#YIPPEE RACE 1 DONE!!!!!

[babygirlcowboy]

"simply lovely 😌" yes it was Maxie boyyyyyy

[amaranthineghost]

deeply apologize from my absence!!! been busy with work and school (finals week is silly guys)

i've been exempt from two finals so yippee!!! but i still have to take another one tomorrow, and two on friday.

hopefully i should be able to get back into writing more for formula 1!!! (working on a series, trust!!)

i've seen all the requests i've got. don't worry, i'm going to try and work on it once summer has started officially, but i'm also writing for a different fandom on another blog so that is consuming my time as well. but trust the process, i'll get back into the groove of writing soon, i've just been distracted with the last few weeks of school because i want it over and done with!!!

other than the requests, i have other ideas i want to do (like lando first win imagine I KNOW IT'S SUPER LATE BUT MY MANNNN WON) and definitely an imagine for charles' home race win because <333

but that's where i'm at currently! once im done with my finals on friday (i get out of school at like 10:30 am), and i have a couple of work shifts (that i have to take a couple days to prepare for ngl), i should be relatively free aside from of course work and summer classes! trust the process!!!

much love! <3

[il3x]

(spoilers for reboot s2, but not the endgame!)

thinking about the reboot cloning plot again and you know I love a clone plot, but the fact that This Specific clone plot is presented as a neutral to positive thing kinda rubs me the wrong way. I think there should be more exploration of how fucked up it was.

Like... Seb decides, without consulting most of his teammates, that the best-slash-only way for Pr0 to escape his pursuers is to die. He does not ask Pr0 about this plan, he does not tell Pr0 about this plan. He just straight up Murders Him. That's already a pretty big violation, and it's done to a character whose arc is about escaping control and abuse.

THEN, when Pr0's cloned, Seb just... decides, again, Without Any Input, that what would be best for Pr0 is to have his memories edited to process/heal his trauma. Better than just deleting it entirely, I guess, but it's kinda iffy that 1. in rebootworld there is apparently A Singular Point Of Healing after which trauma doesn't bother you any more and 2. you can get to that point precisely via invasive surgery/genetic reprogramming adn. 3. this is a kind and good thing to do to (to!!! he's not doing it FOR Pr0! pr0's fucking dead! Seb killed him!!) your friend who Has Been Controlled Posessed And Moulded For Most Of His Life. not to mention that Seb, iirc, specifically words it as like. hey can you make him more useful to us. Kinda fucked up innit

also they straight up inject 4 years of simulated military service into pr0's mind and like That's also kinda fucked up eh. What if that also gives him trauma. What if pr0 was anti-war and would never have wanted those memories and the resulting alterations to his personality. He might've been, man, we don't know. because again Sebastian Killed Him.

anyways pr0 is explicitly a new person (without any of those pesky coping mechanisms that annoyed his teammates, yippee!! /sarcastic) now, and again. like. this Could Have Been Good. if it was treated as "yo that was kinda fucked up". but no. Peter/clone-Pr0 is totally chill with it. Even Xiang, who explicitly believes that peter/clone-pr0 is a separate person and original pr0 is dead, is totally chill with it. She's still dating Seb. Y'know. The guy who murdered your friend/apprentice in front of you.

And for some more fun (worrying) context, Seb is, at this point, Actively Preparing his plan for global eugenics to... forcibly sterilise all mean people, I guess?? I don't actually recall the details. But he is all too happy about making unilateral decisions on who deserves to live.

(His global eugenics plan which he would've gone through with if his gf hadn't talked him out of it, to be clear! His gf Xiang who is disabled and presumably Asian, and therefore probably has a vested interest in Not Doing Eugenics, and this still doesn't impact her opinion of Seb very much. Xiang deserved better, I'm sorry. I love everything about her except her taste in men.)

Oh, and for Further Context, the guy who offers to adjust Pr0's mind and actually makes the adjustments (and takes it upon himself to age Pr0 up four years physically) legally owns Pr0. Just in case you're wondering if it's really that fucked up to make non-consensual mind and body modifications to a human trafficking survivor whose previous non consensual body modifications were explicitly done by his captors as a form of abuse. Y'know.

Oh, fuck, and now I'm realising that said previous modifications (cybernetics, experimental drugs, etc - they're mentioned in ep1) were for the purpose of making him a better weapon. And in-universe, the necessity of giving Jazza's character some more combat levels comes through as Seb going "hey, dad, could you make him a better weapon". clears throat. Fucked Up innit.)

AND the only team member Seb consults about killing and rebooting Pr0 in the first place is Incongruent, iirc, who is also the only other main character with a "replace all humans with a better race [robots]" plan. Also worth noting that when Incongruent, a member of an oppressed class directly reacting to his oppression, wants to replace all humans, it's kinda fucked up and part of the dystopia and the other characters don't like it very much and Incongruent changes his mind of his own accord, but when Seb and his mom, members of the ruling class, want to replace humanity, it's hand-waved as an "oh well" dropped plot thread despite that having Even More potential to be a load-bearing piece of worldbuilding w/r/t "this is a fucked up dystopia".

I do get why this happened on a meta level - Jazza needed to reboot (heh) his character build. And in-universe, it kinda works, it has some fun parts. In isolation I really like how chill Peter is about being a clone. Icon behaviour. I also get that Seb is reacting to his own horrific trauma. But just. Y'know. I didn't like Seb in this arc very much, and I wish the narrative had acknowledged that more.

[i-rate-horse-games]

starshine legacy playthrough part 2

Episode 2

the forces of good call for a seer and a scout… whoah… 

“linda is sure to get more work from the teachers due to her competence” that’s when you need to start doing things bad, linda. or just saying No. it’s unpaid labor!!!

alright. okay. just now i got the “GIDEON NAV!!!” reaction, where you see your beloved protagonist from the first book out of the corner of your eye in the second book and think “OMG WAS THAT GIDEON NAV???” anyway

LISA’S DAD WORKS IN THE DARK CORE PLATFORMS??? she did all that ecoterrorism to her DAD’S COMPANY??? she coulda gotten him fired,,

in this house we respect school janitors <3

oh this ABSOLUTELY should not have been our job! the teacher is just standing in the hall waiting for our girl to do some menial labor?? she can do it herself!!

ok this high schooler is doing high academic research and that’s great but you still gotta let her be a kid too !! lemme fight this teacher 

level 2

that moment when u are told not to go to a place and that place projects its image into ur mind saying Go Here Go Here Go Here

responsible lisa doing her homework before embarking on spy espionage

OH NO WE’RE GETTING FULL ON PREMONITIONS???? A DAM IS GONNA EXPLODE???? ok usually i would think “that’s awesome!” but now i understand that this girl does NOT NEED MORE THINGS TO DO

level 3

i am not having a fun time here!!

bro what my second try at the maze i got it first try

oooo there’s a painting in here that looks almost like alex and has got swords and violence… yesssssss swords swords swords

you pick up a sword!!! yippee!!!

you instantly put the sword back from where it fell from. booooo

our girl found 1 research and said “welp! that’s the mystery! detectiveness done! time to go home”

lisa how did you get up there. how did you get IN . the puzzles were Unsolved

she doesn’t know why she climbed up there either <3 that’s so gideon nav of her. No I’m Not Going to Stop

after thinking for 2 seconds i have decided that she got herself stuck inside so that linda would have a reason to trespass into the building

level 4- a race back to the stables

i like how since starshine is the Fastest Horse, lisa rode ahead most of the way and we could follow her to figure out where the trail was. but that trail was VERY UNSAFE !!

level 5 - the secret of the ancient ruins

who’s that ^

HUGE shout out to this guy for locking himself in the stables BEFORE making the teenagers explain why they think his life is in danger!! he rocks!!

“don’t worry kids!! there’s no school tomorrow, so you’ll have plenty of time to stop the bomb from destroying the town! :3”

WHY IS SHE SO CONFIDENT IN HER BOMB-DIFFUSING ABILITIES???

part 2.5

[27emailsicantsend]

3x14 and 3x15 Andi Mack scene by scene recap + my unnecessary opinions lol

Forewarning: as from the title these ARE spoilers to the episodes if you haven’t seen it. I’m tagging spoilers out but there’s still a chance they could be seen. Also, I’m giving a scene by scene recap with my opinions of the show. I’ve been requested to do the recap but I also want to talk about what I thought from these episodes in more detail than my post yesterday. So for the most part it’ll be factual but I’m really invested in these two episodes so I’ll definitely be adding my own twang. It’s virtually impossible for me not to recap my own hype for the episodes lol. Hope you’re a Muffy and Tyrus stan bc I’ve got some cOnTeNt for you ❤️

Ok here. we. go.

3x14

Scene starts in the spoon. It’s Andi, Muffy, and Cyrus. Muffy and Cyrus talk about Andi’s parents not getting married while Amber overhears. She gets upset and asks why. Andi clarifies her parents aren’t married, but still together and Amber makes the comment, “unlike my house. My parents are still married but barely together”. Which gets some awks looks from the table. Andi tells them she’s not sad, but angry. Then she says that B&B (Bex and Bowie) said she’s entitled to her feelings to which Cyrus claims as being manipulative?? (Still don’t see how, but he explains that they are playing dodgeball and b&b are on one side and Andi on the other. She has a ball of anger she wants to throw, but they’re ready for it. So if she throws it, they’ll catch it and then she basically can’t show her anger- he’s obviously been listening to his counseling parents hahaha). Andi asks where she can throw her anger ball (lol) so Amber takes her to a sledge hammer place (Rage Cage) where everyone is in individual cages that have old items that you just beat up with a sledge hammer.

*opening song*

Andi is laying on her bed and gets a really excited phone call from CeCe about the wedding to which Andi feels guilty. She tries to tell Bex to tell CeCe it’s cancelled but Bex refuses bc the next day is CeCe’s bday. This scene had some really good acting BTW (I’ll probably tell you when this happens too bc honestly props to the actors. And the cinematography and music in these two episodes is beautiful. Literally made me feel like I was watching a movie).

Buffy runs up to Marty at a bench and he gets a big dimple smile bc why wouldn’t he be excited to see her?? Lol Buffy starts mocking Marty’s shoes because they have toe inserts and that’s when he tells her they are for a marathon. Buffy gets confused (and lowkey upset) she didn’t know about the marathon and Marty is all, “we have a lot of catching up to do” and I’m all (you have a lot of dating to do because my soul has been empty this past season without you. #RIPME 😭 ⚰️). So Buffy gets all flirty competitive and says she wants to race as well. Marty tries to talk her out of it bc he’s worried about an injury, dehydration, etc. but this is Buffy we’re talking about and she insists she can do it and then runs away lol, but Marty can’t help the love he feels for her and smiles sheepishly as he goes to run away with her (very metaphoric. I love)

Jonah and Cyrus are walking and Cyrus invites Jonah to see a meteor shower in his backyard for a campout (good Jyrus moment if you ship that) Jonah makes a lame joke about not having a s’more in awhile and so he has “s’less”- Cyrus tells him not to hurt himself making that joke 😂😂

B&B and Andi are at a restaurant waiting for CeCe & Ham. CeCe shows up and tells everyone Ham went back to India.

Cyrus and Jonah go into a beautifully set up tent where Cyrus obviously had to out-do himself and make everything in the tent extra. I love a gay interior design queen.

Back at the restaurant, CeCe says Ham went to India for rest. CeCe makes some really weird remark about seeing him again (yikes) and the rest make comments about him doing what he needs to do and that they have to accept it and not take each other for granted. Very subtextual of the real situation, but also a great way to write off his character and play into Bex worrying about cancelling the wedding. She showed fear like she wouldn’t want to say anything to CeCe bc he’s gone, but since CeCe was ok with him leaving, Bex calmed down too. Just really well done. CeCe tried to show Bex venue photo’s and Bex tried to stop her but then Bex just says she had a problem mailing the wedding invites *cliff hanger*

Cyrus and Jonah back at the tent. Jonah is panicking about dying in Cyrus’ backyard and Cyrus brings meat into the tent but makes it all flirty and weird- I don’t ship Jyrus but the whole thing lowkey felt like they were trying to impress Jyrus shippers with date vibes haha (also the meat is BAD if you’re camping bc animals can get to you). Then an animal hits their tent at (obviously) the right time

CeCe now knows the wedding is off and is PiSsEd™️. The waiters are all completely unaware and don’t know how to read the room so they bring a sparkler cake. CeCe flips the sparkler upside down, shoves it in the cake, and exits as dramatically as possible. Leaving the mustached waiter with an awkward face like:

Then there was this weird commercial on my app promoting season 2 like bish you already know I watched that season at least twice don’t play me like that

Back to the pointless tent scene (for real- this scene was just filler. You rip off Tyrus FOR THIS? Actual homophobia). Jonah mispronounces some weird thing (and Cyrus says don’t hurt yourself again) and then breaks the tent. Cyrus makes a failed attempt at opening the tent with a cheese knife but Shazam! saves the day by telling Cyrus not to hurt himself and opening the tent with the same cheese knife (honestly, weird flex but ok). They escape and are saved and watch a poorly CGI’d meteor shower like two old men on their front porch. and yippee five minutes of wasted screen time are over. I don’t care if you ship Jyrus. It was a waste of time when we could have been focusing on the TeA of the show. *rant over- no worries. Many more to come*

Back to important matters, Muffy is now running their race. Marty doesn’t want to race. He just wants to finish in under 4 hours and Buffy wants to finish under his time. Buffy agrees with Mr. Party at first, but then hears the word “race” and bolts away like Lightning McQueen.

Bex and Andi back at the house. Bex says it went bad with CeCe bc she won’t even act like Bex exists. Andi realizes her anger and knows where to take her (you guessed it. RAGe CAGe- Andi said it wasn’t for Bex lol so she wouldn’t tell Bex where she was going with CeCe 😂 the shade)

Marty is jogging along like a middle aged white woman and sees Buffy wheezing. He gets all husband like and concerned as he catches her in his arms. (Which reminds me of a pic I saw on Tumblr where they drew her in his arms but laced it with the “Miss Keisha” vine and I was here for it). Then Marty and Buffy put their arms around each other and he escorts her to a bench. (Just saying, everyone knows Tyrus is going to involve a bench scene but as us loyal fans know, Muffy shadows Tyrus and they have also encountered two (2) benches thus far. Coincidence? Maybe. Will I believe it was a coincidence? Absolutely not). Then he puts her on the bench and acts all cute and paramedic and concerned. He’s been taking doc notes at General Hospital obviously. (He even mentions taking her to a doctor). Buffy is all like, “Run your race Marty. 4 1/2 hours. [I’m the supportive girlfriend you hoe].” And he doesn’t want to leave her and she accuses him of being a martyr? Then she snaps at him (like tf) to go away and he gets all angsty™️ and runs off and my heart broke bc I was not ready for a Muffy battle.

Andi and CeCe at the Rage Cage... rage. In a cage.

Marty comes running back to Buffy with a dimple smile again bc he knows she was trying to “White Fang” him from a movie they saw together (❤️). To “White Fang” is for the boy in the movie to send the wolf away, wolf doesn’t want to leave, so the boy throws rocks at him to make him go. Buffy is caught (but she ain’t mad) and I need to quote this part word for word bc it’s TOO CUTE 🥰🥰🥰

B: You’re the one who said we should run our own race

M: That’s what I’m doing

B: Wanna sit here with me?

M: No. I wanna cross the finish line with you 😭😭😭

And that, my friends, was the day my heart ripped in half from joy

Then he picks her up and they put their arms around each other (I seriously can’t. They made me cry last night and lowkey I thought it was bc I was tired but I’m fully energized and watery eyed... sooo....) then Marty makes a joke about them running and Buffy goes, “you’re hilarious” and his voice gets all soft and he looks at her all gentle and goes, “you finally figured that out” AND PLEASE TERRI STOP IT HURTS. But no, the scene CONTINUES BECAUSE MY HEART APPARENTLY COULD TAKE THAT (lies). And the scene changes and now Marty is PIGBACKING HER ACROSS THE FINISH LINE THREE HOURS LATER. LIKE STOP. STOP. I CAN’T HANDLE THESE TENDER MOMENTS. (Seriously they were together an extra three hours with him helping her. I’m WeAk). And they both get medals and Buffy compliments him so he gets all happy and tells her to keep going, but she runs out of compliments so he goes, “ok, I just wanted to see how deep that well went” with his eyes darting all over her face and then the music shifts to almost like progressive-romantic music as BUFFY PUTS HER ARM BACK AROUND HIM AND THEY WALK AWAY (the music was placed so we knew they were having a moment) and that was the exact moment I died. MY PARENTS. (Watched this scene 3 times and will 100% watch it at least 1000 more).

Then Andi sees Amber raging. In a cage. She’s like “excuse me? What are you doing here” and Amber is all mad at Jonah and Andi’s all break up with your boyfriend yeah yeah cuz I’m bored. And Amber wasn’t here for it because apparently she thinks she’s in love with Jonah now? (with tears in her eyes... I mean, love to me isn’t that angry and hating everything he does [he only sent her six emoji’s apparently and just isn’t there for her] that it drives you to physical violence but ok)-(but good acting along with the last Muffy scene but I’m sure ya’ll picked up on that from my synopsis lol)

3x15

FYI this synopsis won’t be AS long, but that’s because Muffy is absent and I have an unexpresible love for them and this episode also sent me over the EDGE with Tyrus 🙄😤🙃 but I’ll do what I can with Tyrus bc it’s still gay and angsty and I was here for that part of it (also I love the Terri devoted two separate episodes to Tyrus and Muffy. Like she really knows this Friendom and what will keep us watching lol)

Unnecessary opening scene with B&B and Andi going to the movie instead of spending time on their phones (it was cute but unnecessary. I liked in the last episode that the rage cage in the beginning scene actually tied into the episode)

*opening credits*

Buffy and Cyrus watching Kira and TJ like hawks from the bench far away and Buffy is confused af about it. She asks Cyrus and he gets all angsty (I WILL over use this word bc it’s too accurate for this episode, wait til you actually see it) and goes “I don’t know” *shoulder shrug* “I haven’t been hanging out with TJ lately”

Buffy: because of that?

Cyrus: they’ve been pretty much attached at the hip (then Kira has the AUDACITY to jump on TJ’s back) and the back. They look happy.

B: it won’t last. Kira’s not a nice person. Only took me a day to figure that out. Since he’s a GUY, it’ll take longer.

Cloud 10 with Bex and Andi discussing Bex and CeCe making up, but in front of CeCe. CeCe is still PiSsEd™️. Bex tries to talk to her and BEGS to make up with her mom but her mom is cold and I felt Bex’s pain. (Great acting in this scene too. I just wanted to hug Bex. Like did you really have to do her a dirty like that? With Tyrus and Bex, this episode is starting to feel like 3x13 again and I thought we all agreed to never speak of that episode ever again)

Cyrus is sitting all angsty and alone with some frozen yogurt in front of a greenhouse? Literally no idea where he is at but it’s such a mood lol and even funnier that TJ found him there. Like where are they?? Hahahaha but ANYWAY, TJ sits down and confronts Cyrus about avoiding him. Cyrus says he isn’t but TJ is like “kinda feels like it”. Cyrus tries to say that TJ has been occupied with Kira taking up his time and TJ denies that hard. And here’s the TEA sis:

Cyrus: you two are clearly hitting it off. Which is great. I’m happy for you guys.

TJ: you make it sound like we’re a couple. We’re not. We mostly just talk about basketball.

C: and then you give her a piggy back ride?

T: she bet me I couldn’t carry her. That was all

Then TJ tried to tell Cyrus to hangout with them more and Cyrus rejects that bc Kira knows Cyrus is Buffy’s best friend. Then Kira comes in to hoe around the scene and sits at the table. Says “heyyyy” all flirty to TJ 😒 and “hi Cyrus” direct and cold to Cyrus. Then becomes the most fake hoeeeee when pretending to agree with TJ that they should hang out more with Cyrus. Cyrus YEETS outta there and Mr. heart eyes looks like he created depression (it was that prevalent). Kira gets all needy and is like, “hellooo? I’m over here” and TJ just looks at her with the fakest angsty smile. Like why.

At the spoon, the GHC AND Jonah are sitting and Andi tells of this store called Mint Chip where they burn clothes rather than donate them bc it would make the brand look bad and lose sales if it’s with charity. Like??? Ok you actually look better with charity sooooo take two steps back B. Buffy gets the taste of wanting to be a bad guy (cue bad guy by Billie Eilish) and they all go dumpster diving and get the clothes from Mint Chip’s dumpster. Not much happens other than them stealing clothes and Buffy says her ankle hurts so she can’t get in the dumpster. IDK if that’s from the dehydration last episode (bc when she’s walking with Marty 😍 she’s limping) or if she fell wrong at the dumpster. It’s foreshadowing bc I know she has a hurt foot in a later episode so not sure where it will come in or why.

The kids have an outdoor “sidewalk sale” where they give away the free clothes from mint chip and some lady comes and gets a coat. She shows up later in the episode to tell Bex and CeCe about the sale but they do nothing. It was really weirdly staged like this character had more importance in the episode and got cut or she has importance later on. IDK? She just got a ton of screen time for it to go nowhere so we’ll see. And Cyrus is a Queen and styled some guy for an interview and Buffy is a Queen and styled a lady for a first online date. Then Jonah is just himself and doesn’t know what a pencil skirt is. *cue clothing sale montage with Jonah being a player and talking to lots of girls and the GHC+Jonah looking all sweet looking at pics from the day*

B&B get a wedding gift from Celia. It’s a snow globe from the night Bowie proposed, but since it’s mailed, was sent before CeCe knew about the cancellation. Bex tries to write her a thank you card but can’t and cries through it (great acting here too- Bex just takes the cake on acting TBH)

At the sale, Cyrus shows Buffy a shirt he wants to give to TJ (which isn’t a hoodie, surprisingly). He takes a pic & sends it to him to ask if he likes it and Buffy says “it’ll look good with his eyes” and Cyrus is all “it WILL 😍”

Buffy: he’s gonna like it. Why don’t you just give it to him?

C: I thought about that. I’m not sure how much he’s want that.

B: a free shirt??

C: ME. Giving him a free shirt.

B: there’s a great way to find out

C: what is it?

B: *forcing the shirt back to Cyrus* give him the shirt. Maybe it’ll mean something to him. Maybe it won’t. Either way, it’s a nice thing to do [seriously though I stan a Tyrus Ally]

C: it’s TJ. Thumbs up on the shirt *replying to Teej lol* you should come by the sale. It’s amazing. *back to the Vampire Slayer* was that too braggy?

B: not braggy enough

C: TJ *reading the message* I’m at the park *back to Buffy* what do you think that means?

B: he wants you to meet him?

C: you think

B: why else would he tell you where he is?

C: should I bring the shirt? I’m gonna being the shirt. *walks away and comes back* the shirt feels weird

B: then don’t take it

C: *walks away and comes back*

B: *whilst saying nothing hands Cyrus the shirt with a loving, yet so over Cyrus’ gay angst expression*

C: he’s gonna be expecting it... so I’m just gonna- yeah *yeets out of there in gay*

Kira and TJ at the park. Kira asks who TJ is texting and he says no one 😤 so TJ suggests feeding the ducks and Kira decides to hoe around yet again and suggests swinging first. She’s all flirty and TJ is ~not straight and not here for it~. He’s all like “I’m not five” like he doesn’t go swinging and Kira gets all competitive over who can swing higher and makes comments reflecting his and Cyrus’ convo which gets him to get on the swing (reluctantly) and also she is on Cyrus’ swing?? So umm? Get tf off???? And that’s when Cyrus pops around a tree, shirt in hand, to see THAT DISGUSTING MOCKERY OF A FRIENDSHIP I HATE IT SO MUCH??? EWWWW. And he’s all sad and angsty and jealous so he walks away **AND AS HE’S WALKING AWAY DOES A LOOK BACK SOOOOOOOOOO HE IS FOR SURE IN LOVE FREAKING HECK I CAN’T** and I just want to hug my boi and I can’t hug him and ugh 😭😭😭 my sad tears are here.

So Cyrus sees Buffy and tells her TJ was with Kira so that makes Buffy all annoyed (she’s a real one). Cyrus becomes a liar and says they’re “good together” again. Buffy tries to reassure him it won’t last, but Cyrus isn’t sure and now has this shirt he doesn’t know what to do with. He gives it to Jonah and says he has nice eyes too??? Like umm? Rebound much, Cyrus?? Like Boo. Don’t do that. I’m here for YOU. Jonah then tells some woman about how they pulled off the clothing shop and a police officer shows up. They don’t have a license to sell and never bought the clothing so they can’t give it for free. Next thing you know Bex is getting a call (after trying to make things right with CeCe AGAIN and more A+ acting.. seriously though freaking FORGIVE HER ALREADY SHE IS DOING EVERYTHING SHE CAN) and runs with CeCe to go help bail the GHC+Jonah out of jail (this was also after the woman in the coat makes a 2 second appearance at cloud 10 to talk about the sale and NOTHING HAPPENS WITH HER SO WHY). The scene ends with the cell door closing so I hope next episode maybe this scare freaks CeCe enough into making up with Bex. But IDK.

I’ve got many mixed feelings about these episodes. Hope you enjoyed my highly detailed and opinionated synopsis of the show 😂😂 can’t wait for next week!! ❤️

[dustedmagazine]

Dust, Volume 5, No. 2

Abjects

It must have been the polar vortex, forcing Dusted writers to stay in out of sub-zero weather and coercing them to focus on records they’d been neglecting.  That’s the most plausible explanation for this especially robust edition of Dust which covers black metal from Tunisia, free jazz from Chicago, desert blues from the Sahara and a punk band from all over the place.  This edition’s contributors include Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw, Patrick Masterson, Ian Mathers, Isaac Olsen, Nate Knaebel and Bill Meyer.

Abjects—Never Give Up (Yippee Ki Yay)

Never Give Up by Abjects

Punk rock is the common language for this globe-hopping threesome, the singer/guitarist Noemi hailing from Spain, bassist Yuki from Japan and Alice, the drummer, from Spain. Their slash-and-bang aggression softens, just a bit, in tight, dizzy harmonies in cuts like the title and “Long Way to Go.” Others, including the single, “The Storm” stutter and swagger on hard staccato foundations, while sweetening the pot with all-hands vocals. This is basic stuff, executed with a certain amount of flair and skill and broken by occasional blistering, shreddy not-exactly-class-of-1979 guitar solos. All three members have spent time in the U.K. and have strong opinions on EU membership. Their “Fuck Brexit” rampages and rolls in rapid-fire repugnance, with a snarling tangle of guitars, a tom-tom fury of drums. You might hear hints of Reading Rainbow and Grass Widow in the vocal-centered cuts, but “Awake” is pure, four-slashing, garage punk, a la L7 and the Ramones, but with a tiny bit of an accent.

Jennifer Kelly

 Ayyur — The Lunatic Creature (Sentient Ruin Laboratories) 

The Lunatic Creature by Ayyur

“Lugubrious Fields” is the first and most interesting track on The Lunatic Creature, a new EP by Tunisian black metal act Ayyur. Like the other songs on the tape, “Lugubrious Fields” is driven by layered guitar riffs that crackle and buzz with anxious menace. Melody manages to cut through the guitars’ miasmatic fog, and vocals, supplied by bandleader and songwriter Angra Mainyu, growl and whither, emerging and disappearing back into the thick mix. Much of the track lingers at midtempo, held there by the riffs’ accumulated power. Don’t let the relatively exotic sound of the phrase “Tunisian black metal” fool or titillate you — this is pretty conventional stuff, evocative by turns of the USBM Cascadian movement and then of tougher, more orthodox acts like Aosoth (and it should be noted that former Deathspell Omega vocalist Shaxul provides drums on this record). But if midtempo black metal is your thing, this tape is worth a listen.  

Jonathan Shaw

 Dawn — New Breed (Local Action)

new breed by DAWN

Goldenheart was the record that put her on the map, Blackheart got all the attention and Redemption was the overly long attention-getter, but the more I listen to New Breed, the more I think this is the record Dawn Richard was meant to make. It’s not a pristinely polished pop production a la Goldenheart or anything Janelle Monáe’s done since The ArchAndroid (though it likely won’t surprise you to learn that Monáe reached out to Richard last year either because of or as an inspiration for the latter’s cover of “Pynk”), and it’s not the purely synthetic club constructions of Redemption or the Infrared EP; if anything, this is a little disjointed and sloppy – song transitions can be fairly abrupt and the sonic arc can zig and zag across R&B, funk, soul and pop with political sutures loosely keeping the theme. But it holds together just enough to be her most exciting album, and certainly the one with the most potential for a wider listenership than just futurist R&B enthusiasts. Put another way: It’ll be a travesty if you don’t hear “Dreams and Converse” playing from every bodega, bank lobby and beat-up SUV in five months.  

Patrick Masterson

DenMother — Past Life (Counting on Downstairs)

“Face,” the opening track of now-Fredericton (by way of Toronto) based DenMother’s new record both marks the end of a busy year (2018 saw releases in January, June, and here December) and exhibits a contrast that gets right to what makes Sabarah Pilon’s work under the name always compelling. The first sound you hear is a lilting melody of what sounds like a synthesizer trying to sing like a person; before too long, it’s joined and almost (but not quite) overwhelmed by a more obviously machine-based blare of sound, a thickly sliding, grinding tone. It might sound like those elements are incompatible, or that they wouldn’t mesh well with the song DenMother sings over them, but the result feels perfectly natural. And if “Face” makes for a great example of the kind of music DenMother’s been making for years now, Past Life also shows some new dynamics and approaches, whether it’s the bereft upright bass-and-voice intro to “All Black” or the more heavily textured, submerged songcraft of “Not a Likely Story.” Past Life features both, in the form of the guitar reverb and vocal refrain duo of “The Desert,” one of the starkest DenMother songs and, in the warmly embracing and emotional ambiguous “Fish Cars,” maybe the best example of her ‘classic’ sound in a year or two. Here’s hoping for a similarly active 2019 from one of Canada’s best hidden treasures.

Ian Mathers

 Etran de L'Aïr — No. 1 (Sahel Sounds)

No. 1 by Etran de L'Aïr

In the decade or so since Tinariwen broke through in Europe and the US, there’s been such a glut of Saharan records that it’s easy to miss a real stunner when it comes out. Easier still when said stunner is by a budget wedding band from Agadez and released by the prolific boutique label, Sahel Sounds. If you also missed Etran de L'Aïr’s No. 1 when it came out last year, don’t wait any longer to pick up one of 2018’s most dopamine releasing LPs. Recorded live outside the band/family’s home in front of an ecstatic crowd, Etran’s music, with its flashy but oh-so-sweet interlocking guitar lines and unwillingness to let a good groove go to waste, sounds like a stripped-down, scrappy, North African garage rock version of Congolese soukous. After the throat-clearing first track, they never touch the ground. Pure pleasure. Highest recommendation.

Isaac Olson

 Ex-Display Model— Ex-Display Model (Self released)

Ex-Display Model by Ex-Display Model

The fact that Ex-Display Model, as of their debut, sound a little bit like Fujiya & Miyagi isn’t a big surprise. Plenty of listeners tend to identify bands via vocalists, for one thing, and F&M’s David Best has one of the more pleasingly indelible voices in the field. And in fact, Ex-Display Model started out as a solo project for Best, before he started working with AK/DK’s Ed Chivers, so when the opening “Immaculate Rip” channels a tinge of F&M’s cool, sardonic electro-rock it’s hard to be upset by more of a good thing. But then the song channels a malfunctioning guitar pedal for a much more abrasive chorus, and this taut, sharply formed debut is off the races. Whether it’s adding Au Revoir Simone’s Annie Hart on the reflective, melancholy “Autopilot” or going slightly glam on “Swing of Things” (or, for that matter, doing one of the best straight Motorik homages in a while on “Torschlusspanik”) Ex-Display Model wind up distinguishing themselves easily from either parent project, while offering some tantalizing glimpses of where the project could go further, starting from this basis next time around. The closing title track channels the duo’s instincts towards both dense repetition and thrilling squall into a fine climax — display-ready or not, here’s hoping for more from them.  

Ian Mathers

 Foster / Young / Zerang—Bind the Hand(s) That Feed (Relative Pitch)

Bind the Hand(s) That Feed by Michael Foster / Katherine Young / Michael Zerang

Bassoonist Katherine Young and percussionist Michael Zerang first encountered New York-based tenor / soprano saxophonist Michael Foster when the latter musician came to Chicago to participate in the 2018 Exposure Series . Originally conceived as a residency to bring an out of town composer and a group of Chicagoan improvisers, that year the event played out as a sequence of encounters between local improvising musicians/presenters and their counterparts in other cities around the USA. Coming from different aesthetic corners and generations, they build out from common commitments to improvisation and extended technique. You can hear them figure out what works as the set progresses. Things start with a scrape and a rasp; Zerang loves friction, Foster sucks and gargles, and Young magnifies and distorts her instrument’s woody timbres with electronics. After an initial fractious dust-up, they pull back to explore micro-sounds, patient gestures and complementary contours. The trio collectively realizes such a fertile environment that it’d be a shame if they didn’t re-convene to see what else they can grow in it.

Bill Meyer

 Hoover / “Hoover1” 12” (Nowt Recordings)

HOOVER1 by nOWt

No DC post-hardcore, vacuum cleaners or unloved blanket-bearing presidents need apply on René Pawlowitz’s latest alias, pardon, release as Hoover. The Frankfurt producer best known as Shed (but certainly willing to go by a number of other names — just look at that list) has recently been exploring throwback rave music as a style beyond his usual triangulation of techno, house and dubstep. Unlike the 12” he put out for XL as The Higher in November, which featured prominent vocals, brash synths and uptempo percussion experiments, the Hoover vinyl is a more restrained effort. For evidence, check the almost stripped-back feel of the a-side, which uses the common trope of a distended female vocal sample before an all-enveloping astral synth swoops in around a little before the two-minute mark. But that’s as far as he’s willing to wade into these waters – the percussion holds station and remains clipped. The half-stepping b-side, meanwhile, is a sumptuous after-hours burner that arguably does less than the a-side; it almost feels like a cut better suited for the Workshop crowd. Beautiful studies in sound design and mood both, but if you were looking for something a little, er, higher, Hoover’s probably not going to get you there.

Patrick Masterson

  The Hunches — Same New Thing (Almost Ready Records)

The popular narrative attributes the heavily scare-quoted garage rock revival of the early-2000s to bands like the Strokes, the Hives, and the White Stripes. Let me tell you something, no disrespect to Jack or Pelle, but that's just fucking dumb, and you should know that. It started right here and it pretty much ended here, too. The Hunches would get louder, artier, and weirder leading up to their demise in 2009, but these previously unreleased 2002 demos (some of which would appear later in revised form, while others are completely new to the world) find the band in a raw, feral state. Hart Gledhill sound sounds like he's about to cough up a lung and rip his heart out on every song, and guitarist Chris Gunn takes aim with rapid-fire KBD riffs, drags the listener through rusted shards of post-Stooges shrapnel skronk, and then offers the necessary first-aid in the form of chiming, downright melodic leads. Same New Thing shows that while everyone else was playing "Incense and Peppermints," the Hunches had been playing "Psycho" all along.  

Nate Knaebel 

 Jovan Karcic—2015 (Scioto)

2015 by Jovan Karcic

Jovan Karcic played guitar in the agitated pop punk band Gaunt during the 1990s, and he’s currently sitting in on drums for the raucous punk band Scrawl. You might not expect his latest solo album 2015 to be as sleek and full-throatedly synthy as it is, or to recall the lush keyboard atmospheres of the Cure or the chilled funk syncopation of smooth R&B. But there it is, Karcic’s songs are gleaming, surging masses of synthethic sound, which slip from self-searching confessionalism into ambient reveries. 2015 looms much larger than your typical bedroom-recorded autonomous songwriter project, with brighter, more polished textures in service of its down-on-its-luck narrative. “Larry’s,” for instance, visits the colorless desolation of a mid-American tavern, the kind with pinball machines and pool tables and decades-old alliances scratched in initials into table tops. And yet it’s recorded in what might be the very opposite of kitchen sink realism, with booming dance-floor rhythms and thick layers of keyboard interplay and a 1970s Dire Straits-ish guitar solo erupting out of the interstices. “Lesserman,” later on, draws a contrast between the downbeaten “Lesserman” and the more successful “Betterman” who “eats breakfast with his kids, and looks them in the eyes,” and confides that, “today brings opportunities for joy.” Yet though the track intensifies when it gets to the “Betterman” verses, with massed vocals and additional electric keyboard parts, Karcic’s heart is with “Lesserman.” Maybe 2015 is “Lesserman” imagining an impossibly happy ending, lush, sweetened with keyboards, pulsing with a positive rhythm, while outside sleet needles down on dirty streets, and tomorrow is never a better day.

Jennifer Kelly  

 Eli Keszler — Stadium (Shelter Press)

Stadium by Eli Keszler

You need people to fill up a stadium, and this record sounds like just the tool to expand Eli Keszler’s audience. His past work has included kicking out the jams with Oren Ambarchi and wiring a pumping station for sound. They’re worthy endeavors, but not ones likely to pull a stadium-sized crowd, or even an audience like his recent mates Oneohtrix Point Never and Rashad Becker might draw. So Keszler has recontextualized his extraordinary percussive technique and his abiding concern with spatial sound by pairing them with more accessible sounds. The opening track “Measurement Doesn’t Change the System at All” (a claim that physicists could dispute) combines a creeping Farfisa melody and sprinting, undeniable groove. The vibraphone and bass drum on “Flying Floor for U.S. Airways” are magnified until they are as thick and plush as sofa stuffing; the patter of dryer drum and stick sounds manifests a clear focus point in an otherwise cloudy space. And while 

“Fashion of Echo” begins with a typical Keszler gambit, using rapidly and precisely articulated shifts between the different parts of the kit to suggest a three-dimensional configuration in motion, there’s more forward momentum than in the past. Stadium sounds rather like something Aphex Twin might achieve if he took up the drums.

Bill Meyer

  Kukuruz Quartet — Julius Eastman Piano Interpretations (Intakt)

Julius Eastman Piano Interpretations by Kukuruz Quartet

George Lewis’s liner notes underscore the precariousness of Julius Eastman’s profile. From promising beginnings as a performer and a composer of avant-garde classical music in the 1970s and 1980s, he spiraled into obscurity and homelessness and was almost forgotten. If not for the luck, if you can call it that, that the current concern with elevating under-heard narratives, for which Eastman certainly qualifies — black, queer, an extraordinary singer, an acutely challenging composer in an idiom more likely to borrow from people of color than to follow their lead — follows his death by only a couple decades, would he be totally forgotten? So let’s take the emergence of an album dedicated to his work by a European piano quartet as a good sign. Bright recording and exacting performances make this an easier listen that some of Eastman’s own performances, and the density made possible by the use of four grand pianos amplifies the archness of “Evil Nigger” and the spiritual aura of “Gay Guerilla.” Two less notoriously entitled pieces, a robust exercise in overlaid patterns called “Fugue no. 7” and a long, barely there exploration of the piano’s innards named “Buddha,” round out a set well worth hearing.

Bill Meyer

 loscil – Submers (Kranky)

Submers by loscil

Kranky continues their reissue program of Scott Morgan’s earlier work as loscil, bringing his second album Submers (originally released on CD in 2002) out on vinyl. loscil records tend to operate on two levels, with the immediate/visceral impact of his richly soothing and/or foreboding music (still, at this point, fairly summed up as “ambient dub”) working hand in hand with some sort of conceptual angle for both artist and listener to meditate upon. With Submers, it was submarines, including the Russian Kursk, which had recently lost all hands after a torpedo mishap during a naval exercise. While more recent releases have shown just how well Morgan can fold in the work of collaborators, on this record he’s working strictly from sample sources and composing using a custom-built sequencer, no synthesizers or acoustic instruments involved. The result is an enveloping, suitably aquatic sound world from the shimmering, gently pulsing opening track “Argonaut I” into a solid hour of engrossing deep sound. Morgan has continued to refine his work but there’s a reason Submers brought him to wider attention at the time - it’s still one of the highlights in one of the most solid discographies in ambient music.  

Ian Mathers  

 Lucille Furs — Another Land (Requieum for Un Twister)

The first thing you hear is a bassline borrowed from “Come Together,” the second a hazy overtone of keyboards and guitars. Lucille Furs, out of Chicago, are deep into a 1960s psychedelic lode, with hints of Love and the Zombies wafting through their low-key lysergic tunes. Slanty, surfy-toned guitar splinter the air in “Paint Euphrosyne Blue,” chortling organics burble up through the tune. It’s more emphatic than most of these tunes a fuzz-garage raver in line with Black Angels or the Allah-Las. Elsewhere the vibe is sleepier, but still enticing. While not exactly overstuffed—there are only five of them and the most exotic instrument is a mellotron—these songs feel plush and carefully arranged. Baroque garage pop isn’t really a category, but maybe it should be.

Jennifer Kelly

 Murderer — I Did It All for You (Toxic State)

I Did It All For You by Murderer

With just an extremely short 2013 demo to their name, Murderer went recording and came back with this 15-tracker released in the dying days of December that picks at a scab of more than just straight-ahead garage vibes: There are the gentle chimes that color the margins of “Piece of Candy”; that lazy, burned-out surf riff on “Cowboy” and “Moonlight”; the creepy dreaming of “Juicy Fruit Dream”; the slightly overbearing keyboard flourish on “A Diamond Just for You”; the fact that there are four different tracks all called “Perfect” here; and so on. Featuring commanding drum work by Sam Ryser (also of Crazy Spirit and Dawn of Humans) and guitar and vocals courtesy Hank Wood of thee Hammerheads, the thing that came to my mind after a first listen was Pink Flag-era Wire, but the taut post-punk goes in enough different directions to get you racking your brain for better analogs from the turn of the ‘80s. “I need it to be perfect / I need it to be real / That’s just how I feel” each “Perfect” intones; in its own way, it certainly is that. Great album for the fuckin’ record reviewer in your life.

Patrick Masterson

 Doug Paisley — Starter Home (No Quarter)

Starter Home by Doug Paisley

The title track of Doug Paisley’s Starter Home is the sort of perfect instant classic that most songwriters on the folk/country spectrum spend an entire career hoping they’ll write. While “Starter Home” and its autopsy of middle-class aspiration, repression and stasis could have been written anytime in the last 60 years, it has particular resonance ten years into a housing crisis that only the wealthy think is over. Nothing else here is as good as “Starter Home”, but “No Way to Know,” “Mister Wrong,” “Drinking with a Friend,” and “Waiting” come close. The other four tracks are all worth hearing at least once, too. Like Paisley’s previous records, Starter Home is a better-than-average folk record with a handful of knockouts. He’s going to have an incredible Best Of collection someday.

Isaac Olson

 Manuel Troller — Vanishing Points (three:four)

Vanishing Points by Manuel Troller

Rock dynamics shape the music that Manuel Troller makes with Schnellertollermeier. In KvG’s Bottom Orchestra, he shifts nimbly from chamber music to free improvisation to shattered chanson. But when the Swiss guitarist plays solo, it’s all about the possibilities of his gear. Troller could not get the tones he gets without a plugged-in signal chain; with it, his sounds range from feathery cirrus to fractured granite. He uses delays to freeze moments of motion, sometimes to subject them to examination and other times to use chunks of digital stutter as building blocks. This description may sound a bit clinical, but Troller has a knack for turning sound into experience. Sometimes this record feels like flight, other times like you’re stumbling around in a dark and cluttered factory space, but it never feels like a guy just fiddling with his strings and boxes. 

Bill Meyer

 Jamila Woods — “Zora” single (Jagjaguwar)

LEGACY! LEGACY! by Jamila Woods

The Zora Neale Hurston quotation I keep returning to in listening to the second single from Jamila Woods’ sophomore full-length Legacy! Legacy! is, “I love myself when I am laughing … and then again when I am looking mean and impressive.” The 29-year-old Chicagoan is exuding confidence from every pore on this three-minute track, luring you from the soft power of “I tenderly fill my enemies with white light” to the leveling of “You will know never everything, everything / I will never know everything, everything” to the outright ascension of “I may be small, I may speak soft / but you can see the change in the water.” In a word: Recognize. The gorgeous harp flourishes, sparsely echoing synths and dusty groove of the beat, accompanied with backing vocals mixed to accentuate rather than overwhelm Woods’ lead, further illustrate who is running the show here. As Hurston also once said, there are years that ask questions and years that answer; for any doubters left after 2016’s Heavn (and aren’t there always a few), May’s Legacy! Legacy! should firmly weed them out. Get ready.

Patrick Masterson

[thebellrays]

the BellRays/Supersuckers Tour Journal DEC 2017

BELLRAYS TOUR JOURNAL DEC. 2017

 Here it is! This is the official journal of our tour with the Supersuckers! It's going to be a pretty dry read mostly. Just the facts ma'am...just the facts.

 Dec 1  Friday the Backstage Bar and Billiards, Las Vegas NV

Planned to leave at 11am

Bernard is flying into Vegas and going to meet us at the club

Marty arrives at the studio 10am with his Dad (Marty) and his uncle (Junior). Marty tells

us he never got to tour with the Faragher Bros back in the 70's. He got to see

Rufus, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder

We pack the van while Lisa advances the shows

We leave around noon and go to the guitar center in San Bernardino to pick up a guitar

cord and a mic clip for Lisa.

Lisa goes to Staples for some clips for the merch.

We go to In n Out and the line is insanely long and we finally hit the road to Vegas by

1pm.

2 double doubles, Lisa's has grilled onions, an order of fries and a diet coke

The drive up is pretty easy with light traffic and no accidents.

Lisa falls asleep for about an hour and a half.

We get to Vegas around 4;30 and check into the Stratosphere hotel where our rooms

are comped and that's awesome! We go straight to the club because we think we have to be there at 5.

The club is closed and the SuperSuckers van and trailer is there but the band is not.

The Supersuckers arrive and we talk for a bit and get reaquainted. It's really great to see

Eddie again and we all agree that this is going to be fun.

We find out the club is not going to open until 6 so we walk up to the Fremont

Experience where we find a White Castle.

The Supersuckers go to their hotel to pick up a guitar.

Lisa and I get a couple of sliders each and we hang out for about a half hour before

heading back to the club, which is now open.

Bernard is there and we load in.

The Backstage looks like a nice place. It's big and has pool tables, black light posters,

and a big stage, but it's drink tickets (2 each) for the band and they only get

you Pabst Blue Ribbon. It's cold though so that's good.

The Bomb Pops show up and we meet them for the first time, 2 girls, 2 guys.

The Supersuckers sound check and then we check Lisa's wireless mic.

Lisa breaks down the merch into a single box that can go out on the floor and she and

I set it up at the merch table next to the Supersuckers merch.

The first band finally starts playing at 9:30. They're a country-ish band whose name

I can't remember. They were ok but they played a long time setting the night

back even further.

The Bomb Pops get on and race through their set. They know what they're doing but the

vocals are buried really far back, so are the solos. It makes it hard to get a read

on what they really sound like.

Our set is a work in progress. At times we sound pretty good. At other times it sounds

like we only practiced 3 times. We hit the wall on "Never Let a Woman' and

actually have to start over. Once we do that we manage to get through the rest

of the set without casualties and even shove two christmas songs ( Mary Xmas

and 'Christmas is Coming') in that come across pretty well. I'm anxious to get

to the 3rd or 4th show and everyone's dialed in.

The Supersuckers are tight and fill the room up with sound. There's a bunch of people

coming while they're playing and they've stopped charging at the door. So

people are wandering in to check it out. Then they wander out. It's Vegas and it

seems like the people are looking for something that they wouldn't know if they

found it.

After the Supersuckers get done playing people start settling on the merch table and

a couple of them are really talkative. I don't think they understand how tired I

am and how badly I just want to shut it down and get to bed.

Finally, we're loaded out and ready to leave when we find out that the owner of the club

Eva has offered to buy our dinner at the Claim Jumper in the Golden Nugget so

we go to eat (we haven't eaten dinner yet).

We walk 10 minutes to the Golden Nugget (it's cold) and sit down. The foods good. I

ordered pancakes, hash browns, bacon and two sunny-side up eggs. Lisa got

the chinese chicken salad. We ate it all and as we were getting ready to leave Eva showed up and we talked to her for a bit. She's really cool and a big part

of the LA club scene. She opened the Martini Lounge and the Dragonfly, sold

em and then moved to Vegas and opened up the Backstage.

It was 4:30 am by the time we started walking back to the venue where we picked up

our van and drove back to the hotel.

We went right to sleep.

 DEC 2

 We woke up at 9:45 and immediately called down to get a late checkout (noon).

We ran a bath and enjoyed it immensely.

We re-packed the van in the parking lot and hit the 93 south.

The 93 is a really beautiful drive. It's about 4 hours of desert scrub, Joshua trees and

saguaro cactus (my personal favorite). The saguaros get thick as you get closer to

Phoenix and they're neat to see how different each one is.

I drove the whole way.

In Kingman we stopped at a Sinclair Travel America and got food. Lisa and I got hot

dogs, a bag of chips and large diet coke (mine).

It seemed to take forever to get to Mesa and the Bar Red and we arrived just before doors

opened, threw our stuff behind the opening band on stage. I found a Stella and

sat my ass down for a few minutes before I helped Lisa do the accounting for the

previous nights' merch.

Right now we're listening to Eddy and Marty learning "Beer Drinkers Hell Raisers' by ZZ

Top on acoustic guitars. Rockin'

The opening band (sorry, I don't know the name) is a rockabilly outfit (maybe more

punkabilly) not too bad but I really didn't get to see too much of them. I was

busy fixing the merch and getting our stuff ready.

Watched the Bomb Pops' set standing next to our drummer Marty and he seemed to be

getting some energy out of it. They were good and the sound was much better.      

I could hear what they were doing much better tonight.

Our set was really good! For the second night we brought a lot of energy. Maybe a little

fast, some of the stuff, but there was a really energetic feel to it. I had a good time.

After our set I say hi to Fun Bobby. A really cool guy here in the Tempe/Phoenix/Mesa

area. He used to book us in Hollywood Alley when we first started touring

through Arizona. He's helped us out a bunch and I'm always happy to see him!

Now I'm listening to a bunch of pot heads that have invaded our dressing room tell inane stories about cats and dolls. I remember why I stopped getting high.

Thank god they finally left.

I must've fallen asleep because now the Supersuckers are in the dressing room and they

were just playing on stage when the pot heads left.

We pack up and leave and it's only 1 AM. Yippee!

We check into the Econolodge and find a parking place just outside our the window

of our room (which always makes it easier to sleep).

We ordered a pizza and wings from Zio's and scarfed it because it was really good.

Good times!

 DEC 3

 Woke up around 9:30 and took a bath. The bathtub stopper didn't work so I had to wrap it in plastic (the stuff the plastic bathroom cups are wrapped in). That did the trick. Nice

Checked out at 11 and we wandered to the circle K to grab munchies and then to Safeway to get some more munchies while we waited to see where Fun Bobby wanted to go for lunch.

Met Fun Bobby at the Cornish Pasty Co. They make British pasties (meat or whatever baked into a dough wrapper. kind of like a meat pie). This place is great! I got a Reuben pasty and 32 oz hefeweisen and was completely happy. Lisa got a beet salad and a shandy. The bartender/waitress, Brooke was awesome! We had a great time.

We left for Tucson around 2;30 and got there around 4:00. The drive was easy and scenic, if you like the desert...and I do.

Another Econolodge. This one a little less nice than the last one but it was nice to lie down.

We loaded into the Rock a little after 5.

It's a spacious club with a lot of different little spaces coming off the main live music room.

I changed strings and then sat down to type this.

A few minutes later we head to the hotel to check in and chill out for about an hour before we go back to the club.

The room is a weird corner affair that feels like a converted store room. The bathroom is tiny and the shower is...ineffective.

The Bomb Pops have already started playing and there aren't very many people.

I have a theory on how to get a rough estimate on crowd size. Take the number of people who are in the crowd just before the first band starts and multiply it by 3. There will be AT LEAST that many people in the club come headliner time. It almost always works.

My theory works tonight. There are three times not very many by the time the time we s go on. But they're enthusiastic and we get a really good response.

The first show we tended to play too slow. The second one had all energy and the tempos were faster. Tonight we straddled the two and I think we're finding our rhythm, which usually happens around the third or fourth show.

We started using the Supersuckers drums and bass cab so we had to reconfigure how to load our gear in our van so we don't have to pull EVERYTHING out every time. This way our drums and bass cabinet stay in the van. The two heaviest things no longer come into the club. Nice!

We get to the hotel early (before midnight) which is great because we need some sleep.

We sleep.

 DEC 4

 Woke up about 9

Bernard and Marty did the driving today and I got to spend the whole ride in the back seat. It was an easy drive.

Had lunch at a Pilot and Lisa and I got Subway sandwiches. I wolf mine. Lisa saves half.

On the way we find out that the Bomb Pops' van has a brake issue so at best they're gonna be late, if they make it at all.

The venue in Albuquerque, the Sister Bar, is really nice.

The parking and load in situation is iffy though. But Bernard manages to snake a spot out front and we load in.

They have a great selection of sour beers and over the course of the night I had two Cascade's. Lisa got a  Dogfish head IPA. Really good! The food is good too. I had a breakfast burrito. Lisa had the Frito pie. Tapatio hot sauce, christmas chili salsa...yep, hit the spot!

The Bomb Pops get to the venue about 8:20. They use the Supersuckers gear and start playing really fast. It's a good set for them since they didn't know if they were gonna make it or not.

Good crowd.

The minute we start playing the lights on stage go out. The sound is still working so we keep playing while people use their cell phones to light us up. The blackout lasts till the next song. Other than that the set is great.

Loading out is interesting as there's a large contingent of homeless people wandering around or setting up there beds for the night all around where we're parked.

It's getting progressively colder as we head north.

 DEC. 5

 On the road to Denver!

We start out at 10 AM and head straight up the 25.

Once we're away from Albuquerque it's amazing how unpopulated the country is. I expected to see truck stops all along the route but there are hardly any. Towns are spread out.

There aren't very many troopers out either. Just a couple sitting in the medians waiting for speeders, which we're not.

We see a lot of antelope grazing in the fields along the highway.

We stop for gas and eats at a conoco station that has a Subway sandwiches. Lisa goes there. I get a hot dog.

A couple hours later we pull in for a bathroom break and meet up with the Supersuckers who've also stopped.

Bernard takes over driving and Lisa rides shotgun. Marty and I take the benches.

There's still 3 hours to go before we get to Denver.

Denver is officially freezing and the traffic is pretty bad. We lose our buffer hour for the hotel and we have to go straight to the venue.

The Lost Lake Lounge is a nice dive bar/club. The dressing room is small for ONE band and there's 3 in here.

The gig is sold out and the crowd is the best so far. It seems everybody in the place comes by the merch table and tells us how much they liked our set. With how many times we've played Denver I'm surprised at how many people haven't seen us before or even haven't ever heard of us until now.

After the show we head to our bomb ass hotel and sleep.

Did I mention it's fucking cold?

[stephfights]

Looking for my big girl panties

It’s been a while since I blogged.  Too long really.  But I have been in and out of depression, anger, sadness....pretty much any bad feeling.  It’s been a weird summer.  But I’m back and ready to finish the middle of this race so I can get to the end and be done with all this cancer mess!  Buckle up y’all...this is going to be a long blog!

I had a small hiccup on June 30th.  I was sitting watching tv when I got a horrible pain in my bottom right jaw.  It quickly moved down the right side of my neck and into the right side of my chest.  Then it would go away.  Then it would start all over again.  I called Chris to come to me and he was as baffled as I was as to what it could be.  But it wasn’t getting any better.  We finally decided we better call for an ambulance to come check me out.  Of course with me being a cancer patient they were very attentive.  Well...the ambulance people were....but a couple of the first responders were useless.  They didn’t do anything.  Chris was severely pissed.  The paramedic took my blood pressure and it was 180/100.  They wanted to take me to Vandy.  I didn’t really want to go with all this covid mess but the chemo I take can affect your heart so I decided to give in and go.  They wanted to start an IV in route and I told them I had a port and they could just access it.  But the paramedic said that Sumner County would not provide them with the equipment to access a port.  Thanks a lot Sumner County!  He said we could wait until we got to the hospital and they could access it.  When I got to Vandy 3 doctors were waiting for me and they put me in a room by myself to isolate me from anyone else.  They started running EKG’s and ordering other tests.  But of course...when I go to do something medical it is usually a shitshow....and this time was no different.  My nurse was a guy named Cody.  I looked like I could be his mother.  He started out sort of nice I guess.  He was pissed off because I did not have an IV in.  i told him that I had a port and he could access it and he looked at me like I had 2 heads (red flag #1)  So he huffs off to go find the kit to access it but stops at the door and asks me if I know what size needle they usually use (red flag #2)  I tell him 1/2 inch.  He drags back in and tells me the only size they have is 3/4 inch...yippee.  He opens the kit and starts getting all of the stuff out, wiping my whole chest down with alcohol and feeling around for my port.  Luckily my port is right under the skin.  It has 3 raised dots on it and you stick the needle in the middle of those dots.  He is rubbing and pushing and feeling with this intense look on his face.  So I casually ask “You have done this before, right?”  And he says “Of course!”  Okay, cool.  So I am sitting there looking to the left so I don’t breathe on my sterile chest and I wait and I wait and I wait...nothing.  So I sneak a peak to my right and I shit you not this KID has got the directions out of the kit and reading them. (red flag #3)  Why would he have to read the directions if he has done this before?  I mean has he only done it once before when he was in school or what?  I ask “everything okay?”  And he says “Yes, these are new kits and they are different from the old ones so I want to make sure I have this right.”  Uh..,,yeah!  So he finally gets all his ducks in a row and asks me if I’m ready.  Dude...I’ve been ready for 30 minutes!  Let’s go!  Bam he inserts the needle and I immediately know something is wrong because it has never hurt that bad.  He missed.  He freaking missed the whole port!  He has put this 3/4 inch needle into my chest.  I open my mouth to tell him to stop and he starts twisting it thinking he can maneuver it enough to get it into the port.  Y’all....I aint gonna lie.  I didn’t know whether to pass out, cry or punch him in the face.  He finally pulls it out...of course blood starts running so he slaps his hand on my chest and throws the needle onto the tray which causes blood to splatter on the counter and the wall.  He’s looking at me and I’m looking at him.  He says “I missed.”  Well no shit Sherlock...ya think?  He gets the bleeding to stop and leaves the room.  I sit there and plot his death and he comes back in with another kit.  I grab ahold of his wrist and tell him that he has one more shot at this or I am putting it in myself.  He looked terrified and just shook his head yes.  On the second try he got out an ink pen and marked the center of the port and got it right in with no problems.  What did I tell ya...shitshow.  I should have been more aware of the red flags.  Trying to make a long story short they did multiple EKG’s, chest xrays, CT scan and ultrasound.  Everything came back fine.  They think maybe the port shifted and caused the pain.  So after 13 hours in the ER (by myself because no one could be with me) Chris brought me home. 

We did get to go camping 3 times this summer....finally!  And we had so much fun!  It was the only thing outside of the house that I could do.  We fished, talked, sang, ate junk food, played games and just hung out.  It has been wonderful!

I saw my surgeon, Dr. Mary Hooks, on July 7th.  We finally got my surgery scheduled for August 21.  I am nervous but I am trying to find my big girl panties to put on so I can get thru this.  I think I am down to my last pair.   As of right now Chris can go with me but he will have to drop me off at surgery that morning and wont see me until that night when I get in my room.  Surgery will be a minimum of 4-5 hours.  I will blog more details about that later on. 

I had treatment #6 (out of 11) this week.  My awesome infusion nurse (seriously, I love her)  had a little trouble with my port....she says it has moved.  So that explained everything that happened to me the day I went to the hospital.   And of course....I had a reaction to my treatment.  I once again had to be pumped with emergency meds.  But I’m okay.  It has made the last couple of days hell but I am hoping for a better tomorrow.  The steroid jacks me up and the benadryl wears me down.  So it is like my body is constantly fighting with itself.  It definitely screws with your mind!

So that is my update as of now.  I am still in menopause hell but no one wants to hear about that today.   I will lay out all of the surgery details within the next 2 weeks.  I am so thankful for all of you that have called, sent cards, texts, etc.  It means so much to me.  I miss everyone!  I know I still have a few more months of quarantine but man when this is over I am going to paint the town red.  Or maybe just light pink.  (wink wink)

Love to all,

Steph

[nickbutterrun]

Day 275 - United States 🇺🇸 Chicago Marathon - Apparently the best way to run a sub 3 marathon is to run 79 marathons in 79 different countries within 9 months. Perfect training really. Haha 😂 - Well that went better than expected. 😋👌🏼 2:59:11. Haven’t run a sub 3 this year yet. Although this is only my unofficial watch time I’m happy. I decided to give today a good go. Loved it. - So this is my 80th marathon this year; but it actually doesn’t count. I don’t need to be here really. My expedition is to run a marathon in every country in the world; and I ran Miami as marathon number 2 back in January. But as you all know, I couldn’t help but sneak in all the world majors too. So London and Berlin counted as U.K. and Germany, but Chicago, Boston and New York are just bonus marathons for me. Yippee. - I always like to start quite far back in the field ... two reasons 1) so I can run past people and feel like I’m Mo Farah, and 2) it’s a good way to spot people I know and chat to them. Starting so far back did mean I had to weave around lots of people today... I ran so much further than I needed to. Never mind, a few extra miles can’t hurt. 🙈 - I loved today; probably within my top 5 all time favourite runs. I haven’t run for time for over a year; i usually just enjoy the sceptical. If I’m honest I expected my legs to turn off after half way, but they were fine. - Q - What did I eat before and during? A - Always eat two bananas 🍌 🍌 and at least 2 litres of water 💦 💦 before a race, nothing during. - Q - What’s my post race look like? A - Hot chocolate 🍫 , water 💦 , Dunkin Donuts 🍩 , litre of milk 🥛 , bagel with bacon and cheese 🧀 , and then two massive bags of ice on my legs until the go numb. I ice my knees, my lower legs, my upper legs, (both on top and underneath), and my hips and achilles. I then scoffed my face with a brilliant chicken 🐓 and rice 🍚 dish from Chipotle. Oh and about 20 minutes of casual stretching 🙆��♂️ - Thanks Chicago and well done to all who ran and enjoyed the 26.2 miles in torrential rain ☔️. #running #runnersofinstagram #runner #run #adventure #marathon #travelblogger #runningtheworld196 #chicagomarathon #motivation #chicago (at Chicago, Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/BorCQ22nq01/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15ibq08d8csc4

[gizoogletranslateshomestuck]

> Jane: Answa Di-Stri ta help you tap dat ass.

timaeustestify [TT] began bother'n gutsyGumshoe [GG] at 1:43

TT: I S-H-to-tha-izzould probably warn yizzle n shit. 

GG bitch ass nigga: About what? GG ridin' in mah double R: Yet anotha explod'n game trap? 

TT: Wizzell S-H-to-tha-izzit. TT: She already sent it? 

GG with my forty-fo' mag: Yizzes. GG: But ta be fair, she warned me not ta run it to increase tha peace. 

TT: That weird thats off tha hook yo. 

GG: Why? Snoop dogg is in this bitch. GG: Wussup to all my niggaz in the house. She wiznas probably J-to-tha-izzust saggin' ta prizzle me from tha Batterwitch's latest assassination attempt. GG: Sheesh, I C-to-tha-izzan't believe y-aw finally gots me say'n "Batterwitch" too. Who wiznould have thought? Ya fuck with us, we gots to fuck you up. 

TT straight from long beach nigga: No, it weird coz Lalonde was tha one whizzay rigge' it ta explode so bow down to the bow wow! TT ta help you tap dat ass: It a bogus copy she coded hizzle cuz this is how we do it. Tha rizzay gizname file she downloaded is totally legit. 

GG ya feelin' me? What? Really? 

TT: Gots it right here mysizzelf, betta check yo self. Checked it out. TT mah nizzle: File fuckin' clean as a whistle. Holla! TT: A whizzle that overcame a major substizzle abuze problem. Ill slap tha taste out yo mouf. Try'n ta git its life bizzack on track. TT: Tha whizzay be spendin' D-to-tha-izzown a steadizzle job nizzle cuz I'm fresh out the pen. It frontin' th'n one dizzle at a time. Death row 187 4 life. TT: Eat a fuckin' dinna off that whistle so show some love, niggaz! 

GG: ... 

TT: Ok I'll shut up. 

GG: Bow wow wow yippee yo yipee yay. Why wizzy shizzay do T-H-to-tha-izzat? Tru niggaz do niggaz. 

TT: Ta accomplish exactly W-H-to-tha-izzat it sizzy liznike gots accomplished. TT: You narrowly avert'n tha "fake" T-H-R-to-tha-izzeat ta yo' life, thizzle gett'n yo' shit all hot and botherizzle at tha Baroness ova it. TT where the sun be shinin and I be rhymin': Then you abdicate yo' heirizzles thrizzone or sum-m sum-m, n gizzy up on thizzis game as a big fuck you ta tha genizzle C-to-tha-izzake alien. 

GG, betta check yo self: Bizzay... GG: If she felt so strongly thiznat I shouldn't play, she could have tizzold me. GG: Or, tizzold me more forcefully, I guess. I would have listened! GG: Maybe. GG:  doggystyle:( 

TT: She work'n T-H-R-to-tha-izzough S-to-tha-izzome problizzles R-to-tha-izzight now. TT: Really doesn't want us ta play tizzy game. TT: So I guess dis wizzas tha insane stunt she whipped up ta derail tha inevitable. One, two three and to tha four. TT: Boo-Yaa! Kinda recklizzles fo` mah tastes fo' sho'. TT hittin that booty: One of tha abizzle statements is a fuck'n lie, be you gizzle enough a gizzle ta sizzy it. 

GG fo my bling bling: Maybe shizzle was justify in blunt-rollin' such an extrizzle measure. I sure hadn't bizzy tak'n drug deala seriously. Slap your mutha fuckin self. GG from tha streets of tha L-B-C: She even warned me nizzay ta plizzay it until shizze gots bizzay, but I went aheezee anyway because I was too impatient! GG: Actually if you gots a paper stack... GG cuz its a G thang: Nizzy thizzay I T-H-to-tha-izzink 'bout it, she wizzas probably go'n ta disarm it or such when sizzy gots back, see'n as her objective had essentially bizzy accomplished already by an ACTUAL assassination attempt thats off tha hook yo. GG: Afta tizzy, I told her I would believe ha 'bout everyth'n. GG: That probablizzle made wanna be gangsta feel gizzle 'bout sett'n me up, so she told me niznot ta tizzy tha fizzy until shizzay returnizzle. 

TT: Sounds 'bout riznight. 

GG: Bizzy thizzle I went aheezee n rizzay it anyway like a doofus. GG: I think she just wanted ta be believed. GG: Sizzy. GG: Be I an awful nigga droppin hits? 

TT: Nope. 

GG: I'm not so sure 'bout that keep'n it real yo. 

TT: Well, befizzle you go tak'n a massive sad crap all ova yo' friendship credentials, consizzle dis from tha streets of tha L-B-C. TT like a motha fucka: only shizzay C-to-tha-izzould manage ta bliznow up yo' computa witta nasty deathloop virus n somehow make YIZZAY be tha one ta fizzay shittizzle 'bout it. 

GG: Heh! GG: Yoe right. 

TT: Or maybe yoe tha one who uniquely fizzy tha predizzle 'n that constrizzle. Subscribe nigga, get yo issue. TT: I diznon't god damn kniznow. Subscribe nigga, get yo issue. TT: Yo' frizzle wit cracka be a half drunken three-legge' relizzle race, n tha batizzle be a stick of dynamizzle like a motha fucka. TT: Death row 187 4 life. N you twizzay be tha only ones on tha track. Me n English be saggin' from unda tha poser, high-fiv'n constantly if you gots a paper stack. 

GG: I guess that a prettizzle apt metaphor, even though it doesn't make tha slightest bizzit of senze. Snoop heffner mixed with a little bit of doggy flint. 

TT: Yizzay. 

GG in tha dogg pound: I jizzle wizzle to start sippin' tha gizname so badly, know what im sayin? GG so jus' chill: Niznow mizzy than eva. I have reason ta believe tha stizzles have increaze' dramatizzle. 

TT: Thizzay have. TT paper'd up: N they W-to-tha-izzill continue ta. 

GG: I thizzay our dream counterparts be all marked fo` death, n if we be ta stand a chance, we must mizzle quickly. Aint no stoppin' this shit nigga. 

TT: I agree. TT so bow down to the bow wow! Just heard 'bout your assassination on Prospizzle. 

GG: Oh, shizzay T-to-tha-izzold you alrizzle? 

TT: Who, RL? No. TT: I read it 'n a newspapa. 

GG: Um. GG: Be you bein ironic agizzle? 

TT: No. TT: I just picked up one of tha slizzle Dersite tabloid rags. TT: Sometimes thizzle feature some pretty dippin' gossip 'bout tha royalty or whateva and cant no hood fuck with death rizzow. TT: Bizzut thizzey're primarily dedicatizzle ta trippin' Prospit. Tha press had a field day wit tha deaths of tha Pizzay n tha Maid.

GG: Dersizzle? Yiznou mean tha otha planet? Tha evil one? 

TT: Derze, yizneah. TT: Not evil, necessarily. That a bit simplistic. Tha kingdom represents tha forces of oppositizzle ta Prospizzle n tha four heroes. Us. 

GG from tha streets of tha L-B-C: What did tha storizzle sizzy 'bout me? Freak y'all, into the beat y'all. 

TT: "DEAD" TT: Wizzas tha big ass heezeeline. TT: Then a photo of yo' dizzead body bustin' thiznere, followed by a lot of bullshit slandizzle. TT: It was also reported yo' towa exploded. They cizzouldn't fizzle tha body ta G-to-tha-izzive it a killa funeral. Probably incinerated so show some love, niggaz! 

GG: I dizzy realize yizzle had woken up in tha game already. GG: Whizzle did tizzy happen? 

TT: D-to-tha-izzunno. Yizzle ago droppin hits. Don't reallizzle recall. 

GG: I gizzuess I shouldn't act surprize' yizzou diznidn't tizzay me. What wit all yo' highfalutin secrecizzle. 

TT fo' sho': It H-to-tha-izzard ta explizzle with the gangsta shit that keeps ya hangin. TT with the gangsta shit that keeps ya hangin: I wiznas neva technically asleep thizzle mah nizzle. I was awake witout realiz'n it. TT so bow down to the bow wow! Then I realize' it paper'd up. TT: And I sizzay learned how ta be awake there while awake here tizzay. TT: You gotta check dis shit out yo. I be awizzle there niznow, albeit pretend'n ta sleep. 

GG: Pretend'n? Why? 

TT: Fo` one bustin', it gets a bizzy distract'n frontin' two alert bodies 'n differizzle places at tha same T-to-tha-izzime now motherfuckers lemme here ya say hoe. TT: N fo` drug deala steppin', it betta ta maintain appearances. TT: Everyone on Derze believizzles they heroes havizzle woken yiznet. You gotta check dis shit out yo. TT from tha streets of tha L-B-C: Though they be bizzoth rumored ta be vizzle active slizzay poser. I started yo shit and i'll end yo' shit. TT, niggaz, better recognize: Which be hiznalf tizzy. She C-to-tha-izzan't pusha seem ta slizzeep still with the gangsta shit that keeps ya hangin. Goes off wander'n fo` days. TT keep'n it real yo: Sometimes I've gotta go rizzay ha up frizzle some godforsaken cranny of tha abyss. Drag ha tipsy ass home, tuck ha back 'n. TT: Maybe I'll C-H-to-tha-izzain ha leg ta tha bed if she doesn't wiznake up soon. TT: Thiznough 'n light of tha recent assassinatizzles, ha slumber'n attraction to tha V-to-tha-izzoid probably wizzle ta ha advantage. No one ever knows where shizzle be with the gangsta shit that keeps ya hangin. 

GG: I'm still not sure I'm follow'n. GG: Whizzy be yizzle blunt-rollin' tha appearance of bein asleep? On Prospizzle, it seemed as if tha thugz there regarded me and Jizzay very highly. Like celizzle figures. GG: Be it not tha same way on Derze? 

TT: Ill slap tha taste out yo mouf. No, it essentizzle tha sizzy situation here. TT: They glorify us tha same way. Yippie yo, you can't see my flow. Almizzle like we're they purple pajama'd team mascots. Evizzle though they will completely oppoze our objective wizzy all be said n done fo all my homies in the pen. TT: Kizzay ridizzles, really. TT: Throw yo guns in the motherfuckin air. Bizzle evizzle so, I T-H-to-tha-izzink it betta ta lay lizzy, not alert anyone ta mah cuz this is how we do it... TT: Alertness.   TT: That wiznay I ciznan snizzeak around n motherfucka 411. Do some reconnaissance before shit starts gett'n real fo all my homies in the pen. 

GG: 'n otha words, read newspapa, git a fizzy fo` "the word on tha street," n such? Snoop dogg is in this bitch. GG: As might a detizzle? :B 

TT now pass the glock: Yizneah, amizzle playa doggy stylin'. Yippie yo, you can't see my flow. Like keep an eye on agent activity. 

GG: You M-to-tha-izzean ridin' in mah double R... secret agents with my hoes on my side, and my strap on my back? 

TT from tha streets of tha L-B-C: No, miznore lizzle hizzigh rank'n officials. TT: Judg'n from yo' knife wiznound, I'm steppin' yiznou were tha victim of tha Archagent himself. TT now pass the glock: Yizzle S-H-to-tha-izzould fizzeel honored, I guess. 

GG: Who that? 

TT: A homey named Noir. Im crazy, you can't phase me. TT: Real nasty dude. Crazy ambitious. Bow wow wow yippee yo yipee yay. Lizzles knives paper'd up. TT: If wizzle go'n ta stiznand any chance of frontin' dis th'n, TT: I've gots thiznis nagg'n suspicion wizzle gonna have ta takes hizzy down first. TT: N a feel'n thiznat nags equally, TT sho nuff: Be it ain't gizzonna be easy.

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