#a lot of games these days are like 60-70 dollars but very few are actually worth that price | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

itsclydebitches · 4 years ago

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Is buying the new Harry Potter game supporting transphobes because I've been seeing a lot of that on twitter? Not playing it. Pirating is fine, but actually paying for it.

Hi, anon!

I’ve seen a lot of the same and had initially thought to post my thoughts on the issue… before I got a very angry ask condemning me for a post where I admitted that I thought the game looked great and was excited to play it. I can no longer link to that post because I deleted it: a late night, impulsive decision made in an effort to try and protect myself from further flaming. Thus, I considered ignoring this ask under the same justification… before realizing that it might not matter in the long run. The Harry Potter: Legacy trailer has been out for just a few days and already I have gotten that furious ask, been told off by a friend for mentioning the trailer, and was questioned (antagonistically) about why I had added a Harry Potter related book to my Goodreads list. They’re small and potentially coincidental anecdotes, but it feels as if any engagement with Harry Potter is slowly coming under scrutiny, not just the (supposed—more on that below) crime of purchasing the new game. Given that I will always engage with Harry Potter related media, if there’s any chance such subtle criticism will continue regardless of whether I make the “right” choice to boycott the game or not, I might as well explain my position. Especially for someone who asked politely! Thanks for that 💜.

Which leads to the disclaimer: Any anon hate will be unceremoniously deleted. This is a complicated issue and I intend to write about it as such. I ask that any readers go into this post with good faith and a willingness to acknowledge that this situation isn’t as black and white as they may prefer it to be. If that’s not something you can emotionally handle—which is 100% fine. Some subjects we’re simply not inclined to debate—or if you’re just looking to get in a cheap shot, please hit the back button.

Right. Introduction done. Now here’s the tl;dr: saying things like “Buying this game is inherently selfish/transphobic” isn’t the hot take people want it to be. Is boycotting Legacy one (very small—we’ll get to that too) way of showing support for the trans community? Yes. Is buying the game proof that you’re a selfish transphobe? No. This isn’t a bad SAT question. Legacy boycotters are to trans supporters as Legacy buyers are to ___? The argument that someone is selfish for buying the game is basically that you are choosing a non-essential video game over the respect and lives of trans individuals, but the logic breaks down when we acknowledge that purchasing a game has no real life impact on a trans individual’s safety, support, etc.

“But Clyde, you’re giving Rowling money. She is then using that money to support anti-trans organizations. Thus, you have actively put more harm into the world.” Have I? I’m not going to get into whether/how much/what kind of money Rowling is receiving from this project because the fact is we don’t know and we’ll likely never know. Suffice to say, she probably will get some portion of any $60/$70 purchase. The real question is whether those sales have any meaningful impact. Reputable information on Rowling’s net worth is hard to come by, but it seems to be somewhere between 600 million and 1 billion pounds. Or, to put it another way: a fuck ton. And money keeps rolling in from a franchise that is so, so much bigger than a single video game. It literally doesn’t matter how much money you might put in her pocket via Legacy because she’s already so goddamn rich she can do whatever she wants. If Rowling wants to give a million dollars to the heinous “charity” of her choice, she can. She will. You are not directly contributing to this horror because that money may as well already exist. Every person in the world could refuse to buy this game and she’d shrug, going about her disgusting life because it literally does not affect her in any meaningful way. You’re refusing to give the murderer a knife when they’re got direct access to a knife-making factory. Horrible as it is to hear, you can’t stop them from doing something horrific with that tool.

For me, this is the straw argument of the Harry Potter world. Not straw as in strawman, but literally straws. Remember how everyone was talking about plastic straws, swore off them, and subsequently deemed anyone who still used one to be selfish people who didn’t care about the environment? It didn’t matter if you had a certified “good” reason for using one (disability) or a “selfish” reason (carrying straws everywhere on the off chance you wanted a drink is a pain in the ass)—you’re a horrible person who wants the planet to die. Same deal here. If you can swear off straws, great! Do what tiny bit of good you can. But if you can’t or even don’t want to give them up, the reality is that your “selfishness” doesn’t make a significant difference in the world. The amount of plastic corporations are pouring into the ocean makes your actions inconsequential. It’s not like voting where every small, individual act adds up to a significant total. This is your lack up against others’ staggering abundance. It’s not adding a few drops of water until you have a full bucket, it’s trying to un-flood the boat with a teaspoon while someone else is spraying it with the hose. Have you, on the most technical level, made a difference by moving that teaspoon of water out of the boat? Yes. Is it a difference that holds any meaning in regards to the desired outcome? Not really. Now apply all that to Rowling. She is so phenomenally wealthy—with additional wealth coming in every day—that your purchase of Legacy is a teaspoon of water in her ocean of funds. It’s inconsequential.

“But Clyde, buying this game would support her and supporting her sends the message that what she believes is okay.” Exact same argument as above. JKR’s fame is so astronomical that no video-game boycott could ever make a dent in it. For every 100 people who swear off her work there are another 1,000 who continue to engage with both her writing and the writing related to her world because she is that prominent. Harry Potter is one of the largest franchises of all time, second only to things like Pokémon and Star Wars. This isn’t some indie creator who you can ignore into silence. The reality is that Rowling is here to stay and we have to take far more substantial acts to counteract that influence.

Even more importantly, buying the game is not evidence that you support her views and the black and white belief that it does is an easy distraction from those harder “How do we improve the lives of trans people?” questions. I started compiling a list of stories with problematic authors only to realize the number of incredibly popular texts with awful histories attached to them unnecessarily increased the length of an already long post. Everything from Game of Thrones to Dr. Seuss—if you love it, chances are one of the authors involved has a history of misogyny, racism, homophobia, etc. Which I don’t say as a way of excusing these authors, nor as a way to silence the justified and necessary call outs on their work. Rather, I bring this up to acknowledge that engaging with these stories cannot be concrete evidence for how you view the minority group in question. The reasons for consuming these stories are incalculable and at the end of the day no one needs a “correct” reason for that consumption (my teacher forced me to read the racist book, I only watched the homophobic TV show so I could call out how horrible it was, etc.) If fiction were an indicator of our real life beliefs we’d all be the most horrifying creatures imaginable. I may be severely uncomfortable with the queer baiting in Supernatural, but if a friend says they bought the DVD collection my response is not, “How dare you support those creators. You’re homophobic.” In the same way, someone purchasing Legacy should not generate the response, “How dare you support her. You’re transphobic.” There’s a miles’ worth of pitfalls in connecting the statements “You purchased a game based on the world created by a transphobic author” and “You yourself are transphobic.”

So if buying Legacy does not add additional harm to the trans community from a financial perspective, and it doesn’t make a dent in Rowling’s platform, and playing a game is not evidence of your feelings towards the group the author hates… what are we left with? “But Clyde, it’s the principal of the thing. I don’t want to support a TERF” and that is an excellent argument. Your morals. Your ethics. What you can stomach having done or not done. But the “your” is incredibly important there. People need to understand that this is their own line in the sand and that if someone else’s line is different, that doesn’t mean they’re automatically a worse person than you. For example, I have made the choice not to eat at Chick-Fil-A. Not because I believe that me not giving them $3.75 for a sandwich will make a difference in their influence on the world, but because it makes a difference to me. It helps me sleep at night. So if not purchasing Legacy helps you sleep at night? That’s a fantastic reason not to buy it. But the flipside is that if someone else does purchase it that is not a reliable reflection of their morals, no more than I think my friends are homophobic for grabbing lunch at Chick-Fil-A now and then. Sometimes you just want a sandwich.

“But Clyde, why would you want to buy it? Rowling is such a shit-stain I don’t understand how anyone can stomach supporting her—whether that support has an impact or not. Maybe someone eats at Chick-Fil-A because it’s close to them and they’re too busy to go elsewhere, or it’s all they can afford, or they don’t know how homophobic they are. There are lots of reasons to explain something like that. But you’re not ignorant to Rowling’s problem and there’s no scenario where you have to play this game, let alone spend money on it. So why?”

The reality is that I will likely be buying Legacy, second-hand if I can, but new if it comes to that, so I’ll give some of my personal answers here, in descending order of presumed selfishness:

5. Part of my work involves studying video games/Harry Potter and as a researcher of popular culture, my career depends on keeping up with major releases: good and bad. I often engage with stories I wholeheartedly disagree with for academic purposes, like Fifty Shades of Gray.

4. I find the “Just pirate it!” solution to be flawed. I’ve spent the last four months struggling to get my laptop fixed and I currently have no income to buy another if it were to suddenly develop a larger problem. I am not going to risk my $2,000 lifeline on an illegal download, no matter how safe and easy the Internet insists it is.

3. We’ve been told that Rowling has not been involved in Legacy in any significant manner and I do want to support Portkey. No, not just financially because I know many others have insisted that everyone good has already been paid. Game companies still need to sell games. That’s why they exist. There’s a possibility that a company with just two mobile games under its belt will be in trouble if this completely flops. Is my purchase going to make or break things? No. Same reality as whether it will put new, influential money in Rowling’s pocket to do horrific things with. But I’d like to help a company that looks as if they put a lot of heart and energy into a game only to get hit with some real shit circumstances outside of their control. Even if they’re not impacted financially or career-wise… art is meant to be consumed. I know if I wrote a Harry Potter fic and everyone boycotted it because they want nothing to do with Rowling anymore, I’d be devastated. Sometimes, you can’t separate supporting the good people from supporting the bad. Not in a media landscape where thousands of people are involved in singular projects.

2. I’m invested in reclaiming excellent works created by horrible authors. That’s fandom! We don’t know much about Legacy yet—this is pure, unsubstantiated speculation—but this new story could be a step forward from Rowling’s books, giving us some of the respect for minority groups that she failed at. That’s the sort of work I want to promote because Harry Potter as a concept is great and I think it’s worth transforming it for our own needs and desires. The reality is that as long as Rowling is alive she’ll benefit from licensed material, but if that material can start taking her world in better directions? I want to support that too.

1. I literally just want to play it. That’s it. That’s my big justification. I think it looks phenomenal and I was itching to get my hands on it the second the trailer dropped. And you know what? I’m not in a good place right now to deny myself things I enjoy. I don’t need to tell anyone that 2020 has been an absolute horror show, but for me certain things have made it a horror show with a cherry on top. Not a lot gets me excited right now because we’re living in the worst fucking timeline, so when I find something that makes me feel positive emotions for a hot second I want to hang onto it. I have no desire to set aside that spark of happiness in a traumatic world because people on the Internet think it makes me selfish. Maybe it does, but I’m willing to let myself be a bit selfish right now.

Which circles back to this issue of equating buying a game with active harm towards the trans community. It honestly worries me because this is a very, very easy way to avoid the harder, messier activism that will actually help the queer community. When someone says things like, “You’re choosing a stupid video game over trans lives” that activism is performative. Not only—as demonstrated above—is purchasing a game not a threat to trans lives or ignoring the game a way of protecting trans lives, it also gives people an incredibly easy out while still seeming ‘woke.’ Not all people. Maybe not even a significant portion of people, but enough people to be worrisome. “I’m not purchasing that game,” some people post and then that’s it. That’s all they do, yet they feel like they’ve done their duty when in fact they’ve made no active difference in the world. Are you donating to trans charities? Are you speaking up for your trans friends when someone accosts them? Are you circulating media by trans authors? Are you educating your family about trans issues? Are you listening to trans individuals and continually trying to educate yourself? These are the things that make a difference, not shaming others for buying a game.

All of this is not meant to be an argument that people shouldn’t be absolutely revolted by Rowling’s beliefs (they should) and that this revulsion can’t take the form of rejecting this game wholeheartedly. This isn’t even meant to be an argument that you shouldn’t encourage others to boycott because though the financial impact may be negligible, the emotional impact for you is very real. I 100% support anyone who wants to chuck this game into the trash and never talk about it again—for any reason. All this is meant to argue is that people shouldn’t judge others based on whether they purchase this game (with a side argument that we can’t limit our activism to that shaming). That’s their decision and this decision, significantly, does not add any real harm to the world. Your fellow Harry Potter fan is not the enemy here. We as a community should not be turning our visceral on one another. Turn it on Rowling. She’s the TERF, not the individual who, for whatever reason, decided they wanted to play the game only tangentially related to her.

If Twitter and Tumblr are any indication, I can imagine the sort of responses this post may generate: “That’s a whole lot of talk to try and convince us you’re not a transphobe :/ ” For those of you who are determined to simply things to that extent, there’s nothing I can say that will change your mind. Please re-read the disclaimer and consider whether yelling at me over anon will benefit the trans community. For those of you who are still here, I do legitimately want us to think critically about the kinds of activism we’re engaging in, how performative it might be, whether it harms the community in any way, and (most significantly) whether it’s actually moving us towards a safe, respective world for trans people to live in. Personally, I don’t think telling Harry Potter fans that they’re transphobic for buying Legacy will generate any good in this world, for them or for the trans community.

At the end of the day only you can decide whether you can stomach buying this game or not. Decide that for yourself, but make that decision knowing that there’s no wrong answer here.

#harry potter #mymetas #Anonymous

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nomadicism · 5 years ago

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I read that one posts. I agree with Sol. I think it's more likely that Dreamworks crunched the numbers, figured it wouldn't be profitable and just canned the project than them cancelling it because of a very small section of the internet. p1

“p2 Mecha is just a dying genre as a whole. Even in Japan, isekai has taken it's place and there are hardly any new mechas outside of Gundam. That's in Japan! In the west, mecha is even more niche of an interest and general audiences don't gravitate towards it. I don't think that any mecha movie wouldn't do well at the box office. I'm even worried about that Gundam movie bombing at the box office.”

Hi Anon, thank you for the Ask!

Yeah, I agree with Sol too—and at risk of repeating what I’ve said in other posts about the movie thing—it’s really hard to convey just how incredibly unlikely a property like Voltron or Robotech will ever be made into a live-action movie. It really is about the numbers, as it always has been. Since the 80s, there’s this whole persistent and stupid element of the cartoon industry that continues to delude itself that promises or interest from Hollywood will ever pan out. There are so many scripts sitting in production limbo, that it’s almost criminal.

No one wants to risk money on a live-action movie based on children’s media IP that won’t bring in rated PG-13 or R dollars from adults, and no one wants to risk repeating the 80s He-Man film. The exceptions are live-action films made from children’s media IP that are fully owned by the company paying to produce the movie. I’ve got more to say about the complexities of royalties, but that’s awfully long-winded when I get into it, and I’d rather be long-winded about giant robots. (◕ᴗ◕✿)

The topic of mecha genre dying out is what really interests me here. It’s a topic that I think about a lot, as the beginnings of the mecha genre had a lot of deep cultural time-and-place stuff behind it, even if the stories were just kids and teen boys hopping into a giant robot to beat up other giant robots and monsters, in what were essentially 30 minute long toy commercials.

Isekai will come-and-go as all genres do. It’s not a new genre, but right now the types of themes driving the isekai stories being made speaks to a lot of interesting things happening in the youth of Japan’s relationship with digital gaming and role-play escapism. It’s fascinating, even though the focus of the genre as it’s done today hasn’t really grabbed me in the same way that isekai of the 80s-90s did.

Mecha isekai exists, and it’s only a matter of time before someone either remakes Vision of Escaflowne, or does a more mecha-focused isekai story similar to Magic Knight Rayearth. I doubt anyone would revisit Aura Battler Dunbine, or Super Dimension Century Orguss, but an otaku can dream.

Before we can say the mecha genre is dying, let’s briefly skim over the genre trends of the past +40 years. Every decade or era of mecha anime has a trend that reflects cultural concerns built into it, in a way that I don’t think any other genre of animation can touch (until now, with Digital/Virtual/Fantasy RPG World Isekai).

Late 60s-70s was: Super Robot smashes monsters and alien robots

Mid-70s – early 80s was: Combining Mecha Sentai Team Super Robot smashes monsters and alien robots

80s was: Real Robot + “how many sci-fi/fantasy settings can we put a robot into?” + the death-throes of Super Robot (e.g. Dairugger XV, Golion, Baldios, Godmars)

Also 80s: What the hell was Super Dimension Fortress Macross about? Cold war tensions of escalating end-the-world arms race meets an alien species whose only culture is fighting. Where songs about love, and the culture of love, are what win the day, not just transforming robots and big guns. Macross is deeper than it lets on.

Fun 80s: GoShogun happened. The first parody-satire mecha anime that still feels more serious than they intended, but is actually hilarious once you get past the dated gender roles humor (which was also kind of intentional satire).

WTF 80s: Space Runaway Ideon broke everyone’s minds.

Still not done with 80s: Gunbuster happened. The first angst-driven parody-satire mecha anime that blew everyone’s minds.

Late 80s-early 90s OVA mecha was a mix of Serious Cyberpunk-influenced Real Robot for older teens and adults + Mecha with Tits & Tentacles for Adults (see also space elf lesbians).

90s was: The Franchises Will Survive With Prettier Pilots, and Super Angst-Bot That Was Way More Influenced By Drugs And Ideon’s Ending Than Anyone Wants To Admit (aka Neon Genesis Evangelion) + “Since Gunbuster was a success, how many parodies of Super Robot and Real Robot can we do?”

Mid 90s isekai gems: Magic Knight Rayearth and Vision of Escaflowne

Late 90s: Brain-Powerd (not a typo) happened and it’s a shame no one remembers it. I’ve seen it’s influence come up in the 2000s – 2010s.

The 00s seem to be filled with a lot of re-treading of everything that came before but with different cross-genre influences and some of it really damn good but hard to remember because it all kind of blends together.

The 2010s-today: I have no idea what’s happening now b/c I can’t keep up with anything that isn’t Gundam. And why bother when there has been a flood of classic 70s-80s mecha releases—many for the first time in the US—to binge watch?

Knights of Sidonia was cool.

Since I haven’t kept up, I can’t speak to what new mecha anime is like, or why it's less popular (though I have an educated guess). It was gonna happen eventually, and I suspect that the kinds of post-nuclear and Cold War existential dread that informed mecha anime of the 60s-80s has moved on as target audiences grew up. Those lates 80s OVAs, where the stories could be more adult, reflect that growing up (and also Blade Runner’s influence).

I see the 90s as very transitional, includes reactions to the prior eras, but also reflects a lot of angst by Japanese teens and young adults caught up in the after-effects of 80s stagnation, and the constant test-studying to get into the best school to get the best job (if it exists) and figure it all out before you’re 14 so you can pick the best school to test into. Also, salary-man dad works 120 hours a week and is never home. Get in the Angst-bot Shinji.

Excluding the stand-out brands that survived their respective eras: Gundam, Macross, Braves series, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, Evangelion; there’s not much other ground that can be covered right now that would warrant a series. The franchise mecha shows are grounded in their respective niches. It’s kind of odd that there isn’t an isekai mecha franchise, b/c that’s a niche that hasn’t been owned in the way that the other niches have (unless maybe Machine Hero Wataru is still a Thing?)

It’s worth mentioning that Sport Anime has really been having a moment for almost a decade now, and that’s super interesting to compare against isekai. Isekai about dungeon slimes or whatever vs literal horse-girls racing each other like high-school track. Thanks Japan, are y’all all right over there?

A few last things:

The success of Super Robot Wars tells me that mecha genre isn’t dying. Consider the ages of players. How many of them actually grew up watching Yuusha Raideen (aka Yūsha Raideen / Raideen the Brave)? There is an SRW manga anthology series, and loads of gachapon and collector’s grade mecha figures from old mecha anime get released with regularity. Someone’s buying that all that shit.

SRW is nearly 20 years old now, and they are still making video games that do one thing really well: rotate a 40 year old cast of everyone’s favorite robots into a battle strategy game held together by a duct-tape plot that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The games are fun, and it’s cool to put all these mecha into the same field. It’s really great to see older shows that will never be remade have little cut scenes in a newer animation style that still feels like the originals.

There’s also the old staple that started it all: the tokusatsu genre of live-action Super Sentai shows (e.g. Power Rangers). They’ve been making the Super Sentai Series since 1975, and there’s still fun to be had watching color-coded warriors use special powers/tech to summon forth some combining mecha to do battle with rubber suit monsters from outer-space. The effects are much better these days, but it’s the same formula, year after year and people still love it.

So with respect to mecha, I think what’s died or dying, is that people are afraid to have shameless child-like fun with giant robots. The genre got too serious and too angsty (and too horny without the grown-up edge of 80s OVA Tits & Tentacles mecha). The franchises carved their niches and aren’t going anywhere, while the genre survives in video games and collectables.

A lot of that shameless fun has moved into other genres, because nothing else explains a title like: “Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girl’s In The Dungeon?” or the nearly-ecchi concept behind the sports anime “Keijo!!!!!”. But that kind of fun is less child-like and more self-deprecating or pervy-humor. Both sports and isekai anime have their serious side, but seem to be dominated by stories that don’t take themselves too seriously, or like Yuri on Ice, aren’t afraid to take a concept that no one ever saw coming, and shape it into a good story.

I eagerly await a mecha sports anime (wait, no, I think that already happened), and I’d love to see a knock-out isekai mecha anime again. I think it will happen eventually, but probably not from Toei or Sunrise. If Tatsunoko could get beyond Moe Idols In Space, then the Macross franchise already has everything it needs to do a isekai series. That would be rad.

#mecha #ask me anything #anonymous #i'm sorry this got long

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darling-dontforgetme · 4 years ago

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the whole list

I’m sorry that I took so long, and I’m so boring, but here you go!

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Coffee mugs

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

Chocolate bars

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

Eww, no to both.

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

My mom worked at my elementary school, so I was very much a teacher’s pet.

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

Plastic cups

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

Pastel or boho

7. earbuds or headphones?

Earbuds

8. movies or tv shows?

I really want to say tv shows, but I’m awful at finishing them. I still need to watch the last few episodes of Apocalypse. Don’t at me.

9. favorite smell in the summer?

Is it weird if I say my cats? It’s weird, I know. They all have different smells, and it’s comforting to be around them when I’m stressed or upset.

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

Nothing, literally nothing. I was that kid who always had their nose in a book, so you can imagine how awkward I was in p.e.

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich or pancakes

12. name of your favorite playlist?

The only playlist I listen to is my own. I listen to a lot of country, some musicals, and a handful of older songs.

13. lanyard or key ring?

Lanyard

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

Gummy bears

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

The Handmaid’s Tale

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

Why sit when you can lay down? I usually sit with my legs crossed.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

My work pair of tennis shoes

18. ideal weather?

WINTER. All the cold.

19. sleeping position?

On my stomach

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Laptop

21. obsession from childhood?

Books. I read so many books as a kid.

22. role model?

I don’t know. My therapist is pretty cool. Sarah Paulson maybe?

23. strange habits?

I eat soup with a fork. I have to put on my right sock and shoe before I can put on the left. I eat pop tarts upside down.

24. favorite crystal?

I don’t know. Rhodochrosites and amethysts are pretty.

25. first song you remember hearing?

Queen of the Silver Dollar

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Stay inside, lol. I play a lot of animal crossing, try to write sometimes. Read.

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

Also, stay inside- still playing animal crossing and writing or reading.

28. five songs to describe you?

I honestly have no idea.

29. best way to bond with you?

Just hang out and talk with me. I like to stay home, or go on simple dates. I love, love, love aquariums.

30. places that you find sacred?

Churches, cemeteries

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

I’m not very confident in myself, so I tend to stick with t-shirts and shorts or leggings.

32. top five favorite vines?

I do not watch vine.

33. most used phrase in your phone?

Sorry or what’s for dinner

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

Those lawyer commercials that come on all of the time

35. average time you fall asleep?

Between 11:30 and 2:30

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

Probably something with SpongeBob

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

Duffel bag

38. lemonade or tea?

Tea

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

Hear me out, what about no lemon?

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

These kids started a metal band, and our administrators thought the student body loved it, so they got to perform a lot.

41. last person you texted?

@grilledcheeseandguavajelly

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

Pants pockets

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodie

44. favorite scent for soap?

Some sort of berry

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

Shorts and a t-shirt (wasn’t kidding when I said I only wear shorts and a t-shirt)

47. favorite type of cheese?

American

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

@grilledcheeseandguavajelly says "something unique but sweet but with a lot of depth to it, so like a kiwi or a honeydew or a prickly pear.”

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

Do no harm, but take no shit

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

Probably something my sister has said or done

51. current stresses?

So much. I lost my job recently, and there's just a lot going on in my life right now.

52. favorite font?

Can I pick people’s handwriting as my favorite font? I know it’s dumb.

53. what is the current state of your hands?

Well, I should use more lotion

54. what did you learn from your first job?

That the whole world is going to expect you to know things without you actually ever being taught those things

55. favorite fairy tale?

The Little Mermaid?

56. favorite tradition?

Getting cake for birthdays because I love cake

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Me, myself, and I

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

Writing, caring for others. I don’t know.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

Don’t fuck up

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

I don’t really have any anime knowledge

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

“You want to tell her that there are between two hundred and four hundred billion stars in the Milky Way, but when you look up, you could only ever see, like, twenty five hundred of them. You are one of the ones that no one can see. She is one of the ones that’s even visible in the city.”

-The Moment by T.C. Anderson

Guys, this is my favorite book. I highly recommend checking it out.

62. seven characters you relate to?

Alice Macray, Maura Isles, Temperance Brennan, Regina Mills, Callie Torres, Olivia Benson, Rachel Stevens

63. five songs that would play in your club?

She’s a Rainbow, Free To Be You and Me, Defying Gravity, Goodbye Earl, Queen of the Silver Dollar. My club would not be very cool.

64. favorite website from your childhood?

Webkinz

65. any permanent scars?

I cut the side of my thumb off with a pair of scissors once.

66. favorite flower(s)?

Zinnias, Passion flowers, sunflowers

67. good luck charms?

I don’t know that I have any?

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

GRAPE

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

I am so bad at thinking up answers on the spot. I’m sorry I suck at this.

70. left or right handed?

Right handed

71. least favorite pattern?

Any sort of animal pattern

72. worst subject?

Science

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

Peanut butter and chocolate on ritz crackers

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

Depends on the type of pain. Headaches- I usually take it pretty soon, but for other things, I tend to wait.

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

I would assume kindergarten or first grade?

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

fries

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

Flowers

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

Neither

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

I no longer have a school ID, but that definitely looked better

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Earth tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

Fireflies sounds so much better, but I say lightning bugs

82. pc or console?

Console

83. writing or drawing?

Writing

84. podcasts or talk radio?

Podcasts

84. barbie or polly pocket?

Barbie

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Fairy tales

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Cupcakes

87. your greatest fear?

I’m going to be single and alone for my entire life

88. your greatest wish?

To fall in love

89. who would you put before everyone else?

My sister

90. luckiest mistake?

I don’t know

91. boxes or bags?

Boxes

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Fairy lights

93. nicknames?

Kat, Kate, Backpack

94. favorite season?

Winter

95. favorite app on your phone?

Tumblr

96. desktop background?

It’s a sunflower drawing

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

Maybe 15-20?

98. favorite historical era?

I don’t know

#asks #anon

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me-mindfulexistence · 5 years ago

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100 Ridiculous “Get To Know Me Questions”....And What My Husband Guessed I Said.

Need something to do? Share some “get to know me questions” with your friends and family”.

I answered 100 “Get to know me questions” alone...and then later I asked my husband what he thought my answer would be. How many did we match?

1.Who is your hero? (me) No one in particular. Anyone who stands up for the underdog, (Fights for the weaker person, feels compassion and empathy for humans and animals....but actually does something about it besides running their mouth) Ron: No one CORRECT

2.If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Somewhere very very warm, with very few people and all of my children (Ron) Somewhere warm and sunny CORRECT

3.What is your biggest fear? Losing my husband or children. (Ron) something happening to my kids/family CORRECT

4.What was your favorite family vacation? N. Carolina, time on the beach with my family. (Ron) N. Carolina CORRECT

5.What would you change about yourself if you could? Rid myself of self-doubt and anxiety. I’d be unstoppable! (Ron) To be more extroverted and outgoing. CORRECT

6.What really makes you angry? Oodles of things. People acting like the boys we took into our family, aren’t “real” family, racial discrimination, animal abuse, bullying, gender stereotypes, and religion (Ron) “Oh jez! Incompetent people” WRONG

7.What motivates you to work hard? My family and their success. (Ron) To Help others WRONG.

8.What is your favorite thing about your career? Wanting my patients to feel better about themselves and giving them an improved quality of life. (Ron) Helping people CORRECT

9.Coke or Pepsi? Coke (Ron) coke CORRECT

10.What is your proudest accomplishment? Besides my having family, getting my BJJ black belt. (Ron) being a mother CORRECT

11.When did you meet for the first time? Was it a connection? Friends introduced us at his work, Moyer and Son. Nope, no connection!. (Ron) Moyer and son, I don’t think you spoke to me. no connection CORRECT

12.Favorite TV cartoon growing up as a kid? Scooby Doo. (Ron) I have no idea, I didn’t watch cartoons as a kid, Tom and Jerry? WRONG

13.Who makes you laugh the most? My husband. (Ron) me CORRECT

14.What would you be willing to do for a million dollars? Almost anything as long as my husband was okay with it and it didn’t hurt anything else. (Ron) eat red meat WRONG

15.What did you want to be when you were small? A teacher. (Ron) heavier WRONG

16.Do you want to be buried, Cremated, have your body donated to science or do some kind of eco-friendly burial when you die? The funeral market is a scam and it’s polluting the planet! Eco-friendly method on a green burial site. NO Coffin! (Ron) eco-friendly burial, or some shit like that. CORRECT

17.If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be? African Safari. (Ron) nothing WRONG

18.What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play? Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. (Ron) BJJ CORRECT

19.What household chore do you like the least? Cleaning the bathroom. (Ron) cleaning in general WRONG

20.What would you sing at Karaoke night? LOVE LOVE LOVE SINGING! Sinead O’Connor, Nothing Compares To You (and about 100 more songs). (Ron) Beastie Boys, fight for you right to party WRONG

21.What two radio stations do you listen to in the car the most? SiriusXM 100, 101. (Ron) The two Howard Stations CORRECT

22.Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house? Mow the lawn (if it’s hot outside), otherwise vacuum. (Ron) mow CORRECT

23.Favorite color? Yellow. (Ron) black WRONG

24.If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? salad with lots of stuff in it. (Ron) lobster WRONG

25.How do you feel about adoption? Bring em’ on. Babies of any age! The more the merrier. (Ron) strongly CORRECT

26. Have you ever had a nickname? What is it? Sher (pronounced “Share”). (Ron) Dukers WRONG

27. Do you like or dislike surprises? Why or why not? Hate surprises. I wanna know. (Ron) no, don’t like being center of attention CORRECT

28. In the evening, would you rather play a game, visit a relative, watch a movie, or read? Ummm. Do nothing, so watch a movie I guess. (Ron) movie CORRECT

29. Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why? Hawaii b/c it’s hot. (Ron) Hawaii b/c it’s warm and has beaches CORRECT

30. Would you rather win the lottery or work at the perfect job? And why? Lottery b/c then I could still work at the “perfect job” as much or little as I wanted. (Ron) work at perfect job, b/c you’d be happy and help people WRONG

31. Who would you want to be stranded with on a deserted island? My husband. (Ron) me CORRECT

32. If money was no object, what would you do all day? Create my utopia, an animal rescue. (Ron) Some kind of crap with animals CORRECT

33. If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? 1995 (after college). (Ron) 1978 WRONG

34. How would your friends describe you? I’m not sure. Stubborn, strong willed? Sensitive. (Ron) passionate WRONG

35. What are your hobbies? Momming. Jiu-jitsu. Animal stuff. (Ron) teaching bjj and pets CORRECT

36. What is the best gift you have been given? My family. (and my jukebox that breaks all the time). (Ron) children CORRECT

37. What is the worst gift you have received? Anything that has to do with cleaning. (Ron) dryer vent CORRECT

38. Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without? My animals….esp my dog Mable! (Ron) exercise WRONG

39. List two pet peeves: My husband yelling about my animals, my kids not doing their chores. (Ron) me groping you, bad drivers WRONG

40. Where do you see yourself in five years? Wanting more kids (Ron) here WRONG

41. How many pairs of shoes do you own? idk10?, the same shoes I had 5 years ago (although I’ll replace my sneakers once or twice a year). (Ron) 10 CORRECT

42. If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have? I could be invisible. (Ron) strength WRONG

43. What would you do if you won the lottery? Quit my job and Open an animal sanctuary. (Ron) pay off all debt WRONG

44. Finish things as soon as possible or wait until the last minute? Wait until the last minute. (Ron) wait until the last minute CORRECT

45. What unconscious mannerism do you display if you are upset or uncomfortable in a situation? I become very quiet... (Ron) chew face WRONG

46. If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be? How I acted as a teenager. I could be pretty rotten. (Ron) not throwing poop out a window WRONG

47. If you could share a meal with any 4 individuals, living or dead, who would they be? Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix, mommom, and God. (Ron) all your grandparents but especially your mommom Knipe WRONG

48. How do you feel about group vacations with other couples? That sounds awful. (Ron) not happening CORRECT

49. What's the longest you've gone without sleep (and why)? An entire day when I was young, partying all night. (Ron) 24hrs partying CORRECT

50. How Do you handle anger? I bottle it up for a while and get quiet. (Ron) not well, you get quiet CORRECT

51. Would you rather trade intelligence for looks or looks for intelligence? Interesting question! I’m already getting close to hitting the wall with looks….but I also can’t afford to lose any intelligence either. I’d have to trade looks for more intelligence. (Ron) intelligence for looks WRONG

52. How often do you buy clothes? Almost never. (Ron) not often CORRECT

53. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Probably (who hasn’t). It would be secret. (Ron) probably CORRECT

54. What's your favorite holiday? CHRISTMAS! (Ron) Christmas CORRECT

55. What do you drink when you go out for social occasions? Coke (not diet either). (Ron) water or coke CORRECT

56. What was the last thing you recorded on TV? True blood. (Ron) SNL WRONG

57. Do you prefer the live version or studio version of an album? Studio. (Ron) Studio CORRECT

58. What's your favorite type of foreign food? Mexican. (Ron) mexican CORRECT

59. Are you a clean or messy person? Pretty Messy. (Ron) messy CORRECT

60. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life? Uma Thurman. (Ron) Uma Thurman CORRECT

61. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 30mins (Ron) 1hr WRONG

62. What kitchen appliance do you use every day? Dishwasher. (Ron) microwave WRONG

63. What's your favorite fast food chain? Taco Bell. (Ron) taco bell CORRECT

64. What's your favorite family recipe or dish? mommoms apple pie. (Ron) Mommoms apple pie CORRECT

65. Do you love or hate rollercoasters? Love. (Ron) Love CORRECT

66. What's your favorite family tradition? Christmas Morning Breakfast at my moms. (Ron) Christmas Eve CORRECT

67. What is your favorite childhood memory? Having baby bunnies with my dad. (Ron) I have no idea WRONG

68. What's your favorite movie? Natural Born Killers (Ron) Pulp fiction WRONG

69. How old were you when you learned Santa wasn't real? How did you find out? Devastating. I wanted to believe forever. I was forced to “not believe” at about 12. My aunt said on Christmas day “You know Santas not real, right?”. Ugh. (Ron) 8, I think your friend Dorene probably told you. WRONG

70. Is your glass half full or half empty? Half empty….just waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Ron) Half empty CORRECT

71. What's the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of love? Dating my husband was risky. (Ron) got married WRONG

72. What is your favorite chip flavor? Salt and vinegar. (Ron) salt and vinegar CORRECT

73. What was your favorite subject in school? Science. (Ron) none WRONG

74. What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten? I’m not very daring. Seaweed. (Ron) I have no idea, you really don’t care for food WRONG

75. Do you collect anything? Unwanted animals. (Ron) records WRONG

76. Is there anything you wished would come back into fashion? Bell bottoms. (Ron) The 70s WRONG

77. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert. (Ron) Introvert CORRECT

78. Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest? touch. (Ron) You have a nose like a dog WRONG

79. Have you ever had a surprise party? (that was an actual surprise) Nope…and I don’t want one. (Ron) No CORRECT

80. Best quality and worst quality? Best-compassionate/empathetic, Worst-Too compassionate/empathetic to a fault. (Ron) best-caring, worst-caring too much CORRECT

81. What do you do to keep fit? Brazilian Jiu-jitsu but I also just exercise to not be a big lump of (Ron) BJJ and exercise CORRECT

82. Does your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken? I say “wrong is wrong, damn it”. (Ron) Never a wrong time to do the right thing never a right time to do the wrong thing WRONG

83. If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce? ALL KINDS OF RULES about limiting the use of animals for consumption. NO FACTORY FARMS! (Ron) NO killing of animals CORRECT

84. Are you a leader or follower? Leader (Ron) leader CORRECT

85. What three things do you think of the most each day? Work, family, how tired I am. (Ron) something happening to my kids, something happening to ron, or me WRONG

86. If you had a warning label, what would yours say? Proceed with caution. (Ron) warning fragile WRONG

87. What song would you say best sums you up? Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. (Ron) someone left the cake out in the rain, AKA MacArthur Park by Donna Summer WRONG

88. What is your favorite drink? Vanilla Chai Latte. (Ron) water WRONG 89. Who was your first crush? Bo Duke (on Dukes of Hazzard). (Ron) Shaun Cassidy WRONG

90. What's the most interesting thing you can see out of your kitchen window? My chickens. (Ron) chickens CORRECT

91. On a scale of 1-10 how funny would you say you are? 6. (Ron) 8 WRONG

92. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Working like a dog and getting no where. (Ron) here WRONG

93. What was your first job? Working at an awful pizza shop. (Ron) pizza shop CORRECT

94. If you could join any past or current music group which would you want to join? The Doors. (Ron) The dead WRONG

95. Do you believe in an after life? Yes. (Ron) yes CORRECT

96. You’ll never understand people who do what.....? Fart in front of anyone intentionally. (Ron) hunt WRONG

97. Who would i hate to see naked? Any parental figures. (Ron) parents CORRECT

98. If you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be? Probably a cat. I can be affectionate one minute but turn and walk away b/c you are boring me the next. I don’t like to be told what to do…and I’m not easy to control. “Obedient” isn’t my strong point. (Ron) cat, b/c you can be a loner and snobby (or some might perceive you to be that way). CORRECT

99. What is something that turns you off about another person? If they don’t like animals. (Ron) people who are loud WRONG

100. Who knows you the best? My husband. (Ron) Me CORRECT

The end

#bjj #graciepa #sherihockman #randompersonalfacts #femalebjj #rdbjjinstructor #BrazilianJiuJitsu #thirdgenerationbjj

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acehotel · 6 years ago

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Just/Talk: Justin Strauss with “Breakbeat Lou” Flores

“BreakBeat Lou” Flores has been a student of sound since he was three years old. The legendary Bronx-born DJ, B-Boy and hip hop pioneer — whose modus operandi could be summed up by the line, “If it’s funky, it’s funky” — cut his sonic teeth in the early 70s in New York City, where he says “there was no better recipe” for hip hop to happen. Here he chats with longtime Ace friend and fellow New York mainstay Justin Strauss for this edition of Just/Talk about the octopoidal nature of being a DJ, soaking records in bathtubs to hide their labels from rival music crews and the first record he ever bought.

Justin Strauss: In my mind, you’re one of the architects of hip hop. You were there at a very important part of New York and music culture. What was your introduction to music? Obviously, it’s been a passion — what triggered that?

Lou Flores: Well, the music started at a very early age. My mother used to have a social club in the Bronx, and at the age of three I got the interest in playing the bongos because I had seen the band members rehearse. When my mother was opening the club up, I gravitated.

JS: How old were you?

LF: I was three. So I learned to play bongos first and then congas at the age of three, and that really catapulted the love for the intricacies of music. In my household, my mother, on the weekends, she was always playing. Wake up in the morning, it was cleaning day, so she was always playing music, everything from The Beatles, Elvis, Frankie Lyman, Marvin Gaye, so it wasn’t just Latin music. It was a little bit of everything, so my palate for music was very cultured from the beginning as far as I can remember.

JS: This is in the 60s?

LF: This is in the 60s, early 60s for sure.

JS: You were working and helping out in the club, hanging out in the club.

LF: Yeah, just hanging out.

JS: And the club was in the Bronx?

LF: Yes the Bronx, 138th and Brook Avenue. My mother and I were extremely, extremely close. My mother was my hero. In most cases, most have the father, but my mother was my hero. The man that I am today across the board, even in music, it comes because of her. She gave me that love and passion, respect and the love for music.

JS: Was that something you knew you were going to pursue at any certain point?

LF: No. I was heavy into sports when I was younger, but I think the first thing that really got me, that touched me, the bug that really touched me, was in New York City, there’s the numbers game that people play. So I was young, I played the number one time. I had a dollar, played the number. Well, this is 1973, and I won the number. One dollar got me seven dollars, so I went to a record store.

JS: And the numbers is street lottery?

LF: Illegal lottery, street gambling. Musically, first thing was a Willie Colon album called El Malo, which featured a record called “Che Che Cole,” which featured, at that time, Héctor Lavoe. I loved the record to death. I used to play with my mother’s albums. She was like, “Stop playing my record. You’re going to wear my record out.” When I played the number that day, I won, and I went to a record store and bought my first record in 1973, a 45 of “Che Che Cole,” which I still own to this day.

LF: It’s 1973, at that same period, this whole culture called hip hop started to bubble up.

JS: It wasn’t known as hip hop.

LF: It wasn’t known as hip hop. You started hearing the jams at block parties. It was going on. You would hear those things, but there wasn’t the continuous aspect as the break beat facet of the culture. At that time, B-Boys weren’t called B-Boys yet, but I was already dancing in 1973.

JS: Where were you going? Just to clubs or parties ?

LF: Not even clubs. This is block parties, or house parties, that’s the way mainly the whole thing of New York, especially in the Bronx was the house parties. We had parties for everything. We had birthday parties, Christmas, Thanksgiving, rent parties.

JS: What DJs were playing — was it Kool Herc?

LF: No, this is before him. Way before that. But, you would hear guys like PBJ Jones doing certain things in the Bronx, you would hear other guys that were not as notable as Kool Herc. But that actually had equipment, because, think about it… in those days, getting two turntables and a mixer was extremely expensive. Then a little while after, you started hearing about this guy that had this vision playing this continuous musical interlude. That’s the best way to describe it, which became what they call, “rocking the breaks.”

He would take the intro of a record that had a featured drum or a breakdown of a record, which usually means the music tends to leave a portion on the record and you would hear mainly just drums, baseline or just a very sparse aspect of music. Just concentrating on a groove more than a melody. So, that he was concentrating on that because he noticed that when that part would come in, the height of the activity of his parties would come when these breakdowns would come into play. He concentrated on that to get the energy of the particular event to have a peak period. So, instead of having it flow 30 or 40 seconds, he extended it for a couple of minutes. But it wasn’t two copies, yet. At the time, he was rocking… he would go from break to break. It was playing, let’s say from "The Mexican” breakdown, to the “Give It Up Turnit a Loose” breakdown, to the “It’s Just Begun” breakdown and vice versa.

JS: These records were all from different genres?

LF: Yeah, “The Mexican” by Babe Ruth was a rock record, “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose” was a James Brown record and Jimmy Castor’s “Just Begun” was a combination… was leaning more into a disco aspect, but not really disco, but had the funk aspect to it. So, it was a multicultural, multi-genre facet of music display. Because at that time in New York, if you know… New York was very multicultural.

JS: Very diverse.

LF: Diverse listening palette for music, I remember at that time, I think it was WABC was the main station that everyone was listening and you heard everything from Marvin Gaye to Aerosmith so, New York was probably more cultural than most places in the country, I would say. So, that started bubbling up.

JS: When did you start digging for records?

LF: I started working 1978. Real quick, in 1974, I started DJing. I joined this crew called, The Paradise Crew. Which is one of the first crews that came out. So, from 1974 to spring of 77, there was few and far between crews that came out that actually had systems. Here comes the 1977 blackout and for whatever reason, the city decided to donate systems to a lot of kids. And, I’m being facetious.… the stores were vandalized and looted … and from you having one DJ crew in a matter of a two mile radius. Now you have a DJ crew every three blocks. So, that was 1977. For sure, from 1974 to 1977, I was really… more or less… a bedroom DJ, I helped carry record crates for DJs and stuff like that, so I wasn’t really hard-bodied into it. Come 1978, I got booked to do my first hookie party in New York.

JS: What’s a hookie party?

LF: Hookie project is when you left school at 12 o'clock and you stood somewhere else 'til three o'clock and made believe you were at school, but you weren’t at school.

JS: You were in your own school.

LF: Exactly. So, I got hired to do that. We went to a friend’s basement where his father was the Super. We set up equipment and we rocked there. So, that particular summer, I got a job at Crazy Eddie’s. Which used to be a electronics and record store chain in the tri-state area. I was hearing this break that Afrika Bambaataa was playing and I didn’t know what the heck it was. One day I was putting records away while working at Crazy Eddie. I saw this 45 promo, which I was already gravitating to promos. I put the record on and it was Manzel’s “Space Funk”.

JS: That was the record?

LF: That was the first digging record that I bought in 1978 and after that I became a hard-core digger… I decided just everywhere I would go, from Brad’s Records to Bleecker Bob’s, to The Music Factory, to Downstairs Records. Just looking for records, looking for breaks. And, I would spend every penny my mom would give me for lunch money went to that. Every little gig that I would get, would go into records so… 1978 was when the bug really bit me and I became hardcore embedded into DJing and hardcore embedded into digging.

JS: And, at the parties where you DJ’d were people rapping and rhyming over records? Is that something that was starting already?

LF: I would say, by 1975 it really caught on real heavy. Because that’s when you have Grandmaster Flash, the Furious Three and then you had the Mighty Fours which in turn became the Cold Crush Brothers. You had Funky Four Plus One More, you had Masterdon Committee, you had Soulsonic Force. You had The Jazzy Five.

JS: What year is that?

LF: This is from 74 all the way to 76.

JS: Okay, that’s pretty early.

LF: Yeah, there were crews already in those days.

JS: This phenomenon hadn’t come downtown yet.

LF: Yeah. It hadn’t come downtown yet. This is before the Negril parties downtown, this is before Michael Holman, this is before all those days —

JS: Okay. I remember when I was DJing at the Ritz in 1980 and they had the Sugarhill night. It was one of the first downtown hip hop events.

LF: Oh, yeah.

JS: And The Funky Four, Grandmaster Flash, Sugarhill Gang all played and everybody was blown away. You’re really not old enough to be in clubs at this point, correct?

LF: No, but those days nobody cared. My sister was the one that enabled me to go because she’s older than me by a few years. She would go so it enabled me to go into these clubs. I was a dancer, at least in 73… so I was already dancing hustle from 74–75, so I would dance with my sister. So, it was an attraction. My sister and I became known as dancers. And, people would look at us and they were like… okay, so that’s why I was let into most of these little jams back in the day. So, I was able to be exposed to that life really early on because I was a dancer.

JS: It was important. So, you DJ’d at these parties and your friends and crews started developing?

LF: Yeah, then everybody wanted to be like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Three — everybody wanted to be like The Mighty Four. So, the crews started developing there and I had a crew already. We used to rock every so often. It would be simple, at that time I would consider more like nursery rhymes kind of things. Like rhyming Mikey and Nike. And, stuff like that. But, the thing was everybody wanted to be rapping on a beat. Like these, what I call, Ghetto Superstars, because these guys became iconic to a lot of the young generation that we had. Because, think about it, in the beginning of the 70s we were losing a lot of cultural things in school. We weren’t getting enough art classes, we weren’t getting enough music classes. So, that hunger and thirst that we had, that creative aspect was being fed to us through what became hip hop.

So, the music aspect of being creative and even in just a rapping cadence that wasn’t really singing, but you had this new thing of rocking over just a drum beat mainly. And, being able to create some kind of poetry on rhythm over these particular beats that became a bold thing to do. So, it became a thing that everybody wanted to have… every crew wanted to have some guy that would be able to be on the mic. What we called crowd pleasing in those days, because it was more like, you know, people say, “Ho”... So, it was more of a call and response kind of situation. It became something that was extremely attractive to the youth and especially in the hood. It was something that you didn’t have to get caught up with, not joining any gang, or anything like that. You had the dancing, you had the music and then you had the entertaining person, Master of Ceremony. Which became the MC, which became attractive and a peaceful thing to be around.

JS: And, you guys would go from party to party, setting up your own equipment, bringing all the records —

LF: Yeah. Because it became a competitive thing. My crew is better than yours.

JS: And, did your crew each have certain records that you wouldn’t want anybody else to know about?

LF: That’s how it started. The thing was to discover the break that nobody else had. Something that fit that mold but nobody knew about. Think about it, even at that early time, a lot of records were very unknown to people. So, you will find, in the dollar bins, you would find them, like at Korvettes or Woolworth.

JS: Records that were basically ignored.

LF: Yeah.

JS: The rest of the record might have been terrible but if it had twenty seconds of an amazing break...

LF: It was incredible, I remember the first time we heard, we used to call it “Toys in the Attic,” by Aerosmith, it was “Walk This Way.” Even the Black Sabbath, the first album, that drum break. It was incredible. “When The Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin. Even though we weren’t really into a rock kind of situation, but those drum breaks were that phenomenal that we gravitated to that.

The Winstons was a gospel group that had a big record, won a Grammy but the B-side became the biggest record they ever had, which was the “Amen Brother” break. Which you know, by us bringing that out into the world, made it what it became. But, it was just those kind of things, to be unique enough and find records that nobody else had but that fit the mold. And, you know, Bambaataa was the master of that. I can only say this, the culture wouldn’t be what it was, or there wouldn’t be the name breakbeat culture if it wasn’t for Bam because he set the template for the music being so versatile. Because he would say break beats are not genre specific. If it’s funky, it’s funky.

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JS: The Monkees was one of his, I remember him playing “Mary Mary,” like, I heard that and I was like, “Wow!” Remember there was this, obviously the competition between the crews and you guys would scratch off the labels so nobody would know each other’s records.

LF: I will go even further. I would put the record in the bathtub with water so the label completely comes off. So, you wouldn’t know anything.

JS: And, everyone wanted to know what it was —

LF: Exactly, because I know, I remember one of the biggest things for me. I remember I went to a street jam and Charlie Chase was playing. He was playing, “Rocket in the Pocket” by Cerrone. So, I’m looking at his record and it’s Atlantic Records and I’m like, “What the heck is this freaking record?” So, you were very secretive so he told me, I mean, for whatever reason, I asked him and he goes, “Cerrone.” And, I’m like, “Cerrone? Okay, fine.” I go to Crazy Eddie’s and I see Cerrone Four and I see “Rocket in the Pocket,” this is the record. I play the record and I said, “This is not the freaking record, it’s a disco record. What the heck was he playing?” But, then Cerrone was on Cotillion Records, it wasn’t on Atlantic. So, I’m looking, I’m saying, “But this is not the same thing, what the heck!” So, I don’t know if you remember Cerrone had, there was two releases. There was one with a white cover and there was one with a black cover. So, I found the black cover. So, I found the black cover, I said, "This has to be it. It was the same crap record. So, then one day, I was looking in the bin. And, something comes in that’s this live Cerrone album. And, I’m like, “What the heck is this, double album?” So, I look and I see, “Rocket in the Pocket.” I open the back of the thing and it said Atlantic Records and I said "Damn, this has to be it.” So, I put it on and it’s like, real slow. I’m like, “It doesn’t sound like it,” but because, I know what we were doing already, there.

We would take 45s and put them on 33. We would take 33 and put it on 45. I played that on 45 and I was like, at least I know what that was. But, before that, I was thinking the record that he had was so worn out that, that’s what you heard the “Shhhhh” which really wasn’t worn out, it was the applause from the live crowd. And, then you stumble records like that. But, then when I found out, I easily was able to find the record he had, that’s where I decided to take the whole label off. And, I was like, nah, my cannons, secret weapons, you’re not going to find out. No.

JS: But you eventually used a lot of this knowledge. What was the inspiration for the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series of records, which basically laid the foundation for a lot of what came in hip hop and other genres after those records were released?

LF: Well, it’s two-fold. Lenny Roberts is the founder and co-creator and what I would say, the money man behind all the records I was involved in as far as break beats. We started doing bootleg 12 inches because we couldn’t find all the obscure records and people wanted them. Then all of a sudden, Bambaataa said to Lenny, I’ve got two tapes that I want you to put out and make a 12 inch out of.

So, we were like, sure. The one side was a live recording of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five at Bronx River and then the other side was a pause-tape done by Afrika Islam, which became the infamous Bozo Meko 12 inch with “Fusion Beats” on one side and “Flash it to The Beat” on the other side.

When we put out this particular 12 inch, it outsold every other 12 inch that we had. And, the reason why is because that pause-tape that was done by Islam had multiple records. He had “Champ” by the Mohawks. He had the “Get Up, Get Int It, Get Involved” by James Brown and then he had Dyke and the Blazers “Let a Woman Be a Woman.”

So, it had those three records on it, so it became more of a compilation than just a single 12 inch. At the same time Super Disco Brake’s — Paul Winley was putting his records out. The thing that Paul Winley was not conscious of, or he didn’t care two bits about what the culture was. The quality of the records he put out was horrible. He had put, “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” with a skip on it. He wasn’t using virgin vinyl either. So, we saw that. So, we said, let’s create one ourselves that would compliment what we did with the Fusion Beats 12”. We thought, “What can we do to make it attractive for DJs?” We’re not going to call it ‘”Disco Breaks” because we’re trying to get away from disco.

So, we’re going to call it “Break Beats.” If you look back at the late 70s, early 80s time… the DJ did almost everything. The DJ took care of everything. So, that’s why the logo became the octopus. But, if you look at it, it only has six tentacles out of eight. The DJ was the MC when he had to be, the DJ dealt with the strobe light, the DJ was the sound guy and the DJ also DJ’d the two turntables. So, we were trying to show that aspect of a DJ.

JS: This is the era before sampling records had begun.

LF: This is 1980. DJs were either scratching the record or just throwing in record. No one was even thinking about sampling drums or anything.

JS: Right, this is strictly for DJs. Who’s the first one to record, in your mind, the first rap record?

LF: Well, that’s a big argument between the Fatback Band, “King Tim III” and then Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.” I think those as far as rap records as we know it, from the hip hop standpoint. But, if you want to hear the first record that has a cadence and it sounds like hip hop and everything else, it’s Pigmeat Markham, “Here Comes the Judge” — 1968. It has the same cadence and everything. But, it wasn’t done with that mindset. But as far as rap as we know it, there is a big dispute between Fatback Band and Sugarhill Gang as to which was actually released first. As far as in New York, it was Sugarhill Gang. And, Sugarhill Gang fit more of the mold, because it was recorded like you were rocking over a break beat, which was “Good Times” by Chic even though it was played live.

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JS: I started DJing at the Mudd Club in New York City in 1980 and I was just buying everything. I bought every kind of record, Everything was new. Punk, New Wave, disco, hip hop all at the same time. It was an amazing period.

LF: It’s like I said, New York is the only place that it could have happened as far as hip hop and let’s say punk and all of that stuff is because the melting pot of people in New York in cultures, there’s no other place in the world that was like New York, let’s say from early to mid-70s to early to mid-80s. There was no better recipe for that to happen than New York.

LF: The club scenes and the rebellious aspect to it that we had at that time was just everything, it was like the perfect dish that we needed to cook, it had to be cooked in New York at that particular time.

JS: So with the Ultimate Breaks and Beats series, was it an immediate success?

LF: Yeah. And, another point I want to bring across is the reason we also put those records out in the early 80ss. Then what was happening was, some of the second generation of DJs that were making hip hop, instead of the cutting up break beats because they couldn’t find them, they were cutting up rap records. They were cutting up “Love Rap,” they were cutting up “Feel the Heartbeat,” they were cutting up “Catch the Beat.” Good drum breaks, but they weren’t break beats per se. They were rap records that had drum breaks in it. So, that’s another reason that we wanted to keep doing it… to make sure it continues to have a solid legacy, that the foundations are intact. So, for me the foundation for what we know and what we love as hip hop is the break beats.

JS: How many volumes did you end up doing?

LF: We ended up doing 25, a total of 25.

JS: When you were doing them, do you think about, I don’t want to put this… I want to keep this for myself. Or were you happy to share the knowledge?

LF: On volumes one through nine, which we did as bootlegs, were to cover the foundations of break beats. We got a lot of flack from a lot of OGs for sure. But, again, we have to keep the DJ culture alive, and keep the hip hop culture alive. But then by 1986, when we decided to do the Ultimate Breaks and Beats, as legal records. That’s when sampling came into play. So, now you have a different dynamic of what music is being used for.

JS: So, now sampling becomes a thing. Do you remember when you first became aware of sampling and how that changed everything as far as record production and hip hop production in particular? Because now record producers, like myself included, were buying you series and sampling for our productions. So music would sound a lot different now without those records.

LF: 1986. Yeah.This is my motto. I would say that we were instrumental for keeping hip hop, hip hop. In the sense that the aesthetic sonic dynamic that hip hop has would not have been what it is, if we had not put those records out. Starting in 86. Because, when Marly Marl stumbled on sampling the kick and snare, that changed everything. That changed the whole… to me, it brought the rap music back to the park. That’s where I say, because it sounded like the records or the performances that you heard back in the parks in those days, so it took it to a new level of appreciation and creativity because, after a while, there’s only so much you can do with a drum machine … from the DMX or the BX or 808 or the 909, that was around along with the LinnDrum, you know there’s only so many styles you can do. When you were able to take all the kick snare from different drum machines and make it sound the way you want it because, if you look in the first two records that Marly Marl produced with that technique, it was Boogie Down Productions’ “The Bridge Is Over” and “Eric B. Is President,” by Eric B. and Rakim. It just changed the whole dynamic, it was like, how the heck do you do this?

JS: So, that started a whole industry of people clearing samples and making a whole lot of money for people who might have never made money from the original release or hadn’t in years. You helped a lot of people, in a way.

LF: Exactly. Syl Johnson said it best when he said, “As much as people may hate sampling, I love sampling. Because sampling bought me my house, sampling gave me a new life to a new generation and sampling kept my legacy alive.” We exposed a lot of artists that were not really known and kept their legacy alive.

Also if it wasn’t for reggae, there would be no hip hop. In reality. The whole aspect of playing with the systems and talking on the mic while music was going on came from the “toasting” aspect of reggae music. So that played an intricate part in what we were doing. But, in a million years, I didn’t think it was going to be that huge. And, the thing is, I knew exactly when it changed. It changed exactly between 84–86. It was two pivotal points. It was Crazy Legs doing the Flashdance movie which gave a new audience to the culture of hip hop through the B-Boys. Those two things were extremely pivotal. That changed the whole dynamic aspect of how hip hop was being heard and how hip hop was being seen.

JS: One record I want to talk about, because I think it’s so important for many reasons, is “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five featuring Melle Mel. Lyrically it changed everything in hip hop at that point.

LF: Well, let me tell you a story about our record which people don’t understand. That same rhyme was said by Melle Mel a year prior on an Enjoy Records called “Super Rapping.” If you look at “Super Rapping,” go all the way to the end of the record, it’s the same rhyme. But, the energy of that record was totally different, much faster, like a party record. By the record being slowed down a little, the music being slowed down a little, giving it more or less a psychedelic sound and then him delivering that rhyme as it was is what changed the dynamic. So, a lot of it had to do with the way music was being presented as more of a bed for the rhyme. Because you look back earlier, as far as the culture, remember it’s always been a party, dancing crowd. This actually changed it to push the lyrical aspect to the forefront.

JS: And “White Lines,” again by Grandmaster Flash sampled or replayed the bass line from a Downtown New York band, Liquid Liquid, was massive in all the clubs, Uptown and Downtown.

LF: And, I think we played a big part in that because we put Liquid Liquid on Volume 9 of the Ultimate Breaks and Beats. Which was used as a break because Bambaataa was using it in his sets.

JS: So, let’s fast forward a bit. Now, you’re back into music full time?

LF: Yeah. I left, for 12 years, I worked in the banking, the financial area and I was miserable. Great money but I was miserable and I had to come back to my passion so 2009, I came back and this is what I do now. This is how I live, breathe, DJing, producing all over the world. I’ve been blessed too. Starting first on the lecture circuit. Teaching it, breaking down a historical aspect of what this culture is. Then people finding out I DJ also.

JS: How do you feel about hip hop today? LF: Hip hop has always been very different in many different ways. There’s good and bad of course and there’s also an individuality aspect of it. So, I say this, at the end of the day, hip hop has always been the music of the youth and it speaks more as a youth language. So, what I would say is this, the language they’re speaking, it is speaking to the youth, the only problem that I may have with hip hop is that the individuality of hip hop is not being utilized the way that it’s supposed to be. And, I’m saying this to say that in our era, as you know, it took more than just having Apple Garage Band and iTunes to bring a record to the masses. When I go to do lectures, I’ll tell them, before, when we had to do a record back in our day, it literally took blood, sweat and tears.

But, I still respect a lot of it. Because I think there’s creativity and everything else. Anderson Paak – he’s extremely creative, J. Cole is another guy that’s extremely creative that I think deserves the second listen to, third listen to. That’s on that side. There’s a young kid, incredible, by the name of Cavalier. Out of Brooklyn and now lives in Atlanta. Extremely creative, even down to the sounds. You don’t even hear the mundane 808 that everybody is using. Or the mundane keyboard pads that everybody is using. So, people are actually taking it to the next level.

Then you got guys like Adrian Young. I don’t know if you know who Adrian Young is. He’s taken it to a whole different level, he’s probably the most impressive to me because he’s taken the bull by its horn and broken down how it’s done. He has an incredible studio in LA. Down to vintage board, an incredible sound room, everything from the Rhodes and to the grand piano that he uses. He’s captured that side. I think he’s probably the one I’ve been most impressed by in a long time sonically. And, every album that I hear, again, we’ve been students to this sound for a long time and he’s captured that sound extremely well, extremely well.

And, another guy, an old goodie but classic guy that does that on a regular basis, I don’t know if you’ve heard Kenny Dope’s regular R&B or funk stuff. In those projects, he’s captured the essence also. I’ve been privy and honored to have seen and heard some of the projects and if I close my eyes I can honestly think that this is something that was recorded in the 60s. That’s how good it sounds. So, those — as far as music — those things sound incredible to me.

JS: So, you’re still inspired.

LF: Oh, everyday. I have to be, man. I think, this is the way I feel. You have to be a lover and respect the views. You have to be a lover and respect of the craft that you do and you have to be a lover and respecter of the culture of what we do. And, I think again, we haven’t seen each other in a trillion years, but your impact and the way you put music together — even from those days that we were doing this the old fashioned way — was impressive to me. And, even listen to some of that stuff way back, like the other day, I was listening to your Debbie Harry remix and the drums you did, I’m like, “What they heck, this freaking guy just took this record and made a freestyle sound out of it.”

JS: You were an inspiration as well. I always went into the studio armed with a handful of Ultimate Breaks and Beats albums, as well as other stuff that I would find. It’s been an honor to have stayed in touch. And, we were always connected through music and through our mutual friend, the editor supreme Chep Nuñez, who edited a lot of my remixes and who is someone I think about to this day when I make music and I miss him.

LF: If it wasn’t for him we would have never had met, and you helped cultivate my sonic ear.

#yes #interview #justin strauss #just talk #ace hotel #ace hotel new york #ace hotel nyc #ace hotel new york city #ace nyc #music #musician #lou flores #breakbeat lou #hip hop #new york city #new york #dj

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toto5it3-blog · 5 years ago

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Sports activities Betting Champ Review rapid By Someone That Possesses Profited for the Very last 3 Years

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the-real-xmonster · 7 years ago

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Discussion from an anon:

Hi Alice. Thanks for maintaining this blog. I really apreciate your posts (especially the large walls of text). After calming down a bit about the rule changes, I decided to leave my 2 cents about it in your inbox for you to discuss, comment, or simply ignore: My suggestion against national bias would be to put one more judge on the panel of international competitions and leave out the skater's "home" judge's scores completely. For other skaters without a judge on the panel, either use the full panel or cut out a random judge. This is not perfect, but it could be a start. Of course judges could still downscore "their" skaters' rivals. Or countries could pair up like "I score up your skaters, you score up mine". But it would eliminate the direct boost. My second input is totally hypothetical as I am fully aware it's never going to be implemented. But I believe with current state-of-the-art-technology it would be perfectly possible to make judging more objective. It would require a lot of work on creating algorithms to evaluate the data, but I think we could support or even fully replace most of the tech panel's work with computers. Even some GOE bullets could be evaluated - especially now that skaters are not even encouraged to match their jumps to the music anymore. We might even get statistical data on some criteria for TR and SS. Only the truly subjective components as PE, IN and CO would be solely left to the judges. In other sports where humans are not capable of fully judging fairly, we use technology to support them. But somehow I feel people would be very opposed to this idea in FS. Maybe they want FS to remain a totally subjective sport? Anyway thanks for listening/reading and have a nice day.

Hi, first up, thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts. I love reading these and I just now realized that I should’ve enabled submission on this blog a long time ago, so you guys can share these lengthier opinions without having to break it down into chunks in the ask box. In any case, better late than never, I’ve done it now (submit link) so do please feel free to use it next time :)

Now my own 2 cents, in response to your suggestions.

I’m not sure how effective the removal of the “home” judge from a skater’s score will be. Currently, the ISU is using a trimmed mean method to calculate GOE and PCS, so most of the times the high score from the home judge is already excluded from the final calculation. Of course, there are cases in which the scores are, say, 6 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 7 - 9 - 9, in which one of the two 9s came from the home judge. The home judge’s outlier score, in such cases, facilitates the inclusion of the remaining outlier, which should have been removed in normal circumstances, and as a result indirectly boosts their skater’s score. Such cases are quite extreme though, and its effect relies on either pure chance of an outlier score, or collusion between two or more judges. A much more popular form of national bias, I think, is the home judge consistently under-scoring all skaters who are not from their country, and that, as you pointed out, is an issue this removal of home judge will not be able to address.

I am an avid and ready supporter of using technology in FS judging. High-speed cameras should be able to replace, or at least enhance, most of the works currently done by the technical panels on jumps. Under-rotation, pre-rotation, takeoff edges are all objective criteria which can be verified easily and left little to no room for human errors. Technical calls on spin and step levels would require more investment in technology, but with the advent of machine learning, it is not impossible. You have no idea how refreshing it feels for me every time I switch gears from watching skating to watching tennis, a sport in which technology is fully embraced and has, for all intents and purposes, eradicated human errors from the scoreboard.

I’d say there are 2 reasons why we have not seen a lot of technological advancement in FS judging. One, the ISU is an old organization. Most of the people governing this sport are traditionalists who view technology with, at best, skepticism. There’s also the fact that, at the end of the day, skating, by its nature, will always remains a judged sport. Subjectivity and human judgment can never be completely eliminated from competition, and not a few fans of the sport actually enjoy things the way it is. I have come across countless discussion among older fans in which people lament the good old days of the 6.0 system, which, according to them, allowed skaters more room for creativity (it is not an unfair point, though it’s worth noting that such artistic liberty went hand-in-hand with an obtuse, muddled judging system which alienated any attempts by fans to understand its mechanism). Even today, there appears to exist in the ISU a mentality of “judging will never be completely objective, so what’s the point in trying”.

Two, to be completely brazen about it, skating as a sport is just not rich enough to afford cutting-edge technology. There is a reason why my other favorite game, tennis, is an industry leader in sporting technology: it’s widely popular, with hundred of millions of dollars in revenue generated every year at each Grand Slam. For the ITF and the organizers of their most important events, putting a Hawk-Eye system in every center court makes hardly a blip in their financials. Can you imagine a skating federation willing to shell out 60-70 grands to install a similar facility in their ice rink? Also keep in mind that said installation can only come after the investment in R&D has proven the effectiveness of such a system. That would also require an indeterminate upfront expense which I’m pretty sure the ISU is not eager to put up.

In the absence of technology (and financial resource), what I dearly want to see from the ISU is simple and affordable enough: an audit system. After every event, pick a judge at random, cross check their scoring patterns for bias (national or no), have them written a report explaining the rationale behind the scores they gave (which GOE bullets were ticked, which PCS criteria were satisfied). Do the same for the technical specialists: audit a random sample of their calls using video replay and slow motion (no new technology is required here). Most importantly, make the result of such audit public, and establish a system of accountability which facilitates the dismissal of judges/technical specialists who do not perform up to a reasonable standard of accuracy. The findings of such audit do not need to link to restatement of past competition results, so the skaters can always leave an event without having to worry about whether or not their placements would be overturned the next day. The purpose of the audit is only to hold judges accountable and prevent them from making mistakes in the future.

Just a simple audit, why does it seem like such a pipe dream? Oh, I guess because I just watched a sample of the ISU Congress at work.

#replies #figure skating #wall of text

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garudabluffs · 3 years ago

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How Whistleblowers Have Put Big Tech On The Back Foot

30-Minute Listen https://www.npr.org/2021/10/21/1048129722/how-whistleblowers-have-put-big-tech-on-the-back-foot

More than money: Microsoft and the big tech question February 15, 2022

Listen: Part I of our series "More than money" here.

Microsoft wants to buy Activision-Blizzard for almost $70 billion dollars.

It would be just one of Microsoft’s many acquisitions in just the past year.

Monopolies have always been defined as one big player in one market.

But now, the tech sector has a few giant players, pushing in a lot of markets. Are these mega-mergers a new kind of monopoly?

Today, On Point: Our series “More than money: The cost of monopolies in America” continues.

“... mergers & acquisitions...”

How large is this proposed merger between Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard vis-a-vis Microsoft's own history of acquisitions?

BASS: “Sure. So it's a $69 billion deal. It's more than two times, three times as big as Microsoft's last biggest purchase, which was its acquisition of LinkedIn for about $26 billion. It's also just, you know, by far the biggest games deal for Microsoft, for the entire industry. It's a takeover of a storied and very large game publisher. Activision was actually the original third party game publisher, when they were founded to make games for the Atari. That's how far back they go. And if this deal is completed, it would make Microsoft the number three video game company in the world, behind Tencent and Sony. It also gets Microsoft into mobile gaming. You mentioned Candy Crush, because Activision owns King.”

“And in terms of Microsoft's acquisition history. So first of all, it's important to remember that Microsoft is in a reasonably luxurious position compared to the other four Big Tech companies. Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook, now Meta. Those companies have been much more heavily scrutinized by regulators, so they haven't been able to do these kinds of large deals.”

“For example, I'm seeing here that when Facebook bought WhatsApp, that was $19 billion. T-Mobile and Sprint, when they merged, $26 billion. Back when Amazon bought Whole Foods, $13 billion. And way back when, that tiny little $1 billion purchase of when Facebook bought Instagram. It seems like the coins you can find under the couch these days, in comparison to the $69 billion Microsoft is paying for Activision.” <>CHUMP CHANGE? <>

“Because over a 10 year period, over 60 AI startups have been bought by the largest U.S. tech companies. And the question then is, If those tech companies buy all of those companies, how could one of those possibly emerge to be a rival, to be the next Microsoft, to be the next Facebook?”

CHAKRABARTI: All right. Well, let's turn now to Jack Beatty, On Point's news analyst, who's also written several books about the previous age of monopoly in the United States. Hello there, Jack.

JACK BEATTY: Hello, Meghna.

CHAKRABARTI: OK, so the Microsoft Activision-Blizzard story, or the tech sector more broadly, what do you see in it that helps us understand sort of this rethinking of monopolies?

BEATTY: Well, we are seeing a new kind of power. The big four in tech. Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook. They have rightly been called gatekeepers over key channels of distribution. Distribution, not only of information, but of consciousness itself. Apple monopolizes the mobile app store market. Google monopolizes 90% of the search market. Amazon controls about half of the retail market. Facebook, of course, is the gateway to all social media.

Writing about Facebook, one of its co-founders, Chris Hughes, in an article called It's Time to Break Up Facebook, writes: Marc alone can decide how to configure Facebook's algorithms to determine what people see in their newsfeeds, what privacy settings they can use, and even which messages get delivered.

He sets the rules for how to distinguish violent and incendiary speech from the merely offensive. And he can choose to shut down a competitor by acquiring, blocking or copying it. Is that power vested in one man and one company consistent with Republican government, with democracy? And I think the change that's happening now in the FTC, and what we've been talking about, is trying to adjust our thinking to this new kind of power. The thinking behind the antitrust laws.”

“ What is striking, though, is how they grew like this. You know, Facebook had 67 unchallenged acquisitions, Amazon 91, Google 214, unchallenged acquisitions.And why? Well, as we're going to find out on Thursday, antitrust has been under a panglossian drowse, induced by the baleful writings of Robert Bork. In which the only way you look at monopoly power is price. Is the consumer getting a good deal? And the questions that you've raised, what is the danger to democracy? What is the danger to even people's understanding of the world, through consciousness? Those questions weren't asked, and these kinds of acquisitions just went through because, after all, it benefits the consumer.“

LISTEN 47:33 Transcript https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2022/02/15/more-than-money-microsoft-and-the-big-tech-question-activision-blizzard

#monopolies corporations

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theareya · 7 years ago

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do the even numbers for the vg ask binch

BINCH

Video Game Asks!

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc.answered!

4. Who do you play with now?Who? Like my friends? Mostly the same people I played with when I was a kid, but now they’ve grown up into ripe gaming fruits. And some new friends who I met through love of video games *stares directly into camera*

6. Ever buy strategy guides?No. I’d rather spend money on the game itself. I see the pretty art books often and wonder though…

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection?uH. What? Rarest? I don’t have any of those classic games that are worth a fortune now. Most expensive was probably the Dishonored 2 bundle that I bought because I wanted Corvo’s mask super bad

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours?

I have not! I usually pre-order using the internet and try to distract myself until I can feel the game with my fingers

12. Ever get picked on for liking games?Wheeeen I was younger, yes. I stopped playing for a little while, even though I was not any good at the time anyway. I didn’t pick it back up again until the middle of high school when I stopped caring.

14. Favorite game music?I… really like the Journey and Undertale Soundtrack. However, Kingdom Hearts and Nier: a tomato have been my… main music go-tos .In fact, I’m listening to the Nier ost right now.

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL?Answered!

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming?No. Bitch. Worst-case scenario they “tolerate” it. Just kidding, NO that’s impossible. Worst case is they’re indifferent. And in that case, they’d have to be pretty darn spectacular. Like they own Disneyland spectacular. Trust me.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand?BIOSHOCK. I can tell you where every audio diary is. And every ridiculous jump scare. I also could say the same about Nier, but that’s a little too recent, so the obsession is still fresh.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories?I have a Fallout t-shirt, Kingdom Hearts Sweater, some lovely Nier pins, and a 2B phone charm accessory. I love game merch, I just am a bit picky on which ones I wear.

24. First Pokemon game?It was actually Yellow. I never got Red and/or Blue.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries?I don’t like those, but literally Pokemon Go sets them up by making you pick teams and publicly fight the other teams down.

28. Ever play in a tournament?nOpe I’m not that good. I watch a lot of tournaments though.

30. How many consoles do you own?Uhh, since forever? I would say 8. However, the only active ones right now are my ps4 and Switch. Everything else is stored away in the closet or was given away.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic?Not. Really. No. I don’t really love those. One time I got Narnia as a gift and cried at how bad it was. And then there was Shrek Party?? Which was a depressing version of Mario party, but with Shrek characters. I liked it… actually. If it were done well, maybe?

34. Do either of your parents play video games?My mother plays pokemon go and is level 40, which is higher than me. And it’s kind of made her more open to the idea of playing video games. But my mom knows the basics of certain video games enough to not get mad at me when I tell her I can’t pause.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game?I have cried over a few video games. Not full on crying, but my eyes will water and that’s pretty wild. Sweat is all over my controllers. I clutch them so hard. I was also very emotionally compromised over The Last of Us, but it was mostly internal.

oHH! One time I was playing Battleborn and got a nosebleed, but I’m pretty sure that was on account of the weather and not the game.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like?I have no shame at all whatsoever in any game that I like. I guess Fable, 2 and 3 were absolutely awful according to everyone, but I thought they were alright, mostly because it made me think of the first game.

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls?I think they’re fun! But am sad that they probably won’t be able to reach their full potential in my house.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness?…Bioshock tbh. That was the first game I legitimately played after stopping gaming for an awfully long time. The one that started it all. Kingdom Hearts and Bioshock. Two completely different games.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters?I never really played arcade games? Soul Calibur? DDR??

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon?YES THOSE ARE LIKE MY FAVORITE TYPES OF GAMES!!??!? I can seduce Harvest Moon characters all the ding dang day. And I can fish for hours. Fishing mechanics are vital in every game.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character?84 years. In all honestly, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on the options that are available. Dragon Age took so… so long. Basically any game with the objective of making your character look cooler is… dEATH

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create?Answered!

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid?Pokemon Y

54. Do you give in to Steam sales?I use my friend’s steam and he has like 2000 dollars worth of games, so I’d say he definitely does.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests?I never played that game, but I remember quality video compilations of that.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick?Answered!

60. Do you know the Konami Code?It’s like a bunch of directional buttons, but idk which ones.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game?I bought a gosh darn PS3 like 10 years ago because I thought KH3 was going to come out for that. Now here with are the PS4 pro and KH3 will be out in a year.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming?I have! Or I mean it was a family TV anyways, but I sneakily snuck in a question or two about gaming quality and the guy hooked me up.

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it?No. I didn’t have a legit cellphone until after high school.

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool?LOL no I’m so bad at those, I spend all my tickets immediately on the dumbest thing I can find like those finger traps.

70. Very first game you ever beat? I want to say Fable. As a kid I didn’t know what a memory card was and sort of assumed you had to start over every single time.

#augustussinclair #asks #video game ask

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crunktrunk · 3 years ago

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The fix is in.

I was on the Going In Circles podcast this week. Unfortunately, the ghosts in the digital machine mostly garbled my end of the transmission. Below are my cleaned up notes that I referenced on the show as to why I think “racing’s” expansion into fixed odds is not going as swimmingly as it probably should and why I think it’s ultimately set up for failure both in New Jersey and in the rest of the United States.

In New Jersey, it’s instructive to go back and look at what happened with the exchange there and the rest of the country. BetFair bought TVG in 2009. BetFair was the fastest growing racing gaming company in the world at that time. They wanted to get into the US market in a legal way and buying TVG was their way to get into the US. They buy TVG and they begin to lay the groundwork of rolling out the exchange. This means they have to do political lobbying to get laws passed. They have to go around and convince the horsemen that having an exchange means the jockeys won't fix the races since betting against horses to win is a part of it (Aside: this was a popular theory in racing circles and turfdom at that time - dozens of industry rags published articles implying an exchange would lead to widespread chicanery. Can you imagine taking that viewpoint seriously with the garbage we've seen the last couple years? Between Baffert, Servis, JuiceMan. What planet are we on that that was an argument to be taken seriously?).

After BetFair do the hard work of lobbying for laws, lobbying for regulations and convincing the horsemen, they have to negotiate with tracks to obtain the rights to offer their races. And after they do all that, they have to market the exchange product to a set of customers that has no idea what it is. They have to find customers in a gaming sector that's bleeding them. In a way, that part should be easy since they have a very popular product in the rest of the world at that time, particularly Europe and parts of Asia.

There is very little practical difference for the bettor between exchange and fixed odds wagering. It's mostly semantics but I personally prefer the exchange as a viable path for racing in this country to grow vs the fixed odds route. This is neither here nor there but it’s important to understand.

Meanwhile it takes BetFair a couple years to find some common ground and sympathetic ears in New Jersey and California. Note that these 2 states had no direct gaming slots subsidy at the time. New Jersey was running for its life after they had the Million Dollar Meet purse fiesta in 2010 and then the Atlantic City subsidy money ran out. Christie hung them out to dry and told them they had to be self sustainable and by 2011, Monmouth was going to have purse trouble and all these years later, they are still in purse trouble. California was also in purse trouble, raising rake during this period and to this day, California is still purse poor.

In New Jersey they passed a law allowing exchange wagering, when it got to regulations, the technical process of peer-to-peer wagering was deemed to be in fact parimutuel. California (2012) actually passed a law allowing exchanges years before New Jersey (2015) but never advanced it to the regulatory stage and it's hard to say if that's because none of the stakeholders at the time wanted it or something else but my sense was there was protectionism. Stronach Group tracks were not on the BetFair exchange at the time in Europe and the United Kingdom. They have been very litigious. Scott Daruty was basically like Dracula whenever you saw him pop up whether it’s DerbyWars, Exchanges or simulcast rights. We’d read an article, see his name and know that none of it was good for anyone other than the Stronach Group.

They passed the law, got the regulations established in New Jersey and then they've now got to get agreements with tracks. And of course, none of the big 3 racing groups want any of it. NYRA says some BS like they need to see how it goes with the smaller tracks but meanwhile you can fly to Europe and play NYRA races on the exchange there. Churchill Downs owned tracks are a hard no. Stronach Group tracks, as mentioned, are a no as well. Keeneland was close to being offered on the exchange in New Jersey and at the very last minute the regulatory rug got pulled and I suspect CDI had a hand in Kentucky making sure Keeneland never got on the exchange in the US. I don't think, and I don't have any inside knowledge of this, that BetFair even tried to get the Stronach signals.

The big 3 - CDI / NYRA / TSG - there's this sort of false competition between them all the time but these groups together hold enormous power when they act together. We’ve seen this with HISA, CDI was the holdout among them but once they changed their mind, it all fell into place very quickly and HISA was passed in months after years of work convincing CDI to jump aboard. The big 3 have a 60% market share of parimutuel handle but only run a quarter of the races in a typical year among the dozen tracks they control. There are entire swaths of this industry where races are conducted at zero or negative margin, very few of those take place at the big 3. This is sort of an existential threat to the big 3 but also a burden since there are symbiotic relationships that must remain for both the non-big 3 and the big 3 to exist. And when we throw in the proxy capture by state - these are the Keenelands and Del Mars which will always defer to the regulatory capturers in CDI and TSG in their operating states - their share is well above 70 cents on the dollar. Together the big 3 are racing in this country now.

The big 3 say no to the exchange but BetFair goes ahead and goes for it anyway and credit to them. They knew how difficult a road it would be without the big 3 content but I guess they figured they had come this far and invested this much in the US market over the previous decade to get to this point, might as well launch it and see how it goes. There should be enough degenerates out there in dirty jersey to bet basically anything and their intuition was right - New Jersey is going to be the biggest sports betting and online casino gambling state in the country for the foreseeable future. The exchange launches in 2016 and they covered around 40% of the t-bred races conducted in the US and a bunch of harness as well with a smattering of the foreign races but the US t-bred races were the bottom 40% by parimutuel handle with a small handful of exceptions, so basically all the zero/negative margin races that were not popular in the parimutuel environment. By the end of 2019 the last full active year, the exchange handled a yearly total of $9M by New Jersey residents which is a tiny fraction of the liquidity overall on the exchange since it was common pool with all BetFair players in the UK and Europe.

Now mind you, this is marketed heavily by TVG. They already have racing relationships in the US. They made a big push in New Jersey. It's important to note, total handle by New Jersey residents on all forms of horse racing in 2019 was over $600M. To only handle $9M on the exchange gives a pretty clear picture of how poorly everything went. To spend a decade getting to this point and have so little to show for it is simply a failure. But it wasn't for not having a game plan. BetFair had one, executed on it and found nobody to work with. This is the largest parimutuel bet taker in the country BTW, they aren't dumb.

Somewhere along the line during all of the years it takes to get the exchange up, TVG and BetFair get swallowed up by Paddy Power and later on, they buy FanDuel and last year they pulled the plug on the exchange citing that basically nobody wanted it to work - the customers, the stakeholders, the tracks - so they threw in the towel.

And we haven't even discussed the rake issue on the exchange. Imagine all this crap BetFair had to go through and then they have to offer their product at a price the potential customers don’t want?

Now we come to fixed odds and it's basically the same thing all over again.

Dennis Drazin is a lot of things. I've been critical of Monmouth for many of the moves he's made since he's become king of all things New Jersey racing, however small that it is these days. But one thing you cannot criticize him for is trying. He's trying to find any formula to make a racetrack self sustainable. This is hard to do now when most of the other tracks sustain themselves through slot machines and basically could care less about growing racing. And I say this with love because Monmouth is where I fell in love with racing. It pains me to see the state of racing in New Jersey. They are trying and I might vehemently disagree with some of the moves but that's nothing compared to the big 3 not budging and just saying “No” all the time. Drazin is not one of those “No” guys when it comes to the business. He will try anything, even if it seems unlikely to work.

With fixed odds, Monmouth and BetMakers have now got together. BetMakers have an established footprint in Australia but they've been buying up companies left and right. They bought SportTech, which operates the NJ parimutuel hub in Mt Laurel among many other sites all over the world. They want to buy TabCorp. They want to build a global racing network. They are a b2b pricing provider for all the retail books around the world, sans the US. This is obviously going to be a big threat to the big 3.

Currently we're at the law passed, regulations established stage of fixed odds in New Jersey and now we move to the track agreements stage and it's the shaping up as the same thing as what happened with the exchange. Tracks don't like the splits, the horsemen don't like the splits and thus BetMakers has fewer tracks lined up than the exchange did based on reports. So far, the only news is one retail book among the dozens in New Jersey has an agreement with BetMakers to offer their fixed odds product at a customer facing book. That's PointsBet. They're a small but interesting book. They offer some cool stuff - pegging payouts to how correct your bet is and how much you are willing to risk in spread type betting. But they've made no real headway in New Jersey or nationally, it's assumed they are a 3% market share book in New Jersey and are nothing compared to what FanDuel and DraftKings are doing on volume or marketing. Some of the other books operating in New Jersey already have agreements with BetMakers in other countries. But only PointsBet has a reported agreement in the US so far. It’s suspicious that none of the bigger retail book in New Jersey seem to have an agreement to offer fixed odds racing.

The picture of fixed odds racing is coming into clearer view. We are going to have a fixed odds product similar to the exchange without the marketing heft the exchange had and we’re going to launch it even more content poor than the exchange since the big 3 have been mum and their past performances would suggest there's no way they'd do a deal now.

It is set up for failure. There were years and years of discussion in racing if they should embrace the exchange. That debate is largely over. It's not even talked about anymore. I suspect fixed odds will go the same way. The small, non-big 3 tracks are not working together at the level needed to counter the big 3 and the big 3 are happy to keep things the way they are. It has taken a long time for this consolidation to occur and I believe the big 3 are afraid of having an ADW expansion redux, where they make some bad deals just to make a deal to get into a new, emerging market and then years later regret it and lose control of their signals and of knowing who their customers are. This is essentially how the roll out of ADW’s went 20 years ago. It’s taken a long time to put that genie back in the bottle and there is some trepidation to having that happen again.

I don't want to say that "racing" is at a critical stage. The critical stage has largely passed. It was the 20 year period between the advent of ADWs and before sports betting that saying “NO” to everything lead us to the place we are now, which is not a good place. Racing is not developing new outlets and they've largely given up on growing a segment of “skill game” players that doesn't care about hats and the majesty of the horse but are willing to bet big money. I'm sympathetic to this situation since there are no good options to grow racing at the moment that are slam dunks. You have to get down in the trenches and build it but 20 years of saying “NO” has a cost and we're seeing it now. It's just so much easier to do ABR-like marketing and hope some of those people become life long players while shipping them off to be sheered in jackpot pools and the rest of it.

I don't really know if fixed odds is an answer for racing. I have no real idea or opinion but the way it's currently constructed and the nature of having to go to each state, get the laws passed, get the tracks on board, have the horsemen agree to it and doing this while the big 3 aren’t on board is a recipe for failure, IMO. Until one of the big 4 states (California, Florida, Kentucky and New York) and one of big 3 racing groups make a move and show they can launch it and find a partner, it's mostly a niche novelty for now.

Addendum: when I initially published this, I received feedback from different racing insiders who felt I was too easy on BetFair and too hard on the big 3. I agree, I’m giving BetFair a pass for their role in the failure. My impression is that BetFair tried to move racing forward at that time and they found nobody to work with. Yes, in the 10 years since, the exchange has lost a lot of luster as Flutter has pushed away from it and into retail books and online casinos as a way to increase revenue at a faster clip. The point is - they tried and found that nobody else wanted to try and in fact the big 3 wanted it to fail and I suspect we’re seeing the same movie again with fixed odds. Time will tell.

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mayalaen · 7 years ago

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actual cost of an employee - it’s not the hourly wages!

I see a lot of people complain about their jobs and how they make shitty pay or they’re fired at a moment’s notice for small issues, and I’d like to take a moment to explain the actual cost of hiring and keeping an employee.

Let’s break it down, because it may surprise you to learn that I’d have to pay $32.45 an hour for 1 employee who is making only $10 per hour.

First of all, we need to pay you at least minimum wage. Where I live that’s $10 an hour. But that’s only the beginning. I have a specialized retail business that requires more knowledge than the average cashier needs, so I can’t get away with paying less than $15 an hour, but for the purposes of this post, let’s say $10/hour.

Training takes my time and money, and if the employee doesn’t learn quickly, this can add up to hundreds of dollars in time and money just in the first few weeks. If there’s uniforms or vests or whatever, I pay no less than $7 per item, and that’s after I’ve paid the initial fee of $150 for the pattern.

Add to that the insurance, which is about $500 a month. The more employees I have, the less I pay, but remember I’m a small business and only hire 1-2 employees (not including the artists). This DOES NOT INCLUDE THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE. This is only to cover me if they get hurt or hurt others on the job.

Health insurance is (at the very least) $300 per month per employee. Add to that mistakes (dropping/breaking things) and/or theft and I’m out anywhere between $5 and $5000 in just the first week. The less an employee cares about their job, the more they’ll “accidentally” break things and goof off during work hours.

The loss of customers is a scary one! I have to trust the employee and just hope they’re going to be nice to customers. If not, my entire business could go under just because I have a shitty employee with a bad attitude. This is a loss in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Skimming is a big problem too. I had one employee who was skimming as much as $100 for every $300 they gave me. They only lasted two weeks in my shop, but there’s no way to tell until it’s already happening. Skimming ALWAYS happens. The only question is whether it’s a big or small amount they’re stealing from you.

If I see small issues, I need to fire immediately. You may not be doing anything REALLY bad, but I’ve been there done that and I can see the shitstorm coming a mile away. If I don’t get rid of you immediately, I’m out thousands of dollars.

Below I’m going to list an example breakdown for an employee. These costs are an average after having had both good and bad employees. And every person I’ve ever talked to says they don’t do these things, but somebody has to be lying because it happens more often than not.

Cost of One Employee for One Month:

$10/hour = $1600 per month

$100 per month in federal taxes for social security

$87 per month in state taxes for social security

$56 per month in worker’s compensation

$500 per month insurance

$100 per month in unemployment (even if the employee is working)

$300 per month for health insurance

$60 per month Medicare tax

$300 average loss due to breaking items per month

$500 average loss due to skimming

$480 per month for 3 “sick days” or the employee not showing up - this also wastes my time because I have to scramble for another employee and pay them double

BONUS EXPENSE: at least $1500 per month loss if an employee pisses off one of my guys and they quit (this has happened more than once)

So while you’re getting your $1600 in pay (and an extra $500 a month skimming/stealing/watching YouTube/playing games while you’re supposed to be working) each month and $19,200 per year, I’m shelling out about $5000 every month just for the privilege of having 1 employee.

Even if all goes well, I’m looking at about $31,300 per year just to employ 1 person. Worst case scenario, my entire business goes under because of 1 employee with a bad attitude who steals and skims me right out of business and turns all my customers against me.

I’m paying $32.45 an hour for an employee who is making $10 per hour. And I still have to cover when they take time off or they’re sick!

If I could pay an employee under the table, I’d love to pay them $25+/hour, but I can’t. I’d be leaving myself wide open to MANY problems, and employees don’t give a shit about their job performance until they get at least $15/hour. Cost goes up exponentially the more you pay an employee hourly. At $25/hour I’d be paying $60-$70 per hour.

All of this is skewed in favor of big business. Small and medium-sized businesses can’t hold a candle to big business -- we don’t get tax breaks, discounts, or any help. Places like Walmart can even legally withhold their taxes from the government for “business improvement money.” This can be literally millions of dollars per year and they don’t even have to prove it was used to improve the business.

I also refuse to employ someone only 39 hours a week to get out of giving them healthcare because I think it’s a shitty practice, so all those fees above are part of what I have to do.

That being said, if you can’t afford to hire an employee, don’t hire an employee. They need living wages, and if employees are happy, there’s less chance they’ll screw you over. It still happens, but there’s less chance of it.

There are HUGE risks when employing people, and if you can’t handle that, you shouldn’t be hiring employees.

#real life #this is my life #tattoos #retail #owning your own business #cost of an employee #long post

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zorovevo · 4 years ago

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It was even an issue for me when I started trading. I would have a few stocks on my watchlist that I wanted to get into, but knew it wasn't the right time. And then when I'm not looking the stock takes off. On a few occasions, I have actually chased stocks that eventually turned against me. These types of situations hurt in 2 ways: 1) dents your ego and 2) dents your portfolio balance. If you have the same issues, don't fret. Luckily, it's been well documented that more often than not, solid annual portfolio performance is often caused by having a strong exit plan. 8. Document and Learn From Your Previous TradesEvery trade is a learning experience. Don't focus solely on losing trades, but also look at your winners. There is always something you can learn. For losing trades, look into why the trade lost or possible ways you could have prevented it from happening. Analyze your entry, the adjustments you made, the exit, and the overall market behavior. For winning trades, look into why the trade won and possible ways you could have even profited more. Analyze your entry, the adjustments you made, the exit, and the overall market behavior. If you notice, it's the same analysis for both types of trades.

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insarations · 7 years ago

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these are actually hella fucking cute y’all

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? more cereal

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day? oh yes :) but gotta get me some hot chocolate or blanket

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? usually just a scrap of paper or whatevers close

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? i put soy milk and sugar in my coffee....just sugar in tea

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? ya :/ well at least if my mouth is open...I have terrible teeth

6: do you keep plants? no

7: do you name your plants? noo lol

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? painting/drawing/crafting..sometimes writing or poetry

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? very much

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? usually side, sometimes back

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends? too many to name

12: what's your favorite planet? hmm...never thought about it strangely. saturn for looks. but mars cause idk..it holds the most possibility

13: what's something that made you smile today? my cats

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? uhhh....idk

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! A day on Venus is actually longer than a year on Venus... wrap your head around that ;)

16: what's your favorite pasta dish? ooooh all of them lol but probably lasagna... ooh or alfredo

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? just darker...dark brown or black

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up when i made us play hide n seek in a hotel room and i hid behind a curtain. or when i peed on my friends foot cause she got stung by a jellyfish XD

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it? I used to :/ I dont' really anymore..probably should

20: what's your favorite eye color? um idk really it depends on the person..I usually like brown or blue. not that green isn't nice but again depends on the person lol

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. ugh I really don't use bags or purses or anything like that much. currently my black vans drawstring

22: are you a morning person? nah, never will be. i'm used to getting up early but still hate it

23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? SLEEP

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? yes..a few people

25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into? umm i dont think ive broken into anywhere

26: what are the shoes you've had for forever and wear with every single outfit? i got rid of all my own shoes but the ones ive had a while i wear the most are my black slipon vans

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor? mint

28: sunrise or sunset? sunset

29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? only she could do it, cant even explain lol

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? more than a few times

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. I LOVE SOCKS lol absolutely not all white socks. I like fun patterned socks..especially my vans no shows... sometimes sleep with them on

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. oh gosh dont let me start

33: what's your fave pastry? uggghh too many. recently something amazing I tried... lobster tails from carlos bakery. but really..any pastry lol

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? lots of them. the main one I can think of is a small little grungy horse named Wickee lol...got him at this amusement park called Wickee Watchee... idk where he is atm :/

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? ooooooh yesssss...from time to time

36: which band's sound would fit your mood right now? 21 pilots

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? I mean I like it clean.... but it's messy most the time anyways lol

38: tell us about your pet peeves! ugh so many. the #1 thing probably is when I'm walking like in a store and someone just stops right in front of me..like i'm tryna get somewhere please move haha but otherwise I just had selfish spoiled people and attitudes and people who think they're better than everyone else

39: what color do you wear the most? black and gray

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's it's story? does it have any meaning to you? um honestly I don't have any jewelry besides my liprings. There is this necklace that was my grandmas but I don't really wear it anymore

41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving? It's called Pawn by Robin Roseau

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! Starbucks. it's amazing. it's life. that is all.

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? this girl

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? um hmm on and off lately and I think i'm getting there again...but probably really completely like...last spring

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? as much and often as I can

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. oh you don't want me to do that

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? donald trump. oh food. hahahahah omg. i thought it said thing. hahahaha. i cant even answer now.

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? roaches. yes still same. I HATE THEM

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? eh neither like or dislike..rarely ever buy cds never records. But I did recently buy the Gwen Stefani Christmas album ;)

50: what's an odd thing you collect? nothing really odd. oh well.... unique boxes. I guess thats strange lol

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? so many songs.

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? uh hmm.. probably the spongebob mocking one lol

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? honestly..dont kill me...no

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? myself XD

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point? gotten out of the car and walked a mile home XD

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? just being genuine and truthful and sweet and trying to be funny even if you're not really

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? BEAUTIFUL. I didnt actually listen but I did in my head. BEAUTIFUL SONG

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? uhhhh..... dont really have a group of friends XD

59: what's your favorite myth? hmm too much thinking

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? depends, most the time...the Footprints poem

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received? given um...idk I used to get a buncha stuff from the dollar store for my fam every year lol received? a rock from my ex bf -_-

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? nah not really a juice person

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? yes organized

64: what color is the sky where you are right now? black

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with? yesss....

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? uhhh eh..not for me

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? either calm or sad or sleepy or a combo

68: what's winter like where you live? it's florida. not usually cold. this week is as cold as it gets...low is like 38 but usually it doesnt even get there

69: what are your favorite board games? clue, monopoly is alright too

70: have you ever used a ouija board? no

71: what's your favorite kind of tea? not huge on tea but I like mint, or something fruity like berry or lemon or peach

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it? with certain things

73: what are some of your worst habits? leaving drinks or bottles half finished out or like letting my room get messy

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. funny. sarcastic. sometimes an asshole. good time. gorgeous. fun.

75: tell us about your pets! They're two cats, sister, Lamb and Rue...they're 2 and 1/2 years old..and sweet and mischevious and fluffy and soft and cuteeee and I love them more than anything

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't? not really

77: pink or yellow lemonade? dont really like lemonade much but they dont make much a difference to me

78: are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub? fanclub :)

79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? wrote a song for me

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? white..nah I didnt choose

81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. honestly my minds going black lol im tired

82: are/were you good in school? yes for the most part..had my moments but overall good

83: what's some of your favorite album art? so many I could name. coldplays is always really colorful and abstracty. and imagine dragons.

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? already have two. want a lot more..too much to name and i dont even know still what all i want

85: do you read comics? what are your faves? nah

86: do you like concept albums? which ones? YAS. many. but first came to mind, Skillets Rise

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? Silver Linings Playbook. Paper Towns. Shrek. All the disney movies. Avatar. Wizard of Oz. many more

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? all of them haha... pop art, impressionism, renaissance..just all of it all special in they're own way

89: are you close to your parents? eh idk i cant explain..neither close nor distant. like we live together and talk alot but not really the close relationship as some do..im very different from them

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. Knoxville. the city I went to college in... interesting place with lots to do..best of both worlds. beautiful mountains and hills and views. but also the downtown areas are cool..lots of fun stuff

91: where do you plan on traveling this year? going to savannah ga for my bday. not sure where else yet but i'm sure there will be other places. i'd really like to go to phoenix..boston..new orleans..california..portland ugh so many places

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? CHEESE AF

93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most? just up in a bun which is boring but its too messy and long to put up with lol

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? my dad

95: what are your plans for this weekend? nothing really so far. probably will go to lunch or something with my friend

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? procrastinate

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? myer briggs- INFJ (advocate) sign- aquarius house- ravenclaw

98: when's the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it? legitimately...like 3 years ago...hated it...too much walking and pain XD

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. ugh sooooooooooo many. pretty much any song by skillet or gwen stefani/no doubt recently..dusk till dawn by sia, new rules by dua lipa... also songs by ben howard..lots of indie stuff

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? 5 into the future... i've already lived my past, and i've made a lot of progress...wanna jump to even more progress hopefully

#survey #survey questions #random survey #cute questions #many questions #random questions

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aubaskin-blog · 7 years ago

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about me!

so i found this 150 random questions thing so im gonna answer them all cool? cool. (link to original post at bottom)

1. ) What’s better, having high expectations or having low expectations? Low expectations because if you expect the worst, you'll never be disappointed. If the worst happens you'll have expected it, and if it ends up good you'll be happier (I learned that from the Ranger's Apprentice books)

2.) Would you rather go without junk food for a year or go without TV for a year? Junk food because I eat wayyyyy too much junk

3.) Describe your perfect man/woman. Honestly, I'll know the best when I see it. I can't just imagine a perfect person

4.) Thoughts on school dress codes? Good to a point, but can be stupid. My school has a 'no shoulders' rule which is stupid af, but I understand they want people to wear actual clothes to school

5.)Any strange phobias? Nope I'm boring

6.) At what job do you see Donald Trump best fit? A business leader. The country is not a business to be run, and he shouldn't be running it

7.) Who was your first crush? A kid named Pranav in 5th grade. He left our school but I still follow him on Instagram

8.) Who was your first best friend? Two girls named Maggie and Cara (or something like that) in 3rd grade. Cara moved and Maggie stopped being friends with me the next year, although I still see her around sometimes

9.)What is one weird thing about you? I say my hobby is reading, but 99% of the time I'm reading gay fanfiction

10.) Top 5 TV shows you like to watch? The Flash, Supergirl, Forensic Files, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and Pokemon

11.) What are your favorite boys names? Elliot and Oliver

12.) What are your favorite girls names? Ellis, Eden, Athena, unique names like those

13.) Do you have any tattoos? If so, what are they? Nope

14.) Do you plan on getting (more) tattoos? If so, what do you want to get as of the moment? I want some but I want them to be meaningful and all my ideas now are fleeting ideas

15.) Do you have any piercings? Do you plan on getting more? I got my ears pierced a looooong time ago but I stopped wearing earrings after my sister had to get her earlobe stitched together when her earring went through the bottom of her earlobe. I don't even want to wear earrings now

16.) Do you like hugging people? YES I'm a super touchy person and hugs are wonderful

17.) Think of ANY person on earth right now. Who did you think of? My mom. First it was Newt Scamander before I remembered that he's fictional

18.) Do you have an iPhone? iPhone 8, yes

19.) What is the worst thing that could happen in your life right now? My phone breaks and can't get replaced for a while

20.) Do you watch anime? I used to watch it a lot more but I watch it in like, bursts of a single show over a few days and stop for a while and do it again

21.) What brings true happiness? Love and contentment

22.) What is the most expensive thing you’ve ever paid for? I honestly have no idea

23.) If you could have any job in the world and get paid millions of dollars a year for it, what would you be and why? A stay-at-home reader. I wouldn't have to do anything but read and that's what I do all the time anyways

24.) Do you want children? If so, how many? Yes, 2 or 3 depending on what my partner wants

50.) Have you ever been in a physical fight? No way

51.) When you get out of the shower, do you towel dry, blow dry, or air dry your hair? Towel dry, then air dry once I'm tired of hauling a towel around on my head

52.) When you go to the movies, what snacks and drinks do you take with you? I buy them there or don't have any at all (but I like Sprite and candy like Skittles or Sour Patch Kids)

53.) Do you like going to the beach? If so, do you like to stay dry or go in the water? If not, why? I don't really like the beach but if I'm there I'll have fun. I only go in the water if it's warm (it's usually not)

54.) Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Only if I have to. Not usually though

55.) If you could have a superpower ASIDE from being invisible or being able to fly, what would you have? Being able to fill things up. Need money? Fill up my wallet/bank account. Want to stop talking to someone? Fill up their bladder. You can even fill up your phone battery :D

56.) If you were able to live for however long you wanted to (i’m talking thousands of years without aging), when would you choose to die? Whenever I decided I was done living and that there was nothing else for me on Earth

57.) What do you think happens after you die? It fades to black, like falling asleep except then your conscious disappears forever (I don't like thinking about that part, it's what makes me scared of dying)

58.) Do you believe in aliens? If we exist there has to be someone else out there

59.) Do you believe in ghosts? No but they still scare me

60.) Do you believe in spiritual things like ouija boards, tarot cards, and crystals? Do you believe they are portals for evil entities to enter the mortal world? No and I think Ouija boards are stupid but the rest are fun to just play with. I'm not spiritual at all

61.) If you could make one mythical being real, who/what would you make? Unicorns but they would be poached for their horns so I want to make sure they don't all go extinct so they can fly away in a rainbow burst to avoid hunters

62.) Do you get tan, or do you burn? Both but tan first (I think). SUNSCREEN IS VERY IMPORTANT

63.) Describe your shower routine. Shampoo, body wash, rinse out shampoo and body wash, conditioner, wait a little bit, rinse conditioner

64.) Do you enjoy school? Why or why not? Yes because of my friends, no because of homework and stress

65.) In your opinion, what is the worst way to die? Long and painfully. Short deaths sound better.

66.) Do you get carsick, sea sick, or airplane sickness? I kinda get seasick, and I used to get carsick but that's gotten better. Airplanes I just get bored

67.) What’s one memory that you wish you could live again and again? I don't think I would want to continually live a memory tbh

68.) What were some of your stuffed animal’s names from when you were a kid? I had a lavender colored stuffed dog...it was named 'Purple Doggy'

69.)Do you have any pets? Yes, one black lab named Sarah and two identical white sister cats named Tammi and Sammi

70.) Describe your daily wardrobe. Graphic t-shirt and jeans/jean shorts. Jacket or sweatshirt if its cold

71.) Describe what your daily wardrobe would be if you were rich. Probably the same, ngl

72.) Create a character right now. Give them a name, age, and character description. Ellis, 19, had to quit college to support her younger brother, works at a bookstore, light brown wavy shoulder length hair and green eyes

73.)What was the last thing you bought? A fidget toy and a book called '3000 Questions About Me'. And a wonder where I came up with this idea.

74.) Have you ever bought a CD? What band was it for? My sister bought a Taylor Swift CD when she was like 8, but I only have Sims games and a movie on CD

75.) Describe your perfect ice cream sundae. Vanilla ice cream, sprinkles, a little bit of chocolate sauce, three cherries because sundae cherries are good

76.) If you could make ANYTHING happen right now with no cost, trouble, or obstacles, what would you do? Make myself have the marching band music good and memorized lol that's really getting me

77.) What are some of your favorite physical activities to do? I don't do physical activity

78.) What were some of your favorite shows as a child? Dora, Zoey 101, iCarly

79.) Describe how you would survive the zombie apocalypse. I wouldn't

80.) What are some things you shouldn’t say at work? “Wow, my boss really sucks”

81.) If you were told that if you killed someone, you would save 100 people, would you do it? Yes but it would probably haunt me

82.) How’s the weather right now? Sunny, kind of windy, warm (I'm just looking outside)

83.) What is the background on your cell phone right now? A picture of a city I got from Google

84.) Is it better to work at a job that you love or a job that pays well? Job you love

85.) What do you have within arms reach of your bed? My phone charger, alarm clock, an IKEA cart with a bunch of random stuff, usually my glasses, anything else I leave on the window sill

86.) Have you ever been fired from a job? If so, why? Being fired would require having a job in the first place

87.) Have you ever won a trophy, prize, or medal? If so, for what? I've gotten a decent number of soccer medals from my childhood, and I got two regional and one state trophies from DI (Destination Imagination) when I was in 4th and 5th grade. I haven't gotten any actual individual awards

88.) Do you have any posters, pictures, or art hanging on your walls in your room? If so, what are they? I have a pride flag, and a galaxy calendar from last year just for the pictures. No art though

89.) Are you afraid of the dark? If so, why? Not really, but I don't like running up the stairs at night when the house is dark. I get scared of what could be behind me

90.)What is something that you’ve never done but would like to try? Skydiving, lots of stuff with my friends, nothing in particular

91.) If you could choose three famous people or characters to be friends with, who would you choose and why? Hermione Granger-she's a genius and sassy af, Newt Scamander- his hair is the best omg I love him and his actor (Eddie Redmayne :))) ), and John Laurens (from Hamilton)- he deserved better. So much better.

92.) Do you smile at strangers when you pass by them on the street? Sometimes, but it can get creepy fast

93.) Do you have a favorite TV commercial? If so, what is it? I probably do, but I can't think of one in particular

94.) Do you like your handwriting? When it looks good, yes

95.) Cable TV or Netflix? Netflix, but I tend to watch cable more

96.) What are your favorite smells? Vanilla, black cherry and s'mores

97.) Do you consider yourself physically strong? Lol no way

98.) Describe a time where you said something really rude or mean, whether intentional or not. I can't think of a particular time but a good portion of the time if I say something mean I mean it and they deserve it.

99.) Do you ask strangers to pet their dogs? Of course, it's very rude other wise. If this is about petting dogs, you bet your ass I'm petting a dog if I can.

100.)What is your most embarrassing moment? I can't think of anything in particular but I've misspoken more times than I can ever count or remember. Those don't always end the best.

101.) Has anyone really close to you ever died? If so, who was it and how did you handle it? No, the closest was my grandpa but weren't close. I didn't really care...which sounds horrible but I've become desensitized to this stuff

102.) Describe your plan of action if you were home alone and you heard someone break into your house. Grab my phone and keys and run outside, drive my car up the street and call 911. If I can't get my keys, hide behind a neighbor's house and call 911 from there

103.) If you were to be born again, would you want to be born male or female? Male because being a female kinda sucks. Plus it'd be cool to experience both sides of the equation

104.) What shampoo do you use? Kirkland. Conditioner too

105.) Guess the meaning of this word: ulotrichous. Atrocious because that's how it sounds (both meanings)

106.) Do you let messages (phone, email, text, social media, etc…) build up, or do you have to look at them right away? Text and email notifications especially make me anxious, I have to look at them, even just so the number goes away. I don't get many texts in the first place though

107.) Where is the nearest McDonalds to your house? Super close, I've walked there before. (Google maps says 1.1 miles)

108.) If you had $1 billion and you had to spend it in exactly one week, what would you spend it on? A big house, cars, and as much stuff as I could think of. The rest goes into a bank account. Actually, all of it goes into a bank account

109.) What is the best thing you’ve ever eaten? Those store-bought sugar cookies. There's probably something else but I'm blanking. I've had good sushi before though.

110.) If you could go on a trip around the world with up to three people, who would you bring (they can be people you know personally or famous people). My friend Connor, one celebrity he wants and one I want. Maybe John Mulaney? He's super funny.

111.) What expletive/ explicit phrase do you say most often? Probably hell. The other two main ones make it in a lot too though

112.) What is your personal definition of success? Being happy with where you are in life or your job or whatever, not needing to be further than you are

113.) How was your day today? It's been pretty okay, actually. Nothing tragic has happened yet lol

114.) What is the closest Big City you live by? I'm gonna go BIG city because privacy so of the main four (LA, NYC, Houston, Orlando) in the USA, New York City

115.) Have you ever been in a car accident? No but I hit my mom's car backing out of the driveway and scratched off some paint and dented my car a bit (whoops)

116.) Do you hide anything from your parents? Everything on my phone. Everything.

117.) If you could possess one talent, what would you be able to do? Is having a good memory a talent? Because I want a really good memory. And art abilities.

118.) Ugly and smart or beautiful and stupid? Ugly and smart lol

119.) What is the worst thing you’ve ever seen in real life? When we took a trip to South Carolina there was a massive, 3 inch long spider whose web was next to the front door. I cried.

120.) Use only 3 words to describe how you want your future to go. Happy, rich-ish, comfortable

121.) QUICK! give me a few things a brick could be useful for! Throwing at somebody's head and killing them (wtf me)

122.) If you could make a dream society, describe it in great detail where it would be, who would be in it, and what rules there would be? No discrimination, no crime, everyone happy and nice

123.) If you could make any animal miniature, what would you make and why? A dog because my dog is looking at me right now like she wants a miniature her

124.) What are your favorite candle scents? I don’t use candles, my mom hates open flames. I have burned some vanilla tea candled though

125.) If you HAD to have one plastic surgery, what would you get and why? The bridge of my nose, I'm self-conscious about it because it's lower than it should be as a result of many, many years of glasses. I usually wear contacts now though.

126.) Do you prefer to hang out with the same sex or the opposite sex? I mostly hang out with my same sex friends for long periods and my opposite sex friends for shorter periods. I would have to say opposite ex friends because I'm closer to them.

127.) If you could make a charity, what would the profits go towards? How would you raise money for it? The money would go towards lgbt+ kids and supporting them, especially if they don't get support from their parents or can't tell them. I would raise money through online advertising on sites like Tumblr and Instagram because they tend to have higher lgbt+ populations. Also through popular Youtuber donations if possible.

128.) Describe the body you wish you had. Skinnier, a better smile, less facial hair, blue or green eyes.

129.) If you were a famous director, what would your next movie be about? Describe the plot, characters, and possible title. Something soulmates and m/m. A romance movie, but they're meant to be together because of something (tattoos, colors, etc). They meet and both like each other, but it's only when they realize they're soulmates they confess and fall in love and it's the happy, fluffy masterpiece all Tumblr kids wish existed. (Call Me By Your Name got pretty far though)

130.) If only women were to rule the world, how different would the world be by 2050? More equality, male supremacy protests, everything would probably be better tbh.

131.) What is your favorite alcoholic drink? I'm 16

132.) Do you have a problematic friend? YES and she's not my friend anymore

133.) Are you more spontaneous or more of a planner? Both at the worst moments. I'll plan out my day (which won't work out) and be spontaneous when it comes to tests: "Crap I forgot about that I'll study the bell before" which sometimes actually manages to work.

134.) If you could change your full name, what would your name be? Something with more meaning and better initials

135.) What is one song that describes your life? The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars (there are probably better ones but eh)

136.) What is one show you’ve been meaning to watch but can never find the time for? I've been halfway through Pokemon: XY for over a month

137.) Do you find it easy to drop toxic people from your life that you’ve known for a long time? It depends. If I see them a lot, no. Once I stop seeing someone irl it's too easy for me to drop someone. If they do something really bad and all my friends feel that way then it's super easy

138.) Do you like children? Why or why not? In general yes but I don't want to be around them 24/7 (aka why I like being home alone without my three younger siblings)

139.) What is your zodiac sign? Taurus

140.) Do you like to dance? Do you dance often? In front of other people? No I suck at dancing, but I do rock out to music

141.) Name some of your favorite colors. Grey, black, purple, blue

142.) Have you ever shoplifted? If so, what was it? I've thought about it but no, I haven't

143.) If you could speak three additional languages, what would they be? Spanish, French and some random language I can surprise people with. Like Dutch or something.

144.) Have you ever been in legal trouble? Nope! I'm an innocent child

145.) Have you ever had surgery? No and I hope I never have to

146.) If you could change 2 things about yourself, what would you change and why? My smile and my motivation levels. Smile bc it looks terrible and motivation because I actually need to get stuff done sometimes. And mental health.

147.) What do you want done with your body after you die? Cremation, I guess. I don't want to become a firework or anything

148.) What three physical features do people compliment you most on? What do they say about them? I don't really get compliments; my mom likes my hair though. It's wavy after I shower

149.) If you could have your own business, what would you do? Make things for lazy people that people are surprised that they needed (but actually do need)

150.) What current friend do you have that you’ve known the longest? My friend Amanda, since the start of 6th grade. We're going on 5 years now!

yay now you should try these the original post is here and feel free to ask me any other questions bc i like talking to internet strangers :)

#about me #150 questions #im bored #questions about me #this was fun actually #im gonna do that 3000 questions book too ill post interesting questions from thatr #that #i cant spell #whoops

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