#40 number trivia

[math1089]

40 Mathematical Marvels that will Amaze You!

Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty – a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture. Bertrand Russell Welcome to the blog Math1089 – Mathematics for All. Welcome to a captivating journey through the realm of mathematics! Prepare to be amazed as we unveil 40 Mathematical Marvels that will challenge your perceptions, spark your curiosity, and leave you…

[rassicas]

today on splatoon mythbusters: is Agent 4 a country bumpkin?

no lol this is probably the funniest widespread misconception to come out in recent years A big part of it is because people misunderstood this map.

I came across this trivia point on the wiki page for agent 4 while making this post LOL agent 4 has better access to public transportation than 95% of you With all that green on the map and nothing marked in between, It seems that people have been assuming the population density of inkopolis looks something like the image on the left. While it's unclear exactly how big the population is of inkadia and the surrounding area is, going roughly off of how irl east Tokyo and neighboring Chiba prefecture look, i think its safe to guess were dealing with an urban area that looks more like whats on the right.

(side note about population count: i take the account of the Low Water Party with a grain of salt since that isnt even a real number they used. something that is more reliable is that graffiti artist Sally has over 240k followers on social media. while followers can be from anywhere in the world ofc, it sounds like her fanbase is largely in inkopolis. i think its safe to say inkopolis is a very big city!)

If we're to look more at the irl equivalent of the area, it seems the Inkopolis Coastal Connector is based on the Keiyo Line. Following that line roughly to where 4's house is lands us in a ward in Chiba city. It doesn't look like much, but about 100k people live in that area. Not a super crazy urban area like tokyo, but still urban.

(incidentally, a major landmark on the Keiyo line is Makuhari Messe, where 3 of the irl splatoon idol concerts have been held. maybe a coincidence but maybe gives more credence to the idea that that's what the coastal connector is based on?) Apparently on the Japanese side, there's a theory that 4 is from Yotsukaido, which is a little further north of the area i circled. why there? Yotsukaido means "4 town street"...4...haha

Ok enough guessing based on "vibes" and real maps that may or may not be accurate to how things are in the splatoon world. The Actual lore: On Splatoon base it's confirmed they grew up about 40 minutes away from Inkopolis by train, close to the city. That's like a nothing amount of distance.

Another developer interview from 2017 goes into more detail.

Inoue: Agent 3 had a very "I've finally made it to the city" feeling, with a strong desire to become fresh. 4 on the other hand, not so much. Rather than being someone from the countryside, they're more like someone who came from a commuter town within the greater metropolitan area. It's like a place where the limited express trains wouldn't stop at, but the semi-express trains would (laughs).

so agent 4 is very clearly, a city kid. agent 3 is the country bumpkin, from an area so far away its not even on the map. According to splatoon base...

Far enough away that they moved to inkopolis alone. meanwhile 4 lives close enough that they could just go home to their parents after battling.

Also this is something that I never see brought up. Amidst the dubiously canon early concept comics in the back of the artbook, there's a comic about agent 3 leaving their hometown, mentioning they live in a seaside town called [REDACTED] with a population of 5000.

Again, these comics are dubious since theyre so old. but there are ideas in these comics that have carried over to the final games in some form, and this is consistent with agent 3's final characterization that they come from a far away small town and had a longing for the city.

anyway tldr i think its funny how agent 4's fandom characterization/backstory got swapped with 3's all because of a misread map

[half-oz-eddie]

i'll believe you when you're sober

E Rating Tags: Drunk Evan "Buck" Buckley, Fix-It, Frottage, Reconciliation, Dubious Consent

Every night feels quiet and monotonous. No one to yap his ear off with random trivia. No one to insist on massaging his scalp in the shower after a long shift. No Evan.

It's all Tommy's fault, he knows, but he constantly tells himself that it was for the best. It was the right thing. Even if every sunset is a vicious cycle of endless darkness. He's not sleeping as well without the goodnight kiss…and another…and another…and one more. He's not eating as well with out the "is this sauce too spicy?" "no it's perfect" pasta. Tommy's just not the same anymore.

At 10:40, he dragged himself to bed and tried to sleep on what used to be Evan's side. All it does is make him miss him more. Dream about him more. Toss and turn without him more.

He stared at the ceiling, ready for another sleepless night.

He slowly turned his head toward the night table, following the sound of his phone vibrating.

The number on the screen was unfamiliar, but at 11 PM, it had to be a mistake, or an emergency.

He answered either way.

"Hello?"

"Hey, yeah…are you Tommy?" A man on the other end of the phone asked.

"Yes? Who's calling?"

"My name is Greg, I'm a bartender at Bigg's Bar. I've got a guy, Buck, at the bar who's been disturbing the patrons and crying over you. He's had too much to drink so I suggested giving you a call. Can you come pick him up?"

"…Buck? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he almost got into a fight with some guy over…the moon, or something. Anyway, can you get him out of here? It's almost last call."

Tommy had to shake off the momentary shock. "Uh…Yeah, I'll be there as soon as possible."

The call ended and Tommy rushed to put on some clothes, any clothes. He put on one black sock and one white sock, some grey sweats that were a bit snug and Buck's favorite hoodie. He'd be sure to explain to Buck why he still had it once he was sober.

Bigg's was a 30 minute commute from Tommy's, but Tommy was sure to get there as quickly as possible.

He rushed inside and immediately approached the bartender. "You called me? About Buck?"

"Oh, yeah, he's over there." Greg pointed to the end of the bar to a man with his head resting on his arm and a glass of water in front of him. "Buck? Buck." Tommy nudged him.

"Mmh…" Buck mumbled as he slowly sat up. His heavy, glossy eyes went wide. "To-Tommy?"

Tommy nodded. "C'mon. Let's get you out of here before you get in trouble." Tommy attempted to help Buck off the bar stool, only to receive no cooperation.

Buck yanked his arm out of Tommy's grasp. "I don't…wanna go with you."

Tommy felt his heart sink immediately. He knew all along Buck hated him, but this was proof. "Why?" He asked, knowing the question was pointless.

"Because you hate me. You don't want me."

"Listen, I don't hate you, okay? And I'm not leaving without you."

Buck whimpered and put his head back down. "M'not going."

"Please." Tommy sighed. "You can't stay here all night, they want you to go."

Buck snickered. "So nobody wants me."

"Just let me take you home, okay? I promise I don't mind."

Buck slowly sat up and allowed Tommy to escort him out of the bar. Tommy strapped Buck into his backseat and handed him a plastic bag from one of his grocery shopping trips earlier that week.

"If you need me to stop or slow down, just say so."

Buck mumbled something as his head bobbed to the side, gently knocking against the window.

Tommy began driving, occasionally glancing back at Buck, who hadn't said a single word since they left the bar.

"I told him…" Buck slurred.

"Told who?" Tommy asked.

"The guy…at the bar. I told him…there were active volcanoes on the moon and he…he said I sounded stupid. You…never called me stupid." "You're not stupid, Buck."

"Can we go to your house?"

"Why my house?" Tommy narrowed his eyes into the rear view mirror.

"Wanna…use the white noise machine."

Tommy did not want to bring Buck to his house, but he also did want to bring Buck to his house.

"Fine." He acquiesced.

Tommy drove Buck back to his house, helped him out of his clothes and into the bed. He turned on the white noise machine and tucked Buck in securely.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"No!" Buck exclaimed, grabbing his hand. "Stay with me."

Tommy shook his head. "I can't sleep here with you."

"Why?" Buck whined. "Y'don't wanna?"

He did wanna. Very much so. He craved nights like this every night since he broke up with Buck. But he didn't think he deserved it.

"No. You're drunk. I don't think you'd want to sleep next to me if you were sober."

"Please." Buck begged. "I've missed you so bad. I just want to lay next to you. One more time."

Tommy joined Buck in the bed, against his better judgement.

He let Buck flop into his arm and nuzzle against his cheek.

“Goodnight kiss.” Buck mumbled.

Tommy slowly turned to Buck. A kiss is just a kiss, right? No big deal. They’ve done it a hundred times. Maybe even more.

Tommy planted a soft, chaste kiss on Buck’s lips.

“Another.” He agreed. “Another.” Of course. “One more.” Anything he wanted.

Until Buck rolled on top of him, the chaste kisses becoming slow, passionate and sloppy.

It was the kiss he remembered. The taste he remembered. The tongue he remembered. The Evan he remembered. It was so good, it made him moan.

But they hadn’t discussed the breakup. This wasn’t something that could be left in the past and forgotten. They were too broken to be here. He didn’t deserve these kisses.

Buck slid his hand down, freeing their cocks from the restricting shorts that kept them separated from one another, grinding against Tommy slowly and lazily.

He didn’t deserve the feeling of Evan’s cock slowly gliding against his own, so slick and wet and eager to push inside him.

“E-Ev—baby. We-we shouldn’t.” He moaned, attempting to refuse himself the oncoming orgasm. He didn’t deserve this.

“Tommy.” Buck whined. “I needed you. Missed you.”

“I missed you too.” His moan was a little louder than he anticipated. His cock was sputtering and leaking weeks of pent up precome.

“You’ve never been this hard before.” Buck whispered with a smirk he couldn’t see in the darkness.

“We’ve been apart for a long time.” Tommy admitted, gripping Buck’s ass and grinding up against him, meeting his movements.

Tommy should have been focused on other things. You are so drunk, I had to scrape you off a bar stool. We aren’t together anymore. What are we even doing?

But all he could focus on was—

“I’m gonna come!” Tommy moaned. “Don’t stop.”

“Come for me, daddy. Yeah. You feel so good.” Buck praised. He leaned into Tommy’s neck, softly biting his sensitive skin.

Tommy let out a guttural groan as his cock spilled between them, and Buck soon followed, continuing to slowly grind against Tommy, kissing him until they both had nothing left.

Buck rolled onto the pillow and sighed happily. “Man. I really needed that.”

Tommy slowly sat up. “I’m gonna go get something to clean us up with.”

“Don’t be gone long, baby. I wanna talk to you.”

Tommy wasn’t in much of a rush to return. Buck was drunk. There was no way they could have a decent conversation like this.

He returned, hoping Buck was sound asleep, slightly disappointed when Buck turned toward him as he cleaned him off.

“Tommy.” Buck mumbled.

“Yeah?”

“I miss you so much. I love you…so much.”

“I’m sorry, Evan.” Tommy said sincerely. “But I don’t think you know what you’re saying right now. Let’s pick this up in the morning.”

“Mmh. I do.” Buck weakly argued. “I mean it.”

“Okay. I will believe you when you’re sober.”

“Kiss me.”

Tommy offered Buck one more kiss. Two more kisses. Three more kisses. Ambushed when Buck pulled him in for a fourth, smiling against his lips as if he’d won something.

Tommy didn’t deserve to feel like a prize.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Evan.”

Tommy lied flat on his back and Buck rolled into his arms, lazily peppering kisses on Tommy’s cheek until he fell asleep.

Tommy could feel Buck’s breathing evening out and his breath tickling his cheek.

It was nice. And he didn’t deserve it at all.

The following morning, Tommy woke up in bed alone. He’d be able to convince himself that last night was a dream if Buck’s cologne didn’t linger on his sheets and on his skin.

This is exactly what he deserved. Buck obviously came to his senses when he woke up and realized this was a drunken mistake.

Tommy dragged himself downstairs to make some coffee. There was no way he was going to make it through the day without a cup or two.

He didn’t expect his door to swing open the moment he reached the counter.

“Oh h-hey, good morning.” Buck greeted. “I thought you’d still be asleep before I got back.” He lifted the bag in his hand. “I went to get us some breakfast, to thank you and apologize for last night. I-I don’t remember everything, but I know you picked me up before I did something I would regret. So, thank you.”

“Thank Greg.”

“Greg?”

“The bartender. He said you were crying over me and asked me to get you out of the bar. I felt responsible.”

“Yeah.” Buck laughed. “I uh…I memorized your number in case anything ever happened. Since we’re both first responders…” He trailed off, sighing. “So. Hungry?”

“Yeah. Thank you. I’ll make us some coffee.”

“So…about last night.” Buck began. “I don’t really remember everything. Did we…”

Tommy nodded.

“I figured. Did I say anything stupid?”

“You told me you love me.”

“W—hey, that’s not stupid.” Buck frowned.

“When you’re drunk and don’t mean it, it is.”

“I did mean it.”

Tommy shook his head. “You don’t.”

“Tommy. I’m not stupid. Or confused. I do love you.”

“I never said you were any of those things. I just don’t think you can love me for everything I am when I’ve been holding so much back.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I feel like I’ve…" Tommy sighed. "I've conditioned myself to be a good boyfriend. To be right. To be perfect. And in the process of all that. I don’t know if I’m ever really…myself. I’m afraid to let go. To unwind. To not be the confident, comfortable person. I’ve tried to be everything you were attracted to, but I can’t be that all the time. And when that veil is pulled away, I’ll lose you. You’ll lose interest.”

“Don’t you think I want to see more of that? It’s okay to fall apart in my arms, and give me a chance to love you unconditionally. That’s what I want to do. I want to see you. All of you.”

“You only think you do.”

“I know you’ll have a moment of weakness. Everyone does. I’ve seen it before. You’ve questioned your place in the 118 family more than once, and I’m always here to remind you how special you are. Beyond all the cool things you do. I just—I want to love everything about you.”

Buck nervously watched Tommy. He was quiet. Pensive. It made Buck’s grip tighten so much on his coffee cup, he could’ve cracked it.

“I told you last night that I would believe you when you were sober.”

“So…do you believe me?”

Tommy nodded. “I do, and I love you too. I don't ever want to let you go again."

Buck smiled. "Hey ca-can we have sex?"

"That's your first order of business?" Tommy snorted.

"I just wanna remember it this time! And maybe it'll help with my hangover."

"Can we finish breakfast first?"

Buck's sweet smile turned into a mischievous smirk that Tommy knew all too well. Before he knew it, he was being dragged upstairs by his collar.

"We can finish breakfast later."

Give me kudos <3

[liketwoswansinbalance]

MASTERPOST for The One True School Master of Vault 41

This is a continually updating table of contents to help with navigating my posts about TOTSMOV41, my WIP longfic.

The fic's premise: Sophie joins forces with a resurrected, former lover in the midst of trying to get Tedros back onto Camelot's throne, but that's not even half the uphill battle: rogue psyches and distrust abound and threaten to shatter the present state of the Woods as everyone knows it.

or

In which Rafal is resurrected during the events of One True King and things go horribly, disproportionately wrong!

Also, the fic will not be published for a very long time, so don't expect to see it anytime soon. I'm still on draft zero/the outline/script.

⸻

—Table of Contents—[Pre-Publication of Fic]

1. Title reveal and associated music

2. Round I of Excerpts

3. Apparently, the tag "otk" is banned from tumblr.

4. The misleading trope hint

5. Round II Excerpt

6. Visual ref. 1

7. Facts about the fic

8. Reblog #1

9. Aesthetic for one of the first scenes (and flower trivia in the comments)

10. A Peek at My Outline Process

11. Reblog #2, dialogue, and reference to suicide

12. Round III of Excerpts

13. Sketch - Rafal got punched in the face.

14. Screenshots of my Pinterest board for the fic

15. Update, more facts about the fic, and its references to philosophic concepts

16. Round IV Excerpt

17. Cover Reveal

18. Reblog #3

19. Reblog #4

20. Reblog #5

21. Hypothetical Non-Excerpt

22. The Recurring Japeth Punchline

23. Reblog #6

24. Reblog #7

25. Three "Fun" (Incongruous) Facts

26. Thanatos drive reference mentioned

27. Reblog #8

28. Reblog #9

29. Reblog #10

30. Ask containing minor fic trivia

31. Update and Round V of Excerpts

32. Which wizard is this? (a.k.a. The Tedros Insanity Poll)

33. Reblog #11

34. Reblog #12

35. Reblog #13 and Fic Tags

36. Round VI Excerpt

37. The Suffering Scale

38. Word Ask Game

39. Word Ask #1

40. Word Ask #2

41. Word Ask #3

42. Results of the Tedros Poll

43. Round VII of Excerpts

44. Guess the Last Verb/Noun

45. Minor Spoilers

46. Reblog #14

47. Reblog #15

48. Reblog #16

49. Visual ref. 2

50. Reblog #17

51. Slightly Cursed Thought?

52. Aesthetic

53. Round VIII of Excerpts

54. Scrapped Hypothetical Scene

55. Reblog #18

56. Visual ref. 3

57. Reblog #19

58. Reblog #20

59. Deliberate or Not Deliberate?

60. Update and Another Ask Game

61. Page Number Ask #1

62. Page Number Ask #2

63. Visual ref. 4

64. Visual ref. 5

65. Reblog #21

66. Reblog #22

67. Reblog #23

68. Reblog #24

69. Reblog #25

70. Verbing Nouns

71. Reblog #26

72. Reblog #27

73. A Little News

74. TLEA Evidence for One of My Theories

75. Reblog #28

76. Reblog #29

77. Trick-or-Treat Ask Excerpt

—The Story— [Links TBA after publication.]

Part I: Of Solipsism, Sophistry, and Storians.

Part II: Great Mistake II, Great Mistake III, and Verisimilitude

Part III: Phantoms, Prescience, and the Pen

Deleted Scene

Meta post

Fic Analysis, Commentary & Trivia

Propaganda

⸻

Need-to-Knows (a.k.a How I'm meddling with canon):

This fic will involve Rafal being resurrected, and lead up to an alternate continuity of plot events, all set during One True King. Thus, its title will be: The One True School Master of Vault 41. However, the title may or may not be a bit of a misnomer, so I might just end up subverting your expectations after all.

There will be a form of "psyche travel," or an approximation of time travel, using Dovey's crystal ball like in ACOT, the arson of a certain Wizard Tree to look forward to, and some offbeat, unprecedented action taken by the Storian. Of course, Agatha and Rafal will bicker a lot while Sophie plays the role of mediator. And, oh, Rafal will be tortured, slightly…

Additionally, there's a couple things to note about the premise and the changes I've made to canon, for context:

1. The fic will disregard Fall as canon, yet will acknowledge Rise.

2. There are several canon elements I'm not using. The Rafal is the fic is him from Rise, and also from TLEA. I decided to only acknowledge Rise but not Fall because I didn't want to work with the identity-swap twist. So Rafal is Rafal is Rafal in this case. I will draw from both his Rise characterization and his TLEA characterization.

3. Later in the fic, Rise Rhian only has minor appearances, and is present in Rafal's psyche, but he will not actually be a character until I write a possible sequel, if I ever do reach that point. So, you can assume Rhian was moderately Good to grey on the morality scale, and that Rafal was the one who ultimately committed the fratricide for the purposes of this fic.

4. I've decided not to acknowledge the OTK parentage twist. To clarify, Rafal will have no relation to Japeth, simply because it felt out of character for him to have children with a woman he seemed to loathe, even if it may have been less out of character for the canon Rhian falsely disguised as "Rafal." I personally thought it contradicted Rafal's characterization, so Japeth's placeholder father, who probably won't even be mentioned in the story, will be the Green Knight, to explain his magical prowess as the Snake.

Otherwise, for the most part, this fic is alternate continuity "canon," and diverges at some point during OTK.

I've tried to set the stage, eradicate confusion, and mediate potential disappointment as best as I could above, but if anyone would like me to demystify anything about the fic, my writing process, or ask anything else at all, feel free to send questions to me! Yet, I might not be able to answer everything, for various reasons, including limiting excessive spoilers, so please keep that in mind.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Random Trivia Fact I just learned: Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl have the highest total storage capacity of any Main Series Pokémon game, allowing 1,2000 Pokémon to be stored. It also has the most "boxes" at 40 (each individually able to store 30 Pokémon).

Additionally, Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee has the lowest number of boxes (1) the highest storage capacity for a single box (1,000 Pokémon), which also gives it the second-highest total storage capacity of any Pokémon game.

Basically, it seems that the less gritty games have on the Switch more space for storing Pokémon.

GOD you can catch so many pokemon

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Liz Fraser, born on 29th August 1963 has the most unique voice of our singers.…..

Elizabeth Davidson Fraser was born in Grangemouth not far from where I live in Falkirk, Liz is best known as the vocalist for the pioneering alternative rock group Cocteau Twins. Her distinctive singing earned much critical praise. She was once described as ‘the voice of God.’ and that it “veers between semi-comprehensible lyrics and abstract mouth music” I agree with the voice of God description, it makes my spine tingle listening to her.

Liz was spotted in 1981, dancing in a club by founding members of the Cocteau Twins, Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie, they asked her join the group, the late great John Peel helped them get their break and they were very successful on the Indie scene, with six top ten albums in the Indie charts, four of which were number one.

Mainstream success was limited, the fantastic “Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops” being their top single in 1984, and a more than respectable, six top 40 albums over the years. Liz was in a relationship with her band member Robin Guthrie, he was abusing drugs and alcohol throughout the years they were together which led to her having a nervous breakdown and ultimately their breakup in 1983.

Cocteau Twins, did however continue producing music together for a number of years after until the band split up in the late 90’s. Fraser was then in an “intense” relationship with the very talented Jeff Buckley, she wrote the song Teardrop, recorded by Massive Attack after the singers accidental death, Liz recently teamed up with the band at their first gigs in five years, I will post the song from their Bristol gig, please listen to it, she has definately not lost that great voice!!!

Liz has recorded songs with many others over the years, including featuring in The Lord of the Rings soundtrack. her solo stuff has been sporadic, my fave tune is the Tim Buckley Song to the Siren performed by This Mortal Coil. A wee bit trivia, last year Elizabeth Fraser had an asteroid named after her, courtesy of the International Astronomical Union.

First discovered in 2013, the “Fraser” asteroid does not pose a threat to humanity, and isn’t set to collide with Earth for millions of years. It can be viewed only via advance telescope, imaging from which is available on NASA’s website.

When posted on Twitter/X fans quickly took to the comment section to share their excitement over the asteroid. One user wrote, “Brilliant. She is truly a celestial entity,” while another commented, “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of anything more appropriate in my life.”

[jules-has-notes]

Owings Mills, MD — VoicePlay live performances

For their first concert of 2020, VoicePlay headed up the East Coast to a town just outside Baltimore. They were joined by local vocal group The Trills as their opening act, and number of longtime fans met up in the audience to enjoy the harmonious antics live.

[NOTE: I had to remove the individual timestamp links on most of the medleys to keep under Tumblr's limit. Sorry about that.]

.

This piece was a longtime fan favorite at live shows, and for good reason. It combines musicality, audience participation, and just the right amount of silliness.

Details:

title: Elvira

original performers: The Oak Ridge Boys

written by: Dallas Frazier

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 23 January 2020

My favorite bits:

Geoff putting a little extra sauce on that first deep ♫ "Yeah" ♫

J.None mouthing "I could do that" in response to the solo ♫ "miiine" ♫

troublemaker Eli prodding Earl to vie for the lead

J and Eli showing off their riffing skills in the second verse

Layne settling into the halftime groove

the "our tenor can go low too" gag, always a hoot

Earl's impressive breath control, singing for almost 20 seconds straight including all that riffing

the deliciously crunchy chords on ♫ "fi-i-i-iiire" ♫ 🔥

protracted beard stroking between friends, dissolving into adorable giggles

that big finish

Trivia:

They included this song in their setlist for the 2015 Sing-Off tour.

Their pals in Home Free enjoyed VoicePlay's version so much that they used this arrangement as a starting point for their own collaboration with The Oak Ridge Boys.

.

Many songs contain nonsense words or lyrics in another language, so VoicePlay decided to gather up a bunch and turn them into this rollicking medley.

Details:

title: A Crimpella

original songs / performers: "Walk the Dinosaur" by Was (Not Was); [0:10] "Witch Doctor" by Alvin & the Chipmunks; [0:17] "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; [0:22] "We Go Together" from Grease!; [0:29] "Motownphilly" by Boyz II Men; [0:38] "Imma Be" by the Black Eyed Peas; [0:45] "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard; [0:48] "Shoop" by Salt N Pepa; [0:54] "Jock-A-Mo" (aka "Iko Iko") by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford; [1:02] "Mahna Mahna" from The Muppet Show; [1:13] "Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin" by Journey; [1:37] "Goofy Goober Rock" from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie; [1:40] "MMMBop" by Hanson; [1:52] "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede; [1:55] "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock; [2:01] "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" by Neil Sedaka; [2:09] "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen; [2:25] "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga; [2:30] "Can't Get You Outta My Head" by Kylie Minogue; [2:37] "Limbo La La" by James Lloyd; [2:40] "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie; [2:58] "Wanna Be Starting Something" by Michael Jackson; [3:04] "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam

arranged by: VoicePlay

performance date: 23 January 2020

My favorite bits:

Eli's yelp as the group stomp sends him flying

that classic Boyz II Men bell chord

J.None's clear tone on the "Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin" solo

Earl smacking J's arm to cut off his long "Wheeee!"

Layne contentedly staying put off to the side during "Bohemian Rhapsody"

the arm-ography on the final ♫ "byyye" ♫

Trivia:

This medley was one of the earliest videos on their YouTube channel, and a staple of their live shows for many years.

.

Bad guys have some of the best songs in Disney's animated movies, and these are among the most fun.

Details:

title: Aca Top 10 – Disney Villains

original songs: [0:06] "Friends on the Other Side" by Keith David as Doctor Facilier in The Princess and the Frog (2009); [0:40] "Mother Knows Best" by Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel in Tangled (2010); [0:57] "Trust In Me" by Sterling Holloway as Kaa in The Jungle Book (1967); [1:14] "The Siamese Cat Song" by Peggy Lee as Si and Am in Lady and the Tramp (1955); [1:35] "Oogie Boogie's Song" by Ken Page as Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); [1:59] "Cruella De Vil" by Bill Lee as Roger Radcliffe in 101 Dalmatians (1961); [2:22] "Gaston" by Jesse Corti as LaFou & Richard White as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (1991); [2:56] "Hellfire" by Tony Jay as Claude Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996); [3:13] "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Pat Carroll as Ursula in The Little Mermaid (1989); [3:31] "Be Prepared" by Jeremy Irons as Scar in The Lion King (1994)

written by: "Friends on the Other Side" by Randy Newman; "Mother Knows Best" by Alan Menken & Glenn Slater; "Trust In Me" by Robert & Richard Sherman; "The Siamese Cat Song" by Peggy Lee & Sonny Burke; "Oogie Boogie's Song" by Danny Elfman; "Cruella De Vil" by George Bruns & Mel Leven; "Gaston" by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman; "Hellfire" by Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz; "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Howard Ashman & Alan Menken; "Be Prepared" by Elton John & Tim Rice

arranged by: Layne Stein, Eli Jacobson, & Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 23 January 2020

My favorite bits:

the vibratto on J.None's second ♫ "reeeady" ♫

melodramatic mama Earl

Geoff's smooth drops on ♫ "eyyy-es" ♫ and ♫ "meee-eee" ♫ 🐍

everything dropping out for Layne's meow 🐈

♫ "gimme hip to hip" ♫ ::sychronized flossing:: 🕺

Earl putting a little grit into ♫ "murkiest scam" ♫

Trivia:

They'd released the studio recording of this countdown the previous spring.

Many of the songs included here have received full versions or longer excerpts in other medleys over the years.

.

Don't panic! It's just a handful of hit songs from one of the biggest bands of the early 2000s, done a cappella style.

Details:

title: Panic! in 4 Minutes

original songs / performers: all songs by Panic! at the Disco – "Victorious"; "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"; "Emperor's New Clothes"; "Miss Jackson", feat. Lolo; "The Ballad of Mona Lisa"; "This Is Gospel"; "High Hopes"; "Say Amen (Saturday Night)"

written by: all songs by Brendon Urie in collaboration – "Victorious" with Mike Viola, Morgan "White Sea" Kibby, Jake Sinclair, Alexander DeLeon, Rivers Cuomo, & CJ Baran; "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" with Ryan Ross & Spencer Smith; "Emperor's New Clothes" with Jake Sinclair, Lauren "Lolo" Pritchard, Sam Hollander, & Dan Wilson; "Miss Jackson" with Dallon Weekes, Lauren "Lolo" Pritchard, Jake Sinclair, Amir Jerome Salem, & Alex Goose; "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" with Spencer Smith, Butch Walker, & John Feldmann; "This Is Gospel" with Dallon Weekes & Jake Sinclair; "High Hopes" with Jake Sinclair, Jenny Owen Youngs, Lauren "Lolo" Pritchard, Sam Hollander, William Lobban-Bean, Jonas Jeberg, Taylor Parks, & Ilsey Juber; "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" with Jake Sinclair, Sam Hollander, Lauren "Lolo" Pritchard, Imad Royal, Nathan Abshire, Suzy Shinn, Tom Peyton, Tobias Wincorn, & The Budos Band

arranged by: Layne Stein & Earl Elkins Jr.

performance date: 23 January 2020

My favorite bits:

Layne adding the tape rip sound effect

that lush "Victorious" chord used as a scream

Eli's fantastic grit in "Miss Jackson"

pulling off the sub drop on ♫ "beliii-eeeve" ♫ live

Geoff taking over the heatbeat percussion while Layne sings lead on "This Is Gospel"

Earl's plaintive belt of ♫ "Let me GOOO!" ♫

Trivia:

The clips playing on the screen behind them are from the two-part music video that they originally released in July 2018.

.

VoicePlay may have gotten their start mostly performing and recording pop music, but they don't constrain themselves to just one genre of music. In this instance, the five Florida boys take a crack at some of the more tongue-in-cheek country songs of the 21st century.

Details:

title: Aca Top 10 – Bro Country

original songs / performers: "Truck Yeah" by Tim McGraw; [0:30] "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" by Kenny Chesney; [0:46] "Online" by Brad Paisley; [1:03] "Dirt Road Anthem" by Jason Aldean; [1:24] "Corn Star" by Craig Morgan; [1:47] "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" by Joe Nichols; [2:08] "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith; [2:31] "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line; [2:37] "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Trace Adkins; [2:59] "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" by Big & Rich

written by: "Truck Yeah" by Chris Lucas, Preston Brust, Chris Janson, & Danny Myrick; "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" by Jim Collins & Paul Overstreet; "Online" by Chris DuBois, Kelley Lovelace, & Brad Paisley; "Dirt Road Anthem" by Brantley Gilbert & Colt Ford; "Corn Star" by Jeffrey Steele, Shane Minor & Craig Morgan; "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" by Gary Hannan & John Wiggins; "Red Solo Cup" by Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers, Brad Warren, & Brett Warren; "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line, Joey Moi, Chase Rice, & Jesse Rice; "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" by Dallas Davidson, Randy Houser, & Jamey Johnson; "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" by William Kenneth "Big Kenny" Alphin & John Rich

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

performance date: 23 January 2020

My favorite bits:

J.None and Geoff harmonizing to kick things off

Eli directing the glissando at the beginning of "Corn Star"

Earl's lovely clear whistling in "Red Solo Cup"

♫ "proceed to partyyy" ♫ "responsibly" (Okay, dad.)

Layne making video game sound effects in response to ♫ "Donkey Kong" ♫

those gallops, Yee-haw! 🐎

Trivia:

They originally recorded this medley in 2016 with guest singer Chris Rupp, shortly after he retired from Home Free, the country a cappella group who won the fourth season of The Sing-Off.

.

Additional photos

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 213 Trivia (Part 1)

I guess things were going too well for too long..?

Gen's drawing of Senku here was probably inspired by very early chapter cover images. I don't know why else he'd be holding an exploding container.

We've now got three interpretations of Whyman: the generic one, Luna's, and now Gen's.

I like how Gen's has arms and legs coming out of the skull!

Finally! The Kingdom of Science can watch Dr. Stone together!

As long as someone animates it…

Kenjiro Takayanagi of Shizuoka University is considered one of the main pioneers of television, succeeding in displaying the character イ (i) on his Braun tube display in Dec 1926. Over the next few years, he improved the image allowing more detailed images such as human faces.

By 1939, Japan's first television station began broadcasting from NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). After the war, Takayanagi Sensei's work was used as a foundation for other televisions and related industries around the world.

If everyone thought working on a second cell phone after they'd spent months making one was bad, they're not ready to hear about what they'll need to make for television broadcasts. (Senku also never changes...)

I didn't realize how big their other boat was. I guess things made in the USA really are bigger?

The Perseus not being the biggest ship anymore makes me a little sad :(

SAL 9000 is a reference to HAL 9000, the AI antagonist from Space Odyssey. It stands for "Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer", so in this case it might be "Senku programmed" or even "Sai programmed"!

The "NES" (actually the Famicom again, both in the drawing and Sai's comment in the Japanese version) and SAL 9000 don't have the exact same specifications:

SAL 9000 is specialized for math operations and thus has a longer word length (16 bits vs 8) which allows more significant figures in the numbers. They've also got more RAM (SAL has 16 kB while the NES has 2).

The downside is that because they used parametrons, their clock speed (how fast they can do calculations) is slower than if they'd used transistors.

The large amount of ROM they've also got could imply that they have several built-in programs. Xeno's work, perhaps?

CRT screens only reach a maximum diagonal length of around 40 inches (~101 cm), as a larger screen needs a larger tube, and the thickness of the glass increases with size to handle the vacuum without shattering making it very unwieldy with the added weight and thus not worth manufacturing for sale.

Senku's here is obviously much, much bigger. Possibly even world record; the biggest CRT screens made were 61 inches (~152 cm) on the diagonal.

SAL 9000 has both air and water cooling, probably used depending on what's better for individual parts. Normally you only need one or the other.

It'd be good if they could get the carbonated water maker in there and ferment some alcohol faster too using the computer's heat…

SAL 9000 also has 3 phase power like modern power transmission. They're AC power sources, phase shifted by 120° so that at any point in time, their sum is 0. The advantage to this is that you don't need return lines for the current, so you can use half as many cables.

The games shown are inspired by Tetris (featuring Ishigami Village and Roppongi!), Pacman, a combination game of Gyruss and Tempest, then another combination game of Galaga and Asteroids.

The transmission towers can only be headed towards the dam, so we have an approximate direction for where that is! There's a few rivers nearby in modern Tokyo, but over 3,700 years they've probably changed a lot.

(Next part)

[le-trash-prince]

Only Friends (But It’s a Jazz Musical)

Here is the 100% self-indulgent project that I have been working on since the series started! This began when I realized I was adding a lot of jazz songs to my regular OF playlist that didn't flow with the vibe of the other songs, so I separated them and realized how much they really worked on their own. I narrowed this down to a selection of ~40 tracks to just 11 to make it album-sized.

I think, despite the fact that these songs aren't modern at all, they fit the series really well. As musical theatre is wont to be, though, this would be very anachronistic—not tied to a particular place or point in time, and with a range of music genres utilized. It's the type of thing where producers would say "Who cares? It's Broadway!" while critics write scathing reviews on how musical theatre is the lowest form of art.

Mostly it's just meant for fun. 😊 Listen on YT

Tracklist + Scene Breakdown

I’m Gonna Live Till I Die

(YT / lyrics) The opening number. The scene at the bar where we meet the cast. I love the long opening vocal note to this song and can picture each of the four main friends standing under a solo spotlight as the music builds, until the beat drops and the curtain parts and the stage bursts into life. The instrumental break in the middle would be lengthened in order to give Mew a chance to introduce the cast to the audience.

Something’s Gotta Give

(YT / lyrics) This is the scene of Top hitting on Mew during trivia night. The irresistible force (haha) meets an immovable object. The line "something's gotta give, something's gotta give, something's gotta give" would easily be a recurring leitmotif sung by the chorus ensemble in the background of some of TopMew's tense moments and arguments.

You Go to My Head

(YT / lyrics) This is the SandRay theme of the show. Ray starts off singing this to Sand when they're at Ray's house that first time. The direct comparison to alcohol shows that Sand is Ray's new fixation. An instrumental variation of this would play during most of their scenes, with a refrain sung by Sand later in the show ("Still I say to myself, get ahold of yourself")

I Put a Spell on You

(YT / lyrics) Nick sings this while Boston seduces Top—through dance of course. This number is about both Boston coercing Top ("I put a spell on you") and Nick’s possessiveness over Boston ("because you're mine").

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

(YT / lyrics) Mew sings this about Top's betrayal. This was about how blind he was at the beginning, and the song culminates in Mew setting Top's drawing on fire.

I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead (You Rascal You)

(YT / lyrics) Both of the pool fights are combined in this scene, Mew going after Boston and Ray going after Top. It’s a little physically comical with lots of people chasing each other back and forth across the stage, but Mew and Ray are absolutely out for blood.

If I Didn’t Care

(YT / lyrics) Sand is singing this onstage at club YOLO while all the boys try to process their unresolved feelings for each other. Lots of longing glances and loaded looks across the room.

I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire

(YT / lyrics) This is Boeing's "I'm too hot for you to blame me for the chaos I bring and I'm going to set Top's life on fire" song. I absolutely envision this as a casual tap dance number, and he does the entire thing with his hands in his pockets and a shit-eating grin on his face.

If That Ain't Love

(YT / lyrics) This one is on Sand's shuffle playlist in Ep 12, but I thought it really fit for a Boston solo! And I wasn't gonna not include the only jazz vocal playlist in the series. This is Boston trying to convince Nick that he loves him, even though Boston has no experience with romantic love.

You Always Hurt the One You Love

(YT / lyrics) All of the boys are singing this song. Hurt people hurt people. Top, Ray, and Boston are singing together on one side of the stage, with Mew, Sand, and Nick on the other, with all three pairs meeting in the middle and clasping hands at the end. (circa ep 10/11)

My Way

(YT / lyrics) This is the closing number and a duet between Mew and Boston on their final meeting. For a musical theater adaptation, compared to the original series, there's going to be more of a bang than a whimper at the end of this friendship, with both of them standing proud about who they are, faults and all. People were hurt, crimes were committed, questions remained unanswered, but Only Friends did it in a way no one else has.

I hope y'all can give this a listen because I really enjoyed working on it. Doing a more theme-specific playlist was new for me, since I usually just throw anything and everything into my playlists, so I'd definitely like to try something similar with another fandom in the future. I hope y’all enjoy 😊

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Another new episode! Getting into the home stretch!

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 discussing number 8 on my list: Universal Pictures’ 1936 screwball comedy My Man Godfrey, directed by Gregory La Cava, written by Morrie Ryskind and Eric Hatch, based on a book by Eric Hatch, and starring William Powell and Carole Lombard.

The rich and spoiled Bullock sisters, Irene (Carole Lombard) and Cornelia (Gail Patrick), are participating in a scavenger hunt that requires them to find a “forgotten man,” so they race to a shanty town at a city dump. Cornelia gets there first and approaches a homeless man named Godfrey (William Powell), who finds her rude and condescending and therefore refuses to take her offered $5, instead causing her to fall into an ash pile. Irene is amused by Godfrey’s treatment of her sister/rival, and after a brief conversation, Godfrey is amused enough by Irene to agree to be her forgotten man. Irene is so grateful to him for helping her win the scavenger hunt against Cornelia that she offers him a job as the butler for their wacky family, and he accepts without having any idea what he’s in for.

I remember being introduced to this movie rather early in my foray into old Hollywood back in 2002. I can’t recall my exact first impressions, but I’m pretty sure I had seen it several times and was already kind of obsessed with it before I started keeping track of the movies I watched. Once I started keeping track, I watched My Man Godfrey six times in 2003, three times in 2004, three times in 2005, twice in 2007, once in 2008, twice in 2009, once in 2010, twice in 2011, once in 2013, once in 2014, once in 2017, once in 2018, twice in 2019, twice in 2020, once in 2021, and once in 2022.

The main thing that initially drew me to this movie was its silliness. Based on the movies I’ve talked about on this podcast so far, I think it’s pretty clear that I love to watch a bunch of ridiculous characters having a fun romp, and that’s what a lot of My Man Godfrey is. Angelica, the scatterbrained mother of the Bullock family, played delightfully by Alice Brady, is one of the silliest characters in any movie ever, and when I was a young teen, all she had to do was open her mouth to crack me up. Now I find some of her antics a bit grating, which they are definitely meant to be, but some of her lines do still make me laugh every time, like, “I’m positive I didn’t ride a horse last night because I didn’t have my riding costume on!” and “If you’re going to be rude to my daughter, you might at least take your hat off!” and, in response to Godfrey saying that he sold short to save the family from financial ruin, “I don’t understand, you sold short? You mean, gentlemen’s underwear?” My brother was particularly tickled by that last one as a child, to the point that when we played The Sims together, we created a character named Gentleman’s Underwear after that line.

Angelica is far from the only silly character in this movie, and what I love about the whole ensemble is that each character is entertaining in a different way. Angelica is scatterbrained and doesn’t really care what’s going on, while her husband Alexander (played by Eugene Pallette) has lost track of what’s going on mostly because he’s so fed up with his wife’s ridiculousness. And then there’s Carlo (played by Mischa Auer) who is Angelica’s “protégé,” and I’m still not really sure exactly what that means. I can’t tell if it’s a euphemism, or if she’s like, supposed to be teaching him piano? We definitely see him playing piano, and eating, and impersonating a gorilla, and reading to Angelica, and that seems to be all he does. So unclear what his purpose is, but he is amusing. On the other hand, Molly (played by Jean Dixon, who also played Edward Everett Horton’s wife in Holiday) has the very clear purpose of being the Bullock family’s maid. Her dry, sarcastic wit is amusing in an entirely different way that I love very much. There’s also Tommy Gray (played by Alan Mowbray), a friend of the Bullock family who also happens to recognize Godfrey from their college days. Not wanting to reveal that he came from a wealthy Boston family, Godfrey says that he was Tommy’s valet in college, forcing Tommy to try to invent a story explaining why Godfrey wouldn’t have given him as a reference when the Bullocks hired him. Tommy seems like a relatively normal guy who isn’t particularly bright. Watching him flounder in that scene could have easily become uncomfortable, but they managed to portray it in a way that’s just silly. And his invention of a wife and five children for Godfrey adds to the confusion and tension behind the main romance in the movie.

If you’ve listened to previous episodes of this podcast and have an especially keen memory, you may recall that Gregory La Cava also directed Stage Door, which was number 31 on my list and came out the year after My Man Godfrey. I’m not sure how much say he had in the casting of both of those movies, but I enjoy that there are several people who appeared in both, such as character actors Franklin Pangborn and Grady Sutton, neither of whom was credited in My Man Godfrey but both of whom make memorable appearances. The most notable cast member the two movies have in common is Gail Patrick, who was Ginger Rogers’s main rival besides Katharine Hepburn in Stage Door and Cornelia Bullock in My Man Godfrey. In both of these, as in most of her movies, Patrick’s character is rather unpleasant, but Cornelia is a bit more complex than that, and she fascinates me. She’s bitter and spoiled and mean to her sister and can’t decide if she wants to seduce Godfrey or hurt him or both. After Godfrey tells her what he thinks of her, she tries to frame him for robbery by hiding her pearl necklace under his mattress, but he manages to find it and hide it better before the police search his room. Cornelia is so insistent that it must be under the mattress that the police get suspicious and ask why she’s so sure of that, to which she responds with the amazing and thoroughly unconvincing line, “I read that that’s where people put things when they steal them!” Shockingly, even after all of this, the story actually redeems Cornelia somewhat. Godfrey is able to save the family financially by pawning her necklace, and after he reveals this he tells her that he, too, was once a spoiled child, and that she has the potential to be a good person if she so chooses. Cornelia is visibly moved by his words, and while we unfortunately never see her again after that scene, I like to believe that she takes them to heart and stops being so awful going forward.

But as much as I love all the supporting characters, I don’t think I’d have watched this movie nearly as many times if not for the leads. William Powell brings just the right combination of sophistication and jadedness to the role of Godfrey, making it easy to believe that he was once a rich man but lost everything he had to a woman he loved who betrayed him. It’s beautiful to watch him rediscover his own purpose and humanity in response to the Bullocks’ kindness and choose to focus on the positive aspects of their quirks. When William Powell was offered the role of Godfrey, he agreed to take it only if Carole Lombard would play Irene, knowing that she would be perfect, and he was completely correct. Lombard absolutely kills it as Irene, flawlessly combining the dramatic naïveté of an overgrown toddler with a genuine desire to be a good and mature person. And the way Powell and Lombard play off each other is utterly delightful. Their first conversation sets up their dynamic beautifully – he’s rather amused by her, but she takes everything he says extremely seriously. Like when she asks him, “Why do you live in a place like this when there are so many nice places?” and he responds, “It’s because my real estate agent felt that the altitude would be very good for my asthma,” she doesn’t seem to know that he’s joking, and says, “Oh my uncle has asthma!” And he just rolls with it and replies, “No! Well, now there’s a coincidence!” This is already funny as written, but their delivery and facial expressions make it so much funnier. Then probably my favorite part of the movie is when Irene is sulking and trying to get Godfrey to notice her, but she mostly just comes across as ridiculous, and Cornelia is heckling her mercilessly. Godfrey is trying to act uninterested, but it’s clear from a few of his glances in her direction that he really does want to give her the attention she craves. It’s readily apparent from all of their scenes that they both thoroughly understood the assignment and knew how to play off each other. Powell and Lombard had worked together twice before and had even been briefly married to each other from 1931 to 1933. Despite the fact that things didn’t work out between them romantically in real life, they remained good friends, and seem to have only used their history to bring out the best performance in each other here. It is kind of funny that Godfrey keeps telling Irene that she’s way too young for him because it’s like, “You clearly didn’t think she was too young when you married her five years ago!” Mostly, though, it just makes me really happy as someone who has no interest in pursuing romantic relationships to know that it was Powell and Lombard’s post-divorce friendship that led to possibly the best movie that either of them ever made. It’s so encouraging to see the evidence that sometimes the relationship between two people can actually get better when they stop trying to make it romantic.

However, it took me a while to see things that way, because in the movie itself, Godfrey and Irene do end up together romantically. Once I learned that the actors were divorced in real life, my first thought was more, “Wow, amazing that they could still pretend to be in love after falling out of love.” In more recent rewatches, I’ve come to realize that the romance in the movie is very weird – which, to be fair, is quite usual for screwball comedies – but I think as an obliviously aromantic teenager it greatly informed what I thought romance was. Irene meets a nice man who helps her win a game against her awful sister and decides to be in love with him, so all she has to do is convince him that he’s also in love with her. Not understanding that romantic attraction was a thing that I was not experiencing, teenaged me thought that was how that worked: you just pick somebody and decide you have a crush on them, and if the other person has also picked you to be their crush, romance is born. Right? Apparently not. Anyway, in more recent rewatches, when it gets to the part where Godfrey tells Irene, “You’re grateful to me because I helped you to beat Cornelia. And I’m grateful to you because you helped me to beat life. But that doesn’t mean that we have to fall in love,” I’m like, “Correct! It doesn’t mean that! You don’t have to fall in love!” But the movie implies that Godfrey is suppressing his feelings for Irene because of the previous bad relationship that led to his homelessness, and it expects us to all be on board with the way Irene follows him after he quits and basically forces him to marry her. The older I get, the more this ending bothers me. I realize that it’s meant to be part of the screwball silliness of it all, and that it was inevitable for a movie like this to make the male and female lead end up together, but it’s like, can we maybe make sure that Godfrey is on board with that first? I can very much see their marriage going the same way as that of the actors who played them, with Irene and Godfrey ultimately concluding that they’re better suited as friends than lovers. But again, as a young person watching this movie, I thought their relationship was beautiful. Soon after I first got really into My Man Godfrey, my friend had a Build-A-Bear birthday party, and I named my bear Godfrey. I can’t remember who I was talking to or how this came up, but I remember making the declaration that if I was still single at 40, I would marry that Godfrey bear. So if you’re listening to this, consider yourself invited to our wedding in seven years. It probably won’t be much weirder than Irene and Godfrey’s wedding at the end of this movie.

There is another element to My Man Godfrey besides its silliness and unconvincing romance that makes it particularly fascinating. While most 1930s screwball comedies seem to be intended to help audiences temporarily forget about the hardships of the Great Depression, My Man Godfrey uses the Depression as a big part of the plot. The rich are portrayed as frivolous and ridiculous, while the homeless “forgotten men” are portrayed as resilient and noble. Godfrey reveals to Tommy that after having his heart broken, he intended to drown himself in the river, but seeing people living at the dump next to the river, determined to survive despite their circumstances, made him change his mind. The hard times even impact the well-to-do, with Alexander Bullock nearly losing everything in bad investments. At first it seems odd that Godfrey would use the money from Cornelia’s necklace merely to help the rich snobs, but then it’s revealed that in addition to that, he converted the dump he used to live in to a nightclub, creating jobs, and affordable housing. And all of that was possible because the jobless men convinced Godfrey to keep living, then Irene was nice enough to employ Godfrey as a butler, and Cornelia was bitter enough to try to frame him for robbery. I assume that doing something like that would not have been nearly as easy as the movie makes it look, but I appreciate that instead of leaning into the pure escapism of so many films from that era, My Man Godfrey says, “Yes, times are hard, but don’t give up hope. Things can improve unexpectedly at any time. And small kindnesses can add up to make a very big difference.” And that message continues to resonate 87 years later. So while this is mostly a very silly comedy, its genuine moments showing the importance of human connection help keep it from descending into complete and utter chaos like some other screwball comedies I could name.

And perhaps it was that touch of seriousness that led this mostly silly comedy to six Oscar nominations: Gregory La Cava for Best Director, Eric Hatch and Morrie Ryskind for Best Adapted Screenplay, William Powell for Best Actor, Carole Lombard for Best Actress, Mischa Auer for Best Supporting Actor, and Alice Brady for Best Supporting Actress. This made My Man Godfrey the first movie to be nominated in all four acting categories, which isn’t saying much because that was also the first year that the Oscars had four acting categories, but it remains the only film to this day to be nominated in all four acting categories without being nominated for Best Picture. And it was the only movie to be nominated in those six categories without winning anything until American Hustle, 77 years later. Of all the people nominated for Oscars for My Man Godfrey, only Alice Brady would ever win one, for In Old Chicago the following year. The director and one of the writers would each be nominated once more, also the following year, for Stage Door. William Powell had been nominated once before, for 1934’s The Thin Man, and would be nominated again for 1947’s Life With Father. But this was the only nomination for both Mischa Auer and Carole Lombard. Lombard in particular really wanted an Oscar and moved on to dramatic roles for a few years hoping that would help, but it didn’t. So she briefly returned to comedy before her career and life were tragically cut short by a plane crash in 1942, when she was only 33 years old. So, my age. I feel like, had Carole Lombard lived longer and continued to make more films in a similar vein, she probably would have made it into more than one of my top 40. The more I rewatch My Man Godfrey, the more impressed I become with her performance. This is one of the few old movies that actually has a blooper reel available, and that shows just how different her normal speech and facial expressions and mannerisms were from Irene’s. I have watched and enjoyed several of Lombard’s other films, but a lot of them are a bit too silly even for me, and I really wish she could have been in more of the still fun and kooky but not-quite-as-screwball-as-the-‘30s comedies that were just starting to become popular around the time of her death. But at least we get to see her in My Man Godfrey. Thank you, William Powell.

My Man Godfrey was remade in 1957, and I watched that version one time in 2003, reacted with, Ew, they ruined it,and have never rewatched it. Maybe I will someday, just to see if it’s as bad as I remember it. No offense to that cast – there was no possible way to reach the standard set by the original. Sometimes remakes are great, but sometimes the original was already perfect and shouldn’t be messed with, and in my opinion, My Man Godfrey absolutely falls into the latter category. So what I’m saying is, if this podcast has made you want to watch this movie, make sure you get the 1936 version.

Thank you for listening to me discuss another of my most frequently rewatched movies. Next week I will be joined by not one but two very special guests, to discuss the longer of the two movies I watched 30 times, which is going to be very fun, so stay tuned for that. As always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “Wait up! Wait for me! Not you, I don’t even know you!”

[flowermountainpress]

Lord of The Rings Trivia Night in the form of Jeopardy, potentially next Saturday (07 October)

I'm doing a drawing for this Silmarillion-inspired sketchbook (usual rules for shipping apply) that I made by hand! It's 40 sheets, 80 front/back pages, a faux leather hardcover with a ceramic decoration.

Supporters of my Patreon will be automatically entered into the drawing, but each member of the winning jeopardy team will be entered as well.

Patreon supporters should also note that participating in trivia is worth 20 points, being on the 2nd place team is worth 50 points, and being on the winning team is worth 100 points.

(To those unaware, I run a points system on my patreon where points can be exchanged for things like stickers, bookmarks, and even free books & sketchbooks. Check that shit out)

Currently, I'm thinking a solid three teams will be ideal, if we can get the numbers for it. Winning team will also win some LOTR bookmarks I'll make; runner up team/second place team will likely get some stickers.

To see what kind of numbers we're looking at, I made an interest check form via Google sheets.

Wanna win prizes? Wanna spectate? Maybe you're just into LOTR and want phenomenal bragging rights....

[dollsahoy]

this is obvious to mathy types, not so much to the rest of us

trying to fall back asleep this morning, and my brain decided to think a whole lot about the weird and wonderful things that happen when you multiply by nine

like, when I was learning multiplication and hadn't gotten anywhere near memorizing the times table, Mom told me about the trick of subtracting one from a number to get the tens place, then the ones place is whatever you add to that number to equal nine, because numbers multiplied by nine always end up as numbers that add together to make nine

but that was only for multiplying nine by one through ten, and no-one ever told me the shortcut beyond that, so my brain--THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SLEEPING--decided to figure it out, and what I came up with is not what I'm seeing online (although I'm seeing a lot of shortcuts for multiplying by nine online, so I'm sure it's out there)

So, multiplying 1-10 by nine is subtract one from the number, then after that goes whatever you'd add to make nine. I figured out that 11-20 is subtract two and then add whatever is needed to make nine. 21-30 is subtract three, 31-40 is subtract four, etc. By the time I got to 101 and beyond, I was actually falling back asleep, but I suspect it's consistent, just a bit harder to juggle mentally (and we live in the age of calculators so it's just trivia at this point)

and then there's the "multiples of nine always add up to nine" thing: 9 x 5 = 45, 4 + 5 =9 9 x 11 = 99, 9 + 9 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9

but

when it gets to bigger numbers 9 x 478 = 4302, 4 + 3 + 0 + 2 = 9 however 43 + 02 = 45, 4 + 5 = 9 and 40 + 32 = 72; 7 + 2 = 9 as well as 320 + 4 = 324; 3 + 2 + 4 = 9 and oh hey 24 + 03 = 27; 2 + 7 = 9 likewise 24 + 30 = 54; 5 + 4 = 9 and you can keep going with any combination of any grouping of numbers you get by multiplying by nine ultimately adding up to nine

I know the 'subtract one and add something to make nine' thing worked for me from the start, but when I have tried to explain it to anyone else, they have always given me very strange looks, and I know there are other shortcuts to multiplying by nine, so this isn't to teach anyone and it's not to ask for suggestions

it's mostly just to show what my brain does when I should be sleeping, and that I am not a particularly math-oriented person

[eahsayswhat]

Year 2 of “Ever After High Says What?” in review

Today marks the last day of the second year this blog’s been active! Let’s review this blog’s stats before we go:

The total number of words spoken in Year 2 was 748. The most common word spoken was “you”, which appeared 29 times.

The character with the most lines (lines being all words, including beats between words, sound effects, & emoticons) was C. A. "Charlie" Cupid, who had a total of 65 lines. The character with the fewest lines (excluding non-speaking appearances) was Ramona Badwolf, who only had 1.

The character with the most appearances in Year 2 (based on how many comics they were tagged in) was Maddie Hatter, who appeared in 8 comics out of 24 total. 6 of these appearances were speaking appearances, tying her with Raven for the character with the most speaking appearances in Year 2.

The comic with the most lines was Comic 27 with 57 lines. The comic with the fewest lines was Comic 7 with 10 lines.

The top 5 comics of Year 2 by notes ATOW were Comic 31 with 144 notes, Comic 35 with 129 notes, Comic 28 with 96 notes, Comic 40 with 52 notes, and a tie between Comic 27 and Comic 32 with 48 notes each.

The bottom 5 comics of Year 2 by notes ATOW were Comic 45 with 5 notes, Comic 46 with 12 notes, Comic 30 with 13 notes, Comic 43 with 15 notes, and Comic 37 with 16 notes. Interestingly, there are no ties in the note counts of the bottom-ranked comics ATOW, and Comic 45 is the only comic with a single-digit note count as of 3/13/2024.

The comic with the greatest absolute increase in notes since last year was Comic 11 with 385 new notes since last year's tally, making it still the most-viewed comic on the blog by far with 1089 notes ATOW. The comic with the greatest per capita increase in notes since last year was Comic 23, whose note count increased by 271.43% from the previous tally to 19 notes ATOW.

The fandom most often referenced was the Dreamworks Dragons TV series with 3 comics.

As an interesting bit of trivia, the first comic that did not introduce a new speaking character was Comic 27, while Comic 29 was the first comic that did not introduce any new character at all.

Tomorrow we start Year 3!

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Princess Diarist. By Carrie Fisher. Blue Rider Press, 2016.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Genre: memoir

Series: N/A

Summary: When Carrie Fisher discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved--plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Before her passing, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon was indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford.

With these excerpts from her handwritten notebooks, The Princess Diarist is Fisher's intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the most famous film sets of all time--and what developed behind the scenes. Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty. Laugh-out-loud hilarious and endlessly quotable, The Princess Diarist brims with the candor and introspection of a diary while offering shrewd insight into one of Hollywood's most beloved stars.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: alcohol, adultery

The aspect of this book I liked best was Carrie's honesty. Carrie holds nothing back and is quite upfront about her insecurities, her naivite, and her desire to please. The effect is that this memoir reads like a snapshot of a teenage girl who is starstruck by a much older man, and it's both hilarious and a little sad (in that Harrison Ford comes across as... not great).

Let's just get this part out of the way: this is not an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the filming of Star Wars. The book jacket and marketing might be a little misleading on that front. If you're here for more Star Wars trivia or juicy gossip from one of the franchise's buggesy stars, best go elsewhere.

What this is, more than anything else, is Carrie's reflection on a number of things: her relationship with Harrison Ford while she was was a teenager and he was married and in his mid-thirties, how so-called "washed up" actresses struggle to make a living, the complicated feelings Carrie has regarding conventions and fame. For what it is, this book is endlessly funny, raw, and heartbreaking, moving from Carrie's characteristic humor and self-deprication to a hard-hitting insight into the workings of Hollywood and celebrity fandom.

Still, I don't think I can give this book more than 3.5 stars because there were aspects of Carrie's writing that didn't click for me. Some of her phrasing was a little awkward, and sometimes she would veer off in different directions (which is fine - that's the way her mind works - but it is also hard to follow sometimes). I also would have liked Carrie to deliver some sort of takeaway for each chapter - not necessarily a "moral to the story," but a clear(er) verbalizarion of the insights she gained by reflecting on the stories she's told.

The excerpts from her diary were also nice little insights to Carrie's headspace at the time, and if you care about Carrie as a person (not just Carrie as Princess Leia), they're a lovely look into the way her mind works.

But perhaps the section I liked best was Carrie's chapter on conventions. I found her honesty and complexity to be incredibly insightful and it shines a light on what she had to deal with for 40 years after the first Star Wars film.

Still, I'm glad I read this book. It's quick, it's amusing, and the photos are charming and nostalgic. The book perhaps hits a little different because both Carrie and her mother are gone, so some of my good feeling might be influenced by me being a fan who misses these icons. But if you love Carrie, you'll cherish this chance to "hear" her voice again.

[turtlethebean]

Introducing the OCs for my Newest CC AU/Fanseries: Part Aeron

For picrew links, see part Michelle

Spoilers under cut.

Name: Aeron Bryn

Age: 40

Birthday: 20th of May 1997

Origin: Newport, Wales

Residence: Cardiff, Wales

Gender: Cisgender male (also intersex)

Pronouns: He/him

Sexuality: Gay

Family:

Nathan Bryn (Son)

Haydn Bryn (Husband)

Aderyn Bryn (Mother)

Unnamed stepfather

Unnamed younger sisters

Unnamed younger brother (deceased)

Height: 5 foot 9

Blood type: A+

Title: Tech Expert

Backstory:

Aeron was born and raised for the first part of his life in Newport, Wales. However, after an incident where his mother got severely injured, leading her to have a permanent disability, the family moved to his stepfather's farm.

After secondary school, he moved to Cardiff to live with some friends and his now husband. The two adopted Nathan when Aeron was 24.

Songs to describe them:

Kept in a Cage by Dead & Loving It

I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons

Welcome to the Internet by Bo Burnham

Karma by OR3O

I'm Just Your Problem from Adventure Time

How to Save a Life by The Fray

La Da Dee by Cody Simpson

Lemon Boy by Cavetown

Strange Love by Halsey

Star by Pepper Cyote

Trivia:

He has ADHD and dyscalculia (a learning disability involving math and numbers)

His nose ring actually has his deceased brother's name engraved on it.

Besides English, he also speaks Welsh and Chinese.

[dead-loch]

I'm trying to make sense of Skye's life for fic purposes and these are the notes I've taken so far:

Cath says she was Skye’s first girlfriend when she was 20 (or broke her heart when she was 20?? Who knows how long they dated).

Cath and Dulcie lived in Sydney prior to moving to Deadloch. Skye lived in Sydney at the same time they did (at some point, anyway).

Cath and Dulcie moved to Deadloch 5 years ago, and Ray moved to Deadloch, on Skye’s recommendation, prior to that.

Skye and Nadiyah and Tom only moved to Deadloch a year ago.

Between Sydney and Deadloch, Skye lived overseas (established when the other bodies pop up in the lake that Skye could not have killed them).

According to trivia, Skye was a teenager during the 1990s, which means she was born at least in the 1980s or slightly earlier?

Nadiyah is 30 years old currently (also based on trivia, unsure if she is exactly 30 or just in her 30s)

Skye says in her interview that Vanessa outed her, and that after that Trent and Gavin started bullying her, followed by adults, incl. her dad and Rod Dixon, “getting involved”. Skye is in that photo of the football team as a teenager, so still in Deadloch and evidently has not been outed yet, possibly when she's between 15-17?

In the same interview, Dulcie says Skye made her “triumphant return after 22 years”. If Skye is (let’s say), 37, that would mean she left at 15 (which I don’t believe works out in the timeline?). If she’s 40, though, it would mean she left at 18. This would mean she had Tom at 23, not as a teenager.

It would also mean that she had Tom years after leaving Deadloch, and after dating Cath.

It would mean she dated Cath after she left Deadloch, too.

I think I assumed that Cath is from Deadloch and that when she and Dulcie moved there, she was returning home. Did I make that up or is it said at some point? I might have assumed just cause she inserts herself into other people's lives like she's known them forever.

I might be missing some info, hard to believe with the number of rewatches, but I feel like with Mads Sami, Kate Box and Alicia Gardner all being in their early 40s in real life, it tracks that Skye would be around the same age (even though I had pegged her as younger tbh and thought that meant she'd had Tom at a very very young age)