#The Rolling Stones – Some Girls ( Netherlands ) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ourloveisforthelovely · 4 years ago

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At Last (oneshot)

Harry Potter Marauders Era

Request: hi! can i request a regulus x reader childhood friends to lovers?

Pairings: Regulus Black x Reader

Rating: T

_______

“So are you going to finally ask her out?’

Evan asked as he stood with Regulus at King’s Cross station. You were coming back from a month’s long visit to your grandma’s that left Regulus, in Evan’s mind, an abandoned wreck. Evan had been watching for the past 8 years as Regulus fawned over you (his best friend) helplessly and you were blind as a damned bat to the whole thing.

Regulus crossed his arms over his chest wanting to ignore Evan’s question. The less that he had to talk to Evan about his lack of a relationship the better. Regulus wanted nothing more than to ask you to be his girlfriend. He had wanted this since 1st year at Hogwarts. Every time he came close to asking you out, he panicked. Panicked was putting it lightly. Regulus was about two stones short of a panic attack anytime that he came close.

It didn’t matter that you were the perfect girl for him or that the two of you had been best friends since childhood. He always chickened out. Evan decided to make it his civic duty to try to give Regulus non stop pep talks on trying to get with you.

“I’m hoping to.”

Regulus finally replied. Evan smirked, knowing that this was probably a bunch of shit that Regulus was saying. If Regulus Black asked you out, Evan would eat his own hat.

“Well, Barty and I hope you do because you get all emo whenever she goes on a date with a new guy.”

Regulus’ dark eyes rolled over in his direction with a displeased scowl.

“Shut up, Evan.”

Shutting up was something that Evan Rosier wasn’t good at and Regulus was crazy if he thought that he was going to get off of the hook that easy!

“Repeat after me, Y/n will you go out with me. I’m a wreck without you.”

Regulus aimed a kick at Evan’s shin making the other boy shriek in pain.

“Shut up Evan!”

Evan sighed, his voice becoming a bit more gentle. Apparently, this was what it was going to take. Regulus apparently didn’t understand that Evan only wanted him to be happy. He was tired of seeing Regulus so gloomy whenever you went out with some new mistake that didn’t last long.

“Dude you need to practice. Whenever you try to ask Y/n out you just make a squeaking noise and she thinks you're catching a cold and tries to take care of you.”

Regulus again gave Evan a dark “Black family scowl.” Evan didn’t seem to realize just how difficult this was for Regulus. It wasn’t just asking a girl out. It was asking you, his best friend, out. This was huge! What if the relationship failed and Regulus lost his best friend in the world? You were the only person that really understood him. You were the one that comforted him when Sirius ran away. Was Regulus really prepared to potentially lose the one person that he could really be himself with?

The question that Regulus should have been asking himself was would he be able to handle it if you married someone else? Regulus wasn’t ready to think of “that” step yet but what if some fucker asked you and you said yes? Would he be able to stand there and watch you pledge undying love to some fucker who could never love as he could?

“I kind of want to kill you Evan.”

Evan didn’t have to ask Regulus what was going through his mind, he knew. He had seen Regulus get super depressed every time you dated someone else. Now that the lot of you were getting older there was a good chance that someone would eventually propose and you would eventually say yes. Regulus would fall apart when that happened.

“Eh. Who would you bitch to?”

Before Regulus could reply, he spotted you stepping off of a train.

“Enough, Evan. Here she comes.”

You waived the moment that you saw your two best friends standing away from all of the other muggles.

“Hey!”

You called before running over and throwing your arms around Regulus’ shoulders. He wrapped his arms around you and placed a kiss on your head.

“Did you have a nice trip?”

Regulus asked as he gently sat you down. You laughed before hugging Evan, who for whatever reason, was looking extra smug about something. Knowing Evan, it was probably something stupid.

“If you consider going to bingo every other night, eating a shit ton of jello, and being hugged by random old people at the rest home, fun...I had a blast. Every old person thought that I was their granddaughter.”

You didn’t want to go on the trip to begin with but you parents talked you into it. They used the whole “your grandmother is getting old and won't be around much longer” comment and you agreed to go on month’s long roadshow to visit your granny.

Looking at Regulus, you realized just how much that you had missed your best friend. Best friend...you sighed at the word. You wanted it to be a lot more than best friends but he didn’t seem interested in that. It didn’t matter how many times that you send signals his way, Regulus seemed oblivious to it all. The best that you could come up with was Regulus didn’t have any interest in any relationship with anyone. He had his head too far in his own role in the war.

“Yum, jello.”

Evan said, pulling you from your thoughts. Both Regulus and yourself gave Evan an annoyed expression.

“If you like jello, you should go visit with me next time. They will want to keep you with your blue eyes and dimples. All the little old ladies will want to say that you are their doll baby grandson.”

Evan’s smile faded. He didn’t like people touching him as it was and he knew the moment that he stepped foot in that rest home every stranger would be hugging him nonstop.

“On second thought, no thanks. Well, I came to see you now I have to go get ready for a hot date.”

Evan focused his attention on Regulus before emphasizing.

“Get. Ready. For. A. Hot. Date.”

You had wrapped your arm through Regulus’ and watched as he gave Evan a huge go-to-hell look.

“Make sure to not wear that muggle Old Spice cologne. You’ll smell like a grandpa.”

You said, earning a smile from Regulus. Evan, meanwhile, shook his head.

“You two behave. Oh wait, look who I’m talking to. Later.”

Evan turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving both Regulus and yourself with matching frowns. You were the first to speak as you looked up at Regulus.

“Something is wrong with that boy.”

Regulus nodded.

“He was dropped on his head a few times. That’s the best that I can come up with.”

You spent the rest of the day with Regulus. After Walburga got on her youngest son’s nerves enough, Regulus conned you into going upstairs to his bedroom. Regulus lay back on the bed putting his hands behind his head as you sat down beside him. His curls framed his perfectly handsome face and you wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch him. The two of you hadn’t “cuddled” in sometime and at the moment, you would love to curl up in his arms. It didn’t matter how many guys you dated, none of them made you feel the way Regulus did.

“So what else did you do on your trip other than be everyone’s granddaughter?”

Regulus asked.

“I went on a few dates with this guy from the Netherlands.”

The moment those words left your lips, Regulus’ eyes snapped open and he glared up at the ceiling. He snorted before sitting up and shaking his head.

“Of course.”

You blinked from your place on his bed.

“What?”

Regulus stood up and stormed over to the window to glare out. If some poor soul on the street suddenly caught on fire, Regulus wouldn’t have been surprised.

“Nothing.”

You didn’t move nor was you about to back down. Regulus liked to “shut down” when he was mad but you were not a “shut down” kind of person. You wanted to talk about it.

“Talk to me, Regulus.”

When Regulus didn’t speak, you finally got off of his bed and went to join him at the window. Wrapping your arms around him from behind, you weren't about to let him get away from you. The two of you were going to talk whether Regulus wanted to or not.

Snuggling your face into his back, you breathed in his scent. How were you supposed to tell Regulus that it was his scent that you smelled when brewing an amortentia potion? How were you supposed to say, “Let's throw away our friendship and risk it all for love?”

“I swear, Reg you act like you are jeal…”

BAM! It hit you like a bag of bricks to the stomach. Regulus was jealous! He was just too good or too proud of a man to say it.

“Thank you for finally seeing things my way.”

Regulus finally commented. His voice was soft but had a hard edge to it that told you how angry he was. Regulus didn’t care to yell at Evan, if he had to. Yelling at Barty was like breathing. Raising his voice at you, however, never happened. You were the person that Regulus would never raise his voice to or put an unloving hand on. There was the one time when the two of you were five and he accidentally knocked you down the front steps and he felt awful for weeks. He sobbed until Walburga fixed up your skinned knees and told Regulus to get a grip on himself.

She is just fine, son. Now stop this nonsense.

You smiled at the memory before reaching out and forcing Regulus to look at you.

“How long?”

“How long what?”

Regulus asked, trying to be stubborn. You rolled your eyes.

“Regulus Arcturus Black, stop this nonsense. You know what I mean...how long have you felt this way?”

Regulus sighed.

“Not long...a while...since 1st year at school. I want to be with you but you keep getting with these fucking twats that no nothing about you. They don’t even know what way is up.”

Your mouth dropped before smiling. Regulus wanted you. He wanted you like you wanted him. Bless him, he had been feeling this way for so many years. There were so many years that the two of you could have been happy together and you wouldn't have dated any of the clowns that you were fixed up with. You could have the boy that you wanted from day 1.

“No, they don’t. They also are not you.”

Regulus looked at you with wide eyes as he got the meaning of what you were saying.

“What if we fuck it all up? Everything that we have...I wouldn’t want to live without you in my life.”

Regulus said, looking down. You quickly moved to wrap your arms around his shoulders. Snuggling your face into his shoulder, you breathed him in again.

“We wouldn’t fuck it up. It's something that we both want and we both know each other. Like, you know when I am getting my big dick energy and can talk me down…”

“And you know when I'm getting too dark and can lighten me up.”

Regulus interrupted before giving you a small smile. You eagerly nodded, cupping his face.

“See, we have what we need. You’re what I smell in an amortentia potion. You’re what I need, Reg.”

Regulus wrapped his arms around you holding on tightly. He wasn’t about to let go. If anyone tried to get in the way now, they would be hurting! You were his girl and his alone. Regulus’ days of watching some poor useless fucker flirt with you were over. Those pretty lips were all his now...as they should have been from day one.

“Funny, you’re what I smell in one too. Your perfume, your shampoo...everything about you. I need you too, Y/n...more than you know.”

“I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

Regulus gently titled your face up to his. The first kiss was everything that you expected and more. All of the years of mutual pining, desperation, and jealousy were paying off. Both of you were finally getting what you wanted and nothing else would ever get in the way.

“I love you.”

Regulus said as he pulled away and nuzzled his forehead against yours.

“I love you and no one will ever get in the way of my feelings for you again.”

Wrapping your hands in Regulus’ shirt you pulled him down for another kiss. As soon as his tongue slipped into your mouth, a clapping sound filled the room. Both of you looked up quickly to see Evan perched on Regulus’ bed with a gleeful smile on his face.

“Oh thank Merlin! Finally! I swear, I thought that I was going to have to tape you two together or something.”

You turned to Regulus who was scowling at his best male friend.

“Regulus, why is he here?”

Regulus didn’t remove his gaze from Evan for a moment before wrapping his arms around your waist ready to apparate elsewhere.

“No idea, let’s leave.”

Evan, meanwhile, was still going on and on about how happy he was that the two of you finally got your heads out of your asses and joined the rest of society. You nodded returning your arms to Regulus’ shoulders.

“Great idea. Let’s go somewhere...anywhere else so we can be alone.”

Regulus nodded.

“At last.”

_________

@amelie-black @truly-insatiable @fandomsxxregulus @regulusheadcanons @realgaytrash @lucasfilms77 @exhsle @spiderxalmighty @teletubiswszpilkach @whymyparentscheckmyphone @jessyballet @knreidy1 @acciosiriusblack @mimisparkle12 @fific7 @rubyroscoe1 @hazncalsgal @quuenofblacks @bennyberry @criminalyetminimal @brokencasbutt67-writer @authoressskr @fandom-trash-worth-it @hankypranky @summer-novak @emiwrites3reads @shaylybaby2032 @knight-of-gleefulness @shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @stuckinsaudi1 @untoldshortsofthefandoms @wontlookaway @mycuddlycorner @deanwherescas @mycuddlycorner

#Regulus Black #Regulus Black x Reader #Evan Rosier #annon request #harry potter requests #regulus black request fic #timothee chalamet as regulus black #regulus x reader #reader x regulus #the ancient and noble house of black #regulus arcturus black #harry potter fan fiction #harry potter reader insert #At Last #At Last one shot #Regulus Black one shot #update

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vinylmeister · 5 years ago

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Collectors Info on The Rolling Stones – Some Girls ( Netherlands ) LP album. The album cover for

#The Rolling Stones – Some Girls ( Netherlands )#Music Genre: Rock #Pop-Rock

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greensparty · 4 years ago

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RIP Eddie Van Halen 1955-2020

As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough already, today legendary guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen has died at age 65. This truly sucks!

Here is the obit from Rolling Stone.

Eddie circa 1984 with his famous red and white axe

Born in Netherlands and raised in Pasadena, CA, Eddie took up guitar and his brother Alex on drums, they formed Van Halen. Along with charismatic frontman David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony, they were bigger than the sum of their parts, but lets be honest, Eddie’s guitar shredding was in the spotlight front and center for the majority of their songs. By the mid-80s countless bands were flocking to L.A. to become the “Next Van Halen”.

youtube

“Panama” music video

I first got into VH around 1984 when I was discovering music. Their album 1984 with hits like “Jump”, “Panama”, “Hot for Teacher” and more. Their music videos on MTV showed they were also funny too. This was the ultimate party rock band: songs about cars, babes and having fun. It needs to be said that Eddie was also a great keyboard player, just listen to “Jump”! Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters once said of “Panama” (a song he covered many times”) “anyone who doesn’t like this song is a fucking asshole!”. Well put!

Also in 1984 as I was learning and discovering music, I was a big fan of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Eddie did the guitar solo on “Beat It”. He apparently did it as a favor free of charge. Doesn’t that blow your mind?

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Eddie on stage with Michael Jackson performing “Beat It” live in 1984

In 1985, Roth left the band and VH brought in Sammy Hagar as their next singer. In the years that followed I picked up 1984, 1986′s 5150, and 1988′s OU812 on cassette tape. I can’t tell you how much I air guitar’d in my room listening to “Panama”, “Black and Blue”, “Why Can’t This be Love”, “Ain’t Talking ‘bout Love”, “Beautiful Girls”, “Unchained” and “Everybody Wants Some!!” (made famous in Better Off Dead with the hamburger playing a signature VH guitar and later the title of Richard Linklater’s 2016 college movie). Even when the band did covers like “You really got me” by The Kinks or “Oh Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison it sounded fresh.

As a teen I began playing guitar and was blown away by Eddie’s tapping technique. I picked up the band’s older albums on cassette tape and really went through a VH phase. I bought the band’s 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge the week it came out. Many point to that as the album where they jumped the shark. The thing with VH albums is this: 1978′s self-titled debut and 1984 are two of the greatest albums of all time, but most of their other albums have some awesome songs and then some filler. But being a fan at the time, I dug whatever I could get my hands on from them. I taped some specials they did on MTV including the rockumentary and a tour special.

Eddie even made a power drill into an instrument

In July 1993, I saw VH live at Great Woods in Mansfield, MA. They were promoting their live album Right Here, Right Now. The show went on a little long, but Eddie’s guitar solos were definitely the highlight. Later that year, Eddie went on stage and played a song with Nirvana. Imagine seeing that show? That same year, I recorded a mix tape “the VH Story”, where I narrated facts about each song. I made copies for select friends. I was a fan and was excited to share my fandom with others.

VH’s 1995 album Balance was like a metal band trying to compete with grunge. By this point I was gravitating more towards alt-rock, but VH was always in my back pocket. Then in 1996 when Hagar quit right after their songs were on the Twister soundtrack, for a brief shining moment Roth was back in the band for 2 songs on their compilation Best Of - Volume I. Then Extreme’s Gary Cherone was brought in as the singer. As much as I loved Extreme and Gary, the 1998 album Van Halen III was a letdown. Boy was it ever!

VH’s entire discography

Then Cherone was out, Hagar was back, then out again. In 2007, the same year VH were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they reunited with Roth, but Anthony was kicked out and replaced by Eddie’s son Wolfgang on bass. Wolfgang is by no means a bad bassist, it’s just that fans wanted the classic lineup and Anthony to be there with Eddie, Alex and Roth. In 2012, the VH lineup with Roth and Wolfgang released A Different Kind of Truth. Some good tunes, but not worth the wait IMHO.

Back to the Future’s walkman

In addition to VH, Eddie also scored the 1984 movie Wild Life (written by Cameron Crowe). Eddie was such an icon, he was mentioned in pop culture multiple times, including Back to the Future when Marty played a VH cassette tape for George pretending to be from another planet. VH’s biggest claim to fame might be that they made heavy metal accessible to the masses. Their style of metal was melodic enough to get played on Top 40 radio.

Roth and Eddie at the final VH concert in 2015

The suckiest thing about Eddie’s passing is that as I look back at a lot of the music I was into in the mid-80s, it’s kinda sad how many of those musicians are now gone, i.e. Prince, Michael Jackson, Ric Ocasek, George Michael, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Michael Hutchence, Neil Peart and countless others. But I digress. Eddie is hands down one of the greatest guitar players of all time, up there with Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. His music will definitely live on!

#eddie van halen #rip #van halen #david lee roth #alex van halen #michael anthony #taylor hawkins #michael jackson #better off dead #richard linklater #everybody wants some!!#extreme #gary cherone #wolfgang van halen #wild life #cameron crowe #Back to the Future #music nerd #film geek

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greengay · 4 years ago

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i want to be able to feel my emotions -- good AND bad -- even if it’s overwhelming.

MEMORIES TO RELIVE FULLY AND MINDFULLY (BETTER AND MORE IMMERSIVE THAN I HAVE WRITTEN):

- i am on tour with 2 bands and they’re performing in a tiny bar in ohio. i’m moshing and some drunk man knocks into me and makes me spill my (comped) drink. i go to punch him and the bassist for one of the bands already has him in a headlock on the floor. the hot alt bartender jumps over the bar and yells at him to get out. it’s cold and snowing outside and we use up all our drink tickets and we find a bar named “ray’s” and i ask them to get me a shirt. i’m drunk and i fall asleep in the van using [redacted’s] lap as a pillow and he holds my hand as we drive back to pittsburg. the drummer drank too much and he pukes in the van and the lead singer is pissed.

- i am following the front bottoms on their tour around europe. they’re playing small club shows and i’m able to push my way to the front because i’m an obnoxious and charming american. i become best friends with a couple i DM’d on reddit and we decide to travel together for the rest of the trip. we’re in cologne and we go in the churches and i’ve never felt so small. no one speaks english and i try to get a ticket in broken german (i succeed). i drink too much before the show and have to puke in the bathroom and my friend calls it a “tactical chunder” (she is from the u.k.) and i tell her we call it a puke-n-rally in the united states. i flirt with the merch guy and he invites us to smoke weed with them when we all get to the netherlands. br*an s*lla gives me a shout-out on stage and we are all very stoned.

- i’m at emo trap night at a skanky philly club with some friends. i know half the songs and i’m thin and i’m hot and i’m wearing a plaid skirt and a taking back sunday crop top and i find some emo guy and we make out outside while i’m having a cigarette. later, i fuck him in the bathroom and i tell my friends and they give me high fives. the bathroom was disgusting, graffiti and stickers and dirt everywhere. i rinse my mouth out with water and spit it out in front of him and he asks why? and i tell him, truthfully, that if i don’t i have a good chance of getting strep throat. we stay out all night going to different bars

- my friends and i are on a roadtrip to maine and we are on an island in the middle of a lake and we are floating in inner tubes and drinking from sunrise to sunset. the weather and the water are perfect and there are blueberry bushes on the edge of the lake and they are the best blueberries i have ever eaten. eventually at night we all go skinny dipping and make a fire and sit around and play guitar and talk about bob dylan. we stopped at a dispensary in MA and we smoke a lot of weed and i don’t get paranoid because i’m with people i trust

- my friends that i’ve known since i was 12 are all staying in a cabin in vermont. three of our birthdays are in august so we have a joint birthday party and sing camp songs and drink wine and tell old stories. we play settlers of catan and chess and watch movies. we sit on the porch, in the yard, in the hammock and read all day. the boys make a family dinner and we love each other a lot. we joke about being jewish and we smoke a lot of weed and i give them stick n pokes and now they have a memory of me on them forever.

- i fly out to detroit by myself to see my friend that i met at a green day show. we take a road trip to the rock n roll hall of fame and take photos of everything vaguely related to green day. her friend drives the car with the windows down and plays classic rock. we get back and snort cocaine off of one of her records and we practice guitar all night and talk and watch lotms. she takes me to eat poutine for the first time. we go to an amusement park and we fully get each other and i’m making a video on an old vhs camera i found in goodwill

- a girl i met while shooting a show (she drunkenly buys me a beer and we exchange numbers) invites me to spend her bday weekend with her and her friends in ocean city, maryland. we’ve hung out maybe twice, but i trust her. we get a bushel of crabs and smoke weed and swim in the ocean and walk on the boardwalk. i barely know anyone there but they all make me feel welcome. i dance like no one is watching. i take lots of photos and they think it’s cool.

#drugs /

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47burlm · 5 years ago

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***The 25 Best Songs Of All Time—According To Critics And Fans

***Ranker is a digital media company located in Los Angeles. The site features polls on entertainment, brands, sports and culture. Ranker is reported to have over 49 million monthly unique visitors.[1] Ranker claims to be one of the largest databases of opinions with more than 250 million votes gathered on over one million items. Ranker has hundreds of thousands of lists of opinions.

These lists have been referenced as a source for many pop-culture publications.Ranker is designed to collect individual user votes and track them across various lists, which purports to show correlations between interests across pop culture.

My List

21. ‘The Sound Of Silence’ — Simon & Garfunkel

Ranking 21th in the Ranker community, Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” was recorded in 1964 for inclusion on the duo’s debut album, “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966 and was a top 10 hit in many other countries, including Australia, Austria, West Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. It was also in the movie “The Graduate,” for which Simon & Garfunkel also wrote “Mrs. Robinson.

In an interview with NPR, Paul Simon (who wrote the song at age 21) said the key to “The Sound of Silence” was “the simplicity of the melody and the words, which are youthful alienation.”

18. ‘Light My Fire’ — The Doors

Claiming the 18th spot on the Ranker community’s list of the best songs, The Doors’ “Light My Fire” was released in 1967 on the band’s eponymous album. As an edited single, it spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was responsible for taking the band’s career to another level. Notably, it got them an invite to perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” but on the condition that Morrison didn’t sing the line, “girl, we couldn’t get much higher.” However, he did include the forbidden line, and it was their first and last performance on the show.

8. ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ — The Beatles

Another of several “best song” entries for The Beatles, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is sixth on Ranker and 16th on Rolling Stone. Released in 1963, it was the group’s first No. 1 hit in the U.S. and stayed in the U.K. top 50 for a total of 21 weeks. In 1980, John Lennon said the song was written “eyeball to eyeball” with McCartney.

“I remember when we got the chord that made the song,” he recalled. “We were in Jane Asher’s house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time. And we had, ‘Oh you-u-u/ got that something…’ And Paul hits this chord, and I turn to him and say, ‘That’s it!’ I said, ‘Do that again!’ In those days, we really used to absolutely write like that — both playing into each other’s noses.”

5. ‘Good Vibrations’ — The Beach Boys

“Good Vibrations” was a huge hit for the Beach Boys in 1966, scoring them No. 1s in both the U.S. and the U.K. as well as many other countries.

At the time, it was the most expensive single ever recorded, with a studio bill of $50,000. Brian Wilson composed and produced the song, which was inspired by his fascination with cosmic vibrations — stemming from a moment in his childhood when his mother tried to explain why dogs barked at some people and not others.

“A dog would pick up vibrations from these people that you can’t see but you can feel. And the same thing happened with people,” Wilson said. One of his goals with the song was to create a better song than “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,”

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bestreasonstowriterecordreviews · 6 years ago

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✰ BEST REASONS TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS IN 2018 ✰

✰✰✰✰✰ 6th ANNIVERSARY ✰✰✰✰✰

Neil Morris, speaking to Alan Lomax in 1959:

“Well, when I was just a small boy, Old Uncle Milt Oldfield…Billy Oldfield, the Congressman from Arkansas for so long, it is his father. He and my father are awfully close friends. And they were discussing music. They were music teachers both of them.

“And uh, and they said, dad did and Uncle Milt sanctioned what he said, that MUSIC HAD NO END. That you could learn all the other guy [or girl] learned, and after you got that done they would then, something else would crop up. That uh, that you, that was the reason why that uh, music advanced. That’s why that you would get a better music in one generation maybe that is, uh, IT WOULD FIT THE TIMES IN WHICH THEY LIVED.”

[Lomax: “What about music on the grapevine?”]

“Welllll, they said that MUSIC GREW LIKE THE GRAPEVINE THAT IS NEVER PRUNED. That each year it’d…it’d put on a little bit more. That was what they said, now, about it. Any further questions?”’

It’s time to feast from 2018′s Grapevine That Is Never Pruned with 123 (+ 162 more) of the BEST REASONS TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS IN 2018!

A prefatory note: The Best Reasons campaigns of our first five years endured critiques from far and wide about too many damn records listed. Well...we can no longer countenance such reproach. Every single one of these nuggets is an essential thread in the tapestry of 2018′s combustible sonic arts! We here at FRR stand for ecumenicism and as such, consider the breadth of our listening parameters: Feeding Tube Records issued 74 items in 2018 (!), Clean Feed released about 80, and Astral Spirits about 30...that’s a lot potential gold in those three labels alone. Sure, it’s too much for any one person to absorb, but still...

We all know that some combination of easy access to home studio tools, world wide web streaming, social media delirium, legacy record industry collapse, and artistic resistance to creeping authoritarianism has (somewhat paradoxically) unleashed a tidal wave of idiosyncratically great music during the past decade, so it should come as no surprise that such a list as this would contain nearly 300 essential items. Yea, it seems nearly everything gets recorded and released these days (especially the zonked improv/collagist /noise/outer limits realm), but whether or not we listen to such items as frequently as we consumed Exile On Main Street or Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy back in the day is irrelevant...the time is now, and as far as wild sounds from the outer dimensions goes, now has unprecedented bounty...listen heartily, for tomorrow, who knows?

(...all long playing records unless otherwise noted...also, the list was made complete with links, but grrr they don’t show up, so point your browser as they used to say and happy hunting!)

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

✰ ROSALI Trouble Anyway (Scissor Tail) ✰

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

✰ BRIDGET HAYDEN Pure Touch Only From Now On, They Said So (Early Music, Sweden) ✰

✰ YUZO IWATA Daylight Moon (Siltbreeze) ✰

✰ L$D FUNDRAISER Witness Disco (CocoMuse, New Zealand) ✰

✰ MAXINE FUNKE Silk (Feeding Tube) + Eternity 7” (I Dischi Del Barone, Sweden) ✰

✰ LONG HOTS Monday Night Raw cassette (self-released) ✰

✰ BASIC HUMAN Cassette (Meatspin, Australia) ✰

✰ LOOSE-Y CRUNCHÉ Unruly Top cassette (Altered States, Australia) ✰

✰ ETHERS Ethers (Trouble In Mind) ✰

✰ UNHOLY TWO The Pleasure To End All Pleasures (12XU)

✰ ZAÏMPH Rhizomatic Gaze 2LP (Drawing Room) ✰

✰ ALLISON COTTON All Is Quiet At The Ancient Theatre (Feeding Tube) ✰

✰ CONSTANT MONGREL Living In Excellence (Anti Fade, Australia / LVEUM, U.K.) ✰

✰ OTHERWORLD (aka Kay Logan) Mad Wee Light cassette (Kit, UK) ✰

✰ DUSK Dusk (Don Giovanni) & “The Pain Of Loneliness (Goes On And On)” 7″ (Dirtnap) ✰

✰ WENDY EISENBERG Its Shape Is Your Touch (VDSQ) ✰

✰ THALIA ZEDEK BAND Fighting Season (Thrill Jockey) ✰

✰ EN ATTENDANT ANA Lost And Found (Trouble In Mind) ✰

✰ MARK MORGAN Department of Heraldry (Open Mouth) ✰

✰ MORE KLEMENTINES More Klementines (Twin Lakes/Feeding Tube)✰

✰ PATOIS COUNSELORS Proper Release (ever/never) ✰

✰ ANNE GUTHRIE Brass Orchids (Students Of Decay)

✰ STEFAN CHRISTENSEN City Code (Knotwilg, Belgium) & Two Live cassette (The Loki Label)

✰ BB & The BLIPS Shame Job (Thrilling Living)

✰ SAMARA LUBELSKI / BILL NACE Samara Lubelski/Bill Nice (Relative Pitch)

✰ The SEDIMENT CLUB Stucco Thieves (Wharf Cat)

✰ BEAT DETECTIVES Rhythms & Edits Volume 1 cassette (Altered States, Australia)

✰ The COWBOYS Live At Tony’s Garage 7″ ep (Feel It) & The Cowboys [3rd Album] (HoZac - 2017)

✰ SUSANA SANTOS SILVA All the Rivers – Live at Panteão Nacional cd (Clean Feed, Portugal)

✰ DIRE WOLVES Paradisiacal Mind (Feeding Tube/Cardinal Fuzz, U.K.)

✰ SPECIAL INTEREST/S Spiraling (Raw Sugar)

✰ JANUSZEWSKI & SZLAZAK Split cassette (Czaszka, U.K.)

✰ NYLEX Nylex cassette (Tenth Court, Australia)

✰ CHARALAMBIDES Tom And Christina Carter 2 LP (Drawing Room)

✰ CHRISTINA KUBISCH/ANNEA LOCKWOOD The Secret Life Of The Inaudible 2 cd (Gruenrekorder, Germany)

✰ HEAVY METAL Heavy Metal ep 7″ (Total Punk)

✰ LUJIACHI Invisible Hands cassette (Altered States, Australia)

✰ OBNOX Templo del Sonido (Astral Spirits/Monofonus Press)

✰ PINEAPPLE RNR Pineapple Rik N Roll 7″ (Lumpy)

✰ WILLIAM PARKER Voices Fall From The Sky 3 cd (AUM Fidelity)

✰ RON JONS SURF SHOP Ron Jons Surf Shop Sampler cassette (Ron Jons Surf Shop)

✰ LUCY MILLER Lion's Heart : Demos & Early Recordings cd-r (Soleils Bleus, France)

✰ BLUE CHEMISE Daughters Of Time (Students Of Decay)

✰ EKIN FIL Maps (Helen Scarsdale) & “Windblow” download (Longform Editions, Australia)

✰ COUNTER INTUITS Vietnamese Lighter 7″ (Total Punk)

✰ CHRONOPHAGE (Minneapolis) Prolog For Tomorrow (Cleta Petra)

✰ HOBBS-WHITE DUO Hobbs-White Duo at Whitechapel Gallery, 10 June 1973H download (EMC, UK)

✰ CHRONOPHAGE (Austin) Give Chance A Peace download (self-released)

✰ CIA DEBUTANTE Waves (Czaszka, U.K.)

✰ WEEPING BONG BAND Weeping Bong Band (Feeding Tube)

✰ COOLIES/The FUTURIANS Coolies/The Futurians split cassette (Uniform, New Zealand)

✰ QUIETUS Volume Four (ever/never)

✰ New Centre Of The Universe (Anti Fade, Australia)

✰ LISA CAMERON/SANDY EWEN See Creatures cassette (Astral Spirits)

✰ BRUTAL BIRTHDAY “Commotion” + 2 7” (Total Punk)

✰ DE PONTI/MORETTI Before We Were Foam We Were Unbridled Waves cassette (Dinzu Artefacts)

✰ DAVID NANCE GROUP Peaced And Slightly Pulverized (Trouble In Mind)

✰ CRAMMM Crammm cassette (Brainplan) & Live 2018 (Brainplan)

✰ NERVE BEATS Nerve Beats (Fine Concepts)

✰ WILLIE LANE Known Quantity reissue (Feeding Tube)

✰ The WAY AHEAD Bells, Ghosts And Other Saints cd (Clean Feed, Portugal)

✰ BADSKIN Where Was I (Brierfield Flood Press, Australia)

✰ The ANCIENTS Frozen Aisle (Tenth Court, Australia)

✰ METTE RASMUSSIN & CHRIS CORSANO A View Of The Moon (From The Sun) cd (Clean Feed, Portugal)

✰ SYLVIE COURVOISIER TRIO D’Agala cd (Intakt, Switzerland)

✰ MOSQUITOES Drip Water Hollow Out Stone (ever/never)

✰ CHARLOTTE HUG Son-Icon Music: Orchestra And Choral Works cd (Fundacja Słuchaj, Poland)

✰ RUSS WATERHOUSE Amaro cassette (Gertrude Tapes)

✰ RICHARD PAPIERCUTS Twisting The Night 12″ (ever/never)

✰ The COOL GREENHOUSE “London”/“The End Of The World” 7” (Market Square Recordings, Spain)

✰ SANDY EWEN & CHASE GARDNER Transfusion cd (Marginal Frequency)

✰ AMEEL BRECHT Polygraph Heartbeat (Kraak, Belgium)

✰ SUCCHIAMO Mani In Fuoco (Antinote, France)

✰ PORTRON PORTRON LOPEZ De Colère Et D'Envie (PoiL, France)

✰ TOM SMITH & MARK MORGAN Bones Sound Shipwreck cd (KSV, Germany)

✰ CIVIC New Vietnam 12″ (Anti Fade, Australia) & Those Who Know 7″ (Famous Class)

✰ CARLO GIUSTINO Non Uscire cassette (No Rent)

✰ DONALD MCPHERSON & TETUZI AKIYAMA The Kitchen Tapes, Volume 1 cassette (God In The Music, New Zealand)

✰ HORNE & HOLT Wires (Self-Sabotage)

✰ WOLKOROTS Don Treppenwitz cassette (Dinzu Artefacts)

✰SAVAK Beg Your Pardon (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)

✰ The BALKANYS The Balkanys (Toddi Records/Another Records, France)

✰ ANTELOPER Kudu cassette (International Anthem Recording Company)

✰ CLAIRE POTTER & BRIDGET HAYDEN’S I Am Come From A Place) cassette (Fort Evil Fruit, Ireland)

✰ LAURA LUNA CASTILLO Laminaires (Genot, Czech Republic)

✰ RST Spectra (\\NULL|ZØNE//)

✰ TORI KUDO ガラ刑GALAKEI 2 LP (bruit direct disques, France)

✰ SIGNE DAHLGREEN Kunki Snuk cassette (Astral Spirits)

✰ PIOUS FAULTS Old Thread (Feel It)

✰ MELFI Four Concerns cassette (Czaszka, U.K.)

✰ The EX 27 Passports (Ex Records, Netherlands)

✰ J.H. GURAJ Steadfast On Our Sand (Boring Machines, Italy)

✰ KUZU Hiljaisuus (Astral Spirits)

✰ WUSSY What Heaven Is Like (Shake It)

✰ BORZOI A Prayer For War (12XU)

✰ RAYS You Can Get There From Here (Trouble In Mind)

✰ DELPHINE DORA Eudaimon (three:four, Switzerland)

✰ LAKE MARY & M. SAGE Lupine Deluxe cassette (Patient Sounds (Intl))

✰ ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET “A Call To You”/”Won’t you Say It To My Face” 7″ (Robelion Music)

✰ VANILLA POPPERS I Like Your Band 7″ ep (Feel It)

✰ SOURDURE L’Espròva (Les Disques du Festival Permanent/Pagans, France)

✰ LOGARDECAY (Leslie García and Paloma López) FRGL cassette (Umor Rex, Mexico)

✰ DE KLUMB Con Pimiento cassette (U-Bac, Germany)

✰ MIDWIFE Prayer Hands cassette (Antiquated Future)

✰ SALAD BOYS This Is Glue (Trouble In Mind)

✰ RAMBLE TAMBLE Outlaw Overtones cassette (Eiderdown)

✰ ABBY LEE TEE Imaginary Friends I cassette (Czaszka, U.K.)

✰ INGRID LAUBROCK Contemporary Chaos Practices / Two Works For Orchestra With Soloists cd (Intakt, Switzerland)

✰ PATRICK SHIROISHI Sparrow's Tongue cassette (Fort Evil Fruit, Ireland)

✰ FIA FIELL All In The Same Room cassette (Nice Music, Australia)

✰ PREENING Nice Dice 7″ ep (Fine Concepts) & Greasetrap Frisbee 7″ (ever/never)

✰ SABASABA SabaSaba (Maple Death, U.K)

✰ HEADROOM/DIRE WOLVES Split (Pome Pome Tones/Centripetal Force)

✰ APOLOGIST Houston cassette (No Rent)

✰ The SITUATIONS The Day After The Night Before cassette (Melted Ice Cream, NZ)

✰ WONDERFULS Voices Like Rain cassette (Round Bale Recordings)

✰ TASHI DORJI & TYLER DAMON Leave No Trace: Live In St. Louis (Family Vineyard) & Soft Berm cassette (Magnetic South)

NAUJAWANAN BAIDAR Volume 1 cassette (Radio KHIYABAN, Netherlands)

LOUIS MINUS II Je Voudrais Juste Dormir Pour Toujours cassette (Econore, Germany)

The OPAWA 45s Silver Screen Guitar cassette (Melted Ice Cream, New Zealand)

MT ACCORD Postcards From A Dream cassette (Czaszka, U.K.)

JONÁŠ GRUSKA Žaburina (LOM, Slovakia)

CHICALOYOH Jaune Colère (213 Records, France)

MAMITRI YULITH EXPRESS YONAGUNISAN Yulith 2 LP (bruit direct disques, France)

AONGHIS MCENVOY & TRISTAN CLUTTERBUCK Duos cassette (Fractal Meat Cuts, UK)

IE Pone cassette (Moon Glyph)

MARILYN CRISPELL/TANYA KALMANOVITC/RICHARD TEITELBAUM Dream Libretto (Leo, U.K.)

E Negative World (Thrill Jockey)

Wound 2 lp (Carbon Records)

DOMINIQUE VACCARO Close Distances cassette (Dinzu Artefacts)

RIÑA Aqui No Eres Nadie 7″ ep (Thrilling Living)

GÜNTER BABY SOMMER & TILL BRÖNNER Baby’s Party cd (Intakt, Switzerland)

TRISTAN MAGNETIC Tristan Magnetique triple cassette box (Otomatik Muziek, Germany)

FAMOUS LOGS IN HISTORY Famous Logs In History cassette (Fuzzy Warbles)

LUKE STEWART’s Works For Upright Bass And Amplifier cassette (Astral Spirits)

RADIANT FUTUR Overdriven Youth download (Get Busy!, Russia)

LÄRMSCHUTZ TAFELMUSIK SEPTET Vierte Tafelmusik cassette (Katuktu Collective)

TERRESTIALS Terrestials 12″ (Heel Turn)

ALEX CRISPIN Open Submission cassette (Constellation Tatsu)

MAAVIN Sunday Drive EP download (Get Busy!, Russia)

CHARLOTTE HUG & LUCAS NIGGLI Fulguratio cd (Fundacja Słuchaj, Poland)

NAMELESS FRAMES Already Inside + 3 10″ (Super Secret Records)

GÜNTER SCHLIENZ Liederbuch cassette (Muzan Editions, Japan)

SCRAP BRAIN Scrap Brain (Thrilling Living)

WURLD SERIES Stately and Befrothed cassette (Melted Ice Cream, NZ)

ENDURANCE Celestial Governors cassette (Tymbal Tapes)

BRABRABRA Lagooona 7″ ep (Kitchen Leg, Germany)

DAN MELCHIOR ‘The Folksinger’ (Swashbuckling Hobo, Australia)

JEN KUTLER Worth cassette (Never Anything)

Field Recordings from the Sahel cassette (Sahel Sounds)

MONNONE ALONE Cut Knuckle 7” (Lost And Lonesome Recording Co., Australia)

ANDREW BARKER & DANIEL CARTER Polyhedron cassette (Astral Spirits)

YVES MALONE Aced (2014) cassette (Baked Tapes)

JOHN HOEGBERG Motion Detecting Songs cassette (Ehse)

CHAOSOPHY Who Are These People And What Do They Believe In cd (Discordian/Liquen Record, Spain)

ARIAN SHAFIEE A Scarlet Fail (VDSQ) & Beauty Tuning (Hausu Mountain)

AKIRA SAKATA & CHIKAMORACHI with MASAHIKO SATOH Proton Pump cd (Family Vineyard)

LEA BERTUCCI Metal Aether (NNA)

BIG SUPERMARKET 1800 (Hobbies Galore, Australia)

GARCIA PEOPLES Cosmic Cash (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)

R.M.F.C. Hive cassette (Slime Street, Australia)

BIKINI COPS Three 7” (Drunken Sailor, U.K.)

MUYASSAR KURDI & NICHOLAS JOZWIAK Intersections & Variations cassette (Astral Spirts)

P WITS Blonde On Blonde double cassette (chemical imbalance., Australia)

FOLD Aegean Sea 12” (AUS, UK)

TASHI DORJI & DAVID GRUBBA Fixed Entrance Derivatives cassette (Sky Lantern)

WET PISS Wet Piss cassette (Dumpster Tapes)

TIM & THE BOYS Growing (Meatspin, Australia)

DINO SPILUTTINI Forever cassette (No Rent)

NEGATIVE NANCIES You Do You download (CocMuse, New Zealand)

MISSING PAGES “Long Way Down” 7″ (12XU)

SUNWATCHERS II & Illegal Moves 12” (both Trouble In Mind)

EYES NINETY Glaucoma Chameleon (Swashbuckling Hobo, Australia)

PATRICIA KOKETT Diabel 12” (Knekelhuis, Netherlands)

GEE TEE Gee Tee cassette (Slime Street, Australia)

C. WORTH A Farther Sea cassette (Gertrude Tapes)

OREN AMBARCHI/KONRAD SPRENGER/PHILLIP SOLLMANN Panama/Suez 12” (Ostgut Ton, Germany)

REX WONDERFUL & THE SILK SHEETS Ego Death cassette (Tenth Court, Australia)

SARAH DAVACHI Gave In Rest (Ba Da Bing) & Let Night Come On Bells End The Day (Recital)

PELVI$$ Pelvi$$ cassette (Fuzzy Warbles)

JEFF TOBIAS Completely Phantom cassette (Baked Tapes)

BILL ORCUTT & CHRIS CORSANO Brace Up! (Palilalia)

DONKEY BUGS Ancient Chinese Secrets (Lumpy)

MOUNTAIN MOVERS Pink Sky (Trouble In Mind) & New Jam 12″ (C/Site)

MAbH cinjusti cassette (Tymbal Tapes)

Bad Taste Vol. II - Another Collection Of Sounds From The NZ Underground cassette (chemical imbalance., Australia)

TERRY I’m Terry (Upset! The Rhythm, UK)

NYZ RLD GLD ET AL cassette (Fractal Meat Cuts, UK)

THEE OPEN SEX White Horses (Sophomore Lounge)

DRUNK MUMS Denim & Leather, Together Forever cassette (Slime Street, Australia)

JONES JONES [OCHS/DRESSER/TARASOV] A Jones In Time Saves Nine download (self-released)

IVAN THE TOLERABLE & FRIENDS Autodidact 10″ (Ack! Ack! Ack!, U.K.)

DANIEL CARTER / WILLIAM PARKER / MATTHEW SHIPP Seraphic Light cd (AUM Fidelity)

PURPUR SPYTT Nitpick 7″ ep (POUeT! Schallplatten, France)

BLOWDRYER Blowdryer cassette (self-released)

CHARNEL GROUND Charnel Ground (12XU)

KAJA DRAKSER / PETTER ELDH / CHRISTIAN LILLINGER Punkt.Vrt.Plastik cd (Intakt, Switzerland)

DRY CLEANING Sweet Princess cassette (self-released, U.K.)

ELKHORN Lion Fish cassette (Eiderdown)

ROMAIN BAUDOIN Bestiari (Pagans/In Situ, France)

SUNWATCHERS AND EUGENE CHADBOURNE 3 Characters 2 LP (Amish)

FRANCIS PLAGNE Moss Trumpet (Penultimate Press, U.K. )

SHITTY LIFE Switch Off Your Head (self-released, Italy)

SICK LLAMA Stage Poison double cassette (unifactor)

ROCKET 808 “Digital Billboards”/“Mystery Train” 7” (12XU)

JON COLLIN What Is Thunder cassette (Fort Evil Fruit, Ireland)

CONCRETE LAWN Demo cassette (Urge, Australia)

BLANK REALM Last Seen (Hobbies Galore, Australia)

DJ OVERDOSE DJ Overdose 12” (L.I.E.S.)

LUDWIG BERGER & VERONIKA EHRENSPERGER The Capacity Of Things To Act cassette (Dinzu Artefacts)

BRANDY Laugh Track (Monofonus Press)

PETER EVANS/ AGUSTÍ FERNÁNDEZ/BARRY GUY Free Radicals cd (Fundacja Słuchaj, Poland)

LES HALLES Zonda cassette (Not Not Fun)

SAMARA LUBELSKI Flickers At The Station (Drawing Room)

PRANA CRAFTER Bodhi Cheetah's Choice (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)

YLAYALI Pumpkin Patch cassette (self-released)

DEAF WISH Lithium Zion (Sub Pop)

ROSE THOMAS BANNISTER Ambition cd (self-released)

MIDDEX No Home (Polytechnic Youth, UK)

SEI A Phase EP (Aus Music, U.K.)

KALI MALONE Cast Of Mind (Hollow Ground, Switzerland) & Organ Dirges 2016-2017 cassette (Ascetic House)

GERRIT HATCHER Parables For The Tenor cassette (Astral Spirits)

The 1902 Syntropic Seasonal 5 cd-r comp (Wist Rec, Ireland)

The LENTILS My Pillow Lava (Complete Trilogy) double cassette (unread)

SCY2E*GLOCHIDS*NURSE BETTY Weird Ear's Fantastic Voyage (Autumn East Coast Tour) comp (Weird Ear)

the SHIFTERS Have A Cunning Plan (Trouble In Mind)

CÉCILE CAPOZZO TRIO Sub Rosa cd (Ayler Records, France)

PROJET DE VIE Vol. #1 EP cassette ([Equilibre Fragile], France)

JAX DELUCA Organs In The Wind cassette (ACR, U.K.)

LUCY CLICHÉ Cliché’s Principle (Fleisch, Germany)

JANO DOE( aka KATARÍNA GATIALOVÁ) Duranzie cassette Genot Centre, Czech Republic)

KOMARE Komare cassette (Round Bale Recordings)

COLLATE Liminal Concerns (self-released)

AREK GULBENKOGLU A gift like a hollow vessel (Penultinate Press, UK)

BASIC HOUSE & WANDA GROUP No Sympathy (Opal Tapes, U.K.)

MANUEL TROLLER Vanishing Point (three: four, Switzerland)

STEPH RICHARDS/VINNY GOLIA/BERT TURETZKY Trio Music cd (pfmentum)

HEART OF SNAKE Heart Of Snake cassette (Maple Death, U.K.)

SCHWEBEN Sketches Of Plains cassette (Otomatik Muziek, Germany)

GENEVA SKEEN A Parallel Array Of Horses download (Room40, Australia)

IKUI DOKI Ikui Doki (Ayler, France)

CHARLES BARABÉ De La Fragilité cassette (Astral Spirits)

MIDNIGHT MINES Invisible Insurrection Of A Million Minds (The Loki Label) & Stations 7″ (I Dischi Del Barone, Sweden)

DELACAVE Window Has No Glass (POUeT! Schallplatten, France)

MARY LATTIMORE & MEG BAIRD Ghost Forests cd (Three Lobed Recordings)

M/M I Know You Are Thinking I've Said This All Before cassette (Czaska, U.K.)

The ATTACHMENTS II cassette (self-released)

TYSHAWN SOREY Pillars 3 cd (Firehouse 12)

JOËLLE LÉANDRE Strings Garden 3 cd (Fundacja Słuchaj, Poland)

STONE WITCHES Machine Efficient cassette (Slime Street, Australia)

CARA STACEY & CAMILO ÁNGELES Ceder (Kit, U.K)

DIRE WOLVES (JUST EXACTLY PERFECT SISTERS BAND) One For The Heads cassette (Baked Tapes) & Earthquake Country cassette (Sky Lantern) & Shootout At The Dildo Factory (Eiderdown) 142

(this is a pic of DIRE WOLVES with their eyes closed)

GEN POP II 7″ ep (Feel It)

ANGLES 3 Parede (Clean Feed, Portugal)

FRANK HURRICANE Holy Mountain Coffee tour cassette (self-released)

CARROM Prehistories cassette (self-released, Canada)

PARSNIP Feeling Small 7″ (Anti Fade, Australia)

ÁINE O’DWYER / GRAHAM LAMBKIN Green Ways 2 cd (erstwhile)

Longform Editions digital series, particularly: EKIN FIL “Windblow”, MARJA AHTI “Entering A Cloud” and STEAM VENT “Swells”

CLINTON GREEN Setting For The Iliad CD-R (Frustration Jazz, Australia)

PETER EVANS & BARRY GUY Syllogistic Moments cd (Maya Recordings, Swizterland)

ETRAN DE L’AÏR No. 1 (Sahel Sounds)

ALIEN NOSEJOB Various Fads & Technological Achievements (Anti Fade, Australia)

J.C. SATÀN Centaur Desire (Born Bad, France)

NAGUAL & STEFAN CHRISTENSEN Third 7″ (I Dischi Del Barone, Sweden)

EXEK Ahead Of Two Thoughts (W.25th) & A Casual Assembly 12″ (W.25th)

ARUÁN ORTIZ TRIO’s Live in Zurich (Intakt, Switzerland)

MIA DYBERG TRIO Ticket! (Clean Feed, Portugal)

LA DANTA Alpeis Καράκας cassette (Fort Evil Fruit, Ireland)

WEAK SIGNAL LP1 cassette (Reality Delay)

DISTANT STARS The Way Things Work cassette (Detonic, Australia)Field Recordings from the Sahel

MUDHONEY Digital Garbage (Sub Pop)

ROB NOTES & RYAN LEE CROSBY Modal Improvisations on 34 Strings cassette (Cabin Floor Esoterica)

...all those LOKI LABEL boots...

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#Best Reasons To Write Fuckin' Record Reviews In 2018 #2018 #Rosali

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judithsupportsteamchampery · 6 years ago

Text

Why you’ve made my winter!

- by Judith Dombrowski

My personal Team Champéry season review

This is dedicated to figure skater Deniss Vasiljevs, coach and figure skater Stéphane Lambiel and their manager Christopher Trevisan!

My very special thanks to my mother Beate. Without you nothing of this would have been possible. I can say with my whole heart that you are the best mother I ever could have imagined.

Also special thanks to:

Anastasia, Charlie, Estephanía, Jelena, Laia, Maria R., Maria T., Marina, P., Susanne, Szilvia

You all have become amazing and true friends. I love you with my whole heart!

And to everyone else whom I met because of Team Champéry this winter, either personally or via the internet. We are the best fan community I can imagine.

On March 2nd 2019, after I had been able to take THAT picture, that picture thousands of skating fans dream of, that picture I would never ever had imagined to happen, I turned around and thanked both of you: “Thank you so much for everything!“, I said. Then I looked at you, Deniss, and said: “You’ve really made my winter! Thanks!“ You looked flattered and surprised but didn’t respond anything. But you, Stéph, said something like: “Wow, you are really so positive!“ It was the second time you said that that afternoon and I do understand why you said it in this situation: For the two of you it definitely hadn’t been the winter you’ve dreamed of. It must have been a hard winter full of worries, concerns and disappointments. It seemed to surprise you, Stéph, why you’ve made somebody’s winter even though so much seemed to have gone wrong for you.

So I am writing this blog post / article / review to explain to the two of you and to everyone interested, why this sentence was incredibly true. Why I actually couldn’t have thanked you in a more accurate way. Beware, this might gonna be long. I usually fail saying things short and there has been really a lot going on this winter relating to the two of you. I will also miss out some moments because it has just been too much.

When to start? Should it be the moment when we decided to go to Grenoble? The moment I started to be your fan, Deniss? Should I go back to Worlds 2005 when I had my first big crush on that handsome Swiss figure skater? This would turn into a novel so lets start right at the beginning… of… this winter:

October

“Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I am free earlier than expected today. So if you’d like we can meet earlier?“

“I am sorry I fear I won’t be able to come over before 18.30? Hope that’s still alright?“, I replied to a good friend of mine on WhatsApp.

“Haha, yea, sure, thought you have holidays…“

“Well, yea“, … she was a really good friend so I could be honest, “but my Mom doesn’t. She’s only free from 3pm and we’ll have to watch a movie together this afternoon. This is like the only possibility before next weekend. Will explain you later!“

“Okayyyy…!“

It was a Wednesday afternoon in early October during my autumn holidays and I spent the week in South Germany with my mother and tried to meet up with as many old friends as possible. It was also the week before Japan Open, the first time you, Deniss, were supposed to skate your new free program. And it finally had leaked that you would be skating to the soundtrack of the movie “Last Samurai“. So to totally understand the program my mother and I watched the movie together, listened to the music very precisely, discussed about the plot, read and learned about the history of the samurai on Wikipedia.

We liked and appreciated the theme and that music choice right away. As we did with the whole program when it had finally been uploaded. Despite technical difficulties we saw the efforts and the great thoughts behind the choreography of this program right away and were really looking forward to see this program grow and bloom over the season.

It was different with the Short Program. When “Papa was a rolling stone“ was posted first, I listened to the song in the car and it left me quite puzzled… How was that supposed to be the song of a skating program? And those lyrics? Well… I liked the beat and the rhythm of the song from the beginning and I put all my trust in your good taste and I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

The figure skating season was speeding up: The first Grand Prix was coming along together with a small competition called “Minsk Ice Star“ - the warm up contest for you, Deniss. I spent that weekend in the Netherlands where a friend celebrated her birthday. The moment I remember best of these days is myself walking up and down at the beach streaming the free program in bad quality on my phone screaming and jumping up and down at every landed jump. This weekend brought the first fully rotated and landed Quad in competition for you, Deniss, and the first gold medal of the season. For me this weekend made me like and appreciate the short program and I “met“ my “soulmate“ because of this competition:

Until then I hadn’t been too active about figure skating on social media, because most of my followers on Instagram were my real life friends who didn’t care about this sport at all. There was no official livestream of Minsk Ice Star. But I found some Russian girls via Instagram who were in the arena and were so kind to stream the practices and the competition. That’s how I met my today very very good and close friend Maria. We started texting since then, we went through this winter together, kept each other updated all the time and finally went to Innsbruck together. But that happened many moments and stories later.

November

NHK Trophy was after all the only competition this entire season I didn’t manage to follow live. Despite all efforts I didn’t make it home from work in time for the SP, and I also missed the LP the next day because of my tennis practice. I did come home when Shoma Uno was about to start his Free Skate performance but of course he skated deep in the second group. I clicked on “pause“ and scrolled back to start watching the competition from the beginning. There had been a number though in the left upper corner of my screen I couldn’t have avoided seeing: The leading skater at the moment Shoma started to skate had the technical score of 70 points. 70 Points! DAMN! That was…. low. Very low for that moment in the competition. And 70… that was a number you, Deniss, were likely to score. My heart started racing. Could it be possible? If you were the leader at that moment you were… about to win a medal.

“It was hard to see how excited you still were!“, my Mom told me on the phone an hour later when I was full of disappointment. She had been able to watch everything live and knew that it unfortunately hadn’t been you, Deniss, who had scored those 70 points, it had been Matteo Rizzo. I felt really sorry for you, missing that opportunity. “Keep your head up, keep your heart strong…“, I kept listening on repeat during that weekend and I wished you could also hear that motivating song by Ben Howard. The next competition was going to be better. I was sure! And the next competition was: IdF in Grenoble. THE competition. Our competition. Where my mother and I would go to see and support you live. The weekend I had been waiting for since the end of June when the assignments came out. And now it was not even two weeks away…The Sunday after NHK I spent in the kitchen baking my gifts for the two of you: The lion and the ladybug as German gingerbread. I am not the most artistically talented person, and I didn’t honestly expect this project to be successful, especially drawing a lion with chocolate and sugar icing on a piece of cookie seemed like a far too motivated project for me. But I did it, every millimeter drawn with concentration and passion. And succeeded: I had baked a lion and a ladybug gingerbread. The presents were ready, the flags had arrived and got inked, all tickets were printed, we were ready to go.

You probably all remember a weekend or an event you once desperately had been waiting for. And then the moment when it is really happening. So you can probably imagine how I felt: I see myself as if it was yesterday walking from the parking lot in Mainz to the station where I had to take the train to Frankfurt airport, feeling like I was flying: It was real, yes, it was. I was on my way to Grenoble, I had everything prepared, I had gotten the extra day off at school, I had the gifts and the banners in my bag, I had your program music in my ears, I was so so ready for it!

I had high expectations for this weekend just as you probably had as well, Deniss. Unfortunately yours weren’t totally fulfilled again especially in the long program. Mine instead were outreached by far:

That moment, when I saw the two of you live right ahead of me in practice. The moment you really nailed your SP, how I was screaming and celebrating of relief. The moment I was able to give you the gifts after the second practice. The moment when you walked around proudly showing my baked lion to other fans. All those moments of wonderful and magical performances by your fellow skaters, all those people I had been admiring in front of the TV screen for years: Evgenia Medvedeva, Rika Kihira, Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, Nathan Chen, Jason Brown and Dimitri Aliev just to name a few…

And that moment, Saturday 24th of November, 6 pm during the Ice Dance medal ceremony when I checked on my emails and my heart skipped for sure more than one beat: Email by Christopher Trevisan: “Sorry for the short notice, if you are still interested you can have a fan meeting with Deniss tomorrow morning either at 10 or 11 o’clock. Let me know if you are still interested.“ If I was interested? Hell, YES. But: Our bus to the airport was booked tomorrow at 10 o’clock from the main station in Grenoble. Our flight home was leaving Lyon at 2 pm. I was in shock, excited and concerned at the same time. It was hard to think straight.

I will never forget the night from November 24th to November 25th in my entire life. So many insecurities: When exactly? Where? Who will come? How will we get home? Take the train instead of flying? Take a taxi to the airport? Skip the whole fan meeting myself?

Charlie, my mother and I were sitting together until far after midnight without having any solutions. The three of us mainly discussed the question: Where? There was no nice café that had opened Sunday morning just around the corner…

We noticed that the only space we had available on this short notice were our own hotel rooms. Probably our entire hotel woke up by us laughing loudly about the joke: “Imagine, when I come home, I will be able to say: There was Stéphane Lambiel… in my hotel room!“ We weren’t sure back then if you’d accompany Deniss, Stéph.

Sometime during the night after sleeping for a few hours I was able to calm down and think more straight again. I checked the Lufthansa App and found out that it was actually possible to change our booking to a flight that flew to Frankfurt four hours later than our original one. I got the idea to ask in our hotel if there was a possibility to hold the meeting in a free conference room or another silent place. It was all coming together. We got a space in our hotel, we had people who messaged they would come to the meeting, we had the time to sit down and think about some questions that I wanted to ask you, Deniss. You came, you had quite some time, you were incredibly nice and the two of us got more and more relaxed while the interview / meeting went on and I had the feeling that I could continue talking with you forever. You are such an interesting, intelligent, nice, humble and funny person. Before Grenoble I had liked you mostly because of your beautiful and amazing skating, after Grenoble I knew where this was coming from. Before Grenoble I had been amazed by you, after Grenoble I was totally enchanted.

December

I was on endorphins for the next weeks straight. That weekend had been far better and beyond all my expectations.

But at the same time I was afraid: Was it ever going to be that perfect again? Should I maybe keep this one perfect weekend as one magic memory and not let it get destroyed maybe by disappointments coming in the near future? Would I maybe expect too much from future events? I told around: “That weekend was perfect. I will not go again this season. Next season again!“

What a luck I hadn’t been able to resist. Because my heart, longing to see the two of you again, won over my anxious head.

Christmas time came, I followed the Grand Prix Final together with my Mom, we got up in the middle of the night to cheer for Koshiro, we were worried when you, Deniss, withdrew from a competition in Zagreb, were relieved when it was announced that it wasn’t an injury. And we decided that it was finally about time to see you skate live as well, Stéph! So we ordered our tickets for Art on Ice in Davos in February. And with booking those tickets my plan not to go anymore this season had already faded away. I spent hours on the internet searching for possibilities to make it to Minsk for the European Championships. Meanwhile I knew many fans via social media and almost all of them were about to be in Minsk to support you, Deniss. I wanted to be part of it really badly. As a teacher though it is hard to get days off apart from the public holidays. Flights for the weekend only costed a fortune. It seemed impossible. My frustration grew. I am a person who fights really hard if she really wants something and usually tries everything to make it happen.

January

New years eve came along, together with a very nice and enthusiastic video of the two of you: “We hope to see you in Bellinzona for Music on Ice!“, you said, Stéph. And after countless times watching this lovely video and a sleepless and crazy night from the 1st to the 2nd of January my decision was made: Instead of the impossible mission going to Minsk, I would to go to Music on Ice in Bellinzona. I was going to take a train from my hometown Osnabrück in the Northwest of Germany on Friday afternoon to Stuttgart in the South of Germany. The next morning I was going to take the earliest train to continue traveling all the way to Switzerland where I would arrive in Bellinzona on January 12th at 11 am. I would go to the show on Saturday night and early Sunday morning I was going to take the train back, 10 hours all the way up to Osnabrück where I would arrive at 6 pm, ready to go back to school on Monday morning. But going to the show wasn’t the only plan I had. With help of the amazing Jelena from Daugavpils who runs the official Fan Club on Facebook we activated fans from all over the world to send me pictures with good luck wishes for you for Europeans. I was overwhelmed by the positive responses on the project. I received exactly 50 pictures, most of them amazingly creative.

When I entered the train on Friday afternoon, January 11th 2019, I felt the company of all those 50 people. I was nervous because I hadn’t heard of Chris yet, whom I had messaged with the idea of the project and had asked for an opportunity to give you the album personally.

But the sun was shining, I had motivating music in my ears, the train was riding further and further South and I felt the support of all of my friends and of my mom, who unfortunately couldn’t accompany me this weekend, so the nervousness turned into major excitement.

In Bellinzona I also wasn’t alone at all: I teamed up with two friends that I had both met in Grenoble. After our arrival we checked out the ice rink and sat down on a bench nearby the arena. The girls went through your album, Deniss, when suddenly my phone vibrated and I saw the message: Christopher Trevisan had written: “Hey Judith, can you be at the rink at 15.00?”

Have you ever been waiting for a message to come in for five consecutive days? Do you know that feeling that whenever you get a message you have that slight hope inside you that it could be the one you are waiting for and you get disappointed over and over again? And then the releasing moment comes? And you know my temper, right? Then you can maybe imagine how I screamed and jumped up and down when seeing that message. Did you maybe even hear that scream from somewhere far away that afternoon? Quite possible since Bellinzona isn’t that big and my joy was… LOUD! My two friends shared my joy and enthusiasm but not as loud. We had an “appointment”! I messaged all of my good friends right away: “Appointment at 3 pm!” I was so happy and excited. I carried the hopes and wishes of 50 people in my bag and now I knew I wouldn’t disappoint them.

That moment on the bench had only been the beginning of a day that again turned out so much better than all my expectations:

Hearing you say: “So nice to see you again!”, and being really thankful for the book. Being able to watch all three hours of show rehearsal, including the two of you practicing throw jumps. Recording an successfully landed throw jump for all my friends and many other fans. Seeing you, Stéph, skate live for the first time in my life. You, that man that had carried me through my teenage years with all your wonderful programs. Finally seeing you perform in person was magical. Seeing that wonderful and touching duet of the two of you. I had tears of joy in my eyes. And that moment after the show when you, Deniss, were walking beneath us and you turned around and came back thanking me for the album: “Thanks for the book. It’s fantastic!” These six words meant so much to me and to all those who had participated. My heart was full of joy and my body full of dancing endorphins again. It didn’t matter at all that the train ride the next day didn’t last ten but twelve hours. I was the happiest and luckiest girl on the planet.

Thanks to my amazing two girls who were my company during these crazy 21 hours I have spent in Bellinzona. Wouldn’t have been the same without those two and we do have an appointment at our “Appointment Bench” next year.

Still… after the Bellinzona - Fun it was getting serious! Europeans were on their way and it felt like the most important competition for you this season, Deniss. The season hadn’t gone as planed yet for sure… plus: Skating really well there would give you the chance to medal. Even though I had been in Bellinzona it was really hard for me to follow the action in Minsk from home. But that week showed me what great friends I had got to know because of you, Deniss. Those girls, who kept me updated the entire week, and never forgot about me were my personal heros. Some special mentions: Jelena, who waved at me through the TV stream during the Ladies Short program. That was so hilarious and made my day. Szilvia, whom I would have loved to share that horrible hostel with. Maybe with the two of us that place would have been less spooky? And thanks to her for sending birthday wishes to my mom during the live stream of your fan meeting, Stéph. Marina, for telling me the “they-only-want-me”- story right after it had happened and for asking Brian Joubert about his inspiration for the tiger jacket. And my amazing girl Maria. Thanks for just everything. I felt with her and like her at every moment during the entire week. I shared her excitement, her fears, worries, tears and joy. And I am proud and thankful to all of the girls who organized both fan meetings and streamed it for us at home. You’ve got the most amazing fans, I really hope you know that both.

Deniss? We all know you gave your best! You wanted it so much and we know you actually are able to do everything you had planed. That makes the outcome of this competition so sad. Thanks for keeping your smile for us fans, thanks for still performing amazingly. Thanks for that intense gala-program. “Iron“ is now one of my personal top 5 programs of all times.

And Stéph? Your week must have been nerve-wracking and cruel. Thanks for being there for your students, giving them strength and confidence. Thanks for trying everything you could to support Deniss and Emmi and still staying that nice and friendly to us fans. The pressure must have been immense. Maria summed it up so perfectly as an Instagram caption, so I will quote her here: “Thanks for being in the world!”

February

During Euros you were so nice to confirm that Team Champéry would keep its tradition and would come to the Cup of Tyrol in Innsbruck, Stéph. The planing for us attending and supporting you at that event started the moment Europeans were over. That Sunday still after watching the Gala my mother and I booked the last available cheap apartment in the city centre of Innsbruck. All February long we were busy planing that trip but hadn’t there been another appointment in February? My second 10 hour long train ride was scheduled from February 15th to February 17th. Osnabrück - Davos and back. Art on Ice was about to happen. I imagined that trip to maybe be a little less exciting. I expected to watch the show, see you perform two wonderful programs and was also looking forward to see James Blunt live again after more than 10 years. Back in 2006 James Blunts concert had been the first concert I had ever visited, so it was going to be a bit nostalgic… But… probably no surprise anymore: Also this trip turned out to be so much better than expected.

The afternoon in Davos was beautiful already, the sun was shining brightly and we had an amazing walk through the snowy landscape. We managed to sneak in to watch the practice again and: I got the opportunity to talk to you, Stéph. It was short and since totally unexpected I also didn’t really know what to say but it was extremely special for me. And I could take a selfie with you. A picture I had wanted to have ever since my teenage years. I am not the type of person who collects pictures with celebrities. I think asking for a picture is such an unreal and awkward situation. But I really longed for that picture with you, Stéph. With the guy I used to tell all of my friends about, who all didn’t know you, because figure skating is not too popular in Germany. With the guy I had admired ever since my teenage years. With the guy that is in my opinion the most passionate and elegant skater ever. With the guy that touched me to tears and overwhelmed my emotions when skating to the song Goodbye my Lover some hours later. With the guy who gave his second last performance at Art on Ice ever that night.

I read your post about quitting Art on Ice when my train had almost reached Osnabrück again. I felt incredibly sad and incredibly blessed at the same time: I had still been able to see your magic. Art on Ice will miss you incredibly, Stéph. But you surely made the right decision for yourself and we as fans will support you and keep loving you no matter what projects will come for you in the future.

I had two more weeks until the crazy road trip to Innsbruck was about to happen but well… there was one weekend in between. And I found the perfect place to go for that weekend: Barcelona, Spain.

You have already heard some names of great people I got to know because of you two, but I haven’t told you about Laia yet what is a shame because, Deniss, you would certainly like Laia as much as I like her: She’s an artist, she draws amazingly. She’s a baker and an excellent cook. She’s a bit of a philosopher. She is a big Star Wars fan. She’s incredibly funny and sarcastic but at the same time a bit shy and introverted. And she is a big fan of the two of you. Even though you know the story how Laia and I met already, Deniss, I think it’s worth telling it here again: Laia was also at the Grand Prix in Grenoble. I didn’t know her back then. And we also didn’t meet at the event itself. But she was the girl who took the picture of you holding my baked gingerbread lion. I discovered that picture on Instagram some weeks later. We started to chat, and we chatted even more. I talked with her for hours because, Deniss, in many ways she seems like a female version of you.

So at that last weekend in February I took a plane to Barcelona to finally meet her in person. She showed me some skating tricks on the ice and I showed her that the mediterranean sea is not too cold to swim in in February. She introduced me to traditional Catalan food and I brought her some Swiss Chocolate I had bought in Davos.

And she gave me the most precious gift I ever received from anyone: An amazing drawing of you, Deniss, skating to “Iron“. You have seen it in Innsbruck yourself and I am quite sure you will remember it.

So that weekend was another amazing experience thanks to the two of you.

March

“Good morning everyone”, I told my Instagram followers totally excited at the morning of February 28th, “my last big journey of the figure skating season is about to start. I will drive to work first and then I will drive from my school via Frankfurt airport and Munich airport all the way to Innsbruck. It will be a really long journey but I will pick up some amazing girls on the way. And I actually can’t wait to see Deniss and Stéph tomorrow.”

The Cup of Tyrol in Innsbruck was the smallest event I visited this season but it highlighted up everything that had happened before. At the beginning of the season my mom and I had been alone. The trip to Innsbruck ended with seven good friends from five different countries sitting together in a small apartment, laughing and celebrating you, ourselves and life.

Marina had flown to Frankfurt from Kyiv and Szilvia from Budapest. Maria had come from Chelyabinsk, Russia, to Munich. I met both, Marina and Maria for the first time in real life and that alone was really special. Suddenly sitting with those three girls together in my small car, singing along to Britney Spears songs was unreal and amazing enough. But of course we were here to support you, Deniss.

All three of you, Chris included, seemed quite surprised to see us around. Cup of Tyrol was such a small competition. Why should anyone go there? Well, we were and we weren’t the only ones, even though probably the loudest ones. Here are again some very special moments picked from many special moments:

Imitating your car karaoke to Britney’s Toxic on our way to Innsbruck with Marina and Szilvia.

Stepping out of our apartment early Friday morning in Innsbruck and seeing this city in all of its beauty: The river, the colorful houses and the mountains in the beautiful morning sun.

Watching you skate a nice and clean short program after some struggles during practice.

Chris laughing loudly about our designed shirt for you, Deniss: “I am not coaching Stéph!” Do you wear it from time to time? If you don’t I am sure Chris would…

Giving you my self knitted hat in Latvia colors.

Showing you Laias drawing and you complimenting her amazing “shade work”.

You, Stéph, telling us that we were just about to hang up our “Team Champéry banner” mirror converted. Oh dear…

Suffering with every quad attempt. Cheering for every jump that seemed “okay” somehow- especially for underrotated quads…sorry Stéph, but that’s what fans are there for.

Crying with Matilda after her Free Program. It was hard to see this but those moments belong to the sport just as tears of joy at another time. Please, Stéph, tell Matilda, that she is a very beautiful skater. She is very graceful and a joy to watch on the ice and we all hope to see her shining on the ice sometime again.

Calling ourselves to be the “Crazy Rabbit Crew” after constantly eating carrots and joking about what to throw on the ice. Carrots, maybe?

Watching your little extra show on the ice after you won the title, Deniss.

Joking with you, Stéph about our petition to bring Britney Spears to Art on Ice.

And for me, personally, receiving the compliment from you, Stéph, of being such a positive person. I am aware that you, the first time you said it, thought that my positivity was even a bit too much when we discussed the success of your Quad attempts, Deniss, but when we all said goodbye I had the honest feeling that you liked me, Stéph. And that means more than a lot to me!

And of course THAT picture. Yes, again a celebrity picture. But what a special one. Standing in the middle of both of you. In the middle of the two people who made my winter. You didn’t understand it back then, right?

I am sure you understand it now!

Of course Innsbruck hadn’t been the end of the season yet: Worlds were yet to come. Far away in Japan. The competition where you wanted to show everyone what you actually could do. In the country that you love so much and where your season had started. The country on which history your free program was built. The Last Samurai. The last dance of the season. It was a hard week for us as fans because it was obviously a hard week for your whole team. I watched the Short Program locked into the music room of my school during our break. Afterwards I had to teach a Music lesson, singing cheerful and happy songs with eight year olds. It was tough. But I can hardly imagine how tough it was for you.

The free program was a huge fight. After everything you had gone through that week, it was even an incredible fight. The score still wasn’t probably what you had dreamed of neither the placement in the end.

But you can be incredibly proud of that fight, Deniss. This whole season was surely a hard learning process. It was a season without a single competition you were completely happy with. After all the hard work you put in every single day it must be horribly frustrating. I got to know you though as a person who is thinking thoroughly about everything. And I got to know you as a person who is able to see this season as a learning process for the future. You never stopped performing no matter what happened to the jumps. All three programs this year were incredibly well choreographed and performed even better. And during that hard and rocky road you made so many people incredibly happy.

Stéph, this winter was surely also a hard one for you. One of the reasons why I like you that much is that you, just as I do myself, put your whole heart and passion into everything you do. I could feel your pain when things didn’t turn out as you wanted them to go for your skaters. It must be so hard to just watch and not being able to actually do something in those moments. I do imagine those intense emotions you had during your last Art on Ice shows. Thanks so much for sharing some of these moments with us.

And equally I want to thank you, Chris: Thank you so much for being there for the whole team whenever you are needed. Thanks for staying calm, positive and objective throughout the season. Thanks for sometimes probably being the connection between the two artists. I am sure it hasn’t always been easy. Thanks for the great cooperation with us fans. You are doing an amazing job in every way.

You as a team managed to go through this season together and I hope with my whole heart that it brought you even closer together. Success, failure, joy and sorrow are so close together in this sport. The future seasons will bring all of that again. And I am looking forward to laugh, cry and celebrate with you again next winter and hopefully many more winters. Until then I will spend time with some of the amazing people I met on the road. Next weekend Szilvia and I will visit Marina in Kyiv. It will be another amazing trip. You are about to make my spring, too!

#teamchampery #denissvasiljevs #Stephane Lambiel #figure skating #fanreview #teamchampéry #stéphane lambiel #figureskater #figureskatingfan

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aubrey-plaza · 6 years ago

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I hope you don't curse me for this, but can I request a W I L D N I G H T au? Messed up Staubrey and high Aubrey and all disaster? And the aftermaths. Thank you 💕

here we go, Vee, a proper wild night au that has somehow also turned into a Pride AU:

Aubrey is studying abroad in London and her assigned roommate is a girl called Fat Amy and Aubrey very quickly learns that this study abroad year is going to be w-i-l-d

Amy has zero filter and a love for life that is honestly a little refreshing for Aubrey and Amy represents everything that Aubrey had been looking for in a year abroad

When Amy finds out that Aubrey likes girls, she almost shakes with excitement and decides that they’re going to go to Amsterdam Pride

“What about London Pride?”

“Yeah we’ll go to that one too!”

Which is how they end up in Amsterdam in August. Amy is decked head to toe in rainbow flags, like a walking Pride store advertisement and Aubrey can’t stop smiling. Aubrey’s wearing a Pride flag bodysuit with white shorts and sneakers and she feels like a whole different person but Amy says she looks awesome and Aubrey doesn’t know a single person in Amsterdam so what the hell, right?

Stacie is a study abroad student at Delft University, the best engineering university in the Netherlands that is an hour away from Amsterdam by train

Stacie grew up hearing about the legendary Amsterdam Canal Parade so she tags along with some local students and they all head up to Amsterdam for Pride. Stacie wears a short rainbow romper and gets her hair braided and lets one of her friends cover her in glitter

Amy asks Aubrey if she’d like to try weed while they’re in Amsterdam because it’s legal there, and Aubrey lets it slip that she’d rather not, but that she’s always wondered what MDMA is like and Amy runs with it. While Amy contacts a local friend, Aubrey googles all the symptoms and side effects because she knows it can be reckless and dangerous but then Amy promises not to do any drugs, her eyes wide with excitement when she says “seeing you do drugs will be enough of a high for me”

Stacie’s getting bored of just watching the Canal Parade, so when one of her local friends Johan says he’s gonna go roam around the city, Stacie joins him

Turns out, Johan is meeting up with Fat Amy to sell her some MDMA and while that whole interaction goes down, Aubrey and Stacie strike up a slightly awkward conversation

“Have you ever done it before?”

“No. Have you?”

“Yeah”

“How is it?”

“Amazing, everything will be more.”

“More what?”

“Just… more. But you can’t do it too often, like once a month at most.”

“I’m not sure I’ll do it again, I just want to try it once.”

“Well then have fun and drink a lot of water.”

Johan and Amy go from business transaction to full on flirting, so even after Aubrey takes the tiny white pill, they hang around and Stacie doesn’t know this blonde stranger but Stacie’s drunk enough that watching Aubrey get high is eternally amusing

Especially when Aubrey gets to the everything-feels-good phase

She doesn’t stop touching Stacie’s skin and mumbling “so soft”

Stacie tries to give her water but “that doesn’t taste like anything” and Aubrey pouts so Stacie buys her a soft ice cream from McDonald’s and Aubrey moans throughout the whole experience and Stacie is suddenly really turned on but Aubrey just feels light and good

Amy and Johan are making out now and Aubrey wants to go dancing and Stacie’s sobering up slowly, teetering more on the edge of tipsy and she offers to take care of Aubrey while they go dance the day away in one of the Pride street parties

at this point Aubrey is rolling hard, touching strangers left and right and Stacie gave her a lollipop earlier to prevent her from grinding her teeth and Stacie turns away to look around the crowd streaming towards the street party and when she turns back, Aubrey is making out with a cute short redhead. Stacie chuckles but doesn’t intervene, and after about ten minutes the redhead bids them goodbye with a lingering look and Aubrey careens into Stacie

“Are you having fun?” Aubrey asks, eyes bright as she shimmies along to the music and touches Stacie all over

“Definitely.”

“Even though you’re not drunk or high?” Aubrey asks guiltily and Stacie nods reassuringly

Aubrey is suddenly fascinated with the glitter on Stacie’s face, staring with wide eyes and occasionally brushing her fingers against Stacie’s skin and it’s driving Stacie insane

A really tall Dutch guy bumps into them and as an apology offers them shots and Aubrey lights up, gasping as she says yes so they go over to one of the bars and Tall Dutch Guy suggests a bodyshot and Aubrey quirks her mouth at him and says she only likes girls but the guy is the opposite of offended as he points out that Stacie is a girl and Aubrey’s smiling again

Stacie knows she has no choice now but she doesn’t exactly complain when Tall Dutch Guy lifts her onto the bar and she lays back and squirms when the bartender pours tequila onto her stomach and then Aubrey is lapping up the alcohol and grabbing the lemon wedge from between Stacie’s boobs

Stacie has barely hopped down from the bar before Aubrey is kissing her and Stacie kisses her back, lets Aubrey set the pace as their mouths move over each other

“That feels so nice,” Aubrey moans

Five minutes later, Aubrey breaks away with a small groan

“What’s up?”

“I’m hungry.”

Stacie laughs and leads them out of the bar and on the hunt for food. They end up in a crammed pizza place with Aubrey in Stacie’s lap happily munching on a slice of cheese pizza and occasionally feeding Stacie a bite but mostly enjoying the life-changing experience of pizza while high

Once Aubrey is fed, Stacie takes her to a nightclub even though Aubrey protests at first. Stacie says “I really think you’ll like it” and “if you don’t like it we can leave” so Aubrey gives in and true to Stacie’s words, she really, really enjoys it. The thumping bass feels so nice in her body and the strobe and laser lights are driving her wild and Stacie’s dancing with her and touching her and Aubrey feels so fucking good

She tells Stacie she needs to go to the bathroom and Stacie goes with her, and it’s not until they’re locked together in a cubicle stall and Aubrey’s kissing her that Stacie realises she’s been tricked

Stacie’s wearing a romper and Aubrey’s wearing a bodysuit so it gets complicated fast but Aubrey whines against her lips as she grinds down against Stacie’s thigh and that’s enough to spur Stacie into action

Aubrey tells her where she’s staying and Stacie’s relieved to hear that she’s sharing a hotel room with Amy and not staying in a hostel so they go there and there’s a second moment of relief when they find the room empty

Once they’re in the room Stacie grows hesitant, because Aubrey’s a total stranger and she’s rolling pretty hard and even though Stacie knows MDMA doesn’t really mess with the whole ability to consent thing, she’s still a little worried about it, but then Aubrey presses her whole body against Stacie’s and says “you’re really hot and I really want to have sex with you” and Stacie’s not made of stone and when a hot blonde is begging for sex, you don’t say no

Aubrey giggles when Stacie undresses her and trails kisses over her skin and leaves glitter everywhere and it feels so good when Stacie touches her and Stacie goes down on her and when she climaxes Aubrey almost cries at how amazing she feels

She’s eager to return the favour, licks at Stacie’s skin and feels with her hands and Stacie’s a little impressed with how quickly Aubrey gets her to come

Hours later they’re a sweaty jumble of limbs, cuddled up to each other in bed and Aubrey can feel that she’s coming down from her high and Stacie suggests a shower

By the time they get out of the shower, Aubrey is crashing hard so Stacie forces her to drink a glass of water and puts her to bed. Aubrey surprises both of them by clinging to Stacie and begging her to stay, so Stacie stays

Once Aubrey is knocked out, Stacie gets dressed and swipes Aubrey’s room card and quickly leaves to go to the night shop. She’s not sure why she’s suddenly so invested in this girl but she gets fresh orange juice and a bunch of food and treks it all back to the hotel, letting herself back in and getting undressed before sliding back into bed with Aubrey

Aubrey wakes up a full 8 hours later with a soft groan, turning further into Stacie who wakes up at the sound and movement.

“You’re still here,” Aubrey says, surprise heavily colouring her tone

“I promised your friend I’d take care of you so yeah,” Stacie says with an awkward shrug and Aubrey wants to smile but even that hurts and she whimpers.

“You need to eat,” Stacie urges and even though Aubrey protests, Stacie gives her the orange juice and makes her eat and then they go back to sleep for a few more hours

They stay in bed the whole day together and even though they’re both naked, nothing happens

“It’s nice to know that I can actually feel emotions. I’m sorry you’re stuck taking care of me,” Aubrey says grimly and Stacie knows it’s the come down talking

“Eh,” she says with a shrug. “I got to spend the night with a wild blonde so I’m not complaining”

Aubrey laughs softly. “I’m not usually that wild”

“Could have fooled me”

The curtains stay firmly closed all day as Aubrey and Stacie cuddle and talk for hours on end. Aubrey gets a text from Amy saying she’s alive and in Rotterdam and to have fun with her new friend

“You know, there’s a Pride parade in Prague next week…” Stacie says offhandedly

“Will you be there?”

“Probably.”

“Hm…”

The next Saturday morning Aubrey catches an early as fuck flight to the Czech Republic and when she gets to the city, she waits by a weird Franz Kafka statue for five minutes before she sees a long pair of legs stop in front of her and she smiles

“You made it!” Stacie says with a wide smile that Aubrey mirrors

“I did,” Aubrey says and then Stacie’s kissing her

send me a Staubrey AU and i’ll tell you 5 of my headcanons for it

#are these getting fucking longer???#staubrey #staubrey au #staubrey headcanon #headcanon ask #ask #imnotasuperhero #k8 writes #pride au #also like if this seems unlikely I go to Amsterdam Pride every year and every year you meet people like this lol #I literally met my girlfriend at pride #and last year I went to 4 different prides in 4 different countries

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captainwondyful · 7 years ago

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Love, Simon at the Box Office

Hello, Tumblr. One of my idiosyncratic fandoms is box office tracking and results. If you’d indulge me for a hot minute, I would like to make a plea for you to go see this in theaters.

The following is a long post about box office numbers, life hacks for cheap tickets, and overall gay crying.

I have seen this film twice in the past 24 Hours, and I’m still struggling to find the exact words to properly describe how it profoundly affected me.

I’m somewhere between:

Love, Simon is a paint-by-numbers rom-com released by a major Hollywood Studio (Fox 2000). Only the lead protagonist is a gay teen. As Peter Travers of Rolling Stone states in his review:

A seemingly ordinary coming-of-age tale that looms large because of its inclusive romantic embrace, Love, Simon wins you over by capturing your heart without pushing too hard for the prize. ... Yes, the plot mechanics tend to lean toward the disappointingly slick and sitcom-ish. But what redeems the film and makes it such an exuberant gift is the sincere joy Berlanti and the actors take in celebrating its protagonist's growing self awareness…. Love, Simon is a John Hughes movie for audiences who just got woke. And for all its attempts not to offend, it's a genuine groundbreaker.

I love this critique. In Love, Simon no one dies, contracts HIV/AIDS, or is the victim of a violent hate crime. The characters face complications and angst -- coming out in 2017 still is a huge undertaking with monumental stakes. Yet in the context of this film, we understand that everything will be okay. The genre makes it safe. The audience knows that the homophobic bullies will get their comeuppance. The friends will make up. The main protagonist will find love.

Love, Simon might not be perfect. It might not be everything to everyone. But it deserves its praise, and we (the LGBTQIA community) deserve to have more films like it, because everyone deserves to escape into indulgent, cotton-candy media where they can see themselves proud and happy. Love, Simon is important; just as films like Black Panther, Girls Trip, Wonder Woman, and A Wrinkle In Time are important.

And we need to financially support it:

Money Makes The World Go Run

The film business is a business first. Movies that don’t make money, don’t get sequels or start trends. So I know, I know, I’m asking for a lot, but we need to embrace capitalism for just a second.

Love, Simon opened to a $11.5M Opening Weekend (OW) from 2,402 theaters.

According to Deadline.com

Love, Simon drew 58% females, 42% males with 59% under 25. The movie over-indexed in the west, Northeast, and Midwest; slightly under-indexed in the Rockies; and under-indexed in the south and southeast. Top 20 markets that over-indexed include LA, NY, SF, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Minneapolis. Top grossing theaters came from LA, NY, SF, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and San Antonio. Canada repped 5.6% of the weekend’s take.

Tumblr, you are driving this movie. You are going to make it a success. You have the power. We need to get this film to bring in a total domestic box office (DOM) of 50M+

Love, Simon’s budget is between 10M - 17M, plus P&A (Print & Advertising) Marketing Budget. I don’t have the P&A numbers.

There is a general rule of thumb in Hollywood called the 3X Rule. It states that a film is a box office success if it makes 3X its production budget. If a movie costs 50M to make, a 150M box office is a success. This rule is NOT exact, because it does not factor in the Print & Advertising (P&A) budget of the film, or that a movie can do terrible at the box office but still be considered a financial success because of X-factors like merch sales (I’m looking at YOU Pixar’s Cars)

Love, Simon will need 51M to pass the 3X Rule.

It’s not impossible looking at the comps:

Everything, Everything 34.1M OW / 64.6M DOM (1.89X Multiplier)

Paper Towns 32M OW / 85.5M DOM (2.67 Multiplier)

The Fault Is In Our Stars 48M OW / 124M DOM (2.58 Multiplier)

But it won’t happen if we don’t get that multiplier up to a 4X+

Multiplier = The total DOM divided by the OW. So for example:

Justice League (2017) 93.8M OW / 229M DOM = 2.44 Multiplier

The Greatest Showman (2017) 8.8M OW / 169.7M DOM = 19.04 Multiplier

We need to pull another run of legs like The Greatest Showman and keep it keep it theaters until Avengers: Infinity War (April 27, 2018). Once IW shows up, the summer box office season kicks off, and, realistically, the jammed packed release schedule will push Love, Simon out of theaters.

We have Five Weeks - to go see this film, to tell everyone we know to go see this film, and support the cast and crew as much as we can.

The best way to do that is a positive Word of Mouth and Legs.

Word of Mouth: TALK ABOUT THIS FILM. RAVE ABOUT THIS FILM. Post on Twitter, on Facebook, on Tumblr. Get a Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB.com account and post reviews. You can NOT underestimate a good grassroots effort to get the word out.

Legs = Tied to the multiplier. It’s how much a movie makes AFTER the opening weekend. Movies like Justice League are front-loaded; meaning most ticket sales are opening weekend and in the first week. Other movies, like The Greatest Showman, have much stronger legs, where they earn a decent amount every weekend for a large total.

Weekend Drops: The percentage that a movie drops from week to week. For example, Black Panther has had amazing holds with its (as of writing this) 5 Week Run: Weekend 1 242.1M Weekend 2 111.6M (-44.7%) Weekend 3 66.3M (-40.6%) Weekend 4 40.8M (-38.4%) Weekend 5 (26.6M (-34.7%) Even though it’s making less money every week, we can see that Black Panther’s domination over the marketplace is consistent. Solid audience retention is why Black Panther is not dropping many theater screens, despite being out for over a month. This is the same reason why The Greatest Showman (which came out before Christmas) is STILL playing in 700+ theaters. TGS actually had FOUR weekends out of its seventeen where it went UP from previous weekends, and had an average of a -20% week to week drop.

It is CRITICAL to Love, Simon’s success that this weekend only drops between 20% and 30%. Some on the Box Office Forum I’m apart of are speculating that the next week will be CRITICAL to the success and failure of Love, Simon’s domestic box office run.

So, let’s go to the movies!

Cheap Ways to See Films

Going to the movies is expensive. Here are some life hacks for discount tickets

MoviePass

Like Netflix or Spotify, you can sign up with MoviePass, and for $9.99 a month, you can see a movie a day. Yup. A movie a day. It is a steal of a deal and pays for itself after the first month. The only drawback is it takes a couple weeks for the company to send you your MoviePass card. I think it took three weeks to get mine. Still! This is A VALUE. And you can go see Love, Simon once a day for a month for only $9.99

Discount Tuesdays

Most movie theaters offer discount tickets on Tuesdays. You will have to check with your individual theaters, but Tuesdays are the most common day across the US and Canada. Our theater is $5 on Tuesdays.

AT&T Ticket Tuesdays

Do you have AT&T as a mobile carrier? They offer Discount Tuesday Tickets. Buy 1, Get 1 Free. You can read the fine print here

Dealflix.Com

Check Out this site for discount tickets.

Groupon Has A Banner for Discount Tickets

in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, Denver, and Washington D.C. In the past, Groupon has also offered discounts on Fandango, MovieTickets.com, and DealFlix gift cards or vouchers.

Student, Seniors (65+), and Military Tickets

Many theaters offer current discounts to these three groups. So check your local theater’s website, grab your grandma, friend in the military, and/or student ID, and head out to Love, Simon.

Group Rates

Often times buying tickets in bulk results in getting a discount. So get 10 or 20 of your friends, and call the theater to see if they offer group rates.

Go To a Matinee!

Remember! The early shows before 4 PM (6 PM at some theaters) are always less!

Wait! I Don’t Live in the US or Canada

You’re going to have a wait a little bit, but PLEASE go see this once it's released. Foreign Box Office is a HUGE part of a film’s success, sometimes it even saves it!

So, Save the Date:

March 22, 2018 - Brazil

March 29, 2018 - Australia

April 6, 2018 - UK, Ireland

May 3, 2018 - Argentina, Singapore,

May 4, 2018 - Finland, Taiwan,

May 9, 2018 - Philippines

May 10, 2018 - Hong Kong

June 14, 2018 - Czech Republic, Netherlands, Slovakia,

June 15, 2018 - Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden

June 21, 2018 - Hungary, Portugal,

June 27, 2018 - France

June 28, 2018 - Germany

June 29, 2018 - South Africa, Spain

August 30, 2018 - Italy

Even if you watch (or have already watched) a CAM online, please still consider seeing this in the theater when it comes out it in your country!

The more we can show Fox/Disney that we are willing to put our money where our mouth is, and go support this movie, the more likely it is that similar films will be made. Hollywood is constantly searching for the next big thing, so if they see a hit or potential trend, they going to try and figure out how to copy it.

I Just Don’t Have the Funds or Means to Get to the Theater

The goal of this post is drive box office success. I get that sometimes you just can’t get to the theater; or, because of the nature of the film, it might not be safe for you to attend. You can STILL help out with Word of Mouth

Fox is checking Social Media. Keep tweeting and posting about how much you love this movie, and how much it means to you. Make sure to use the Hashtag #LoveSimon. Reblog this post so others can get the information. Tell your friends to go, and RAVE about it. Post positive/rave reviews on Amazon, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDB. All of those things help Love, Simon.

If you’re still here, I know that was a lot, THANK YOU, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy and love this movie.

#movies #Love Simon #box office #signal boost #please reblog #go see this movie

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buynewsoul · 7 years ago

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Take a Dog-Friendly Vacation to the Ritz-Carlton, Aruba

Looking for the ultimate luxury vacation where you can actually take your dog? I’d suggest the Ritz-Carlton on Aruba. I was lucky enough to personally check out this dog-loving island and stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, a pet-friendly luxury property. Luxury properties don’t always allow pets, but certain Ritz-Carltons do and, of course, it does it in style.

I traveled to Aruba and spent several days there along with Instagram dog celebrities and their humans: Yorkie mix Ella Bean, her human, Hilary Sloan, plus husband Noah Shulman, creative director of video content (@ellabeanthedog); Maltipoo Mochi and her human, Elle Drouin (@mochiandthecity); and Brussels Griffon Sprout and his human, Sigrid Neilson (@brussels.sprout).

No surprise, the Ritz-Carlton rolled out the welcome wagon. That’s what they do. Aruba’s weather was perfect. That’s what it is. However, the first, middle and last thing I noticed was that Arubans are passionate about dogs. Everyone who worked at the Ritz-Carlton, from the managers to the restaurant hostess, the housekeepers and food and drink service team were crazy about dogs. I was shown photo after photo of their own dogs. The guests seemed to love dogs, too. The little dog trio was treated like celebrities.

Gourmet dog food at the Ritz-Carlton, Aruba

Mochi lounges on the beach in her very own cabana, where she got to eat, drink and bark at lizards. Photography courtesy Elle Drouin, @mochiandthecity.

They ate fresh prepared meals from their own doggie menus, lounged around on their own dog-sized cabanas on the beach and enjoyed doggie massages as part of the spa treatment. What dog could ask for more?

Hilary tells me that Ella’s favorite part was “hands down” the chef-prepared food. “She realllly loved the salmon dish in particular,” Hilary says. “She turned up her nose at her regular food for a few days when we got home.” Hilary and Noah’s favorite part was when they got to swim with Ella in the warm sea. “Where else can you get clear, calm and warm water to enjoy and bask in and — even better — splash with your pup? It was a one-of-a-kind experience.”

Elle and Mochi agree that the gourmet food was definitely a highlight. “The Ritz-Carlton has a special dog-friendly menu featuring a “woof woof” cocktail of light chicken consommé, chicken breast and diced vegetables (so delicious!) as well as other gourmet options like salmon tataki, flank steak and duck liver pate.” She adds, “Mochi also enjoyed watermelon ‘ice cubes’ on the beach, plenty of fresh fruit and a special salmon sushi dinner our last night at the hotel!”

The Ritz-Carlton resort

The rooms come with private balconies to enjoy the view. Photography courtesy The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba.

There were guests I met who come back to the Ritz-Carlton, Aruba, every year. I can’t blame them. The resort has beautiful, large rooms with private ocean-view balconies. There are four different places to eat, two swimming pools and several shops, where you can buy anything from bathing suits to cute dog products. You can bring your dog with you to these areas, plus the expansive beachfront where there are water activities you have access to like stand-up paddleboarding, which not only did the dogs try but some of the local Aruba dogs as well. There we met Aruba’s own Instagram celeb and dog rescue supporter Yoga Girl Rachel Brathen (@yoga_girl) and her paddleboarding dog Ringo (@ringo_thegringo).

You can also kayak, snorkel, scuba dive and sail. The Ritz-Carlton is the last hotel at the end of the island, and you can easily take your dog out walking around on the beach away from other tourists. (Keep your dog on a leash since Aruba does have a leashed dog law.) Several areas you’ll want to check out, but get a dogsitter since these are human only, are the resort’s casino (slot machines, table games, bingo), the Fitness Center gym (two thumbs up from me!) and the luxury spa (facial and massage, anyone?). However, your dog can get a doggie massage if he so desires.

Like many luxury hotels, there is a $250 non-refundable pet fee. Although there isn’t a specific dog potty area on the resort grounds, there are plenty of spots your dog can use — just make sure to pick up after. The sun and ocean breeze are wonderful, but you’ll need to keep your dog hydrated, in the shade when possible (like the cabanas!), use dog sunscreen and perhaps protective doggie sunglasses, as the sand does blow around with the winds. (Follow on Facebook @RitzCarltonAruba.)

Getting to Aruba with your dog

Getting to Aruba with your dog is simple. Photography courtesy The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba.

There are always things you must do when traveling with your dog. For Aruba, your pup must weigh less than 20 pounds to stay at the Ritz-Carlton and to travel in the passenger compartment of the airplane. For American pups, you need a valid International Veterinary Health Certificate issued within 14 days prior to arrival in Aruba endorsed by the USDA, a valid rabies shot and inoculation certificate, and your dog must be microchipped. (See visitaruba.com for more information.)

My dogs were a little too big to come with me, so I asked Hilary and Elle about their experience. “It was actually so easy!” Hilary says. “We were nervous, because part of the process requires scanning and emailing the Aruba customs agency, but they responded within the same day to give their approvals. I simply printed the attachment they sent, brought the papers from the USDA via my vet’s office and showed them when we landed.”

Elle’s experience was also easy. “Since Mochi was already microchipped and up-to-date on her rabies vaccinations,” she explains, “after getting the signed health certificate from her vet, we just had to overnight it to the USDA office in Albany, New York, with a $38 endorsement fee along with an overnight return envelope. Once we got that back, we emailed all of the signed paperwork to the Veterinary Service of Aruba for approval.”

What to do around Aruba

Sigrid and Sprout try their hand/paw at paddleboarding, one of the many outdoor activities available. Photography by Melissa L. Kauffman.

Aruba is known for its white-sand beaches, consistent warm, sunny days (around 80 degrees), warm ocean waters and cool ocean breezes, which is why this 19.6-mile long and 6-mile across island off of Venezuela is so popular. It’s part of the Netherlands, and you can find the Dutch influence everywhere. In fact, many of the Arubans I spoke to at the Ritz-Carlton attended college in the Netherlands before coming back to the island. There are two official languages, both Dutch and Papiamento (Bon Bini means welcome in Papiamento).

If you can tear yourself away from the Ritz-Carlton, there are many places to explore. If you love shopping, you’ll find many stores downtown in the capital city of Oranjestad. There are also several museums, the Arikok National Park and the Bubali Bird Sanctuary. We took a short ride out to the beautifully restored old stone California Lighthouse, which gives you an amazing view of the island. There are as many land activities (ATVs, horseback riding, etc.) as water activities, so you’ll never be bored.

Aruba’s rescue efforts — and its very own name for mixed-breed dogs

I was lucky enough to stay at The Ritz-Carlton, Aruba, along with Instagram faves (left to right) Hilary Sloan & Ella Bean, Elle Drouin & Mochi plus Sigrid Neilson & Sprout. Photography by Melissa L. Kauffman.

Dogs are well-loved on the island, but, just like in the United States, there is a homeless pet population. I got to meet some dedicated dog welfare devotees at the resort. Aruba Ritz-Carlton’s own hotel manager, Louella Brezovar, introduced us to members of Sgt Pepper’s Friends (sgtpeppersfriends.com), a nonprofit that she and others at the Ritz-Carlton volunteer for. Louella had personally flown adopted pets to the United States, delivering them to Americans who had adopted the Aruban dogs.

Aruba dogs are all mixed breeds called Aruba Cunucu dogs and weigh between 35 to 55 pounds. You can follow these rescue dogs along with the group on its website or social media pages @sgtpeppersfriends.

Tips on traveling with your dog

just living my best bean life ???? #tbt to aruba ???? @ritzcarlton ???? up!

A post shared by ella & coconut bean (@ellabeanthedog) on Nov 30, 2017 at 5:43am PST

When you are an Instagram celebrity, you’re in much demand and get to travel all over. Hilary and Elle gave us some of their hard-learned tips for flying with dogs.

“Listen to your dog,” Hilary says. “Ella Bean is an extremely confident flyer and naps the entire time. She prefers to stay in her bag and feels most secure there but enjoys checking in, and we always give her special treats during the trip. Our other pup, Louis does NOT enjoy flying and feels it’s scary and stressful. We don’t travel with him because we respect his boundaries.”

Elle’s advice: “Make sure your dog is comfortable. If they’re not used to traveling in a carrier, give them a chance to spend time in it while you’re at home. Mochi loves being in her carrier, so she usually naps the entire flight!”

Thumbnail: Ella Bean keeps cool in the sun on Aruba’s famed white sands. Courtesy Hilary Sloan @ellabeanthedog.

Tell us: Are you planning any vacations with your dog? Have you ever thought about traveling to Aruba?

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Dogster magazine. Have you seen the new Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet’s office? Subscribe now to get Dogster magazine delivered straight to you!

Read more about traveling with dogs on Dogster.com:

Top Dog-Friendly Spots in Virginia

International Dogsitting: What It’s Like to Dogsit Abroad in Exchange for Free Accommodations

Visit Dog-Friendly Omaha!

The post Take a Dog-Friendly Vacation to the Ritz-Carlton, Aruba appeared first on Dogster.

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wardans · 7 years ago

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It's Tag Time!

Rules: Tag people you want to know more about!

Tagged by: @aspiring-to-be-a-cat thanks babe ( ˘ ³˘) im so sorry this took so long orz

Were you named after anyone?

Well, i was named after some french actress named Anouk Aimee. The name is very popular in the Netherlands but not so much Canada 😢

When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday actually. I was sitting outside (bad idea it was hella cold) talking on the phone when i started talking about atlantic cod and i dont remember what the joke was but it was so funny i made myself cry from laughing too much

Do you like your handwriting?

Hmm it's ok i think.. Its gotten neater over the last few years so thats good. And it's readable so bonus points ✌Dont even get me started on cursive tho... I learned it maybe 2x a week for a month in gr4 and then it was taken out of the curriculum so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What’s your favorite lunch meat?

HAAAAAAAAAAAAMM !!!!!!!!! Im just a sliced ham sorta gal

Do you have kids?

Well i certainly hope not! ;D nah im barely an adult anyways. But kids love me for some reason tho

If you were a different person, would you be friends with you?

Idk tbh. I would hope so. If we were i would pray to literally anything that other me could cook so they could teach me their ways. My family? Great cooks, etc. Me? Not so much. Anyways we would both enjoy memes and singing to disney movies and mamma mia and dreaming of sleeping forever (and riding the bull ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )

Do you use sarcasm?

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Do you still have your tonsils?

Indeed

Would you bungee jump?

See i think it would be cool but i wouldnt actually go through with it. Unless i was blindfolded. Blindfolded means i cant see myself fall to my death

What’s your favorite cereal?

I just eat cheerios with raspberries;; although when i was younger my mum would occasionally buy Reese's Pieces I think which werent so bad

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

Sometimes yes sometimes no

Do you think you are a strong person?

Surprisingly yea actually. Listen i lifted my friend one (1) time who weighs like 230+.

What’s your favorite ice cream?

I just had it like 5 minutes ago. Berry sorbet!!! I also really like lime. Sorbet icecream is my saviour ty.

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Hmm something that sticks out. It always depends on the person really. Some people i dont notice anything. But like one friend, something i always noticed was her eyes (the prettiest ever) or her smile! Or my mum has got her big german nose which is hard to miss. I just realized that i love peoples noses cause they can be so different and unique i love it. One friends nose literally reminds of Sera's it's adorable

What’s your least favorite physical thing about yourself?

.... My eyebrows... Like they go from dark to light but it's so abrupt that it just looks like half is shaved off TT-TT so makeup it is and oh it does wonders. Oh and probably my hands... theyre so small, theyre like tiny sausages i hate it and my feet are super small.. like size 4.5 or 5 if im lucky

What color pants and shoes are you wearing right now?

Im wearing grey track pants that i totally didnt steal from my friendo and Iron Bull shirt ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (thanks bioware)

What are you listening to right now?

...... What is Love by Haddaway

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Black, like my soul

Favorite smell?

Hmm, melted cheese.... And when the Khans (family friends) make Biryani or Samosas or Tandoori or Curry they are the best smells ever..! Hm the cold crisp air and pine trees in winter as well!

Who was the last person you talked on the phone with?

My friend actually! (sorry mum)

Favorite sport to watch?

Haha sports? What sports? Ok i have watched football (european) with my family. Europeans are crazy about football my god. I was there during the world cup and oh dear when the Netherlands lost....

Hair color?

Well naturally im blonde but i dyed it red violet last december which is essentially hot pink but with more purple in the mix but then i tried this lighter almost pastel pink. Idk if i should go back to blonde or do something else tho :0

Eye color?

Blue like my mamas

Do you wear contacts?

Nah just glasses when i remember to :D

Favorite food?

I had mac n makhani last night and idek what it is but it was good so yea that. And lasagna. What can i say i really like cheese. Oh ooh and butter chicken! And this pulled pork poutine i got from a Jamaican restaurant one time.... It was so good....

Scary movie or comedy?

I hate scary movies. When i first watched Jaws when i was 13/14 i had nightmares for months. So comedy. There was a comedy/horror that i loved tho; Tucker and Dale: Forces of Evil or something like that.

Last movie you watched?

I wanna say Thor: Ragnorak (so good) but it was actually Moana (again for the 100th time)

What color shirt are you wearing?

It's grey with one of Bulls tarots on it (blessed). Its got a little bit of paint on it tho :'(

Summer or winter?

Winter. Oh, worm? Although i love spring because it rains so much hell yesss

Hugs or kisses?

I deprived myself of affection for years, thanks! depression! So now i make up for it hugging all the people i care about. Occasionally i'll give friends smooches on the cheeks if theyre comfortable with it too

Book you’re currently reading?

Haha whats reading? I havent read anything in forever. Im still trying to finish The Danish Girl, The Outlander series, The Serpent of Essex and The Girl of Fire and Thorns which I got like 6 years ago at a scholastic book fair

Who do you miss right now?

My mum and my cat and my friends and family T-T and Asra & Nadia & Oleg & Parthurnaax pls let them be safe and happy and basically ever vg character that i love ;u;

What’s on your mouse pad?

Ive never used one of those ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but my german oma and opa got me one a long time ago with some famous german mouse thing on it. Kinda cute kinda not

What’s the last TV program you watched?

This tv show called Blackish was just on tv. It's hella funny omg. Also i turn on American Dad just for backround noise if that counts

What’s the best sound?

That music that plays when Asra is around, like in that cave.. It just sounds so magical ;u;

Rolling Stones or The Beatles?

Well i did just go to a Beatles Tribute concert 2 weeks ago sooo.. The Beatles it is 👍

What’s the furthest you ever traveled?

Austria cause for some reason we stopped there when going to visit family but it's farther than the Netherlands so like... what...?

Do you have a special talent?

Drawing I guess. Being outta school and barely drawing sort of took me outta the loop... now everyhing i draw looks ugly :/ I guess my hidden talent of writing for one ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ I learned to make coffees i didnt even know existed at work as well so?? Yes?

Where were you born?

Toronto actually :/ I was almost born somewhere else because my parents travelled a lot up until i was born but they came back... Goddamn

I tag: @queenlydweeb @ridethefrostback @mrjennety @backwardszombie ;D

#this is long & overdue aahhhhh #thats for the tag babe. ( ˘ ³˘)#how do i tag this uuh #the onion speaks #aspiring-to-be-a-cat #queenlydweeb #backwardszombie #ridethefrostback #long post #im sorry everyone most likely read this stuff orz. ...#mrjennety #hey gheykobé surprise it's me

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gymwrites · 7 years ago

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Second Thoughts: A Fan Sequel to First Times

[Author’s note: It wasn’t supposed to happen, but Chapter 6 will have three parts. Some of you seem to prefer I release whatever I’m done with sooner, so trying it out this way :) P.S I wonder if there will still be any Thorsman shippers after this chapter 🤔]

Links to: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 (Part I), Chapter 5 (Part II), Chapter 6 (Part I), Chapter 6 (Part II), Chapter 6 (Part III), Chapter 7, Chapter 8 (Part I), Chapter 8 (Part II)

Chapter 6 (Part II): Rio

The second thought Aliya Mustafina has when it just so happens to be Eythora Thorsdottir entering the all but deserted locker room, is how she hates not being able to hate her. The first had been replete with silent cursing. Lots of it.

She curses the twistedness of the universe. Of all the gymnasts in all the world, of all the moments in time, it had to be her and it had to be now. She curses the air of confidence Eythora totes around with her. Even when setting her oversized gym bag down onto the lacquered wooden bench, tilting her head to the side, and putting one arm over the other in a slow, relaxed stretch.

But most of all, she curses when Eythora turns at the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the showers.

Spotting Aliya, the girl’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. The Russian, freshly wet hair hanging down over her shoulders, is equally surprised. Eythora is the very last person she wants to be alone with. To make matters worse, Eythora greets her as if greeting a friend she hasn’t seen in years.

“Aliya, hey!”

Grudgingly, Aliya plasters what she hopes resembles a smile on her face.

“Hi.”

“I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here so early,” Eythora says, her dimpled grin designed to disarm even the most jaded person in the room.

If Aliya had tried to pick apart her demeanor in subatomic detail to find some flaw, some inconsistency, she would have failed. With a sinking heart, she resentfully admits the obvious: No wonder why Aly seems so taken by this girl. Genuineness is the currency of good, decent people. And Eythora has it in spades. Not to mention her English is freakishly, annoyingly perfect.

Pushing down her irritation, Aliya replies coolly, “Early is better. No people.”

“You just finished training?”

“Yes.” Aliya fervently prays that keeping her responses short and minimally polite will bring the conversation to a merciful end.

"Congratulations on your team winning the silver yesterday. You deserved it.” Eythora flashes that damn smile again. She unzips her bag and starts pulling out various items one by one - a large fluffy towel emblazoned with a golden lion and Welkom in Nederland in bold typeface, a sleek black training leotard, a roll of tape.

Aliya mutters her thanks. She knows she should comment on how impressive Team Netherlands’ performances were. She’s been following their dazzling rise with interest for quite some time now. She’s even looked forward to swapping notes on choreography and performance under the code. Instead, Aliya grips the straps of her bag tighter and makes a not-so-subtle move towards the exit.

“How are you feeling about the all-around tomorrow?”

Stopped in her tracks, a jolt of bewilderment shoots through Aliya. Her deliberately standoffish aura must really be off today. Either that, or Eythora is one of the rare few who are completely impervious to wilfully uncommunicative Russians.

“I am good.”

“Good… Me too. I think.” Eythora sits down on the bench beside her bag with a sigh. “Good, but nervous.” She looks up at Aliya with unconcealed admiration. “I guess you know what that’s like. You’ve been in so many competitions and had so much success. I am a huge fan of yours. Does it get any easier? I mean, dealing with all that pressure?”

Dear God.

Does it get any easier to constantly be expected to bear the brunt of responsibility for an entire national team, receiving nothing but low rumbles of disappointment from your own gymnastics federation in return? To be falsely accused of using injury as an excuse to slack off? Does it get easier to fall hopelessly for a rival American gymnast, to the strong disapproval of everyone close to you, only to have her break you, but somehow still keep an iron hold over you? To have the girl clearly chasing after said American unexpectedly ask you for advice?

Surprising even herself, Aliya manages to hold off her rising animosity by breathing deeply in, then out fast. Can she blame Eythora for the fact that Aly is a walking human magnet? It’s not the girl's fault she fortuitously crossed paths with the American in Rio, at a time when no one, least of all Aliya, has any claim over her.

‘Do you think we could maybe just be friends? People who aren’t crazy in love with each other, or aren’t crazy angry at each other all the time. Just friends.’

Like a trained assassin lowering a drawn weapon, Aliya’s readiness to wage war fades, bit by bit.

Just friends.

Warily, quietly, Aliya answers, “Thank you. It not get more easy. Only look easy to people who not know how hard we train.” She allows herself to give Eythora the slightest of reassuring looks. “You not have problem tomorrow if trust body, trust mind.”

Eythora pauses thoughtfully, musing over Aliya’s words. She unscrews the top of a shiny red metallic water bottle she’s pulled out of her bottomless bag. A long sip follows. Then Eythora nods and breaks into a grateful smile. “Thanks so much, Aliya. I’ll remember that.”

Minutes - they seem like years - of silence ensue, punctured only by the sound of Eythora rustling through a plastic bag that contains pairs of extra socks. At this rate, she’s going to pull out her entire wardrobe, wooden chest of drawers and all.

Aliya seems to be the only one to sense the rising level of discomfort permeating the space between them. There's something else she has to say, but it's taking her longer than expected to work up to it. “Eythora,” she eventually forces out in a low voice.

The Dutch girl stops unrolling a sock and glances up with curiosity. “Yes?”

“I am sorry. For yesterday.”

The confusion on Eythora’s expression almost breaks Aliya’s resolve to be cordial to the girl. She doesn’t want to have to repeat the apology, the speaking of which has left a nasty, nauseous aftertaste.

“Sorry? What for?”

“I am not good to you when… when you are with Aly in the morning.” Aliya swallows. The phrase ‘with Aly’ tastes even worse coming off her tongue. Like bile mixed with cheap, sour wine.

“Oh, that.” For a split second, it looks like Eythora doesn’t quite know how to react. But she recovers quickly with a smile. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t bothered by it.”

Aliya’s eyes harden into black stone. The way Eythora casually said that makes her one part uncomfortable, nine parts irate. 'Wasn’t bothered by it', like she's trying to be deliberately dismissive.

Aliya doesn’t get an opportunity to parse this out, because Eythora presses on, catching her off guard again.

“Look. I don’t want to be too forward or anything-”

A cold prickle of dread runs through Aliya’s body. Too forward was about ten minutes ago.

“- but I wanted to…“ Eythora hesitates, searching for the correct word, “check? that you have nothing going on with Aly.” She pauses again, contemplating how to proceed. Her earnest, slate grey eyes lock onto Aliya’s. “If there is, just say the word. I’m not the kind of girl to come in between two people, if you know what I mean.”

A raging loathing engulfs Aliya whole, even if it is tinged with a bit of guilt for being hostile to this genuinely considerate girl. She has to credit Eythora for being as gutsy as she is right now. Aliya knows exactly what she means. But who does that? Who lays out all their cards at once, giving someone who has every reason to take away the object of their desire the power to do so?

It turns out to be a genius tact, because something snaps. An answer instinctively rushes out, one Aliya can hardly believe when she hears herself give it.

“No. There is nothing.”

Saying that feels like swallowing blades. Blades, and fire.

“You’re not together?” Uncertainty, and a smidge of hopefulness, colors Eythora’s careful tone.

“No.” It’s surreal, almost as if her mouth is an independent and completely separate part of her, while her soul is screaming at it to take it all back and declare that no one, nothing, will ever be allowed to come between her and Aly Raisman.

The salving effect of that tiny, two-lettered word is obvious. Eythora isn’t even trying to hide her relief. She gives a shy, uneasy chuckle. “Thank you for even answering that. I know it was a stupid question.”

Aliya feels sick to her stomach. She realizes that fear and pride, magnified by a history of hurt, had pushed her and Aly onto two parallel tracks that would never meet. So long as it remained this way, a vulnerable space would exist between them, one that opened up opportunities for others to enter into the picture.

“She’s special, isn’t she?” Eythora’s question isn’t really a question, but the remarks of someone who can’t help but keep talking about a person they’re clearly taken with.

There are worse things than continuing this conversation, Aliya thinks. Walking on burning coals. Tearing through tendons and bone. But it sure doesn’t feel like it right now. Nothing could possibly be worse. She forces the muscles in her throat to work. “Da. She is good gymnast.”

Eythora gives a small faraway smile. “Not just that. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve met.”

“There are many nice people.”

“Not like her, though.”

Reflexively, Aliya clenches her first.

No. There is no one like her.

With another embarrassed laugh, Eythora glances at Aliya apologetically. “I’m sorry, I just… It’s good to talk to someone who knows Aly and doesn’t think I’m crazy for being so attached to a girl I barely know. My teammates think I’ve lost my mind.”

“They are right.”

Frowning, Eythora asks, “How so?”

“Two country, two people. It is never good.”

“I know it won’t be easy.”

“It is not about easy, not easy. It is about what is possible and not possible.”

“I believe in trying for things that other people say are impossible. Isn’t that why we’re all here, at the Olympics?”

Aliya glares, eyeing the girl with a seasoned, but barely maintained tolerance. “What you are wanting is much different to Olympics.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Eythora finally breaks with her policy of not explicitly throwing down a challenge to Aliya. There’s no ambiguity about it now - her steady, unflinching gaze confirms that she isn’t going to hold back anymore.

With that made clear, there’s no longer any reason for Aliya to be standing there talking to Eythora. She can’t stay much longer, anyway. With each passing second, it feels like the freshly painted and scuffed locker room walls are collapsing slowly in on her. Aliya shifts her bag onto the other shoulder and gives the girl a terse nod.

“I am late to see my team. Good luck tomorrow.”

Eythora seems unsurprised that their exchange has come to an abrupt end. “You too. And Aliya?” She dips her head to the side, a somber expression etched on her face, as if acknowledging she had tested the Russian’s patience more than was perhaps warranted. “Thank you.”

As she strides out the doorway, Aliya feels weighed down by a weary sorrow, a distressing sense that she has somehow been outmanoeuvred. Once outside, she finds a wall to lean against. She gulps in mouthfuls of fresh air, trying to clear her head and if possible, expunge from her memory the last few minutes of her life.

If it had been a test of her resolve to be ‘just friends’ with Aly Raisman, she had passed. Maybe not with flying colors, but she had scraped by, the promise to not assert any deeper connection to the girl intact. Her fighting instincts to claim the American solely as hers, and hers own alone, no longer reign supreme.

She had done it.

Aliya hides her face in her hands, willing back a sob.

Being ‘just friends’ with Aly Raisman is the most horrible feeling in the world.

#raistafina #ST #chapter 6 #second thoughts #first times

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