#amazing names not at all lazy or uncreative

[arttsuka]

post oc lore king/queen !!

😭 I don't really have lore tbh, mostly vibes. Everything is too underdeveloped for lore

I have vague ideas of what I want my ocs to be.

For example, I want to put these guys in a 'time travel' kinda situation, where a murder takes place (that phone guy, who was the only one who knew how to help them get back in their time).

The only thing worse than their designs are the names

[tied-ash]

Is it midnight? Yes. But I’m fixating on my Opposite AU - specifically Hu - so here’s a fun fact!

Hu has nicknames for everyone in the cast. Some of them change time to time, so… ya! Here they are:

Teruko - Babe: Starting off real strong. Occasionally, Hu would change it to “Baby”. It’s unclear if she means this in a romantic sense, but Teruko seems to think otherwise.

Alexander - Xander: To Hu, it’s just a cooler name. However, Alexander doesn’t like it when Hu uses the name on him. Maybe if somebody like Teruko does, he’ll be merciful. And Alexander is not feeling merciful with Hu. They hate each other.

Charles - Bill: Bill Nye the Science guy. Need I say more?

Ace - Mr. Blank-Slate: Considering that Ace seems to lack in personality, Hu thought that this name was fitting. However, she is constantly trying to change his name because even though it fits his personality, she wants something that fits his looks.

Arei - Sis: Always said in an aggressive and harsh tone. She tried calling Arei “mom” in the same tone, but hated it. So she changed it to that.

Rose - Hoo-Ha: Seeing as how Rose is constantly panicking over something, Hu thought it was fitting.

Eden - Shorty: Hu hates the fact that this name is so uncreative. She’s been trying to come up with something, but she doesn’t seem to care enough to find the right one.

Levi - Bestie: Levi and Hu seem to get along the best. And given Levi’s almost diva-like personality, Hu knew that Levi wouldn’t mind being called that. Not like she cared, though.

Arturo - Pretty Boy: She doesn’t have much of a reason for this. Kinda just because Arturo deals with ugly people and makes them pretty. That’s totally it.

Min - Lazy-ass: The only one in which Hu swears, she used this nickname when she found out that Min was a large procrastinator.

David Chiem - Star-Boy: David is the one with the most set-in-stone nicknames. Star-Boy, Mr.Goodietwoshoes, Xander’s boyfriend, Little Miss Perfect… he has a lot. David doesn’t seem to mind all that much - although he gets a bit confused with the second to last one.

Veronika - Weirdo: She chose this name because she KNOWS Veronika hates it. While she doesn’t talk much about Veronika’s interests, she just calls her weird and hates on all of her horror.

Julia - Doll-face: To Hu, it just seemed fitting. After all, she’s the newest face of the Rosales family.

Whit - Cupid-Boy: She also calls him “crybaby” (which is a complete reference to the Amazing Digital Circus quote “Which leaves crybaby and Hoo-ha to go handle the Zooble situation.”)

Nico - Pipsqueak: Considering Nico’s considerable size, Hu knew it was fitting. Besides, Nico finds it cute.

MonoTV - The thing: She has little to no respect for MonoTV, so often times, she won’t even say it’s name. Whenever someone asks what she’s talking about, she makes dog ears with her hands.

Also, I’m working on introductions for each character!! :D Watch out for that!

[calciferous-kelpie]

Breaking Young Artists ft. Kirby

So I woke up today at 8AM (which is highly unlike me) with the extreme urge to write about my shitty experiences as a young creator online. I’ve never really talked about this with anyone before, at least not to the extent that I’m going to now. But yeah. Here we go. Yay.

Today we’re talking about the Kirby fandom, but it’s okay if you don’t know shit about Kirby because we’re actually talking about fandom gatekeeping more than anything.

Most of you probably didn’t know I was into the Kirby franchise at one point, and that’s completely intentional. I’ve put that part of my life far behind me, and let me tell you, I don’t look back on it with much fondness, despite the fact that I was in the fandom for years.

Here’s one of the many reasons why!

This is JP. My Kirby fan character from forbidden days no longer spoken of.

“Wait, so JP? Like… Jigglypuff?”

Yes.

“And this was your Kirby fan character?”

Yes.

“Oh.”

Yes.

My lack of creativity should be apparent to anyone who looks at this character. JP’s creation is lazy and self-indulgent. She is clearly the Pokemon Jigglypuff with some minor redesigns who was then shoved into the Kirby universe for no good reason.

When I first made her, I had no real intention of explaining why she was basically just Jigglypuff, but as I continued to develop her, I began to consider what it would be like to explain her appearance—to create a story where Pokemon and Kirby both existed together on, like, different planets in a vast universe. She was going to be half Jigglypuff and half… whateverthefuck you want to call Kirby’s species.

You can still find art of her buried deep in my DeviantArt gallery (as well as 21 chapters of a story I will never, ever complete), but I don’t talk about her anymore. And this is why.

It all happened back around 2010-2012, which meant I was about 12-14 at the time. This was back when DeviantArt was still the main hub for all artists (lmao) and tumblr was still kind of new on the scene. A cool new trend popping up in fandom spaces at this time was the creation of “your oc is terrible” tumblr blogs, which—as the term implies—existed simply to make fun of artists who had crappy characters. They would reupload artists’ works and laugh at how lame or unoriginal their designs were.

These people were trend-setters, making fun of cringe character designs before “cringe” was even a word used to describe them. And before you fall for the fun hipster wording here: no, this did not make them admirable. They were, in fact, assholes.

Some of these blogs liked to pretend they “poked fun” in the spirit of “constructive criticism” but very few of these people actually offered anything outside of insults. (Besides, even if their feedback had been constructive, none of these artists whose work they’d reuploaded had asked for this and probably should have just been left alone.)

You can probably see where I’m going with all of this. My art of JP was uploaded to a couple of these “crappy oc” blogs, and I was ridiculed for having dared to create a thing.

I discovered my art had been taken from my DeviantArt gallery and uploaded to tumblr (a site I didn’t even have an account on at the time) without my knowledge. My signature had been blocked out (to protect my privacy I guess??? lmfao) and my work had been openly mocked for the enjoyment of an audience. People complained about my shitty character, saying that she was literally just Jigglypuff dressed up to look like an OC. They rolled their eyes at her name and her appearance. And in no uncertain terms, I was deemed a bad artist and a bad member of fandom—a warning to other new artists of what to never be.

I wasn’t told any of this to my face, of course, which I guess was supposed to be a blessing. Rather, I had the lovely privilege of discovering that people were mocking me behind my back for their own satisfaction. It could have even been one of my friends who had brought my work up for mockery. I’ll never know.

But let me tell you, there’s not a lot that’s more discouraging than learning people are ridiculing you just out of earshot.

I wish I had had the foresight to take screenshots of the posts these people made. To document the insults and the way I was treated when I asked them to take my art down from their blog. Unfortunately, I don’t have that. I was young and ashamed and just wanted the experience to be over with. But you know what? The receipts don’t matter, anyway.

I don’t need to prove that I didn’t deserve that treatment.

Today, I acknowledge that my character was lame and kind of uncreative. But that certainly doesn’t mean that the people who made fun of me were in the right. I had never claimed to be a brilliant character creator—some great example of unique OCs and unparalleled storytelling. And hell, even if I had done that, it wouldn’t have given anyone the right to stomp on my imagination the way these people did. I was just a kid.

It’s 2021 now. I’m nearly 23 years old, and it’s been about a decade since this happened to me. I haven’t thought about this horrible event in detail for some time, but I need you to understand that even when I’m not actively thinking about this, my life as an artist is affected by it every day.

I’m still ashamed to share much of anything about my characters. I still worry constantly that I’m being cringey, self-indulgent, or a “bad artist.” Some days I manage to create with beautiful, reckless abandon, but then when the dreaming ends, I look back on what I’ve created and fuss, and worry, and doubt. (Ever wonder why you rarely see my work?)

I know the culture around OCs online has improved in a lot of ways since the 2010’s, but I still want to put this message out there. I want everyone to know why this sort of thing isn’t okay. I want my history to be documented so that maybe some new, excited artist doesn’t have to go through what I did.

TL;DR:

Never make fun of someone for having an uncreative or “cringey” character. It’s crappy to do to any artist of any age, but especially if you do this to a kid of all people—a young artist who is just learning the ropes and learning to be creative. This shit sticks with a person, and it can and will inhibit their ability to create amazing things in the future. If you put down an artist for being bad at design or being cringey, you are an awful person.

And to the people responsible for putting my dumbass little timmy’s-first-OC on tumblr blogs to be sneered at and mocked, I mean this will all my heart:

Fuck you! :)

[marveloussupernerd]

Our Song - Zen

Part 2

You can find part 1 here!

Thank you for the request @hercherryblossomdaze I literally love Zen so much

Your fans actually loved you with Zen. It wasn’t that surprising; they heard how you felt abo it him in all of your songs. Surprisingly enough, his fans actually loved you too! A lot of your fans got into Zen’s career and a lot of his fans started listening to your music. It was super cute.

You had moved in with Zen. He had insisted after about a year of dating (and you touring) that it would just make sense for you to live together, and frankly he didn’t like being away from you. Every day was pure bliss; you expected to fight a lot more as a couple, but you never did. Everything that went wrong was talked through immediately. You just adored him so much.

He never let you leave without giving you a kiss. When you packed a lunch for him for the first time he almost fainted. He was a total sucker for domestic life it turned out. Those tiny little acts of affection were everything to him. Waking up with you in his arms, letting him lay his head in your lap while you practiced lines together, ordering fried chicken for dinner because you were too lazy to make food: he loved it all.

And you loved him more and more everyday too. You wanted to marry him, ideally. Marriage was always a scary thought to you in the past, but this time it came with clarity. You weren’t scared; it was just another step for your relationship to get even closer.

He wanted kids. It didn’t have to be yet! Not until you were both well-established in your careers and ready. He had gotten close with his brother again; he was an uncle. Seeing Zen with kids made your heart soar. For someone who never worked with kids, he was really good with them.

In summary, you had fallen for him. And he had fallen for you.

You sat down at the counter, cup of tea in hand to give to Zen before he had to go practice. “I was thinking... I have to come up with a new album.”

His hands cupped your own, grabbing the mug from you and smiling. “Oo, exciting! Have any ideas?”

“Well, I wanted to ask you about it. You think love albums are too overdone?” You really couldn’t imagine writing anything else.

He grinned. His stupid little grin that made your throat get all choked up and your hands feel all sweaty. “Are you kidding? Everyone likes love albums. Plus, it’s you. Your fans will love anything you put out, and rightfully so.”

“Okay. I think I’ll try working on something today while you’re out.”

He finished his drink, getting up to set it in the sink. “Can I hear when you get home?”

You wrapped your arms around him from behind, hugging him close to you. “If you’re lucky.”

He turned back and kissed you on the lips. “I’ve got to go to work. I’ll call you at lunch. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Love albums are sometimes even harder to write when you’re in love. Are the situations you’re discussing too specific? Or will the listeners picture it as romanticized fiction and enjoy it? It took you way too long to decide to just go with what you had. It was your story.

The first song about stumbling upon each other. Then about the first time you met. Then kissing on the street. Then him surprising you on tour. Then the little things: waking up in the morning with him, the clarity that came when he was with you, the color of his eyes when he was mad at someone for flirting with you. It’s easy to make a flowing story when you already have one in front of you.

“I know you’re nervous.” Zen confessed, setting a drink on the coffee table then sitting next to you. “I’m surprised you didn’t have an album release party.”

You hugged his arm closer to you, resting your head on his shoulder. “This is much better. I think a party would make me even more nervous.”

“Well, I’ve heard your demos. They’re great, Babe. Everyone is gonna love it.”

Yes, he heard the demos, but what if the mixing ruined the song? What if he didn’t even like the songs in the end?

He nudged you with his elbow. “Alright, turn around.” You followed his orders. “You’re way too tense right now.” His fingers got to quick work, rubbing the tension out of your shoulders and upper back. He was right, you were tense, and this felt so good.

And then the premiere started. The first song started to play. You shut your eyes tight and tried to focus on Zen’s touch. God, why were you so nervous?

He worked on rolling a knot out; it was painful to say the least, but you dealt with it. His hands slipped down to your sides. “I can’t believe you wrote an album about me,” he whispered in your ear.

“Well, you were my inspiration. Plus “zen” is such a good album name. Imagine literally anyone else. “Yoosung?” Not the same ring to it.” You turned to face him. “Guess you’re just that good.”

He chuckled, then fell silent; he was very focused on the music.

Most of the rest of the album premiere was him sitting like this, in silence, hands running up and down your sides, tracing shapes randomly into your skin absentmindedly. After each song he’d give you a kiss and a short compliment, always only one word, like “wow” or “amazing” so that he could hear the start of the next song.

Finally you had hit the end. The last song. It was a sort of stream of consciousness song with a soft piano melody in the background. Just all your thoughts about him blurring onto the page.

The song came to a close, the melody ending the song and the album itself. You were nervous to hear his feedback, but you knew even if he didn’t like it he’d sugarcoat it for you.

You turned to him. “Well?” You asked anxiously.

Were his eyes watering? You almost didn’t believe it, until you saw a tear fall down his cheek. “It was so good!” He pulled you into a hug so tight you thought you couldn’t breathe. “When your voice got all soft and light? Wow. Yes. You really are an angel.”

“I, I’m glad you like it.”

His chest was rising and falling rapidly. “Do you... did you mean that? That whole album?”

“Of course I did, Zen.” You tried to pull out of his grip slightly to look at him but he held you in place, his hand running up and down your back like he was trying to cover every square inch at once. “Maybe you could call it cheating or uncreative but-“

“You said you wanted to get married. You know that right?”

You giggled. “Of course I do. I did write it.”

He finally let you go, standing up from his spot and pacing around the room. “Wow! I mean, wow. That’s just... you were so amazing. To think I was blessed to end out with someone so talented and amazing and sweet.” He left the room. You heard him running the sink to get a drink of water.

“You’re adorable,” you called, raising your voice so he could hear you over the tap. “I love you.”

He was rummaging in the cupboards now from the sound of it. “What, you aren’t gonna say I’m talented too?” He joked. “I’m just kidding!” He added quickly. But was he really? You knew Zen liked it when you added to his ego. And why not? He was mega talented.

“Well, you go without saying, Love. Of course you’re talented. Your performances bring me to tears. You’re so amazing at what you do.”

He finally made it back to the room. “Wanna see my best one of all time?”

“Performance?” You raised an eyebrow. Was this going where you thought it was? ...to the bedroom?

“Yes.”

“Well yes. Gladly.”

Getting down on one knee wasn’t the performance you expected. Nor was the giant sparkling ring he pulled out of his pocket. You didn’t realize he had props on hand too.

“I- Zen, is this for real?” You asked.

“Of course it is.” He grabbed your hand. “You are my everything. I wake up every morning seeing your face and fall asleep every night dreaming about you. You have taken up every moment of my day and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Won’t you marry me?”

You nodded vigorously. “Of course I will. Of course, Zen.”

He pulled you in for a kiss, then slid the ring onto your finger.

“You just had this laying around?” You asked, admiring the large diamond sitting in the middle.

“I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now, but I was too nervous because I don’t think I’ve ever asked you directly how you felt about it.”

“We might have to wait to break the news because of the album...” You confessed, looking up at him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He grabbed both your hands this time. “Let’s just enjoy this. Our own little world of happiness. The rest of the world naive and busy with other things. Us just focused on you and me.”

He really was perfect, huh?

[cro0kedme]

Utau sakkaku

Okay I'm warning you now my Art is baddddd I'm sure you already saw but I don't draw that much so I don't have much practice...Hey but I tried! Anyways onto my oc thing.

okay so first off the picture sucks ik ik. It is pretty inaccurate because like I said am bad at drawing so I'll just describe to you what she's supposed to look like. Okay coolio.

I'm also bad at describing I'm trying my best lmao

What she (is supposed to) look like™

Utau is a Carmel skinned female with brown hair, with a stripe of it being purple, she also has deep blue eyes.

Lmao I tried

Her personality™

Utau is a happy go luck girl with strong opinions on weird things. She's mostly secretive and likes to keep to herself. She is pretty distant because of that. She's is also pretty chill and lazy but she's really hard working when she wants to be. She doesn't have many people she considers friends but to those who she dose consider friends are victim to her over dramatic-ness. But it's usually just her trying to joke around. Shes a sarcastic mess who usually wants to apologize but is to afraid to.

Again, I tried.

Her Backstory™

First off her parents are two pretty popular people her mom is a Singer who's quirk grabs the attention of people when she sings and her father is a pro hero who's quirk is illusion, when he looks at someone he can make an illusion that can last up to an hour if he tries really hard. He can make an illusion for just one person or a bunch of people. Though when it's a bunch of people it doesn't last as long.

When her parents got together they kept it a secret if only for privacy. When they had a child they kept it a secret too, for their and their child's privacy. Utau also keeps her parents a secret and tries to change the topic when it's brought up about them.

Before attending U. A utau didn't have many friends but that didn't mean she was bullied. It was the opposite actually, a lot of people found her attractive and she was really popular. People often try to pry into her life because of how secretive she is but they couldn't find out anything about her in the end.

She kept things like her quirk, family (that ones obvious), likes, dislikes, even grades locked up. There was one instance where utau had made a friend. They where someone utau considered a friend but after maybe a month they started giving away personal things about utau.

This bothered her so much she moved schools because of it. When she moved schools she was even more secretive. Almost nobody knew anything about her other than what she looked like.

Soon U. A entrance exams rolled around and utau tried for the heroics course but ended up in gen. Ed. She was devastated about it. Until she talked to her parents about it. Her dad told her that there was still hope. He said he was in general. Ed too before moving over to heroics in the sports festival. With some new found hope utau attended U. A in gen ed.

Her dad trained her the basics of hand to hand combat and how to dodge when he had the time. Until being transfers to heroics from the sports festival.

She made maybe two friends in the hero course after a year but she made a few more the next two years. After graduating from U. A she became a well know hero. And yeah had about as normal as a hero life can go.

Her quirk™

Utau can make an illusion for as long as the song she is singing is. Anyone can become a victim to her illusion as long as they can hear her sing. Downside is she whatever it is she's singing about has to be relevant to whatever she's making an illusion of. Another downside being if she messes up in her song, hits a wrong note, etc whoever is in the illusion snaps out of it and she has to start again but after shes done an illusion once it's hard to do it again, not impossible but definitely difficult.

Her name™

Okay I only made this section to tell you, yes I know how uncreative I am in naming her. In English her name is actually sing illusion, and that's only according to Google translate. And I'm sure we all know how 'amazing' Google translate is... Anyways this is just here to tell you how uncreative I am. I tried.

That's the sketch BTW if there are spelling mistakes, deal with it. I suck at spelling so. Deal. With. It.

[chrysanthemums5]

Keep Magic magical

Please, when writing Harry Potter world fan fiction, keep it magical. It becomes tiresome to read another fan fiction that uses the  ‘wizard encounters amazing muggle technology and it blows their mind!’ trope. Seriously. It’s boring, lazy, and uncreative. Think of a thing you would do differently with magic. Now make it a spell, or a charm, or a transfiguration, or an enchanted device. Give it a name (use google translate to find Latin roots) and there you go. I realise we’re all more familiar with muggle technology, so it’s easier. And we’d like to imagine introducing a witch or wizard to our world. But JK’s world was compelling because she was showing us what it would be like if we muggles could be introduced into their world. Make it larger, more complex, not more ordinary. Thanks.

[swimming-to-djibouti]

The “SnagTag Fack” Game?

Tagged by: @fanmother also someone explain to me what the title means I am Confused

Rules: tag ten of your followers you want to know better

Name: maia

Nickname: lol idk I guess there’s a lot actually

Gender: gender isn’t real but I’m afab if that means anything

Star sign: scorpio/sagittarius cusp

Height: 5’4” im just ,,,,,,,,average

Sexuality: bi

Hogwarts house: slytherin but Fun Fact ive never actually read hp i was just forced to take the quiz lol

Favorite animal: honestly most of them like im scared of a few types of bugs and frightening deep sea creatures but im Working On That™ soon i will lov them all :)

Average hours of sleep: 7, not bc I get regular sleep but bc i get 4-10 hahahah rip

Current Time: 4:35pm lol bc im on the east coast rn visiting familyyy

Cat or Dog person: CATS but I also love dogs so much they’re amazing I love them

Blankets you sleep with: 1-2, 3 if im suuper cold

Dream Trip: hmmmmmm i’d like to go backpacking in switzerland someday

Dream Job: er surgeon haha I hope ;)) none of u ;) get ;) into a ;)) tragiccc ;) car accident ;)) in 10 years ;))))

When I made my blog: uhhhhhhhh 2013 I think

Followers: 500 i think theyre all porn blogs and i send them bible verses daily,

Why I made tumblr: ahahhaaahahhahahhaha

Reason behind my url: it was my band name except we never did anything and im too unoriginal and uncreative to think of anything else ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tagginngngnngngjgn.... @ anyone who sees this u guys I’m so lazy just ,,,,do it

[junker-town]

Adam Sandler’s worst movie derailed Rex Ryan’s coaching career

That’s My Boy sabotaged one of the only two good things about it.

Andy Samberg has done a lot for the world of comedy.

As part of the Lonely Island, he gave us “I’m on a Boat,” “I Just Had Sex,” and “Jack Sparrow.” On Saturday Night Live, he was part of the team that produced “Lazy Sunday” and “Dear Sister.” His six seasons and counting on Brooklyn Nine-Nine handed your uncreative friends “title of your sex tape” to replace “that’s what she said” as their go-to burns. He even gave us 30 minutes of Jose Canseco-based raps in the high-concept sorta-masterpiece Bash Brothers experience.

And all this maaaaybe makes up for the horror he and Adam Sandler unleashed on the world in 2012.

Behold That’s My Boy, the half-formed fever dream of an edgelord 13-year-old come to life. The film, ostensibly another excuse to send Sandler on an expensive vacation that also manages to line his pockets, was notable for two things; and inexplicable reliance on statutory rape jokes to start the movie and the similarly nonsensical decision to use incest as the plot-resolving deus ex machina.

But somewhere in this woven tapestry of ideas plucked from the less-traveled corners of 4chan was a single worthwhile idea: screen star Rex Ryan.

... yeah.

Rex Ryan’s lone acting credit came in one of the worst films ever made

It’s pretty telling the only memorable part about this — arguably Sandler’s worst* —wretched movie about crimes against nature was Ryan winking and nodding so hard at the audience it’s amazing he got through his minute-long scene without physically winking or nodding.

Ryan, halfway into a six-year stint as the Jets’ head coach at the time of filming, marvels at Tom Brady’s jawline and perfect stubble before cradling a Bill Belichick bobblehead. He attempts something resembling a Boston accent in the process, though it gets lost in the jet wash trailing Sandler’s vowel-destroying vocals.

He wears a shirt that looks like it got to wardrobe after years of serving as an exterminator’s tent in other movies before getting the call for its greatest challenge yet.

Oh, and his character’s name is Jim Nance. Sandler, you subtle genius!

The whole scene roughly 10 percent as convincing as the emotion he worked up while telling his players it was snack time back on Hard Knocks.

In his first three seasons as an NFL head coach, Ryan had compiled a 28-20 regular season record and guided the Jets to the AFC title game twice. Then he starred in a movie alongside Samberg, Sandler, Susan Sarandon (!), Ciara (!!), a somehow pretty-good Vanilla Ice (!!!), Tony Orlando, Alan Thicke, and, huh, Baron Davis. He never recovered:

It turns out his teams do much better when he’s behind the camera instead of playing a role in front of it.

*But what, you may ask, about Sandler’s 2011 classic “Jack & Jill” — another Sandler film built on the premise that “guy in mansion has life ruined by terrible family member who would have been set adrift on an ice floe in the real world.” Surely that’s worse than “That’s My Boy”!

Well, that gave us Al Pacino dancing in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial and then summing up the entire film by warning us that “this must never be seen.” For that rare moment of self-awareness, it beats this piece of shit in Sandler’s race to the bottom.

[jonah-nd-blog]

Artist Statement

Artist statement:

Rebellion is defined as “an act of armed resistance to an established government or leader.”

My work started from the idea of creative rebellion as to resist the conventions and traditions of art. Looking for an absence in creativity to in turn further create art that is not defined by these rules. I stated from my last work ‘I have no opinion’ which was considered to be “simply produced”. It looked at having an informed opinion and asking for neutral facts. It also employed ideas that creative rebellion in art would be mono chromatic and dull. “what would a creative rebellion look like, not much”.

In keeping with my choice of material practice to further protest typical creative outlets I first looked into yet another world issue of our time. Body Image. I wanted to stir the pot and create more tension based on peoples own interpretation of a work. A blank page describing the ‘ideal body shape’ would be both a positive and negative. It could be seen as a passing statement that tries to dismiss the whole issue by showing nothing or as a reflective space where the audience can project there own image on the poster. Ultimately I felt that if I want to be more controversial there would be better ways to articulate my point and execute an artwork but this could be saved for a later time. I did however through this process decided on one major factor to focus on. Limiting the material off the artwork. This led me to another artwork/ design object that was referenced in another one of my subjects. Marijn van der Poll’s ‘Do hit Chair’.

The ‘Do hit Chair’ amazed me with its simplicity and effectiveness. I was also a little annoyed with its success. It was a work made from a single material put together in a very uncreative way. It was this simplicity that made it stand out. As an example of creative rebellion I felt it was a perfect match, asking the audience to complete it. The creative practitioner was exempt from work yet had their name all over it. This method of do it yourself art  coupled with minimalism of materials seemed to create endless variation as the audience became part of the process literally forging the final product. This set me up to further explore the idea of the artist selecting the materials and  leaving the art making to the audience. I coined this ‘Ikea art’, some assembly required.

I quickly realised through attempting ‘ikea art’ that people would use the materials as they were designed to be used and by just placing a pencil near paper everyone would immediately start drawing. I wasn't surprised by this but wanted a more random finish. I felt the work was still too staged and I had still too much control by just determining what was used. But this is where the final stages of my work came together. I thought about repeating the same process but with raw materials, fundamentals of every day objects and invite audience to just view. This felt more like the rebellion I was going for. It took so much away from everyone that you felt a little cheated. But that was the point really. If I could just place an element on table it could potentially become anything.

‘Computer 1’ came from this idea of the simplest possible form, one material with zero interaction. Sure it could become a cpu but thats a lengthy process so here is the short version (insert microwave theory).

I believe a creative rebellion is bare and uninspiring but that there is also an untapped potential of uncreative thinking that leads to creative outcomes.

“I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job… because, he will find an easy way to do it.” - Bill gates

Bibliography:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3671180/Duchamps-Fountain-The-practical-joke-that-launched-an-artistic-revolution.html - fountain telegraph

http://www.droog.com/webshop/product/do-hit-chair-non-hitnew - do hit chair

https://www.geek.com/chips/from-sand-to-hand-how-a-cpu-is-made-832492/

imgur.com

[avernale]

Have You Seen These Pokémon? FOR THE LOVE OF MARY AND JOSEPH, HAVE YOU SEEN THEM!?

What

WHAAAAAAA-!? [Crashes, test pattern noises]

Dynamax.

Just... F███ing... DYNAMAX!

What is this?  Are you seeing this, too? Am I going crazy? Is this real life?

No.  It’s larger than life.

It’s DYNAMAX.

I mean... I mean...

First we started making them Digimon with Mega Evolutions, and now we’re making them into Bakugan!  There’s just so much to take in here that I don’t know where to start!

Okay, so for a split second at least we get to see the new Keystone ring.  It’s apparently what facilitates this whole Dynamax thing that I keep typing as “Dyanamax.”  ‘Cause, like, dayamn.  I was wondering about that since I noticed its absence in the game’s reveal trailer.  Never doubted its inclusion, but now we know it’s there and what it does.  And it is pure spectacle.  There’s even clouds circling over their heads, but you know that’s part of the model since they even do that indoors.

My next thought is that this strikes me as a takeaway from Pokémon Go, especially since they seem to primarily appear in Gyms and Raid Battles.  In fact, this is pretty similar to Go’s Raid Battles.  In Pokémon Go, Raid Battles spawn at random gyms, and the Raid Boss Pokémon are always excessively huge until you beat them.  In fact, it seems you have to defeat Dynamax Raid Bosses before you can attempt to capture them, just like in Pokémon Go, though unlike in that game only one of the participating players can take it home.

As for my general impressions, I’m not really sure what to think.  Maybe I need to let my brain cool down a bit first.  This all looks flashy and amazing, but it strikes me like a more generalized and time-limited Mega Evolution.  The exact components you need haven’t been specified though I get the impression you just need a Keystone, unlike Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves that require Held Items as well, and I further assume you can do this with literally any Pokémon.  Where Mega Evolutions required new models, stats, and/or Abilities for each form, this just scales them up, adds some visual effects, and some likely major buffs.  That is easily just something you can program the game engine to do, rather than go in and make bespoke customizations for each creature that uses it.  As cool as it may look, it’s actually kinda lazy, but that’s not a bad thing.  And more effort may have gone into this than i think to make this not totally janky for each Pokémon.  And who knows, maybe certain Pokémon get additional things out of this too, like moves and abilities, but you can be assured they are in the minority.

Also, you know Ash and Pikachu can totally use this, just like the Z-Moves.  It’s the Mega Evolution that isn’t a Mega Evolution.  It’s Mega Evolution Lite.

All in all, impressive, but lazy.  Creative, but uncreative.  You can make up your own Z-Moves and Mega Evolutions, but there’s little room for fan creation with Dynamax and that kinda takes the wind out of my sails as far as this is concerned.  It’s a flashy gimmick, but despite its size, there’s not a lot of meat to it.  The time and use limits make it a bit tactical, but this is Pokémon so that likely amounts to very little.

Alright, with that out my system, let’s look at the rest of the video.

First we get to see a new character: Your rival, Hop.  What kind of a name is that? For me, it’ll be a fitting one, because I’m probably taking Grookie so he’ll probably take Scorbunny.  Unless he pulls a Hau, of course, but Hau never took anything as seriously as he should.  Not much to say about Hop aside from that he’s apparently the blue oni to Randy’s red oni (I’ve named the male PC Randy, by the way).

Also, Scorbunny fist bump.  Nice.  I bet you do that with every starter.

Professor Magnolia is the second female Pokémon professor in a mainline game and probably the oldest-looking. So old that, unlike Professor Juniper, her father has likely been dead for years and little if any relevance to the plot.  Can’t rule out other male relatives, of course, but we do know her granddaughter Sonia is important enough to warrant a bespoke character model rather than be a generic NPC.

SHEEP!  That was my first or maybe second thought upon seeing Wooloo.  I was all “Yay, sheep!” until I remembered Mareep was a thing.  Do we really need another sheep?  Well, we have plenty of dogs, cats, foxes, monkeys, and turtles, so as long as it’s not pure Electric-type it’s probably fine.  Pretty cute, too, but unless it shows up pretty early on it’s unlikely to get on my team.

Then we have Gossifleur, who I did not expect to have an evolution the first time I saw it.  Maybe into something like Lilligant or Tsareena, a total Poképhile-bait waifu, but instead it’s a big dandelion.  Don’t we have Jumpluff already?  Well, it looks nice, though the hair is a bit much.  Still pretty decent.

And Drednaw’s pretty cool, too.  A big ol’ tank of a turtle, and probably a water-type if the color’s anything to go by.  I wonder why these Pokémon haven’t had their types mentioned in this video?  Could they still be balancing that out?  Or maybe there’s a new type they have yet to reveal?  Or maybe they just forgot.

And Corviknight! This one had me all “WHAAAA!?” before the Dynamax reveal.  Jet black and easily the most evil-looking Pokémon I’ve ever seen.  There’s  no way it’s not at least Dark-type, maybe Steel also.  And they turned it into a taxi?  For real?  I wouldn’t get into a car alone with this thing. Pretty cool, but I don’t know if I’d actually train one.  We’ll put that one on the “Maybe” pile, but there’d have to be a lot of lame monsters this gen for me to take this one seriously.

Boy, I’ll tell ya.  They got ya.  They totally got all of us with that initial reveal trailer.  Everyone thought overworld wild Pokémon was just a Let’s Go thing because of that first trailer, but they pulled that wool right off in this one.  This creatively-named “Wild Area” looks like Breath of the f███ing Wild but with Pokémon.  You got Pocket Monsters roaming all over the place like some kind of MMORPG!

But... Are they just set dressing?  It looks kinda like there’s still tall-grass random encounters, although what you see is an exclamation point appear in the tall grass before battle starts.  That could just be something that appears on-screen when a random encounter starts to make it seem less like you just stepped on a Tauros somehow.  Or, it could be a wild encounter can start like a trainer encounter.  A wild Pokémon that sees you could charge right at you to start a battle, but unlike with trainers you can probably run away before they catch you.  That’d be pretty neat.

Then a couple smaller mechanics are introduced.  Tree-shaking is back with full-on character animations.  You can also whistle to get a Pokémon’s attention.  This apparently helps you spot small Pokémon hiding in the grass and draw them to you.  It seems like this would just invite more battles, but when you know where they are this probably could help you avoid them better. I bet some Pokémon would just run off, too.

And theeeen we get what looks like some co-op multiplayer action.  Four players, two of which are customized, enter what I guess is the Pokémon equivalent of a fairy ring to access what I assume is Ultra Space to fight a giant Pokémon.  This is already looking pretty cool.  Multiplayer’s always a thing with Pokémon, but it’s always good to see new formats of it.  And theeeen...

...It’s Mother-F███ing Morphin’ Time.

The (what I guess are) Dynamax Rings are pretty simple in design.  A white band with some gray lines along the sides, a diamond shape on the face with a red “V” in the middle, but the actual Keystone appears to be set into a black portion on the underside.  It looks like the “Marble” variant used for Mega Evolutions rather than the “Ore” variant for Z-Moves.

The Keystone flashes (I think she kinda winces at it, since her eyes don’t close simultaneously when she blinks) and Brenda (as I like to call the female PC) sends out a Raichu, then recalls the Raichu after fighting the giant Gyarados in a montage, then uses the Keystone to turn the PokéBall into a big hologram of one, chucks it with both hands into the void behind her to summon the giant-ass f███ing Dynamax Raichu.

This is where I just lost it.  I didn’t throw a fit or anything, but my mind was pretty much racing for the next minute or so.  My eyes were as wide as they could get as trainers had a f███ing Kaiju battle in UltraSpace. And then another one in a gym.  Y’know, just in case you thought this insanity was confined to just merely this pocket of unreality.  I was like... Well, you read the first part of this post.  I don’t need to go over it again.  Hell, I was practically composing that part of the post in my head as I watched the rest of the video.

Anyway, then Brenda makes another giant PokéBall and catches Dynamax Gyarados with it.  As they explain later, this is the Max Raid Battle, and there are some Pokémon you can only catch in this format.  Interesting, but not surprising.  It’s just a bummer only one of you can actually get it.

Then its back to the real world for a gym battle.  But not just any gym battle.  Finally, it’s demonstrated why the gyms are huge arenas.  Because only a stadium can possibly hope to contain the overwhelming awesome and chaos that is the Dynamax Gym Battles!  Of course, you just know you’ll be able to use Dynamax in cramped hallways, too, but the design of Galarian gyms seems to be purely to demonstrate the spectacle of Dynamax Battles.  I’m going to wager that the traditional gym puzzles won’t be in these buildings, but there’s likely plenty of space in Galar for creative dungeons and challenges.

“So what did you think of the video?” I’ll let you know once I’ve scraped my brains off the screen and put them back in my skull, Junichi.  Don’t get cute.

Oh, hey, notice the symbol on the left during the drone-cam footage.  Rotom Drones.  That’s totally a Rotom-shaped (if not possessed) drone.

Also, are you seeing all these NPCs?  I don’t think any of them repeat in any shot.  Granted, they’re in small groups, but I get the impression there are more unique NPC models than in other games in the series.

I notice the Art Director has an English accent.  I think.  Could be Australian for all I know, but he sounds like he could be from the Galar Region to me.  Neat.  Probably a coincidence. Also, I’m just noticing the bagpipes in the background music as I rewatch this.

The new evolution sequence is pretty nice.  Things go all liquid for a moment, then Eldegoss appears!  Obviously not the stretching and morphing you see sometimes in the anime, but it feels like a fresh, new take on it to me regardless.

The Wild Area is pretty neat.  I find the prospect of open world design to be a little overwhelming, personally, even after playing Breath of the Wild. (Which I never finished.  I should get back to that)  I bet you still can’t swim, though.  Also, is that Steelix flying?  How long have they been doing that?

Freakin’ Dynamax.  I also just noticed a couple things a this point on rewatch.  First, the terrain in the Gym gets blown away and turns into a grid.  Second, what I presume to be the Dynamax Raichu’s move select menu has unique moves on it: Max Lightning, Max Guard, Max Knuckle, and Max Strike. So in addition to the stat buffs, Dynamaxed Pokémon do get new moves.  These don’t appear to be just Dynamax versions of existing moves, like with status Z-Moves (Z-Metal Sound, for instance), but they probably do relate to what moves the Pokémon has before going Dynamax.  I mean, there are clearly two melee moves in there. Probably Fighting and Normal types. Not exactly how I’d set up a generic combat command menu.

I find the design of this menu a little underwhelming.  It’s nice and clear and all, but it feels almost too simple to me.  I dunno, maybe Alola spoiled me on graphic design.

I noticed Max Raid Battles is “one of these new multiplayer features”.  That means there are other ones as well.  Could be things added to existing modes, but I notice shots of players gathering outside the entrance to UltraSpace.  Maybe that stone ring is the lobby, maybe that’s not actual game footage, but maybe you and other players can be in same Wild Area at the same time.  Probably not a persistent world, but I bet you can connect to other players when leaving town.

I wonder if placement of the players and their Pokémon have any relevance in a Max Raid Battle.  I’m going to go ahead and guess not.

I appreciate the translator’s attempt to emote.  It probably matches the speaker’s attempts.

I like the Leon’s regal design.  It’s really all in the cape and hair, but his ball cape has a crown-like design under the brim. Really brings together the regal and athletic aspects, because the rest of that suit is just a sports uniform.  Not sure which sport, but he’s definitely ready for one.

Also, are you seeing the mouth-movements when people talk in this?  There’s no character audio, but they’re definitely more complex than simple lip flaps.  I bet you could almost read them if you were Japanese.  And deaf.  Probably still generic movements, but pretty cool.  And a little creepy.

Is it just me, or do the generic NPCs kinda feel like RWBY background characters?  Not sure what it is.  Probably the shaders.

Oh!  I think you can see Pokédexes when they talk about Hop!  Or maybe just smart phones.  But they look like they have Rotom-like aspects, like eyes on the back and that lightning-horn on top.  Could just be a case, though.

Also, it looks like Leon appears pretty early in the story.  Sure, he’s Hop’s older brother, but I don’t think you even see most Champions until much later in the game.  He’s here with the Professor, quite possibly when you first receive your starting gear and Pokémon, thought it could admittedly be much later on for whatever reason.

At this point, I have to wonder if a Gym Leader’s Dynamax Pokémon follows the same rules for a wild one, as Gyms are specifically designed for Dynamax battles.  Can both of you Dynamax indefinitely?  Probably not.  And for a worked-up crowd, they don’t have a lot of energy, though I don’t doubt you’ll hear them going crazy once you go kaiju.

The commentators totally called it with the canine cover Legendaries.  There were dog heads on the logos, after all.  I kinda wish Zamazenta was a little cooler, but that’s not going to stop me getting Shield.  My roommate implied he’s getting Sword, anyway, and he doesn’t even play Pokémon!  Well, the older ones he’s played. I don’t know about anything recent, but he totally digs Zacian.  It is pretty awesome, and it reminds me of that dog from that one Tales Of game.  Both their names sound like they could be named after Japanese swords, or swordsmen.

I notice their introduction ends with them calling a truce to face off against an unseen force.  I wonder who that could be...

So that’s all I have for now.  What Pokémon do you want to Dynamax first?  Which is your favorite Legendary?  Can you think of a better parting question?

[avani008]

Belatedly answering the “If I were...” meme...

Tagged by @queenofmahishmati! And behind a “Read More” cut to spare everyone’s dashboards.

If I were a month....March? The beginning of spring and, depending on where you live, often nice and rainy to facilitate the best kind of lazy days!

If I were a day....Friday! You can at least get work done and feel productive, but at the same time, you have the weekend to look forward to. 

If I were a planet...Earth? I guess I’m impressed at how it’s just at the right place to sustain life. (I’m not sure if that counts, but I’m feeling dreadfully uncreative with this question.)

If I were a god or goddess...*blinks*Honestly have no idea about this one, but I’ve always thought Meenakshi, the warrior queen goddess of Madurai was pretty awesome...

If I were a sea creature....A  humpback whale! Large enough that everyone else leaves me alone and doesn’t try to eat or hunt me; and just hanging out in the ocean, singing random songs that I make up, sounds pretty fun to me. 

If I were a piece of furniture...A bookshelf! One of those beautiful creative kind that holds as many books as possible. Who doesn’t love those? ;)

If I were a gemstone....Agate. Plain on the outside, with amazing colors and layers on the inside. 

If I were a flower....jasmine! Such a cliche desi girl answer, but it’s a classic for a reason.

If I were a weather condition....Sunshowers! Largely because I love the name, but also because it predisposes to rainbows, and those always cheer me up.

If I were a color...Blue. It’s practical and it goes with everything and there are so many gorgeous shades to choose from.

If I were a fruit.... Apples. Ready to eat without a whole lot of preparation and therefore the perfect snack for lazy people like me.

If I were an element....Antimony, for no reason other than I’ve loved the name since I first heard it (you guys are probably noticing a theme in my choices by this point), but also! Its abbreviation is Sb, which is just wacky enough that it makes me love it more, and plus, it’s the original version of kajal.

If I were a place...Does this mean an actual geographic location/city, or just a general type of area (i.e., a lake or a desert or whatnot?). Going to skip this one as I can’t figure out which is intended!

If I were a taste....sweetness. (To my dentist’s despair.)

If I were a scent....petrichor, the smell of the ground right after it rains. (You guessed it, this is another one I chose largely because I love the sound of the word, but also the smell.)

If I were a song....I don’t know I could pick just one! 

If I were a body part....Eyes. Windows to the soul, etc, but also vision is useful!

If I were a pair of shoes....Comfy flats. Always and forever :)

I think I’m supposed to tag other people to answer this, too, but I’d love to know more about all of you guys, friends! So I tag all of you, especially if you’ve been patient enough to read this far; good luck and I look forward to reading your responses!

[kewltie]

Sooo question? You just posted a thing for royal nanny ah (YAYYYYYYY) but um so are you using the same names for the kids in both royal nanny au and magical nanny au?

Hi anon!!!! 

I’m not just using the same names but they’re the same kids \o/! Bc i’m lazy and terribly uncreative but mainly bc im severely attached to my OC kids!!!!!!!!!!!!! So when i was thinking of royal nanny au i was like man i dont really need new kid(s) to dedicate my entire life to and my heart is v v small and full with the kids i have already i really dont have room for anymore AHHHH!!! so i transplanted magical nanny au kids with all their sparkling personality to this new ‘verse. admittedly royal nanny au version of the kids are much more well adjusted, mainly bc they have an entire department devoted to their mental/emotional well being but they still have their many quirks and (omfg i really really hope) still recognizable–if not that’s ON ME BC IM THE WORST WRITER EVER DDDD: i can’t do them justice :xxxx. 

Also, it’s bc magical nanny au and royal nanny au are mirror off of each other. same kind of set up, the death of the mom bring donghae to hyukjae and the kids’ door and… well lmao that’s basically it. beside sharing several of the same chars and set up they’re nothing alike. i think royal nanny au is much more melodramatic and angsty bc well donghae is in love with his brother in law and has much angst about it so HE RAN HALF WAY ACROSS THE WORLD FOR NEARLY A DECADE BC HE’S SUCH A DRAMA QUEEN. ALL OF THIS JUST IN ORDER TO ESCAPE HIS UNREQUITED LOVE AND TO PREVENT HIMSELF FROM RUNNING HIS SISTER AND HYUKJAE’S NEW FAMILY.  donghae stepped back into south korea only when his sister faced a terrible accident and he thought he was there for the funeral and try to help hyukjae and the kids readjust but he ended staying and watching over them instead and now you get everything else that come with staying close to the man and the kids that his beloved sister (WHO IS SO RAD AND BADASS OMFG SHE’S SO AMAZING NO WONDER DONGHAE HAS AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX) he held a torch since he learned ‘;wtf is this embarrassing feeling lmao. for magical nanny it’s less about drama-drama but about small stuffs that create family b/t strangers and kids that run around with several issues who bickers and fights like cats and dogs but love each other fiercely and their father who doesn’t always get them but always willing to but 10000000% of his everything to try anyway and donghae who arrival is like some magic and who seems to fill in the cracks b/t hyukjae’s and the kids but doesn’t necessary fix it all!!! both are similar but vastly different but ultimately still about family and love. 

ANYWAY I LOVE QUESTIONS–bc 98% i will go off in a tangent… like now. but REALLY THANKS!!!!!! i hope that clarified stuff for you :D. 

[willandandy]

Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent by Will

Hello my name is Will Stubbs and I love music. I feel that music is the best medium for creativity. People can explore new ideas and emotions with the help of music. I am here to talk about music that interests me and maybe start a great conversation. Thanks for reading and remember to love music forever.

 “Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There's not some trick involved with it. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things” - Tom Petty

Protomartyr are a post punk/art rock band from Detroit Michigan. I haven’t been a fan of this band for very long but thoroughly enjoyed their records Under Color of Official Right and The Agent Intellect. Both projects were enjoyable and unique. Now as far as post punk goes I haven’t always been the biggest fan. The genre has certainly grown on me, especially since I have grown older. Now with my new found admiration I am listening to more prominent and critically praised artists. I thought I would review this as an experiment for myself.  It’s funny that I say I didn’t like post punk because now a post punk record is my favorite of the year. This record is simply fantastic.

           Now this review may be fairly lengthy but I think this record deserves it. The first track “A Private Understanding” I will concede is not my favorite track but it has grown on me. While musically not my favorite, the story behind it is superb. In an article on NPR, the singer and lyricist of the band Joe Casey really encapsulates what existentialism and callousness is in this album. I want to take a snippet of this article because I think that the context is important.

"Reading The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton was a big inspiration. It was heartening to read that a guy in the 1700s was wrestling with the sadness of living and the inequities of the world. 'The more things change,' and all that. It's where I found out about Heraclitus, which gave me a roundabout way of singing about the Flint water crisis.”

I love political tracks when they are done well. This song is a great example of doing that through imagery and metaphors as opposed to just saying things outright. I think when he mentions vile trumpets in the song, he is covertly mentioning trump. It seems to be what he think is an apocalyptic time within 2017 America, and the point of no return that seems so apparent in our political discourse. I also think that Joe is saying how unbelievable it is that we still don’t have a solution to the flint Michigan water crisis yet. It’s not being talked about so thoroughly any more. We just sweep it under the rug. This track is very grim and emotional. I think that’s why I initially didn’t like it. The tone changes make my emotions fluctuate and is confusing but I think that is the intent. At first I thought that was the track being inconsistent, and it might be that, but now I think there is an intention.

I adore the next track “Here is the thing”. It’s very reminiscent of Nick cave in that Joe is doing spoken word poetry over music. The lackadaisical and awkward way that he is speaking is intense and almost makes me feel uncomfortable. The bass line is very catchy and sets up the mood nicely. The guitar is catchy, especially when they do the slow melodic riff during the outro. The lyrics are also consistently good.  Look at the lines in the song to start of the track

” Dread 2017 18

Air horn age

Age of horn blowing

Mental corkscrew”

This song is a criticism about modern day politics, and especially a critique on capitalism. In the same NPR article, Joe says that the song is about how in his hometown of Detroit, the city is essentially run by three billionaires yet the citizens are relatively poor. I could conclude that he thinks of his city as an Orwellian nightmare. Joe says that “the thing” within the track is the effect of capitalism on humanity. What a great, catchy, and meaningful track.

The next track “My Children” comes in really heavy and rich but luscious. Its savory guitar chords and chugging bass progression make it hard for me to not tap my feet. The lyrics mention what we pass on to our children. It seems to be a metaphor for his legacy and what he is going to leave behind as opposed to literally his children. I love the particular lines

“My children

They never listen

Vaped in the brain, feral vessels of my self-interest”

Although this seems to contradict my previous statement. Joe mentions in the same NPR article that this song is sort of a mix of literal and figurative regarding the children metaphor so I am not completely off base.  This is by far one of my favorite tracks as well. I worry that growing older I will not leave anything behind. Many people seem to use children as the “accomplishment” of their existence but what of us who don’t plan to have children. What a creative and catchy track about familial displacement.

The following track “Caitriona” has an amazing backstory. I will use another long snippet of the article because I think that this track deserves it.

"She's the main character in a 1949 book, Cré na Cille by Máirtín Ó Cadhain. It has only recently been translated from Irish. There's two translations and they are so vastly different, I don't think I can safely say I've read Cré na Cille. That got me thinking about whether somebody can really know Truth.” The way that Joe thinks and breaks down those thoughts into lyrics are so beyond my scope of creativity. I love when the track changes key towards the end with the twangy guitar riff. The only complaint is that this song is too short.

The next song “The Chuckler” has a really nice repeating guitar chorus. I feel this band does what the national tried to do with their last record, but are far better at doing it. I love that the story of this tracks vocal style is basically an imitation or homage to Morrissey. The lyrics are about loneliness and feeling hollow. I particularly like the lyrics “He tried to sell me on a credit card

I asked about the weather and whether his life was hard”

The following song “Windsor hum” is very literal in regards to the title. According to an article from The Guardian, the Windsor hum is a phenomena where many Canadian residents compare the noise to a subwoofer playing a gentle song. Joe makes many references to this hum throughout the song, but the metaphor is much deeper than I initially though.  Joe compares the hum to a lie that we all tell ourselves every day that we are ok so we are able to get through another day. This song is very dense and luscious as well. This song seems to be more traditional that some of the others but is still catchy and clever none the less.

I am confused by the next track ”Anacita”. Anacita is a fictional city that Joe came up with in which he set up in a previous song. I’m not sure how I feel about the song. I like the audible bass riff. Sometimes bands are too afraid to use the bass to its full potential. Other than that I don’t know how I feel. I have listened to this song several times and it has not become clearer. In a way I find that to be a good thing, because it still leaves some mystery to this dissection of an album review.

The next track “Up the tower“ is much more digestible. The drums seem to be the focus of this track. The kick drum is very intense and the rest of the song follows suit. I love how abrasive this song is and the drastic changes within the song. The long Throw him out diatribe that slowly builds into this chaotic burst then followed by the lines “What a lovely view

From the window

What a lovely dream”. The song is very theatrical, which opposes the rest of this record. I love it.

The song “Night-Blooming Cereus” is awkward and serious, but thoroughly enjoyable. The origin is depressing as the title is about 2016 Oakland warehouse fire. According to the Wikipedia page, the fire was a warehouse that was a famous artist collective which was often used as a concert venue. There were 36 people killed in said fire. Joe talks about how when the band was first coming up, warehouses like these were often the only places that they could get gigs. He uses this metaphor to show that thing existing on poverty and social necessity are the only outlets used for true expression. He then makes the connection that our government is deluding us into being controlled out of fear and necessity. The drums take half the song to appear. The song therefore feels more ethereal and empty until then. I love whenever he sings the words it blooms at night. It gives this song so much more melody even with it being so empty and raw. I am particularly fond of the lyrics “In my own head

Near the hole where hope drains out

And fear is branded deep

Amid the death of all things”

This song to me seems to be the most existential one so far. How our thoughts (Flower) only bloom at night in abandoned warehouses and such. The imagery that he is able to come up with is astounding.

The next song “Male Plagues” is by far my least favorite. The lyrics are lazy and uncreative. The song isn’t catchy or interesting in any way. The explanation of the lyrics are half assed and silly. It detracts from this great album and doesn’t fit at all. I would be inclined to give this album a perfect score if it wasn’t for this song. I wish I knew the context of this song a little better. If they were going to do an admitted silly song like this, why didn’t they do it first to get it out of the way before they were much more serious? This song is frustrating to say the least.

The next song “Corpses in Regalia” is another confusing track. The lyrics are abstract and don’t seem to follow any narrative. I would like to talk more about the instruments behind it. I love how the bass is much more prominent and impressive in this track. The choral chanting is haunting and intimidating. The choppy guitar riffs and quiet guitar make only add to this. This song is very dramatic with the tone and key shifts. When Joe screams decent people don’t live that good gets me every time.

Now I half to talk about the last track “Half Sister”. What a great track to say the least. A fantastic closer track is one thing I really appreciate in an album. The lyrics tie all the subplots and themes together. The song is one of the longer track and it feels that way, but not in a bad way. It has to wrap up this narrative. The half-sister title is an homage to a bus driver they had on their European tour and his family. It also references the said familial ties within the song My Children. Joe mentions a horse struck by lightning to mean that his private understanding was finally understood. He even in the same lines mentions in the same stanza that the horse repeats humans are no good. Either his understanding in incorrect or maybe he understood it privately for a malicious reason. The horse is killed for seemingly no reason and is put on display to teach kids to possibly be obedient and afraid. I know this is my interpretation of this song and is not set in stone, but that’s sort of the beauty of these kinds of songs

This song is undoubtedly a post punk song with the slow metal chords the heavy bass. While slow I can’t help but nod my bead to the beat. At first the song is very dark heavy and brooding but then dissipates. When I hear this song it reminds me of a movie scene of a burning church or something similar, but then the lines she’s just trying to reach you come back from earlier to remind you that you will be ok. What a fantastic track let alone album

I was very eager to give this album a perfect score on first listen but then male plagues just wouldn’t let me do that but I think the score I give is warranted. I love this record. I listen to it all the time and don’t feel that I need to do so.

Top Tracks:

Here is the thing

My Children

Up the Tower

Half Sister

Rating:

9-9.5/10

 Citations:

Hilton, Robin. “What's The Meaning Of Life? Ask Protomartyr.” NPR, NPR, 29 Sept. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2017/09/29/553963443/what-s-the-meaning-of-life-ask-protomartyr.

 Kassam, Ashifa. “The 'Windsor Hum': Where Is the Noise Plaguing a City of 210,000 Coming from?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 June 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/07/windsor-hum-canada-zug-island-united-states.

[professionlapracticelevel2-blog]

Getting Work Experience

I started looking online at what other photographer’s recommendations for approaching companies and how to get work without any past work experience were. Thinking you can get yourself into the high end market of the photography world isn’t a mind set to be in at this stage and I think wanting to work in the fashion industry of photography I personally feel small and intimidated to approach these type of companies and photographers, however  approaching smaller business that may have opportunity’s seems like the more reasonable thing to do and whether or not its work experience in the area I want it’s still going to benefit me in the future and that’s all I need to think about at this stage of developing my skills and meeting new people.

One of the main problems that Devlin found was the way people were approaching her as a photographer, any people never mentioned her name in the emails she received, resulting in her thinking that these emails weren’t only just for her but a million other photographers. They hardly ever mention about her work meaning they don’t actually care about her work or what she does.

Be selective about who you target. It should be someone whose work you genuinely admire as then you will be able to display your knowledge of their images and why you think you might be a good fit.

•Time it well. Don't contact anyone first thing on a Monday morning or last thing on a Friday afternoon. Nobody really wants to deal with anything above and beyond what needs to happen at either of these times and you will be far down anyone's priority list. If the person you approaching is successful then they will be busy.

•Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Think what's in it for them? They won't be sitting there thinking I wish there was someone here asking me loads of questions and learning how I do everything so that they can set up in competition against me. What do you really have to offer? What skill sets do you bring that will actually improve that photographer's life? You need to sell yourself as someone that will benefit them. I'm sorry to tell you that most photographers don't need help with the shooting side of things as much as the admin side. It's more likely that you will be filing and making tea rather than getting your hands on all their expensive gear.

•Show your personality. Don't be afraid to show your character traits. You can assume that if someone is a level where you want to approach them, then so will several others, so aim to stand out. When people write I have a GSOH in dating profiles it doesn't mean anything but the person who shows wit in how they word their biography will be more appealing.

•Think creatively. This is a creative industry, so it amazes me how people approach so much of it in uncreative ways. Everyone else is sending a lazy cut and paste email? Then send your communication some other way. Show how creative you are by posting them something lovely, show how brave you are by actually picking up the phone and talking to the person you are asking to train you.

•Be realistic. Aim not to land a full time job but aim to get your foot in the door. You are highly unlikely to contact someone sitting there with a full time job to give you. Aim instead to get a day or a week's work experience and then make yourself utterly indispensable.

Understanding that photographers sometimes don’t have to time to take on the responsibility of looking after student on work experience while trying to run a business is something you have to think in mind when emailing them it’s not a personal thing if they say no, they don’t know you they just simply can’t at this time but then they may offer you a opportunity in the future when the timing is right.  

[pleasespellgabbana]

I have a problem with getting things done. I know, it's not a glamorous flaw. It causes me to feel lazy and honestly, sometimes just plain dumb. I do so much and I want to do so much more but my brain can't handle it all. *I* can't handle it all. My brain can't compute. I have dreams and aspirations, and a "side hustle," as they call it. But I also have a day job, and between all of it...I got overwhelmed. I felt lost, uncreative, and just plain burned out. "Running on fumes" some may say. It was then that I got help from my amazing friend, @sarajanecase. Sarajane(one name, not two) helps business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives, set goals and meet them. She functions as a business partner to keep you accountable and work toward a common goal. I needed help figuring out what was missing. I needed to know why I couldn't do it all. I met with Sarajane and she helped me figure out what my goals were, what I was trying to achieve, and give structure to my madness. She helped me highlight the important things and throw out all the extra noise. I really can't speak highly enough about Sarajane and what she does. She has started an online course that I KNOW will help you in whatever endeavors you are taking on. It's called Business Bliss and it's structured in a way that no one is just talking at you, but it lets you take control of your own needs/dreams. So here's what I want you to do.... A) go follow @sarajanecase B) go to SarajaneCase.com to see what she's all about. C) go to Sarajanecase.com/business-bliss-info and learn about this fantastic course. Use coupon code "Eric" to get 10% off of the course. I don't talk about things I don't believe in and I don't believe in things that don't matter, so check it out and let's get 2017 revved up!