#24 04 2010

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The paradox of choice screens

I'm coming to BURNING MAN! On TUESDAY (Aug 27) at 1PM, I'm giving a talk called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE!" at PALENQUE NORTE (7&E). On WEDNESDAY (Aug 28) at NOON, I'm doing a "Talking Caterpillar" Q&A at LIMINAL LABS (830&C).

It's official: the DOJ has won its case, and Google is a convicted monopolist. Over the next six months, we're gonna move into the "remedy" phase, where we figure out what the court is going to order Google to do to address its illegal monopoly power:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/07/revealed-preferences/#extinguish-v-improve

That's just the beginning, of course. Even if the court orders some big, muscular remedies, we can expect Google to appeal (they've already said they would) and that could drag out the case for years. But that can be a feature, not a bug: a years-long appeal will see Google on its very best behavior, with massive, attendant culture changes inside the company. A Google that's fighting for its life in the appeals court isn't going to be the kind of company that promotes a guy whose strategy for increasing revenue is to make Google Search deliberately worse, so that you will have to do more searches (and see more ads) to get the info you're seeking:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/24/naming-names/#prabhakar-raghavan

It's hard to overstate how much good stuff can emerge from a company that's mired itself in antitrust hell with extended appeals. In 1982, IBM wriggled off the antitrust hook after a 12-year fight that completely transformed the company's approach to business. After more than a decade of being micromanaged by lawyers who wanted to be sure that the company didn't screw up its appeal and anger antitrust enforcers, IBM's executives were totally transformed. When the company made its first PC, it decided to use commodity components (meaning anyone could build a similar PC by buying the same parts), and to buy its OS from an outside vendor called Micros-Soft (meaning competing PCs could use the same OS), and it turned a blind eye to the company that cloned the PC ROM, enabling companies like Dell, Compaq and Gateway to enter the market with "PC clones" that cost less and did more than the official IBM PC:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/08/ibm-pc-compatible-how-adversarial-interoperability-saved-pcs-monopolization

The big question, of course, is whether the court will order Google to break up, say, by selling off Android, its ad-tech stack, and Chrome. That's a question I'll address on another day. For today, I want to think about how to de-monopolize browsers, the key portal to the internet. The world has two extremely dominant browsers, Safari and Chrome, and each of them are owned by an operating system vendor that pre-installs their own browser on their devices and pre-selects them as the default.

Defaults matter. That's a huge part of Judge Mehta's finding in the Google case, where the court saw evidence from Google's own internal research suggesting that people rarely change defaults, meaning that whatever the gadget does out of the box it will likely do forever. This puts a lie to Google's longstanding defense of its monopoly power: "choice is just a click away." Sure, it's just a click away – a click, you're pretty sure no one is ever going to make.

This means that any remedy to Google's browser dominance is going to involve a lot of wrangling about defaults. That's not a new wrangle, either. For many years, regulators and tech companies have tinkered with "choice screens" that were nominally designed to encourage users to try out different browsers and brake the inertia of the big two browsers that came bundled with OSes.

These choice screens have a mixed record. Google's 2019 Android setup choice screen for the European Mobile Application Distribution Agreement somehow managed to result in the vast majority of users sticking with Chrome. Microsoft had a similar experience in 2010 with BrowserChoice.eu, its response to the EU's 2000s-era antitrust action:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrowserChoice.eu

Does this mean that choice screens don't work? Maybe. The idea of choice screens comes to us from the "choice architecture" world of "nudging," a technocratic pseudoscience that grew to prominence by offering the promise that regulators could make big changes without having to do any real regulating:

https://verfassungsblog.de/nudging-after-the-replication-crisis/

Nudge research is mired in the "replication crisis" (where foundational research findings turn out to be nonreplicable, due to bad research methodology, sloppy analysis, etc) and nudge researchers keep getting caught committing academic fraud:

https://www.ft.com/content/846cc7a5-12ee-4a44-830e-11ad00f224f9

When the first nudgers were caught committing fraud, more than a decade ago, they were assumed to be outliers in an otherwise honest and exciting field:

https://www.npr.org/2016/10/01/496093672/power-poses-co-author-i-do-not-believe-the-effects-are-real

Today, it's hard to find much to salvage from the field. To the extent the field is taken seriously today, it's often due to its critics repeating the claims of its boosters, a process Lee Vinsel calls "criti-hype":

https://sts-news.medium.com/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype-18b08b4307e5

For example, the term "dark patterns" lumps together really sneaky tactics with blunt acts of fraud. When you click an "opt out of cookies" button and get a screen that says "Success!" but which has a tiny little "confirm" button on it that you have to click to actually opt out, that's not a "dark pattern," it's just a scam:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/27/beware-of-the-leopard/#relentless

By ascribing widespread negative effects to subtle psychological manipulation ("dark patterns") rather than obvious and blatant fraud, we inadvertently elevate "nudging" to a real science, rather than a cult led by scammy fake scientists.

All this raises some empirical questions about choice screens: do they work (in the sense of getting people to break away from defaults), and if so, what's the best way to make them work?

This is an area with a pretty good literature, as it turns out, thanks in part due to some natural experiments, like when Russia forced Google to offer choice screens for Android in 2017, but didn't let Google design that screen. The Russian policy produced a significant switch away from Google's own apps to Russian versions, primarily made by Yandex:

https://cepr.org/publications/dp17779

In 2023, Mozilla Research published a detailed study in which 12,000 people from Germany, Spain and Poland set up simulated mobile and desktop devices with different kinds of choice screens, a project spurred on by the EU's Digital Markets Act, which is going to mandate choice screens starting this year:

https://research.mozilla.org/browser-competition/choicescreen/

I'm spending this week reviewing choice screen literature, and I've just read the Mozilla paper, which I found very interesting, albeit limited. The biggest limitation is that the researchers are getting users to simulate setting up a new device and then asking them how satisfied they are with the experience. That's certainly a question worth researching, but a far more important question is "How do users feel about the setup choices they made later, after living with them on the devices they use every day?" Unfortunately, that's a much more expensive and difficult question to answer, and beyond the scope of this paper.

With that limitation in mind, I'm going to break down the paper's findings here and draw some conclusions about what we should be looking for in any kind of choice screen remedy that comes out of the DOJ antitrust victory over Google.

The first thing note is that people report liking choice screens. When users get to choose their browsers, they expect to be happy with that choice; by contrast, users are skeptical that they'll like the default browser the vendor chose for them. Users don't consider choice screens to be burdensome, and adding a choice screen doesn't appreciably increase setup time.

There are some nuances to this. Users like choice screens during device setup but they don't like choice screens that pop up the first time they use a browser. That makes total sense: "choosing a browser" is colorably part of the "setting up your gadget" task. By contrast, the first time you open a browser on a new device, it's probably to get something else done (e.g. look up how to install a piece of software you used on your old device) and being interrupted with a choice screen at that moment is an unwelcome interruption. This is the psychology behind those obnoxious cookie-consent pop-ups that website bombard you with when you first visit them: you've clicked to that website because you need something it has, and being stuck with a privacy opt-out screen at that moment is predictably frustrating (which is why companies do it, and also why the DMA is going to punish companies that do).

The researchers experimented with different kinds of choice screens, varying the number of browsers on offer and the amount of information given on each. Again, users report that they prefer more choices and more information, and indeed, more choice and more info is correlated with choosing indie, non-default browsers, but this effect size is small (<10%), and no matter what kind of choice screen users get, most of them come away from the experience without absorbing any knowledge about indie browsers.

The order in which browsers are presented has a much larger effect than how many browsers or how much detail is present. People say they want lots of choices, but they usually choose one of the first four options. That said, users who get choice screens say it changes which browser they'd choose as a default.

Some of these contradictions appear to stem from users' fuzziness on what "default browser" means. For an OS vendor, "default browser" is the browser that pops up when you click a link in an email or social media. For most users, "default browser" means "the browser pinned to my home screen."

Where does all this leave us? I think it cashes out to this: choice screens will probably make a appreciable, but not massive, difference in browser dominance. They're cheap to implement, have no major downsides, and are easy to monitor. Choice screens might be needed to address Chrome's dominance even if the court orders Google to break off Chrome and stand it up as a separate business (we don't want any browser monopolies, even if they're not owned by a search monopolist!). So yeah, we should probably make a lot of noise to the effect that the court should order a choice screen, as part of a remedy.

That choice screen should be presented during device setup, with the choices presented in random order – with this caveat: Chrome should never appear in the top four choices.

All of that would help address the browser duopoly, even if it doesn't solve it. I would love to see more market-share for Firefox, which is the browser I've used every day for more than a decade, on my laptop and my phone. Of course, Mozilla has a role to play here. The company says it's going to refocus on browser quality, at the expense of the various side-hustles it's tried, which have ranged from uninteresting to catastrophically flawed:

https://www.fastcompany.com/91167564/mozilla-wants-you-to-love-firefox-again

For example, there was the tool to automatically remove your information from scummy data brokers, that they outsourced to a scummy data-broker:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/22/24109116/mozilla-ends-onerep-data-removal-partnership

And there's the "Privacy Preserving Attribution" tracking system that helps advertisers target you with surveillance advertising (in a way that's less invasive than existing techniques). Mozilla rolled this into Firefox on an opt out basis, and made opting out absurdly complicated, suggesting that it knew that it was imposing something on its users that they wouldn't freely choose:

https://blog.privacyguides.org/2024/07/14/mozilla-disappoints-us-yet-again-2/

They've been committing these kinds of unforced errors for more than a decade, seeking some kind of balance between monopolistic web companies and its users' desire to have a browser that protects them from invasive and unfair practices:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/firefox-closed-source-drm-video-browser-cory-doctorow

These compromises represent the fallacy that Mozilla's future depends on keeping bullying entertainment companies and Big Tech happy, so it can go on serving its users. At the same time, these compromises have alienated Mozilla's core users, the technical people who were its fiercest evangelists. Those core users are the authority on technical questions for the normies in their life, and they know exactly how cursed it is for Moz to be making these awful compromises.

Moz has hemorrhaged users over the past decade, meaning they have even less leverage over the corporations demanding that they make more compromises. This sets up a doom loop: make a bad compromise, lose users, become more vulnerable to demands for even worse compromises. "This capitulation puts us in a great position to make a stand in some hypothetical future where we don't instantly capitulate again" is a pretty unconvincing proposition.

After the past decade's heartbreaks, seeing Moz under new leadership makes me cautiously hopeful. Like I say, I am dependent on Firefox and want an independent, principled browser vendor that sees their role as producing a "user agent" that is faithful to its users' interests above all else:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/07/treacherous-computing/#rewilding-the-internet

Of course, Moz depends on Google's payment for default search placement for 90% of its revenue. If Google can't pay for this in the future, the org is going to have to find another source of revenue. Perhaps that will be the EU, or foundations, or users. In any of these cases, the org will find it much easier to raise funds if it is standing up for its users – not compromising on their interests.

Community voting for SXSW is live! If you wanna hear RIDA QADRI and me talk about how GIG WORKERS can DISENSHITTIFY their jobs with INTEROPERABILITY, VOTE FOR THIS ONE!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/12/defaults-matter/#make-up-your-mind-already

Image: ICMA Photos (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/icma/3635981474/

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

[vintagelasvegas]

Moulin Rouge Hotel & Casino

May 1955, opening week. Photo by Loomis Dean.

Timeline, in progress ...

‘54: Las Vegas City Commission approves construction of Moulin Rouge on 3/29/54. Groundbreaking on 7/16/54.

‘55: Opened 5/24/55. Closed 10/10/55 following legal action taken by unions; MR files petition for bankruptcy on 10/19/55.

‘56: Bankruptcy sale, Nov. 27. Lone bid of $470,000 rejected.

‘58: Leo Frey (Leroy Co.) awarded the hotel by court. Frey, “a sizeable investor in the original corporation which owned the hotel and the partnership which operated it” (RJ 11/25/58). Frey denied gaming license, reopens hotel and coffee shop. Other individuals later denied gaming license “because of unsuitable backgrounds of the landlords Leo, Herbert, and Karl Frey” (RJ 3/21/69).

‘85: Joe & Sarann Preddy, Joe Walker lease Club Rouge and the bar. Takes over ownership from Leroy Co. c. 1990, secures liquor and gaming license.

‘92: Moulin Rouge listed on National Register of Historic Places.

‘97: Sold to Bart Maybie.

‘03: Fire destroys much of the property.

‘04: Moulin Rouge Development Corp. buys property; bankruptcy in 2008.

‘09: Olympic Coast Investment takes ownership; another fire; sign donated and moved to Neon Museum; tower demolished in 2010.

‘12: OCI files bankruptcy.

‘17: Fire; last remains of MR and Montemartre Motel demolished.

Photos of Moulin Rouge

“City Threatens Moulin Rouge License Over Ownership Fuss.” Review-Journal, 10/5/55; “Moulin Rouge Re-Financing Sought After Casino is Closed.” Review-Journal, 10/11/55; “No Action Against Spa Licenses.” Review-Journal, 10/20/55; “Couple trades parcel of land to get Moulin Rouge Hotel.” Review Journal, 1/26/90; Earnest N. Bracey. Winter ‘96. The Moulin Rouge Mystique: Blacks and Equal Rights in Las Vegas, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 4, p. 272-288; Nicole Raz. “Light Touch Needed.” Review Journal, 8/7/2016. 

[thealieninhiding]

The Katie McGrath Archives (WIP)

A repository of my ongoing digital archeology & archival work please contact me if you have anything to contribute and buy me a coffee if you value my content

Updates

(last updated 2025-01-14)

2025-01-14

Scans:

2008-10 InStyle (LQ)

2009 DRAMA Magazine (LQ)

2009-10 The Sunday Times Style (Ireland)

2010-10 Tatler

2010-12 InStyle

2011-02 Instyle (LQ)

2011-07 Tatler (LQ)

2011-10 Sunday Independent

2012-03-14 Sci-FiNow

2012-03-23 The Lady Magazine

2024-07-03

Scans:

2014-02-07 London Times - Dracula sets

Audio:

(Un)likeminded 2x02 How to Survive The Apocalypse

2024-05-24

Video:

2017 Katie McGrath interview [CW|KMcGsource]

2017 Supergirl Season 3 Sweet dreams (are made of this) Music Video

2017 CW SDCC Promo Supergirl and Arrow

2019-01-01 The CW Promo Open To All

2021-04-25 Supergirl Season 6 Katie McGrath Lena Luthor

2021-09-15 Supergirl Season 6 Katie McGrath Reflecting on Supergirl

2024-05-22

Audio:

Interview - 2009-07-17 Katie McGrath Mr Media interview

Interview - 2009-10-15 Geek Syndicate Merlin BTS special

Video:

BTS - 2008-10-08 Blue Peter Merlin BTS

Events - 2009 TV Choice Awards Digital Spy interview

Events - Getty Videos of 2009 TV Choice Awards, 2010 Merlin Series 3 launch, 2011 W.E. premiere, 2017 King Arthur Premiere

2024-05-17

Archived interviews

2008-12-07 Tribune Magazine - What Katie Did

2011-10-14 What's on TV - Merlin's Katie McGrath- 'Bad girls have more fun!'

2012-12-03 Fanhattan Blog - Colin Morgan, Katie McGrath and Bradley James on Season 5 and The Series Finale

2018-08-01 The TV Junkies - Supergirl SDCC 2018 Interviews- Lena’s Impractical Lab Outfits, the Return of Reporter Kara and a More Grounded Season 4

Audio

HHush samples

Interview - 2009-2011 Sci-fi Talk rewind merlin the series specials episode 1

Interview - 2011? Merlin S4 Sci-fi talk byte katie mcgrath on morgana

Interview - 2013 BBC Radio 1xtra part 1 & part 2

(Un)likeminded 1x02 While You Were Dreaming

Trees a crowd- Irish folklore segment

Magazine scans

2008-09-20 Radio Times

2009-06-08 TV Week (Aus)

2010-09-05 Sunday Express

2010-09-30 Totally Merlin Magazine

2011-12 Total Film

2012-03-14 Sci-Fi Now

2012-10-06 Radio Times

2013-04-06 Irish independent

2013-09-02 Marie-Claire (UK)

2013-12 Instyle

2013-12 Total Film

Video:

Fans - 2012-04-16 Merlin4 [carlospyrrhus]

Fans - 2017-08-30 Supergirl cast together on set [Joyce Law]

Interview - 2009-09-?? Merlin S2 audio interview with Katie McGrath [BJsRealm] part 1

Interview - 2010-09-06 Merlin Series 3 - BBC Radio 1xtra Interview with Angel Coulby & Katie McGrath [BJsrealm]

Interview - 2011-10-14 Merlin S4 Colin Morgan, Eoin Macken Katie McGrath on The Late Late Show

Interview - 2012-07-15 Colin Morgan and Katie McGrath at SDCC 2012 - innerSPACE [merlinnetwork2]

Interview - 2012-07-18 Katie McGrath Talks Merlin At Comic Con 2012 [ThinkHeroTV]

Interview - 2012-10-25 BBC Radio 1 Breakfast - Colin & Katie part 1 & part 2 [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2012-12-03 Merlin S5 Katie McGrath interview international press day [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2012-12-03 Colin, Bradley, Katie phone interview [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2013-11-09 Katie McGrath on BBC One Saturday Kitchen [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2019-07-22 ENTREVISTA SUPERGIRL Elenco fala sobre a nova temporada [Warner Channel Brasil]

Interview - 2019-07-23 Melissa Benoist Teases Directing An Episode Of 'Supergirl' [ET Canada]

Interview - 2020-02-21 ‘Supergirl’ Celebrates 100th Episode [ET Canada]

Panels - 2011-07-28 Merlin Comic Con 2011 Panel [ThinkHeroTV]

[jetix]

2010-04-24

[webslasherzz]

♡⠀ ：⠀The Webtatstic Editor Event ⋌

[Pt: The webtastic editor event /End Pt]

 ⌇ ⠀Premise goes as follows , The theme is based on "Underrated" aesthetics on editblr ! ( By underrated i mean as in not often used or often never used ) . This event is purely for fun ! nobody is forced join and there isnt a prize ( only bc i couldn't think of anything )

Rules:

As long as you don't fall under my dni your okay !

Please keep sources pg , no nsfw stuff

if the edits are eye straining or bright PLEASE tag it as so , as some maybe be hard on the eyes

use the tag #Spideycore so i can see your works !

All kinds of edits are allowed ! layouts , icons , psds , recolors , decor and more !

The event starts on Monday ( 7/22/24 ) and ends on the next monday ( 7/28/24 ) !!

 ⠀ ⌇ ⠀ Day 01 ⠀: ⠀Pastel goth or Mall goth

 ⠀ ⌇ ⠀ Day 02 ⠀: ⠀Scene or Mcbling

 ⠀ ⌇ ⠀ Day 03 ⠀: ⠀Frutiger Aero or Frutiger Metro

 ⠀ ⌇ ⠀ Day 04 ⠀: ⠀Steampunk or Cyberpunk

 ⠀ ⌇ ⠀ Day 05 ⠀: ⠀2020 "Alt" or Cutecore

 ⠀ ⌇ ⠀ Day 06 ⠀: ⠀Vaporwave or 2010s Internet

 ⠀ ⌇ ⠀ Day 07 ⠀: ⠀Rave or Glowwave

Psd credit @/pinkmiku (link)

Tags for reach ( if you want to be removed pls tell me ) : @doveish @neraphi @necroangelz @strawberrysnipes @pinkidol @boyfidere

[babsggordon]

From the moment that I close my eyes, take a deep breath and feel the sun kissing my skin delicately until the moment I open my eyes again with a clearer mind. And there's always one though that is in the back, watching me over every step and reminding me everything I've been through.

And its the fact that I would never change a thing in my life. Because every point converges in the epitome of the current moment I cried, I smile and I will appreciate.

Whenever I close my eyes I find myself, I find the thirteen year old girl who lost everything. I find the girl who got adopted by the world's greatest Dad. The same girl who saved Bruce Wayne from kidnapping, in a silly old custome which I thought to wear because having a female version of Batman at the time was unthinkable.

That same event that lead me to what would became the career that gave me my whole life and everything I cherish for. From my beloved friends which I love to see and help everyday, the kind man who extended his hand to us all, and the man who taught me that romantic love is only a thing I can experiment with trust from years.

I fin that girl, who watched her adoptive mom die, the one who got paralized and standed by for months by an hospital bed, hoping every day her Dad recover his self afteer being pushed by the limit. All done by the same man.

I find the girl who decided not to let the man win, and still find kindness in life. Working everyday to help and seek the truth for the sake of the few good people in gotham.

I find the girl who recovered, I find the girl who succeeded.

I find Barbara Jean Gordon, I find me.

Babs, Barbie, Barb

Oracle ( @igotyourip ) | Batgirl

|30| September 23 - 94'

Librarian

Sebastian (her son) is 3 years old currently (december 2024), his birthdays are monthly, in the eight.

Bisexual

MUN's timezone: GMT-6

Mildly active between 7 AM - 10 PM. Most active 10 PM - 2 AM

Anon list: 🌧

Updates: ANGST ≠ stop being silly. I will interact and respond as normally despite my character arc

MUN ooc blog: @sillybigbird

September 24 - 04' | Bi | She | MX | Graphic designer

Yes, muns an adult, you may proceed

Other RPs:

@sillybigrobin

Detroit: Become Human | Chloe | Android | RT600

@igotyourip

Oracle

@gothams-daredevil

Matt Murdock

@grayson-dg

Dick Grayson (Young Justice 2010 earth)

@kaplamb

Billy Maximoff

[myreia]

Sketches of Times Lost

ao3 | tumblr tag | my writing

short stories include spoilers from a realm reborn to endwalker. all stories are set in aureia malathar's canon. [❤] = fave entry/fic that I am proud of [g] = general (all audiences), [t] = teen (some language, more difficult themes), [m] = mature (implied sex, sensuality, strong language, and/or violence), [e] = explicit (mature themes, explicit sex scenes)

Week I

— 01. Steer | [G] Ryne x Gaia | 943 words — 02. Horizon | [G] Alisaie x Tesleen | 2298 words [❤] — 03. Tempest | [M] Sadu x Y'shtola | 1489 words — 04. Reticent | [G] Minfilia x Aureia | 964 words — 05. Stamp | [T] Fordola x Aureia | 1945 words [❤] — 06. Halcyon | [E] Igeyorhm x Iphigeneia (Azem) | 5424 words — 07. Morsel | [G] Alisaie x Tesleen | 967 words

Week II

— 08. Collapse [FREE DAY] | [T] Thancred POV | 1561 words — 09. Lend an Ear | [T] Aymeric x Aureia | 1617 words — 10. Stable | [T] Sidurgu x Aureia, Rielle | 2086 words [❤] — 11. Surrogate | [E] Thancred x Hilda | 2306 words [❤] — 12. Quarry | [G] Thancred & Ryne | 1408 words [❤] — 13. Butte | [T] Aureia & Avi'li | 820 words — 14. Telling | [T] Aymeric & Artoirel | 1600 words

Week III

— 15. Replacement [FREE DAY] | [G] Emet-Selch POV | 973 words — 16. Third-rate | [G] Lyse & Fordola | 1864 words [❤] — 17. Sally | [T] Rielle POV | 2200 words [❤] — 18. Hackneyed | [G] Thancred x Aureia | 1868 words — 19. Taken | [G] Thancred x Aureia | 1219 words — 20. Duel | [G] Alisaie & Aureia | 2189 words — 21. Shade | [M] Sidurgu x Aureia | 2015 words [❤]

Week IV

— 22. Threshold [FREE DAY] | [M] Aymeric x Aureia | 1273 words [❤] — 23. On Cloud Nine | [E] Aymeric x Aureia | 2504 words — 24. Bar | [E] Fordola x Aureia | 1522 words [❤] — 25. Perpetuity | [T] Hythlodaeus & Iphigeneia (Azem) | 1589 words — 26. Zip | [G] Thancred POV | 1294 words — 27. Memory | [T] Meteion & Aureia | 2135 words [❤] — 28. Deleterious | [G] Venat & Iphigeneia (Azem) | 1409 words — 29. Evaporate | [E] Thancred x Aureia | 2010 words — 30. Two Heads Are Better Than One | [M] Sidurgu x Aureia | 2795 words

[poetryincostume]

When I was regathering my long-neglected research for my Helga Sinclair ribbon corset, I rediscovered this gorgeous extant example in the V&A from 1895. Unlike most extant examples I've come across, this one doesn't feature overlapping ribbons. This suggests that it was made for a particularly slim woman who needed very little support and for particular summertime breathability (supported by the garment waist measuring 19", suggesting a laced waist of 22-24".)

To me, long-since trapped in The Locked Tomb, the ribcage-like appearance was inescapable. Wouldn't you know it, I have a Crown Prince Kiriona Gaia costume that I started a year ago that was needing a little something something to pull the design together and to help motivate me.

The pattern was adapted from my Helga ribbon corset, allowing for 24mm wide ribbon to meet at the sides and spread evenly in a ribcage like fashion at the front panel.

This time I used a beautiful shell-coloured silk ribbon. The ribbon is so beautifully soft, that it was a nightmare to work with. I do not recommend it for something that needs quite so much working as it marked with so much as a hard look! I am fairly certain that the V&A example the ribbon is self-mounted, so I again mounted my main ribbon, this time on a white cottong taffeta ribbon. If i slipped with my mounting or the ribbon twisted or buckled, i thought the white would be a suitably stark and skeletal contrast to the main silk ribbon.

As I am perhaps a little more fleshy than the lady who owned the original 1895 example, I cheated and also added a base layer of nude tulle to help smooth out the laced-up silhouette.

The overall construction process was the same as Helga: quilted the ribbon panels across the boned panels before covering and sandwiching them, and inserting the bones from the side to allow for for hem stitching.

To finish, another ivory powder-coated busk and stitched over eyelets for security.

References:

Underwear Fashion in Detail, 2010, Eleri Lynn

Corsets - Historical Patterns & Techniques, 2008, Jill Salen

Corsets & Crinolines, 2017, Norah Waugh

1895 Ribbon Corset, V&A - https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O138887/corset-unknown/

How To Make A Basic Ribbon Corset, Sidney Eileen - http://sidneyeileen.com/sewing-2/sewing/corset-making/basic-ribbon/

An Edwardian Ribbon Corset, History Wardrobe - https://historywardrobe.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/an-edwardian-ribbon-corset/

[detailtilted]

Index of Enhanced Edition Con Videos

I'll maintain this index in a pinned post for easy reference. Click the links to go to the YouTube videos, or click here for a more readable Google Docs table which includes these links plus a tab noting which events I skipped, temporarily or permanently, and why.

2007-11-11, Chicago - J2 Breakfast (00:23:42)

2007-11-11, Chicago - Jensen Solo (00:21:55)

2007-11-11, Chicago - Jared Solo (00:29:44)

2007-11-11, Chicago - J2 Main Panel (00:38:24)

2008-07-27, San Diego Comic Con - SPN Panel (00:50:52)

2008-11-16, Chicago - J2 Breakfast (00:26:16)

2008-11-16, Chicago - Jared Solo (00:26:20)

2008-11-16, Chicago - J2 Main Panel (00:35:04)

2008-11-16, Chicago - Jensen Solo (00:34:36)

2009-08-30, Vancouver - J3 Breakfast (00:31:53)

2009-08-30, Vancouver - Jensen Solo (00:27:17)

2009-08-30, Vancouver - J2 Main Panel (00:30:25)

2009-11-15, Chicago - J2 Breakfast (00:32:24)

2009-11-15, Chicago - J2 Main Panel (01:08:50)

2010-10-10, Chicago - Mishalecki Breakfast (00:32:48)

2010-10-10, Chicago - Misha Solo Panel (00:24:22)

2010-10-10, Chicago - Mishalecki Main Panel (00:29:33)

2010-10-10, Chicago - J2M Main Panel (00:29:07)

2011-08-27, Vancouver - Misha Solo Panel (00:54:47)

2011-08-28, Vancouver - J2 Breakfast (00:30:40)

I'm working on VANCON 2011, which is the last con for which I have videos from the amazing AgtSpooky. The main panel is next and that one's 60 minutes, so it will take me a while to finish! After that, I'll circle back to some of the older conventions I'd skipped.

Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in these videos. The reblogs and likes all made me very happy, and I especially appreciated the kind comments some of you left in your reblog text and tags. I'm unsure of the proper Tumblr way to respond directly to that in a way that won't annoy people, but I've definitely noticed and appreciated it!

An explanation of this project and my tentative plans for it are listed below the break. A lot of it will be familiar if you've read my earlier posts, but it's more detailed -- and excessively long! There's also some info on how you can help, especially if you have any old videos or audio files that you'd be willing to contribute.

Why Do You Call These "Enhanced Editions"?

The videos I'm using are not my own, but I've spent many hours adding enhancements to them. My goal is to make these the most watchable and accessible versions of these older convention panels published to date. Credit and links to the original videos are in the video descriptions. These are the typical enhancements you'll see:

I'm upscaling the videos as best I can. It isn't remotely perfect, but it's a little more watchable than the originals. The videos I'm working with are very low quality by today's standards. and they were also recorded under difficult circumstances. Video taking wasn't permitted at most of the earlier cons, so the people who took them did so at the risk of getting kicked out. They couldn't exactly come waltzing in with a tripod, so the videos are shaky, they don't always have a clear view of the stage, and sometimes they cut off at unfortunate moments. They can be frustrating to watch, but we owe these people a debt of gratitude for capturing this footage because otherwise it would have been lost altogether.

When necessary, I'm correcting colors on the videos to try to make them look more natural and consistent. I'm very inexperienced in this area, and I don't consider it to be one of my strengths, but I'm learning.

The original videos are usually in multiple parts, but I'm editing them together into a single video as cohesively as possible. I may use videos from multiple sources to provide the most complete video possible, and I'll select the ones with the highest video quality and/or the best view of the action available. Sometimes I have to make difficult choices between the video with the best view (meaning a clear view of their actions and/or facial expressions) and the video with the best quality. I usually lean toward the one with the best view in those cases.

I'm adding extra content to help clarify references people make during the panels. The videos I've worked with so far don't take up the full width of a modern video frame, so I've taken advantage of that extra space to display the extra content to the side where it's less obtrusive. There are explanations for obscure references that are way funnier when you understand what they mean, plus episode references to help jog the memory for those of us who haven't rewatched the show a million times. In rare cases where I think it will enhance understanding, I'll insert brief episode clips that highlight what they're talking about.

I'm putting a LOT of time into adding good, color-coded English subtitles that can be turned on and off with YouTube's CC button. These videos can be frustrating to understand because the audience often drowns them out and Jared and Jensen tend to talk at the same time when they're together. I can't always figure everything out, but it's far better than the crazy, auto-generated nonsense that many videos have. YouTube can then translate my English subtitles into other languages, so this may improve accessibility for people who are less comfortable with English. The color-coding helps with telling who's saying what: red for Jared, blue for Jensen, green for the general audience, yellow for the current fan at the microphone, and white for other people such as staff.

If there's missing footage that I can't find anywhere, then if I can find a source that seems to have reliable details about what was discussed, I'll add static images with a brief summary and a link to my source in the video description.

What Conventions Do You Plan to Enhance?

I don't want to make grand promises that I'll enhance videos for every old convention, although I definitely love the idea of doing so. How far I go with this will depend on how much sustained interest there is from other people and how much spare time I have myself. My output speed will probably be erratic depending on what's going on in my life at the time.

My general plan was to start with the oldest conventions and work my way forward. For now, I'm focusing on the panels with Jared and/or Jensen since they're my main interest. I may temporarily skip over conventions that they didn't both attend, but with the intent to go back and fill those in later. If I obtain any mostly-complete videos of Misha's solo panels that upscale well, I may also do his panel if I'm doing panels for Jared and Jensen from the same event.

One big constraint will be whether I can find enough videos to work with for a convention, and just how bad the quality is. I've found that some videos are too poor of a quality to upscale. Since these videos are painful to watch in their raw form, I suspect people will be less interested in watching "enhanced" videos that don't include at least some noticeable improvement in visual quality, but please do let me know if I'm wrong. For that reason, I'll probably skip past cons if I can't upscale the videos, at least for now.

As I work through the old conventions, I'll make a good attempt to upscale the available videos. If I don't have much success, then I'll skip over that convention with the hope that I might be able to get some video files that upscale better. (See the "Can I Help? section.) After I make it through all the low-hanging fruit, I want to come back to those problematic conventions and just create a cohesive edit with color corrections, special content, and subtitles even if I can't upscale the video.

These are just my general thoughts right now but the project is young, so my strategy may change.

Can I Help?

If you have any old convention videos or audio files that you're willing to contribute, please message me! Maybe I can use them, maybe I can't, but the more I have to work with, the better chance I have of creating something more complete. If I do use your material, I'll credit you in whatever manner you prefer.

Even if your videos are on YouTube, I've found that the original files may upscale much better than videos pulled off YouTube. I think the videos were degraded when they were uploaded to YouTube, at least back then. If you send me videos that I'm able to upscale, I'll happily send the upscaled versions back to you for your collection regardless of whether or not I use them. (If you have any videos you don't want me to use for this project, let me know and I'll respect your wishes.)

Even if your video looks terrible, you might just have a missing piece of footage that I couldn't find anywhere else, or your video might upscale more easily than another. If nothing else, I might be able to hear something in the audio that will help me fill in a subtitle I couldn't figure out.

Likewise, audio files can be helpful even without video. If nothing else, they may help me fill in some subtitles. If the audio file is consistently easier to understand than the audio on the videos I'm using, I can also substitute the audio from your file in place of the video's audio. If you have audio of sections of the panels for which no known videos exist, that could also help me fill in those gaps.

If you're watching my enhanced videos with the subtitles turned on, please do let me know if you catch any errors or if you can clearly understand something I marked as [inaudible]. I can't change the videos themselves on YouTube, not without breaking the links and causing confusion, but it's pretty easy to update the subtitles because they're a separate file. It's important to me to try not to put words in their mouths that they might not have said, so I'm trying not to guess purely based on context if I can't tell with confidence that they said what I think they probably said. However, there were times when I felt like I should have been able to understand what they said but I just couldn't manage it, and I'm sure someone with different ears may be able to figure out some of the parts I couldn't.

[amadeus-for-music]

Mozart l'Opéra Rock (+cast) timeline An overview of my MOR gifs Please note: This is a WIP, not a complete list Reblog if you want, but I will update this a lot This timeline is also linked in my Info box Questions or notes? Ask me! 2008 11-14: 'Tatoue-moi' Making-of Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 12-15: 'Tatoue-moi' Music Video (watch) Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 2009 03-16: 'Vivre à en crever' Music Video (watch) Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 04-24: 'Starmania' Music Video (watch) Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 04-24: Interview with France Gall (watch) Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 06-22: 'L'assasymphonie' Music Video (watch) Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 11-04: 'Le bien qui fait mal' Music Video (watch) Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 11-29: 'Chabada' S01E10 (watch) Cast: OG Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 2010 12-26: 'Chabada' S02E13 (watch) Cast: 3D without Melissa Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 2011 07-09: Performance in Bercy/Paris (watch) Cast: Mikele, Florent & Diane Gifs: Part 1 2014 01-//: 'Arrête' Music Video (watch) Cast: Florent Gifs: Part 1 2019 02-28: 'Express Culture' Interview (read & watch) Cast: Mikele & Laurent Gifs: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 2024 04-03: 'Starmusical' L'assasymphonie tableau M6 (watch) Cast: Florent Gifs: Part 1 09-09: MOR China Tour Clip (watch) Cast: Mikele & Laurent Gifs: Part 1 11-27: 'Starmusical' Teaser 2025 (watch) Cast: Florent Gifs: Part 1 12-04: 'Tout le monde contre le cancer' backstage Cast: Florent Gifs: Part 1 Special Just men kissing other men in musicals (Mikele) Favourite characters in 'Le petit prince' (Laurent)

[earlycuntsets]

mcr shows on youtube pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

07/31/2007 coors amphitheater chula vista ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/03/2007 verizon wireless amphitheater selma tx - effvee

08/04/2007 smirnoff music center dallas tx - mrsmoore710

08/05/2007 cynthia woods mitchell pavilion the woodlands tx - allyhr80

08/11/2007 ford amphitheater tampa fl - DAK

08/13/2007 walnut creek amphitheater raleigh nc - ddr2nite

08/18/2007 darien lake performing arts center darian lake ny - megaphone25

08/19/2007 nissan pavilion bristow va - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/21/2007 molson amphitheater toronto ca - Taylor & saofan20

08/22/2007 dte energy music center clarkston mi - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/24/2007 tweeter center for the performing arts bostom ma - ricola7 & the academy is my beautiful romance

08/25/2007 tweeter center camden nj - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/26/2007 new england dodge music center hartford ct - blackmariah224

08/28/2007 mohigan sun grandstand new york state fair syracuse ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/29/2007 pnc bank arts center holmdale nj - darkxdisco

09/01/2007 first midwest bank amphitheater tinley park il - jeana k

10/04/2007 coca cola auditorio monterrey mexico - stagglp

10/07/2007 palacio de los deportes mexico city mexico - my chemical romance official youtube

10/24/2007 maxwells hoboken nj - my chemical romance official youtube

10/30/2007 sportová hala pasienky, bratislava, slovakia - kiss955

11/04/2007 x-tray zurich switzerland - waylien87

11/11/2007 metro radio arena newcastle upon tyne england - moshmocyanide

11/12/2007 aberdeen exhibition and conference centre aberdeen scotland - t3hOutlaw

11/15/2007 o2 arena london england - the academy is my beautiful romance

11/17/2007 king's hall belfast northern ireland - xxeternalflamexx

11/28/2007 brisbane entertainment centre brisbane australia - skejemer281

12/03/2007 adelaide entertainment centre adelaide australia - zsazsalahore

12/09/2007 stadium merdeka kuala lumpur malaysia - ffillusionseb

12/11/2007 singapore expo max pavilion singapore - msliveformusic

12/14/2007 neal s.blaisdell arena honolulu - xdegrassilover92x

1/25/2008 eastwood open park manila phillipines - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/27/2008 national taiwan university sports center taipeh taiwan - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/29/2008 asia world expo hall 10 hong kong china - MCRThePatient

01/31/2008 plenary hall jakarta convention center kota administrasi jakarta pusat indonesia - mhit2

02/15/2008 vio rio rio de janiero brazil - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/17/2008  hellooch curitiba brazil - elle10one

02/19/2008  via funchal são paulo brazil - hicao182

03/29/2008 rialto theater tuscon arizona - raven pictures

03/30/2008 the joint at the hard rock hotel las vegas nv - Biancha Hidalgo

03/31/2008 the joint at the hard rock hotel las vegas nv - Donanae Dunwoody & rnm1947ebe & nachocheesechips & justsleeep

04/02/2008 san jose civic center san jose ca - daylinmychemrocks

04/06/2008 bamboozle left verizon wireless amphitheater irvine ca - jackiejackiebootysmackie

04/09/2008 crystal ballroom portland oregon - mcdreamysgirlXOXO

04/12/2008 autodromo hermanos rodriguez coca cola zero festival mexico city mexico - the academy is my beautiful romance

04/18/2008 congress theater chicago il - Ashley Tara

04/19/2008 the fillmore detriot mi - stephanie roose

04/24/2008 house of blues new orleans la - megan williams

04/25/2008 baton rouge river center baton rouge la - sam

04/28/2008 stubb's bar b cue austin tx - sue nellis

05/02/2008 beale street music festival tom lee park memphis tn - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/04/2008 lifestyle communities pavilion columbus oh - christine steele

07/31/2009 the roxy west hollywood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/08/2009 maishima osaka japan - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/26/2010 backstage werk munich germany - song des tages

10/30/2010 melkweg the max amsterdam netherlands - the academy is my beautiful romance

11/22/2010 house of blues west hollywood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

11/30/2010 p.c. richard & son theater nyc ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/1/2010 maida vale studios london england - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/2/2010 fuse tv studio nyc ny - koi no yokan

12/05/2010 1-800-ask-gary amphitheater tampa fl - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/06/2010 rockefeller plaza nyc ny - heather the human

12/08/2010 the midland by amc kansas city mo - the academy is my beautiful romance

12/09/2010 the daily habit los angeles ca - koi no yokan

12/11/2010 spike tv video game awards la convention center la - hidden gems & the academy is my beautiful romance

12/11/2010 kroq almost acoustic christmas gibson amphitheater universal city ca - kroq

12/15/2010 q101 twisted christmas house of blues chicago il - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/17/2011 conan burbank ca - JuanPI

1/21/2011 lopez tonight burbank ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

01/21/2011 the hollywood tower hollywood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/10/2011 xfm radio studios london uk - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/22/2011 metro radio arena newcastle on tyne england - ZoneMum

02/23/2011 o2 academy brixton uk - emzlouise90

02/24/2011 o2 academy islington uk - emziixmcr

03/09/2011 kesselhaus munich germany - the academy is my beautiful romance

03.12.2011 ciutat de les artes i les ciencies valencia spain - CarlosCapBlanc3

03/20/2011 hartwall areena helsinki finland - the academy is my beautiful romance

04/23/2011 terminal 5 new york city ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/15/2011 carlisle lake district airport carlisle england - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/24/2011 universidad complutense de madrid madrid spain - pamyale24

06/26/2011 autodromo internazionale enzo e dino ferrara imoli italy - denis rossi

07/02/2011 coke sound up stuttgart germany - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/03/2011 dyrskuepladsen roskilde denmark - søren thomsen

07/07/2011 passeio marítimo de algés oeiras portugal - the academy is my beautiful romance

07/09/2011 roundhouse london england - slavka941

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 4 (2011 - 2023)

[grievedifferent]

josh and med side effects: with the three major meds he was taking from 2006 to 2015 respectively, there are a few side effects we get confirmed from one med specifically, while another he says stopped working entirely for him. other side effects fit his characterization pretty well when we look at him that aren't overviewed directly in the game itself but from simple research.

Fluoxetine (06/18/2006 - 01/24/2010): Patient reported that side effects (headaches, nausea) were becoming too severe, and wanted to change drug.

Duloxetine (02/13/2010 - 11/01/2013): Patient claimed that the drug was no longer having any effect. Reported that his mood had badly worsened.

Amitriptyline (11/29/2013 - 04/05/2014): Patient began self-medicating, taking stronger doses.

Phenelzine (04/15/2014 - present): 30mg dose. Twice daily, increasing to three times daily after 2 weeks.

on the drug report for phenelzine, it's stated:

If the patient reports any of the following symptoms, please contact a physician IMMEDIATELY.

Side effects: hypotension, blurred vision, dizziness, insomnia, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle tremors, liver damage (hepatitis),

On withdrawal: nausea, insomnia, nightmares, agitation, hallucinations, paranoia, aggressiveness, slurred speech, ataxia, catatonia, shocks

i think it's interesting that in the side effects for amitriptyline, there are side effects that actually affect sexual health (ie loss of sex drive and erectile dysfunction), on top of the "usual suspects" (we see a lot of crossing over of side effects in the meds josh was/is on).

i think josh probably experienced a loss of sex drive for sure, both due to the drug first (when he was off early into the year between hannah's prank and his revenge), followed by an immense drop in interest post-death of hannah and beth. so when the meds wore off, that side effect just lingered via his emotional state.

i think you can kind of see it in his sexual frustration when he's tied up and going off on chris, the way he speaks so aggressively is pretty unlike him on the subject (usually cool, lax, looking to get laid, that kind of thing). yes, he is also in an extreme state of mental distress and in the midst of a major breakdown, but during those states, a lot of inner turmoil gets brought out into light, so it's not surprising that josh is sexually frustrated.

additionally, duloxetine also has a sexual side effects, but we see him struggle the most 'side effect wise' with fluoxetine first, duloxetine stops working entirely, and then with amitriptyline we see a reaction of overmedicating (likely due to josh's view of it "not working" or "just needing bigger doses, then it works").

this kind of goes hand-in-hand with some of my intimacy posts, and this is likely why he struggles to "make it all the way", especially on amitriptyline where he has a low sex drive / sexual frustration.

phenelzine (which he was on in-game) can also cause disorganized thoughts, anxiety, headaches, dizziness ... among other side effects.

also, we have to remember, josh is not only misusing his medicine in some instances (or just not taking it), but is also using drugs and alcohol actively.

straight from the wiki for more context:

As seen in the Psychiatric Report found by Sam (if she successfully evades capture), Josh was referred to a psychiatrist due to an incident at his school at age 11. From then on, he began to take multiple types of antidepressants: Fluoxetine, Duloxetine and Amitriptyline. Josh, however, reported that none of the medication was working and that he was experiencing side effects. Nine years later, after the disappearance of his sisters, his depression worsened, to the point that his psychiatrists recommended ECT. Instead, he began taking stronger medication, Phenelzine, which he later stopped taking, causing him to suffer withdrawal symptoms.

The same psychiatric report shows that Josh attempted suicide and began overdosing on his medication after Hannah and Beth's disappearance.

Josh's eventual prescribed dose of Phenelzine was 90 mg, which is higher than the average dose (60 mg) as well as the highest possible (maximum) dose in general.[5]

Josh shows additional symptoms that are not typical of depression, such as suffering from delusion/detachment from reality, disorganized speech, visual and auditory hallucinations. The cause of Josh's symptoms could be the following things:

His symptoms are likely the cause of his withdrawal from his medicine, as they match the withdrawal symptoms of Phenelzine. It can be assumed that Josh stopped taking his medication, and that is where most, if not all, of his later behavior comes from. Given that Phenelzine's half-life is approximately 11 hours, it can be assumed that he stopped taking his medication shortly before the events on Blackwood Mountain.

Josh could also have been misdiagnosed. The Psychiatric Report states that Josh complained to Dr. Hill that his medication wasn't working. This medication could have been ineffective due to him possessing a second mental illness that the psychiatrists weren't entirely aware of. Many fans theorize that his second mental illness is schizophrenia, a brain disorder that involves disassociation from reality. Its symptoms are also visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, social withdrawal/paranoia, and disorganized speech. Both schizophrenia and depression can cause psychosis.

A combination of the two.

[2dmax]

cringetober 01 & 04 - heterochromia, angel/demon

acrylic on paper (9"x12") described in alt

above are the cringetober 2023 prompts written by awestin martinez (i cry ink), inspired by sleeprann's original post. the prompts are:

heterochromia 2. self insert 3. unnecessarily complex fit 4. angel x demon 5. ms paint 6. neko (or other animal features) 7. pinterest art base 8. tumblr sexyman 9. crossover ship/rarepair 10. fursona 11. yandere 12. niche interest 13. creepypasta 14. candygore 15. song lyrics 16. objecthead 17. fake anime screenshot 18. old art redraw 19. dolls/puppets/etc 20. hananaki disease 21. 100% saturation 22. maid dress/sailor uniform 23. meme(s) 24. MLP 25. gijinka 26. all edge no point 27. babygirl pose 28. alt fashion 29. hot villain (bonus points if woman) 30. videogame (undertale, fnaf, etc.) 31. HALLOWEEN!

doing prompts of any day that has already past and combining as i please... tried doing it day by day but i just can't. if you can't do a daily -tober challenge, don't feel bad; i don't even have a real job and i can't keep up with this shit. plus, i feel like doing whatever the hell i want is more in the vein of being cringe, anyway.

i'm really glad there is a resurgence in 00's internet culture (though typing it out, i realize a lot of these prompts are more 2010's, though the aesthetic of the post is more 00s). it makes sense for a lot of reasons. but i think it's also worth recognizing, as someone who grew up in it, this was not some golden past, either. there is no golden past. the internet in the 00's was just as, if not more, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, generally dangerous, and overall shit as it is today. so i encourage people to create a better web and a better world!

[thommi-tomate]

Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller

Schalke 04 vs FCB

(DFB-POKAL semifinal, Arena auf Schalke, March 24, 2010)

[jesse-eisenberg-interview]

A list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing

I made a list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing.

2009

NOV 30 Manageable Tongue Twisters.

2010

FEB 24 Marxist-Socialists Jokes

2011

JUL 21 A Post Gender Normative Man Tries to Pick Up a Woman at a Bar

DEC 07 ACTOR & PLAYWRIGHT JESSE EISENBERG ON THE THRILL OF THE STAGE

2012

JAN 25 Courage Is Just an Act

FEB 15 Jeremy Lin Has Helped Me Through Some Pretty Tough Times

MAR 12 Jesse Eisenberg on His Lifelong Aversion to Youth Culture

MAY 24 Sushi Nozawa

JUN 06 Masgouf

JUL 09 The Whiskey Blue Bar at the W Hotel

AUG 01 TCBY

AUG 20 Robert Frost Elementary School Cafeteria

OCT 02 Organix vs. the San Gennaro Street Festival

NOV 21 Thanksgiving With Vegans

DEC 11 Body Rituals Among the Lauxesortem

2013

FEB 22 Matthew’s House

MAR 17 Marv Albert Is My Therapist

APR 15 The League, Passed Down

APR 17 I Didn’t Win Any Pulitzer Prizes This Year

APR 25 A Marriage Counselor Tries to Heckle at a Knicks Game

JUN 03 Fuddruckers and an Unreliable New Friend

JUN 24 Separation-Anxiety Sleepaway Camp

AUG 06 A Crawfish Boil and Dad’s New Family

SEP 09 A Bully Does His Research

OCT 02 A Post Gender Normative Woman Tries to Pick Up a Man at a Bar

OCT 07 Final Conversations at Pompeii

NOV 01 The Museum of Natural History and Making Compromises

NOV 12 Alexander Graham Bell’s First Five Phone Calls

DEC 12 The Ashram and Mom

2014

JAN 20 If I Was Fluent in . . .

JUN 10 Carmelo Anthony and I Debrief Our Friends After a Pickup Game at the Y.M.C.A.

2015

MAY 25 Men and Dancing

SEP 01 My Nephew Has Some Questions

SEP 09 My Spam Plays Hard to Get

NOV 22 THE GUY WHO HATED NOW YOU SEE ME, A SHORT STORY

NOV 23 An Honest Film Review

2016

JAN 27 What Do You Do When Your Mother Won’t Shut Up at The Ballet?

FEB 04 Act Like You Know

FEB 12 Why I Broke Up with the Little Mermaid

MAY 19 My Cousin Recently Became A Realtor

NOV 04 SELF-DEPRECATING HEROES

DEC 11 LOW TALK IN HIGH PLACES

2017

JAN 23 YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW

JAN 25 My Very Good Friend

FEB 01 发现肉——致中国读者

MAR 04 HAVE YOU DINED WITH US BEFORE?

NOV 14 Mongolia

2018

JAN 15 Sad Stuff on the Street

MAR 20 Thanks, Giving

MAY 14 My N.B.A. Knowledge Comes In Handy

MAY 18 One Small Blow Against Encroaching Totalitarianism: The Natural Order of the World Depends On It

MAY 31 Jesse Eisenberg on the Relentless Work Ethic of Philip Roth

DEC 05 The Cast Members and Their Crew

2019

JAN 03 MY SISTER PUSHES THE LOBSTER

NOV 21 My Two-Year-Old Requests Just One More Song Before Bed

NOV 23 Jesse Eisenberg: Recommends four contemporary plays

2021

MAR 02 Writer Courtney Zoffness and Jesse Eisenberg on the Radical Compassion of Art

2022

NOV 07 Content Warning

2023

FEB 20 A G.P.S. Route for My Anxiety

[jewishbarbies]

I… how does she even have enough life lived in these short release periods to live, experience, write and record new music. Just how?!

I literally made a timeline of releases because the way she’s churning out albums now compared to her normal release window is horrendous.

Taylor Swift 2006/10/24 

>> 355 DAYS

The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection 2007/10/14 

>> 275 DAYS

Beautiful Eyes (EP) 2008/07/15

>> 119 DAYS

Fearless 2008/11/11

>> 713 DAYS

Speak Now 2010/10/25

>> 728 DAYS

Red 2012/10/22

>> 735 DAYS

1989 2014/10/27

>> 1110 DAYS

Reputation 2017/11/10

>> 651 DAYS

Lover 2019/08/23

>> 336 DAYS

Folklore 2020/07/24

>> 140 DAYS

Evermore 2020/12/11

>> 119 DAYS

Fearless TV 2021/04/09

>> 217 DAYS

Red TV 2021/11/12

>> 344 DAYS

Midnights 2022/10/21

>> 260 DAYS

Speak Now TV 2023/07/07

>> 113 DAYS

1989 TV 2023/10/27

>> 176 DAYS

The Tortured Poets Department 2024/04/19

Not to mention we still have her debut TV and Rep TV to be released as well. Can she just stop for five seconds so we can breathe. 

girl can’t slow down bc then she’d have to think about how fucked her life is, probably. it’s definitely oversaturation but it’s kind of nice knowing her music won’t be on tiktok until UMG comes to an agreement. hoping that means we won’t be hearing the first single.