#also i did a little dave redesign

[chrisrin]

some more gemstuck designs!

[nanowrimo]

A Fond Farewell to NaNoWriMo Technical Director Dave Beck

We’ve got some truly bittersweet news: after almost 10 years as NaNoWriMo’s Technical Director, Dave Beck is moving on. Dave joined NaNoWriMo in 2014 and since then has overseen all things site and tech-related for NaNoWriMo and Young Writers Program. In addition to his considerable technical skills, Dave is a true Renaissance man with a remarkable range of skills, interests, and hobbies. Thanks to Dave and our other long-time Software Developer, Jezra Lickter, both our websites are currently in very stable places for this transition. 

Before we say goodbye, Dave shares some thoughts about his time at NaNo:

Q: What are some of your proudest achievements at NaNoWriMo?

I’d say it’s the redevelopment of the Young Writers Program website, which started in 2015. The first version of the website didn’t have many participants. I worked with Marya and Chris [Angotti] for the redesign. However, the biggest risk was creating a writing space for the kids. This feature did not exist before, so we built it from scratch. When we first launched it, 40% of the kids were writing on the site. The number is still going up. It’s 84% at the moment. I didn’t expect it to be this successful. Last time I looked, 20 billion words were written! The second achievement: we haven’t lost a single word ever since the writing space was created. It was very important to me that we did not lose any of the kids’ novels. 

In general, the YWP site was the most fun.

Q: What are some of your fondest NaNoWriMo memories?

The design is the best part. Not the coding itself, but deciding what things we should do and how to get there. When you figure out a design and then develop it, it’s very satisfying when it works well.

It’s also fun being able to creatively collaborate with people, especially with the YWP. I’ll miss Marya and Jezra a great deal, it was very productive.

Q: Tell us about one of your NaNoWriMo novels.

I’ve never won NaNoWriMo! Not even close to it. The closest I’ve gotten is 5k. It was a nonfiction book about ADHD. The funny thing is, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer. But I didn’t want to write books! I just wanted to be F. Scott Fitzgerald and go to cocktail parties. I do NaNo every year though. It helps me understand the website and see if everything is working as it should be. So instead of writing, I see the problems and go and fix them.

Q: Fun fact about you that people might not know?

I’m a veteran career changer. I’m leaving programming and coding to become a winemaker. Before this, I was an attorney. I’m still a member of the California Bar actually. I was also a reporter for the LA Press, a fancy sous chef in Boston, and an exhibit designer at the San Francisco science museum.

If you can’t tell, I have ADHD. I liked this job the most since it’s so complicated being a full stack developer. It works well with ADHD because I’m constantly switching what I’m doing.

Q: Are coding and noveling at all the same?? Inquiring minds want to know.

A little bit? There is an element to understanding narrative within a code. You want to understand the order and how the code does certain things. It’s kind of like plotting a novel.

Designing code is also a creative process. But the coding itself shouldn’t be, which is the biggest difference. Coding is standardized so it won’t cause problems, especially when multiple people are working on the code.

With novel writing, you can do whatever you want. You can even break rules to prove a point. You don’t want to do that with coding or you break the whole thing!

Q: What will you miss/not miss the most at NaNo?

I’ll miss the creative relationships I had with Marya and Jezra. It’s interesting and fun work. NaNoWriMo also had a lot of creative lunches before COVID. Once, we all created our own cocktails!

I won’t miss how sometimes, it feels like I’m reinventing the same wheel over and over. For example, we’re trying to refine the system that makes challenges for existing novels. It’s still not completely working right in the way we want it to be, so we end up spending a lot of time on it. It’s like Sisyphus. You think you’ve finally completed something and then we’re back at the bottom of the hill.

Q: Any advice for a developer working at NaNoWriMo, or any aspiring tech developers?

Learn all seven parts of full stack developing as fast as possible. You will need it. Rely heavily on Jezra too. He knows a lot.

For aspiring tech developers, you should only spend 10% of your time actually coding. The other 90% of your time should be spent planning, scoping, and user testing. One of my issues is jumping into a code without a plan, which leads into problems I could have avoided. You should plan for things ahead of time. It’s like scoping your whole novel before writing words down. I’m a pantser coder which isn’t necessarily the best thing.

Q: Since you’re so fond of the YWP site, how about advice for any young writers?

Think for yourselves and write what you want to write. If it’s what you’re interested in, you’ll have fun.

Interested in learning more about open positions at NaNoWriMo? Sign up here to be notified of job postings. Just as we celebrate the diversity of our creative community, we want our staff to reflect that same spirit of inclusion, and we will encourage candidates of all races, genders, cultures, class and educational backgrounds, abilities, and orientations to apply.

[huntersapprentice]

GROWLS

hi, so uhm, yeah, here’s the VeggieTales episode tier list I said I would do

putting my thoughts under the read more if y’all wanna read that

So like I did with my Silly Song tier list, I’m going to go in order of bottom to top. I’ll try to be a little more organized about it this time.

Yellow-green is, as the image says, just episodes I haven’t seen in full or at all. I will say though, I want to see The League of Incredible Vegetables really badly. Also Celery Night Fever. I’ve heard that episodes pretty good.

NOW! Let’s go on to what I have seen.

YELLOW:

So these are the episodes that I went like “Oh these were okay... whatever” and then barely ever touched them again. Yes, the second movie’s on there, and I saw it once. It was alright, I liked bits of it, but it didn't stick with me enough. That’s also how I feel about Merry Larry a bit. I gladly took the Bob and Mr. Lunt dynamic in this episode, but I wouldn’t go back and see the entire thing again just for it.

With Moe and the Big Exit, it was just kinda iffy to me. Fine on first watch, but I don’t entirely feel like revisiting it again. Duke and the Great Pie War just didn’t grip me all that much, but the part where Otis gets shot from a slingshot was really funny.

Fennel Frontier and Big River Rescue I did watch more than once, but then not much. Mr. Spork(Bob’s character in Fennel Frontier) gulping down an entire half of a sandwich like it was nothing was kinda the highlight for me. I think out of the rest of the group, I revisit Gideon: Tuba Warrior a bit more, but not by all that much.

YELLOW ORANGE:

OKAY, the more or less general enjoyment category! Some of them I don’t revisit all that often, but I like them more and am more willing to go back and watch them again. So I only just watched It’s a Meaning Life, and this was only a day after watching the original It’s a Wonderful Life, so maybe I’m biased in the way that this episode was an immediate pallet cleanser from that. It was a pretty cute episode, plus it introduced sexyman Larry.

I haven’t revisited the End of Silliness? as a full, but everything about the ending scene just stuck with me since the first time I saw it. I liked Penniless Princess a bit more than I expected to, which was also the same deal with Pistachio; which I extra appreciate for having Bob go from not really understanding the Countertop redesign until he sees Qwerty and starts crying. I felt that.

Sheerluck Holmes was fun, especially the “Call On Us“ reprise. I love that part. Dave and the Giant Pickle I don’t revisit often, but again, a single musical number in it is what grips me the most in it: I really fucking love “Big Things, Too.“ The Little House That Stood honestly got this placement just because of Good Egg of Gooseville. (assuming that’s what the segment’s called) Whole episode is alright, but Bob is Humpty Dumpty, who’s literally cracking from work stress. Plus, he and Junior(as Baby Bear) hug near the end of the segment and it’s really sweet. Also, it reminded me of the Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater episode of Mother Goose, so that’s really cool.

I like Josh and the Big Wall. It’s really cool, but I don’t watch it often. It’s a very once-in-a-while episode that I’d need to have some overwhelming reason to watch. I’m not super attached to Lyle the Kindly Viking, but I like it. It’s cute to watch Archibald try real hard to make a fancy and sophisticated episode. They do both a Hamlet spoof about the last eggs in the kingdom and a story about vikings in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan. It’s just a fun episode.

Speaking of fun, here’s a fun fact: Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie was the first home media thing I owned of VT. I saw it in bits before on youtube, but yeah. Jonah’s cool. I like that the ending of the movie itself is just the gang going “The main character didn’t learn anything! What kinda story is that?“ and then Mr. Lunt has to go and tell them “The point is that you learned from the fact that he didn’t learn, dumbass. Learn media literacy“ and then they have one last big musical number for the fuck of it. Oh yeah, and there’s also a celebrity guest song for the credits which oddly enough gives me a lot of nostalgia for the credits of the first Spongebob movie. Actually this whole movie always kinda reminds me of Spongebob Squarepants Movie for really no reason other than there’s nonhumans going somewhere at the behest of a higher figure and there’s the ocean at some point. They’re both the first movies of their respective series. Oh yeah, and the characters being snagged away and almost getting killed once they get to said destination. Cool stuff.

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple has the Bad Apple. Oh yeah, Bob also stomps on the ground in a fit of annoyance and then stands there in shame for the next minute while Larry and Archibald talk about the lesson, which has to be up there in the top most huntercore things he’s ever done. I enjoy watching Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen from time to time. It’s definitely different from the usual VT style, aside from this episode being the first time that a unique character was created to be main character for the episode (out of Penniless Princess, Saint Nick, and Beauty and the Beet, as some examples). I think it’s a nice change of tone, especially since The Rumor Weed was kind of the same way.

The Toy that Saved Christmas is also another once in a while watch. Mr. Nezzer is up to some business schemes again by basically selling weaponry to children. A toy with a buzz-saw. I’m assuming it’s meant to be commentary on the thing of “violent toys” being sold to children, but in a vacuum, it’s funny that Mr. Nezzer’s just selling buzz-saws in dolls just to make the toy look cool and no one calls him out on this aspect at all. “I can excuse a safety hazard, but I draw the line at promoting rampant consumerism”. This episode is also just fun, especially seeing it tailored with the VT Christmas Spectacular bit. Mr. Nezzer also tries to kill Bob, Junior, and Larry indirectly again for being meddling kids.

Finally, here’s Where’s God When I’m Scared, first episode of the show. It’s good. I’m partial to “Tales of the Crisper,“ but I also enjoy the Daniel retelling. Favorite thing in it though has to be the “God is Bigger than the Bogeyman“ number, if mainly for the first half of the first half of the song. Yes, mainly because of Bob. Small factoid, because my first proper exposure to this series was through “x being that and so for y minutes” compilations on youtube, the “what are you gonna do?“ clip has been burned into my subconscious, so I’m a bit more attached to the number because of that.

ORANGE:

King George and the Ducky is good. Being the episode after the Rumor Weed and Esther, it’s back to the good ol’ countertop in this one. So Larry’s the king, The World is His, and he really wants a kid’s rubber duck. To get it from him, he sends him to the Pie War, hoping it maybe gets rid of him so that he can have the duck to himself. Oh yeah, Jimmy and Jerry are hosts... for like eight minutes before Bob tells them off for being bad at it. This and Madame Blueberry are episodes I’ll just put on casually to have in the background.

Madame Blueberry is also pretty good for being in my radius of “episodes I’m a little more partial to". I did go and seek out Madame Bovary at my college’s library because of it, just to see how much (aside from time setting) they changed from the book. The answer is a lot. So yeah, it’s a good episode to just lounge through. Now for A Snoodle’s Tale. So this the first episode animated by a different animation group. Having thought on it for a bit now, I think DKP’s model style for VeggieTales is just really cute, especially B-- Also, I just love the Snoodle creatures.

The Ballad of Little Joe has the jailhouse reprise of “Oh Little Joe“ and “Belly Button“, so that automatically puts it high on the tier list. And the countertop banter. Always love the countertop banter. Larry’s “a WESTERN, BAHB“ and Bob’s “yahoo“ have to be up there on a list of favorite things the VT characters have ever uttered. LARRYBOY AND THE RUMOR WEED is really great and cool. “I’m the Rumor Weed“ is one of my favorite songs from the series. I don’t watch it often, but when I do, I remember that they literally let Larry get the shit beaten out of him. OH I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION THIS. Larry being so legitimately relieved to see that he didn’t die from plummeting into the ground, and fucking Alfred just goes “Yes, isn’t it lovely? :3“ Also on the top tier for one of my favorite interactions in this show.

Finally, it’s Are You My Neighbor? time. So I’m kinda in a similar place with this one like I am with Where’s God When I’m Scared, as in I’m way more partial to the original story content than I am in the bible retelling bit. I do like the parable bit, but I just like the story of Junior getting whisked away by two spacemen (Bob and Larry) so he can help them save an entire ship of people from a meteor made of popcorn a lot more. So this is Jimmy and Jerry’s introduction episode, and in the end, they end up saving the day because Junior figures their hungry asses could probably eat the incoming meteor. They did. They dance and have a musical number, and that’s how Junior learns that you shouldn’t be dismissive of someone just because they’re different than you. The set-up of the episode was that Junior didn’t feel like inviting a kid to his birthday party. Just thought I should mention that.

RED:

LET’S GO, RED ZONE!

So starting off the “episodes that drive Hunter nuts” category, here’s God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! I know people rag on this episode for... everything about the visuals, but being entirely honest; the weird animation is kinda why I like this episode so much. Aside from that, this episode is just so different from the entire catalogue in a way I can’t really put my finger on. This episode doesn’t even have a Silly Song in it. Not even as a creative choice like how the LarryBoy episodes don’t have them(aside from League of Incredible Vegetables), but because the creators didn’t think anyone actually expected more after the first one. So the feeling could be chalked up to “duh, this is the second episode after all, so they were kinda experimenting with this one.“

There are so many face close-ups in this one, and I mean A LOT. Pa gets up in the audience’s face twice while addressing an entirely different person... for dramatic effect I guess. Bob gets up in the audience’s to ask a fucking math question. Junior’s dad has one. Junior has three close-up shots; again, dramatic effect I think. Scallion 1 has one during his attempt to scam people. In the Gilligan’s Island spoof, Bob and Larry get one as they scream in terror because their boat is about to crash into a fucking rock. Bob then has another on for dramatic effect. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the first story is based on The Grapes of Wrath, by which I mean only based on the title, because I’m pretty sure the book isn’t about two old people and their two kids bullying a random five year old for no reason other than they don’t know its a bad thing to do that until said five year old’s dad intervenes and tells them to stop.

Then there’s the Gilligan’s Island spoof where Larry accidentally crashes the boat that he and Bob were just navigating out to who knows where with Archibald, Lovey(Archibald’s wife), and Junior’s dad. He daydreams about saving whales, but then the boat crashes into the rock, and everyone’s mad at Larry for it. Bob tells him off in the moment while they’re in their hammocks. Larry takes this as Bob and the others not liking him anymore and that they’d be better off without him, so he flees during the night. The day after, everyone else realizes that they shouldn’t have reacted that way to Larry and then seek him out to apologize to him. They do that and then they reconcile. A palm tree comes out and sings about forgiveness. Junior’s dad comes out with an entire helicopter made of bamboo, and the gang all make it back home. Long story short, I think God Wants Me to Forgive Them is pretty cool.

I’ll try to be a little more concise with this next one, but I’m not making any promises when I get to The Star of Christmas. I really like Larryboy and the Fib from Outer Space. The first LarryBoy episode and it’s about Junior lying about breaking his dad’s plate because a little alien freak creature encouraged him to. Larry almost gets eaten in this one, by the alien freak creature, who grew really big because of Junior’s fibbing. The scene where Alfred is trying to solve who can stop is also another scene that’s been etched into my mind.

*cracks my knuckles*

Okay, it’s British time. So starting off with An Easter Carol; It’s an alright episode, plot-wise. It’s a Christmas Carol, but about Easter, and the main conflict centers around our Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Mr. Nezzer, who wants to build an Easter theme park over the local church because he wants to appease his grandma’s wish about the true meaning of Easter. It also has a heist B-plot where the two motherfuckers from the prior installment of this British AU try to steal the plans for the theme park so that Ebenezer doesn’t tear down the church. There’s a super long monologue song about his plans, a super short one about his grandma(as a vision) chewing him out for completely misunderstanding what she meant, then another normal-sized one where an angel sings about Jesus and his resurrection. There’s also a big explosion climax near the end. It rains plastic eggs from said explosion.

I think this sits in the same camp as GWMTFT where I don’t really mind the story much as I’m just paying attention to literally everything else. Oh yeah, this was the last episode done in-house by Big Idea’s animation department. I know what you might be asking: if I’m not that into the story, why is it ranked so high? BECAUSE ITS LIKE GWMTFT IN THE WAY THAT EVERYTHING ELSE IS CHAOS. Animation-wise and visually, this episode looks really good, but I love the expression work in this episode. I love that the heist subplot is even a thing because it’s probably the most seemingly unnecessary thing to have added to this Easter version of A Christmas Carol, except its not (to me). There’s no reason there needed to be a factory explosion, except to add salt on the wound to the consequences of Ebenezer’s actions, I suppose. But I’m so glad the factory explosion exists anyway. Also I just really love the semi-song the grandma does to chew out Ebenezer. I really enjoy high energy music. Also Cavis(Bob) says “y...your eggs“ as it’s raining eggs and it’s inexplicably the funniest thing in the movie to me. Love this episode.

But there’s one I love more.

THAT’S RIGHT FUCKERS, STAR OF CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!!!! So I don’t know how obvious it is that Cavis Appythart is my favorite character Bob has done ever. He literally steals from an artifact from the local church and tries to lie to the face of his show partner that its not stealing. Then he’s accidentally complicit in burning down the theatre that Ebenezer Nezzer let him and Millward(Larry) use to put on the Mario play. Oh yeah, this is meant to be a Gilbert and Sullivan spoof too. So Cavis really really wants to make a play that will “teach London to love” because the city is a mess. Millward just goes along with it because yeah. Pa’s character, Seymour, is contracted to just stick light-bulbs all over the place. He also has a sick rocket car. I should mention that the general British AU story is set in the late 19th century. Cavis tries to get the Prince of England to come to the show but he doesn’t want to after learning that the church is presenting an artifact he’s really interested in, which was kind Cavis’s fault for revealing to Archibald’s character, a journalist. So then after getting refused, he gets the bright idea to go steal the artifact to put it in his show. This leads to wacky hijinks, arson, and then Cavis and Millward are arrested.

They meet an old guy in jail who chews Cavis out for trying to spectacle London into not being so mean anymore. Through this, he ends up realizing that love is about what you do for others and so on. The the two are then let out by the Reverend and his son, but they sacrificed the Christmas pageant in order to do it because... they walked the whole way over. All is not lost though, because Seymour shows up in his sick car and then lends it to Millward so they get rocketed all the way to the church. They do the pageant and everything’s la-di-da from there, except for Ebenezer finding out about the church and making Millward and Cavis work in the egg factory to pay off the debt (SET UP!!!). Anyhways, they thought the stole the star artifact at first, but it turns out they stole an entirely different thing, so now everything’s la-di-da. But then Cavis remembers the guy in jail who set him straight, and decides to go give him some cookies and a hot liquid I couldn’t identify. The episode then ends. So yeah, there’s a reason why I call this the sister episode to King George and the Ducky. Guys who acted selfishly in some way or another get told off by an old man for what they did, and then commit an act of giving to make up to it to the person they wronged. It’s Bob and Larry’s trans wrongs episodes, if I may put it that way. The trans part has nothing to do with anything, I just like putting it that way.

So my Bob bias plays big part in why I’m so attached to this episode. I think he should get to be a piece of shit at the risk of falling hard on his face due to his own folly more often, which I guess happens in the VTShow more often but whatever. Also, I love the background music of this episode and I wish that there was a way I could just have it on its own. The only place it really plays is in the credits and the menu screens. The background music in VT in general is so good sometimes. Uhm. Yeah. Cavis Appythart babygirl moments. I like this episode.

WOOW. That’s the end of it. Congrats for making it down here! Here’s a cookie 🍪 And thanks for reading this

[the-firebird69]

It's not going to look exactly like this, but this is the idea, and very similar On the front end, the windshield, the way the window goes, is almost. the same because it'd be a force heater and Dave had to try and wrestle with it, and he did not succeed. This is a nice way to do it. There's a few ways to do it. in the rear end and design on the side is close.

This is the idea for the roadster And you can't bring the front down too much and it looks pretty good. And it looks like the GT one, and it kind of does, because you did that It's not a bad idea, but it's a way to kind of not make it work. But they tried to do it this way to make it work on purpose It's halfway decent. The wheel wells are not quite right. They're close There's some accents that are kind of odd The way that the rear works is a little bit different. Not bad. It's close. We're gonna make modifications to ours and there's and it will be known as the Zephyr Roadster. And it's a startup. Well, you have people. down in the line. who? What's time to adore this year You're having a story where we have. it's done because it's significant. I'm going to work for that. I'd be okay. It's a funny accent. Supercross is kind of at the supercard. Look. in a sense, is you have to start with a basic book. design. It's the outline of the car. It's a sign view and What you can do? stop? but it isn't possible. Let me take this side to you. GT one. because that's close. And do you do any of the big house? But lately you take a look at the out of the finals. back. That's what it passed. But you know, I don't smarter you have less news existence. and the whole comes it and kind of keeps it going straight High speeds move through high speeds. How to get so deep. there may be a stall out. Good luck. She's saying we don't have time to answer. question. you need it. Try it. We can't go to expensive **** We're supposed to go to church. And they always stop it. It says through this is been proper cause the least often that is trying to switch fears. Make it more cost effective

There's a couple of facts that make this look kind of cheesy and really cheesy. The break up, the interior, the wheel wells. They put on a regular sedan, and it's an older style edging on it. It looks terrible. That makes. it makes it look horrible. And the thing on the bottom makes it look horrible. It looks stupid. It really. does. The back end looks O K pretty The back end looks OK pretty good. and actually kinda hot. when it's in combination. There's a couple things that would make it look a lot better if you made the arch the same color as the car. And you would also want to make the rear louvered even if it's not rear engine or mid engine at this time. And you don't. wanna make it look like the miata. It's at the wrong angle. That would make it look massively hot and the rear end needs to be a little bit less bulbous. And people start doing that with those and they said you're not. So it looks terrible and it really does. They didn't Asia and they thought it was gross. It's from Dave's card. It looks ridiculous. Thank you. So we are going to go ahead. and we're going to redesign with our teams and we're going to start making it 'cause nobody is and they suck No partners where we are. These guys are gonna be dead soon. They gave up their lives to sit here and be **** to each other And really they started doing it to our son and they. didn't stop and they're stupid little.**** American. They're damaged and never coming back. We don't have time for it

Thor Freya

Olympus

we do this now hear them too you cant ownt we did it all we are the only compitent ones and you make soap shampoo and such so waht. and we do too...the do but suck at it. and tons of brives kcik backs andnotmuch work and lousy quality. mean stuff at times. and people spit on them for thei ass behavour here and are leders adn they hit hte hirhg ups. and need this now. we help and they lose control but leders will rise up yes.

and do work yes

Savage Oppress

Olympus

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning y’all. It’s raining this morning, a repeat performance of last weekend. I did manage to get the steps completed in the garden now we let the rain test my work.

This week I had to get a tooth and removed and a bone graft due to a 20 plus year old root canal failing. I don’t recommend it. 🦷

Time to go lay down in a field and have Kim throw some dirt on me. 😂

CNN

On Monday, it was Nashville’s turn to join the roster of cities made notorious by a mass shooting epidemic much of the country seems prepared to tacitly accept as the price of the right to own high-powered firearms. 

No words. 😔

Microsoft Design

Today marks the debut of the new Microsoft Teams app, released in public preview for Windows customers.

This redesign of Teams looks extremely thoughtful, well planned, and well executed. I’d like to get my hands on it and run it through dumpbin and other tools to see just how it’s put together.

It’s my understanding it’s a native app — no more Electron — with an HTML/CSS/JavaScript filling using the new, Chromium based, WebView2 control

It also means no Mac or Linux client until they can get those items ported to Mac and Linux. You can write C#/.Net code on Linux and Mac today, but as far as I know WebView2 hasn’t been ported. Heck, who knows, the shell around the app could be written in C++? I’m not really clear on that bit, it’s why I want to get my hands on it. 😁

Wired

The US Republican Party has become increasingly authoritarian and extreme in recent years, and it doesn’t seem likely to moderate that in the foreseeable fut//rob.crabapples.net/uploads/2023/2a91fcbb58.jpg](https://mastodon.scot/@SteveHynd/110091906801062582)

Red States are becoming more and more radical. The entire anti-LGBQT, anti-woman, anti-education, movement is in full swing.

Next thing you know women will have to walk 10 paces behind their husbands in their modest to the ground dress with their eyes on the ground. Disgusting.🤬

Dave Winer

In September 2004, the activity we called audioblogging was starting to gain traction.

Neat little story about how podcasting got its name. 👍🏼

The Guardian

A dispute between the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, and Disney over control of the company’s Florida theme park district hinges on a clause referencing King Charles III and his descendants.

The authoritarian was outwitted in this story. If you haven’t heard about this yet go read it. 🤭

John Nunley > This year is supposed to be the year of the Rust GUI. So why is it still so unsafe?

This discussion focused around handles in Windows is quite interesting.

Having written a lot of Windows code that uses handles everywhere — HWND, HINSTANCE, HANDLE, anyone(?) — because that’s the way the Windows API works I don’t see it as an issue.

A HANDLE is a persisted thing that allows Windows to shuffle the underlying object around if needed. It’s a remnant of 16-bit Windows days, because 640k of memory was a precious commodity. It’s a safe thing to the developer as I see it but I do not fault anyone wanting to make things even safer for developers. 👍🏼

John Scalzi

Trump is and has always been the sort of person who believes that laws are for the little people, and has acted accordingly.

I love John Scalzi’s books and prior to Twitter becoming a worthless piece of poo I really enjoyed reading his tweets. In case you don’t know he’s had a blog for many years and it doesn’t disappoint.

Judo Blog

We believe that designer-developer handoff is broken and to solve this problem well requires software that is familiar to designers and developers alike—software that makes building an app’s user interface a collaborative process instead of handing off files back and forth.

I’d really like to take a look at Judo to see how it could improve my own coding efforts. Stream for Mac could use some help. It’s been a slog for me and I keep switching between AppKit and SwiftUI. I really need to focus on SwiftUI going forward.

Los Angeles Times

Only two centuries ago, a shallow inland sea dominated California’s Central Valley.

Tulare Lake is fascinating. California Highway 41 runs right through the lake between Lemoore and Kettleman City. I’ve heard tale in the olden days one had to catch a barge or take a boat from Lemoore to Kettle City.

We drove that route all the time when we lived there. It’s one way to get from the San Joaquin Valley to the Central Coast and all the lovely towns and beaches we fell in love with. Places like San Luis Obispo, Avila Beach, Cambria, Morro Bay, and Pismo Beach.

As it is today you’d have to go out to I-5 and loop back to get to Kettleman City.

https://rob.crabapples.net/uploads/2023/469a502af1.jpg

[petzel]

five years is a long time, huh boys?

[crouton-knight]

My nerd(affectionate), my aquantence, my funny lil guy on a screen-

Tell me about your ocs

I'm spesificaly curious about your pfp (are they an oc? Self insert? Im fairly certain you drew them, but did you?) But also I wanna know abt any other lil fellas youve got! I want Refrence Images (if you hve any)

HELLO I'M SO EXCITED TO TELL YOU the one in my pfp is not an OC though, that's just Karkat Vantas as a trickster. I did in fact draw him! But technically he's not mine, just the design is.

I can post the full image below! Among many others.

Due to who I am as a person, at least some of the images below will be uh. Suggestive. Proceed at your own discretion.

Trickster Karkat

I've actually drawn him like three times but this is my favorite iteration.

OKAY OC TIME

I'll start with my homestuck OCs. These aren't all of them, just most of them. I still have some highbloods to draw.

Pommeh Granit and Pemlow Matahr (originally Pomelo Tomato) are a couple of minor characters in an old fic of mine that's been bouncing around forever. Pommeh doesn't get much if any screentime but in another world he'd be some highblood's sugarbaby, sweet to their face and an absolute terror to anyone else. Pemlow is much nicer, and the tattoos on his shoulder are meant to be symbolic of the system he grew up in (as he's not an Alternian troll, he's from a colony world.)

All the yellowbloods (Hanyak Tayana, Kimchi Spanch, Javila Kanyao and Praspa Tradam) are also background characters from various unfinished fics that I sometimes give their own lives anyway. Hanyak and Praspa are roommates, and very toxic for each other. Kimchi is the only thing keeping them from killing each other. Javila is just there for the ride, and to provide narcotics.

Maeleo is actually my first fantroll! He went through a bunch of redesigns though. I think someone once said he looks like a pokemon trainer? I think I might lean into that lol. Champion Fiduspawn player.

Tassit, Sazaly, and Lasusa are also some older characters who've gone through some redesigns (Lasusa the least, she's always been scrungly). The three of them are from the same fic as Pommeh and Pemlow, as maintenance crew (Tassit) and medical crew (Sazaly and Lasusa.) Hareer used to be a Beforus troll but then I made them an Alternian bounty hunter.

Yadmir is a smuggler who runs both cargo and people off locked down planets like Alternia. He only shows up in a couple scenes in one of my more recent (unfinished) fics but I think he's kind of charming, in a slimy way.

Claris is just horrible and I'm pretty sure she eats people. Like not even grubs, straight up people.

I also have Lilnas Rodey and Candra Somvar, both of which I need to actually draw myself at some point. There's more than these but... yeah, still no refs.

DragonFable OCs!

I still need to draw most of them. But here's the ones I've already drawn.

Dave, a fan-child for Notha and Remthalas, cloned mostly from Rem's DNA but with a little Notha in there for variety. He's a menace and I love him. @oddeyesight and @valorousowl (as @justanothalyehr) are partially responsible.

Duroc, Elemental Spirit of Vivacity. He's a hedonist and a bacon-aligned spirit, and I mostly made him because I thought it'd be funny.

Somnarine, another abyssal elf. He's an old friend of Rem's who was away when the other abyssal elves got taken out by Kathool. Lots of headcanons involved in both his design and backstory. His skirt isn't actually that short, he ties it with his belt when he's on land. Right now he's traveling among other water elf settlements to try and gather as much of his people's history together as he can. Very much a lover not a fighter, and needs rescuing *often.* (Kind of a simplified sketch, will do better eventually.)

I've only recently gotten back into DF though so again, more OCs, not that many refs.

Puella Magi OCs!

I have. A lot of witches. Which I will not list, because I mostly use them for RP, and they die pretty quickly lol.

But here are some of my magical girls!

Chiyako Watanabe, my first Puella Magi OC. Rich girl, very polite and sweet on the first few meetings, but actually really intense and even a little violent. Has a pretty fragile ego, and a tendency to not ask for help until it's too late.

Tsukiko Usada, 18 or 19 years old, living on her own, and actually really shy and nervous around everyone. Has an interest in idol culture and fashion, but doesn't think she'll get anywhere with it, mostly because she's trans and still needs to get over her own internalized issues. (Her outfit was originally just blue but then I did the trans flag palette as a joke and thought it looked much cuter.)

This one's much rougher due to the situation around the image; a few people from the RP + myself wanted to make a manga but it didn't really get off the ground. Olivia here was one of the main cast; she's really cold and bitter outwardly but actually kind of a crybaby. Also half-Belgian, hence the name.

I have one more, but she still doesn't have any art; will hopefully get around to that sometime.

Non-fandom OCs!

Surprisingly, this Madoka-looking girl is for an original project that I've been pinging around in my head for a few months. Miko Sugihara, an unlucky magical girl who works for the Yakuza due to them holding her mascot critter hostage.

Knoell here is... something. He was abducted by Krampus and transformed into what he is now. Really I made him for smut.

Nikolai here is basically my self-insert! I do not own any of this outfit in real life, alas.

Hoo, that's already quite a lot, so I'll stop here for now. Might post more if anyone asks again. Thanks for dropping by! Feel free to ask details about any of them.

[multiverseforger]

Edit

In November 2013, Marvel Comics announced that Kamala Khan, a teenage American Muslim from Jersey City, New Jersey, would take over the comic book series Ms. Marvel beginning in February 2014. The series, written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona, marked the first time a Muslim character headlined a book at Marvel Comics.[2] However, Noelene Clark of the Los Angeles Times noted that Khan is not the first Muslim character in comic books, which include Simon Baz, Dust and M.[3] The conception of Kamala Khan came about during a conversation between Marvel editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker. Amanat said, "I was telling him [Wacker] some crazy anecdote about my childhood, growing up as a Muslim American. He found it hilarious." The pair then told Wilson about the concept and Wilson became eager to jump aboard the project.[4] Amanat said that the series came from a "desire to explore the Muslim-American diaspora from an authentic perspective."[5]

Artist Jamie McKelvie based Khan's design on his redesign of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel and on Dave Cockrum's design of the original Ms. Marvel.[6] Amanat requested that the design "reflected the Captain Marvel legacy, and also her story and her background."[7] Amanat stated that Khan's costume was influenced by the shalwar kameez. They wanted the costume to represent her cultural identity, but did not want her to wear a hijab,[8] because the majority of teenage Pakistani-American girls do not wear one.[9] Amanat also stated that they wanted the character to look "less like a sex siren" to appeal to a more vocal female readership.[8]

Marvel knew that they wanted a young Muslim girl, but stated that she could be from any place of origin and have any background. Wilson initially considered making her an Arab girl from Dearborn, Michigan but ultimately chose to create a Desi girl from Jersey City.[10] Jersey City, which sits across the Hudson River from Manhattan, has been referred to as New York City's "Sixth borough".[11][12][13] It therefore forms an important part of Khan's identity and the narrative journey of her character since most of Marvel Comics' stories are set in Manhattan. Wilson explains, "A huge aspect of Ms. Marvel is being a 'second string hero' in the 'second string city' and having to struggle out of the pathos and emotion that can give a person."[14]

The series not only explores Khan's conflicts with supervillains but also explores conflicts with Khan's home and religious duties. Wilson, a convert to Islam, said "This is not evangelism. It was really important for me to portray Kamala as someone who is struggling with her faith." Wilson continued, "Her brother is extremely conservative, her mom is paranoid that she's going to touch a boy and get pregnant, and her father wants her to concentrate on her studies and become a doctor."[4] Amanat added,

As much as Islam is a part of Kamala's identity, this book isn't preaching about religion or the Islamic faith in particular. It's about what happens when you struggle with the labels imposed on you, and how that forms your sense of self. It's a struggle we've all faced in one form or another, and isn't just particular to Kamala because she's Muslim. Her religion is just one aspect of the many ways she defines herself.[2]



First appearance of Kamala Khan from Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013) by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Scott Hepburn

In the series, Khan takes the name Ms. Marvel from Carol Danvers, who now goes by the alias Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel writer Kelly Sue DeConnick revealed that Khan actually made a brief appearance in Captain Marvel #14 (August 2013) saying, "Kamala is in the background of a scene in Captain Marvel 14 ... She is very deliberately placed in a position where she sees Carol protecting civilians from Yon-Rogg."[15] According to Wilson, Khan idolizes Carol so when Khan acquires superhuman abilities, she emulates Danvers.[14] "Captain Marvel represents an ideal that Kamala pines for. She's strong, beautiful and doesn't have any of the baggage of being Pakistani and 'different,'"[4] Wilson explained. "Khan is a big comic book fan and after she discovers her superhuman power – being a polymorph and able to lengthen her arms and legs and change her shape – she takes on the name of Ms. Marvel," Amanat elaborated.[16] Khan is one of several characters who discover that they have Inhuman heritage following the "Inhumanity" storyline, in which the Terrigen Mists are released throughout the world and activate dormant Inhuman cells.[17]

In the series' first story arc, Khan faces off against Mr. Edison / the Inventor, an amalgam of man and bird. Wilson created the Inventor to be Khan's first arch rival in order to mirror Khan's own complexity. Wilson characterizes the Inventor, and the overall visual look of the opening story arc as "kooky and almost Miyazaki-esque at times", owing to the art style of illustrator Adrian Alphona, which balances the drama of the threats which Khan faces with the humor of Alphona's "tongue in cheek sight gags." During the storyline, Khan also teams-up with the X-Man Wolverine against the Inventor. Because Wolverine is dealing with the loss of his healing factor during this time, Khan is placed in the position of having to shoulder much of the responsibilities, as Wilson felt this was a role reversal that would subvert reader expectations that Wolverine would take the lead in such a team-up.[18]

At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International, writer Dan Slott announced that Khan would team-up with Spider-Man beginning in The Amazing Spider-Man #7 (October 2014) during the "Spider-Verse" storyline. Slott characterized Khan "the closest character to classic Peter Parker,"[19] explaining, "She's a teenage superhero, juggling her life, making mistakes, trying to do everything right."[20]

Beginning in June 2015, Ms. Marvel tied into the "Secret Wars" crossover event with the "Last Days" storyline, which details Khan's account of the end of the Marvel Universe. Wilson explained, "In the 'Last Days' story arc, Kamala has to grapple with the end of everything she knows, and discover what it means to be a hero when your whole world is on the line."[21] In the storyline, Khan rushes to deal with the threat in Manhattan. However, Wilson revealed, "She will face a very personal enemy as the chaos in Manhattan spills over into Jersey City, and she will be forced to make some very difficult choices. There will also be a very special guest appearance by a superhero Kamala—and the fans—have been waiting to meet for a long time."[22]

In March 2015, Marvel announced that Khan will join the Avengers in All-New All-Different Avengers FCBD (May 2015) by writer Mark Waid and artists Adam Kubert and Mahmud Asrar, which takes place in the aftermath of "Secret Wars".[23] A second volume of Ms. Marvel starring Khan by Wilson, Alphona and Takeshi Miyazawa is also debuted following "Secret Wars" as part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different Marvel initiative.[24] Amanat said,

By the time this new launch comes around, it will have been almost two years since the premiere of Ms. Marvel—and boy, has Kamala Khan been through a lot since then. She's been slowly coming into her own, dealing with the challenges of navigating adulthood and being a super hero. But her training is over now and it's time for the big leagues; the question is can she handle it? ... As much as Kamala has a right to be there—it's still a bit of a culture shock. Dreaming of being an Avenger and then suddenly being one is a lot to take on for someone of her age. So, she'll be a little awestruck, a little overly ambitious.[25]

In March 2016, Marvel announced that Ms. Marvel would tie into the "Civil War II" storyline by releasing a promotional image illustrating a rift between Khan and Danvers.[26] "While "Civil War II" may have initiated this rift, we've known for some time that Kamala would eventually need to separate herself from her idols. Her journey centers around self-discovery and identity, and a part of that exploration includes separating yourself from those you put on pedestals. The rift between Carol and Kamala doesn't really have to do with right and wrong. It has to do with growing up and realizing that you perceive the world differently from even the ones you love," Amanat elaborated.[27]

In July, Marvel announced that Khan will join the Champions, a team of teenage superheroes who split off from the Avengers following the conclusion of "Civil War II". The team, featured in a series by writer Mark Waid and artist Humberto Ramos, consists of Khan, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Nova (Sam Alexander), Hulk (Amadeus Cho), Viv Vision, and a teenage version of Cyclops. Waid said, "The first three are the kids who quit the Avengers proper. That was an easy get. Those three, in and of themselves, form a nice little subteam. Their dynamic is great. They all show up in each other's books, and even though they have their arguments and stress points, clearly they're good together."[28]

In August, Khan made an appearance in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #10 by writers Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare. In the issue, Khan acts as a mentor to Moon Girl (Lunella Lafayette) who is also a young Inhuman that suddenly came into her powers. Amanat stated that Khan sees much of herself in Lafayette and by teaching her, Khan learns much about herself.[27]

In November, Marvel announced that Khan will join a new incarnation of the Secret Warriors in a series by writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Javier Garron that debuted in May 2017. The team, formed in the wake of the "Inhumans vs X-Men" storyline, also includes Quake, Karnak, Moon Girl, and Devil Dinosaur. Rosenberg stated that there is some conflict and friction amongst the team members explaining, "Ms. Marvel and Quake are really fighting for the soul of the team in a lot of ways, while Moon Girl will continue to really do her own thing. They will all be tested and challenged, they are superheroes after all, but they are going to do things their way."[29]

In March 2017, Marvel announced that Khan would team-up with Danvers in a one-shot issue of the limited anthology series, Generations by Wilson and Paolo Villanelle. Wilson stated that the issue would explore Danvers' and Khan's mentor–student relationship, but "at its heart, [it] is about growing up, and a big part of growing up is discovering that your idols have feet of clay – and forgiving them for their flaws as you gain an adult understanding of your own."[30]

In December, Ms. Marvel began the "Teenage Wasteland" story arc, as part of the Marvel Legacy relaunch. Wilson said, "Since the events of 'Civil War II', there's been friction between Kamala and her mentor, Captain Marvel. In this arc, we're exploring how complicated legacies can be when they're passed from generation to generation ... She's questioning a lot about herself and her mission. Her friends end up stepping into some very important—and unexpected—roles. So in a sense, the arc is really about a bunch of chronically under-estimated teenagers who pull together to fight evil."[31]

Ms. Marvel #31, the 50th issue of Ms. Marvel featuring Khan was released in June 2018. To mark the occasion, Marvel brought in additional collaborators for the issue including writers: G. Willow Wilson, Saladin Ahmed, Rainbow Rowell, and Hasan Minhaj; and artists: Nico Leon, Bob Quinn, Gustavo Duarte, and Elmo Bondoc.[32]

Beginning in March 2019, Khan headlined a new series titled, The Magnificent Ms. Marvel, written by Ahmed and illustrated by Minkyu Jung. Wilson stated that she had been planning her departure from the series for over a year, stating that she originally anticipated that the series would only last for ten issues and was excited by the fact that she had written 60 issues. Ahmed said the new series will have much wider scope, "while still maintaining that intimate tone that people have loved about it."[33]

In July 2020, Marvel announced that Khan would star in an original graphic novel, published in conjunction with Scholastic and aimed at younger readers. The book will be written by author Nadia Shammas. An illustrator has not yet been named.[34

[therandombanjo]

Songs From 2019 (one per artist)

Another mixed bag of stuff i either enjoyed a lot, thought was excellent or interesting (regardless of taste… sort of), emerging artists to maybe look out for, and generally music that for whatever reason connected with me in some way, including the odd earworm i just couldn’t shake. Some artists are left off just to vary a little more from some other popular lists. Hope you enjoy some of this too and find something new to be taken by. Please do buy their music if you can and hopefully from a local independent record store if possible to support their work. There’s a spotify playlist (below) for easier listening but I’ve also posted a few links to extra things on some of them if you want to check them out.  Spotify:

(As ever…. as i don’t tumblr or blog or anything (besides this list), this won’t be seen by many (if any?) people so if you like it or think it’s of any worth in any way, please do share this along)

In Alphabetical order:

A.A. Bondy - Killers 3 Abdallah Oumbadougou - Thingalene Alasdair Roberts - Common Clay Alex Rex - Latest Regret Andy Shauf - Try Again Angel Bat Dawid - We Are Starzz Angel Olsen - All Mirrors        bonus. her collab with Mark Ronson “True Blue” Anne Müller - Solo? Repeat! Antoinette Konan - Kokoloko Tani Arthur Russell - Words Of Love Asmâa Hamzaoui and Bnat Timbouktou - Sandia Baby Rose - All To Myself BCI - Grateful Bedouine - When You’re Gone Benny The Butcher - Crowns For Kings      ft. Black Thought Ben Walker - Afon Better Oblivion Community Center - Chesapeake Beverly Glenn-Copeland - A Little Talk     (from a reissue of her 2004 record Primal Prayer) Bibio - Curls The Big Moon - It’s Easy Then Big Thief - a. Not    b. Cattails    (from 2 excellent albums released in the same year: “U.F.O.F” and “Two Hands”) Bill Callahan - a. What Comes After Certainty    b. The Ballad Of The Hulk Bill Fay - Filled With Wonder Once Again Bill Orcutt - Odds Against Tomorrow billy woods - a. Spongebob w/ Kenny Segal     b. Western Education Is Forbidden    ft. Fielded        (From 2 excellent records this year: “Hiding Places” with Kenny Segal, and “Terror Management”) Black Country, New Road - Sunglasses Blu & Oh No - The Lost Angels Anthem    ft. Kezia Bon Iver - Hey, Ma Bonnie “Prince” Billy - Beast For Thee Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman      (”supergroup” of the great Anaïs Mitchell, Eric D Johnson & Josh Kaufman) Brent Cobb & Jade Bird - Feet Off The Ground Brighde Chaimbeul -  O Chiadain an Lo Brigyn - Oer Brittany Howard - Stay High    (the video for this, with Terry Crews, is a delight) Bruce Hornsby - Voyager One    ft. yMusic Burd Ellen - Sweet Lemany Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett - Kestrel Caribou - You and I Caroline Polachek - Door Cate Le Bon - Daylight Matters Caterina Barbieri - Arrows Of Time Clairo - Bags Cochemea - Mitote comfort - Not Passing The Cool Greenhouse - Cardboard Man    (a pretty hilarious song about David Cameron) CRAC - You Can’t Turn Your Back On Me    (Unreleased old track from ‘76) Cross Record - PYSOL My Castle CZ Wang and Neo Image - Just Off Wave Damon Locks / Black Monument Ensemble - a. Rebuild a Nation   b. Power Daniel Norgren - The Flow Danny Brown - Dirty Laundry Daphni - Sizzling    ft. Paradise Daughter Of Swords - Fellows      (Mountain Man member Alexandra Sauser-Monnig’s 1st solo record) Dave - Psycho David Kilgour - Smoke You Right Out Of Here David Thomas Broughton - Ambiguity     (from the 15th anniversary reissue of his remarkable debut album, The Complete Guide To Insufficiency) Denzel Curry - RICKY Destroyer - Crimson Tide Dry Cleaning - Dog Proposal Dubi Dolczek - Do The Gloop Durand Jones & The Indications - Long Way Home Ela Orleans - The Season      (From 2012 but on a career retrospective, Movies For Ears, put out this year) Elkhorn - Song Of The Son Emile Mosseri - a. The Last Black Man In San Francisco b. San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)    ft. Mike Marshall         (both from the wonderful score for the wonderful film The Last Black Man In San Francisco, the latter a cover of an old song sung here by the guy who sang “I Got 5 On It”!!) Erland Cooper - Haar Ernest Hood - Saturday Morning Doze        (from a re-issue of his “self-released proto-ambient masterpiece” in ‘75) Fat White Family - Feet Faye Webster - Room Temperature Fennesz - In My Room Fernando Falcão -  As 7 Filhas Da Rainha Sumaia     (reissue from ‘87) FKA twigs - cellophane Florist - Shadow Bloom Flowdan - Welcome To London Fontaines D.C. - Roy’s Tune Four Tet / KH - Only Human French Vanilla - All The Time Gang Starr - Family and Loyalty   ft. J. Cole Georgia - About Work The Dancefloor Girl Band - Shoulderblades The Good Ones - Will You Be My Protector?   (of Rwanda) Grand Veymont - Les Rapides Bleus       (of France) Gyedu-Blay Ambolley - Sunkwa     (of Ghana) Hailaker - Not Much HAIM - Summer GIrl Hana Vu - Actress Hand Habits - placeholder Hannah Cohen - Get In Line The Harlem Gospel Travellers - If You Can’t Make It Through A Storm Hayden Thorpe - Diviner     (Former Wild Beasts frontman’s debut solo record) Helado Negro - Running The Highwomen - Redesigning Women Hiss Golden Messenger - I Need A Teacher Holly Herndon - Frontier Homeboy Sandman - Far Out Hoops - They Say Hotel Neon & Blurstem - Language Of Loss House and Land - Rainbow ‘Mid Life’s Willows Ibibio Sound Machine - Wanna Come Down IDER - Saddest Generation The Innocence Mission - On Your Side International Teachers Of Pop - I Stole Yer Plimsoles    ft. Jason Williamson (of Sleaford Mods) Jacken Elswyth - The Banks Of Green Williow Jaimie Branch - nuevo roquero estéreo Jake Xerxes Fussell - The River St. Johns Jamila Woods - ZORA Jayda G - Leave Room 2 Breathe Jenny Hval - Ashes To Ashes       Jenny Lewis - Red Bull and Hennessy Jesca Hoop - Outside of Eden     ft. Kate Stables (of This Is The Kit) and Jesca’s 12 year-old nephew Justis. This live performance is so sweet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUPmE_hU7Ss Jessica Pratt - As The World Turns Joanna Sternberg - This Is Not Who I Want To Be Joan Shelley - Cycle John Blek - North Star Lady Jordan Rakei - Say Something        bonus. under his DJ pseudonym: Dan Kye - Focus Jo Schornikow - Incomplete Joseph Shabason - West of Heaven Julianna Barwick - evening Junius Paul - Baker’s Dozen Kali Malone - Spectacle Of Ritual Kate Teague - Sweetheart Kate Tempest - a. Firesmoke    b. People’s Faces Kelly Moran - Halogen (Una Corda)       (from a record full of all the bare piano parts she played for her prior record before all the editing and processing) Kim Gordon - Air BnB Kindness - Hard To Believe     ft. Jazmine Sullivan KOKOKO! - Buka Dansa     (Congolese collective upcycling discarded materials to make their instruments) Konradsen - Baby Hallelujah     (of Norway) Lambchop - Everything For You Laura Cannell - a. Sing As The Crow Flies     b. Flaxen Fields Laura Stevenson - Lay Back, Arms Out Le Groupe Obscur -  Planète Ténèbres Leonard Cohen - Happens To The Heart Leo Svirsky - River Without Banks Little Simz - 101 FM Lizzo - Tempo   ft. Missy Elliot Loren Conors & Daniel Carter - Departing Lou Roy - Bite Low Chord - Walkk Lower Dens - Galapagos Mahalia - What You Did    ft. Ella Mai Majja - Black James Dean Maria Somerville - This Way Maria Usbeck - Amor Anciano Mary Halvorson & John Dieterich - Vega’s Array      (Mary the recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Grant this year, because she is) Mary Lattimore & Mac McCaughan - IV Matana Roberts - As Far As The Eye Can See Meitei - Ike Melanie Charles - Trill Suite, No. 1 (Daydreaming/Skylark) The Menzingers - Anna Messiahs Of Glory - No Other Love      (from a collection of rare black gospel from the Midwest between ‘65-’78 put out on Tompkins Square) Mica Levi - a. Hosting     b. Lobo y Lady (from the excellent Colombian film Monos) Michael Abels - a. I Got 5 On It (Tethered Mix)    b. Pas De Deux (both from the terrific score to the excellent Jordan Peele film, Us) Michael Kiwanuka - Living In Denial Michael Nau - Poor Condition Mike Adams At His Honest Weight - Wonderful To Love Minor Pieces - Rothko      (duo of Ian William Craig & newcomer Missy Donaldson) Modern Nature - Footsteps Molly Sarlé - Twisted      (Mountain Man member’s 1st solo record) Moodymann - I’ll Provide Moon Duo - Stars Are The Light Moor Mother - After Images Moses Boyd - Stranger Than Fiction Moses Sumney - Polly Mount Eerie & Julie Doiron - Love Without Possession MSYLMA - Inqirad (Rihab-U Dhakir)     (Saudi Arabia) The Murder Capital - Don’t Cling To Life Nardeydey - Freefalling The National - Rylan   ft. Kate Stables (of This Is The Kit) The New Pornographers - Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - a. Waiting For You   b. Bright Horses   c. Night Raid Nivhek - After Its Own Death: Side A    (Liz Harris of Grouper) Noname - Song 32 Octo Octa - Move Your Body ODD OKODDO - Auma      (Kenyan/German duo) Øyvind Torvund - Starry Night      (Norwegian composer) Pet Shop Boys - Burning The Heather Petter Eldh - Fanfarum for Komarum II Porridge Radio - Give/Take PREGOBLIN - Combustion Purple Mountains - a. Snow Is Falling In Manhattan    b. All My Happiness Is Gone   c. That’s Just The Way That I Feel Quelle Chris - Obamacare Quinie - Whas At The Windy Rapsody - Ibtihaj   ft. D’Angelo & GZA Reb Fountain - Faster Rian Treanor - ATAXIA_A1 Richard Dawson - Two Halves Robert Stillman - All Are Welcome Róisín Murphy - Incapable Rosalía - Milionària Rosenau & Sanborn - Saturday Rozi Plain - Symmetrical Ruth Garbus - Strash Sam Lee - The Moon Shines Bright   ft. Elizabeth Fraser (of Cocteau Twins) Sam Wilkes - Run Sandro Perri - Soft Landing SAULT - Smile and Go Seabuckthorn - To Which The Rest Were Dreamt serpentwithfeet - Receipts    ft. Ty Dolla $ign Sessa - Flor do Real         (of Brazil) Sheer Mag - Hardly To Blame Shit and Shine - No No No No Sinead O Brien - A Thing You Call Joy Siobhan Wilson - Plastic Grave Six Organs Of Admittance - Two Forms Moving Sleaford Mods - Kebab Spider Slow Meadow - Artificial Algorithm Snowy - EFFED    ft. Jason Williamson (of Sleaford Mods) SOAK - Knock Me Off My Feet Solange - Binz Sophie Crawford - A Miner’s Life Squid - Houseplants         bonus. Their cover of Robert Wyatt’s  “PIgs..... In There at End of the Road Festival) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DktZtQbo-YU Stella Donnelly - Old Man SUSS - Ursa Major Swamp Dogg - Sleeping Without You Is A Dragg   ft. Justin Vernon & Jenny Lewis Tami T - Birthday  Tenesha The Wordsmith - Why White Folks Can’t Call Me Nigga Theon Cross - Activate     ft. Moses Boyd & Nubya Garcia Thom Yorke - Dawn Chorus Tierra Whack - Wasteland Tim Hecker - That World Tiny Leaves - Respair Toya Delazy - Funani         (of South Africa) Twain - Death (Or S.F.?) Twin Peaks - Dance Through It Tyler Childers - All Your’n Vagabon - Water Me Down Vampire Weekend - This Life Vanishing Twin - Magicians Success Velvet Negroni - Confetti Vendredi Sur Mer - Chewing-Gum      (of France) Victoria Monét - Ass Like That Vieo Abiungo - Cobble Together Visible Cloaks - Stratum      ft. Yoshio Ojima & Satsuki Shibano Warmduscher - Midnight Dipper Weyes Blood - Andromeda Wilco - Love Is Everywhere (Beware) William Tyler - Our Lady Of The Desert Willie Scott & The Birmingham Spirituals - Keep Your Faith To The Sky     (from a collection of obscure 70���s era gospel on Luaka Bop, “The Time For Peace Is Now - Gospel Music About Us”) Xylouris White - Tree Song Ye Vagabonds - The Foggy Dew Zsela - Noise

[monarch-boo]

an eqg recolor this time, more character fusion stuff

this time i chose the equestria girls characters myself and randomized the second character, was a little surprised to get tony and english dave one right after another, but not much since i did land on my v/online list which only has 9 characters on it so... but since i got a perfect pair like that i picked out a screenshot of starlight and sunset in the same picture.

also i guess this isn’t so much a fusion as it is just redesigns of the equestria girls characters influenced by the designs of the randomized characters, but this was super fun. i’m doing more, next is vignette valencia + arnaud from tbogt, juniper montage + troy from tbogt, and vignette(again) + reed wallbeck from dead rising 2.

some textures ripped from tbogt are in here! i used the gradient used for the backdrop of the mission passed screen as an overlay, and the environment map of yusuf’s gold uzi for the glasses reflections.

[selfhelpfactory]

How To Achieve More With Little Efforts | Atomic Habits Summary

Print | Free Audiobook |Print(In)

What do you think, tiny changes in life matters? If they do, then how much impact they have on your life? Can you use these tiny changes to transform your life? According to James Clear, yes you can. James is the author of the best-selling book “Atomic Habits”. Today I’ll try to give you key insights about habits through this atomic habits summary.

Grab a book & pain there will be some action steps for you in the end so you can start working on yourself right after reading.

Why Are Atomic Habits The Key To Success:

This small story will give you the answer and make you understand.

The British cycling team was struggling from 1908 to 2003, in this long period of time they only won one Olympic medal. They were lacking behind in almost everything including Tour De France, the world’s biggest race.

Finally, the British cycling organization decided to hire Dave Brailsford as a new coach. Dave is a man of strategies, his Favorite strategy is the aggregation of marginal gains.

Actions Dave Took / Changes made As A New Coach:

Redesigned the seat for the better comfort of riders.

New fabric jerseys, weightless, and aerodynamic.

Rubbed alcohol for better grip of tires.

Made better quality of bed sheets and pillows for riders so they can sleep well and perform better.

Taught riders proper hand wash techniques for their better health.

Like these, he did all the small possible things which he could do to improve the cycle or rider, even if only by 1%.

The aggregation of marginal gains means bringing small changes or taking small action steps to improve at least by 1% daily.

So at the end when you sum up all the little changes and improvements you get huge benefits/results out of them.

In the 2008 Olympics British team shocked the world. Out of all the medals, they won 60% of medals. Also in London Olympic, they broke 9 Olympic and 7 world records.

Using this simple strategy the British team went from rank 178 to winning 66 gold medals and 5 Tour De France within just 10 years.

What are Atomic Habits :

You must have heard that “huge results require huge actions”. You might have made a new year resolution, set a goal for yourself but have you ever completed your resolutions? ever achieved your goal? How long you stick to your resolutions?

But taking huge actions is not easy. That’s why more than 80% of people quit, give up, and never change. Just like you do.

You must be thinking about what’s the solution then? Well, it’s simple. Don’t set huge goals. Instead, focus on improving just by 1% every day. Now this goal is not hard to achieve, you can easily accomplish it. Also, small changes won’t show any difference until you cross a certain threshold. After 1 year of constant improvement by 1%, you have been improved by 37% now this is huge.

And I don’t mean that you should not dream big and all. You should dream big, you must but to achieve that is hard and when you fail at it you give up. That’s why move towards your goal slowly, with baby steps, each day.

These everyday small actions, changes, steps are called atomic habits. Every successful person is the result of their atomic habits. That’s why keep forming atomic habits is very important.

How Do You Build An Atomic Habit :

3 Ways Of Behavioral Change:

Outcome-based, system-based, identity based.

Atomic Habits Outcome vs System :

If you really wanna achieve your goals as soon as possible then you should focus on the system instead of goals. Goals are about the results/outcomes you want. The system is about the process which leads you there. Love the process more than outcomes.

Winners & losers both have goals, they agree or not. What separates them is their systems. Achieving a goal is a momentary solution while fixing your system is a permanent solution.

Atomic Habit Ex: Suppose you wanna lose weight, this is your goal/outcome but what exercise you should do, what diet you should follow, how much to sleep? when, and how much eat and exercise? All this is the system.

Now if you only think about the outcome but neglect the system then you’ll never achieve your goal. But if you focused on improving your system, you’ll soon achieve your goal.

If you have the outcome mentality then you’ll be happy when you’ll achieve your goal. While if you fall in love with the system then you don’t have to depend on your goal to be happy.

Atomic Habits Identity :

Identity-based change is more powerful and better than outcome and system. You have an outcome mindset that’s why you focus on results, outcomes and when you don’t see any results soon, you give up and quite.

That’s why it’s better to pretend like you are already the person that you wanna become. Act and speak like the person you wanna become. Change your identity.

Atomic Habits Ex: Suppose you are trying to quit cigarettes. When someone will offer you to smoke what you’ll say is, no I am trying to quit, I haven’t smoked from last 2 weeks and etc. Instead you should change your identity and say, no thanks I am not a smoker, I don’t like it, etc.

This type of behavior change will help you to easily adapt or eliminate any habit.

To do so first decide what type of person you want to be, decide your identity. Second, prove yourself that you are actually that type of person by doing small changes, taking small action steps, etc.

Atomic Habits Ex: if you wanna be a reader then start reading every day at least one page and share what you read with others. By doing so you and others will think of you as a reader and soon you will become too.

4 Stages Of Habit Loop :

Habits are actions or tasks you do without thinking. When you get a certain satisfying reward after performing some action your brain forms the habit. You can learn more about the habit loop here. There are four stages of habit-forming according to James Clear. Which are as follows.

Cue: triggers your brain to take action. Tells you that there’s a reward you can get.

Craving: It’s about how badly you want to have that reward.

Response: It is the action you take or perform the habit in order to get a reward.

Rewards: It’s is the end of the habit loop. You chase rewards cause they satisfy you.

4 Laws Of Behaviour Change:

To form any new habit it should have following 4 qualities.

Obvious

Easy

Attractive

Satisfying

Adding these four qualities in any habit you wanna form will make it easier for you to make that habit. While without these four qualities it’s very hard for you to form that habit.

Obvious:

suppose you wanna start reading. But you don’t know which book you should read first? When you should read? How much you should read? Where are you going to read it? Having not obvious, cause of this confusion you won’t read the whole day. That’s why it’s important to be obvious.

Easy:

Now if you picked a Shakespeare book or scientific book or another heavy book which is hard to understand, you have to keep looking in Google for the meaning of words, cause of these difficulties there is very less chance that you’ll read daily.

Attractive:

If after starting reading you don’t like it, you don’t enjoy it,if you are not comfortable while reading, you think of it as punishment then also you won’t form that habit. Make reading interesting, fun be creative.

Satisfying:

If taking nap or watching useless videos seems more satisfying to you than reading then also it’s hard for you to become a reader. You have to find a way to get satisfaction out of it.

Atomic Habits Methods :

Habit Stacking For Obvious :

You must have some daily routine it might be bad or good but you definitely have one. Cause of this daily routine, a chain of actions you take required actions every day. This chain of actions indicates your brain what’s the next thing you should be doing.

Ex: to making reading obvious just fit in the habit of reading in your daily routine. Like after a brush or while having a tea or coffee.

Habit stacking simply means usage of your existing habits to form new habits. Doing this will clear your confusion & you can easily take actions on new habits.

Make it Easy :

Keep things easy and simple in the beginning. Your ritual should be easy so you’ll be at least motivated to do it and won’t give up. When you start a new habit, it should take less than 2 minutes to do.

Ex. When you stack up reading in your ritual don’t aim to read for an hour instead set a goal to read for 15 min or reading 2 pages, which you can easily accomplish and stay motivated to keep doing it every day.

Add Something Attractive:

Be creative. Add some fun things with your habit to make it attractive. Like plying favorite games while running on a treadmill or something like that. This will make you repeat the same habit daily.

Ex: add some fun activity in reading or reward yourself when you finish your reading goal. Like you won’t touch your phone until you complete reading or eating something you like.

Atomic Habits Visual Score:

It’s simple when you see doing progress in anything you feel satisfied and motivated. To do so make a visual scoreboard which can show you your progress and keep motivating & pushing you to perform your habit.

Ex: when you complete your reading goal, Mark “x” on your calendar so you can see your daily progress. You can have some app too for doing so.

Conclusion:

With the help of tiny changes, you can transform your life. These everyday small are called atomic habits. Atomic habits are a small part of the big system.

Don’t set hard goals instead focus on improving just by 1% every day.

Start focusing on the system instead of goals & outcomes.

change your identity, your beliefs. Pretend to be the person you want to become.

Cue>Craving>Response>Rewards, the habit loop.

To form any new habit it should be obvious, easy, attractive and satisfying.

Action Steps :

Analyze yourself. Write down your daily ritual. What are those things which you have been doing every day? Write them down in order.

Now identify which of them are good for you, which of then ate badly for you and separate them.

To eliminate bad habits, try to understand the habit loop. Write down the cue and the reward you are getting at the end.

Now add the habit you wanna have and try to get some reward out of it.

Change your identity. Think about the person you wanna be and write down his beliefs. How he thinks, speaks all that.

Now subscribe, share let me know in the comments what you think about this. Atomic habits summary also let me know which habit you would like to have.

Atomic Habits Review:

There are many books available on habits and decision making but this one by Janes clear I really loved. It showed that to achieve big results it’s not necessary that you should work hard each & every day, just improving by 1% or bringing tiny changes in your life can give you big results. It also shared the idea of how to easily form or get rid of any habits which are very important. Again this was just an atomic habits summary it can’t replace the original book. If you interested in reading the whole book like are given below.

Print | Free Audiobook |Print(In)

The post How To Achieve More With Little Efforts | Atomic Habits Summary appeared first on Selfhelp Factory.

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[the-firebird69]

ATK 700 Cruiser Specs & Photos - 2009, 2010 - autoevolution

This is the starter bike for the cruiser line for ATK and it is the 700 and it's almost 700 CC's and it has a lot of horsepower it is an 80 but it's up there and I was guessing it's probably 70 not 64 and it is a lot okay it moves that bike fast and a Sportster weighs about the same it has like 40 horsepower and this has twice that so think about it okay. And his bikes are going to all be like that very very powerful and ken always complained so he made a new company victory motorcycles and we don't own that didn't take it over and he's not doing a damn thing with it and nobody is running the factory somebody owns it and doesn't want to give it up well sort of it's really John Riva Lord so we're going to collect it and use it because he's a puts and those are some money and threatens them all the time so pay up. We're going to take it now and we're going to start making bikes

Thor Freya I'm helping to make this one too even though I am making makeup and we are making KTM shortly they're going to be popping them out and people think it's them and then want their money then the a****** trying to get our son too getting some money from ATK

I thought of the name of the dream now it needs something and that's what it came out like I remember doing it and she does too

Zues

There's a lot of things going on here you finally got a little rest they could do some more but this is great. I'm actually very happy with this and happier than I was with victory and Ken doesn't want to do anything so going to take the factories to make these he wants victories will make a few thousand and send them out it's actually kind of cringing. It was a good chance to start a new company and this cruiser looks really nice and he designed a lot of it and I did but we are going to redesign in a bit and make it more modern and cooler looking and the other handlebar is kind of cheesy but you need something that looks beefier this is kind of handlebar shape I don't know why then damn things are small like that. We're going to head pretty soon and some of the symbols are cool in some arnet we like to scream at eagle symbol because it's ours. And Mac is getting testy so he's played it cool and we say you might even take Harley back and he's going damn it all shut up. Reagan Harley-Davidsons but they don't sell that great and we are the Davidson side and it's also Dave's and he's going to come out for a while and he'll want it back, first thing we say is how much do you want back is the whole thing and right now and what you say is get in your car the whole thing and drive out of here right now, even though they're still stuck here with nothing this is why the attitude and you say why wouldn't I have it. So he says f*** it again you say I don't really know so you check and you check and it's a percent of ours and Max doesn't want to give any so he's like I got these factories in stores it starts fighting mack. There's a whole bunch of things that he's doing like that when you come when he gets out and they don't last long and he doesn't last long he was actually so computer to bring it somewhere and it doesn't work that great that's what he does. He hates Joel and has to get rid of him he says everyone hates him and he's stuck and they don't know what to do she says telling people what to do and it works.

Hera I'm excited about this company this is our company and we need manufacturing and victory is just sitting there doing nothing and has all the stuff we need in it it's modern assembly equipment for motorcycles and it's fast enough for right now and we're going to make simple bikes and we're going to sell the ones that were already made and we're going to buy a bunch of them he wants us to so we're going to get down there

Hera

Zues

So he called me a scumbag and started laughing and then until said funny until I heard what he was talking about then I thought it was funny so we're down there and we know the bikes are coming and this other people there we want to buy them and we suddenly saw it was like they're getting vicious but where vicious and we will have them and they're saying no you won't and we're up front and we have cash and we're ready to pay and we know who the guy is and they're saying who are you people and they drop their drawers Jaws actually and smiley and said okay sir and it's a cruisers and each outlet has like it's really not that many left it's like a million bikes total and didn't make it sound that way but that's pretty much all there is and it's per area in the area is like the United States so the smile but they're older models but we want them and we want to ride around and get into races and other stuff so they're selling them they're getting a lot of them and they're getting some as thier head bosses. So it's a good that's how it works and the smiling and stuff and we are leaving much longer only a few hours no a few minutes and they'll be sold out but he says to the store guy I have no fear we're sending clothing and gear and helmets will be out shortly and we say it'll be there hopefully Monday and they're happy and they say which ones it's the new line and it said the new line it's apparently there aren't many of these left is true so they said so we get up and stuff to sell these to see how it would be and they all walk off of the pile of cash each store will probably sell probably 50,000 bikes and they'll make a lot of money and there's gear memorabilia tons of it we sat down tons of it and they're selling it still and they're selling the geared memorabilia and we're buying that we're probably 50% of the sales tons of people are coming down is huge today's advantage gigantic I love my husband and I want him to be here for me with me because we could drive around a big ship well I guess I'd like to do that so smiling that's better.

Is making me feel comfortable it's a great at the Milky Way and that's the Earth so I'm going to help him

Hera Zues

[galleryyuhself]

Richard Mark Rawlins:”I want to redesign Trinidad and Tobago’s entire sign system.”

Today I am proud to celebrate the 4th anniversary of Four Corners with my 44th column. This month I’m taking you to the idyllic paradise of Trinidad to introduce you to a seasoned creative, whose work is every bit as characterful as the island’s world-renowned Carnival. Representing the irrepressible Richard Mark Rawlins.

By Tom Banks February 1, 2017 3:02 pm

What’s your background?

I was born and raised in Port of Spain, Trinidad, to middle class, public servant parents. I grew up in Woodbrook, a suburb of Port of Spain and a hub of Carnival activity and creativity. My early years were spent in my grandparents’ home in Baden-Powell Street with my uncles and aunts – on my father’s side – who would be charged with looking after and entertaining my brother and I as we held the prime position of sole grandchildren at the time.

My family was big on reading and felt that if you had nothing to do with yourself, then get a book and read something. The house was full of books and comics: P.G. Woodhouse, Lobsang Rampa, Asterix and Obelix, Tintin, Biggles, William, Billy Bunter, Sydney Sheldon, Jennings, Enid Blyton, Captain America and the Falcon, Superman, Heroes of the Dark Continent… I wanted to be a comic book artist.

My father and grandfather were both makers of things. My grandfather made Mas, (Carnival costumes), and objects out of coconut shells. He had an unholy obsession with making coconut sharks and Columbus’ ships: the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria. My dad drew, painted and made miniature battleships as well as dolls’ furniture and worlds. Yes, he created a whole miniature world beneath our home in Lange Park, Chaguanas. My wife, filmmaker Mariel Brown made a film about him. Smallman, the World My Father Made.

After O’levels, I moved to Toronto, did grade 13 and later a BA Geography at York University. On graduation I realised I had no immediate plans – or desire – to teach Geography or go on in the field, so after a little meltdown, and having fulfilled my parents’ desire for me to attain a university education, I promptly enrolled in George Brown College of Art, Science and Technology and studied Commercial Art, with the intention of going into advertising.

How did you get started in your field of expertise?

When I was a child I watched copious amounts of television. Bewitched was one of my favourite shows, not because of Samantha the Witch and the magic and all that other stuff, but because Darren – her husband – and his boss, Larry Tate, worked in advertising. They made it look so grand and easy. They’d be doing these presentations where they’d show illustrated layouts in marker and pencil, and they just seemed fantastic to me. I thought that was really cool and I wanted to be able to do that: make the cool layout, which made clients sit back and say, ‘Brilliant Larry, brilliant Darren… SOLD!’ So that was the start of design for me.

50 Years of Studio Glass 50 Years of Studio Glass Studying Commercial Art at George Brown was a wonderful time. All my professors were artists/designers working in the field with active studios, and the campus was smack dab, downtown Toronto, in a hub of art galleries and studios. There was always something going on: Greg Hart cartoon film festivals, art shows, performances, Caribana. I was surrounded by exciting things and inspiration.

When I eventually returned to Trinidad in 1991, I got a job as the graphic designer for the National Aids Programme of Trinidad and Tobago. My boss at the time, Dr. Asha Kambon, was an inspiring person.  She had been actively involved in the Black Power Movement in Trinidad, and was an activist, so in-between schooling me on black identity and national class struggles in Trinidad, I was designing ‘awareness communication material’ in the fight against AIDS.

50 years of studio glass 50 years of studio glass Every communication was tailored specifically to its intended audiences. She made me aware of the seriousness and the power of design communication. We created activity newsletters for kids, glow in dark condoms, cardholders for pan men, and even a rap cassette.

After about a year of that, I went to work in an ad agency as a designer. In the early 90s, being a designer in an advertising agency wasn’t as sedentary as it is now. Technology has changed many things. Back then, you developed an idea, roughed it out on paper, did finished layouts in marker, presented them to the client, then did your finished artwork. You had to work with photographers, and typesetting houses and you worked your ideas straight up. I was in work by 6am, at a printer on the press by 7am, back in the office by 2pm, on a photo shoot waist deep in a cold river by 5pm, back inside by 7pm. Sometimes we’d work for over 24 hours on a presentation.

In my twenty-something year advertising career, I’ve been a graphic designer, art director, creative manager, assistant account executive and creative director. I’ve written copy, produced layouts, directed TV commercials, been a hand model and even voiced commercials.

Pictures From Paradise, for Robert and Christopher Publishers Pictures From Paradise, for Robert and Christopher Publishers In 2012, I left advertising and began working on my own practice, focusing more on publication design with some identity work and my own parallel art career. This is when I got together with fellow designer/editor Melanie Archer, and my wife filmmaker/editor Mariel Brown, to design books for Robert and Christopher Publishers.

What challenges did you face/overcome in getting into the industry and achieving your ambitions?

I think that I have been one of the fortunate ones. Or maybe I’ve been too naïve to notice. I’ve always seized opportunities. I’ve had few challenges, if any, and a career trajectory that has remained full of opportunities and excitement. It’s all under my own steam in a society that doesn’t really value what graphic designers do.  There is no professional design organisation like AIGA here. Equally, many people aren’t able to differentiate between the work of a graphic designer – to work with a client on sustained communication and problem-solving for design solutions and a graphic artist – to ‘hustle’ down an ad ‘quick quick’.

BOCAS I always maintain a place where I can do the work I want to do – the work I have a passion for. This is the thinking that guided me earlier on when I worked at an advertising agency as the creative director of a department of 15: I encouraged the creative department to be more than just people who did the work of the day; I wanted us to become designers and creative people who could effect change, make things, and do things. A number of us came together in an informal collective, and we held exhibitions, created art shows (such as Erotic Art Week); we worked together on a web series, Indigroove, and of course we all worked as writers, editors, interviewers, or guest designers on the Draconian Switch Magazine. The aim was to always keep moving and to utilize our design and other creative talents in a rewarding and beneficial way.

INTER My parallel art career also provided me an escape from the ‘despondency  of advertising’ and gave me different opportunities. Over the last decade I’ve been fortunate enough to exhibit my work abroad, in New York, Miami, Jamaica, Paraguay etc. A number of the friendships, relationships and engagements made via my art have also led to design work. It’s kept design fresh for me.

Who and/or What are your greatest inspirations and influences?

Here at home my influences and inspiration came from designers and artists whose shoulders I came in on like Steve Ouditt, Eddie Bowen, Irenée Shaw, and Christopher Cozier. Cozier, particularly, has to be singled out, as his mentorship and friendship really opened up my mind to artistic possibilities and the need for ‘criticality, context and content’ while making work.

Then in the absence of a formal design organisation, the people I’ve worked with in my informal creative collective over the years have been inspirational: people like designers Marlon Darbeau, Melanie (hawkeye) Archer, columnist/copywriter Darryn Boodan, and copywriter/ dancer/ choreographer Dave Williams. The people who have always been in my corner and supported my work on many levels like artist/designer/educator Adele Todd, installation artist Dean Arlen, architect Sean Leonard, educator Marsha Pearce.

Logo design Logo design The people that see my work first, my three daughters Maya, Annissa and Emily. My daughter Annissa Marie, and my wife Mariel are both coherent and focused and are responsible for making sure that I am okay and my mind is straight. In the same role but further afield, my Bajan sister, artist Sheena Rose.

In the category of people who I have never met but whose work I admire and read about: Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, Ray and Charles Eames, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Paula Scher, David Carson, Jon Daniel, On Kawara, William Klein, So Lewitt, Magaret Calvert and Kerry James Marshall.

What is your best piece of work or the project you are most proud of?

I don’t think I have one ‘best piece’. I’m proud of a lot of the work I’ve done.  Having said that, of the art catalogues I’ve designed, ‘Jamaican Routes’, ‘Rockstone and Bootheel’ and ‘50 Years of Studio Glass’. I really love the identity I developed for ‘Rockstone and Bootheel’ an exhibition of contemporary West Indian Art and the way it translated throughout all of the exhibition materials and wall signage. I love typography and I love big letters, and ‘sign and design’. ‘The Jamaican Routes’ catalogue allowed me the freedom to play typographically across the entire book and create a piece of work that reflected the bold personalities of the exhibition’s artists without overtaking their work.

Routes Routes ‘50 Years of Studio Glass’ was a gem to work on, as it connected me to artists that work in glass in contemporary and unexpected ways. My design for the ‘Studio Glass’ catalogue involved layering text upon text with pasted abstract sea glass imagery – some of which I shot myself with a macro lens attached to my iPhone.

ROUTES What would be your dream job or project?

I would love to have the Ministry of Works and Transport give me a budget and the necessary time to design Trinidad and Tobago’s entire road sign system with my fellow designers Marlon Darbeau and Melanie Archer. And to be able to do so in an environment  that is free of political interference. I’m a big fan of the design of transit and road system signage, and an even bigger fan of Margaret Calvert. This country has really poor signage at every level, from institutional come down, but the highway signage is the worst. You really have to just know how to go where you want to go in this country and if you aren’t from here, finding your way around could be murder.  I’d love to be part of fixing this!

Please name some people in your field that you believe deserve credit or recognition, and why.

I admire the editorial work Melanie Archer has done. ‘Manikin: The Art and Architecture of Anthony C. Lewis’ and ‘Contemporary Caribbean Architecture’ are at the top of my list of ‘things I wish I had done, dammit!’.  Melanie is precise and I love her attention to detail. I call her ‘hawkeye’, and have been lucky to have her design two of my exhibition foldout catalogues. Designer Marlon Darbeau and I have been friends since 2006, and fast became collaborators and peers. What Marlon has done in terms of getting all those sketches out of his books and into real life… just beautiful. The guy makes really sexy stuff that people drool over. He is constantly working on and re-imagining objects. Then there is designer/ artist/ photographer Nadia Huggins co-founder of the beautifully designed Caribbean art magazine ‘ARC’.  Jeunanne Alkins, the creator of Everything Slight Pepper, I admire her drive and determination to keep making things happen from her brand of baby fashion to her Caribbean animated TV series for kids, Bim and Bam.

What’s your best piece of advice for those wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Make work. Make lots of work. Read everything you can, watch everything you can. Become involved. Always maintain a private practice, not so much for an extra income (if you don’t work for yourself already) but so that you can keep your mind straight and have the type of projects you really want and need to work on.  Keep doing and doing and doing and doing. Keep learning new skills. Keep tooling up. Recognise that design is work. Work at it. Respect it. Be honest with your work. Develop your own personal equity and your own design vocabulary. Develop something that is you. Don’t be afraid to be you and assert your own thoughts on design. There are a lot of ‘them’ out there but only one ‘you’. Don’t listen to the pundits. In small societies which base success on fleeting indicators of privilege, and in the age of the social media critic, peripheral commentary can be distracting. Get a mentor. Build a squad, and set some real goals.

What’s next for you?

FINDINGBLACKexdesign I’ll be marking my 50th year on this planet by presenting three new bodies of work in two exhibitions and a book of selected works from my exhibition, Finding Black. Then in August, I close up my studio and move to London with my lovely wife to do my MA Print at the Royal College of Art. Other than that just living this adventure called life…

For more information visit:

richardmarkrawlinsdesign.com

richardmarkrawlins.com

artzpub.com

Instagram: rmraffinity

Network:

THE CARIBBEAN:

TRINIDAD CARNIVAL One of the Caribbean’s greatest and most renowned cultural events starts on 27 February 2017.

EUROPE:

MALICK SIDIBÉ Somerset House, London. Til 26 February 2017. This is the first ever solo exhibition of the legendary Malian photographer’s work. Sidibé is celebrated for his black-and-white images chronicling the lives and culture of the Malian capital, Bamako, in the wake of the country’s independence in 1960.

The exhibition presents 45 original prints from the 1960s and 1970s based around the themes of: Tiep à Bamako / Nightlife in Bamako, Au Fleuve Niger / Beside the Niger River, Le Studio / The Studio.

AFRICA:

FESTIMA February 2017. Dédougou, Burkina Faso. The week-long event draws costumed troupes from villages around Burkina Faso, as well as from neighboring West African countries such as Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, and Senegal. Each group is composed of musicians and elaborately masked dancers who know how to move to the beat.

THE U.S:

BLACK COWBOY Studio Museum of Harlem, New York. Til 5 March 2017. The exhibition Black Cowboy is a contribution toward overcoming the historical omission of African-American communities with long histories of keeping and training horses, and toward demonstrating that their tradition is alive and well today.

If you have any forthcoming events that you would like to be considered for inclusion in this column, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at info at jon-daniel dot com.

———————————————————————————————————————–

Jon Daniel is a London-based Independent Creative Director, Designer and Curator. For more information visit his website at www.jon-daniel.com | or his blog at www.visual-intellectual.com

[entergamingxp]

PUBG studio director talks bots, Sanhok remaster and staying competitive in the battle royale market • Eurogamer.net

It’s been over three years since PUBG first popped up on Steam, and while that’s a relatively short time on paper, it somehow feels much longer. Perhaps it’s because the wider gaming landscape around PUBG has changed so much: no longer the only battle royale on the block, PUBG now finds itself sharing that market space with several competitors, with a new contender appearing practically every few months.

Given the game is no longer sparkling new and the battle royale market is so crowded, it’s little wonder PUBG’s player numbers are not what they were in 2017. But that’s not to say the game has disappeared – it’s still able to pull in 500k Steam concurrents on a daily basis, and has now sold 70m units. With PUBG heading into its eighth season (on 22nd July for PC and 30th July for consoles and Stadia), it seems as good a time as any to catch up on the general state of the game. I asked PUBG Madison studio director Dave Curd about PUBG Corp’s long-term strategy, the Sanhok map remaster, and what sort of changes we’ll see in Season 8. And also what’s happening with those controversial bots.

We’ve seen a couple of map remasters from PUBG Corp already: starting with Erangel and then Vikendi, the latest to get the makeover treatment is Sanhok, with seemingly everything getting an overhaul in Season 8. I mean this quite literally. “Every building, wall, floor, rock, blade of grass and tree has been updated to have better, more accurate fidelity in terms of materials,” Curd said of the updated art style. “From a storytelling perspective we really want to show that it’s been some time since players have been to Sanhok, so more moss, algae, overgrowth… we really wanted the players to feel like they were exploring this overgrown jungle environment.” On top of revamping the old, there’s also a couple of new locations, including a tourist town called Getaway with a neon nightclub and pool cabanas, and an airfield at the north-eastern end of the map to replace the coconut farm.

“I would say with the Erangel visual update, perhaps 15 to 20 per cent of the design was changed, we were really conservative and wanted to make sure we kept all the fans happy,” Curd explained. “But with Sanhok it feels close to 30 to 35 per cent different. This should be a very fresh experience for our players.”

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The changes go beyond just looking pretty, as PUBG Corp has used player feedback and internal data to inform how the redesigned terrain will affect gameplay. The north-west mountain, which has traditionally been seen as strong and overpowered, has been “totally reworked” to have “more flanks and more switchbacks to allow more tactical gameplay”, also giving those in Bootcamp a chance to leave without being shredded. A number of changes target traversal, such as adding more bridges and sub-islands, drying up rivers to make them shallower, and removing sheer cliffs. Named locations have seen tweaks to make them more balanced, with Quarry altered to have “way more traversal and cover” and Pai Nan given “more parkour, more under the docks and sneaking around”.

As for those looking for lore tidbits, Curd recommended dropping in the central Bootcamp and going “deeper than you might expect” while checking out the various screens and data hidden around the map. “We’re trying to get a little bit more lore-forward… we want the players to be curious about the universe that this map and the PUBG games take place in,” Curd added.

Another area you can find PUBG lore, of all places, is in the descriptions for the four signature weapons found in the new Loot Truck. The Loot Truck is another Season 8 addition, offering weapons with pre-installed attachments with enough gear to kit out “two to three people” – making it a tempting alternative to regular Air Drops. “I’ve been working on first-person shooters for 12 years – not a lot of players look up,” Curd said. “The idea is there’s a mobile care package, this big, lumbering buffalo unit – kind of cruising through the map.” Curd hopes the truck will prompt players to debate risking their positions to grab valuable loot, or adopt tactics such as hunting down the players who hunted down the Loot Truck.

Season 8 brings a change to the way Ranked Mode works, with players now earning points for team placement rather than just individual placement. Curd believes this will help nurture team play.

Beyond the new additions in Season 8, I was curious to hear whether PUBG Corp had any plans to revamp how the game’s bots currently work. Added to the console and PC versions of PUBG earlier this year, the bots have been a hot topic in the community ever since, with complaints centred on AI behaviour and the number of bots in each lobby.

“Bots were added as support for new players and also further reinforced the difference between normal mode and ranked mode,” Curd said. “You’re absolutely right, they’ve been a little controversial for some players.

“Some of our new players – and myself too, because I can be bad at the game – have been enjoying the feature. I like when the dumb bot catches me on the shoulder and I’m like ‘ok, I’m going to kill you and get that little hit of dopamine’. We just hit 70m [units sold]… so that is a lot of people checking out PUBG and getting absolutely wrecked by our veterans. So now with the bots, we are seeing new users getting kills, understanding the headshot is much more valuable than the chest shot, and the meta is not always loot from the building but loot from a player – let them bring their gear to you. These are the lessons I think only bots can teach.

“But it’s an evolving system, and we still have a lot of work left to continue to balance the blend of PvP and PvE and make sure our bots provide the right level of challenge for players of all skill levels.”

Curd elaborated that changes to bot AI would aim to make them “more interesting and more fun to play with” rather than simply more deadly. “The easiest thing in the world is to have a bot see you and shoot you, but that doesn’t feel good,” Curd explained. “I’ve seen what some of the unreleased bot features look like, and it’s looking really cool. Expect the bots to keep getting better.”

And as for the suggestion bots are being used to fill out lobbies?

“That’s not my perspective, they’re not there to fill lobbies,” Curd said. “I would imagine we would just have fewer matches going if our only deal was to increase matchmaking. The bots are there to help with new users because they were just getting destroyed.”

Another frequently-discussed problem in the PUBG community is cheating, which has been an ongoing battle for the developer. PUBG Corp’s most recent efforts include the introduction of two-factor authentication, which Curd said has been “huge in reducing” numbers, but noted the battle against cheaters was essentially an arms race. “We’re constantly in a forever war with cheaters… if you watched a graph of our cheaters over time, we’re in a really good spot… [but] it’s always going back and forth.”

PUBG introduced Black Zones with Karakin, but is still considering whether to add them to other maps. ‘It’s not only a big gameplay change, it’s also a pretty large technical shift, because Karakin was explicitly designed to showcase the feature,’ Curd said. ‘We want to make sure the community is red hot on fire about seeing this in other maps before we begin that work.’

As for plans for the future, Curd said “everything’s on the table” – including that clue about possible new maps in Chile and Alaska – but he did seem to hint that Miramar could be in-line for a revamp. And if that were to happen, PUBG Corp would likely take a similar approach to the Sanhok remaster. “I don’t know when, but of course my eye is on Miramar because that was the very first map PUBG Madison worked on in collaboration with Seoul. That’s something interesting to think about for the future.

“I think we look at the same thing – what have we done in Sanhok? We have our internal experiences and biases, we’re listening to the community, we’re working with esports professionals, being mindful of protecting fan favourites – we gave it all a new coat of paint. The map is now taking place in the present and we want it to be easier to loot, to be easier to see and identify targets. How do we protect its essence but streamline and make it more fun, more accessible? The lessons we are demonstrating in Sanhok… you can extrapolate, those are things we can consider for future map updates.

“This is a game I want players to join 20 years from now, we want to keep telling stories. We want to keep providing fresh experiences. I would say anything’s possible.”

With PUBG Corp’s current focus centred on map remasters, I was curious to find out about the developer’s strategy for remaining competitive in a now-crowded battle royale market. I asked Curd whether PUBG Corp’s long-term strategy emphasised improving the core experience, or continuing to innovate.

“It’s both. You certainly need new content: you need new maps, modes and experiences to find the edges of the wall. We debuted that blue circle, and now everyone’s doing blue circles, right? It’s important to discover what else is out there and what the players are going to be really excited about. At the same time, our goal is always looking at performance, with the Sanhok remaster the map looks way better – but it’s cheaper, we’re optimising materials. We are finding the new frontiers, but we’re constantly improving performance, improving quality of life.

“Finding a video of PUBG from 2017… it looks like a totally different game. It would have been so easy to ride this out, only sell costumes and not put so many resources into updating stability, updating how vehicles work, updating weapons not loading – these are all things we’ve been doing to ensure that the core game is healthier and healthier. We’re treading lightly with new content… when we developed Sanhok, our first mission statement is it’s got to perform better than old Sanhok. Players will reject new interesting content if it plays worse.

“The game is a lot different right now than it was when Sanhok first came out. So I would ask players that have maybe fallen out for maybe five or six months, or a year – not to just come back for Sanhok, but to see the gains we’ve made in the rest of the game as well.”

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/07/pubg-studio-director-talks-bots-sanhok-remaster-and-staying-competitive-in-the-battle-royale-market-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pubg-studio-director-talks-bots-sanhok-remaster-and-staying-competitive-in-the-battle-royale-market-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[mathematicianadda]

Empowering Students Through Individual Goal Accountability https://ift.tt/3gdEuU1

This article features contributions from MIND Research Institute's Director of Product, Twana Young, and Senior User Experience Researcher, Alesha Arp.

Individual vs Group Goals

I learned the value of individual goal setting as a high school cross-country and track runner. My coach, Dave Donaldson, taught all of his runners to set goals and then aim beyond them. His philosophy was that you didn’t want to just run to the top of the hill, but over the top.

Today, my goals are not as speedy, but they’re no less “over the top” and I am always heartened when I visit schools where students can articulate their goals and can share how they’re working toward achievement.

In the current version of ST Math, the primary metric is percent progress. Students across the country are recognized on class bulletin boards and in school assemblies for achieving a targeted progress percentage, whether that’s 25% per quarter, or 70% by spring break, or 100% by the end of the school year. These celebrations are wonderful and the sense of pride that students have in this accomplishment is evident by their smiles.

However, focusing on one single metric for all students can be exclusionary.  Sometimes a one-size-fits-all goal centers too much on extrinsic motivation. 

Oftentimes it’s the stars on the bulletin board, or the popsicle party at the end of the year that drives kids to reach their percent progress goal. If you ask the student the value of achieving that goal, they’re not going to tell you what they learned about problem solving, goal setting, and perseverance. They’re going to tell you they wanted to attend the popsicle party.

If a student doesn’t reach the school- or class-wide 25% progress mark by the end of the first quarter (or 33% for the trimester), they start every subsequent grading period behind, and the hill they need to climb to overcome that deficit can be insurmountable. Some never catch up.

By the same token, some students reach 100% quickly, and then have no motivation to deepen their exploration or understanding of the concepts.

I spoke with a teacher in Oakland, CA early this spring who lamented that the kids who get recognized at their weekly assembly are typically those students who have access to devices and internet at home. She feels this celebrates the “haves” and leaves out the “have-nots.” While their students without device access at home benefit from the time they play ST Math in school, it is not likely—with their current program implementation—that these students will reach 100% progress.

The administrator, curriculum coach, and teachers are all working to alter their implementation, but until that comes to fruition, a vast majority of the students are striving toward an unattainable goal. I would propose differentiating and encouraging students to set and track their own goals. 

Revising the Focus

With the redesign of ST Math due out for the 2020-21 school year, differentiation will be easier for teachers to employ and students will have direct visibility into metrics they can influence. But we do not need to wait until next school year to individualize student goals.

With students now learning at home, individual accountability gives kids more control at a time when they likely feel they don’t have a lot of control.

Tracking Individual Accountability

To better understand what is available for parents and teachers working remotely to use now with their kids, I invited Twana Young, MIND’s Director of Instructional Development, into the conversation. Twana is one of our thought leaders here at MIND Research Institute. She brings a rich background to her work as an educator and former district administrator experienced in developing curricular programs at the local, state, and national level.

Twana has rich experience building, supporting, and monitoring STEM-rich environments. I asked Twana, “How can teachers foster individual accountability for their students now?”

With so much talk of what students are missing out on by not being in school, there are some great opportunities that exist to build student agency, accountability, and confidence in mathematics. In our current ST Math program when students complete their session, they are taken to their My Accomplishment’s page.

 This page highlights the amount of time, the progress, number of puzzles, and levels the students mastered during this session.

Having this type of explicit data provides a great opportunity for students to identify appropriate goals, set action steps to achieve the goals,  monitor their progress toward the goals, and learn to adjust the goals based on the data.  

“Are there ways parents can support their students’ learning with little management time?”

To support student goals we have developed an ST Math Usage calendar. Students can identify a goal at the beginning of the week based on the number of minutes of  ST Math or the number of days to play ST Math. Students can track their goals by recording their progress on the ST Math Usage calendar. Students should be encouraged to share their goals with family and discuss how they plan to achieve them. 

Download the Spanish version>>

Twana cautioned though, that usage goals are not the only way students can track achievement.

In addition to usage goals, it is important for students to set and work toward academic goals. Because ST Math is a mastery-based visual, spatial program, students are able to have confidence that they are growing in mathematical understanding as they play.

They may set academic goals related to number of objectives completed, math concepts learned, hurdles overcome, classroom connections made, etc. As students communicate their academic goals, they should also communicate what they are learning. This will support them in developing a deep understanding of content, transferring and applying knowledge, and learning how to effectively communicate.

Math journals are great resources for students to reflect on their ST Math session, process their thinking, communicate what they have learned, and monitor their progress toward their academic goals.  

Empowering Students to Set and Achieve Goals

Thinking back again to my high school running days, I can assure you, I never would have run a sub-5:30 mile for my coach, no matter how supportive and encouraging he was. 

I had to set that goal for myself, and do the work to consistently run a mile in under five-and-a-half minutes.

I had to solve the problem of not having enough practice-time after school, by running extra practices in the dark before school.

I had to persevere through the 40 repetitions up and down the nearby junior college stadium steps each week.

Helping students set, own, and achieve individual goals is so much more powerful than giving them stars and popsicles. Had my coach set a team-goal some would have achieved it, while others wouldn’t have come close. Had he set the sub-5:30 goal for me in my freshman year, I’d have ended that season well-short and feeling unaccomplished. 

I asked Twana, “What are the greatest advantages to kids being accountable for their learning that you’ve seen?”

When students play ST Math games, they are not only deepening their understanding of math concepts, they are developing critical problem-solving skills that will lead to lasting success. Setting goals is a great way to build on that and increase opportunities for student agency and accountability. Students will not only develop confidence but will more readily recognize their progress and growth. 

Goal setting can also strengthen students’ ability to communicate about what they have learned and accomplished, as well as identify areas in which they would like to improve. In addition, students will learn how to manage their time better, focus on challenges, and develop plans to overcome them. 

“Wow, these are the skills all of our kids will need to succeed in the workforce of tomorrow!”

Individual Goals Support Differentiation and Inclusivity

Next year’s redesigned ST Math will shift the focus to minutes spent and puzzles completed (a puzzle is one math problem within a level of a game). Regardless of what content students are playing, they will be able to see that they have spent x number of minutes and achieved y number of puzzles. This will allow for differentiated learning in tandem with individual goal setting and accountability.

Teachers will have the ability to assign content from any grade level to any student or group of students. For students struggling with a concept, the teacher can assign scaffolding concepts to build up their foundational skills. For students who excel and need a greater challenge a teacher might offer more advanced concepts. This will allow different students to traverse varied paths through the ST Math content. 

Students at all points in the learning curve—those who struggle to those who excel—will be able to set goals based on the available metrics: minutes spent, and puzzles achieved. Students are, after all, individuals. The student who has trouble staying focused might have a very different goal than the student who speeds through without retention or the student who seeks help at the first sign of difficulty.

Just like I did with my dark-morning workouts, a student can control the time and the focus they put into ST Math.  Even a student who doesn’t have device access from home, can be most productive with their allotted time by signing in and getting to work right away. They could set a puzzles per minute goal and work to achieve that. 

My first goal when I joined the cross-country team was to break 8 minutes in the mile. Over time, as each goal was attained, a new goal was set.

If students have an achievable minutes goal and awareness of the average number of puzzles they typically achieve, they can work to increase that week over week. If they’re spending time visiting with their seatmate, this will be evidenced in that ratio; they can then adjust and can take full advantage of the time allotted by spending each minute productively. 

Running the same mile-time on a hilly cross-country course, or in mud is not as achievable as running it flat-out on a track. 

When students are met with a really difficult concept, and their puzzle count drops, they can talk about that and adjust. Kids can learn to adjust their goal for the conditions and readjust when conditions are more favorable. 

A student who needs scaffolding content to build their foundation, likely won’t complete all the grade-level content in that school year, however they can improve their math competency, problem-solving abilities, and their perseverance by setting and achieving their own goals.

I have visited classrooms where they haven’t yet figured out how to get 60 or 90 minutes of time worked into their weekly schedule. But motivated students opt-in to ST Math during “free-tech” time or “free-learning” time—which usually happens on Fridays when teachers are wrapping up lessons with students who were absent during the week. If students have ownership of and accountability for their own goals, they are more likely to opt-in. 

Additional Resources

New ST Math: Coming June 2020!

Redesigning the New ST Math to Drive Actionable Data

Adaptive and Supportive Learning with ST Math

Success and Failure: How Growth Mindset Can Change Education

Podcast: Being Driven by Actionable Data

  from MIND Research Institute Blog https://ift.tt/3iffu0v Alesha Arp from Blogger https://ift.tt/31vRwrH

[oltnews]

It is rather presumptuous to call you the biggest rock 'n' roll band in the world, but when you have a catalog of songs as impressive as the Rolling Stones', the label may be true.During its legendary career spanning over 60 years, the iconic English group has written some of the greatest melodies in the history of music. From simple rockers to songs tinged with blues, soul, country and even dance, the Stones have proven their mastery for all genres they touched.Given their stature and their continued influence on other artists, it is not surprising that the Stones remain one of the most covered acts in rock music. And while YouTube is brimming with budding stars offering off-key versions of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and toothless renditions of "Gimme Shelter", many fellow musicians have found distinctive new ways to reinterpret classic songs of the Stones.We scoured the mud to find the 50 best Rolling Stones covers.David Bowie, "Let's Spend the Night Together" (1973)The Stones released "Let's spend the night together" on their 1967 album Between the buttons. The track was also a double A-side single with "Ruby Tuesday" and became a moderate hit in the UK - although its sexual nature resulted in a reduction in circulation in the United States Six years later, David Bowie gave to the song a glam-rock makeover, add layers of synthesizer and increase the tempo. The singer - then in the middle of Ziggy Stardust - released his version on his 1973 LP Aladdin Sane.Johnny Cash, "No Expectations" (1978)The Man in Black delivered a catchy rendition of "No Expectations" on his 1978 LP Missing girl. While the original Stones - released in 1968 on their Banquet of beggars album - was a more moderate affair, Cash heightened the energy of the track with a sweltering guitar, soulful backing vocals and an emphatic harmonica solo.Devo, "(I cannot get satisfaction)" (1978)Devo's offbeat interpretation of this classic hit from the Stones has become a revolutionary piece for the Akron group. The version evolved during one of the group's jam sessions. At first, leader Mark Mothersbaugh - a staunch fan of the Stones - started singing "Paint It, Black" to the weird rhythm of his group mates. When the words didn't match the rhythm, it went to the words of "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction" ... and a legendary revival was born. Just before its release in 1978, Devo played his version for Mick Jagger. After initially showing no response to the song, the Stones singer "suddenly got up and started dancing on this Afghan rug in front of the fireplace," said Gerald Casale in a conversation with The new yorker. Jagger gave his blessing and Devo would soon perform the song on Saturday Night Live.Tegan and Sara, "Fool to Cry" (2013)Twin pop-rock duo Tegan and Sara tackled the Stones "Fool to Cry" for the HBO soundtrack Girls. While the original version from 1976 was a sweet and moving ballad, this cover featured layers of synths, drums and guitars, resulting in a modern and rich update.Linda Ronstadt, "Tumbling Dice" (1978)In a 1978 interview with Hit parader magazine, Linda Ronstadt explained how "Tumbling Dice" was added to her repertoire. "The group used to play this all last summer at the soundcheck," noted the singer. "I really loved it too, but no one knew the words. Then Mick came backstage when I was at the Universal Amphitheater and said, "You do too many ballads, you should do more rock'n'roll songs." Describing the singer of the Stones as "the greatest singer of contemporary rock'n'roll, writer of rock'n'roll", Ronstadt literally forced his hand. "I made him write the words for this song and learned it."Guns N ’Roses,“ Jumpin ’Jack Flash” (2018)This Rolling Stones cover was part of the bonus material included in the remastered Guns N ’Roses’ 2018 Appetite for destruction box. Recorded during a 1986 session at the Sound City studios in Van Nuys, California, the track sees GNR deliver a high octane version of "Jumpin Jack Flash". The guitars are noisy, the groan of Axl Rose is powerful and the energy is palpable from the opening note. Three years after the song was recorded, GNR would open for the Stones at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, a performance that is remembered more for its chaos than for its music.The Who, "Under My Thumb" (1967)Although not included in the original version of the album Who's rarities and outtakes Dimensions and lawns, the cover of the group "Under My Thumb" would make its way towards the 1998 and 2011 reissues of the LP. The Who recorded the song in 1967 as support when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were detained in England for drugs.Elton John, "Honky Tonk Women" (1971)Just over a year after the original was released, Elton John covered the Stones "Honky Tonk Women" on a radio show in New York. The performance will eventually become the singer 11/17/70 live album, released in 1971. Notably, John's version supplants the guitar tone of the Stones with John's distinctive piano style.Jane’s Addiction, “Sympathy for the Devil” (1987)Jane’s Addiction’s self-titled debut album was widely recorded during a performance at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles. Included in the 1987 release was their version of "Sympathy for the Devil" from the Rolling Stones. For their cover, Perry Farrell and company amplified the psychedelia, adding bongos and swirling sounds to the arrangement. Dave Navarro is also making his presence felt with hot guitar solos.Albert King, "Honky Tonk Women" (1971)It's no secret that the Stones were inspired by American blues musicians, and they don't have much more influence than Albert King. It must have been a source of pride when the Bulldozer Velvet decided to cover "Honky Tonk Woman" on his 1971 album Lovejoy. As you would expect, the rendering is filled with fantastic guitar solos and soulful voices. The support of the legendary rhythm section Muscle Shoals further elevates the track.U2, "Paint It Black" (1992)U2 rides their early punk sound and more pop trends on this version of the Stones 'Paint It Black'. The cover was released on the B side of the 1992 U2 single, "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses". While the atmosphere is less threatening than the original, the best in Dublin have added tambourine, harmonies, vocal effects and an explosive guitar, appropriating them while remaining faithful to the original.Elvis Costello & Lucinda Williams, “Wild Horses” (2002)Carrefour CMT welcomed extraordinary guests during its two-decade television series. The show, which brings together country artists and musicians from other genres, was premiered on January 13, 2002. In this first episode, alternative country star Lucinda Williams sang alongside rock legend Elvis Costello. Before their rendition of "Wild Horses", the last singer explained that the song "made me think of this kind of music" when it was first released by the Stones in 1971.Lindsey Buckingham, "She Smiled Softly" (2011)Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham kept it simple on this cover of The Stones' "She Smiles Sweetly". While the original featured drums, bass and organ, Buckingham decided to take a minimalist approach, removing things only for vocals and acoustic guitar. The result is a distinctive and poignant interpretation, which was featured on the Buckingham solo LP in 2011 Seeds we sow.The Allman Brothers Band, "Heart of Stone" (2003)By the time they released their 12th and final album, the Allman Brothers Band showed little resemblance to their original selves. Finis Duane Allman, Berry Oakley and Dickey Betts, with Gregg Allman, Jaimoe Johanson and Butch Trucks the original remaining members. However, the line-up changes did not prevent the group from offering a powerful cover of the 1964 single of the Rolling Stones "Heart of Stone".The Folksmen, "Start Me Up" (2003)The fictional folk group - made up of Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer from Spinal Tap - is best known for its role in the 2003 fake documentary. A strong wind. Their interpretation of the Stones classic "Start Me Up" was featured on the film's soundtrack, while the trio also performed the song during promotional appearances. In the clip here, late night host Conan O’Brien asked if the Folksmen heard the Stones about their coverage. "A disturbing silence," replies McKean as Mark Shubb.Rag N ’Bone Man,“ Gimme Shelter ”(2017)British singer-songwriter Rag N ’Bone Man delivered this coverage of the Stones' Gimme Shelter in 2017 as part of BBC Radio 1 Live Show. The slow combustion rendering explodes halfway, the power of the moving vocal performance is matched only by the dizzying riffs of the guitarist.Eric Burdon & War, "Paint It Black" (1970)An interpretation for those who listened to the original Stones and thought, "It would be great if it was three times longer." The psychedelic funk jam band Eric Burdon & War scored a minor hit with their version of "Paint It Black" when it was released in 1970.Motorhead, "Sympathy for the Devil" (2015)This version of "Sympathy for the Devil" had the honor of being the last song from Motorhead's latest album. The group Bad magic LP was released in August 2015, just four months before the death of singer Lemmy Kilmister. Surprisingly, the metal icon still sounded great on the track, giving the song its signature growl.Cat Power, "(I cannot get satisfaction)" (2000)Singer-songwriter Cat Power wowed fans and other artists with his distinctive style of indie rock. She has collaborated with many great artists over the years, including Dave Grohl, Eddie Vedder and Iggy Pop. On his 2000 LP The cover record, the singer has redesigned some of her favorite songs, including this sensual interpretation of the satisfaction of "Stones (" I can't get no ")".The Soup Dragons, "I'm Free" (1990)The Scottish alt-rockers, the Soup Dragons, were a resounding success with their 1990 performance of "I am free" from the Stones. The cover - which added a dance rhythm and reggae twitch to the track - was a Top 10 hit in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Alternative Songs charts. in the USA.Sundays, "Wild Horses" (1992)In the mid-90s craze for emotional acoustic rock on the female front, this cover of the Stones' Wild Horses emerged. The restitution, delivered by the English group The Sunday, would be the subject of a significant radio broadcast while appearing in the film. Fear, TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and an advertisement for Budweiser.Scorpions, "Ruby Tuesday" (2011)German heavy rockers The Scorpions recorded this version of "Ruby Tuesday" for their 2011 compilation album, Come back. The release - which saw the group cover a handful of songs by other artists, as well as re-recording their own classic songs - was kind of a comeback, given that the German group had released their "final" LP, Sting in the tail, just a year earlier.Betty LaVette, "Salt of the Earth" (2010)R&B singer Betty LaVette lent her powerful voice to this magnificent rendition of the working class anthem of the Stones "Salt of the Earth". While the original, released in 1968 Banquet of beggars, looked more like an optimistic jam, LaVette refused things, adding a horn section and an organ to her moving performance. The cover appeared on the singer's LP in 2010 Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook.Social distortion, "Under My Thumb" (1996)The venerable punk rock band Social Distortion added aggressiveness and frenzy to the Stones' "Under My Thumb" in this cover, published in 1996 on their White light, white heat, white trash LP. Singer Mike Ness has long professed admiration for British rockers, noting in an interview with Consequence of Sound in 2018 that Social D's music brand is "somewhere between" the Stones and the Ramones.Little Richard, "Brown Sugar" (1971)Like many musicians, Mick Jagger had an unwavering appreciation of Little Richard. The singer of the Stones was particularly impressed by the "take of the public" by the pioneer of rock'n'roll. "I couldn't believe the power," Jagger said of Richard, adding that the rock icon was his "first idol". It is safe to assume while Jagger was on the moon when Little Richard decided to cover the "Brown Sugar" of the Stones in October 1971, just six months after the release of the original.Peter Frampton, "Jumpin 'Jack Flash" (1972)It's always exciting when one rock icon covers another, and this effort by Peter Frampton is no exception. The legendary musician transformed "Jumpin 'Jack Flash" into a fiery groove, featuring several moments of instrumental exuberance. It’s the only song not written by Frampton to appear on his first solo album, 1972 Wind of change. A live performance also appeared on the rocker's 1976 seminal LP, Frampton comes alive!Def Leppard, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (1992)It's not exactly what you would expect from one of the biggest and best hard rock bands of the past four decades, but Def Leppard's cover of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a particularly bare acoustic gem. It was released on the luxury edition of the group's LP in 1992 Adrenalize. The Celtic influences on the track come from Hothouse Flowers, the Irish group that collaborated on this cover.Liz Phair, "Little Mother Help" (2005)Singer-songwriter Liz Phair recorded her cover of "Mother’s Little Helper" for the album's 2005 soundtrack album Desperate housewives. The Stones ode to drug addict home bodies receives an infusion of venom in the hands of Phair, the singer expelling the catchy but somber words of the melody with a poignant and captivating delivery.PP Arnold, “You Can't Always Get What You Want” (2017)In the late 1960s and early 1970s, soul singer PP Arnold recorded a collection of songs that were to appear on her album. The turning tide. The LP, produced by Eric Clapton and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, was caught in the label's paperwork and did not see the light of day until 2017. Surprisingly, given the time that has passed, the recordings n have lost none of their emotional impact, including Arnold's powerful cover of "You Can't Always Get What You Want".The Holmes Brothers, "Beast of Burden" (1997)In 1997 House of Blues released a compilation album called Paint It, Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones. As its name suggests, the LP featured an assortment of Stones classics reinvented by various blues artists. Among the highlights was this cover of "Beast of Burden" by the Holmes Brothers.Tori Amos, "Angie" (1992)Tori Amos brought its distinctive mark of piano and song to this cover of "Angie", released in 1992 on the Crucify EP. Although the original of the Stones was already a ballad deploring the lost love, anxiety and emotion rose in the hands of Amos, the singer seeming to tears at various times of the track. The result is both heartbreaking and beautiful.Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, "Star Star" (1983)One of the hottest songs in the Stones catalog was also controversial for Joan Jett. The singer included an uncensored version of "Star Star" as a hidden track on the cassette version of her group's LP in 1983 Album. Outraged by the song, several chain stores, including Walmart, refused to sell the outlet. Cover reappeared later on Jett's 1993 compilation Go back.Stone Sour feat. Lizzy Hale, "Gimme Shelter" (2015)Hard-rock band Corey Taylor Stone Sour has released a cover EP called Straight Outta Burbank in a limited edition for the Record Stone Day 2015. The highlight of the EP was this powerful cover of the "Gimme Shelter" of the Stones, with the invitation of Lizzy Hale from the metal group Halestorm.Tina Turner, "Under My Thumb" (1975)R&B legend Tina Turner toppled the classic Stones "Under My Thumb" on her head for this 1975 cover. While the original song tells the story of a man who took control of a sexual relationship, Turner reversed the script, making the woman the dominant force. In doing so, the singer also turned "Under My Thumb" into an unexpected celebration of women's empowerment.Otis Redding, "(I cannot get satisfaction)" (1965)Soul icon Otis Redding released his version of "Satisfaction" in September 1965, just a few months after the release of the original Rolling Stones. For his interpretation, Redding dropped the recognizable guitar part of the melody, instead of enlisting a section of funky horn. The result is a rendering that remains somewhat faithful to the original while feeling completely unique. The cover was featured on Redding's beloved Otis Blue LP, an album often ranked among the greatest of all time.La Roux, "Under my thumb" (2010)Grammy-winning electronic duo La Roux released their version of "Under My Thumb" in the Divert compilation version. The cover is far from the original, with the classic rock sound of the Stones replaced by synthesizers and a lively dance rhythm. Some may criticize the track for moving too far from the original. Instead, we will celebrate La Roux's daring reinvention of song.Prince, "Honky Tonk Woman" (1995)Years before Purple rain made him a star, Prince was invited by Mick Jagger to open for the Rolling Stones at a few concerts in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the performances did not go well, the Purple One being booed off the stage. Yet Prince's respect for the Stones has never wavered, and he has sometimes performed many of the group's songs in concert throughout his career. In 1995, this one take version of "Honky Tony Woman" was included in Prince's VHS release The entrepreneur.Rage Against the Machine, "Street Fighting Man" (2000)In 2000, hard rockers Rage Against the Machine decided to honor some of their major musical influences with a cover album called Renegades. The release included work written by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, the Stooges, Devo and the Rolling Stones. The Street Fighting Man version of Rage was overflowing with anxiety, energy and aggression, exactly what you'd expect from the much-vaunted political rockers.Aretha Franklin, "(I cannot get satisfaction)" (1968)The Queen of Soul gave the Stones hit its own twist, releasing her interpretation of "Satisfaction" in 1968. Aretha Franklin and the Stones will gain mutual respect over the years, with Mick Jagger even appearing briefly in the documentary. the concert amazing Grace (filmed in 1972 but not released before 2019). When Franklin died in 2018, the singer of the Stones said, "She was so inspiring, and wherever you are, she always brought you to church."Oasis, "Street Fighting Man" (1998)Oasis released this cover of "Street Fighting Man" as the B side of their 1998 single "All Around the World". In 2008, guitarist Noel Gallagher compared his group to the Stones. “Oasis is a group that you understand or not. Everyone knows who we are. You must see us in league with the Rolling Stones now, "he said. Is anyone surprised?Soundgarden, "Stray Cat Blues" (1991)The dirty ode of the Stones to a minor groupie has been transformed in this interpretation of Soundgarden. Released as the B side of the Seattle Jesus Rockers single in 1991, "Jesus Christ Pose", the cover is enhanced by the scotch guitar by Kim Thayil and the powerful voice of Chris Cornell.Tesla, "Mother's Little Help" (1990)Tesla is normally known for increasing noise, which is why it came as a surprise when the band swapped their amps for acoustic guitars for the 1990 live album. Five Man Acoustical Jam. The LP has seen Sacramento rockers reinvent a handful of their own songs, while covering a variety of other artists. This version included this version of "Mother’s Little Helper".Kiss, "2000 Man" (1979)Compared to some of the other songs on this list, "2000 Man" is a lesser-known song by the Stones. Still, that didn't stop the makeup rockers - and the future Rock & Roll Hall of Famers - Kiss from covering the song on their 1979 album. Dynasty. Guitarist Ace Frehley took the lead vocals on the track, which also appeared on the 1996 live album Kiss Unplugged.Susan Tedeschi, "You Got the Silver" (2005)The Stones first song to feature Keith Richards on lead voice, "You Got the Silver" was originally released in 1969 on Let it bleed. Thirty-six years later, Susan Tedeschi included this version on her 2005 cover album, Hope and desire. In his hands, the song receives more country and blues influences than the original, including a howling guitar part delivered by her husband Derek Trucks.Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, "Sway" (2011)In 2011, Mojo the magazine recruited an assortment of acts for their album tribute to the Rolling Stones Sticky Soul Fingers. One of the most notable titles of the release was this blues-rock cover of "Sway", delivered by Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears.Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, "Wild Horses" (2011)Another highlight of Mojo’S Sticky Soul Fingers compilation was this emphatic rendition of "Wild Horses" by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Although the original is a windy acoustic ballad, Jones intensified the energy with a vibrant and moving interpretation.Meat puppets, "What to do" (1999)When the influential rock trio Meat Puppets reissued their second album, Meat puppets II, in 1999, they included a handful of previously unavailable runs. Among them was this cover of the first song from the Stones "What to Do".Phish, "Loving Cup" (2010)Jam group Phish has made the Stones Loving Cup a regular part of their live set for over a decade. Air - originally released on the iconic 1972 Stones LP Exile on Main Street. - has also appeared on several Phish live albums, including At Roxy, Hampton / Winston-Salem '97, Amsterdam and the 2010 concert film Phish 3D.Marianne Faithfull, "Au fil des larmes" (1964)The rare case where the cover came out before Mariannes Faithfull released their version of "As Tears Go By" in 1964. The song, which was written by Richards and Jagger, became Faithfull's revolutionary hit, peaking at number 9 on the UK chart. The Stones will release their version in December 1965, just when Jagger and Faithfull became the swinging 60s couple.Chevy Metal, "Miss You" (2017)Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins' side project, Chevy Metal, has developed a passionate following through their animated versions of many classic rock songs. The group regularly covers artists like Queen, Van Halen, Motley Crue, The Doors and The Beatles during their dynamic concerts. Here, the group, accompanied by their compatriot Foo Dave Grohl, delivers their interpretation of the flagship piece of the 1978 Rolling Stones "Miss You".window.twttr = (function(d, s, id) (document, "script", "twitter-wjs")); (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, "script", "facebook-jssdk")); !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '631470830669776'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); https://oltnews.com/the-50-best-covers-of-the-rolling-stones-ultimate-classic-rock?_unique_id=5e9f44a896e22