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gear-project · 6 years ago

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In Overture Sol transformed the fire seal when he used the dragon install. But in xrd the jinki stays the same for both version. Why is that? Forgive me if you have answered this as you have a lot of info and might have missed an update.

I have a Dragon+Install tag that discusses much of that topic, but since it’s been a while since we talked about it (including what we know about GGBegin) I’ll address what’s been going on.

After the events of 2016, the man who was once known as Frederick Bulsara “died” (in GGBegin he claims to have bloody flashbacks of death in this manner) and repeatedly regenerated only to realize his body had become that of a GEAR.

No longer human and no longer able to maintain a human form, he was desperate for a means to get revenge on “The Man” who did this to him and stop his GEAR Cell Research: Asuka R. Kreutz.

However, the first step was to at least maintain his humanity. And so, using the Varga Hectasin research he’d once developed he created a GEAR Cell Suppression device which blocks the GEAR Seal on his forehead as well as the GEAR Cell functions, thus reducing his powers to an extent.

He began to hunt any and all GEAR Cell Research and for many years was never caught, and so the authorities referred to him as “The Badguy”. Curious about this rumor, the enigmatic vampire Slayer met with him to hear his story.

Inspired by this man’s fate, he gave him the name “Sol Badguy”.

After this time Sol Badguy began his research in to Saint Oratorio, as a means to combat GEAR technology. The result was the OutRage, but it was too powerful for even himself to control, and so he broke it up in to 8 more easier-to-manage fragments.

By this time Asuka had created Justice and the accident of 2074 had occurred, triggering the GEAR rebellion known as the Crusades.

Over time, Sol began to learn more and more about the full extent of his GEAR body functions and learned about the chord known as “Dragon Install” (he had no idea it was connected to the Flame of Corruption Seed, however). As he did so, he became rather famous during the Crusades as something of a “GEAR Bounty Hunter”.

After joining the Sacred Order for a time and having twice clashed with Justice and sealed her away, Sol continued to search for the GEARmaker, but was unsuccessful.

Around this time he became aware that the Ky Kiske and Anji Mito were bearers of the OutRage that he had once created. This drew his suspicions towards the Conclave the the Postwar Administration Bureau and their GEAR Cell Research.

He allowed Ky to keep the Thunderseal for a time, but Anji made himself scarce so it would be difficult for Sol to retrieve the Zessen from him. (Sol wasn’t aware Slayer had a piece of the OutRage as well.)

After the incidents with Dizzy and later I-No and encountering a rogue robotic duplicate known as Robo-Ky, Sol set his sights proper on the PWAB Bureau. Though Ky was adamant about having to deal with them himself, Sol did his share of damage to their current plans and in the process learned of the man known as Crow Kuruwaba.

His previous encounter with I-No led to a brief encounter with Asuka, but even with the Firesealed Sword in his possession, Sol was unable to defeat Asuka in his current state, and so he would have to redouble his efforts to get stronger and obtain the other OutRage as a means of getting a leg up on his hated rival.

Years later and Sol had to deal with Valentine and was nearly defeated on his first encounter if it hadn’t been for Izuna’s timely assistance.

Valentine was using Magics above and beyond Sol’s capability of understanding, making the OutRage and his own powers seem flimsy by comparison. As Sol and his allies pursued Valentine they learned more and more about a place called the Backyard.

Eventually their pursuit hit a wall, as they were unable to enter the Backyard itself on their own. But as they did hit that wall, Asuka appeared to test them… and more specificially Sol.

Knowing from his last battle with Asuka that this wasn’t in his favor, Sol had no choice but to go all out. Sol used his Dragon Install at near-100% form and used his Gear powers to influence the Fireseal as a column of flame.

Sol wasn’t able to kill Asuka, but he learned more about himself in the process and learned that his Dragon Install power was actually encroaching, perhaps growing more than his GEAR Cell Suppressor could handle. He also learned that the Cube had ties to his own body as well… something else Asuka had plans for. He promptly damaged the Cube to put a halt on those plans for the time being.

Not long after the incident with Valentine, the Conclave set their sights on Sol and put a bounty on his head. In the interim, Sol created modifications to Dragon Install via his suppressor and was able to take a Dragon Install form that had a more “human” appearance as a result, though it might have impacted his overall power output.

As Sol fought the Bounty Hunters and GEARS trying to kill him, he decided to put an end to the source of the problem and raided the Harden Fortress to kill Bardias of the Conclave.

In the process, he managed to recover the Flashing Fang OutRage, and was beginning to understand how members of the Sacred Order got their hands on his OutRage in the first place, but also why the Conclave had begun to fear these fragments for their power potential.

Not long after the false bounty on Sol’s head was discharged, Sol consulted with Dr. Paradigm on a means to modify his Firesealed Sword, upgrading it to the weapon known as Junkyard Dog Mk. 3.

The Junkyard itself was basically a more compact version of the original OutRage he had constructed, but he was now able to control its output in more precise increments, up to 10x output could blast a mountain to ash.

He also made more modifications to the Dragon Install which enabled an ability to generate magic clothing on his body so that he wasn’t at least totally nude in that form. He also recieved word from Dr. Faust about his GEAR body undergoing further growth and changes, though that was not very reassuring.

Several months later he encountered Bedman and their fight was “dead even” despite all the efforts and progress he had made. Fighting the Conclave and Ariels would NOT be easy at this phase, and so he had no choice but to work with Ky to resolve the current situation.

Most likely Sol is still in pursuit of the remaining OutRage and trying to further control his Gear powers now that he knows of the Seed inside his body. His recent loss to Ky Kiske seems like a minor setback, but now he has a better idea of what he needs to do to improve his fighting ability.

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softkitten · 6 years ago

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months in music 2018

Welcome back to another year end round-up. Longtime readers will note that there is not one of these for 2017. That’s because 2017 was no damn good, and writing about it once it was finally over felt like no kind of fun at all. 2018 was much kinder.

January: Finn - “Sometimes the Going Gets a Little Tough” January’s song plays like an overture for the year to come, an uptempo, retro house track about perseverance and forgiveness. I don’t remember January very well at all, and it wasn’t because I was partying so hard. I spent the first month of the year in the car, back and forth between Calgary and Saskatoon, back and forth over and over, trying to secure employment and housing. It was exhausting and incredibly lonely. The bright chords and pitched-up vocals here promised future happiness and stability, and that was what I was counting on when I played it on repeat all alone.

February: Mija - “Notice Me” Sheena and I spent all of February in different cities, our longest time apart since getting together in 2010. I was living in my best friend’s basement and in my first month of a new job, Sheena was working herself to the bone packing up our old life in Saskatoon box by box. February was hideously cold in Calgary, and this was what I’d play when I’d shiver down cellar, missing home and warmth and love.

March: Låpsley - “Operator” (DJ Koze’s Extended Disco Version) On Sheena’s birthday, I played a Thursday night gig in a tiny Calgary club, and the only people in attendance were other DJs. The first guy on sounded like Black Coffee, the dude who played after him sounded like Marcel Dettmann. I was third up and I leaned on vocal-heavy disco and house and all 15 people in attendance agreed that this was the vibe. Getting the tiny room sweating to “Operator,” a song known and beloved to daily Resident Advisor readers and few others, was an early high point in the year.

April: Calvin Harris ft. Dua Lipa - “One Kiss” Winter lingered in 2018 like a bad cough, with miserable regular snowfalls continuing well into April. “One Kiss” dropped near the middle of the month and signalled carefree times ahead, hot nights and long swims, summer’s inevitability. It was what I desperately needed to hear at the time and I still haven’t stopped playing it.

May: The 1975 - “Give Yourself a Try” The first single from The 1975′s third album, my favourite LP of 2018. This song scans to me as a reassessment of one’s priorities and one’s capabilities. I was a few months along into a job wherein I ran a day program for disabled adults. Prior to taking that job, I’d worked graveyard shifts in a group home for three straight years, where I was paid to be bored, stay awake and see no one. Switching back to a daytime schedule and having a job where I tested and developed my actual skills made me feel like my personality had changed overnight, as if I’d just kicked some awful habit. I had more energy, more patience. I was a much kinder person, and someone with a focus on my career and my closer relationships, rather than the messy, overextended person I was in previous years.

June: Disclosure ft. Fatoumata Diawara - “Ultimatum” After a few months on the shelf, I started getting gigs again, including a few nights at a local watering hole downtown. Getting back into DJ’ing after a winter and spring spent on my ass and out of practice was difficult, but after a few sessions I found I was sounding better than ever. I did some of the best DJ’ing I’ve done my entire life this year. I found a sound that’s unlike anyone else local, and found new ways to play to crowds who are decidedly not my people. I’m very excited to double down in 2019 and find more spaces to play the music I love.

July: Kloves - “Trigger” Compared to previous years, I didn’t get out to as many shows as I’d have liked. Once moved, it took me until December to even get out of Calgary. That said, I saw one of the best shows I’ve ever seen at the Junction this July when Kloves came on before Thor. Kloves began their set playing well above 133bpm and didn’t let up once, delivering relentless, pummelling techno that left the room panting with exhaustion. I’ve learned so much about the role of the DJ from Kloves, and their entire set that night made me feel like I was the coolest person. I think that’s what you ought to be doing, giving your audience space to perform the version of themselves they find the most exciting.

August: The Midnight - “Endless Summer” I felt cheated in August, pulled in too many different directions. I had gigs most weekends, we had friends and family coming in to visit us, I signed myself up for a three-day camping trip out in Alberta back country with the day program I worked for. It wasn’t without fun, the gigs were well-paid, it was fantastic to see friends I’d missed dearly, but I left the last month of summer wishing for more time to myself. This song reflects the fantasy of that. The Midnight create a world where it’s eternally the last night of summer vacation, and your friend’s just pulled up in a coke-white IROC. I wanted to escape to that place whenever I could, and forestall the warmth and pleasure whenever I could find it.

September: Robyn - “Baby Forgive Me” September was tough on both Sheena and I. I started a new, better-paid job working with incarcerated women, and the new opportunity was great but also daunting, much harder than my last gig. Sheena’s workplace, meanwhile, went septic as her depression flared. Neither of us were perfect during the month of September, stress did what it usually does to long term relationships, but both of us took care of each other during our low points and talked through the problems we had with tools that weren’t available to us in the year before, or the year before that.

October: Pulp - “Dishes” A man told me to beware of 33. He said, “It was not an easy time for me.” But I’ll get through, even though I’ve got no miracles to show you. I’ve listened to Pulp, and This Is Hardcore, for literally half my life, but I found myself returning to it frequently in my birth month. Its lyrics about aging, being childless, holding on to persona and wondering what that means as youth slips off made a lot more sense to me than they did at 17. I found a lot of peace this year in being ‘the man who stays home and does the dishes,’ rather than the man out in public doing just anything for approval. I have been slower on the draw to make friends since moving cities. That’s because I absolutely refuse to participate in a social circle comprised mostly of people I don’t like and who don’t like me, as I’ve done in Victoria, Vancouver, and Saskatoon.

November: Pale Waves - “Drive” This choice is pretty straightforward - I got a new car in November and it’s as goth as Pale Waves are, sexy and fast and loud and cavernous. I can’t wait to road trip in it out to Vancouver in April, to see Pale Waves when they open up for The 1975. I’m already dreaming of putting it into Sport Mode on the Coquihalla and scaring the hell out of the local wildlife.

December: MK - “17″ I hate Christmas. I wish I didn’t, but, boy, do I ever. Every year, it’s something. Last year I had something like $2500.00 worth of car trouble starting on the 16th and continuing straight through to the 23rd. This year, I stocked my schedule to the absolute breaking point in attempt to see absolutely everyone and please absolutely everyone, and then got the flu on Christmas Day. I write this from bed; today is the first day I’ve felt fully well in about a week. I had to cancel on several friends, an act that I will go really far out of my way to avoid because it triggers all my anxiety and guilt. Fuck Christmas, past the age of about 12 it’s nothing but a regularly scheduled disappointment.

This is about cutting yourself loose from all that. In the middle of the month, Sheena and I saw Sonny Fodera play a basement venue in Calgary and the set’s highlight came when he dropped this upbeat UK house tune. I felt completely overjoyed and completely free when I heard it, and looking around, it’s safe to assume that the room did as well. It was reassuring, it felt safe. If Sheena and I renew our vows or do some showy anniversary celebration in the future, I want this song played. I want to live up to its promise, I feel every day that I’m hearing it back to me, and I really want to reciprocate.

Songs of the Year: Nine Inch Nails - “Shit Mirror”

Is it a sign of arrested development that, occasionally, it feels like Trent Reznor is talking directly to me, just like it did when I was 14 and looking for my identity wherever I could find it? “Shit Mirror” is about becoming something new, being surprised and delighted and scared. I tested myself a lot in 2018 and I find I like myself a lot better than I did 365 days ago.

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dustedmagazine · 6 years ago

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Voting with our ears: Dusted spends the rent on Bandcamp.com��s Voter Registration day

On September 25, Bandcamp.com held a fundraiser for the Voting Rights Project, seeking to raise both money and awareness around voter registration. For the day, all profits on everything you bought on Bandcamp.com went to this worthy cause. Dusted writers saw the opportunity to a) buy stuff and b) promote democracy and said, “Hell yes, we’re in.” Participating writers included Ian Mathers (who is Canadian!!), Justin Cober-Lake, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Isaac Olson (who definitely wins) and Ethan Covey. Check out what we bought and then, for the love of god, vote. We’re depending on you.

Ian Mathers

IDLES

For various reasons I wasn’t able to shop quite as avidly as I did last time we got together for one of these, but I managed to make one impulse purchase of a record I hadn’t heard yet (but had transfixed me with its singles) and combine that with two long-awaited additions of old favorites to my Bandcamp collection (and my hard drive, after having lost track of the files in one move or another).

IDLES — Joy As an Act of Resistance

Joy as an Act of Resistance. by IDLES

As you might guess from the fact that it just came out at the end of this August, Bristol’s IDLES is the impulse buy of the three, one that so far has worked out just wonderfully. Having been recommended the mockingly anti-Brexit(/xenophobia) “Great” on YouTube and being drawn from the immediately bracing, invigorating likes of that to this album’s more openhearted ode to the greatness of not hating people you don’t already know, “Danny Nedelko,” and the more Protomartyr-ish opening track “Colossus” (the latter of which also probably has my favorite music video of 2018), I couldn’t imagine any band capable of those three songs would somehow whiff the rest of a reasonably-lengthed LP, and the often political, always heartfelt Joy As an Act of Resistance. proved me right. There are certainly places where it gets darker (particularly “June,” where singer Joe Talbot relates in heart-wrenching fashion his wife losing a child to a miscarriage), but the overall feel of the album can be summed up by Talbot barking repeatedly at the listener to “love yourself” over a careening, punkish anthem. The album title isn’t a piss take, which is a relief in itself.

The Silent League — But You've Always Been the Caretaker...

But You've Always Been The Caretaker... by The Silent League

Back in 2004 I first heard of the Silent League, as I think most people did, because frontman Justin Russo had been in Mercury Rev (for 2001’s All Is Dream, the last Rev record I can say I fully loved), and their debut, The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused was interesting, lysergic chamber pop with some proggy and/or post-rock elements. I lost track of them for a bit after that album and was surprised that when I heard about them again it was because of an entirely different musician I was a fan of. Shannon Fields, then of Stars Like Fleas and since of Family Dynamics and Leverage Models (the last of which made my favorite record of 2013 and which is, incidentally, about to return), maker of a ton of records I both love and think have been overlooked, let me know that he’d also been a contributor to the Silent League for quite a while and that with their then-current album, 2010’s But You’ve Always Been the Caretaker… he thought they’d made something that represented a bit of a leap forward for the band. Not only do I agree, but the Silent League’s swan song (to date) now represents one of the most frustratingly overlooked records I know of, 15 sprawling songs in any number of registers, styles and tones tightly packed into less than 49 minutes that, fitting the circular and slightly foreboding title, packs a bunch of richly interwoven thematic and sonic depth into what feels like a whole universe of popular music. There’s proggy/ELO overture “When Stars Attack!!!,” the sound of a glam rock band practicing a particular soulful jam down the hall and four walls away on “Sleeper,” at least one just perfect string-led “perfect pop” song in “Resignation Studies,” and literally a dozen other things here. And yet But You’ve Always… never feels scattered or showoff-y. It’s a whole world, dense and rich and worthy of being studied in detail for its brilliance. I was thrilled to see it on Bandcamp, not least because this is exactly the kind of record that could easily slip through the cracks.

Tamas Wells — A Plea en Vendredi

(PB024) Tamas Wells: A Plea En Vendredi by Popboomerang

It’s been over a decade, but when I was in university I am pretty sure I first heard Australian singer-songwriter Tamas Wells because I saw the song “I’m Sorry That the Kitchen Is on Fire” somewhere and thought the title was hilarious. To my surprise the song itself was gorgeous, a gently folky little waltz with Wells’ high, gentle voice, carefully picked acoustic guitar, a lightly hypnotic piano refrain, and sparing hand claps. I fell hard enough for it that even back when the internet wasn’t at all what it is now I tracked down Wells’ 2006 album A Plea en Vendredi and found a shimmering little suite of song, some as gnomic and vaguely unsettling in their implications as “I’m Sorry That the Kitchen is on Fire” (like “Valder Fields,” which is apparently a place where our narrator and others mysteriously regain consciousness, or whatever you can make of “Lichen & Bees”), some much more plainspoken (including the slight political bent running through “The Opportunity Fair,” “The Telemarketer Resignation,” and the gorgeous little instrumental “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Ruling Class”), all just as twee-ly beautiful and enrapturing as my initial exposure had been. At the time Wells was working in Burma on a community development project, and from what I’ve been able to find his moving around and focus on non-music work has occasionally kept his album on the back burner, although he’s found an audience at home and in Japan and China (and of course, sometimes as far as Canada where I ran into his work). He’s kept releasing records since, most recently 2017’s The Plantation on a small Japanese label, but even if A Plea en Vendredi was all I’d ever been able to find it’d still find a regular place in my rotation; even when things get a bit darker, on “Valour” and the closing “Open the Blinds” there’s something so soothing about Wells’ music and this particular set of gem-like miniatures has been a go-to album for me during difficult times ever since.

Justin Cober-Lake

David Ramirez

Ashley Walters — Sweet Anxiety (Populist)

Ashley Walters // Sweet Anxiety by Ashley Walters

I’d been wanting to hear this one for a while. I first noticed cellist Ashley Walters on Wadada Leo Smith's America's National Parks, a remarkable album that I spent considerable time with while writing a couple features on it and Smith (including interviewing Walters). I was even more impressed after understanding what went into the work and seeing that ensemble perform it live. Walters writes of this album, “I seek to challenge your perception of what the cello, a stereotypically gentle instrument, is capable of,” and it's fair to say she succeeds. It's a demanding listen, more aggressive than expected, but Walters and her composers blend technical challenges with theoretical ones. At times, Walters cuts loose, and at times she works with tonality, often using nonstandard tuning to odd effect. Smith composed one of the brightest numbers here, making a nice shift in sound without lowering the difficulty level. Luciano Berio's “Sequenza XIV” provides the most interesting piece, not only for the actual performance but for the reconstruction work on the score that Walters highlights in the liner notes. This one's well worth a focused listen, and I'll need to give it quite a few more to properly process it.

The Beths — Warm Blood (Carpark)

Warm Blood by The Beths

In August, the Beths released one of my favorite albums of the year, Future Me Hates Me, a blast of pop-rock easily good enough to warrant going back, more or less, to the beginning, with 2016's Warm Blood EP. Both lyrically and musically, the group hasn't quite found its footing, but that says more about the focused energy of the full-length than it does about these five songs (including “Whatever,” which reappears on the album). The hooks are there now; the guitar on “Idea/Intent” represents the band as well as anything. The vitriol of that track fits in less well with the attitude the band generally puts forward, one that's self-reflective and confident without claiming to know all the answers. Some of the joy of the music is in Elizabeth Stokes' searching, but that's turned around on a track like “Rush Hour 3,” a comedic bit of come-on (and the rare track not written by Stokes). Warm Blood works as a nice look back at a band, but it's not just a history lesson — it's an enjoyable set that adds to the playlist of a group with only one album out.

David Ramirez — The Rooster (Sweetworld)

The Rooster EP by David Ramirez

I've been working my way backwards with David Ramirez, too, starting with last year's We're Not Going Anywhere (which didn't adhere to his previous folk-ish sound but did make me wonder why I hadn't found my way to the songwriter earlier). After spending time with the fantastic Fables, there was the live show that utterly sold me on him, in part because he has a bigger voice than you might notice at first, even in his sparser productions. The Rooster EP, a fitting complement to that album, feels like an ascent. His vocals are assured, even as he searches for clarity, or at least anchor points amid turbulence. Tracks like “The Bad Days” and “Glory” offer unrequested hope, and “The Forgiven” provides a meditation on performance, art, and faith that's central to his work. The five cuts on this EP have the gravitas of something bigger and strengthen my sense that Ramirez should be a songwriter that everyone listens to.

Grand Banks – Live 8-25-2018

Grand Banks live 8-25-2018 by Grand Banks

Any sort of bonus shopping day provides a good excuse to support local music. This time I went with the latest release (such as it is) from Grand Banks, their live recording from August 25. The duo don't shy away from volume, but their focus on minimalist ideas and sonic experimentation makes for unusual experiences. Over this single 30-minute track, the pair builds with patience, even when developing a haunted-house sort of melody on the keys. The second half of the piece increases the challenge, with guitarist Davis Salisbury pulling an odd series of sounds out of his instrument (for the curious, you can try it at home with an electric guitar, a tuning fork, and a fuzz pedal, and probably some sort of sonic laboratory). The effects build on Tyler Magill's creepy keyboard work – maybe this one's an unintended seasonal release. The study in space and harmonics gives way to a chirpy conversation and surprisingly (in this context) guitar-like guitar moment before placidly drifting away, an apt conclusion for the performance.

Jennifer Kelly

The Scientists

I bought five different records this time, mostly, but not all, falling somewhere in the punk/garage continuum. I liked them all in different ways, but the one that absolutely killed me was…

IDLES—Joy as an Act of Resistance (Partisan)

Joy as an Act of Resistance. by IDLES

This is Ian’s fault, really. He talked me into it. Plus, it turned up on the Bandcamp recommendation engine. Which, by the way, is just so much better than Amazon’s recommendation engine. (I see you like the Pixies. Wanna buy every Pixies album ever?) But turns out, they’re both dead on. Idles is vitriolic and literate like the Sleaford Mods but backed by a ripped-to-the-teeth full band a la Protomartyr. Yes, two of my favorite current bands in one, plus a whole other thing of jagged, jitter-drunk percussion and wind tunnel howl. There is a song called “Never Fight a Man with a Perm.” So glad I got to hear this. Score one for voter registration.

The Sueves—R.I.P. Clearance Event (Hozac)

R.I.P. Clearance Event by The Sueves

Butt-simple garage rock from Chicago, punctuated by weird little intervals of found sounds. Beautifully unhinged and uncomplicated, it reminds me the most of Demon’s Claw and after that maybe the Hunches and then the Monks. I bought it partly because I wanted to get those “we have a new record” notices from Hozac, but they know what I like.

The Scientists—Blood Red River 1982-1984 (Numero)

Blood Red River 1982 - 1984 by Scientists

Guess who got to see the Scientists last week? They were awesome. They played “Frantic Romantic” in the encore (which is not on this disc, by the way). I knew some of the early stuff from the Do the Pop compilation of Australian punk, but immersing myself in these clanking, droning, post-punk juggernauts was the best and most enjoyable concert prep ever. “Solid Gold Hell” and “Swampland” were my two faves, and they played them both.

Mike Pace and the Child Actors—Smooth Sailing (Self Starter Foundation)

Smooth Sailing by Mike Pace and the Child Actors

This one, from the former Oxford Collapse frontman, was a little more Raspberry-ish power pop than I was expecting, but it’s growing on me. “Escape the Noize” is my go-to track, a lush jangle of melancholy, a tetchy bristle of palm-muting, then a sweeping swooning chorus. It’s about leaving the music behind, which Pace clearly hasn’t, and good thing.

Onoto—Dead Ghost (Taiyo)

DEAD GHOST by ONOTO

Let me the first to admit that I haven’t gotten to the bottom of this one, a swirling, enveloping miasma of guitar tone, wrapped around confoundingly weird vocal samples. “Shake Well for the Eye,” is droned-out chaos that parts like fog for bits of mid-20th century menstrual advice (avoid vigorous exercise, horse-riding, skating, cold showers, hah!). Other cuts eschew narrative for slow moving landscapes of instrumental tone. The title track lets guitar notes hang for unmovable eons, with only sharp shards of harmonics to break up the endless vistas. As a straight through listen, the disc makes more sense as you go along, meaning, you have to adapt to its oddity and it changes you.

Bill Meyer

Canary records

Kemany Minas and Garabet Merjanian — When I See You: From the November 1917 Recordings, NYC (Canary)

When I See You: From the November 1917 Recordings, NYC by Kemany Minas & Garabet Merjanian

Various Artists — And Two Partridges II: From the Earliest Turkish-, Arabic- Armenian-& Kurdish-Language Recordings in America, Feb-Aug, 1916 (Canary)

And Two Partridges II: From the Earliest Turkish-, Arabic- Armenian-& Kurdish-Language Recordings in America, Feb-Aug, 1916 by Canary Records

Various Artists — Oh My Soul: Armenian-American Independent Releases, vol. 1: ca. 1920-25 (Canary)

Oh My Soul: Armenian-American Independent Releases, vol. 1: ca. 1920-25 by Canary Records

Various Artists — Why I Came to America: More Folk Music of the Ottoman-American Diaspora, ca. 1917-47 (Canary)

Why I Came to America: More Folk Music of the Ottoman-American Diaspora, ca. 1917-47 by Canary Records

I buy stuff via Bandcamp fairly often, and my purchases are nearly always hard copies. Downloads may be convenient, but a record you can’t hold in your hands seems to me to be one of those bad 21st century ideas like a Trump presidency or an unrepentant frat-creep on the supreme court. But when Bandcamp puts its income behind a cause, I relent, and when I do, I buy downloads from Canary Records. These albums are all compiled from recordings made by Anatolian exiles who fled genocide, war and poverty to take their chances in the USA. Many of these recordings predate the first blues records, and collectively they make a case that our notions of what constitutes American music are needlessly exclusive. After all, why should the music of people who came here from the Ottoman Empire be any less American than people who came here from the British Empire?

Billy Gomberg — Live Sets 2016-18

live sets 2016-18 by Billy Gomberg

Well, there go the rules. This DL-only compilation of concert performances by one of my favorite ambient recording artists of recent years shows that the carefully wrought, ultra-deep atmosphere of his recent cassettes is no fluke.

Various Artists — Two Niles To Sing A Melody: The Violins & Synths Of Sudan (Ostinato)

Two Niles to Sing a Melody: The Violins & Synths of Sudan by Various Artists

Back on solid ground at last! This hardcover book + 2 CDs (there are also vinyl and DL versions) shows how sounds blur from one culture to the next when people live along the same rivers and coasts. These recordings from the Sudan blend the nimble rhythms and ardent longing of Arabic pop with just a hint of the sinuous melodic quality of Ethiopian popular music.

Tashi Wada with Yoshi Wada and Friends — FRKWYS Vol. 14—Nue (RVNG)

FRKWYS Vol. 14 - Nue by Tashi Wada with Yoshi Wada and Friends

If you’ve caught Tashi and Yoshi Wada in concert, you know that there’s no louder or more mind-melting drone that a drone that incorporates multiple bagpipes and alarm bells. This record puts Wada fils in the composer / arranger’s seat, and while it uses the same materials as those live performances, the music is much gentler. Sometimes you want to boil your blood, sometimes you just want to kick back and zone out. A portion of the proceeds from this record will go to the National Immigration Law Center.

Isaac Olson

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan

Toshiya Tsunoda/Taku Unami — Wovenland (Erstwhile)

Wovenland by Toshiya Tsunoda/Taku Unami

I bought this collection of chopped and screwed field recordings on the strength of Marc Medwin’s review and the fact that Erstwhile dedicated their profits for the day to the Voting Rights Project. Pieces like “Park cleaning / Crickets chirping,” “In The Park”, “From the rooftop, railway terminal station” are both ear-tickling and intellectually stimulating. The rest are more stimulating intellectually than auditorially.

The Weather Station—S/T (Paradise of Bachelors)

The Weather Station by The Weather Station

I slept on The Weather Station in 2017 because the music didn’t grab me enough I wasn’t interested enough in the music to tune into the lyrics. I’m not sure what compelled me to give it another try, but I’m glad I did. Songwriter Tamara Lindeman has crafted a compelling take on early adulthood in an anxious age, one that, once I started paying attention, resonated with me in a highly personal manner I haven’t felt or sought in years. The b-side is almost too subtle, but Lindeman is a sharp enough writer to bring it off.

Red River Dialect—Broken Stay Open Sky (Paradise of Bachelors)

Broken Stay Open Sky by Red River Dialect

This is another record where the words carry the music, which means, like The Weather Station, I initially passed it over only to connect with it in unexpectedly personal ways after honing in on the lyrics. While I loved the fiddling from the jump, it took time for the rest of Broken Stay Open Sky to grow on me, but grow it did. (Check out Eric McDowell’s review here).

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan—Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Canary Records)

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan: 1934-1935 by Abdul Karim Khan

Classical Indian vocal music is a complex, highly systematized artform that I can’t pretend to understand, so rather than take my recommendation that you should listen to these recordings, take LaMonte Young’s: “When I first heard the recordings of Abdul Karim Khan I thought that perhaps it would be best if I gave up singing, got a cabin up in the mountains, stocked it with a record player and recordings of Abdul Karim Khan, and just listened for the rest of my life”.

VA—100 Moons: Hindustani Vocal Art, 1930-55 (Canary Records)

100 Moons: Hindustani Vocal Art, 1930-55 by Canary Records

A traditional performance of a raga can last hours. A 78 can hold about three minutes of music.

As such, the performances on this collection lack the the breadth and depth of a traditional raga performance, but they more than make up for it in intensity.

Ross Hammond and Jon Balfus— Masonic Lawn (Self Released)

Masonic Lawn by Ross Hammond and Jon Bafus

Sacramento guitarist and improviser Ross Hammond (whose record with Hindustani vocalist Jay Nair is also worth your time) teams up with percussionist Jon Balfus for a set of blues and folk inspired improvisations that manage to feel spacious despite the dense polyrhythmic approach. Masonic Lawn’s improvisations are optimistic, wide-eyed meditations on Americana.

Melvin Wine—Cold Frosty Morning (Roane Records)

Cold Frosty Morning by Melvin Wine

Old-time music, like most folk traditions that arose in relative isolation and pre-date the record industry, isn’t particularly well suited for album-length listening. That said, if you’re in the mood for scratchy, crooked, dance and trance tunes, West Virginia fiddler Melvin Wine is a great introduction to the distinctly non-bluegrassy mysteries of this music.

Note: This recording features a minstrel tune titled “Jump Jim Crow”. How we’re to deal with this in the modern, right-wing nightmare age we inhabit is a complicated question, so if you’re digging this music but that title bothers you (and it should), check out these articles by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Mechanic.

V/A—Usiende Ukalale: Omutibo From Rural Kenya (Olvido Records)

Usiende Ukalale: Omutibo From Rural Kenya by Various Artists

Like the Melvin Wine recording above, Usiende Ukalale exhibits a local folk style that evolved in relative isolation and is, for the non-local and non-expert, enchanting in small doses and merely pleasant over the course of a full album.

VA—I’m Not Here to Hunt Rabbits: Guitar and Folk Styles from Botswana (Piranha Records)

I'm Not Here To Hunt Rabbits by Various Artists

I reviewed this one back in May and I’ve listened to it so many times since that it was high time to buy it. Highest recommendation.

Jess Sah Bi & Peter One—Our Garden Needs Its Flowers (Awesome Tapes from Africa)

Our Garden Needs Its Flowers by Jess Sah Bi & Peter One

This unusual gem combines the loping rhythms, slide guitar and harmonica of American country music with traditional Ivory Coast village songs. Its breezy Bakersfield meets Yamoussoukro vibe belies its anti-apartheid lyrics. Mp3s of this one have been floating around the internet for a few years, so it’s great to see it get an official re-release.

Ola Belle Reed—FRC 203 - Ola Belle Reed: Recordings from the collection of Ray Alden and the Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music

FRC 203 - Ola Belle Reed: Recordings from the collection of Ray Alden and the Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music by Ola Belle Reed

From the indispensable Field Recorders Collective, this release documents a 1973 performance by Ola Belle Reed. Reed’s music exists at the nexus of old-time, bluegrass, early country, and gospel, but it feels wrong to box in the wisdom, humor, and generosity of spirit that shines through this release with anachronistic genre tags. Best of all is the Reed original, “Tear Down the Fences”: “Then we could tear down the fences that fence us all in/Fences created by such evil men/Oh we could tear down the fences that fence us all in /Then we could walk together again.” Amen.

Ragana— You Take Nothing

YOU TAKE NOTHING by RAGANA

I don’t listen to as much metal as I used to, but while this fundraiser was happening, Brett Kavanaugh — case study in patriarchal resentment and mediocrity — got one step closer to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. Ragana’s raw, sludgy, anarcha-feminist take on black metal really hit the spot that day.

Ethan Covey

Weak Signal

Omit — Enclosures 2011-2016 (Pica Disk/End of the Alphabet)

Enclosures 2011-2016 by Omit

Clinton Williams, the New Zealander known as Omit, has been quietly releasing nocturnal electronic compositions of uncompromising quality for the past couple of decades. Enclosures 2011-2016, released jointly by Lasse Marhaug’s Pica Disk and Noel Meek’s End of the Alphabet labels, provides an overview of five years of Williams’ output in a 30-track, six-hour package, available digitally and as a limited 5-CD set. Omit has previously been anthologized on two compilations courtesy of the Helen Scarsdale label, Tracer and Interceptor. And past releases have popped up via Corpus Hermeticum and PseudoArcana, as well as — most prominently — Williams’ own Deepskin Conceptual Mindmusic imprint. Great listening, all, if you can find ‘em. For those curious to dive in without too much digging, Enclosures is ideal. Much of Williams’ genius lies in composing tracks that are edgy, yet beautiful, creepy and experimental, yet profoundly listenable. It’s forward-thinking electronic composition that checks a lot of avant-garde boxes without feeling like a task. There’s a subtle, krautrock propulsion to the best tracks — the opening “Turner,” the “Echo Dot” pieces — where the listener gets locked into the rhythm and time slows to an elegant crawl — like a soundtrack for night driving on an Autobahn upended.

Weak Signal — LP1 (self-released)

LP1 by WEAK SIGNAL

Weak Signal are NYC’s Sasha Vine, Tran Huynh and Mike Bones. Bones has previously released a pair of strong albums of indie songwriting courtesy of The Social Registry. As a guitarist, he’s done time with Endless Boogie, Matt Sweeney’s Soldiers of Fortune and Prison. This album was a tip from Danny Arakaki of Garcia Peoples, and it’s a swell one, 30-minutes of slack fuzz pop bashed out with energy and swagger. The majority of the tracks strut by on solid riffs, backed by boy/girl vox that slide into chant-along choruses. Like new wave bled dry, leaving a beautiful bummer. The eight-minute “Miami/Miami Part 2” stretches out into a haze of increasingly rapturous guitar soloing, string screeches and a spoken word coda. Lotta promise here, for sure. Here’s hoping they stick around for an LP2.

Raising Holy Sparks — Search For The Vanished Heaven (Eiderdown Records)

Search For The Vanished Heaven by Raising Holy Sparks

Seattle’s Eiderdown Records has been releasing some of the best contemporary psychedelia around, and the latest by Raising Holy Sparks is no exception. The project is the work of uber-prolific Irishman David Colohan, and is offered in double and triple cassette, as well as digital, versions. The “short” cut of the album is an hour and a half long, and the triple cassette and download versions stretch that to well over two hours. Per the credits, the album was recorded in somewhere around 40 different locations over four years. Colohan is credited with over 30 instruments and is joined by baker’s dozen of likeminded collaborators. What they deliver is, like most of Colohan’s music, long, slow and often eerily beautiful. “I Am In The Mountains While You Are In My Dreams” passes in its 23-minutes through Popol Vuh-style ambience, spoken word incantations that sound like Coil if they’d truly embraced the countryside and a whole lot of birdsong. It’s a good overview of the general proceedings — accented occasionally by louder blasts of synths, random percussion that sounds like drum machine presets and banjo-plucking krautrock. On paper, that sounds like a head-scratching combo, but it works. One gets the impression Colohan’s dedication and attention to detail is such that the grab bag of sounds weaves together into a surprisingly fascinating whole. Listen with attention and you’ll want to follow along as each stretch and segue unfolds. Oh, and as is typical with Eiderdown, bonus points for exceptional artwork, this time courtesy of Aubrey Nehring.

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lfthinkerwrites · 6 years ago

Text

A Riddle for a Bat, pt. 5

Title: A Riddle for a Bat

Fandom: Batman

Pairing: Riddlebat

Rating: T

Chapter Summary: Bruce finds out a bit more about Edward Nigma's background before their 'partnership' officially begins.

Previous Chapters: 1/2/3/4

AO3 Link

After making sure Dick was comfortable, Bruce allowed himself to sleep. By early afternoon he was up, showered and sitting at the Batcomputer. According to the news reports, all of the patients at Gotham City General had been evacuated, including Carmine Falcone. He'd have to check in with Gordon tonight to make sure that the elderly mobster had agreed to police protection. For now, Bruce was focused on background research for another person entirely.

He was looking right now at a five-year-old file picture of a man he'd obtained from the GCPD server. The text below the picture read Nashton, Edward. Cybercrime Division. Bruce considered the picture. Nigma hadn't apparently been as ostentatious at GCPD as he was now. He was wearing a blue sweater vest over a plain white dress shirt. His auburn hair hung loose, rather than the slicked back look he seemed to favor in the present. His personality, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to change much. His smirk in the old photograph was just as cocky and self-satisfied as the smirk he'd worn the previous evening. Even then, he seemed to carry himself as a man who knew the answers to all of life's questions and who wasn't shy about letting others know that. Bruce leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the desk and folding his hands in thought. What had happened in the five years between Nigma's departure from GCPD and now to make the man what he was? And why had he left GCPD in the first place?

Bruce was so engrossed in the picture that he almost didn't hear Alfred coming up behind him, carrying a tray with a plate of food and a cup of coffee. "Who is that you're looking at, Master Bruce?"

"I'm surprised you don't recognize him, Alfred," taking the cup when Alfred set the tray down next to him. He took a long sip of coffee before he continued, "He's only been on the news at least once a week for the past six months."

Alfred made a small noise of surprise. "My word. That's Edward Nigma? I hardly recognized him without any hint of green on."

"This is back when he worked for GCPD," Bruce explained. "He was part of the cybercrime division." It occurred to Bruce that every time he pulled information from the GCPD server, he had Nigma to thank for it. He reflexively scowled. "I wanted to find out as much as I can about him before I approach him tonight."

"And what have you found out so far?"

Bruce tapped a few keys. "Nothing much. He has no family listed. The earliest records I can find about him are his college transcripts from Gotham University. And according to his personnel file, he was a model employee. There were no complaints about him from other officers. There's no criminal record for him either."

"Well, I'd imagine not. Even someone as unscrupulous as Loeb was had to have some hiring standards."

Bruce took another sip of coffee. "Nigma was a hacker Alfred. He might have been able to cover his tracks before he came to GCPD." He typed a few commands on the computer. "When I encountered him at the party, I thought I could detect a bit of a New England inflection when he spoke. I'm expanding the search to include any records about him from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island."

"This Nigma character has made quite an impression on you, hasn't he Sir?"

Bruce frowned a bit at the teasing tone in Alfred's voice. "He's been operating an information network under everyone's noses for months, possibly years. I don't like that."

"No of course not. I suppose that was why you were staring so intently at his picture when I came in as well?"

Bruce said nothing but closed the picture of Nigma. He focused instead on a court record that the search had returned. It was a record from Connecticut that was over twenty years old. Bruce rubbed his chin. Unless Nigma had access to one of Ra's Lazarus Pits, this couldn't be about him. He took a look at the article anyway. "Did you find something, sir?" Alfred asked.

"It's a court transcript from Connecticut," Bruce took a closer look. "Regarding the sentence of a William Nashton."

"A relative of Nigma's, perhaps?"

"Most likely," Bruce answered. He read further. "Twenty-five years ago, William Nashton was arrested on charges that he-" Bruce paused slightly as he read the next lines. This was something he hadn't expected.

"He what, Master Bruce?"

Bruce sighed. "That he severely and repeatedly beat his son."

"Oh dear," Alfred said. "Do you think this is Nigma's father?"

Bruce leaned back in his chair. "The son's name isn't mentioned, but the timeline fits. The article says that the son was taken into foster care and never returned to his father's custody. There's no mention of any mother." This would explain why there was no family listed, as well as the lack of any information about Nigma before he was college age. He must have come straight to Gotham after he aged out of the system. Bruce closed the windows and stood up. "I think I've found out all I can about who he was before GCPD. I'm still no closer to finding out why he left, or what his connection to Thorne might be."

"Perhaps given his background, he has an inherent distaste for thugs like Thorne."

Bruce shook his head. "I don't think that's it. He'd be just as hostile towards Falcone and Maroni if that was the case. The way he spoke about Thorne in his office...there's something more personal there." Bruce's first thought was that it was connected to Nigma's departure from GCPD. Gordon had sworn up and down that Nigma wouldn't be on the take. Perhaps Thorne had approached him with a bribe and Nigma had rejected it? Loeb was believed to be in the pockets of one of the crime families. The only reason why it had never been proven was that he'd been murdered while in custody before his corruption trial years ago. If Loeb was in Thorne's pocket, that could explain the argument in his office. Perhaps he'd forced Nigma out...but then again, Gordon had been approached for bribes numerous times and he'd never been forced out. And if Thorne had thought Nigma was too dangerous to be allowed to be not on his payroll, he more than likely would have had him killed, just as he and the other families had killed people who inconvenienced them. Bruce shook his head. The more he found out about the man, the less he understood. "I'll figure it out, Alfred."

"I'm sure you will sir," Alfred said reassuringly. "In the meantime, I've made up the downstairs guest room for Master Dick to stay in while he's recovering. He and I have decided to tell the university and anyone else who may inquire that he was in a car accident to explain his leave of absence."

"Good," Bruce said. "He can help me out by monitoring the chat on the scanners and doing research."

"And I'm sure he'll be delighted to do so," Alfred said in a droll tone. "Also, Ms. Vreeland called. She insisted on taking you out to lunch since you had to leave her party early last night."

"Wonderful." Bruce was about to ask him to think of an excuse not to go but thought better of it. Veronica had taken quite a shine to Nigma. Perhaps there was something she could tell him that the computer couldn't. "Well, I do have some time to kill before I meet with Gordon."

"Bruce! Darling!" Veronica's wide smile fell almost the instant Bruce sat in the wooden chair on the opposite end of the small round table on the outdoor terrace of the Rose Cafe. "What happened to you? You look like you barely slept last night!"

Bruce had managed to clean up for his visit with Veronica, but there wasn't much he could do about the bags under his eyes. He brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose to exaggerate how exhausted he was. "I didn't," he answered truthfully. "Dick, my ward, was in a car accident last night."

Veronica brought her hand up to her mouth. "Oh my goodness! Is he alright?"

"He has a broken leg, but he'll be fine. He's staying at Wayne Manor for a bit to recover. Needless to say, I had a bit of a late night after I left."

Veronica visibly sighed with relief. "Well, that's good. That he'll be alright I mean, not that he broke his leg. And here I was, ready to scold you for not taking care of yourself!"

Bruce had to smile. Veronica could be a bit overdramatic and trying company at times, but she was deep down, a good person. "Thank you for that Ronnie."

Veronica smiled again. "No need to thank me at all, Bruce. To tell the truth, after you and Eddie left last night, the party got a bit dull." She let out a sigh. "I tried to invite Eddie out too, but he said he was busy on a case."

Here was the opening. "Oh?" he asked. "Did he at least tell you what he was working on?"

Veronica shook her head. "No. He did tell me one thing though." She took a quick look round to make sure the customers sitting around them weren't listening in before she leaned forward, conspiratorially. "He saw Batman last night."

Bruce pretended to be interested. "Oh? Did he now?"

"He did. He was very excited about it too. You should have heard him, Bruce, it was like a child meeting Santa Claus for the first time." She leaned back to laugh a bit. "It was actually quite adorable."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. From his limited experience, 'adorable' wasn't a word he would use to describe Edward Nigma. "Adorable? Really Ronnie?"

"Yes Bruce, really. Oh, I know you don't like him much, but you really should give him a chance. When he's not doing his 'genius private investigator' routine, he can actually be a little sweetheart."

Somehow, Bruce truly doubted that. "And you know this..."

Veronica took a sip out of her spring water before she answered. "Well, for starters, despite what you might think of PIs, he's not sleazy at all. He made no overtures to me, he listened to me when I told him about my problems and he didn't attempt to overcharge me in the slightest."

Just because Nigma was capable of showing basic respect to a wealthy client didn't mean he was in any way altruistic. Bruce was about to tell Veronica this when she continued, "After he recovered my diamonds actually, I stopped by his office to thank him. He was already talking to another client of his. It was a young mother and her son. When she left, I ran into her in the hallway and you know what she told me he did for her?"

"Caught her husband in an affair and made sure she got a large divorce settlement?" Bruce asked.

He was surprised by the genuine scowl on Veronica's face. "Oh Bruce, must you be so cynical? As a matter of fact, she wasn't wealthy at all. And her husband wasn't cheating on her. He was beating her."

Bruce actually was stunned by this. Nigma had billed himself as a private detective to the elite of Gotham's society. "What did Nigma do for her?" he asked, now genuinely curious.

"He helped her and her son get away from the creep. He was able to get them to a shelter and he got enough evidence about the man to get him sent to jail for years. He didn't charge her a penny either. He even gave her money to get a plane ticket out of Gotham and back to her family in Michigan!" When Bruce said nothing in response, she smiled. "Well, after hearing that, how could I not fall for him, just a bit?"

It made sense, Bruce supposed, that given Nigma's background, that he may have an aversion to abusers. But this...this didn't fit at all with the smug, self-centered man he'd met the night before. Then again...he had shown a genuine regard for Gordon the previous evening. Bruce idly listened as Veronica continued to chat. The more he found out about Edward Nigma, the less he understood him.

Bruce had been perched on the rooftop of the office building for over an hour, staring through his binoculars into the old brownstone building across the street and at one office in particular. Night had long since fallen over Gotham City and with it came the chatter of the evening crowd. As expected, the murders of Ricci and Maroni men, as well as the attempt on Falcone's life had been the talk of the town. Summer Gleason had provided continuous updates throughout the day, which Bruce had largely kept up with. When he had stopped by GCPD, Gordon had confirmed that Falcone had gone into police protection. However, his health had suffered a decline due to the stress of the attack so he would be unavailable for any further information. Maroni had lawyered up and wasn't talking to anyone. Bruce would pay a visit to him as well, but for now, the man in the office he was scoping out was his best source of information.

Dick's voice crackled in the intercom in his cowl. "Any sign of Nigma?"

"Not yet," Bruce answered. It was well after 9:00 and his search earlier didn't turn up any home address. Where could he be? Finally, Bruce saw a light turn on. "I've gotta go. There's a light on in his office."

"OK. What do you want me to do in the meantime?"

"Keep your eyes and ears open and check in with me if anything happens. I'll check in later." Bruce put his binoculars away and took out his grappling hook, aiming it at the very same fire escape he used to get into the office the previous night. He landed on it just in time to see Nigma pass in front of the window. Bruce watched as he took off his green suit jacket and hung it up on the coat rack by the front door to the office. Nigma turned to face the window and his eyes widened when he saw Bruce on the fire escape. So much for the element of surprise. Bruce slid the window open and stepped into the office. "Busy night, Nigma?"

For a moment Nigma didn't say anything. Then, much to Bruce's irritation, he chuckled. "Well well. Back again already. Am I just that intriguing, Dark Knight?"

Bruce ignored the man's jibe as he strode forward. "We need to talk. I trust you heard about the bombing at the hospital last night."

A dark look came across the man's face. "I did. I had nothing to do with, in case you're wondering."

"I know you didn't Nigma," Bruce said. He continued to advance toward Nigma, stopping only when he was barely a foot from the other man. He didn't miss how the private detective tensed up slightly, or that his face was faintly flushing. "I saw the man behind the attacks."

Nigma's expression turned into that of interest. "You did?" Then she smirked in triumphant realization. "And you don't know who he is. But you think that I do. You need my help."

"I need your informants' help," Bruce corrected. "All I need from you is to take me to them."

Nigma's grin didn't falter in the slightest. "So I take it this means we're partners now?"

Bruce glared slightly at the other man. "Here are the ground rules: this is my investigation. You follow my lead. You do exactly what I tell you to do. And you tell no one about this. Understood?"

Nigma glared back at Bruce, not wavering for a moment. "I'm a detective too, I'll have you know. And a great one. I'm not some little foot soldier you can dictate orders to. And you don't say anything to my informants without me being present." He pointed his finger directly at Bruce's face. "I've spent a long time cultivating some of these sources and I'm not about to have you scare them away!"

Bruce leaned forward so that his face was only inches away from Nigma's. He watched the other man's green eyes widen a bit from fright, and a bit from another emotion Bruce didn't want to think about. "Those are my terms Nigma. Take it or leave it." He watched as Nigma's brow creased in thought then as his shoulders sagged.

"Fine," he said at last. "Let me just get my coat back on."

Bruce took a step back and watched as Nigma put his green jacket back on and grabbed a cane from off of a hook on the wall. Bruce noticed that the cane handle was in the shape of a question mark. "I didn't realize you needed a cane."

"Just an aesthetic choice," Nigma explained. He turned to give Bruce a cheeky grin. "It has other purposes as well. Maybe you'll see." He held his arm out in a flourish. "So! Ready to go partner?"

Bruce was already starting to regret this. "Just keep the theatricality to a minimum, please."

"Oh, you're hardly one to talk, Mr. 'Dresses up like a bat and dangles thugs from rooftops'."

Bruce resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'd like to speak with your Falcone sources."

Nigma grinned. "Very well then. Your car or mine?"

"My car," Bruce said. "It's parked across the street. Don't touch anything in it."

If anything, Nigma became more excited. "Going to Pandora's Box in the Batmobile. The girls will never believe it."

"Pandora's Box?"

"Oh, you haven't heard of it? I suppose not, given your reputation for lawful behavior. It's a perfectly charming little-"

"S&M club," Bruce finished. He had to suppress a smirk of his own when he saw Nigma's look of surprise. "Somehow I'm not surprised that you're familiar with it."

Nigma's face flushed at the implication. "I don't have to take that from a man in-never mind. Shall we?"

Bruce gestured towards the front door. "After you." As he watched Nigma open the door, Bruce couldn't help but feel that he'd made a mistake. It couldn't be helped though. If he wanted answers about the gang war and about Nigma himself, he had to go through with this.

#riddlebat #a riddle for a bat #bruce finds out more about ed than he thought he would

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symphonyinsea · 7 years ago

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It’s been a while since I last posted here, and for good reason. Musical took up most of my free time over the last couple of months, and then we had four fantastic shows - so many people have told us it was the best show in years. That was two weeks ago now. I’m only just about coming out from the post-show blues - it was worst the week after when I still had some medicine to do, but now I’ve had a week off uni (plus a spontaneous adventure on a Scottish island), I’ve been able to process all that’s happened.

My last long post was after weekend away in February. Since then, the intensity ramped up significantly. As well as having all-day rehearsals every Sunday, we had more arranging to do (I had to learn how to write drum and guitar parts, as well as doing scene-change music), as well as band rehearsals starting on top of everything else. It was hectic and stressful for a while, but it was honestly so, so worth it. We managed to make a great show, and we definitely pulled off what we were trying to achieve.

One of the most special moments was collaborating on the overture with MD. We decided to use music from the film of our show rather than a classic overture which would spoil all our tunes. I wrote the first part, which was a ‘straighter’, more classical version, and MD wrote the second part which was a jazz version of the same themes. It was a lot of work, but incredibly satisfying when it came together. We’re both so proud of it - it was a true collaboration and each of us had creative input into the other’s work: he gave me advice about the style of my parts while I helped him with the strings and some harmonies in his part. I’ll always cherish that score, with both our names side by side as the composers/arrangers.

MD and I got really close over the past few weeks. In the run-up to the show, we were seeing each other 3-4 times per week, and then every day in the last two weeks. We relied on each other, and we made such a brilliant team. I feel truly lucky to have worked with him. It’s rare that a creative partnership works so well - none of the previous MD teams in the time since we’ve been here has functioned quite as well as we did. Our strengths and weaknesses balance each other out, and we’re able to communicate so well, and give and receive constructive criticism and encouragement in a way the other person can hear. It’s been pretty special.

And, musically, we complemented each other so well. With him coming from a jazz background and me from a more classical one, we managed to get a great balance of tunes in the show: he was great at writing the jazzy tunes, and I made a decent effort at the more musical-y ones and the bits of film music we used for scene changes. We can confidently say that all instruments had their chance to shine and play interesting parts. Plus, with our contacts from both jazz and classical circles, we managed to assemble an epic set of people for our band. All our brass and rhythm played in the uni jazz band, and most of our string players played in the uni orchestras. We sounded so freaking good.

I know I mostly talk about music here (because that’s where I was involved), but I’ve got to give full credit to our directors, choreographers, writers, editors, stage managers, tech managers, producers, set design, and amazing cast for all their work. It was truly a team effort, and everyone brought their best to the project. I am so in awe of how talented my year is. Just the fact that we have so many strong singers - we had a great ensemble cast - blows my mind, and I don’t think there’s been a year while I’ve been here with so many great voices. Our script was also spot on and hilarious - our editors were ruthless, and it meant that each scene was paced right, and each joke landed. Our plot actually made sense. And, the dances were incredible. MD and I worked closest with the choreographers during rehearsals, and we saw how much effort they put into teaching and drilling chorus with their moves. But it looked so professional and fun by the end - hats off to them.

And now we have to return to real life. My next rotation is Urology. But we have a screening of the show next week to look forward to, at least. I think the thing I’ll miss most is regularly seeing all these wonderful people from my year, who I wouldn’t necessarily interact with otherwise. The musical really brought us all together.

As for MD and I, it’s been interesting, and I’m not quite sure what to think at this stage. We’ve built up a lot of mutual trust and respect over the past few weeks and months. He’s more open and vulnerable with me than he used to be, and I feel safe being myself with him. He encouraged and complimented my work regularly, and said how much he admired and appreciated me. I was able to be his rock and provide the support he needed over the last few weeks, picking up his slack and letting him do his thing. So, there’s definitely a deep friendship there and I hope that, at least, continues.

Is there anything more? It’s so hard to tell. There are certain things he’s said and done which gave me hope, but still nothing is concrete - he hasn’t explicitly asked me out yet.

- We’ve had lots of coffee together, and often had lunch together during rehearsals. Sometimes he would ask me to join him, sometimes I would ask him. Sometimes he would pay for me when I didn’t have cash and sometimes I paid for him (although he was always a bit uncomfortable with that, and said he would pay me back).

- One time when we went to get lunch together, a friend invited himself along. He had bought food at a different place, and so when MD and I went to pay, when the cashier asked if it was together or separately and I said separately, the other friend said ‘Oooh, is this the first date or second date?’ jokingly - and MD said ‘more like 500′.

- He always checked my opinion about things, whether it was on his song arrangements, or his conducting, or how best to plan rehearsals. Even during the shows, he would sometimes look at me to confirm that we weren’t supposed to play that song yet, or if he was going too slow etc. During the intervals, he would ask me for my comments on how it was going, or if there was anything he could do better.

- On the second night, his parents were there, and his mum came up to me and told me well done for all my work - when he saw me talking to his mother, he introduced me to both his mum and dad, saying that I wrote more of the music than he did, and anything beautiful/technically difficult was written by me.

- He started hugging me a lot. In all our time working together, the only time he hugged me was after he was on a high from his final jazz concert of the year. But, from the second show night onwards, he’s hugged me every time I saw him. Most of those were understandable in context - after our fabulous second show, after hugging his other (guy) friend to say goodbye when he was leaving, after the last show, after get-out when our time as an MD team had ended. But our final hug is what makes me feel like something changed - it was just after a casual lunch (I’ll elaborate later) and it was on a street corner where we had parted ways many times previously without hugging. Although maybe it was because we wouldn’t see each other for a couple weeks. But still - I had more hugs from him in the last week or so than in the entire previous year.

- One of my best friends (the only one who knows I like him) saw us interact together after the third show and texted me later ‘He definitely likes you! I can tell’.

- He always introduces me by my name and ‘position’, as in this is [symphony] who co-MD’d the musical. He’s never explicitly referred to me as just his ‘friend’. I think that’s a good thing?

- But perhaps the thing that gives me the most hope/is the most confusing is the gift he gave me on the last night. For context, my instrument case has slowly been falling apart over the last few months, but I didn’t have time to replace it. Now, at the final show, we were in a bit of a rush to get ready because we had a band meal beforehand. I went to get changed after warm-up and when I got back, my case had disappeared - one of the band members said MD had put it away backstage. Bit strange, because cases usually went in the cupboard under the seats in the auditorium, but I didn’t think too much of it. At the end of the final show, I had to put my instrument away. After saying bye to my family who had come, I went to find MD and asked where he had put my case. He said he would take me there. It took a while because we both kept being waylaid by cast/friends who wanted to say congratulations and how much they had enjoyed the show. All the while I was awkwardly holding my instrument, but praise is always nice and we were all on such a high so it was okay. Eventually MD and I reached the place where my case was. It was on some chairs, and I was about to grab it and put my instrument in, when he stopped me. Then, he reached under the chairs and pulled out a brand new case, much nicer than my old one. He told me, ‘someone as good as you shouldn’t have to carry that old thing’. I didn’t know how to react, and there was this odd look in his eyes. He was so serious, and it felt like a goodbye. I thought it was over at that point. I shoved down the feels for a while, and took the cases downstairs, but when I was putting my instrument away, I just had waves of emotion coming over me, thinking, ‘it’s over, it’s really over’. My feelings about the musical and MD were so intermingled, and I was overwhelmed. Some people from the cast/crew spotted me, and I told them that MD had just given me a new case. I don’t think they quite understood what it meant - they said he was very kind, but I deserved it after all the work I’d put in. But I was still processing it. I opened the case and it was so beautiful inside - I was still staring at it in a state of shock when MD returned. He asked if I liked it, and I said yeah, it was so much better than my old one. He could see the look on my face, and said ‘Come here...’ - I rather unceremoniously dumped the case on the ground and stood up, and he gave me a big hug. It just felt so final. From the way he was looking at me, he seemed to feel the same. I sat back down, slowly putting my instrument away, still overwhelmed, and he left me alone, to go talk to his family, and so I could gather myself. Later, I looked up the cost of the case, to see if I could get him a present (I hadn’t got him anything, to my embarrassment - it just didn’t cross my mind, with everything else going on). The case cost him £60, and this from a guy who chooses the cheaper lunch to save money. It is the most expensive present anyone who’s not family has ever given me. And, it was so thoughtful - it’s exactly what I needed, and so practical - he knows what I would appreciate. And now every time I play my violin it will remind me of him.

But, it did feel so final. It felt like a goodbye. Even at the afterparty, we didn’t spend much time talking one-on-one. There was sadness in his eyes when he looked at me, whenever we were on the brink of talking, but there were so many other people there, and music for dancing, and a mood of celebration with everyone else. Plus, his ex was there. And, one of the choreos who had a crush on him was always there when I was near him, so I didn’t get a chance to say much. But it did feel like he was more closed off than previously. I saw him glance at me a few times while I was dancing and he was talking to his best female friend (who’s good friends with his ex, so nothing can happen there). He looked kinda sad, and she was comforting him. But still, when I left the afterparty at 6am, it was with a heavy heart, feeling like it was over - both the musical, and my hopes with MD.

At get-out the next day, I tried to stay light. I was with my other friends - MD didn’t arrive until fairly late. When he did arrive, we finally got a chance to chat, briefly. We divided the scores - he had printed 2 copies of the overture we had collaborated on, then we each took the songs we had arranged. We had a little time to reflect on our time as the MD team, but his friends arrived too soon and it was over. He helped me put some of the lighting equipment into my car. There were a lot of emotions bubbling under the surface. But, his friends were there, so we couldn’t be as open as we had been. Finally, it was time to say goodbye. His best friend was standing by us at the time - we had a quick hug, and his friend commented that goodbyes were always a bit underwhelming. We were both feeling down and weary - I could see the sadness in his eyes again. But we were already a bit distant. I got into my car and left.

That evening, I had serious post-show blues, and I spent about an hour bed, crying. Emotional messages were flooding my phone from the production/rehearsal team and cast. I contributed one of my own. Eventually, I got up, and decided to give MD a proper thanks and goodbye, if only to give myself some closure. I sent him a very long message, saying how much I enjoyed working with him, how great a job we had done, how much fun I’d had, how great a team we were, and how much I’d miss it, and him specifically. He replied later that night, saying he agreed, and he didn’t know how to express how much he admired and appreciated me, commenting on my musicianship, commitment and enthusiasm. But it still felt weirdly formal. The one thing which kept a spark of hope for me was the last line - he said that we should make sure to keep in touch, beyond the screening and rehearsal team reunion dinner - he said we both liked coffee and talking about music so we should do that too. I still don’t quite know what to make of that. He clearly still wants to stay friends, at least, beyond the friendships formed with the other people on the team, which is something.

But he was about to leave to stay with his family, and then on a holiday abroad for a week, so I didn’t expect to see him for almost 3 weeks - a big shift from seeing each other almost every day previously. I was prepared to shut myself down again. Back at class with other people from the show, we all reminisced about how great it was, all processing together. When my friend asked ‘There wasn’t anything between you and MD, was there?’, I replied, ‘I don’t think so...’, and he said ‘...Just ‘cause you spent a lot of time together’. I think I was honest at the moment. There was what I was hoping, but also what I feared I was projecting. I’ve always been wrong about this sort of stuff in the past, so it’s safer for me to always assume there’s nothing there. But I couldn’t help but hold onto a tiny shred of hope. There was a photo of us as the MD team uploaded to Facebook, and it got more likes than any of the other photos of MD with other people, and it felt as though it validated who MD and I were with each other - someone commented ‘#dreamteam’. And that we certainly were. We always have that. And we’ll aways have those memories. Even if nothing more comes of it.

But.

But. On Friday, the last day before the holidays, MD put up a post saying that he was in the library for people to collect band shirts, if they were around. He had returned from his few days at home, and was in town just for the day before heading off on his holiday. Now, I happened to be on placement 5 minutes walk from the library, and it was on the way to my bus stop. We finished before lunch, and I found myself walking to the library. I needed an excuse to go in - then suddenly I remembered, of course, I need holiday reading! That’s something I had not done for a while because of musical - just reading books for fun. So I decided to grab some books, and it also gave me an excuse to go into the library. I gathered the courage (after 15 minutes of arguing with myself) to ask if he was still there, and he replied and said which floor he was on. So, I went and found him, and asked him if he wanted to come for lunch. I was weirdly nervous, and fumbled my words a bit, but he was gracious enough to let me recover my pride and explain my excuse for why I was in the library. Once we were outside, he asked where I wanted to go, and I realised I hadn’t thought that far ahead. But he was quick to suggest a place, and I let him take it from there.

And the funny thing is, we were so chill. After the first couple minutes, I relaxed. Conversation flowed easily between us, and he spoke openly to me again. He spoke about the work he was doing, about his relaxing time back home, and about what he wanted to do musically in the future. We did indeed have that music chat. (Now all we need is coffee...). And we barely even spoke about the musical. It did inevitably come up, but I think both of us were still a bit raw. But it was a relief that we still had stuff to talk about even when we weren’t talking about the musical. We spent about 45 minutes together, and it was relaxed. It settled my heart again. We felt open with each other again, which was what I was most worried about - in the past, people have cut me off suddenly. I was worried that once we didn’t have musical in common, our friendship/whatever this is would dissolve. But now, it looks like it won’t have to. I guess we’ll see, and that lunch replenished my hope. I could feel the undercurrent of caring had returned - we are two people who’ve gone through a lot together and built something great, and that’s a bond that’s not easily broken, wherever this thing goes. And I could feel that had returned. Perhaps it was the time he had spent at home, or perhaps he had made a decision about where he wants us to go, but whatever it is, we felt more settled. The sadness in his eyes had gone.

So, when we parted for a final time before the holiday week, it was with a sense of hope and new beginnings. We wished each other a good break, and knew we would see each other in 2 weeks. It didn’t have the sense of finality and loss of our last departure. It was more ‘til we meet again. There was a moment when we looked at each other before parting, unsure whether to hug, but then he stepped closer and went for it. Seems like we’re huggers now. Which I’m fine with. I hug like I mean it.

And then we parted.

And he looked back over his shoulder as he was walking away. He smiled at me, and I waved at him. It’s funny how the smallest of things keep the candle of hope burning.

I’ll see if he follows through on that coffee.

I hope he does.

#personal #musical #MD #love #friends #relationships #hope

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mikumanogi-blog · 3 years ago

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2017-09-25 “Tomorrow will change.” Kubo Shiori Blog #24 [ENG]

The other day I was thirsty, and I thought I would drink some water. However, in the I had the desire for carbonated water, and I gulped it down. After drinking it in one gulp my eyes suddenly closed, I wonder why.

Hello everyone, thank you for continuously working so hard. I’m Nogizaka46’s 3rd generation member, 1st year high school student, 16-year-old, Kubo Shiori. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

Today I’m going to start with a random everyday question.

You may be wondering why I decided to start this blog off with this question, because of this,, Our mundane daily life it is teeming with questions. I believe searching for these questions is our reason for living. Through these questions you suddenly feel like life is enjoyable! It’s not something that has a deep meaning or anything!! That’s why I live a polite and proper life every day.

Well then.

Recently, when I’ve made some time for myself, I wonder, what I want to do…but…I don’t have a lot of hobbies. So I’ve started doing sudoku. Using my head is fun!! Apparently, it seems as though I like to use my head.

Yesterday was the individual handshake in Pacifico Yokohama!!! Thank you very much! This time many people said, “you’ve become really fashionable haven’t you.” It made me really happy. I’m going to study even more (´･_･`)

In the 1st and 2nd slot I used a red knit sweater as my base, in the 3rd and 4th slots I used a dress as my base, I kind of did a mix and match of clothes.

We talked about a lot of different topics didn’t we〜 people saying, “I saw your magazine,” made me happy (´･_･`) It was a lot of fun! Thank you very much!

Next, thank you for always sending me things like flowers...Because I don’t post pictures of my handshakes on my blogs you might think that I didn’t see them… I apologize for making you think this… I really do see them, I read them, they heal me. Thank you very much.

Next, August 6th, was Kana-san’s birthday! Which means, at the previous handshake a birthday festival was held… To my amazement she read my letter(´･_･`) Thank you Kana-san.

I think my love was overflowing a little too much in that letter. Kana is a really lovely person. I wondered if it was really okay for her to read letter from a 3rd generation member like me …(´･_･`) but Kana-san was really happy and overjoyed. A couple days after her birthday festival we had the opportunity to meet and Kana-san said “I’m so embarrassed, I can’t look you in the eyes…” her cute actions made my heart skip a beat.

A picture with Reno-chan. Once in a while we both become part of the beret club! Happy, Happy〜〜

Next on September 23rd is Ranze-san’s birthday! Happy Birthday!!!! Speaking of Ranze-san. Since when have I been able to have I been able to have deep conversations with her. At the handshake meetings and other places, whenever we meet she always smiles, waves at me then comes over to talk. I love the time that we spend talking about various things together. Next time let’s hang out together! Ranze-san Happy Birthday! Please continue to look after me(´･_･`)!

Recently, when I look at my reflection in the mirror I think, ‘what do I usually look like.’

I didn’t act wrong at that time, did I?

I wonder what I think of what I said at that time.

How is my typical self-reflected in the eyes of others?

This is what I thought, while taking a hard look at myself in the mirror.

the answer doesn’t come out each time. But, recently I have come to realize that it is important to give time to reflect and face yourself. To get a better opinion on your usual deeds, then you can properly see your weaknesses. I have a lot and so it would be nice to improve on some of them.

September 17th, a special event was held! Archery and… Nogizaka test and…Pop-up pirate and… it was a lot of fun wasn’t it✨ I’m really bad at pop-up pirate. Genuinely. I don’t know why it suddenly pops up…

I didn’t think I’d be able to refrain myself from screaming in the future either, and so beforehand I told Asuka-san and Kawamura-san in the next lane, “I’m sorry if it gets loud.” As I thought, it was impossible. It was scary. I’m sorry Asuka-san and Kawamura-san (´･_･`) I feel like the people in the next lanes were also laughing at me… so embarrassing…I wonder if I can overcome this fear by practicing… I think I need to do something about it. (´･_･`)

Next!

The main visual for our stage play has been released! It’s a very different atmosphere than usual. Where you able to spot me…?

BOOM, sharing the center!! I told the make-up artist that I wanted my hair to look like a show model! And she did it for me (´･_･`) A fresh hairstyle and make-up, I’m so happy!

I have seen the senior members in many stage plays. I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve forgotten to blink, I’ve had my heart moved, my thoughts have changed, they’ve had a lot of influence of me. Therefore, when this stage play was decided I made up my mind to try and act like that.

It’s not going to be a walk in the park. That’s why I think every day that I know what I need to do and now I need to do it.

Regardless of how positive my feelings are, when I end up distracted there are times when the negative feelings block my path. During those times, I blame myself a lot. But I’ve finally come to realize recently that this isn’t always a bad thing.

I’ve often been told that I’m someone that hates losing. This is something I’m self-aware of, but there is one more things that I’ve noticed, I’m apparently very clumsy. The way I do things is different from those around me and I’m not the kind of person who follows the same path to get to the correct answer.

Even still my hate of losing always wins. I need to draw my own conclusions on my own unique path. This is what the ideal is.

Stage play “Migoroshi Hime” I want a lot of people to see it. In order for that to be the case I need to do my best! Please watch over me!!

I like talking way too much, what should I do… I really do like it (´･_･`) I love having deep conversations and having funny enjoyable conversations with someone. However, I’m troubled by the fact that I end up talking too much. Honestly, I can talk for five or even six hours at a time. I’ve talked to Himeka-san for easily five hours. Next time we promised that I’ll go visit Himeka-san’s house! I’m looking forward to it! Why is talking so much fun. I also like to listen. I like both.

On September 16th, I participated in Grils Award! Thank you very much!!! This time I stood on the Seventeen stage. This is the first runway since the ‘school festival’ and I was nervous, but this time the senior models said, “don’t worry,” and so I appeared calmed down (´･_･`)

The real event was Miona-san, Wakatsuki-san, and Hoshino-san rushed over to me… I was so happy (´･_･`) thank you very much! Afterwards, based on a story I heard; it seems that Wakatsuki-san screamed ‘Kubochan’ but I was so nervous that I didn’t even hear her (´･_･`)　I apologize…

But, throughout this event I felt as though I wanted to stand on the runway again. I want to look beautiful and wear beautiful western clothes, and I want to do my best to once again stand on that stage. I’ve made another dream for myself. In order to make this dream come true, I’ll need to continue to work even harder.

Please let me make some announcements.

· September 27th OVERTURE-sama

Minamin, Den-chan and me. It’s the first time all three of us have taken a picture together!! I was spellbound by the matureness of my two big sisters. The two of them are honestly so beautiful

· September 28th platinum FLASH-sama

I was able to do a solo photoshoot. The western clothes were really cute; therefore I want you to check it out!!

· October 7th BOMB-sama

Yoda, Momo, Mizuki and me did a photoshoot. We ate a lot of delicious things 〜(´･_･`) it was a really fun photoshoot

· October 10th CMnow-sama

My gravure with Miona-san. Miona-san was extremely kind and adorable… I could feel the warmth just by being beside her.

☆ October 1st Seventeen

☆ October 1st Kasho Sanzen-sama WEB CM release

Please check them out!!

I recorded a unit song for the 19th single, on sale October 11th on the regular edition, “Atarashii Kafun: Musical "Mishiranu Sekai" Yori.” Thank you very much. It’s a unit song comprising of Iku-san and me.

When I heard about the song, I was really happy, but I didn’t want to be a burden to Iku-san lovely and beautiful sing voice… that’s what I thought and so every day up to the recording I would practice singing everyday in the bath. Everyday I pursued a way to produce a beautiful singing voice.

At the Sendai live concert when we had the chance to talk, and I asked Iku-san, while in a nighttime mood, about somethings related to singing.

“I still don’t know this yet, no way,” I feel so blessed that I was able to have such a grateful talk with her. Even now, no matter how many times I listen to it in a day, every time I hear it tears come out. I wonder why.

I hope a lot of people will be able to fall in love with this song. Iku-san. Thank you very much. I love you.

Did something good happen recently?

Recently I’ve started a happy notebook. Everyday, I write something good that happened that day, even if it’s just one thing. Then, it’ll be full of these feelings and then I’ll feel like that day will be a good day. Today’s happy thing is that you read my blog today.

You may be thinking, “what’s wrong all of a sudden?” and so I’ll tell you.

Thank you for supporting me. I’ve been really feeling your blessings recently. There are people that are in need of me. By hearing you say that it makes me feel immensely happy. There are many people that do things for me. I’m in such a lucky environment now it’s clear what I should do.

I want to make you feel as though supporting me is enjoyable. I want to make you think that everyday is a good day. I want you to say things like , “I’m happy and this is enjoyable,” while watching the tv programs and magazines I appear in.

All you have to say is, “you always make me happy, so keep it up.”

Right now, rather than, do your best it’s more like I’ll be watching you. You may not know why, but I want you to watch me, without looking anywhere else. Because if you keep your eyes fixed on Shiori-chan, I’ll keep watch over each and every one of you in return.

Honestly, please continue to watch over me. I’m a very small person but please continue to watch over me.

Thank you for writing your comments. There are so many comments in which you have carefully spent a lot of your time writing them. There are many names of people who have come to my handshake events. If anything happens, please comment right away, it’ll make me happy. Every time, every single time I want to tell you how thankful I am.

There’s something I’ve been wanting to say.

I’m sorry for not being able to stream on SHOWROOM. There have been a lot of people saying, “Your stream was fun〜〜” I feel like I too want to stream soon (´･_･`) At that time I’ll definitely ask to be a guest on someone else’s SHOWROOM. There are people that have said “let’s do it!” I’m looking forward to it!!!!!!!

I feel like I’ve made you use your head in this blog… therefore, to all the people who said that ‘my brain is full,’ please look at this(´･_･`) Here ya go!

The title is “cunning Shiori” I won’t be posting any more pictures like this anymore.

I’ll write again soon.

Kubo Shiori.

Recently, once I’ve finished updating my blog I often think, ahhh I want to say this, I wanted to say that. Then after writing this, yesterday after the handshake event was over, I head a voice saying, “there are times when I think, I wanted to write about that,” and so I thought to myself, “I’m the same way.”

When you’re looking for something, you can’t find it, it’s the same concept. When you want something, for a short time you can’t obtain it and so you work hard for it, and then it becomes a habit… then once you realize it’s become commonplace it becomes something that you can obtain.

For the purpose of tomorrow, it’s obvious that you should work hard today, but you don’t know what awaits you tomorrow and so if you work hard in the past then your tomorrow should shine magnificently.

https://blog.nogizaka46.com/third/2017/09/041159.php

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asterinjapan · 7 years ago

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A Magical Evening

Good evening!!!!!!! Well, it’s more like night now, but as you might have noticed from my use of exclamation marks, I am too excited to go to sleep yet, haha. I don’t have a lot of pictures from today, but I also don’t care, because…

Today was the day of KOKIA’s concert ‘The Christmas Season with the Orchestra’, and as a long-time KOKIA fan (10 years and counting), I was super excited to attend and this is in fact the main reason I’m in Tokyo right now. So let me tell you all about it!

This will be a long report, because it was a very exciting (and long) day. Just a head’s up before you decide to press Read More, haha.

EDIT: since I share this post on a KOKIA site, I have edited it to only refer to the concert (song by song). I’ll make a second post about the rest of the day and make sure it’ll get posted on this day as well (I can backdate my entries).

I hope you’re not hoping for an unbiased review here, because I kind of love KOKIA a lot, haha.

The orchestra started with an Overture, which consisted of Have yourself a merry little Christmas, smoothly transitioning in a gorgeous arrangement of KOKIA’s song Anshin no Naka, to finally roll into Arigatou…, which was the first song KOKIA wrote herself (she’s written almost all of her own songs ever since). That alone was awesome, because the arrangement was lovely, and how cool must it be for KOKIA to have a full orchestra play this song which she wrote almost twenty years ago? (Her 20th anniversary is coming up this April.)

KOKIA now arrived on stage and immediately started with Ookina senaka (‘broad back’), a song I haven’t heard from her in quite a while. It took me a while to recognize it, as the orchestra gives it a brand new feeling and just, wow. This orchestra is amazing, as is KOKIA of course. What an amazing combination.

The next song was a Christmas song, Seinaru yoru ni~Holy night, her own song from her Christmas album Christmas Gift. The orchestra was equipped with bells to set the mood, and it’s a very pretty song overall, working us up into a Christmas mood for the next song: Christmas Medley! This song is also from that album, but it is completely rearranged and the songs in the medley changed too. Going by memory, I heard have yourself a merry little Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, Let it snow, I’ll be home for Christmas, Akahana no tonakai (Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer in Japanese), Jingle bells, and The Christmas song. The transition from one into another was so smooth (my only complaint about the CD version is how one song basically stops before the next one picks up, which isn’t exactly a medley). I really loved it, and it was super fun to hear Rudolph in Japanese (I think it’s one of the first songs I learnt in Japanese, ever). So cute! Jingle Bells was very awesome because the orchestra threw in Joy to the World, in full power, and then it blended into Jingle Bells. So that was really surprising and so cool. The Christmas Song was lovely already, but then it ended in this big, overwhelming ending, wow.

Up next was Family Tree from her album I Found You. This was quite the change, because the song is in Japanese and KOKIA just – easily overpowered an entire orchestra with just her voice? Wow. This was such a strong performance, with some pitch changes compared to the CD (and previous live) arrangement, making it feel brand new again. Her opera roots became more evident here.

Next up, a song I hadn’t heard in a while either: Chiisana uta (‘small song’). This is. Not a small song at all, haha, since it’s pretty long on the album (6 minutes? Maybe 7? There was a 7 minute long song on the album, I know that). Today, though? After I realized what song it was, I just felt overwhelmed again. The swelling of the music was just amazing here, indeed going small in places before coming back in full force. I fell in love with this song all over again.

Next up, percussion picked up a bell. Then the harp struck a couple of chords. Next up, a lone flute. What song was this going to be? It turned out to be Oto no tabibito (‘Sound traveller’), a song with instrumentals that feel very traditional. Even with more western instruments, the orchestra replicated the feeling amazingly well, and once again KOKIA gave a powerful performance with this wonderful song.

KOKIA sometimes took the time between her songs to talk a little. I think the first time was after the medley, and the second time was here. She talked a bit about the Christmas season, and her gratefulness for people coming over, and then she transitioned to Arigatou… (‘thank you’), which we got a sneak-peek of in the overture. And just… wow. This was the first song of KOKIA I ever heard along with Shiroi yuki (‘white snow’, which seems awfully appropriate given the season and the fact I keep getting sent pictures from the Netherlands under a snowy cover tonight, haha). As mentioned, it was the first song she wrote herself, and she’s rearranged it several times. It’s not the first time I heard it live, but it was the first time I heard it live with an orchestra backing her up. The flow in music was absolutely beautiful, and I started to tear up a little.

Of course, that was when all the lights went on for intermission, pff. I quickly went to the restroom and then returned to hastily type out the track list on my phone and my impressions. (I was super proud I knew the entire list from memory still, and then it turned out that the set list was printed on one of the photos in the lobby… which I entirely overlooked. Oops.)

Speaking of the intermission, the harpist had stayed behind to tune her instrument. She took almost the entire break too – I feel her pain, haha. It’s a lovely instrument, and featured prominently tonight to my delight, but yeah, the tuning… Such fun.

The rest of the orchestra had returned by now, barring the pianist and the conductor. Which was kinda odd, because it wasn’t the first violinist who arrived last now, and doesn’t an orchestra need a conductor period? However, KOKIA re-entered the stage and the lights went off – except on KOKIA and the pianist. KOKIA is amazing with an orchestra, but her going back to her core with just a piano by her side is always magical. The song turned out to be Kasa o kashite agete (‘please lend me your umbrella’), which is a song I must confess I don’t listen to very often. (It’s only on one album, which is a live registration of a very emotional concert.) It’s a wonderful song, however, and stripped back to only KOKIA’s voice and piano it was so pure and soft. It didn’t sound particularly fragile, but I still got the feeling it was a bubble – sparkling and beautiful, but thin and likely to burst the moment you touch it.

The next song was Faraway, which is a B-side to a single and actually quite the slow song, so it hasn’t made as much an impression on me as it’s A-side (Hikari o atsumete (‘gathering lights’), for those interested). Now, however? Suddenly power had seeped into this song, and I hadn’t realized it could even sound like that. Gone was the slow, soft and dreamy song I remembered, it was more like a power ballad. Whoa.

Next was Atatakai basho (‘cozy place’), which is another gentle song. It’s from her album aigakikoeru, which was also released in France (actually ahead of the Japanese release) and the first album I physically owned, and this is one of my favourite tracks. Once again, it was completely rearranged, and my notes call this ‘movie-esque’. And it does feel like a movie soundtrack all packed into one song – introduction, main conflict, climax, resolution. This orchestra has done soundtracks before (I own two more albums with game music covered by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra), and it definitely gave off this feeling. I loved it. KOKIA showed off her powerful voice again and I was blown away.

Next up, usaghi (‘rabbit’). This is an odd little song in that it’s always sounded a bit – French? To me. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it’s pretty fast-paced and definitely feels exotic compared to the rest of the album, mostly due to the instrumentals. The new arrangement gave it a new, fresh feeling, but I can’t really say what changed for me (aside from the instruments, obviously). The refrain still came off a little French, but once again, also more movie-like. Dang, it’s only been a couple of hours and I already have a hard time retelling, haha. KOKIA does really like France though, so I’m not stretching it super far!

There was still a song from the overture we hadn’t heard yet, and it was Anshin no naka (‘in peace’). I feel like I keep repeating myself, but the magic of KOKIA’s vocals and a full orchestra… it’s just amazing. I already really love this song (…which loses its impact if I keep saying so every other song or so, but ssh), and I wanted to wrap it up and keep it close.

After that, KOKIA held a little talk again and mentioned her next song: moment ~ima o ikiru~ (‘live in the moment’). I’m very glad she did, because I need to be emotionally prepared for this song. The album moment came out during a time I really needed it, and this really picked me up when I needed it most. As a result, that entire album hits close, and I was already reduced to tears when she sang it live during the first time I had the privilege to attend a KOKIA concert back in 2014. She outdid that performance here. This song was a victory march – it started with an upbeat riff you often hear in the ‘let’s go end this battle’ songs in movies and musicals, which continued all the way until the very end. The orchestra came on powerful and just swelled and swelled until every single instrument was participating, including the big percussion and the big gong. KOKIA still managed to overpower the instruments, her voice amazing and strong and holding the long tone in the song for about 20 seconds (I tried counting, but I was – pretty emotional by this point). She went back to sounding so very small and near fragile, though she still kept her underlying strength, before it swelled up again and finally quieted down entirely, but not before the riff had the last word. I’m not entirely sure if this was the song that ended with a harp solo, but it might as well be, I was already in tears anyway.

After her final words, KOKIA sang one more song: Eiga no you na koi deshita (‘it was a love like in the movies’). Which, yeah, sounded exactly like a movie song. Actually, maybe it was this song with the harp solo. It was so sweet and lovely, I wanted to give it a hug. (And KOKIA too while I was at it.)

KOKIA took her final bows, left the stage, came back, left again with the conductor, came back again for the final bows this time for real! … Only to reappear once more, haha. After that, the orchestra also packed up, and it was time to leave the hall.

I barely had any time to recover (especially from moment), because I still had a piece of paper burning in my pocket! We queued up immediately, although the line for the autograph session was pretty long already. I was in a prime view spot to see KOKIA arrive, maybe a meter and a half removed from me. I was – kind of shaking at this point. It’s really surreal to be a fan for so long, invest so much time and energy in running a fan site and talking to others about her. It’s almost like I know her personally (I’ve been translating her blog consistently for over six years now, enough to easily grasp her words during her concert even if my brain is woefully behind on Japanese vocabulary. I am pretty attuned to her way with words at this point). I owe her a lot. Actually, I wrote her a letter saying so, and I’d prepared a little bag with said letter, some candy from the Netherlands and two small gifts. I asked, and I was allowed to give it to her, so I got excited over that already, haha.

Finally, I made it to the front of the line, where I got introduced. She shook my hand, and I think she thanked me for my work on the blog? And then she shook my hand again? I was reduced to just saying ‘thank you’ in Japanese over and over again and I did manage to stutter out I brought her a gift bag from the Netherlands, and I also did eventually remember to ask her to sign my booklet for me, haha. I’m typing this and I can still hardly believe I actually met her, and shook her hand, and she was so nice and kind! She must have seen hundreds of people face to face today, but she chatted for a little with everyone who wanted to, and she actually remembers people by face and name.

We stuck around long enough for KOKIA to wrap up, and she walked right past us and thanked us for coming (in English too), and she’s just – so nice. Ahh. Never meet your heroes, they say, but I kinda disagree here.

I’m just so happy, guys. I got to attend an amazing concert, I got to meet KOKIA (which is still so surreal and I’m never washing this hand again – metaphorically at least), I made new friends, and I just. I’m just flailing my hands wildly right now, haha.

I’m sorry if this entry was a little incoherent and a little (very) long, but since this was the whole reason I went back to Japan again so soon, I hope you can forgive me.

Gosh, this was so, so worth it. I’m so happy and I keep staring at my signed booklet, it’s actually happened.

Only now KOKIA’s anniversary concert is April 29-30… I don’t think I can return again so soon, haha.

But KOKIA, if you’re reading this, thank you so very, very much for an unforgettable evening. It was a privilege to actually meet you and express my gratitude face to face, even though that was pretty much the only thing I told you, haha. Your music means so much to me that I don’t think I can express it in words properly, although I tried to do so in my letter. I can genuinely say I’ll always be a fan, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have seen you perform live on multiple occasions now. Thank you for allowing me to meet many new and wonderful people, today and in earlier times, and for sharing your music with the world.

#tokyo 2017 #report: tokyo 2017 #report: KOKIA concert #report

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hostjohncameron · 8 years ago

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Thoughts on Episode 8 (the narrative finale of season one):

As with the previous weeks, the below is a collection of notes and observations for the most recent episode of The Orbiting Human Circus (of The Air), mostly focusing on John Cameron, and will definitely contain spoilers.

If you wish not to see spoilers, it is advisable that you scroll past this post and do not click the read more below.

“Send us your questions about the show, it’s characters…for episode nine” [ !! !!! I’m going to have to think about this…..]

Aww the overture is one of Julian’s songs done by orchestra. That’s a nice thing to have for the season finale. Really adds to the old timey radio feel.

The narrator is vexed that Julian isn’t waking up after the accident

Leticia came and said she was Julian’s sister since they wouldn’t tell her anything over the phone.

Leticia says she hates hospitals

“The show is closing.” WHAT??

The polar bear is now terrorizing Oyster Bars

Leticia had a dream that the show closed and Julian died and now one of those two things has happened.

“I need you not to die."

Leticia smokes

The doctor loaned Leticia a cigarette (“it is Paris after all”)

She steps as far away from Julian as possible before she lights it

She bumps into the sidetable and the radio turns out to a “Spot announcement” (i.e. a barking dog, “thank you, Spot.”) [ Holy cow, that’s a bad pun, but I love it. ]

John Cameron is having to use acts he had previously rejected from the show

Can seemingly get neither acts nor an audience to come to Broadcast Ballroom

This does confirm one bit of information I had written in John’s bio that he’s largely in charge of getting the acts and not just the mysterious showstoppers he claims credit for. I mean it was implicit, but implicit vs explicit... explicitly said is always better.

“I’ll Do Anything For Love But I Won’t Do That” by Cole Porter is sung by the Orckestral [ This is a Meatloaf song, not a Cole Porter song…. ]

The...little? Orckestral? I thought the Orckestral was supposed to be a large bird...

Julian gets closer to being awake and tries to talk to the nightwatchman at the Eiffel Tower (Coco), but can’t

Leticia is telling the stagehands to give away tickets to drum up interest in the show

“Two days notice and we’re out of a job?” Jacques [ Two days from when? ]

John has misplaced his jacket. While he’s wearing it.

It’s the final night for the show

By remote hookup: Professor Edelweiss Fleur, a scientist who studies whales and their songs

In hospital, Julian recognizes the song as one he sang at a party when he was a kid

At Broadcast Ballroom, John can hear Julian singing along

Is convinced that Julian is in the vent, even tho Julian is still in the hospital bed.

Knowing that this is all in Julian’s head, does this part mean that the carefully constructed barriers between the other characters and himself where starting to fall as Julian was dying in his fantasy?

Julian continues to attempt to speak to Coco, even tho Coco has gone

Explains the story of the party when he had felt terribly ignored until he realized that his grandfather was changing his shadow for him where he had first heard the song

John has transformed the Ballroom into a bowling alley

John’s thoughts however are elsewhere (i.e. extremely depressed and suicidal again, is worried that everything is over, he’ll be homeless, and he’s hearing things.)

“What if the Janitor..dies?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know how to say goodbye so it must be with our show that we don’t want things to end, but they do and how easy it is to love that which we know will not come back.”

Shannon Conley’s back! And speaking this time

What… was that about the turkey and the horse? I have no idea.

Backstage, Leticha and John Cameron are huddling together

“You heard it too? He’s haunting us.”

“I’m not ready.” (From John Cameron thinking it might be death coming down the hallway.)

Julian’s been brought back to life by the great resuscitating platypus

John asks Mr. Platypus to save the show’s life (by going on stage)

The platypus puts it’s flipper on John’s shoulder, seemingly in agreement

John unplugs Yermak’s feature presentation to make time for the platypus

“I give you the greatest broadcast event in the history of this medium”

The platypus walks on stage, opens its mouth to speak

Everything disappears as Julian’s awoken by being yelled at by his boss, Mr. Chouinard

“Unlike Coco, Mr. Chouinard is not the kind of man who can imagine a ballroom at the Eiffel Tower”

The platypus has stayed with Julian past awakening

Julian makes a wish

Suddenly there is a wooden stage beneath him, the audience is back, and so are all of his friends

His wish has come true, but this is not what he wished for

He wished for the audience to become real

“Tune in next season, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be right here waiting for you [whispers] Julian, why don’t you sing something? Go ahead. Go on, sing.”

“That’s it for this year, ladies and gentlemen. This is John Cameron. Broadcasting from the top of the Eiffel Tower, The Orbiting Human Circus wishes you a goodnight.”

Other:

Julian must live in a world with magic outside of the OHC for the stories he tells about his grandfather to make sense

John referring to “Mr. Platypus” was one of many times this episode I had to pause, but instead of for transcription, this time it was because I could not stop laughing. He says it so seriously! ((I live for JCM saying ridiculous things in the middle of otherwise serious presentations.))

I think this was the longest episode this season (by a minute or two). I also think this was my longest notes collection (by a page or more)

I never in my life thought I’d type ‘platypus’ as many times as I have today….

Look — regardless of whether or not John Cameron is all in Julian’s head, or whether he remains to only be in Julian’s head going forth, I’m writing him as a separate character who doesn’t know that he’s fictional. Like most fictional characters are written anyway.

[email protected] (If you want to send in those questions)

#ohc spoilers #🎙;; off air ⁽ᵒᵒᶜ⁾#📻;; episode notes

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729renegades · 6 years ago

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WEBSITES ARE DEAD! MAYBE NOT….

OK, so maybe I worded that badly.

Last month I tackled the death of websites as we know them, and since publishing that article, many of my peers have shot me down, in much the same way as a blasphemer would have been in the dark ages for saying there was no god or that the earth was round.

In fact, at the time of writing the article, I had employed the services of one of the top UK digital agencies to help with my click-through conversions to boost the effectiveness of my online advertising.

From the start I was quite clear that I did not want to mess around with web pages and in fact, I was unwavering, that from the outset all of my new ad-words lead generating traffic would be driven to one of my Infusionsoft CRM Landing Pages.

A month into the deal, the vendor having agreed with these terms then proceeded to tell me that the sophisticated page design needed to drive traffic could not be generated by the CRM Landing Page.

What utter BS.

Firstly, all of the very high end direct marketing gurus emphatically protest sophisticated landing pages.

Secondly, I was always told that simplicity and downright ugly works best.

So, I cancelled the contract and demanded a refund after sending them a copy of my article for last month… Boy did the shit hit the fan.

I was told that: far from websites being dead, they were critical to the growth of business and at no time had they or my previous mentors ever suggested otherwise. OK, so was I confused, had I misread the message?

Over the last month I’ve done some serious soul searching and I still believe that what I said is true. There is no doubt that websites are what got me to where I am now, and I can still remember when Google AdWords were called Overture. Yup, I’ve been in this game a lot longer than most.

There is no doubt that over the years, the purpose and role that a website plays in your overall marketing strategy has changed. For some, it’s remained the same from day one. But, for others that embrace the technological advancements that we enjoy, the role it plays too must adapt with the ever changing way we engage with our customers.

As an example, and by way of explanation, then when I first set up a website for my business way back in 1999, it was an info site, its purpose was to let people know what I did and what my products were. My sales were driven by people phoning in and ordering.

Then as time progressed, I changed my whole site from an info site to a shopping cart and watched as engagement plummeted. The market was not ready for a direct buy now with no back story. So, I changed it back to an info site which is what it’s been ever since. For a period, the site had a shopping cart functionality which ticked over, but never did big numbers. I guess that’s because I sell high end and people want to have a natter before they commit.

The shopping cart functionality and the online purchase were removed from my site along with the price list 4 years ago.

“No price list?” I hear you say, “WTF is the man mad?”

Yup, no doubt about it, but when you have prices which are 10x the average, you need to engage with the customer, you need to have a dialogue and ease them into paying so much more. In the early days, the sales process went something like this:

Gardening Show > Flyer > Website > Call > Buy

Magazine Article > Website > Call > Buy

The purpose of the website was to inform, and as a result my site has always featured videos. Since upgrading my website 4 years ago, 2 more site overhauls have been instigated but never completed. “Why?” you ask.

too damn complicated

not fast enough to respond

by far too much specialist help required

Plus, and the most important reason, most of my traffic comes from AdWord Pay Per Click marketing

So, do I really want to spend a large amount of money on website overhaul when all of my traffic comes from an AdWord or a call from a referral? NO.

The website, as a whole, has a purpose for organic search; people who find you organically then go to see what you are about. But they have a lot of stuff to get through, and it can be hard work when you have a lot to share, so they leave either because you try to feed them too much or too little.

Nope, in my opinion it’s much better to drive people to a Landing Page, this is what I’ve always been taught.

A Landing Page for every product

AdWords Campaign for every Landing Page

Squeeze Page for every enquiry

A targeted email sequence for every Squeeze Page enquiry which relates to that product and that product alone

And an optional up-sell to other products on the Thank You page

This is a true marketing system or machine. It puts you in control of the info that the prospect gets. You’re in the driving seat of how they get it and when they get it, plus it gives you a database of potential, interested, customers, much better than just a website.

So, there’s some overlap between having a Website and a Landing Page, namely that your website can just be a lot of landing pages and, yup, that’s fine if you’re in control of how that all works and functions; but I’m not computer savvy, and modern websites I find difficult to build, Word Press is supposed to be easy, but I find it’s not. So, hence back to my CRM Infusionsoft which can host the Landing Page and control the traffic and information feed.

No, I’m firmly of the belief that, as CRM’s become better, there will be no need for a website and the faster you get in control of the information fed to your customer, the higher the quality of customer you will attract. I’ve just rebuilt my 3 main Landing Pages and 2 weeks ago spent 8 hours in front of a camera shooting new videos, not for the website, for new subject related Landing Pages to drive traffic to take action.

Simplicity and Downright Ugly Works Best

Personally, for me, a website is an online brochure where people can browse but with little commitment to part with valuable information. But they’ll only find the website if they already know of you or you feature high in the rankings. If I’m going to pay good money for someone to look at my page, I definitely don’t want them browsing, I want fast action.

Let’s be honest here, look at any of the big boys of digital marketing: Frank Kern, Russell Brunson, GKIC, Chris Cardell, Dan Kennedy, Lisa Sasevich, Kim Walsh Phillips, Bob Proctor. They all use Landing pages either from a Google AdWord Campaign or from a Facebook ad from a referral link.

The one thing that stands out when you look at what they are doing: the page is simple and formulated. They ask direct questions to get direct responses. There is a wallet-opener opportunity and active engagement; you go directly into a structured multi step marketing email sequence.

Not once are you sent back to a website.

I say that again: after first engagement, you are never ever sent back to a website.

I guess what I’m saying then is: ‘What’s the point?’

If your CRM can host webpages, and you can build them quickly and easily, and

if your business is driven by advertising through Google, Facebook or LinkedIn; it’s simple landing pages that answer the direct question that the prospect was asking in the search phrase. So, what better medium than a targeted, content specific, landing page with a direct call to action?

Ok, so I hope I’m making sense… Just a couple of things that I need to clarify:

Primarily from an ad, you need to drive the prospect to a landing page. After an action is taken on a landing page, you can drive the prospect to an email sequence. You must not go directly from an ad to an email sequence.

I guess this is what my mentors were getting at when the shit hit the fan, because most people don’t have a CRM that can build Landing Pages, and therefore would need to do that within a website.

In their minds a Word Press site can hold a basic 10-page website, giving all the cotton wool experience that a prospect may expect, but within the fluffy organic pages you also keep 100’s of different landing pages, pages designed for one purpose alone: to make them give up their personal contact details so that you can send them stuff.

As I write this, I’m just getting my bags ready to fly to America to attend Dan Kennedy’s ‘Marketing to the Affluent’ 3-day seminar in Cleveland.

So, in next month’s edition, I’ll give you an update on what’s hot and what’s not in this arena.

from Blog | 729renegades http://bit.ly/2IKQsHe

#Blog | 729renegades

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djinmer4 · 6 years ago

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Snippets from a Madara/Mito fic that won’t get written

A/N: This story was created from one of those incoherent, 4 AM ideas. Basically, in a world where clans jealousy hoard their kekkai genkai, summoning contracts and family techniques, what would the reputation of the clan that boasts a thousand skills be? Would they be lauded for their power and versatility? Or would they be viewed as thieves and rapists?

Some Senju bashing, although to be fair, it’s all based on rumor only.

“Mito-chan, I’ve received an offer for your hand in marriage.” Uzumaki Masaru was so old, the famed Uzumaki red hair had turned completely white. He still led with the vim and vigor of a man half his age, but double the patience. If the Uzumaki head asked you to jump, you could ask how high before you got in the air.

“May I ask who the other clan is?” Mito knew her marriage would be a matter of politics, but she trusted her grandfather to do his best to at least pick someone tolerable.

He hesitated, which was a bad sign. “Senju Hashirama, the new Head of the clan.”

“Oh no! Not those thieves and rapists!” The Senju boasted of their ‘thousand skills’ but everyone knew how they got them. Captured prisoners raped for children, seduction missions, forced marriages to dying clans and bloodlines to incorporate the techniques and kekkai genkai into the clan. There was a saying that the Senju is where clans go to die.

“Now Mito-chan, most of those rumors have no proof behind them.”

“What happened to the last Lady Senju is no rumor.” Hatake Kimiko had been the pride of her clan, considered the third most powerful member behind her two older siblings. After marrying Senju Butsuma, she had been dead in less than ten years, worn out from constant pregnancies, miscarriages, and childbirth. The prior head hadn’t even had a consort, it was well known that Butsuma had been a mission baby.

“I thought you might say that.” Her grandfather’s shoulders slumped. “Unfortunately, they’ll be difficult to turn down. They are our allies and there aren’t many clans that can match them in power and prestige. Even a rapid engagement to another won’t necessarily put them off.”

Mito thought hard. “There is at least one clan that matches them in both. And they have a much better reputation.”

Uchiha Tajima was probably half Uzumaki Masaru’s age but looked far older. It was at least partially due to living on the continent rather than an isolated and sheltered island like Uzushio. The other part was probably being offended by the proposal. “The Uchiha marry for love, we do not do political marriages.”

Mito was about to call him out on the lie when his son and heir stopped him. “Father, have you looked over the terms they offered?”

“I have. The terms are generous however you have already made your preference known. The Uzumaki can wait until your brother returns from his mission to see if the two of them are compatible or they may take their contract and go.”

“I think I can come up with a compromise that will help both of us. However, I would need to talk to Mito-sama alone.” The Uzumaki guards bristled, but Mito held up a hand. The Uchiha and the Hyuuga were her best chances to escape being contracted to the Senju heir as a broodmare, and there currently were no males of appropriate age and marital status among the Hyuuga. She’d been prepared to accept Tajima’s offer of the younger son but if the older one had an idea to help salvage their pride, she’d hear them out.

She and Uchiha Madara ended up walking within the garden of the house, at the far end. Her guards could see them clearly but not hear what they talked about. If any Uchiha’s were in the area, she could not spot them but trusted that they would be discreet for the heir’s sake.

“Given what happened last night, I doubt you’ve been overcome by my spectacular good looks,” Madara noted wryly.

Mito fought down a blush. Tsubaki had been her informal tutor in the sensual arts for years now. It wasn’t love but Mito knew she’d never get the same thrill from a man as her handmaiden gave her. Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary for heirs. “What of it?” she challenged him. “My preferences will not endanger the chain of inheritance if that’s what you’re worried about. As long as you allow me my heart’s-companion and keep my children as your heirs, I’ll turn a blind eye to your own infidelities.”

“Peace Mito-sama! I am of a similar mind as yourself. You’ll have no bastards from me to worry about.”

So that’s what Tajima meant by Madara making his preferences known. “I take it you will not object to the Uzumaki tradition of heart’s-companions then?”

“The Uchiha have had similar arrangements before. Within the clan, we marry for love, but there have been the occasional political marriages arranged. We generally prioritize politics after the heart, but sometimes it’s not possible. Generally, the ones chosen are like me, who won’t endanger the contract by having bastard children.”

“Is that what you wanted to discuss then?”

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t looking for a love match. For a chance to move the Uchiha away from all the warring clans, to a naturally protected location like Uzushio, especially with allies as formidable as the Uzumaki I would sacrifice a lot more than my bachelorhood. But I had to be clear that you knew what you were getting into. A scorned wife is no joke, even if kunoichi aren’t as capable as shinobi.”

Mito made a note to clear up Madara’s misconception. Clearly, he’d not met enough kunoichi to know better. “I am one of my grandfather’s potential heirs. I wasn’t raised on fairy tales.” A thought occurred to her. “One quick issue though. We will be expected to have children. Are you up to performing?”

He grimaced but nodded. “I can’t say I’ll make it good for you but yes, I am capable of giving a woman children.” Good enough, she supposed. She had her heart’s-companion for pleasure and eventually love. “How will the children be raised?”

Dark eyes looked puzzled. “I assume they’d be Uzumaki. You are the leading candidate to succeed your grandfather, and I have Izuna as my heir. Izuna, by the way, is not inclined in my direction, so if you had not been a lover of your own kind, I would have recommended waiting for him.”

She waved the thought away. “A husband who was in love with me would not work out very well. I’d rather have respect than love. As for the children, what if one has the Sharingan?”

He clearly hadn’t considered that. “Any child that develops the Sharingan will be designated an Uchiha, but that doesn’t automatically make them the heir. The Council of Elders is the one to decide that.”

“Alright, that clears that up. Did you have any other questions?”

“Yes, why?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Why make the offer to the Uchiha at all? Uzushio has stayed out of the wars between clans for centuries and the Uzumaki are hardly weak. Why would you deliberately seek an outside marriage and offer to shelter your husband’s clan as part of the terms?”

Mito hesitated one moment. Telling the true reason would expose her clan’s weakness. On the other hand, given what she knew of the Sharingan, lying would just be getting off on a bad foot with her husband. “What do you know about the Senju clan?”

“The previous head, Butsuma was partial to sending out child-stealing squads. They hold grudges forever and are almost never amiable to compromising. The new one, Hashirama, has stopped the child-stealing and started making overtures to other clans for peace. I met him a few times. He’s incredibly idealistic.”

“The Senju demanded my hand in marriage to seal the bonds between our clan and them.” Madara winced. Apparently, even the Uchiha had heard bad things about Senju marriages. “It was either you or the Hyuuga, and the Hyuuga don’t have any candidates of the right age.”

Awkwardly he said, “I’m sure Hashirama wouldn’t mistreat you. From what I remember, he was incredibly kind.”

“But would he stop the other members of the clan from forcing me to be a breeding sow? You say he’s kind, but how much control does he actually have? He offered a peace treaty with one hand to the Hagoromo, and the next day his brother cut down the heir to that clan. Either he’s ineffectual at ruling or a hypocrite.”

The monochromatic man winced. “I guess that’s also why I want to accept your offer. Hashirama has held the dream of a peaceful village with all the clans living and working together since we were kids. But he’s too much of a dreamer to think of the logistics of getting there. I want to believe in him but I need to keep my clan alive too, and not merely as an appendage of the Senju.”

“So you understand my position?”

“I do.” They made their way back to the veranda to speak to his father and the other negotiators. “I accept Mito-sama’s offer of marriage and the terms that accompany it,” announced Madara.

Uchiha Tajima didn’t live to see the Uchiha make it to Uzushio. He was in the rear guard as the last of the clan left their homes. Some servitors would remain on the mainland, but the clan itself was moving wholesale. As the last compound was deserted a combined force of Shimura and Senju attackers went after the civilians. Tajima was still a strong warrior but no match against Senju Tobirama in his prime. The old head lasted just long enough for his sons to rescue him but the fatal wound meant he’d never see the new homeland he’d negotiated for his clan. He gave Madara and Izuna his blessing, charged them with the protection of the clan, then blew himself up to kill the advanced scouting party. Madara and Izuna didn’t even have ashes left to bring with them.

“I’ve received a letter from Hashirama.” Mito and Madara had adapted to domestic life. They shared a house on Uzushio all the time and a bed once a week and clan politics never. Mito had been formally appointed Masaru’s heir, with the understanding that Madara would never attend any Uzumaki clan meeting and vice-versa. He would continue to lead the Uchiha clan, and act as their representative in the growing village of Uzugakure, and Uchiha Izuna would remain clan heir. Mito and Madara’s children would take the name Uzumaki unless that individual manifested the Sharingan, in which case that person would be shifted into the Uchiha clan. Mito foresaw a lot of future problems with that clause but it worked for now. “He congratulates me on my marriage which is a little presumptuous given that Grandfather never told him who he got turned down for. He also talks about the village the Senju are building with the cooperation of multiple clans.”

She saw the wistful look in her husband’s eye. “It was our childhood dream together. A place of safety where children could be children and not cannon fodder.”

She placed one hand on his. “And now you’ve both accomplished the dream. The Uzumaki and the Uchiha both live in harmony in this village. The Yuki clan has also joined us and others will too.”

“When I was a child, I thought we’d build the village together.” He looked up at her, eyes dark with nostalgia. “I wouldn’t trade Uzugakure for anything but a part of me can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the Uchiha had stayed by the Nakano.”

“Speculation is fine. Just don’t let it get in the way of living your life.” It always surprised Mito that she was the more pragmatic between the two of them. It’s not that Madara was a complete idealist, nor was Mito without her own flights of fantasy. But Madara’s dreams were so lofty and romantic, Mito feared what would have happened if he’d had no one to remind him that ‘perfect is the enemy of good enough’. He didn’t handle disappointment well.

“What’s done is done. This is where our children will grow. However, I would like to propose an alliance with this new village of . . . what did he say the name was?”

“It doesn’t have a name yet. As for an alliance, the Council may be amiable, but I don’t think they’d agree to it sight unseen. They’ll probably want a delegation sent to gather information first.” And because they were friends. “Would you like to be among those sent?”

“Would that be acceptable? I expected the Uzumaki would want to at least have an heir on the way before I was allowed to leave.”

If Mito had been less of a proper lady, she might have snorted. “Uzumaki’s live a long time, Uchiha. My clan might look askance if there wasn’t an heir in ten years, but it hasn’t even been two yet. And who said you’d be going alone?”

Now it was his turn to squint at her. “I know you’re the heir but is that allowed? Among the Uchiha the women are the last line of defense for the clan. That’s why they don’t become as good as the male-front liners.”

“If you think about that statement, I’m sure you’ll see the logical flaw in that argument,” said Mito dryly. “But first, that’s not the way the Uzumaki do it. Second, I need the experience of these types of negotiations now that I’ve been officially declared the heir. I’d rather have my first experience with an ally that’s moderately friendly than a hostile party.”

“You didn’t do too bad negotiating your own marriage contract.”

“If you hadn’t been amicable, I might have ended up in a very bad position because I was desperate.”

“Finally, I’m not going to have many chances to leave Uzushio once I take over the leadership of the clan. I want to take as many opportunities to see the greater world as I can right now.”

Madara always kept his eyes open when in a brown study. The blank gaze was creepy but she was getting used to it. “Okay, fine then. We’ll both go. But Izuna and whoever you’re current successor is will have to stay here. Just in case.”

Mito inclined her head gracefully in agreement. “I’m glad we’ve settled that. More tea?”

“Uchiha-sama, Uzumaki-sama a few of the clan heads would like a word with both of you.” Green eyes met dark, both surprised. Madara took a step back and allowed Mito to take the fore. “We’d be happy to speak with them. I presume you have a location? And our bodyguards will accompany us, of course.”

“Of course. Right this way.” Madara and Mito were led to a room with the heads of the Hyuuga, Aburame, Inuzuka and Hatake clans and their guards were gathered. After the introductory formalities were out of the way they got down to business. “Uzukage-sama,” said Hyuuga Hotaru. “As Uzugakure is the only other co-operative ninja village currently in existence, we would like to hear your thoughts on the Senju village.”

“How queer that you should describe it like that. The Senju village, even though ostensibly the village is supposed to be based on the cooperation between clans.” Mito delicately rearranged her fan. “Still the village was started by the Senju and the Shimura clans, with only the Sarutobi joining recently.”

“Not quite true.” Aburame Shizuka lived up to her name. “There has been a trio of new additions lately. The Nara clan, the Yamanaka and the Akimichi have also joined the village.”

“But still, you all primarily think of the village as being Senju. That’s quite telling, isn’t it.”

“I noticed that too.” Madara piped in. He almost always let Mito or Izuna take the lead on actually talking during negotiations, so to speak up right now attracted quite a bit of attention. “The clans all have representatives in the Council but . . . only the Senju have a compound. All the teachers in the Academy are Senju. The role of military police has gone to the Shimura, who are the Senju’s closest allies. Aside from their seats on the Council, the other clans have been left out of the business of ruling the village.”

“So what you’re saying,” drawled Hatake Rikuto. “Is that this is the same assimilation bull-shit the Senju always pull, just dressed up to look merciful and compassionate as a front?”

“I do believe Senju Hashirama is genuine in his desire for peace,” Madara defended his erstwhile friend. “But Hashirama-sama isn’t much of a planner or bureaucrat. His brother, Tobirama, is the one who’s setting down laws and creating infrastructure right now. And he doesn’t seem like the type to settle for anything less than complete domination of other clans.” The Uchiha finished bitterly.

“That is . . . a disturbing thought” admitted Shizuka warily. “We were wary of threats of destruction to the clans. We had not considered the loss of autonomy.”

Madara shrugged. “I could be wrong. But there seems to be a dearth of clans other than Senju and Shimura in positions of power. Now, this could just be because the other clans are new and still adjusting. But it could also be a sign that the Senju are consolidating power and they will take steps in the future to remain that way.”

“You’ve certainly given us much to think about.”

“Well that does it,” Rikuto stood up. “I’m only willing to accept so much risk and my tolerance for Senju power-mongering is considerably less.” Belatedly Mito and Madara remembered that the former Lady Senju had been Rikuto’s older sister. He’d probably been looking for an excuse to withdraw from the negotiations for a while. “The concept of the village is sound, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Not to mention there’s another option available to us.” He turned to the married pair. “Uzukage-sama, perhaps you be so kind as to allow me to compare how Uzugakure does things?”

That was unexpected. “Excuse me, Hatake-sama, but is that an offer to join Uzugakure?” Mito kept her fan in front of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed.

“Not a solid offer . . . more a request for information. After all, I may find your structure of government as unappealing as the Senju assimilation village. I may just have to steal the idea and make my own harmony village in that case.”

“We would be happy to have you and your bodyguards accompany us to Uzugakure.” Madara silently cursed and re-arranged schedules and scouting plans in his head. But he didn’t bother to argue with his wife. Mito had made it clear (through repetition and the school of hard knocks) that she was the Uzumaki and Uzugakure heir. This was her decision to make and he refused to undermine her just because it wasn’t as cautious as he wanted.

“That offer is open to the rest of you as well. Should you prefer to see another example of inter-clan cooperation, you are welcome to visit Uzugakure before pledging to the Senju.”

“A generous offer,” Shizuka bowed her head in acknowledgment. “The Aburame are unable to accept at this time, however, you have raised enough concerns that we will not be joining the Senju at this time. We might take up your offer in the future, or perhaps follow Hatake-sama’s suggestion of creating our own village. This must be debated with the Elders of my clan.”

Mito and Madara turned to the other two clan elders. Hyuuga Hotaru was deep in thought while Inuzuka Takehiko continued to watch her. Finally, the blank-eyed Hyuuga stirred, her own fan fluttering to obscure her face. “I agree that you have brought up several important issues. However, Senju Tobirama has agreed to collaborate with the Hyuuga on some delicate seal-work that we have been working on for years. And-” She snapped her fan, deliberately cutting off whatever Mito had been about to say. “-while the Uzumaki are undoubtedly superior in fuinjutsu, we have already approached your grandfather about this issue and been turned down. So I’m afraid you have nothing to offer us to change our mind.”

That left both of them with a sour taste in their mouths. Mito knew (by virtue of being an Uzumaki) and Madara had learned (by virtue of being married to her) that there was only one type of seal that the Uzumaki’s categorically refused to create, and those were slave seals. That Senju Tobirama was willing to make some for the clans . . . their evaluation of their ally continued to decline.

Mito turned to the last member of the party. “Inuzuka-sama, what are your thoughts?”

The head of the clan of dog hunters had been silent so far. He shrugged, uncomfortable with the spotlight. When he spoke, it was with a gravelly voice that sounded unused. “This is our home. We will not leave it.”

“Did any of you have any further questions for us?” At the demurral, Madara helped Mito stand. “Then I thank you for taking the time to listen to us and I hope you make the best decision possible.”

“So this is the worth of the word of Utagakure!” Mito was nearly incandescent with rage. Madara followed behind her, cursing the need for his cane. While Mito had the legendary Uzumaki vitality, Madara wasn’t in quite as good condition after all these decades. While he remained Clan Head, the duty of Mito’s primary bodyguard had been passed to young Uchiha Kagami.

When he got there, he was surprised to see that Uta had sent Senju Tobirama, the Nidaime Hokage, to their aid. The Senju was only a few years younger than Madara, although he granted the Senju was in better shape to make it here unaided. Or somewhat aided, Madara recognized Shimura Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Akimichi Torifu from previous diplomatic missions. (Tobirama always had six guards with him, but Madara could never remember the others’ names.) If Madara had been inclined, he might have taken it as a sign of how much Uta valued this alliance, enough that the Hokage, the strongest ninja chose to come to their aide rather than stay home to fortify the defenses. clearly, his wife didn’t see it that way.

“The message requesting aide was sent almost a month ago, but we’re only receiving aid now? Convenient! Just enough time for Kiri and Kumo to finish off Uzushio and leave. Tell me, Slave-Maker Tobirama, what were you hoping to loot from the corpse of Uzugakure? Spare research notes and half-completed seals for you to claim? Freed bijuu to tame? Clan orphans to induct into the Senju?” Madara grabbed Mito’s shoulder, stopping her from advancing any further, but he couldn’t stop her from venting her spite at the Hokage. “Unfortunately for you, our defenses prevailed against our attackers. There’s nothing for you to steal, vulture!”

Tobirama did a good job rallying from the unexpected attack. “I apologize for our delay, Uzukage-sama. Uta was attacked by Suna at the same time Uzu was attacked by Kiri and Kumo. We believe it was coordinated to cut us off from each other. Since Uzu seems to have taken the brunt of the attack, Uta will be happy to provide aid in your recovery, as recompense for our tardy arrival.”

Mito seemed about to go off on him again, but by this point, the rest of the Council had arrived. Hatake Sakumo quickly spoke up before Mito could burn her bridges. “Thank you for the offer, Hokage-sama. However, in view of the devastation, it will take us some time to account for everything. We will send a message to Uta when we are ready to discuss the recovery.”

Madara, in the meantime, had been eying the Hokage’s guards with the Mangekyou Sharingan. Gifted with Izuna’s eyes after his death, the Uchiha Head suspected that most people outside of Uzushio thought him blind. His choice to retire from active duty had more to do with his leg than his eyes, but it was a useful fiction.

The other guards had not been idle. Sarutobi was mostly focused on the confrontation between Tobirama and Mito, and Torifu was ingratiating himself with the kids. But Shimura and two of the others seemed to be taking copious notes on Uzugakure’s infrastructure and the damage done to the city. They might have been proactive, preparing to help their allies, but Madara hadn’t made it to his seventies by not being paranoid.

“Normally we would have you and your guards stay for the night, Hokage-sama.” Madara focused his eyes somewhere over Tobirama’s shoulder. The strange pattern of the Mangekyou would probably confuse them and add to the rumors of his blindness. “Given the circumstances, it would be best if you all started back to Uta as soon as possible. While we appreciate that you came all this way, I’m sure Utagakure would be relieved to have it’s Hokage back during these unstable times.”

The quirk of Tobirama’s lips showed he understood the rude dismissal. But after the attacks that the two villages had suffered, ‘Shisha no Uta’ was not in a position to alienate their only ally over etiquette. The Senju gave the Uchiha a stiff nod. “It is as you say, Uchiha-sama. We will start home immediately. Shimura, Mitokado and Utatane! It is time to depart! Fall into formation!”

Mito, Sakumo, and Madara watched them go.

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chaoticpolicecollective · 8 years ago

Video

youtube

On touring Europe, making a new show each time, and learning their craft all the time. check the body language, how Dean touches J (her breast, knees, how they’re sitting).

JT: CHris is the more creative one with with a show in their own style

I would be scared to try anything new because I was afraid of hurting him.

CD: we had the blade though the hand, we had the blade through the head

4:40 on the question of the relationship off the ice CD says taking JT’s hand: we were going to make the announcement tonight but just before the programme we had a steaming row so we decided to put it off. <Audience laughs>

6:30 TW : how many more years can you go on?

7:17 song, TW: It’s a number one in Albania. Is that what you’re going ot do now?

JT <seriously>: This was his therapy after the car crash, he was very very bored, and he felt that the only thing he could do was to sing, and that’s what we did.

(Accident in ‘Dancing on ice”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKK6c_hd9Y8 )

10:12 CD: we wont take part in the olympics because everything we do in the routine is illegal

In dance you can’t touch this part of the body, you can’t spin, you can’t do this sort of lift. IT’s stricter, more contained, it’s ice dancing. And since then we’ve gone on to hold all those bits, and do all those buts and we enjoy doing it and we don’t want to let it go of it.

Interview 1995 (with Chris being late https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PIyV1xCyKs

They’ve written a book

Host: Chris is stuck in traffic. Mind you I think you’ll be able to dine out on that

JT: I am. I’m having such a hard time. He’s always the one who’s exactly on time: saying ‘you won’t be late, you won’t be late’. If anything it’s me who’s a little bit late’

When we received the MBE he actually told me the wrong time so that I could get the earlier, so i’d be actually on time.

H: Tell him to get his skates on.

1.13 - About the book:

H: It’s a wonderful insight to .. How does it feel that, you know(raises the book) here’s my life, up till now.

JT: we often thought that, you know, this is it, we had to pout it down in writing, we tried ot be as acutrate with everyting, trying ot be as open...because you know this is an account of our lives to date. WE wanted to take time. It actually took as about a year to when we started talking about it. And w e had written a book previously but it was up until 84, and it felt like we’ve done an awful lot since then as professionals and we also wanted to talk about ourselves as people. Eveeyrone is always asking about our relationship, how that works and how we spend so much time together, what’s it like, is it like brother and sisiter or like a marriage (face). It was hard, we dont really know but we tried to speak about iti n the book to see if people can understand that a little bit more.

h: I mean the speculation about that was unbelievable at one time. You laugh about that now?

JT: Yes, at the time it was very frightening and overwhelming, we didnt understand why peopel wanted to know that, information about our private lives and we thought that people will be interested in the actual skating. At the time it was frightening but we learnt to handle it. IT woudl be like:

H: it’s this crossover between sport and show business at the end of the day.

about the book - to everyone who want to knwo truth not hte mysths.

3.30 - Chris arrives (body language)

CD: THe traffic is against us this mornign.

JT: Anyway, I’m doing fine, I’m ding fine (she sits on him to cover him up)

skating , roller blading, skiing, worried abut breaking anything

5.02 H: 1994 Winte Olympics, you put yourselves through it, you put us all thorugh it, I think the viewing fugures were as high as the royal wedding or somethign like that. HAve you ever thought, why, why are we doing this, why are we putting ourselves through this

JT: Well, I think when we stepped on for te final performance, that moment of waiting, the tension is awful

Going on competitions gives usa chance to choreograph something new. It’s nice to work on new pieces.

Late Late Show 1995 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPkBMuXUUu4

2.00 H: I noticed you’ll be perfroming in Dublin on Friday 13th, Are you peolpe s....

CD: It’s Jayne’s choice, she likes numbers like that

JT: I like 13. Like they say ‘unlucky for some’ so..I consider it lucky myself

Yo Yo MA: celoist: Bach Cello Suite #5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF5oY-_AT3s

Allemande: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF5oY-_AT3sy

Bach wanted to meet Handel. Here’s T&D choreography to Bach.

Labour of love, not for competition, for the beauty of the movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF5oY-_AT3sy

BBC - Face The Music - The Return of Torville and Dean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF5oY-_AT3sy

Streets named after them, and Bolero Close

Honour Degrees from Nottingham University

1.15 - CD (saying a joke): What’s the definition of the intellectual’? Someone who can hear the William Tel Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger. Well let’s try this one shall we (hums Bolero)

1.35 Since then anxious questions have been prompted by (the art): surely this isnt sport. Is that art? HOw can they re-enter the Olympics.

1.48 Enter the olympics in Norway next year (1994). Their return was made possible due to the change of rules about the competing styles

2.50 They hired the ice rink (in Milton Keyns) for 4 hour a day 6 days a week to work on the stepr for Rumba and their 3 min free dance on which their comback will be judged.

3.20 CD: Each day w’d work on a section and the next day we’d double it ...then break it up again

5.00 (comments during perfecting a move)

5:35 JT: ‘We’ve used the video in the past quite a bit but we probably never used it this early on

9:03 - JT: He’s very forceful, very dominant, and if i was the same character we’d have too many clashes. But in a partnership you need somebody to be the driving force.

CD: And i think it’s part of what i do, i keep pushing. ANd ok, if i see a mistake or feel the mistake umm and if it is Jaynes Mistake, i’ll tell her. And if it’s mine I’ll tell her that she’s made a mistake too. (laughs)

JT: I’m pretty sort of easy going person, I’m very, usually placid and I need someone to fire me up, to get me going sometimes and he’s always liked it

10.45 JT: Of course I have a different rapport with Phil, my husband, when oyu meet someone you fall in love with .. there’s a magic element that attracts you to each other (Phil is a soudn engeneer from CHicago ,working with Genesis, JT tripps over the leaves - ‘I thought you’re supposed to be well coordinated’)

CD: about being in love with Jill (partner) and previous marriage break up (both ice skaters)Will you get married

11:45 CD: We knew it wouldnt work to work and be partners in live

14:52 Reneissance of dancing put back into skating (hence ‘Face The Music and Dance’)

15.00 - COMMERCIAL ASPECT: Agent / costs/ making 1 million punds if they do win, merchanduse, endorsements,very marketable comodities, they need to come back to hog the headlines

19:45 About wearing lycra and friend disapproval. You can get away with wearing anythign these days 20:30 about measuring the costume for Chris

21:10 It’s about steps and what our bodies are doing, they’re not so twisted.. its about the firs time a man to hold of a woman and started dancing wiht her instead on hi own.

22:00 Costumes from Jayne. You need to have 3 outfits. 1 for practices in character, looking like oyu could wear it. One you’re there you’re on display, on the first day of practice you need to show the judges, have all the bits right. Have flattering shape of the costume and the less material - the colder it is

22:50 - 2 ment (Chris & Trainer) talk about Jayne’s expression - storng but where did the coyness go. (and later) I love her expression when she does it. Her eyes are so big.

23:30 (during practicing) JT: Too Fast Too Fast.

CD: Don’t resist me one I started

24:!7 it’s about the presentation now: ‘it’s awkward. When I see Jayne’s arm is so stiff, looks very static to me

25:00 talking about Jayne’s impressions and directing her - how she should behave/ perform aka similar to when M instructs Nicholas in the performance.

25: 58 CD: ‘there’s a girl her who wasn’t born when we won our first championship.

JT: Really? Oh Dear.

26:25 JD: We’re really hapy wit hteh draw we got because alle the skater are doing the same pattern in the compulsory dance. It get’s like tram lines out there. Whereas the ice looks smooth to the person watching, to the person skating, it’s like getting caught on lines and other peopel’s edges - you can catch them and get into the groove and it can really throw you off balance27:20 PRACTICE/ talking about the movements, drawing the movement trajectory with a finger in the air - MOVEMENT 28:15 They create the intensity and electricity between them (29:10 Chris’ partner: Jayne is calm and Chris is nervous. That’s how it works. Because I’m in love with Chris I can tell by looking in his eyes whether the smile is forced or genuine 29:50 Applying make up, helping each other with it, trying to stay calm 32:40 MOVEMENT - Post Performance ritual

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mikumanogi-blog · 3 years ago

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20217-03-29 “When you wish upon a star” Kubo Shiori Blog #9

At night I slept with the curtain open about 10 centimeters, when I woke up I was able tell from the amount of light how long I slept. When you wake up to twinkling lights you know that day is going to be a good day.

Hello everyone, thank you for your continuous hard work. I’m Kubo Shiori, it’s a pleasure to meet you!

My make up is different from the usual!! It has a little bit of a mature feel to it～

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote last! Today’s blog is going to be long but please come with me on this journey (´･_･`)

Nogizaka46’s 17th single is now on sale! I wonder if you’ve watched my individual PV yet…? Here’s something I’m only going to tell to those that watched it “First off, let’s pretend to film it like it was practice” and so after the briefing sessions for my ‘Principle’ practice was over we shot it in the same outfit.

Yes, just like that that’s what we used. I was shocked, but even being able to use my stage outfit for the shoot made me happy!!! Thank you so much Koroyasu Yusuke. Please check out everyone else’s PVs too!! They have singing, acting, blushing.

I’m going to talk about something that’s been bothering me recently. I love yogurt and if I don’t have any in the fridge I can’t settle down. Lately, I have been enjoying crushed soybeans with my yogurt. Everyone please give it a try!!! I can’t hold back my appetite~

After that, watching sports has become a part of my daily routine. Watching Koshien (Japanese high school baseball championship), watching soccer, it’s so cool watching people do their best. I believe I also need to do my best. The more I watch the braver I become.

Oh yeah! Speaking of which I took a two person selfie!!! Here you go!

Ayatii and me!

Because Ayatii was sleeping I took the picture, I’m really happy with the way it turned out. Ayatii looks adorable here.

Moving on to today’s Q&A !!!

· What is something you do every day without fail?

Everyday, without fail, I eat delicious food and read magazines. More recently I’ve doing things using a pen and paper.

· What sport do you watch the most?

Honestly, I watch a bit of everything! During the Olympics I watch almost all of it!! But the sports I watch the most are probably baseball, soccer and volleyball. By the way, I’m an expert at watching all sports.

· What’s something you want to do in the spring?

I want to walk along the riverbank, while enjoying the cherry blossoms. I want to feel spring through the music I listen too. Does anyone have any recommendations for spring songs? I suddenly want to listen to ‘Harujion ga sakukoro’, it’s the embodiment of spring.

Today is Fukagawa Mai’s birthday. Happy birthday!! One of the unforgettable moments I had at the 5th Year Anniversary Birthday Live was being able to sing ‘tsuyogaru tsubomi’ and ‘Harujion ga sakukoro’.

· If your mind goes blank during a handshake, do you have a set phrase prepared?

Hmm~…(´･_･`)。。。

How about…do you want to rock, paper, scissors? If I win you need to come again, If I lose, we keep doing it till I win, if it’s a draw then let’s discuss what to do! In other words…something along those lines

(´･_･`) (I apologize for sounding condescending)

I’m going to end the Q&A here for this blog! As always…I’m a little bit sorry…

The other day I had the opportunity to observe the Tokyo Girl’s Collection. The Nogizaka senior members and all the models were shining so brightly upon that stage. I thought to myself, I want to be like that one day… and in order for me to be like that I need to have an extraordinary work ethic. From that day onward I started working on various things. I keep chanting to myself “If you say it’s impossible it will be, but if you don’t then what is possible is defined by you.”

Next, on the previous blog I wrote about the fact that I had a ‘enjoyable photoshoot’ and so I’ll talk about that here and now. Other than the time I was picked for the special award during the final audition my first solo gravure photoshoot was for Young Jump. Thank you very much. I am truly overjoyed…I faced this photoshoot knowing that I couldn’t let this chance go to waste and after seeing the final product I was on the verge of tears. I’m delighted, I really hope that everyone can see it. There are shot of me with my casual facial expressions, having fun and even a mature version of me. I want to show off to everyone the different aspects of myself.

After we finished the shoot the cameraman, the hairstylist, the make up artist, the manager, the staff and everybody else said “That was really good!!!” It made me delighted to hear everyone involved say things like that. Only a little bit more and I’ll start to like photoshoots. I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions about the shoot so please check it out!

One thing that has annoyed me was the burn that I talked about in a previous blog. Truthfully speaking, I am a deplorable person for not being able to attend photoshoots in my best possible condition, even though I knew I needed to. (My burn has healed now though!) I am very grateful to have been given an opportunity to do this photoshoot.

I’ll upload some behind the scenes pictures on my next blog! Hurry up and be tomorrow already! It would be great if everyone picked up a copy. Even though I’ve grown just a teensy bit please continue to watch over me. One more time…Please keep an eye on me!!!! I’ll be in your care!

I have some announcements to make.

(currently on sale)

3.15 EX Taishu (EX大衆2017年4月号)

3.21 Overture san

3.24 B.L.T san (B.L.T 2017年5月号乃木坂版)

3.27 weekly playboy san

(Coming soon)

3.30 Weekly young jump (通巻1819号)

-> It’s a solo photo shoot! Comes out tomorrow! Center gravure.

3.31 BUBKA san (��ブカ2017年5月号)

4.8 UTB+san (2017年5月号 UTB+ 37)

4.10 Marquee san (MARQUEE Vol. 120)

4.21 Flash Special san (Flash スペシャルグラビア BEST GW号 2017年5月 30日号)

4.22 Brody san (ブロディ　2017年6月号)

I’ll be in your care.

I am so grateful for being able to be in so many magazines. (´･_･`)

To be able to give everyone more content I’m going to hang in there are do my very best, I’ll work so hard that the words ‘do your best’ won’t even be able to express how hard I’m working.

Floooofffyyyyy〜

This picture is in my usual clothes. I don’t have a lot of clothes and so I mix and match however at the handshake events I’ll be wearing my normal clothes, I’m excited but also nervous (´･_･`) I should answer everyone’s clothing requestions, so please send me more requests!!

That’s right! The handshake event isn’t far off now 〜

April first is the National handshake event in Osaka. I’ll be waiting in lane number 21. I’ll be paired with Mukai Hazuki! I dare say this is going to be a fun lane 〜!! I’m really looking forward to it! Everyone let’s have fun!

Speaking of the handshake event, you’re welcome to leave comments in the comments section like “My name is ___ I’ll be going on ___date during ___time slot!” I’ll be in your care (´･_･`)

In the previous blog I received a lot of comments, thank you very much. While reading the comments I noticed that somebody wrote “Because this is only one blog out of dozen I don’t know what to write in the comments!” Reading this comment made me happy and I thought to myself “I’m in the same boat as everyone else”. On top of that for this one blog I think very hard about what’s enjoyable and what I want to tell everyone. I’m honestly overjoyed, thank very much.

Another comment I saw was “I’m sorry for the late comment”. Please don’t worry about it, it’s not a problem, I’m thankful that you wrote to me. (´･_･`) I read all of the comments. I also receive comments saying things like “I just finished my shift” Thank you so much for commenting on my blog while being so tired from work. (´･_･`)

There have also been comments where people have said “I’m sorry for the long comment” You write a lot too! You’re just like me! LOL

I’m so delighted that you took time out of your day to write me a long comment… Every single comment, regardless of length, you spend your time and energy to write to me. That makes every comment important and that’s why I make sure to read them all. Thank you so very much.

(I just accidently did a second Q&A)

I’m sorry for writing another long blog (´･_･`)

Ahhhh once I finished writing this, there will be a gap before my next blog… I’m always like this. The first thing I say right after entering a place such as an amusement park is, “I don’t want to go hoooome 〜” Not being able to enjoy the time I had is one of my faults (´･_･`)

Even though there is a gap between blogs, I have decided that I’ll use that time to write a blog that readers can read over and over without getting bored of it.

Alright! I am really looking forward to meeting everyone! I’ll be in your care!

I’ll write again soon.

Kubo Shiori

There is no significance in doing something just once, but there is significance in doing something repeatedly. Unfortunately, that’s the hardest thing to do. That’s why we need to go out there and just do it. There’s no way we can stop here. One more time, just…one… more… but even still I can’t end it after just once more time, I need to keep going. Just wait and see.

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