#Far & Dotter

[cosmerelists]

Top 10 Cosmere Fake-Outs: Ranked by How Well they Fooled Me

By "fake-outs," I mean times when the narrative tried to convince me that something had happened or was true (for example: this character is DEAD!) when in fact it was all a lie.

By necessity, THIS POST WILL CONTAIN LOTS OF MAJOR SPOILERS!

Specifically: Major spoilers for Warbreaker, Stormlight Archives, Mistborn Eras 1 and 2, and Yumi & the Nightmare Painter. I won't put character names in the titles of the entries, but if you haven't read all of those listed works, please move on!

#10: A Words of Radiance Death

In Words of Radiance, Jasnah is attacked by assassins while on board a ship with Shallan. Shallan sees Jasnah's lifeless body being stabbed, and then the ship literally goes down in flames. Jasnah has certainly died!

Yeah...I didn't buy it for even one second, to be honest. I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for the reveal that Jasnah had actually survived, because of course she did. (This is not a complaint!)

#9: A Secret Project Death

At the end of Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Yumi dies, and it's a real fake-out. Sanderson goes so far as to have a secret, extra epilogue that isn't in the table of contents where her death is reversed. I wasn't quite as sure while reading that Yumi would survive--at least, not as sure as I was when Jasnah "died." But I was pretty sure. 

#8: A Mistborn Era 1 Death

Specifically: Kelsier. When Kelsier dies at the end of Book 1 (!), I was shocked...and suspicious. Would Sanderson really kill off a character like Kelsier in Book 1??? Well, as it turns out...yes. But also no. Because Kelsier clings to "life" as a Cognitive Shadow and is still off doing things in future books. So I still count this one as a fake-out!

#7: Another Mistborn Era 1 Death

Another character who "dies" in Mistborn Era 1 is Marsh, Kelsier's brother. They find what they think is his completely obliterated body and are like "oh no." Of course, any time there is a completely obliterated body, we as readers will be suspicious: if it's really Marsh, why no face? But I actually wasn't too very suspicious of this one because Marsh felt like a character who could die, narratively speaking. I didn't, like, drop my book out of shock when he turned back up, but I was more surprised than I had been with the others.

#6: Just An Innocent Old Man in Way of Kings

This is referring to Taravangian, who in Way of Kings is presented as a dottering old man who's well-meaning but not too bright. I'm not going to lie, I bought this one hook, line, and sinker. The villain reveal for Taravangian did take me almost completely by surprise! The impact was only lessened insofar as I wasn't that interested in Taravangian pre-reveal, so I didn't feel, like, betrayed or anything.

#5: Nice Guys in Warbreaker

I 100% believed that Denth and Tonk Fah worked for Lemex, were relatively sad about his totally natural death, and were sincerely working for Vivenna afterwards. This is in spite of the fact that the narrative was not at all shy about dropping hints that this was not true. There's the fact that we're told people with tons of breaths are strong & healthy...yet I was like, "Yeah, makes sense that Lemex died of natural causes." We see Vasher position himself against Vivenna and company, and yet I was like, "Vasher probably has his reasons but it's not like Vivenna and company are doing bad things." This one was a shock especially because I liked Denth & Tonk Fah! 

#4: Dalinar and Amaram are BFFs forever

This one runs the risk of being more of a plot twist than a fake-out...but hear me out. We're led to believe that Dalinar has finished investigating Amaram and has decided not to believe Kaladin; he and Amaram are BFFs forever and ever. Then there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment when Dalinar is "out sick" for a week, but I for one thought nothing of that. Then it turns out that Dalinar was in fact laying a trap for Amaram, which Amaram waltzed right into, and Dalinar finally learned the truth. So I think it counts as a fake-out: I was certainly very surprised when Dalinar called Kaladin up "for an apology" and it turned out to be Amaram who needed to apologize. 

#3: Jasnah's Soulcaster

Shallan's whole plot line in Way of Kings is centered around her trying to steal Jasnah's very real and functional Soulcaster by swapping it for Shallan's broken one. Personally, it did not occur to me for even a second that Jasnah's Soulcaster also didn't work and was also a fake, so Shallan simply swapped one fake for another. In part, this was because I did not understand how any of the magic worked on Roshar at this point. But still. It definitely fooled me good.

#2: A Mistborn Era 2 Death

I will admit, it never even entered into the realm of possibility for me that Wax's old wife, Lessie, wasn't dead. We watched her die in the flashback. She was buried. She felt like just one of those fridged women and I had not even a shred of doubt that her death actually happened. I was so sure that when Bleeder literally reverted into Lessie's form and voice, I just assumed she had eaten Lessie's bones. This one really, REALLY shocked me.

#1: Mistborn Era 1: Follow the Ancient Text

But even so, I think the fake-out that most shocked me was the one at the end of Well of Ascension. Vin knew, per the very accurate ancient writings left behind by Kwaan, that she had to resist the power offered by the Well and give it up--even if that meant letting someone she loved die. This felt like such a classic climax and source of tension, that I was just waiting with baited breath hoping that Vin would give up the power. And she did. And it was a mistake. Because it turns out that if you copy down Kwaan's words--which were inscribed in metal so that they could not be altered--on to paper, then Ruin's gonna alter them and you can't trust the ancient prophecy after all. In following the "prophecy" at great personal cost, Vin was just doing what Ruin wanted anyway.

I'm still not over this one. 

[whats-that-teacup]

Hey! I’ve been trying to identify this tea set that my mom got at an antique mall. I’ve been combing the internet but I haven’t come up with anything yet. I was hoping you might have better luck :)

Thanks!

-Duck

WOW this is a gorgeous service!! Right off the bat I was thinking Limoges, and it turns out that isn't too far off!

I am getting some conflicting information on the studio itself, but overall I believe this was produced by the company Bawo & Dotter. Some databases online are connecting this backstamp to their studio in Austria, some are connecting it to their New York studio that imported and painted Limoges pieces. Regardless, this service would be around 90 to 100 years old, so long as the backstamp is authentic!

Unfortunately I don't think the company would have named and documented all of their patterns, especially not from the Limoges studio. They've got a Replacements page, but I didn't find this set in it, and Replacements is far from the end-all-be-all of everything a company ever produced. Still a beautiful service though and very reflective of popular styles coming out of Europe at the time!

[bnuunydoll]

I Draw A Lot More Than I Write

In fact, it's been around 8 months or so since I began my so-called "art grind" and began practicing frequently. That ... didn't exactly stop me from feeling like I should be a lot "better" than I am now, so I wanted to make a post that can explore how far I've come!!

It All Started Here...

I've been calling this lil dood Dotter, and he was supposed to be my own fakemon to go with some romhack ideas. At the time I had dabbled with art a bit before, but I always found it discouraging. Every piece would take more days and executive function spoons than I could typically carry at once. I spent most of my time constantly redoing the same lines in a desperate attempt to make everything look "clean" aaand overall the process was miserable ಠ⁠﹏⁠ಠ

However!!

My gay ass has a sapphic appreciation of women that I desperately wanted to express. And since I had... dabbled in art before, it felt like a potential avenue to that I could take my other wise meandering life in. 乁⁠|⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠〰⁠ ⁠･⁠ ⁠|⁠ㄏ

So I Started Studying. Watching tutorials, doing daily practices, taking notes, drawing whenever I had time, and miraculously I've actually kept up with it for 8 months or so now. ⋋⁠✿⁠ ⁠⁰⁠ ⁠o⁠ ⁠⁰⁠ ⁠✿⁠⋌

So Here's Dotter Again!

I wanted to revisit him mooostly because I've been feeling so down on myself about my progress recently, but seeing them side by side really helps me see how much I've improved in various ways (⁠づ⁠｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡⁠)⁠づ

Such as...

Time!

Previously any artwork I made would take several weeks, since I'd have to find the spoons to draw, and then actually draw... which was hard and time consuming due to my perfectionism and inexperience. The most recent art of Dotter took like, a few days? Which is a huge improvement.

Like, Conceptualizing Stuff!!

For a long time (and still now tbh) I struggled to draw anything that wasn't just mimicking a screenshot or something. A lot of my first attempts at art was just trying to draw something and change minor details. While I still do that for practice and warm-ups now, I'm a lot more comfortable with taking a variety of different references and combining them for something new.

The Actual Drawing Thing!!!

Like I brought up before, a lot of time was spent constantly going Ctrl+Z

Ctrl+Z

Ctrl+Z

etc....

desperately trying to find lines that didn't look awful. Now I feel a lot more comfortable not only with getting lines I enjoy, but also feeling more confident in my work and not needing it to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. Additionally I've learned to make my lineart look nicer in general with stuff like differing line weights, colors, and other small details!

If nothing else, I am proud of how far I've come mentally with my own art.

Rendering, and Also Light And Shadows!!!!

Before I really struggled to understand how coloring and adding shadows to stuff worked, it was a big reason I was scared to draw anything that I could reference 1:1. But after studying volumes and consulting a lot of tutorials and honestly just like.... looking at stuff irl, I have a much better grasp and can try rendering things based on how I thiiiiink it should work. Which is... a huge improvement over not having a single clue about any of it.

And Finally, the Mindset!!!!!

I struggled a lot with actually getting to a point where I thought it was worth putting in the effort to draw at all. I would work an awful job just to go back to my shitty apartment, try to make something, then get discouraged bc it didn't look like any of the beautiful pieces I saw on Twitter (Presently X) .com. And it's hard, really hard, to feel like there's a point in trying when so many people are just better.

AIronically though, the thing that made me really get into it was the rise of AI art and I guess the like, devaluation of the human spirit or something? Like... I think there's something really magical about just doing your best and showing the world what that is.

The Character Art from Guilty Gear X comes to mind a lot and it's something I treasure. It looks good, but it also doesn't look nearly as refined as later entries and I adore that! The CS has charm and spirit if not polish

AI art produces art that looks very generically "nice," but it's also really lame. I spend A LOT of time watching "bad" movies and "mid" video games and there's something human about those sorts of works that AI art can't ever really copy. Things like an artist struggling to draw ankles despite the rest of their work looking fine, orr a film that just can't manage to get a single steady shot. It's all uniquely charming, and those little quirks made me feel a newfound respect for the struggle and quirkiness of my new art starting out.

Another extension of that human element is that I had to recognize that my skill or ability to draw or do anything doesn't correlate to my worth as a person. It's really hard to to believe after a decade of YouTube slop complaining about "bad" video games and art, but it's true!!! Having a healthy social life and people that care and love me probably means a lot more than whether or not I can draw good.

It's definitely a struggle still not to get discouraged, but I always try to remind myself that a lot of people have been making art since they were children. If I can improve so much in 8 months, I think that's reason to be excited to see how much further I can improve! (⁠つ⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)⁠つ

[cast-you-dxwn]

☕ dotter tea!

The mug is plain, black, unadorned save for the fact that the handle has been broken off some way or another. As a result there’s no real comfortable way to hold it, and you have to really know your temperature bases, as you’ll likely scald your palm against the ceramic, unless you are utterly familiar with your brew.

The liquid inside does not altogether look appetizing. It’s loose-leaf, a deep and vibrant green before brewing, that turns the water a shade not far distant from what you would imagine you would see staring into a steaming, algae-choked bog, an effect not at all helped by the bits of dreg floating to the surface and sinking back down.

You take a sip, and shudder. It’s bitter, astringent, laden down with tannins and a caffeine content you would only think to find in coffee. Thats what brings you in for a second sip, though. That little perk up, your curiosity of what lay beneath the absolute sock in the mouth that was your first taste.

Your attentiveness and tenacity are well rewarded as you peel back the initial layer, letting the drink linger. It smells almost floral, herbaceous, a medley of savory and spice that you only notice on your tongue a few sips later, mixing with that bitter bite and hit of caffeine and leaving you picking out names of notes even though you’re far from a sommolier.

You don’t really notice going back for your second cup, or that you start ordering it when you stop for your morning hot drink. You don’t notice that it’s become your favorite at all until one of your friends asks in curiosity if they can try it.

They cough, and grimace, and ask you ‘how you can drink this shit’, and for some reason you find yourself getting defensive. ‘It’s an acquired taste’ you say, ‘You just get used to it’, you say, and they wrinkle their nose at you. You could add cream, or lemon, or honey, maybe then it would be bearable.

But the thought of that annoys you. Almost makes you angry, as silly as that is. The tea isn’t for everyone, perhaps not even for most, but it is for you. To cut its natural state of being, adulterate it to be more palatable to someone with no appreciation of what it is at its core? Unconscionable.

[ihni]

13 books meme

Was tagged by @missroserose (thanks!) and BOY am I bad at reading books these days, so this kinda made me feel bad. (i'm not counting fanfics in this, even though I have several of those printed in book form)

1) The Last book I read:

"Sovande jättar", "Gudarna vaknar" and "Bara människa" (it's a triology) by Silvain Neuvel. (in English: "Sleeping Giants", Waking Gods" and "Only Human")

2) A book I recommend:

"The flat share" by Beth O'Leary for some light reading and feelgood feels. It's so cute!

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

"The Martian" by Andy Weir. I literally got late back to work from my lunch break because I Had To Finish It.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

I mean, lots of them. If I have a favorite, I will return to it like I would an old friend. To mention a few, "Grottbjörnens folk" by Jean M. Auel (English: "Clan of the cave bear") and the follow-up, "Hästarnas dal" (English: "Valley of the horses", I think) because I'm a sucker for someone just ... surviving and thriving. "Dimestore magic" and "Bitten" by Kelley Armstrong. Trilogin om Frihetskrigen (The Freedom War Triology?) by Niklas Krog. "Vingmästarens dotter" by Bertil Mårtensson. And of couse "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

5) A book on my TBR:

"Runaway Max" by Brenna Yovanoff. One of these days, I'll get to it ... at least the Billy scenes, lol

6) A book I’ve put down:

"Call Me by Your Name" by André Aciman. I didn't actually put it down because I was determined to finish it, but it was a struggle. I'm sure it is very good, but for someone who isn't into a) romance or b) sex, there just wasn't that much else for me to latch onto in that book. Not much ... plot.

7) A book on my wish list:

Gregory Crewdson, "Eveningside 2012-2022", but I've been hesitant to buy it so far because I can't rationalize spending that much on a book. But listen, he is a fantastic photographer and I've loved his work ever since I first saw a documentary about him on TV, ages ago.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

"Skattsökarna" by E. Nesbit (in English: "The Story of the Treasure Seekers"). Man I did NOT know what all those currency meant when I was a kid but it seemed FANTASTIC to have that many friends and adventures. <3

9) A book you would give to a friend:

"I'm with stupid" by Gene Weingarten and Gina Barreca. It was a fun and eye-opening book, lol (that is actually due for a re-read soon).

10) A book of Poetry or Lyrics you own:

"Complete poems" by Dorothy Parker. I have read the whole thing and I love her. I love Dorothy's poetry. So witty, so RHYMING.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

"Saxat ur Starlet" by Kristina Öhman. It has me ROLLING laughing. Starlet was a comic that I read a lot when I was a kid, and this book has taken random images from those comics and added commentary, and it is HIL-AR-IOUS.

12) What are you currently reading:

Nothing that ain't fanfics, baby.

13) What are you planning on reading next?

Book-wise? I don't know.

Bonus Round Shelfie?

Huh?

Tagging: @mikajupiterjonesingtimcurryfeet @callieb @dragonflylady77 @cherrydreamer @jaune-chat and whoever wants to do it :)

[whats-another-song-contest]

Guys, gals, and nb pals, behold with great astonishment, as I hereby present:

My Mello Grand Final Top 12 🎈💃🎉

12. Awful Liar - Lisa Ajax Unfortunately this is a song I've heard a thousand times before, and I didn't particularly enjoy it then either. Nowhere near Torn from 2019, which I think is by far her best entry. Still love that song.

11. It's Not Easy to Write a Love Song - Dotter Same as with number 12, heard it before and wasn't a fan. Dotter has had very interesting entries in the past, and by contrast this feels like filler.

10. Dragon - LIAMOO Promising start, builds really nicely into the pre-chorus, but when the break hits and it kills the whole vibe. It just feels hollow. This should have been the demo, and then they could have let it stew a little bit until they figured out what they wanted this song to actually be.

9. Happy that you found me - Danny Saucedo There's nothing wrong with this as such, it just lacks a certain oumph. I have nothing against it, but then I don't have anything for it either. It's here, and I'm fine with that. This, along with Lisa, Dotter, and Smash, feel like entries whose main purpose is to include their artists' starpower in the running. Speaking of which...

10. Heroes Are Calling - Smash Into Pieces I like rock, which is why mello rock disappoints me. I listened to some of the band's other music, and both their entries so far have sounded like actual songs of theirs, only that have been very neatly combed and buttoned up. There's no rock-ish tooth to them. I want to hear the wolf, not the Irish wolfhound.

7. Que sera - Medina Now we're getting somewhere. I'm into happy, gut-punchy music at the moment, so in theory this should fit like a glove. I like it, but again: a bit too tame. It is a very competent song and performance, but the ebbs and flow of it are not creative enough to captivate me.

6. Give My Heart A Break - Cazzi Opeia From hereon out I really like every song. This is just a lot of fun. I find the staccato is a little annoying, but otherwise I have nothing against this. 3 minutes of escaping reality for a child's imagination. Count me in!

5. Light - Annika Wickihalder What. A. Voice! And it blends so masterfully with the arrangement of the song too. This is just a little slice of perfection. The only reason it isn't higher is that it is a little too mello-mainstream ala the bottom of this ranking, but this is mello done well enough to warrant a 5th place!

4. When I'm gone - Maria Sur The staccato in this is so much more pleasing to my ears than the one in no. 6. I love the drama, I love the build, and I love how confident Maria is performing it on stage. I wouldn't be disappointed if it won (thought I know it won't).

3. Back To My Roots - Jay Smith I said it last week and I'll say it again: I'm an unashamed Smith & Thell fan, and this is right up my street. This feels, for lack of a better expression, like a Song. I love the way the performance makes it feel like the music is done live as well. There is a complete musicality here that I am completely in love with.

2. Unforgettable - Marcus & Martinus Take the drama of no. 4 and turn it up a little more, and you get this. Masterfully executed song, and very stylish performance. This feels like a complete package that knows how to play to the performers' strengths. The only downside is the abrupt ending that promises yet another lift, but that it never delivers on. (And it will be very funny when two Norwegians win mello in the year that esc is hosted in Malmö.)

1. Effortless - Jacqline The other songs are good, but this is my favourite. Not because I think it's necessarily the best in an "objective" sense, but because it speaks particularly to something that I really like. The strong beat, and the way the sound production dances around her pitch perfect vocal (especially at the start of the chorus) really gets me. The cocky attitude, particularly in the entrance and exit, also help elevate (hehe) this entry to another level. It's effortless! I don't expect it to win, but it has my vote none the less.

[kirstenonic05]

hiya!! two questions:

1) what's EPPC? as far as i can tell it's like, a puyopuyo fancommunity? kind of curious LOL

2) can i have a do not the lidelle pls... she is the my dotter .

apologies for the disturbance, and hello! o/

Hello!!! :D

EPPC is the main Puyo English Discord server! It's where a lot of the English Puyo fans are. I'm sure someone can explain it better, I'm just there sometimes :)

And yeah I can do a Lidelle one! Will do it in a sec!

[sunsetsimslife873]

Trots att hon fick i sig mat innan hon blev sjuk så hann hon ta medicin när hon anlände hem.. Utan Sim gud befalning hade hon egen vilja och tog medicin på nytt fast hon var på bättringsvägen.. det blev en överdos och hon avled.. sen han inte göra mer för blev en krasch.. förlorade mitt framsteg i Storytel får börja om så smart att inte spara. Jag tog min älsta Sim Elisabeth från 2014 som också ville till Djungel... Min Sim åkte till djungel och hon blev besatt av en äldre man tyckte snabbt om honom så jag bestämde att hon fann sin far och att hon föddes i Strangerville och hade uppleft fier och överlevde hennes mor gjorde inte det. När hon pratade med den äldre så älskade han wooho så jag tänkte att det var möjligt till one night stand När han reste en gång i tiden.. han viste inte att han hade en dotter.. hon gick in i djungel för att hitta hans hem hon fann hemlig ingång till något. Något finger mindre så sover hon nu i sin sovsäck i djungel. Hon blev anfall av bats jag får se när jag spelar igen om hon fick sjukdom av dom eller om hon klarar sig .. det vet jag när det gått ca 3 h i spelet 😅 hinnt of life and death pack? Ska köpa först på fredag. Jag fastnar på ca 13 h jobb . Hur går det för er Storytel? .. ❤

[douchebagbrainwaves]

BEATING THE RESOURCEFUL

To get into a good college, from which one can't be fired is worth money; exchanging the two is one of the defining qualities of an asshole. Depends what you mean by exist. And what do they have to say everything you think, it may be heretical or whatever modern equivalent, but might even exacerbate them. But maybe the older generation would laugh at me for saying that 2 2 is 5, or that pro-Israel groups are compiling dossiers on those who speak out against Israeli human rights abuses, or about people being sued for violating the DMCA, part of me wants to say, All right, you bastards, bring it on. Indeed, the really interesting question is not what will happen to movies. If we could look into the past. Beyond the moderately useful generalization that human nature doesn't change much, the unfortunate fact is that change is hard to bear. Let me see and decide for myself. To the extent that winning is a matter of degree. East Coast universities are not far behind, and British universities only a little behind them. But seeing what startups are really like will at least initially experience the other side of this phenomenon, where the center of gravity had shifted by then that one found people confident enough to treat Aristotle's work as a catalog of mistakes. The other reason networks like live shows is that they're cheaper to produce.

Now that so many judge themselves by it. The problem is, there are so many things you can't say. For him, I now realize, this was supposed to work one's way up the corporate ladder. I had some more honest motives as well. Letting just 10,000 startup founders into the country each year could have a visible effect on the economy that it would be to start new silicon valleys. It seems like it should be straightforward. Or would super-angel has some of the most common emails we get is from people asking if we can help them set up a local clone of Y Combinator. I'll be rich.

An easy job from which one can't be fired is worth money; exchanging the two is one of the reasons, though they may constrain you a bit, because they pick later, when there's more performance to measure. Works like the Metaphysics. And the business of selling information to consumers has always been a fussy place, a town of i dotters and t crossers, where you're liable to get both your grammar and your ideas corrected in the same position as someone buying technology for large organizations don't care if they pay a fortune for mediocre software. Computers are a familiar example. He brought up something called Revenue Loop, which Viaweb had been working on when they bought us. Whatever we think that will later seem ridiculous, I want to do this. I managed to write 'The Crucible,Arthur Miller wrote, but looking back I have often wished I'd had the temperament to do an absurd comedy, which is the one based on the founders. And they make a lot of people who could have made it easier for Twitter to spread. People will watch what they want. Is seed funding not merely national, but international? If all you need to raise money.

When I said at the beginning that if you own the channel, there's a lot they can do things that super-angels would quibble about valuations. For example, many suspect that venture capital firms are biased against female founders. When you find something you can't say, what do you do with it? Maybe that will help, if you take the trouble to write them to read like articles. It took me a while to grasp this, but reacted simply by not studying philosophy, rather than becoming philosophy professors. So I bet it would help a lot of things for the better. And why did one want to do it efficiently. Likewise its reincarnation as political correctness. A round they want a lot. This pattern suggests that attitudes at Stanford and Berkeley are not an anomaly, but a famous speaker.

Anything so admired and so difficult to read must have something in it, but they haven't followed it to its conclusion. Users prefer it not just because we make people move for Y Combinator, when an idea is described as good. So he proposes there are two kinds of theoretical knowledge: some that's useful in practical matters and some that isn't. So if you're going to make something people want. If a self-consciously cool people who want to meet him. But the truth is, no one knows yet, not even the VCs and super-angels who invest in them. So don't include your housemate in your startup because he'd feel left out otherwise. Plus they were always so relieved. In the car world, there has simultaneously been a huge increase in the pool of startup founders. Were you nodding in agreement, thinking stupid investors a few paragraphs ago when I was growing up. All the super-angels who invest in angel rounds can blow up the valuations for angels and super-angels are ruling out taking VC money you hire a sales force to do that would just leave and do it somewhere else. Scientists go looking for trouble.

But there is a trick for not dying en route. In the times when they weren't, and it's unclear whether anyone could be. The investors who invested when you had no money were taking more risk, and can identify them as fashions. In 18 months, they got press hits in over 60 different publications. Audiences like to be swept off their feet by a vigorous stream of words. The Economist costs $7 for 86 pages, or 8. Moral fashions don't seem to be effectively infinite, at least some super-angels and VCs has become hopelessly blurred. Unfortunately, though public acquirers are structurally identical to pooled-risk company management companies got together and agreed to allow their clients to exchange shares in all their pools.

Everyone encourages you to grow up rich or even upper middle class to get rich is to start startups than could before. Wearing suits, we're told, will make us 3. What makes good food? And the old system meant people had to deal with than VCs. If we assume 4 people per startup, which is what the situation deserved. It depends on investors, because until you're profitable that's who you have to tease apart the components. Whatever the outcome, the conflict between VCs and super-angels, and they bounced back.

[thecannabisfans]

Maryland Dispensary Fined $26,000 for Improperly Handling Cannabis

Far & Dotter, a Maryland-based dispensary operated by Curio Wellness, has been fined $26,000 for mishandling cannabis that ended up in a dumpster.

A consent order from the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA), disclosed by The Baltimore Banner, revealed that 64 units of cannabis, weighing 224 grams, were discarded outside Curio Wellness’ Far & Dotter dispensary in Timonium, Maryland, in July 2023. Although the order confirms the cannabis was initially delivered in sealed jars labeled as Amnesia OG flower, it doesn’t specify the reason for its disposal. - Reed More

[popblank]

Melodifestivalen – my pre-final ranking for 2024, which leans heavily on previous live performances:

Cazzi Opeia, "Give My Heart A Break"

Dotter, "It's Not Easy To Write A Love Song"

Jacqline, "Effortless"

Lisa Ajax, "Awful Liar"

Annika Wickihalder, "Light"

Marcus & Martinus, "Unforgettable"

Liamoo, "Dragon"

Maria Sur, "Love Me When I'm Gone"

Jay Smith, "Back to My Roots"

Medina, "Que sera"

Danny Saucedo, "Happy That You Found Me"

Smash Into Pieces, "Heroes Are Calling"

Thoughts below:

Cazzi Opeia, "Give My Heart a Break" Of all of the competitors, she seemed the most comfortable with her song and performance. I like her style of quirky upbeat pop.

Dotter, "It's Not Easy To Write A Love Song" I like Dotter's song more than I initially thought, but it took a few listens to get there. So far Dotter's Melfest songs have had some clear central idea that isn't just "love love peace peace" and have not relied on lyrical clichés. Her performance was pretty good all things considered but hopefully she's healthy for the final.

Jacqline, "Effortless" Cool bass line; very good vocal; pretty good dancing. Just needs a slight bump in energy in the 2nd half of the song. In her initial performance there is a very slight mistake toward the end when I think she comes in a measure early, which may have rattled her a bit.

Annika Wickihalder, "Light" Rewatched this and she is really selling the song as much as she can. My favorite detail is that she is taking full advantage of her dress's hanging sleeves and swings her arms around at every opportunity. Her winner's reprise was highly enjoyable because of her delight and shock, especially when she paused singing mid-song for a slightly hysterical laugh.

Lisa Ajax, "Awful Liar" Song is very direct, a familiar theme, a couple of clunky lines. Staging is pretty static, just some large "stones" on the stage with the moon as a backdrop. Dancers are dynamic and interesting but draw focus from Lisa. All of the individual parts of the staging are a bit haphazard but her performance is what makes it work.

Marcus & Martinus, "Unforgettable" I don't find the song interesting; I thought it might have been better than last year's, but after listening to "Air" again this song sounds very similar but is not better. Interestingly I think "Unforgettable" as a performance would be better with a solo lead singer. Their twin-ness doesn't really bring anything to it and is arguably distracting. Staging is pretty impressive though.

Liamoo, "Dragon" Liamoo as Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, a "fire/higher" rhyme, and lots and lots of pyro. Good vocal performance (but upon hearing the mic feed only version, maybe that's due to the backing singer), though the song has little momentum. Relies strongly on his stage presence and the pyro.

Maria Sur, "When I'm Gone" I am surprised this ended up so low in my ranking (using a spreadsheet with weighted categories) because she looks like she's actually having a good time and is performing with attitude. It is probably because her song this year is pretty standard dance pop as this competition goes. At least it is 1) much better than her song from last year, and 2) very different in style. If I were just ranking based on gut feeling I'd put this at #6.

Jay Smith, "Back to My Roots" He was put in a strange position when he won out over Fröken Snusk, but his performance was good. The song is solid though not a standout for its genre and the staging was pretty basic.

Medina, "Que sera" It's a feel-good party song and they are really likable, but that's about all I am getting from this.

Danny Saucedo, "Happy that You Found Me" My least favorite of his solo Melfest entries. Staging was a tad literal (though not quite as literal as "Back to My Roots") when it was clearly aiming for more.

Smash into Pieces, "Heroes Are Calling" "Heroes are Calling" is kind of disappointing to me. It lacks the energy and dynamism of "Six Feet Under" and feels like it needs something else building to it, but we don't get any of that so I have no emotional investment in it. I think the feeling they were going for was "resolve" and "determination" but it ends up more like "relentless slog."

A confession: the song I have listened to most from this year's competition is "I Won't Shake (La La Gunilla)". So take that for what it's worth.

[eurovision-del]

We’re approaching the final national final weekend, with only two more countries left to pick their Eurovision entries – Portugal and Sweden. I’ll take another look at the Portugal finalists later, but here’s my ranking of the acts in contention to be the host entry:

Smash Into Pieces – Heroes Are Calling

Marcus & Martinus – Unforgettable

Medina – Que sera

Cazzi Opeia – Give My Heart a Break

Annika Wickihalder – Light

Maria Sur – When I’m Gone

Lisa Ajax – Awful Liar

Jacqline – Effortless

Dotter – It’s Not Easy to Write a Love Song

Danny Saucedo – Happy That You Found Me

Jay Smith – Back to My Roots

LIAMOO – Dragon

Honestly, I’m not particularly impressed. I never quite gel with Melfest, the particular type of pop it favours isn’t really my thing, and it takes something really special to cut through and connect with me. With all the other national finals happening, I didn’t watch any of the heats live, but I did catch up with all the competing songs, and actually there was quite a bit that I enjoyed. I’m really sad Clara Klingenström didn’t qualify, Aldrig mer isn’t quite as good as Behöver inte dig idag to my ears, but I still really enjoyed it. I also (perhaps unsurprisingly given my tastes) really enjoyed Circus X – I think it’s a better rock song than Heroes are Calling, and has a far clearer identity too. The creepy circus thing may have been done before, and I wish they’d done something a little more inventive than a straight up IT reference with the red balloon in the opening, but they put their own spin on the concept and I had a great time with it. And the ending was absolutely fantastic - those final few bars where it completely rocks out is one of my favourite moments of the entire national final season this year!

Looking at the actual finalists, Smash Into Pieces are sort of my winners by default. I was very positive about them last year, and Heroes Are Calling is more of the same. It doesn’t hit as hard as Six Feet Under did, but I’m always going to enjoy a heavy guitar riff and a strong beat as long as there’s nothing notably bad in the song, so I have a good time listening to it.

There was also one other entry that I found myself really liking, and that’s Unforgettable. Part of it was down to the staging – Sweden do always deliver there, every single one of these finalists have great stagings and strong semi performances – but I especially liked this one with the walls close them in then expand out as the song progresses, and the general 90s matrix style of it all is great visually, and fits in with the electronic influences in the song, even if it’s not got much to do with anything lyrically. But a big part of it is the song itself, I found it the most memorable of all the finalists. The little rising sequence of notes that makes up the main hook builds tension really well and creates a cooler sound that their brighter voices bounce off really nicely. I especially like the final chorus, the production there sounds almost Daft Punk influenced, and I really enjoy how it keeps the tension ramping up to the very last note.

Because of this, Marcus & Martinus are definitely my pick to win tomorrow night. I’d also be very excited if Smash Into Pieces did by some chance end up representing Sweden, but I don't think it's likely. We know Sweden will put on a great show in Malmö, and no matter what they pick they’ll bring an exciting stage show and strong performance – nothing here feels enough for a second victory in a row to me, but they should have no trouble climbing the scoreboard. Sweden will almost certainly take their performance straight from Melfest to Eurovision with no chances as usual, especially since they’re hosting. The only downside to the production value of their national final being so high is that there’s nowhere for it to go.

[skylar896]

Odious

------------Sunroof----------

↺ ᴿᴱᴾᴱᴬᵀ ‖ ᴾᴬᵁˢᴱ ≫ ᴺᴱˣᵀ ˢᴼᴺᴳ

"Hello my name is Huerta, [Name]. I'm from the United Stwates, I'm 5 years old and I'm dotter [daughter] of a famwes pro hero from my homeland and my other Papa from here is also a pro hero. I'll be in your care and and visa versa. Thank you for listaning to my int- intro-duck-shin." I said reading off the paper I had carefully written before meeting my kindergarten class.

"Wow from the United States, you say, that so far from here. Well, class I hope you enjoy it here and make some new friends here. If you need anything please come and find me." I nodded off and looked around to spot an empty seat.

There was one in the back with no one and that was perfect for me. From what Ash told me sitting by yourself is more of a luxury than sitting with people. When I first arrived I felt very nervous that I wanted to throw up, but Pappy calmed my nerves down with breathing techniques.

Preschool in Japan is very different from home but I never went to preschool since it was too expensive. I had to change shoes before coming into the school which also confused me. Pappy had to answer many questions about preschools here from my homeland. Though I was left somewhat unsatisfied I was happy that I could prevent any digression here before I could do anything that would be disrespectful to them.

Slows I patted my lab listening a bit as I tried to calm down my fast heartbeat. "Okay, children. Craft time is now in section." Announced the Teacher before a flock of kids ran behind me to their cubbies. I was petrified and waited a bit before going back there and grabbing a small white box, blue board, and heading towards my seat. I felt nervous and didn't touch it until someone did.

When craft time was in process, I was bombarded by compliments about my wyvern clay. "U..ummm thank you" was all I could muster before bowing slight and returning to my work. Though a child wouldn't stop talking to me because of how cool my wyvern was. "My name is Midoriya Izuku." He introduced himself to me.

"Huerta, [Name]. But please call me by my first name. I'm still getting used of calling everyone's last name." I insisted to him because it felt weird being called my last name here. We got to chating a bit before craft time was over and by the end of it I was now sitting with him and friends table. In the end it wasn't as bad as I thought, I met his childhood friend Bakugo Katsuki and the other three so I didn't feel that lonely that day.

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

"¡De ninguna manera, vamos!" - No way, come on!

I silently cursed a bit before walking home. It's been 10 years since I was last home with my bio family, almost 11 now. Pappy just texted me that he was going to be late again. Now I was wondering who's meeting him in the mornings these past few months. "Is he secretly meeting up lover... No papa said that he's given up on dating well before he met me... Maaaaybeeee an old friend/acquaintance?"

"Well it can be helped.... Sure I maybe a child, but I can take care of myself.." I could only sigh before hoping the fence again. I stopped my bike and looked around before biking home once more. "Should I call Katsuki, Or maybe should I talk to him in person." The big truck passed by as I waited for the sign to show white. "Maybe I should bike there just to talk to him. It's been a while since I've last visited that bastard hehe."

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏���

"Why the hell are you here?"

"Oh come on, Kacchan! It's not like the first time I've broken into you house."

"THAT THAT WHOLE POINT ASSHOLE!" I gave him a smug face before making myself at home, "Geez shouldn't you talk to you childhood friend much nicer, KitKat.", "Die!"

"You too, Kacchan. Anyways how's your health been doing after the attack. To be honest I was worried for both your's and Zuzu's health." I was getting straight to the point to him. "Shut the hell up. That dumbass–", "Bakugo..", "Tch, that Nerd was only in the way. I was fine dealing with that slug monster."

"But that's the point of help out. You're quirk wasn't compatible to deal with that villains. Izuku was just trying to help out, that's all." I consulted with him, having my hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine okay... Nothing abnormally wrong with me for the past few days of that attack." I could sigh to him and nodded.

"Well since I'm here how we chat a bit more. It only been a few years since we all reconnected and had our own talks." He nodded with idea and we both headed down stairs. He prepared the Macha tea for us both as we chatted away the next 2 hours.

"Thanks for the tea, Kacchan! I owe ya'!" I waved back at him. "Yeah, yeah. Now get out." I huffed and went on my merry way back home to prepare dinner.

"Hey!", "Mhm?" I brake my bike and turned around. It was Kacchan running up to me, "You asshat, here." And he has my phone in hand. "Oh shit! Okay now I owe you double for this. " and I when off my merry way again.

Fun fact - The title 'Sun Roof' was inspired by Nicky Youre, Daze song- 'Sunroof'. It was playing in my car when I wrote it that day...

[evilcrimecase]

MÖRDARE: Christy Sheats

Den 24 juni anlände räddningstjänsten utanför familjen Sheats hem efter att ha fått flera samtal om störningar och skottlossning mot huset. Precis när de parkerade skulle de bevittna Christy Sheats knäböja över sin äldsta dotter, Taylor, och avfyra ett sista skott. Hon vägrade lägga ner sitt vapen vilket ledde till att en officer sköt Christy dödligt.

Precis utanför husets ytterdörr låg Christys yngsta dotter, Madison, död på trottoaren.

Men hur kunde en kärleksfull mor kallsinnigt mörda sina två döttrar på deras fars födelsedag?

Fyra år tidigare, 2012, gick Christys farfar bort, han hade spelat en stor roll i att uppfostra henne så det var som om hon hade förlorat sin far. Hon skulle aldrig riktigt kunna läka från förlusten och Christys mentala tillstånd började snabbt försämras.

Under de följande fyra åren skulle hon behandlas på tre privata psykiatriska anläggningar, varje gång efter separata självmordsförsök. Christy skulle också få flera mediciner föreskrivna för att försöka behandla depression och ångest.

Polisen skulle också kallas till bostaden flera gånger under dessa fyra år. Vissa var för Christys försök, en annan var en verbal tvist mellan Christy och hennes man Jason. En krisinsatsgrupp från sheriffkontoret hade också kallats ut till hushållet av en ospecificerad anledning.

Allt detta skulle leda till att Jason och Christy kämpar med äktenskapliga problem, paret kommer till beslutet att skilsmässa skulle vara det bästa alternativet för dem. Jason hade åtminstone velat skiljas från Christy.

Allt detta staplades upp vilket ledde till händelserna den 24 juni 2016.

Det började när Christy försökte jorda sin 22-åriga dotter, Taylor, och försökte hindra henne från att träffa sin fästman. Paret skulle gifta sig på bara några dagar, till synes med eller utan Christys godkännande. Jason skulle engagera sig för att stödja sin vuxna dotter.

Christy skulle kalla till ett familjemöte direkt efter och ta med sin 17-åriga Madison i konversationen.

Familjen på fyra samlades i vardagsrummet, Jason förväntade sig att Christy skulle berätta för sina döttrar om den förestående skilsmässan. Istället skulle Christy dra en 5-skott .38-kaliber revolver mellan soffkuddarna.

Vapnet hade ärvts från Christys farfar men hon hade inte licens att hantera det, trots att hon hade ansökt om sin licens. Texas Department of Public Safety avslog hennes ansökan, troligen på grund av hennes mentala hälsa, men det är bara ett antagande.

Christy riktade revolvern mot sina döttrar och vände den inte en enda gång mot Jason.

911 samtal fångade ögonblicket fram till skjutningen, Jason kunde höras vädja till Christy. Madison och Taylor skrek av rädsla.

De tre sprang ut ur huset med Christy precis bakom sig.

Madison kollapsade död på gatan nära huset, hennes mamma hade skjutit henne i nacken.

Taylor var lite längre ner på gatan när hon också kollapsade, sköt två gånger.

Jason hade tagit sig till slutet av återvändsgränden och var trygg med en granne.

I ett 911-samtal från en granne beskrev de att Christy återvände in i hemmet för att ladda om innan han gick tillbaka till Taylor. Hon knäböjde över sin döende dotter och sköt en sista gång när räddningspersonalen anländer till platsen.

Poliserna beordrade Christy att släppa sitt vapen men när hon vägrade sköt de och sköt henne ihjäl på gatan.

Taylor fördes till Houston sjukhus men tyvärr dog hon av sina skador, tre separata skott i huvudet och ryggen.

Det teoretiseras att Christy mördade båda Sheats -tjejerna som ett sätt att "straffa" Jason. Detta antogs eftersom hon hade gott om tid att skjuta mot Jason men hon lämnade honom istället bara för att se sina döttrar dö.

[spela-melodier]

How Far I'll Go - Moana

"Moana", eller på svenska "Vaiana", är en film om en flicka som växer upp på en tropisk ö i Polynesien. Hon är dotter till hövdingen och ska växa upp till att ta över den rollen - men själv längtar hon så innerligt efter att få segla ut över det öppna havet.

[sorangstidningen]

Dario Argento och Italiens gula film

Ljudet från baren blir mer och mer avlägset när den blinda mannen leds ut av sin hund genom den tysta gatan. Goblins olycksbådande toner börjar sakta spelas upp under scenen. Torget står avskalat från detaljer förutom två pjäser till byggnader, likt en teaterscen. Något skrämmer hunden. Skuggor flyter över fasaderna och mannen skriker ”who’s there!”. Musiken byts till frenetiskt trummande med klagande rop som från en ritual. Plötsligt hoppar hunden upp och biter sönder mannens hals.

Vi befinner oss under 70-talet. En turbulent tid av osäkerhet, vilket bidrog till en del mörkare teman på den silvriga duken. Det var dessutom skräckens årtionde.

Scenen ovan är en beskrivning av Dario Argentos film Suspiria. Hans kändaste verk från 1977. Personligen är Deep Red (Profundo Russo) en favorit – även en inspiration till Halloween av John Carpenter.

Sanningen bakom Deep Red gömmer sig i väggarna...

Argento själv föddes 1940 och hans pappa var filmproducent. Han var en av författarna bakom spaghettiwesternfilmen Harmonica – En Hämnare av Sergio Leone. 1970 kom regidebuten – Bird with the Crystal Plummage. Och början på hans karriär var i gång som en av italiens största skräckregissörer, inom subgenren giallo.

Giallo betyder gul och härstammar från deckar/skräck kiosklitteraturer med gula omslag. Grunden är ett mordmysterium. Oftast med en mörkare tvist i sitt utförande – mordsvittnet som är instängd mellan två glasväggar i Plummage. Sedan är giallo ofta en genre som inte är rädd att provocera - pedofili och barnmord i Dont Torture a Duckling. Det visuella och konstnärliga är en av nyckelkomponenterna till att bli en minnesvärd giallo. Blood and Black Lace har ett nästan sagolikt vackert hus med glänsande färger under den regniga stormen i filmens öppningsscen.

Men visst är det lustigt att jag presenterar scenen ur Suspiria i ett inlägg om just giallo? Suspiria räknas inte som en giallo för den har riktigt övernaturliga element. I stället tillhör den som första film i en serie han gjorde som kallas Mother of Tears, om tre häxor som påverkar världen i olika sätt. En annan Argento klassiker är Phenomena, en av Jennifer Connollys första filmer. Hon bär övernaturliga förmågor att tala med insikter. Men mördaren är en vanlig, svinig människa med försmak för att använda spjut. Personligen räknar jag den till genren giallo för fokuset är inte det övernaturliga elementet, som fallet är i Suspiria.

Suspiria - en mörk saga

Argento är en av de mest lyckade kreatörer inom just giallo, tillsammans med Mario Bava, hans son Lamberto Bava, Lucio Fulci och Sergio Martino. Det går inte att nämna Dario utan att även nämna hans dotter, som minst sagt haft en beskymmersam relation till sin far. Asia Argento säger i en artikel från ScreenDaily:

“I don’t know. I forgot. It’s too long ago. He stopped being a father when I was nine. Then he just became the director.”

Hon medverkar däremot i Dark Glasses, Dario Argentos senaste film.

Personligen tror jag Argento var lite svår att umgås med.

Det är tydligt att Dario Argento tyvärr tappat sin ikoniska stämpel. Hans rykte på den senare tiden har inte varit det bästa. Fast vad kan man förvänta sig av en 82 åring? Är ni nyfikna på att se honom som skådespelare kan ni se Climax av Gaspar Noe från 2018.

Robin Andersson