#Cheap Disturbed Concert Tickets

[aki-shun]

I don't know if you will accept this but can I get an Male Idol Mc x Savanaclaw. Fans of savanaclaw members pay for a special fan service with him. And as services can I ask Mc to wear a skirt or a dress.

Umm- After getting my life and other things in order, I went back to tumblr and started writing. I don't know if it was because of this or the cold I had, but I had a hard time writing and I drew a few sketches to make up for it, I hope you like it.

I don't remember if the gender of Jack's siblings was mentioned, but it is implied that he has a little sister and a little brother. Anyway I hope you like it

TW: Eng is not my first language, Feminization(?) not smut, but a little bit spacy drawings ;), maybe not but really a bit spacy, reader is a male but just used 'you' so you can read to if your a female or anythink-,Written by a writer who forgot how to write

Leona

Shit-I signed his hand with the veins I drew most beautifully.

Leona is a wealthy individual. That's why he has all kinds of products, whether limited edition or not. What do other people think of him? Rest assured, no one wants to turn into sand. That's why everyone in the palace is silent about this. The two rooms that the Cheka are not allowed to enter belong to Leona. The first one is his room, the second one is the room he reserved specifically for you. Of course, he has your products in his room too, but he still has a separate room for more and some special pieces.

Most of your concerts are at Sunset Savanah. Because your manager likes the amount that self-indulgent Leona pays for the 'personal space' he reserves for himself at your concerts. (No, your manager is not Azul or Ruggie). Regardless of your special events or fan meetings, he pays a premium for his own private 'fan event' meetings, let alone attending them all. At the end of the work, your manager is as happy as Leona :)

And again, at such a time, you accepted the request of your dear fan, who provided nearly 40% of the money you earned, to wear a skirt. Dear Seven- he was looking at you with perfect admiration but also like a mouse he was about to grab in his claws. After a few seconds of silence, he approached you, lifted you into the air and held you in his arms. Since this was the nth date you had stopped counting, you were used to this kind of thing. In fact, you liked receiving such behavior from such a person, whether it was because of his perfect face, wealth or perfect body.

If you feel uncomfortable, just let me know. No, I'm not disturbed. You just surprise me more and more every time. Aah~ then it's because your pulse is excited huh~

His face moved a little closer to you with his smug grin. He definitely had a face that could make him famous. No matter how flirtatious Leona was, he was trying not to get over the Idol-Fan relationship. (And yes, he still made you sit on his lap but- who wouldn't want that). One of his naughty hands tugged at the waistband of your skirt.

Leona. Your voice had a slightly harsh tone. Hahaha I'm just kidding but you know this will happen one day. Nothing like this will happen between an Idol and a fan. Who said our relationship would be Idol-Fan when that time comes?

He leaned into your right ear and said, 'You won't be an Idol forever and I won't be just a fan forever.'

Some feelings begin to arise in your heart because you are experiencing a scene that only weird writers can write. Maybe you can attribute it to the long time you spent with Leona, but my option is the first option :)

Jack

His siblings were always listening to you and they were constantly pressuring his younger siblings to take them to your concert. Your tickets weren't expensive, but they weren't cheap either.

One day, his siblingss came to him in a hurry. They showed him the screen and it showed that his new concert was near where they lived. Since the tickets had just gone on sale, they were cheaper. (I've never been to a concert in my life, so I don't know much about ticket prices, sorry). Moreover, there was a fan event for the first 30 ticket buyers, and their siblings didn't want to miss it. So he bought the tickets.

He wasn't your listener before the day of the concert, but after the concert is over - now you have a new fan, but he doesn't accept it. When it came to event time, it wasn't a big deal. It was a simple thing where there was some sort of meeting and talking to the fans and stuff. It was him and his siblings' turn to talk, and they were babbling on about how much they loved you until that moment.

[Name]-san, my brother runs away from me whenever I try to make him wear a skirt. Because this thing was so girly. I don't want to wear those stupid skirts! No, you're the stupid one!!

Great, his siblings are fighting in front of a stranger (you). You stop them while the fight is about to get more heated.

Why do you want to force your brother to wear a skirt? Because when he tries to wear trousers, he cannot remove his tail properly. That's why I wear a skirt for his, because it's easier. I'm not a girl! Only girls wear skirts! [Name]-san, can you show my brother that it is easier to wear a skirt? Let me show him..? Yes, would you wear the tail you wore with a skirt like in your concert in the City of Flowers?

Okay, your shocked, but if you reject your fan's request, you may get a lot of criticism from your manager, who is looking at you suggestively through the door. (That manager works for us, my friend 🙂).

O-okey, of course.

Jack is a little further away, just waiting for his siblings to finish their work. There is no more!

WHY IS THE SKIRT SO SHORT? Damn that tail you use looks like his- YOU SHOULD NOT EVEN TRY TO SPIN AROUND THAT TAIL. He's happy that you're such a kind idol to give your siblings a nice farewell hug. NO, HIS TAIL IS NOT WAGING. IT'S JUST THE WIND. YES, DON'T YOU KNOW THAT THE WIND BLOWS EVEN IN A ROOM COVERED WITH WALLS ON FOUR SIDES!? NOW YOU KNOW!!

These were his thoughts :)

Ruggie

I couldn't draw a skirt in this pose and since I was too lazy to draw a new reference, imagine that there was a skirt in this picture (!)

He is a listener who listens to you with pleasure. But don't you think your tickets are too expensive? This makes his hyena heart ache. It just so happens that one of your tickets flies into his hand while he's walking on the street. No, it wasn't in anyone's back pocket. That ticket floated in the wind and fell into his palm :) Moreover, it was not such a simple ticket.

Ruggie is a fan like a fan. Just a more frugal version. That's why we should make the most of this ticket for all our fans. Even if they can't see it.

◜Time skip because I have a brain that can't function properly anymore due to the flu I had😔◞

He may have forgotten that people other than him have this ticket. But that won't stop him.

[Name]-san, could you wear a nice skirt for us fans? We'd love to see this.

Yes yes [Name]-san. We would like to see this.- a fan A cute skirt with ruffles would be really nice. What do you think [Name]-chan 😊-M Manager..! How long have you been here? *whispering 😃-M (Ugh, that look again. I definitely have to change that manager somehow [those who support the manager to stay, raise your hand✋])

Oh Big Seven! Can I take a photo of [Name]-san??-a another fan A great idea! Why don't we include some of these pictures in your new photo album?-M Manager- Come on [Name]-chan, give us some nice poses!-M This bitc- *Don't worry, no one heard it

Our beloved Ruggie now has new home screen images.

⫯ Since I did it in a bit of a hurry, the pictures are only for the white-skinned reader, but if requested (I will do it even if not), I will also edit the images for the dark-skinned reader. If anyone wants, I can tag them when I post. Just write in the comments whether you want to be tagged or not ^^

[weird-an]

Billy makes himself a microwave dinner on his birthday. Eating alone, because Neil took Susan on a date to Indianapolis and Max is out somewhere with the Creepy Kids Club.

Swanson Fried Fucking Chicken Dinner. That's how Billy treats himself for turning 18. For somehow surviving until today, more or less by accident.

It tastes bland and nearly burns his tongue, but that doesn't matter. Billy has a bottle of cheap liquor waiting for him. The birthday present he got for himself to wash away the bitter taste of a failed childhood. He didn't even had to kiss the cashier for that, just show off a little skin and give her a wink. A giant win.

He's halfway through the bottle when the doorbell rings. Which he considers to just ignore and then it rings again and well, he's ready to punch whoever dares to disturb his celebration of misery.

He opens the door. Steve Harrington stands in front of him. Hair fluffier than ever like he had styled it - for what exactly?

Harrington isn't his friend, not let alone his boyfriend, no matter what stupid dreams Billy sometimes wakes up with. They're fucking around and its fun. Billy gets to bathe in the sun shining right through Harrington's bright eyes, reminding him of home, but that's it.

And he isn't supposed to come here. Or even call the house. Billy told him that if Harrington dials his number once and that its fucking over - he didn't point out that it's Neil who is going to set an end to their fooling around.

"Happy birthday!" Harrington holds out a box with a giant blue bow on top for him.

Billy stares at the wrapping paper with little fishes on them.

"I don't do that," he just says. His throat feels tight and he wonders if he's already blackout drunk.

"What?" Harrington shoots him a look like he doesn't believe him for a second and then just walks inside the house.

The whole thing, Billy wants to answer. Bows, birthdays, gifts, friendship?

But he can't say anything, because Harrington is inside. Right next to Billy, gently removing his hand from where it's clutching the door knob and closes the door. He's inside the house and somehow they're both still alive.

"Where is your room?" he says, an unreadable expression flickering across his face when he sees the half eaten TV dinner and the amber bottle on the table.

Billy simply stands there, staring at him. "You can't be here."

Harrington snorts. "Apparently I can, Billy." There's that bitchy tone in his voice he always gets when he's disagreeing with something.

When Billy shows him his room, because he can't say no to Harrington's stupid dimples and crooked smile, he's so ashamed.

The ashtray is overflowing, Shauna Grant's eyes seem to judge him and his room just seems so gray and bleak. Harrington doesn't seem to mind. Studies the dart board and the book on the nightstand and then turns around to grin at Billy.

"Open your gift!" Harrington pushes the box in Billy's hand.

Billy has opened a gift before. He thinks. Or at least, he has seen Max opening hers. He tries to tear the wrapping paper. One fish still loses a fin.

Concert tickets. For Mötley Crüe playing in Chicago. In November.

"I'm coming with you." Harrington sounds weirdly enthusiatistic. "If you want me to."

Which means that he wants to hang out with Billy after graduation. After he should go fuck off getting a business degree and marrying a girl that can give him six freaking kids.

It's too much. Not only the tickets, but that Harrington is wanting to continue ... whatever this is. Harrington wanting them to go to Chicago. On a whole trip. To go see one of Billy's favourite bands.

"You... hate Mötley Crüe."

"I like Live Wire."

Which is the first song Billy ever made Harrington sit through, after they shared a smoke, still dizzy from the orgasm. It makes Billy's chest hurt.

"Don't you like it?" Harrington's brown eyes get huge. Like when Billy really has to leave because Neil expects him to mow the lawn or some shit and Steve asks for another quickie.

But Harrington isn't asking for sex right now. Or is he?

"I do," Billy admits. He likes it too much. The gift, the warm feeling inside him, Steve. "Thanks?"

Well. He's got to pay him back somehow, doesn't he? His hands are on Steve's belt, but Steve just takes them, intertwining their fingers.

"It's a gift," Steve says, slowly.

"Your huge dick is a gift," Billy mumbles, ignoring the burn of his cheeks and trying not not stare at Steve's pink lips.

Steve winks at him.

"You'll get that later. Now I'm hungry," he says, pressing a kiss on Billy's lips. Casually. As if that's a thing they do. Kiss a little, cuddle, like they are something.

Billy warms him another microwave dinner. Which tastes awesome now, somehow. Like a Michelin prized meal. His heart is racing the whole time and he feels drunk and sober at once.

He watches Steve chewing, cheeks stuffed full and radiating warmth and happiness. Which seems like a gift, too. This is the best birthday...maybe in forever.

@harringroveweek

[twoset-updates]

[270223 词不达意的劳拉 weibo post]

tl;dr: this fan met eddy in a cafe and got to chat with him. translation below (it's quite long but very sweet)

I was helping Twosetter friends in Singapore get tickets [for the Twoset vs Davie show], and I was lucky enough to get a spot ahead in the queue. You could only buy a maximum of four tickets with one account, and she needed three. I thought I shouldn’t waste the luck, so I decided to buy four anyway. At the time it was an impulse decision; I hadn’t even decided whether I’d let someone else have the ticket, or go to the concert myself. So although I had the ticket, I hesitated for a long time thinking whether I should go after all. For one thing, Twoset wouldn't be the only ones performing, and for another, borders had just reopened. Time would be tight to get a visa, and air tickets and hotels in Singapore aren’t cheap, either.

Just like that, Lunar New Year passed. When my friend asked me what I would be doing with the extra ticket, and if I needed help finding someone to take it, I thought of Boss Yang’s “just do it”. Even if it wasn’t for Twoset, I hadn’t been overseas in three years. Recently I had been troubled by certain comments from some people, so I might as well treat it as a vacation to relax. So I applied for the visa, and told myself that I would go if I managed to get it. As it turned out, I really did end up getting it.

I won’t elaborate too much on the performance itself. It was my first time seeing Twoset live, and my first time meeting Twosetters in person, so I was really happy. I felt that the more talented Twosetters are, the more humble they are. They’re all really friendly, too. Someone even brought cookies they had baked (I brought them back with me and still can't bear to eat them). It was like a grand exchange of things everyone had made.

So many things were exchanged

I was also happy to visit the places where Twoset had shot videos, the National Museum of Singapore, Victoria Concert Hall, Merlion Park, the mall where Davie pretended to be tailing Twoset—so many places. I also ate and drank lots of delicious things. Out of all the fans who had flown in, I might be the one who stayed the longest in Singapore. I thought the trip would end just like that, but I didn't expect that the day I was to fly back home, I got a huuuuuuuuge surprise.

In retrospect, meeting Eddy was such a coincidence, it felt like fate. I had only wanted to get a coffee to go from this cafe, and was planning to eat at another restaurant. But when I went in, the staff asked if I wanted to eat in or takeaway, and for some reason, I said I would eat in. The cafe was pretty full, and I was brought to a seat quite far inside the cafe. Then I ordered my meal and the food arrived, and just as I had finished taking photos and was about to start eating, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone walk by me to wash their hands. I glanced at them, and got a shock. Was that Eddy?! But I didn't dare to stare at them directly, so I just observed them through my peripheral vision.

The person walked by my table again after washing their hands, and I only saw their side profile and back. Those glasses, the brick red T-shirt from the Christmas video, black skinny jeans, and white Gucci sneakers—who could that be other than Eddy?! I watched as he walked to the seat right by the entrance and sat down.

I was calm on the outside, but on the inside: AHHHHHHH HELP! When did he come in?! Should I go say hi? What if he ate and left quickly! But I thought, I'd be flying back in the afternoon, and I might never get another chance like this. So I took a deep breath and walked towards the entrance.

He was eating alone (I was so lucky; if he had been discussing something with someone else, or if he was with a friend, I would probably have walked back to my seat as I wouldn't dare to disturb him), and had ordered a coffee. On the chair opposite him he had placed his backpack, and there was a large notebook on the table. When I reached his table, he realised I was there, and stopped eating to look up at me. For about two seconds, we just looked at each other silently, neither of us saying a word.

(Me, internally: say something! Don't be such a freak!)

(For the below conversation, it happened in English, unless mentioned otherwise. {} indicates actions, expressions, and additional explanations, and () indicates my thoughts.)

Me: OMG Eddy

E {realised I was a fan so he was a little cautious but smiling}: Hey hello!

Me: OMG, can I sit next to you? {The table next to him was free}

E: Sure, do you want a photo?

Me {nodding vigorously}: I actually came to see your performance, but I'm flying back this afternoon. Actually, this is the last place I'm going to before I head to the airport {I can't stop talking when I'm nervous, sorry, I don't know what I was saying}

E {his tone of voice was very gentle}: Oh where are you from? What's your name?

Me: I'm Laura, from Shanghai, China {I sat on the seat next to him, and turned to face him}

EDIT: I forgot to mention, amidst all this I also asked if he remembered, during the video they filmed in Taiwan about giving fans gifts, I'd asked Lisa to pass him a gift from me. (None of us knew whether Lisa would be chosen, but I told Lisa I'd send the gift to her anyway, and if she wasn't chosen it would be my Christmas gift to her. I'm thankful to Lisa for being such a nice person and agreeing to my request.) [I told him,] I gave him and Brett a Mario luggage tag each, did he remember, those were actually from me. He said, "Oh yea yea I remember that gift." (He really remembered, I'm so happy)

Then Eddy talked a bit about Shanghai with me. He said he'd been to Shanghai, and I couldn't resist teasing him about when he said "Shanghai Stock Exchange" [T/N: during Landmark Charades] (Eddy internally, probably: Why won't the fans from Shanghai give me a break about this). He seemed like he was cringing at himself (super cute!). He said he really didn't know why he said it during the video, and I asked if it was because the tour guide had brought them there when he was in Shanghai? He said he'd actually never been there, and had only been to the Oriental Pearl Tower. I told him he should come to Shanghai and see the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the building is really quite magnificent. I said, "please come to Shanghai, come to China, we fans in Shanghai really look forward to you visiting," and he said they'd look into it. (I know he was just saying it though; it seemed like it would be difficult for them to come to Mainland China.)

At one point, I apologised for my bad English, and he said, in Mandarin, "it's okay, we can speak in Mandarin too." But I kept speaking in English to him (I have no words for myself, I could have listened to him speak more Mandarin!). When he said they'd "look into it" he said it in Mandarin [T/N: original phrase is 再研究一下看看].

I told him his Mandarin is really good, and joked that Brett's sucks, and he laughed. But I hurriedly added that Brett's pronunciation is really good, and with his usual serious/earnest expression, he nodded, saying, "Hm, that is true." I said Brett seems like a pronunciation prodigy—previously there was a German fan who said his German pronunciation was good (and there was a German fan who watched the show with us this time who said the same). Eddy said that is indeed the case, as Brett had a lot of friends from Germany when he was in Europe. But I told him that since he could understand Mandarin puns, it was really impressive too. He smiled bashfully after being praised. (So so so cute!)

Then I suddenly remembered that I had interrupted his meal, and I was worried whether he would have other plans later in the day, so I asked him. I said, "I'm very sorry I interrupted your meal, I don't know if you have any other plans later, is it okay?"

He very seriously looked at his watch, and really thought for a bit, and only then did he tell me he actually did have something on later, but it was alright as there was still a bit of time, and we could continue chatting for a while. {He didn't immediately say "it's okay", and didn't take the chance to end the conversation either; he's really a sincere and nice person.}

At that moment, he suddenly pointed at my right shoulder, and said, "This is really cute." I took a second before I realised he was referring to the violin earrings I was wearing that day. I said, "Yes, this is for the violin gang." He said, "Yea!", and I replied, "I'm part of the piano gang though." He smiled and said, "Oh, that's great." I said, "But a lot of times I'm lazy and don't practice," and I took the chance to ask him if he would sign a mini metronome. I told him I'd actually bought it at Synwin the previous day (and luckily I had it in my bag as I was afraid it would be damaged [if I kept it in my luggage]). He agreed and asked if I had a marker. I said, "Yes, I even have a gold autograph marker." He said, "Cool," and wrote "Go Practice" for me. As he did so, he toyed with the metronome a little, and said, "I didn't know there were mini metronomes like this, it's really cute." I asked (greedily) if he could address the autograph to me, and he checked again that my name is Laura. It's actually a really common name, and I thought he would just write it straight away, but he was considerate and still asked me how to spell it. (He's so nice.)

He even added a emoji, really cute

Alright, I'll "Go Practice"

Because I had to take the metronome and autograph marker out of my bag, I had picked my bag up from the ground, and he noticed that my bag had two pins on it (Puganini and Meowzart pins from the SSO; a Twosetter in Singapore had mailed it to China for us). He said, "Oh, this is cute," and I replied, "Yeah, It's from the SSO," and he said he knew, but he only knew they had made Puganini pins and not Meowzart ones. {He really pronounced the "meow" sound, it was cute.} I said, "Yeah, and it so happens that it's Paganini and Mozart (referring to him and Brett), what a coincidence." He agreed.

My SSO Puganini and Meowzart pins.

Then I remembered that I had made three headbands for the concert—one for Twoset, and two other Paganini and Mozart ones (because I had thought those characters would appear during the show)—and I still had them in my bag, so I hurriedly took them out to show him. First I showed him the TwoSet Violin one, and I told him I'd even glued on LED lights by hand, and turned the lights on to demonstrate. It seemed like he was happy about it but also thought it was a little embarrassing. He hid his face in his hands (ahhh so cute). Then I showed him the Paganini and Mozart headbands, and said, "These don't have lights though." He said they were really cute, and I told him the Mozart one has rabbit ears because Mozart had made the rabbit ear gesture, and the Paganini one has devil horns. Then I paused, and asked if he wanted the headbands. (I thought I'd just ask.)

TwoSet Violin (I put the LED lights on by hand, sorry for the poor craftsmanship)

Paganini (I originally wanted to add lights too, but I gave up afterwards)

Mozart

Unexpectedly, he said, "Sure!" He took them from me, and said, "I'll give this {the Mozart one} to Mozart Brett." Then he wore the Paganini one himself ahhhh (I was so stunned in that moment, I completely wasn't expecting him to take the initiative to wear it, so I just dumbly stared while we continued to talk). After about five seconds, I realised he might feel awkward wearing the headband, so I asked if he wanted to take it off for now, wasn't it awkward? Then he suggested that we should take a selfie first (I completely didn't think that he himself would suggest a selfie with the headband), so he could take the headband off after the selfie, because it did feel awkward after all. (Ahhhhh I'm sorry I keep saying this, but he was so cute when he was being bashful ahhh)

Paganini Eddy is so cute and looks so good!

After the selfie, I told him I was in too much of a rush this time to finish lights on all the headbands, so if they came to Shanghai, I would make a full set of headbands with lights for them, and he said, "Deal!" (So, please come for real TAT)

That was almost it, but just then, I remembered that a while ago a lot of people were curious if they had ever tested which Hogwarts house they were in? At first, he didn't really get what test I was talking about, but when he understood, he said that they'd never done the test.

E: Do you think the test is fun? Should we do it?

Me {nodding}: It's really fun, I think you guys can try it.

E: Which house do you think I'd be in?

Me: I think you're Ravenclaw

E: I think I'm Ravenclaw, too

Me {quietly}: I'm also Ravenclaw (shameless)

E: What about Brett, which house do you think he's in?

Me (I didn't think he would bring up Brett on his own): Hm...... I think he's either Gryffindor or Slytherin

E: Oh? {He seemed to be surprised that I chose two houses; I'm guessing the one he was surprised about was Slytherin.}

Me: Gryffindor because he's very courageous, but Slytherin because he has a realistic {I said it in English and Mandarin} side as well. [T/N: original word for "realistic" was "现实"]

E: Oho, Brett, Slytherin, hehehehehe {a teasing laugh} (I thought, does he think that Slytherins are villains, so he thinks it's funny that a fan thinks Brett is a villain?)

Really, I took up quite a bit of his time, and I apologised a few times throughout the conversation, but he amiably said that it's alright. He listened to me patiently, replied to me earnestly, and fulfilled all my requests. (Now that I think about it, it might be because I told him in the beginning that I would be flying back to Shanghai in the afternoon, that he was very forgiving of me, and for that I'm very, very thankful to him.

P.S. Eddy is more handsome and good-looking close-up than in videos; his eyes are round and bright, his iris and sclera are clearly defined, he looks here and there when he's thinking, and he has double eyelids on both eyes. Sob, he's really cute (for the millionth time)

Finally, he really was like he said: a very gentle listener. At the start of the post, I mentioned that I was feeling troubled, and part of it was for reasons related to my work. There were some issues that I couldn't figure out an answer to, and in the course of my conversation with him I couldn't help but tell him some of it (it's strange, he has the power to disarm people). He patiently and carefully listened to my troubles, and in reply, he didn't simply say something like "you should just do it," but instead he said that it was a tough problem indeed. I told him that that's why I'm grateful to them for making videos and performances that inspired me, and he told me, "If you decide to do it, you can do it."

Me: ......well, since you've said that, I have to do it now.

At this point, I guess I can't get out of the fandom anymore...... It feels like all the challenges I faced in making this trip to Singapore happen were worth it. In the process, I received a lot of sincere help from Twosetters, and I think I did my best to help them sincerely as well. As expected, sincerity is really the solution to everything. I guess that's how it is with Twoset, and this community that formed around them. I think that's one thing about Twoset that differs from others, the most special thing: they brought together this amazing, talented community. It seems if you treat others with sincerity, and have a little luck, you'll be able to make your wishes come true.

[rndyounghowze]

Why Are We More Willing To Shame Audiences Than To Reach Them?

I’m going to say something that shouldn’t shock anyone reading this: the theaters are struggling for an audience. You don’t have to take my word for it. You can go to just about any publication and find someone announcing another show closing. You just have to go to your social media pages to find a friend or acquaintance who is either a) begging people to come see their show or b) asking for money because no one is coming to see their shows. I wish I was lying. I wish I could tell you that it’s not a daily occurrence. However, one thing is abundantly clear: theatre’s need to take some drastic measures to bring a new audience in, even if it’s bringing in people off the street. Well if this thing that we all know is in fact true why are we so ready to be mean to our audiences?

Again you don’t have to take my word for it. The very same publications that would announce a closing and bemoan the death of live theatre will also post an article shaming patrons that are disturbing others. Anecdotally we have heard stories from people who attended “K-Pop” who said that the mainstream audience was shaming the attendees that were dancing in the aisles and using props they bought in the lobby. Producers are in an epic struggle between three forces: wanting to stay open, wanting to find an audience that loves their show, and courting a rich subscriber base that keeps the lights on. It’s the age old struggle that producers sign up for when they go into business. I guess what we are asking is if it seems no one is coming to the shows isn’t it time to, if not dump the season ticket holders in favor of the nebulous new audience, at least go on a couple dates with them?

Dana likes to say that everyone has $20 in their pocket and are looking for a way to spend it. We aren’t talking about taking money from people who abuse staff or create a toxic environment in the house. In fact we would call those people a problem and not an audience. What we are talking about are the audiences who feel like they aren’t at home because they aren’t the audience you are marketing to. The people who don’t feel safe reacting honestly for fear of being shamed for laughing, the people who haven’t been “trained” as kids. The people who are used to a concert or stadium show more than a “traditional” theatre performance.

The existence of shows like “K-Pop” and “Ain’t No Mo” suggest that there is a hunger for this kind of show from a different audience that wants to come and see it. In both those cases the shows had to face a reality where producers faced the reality of rent being due before the audience knew to show up. This is where digital theatre has a leg up on the mainstream industry. We said before that indie media can take the time to build an audience through a slow release of digital content. That way when they go from “Couch to Stage” they know that there is an audience ready to see them. If this is the case why are producers so coy about their season announcements? There is a myth that digital is cheap but it is relatively cheaper. This is a good reason to normalize workshopping potential shows digitally a year before they open in-person. Wouldn’t it be great to know that there is support for a show before it opens?

We know that we aren’t going to reach the larger houses that have become a Broadway Walmart, only producing shows from the canon to court a rich audience. As much as we don’t like it we respect the hustle. We also know more than a couple large regional theaters that are experimenting with XR and other ways to secure a future. What we want everyone who hears us to consider is, if the audience that knows how to “act right” isn’t coming then maybe it’s time to change the rules so that the rulebreakers can feel at home. The rulebreakers have money too.

[ticket2concert-blog]

Disturbed ‘Evolution’ Tour 2019 coming to Fiserv Forum This October 13

Just dropping a sensational album was just not enough. ‘Disturb' the most recognized rock band all through the world are on tour and they are coming to your city. Visit Ticket2Concert now to get Disturbed Concert Tickets Cheap.

The Chicago's finest heavy metal band ‘Disturb' shook the world with their newest album ‘Evolution'. The album is the group's first album after a long break of five years. The 2time Grammy Award winners are on a tour promoting their new album.

Disturbed is coming to Fiserv Forum this October 13. So ready or not this group is going to blow your mind. Get your Disturbed Concert Tickets at Ticket2Concert so you can get an amazing discount!

Evolution is their seventh album so far. After a long break in which they went around doing several projects, they are back. This time being more energized, more outstanding.

The newest album features one of the bands 12th #1 single that remained on the top for 4 weeks straight. A sign telling their fans they aren't backing down any time soon. Discount Disturbed Concert Tickets are on sale right now. Go cheer them up in their coming concert and while you at it don't forget to have loads of fun.

This album brought evolution in the band's career as they make new live experiences. Looks like ‘Evolution' is not evolution in just name. Fiserv Forum General Manager Raj Saha seems pretty excited to have them perform as well. As he said, "The Night' of Oct. 13 will be one to remember" he also went on to invite everyone to buy tickets immediately. Well, he said it. If you haven't gotten yourselves Cheap Disturbed Concert Tickets yet. Don't wait anymore or you'll lose this chance. Disturbed do sold-out concerts almost every time. Plus, this tour is no exception.

Aside from topping the Billboard Charts for alternative & rock albums, ‘Evolution' ranks #4 on the Billboard 200. Also, the first leg of the tour saw more than 200,000 fans coming across the world. Get your Disturbed Concert Tickets Cheap now or you won't be getting any at all.

The tour is going around since January and had many remarkable moments. Especially the band's inspiring message has acclaimed the most critic appreciations. The most memorable of the tour moments is their tribute to the late Chester Bennington and Pantera's Vinnie Paul. Besides this, the band calls out to all the people in the world fighting addiction and depression.

This sugar-coated Evolution's success. Plus, the fan responses are overwhelming especially to the blockbuster lead single "Are You Ready". The tour entertains the fans with many of the band's super hit songs from the album "Evolution". Go see them perform live with Disturbed 2019 Tour Tickets.

The Chicago originated no 1 rock band have their new songs streaming like fire. Starting with Are You Ready's over 19 million Spotify streams and more than 11 million YouTube views. Another noticeable song, A Reason to Fight has almost 10 million Spotify streams and close to 9 million YouTube views.

This is the most suited time to see them perform live. You can get Disturbed Concert Tickets Discount Coupon easily from Ticket2Concert to make your adventure more memorable.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I feel a bit put off by Jin’s financial loss comments. I find it totally and completely unnecessary. They could have played a smaller Venue or something and they have been absolutely raking in masses of profits off fans for years.

All it does is fuel the weird elitist, capitalism worshiping fanbase. This makes it harder for people who cannot afford things because we all saw the responses when people point out the piece of being a Kpop fan.

Anon 2

''Hii!! sorry, could you explain a little bit more the whole "jin said that they won't be making any profit from the stadium tours and it's not cool" thing (idk if you said exactly that)??

it's just that English is not my first language so I'm a little bit confused and don't even know what to Google in the first place, like I'd say that I can talk about almost everything I English, but economics and money in general is impossible for me so I don't even know what he meant with that (is all the money going to hybe?? not enough people bought tickets?? they think it is too cheap?) I don't even know''

I'm adding the two asks together and I'll expand on my initial post, about Jin's comment and Army response. I hope this will be clear enough so there is no misunderstanding and my answer will be sufficient.

When it comes to Hybe's financial situation, I'll try and explain this in simple terms. The company made a lot of money in 2021, as their revenue passed 1 billion dollars, due to acquiring Ithaca Holdings, which contributed to a 58% growth. Hybe also makes money from what they call ''Artist Indirect'' business which means profit from projects that do not require the participation of the actual artist. So, while the pandemic, at least in the beginning, affected them due to the impossibility of having stadium concerts, they still made money from the tickets they sold for the offline concerts, they moved their focus towards releasing more and more merchandise and using BTS for advertising different brands and much more. Hybe made a lot of money during the pandemic so no one needs to feel sorry for them. Three days of concerts in Seoul for a significant smaller audience (which is in according to SK health guidelines and every company that had groups performing in person complied to that) may not bring actual profit from that particular project, but that doesn't mean it will affect the company revenue as a whole, as they do have other projects which will surely bring the money in. The Seoul concerts will not contribute to Hybe operating on a loss in 2022. It's ridiculous. And Jin making that comment was out of touch and unfortunately it had this disturbing effect which manifested in several ways: people thinking that they're doing the concerts more like a favor because look at them, they won't make a profit (really?), and they once again showed an elitist capitalist mindset, just like the first anon pointed out. Army doesn't need to ask for more merchandise so Hybe can make more money and that's because they more than likely will already do that, profit or no profit from certain concerts.

I understand that not everyone knows how a business works and there's nothing wrong with that, but then the best options would be to not make a comment or maybe ask around and then do some research on their own, instead of worshipping a company and not knowing how profit is made. Army shouldn't worry at all as they are the ones whose money are also contributing to the financial growth of Hybe and BTS through various means and they will buy, as long as BTS is the face of it.

Here is more information on Hybe's financial report in 2021.

[sunshinejs]

Lost in Japan

why did I write this? I have absolutely no idea but it came to mind and I hope you enjoy it!!

————————————————————

Word count: 1.8k -ish

This is it.

This is by far the craziest thing you’ve ever done, and at the last minute.

Work was getting more stressful as you had many submissions and it was taking a toll on you. You knew you needed a break and hell, your body deserved it after spending late nights in the office.

So, you checked when you were able to take leave after your datelines were due and tried to match it with wherever Connor was in Asia at that time. Shawn is scheduled for his concert in Tokyo on the 16th October and after confirming with Brian, they would be there on the 14th.

Next thing you knew, you were searching up air tickets from Los Angeles to Tokyo and was set to leave on the 13th morning. Brian gave you all their flight details and coincidentally, there was a flight that would arrive at the airport as the same time as them.

Connor knows how extremely busy work has been for you and he knew not to disturb you in this period so, you didn’t have to worry much about lying to him of your whereabouts.

On the 13th, you were set to leave for the airport after dropping of your puppy with Connor’s parents. You were nervous to be flying alone but if it means being in Connor’s arms again in less than 24 hours, you were definitely willing to do it.

xxx

You haven’t been on a flight in ages so traveling alone for 12 hours was probably a scary feeling. You managed to watch some good movies, caught up on your sleep that you were desperately needing and did some reading.

Stepping out of the plane, you felt fresh and energetic; probably from the excitement that you were feeling to surprise Connor. After a month of being away from each other, you just couldn’t wait to be reunited with him.

After clearing through the customs, you shot a quick text to Brian asking where they were and he responded quickly that they were heading out to the baggage claim area.

You quickly went to the carousel to pick up your bag and went to sit at the row of chairs in the corner while you waited for Connor to appear on sight.

An idea ran through your head and you smirked to yourself; thinking of how you could let Connor know that you weren’t home in Los Angeles but instead, with him in the same city.

You took out your passport, held it up in front of your phone so you could snap a picture of it with the signboard writing ‘Baggage Area’ written in English and Japanese in the background.

You typed out a caption for the picture ‘all it takes is one flight and we’d be in the same time zone @connorbrashier ❤️’, pinned the location of the airport at the bottom of the picture then uploaded it to your story.

On the other end of the baggage area, Connor stood in front of the carousel while waiting to claim his bags. He was scrolling through Twitter when the Instagram notification popped up on the top.

[connorbrashier] @y/n has mentioned you in their story

He didn’t really think much when he tapped on the notification while waiting for the story to load. You probably tagged him to a photo of your 6-month old puppy, like you always did from time to time.

But when he reads the caption and his brain processed everything, he nearly dropped his phone.

The location of the airport clearly says Narita Airport.

Narita Airport.

He was in Narita Airport.

You were in Narita Airport?

Was he actually dreaming?

Brian notices the shock look on his friend’s face and taps on his shoulder, grinning “You found out, huh?”

Connor, who was still stunned, turn his head towards his best friend “What the fuck? You knew?” He asked in disbelief.

He laughs in return, nodding “She wanted to surprise you real good, bro. Go find her and I’ll take care of your bags”

Connor wasted no time as he walked away from Brian and straight away called you up.

He didn’t even let you speak up when you answered his call as he rushed out to ask “Where are you? Are you really here?”

You giggled in respond, seeing his person from afar as he frantically searches through the small crowd of people in the area “Yeah I am, bubs. Keep walking straight to the other end and you’ll find me”

Connor kept walking forward, his heart beating faster with every step he was taking and that was when he finally found you sitting down; one of your hands pressed against your ear as you held your phone, a shit-eating grin plastered on your face when you lock gazes with your boyfriend.

He wasted no time to pick up his pace; running towards you.

“Baby!” Connor exclaimed once he was near to you, wrapping his arms around you as he lifts you up, twirling you around “Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re actually here!”

“Bubs, put me down!” You laugh, tightening your grip around his neck for support “People are staring at us!”

“I don’t care” Connor pouted but did as you instructed. He finally sets you on your feet but not letting go of his grip around your waist. He pulls you close to him, burying his head in the crook of your neck “I’ve missed you so fucking much”

“I’ve missed you too, baby” You muttered, pressing a quick kiss to the side of his head “I just flew 12 hours across the ocean because I had to see you, bubs”

“What about work?” He pushed away to look at your face and you can see the worry filling his eyes “I thought your submission isn’t due till next week? Does your boss even know you’re here?”

“She does” You nodded, smiling “I told you that just because I really wanted this surprise to work. I submitted everything a few days ago and I took the week off, bubs”

“I’m so glad you’re here” He sighs happily as he reached for your hand to intertwine your fingers together “Seriously. My day is so much better now that you’re here”

“I don’t mean to interrupt this lovely reunion…” A new voice spoke up and over Connor’s shoulder, you saw Brian standing there with crossed arms. You’ve seen his new haircuts in the many photos that Connor sent to you but you were still amazed by how it looks up-close “But there’s way too many fans here and we’ve got to leave quickly”

xxx

“Shut up” You stared at Connor dumbfoundedly “Are you serious?”

He looks up from his phone screen, smirking as if it wasn’t a big deal “I will not shut up, babe. I’m being serious”

After a few hours of exploring around Tokyo, Connor thought it was finally time to call it a day since he knew how exhausted you were from the flight (even though you tried to hide it because you loved spending time with the rest of the team). So, when you were in the shower, Connor took his laptop out and spontaneously booked 2 tickets to go to Disneyland tomorrow.

“Oh my God!” You shrieked “We are not going to Disneyland! You’re kidding, right?”

Connor rolled his eyes “Okay, so am I supposed to burn these tickets then? Or maybe I’ll ask Brian to go with me since you’re not up for it?”

“No! I wanna go!” You exclaim, jumping on the bed to join him as you wrapped your arms around him; pressing kisses on his cheeks “This is so sweet, babe! I love you”

“You wanna talk about sweet? You flew to Tokyo for me, honey” He laughs “You’re amazing, you know that? And you’ve always talked about how you wanted to go to Disneyland and you’ve been working so hard lately so I wanted to do something nice for you, love”

“Yeah but I didn’t mean Disneyland in Tokyo!” You blushed “We don’t even know how to get there neither do we speak Japanese, bubs”

“Well, think of it as a fun experience!” Connor grinned “I don’t mind getting lost as long as I’m with you, honey”

xxx

“Connor, no!” You whined as he ignored you, walking up to the counter as he held the plushie in his arm “I don’t need it!”

“Honey, you’ve been staring at this ever since we entered the store” Connor laughs “Just let me buy this for you? Please?”

“Yeah but it’s expensive and you’ve already bought the tickets” You frowned and although you didn’t know the exact amount, stuff sold in Disneyland were never cheap “You really don’t have to buy it for me, Con”

“I don’t have to but I want to” He shrugged “Come on, it’s just one small plushie babeee”

You saw the look he was giving and finally gave in, sighing in defeat “Fine, but this is the only thing you’re buying for me. Deal?”

“Deal”

After paying for it, you continued walking through the walkway and from afar, you could already see the giant castle that you’ve seen everywhere on the internet.

“Oh my God, it’s so beautiful” You said astonishingly when you stood nearer to the castle “I can’t get over how pretty it looks”

You were too engrossed in the structure of the building that you hadn’t realize Connor looking at you instead, smiling to himself as he agreed “Yeah, she really is”

The entire time you were walking around and going on rides, Connor had his little camera out; filming little moments here and there that he wanted to put together later tonight. He could see the excitement and happiness radiating on your face of being here for the first time and he’s glad he’s the reason for it.

As you watched the fireworks later that night displayed at the castle and wrapped up in Connor’s arms, you leaned back in his touch and pressed a soft kiss to his chin “Hey, thank you for today. I really had a good time”

Connor smiles down at you, nodding “That’s alright, sweets. I’m glad you enjoyed it”

“It was amazing” You said, sighing happily “You’re amazing. I love you and I cannot wait till this tour is over and you’ll be home”

“Me too, honey” He muttered softly, pressing a quick kiss to your head “I love you”

Hours later when you were already fast asleep, Connor finally put together the little clips that he took from today and turned it into a mini vlog. Never would he expected to have you here with him and he knows the goodbyes are going to be hard when you have to go home, but he didn’t care. He got to spend his free day with his girl and that is what he’s grateful for.

@connorbrashier: took my girl to Disneyland for the first time 💕

————————————————————

Reblog, like or leave a comment; always appreciated!  ❤️

x rina

TAG LIST:

@hurts-like-hell-xx @connordavidscamera @r3ader @tinycertain @green-lxght @queenmxndes @turtoix

[pr-ay-the-gay-away]

"She said that some of the accounts of solo stans, c*milizers, and OT4 stans only exist for the sole, intentional purpose of disturbing the peace in the fandom. She also mentioned that some of them are "bot accounts"" // do you think this is talking about astroturfers? or do you think its just talking about real fans that have nothing better to do than to start drama and cause trouble?

“do you think this is talking about astroturfers?”

Yes, EL is talking about astroturfers.

“do you think its just talking about real fans that have nothing better to do than to start drama and cause trouble?”

Couple of things to consider.

There are also street team fan accounts; these are fans who operate under the direction of the artist’s team in return for perks and special treatment. They are essentially a very cheap form of almost free PR labor; key phrase being “almost free” because at the end of the day, there is still a cost associated with in-kind perks like travel, accommodation, VIP treatment, concert tickets, backstage passes, merch, etc as well as the cost of someone’s time and effort to coordinate these street team fans. Eg. if you have a person whose job is to organize and run volunteer programs, that person’s job is work and their time/effort translates into a cost that is borne by their employer, even though the individual volunteers’ themselves are not paid. So street team fan accounts come under the mandate of the artist’s team, for perks that COULD be very beneficial for them and their individual circumstances.

Now that leaves you with the category of actually free labor. The non-special treatment receiving fans. Now that includes all of us, to some extent. We follow, we engage, sometimes our platforms are even manipulated/hijacked by astroturfers to push a narrative or incite some kind of disagreement.

Now of this free fan labor, there is a sub-group that fits the description you gave: “fans that have nothing better to do than to start drama and cause trouble”. These are the toxic stans. Sometimes we refer to them as Twitter/IG stans because they tend to proliferate on those two platforms. Put your hand up if you’ve ever behaved like or actively played the part of an “internet troll” at some point in your life (even if it was for like a hot second) If you have, and I’m sure most of you have whether you were aware of it or not, then you should be able to recognize the deal with these toxic stans; they’re emotionally and mentally immature, and they thrive off of antagonism. Whether it’s being antagonistic towards other segments of fandom, or towards one of the girls, or towards other celebrities, or just towards entire segments within society - these toxic stans just spout toxic problematic shit. EL is not referring to these people. Lemme tell you why: these people may be toxic trolls who do start drama or at the very least will perpetuate drama, but they do not act under any direction from someone else. They are unmanaged. They act purely of their own volition, yet despite this individual agency which they possess, the same emotional and mental immaturity that compels them to act out in this way also lends to them being incredibly impressionable and very easily influenceable. They are easily manipulated. This is where astroturfers and street team accounts, when acting “for the sole, intentional purpose of disturbing the peace in the fandom” can really fire up a proper mob/herd mentality by manipulating these toxic stans - by extension, the wider fandom network gets embroiled in the fake drama because it takes an awful lot of self-control to not engage with someone annoying who is purposely antagonizing you. We should all try to exercise this self-control though. Remember:

[stealthgaming]

Benefits of Stereo Gaming Headsets

A stereo gaming headset is an essential part of the game set, and it consists of headphones for sound output and a microphone for input. If you need to buy a new one or replace your old faulty headset, here are some tips that can help you choose the best stereo headset for PC gaming.

Benefits of Stereo-headset

The stereo headset and Xbox rechargeable battery pack can act as protective gear for ears when appropriately used.

A stereo headset helps people to enjoy their favourite music or watch movies without disturbing others.

It doesn't matter if you don't have an iPod; you can still listen to your favourite bands on your radio and not disturb anyone around you!

If you invest in a quality set of headphones, then chances are that they will last longer than cheap headphones and save money over time.

The sound created by the stereo headset is just like surround-sound speakers, which improve our overall experience of watching movies at home!

It's more convenient than carrying extra speakers in the car when you want to change your mood with different types of music!

You can share a movie or a song with your friend by simply sending them the song's link on social networks where they can download it and enjoy it!

A stereo headset is a great way to introduce your family members to current hits without having to open up YouTube for everyone!

Understand even the subtle details of sound that you would miss if you do not have headphones, such as tiny footsteps, pin dropping and heartbeats.

When people wear stereo headsets outdoors, they lower their risk of an accident by crossing roads without noticing approaching vehicles!

Stereo headsets are often used to enjoy the sounds of nature by avid hikers.

You can save money on expensive movie theatre tickets or live concerts by listening to your favourite music at home through a stereo headset!

Using a high-quality set of the stereo headset will help you listen to every beat in songs that you cannot hear while watching them on TV or radio!

It is straightforward to clean headphone pads with a moist cloth, and they look new after cleaning! 15. There is no external sound disturbance when using headphones, so other people are not distracted by what you are doing! 16. Stereo headsets are compatible with all other Apple products such as iPad, iPod, iPhone etc.

You will be able to hear much better when listening to songs or watching movies in a stereo headset than in earbuds!

Use the volume control slider on the wire of your headphone set to increase or decrease sound, so you don't have to worry about damaging your parents' hearing! 20. The world feels much smaller when we connect through audio/video media, and therefore we feel more united as a people and become less isolated from each other.

Conclusion

If you don't have enough money to buy expensive surround-sound speakers, invest in a good pair of stereo headsets instead. With good noise-cancelling headphones, you will feel like you are in the middle of all action!

[hazownsmyass]

Get to know me tag! (300 followers)

Because I recently got to 300 followers, I decided to post a little get to know me tag!

I thought of doing some more stuff for my 300, but I’m already on my way to 400 because somehow more people keep following me? Why?? So I guess I’ll do some more stuff at 400

For now I would just like to thank some people (who you should all follow) for always helping me, talking to me, or sharing my shit :)

@starksparker​ @parkersstark​ @thewiseandfree​ @addictionmarvel​ @upsidedownparker​ @h-osterfield​ @bisexualparkerr​

And did you know I have another blog just for Marvel stuff, and not just Harrison? It’s over at @hazownsmymarvel If you wanna check it out that would be nice :)

I just got these questions from a random site, and I don’t expect anyone to really care about the answers, but apparently over 300 people care enough about my shit that they follow me so here goes!

Are you a morning or night person? Definitely a night person. I can’t do shit in the morning except sleep.

Are you afraid of the dark? Kind of? Like I won’t just get absolutely terrified if it gets dark, but I don’t feel comfortable.

Are you an extrovert or introvert? More of an extrovert. I like talking to people, and talking to strangers isn’t a big problem for me, but I like to have my alone time.

Are you double jointed? No ew (no offense but it kinda creeps me out)

Are you left or right handed? I am right handed

Are you more of a tidy person or a messy one? Messy AF. You should see my desk when it’s ‘tidied up’

Are you on time or always late? I’m always on time when it’s actually important, like school or if I need to catch a train. If it’s not that important, I’m always pretty late.

Are you ticklish? Hell yeah

Can you curl your tongue? Yep (totally had to check that)

Can you ice skate? FUCK NO. Everyone does it every winter where I come from, and we always went with school on the last day before Christmas break, but I am fucking terrible at it. I don’t even want to learn it though so I never set a foot on the ice. The last three years I haven’t even put on skates.

Can you wiggle your ears? Not willingly. Like they can wiggle at certain moments but they just do that on their own.

Coffee or tea? Tea all the way.

Cookies, cake or donuts? Cake

Did you ever participate in a talent show? Nope, because I’m not talented lol

Did you go to prom? We don’t have that here :/

Did you like school? Yes and no. Some parts were great, like my friends and certain teachers, and some parts were horrible, like homework and certain other teachers.

Do you believe in ghosts? No, but I won’t deny their existence if I see one.

Do you bite your nails? Nah

Do you consider yourself a good cook? I get by (I seriously just accidently typed bi) but you don’t want me to cook for you.

Do you enjoy dancing? If no one’s looking yeah, or if I’m a little tipsy

Do you enjoy DIY or crafts? I haven’t done anything like that in years, because everything I make with my hands winds up looking like a 4 year old made it oops

Do you forgive easily? Very easily. I believe everyone deserves multiple chances, and deserves redemption. I could even forgive Thanos some day if he really changed his ways.

Do you have a nickname? My friends call me whore (in a loving way)

Do you have any allergies? No but I recently had a weird reaction to what we thought to be a musquito bite, but I haven’t had anything like it before, or since.

Do you have any phobias? I have a fear of missing out, and a fear of not doing enough. I feel like I want to do and become everything I can in the world but there isn’t enough time in life and I have a hard time accepting that.

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Nope

Do you have children? Nope, but shoutout to all parents out there who try

Do you have pets? I have a goldfish :)

Do you have siblings? I have 2 sisters

Do you prefer dogs or cats? DOGS

Do you prefer Mac or PC? PC

Do you prefer the beach or the mountains? Beach anyday

Do you prefer to bath or shower? I haven’t had a bath in years because we only have a shower, so I honestly don’t know

Do you sing in the shower? When no one’s home, I sometimes hum or sing softly

Do you smoke? No, and I think it’s really disgusting if someone smokes. Like, it’s your choice of course, but you ain’t coming near me with that.

Do you speak any different languages? I speak Dutch and English, I can understand some German and speak a little too, but hardly.

Do you still have your wisdom teeth? They weren’t pulled, but not everyone gets them right?

Do you still watch cartoons? Hell yeah. Both Avatar cartoons are still some of the best things to come to this earth.

Do you/have you played any sports? I used to do archery

Does your name have a special meaning? Nope, my parents just liked it.

Have you ever been hospitalized? Not where I actually had to stay or anything. All my hospital visits were ‘voluntarily’ 

Have you ever been on a diet? Nope

Have you ever been to a concert? I’ve never bought tickets to go to a specific concert but I went to a festival which had several major concerts.

Have you ever gone camping? Yeah and I hate it ugh

Have you ever met any celebrities? I saw Steven Moffat having dinner with his wife ones, but his wife looked at me like she did not want me to disturb them, so I left them to eat in peace.

Have you ever skipped class? Yeah, but in classes where I knew I wouldn’t get in trouble.

Have you ever won something? Probably? Can’t think of anything big now

Have you had braces? Yeah and they were awful.

How are you feeling right now? I’m alright, but my fingers are getting tired from writing all these answers.

How tall are you? 1.92 m (6′3.5″)

If money were no object what would you get for your next birthday? A house, because I want to move out but finding an affordable place here is near impossible.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? London probably. Or Brooklyn, or Amsterdam.

Were you ever a scout or a brownie? No? What’s a brownie? Other than a treat.

What city were you born in? Amsterdam

What did you last eat? Mac and Cheese

What did you want to be when you were younger? Everything really. From a physicist to a policeman to an astronaut.

What do you do on a typical Friday night? I’m at home most nights because of school, but now that school’s finished I might go out more :)

What is one food that you refuse to eat? Chicory

What is one item on your bucket list? Meet Harrison

What is one item you can’t live without? My phone

What is your shoe size? EU: 43 US: 9.5-10

What movie have you watched repeatedly? Captain Americ: Civil War

What phone do you have (Apple or Android)? Android. It’s an LG, but I need a new one.

What should you be doing right now? Writing a job application

What’s one goal you would like to accomplish this year? Come out to my mum and my sisters.

What’s one of your pet peeves? Tourists that don’t appear to understand the concept of sidewalks.

What’s the last song you’ve listened to? Does soundtrack count? I’m listening to ‘Charge!’ by Alan Silvestri as I’m writing this answer.

What’s the most expensive item of clothing that you own? I honestly have no idea. I don’t remember how much everything is worth, because it’s all pretty cheap. I guess my coat is more expensive than the rest but coats are always more expensive.

What’s the thing you can’t leave the house without? My phone, again. I’m helpless without it.

What’s your best physical feature? I like that I tan pretty easily

What’s your Chinese sign? I’m a dragon

What’s your current obsession? Marvel, but that’s not new.

What’s your dream car? I don’t really know, but most sports cars are really awesome

What’s your favourite animal? Penguins and dogs

What’s your favourite book? I haven’t really read books for fun in a long time, so I don’t think I have a single favourite book, but all Harry Potter’s are great.

What’s your favourite colour? Dark blue or dark green

What’s your favourite dessert? Tiramisu is incredible when done right

What’s your favourite drink? Non-alcoholic: Fanta Alcoholic: Vodka

What’s your favourite food? Pizza

What’s your favourite foreign food? Pizza is technically foreign

What’s your favourite gadget? My smartphone is my everything

What’s your favourite hobby? Is Netflix a hobby? Then Netflix. If not, it’s anything to do with film.

What’s your favourite movie? Captain America: Civil War, or Wall-E

What’s your favourite restaurant? Well it’s a small place that’s just a stand alone business, so probably none of you know it because it’s like 200 m form my house haha

What’s your favourite sandwich? I don’t eat sandwiches all that often

What’s your favourite season? Summer

What’s your favourite series? Doctor who is the best

What’s your favourite snack? Crisps

What’s your favourite sport to watch? Figure skating

What’s your favourite thing to have for breakfast? I usualy have toast but I prefer a fried egg with bacon.

What’s your full name? Wouldn’t you like to know?

What’s your longest relationship so far? Not even a month lol

What’s your lucky number? I don’t really have one? 8 is nice I guess. Or 12.

What’s your star sign? I’m a libra

When is your birthday? The 24th of september

Which city did you grow up in? Amsterdam

Which city do you live in now? Amsterdam

Who do you miss right now? Clara Oswald <3

Who is your celebrity crush? Harrison Osterfield of course

Who’s your favourite fictional character? Clara Oswald <3

That’s it! Thanks for following me, and I love you :)

[wecityguidecom]

Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Church of The Rock)

Temppeliaukio Kirkko or with its more common name Church of The Rock is the modern architecture legacy of Helsinki capital of the Findland. The most important feature that distinguishes Temppeliaukio Kirkko from others is its construction.  Temppeliaukio Kirkko completed in 1969 and constructed by digging and excavating entirely underground. It also has a ceiling made of copper wire which stunning. Also, this church is a Lutheran and they have more than 15.000 members.

Temppeliaukio Kirkkos is totally different than any other church you have ever seen (Source).

History of The Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Church of The Rock)

There is very interesting information about the history of the church. Construction first started in the 1930s but it stopped because of World War II. After the war, Temppeliaukio Kirkko designed by two architects, actually brothers. Timo Suomalainen and Tuomo Suomalainen are the architects of the unusually designed church. Construction started in 1968 and finished only in a year in 1969. Before the starting of construction, the area was chosen deliberately because of the rocky outcrops at the location. That outcrop was around 10 to 15 meters higher than the ground level. This very individual church also known with its English name; Church of The Rock which represents everything totally :) As I told you before this church built directly inside of a massive solid rock block which is granite. The location of the church is also interesting. Because it was built a center of a residential block as you can from the first picture on the above. The shape of the church is very similar to a Newgrange. Newgrange is an ancient tomb in Ireland. You can check the picture to see the similarity between Temppeliaukio Kirkko and Newgrange. If you ask me, the inspiration of the architects is very clear.

Newgrange is centuries older than the pyramids of Egypt (Source).

Where is Temppeliaukio Kirkko?

Home of the Lutheran community of the Helsinki, Temppeliaukio Kirkko is located at the Töölö district. It is also very close to the Helsinki Art Museum and the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Also, Sammonkatu tram station (hard to read and write)  is just 200 meters away. Tram line 1 and tram line 2 stops at Sammonkatutram station. There are also couple of bus lines (14, 18, 37, 41, 42, 69, 70) passes from the Kauppakorkeakoulut bus stop which is very close to the Temppeliaukio Kirkko. So, it is very easy to go to the Temppeliaukio Kirkko from anywhere in the Helsinki.

Visiting Temppeliaukio Kirkko

Before you plan your visit to the church please be aware that it may be a little crowded between 10.00 and 14.00. So it will be better for you to avoid those hours if you go to the Helsinki in high season. By the way, the winter season is more quite. You can find the opening hours for the church at the table given below. Also, this church is an active one, not a museum. Because of that from time to time timetables may vary. Especially if there is a wedding, christening or any other religious activities. Also, there will be some cultural activities like concerts. You can check their schedule from this page. Days Opening Hour Closing Hour Monday 10.00 20.00 Tuesday 10.00 20.00 Wednesday 10.00 18.30 Thursday 10.00 20.00 Fridays 10.00 20.00 Saturday 12.00 15.30 13.45 18.00 Sunday Only for worshippers Sunday Service As you know the holy day of the Christians is Sunday. Sunday Service starts at 10.00 and generally takes around 1.5 hours. Anyone can join the Sunday service. There are multiple languages (Finnish and English) programs., don't forget to ask when you arrive if you don't know Finnish. It is strictly forbidden to take pictures and disturbing the worshippers during the service, please respect that.

Church has an impressive copper ceiling (Source). Entrance Fee of Temppeliaukio Kirkko Tickets for the Temppeliaukio Kirkko is quite cheap when you compared places like this. It is just 3 Euros per person. You can buy the tickets from "Tickets for  Temppeliaukio Kirkko Helsinki" page of Tigets.com. If you buy your tickets from Tigets.com I will get a small commission :) There are also guided tours between June and August. This tour organized by the church itself at 16.00, every weekday with no extra fee. If you are looking for a more enhanced experience you have an option for private just for you or a group. Private tour prices may vary between 60 and 360 Euro depending on the number of people and the language of the tour. For the private tour, you should book it at the church. The private tour will take around 15-25 minutes. To pack everything in order about prices about the Temppeliaukio Kirkko I made a table below. Type Price  Where to Buy? Regular 3 Euro/Person Tigets.com Guided Tour (Weekdays at 16.00) 3 Euro/Person Tigets.com Private Tour 60 to 360 Euro From church If you ever visited please share your experience and thought about the Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Church of The Rock) to help others and improve this content! Pitää Hauskaa! :) Read the full article

[jukeboxgraduate]

SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY: Some Common Sense

Disclaimer: Yes, I got tickets. I am really effing lucky.

When the rumor of this engagement first surfaced, my first thought was “Oh no.” Not because I don’t want to see Bruce in a small theater or doing a Storytellers/Somerville/Christic for the masses, but because 1) There would be no way to go every night, which would mean that Bruce is playing in my city and I can’t be there, and 2) It was going to be expensive.

Before they even announced a price range, I looked at my budget and decided what I could afford/what I would forgo to buy a ticket and determined a price range. I discussed this avidly with friends, some of whom decided they would just go for the highest priced ticket because they felt there would be less competition. Other friends were at the other end of the spectrum and could only afford the lowest priced ticket. And yet other friends made the call that they were going to sit this out and hope for a tape, that the combination of what would undoubtedly be a high priced event plus travel and hotel was something they could not do or were unwilling to do.

I asked every friend I knew if they weren’t going to please sign up for Verified Fan in case I did not get a code. (No one did, fwiw.) I also connected with my Bruce peeps (as the kids say) and had a reasonable sense of confidence that if someone in that circle got a code and I didn’t, I would get offered something at some point during the run (which happened, a friend offered me his second before offering it to his wife, who is a big fan but not a crazy fan). And as a backup, I do live in NYC and have the advantage that I could invest some time into looking for a miracle if I got shut out. There might be drops; there are always people whose companion gets sick. There are ways.

But I didn’t just expect to get a code and do nothing to plan around the possibility that I might not get one, which seems to be what many people yelling on the Internet did (or didn’t, rather.)

The Actual On Sale

If you are not constantly buying tickets for concerts, you do not have a barometer as to what is a disaster and what is just a tough on sale. I know people think that the Broadway sale was a disaster but the fact is that it was not. It was just a tough sale.

I have done Verified Fan five times now. With the first three, something major went wrong: I didn’t get the code and had to find it on the registration website, the code didn’t work, there was no place on the website to input the code.

This is why I did a practice run for Verified Fan for the latest batch of Hamilton tickets that were put on sale for the NYC production, because I felt like this would be a VF sale that Ticketmaster would not want to fuck up. (I would have liked to see the show again but that $250 was needed for my Springsteen ticket budget.)

The behavior of the website during the Hamilton Verified Fan was equal to the behavior of the website during the Springsteen sale. Even with that practice, during the Bruce on sale I panicked and ended up buying what was supposed to be a backup pull on my phone and now have to sell tickets to another concert because I picked a random date and forgot I already had a show that night. And I buy tickets all the time to shows of all different sizes at all different venues with varying levels of urgency.

If you weren’t successful buying tickets, ask yourself:  how often you do this? Ask yourself, were you absolutely ready for the sale? Did you have the code already copied into notepad? Did you have your phone on Do Not Disturb so your mom didn’t text you in the middle of the sale? Did you run a speed test on your internet connection to make sure you had the amount of bandwidth that you pay for? Did you reboot your router the night before? I don’t want to be “Maybe y’all don’t know how to buy tickets” but based on a lot of the complaints I saw online, I think some people do not know how to buy tickets for a high pressure event and were woefully unprepared. People complained that they couldn’t afford the tickets they were offered but how many people threw them back and tried again? (Because that worked.)

“Verified Fan is Bullshit and didn’t work!!!111”

This statement is just plain wrong. Right now, on Stub Hub, there are on average only 2% of the house available on a per-night basis. That doesn’t account for what already sold on StubHub, but the ratio is consistent enough across the entire run that it can’t be some kind of coincidence. There were roughly 77k tickets available for the entire run (without accounting for VIP or lottery).

This is a very good ratio. It is not suddenly mathematically invalid because you couldn’t afford what was offered or you didn’t win the initial lottery selection to be able to purchase. (I’ll get to the price point later.)

The fact that you did not get a code to buy tickets does not mean that this was a disaster. It is exactly the same as not getting tickets during an onsale. You just got eliminated before the ticket purchasing part of the process. This is what we are not used to. But being unaccustomed to a new process does not mean the process did not work.

But why couldn’t they just send everyone codes???111

Because they did not have enough inventory and all it would have done is created a situation. One of the critical things Verified Fan accomplishes is creating a firewall-type effect that prevents the bots from flooding the servers so that they can buy all the tickets in the first 10 minutes. This is the kind of thing that happened when U2 played Madison Square Garden in 2015. Those shows were genuine on-sale disasters because no one could get through, period.

(And please do not hold up U2 as a thing that Bruce should do [setting aside his vocal dislike of fan clubs] because for the most recent tour if you weren’t a fan club member, Ticketmaster was upselling fan club memberships on the sale page for each show--”Do you want to buy tickets ahead of everyone! Just join the fan club right now!” And it is too late for Bruce to take on the Ten Club model.)

What Ticketmaster undoubtedly did was hand out codes in the quantity that matched the amount of tickets that were available. When there were still tickets left (probably because people rejected the price or the location, or only bought one ticket) they then released additional codes to standbys.

The fact that you could still pull tickets in a 975-capacity theater one hour into the on sale means that Verified Fan worked.

A limited inventory of 77,025 tickets in total (and that’s without deducting for VIP or lottery) doesn’t even come close to covering the Springsteen fanbase in the Tri-state area, let alone extended areas (Boston/Philly), the rest of the US, and definitely was never going to include Europe. (Also, Europeans, if you haven’t stopped to consider that this might be coming over to you, you are not thinking clearly, given that Bruce makes exponentially more money in Europe than he does in the US.)

There was no way on God’s green earth that everyone in the core fan base was going to get tickets! A lot of people were going to get shut out. There was simply insufficient stock. Period.

Pricing

I grew up on musical theater. I was a drama club kid. But I also remember the point at which I realized that I had to choose between going to the theater and going to concerts because the theater was insanely expensive, and the work to get the cheap tickets required more time than I was willing to devote to the pursuit.

Theater tickets for productions that are in-demand are not cheap; small show runs are not cheap. The Walter Kerr holds 975. (The Richard Rogers, where Hamilton is playing, holds 1300.)

Given that $75 balcony tickets are selling -- and they are selling --- on StubHub for $1000 a seat, Jon Landau and Bruce and whoever helped them price this run were 100% on target. In fact, to be perfectly honest, looking at the secondary market action, they probably underpriced the seats.

I am not thrilled with an $850 ticket price point. I am not thrilled with a $400 price point. But there is zero doubt that Bruce Springsteen can command that level of ticket price, and I would rather see him pocket the cash than a ticket broker. Don’t throw “Well so much for his image as the advocate of the working man” at me. If that was true he would’ve had $25 seats in the upper level for years instead of pricing every seat the same. I can argue this point until the cows come home. There are so many things that could have been done over the years to make the shows more affordable to a wider range of people, but no one cared about that until they suddenly couldn’t afford a ticket. 

The argument “How much money does he need?” is invalid. I don’t like someone telling me how much I should be making, and if you’ve read Born To Run, you will understand...a few things. 

The argument “WELL ONLY HIS RICH FANS WILL GO TO SEE THIS THEN” is farcical coming from people who regularly see multiple shows on a tour. If you can’t afford it, well, you can’t afford it. I know it sucks to not be able to afford something you usually can afford. There is a larger conversation here about economic inequities and the availability of entertainment, but that’s why I know people who will never go see a concert in an arena or a stadium. That conversation, while valid, is not specific to Bruce Springsteen or this engagement.

The plain and simple fact is that Bruce Springsteen has underpriced his seats since the Reunion tour. His peers have been commanding more for decades now. Bruce never went the Irving Azoff/Eagles route where they create a carefully crafted maze of multiple levels of VIP seating designed to maximize profits. Bruce never did Golden Circle the way most legacy artists do these days. For years, they left so much money on the table, while the secondary market cleaned up. They tried to battle the scalpers with the jailbait seats and then by going GA floor. The price crept up on the last tour, but so has gas / insurance / salaries / production and the like. And, again, it was still drastically underpriced.

Have you bought tickets to the Rolling Stones? To Paul McCartney? The Who? Madonna? And these are people playing stadiums and arenas, not 975 seat theaters. Those are not cheap tickets. (Please do not start with ‘They cannot hold a candle to Bruce Springsteen!!!111” because that is just such a basic argument.)

I know these prices seem crazy compared to what we are used to paying, but they are not crazy for what this is. Yes, only Hamilton is this crazy, but this is better than Hamilton (with apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda).

I need to point out: I was flat broke during the Seeger Sessions tour. I saw one show as a result. That was what I could afford to do. I was also in a precarious financial position when the GOTJ shows were announced and only saw two shows (and only saw that second because someone offered to drive me). It sucks to not be able to afford things you used to be able to afford. I offer this because of all the dudes sliding into my TL yammering about rich people.

Things That Could Have Been Done Better

Communication: This is not anywhere near Ticketmaster’s first Verified Fan sale and they could have done a much much better job in communicating clearly about the process. They didn’t tell you what to do if you were verified but didn’t get a code, for example, until people started to complain on Twitter. They could have been more precise in telling people when the code would arrive--e.g. “You should have the code when you wake up on Wednesday and if you don’t, contact us at this address.”

The language in the emails for people on Standby was vague and ambiguous, and created a great deal of uncertainty. I’m not sure that they needed to say “we were unable to verify you” because I’m not sure that actually happened. I think the standby people just didn’t get randomly selected and saying “Sorry, you weren’t chosen as part of our random selection process but you are on standby and if more tickets open up you will be notified” would have been clearer and more accurate and stopped the childish tantrums from grown ass adults about “how dare you say I’m not a real fan.”

Second Run of Shows: It is a very very common practice to hold back dates to see what demand is, and also to thwart resellers, so the whining that all the dates weren’t announced at once is just that, whining. This is an area, however, where Ticketmaster just made a huge mess of things. They should have put the tickets on sale right away and opened it up to everyone who had already registered and didn’t get tickets. Holding it off by a week just gave the scalpers time to regroup.

They also did not make it clear if you needed to register again -- I saw one FAQ saying you didn’t, and another saying you did -- and while it was not exactly fair that it was an open playing field to everyone again, once they delayed it by a week they had to let everyone in. But I’m still not clear about what actually happened here and who was eligible for the second run.

This part of it was messy, but I don’t know of a lot of people who got selected for the first batch who made the cut for the second batch, and I do know many people who were on standby for #1 who got picked for #2.

For this I’m willing to declare the communication botched but the sales went okay, especially since the scalpers were bitching they couldn’t get tickets, and if you look on StubHub, there are less tickets available for the second batch than the first one, so that seems to back that up.

Codes For The First Sale Weren’t Linked To Accounts: One of the keys to the Verified Fan system is that the code you receive is both linked to the URL that you are sent to (which I suspect points to a batch of servers outside the regular TM infrastructure, but I don’t know that for sure) and to your Ticketmaster account. This way, you can’t just create 300 accounts and hand off codes to whomever. Ticketmaster fixed this for the second sale but it is, apparently, how so many scalpers got tickets to the first run. (This information comes from a scalper who had an open conversation with Chris Phillips of Backstreets on Twitter, and also maps to what I heard from other sale participants.)

Purchase Restrictions: Everyone is screaming about the lack of restrictions on these tickets but you’re not thinking this through.

Thanks to scalpers lobbying the state legislature, paperless tickets are not allowed in New York. Yes, I know there is discussion about changing that law, but right now that is the law on the books, and it doesn’t just change because it’s Bruce Springsteen. (Write letters to your elected representatives if you are a New York State voter.)

The problem when you make an $850 purchase non-transferrable is that it’s a lot of money to ask someone to just throw away when their kid gets sick. There are many unforeseen situations in which someone needs to be able to sell a ticket to someone else. It really, really sucks to eat the price of a ticket because you have a legitimate reason to not make the show and can’t transfer the ticket to someone else.

Names on tickets do not mean anything. Scalpers will buy a pair, sell a single, and escort the buyer in. And, again, you can’t make an $850 ticket non-transferrable.

There are scenarios in which it is reasonable to make tickets will-call only and that you must enter the venue immediately upon picking up the ticket. While you can do that for a small surprise one-off club or theater show, enforcing that for every single night of a multi-week Broadway run is simply not that kind of situation where that requirement will be practical. It puts a unnecessarily high burden on the venue and on the attendees. (C’mon, the FAQ for the shows has to mention that there will be snacks available. Somehow this was not the first question I had.)

Allow resale at face value only: There is precedent for this in the marketplace. The Newport Folk Festival, for example, doesn’t send out passes until right before the event to cut down on the secondary market, but provides a face-value resale system where you in effect sell your tickets to the ticketing company and they resell the pass. I spent $250 to go to Newport, I couldn’t go, I resold my pass for what I paid for it, someone else got to go. This is a thing that JLM could have done. Ticketmaster is not incented to do this because they make money off of reselling. There is a major conflict of interest here. There was weight that could have been thrown around here if someone had thought to do it. (Or, they thought about doing it and didn’t bother.)

No One Deserves A Ticket

If I had not gotten a ticket I would have started hustling. Period. I’m not entitled to a ticket any more than you are, or vice versa. I don’t care how many times you’ve seen Bruce. I don’t care how long you’ve been a fan. There is no purity test. This is a lame argument and also is not going to get you a ticket. In fact the number of times you have seen him should actually disqualify you. Give someone else a shot.

AND DON’T BRING YOUR KIDS TO THIS PERFORMANCE. FFS.

You Always Have The Option To Sit This One Out

This is actually a corollary of #5. Just because your favorite artist is doing a thing doesn’t mean you have to go if you can’t get there / can’t afford it / can’t get time off work / your kids have a thing / your Dad isn’t well / you just got a promotion. I know what it feels like to have to pass up what seems like something amazing, but you can’t go to every show (a thing I’m fond of reminding friends, as well as myself) and you will just make yourself crazy. It is okay to say, I can’t afford it, it’s too much money. It doesn’t make you less of a fan.

Well, What Should I Do?

Start asking everyone you know. Network your Springsteen friends. Network anyone who might have a connection. Put a post on BTX or your Facebook group. Keep apprised of what’s going on so you know if there’s a drop or a lottery type situation (which it looks like there is going to be). Can you get to NYC any weeknight and look for a miracle? Look on the secondary market for something (that’s how I finally got to see Hamilton, fwiw). There will be honest people who can’t go who are reselling for face, but the scalpers watch StubHub for those too.

Beware of fake listings on resale sites. Do not let your drive to get into this show get you ripped off. It can happen to the best of us. During the U2 MSG run in 2015, so many people got hoodwinked by fake floor tickets being sold by dudes on Craigslist. Do not buy on the street. Buy from a site with a guarantee, use a credit card that has some kind of consumer protection as a benefit, and if it seems too good to be true it probably is. StubHub is safer than most because they require a credit card to list and they put a hold on that credit card for the price of the sale, but this is not an endorsement, this is a statement of fact. Caveat emptor.

[NO I AM NOT GOING TO SAY ‘FAITH WILL BE REWARDED’]

[eluu-chan]

All of them :3

dude…..SURE

ive missed out the one’s I’ve answered already

200: My crush’s name is: Dia Kurosawa

199: I was born in: 2003

197: My cellphone company is: Virgin Media

196: My eye color is: kinda a blue/green colour

195: My shoe size is: 4

194: My ring size is: uh idk

193: My height is: 5″2

192: I am allergic to: Nuts

191: My 1st car was: N/A

190: My 1st job was: N/A

188: My bed is: beautiful

187: My pet: is adorable I love her

186: My best friend: I dont like choosing a single best friend tho, like I love all of you…

185: My favorite shampoo is:  Tea Tree Head and Shoulders (Mint)

184: Xbox or ps3: I have an Xbox but I really want a ps3/

183: Piggy banks are: cool, I have like 5

182: In my pockets: uh, sweet wrappers, a tissue, and my tablet pen

181: On my calendar: ‘DO NOT FORGET ANIMATION ASSIGNMENT: APRIL 21ST”

180: Marriage is: cool :0

179: Spongebob can: uh

178: My mom: is gr8

177: The last three songs I bought were? I don’t buy songs cuz I’m poor, but the last 3 songs I downloaded were: Jingo Jungle (Sago of Tanya the Evil OP), Snow Halation, and To Be Free by Tonight Alive

175: How many cousins do you have? 7

174: Do you have any siblings? Ye

173: Are your parents divorced? Nope, but they aren’t married either soo

172: Are you taller than your mom? Almost!

171: Do you play an instrument? Nope

[ I Believe In ]

168: Luck: yes good

167: Fate: uhm idk, pretty sure it wasn’t fate for me to fall in a river

164: Heaven: I’d like to think there’s a place where people can party when they die

163: Hell: Satanism is fun so sure

162: God: idk tbh

161: Horoscopes: Sure :)

158: Gay Marriage: LOVE IS LOVE

157: War: WAR IS BAD

156: Orbs: ???

155: Magic: Pls let magic be real

[ This or That ]

153: Drunk or High: i aM 14

152: Phone or Online: Online

151: Red heads or Black haired: BOTH IS BEAUTIFUL

150: Blondes or Brunettes: BOTH IS BEAUTIFUL

149: Hot or cold: Cold

148: Summer or winter: Winter

147: Autumn or Spring: Autumn

146: Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate

145: Night or Day: Night

144: Oranges or Apples: Oranges!! (But i do prefer apple juice over orange juice)

142: McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds ofc

141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate: Milk chocolate

140: Mac or PC: PC

139: Flip flops or high heels: Flip Flops

138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor: ugly and rich because then i can support loads of good charities and feed my weeb addiction

137: Coke or Pepsi: Coke

136: Hillary or Obama: Obama

135: Burried or cremated: Buried

134: Singing or Dancing: bothe are awesome, but probably singing

133: Coach or Chanel: ???

132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks:???

131: Small town or Big city: Small town

130: Wal-Mart or Target: uh, whats the English equivalent?? Asda??? Lidl???

129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler: uh idk tbh

128: Manicure or Pedicure: uh I’ve never had either so

127: East Coast or West Coast: again i am English so

126: Your Birthday or Christmas: Christmas!! Birthday means i get older and gain more responsibility

124: Disney or Six Flags: Disney

123: Yankees or Red Sox: ??

[ Here’s What I Think About ]

122: War: BAD

121: George Bush: its temping to make a joke but i’ll resist

120: Gay Marriage: YES GOOD LOVE IS LOVE

119: The presidential election: orange man is bad

118: Abortion: ITS UR BODY YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT

117: MySpace: every 90′s kids emo phase

116: Reality TV: hmm, can be good

115: Parents: some parents are shitty, others are good

114: Back stabbers: pls do not do that to me because i will cry

113: Ebay: i use it to get cheap anime merch yes good

112: Facebook: i would destroy facebook for a single crisp

111: Work: RESPONSIBILITY AAAAA

110: My Neighbors: lol idek who they are

109: Gas Prices: from what I know, they’re pretty bad

108: Designer Clothes: if you can afford them, then yes good

107: College: Better than high school

106: Sports: n o p e

105: My family: eh, alright i guess

[ Last time I ]

103: Hugged someone: TWO WEEKS AGO SOMEONE HUG ME

101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile: today!!

100: Cried in front of someone: 13th March

99: Went to a movie theater: oh boi, probably last year sometime

98: Took a vacation: this time last year

97: Swam in a pool: this time last year

96: Changed a diaper: not since my cousins were little

95: Got my nails done: I’ve never had them done

94: Went to a wedding: when i was 8

93: Broke a bone: I’ve never broken a bone

92: Got a peircing: I don’t have any aaa

91: Broke the law: I don’t think I’ve ever broken the law?

90: Texted: hmm a day ago

[ MISC ]

88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is: my bedroom aaa

87: The last movie I saw: original Ghost in the Shell

85: The thing im not looking forward to: i’d rather not say what it is but It’s tomorrow

84: People call me: weeb. mother, elu, eli

83: The most difficult thing to do is: social interaction

82: I have gotten a speeding ticket: nope

81: My zodiac sign is: Capricorn

80: The first person i talked to today was: my buddy Ilona

79: First time you had a crush: when i saw Rize from Tokyo Ghoul

78: The one person who i can’t hide things from: idk, i hide lots of things from everyone tbh

77: Last time someone said something you were thinking: hmm not long ago

75: What are you going to do when you grow up: be cool

74: I have/will get a job: Yea i need money to live

73: Tomorrow: is gonna be bad

72: Today: was great :0

71: Next Summer: ew heatwaves please no

70: Next Weekend: i will sleep for most of it

68: The worst sound in the world: someone screaming in pain

67: The person that makes me cry the most is: uh, my OTP

66: People that make you happy: ALL MY MUTUALS AND FOLLOWERS

65: Last time I cried: heh, like a few days ago when i was discussing some particularly sad headcanons

63: My computer is: kinda good i suppose

62: My School: is shit

61: My Car: i dont have one (yet)

60: I lose all respect for people who: at extremely homophobic, racist, or sexist

59: The movie I cried at was: i cry at everything

58: Your hair color is: a weird light auburn colour

57: TV shows you watch: a bunch of anime, oo and i watch the download festival coverage each year, and if my mum is watching some drama or soap i’ll probably watch for angst ideas

56: Favorite web site: I’m on it right now

54: The worst pain I was ever in was: umm not sure…

53: How do you like your steak cooked: I don’t like steak aaa

52: My room is: my safe place

51: My favorite celebrity is: this is no secret to anyone who knows me irl, it’s the beautiful Ash Costello

50: Where would you like to be: in bed

49: Do you want children: maybe, adopting would be cool

48: Ever been in love: nope

47: Who’s your best friend: ALL MY MUTUALS

46: More guy friends or girl friends: more girl friends

44: One person that you wish you could see right now: hmm idk, i’m pretty antisocial tho so

43: Do you have a 5 year plan: ha no

42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die: nope

41: Have you pre-named your children: no

40: Last person I got mad at: my sister

39: I would like to move to: anywhere not in a large city

38: I wish I was a professional: Tattooist

[ My Favorites ]

36: Vehicle: i want a motorbike aa

35: President: Obama

34: State visited: I’ve never been to america

33: Cellphone provider: okay but who actually has an opinion on this??

32: Athlete: Simone Biles

31: Actor: Daniel Radcliffe

30: Actress: Helana Bonham Carter

29: Singer: ASH COSTELLO

28: Band: BABYMETAL, All Time Low, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance

27: Clothing store: Primark

26: Grocery store: uh idk, Asda i guess

25: TV show: American Horror Story??

24: Movie: the Blair Witch Project

23: Website: I’m on it rn

22: Animal: Chinchillas and Red Pandas

21: Theme park: aa i’m too scared to go on rollercoasters tho so i dont have a fav

20: Holiday: That time we went away for a weeks with literally everyone in my family

19: Sport to watch: Football

18: Sport to play: i guess volleyball is okay

17: Magazine: Kerrang is gud

16: Book: Lord of the Rings

15: Day of the week: saturday

14: Beach: there are like 30 beaches around her how do you expect me to choose

13: Concert attended: AVENGED SEVENFOLD WITH DISTURBED AND IN FLAMES

12: Thing to cook: curry aaa

10: Restaurant: hmm maybe Frankie and Bennies

9: Radio station: Kerrang ofc

8: Yankee candle scent: COTTON

7: Perfume: pure poison

4: Talk show host: Ellen DeGeneres

3: Comedian: hmm not sure tbh

okay I’m actually physically dead now

[ticket2concert-blog]

Disturbed 2019 North American Tour’s New Dates; Starting September to October

Chicago’s most celebrated heavy metal band “Disturbed” is going strong since the start of 2019. Their North American Tour is not the only thing what’s been going on. A few of their sideline endeavors are also worth mentioning. Discount Disturbed Concert Tickets are sale for their on-tour and off-tour concerts. Get them at Ticket2Concert and enjoy a never before experienced fun time.

Disturbed 2019 North American Tour initially had two parts. Part 1, a brief set ran July 21st through August 6th and of course was a big success. Now it’s time for the second part, which starts from September 19th and close October 11th. Disturbed Concert Cheap Tickets are available at Ticket2Concert but for how long? Can’t say. So hurry up now or you’ll miss this exclusive chance. Snatch up some of the cheapest available tickets to your favorite bands’ concert.

Now about that sideline endeavors mentioned earlier, remember the band's May 11, 2019 concert at the Alexandra Palace in London, England? Apparently, there was a clip being filmed at that time which has been released. The video is filmed at 360-degree for their track "Inside The Fire".  The song was released March 25, 2008 and is the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, Indestructible.

May 11th sold-out show also featured some other fantastic songs from their newest album “Evolution,” released October 2018. These rock radio hit tracks include "A Reason To Fight", "Inside The Fire", "No More", "Ten Thousand Fists" and "The Game". All of them are filmed in this 360-Degree video.

To listen to these and many other spellbinding songs from Disturbed, buy Disturbed 2019 Tour Tickets now! And did I mentioned who were the special guests? It’s Pop Evil and In This Moment alternating as special guests in some of the concerts. For venue and dates of the concerts look through the list given below:

Disturbed 2019 North American Tour’s Second Half Dates With Venues:

September 19 – at Hertz Arena, Estero, FL

September 21 – at Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL

September 22 – at Amway Center, Orlando, FL

September 24 – at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC

September 25 – at Infinite Energy Arena, Duluth, GA

September 27 – at Big Sandy Superstore Arena, Huntington, WV

October 1 – at Dow Event Center, Saginaw, MI

October 2 – at Wolstein Center, Cleveland, OH

October 4 – at GIANT Center, Hershey, PA

October 5 – at Mohegan Sun Arena (Casey Plaza), Wilkes-Barre, PA

October 7 – at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, IN

October 9 – at U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, IA

October 11 – at Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, MO

[uterusclub]

As any Native Chicagoean can attest, the winter never fails to destroy our souls – at least temporarily so. But as that weary tail-end concludes, one gradually regains hope, energy, and enthusiasm. These are the trappings of no more woe. 

Our first expedition involved a visit to the Otherworld Theatre Company to see a choose-your-own adventure style production of ‘Quest for Thrones.’ We were beckoned to make several decisions for the Game of Thrones characters which mostly involved death or killing and to no surprise of mine, our crowd was an outwardly, murdery bunch. So we got along just great. The only downside to the show was the mold-induced smell of the lobby area where I quite literally gawked around the room to see if anyone else was just as disturbed as I. They did not appear as such which daunts me even more. Following the very short but delightful show, we made our way home but the night just didn’t feel complete. So we made a stop-off. Well, 2, actually. Sharon had demanded a hot dog the entire day so we stopped at my beloved Susie’s and then headed a few blocks down to my treasured karaoke joint, Sidekicks! It had been quite some time since my last sing so it was well-overdue. Upon arrival, we noted several people already singing which took me by surprise. While Sharon hit the bano, I was met by my long-time waitress friend who’s name I can’t completely remember – Christine – Christina? Christy? Something like that. I’m horrible. In any case, she offered me a mis-remembered test-tube shot (Sex on the Beach) to which I declined (my favorite is the Buttery Nipple) and ordered us a few drinks. I immediately trolled through the song book to figure out my agenda which, let’s be honest, is usually the same couple songs. Due to low attendance, I was announced very quickly. The night continued much the same aside from several interruptions from ‘the mutants at table 9’ who attempted to Facebook us (we DID give them Uterus Club as our contact but perhaps they considered this a joke as nothing ever came of it). We had met our end all be all of interactions with these folks when one of them dedicated a song to me. It was at this point, we slipped out, past the bouncer and I quite literally ran to my car even though Sharon had my keys and fumbled around for horror-movie record time. Surely, we would have been killed. Regardless, wonderful, hilarious night.

Onward. Sharon has been madly obsessed with a man by the name of Max Frost whom she played a few songs of a little while back. She missed a previous concert of his as my schedule wouldn’t allow it but recently discovered he was once again, back in Chicago! Naturally, she grabbed tickets and demanded (or rather, asked super nicely) we go. The last time we had been to Subterranean in Wicker Park was for Allison Weiss which was a blast! I recalled our hanging out on the upstairs area and peering down at the entire performance. Max Frost was equally rewarding in this sense. Unfortunately, getting awesome seats around the threshold of the upstairs area meant getting there early and listening to the opener – a girl we had already pre-researched and were not impressed with. Ironically, she ended up sounding way better live. Further irony kicked in when we discovered there was an ADDITIONAL opener who no one knew! THIS guy? Oh man. This was your stereotypical, dirty hipster trying-to-be-real with the ‘people’ who attempted to be deep and introspective while sitting on stage without shoes on. Absolutely horrendous! It should come as no surprise that we were a tad bit ecstatic when Max Frost FINALLY showed up on stage. Yes, we were ecstatic for approximately five songs and then all fizzled out into exhaustion. Capping the night and our very classy ride home via the most wonderful CTA, we listened to a homeless man reflect on his rejection of a plus-sized lady whom he compared to several, large animals. Always an adventure.

But wait. There’s more. ‘March madness’ couldn’t possibly be complete without a little festive shout-out to the Irish. And we went all out people. Having said that, I believe I’m some ridiculously low percentage Irish but I’ve also BEEN to Ireland so I think I get a free pass on that one. In any case, Sharon suggested we hit up the downtown dying of the river in the morning since neither of us had actually seen it live. Sure, the videos are fun but it couldn’t possibly be the same. So bright and early, we headed downtown to park and walk over to one of them many bridges to catch a peek. I had no goddamn idea shit was going to be that cray! Seriously, it was college town USA and like, early. The only good part of the situation is that everyone was very merry but not obnoxiously so (yet). The bad part of the situation is that the color saturation hadn’t exactly made itself evident enough from our viewpoint and therefore, we saw a little bit of green far off in the distance. Major fail. Our follow-up idea was to hit up Public House for their themed

cake shakes, however, we later realized it was already privatized for some wrist-band drinking event all morning and not open to the public! So we hit up the ‘poor man’s’ Public House ie. JoJo’s Milk Bar. The place was small and unimpressive to say the least. Sharon ordered us a ‘shake’ which was sad. We took a few obligatory sips before headed out. Next stop? Milwaukee! That’s right!

There’s absolutely no musical I love more than Phantom of the Opera. I legit have this shit memorized. On our way up to Milwaukee, I googled us a place to stop and eat nearby before the show. The Internet gods brought us to Ale Aslyum Riverhouse. It’s difficult to explain the complete awe of driving from a crazed downtown Chicago to a completely abandoned downtown Milwaukee. Streets were desolute! We had apparently come to the right place. Upon grabbing a quick lunch and Sharon randomly bumping into an ex-client of hers, we made our way to the Marcus Performing Arts Center. As usual, I had completely forgot what sort of seats I had purchased us but apparently I did well since we ended up in the back row on the end of the aisle. The performance was most enjoyable – although some of the singing was a bit inconsistent and I think we both spent a questionable amount of time wondering what the race of the Phantom was. We stayed long enough to hear by favorite trio part before seamlessly ducking out and venturing over to one last stop before home: Mars Cheese Castle. To say this place is anything other than completely overwhelming would be a lie. We came away with a few bags of curds and not much more due to ambivalence. Next time I’ll do some research.

St. Patrick’s Day! The OFFICIAL! Our festivities for the day mainly included eating and drinking. Oh yes, we also threw in a little Boondock Saints as well and some Pandora Irish playlist to accompany our cooking. Menu included Guinesse drumsticks, spinach puff-pastry shamrocks, mashed cauliflower and corned-beef eggrolls. Don’t forget, topping off our day-drinking of Magners Hard Cider which was doused with a few drops of green food coloring! We completed the meal with alcohol cupcakes purchased the night before at the previously mentioned Mars Cheese Castle. And that’s a wrap!

So guess what? We loved Milwaukee SO much that we decided to visit it AGAIN! But THIS time, we really meant business. First stop? Plato’s Closet. It’s tradition after all. Next stop? A little Milwaukee Burger Company. Ginormous, Deep-fried cheese curd cubes, anyone? Stomach – my apologies but worth it. Where to now? Our most beloved Lost Valley Cider Co. where we met an Irish wolf dog who was HUGE and wonderful! We also got our hands on a peanut butter and jelly cider as well as a Hibiscus cider we enjoyed so much we ordered some to go!

Catching a nice buzz now, we made our way to Swing Park where a bunch of hoodlums roamed and I tried to do fancy moves for photographic integrity. Sharon captured what appears to be a child abduction in progress which is absolutely priceless. Our journey now took us to the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum which, not gonna lie, I didn’t know anything about and frankly, still don’t. But it was pretty and had a cheap Groupon and had a fantastic view! Finalizing our self-guided tour here, we finally headed to our haunted (that’s right), Bed and Breakst: Brumder Mansion.

We were met by innkeeper, Tom who was an absolute joy! Unfortunately, he didn’t give us much intel to go on as far as ghosts were concerned – only to say there were 13 and none sounded menacing (how very disappointing). He also mentioned there being some children that tend to fidget with items left out if you ask them to which Sharon left out a ridiculous amount of things. I’ll save you the suspense – nothing was moved. In any case, we hung out for a little while before heading out for our dinner reservation at the Pasta Tree. This has always been a favorite of mine, however, both service and food was mediocre at best for some reason. We followed up dinner with drinks at a nearby Irish bar by the name of Paddy’s Pub which ended up being one of my favorite parts of our trip! Decor was beautiful and sweet and the employees were homey and gracious.

The pinnacle of this trip was our finalized stop-off at the Oriental Theater to see a viewing of the Room with actor/director/writer, Tommy Wiseau present! The line for this event was literally down the street and around the corner! It took me a second to realize that Tommy was signing autographs and taking pictures BEFORE the actual showing so we jumped ship from our spots in line to meet the man himself who was kind and sweet (and apparently dug my tattoos). After re-joining our original line, we eventually made our way back into the theater and  headed up to the balcony for anti-social viewing. Oh! And I mustn’t forget the spoons. While we had been in line outside, someone was passing out handfuls of plastic spoons which we didn’t take out of confusion – only to research and later discover it was a ‘thing’ that went along with the movie. Our bad. Next time! Show was scheduled to start at 9:30pm. Show started at, I’m going to say 10:45pm after all the delay and opening shenanigans. We were tired as all hell. And made it just about 15 minutes into the movie before calling it a night. Unfortunately, leaving out of the theater, Sharon predicted Tommy might be hanging out in the lobby and of course, lo and behold, there he blew! Goddamnit! So we attempted to casually saunter out only to be met with a very saddened, ‘Where you going? Home?” It actually broke my heart. Poor Tommy. Heading back to the B&B, we both eventually passed out and roused for our adorable breakfast. Parting fairly quickly after our meal, we had a final, triumphant stop off at the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino and endeavored in a little morning Bingo. Again, I’ll save you the suspense – we didn’t win. And I’m sure I demanded vengeance per usual.

Wrapping up the wonderful month of March was our visit to the United Center to see Mumford and Sons! I had purchased tickets for Sharon for her birthday back in February. She had been talking about wanting to see them for as long as I can remember. It was only after I had purchased said tickets that she vocalized her hatred of their latest album. Fortunately, they didn’t play much of it. As a precursor to the show, we stopped

off at Viaggio for some Italian dinner. Twas splendid! We then took a buzzed walk over to the show and awed over the comfort and view of our seats! No one in front of us and at the end of the aisle! Cat Power was the opener who I am familiar with but don’t know much about. I described her as ‘more depressing than Aimee Mann’ which Sharon could barely wrap her head around. Crowd became super anxious as a result but as soon as

Mumford showed up, the energy was electric! I’ve never been the hugest fan of theirs but I will say they put on a damn, fine show! Again, left after a handful of songs but know, I would have stayed til the end. And as we left, drenched in the cold rain whoring our make-up, I knew that this and everything else had all been worth the wait.

Oh Hi, March As any Native Chicagoean can attest, the winter never fails to destroy our souls - at least temporarily so.

[theconservativebrief]

The first 24-hour Krispy Kreme in Ireland opened its doors on September 26, but unfortunately for doughnut-eating Irish night owls, its initial premise proved faulty within just a week. The following Wednesday, Krispy Kreme announced that the all-night shop would now close at 11:30 pm, demoting it to just a regular ol’ doughnut store.

The culprit was the same as it always is: Too many people were lured by a tantalizing idea that the promise-makers couldn’t, for a variety of reasons, fulfill.

In Krispy Kreme’s case, that meant a line of hundreds of honking cars in the wee-est hours of the morning, disturbing neighbors and causing huge traffic jams. But it’s a story that has replayed again and again over the past few years: A limited-edition product, a free event, or a huge sale sounds a little bit too good to be true on the internet and, of course, ends up being exactly that.

I have spent literal years of my life thinking about — and contributing to — this phenomenon. For about a year and a half, my job was to write listings for free and cheap family-friendly events for a New York City kid’s magazine. More specifically, my job was to make these two-sentence descriptions sound as fun and exciting as possible without straight-up lying about what parents and kids would actually find when they got there.

This led to a lot of vague phrases like “hands-on activities!” and “music, performances, and food trucks!” that didn’t totally capture the reality of the only two possible situations. The first is that these “hands-on activities” and “performances” would be extraordinarily dull and not worth leaving the house for. The second is that even if they were free and decidedly non-lame, it still wouldn’t be worth the ridiculously long wait times, brutal crowds, and general feeling of total dehumanization that anything with the word “festival” can bring. (Fun fact: you can slap the word “festival” on literally any event with more than one thing to do!) It wasn’t uncommon for us to receive emails from angry parents complaining about a too-crowded or otherwise disappointing day.

My next job was the opposite: I’d scope out sample sales and report on whether they were worth waiting in the multi-block lines. Almost always, my personal answer was, “Uh, no???” but this kind of lazy reporting was, unfortunately, frowned upon. So instead, as fashion writers are wont to do, I described many pieces of clothing as “worth” buying when in fact I had no intention of doing so myself.

i come home to ireland for the first time in months and the whole country is at a standstill over a krispy kreme

— The Chronic Project (@TheNapKween) October 3, 2018

Both experiences have instilled in me a deep skepticism about any kind of buzzy event or sale, to the point where I have a deep mistrust of anything with the words “food festival” or “sale” in it. But I think more people should have that, too.

Because over the past few years, there’ve been tons of examples of overhyped and ultimately disappointing events, and almost always, social media is to blame. It isn’t just that the internet makes it easy for us to stumble upon fun-sounding experiences and then share them with our friends — it’s that there’s now a social media ecosystem that makes real money off hyperbolizing what you’ll find when you go to them. Essentially, whole brands and publishers are built on causing you FOMO.

When Build-a-Bear Workshop held its “Pay Your Age Day” sale on July 12, thousands of shoppers across the US, Canada, and the UK lined up outside stores hours before opening, hoping for a chance to stuff and buy an animal for only the cost of their child’s age.

Build-a-Bear, however, was woefully unprepared. Most stores cut off lines by mid-morning, though some shoppers claimed that even if they arrived early enough, the barrage of crowds forced them to wait hours. Others said that despite their early arrivals, they were turned away and told to come back later, only to find that the store had already closed.

The fiasco may not have happened had Build-a-Bear been able to gauge interest far enough in advance — it had announced the sale just three days before it went down, and the event was quickly covered by national news outlets.

In a similar case, McDonald’s attempted to capitalize on a joke from the popular animated comedy Rick & Morty by rereleasing its Szechuan sauce, but ended up revealing how toxic some corners of the fandom could be. When it turned out that McDonald’s had either barely stocked the sauce or failed to tell some stores the promotion was even happening, thousands of angry fans protested outside stores and wreaked havoc inside them. On social media, others proposed boycotts or filing a class-action lawsuit against McDonald’s, which distributed so few packets of the sauce that, due to supply and demand, one woman was able to trade hers for a car.

As Vox wrote at the time, “McDonald’s made the classic mistake of a corporation that suddenly finds itself engaging with a large fandom: When fans began to interact with its branding, it signed up for the free publicity and easy marketing, but didn’t do the work of understanding just what kind of fandom it had on its hands.”

The peculiarities of the Rick & Morty subculture surely had something to do with the level of vitriol expressed toward McDonald’s. But the blame is also on the way McDonald’s teased and winked at fans in its advertisements: It knew the Szechuan sauce was an item that customers desperately wanted, and it failed to deliver.

And the biggest, most prevailing example of this kind of failure is the food festival. The idea of a free or low-cost never-ending feast, spread out over a maze of stalls with different cuisines, satiating every possible sort of person, and all attendees leaving happy and perhaps even culturally fulfilled, is generally far too enticing to ever reach its Platonic ideal. But because people keep organizing them, other people keep buying tickets.

In September 2014, the organizers behind the massively popular outdoor food market Smorgasburg attempted to arrange a one-time-only night market inside Central Park, to much fanfare. Though the event, which was to include food, drinks, DJs, and dancing, was scheduled to run from 5 to 9 pm, by around 6 o’clock, police had to turn hundreds of people away, which ended up resulting in tons of leftover food.

But it shouldn’t have been a surprise, really. Two years earlier, a similar fiasco occurred when the organizers of Bonnaroo attempted a giant food festival and concert in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. It would be called the Great GoogaMooga and would be free to enter with registry, though attendees could also purchase $250 VIP tickets that promised exclusive viewing, attendance to culinary seminars, cocktail demos, and wine and beer tastings.

A GoogaMooga worker holds a sign as festivalgoers wait in line for food. Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

Though the festival ended up making headlines for its absurdly long wait times, technical payment issues, and the fact that beer and wine reportedly ran out by 3 pm, it wasn’t much better for the VIP customers. A Gothamist piece headlined “$250 VIP GoogaMooga Tickets: You Would’ve Gotten More Full Eating the Money” described some folks waiting “15 minutes for a bite of a mortadella hot dog and another 15 for a single piece of beef with some corn,” and zero vegetarian options to speak of. The VIP section eventually ran out of food entirely, leaving attendees to watch celebrity panelists like David Chang and James Murphy eat delicious food while they couldn’t.

These two are far from the only disappointing food festivals. If recent memory serves, most of them end up being a disaster on some level: There was the “unlimited” cheese festival in London whose cheese selection was in fact very limited, the African food fest with a measly two vendors, the “drunken hellscape” that was BrunchCon, the pizza festival that was such a scam that it ended up being investigated by the attorney general, and, uh, that other one.

Though food festivals that don’t live up to the hype and sales that get out of control are two different beasts, they share some important commonalities. The first is that both of them hinge on brands and organizers promising something they can’t always deliver. Build-a-Bear and McDonald’s may have had the tools and staffing to follow through on their promotions for some customers, but both failed to take into account the rest of the equation, which is that a massive number of people wanted to take advantage of them at the same time.

Very sad slices of pizza from September 2017’s disastrous New York City Pizza Festival. Facebook

The same goes for events — GoogaMooga may have been a lovely experience for all if only fewer people had shown up (but in that case, organizers knew exactly how many people had registered, and had no excuse not to be prepared).

Part of this is obviously due to how social media is able to spread information much, much faster than it ever has in the past. When Build-a-Bear announced its Pay Your Age sale on Facebook, the post was shared by nearly 20,000 people, exposing it to huge swaths of potential customers.

And thanks to Facebook’s events feature, an event that’s labeled “food night market” or “ultimate cheese festival” can travel enormous distances. When users click the “Interested” button on events that are set to public, that event will then show up on their friends’ timelines, so that even if neither party ends up actually attending, everyone involved will still be aware of its existence. Plus, it’s so simple to create a public Facebook event that even if said “food night market” has zero proof of its quality or viability, people are made to assume that it’s legit because it looks exactly the same as the superior ones.

But the other problem the internet poses, besides simply allowing more eyeballs on events, is that there are an increasing number of brands and publications whose businesses depend on getting you excited about going to them. There are the kinds of local magazines and blogs where I’ve spent years writing this kind of content. But in the past few years, there’s also been the ascent of Facebook video creators like Insider, Refinery29’s RSVP series, and BuzzFeed’s BringMe, which traffic in getting users hyped to visit a certain place or attend a specific event.

“This Cheese Festival Could Be Coming to a Place Near You Soon,” reads the title of one video by one of Facebook’s largest publishers, the viral content site LadBible. The video itself is the same kind of mobile-friendly, simple text-on-screen stuff you’ll see on any Facebook feed, and none of the footage is original — mostly it’s close-ups of different kinds of cheese and an aerial view of the festival, all provided by Cheese Fest UK. But it didn’t need to be any more complicated than that: All viewers needed to know was that there was a cheese festival possibly coming to a place near them soon. As of now, the video has 13 million views.

But when the actual Cheese Fest UK landed in Brighton last August, the event devolved into hour-long lines, cheese shortages, and expensive prices, and Cheese Fest was eventually forced to apologize.

Essentially, there’s an entire economy within social media that trades off people’s FOMO. And in order for these videos, posts, or events to go viral, they require organizers and publishers to hyperbolize as much as possible, without any real concern for what customers can actually expect to get for their time and money.

But until social media engagement and virality aren’t important markers of brands’ and publishers’ success, it’s not likely that we’ll see the tale of the overhyped and underwhelming event end anytime soon. The only thing we can do, really, is take our 10 million–view videos about rosé-soaked pool parties with a hearty dose of skepticism. Or just do what I do and avoid them all entirely.

Original Source -> The internet helps cheap, fun events spread faster than ever. It’s also totally ruined them.

via The Conservative Brief