#Michael has a very set number of skills

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael can survive (almost) anything in FNAF

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss on Bringing Robot Love to Broadway With ‘Maybe Happy Ending’

Chances are the multi-talented Darren Criss is as cross-eyed as the rest of us are with the twists and turns his career has taken over the past 13 years. In 2009, he began in television with six years of Glee, playing the lead singer of the Warblers, and helping power a Warblers focused soundtrack album to Number 2 on the Billboard album chart. Then in 2018 he switched fromsinging to spree killing, giving a stunning, steel-plated performance as Andrew Cunanan in Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. That got him a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy and set people to thinking there might be a serious actor lurking inside that singer.

Before that could be settled, the singer reemerged, as a replacement in a Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, raking in $4 million during his three weeks. That was followed with an Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors at the Westside Theater and a stint in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Belasco Theater.

Two years ago, the actor was back when producer Jeffrey Richards hired him for some deep-dish David Mamet drama, American Buffalo. Now Richardshas returned Criss to the Belasco, and singing, for an original Broadway musical, Maybe Happy Ending—a very original musical, in that it’s about the love life of robots in Seoul circa 2064.

You’ll not find much of that Glee guy you know and love in the character Criss plays in Maybe Happy Ending, a lonely Helperbot robot who putters aimlessly about his tiny apartment, listens to jazz and devotes all his TLC to a favorite pot plant. That changes swiftly when a female form of Helperbot, Claire (Helen J Shen), drops by to borrow his charger. Sparks fly, then conversation, and inevitably a kind of amorous connection.

Despite the nuts and bolts, what we have here is basically a rom-com, with a charming book and score by a couple of NYU classmates.

Actually, there are two books and two scores, one in English, one in Korean. Will Aronson, 43, of New Haven, composed the music, and Hue Park, 41 of South Korea wrote the lyrics. Once they did that, they put their heads together and wrote “connecting tissue”—a play in praise of love’s rejuvenating effects. Even robots at the end of their warranty are susceptible.

Evidently, Hue won the toss because the Korean version premiered first—in Seoul, where the story is set—and proved to be such a success that stateside productions were put together. The English edition made its first U.S. appearance two years ago at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater, where The New York Times’ Jesse Green deemed it “Broadway-ready.” Thus, we now have a live-action robot show going strong on West 44th.

The terror of doing this kind of production, Criss confesses, is that actors are afraid they’ll look like cartoons of their character, taking big, blocky robot steps around the stage. “The show has no listed choreographer,” he tells Observer. But he feels he has that situation well in hand. He and director Michael Arden “have taken a particular interest in making sure the physicality is distinct,” he says. “And I’d be remiss not to mention  a teacher at Juilliard, Moni Yakim, who had some Zoom discussion with us about this.

“It’s kind of a cocktail of those three things: Moni’s suggestions, Michael’s pursuit of perfection and my own interest in physical theater. It’s a skill set that I’ve never been able to utilize—at least to this level. When I was in college, I took a semester off so that I could study physical theater at the Accademia dell’Arte, the performing arts school in Arezzo, Italy.”

A cast of four inhabit the show: Dez Duron, Marcus Choi, Criss, and Shen. You may detect a little kinetic energy between Criss and Shen. That’s because they both attended the University of Michigan—albeit, not at the same time. “She graduated about two seconds ago, and I may have graduated a little longer ago than that,” concedes Criss.

“She graduated two years ago, and 10 years ago my name was up on the marquee at the Belasco Theater. And to be able to come back to the Belasco—but this time to share that billing with a fellow Michigan grad—is a very special moment for me. I’m now the upper-class man to the freshman of Helen J Shen. This is her Broadway debut. It’s a big moment for her, and getting to see her through that on stage—to call that a job is really a special thing for me.”

The enthusiasm Criss brings to the stage is practically palpable—and he still remembers where it came from: encountering Robin Williams at an impressionably early age in the 1992 animated Disney flick, Aladdin, in which his outrageous Genie-jiving was almost heart-stoppingly hilarious.

“I was probably six or seven—and I noticed how this audience connected with each other and with this Genie on the screen. I was very taken with that idea, and I wanted to give people what this Genie was giving them. Then, I found out the voice of that Genie was Robin Williams, who was such a prominent figure out in San Francisco, where I grew up. That made it an accessible concept: ’Oh, Mr. Williams is an actor. I’d like to be an actor, too.’ So I hopped right on it.”

[thatscarletflycatcher]

I rewatched Agent Carter 2x04, and it was worse than I remembered!

No matter how high up Michael is, it is very difficult to believe that the SOE would recruit within Bletchley, because codebreaking work is a very specialized kind of work that requires a particular set of skills and interests that... do not seem to overlap at all with those of a field agent-spy. Besides that, it would duplicate the costs, as it would require covering the costs of SOE training for Peggy AND for her replacement at Bletchley. It's nonsense. Even if Peggy had been asked for for ciphering (which is clearly not the case because the series is trying to explain why and how she ended in the SSR), it doesn't fit because ciphering depended on its own special branch of the army and was, for obvious reasons, different to the one used by the Germans that Bletchley was trying to decipher.

Michael, Peggy, and her fiancé are freely chatting in a public place about government secrets. MICHAEL, PEGGY AND HER FIANCÉ ARE FREELY CHATTING IN A PUBLIC PLACE ABOUT GOVERNMENT SECRETS.

Last and least but still bothers me, unless they were lucky in the "recycling an old bridal dress" department, Peggy's wedding dress is nonsense. Yes, clothes weren't rationed until 1941, but that doesn't mean fabrics weren't much more scarce and expensive before that, because of... you know... sea warfare and Britain getting so much of its resources from overseas. Besides that, she's engaged to a soldier, meaning she is to get married whenever he gets leave. Ain't no time for making much of an elaborate dress, or leisurely try ons. Because besides that... SHE'S A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE IN ONE OF THE MOST INTENSIVE BRANCHES OF THE WAR EFFORT.

In a more realistic setting, Peggy would have probably been recruited directly into the SOE -where did Peggy ever show a knack for words and numbers and puzzle solving in the way codebreaking is?- and if you want to preserve more of what was written for s2, you can make it so that her recruitment has to do with something her mom thought was unfeminine in her, have Michael support her, and her breakup with her soldier fiancé being about... well, her joining the SOE, which would have been incompatible at that point with marriage.

[darkmaga-returns]

And these are the more polite rationalizations. If I wanted to start documenting the number of people that want to disingenously absolve Kamala Harris’ failure due to racism and/or misogyny, I’d have to hire a team of archivists.

But I think you get the point. Instead of humility in defeat, the Democrat industrial complex has reached North Korean levels of sycophancy, only it’s worse than North Korea where people at least praise their Dear Leader constantly only because they’re physically threatened if they don’t. And it’s incomprehensible when you consider that “sycophant” has been the preferred insult for Trump supporters for closing in on a decade.

Now I don’t believe in sucking up to politicians ever, for any reason, but if that’s your thing at least have the dignity to reserve fealty to politicians who are successful. And Trump has now won two presidential elections — very nearly three, losing in one of the craziest years in American history, where the election rules were all discarded and rewritten on the fly — emerging with an utterly decisive electoral victory and a popular mandate.

However, Kamala isn’t a failure solely because she gave it the old college try and didn’t win. In terms of political skill, she was a spectacularly awful candidate that made Michael Dukakis look like Pericles. Let’s just start with the bare minimum of what one expects: She couldn’t string a sentence together. Her optimal performance was when the algorithm was set to “refrigerator poetry,” as opposed to “forgot to prepare for the oral presentation,” and neither was acceptable. It turns out the candidate whose supposed signature move was interrupting mansplainers by announcing ��I’m speaking,” couldn’t actually speak.

[internetgiraffekid1673]

Dorothy Gale Through the Ages:

This is post number 5 for The Cross Roads, where I finish off the girls! The Cross Roads is the tentative title for my crossover AU project which includes The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Milo and the Phantom Tollbooth! The story focuses on the main kids from each story all going to the same school and having whacky adventures!

More info about the AU, additional notes, and non-formatted drawings under the cut. Posts for Alice, Wendy, John, Michael, and Milo.

Chicken Scratch Translation (in the order the boxes should be read):

[Land of Oz Era. Age: 13. Source: Gale family photo album]

[Notes: perhaps the epitome of FDR's saying: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something esle is more important than fear." Her desire to help others and protect those she is close with will always outweigh the fact that she's easily frightened.]

[Farm Girl Era. Age: 18. Source: Henry Gale's photos, retouched by Alice Lidell]

[Notes: A cheerful and strong young woman who spends a lot of time helping her aunt and uncle with their farm. Dorothy is a very service-oriented person who distracts herself from her own uncertainty about life by solving her loved ones' problems instead.]

[Survey Pilot Era. Age: 30. Source: Hangar Security Cameras]

[Notes: After getting her pilot's license to cropdust, Dorothy found a passion for flight. She uses her skills to do weather tracking and mapping at Gale Farms and values her crew and coworkers like a second family.]

AU Info:

I am using a mix of canons, mostly for familiarity reasons, but also a couple others that I may or may not eventually specify. I am using the Warner Bros movie for the Wizard of Oz; the book for Milo and the Phantom Tollbooth; both books for Alice in Wonderland; and a mix of the book, the stageplay, and the Disney movie for Peter Pan, but primarily the Disney movie.

This is a modern!AU that takes place sometime between the 90s and the 2010s.

The story will be equally split between a highschool!AU that focuses on their mundane adventures and a fantastical plot that will take them to all the Magical Otherworlds in the original stories.

Their school is 7-12. At the time of the story, Alice and Michael are 8th graders, Milo and John are sophomores, and Dorothy and Wendy are seniors.

While the canon events of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland still took place in England, both families moved to Kansas sometime after. That's right folks, we've finally specified a setting! The way I wrote Dorothy made her home and her family very important to her, and I don't think I can easily justify her family leaving their farm. So, while the town will have undergone some massive expansion, Dorothy is the only one who has never moved! Milo will also be a transplant, having lived in the indeterminate American suburbia of another state, most likely in the south east.

There will be ships: Dorothy x Wendy, who are both some kind of sapphic but unsure of their more specific labels; and John x Milo. John is gay and Milo is aspec, and they will be shipped in an aspec way. Alice and Michael will be single, but Alice is pan and Michael is the token straight.

These information files exist in universe! Who could be making them? Questions for you to find out another day!

Additional Notes:

Dorothy provided a couple of unique art challenges for me that I wanted to state in the main post instead of the tags:

As anyone who has seen the previous posts will have noticed, I am aggressively rainbow color coding these fuckers. Unfortunately for me, the obvious blue was already taken by Alice, so I had to pick another color for Dorothy! Ruby slippers + auburn hair=red color coding, but her blue dress is so iconic that I felt I had to keep it for my stylized version of her canon design, so it's her elementary school uniform.

Also related to my color coding issues, the shift in the Warner Bros movie from sepia-toned Kansas to technicolor Oz is also very iconic, and I wanted to include a homage to that somehow, so I decided your local hick Uncle Henry probably has an old-ass camera that takes non-color photos, and the kids offered to retouch it for him with a computer so he could have a color keepsake of his little girl. This is also why Dorothy's file has a lot more drawings than everybody else (technically there are more unique drawings of Alice but shh).

Survey pilot may seem a little out of left field for the profession, but these were chosen with care. I feel like Dorothy has been hyper aware of and fascinated by weather patterns since the Tornado Incident, and definitely would have become a storm chaser if she wasn't so attached to her home and family. (Also, when I say chosen with care: I mean that I had an epiphany that Alice would be a good lawyer and asked my dad with 0 other context what he thought the other kids' professions would be in the future. He spent like 3 days coming up with a well thought out answer for me, so I'm sticking to them!)

Unformatted Drawings:

[sillyname30]

Darren Criss on Bringing Robot Love to Broadway With ‘Maybe Happy Ending’

The star of the new musical on learning to move like a machine and how he first caught the acting bug.

Chances are the multi-talented Darren Criss is as cross-eyed as the rest of us are with the twists and turns his career has taken over the past 13 years. In 2009, he began in television with six years of Glee, playing the lead singer of the Warblers, and helping power a Warblers focused soundtrack album to Number 2 on the Billboard album chart. Then in 2018 he switched fromsinging to spree killing, giving a stunning, steel-plated performance as Andrew Cunanan in Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. That got him a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy and set people to thinking there might be a serious actor lurking inside that singer.

Before that could be settled, the singer reemerged, as a replacement in a Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, raking in $4 million during his three weeks. That was followed with an Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors at the Westside Theater and a stint in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Belasco Theater.

Two years ago, the actor was back when producer Jeffrey Richards hired him for some deep-dish David Mamet drama, American Buffalo. Now Richardshas returned Criss to the Belasco, and singing, for an original Broadway musical, Maybe Happy Ending—a very original musical, in that it’s about the love life of robots in Seoul circa 2064.

You’ll not find much of that Glee guy you know and love in the character Criss plays in Maybe Happy Ending, a lonely Helperbot robot who putters aimlessly about his tiny apartment, listens to jazz and devotes all his TLC to a favorite pot plant. That changes swiftly when a female form of Helperbot, Claire (Helen J Shen), drops by to borrow his charger. Sparks fly, then conversation, and inevitably a kind of amorous connection.

Despite the nuts and bolts, what we have here is basically a rom-com, with a charming book and score by a couple of NYU classmates.

Actually, there are two books and two scores, one in English, one in Korean. Will Aronson, 43, of New Haven, composed the music, and Hue Park, 41 of South Korea wrote the lyrics. Once they did that, they put their heads together and wrote “connecting tissue”—a play in praise of love’s rejuvenating effects. Even robots at the end of their warranty are susceptible.

Evidently, Hue won the toss because the Korean version premiered first—in Seoul, where the story is set—and proved to be such a success that stateside productions were put together. The English edition made its first U.S. appearance two years ago at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater, where The New York Times’ Jesse Green deemed it “Broadway-ready.” Thus, we now have a live-action robot show going strong on West 44th.

The terror of doing this kind of production, Criss confesses, is that actors are afraid they’ll look like cartoons of their character, taking big, blocky robot steps around the stage. “The show has no listed choreographer,” he tells Observer. But he feels he has that situation well in hand. He and director Michael Arden “have taken a particular interest in making sure the physicality is distinct,” he says. “And I’d be remiss not to mention  a teacher at Juilliard, Moni Yakim, who had some Zoom discussion with us about this.

“It’s kind of a cocktail of those three things: Moni’s suggestions, Michael’s pursuit of perfection and my own interest in physical theater. It’s a skill set that I’ve never been able to utilize—at least to this level. When I was in college, I took a semester off so that I could study physical theater at the Accademia dell’Arte, the performing arts school in Arezzo, Italy.”

A cast of four inhabit the show: Dez Duron, Marcus Choi, Criss, and Shen. You may detect a little kinetic energy between Criss and Shen. That’s because they both attended the University of Michigan—albeit, not at the same time. “She graduated about two seconds ago, and I may have graduated a little longer ago than that,” concedes Criss.

“She graduated two years ago, and 10 years ago my name was up on the marquee at the Belasco Theater. And to be able to come back to the Belasco—but this time to share that billing with a fellow Michigan grad—is a very special moment for me. I’m now the upper-class man to the freshman of Helen J Shen. This is her Broadway debut. It’s a big moment for her, and getting to see her through that on stage—to call that a job is really a special thing for me.”

The enthusiasm Criss brings to the stage is practically palpable—and he still remembers where it came from: encountering Robin Williams at an impressionably early age in the 1992 animated Disney flick, Aladdin, in which his outrageous Genie-jiving was almost heart-stoppingly hilarious.

“I was probably six or seven—and I noticed how this audience connected with each other and with this Genie on the screen. I was very taken with that idea, and I wanted to give people what this Genie was giving them. Then, I found out the voice of that Genie was Robin Williams, who was such a prominent figure out in San Francisco, where I grew up. That made it an accessible concept: ’Oh, Mr. Williams is an actor. I’d like to be an actor, too.’ So I hopped right on it.”

[set-phasers-to-whump]

Day 7: Post a link to your favorite whump fic of all time (or reblog it and/or make a list of them!)

ok i decided to limit myself to just 10 of my all time favorite whump fics. these are ones that i return to all the time, that i reread whenever i'm having a bad day, you know the vibe. all of them are very dear to me and i hope someone else will enjoy them too!!! i'll put them under a readmore since this got a bit long :)

Caged by Cargo - 911. Cargo is one of my absolute favorite writers and i've been in love with this fic for a longass time. the emotions and caretaking are absolutely top tier, and there's a lovely blend of emotional and physical whump. summary: "As Eddie stands in his kitchen after returning home from tonight's fight, he finally cracks. He starts falling apart and he knows there's only one person in the entire world he trusts to pick up the pieces. It's why he's dialling Buck's number before he even knows he has his phone in his hands."

Bloodshot Soul by OrionLady - bourne series. this one straight up has made me cry i can't even lie. it's a beautiful and very genuine exploration of the characters and the emotional whump is wonderfully painful. summary: "He cannot fathom why a crusty old skipper would care so much about a strange John Doe he fished out of the water, why he would smile and touch his shoulder and feed him pie. Then again, there are many things he doesn’t understand yet. The closer he and Giancarlo get, the less he wants to remember. An exploration into Jason and Giancarlo’s friendship during his two weeks aboard the fishing trawler."

In The Shadows of The Night by MissCrazyWriter321 - grimm. this fic is thee one that i turn to whenever i'm feeling sad. i love nick and rosalee's dynamic and this fic lets nick break down while keeping both of them perfectly in character. i'm absolutely obsessed with it. summary: "A board creeks beneath her foot, and he startles, but calms quickly when he sees her. “Sorry,” she murmurs. “I hope I didn’t wake you.” Obviously she didn’t, but she needs to be careful how she handles this. If she pushes too hard, he’ll just end up shutting down."

Eggs Two Ways by leslielol - law and order svu. something about the writing style in this one absolutely captivates me. like, there was a period of time where i straight up read this fic once a week and i'm not kidding. they're both super in character and it's a delightful read! summary: "It’s not often Barba has a reason to exercise a set of skills separate from those as a prosecutor. While sat in a holding cell nursing a broken nose, Carisi learns he’s as sharp as ever. (A missing-scene fic from 16x15 “Undercover Mother.”)"

Breaking all the things I'd wish to keep and Can't erase, can't rewind by Elisexyz - the man from uncle. ok yeah this is technically two. sue me. ely is like, my favorite fic author ever and i love all of her tmfu stuff, but these two hold a special place in my heart and make me go absolutely crazy every time (they go together btw). if you're into tmfu and for some reason haven't read her fics then uhh. get on that right now bc she's amazing. summary: "Napoleon maintains that attempted murder cannot be classified as an "accident"."// "“I didn’t think it was him.”"

the moon points to the sun by haloud - roswell new mexico. this fic has been making me insane for literal years. it's emotional whump and has a somewhat different vibe to the other fics on this list, but i absolutely adore it. this writer understands the characters so well and their style is absolutely incredible. top tier fic right here. summary: "They don't do apologies, Max and Michael. If they started, they'd never stop."

No Rules, No Winners by April_Valentine - person of interest. this is one of those times where you watch something and you're like 'man i wish they'd addressed this pain in the show' and then you find the absolute perfect fic that does address it. it's so tender and lovely and exactly what the episode was missing. summary: "Set just before the tag of "Baby Blue." After leaving Moretti's safe house, Reese goes back to the library."

The Car Accident by Tipper - sneaky pete. another one i've been obsessed with for literal years. it's on the longer side but it's so good, wonderful family dynamics and a really excellent storyline. summary: "After Julia found out who he was, all Marius wanted was one more Sunday night dinner with the family. It was a mistake. The trusting way they looked at him, the uncertain way she looked at him.... He left early, afraid to sink any deeper. The black truck came out of nowhere as he drove away..."

Too Hot (Hot Damn) by WasteTimeandType - the man from uncle. i loveee some heat exhaustion fics and this one is so good! i reread it recently when i was sick and miserable and seeing illya much more sick and miserable than i was really made me feel better lol. summary: "'Out of all the UNCLE missions, this was by far the worst. He’d been shot, stabbed, tortured with water and forced to run miles in a forest in the middle of Canada. All of that was preferable to this. The damn heat.' Illya suffers from heat exhaustion and Gaby and Napoleon take care of him. Kink Meme fill."

A Little Tender Care by ArgylePirateWD - person of interest. this one's a sickfic, i read it before i actually started watching the show and absolutely adored it, and i still adore it now. true to the title, it's super tender and soft and it's a really sweet read. summary: "The Man in the Suit doesn't usually take sick days. Usually."

and that's 10!! this is far from a complete list of all the fics i adore, but these are the first 10 (or 11) that i knew i needed to rec. if anyone wants more recs, lmk, i've got tons :)

[jrueships]

plz tell us more ABT gg!

u guys don't know how happy i am to get this ask, man!! ive been ROOTING for good things to come with gg !! a little quietly at the beginning bcs i didn't want to add more pressure onto the lil guy, but man. im so glad things are going well for him!!! he's had a.. challenging start, to say, for a career in the NBA... at least regarding public opinion, anyways.

I'm a fan of UNC basketball, that's how I heard abt GG in the first place. For necessary background, UNC is a Big basketball school that hailed Michael Jordan, hence how i'm a fan bcs Chicago duh. GG isnt from North Carolina, but he IS from SOUTH carolina (remember this), so UNC was definitely trying to recruit him using homefield advantage and big name BCS GG was hyped to be a big FUTURE talent. Keyword being future. The main conflicts in GG's basketball journey were: going into college a year early.. and going into the NBA a year early. Basically, in his 'freshman' year of college.. he was actually (supposed to be) a HIGHSCHOOL senior. AND NOW.. in his first year in the nba.. he's actually supposed to be a FRESHMAN in COLLEGE. Going into things early isn't new in the nba.. but to do it twice? It can double the average challenges.

UNC was one of the mainstream stems from that 1st conflict. Short summary, GG originally committed to NORTH carolina for 79 days. Took the pictures, all that. UNC was stoked to have him as a player whose talents they could help mold. GG was projected, at one point in HIGHSCHOOL to be # 1! Which makes it sound silly for UNC to have work in PROGRESS plans for GG and not INSTANT stardom set up. But we have to keep in mind the FIRST CONFLICT: GG reclassified from highschool early. All these projections & hype are very preemptive. NOW IF HES A HIGHSCHOOL SENIOR who did FOUR years of lower school.. and the hype has CONTINUED throughout those 4 years.. then the narrative maybe wouldve been different in terms of training. Gg's skills would be more trusted than trained since he has the stability in years and evidence of backing claims. Projections would turn into points. But he didn't. And that's fine!! That's more than fine for UNC because they have basketball history! They have proven tools and methods to help turn the number 23 into the name MICHAEL JORDAN. UNC FANS and UNC itself were excited to have GG on as a future eventual sophomore star at the LEAST! They were excited to show GG how to sharpen his young skills using their own very skillful roster!

And then GG decommited for a college closer to where he's from (South Carolina). Now you would think UNC would be mad because they view it as 'betrayal' to their 'great rival south', but... they don't. Because south carolina is. Not their great rival. At least not as much anymore. It used to be, there's OLD history, but.. now it's just history because UNCs been creating NEW history. It's UNC versus DUKE now. It's UNC entering bigger basketball, and South? It's not really doing that.

UNC fans are mad not because of the name of the school, but the game of it. South Carolina simply does not have the same depth, training, resources, and stardom as UNC. That's why they're not really rivals anymore.. UNC's outgrown South in terms of basketball skill. The decommital wasn't exactly an insult of namebrand, but of pure, raw skill.

GG went to South because it wasn't as skilled. That's what all the UNC people who are hurt about it say. I don't personally share the same hurt, but i can see the reason. Kids can choose big schools that can nuture them into an eventual big name later on, which means you can risk your pick in the draft being lower from so many big fish sharing the same ocean, but it can help you seem more solid and safe as an option so you WILL eventually be picked (talking abt like maxey and keldon going to Kentucky. Didn't get picked too high, but still got picked anyways), or go to a small school with a smaller pool so you have all the room to show off your talent.. with the risk of showing off your weaknesses as well from the bigger burden of being the star backbone. Stand out more, get stung more. And GG got... he got stung pretty bad.

I don't care what future prospects do, tbh. Im not the kind of guy who's like 'LOOK AT THIS 9FT TALL 9 YEAR OLD!! IMAGINE HIM IN THE 20XX DRAFT!!!' like girl. i could be dead by the time he becomes a teen or smthin. Im not gonna worry abt some child bcs. Like. Im normal lol. They have their own worries, and i have my own worries. Sadly, not a lot of people think like that... especially people who like college sports. Idk if it's a variation of that one person who keeps visiting their old highschool 'stomping grounds' or What. But they feel like a certain entitlement to their college and who enters it. GG going to a smaller basketball 'pool' (talent terms) school was a lowblow to their 'UNC COLLEGE PRIDE' or whatever. 5 star talent is decommitting from a 5 star talent college to a . A 1 star. Oh my gosh, you woulda thought these grown men considered it a stabbing from their own son. Their wouldve been next Michael jordan just walked out to go to community college, in dramatized words.

' but GG IS from SOUTH carolina! He's not from North! It makes sense, at least, for him to want to stay at his hometown even though it's smaller! Like ant! ' but unlike ant.. he only did 3 years of highschool. Ant did 4, built up both SOLID and big hype, then denied big schools for his home team Straight Up. When GG wanted to stay closer to home, it showed less loyalty and more selfishness .. to the press anyways.. BECAUSE he's ONLY done 3 years! Only has 3 years of resume! To UNC, gg should be GRATEFUL to even be CONSIDERED by them RIGHT now. If he had 4 years and KEPT UP a STRONG hype, then it'd be reversed. But it's not. GG is too young, UNC is too stacked, and South is too desperate.

GG goes to South Carolina. He even filmed a little tiktok with his friends poking fun at his decommitment from big UNC to South. It was a little light thing that quickly got deleted, but on social media.. nothing is light and nothing is ever Really deleted. You can still find the video and you can still find the insulted UNC fans under it. It's just more evidence of how young he is and how naive he is to burdens regarding business. So anyways, he goes to South Carolina... and he doesn't do what he was hyped to do. It was too much pressure, too much scarcity of help. The coach, who's close to GG bcs hes the best thing they have to a 'star', despite how young he is.. They're that bare bones, sees how all these minutes are doing more harm to GG's stock than help like college minutes for any player is supposed to, and tries sitting him out more as a solution. Tries writing plays that'll set GG up for maybe an assist but not a point, definitely not points because he just hasn't been getting them and if the NBA didn't see it back then during smaller scale highschool.. they definitely see it in college. They definitely see it in a SMALL basketball college, when there isnt a lot of other teammates to stare at or depend on. Big Scale UNC fans CERTAINLY see it after GG politely then not-so politely turned down their 'token of kindness' for.. what's shaping up to be a big mistake.

GG does not take very well to that. ONE OF the ups on why he chose this school of namebrand UNC (im not saying it's the ONLY reason, like some angered Unc fans may, but im also not saying it Not one to be considered . Im just bringing general observations that are either heavily backed or confirmed by fact) is for those HEAVY minutes. He was hyped to be their star, but he's not getting those deep save the game minutes he expected. He was supposed to get all the plays, and now he's getting some. So he does what ANY kid does nowadays and rants his frustrations out on social media

that doesn't go well. He can't be a kid, not according to college, not when you set yourself up to be the leader of a team. When you take on big tasks, you take on big blame as well. That goes double in sports. It's a bit harsh, if you ask me, but no one's asking.

So now he has all this doubt in his head. And his dad isn't an athlete, he's a pastor, so he's telling GG to have faith and to have faith and faith and faith, but what if it's FAKE? what if UNC was right in telling him he can't shoulder this alone. What if everyone was right. What if he's selfish. So he enters the draft and it's SPECULATED that he didn't do well.

People are saying the person who dropped it then dropped so low in the draft because of it is him. People in the nba and out of it. I'm not saying it's true or it's not, we don't know, but i do know that having a rumor like THIS on you? When you're so young?? Is not good. At all. Combine that with his less than positive living to the solo hype at South? And you get this.

GG crying at his own draft party because of how poorly he's doing.

Just looking at the photo alone just fuckin. Splits the heart for me. He's a KID!! he's a KID! i don't know if it just hits harder for me bcs ive BEEN to draft parties where the draft never happened, or maybe because we're like one year apart in youth, like im not that 'discontented nothing better to do in my life' adult yet like a lot of his long-term haters have been.. but like. That sucks. That's awful to see. His coach, the same person GG openly criticized on social media, being in his ear CONSOLING him.. keeping him from bawling in front of all these people.. telling him he could always come back to college and give it another year and GG doesn't even know if he should do that or not is.. it's painful!! GG set this party up BANKING off the Hope, the FAITH that the hype he had back in HIGHSCHOOL, those THREE years.. was STRONG enough to get him drafted not top 10 but at least first ROUND?? And that sounds stupid now, it sounds silly, it sounds grandiose, and it is. It has to be because he WAS the projected #1 pick at some point. He WAS a lottery pick. And now he doesn't even know if he's gonna be picked at all because of what? Because he had faith? Because he betted on himself? He listened to his dad?? He's a kid??????

That's what a Lot of people wanted for him. They CRAVED it. They WANTED him to fail BECAUSE he's young and because he's made mistakes and because it happens. It's unfair for other possibilities. Famous failure is different than mere familiar failure. It just tastes better.

I care about GG because I think some people, who have no business to, care about him Too much. I'm just happy he's managed to do what makes him happy because not everyone can, so it's a blessing that he can and I love that for him. I don't care about GG bcs he 'proved the haters wrong blahblah blah', because he really didn't. He went in young, took the harder option, and got his draft history hurt because of it. Shit happens. He's clearly learning, he's clearly improving, and he's clearly happy.

And i like when people are happy. Idk, maybe im just sick :)

[twilightknight17]

Last night on P5T: We start the DLC at last, jet-set into a twister of nonsense, find mice instead of squids, and I freak out a bit over Satanael~

If you want to skip me ranting about the Velvet Room, scroll down to the big bold text. XD

Look at him. He’s beautiful. And he knows megidolaon!

But my Quest for Satanael, I feel, has exposed another flaw in this game. It’s not a problem if you’re just playing straight through, but if you’re my dumb ass and you want to finish the compendium/obtain Satanael/forge the best weapons, it starts to become an issue.

Fusion is expensive if you’re pulling things out of the compendium. You need personas of specific levels to fuse the weapons, and obviously the best weapons are very high level personas, which won’t drop during battle. Special fusions like Lucifer, Chi You, and Satanael have five or six components each. The cost can be mitigated some by using personas obtained during fights, but in that case, you lose skill options if you’re trying to pass on a specific one via fusion chain. (I can’t imagine trying to get a specific skill on a high-level persona in this game. Ugh. At least megidolaon was a base skill on one of Satanael’s ingredients.)

Which brings us to the actual issue: there’s… no good way to get money in this game.

Money is purely obtained from winning battles. There are no bits and bobs to sell, no money from releasing unneeded personas, nothing. Which means that if you are trying to raise enough money to pay for your multitude of weapons and high-level persons, you are going to be replaying prior battles.

A Lot.

The battles in the final kingdom give around 10K yen, from what I can tell. That can be boosted to around 18K if all three party members have a sub-persona with the “Easy Money” skill. In comparison, personas like Michael and Lucifer (components of Satanael), cost somewhere in the 20-25K range to call from the compendium. You need Michael to make Lucifer in the first place, so you’re going to have to summon him from the compendium at least once.

I don’t know if I did something wrong or inefficiently or what, but I spent the whole game feeling like I barely had enough money for the things I wanted. New weapons often broke the bank, and I wasn’t always using Easy Money because I wanted to actually take specific skills or personas into battle. By the time I was trying to get Satanael, I was basically grinding the same mission multiple times in a row because I knew I could finish it in the least number of turns. It's a little disheartening after unlocking all the endgame bonuses and tricks in Royal and racking up hundreds of thousands of yen in one go to spend on fusion.

That’s not even counting the fusion accidents. The first time I went to fuse Satan (also a component of Satanael), the forge exploded. That probably should have been my cue to start save-scumming, but I didn’t. I assumed that special fusions were immune to fusion accidents. They are not. I placed all of Satanael’s components in the forge and it exploded, wasting least 30K yen.

In hindsight, I probably could have loaded the autosave. But I honestly forgot that the autosave was happening. I always saved manually when I stopped and didn’t worry about anything else. But that’s not the point.

The point is that Satanael should not have been able to explode. X’D

(Side note: fusing Lucifer got a special animation. It’s the only one so far. Why just him???)

But yeah. My compendium still isn’t done, and I’m not even close to the best weapons. I kind of want to take them into merciless mode for NG+, so that means going back and grinding more. But not right now. Right now, we’re off to Spray Paint Land.

It’s time for DLC!

We begin this chilly November late afternoon/evening/whatever with more Quality Morgana Faces.

It has to be November, because Goro’s on the team at this point. Plain and simple. There’s literally only like a 3-week period this can take place in. Akira receives a text from Sumi that says she wants him to meet her in a nearby alley. I guess she was on her way to the cafe. But Morgana says that he knows when to mind his own business, and to call if Akira needs anything.

Call what phone, Mona? Are you gonna answer the cafe phone? Just admit you wanna nap.

Wait. Wait. Morgana. Wake up. The plot is happening. Wake up!

Well, I suppose that means Goro isn’t the artist. He wouldn't have had time while all the Okumura stuff was happening. All these sad mice, tho. Very strange. And isn’t Guernica the artist from Ib? I went on a classic RPGMaker horror kick a few weeks back. I’d watched Angels of Death a while ago and really liked it, and so I watched playthroughs of Ib and Mad Father for the first time. Ib was good, Mad Father was… mediocre, I think.

...oh. That’s Guertena. Neeeeeeevermind.

So, Sumi wants to show you a mural of Arsène being eaten by a giant rat. Which is… not what I was expecting the mural of Akira’s persona to look like. As they puzzle over how the hell a picture of Arsène ended up in a random alley in Yongen, Goro also shows up, ready to investigate.

…...I swear to god, Atlus, why is he the only one who you won’t call by his first name? Also, how is he here to investigate? How did he know about a random mural in the backstreets when everyone is busy paying attention to the giant one on the security building?

He asks if Sumi and Akira had anything to do with this mural, then laughs at Sumi when she gets all flustered by the question. They speculate on the artist’s motives for a bit, since Guernica’s identity is unknown, and then Akira hears a voice calling for the Phantom Thieves from inside the wall.

This made me laugh very hard for inside joke reasons, but Goro assures Sumi that there is no way that there is a person trapped in that wall.

But the mural starts to glow, Arsène disappears, and everything and all of us start getting sucked into the rat’s mouth. And I love and appreciate Sumi dearly, but… none of us are safe here, and you have had your persona for like a month. I should be protecting you.

Joker arrives in a spray-paint covered cityscape, and I already love this place. Holy shit the colors. We’re immediately thrown into a battle, and shooting the little dudes throws paint all over the ground around them. Hehehe. It’s like we’re in Splatoon or something.

...oh. I was joking. But we ARE in Splatoon!

When you’re standing on the enemy’s color, you can’t do anything. No attacks or skills. So there’s definitely an element of strategizing here. I really like it, even if I did die on my first attempt because I was figuring out how it all worked.

……Lavenza, I appreciate the classic literature, but you’re scaring me just a little. XDDDD

Anyway, Joker gets surrounded, the other two jump in to save him, and we get a minor pointing Spiderman meme of “wait, you have powers?” It’s also a little silly because Sumi’s idle stance is a constant pose. Your arms are gonna hurt.

Sumi clarifies to Goro what happened in the Palace when she awakened, and he’s just glad she can fight, even if she’s not formally a Phantom Thief. He clarifies that he is only sort of kind of a Phantom Thief for reasons that would take too long to go into.

...my dear, that is every situation involving these two.

But no, this is completely unrealistic. Goro would have at least a question or two about a random Palace that just spawned somewhere. If this game doesn’t imply that he asked something before January…….

They hear screaming, and a have their first encounter with a non-hostile denizen of this world, who collapses in Sumi’s arms, begs for help, and explodes into paint, leaving Sumi concerned and traumatized. X’D

Goro reminds her that these are cognitions, not even bothering to hide how confident he is in his knowledge about the metaverse, and the trio follows the continuing screams to a mouse massacre.

A crazed woman with a parrot is just gunning down vast amounts of cute mouse people. Paint is going everywhere. It’s insane. Even Goro is put off by the sight.

Meanwhile, Sumi refuses to stand for this and just goes right up to confront the problem.

The bird’s name is Jerri, and I had to message Po in the middle of this, because I was having a crisis.

I can’t unsee it. Help.

Anyway, this is Guernica, and she wants to paint the walls with our blood!

Fortunately, everyone is rescued by a mysterious hole opening up under us, and we meet our savior.

Well… one of us is.

This is Luca, and she’s so happy to see us, because she wants us to help Guernica. Apparently, she was different before Jerri showed up. She felt a kinship with the Phantom Thieves and their quest against corruption. Now, she has strange powers to "peer into people's hearts", and her art can… basically cause a variation of a psychotic breakdown.

Apparently her mental state is fucked because someone stole her Treasure (the first piece of art she ever made) and broke it into pieces. The memo section says, "She was driven to carnage by the theft of her heart's core, prompting her to go on killing sprees in the Metaverse." Which has some WILD implications that I doubt the game is gonna touch on. X’’’’D

Luka also takes us to see this world’s version of the Arsène mural, which is… gruesome? Like, there’s bones sticking out.

Apparently this art was Guernica’s last cry for help before she snapped completely. And she knows what Akira’s persona looked like because of that power to “peek into people’s hearts”. It’s a bit wobbly, but we’ll go with that for now.

Guernica’s “first statement” is in three pieces, so we’re off to retrieve the first one. And I love Luca already.

Jerri wants us to hand over Luca. I might have considered it if she didn’t call me a mop. She claims she’ll send us right home, but that sounds like bullshit.

Also, shoutout to Goro for using his “real” voice here. Time to get dangerous~

It’s nice to hear, because I actually find myself missing abrasive, snarky third-sem Goro compared to the Detective Prince.

This whole thing is such a wild vibe of Splatoon, TWEWY, and Jet Set Radio. The music is fun, the aesthetics are top-notch, and so far the levels have had that extra level of challenge of working with the paint mechanics. It’s really great.

Luka’s ability is creating “manholes” to warp from place to place, and Goro is quickly getting tired of having to jump down them. XD

Our hideout is basically down in the sewers. Luca fished new weapons out of the trash for us, and there’s no Velvet Room, so I guess we’re stuck with whatever sub-personas drop during the battle stages.

We get to have a fun conversation about bouldering, and I caught Goro blinking in the picture, but he actually looks genuinely surprised that you’d want to come try his hobby.

I love the mental image of the three of them going rock-climbing together.

And then, tragically, the Switch ran out of battery. But I’m loving it so far! This is a fun side-story, even if I am a little skeptical of how they’re going to justify everything when they get back to the real world. I’d need to go watch the beginning of January again, but I’d swear there was explicit dialogue that neither of them knew the other had powers beforehand.

Oh well. A thought for another day. Right now, we wonder what kind of disguised god named itself “Jerri”. XDDD

[papermoonloveslucy]

THE NAME IS FAMILIAR... BUT I CAN'T PLACE THE FACE!

Same Character / Different Actor

Sometimes circumstances require the recasting of a role on a long-running television show. Unlike soap operas - which often use a voice over to announce that a role has been recast - the change is hardly ever acknowledged on sitcoms. Did recasting happen in the Lucyverse? Yes - but not quite as prominently as on, say, "Bewitched". But more on that later.

Let's start with radio, where it was far easier to replace actors, often without the listener even noticing. On the pilot episode of Lucille Ball's radio sitcom "My Favorite Husband" (1948-1951) her spouse George was played by Lee Bowman. When the show was picked up as a weekly series, Bowman was not available, so the role went to Richard Denning.

George's boss Mr. Atterbury was famously played by Gale Gordon, but before the boss became a regular character, the recurring role was played by Hans Conried and Joseph Kearns. All three actors would later be seen on "I Love Lucy."

Liz's mother-in-law Mrs. Cooper was first played by Bea Benadaret, but when she assumed the regular role of Iris Atterbury, Mrs. Cooper was voiced by Eleanor Audley. Both women were featured on "I Love Lucy."

Minor characters Corey Cartwright and Marge Van Tassel were first played by Hal March and Frances Chaney. March was replaced by John Heistand, but the role was quickly written out. Elvia Allman turned up as Marge when the character re-surfaced in a second appearance. March and Allman were both seen on "I Love Lucy."

Viewers probably didn't realize it, but many different actors actually played the role of Ricky Ricardo Jr. aka Little Ricky. Even more surprising, considering that his birth date coincided with that of the Arnaz's real-life son, none of them were Desi Arnaz Jr. The practical and legal matters of having a child on a film set necessitated that the role be played by twins. There were also two 'dream' Little Rickys, bumping the total number of actors to eight!

JAMES JOHN GANZER (newborn) ~ insert shots of the baby were used in "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" (1953) and the flashback opening of “The Club Election” likely taken from this same shoot. He was five days old at the time.  The above closeup was shot before the episode was filmed and pictures were projected for the studio audience to see. 

THE SIMMONS TWINS (infants) ~ Richard and Ronald Lee Simmons played the role in just two episodes: "No Children Allowed" and "The Indian Show", both in 1953.

THE MAYER TWINS (toddlers) ~ Michael and Joseph Mayer alternated in 11 episodes from November 1953 to April 1956. Although they looked nearly identical, the pair reportedly had very different personalities.

DREAM LITTLE RICKYS ~ Two uncredited actors (one young and small, the other older and large) were featured during Lucy's dream about "Ricky's Old Girlfriend" (1953). Although the younger performer looks a great deal like Jerry Mathers ("Leave it to Beaver"), Mathers denies ever appearing on "I Love Lucy." Since the dream has no dialogue, a bunny-themed outfit is used to indicate to viewers that the three actors are the same character.

KEITH THIBODEAUX aka RICHARD KEITH (adolescent) ~ The character was quickly aged during season six, necessitating an actor capable of handling dialogue and with some musical ability. Louisiana-born Keith Thibodeaux was favored by Desi for his drum skills, but Lucy needed some convincing. Desi simplified Keith's professional name, although it was never seen on screen. He played the role for 15 episodes as well as in 12 out of 13 "Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours" (1957-1960).

For what it's worth - two more actors provided the off-screen crying of Little Ricky: Pepito Perez and Jerry Hausner, both of whom also appeared on screen as other characters. Which brings us to our first adult cast switch...

The role of Jerry, Ricky's agent, was the only character outside of Lucy and Ricky to be carried over from the unaired pilot. Jerry was played by Jerry Hausner (hence the name), who had been heard on "My Favorite Husband." He was intended to be a series regular on "I Love Lucy", but when landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz were added to the series, his role was scaled back. Jerry the Agent would appear in 8 episodes, all during the first 3 seasons of the series.

Inexplicably (perhaps due to illness) in “The Handcuffs” (1952), Jerry the Agent is not played by Hausner but by Paul Dubov. Two months later, Hausner returned to the role that he originated.  During the filming of “Fan Magazine Interview” (1954), Hausner and Desi Arnaz got into a heated argument on the set. Hausner claimed that he was not able to hear his cues during a telephone scene where he was located across the soundstage from Desi. He quit the show and never appeared on the series again. But things were eventually patched up and he did appear on "The Lucy Show."

Charlie Appleby was originally played by Hy Averback (inset) in "Baby Pictures" (1953). The next time viewers saw him - in "Lucy and Superman" (1956) - he was played by George O'Hanlon. Averback returned to the show to play another Charlie, Charlie Pomerantz, in “The Hedda Hopper Story” (1955). Confused?  Not half as much as poor Caroline (Doris Singleton)!  Whichever actor played him, they were both proud of their son, Little Stevie.  But which Stevie?

The first time we see Little Stevie (a name suspiciously sounding like Little Ricky) he is played by an uncredited infant in "Baby Pictures" (1953), the same episode where his dad is played by Hy Averback. The infant had just gotten over the measles. Ricky and Stevie are both said to be 13 months old.

The next time we see Stevie he is played by Steven Kay in "Lucy and Superman" (1956), the same episode that switched his dad to George O'Hanlon. Although Kaye’s first name was also Stevie (in a show where Lucy played Lucy), the character was created three years earlier. The question is - if Little Ricky has a father named Ricky - why does Little Stevie have a father named Charlie? The previous year Kaye had played Jordan Benedict III (age 4) in the film Giant.  In the above screen shot with his screen mom Doris Singleton he is caught breaking the cardinal rule - looking into the camera!  Didn’t he learn anything working with James Dean? 

Marion Strong was one of Lucy and Ethel's friends and a member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. The character's name is the same as one of Lucille Ball's Jamestown friends. We meet Marion during "The Club Election" (1953) in the person of Margie Liszt. Liszt may also have been playing Marion in "No Children Allowed" (1952), although none of the bridge players are called by name. In her first appearance on the series ("Redecorating" in 1952), she played Agnes, a gossipy woman on a telephone party line.

The next time we see Marion she is played by Shirley Mitchell in 3 episodes from season three. Mitchell became friends with Lucille Ball in the late 1940s when she was featured in 4 episodes of “My Favorite Husband.”

In the same episode that we got Strong, we also got Grace! Grace Munson was yet another character that was named after one of Lucille Ball's hometown friends. In "The Club Election" Grace is embodied by Hazel Pierce, who was also Lucille Ball's camera and lighting stand-in. She was first pick when small roles and background assignments were doled out.

The next time we see Grace, she has moved to Westport with her husband Harry (Tristam Coffin), inspiring Lucy and Ricky to do the same. This time, nearly five years later, Grace is played by Ruth Brady. The Munsons have a son named Billy (who stays off-screen) and a cousin named Diana Jordan played by a pre-Jeannie Barbara Eden. Brady was featured as Laura in Lucy and Desi's 1956 film Forever, Darling and likely made such a positive impression that she was rewarded with Grace. Literally. At the Westport Country Club things get surreal when Hazel Pierce, who originated the role of Grace, also shows up!

On "The Lucy Show" there were far fewer examples of recasting. The role of Arnold Mooney, Mr. Mooney's youngest son, was first played by Barry Livingston in “Lucy Gets Locked in the Vault” (1963), the same episode that also introduced Gale Gordon as banker Theodore J. Mooney. Livingston returned to the role in “Lucy and the Scout Trip” (1964).  Not even a year later, Arnold is being played by Ted Eccles in "Lucy's Contact Lenses." Apparently, Livingston's schedule playing Chip on "My Three Sons" (also filmed on the Desilu lot) became too much for him to do double duty. When the series location moved from Danfield to Los Angeles, Eccles appeared as two other characters, one of them in a scene with Gale Gordon, who formerly played his father! More surreal still, the new character's name was Barry.

Another early recast was the role of Dorothy Boyer, Danfield volunteer firefighter. The part was originally given to Ruth Crews. The character is never called by name, but she is one of the few firefighters to speak distinct dialogue.

The next time we hear about Dorothy she is played by Dorothy Konrad, probably because the character now needed to be able to sing four part harmony in "Lucy's Barbershop Quartet". Both performers were sturdily built women. Crews, meanwhile, turned up as an unnamed patron at Wilbur's Ice Cream Parlor when "Lucy is a Soda Jerk" (1963). Like Little Stevie, it is odd that Konrad's first name matches her character's, despite them being originated by other performers!

I SAW THAT FACE ON...

Probably the most famous example of recasting on a sitcom is the role of Darrin Stevens on ABC's long-running "Bewitched" (1964-1972). The part was originated by Dick York, but he became ill and was replaced by similar-looking Dick Sargent for the rest of the series.

On New Year’s Eve 1973, Dick Sargent was seen as a policeman on “Here’s Lucy”, his only time acting opposite Lucille Ball. 

On the same series, Darrin's nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz was originated by Alice Pearce. When she died in 1966, Sandra Gould took over the role. On "I Love Lucy" Gould played Texan Nancy Johnson in “Oil Wells (1957) and made a brief appearance as a subway strap-hanger in “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (1953). In 1962 she appeared on “The Lucy Show” as a bank secretary.

As if that wasn't confusing enough, Darrin's boss's wife Louise Tate was played by Irene Vernon, then Kasey Rogers. In 1967 Rogers was seen in a two-part airline-themed "Lucy Show" starring Carol Burnett. She also played a music publisher's secretary (above) in "Lucy and Phil Harris" (1968).

The character of Aunt Hagatha was only seen in eight episodes of "Bewitched," yet it was played by five different actors:

Nancy Andrews (1967)

Diana Chesney (1965)

Doreen McLean (1969)

Kay Elliot (1970)

Ysabel MacCloskey (1971)

and Reta Shaw (1966 & 1971)

Shaw is probably the most recognizable Hagatha as she originated the role and was the last to play it. She was a popular character actress from film (Mary Poppins), stage (The Pajama Game), and television ("The Ghost and Mrs. Muir"). Shaw was seen as 3 different characters on "The Lucy Show" and 3 more on "Here's Lucy."

When "The Munsters" premiered in 1964, the role of Marilyn Munster was played by Beverly Owen. After one season, Owen decided not to return to the series, and was replaced by Pat Priest. Few viewers could tell the difference as they both were intentionally made to look like Marilyn Monroe. In October 1966, Priest played a flight attendant on "The Lucy Show."

On Desi Arnaz's sitcom "The Mothers-in-Law" (1967-1969), Roger C. Carmel played Roger Buell during season one. But during a contract dispute Desi was dared to recast - and he did! Carmel was replaced with Richard Deacon for the show's second (and last) season. Deacon was no stranger to Desi, having played Tallulah Bankhead's chauffeur in "The Celebrity Next Door" (1957), an episode of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", as well as many other Desilu shows. Deacon later went on to do two episodes of "Here's Lucy."

On CBS's "Petticoat Junction" (1963-1970) the recurring character of Selma Plout was originated by Susan Walther (aka Susan Johann). She played the role for 5 episodes until she was mysteriously replaced by Elvia Allman, who played Selma for the rest of the series. Allman started acting with Lucille Ball on radio, and was famously seen as the barking candy factory foreperson on "I Love Lucy." She returned to play Minnie Finch’s neighbor in “Fan Magazine Interview” and magazine reporter Nancy Graham in “The Homecoming.” She made 2 appearances on “The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour“ and 2 more on “The Lucy Show."

Doris Ziffel (mother of Arnold the Piggy) was a character that was seen on both "Petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres." The part was originated by Lucille Ball's friend Barbara Pepper. After doing films together at RKO, Pepper was on the short list to play Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy." When she didn't get the part, Lucy cast her in a variety of small roles on the series. When Pepper died in 1969, Fran Ryan assumed the role. Ryan had already been seen on the series as Minnie Holcombe in March 1969, just a few months earlier, so viewers could be excused for doing a double-take.

On Eve Arden's "Our Miss Brooks" (1952-1956), filmed at Desilu, the role of Mrs. Martha Conklin was first played by Virginia Gordon, Gale Gordon's real-life wife. She had originated the role on radio. Starting in season two, Paula Winslowe took over playing the part. In 1964, Winslowe appeared briefly on "The Lucy Show" as a hospital patient.

In Mayberry, "The Andy Griffith Show" (filmed on the Desilu backlot) had several casting swaps. Miser Ben Weaver was first played by Will Wright (top), but then by Tol Avery (bottom) and later Jason Johnson. Wright played two roles on "I Love Lucy" and Avery played characters on "The Lucy Show and "Here's Lucy".

Mayberry gas pumper Wally was first played by Norman Leavitt (left), then by Trevor Bardette and Cliff Norton (right). Coincidentally, Leavitt also played a filling station attendant in "Lucy Hunts Uranium" (1959), as well as being seen in several other Desilu projects. On "Here's Lucy" Cliff Norton played Sam the plumber when "Lucy Meets the Burtons" and also played "Mary Jane's Boyfriend" Walter. Speaking of which...

The TV pilot of "Gilligan's Island" featured John Gabriel as The Professor. When the sitcom went to series, he was replaced by Russell Johnson. Gabriel (above) later played Jack Thomas in "Mary Jane's Boyfriend" (1974).

On "Happy Days" (1974-1984), Ralph's father Dr. Mickey Malph was first played by Allen Oppenheimer, but after an extended absence, returned as Jack Dodson. Oppenheimer had a couple of roles on "Here's Lucy," most notably as Kim's Uncle Herb in an episode that was a back-door pilot for a spin-off that would have starred Lucie Arnaz.

Other noteworthy re-castings that did not touch the Lucyverse include the roles of Catwoman, the Riddler, and Mr. Freeze on "Batman", Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo Bradley on "Petticoat Junction", Lionel on "The Jeffersons", Becky Conner on "Roseann", Carol on "Friends", Chris on "The Partridge Family", Morty on "Seinfeld", and Chuck Cunningham on "Happy Days."

Recasting can also happen when a show changes form. For example the various iterations of "The Honeymooners" and "The Brady Bunch" both caused recasting.

By now you are probably wondering about the photo that began this blog entry. No, that is not Desi Arnaz, and the scene is not from "I Love Lucy," although Lucille Ball is playing Lucy Ricardo. It is from "The Bob Hope Chevy Show" of October 21, 1956.

The sketch featured the entire cast of "I Love Lucy" and was performed in what appeared to be the Ricardo living room. The premise: Hope wondered what "I Love Lucy" would have been like had he married Lucille instead of Desi. With Bob as Ricky, Desi is recast as Fred Mertz. Naturally, this case of multiple recasting is as hilarious as it is fascinating.

[lokiina]

What does your heart look like?

was tagged by: @pinkyjulien, @chevvy-yates, and @imaginarycyberpunk2023 <3 So I'll give you all three boys and it's a bit of a doozy lmao

-> RULES: Take this uQuiz for your V/OC

ZAYN MACKENNA: Iced over, out of the sun

Your heart is very lonely, isn’t it? Is your fortress of ice self-made? Are others afraid of you, or are you afraid of them? Are you afraid of hurting them, or of being hurt? Vulnerability and connection can be frightening, but that’s no reason to shy away from their light, to tuck yourself small into corners, to build up frigid walls to keep yourself from feeling. You will heal when you allow yourself to draw closer to the flames and thaw.

Zayn had a rough rough start to his life. He was a biotechnica experiment trying to perfect the perfect balance of genetics to create inhuman soldiers. Werewolves, controllable killing machines. It set him up late for basic communication skills as he had very little trust for anyone from the start. It took one particular woman on the team to recognize the level of intelligence he had at a younger age (that he wasn't just a little mindless terror) to grow a conscience and help break him out. She became a mother figure in his life and helped to raise him with a band of nomads, supporting him through everything she could.

Though he was accepted into the clan, members were still afraid of the things he could do. He did accidentally hurt people along the way of learning to control himself. A small number of which didn't seem to ever quite let go. Ultimately in the end there was a level of betrayal, his 'mother' got killed in the process and the clan ultimately broke apart leaving Zayn to branch off and find his own way. Which eventually landed him in Night City. Trust issues, and hiding as much of himself as he can to not be found. He has a big heart but has been hurt so many times.

Connecting with Dino became a complete accident as he hadn't planned to stay in Night City for any extended amount of time. Even then opening up to Dino about certain aspects came with a distinct fear that would land him back into trouble once again. Unexpectedly, Dino has become the fire to his ice.

WILLIAM ERIKSSON: A guiding, golden light

Just because you cannot see your own heart doesn’t mean that others can’t. Your heart is blinding, captivating, a fire so bright that others can’t bring themselves to look away. It illuminates the path they follow and cements you as a guiding star for their own wayward hearts. Every experience you’ve lived through has built your lighthouse heart up just a little higher. You are inspirational, a light that doesn’t go out.

Will always tries to be kind, he's grown up on the groud level of night city, he's been through it. Lost his family at a young age to circumstances out of his control and adapted the best that he could. He was able to build a life for himself and did pretty well until he nearly lost his own life in the process. Things were shaky for a bit but he got himself back on his feet with the help of V, whom he developed a very close friendship to more with as a result.

His silliness, though annoying and a bit much to some, has definitely helped to keep darker times lighter. He always wants to help where he can and will do just about anything to help pull a loved one or close friend out of trouble. Though he's been known to also get himself into unexpected trouble and occasionally accidentally ends up the one that needs the help.

MICHAEL BLEEKER: A tangled ball of red strings

Who are you without the company of others? You aren’t sure, but you know that you aren’t fond of whoever it is. You are an actor, a pretty face and a pleasant song. Many idolize you, or love you, but you can never be sure of how sincere it is. Your heart is buried under the letters they leave you, sealed with a kiss. It can’t be untangled from the red strings they’ve attached to you. You deserve to find something, someone, true and faithful to hold your heart in place. You don’t have to be everything to everyone.

Michael aka Midas, is a complicated product of a corporate heavy, distant and unpleasant family dynamic. He craves attention he never received and through being tossed into the corporate world became determined to rise to the top in certain skills. Ultimately receiving a toxic level of attention built on competition rather than healthy growth. It formed him into something ruthless, cold and calculating. Determined to win by any means necessary.

What is he without his carefully built and constructed reputation? He has no idea. He's also modded his body to fairly extreme levels in order to further skills and craft an image for himself that is instantly recognizable. He lost himself along the way. It all became a near permanent mask that he's never taken off for anyone. At this point he wouldn't know where to start. Deep down he does crave a more intimate level of connection but has no experience with an actual caring relationship and has no idea what that looks like. Perhaps a tangled ball of red flags is more accurate a description.

-------

Oh my LORD. This got long I'm so sorry, I tried to make the text small so it's less to scroll through. kjghdkfjgh I dunno what I was expecting when I clicked the quiz but it wasn't that. OOF.

Okay cuz I'm late to this lil party I thiiiink most peeps I know have been tagged already? dkfjgdkjfg if anyone wants to do this for their characters please please feel free.

[metamoonshots]

TL;DR On account of components just like the upcoming halving and elevated institutional curiosity, Bitcoin would possibly attain round $138,000 by 2025, as predicted by CryptoCon. Put up the final halving, BTC hit practically $70K. Predictions for the subsequent peak align round $130,000 to $145,000. Notable figures, together with Robert Kiyosaki and Max Keiser, assist BTC surpassing $100,000, with Keiser forecasting a $220,000 peak resulting from societal influences and historic occasions. BTC Projected to Spike by 400% in Two Years Bitcoin bulls are at the moment awaiting a number of developments that might doubtlessly set off a value surge for the first cryptocurrency. Such components could be regulatory developments, the upcoming halving, constructive market sentiment, growing curiosity from institutional buyers, and others.  Some distinguished names, together with MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, have laid out extraordinarily bullish forecasts, envisioning BTC to succeed in the $1 million mark sooner or later. Others, just like the technical analyst utilizing the X deal with CryptoCon, have been extra modest. In a current publish on the social media, they predicted that BTC appears poised for a spike to roughly $138,000 by the top of 2025. The chart depicting the potential trajectory outlines some very important assist ranges the asset wants to beat and the halving, scheduled for the spring of 2024. The latter is an occasion that happens each 4 years and reduces the rewards for BTC miners in half. It's price mentioning that the valuation of the main cryptocurrency hit an ATH of just about $70K a yr and a half after the newest halving. CryptoCon has beforehand instructed that Bitcoin’s new peak by Christmas 2025 might be within the vary of $145,000, claiming that quite a few different skilled predictions level out to a value of roughly $130,000 within the subsequent bull run. These Distinguished Figures Assume BTC Will Surpass the $100K Mark A number of finance specialists and cryptocurrency advocates have backed the thesis that BTC will ultimately exceed the coveted stage of $100,000. Such examples are Robert Kiyosaki (the creator of the best-seller Wealthy Dad, Poor Dad), Adam Back (CEO of Blockstream), Tom Lee (Managing Accomplice at Fundstrat), Anthony Scaramucci (former White Home official), and plenty of others.  [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZMWEWK5b6A[/embed] Most just lately, Max Keiser – American filmmaker and Chairman of El Salvador-based Bitcoin mining startup Volcano Vitality – forecasted that the most important cryptocurrency by market capitalization may bounce to $220,000. In line with him, the driving components of that surge could be “social unrest” and “societal breakdown.” Recall that earlier world catastrophes, such because the COVID-19 pandemic, propelled a rising curiosity in crypto, particularly BTC. The asset was a topic of mass adoption after people seen it as a hedge in opposition to inflation and a considerably various to the devaluating fiat currencies. SPECIAL OFFER (Sponsored) Binance Free $100 (Unique): Use this link to register and obtain $100 free and 10% off charges on Binance Futures first month (terms).PrimeXBT Particular Supply: Use this link to register & enter CRYPTOPOTATO50 code to obtain as much as $7,000 in your deposits.

[earaercircular]

“Circularity, a new paradigm requiring other skills”

Lecturer in circular economy and ecodesign at the ESI Business School[1], which has created dual training courses combining management and sustainable development, Michael Harismendy underlines the importance of change management in the face of the transformations induced by the quest for a model non-linear

What are the transformations induced within companies during the transition to the circular economy?

The circular economy constitutes a new paradigm, another way of doing economics compared to the linear model. Companies historically built on this pattern must therefore rely on change management skills. Because this fundamental transformation is not based solely on technical innovations, such as ecodesign[2].

It’s about valuing creativity. However, when it comes to doing things differently, there can be many cognitive obstacles within organisations. This is where we arrive at company culture. In addition, consumers are demanding more eco-responsible commitment from brands: the company therefore has everything to gain by combining the creation of economic and environmental values.

Is awareness of the climate emergency accelerating this shift?

Moving from a linear model to the circular economy means thinking about your business differently. Moreover, the notion of “reduction” – which constitutes one of the pillars of circularity with “reuse” and, ultimately, “recycling” – may seem to go against the very notion of “growth”. », at a time when many organizations are still guided solely by economic performance indicators. If some pioneers, such as Patagonia[3], Veja[4] or Fairphone[5], have taken the lead in combining economic, environmental and social performance, there are still a number of conventional companies doing “business as usual”.

These are the ones who should be reminded that reducing, upstream, the pressure on virgin raw materials, and, downstream, the volume of waste, creates a doubly virtuous loop for the planet and for their business. Upstream, the company reduces its dependence on resources, often imported, whose prices can increase. Downstream, it reduces the cost of waste treatment. This has not escaped business creators, since many “new entrants” choose to adopt, from the start, a circular organization.

In “conventional” companies, what are the transformation strategies?

More and more large companies are integrating the circular economy in stages, starting by developing a new reference, or a new range of eco-designed products. This is the case of Decathlon[6], with some of its running shoes or diving glasses which are eco-designed. Others are more in an opportunistic logic and see it as a marketing strategy to capture a new target, in this case committed consumers, thanks to an eco-designed product that causes a momentary sensation.

Conversely, committed players communicate little, like Veja that, without communicating excessively, nevertheless makes all the information on its manufacturing processes easily accessible on its site. More generally, we observe that companies need new skills encompassing a set of components, on change management, eco-design, the culture of innovation and creativity. At ESI Business School, we train today's managers in this sense, so that they are able to carry out a diagnosis, conduct a sector study, highlight shortcomings and be force of proposal.

Source

Julie Le Bolzer, « La circularité, un nouveau de paradigme nécessitant d'autres compétences » , in : Les Echos, 2-10-2023 ; https://www.lesechos.fr/thema/articles/la-circularite-un-nouveau-de-paradigme-necessitant-dautres-competences-1983463

[1] Private higher education establishment, ESI Business School is the benchmark business school in sustainable development, social and digital impact which trains the responsible and committed Managers of tomorrow.

Its campuses in the four corners of France allow students to integrate work-study training into a double course in Management and Sustainable Development. https://www.esi-business-school.com/

[2] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/722715633728569344/europe-is-putting-an-end-to-the-throwaway-culture?source=share

[3] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/730359554901180416/patagonia-circular-fashion-and-commitment-to-the?source=share

[4] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/724374791701856256/we-have-a-world-to-reinvent-lets-embrace-it?source=share

[5] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/664410703921381376/the-fairphone-4-in-practical-trial?source=share

[6] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/720296708134879232/if-you-make-sustainability-elitist-it-will-never?source=share

[megcheese]

The next craft creation is ... scarecrow!

Now that I have a house I would like more kitschy and cutesy outdoor decor. I got a set of lawn flamingos the moment I found out they originated from a nearby town in Massachusetts. And for holidays I need more than just the indoors and window display that were good enough for apartment life.

One bit of fall yard decor I really had my heart set on was a scarecrow. But I'd see these lame little scarecrows at the grocery, hardware, and craft stores going for like $12 and somehow looking even cheaper than that. My parents have a scarecrow they've been putting out annually since I was little. That one is adult-sized and wears my dad's old jeans and flannel. He has a hand painted wooden cutout head. Where did that come from? A craft fair?

I hoped I'd run into something sufficient but no luck. The Granite State Fair had a few craft vendors but no scarecrow makers. With September ending I knew I would have to take matters in my own hands. But how?

I started with a blog post from Lowes on making your own scarecrow. That pointed me in the right direction. They recommended using landscaping stakes--like how you mark your driveway for a plow service. And a pillowcase for a head. That's very classic Oz type styling. I started thinking more about what around my house could be repurposed.

On Saturday, I started the car-ride portion of my errands run with an in-store pickup at Target for unrelated interior decor needs. I forgot that there's a Home Depot next door to the Target so I stopped in to find the garden stakes. I was very disappointed with their stock. All of the garden stakes were damp and gross. Many were warping. The driest set had evidence of a former spider egg sack. And the packs are 12. I don't need 12. I left empty handed.

I went to the Home Depot that's only a mile from my house next. I found the same packs of stakes and they were dry and nice. I had a 12-pack in my hands until I noticed oak fence posts sold as singles. Well, that's even better! They're taller than 3 ft, still have that sharpened end to drive into the ground, and I can buy just one! Sold! I grabbed a 36" baluster for the arms/shoulders and went on my way.

So what about the head? I don't have the painting skills to make a face as good as the scarecrow at my parent's house. We also don't have a jigsaw to make a good pumpkin shape. I decided to go for a foam carveable pumpkin. I can make a face with a knife okay. And I have a few spare lamp cords with nice LED bulbs lying around. I setup an in-store pickup order at a craft store for the foam pumpkin for Sunday morning.

Before leaving the house for Sunday errands, I did an inventory of things around the house I needed for the project. Self-driving wood screws that will penetrate the fencepost and baluster without coming out the opposite end? Check. Pumpkin carving knives? Check. Drill battery in the charger? Check. Lamp cord and bulbs? Check ... but ... Seeing them again up close I realize what I have is for indoor use only. I will need something sealed for use outdoors. And an outdoor extension cord.

The craft store is in the same plaza as a Lowes. Shh! Don't tell Kara and Shawn I went to Lowes! #LowesBlows I stop in for the outdoor lamp and extension cord. The lamp cords all end up being essentially the same as what I already have--rated for indoor use only. So I wander the entire lighting section slowly including their Christmas sections. In the end I choose a single garden path light that gets plugged in, runs a pre-installed LED bulb, and looks like its stake can be removed. And I grab a 40' outdoor extension cord.

Back at home I have a number of regular yard chores to take care of before I can start my scarecrow project. Michael returns home from work the moment I'm watching a YouTube video on how to loosen the drill bit chuck because it was too tight to loosen by hand. MB* uses the drill's motor to tighten/loosen the chuck. #SafetyThird It's nice having him around to help hold some pieces in place while I drive my screws. Soon I have my frame. And I have already cut a post-shaped hole in my pumpkin.

I carve the face next. I go for simple, classic, smiley jack-o'-lantern face. This is a friendly scarecrow.

What will my scarecrow wear? I have a bag of old jeans because I started making a braided rug out of them a few years ago. And used some to make my version of Britney Spears' infamous patchwork denim dress. So initially I thought I would grab an old paint-splattered pair of Michael's jeans that I know are in the bag. But I find my favorite jeans from 8th grade first. The knees tore open naturally with years of wear. The legs are flared and frayed. They are also paint-splattered. I have my jeans.

For the shirt I was less-sure. Since we just moved, we donated and trashed a lot of old clothing. I don't think we'll have a flannel to gift to the scarecrow. But as I think about my older clothing I recall a long sleeved tee from Yellow Jackets weekend. Basically every year I was at UR I missed out on the free shirts for Yellow Jackets weekend or was so late I got XXL. Only one year did I get an appropriately-sized shirt. And I still have it! AND I now live in a town called Rochester which is not the one in New York. Will my neighbors even notice?

For the the gloves, I knew what I 'd use right away. We have too many pairs of gloves from the now defunct Rat Snake race. Perfect for the scarecrow.

So now I need hay! We don't have a bunny anymore. And I threw out the old stale hat when we moved. Does tractor supply have a straw bale in stock? No. Does Home Depot? Yes. Back to Home Depot!

Once I'm back with my bale, I'm ready to dress, mount, and stuff my scarecrow. I'm thinking everything is set and has gone well. Until I start threading the outdoor extension cord around from the side of the house to the front. I am a few feet short. Back to Home Depot? I send Michael this time because he was headed to the grocery store anyways.

The new extension cord was long enough to run from the side door outlet to the front of the house. I was able to light the jack-o'-lantern face and plopped the remaining hay on the front stoop.

I'm very excited about my silly, homemade scarecrow. It's way better than the sad cheap ones at the store. Spooky season is in full effect! Maybe next year I will finally have the 12 ft skeleton of my dreams to join the scarecrow.

[natesafe]

I have been climbing my entire life. It has defined me as a person to defy gravity on towers and rocks. Our industry means a great deal to me and I am very proud to be part of the telecommunications and broadcast industry. I could sit here all day and toss unlimited compliments about the positive things being done to keep the climbers safe. We have a very impressive number of men and women who dedicate themselves to building the best industry practices keeping the workforce that sacrifices so much for the infrastructure safe. The men and women we call tower technicians deserve a safe workplace and advocacy as they work in harsh climates, are always working under deadlines, and spend many days away from home and family.

I earned my first paycheck for climbing in 1995 and I did not receive any formal training until 2003. That's the way things were done back then. That is not how we do things today! We are afforded the luxury and opportunity to provide and receive safety training in this day and age. What we need to improve on is not found in a classroom, it is found in our mind and hearts. In 2014, Dr. David Michaels addressed the NATE UNITE audience in San Diego, California. It was a quiet audience with a powerful message; we are not doing enough to stop tower fatalities.

Since 2014 we gained momentum trying to achieve zero fatalities and seemingly lost it also. Unfortunately, we have not had great success in the years after that warning. We continue to improve training, safety, and yet our fatality numbers reflect another pattern. The simple rule to defy gravity is to stay 100% tied off to the structure at all times.

We need to improve the culture of the "tower hand." That comes from leadership, setting examples, and holding lines. All too often we see poor displays on social media of free climbing, as if it should be praised. This is not the perception we want our climbers to possess! I address my team every Monday prior to deploying them for work at heights. Each Monday I select a different topic that is relevant to our work that week. More often than not my topic is fall protection and no free climbing. I try to convey that ultimately each of us are our own safety ambassadors and personally responsible for their own and their team members safety.

To stop the fatalities, we have to include all the stakeholders in this effort, from the President, Vice President, project managers, construction managers, administration, HR, to the least senior member of the team. In essence, all of us must do our part to stop tower technicians from falling off towers.

I challenge anyone reading this to be the leader, to set the example, and to advocate for tower technicians. These men and women are so wonderfully skilled; each possess electrical, engineering, carpentry, rigging, steel erection, and plumbing attributes. These men and women are small numbered, very specialized, and always at risk! Let’s protect our assets. Hold the line on rules and remind your team members to practice good fall protection. If we want zero fatalities, we need to work together.

I am committed to 100% 24/7 tie-off.

Corie Fontenot is a member of the NATE Safety & Education Committee and is Director of EHS & Training at Blackhawk Tower Communication, Inc. of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. He can be reached at 920-723-0152 and corie@blackhawktower.com.

[thebandcampdiaries]

Poplockp presents: "Sex In Alief: Narrated By RetroPOP"

April 2023 - Poplockp is an artist with a truly distinctive sound. He is quickly garnering a very strong following, especially on platforms such as TikTok, where he already has over 60.000 followers! He shows no sign of slowing down as he continues to post content that connects with people on a much deeper level. A good example? His most recent work, "Sex In Alief: Narrated By RetroPOP," is actually a masterful example of what it means to combine R&B and Pop in a catchy and super-compelling way.

The album features 11 tracks, including the introduction, “The Story Of Sex In Alief,” which is an amazing spoken word segment that enhances the storytelling component of this release, as well as showcasing Poplockp’s incredibly skilled word-smithing. The second song is titled “Kirkwood,” and it offers a truly unique insight into Poplockp’s ability to layer vocals and create amazing layers. The instrumentation is understated and gentle, while the vocals build a mesmerizing wall of sound. “Mine” has a different vibe. This is a more modern track where synthesizers are more prominent, and the drum beat has a punchy vibe that drives the song. The fourth number, “The Downs,” is a collaboration with CEO Chase, which adds even more variety to the setlist. This is one of the album’s catchiest and most memorable songs, but the best is yet to come! There is room for another spoken word segment, “RetroPOP Speaks: The Love We’ve Become,” before diving into another song, “The Morning After (Denise’s Peace). This is perhaps one of the most emotional tracks on the album, which matches the concept of the next track, “Denise (Anxiety),” reinforcing the idea that all the songs on the album are connected. The song has a very magnetic energy to it, highlighting the artist’s captivating personality and unique charm.

The track “Blessing” is another notable highlight of this release. The song begins with some soothing ambient sounds and dreamy melodies, swirling and moving in the background. Soon after, the vocals kick in, making for a very melodic and vibrant style. The verses are among the best on the entire album, and the song reaches its apex during the choruses, which are incredibly easy to sing along with. The track “RetroPOP Outro” is another spoken word segment that marks the ending of the album and the final chapter in the exciting musical narrative that Poplockp has so expertly concocted. Still, this is not the end, folks! The artists packed some special goodies for the fans at the end of this release. The 10th song on "Sex In Alief: Narrated By RetroPOP" is indeed a “chopped” version of the track “Denise (Anixety),” which is a really cool rendition of this tune. There is also room for an alternate version of the song “The Downs,” dubbed “The My Brother And Me Mix.” The track showcases a beautiful and immersive sound, which feels multi-dimensional and never falls flat

Ultimately, "Sex In Alief: Narrated By RetroPOP" is a piece of music that brings some real innovation to the world of R&B. There aren’t many artists out there who are able and willing to experiment with their sound and vision so consistently. However, Poplockp definitely belongs to that rare category. As a result, he managed to craft something truly excellent, which stands in a league of its own.

This release comes highly recommended to fans of artists as diverse as The Weeknd, Miguel, Prince, Frank Ocean, Dead Rituals, Michael Jackson, and more. What makes Poplockp’s music so special and intuitive is how the artist doesn’t necessarily stick to a given formula. Instead, he is all about keeping a very open creative mindset in order to set the bar higher.

Find out more about Poplockp, and listen to "Sex In Alief: Narrated By RetroPOP," which is now available on some of the best digital streaming services. Connect with the artist on streaming services and social media platforms from the URL links listed below:

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@stiffsoulentertainment8371

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itspoplock/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/11eD6KhXcpLuhvme1aLN17

Twitter: @itspoplock

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/itspoplock

We also had the chance to ask the artist a few questions: keep reading to learn more!

I love how you manage to render your tracks so personal and organic. Does the melody come first, or do you focus on the beat the most?

Answer:

The Melody definitely comes first. Most artists nowadays don’t have the notion of creating a song without a beat. That’s typically how I write music but if there is a beat available, I will write to it if it compels me. Cadences are my primary go to when creating records.

Do you perform live? If so, do you feel more comfortable on a stage or within the walls of the recording studio?

Answer:

Both. I love performing. Performing in front of crowds and actually giving them a great show is a rarity in this day and age. It’s how I build my fan base; because of that reason alone is why I have a schedule of 3-4 shows a week. It’s one thing for the consumer to listen to music, it is another thing for them to see them live performing the songs they sing in their home. In the studio, I immerse myself in the music that I make so I connect to it more and become more vulnerable. 

If you could only pick one song to make a “first impression” on a new listener, which song would you pick and why?

Answer: I would have to Choose “The Downs”. It’s a record that me and CEO Chase crafted to give any first time listeners of my music a chance to know and say the words. My ideology is if they enjoy the simplicity of that record, they would go and listen to other songs on the album and hopefully they will be able to  connect to at least one. 

What does it take to be “innovative” in music? 

Answer: I believe innovation starts with being yourself and understanding the wheel has already been made. What can you do as an artist to captivate a crowd of people and remain within your being. For me, it would be having the best shows that I possibly can while making music that speaks to every demographic.

Any upcoming release or tour your way?

Answer: This upcoming yeah I will release an alternative rock album as well as a rock album. There will also be a R&B album that I’m currently working on with Texas Legend Mike Reeves. There is a tour in the the works, but if anybody wants to see me perform until the tour starts they can contact me via Instagram (@itspoplock) to see what shows I have coming up for the coming week 

Anywhere online where curious fans can listen to your music and find out more about you?

Answer: 

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@stiffsoulentertainment8371Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itspoplock/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D