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lastsonlost · 4 years

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The star begins a libel trial against a U.K. tabloid that called him a "wife beater." No matter the verdict, he's destined to lose.

If there's a single word to describe Johnny Depp's status at the moment, I'd go with zugzwang, which chess aficionados know to be the moment when a player basically gets cornered into making a move that will inevitably lead to an even more inferior position. On Tuesday, the star actor appeared in a London courtroom to take on the U.K. publisher of The Sun for characterizing him as a "wife beater" in the print edition of an April 27, 2018, online article. Unfortunately for Depp, it seems to be a defamation trial that's a no-win situation.

Depp appears to think that success is achievable at a proceeding that will last several weeks and feature all sorts of inside details about his life plus celebrity friends including Paul Bettany and Winona Ryder. Depp is claiming that during his tumultuous marriage to Amber Heard between 2015 through 2017, he didn't actually throw a phone at her, slap her across the face, and grab her by the hair, as she once testified in a deposition during one of the nastiest divorces in Hollywood history. Perhaps Depp will play audio tapes in an effort to claim his ex-wife was the abusive one in this stormy relationship. It won't matter because there's really no reversing the damage that Depp has incurred these past few years.

That should have become obvious on June 26 when it was revealed that Disney was working on a new Pirates of the Caribbean, this time featuring a female-fronted cast led by Margot Robbie. In other words, at the exact moment when a U.K. judge was deciding on whether to actually proceed with Depp's libel suit after the actor's attorneys breached a court order by failing to turn over a series of text messages concerning the procurement of drugs, Depp may have lost his most lucrative role. A source tells The Hollywood Reporter that Jerry Bruckheimer would like to at least nod to the popularity of the Captain Jack Sparrow character in the coming film if the controversies die down, but at this point, Disney is resistant. Depp is too controversial. (Disney didn’t respond for comment.)

So Depp will pursue a favorable verdict and a nominal damages award from a trial that's playing out under English defamation standards — in other words, where the burden of truth is on the news publisher to establish rather than Depp. Meanwhile, over the next few weeks, amid an international pandemic, Depp will surely incur additional reputational harm from these prying court proceedings, the impetus for which was a column questioning J.K. Rowling's defense of Depp being cast in the adaptation of her book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It's hard to sue one's way out of controversy.

Given this situation, it's no wonder Hollywood insiders are increasingly puzzled over Depp's moves. I spoke to several industry attorneys and publicists, all of whom offered some variation on the theme that the public would likely have forgotten Depp's years-old troubles but for court actions that keep reminding everyone.

“One of the things you’re always balancing is, how do you respond to accusation? Do you add more fuel to the fire or let it dissipate?” asks Howard Bragman, a longtime crisis manager in the entertainment industry.

Says Neville Johnson, an attorney who has previously brought suits against tabloids but questions the star plaintiff's wisdom here: “Depp doesn’t need the money [from any damages award] and it is not going to enhance his reputation.”

***

How did Depp find himself at the point of zugzwang? More and more, one has got to question Depp's reliance on attorney Adam Waldman. Depp has many attorneys, and the others seem to be the ones actually doing the hard work in court, but Waldman has become Depp's mouthpiece and also looks to be the lawyer who has emerged as the star's svengali of sorts.

Who is Waldman?

A search on Google (where he referred this reporter instead of agreeing to an interview) yields some clues, though hardly anything definitive. Unlike most attorneys, Waldman maintains no bio page these days. A few years back, Waldman's D.C.-based Endeavor Group did have a working website, but no longer. A trip to the Internet Archive reveals that Waldman once took credit for overseeing "all corporate aspects" of the landmark antitrust trial United States v. Microsoft, being the "principal architect of several ground-breaking initiatives" including the Center for Global Development, and even predicting the 2009 financial crisis with a "seminal law review article" authored all the way back in 1993. That would be when he was a student at American University, which did indeed confirm his graduation in 1995.

Waldman, according to reputable press reports, seems to have been involved in various dealings with the Kremlin, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. He had a lucrative ($40,000 per month) lobbying contract with Deripaska, was registered as an agent for the Russian government, visited Assange nine times in one year at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, apparently in connection with efforts to strike a deal with the DOJ, and more. His associations have become fodder for intrigue among reporters and lawmakers even if there’s a lack of public evidence of anything more than Waldman having a talent for landing recurring, if minor, roles in real-life Russian political dramas.

I'd say that Waldman's foray on the periphery of the industry hardly matters, except that it appears Depp is publicly burning bridges with the sort of abandon that one hardly ever sees among big Hollywood stars. Depp's recent legal pursuits include battling his former money managers over the disposition of hundreds of millions of dollars; splitting with longtime transactional attorney Jake Bloom; and, of course, continuing to face off against Heard again and again and again, including in a separate defamation suit against her over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post. That latter case is currently scheduled for trial in Virginia in January 2021.

That's a lot of legal work, and Waldman appears to have taken on a central role. As Stephen Rodrick put it in an often-cited Rolling Stone article, "Waldman seems to have convinced Depp that they are freedom fighters taking on the Hollywood machine rather than scavengers squabbling over the scraps of a fortune squandered."

Waldman is also conducting a public experiment on social media. In a nutshell, do tactics of preaching to a choir of a small number of Twitter accounts achieve anything outside of politics? Most attorneys don't pick fights with the media during a big case, particularly in the weeks before trial. Not Waldman. For weeks, he's been goading reporters at The New York Times who apparently are investigating him, and he's been whipping his followers into a frenzy with attacks on Rodrick, Variety ("Saudi Arabia's Variety"), THR ("too much corruption") and other journalists and news publications. (That said, Waldman may not be above going to his own favored media outlets. Depp's attorneys have been accused in court papers of leaking to outlets like The Blast, which seems to be to Depp what Fox News is to Trump.) He's also litigating on Twitter, presenting evidence procured from Depp's cases, and overall, exhibiting highly unusual behavior for a working attorney.

To what end? That one is very hard to answer. But if anyone in Hollywood is ready to take on "fake news," the ticket of Depp-Waldman should be deemed real contenders.

***

In the era of #MeToo, allegations of misconduct get attention — and deservedly so — but some newsrooms have traditionally made a distinction between behavior in the workplace and domestic conduct, with the latter being perceived as tabloid fodder. This time, though, an ugly divorce proceeding has transformed into something quite more.

Alas, the trial of John Christopher Depp II v. News Group Newspapers Ltd has now begun.

On July 7, Depp himself took the witness stand and accused Heard of being sociopathic, a narcissist, and completely emotionally dishonest. He insisted her "sick" claims of abuse are untrue. And in opening statements, his attorney David Sherborne said, "This is not a case about money. It is about vindication."

Depp, in fighting a battle against an unflattering headline, is merely going to draw more attention to The Sun's accusation that he's a "wife beater," especially once Heard gets on the witness stand. At the end of it all, no matter the verdict, this trial will likely do nothing to tamp down the controversies that have tarnished his career. He's elevated a tabloid columnist's random musing into something that's going to be covered by serious news outlets for weeks, months, years on end.

For that, Johnny Depp should regain his senses and fire his lawyers.

Vindication ain't possible. The damage is done. That's the only thing a successful libel claim shows.

__________

What kind of Weinstein bullshit is this? So what, If he gives up on getting Justice for what hes been through Hollywood might throw him some crumbs?

JUST SHUT UP AND SUFFER IN SILENCE! ACCEPT THE LIES THAT WERE SPREAD ABOUT YOU! LET YOUR ABUSER WIN!

I wonder if this clown would tell metoo victims not to get Justice?

#justiceforjohnnydepp

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brooklynislandgirl · 3 years

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Star Wars Asks

2. Which character do you want to be most like?

5. What planet would you most like to visit?

6. What planet would you most like to live on?

14. What is your favorite alien species?

20. What do you hope will happen in future movies?

22. Favorite droid?

23. What’s your favorite Star Wars musical piece or theme?

24. How do you pronounce Twi’lek?

Not So Long Ago || Accepting

II. Which character do you most want to be like?

Despite the fact that I have all my assorted favourites from Episodes 1-6, the Expanded Universe, and even the role playing games {I have yet to play any of the actual video games but I hear good things about them}, the one character I want to be the most like is of course, Han Solo. I absolutely love Harrison's embodiment of Han, and I love his cool, cocky, gunslinger/smuggler archetype. The morally questionable but does the right thing in the end, loyal to his friends person that I have spent 40+ years of my life watching. I consider myself cynical, sarcastic, sometimes irreverent, but I would also consider myself loyal to a fault, uniquely talented in some areas, and I'm a pretty decent shot.

V. What planet would you most like to visit? The simplest answer is Kashyyyk. The forested home of the Wookie species, with tree houses and beautiful lakes, everything that pale grey-green and misty. There's limestone spires and winding rivers and that's literally just the surface view. It's real life counterpart is Guilin, in the northern part of the Guangxi-Zhuang region of southern China.

VI. What planet would you most like to live on? I would absolutely love to live on Zelos II because of her moons and her landscape, and the fact that everything there is botanical and deadly but you know to set myself apart from my muse, I would choose Scarif. If we could get rid of the Imperial buildings and the like. Scarif comes across as a tropical island planet, sharing many characteristics of earth's Polynesian chains, but was in fact filmed off the Sri-Lankan coast, and on the southern Maldives. I would kill to see if Scarif also has bio-luminescent sea-algae.

XIV. What is your favourite alien species? It would again be unfair in the grand scheme to claim Zelosians as I do play one as a muse whom I love. So going for some variety, we're going to choose Nautolans. The amphibious race that produced heroes like Jedi Master Kit Fisto. One, they're cool to look at. Two, Kit Fisto wasn't a complete dick. Three:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, I rest my case. But for real, I just think they're cool, and everyone else has their favourite races with head-tails, so I can have mine. XX. What do you hope will happen in future movies?

That the Haus of Maus will stop making them, honestly. There were few things I may have appreciated about TCW but that was specifically the clones and Kit Fisto. I saw the Solo film and hated it, except for Donald Glover who was perfect as Lando Calrisian. The less said about the next few movies the better and I have never seen the third film of the sequel trilogy. Of all the new films, Rogue One was probably the best, and even then it was not what I was hoping for save for a few scenes. Maybe the EU spoiled me. Maybe I am too entrenched in the original Lucas era sextology, and that is, in fact, the proper term for two trilogies or a series of six works, I'm not trying to be a funny bitch about it. Every time I look Disney is really shitting on something I have loved since I was a toddler. And I mean that fully and with sincerity. I was 2 years old when A New Hope was released into theatres, and it is the very first movie I ever saw. So what would I hope for? That Lucas or at least someone who shared his visions and passions, re-canonises the EU. That we get films based on the Rogue Squadron Series. That Ahsoka Tano chokes to death on a fucking porg. I mean, I'm not really asking for much, guys. XXII. Favourite Droid?

"Why do people keep hiring him? They're risking the wrath of the Empire." "Sir, I believe it's because IG-88 always gets the job done." ―Gurdun and Minor Relsted IG-88. <-- cool theme song.

XXIII. What's your favourite Star Wars musical piece or theme? It's my husband's ring tone on my phone. It makes me squirm with anticipation while sitting in the dark. I... *bursts into tears* am not worthy. John Williams NAILED it guys, you can all go home now.

XXIV. How do you pronounce Twi'lek? Maybe because I only read it in books for the longest time, and never heard it said aloud, but for whatever reason, I say TWI-lek. Twi as in twilight, lek as rhymes with beck. I don't know what a twee-lick is, or any other variation and will ignore any such pronunciations in the future.

#Mahalo!Matt <333 #The Turtle Speaks|Mun Answered Asks

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afni-fics · 4 years

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Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn - Chapter 13: Bleak Falls Barrow - Interior (part 4)

Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn - Chapter 13: Bleak Falls Barrow - Interior (part 4) by C_R_Scott Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Red Robin (Comics), DCU (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Tim Drake, Lucien Flavius Additional Tags: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Skyrim/DCU crossover, Reluctant Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Not Beta Read, Alternate Universe - Skyrim Fusion, Modded Skyrim, Skyrim Spoilers, Tim Drake is Dragonborn | Dovahkiin, Batfamily-centric (DCU), Tim Drake-centric

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Summary:

Finally, Tim and Lucien make it to the inner sanctum of Bleak Falls Barrow

-------------------------

Fortunately for Tim and Lucien, their initial disastrous encounter with the draugr ambush was something they learned from and adapted to immediately. They observed from a distance how the undead creatures would only "wake up" if either someone was extremely close to them, or if there was a loud noise that drew their attention. Tim, much to his relief, learned that he could fire off arrows to make noises that would lure any draugr in the area to that spot. Once lured to a spot, usually clear on the farthest side of the room they were in, Tim would pick off the draugr with relatively little trouble.

Turns out, though ferocious in combat once engaged, while they were searching for intruders the draugr were pretty slow and not very intelligent, often giving up the search and returning to their slabs if they weren't able to find anyone within a minute or two.

Tim also made it a point to fire off arrows at any "sleeping" draugr laying on the slabs.... Just to be on the safe side.

Using those techniques, Tim and Lucien didn't have to worry too much about the undead threat as they moved deeper into the Barrow.

***

"Well, looks like our Bosmer bandit made it quite a ways before the draugr finally got a hold of him," Lucien remarked as he saw the body of the now dead dark elf lying on the cold stone floor at the bottom of a flight of stairs.

Tim knelt down beside the body and searched the bandit's pockets. His eyes widened when he pulled out what looked like a solid gold claw.

"Wow... It's beautiful," Tim exclaimed as he turned the artifact over in his hand. Lucien was quite excited by the find.

"Look at that! What exquisite craftsmanship!" he cooed. "And look.. There are carvings of Nordic animals, just like that death trap puzzle."

Tim took a closer look at the carvings. Just like the deathtrap puzzle, there were three animals icons in a row on the claw. However, this time the animals were a bear, a moth, and an owl.

As Tim looked at the claw, Lucien had found a journal on the bandit and had thumbed over to the last page with any writing. "Hmmm... It appears this bandit stole this claw from someone named Lucan Valerius."

"I know that guy," Tim remarked, turning his attention back to the scholar. "He owns the general store in Riverwood. I think I overheard him the other day complaining about someone who'd broken into this shop. I guess this is what they stole."

"Well listen to this," Lucien said. "This is what the bandit wrote, 'Now I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of of your hands.'"

Tim smirked as he looked at the claw. "I guess whatever door we're needing to get through is locked, and this claw is the key."

"Undoubtedly! Goodness this is so exciting!"

***

Unfortunately, it took another several hours of exploring before they got to anything that looked remotely like a puzzle door. They killed more draugr and also circumvented a few more deathtraps, though these were more straightforward attempts to kill them, consisting of things like spiked walls that were triggered by a floor plate or multiple swinging axes lining a narrow corridor.

Also, while they did finally get past the crypts and into more hallways, Tim had a thought as they crossed into what appeared to be a large main hall and stairs that led up to a second level. "It's kind of weird," he remarked as he shot another draugr.

"What is?"

"Well, all things considered, aside from those few bandits and ourselves, it doesn't appear that any other living people have actually come this way in years, right?"

"Not as far as I can see," Lucien agreed. "If bandits had made it further through the Barrows, I think they would've made off with more of the artifacts we keep coming across."

Tim nodded. "Well... if that's the case, then why are there so many candles and cauldrons actively burning in this place?"

Lucien paused and looked at the nearest trio of burning candles. "You're right. That is rather odd." He pulled out his journal and jotted down a few notes. "Perhaps that's part of the draugrs' function in this Barrow? Some kind of maintenance?" He tapped his pencil against his chin.

"Or maybe it's something they just do, like a restless ghost repeating tasks they used to do in life?"

Lucien looked to Tim and smiled. "If it wasn't for the fact they are full of murderous intent toward the living, it would make an interesting research project if we were able to observe these draugr in an undisturbed environment."

Immediately Tim's thoughts went to tracking bugs, remote controlled drones, and hidden wireless cameras. He sighed as he pushed open a set of large wooden double doors. He was really missing technology.

Then he froze.

"Lucien! This room..."

"Goodness! Could this be the Hall of Stories?!"

The doors had opened into a space that was completely different from all the other halls and rooms they'd passed thus far. It was a long hallway that was lined with carvings of ornate scenes on both sides. Tim went up to the first one on his left and lightly traced the carving of a woman surrounded by moths with his fingertips.

"What is all this about?" he wondered aloud.

Lucien had pulled out a scroll of paper and a stick of charcoal. "If I recall correctly, in addition to dragons, ancient Nords of the Merethic Era also worshiped a variety of animal spirits." He took a rubbing of the carving and mused over the desigh. "This appears to be a moth priestess presiding over some sort of funeral procession of some high ranking figures."

He moved down to the next set of carvings. "Hm... Similar funeral procession figures, but the priest is different. Animal appears to be a bear in this one."

Tim examined the following carvings. "This priest looks to be for owls."

Both men came up and examined the final set of carvings. Tim felt a slight uneasy chill course through his body as he noted what animal this priest seemed to represent.

"Clearly, this a relief of a dragon priest," Lucien remarked.

Tim left Lucien to get the rest of his rubbings and moved towards the odd door that now barred their path. there were three large circular rings with animal emblem on them, and there was a clear spot for the golden claw to be placed. He pulled out the claw and examined the pattern once more. Then, he matched the animals on the rings.

Bear... Moth... Owl...

Then, Tim lined up the gold claw with the center keyhole.

"Here goes nothing," Tim said as he pushed the claw into the keyhole. Once locked in place, he turned the center circle.

Suddenly, all the rings reset themselves, spinning around until there was a solid line of owls facing him. Then the door began to sink into the floor. Tim pulled the claw away before it could clatter to the floor and both he and Lucien watched as a new set of stairs was revealed.

***

Past the stairs was a long hallway cut into the mountain.

Past the hallway was something that took Tim's breath away.

"Look at that," Lucien whispered in awe. "The inner sanctum of the Barrow is inside a natural cavern!"

Tim stood there and just took the entire site in. A colony of bats, startled by their intrusion, flew past them just overhead with achingingly familiar chirps and leathery wingflaps. The cavern itself was huge and spacious. He could hear all the same usual cave noises that he practically grew up with for nearly half his life. The sound of water dripping from unseen corners of the cave. The sounds of wind rushing through tunnels just off the main cavern. A natural stream wove around the main altar area, fed by several small waterfalls, adding to the nostalgia, and moonlight from a hole in the ceiling somewhere in the mountainside illuminated the majestic stone carvings resting behind the altar.

It was all so different than The Cave back home in Gotham, but just similar enough that it made his heart ache from a sudden wave of homesickness.

"Timothy?" Lucien said gently as he noticed his travelling companion had gone quiet again. "Are you alright?"

Tim cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine, Lucien. It's just..." He glanced around himself before sighing wistfully. "It just reminds me of home."

Though he didn't see any draugr anywhere near or on the altar, Tim still kept his bow at the ready with an arrow nocked and ready to fly as he went up the stairs. However, as he came upon the landing of the altar area, Tim paused.

"Do you hear that?"

Lucien followed closely behind Tim. "Hear what? The waterfall?"

Tim shook his head as he looked around warily. "No... It sounds like... chanting?" He tried to follow the source of the sound, and found himself being turned toward a giant stone wall full of what looked like a foreign language carved into it, similar to cuneiform.

It was... odd... Those letters looked almost, familiar?

Slowly, almost as if in a trance, Tim walked toward the wall, and the chanting seemed to get louder in his head.

"Timothy? Is something there?" Lucien asked, though his voice sounded very far away to Tim as he lowered his bow and put his arrow back in its quiver to free up one hand.

"This... This word," Tim murmured as his gaze focused completely on three strange jagged letters. "I think... I know this word..." The letters seemed to glow invitingly on the stone wall as he traced the jagged marks with his fingertips. "Fff... Uuu...Sss... Fus?" Tim drew his back as the chanting suddenly stopped, and there was nothing but the sound of the cave around him. He glanced around himself and at the rest of the writing on the wall, but none of the other letters made any sense to him.

"I didn't know you could read dragon language script." Lucien said curiously.

Tim looked back at him, clearly confused. "I... I can't. I mean... I've never see this language before in my life."

Lucien took a closer look at the three-letter word Tim had been drawn to on the wall. "But you read this one?"

"The word is 'Fus,'" Tim admitted. "I think... it means 'Force'?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he had a sudden headache. "But I don't know how I know that."

Lucien looked between the word wall and Tim and then back again. "Don't worry about it right now. I'll take some notes and try to write down all these glyphs in my journal before we leave. I think the library in the museum may have a book or two on how to translate dragon language text. We can study this at our leisure once we're done exploring the Barrow. Why don't you look around for that Dragonstone you came here for? This may take me awhile."

As Lucien pulled out his journal and pencil again, Tim turned to the altar itself. There were a couple of tables, pottery, and a large chest. He began to fish around for his lockpicks. If the Dragonstone was anywhere, it was probably in that chest.

Suddenly, the top of what he thought was a table exploded upward and off the altar. It wasn't a table at all, but a coffin! The lockpicks were instantly forgotten and Tim grabbed an arrow instead. "Lucien! Draugr!" he yelled as he fired an arrow at the undead creature as he tried to backpedal away from it.

Tim fired a couple more arrows at the draugr, but this one seemed stronger than the others they'd fought earlier. Lucien tried cast a fire spell on the draugr, but suddenly the creature opened its mouth and...

"FUS.. RO... DA!" it shouted at Lucien and Tim. An invisible but strong pulse slammed into them both. Lucien was knocked off his feet and Tim just barely held his ground.

In the end, the lack of intelligence the draugr seemed to possess was how they won the day. Rather than focus on Tim, who was still armed and partially upright, the draugr turns its full attention on Lucien, who was still recovering from being knocked back to the ground. Before the creature could get to Lucien, Tim lined up one more arrow on the monster and sent it flying. The projectile struck the draugr straight in the middle of its chest and down it finally went, the light fading from its eyes.

"Lucien! Are you alright?" Tim rushed over to check on the scholar.

"Go on an expedition to Skyrim, they said." Lucien grumbled sarcastically as he held his head while getting to his feet. "It'll be fun, they said." He pulled out a healing potion and drained it like a shot. "There won't be any horrible Ancient Nordic zombies, they said." Lucien leaned heavily against the wall with a sigh.

Tim looked at him for a moment in silence, then started laughing.

Lucien looked at him like he'd gone completely off his rocker. "Are you... laughing at me?"

Tim shook his head as he calmed down and wiped some tears that had escaped his eyes with his hand. "No. No. It's just..." He snickered as he tried to get a hold of himself. "Things have been so bad lately, and I honestly wasn't sure we were going to make it, but we're still alive." Tim sat down on the ground next to Lucien and leaned against the wall. "I'm just so relieved."

Lucien sighed went over the examine the draugr more closely. "True. that was quite the battle. Slightly terrifying. Glad we didn't die. Oh! And look," The scholar found something attached to the draugr's armor. He pried it off and offered it to Tim. "Now you have a fancy rock!"

Tim took the stone and examined it curiously. On one side was what looked like a map of Skyrim with specific locations marked off with stars. On the other side was text in that same dragon script as on the wall, though this time Tim couldn't read any of it. "I guess this is the Dragonstone..."

***

The pair rested for a bit before finally moving onward. Lucien finished taking several pages of notes about the draugr, altar, and word wall. He also made a couple of rubbings of the Dragonstone for his own research. Tim in the meantime picked the lock of the chest and found it quite full of treasure. Septims, jewels, armor, and even an enchanted weapon. Once their bags were loaded up with all that they could carry without injuring themselves, they followed a stairwell and a path that eventually, finally led them out of the Bleak Falls Barrow and back into the wilds of Skyrim without any trouble at all.

-------------------------

Warning: This is being pantsed more than plotted, and this is not beta read. We'll see where this journey takes us. Mostly I'm just doing this for my own amusement.

Note1: If you have any questions about the playthrough and Tim's feelings/experiences that aren't described in the chapters, please ask me in the comments. I'll do my best to answer your questions as best I can.

Note2: And so ends Lucien and Tim's first excursion into a draugr-infested dungeon. Rest assured, it will not be their last.

Writing out this dungeon crawl took a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I think I'm quite happy I was able to record my adventure with Tim and Lucien in this fashion in Skyrim!

I can't wait to write more things between Tim and Luci as they become even better friends!

#elder scrolls dc#fanfiction#tim drake#skyrim fanfiction#batfam fanfic#red robin#batfam#crossover#lucien flavius#wip#afewnovelideas

#elder scrolls dc #fanfiction #tim drake #skyrim fanfiction #batfam fanfic #red robin #batfam #crossover #lucien flavius #wip #afewnovelideas

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musescore-com · 6 years

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MuseScorer of the month: Takernikov

And here comes August’s MuseScorer of the Month!

In case you missed it, each month we pick one of MuseScore.com’s brilliant members, featuring him or her in an interview available to all MuseScorers. Last month we introduced you to flutist and composer Robin M. Butler.

Now, please welcome: the MuseScorer Of August, Takeru aka Takernikov from Fukuoka, Japan.

“I love the words of my professor at the university. He said, that good music has ‘consistency’ and ‘variety’; If no consistency, it would be confusing. If no variety, it’d be boring.”

The following interview is featuring Takeru and is conducted by our staff member Alexander T.

- Hi, Takeru.It’s a pleasure to meet you! Tell our readers, please, a few words about yourself.

Hello, Alexander, nice to meet you too. Well, I’m from Fukuoka, northern side of Kyushu island, Japan, and live in this city with my wife and a little son (three years old right now). I studied acoustic design at the university, i.e. solving room acoustic issues with physics. Actually I wanted to study at conservatory but my musical skills were not good enough to pass the examination. Luckily, I had an opportunity to take composing classes at the university. So, I learnt music theory, notation, how to compose, and musical forms like sonata.Now, I’ve been an IT engineer specialized in networks for a decade, I like this job. My experience as a musician includes playing: - tuba, double bass and clarinet at high-school; - bassoon and contrabassoon at university; - piano - since I turned 15 years old.

- Cool, such a variety of instruments ! Did you come a long way to learn playing them?

Actually I was kinda tone deaf when in junior high school. There were lotta choral classes sadly, the music teacher pointed out my tone deafness every time, some students teased me. But, finally, I overcame that so-called “tone deafness”; I got interested in music, I began to play piano, which had been bought by my mother when she got married. Then, I played in a brass band in high school. As far as I remember, at some point I came across a really attracting piece called “El Camino Real”. First time I saw the score, I was confused about the key signature for transposing instruments, but I found my own way to read it. The skill I got at that time has helped me a lot later, when studying from the other composer’s work. I was also playing contrabass for a year, clarinet for two months and tuba for about two years. When I entered university, as I have already said, I began to play bassoon and contrabassoon in the “Orchestra club”. I’ve played symphonies (Brahms No.1, 4, Beethoven No.5, 7, 9, Tchaikovsky No.5, 6, Rachmaninoff No.1, 2, Dvorak No.5, 7, 8, 9, Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, and so on), overtures and suites. I tried to perform in a rock band as a keyboard player, but sadly it wasn’t good…

- But, anyway, trying something different is always (or almost always) a nice experience...Well, let’s talk about your composing experience: what is that about for you, and what or who helped you to start composing?

Apart from the composing classes at the university, I took part in picking musical pieces for upcoming concerts as a member of the council of the university orchestra (I was a leading bassoon player). We listened to all of the ‘candidate’ scores to decide whether they are playable for our orchestra, worthwhile or not. So,I read a lot of scores from Bach to Shostakovich. Especially I’ve been curious about the orchestration, I tried to understand, how do composers notate their music to make it sound really nice and beautiful.

At first, I tried to compose something with Finale when in the university, about eleven years ago, but quitted composing after I graduated. As I dislike using a mouse, I felt it was inefficient to notate with drag and drop, so I lost some motivation. Then, when I was searching for sheet music from Final Fantasy XV soundtrack for piano, I came across this amazing MuseScore notation program. I remember, that I was greatly impressed by the features MuseScore had (and still has, of course). It has intuitive UI for me, mostly I can notate with keyboard quickly as if writing a document. Till that day I hadn’t composed a piece for about ten years. But now almost everything motivates me to compose, but especially natural landscapes or some exercises (sports) I did or things happened to me...

- ...and now, as I can see, you’ve got a plenty of your own pieces on MuseScore.com Can you describe at least some of them?

All-right. Let’s start with Snow Run - one Sunday morning I did a trail run with friends through an urban forest park and some ranch, the duration of the 3D map movie generated by my GPS log data on the run was 52 seconds, so I decided to compose this piece in 2/4, 52 measures with 120 bpm to make it easy to count. Composed this piece within an hour or so - I realized I could compose quicker than imagined...

- Sorry for interrupting, but I wonder - do you often compose these “GPS-log” pieces after your morning runs, and is that the only reason why most of your compositions are short?

Basically there are two reasons for that: 1: you are right about the “GPS compositions”: after I do some endurance exercise like cycling or running, there’s some service which can create some short movies by my GPS logs. Usually the duration of the movies are short, less than 1-2 minutes; I compose for this ‘movies’ on the same day and share with my friends. 2: I said “compose on the same day”. I set a deadline for myself and try to accomplish that on time. Kind of repetitive practices, it’s a good way to express my feelings and to ‘improve productivity’ in my opinion. I feel, this affects even my job activity in a good way as well.

- So, let’s continue with your compositions…

Ok, then I’ll tell you about a couple more. La Chute D'eau élargi - inspired by French impressionists, deliberately titled in French, however, it includes some pentatonic scales, so for me it sounds like some Japanese folk music. Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa - an attempt to create minimal music from my original phrases I came up with, after I was reading a picture book for my son. That sounds a little weird, but I ended up with clear and refreshing atmosphere in this piece.

- Nice pieces, the second one reminded me of Steve Reich. And now, here is our “traditional” question: what have you shared on MuseScore.com that you’re most proud of (and why are you proud of it) ?

It’s Symphonic Poem “Mamacoco”. This is the most emotional and dramatic one I have ever composed. Although I’m generally a short piece composer, the duration of this one is about 14min. and it contains almost everything I could do as a composer. Attempted to fill it with beautiful melodies and counterpoints in the tonal slow part, and to make it exciting in the quasi-atonal fast part, naturally “covered” the previous slow melodies with different instruments (brass). I was surprised what I did actually, huge resolution followed by very tensed atmosphere before the recapitulation. The last part starts with almost sad flute’s phrase, it gradually changes to a kind of brilliant sounding.

Symphonic Poem “Mamacoco” by Takernikov

- I love the melodies in it, for me “Mamacoco” sounds like ‘pastoral’ music. I wonder what composers/performers influenced you. And, generally, what are your favorites?

I love Russian composers Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and that’s why my MuseScore account name is “Takernikov”, like a Russian surname. I don’t mean that I’m limited by the Romantic era, I also respect Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Debussy, Ravel, Liszt, even Steve Reich. In film composing, Hans Zimmer is the first composer that comes to my mind. Generally, most of the film composers affected me: James Horner, Steve Jablonsky, Joe Hisaishi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, etc..Honestly saying, the composer I can’t even imitate is Don Davis. His music, especially the orchestration and atonality in it, is outstanding in my opinion.

Would like to admit, that Takernikov is the first composer I met, whose beautiful music is often inspired by morning runs and whose pieces’ length really depend on the time he devoted to his physical exercises. That’s an interesting fact and Takeru is a really nice composer, it was a pleasure for me to do this interview and to meet him.

Thank you, guys, for reading.

Yours, Alexander T.

P.S. Following the nice tradition - I am adding here a piece I really enjoyed , this is a kind of “spanish sketch” composed by Mr.Takernikov.

Él irá a España by Takernikov

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thebandcampdiaries · 5 years

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Hello Clarice introducing new EP, “Longshot.”

Hello Clarice is a band with a unique focus on recreating the authentic textures of post-punk, with the gritty melodies of grunge and alternative music. Recently, this group released a brand new EP named “Longshot,” which actually features 5 original songs.

Arms Of The Fall

This song is actually a really poignant opening track. The engaging rhythm section and the lush guitar tones makes me think of bands such as Joey Division, while the catchy vocals and energetic choruses, make me think of acts as diverse as Mutemath and Alice In Chains, only to mention but a few. This song is direct and straight-forward, yet extremely well-arranged. I love the simplicity that fuels this track, yet at the same time, it is obvious that the group went to great lengths to tailor their sounds. The chorus effects on the guitar are absolutely amazing, while the drums are crisp, clear and punchy. The vocals feel intimate in the verses, and incredibly energetic during the hooks, as the song kicks it up a notch.

Longshot

Longshot kicks in with a very catchy, yet dark and haunting guitar riff. If you are a fan of artists as diverse as Queens Of The Stone Age, Muse, or Soundgarden, you are definitely going to enjoy this one. This is definitely one of the most interesting tracks on this EP. I love the fact that it has a mid-tempo groove and some amazing atmospheres. The chorus in particular makes me think of Nevermind-era Nirvana, particularly due to the bittersweet guitar melodies, and the poignant vocal performances. Yet again, this song strikes for its amazing dualism, going for an intimate, yet expansive performance.

Anymore

The chorused guitar lines take a step back on this track, allowing the acoustic guitars to shine. This song makes me think of artists as diverse as Puddle of Mudd or Pearl Jam. The folky overtones of the guitars lock in perfectly with the sustained groove of the drums, and as a result, the song stays heavy, while retaining a balanced tone. The choruses add some nuances to the song, as the electric guitars creep in, binging some additional textures. This song also makes me think of some earlier Radiohead stuff, come to think of it, back when Thom Yorke & co. were leaning more towards alternative rock than experimental electronic music.

Wake Me

The introductory guitar lines on this song are absolutely stellar. It’s sort of a George Harrison-meets-Elliott-Smith vibe, with a riff that almost makes me think of a 12-strings guitar straight from the 60s. I love the atmospheric arrangement of this release, and the tempo has a nice dreamy feeling to it. There’s a smooth ebb and flow, which almost makes me feel like there are waves, gently moving across the room. The choruses are kind of epic, with a really big, uplifting openness to them.

Abrasion

Last, but definitely not least, Abrasion is definitely one of the most unique songs on this record. More than any other tracks, Hello Clarice’s wide range of influences really creep in. From Nirvana, to Jimi Hendrix, to Jeff Buckley and Rage Against The Machine, anything goes.

Throughout the span of five songs, Hello Clarice managed to pack an incredible punch. There is enough sonic variety to give the listener a really dynamic experience, akin to a sonic journey with a lot of character.

Some artists seem to pigeonhole themselves in a single category, but in this case, the artist managed to really bring home a diverse and forward-thinking sound, that has a very distinctive spirit. From conception, to fruition, this release really hits the mark, and it certainly highlights the artist’s exciting identity. We are certainly gonna stay tuned and look forward to check out what the future holds in store for Hello Clarice, who is increasingly gaining the attention of audience members and critics alike!

Find out more about Hello Clarice, and do not miss out on “Longshot,” and other releases from this artist:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6dJ9CdwP613geqdfV6y86Z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDIXi430yno

https://soundcloud.com/helloclariceband

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lemondice · 5 years

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Guest post: Mia!

This week, I thought it would be fun to have my bandmate in Lemon Knife and girlfriend in lemon life, Mia Blixt-Shehan, write a post for some variety. I asked her to write about her favorite bands and how they influenced her work in Lemon Knife, and you can read her post right below:

So, I’m a Guest Writer for a blog! Exciting times! Really! Look, I’ve had this title exactly once before (https://www.writebynight.net/news-events/wfpl-rats/), where I made the interesting (read: ill-informed) decision of pawning off the first chapters of a thirteen-year-old novel—by which I mean I was thirteen years old when I tried to write the stinking thing (what was I doing trying out novel writing at thirteen?)—about the coming of age of a group of British sewer rats who decide to migrate to America in the era of Beatlemania…???...to promote a now-defunct blog under a now-defunct nom de plume. I’ll gladly take my second chance to appear on someone else’s blog without completely exposing the gaps once filled by my long-lost tween-aged marbles, thanks very much!

Well, anyway…of course, I have a bit of a personal attachment, to understate things—the blog’s author is my dear bandmate and partner, John, so I, Mia, am here to write about my top three favorite musical artists and how they made a mark on the excellent duo that is Lemon Knife! I hope you enjoy my stop by and learn a few things as well. Here we go, lowest- to highest-ranked:

3. Muse

Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of the air raid siren with the bass. Lowercase—The Air Raid Siren is the formidable Bruce Dickinson, obviously, I can’t take that title. But I’d be an effective red alert nonetheless—“EEEEEEVAAAAAACUUUUUUAAAAAAAATE IT’S A MOOOOOOOOONSOOOOOON!!!!”…new Lemon Knife lyric?

Before my love affair with the Muse discography began just five or so years ago, however, I wasn’t an air raid siren but a coffee shop bulletin board flyer. At this point I’d finally become semi-comfortable with my instrumental abilities, in specific circumstances, anyway, but I was still terrified of singing louder than, like, 25 decibels. I knew my voice was imperfect and didn’t really want to use it for much. The potential use of my vocal imperfections finally clicked on the fateful day where I heard the Black Holes and Revelations album for the first time (of at least ninety since). Loosely recommended by a visiting librarian when I was a library page, it was something I remembered only by fate on my usual very long train ride to college one day—“sure, let’s stream this thing, this train is stuck and I’ve got nothing better to do!” And there it was, as I sat spellbound through the opening track, “Take a Bow”—I was listening to a voice I hadn’t heard the likes of before, though I couldn’t quite place how it was so distinctive at the time. This was something greatly commanding and uniquely beautiful, and something that evoked copious amounts of whatever song’s emotion without sacrificing the ability to sound genuinely stinking good, and I wanted to know how it was done straight away. And so, after the last notes of “Knights of Cydonia” had died away, I set to figuring out the keeper of that voice—the magnificently brilliant Matt Bellamy—and diving into the music and generally obsessing over every recording I could unearth on my lengthy train rides. Good college pals, Muse were…

In the depths of my weekly Muse analysis (weekly classes, you know) I also became fascinated with the instantly recognizable bass work in the band, granted to the listener by the utterly fantastic Chris Wolstenholme. This isn’t your typical fuzz bass by any means. It’s got every amount of effect manipulation and gear tweaking and all—the—pedals—yet it’s combined with a great and distinctive technique that ensures that unlike that of too many other bands of their era and just before it (looking at you, Green Day!), their bass will almost certainly never become a lesser part of the music. It was here that I heard about another distorted bassist that was openly inspired by Muse and took it to the next level—he was Mike Kerr, the sole melodic instrument (well, besides vocals!) in a little band called Royal Blood. And it was THERE that I realized that bass/drum duos could be a thing…and…well…what do you think happened next?

2. The Who

We’re going a pretty hefty step up in influence here—I wouldn’t be a fuzz bassist and air raid siren vocalist without Muse, but I wouldn’t be a musician at all without The ‘Orrible ‘Oo.

It’s a story I’ve told countless times and will forever retell: Right around the extremely tender age of five, I came across a VHS (remember those?!) of the original Who rockumentary, decades before the squeaky-clean presentation of Amazing Journey—I speak of The Kids Are Alright. Familial lore dictates that the music of Neil Young was an immediate sedative when I was kicking hard in the womb, but a few years out of it, this was the first time I’d been exposed to music so raw and raucous and explosive…literally and figuratively. It had clearly seeped into my underdeveloped brain as an obsession grew through the years. (The first piano chords I learned outside of classical training were the ones in “Baba O’Riley,” at my independent request.)

At thirteen—oh, yeah, when I was also trying to write a novel about rats!—I got my first guitar. I took a few lessons for some months with a couple of fantastic tutors and then I was off on my own with a self-prescribed in-depth study of acoustic Who songs. I can’t imagine I was a particularly typical student, because from the very beginning I had absolutely no interest in learning to Van-Halen-shred and very little in the Gilmour bend, even though I greatly admired both—I was in deep with the Townshend -sus4 chords and vicious pick attack. To this day my right hand is ridiculously gritty with sets of both six and four strings, more so with my choice of using coins as plectrums (we’re about to get to that). Eventually I decided to abandon soloist peer pressure entirely and focus hard on rhythmic playing and making songs melodically interesting, which, filtered through The Who, greatly informed my later interests in both musical composition and the deep dive into bass. Rock composition came easily—much easier than lyricism, then and now—after spending so much time with my head in the Who discography, with the instantly recognizable chord structures and ever-expanding boundary-pushing within songwriting (flailing rhythm guitar! Lead bass guitar! ARP-2600s! Rock operas!!), and my decision to pursue bass was solidified by John Entwistle, the band’s resident Ox and my four-string hero to this very day.

1. Queen

Oh, buddy! This is it! This is the point of the article where we start really jumping up and down about things—like, if you thought those other two entries were fanatical, well, ohhhh, buddy!!

Queen! Yes! The greatest band on Earth, then, now, and onward. Well—to me. It’s all subjective, I’m aware. But the greatest band on Earth. Really. Here are four guys that took rock by its legs, stood it on its head, and spun it around until the very soul of it was changed for good. The way I see it, there are two schools of musical artists in the current era—the ones that mostly grew up on everyone else in the 1970s, and the ones that mostly grew up on Queen. You can always tell who they are if you have the innate sense, which often comes to you by being a fellow Queen fan. The Struts. Fun. (fun., actually.) Mika. The Killers. And in news that should surprise no one reading this, three of the most obvious Queen fans in music make up Muse. They can’t be understated.

Let’s look at this further—what did we have here? The most “duh” answer first—we had the greatest frontman in the history of any style of music, I’d venture to say, in Freddie Mercury. Need I say more about him—really?!? We had a bassist that told miniature stories within his prominent sound in John Deacon. We had Roger Taylor, the human drummer who was “more reliable than a drum machine,” the primary utterer of THOSE harmony high notes, and, as it turned out, probably the most experimentally minded member of the band if his solo career is any indication. And last but most certainly not least, we had a guitarist who literally crafted one of the most immediately known tones in rock with his bare hands (from a fireplace!) and pushed every boundary of the instrument in Brian May. Whose musical presence, by the way, essentially saved my life way back when. (I was about to say that there should be shirts made with the statement “Brian May Saved My Life” on them, but I immediately recognized how terrible of an idea that would actually be, although I wanted it known that it passed through my brain, so yup, here’s a parenthetical on it. Voila.) Many apprehensive people who eventually get into music see themselves for the first time in a tough-as-nails leather-clad punk goddess, or a platform-wearing out-and-proud queer, or a genre-blending, every-line-crossing, overall bad-arse POC. I saw myself in a frizzy-haired nerrrrrrrd equally inclined to embroil himself in academics (astrophysics in his case, anthropology and library science in mine) and jet onstage to make himself very known in a rock band. A convincing argument to be sure.

Okay! That was a while. It was. I hope it wasn’t too much of a while. If you made it here, congratulations—and thank you! Lemon Knife is a happy endeavor indeed—maybe we’ll see you at a show!!

#lemonknife #musicinfluences

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michellelewis7162 · 5 years

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Popular Song May Be Innovative

Popular song might feature components of stone, hip hop, reggae, dance, R&B, jazz, digital, and also in some cases folk songs as well as numerous other designs. Pop popular music performers generally utilize state-of-the-art innovation as well as audio centers to attain the noise they wish, and also report producers may possess a massive effect. Stand out popular music commonly makes use of a straightforward, momentous tune as well as focuses on the rhythm, typically along with syncopation, and also disrobed to an essential riff or loop which redoes throughout a lot of the song. Pop popular music is commonly slammed for being extremely easy and also repetitive Pop Classic Music.

Popular

Music is music concerning any one of a lot of music types that are available to the basic public and also are actually circulated by one or additional of the electronic media. Music is actually popular music that is actually not another thing (generally 'folk' or even 'art' popular music). Music is related to (produced for or even through) a specific social group. Music is disseminated through information media and/or in a mass market. Music is likewise seldom completely crucial. Music is not definitely regarding 'being actually listened to', but instead about 'being heard once more'; and 'being actually listened to over and over and also once more' is what truly preferred music is actually truly approximately. Stand out is contemporary songs as well as a typical type of music (distinguished from classical or even fine art songs as well as from folk music). https://classic-uptodate.com/

The term popular songs carries out certainly not refer specifically to a single genre or even sound, and also its own significance is different relying on the opportunity and area. Within preferred music, "popular song" is often distinguished from various other subgenres through stylistic attributes including a danceable rhythm or even beat, simple melodies and a redoing design. The extensive allure of stand out popular music is actually observed to identify it coming from even more certain styles of prominent songs, as well as pop music entertainers as well as recordings are actually one of the very successful and also very most commonly understood in many areas of the globe. The advancement of videotaping procedures is actually considered a primary impact on the sound of pop, distinguishing it from symphonic music and jazz music, along with from some sorts of popular songs which might find an extra "organic" sound.

Album

In the documented popular music era, the solitary (a single tune) as well as the cd (an assortment of tracks) are the standard techniques of circulating pop popular music. Noteworthy highlights for stand out songs in the 1980s are Michael Jackson's 2nd Epic label launch, Thriller, which went on to end up being the very popular cd of all time. Jackson was actually the best productive performer of the 80s, extending nine # 1 single people in the United States alone during that years, and also selling over 133 thousand duplicates with simply two albums-- Thriller, and its follow-up Bad.

Pop songs in the 1980s was greatly determined through a digital audio along with synthesizers and also drum equipments, and dancing style popular music. Pop music, alternatively, has predominantly happened right into use to describe songs that grew away from the stone 'n roll circle of the mid-1950's and also continues in a definable path to today. Stand out music can easily vary from the extremely artistic, iconoclastic or even virtuosic to easy and also completely dumb Pop Classic Music

Gouge to Enthralling Pop Music.

Popular song is actually one of the most spectacular as well as preferred category in music. This style is remarkably well-known as well as is actually acclaimed world vast. It is the music style of contemporary opportunities and has caused a terrific revolution on the planet of music. It is actually the spectacular group of music which has actually damaged numerous barriers of typical as well as traditional songs. This popular music is actually beyond the official learning in songs or normal popular music styles. The only main reason of the tremendous excellence of this sort of music is its own potential to muse and captivate folks.

The popular music is actually developed with an intention to bring in and also allure the masses. Any individual and everyone may enjoy this music without being actually a professional as well as connoisseur of music. It concentrates much more on enjoyment than the artistic and expert concepts. This music does certainly not highlight on the some certain popular music type. However, it merely offers the performer freedom to experiment with the different type of popular music as well as show all of them in their own designs.

The style is actually greatly renowned amongst the young people as well as the teens. Its own style has come to be the favourite of the masses as a result of its versatility. People can conveniently understand it as well as relate to it. Stand out tunes are created along with high target of entertaining the reader. This songs category can easily certainly not be actually epitomized or classified as per one's type. This splendid design consists of various moods and also it is large expression of the musician's innovation that matters one of the most.

Stand out Music is actually acquiring recognition because 1950's this terrific songs style has outweighed all its own contemporaries. Enjoyed with the regular music instruments like Guitar, Drum as well as digital computer keyboards, the popular music is everything about higher spiritedness as well as enjoyable. These music bands are actually really widely known and also people across the world appreciate them. The ensemble as well as the performers all together consist of the stand out band.

Several well-liked musicians of the music style have controlled the music globe. Its lovers keenly expect the launch of the albums from their favourite musicians. The Beetles has actually been just one of the absolute most well-known music bands on the planet. They have actually reigned the music charts and also individuals have actually loved their music crazily. For many years the singers, tune article writers and the musicians played an important job in the expansion as well as development of the category. Everyone adores to listen closely to this unbelievable popular music design.

Our company are actually the World, Careless Whisper and also Footloose are actually a number of the absolute most rocking favorites of the 1980s. It was actually the period in which the genre acquired its own best stance. In 1990s, the popular music gained new elevations along with female artistes thinking of amazing stand out songs online videos as well as tracks. There were actually some awesome female singles released that topped the male efficiencies. Vogue, The power of Love, Hold On as well as the Hero are the couple of exceptional amounts Pop Classic Music.

Madonna, Shania Twain etc were actually some of one of the most marvelled at stand out stars of the last years. Elton John thought of a few of the best astonishing Pop classics that offered the music huge popularity. Michael Jackson gained the greatest follower following with his unique design and astonishing stand out amounts.

In today times, the popular song has actually concluded the songs planet. Nothing else style is thus popular and marvelled at through the individuals. Along with younger pop superstars happening with impressive and also sizzling varieties, this songs is actually all specified to obtain brand-new elevations. Britney Spears is just one of the best stand out images of the brand new generation. Her fatal music video recordings like Oops! I did it Again, I am a Slave For You etc have created her the absolute most desirable Pop icon among the young adults. Beyonce Knowles' Crazy in Love, White Flag and other smash hits have actually additionally shaken the songs enthusiasts all over the world.

Jennifer Lopez, Boy Zone, Spice Girls and other pop celebrities have offered wonderful home entertainment to people across the world. Shakira has actually specified a new pattern along with her individual design with the blockbuster like Hips Don't Lie and also Whenever, Wherever Pop Classic Music.

Hip hop located pop music video produced waves, with terrific favorites like Hot in Herre, Don't Phunk With my Heart, India Club and also Candy Shop. Latin Pop additionally ended up being considerably preferred with the remarkable hit By Enrique - Hero. The Ketchup Song was actually also a superior smash hit in 2002. Stand out popular music has enraptured people around the world. Everybody needs to pay attention to put popular music for terrific amusement and also revitalization

Popular Song is actually Flexible

Popular song, on the various other hand, has mostly entered into usage to illustrate popular music that grew away from the stone 'n roll circle of the mid-1950's as well as continues in a definite pathway to today. Pop music is certainly not generally composed, executed and also recorded as a symphony, rooms, or even concerto. Pop music gets something of a difficult time in today times.

Songs

Music is just one of the best essential experiences for human creatures. Artists are actually offended by this due to the fact that our company believe popular music ought to interact you. The meaning of popular song is purposefully pliable as the popular music that is identified as pop is actually continuously modifying. At any kind of particular point in time it might be actually easiest to identify popular song as that which is actually prosperous on the popular song graphes. For recent fifty years one of the most effective musical styles on the stand out charts have actually continually transformed and evolved. However, there are some constant trends in what is pinpointed as pop songs. This will include a very vast assortment of music from vaudeville and also minstrel reveals to metal. Popular song, on the various other hand, has mainly entered consumption to explain songs that advanced out of the rock 'n roll circle of the mid-1950's and proceeds in a definable road to today. This indicates the songs that markets the absolute most copies, pulls the most extensive gig audiences, as well as is actually played most commonly on the broadcast.

Jazz music

It's certainly not major or uncomplicated sufficient to become contacted jazz music. These often were actually by piano trios, playing sunlight classics as well as sterilized jazz music and also featuring headlines like, "Cocktail Time" and "Cocktails, Anyone. It originates from the Blues, in its own importance, and also has actually possessed even more poisonings with stand out popular music than Jazz. This type has come to be abundant of music subgenres: Soul, Funk or even fashionable pop (not to perplex along with the jazz music funk cultivated from Miles Davis in '60s as well as '70s), until getting there to Hip Hop, come from it. It conciliates stand out melodies along with jazz and also most of all with blues seems and rhythms. Dance rhythm as well as woes piano album "Modern jazz music dance "Piano Fender Rhodes improvs on rhythm and blues as well as dancing rhythms. His jazz improvisations carry you to the magic, spiritual as well as mystic feeling of popular music based upon Gurdjieff's training. It was actually certainly not awfully difficult to choose just how to separate jazz popular music coming from pop popular music. The suggestion is actually that you ought to review this publication to begin with, then the record of jazz popular music and also the history of rock songs. Latin popular music started operating its own method also as early as the Forties and also Fifties in jazz music.

The definition of stand out songs is actually purposefully adaptable as the popular music that is pinpointed as pop is actually regularly transforming. At any kind of certain moment it might be actually best to identify popular song as that which is prosperous on the pop popular music charts. Nevertheless, there are actually some steady patterns in what is actually pinpointed as stand out popular music. It is actually alluring to confuse pop popular music with well-known songs.

Free Classical Music

Symphonic music is certainly not as preferred as sunny popular music so its need is maybe not as high as its own source. There are actually many classic popular music enthusiasts, composers and also producers who supply free downloads of symphonic music from their internet sites. Thus there are actually a lot of type of free of charge symphonic music downloads readily available on web. You can easily download and install timeless opus created through fantastic performers like Pachelbel, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, and also Bach. The music might have been actually carried out on an assortment of musical equipments like piano, harp, flute as well as violin. You can likewise discover a lot of initial music authors of timeless instrumental items, like the Brobdignagian Bards, Ryan Farrish, Bassic, Paul Spaeth, and a variety of classical popular music groups.

The 1st step in obtaining complimentary symphonic music is actually to initial determine which category of classical songs as well as which composer's songs you desire to install. It is actually much better to prep a checklist of your favored popular music items as an alternative of creating random selections, which you might certainly not such as in the future and also which may have to be actually removed.

Having actually prepared the listing of the items of your choice, it is when you begin searching the Internet to install all of them that you discover that what you definitely like might not be easily offered on the Net.

If you are actually privileged adequate to discover some parts on call free of cost downloads, their audio high quality might certainly not be actually up to the mark. Several of these data might be copied and also or may also bring infections. These may destroy the smooth functioning of your personal computer. The free of cost provides are actually usually appealing, but the truth is that nothing truly happens free. Your free symphonic music downloads could come along with nasty advertising campaigns as well as pop flies or even other forcible downloads.

In scenery of the above simple facts it is wise to properly review the summary of the opus prior to you download it. Besides, there are certain specialized aspects that must be remembered among the songs download. You ought to if possible have the Windows Media Player of Version 7 or much higher to participate in the songs that you may possess installed. You might also have to be actually tied through a permit contract before you are actually permitted to download and install.

The Value Of Classical Music

Every modern opus whether it be rhythm and also woes to stand out, behind the verses as well as tunes may all may be outlined back to the Classics. Every item of songs currently has been actually deciphered as well as integrated with elegant tones. Without the great composers like Bach, Hayden, or Mozart many of today's popular music most likely would not exist.

The market value of Classical songs can certainly not be actually pressured sufficient. From a performer viewpoint, symphonic music is actually the personification of what entertainers make every effort for in their very own form of popular music analysis. From a target market point of point of view symphonic music stirs the imagination, ingenuity, feelings, as well as sensations that typically definitely would not develop at the same strength while paying attention to various other types of songs.

In learning symphonic music is actually a most useful resource. Recent researches have ended that really little ones that are offered to the standards early in life all accomplish a much higher amount of academics than those kids who weren't exposed to classical popular music while they were younger. Studies also have ended that those kids, adolescents, young people, and grownups who experience continuous exposure to the classics further increases those individuals excellence in institution and in life. However, regrettably though institution units through-out the country songs appreciation is the one course that always acquires removed.

Every youngster and youthful individual has to be actually given the possibility to come to be accustomed to the terrific composers from Bach, Mozart, to Beethoven in order that a recognition of classical songs will certainly become a timeless component of lifestyle's knowledge. Everyone has various likes, tastes, and also feelings which is actually all what makes our company an individual. Some people would certainly favor various kinds of popular music depending upon state of minds as well as life's occasions. Along with a very early intro as well as visibility to refined music a respect for all kinds of music as well as art will certainly establish now much more than if children and individuals were actually not left open to the standards whatsoever.

Just How Pop Music Originated

Stand out songs or mainstream popular music is a genre that has regularly been close to the center of songs caring reader. The style of songs that is actually considered stand out today is certainly not the exact same kind that was actually taken into consideration prominent a handful of many years earlier.

Music started from the style that our experts presently consider as classical popular music. At some time eventually after that, there was a sizable progression in the business of pop popular music. At some aspect the songs that was under the genre "stand out" are actually emotional ballads. This included scripture and also praise songs. Jazz music as well as nation tracks likewise ended up being well-liked and were actually considered mainstream. An additional kind was actually hip jump and was viewed as songs for the masses in addition to for teens as well as younger adults. Dance and electronic popular music also possessed their portion of popularity.

As songs may be considered as a thing that may assist sustain their very own field, they needed to link closer to the masses and the best individuals of the planet. This is exactly how pop songs happened into being actually. From the unsatisfactory masses, the mid lesson people and to cream of the crops, this sort of popular music ended up being fascinating to all of them. As there is actually terrific interest that is actually offered to it, popular song was capable to develop additional tasks for audio performers, authors, publishers and a whole lot extra.

The development of the microphone, the remodeling in its own style and also the ability of 45 revoltions per minute transformed the method music has been actually transferred by means of broadcasts as well as documents. And a handful of decades after, the television came to be one of the most popular technological innovation in relations to media. Certainly not only are the stand out artists heard, they are actually also observed on TELEVISION. Their abilities were needed to one more degree. After the television's creation, multi track documents and digital versions of music took the culture. This equalized the method individuals pay attention to songs and also the degree through which they may access it.

In the mid 20th century, music was actually mostly the field of American audio musicians. The two most popular musicians at that time were actually Michael Jackson and Madonna as well as were nicknamed as the King of Pop and also the Queen of Pop, specifically. There were actually additionally British performers or performers with British influences who made it popular songs scene.

In the future, various musicians coming from different regions on the planet developed and also were actually known globally. This is actually where stand out popular music started to generate a monoculture of varieties for everyone. Also, for each and every of these regions, there are particular effects that are actually taken into consideration pop. They might be various coming from one area to an additional but the all over the world patterns come together right into the same interpretation.

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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How TV Predicted Politics in the 2010s

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/how-tv-predicted-politics-in-the-2010s/

How TV Predicted Politics in the 2010s

And if “The West Wing” trio worked in Congressman Frank Underwood’s Washington, they might just get shoved in front of a moving Metro train. When Netflix premiered “House of Cards” in 2013, it seemed natural to juxtapose it with the brighter era of political TV that preceded it. If only we knew at the time that the show was preparing us for a decade of dark political TV to come—and reflecting an overall perception of Washington that would soon have an impact on therealWashington.

Of course, “Scandal” and “House of Cards” were just TV—few people on the government payroll, after all, could afford those wardrobes. But these shows’ portrayal of the creeping rot of Washington didn’t show up in a vacuum. Television can both set and reflect the mood of the nation, creating expectations about human behavior. After Barack Obama’s 2008 victory, many mused, in seriousness, about whether Dennis Haysbert’s acting turn as President David Palmer on “24” helped get voters used to the image of a black president. Something similar might be at work now. Today’s real-life sweeping nihilism about politicians’ motives, the widespread hatred of the “swamp,” the notion that the process is flawed and the rules of engagement themselves might not be worth following, was, if not created by television, then at least predicted by it.

To realize how dark TV’s take on Washington has been these past eight or 10 years, it’s worth thinking about how relatively sunny the view was just a decade earlier. The aughts were full of political shows whose central politicians were virtuous and well-meaning, engaged in public service for the right reasons. This wasn’t a just a liberal Hollywood thing; in ABC’s short-lived “Commander in Chief” (2005-06), Geena Davis, a vice president who ascended to the Oval Office when her boss died, was a political independent. Fox’s “24” (2001-10) didn’t take a progressive view of issues like torture—but when Kiefer Sutherland and his fellow counterterrorism agents played fast and loose with the Geneva Accords, they did so for the sake of virtuous presidents and the safety of the American people.

And nothing screamed “higher calling” more than “The West Wing,” which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006, tracking the righteous souls who worked for President Jed Bartlet. The soundtrack was stirring and majestic; the opening sequence was gauzy and triumphant; in most episodes, someone gave a speech about doing the right thing. When the actors showed up on the Democratic campaign trail—as they did en masse for Hillary Clinton in 2016—you sometimes got the sense that they actually believed they had been part of the government.

“The West Wing,” created by Aaron Sorkin, was a liberal wish-fulfillment fantasy, but it also mostly imbued Team Bartlet’s conservative antagonists with a certain kind of honor: They wanted power, but in service to their causes, and with ultimate respect for the system. (That point was underscored in a 2002 documentary-style “Special Episode” that featured gauzy interviews about the work of White House staffers, and included such Republicans as Marlin Fitzwater, Peggy Noonan and Karl Rove.) Even though the show premiered seven months after President Bill Clinton’s highly partisan impeachment trial, it was forever optimistic about the system—confident that a few good friends and well-placed Sorkin-penned speeches could fix whatever ailed democracy. If there was political analysis embedded in “The West Wing,” it was the notion that the system fell short when the players didn’t fight hard enough for what they believed in; when they were too willing to play the safe bet instead of taking a risk for the greater good.

Then came the end of Obama’s first term—a moment when, if you were a liberal with Sorkinesque optimism about “Yes We Can” slogans and transformative change, you might be coming to terms with the notion that politicians are imperfect, gridlock is pervasive and Mitch McConnell isn’t just going to step aside to make way for your higher cause, whether it’s universal health care or closing Guantanamo.

And a new era of political TV shows took that disillusionment one step further. Shows like “Veep” and “House of Cards” offered a new, darker theory: The system can never work if everybody in politics is terrible and venal and self-serving—and the very nature of Washington makes people terrible and venal and self-serving.

“Veep,” a kind of inverse of “The West Wing” that premiered in 2012, was a farce about ambitious politician Selina Meyer and her marginally competent, politically hungry staff. Here, majestic “West Wing”-style music is played in little jabs, like punchlines, between scenes where Meyer does her best to squeeze political capital from every situation. And her disdain for the actual public is glaringly obvious. (“I’ve met some people, some real people, and I’ve got to tell you, a lot of them are f—ing idiots,” she says in the first season.) Where the staffers in “The West Wing” were fast and loyal friends, Meyer’s staffers mock and undermine one another other without mercy. The closest thing Meyer has to a friend is the devoted body guy who brings her snacks on demand and whispers useful facts in her ear in public settings. In the series finale, she sets him up to take the fall for a political scandal—and watches FBI agents haul him away, out of the corner of her eye, as she delivers a nomination acceptance speech at the party convention.

“Veep” was created by a Scotsman, Armando Iannucci, a veteran of scathing British black comedies about the moral compromises of government. He held no special reverence for American institutions, and he was keenly aware of the comedic possibilities when teeming ambition crashed into powerlessness. Around the time of the series premiere, Iannucci told theLos Angeles Timesthat he was partly inspired by Lyndon B. Johnson, who spent his vice presidency “sort of sitting in his office waiting for a phone call.” (The running joke in the first season is that Selina keeps asking if the president called, and the answer is always “no.”) Like the best satire, the show has an undercurrent of sadness; Meyer is acutely aware of how much toil and personal sacrifice it has taken to obtain whatever capital she has, and how much the struggle has changed her as a person. The finale offers a brief, melancholy image of her sitting alone in the Oval Office, having sacrificed every relationship to reach her goal.

“House of Cards,” too, had roots across the pond; it was loosely based on a British political-thriller series from the 1990s. But where “Veep” spun nihilism into farce, “House of Cards” turned it into high melodrama. The credit sequence shows the monuments of Washington in ominous time-lapse photography, with dark clouds sweeping overhead and shadows climbing up the buildings. The central characters, politician Frank Underwood and his wife, Claire, are so deeply committed to Washington power that they’d do anything to get it—not just the garden-variety TV fare of murders, affairs and bribery, but some truly sinister bureaucratic moves. In the second season, in order to blackmail a pregnant former employee, Claire forges health insurance paperwork to deny her a drug that would aid blood flow to her placenta. “I’m willing to let your child wither and die inside you if that’s what’s required, but neither of us wants that,” she says, matter-of-factly.

The ruthlessness of politics was a running theme throughout the decade. Even soap-opera fantasies picked up on the idea of Washington as a force for ambition, evil and, really, not much else. “The Oval Office, in our show, was a place that corrupted anybody who came near it,” “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes told reporters before the series finale. “And the closer you came, the more corrupt it made you and the more damaged it made you.” This year, Netflix’s “The Politician,” a Ryan Murphy political allegory set at a California high school, mocked the poll-driven, values-free drive of a budding politician and his handlers.

The most powerful way that TV predicted politics in the 2010s, though, was in its prescription for a fix: the suggestion that what Washington really needs is an outsider to swoop in and shake things up (or drain the swamp, if you prefer). Mainstream networks in particular offered another archetype alongside these power-hungry nihilists: the accidental politician who reluctantly takes high office, then comes face-to-face with that broken system. These shows might have been more optimistic about human nature than “Scandal” or “Veep,” but in their own way, they were just as cynical about Washington.

In 2016, ABC launched “Designated Survivor,” a political thriller starring Kiefer Sutherland, best known as fearless agent Jack Bauer in “24.” Here, Sutherland plays Tom Kirkman, a mild-mannered career academic who serves as secretary of Housing and Urban Development—but is so bad at navigating Washington politics that one morning, he learns that president plans to fire him. He has one final duty: to be the Cabinet member taken to a secure location during the State of the Union address, just in case. As it so happens, that night, somebody blows up the Capitol.

Kirkman takes the Oath of Office with no trust, no mandate and no idea how to do the job, though viewers surely trust that his inner Kiefer Sutherland will come through. It does, in a mild-mannered way, as he fires subordinate generals, stumbles through international crises and finds it within himself, eventually, to deliver a stirring speech. (In the third season, he delivers his own State of the Union address, but goes off-script and caterwauls at Congress: “The system is broken and you people broke it!”) Through it all, Kirkman is fighting against a greater conspiracy: a network of corruption that wrongly believes he’d be an easy mark. As other characters handle the action-adventure work, Kirkman stands his ground; it’s his rare integrity, his un-Washingtonian Kiefer-ness, that holds the nation together.

CBS’ “Madam Secretary,” which premiered two years earlier, has a similar premise: Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst-turned-college professor, is tapped to become secretary of State after the current one dies in a plane crash. The president, a former CIA director, tells McCord he trusts her to think more expansively than most Washington lifers, and within reason, she complies, battling a White House chief of staff who would prefer she follow protocol more often. “This is me not being a politician,” she declares in one early episode, explaining an unconventional decision.

“Madam Secretary” is more like “The West Wing” in the sense that multiple characters have virtue. The president is a basically a good guy; the McCords’ marriage is a mutually supportive dream; the State Department staff is behind her. (So are some real-world political operatives: In one 2018 episode, former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell appear together, as themselves, to offer bland advice about pushing for national unity after a crisis.) Still, the show’s backdrop is a Washington that’s compromised and divided, full of conspiracies and unworthy opponents, from secretive bureaucrats to government moles and ambitious two-dimensional senators. At the end of the first season, one such senator discovers that McCord shared classified information with her husband Henry. Issued a subpoena to appear before the Senate committee, Henry declares his intention to obstruct justice. “This whole thing lacks integrity,” he tells Elizabeth. “I feel no ethical obligation to play by their rules.”

Ultimately, Elizabeth barges into the hearing, takes Henry’s place at the witness table and delivers an impassioned speech, saying she only broke the law because she cared about the country and didn’t know who else she could trust. (“Man, I have never heard a more eloquent defense for violating the Espionage Act,” another character says, in admiration.) She storms out of the hearing without being dismissed. Soon afterward, the president informs her that the Justice Department has decided to let it pass.

Of all of the political shenanigans on television this decade, that 2015 scene might have been the most telling, and the most predictive of the real-life politics that were to come, not long after the episode aired. “The West Wing” never argued that the rules of political engagement can and should be broken. But today, real-life Washington is full of disagreements, not just about facts and outcomes, but about the basic codes of conduct, the processes that everyone needs to follow, the obligation anyone has to play by anyone’s rules.

Again, it’s just TV. But academic treatises have been written about how TV crime shows can create a warped impression of the criminal justice system, giving jurors outsized expectations, for example, of the power of forensic evidence. A decade ago, on political TV, we had an openhearted baseline expectation about how the system works, why it fails and what kinds of behavior gets rewarded.

But in these 2010s shows, the characters learn that breaking the codes of conduct and propriety will wind up taking you far. Selina Meyer of “Veep” and both Underwoods of “House of Cards” all get to be president in the end. Elizabeth McCord, of “Madam Secretary,” eventually becomes president, too. But, you know, a good one. So long as you’re on her side.

#Foreign #Politics #Predicted

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listiqueblog · 6 years

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The Role of WordPress Ecommerce in the Coming Content and Commerce Era

In April 2018, Hearst bought a minority stake in Gear Patrol, an enthusiast men’s brand focused on products and stories about the outdoors.

Beyond Gear Patrol’s ability to drive millions in web traffic, they also sell a lot of product.

It is content and commerce at its finest.

A niche audience focused on high-quality gear presented around a story that makes you want that item even more.

It is what Lucky Magazine always strived to be. It is what The Glossy today does really, really well.

But those more household name brands aren’t the only ones out there using content to sell and scale.

In fact, more than 30% of the world’s websites use WordPress, both as a content and commerce hub.

That makes WordPress the most widely used website software in the world. And the success of many of the brands using WordPress has spawned an ecommerce business model and strategy: WordPress Ecommerce.

In this article, we’ll break down:

Exactly what a WordPress ecommerce strategy is, and why you should use it.

Examples of using a funnel from content to conversion via WordPress ecommerce.

The history of WordPress and fun facts you need to know if you’re looking to become an active member of the WordPress community.

A quick WordPress ecommerce FAQ.

Let’s dive in.

Why Use a WordPress Ecommerce Strategy

WordPress provides the foundation for more than 30% of the world’s websites – many of which sell goods alongside their storytelling.

This strategy is a hallmark of brands looking to:

Build community and customer lifetime value through their owned website rather than through a marketplace like Amazon.

Achieve organic search visibility and decrease paid PPC costs, subsequently increased ROAS or testing new keyword waters with the saved money.

Nurture customers through a longer buying cycle. Think more expensive products, B2B, etc.

Deploy a headless commerce model, the newest and increasingly most successful. model to becoming truly omnichannel without the headaches of the buzzword.

Outside of the B2B scope, the main purpose of this strategy is to build a brand with high customer lifetime value, i.e. a fantastic customer experience from awareness through retention.

And to do that:

You’ll need content – a lot of it.

Your SEO will need to be top notch.

Your site will need to load quickly (no lag time, despite the amount of content or images hosted, catalog size, etc.).

Your data orchestration (depending on business size) will need to be humming along perfectly.

And you’ll need a whole lot more than just a checkout experience.

You’ll need a full funnel customer experience.

You’ll need to offer education and solve potential new customers’ niche problems.

You’ll need to inspire, and build a community around trust and common interest.

You’ll need to get that community to come back to you, time and time again, to learn, to engage and to buy.

This is the strategy for moving beyond a transactional business model, which has high advertising costs and low lifetime value, into a customer-centric model, which has decreasing advertising costs and high lifetime value.

In fact, ecommerce brands that build loyalty via lifestyle content and community building are some of the most successful out there.

Want more insights like this?

We’re on a mission to provide businesses like yours marketing and sales tips, tricks and industry leading knowledge to build the next house-hold name brand. Don’t miss a post. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

The Customer Value Sales Funnel

Using content and commerce is a full-funnel approach to scaling your business. It is often referred to as the customer value sales funnel.

You don’t need WordPress ecommerce in order to build a customer value sales funnel.

However, given WordPress’s ubiquity and familiarity across a variety of disciplines, it is often the choice presentation layer.

Let’s look at a few examples of the customer value sales funnel.

1. Top of funnel.

Educate and entertain new audiences.

Actually, help folks solve niche problems.

2. Mid-funnel.

Win trust with an unparalleled site experience that engages those folks landing on your pages – and piques their interest to explore more.

3. Bottom-of-funnel.

Convert to sale and build a post-sale funnel experience, i.e. give your new customer gratification.

What many of these brands have in common beyond a content and commerce strategy is that they are using a combination of WordPress with BigCommerce.

But how did WordPress become a defacto choice for this business model?

To answer that question, I chatted with BigCommerce’s in-house WordPress expert and advocate, Topher DeRosia.

Turns out, the history of how WordPress came to dominate the commerce industry is just as fascinating as where that industry is heading today.

Here is everything Topher wants you to know about WordPress, WordPress ecommerce and more before diving in.

Meet Topher DeRosia

From here on out, this is Topher’s take on the state of the WordPress ecommerce industry and what is coming next.

You can read Topher’s years of musing about WordPress here, follow him on Twitter, or connect with on LinkedIn.

WordPress, WooCommerce, Automattic; Who’s on Third?

It is extremely common for people to confuse the ownership of various, common WordPress entities.

Let’s begin by talking about a license.

WordPress is a piece of software. It’s not a company, or an organization. It is just a piece of software, like Microsoft Office.

The license for WordPress is the General Public License (GPL), and it says 2 important things.

Anyone who wants to may take the software and do anything they want with it, no restrictions. This means that YOU, dear reader, could download WordPress, search and replace “WordPress” to “BigCommercePress”, and open a storefront selling it. Perfectly legal.

If you make changes and release them, those changes must ALSO be under the same license. So if you DID do that with WordPress, someone else could take YOUR work, and do the same. This also means that the BigCommerce WordPress plugin we’ve been working on is totally free to anyone who wants it, and they could take it and change it and resell it.

This is what Free Software means.

You can sell Free Software, because it’s not “free” in the sense of free beer, it’s Free in the same sense that Speech is free.

“Free as in Speech, not as in beer” is a common phrase.

One more important note: Open Source is NOT the same as Free Software.

You can have Open Source where anyone can see that source, but they’re not free to take and change it.

So, who owns WordPress?

At the same time, everyone, and no one.

YOU own WordPress as much as I do, and as much as anyone else does.

So, when someone says “Automattic owns WordPress” it comes across as not really understanding how the entire ecosystem works.

But just because the software is Free, the name is not. Nor is the logo.

It is all copyrighted, and you must get permission before using either in most cases.

For example, you may not include the word “WordPress” in ANY web address and https://ift.tt/2MkMaIQ would get you a call from a lawyer quite quickly.

OK, finally, who owns WordPress.org?

Not Automattic, but Matt Mullenweg personally, one of the two co-founders of WordPress.

What does Automattic own, then?

Automattic built a large server farm and installed WordPress on it.

Then, they allowed people to login and create free blog accounts.

Then they started charging for add-ons, like custom domain names, better themes, better plugins etc.

It’s called WordPress.com, and it’s the most visible product they have.

Because their main product is called “WordPress.com” people naturally assume they own “WordPress.” And they don’t try very hard to change that perception.

Who owns WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is also under the GPL, which means Automattic does NOT own it.

Everyone and no one owns it.

So, we could take it and make BigWooPress and it would be totally legal.

Automattic DOES, however, own all of the branding for WooCommerce.

They do own name, the logo, etc, and they defend that vigorously.

Let’s talk about Spelling

Automattic

Have you ever noticed there are three T’s in Automattic?

That’s in honor of Matt Mullenweg. He didn’t choose it, his friends that he started the company with did it.

WordPress

WordPress is camelcase, just like BigCommerce. One word, two capital letters.

This is important.

WordPress (with a lower case ‘P’) immediately marks you as an outsider who Doesn’t Understand.

Fun story, in the early days of WordPress it really annoyed Matt when people wrote WordPress, so he built into the WordPress software a function called captial_P_dangit() that went through your entire site and capitalized all the P’s in WordPress.

The problem was, he did it at night while he was tired and angry and pushed it out without any testing and it broke every WordPress site in the world. Oops.

Interestingly, they couldn’t remove it, something depended on it, so they simply made it do nothing, and capital_P_dangit() is now forever a part of WordPress.

.com and .org

WordPress.org is a site where you can go download the WordPress software, themes, and plugins, and get some community based support. It’s owned personally by Matt Mullenweg.

WordPress.com is a site where you can go and sign up for a free, hosted blog, and optionally pay for some added features. It’s owned by the company of Automattic.

Leading Global Brands are Choosing Open SaaS

Make your retail site more flexible and innovative while also saving time, money, and launching your site faster.

Download this guide to learn how top brands tackle:

Direct-to-Consumer & B2C Implementations

Headless Commerce (API-First) Initiatives

And more.

Download Your Guide

WordPress Ecommerce: The Past & The Current State

BCCT (Before Custom Content Types)

Before 2010, ecommerce in WordPress wasn’t really viable.

Most people who tried it tied it tightly to the Theme, which then meant that the site owner could never change themes if they wanted to keep their products.

Integration with payment gateways was almost non-existent, with most people relying on Pay Now buttons from Paypal.

One notable exception was a plugin call WP-eCommerce. That plugin still exists.

2010: ACCT (After Custom Content Types)

With version 3.0, Custom Content Types came into being.

Here are some quick examples to explain what they are.

BCCT, there were two types, Posts and Pages.

Their metadata was things like date published, author, etc. Typical blog data.

ACCT, we were allowed to create any types we wanted.

A Staff custom content type would have meta like phone number, email address, title, etc.

A Vehicle content type might have meta data for year, make, and model.

People very quickly realized the possibilities of a Product content type with metadata like price, size, weight, etc.

WP-eCommerce is the only plugin that converted as opposed to simply giving up and going away.

Throughout 2010 and into 2011, a wide variety of people and companies tried their hand at ecommerce in WordPress, and none were great.

One that seemed to be moving toward the top was called Jigoshop.

2011: WooCommerce is Born

In 2011, WooThemes tried to buy Jigoshop.

Jigoshop rebuffed them, and so WooThemes leveraged their right under the General Public License to fork the Jigoshop codebase, and hired away two of the project’s lead developers.

This was the first time in the history of WordPress that one company had publicly taken another company’s entire codebase and started over with it.

WooCommerce was born and opinions abounded.

Many people were upset at the “code theft” but no one disputed that it was good to have a company finally stand up behind WordPress ecommerce and put time and money into it.

2015: About Easy Digital Downloads

In April of 2015, a freelancer named Pippin Williamson released Easy Digital Downloads, an ecommerce plugin for selling non-physical things.

He wanted to sell his own plugins and didn’t like any of the current offerings in WordPress.

Since then, it has grown to over a million dollars in sales per year with more than 10 people on the EDD team.

It is the absolute best at what it’s designed for, and doesn’t work at all for things it wasn’t designed for.

2016: The Big Mistake Is Realized

Before WordPress 3.0 in 2010, it was fairly common for plugins to make custom database tables in MySQL.

For the most part this was fine, but lead to occasional compatibility problems.

With 3.0 and the new custom content type flexibility, the prevailing philosophy was that everything should fit inside the custom content type paradigm.

WP-eCommerce spent an enormous amount of time, money, and energy converting their plugin to use custom content types.

And it wasn’t only ecommerce plugins.

BuddyPress, a very large community plugin, did the same thing.

WooCommerce and EDD were both born during this age, and both built their entire Product structure around WordPress’ concept of Post Data and Meta Data.

The problem with this is that that structure is very, very slow to search across meta.

This doesn’t only apply to people searching for things, but WordPress pulling together all the parts of a product, as well.

This is one of the fundamental reasons that WooCommerce has performance issues today.

EDD began converting back to custom tables in 2016 and has largely completed that journey.

WooCommerce, because of its large customer base, hasn’t been able to move as quickly.

2016: Automattic Buys WooThemes

In 2016, Automattic purchased the company named WooThemes to gain access to everything related to WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is Free Software of course, but Automattic immediately acquired all of the WooCommerce developers, support staff, marketing team, and all of the intellectual property related to WooCommerce.

2017: Merging WooCommerce and Jetpack

Automattic has a plugin call Jetpack that allows people to leverage the power of the WordPress.com server for a wide variety of tasks.

For example, if you use their image service, when you upload a huge image, it goes to their servers for processing, and is then served from there as a CDN. The local server takes no processing hit.

Another example is Akismet which is an anti-spam service that is built into Jetpack as well. All email processing is done on the WordPress.com servers.

Automattic has been moving more and more WooCommerce functionality into Jetpack.

As of July 2018, their shipping, taxes, and Stripe functionalities are all built into Jetpack.

There are many more things that could take advantage of this remote server approach, including stats processing, which is one of the greatest pain points of WooCommerce.

Headless Ecommerce as an API-Driven Alternative

Running ecommerce services over an API solves many of the problems of any locally stored WordPress ecommerce plugin.

There are two commonly held WordPress beliefs and mantras that will come up through this model, however.

The “Own Your Content” Philosophy

The Community and the active, always-on resource

Own Your Content

Medium is one of the largest competitors to WordPress in the writing space, but Medium lays claim to many rights over what you’ve written.

Every time they squeeze a little more, the WordPress community shouts “Own Your Content!,” which is to say, don’t place your material in the hands of a third party which could hurt you someday.

Using a SaaS platform like BigCommerce can spark similar fears.

What if we turn evil? What if we get bought by Adobe (as has happened with ecommerce software before)?

The solution to this is making a system for leaving BigCommerce easy – i.e. You own your data.

There is precedent for this: Facebook and Twitter both faced this problem, and both ended up creating a way for people to download their entire social history in one button click, and then erasing that history from their servers in another button click.

People own their own data.

BigCommerce already provides a method of exporting everything – allowing you to take all of your data elsewhere.

Community Participation

The WordPress community is socially very close and strongly influenced by the Free Software philosophy.

This means there’s a great deal of transparency and accessibility.

Almost always the developer of a given plugin is available to chat on slack.

Yoast SEO is one of the most popular plugins in the WordPress community, and the entire C-level staff is on WordPress Slack just about every day.

Pippin Williamson of Easy Digital Downloads publishes a Year In Review each year, where he not only talks about his personal life, but publishes detailed sales data from all of the plugins his company sells.

This is a great help to other plugin developers who need help with business vision.

Over here at BigCommerce, I’ve been hired as that face and contact point for the community.

Expect much more to come from here. And come chat with me at WordCamps!

The Future

While I see API-driven ecommerce as the future of ecommerce in WordPress, I don’t see the alternative ever completely going away.

There will always be tinfoil hat wearers who won’t trust what’s at the other end of the API.

There will always people who’ve invested too much to switch.

And that’s completely OK.

BigCommerce is new to this space.

I know that simply showing up as an API-driven ecommerce plugin is great, but that alone won’t keep us great.

We’ll need to continue to iterate, and provide the same great support that we provide now.

And that is 100% on our roadmap for years to come.

Want more insights like this?

The Role of WordPress Ecommerce in the Coming Content and Commerce Era published first on https://goshopmalaysia.tumblr.com

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