#WHY UNKNOWN AUTHOR OF THE PODCAST

[the-one-and-only-duckduckgo]

Heyyyy how's tma going?

Just finished reading episode 12, planning to read more tomorrow after exposing. Going nicely, thanks for asking!

(It was, in fact, not going nicely. At the minute when our brave antihero spoke, ze was holding onto zir last bits of sanity, doing anything to avoid crying because of Gerard Keay's reappearance. )

[placedupon]

I'm fully on board with criticizing people who say China is evil and bad – it's propaganda. But can you recommend any good reading on why China is actually an important leftist project and not more imperial state capitalism? This is the critique I hear from my Western left bubble, but I don't feel thoroughly educated on this and am receptive to alternative arguments.

Thanks and sorry for posting from my weird kink alt – it's the one that's on my phone and I can't sleep. 🌻

For the specific question you're asking, I think the works of Mobo Gao are the best, but I'll also include some books about the Chinese revolution because I believe they provide some critical context. Of course these recommendations will be in English, because I'm not good enough at reading Chinese to understand Chinese texts (working on it!)

The Battle for China's Past: Mao & the Cultural Revolution by Mobo Gao deconstructs a lot of the sinophobia and anti-communism in the way the west (and many Chinese people) view the cultural revolution. In a similar vein, The Unknown Cultural Revolution: Life and Change in a Chinese Village by Dongping Han is about the authors village and how the cultural revolution & communism was able to empower previously downtrodden peasants.

Constructing China: Clashing views of the People's Republic by Mobo Gao is more about modern perceptions of Chinese people, and how sinophobia is produced on a global scale. Very important text.

On a more historical side, I think the works of Han Suyin are essential: she was one of the only english writers who spoke positively about China (and lived in China!) during the communist revolution. Her autobiographies, starting with A Mortal Flower gave me a lot of insight into many critical events in Chinese history.

She also wrote biographies which were heavily researched. I'm currently reading Wind in the Tower: Mao Tsetung and the Chinese Revolution. She was also friends with Zhou Enlai, and wrote a book about him titled Eldest Son: Zhou Enlai and the Making of Modern China, which I've heard very good things about.

In terms of modern writers who are fighting against Sinophobia right now, Vijay Prashad is incredible. The Qiao Collective has many good articles about China. The podcast Decolonized Buffalo has some great episodes about Chinese history and modern anti-communism.

If I think of more recommendations I'll add them later.

[secretmellowblog]

Okay, here are some random panels I’m personally looking forward to at the online Les mis convention Barricadescon starting tomorrow!! (note that this off the top of my head, and they’re in no particular order, and that I am excited for all of em.)

(Also note that it’s the last day to register, which you can do on their site here. You can also see the full program of all the panels/their descriptions here.)

1. I’ll say any of the Guests of Honor (Jean Baptiste Hugo, the descendant of Hugo will be talking about his project photographing his ancestor’s house; Christina Soontornvat, author of the award-winning Les Mis retelling “A Wish in the Dark;” and Luciano Muriel, playwright of a 2018 play about Grantaire.)

2. @psalm22-6 ‘s panel “Early Transformative Works,” which is about the earliest Les Mis retellings, parodies, and “fanfics” from the 1800s/early 20th century. They’ve shared deeply cursed sneak peeks with me. Apparently in 1863 a man wrote a “proper Christian” retelling of Les Mis where Javert is reimagined as a proper Christian woman following poor criminals around giving them charity while they keep rejecting her kindness. Powerful. Javert as Mary Sue. (Note that I may be explaining poorly because I haven’t seen the panel yet.

3. History podcaster David Montgomery’s panel “The Yellow Passport: Surveillance and Control in 19th Century France,” which dives into the role of the police and strategies of government surveillance at the time Les Mis is set!

4. My own panel “Why Is There a Roller Coaster in Les Mis,” which I shared the first five minutes of here. There’s an actual scene in Les Mis where Fantine rides a roller coaster so I made a full defunctland video on how that roller coaster got to Paris in 1817, the fascinating historical context behind early roller coasters, and why it became defunct.

5. @thecandlesticksfromlesmis ‘s panel “Beat for Beat,” analyzing the script of Les Mis 2012 and contrasting it with the book and musical. Discussion of 2012 is almost overwhelmingly always about its music or cinematography, and I’m fascinated to hear someone finally analyzing the screenplay/ structural changes.

6. Morbidly curious for “Lee’s Miserables,” the academic panel discussing the paradoxical popularity of a censored version Les Mis in the Confederate South (with all the references to the evils of slavery carefully removed of course)

7. “Barricades as a Tactic,” a panel discussing how barricades actually functioned as a tool of warfare historically and the echoes of them in the modern day.

8. All the little social meetups, including the Preliminary Gaieties drinking game!

9. I’m biased because I’m also helping present this one, but the @lesmisletters panel (on the Dracula-daily inspired Les Mis readalong happening now.)

10. “The Fallibility of History in Les Miserables,” by @syrupsyche. It’s a panel analyzing the way Hugo often treats Les mis as a story that he learned about through research/gossip, rather than a fictional narrative— analyzing where Hugo does that in the text and what it means thematically.

11. The Unknown Light Examined, by Madeleine— a panel analyzing the chapter where the Bishop confronts the elderly revolutionary, and is forced to re examine his political beliefs! An iconic chapter, and the abstract is very compelling.

But also a lot more, check out the exhaustive list here XD. And also register at this link!

[riverfortune]

Look. Look. Tumblr. I am not good at convincing people to do things, but I desperately need to peer pressure some of you into reading this book series.

It's called Stealing From Wizards by R.A. Consell and it's delightful, well-written, engaging, and criminally unknown. I've had such a fun time reading the series. I don't know why it isn't doing numbers of Tumblr.

If you were a Harry Potter Kid who grew up and became, shall we say, disenchanted with that series but you still have a soft spot for wizard boarding school stories, you should read Stealing From Wizards.

If you like children's books but you'd like to see actual competent and empathetic adults in the children's lives (without taking the narrative drive away from the young protagonist!), you should read Stealing From Wizards.

If you want a story with a plucky young protagonist who's learning how to be a person for the first time after leaving an abusive home life, you should read Stealing From Wizards.

If you only have $8 to your name you can probably still buy all three ebooks on Amazon so you should read Stealing From Wizards.

If you're completely broke you can listen to the audiobook. for free. on the AUTHOR'S WEBSITE. (Or Spotify, Audible, Apple Podcasts or whatever your podcast player or choice is.) Go download Stealing From Wizards.

If you are a child 8-14 years old, or you make reading choices for a child of 8-14 years old, or you're a grown-up who likes children's stories when they're well-written and engaging because gosh dang it you just want to see some joy in the world and you want a story that will engage you but leave you with hope at the end and why is that so hard to find in adult fiction these days anyway? you should read Stealing From Wizards.

Did you like The Owl House? You should read Stealing From Wizards.

Percy Jackson fan? Try Stealing From Wizards.

Murderbot Diaries fan? Ok, that one's a bit more of a stretch but the possible autism-coding and the how do I be a person when I was built different? thing is the same. Try Stealing From Wizards.

Avatar: The Last Airbender fan? You might like Stealing From Wizards.

Found family fan? Stealing From Wizards.

You want a book that multiple reviewers couldn't put down? Stealing From Wizards.

You want brown characters, gay characters, disabled characters? Stealing From Wizards.

You want a fantasy story set in Canada/Fey Canada? Stealing From Wizards.

There are three books out so far: Stealing From Wizards Volume 1: Pickpocketing, Stealing From Wizards Volume 2: Burglary, and Stealing From Wizards Volume 3: Kidnapping are out so far, and it seem like there will be more.

I hope there will be more.

I am writing this so more of you will buy the books to make sure the author writes more.

The cover art is trash. The marketing seems to be nonexistent. I'm not even sure you can buy physical copies in stores or if they're printed to order. But this series just makes me really happy and I want someone else to read it.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk listening to me ramble.

(Go read Stealing From Wizards.)

[badsalmonella]

SGATGK getting 'er done.👍

TLDR: some neato historical/fantasy drawing references, I like character design would be neat if someone paid me to do that someday, I have to trick myself into being motivated to finish anything like one tricks a dog into taking their meds by putting it in the wet food, tales passed down for centuries are cool.

Why did I do this? : Because I'm obsessed with art books and design bibles and it's what made me want to study animation in the first place. Portfolio pieces like this, this and this were always something I wanted to do, I think they are so inspiring.

Unfortunately you like have to put in a lot of effort to get something like this done, and as I have learned from a semi-failed attempt to do this with Hadestown it is very easy to get too precious about the art and restart 80 times and essentially never get anything done. I'm out here chanting "finished not perfect" to myself in the mirror like a mantra maybe one day it will seep into my bones and I will fully embrace it. Full disclosure, one of the circumstances that led to me actually finishing this is that I have way too much free time on my hands atm, like I don't think I would have gotten this done (or gotten it done in a timely manner) if I was also balancing full time work, but I was tryinggg to squeeze some lemons out of a less than ideal situation. Second thing, on top of trying to do this for 4 years with Hadestown, I alsooo initially tried to do this with the musical Camelot/ the Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere love triangle part of the Arthurian legends but found I was once again too obsessed with the thing, and getting too precious about the art to get anything substantial done. I did get these Guinevere runaway bride drawings done though. Phillipa Soo high cheekbones Guinevere will always be important to me!!

So I switched gears and chose an Arthurian legend I liked well enough, but not so much I would sike myself out of getting it done and went with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It's also a story that adheres to a pretty traditional fable structure. A young guy goes on a quest, he experiences trials in threes, he comes back a little changed having learned a life lesson, etc. Also designing The Green Knight comes with a fun 'cool' factor that I like. The Arthurian discord server run by queer-ragnelle on tumblr is full of really nice, and wayyyy more knowledgeable people who pointed me in the direction of Simon Armitage's translations of the poem so that's what I read to get started. Another great resource I liked was Queer as Fact's podcast episode on the story. Something that I found really interesting was that they discussed Gawain's kissing game with the Bertilak's being something that brought on both queer positive and queerness as a sort of cautionary tale that was encouraged to be turned away from interpretations*. Interesting that you could take away two opposite readings from the same text, but also really framed the experience of staying with the Bertilaks as something that is otherworldly and treading into unknown territory for Gawain.

*I wanna add that 1. just because I acknowledge the two conflicting interpretations doesn't mean that I think one cancels out the other's validity 2. Just because I acknowledge it doesn't mean that it's one that I like or agree with. Obviously these stories are so old we can't ask the author what intent they were writing with so we'll never get 'the right answer', all we really have is interpretation. So like why not interpret something positive out of it, especially if you can back it up with the text.

I got pretty tired of using Google images for research, and actually went to the library for most of my drawing reference. This was also good because it got me out of the house yay! It made me feel like those movie behind the scenes featurettes I love, where people go on their little research trips, like OoooO I'm making the fake movie in my brain!! I unfortunately never wrote down the titles of these books I was using but there were some great illustrated book of clothing worn throughout history. I wanted to keep Gawain, and the design of Camelot fairly close to something historical.

I loved this book especially because all the art was so colourful. I think a lot of people have this idea that medieval costuming should be dull/dark colours but I definitely didn't want to go in that direction. I love bright colours!

I really took inspiration from this illustration I found for Gawain, even though people typically associate medieval knights with full plate armour, in the story Gawain is going on a lengthy journey to find the green chapel, then accept his beheading so I actually felt something lighter like this chainmail outfit with robe on top was the way to go to make him feel mobile. Also Gawain really lays on the self deprecating sauce thick when he volunteers himself up to participate in the Green Knight's game, claiming he is of no great importance, he's just a little guy, it's not a big risk if he gets hurt. (that's not a direct quote. That just the vibe) So I also snuck in the small detail that his clothing is a little oversized, not quite arranged straight, but he grows into it by the end of the tale :3

I also used designing Gawain as the chance to lock down what artstyle I wanted to move forward with. My brain told me 'oohhh storybook!' but go into a bookstore and give it a peruse and you will quickly find there is a wide array of storybook artstyles. So that was not specific enough. I tried simplifying my art style, I liked Cartoon Saloon's stuff (good catch everyone who commented on it's influence in the post's tags) but felt it was a little too simplified and stylized for what I wanted to do. The big lightbulb moment for me was when I found this art by an-old-lady on tumblr. I really like how this artist's work is pretty stylized but sticks close to recognizable human proportions. So I put this one my inspiration board, while still trying to keep it distinctly mine. not really my call to say if I succeeded at this or not lol

But yes Cartoon Saloon's influence is still there, especially with backgrounds,

and I also really loved looking towards the art of Sleeping Beauty. Really amazing use of colour in this art, also the way they simplify nature into easy to read shapes, then pack in all the detail there is something I loved.

me doing my best to harness that Disney concept art power

(Side note one books I can name from all this research is this one because I would like to own it some day. Fantastic resource for not only showing the classic art and architecture they are taking reference from, but how you can apply that to something a lot more cartoony and simplified. Seriously the side by side comparisons of medieval book artwork next to their Sleeping Beauty storybook scenes are masterclass mwah)

From there something I really wanted to drive home was this contrast between Gawain's world and Lord Bertilak/Green Knight's world. The Green Knight comes with lengthy descriptions about his odd (but hot *wink*) appearance, and there is definitely an aura that something unknown has entered King Arthur's court. While I tried to find inspiration for Gawain's armour from old artwork, Green Knight's outfit I was looking more to fantasy influences like Lord of the Rings, House of the Dragon, Renaissance Faire costumes, etc.

When you look up medieval fashion you get a lot of reference for these crazy cool headpieces

Lots of head coverings too for women (lots of it done for modesty reasons. Also a little bit for hygiene reasons) so I kept that consistent with the women of Camelot

Also even though a lot of medieval media associates the revealed shoulders and the sleeves with interesting cutouts with woman's fashion at the time, a lot of actual historical imagery I was finding has a full coverage layer underneath known as the kirtle (mostly for hygiene purposes......though I'm sure modesty is also a factor)

( Alicent where is your underlayer?? Cringe.)

But for Lady Bertilak I went full medieval fantasy and whipped out those sleeves that I always associate with princesses and gave her long flowing hair. Also interestingly I remember the story once emphasising her ~flirtatiously~ revealed shoulders. I wonder if that was a fashion choice still made back then, or if this is fantasy detailing, sort of like how the trash doctor drama TV show Doctor Odyssey will have doctors doing work on patients in full cocktail party attire a decision that is not based on any sort of reality but maybe hundreds of years from now if the media is preserved humans might assume that was how the doctors of our day dressed. HM!

Lord Bertilak actually gave me a hard time with his look. I went in really only knowing I wanted to give him that Hozier inspired bun hairstyle. My reasoning being that like Lord Bertilak loves going hunting he's a kind of man of the woods.....but he's also supposed to be this hot Lord who is making Gawain question if he wants to join a very unchristian open marriage and when I think of man of the woods but make it glam I think of this dude

but other than that I had no ideas on how to approach this 'same shape as the Green Knight but make him more warm and approachable' look I was trying to achieve, so I just made lots of sketches that got trashed pretty quickly. Also at the time I didn't know what colour scheme I wanted for these two yet, only that I wanted green as an accent colour to hint at his true identity (also because plot relevant green girdle) but not the MAIN COLOUR of their colour scheme. So anyways that's how you get this funny drawing of Lord Bertilak looking very Curious George's Yellow Guy vibes.

Then it hit me in the most unexpected of places....

You're probably wondering "hey there is literally a fantasy historical King Arthur musical you are OBSESSED WITH why are you not turning to that for inspiration?" or maybe "why would you reference House of the Dragon earlier but not the much more famous Game of Thrones?" and the answer there is as cool as those costumes are they are taking a LOT of inspiration from modern runway fashion and that just wasn't the vibe I was looking for. But then one day as I played the Camelot bootleg as comfort background noise (normal behaviour) I found inspiration from THE UNDERRATED FASHION ICON SIR PELLINORE!

I just really loved the long sleeveless drapery situation he had going on. I added the fur along the neckline for Lord Bertie though to make him more top heavy (like his Green Knight counterpart) and as a nod to hunting. but yes big props to Pellinore. ty king!

The contrasting shape language I used in the character design then informed all the extra prop details surrounding these characters.

But to keep things consistent I tried to keep some similar design principles for costumes. They like drapery. They like big sleeve moments. Bold colours. Girdles to break up dress forms. Tunics that generally fall close to knees in length.

I think the coolest bit of research I did was I visited a church in my city and got some good pictures as reference for the green chapel. In the poem the green chapel really ends up being a grass mound but that's not really an impressive drawing to put in your portfolio so I got the idea to have a chapel so old that nature has overtaken it and there's a structure in this hill. The church is open to just look through for free without attending a mass, it's a bit of a tourist destination for good reason it's really well kept, I'd been telling myself to go check it out for years of living here now but this project was what got me to finally do it.

I sketched some random object in there (this can be helpful even if you don't draw these things in your actual project just because it fills up your design bank in your brain) I also wish I took this picture but they had what looked like one of those office water coolers but it was labelled 'Holy Water' and I just thought that was funny. Sorry just wanted to share.

and I am HORRIBLE at drawing backgrounds, I really hate doing it, I find placing the horizon line/ vanishing points incredibly hard to do, so if you are like me but you wanna push yourself TAKE YOUR OWN PICTURES OF PLACES. AND TRACE OVER THEM. THEN ADD WHATEVER CHANGES NEEDED. IT'S NOT CHEATING I PROMISE. YOU CAN LITERALLY DO ANYTHING YOU WANT EVER IT IS NOT THE SAME AS PLAGIARIZING OR TRACING ANOTHER PERSON'S ART AND IT WILL SAVE YOU HEARTACHE. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Anyways this has been my incredibly long advertisement for your local library, your local tourist spots, cool art books, cool cartoons, The Green Knight poem, the kirtle, to try your best to make the art you wanna make because it will fill your heart with joy. Don't be precious about your art in a design project, just sketch like your life is ending in the next couple of hours, it's cool if you draw something like this

There's definitely stuff I wish I had drawn, more props, something more to indicate Lord Bertilak's hunts (I also suck at drawing animals oop) and maybe those things will be drawn in the future, but I am happy to call this done for the time being :)

Did you get this far? Well thanks. ilu 🫶🏼

[theycallmebecca]

Drabble: Smooth Hips Turner Gets Caught

Here is the promised follow up to my drabble Smooth Hips Turner. I did a poll a couple weeks ago to determine what the plot should be and almost half of the votes were for her brother to find out about them dating.

I'm not a drama writer... I'm a romantic comedy writer... so I had some fun.

I'm also checking off a couple squares on my @the-slumberparty bingo card: Sports AU and Night Club.

Title: Smooth Hips Turner Gets Caught

Pairing: hockey player!Cole Turner x female reader

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: language

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Usage Disclaimer: This work is for fans only. This author does not give permission for it to be shared, spoken of, referred to in any public manner (podcast, tv, online, etc.) that wants to either make a celebrity uncomfortable, mock fan fiction/fandom in any way, or the author themselves. Requests can be made, but it is unlikely the author will change their mind. If no response is given to a request then the answer is a solid no, not interested and the work cannot be shared, spoken of or even referred to, regardless of the manner or context. 

IS SMOOTH HIPS TURNER IS OFF THE MARKET?? The superstar goalie was seen canoodling at a local club with an unknown female while out with friends over the weekend. Our body language expert looked at the photos and said the relationship looks serious and predicts that there will be wedding bells in the off season for the pro.

"Fuck," Cole cursed as he looked at the social media post.

"All my social media accounts were already private," you reminded him. "And I changed all my profile pictures to the beach as soon as I saw that post."

"Someone will recognize you though and sell your name and any dirt they have on you to the tabloids," he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Fuck. Your brother."

"Excuse me?" you asked with a laugh.

"Not literally fuck your brother," Cole replied with a grin. "But fuck, I wanted to tell your brother myself. But if he sees those photos, he's going to know."

Before you could respond, Cole's phone dinged and he glanced down at it, his eyes going wide as he looked at the message. Swallowing, he turned it towards you so you could see the message that had come in from your brother.

YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH MY SISTER????

CALL ME THE FUCK RIGHT NOW!

"I'll call him," you offered. "And I'll tell him to mind his own fucking business."

"No," Cole said, shaking his head. "I have to do this. I should have done it before now."

"You aren't having this conversation without me," you told him. "I get that he is your best friend, but he's my brother. And I get that he's my brother, but you're my boyfriend. You are not excluding me from this!"

"Alright, alright," Cole said, holding up his hands. "I'll call him now."

He sat down next to you on the couch and chose to video call your brother.

You weren't sure what to expect when your brother answered, but based on his text to Cole you weren't expecting the shit eating grin you got.

"Turner. Sis." He greeted you both. Then, to Cole, said, "So you finally grew a pair and asked her out, huh?"

It took a second for you and Cole to figure out what he meant by that but you started laughing while Cole just stared back at him in shock.

"Oh don't pretend to be shocked I knew," your brother told him. "You were fucking obvious, man. It was a relief when she went away to school because you weren't distracted all the time if she was home."

"You knew the whole time?" Cole asked, dumbfounded. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Uh, because it was my sister," your brother replied. "I wasn't going to encourage that when you didn't stand a chance with her. And after, well you lived in two different places and lived very different lives."

"So you aren't mad?" you asked him.

"That you guys are dating? Absolutely not," he replied. "I am annoyed that I found out from the fucking internet though!"

"It's not how we wanted you to find out," Cole said. "I was going to talk to you next week when my team was in town."

"You were?" you said, looking at Cole.

"I was," he replied, looking back at you.

Smiling, you leaned in and kissed him.

"OH YUCK! GROSS!" your brother complained. "Just because I'm ok with it doesn't mean I want to see it!"

"Say bye to your brother," Cole told you, pulling his lips away from yours.

"Bye, butt head," you called.

Your brother was still protesting when Cole ended the call and dropped the phone onto the floor.

[semi-sketchy]

For an update (mostly) meant to flesh out the Ancients/The End, they still seem not all that memorable or compelling from what little I've seen. They're just as much as plot devices masquerading as (bland) characters as Sage still is. The plot EXPECTS me to care, but I just cannot because the lore/exposition in this game is soooo dull when it's not wholly confusing. And I gotta ask, is any of it gonna matter in future games? Does anyone really approve of this shite whilst still bemoaning how unnecessarily convoluted Shadow's backstory was? That for a supposed big threat, it all still took place on some small-scale remote islands? This stuff should begging for a retcon. Guess that'll be up to me. Hint: Fairy dust made it all seem real to both the heroes and Eggman. And the Kocos are Accidental Antagonists to have put them through all of it because they don't remember their true history on the islands...

The question of which ending is canon is up for debate, but personally I think this one is going to cause more problems long-term. I literally started yelling at the side story when Sage said the Ancients had satellites that are still functional.

Tens of thousands of years old, still orbiting, functional, and NO ONE HAS NOTICED THEM? This is the world that had a SPACE COLONY 50 YEARS AGO and they NEVER asked what these old satellites were?? Like man, if we discovered ancient satellites circling our planet, there would be some paranormal podcasts talking about this "unknown" and obscure fact, but here no one has noticed?

Also extremely disappointed they did nothing to expand on The End. If anything, this is regression from base game because it's missing that pretentious speech. I wanted to know WHY this consumer of worlds was specifically chasing the Ancients. If it's just supposed to be symbolic, then that was completely lost on me.

I'm with you on the not being able to care part. I'm not bonded to these characters and the short cutscenes around the trials doesn't change anything about the pilots. It's just "WE DIED TO CONTAIN THIS THING AND YOU SET IT FREE-- oh you passed my brute strength trial. K guess you're a good guy." Sonic gets some sass with the King Koco, but it also feels...off. It's not his normal disrespect towards authority.

To go on another tangent, the opening cutscene bothers me.

Sonic isn't the person to give a "rally the troops" speech. Although, how this scene was written made that direction the ONLY way it could've gone.

I think of the Last Story cutscene from Heroes. Sonic just listens.

When he says he'll fight Metal Overlord, it's Tails and Knuckles that pop up to say "we're going to help you!" and Shadow that says they'll buy them time.

Sonic doesn't ask anything from anybody, he just graciously accepts their help. Compare how this was written to sticking Sonic in a place where he's the one who has to explain what's going on and tell others what he needs.

It's a case where the plot moves the characters and not the characters moving the plot, which is the perfect storm for OOC moments. That is exactly what happened with Eggman when they decided Sage was a good idea.

Sage just regurgitates random info about rocks and other stuff no one asked about, like there was ONE LINE where she sounded kinda different which made me think it would've been so good if Sage was more like GLaDOS. I want her to have more sick burns. But no, innocent child because Eggman "needs" a daughter and Sonic has to have a reason to help the girl that's been trying to kill him the whole game.

I don't understand how anyone can call this "peak" because it's just so self-important and straight-faced serious, it's at the point of monotony. It breaks what I like about these characters to wrap them up in a "serious story" blanket whilst failing to properly build up the threat.

I hope they reevaluate their choices and this isn't really the standard moving forward because it's so stupid it hurts. And that's just the story/lore.

[bittersweet-folder]

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

2: I wonder who would it be, hmmmmm my online friends and Tumblr mutuals . I mean there aren't much people ik tbh. OH AND my favorite bands- signed copies of albums would be so good to have 😭😭 I want some from my favorite bands 😭 and yess few authors too because why not 😭 and get my favorite book by them signed. I'll be so freaking happy 😭. (I sound like a crazy fangirl)

15: I am the photographer soo behind the camera ofc

29: YES I BELIEVE IN GHOSTS. and call me crazy but I had a whole phase of being obsessed with the history of horror urban legends which tbh still exists along side with true crime podcasts I listen to. And I've had paranormal experiences as well.

About aliens: honestly I totally believe that it's made up. But this is my opinion totally. But at the same time what if they do. Think of it. Human imagination can create the most quirky, out of the box things ever and human intelligence helps it to come into being. So in a way humans might have thought that "what if life exists in space?" "what if there's a another planet in which life may have existed" Curiosity helps us to know about the unknown but SOME ABSURD SIGHTINGS makes us wonder otherwise making us stick to that thing to research for it more. And at the end of the I feel like if aliens did exist we should mind our business and they should too.

"I ain't bugging you, you ain't gonna bug me"

This should a sign board in space on a rocket ship or something fr if aliens exist ✨

[t1erradelfuego]

i can't sleep because of the Horrors (seasonal allergies) and as a result am extremely wired on cough medicine so here are a bunch of hockey rpf fics formatted as ao3 fics that i want to READ except they don't EXIST. obviously nsfw. deeply insane RPF below.

the feeling's there [frank nazar III/rutger mcgroarty, slow burn, getting together, unrequited feelings, miscommunication] -- Frankie's fucking stupid. Rutger's known that since they were 13. Nothing changes until everything does in Michigan.

more notes: if you played with the same person on almost every team since you were 13 you too would take him for granted! he's been your shadow for the last six years and he loves you and he knows you but you tolerate him at best. and it's enough for him but it's more than you even wanted. he follows you home. so you feel trapped. so you push him away and this time he listens because he loves you. and you see him with your teammates and for the first time he's not looking at you. you want him to look at you. you dont know why. you kind of miss it when he sits in your room not even doing anything, just happy to sit with you. college's been lonelier than you wanted it to be. something dark and ugly settles at the bottom in the pit of your stomach and it tastes like regret and it tastes like too late. and when you think about the distance between winnipeg and chicago (13 hours, 863 miles, too far, too long) you know you shouldn't try. it wouldn't be fair to either of you. but you want to try. you want to hurt him, you want to hurt yourself and you might've already done both. god, do you even know him?

guys, no one say anything! [trevor zegras/jamie drysdale, multimedia/trans media/mixed media, established relationship, coming out, secret marriage] -- Unknown Author. celebgossipdaily.com, "Anaheim Ducks' Trevor Zegras Reportedly Married + Reps Confirm", accessed March 07, 2025. Katherine Bailey ESPN @kbbailey Congratulations to Trevor Zegras on his marriage! The Anaheim Ducks centre was spotted in preseason media with a wedding ring. from: hughesy dude. why is my team asking me if i went to your wedding??? more notes: there were some truly inspired tags when the jimmy podcast came out and one of them was "do you think if they just keep slowly coming out they never have to make a statement" and. well. WHAT a PROMPT. before i am anything i am a mixed media girlie at heart and this would be so fun to incorporate news articles, text messages, tweets, tumblr posts, emails, reciepts, news articles etc etc. what i'm thinking is this is from 2024-2030 and spans several contracts, playoffs, a stanley cup, their MARRIAGE, buying a house, getting a dog, actually coming out to their family, and then the epilogue is set in 20XX when they actually do come out to the public!

point dover [owen power/******* *****/kent johnson/******* *******, polyamory negotiations, long distance relationship, real life wag, canadian polycule] -- Toronto, Buffalo, Vancouver, and Columbus all intersect at a place called Point Dover, by the lake. Or: There's four cities, three different timezones, and two countries between all of them. They get there, somehow, and then they make it work. Somehow. Or: Owen thinks navigating their relationship is easier than navigating the group chat, and he's not really wrong. Or: "Kent, is your girlfriend single?"

more notes: they're all stupid hot and went on vacation together what more do you want. redacting their actual names because i am Paranoid but. if you know. you know! i am a very big fan of best friends to lovers and it's so easy when kent and owen are best friends. and then you have the other two speed running the lovers part by commenting some seriously insane shit on each other's posts like WHY DON'T YOU ALL KISS ABOUT IT!!! GOD!!! THE SEXUAL TENSION IN THE INSTAGRAM COMMENTS!!!

mount joy's for lovers [nolan patrick/travis konecny, travis konecny/karly konecny, nolan patrick & karly konecny, polyamory negotiations, coparenting, queerplatonic relationships, alternate universe - canon divergence, nolan is still a flyer] -- It's more natural than it should be, more simple than what he thought it was going to be. But it's Travis, it was always going to be easy falling in line with whatever stupid plan he wants Nolan to be a part of, and it's Travis, so he makes it work. Even if it's stupid. He used a meme in the powerpoint, something about Justin Bieber having two hands, and it was so stupid, and Nolan made immediate eye contact with Karly, the two of them bursting into laughter, and he knew. It was always going to be easy between the three of them. more notes: travis konecny can have it all!!! look i am deeply fond of complex polyamorous relationships and i love thinking about how their relationship works. nolan and karly have a deeply platonic and loving friendship that makes it work, that lets karly let nolan be a part of their lives, that lets nolan think of their child as his, that lets travis have two romantic relationships with the people he loves the most!!! sometimes they all bang together, most times actually even though nolan is deeply allergic to pussy and karly would not touch his dick with a 10ft pole, but it works when they concentrate on their favourite thing which is: giving travis everything he could ever want!!! it's like. karly stresses less and has more time to herself. travis doesn't have to worry about being a bad husband or a bad best friend because he has enough love for two people. nolan doesn't have to worry about being a homewrecker. do you see the vibe do you-[gets shot]

super secret canadian boyfriend [trevor zegras/jamie drysdale, 5+1 things, alternate universe - college/university, canon divergence, jamie is still a member of the ducks, secret relationship, POV outsider, USNTDP 2017-2019 Ensemble] -- Trevor's such a bad fucking liar. There's no way he actually has a boyfriend, who just coincidentally happens to be busy all the time, avoids social media like the plague, and is from Canada, so it's not like he can even ask his friends if they know this Jimmy dude, or whatever. Trevor tried to tell him he played in the NHL, and Jack actually laughed so hard that he choked on his Chipotle. more notes: if trevor ever introduced jamie as his boyfriend he would get so clowned upon. oh what's this? you have a secret boyfriend you won't let us meet because he's busy all the time? and he's from canada? and he has no social media? jamie does not sound REAL. AT ALL.

hansel [luke hughes, quinn hughes, jack hughes, the hughes family, magical realism, alternate universe - canon divergence, pondering the important question of what is a hughes if not a brother, family dynamics, character study] -- "Here's the thing no one ever told me about. Not in the program, not at college, not in the show — just — absolutely nothing. Okay, are you listening? Sometimes, when you ask for something, the universe will listen." more notes: i sent an ask to someone while pondering the fantillis vs hughes re: sibling identity and they replied with "i want a fic where luke gets to experience being an only child and what changes" and i was like. wow. i want this fic too! in this universe luke's a center and he gets draft early 2nd round and they never move to michigan and he never makes it into the NTDP, never goes to michigan, goes through the AHL for a bit, nowhere near as competitive or determined or skilled as he was, more importantly. he's so lonely. god he wanted to get away from his brothers and he didn't realize how lonely he was.

a seat at the kitchen table [jack eichel/connor mcdavid, alternate universe - canon divergence, alternate universe - chefs, connor is still a hockey player jack is not, edmonton oilers ensemble, food as love language, eating disorders, neurodivergent characters] -- "Food doesn't just have to be fuel for performance, you know." Jack says pointedly, staring at Connor as he slices a leek lengthwise without ever looking away. "Everyone needs to eat, but there's more than that. Otherwise, we wouldn't have leek and potato soup. Absolute waste of ingredients in terms of preparation, but the best fucking soup I ever had." more notes: from my b*n appet*t days... i just think there is something so poignant about autism coding connor mcdavid and giving him food sensory issues coupled with the rigid belief that everything he has to eat must be good for his hockey, because, you know, it's all about the hockey. It's Not Not an eating disorder. but our guy jack eichel! former hockey player after he injured his spine! michellin star chef! burnt out from the restaurant world and takes a private live-in chef posting in the middle of edmonton for connor mcdavid. did he know it was connor mcdavid? no. anyways! i just think the intimacy of coming home to someone cooking for you would make anyone insane.

[bookclub4m]

Episode 178 - Aliens, Extraterrestrials, and UFOs

This episode we’re talking about non-fiction books about Aliens, Extraterrestrials, and UFOs! We discuss unexplained aerial phenomenon, owls, exobiology, and aliens wearing hats!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Astrobiology: A Very Short Introduction by David C. Catling

The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal about Aliens – and Ourselves by Arik Kershenbaum

Death from the Skies! These Are the Ways the World Will End… by Philip Plait

Death from the Skies! The Science Behind the End of the World…

Search for the Unknown: Canada’s UFO Files and the Rise of Conspiracy Theory by Matthew Hayes

Aliens: Join the Scientists Searching Space for Extraterrestrial Life by Joalda Morancy, illustrated by Amy Grimes

Picturing Extraterrestrials: Alien Images in Modern Mass Culture by John F. Moffitt

Intimate Alien: The Hidden Story of the UFO by David J Halperin

They Are Already Here: UFO Culture and Why We See Saucers by Sarah Scoles

Mirage Men: An Adventure into Paranoia, Espionage, Psychological Warfare, and UFOs by Mark Pikington

Mirage Men (Wikipedia) - The documentary

Other Media We Mentioned

Chariots of The Gods by Erich von Däniken

Chariots of the Gods? (Wikipedia)

The X-Files (Wikipedia)

Mars Attacks! (1996 film)

The yodeling scene ("Indian Love Call" by Slim Whitman)

Mars Attacks (Wikipedia)

The trading cards

Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber

The Disappearing Act by Florence de Changy

Disappearance of the Malaysian airplane

Links, Articles, and Things

Barney and Betty Hill incident (Wikipedia)

METI International (Wikipedia)

Reptilian conspiracy theory (Wikipedia)

ʻOumuamua (Wikipedia)

Raëlism (Wikipedia)

Martian canals (Wikipedia)

Neon Squid Books

U.S. judge says Penguin Random House book merger cannot go forward

Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (Wikipedia)

How Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge Became a U.F.O. Researcher

10 Non-Fiction Books About Aliens & UFOs (and other phenomena) by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Aliens: The World's Leading Scientists on the Search for Extraterrestrial Life edited by Jim Al-Khalili

Black Holes, Wormholes and Time Machines by Jim Al-Khalili

More Encounters with Star People: Urban American Indians Tells Their Stories by Ardy Sixkiller Clarke

Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life Beyond Our Solar System by Ray Jayawardhana

Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

Aliens: Join the Scientists Searching Space for Extraterrestrial Life by Joalda Morancy

Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos by Priyamvada Natarajan

Mondes d'ailleurs by Trịnh Xuân Thuận

Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Why Aren't They Here: The Question of Life on Other Worlds by Surendra Verma

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, July 18th it’s time for our annual One Book One Podcast pitch episode!

Then on Tuesday, August 1st we’ll be discussing the genre of Pulp Fiction!

[the-one-and-only-duckduckgo]

As I see the word around me turning pink (or, in some cases, purple), I've decided that it's time to make a sequel to that tma post. Yes, I'm at episode 20. No, I'm not okay (I promise). Perhaps, I need therapy. Anyways, enjoy:

The Magnus Archives but I've met the fandom (and am even more confused)

There's an Archivist (you have to use the capital letter if you want to survive), his name is Jon,sometimes Jonathan and sometimes Jalapeño.

He is also somehow the author of the podcast, and the guy speaking. I don't know how. Nothing feels real anymore.

Apparently, he brings the romantic side of the podcast. I'm glad. He should think about bringing the "makes sense" side too.

#JusticeForMartin2024

Get. Sasha. And. Tim. Some. Fucking. Representation.

There's Gerard Keay, who doesn't have anything to do with Gerard Way (I checked), and I love him.

He's also very dead. My point still stands.

WHERE IS THAT FUCKING HOMOPHOBIC VASE WHY DON'T YOU WANT ME TO UNDERSTAND YOUR INSIDE JOKE, WHY?

There's a guy named Evan Lukas, whose name reminds me of another guy. Was it James Lukas? Peter Lukas? George Lukas? Not a single idea.

Five people told me to be scared of the Mikes.

Who are they?

Is that a sect? A typo? A secret level you unlock once you understand what that vase joke refers to?

There's a secret link between everything.

Is it that every one of the stories involves being scared of something, and being alone?

Wait. Nevermind. That's a horror podcast, people are usually scared in these. I'm trying to be logical here.

I miss Gerard Keay.

OH WAIT WAIT SORRY I DIDN'T TELL Y'ALL THAT JALAPENO CAME OUT OF HIS RECORDING CLOSET TO TALK TO A MADAM. THAT REALLY DISTURBED HIM AND HE HAD TO LOCK HIMSELF AGAIN TO RECOVER, BUT I'M PROUD OF THE PROGRESS HE MADE

Michael is not okay. Do they need help?

I don't know their pronouns, and people answered with really disturbing and unhelpful things. Could someone help?

I kinda like Michael. Even if they're blonde.

Unless they're part of the Mikes. I have a bad feeling about the Mikes.

Uhh lots of blood, spiders, worms, death, spooky nights, people being alone, eyes everywhere, insanity, blood sacrifices, the Unknown, and evil books.

Oh, and drugs. Very important, the drugs

Leaving you with that, hope I didn't miss a very important point. May the stars shine in your direction, or whatever.

[jorrmungandr]

Book of the New Sun: Some Thoughts

Okay, let's do this. I've been ruminating on these books and the accompanying podcasts from Ranged Touch for several weeks now, and I've got some thoughts.

The last book was a bit disappointing, in the ways that it explained things I don't think needed explaining, and introduced some elements to the plot that make the whole thing feel a lot more... flat. Specifically, the nature of the aliens, and the continued focus on time travel as an explanation for mysterious happenings, along with the more and more explicitly religious nature of the narrative.

Suffice it to say, as a general opinion: I liked these books more when they were just fun picaresque fantasy/scifi adventure stories. Once we get to the end and it has to Be About Something, it loses some of that sheen of endless possibilities that makes it so intriguing. But I suppose it was inevitable, this is a world that was designed to be destroyed, after all.

There are some interesting parallels with the Book of Genesis that I noticed in retrospect. This is an end-of-the-world story that mirrors the beginning of the world. It is "Eschatology and Genesis" in one, after all. One fun one I just realized the other day: the exarchs are nephilim. If the aliens in this world actually represent the divine, then the product of aliens and humans would be half-divine monsters. This explains a) why they're held in such contempt by the story as untrustworthy and b) why they're specifically noted to be very tall. They're giants!

The reveal about the true nature of the aliens really fell flat for me. That is the precise point where my interest in learning more about an infinitely deep and wondrous world runs into the specific ideological project of the author.

In fact, it's two reveals, and I don't like either of 'em. One back in book 3 where we find out that the hierodules are not, in fact, monstrous creatures of diverse form, but actually all supremely beautiful and beyond perfect superhumans, the ones that Severian described in the garden in book 2. Far less interesting than just having a bunch of weird aliens.

The other is that they're from a previous iteration of the universe, and were "perfected" by humanity through the same process that they are now enacting upon huamnity in this universe. This just feels like breaking down the metaphor and saying that they're God and this is now a tiresome theodicy. Trying to logically prove the existence of a loving God, reminds me of my philosophy of religion class way back in community college. Seems to be a very Catholic preoccupation, so no great surprise there.

The interesting thing is that this story also has some Lovecraftian monsters living under the ocean, trying to gain dominion over humanity for... some reason. It makes the whole thing feel more Manichaean, there's a good god and an evil god, both seemingly equally powerful, fighting over the soul of humanity.

There's also these indications of like... having to make deals with some external factions to get access to energy weapons. Like there's the faction of hierodules who are time traveling around and are interested in uplifting humanity to perfection, and then there are just regular ol' aliens who are messing with us for some unknown reason.

Perhaps the idea is that these other aliens, Abaia and whatnot, know that humanity is actually the center of the universe, the most important species who have this special connection with the time travelers. Humanity has a special connection with the divine (hierodules) that nobody else gets. But, in a very Catholic way, that's not necessarily a good thing, and causes them a lot of suffering.

I suppose the whole explanation that "oh all of this pain and depravation is for your own good as part of a divine plan" thing just rubs me the wrong way. It's not convincing to me, and it never has been. This series brings that whole argument into new genre trappings, instead of a vague righteousness we have giving the very Earth a new chance at survival with a new sun, instead of a distant and mysterious God we have aliens who have clear motives and concrete existence, etc. That doesn't make it any more convincing, though it does make it easier to grapple with, I suppose.

Anyway, enough about hierodules.

I found the resolution of Severian's personal story very satisfying. Tying up all the mysteries of his parentage with a neat little bow, the explanation of how the Autarchy works, all of that stuff, it was very good. Especially the way that the next Autarch could just be any random person off the street. It's a very cool idea.

My favorite thing is how it recasts the rest of the book, knowing that it was written with a thousand extra eyes looking over Severian's life, peer-reviewing it. It explains so much about the clinical, detached tone, and the judgments he was making about himself and his own actions along the way. It's going to be very fun to re-read these books with that knowledge in the future.

I agree with the Shelved by Genre crew about the depiction of the Ascians: the stuff that was added later, with the guy in the hospital, is much more interesting than the just out-and-out weird racism we see later in the book. That felt very flat and stupid, like the villains in Narnia books. The rulers are nothing but pure evil and will to dominate, the uderlings are either resilient victims of circumstance or mindless drones, etc etc. Just not that interesting compared to the rest of the world building in these books.

Really, it's just the old "those people are BRAINWASHED VICTIMS OF IDEOLOGY, not like me, the smart and independent thinker" thing, but blown out to the biggest possible size in a fantasy genre fashion.

I am completely and utterly uninterested in theories about who is a clone or a robot or a secret time traveler. I just do not care. Things like that feel like... they're just not part of the story. The idea of clones gets introduced, but it's deployed in one very specific way.

This is a fictional story, you could come up with any theories about it, and they'd all be equally valid. I could concoct some sort of theory that Severian was actually corrupted by Abaia along the way and is going to undermine the mission of the hierodules, or that he was secretly replaced with a Jonas-like robot, or that the Autarch was every character that he met on his journey, etc etc. It's kinda fun in its own way, but it never feels worth arguing about?

That reminds me, there's one thing that kind of annoyed me on the podcast sometimes: they explained the ambiguity, but didn't say their own read. Like, "here's the thing, it could be X or Y, how interesting!" Well, give me an argument. Whaddaya think? Part of that is being poisoned by future knowledge, even of the fifth and final book and maybe even that whole other series of prequel books Gene wrote, but whatever. Just a little irritating, not a big deal.

Overall, I liked it a lot. Mostly for the world and the characters, the text itself, not the meta elements. I'm not interested in how this is actually about how an author treats his characters in fiction or whatever. It's just a cool scifi world. I'd love to see extended visions of it, and I suppose I have in things like Caves of Qud.

Can't wait for Earthsea!

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 39 – PODFIC

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: thatsmysecret

I would let thatsmysecret's voice lull me to sleep every night, it's so soothing. I love how they have such distinct voices for each character, it makes it really easy to follow the story. And their use of music and sound effects is amazing, it's no wonder they have their own podcast as well, which you should absolutely listen to, it's so much fun.

Here's some of their work that I think you should check out:

New Beginnings

Author: jinlinli Pairing: Steve/Bucky Rating: G Podfic Length: 11:57 Tags: Modern Setting, Exes to Lovers, Reconciliation

Summary: Five years later, Steve and Bucky fall in love again.

Reasons why I love it: This fic feels so real, it almost hurts. thatsmysecret's voice really lends itself to that melancholy tone, and I love the emotion they infuse into the dialogue. I adore this podfic, and I hope you give it a shot, if you haven't listened to it yet!

maybe bi guy

Author: obsessivereader Pairing: Steve/Bucky Rating: M Podfic Length: 20:00 Tags: No Powers AU, Texting, Meet-Cute

Summary: Steve: i saw that guy again. i think i'm not as straight as i thought i was Unknown number: i hate to tell you this but you got the wrong number pal. but hey, i'm bi. i've been there. i can talk you through it if you want Or: Steve embarks on a journey of self-discovery, assisted by a helpful stranger who likes to make really bad puns.

Reasons why I love it: I love the use of sound effects in this one, it really adds to the immersion. And I'm always a huge fan of Bucky being Steve's mentor, especially in all things sexual. Plus, the way they finally meet is super cute. This podfic is wonderful, and you should definitely give it a listen!

Dress For The Job You Want

Author: boopboop Pairing: Steve/Bucky Rating: NR Podfic Length: 7:40 Tags: Nomad Steve, Edna (Incredibles), No Capes!

Summary: As Nomad, Steve is in need of a new outfit. Bucky, apparently, knows someone. Steve is just not allowed to ask for a cape.

Reasons why I love it: The crossover I never knew I needed. This fic is so goddamn funny, and the narration is impeccable, especially thatsmysecret's impression of Edna. I died laughing, it's so good. I adore this podfic, and I bet you will too!

Late Show

Author: ipoiledi Pairing: Steve/Bucky Rating: E Podfic Length: 26:05 Tags: Lapdance, Semi-Public Sex, Asgardian Liquor

Summary: “Rogers,” Bucky says, seriously, “You wouldn’t know how to shake your ass if one of those sweet ladies herself tried to stand you up and teach you.”

Reasons why I love it: Steamy fun ahead! I love the music that thatsmysecret chose for this fic, it sets the mood right in the beginning. And their narration of smutty scenes is unparalleled, I love it so much. If you like naughty podfics, you're going to love this one!

Everest

Author: mcwho Pairing: Steve/Bucky Rating: E Podfic Length: 7:37 Tags: PWP, Dirty Talk, Multiple Orgasms

Summary: Three Os in, and Bucky can’t quite remember which way is up anymore. Or, Steve gives and gives and Bucky takes it.

Reasons why I love it: This is just perfect, I am in love. thatsmysecret is truly the master of x-rated podfics. The fic itself is hot as hell, but hearing it read out loud just makes it 10 times hotter. I adore this, and I bet you will too, if you like smutty stuff.

[jayconner-raisingprivatemoney]

How to Use Private Money More Than Once at the Same Time - Real Estate Investing Minus the Bank

Private Money Academy Conference:

Free Report:

Join the Private Money Academy: 

“We're All In The Banking Business, Just On The Wrong Side Of The Desk.” - Mark Willis

On Raising Private Money we’ll speak with new and seasoned investors to dissect their deals and extract the best tips and strategies to help you get the money!

Today we have Mark Willis! Mark Willis, CFP® is a man on a mission to help you think differently about your money, economy, and future. Mark is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a three-time #1 Best Selling Author, and the owner of Lake Growth Financial Services, a financial firm in Chicago, Illinois.

As co-host of the Not Your Average Financial Podcast™, he shares some of his strategies for investing in real estate, paying for college without going broke, and creating an income in retirement you will not outlive.

Mark works with people who want to grow their wealth in safe and predictable ways, become their own source of financing, and create tax-free retirement income.

After graduating with six figures of student loan debt and discovering a way to turn his debt into real wealth as he watched everybody lose their retirement savings and home equity in 2008, he knew that he needed to find a more predictable way to meet his financial objectives and those of his clients.

Over the years, he has helped hundreds of his clients regain control of their financial future and build their businesses with proven, tax-efficient financial solutions unknown to most financial gurus. He has become known as “Not Your Average Financial Planner!”

Timestamps:

0:01 - Raising Private Money with Jay Conner

1:18 - Today’s Guest: Mark Willis

1:58 - Not Your Average Financial Planner!

3:55 - What Is Private Money?

5:30 - We Have To Be Our Own Financial Planners

7:26 - Private Money Is A Win-Win Scenario

9:15 - Private Lender vs. The Bank

14:15 - Jay’s Free Money Guide: https://www.JayConner.com/MoneyGuide

15:15 - The Bank On Yourself System

22:33 - Do You Need A High Credit Score?

23:32 - Can You Use Your Retirement Funds On The Bank On Yourself System

29:46 - What Is A Good Client?

31:44 - Connect With Mark Willis: https://www.KickstartWithMark.com

32:19 - What Is Infinite Banking?

Private Money Academy Conference:

Free Report:

Join the Private Money Academy: 

Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now?

It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at

https://www.JayConner.com/Book

What is Private Money? Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner

Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. He maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $67,000 per deal without using his own money or credit.

What is Real Estate Investing? Live Private Money Academy Conference

YouTube Channel

Apple Podcasts:

[constructionaccounting]

551: Recognizing The Value Of Construction Contractors In Our Daily Lives

This Podcast Is Episode 551, And It's About Recognizing The Value Of Construction Contractors In Our Daily Lives

I was taking a moment to reflect on the challenges for the Pilgrims coming to America. They decided to make the journey with no guarantee of success. To build homes, plant crops, and take care of animals. Then, later, everyone chose to move West by wagon train, horse, or on foot. I am grateful for them! I think about my Grandparents and my Great Grandparents. What was life like when they were children? Where did they come from, and how did they get to where they were?

The family's oral history seems so inadequate. My father shared so much, but now it looks like so little. Be glad for the simple things we take for granted:

Going to the grocery store, deli, or restaurant for dinner

Living indoors with electricity and indoor plumbing

Driving a car

Crossing the water on a bridge or ferry

Modern times. I am all for living in the city with the gas station and grocery store just down the street. I appreciate reliable electricity, and tree contractors trim powerlines year-round to help prevent outages. I am grateful for the linemen who repair power lines during a storm so we have electricity.    

Please note: The offer does not apply to Outsourced Accounting, Bookkeeping Review, or any Consultation and Training products; you can, however, use it to purchase any course or monthly subscription classes in Construction Accounting Academy

  Thank You, Contractors, for going to work so the rest of us can stay home safe.   

Thank you to the road crews, police, firemen, linemen, tree crews, plumbers, and electricians who work when the news says "Stay Home" and to all the other contractors and emergency services I have not mentioned.

Contractors Make Our Lives Better

Contractors build and maintain the things that make our lives better. They built the factories where the factory workers work. The rancher and farmer, whom you don't think about as contractors, construct and repair buildings and fences and maintain equipment. They learn to be jacks of all trades, raise crops and animals, and battle the elements. Heat, wind, rain, snow, forest fires, or grass fires – they see it first—the more remote their location, the more diverse their skills.   

Why did you decide to become a Construction Contractor?

Fast money, easy work, few hours, or all those reasons? Yes, contractors can make much money in this industry. Fast, however, is a relative term.

Definition of Fast Money

Collecting a job deposit is designed to lock down the job and buy materials. While using your client's money to start the project is always a good idea, that doesn't mean you have money to party heartily, buy a bunch of tools, or buy that brand-new truck you want. 

The money will fly out of the checkbooks with everyday business expenses without extra help. 

If you spend your job deposits in this manner, you get into a cycle of "Borrow from Peter to pay Paul." (author unknown) This was a favorite phrase of the '60s and '70s. What do I mean? Using the deposit from the next job to pay for expenses from the last job is a slippery slope to financial disaster. Another common phrase is "Leverage Is Great Until The Stick Breaks." 

It's like a child's game of musical chairs. When the music stops, someone is without a chair. The same thing happens when the economy turns, as in 2008. Contractors thought (and hoped) the recession would be a slight dip and everything would return to normal by the summer of 2009. That is not what happened for most construction contractors. 

Some construction contractors had lots of work in the pipeline unaffected by the recession.

Many were overconfident and thought other contractors had a hard time because they "just didn't know how to run a business." Unfortunately, those same contractors were badly hurt when their pipeline of jobs ran out.

Definition of Easy Work

Easy work is any job that you know how to do quickly. Preparing Thanksgiving dinner for twenty or more is a simple task for a chef. However, it might be impossible for a college student living in a dorm or shared apartment.

Definition of a Few Hours

Yes, construction contractors can work a few hours every day. Usually, they work twelve hours or more every day of the week. It is only a few hours to:

Take the call

Schedule the appointment

Meet the client

Create the bid

Present the bid

Collect the deposit

Schedule the work

Make a material list

Pick up the materials

Coordinate any employees

Go to the homeowner's house or job site

As you begin the job:

Think, plan, and do the work.

Watch out for children and pets.

Answer the homeowner's questions.

Be polite and make small talk as needed.

Keep working at a pace that compensates for any time spent watching out for children and pets or chatting with the homeowner. The homeowner expects work to be completed on time or ahead of schedule, no matter how many interruptions you or your employees have. 

End of the day – Clean up the job site so it is ready for use this evening or clean and ready for work tomorrow. Pick up all your tools and materials (mobilize and demobilize)

Meet with the homeowner to discuss the rest of the project.

Assure them all is going well. Make notes of possible change orders or add-ons. Do not forget to price out change orders. Homeowners remember that unless you agree to a price reduction in writing, you are not obligated to reduce the price.

The increase in scope is never forgotten. You Promised To Do [fill in the blank]. If you think any changes are omitted, wait; you will hear a grownup impersonating a preschooler wanting a cookie. Water on the stone is an understatement.  

Like most Construction Contractors, you feel like you are waving the money as it goes by. Rest assured, it is true in Washington State, where contractors collect and pay sales taxes. The tax money is just moving through the checking account. Borrowing State and Federal tax money is very bad. 

The same applies to payroll taxes, except the company must make a company match for Social Security and Medicare, pay state unemployment insurance and state worker’s compensation, and obtain a contractor’s license, contractor’s liability insurance, bond, and other specialty licenses.

The business of being in business as a construction contractor involves:

Keeping track of a lot of paperwork

Filling out and filing government forms

Paying taxes 

Financials are essential for filing annual federal taxes, whether you are a sole proprietor, LLC, or S-corp. The individual reports are for the benefit of the construction contractor.

Are you making money?

Which job? – Did you like that particular type of job?

Do you go into any job knowing it will barely break even? 

Are you passing out business cards or flyers to the neighbors of your current or past jobs?

Are you driving long distances between jobs?

Final thoughts

You couldn’t change yesterday; you could only review it and think about what you could do today. And how can you have a better tomorrow? Tiny changes can make a big difference. Sometimes, taking a pause is the right decision to make.

Money makes the world go round. It is hard to buy gas or groceries with hope and a promise. It is not unreasonable to expect to be paid for your work. Contractors like you bring value to everyone's life you touched. I am rooting for your success and wish you and yours the best in everything that comes your way.

PS 

We offer free resources to help you save time and money that you can download and print now. 

About The Author:

Sharie DeHart, QPA, co-founded Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood, Washington. She is the leading expert in managing outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services companies and cash management accounting for small construction companies across the USA. She encourages Contractors and Construction Company Owners to stay current on their tax obligations and offers insights on managing the remaining cash flow to operate and grow their construction company sales and profits so they can put more money in the bank. Call 1-800-361-1770 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com

  Check out this episode about Contractors Marketing - Accounting - Production (M.A.P.)!

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The Case Against Reality

By Donald Hoffman

The Case Against Reality 

why evolution hid the truth from our eyes

In the following book published by Donald D. Hoffman, he cracks open a whole new world of unknown reality that is hidden from the conscious mind. While describing the Space-time fundamentals he states that scientific theories are not working for us to tell the difference between what is reality and what is not. He argues how complex theories with space and time fundamentals go against the theory of Reductionism

Why would evolution by natural selection shape us not to see the truth?

Theory of evolution by natural selection to question reality, what is the probability that sensory systems evolved to prove true facts about reality, the answer is probability is 0 

 Perceptions of space-time are wrong predicates to describe objective reality 

Examples of competitive video games, evolution gives you control to manipulate reality, 

Hoffman believes there is no theory of everything. He states that theories that have research and proof are considered to be miracles, we need people to defend and break these theories to make progress. 

Does a Mathematical model to measure consciousness exist?

Hoffman’s theory of conscious agents explains the experiences that one agent receives to change the state of other agents, referring to the agents as the emotions/feelings experienced by humans. Example of cognitive Neuroscience research. Hoffman strongly believes that space-time and physical objects around us are the wrong way to define reality. Every scientific theory will have a finite set of axioms. Regardless of the advancement in science he strongly believes that we are just scratching the surface of what is, a much bigger picture of truth in the universe that is beyond computation and theory

Are we in the matrix and opinion on panpsychism?

With the fundamentals of his conscious agents’ theory. Hoffman’s Comparison between living and non-living things refers to it as a human interface limitation. “A Rookie mistake” he calls it taking the limitations of our interface as an insight into the nature of reality. He disagrees with the fundamentals of  panpsychism due to his strong belief against the principles of space and time not being a part of the consciousness 

Donald D. Hoffman the author of the book Is an American cognitive psychologist. Hoffman is known for his works in evolutionary psychology using mathematical models and experiments. He also published a paper in the same field of study called “ Objects of Consciousness” which states the theory of perception and conscious agents.

“Space-time is doomed” famously quoted by Hoffman in a podcast about his book dictates that his strong statements against the fundamentals of nature make us question the very consciousness of Realism. Even with his severe accusations against scientific theories, Hoffman believes in the notion that “truth shall forever escape explanation” (gödel’s incompleteness theorem)

The reason behind choosing this particular topic is the curiosity that has always intrigued me about how a conscious mind works in its mysterious ways. Apart from questioning reality and choosing between the red pill or the blue pill, The statements made by Donald D. Hoffman in his book about evolution giving us control over reality helped me get a better understanding of the world around me. This made me realise that if I don't find the answer to a question, I have to push the limitations of my interface to find it knowing that every theory and every question only has a finite number of plausible solutions. 

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