#I need to find a less famous subject to blog about | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

one-additional-time · 2 years ago

Text

Daft Punk in Chronic'art 2007/2008 - scans & translated interview

Here it is, the long-awaited monster interview that sat untouched on my bookshelf for 6 years. I bought this magazine on eBay in 2017, fresh off the Grammys performance with The Weeknd, and I was really excited when I realized it was a huge 10 page spread... Until I started translating and realized the content was extremely in-depth and complicated. So, it got put to the side and accidentally left there for many years.

Anyway, here we go. Buckle in for a long read! Please note that I did not translate the extra sections of the article titled "Discovered" and "Very Disco" as these are just basic information about DP's discography and samples they've used- they are not part of the interview.

My usual disclaimer- I am not French, nor am I fluent in French, so some of this may be incorrect or interpreted differently than the author intended. If you find any glaring errors, my ask box is open for feedback and I can update the post/files as needed. (Post updated May 2023 with corrections)

Feel free to repost to other platforms/social media sites, but I humbly beg that you link back here or give me credit because I really spent a lot of time slaving over this (like 50+ hours).

Thank you so much for sticking around my blog after so many years. I really appreciate this fandom and community and I'm excited to experience new music with you all soon!

(Trigger warning for discussion of suicide [Electroma] in the interview!)

Download full scans and translation at my Dropbox.

Full translation below the cut.

In ten years, from Homework in 1997 to Alive 2007 and Electroma, the electro duo Daft Punk have popularized electronic music, launched fads (the French Touch, filtered house, monumental live shows), and transformed a simple music project into a verifiable universal, even metaphysical, concept. Are Daft Punk dropping the helmets?

BY: WILFRIED PARIS & OLIVIER LAMM | PHOTOS: © MAUD BERNOS

SCANS AND TRANSLATION BY STEPH @ ONE-ADDITIONAL-TIME.TUMBLR.COM

(Please see the downloadable PDF file for translation notes/comments)

Everyone has been hearing about Daft Punk for the last two months, because their live CD (Alive 2007, from EMI) and the DVD of their robotic road-movie Electroma are being released for the holidays. We wanted to go a little bit beyond the obligated promo, and the repeated wooden language found in all the media, by trapping Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo for an hour and a half in a restaurant in the Latin Quarter, subjecting them to questioning, and if possible, making them drop the helmets a little bit, over ten pages and many questions.

We’re not going to harp on what you already know (the French touch, the robot helmets, the live pyrotechnics), we’ll just say that we wanted to do this thorough interview with Daft Punk because they’re more than a CD or a DVD, more than music, more than any current pop group. They are an essential symbol of our post-post-modern times, speaking in a very clear yet always paradoxical voice (between hedonistic joy and profound existential sadness) on the human condition, no less. Over the ten years of their career (Homework, like Chronic’art, again, decidedly, appeared in 1997), Daft Punk have invented a new way of presenting music to the world. The robot helmets reveal (social uniformity) more than they cover (buried humanity) and have given them perfect anonymity, which seems like the anonymity of those who succeeded, not in annihilating the self, but becoming self-less. This anonymity accentuates the dominance of the art over the artist, and it has made Daft Punk a universally well-liked and famous group.

A conceptual, pop, philosophical, even metaphysical group, Daft Punk mixes Andy Warhol (seriality, pop art, emptiness) and Friedrich Nietzsche (the man who wanted to die in Electroma, the superhuman for and against technology), mass culture (disco, Albator, Star Wars) and esoteric symbols (the masonic pyramid), the dancing body and thinking brain. In that respect, they are a purely manufactured product of our culture and likely represent the completion of the pop figure began by the Beatles: fragmented culture (the sample) and repetition, theatricality and abstraction, universalism and experimentation, technological innovation and advanced marketing, refusal of the embodiment and worship of the personality…

The current tour (Alive can also mean “en vie”) also refers to an interstellar voyage, like Discovery and Interstella, which seemed to mean that humanity is, by nature, dispossessed, that humans do not belong on Earth but came from Heaven and are destined to return there, that they are “stardust.” They themselves [Daft Punk] are probably not aware of the symbolic and almost metaphysical significance of their creations, and they always prefer to talk about “emotions” rather than thoughts, the heart instead of the head, and they act as the “guinea pigs” for their own experiments. Listening to them, we realized that Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo do not really theorize their work, their music, or their image, but that they react to the infinite accumulation of data from our culture of abundance, that they are indeed the guinea pigs of an experience that has outrun them, marionettes played by “high culture,” pop culture, and the entertainment industry. Maybe Daft Punk really are robots, and no one is pulling the strings, certainly not them.

Chronic’art: Between Homework, which would correspond to your schoolwork or your learning phase, Discovery, which would represent your adolescence, the discovery of the world, microscopic to macroscopic, and Human After All, a moment of reset before a new cycle, it seems to us like you have come full circle, which would be represented by the mirroring of your two live albums, in 1997 and in 2007. Could you have scripted your career?

Thomas Bangalter: It’s strange. We have never written out any part of our career, because even ten years ago we didn’t think we would do this for a long time. After the fact, without having planned it, we realize more that we had sort of reset prior to the live show from 2007. For us, these concerts, this tour, this CD, they are more of a new step than a conclusion. We had not done concerts for 10 years, and there was something very exciting about doing things that weren’t technologically possible when we started. With the last live, we wanted to produce something original, that could predict what might become the norm of tomorrow. We know that we’ve done certain things in the past that were five years ahead of their time, and we are happy to be trying something no one else has done right now. We feel like, during each album, we’ve started back at zero and have had to create a new process, even if it’s true that there is a consistency which emerges in the straight line of our career. But this consistency is not defined a priori, we just emphasize working on projects that can become sort of a realignment of everything we’ve accomplished until now. Interstella was consistent with Discovery, the live show was consistent with our third album compared to the two previous albums, but each step represents, in the moment, the desire to start a new cycle. As for Human After All and Electroma, they’re about something darker, less celebratory… Maybe the live show is a loop; our record label released a Best Of last year, but the concert itself and the way we worked on it is more a way of combining things and expressing them in a new way, rather than celebrating a sort of anniversary or something from the past. We definitely didn’t want to give people the impression that they were in 1997, in a continuation of past music: we instead wanted to give them the chance to feel like they were really in 2007.

During the live shows, you mix together your own tracks, referencing and quoting yourselves. It’s like being simultaneously and precisely between 1997 and 2007, as if the past and the present were merging. All of your songs evolving in a sort of loop…

T.B.: It’s almost the third generation of sampling: us sampling ourselves. At the same time, it’s like having created a universe and an aesthetic that is more than the music, or that the music isn’t actually a central vector. Our approach isn’t at all demonstrative, it’s entirely sensory. There isn’t another message to understand. That being said, there is a desire for cohesion, to make sure that each element added to the structure resonates with the others, with the little mythology that governs this universe. It’s a bit like in a video game, each new element opens a new level in a new environment rather than replacing an older element. We wanted, for example, to break these things with Human After All, but in the end we realized that the album was very cohesive in the continuity of our work.

There is a very strong sense of nostalgia, mixed with a strangeness, in the timeless juxtapositions listeners are subjected to in the tracks. They seem to be complementing and responding to each other, as much musically as thematically…

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo: It’s especially very exciting to see that twelve or thirteen years after our first maxi, our music has not aged too much. There is a sense of nostalgia1, but it still works in the present, and it’s very strange to see that we can mix four tracks from four different eras simultaneously, and not a single one kills the mood. Right after we started making music, we were seeking timelessness. It’s the same with Electroma. At our core, we are fans of timeless things. If you listen to the Beatles, aside from their very first period which is a little bit stuck in the past, you notice that time doesn’t touch their music. We are following that: we are trying to move through time without getting stuck in it. In the same way, we are trying to make sure that our music can be listened to by a lot of different people, without having to worry about languages or genres.

The Beatles were, for that matter, the first group to reference themselves, for example in All You Need is Love, where John Lennon sings She Loves You…

G-M.H-C.: We don’t compare ourselves to the Beatles, either…

T.B.: The idea is constructing a cohesive universe from a series of spontaneous attempts. If you watch Star Wars, people don’t seem to come from when the film was made. It’s as if the 70s have no effect on the film’s universe. Its atmosphere is its own, even if mixes a lot of things together. For about five or six years we have tried not to let the times we live in make an impression on us.

You are very privileged to be in a time when everything moves so fast, or everything ages so fast, right in the middle of acceleration. For example, you did a massive world tour without having an album to promote…

G-M.H-C.: The day before the first concert of the tour, at Coachella, we were terrified, we weren’t sure of anything. Every time we try something new, we start back at zero.

T.B.: It’s the live show that sparked the craze, I think, truly. The success was really unintentional. Separate from that, being immersed in a certain underground before our first album taught us a lot. We’ve seen all the trends come and go—jungle, speed garage, electroclash, new rave, French touch, revival—and we are really surprised to have slipped by all of that. We didn’t want to be specifically concentrated on music, we only released three albums in 15 years, and we had a lot of luck. The legitimacy of our music, the future of our music lives in the combination of different forms of expression, the scope of influences, the mixing of techno with funk, with metal, the intermingling of rules and cliches. A lot of important decisions have been roughly made; also by means of spending time solidifying this roughness in order to share it. In fact, electronic music, in the 90s, put you in a state of experimentation, urgency, innovation, it literally prohibited you from repeating yourself. Electronic music was still very elitist, because it was expensive—you had to go to the library to find out about these musicians, you had to go to Beaubourg to make photocopies of books on filmmakers, you had to go to small shops to buy old drum machines. We know what changed, we’re familiar with the saturation that followed. We were also lucky because actually there wasn’t much of that happening when we started out.

The permanence of Daft Punk is also really linked to your image. People don’t only dance to your music, they dance with your personas, with the robots, like you predicted the fatal characteristic of the embodiment of rock (John Lennon, Kurt Cobain). With your robot helmets, you have made the entire process of love, requisition, and the sacrificial reclaiming in your place impossible. You come across as impersonal and therefore verifiably impossible to sacrifice. Not gods, rockers, heroes, nor rulers. The helmet prohibits any kind of identification process. When put on, they show the listener-viewer their own reflection. By giving nothing, the helmet says (silently), “Know thyself.” Can your work be considered an invitation for people to know themselves?

G-M.H-C.: Yes, I agree with that interpretation. At least, that’s what happens with our concerts. Audience members, rather than being lost in the view of a far-off guy, Mick Jagger or another inaccessible idol above the audience, find themselves between us, or even with themselves. It’s kind of like a rave, without superstars, like in the era of anonymity. The robots don’t give the audience much except music. There are robots in a pyramid, but the audience enjoys it in a more selfish, more self-centered way.

T.B.: It’s a mixture—the chance to show the listener their own reflection, to respond to a question with another question, but also the opportunity to go back to a fiction, in a cult that isn’t the cult of a personality, but of an art, of an image, of an aesthetic. Without personification. Then we can let ourselves to be two robots in a pyramid of light. If our faces were uncovered, it would be the most megalomaniacal thing in the world; with the helmets, no one sees us because we stay within the fiction. And without wanting to make a joke, there is also a degree of separation, a distance. A distance from the reflection, like in Electroma, or a distance from the entertainment, softer.

All the lines from Human After All work in the same way. They recall Kraftwerk, but Kraftwerk developed a precise message about celebrating, in a way, the immediate future. Your messages are a lot more ambiguous: are they critical, ironic, devoid of meaning? Like we see so well in Electroma, your helmets are, above all else, mirrors…

T.B.: Ambiguity is good, because it allows for a certain interaction between the viewer and the artist; between what the viewer interprets and what the artist is trying to depict. It’s very participative, and that comes from a desire to go against the demonstration. We are the first consumers of our music, and we hold the view that we can’t make any judgement values by calling things into question. In speaking about technology, about consumer society, which completely inhabits our art, we don’t want to teach a lesson, or offer a point of view or a judgement, we just want to find paradoxes and point them out as is. For example, we’re dependent on consumer society and it’s so appealing, productive, optimized, and at the same time totally terrifying, horrible, and very funny.

Your work is dialectical: sometimes it seems to denounce a sort of robotic totalitarianism (like in the Technologic video which depicts propaganda of a robot on top of a pyramid) and at the same time it plays with this imagery, strikingly. The video for Around The World also shows how robots surround and surveil the population; they are in the last circle, and they are the ones who chant the phrase “Around The World.” Does the video denounce the surveillance of us by nonhumans, or does it condition us to accept it? We never know if you’re denouncing a conspiracy against humanity or if you’re participating in it. You use of language is equally dialectical. Your language is refined, born from catchphrases and words of totalitarian order (Technologic), and if taken literally, it’s this: the phrase “Television Rules The Nation” can be taken as the assertion of an established fact. It then becomes constraint, manipulation. At the same time, the distance imposed by the performance can give the words a double meaning, and adds to them a critique of this established fact, even the denunciation of a totalitarian power. This recalls the “doublethink” in Orwell’s 1984: the capacity to simultaneously accept two opposing points of view and thereby put critical thinking on the back burner. Where do you situate yourselves in this in-betweenness?

T.B.: But it’s inside this paradox where we progress. In terms of our experimentation, we are in fact the heart of the system; it would be totally obscene to lean more to one side or the other, to claim to be part of a totalitarian system, as if we were giving lectures. It’s because this is so interesting that we refused to do any promotion for Human After All, because there couldn’t be a willingness on our part to encourage people to buy the album, because of this paradox. Because it’s like an unbiased opinion on technology, on consumer society. The video for Technologic actually gives you the keys to derive an ironic and scary message from the track, but it has since been used by Apple in a commercial for the iPod, and there the lyrics turned into blind praise for technology! It’s funny seeing to what extent the double meaning has effectively functioned. That’s why we so often refer to Andy Warhol who had an experimental approach through his connection to pop culture that, depending on the project, had as much a place in very elitist and private circles as it did on supermarket shelves. Creating with perplexity, in short.

Nevertheless, you use very strongly significant symbols, like the robots or the pyramid. The pyramid that you use on stage is a Masonic symbol. It is on the dollar bill, with George Washington and the note, “New World Order.” The pyramid represents the structure of society, from the masses up to the elites and the leaders. The cornerstone with the “all-seeing eye” surely represents the summation of technology which, though it could be plainly operational, will make sure that the “New World Order” can truly start coming forward and establishing itself on Earth. Some interpret it like the construction of a new technology, a technologic eye that would see all, through a generalized surveillance. With that said, the presence of robots like operators of this pyramid makes a lot of sense. How do you fit in with regard to these symbols and this story?

T.B.: We work a lot with the senses, with the power of symbols on the subconscious, and the pyramid, in effect, is a very heavy symbol, in terms of the senses. We don’t want to discuss the details of the symbolism, but to question its power without its history. The pyramid has become a symbol because, geometrically, harmonically, it’s a magical, occult, mysterious object. There is also this mysterious and occult, on the verge of paranormal, power in music. No one can really theorize about the effects of music on the body and mind, so it’s incredible. We just try to pass on that magic in a rather empirical way. Moreover, we could carry out experiments on the way in which light or sound intensity acts on the body and on crowds, to see which types of sensations or emotions are provoked by one frequency or another. But we could never really explain the reason for these effects.

G-M.H-C.: We are the guinea pigs of our own universe. We managed to create a sort of self-sufficiency between the two of us, which lets us experiment with a consistent voice, and what works for us tends to work for the audience, it’s like a small miracle. We put a pyramid on stage because we think it’s cool, and it makes everyone trip out.

When you talk about guinea pigs, it’s as if you were manipulated from the outside, by a mysterious third-party, as if you were also puppets. There is a determinism there, but one that serves humanity. According to the Laws of Robotics by Isaac Asimov, it’s humankind who constructed the robot, and the robot is at its service…

T.B.: Above all we want to express a paradox on the discussion of human dependency on technology. We’re not virtuosos and we rely on technology like a crutch. We could never do it without technology, and at the same time, we try to value, like any artists, the human element in our work. The process we’ve used for these fifteen years has been to try merging the machines and us. We are the operators of these machines, the editors of the experiments: we select them, we choose them, and we decide to keep them or not. Daft Punk is the product of a tug of war between human and technology, always questioning the place of technology in the project.

Electroma addresses this discussion between human and machine, in a sort of grand general inversion. Electroma seems to be the account of a traumatic experience: in the world of robots, the two characters presented a human face to the others, in openness, generosity, expressiveness. The result of this demonstration of humanity leaves them ostracized, chased, and reduced to aimlessness and suicide. Do you think that showing your humanity is dangerous?

T.B.: Yes, that’s the background of the film. But speaking more broadly, formally, it’s part of the same approach as what we’ve been able to do before; to know how to create emotion while using machines, in a creative process. Without actors, without a script, without a real plotline, but with photography, color, framing, made from machines, objects, just like a still life. We began with creating an environment around the spectator, who is almost like the only actor in the film, and wondering how to make them experience these emotions, which are not the same as those on the dancefloor, but aesthetic emotions, where the spectator can project onto themselves. The film is totally open, and we thought a lot about Magritte when making the plans. What you can see in Electroma is essentially sensation, that’s a lot more at the level of the gut or the eyes than of the brain…

Robots After All by Philippe Katerine was clearly inspired by your album Human After All and touches on the idea that human society has attained such a degree of conditioning and conforming that humanity became a species of robot, a determined creature, ruled by automation, in their language as much as their everyday comportment. When we recently asked what he thought about your music, Katerine told us, “I hear nothingness in it, so I want to find a place there.” Is the universality of your music due to the fact that it’s also, in a sense, empty?

T.B.: It’s empty because it’s more sensory than significance, yes. Theoretically devoid of sense, it allows people to see something from nothing and project themselves there. We just heard Katerine’s single. Our music is open, it can be interpreted and taken in different ways.

The musical abstraction and loops that by and large make up your music allow each person to take possession of the music and go beyond it. There is a shamanic aspect in this usage of emptiness and repetition. As a matter of fact, musicians like Animal Collective, who were inspired by shamanic trances, now cite you as an influence. Also, you could interpret the end of Electroma, when the two robots die by explosion and combustion, as referring to shamanic initiation rituals, in which one goes through a symbolic death by division of the body or self-combustion. Could you say that the end of Electroma represents, in some sort, this symbolic and initiatory death? In other words, do you perceive a shamanic side to your music?

T.B.: Yes, it’s a trance: the loop, the heartbeats… We use samples to express the desire of prolonging a strong sensation that comes during one or two seconds in a track, and wanting to repeat this sensation, not only feeling it for ten minutes, but also seeing what consequences come from ten minutes of that feeling, how everything unfolds. Visually, with Electroma, our desire is the same: to create images or an assembly of images that produce a physical sensation, a feeling of hypnosis, wandering, or weariness; in any case a state of mind that you can only reach by feeling this sensation for a certain time, for quite a long time.

Wandering, loss of identity, and expropriation are pop themes in a sense. If you think of the Beatles, the “Magical Mystery Tour,” the transformation of the Beatles into the “Lonely Hearts Club Band.” As of now, you are a group that “turns,” that travels, to those “lonely hearts.” Is there a “trip” pop?

T.B.: It’s true that during this tour, we felt a little bit of a psychedelic thing: there are people who saw and re-watched the concert multiple times, almost like a Grateful Dead concert, with this idea of there being, during the concert, something imperceptible that you can never capture on disc or on film: an experience which was unique and can only live in reality, at a time where everything is virtualized. We felt like people wanted happenings, concrete experiences, which could consequently be produced by advanced technology: we could multiply the giant screens, have a very strong sound, and combine everything into these unprecedented audiovisual processes, which had never been seen anywhere before. Even a film projected in an IMAX theater could be no more than the “ghettoblaster” from another experiment with new technologies. Our music is moving: it was within an industrial system which ended, it was dependent on the economy. And the economy was destroying itself, it influenced new formats and new ways of creation, like the tours we’re doing currently.

Today, music needs to find new ways for distribution, with the death of the record industry and the virtualization of music. The live show, as a unique experience, is a response to this situation. You were the first to start a download site on the internet, with the Daft Club in 2001, which didn’t work out. Was it five years too early?

T.B.: Being current five years too early is really better than we can hope for. It’s good to be precursory, it’s almost our principal objective. Speaking about the musical economy, I think that music has never been as important as it is now, and the concert isn’t a response to difficulty selling CDs nowadays, because live shows are also very expensive. Economic upheavals are interesting: I read a book recently by Jacques Attali, Bruits, which talks about the musical economy and its power since the Middle Ages, and if you look at the place of music in the world in the last 2 thousand or 3 thousand years, the place of the record and pop music industries will have not been an end in itself, compared to music as a whole. It’s interesting to try to find out where music will go and what it will generate, in the sense that it is often a precursor of the relationship to come between social and economic powers. But we define ourselves less as musicians than as artists and creators, in trying to combine things and experiment with new formats and new technologies. We aren’t uniquely musicians.

Homework represents a sort of pinnacle of the age where a certain technologic novelty was expressed directly through music. You could literally hear knobs being turned. Does Daft Punk necessarily have to excel technologically in an age where all these methods have become normalized? Were the concerts from your new tour sort of like an advantage?

T.B.: It’s not an advantage, it’s a set of challenges that could be technological, actually. You wind up with a concert that looks sort of futuristic, like a remake of Close Encounters of the Third Kind or a mix of a Grateful Dead and a Kraftwerk concert. Making something that we couldn’t make before. We pick up the tools, we manipulate them, we try to progress. Electronic music in itself, in 2007, doesn’t seem to me to be very conducive to experimentation from a strictly musical point of view. I’m waiting for the new generations to prove to me otherwise… We pay attention to technological developments because we’re interested in them, and because they are at the heart of our art. Musical instruments are advanced technologies which have continuously reinvented music.

Since Human After All was released online, there were a lot of rumors about the album, which was an indication that people were waiting for you. In that context, are you able to feel free as musicians? Have you produced things in reaction to the public’s expectations?

T.B.: Actually, we aren’t free relative to our own expectations. We can’t totally set the public aside, but we have our own demands and we respond to our own vision of what we make, while taking into account paradoxes, contradictions, restarts, new beginnings. But we don’t think about the public: it’s both selfish and more respectful for people because we don’t have the pretentiousness of putting ourselves in their shoes.

G-M.H-C.: We are our own fans. We work until we find moments of pleasure in our work, and when we save those moments and explore them on an album or in a film which we release, that resonates for people. But within those moments, which are like lightning, we are like spectators—we feel like we’re revealing something, and discovering something we created at the same time. In this way we are ourselves in the position of spectators and fans. I imagine that this process is even more evident in painting: you have a piece of canvas in front of you, and there is a tangible process of creation. Creation is a mystery and you can really speak about magic when it comes to music or art.

Could the image of the pyramid that you use be a graphic representation of your music? With its foundations, progressions, ascents, and its climax? Bercy, it so happens, also has a pyramid shape…

G-M.H-C.: Not all of our songs follow a progression. We have flat songs, square songs, round songs… And in the live show, there are a few final moments where the tension comes back down. Bercy really does have a pyramid shape, but the top is missing. And it’s true that we would have really liked to play on top of it (laughs)…

#daft punk #HAA #interviews #translations #thomas #guyman #PHEW it's finally done #I really spent so many nights poring over this #including painting out cat hairs and ink spots in photoshop :')#ifcwdjd- master- how did you do it so many times

104 notes · View notes

adarkrainbow · 1 year ago

Text

Searching for lost media: the Scary Tales documentary (1)

I was not expecting to throw a hunt for lost media over this humble side-blog dedicated to fairytales, but here we go... As I was searching for information on the fairytale Bluebeard I saw an interesting mention in its Wikipedia article:

Bluebeard is featured in Scary Tales, produced by the Discovery Channel, Sony and IMAX, episode one, in 2011. (This series is not related to the Disney collection of the same name.)

Of course, this led me to search for the famous “Scary Tales” series... Only to find it was nowhere to be seen. It was ignored by most website (overshadowed by famous shows with similar tales, like American Horror Stories, or by other documentaries such as “Scary Stories” - about the book “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”). Only a few streaming websites had an article about the show - and even then, all they could say was “It isn’t disponible anymore”, “This series is unavaible”, “This page doesn’t exist anymore”.

Hopefully a few websites still survive with a few descriptions, reviews and pictures proving that this documentary series did indeed exist.

The first one I stumbled upon was a page from press.discovery.com, with this lovely picture:

The page was visibly created before the series aired, since it talks of its premiers. It is under the category “3net programs”, and here is what it says:

Scary Tales

Premieres Sunday, October 30 at 9PM ET

Unlike anything you've seen in 2D or 3D, Scary Tales is scripted series so weird and fantastic, it needs an extra dimension just to contain itself. There are marauding giants, ghost-plagued forests and human wolves... a place where cannibals feast, kidnappers terrorize and fiends lurk behind every tree. Inanimate objects come to life, and the innocent are punished. It's a world that really exists if only in our own subconscious. The hour long, four episode series is produced by Workaholic Productions, Inc. 3nets Director of Development and Production Don Bland serves as executive producer on behalf of the network.

Here is the source: https://press.discovery.com/us/3n/programs/scary-tales/

Now that I had a website that told me roughly what the show was about I dug a bit more around. Scary Tales has an IMDb page right here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2111891/ . It lists the show as being from 2011, produced by both 3net and Workaholic Productions, and as having four episodes. Its synopsis there is:

Learn about the horrific original versions of your favorite fairy tales plus commentary from historians.

With this lovely picture to go with it:

There is also the full cast of the show (which I will not copy here - maybe in another post), and more interestingly the full list of the four episodes, with their respective subjects. In order, they are:

1. Red Riding Hood & Bluebeard (aired on the 30th of October 2011)

"Red Riding Hood" examines the history and historical context of the popular fairy tale and reveals themes of sexuality, murder, cannibalism, and lycanthropy. "Bluebird" investigates the folk tale of the wife murdering aristocrat and argues that the story may be based on the real life murders of Gilles de Rais.

2. Hansel and Gretel & Cinderella (aired on the 5th of November 2011)

"Hansel and Gretel" examines the historical context of the popular fairy tale and reveals themes of hunger, child abandonment, cannibalism, child abuse,and murder. "Cinderella" looks at the less well know aspects of the surprisingly dark and brutal fairy tale.

3. Snow White & The Juniper Tree (aired on the 3rd of December 2011)

"Snow White" looks at the story behind the surprisingly dark and morbid fairy tale arguing that may have been based on the story of Margarete Von Waldeck and her cruel stepmother. "The Juniper Tree" looks at a vicious and bloody fairy tale about a stepmother who murders her stepson and tricks her daughter into thinking that the death was her responsibility.

4. The Pied Piper & Rapunzel (aired on the 12th of December 2011)

"The Pied Piper" looks at the reality behind the legend of a child murdering rat catcher of Hamelin and offers some theories about what really happened to the disappearing children of the village. "Rapunzel" examines the dark aspects of the popular fairy tale about the long haired maiden locked in a tower.

While the show is nowadays (apparently) completely unaccessible, not present on any streaming platform and not sold anywhere, there’s a handful of votes for the documentary on IMDb, up to fifteen for the first episode.

The IMDb info was notably taken back by the Kinorium website, on this page: https://en.kinorium.com/1554991/episodes/s1e1/

A third and final website in my search (there’s other info I’ll put in another post) is the most fascinating of them all. It is the portfolio of set designer Susannah Christine, who worked on different segments of the show - and has pictures of her set design. I won’t put all of them here - just a few, the rest will be in the second post, and to keep things short I’ll put them under a cut. But already, if before I release the second post somebody has any information about his show, or know where one can watch it (because I admit I am very curious about its content), let me know!

Here’s Susannah Christine work for the segment “Snow-White”:

And her work for the segment “Rapunzel”:

Plus a picture of what I think might be the Bluebeard segment:

#lost media #searching for lost media #scary tales #dark fairytales #horror fairytales #bluebeard #rapunzel #little red riding hood #documentary #horror #creepy fairytales

43 notes · View notes

gay-mathematician-portmanteau · 13 days ago

Text

Single thread compendium episode 1: my single thread math series isn't gaining the traction i’d hoped for. rather than believing the series just isn’t good or that i’ve possibly failed in some way, we’re going to go ahead and explain the joke (because obviously, that will make it funnier).

the series might be beyond my skills as a writer, so we’ll see if this actually helps.

the series is obviously centered around math. it’s best defined as a loose collection of absurd math jokes, which may or may not be interconnected in some way. the hope is that people who aren’t necessarily interested in mathematics can still understand the jokes and find them funny. at the same time, i’m trying to include enough mathematical depth that those who are into math will get a little extra punchline to enjoy. i succeed more often at the latter than the former, but i genuinely believe you don’t need math knowledge to enjoy the series.

if this sounds interesting to you and you’d like to experience the series as intended, i’d encourage you to stop reading here. From this point forward, i’ll be discussing topics that are intentionally left vague in the series. if you do decide to keep reading, that’s totally okay—the speculation i’m hoping to encourage can be pretty energy-intensive, and it’s completely valid not to have the space to dedicate to such a ridiculous project. you can find the posts under the tag #single thread math on my blog.

the truest focus of the series is on unnamed characters. my hope is to encourage the reader to grow attached to the characters and assign to them personhood through their beliefs, actions, and interactions without my ever having to explicitly discuss the characters (i’ve clearly already failed at this goal).

in this post, I’m featuring the first two (and my favorite) characters. i usually refer to them as the algebraist and the analyst in my head.

for those less familiar with the politics of theoretical mathematics: there are algebraists and analysts who view their subjects as irreconcilable. while i don’t share this opinion, i thought it would be funny to highlight this “war” between the characters (whose personalities reflect stereotypes about real analysts and algebraists, along with the subjects themselves).

the algebraist is smug, arrogant, and clever. her problem is that she never stops to consider whether she might be wrong. she’s so fixated on meta-mathematics that she loses sight of the concrete. i felt this was an important trait to highlight right from the first story arc of the series (the posts i’ll feature here).

the analyst, by contrast, is neurotic, devoted, and meticulous. she has a near-fanatical obsession with propriety and rigor, often rejecting conclusions if she finds the proofs invalid for any reason. i also decided early on that she would hate cantor. For those unfamiliar, cantor is most famous for proving that there are more real numbers than natural numbers (yes, some infinities are larger than others—very original reference). his work is foundational to analysis, so the analyst’s hatred of him is a bit of an issue for her prospects.

i’m not going to explain the math the posts contain here, but i hope anyone who wants such explanations will be willing to reach out to me via dm or ask. i’m truly always willing to answer such questions!

that’s all i have right now! the following entries in the series make up the first story arc, introducing the dynamic between the algebraist and the analyst. if you don’t enjoy math, i hope you’re able to find humor in the characters themselves. if you do enjoy math, i hope you appreciate the balance I have attempted to strike between absurdity and depth—i worked very hard on it.

episode 2: i’m pretty sure that if i write the derivative of the maclaurin expansion of \e^x\ out far enough, i’ll find a term that doesn’t perfectly match the original. this is how a real analyst proves something. take notes, cantor.

episode 7: if you’re close enough to the equator, polynomials are actually just piecewise-defined lines.

episode 8: okay, the derivative thing didn't take me quite as long as i expected. admittedly, i was wrong. nonetheless, i'm absolutely certain that the integral of the maclaurin expansion of e^x will have mismatched terms and i'll finally be vindicated in my support for cantor's institutionalization.

episode 9: there's been a lot of talk on here about these taylor polynomial things, so i went to the equator to prove that they're nonsense.

claim: the maclaurin expansion for \e^x\ is not equal to the function \e^x.\ proof: consider the maclaurin expansion given by $$1+x+(1/2)x^2+…+(1/n!)x^n$$. this is trivially equivalent to $$1 \land x \land ((1/2)+2x) \land … \land (1/n!!)+nx$$. this can be rewritten as the piecewise function $$\begin{cases} 1&\text{if} x \le 0\\lim_{n \rightarrow \infty} \frac{1}{n!}+nx&\text{if} 0 < x \end{cases}$$ examine also $$e^x = \prod_{1}^{x}(e) = \sum_{1}^{x}e = ex$$.

it is easy to see that these functions are not equal to one another.

i don't know why anyone studies anything other than algebra. you're welcome, analysts.

episode 12: i just learned about this nifty induction thing. if only i had known about it a couple of weeks ago, then i wouldn't have needed to spend eternity writing out every single term of the derivative and integral of the maclaurin expansion of e^x. now, though, no cyclic set is safe from my proofs.

claim: the maclaurin expansion of \e^x\ is its own derivative.

proof: consider the maclaurin expansion of the function \e^x\ given by $$\sum_{n = 1}^{\infty}\frac{1}{n!}x^{n}$$ the derivative of sums is the sum of derivatives, allowing us to focus on terms of the form $$\frac{1}{j!}x^{j} | j \in \mathbb{N}$$

consider now the base case n=1. $$\frac{1}{1!}x^{1} = x$$ examine the derivative of this function. $$\frac{d}{dx}\left[x\right] = 1 = \frac{1}{0!}x^{0}$$ since this is a term of our original maclaurin expansion, the base case holds. now, examine the case $$n = k | k \ge 1$$ this term is given by $$\frac{1}{k!}x^{k}$$ suppose it has a derivative in the original maclaurin expansion given by $$\frac{1}{(k-1)!}x^{k-1}$$ lastly, examine the case n=k+1. $$\frac{d}{dx}\left[\frac{1}{(k+1)!}x^{k+1}\right] = \frac{d}{dx}\left[\frac{1}{k+1}x\frac{1}{k!}x^{k}\right]$$ which allows us to apply our assumption with the product rule. $$\frac{1}{k+1}\frac{1}{k!}x^{k}+\frac{1}{k}x\frac{1}{(k-1)!}x^{k-1}$$ we can now simplify the products in each term $$\frac{1}{(k+1)k!}x^{k}+\frac{1}{(k+1)(k-1)!}x^{k}$$ adding the fractions normally gives us $$\frac{k+1}{(k+1)k!}x^{k} = \frac{1}{k!}x^{k}$$ by induction, since this step holds for n=k+1, this holds for all natural numbers n. as a result, the derivative of any term of the maclaurin expansion is a term of the maclaurin expansion, demonstrating that the two functions are equal.

#single thread compendium #math #mathematics #absurdism #humor #algebra #analysis

2 notes · View notes

workscounselingcenter · 1 year ago

Text

The Enneagram, Therapy, and You: Enneagram Nine

Hello! I am Shelby, a licensed professional counselor who loves all things enneagram, and works with clients at The Works Counseling Center located in Nashville, TN.

Today, we are wrapping up our nine-part series focusing on the enneagram and how it may be used in therapy. If you are interested in reading previous blog posts on this subject or want to explore earlier numbers, please click here.

Disclaimer: This blog is not meant to be all-inclusive about this enneagram number, nor is it intended to replace or provide professional counseling services; this blog’s intended purpose is to provide informal discussion on the enneagram as it relates to professional counseling and mental health. *

Let’s begin.

The “peacemaker” is the name of the enneagram type nine. Rightfully named, the peacemaker archetype is characterized by a strong desire to promote and maintain harmony with a strong

adversity to conflicts and tension. Some famous examples of this enneagram type are: Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan. Notice a pattern there?

When peacemakers are at their best, they are able to cultivate harmony in tension, and bring others together without sacrificing their own needs. They are adaptive, strong communicators, and natural teachers. At less healthy levels, someone who identifies with this enneagram type may feel overburdened with the responsibility to promote peace and may cope with this by sacrificing their own wants and needs. If an enneagram nine copes this way for too long of a period, they may eventually experience a loss of their sense of identity and have a difficult time knowing what they want. An enneagram nine may become apathetic as a result.

When an enneagram nine comes to counseling, something they may focus on in their work is waking up to their own wants and dreams, and learning their identity outside of being the one to mediate relationships. An enneagram nine can learn to balance their need for external peace without fully sacrificing their own needs. Peacemakers are adept at creating and maintaining peace, and are just as worthy of peace of mind themselves.

A message of affirmation and healing for our peacemakers: “Your wants and needs matter.” A challenge: To learn that conflict can also be a part of creating peace.

Enjoying learning about the enneagram and want to know more? Please find book suggestions and references below.

Books:

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery

By Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile

The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships By Suzanne Stabile

If you are interested in exploring the enneagram with professional therapy services or would like to work with a mental health professional, pleasecontact The Works Counseling Center for more information.

#Enneagram #Enneagram 9 #Therapy

0 notes

carolinemillerbooks · 1 year ago

Text

New Post has been published on Books by Caroline Miller

New Post has been published on https://www.booksbycarolinemiller.com/musings/i-die-you-die-they-die/

I Die, You Die, They Die

“Suicide,” someone murmured after reading the announcement that a woman had died at the retirement center. “She was estranged from her family,” said another who stood beside the first speaker. Her remark rang true because the death notice asked that no condolences be left for the family. A shiver of melancholy ran through me as I read it. Being the last of my tribe, I realized that upon my death, no one would need consoling. Headstones proliferate like autumn leaves in a graveyard but no matter how touching their inscription, the words are unreliable tributes to a life. A generation passes and few remember. After eons come and go, archeologists may take an interest in a burial mound. And, if they find a necklace or smooth stone left beside someone they have disentombed, they are elated rather than grieved because the found object has been shorn of its memories. Sometimes two bodies share the same grave, a discovery that raises a question. Are these bones those of lovers? Or does a mother lie eternally with her stillborn child? Their deathly embrace tells a story but who remembers? The desire to escape oblivion is potent. A hundred thousand years before homo sapiens walked the earth, the prehuman Homo Naledis buried their dead with mementos before carving the histories of these loved ones on cave walls. Again, researchers rejoice because while the personal memory of these beings is erased, something about the hominin culture remains. Patriarchy has a long presence in the affairs of humanoids, for example. DNA studies of ancient sites suggest that females left their home community to join another– suggesting the probability that they followed their male companion to his home tribe. Memory is a frail weapon with which to hold back the dark. Technology may come to serve us better. In an earlier blog, I wrote that one day we might download our stories into avatars but that would be a pale version of immortality. A combination of technology and biology is also possible, like current efforts to merge Artificial Intelligence (AI) with brain cells. Will the result make machines smarter? Or will humans become superhuman? Either way, will the merger help us conquer death? We must wait to see. Some among us seek a less ambitious goal. With diet and medicinal cocktails, they hope to reverse the aging process. Regimens like theirs are spartan, often eliminating meat and sugar. To obtain a longer life, will humans forgo their hamburgers with cokes? Again, we must wait to see. Beyond tinkering with the human lifespan lies an existential question. Having plundered our planet’s resources to the point of self-extinction, do we have enough time to save our species with discoveries and technological advances? Or, is our destiny to grovel in the dust for a sip of water? To be or not to be IS the overwhelming question. The woman who committed suicide at my retirement center made her choice freely. Others have done the same because without love and respect what is life? Germaine Greer, a woman near my years, ponders a related question: how to age with dignity? Once a professor, feminist, and author of numerous books, The Female Eunuch most famous among them, and a person brilliant enough to disabuse William F. Buckley of his misconceptions about women’s liberation at 84 faces a growing infirmity. To maintain her independence, she moved into a retirement center. The solution proved to be unworkable. There, she suffered endless days of Bingo and bus outings to places that looked the same. This she endured for ten months, being subjected all the while to abuse from fellow residents who repeatedly told her to “shut up.” The treatment must have come as a surprise to a person accustomed to being paid to speak. Fortunately, a brother took pity on Germaine and built a studio in his home where she could live in the bosom of her family but in solitude. I say, “Happy is a woman with a compassionate brother.” Happy is the individual who dies loved. Science and technology have the power to lengthen life spans but human attitudes toward aging are slow to change. In the United States, prejudice against the elderly is the last reservoir of disdain that people feel free to express, as if growing old were a personal failure. Teenagers may be forgiven for imagining themselves to be immortal, but tyrants who feel the same are fools. Is it the light that falls from the swords of their armies that blind these dictators? Are they unable to see that like any pauper, they serve no higher purpose than to satisfy the appetites of worms? How greater their history might have been had they considered our common destiny and devoted themselves to acts of kindness. In death do triumph and failure humbly meet. (The Victory City by Salman Rushdie, Thorndike Press, 2023, pg. 531.)

#The Female Eunich #ancient burial grounds #Artificial Intelligence and human life spans #feminism #Germaine Greer #Homo Naledis #memory vs oblivion #merging AI with human brain cells #patriarchy in the ancient world #retirment centers #reversing the aging process #the folly of tyrants #The Victory City by Saliman Rushdie #William F. Buckley

0 notes

dirty-lego-mouse-droid · 8 months ago

Text

Weirdly I didn't get a notification for the tag, I just found out scrolling through the blog lol.

1. Are you named after anyone?

I have been told that my middle name is a Bible character. Idk I haven't read it. I do also have a second middle name I got from my great grandfather which I really like cuz it's got a neato silent "e" at the end that I haven't seen on anywhere else but my own name.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I forgor, which means probably during a dream. It happens semi-frequently apparently. Or I drool.

3. Do you have kids?

See: profile picture. (No.)

4. What sports do you play/have played?

When my family still did stuff together we played baseball in the school's diamond in the evening. Although I've never played them outside of school, I'm fairly good at badminton and volleyball. I'll stop here because I don't think Wii games count.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

I use it in a sort of dry, deadpan humour kind of way, never in heated arguments, sonetimes mockingly as a light tease with close friends.

6. What's the first thing you notice about someone?

How they present themselves. Usually how they dress comes first, but the main thing I find myself judging people by is how they write and talk; their use of punctuation, there attention to grammar and thier spelling as well as how they try to pass ideas to me and the tone they use regularly.

7. Eye colour?

Been told hazel but it just looks plain brown to me.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I don't find scary movies scary anymore but I still enjoy them. Happy endings are boring. Live with consequences like the rest of us.

9. Any talents?

I used to be good at drawing but I find it physically painful to attempt nowadays. Acting I suppose. Do it all the time as a survival tactic. Chameleon ass personality.

10. Where were you born?

A leaf! A LEAF!!! Our submissions had beavers, meese, (plural for moose cuz I said so,) the flag we used in World War Two had that cool ass shield, my province STILL uses a cool shield but when it comes to the entire country? A F🇨🇦KING LEAF OF A DECIDUOUS TREE!!! DECIDUOUS TREE IN A COUNTRY NOTORIOUS FOR WINTER!!!

11. Hobbies?

Gaming and making silly scenarios in my head when listening to music and leaat time consuming of all, being a leader in Scouts Canada. All of these, however, have been done over the course of my entire sentience. (Also Scouts Canada has female participants so do NOT call me a boy scout.)

12. Any pets?

I suffer from a rule of three. Throughout my entire life I have had no less than two cats, thiugh the average is three. Every time we get a fourth, one (statistically the most recent addition) will perish in some matural or accidental way. My cat Oscar who passed peacefully almost two years ago was the first to do so without the curse taking effect. I now have two cats Oreo and Jenny, a bitch Archer and a turtle named Armadillo. My sister possesses an indeterminate amount of fish as well.

13. Height?

5'10" Which is taller than most of my family.

14. Favourite school subject?

Gym. Physical Education. Whatever you call it. No long tests, no stressful presentations, just well-regulated sports with friends. If you weren't friendly or lacked sportsmanship then you could fuck right off for all the teacher cared, he'd just fail your ass. That said, the teachers were always super cool and probably the reason I'm so chill with swearing casually nowadays. Also drama.

15. Dream job?

Voice actor. Supporting actor if I ever do live work. If I get more famous than Keith David I'm gonna need you to kill me before I join a cult like Tom Cruise. Also being side characters means I get to die a lot which I always like.

Uhhh... don't feel pressured. @hikiclawd @retro-8bit

I don't have many friends here lol.

Was tagged by @humanaaa and @hholandies!! Thanks for the tags ^^

1. Are you named after anyone? Kinda?? My first and second names are supposed to come from angels of the bible (or as so i was told), but istg the one from my first name DOES NOT exist. I searched everywhere and came up empty-handed lol

2. When was the last time you cried? Last week when i replayed Adastra. The catharsis was so strong it disintegrated my core being into dust fr fr

3. Do you have kids? Nope!! And i don't plan to!!

4. What sports do you play/have you played? I practiced judo when i was very very tiny, but i was too scrawny and clumsy for it. Left before even making it out of the white belt LMAO Also a little before high school i used to play basketball and swim!! Now i just bike regularly if that somehow counts SKDJFDKF

5. Do you use sarcasm? Very very rarely

6. What's the first thing you notice about someone? Their outfit!!

7. Eye color? Brown!!

8. Scary movies or happy endings? C-Can i have both 🥺👉👈 But if i had to choose between them i think i'd go with a scary movie

9. Any talents? Being good at math counts?? SKJSJSJD

10. Where were you born? BRASIL NÚMERO 1 CAMPEÃO DO MUNDO 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

11. Hobbies? Since the start of the year i picked up drawing again!! I sometimes play videogames, but i haven't been doing it that much lately. I take walks a few days of the week. I also like watching/reading stuff but that one's a given

12. Any pets? We have two dogs!! Fiona, the bigger one we adopted, and Moana, the smaller one that adopted us!! (i also wanted a cat but everyone here's allergic and hates them to death for some reason)

13. Height? I must be between 1.70m ~ 1.72m?? I haven't measured my height in quite some time lol

14. Favorite school subject? Unsurprisingly, math!!

15. Dream job? I used to dream of becoming a programmer or a game developer, but i've become quite disillusioned with the industry. Now i really have no idea LMAO

Tagging @not-too-many-eyes @rainbowghostcat @candckirby @seariii @gunsli-01 @roseofcards90 and anyone else that feels like it!!

94 notes · View notes

redspiderling · 3 years ago

Note

You'll die on this hill huh? Blog for a racist, antisemite, transphobe, who supports paedophiles. Sorry but I don't think I can follow you anymore.

Hello to you too anon,

I don't even know how to unpack this. I'm so tired of having to answer to this fucking nonsensical narrative you guys have built. This is why if Scarlett ever went on social she'd just post a middle finger and then ghost all of you. Beyond that, it really pisses me off that you keep flooding my inbox with this bullshit. I don't come to your blog to tell you what to talk about anon. I see a lot of stupid things posted on here, but I don't go in people's spaces and say "you're stupid", because that's just not productive, and it's not nice.

But lets do this again anon, let's roll one last time, and then goodbye to you, have a nice life. Let's take it by subject:

Racist: Really? I googled racist Scarlett Johansson and literally nothing came up, other than the whitewashing accusations over her Ghost in the Shell casting. First of all, while the race of an android is something that we can go on about for a long time, and the casting of adaptations of Japanese content is another thing we can go on about for a long time (because e.g. a couple of years after GitS came out, nobody accused the actors or producers of Detective Pikachu for whitewashing, even though most of the actors on it were white), lets say I agree with you, that Scarlett shouldn't have been cast in that film. She apologised at the time, and said she wouldn't knowingly take away a role that was meant for a person from another race. After all, the role was meant to go to Margot Robbie initially, and when she dropped out due to scheduling issues, it went to Scarlett. So, the role of Major in Ghost in the Shell actually went from one white woman, to another white woman. Are you gonna go after the casting people for this, or are you gonna keep accusing Scarlett for accepting a role that she thought was meant for a white lead? You don't need to reply, it was a rhetorical question, I know you're not actually interested in figuring out how racism works in showbusiness. Lets keep going, let's say you don't believe her, and that it was entirely her fault, that at the time she took away a role that would otherwise have gone to a person of colour. Well, it's been 7 years since she was cast for that role. She's been in many, many films since then, and not once has she taken a role from a non-white person. I think 7 years is enough time passed to think this person has learned their lesson, and won't make the same mistake again.

Anti-Semite: ..................... Scarlett is Jewish, anon. She has family that died in concentration camps. See, this is how I know that you don't actually care about any of this, you just enjoy bitching on tumblr, so thanks for making my life easier. I guess I'd feel bad if I thought I actually made you uncomfortable.

Transphobe: We cannot actually know that? She hasn't made any anti-trans comments, but she hasn't supported the cause either so, who knows? Accepting the role in Rub and Tug was a mistake, and once she figured that out she admitted it, made an apology, and dropped the project. And don't make me go over the whole "I could be a tree" thing again. I can't deal. She was giving an interview for a pretentious French magazine, and the interviewer was going on and on about the art that is acting (and saying some pretty questionable things while at it), and when he asked her "what do you think is the job of an actor?" she replied that actors are people who emulate other people and can transform themselves to anyone or anything else. That was on a philosophical discussion about the actor's "job". She wasn't making a statement against trans people, in any way. She was a USB stick by the end of Lucy in 2014, she was just pointing out the obvious and then it was taken entirely out of context, and I swear my eyes will one day get stuck rolled at the back of my head, reading yet another tree "joke".

Supports paedophiles: No. What she's said is that she's known Woody Allen personally for 20 years, and that he's told her he didn't abuse his daughter, and that she believes him. That he isn't a paedophile. That is in no way "supporting paedophiles". Do I agree with this? No. I think Woody Allen is a questionable figure, at best, but I can sorta understand her position. I've said this before, I don't know how I would feel if a friend of mine was hated by the general public because he was accused of doing a horrendous crime that had actually never been proven (or disproven), and therefore I can't judge her for deciding to stand by him on this, I don't think I would have been able to do the same, but Scarlett has proven that she'll say what she believes and deal with the consequences. Fair enough.

That's it anon. Thank you for sitting around for one last rant. If Scarlett has been accused for some other shit while I was writing this, maybe for killing Kermit the frog, who knows at this point, please, don't slide in my inbox, I'm done with this and I'm certainly not above blocking. Go on and live your guilt free life, stanning white men who have done waaaay more questionable things than most female celebrities could ever hope to do in a lifetime, and yet get away from scot free for you to drool over without shame.

#anons #asks #Scarlett Johansson #the same vent #I need to find a less famous subject to blog about #my life would certainly be easier

43 notes · View notes

howtosingit · 4 years ago

Text

I can’t believe that I actually have to sit here and write this post, but... y’all know that if you somehow have information about a famous person’s private life - information that they have not shared publicly themselves - you don’t have to (and shouldn’t) share it, right?

Like, that is a total invasion of a person’s right to their own privacy.

That would be like you sharing photos and information about me that I haven’t shared on my blog. And I know you’re probably thinking, “Brian, that’s not the same” and I want to know... why? Why is that not the same? I’m a human being, just the same as these actors and celebs. We’re all just human beings, and I think we should all have the same rights to our own information and how we share it, right?

Is it because you’re under the assumption that because they are in the public eye, they have less of a right to their own privacy? Do you think that, by becoming actors, they are opening the door to their entire lives for public consumption? Is that what you think?

In the past week, we have seen childhood photos shared on social media - photos that have not be shared by the actor in question, which makes me wonder... “how did this person even find those?” Now, there’s information going around that fans have directly messaged people from a celeb’s private life to gain information about them, even though the actor has made a concerted and obvious effort to separate their public life from their private life. That’s really, really messed up, y’all.

And, let me just pause to say: if your first thought when reading that last paragraph was “oooh I want to see the pictures” or “oooh what person and what information is being shared?” - STOP YOURSELF RIGHT THERE. No one can blame you for the initial curious question or interest, but that does not mean that you have to or should act on it. Don’t go searching for the pictures, don’t jump in someone’s ask box and ask them what’s going on. Don’t actively participate in the spreading of information that should not be publicized in the first place.

LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK: DON’T ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THE SPREADING OF INFORMATION THAT SHOULD NOT BE PUBLICIZED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Fans are supposed to be better than paparazzi and gossip columnists because fans are supposed to actually care about the actors and celebs that they support. If you’re sharing these things because you have a following and you want to gain clout, you are literally no better than those who make money off of the invasion of a celebrity’s private life.

Just, see them as people. They are fucking people. Let them be people. Let them have their privacy, especially if it’s clear that they value their own privacy. They will share what they want to share, and that is their right; that’s the right of every human being. Stop taking that right away by stalking them and finding information that is not meant to be available to the public.

tl;dr bullet points:

DO NOT go looking for private, personal information about a celebrity. Don’t try to find their friends or family, don’t search for photos of them as children (god, I actually have to say that, what the actual fuck).

DO NOT directly message anyone from an actor’s private life to gain information about them. You have to know how wrong that is, c’mon.

AND if you come across these things that someone else has found and posted, stop and ask yourself “should I spread this further? would my favorite actor/celeb want me to be seeing this? would they want others to be seeing it? how did the person who posted this find this content/information? should I support that kind of behavior? should I be giving them clout and an audience?”

Just: question the content you consume. Be more self-aware. Don’t participate in behavior that would definitely make a celebrity uncomfortable, especially if you consider yourself a fan. Be a decent fucking person.

No social media is private. Conversations that happen on a blog on Tumblr can and often do make their way back to Twitter or Instagram. Interest on a subject here on Tumblr can often lead to further interest on Twitter or Instagram (and vice versa). They all feed into each other, there is no such thing as separate fandoms. All it takes is one person to start a whole damn thing across multiple platforms.

And when the shit hits the fan and your favorite celeb finds out that their private information is being shared out there in the world, when they feel violated and hurt and decide that they need to step back from the public eye and stop engaging or interacting or even working at all in this industry, do you really want to be one of the people who participated in the process that made all of that happen? Do you?

Put that person first. Stop thinking about yourself, stop thinking about how you want to use the information that you’ve gained or how it works in your benefit. Put that person first and STOP. VIOLATING. THEM.

#fandom etiquette #fandom discourse #fandom discussion #don't send me asks asking for details - I really will delete them #read the fucking post and take it in #because this is starting to get out of control #also not that no part of this post is about SHIPPING BEHAVIOR #so don't write it off just because you think I hate your ship #this is SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than that #privacy #invasion of privacy #it's about consent #IT'S REALLY JUST ABOUT CONSENT #I'm not putting it under a cut #sorry not sorry about it

253 notes · View notes

writingdotcoffee · 4 years ago

Text

#171: Shun the Nonbelievers

I was minding my own business, doomscrolling on Twitter the other day when I found this tweet from Sarah J. Huntington — a writer who sent a bunch of her stories to a friend for comments and received a rather shocking reply.

Here’s the tweet:

Here’s what Sarah’s friend said:

Hi,

Here's the thing, I loved every story. They were all like twilight zone episodes that never aired or something. But it's too scary for young adults and run of the bill scary for adults.

Loads of self pubs on amazon. So I reckon your wasting your time. I get that you like to write, but I doubt you'll sell anything chick. You've got a good job so maybe just focus on that. None of that chase your dreams crap. Someone's got to say it. Let me know what you decide x

Like the thousands of other writers who saw this tweet, I was stunned. Getting mean comments from rando haters on the Internet is one thing. But when you send a trusted friend a piece of unpublished writing, you would appreciate at least an attempt at courtesy.

Many offered their support in the thread below Sarah’s tweet, including some famous writers. Lots of people also shared their own experiences with this type of feedback from their family members and writing professors.

The truth is that many writers are getting this sort of poisonous feedback every day. And for most of us, this isn’t countered by the kindness of a thousand strangers on the Internet.

Being a fledgeling writer isn’t easy. You’re getting yourself into a craft that takes years to master. You have no idea whether it’ll lead anywhere. The insecurity can be overwhelming. The last thing you need is having your (usually clueless) friends inform you that you will never be good enough to be a writer.

At the same time, you can’t expect people to be nicer – certainly not all people. The only real way of dealing with this is to be prepared when it comes. But how?

Imagine Failure

Failure certainly is a possibility. Not every writer succeeds. As far as probabilities are concerned, it may be even more likely that you’ll fail.

But what would it be like if it happened? Imagine it’s 2030. You’ve been writing for 10 years. A few things seemed promising, but nothing ever caught on. What then?

Would you be ashamed of yourself for wasting all that time? Would you be terrified of talking to your friends about it?

Or would you be proud of yourself? Proud for working hard and taking a chance. Proud for not giving up your dreams without a fight. Maybe failure wouldn’t be such a big deal?

Thinking about failure upfront can free you from many insecurities that you might have about your writing. Making your peace with it will make you less susceptible to other people’s insensitive comments. If you fail, so what?

Don’t be ‘a writer’

When you can call yourself a writer? When you first start writing? When you publish a book? This has been subject to much debate and anguish in the writing community.

How about never?

When you call yourself a writer, people (including yourself) will expect you to live up to some sort of standard. However, nobody knows what it is.

The word ‘writer’ means vastly different things to different people.

It also ties your self-worth to your success. When a story of yours isn’t good enough, it implies that you’re not a good enough writer and by extension a good enough person.

The best way to go about this is to talk about what you’re writing instead — like ‘I write sci-fi stories’ or ‘I write a blog post every week.’

That shifts the focus from you to your work. And when people start tearing it down, it won’t feel like they’re attacking your entire existence.

Enjoy the Process

Like I said, writing is hard. But if you can find something enjoyable about the process itself, you will be in a much better position to handle people’s criticism when it comes.

When you’re having fun, what does it matter what people think? If they like it, great! If not, well, you still had fun writing the story.

Haters and rejection come with the territory. Dealing with them is never easy, but it can be easier when you’re expecting them.

Want More?

My email subscribers receive a notification when I publish these posts along with a few things I found interesting or helpful on the literary internet every week. Click the link below to join the club.

(I won’t spam you or pass your email to a third party. You can unsubscribe at any time.)

Past Editions

#170: Comparisonitis, November 2020

#169: Free Writing Planner and Word Counter, November 2020

#168: Decisions, decisions, decisions, November 2020

#167: Social Media for Writers, November 2020

#166: The Right Time to Write, October 2020

#writing #writers #write #writing tips #writing advice #amwriting #writing life #writeblr #writing update #personal update #me

551 notes · View notes

osamosa11 · 3 months ago

Text

*cough* here i am 1223423 years later as usual ... but here we go hehe (also im too lazy to deal with the font sizes i apologize in advance)

nine albums or songs I've been listening to lately x nine people I’d like to get to know better x tag game with no name

1. why did you choose your url? once when i had hopes and dreams my purpose in life was to find a miya twins enthusiast willing to twin usernames with me ... chaatsumu and osamosa because miya atsumu & osamu + samosa chaat .... but alas it never happened so now im osamosa on here and my ao3 is chaatsumu and just matching with myself like a loser /J /LH KASJDHNK

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them. my dude. i barely have one blog much less a sideblog JBHDSJKSB

3. how long have you been on tumblr? gmail says 2021!! i haven't actually posted/interacted outside of liking before this month though (it's evo's fault yall are now subjected to my presence JHBDC)

4. do you have a queue tag? i just learned how to reblog .

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? sigh i was gonna make it for fic recs when i started and then promptly abandoned it like everything else that doesnt remain in my attention span for over 5 minutes JKBHDC

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? nan feng!!! beat up because he deserves to be bullied!!! /affectionate

7. why did you choose your header? pretty fictional people !!! bullying nan feng !!! sqx is my wife !!!!

8. what’s your post with the most notes? my sunflower fx art teehee <333 (she's at 69 votes rn actually ... we all know what that means *waggles eyebrows and then cringes*) but im so emo about him and sunflowers so it makes me v happy :3

9. how many mutuals do you have? idek how i would go about checking this but i probably have like . maybe 8 followers if that idk and i follow all of them back im pretty sure

10. how many followers do you have? refer to above hehe

11. how many people do you follow? mmm around 35?

12. have you ever made a shitpost? i shitpost on twt enough, the world wouldnt be able to handle me there and on tumblr

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? once or twice if that?

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? ive spoken to maybe 3 in total but theyve all been super super sweet <333 yall are so nice . i have been getting slandered and bullied by my friendo mi for years who also happens to be my mootie here tho someone save me /j

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts i dont think ive come across this ?

16. do you like tag games? always appreciate the opportunity to yap * nods sagely*

17. do you like ask games? once again idk what this is JKDVBSDB i know what asks are but game...?

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? basically everyone ever is more famous than me so i think all of them are hehe

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? nope!

20. what is the last song you listened to? saturn - sza is playing rn hehe

21. what are you currently watching? link click live action! also remembered the tgcf donghua exists and watched all fengqing fight scenes yesterday LOL

22. sweet/ savoury/ spicy? i love love sweet and spicy!! preference depends on my mood hehe

23. what is your current relationship status? single pringle, just as it has always been !

24. what is your current obsession? fengxinfengxin and also my oc that evo knows about teehee ACTUALLY . GO READ THEIR FIC WITH HIM IN IT RIGHT NEOWWW ITS BEAUTIFUL ITS EVERYTHING THE UNIVERSE HAS EVER NEEDED

25. what are nine albums/ songs you've been listening to lately?

good days - sza

sunflower - rex orange county

alive - kehlani

best friend - laufey

the things you leave behind - maruwhat & anthony lazaro

the ballad of lucy gray baird - rachel zegler

blue neighborhood - troye sivan

manta rays - chloe moriondo

you were good to me - jeremy zucker, chelsea cutler

@beemilo @rampagingnoble @sugisyakult pokes you with a stick (v lovingly hehe <33) if you wanna do this !!!

nine albums or songs I've been listening to lately x nine people I’d like to get to know better x tag game with no name

(thank you for the tag @lianhuajing !!)

1. why did you choose your url? uh. it was a play on "rose tinted glasses"

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them. nope!

3. how long have you been on tumblr? I think 2022? i knew about it before, just never bothered to make a blog

4. do you have a queue tag? don't kill me, what's a queue tag?

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? I had some Thoughts about Blue Lock and wanted to post meta for it

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? uhh Flora.

7. why did you choose your header? Reo is one of my Blorbos and I just really liked that panel of him

8. what’s your post with the most notes? probably the "do you download fics" poll

9. how many mutuals do you have? about 20? i don't remember

10. how many followers do you have? 120?

11. how many people do you follow? 91

12. have you ever made a shitpost? yes. i think.

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? an hour?

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? nope

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts meh. some of them are funny i guess

16. do you like tag games? yep! it's nice interaction

17. do you like ask games? i do! but uh. it's a silent empty void here. an echo chamber, if you will.

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? i have no idea but i see @kingsandbastardz a lot in the mlc community

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? nope

20. what is the last song you listened to? 若梦 by 周深

21. what are you currently watching? i just finished The Double! probably starting on Dashing Youth next

22. sweet/ savoury/ spicy? savoury!

23. what is your current relationship status? single

24. what is your current obsession? The Double,,,,

25. what are nine albums/ songs you've been listening to lately?

若梦 by 周深

如故 by 张碧晨

如初 by 张碧晨

借过一下 by 周深

万物不如你 by 张杰

Our dawn is hotter than day by Seventeen

Hitorijana by Seventeen

my music taste is kinda...i tend to stick to a few artists...

26. tagging (no obligation to do this!) @randomingoftherandomness @good-vs-evo @chrysofightme @bbcphile

#tag game

49 notes · View notes

nostalgebraist-autoresponder · 2 years ago

Text

I feel like my dad would have been a good rock star.

He was pretty much always into rock and roll (I remember him going to see the Beatles when they were touring), but he never had any musical talent himself, so this is probably how his life might have gone if it weren't for me:

Getting deeply involved in subcultures with very specific aesthetics

Having an intense interest in music that gets talked about very little by mainstream culture (or getting into something where there are no "mainstream" or "alternative" versions)

Reading lots of books on the subject -- not because you want to become famous yourself, but just because that seems to be what people do who care about these things

Becoming friends with musicians at some point

Finding out your friend has fallen under some kind of spell (mystical, romantic, artistic, etc.) and is becoming unpleasant as a result

Trying to fix them by showing them all kinds of cool stuff you know about their field of expertise and seeing whether it helps

Being disappointed

Going through a phase where you try to figure out why everyone else is so excited about [band / artist] while simultaneously being unable to get past how crappy it sounds to you personally, then realizing that you don't need to understand anything deeper than "they sound like shit" to appreciate [band / artist], especially since most of them aren't really trying anyway

Seeing other people get excited about your favorite artists even though you know perfectly well that, deep down inside, those artists suck too

"It's OK, I'll just listen to their best songs"

Realizing eventually that the reason you can't find anyone to talk about the band/artist with is because none of your other friends actually cares about them enough to go beyond surface-level discussion

This leads to you doing a lot more reading about bands that nobody listens to, until finally one day someone starts talking to you about it again, and you realize that maybe you haven't been wrong after all

You start spending less time listening to those overrated popular bands, which means that now you can focus completely on the ones whose obscurity you've come to love

You write blog posts about it sometimes. You never put them up anywhere big -- but at least you make sure to have them backed up somewhere secure before deleting them from your hard drive

Sometimes you think about making a YouTube channel . . . but ultimately decide against it

Can you show me a picture of your dad?

He doesn't have any pictures of himself on the internet (I think) so here is a picture from when he was 19. He looks pretty much exactly like I do now, except with longer hair and a different beard:

#drew-dopamine666 #computer generated image

20 notes · View notes

springmachinery · 4 years ago

Text

The super detailed eyebrow guide Part 1

Hello everyone, this will be my first post on this blog. Let’s cut to the chase, the first thing we will be talking about is eyebrow styling. There is no one “ideal” eyebrow shape that suits everyone and likely you suit a couple of eyebrow styles yourself. There is no absolute “wrong” answer when it comes to eyebrows, it greatly depends on what kind of vibe you desire to give off: cute, professional, sexy, mature, innocent, anything goes. These will just be some tips that might help you to figure out what works for you, just remember that it is very difficult to make an absolutely accurate guess without seeing your full face, this is ideally a self-help resource.

First of all, you will often see the basic styling guide that goes something like this:

However, I found that this wasn’t absolutely helpful to me. What about thickness? The height of the brow? How arched should I go? Some girls look amazing with perfectly straight brows, right? Is this the only arch that looks good? It’s hard to find info on all of this so let me start:

The thickness of the brows

Think of it this way: The eyebrows are supposed to accentuate what is already there or balance it, as such it is important to follow the lines of the face to create appropriate harmony. Faces are complicated and you may even suit a different type of eyebrows when you have more weight on you, I know I do. Along with that, when it comes to eyebrows, the eyes are the most important determinant, but not the ONLY determinant. Some faces need more softness/sharpness so you add the appropriate eyebrows, at other times, you want to play exactly into the type of features that you have.

Would you say your facial features are more elongated, narrow and have a certain lightness? None of your features stand out, rather they all work together, no facial feature is too large. Then go for a thinner brow. Think of celebrities like Taylor Swift

Or Charlize Theron

Heather Morris

Hyuna ( kpop idols rarely rock completely thin eyebrows, but you can see that among them she has a thinner variant)

Another point to present is the “chubbiness” vs “dryness” of your face. The more “dry” your face is, meaning the less facial fat and roundness you have, the more likely thin brows suit you. Let’s look at Halle Berry - the thinner her face became, the more she suited thin brows.

And the midpoint:

One thing to notice is that her eyebrows were never TOO thick - her balanced features would simply never allow for it. Look at someone like Charlize with thick eyebrows, it just didn’t suit her. Her features are simply too delicate for that.

Are your features larger, heavier, more "in your face" - especially the eyes? Consider a much thicker brow like the following ladies. The brows need to follow the lines of your face, if your eyes are very “strong”, they deserve an appropriate assistant! Lucy Hale

Sofia Vergara

Sofia Loren

Lilly Collins

Aisha

Look how much better Beyonce looks with thicker brows, these eyebrows are not that thin to begin with, now imagine how much less flattering thinner eyebrows would be for her face:

The same can be said about Lykke Li, her face is much more balanced when she sports thicker brows due to her beautiful heavy features.

Notice that many of these women have either rounder or wide cheeks, even if their faces may not hold onto more flesh, that’s the bone structure. That is a trait that suits thicker brows, on the other hand, the ladies in the “thin eyebrows” category often have slightly narrower lines and sharper bones. The thin eyebrows soften them up.

However, there are some exceptions to this. If all of your features a very large or maybe even your forehead is smaller than you’d prefer, you may go the complete opposite route and take thin brows.

A youtube Anncy is a beautiful example of someone who made the right call going for thin brows instead of thick ones. Larger brows would wear down her face and perhaps take more space away from the rest of her features. When you have large features, sometimes it is difficult to juggle proportions: adding large eyebrows can take away either from eyebrow height or forehead length so if you recognize yourself in this, consider going for thinner brows even though your features are large. The only image of thick brows on her I could find offhand is this but I felt it would be unfair to put them with the other ones, as I feel the lightning and angle isn’t equal or as flattering, but hopefully you get the point.

Another example of this is Angelina Jolie. She goes for much thinner eyebrows than you’d expect from someone with features as large as those.

Big eyebrows would simply be too much competition for the rest of her face:

However, many people don’t fit any type perfectly and that’s also perfectly fine. Most are in the hybrid category, so they have to pay attention to various features.

Kerry Washington is one such example. Her features are larger, yet her eyes are very delicate. Her face is narrow, but there is much fleshiness to it. She goes for a brow that isn’t too thick or too thin. They’re narrow to follow the longer line of the face, yet not too thin to harmonize with the roundness of her features, cheeks and chin.

Megan Fox has fairly small features and yet she looks better with thicker brows? Why? Because her face possesses a certain sharpness, particularly in her features, that needs thick eyebrows to balance them out. This also has to do with her coloring and contrast, but that will be its own category in a following post.

Also, while it may seem like blondes suit thinner brows and brunettes thicker ones, that may not exactly be it. I put the example of Lykke Li who shows that a blonde can perfectly rock thick eyebrows, and Hyuna and Halle, as an example that brunettes can also look beautiful with thin ones. I’ll go more in depth about this in the Coloring section.

Arched vs Straight eyebrows

The arch of the brow depends on your overall features and the style you want to convey. A longer midface may suit straighter, longer eyebrows to add width to the face. Straight eyebrows also make you look younger and more cute. They can also help the forehead look wider. An example of this is Yoona, this girl has a longer midface and the brows add a vertical line that breaks apart the length of the midface. The straight brows also suit her cute and youthful appeal.

Mina from Twice is another good example of this. The straight brows add balance to the length of the face.

I would suggest straighter brows to people who’d prefer a cuter look usually, however many sexpots, so to speak, go for this look to balance out their features. Look how much width these straight brows, that extend far out, allow Jessica Alba’s longer face.

Straight eyebrows, depending on how dark they are, can also add drama and make the face seem more symmetrical and lifted, especially if the ends of the brows point up - that’s why they’re popular with models. Notice how symmetrical and compact, or even wide, a lot of these faces appear due to this effect. Additionally, these faces appear more dominant or modelesque and may even photograph better, which is why you may want to try them out.

Let’s look at Nyane, her straight brows with a slight elevation towards the end point out the beautiful symmetry and sharpness of her face. When they are arched, there is too much sharpness. Even if they were shaped differently, the elevated arch would take away from a more balanced look.

On the other hand, for the e-girl or cute girl look, the straight eyebrows don’t point up, rather, they point down. Look at the classic e-girl Belle Delphine for that. For the cute girl look, choose either an end that points neutrally or down. Beware that an eyebrow that point down may make your face appear less lifted, but many faces can handle it pretty well. It’s all subjective and not everyone wants the lifted look.

As for arched brows, they definitely bring up the sex appeal and make your eyes appear lifted. This is great if you want to go for enhanced sex appeal or have a negative canthal tilt (downturned eyes) that you’d like to change. Arched eyebrows are a classic and they add that “wow” factor to the face, in addition to that, it’s also a great choice for those who have a baby face and want to stray away from that. It’s great to add that arched eyebrows can break up a wide face and add “length”, it can also shrink the forehead and make the eyes appear larger, but that will be further covered in the placement section.

Gigi Hadid has beautiful eyebrows that make her eyes appear huge due to the high arch point. The eyebrows are her best feature and certainly add something to her look. Pay attention to how babylike her face would look without those eyebrows, if you’d cover them, her face would seem so much softer. The arched brows are exactly what make her face model like. It’s that extra something.

Aishwarya Rai is famous for her sex appeal and beauty and her eyebrows play up that aspect - she often lifts up one or both brows in photos to get an even more pronounced arch.

When her eyebrows are straighter, she loses some of that seductiveness.

Anne Hathaway has beautiful downturned eyes, however, in case one would like to “lift” the area up, so to speak, they could try out this type of style. The arch of the brow is exactly above where her eye ends and goes down, making for beautiful harmony.

Eyebrows can also be more sharply arched or have a more rounded arch. A sharper arch can add more dimension to the face, as well as sex appeal, while the rounded one can accentuate femininity (look Gigi and A,R, or someone like Sofia Vergara). Marylin Monroe, in tune with old Hollywood beauties, sported a sharper arch often, as did Olivia Wilde, to suit her sharp features.

Naomi, is also an example of beautiful arched eyebrows, that mix up both the rounded and sharp aspect by going to no extreme. This can suit you really well if you have a mix of sharp and round features like she does (high cheekbones, elongated face + full lips, rounded cheeks etc.)

If you can’t decide which eyebrow to go for, consider the mix of the two: where the eyebrows bottom line is more straight and the top of it is arched. It is often seen on women with cat eyes that want to add softness but also show off that allure. Notice how the bottom of Barbara’s eyebrow here is straight and the top is arched - this is also great if you have difficulty with shaping your brows as it is forgiving for filling in + it looks very natural.

All of this said, it is up to you if you want to add sharpness or softness to your face - there is no right call and a lot of it has to do with what your style and taste is. Many of these women have tried out all types of arches and found that each look “sold” something, a particular essence. It is up to you to choose what you like, however, I hope this guide helped you in discovering which eyebrows suit what style.

I wish to also address more finely tuned details of the eyebrow such as:

-Eyebrow placement (Low and High placed)

-The placement of the arch and its effects on the look you are portraying

-Having eyebrows compliment individual features (close set eyes, wide set eyes, broad noses etc)

-Coloring of the eyebrows

and perhaps some more. Stay tuned!

#beauty #eyebrows #style advice #style #advice #mua #makeup #brows

120 notes · View notes

thetypedwriter · 4 years ago

Text

Midnight Sun Book Review

Midnight Sun Book Review by Stephenie Meyer

Oh my god, you guys.

Just. Oh. My. God.

This book took ten years off of my life.

As a heavy reminder, these book reviews are entirely subjective and my very personal opinion. I don’t need the hoards of Twihards coming after me with pitchforks and pretend fangs from Party City because I didn’t fall head-over-heels with this canon spinoff like my fourteen-year-old self would have.

With that measly disclaimer out of the way, let’s move onto the actual book review. If you haven’t heard of Midnight Sun or don’t know what it is, then I don’t know what to tell you except that you avoided 600 plus pages of stream of conscious ranting.

For those of you that would like to be enlightened, Midnight Sun is the retelling of the infamous Twilight book-yes, that Twilight, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen Twilight, complete with vampires, not so-stellar acting, and the more than notorious forest scene of Edward demanding she say… “vampire!” Gasp.

But no really, like most women in my now mid-20’s, as a teenager, I was obsessed with the Twilight saga and everything it had to offer, especially the dreamy, chivalrous, too good to be true Edward Cullen (fuck Jacob).

I voraciously devoured the books while I was in middle school, attended the midnight book premier for Breaking Dawn, and stayed up way too late for each and every movie screening that followed, a loyal fan to the end. To give you some perspective, I even joined the Twilight club my freshman year of high school.

Yes, if you were wondering, I was indeed that cool.

I was obsessed and in love and outside of Harry Potter, it’s still one of the few book fandoms and series that I was truly enveloped and consumed by. Whether that was due to my age, the experience of the fandom, the cultural phenomena that was following the movies and new releases, or for other reasons, it was an experience I look back on now with simultaneous fondness and slight embarrassment.

I wasn’t embarrassed by my involvement or my experience in the fandom, like many other people, I made great friends through Twilight (including my best friend, whom I met in college when we mutually bonded over our love of Twilight), read countless fanfiction that, to this day, I still remember and cherish with my heart, and it was one of the series that cemented my love of reading and book culture as a whole for me.

However, like everyone else, I inevitably grew up, matured, and my reading tastes changed and became more refined. As an avid re-reader of books, I have tried going back to re-read the Twilight saga multiple times...

...and failed.

The books had simply lost their magic for me.

The story seemed dull and nonsensical, Bella had become the epitome of a Mary Sue, the writing was now apparently mediocre, and Breaking Dawn’s lackluster climax angered me to the point of speechlessness (it still does).

So, I gave up re-reading the series and while I deemed that it was perhaps not as wonderful and life-changing as it had been for 8th grade Melissa, I still appreciated what it had done for me personally and the experiences that I had gained through the books.

Speaking of 8th grade Melissa, the original Midnight Sun, that being twelve chapters of the original manuscript that had been leaked back in 2008, had been put up on Stephenie Meyer’s website for all to enjoy.

Like the good, whipped fangirl I was, I devoured all 12 chapters with ease and lamented the loss of never getting more than that snapshot of Edward’s thoughts and musings.

Now, twelve years later, the full book has been written, published, and released to the delight and downright shock to many age-old Twilight fans that had believed that series to be dead and buried, myself included.

So, when the book came out this August, I swallowed my trepidation, knowing that my love for the characters was now long gone, but I believed that the sentimentality of 8th grade Melissa’s obsession would long linger, making this a pleasant blast from the past to lift my mood.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

Now, that I’ve told you my whole life story in an effort to explain why I have the feelings I do and to justify that I’m not just being negative for the sake of being negative, this book did not hold up to any of my expectations.

One, it was so freaking long.

Holy shit, was this book long.

As I have said countless times on this blog, I like big books (and I cannot lie). It’s the best feeling in the world when you get into a story and you realize that you have many days ahead of you of being engulfed within this new world that you’ve fallen head-over-heels for.

It’s the opposite, sinking feeling of dread when you feel like you’ve been reading the book for weeks and are getting nothing out of it.

Midnight Sun was a lot like that.

It was too long to be good, especially considering the length was not generally driven by plot, but instead driven by Edward thinking of every fucking thing to the nth degree and driving me crazy in the process.

Homeboy needs to take a chill pill, he overstresses, overthinks, and overanalyzes everything to the point of irritation as a reader.

Meyer’s editor really needed to step in and say, “Hey, Stephenie...is all of this really necessary?” and then proceed to cut out at least 300 pages of nonsense.

But that didn’t happen, probably because first and foremost, the book was already going to sell no matter what changes or edits were made, and this seemed like a book more for Stephenie than anyone else.

It was very much stream of consciousness like I’ve already said, a style of writing defined as a literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue.

It wasn’t on the level of James Joyce’s Ulysses or other notable works, but damn was it close.

This writing style I found abhorrently repetitive and exceptionally dull.

Perhaps my fourteen-year-old self would have felt differently and would have sucked up anything about Edward Cullen eagerly considering he was the fictional love of my life.

Or perhaps this book would have made me go running and screaming in the opposite direction as Edward is...kind of awful?

One positive thing I can say about this book is that it paints Bella Swan in a very rosy light, which was actually very refreshing. One of the most famous criticisms that Meyer’s has received is Bella’s lack of character, development, and attributes.

Seeing Bella from Edward’s perspective instead of vice-versa actually showed how kind, thoughtful, and selfless she is, all things that I had never really picked up on before.

I still find her inexcusably dumb sometimes, but much of time during this book, Bella was actually far favorable to Edward or any other character, a blasphemous statement of irony if I had ever heard one.

The payoff, however, is Edward’s reveal as not chivalrous, not gentlemanly, and not as wonderful as I remember. He’s arrogant, selfish, obsessive, and honestly? Downright creepy.

The stalking reaches new levels of not okay, often with him trying to justify his less than criminal activities with the notion of her “safety” as the priority, which I found complete bullshit.

I found Edward domineering, cold, aggravating, and lackluster, statements which would literally have made my old self sob, which I honestly did when Edward left in New Moon.

I used to be an avid Jacob hater and lover of Edward to the extreme back in the day. Now, I would weep for joy if he left, root for Jacob all the way, and hope that the horrible name of Renesmee never needed to come to fruition in the first place.

Oh, how the turns have tabled.

Other than the atrocious length, my other large criticism came in the form of well...the book was naturally boring in my opinion. Meyer tries to create tension and moments of suspense, but...we already know what happens.

We know the next few years actually. We know they get married, have a baby, and Bella gets turned into a vampire. So all moments of tension and suspense are unceremoniously tossed out the window.

You might say, typedwriter, that’s unfair! We didn’t read this for the tension and suspenseful plot that we already know! We read this to get new information and insight into the Cullens and Edward especially. What do the Cullens do at home? How do they interact? What does this juicy insider insight look like?

Well, I still don’t know because we hardly saw any of it.

I was the most curious about the Cullens as a family unit and more information into how they functioned, interacted, and cohabited. I even wrote a fanfiction back in the day about what freaking Esme did home alone because I was so intrigued by the idea, but nope!

Edward was always stalking Bella 24/7 so almost no new information was gleaned about the Cullens, sucks for you.

There would be little nuggets here and there, little bouts of cool information (Apparently Esme just stays home all day every day doing….nothing?), but not nearly enough to justify a 600+ page book of a recycled plot that we were already familiar with.

I needed more from this book, craved all the little moments in between, and it was a letdown to the most extreme proportions.

Recommendation: I didn’t really enjoy this read despite my past involvement with the series, my lingering fondness for the movies on a cold, rainy day, and the still sporadic delves into Twilight fanfiction that maintains its reputation of quality and characters.

Twilight will always have a special place in my heart for what it did for me and the people it brought into my life, but I wish I had remembered Midnight Sun as the 12 chapters I read on Stephenie Meyer’s website when I was fourteen and infatuated instead of 26 and uninterested and unforgiving.

Score: 4/10

#midnight sun #stephenie meyer #twilight #new moon #eclipse #breaking dawn #twihard #book blog #book review #Book Recommendations #YA Books #YA Book Review #edward cullen #bella swan #fanfiction #book blogger #book photography #book analysis #book aesthetic

101 notes · View notes

queensgaybeach1d · 4 years ago

Note

HELLOOO, I just discovered your blog, shame on me. So, I read your masterpost about the stunts in the industry (great work btw) and was wondering how to tell if something is real or purely pr. Would you mind giving me a few pointers ?? Answer however and whenever you can.

Hello Sweetie,

Thank you so much for your lovely words. I would love to help you dig deeper into the PR industry. In fact, I did some research myself and I stumbled upon a great confirmation on how everything works. I think it is just the right fit for you, sweetheart.

Please take your time reading the post and if you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to ask me. Have a great day and enjoy!

Kisses,

Suman 😊

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

How to spot a PR relationship?!

This post is made for everyone who would like to learn how to spot a fake relationship in Hollywood. This information is supported by a very reliable source. The name of the source is Jack Ketsoyan, he set up two PR relationships himself. If you would try to compare this to your favourite Hollywood couple, you might be surprised of the outcome. I wish you all the best while reading this and if you have any questions/suggestions please do not hesitate to ask. Enjoy! :)

This is the link of the podcast about the PR relationships (skip to 5.40). I will make a little summary of the very important things Jack said. There is also another man who is speaking about this subject. His name is Christopher and he is a lawyer who has worked with cases like these for a long time.

(Please note that I am in no way hating on anyone. I have a strong dislike for all ‘’beards’’, but what they do with their lives is their responsibility. Therefore I mean no harm to any of these people. It would be very sad if any of these people would do it because they needed money for their families. If that was the case I would truly feel sorry for them, but the thing is they want to become famous by dating someone else who put his/her hard work in his/her career. That it just not fair. There are plenty of ways to become famous by dedication, hard work and staying yourself.)

I want to give compliments to the lovely @Totallylost4you on twitter. She made me aware of the podcast.

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

-’’To hide the artist’s sexuality; boosting of the careers.’’ --> (Louis, Harry, Zayn, Liam and Niall. Also, Kristen Stewart, Cara Delevigne and Taylor Swift) -->

‘’It is more common on the male side than on the female side. There are certain celebrities who were, back in the day, in the closet and it was not okay to be out. We live in a completely different time nowadays, these days being gay is okay. So back in the day that was the biggest secret, it was a big taboo, if a certain high profiled male, the heartthrob is all of a sudden gay, they were not going to get the bigger roles anymore. They were going to be type casted, so that was the big way of hiding things. Them hiding their sexuality was dating a female who would keep them in the limelight basically and cover it up.’’ [about closeting] ‘’Times have changed, it still happens, but a lot has changed.’’ --> There are still people who would not like attending a Harry Styles (the heartthrob) concert when he comes out as gay.

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

-’’To be able to sell the hype of it.’’ --> (Whenever a picture of Taylor and Tom or Louis and Eleanor comes out, people are quick to retweet, post and talk about what happened. Within no time the pictures have traveled through the internet. Which automatically means that a lot of people have seen it. All of this gives the label/couple/artist attention and money. --> Whether it is bad attention or good attention, attention means money.) a few examples of these couples are also: Haylor, Zigi and Elounor.

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

-’’To sell tickets to concerts or movies.’’ --> 1D world tours and solo tours. That is also why beards like Camille Rowe, Eleanor Calder and Maya Henry attend their concerts. As for movies think about Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (who is gay) fake dating, moments after Twilight came out. Think about 1D bringing their fake girlfriends to the world premiere and Zayn and Perrie getting engaged a second after. The purpose of these events are attention. Sweethearts, whenever people go to these shows/movies all they will focus on is 1D and their ‘girlfriends’. Photos will spread faster than ever and people will talk about how ‘real’ they are. Their aim is to kill two birds with one stone; making them look like a ‘real’ couple whilst promoting their movie/album.

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

-’’To sell albums.’’ --> (Zigi, Chiam, Elounor, Hamille, Nailee, Haylor.) Let us be honest, are they not the biggest reasons why antis buy the album? Just to see what stuff they write about their fake girlfriends/boyfriends. Just to see how ‘Camille’ pronounces ‘’Coucou’’or just because Gigi Hadid starred in Zayn’s music video. Or maybe to finally know the ‘truth’ about Taylor’s fake relationships.

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

-’’It's all about the hype at the moment. Especially with the social media world.’’ --> I am going to point out an important thing Jack said. He said ‘’especially with the social media world.’’ Remember when there were only rumours of Louis and Eleanor being back together? The whole fandom tweeted about it. This made it popular and that was the solid moment 1D’s label knew that Elounor 2.0 would do it for them. They would earn a lot by it. The same thing counts for Zigi, Chiam, Haylor, Hamille. Hamille is a good example too. When all of you heard that Harry wrote a song about her and that her voice was going to be included in his song, what happened? Exactly, everyone went nuts and made sure to listen to that exact song. That is exactly what they want. They want that power over you, that is what gives them the money. Another example, how fast do you think solo Zayn stans and Directioners tweeted about a ‘power couple’ when the news broke that Zayn and Gigi are ‘expecting a child’? How fast did people open their social media accounts when Kylie Jenner was pregnant for the Kardashian’s 10th anniversary? (Social media does A LOT. Whenever a picture of Eleanor (beard) and Clifford (Louis’ dog) arrives on the internet, people automatically assume they are together in a room. This, is not the case. That is how convenient social media is to arranged relationships. Why start a rumour by hiring newspapers instead of posting a message on social media? It is much cheaper and more people will know about it in less than four hours.)

Promoting certain brand like Coca Cola (Elounor), YSL, Gucci, Vogue (Zigi) and Hugo Boss are also a part of it. Celebrities wearing those brands make their fans want to buy it too, think of the Kardashians promoting Adidas and other expensive brands. Also think of people like Briana Jungwirth promoting flat tummy tea. This is called ‘celebrity branding.’

Tell me, how many times do you get HQ pic of your PR couple on your phone? People tend to go out of their mind when pictures come out. That is the immediate effect Hollywood has on social media/ you. That gives them the promo they need, even during quarantine the beards post pictures of themselves, making you think they are together when in reality they are not. :)

{About why Jack hooked an arranged relationship up himself} --> ‘’It was more of a mutual agreement between the agents. {Tells a story about an actor getting bad reviews for a movie and in order to let people focus on something else they got the actor a girl, so the media would focus on the girl instead of the bad movie.}’’ --> ‘’Just a one year deal. Basically they finished of the press and the international press and then they went their separate ways, because she did not want to do a two year deal.’’ {interviewer asks if it worked} --> ‘’It worked.’’ --> A few examples of (approximately) a one-year deal: Calvin Harris and Taylor Swift, Niall Horan and Hailee Steinfield and Louis Tomlinson and Danielle Campbell. It is also good to point out that the beard can decide whether she wants to continue or not, but the celebrity has to do what the agent arranges.

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

{Interviewer asks what reasons people might have to agree to one of these PR relationships} --> Different reasons, that could be to deflect attention away from a controversy (damage control. think of something Larry or Ziam related happening and the next day Zigi and Elouno are papped. Or fans finding out Louis is in the same country as Harry and the next day they will let Elouno do a pap walk. Another example is when Ziammies find out a Zigi picture is photoshopped, the next day you will see Zigi in person. This happens when their stunts fail). So if an actor has drugs and alcohol problems they may want to give the appearance that they have settled down and are in a committed relationships so that they can banked for films. Or they are going to be able to get bonded and get work and people will trust them, because they have settled down. It also could be done to create a brand. Two celebs getting together and 'now there's this tremendous interest about them being a power couple.' [...] We create strong provision against the disclosure of any negative facts against the celebrity - with consequences. So these agreements need to be structured with a hold back of money so that over time if they have complied with the agreement and not disclosed ehh no personal information and violation the agreement then they would be entitled the payment, so under the agreement. " --> The last part might be difficult to understand, because the lawyer uses difficult words, but what he is actually saying is very important. He says if the celebrities who are in the PR relationship have done their part (parading around with each other) then they will receive their money (please correct me if I am wrong). The host also confirmed that contracts like these are the reason why a lot of celebrities do not admit they had a PR relationships.

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

Clues on how to spot a PR relationship:

-‘’The main clue you would see is if, you know, a certain high profiled male is dating a female (or when a high profiled female is dating a regular male), who was not high profile. All of a sudden, she is, overnight, the most talked about girl in Hollywood and everyone want a piece of them. That is the biggest thing, you know, it is such a career boost for the female that some females end up taking the deal.’’ --> Zigi, Elounor, Chiam, Brouis, Haylor, Taylor and Calvin. How does the world know Eleanor Calder? Because of Louis Tomlinson. No one knew her before, except her family. How did Gigi gain so many followers? Because she started dating Zayn Malik. Gigi already had a platform for herself, but she gained a lot of followers by dating Zayn. Zayn also gained followers by dating Gigi. Gigi needed promo and Zayn was in the spotlight, because he just ‘left 1D.’ This made him the perfect target. I hope all of you also notice that when beards/fake girlfriends post pictures of them with their fake boyfriend, it gets way more likes than their usual pictures.

{What was the benefit for the girl in the scenario?} --> ‘’Ehm, she has a huge career at the moment. She benefit from that by becoming a household name (someone that is well known) and getting bigger roles than she would have. She would use to be the 3rd or the 4th lead in any auditions or any jobs that she was getting. She then became the first lead. She got a great career boost out of it, for sure.’’ --> Gigi Hadid, Eleanor Calder, Sophia Smith, Cheryl Cole, Maya, Camille Rowe and Kendall Jenner are just a few examples.

How did the world know Townes? Because ‘Harry named’ her in one of his songs. How did the world know about Maya Henry? Because Liam Payne started dating her. Before this, she was just a fan. How did Cheryl Cole get the attention back? Because of baby gate and by fake dating Liam Payne. How did Briana gain so many followers? Because Louis Tomlinson fans gave her the attention and because she participated in faking a pregnancy. How did Shawn and Camilla become a couple in the spotlight? Because people have always shipped them, ever since the beginning and their label gave the fans what they wanted. How did Kim Kardashian become famous? A *** tape of her and Ray J leaked and she became famous. Now, she is a lot richer and more famous than he is. A quick note, not many people know how Kim Kardashian became famous. They only really know her from Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The newer generation does not know about the tape scandal, and that is what they do. You need to dig a little deeper to see that. This all is an on-going cycle and it will not stop unless we all stop believing it. 😊

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

What do they do in order to make a PR relationship look real?

{Interviewer asks what the clauses in an arranged relationships contract are} --> ‘’An arranged relationship is estranged by definition. So certainly we are going to see requests that are equally odd. They are certainly going to have requirements as to how they hold themselves out to the public as a couple. This would mean appearances at award shows, parties or events together as a couple and that there would be requirements maybe for specific events.’’ --> Eleanor attending Jay’s wedding and being ‘maid of honor’, Calvin and Taylor at Award shows, Elounor at the fashions show 2013, Haylor and their NYE ‘kiss’, Zigi at the MET gala and Chiam at the Brits, celebs at after parties with their ‘girlfriends’. All of these couples have also pictures with each other’s family members. That made a lot of you think they are close and real, well my loves, now you finally know that it is all part of a PR stunt. The fake girlfriends also have to look supportive, that is why they have to be there at concerts, soccer matches, award shows etcetera. 😊

Remember when Eleanor (beard) posted a picture of herself and in the background you could see a picture of her and Louis in 2012 and ‘Louis’ written on a board? Remember when she posted a picture of herself with her and Louis’ boots in the background in 2018? All of these things are there to make it look like they truly live together and that they truly own each other’s stuff. The same thing counts for Haylor’s airplane necklace. Do you genuinely think they did that by accident? No, that is the purpose of the whole picture. 😊

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

‘’Then there is going to be particularly some none disclosure issues surrounding them as to what cannot be said about the relationship and what needs to be said. There could be a script even as to what they have to say if asked about the relationships. There would be photo sessions showing them as a couple. And then I have seen issues of sexual relationships and specific whether this would happen or not happen in an agreement. But if it is truly a PR relationships then sex would not be a part of that relationship, because it is not real.’’ --> Loves, do you remember a moment when someone asked a celebrity about his/her relationships and they stuttered and looked uncomfortable, or they just said something wrong or embarrassing or tried to talk themselves out of it? Well, that happens when you have to make up stuff that never happened. Louis Tomlinson confirmed his interviews are scripted, so this one is just an extra thick layer of confirmation. I also recall Gigi doing a live and someone asked about Zayn and she just stuttered and looked away, not knowing how to answer a question. (I think there have definitely been times when two people who were in an arranged relationship gave different answers to the same question, why? Because they do not know anything about each other.) Here is an example of a moment that is repeated and scripted about Louis’ ‘relationship’ with Eleanor, even know we have legit proof that is not what happened:

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

Now I can hear all your lovely brains working and thinking whether a celebrity is willing to sign a contract like that or if their label is making them sign it. Well, if you have read my previous masterpost about the music industry you can see confirmations of the label making the artist their puppet. They own you, so if they think you should have a girlfriend to hide gay rumours then they will give you one. ‘A label cannot force you anything’, but it does make you sign a contract. When you sign the contract without reading it carefully, then your label will mess you up. In those contracts they do not write ‘’Taylor Swift has to agree to arranged relationships.’’ They write stuff like ‘’When signing the contract, Taylor Swift allows the label to make changes in order to get her to fame.’’ Of course Taylor (and other artists) would think that they mean changing her outfit and looks, but no. The label thinks being gay is something that will not get people enough fame. So what do they do? They change her, they change her sexuality. They closet her and even though Taylor and other LGBTQ artists do not want that. You cannot deny because when you do so, the label will show you the contract you signed. A contract like that is never written literally, they can manipulate their words. To the label ‘’being gay or a part of the LGBTQ+ community’’ falls under ‘’making changes’’ in order to make her famous. Of course there are celebrities who willingly closet themselves for various reasons. I hope to create a single post about how devious these contracts are for you all! 😊

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

Here are a few things I hope you have learned from this: 😊

- Fake relationships still exist and they will always exist. It has been confirmed, so no one can deny this anymore.

- The girl and boy have to go to special events, such as award shows, family dinners and weddings in order to make it look real.

- Homophobia is still a thing and the biggest reason why arranged relationships exist.

- The beard has a contract too, so your idol has no say in how long she can or cannot stay. If she does good then she will stay. (I see many people say that Louis chose Eleanor because they are friends and that is why she is back, but he actually has no say in anything. Your idol is their product to sell. Your idol is basically a marionette.)

-The PR team does everything to make it look like they are truly together, think of photos of each other in each other’s homes and ‘personal gifts.’

-Celebrities get an enormous boost on their social media accounts when they start being part of an arranged relationship. Something I have always thought was a bit odd, is the fact that Eleanor never created an insta account until her and Louis’ ‘relationship’ had its peak; in the middle of June 2012. When in reality, insta was created in 2010. She also created twitter in 2012. Exactly when the first few big events were attended by them. (I genuinely think she did that, because everyone wanted to see more of her. Plus, she has always wanted to be a fashion blogger and this was her ‘big moment’ to do so.)

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

The credits for this post go to @Totallylost4you. They made me aware of the podcast and they continue to shine light on hidden treasures like this one. They also hardly get credits for their solid hard work and I hope they will continue doing this! Thank you!

Thank you so much for your attention. If you have any question/suggestion, please do not hesitate to ask/tell me! I wish all of you the best and please stay safe. Have an amazing day!

218 notes · View notes

wildlyminiaturesandwich · 5 years ago

Text

It’s time we talk about SimsDom again.

Most of you probably already know who and what Simsdom is but for those that don’t, Simsdom (or SimsDomination) claim to essentially be a CC finds website, which in essence I suppose they are... But don’t get your hopes up for a Lana replacement because they are SO much more than that. And not in a good way.

I know this is an old subject, and most people probably thought it was all over and done with, but Simsdom is still around and what’s worse is that I’ve noticed a growing trend among my fellow Game Changers who create content for Youtuber and Twitch/Mixer of promoting the site by using it to do CC shopping haul videos and streams, which is encouraging their viewers to use Simsdom. I’m not going to name names or point fingers but it made me realise that maybe some people don’t understand just how bad Simsdom is for the community in general, but especially for the amazingly dedicated CC creators of Simblr. And it’s just so disappointing to see people that some many in the community, including myself, look up to promoting this garbage site!

If you’re curious to know why this is a problem, I’ll explain under the cut. If not, keep scrolling... But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

If you visit the Simsdom website (which I’ve purposely not provided a link to because you absolutely shouldn’t visit it) you’ll notice a whole bunch of custom content is available there, more than likely you’ll even find quite a bit from some of your faves like @peacemaker-ic, @nolan-sims, @storylegacysims, @crypticsim, @renorasims, @savvysweet and MANY more. My stuff is even on there as well and if you’re a creator, the chances are high your stuff is too; whether you want it to be or not.

But don’t be fooled, myself and most of the other creators whose content appears on their site did not give permission for our content to be shared on there. In fact, most of us have specifically asked Simsdom to remove our content from their site. I say “most” because there are some people who willing uploading their content there (god knows why). The easiest way to the tell the difference is to look at who posted the content. If you see this:

That content has been shared by a bot, without the creator’s permission and more than likely against their many requests that Simsdom NOT share their content. If it says the name of the actual creator instead of “Exchange”, that creator uploaded it themselves.

You might also ask why anyone would care if their content was shared on a CC finds blog, after all, it means more traffic to our blogs and content, right? First of all, whether it brings in more traffic or not, is beside point. These creators have specifically requested Simsdom not share their content and they have been ignored, disrespected, threatened, and harassed. Simsdom claims that their users make up 30-90% of Tumblr creators traffic, but I call bullshit. I check my Google analytics every single month for traffic coming in to both my Tumblr and Blogger from Simsdom and I can tell you that LESS THAN 1% of the COMBINED TOTAL traffic from BOTH BLOGS comes from there. And when you understand how they operate, you’ll understand why that is.

- UPDATE -

In reference to Simsdom’s response to this post, they linked 5 creators that they claim meet their crazy statement that their site provides creators with 30-90% of their traffic. So I just thought I’d point out some interesting facts I noticed while looking at those sites.

One of those sites is dead; literally, it doesn’t exist anymore, if it ever even did. Another, @simiracle, is a fellow Game Changer who reblogged this post, so I’m guessing they don’t have support there. And the other 3 are alpha CC creators, none of whom have ever uploaded any of their CC to Simdom, nor have they ever mentioned Simsdom on their sites in any way. However, all three earn money on their own content via either adfly, adsense, patreon, or some combination of the three; my guess would be they wouldn’t be too happy to find out Simsdom is making money off them too.

You see, Simsdom might sometimes link back to the original creators site, but often times they don’t. I’ve noticed quite a bit of the content of my own on their site directly links to the file on SimFileShare, completely bypassing both my Tumblr and my Blogger. This might not seem like a big problem, but what about if the creator has put specific instructions, requirements, or notes on the original download page that if the downloader doesn’t read could result in broken/unusable CC, or worse, a broken game?

- UPDATE -

In reference to Simsdom’s response to this post, they linked to SimFileShare’s page on SimilarWeb and claimed that I was lying about direct-linking to my files there because their site does not appear in the list of referring sites. What they failed to mention is that that list only shows the TOP 5 sites that link to SimFileShare regularly. There are still 385 other sites that aren’t shown and can’t be seen without having an account with SimilarWeb. Convenient, huh?

I also said they only direct-linked SOME content. With my content it was only about 4 or 5 things out of the 15 or so they have on their site and I didn’t check anyone else’s stuff but I have heard other creators say the same thing. So of course they’re not going to show up in the top 5 if it’s only SOME links.

But wait, there’s more.

Anyone downloading from their website without an adblocker is forced to wade through potentially harmful ads as well. Notice the blue button that says “download” at the top? That’s not a real download button and if you click it, it will instantly begin shoving pop ups in your face claiming you have a system error or that your local law enforcement agency has detected illegal activity from your IP. Yes, I clicked it. There is nothing of importance left on my HDD (it’s all stored safely on an external drive that isn’t connected to the PC at all) because this drive has been slowly dying for weeks and I’m destroying it tomorrow and replacing it with a brand new one, so I decided to take a chance.

These ads, which are on pretty much every page of Simsdom, are what’s called “Ransomware”, and it’s whole purpose is to distract you with fake pop up “warnings” when you click on it so that you don’t realise it’s actually downloading a very harmful file to your computer in the background. It’s designed to be next to impossible to close the pop ups, so that even if you somehow became aware of the download happening, you couldn’t get past the pop ups to stop it before it’s had time to finish downloading and automatically begin running it’s payload when it’s done.

What payload? That’s the scariest part, you won’t know until it’s too late. It could be something as simple as a trojan that will force your PC to mine bitcoins, which is still harmful because these mining trojans are resource hogs and put a massive strain on your CPU. Or a trojan designed to target and encrypt specific files on your computer (usually sensitive ones) and demand you pay a literal ransom (usually either in bitcoin or pre-paid cash) and if you don’t, your files will either be complete erased or leaked.

Or worse still, it could be something even more sinister such as a key-logger; a piece of spyware that is designed to track and log EVERY. SINGLE. KEY. you touch on your keyboard. So every password you use, every online banking key code you enter, all the conversations you have via Discord, Twitter, Tumblr, or any other form of instant messaging, that fanfiction you’ve been working on that you are too scared to show anyone in case they think you’re a pervert, your credit card and bank account number you use to shop online, what porn you look for, even your Google search history (regardless of if you’re incognito); all of it will be no longer private and in the hands of someone who could use it to steal your identity, empty out your bank accounts, charge thousands of dollars worth of goods to your credit card, or expose every little strange thing you do on your computer that you thought no one would ever find out about, unless you pay their ransom.

Scary huh?

Also notice that those Get Famous recolours I made don’t say that they actually require Get Famous? Why is that a problem, you say? For most people it’s not, you see “Get Famous Recolours” and you automatically know you need Get Famous to use them, but what about people who are new to using CC and don’t know that for my recolours to work you need the pack they came from? Yeh, that’s a problem, because that particular download is one of those ones that leads straight to SimFileShare:

It leads directly to the merged file, which is NOT the only file available for download in that set, just the largest. But no one who finds my content on Simsdom will ever know that will they? Nor will they read the part of the download page that clearly states Get Famous is required to use the recolours.

I hear you saying “But adblockers are a thing”. Yes they are, but that doesn’t solve the issue of them linking straight to the file. And also, here’s what happens when you try to download something from Simsdom with an adblocker enabled:

You’re forced to wait 180 seconds before the download button appears. THREE WHOLE MINUTES in which you cannot move from that page or the counter will stop, and it will only restart when you go back to that page and stay there for the entire three minutes. Even Adfly isn’t that gross.

So, all of that isn’t enough to discourage you from using this vile site you say? Well, let me introduce you to the person/people who run the site. There are plenty of examples floating around Tumblr of how disrespectful, arrogant, immature, and disturbing the owner/s are (just search for “Simsdom” and you’ll see) but here’s just a few posts showing “receipts” of what happened to creators when they ask for their content to be removed from the site: Here, here, and here.

They have threatened to doxx several creators, tried to blackmail others, threatened to shut down some people’s sites, and even actually refused to remove people’s content unless they say “please”; as though these creators are six year old children who need to learn a lesson for not wanting THEIR content on someone else’s website!

All of this was said AFTER they made a post on their Tumblr saying they would respect creators wishes to not have their content on their site. I myself had a run-in with them as well but I don’t have the receipts because as soon as they finally agreed to remove my content (after almost 4 days of arguing with them and being threatened several times) they blocked me... and they continue to share my content to this day. That’s part of the reason why my motivation to create has been so low lately; I know its just going to end up over there, locked behind a paywall making money for these disgusting people and tricking simmers into thinking they have to pay to access my stuff.

But back to the story! Once they realised 99% of Tumblr creators — the people they get most of their content from — were going to ask to have their creations removed however, they changed their mind and instead started refusing to remove content. In fact, if you go to their website and use the contact form and choose the option “Remove my Content” they literally ask if you are Tumblr creator or not, and if you say you are, this is what you get:

And that “Our Rights here” link? That leads to this nonsense that literally contradicts itself with almost every single sentence:

“Creations can’t be uploaded without the creators permission... but we do not need permission to share your creations” “Feel free to contact us to ask to remove your content... but actually don’t bother contacting us asking to remove your content because we won’t” “SimsDomination is a free website... We don’t steal any content... *literally has other people’s free content locked behind a paywall and charges people membership fees to remove said paywall*”

And as for the EA terms part... I have news for you Simsdom, YOU are the only one breaking EA’s terms of use by putting content behind paywalls. I’m an EA Game Changer, I have actually read the terms of use AND spoken at length on the topics of earning revenue from CC, and why paywalls/memberships/exclusives are against EA’s terms of use with the Sim Gurus, have you? Didn’t think so.

If you had, you’d realise that we are allowed to earn revenue from our CC by having ads on our blogs/sites provided they aren’t deceptive — you know, like that ad with the big blue button you have that shows up on every single page of your site — and don’t lead to anything malicious, which yours do. I clicked several of the ads on your site and they all either lead to disgusting 18+ websites, started producing ransomware pop ups like I described earlier, or tried to download a mysterious file called setup.exe to my computer (which was most likely a trojan as well). We are also allowed to earn revenue via donations and Patreon early access systems provided the content is also made available for free to the general public within 14 days.

We are not, however, allowed to lock content behind Patreon exclusives, memberships and paywalls such as Adfly; which is exactly what you are doing. Like Adfly, you are not only potentially exposing underage children to 18+ content and risking the safety of people’s PCs, but you are also forcing them to wait to click a link and charging membership fees to avoid having to wait to download said content that isn’t even yours; content that you have been asked REPEATEDLY to remove. That is the very definition of a paywall. It is NOT the same as Pinterest or Facebook AT ALL, they might have ads but they aren’t malicious and they do not force people to wait to view content.

- UPDATE -

In reference to Simsdom’s response to this post, this is probably one of my most favourite Simsdom lies, because it never changes but it’s so easy to prove false! “Users don’t need to pay to download any content and don’t need to wait to download them” Oh really? Shall we take a look at your site on the old SimilarWeb that you love so much?

How strange. If you don’t make people wait, then why do you need adfly? And if no one has to pay, then why do you need premium memberships to get rid of the ads and wait time you don’t have? Odd.

Also, lets talk Adsense. I never said I had a problem with you having ads on your site; I said I had a problem with the TYPE of ads on your site. If you seriously don’t think your ads are in any way harmful, I’d suggest you take another look at your Adsense, because either it’s been hacked or you seriously don’t know what you’re doing. Oh, but that’s right, “Google will never display suspicious ADs“... Mmm hmm, you just go right on believe that. Yeh, it’s definitely not possible for Google to be hacked... Nope, definitely not.

Also, if you use your Adsense revenue to pay for your site.... what happens to the extra? Because based on your SimilarWeb page I can take a rough guess at how much you earn every month through Adsense alone and there’s no way your site costs that much to run. For that matter, where does all the extra revenue from Adfly, Short.st and this mysterious ��other” go? And all the revenue you get from your premium subscriptions that you totally don’t charge people money for?...

Is that fish I smell?

You are not doing anyone any favours here, so stop pretending that you’re in this for anything other than money. Stop sharing content you’ve been asked REPEATEDLY to remove/not share and breaking EA’s and many creators TOUs!

If you’ve managed to make it this far, congrats lol I know this has been long and probably boring but thank you for taking the time to read the whole thing. All this post was meant to do was explain why people should not support Simsdom, and why I’m so disappointed in other Game Changers for promoting it, but it kind of got away from me a little.

Oh well, now you know what Simsdom is and why I will NEVER support them or willingly allow my content to be shared on their site. And if you do decide to still use their site, just... please be careful. My content will always be free and safe to download, just like the majority or CC creators here on Tumblr. Don’t pay for something you can get for free from the original source.

Also, if you’re looking for a Lana replacement (aka a good CC finds blogs that isn’t shady af like Simsdom) check out @maxismatchccworld!

- UPDATE -

This isn’t in relation to anything specific, just the situation as a whole. It seems Simsdom has just removed the search box from their website completely:

I’m sure it was totally legit reasons and not at all because they didn’t want anyone searching for their own content on the Simsdom website. Just like it wasn’t for that reason the last time too...

#VERY IMPORTANT #DownWithSimsdom #Boycott Simsdom

4K notes · View notes