#I guarantee you everyone reading this will disagree with you. I have an amazing music taste and an amazing taste in women

[dearfraumilena]

blog summary: a lesbian that found a computer. your whole personality is boygenius and lesbianism (same thing). You only post queer female indie music. Terrible music taste, terrible taste in women.

goddamn lesbian.

0.47/7.9 stars

(this is a joke, none of these things are true. You dont have to answer it if you don't want. im teasing you but if you want me to stop please message me!)

*shocked face* I wonder who this is

I'm in your walls

[honestmouse20]

In honnor of the 20th anneversary of Evanescene's album and it now being back on store shelves, have some thoughts I have on it!

I used to listen to it, back in the day lol. When it came out. I can remember vividly my mom singing it in the car. It was one of the few things that we were allowed to listen to that wasn't 'traditional' christian music.

At the time I didn't even know what any of those words meant. I was 5 afterall lol. But growing up, my view on faith was a weird one. I thought it was a cool concept but, to me, it felt like an interesting book that I wanted to write my own twist ending for. I played pretend like *i* was the one coming back from the dead and stuff. (Yk normal kid things)

And now, looking back 20 years later, despite this album and artist being a 'christian' band, their music still holds up. To me at least, it's probably because they kept the more epic side of things. Being a literal broken person and needing help. Yk all the immagry from the song Tournequte. It still is so cool to me because, even tho I firmly don't follow any religions, the message is still interesting to me and I can honestly interpret it any way I wish. Kinda like having a friend who's christian and they get comfort from that, and me being like, that's good I'm really glad you have this thing that comforts you. yk?

I love the mesh of genres too. I'm bad with names and this is jsut a ramble so I'm doing no research to make this post. But I love how it's a good mix of grunge, early early emo, and christian rock. Like the songs Fuck and they have that signiture flare lots of rock ajacent genres had around the time it came out. The cool beeping at the end of Going Under, I think. And ofc the infamous Wake me up duet thing. I read somewhere they were pressured into that by their label, having a guy do a 'rap'. But it was very iconic and to this day is one song by them that I guarantee everyone probably knows. Or at least can recongnize. I also love how you can have heavier songs like Bring me to life and then the super soft ones like My Imortal. Which, the latter always brings me to tears bc it's so fucking beautiful and haunting and Defined my fucking emo phase.

Also, also fuck if I don't talk about the vocals I will die. I grew up listening to this album and her others. I know the words by heart. I knew them today in the car listening to this cd even tho I havn't played any of these songs since highschool (2013-2017 era). They stuck with me. I taught myself to sing by parroting these songs. And I don't think anyone would disagree with me about how fucking *amazing* of a singer Amy Lee is. She is incredible and honestly I respect her so much. She went out and wrote these songs about loving yourself and finding yourself and fuck what everyone else thinks. It's like, yeah theres the undrlining of god saving you but she also doesn't sound like the majority of the christians nowdays yk? She's not condeming anyone else. She's simply saying that she found comfort and herself through That and that's what saved her. And honestly I respect that so much.

TLDR: Despite being 'christian rock' this album and band are So good and honestly people who call it cringe clearly did not listen to the same album lol

[theacerbicprince]

Answering Harry Potter Tag Questions

So my darling @xweofmanyfaces answered this in video form but I don’t do videos because I don’t know how to edit and stuff. Really, all I can do is type and prance so I’m going to type out my answers to these questions. It may be long, I apologise in advance. If there are any other questions you’d like to ask me that I haven’t answered then let me know. 

What house are you in?

I am a Gryffindor which surprised me initially but if I think about it makes a lot of sense because I am very loyal to the people I care about and I don’t think I’m brave but I know people who would disagree with me just based on the challenges in my life. 

What is your Patronus?

My patronus is a white stallion according to pottermore. I read up on what it meant on the lexicon and it was amazing how similar it was to me. 

What is your wand?

My wand, as on pottermore, is Pear wood with phoenix tail feather, 13 and 3 quarter inches, slightly yielding flexibility. According to pottermore, there has never been a recorded instance of a pear wood in possession of a dark witch or wizard. 

Favorite book?

I liked the Deathly Hallows because it gave us so much and it wasn’t as badly paced as some of the other books were and it moved me emotionally, very much so and it revealed so much of my darling boy. 

Least favorite book?

Probably the Chamber of Secrets if I’m honest. 

Favorite movie?

From an aesthetic point of view, the Half Blood Prince. Overall favourite movie in terms of soundtrack is the Deathly Hallows Part 2 but overall, tying everything together would probably have to go to Order of the Phoenix. I live for Imelda Staunton in that movie and ugh, just that bit where Alan manages to inject that much snark and sass and condescension into the one word ‘obviously’. 

Least favorite movie?

Goblet of Fire, I think a lot of people might agree with me on that one, it’s not universally that well received. 

Is there a movie you preferred over the book?

The Chamber of Secrets movie is better than the book for me. I actually feel very emotional about the ending of that movie probably because of Chris Columbus to be honest and some of the shots are amazing and the music too, John Williams excellent. 

Favorite quote?

I love this so, so fucking much. 

“It is good to see that six years of magical education haven’t been wasted on you Potter; ghosts are transparent.” 

Favorite character?

Severus without a shadow of a doubt. He’s my boy even when he’s being a total jackass and he just brings so much joy to me because he makes me laugh so much. 

Least favorite character?

Ron. I hate getting on the ship in that sense but yeah, I don’t like Ron as a character although a lot of that comes from the fact that I just don’t see him ending up with someone like Hermione. This does not mean I don’t want to write with Ron because Molly loves all of her children regardless of their flaws but I don’t personally like him. I like him even less in the movies because they took away some of his kinder, more human moments and he was like 95% jackass. 

Favorite professor?

Minerva is an absolute boss, always, that never changes. She teaches the kids so much and she’s so supportive but at the same time she doesn’t take any shit. I will always have to defer to my home boy though because he’s an amazing teacher even though he is a giant asshole about it. He is multi talented because he can teach more than the one subject and he can teach them well. He fully understands his subjects and he takes them both so seriously, more seriously than his other professors I would say. He doesn’t express it the right way but he cares a lot about the welfare of the students. There’s a reason he loses his shit when Neville fucks up so badly at Potions that Severus is practically apoplectic, because the boy is dangerous and he doesn’t want to be responsible for a death or severe disfigurement. 

Favorite villan?

Bellatrix Lestrange. She’s a great villain in that she is so unstable and you don’t know what she’s going to be doing next really. She is the sort of villain where you are constantly on edge around her and we actually get to see her in action properly and we get a full, real sense of why she’s so terrifying. A lot of that was missing as far as it went for Voldemort because we didn’t get to see much of him or how he earned his reputation. 

Favorite weasley?

Molly, she is my girl but she is also super strong, super loving and she has dealt with so much in her life and so deals with it all with barely any complaint. She is so giving to everyone, she takes everyone in and is so welcoming and approachable and it’s not something that she thinks about doing, it’s just natural to her. 

Favorite marauder?

Remus because he isn’t a giant douche. Remus is also the one that seems more understandable to me. I think we’ve all been there at one point or another where we have seen an injustice and we have to decide what we are going to about it. He didn’t actually want to kill anyone, he didn’t take a savage delight or really any delight in what was going on and he’s apologetic about it. He doesn’t come up with excuses for his actions or lack of actions, he accepts the responsibility of what he’s done. 

Are there any characters you felt differently about in the movies versus the books?

Gilderoy Lockhart and that is just because Kenneth Branagh is just amazing, he is a stunning actor and I admire him greatly as a professional and he made Lockhart far more likeable.I actually enjoyed watching him in the movie whereas I hated reading him in the books. 

Which character do you think you’d have the closest relationship with?

Probably Molly if I’m being honest, we are quite similar in some senses. Severus would struggle to tolerate me but I think he still would put up with me. 

Which class would be your favorite?

I am a huge history fan so yeah, History of Magic would probably be quite high up on my list. I think I’d like DADA too, combat you know. 

What would your boggart be?

My daughter (from my dreams) desperately wanting my attention because she needs me but I’m too out of it to be able to help her, my darling Penny with my health conditions. Oddly specific I know but it is a massive fear. 

What position would you play in Quiddich?

Seeker probably, I have good eyesight and good hearing too. 

Would you be a pure-blood, half-blood or muggle born?

I would be half blood, just makes sense for me. My mother is Scottish and my father is English so it makes sense that I’d be half and half magically. 

What job would you want to have after leaving Hogwarts?

It really depends on what my specialisation would be to be honest. I might teach for a while, I really enjoyed being a tutor (which was my job up until September last year). 

Which of the Deathly Hallows would you choose?

The invisibility cloak. I don’t need great power in my life and my loved ones would drive me insane because I would want to see them so often, to touch them and I couldn’t. The invisibility cloak is remarkably useful. 

Which spell would be the most useful to learn?

A healing spell of some sort, always useful. 

Do you have any unpopular opinions about the series?

MY HOME BOY IS A GOOD MAN! It is not creepy that he was in love with Lily for that whole length of time. Stop having a go at my man, he’s not a creeper. 

Either or/if, would you rather:

Wash Snape’s hair, or listen to Lockhart ranting about himself for a day?

Do you even have to ask that question? I would massage that scalp aaaall day.   

Duel an elated Bellatrix, or an angry Molly?

Angry Molly would be terrifying but an elated Bellatrix is guaranteed to torture me to the point that I am desperately crying out to die. 

Travel to Hogwarts via Hogwarts Express, or a flying car?

Hogwarts Express, you can get up and walk around the train, stretch the legs which is good for me because of my nerve damage and pains in my hips etc. 

Kiss Voldemort or give Umbridge a bubble bath?

Kiss Voldemort, I do not want to see Umbridge naked. 

Ride a Hippogriff or ride a Firebolt?

Probably the Hippogriff, I think it’d be far more comfortable and I could actually talk to the Hipprogriff and not feel like a lunatic. Who talks to their broomstick eh?

Hallows Or Horcruxes?

The horcruxes are a fascinating and interesting concept especially when you look into the whole process and splitting the soul. Is the soul split every time that you kill? 

If you could own one of the three Hallows, which one would it be and why?

Invisibility cloak, this was addressed earlier. 

If you could bring one character back to life, who would it be?

This motherfucking question right here. I’ve been thinking about this question for hours, honest to Lords hours. You’d think I would want to bring Severus back to life but there is one person in particular who comes to mind because it’s just so tragic and I would want to change it so badly and that is Tonks. I want Teddy to grow up with his mother and Andromeda to not have to deal with the loss of her daughter as well as her husband. 

[howtohero]

#211 Breaking Up

They say that break up is hard to do, but they weren’t dealing with superpowered drama queens so they don’t even know. When you want to break up with the people you’re fighting crime with, things are going to get very sticky very fast. Whether it be calling it quits on your partner, dropping your sidekick or disbanding your entire team, we’re going to try our best to guide you through this complicated transition as smoothly as possible. 

Calling it quits on your partner When you’ve been teaming-up and fighting crime with the same person for a while, things can get kind of rote. The banter gets stale, you both like being the handcuff guy, and you’ve discovered that that combo move that you guys do where your super strong partner picks you up and uses your metal body to bludgeon bad guys is actually very bad for your back. So, you make the decision to end the partnership. That’s fine, there’s no shame in that, people grow apart. (Edit: We feel the need to make it clear here that we are talking about emotionally growing apart. This is not a reference to Miketosis, the amazing budding man.) But now you’re left with the unenviable task of breaking this news to your partner, who could very well be four buses glued together and granted sentience by the Allsource of Allmagic. (Edit: This is also not a reference to Miketosis. This is obviously talking about Busses 4 Dayz. Come on Mike, it couldn’t have been more obvious. Stop emailing me. You’re clearly reaching here.) 

When breaking up with your partner it is important to be kind and gentle. Tell them that you don’t think any less of them as a crime fighter and that you look forward to seeing them succeed in all of their future endeavors. Assure them that this isn’t the end of your friendship, merely your partnership, and that should they ever need a helping hand in their fight against super-crime, you’ll always be there. It’s important to couch the news that you’re done with this partnership in positive terms, because if this goes badly, you might be creating a whole new nemesis for yourself. As we’ve said dozens of times, superpowered people are generally just one bad day, or even one bad moment, away from going full blown supervillain. (Edit: Miketosis, come on, how could this be a reference to you? That doesn’t even make sense. You haven’t been spurned by someone you thought of as a friend and turned into a full blown disease-weaponizing, grenade-catapulting supervillain. Wait a minute... are you saying this is your supervillain moment?) If you slip up and tell them that the reason you’re breaking up is because you hate the way they yodel whenever they see a crime take place, I guarantee you that the next morning you’re going to find them astride a giant hellhorse (think hellhound but bigger and with a taste for sugar cubes) and strumming a guitar (that they pronounce “gee-tar”) and announcing to the world that they have decided to start committing crimes. So be careful. Let them down easy. 

Dropping your sidekick Maybe you read our many rants about the dangers of having a child sidekick. (Reason #29 why having a child sidekick is a bad idea: They can easily be turned against you if your enemies just have better snacks.) Maybe you came to that conclusion all on your own. Maybe you somehow haven’t figured that out yet but you just think your child sidekick is annoying. Either way, you now have to dispose of this acrobatic ten-year-old that has grown rather fond of kicking criminals in the head alongside you. If you, for reasons known only to yourself, adopted this child at some point, then things get considerably trickier. Of course you could always just erase the child’s memories of your time together and then abandon them in an orphanage and never contact them again. That would be the simple solution. (Reason #42: You’re eventually going to convince yourself that this was a good idea and once you believe that, you’ll believe anything.) It is also the correct solution. Lobotomize and traumatize a child. Just go for it. It’s the only thing you can do. This is why you should never have a child sidekick and even if you are a fool and recruit a child soldier, you should not adopt them. Then you’re not only endangering a child, you’re endangering your own child. So don’t expect to win any parenting awards. (Reason #106: They’re going to keep posting your location on social media or live streaming your fights, which will allow other villains to find you.)

Children are notoriously temperamental. And they tend to be averse to change. So when dropping them from your team, expect to be met with some pushback. (Reason 6: That child doesn’t even know how to walk yet! What are you even thinking???) They’ll ask you why they can’t come with you any longer to fight the giant garbage monster in the Pacific Ocean like you guys used to do every week without fail. They’ll cry, they’ll beg, they might even kick you in the shin if that’s something you’ve taught them. But you must stay strong. Under no circumstance should you be bringing that child to fight the garbage monster. It’s bad enough you’ve already done it 51 times. But no more! However, you’re in an interesting position now. Because this child has been trained in hand to hand combat, and also might have superpowers. If you’re not wiping their memories and abandoning them, then that is potentially dangerous small child. So you need to keep them in your sights, just keep them out of the field. Give them a less combat-oriented roll on your team. Make them the head of your social media and youngsters-outreach program. Put them in charge of picking the phattest music for your battles. Or just agree to keep training and mentoring them until they’re old enough to fight crime for real. (Reason #1000: Uh hate to do this one again but I feel like it bears repeating but the child is a child.) 

Disbanding the team It’s very rare that a team will just disband entirely. It’s far more likely that someone will just become disgruntled, have a tantrum, throw a table through a window and then get sucked into the vacuum of space because you can’t just be smashing windows in the space base. And then all you gotta do is replace that guy and window. So when a team breaks up for real, you know something dicey went down. Maybe some new fancy law came out and everybody disagreed over whether or not it was a lawful law or an awful law. Maybe one of the team members revealed that they’d secretly been coming up with elaborate plots to murder everyone else on the team. In case of emergency of course. Maybe you all just got hit with the pretty irked plague (which is a watered-down version of Karalaxus’ rage-plague that just makes people irritable) and now you all can’t stand one another. Regardless, things have become untenable in your HQ and this team needs to be disbanded. 

If you want to fully shut down a superhero organization you need to make decisive moves. Decommission and condemn the team’s headquarters. If another team moves in, then they’ll be seen as your team’s spiritual successors and we can’t be having any of that. Crash your team’s vehicle into a swamp. (A swamp is just a watered-down version of Karalaxus’ goo-ocean of foul smells, which is what Neptune is now that Karalaxus has wreaked havoc on it.) Whether it’s a car, or a long tandem-bike or a space shuttle, that thing needs to go into a swamp pronto. Just make sure you don’t crash it into a swamp that is inhabited by a swamp witch. Because they will ruin your day at the slightest provocation and crashing a space shuttle into their home is a little bit more than the slightest provocation. We need it to be completely unusable. Trademark the team’s name and sue anybody else who tries to use it. If some other group of heroes just starts using your name then did the team really disband? Or did it just get all new members? We don’t want there to be any room for interpretation here, we want this team gone. 

Once all that silly logistical business is wrapped up, you need to fire all the members of your team. If you don’t have the power to do that, because you either didn’t read our post on leadership or messed up one of the steps, then you need to get everybody else to quit. (Our post on leadership is just a watered-down version of Karalaxus’ seminal “Proclamation of Sovereignty” in which the doom-bringer proclaimed that all life is forevermore subservient to the might of Karalaxus. It’s pretty compelling stuff and i invite all of you to give it a read.) Getting people to quite a superhero team is pretty easy. You just need to constantly show them up, rob them of their spotlight, and all around just publicly embarrass them, any chance you get. Superheroes like to save lives sure, but they also really like being recognized and praised for it. So by embarrassing them or just all around being better than them, you don’t risk them quitting superherodom entirely, you’re just going to push them into leaving your team and forming their own, without you. With any luck, this plan will just result in your team fracturing into several new superhero teams. Which is great, you’ve achieved your goal in the best way possible. Just be careful to avoid causing a superhero civil war when your team splits apart. You want things to me amicable between the former members of your team. You just don’t want them to be so friendly that they continue being a team. (Friendship is just a watered down version of Karalaxus’ concept of the circuit of souls, the never ending loop of life, which shall one day be completed, bringing about the reign of Karalaxus as was foretold by the prophecy passed down from the son to the father to the son to the father to the son and on and on and on until the day in which all shall become one.)

[xomikayla-blog1]

BLOG DISCUSSION

Perry-Washington, Mikayla

ENG 1301

Professor Robert Lunday

September 22, 2018

Growing Up

     My name is Mikayla Perry, eighteen-year old student and not much else. Although my life is barely just getting started, I still have a mouthful of a story I could tell about my childhood. From an Alcohol addicted father to abandonment issues, growing up was not always easy, especially as a black young lady. It was always “You are so pretty for a black girl!” or “Your hair is so long for a black girl!” Being only twelve or thirteen years old, it never resonated to me that those truly were not compliments. I was used to being the “black girl”. Still to this day, stereotypical jokes are told to make me laugh by other races. They are never funny. I do not know if others see them as offensive, but they for sure are not entertainment. The obvious “Dang girl, calm down!” although my tone barely has barely elevated, is a common one. Or the “You two look alike!” because the color of our skin is the same. We share no resemblance. I look nothing like this girl. What makes us look alike?

           If it were not already bad enough to be stereotyped in Intermediate school, I struggled a lot with dealing with my appearance. It was always the other girls over me, I felt. What makes her so much prettier than me? Is it because her curly hair is down her back and she can speak Spanish? It was always something. I got so used to counting myself out before anyone else could to save myself the hurt and embarrassment. I have always been a very sensitive person and the SLIGHTEST snarky comment could have me in tears. My self-esteem was not where it should have been, and I never considered myself to be the “It” girl. I was always just in the background, floating. My friends were always the prettier favorites, and I was always just used to being Mikayla. It eventually took a toll on me mentally. I got so used to being alone that company no longer excited me. I was the “nerd’’. I enjoyed reading, and most definitely my video games. I felt as if it were an outlet. It was just me. Me having a good time, listening to my favorite music, which always became an extreme outlet for me. I often had a hard time expressing how I felt, and I felt as though my favorite artist did it for me.

           My father was a major factor for me in my life. If the whole world believed I was wrong, my Father would know I was still right. He struggled with an alcohol addiction and sometimes heavy drugs. I loved my father to death. I was young, and it was difficult seeing the man who has raised me, struggle with himself. Little did I know, he would go on to pass me his mental issues. I never thought of it as anything major when I was young. “Everyone gets sad sometimes, right?” I thought. But as I grew older, I began to realize that this was no ordinary sadness. I would experience very manic depressions for a while, and then suddenly be over it and not even know the reason behind the madness.

           Eventually, I was living with only an older sister and a single mother; a woman who somehow always made it happen for us. We did not have the most money growing up, but we always had each other, and I could not be more thankful. We did not always have the newest shoes, but they were still nice, and I liked them. We did not have the fanciest car, but we had one that was reliable. Having my family in such a time of need made me appreciate the person that I am and brought me out of the darkest place. I enjoyed being around them and that made me enjoy being myself. I Started to love being Me. I realized it is not about what you have, but who you have. If I did not have these lovely women, where would I be? From Whom would I receive my words of encouragement, my extra push? If I did not think I could do it, they did. I value these women although they do not know it, they taught me to value myself. I am not who this world may see me as: Just another “black girl”. I’m a beautiful, intelligent, and stunning young woman. I love to help others feel better about themselves because I wish I had someone do it for me while growing up. I want to be that extra push for others. If they feel they do not have it, I want to let them know that they do. Nothing about your struggle will go unseen with this universe. Although I am still teaching myself this aspect, everything will work out the way it is supposed to. You will eventually get that peace that you are chasing, by any means.

           Although I feel as My older sister and I are VERY much different, we are also so much alike in a sense. We have the same sense of humor, but different point of views. These differences are not major due to the fact that we spend almost every waking day seeing each other. We have always been bonded from certain experiences. When we were younger we lived with our aunt and our two cousins. That arrangment brought together many different personalities under one roof. They often fought with each other while me and my sister would sit down and watch tv together, or just simply talk. Although we disagreed a lot, we did not feel the need to yell about it. We left it alone. They were always a bit loud while me and my sister were relaxed. I often stayed to myself because I always saw myself as more of an introvert, I just did not know it yet.

           Being young, having peace may seem almost impossible at times. With school and work constantly on my mind, I feel as though I am carrying the weight of the whole world on my tiny little shoulders. College is not easy by any means, but I always remember to tell myself that it will pay off. I have constant thoughts of a successful future and I will not stop at any means to get to where I want to be. I feel as though school has always been sort of a positive for me. Despite the waking up early for twelve years and being there up to seven hours a day for five days a week, I genuinely enjoyed learning and completing assignments. Even with all the deadlines and added stress school brings me, I like to see myself doing well. I do believe that college is not for everyone, but I personally feel school is my pathway to becoming the relationship therapist I strive to be. Talking out problems and listening to others is something I like to consider a talent of mine. I always give an insight on how others would feel if I did this, or how it would impact them if I made this decision. Even though I am not exactly sure what type of therapist I would like to be, I do know that therapy is something I for sure would love to practice. I love when someone feels as if they can trust me with their deepest darkest secrets or can depend on them to give them helpful advice. To me my future is everything and I feel as though I am very promising when it comes to my goals. If no one else believes I can do it, I know I can, and I will.

           Growing up with many different experiences, I realized that I was always the only person I could rely on. Although it does feel good to discuss the spiderweb going on in my head, I still feel as if I am misunderstood. No matter how much agreeance comes from the conversation, I still never feel completely resolved. My problems are deeper than a “Yeah I feel you” text, or a “Same.” Who do I rely on for that? Myself. I want to be there for people who need someone in their future. I want to make people feel as if they are heard and are never alone with their suffering. Everyone has been through their own types of ordeals no one else would care to understand, but I will. I am very passionate about wanting to make people feel heard. Their voice is not going unnoticed as long as I am around.

           But I often have a reasonable fear. No one is guaranteed a job once they earn a degree. Many have told me that a bachelor’s degree in Psychology barely gets you a job, so I made the decision to earn my masters. Even with a good degree, many people remain unemployed sometimes and it is a very scary thought. The thought of going to school for five to six years, seek employment, and get denied by every place you apply to. I am a strong believer that this degree and these five or six years in school will pay off. I often think about the time in between the degree. What will I be doing? Where will I live 3 years from now while still pursuing my dream job? It is all a mystery to me that will reveal itself and I just know everything will work out for the best.

           Being that I am only 18 years old right now, I feel that I am very ambitious. I have big dreams that I will stop at nothing to fulfill. I know that Psychology is the field for me. Many say they went to college and suddenly found themselves on a completely different track than the one they visualized for themselves, but I honestly do not believe that will be me. I have always loved to talk to people and listen to their emotions, because I feel that there is always something that I can say that will offer the least bit of reassurance. All throughout Middle and High School I loved to help my friends. I feel as though teenagers go through the most behind closed doors. I remember this one friend in particular, my best friend. She struggled with depression and was often mocked for it. I do not have depression, so I had no idea what it was like to constantly question your happiness. But I do know, that I tried as hard as I could to make her forget about all the negatives going on in her life. She was the only friend I needed at the time. We were literally two peas in a pod. Wherever she went, I went. No one could tell me anything about my favorite friend. She came over my house a lot, and we found ourselves laughing endlessly at what felt like nothing. A pure friendship is all I have ever asked for. We were there for each other in time of need. We would never leave the other out in the cold. I was proud to have such an amazing friend.

           Everything was great, up until the summer of my eighth grade year. I was moving, which would mean that I would have to move schools as well. We worried ourselves a bunch, until the time actually came. We promised we would keep in touch, no matter how hard it got at times. But of course, things were not the same. We both met new people and the “out of sight, out of mind” rule somewhat came into play. Of course, we still valued our friendship, but not seeing each other every day took a toll on the friendship. Even though we barely speak, almost five to six years later, that friendship taught me a lot. Everyone goes through their own battles, and everyone deserves to have someone. Before me, she had explained that there was rarely anyone who would just sit down and talk to her or give them the best advice that they could. I am very glad that I got to help someone as long as I could. I never want for anyone to feel empty. I believe that everyone should be heard. Even if it is not what you want to hear, you could still stick around to listen. Now I feel like that is where my desire to be a Counseling Psychologist comes in. I am not in it for the pay, but I am very passionate about emotions, and how much people differ from one another. School was not always the most entertaining thing to me, but it did teach me that you should grow up to do what you love, not what you feel like you have to do.

           I have taught myself to pay attention to my emotions more. If it makes me unhappy, do not do it. If it makes me upset, avoid it. There is nothing better than feeling like you have complete control over your own life. There is nothing dragging you down. You owe it to you to live the best life that you can. Whether it is to grow up and be something that you have always wanted to be, or if being truly happy is your goal, there should be nothing stopping you. Life is full of obstacles, and you have to realize that you will get nowhere if you do not overcome them. It is no walk in the park, however, you will reach your goal in the end, if you ultimately work hard enough. The only thing that can stop you is yourself. If you want it bad enough, you will be motivated. Whether it is internal, or eternal, there is no reason that you should stop working for what you are trying to receive.

What I am getting at is stay motivated. You will get to where you want to be with nothing but hard work and dedication. There will be plenty of distractions on the way, but it is all up to you to make your something out of nothing. The feeling in the end will be worth it. You will be where you want to be, knowing that you worked harder than ever for it.

 Afterword            

Throughout this memoir, I discussed some of the topics about my life that I felt were most important to me, hinting at why this memoir felt a bit important to me. Covering subjects such as growing up, or even what made me the person I am today. These surrounding factors in my life were all important and impacted me in a way that nothing else could, positive or negative. Although I wish I could truly change the negative factors in my life that somehow hindered me in a way, I cannot. So, with that being said, we can only accept what we were given to deal in our lifetime, and make the best of it.

[dailydosemiku]

So I just beat Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- 100%

I’m gonna write this as an in depth review I guess. So I got done just recently discussing it with an old friend, the very same friend who roughly a decade ago showed me the original game. We have pretty polar opposite opinions of the game and I’m seeing that seems to be the trend with people who have played it so far. This isn’t a call out post or “Your opinion is wrong and mine is right” bullshit. I just want to explain why I liked it and maybe help some people see the game from a different light.

First things first. I want to premise, if this even gets read, that nothing will ever top or match Yume Nikki the RPG maker game that has gained a cult following. Even Yume Nikki on a second playthrough, will never feel like Yume Nikki on a persons first playthrough in my opinion, granted that is if they enjoyed it. Before this re-imagining came out there were mostly 2 kinds of people and barely anyone in between. People who loved it for it’s entire concept and execution and people who thought it was the most boring chore in the world. There is barely anyone I know or have met that’s in between those who are just like “yeah it’s ok I guess” Just because this re-imagining came out does not mean the original is now bad or doesn’t exist and I will respect your opinion if you think one is better then the other, because it’s an opinion, and they aren’t the same.

Below this is the Steam Store page, I want anyone reading this to read it and read it again.

“Yume Nikki has been hailed as one of the greatest (and most controversial) games ever created with RPG Maker. The new YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY- is not a remake, but a full reimagining of the original―reconstructed and enhanced using elements and styles of modern indie games. “

If you read this and thought this meant that this is going to be the same game, you went in with your expectations to high. One of the biggest reasons Yume Nikki was so beloved and how most people go into it was, THEY KNEW NOTHING, hell I knew nothing, I got like 2 sentences and like a 5 minute gameplay video of the game and that sold me. Then these people were to learn after diving into this strange game that only told you things with visuals, the creator disappears. For years even. So to do both games right I want to break them down into some basically game design elements to the best of my ability. Gameplay, Soundtrack, Story, Visuals, and Atmosphere/Presentation. Of course I’m going to reference both games because that’s what everyone else is doing for each of these.

Gameplay, well there really wasn’t much of a game to play in Yume Nikki the RPG maker game. I’m sorry I love Yume Nikki, but there’s not a lot of interactivity. It’s more of an experience, a long giant question of How and Why did this game get to this point? If you were at all like me, you kept playing to answer these questions and ultimately you either didn’t get an answer and were happy with it or you found your own answer, which if you ask me is part of the magic of that first playthrough. But as a 2D free RPG Maker game with no admission to entry, it was an experience and just that AN EXPERIENCE. As for Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- the 3D platformer, there’s actually a game to be played which understandable makes it very different then the RPG maker original. But this is an re-imagining, it’s not fair to directly compare the 2. They are in completely different medians and special in their own ways. In it’s essence, whether you agree or not both games at their element are about exploring an experience. If one having gameplay elements, that if you ask me were fairly well tested but not perfect, makes it less of an experience and was frustrating, then I don’t think you remember some of the frustrating non-sense that the RPG maker version had, such as navigating NES World, Locating the Bike which for most of the playthrough you were guaranteed to use because the normal movement speed was slow as shit and that’s usually what stopped a bunch of people from getting farther into it. But I say this with pride, it was part of the experience, it was part of the fun and by all technicality, was it’s own form of rudimentary puzzles and gameplay. Now yes I hear some of you die hard fans cry but there’s not as many effects and not as many doors and worlds, not as many themes and they took out so much. I am sad to say some of the things they took out I will miss, that is if the original game was wiped off the face of the planet with this games release, but it wasn’t.The original is still there as it always was. Because it can’t be replaced. It won’t ever be replaced, people have tried. So onto the point, the gameplay of the 3D one. It’s a horror platformer with puzzle solving and a few jumpscares I guess. You are sitting here reading this, I hope, going wow it’s that easy to categorize? Well yeah sorry to say guys it’s 2018 not 2004, in the time between the first RPG maker classic which I love to death and this newer retake of the very concept of Yume Nikki in 2018 we have had 3 different presidents, saw the rise and fall of many platforms like Vine, went through not 1, not 2 but 3 generations of Video Game Consoles, got 10 versions of the IPhone, like 8 versions of Samsungs Phones and a bunch of other stuff. Needless to say, times change, information is easier to access and we have gotten older and more analytical when it comes to the things we do as hobbies or otherwise. If we are to just look at the word re-imagining at face value and by definition.

reinterpret (an event, work of art, etc.) imaginatively; rethink. 

Is the new Yume Nikki a reinterpretation of the RPG classic? Absolutely, it’s a different take on what the game was. Key word different, problem is in 2018 things are easier to find then 2004, communities are larger, people are older, and things in general are going to less surprising. So from a gameplay standpoint is the new Yume Nikki the 3D Platformer a well thought out game from a gameplay standpoint? Yes it is, it has it’s bugs which is unfortunate, but even games that got GAME OF THE YEAR were horrible buggy messes when they came out and those were backed by Triple A developers, COUGH COUGH FALLOUT 3 EVEN THOUGH I LOVE YOU YOU ARE A MESS COUGH COUGH. Moral of the story for the gameplay, it’s different yes but that doesn’t make it bad just not the same. If you can effectively get from beginning to end regardless how the journey goes, the game did what it needed to do. If you felt obligated to finish -Dream Diary- that was nostalgia and that almost need to feel the magic of the first playthrough of the RPG Maker classic, meaning you aren’t taking Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- as it’s own game, you are trying to take it as a replacement for a beloved classic.

Now that I’m done with that portion I guess, hopefully my point was more or less digestible and hopefully didn’t come off as if you disagree I hate you, cause that’s not my intent, if you don’t like it, you don’t like it, I just want to give a separate perspective. The Soundtrack. I think the Soundtrack in both games is just weird and beautiful and bizarre and conveys messages on a spectrum going from of uncomfortable to serene to almost intimidating. I’m no music expert or major or whatever but the music in Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- not only was very good and did what it meant to do in my opinion but was an incredible nod at the RPG Maker classic featuring a lot of remastered tracks from the original which I think portrayed similar emotions as I felt from the first game. I don’t have much else to say on the soundtrack, it’s timing and consistency felt as good as the original in it’s own special way but should not be interpreted as the same.

So the next thing I want to bring up is story. Now if you are a fan of the RPG Maker classic, you know as well as I do that the story is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, it’s almost entirely up to interpretation. The story was what you thought it was, you just get kind of a beginning and kind of a ending. People who wanted a classical game with a story with a beginning middle and end, would not really even touch this game. Cause it doesn’t hold your hand, but not in a “is this the dark souls of RPG Maker games?” kind of way. It’s entire conception, how it came to be, how the game played, how the game ends and how you get an ending to begin with and the mysterious creator and their disappearance are all ultimately part of Yume Nikkis’ Story in my opinion. The time the game came out, the so little information about the game that was known, the fact that Youtube was still young, fuck me I was using SKYPE when I played this game in like 2008, it was the perfect storm but only because of the games story outside of the game as well as inside. It was a mess, but it was such an amazing mess that was so hard to describe and time and time and time again the only thing people could really say is “you just have to play it, I can’t explain it without ruining it” That was also a part of the games story if you ask me. It was so strange and so meta but it always made people say the same thing. Now 14 years later, the developer is back, is older, sees his own mistakes better then any of us ever could, and I know if anyone reads this, some of you are artists or content creators or game designers and you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about being hyper critical of your own work. And now he has help now, a team of developers and even though he worked side by side with these people, of course there’s going to be a disconnect, something lost in translation, that’s exactly what fangames are, an interpretation of the original. So yes sadly there’s a bit more going on that’s coherent now but it’s 14 years later being lead by a guy who knows his own mistakes for a game he made alone, which is an achievement yes, but he has seen and allowed to be published in the very beginning of this new game a nod at where his last game left off. Meaning of course he acknowledges what he made and knows people adored it, but people also hated it. It was a judgement call, and you may not like the result but I assure you it was a decision in good faith, at least that the message I got from this game. Now enough beating around the bush, this games story? It does it;s job without telling you to much and honestly I still feel like in this games case like the last one, explaining what happens loses the impact, and some of the impact is because I played the game prior. So I think it does it’s job at re-imagining the story of Yume Nikki the RPG maker game well enough.

Next is visuals, now as an RPG Maker game you could argue it’s not good looking, till you think about it, that one guy, made all of that basically from scratch, it’s poetic, it’s awe-inspiring, that this one guy makes this strange game and it moved people so much and all you really do is just look at things. It’s a stunning game to the eyes because you want to know what this guy could have possibly created next and each environment is so different from the last, each effect so silly and cute or scary and gross all at the same time making you feel these mixed emotions of joy, excitement, nausea, tension all at the same time. It almost mesmerizes you into this feeling of wanting to do everything while simultaneously fearing when it’s all over and the dream ends both literally and metaphorically. It’s only because of this, in my opinion is why visually the RPG maker game is such a work of art. Now for Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- if you ask me I think the game is breathtaking, there’s so much care put into so many little details, yes there are clipping issues and the animations aren’t great but remember Yume Nikki the RPG Maker game wasn’t perfect either, we didn’t care though, we were young, we just wanted to take whatever it was in for what it was worth. From a technical standpoint I feel like this game is stunning in the visual department, but it’s not that complicated compared to games of it’s time, much like the older classic. The older classic came out the same year as Half Life 2, which was a technical marvel when it came out, now it’s kinda dated but regardless that didn’t make Yume Nikki in 2004 any less of an unique experience, and I feel like that same way of thinking should be applied to this new title as best as a person can. I’m going to steal a line from another reviewer loosely, Portal 2s biggest flaw is that it came out after Portal 1.  I must have heard those words 5 years ago or something and they still stick with me. If you look at Portal 2 it’s literally an evolved embodiment of Portal, but you already knew the concept of Portal cause it already came out so it’s shock value, it’s rare and raw punch is lessened because something did that already. It’s the same reasons fangames and Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- won’t feel the exact same. Cause it came out afterwards.

Lastly I wish to touch on a final point before closing this review I guess, more of an analysis. The presentation and atmosphere. Broken down as simply as I can both games share this. They are Surreal Horror Exploration games whose job is to seemingly immerse you in the strange world of a little Japanese girls dreams. That’s where the disconnect begins. Cause even though you wouldn’t think of the RPG Maker classic to be a horror game it has horror themes and the occasional jumpscare or visual for shock value. Now as a re-imagining does the new Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- fit the bill for an amazing strange atmosphere just like the first? Absolutely, it tells most of it’s story passively, no dialogue, nothing crazy, just you and a simple platformer. But alas, it’s a platformer with tension and parts with severely more interaction then the original causing you to feel urgency and demand to escape or jump the next hurdle or challenge, which is not the same as original. Which understandably is this games biggest flaw, if from the very beginning it said it was a remake and that the original is no longer an actual concept. If we were to look at Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- the same way as the original, where we had nothing to compare it too, it’s a lot better of a game and it’s creepy atmosphere is on point, the environments are great and the nods it makes to the older game make me happy.

All in all I think that even with it’s flaws on release that Yume Nikki -Dream Diary- is a stunning love letter to the original game, written by a team of people copying down the words of the creator, ultimately dedicated to those of us who gave Yume Nikki it’s following while simultaneously being something more accessible to wider audience so that by chance they may also play the original game to fully understand why this game exists and what purpose it serves. It’s a thank you letter, an attempt to redo in a different sense what we have tried ourselves many times to recreate and even though a lot of the fan games are great they don’t feel the exact same and neither does this, it’s fantastic but we should all know by now that it can’t be done again, that’s why it’s special. But the creator knew this and wanted to try again but with more knowledge this time and I respect him for it, I respect the team who worked on this game, flaws and all. Perfect or not they wanted us to feel that special feeling one more time, and maybe it wasn’t what you wanted but I don’t even know what I wanted.

-Katy

[merlin-vnproject]

Merlin-VNProject: How can you help?

There is a lot to do, and a lot of different areas to cover! Here is a short list - more detailed information follows below the cut.

general organisation

plot & story outlines

writing (in-game texts, dialogue, etc.)

art

background music

coding

beta (for art, writing, and gameplay)

You want to help, now how to contact me?

You can either send me an email to merlin.vnproject@gmail.com, or a message on tumblr (to this blog, and not my personal one!!) I prefer email though!

Please make sure to read the detailed information about the area you want to help with first, and include the following information:

Name: tumlr/LJ/etc.: Preferred way of contact: I am 18 or older: (Y/N) I'd like to help with:

You want to help but don't know if you're "good enough" or can't decide on what to help with?

First of all: there is no "not good enough". All help is highly appreciated! <3

But if you're really not sure, just talk to me about it, and I'm sure we can find a solution that works for everyone! :)

You want to help but don't know if you actually have time for it, or if you'll stay interested?

Communication is key!

Frankly, it is a pain in the arse and a real burden if people drop out without any notice. It's a lot of unnecessary waiting, and uncertainty about whether someone will be back..

BUT, I'm grateful for any help - even if it's temporary.

So if you're not sure about this, or know from experience that you're likely to drop out: please, please tell me in advance! And please just send me a quick message if you don't want to continue! You don't have to offer an explanation or anything; all I'm asking for is to know what you're up to! <3

On a side note: if someone doesn't answer emails/messages for a month and longer I will assume they dropped out. They are free to ask to join in again, but there is no guarantee I will agree. I hope that's understandable.

You don't understand something or have further questions?

Please go ahead and send me a message about it! I'm sure I missed a few topics, and I'm happy to add to it! :)

1. general organisation

For the most part, I will be able to do this myself, but it's always better to have a helping hand (or several). So if one or two people want to help with the following tasks, please contact me! (Also: since this is a very... critical area I'll probably only accept help from people I already know, and can trust. I'm a bit paranoid like that, sorry!)

this blog (if it gets really busy)

answering emails

making sure people do what they signed up for (making sure people stay in contact with us/give us updates etc.)

coordinating between different areas

scheduling

and probably a lot of more organisational stuff I can't think of right now :'D

not necessary at the moment

2. plot & story outlines

This is about creating the different plotlines, decisions we give the player, endings, etc.

This will be mostly necessary in the first step, so you can either drop out after a few months, or continue helping in other areas, if you like.

The goal is to create a flow diagramme for all possible plotlines. Help is needed for example on:

overall plot

endings

ideas for decisions and possible consequences

putting everything together to a working/reasonable diagramme

finding plot holes and unreasonable plotlines/decisions (!!)

you need to be able to deal with constructive criticism and that maybe your ideas won't end up in the game; teamwork/writing a story together isn't easy, be nice to each other even if you disagree on something!

there'll be different levels of detail required, starting with a very rough of the plot, and progressively adding more and more detail, but overall there will be no need for you to write actual texts for the game. That’s area 3 :)

3. writing (ingame texts, dialogue, etc.)

In contrast to area 2 you won't need to worry about the actual plot. There will be a set of scenes that need to be written, including dialogues and all. This will feel more like writing fanfic, really, just with the difference that you have a set plot to go by.

There won't be much freedom to include further ideas or details of your own since the scenes are only small parts of a greater plotline, and - additionally - there are multiple possible outcomes. Nonetheless, feel free to suggest additional details, even at this point we can talk about adding side information and background plotlines. :)

Additionally: Working on in-game texts will only start once the plot is set. It will probably take another couple of months until you can start on it.

4. art

We will only be able to use digital art - sorry to all traditional artists out there! Your work is awesome, but sadly not fitting for this cause. But, if you're really keen to help on this, you can offer to beta art, or to make sketches (that will be digitalised later), or help with ideas, etc.

Overall art will be grouped into:

backgrounds

characters

logo(s) and banner(s)

overlays/menus/any additional graphics

You don't have to decide on one group, but in case there will be lots of people helping in this area, I'd like to split work equally. Please name any preferences, and no-dos.

There will be need for a lot of character drawings with different facial expressions. There will be approx. 20 backgrounds to be done. I can't tell what exactly has to be drawn yet; this is only a small estimation/overview.

If anyone is interested, there can also be animations. But I know how much work that is so it's cool if we can't find someone willing to do that. :)

5. background music

If anyone is interested in making us some background music for the game, that would be absolutely amazing! <3 I know that's very unlikely, but please contact me if you're interested!

This goes for composing as well as recording/playing instruments alike!

6. coding

Obviously, everything has to be put together and made playable. Currently I haven't decided on an engine yet. There are a couple of >>>visual novel engines, but maybe we will go for something else, like unity? (I have a bit of experience with unity, but yeah.)

If anyone has experience with making a VN or something similar, I'm happy about suggestions! :)

Overall, I need help with coding the actual game logic (mostly what decision leads to what result etc.) and putting everything together.

Language will (probably) be C# or C++

7. beta (for art, writing and gameplay)

This is most likely self explanatory. Texts need to be proof read, art needs to be checked, the gameplay itself needs to be tested by a few people to make sure everything works out as planned - sounds easy enough but it's one of the most important parts to make this as perfect as possible.

You can either beta only writing, art, or gameplay, or multiple areas - just tell me whatever you want to do.

This will probably not start for another few months. You can either wait, or help on other areas alongside until then.

[robertjacobsugdens]

Okay, I’ve been meaning to do this for a while but I finally have the time/energy/attention span so here we go. A list of people who are absolute angels and I love with all my heart and you should go follow, interact with them, and just all around love them dearly for they are absolute sweethearts. In no particular order:

like, what are you even doing with your life if you’re not following @lesfemmesdangereuses and letting her ruin your life with Hollyoaks content when you don’t even watch the damn thing in the first place? Like. I always laugh like an idiot reading my texts because of her and everyone always asks me “is that a boy?” and first of all, rude and heteronormative, and second of all this is blatant local(ish) soap lesbian erasure. Do yourself a favor and go be friends with Kate.

if you’re not having deep and meaningful conversations about media theory, language, and character analysis with @dingleautomotives are you really even living your best life? No, you aren’t. Because your best life includes real life beautiful angel Emily in it. Those are just the facts.

Is @fakehappyaaron the saltiest green bean in the potato salad of life? Yes, absolutely and we all love and cherish her for it. She’s beauty, she’s grace, she kinda wanna punch Robert in the face. And we’d all be cheering her on. Honestly she’s such a bright spot in like, life in general and fandom in particular. We’re all blessed to have her.

Do you like engaging and interesting conversations with someone who has always a fresh take on stuff and with whom you can totally disagree with and still be wildly in love with? Oh boy, have I got the right person for you, you should follow @aarondinglestears and let her ruin your life in the best possible way. A true icon in every way.

Will you ever find, in like, life, anyone as kind, well spoken, smart, and talented as @capseycartwright? The magic 8 ball of friendship says “NO, AND HOW YOU DARE EVEN ASK ME?” because the magic 8 ball knows what’s up. And what’s up is Lorna being one of the most amazing people I have ever had the luck to encounter.

How do you even condense in just one paragraph how incredible @rocketdocket is? You can’t because you can’t put the concentrated awesome that is Anna into words, but I am going to try. She’s so funny and if you get her going on Law & Order SVU I can GUARANTEE you, you will have one of the best conversations in your life.

You might know @itwasjustmisplaced for her encyclopedic knowledge of soap history and her analysis of current Emmerdale events, but she’s so much more than that. She’s incredibly funny and sweet and also she promised me to try and make a gifset of all the awful quips Horatio from CSI: Miami said during the show and like. WHO ELSE? Only Taryn tbh. 

@escapingreality51 is possibly one of the sweetest people on earth. She’s so adorable and kind and she can lift you up with just a few words. She’s also incredibly talented and lbr she’s got some PRETTY GREAT taste in floral patterns if I say so myself. She’s an absolute trooper and we all love and cherish her.

As someone who met @stolemyhheart in real life and is still very much in shock of the fact, let me tell you, Lena is an absolute delight of a person. She’s incredibly funny and wicked smart and speaks like, a bajillion languages and I envy her so much. I hope one day they make an Arthur spin-off just for her because she deserves it. She deserves the world, frankly.

Now, confession, @charitydingle and I have never had like, a full conversation, but is this stopping me from loving her with all my heart and soul? No, absolutely not. She’s SUCH a gem. She’s incredibly talented and lovely and honestly I just LOVE having her on my dash, she’s always a bright spot.

@helenhuntingdon got me into Corrie, which is truly all you need to know about the power of her gifmaking skills and her Adam is bi Canon Facts™. She is an ABSOLUTE delight to talk to and honestly if you’re not getting into a conversation with her about Welsh history and literature you’re missing out on one of the most amazing conversations of your life.

My beautiful big bang artist @justleavemebreathless is honestly such a beautiful and kind soul. She encouraged me so much during the past few weeks and she was THE KINDEST to me even when she barely knew me from Adam. She’s got a shining soul, this one, and coupled with the talent it’s frankly UNFAIR. She’s just SO amazing.

@softrobertsugden is an incredible writer, friend, and fandom presence. Honestly can you imagine you life without her? No, you can’t, because she’s the greatest. She’s just SO passionate and her knowledge and love of music is wonderful and legendary. 

Last but not least is Malorie, aka @robertisbisexual, aka the second saltiest green bean in the potato salad of life. Sometimes she and KC switch though. But SERIOUSLY. If you enjoy reading amazing stuff (porn, a lot of porn) and then being viciously attacked with terrible pictures of Robert in all his terrible glory, then Malorie is the person for you. If you don’t, then become her friend and watch and laugh as she does it to other people. 

[iwritereviews-blog1]

Listen: Exo: The War + The Power of Music (4th album)

As you can tell from my icon and background picture, I do consider myself a rather big fan of Exo. Yet being a big fan of a certain group such as Exo makes my reviews on their music even more critical. Exo have produced some truly iconic tracks, stunning composition and paved the way for a new generation  (along with other noticeable groups) of K-pop. 

My expectation were incredible high for their fourth full album, due to the sheer enjoyment I had from their previous album ‘Exact’ and ‘For life’. And I can tell you that my expectations were blown away, and as they say my ‘wig’ was snatched. 

In this review, I will briefly discuss all 12 songs on this album, as well as the choreography and music videos. I wont rate the songs from 1-12 depending on my presence, because honestly it was incredible difficult for me to choose a favourite or even a number 12 spot. 

Kokobop

When I first listened to this energetic reggae influenced hit, I was astonished and dumbfounded. In all the k-pop, or music for that matter that I’ve listened I hadn’t heard such a combination.

The song is completely fresh and unique to the genre and Exo! Yet, I still recognised that unexplainable Exo charm to the song. The softness of tone at the beginning, leading all the way to the harsh electronic sound of the dance break works incredibly well as a perfect build up. The whole production of the song is properly one of the clearest from Exo title tracks, yet it doesn’t sound stiff or too structured. 

The use of the english within the song was also well executed, some of my favourite lyrics did include ‘down, down’ and the infamous ‘Shimme Shimme KoKoBop’. 

I am not surprised that this song did incredibly well digital and in music shows. It was a hit! Though, KoKobop was not my favourite of the title tracks Exo has produced, it in my eyes is a clearly legendary song in its own right. 

 Power: 

Power is another one of those very unique songs Exo has come out. This song completely contrasting to KoKoBop, or anything they have done focuses on an EDM feel with LDN noise working on the title track. 

At first, to be honest, the song was good but not my favourite nor did I see myself listening to it on repeat like I had done with Kokobop. But was I wrong. Sometimes, especially with K-pop songs, it does take a few more plays to fall in love with a song, and this certainly was the case for Power.

The song is incredibly repetitive in some places, and I find stays at the same tone throughout the song. Such as in Suho bridge, I would have liked to see the instrumental softer, maybe less effects and sorts. 

However, the instrumental of the song is unbelievable. Its complex, developed and fascinating to listen to, I always find myself listening to a new part every time I listen to Power. And my god, the music video is hilarious. Of course at first I was completely confused, but the CG, the panning shot of the members showcasing their powers = 10/10 for SM. 

The Eve: 

In every Exo album, there is one song which causes mass death to all EXO-L, for me The Eve overall vocal styling and slowed tempo drum beats make it that song of The War. 

The instrumental is beautiful done, along with a catchy electronic motif used in the choruses. But the thing about this song which impressed me that worst was the vocals done by Exo. They all seemed to match the songs tone perfectly, and the ad-libs in the final chorus by D.O. are bloody brilliant. 

Overall, this song was a winner for me. I mean who could argue with that choreography though. 

What U do?: 

‘What U do?’ written by Kenzie, is a funky and energetic song guaranteed to get you jumping up and down. The song for me was like love at first hearing. The chorus main melody, harmonising and the instrumental motif is honestly the best thing I’ve ever heard. I really can’t say one bad thing about this song, it really is a good song that I recommend for any K-pop lover. 

Forever:  

Here we come to the song which everyone thought should have been the title track (which I disagree with, but anyway). For me, this is in my top 5 Exo song nevermind this album. The instrumental of the altering two notes along with the incredibly well written melody work perfectly to build the song up to the truly stunning chorus. The harmonises, the vocals of all the Exo members, Chanyeol and Sehun rap. It all makes the song what it is: an instant like. All I have to say is ‘Nice Skirt’ 

Diamond: 

Like every album, there is that one song that you don’t jump its praises, for me this song on The War is Diamond. At first I thought the song was detached and not as clean as the rest of the album. But, giving it a chance, I listened to the song again and did find it to have an interesting instrumental and the chorus breakdown is catchy. Also, D.O voice in this song hits me hard and I can’t get over it. 

One tiny thing that I didn’t like about this song, is the end. In the song, it repeats a whole section again before ending, and honestly I don’t think the song needs to repeat again. I thought it would have been fine with cutting it off, the repeat doesn’t add anything amazing. 

Touch It: 

Finally, we come to this special little song. Though this is probably the simplest in the album according to the instrumental and melody line, sometimes simple is effective. The chorus melody and hook is truly addictive and I always find myself dancing to this song. Touch it is a nice song to listen to to cheer up your mood or before going out. 

Chill: 

Again, at first I wasn’t in love with this song, I felt like Diamond the instrumental was a little detached and bare in some places. But of course, the song grew on me. The rapping in this song is probably my favourite part, it’s fresh and epic when it gets to the breakdown. Also special shout out to rapper D.O.

Walk on Memories: 

Walk on Memories is that song you listen to in your bedroom, when you either or tired or had a bad day. Exo soft vocals and the the light instrumental, this song is the most beautiful from the album. Though, its not a song I would listen to all the time, I would see many enjoying the calmness of this songs compared to the rest of the album. 

Going Crazy: 

Here we are! My personal favourite of the album. The instrumental is truly a piece of art in itself, to combine the VC music to Exo powerful vocals was a great idea. The instrumental uses a combination of classical musical instruments with electronic and manufactured sounds, which reminds me of that of Clean Bandit. 

Sweet Lies:

All I want to know is, WHY SM? WHY CHANYEOL? This songs beginning from the instrumental and baekhyun soft seductive vocals truly capture the tone perfectly. The vocal styling of Exo, from their soft tones to the their falsetto create a difference from such songs as Forever and Power. Chanyeol deep and bold voice, matched with Xiumin soft and high pitched voice adds a which of contrast to Chen gorgeous falsetto voice. Though the ending is abrupt and ‘lazy’ compared to the rest of the song. 

Boomerang: 

At first, I neglected this song. The instrumental is what makes this song truly special, especially the beginning of the almost funky sound effects. To be fair to this song, I don’t think I’ve listened enough to go into too much detail. 

Overall: 

The War and The Power of Music have throughly impressed me. I would say that this has been my favourite Exo album so far, and that really saying something. Thank you for reading my long ass re-view! Please give Exo some love with their new comeback and album!

[cryptswahili]

Is blockchain all hype? A financier and supply chain expert discuss – Alternet.org

Arturo Bris: Have you ever watched footage from the early 1980s of people trying to explain the internet? They’re sceptical and confused and have no idea how to say “@”, which is comical given what we now take for granted. But that’s where we are with blockchain now. People don’t believe in it because they don’t understand it.

Blockchain is a technology with two ingredients: the first is a distributed ledger, meaning a database with identical copies held by everyone in a network. There is no intermediary, no central data depository. The second is a consensus algorithm (and this is the true innovation in the technology): the ability to digitally agree on any change in the data. It is the set of decision rules by which any new entry in the database is accepted and then shared by everyone.

The consensus algorithm will be different for every blockchain – some work on a simple majority rule, some (such as Bitcoin) have a subset of members paid to fulfil that role, and others have much more complicated arrangements. The structure of the database is also particular, because it is structure as a sequence of entries (a ledger), not a deposit.

If you don’t understand blockchain, get educated, because it’s an amazing new technology that’s going to revolutionise the world. It’s going to monetise and unlock value that today is hidden. The social impact is going to be massive. It’s going to permit new avenues for human interaction that didn’t exist before.

Carlos Cordon: I’m not sure about that, Arturo. I, for instance, understand what blockchain is, but I don’t believe that it’s going to have the impact you describe.

Blockchain requires having a lot of copies of the same data. This means that you are required to multiply the data storage by, let’s say, 100 times. The same data is stored in 100 places. That might work for something as standard and simple as money: Bitcoin works, for example, because there is just one Bitcoin, not thousands of different products.

But if you think about supply chains, for example, you’re talking about thousands of products. For each product, a lot of information is required, like weight, format, expiry date, composition, etc. This means that blockchain is extremely impractical for many of the applications that its evangelists are proposing.

Amazon isn’t using blockchain. Google isn’t. In fact, none of the top digital giants are, although Amazon has said it’s happy to provide cloud storage for it. The Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman has said that Bitcoin will “set the monetary system back 300 years”.

AB: Krugman also said in 2011 that the Euro would soon disappear, and look where we are today. And, with respect to Google and Amazon, that’s exactly what disruptive technologies are: they are not usually adopted by the established players, because they disrupt their own – established – business models.

And by the way, more and more companies are using blockchain for applications beyond cryptocurrencies. These include music streaming, social networking, commodities trading, property registries – the list goes on. Blockchain is a technology that guarantees full security (it cannot be hacked) because data are already shared by the members of the network, so there is nothing to hack. We are already seeing the transformation moving extremely fast, and that’s why you need to embrace it.

CC: The way blockchain works makes it secure and trustworthy, that much is true. But if we introduce blockchain into supply chains, for example, we’re firstly trying to solve a problem that isn’t there – and, secondly, we’re possibly creating further problems for ourselves.

Could blockchain really revolutionise supply chains, as some claim? Travel mania/Shutterstock.com

This is because trust in supply chains generally isn’t an issue. Let’s imagine I’m Unilever or Procter & Gamble. Am I going to try to cheat Walmart or Carrefour? No. We have a certain level of trust. We may disagree, but we don’t cheat. But with blockchain comes complete transparency. And we don’t want that. Not because we don’t trust the other partner, but because we use information to negotiate. Besides, in supply chains we’ve been working on sharing information and data for years. We don’t need new data technologies. It’s already complicated enough.

AB: I have no problem with that. If trust does not need to be formalised, there is no need for blockchain. I don’t think we will use blockchain to manufacture cookware or to design new means of transportation either. But what makes blockchain revolutionary is the transformation of physical assets into digital ones. This is known as tokenization. Cryptocurrencies, for example, are the tokenization of money, but that is only one example. You can tokenize stocks and financial assets, property, music, services – the list goes on. By replicating assets with a digital token, we can facilitate transactions without physical delivery.

CC: Then there’s the challenge of a potential mismatch between the virtual value chain and the physical value chain. You can tokenize assets, but what happens if someone changes the physical product? Blockchain couldn’t have prevented the UK horsemeat scandal, for example, where horsemeat was found in products that supposedly contained only beef.

Meanwhile, the need for storage is going to multiply by an order of magnitude as copies of all these ledgers are held by each individual in a blockchain. And the only people who are going to benefit from that are companies like Amazon, selling cloud storage.

Data storage. Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock.com

AB: This is a fallacy. In fact, the structure of a blockchain allows us to store the whole database by storing just a small part of it. I know this is difficult to understand. In fact what happens is that, through encryption, we will be able to drastically reduce the size of the entries. Second, because of the sequential nature of the database, and since all entries are linked both to the previous and the next one, we will need to store just the last block(s) of the database.

Overall, I think that we need to think beyond the storage of data and contracts as the main uses of blockchain. Tokenization will transform our transactions. Besides, the lack of need for intermediaries will also transform organisations. We can develop a new type of organisation that is democratic, not in the sense that it doesn’t need a CEO but in the sense of a decentralised autonomous organisation that is super efficient. This is going to be the future.

By monetising assets that we currently do not monetise – such as our social capital, our fitness data, our attention to advertisers – we will add value. And that is only possible through a technology so new and complex that we’re still struggling to explain to each other how it works.

CC: OK. But so far, I have seen no evidence of blockchain being used for truly revolutionary purposes. Walmart is using it to track vegetables. I saw a headline recently: “IBM joins efforts to create the blockchain equivalent of Yellow Pages” – Yellow Pages died 20 years ago, why are they trying to resuscitate that concept? Blockchain is certainly one of the top strategic tech trends at the moment but from looking at what companies are actually doing with it, I don’t think it’s going to change the world.

If there’s a specific topic or question you’d like experts from different disciplines to discuss, you can:

Email your question to [email protected]

Tell us on Twitter by tagging @ConversationUK with the hashtag #HeadtoHead, or

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Carlos Cordon, Professor of Strategy and Supply Chain Management, IMD Business School and Arturo Bris, Professor of Finance, IMD Business School

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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[deborahdeshoftim5779]

Trelsi: The Pleasure of Un-Orthodoxy

I have to advise honest High School Musical fanfiction writers that they must shelve their fear of being un-orthodox. The HSM fandom is one of the least balanced I have ever seen, and I’ve been part of a few other major fandoms within the last couple of years. With almost no criticism applied to the major couple, Troy and Gabriella, then there should be no fear of going against the grain, even if that means a substantially smaller reading audience. I’ve just spent a couple of hours rewriting and adding to notes for my major Trelsi story, as I’ve been dilly-dallying on it for a while, working on a couple of smaller Trelsi projects. I love this story madly, because I’ve got loads of unorthodox additions, structures and changes that I want to make, all of which have been thought through over the last six months. 

The deal is this: non-Orthodox HSM fandoms are often better considered than the canonical pairings-- particularly Troyella. I’ve discussed the patent problems with Troyella in a current series I’m writing called “The Marvel of Trelsi”. Check it out if you like chunky paragraphs, unbridled sarcasm and endless footnotes. This is because the non-orthodox ships must often sift through a large body of script and photographic evidence in order to build a case for their ship. Of course, this is not always the case, and this does not guarantee that anyone will agree with that interpretation. I personally much prefer a case for a ship that is built on script evidence, rather than photographic evidence, as the script is less prone to manipulation than photographs-- a screenshot could mean anything to anyone at any time. But even so, the non-Orthodox shipper often has to look beyond what they are given, whereas the Troyella narrative is so imposing that it does not lend to critical thinking. 

Of course, there are many non-Orthodox ships that I consider implausible or ridiculous. Not everyone bothers to do their homework. And building a case for a ship does not mean that one has considered the legitimate future for that ship, which I argue is somewhat important. (Depending upon how seriously you take these things). But they have often yielded potential scenarios of greater interest than what was given to us via Troyella. I consider Trelsi to be very much in this vein. Because so few fans are willing to consider Trelsi outside of Kelsi being a useful accessory to promote the Troyella relationship, then very few people are willing to actually think the potential through (soon to be discussed in my above-mentioned series) and see how that compares to the canonical narrative. I have to appreciate the very small audience willing to consider these things, but I continue, because these links and possibilities should be explored.

I don’t know about the writing process of other authors, although judging by the quality of  some fics that I’ve read in the fandom so far, I assume that many don’t have one. I like to write detailed character notes before even writing the first letter of the first chapter. I have to get to the very bottom of the character, and this is honestly where some of my best ideas with regards to the Trelsi ship have come from. In fact, I drew heavily from my character notes in order to write my current series on Trelsi, and vice versa. Up until today, I had been procrastinating on finishing my character notes for Kelsi (ironic, given that I managed it for this series!) and finally completed them today. Previously, I had been considering whether her inability to criticize Troyella would be a significant flaw, until I dug a little deeper and thought about why she supported this “relationship”, and discovered the real reason (which I will discuss in “The Marvel of Trelsi”! XD), which gave me a whole new perspective. I was like “YES-- this makes sense!” It’s amazing when you discover more about the character whilst writing them and then being able to develop the plot. And I contend that this comes from un-orthodoxy; I have to think outside the box and work with the limited materials available to me on Trelsi in order to justify deviating so wildly from canon. 

I wrote an amateur list of “Thou Shalts and Thou Shalt Nots” for the Trelsi fandom, which I now think wasn’t detailed enough with problems that I had when reading Trelsi fics. One of them includes an inability to write Troy Bolton as well as Kelsi Nielsen. I have seen a wide range of characterizations for Troy which range from an unrealistic, macho jock (not sure what script evidence supports that) to being a complete wimp and pushover, which, despite Troy’s plummeting self-esteem, is not true either. In fact, I discussed this in a footnote for my Trelsi series, that Troy can pluck up the courage to walk away from Gabriella during HSM II, when she had been deceiving and manipulating him whilst pretending to flirt with Ryan. There are clear moments when Troy is willing to try and persuade Gabriella, to disagree with her, to try and make her see reason. Just because he is not successful in these attempts does not turn him into a glob of jelly. Another characterization that I wish to challenge is that of Kelsi as being the perennial shrinking violet throughout the movies. I alluded to this during my “Thou Shalts/Thou Shalt Nots”, but I believe that time has given me enough perspective to expand upon that. It appears popular to portray Kelsi as always been the hapless, innocent, shy and sweet girl. I hope that I have brought more nuance and complexity to her as a character here and here. If you can’t see a decided evolution in Kelsi’s character throughout the canonical movies, then I must conclude that you were watching different movies. The key is to understand how much of Kelsi’s shyness remains, and how to balance that with an increased confidence. Because Kelsi takes love VERY SERIOUSLY (check out my analysis of her lyrics), there is little room for playing around with her characterization. This also undervalues the stories that rely too heavily upon the “Kelsi has a crush on Troy theory”, which I will deconstruct in my next instalment for “The Marvel of Trelsi”. (It’s coming. It’s coming... :D)

Another joy of unorthodoxy helps me to challenge the Trelsi fics where the result is a seamless happily-ever-after. I hate HEA endings with a passion-- so much so that I have committed myself to never writing one, whether for fanfiction or for an original. I’m currently working on an original story where I want my protagonist to fail in his quest, because the quest is so deep-rooted and draining that I’m not sure it can be won. It’s not that I advise being pessimistic in unorthodox pairings; I understand the desire to give two underappreciated characters a happy ending. But unorthodoxy is precisely just that. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Think about that. You need to deal with Gabriella, you need to deal with her friends, you need to deal with the dreaded status quo that the Wildcats claim has disappeared, but really exists throughout the movie canon. Personally, I embrace this challenge, and I’m very excited about adding in all my unorthodox changes to the Trelsi storyline. For me, I see no profit without a struggle, and I want Troy and Kelsi to struggle. I see no other way for them as a couple unless they have struggled first. Don’t follow the grain of Troyella where there is no struggle from the start, and everything only gets sweeter and sweeter. If you have a significant problem with Troyella, then you get to deconstruct this myth-- but don’t go overboard and decide to demonize Gabriella, or make Troyella into something worse than it is. (Although it’s difficult to see anything worse as far as relationships go). Play around a little within canonical constraints and plain old common sense. 

I despise fluff in most forms. I read Trelsi fic to learn from the characterization and to add to my headcanons. I actually do not read Trelsi fiction to enjoy the fluff, because I don’t generally enjoy fluff. I understand the appeal, but it never draws me in. Am I too much of a realist? But we are dealing with teenagers, if one sticks to the canonical narrative, and whilst that may be an argument for fluff, it certainly isn’t an argument for unrealistic platitudes of love. Despite the fact that Kelsi is a heavy romantic idealist (as is Troy), that does not immeidately translate into a sugary relationship with anyone. This is why I cautioned against sugary Trelsi stories. But don’t get me wrong, you can still get some classic romantic moments between Troy and Kelsi. I know, because I’ve been planning stories for the last six months. It’s just a matter of understanding what constitutes Troy and Kelsi’s relationship, that it is made up of small, notable and largely quiet moments, often demonstrated during when one of them (usually Troy, but it can also be Kelsi) is at their lowest. So from a writing technique, aesthetic and sadistic viewpoint, I prefer to challenge Troy and Kelsi before they deserve any romantic moments together. I take this same approach to all the romance fiction that I’ve written for other fandoms. If they haven’t suffered, then they don’t deserve it. 

(Fun fact: I used to hate the romance genre, and swore never to write it). 

I have attempted to demonstrate a romantic moment here:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Today, he looked casual, almost invisible, with his black jeans, sneakers and black shirt. Casual and handsome, she added, quite forgetting that she should have outgrown such thoughts by now.  

“Why don’t you play the rest of it?”  Without waiting for response, he had jumped off stage (she couldn’t help admiring his agility) and the next minute, was sitting next to her on the piano stool. Distracted by this, and possibly by his deodorant or aftershave or whatever, she stared at him before remembering that this wasn’t Junior Year, and she hadn’t only just met him, and she should just play the damn thing. 

“It’s kinda rough right now--”

He smiled. “Didn’t sound like it.” 

Relenting, she played it. And somehow, maybe because it was her first time, or perhaps because only Troy was there to hear it, she felt drawn in far deeper than she’d intended, so much so that when she’d finished, it took a moment to return to reality. Just the bare bones? No, she had accessed something deeper in the three or four minutes she’d played, and wasn’t sure how to retrieve it, capture the moment in a bottle and repeat. She stared at the keys, her fingernails and then the crumpled manuscript in front of her as though they’d suddenly appeared.  Jesus Christ. And finally, she glanced at Troy, embarrassed about zoning out on him. 

“Er… so yeah. That’s the song. So far.” 

For a moment, he didn’t answer, his eyes fixed on hers. “Wow… That’s… That’s nice.” 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, I’ve reused the scene from HSM I, after Troy hears “What I’ve Been Looking For” in order to demonstrate the emotional connection that Troy feels-- canonically, I might add-- towards Kelsi’s music. Obviously, this is rough, so it will be edited properly, but right now (at 22:11pm), I’m thinking it’s not too shabby. Yet. :D I am going to have some fun coming up with more scenes, some already which are in my head. 

I’m onto writing my character notes for Gabriella Montez, which I will finish sometime later this week. That will certainly be fun as I seek to understand her motivations, and why she gets away with such atrocious behaviour towards Troy Bolton. 

Stay unorthodox! :D

[deeeepsteep]

As usual I will be liveblogging the Oscars tonight

In case anyone cares here are my Oscars predictions/people I want to win in the most interesting categories

Read more because it’s pretty lengthy - though I only go into detail with the top 3 categories and I just list the rest because I got lazy lmao

Also there are spoilers in this so yeah if you planned on watching any of the movies nominated tonight beware

Best Picture Who I think will win: La La Land As much as I loved the movie, I honestly don’t think it has Best Picture potential. The story was okay at best, and there are aspects of the story that rub people the wrong way (A white pianist acting like the messiah of jazz music, for instance). 

BUT. But.

The Academy is a sucker for movies that are based on show business and Hollywood (Ironic, I know), which is why I think it has an edge over the other nominees - which is disappointing because the movie I really want winning Best Picture deserves it more.

Who I want to win: Moonlight This movie blew me away. The cinematography, the story, the characters, the editing, everything. It’s a slow burn, but rightfully so - and c’mon, it’s a movie about a queer black male struggling to accept his identity while also dealing with a shitty family situation and an even shittier social life. It deserves recognition for that alone.

But...I don’t think it’s going to win Best Picture, even though I really want it to. Why? Because it’s the goddamn Oscars. “Oscars So White” may not be as prevalent in the list of nominees but I can guarantee you it’ll make a comeback once they start announcing winners.

Best Actor Who I think will win: Denzel Washington He already nabbed an Oscar for Training Day and a second one for Glory (Both great movies, by the way), but goddamn if you saw Fences you’d probably agree with me when I say that he deserves a third one. He plays a very unlikeable character in the movie, but he does it so well that you can’t help but like him. The typical “Hard guy with a hard past” trope is a little overplayed nowadays so the market’s a bit saturated for that, meaning that there are very few people who can pull off the role. I believe he first played Troy Maxson in the play before he played him in the movie too. Oh, also, he directed the movie adaptation of Fences, so that’s another reason why I think he’ll win it.

Who I want to win: Ryan Gosling I want him to win primarily because he learned how to play jazz piano in three months. THREE MONTHS. That is not a lot of time, especially when you’re talking film. Also, have you heard jazz piano? It is NOT easy to play. Ryan didn’t use any doubles when they filmed the scenes where Sebastian is playing - all of that was him.

Best Actress Who I think will win: Emma Stone She won the Golden Globe award, the Screen Actors Guild award, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts award, the British Academy Film award, and a few awards from several critics’ associations for her role as Mia in La La Land. If she doesn’t win tonight I think everyone will be surprised.

Who I want to win: Emma Stone I can’t disagree with critics. She was amazing in La La Land - her performance was way more impactful than Ryan Gosling’s. She’s not a stranger to singing and dancing - she’s done both plenty of times in both film and Broadway - but I think this is the first time I’ve seen her sing and dance, and I was blown away by how talented she was.

I really wanted her to win last year, when she was nominated for her role in Birdman - I thought she was stellar there too. I didn’t think she would’ve been able to top her performance there, but then La La Land happened lmao

Best Supporting Actor Who I think will win: Mahershala Ali Who I want to win: Mahershala Ali He had a small but very impactful role in Moonlight. You could feel his characters’ presence long after he’s gone, and that’s something not many actors are able to achieve.

Honourable mention: Dev Patel He made me almost cry in Lion. The only movie I ever cried watching was A.I. That’s a big deal.

Best Supporting Actress Who I think will win: Viola Davis Who I want to win: Viola Davis

Her character in Fences was my favourite in the film. Troy might have been through some shit but his wife, Rose, had to put up with his grumpy ass for 15 years - and on top of that she put up with him cheating on her and raising the child he fathered out of his affair. The strength and tenacity Davis channeled through her portrayal of Rose earned her several awards - the Black Reel, the British Academy Film award, the Critics’ Choice, the Golden Globe, and the Screen Actors Guild, just to name a few.

Best Animated Feature Who I think will win: Zootopia Who I want to win: Moana

I get that Zootopia is basically “Racism 101″ for kids, but the fact that a movie about animals is getting more accolades than a movie about a PoC girl and Polynesian culture is kind of ridiculous to me.

Of course, Moana shouldn’t win just because it’s about a PoC girl and Polynesian culture, but c’mon...it was a good movie.

That being said, Kubo and the Two Strings is an honourable mention. I loved the art style, but we all know by now that Disney dominates the Animated Feature category even when there are better movies in the category.

Cinematography: Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: La La Land

I loved the composition of this film. The colours, the camera work, the lighting, the framework...everything was just seamless and so well put together. It really captured the “la la land” feeling of La La Land, if that makes sense. The movie really wanted to make you feel like LA and Hollywood are these surreal, faraway dreamscapes that only few people are lucky enough to experience - and they captured that perfectly.

Costume Design Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: Jackie

Jackie Kennedy was known for her fashion style. She became a frigging fashion icon. Jackie did an awesome job recreating her style - and Natalie Portman wore them perfectly.

But...La La Land won in this category before, for some reason, and I don’t really know why. Nothing about the costumes were particularly striking, nor did they have much significance.

Directing Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: Moonlight

When in doubt, choose La La Land. I’m pretty sure that’s the mindset of every panel of judges or critics or whatever they’re called for every award show...thing. Can you believe this movie has 14 nominations for the Oscars this year - the only other movies that have been nominated that many times for the Oscars are fucking Titanic and All About Eve.

Moonlight deserves more recognition, which is why I want it to win in this category.

Film Editing Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: La La Land

I’ve already mentioned before that I loved the composition of this movie, so yeah.

Best Original Score Who I think will win: La La Land Who I want to win: La La Land

The movie’s music is a lot better than the actual movie. I bought the CD and the special edition blue vinyl LP. That’s how much I love it.

Best Original Song Who I think will win: City of Stars from La La Land Who I want to win: City of Stars from La La Land

City of Stars has been stuck in my head since I first saw the movie - and I saw this movie two months ago.

An honourable mention would be the other La La Land song nominated in this category: “Audition”. Emma Stone’s singing prowess really shines through in it. 

[allenmendezsr]

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Something that has the power to give someone goosebumps – or make their eyes watery with emotion?

So many people have hidden talents that they suspected they might have, but wasted them because they never planted the seed and watered it.

You might be pursuing a dream in music, but ‘missing a piece of the puzzle’….this missing piece of the puzzle could be holding you back from becoming a legend one day.

Songwriting is an art that anyone with an interest in music can master – in fact, the more you are affected by music, the higher your chances of success.

I know what you are thinking…. ‘all the best songs have been written’… ‘all the best rifts are taken’. This is nonsense. Language and music is infinite…. poetry is infinite – and that’s what songwriting is…. poetry in the form of music.

With the history of music at the click of a finger, thanks to technology, tools and resources – your favourite riff can be moments away from being sampled, twisted and moulded to your liking. Now all you need is a song. There has never been a better time to learn the art of songwriting.

Don’t be put off if you don’t play an instrument or are unable to sing. Songwriting is a very rewarding art that is treasured as much as painting, sculpting, or writing.

A great song can stick around forever. It’ll be played endlessly on the radio, covered by different artists and in all manner of styles, and butchered by karaoke wannabe’s. Your work could easily be passed through the ages….

Enjoyed by countless generations. What a legacy right?

A lot of artists are just too busy to write their own songs…

There is a HUGE demand for songwriters out there…. not only will songwriting give you extreme satisfaction – Knowing your songs are being sung by others passionately, but it has the power to make you a lot of money…. can you imagine kissing your boss goodbye because of the royalties you are earning passively? It’s possible if you have the passion!

Have you ever tried to write a song? If you haven’t been shown where to start or how the process works, it can be pretty frustrating…. I used to believe it was an art reserved for a lucky few like John Lennon or Bob Dylan.  You know….

Only the most musically gifted. It wasn’t until a friend introduced me to ‘the process’ of songwriting…. Where my love for music flourished into a complete passion…. And I was truly amazed how long I had ignored the concept of writing my own songs. Why I hadn’t done it earlier?

If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a song, but stopped because you’ve never written a song in your life before, and can’t shake the feeling that it just might be something you’d be good at – then this book is for you.

If you’ve ever tried your hand at songwriting before, and nothing’s turned out the way you hoped – then this book is for you.

If you’ve ever written songs that you’re happy with, but can’t expand your creative horizons – then this book is for you.

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in the arid desert of writer’s block, then this book is for you. If you’re a prolific songwriter with racks of demo tapes and a thirst for marketing knowledge, then this book is for you, too!

This book is for everyone who wants to learn more about the art of songwriting.

Having ‘leverage’ is important if you are already a musician. Now if you are great at performing cover songs…. or, you collaborate well with your manager and band at singing someone else’s songs that’s fine… the trouble is that you have no say or leverage in where your career is going. You gotta do what your manager says, the band could replace you – the songwriter could disagree with your style of singing.

With songwriting skills YOU are the one in the driver’s seat. You are the one who has final say on its creative direction. You are the one who gets the royalties. Simply put, it is the difference between being a poor artist or a wealthy artist.

I’ve written this course to cater for all levels of experience: for people who know absolutely nothing about songwriting, but also for those who want more details about the craft and the industry too.

This course was created with the intention of giving you a boost into the world of songwriting through instructing you in the major aspects of the industry.

So I’ve tried to include real meat-and-potatoes stuff (like how to actually write the songs, and where to get inspiration from) as well as the more technical, insider’s tips like how to market yourself successfully, where to turn for more information, and who you need to know in the music industry.

When I decided to write a book on songwriting, it was purely because I’m sick of all the encyclopedia-style textbooks on the subject. Personally speaking, I don’t think it really gels with the industry or with what you’re trying to do. I think that songwriting is more about having fun than memorizing detailed instructions and following them to the letter – and it’s definitely not about wading through weighty tomes of cross-referenced, super-detailed information.

Here’s what “Songwriting Success – The Ultimate Guide To Writing And Selling Your Songs” has inside:

Everything you need to know about writing a song – from the very basics right through to the “complicated” stuff (I’ve put the word ‘complicated’ into inverted commas because, really, even the “complicated” stuff is still easy because it is in a step-by-step fashion)

Everything you need to know about becoming a professional songwriter is contained within this book.

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got a good ear for music, an unshakeable sense of rhythm, a way with words and lyrics, or just the feeling that you might be good at this: by the time you’ve finished reading the sections of this book that apply to you, you’ll be ready to start making money off your songwriting ideas.

We’re going to look at the creative and the business side of things: from the actual how-to-get-a-good-idea right through to marketing your stuff to industry insiders.

Discover how songwriting can earn you a living. I give you a run down of the songwriting process and all the things you’ll be involved in as a professional songwriter from writing music and lyrics to composing and marketing.

You’ll learn what is actually in a song in my detailed chapter on “The Basics and Complexities of Structure”

The one fatal mistake that you cannot afford to make when including rhyme in your songs.

Find out all the nitty-gritty secrets that you definitely WILL need to write songs that are successful, marketable, saleable, and chart topping… all the things you want your songs to be!

Lyrics in DETAIL. You’re going to learn all about lyrical (word-based) tools that you can place conveniently throughout your song to jazz it up and make it sound really polished and smooth.

Discover the four absolute most-important traits and abilities of a successful songwriter.

And that’s not all!

Not by a long shot.

One thing that most successful songwriters plan out carefully BEFORE writing any lyrics to their song. This secret is about the closest thing you can get to a guarantee that the song is going to make listeners – sit up and take notice.

Everything you need to know about Rhyme. There’s just something eminently satisfying about listening to a song with a polished rhyme – it sounds finished. Writing un-clichéd rhymes isn’t easy to do, and it tends to be an acquired skill, rather than something you’re born with. But don’t fret… I’m going to break it all down for you.

Stuck for song ideas? I show you where to find them! You’ll soon be capturing great stories and insights to tell in your lyrics, melodies and rhythm.

HOW TO BE A SELF-CONFIDENT SONGWRITER. Seriously, you’ll never be able to write anything if you can’t even put pen to paper without editing it – without rereading it, analyzing it for flaws, assessing it critically. I show you silence your inner critic and skyrocket your confidence in your own songwriting ability!

You’ll gain step-by-step information on how to market your songs.

Uncover my essential tips to creating the melodies themselves… even if you don’t know how to play a musical instrument!

Publishers: Who they are, why you need one, and how to get one of your own!

Everything that you need to include in a submission package to a publishing company.

Networking: How to do it and why you should

Tips for managing your budget when cutting a demo.

Entertainment attorneys and you – What you need to know.

All about how to collaborate and write songs with someone else. Discover how to find them and how to work together so that you make the old saying ‘two heads are better than one’ a true statement.

With 100s of songs being written and submitted to record companies around the world every day, it’s absolutely essential that you make your song stand out. That’s why I’ve dedicated and entire chapter to “Making Your Songs Memorable”.

Find out how to find your own style. When you’re marketing your songs, you’ll be expected to know what category of music your songs fall under. This will enable you to market your music to the people who are looking for that kind of music – the publishers, performing artists, and record companies that are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

Powerful advice on how to use melody to add strength and meaning to your songs.

And much more….

Well you’ve just seen above how comprehensive “Superior Songwriting – The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Selling Your Songs” is.

I’m serious when I say that you won’t find any more powerful book, course, or advice around on how to write and sell your songs. Of course I can’t apply the advice for you, but I am giving you the advice you need to MAXIMIZE your chances songwriting success. 

Of course, to sweeten the deal even MORE, I’m also going to throw in….

TWO Amazing Super Bonuses (Amazing Value) — yours to keep, no matter what you decide!

I want to make sure you have everything you need to immediately guarantee that you maximize your singing potential.

So if you act TODAY, then you’re guaranteeing yourself that you’ll receive the super-low pricing of Superior Songwriting: The Ultimate Guide To Writing And Selling Your Songs

PLUS FULL ACCESS to the following TWO Super Bonuses…

How do you know what your voice sounds like? Have you ever recorded yourself? Did you know that your voice doesn’t sound the same to you than it does to everyone else?

That’s why I’ve included the Singorama! Mini Recording Studio so that you can record and playback your voice right on your computer. You can also stay on pitch with the Virtual Piano or you can sing along with pre-recorded scales.

Sick of writers block? Ideas not flowing the way you’d like?

That’s where this powerful mini-book comes in.

I’ve created this book to provide lessons, and most importantly – practical exercises – to skyrocket your level of creativity in your song writing.

You’ll discover:

My cutting edge method of how to flesh out your song ideas

Practical exercises designed to increase your vocabulary

Awesome exercises that have been engineered to get more ideas coming to the front of your brain, so that you can keep that creative flow going, without experiencing the frustrations of song writers block!

My favorite online software that aids my songwriting no-end

Other brain exercises to boost those creative neurons!

Your 8-Week DOUBLE Risk-Free Guarantee:

Of course, you don’t have to decide now. Instead, grab our risk-free offer, use Superior Songwriting for up to 8 weeks, and watch firsthand to see if your song writing skills improve!

Protection #1

If you’re not absolutely thrilled, just e-mail me within 8 weeks (that’s 56 days) for a complete 100% refund. No questions. No hassles. Right up to the last day of this guarantee.

Protection #2

Even if you cancel, your efforts won’t be for nothing. You’ll get to keep the FOUR Super Bonuses as my way of saying “Thanks.” That’s a guaranteed gain, no matter what you decide!

… I literally take ALL of the risk for you because that’s how much I believe in this system.

Picture this: It’s a year from today (or a lot sooner), and you’ve become the highly impressive songwriter you’d always dreamed of being — with a lot less effort than you expected.

You have a shoebox FULL of manuscripts that could literally have the earning power of a stack of novels.

Your songwriting mastery has attracted the interest of collaborators and publishers alike, not to mention the awe and respect of your friends and family.

Now, stop and look back on today. Considering that you’ve now become a fantastic songwriter and have written some amazing songs that you are proud of, what price tag would’ve made it a good investment?

today only, and only on this page… You’re price is a FRACTION of that…

Cut that price in half… and you’re STILL not close!

As ridiculous as it sounds, you won’t even pay a quarter of that today! Today only, and only from this presentation, your total investment in ‘Superior Songwriting’ (valued at $220), including ALL the bonuses (valued at $89.85) is ONLY:

Just 1 Payment Of Only $49.95

Add it all up, and the total value will shock you: over $300… And even at that price, this is a total bargain… Yet, just by taking action today, the ENTIRE ‘Superior Singing’ System, with all the bonuses, PLUS the Super Bonus is yours for only $49.95…

Start Using Superior Songwriting in the next 5 minutes!

If you request it on the order form, our system will allow you to access the Superior Songwriting – The Ultimate Guide To Writing And Selling Your Songs members area immediately, so you can start learning amazing singing skills within five minutes!  Even if you have never downloaded something from the internet before it comes with instructions it’s so easy!

Zero shipping costs.

No waiting time, forget having to wait weeks for postal delivery.

No risk of products lost in the mail or damaged.

You receive Superior Songwriting – The Ultimate Guide To Writing And Selling Your Songs at a lower price because it costs us less to produce.

How To Place Your Risk-Free Order

The fastest way to order is directly online with ClickBank’s SECURE SERVER. Clickbank is one of the internet’s most trusted online retailers specializing in digitally delivered products. Keep in mind that when you use ClickBanks’ order form, we do not have any access to your credit card information at any stage, ClickBank is one of the most widely used and secure online retailers and you can be certain that your details are completely secure.

Keep in mind that when you use my order form on ClickBank’s Secure Server, you can access Superior Songwriting instantly so you can start learning how to write and sell your songs today!

Superior Songwriting The Ultimate Guide To Writing And Selling Your Songs

is available via instant download. Note: If you order Superior Songwriting online, it’s yours risk-free for an incredibly low $49.95

Get Instant Access to the Entire Program + 2 FREE Bonuses!

Your 8-Week DOUBLE Risk-Free Guarantee

I look forward to getting a letter from you, telling me about your experience with Superior Songwriting and about all the people you have impressed with your new found vocal skills. Even though I get an enormous amount of mail, please write to me. I’d love to hear your success story!

To your success,

Stuart Sinclair

P.S. If you already happen to be musician of some kind, you completely owe this to yourself to try…. You could literally be the next Johnny Cash…. If you don’t give it a good try, you will die wondering.

P.P.S. Wouldn’t it be cool to have other people cover YOUR songs? Creating a song that lives far longer than you ever dreamed? 

[anjaruhl473702-blog]

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