistic.

Since 1972, the two major parties combine to win an average of 95.5% of the popular vote per election. Third party candidates do well in waves, with considerable showings (over 5%) in 1980, 1992, 1996, and 2016. Since Kennedy dropped out of the race and neither the Libertarians nor the Greens are making waves as spoilers this year, we can assume that the Democrats and Republicans will have a better than average showing. Looking at the trend lines for major and third party percentages, it would show Kamala Harris receiving 51.7% of the vote (about 78 million), Donald Trump receiving 45.0% (about 68 million), and third party candidates combining for 3.3% (about 5 million).

To scale:

I do not believe that the actual final results will be anywhere close to this prediction. I think that these extrapolations show Kamala Harris overperforming by a considerable amount. She will almost certainly win the popular vote, I don't doubt that, but I think she will win a plurality instead of a majority (under 50%). Donald Trump is not wildly more or less popular than he was the last two times, in which he received 46.1% and 46.8% of the vote, so I do not think it is unreasonable to assume he will receive a minimum of 47% this year, given demographic shifts among suburban voters, black men and Hispanics. He may even perform better than that, but not better than Harris. I would bet my life on that fact. Democrats have won the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 elections, and polls do not show Trump magically coming up from behind on his third try.

When we exclude years with exceptionally high third party turnout, the major parties average 98.3% instead of 95.5% since 1972, but we can't just pick and choose what data to include. At this point, I'm deviating from the hard numbers and am operating more on vibes. Third party turnout will be lower than in 2016 (5.7%), but probably higher than in 2020 (1.8%). If we take the 3.3% figure from the trend lines, that would mean Harris and Trump would receive a combined 96.7% (146 million votes). If we assume Trump has a floor of 47% support (about 71 million votes), then the best Harris could do is 49.7% (about 75 million votes). There is no conceivable scenario where Trump wins the popular vote, so his ceiling (and Harris's floor) is something like 48.35% (73 million votes each).

The only president to win two non-consecutive terms was Grover Cleveland, but he actually won the popular vote all three times he ran, 1884 (48.8%), 1888 (48.6%, lost the electoral college), and 1892 (46.0%). Trump is the exact opposite, having NEVER won the popular vote but still won the electoral college regardless. Franklin Roosevelt won four times in a row, 1932 (57.4%), 1936 (60.8%), 1940 (54.7%), and 1944 (53.4%). There was a major dropoff between his second and third bid, even though he was ridiculously popular. Trump is NOT ridiculously popular, but I don't think he's going to perform worse this time. Cleveland performed worse because there was a significant third party challenger, and FDR was the first sitting incumbent to run for a third term (at a time when WW2 was ramping up and voters were afraid of America joining). Trump does not have either of these disadvantages, so while it's possible he could perform worse than in 2020, I think Harris has so much baggage attached to her name (real and imaginary) that Trump will do better than he did against Clinton or Biden. A lot of voters are fed up with him, but that doesn't mean they will support Harris.

I have no real data to confirm these confidence intervals, but this what I would expect next month

47.0% to 48.3% for Trump (71 million to 73 million), I'd say 48.0% (72.5 million)

48.4% to 49.7% for Harris (73 million to 75 million), I'd say 48.7% (73.5 million)

Now, the electoral college is anybody's guess! Who fuckin knows?

[everythingbap]

Bang Yongguk Reddit AMA Part 1

A/N: translations may have inaccuracies. Part 2 here!

Hey guys! This is BANG YONGGUK, back again for another round of AMA with you 💪

I’m off to my world tour, BANG YONGGUK ‘III’ THE US TOUR 2024 very soon.

Ask me anything, and I’ll try my best to answer all of your questions!

Don’t forget to grab your tickets for our tour if you're in the US!

04/05 BROOKLYN🎟️ https://livemu.sc/4a0bdrG

04/07 LOUISVILLE🎟️ https://bit.ly/49TB9VU

04/09 CHICAGO🎟️ https://bit.ly/432IrV6

04/12 ORLANDO🎟️ https://bit.ly/48Di5Kx

04/14 DALLAS🎟️ https://livemu.sc/3wxC5AT

04/17 HOUSTON🎟️ https://bit.ly/3T6x2yS

04/19 PHOENIX🎟️ https://bit.ly/3TlTNQL

04/21 LAS VEGAS🎟️ https://bit.ly/4c2SmhG

04/23 SACRAMENTO🎟️ https://bit.ly/3TmZYnM

04/26 SAN DIEGO🎟️ https://bit.ly/431DPyE

04/28 LOS ANGELES🎟️ https://bit.ly/3V9LCZr

Meet & Greet🎟️ https://mmt.fans/bwkW

Also, stay tuned for my latest album, [3], releasing March 31st!

I’m always active on socials. Follow me to stay tuned for cool performances and more music!

Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/bangstergram/]

Twitter: [https://twitter.com/BAP_Bangyongguk]

Youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/@bangyg]

--

BABY: Hi Yongguk! I've been a fan of you since you've been in B.A.P, and I have been supporting you ever since! Congratulations on having another world tour, I wish I could see you perform live one day though. I have a few questions though.

1- How fun was it to produce and create your upcoming album? 2- Do you have any advice for getting through the day when things are stressful? 3- Are there any songs from your career that you wish you could've went back and remade?

Thank you so much for being a part of my life and thank you for your hard work. I hope your upcoming world tour goes well!

BYG: 크레에이티브 디렉터로 다시 복귀할 수 있어서 이번 앨범은 과정은 힘들었지만 즐거웠던 것 같아요. 스트레스는 내가 무시하는 것 중 하나야. 가만히 명상해보자. 리메이크 가능하다면 내 첫 정규앨범 BANGYONGGUK을 리믹스해서 LP로 만들고 싶네. I think it was hard but fun to be back as creative director for this album. Stress is among the things I ignore. Let's try and meditate. If a remake were possible, I'd like to remix my first album BANGYONGGUK and make it into an LP.

--

BABY: Hiiiii! Could you please sing Going Crazy or 4:AM at your tour? I know it’s difficult the second one, but how do you feel about it now?

BYG: 아마 감정적으로는 힘들겠지만 4:44를 부를수 있을 것 같아요. It's probably hard emotionally, but I think I could sing AM 4:44.

--

BABY: 오빠 행복하세요? ❤️ Oppa, are you happy? ❤️

BYG:

--

BABY: Hello Yongguk!! Who are your favorite artists at the moment? Do you have any recommendations?

And do you plan on doing a Latam tour?

BYG: 몇 년째 계획만 되고 있네. 나 언제 시작할 수 있을까? I've only been planning for years. When can I start?

--

BABY: 꼭 해보고 싶었고 지금까지 해볼 수 없었던 일이 있을까용? Is there something you really wanted to do until now but couldn't?

BYG: 언제까지 가능할지 모르지만 아직까진 나는 항상 100% 노력했어요. I don't know how long something is possible, but so far I've always tried 100%.

--

BABY: And you have great fingernails, how do you take care of them??? My nails are terrible ����

BYG: 손톱을 사랑해주세요. Please love your fingernails.

--

BABY: Hi! I've been a BABY since 2012 and I've loved listening to your solo music, I'm so excited for the new album!

What's your favorite part of touring? Is there anything that's hard about it?

BYG: 도시마다 색 다른 분위기를 느끼는 걸 좋아해요. 몸은 힘들지만 무대 위에서 여러분을 만날때 그걸 잊어버리는 것 같네요. I like feeling the different atmospheres of each city. It's tiring, but when I meet you all on stage, it seems I forget about that.

--

BABY: hi yongguk!! i've been a fan of B.A.P since debut and i honestly think B.A.P in Melbourne (2016) was the best concert i've ever been to!! it was my first as well :)

i'd like to ask, are there any scents that u're attached to? i.e. hold sentimental value or something that just improves your mood 😊

good luck w ur tour !!

BYG: 응 나는 바디로션과 향수 냄새를 오랫동안 바꾸지 않았는데 이건 집착에 일부인가 봐. Yeah, I haven't changed the scent of my body lotion and perfume in a long time, but it must be part of an obsession.

--

BABY: Hello Yongguk!

What song of yours do you find most difficult to perform? (Physically and/or emotionally).

I hope you have a great tour ♥️

BYG: AM 4:44

--

BABY: Hi Yongguk, your music has helped me a lot through tough times. Thank you for being you and for sharing your lovely self with the world through your music! 💫❤️‍🔥

I just want to ask, what advice would you give to other aspiring artists and musicians?

BYG: 스스로에게 계속 도전하세요. 누군가의 조언 보다 스스로의 목소리에 귀 기울이세요. 예술은 A.I가 대체할 수 없을 거라고 생각해. 널 알아봐 줄 1명의 팬만 있다면 성공한 거야. 힘내고 사랑하자. Keep challening yourself. Listen to your own voice instead of someone else's advice. I don't think AI can replace art. If you have even just one fan who recognizes you, you're a success. Let's cheer up and love each other.

--

BABY: What is your favourite Emoji you like best?

BYG:

--

BABY: 미국에 가기전에 한국에서 마지막 식사로 뭐 먹을까여?ㅋㅋㅋ What should I eat for my last meal in Korea before I go to the U.S.? Hehe

BYG: 라면? Ramyeon?

--

BABY: If you could be any animal for a day, what animal would you choose?

BYG:

--

BABY: Yongguk! What’s your comfort tv show? <3

BYG: 날 위한 쇼는 내가 직접 만들어야할것 같아. 나 잘 알잖아요? I think I have to make a show for myself. You know me well, right?

--

BABY: hello Yongguk!! i wish you the best for your tour! i was wondering if you had any future collabs planned 👀 ty!

BYG: 여름에 새로운 프로젝트를 기���하고 있네? I have plans for a new project in summer?

--

BABY: Hi! Thank you for doing an AMA! Do you do anything special to take care of your voice while you tour?

BYG: 아마 투어가 시작되면 열심히 뜨거운 차를 마셔야 할꺼야. I should probably drink a lot of hot tea when my tour starts.

--

BABY: What is something on your bucket list?

BYG: 여름에 알게 될 거예요. You'll find out in summer.

--

BABY: What superpower would you love to have?

BYG: 시공간을 조종하고 싶네요. I want to manipulate time and space.

--

BABY: yongguk, you’ve been my biggest inspiration for the longest time who is your inspiration in music or do you just go with your own vibe these days?

BYG: 최근에는 월드투어가 큰 영감을 줬던 것 같네요? I think the world tour has been a big inspiration lately?

--

BABY: 안녕 방용국 오빠 ! Hello Bang Yongguk-oppa !

Do you have any plans in the future to film another documentary like "Something to Talk About?"

It would be interesting to see your progression as a person and as an artist since 2019!

감사합니다! 💚 Thank you! 💚

BYG: 새로운 다큐멘터리를 보게 된다면 아마 3-4년은 걸릴 거예요. I think it will probably take around 3-4 years to see a new documentary.

--

BABY: Hello Yongguk! Excited for your tour. What's one song you always look forward to performing on stage?

BYG: 5번트랙 Track number 5

--

BABY: Hello Yongguk! Are there any new genres of music you would like to try or have tried and really liked?

BYG: 이번 앨범 재미있었어. 나오면 꼭 들어봐요. This album was fun. Take listen right when it comes out.

--

BABY: Hi, I hope you're doing well. I'm excited for your new album. You're an amazing artist who deserves the world. Also, I can't wait to see you in Sacramento <3. Thank you for touring.

Question: Which song is your favorite out of all the songs you've released?

I miss you 💚

BYG: 2 이후라면 이번 앨범이 될 것 같아요. If it's after 2, I think it'll be this album.

--

BABY: Hi!!! What song are you excited to perform on your tour?

BYG: 새 앨범 모든 노래를 부를 예정이야. I'm going to sing all the songs from my new album.

--

BABY: Hello greetings from Mexico. There is a small possibility of having a concert of yours this year in Latin America.

BYG: Movimiento는 라틴 아메리카 투어를 위해 작업한 곡 입니다. Movimiento is a song I worked on for Latin America.

--

BABY: hiii, i'm really curious about what's your favorite moment while you're producing a new song or overall a new ep/album? i love you and i'm really excited bc '3' :)

BYG: 발매 직전! Right before the release!

--

BABY: OHMYGOOOOOD?????? HELLO????

BYG:

--

BABY: Hi Yongguk! Love you loads! How has making music and composing melodies changed since writing and composing for a group to being solo? Would you say it's harder?

BYG: 그룹보다 혼자 부르는 곡을 만드는 게 더 쉽네요. 생각보다 그룹 음악은 오랜 시간 그 노래를 부를 친구들을 위해 고민해야 할 시간이 필요하니까. It's easier to make songs I sing alone than with a group. I need to worry about the songs that my friends will sing for a long time.

--

BABY: Can you recommend a “new ramen“ to try? (Not shin) 😄

BYG: 진 Jin

--

BABY: There is EP 2, and now EP 3. Where is EP 1?

Is there anything to keep you motivated to work & be productive? 

BYG: 1은 제 자신을 의미합니다 1 means myself

--

BABY: Hello Yongguk! I hope you are having a good day! Since you are Starting a new tour soon! I had some questions that i would love to ask you from last tour if its possible!

1- When you were in Lisbon, what did you liked the most? Would you go back if it was possible? 2- What is the most memorable memory of the "Colors of Bang" Tour?

BYG: 포르투갈 와인은 특별하다. 그리고 너희들 정말 열정적이었어. 다시 만나고 싶네요. Portuguese wine is special. And you all were very passionate. I want to meet you again.

--

BABY: Hi Yongguk! Thank you for doing this AMA! My question for you is:

Do you have any regrets in your career? What would you change if you could start all over again?

I've been a fan of you and B.A.P since debut! Stay healthy and happy! Love you lots! 💚

BYG: 지금까지 해온 모든일들은 내 자신을 위한 특별한 순간들이였어요. 절대 후회하지 않아요. Everything I've done has been a special moment for myself. I never regret it.

--

BABY: Will come to Canada? Please, please come to Toronto!!!!!

BYG: 내 계획 중에 캐나다도 다시 방문해야 할 곳이에요. Canada is one of the places I need to plan to visit again.

--

BABY: i have such a strong memory of the day “no mercy” came out & watching the MV at university. i also went straight from my college graduation to go see B.A.P in concert😂 thank you for bringing me so many great memories over the years! i hope you’re doing well🙂

is there any song that when you listen, reminds you of a specific time in your life - good or bad?

BYG: 요즘 봄이 오니까 Carnival 앨범 생각 많이 나네요 These days with spring coming, I think about our album Carnival a lot

--

BABY: 이번 앨범이 내 최애앨범 될 것 같음…😍 I think this album will be my favorite...😍

BYG: 음악적으로 나도 그런 것 같아. Musically speaking, I would agree.

--

BABY: Hi king💚👑~~ As a Tunisian🇹🇳 Baby, I want to ask if you consider adding "North Africa" to your world tour list in the future! And yes love you and good luck for "3" I can't wait for it 🥹💚🔥

BYG: 모로코는 내 촬영지 후보 중 하나였어. 공연으로 북아프리카는 꼭 방문해보고 싶네요. Morocco was one of the candidates for a shooting site. I really want to visit North Africa for a performance.

--

BABY: I remember you once asked us if we prefer "The old BANG YONGGUK" or "Today's BANG YONGGUK". Does this have something to do with your comeback? Maybe a change of your music style ? What was your inspiration this time?

BYG: 내가 싫어하던 것들을 이번 앨범에 다 해본 것 같아. I think for this album I tried out everything I used to dislike.

--

BABY: Hi Yongguk! I’ve been a fan for quite a few years now, I hope everything is well with you and I wish you luck on your tour 🫶🏻

My question is, what is one song that is on repeat for you right now?

BYG: 새 앨범 노래들인데 가사가 잘 안 외워지네. 가사를 내가 쓰더라도 그건 다른 문제네요. When it's songs from a new album, the lyrics won't get in [my head] well. If I write the lyrics myself, it's a different matter.

--

BABY: How do you decide who to feature in your songs?

BYG: 그들의 음악을 오랫동안 듣고 어울리는 새 곡을 만들기 위해 노력하는 것 같아요. I think I listen to their music for a long time and try to make a song that fits them.

--

BABY: How did you feel when you were filming for NUMB? I'm afraid of heights. Seeing you near the edge of the cliff scared me 😅 I think NUMB will be my favorite ❤️

BYG: 그곳은 numb라는 노래를 위한 최적의 장소였어. That place was the best location for the song numb.

--

BABY: How many songs from BYG III album will you be singing for the tour?

BYG: 모두 All of them

[20dollarlolita]

Did you know that sometimes, you do something totally normal in the tumblr editor, something that you could accidentally do very easily, and it decides to eat your entire post? It just deleted over an hour of work? Did you know that it does that?

Isn't that swell?

THE RANDOM LOLITA 30 DAY CHALLENGE, DAY 10: 10 THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IN LOLITA.

We're doing a challenge from 2011 and we're doing it very slowly. We're actually doing it even slower, because we wrote half of this post, hit ctrl+z, and tumblr just fucking deleted it with no way to get it back. Glorious. 10/10, fucking hate it.

This challenge number was a little weird for me. I've been doing lolita since 2011, and the answers that I would have given in 2011 are probably very different than the ones I'm giving in 2023. Having that framing makes me feel very nostalgic.

Let's get into it. If tumblr eats this again, I will be throwing the entire website out the door.

Number 1) A comfortable petticoat that stays the right shape, and that I don't have to worry about crushing.

Back in my early days, one of the first things that I bought for lolita fashion was a real petticoat. One of the most critical elements of a lolita fashion look is the shape, and having a foundation that gave me the right shape helped things that I was making look a lot more like real lolita.

(Early 2012)

My first ever petticoat, which is under the red dress, was made out of muslin and some walmart tulle. I believe it used this tutorial. While that dress wasn't ever going to look really lolita super well, the petticoat issue sure isn't helping.

These days I have a Wunderwelt petticoat that I got in 2016, and it's so very enjoyable to have a petticoat where the only concern is that it might be too big for a dress. I love how little work it takes to add the proper shape to a coord.

Number 2) Definitely lolita shoes.

When I wear lolita out and about, I've noticed that one of the things that changes stranger's reactions is the shoes. If I've got some distinctly lolita shoes, like RHS, people tend to ask if it's a fashion. If I'm wearing lolitable shoes that could also work in a non-lolita outfit, I get asked what costume I'm wearing.

(Late 2013)

Baby lolita me had a pair of black Mary Jane pumps from Target, and those were my lolita shoes for several months. In my first ever Bodyline order, I got some brown tea parties, and about a year later I bought these pink RHS and white flats.

And that was it. That was what I owned for lolita shoes from 2013 to 2016. Coords were black, brown, pink, white, or else I wore shoes that didn't match. Occasionally I'd go crazy and get some short boots into the mix, but this was my lolita shoe collection.

I have at least four tutorials in this blog about how to fix shoes, because I don't let my shoes die until they're absolutely dead and gone. Those brown tea parties are now painted gold and have been turned into very dangerous roller skates. I had to take a five-ish mile offroad hike in the white ones, which destroyed the bottoms as well as permanently staining the ribbon frill brown. These are, to this day, the only lolita shoes that I've ever thrown away. The other two pairs of shoes I still have.

My closet doesn't look like a BTSSB show room because I have to keep the rubbermaid tub of skulls somewhere, and the closet seems the best place.

In the seven years since I started buying lolita shoes again, I've collected several pairs. A lot of these pairs were in the $5-$30 price range, and none of them have been disposed of. This is just seven years of collecting shoes.

Number 3) Little details that are fast to add to a coord.

So, TJ Maxx sells these little clip on ribbon bows in their baby department, and they're my new favorite fast and easy accessory. They can go in your hair. They can go on your dress. They can go on your shoes. It's wonderful.

I've said a whole lot that making a lolita coord is about adding all the details that you think you should add, and then adding 3-5 more details. It's very easy to underestimate how detailed a handmade lolita piece should be.

Something that I didn't fully appreciate until recently, at least not to the extent that I currently appreciate it, is how much your overall coordinate can benefit from the same thing. If you CAN throw on some little extra bows and bracelets, it generally looks better if you do that.

I have very small wrists (both wrists together cannot hold a 4-week old kitten) and jingling loose bracelets often drive me nuts. I finally found out that stretch bracelets meant for kids will fit on my wrists, won't jinglejangle, and also won't pinch. As a bonus, they're like $1 for a 2-pack, so I went a little bit nuts stocking up on them.

I've got a couple of tutorials on making your own cheap, small details that you can just plop onto as many coords as you'd like.

Number 4) Sewing machine.

(Feb 2011)

My first lolita dress was handmade. Making my own garments and accessories has always been an important part of this fashion for me. I don't have as much to say about this, because it's just so constantly present in everything that I do.

I've learned about lolita fashion by sewing it, and I've learned about sewing by sewing lolita fashion.

(October 2010)

I made my first lolita dress on a pretty basic sewing machine (the precursor to the Janome 3160QDC). I've since sideways-graded to a really basic 80's Singer. Despite having a very fancy embroidery machine, I don't sew on it. My last service said I've done 5 hours of sewing and 170 hours of embroidery on that machine. I know what I need, and I have what I need.

Number 5) Five Below's $5 bike shorts

They're $5. They come in every color.

Your tights falling down? Bike shorts. Your bloomers pretty annoying to wash and so you want to keep them off your skin to avoid having to wash our sweat stains? Your car a little bit funky and you might need to lie down on the ground to change your tire? Bike shorts. Little old lady in a wheelchair might pick up your skirt to see if you're wearing pantaloons? and you're not wearing pantaloons? You're never going to be more glad that you have bike shorts.

When I was new to lolita and like 12 years stupider than I now am, I had smaller petticoats, and always figured that high-coverage tights and standard underoos were modesty enough, with bloomers being necessary for coords with socks. Get a fuller petticoat, and you stop feeling like that. Bike shorts at Target were like $15 a pair, because they're designed to be comfortable to wear when you're riding a bike. I'm not riding a bike. I'm walking through walmart to buy some milk. I'm not going fast because I have 5" of fake wood glued to the bottom of my foot. I don't need your comfort features. I need $5 bike shorts.

These have pockets in them so that you can stash emergency money or a fortune you got from Panda Express in 2020 that says, "Be ready to take an important journey soon," on it.

Yes, the pantaloons thing happened to me, and I actually was wearing bloomers. Yes, the woman pushing the tiny old lady in the wheelchair clearly had never been more embarrassed in her life.

Number 6) Men's undershirts.

Call it a singlet, call it an a-shirt, please don't call it a wifebeater. These things are made of a ribbed knit that stretches to accommodate boobs and curves very well. They're meant to be washed the heck out of. I can't throw my dresses into the washing machine on the crazy hard cycle and throw them in a hot dryer and figure whatever happens happens, but these things are THREE. DOLLARS. EACH. A whole lot of not perfect things can be forgiven when the under shirt is $3.

The neck doesn't work on OPs or some blouses, but they're also three dollars each, so I wear them any time I can. Women's undershirts are $12-18 EACH so I can't just buy 30 of them. If you want some bonus armpit protections, men's t-shirt undershirts are only like $5 each.

Number 7) Oxiclean.

A lot of lolita fashion is about our super fancy, super detailed prints. These are prints that look lovely when you're up close to them, so it's important to not have dingy and dirty and faded prints, especially when you paid good money for that printing. All hail Oxiclean.

I went to go take a picture of the jumbo boxes of oxiclean that I buy, but it looks like someone threw the box on the ground and then went to lie in her bed like nothing bad happened. (She wasn't hurt and I cleaned it up so she couldn't get it on her paws and lick it).

Also yes, my cat has her own little personal heater. It turns off if it's tipped over, so she will turn it off whenever she gets too hot.

Number 8) Parasols.

First of all, it turns out that finding offbrand parasols for lolita is a super cool challenge. They're not very common, so when you do find one, it feels like a big accomplishment.

I love parasols for a lot of reasons. I was going to get coffee with a friend, and someone was acting kind of strangely outside the shop. I liked that I had something in my hands to potentially use to keep that person away from me if they decided to approach me way too quickly. My doctor and I thought for a while that I had a condition where if I went in the sun, my skin attacked my internal organs, so I started carrying umbrellas for that. It's very sunny where I live. Before I lived here, I lived where it was very rainy, and having a nice couple of ruffled RainStoppers was good to have on hand.

(May 2011 | Sept 2013) I've actually collected parasols for longer than I've really been into lolita. Pic on the left was pre-lolita times. I absolutely loved that parasol and took it everywhere that I could. Pic on the right is the earliest picture I could find of my white RainStoppers that I got at Target, which I still have somewhere in my car. Mostly that pic is there because of my cats. Also the pictures just felt like a nice weird little bit of symmetry.

Anyway, when someone's taking a pic of you without asking, you can block it with your parasol. My relationship with parasols in lolita is complicated, because I feel like I shouldn't need to have a weapon with me, but here we are.

Number 9) All the info that baby me chronicled. Everything I've learned and everything that I didn't used to know. I have so much fun looking at my old cringe coords and all of the things I did that I know are wrong now. I really miss the way I fearlessly tried things out and the rate at which I churned out new pieces. There's some pieces that I don't have anymore and I miss those things. I used to have some old school AP socks that I have no clue where they are. Seeing the way I used to have my bedroom set up so that I'd still have space to sew. Looking at the dates on pictures and thinking about what I was doing back then. Most of these pictures are from back when cell phone cameras were awful, and I've had to edit all of them to get better exposure before putting them up. There's memories I have of us all carrying around digital cameras to save things, because cell phones just weren't there yet (also some of us didn't have pix messaging plans and had to pay 25 cents per picture to get them to our computers). I looked at the bottom of my pink RHS the other day and the tread's all the way worn off. That's so interesting to me, that I've worn pink-shoe lolita enough that I completely wore the tread off.

Jan 1, 2014 "Sometimes the best thing ever is to walk into Starbucks and watch a five year old’s eyes go as wide as they can, point at you, and say loudly “Mom, is that a real person?” Sometimes the best part is watching the mom go BEET red."

I remember that event so specifically. It was one of the first times I'd actually worn the head-eating bow in public. It took me several years to warm up to the head-eaters. I remember exactly what the mom and the kid looked like, but also until I read this post, I'd completely forgotten about this whole incident.

Number 10)

This blog, and the people who read it, interact with it, comment on it.

I really cannot explain how amazing this community is to me. I think the first time I saw someone link someone else a tutorial I made was just a couple of years ago. It was so exciting. Every time i meet someone who is afraid to get into lolita fashion due to the expense, and I'm able to tell them that there's a whole COMMUNITY of people who want to do lolita for less, it's amazing. I started this blog because I felt like I could make myself some accessories for not a lot of money, and I just needed the motivation to do it. But now it's so much better than that. I'm still making things for me. I make things I want and things that I'll use and things that I can make. But I'm also making them for other people, who also need the same kind of help. I teach myself new things so that I can answer questions I've been asked. Every time I have to research an answer for someone, that person has helped me grow.

It's just amazing. Thank you.

[alittledizzy]

you know for years when I was younger, I was convinced they were genuinely just really good friends and accepted the vday vid as April fools. I admired their friendship and I guess I just thought I better believe what they tell me and Dans 2012 tumblr/live shows rants about how he’s straight didn’t help (now we obviously know why he acted that way). Their old formspring answers about being bi and implying there was something more between them must’ve been them being young and joking online for the lolz. Dan seemed annoyed & said they were just joking so I must believe him

BUT I always thought… all best friends separate and get their own partners/houses eventually. How would these 2 cope? They seem too intertwined. I literally couldn’t imagine either of them having a serious relationship with someone else (looking back, I couldn’t picture them settling with a girl, didn’t make sense in my head with how they acted, makes sense in hindsight) because I’m like…how would that person even compare?! They’d be a mega third wheel and would never be able to have a third of the connection d&p share. Would you even WANT to come into that knowing deep down you’d never compete and would never be their person fully. Then like 2016+ happens & I’m like.. wait why are these guys still living together and joking about getting a dog. Why are they moving again together? Poor their future partners, will never come first. Lol. How would they have time to meet a future partner and would they be ok with these guys intense bond?

Anyways, fast forward, I’m happy they’ve settled into their forever home and will be with each other for the rest of their lives. I truly admire their bond. The way they portray their relationship is really smart imo. If you watch them & have been there, you know, but to an outsider they probably dont. And good for them, they deserve their boundaries 🫶🏻

this is such a wholesome progression of thoughts. like... i don't at all blame people that thought the exact same way you did back in the early days! for a while it seems like that would have been the logical conclusion. and also one that i, as an outsider, assumed: these guys were queerbaiting just like joe and caspar and smosh and every other m/m white guy youtube duo

so it definitely took - and may still take - some looking at the situation more closely to realize there's substance there, and a lot of it.

[sneefsnorf]

films i think should have won best animated feature: 2001 - shrek deserved the w its a fun movie 2002 - again the winner was so deserved. spirited away is a masterpiece 2003 - i havent actually seen triplets of belleville but it looks soooo fucking good. but because i havent seen it i cant say it deserved it over finding nemo, which is indeed a very good movie. maybe this will change 2004 - the incredibles is such a good fucking movie obviously. shrek 2 is amazing but nowhere near the overall quality of the incredibles 2005 - now i love wallace and gromit with all my heart but miyazaki was robbed. still curse of the wererabbit is so much fun and its cool to see stop motion win 2006 - this year was dismal for animated films. i really dont care about monster house, cars or happy feet. honestly flushed away should have been nominated and won. i've also heard good things about paprika but i havent seen it so i'll hold my judgement 2007 - listen i loooooove ratatouille but is it better than persepolis? .......... no sorry. persepolis is the winner in my heart. but im not mad about ratatouille winning 2008 - what can i say we all know wall-e is a beautiful love story between a butch and a femme robot. deserved 2009 - fantastic mr fox was robbed sorry up fans 2010 - i havent watched the illusionist so again i cant say that deserved the oscar. i CAN say that httyd deserved it over toy story 3. ive never cared for the toy story franchise much 2011 - rango is a crazy weird movie but i think it is probably better than kung fu panda two. just a bit. there's something so interesting about the animation style. a cat in paris sounds fun as hell though 2012 - this year's nominees were also pretty weak. rise of the guardians was robbed. i guess of the actual nominees brave is probably my fave 2013 - who in their right mind voted for frozen over the wind rises. i just want to talk 2014 - song of the sea is a beautiful beautiful movie which is much better and more visually breathtaking than big hero 6. i have also heard incredible things about princess kaguya and i wouldnt be suprised if that was the more deserving movie. LEGO MOVIE WAS SNUBBED THOUGH I CANT BELIEVE THEY FUCKING LEFT OUT THE LEGO MOVIE. LEGO MOVIE SWEEP 4EVA 2015 - ive only seen the winner, inside out, which is a great movie, but i wouldnt be suprised if anomalisa or when marnie was there was better 2016 - ive always found zootopia's message pretty muddy even though its fun. my life as a courgette was robbed af. it is such a beautiful, heartfelt movie and the way it deals with horrific childhood trauma in such a sensitive and hopeful way. go watch my life as a courgette NOW 2017 - coco is a lovely movie but the breadwinner made me feel emotions i never want to experience again in the best way possible. cartoon saloon's visual style is one of the best out there and it needs more recognition 2018 - we all know into the spiderverse is one of the best animated movies of all time and none of the other nominees were even in the same ballpark. its laughable that ralph breaks the internet was even allowed to be in the same space as this masterpiece. 2019 - again i dont really care for toy story but i reeeeaaally didnt care for httyd3 or missing link. i havent seen ive lost my body so i cant say thats better, but i am looking forward to watching it. i would honestly say that klaus is the best one here, the style is so visually inventive and this take on santa claus is really great

2020 - listen soul is fun but it would have been so much better without all the little blue blobs. like the existential jazz shit was a 10/10 they should have just made a slice of life movie out of that. not an oscar winner imo. ESPEIALLY NOT compared to wolfwalkers. obviously im biased towards everything cartoon saloon but this movie is a culmination of their years-long efforts and a combination of what makes their movies great. im biased because im irish but the folklore balanced with the soul-crushing message on colonialism is just perfect storytelling. the animation is some of the best ive ever seen from 2d and oliver cromwell dies violently. literally the perfect movie it should have won over the usual "lets vote for pixar" 2021 - encanto is funsies but i have a soft spot for the mitchells vs the machines and think that should have won. luca is also pretty good. i havent seen flee but the idea of an animated documentary is so innovative so that probably also could have deserved it. im not mad that encanto won though. 2022 - i havent seen director man's pinnochio but ive heard its good so i cant dispute its win. but marel the shell with shoes on is my favourite from 22 2023 - honestly all the nominees except elemental are 10/10s but the competition was really only between spiderverse and boy and the heron. my personal fav out of the 2 is spiderverse but i totally understand why miyazaki won and im glad he's getting recognition from the academy again. i wanna see more love for robot dreams though. and of course nimona is bombastic. fuck disney 4eva

ok thats it thank you for reading my rant

[kuwdoravids]

Year in Vidding Review: 2023

Year-end round-up/meme: 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

April What (Yennefer of Vengerberg) The Witcher Netflix Making of "What" commentary: do it for the process (and for Yennefer!) The Witcher Netflix Mr. Brightside (Jaskier/Geralt/Yennefer) The Witcher Netflix

June Skipping Stones (Fringilla Vigo) The Witcher Netflix

August In Our Wake (Vilgefortz/Geralt) The Witcher Netflix

December [Festivid Assignment] - redacted until reveals! [Festivid Treat] - redacted until reveals!

Review questions under the cut.

Random process notes:

Well, I have been kidding for *counts* 16 years now?? I guess I kind of know what I’m doing when I have a good idea of what a vid is like inside my head. Which is why most of these vids took less than a week to make and none of them were on my actual to-make list that I had written down at the beginning of the year. Flighty ADHD/anxiety brain just latching onto the feelings of the moment and zooming across the timeline until I can call it done. I think I started two non-witcher vids during the year before Festivids but the witcher hyperfixation remains too strong. Everything else falling to the WIP piles. I tried to finish my Moonhaven vid but couldn’t focus. Tried to finish my Green Knight and Blade vids but no, my brain was more interested in writing +70k of fic this year, aha.

Overall thoughts:

HEY I made Festivid stuff! I can vid-non Witcher things! I was really worried there that my brain was just forever stuck on Witcher but! I did it.

Anyway. I really love vidding The Witcher Netflix and keep building up my clip gallery for easy reference for when I can settle in for the next witcher vid. I keep fuck up my exports though because I’m doing everything too quickly and not paying enough attention. So there’s some export-related things and a few minor clips I would have changed if I weren’t caught up in a in a rush. But overall I’m very, very happy with my crop of vids this year.

Favorite Vid:

Most of the time I have upwards of 8-16 vids a year and it’s easier to pick a favorite. When I do so few… they’re all my favorite. For different reasons.

For my Yennefer vid it’s my favorite editing.

For Mr. Brightside it’s my favorite song choice and tone (this is a cover in the style of The B-52s) for Jaskier.

My Fringilla vid — it’s my favorite thing that came together from all of the season footage of her character from seasons 1 and 2 and the song just makes me so happy that it tied everything together for her.

For the Vilgefortz/Geralt vid, oh it’s my favorite because it’s my pure id, heh, and my favorite build/pacing of all my vids.

My festivids are my favorite because I have been wanting to make things them for awhile now but hadn’t had the focus. And then I did!

Hardest to make:

The only thing that was hard was me exporting shitty stuff and not realizing it until days or weeks after I uploaded and crossposted. Anyway. I took my time with my festivid exports so those should look pretty good. Most successful:

They are all successful in my heart. I love them.

My best vid:

Probably my Fringilla or Vilgefortz/Geralt vid. I’m so happy how they turned out.

Most fun vid:

Mr. Brightside. I love playing with Jaskier’s humor with the song choice and the transitions.

Things I learned in 2023:

Mmm, I am still worked up about my fic WIPs and life anxieties that I wasn’t able to do more vidding things that I wanted. As for the projects themselves, I learned that it’s very handy to have a standing clip gallery all labelled and ready for when I want to make my next Witcher Netflix vid.

In 2024:

I always want to be ambitious in the new year but always end up wandering in completely unexpected directions. In any case I would love to finish my Moonhaven vid and get my brain in order to find the last of the Black Sails source I need for a vid idea that has been eating my brain for 4 months now. I also have my Philippa Eilhart Witcher vid I want to make as well as a season 3 Witcher Netflix vid too that’s taking up space in my brain.

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Yes, I've watched this full miniseries 37 times.

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched movies in a 20-year period. Today I will be talking about number two on my list: BBC and A&E’s 1995 mini-series Pride and Prejudice, directed by Simon Langton, written by Andrew Davies, based on the novel by Jane Austen, and starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet (Benjamin Whitrow and Alison Steadman) have five daughters: beautiful and kind Jane (Susannah Harker), witty and strong-willed Elizabeth (Jennifer Ehle), homely and puritanical Mary (Lucy Briers), well-meaning but naïve Kitty (Polly Maberly), and frivolous and spoiled Lydia (Julia Sawalha). Because there are no Bennet sons, Mr. Bennet’s estate is entailed upon his cousin Mr. Collins (David Bamber), and the daughters are aware that at least one of them must marry well to provide for the rest of the family after their father’s death. When wealthy and friendly Mr. Bingley (Crispin Bonham-Carter) moves into the neighborhood, he and Jane quickly hit it off, and the Bennets’ problems seem to be over. However, Mr. Bingley’s sisters, Caroline (Anna Chancellor) and Louisa (Lucy Robinson), along with his unpleasant, proud friend Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) have strong objections to the Bennet family, who strike them as undignified gold-diggers, even though Mr. Darcy unwillingly finds himself strangely drawn to Elizabeth.

Okay so yes, this is technically a TV show rather than a movie, but even though it’s over five hours long, I still tend to watch it as a movie, and it felt right to count it as such, although when I first wrote it down in my movie notebook, I never anticipated that it would become my second most-frequently-rewatched. I remember that my parents were really into it, and at some point when it was on TV after we finally got a VCR, they had taped it. I tried to watch it with them a few times when I was younger, but I found the flowery language difficult to understand, and I typically fell asleep in the middle without knowing what was going on. The first time I watched it and actually paid attention was in 2005, and the main thing I remember was that my dad assumed I knew the story by then and kept making spoilery comments. I don’t think I fully appreciated it at that point, but I definitely enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. I ended up watching it twice in that year and then five times in 2006, which is when it became one of my favorite stories. I read the book and watched a few other adaptations that year. In 2007 I only watched this series once, but that was also the year that my family ended up getting two male puppies, and after much deliberation about what to name them, we determined that Bingley and Darcy were the best names that went together and represented something we all enjoyed. After that, I watched it three times in 2008, once in 2009, twice in 2010, four times in 2011, twice in 2012, twice in 2013, four times in 2014, once in 2015, once in 2016, twice in 2017, once in 2018, three times in 2020, once in 2021, and twice in 2022. I don’t remember exactly when, but somehow between my siblings, my parents, and I, we ended up with three copies of this on DVD in addition to the taped one. I should also mention that I only counted it when I watched the whole thing from start to finish within a few days, so I’ve watched it like that 37 times, but I’ve definitely seen pieces of it way more than that. I keep waiting to get tired of watching it, but every time I put it on, it remains delightfully enjoyable.

I know that Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one of the most beloved stories in the English-speaking world, and probably beyond – although the number of people confused by my dogs’ names taught me that not everyone is particularly familiar with it – and that it has been adapted and retold dozens of times, and that fans of the story have very strong opinions about which is the “best” adaptation. The loudest debate is between this version and the 2005 film directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. The first time I watched that version was in 2006, in the midst of my mania for the 1995 version, and I thought it was terrible. I knew it had to be shorter for the feature film format, but they cut out so many of my favorite parts! It wasn’t until I rewatched the 2005 version in 2016 that I understood that the people who prefer that version love this story for very different reasons from me. If you’re mostly invested in the Elizabeth/Darcy romance, that’s the version for you. It’s all about the tension and chemistry between those two characters, and everyone else is kind of stuck in as an afterthought. But even though the Bennet daughters’ need to get married is central to the plot, I had never considered the main appeal of this story to be its romance. To 2023 me and you the listener, who know that I’m aromantic, that isn’t very surprising, but at the time it kind of blew my mind to learn that so many fans of the story are there for that slow burn. Even in 2012 to 2013, when The Lizzie Bennet Diaries was coming out, I figured the reason people were so obsessed with Darcy was because not seeing him until episode 60 added to his mystique. At the end of that show, I was way more concerned about Lydia’s story than Lizzie’s, and while I enjoyed seeing Lizzie and Darcy finally get together, it was more of a “yay, things are happy now” relief than squeeing over the adorable romance. Anyway, while I used to be one of those obnoxiously pretentious fans who maintained that the 1995 adaptation was way better than the 2005 one, now I’m more of the opinion that they’re both good, just different, and just because I prefer one over the other doesn’t actually make it better. So if you’re listening to this and are a huge fan of the 2005 version, or any other adaptation, know that I’m not trying to tell you you’re wrong. Ultimately, Pride and Prejudice is a great story with many layers, and I think it’s awesome that there have been so many different versions that emphasize different aspects.

Despite the fact that this version is quite long (although not nearly as long as the Lizzie Bennet Diaries), I personally love the pacing. The events of the story take place over about a year, and these six 55-minute episodes take their time bringing us through that year with the characters. Watching it now, I don’t understand how I ever fell asleep with it on as a child, because I am thoroughly engaged the whole way through. Sometimes I intend to only watch an episode or two at a time, but I end up sitting through the whole thing because I cannot tear myself away. These characters are just so fascinating, and the cast brings them to life so convincingly. In general, I try to separate actors from characters, but I will always associate this cast with this show. Part of that is because of how many times I’ve watched this, and another part is because most of these actors haven’t been in very many American films – with the major exception, of course, of Colin Firth, whose Hollywood career skyrocketed after the success of this series – so I haven’t seen them in many other things. But the main reason is because they all embody their characters so perfectly in this series that it’s hard to see them as actors. Every cast member fully committed to their character in a way that somehow makes them feel simultaneously larger than life and grounded in reality. Alison Steadman’s Mrs. Bennet in particular is over the top and ridiculous but manages to just barely remain believable. While the five Bennet sisters on the surface can be summarized by archetypes, they’re much deeper than they first appear, and I love the ways that both the writing and the performances gradually bring that out. Crispin Bonham-Carter perfectly embodies the puppy-dog friendliness and gullibility of Bingley, and Colin Firth nails Darcy’s transformation after Elizabeth calls him out. Benjamin Whitrow makes Mr. Bennet so likable that it took me a while to understand that part of the family’s plight is his fault. That kind of complexity is one of the major things that makes this movie so rewatchable. There are so many layers to every storyline and every character that you can’t possibly uncover them all in just a few views. There’s also a lot going on in the background – like, Mary doesn’t get very many lines, but I love watching her light up whenever Mr. Collins is around. The show is edited in such a way that the audience can see what every relevant character is thinking at all times, so that even when it’s difficult to understand the fancy dialogue, we still get what’s happening based on the characters’ reactions.

This adaptation receives a lot of praise for its faithfulness to the novel, but while it does follow the book quite closely, I don’t think it gets enough credit for the changes and additions it made that were still in the spirit of the original story. There is some dialogue that was taken word for word from the book, but Jane Austen tended to summarize conversations rather than transcribing them, so quite a bit of new dialogue needed to be added, and I personally find it difficult to tell where Jane Austen ends and Andrew Davies takes over. Austen didn’t write scenes that only featured male characters, claiming that she had no way of knowing how men spoke or behaved when there were no women present, but this show opens with a scene between Bingley and Darcy and focuses a bit more on their friendship than the book does. The change in this version that gets the most attention is when Darcy unexpectedly happens upon Elizabeth after having taken a swim in a lake on his property at Pemberley. I always just saw this as a silly way to add to the awkwardness of the situation, with Darcy trying to remain dignified in soaking, casual clothes, and it surprised me to learn that a lot of people love that scene because Colin Firth apparently looks very sexy in his wet shirt. The change that I personally find most interesting is in the letter that Darcy writes explaining himself to Elizabeth after she turns down his first proposal. In the book, he starts with the allegations about breaking up Jane and Bingley and then moves on to the more serious stuff about how Wickham (played by Adrian Lukis, who told Elizabeth that Darcy ruined his life) had tried to seduce Darcy’s younger sister. In this version, the letter starts with the Wickham stuff and ends with the Bingley stuff because we’re initially watching Darcy and flashbacks of his memories, and then halfway through revealing the letter to the audience, we see Darcy give it to Elizabeth, and then we see her reactions to reading his thoughts about her sister and the rest of her family, along with flashbacks of her memories. Darcy is rather arrogant when he talks about separating Bingley from Jane, so I feel like it makes a little more sense for him to start with that when he’s upset by Elizabeth’s rejection and then move on to the darker Wickham drama, but I really like the way this version shows their reactions to the part of the letter that’s most painful to each of them. And before he writes the letter, we see Darcy dwelling on Elizabeth’s words, and he reacts to what she said about Wickham by saying aloud to himself, “At least in that I may defend myself,” implying that the Wickham story is what prompted him to write the letter in the first place, explaining why he starts with that this time. So it’s true to the original without being constrained by the original, and I think that’s what makes it work so well as an adaptation.

As I said before, many people think of Pride and Prejudice as primarily a romantic story, and like, they’re not wrong, but there’s so much more to it than that. There’s a lot of focus on familial relationships, especially between the two eldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth, which I’ve always appreciated for its similarities to my relationship with my sister. It’s also worth noting that in this society, women in the Bennets’ station could not get a job, so they basically had two options: marry well, or depend on a male relative. Marriage was essentially a business arrangement, not necessarily a romantic one. In the first episode, Jane and Elizabeth have a conversation about their situation in which Elizabeth says that because Jane is the prettiest and sweetest of the sisters, she will need to be the one to marry very well, and Jane responds with, “But Lizzy, I would wish… I should so much like… to marry for love.” And then she makes this amazing face like she can hardly believe how unreasonable she’s being. Elizabeth assures her, “And so you shall, I’m sure. Only take care you fall in love with a man of good fortune.” But when Jane asks Elizabeth how she feels about marriage, she asserts, “I am determined that nothing but the very deepest love will induce me into matrimony. So, I shall end an old maid and teach your ten children to embroider cushions and play their instruments very ill!” And they laugh. But Elizabeth is completely serious, at least about the first part, as she demonstrates when she turns down two very lucrative marriage proposals that most sensible women in her position would have eagerly accepted. Both men – Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy – think they are doing her a great favor in offering their hand and are shocked by her refusal. Mr. Collins is a bit of a doofus, but he is also going to inherit her father’s house, and it would therefore be the honorable thing for him to marry one of the Bennet daughters so they could at least continue to live there after Mr. Bennet’s death. But Elizabeth knew he would make her miserable and was unwilling to put up with him merely for security. One could say she slapped amatonormativity in the face, and we love to see it. But interestingly, when Mr. Collins does get married, it’s to the very aro-coded Charlotte Lucas (played by Lucy Scott). Her good friend Elizabeth is utterly shocked that anyone, let alone someone she cares about, would agree to marry Mr. Collins. But Charlotte literally tells Lizzy, “I’m not romantic, you know. I never was.” Aromantic queen. And when Elizabeth vents to Jane about this, Jane has the great line, “You do not make allowances for differences of situation and temper.” Jane is the ally we all need. Later, when Elizabeth visits the Collinses, Charlotte makes it clear that she kind of just does her own thing and barely sees her husband, and Elizabeth feels bad for her friend, but honestly, Charlotte’s life doesn’t sound so bad to me. She has security, and her husband mostly leaves her alone. Things didn’t get much better for an introverted aroace woman in that society. Although part of me does still wish that Mary had ended up with Collins, since she also seems like an introvert on the aroace spectrum, but she actually likes him.

Elizabeth is the opposite of aroace, but the way she refuses to listen when society tells her she’s supposed to marry for money feels kind of similar to modern aroace people refusing to listen when society tells us we’re supposed to fall in romantic, sexual love. One of the things I appreciate most about this story is how it demonstrates that everyone and every relationship is different. Jane and Bingley immediately fall for each other and are perfectly compatible, but because they place so much trust in the people around them, it takes a while for them to officially get together. And I don’t just mean the way Bingley’s sisters and Darcy pulled him away – Elizabeth kept reassuring Jane that it was obvious how she felt about Bingley because it was obvious to her, and neither of them realized that a stranger would just see Jane’s kindness to Bingley as treating him like she treats everyone else. Elizabeth and Darcy are just as well suited for each other as Jane and Bingley are, but they both have some major growing to do – they need to overcome their pride and prejudice, if you will – before they can be together. And then there’s Lydia and Wickham, whose relationship is based mainly on lust. Neither of them seems to have learned anything between the beginning and end of their story, and it’s hard to imagine them being happy together. I used to think of Lydia as a spoiled brat who got what she deserved, but now I feel really bad for her. She was a 15-year-old child who was preyed upon by a grown man, and the best-case scenario was for her to marry him. Her plight demonstrates just how awful the societal rules regarding sex were for women, although the story barely seems aware of it. Her elopement is used as a plot device for Darcy to redeem himself, and the focus is all on how her sisters’ chances of good marriages have been damaged. It’s kind of odd that so many social norms are condemned in this story, and yet Lydia is portrayed as deserving of life-long punishment for daring to break one rule. Jane Austen was progressive, but not that progressive. So that’s the one part of this that bothers me. If you too want justice for Lydia, I highly recommend The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube, which does an excellent job of humanizing and redeeming her.

Anyway, back to this version, I love that it includes another couple that many adaptations leave out – Mr. and Mrs. Hurst. Mrs. Hurst is Mr. Bingley’s sister Louisa, who, along with their sister Caroline, loves to make fun of and criticize the Bennets. Caroline is partly motivated in her criticism by jealousy, since she has her eye on Darcy and can tell that he’s interested in Elizabeth. But Louisa seems to be motivated by pure snobbery. Which is kind of hilarious because her husband is basically a loser. He doesn’t seem to have an estate or anything, since they’re always staying with her brother, and all he does is drink, hunt, play cards, and sleep. It’s just like, girl, you have no room to criticize anyone’s situation or decisions when you’re stuck with that guy. This just further helps demonstrate that nobody fits society’s ideal, so maybe we should all just live and let live. The characters who remain proud and prejudiced at the end of the story are mostly bitter and unhappy, while those who have learned to look at things from other people’s perspectives are the happiest. And I really like that message.

And aside from the fascinating social commentary, this series is a delightfully fun watch, full of great moments that I will never tire of revisiting. I love, or at least am intrigued by, all the characters, from the leads to the most obscure side characters. She’s barely in it, but one of my favorites is Mrs. Bennet’s sister, Mrs. Phillips, played by Lynn Farleigh. Between her interactions with Mr. Collins, who accidentally insults her and then frustrates her as a whist partner, and the way she consoles Mrs. Bennet after Lydia runs off with Wickham, her lines are some of my favorites to quote. And of course, there’s Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Collins’s benefactor and Mr. Darcy’s aunt, played by Barbara Leigh-Hunt, who is so impressed with herself that she can’t tell that she’s almost as ridiculous as Mrs. Bennet. I love Sir William Lucas’s “Capital, capital!” and Maria Lucas’s commitment to making haste. Even the characters I don’t like as people are interesting to watch. Wickham is the worst, but I’m almost impressed by his gall. Like, the fact that he can face the Bennets after seducing Lydia as if he’s done nothing wrong is astounding. That man truly has no shame.

While I enjoy pretty much every moment of this series, I have to say that my favorite episode is the fifth one. It really doesn’t seem like it should be, since that’s when the whole Wickham/Lydia stuff is going on and everybody is super stressed, but it has so many of my favorite moments. Like when Elizabeth is playing the pianoforte at Pemberley and a random servant feels the need to stand right in front of her, bow to no one in particular, and then walk offscreen. I don’t know who that bowing servant is or why he does that but I love him. And then there’s the part when Elizabeth returns home with her aunt and uncle, and her cousins are so excited to see their parents again that one of them tries to do a cartwheel and ends up just falling over. And in another wonderful deviation from the novel, Mr. Collins decides to visit the Bennets, ostensibly to console them, but really to gloat that their problems aren’t his problems because he didn’t marry one of them. In the book, he does this by writing a letter, but it’s way funnier to have him visit them, and get to see Mary be impressed with him again. But the best part of that scene is that when Kitty sees his carriage coming, she declares, “I’m not going to sit with him for anyone!” and runs off to hide in the yard. Later, when he’s talking to the other sisters, we can see Kitty peering through the window to see if he’s still there, and it makes me laugh every time.

This show is so good that I would still love watching and quoting it anyway, but I do think my enjoyment has been at least somewhat enhanced by having dogs named after two of the characters. The names really suited them, too – dog Darcy was standoffish toward strangers, but with the people he liked he could be very cuddly, whereas Bingley would pretty much follow anyone around to see what they were up to. Bingley absolutely loved to play fetch, while Darcy would just stare at him like, “What is wrong with you?” in the perfect dog version of how their namesakes felt about dancing. Sadly, Darcy got cancer and died in 2020. Bingley is still hanging in there, although at 16 years old he’s definitely declining, and his fetching days are long behind him. There are a lot of differences between me and Jane Bennet, as she is clearly not aroace, but since we share the same first name and are both the eldest sibling, I’ve always felt a kinship to her, and it makes me happy that presumably we each got to watch our own Mr. Bingley grow old. I think after he inevitably passes, watching this series will probably feel bittersweet for a while, although I don’t think that will make me love it any less. I anticipate continuing to watch it at least once a year on the 26th of November, in honor of the Netherfield Ball, while fondly reminiscing about fetching with Bingley and snuggling with Darcy.

I could go on and on about this movie for hours, but ultimately, what it all boils down to is I love the 1995 Pride and Prejudice because it is an excellent story told extraordinarily well, about characters who are exactly as ridiculous and flawed as real people. So if you’ve thought about watching this version but have been turned off by the length, I highly recommend giving it a chance anyway. Yes it’s almost six hours long, but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend almost six hours. I was suffering from depression when I first got into this series, and it was one of the few things that made me feel good about life. And if I had not already been in love with this version, I probably wouldn’t have watched The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and therefore might never have gotten into Shipwrecked Comedy, and that would be very sad. So I have a lot to thank this miniseries for.

Thank you for listening to me discuss another of my most frequently rewatched movies. It’s a little hard for even me to believe that I’ve rewatched Pride and Prejudice more than any other movie besides one in the last 20 years, but I think it really is my second favorite movie, so it’s fitting that it ended up here. Now I only have one movie left, and it’s number one by a lot, with 51 views compared to P&P’s 37. So stay tuned for what is clearly my favorite film. And now, for the last time, as always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “My, she was yare.”

[myhumaninteractionsafterall]

Oct. in Film

Forgot to post my halloween doings. Only made it to 85 horror films and a few ere not actually horror films once I got into them.

8 is old so you probably already know how great it is. 23 was great fun. 37 and 40 were both good. I was told 50 was bad, but I actually highly recommend it. 58 was fun and a little different than I expected. 61 was good as was 63. 62 was kind of silly but I enjoyed it. And 65 was maybe the best one (plus it makes fetch happen at the end). 71 may become a new favorite series if they make follow ups. 79 was good and I had forgotten about the first movie in the series. I may watch both of those together next year.

Absentia (2011)

Alone in the Dark (1982)

The Amusement Park (1975)

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023)

Anything for Jackson (2020)

Appendage (2023)

Baby Ruby (2022)

Barbarian (2022)

The Beyond (1981)

The Blackening (2022)

Bones and All (2022)

The Boogeyman (2023)

Cam (2018)

Children of the Corn (2020)

The Cleansing Hour (2019)

Cobweb (2023)

Dashcam (2021)

The Deadly Spawn (1983)

Deliver Us (2023)

The Devil on Trial (2023)

Dolores Claiborne (1995)

Elevator Game (2023)

Evil Dead Rise (2023)

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

Gerald's Game (2017)

Gorgo (1961)

Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

Gretel & Hansel (2020)

Haunt (2019)

Haunted Mansion (2023)

The Haunting of Julia (1977)

Haxan (1922)

The Hidden (1987)

His House (2020)

Hush (2016)

Influencer (2022)

The Invitation (2022)

It Lives Inside (2023)

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

Little Bone Lodge (2023)

Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)

Malum (2023)

Maniac Cop (1988)

Maniac Cop 2 (1990)

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1992)

Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

Missing (2023)

Night of the Hunted (2023)

No One Will Save You (2023)

Nocebo (2022)

The Nun II (2023)

Older Gods (2023)

The Passenger (2023)

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines (2023)

The Puppetman (2023)

The Relic (1997)

Saw X (2023)

Scare Package (2019)

Scary Stories (2018)

Seance (2021)

Sick (2022)

Slaxx (2020)

The Sleepless Unrest: The Real Conjuring Home (2021)

Slotherhouse (2023)

Smile (2022)

Spree (2020)

The Stylist (2020)

Superhost (2021)

Tales of the Uncanny (2020)

Talk to Me (2022)

There's Something Wrong with the Children (2023)

Totally Killer (2023)

Unseen (2023)

Unwelcome (2022)

VHS 85 (2023)

Vicious Fun (2020)

Werewolf of London (1935)

The Wrath of Becky (2023)

We Have a Ghost (2023)

A Wounded Fawn (2022)

Wilkolak (2018)

Wrong Turn (2021)

Yogen (2004)

Zombie Girl: The Movie (2009)

[everydayesterday]

(My favourite films by decade are below the cut)

Tonight, I watched 'Safety Last!'—the slapstick silent comedy from 1923 with the indelible 20-minute clocktower scene—which means that I've now seen at least one film from every year since 1891, shortly after the invention of motion pictures (I've also seen the few recordings that came before that, such as the 12-slide ‘Horse in Motion,’ but there are gaps in the years, and we're talking about film segments that were roughly 2 seconds in length—films didn't even get to 3 minutes in length until 1898; the first hour-long movie was in 1906).  

I've got 916 movies on my list (it's probably more than that; my mind has no idea if it's ever seen a sequel).  I posted a while ago about only having 600 movies logged; to fill out the list I went through box office charts to identify what I'd likely seen in the 80s, 90s, 00s, etc. but had forgotten about.  

I was missing so many from the 90s, when we had our family movie nights.  On average, from 1989 to 2000, I saw 28 films per release year.  That dropped to 15 once I finished undergrad, and has remained pretty constant.  Going by the box office charts, I don't feel I've missed much of what I've wanted to see; there have been far too many sequels and metaverses, which simply don't interest me.  Over these COVID years, I've been watching more than just the newest releases, catching up on earlier decades; I've seen 173 that were released before I was born (most pre-1970 releases are from COVID onward).  

My favourite films by decade (because I like lists):  

1890-99: The Astronomer's Dream (1898).  Directed by Georges Méliès; the first film as real artistic production; multiple scenes and stages, special effects, 3 minutes.  

1900-09: The Great Train Robbery (1903).  The first epic action movie, at 13 minutes.  Fantastic production value; it's got better cinematography and editing than a lot of current movies.  

1910-19: I'm unsure.  ...perhaps The Conquest of the Pole (1912), another by Georges Méliès.  I need to see more films from this decade.  

1920-29: Wings (1928) and Metropolis (1927), take your pick.  One, the Oscars' first Best Picture winner and the benchmark for romantic drama (and with Clara Bow!), the other the most impressive film ever made.  

1930-39: My Man Godfrey (1936), my favourite Carole Lombard role (she's a fuckin' hoot!).  

1940-49: Citizen Kane (1941), Casablanca (1943) are both fine choices, but my choice would be His Girl Friday, because snappy dialogue is like a hit of cocaine.  

1950-59: Roman Holiday (1953).  Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck are both so charismatic; the chemistry here is palpable.  

1960-69: The Great Escape (1963) is an excellent pick, as is Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966).  I'd take The Graduate (1967); it felt so unique, not your typical love story, and Anne Bancroft's vulnerable seductiveness turn felt so dangerous.  

1970-79: This was such a great decade (Harold and Maude, Chinatown, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Up in Smoke) ...but Apocalypse Now (1979) is my all-time top pick.  

1980-89: The Gods Must Be Crazy (1984).  Timeless.  Wholesome.  Simple and effective.  

1990-99: I'm trying to pick one film out of the 300 that I've seen from this timeframe, so maybe one [Ed. note: or more] per year?  Edward Scissorhands (1990), Point Break (1991), Wayne's World (1992), Jurassic Park/Schindler's List (1993), The Madness of King George/The Hudsucker Proxy/Quiz Show/Malcolm X (1994), Babe (1995; yes, the pig movie), The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1996), Life is Beautiful (1997; La vita è bella), ...not sure on 1998...maybe Waking Ned Devine/Pleasantville..., Office Space/Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1999).  

2000-09: Gladiator/Girl, Interrupted/American Psycho (2000), Amélie/Ali (2001), Super Troopers/Secretary (2002), Dogville (2004), No Country for Old Men (2007), There Will Be Blood (2008), Dead Snow (2009).  

2010-19: The Artist (2011), Argo (2012), Beasts of No Nation (2015), Rogue One (2016), Coco (2017), The Nightingale/Parasite/Knives Out (2019).  

2020-23: One Night in Miami... (2020), Nitram (2021).  

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for watching.  🎞️

[archieroberts]

Entry 2 - SVAEM

Topic 4 - Sports fan experience, media or service enhancement at a sports venue.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is a monumental, historical museum enriched in Australian history. Its beginning dates back to 1853 and holds some of the most iconic moments in Australian sporting history. It seats a whopping 100,024 people and is the 11th biggest stadium in the world with regard to capacity (Surprising list…, 2020). In terms of the sport fan experience, it is far and away the greatest, most iconic stadium in Australian history. The MCG hosts the AFL Grand Final here each year, except in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic (Binder, 2020). Among many other noticeable events. Even moving away from sport, the venue hosted three massive concerts in 2023 where Taylor Swift fans flocked the G. The majority where blown away by the size and atmosphere of the iconic colosseum. The museum located inside the ground is one of the main attractions. It holds many rare, historical antiquities and artefacts across many sports, particularly cricket. Walking through it is an amazing experience and something I’m lucky to have done.    

If you were to walk up to 100 Australians and ask them of their favourite sports stadium, I expect at least half of them to nominate the MCG. Its atmosphere mixed in with sheer capacity allows for an experience of a lifetime. This is the reason for many large sporting events being held here annually. The overall service and process that’s seen across all of the stadium is top-tier excellent. It’s quite easy to navigate thanks to signage. The venue is very well planned and constructed. You can find statues of sporting icons around the outside of the venue (Studham, 2016). Travelling to and from the stadium is a reasonably easy experience as well. Trains run to Richmond station where the majority of fans get to the ground. And there is many parking spots available to fans. 

From my own personal experience, I have visited the MCG roughly nine or ten times. The best experiences were the 2019 Grand Final between Richmond and GWS, as well as a St Kilda vs Collingwood game in 2012. The noise level which occurred during the 2019 finals series was something I will never forget. My seating is always great. Even in general admission right up the top of the Shane Warne stand, the view and experience is still great in my opinion.   

Below is a short but sweet and descriptive video about the MCG and its museum.

References:

Binder, R. (2020). Do businesses need post-COVID workplace rules? OSHA says no. The AFL-CIO says yes. BenefitsPRO, https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/do-businesses-need-post-covid-workplace-rules/docview/2405369594/se-2

Surprising list of the world’s biggest sports stadiums ... you probably haven’t been to No.1. (2020, April 27). News.com.au, https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/surprising-list-of-the-worlds-biggest-sports-stadiums-you-probably-havent-been-to-no1/news-story/225a4ce2ebd989d0bf34b15f18aa6b0b?utm_source=SEM&utm_medium=PPC_SEM&utm_campaign={campaign}&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA3JCvBhA8EiwA4kujZpvOaKVIAO9mVp-RUXqwN7sH_zFriqymrOUq1ObLf141uGobMfdvdxoCYsUQAvD_BwE

Studham, D. (2016). Idol worship at the new temples of pleasure: An examination of sporting artworks at the Melbourne cricket ground and its place in the nation's heart. Sporting Traditions, 33(1), 9–35, DOI: 10.3316

[waitingformyfavoritesongs]

15 fe bru ar y 2023 Wednesday 2:23 am pdt

Incubus is mean enough to lie about children. He made me think gio is my daughter & the new born is my son. I think I have been burning up too hot all last year to probably be able to conceive. 2:25 am pdt I just can’t believe anymore. Did anyone else see gio’s baby reel of her crying when they turn off Adam’s music? Did it first look blue then it looked brown? Her eyes? I don’t believe 2 blue eyed or green (brain pain 🧠 cutting I don’t like the way they cut it 😖😭🥵😱😰😞I don’t know if it got cut off! Chopped off!! 😭😰😱2:29 am pdt) they cannot make brown eyes 👀. If you have painted 🎨 you know you need an extra color to mix in to get brown. 2:31 pmpdt b4 news 📰 of the baby 👶 welcoming they made me hear 👂 a baby 👶 cry 😭 (hunger 2:32 am pdt) & yesterday & day b4 made me smell 👃 like baby poop 💩 & diapers. They’re really BAD. When I barricaded the bedroom 🛌 door 🚪 last year Bcz I got distressed? At how they were hurting me? I think? They played a baby crying sound in my head to make me think gio was crying & wanted 2 see me. 2:35 am pdt he did this also by showing a black haired little girl laying lazily tired 😴 in the sand at the 🏖 beach as if she was tired Bcz she was up all night visiting me. 2:37 am pdt I don’t believe them (head pain 2:38 am pdt) anymore. They’d say & do anything to make me believe them. I can’t stand ‘em. 2:38 am pdt

2:46 am pdt 2:47 incubus attacked my intestines? Or flesh area (neeart autocorrect nearby beware authorities 2:49 am pdt are u saying police 👮‍♀️ are here? Probably same police 👮‍♀️ who said Sierra LaMar s account was hacked/hoax asking for help In Saratoga? They liars 🤥 those police 👮‍♀️ are I bet 2:51 am pdt I bet they’re kidnappers 2:51 am pdt & car 🚗 thiefs)

2:55 am pdt 🤯wow I found an article back dated to April 19 2012 about the hoax I never found b4 saying they traced it to the Philippines 🇵🇭???? I skimmed it. Mayb I should look at that again. & something about “by the way, we do punch” ??? I need to look at that again nbc. I need to write the url Bcz I looked at a lot of articles & I think I would have recalled such a bizarre article b4. Wow. Must be the real kidnapper hacking nbc. That’s weird. 2:58 am pdt

3:02 am pdt https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/detectives-seek-to-find

-Sierra-lamars-hoax-tweeter/1944744/

3:04 am pdt

4:13 am pdt they’re incubus being extra jerks again. Extra extra. They make me cry 😭 & then they manipulate me. Flip flop 🩴. Mean, then flip to manipulate me using love 💕 💗such as a baby 👶 cry, Etc. 😖😭incubus put hard painful balls of air coming up my throat when I try to breathe 🧘🏻‍♀️ in, even though I have to cough b4 I can breathe 🧘🏻‍♀️ after they burn 🔥 me. 😖😭😤🥵😤🥵🤬😫😖😭😖😭😖😭😖😭😵😵😵😵 4:18 am pdt

4:50 am pdt I don’t believe in the walking 🚶🏿‍♀️ through fire 🔥 & surviving. It might be a mirage at best 😱😰.

4:52 am pdt I guess people are afraid to help me Bcz of ghost 👻 ship 🚢 fire 🔥 in Oakland December 2, 2016. A david died, uc Berkeley graduate 👨‍🎓 I think double major? I remember 2 guys names caught my attention but I don’t remember exactly anymore. Incubus has burned my skin so it looks sunburned. Any hotter & I will be gone/dead. 4:55 am pdt David = dowd = Susan boyles. I guess it is a threat to me. 4:56 am pdt one of the guys was a brother of an aqauintance I met @ uc Berkeley. 4:57 am pdt I don’t think 🤔 they would have known anything but who knows, maybe they did. 4:57 am pdt & incubus killed them off as a warning ⚠️ to me. Warning ⛔️ wore I think I looked it up last year or the year b4 & saw it used to address ? sailboats ⛵️ ... apart of original family name. Peter Pan ride at Disney land was my favorite ride when I was a kid. 5 am pdt I don’t recall what abba means when I first looked it up but that was part of the name (right side too hot 🥵 nauseas b4 writing felt acid 2xs this morning touch inches at a time of intestinal wall. 😱😰😞😖😭😤🥵😤🥵🤬 I don’t like them they’re all conceited jerks 5:03 am pdt) of the yeshua who was forgiven & allowed to live even though he murdered people & was violent while yeshua son of Joseph was crucified that’s what I read online. 5:04 am pdt listening 👂 to something random my mom picked from online. 5:05 am pdt

5:15 am pdt the spikes feel too big wide. Reminds me of tenderizer meat 🥩 hammer 🔨 into my brain 🧠. They hurt what’s in the inside Bcz it’s more destructive. More death ☠️. 5:17 am pdt

they set up a pattern of lying 🤥 to me flip flopping to normalize it & to accept it. It buys them time for false promises. It is deception. They should not be trusted. Not trustworthy . I don’t trust them. They’re dead? ☠️ found dead bodies right? 5:20 am pdt

5:22 am pdt they rely on my naïveté? Naïve ness to trick me. They want me to believe they rescued them from the fire 🔥 5:23

5:24 am pdt brain 🧠 hot 🥵 they really are sacrificing me. This economy is evil 🦹‍♀️ & will continue to be evil after I’m dead. Rape & murder & torture will continue for the masses all 8 billion. 5:35 yyoutr all wicked evil fucks. 5:25 am pdt

5:35 am pdt Jesus was said to be sacrificial lamb 🐑. Are lambs gentle? Gentlemen? So some stuff is fake news 📰 theme saying otherwise but he’s a lunatic for believing goodwill save him? Even though he put him prob through hardship being a carpenter & having to hide himself from baby killers like herod. Lived in poverty & probably chaste? Pious? What does pious mean? Life growing up w/ Virgin Mary & churchy? Saintly? Grandparents & parents? Idk 🤷🏻‍♀️ still need to read more! 5:39 am pdt you sacrifice lambs & keep the bad for 2000++++++ years? Humans around for how long? 70000 years???? 5:39 am pdt I don’t get it. He wants to burn my brain now cuz he labels this as haughty Bcz he wants most of us to be satisfied with less nearly povert level living torture abused existence 5:40 am pdt he doesn’t want anyone to be smart enough to know what’s happening is all wrong? But some people do know it’s all wrong & do stuf anyway such as child rape! 5:41 am pdt justify it now! Tell me why now! 11 years old! Masturbating next to elementary school caught b4 it happened! Rape of a 14 year old!!!! Ignored by society!!!!! That means doctors 🥼 are guilty? 5:43 greedy fucks?????? Burning 🔥 hip right side. I warned my cousin when she was 9 years old to watch out for “confused adults.” Some people become confused 🤷🏻‍♀️ & easily manipulated by the devil. Some people are the devil 😈. 5:46 am pdt

7:55 am pdt had heart ♥️ pain minutes ago. Ok big reveal biggest reveals that I’m a sum bag dirty cheat greedy whatever: I once tried to get my sister to agree to a bad deal when we were elementary school aged? I remember it was at a person s house that I played w/ Barbie dolls ... & across the street from this house b4 fourth grade photos I fell from the tallest bar attempting to do a cherry 🍒 drop (brain pain 😖😭😤🥵 7:59 am pdt) but failed! It was probably sometime after this that I wanted to play with some specific pieces of LEGO’s . That’s right, LEGO’s! I wanted to see what I could build with this pieces so I tried to make a deal, u can play w/ those pieces & I can play w/ these & then tomorrow we will switch. But I probably had bad intentions of hogging all the pieces the next day. I don’t remember, I feel like that was in my head. Somehow I think she figured out it was a bad deal immediately and said “i don’t care” I guess I’m a mean kid Bcz I think what I did next made her cry. Maybe I took the pieces forcefully 😓 then the lady who was watching us called me a “pig.” & I don’t think I did it again. I feel like there were a lot of times I was greedy with toys 🧸. Although I think I have memories of also being nice. I feel greedy. & mean. Once we did cooperate b4 my parents separated & built a woman’s restroom out of tinker toys 🧸 that was supposed to kick 🦵 out men. 8:07 am pdt we did not know about cross dressers & transsexuals then. 8:07 am pdt we played dolls & video games together & watched cartoons together. & when inspector gadget came on we hid behind the couch 🛋 together to pop out & surprise dad when he came home. 🏠 maybe I am bad. 8:11 am pdt I guess I did it the wrong way. I wonder 💭 how Ivanka trump managed to take the whole set of LEGO’s to build a tower w/ press on nail glue. She didn’t upset her siblings when she did it? I guess maybe they had more than one set so she didn’t have to fight over anything with them. 8:13 am pdt I should have never made my sister cry. Happy? Karma for not letting her borrow my if (identification 8:16 am pdt) card is I lost it ≈2020. 8:13 am pdt

9:44 am pdt I think I omitted a detail: LEGO’s pieces I was going to let her use were not very good pieces small type probably trying to remember. 😓😬 9:46 am pdt

9:56 am pdt Instagram suspended my account again. I don’t know why 🤷🏻‍♀️

[gchoate17]

I only read 12 books in 2022, fewer than any year since 2010. Like the rest of my life's shortcomings, I am going to unfairly blame my children. Publishing a top 10 list when I only read 12 feels weird, so instead, here are my top five. If you want more books than that, my previous years’ top 10 lists are linked at the bottom.

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris (2022)

How David Sedaris has managed to do what he does so well for as long as he has amazes me. Especially after the fame and fortune. He's not hiding anything about parts of his life that should make a reader grow tired of him -- complaining about annoyances that only affect those living a lavish life. He casually mentioned that he basically bought a neighbor's home so no one else would, etc. These are things that would make me dislike a normal person, but not Sedaris. Probably because he's so vulnerable with his readers. He may be the rich...dare I say...high-maintenance asshole, but he does a good job of reminding us that he is still the little queer boy who never got his father's approval. And he writes a lot about his father in this book. He details some disgusting behavior from his dad, but he does so in a way that shows why Sedaris the a master of the storytelling craft. He writes honestly and hilariously about things that are sad. He's processing his own thoughts for us right there on the page.

2. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain (2000)

I spent 13 years in and out of the industry — front- and back-of-house — I was drawn to the universal truths of restaurant life Bourdain documents here. The personalities in a high-end kitchen in New York has a lot of the same personalities as those in a sweaty Memphis kitchen and every other restaurant I worked in. I appreciate how unapologetically Bourdain writes about it all. This book made me want to go eat more things, and pay more attention to what I’m eating.

3. The Premonition by Michael Lewis (2021)

I kind of want to put this book on my "true crime" list. A solid look at how prepared the United States was/could have been for a global pandemic. Basically a bunch of people willing to prioritize their short-term reputations instead of preventing long-term impacts on society -- like hundreds of thousands of deaths. Maddening to read.

4. Down and Out in Paradise by Charles Leerhsen (2022)

I don't think I've ever seen more than a clip or two from Bourdain's TV shows, and I've never read his books, but I have spent more than a decade listening to friends sing his praises. It's interesting for my first understanding of who he was to come from a biography, one in which the hero is presented as deeply flawed. There were typos, and there seemed like some overly speculative theories put forth, but I never got bored with this book. And I'm eager to dive into Bourdain's own work now.

5. Best American Short Stories Edited by E.L. Doctorow (2000)

Faves (in order): 1. "He's at the Office" by Allan Gurganus 2. "The Beautiful Day" by Michael Byers 3. "Call if You Need Me" by Raymond Carver 4. "The Anointed" by Kathleen Hill

Previous Book Lists: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011.

[destinywillowleaf]

GLADLY >:D (it is 2 in the morning as i type this because i have lost control of my life. spoilers for p5)

So the original/basic premise was based on a couple different posts that culminated into "what if there were two "teams" of phantom thieves running around in Persona 5 era" and the kickoff point for that was immediately following the death of Wakaba Isshiki. Instead of continuing to do All That Murder, Akechi finds out about the falsified suicide note and really starts to doubt that this is his best course of action. Yaldabaoth doesn't want his pawn to slip away, so he summons Akechi to the Velvet Room in order to convince him this is still the "right" path or whatever. He's got the other wild cards under control and can keep them out of the way.

Meanwhile, in Inaba, Sho's wandered his way back there after a couple years (May 2012 to August 2014, more or less) and at this point is thinking that maybe friends might not be a bad idea. He's still got the open invite to the Velvet Room and there's been a couple weird developments with Tsukiyomi too, but he knows he can reach the nose guy and blue crew from here.

[May 2021; did this for an art final]

...Sho wasn't on the guest list and waltzes right into a scene of nose guy (who sounds really different than before), new blue shortstacks, and a kid behind bars. There's also a chance he actually went by where the other velvet attendants are currently "detained" to not influence the situation with Akechi.

Oops.

He gets in a few good blows against the weird guy before Yaldigor realizes that he's lost his chance with his pawn and now has a fairly competent wild card in the making aware of his existence and ready to end it. He runs off, Igor comes back, and suddenly everything's a whole lot different than how it played out before. The blue shortstacks were what happened to the attendant made for him (which begs so many questions, what do you mean made, old man), as it turns out, but fate has changed. Igor didn't lose to Yaldy without a fight, but that means he's fairly drained power-wise and can't exactly fuse personas himself or return the twins to being Lavenza. Margaret and Theodore are around to assist where they can, but they still lost. There's no telling when that weirdo's coming back, or how, which means they have to prepare and get their shit together before it's too late.

(Speaking of getting shit together, hey, uh, Nose Man, are Personas supposed to be able to talk to you outside of the shadow world or have kinda complicated personalities?)

Akechi's still having his own crisis in the corner because he still thinks this is some kind of nightmare (which. he's not wrong) and also Everything Else is not helping, but he's much less inclined for All That Murder which is. not something Shido's gonna want to hear.

things just kinda continue from there? Akechi deals with being a wildcard with the wrong starting persona while also trying to fix his mistakes with the whole "murder" thing (a process made harder by not being able to find out where the victim's daughter is right away), Sho gets the power of friendship to some degree and honestly probably spends more of his time in the shadow world or the velvet room than the real world (two years isn't enough time to undo all the social behaviors he got as a kid and it's still easier to fight as an opener than to say hello), and instead of a team of 8-10 persona users running around Tokyo in 2016 (depending on your point in the story), there's more like... 14 before counting any help that might arrive for the Christmas Eve Showdown (not on the grand stage, of course, but helping on the lower levels to try and minimize the panic/damage).

also sho-jose friendship is real to me because let's be real, sho WOULD pick a fight with a toddler if he found one running around mementos and then said toddler was A Lot Stronger than anticipated. neither of them are entirely sure how humans work. they spend time at the library to try and figure it out.

so i have this au

[lovecanyon]

I was wondering if you can make another social media series like highschoolsweetheart!harry but with harry, y/n and a kid they had in his one direction days ??

INSTAGRAM BLURB

harry x stylist!reader

timeline of harry and stylist!y/n

MASTERLIST

-

2012

liked by onedirectionfan2, onedirectionfan6 and 204,788 others

tmz Harry Styles and his bands stylist were seen together in Malibu yesterday night

view all comments

onedirectionfan5 harry definitely gave her the flowers 😭

onedirectionfan4 is it bad that i like them together?

onedirectionfan7 she’s always with him like leave him alone…

onedirectionfan10 they literally work together

onedirectionfan3 every time harry interacts with y/n he blushes so hard

onedirectionfan7 i honestly hope they date

onedirectonfan9 no

onedirectionfan11 yes.

2013

liked by harrystyles, niallhoran and 2,955,471 others

yourinstagram brit awards 2013

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onedirectionfan8 the most iconic duo ever

onedirectionfan12 this is so adorable

harrystyles totally not jealous…

yourinstagram i will block you harry

onedirectionfan14 OMG I HOPE THE BOYS WIN TONIGHT

louteasdale pic credits

onedirectionfan13 harry and now zayn???? yikes

niallhoran no! only harry mate 😄

onedirectionfan15 NIALL WHAT

liked by yourinstagram, harrystyles and 3,974,188 others

onedirection Global success award!! #brits2013

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onedirectionfan14 when harry hugged y/n first 😭

liampayne my parents

zayn our*

onedirectionfan17 did they just confirm them???😟😟

onedirectionfan16 THEY ARE SO DATING OH MY GOD

harrystyles Thanks for not making me look horrible on camera @yourinstagram xx.

yourinstagram now next time i’m going to make you look especially horrible xx.

2014

liked by onedirectionfan18, onedirectionfan21 and 550,919 others

enews Y/N L/N, One Direction’s stylist seen pregnant in London yesterday.

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onedirectionfan19 what did i just read

onedirectionfan22 when everyone thought she got fired nah she’s just pregnant 😭😭

onedirectionfan20 IS HARRY THE DAD??

onedirectionfan24 probably

onedirectionfan26 don’t say that. please.

onedirectionfan23 I’M TOTALLY NOT SOBBING

onedirectionfan25 what the…isn’t it inappropriate for harry to get his stylist pregnant

onedirectionfan28 they literally have been dating for two years….leave them alone

liked by yourinstagram, annetwist and 32,951,774 others

harrystyles Juliet Anne Styles 2/1/14

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onedirectionfan27 HE HAS A CHILD????

onedirectionfan29 she was born on his birthday omg 😭😭

yourinstagram my birthday present to you

harrystyles I love it xx.

onedirectionfan30 i’m crying

niallhoran jules is such an angel

onedirectionfan32 HE BROKE THE INTERNET OMG

onedirectionfan34 juliet’s eyelashes are so cute

gemmastyles MY NEW BEST FRIEND AHHHHH

2015

liked by onedirectionfan31, onedirectionfan33 and 351,759 others

thesun Harry Styles seen out in London yesterday with his daughter Juliet.

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onedirectionfan35 DILF DILF DILF DILF

onedirectionfan37 him with children>>>>>>🙏🙏🙏

onedirectionfan39 where’s juliet’s mother seems like she’s always traveling….

onedirectionfan36 she travels to dress the boys idiot….it’s her job

onedirectionfan38 right and y/n was literally seen with juliet like ten minutes ago sooooo

onedirectionfan40 why is everyone hating on y/n??she’s literally dating harry and has his child not you 🤨

2016

liked by harrystyles, gemmastyles and 18,752,699 others

yourinstagram my play date

view all comments

onedirectionfan44 JULIET IS GROWING UP SO FAST

onedirectionfan42 this is so adorable 😭

harrystyles Jules my darling angel

(liked by yourinstagram)

onedirectionfan41 i remember when she was just born

onedirectionfan43 missing the juliet content with the band….

annetwist bunny’s almost as tall as you xx.

yourinstagram bunny needs to stop growing

-

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