#I finished my article on c but it's still super fascinating to me and I want to get the book that inspired me so much

[museenkuss]

nothing sparks my motivation as much as a 50minute rambling session on the phone.

[grimes-claireboucher]

GRIMES | WHO KNEW WORLD-BUILDING WOULD BE SO DIFFICULT?

BY SID FEDDEMA

APRIL 23, 2019

You can hear it, can’t you? The pulsing, panning synth bass, ingenious and instantly memorable. A gossamer coo, almost a sigh. And then a voice in an unusually high register singing 
lyrics full of menace, at odds with a calculated syrupy-sweet, faux-naive intonation: I never walk about after dark / It’s my point of view / If someone could break your neck / Coming up behind you always coming and you’d never have a clue.  

Seven years later, its power remains unmitigated. “Oblivion” turned horror into art, and, while drawn from a personal, particular experience, it spoke to a universal pain, a sense of predation and vulnerability all too familiar for women. Most importantly, it is a defiant act of resistance, a steadfast insistence on Grimes’ ownership of her own experience, and a refusal to be silenced. Pitchfork named it the best song of the decade so far. NPR named it one of the “greatest songs by 21st Century women.” Grimes was suddenly a cultural touchstone, a feminist symbol, a cherished member of the resistance. Everyone was watching.

They still are. Look at the Twitter fusillades, the talmudic readings of even the most flippant utterance, the team-joining. Feuds! With contemporaries, the media, her label. Gossip! A storm of it, following her spacetime-warping appearance with Elon Musk on the Met Gala red-carpet. And to hear Grimes tell it, being caught up in all this has been excruciating. She’s said that 2018 was one of the hardest years she’s endured.

When we speak, Grimes is in flux—emotionally, artistically, career-wise. But that’s nothing new. If I was to describe her with one word, I think it would be '“mercurial.” Or “protean.” She never stands still, never settles. She feels less like one person than like a collection of occasionally-combative creative spirits inhabiting one body. Hence the wide cast of characters in her albums, the fashion experiments, the accretion disk of material spanning mediums and genres. As I was writing this article we got word that she has changed her name—to c [lowercase italic], rather than Claire Boucher, and that the Grimes identity she’s built up over the course of her career could be next to go. For a journalist, she’s a tough subject: not only is she encyclopedic in conversation, but by the time you finish your draft, half of what you’ve written may no longer be true. While this capriciousness is a powerful creative resource, it can also make things difficult. She is a hell of a lot of fun to talk to, though—a whirlwind of ideas, opinions, wisecracks, and puckish self-deprecation.

I was given four tracks from the new album to prepare. But when I bring up the first, the disarmingly raw, strange, and lovely “Shall I Compare Thee,” she laughs. “I hate all these songs now. I might even replace them all. I’m supposed to be finishing the album this month or whatever, but I’ve been making a shit ton of new music instead. Which is a really bad idea.” She sighs, thinks for a moment. “But I’ll probably put out the songs that I said I’ll put out.” I tell her that her fans would surely appreciate seeing what she’s been working on. “Maybe, maybe not,” she replies, grinning. “I think the fans want me to stop making metal, nu-metal. Which I will! I have, I have stopped making metal!” Meanwhile, she’s dropping demos for an augmented reality side project under the moniker “Dark,” scribbling away on a novel, and thinking about a suite of “hymns, like glossolalia vocal music,” but which she “probably won’t release as ‘Grimes,’” as she explains it. She has changed her artistic approach, and is intent on unshackling her creative impulses. “I read a book on speed painting, about how you just lay it down and become satisfied with it. So I’m trying to do a bunch of stuff like that right now. It does feel better, because it just contains more life,” she explains. “Shall I Compare Thee” embodies this speed-painting creative methodology: DIY production, recorded in “like, two hours.” But the other single from the album, “We Appreciate Power,” is the opposite. It’s polished to a shine, conceptual, accompanied by a well-produced video. “‘Power’ is sort of the end of the old music I was making,” she says. “This era of super-produced and perfected sound—it’s sort of a thesis on that, a bookend.” 

She’s eager to explain the concept of the new album. However she feels about the songs at any given moment, she’s clearly excited about the story that they’re telling. “Miss Anthropocene” is a character, essentially an anthropomorphization of the concept of climate change. The name is a witty pun on “misanthropy” and “anthropocene”—the geological era defined by humanity’s irrevocable impacts on the planet. “All the media about climate change is like one big guilt trip. It’s super depressing, like, here are some facts that make you wanna go home and kill yourself. It sucks and it sucks to look at, so people just kind of look away from it,” she says. “I want to change that. In ancient Greek culture you have these gods that represent abstract, terrifying concepts. Like a God of Death. So I wanted to make Miss Anthropocene this idea of, like, the God of Climate Change. She wants the world to end and she wants to bring about the end of humanity, but she’s fun. She’s fucking fun and evil!” Grimes laughs. “Also, climate change is beautiful, even if it’s terrifying. It’s so nice to look at. The sunsets are brighter and more beautiful. Volcanoes, oil rainbows, hurricanes... destruction is gorgeous—people are drawn to it.” 

Miss Anthropocene marks the end of an era for Grimes. When it’s released she’ll be finished with her obligations to her label, and she’s excited about the prospect of working without contractual restrictions. “I’ll never sign with another label. I’ll never have to put out another album... If I didn’t have this whole requirement to release an ‘album,’ I would have just dropped a bunch of music ages ago.” The album format, she says, feels increasingly ill-suited for her shape-shifting, experimental style. “Albums are trash unless you sit down and make a really good album. I’m not really that consistent. I feel like I would work better in like EP-ish formats.” 

It’s not the only departure from musical tradition that she’s considering. Touring, she tells me, has increasingly become a stressful obligation. “I wanna retire from touring. I wanna do a hologram tour. Why do we keep doing them for dead artists instead of living ones who have stage fright?” Does she still get stage fright, this far into her career? “Oh my god, yes. It’s nightmarish. Apocalyptic. Terrifying, horrible. I can’t hear clapping or cheers—I just hear an echo chamber of death. I black out. Dissociation—I can’t tell what’s happening. After a show I’m always thinking, What happened? And people are like ‘It’s ok!’ I know people like the authenticity of live performance, and I do too. But I’m not a good performer. I’m a director who accidentally fell into this position, and now it’s too late to change. So I need to Gorillaz it—I need to find a way to not have to do the Beyoncé thing as much.” 

The sense is that Grimes is finished with facades, done pretending, done jumping through hoops to meet our expectations for what a ‘pop-star’ should be. Coming to terms with all this has been a messy and difficult process, but she’s finally feeling like herself again. She’s optimistic, if wary. And she’s ready to let it all out. Her forthcoming album, to hear her tell it, is Grimes unleashed. “I feel like at times there is an extreme rage that I haven’t been able to lay down,” she says. “A rawness that I have withheld from the public, because people always told me to make it more accessible. I’ve given that up for this, and it’s been freeing.”

She’s confronting her past as well. Miss Anthropocene was written during a period of intense self-reflection, and in the midst of personal tragedy. After losing others to addiction and overdoses, yet another close friend had passed. She hints obliquely at her own struggles with substances. It’s hard for her to talk about, but she has confronted it head-on while making this album, and is ready to be honest with the public. “I had early disturbing experiences with kids coming up to me and admiring things that were self-destructive. I was like, fuck, people think it’s cool to cut yourself or vomit or do crack. That’s not good! But then it became this stifling thing,” she says. “I don’t know. I’ve lived this hard, fucked-up life. I can’t pretend I didn’t. It started feeling like I couldn’t express myself properly, because I was so worried about being a good role model. It scares me to be hyper-honest, but we never see women getting to be that way. There should be someone out there that’s messy and fucked up—for some people this is how it is. It scares me because I don’t want little kids to romanticize certain things that are not cool. But I also don’t want to lie about the reality of my existence. I can’t make super honest or super emotional art if I’m always pretending to be cool and chill all the time.”

Grimes’ fans, who love her rabidly, have expressed worry at times in the last few years. If it seems she’s been self-sabotaging, whether online or in her relationships with collaborators and partners, it’s because she really has struggled. But unlike most of us, every step of her journey has been seized upon by a fascinated public and a cynical press hungry for headlines and clicks. And her reticence to tell us what she was really going through left all the more room for speculation. “Two of my best friends died before I was 18, and I lost like five friends to opiate-related deaths. Really close friends. I had one die when I was on a shoot, and found out while filming the second day. All this stuff, fucked up stuff, is happening. Before I would just not mention any of it. I feel like I’ve been through war when I think that all these people around me are dead. In 2016, my good friend died. They were a friend of 15 years, and I felt nothing. Just nothing. And it was so weird. But, you know, there you go. So you start removing yourself from everybody because you don’t want to face it. Life becomes too shockingly fragile, you know?” 

It hasn’t been easy for Grimes to engage with her past, but talking about it—in her art, in interviews like this one—is helping. “I’ve gotten better. I was really fucked up in 2016 when I wrote this album, but now I’m doing much better. When I was going through the Art Angels cycle, I was having severe PTSD, and everyone was like, ‘Don’t let the public know!’ I know there are people who think I’ve fucked up the last year, and I do need to be more organized and reasonable and thoughtful at times, for sure. But I feel my art is better.” 

Grimes’ favorite part of her job comes before she records a single note. “Dreaming it up feels so easy. The making and releasing can be horrible, but the dreaming is always fun,” she sighs. And that’s why she’s such an interesting figure, right? She’s a prodigious dreamer. We may love the music—I still blast “Oblivion” on an almost monthly basis, revisit the strange and compelling world of Art Angels—but it does sometimes feel almost beside the point. Grimes is building a universe, and she’s shedding the strictures that get in the way of that grand vision—the album format, her label, even her own carefully-crafted identity. “Part of what I’m doing is setting up the world-building. Reverse Harry Potter it. Soundtrack comes first, then the fashion, then everything, everything, everything. Then the book, right before I die,” she says, not really joking. Reaching this point of liberation hasn’t been a smooth process. Grimes is unfailingly honest with herself, her own worst critic. But she feels free, she’s happy with what she’s creating, and her ambitions have only grown. We just need to get out of the way and let her dream. 

[theorangedeath]

Some webcomic recs

Webcomics are as underrated as they are varied. I mostly read printed comics now, but there’s no way I’d have gotten there had I not found webcomics before - believe me, I tried, but this damn hobby is super inaccessible to a beginner, not to mention expensive. Webcomics are like fanfics in that regard - hell, some of them are fan comics - in that there’s something for everyone, all within your reach, but in order to find something you like you have to either 1. Get very, VERY lucky, 2. Be prepared to read a lot of bad stuff in order to get to the good stuff, or 3. Hear about them from people you trust. 

I was a 2 - i would read anything, back in the day - and while i’m not as unconditionally enthusiastic as i was, there are still some gems I wish got the same appreciation as some talents in the industry. I’ll spare you the rest of the article (dm me for comic rants though), let’s get to it! 

note: all the comics are numbered as “1″ because tumblr messed up the google docs formatting 

Comics i still follow as they update because either tumblr starts posting about them right away or they’re on tapas

Check Please! 

https://omgcheckplease.tumblr.com/

I’m probably not the one introducing you to Check Please, as it’s one of the most popular webcomics out there, thank god. The parts of the fandom i’m familiar with are cool and wholesome, just like the work itself. It’s about a southern gay kid, Eric Bittle, who joins the hockey team in his college. It’s impossible not to love every single character there, the sports drama elements are great, and the format is like solidarity put into panels. The Samwell Men’s Hockey team’s motto is “we’ve got each other’s backs”, and there isn’t a single part of the comic that doesn’t 100% incorporate that. 

Heartstopper

https://tapas.io/series/Heartstopper

The 2000s so far have been a rough contest for the title of “sweetest ya romance” but guys, we found it, we can stop now. Nick and Charlie are in highschool, Charlie is gay and out (not by will), Nick plays rugby because apparently that’s what british jocks do. Can i make it any more obvious? It took me a while to fall in love with the artstyle but when i did i fell HARD - the creator is re-drawing some of the older chapters, though, so your experience might be different. The story’s captivating right away, and you want everyone there to be happy from pretty much page 1. The creator also writes ya prose, and some of her books are about other characters from the same school. I love all of them, but Radio Silence is my personal favorite. She also has two novellas about Nick and Charlie themselves, available as e-books. 

Charity Case 

https://tapas.io/series/Charity-Case

I rarely start new webcomics anymore, but boy, this one got me FAST. and that was even before I realized it’s a polyam love story, which i love but is surprisingly rare in webcomics - at least the ones i know. Julien, an irresponsible young musician, resorts to sharing an apartment with two roomates who are a couple. I fell for the unique, gorgeous artstyle first, and by the time i realized i’m also super invested in the story and characters, it’s already become one of my favorites. Plus, Julien’s hair looks so soft! 

The Property of Hate 

http://thepropertyofhate.com/TPoH/

THIS is what comics should be. There’s so much passion here, not just for the story but for the storytelling as well - and the two aren’t as separated as you might think. A young girl is recruited by a TV man to be a hero. The world they enter seems nonsensical and arbitrary at first, but as they travel she discovers its logic, stories and secrets. She will also, as her title suggests, need to save it. There’s so much i love about this comic that i don’t know where to start, so i’ll just say this: it’s absolutely inspiring, in every sense of the word. Also, read the creator’s duck comics, they’ll make you feel things. 

Webcomics i occasionally remember to catch up on, get blown away all over again by how good they are, vow to check them regularly for updates then forget. And repeat 

Wilde Life

https://wildelifecomic.com/

I think this is the first ever webcomic i read that had a plot? I got on the wagon at around chapter 1 or 2 and it’s hard to believe it but it only gets better with time, even though it already starts at 100%. Oscar moves to a new town and immediately makes friends with a ghost and a grumpy teen werewolf. It has both monster-of-the-week type problems and overarching plots, and reading it feels nostalgic and brand new at the same time. The fantasy world has this special feel to it, that makes me miss growing up in the american wilderness even though i, well, didn’t. Plus, the creator is cool as hell. I knit her a hat in high school in exchange for a commission. 

Sfeer Theory

https://sfeertheory.com/

This comic got me through a hard time and i’ll forever be grateful for that. Also, it’s really, really good. This is another case of a comic where you fall in love with the art right away and before long you find yourself caring very much about the characters and the story. You might also find yourself growing out your hair to style it like Luca’s. If you’re me it’ll be a lost cause, so, uh, keep that in mind. Luca works as a technician at the prestigious Uitspan university. A mysterious, powerful man is looking to change that. While the comic’s biggest strength is probably the gorgeous, fascinating worldbuilding - and Luca’s hair - the characters are also ridiculously easy to relate to, even if we don’t know anything about them. Even the most meaningless extras are somehow compelling thanks to the dynamic, rich art style. And did i mention the hair? If you like it, you won’t be disappointed by everything else Little Foolery makes. 

How To Be a Werewolf

http://www.howtobeawerewolf.com/

I almost didn’t read this one! My brain has decided i don’t like werewolves and i don’t know how to reverse that. But then i saw Elias’ body language and it was extremely fun and friendly, and so was the rest of the comic, and the rest is history. Malaya knows she’s a werewolf, but seeing as she doesn’t know any other werewolves, dealing with that is hard. That is until Elias discovers her and decides to help, along with the rest of his pack. It’s filled with family and solidarity feelings, some dark mysteries and themes, and the art is beautiful and expressive. 

Monsterkind 

http://monsterkind.enenkay.com/

Another case of read-everything-this-creator-makes-it’s-all-amazing! Wallace, a social worker, moves - or rather, is moved - to District C, which is mostly populated by monsters. His heart’s in the right place, and apparently so is his apartment, because his neighbors are cool as heck and agree, some of them reluctantly, to help him get his bearings. There’s a mystery to uncover, some monsters to help and a dashing tea octopus to woo - for Kip to woo, anyway - and it’s all a delight to read. Every single character brings their own lovable-ness to the table, and even with the darker parts, reading this comic kinda feels like being hugged. 

Comics that no longer update

The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal - finished 

http://tjandamal.com/

Guys. guys! I’m pretty sure this is my all time favorite comic, web OR printed. I have the printed version, i still read it online occasionally, a lot of the songs mentioned in it are now saved on my spotify, i had it as my phone background for a good couple of years, the whole package. Amal comes out to his family and it ends with him having to drive to his sister’s graduation in Providence. There’s a guy in his kitchen who just so happens to need a lift there, and he’s willing to pay, and Amal’s too hungover to argue. What follows is the best roadtrip story ever. I’m seriously considering getting my license just to recreate that route. I just really love this story, okay? Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the creator’s music taste is GOOD. 

Prague Race - to be continued in text 

https://www.praguerace.com/

The fantasy aesthetic to end all fantasy aesthetics. And the characters are good and interesting. And the world is well built and leaves you wanting more. AND there’s a cat. And it looks so good! Leona is irresponsible and spontaneous and gets her friends in some weird shit that leaves them trapped in a strange world, dealing with several curses, trying to survive and make sense of it all. I could spend a lifetime looking at the art and die happy. 

Shoot around - finished 

https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/shoot-around/list?title_no=399&page=1

A girl’s basketball team and its coach, Jeff, deal with a zombie apocalypse. They make the most of the post apocalyptic world. There’s drama, friendship, found family, love and hope - it’s basically everything a zombie apocalypse narrative should be. And i love how the creator plays with the colors from chapter to chapter! 

Rock and Riot - finished 

https://tapas.io/series/Rock-and-Riot 

It’s cute! It’s fun! It’s a 1950’s queer ensamble cast high school drama! It’s what Grease would’ve been like in a better timeline, except we still got it in this timeline. The artstyle fits perfectly with the story and characters, but if you want to see what’s the creator capable of now, read their newest comic, Project Nought. It’s a cool sci fi story and just like in Rock and Riot, it’s super easy to connect to every character there. 

Alright there’s a lot more but i somehow wrote 4 google docs pages of webcomic recs in one sitting (this is what i’m able to focus on? Really, brain?) and i think that’s enough for now. Like i said, please dm me if you want to talk about anything here, rec some of your own, listen to my rants or tell me i’m a nerd. Or all of the above. I might make a similar post with print comic, but right now i have some dogs to pet. Keep being cool! 

[tessatechaitea]

The Ray #1

In 1994, I had no idea who Christopher Priest and Howard Porter were so I have no idea why I purchased this comic book.

Although (continuing the thought from the caption which is just me saying, "Fuck the format! I can do what I want!") I was in my early 20s in 1994 so I was probably into that edgy fascination with freaks and body deformity. I hadn't seen Tod Browning's Freaks yet but I'm sure I would have jumped at the chance if I'd known about it. It's the only reason I can figure why I bought a comic book about a character I knew nothing about. Because it looks like he's a hero with a deformed baby leg. I probably picked it up off the shelf and yelled, "Fuckin' A, dude! Look at this ganky bastich!" It was 1994 so obviously I was emulating Lobo in my every day life. Some of you might be thinking, "Ugh! You're so gross and problematic!" But I'm just being honest! I was a young man, masking like crazy in order to hide my vulnerabilities so I wouldn't be crushed by social interactions and existential threats to my psyche. I had to act tough to survive the crazy streets of Santa Clara, California! Back then, Silicon Valley wasn't like it is now! In 1994, hulking techno-nerds were roaming the streets with razor sharp circuit boards looking to cut the genitals off of anybody who criticized the Neo-Geo CD home gaming console. If you looked at them funny, they'd challenge you to a game of Cyberball and you'd better hope you won because they were also obsessed with Mortal Combat and if you lost, the last thing you'd hear would be a bunch of techno-nerds screaming "Finish him!" before you found yourself upside down gagging on the filthy water of an unflushed public toilet. The early nineties were some rough years! Especially when you were into heavy metal! People think grunge and rap killed metal but think about what people thought was "rock and roll" during the early 90s: Warrant's "Cherry Pie" and Extreme's "More Than Words." I mean, Feetal's Gizz! Metal was dead long before grunge and rap came by to fill its grave. Anyway, you could totally be into freaks in the early 90s because the Internet didn't exist so your opinions weren't reaching anybody outside your small circle of friends. All the other people of the world who didn't know you at all didn't have a way to tell you you were a piece of shit because of one single thing that comprised the myriad facts of who you were. Fuck you, Internet! No, no! I'm sorry! Don't be mad at me, Internet! I can't live without you! Also, maybe I just bought this comic book because the cover was shiny and embossed and growing up in Santa Clara was so boring that it made this comic book looked exciting. The issue begins with The Ray battling Brimstone. Remember him from Legends?

Brimstone is as big as Godzilla and he's already killed hundreds of people, judging by the apartment buildings he's smashed.

I don't know who The Ray is or where he's from. What part of the United States of America uses slang like "gaffle," "put my serve on," "zoom this buster," "bone out," "feebs," and "rot." Is this just Christopher Priest trying to mimic youth speak? I would expect this kind of thing from an aging comic book writer like current Neal Adams but Priest was in his early thirties when he wrote this. Maybe The Ray is from another Earth and Priest's theory was that slang words would obviously differ between Earths. But not so much that you couldn't get the gist of what he's saying. Except for "gaffle." I don't know what the fuck he wants to do to Brimstone when he says he's going to gaffle him. I know what I would mean by it but that doesn't seem appropriate in this situation.

Oh wait. The Ray was just writing fan-fiction about himself.

So the Brimstone fight didn't really happen. Or it did happen but The Ray is using it as fodder to write comic books about himself. So he's like Clark Kent writing articles about Superman? At least writing comic book stories about your own adventures isn't unethical. Fucking Clark Kent. What kind of a journalist uses his soap box to simply promote himself? No wait. Journalists fucking suck. I despise journalists for the same reason I despise police officers. If you're just letting your profession go to shit because a bunch of people are abusing their positions of power and not actually doing the public service they're supposed to be doing, you're just as bad as the worst apple in the barrel. There's a reason that whole apple/barrel thing is still a saying even though nobody really associates apples with barrels anymore. Maybe The Ray isn't writing comic books although it seems like the super edgy postmodern take a writer in the 90s would think was fucking mind blowing. We got Kyle Rayner, comic book artist, as the new Green Lantern. Why shouldn't we also get a comic book writer in there as well? Or The Ray might just be writing stories for his college paper which would mean he's just as unethical and terrible as Clark Kent, I suppose. But in an amateurish way. The Ray (whose name is Ray Terrill so it was lucky he got light-based powers) stops trying to write and decides to tell the readers about the last few days. He's a young guy who works at a fast food chicken joint and has just leased his first apartment. It's a piece of shit with some garbage and/or artistic sculpture in the middle of the room but he doesn't have any credit or money so he's stuck with it. I bet there are corpses under the floor boards as well as other things too boring to mention (but which I'll mention anyway) like rats and cockroaches and dried semen stains.

This is Ray's narration of the place which I read after I wrote the previous paragraph. Was I writing comics and named Christopher Priest in 1994?

The Ray spends all day handing out flyers to Clucky Chicken while standing right outside Clucky Chicken. Is that what flyers are for? To remind people about the thing they can totally see right in front of them? I guess they could be coupons. While he's handing out flyers, his super cool cousin Hank stops by to gaffle some swang all up in through him.

This must be Earth-15 where they say things like "Yo trip dat frum, golderboots!" and "Swank on into my PQs, Flub Daddy!"

The Ray is disappointed that he's a man now because responsibility sucks. Kids can't stand curfews and rules but man is it sweet to be able to come and go as you please (within curfew, of course!) while doing whatever the fuck you want and not worrying about money for food or rent. The Ray can't even fuck his girlfriend because she saw him in the chicken suit and is all, "Oh, um, I just came by to say I can't come by! Bye!" The Ray can travel at the speed of light anywhere he wants while carrying other people. That makes sense because comic books. He takes his cousin Hank Fonzerelli to see a volcano shaped like a hand in Hawaii only to discover that it's another Brimstone. It's activated by a henchman of Darkseid while The Ray and Hank are checking out a surf competition or a luau. It's at this point when The Ray gets back to the beginning of the story where he was failing to stop Brimstone from destroying a city. As he picks the story back up, Superboy arrives to save the day. Not the boring Superboy who used to be Superman and learned a terrible secret about himself on his sixteenth birthday about an extra candle. The new Superboy who arrived on the scene after Superman died. He might also be boring but I wouldn't know having never read any comic books about him. The new Superboy is an arrogant dick and The Ray hates him. That's probably why The Ray winds up killing him. Or he thinks he killed him. Everybody reading the comic book probably thought The Ray killed him too (because we were all dumb-dumbs who actually believed DC Comics had killed Superman off for good. Why wouldn't they?! He was a big boring boy scout whose powers kept fluctuating because editors and writers thought the problem with writing Superman stories was that he was too powerful. But the real problem with writing Superman stories was that those same writers and editors were unimaginative assholes who didn't actually understand Superman. Why else would Superman have died from a fist fight?! Seriously, Dan Jurgens. What were you thinking?! Superman should never have been killed because he encountered something more powerful that could just beat the shit out of him. Superman should have been killed because of a philosophical or ethical dilemma where he realized the only way to save the world was to allow himself to die. He should have been Jesus but instead he was just Apollo Creed. Who I think was a metaphor for John the Baptist? The issue ends with the narrator letting the readers know that Superboy isn't actually dead and why would the idiots think he'd be killed in The Ray when he was currently starring in his own popular monthly comic book? Stupid dumb comic book readers! But the narrator also mentions that The Ray is out of power (I didn't know he had to recharge) and Brimstone is kind of mad. Then he's all, "If we were you," (I don't think a proper editor in 1994 would have allowed a writer to use the plural pronoun "we" as a non-specific gender singular pronoun so now I'm picturing the narrator as a small group of old people), "We'd be back here in 30 days!" And I guess 22 year old me agreed with them because I purchased Issue #2. The Ray #1 Rating: C. C is average, right? I didn't find anything I particularly loved about this issue but I also didn't find anything I absolutely hated. Except for Superboy but I think I was supposed to hate him so that's a positive critique. I probably purchased the next issue because I wanted to find out what happens to Hank Fonzerelli. What a cool dude! The letters pages don't have any letters but it does have a story by Brian Augustyn about how Christopher Priest changed his name from Jim Owsley. It also explains that Priest's idea for The Ray was to have a teenager suddenly have to deal with god-like powers while still being a teenager. I think before this that was called "Spider-man". Except for the god-like powers! Those were more spider-like powers.

[rockofeye]

It'd be nice to see sort of a "Creole for beginners" post that talks about what terms are common in Vodou and maybe explains the grammar structure. I've noticed a lot of Creole I can mentally translate myself if I think about it long enough since many French words were taken into English awhile back, but French itself I don't actually know so sometimes it's quite a reach. The evolution of the language seems parallel with the evolution of Vodou and that's really interesting to me.

So, this ask has been sitting for awhile, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot as I am just finishing up an intensive month-long Kreyòl class.

Haitian Kreyòl/Kreyòl Ayisyen is a fascinating, gorgeous, succulent language. In some ways, it is super straightforward and in other ways, it is deeply complex as befits a language that has roots in Romance languages (more than one!), African languages (more than one!), and Indigenous languages. Like vodou, it is a language that embodies the history of Haiti and it has and does evolve as culture and the world advances.

Outside of Haiti, there is the idea that there is no common orthography/common way of speaking and utilizing the language. This is wrong wrong wrong. Largely, this stems from the fact that, until about 50 years ago, Kreyòl was almost entirely an oral only language because of colonialism–Kreyòl has only begun being taught in schools in the last decade, yet almost every Haitian speaks it fluently (the elite class speaks French, but that is largely a class marker–everyone knows Kreyòl). Many Haitians do not know how to write in Kreyòl, and write the best that they are able which leads to widely varied output….which leads outsiders to say that there is no commonly accepted orthography.

It would take a long, LONG time to really deconstruct and explain how Kreyòl works in practice so I’m not going to go there entirely, but here are some basics:

Kreyòl has 32 letter/symbols in its alphabet. Within that, there are 15 vowels/vowel sounds and 18 consonants/consonant sounds. Kreyòl only utilizes one accent (grave accent/aksan grav). Things with the alphabet that trip up Kreyòl learners who are native English speakers include:

‘C’ is not utilized except as a compound sound in ‘ch’, which is a soft sound like ‘shh’ and not a hard sound like ‘chair’.

‘U’ is not utilized except in compound sounds with other vowels.

‘G’ is always hard, never soft.

In Kreyòl, everything written is spoken–there are no silent letters, ever. A professor of mine terms Kreyòl as a truly democratic language; every letter has a sound that is expressed orally. 

Basic sentence structure is Subject-Verb-Object (Li se yon bèl fi/She is a beautiful woman) and Noun-Adjective (Li bèl/She is beautiful). Within that structure:

Tenses and conditions (positive/negation) are assigned by separate verb markers/particles. Absense of a verb marker makes the tense automatically present.

Verbs largely do not conjugate, with some exceptions.

Articles are placed separately from the noun–definite articles are ALWAYS after the noun, indefinite articles are ALWAYS before the noun, and this gives speakers of other languages fits because it is different than the Romance languages most closely related to Kreyòl (my class had several folks who spoke several European-derived languages fluently, and the folks who spoke French or Spanish fluently struggled the most).

Adjectives are mostly after nouns, except when they are not.

Kreyòl is a language of double speak, both in general and in vodou. Words carry multiple meanings depending on context and tone, which can be a struggle when learning and can lead to confusion and sometimes awkward conversation. For example, the word for walk and market is spelled and pronounced the same way, the word for pen can also refer to internal genitalia and/or pubic hair in a female-assigned person in a somewhat rude/abrupt way, and utilizing a nasal versus open vowel sound in ‘I would like to meet you’ in Kreyòl changes that sentence to ‘I would like to fuck you’. Luckily, most Haitians are extremely accommodating to outsiders and understand that mistakes are honest mistakes (but they will laugh…).

Tone and composure (how you fix your face when you speak) is super important. How a sentence is said communicates as much, if not more, than the actual word. How I say ‘yon fanm sa a la’ can change ‘the woman over there’ to ‘can you believe this biiiiiiiitch over there’.

Kreyòl must be spoken with mouth open: no mumbling, etc. To get words across accurately, the mouth must open to make all the sounds.

The language is an independent standalone language with piece of French, Spanish, English, and multiple African languages visible. Much of the sentence structuring is African-derived, particularly from Bantu and Yoruba sources. There is a recent and evolving movement to claim identity of the language as Haitian only, not as Kreyòl.

The language also reflects the lived history of the country and it’s people. A lot of common phraseology reflects the history of enslavement; one of the more common ways to ask where someone lives in-country is ki bò ou ye/kibò ou ye, which translates to ‘what side are you from’. This is directly related to how enslaved Africans lived; plantations were huge and sprawling and so when enslaved Africans met others who were on the same plantation, how they related where they lived on the plantation was in that manner. Like vodou, the language is it’s own living history.

In the religion, language gets more complicated. French is utilized in some specific instances and some spirits, if/when they speak, only speak French, but Kreyòl is the liturgical language of the religion. All the songs and majority of the prayers are in Kreyòl, the community speaks Kreyòl, etc. In general, French is falling away as being a conversational language in Haiti–it is often used in business and medicine, but that’s about it.

There is also langaj, the language of the spirits. This is largely untranslatable language that spirits sometimes use in possession–it can be a combination of Kreyòl and African-descended sounds that are not complete in any African language. What langaj means is often private between the spirit and to whom that spirit is speaking, with the most common uses become accepted parlance (think ritual exclamations, like ‘ayibobo’, ‘awoche Nago’, ‘alaso’,  ‘djarvodo/djavodo/djavado’).

Kreyòl is also spoken differently by spirits than by people. Kreyòl in general has many dialects throughout the country, and it follows that the spirits have many dialects as well. Kreyòl in general is spoken very fast by Haitians, and the spirits follow suit with that. In addition, some spirits speak more rural or localized forms of Kreyòl depending on what part of Haiti they are from. Some spirits speak very nasally, some speak so softly it almost sounds like they are only letting out soft breaths, some mix Kreyòl and langaj, some only speak/yell at top volume. All of that is super different than what a language program or even an in-person class can teach, and soKreyòl learned and used in religious settings is picked up contextually. 

LearningKreyòl can be a daunting pursuit. Since it is SO orally focused, the best way is to learn orally in an immersive setting; either an intensive class or in Haiti or the Haitian community. There are some language programs, most of them are not great. Here’s what I like:

Ann Pale Kreyol by Albert Valdman is an excellent place to start. Though it is older and some of it is dated, it is still pretty foundational and his teaching methods are still used in classroom teaching. It is pricey for a used copy, but there are PDFs easily available online.

Valdman also produced a bilingual English-Haitian Kreyòl dictionary and it is FANTASTIC. I have several dictionaries and this is by far the best–you get definitions of words, what parts of speech they are, and how they are used both in English and in Kreyòl sentences. It is pricey and you could beat someone to death with it, but it is worth it for learning.

Pawol Lakay is as useful as Ann Pale Kreyol is, and it also comes with CDs (if you can threaten Amazon into making sure they send them with the book). It can be a little weak on sentence structure and what parts of speech are, but it’s good. There is a forthcoming language learning system for Kreyòl that beats the pants off of anything else on the market but it is not out yet.

MangoLanguages is good for basic hello/goodbye/my name is fluency, but I did not find it useful for conversational use. Good introduction, though, and the pronunciation in-program is pretty on-point. Most public library systems and college/university libraries have a free subscriptions for this, there are also pay options.

There are other books that are aimed at travelers and casual users which can be useful, but the above are the best resources I have seen so far. I do not like the Pimsleur system for Kreyòl at all, as it is super limited to essentially picking up women in Port-au-Prince which is great if that’s your jam but not useful for much of anything else. Youtube is full of Kreyòl movies and television and music, which is good to throw on in the background to absorb the sound and cadence of the language. Several professors have cautioned about listening to Haitian radio unless it originates in Haiti, saying that most Haitian radio originating in the US is a broadcast in a mix of Kreyòl and bad French, which can trip up a learner.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can offer more info.

[kakivino]

Tasting: Great Wines of Italy 2016 Bangkok

When thirst meets wanderlust, wine will take you places. If, say, a Tuscan idyll seems implausible for the time being, sneaking a vinous agenda in your regional getaway might just be the next best thing.

Good for you if you’re already frequenting Hong Kong, Shanghai, Asia’s wine hubs high on the Grand Tasting destination list. And no, KL can’t get a look-in, if you have to ask.

The Great Wines of Italy in Bangkok fits the bill nicely (like we need an excuse for Thai break). Hosted by James Suckling—one of the foremost critics in the wine world—the marquee event is arguably the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

Better early than late

Now you don’t want to be late to the party or you’d be sorry staring at empty Bruno Giacosa not even halfway through. To four kiasu Malaysians, there’s simply nowhere better to be when the gate to wine heaven opened at the Grand Hyatt Erawan.

No prize for guessing which table I first hit. Both ’13 Barbaresco Rabajà and ’13 Barolo Falletto Vigna Le Rocche had me in a moment of sheer elation. Such incredible finesse, purity (nary a trace of wood) and classicism for such powerful nebbiolo, you just got to take your imaginary hat off to a living legend.

What I wouldn’t give for a taste of the famous red labels. That glass of gustatory orgasm.

A glorious start to the evening was followed by many outstanding baroli, though some more expressive than others. High-toned Ceretto ’09 Barolo Brunate for one caresses with über-fine suppleness. Befittingly La Morra, it’s already drinking marvellously. ’12 Barolo Bricco Rocche too offers genuine immediacy in an oh-so-effortless, gracious manner one associates with the modernista.

Speaking of which, Roberto Voerzio, one of the original “Barolo Boys”, holds a different proposition. Age hasn’t made the late-release ’05 Barolo Riserva 10 anni Fossati Case Nere any softer, yet. Seductive nose apart, it remains stubbornly reticent about what lies beneath its plush veneer. ’12 Barbera d’Alba Riserva Vigneto Pozzo dell'Annunziata must’ve been the most lavishly oaked, boldest barbera I ever tasted. High extraction, even higher prices.

The barbaresco and barolo of La Spinetta are styled along the same high-octane mould, they would sit right at home on a steakhouse table.

Then we had Aldo Conterno, whose aristocratic ’12 Barolo Cicala and ’12 Barolo Colonnello would command a great deal of patience. Tight tannins clench just as tar and roses draw you closer: formidable. Franco Conterno was on hand to let you in on their subtle nuances, reasoning clay-sand variation in Bussia render the former firmer, the latter more floral. Equally as potent nonetheless.

From arguably the most celebrated cru of them all, Guido Damilano showed off his rich and, both literally and figuratively, gripping ’12 Barolo Cannubi which exudes a delicate sense of proportion true to the site.

Sell-out success

As I was elbowing my way to some chianti, I couldn’t help but wonder the entire Bangkok’s wine circles, indeed expat community, had packed into the swanky grand ballroom. A record turnout of 1,300 spoke for the tasting’s sell-out success.

Back to where a poor Federico Manetti was swamped, you did have to maneuvre through a static crowd and stick your glass out for your prize. To decide between Fontodi’s voluminous ’13 Flaccianello della Pieve and ’13 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Vigna del Sorbo was akin to splitting hairs. Seamless oak, velvety tannins, graphite and an amazing core of dark-skinned fruits appear rendered in technicolour clarity, animated by boundless inner energy. Cab-free now, it’s vividly clear why Antonio Galloni thinks the latter is coming into its own.

The tasting galore had also afforded a fascinating study of terroir-driven denominations. Fans of sangiovese would’ve no doubt found rich pickings, from the masculine, earthy Chianti Classico of Fèlsina in Castelnuovo Berardenga, to the metrosexual, polished Fonterutoli in Castellina, to say nothing of lesser-known incarnations like Le Pupille’s Morrelino di Scansano, ColleMassari’s Montecucco and Tenuta di Capezzana’s Carmignano. (It bugged me to see some of these rustic charmers unnecessarily smothered by exuberant new oak.)

Brunello bonanza

Needless to say, there’s no escaping brunello, sangiovese’s highest expression in all of Tuscany. The Montalcinesi had descended en masse to spoil you for choices.

Utterly elegant from start to finish, Livio Sassetti Pertimali ’12 Brunello di Montalcino simply blew me away. Stunning aromatics, nervy acidity, very Montosoli minerality. Winemaker Lorenzo Sassetti poured another winner ’10 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva that was likewise on song. A stylish Altesino ’11 Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli further reinforced that airy, minerally impression of this renowned ‘cru’.

Also stood out is Caprili ’12 Brunello di Montalcino, which best sums up a ripe, racy vintage better off with some bottle age. Something told me it wouldn’t be that long.

It’s a shame I caught Fuligni ’10 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva in a coy mood. Intense, youthfully austere with classically massive structure as imposing as the Montalcino fortress, it just wanted to shut up shop. Bearing similar profundity, Valdicava ’10 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Madonna del Piano, the 100-pointer cult wine cut a more endearing figure thanks to better focus and persistence, at this stage no least.

What began as exhilaration would gradually simmer down to palatal exertion, such is the inevitability of mass tasting at where the pace is furious and decanting a luxury for younglings. When poise were increasingly scarce, you can count on the redoubtable Poggio di Sotto ’11 Brunello di Montalcino to hit the right spot. This Castelnuovo dell'Abate icon remains every bit as ravishing as when we last met. Pedigree.

Buoyed by renewed faith, I decided to leave Tuscany in search of fresher ‘pasture’, not before a real head-turner stopped me dead in my tracks: Petrolo ’14 Valdarno di Sopra Galatrona. A pure merlot so satiny and sensual, so gorgeous and gratifying it was no match for any super Tuscan or Bolgheri alike that evening.

Path less travelled

To seek refreshment, one only needs to follow the Italians to their summer retreats (hail local wisdom). I could imagine sipping Donnachiara ’15 Fiano di Avellino anywhere on the Amalfi coast, all day long. Brisk, balanced, very Alsatian in texture, with saline undertones hinting at influence of the Thyrrenian sea.

To my dismal, dammit, I left it too late for the last drops of Pieropan’s classic ’14 Soave Classico La Rocca and Kellerei Terlan’s Südtirol whites in the Northeast. Franz Haas ’14 Vigneti delle Dolomiti Manna showed exactly what I’d missed. Crisp, flavourful and complex, it’s one joy of a wine that proves versatile. Pristine Dolomites air has also breathed life into the understated, moreish Franz Haas ’14 Pinot Nero Alto Adige. All in all, the less taken path had definitely provided much welcomed respite.

If you need to cleanse your palate good, Bellavista ’10 Franciacorta Teatro La Scala is more than up for the task. This metodo classico fizz gives your C-word bubblies a serious run for their money, matching their sophistication with an Italian sensibility.

I made it a point to check out the meteoric rise of red hot nerello mascalese. That led to a most scintillating rendevouz with Pietradolce ’13 Etna Rosso Vigna Barbagalli and ’14 Etna Rosso Archineri. As lovely florals, orange zest, crunchy red fruits, exotic spice tease the senses, these soulful reds shine with mineral-laden, glycerol-textured vigour all of which unfurl from a lithe, burgundian even, frame.

Proprietor Michele Faro was eager to share the peculiarity of pre-phylloxera viticulture on the high-altitude, lava-blackened slopes of Mount Etna. He strongly recommended the read “Volcanic Wines” by John Szabo, to better understand how terroir and convictions of few winemakers pan out in a glass of Etna. Or two, as the same individualistic vein of characters flows in Tasca d'Almerita ’14 Sicilia Nerello Mascalese Tascante.

Drinkability conundrum

There you have it. Vino enthusiasts sure had a whale of a time luxuriating in the four-hour bacchanalia, all the while delighting in mind-boggling discoveries and merrymaking with total strangers.

But I was feeling oddly ambivalent after the curtains fell. Maybe it’s the wine talking. For all the promises of these indisputably first-rate wines, it’s still only potential that we sipped rather than the full-blown, glorious mouthfuls we crave (with few notable exceptions). Unless we cough up the premium, the reality is we owe it to ourselves to take up the waiting game.

Ultimately, it’s all a matter of perspective. Ask the right question [of these wines], you’ll be able to appreciate the Grand Tasting as it is: a glimpse of the big picture, a sort of anteprima largely to handpick on release brunello for your cellar. Looking past frustration, the experience was a rewarding one. As James and his posse of producers return to wow Bangkok next week for the fourth year running, I’m all game for another bout of sniff, sip, swallow. And repeat. — KY

*** This is a sponsored post *** James Suckling is internationally regarded as one of the world’s most influential wine critics. Launched in 2010, the JamesSuckling.com team draw on more than three decades of experience to bring to life the world of wine on an exclusive online platform. Visitors can access articles, high-definition videos, extensive tasting notes and reports which are trusted and relied upon by wineries and consumers all across the globe. Many thanks to the team at JamesSuckling.com for the wonderful soiree. Visit them at jamessuckling.com.

[itsworn]

Marco Sandin Jr.’s 1969 Has Evolved Into an Award-Winning Show Car

Having a fascination with all things automotive is often something that’s inherited, and in some instances eventually passed on. Many of our interests are shaped at an early stage in our lives as a result of what our elders indulge in. That was certainly the case with Marco Sandin Jr., as his interest in the Mopar brand was something that was bequeathed to him by his father. He explains, “My passion for Dodge was inherited from my father, Marco Sandin Sr. He was a prominent pilot in the ’80s and ’90s in Sonora, Mexico.”

For the Sandin clan, it all began in ’84 when the elder Sandin purchased a ’74 Dodge Super Bee. Now, you might be scratching your head because the Super Bee was killed off after ’71, however, in Mexico the Super Bee continued throughout the early to mid ’70s and was based on the A-Body platform. These smaller Mexican Bees were at that point equipped with a 360 four-barrels, so that was the foundation for his first foray into the racing world.

Loyalty to the Dodge brand also extended to the family’s daily driver with the purchase of a 1973 Dodge Dart Sport for his wife, Mary. Marco recalls, “That Dart Sport was used by my mom to take me to school, to visit my grandparents, and for things like going to the supermarket.” It served their family faithfully and with the passage of time, evolved into their first bespoke show car. The second family project was yet another A-Body in the form of a 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger. This car from the outset was destined to serve double duty as both a race car and a show car.

In 1999, it was Marco’s turn to hit the track. Having instilled and nurtured that Dodge loyalty and the passion for racing in his son, Marco Sr. converted the 1973 Dart Sport from a show car to a race car for his son. Both actively raced these cars and actually faced off twice during that time, with each splitting a win. In 2003, the 1972 Swinger went under the knife and received a number of upgrades in the form of a new engine, transmission, differential, and wheels, but was subsequently sold off to a family friend. At this crossroad in life the racing endeavors took an abrupt end and the priorities shifted to family and business matters. The 1973 Dart Sport was also detuned for street use and became Marco’s daily driver for a number of years.

In 2008, Alex, the youngest member of the Sandin clan picked up the family racing torch, and once again continued the tradition when he started drag racing a Chrysler Crossfire. That had a ripple effect that reignited the urge for the rest to hit the track again. Having been out of the quarter-mile game for a number of years, suitable cars were again needed, so they went back to a tried-and-true friend — the 1972 Swinger. It was bought back from their friend and treated to another rebuild which consisted of yet another new engine, transmission, and differential. The 1973 Dart Sport was also given the same treatment and both cars were once again hitting the track on a regular basis.

In 2012, they decided to get another A-Body to put on the track. After some searching, one was found north of the border in Illinois. It was a 1969 Dart GTS they got track-ready rather quickly and actively campaigned regularly in Arizona and Mexico. The GTS soldiered on for two years until deciding “to run stronger.”

With that as the plan, the Dart was pushed into the family’s race garage in Hermosillo and torn down to a bare shell, and a course plotted for its rejuvenation. The to-do checklist included a full rollcage, big cubes, and some fat tires. Marco and his good friend Fernando Grijalva were the surgeons who performed all the work prepping the GTS for its new life. The underpinnings for the Dart were the starting point, and for that a Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Sportsman chassis kit was ordered to serve as the foundation to support the Dart’s outer skin.

Up front, the chassis rides on Chassisworks spindles and VariSpring coil springs and shocks, while at the rear lies a four-link setup with Koni springs and shocks, and a narrowed Ford 9-inch rear with 4.56:1 gears. This beefed-up hardware was put in place to support the massive power upsurge that was going to be dropped between the fenders. That stout bit of kit came in the form of a 572ci Hemi. Marco had Dennis Maurer, the owner of Maurer’s Performance in Tempe, assemble the mighty elephant with a Keith Black aluminum block as the starting point. Lots of cash was thrown at this mill to stuff it with the best parts for the job.

The bottom end consists of a Callies Ultra billet crank, Venolia forged pistons, and Oliver Racing billet rods. The top end is capped with a set of Indy Stage V aluminum heads, a Hogan’s Racing aluminum tunnel ram intake, and a pair of Quick Fuel Technology 950-cfm carburetors. Power transfer to the rear is channeled through a 727 Ultimate Competition TorqueFlite built by A&A Transmissions in Camby, Indiana. This combination, when run on the dyno, pumped out a healthy 866 horses and 700 lb-ft of torque.

The extreme makeover also carried over to the exterior as well. In the process, the skin of the Dart shed a few pounds with the addition of a fiberglass hood, deck lid, bumpers, and fenders. Since the goal was to create something custom without worrying about originality, when it came time put the body back together a bit of mix and match took place, and it all came down to personal tastes. The Dart was born as a 1969, yet Marco preferred some of the styling cues on the 1968 model, so he added a 1968 grille and side marker lights, but left the 1969 tailpanel and lights in place.

As work progressed, the body was slowly prepped to receive its new coat of paint. That task was entrusted to Efrain Sepolvida in Hermosillo, who laid down five coats of black basecoat/clearcoat paint. Beyond the smooth gloss black finish, a red 1969 Dart Bumble Bee-inspired stripe was also installed around the tail denoting what was laying under the hood. That red theme from the stripe was one that carried over to the interior and the engine compartment as well. The tube frame that adorns the interior is decked out in red as well as the massive Hemi valve covers and tube frame under the hood. The last part of the build was choosing some new wheels and tires. For that, he opted on some Weld Racing wheels skinned with Hoosier tires at all four corners.

Work on the Dart was pretty intense and all the pieces came together in only six months. The plan was to start racing it as soon as it was finished, but in the best-laid plans, Marco notes, “When I finished the whole restoration process, I made the decision to use it only as a show car.” Now, if you’re wondering just how stout this Mopar is, Marco has taken it down the track, and that was right after it was built, and it laid down a 9.20 pass. There have been subsequent upgrades since then, which should easily prop it into the 8-second club. Since the Dart was relegated to show duties, Marco was still left with that need “to run stronger.” That was, however, fulfilled with the acquisition of Scott Geoffrion’s ex Pro-Stock 1993 Dodge Daytona in 2016.

The Dart has taken home a “Best of Show” two years in a row at the Muscle Cars at the Strip show in Las Vegas, where we had the opportunity to shoot it for the magazine. One thing was clear, whether it’s racing or showing their cars, it all comes down to enjoying them as a family.

FAST FACTS

1969 Dodge Dart GTS CAR Owner: Marco Sandin Jr, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

ENGINE TYPE: 572ci Keith Black Hemi Bore: 4.530-inch Stroke: 4.500-inch Cylinder heads: Indy Stage V Hemi aluminum Pistons: Venolia forged Compression ratio: 15.0:1 Crank: Callies Ultra billet Rods: Oliver Racing Parts billet rods Camshaft: Cam Motion roller Valve Lift: 0.492-inch intake, 0.493-inch lift exhaust Duration @ 0.050: intake: 243, exhaust: 257 Induction: Hogan’s Racing aluminum tunnel ram intake Fuel: Two Quick Fuel Technology 950-cfm carburetors Ignition: MSD 7AL-3 ignition controller, HVC blaster II coil, MSD Pro-Billet distributor Headers: custom stainless three-step open headers (2.25-inch, 2.375-inch, 2.50-inch pipes) Cooling system: C&R Racing aluminum radiator Engine built by: Dennis Maurer, Maurers Performance, Tempe, Arizona

DRIVETRAIN Transmission: A&A Transmissions 727 Ultimate Competition Shifter: Precision Performance Products Power Shift Air Shifter Torque converter: A&A Transmissions 727 Competition 9-inch, 6,000-stall speed Rear Axle: Strange Ford 9-inch, Strange spool, 4.56:1 gears, Strange 40-spline gun drilled axles

CHASSIS: Front Suspension: Chassisworks front clip, Chassisworks spindles, VariSpring coil springs, VariShock shocks Rear Suspension: Chassisworks Drag Race Pro four-link rear clip and suspension with 3×2 framerails, Koni springs, Koni shocks Steering: Chassisworks manual steering box Brakes, front: Wilwood one-piston calipers with Wilwood 10-inch rotors Brakes, rear: Wilwood two-piston calipers with Wilwood 11-inch rotors

WHEELS & Tires: Wheels: 15×3.5 Weld Racing TT63 Frontrunner (front), 15×14 Weld Racing TT63 Double Bead Loc (rear) Tires: 26×5.0R15 Hoosier (front), 15×22.5 Hoosier Quick Time Pro D.O.T. (rear)

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[polychronicon]

12/12/17

I can’t imagine a more incredible or exhilarating week, especially when I felt the world slipping away only a few months ago. I may not like Victoria, but most of the people here are pretty amazing.

I miss Latin the way you miss a really good coffee date the moment you leave the cafe. I’ve never been good at languages, but this class was unique. I think it was a combination of the fact that Latin is pretty darn cool, mixed with the fact that CT and I bonded over the mutual suffering and excitement. Writing a nearly perfect exam and finishing the class with 99% probably says something, too. But it was also L and his enthusiasm... perhaps it was mostly that, actually. I love that he organized a special medieval Latin session when we showed interest, and that he invited us to GRS talks that were fascinating. I’ve been looking into other courses to take for fun (and am hoping to see if I can take them without credit). I’ve talked to two professors in the department (one who sent me a Spanish play for my Biathanatos project) and another who always asked really great questions at the GRS talks, and taking classes with either of them would be amazing. Also, the department serves wine and cheese after big lectures... just saying.

So anyway, I know it’s easy to get all excited and hopeful about people, especially during the holidays for some reason. But I really hope we keep in touch next semester. I ran into him before my Open Arcade demo and the next day, he emailed asking for a link to my game because he was curious. So it makes me hope that we could be friends. At the very least, he cared enough to ask. He’s just sort of wonderful.

Even though I had been dreading the arcade event, it turned out really well and JS was super supportive. The DSC was packed, and people responded really well to our demo. Preparing the game for the presentation was an immense amount of work, and I’ve definitely been the only person working on it for the last few weeks, but it made it even cooler to see professors and faculty discovering things hidden in the code and triggering different animations.

Obviously things are still looming. A paper, grading, more grading, ISE, and the final game with all its extra bits, but I finally like it here. I am surprised every day to find people who are incredibly kind, and who I can chat with about anything. Also it helps that I get to see Finn more, and lunch yesterday reminded me that we’re more than grad students trapped on Vancouver Island. Life is more than my ability to think and write well--people actually comment on my other abilities instead of just smartness. It’s honestly a breath of fresh air.

I still need to find christmas gifts to bring home, though. That’ll be a job for Saturday before it gets too busy. Our end prize? Lattes from Murchies of course.

Is it crazy to feel hopeful? The last week or so, with all its presentations and essays and projects and the exam and work and editing my potential article (still internally screaming even though nobody else cares) and even little coffee chats, has made me feel more aware and somehow sharper than before. I started this semester in a summer haze after everything with C. But I’m a better person now.

Going back to Calgary means confronting everything with my mom and sister. In the last week, my dad was diagnosed with liver cancer, and since he declined treatment, he’ll likely die within the next 3 years. I remember what C said to me in Artigiano, and I still stand by what I felt all those months ago. Even though I haven’t seen my dad in 3 or 4 years (how long has it been?), he still feels like the most unkind person I’ve met. It’s strange how distance makes you see other things they did that weren’t right. Makes me think of the last novel we read for class. I can remember exact days and they explain every cancerous tumour and distortion of flesh. The cancer feels like a manifestation of days when I was younger--funny, though, how my sicknesses healed while yours took some time to surface.

I still can’t decide what to do on the first day back, though. My sister will be working and has a Christmas party right after, so I can’t actually go to the apartment until late... maybe 11ish. Is it weird to sit in Phil & Sebastians with luggage? I can’t wait to have a cup of coffee there again :’) 

It’s C’s birthday today, and I’m realizing we won’t see each other when I go back, but that’s okay. I hope today is amazing, and that you don’t have to spend the day grading or anything. Have a warm and happy birthday <3

[slooowhands]

plots plots plots plots

ok but someone give me that cute bartender storyline though? like this guy tends bar at a restaurant or a pub or something and always sees this cute girl hanging out there, but she’s always either with friends or with some guy so he never really gets the time to talk to her BUT ONE DAY she walks into the place alone and orders so many drinks until she’s so bloody drunk, screaming about how her boyfriend cheated on her, that the bartender had to bring her home himself. she wakes up with a horrible hangover, stumbles out the room to find the bartender cooking breakfast and rolling his eyes, laughing. “first of all, you’re an idiot. second, we didn’t have sex if that’s what you’re wondering. third, breakfast will be ready soon. sit.”

2. where these tWO PEOPLE ARE HOUSE MATES OR ROOM MATES, OR I DONT KNOW!! THEY JUST LIVE TOGETHER!! and muse a is a smug a-hole. they’re so cocky, and so confident, and they’re kind of a nuisance, but they also have a lot of redeeming qualities. they’re truly a chaotic neutral. but they also have a heart of gold truly they just don’t show it a lot.. until

muse b. who is a shy little nobody. works hard, puts their nose down and studies through all the chaos. basically wears flower crowns and smiles at people just because. and muse a is immediately drawn to muse b and their wholly good nature.

so what does muse a do? what they always do. flirt. and its worth it to see muse b get all flustered and unsure, because muse b is a good sweet nobody!! what is happening!! but god muse a is hot, and so confident that it makes muse b get all hot under the collar, secretly.

cue, muse b walking in on muse a hooking up with someone. and muse a doesn’t even stop, they just smile and grin at muse b as they get all flustered. muse a just keeps showing off, by walking around the house naked. or moaning extra loud at night. they’re baiting muse b. and muse b ??? yeah… they’re losing the battle. even though muse b knows muse a is a player … but then, maybe when they finally do get together, muse a is actually this super sweet, caring, ‘are you sure?’ ‘is this okay?’ sorta person and they’re both hEART EYES.

3. okay but give me a plot where the guy knocks up this girl (maybe it was a one-night-stand or they’re fwb or they’ve been dating for a really short time) and they both decide that it’s best if they stay friends, then he sleeps around a lil and doesn’t really care but when he hears that she’s going on dates he stops and starts to get jealous and he’s all “um no other man is getting near my baby” and ???

4. Based off remember me:

muse a is a smug, know-it-all college dropout that works in the bookstore and audits classes purely to learn and show off his intelligence to unprepared professors. because of a troubled past and broken relationship with his parents, he becomes the cliche bad boy, doing drugs, smoking, drinking, etc. one night while out with his roommate, muse a gets into a fight in an alleyway behind a bar with a few random drunk guys that gets quickly broken up by the police. The chief of police pays special attention to muse a after he makes a few smart comments and makes sure to leave him with a black eye. The next day muse a and his roommate see the chief's car pull up to the university. before they could run away, they see a girl (muse b) , around their age, get out of the passenger side. Muse a’s roommate immediately hatches a plan for muse a to seduce muse b, make her fall in love with him, then dump her, breaking her heart and getting back at her father. Muse a agrees and quickly makes a move on muse b. Everything seems to be according to plan, but muse a starts to realize that muse b is actually making him a better person and for once he feels genuine happiness. muse a decided to ditch the plan for revenge and decided to pursue a genuine relationship with muse b. But what happens when muse b wants to introduce muse a to her father?

5. Based off of carolina- harry styles:

Muse a is an aspiring [actress/singer/songwriter/dancer.. etc] that moves from south carolina to los angeles after her grandma encourages her to pursue her dreams before it’s too late. as muse a starts to adapt to her new life in l.a, her friends decide to set her up on a blind date just for fun. when muse a shows up, she realizes that her blind date is none other than muse b, a famous heartthrob singer living in l.a as he finishes his latest album. muse b is instantly fascinated by muse a, she was down to earth, outgoing, and she hardly knew anything about him, which was rare for him. the night goes well, but muse a tells muse b that she’s not looking for a serious relationship, especially with such a public figure, resulting in the date to be their last. but this single encounter inspires muse b to write a song about muse a, confessing his feelings for her to the world. months later, muse a wakes up one morning to shouting outside of her window as well as hundreds of notifications on her phone, linking to her several articles pinning her muse b’s new “mystery girl”. muse a decides to track down muse b to confront him about the song, but as they meet again, muse b makes it clear his feelings still remain, while muse a has already moved on to another man.

6.

i don’t know if it’s been done but how about the complete fuckboy who is so used to routine. he picks up who he wants, it’ll be easy and if he’s lucky they’ll put up a challenge but they end up in the alley or in the men’s room and he always has the courtesy of kissing them goodbye and never seeing them again. and it’s like every saturday, he’s at the bar and he spots a pretty girl and she looks the perfect amount of innocent (he’s not up for a challenge tonight)  but theres a bit of banter going and eventually she ends up in the backseat of his Jeep and when they’re done he’s leans in with a grin, memorised almost like a catchphrase, “thanks for the great sex babe” to kiss her goodbye but she turns her cheek at the last minute, offers him a sweet smile “cute. that was great sex for you?” and just like that the fuck boy’s been fucked and she’s smoothing her skirt down and disappearing out of the backseat and he needs to find her again, needs to prove her wrong and it’s almost obsessive the way he needs her and suddenly hes just like one of the many girls that chase after him following a mediocre one night stand.  

7. 

a “i’m getting married next week to a girl i’m not even sure i love but hey at least my brother is throwing a kick ass bachelor party for me!!!! this stripper giving me a lapdance right now kinda looks a lot like my high school sweetheart that i havent seen in years — holy shit wait its her” plot !!!!!1!

8.

muse a (19-22) is a photography college student in manhattan, and muse b (23-25) lives in the upper east side where he works with his dad in their big real estate company. muse a always puts her work first, and thinks she doesn’t have time for relationships in this stage in her life, but she still gets hers ya feel, and is used to guys trying to tie her down. muse b spends all of his time being an irresponsible rich brat, he goes from girl to girl, never wanting to commit to anyone. one day muse a is asked to take pictures of muse b’s building, and he meets her there to let her into the apartment. muse a’s beauty and confident demeanor instantly draws muse b in and so instead of leaving after he let her into the apartment, he hangs around and they get to talking and then bam they’re having sex on the floor. they exchange numbers and it’s a pretty casual thing, muse a will call muse b up at 3am, they’d have sex, maybe get some food or talk a bit, but that’d be it, until muse a’s lack of interest for something more from muse b makes him want something more from her. but what if muse a truly doesn’t feel the same way?? and if she does, what if muse b’s parents don’t approve of a non-socialite girl???

9. so like i really want a plot for a couple that’s abusive on both sides and just have angst all over the damn place. like they’re both insecure, possessive, easily jealous, and easily offended. like they’ll be out on a date or something and a boy would just look at her and he would basically kick the guys ass while she tried to pull him away and then they’d go back home later and he just you liked the way he looked at you didn’t you and then they’d fuck. and and she would visit him at school or work or something and she’d see him just talking to another girl and basically try to kick her ass but he pulls her away and she’d grill him on who she was and just tell him to fuck himself and storm off. but they’d also have their really cute moments like he’d sing her to sleep and she’d surprise him in the morning by cooking breakfast and they’d build blanket forts and play the floor is lava in their little apartment and just im b e g g i n g. 

10. ok but how angsty would a plot be where muse a and muse b are best friends and have been for their entire life and there’s always been this sexual tension neither wanted to admit until one night they both get a little drunk and hook up but a week or two passes and muse a finds out she’s pregnant with muse b’s baby and she doesn’t know how to even bring it up with muse b and it’d be so good bc there’s so many different ways u can go with this 

11.okay but forbidden relationship plot where muse a is in a band and there’s a clear rule of not getting involved with anyone’s sibling bc cant disrespect bro code man cmoN!!!! but obvs muse b walks in and she’s muse c’s (npc) little sister and she instantly hits it off with muse a which earns him hella stern looks from muse c and warning lectures like yo thats my kid sister better stay away but they have rlly rlly good chemistry and they can’t really stay away so they have to try rlly hard to keep their relationship hella lowkey bc her brother can’t find out and neither can the public bc obvious reasons???? and like the only time they can ever be alone and do whatever they want is in their hotel room when she visits bc they don’t want to raise suspicion in public and there are so many rumors of muse a going out and about with some other girl and just so much angsT???

12. 

muse a and muse b were high school sweethearts, during senior year, muse a found out that she was pregnant, it was two months before graduation but they figured out how to keep it as a secret. having an athletic scholarship in one of the top university in the city, muse b knows that it would harm his chances for going to a nice college but he loves muse a and was ready to sacrifice everything for her but it was muse a who wasn’t ready and decided to leave him without even saying goodbye. fast forward four years, muse b just signed a contract to be a professional athlete and muse a is a single mom juggling going to university and taking care of their daughter, they met by accident in the hospital when their daughter got sick and he was there for a charity event. 

13. i want a plot where a fan sneaks into a concert by claiming s/he’s one of the band member’s girlfriends (or boyfriends) and the security asks the band member and they’re like yeah we’re dating even though they’re noT AND THEY BECOME LIKE A GROUPIE AND HOOK UP BACKSTAGE OKand then they exchange phone numbers and while the band is on tour they keep talking for a while and actually start some kind of long distance relationship or friendship or something

14. Character A has been the perfect child all of her life, never earning anything lower than a B on her report card. She rarely went to parties, and when she did, she was seen as the DD because she didn’t drink. Her parents couldn’t have been more proud when she was accepted to Columbia University, the college that they had always dreamt of their child going to. She, on the other hand, is only going to please them. She doesn’t want to be a lawyer, nor does she want to go to Columbia. She just can’t bear to let the two people that care and love her the most down. Character B doesn’t have any plans for college. In fact, he doesn’t think he’s ever going to go to college at all. He’s always been the life of the party, and everyone sees him as a fun guy. His mother abandoned him when he was a child, and his dad works two jobs to put food on the table. He understands that college is out of the picture — at least for now. He wants to take his beaten up truck and travel around the country for a year, earning experiences that may help him in the future, but he doesn’t want to go alone.Character A and Character B have been friends since Kindergarden, and she was always the one to settle him down when he got too wild. He, on the other hand, always helped her break out of her shell. They are the perfect pair, and they always have been, but sometimes, they argue a lot more than anyone should.The night after their high school graduation, Character B asks Character A to accompany him on his journey. She thinks he’s crazy. In her mind, Columbia is where she needs to be, and if she skips out on it, her parents will never forgive her. Eventually, he convinces her to skip town with him. Before they leave, Character A drains the bank account that hold all of her college fund.

15. 

what about a plot where muse a is the shy kinda girl who reads all day and kinda just is a bookworm who always stutters and avoids any socializing really until muse b moves in next door, and he’s loud and always playing music, or evens sometimes making his own and when muse a goes and tries to tell him to quiet down some she’s instantly even more nervous seeing how attractive he is and muse b being the cocky asshole that we all know everyone adores is automatically just in a trance because of her somewhat innocent nature and then muse b begins being extremely loud almost every day just for muse a to come over and yell for him to quiet down and he’d just stand there wiTH A SMIRK PLAYING ON HIS LIPS BECAUSE HE JUST WANTS TO LIKE RUIN HER BUT HE LOVES THE INNOCENT VIBE AND ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS WIPE THE COCKY SMIRK OFF HIS LIPS AND PROVE HERSELF TO HIM AND PFSFSD

16. 

I WANT A PLOT KIND OF BASED OFF ’WHATS YOUR NUMBER?’ WHERE MUSE A HAS JUST MOVED INTO THE APARTMENT AND MUSE B LIVES ACROSS FROM THEM AND ALWAYS HAS A GIRL OVER AND THEY ARE ALWAYS SO LOUD, LIKE WHEN MUSE A IS TRYING TO STUDY SHE WILL HEAR THE GIGGLES AND THE VOICES AND THE BED CREAKING AND SHE IS VERY FLUSTERED AND AWKWARD BUT SHE GETS MORE AND MORE ANGRY AND THEN ONE DAY MUSE A IS RUNNING LATE AND RUNS INTO MUSE B AND GETS ALL FLUSTERED AND THINKS THEY’RE CUTE AS HELLA AND THEN SEES MUSE B GO INTO THEIR OWN ROOM AND MUSE A MAKES THE CONNECTION LIKE ‘OH MY GOD THEY ARE ALWAYS HAVING SEX AND ARE SO LOUD’ AND MUSE A TRIES NOT TO THINK ABOUT THEM OR HOW THEY ARE IN BED AND THEN ONE DAY WHEN MUSE A IS LEAVING THE APARTMENT AND THEY FLIRT WITH MUSE B AND A GIRL COMES OUT OF MUSE B’S APARTMENT HALF NAKED AND MUSE A JUST SHUTS DOWN AND THE GIRL GETS ALL ANGRY AND DEFENSIVE WITH MUSE B AND CLAIMS THAT THEY DIDN’T KNOW THEY HAD A GF/BF AND MUSE B GETS CONFUSED AND WATCHES THE GIRL RUN OFF AND MUSE A FEELS BAD FOR MAKING THEM RUN AWAY BUT MUSE B IS LIKE 'ITS OKAY, I WAS TRYING TO GET RID OF THEM FOR AGES’ AND THEN IT SPARKS THE IDEA THAT IF MUSE B KEEPS IT DOWN MUSE A WILL COME OVER IN THE MORNINGS AND PRETEND TO BE THE GIRLFRIEND TO GET THE GIRLS TO LEAVE BECAUSE MUSE B DOESNT DO RELATIONSHIPS.CUE BOTH OF THEM BEING AWKWARD AND GOOFY AND BECOMING FRIENDS AND MUSE B BEGINNING TO BLOW OFF HAVING SEX WITH OTHER GIRLS IN ORDER TO JUST HANG WITH MUSE A AND MUSE A BEGINNING TO REALLY NOT LIKE WALKING IN AND GETTING GIRLS TO LEAVE MUSE B’S APARTMENT BECAUSE MAYBE THEY WANT TO BE THE ONLY ONE IN MUSE B’S APARTMENT

17. 

Muse A is a wealthy CEO who runs their own fortune 500 company in a bustling city. Muse A is in their 30s and has been married to their college sweetheart for 12 years, though the passion between them has long since fizzled out. Muse B is a 20-something, fresh out of college, possessing a business degree and needing to get their foot in the door of the business world. Muse B is lucky enough to be hired by Muse A’s firm and becomes Muse A’s personal assistant/secretary. Muse A and Muse B exchange pleasantries from day to day, but don’t socialize much beyond the details of their business together. One evening, Muse B gets a call from Muse A asking a favor. Muse A must go to a charity gala and their spouse is not able to attend; they want Muse B to attend the event with them. Muse B is flattered and agrees to go for the sake of not letting their boss down. Muse A sends a private car for Muse B along with an expensive outfit for them to wear. When Muse B arrives at the gala, they are blown away by the elegant venue. Champagne is flowing freely and Muse A looks attractive as ever in formal wear. Throughout the evening, Muse A reveals a playful, charming side to Muse B that they don’t get to see in the office. Muse A is flirtatious even, lightly touching the small of Muse B’s back, sliding their arm around Muse B’s shoulder, complimenting Muse B in front of business associates. Muse B knows that they shouldn’t read to heavily into Muse A’s flirtation, because Muse A is married and they work together, but it’s difficult not to get swept up.When the gala is over, Muse A insists that they retire to the hotel room they’ve reserved upstairs until they’ve sobered up some. Muse B agrees to stay and the pair takes the elevator up to a penthouse suite, the likes of which Muse B has only seen on luxury blogs and in travel magazines. Fueled by a mutual attraction and champagne, Muse A makes a bold move on Muse B, crossing professional and marital lines. Muse B feels guilty the next morning, knowing that Muse A is married, but the attraction between boss and employee can no longer be ignored. Over the course of the following weeks, Muse A and Muse B embark on a secret affair; sharing intimate moments between business meetings,  going away on overnight  “business trips” together, indulging in private shopping sprees with Muse B’s platinum card.  

18. 

someone give me a plot where muse a is living in this nyc apartment complex, and the apartment across the hall from her has always been empty, until one day she finally sees someone moving in. she introduces herself to the guy moving in, muse b, and is immediately attracted to him. before long, they end up going on a few dates, although muse b is hesitant at first, and at the end of the third date, muse a tries to invite muse b into her apartment for the night, but he declines. she’s confused and initially embarrassed, until he tells her that she should come into his apartment, because he has something to show her. they walk in and there’s a teenage girl on the couch. muse a is extremely confused now, especially when muse b introduces the girl as the babysitter. it isn’t until a tiny little two-year-old comes toddling around the corner that she realizes that muse b is a single father.

[joya34blanco]

How to Take Unique Double Exposures Without Using Photoshop

For over a hundred years, double exposures have captivated photographers and art enthusiasts alike. Discovered by pure chance, a double exposure is a trick where a single frame of film is exposed twice or more in order to achieve multiple images in a single shot. This results in a photograph that comes out as a combination of the two images that were shot, one superimposed on top of the other.

From the technique’s boom in the 1860s, this inspired accident created an avant-garde trend that could only be described as one of the most creative uses of photography. Today, you don’t need to shoot on film to be able to create wonderful double exposures. Digital cameras are all capable of performing this unique trick!

There are five key steps to creating a basic double exposure on a digital camera. Let’s look at them one at a time.

1. Conceptualize

Although spontaneity and experimentation in photography are excellent (and very important learning processes in becoming a good photographer), more difficult techniques require further planning and forethought. It is far easier to produce a successful and satisfying double exposure when you conceptualize the image(s) beforehand, than fumbling around for hours producing work that may leave you feeling frustrated! To begin your plan, ask yourself a few simple questions:

What is my subject?

What is my background?

What is this image’s purpose?

What resources do I have available to me?

After you have answered these, you should have a much better idea of what your finished photograph will look like. As such, bringing your vision to life will now be a breeze!.

2. Multiple exposures settings

For film, you would simply shoot on the same frame multiple times by re-rolling (or not advancing it) the film. Since digital is not a roll, you will have to dig into your camera’s settings (check your user manual if need by) and do a couple of tweaks. Most digital cameras, such as Canons and Nikons, have a multiple exposure setting to allow you to generate these distinctive images.

Often found in the menu, the multiple exposure setting will more than likely host an array of options.

One of the main selections presented is choosing how many images you would like to overlay. Most cameras range from two to ten. For the purpose of this simple tutorial, we will only be using two images. At the bottom of this article, I will mention how to use far more than two photographs for advanced techniques.

Another important option will be Multi-Exposure Control (or blend mode). This tells the camera how you want your images composited together. The options are typically Additive, Average, Dark, and Light.

Blend mode options

Additive means that your images will simply be overlaid one over the other without any special considerations (see below).

Average (which is similar to Additive) means that the camera will automatically adjust the exposure in any overlapping areas to prevent overexposure, based on the number of exposures you combine. Any non-overlapping areas will be rendered with a normal exposure.

Bright means that exposure priority will be given to bright objects so that they will retain their exposure even when combined with a dark background.

Dark means that exposure priority will be given to dark objects so that they will retain their exposure even when combined with a light background.

The final main setting should revolve around the actual physical camera controls. On Canon and Nikon cameras, you will most likely be presented with two options: Func/Ctrl (which allows you to pick your base image before shooting) and ContShtng (which means that you just photograph images one after the other and they will be composited).

Every camera is different, so remember to please reference your user manual for more detailed information.

3. Photograph the silhouette

A silhouette is the shape that will be filled by your background of choice. The key to this is making sure that your silhouette subject is photographed on a plain background. Don’t worry too much about properly exposing the details on your subject, all of that will be covered up by your background. Focus on making sure that the area around your subject is clear of objects.

The first thought that may pop into your head is using a studio, but that isn’t necessary. You don’t have to be in a studio to photograph your subject on a clean background. You can photograph your subject on a plainly colored wall or better yet, you can go outside and use the beautiful open sky above you.

To photograph your subject in front of the sky, shoot from a slightly lower angle to make sure that no additional clutter ends up disrupting your clear sky. Depending on your geographical position, the easiest time of day to photograph your subject is about an hour before sunset. The right exposure will ensure that no flare ends up in your photograph.

4. Photograph the background

This is the texture or image that will fill the silhouette you just captured. Good options for this image are well exposed trees, landscapes, flowers, mountains, or patterns. Make sure that your background is well lit, as to not lose any details. If the background is over or underexposed, the resulting image may be hard to read.

When picking your background, consider color, complementary shapes, and how these factors all correlate with one another to produce a great double exposure. If your silhouette is a soft, female form, think about using flowers with complimentary delicate shapes. If your silhouette is a rugged form, think about using some strong-featured trees to accent the silhouette’s configuration.

5. Watch the images line up

On some cameras, you need to remember the positioning of the two images. On others, you can use the Live View feature to actually see how the images line up before taking the last photograph. In either case, watch the photographs come together, and look in awe at your masterpiece.

The aforementioned steps are just the foundation for creating a simple version of these painterly images. The double exposure technique can be utilized for a variety of purposes, styles, and effects. Instead of just using two photographs, utilize three or more to create entirely new types of imagery. Here are some advanced techniques to really push the limits of double exposures:

Using double exposures for movement

Double exposures are a fantastic way to express artistic movement in an image and have the viewer move their eyes around the frame. Set your number of frames to three or more, and have your subject move differently in each shot. When the images are composited together, you will generate an image that showcases a lot of movement.

Using double exposures for sequences

You can use double exposures to create a step-by-step sequence in a single image. When Continuous Shooting (ContShtng) is selected in the settings, put the camera on a tripod, and fire away at your subject without panning (following the subject with your camera). Make sure that your focus settings are set to AI Servo for Canon or Continuous-Servo AF (AF-C) for Nikon (which means that the camera will lock focus on your subject and hold that focus no matter where the subject moves.

You want to keep the camera as still as possible so that the not-moving parts of your photographs do not have any overlap distortion. Your finished composite will feature every step in the sequence.

Super-imposing without photo editing software

Upon its discovery in the 1800s, a significant use of double exposures was to super-impose without needing to physically combine or paint photographs in the dark room. Today, although we have access to incredible post-processing and retouching programs, editing can be quite time consuming. A good way to combine images without the need of Photoshop is by utilizing this infamous technique.

Instead of silhouetting your subject and picking a background, you will now be placing subjects together. Similar to what was done with sequencing above, put the camera on a tripod to make sure that the frame does not move (as to not have any distortion on still objects.

Ghosting

Back when double exposures were first discovered, many photographers of that time loved to create ghostly images. The concept of ghosts were quite prevalent because of the world’s tumultuous history. Photographers and artists alike were captivated with this eerie subject matter, and fascinated with the audience’s response to that kind of image.

To create your own ghostly photograph, set your camera on a tripod. Photograph the background location. Then for the next image, set your shutter speed quite low to create some motion blur. Finally, have someone slowly walk through the frame and take a picture. The composite will feature a ghostly presence.

Now that you’ve finished this guide, go out there and take some phenomenal double exposures. Please share your images and comments below.

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