#I have friends over and its hard to focus on clever hashtags....

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Cool answers, happy super early valentine day lol ❤️ got some more for you! :D

1: are they fans of the Super Bowl/puppy bowl or just like to watch the new commercials?

2: in your universe, will zod ever be redeemed, like maybe teaming up with his son against a massive invasion from darkseid or mongul & maybe sacrifice his life for his son, or is zod just plain bad?

3: this maybe a little dark, but have the duo been in a terrifying scenario before, like a school pew-pewing?

4: what is one thing they would do for a million dollars?Like brush their teeth & then drink orange juice.

5: how would their lives be if they didn’t meet or at least not 1st best friends?

6: I think I ask this already but are much are they a hugger on a scale of 1-10?

As you can tell, my universe is ready for questioning if you want to ask me anything? Asks are open ;)

1) Oh easy….its about the ads especially for whatever new movies or video games are coming out that year the Duo focus on. Though every now and then it can be an ad not related to those things which also gets their attention. A prime example being that time Dr Evil took over General Motors.

2) Probably he can take a similar Omni Man direction in trying to find some redemption for the errors of his ways though even Zod might know deep down he might never truly receive that forgiveness from Chris for the years of harsh treatment dished out since basically the latter’s birth. Perhaps uneasy alliances against worse threats including Xa Du and Darkseid between Zod and his son’s adoptive family can occur to which Chris then earns Zod’s respect as a worthy soldier for his own cause (Truth & Justice) which can be a small step on the massive mountain climb that is full reconciliation.

(More below the cut as the answer for Question 3 might be heavy handed)

3) Oh My yes they have. Mainly for Jake, an incident like that at his school occurred during what was an average day. Suddenly during Pre Algebra, loud banging noises sounding like whip cracks were heard down Bludhaven Academy’s hallways so his teacher took the time trying to investigate but thankfully got out of the perpetrator’s way and had his class go into lockdown mode. The issue was that unfortunately, the perpetrator was a recent grad from this school who knew about said lockdown so they weren’t easily fooled, blasting through the door’s locks. The amount of shots fired and bullets spraying all over that classroom can only bang loudly in Jake’s ears as much as his eyes can see one by one some of his classmates try making a run for it either past the attacker or through the window, only to catch their aim and get mercilessly hit by said bullets. Finally, it took a clever distraction from Meredith who risked getting into the aiming sights did Jake finally act, using his acrobatics and a wooden measuring ruler found on the red crimson fluid soaked floors as an impromptu escrima stick to knock the weapon out of the attacker’s hand and knock them out cold, ending the rampage.

In all, 45 total lives, including about 2/3 of Jake’s algebra class, were lost to this incident, and out of those 45, 41 of them were all below the age of 18. Needless to say, Meredith and Jake had to ask extensive permission not to be counted as heroes in this case (in addition to Bruce and Dick lobbying hard with the news media not to reveal any details about the attacker and their background prior to this incident) as that would distract from the real tragedy and the actions needed to prevent such from ever happening again. The hashtag #BludhavenAcademyBrave or #BAB for short trending very quickly the very next day, complimented by Chris and Jake having a blue and white armband with that shortened hashtag as Nightwing and Skybird respectively.

4) Money isn’t always a factor of concern for them since not only are they happy with the lives they do have but there’s also the small elephant in the room that is Mr. Owner of the Third Largest Corporation in the DCU, Gotham’s Prince Playboy Bruce Wayne being their ally and a factor to it. But if they have to earn a million dollars, I can see Chris and Jake attempting a feat that breaks world records of a sort or participate in many Japanese game shows. A popular one in real life that was around in the 80s was called Za Gaman (‘Endurance’) where its contestants would endure some of the nastiest, most punishing and messed up types of challenges imaginable ranging from being tied to a paddle steamer’s engine, dunking back and forth into the water or eating ice cream while buried neck deep in the snow. That I can see the Duo doing for a Million US dollars.

5) Chris and Jake without ever meet each other would be frankly in much more sadder and less fulfilling lives as they would not have as strong of a drive for adventure beyond just doing so due to their respective families and in Jake’s case with other friend and his Big Sis’ friends doing so. It’s likely Jake might’ve quit the hero business altogether even after his powers came in some time later and trying living a normal civilian life while Chris only really goes into hero duties if he was accompanying Jon. So overall, a lot more would change in ways neither one want to really think about

6) Chris: 8 on good days and 9 on days he feels off and needs a hug for comfort. Though he’d only go for it if he’s given a form of permission

Jake: 10 easily. Both Mar’i and him frankly. It’s a family thing, coming from Kory of course XD

Thanks for these asks as always @pin-crusher2000

It’s very appreciative and yes you can be expecting questions for your universe in due time ;-)

[insidethemarble]

He Does What He Wants.

There’s an odd little phrase floating around in my beloved church circles which goes like this: “God, I give you permission to interrupt my day”, and its corporate version, “Lord we give you permission to come and do what you want to do!” The heart of it is so good; “God, I don’t want to get in the way, and I know you’re full of surprises, so let me make room in my head and heart for your will to be done!” I’m not unduly offended by it and I would never ever correct my friends for saying this phrase in public prayer. It’s not that big of a deal. But I am going to make a point about it and gently offer a course-correction. Now, I’m not sure where it came from (it’s not anywhere in the bible) or who started it, but I must say I think the phrase is redundant at best, inappropriate otherwise. It’s useless, it doesn’t mean anything, and it feels misinformed.  Last year, I had a startling, 2-part epiphany concerning this phrase, and this is why I bring it up. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure God had space in my life. I felt guilty when I couldn’t feel him, when I wasn’t “connected”, or if I prayed for healing and it didn’t happen, etc. This is how God broke through that pressure.    1) God doesn’t need my permission, and I couldn’t stop him anyway. He does what he wants. Literally... Isaiah 14:24 & 27 says, The Lord of Hosts has sworn,  “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand...” Who can change his plans? His hand is stretched out, and who can stop him? When I was a baby, I never gave my parents permission to feed me, wash me, clothe me, or otherwise do the things good parents do. I let them know what I needed, and they faithfully took care of me because they loved me. They did good things for me even when (sometimes especially when) I didn’t like it.  How much more, then, am I incapable of hindering God from loving me? It’s silly for me to presume that my authority and/or ability, or the lack thereof, could keep God from doing what God intends to do.  Now that doesn’t leave me entirely out of the equation. The second thing I realized is that 2) While I can’t stop God, I can choose which side I’m going to be on when He moves. This was the core of Jesus’ simple message when he began his ministry. ”Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” [Matthew 4:17]  In other words, God is about to move whether you like it or not, and you have a choice to make! 

So while I have grace for those who use this strange phrase, I’ve changed my own personal attitude. Now, instead of granting him permission, I simply ask him to demonstrate his love: “God, you’re in charge here! Come and do what you love doing. You delight in mercy, so have mercy! You delight in freedom, so free us! You love healing, so heal! Let your kingdom come, and your will be done here.”  

[tomoyanosekai]

視点 (Shiten: Perspective) ~ Heroes and the Truest Self Behind the Lens~

“Can I get the right shot?... Nahh, this doesn’t look right.” 

- March 10, 2021

It was a cold twilight evening as I laid there on the steps of my front yard trying to find the right angle. I’m sure you’re wondering, “Why are you laying there in a weird position as you take pictures of a bunch of action figures at that hour of the evening?” To begin somewhere, I’ve always been a very big fan and geek of the Japanese hero and drama franchise called “Kamen Rider.” Something that not everyone knows is that I also run a secondary Instagram (and as of recently, a Twitter) account dedicated to taking pictures of my collection; mainly through figure photography. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Kamen Rider franchise, and considering I own a large collection of the suits and characters from a good majority of the series, and mixed with a close friend’s collection, this allowed me access to every suit and every main character from the past 50 years. The challenge that I gave myself this month was to take photos of every main Kamen Rider throughout the past 50 years and post a picture everyday until April 3rd, which is the day of the titular 50th anniversary. My goal was to be posting and building up to something that hasn’t been seen on Instagram or Twitter all that often, especially not through an American fan. Though, as I underwent this creative challenge in March, I kept finding out more and more about myself as I pushed my creativity to its limits. But before I get to March, I think it’s best to start from the end of February.

50 Years Worth of Japanese Heroes captured individually for a whole month #RiderMonth

When I think about last month, February was a frustrating mess for me. Nothing really happened, and having to write down that nothing happened bothered me. January through February can easily be summarized with me contracting COVID-19 through unexpected means, having to recover, and then quarantining for extra weeks so that I can get better. But as February ended, that was when things in my life began to slightly pick up again, and I felt it wasn’t proper to write a blog post detailing those thoughts that hadn’t been developed or processed yet. With the end of February being what it was, the thing I kept feeling was a sense of loneliness. I hated the fact that life wasn’t happening for me at all, and at some point as everyone kept moving forward, it felt like nothing eventful or exciting wasn’t happening. Whenever people reached out to me, I noticed that my conversations were really short; while everyone else’s life was happening for them, the most I could say was “I work everyday, eat and then sleep.” At some point, I stopped reaching out to friends because everyone seemed busy, and later down the line: I eventually stopped reaching out because I felt burnt out trying to constantly reach out all the time. 

“Hrm…. This doesn’t look bad, but this looks… kinda cluttered…”

- March 20, 2021

This loneliness even continued when I was with other people; especially my family. There was one Sunday morning where my family decided to go hiking up at Griffith Park (The place where the Hollywood Sign is.) Although I was with my parents, brother and his girlfriend, it only hammered in how lonely I felt. I was tired of feeling alone where I couldn’t be myself at home, and I only felt even more lonely since my parents had each other and my brother had his girlfriend. I wanted to be with people where I could be myself, but yet also wanted to be alone since I felt that I couldn’t really be myself. Normally, I find it hard to open up and truly be myself in front of other people most of the time; whether that be close friends, acquaintances, coworkers, or even family. I only show certain and specific parts of myself to certain people, but it was never really a thing where I openly showed “all” of myself to everyone; especially towards my parents and my brother. It’s always been hammered into me that I need to be more “normal” so that I don’t get teased or thought of as “weird” for my interests and hobbies.

“Hrm…. I think this looks better... It’s in the right direction I want to go with, but you can still see the fence…” 

- March 27, 2021

As March rolled around, work continued, I got fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at some point, and I decided to take a creative challenge that I called “Rider Month.” (For those who are curious, all my photos can be found on Instagram with the hashtag, “#RiderMonth.”)  But as I embarked on this project, it was really weird talking to my parents about how I was going to take pictures of my collection for a whole month. The most challenging and weirdest part of all of this was learning to be okay about telling my parents about my secondary account. I never intended on them learning about due to a fear of them using that against me. Nonetheless, I initially chose to take on this project because I wanted to celebrate 50 years of Kamen Rider and wanted to have fun remembering each and every series with other fans. Although this came from a desire of just having fun, this personal project only continued to grow on me the more I did it. Sure, I had fun figuring out how I wanted to pose each figure and take their photo, but the thing that really spoke to me were the comments I kept getting. When seeing some of the comments I got on some of these photos, a lot of these photos were bringing back feelings of nostalgia for my followers. Some watched these shows with their parents when they were young children in the 70s or 80s, some of my followers found their way into watching these heroes in the mid 2000’s when they were in middle or high school just like me, and some of these people just barely got into the franchise and has spurred them to explore the franchise even more. No matter their age, each person had their favorite season with their beloved characters and fondest memories, and that ended up fueling and pushing me through this whole month as I created content for my followers. 

“Huh, alright, I think I’m good with this photo… Wait, there’s a photography contest now? Dammit, never mind. Back to the drawing board.” 

- March 29th

Much like taking photos, I think this month has been about perspective and learning to take that step back. Throughout my time working, there was always something that I kept questioning: “How good IS the quality of our products?” For a while, I always wondered about how effective our products were if we kept having to answer the same questions and fix the same problems for people over and over again on a daily basis. It seemed repetitive and honestly discouraging. But at some point during a team meeting, I learned that not all our products at work are always defective; and a good majority of our products function normally and properly for customers. In actuality: there’s more right than wrong with our products, which means we’re doing something right. Likewise, even though I was alone on that hike with my family, I was only reminded how large and vast this world was. Although it’s easy to get swept up in the vast size of buildings and take the same sceneries for granted, I was only reminded of how big the world really was when looking at it from a far.   

Downtown Los Angeles with Griffith Observatory as seen from afar

- February 21st, 2021

Likewise, even though it was easy to focus on how alone I was at the time, it would only be a matter of time where I would be reunited with a few of my friends. I finally opened up to more of my friends this month about my secondary account and some of my work on that secondary Instagram account, and to my surprise, a lot of them were surprised and kept complimenting my work. There was nothing wrong with being me and that’s just fine; it doesn’t matter what other people may think of me. If anything, I feel that this month was also dedicated to me actually learning to see, understand, and accept myself for who I am, just as God sees us. Much like in Psalm 139:14, David writes: 

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

Psalm 139:14

I am creative, clever, talented, and driven when I want or need to be. Although I downplay my creative abilities and editing skills, I found that I can be tenacious when I want to be, and the real me is someone who’s always trying to find some different angle when pushed into a corner. I don’t understand who I completely am quite yet, but I have a better understanding and I’m getting closer with each passing day. 

At the time of this writing, there was a photography contest announced specifically for Kamen Rider figures in celebration of the 50th anniversary a few days ago, and even though I thought I could take it easy near the end, I’ve chosen to give it my all. I don’t really care about the prize, and the thing I want to do now even more is to show my creativity and skills, as well as be able to compete against other content makers whom I’ve met who are all better than me. It took me about three weeks to figure out how I could capture this shot. As I captured and edited this shot, I can say that I’m ultimately proud of this one; as this was meant to be the big finish to what I called “Rider Month.” But in the meantime, I have no idea what’s next for April, but with the COVID-19 vaccines coming out to the public and with me learning to accept myself even more, I have something to look forward to as I continue on into 2021. 

“From here on out, it’s my stage!!”

The final product: 50 Years of Heroes; The Ones who Continually Fight for Justice 

- March 31, 2021

[mariajustinteriordesigns]

Why We Love Formland: Holly Becker + Stefan Nilsson

Stefan and I (at a fair, of course).

Today I am talking to my fair partner (not to be confused with an affair partner, ha ha!) Stefan Nilsson, also known as “trendstefan”, the most famous trend hunting Swede from Stockholm who attends about 20 fairs and design events each year. I would say about six of those fairs are with me – Milan, Hannover, Herning, Frankfurt, Eindhoven and Cologne. Sometimes Helsinki. And maybe next year, I’ll add Paris and Stockholm so I can see him even more.

But for now, you can find Stefan and I at six fairs where we spend time together, sometimes on stage, sometimes just sipping wine in a canteen dishing about stuff we saw, what inspired us, what didn’t, what was missing, what we needed to see more of, blah blah blah. We are bit like the two men in the balcony on The Muppets Show – uncensored, unapologetic, opinionated, total know-it-alls when we chat alone together. But this is for a reason: we are both young enough to still be curious enough to spend hours and days covering fairs, but old enough to know we’ve seen it all, so we have a lot of opinions on our favorite topics: Interiors and trends.

For this blog post, I want to present both a conversation between Stefan and I AND a fair that I have attended at least 4 times already, Formland in Herning, Denmark.

Formland happens twice a year, but my favorite is the Spring edition that kicks off soon, in the dead of the gray, horrible northern European winter (next one is January 30 – February 2). Why go to a fair in winter? Why not?!! It’s when I crave inspiration, color, warm coffee, and good conversation the most. Formland is my big hug and re-entry back to the land of the living after a long pause.

It’s also where I seek out Stefan to join forces on stage to present a trend talk, hunt for interesting stuff, take a ton of photos, create videos, and when we go for steak and wine in the evening to gossip and laugh and mostly, to just enjoy catching up because it’s the only fair where we really get to spend dinner alone.

OK so with that mega-long intro, I don’t think I need to add much more because our conversation about Formland and WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND is the focus here so let’s get on with it…

Holly: So Mr. Trendstefan, you attend many fairs each year, why Formland?

Stefan: I love fairs. I know it sounds strange, but I do. To me fairs are about seeing things, falling in love with objects and talking to people. I talk about the industry, the sign of our times and of course challenges. In January, I’ll attend seven fairs and each has its own theme and vibe. Formland is wonderful to attend. I see a lot of my beloved Scandinavian brands there. I get a perfect overview of where the Scandinavian design scene is moving in terms of colors, materials and actual objects. 

There are a handful of fairs with a focus on Scandinavian design in the Nordic region, and everyone wants to be bigger and better. In my hometown of Stockholm, you have Formex with approximately 700 exhibitors and Formland in Denmark has about 470 brands. So Formland is indeed smaller, but also it’s honestly more inspiring. I love the installations, cafés and beautiful settings. 

Formland also always manages to find brands that surprise me. Brands that make me fall in love in design all over again. Like Dutch brand Dessert for Birds. And the whole sustainability angle. Remember Holly, when we talked to the vegan candy producer Wally and Whiz Nordic Winegums? So much fun.

Holly: Oh yes, I remember. He was really generous giving you all of that candy! I agree with you about Formland, I like it for the same reasons. It’s cozy and charming yet big enough to give me an excellent overview of what to expect from interiors in the new year and a great jump start during gray, cold weather when inspiration is needed most.

I also don’t feel rushed at Formland and I rarely have to queue for anything because it’s not overtaken by bloggers, press, and influencers (like Milan in recent years) so I find value in being there personally. It seems most fairs have a million other bloggers and members of the press already seeing and covering everything at break-neck speed so I don’t see the value in attending many of them anymore – I can just stay home and follow hashtags on Instagram instead and save the time, energy and money.

Formland feels like a fair I must go to for that reason -- it’s niche and special and not crowded and stressful. I love finding things first and delivering value to the brands by engaging with them on a personal level and helping to promote them on social media. I’m a busy person so I prefer to attend only the fairs where I can use my time wisely and deliver the most value. I love Formland for this reason, I know the brands and the fair overall really value my participation -- I’m a real friend of the fair.

Stefan, what are three things about Formland that you like the most?

Stefan: First, finding new, small-scale Scandinavian brands like Lars Rank or Novoform. Also, some pretty nice German brands too. Next, The friendliness. It’s important. It’s so easy to just grab someone and get a coffee or drink. At the end of the day, everyone gathers around one of the bars for an after-work drink. So casual, so friendly. 

And finally, I love how Formland focuses on sustainability. Not just last year (like everyone else) but for a long time. I love talking to brands like Lübech Living to find out about the new materials they’re using and other clever solutions they find in their research with a goal to create even better products than they have already. 

Holly: Yes, I agree - friendliness. Based on that, I get to easily start quality conversations and also meet up with people in the industry for good chats at the lovely trendy cafes and restaurants. Meeting the face behind each product is also extremely important to me, I love learning about the stories and inspiration behind what I’m seeing. For me, the next thing that I find inspiring at Formland is that it’s very inspiring visually, I always feel like I gained something to be their creatively-speaking (and I’m very hard to impress!) and I love the overall colors – this fair is by far the most inspiring when it comes to how color is shown and used. The third thing I absolutely love is to see the creative vision of STUDIE FLYHELSTED in their trend zone in both the Spring and Fall Formland shows. This time, I’m excited to see their latest concept, “The Art of Living”. When I read this, I knew it would click with me personally, “The Art of Living is divided into three different themes; 'A Sense of Your Inner Self' focusing on balance and wellbeing, 'A Feeling of Seduction' featuring personal expressions and 'A Touch of Togetherness' embracing the community.”

I love the pace of the fair too. I have to add this as a fourth thing I love. And okay, there is more… The flowers and candles everywhere – it’s so cozy – but also, I love that it’s in this lovely, small city of Herning so I don’t feel distracted like I do in other cities like Paris and Milan.

Herning is small, special and cozy – and once you are there you just want to be a Formland, eat a good dinner at a local stylish spot, and go to sleep so you can focus solely on the fair. I like the vibe – it makes me feel very at ease and in this way, I can get down to business and enjoy what I came there for – FORMLAND and only FORMLAND!

Stefan: Yes, I would agree on the pace. It is airy, not overcrowded and you can basically do Formland in two days so you don't have to rush things. Walk a bit, stop and look at something, enjoy one of the installations, see a lecture, have a drink, talk to someone, go for an after-work cocktail... It's a dream...

Holly Becker’s Trend Presentation at Formland Spring 2019

Holly: And food! What do you think about the food compared to other fairs?

Stefan: I know it's a big focus for the fair. And they do it well. The quality of the food is great. I am not fussy. I can eat basically anything but the look of these pop-up restaurants is just great. Formland invites a stylist or firm to make a whole new setting and installation where you eat. In August, I had lunch among marble statues or a coffee in a barn. It is all part of the "food for thought" part that I like. Coming up next is “The Villa” by Atelier Cph.

Holly: Well with fairs, I have come to expect the usual overpriced and mostly horrible fair food. Currywurst, boring lettuce salads, pizza, coke, bad sushi, and yucky coffee. At Formland, it’s entirely different. There are lovely trend-cafes to eat where the design and concept were just as well-planned as the food – so you eat fresh, delicious food that is affordable and it’s in a beautifully designed space so you are immersed in this mini-world of food and beauty. I just love eating at Formland, it’s the one fair where I know I can also find healthy, fresh food and great coffee, too. Plus, I have to mention they have an entire food HALL where you can see the latest sweets, wines, savory foods and so much more and of course, plenty of free samples!

Okay so let’s talk about size again. Size matters sometimes right?! ha ha! What do you like about the layout and size of the fair?

Stefan: It's nice. I mean, I am a fair-pro... I’ve seen it all. The air is good, lighting is nice and the overall structure is absolutely good. Again, this is a relatively compact fair so everything is within reach. You can focus on meeting people instead of constantly looking at a map trying to find places, getting lost, feeling frustrated…

Holly: Yes, I agree – the scale is great for me too. But I must comment on how each hall feels very distinct and different from the last, and it’s well-organized. Food is in one hall, new talent in another, very stylish brands are grouped together curated in the ONE hall, then you have the big leading brands in another hall, then flowers/plants, the food hall, etc. There is definitely something for everyone. You don’t leave Formland feeling exhausted and drained. The size is just perfect for me personally.

Do you have a favorite hall? I love the ONE concept in Hall F, I would own something from every seller in that space – it’s so well curated – Mads Arlien-Søborg is genius with his concept.

Stefan: Yes, of course, ONE is the star in this concept. And of course, this is where you find all the fancy and trendy brands (regardless if they focus on craft or something more luxurious). But I love to be surprised. I would say I like Hall H where my sustainable friends of Lübech Living are. But also, mass-market brands like Au Maison. So Hall J is my favorite.