#and here I was thinking K wouldn’t perform on Halloween

[petrovna-zamo]

Halloween 2019➡️2023

[lovemesomesurveys]

[yourheaventonight]

Have you ever wanted to grab someone by the throat and squeeze until their head explodes? Uh, no....

Anyhow, what's your favorite movie? I have many favorites. How do people choose just one for stuff like movies, books, music, and TV shows?

Any movies you're just dying to see? More Marvel movies this year and in October the new Halloween movie comes out. I’m sure there’s other movies coming out I’ll want to see as well.

How's the love life? Non-existent.

What's the title of the last book you read? I’m currently reading, “Cold Highway” by Mary Stone.

Do you have a messy signature? Yeah. My handwriting in general is crap.

What color are your nails at the moment? They’re not painted.

When's the last time you got a text? Yesterday evening.

Have you ever felt your phone vibrate and had it scare the shit out of you? Probably.

What song is currently resonating through your ear drums? I’m listening to an ASMR video, actually.

What's your greatest fear? Losing my loved ones, death, never getting better/getting worse, never doing anything with my life...

How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Like 3 hours? :/

Would you consider yourself morbid? Sometimes.

Do you keep your nails long or short? They’re barely even there.

How do you feel about 2012 and what the Mayans predicted? Welp, we’re in 2021 now.

What was the last thing you said out loud? “Goodnight.”

What was the last thing you stopped yourself from saying? I don’t remember.

Who was the last person to call you baby? *shrug*

Does your name begin with the letter J? C? R? K? S? S.

Do you need a shower at the moment? No.

Can you thrive on false hope? Sometimes people think I’m being negative or pessimistic and sometimes I am, but there’s definitely times where I’m just being real.

Do you use Bing.com? Never.

What's the last thing you looked up on any search engine? Something related to a survey question.

Have you ever considered a career as a porn star? No.

What was the last lie you told? Hmm.

Do you remember the last thing you typed in a Word document? No, it’s been years.

How many pictures do you have saved on your computer? Maybe a handful? I don’t save a lot to my laptop, actually. I have a shit ton saved on my phone, though.

Would you consider yourself artistic? Not at all.

Has anyone told you that you were a good writer? Yes.

^Do you believe them? It was nice to hear, but I never thought I was anything great.

What all do you have pierced? Just my earlobes.

Are there any piercings your currently waiting to get? No.

What color is your phone? Gold.

When was the last time you sneezed? I don’t remember.

What do you consider 'classic' rock? You love your rock music, don’t ya.

When was the last time you shaved? A few days ago.

What's the longest you've ever had your hair? Down to my butt, its current length.

What's the last unpleasant thing you smelled? Onions. 

Are you sleepy at the moment? Yes. I should still be sleeping.

What can you see through the window closest to you? I have blackout curtains so I don’t see anything.

Have you ever just wanted a re-do on life? Most definitely.

How many pages was the last book you read? I don’t feel like checking.

Who is/are the main character(s) in it? Detective Ellie Kline, her friend, Jillian, her work partner, Clay, her ex, Nick, a few other cop guys, and the bad guys. 

Who/what did you last take a picture of? My doggo.

Do you take pictures of yourself just for Myspace or Facebook? I haven’t in awhile. The last picture I took was the photo I also have on here because I’m wearing my ramen shirt I got for Christmas and it felt fitting.

What were you like 5 years ago? 10? 15? End of 2015 and going into 2016 is when my downward spiral began. In 2011 I was finishing up my last year at community college and getting ready to transfer. I was dealing with a health issue I had to have surgery for the following year, but still I wasn’t like I am now. I also had friends back then and a social life. Go figure. Oh, and Joseph and I had our thing going. 2006 I was a sophomore in high school. Had my first boyfriend. Went through my emo phase. I was active and healthy for the most part.

Have you ever wanted a mohawk? A real, 2-foot tall, multicolored mohawk? No. What was the last pill you took? My pain med.

Should you be in bed right now? I am. I should be sleeping, though. Sigh.

What's the best cover song, in your opinion? One of them I like is Adele’s cover of “Fast Love” by George Michael that she performed at an award short after his death. I always describe it as “hauntingly beautiful.” I’m sad she never released a studio version. 

Do you ever get on Myspace anymore? I haven’t been on there in over a decade.

Favorite lyrics right now? Hmm.

Have you ever gotten Visine in your mouth? Ew, no.

Last person to get on your nerves? Ugh, myself.

Is sarcasm a part of your daily vocabulary? I wouldn’t say that.

Do you like sappy love songs? I can be a sucker for ‘em.

Pick up the nearest notebook, go to page 2 & write down the 3rd sentence. No.

Do you Tweet? Yep.

What's the background on your phone? I have an Alice in Wonderland theme going on currently.

Do you enjoy cleaning? No.

Is your hair curly, straight, or in-between? It’s wavy.

Is there someone in (or out) of your life that is hard to think about without feeling like there's a giant hole in your chest? No.

Speaking of holes, did you know the band Hole is back? Please stop saying that.

Oh, did you know there's a black hole at the center of our universe? klasjfklsjfkldf.

Would you paint your nails orange? Sure.

What's the hardest part about saying goodbye? It can be hard sometimes if it’s someone you might not see again for awhile or know when or if you will and you’re really close to that person.

Do you like Fresca? (If you know what it is.) No.

What does your favorite pair of pajama pants look like? I just wear leggings.

Do you like waffles? Pancakes? French toast? Yes - all of the above. 

Do you like bananas and peanut butter? Yes. Have you ever tried a fried pickle? Yeah, they’re good.

Can you tell I have food on the brain? I’m hungry as well.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be the opposite sex? Yeah.

Don't you love Samoas? No, cause I don’t like coconut. 

Do you pick your nose when no one's looking? I use a tissue if I need to do something and yes I’m private about it.

[tegoshigeftw]

Tegoshige Top 25

“More Tegoshige, please!” - said absolutely noone and I delivered. Well, this isn’t for 5 likes, this is for me. I’ve had this blog for 6,5 years now and I decided to look back on the best it had to offer. This is my rating of top Tegoshige moments, excluding those that tightly involved other members (so the making out had to be left out ;;). The things that made my heart doki doki... It was originally a top 10 but it was getting hard to pick so I decided there literally was no reason to hold back so here we are.

#25 4x9

That one time Tegoshige went on location together (which is already a blessing) and Tegoshi got freaked out because of insects running about and nearly got into Shige’s lap. Nearly. So it heads the list.

# 24 Halloween 2017

Tegoshi was Oiran - an elite courtesan - and Shige was Alex from Clockwork Orange. This was but a short moment but is lasted forever in my mind.

#23 Dropped earring

This was during White final. After the boisterous MC scene where Shige was the couch and Tegoshi was the girlfriend, Shige noticed Tegoshi dropped his earring, picked it up and gave it back to him. Just a minor moment, but Tegoshi was still in girlfriend mode and it was incredibly soft. Video here.

#22 Neverland in Tokyo encore 2017/06/11

Tegoshi got very emotional after he went backstage but the fans kept cheering so they went back on stage again and Tegoshi wouldn’t stop crying so Shige led him softly.

#21 As long as Tegoshi is happy...

Before a live performance, they were interviewed and as it was just after Tegoshi’s birthday, they were asked what they wanted to give so...

S: … (in his best ikemen voice) As long as Tegoshi is happy, that is enough! T: Ahhh! ♥ I am loved! Thank you, Shige-chan! I wanna hug you!~

Video here.

#20 The Spa

It was a photoshoot for Biteki. They were originally in different sandboxes but Tegoshi got lonely very soon.

#19 Hairstylist Shige

Shige has been Tegoshi’s stylist for years, since the early days. You can see it in photos and several DVDs, most notably Live Diamond. Video cut here.

#18 “Shige, thank you!”

The night after the Neverland Tokyo concert, 2017 Shige got a call...

S: After the concert ended, Tegoshi had a party with his friends. And so late at night he suddenly called me saying “Could you come for a bit?” S: He seemed to be serious and he cried so much at the concert. (laugh) I got worried and came over but this guy… he just fell asleep! (laugh) K&M: That’s terrible. S: He woke up once, looked at me saying “Shige, thank you!” and went back to sleep. T: Moreover, I was sleeping in Shige’s lap. [S]

Tegoshi: After the last concert in Tokyo Dome I invited several members of staff and Juniors and we basically did a wrapping up party. I called Shige at 3 AM and he came but I ended up falling asleep in Shige’s lap though I don’t remember that at all. I heard it afterwards but apparently I sang “I’m coming” and Shige sang “Ayame” but I don’t remember a bit… [S]

#17 Neverland in Tokyo 2017/06/10

According to a fan report: At the intro of some song, Shige grabbed Tegoshi by the waist tightly. At first, Tegoshi was playing along but Shige didn’t let go and Tegoshi, not used to being attacked, got embarrassed.

#16 Umeboshi

Shige’s been making umeboshi for years now and his #1 fan is none other than Tegoshi.

S: I’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s not that I like them, I hardly eat them myself. During the tour our Tegoshi eats quite a lot of them. I leave it (in the dressing room) so after the concert he opens it and eats it. About half of them I make for Tegoshi. [2017.02.08 Moshimono Futari]

Q: If you were to give Christmas presents to the members what would it be?

A: …Well, umeboshi! Umeboshi! Eat my umeboshi and get healthy! I give it to Tegoshi every year though. Ah, but that’s showing “Love”. I give it all the time but it’s a deep love that has a special depth! (laugh) [2018.12.05 TVガイド]

#15 Blue making

This is perfect for several reasons, how naturally this fells, how there’s a perfectly empty chair next to them, and how at the end Tegoshi stumbled and Shige is cautioning him.

#14 That 2013 photoshoot

You know the one. That is all. No comment needed.

#13 Tegoshige Kabe-don and confession

During k-chan news, they played the Prince game and Koyama wanted a kabe-don. So Tegoshi kabe-don’d Shige and told him “I love you!”

The audio available here.

#12 Tegoshi’s kirakira eyes

Back in 2009, Shige had a diary and I’m really sorry he does not anymore because one day after a photoshoot he wrote this:

At that time he had seemed to be already smiling and looking at me Looking at me at such a close distance Is this an effect from DREAM BOYS As compared to before, the distance was so much more closer Tegoshi Yuya Indeed is a prince………….. Oh please won’t you be even a little embarrassed. Just how strong is your heart? Don’t look at me like that………… Being looked at with those shiny eyes…………… The atmosphere will become weird (oдO) ………………………………….. Tegoshi Yuya who has ended the photoshoot using those shiny eyes, had walked towards DREAM BOYS with that pair of eyes Ah~ shiny shiny Tegoshi eyes~ I’ll be waiting for that photoshoot~ I wonder… for which magazine would it be Oh the kira kira eyes

Full text here.

#11 That Taiwan hotel video 

We all remember that one. Tegoshi in his bathrobe going out to visit ‘other members’’ rooms but he only goes to Shige’s and gets comfortable on his bed, and gets pounced, and the next thing they show, it’s morning.

#10 Soukon thigh stroking

That time the camerman got very fascinated with Tegoshi’s legs and the other members teased him about it and called him a pervert. Then, Shige decided to stroke those thighs because... well, he can. 

#9 Taking a bath together!

- An unforgettable episode that happened on stage.

Kato: Because of a thunderstorm we had to stop the concert. We moved it to a later date. After a break the 4 of us got into tiny bathtubs, 2 in each and it felt sort of like a field trip, (laugh) the bath was warm. [Duet 2015.04]

They also talked about it during an MC at the time.

Shige pretended to climb into the “tub” with Tegoshi. “We were Team… What was it again?” T: Team “We haven’t done our solos yet”. S: And Tegoshi was sliding all over the place and smacking into me. He was such a naughty guy. T: It couldn’t be helped. It’s slippery. K: But baths are nice, aren’t they? Shige answered in a chill voice, “Yeah, they’re great.” [S]

#8 Worldista routine

I think this was during Weeek where they make up different letters with their bodies. Every concert it went differently but several times Tegoshi left his place and went over to Shige. This fancam pictured the time he got on top of him. Or tried to.

Also here’s a report from Nagano, May 25:

Tegoshi goes to Shige and captures him in a hug and Shige hugs him back. Then Shige picks Tegoshi up and carries him like a sleeping child to his original position. [Fanart here]

#7 Showers

Tegoshi is long known to invade other people’s privacy and during the tour, other people’s shower stalls are no exception. There are many recent episodes but here’s one account:

Q2: Shige-chan said in Nagoya when he took a shower Tegoshi appeared right before his eyes but does he do it always?

S: Not… always but he did it quite a lot on this tour. He trespassed about 3-4 times I think. He would enter the shower room I went to really quietly. That’s why I got really startled. He’d get happy he made me surprised and start grinning. (laugh) I would counterattack by pouring water over him.  

[Tour Stories from Popolo 2016.09 FUN’S QUESTION - SHIGEAKI]

Then, there’s an important MC from 2008. One time, during the tour Massu wanted to take a shower but as he entered the stalls, he met a naked Shige standing proudly. Shige explained he was only waiting on Tegoshi who earlier danced for him naked. Massu was like “Cool, I’ll leave you to it.”

The full account is here. There used to be an audio of this but I didn’t manage to get it.

#6 DTF ‘ago-kui’

There were many instances during two whole tours and also a SCP performance. Each time seems a little closer and more intimate, but each time looks equally fun on both sides.

#5 Accessible Emma outfit

Now we know that Shige, unlike Tegoshi, is not a touchy kind of guy. So him doing something like this, especially on air, is pretty unusual. Tegoshi said Shige did it a lot backstage too.

#4 “I wanna stir you up”

This line from ‘S’ was a real hit and Tegoshi basically admitted it got him horny. Twice. Detailed posts here and here.

#3 Tegoshi saying they’re basically married

Here’s the video.

#2 Tegoshi knows what’s up

Who do you think has the most sex appeal?

Tegoshi: Shige. His face is handsome like a nobility but he’s also manly. Rather than a shining sexuality his sexuality is monochrome… a deep sexuality. It’s the kind that slowly unravels as you get to know him.  [Wink Up, 2013.12]

Who would be a perfect boyfriend in NEWS?

Tegoshi: Wouldn’t that be Shige? It seems like he wouldn’t be clingy but all the while even when he’s silent, in his heart he’d be like “I’m thinking about you properly ♥” keeping a good distance. [Ane Can 2015]

Look with a “female gaze” and say who’s the most handsome member Tegoshi: Alright, I’m switching to female… click! …Hello, I’m Yuko! (laugh) So… for me it’s Shige. The reason is his face and his way of life. His face is up to my taste (laugh) and he doesn’t hesitate in words or in actions. His open-minded way of thinking is similar to mine. It’s refreshing and feels good. [Potato 2016.10]

To name but a few.

#1 Shige radio confession

During k-chan news, they played the Prince game and Koyama wanted one person to say what they liked about the other person and this is how Shige confessed.

K: Do it properly! Seriously. Connect hands “lover style”, look at each other. *giggle* S: Tegoshi has a really cute face. Really cute face and a good voice… K: That’s not it. S: A nice voice and beautiful eyes… K: Something you really like, really like.  S: But I really do like it. K: Something more about his personality. S: If it’s about his personality then… even when he complains he still does his job properly.

Sorry, but that’s just... yeah. You have to hear it though. Full transcript and audio here.

[chaeryybomb]

FEBRUARY GG COMEBACK REVIEW

because there were so many girl group comebacks, I’m gonna do a review about them!

possibly might do this every month idk

I’ll review them on title song, album songs ( if they had an album comeback ), stage presence, outfits, music video, choreography and overall. ( I’m not gonna rate them by numbers )

GFRIEND: 回: LABYRINTH

TITLE SONG: Crossroads

personally, it took me a few listens before finally liking it. but it didn’t take that long before it hooked me on. it reminds me a lot of an anime opening. my favorite part is when the music stops and yuju sings the chorus, when i first heard that on their comeback stage, it gave me chills

MUSIC VIDEO

the music video was!! amazing!! i love how it gave a movie type of feeling. i’m still new to gfriend so... but overall, the music video is really nice and it made me feel things

CHOREOGRAPHY

gfriend is also known for their choreography, and they never disappoint. i really like the choreography and how it would sometimes split to a few members on the stage then all members.

STAGE PRESENCE / STAGE OUTFITS

i really really like the presence umji gave out during this era, something about her kept drawing my attention towards her every time I watched their stage.

i also really like their outfits this era, it’s so classy. i personally like yuju in long pants/pantsuits type of outfits. also, yerin’s highlights + beret is to die for.

ALBUM SONGS

the b-sides could all be title track worthy tbh. they’re vocals are all amazing.

my personal favorites are dreamcatche, from me and labyrinth

on a side note, I really like labyrinth’s choreography

OVERALL

overall, this comeback made me stan gfriend lmao, I really like their style of music. they also have a storyline which I’m trying to keep up?? what caught my eye during this comeback was definitely umji and eunha’s pink hair + high note in labyrinth.

EVERGLOW: Reminisce

TITLE SONG: DUN DUN

yiren’s “you’re so dun dun dun dun dun” part got me hooked immediately lmao, it’s just really catchy

i love love love love aisha and e:u raps, like yes rappers come through. aisha’s deep voice can k i l l

sihyeon’s beginning was definitely catchy. and I love the bridge part between her and onda

my only complain is that I wished onda could’ve gotten more lines ;-;

MUSIC VIDEO

the music video was really aesthetically pleasing, my favorite part was aisha’s part like damn girl. though I didn’t really like that face gem thing they had on yiren-

CHOREOGRAPHY

the choreography?? is just?? amazing?? i really like mia’s part of the choreography, the dance break and verses are 👌🏻

i also like the part where sihyeon sings after the dun dun, if that makes sense..

oh and I like the second chorus dance

and center onda is powerful

also I like the beginning where yiren would stomps her feet and says “everglow”

STAGE PRESENCE / STAGE OUTFITS

mia’s stage presence never disappoints, as usual. her face expressions are usually on point. but this era drew me towards e:u as well, her stage presence this era was definitely something

i love love love the black outfits ( the same ones they had in the beginning of the mv )

i also love how they gave onda outfits that stood out more, like for example the white outfits, onda was all in silver; or the red outfits where everyone wore red and black while onda was in a more different pattern

i didn’t mind that they re-used the outfits but in different colour, I thought it was way better than adios era where everyone wore the same outfits, at least this era the designs for everyone were different

ALBUM SONGS

my personal favorite is definitely “no lie”, I just wished they would promote it more than “salute”. but I felt blessed that they actually performed “no lie”, and the choreography was amazing.

yet onda and yiren really suited the “salute” concept

i personally think that the line distribution is lazy, for example “no lie” and “player”, mia is singing the chorus over and over again. it’s like the producer made her record the chorus part then just used it for the entire song and not ask a different member to record the 2nd chorus.

OVERALL

overall, I really like this comeback. my only complain is that I wish the line distribution was fairer. it’s unfair to all members, including mia. I hope that she isn’t feeling overworked because of having to sing so many lines while doing the dance break as well.

LOONA: #

TITLE SONG: So What

I really like this concept on LOONA!!! i know it might seem like what other groups are doing, but this type of concept really suits them

rapper heejin!!

chuu and jinsoul’s high note tho. but I could tell during the stages where chuu was struggling to hit the high note, I hope she’s not to hard on herself

my favorite part of the song is hyunjin’s tic tac toe part, yves’s shock shock and choerry’s part in the bridge

MUSIC VIDEO

the music video is just

UGH

aMAZING

I love vivi’s part with the spray can and kim lip’s part with the red outfit

the part in the subway too!!

CHOREOGRAPHY

when I first saw the choreography, I was s h o o k. seriously, they were all in sync, it’s amazing! I literally have no words on how to explain how much I love the choreography

STAGE PRESENCE / STAGE OUTFITS

let me just tell you, yves’s stage presence this era, can literally kill someone. literally. she slayed this era with that slick back hairstyle and piercing eyes.

literally loona’s stylist deserves a goddamn R A I S E.

almost every stage was a different outfit, for 12 members!! I can’t pick a favorite outfit because all of them were amazing!!

ALBUM SONGS

for the first time, I actually like the title song so much than the other album songs

but that doesn’t mean they’re great. but if I had to choose a b-side, it’ll probably be “ding ding dong”

OVERALL

overall, this comeback was definitely not disappointing and surprising. it was also definitely first win worthy. my only complain is, you guessed it, vivi’s lines. she had a total of 3 seconds! come on BBC! also, I hope that haseul is doing fine.

IZ*ONE: Bloom*IZ

TITLE SONG: FIESTA

gAH I MISSED THEM SO MUCH!!

I never liked the produce series because they gave so many kids false hope, but they groups they debuted were indeed talented and they don’t deserve all the backlash because mnet’s a snake.

but yes fiesta slaps. i’m so happy that sakura and minju are getting the lines they deserved. I really like eunbi part at the end and yuri’s bridge.

MUSIC VIDEO

the music video was definitely aesthetically pleasing to watch, especially eunbi’s angel scenes and chaeyeon’s solo scenes.

CHOREOGRAPHY

okay personally, i felt that the choreography was a bit plain for a 12 member group. i felt that “la vi en rose” and “violeta” had more diverse choreography than fiesta

but other than that, the choreography is nice and I like wonyoung’s part with the fingers and yena and eunbi’s pre-chorus parts

STAGE PRESENCE / STAGE OUTFITS

i hope the girls can perform on other stage platforms ;-;

chaewon has got my eye this era, maybe it’s because of her short hair but her presence is definitely there on stage

eunbi and chaeyeon’s stage presence never disappoints as usual

as for the outfits, I love how bright and colourful the outfits are, my personal favorite the pastel suits one

ALBUM SONGS

it’s my first time listening to an iz*one album. when I first listened to the album highlight medley, i thought i wouldn’t like it but boy was i wrong

first of all, i love how they all had sub-units so everyone had their chance to shine in the album

my personal favorites are “ayayaya”, “pink blusher” and “eyes”

OVERALL

overall, the comeback was great. i just wished that hyewon would’ve gotten more lines but I can definitely tell that all of them has improved tremendously. i hope that backlash won’t affect the girls and i hope that eunbi will get well soon.

DREAMCATCHER: Dystopia: The Tree Of Language

TITLE SONG: Scream

*inhales* I LOVE DREAMCATCHER

I immediately liked the song the moment I heard it. It reminded me of Stray Kids’s “Side Effects” due to to the heavy edm drop. I really like this type of style on them.

I love gahyeon’s and dami’s “devil, eyes, come” part and rap parts

MUSIC VIDEO

dreamcatcher’s music videos are always different, they always have an element of halloween in them and I love it

this era gives me a spooky witch vibe ( especially with “red sun” )

dreamcatcher’s music is definitely a breath of fresh air

CHOREOGRAPHY

I love love love love the “devil, eyes, come” part with the hand thingy

when they do this 🤘🏻

i really like it

I also like jiu’s parts and sua being the center will literally be the death of me

OH OH OH and gahyeon’s rap part with the masks!!

STAGE PRESENCE / STAGE OUTFITS

first of all, sua and yoohyeon’s stage presence is literally incredible

sua has definitely caught my eye during this era.

as for the outfits, dreamcatcher basically re-uses the outfits in different colours but I frankly don’t mind it so

i like their outfits when they perform “red sun”, it gives out spooky witchy vibes and I’m here for that

ALBUM SONGS

again, all of dreamcatcher’s songs can literally be a title track. i can’t choose a favorite

they’re all amazing and like I said, a breath of fresh air from other groups.

seriously, they’re really underrated

OVERALL

overall, i really like this comeback. and I love how they have a masked dancer in the place of handong ( who is currently filming for idol producer in China, I hope she’s doing fine with China’s current status ). I find the gesture really sweet. I also love siyeon’s solo, “paradise”. I hope she can perform it one day.

WEKI MEKI: DAZZLE DAZZLE

TITLE SONG: DAZZLE DAZZLE

the song is definitely catchy, especially the “dazzle dazzle dazzle me” part

i really like elly and suyeon’s part in the chorus

my favorite part is lua’s rap

MUSIC VIDEO

i think the music video was nice, i felt that smiley face cake was out of place

i wished that they kept the sparkly concept throughout the entire music video

CHOREOGRAPHY

the “dazzle dazzle me” part is honestly really fun to do lmao

i like the choreography for the chorus part

oh and yoojung and doyeon’s part tho-

STAGE PRESENCE / STAGE OUTFITS

elly has definitely owned this era

literally, she owns this era

and her bright blue hair help plays a part in it too

despite of having less lines, lua’s also radiates good stage presence

as for the outfits, i love the pastel colours that they’re going for

I really like elly’s blue hair, sei’s pink highlights, lucy’s blonde hair and rina’s short purple hair

OVERALL

overall, this comeback is really catchy, like it’s so easy for it to get stuck in your head. elly definitely slays this comeback, she’s literally shining. yoojung’s and lua’s rap parts are also a score. i just wished lua would’ve gotten a bit more lines.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

ROCKET PUNCH

I personally don’t really like “Bouncy” but the rest of their songs in their album is catchy. My favorite of the album is “Fireworks” and “Girl Friend”.

THE BOYZ

i literally stanned them during this era. like goddamn, sunwoo is wrecking me. i love sunwoo and eric’s rap parts. new’s vocals are out of this world, the boy is also tiny asf. also hyunjae’s blond hair?? juyeon has also caught my eye during this era.

BTS

okay ngl, i didn’t really like “black swan”, it’s not my cup of tea. “on” is definitely something. the part where they do the window wiping thing is weirdly satisfying to watch ( also someone pls edit jin’s window wiping laugh on it ). jungkook’s high note tho. also Jimin’s “oh na na” is really catchy. out from the album, my favorite is “we are bulletproof: the eternal” like damn, that made me sad.

ELRIS

so I don’t stan them but “jackpot” literally slaps. their rap line is literally so powerful?? especially the short hair girl ( Karin?? ) she raps and sings, damn that’s a double threat right there. the chorus really gets me ngl.

[trishmilburn]

Wonho, Monsta X, The Culture of Online Hate and Standing Up for What’s Right

One of the challenges of being an author is knowing where to start a story. I find myself facing that same question as I begin this blog post. There are times when we are feeling so many emotions at once that it’s difficult to express them fully. But I’m writer, and I should be able to put feelings into words even when those feelings are like a maelstrom inside of me.

As many of you know, I dove head-first into the world of K-pop a year ago. It wasn’t something I sought out. It almost seems like destiny that it found me, and I’m so glad that it did. At the time I found K-pop, I was at a crossroads of a sort. Though I’d been publishing books for a decade, the market was changing and I was burning out on the types of stories I was telling. I still loved those stories, put my all into them, and I’m thankful to my editors, publishers and readers for the opportunities and support they’ve given me. But that creative part of me wasn’t truly happy anymore. And I had no idea what to do about it because this is how I make my living. Did I have to give up the idea of enjoying what I do in order to put food on the table and pay the rent? That was depressing, to say the least. After all, I’d left journalism because I wanted to write fiction full-time. I didn’t think I could go back to being a journalist in today’s climate.

Enter K-pop, which I found by way of watching Korean dramas. Not since I was a teenager into a variety of 1980s hair bands (Hello, Bon Jovi! You’re still awesome!) had I been so into music. And to be honest, I’m pretty sure I’m enjoying music more now than I ever have in my life. That is saying a lot considering I’m a 49-year-old white lady from the American South and that enjoyment is originating a world away in a country I’ve never been to. But K-pop is infectious in the very best way. Not only are the typically upbeat songs fun to listen to, the entire world of K-pop is fun and fascinating. It has brought me countless hours of enjoyment. I listen to K-pop in my car on long road trips to concerts in Atlanta and on short trips to the grocery store. Dance is one of my two preferred forms of exercise in addition to walking at our local beach, and the playlists are all K-pop. I love watching not only the official music videos, but also the dance practices, the goofy videos the groups do in Halloween costumes, and the variety shows on which you get to know them better. K-pop is a bright, colorful, happy-making world of singing, rapping, dancing, fashion, cosmetics and more.

Until it isn’t. Today is one of those days. K-pop is not immune to the current world of online hate. While social media has allowed me to connect with my readers and fellow K-pop and K-drama fans around the world, which is fantastic, we all know it also had a dark side. Behind a computer screen, people say the most heinous things to each other, often people they don’t even know. Often while hiding their real identities. But in the current climate, many don’t even feel the need to hide their identities anymore. They feel free to direct hate at others in the full light of day, and others egg them on. It’s disgusting and it harms people who do not deserve it.

Today’s victim is Wonho from the group Monsta X. They are one of the four groups I’ve seen in concert so far this year, and their concert was fabulous. Wonho wasn’t feeling well during the show, but none of us knew that until he collapsed and had to be helped off stage. A bit later he came back out and apologized. I just wanted to wrap him in a hug and tell him he didn’t have to apologize for not being well. After all, these idols (that’s what members of K-pop groups are called) push themselves hard. They are constantly working, running on little sleep and little food to make it in a highly competitive industry that can easily discard them because there are always more groups debuting that can take their place. It’s exhausting just thinking about it.

An apology from a K-pop idol for the slightest perceived infraction or disappointment to fans is not unusual in an industry where them even dating is often considered a scandal. Not only do they have to perform their professional duties, but they are expected to be perfect with nary a wrong step, even before they became idol trainees. It’s unrealistic and it’s unfair. Who among us hasn’t done something in our life, particularly when we were young, that we regret? Something we learned from and grew because of having done it. Idols are not allowed this luxury of having been at any point a normal human youth. This is the fault of the companies they work for and the unrealistic expectations of certain segments of the fandoms.

Then there are the netizens who, for whatever twisted reason, love to cause chaos and do actual harm to the idols and their careers. That’s where we are today. There is a certain young woman in South Korea who has repeatedly caused problems for idols in one way or another. It’s often difficult to dig down to the root cause of why scandals blow up in K-pop, but supposedly she or her boyfriend posted some snarky comment about Wonho owing someone money. If that is true, there are ways of rectifying the situation that don’t include destroying someone’s career or life. Don’t take to social media where the person in question is not the only one who gets hurt. Wonho had also been the target of other malicious rumors for something taken out of context, and now Shownu, another member of Monsta X, has been targeted by false rumors. I don’t know that this is the case, but it feels very coordinated because of the timing. Monsta X just released a new album this week and are in their promotion period, and in the world of K-pop there is unfortunately an element that likes to try to tear down other bands so their own favorites can supposedly rise higher. This is complete nonsense and yet it seems to fester and spread like a disease. I don’t know the reasoning behind the attacks on Wonho and Shownu, but it’s part of a bigger problem – that of unchecked online hate.

I say unchecked because instead of the idols’ companies standing behind them, instead of them saying, “No, we will not let you tear down this person who has put his heart and soul into making his group a success and is beloved by fans,” they always put out the same kind of statement that the idol made the decision to leave the group for the good of the rest of the group members. I call a huge sack of BS! Even if Wonho did say he would leave for the good of his brothers in Monsta X – and I say brothers deliberately because K-pop groups become family since they live together, work together, vacation together, love each other – Starship Entertainment executives should have said to him, “That’s admirable but not necessary. We’re going to stand with you and behind you as we fight this. We will help you get through it, and you and the rest of Monsta X will come out stronger on the other side.” I would have admired them greatly for taking this stand, which is not something you see from the Korean entertainment companies. Instead, the idols are allowed to make sacrificial lambs of themselves for “the good of the group.” Again, I call BS. This is for the good of the companies’ monetary bottom lines. In no way do I believe that Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney and I.M benefit from this. I’m sure in this moment their hearts are breaking and they’re worried about their dear friend, their brother, more than anything else. And yet they are going to be expected to perform to promote this new album in the midst of all this upheaval and heartbreak.

I chose not to have kids of my own, but in moments like these there is a dormant mama-bear instinct inside of me that makes itself known. I want to wrap all these boys, who are young enough to be my sons, in a protective hug and swat away anyone who dares take a swipe at them. I want to tell them that I’ll be strong for them while they’re hurting. I want to hold those attacking them to account and make sure they pay for what they’ve done. And I want to tell their company to grow a spine. I know the culture is different in Korea than it is here in the U.S., but how many times have you seen an American celebrity do much worse and no one bats an eye? There is a middle ground between letting people get away with true wrongdoing and destroying a person’s life and career for something that wouldn’t even be – and shouldn’t be – a blip on the radar here. And we should allow people to acknowledge youthful missteps that are relatively harmless – if they even happened – apologize, and move on. It’s called growth, and it can be an inspiration to others. If all of us who ever made a mistake as a teenager lost our careers because of it, there would be a lot of unemployed people walking around.

What needs to happen is this: all the Korean entertainment companies need to band together and say enough is enough. Rumors and magnifying small incidents to the point where netizens are ready to ride with torches and pitchforks should be called out and the instigators held to account, even by legal means. The companies need to stand behind their idols when they are attacked instead of throwing them away like they are disposable. Taking them away from everything they’ve worked for and their bandmates is cruel, not unlike ripping a child from his family and then telling them it’s their fault. If an idol has a problem, find them help. They are under so much pressure that it’s no surprise that they offer suffer from anxiety and depression, and unfortunately Korea still reportedly has an antiquated view of mental health. It’s part of the reason – along with external attacks – for their abysmal suicide rate. Look no further than Sulli, another K-pop idol who recently committed suicide after being attacked online for years. I don’t know that there has been a line drawn between those two things, but my gut tells me that it was at least a contributing factor. And I don’t want to hear of it ever happening again. Too many young, beautiful, kind, talented, giving lives are being lost.

Today, I’ve gotten next to no work done. I can’t pull my thoughts away from Wonho and how wrongly he’s been treated, how much he, the rest of the group and fans are hurting. I’ve been fighting crying all day because I know I’ll just feel worse afterward. I hate to see injustice. It just eats me alive inside. And unfortunately we are seeing more and more of it. Some might say there are worse injustices in the world than this. Yes and no. Yes, children ripped from their families at the border and genocide are great evils, but wrong is wrong. And what has happened to Wonho and other idols in the past because of online attacks is all kinds of wrong.

Wonho, if by some chance you and the rest of Monsta X read this, I hope you’re able to take comfort from the fact that you have many fans around the world who love you and who will go to bat for you. I hope you’re able to focus on those voices instead of the hateful ones. As a creative, I know it’s difficult to not focus on the vocal minority, the ones who say the negative things. Those are the voices that work their way insidiously into our brains, but we have to fight against them and remember that there are many more people to whom you have brought joy and to whom you will continue to bring job as a member of Monsta X if we have anything to say about it.

And to the decision-makers at Starship Entertainment, do the right thing. Do what is right, not what is easy or most beneficial to your bottom line. Bring Wonho back and stand up to the people who attack your idols, the people who work hard to make your company successful.

[noonmutter]

Tell how you first met each of the wives and girlfriends and when you knew you were in love with them and when you actually said it. And the same for any boyfriends/male lovers you might have - how did you meet them. Are you in love with them? Inquiring minds want to know.

Oh jeez so quick disclaimer, Leon remembers all of these and while he can’t recite the calendar dates, he knows when they happened and it’s part of why he’s so damned loved. I, however, have a brain wholly reliant on logs and written records, and the logs for both of his wives were devoured in a WoWscribe glitch a few years ago. I roughly remember the sequence of events, but not when exactly these things happened; I can’t even remember the year reliably! Because of that, I/he approximate the story kind of a lot…

AND HOLY SHIT THIS IS LONG WOW

HAVE A CUT

Leon first meets Kaewynn at a get-together he stumbled across in Stranglethorn. It’s one of his earliest interactions in RP, actually; he still introduces himself as Cambor, and is still trapped in worgen form. He’s still homeless, still wanders a lot, and isn’t yet much of a cook. He chats with her a while, and the evening ends with her smooching him. He is mightily pleased with himself. (Fun fact, in Leon’s early months, he got a smooch–or more–from someone every single time I sent him out to RP even though he never once actively sought it, this is why I shake my fist at him for being so GOD DAMN charming)

Leon and Kaewynn just keep on running into each other off and on, mostly because he keeps attending the Meddler-run event, Inkwell, and Kaewynn (a member of the Silver Dragoons) shows up frequently. Eventually they slip away to have some fun together, because they’re both fine with flings and no-strings sex, and they’re both pretty keen on one another. Their first time (I believe) is in a mineshaft at the Dragoon garrison in alternate Draenor.

Time passes, he and Kaewynn get more and more affectionate and more and more time is spent walking off on their own to either talk or fuck or both. After one particularly interesting conversation in which Leon told her his real name and was able to shift out of worgen for for a few seconds, and she told him the meaning of hers, he baffledly admitted to the only witness, “I’m in real trouble, I think I’m in love.”

They went on their first proper Actually a Date in Ulduar, because he’d never been there and Kaewynn wanted to show it to him, having some pretty intimate knowledge of the place (spoiler alert she’s a robot that got hit with the curse of flesh no seriously she actually is). 

Leon, despite being warned by a few people who knew Kaewynn that she didn’t really know what to do with the concept of love (long story, but it’s kinda literal–think “Data” here and you’ve got the gist of the problem), eventually confesses that he’s in love with her. This doesn’t go so hot, but she gives him a variation on the “just friends” speech and they both lie to themselves and each other and say that’s fine, and the rest of the night goes as originally intended, ending with Copious Amounts Of Fucking.

They are both emotionally underdeveloped idiots so of course they spend a while feeling more and more awkward and eventually Kaewynn breaks things off with him because she feels like she’s using him and …stuff. Like I said, they’re idiots.

And now we switch focus, and rewind a little because I’m pretty sure this is the part where the timing was both hilarious and infuriating.

Enter Pinapple.

A while back, Leon had seen a gnome woman throwing a bit of a tantrum at one of the Inkwell gatherings, though he hadn’t known why at the time. He eventually found out that it was because she’d been exposed to a shitload of radiation and was in a serious depressive spiral for some pretty good reasons (I don’t think it was actually cancer but it was basically cancer). 

Being Leon, and being that he’d been given access to a kitchen and the opportunity to learn to cook, he sent this complete stranger a box of treats because hospital food sucks. 

Months down the line, we come to the Silver Dragoons’ Halloween party. Pin has recovered after some risky surgeries n’stuff and is trottin’ about the place, shmoozin’ like y’do, and eventually comes across Leon. They got to talking, he got the chance to introduce himself properly, they eventually sat down to have drinks together. In probably the biggest spike of bravery she’d had for a long time before or since, she hit him with the equivalent of “Nice shoes, wanna fuck?” and they did.

He and Pin have a lot of fun together, and they romp along at a pretty good clip for about a month. Eventually during a bit of pillow talk, Pin accidentally says “I love you, you goofball” and they have a Serious Conversation in which he admits he’s not really at that same place, but it didn’t make things wierd at all. Pin being significantly more emotionally mature than Kaewynn, this works out better, and their friendship does not fall apart.

A bit later on, The Voice Of Reason happens and after he nearly dies and is recovering in the Dragoon garrison infirmary, Leon tells Pin he loves her, too.

LITERALLY THE NEXT DAY Kaewynn tells him she wants to reconcile and asks him to take her back. This was not planned, none of us knew it was going to happen, Kae’s mun didn’t know Leon and Pin had swapped L-words, I nearly threw up laughing. That same night, Leon and Pin and Kaewynn have the single most awkward relationship conversation they could possibly have, because oh by the way did I mention Kaewynn and Pin had been in a relationship once long before Leon ever showed up, and it’d ended because Kaewynn couldn’t do love? Because that’s a thing that happened.

Leon somehow managed not to go bald during all this.

Also he asked them to marry him the following February. Though they both said yes, the ceremony never did happen, and the events of Legion saw Pin dead and both Leon and Kaewynn horribly broken. The two of them sorta gently bullied their mutual friend, Rhiswyn, into performing the marriage between them, because one of the group dying made them worried they’d never get the chance.

Leon and Pin still haven’t formally wed, because after she came back, they were both quietly terrified that if they made it official, something else would rip it apart. They call each other husband and wife, but Pin’s the only one that isn’t actually married out of the trio.

It gets a bit harder for me after this, because I was terrible at tagging things for a while on tumblr and I cannot for the LIFE of me remember how I first encountered @safrona-shadowsun. The earliest posts I actually tagged under her tag, “fizzy,” were confessionals between him and the red courier at the Ledgermaine in Dalaran. Theirs is a very, very complex relationship, but it’s very easy to (over)simplify it:

Leon is a nurturer and he saw a lot of himself in Safrona, which is a terrible thing because he is incredibly depressed and prone to fits of self-loathing. He worried about her a lot when they first started hanging out, and he devoted a lot of energy to trying to draw her out of the incredibly thick shell she’d built around herself. As things progressed over ages and ages and ages, they became business partners, and she directed an acquaintance of hers his way.

Leon’s tradition up to that point had been to put the initials of serious lovers into his collar. Committed but unmarried is engraved (that’s P, for Pin), married is branded (that’s K, for Kaewynn).

Vandrysse… is hard for me to talk about. I only knew her mun for a little over a year before I received word that she had suddenly died.

Vandy is the reason I mention that Leon’s collar still has a nearly-faded “V” on it. She was the third woman he confessed he loved. That conversation was the last time I got to RP with her. I consider it a form of memorial to never let that V actually disappear no matter how long it’s been.

anyway moving on

I cannot actually remember which one happened first, meeting Murkey or confessing his attraction to Safrona, and tracking down the posts for the latter is not easy because Tumblr’s search engine is a JOKE. Regardless, Leon did confess to the courier after some years that he was in love with her, though I’m sure by that time she wasn’t really all that surprised beyond the way he presented it. It was downright artful, the boy was trying. But this is Safrona we’re talking about, and she gently but firmly shut him down, and that was the end of it. Though it made their friendship more than a little tense for a while, they’ve gotten over it by now. He still pines, but wouldn’t you? And he keeps that shit to himself, because not only did he get his answer, she’s now taken and quite happily so.

Murkey snoot-booped her way into Leon’s life one day and never quite left. I actually don’t remember if they met for the first time when she did that, or if he met her at a brothel first. They were both open and poly people, and they still are; he was perfectly okay with her disappearing for weeks or months at a time, as long as she sent word she was all right on occasion, and she was always delighted to find that he was still waiting for her whenever she came back. She’s a romantically skittish thing, so he was actually the first one to confess he had deeper feelings quite a ways into their relationship. 

He’d hesitated to do so at all, in part because Safrona had commented that she thought he fell in love too easily and gave it too freely, implying that it wasn’t really that meaningful. Eventually he kicked that feeling in the dick and told her anyway, and though it took a long time, Murkey did eventually tell him she loved him back. She, like him, had realized it far sooner than she’d been willing to admit, for fear of ruining a good thing.

Amber is actually the most recent in the game–I am trying very hard not to call it a harem–and much like Safrona, developed first as a chance meeting that evolved into a business partnership and friendship. She helped design the logos and packaging for the Cookbook, and he sent her plenty of free food and ongoing orders for more boxes. She was a very reserved person, which he thought was kind of refreshing–after a while you sort of want to have some people who are just friends, no matter how fun fuckbuddies are–and she was quite wrapped up with her lover and eventual husband, an elf named Vaerinis.

Amber confessed to him first, and though he wasn’t quite in love with her, he was certainly open to exploring possibilities. These days, he loves her to pieces and though she’s Vae’s first, he is happy to be part of it.

Vaerinis is a happy bonus, too, though he hasn’t had much time to really develop feelings for the man as yet.

Leon doesn’t have a whole lot of male acquaintances in general, actually, and has not yet fallen in love with any or had any fall for him, that he knows about.

my hands hurt, I know I fucked up the timing a few times and I’m tired so I hope i didn’t forget anybody wooph

( @pinpep @shckaewynn @murkeyglglgl @safrona-shadowsun @theengraver @vaerinis )

[amplesalty]

Christmas 2019: Day 4 - A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

Four rounds of sliders!

So, turns out I had the title of this movie wrong, it’s not just A Harold & Kumar Christmas, it’s a 3D Christmas! Which also answers the question of where we go from the second movie, apparently out goes all that racism and in comes just so, so many shots of things flying at the camera.

It’s 2011 by this point, have we not left all this in the past? Hell, they were doing this in House of Wax when I watched that last year and that was back in the 50’s. To their credit, they do poke fun at the whole 3D thing at times, like near the start Harold’s assistant brings in a big ass TV meant as a present for Harold’s father in law. Harold questions if the whole 3D thing hasn’t jumped the shark by now but his assistant disagrees, exclaiming that it’s going to be ‘amazing’ as he points down the camera for emphasis. Harold just dryly asks who he’s looking at.

Harold has been moving up in the world it seems, now a very successful businessman on Wall Street. Unfortunately this comes during the whole ‘Occupy Wallstreet’ movement and the streets outside his office is lined with protesters wanting to eat the rich. Perhaps with a side of eggs which they throw at him by way of the camera lens.

Like a good soldier though, his assistant steps into the line of fire and takes a barrage of eggs to the face. RIP in peace. They have this whole musical sting whilst it’s happening, I feel like this has to be referencing something but I’m not sure what, war movies aren’t my thing.

Harold’s father in law by the way is played by non other than Danny Trejo, which is a rather scary thought. Trying to impress the father in law is bad enough without factoring that into the equation. He’s predisposed to disliking Harold as well given that his mother was killed by a bunch of Korean street thugs when she came over to America.

We learn that in his youth, Mr Perez dreamed of celebrating Christmas with a Christmas tree but would never get his wish. It was only upon reaching America that his mother promised they would have one every year, only for his life to be cut short. That’s why he holds this season and Christmas trees in particular in such high esteem. We also learn that apparently he was born with his moustache, which honestly wouldn’t surprise me with Danny Trejo. Also, someone being viciously murdered by street thugs seems a bit dark for this franchise.

Speaking of facial hair, Kumar is still a layabout bum who got kicked out of medical school for failing a drugs test. I do dig the beard though. Vanessa has left him though and he lives in filth with a neighbor who rents out his bathroom to let homeless people take a shit. So yeah, little bit of a mismatch on how our two heroes lives panned out over the last 7 years. I’m digging the beard though, but he promptly shaves it off under the pretense of trying to finally mature somewhat when he finds out Vanessa is pregnant.

Although, he is a little distracted during this revelation by the unfolding scenes of A Christmas Story and Flick getting his tongue stuck to the flagpole. Clearly an Xbox man as well, seemingly playing some Crackdown and Gears of War recently. This isn’t like that time I kept seeing It’s A Wonderful Life everywhere, is it? I’m not going to start having A Christmas Story pop up in all these movies, am I?

H&K are reuinited for the first time in two years when a package turns up at Kumar’s apartment addressed to Harold, which turns out to be a massive joint. Kumar lights up, only for Harold to play narc and throw it out of the window. Miraciously though, it curves around and flies back in a different window, lighting up Mr Perez’s Christmas tree and nearly burning down the whole house. This only reinforces what a negative influence on Harold’s life Kumar is and it looks like our duo are going their separate ways again. But, this does give us our impetuous for another hour and a half of whacky shenanigans because if Harold doesn’t fix that tree, there’s a good chance Mr Perez might kill him.

So we get the odd foursome of Harold and his new white bread bestie, Todd (and his daughter) and Kumar and his neighbor, Adrian, out on the lookout for a tree. This does lead to perhaps the most racially driven portion of the movie as they head to a tree lot run by two African-American guys trying to do this ‘good cop, bad cop’ thing, the Fat Albert looking guy playing nice and the other wondering what a pair of honkey, cracker, white ass fools are doing coming up in their turf.

Turns out Mr Perez isn’t the only one out to kill Harold though, as the tree search takes them to a party by way of Adrian who has a hookup waiting for him that he met online. She’s a virgin because apparently all the guys at school are scared to go anywhere near her. Adrian realizes that’s because her dad is notorious Ukranian mobster Sergei Katsov. At first I thought this was Chris Meloni making his third outing in the series but no, it’s actually Elias Koteas who was Casey Jones in the Ninja Turtles movies.

After Adrian goes soft upon finding out this information, Mary will settle for anyone at this point and goes to start blowing Harold right in the middle of the party. An inopportune time then for Daddy to come home and find what looks like an Eiffel Tower situation going on.

Even after they barely escape though, the nightmare is far from over as they start tripping and think they’re in the middle of a multi storey evil snowman attack. And, this all takes place in claymation. This is a really awesome scene, the design of the snowman is great and the level of destruction going on is amazing.

I could do without Kumar showing off his clay cock though, I only dread to think how much worse this is in 3D with him waving it about in your face.

Luckily, old buddies Rosenberg and Goldstein are there to shake them out of their bad trip and take them to White Castle to relax. Man, they have a much easier time getting their this time. They’ve clearly learnt from their past experiences. Along with the whole 3D into the camera gimmick, the racism angle has been replaced somewhat with religion, notably here with a whole speech about how Goldstein’s wife had him convert to Christianity and him just going in on those ‘dirty Jew bastards’.

That and the use of his son as a distraction so Harold & Kumar can go steal a tree from a church. ‘Pillow fight in the altar boys room, last one there is a rotten egg!’. Going in on the Catholics as well, I see.

And of course, the big one, the main man JC. Apparently Heaven is like a nightclub and we get the story of how NPH was ushered in the front door following his altercation at the whore house. Only, Jesus didn’t take kindly to NPH macking on his ladies so put in a word to the big man upstairs to send NPH back down to Earth. I mean, it’s not 100% to the letter but I’ll take this as I fucking called it.

The third part of the trifecta of racism replacements in this movie is metaness. There’s a good example here how they call out NPH coming out of the closet in real life, only to reveal that NPH is as big of a poon hound as he’s ever been and this is all just a trick to get the ladies. David Burtka? He’s not his husband, he’s just his dealer!

There’s a couple of other moments like someone referring to Harold as ‘Sulu’ or Adrian saying he lied to Mary and said he was Robert Pattison’s acting coach and that Kumar worked in the White House.

NPH is starring in some big festive stage show and sweet talks one of the dancers back to his dressing room, suggesting she strip down so that he can give her a massage. Hey, it’s cool, we’re all girlfriends here, right? Now just give him a minute so he can squirt some of his special lotion on your back...

He hooks up H&K with a tree from the set but before they can head home, the gangsters catch up with them take them to a secluded part of town for an execution.

But as they make their escape, Harold finds his dick has become stuck to the pole they were tied to. Okay, firstly, between this and Office Chrstimas Party, I’ve seen just about enough dicks to last me til the end of the season. Secondly, maybe this is God’s way of reminding me that I have some unfinished business with A Christmas Story. Sure there was the original and that sequel no one asked for but there is another...

And just in case you forget this is a Christmas movie, Harold inadvertently shoots Santa out of the sky and Kumar has to perform impromptu surgery, because he always does. Santa being played by Richard Riehle who was in Grounded for Life and, relevant to this blog, Chillerama and the Rob Zombie Halloween II. Turns out he was the one who sent Harold the massive joint so that the two of them could reconcile. I never knew Santa cared so much about the friendship of two potheads. I don’t know if he’s a good fit for Santa though, a little too gruff and mean. Doesn’t have the heart of say, an Edmund Gwenn. That could have been an alternate way to do this actually, have a totally sacherine by the numbers Santa that gets corrupted by H&K when they get him to smoke with them, he’s on too much of a bad trip to deliver the toys like normal so it’s up to them to save the day.

I think I would have to put this above the sequel but behind the original in terms of quality. As one note and as fleeting an appearance as he is, the Ukranian gangster somehow feels more of a threat than the entire US government in the second film. Keeping this adventure local again makes it feel much more grounded and there’s just a more light hearted atmosphere to the whole thing when you don’t have that massively racist and oppressive tone pressing down on it.

[lyssala]

You’re Idiots, The Both of You

Pairings: Terra/Aqua and mentioned/Implied Cloud/Tifa & Zack/Aerith, Kingdom Hearts

Setting: Halloween before New Years from the first chapter; Terra & Aqua are 20 & 19, Ven is 16

Rating: K

Notes: A lot of these came from ideas I already had but this one absolutely came from the quote. I read it and was like oh no this has to get worked in somehow cause I need it. I had already written Cid in so I figured Cloud was around here somewhere too lmao It ended up a lot cuter than I thought it would be too. Also picking out the kids’ Halloween outfits was the highlight of my day lmao

AO3

14. Drive

"If you're gonna throw your life away, he'd better have a motorcycle."

-Lorelai

It wasn’t a huge secret that Aqua loved Halloween. There was just something so very magical about the leaves starting to change colors, the small of fall in the air. The sun setting over the town center and all the haystacks, pumpkins, lanterns, the creepy decorations mixed with the cute ones that lined every store front and all over the green. All the stores stayed open late so the kids could have a safe place to go trick-or-treating, an assortment of all sorts of costumes parading the sidewalks for hours as the kids played and gathered all the candy they could.

She remembered it well. Aqua loved getting dressed up in whatever she chose to be that year and taking the short drive into town with her mom and Terra and his mom to go around to all the stores and play the games the town always had set up for the kids. When Ven was old enough he’d join them too, holding their hands as he tried to keep up between them. She used to be able to get them to get their costumes to match when Terra and Ven were young enough not to care but she found about the time Ven wanted to go out with his friends instead was about the time Terra didn’t want to go at all anymore; which did kind of suck cause he didn’t eat most of his candy and would give it to her. Some people apparently thought Halloween had an age limit, she absolutely did not.

“Trick or treat!” a group of voice exclaimed causing Aqua to look down at the sidewalk and not over the town center like she had been. It was a group of three kids, old enough to be on their own for the night and all looking mighty pleased about it.

She didn’t recognize them even though none of them had their faces covered but that wasn’t too unexpected; most people from surrounding towns came out for the night. “Look at you all,” she said with a smile, pushing herself up from the stool she was sitting on so she could grab a handful of candy from the bowl set up next to her. “Happy Halloween,” she said dropping some candy in each bag with only excited “thank you!”s in response before the kids took off again.

Aqua sat back down with a small sigh. It was starting to slow down; a lot of the kids already in the center of town after their initial go around was done. While sure, at nineteen it was a little old to go treat or treating she still liked dressing up and participating. Once Terra stopped caring about it and working at Cid’s, Aqua always volunteered to sit outside the front of the diner and hand out candy since Cid was the last person who’d want to do it. She didn’t mind one bit and because she knew she was doing him a big favor that Cid wouldn’t care how much candy she bought for the store and how much she ate for herself.

It was a huge win in her opinion she thought as she popped another peanut butter cup in her mouth.

Aqua glanced behind her, looking in the bright windows of the diner. It wasn’t too busy since the dinner rush was already over a little early do to the events outside but there were a few families getting some food. The only other person in sight was Ven, who looked a little comical wiping down the counter dressed in a long red cape, the rest of his costume an assortment of clothes and silver armor he made himself (minus the hammer in one hand since Cid said absolutely not). Of course, it would’ve been nice if Terra had told her he wasn’t working tonight.

She sighed again, though this time a little less from holiday cheer and more for the uneasy knot in her stomach. She pulled her phone out of the short jean jacket she was wearing over her dress and clicked into messages but the last one sent to Terra was the one she sent three hours ago and still hadn’t heard anything from him.

It wasn’t unusual so to speak; sure they talked a lot but not every hour of every day. He had every right to have time to himself but she was only here for the weekend before she had to go back to school. She knew Halloween wasn’t his favorite thing but it would be nice even if he just came to hang out with her.

Aqua reached over to the bowl to grab another piece of chocolate. Whatever, if he didn’t want to enjoy the festivities fine, she was sure going to. She got to eat all the candy she wanted and got to dress up, how could that be a bad night?

She had done it before but she decided to go with a 50’s theme this year. It was overdone maybe, but she found the style to be cute so it was a nice excuse to use it. She dug through thrift stores all over her university town and found a beautiful blue dress with a fitted bodice and a wide skirt that twirled out when she spun around (which, yes, she absolutely did do). It was off the shoulder on both sides so she had to get a jean jacket to wear over it since October wasn’t usually warm enough for that, but with the black headband with a matching bow on top, super fluffy white petticoat, and Mary Janes her mom had from some of Aqua’s performances she was pleased with her costume.

Though, it would be nice if her supposed best friend would actually answer his phone so she could give him all the dark chocolate she was hoarding in her pocket for him. Stupid boy.

“Trick or treat!” That voice made Aqua look up from her phone, considering it wasn’t nearly as young as most the voices she heard that night. “Or well, kinda, we don’t have bags.”

Aqua had to laugh when she saw all of Ven’s friends standing in front of her. They didn’t have bags true, but they all did have costumes, and matching ones at that. It was adorable to say the least, even if it did serve as an ever reminder that her friend didn’t want to have anything to do with tonight. “I assume you’re here for Ven?”

“Yep,” Sora nodded, though one of his hands was already reaching into the candy bowl. Someone, presumably Kairi, had drawn an eyeliner goatee and mustache onto his baby face, making him look a little ridiculous.

Roxas was nearby, shoving his very patriotic shield at his brother until Sora passed the blond some of the candy.

“Personality wise, I’m pretty sure you two have the wrong costumes on,” Aqua snorted.

“Yeah, but Rox has the hair, so…” Lea dropped his hand onto Roxas’s head, ruffling his hair for effect. It kind of looked like they just wrapped Lea’s arm in duct tape but someone did convince him to wear his hair down, as opposed to pulled back like usual.

“And cause no one can put up with you like Roxas can,” Xion said from Lea’s other side. She still had her short hair down but otherwise dressed in dark blacks and greens, probably to match Ven’s godly attire.

“That’s true,” Sora said, though his mouth was still full of chocolate as Kairi was trying to get him away from the bowl. She was also dressed in almost all black just a little silver and red to bring out her red hair that was pretty telling to who she was supposed to be; and there weren’t that many female characters on the team to begin with.

“No one asked you, idiot,” Lea rolled his eyes, Roxas taking to hit Lea with the shield instead to get him to get his elbow off Roxas’ head.

Both Riku and Namine were hanging at the back the group, as per usual. Riku looked a mix of amused and annoyed as Sora had taken to trying to shove some of the candy in Kairi’s mouth while she laughed and tried to get away. Riku was dressed probably the most plainly in just a purple button up and black slacks though, the annoyance probably came from when the others clearly implied who they thought Riku was most fitting for.

Namine was always quiet as she was the newest member to the gang, only having lived here for a few weeks now but Aqua was happy to see her fitting in wearing a black dress and long red jacket to match the rest of the group. It couldn’t be easy to move somewhere that everyone your age has known each other since they were babies and still feely okay to fit in, especially someone as shy as Namine seemed to be. Aqua was happy it was her kids that were making Namine feel at home in her new town.

“Alright,” Ven said as the door next to Aqua swung open, cape swishing as he struck some dramatic pose. “I am here.”

Kairi and Sora were still fighting over candy, Lea was blocking Roxas’ hands with his shield Lea somehow got a hold of while Xion laughed in response.

“It’s gonna be a night,” Riku said.

Sora didn’t seem to take too kindly to that, swinging his other arm around Riku’s neck. “I think you mean a very good night.”

“I meant what I said.” The silver haired boy at least was kind of smiling now.

“Alright go on, you’re hogging the store front,” Aqua said with a laugh, noting Sora’s hand reaching back for the bowl. “And the candy, get on now.”

“You’ll be okay?” Ven asked, walking backwards down the sidewalk as his team had already started walking, a few turning to wave back to Aqua.

“I’m fine here,” she said waving. “Have a good time at the party.”

Ven gave her a smile and wave before turning to jog after his friends, hammer coming down to tap at Xion’s head. It seemed all too fast their laughter was gone.

Aqua sighed as she looked back down at her phone in her lap. Still nothing. The street was pretty empty now, just the people in the center of town having a good time, the teenagers off at whoever was hosting a Halloween party, and Aqua here, reaching for another peanut butter cup.

Maybe she should just call him, tell him to come keep her company but he could also be sleeping and she didn’t want to bother him at all. She reached for the bowl of candy yet again.

It wasn’t exactly quiet out, music was playing people were laughing and shouting, some kids flat out screaming but even then Aqua could still feel the sudden sound of a heavy engine pulling into town. Most of the roads were covered with people and kids wandering around but if you went slow enough you could get through; Sherriff Auburn and a few other officers were on duty to help with traffic should they need it so Aqua didn’t pay too much mind.

Well, until she could see it wasn’t a car but a sleek black and very familiar motorcycle. The driver was going relatively slow, the engine noise pretty calm but honestly it was never that bad considering she knew that bike like everyone in town knew it. It was a little weird though; Cloud hated social events even more than Terra did so she had no idea why the blond would be showing himself around now. He could’ve just been going home but he didn’t need to go through town for that, nor did he have a passenger which meant Tifa wasn’t dragging him somewhere.

Aqua supposed it wasn’t any of her business anyways. She liked Cloud but he was a little older than even Terra was so it’s not like she spent massive amount of time with Cloud or his friends, outside of the occasional party. Terra would actually go to those, surprisingly enough; he always liked Zack and since he had been taking to hanging out with Aerith and in turn Cloud and Tifa, Aqua did find herself around them every now and then.

But not enough for Aqua to try and not choke on her candy when the bike stopped in the street in front of her. He turned off the engine as she tried to stop choking, propping the bike up before swinging his leg over to step up onto the sidewalk. She supposed he could just be here to pick up something from Cid’s but there was something a little off.

Despite knowing Cloud’s bike, she was pretty sure that wasn’t him. Okay, she didn’t make a habit of staring at him, but he was a fairly slender guy even with working at his dad’s auto shop since he was a kid. Those shoulders weren’t Cloud, nor were the arms, or the beat leather jacket, or the brown hair when he pulled off the helmet.

Aqua promptly inhaled the rest of her candy causing her to cough when she saw Terra looking back at her.

“How many times have I told you not to eat those so fast,” he said as he walked over, helmet under his arm as he reached his other hand out to her.

She promptly swatted him away, still coughing but now she was more mad than surprised. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Aqua managed to get out.

Terra, on the other hand, looked more amused than anything. “I’m coming to get you, what else would I be doing?”

She took a breath, finally being able to but it absolutely didn’t make the situation better; even if he was still leaning over her slightly making it hard not to glance down at the tight white shirt under his jacket. “I meant on the bike, you idiot. You don’t know how to drive that.”

“Obviously I do, I just brought it here didn’t I?”

Aqua could only blink at him. “Is that why you were ignoring me?”

“I was not ignoring you,” he said, straightening himself up but still watching her. “I was trying to find something to wear.”

It was a little unusual attire. Maybe not so much the shirt and pants but the leather jacket was misplaced, even if it was for the bike. “Why?” she asked.

“Zack invited us to go to a Halloween party and I know you love that kinda stuff,” Terra shrugged like it was the most obvious answer in the world but her heart was in her throat.

“You never told me.”

“Yeah,” he snorted, reaching his hand out to push at her chin lightly. “That was the point. He asked me last week or so and by then you had already been sending me pictures of what you were planning to wear tonight so I figured why not.” Terra gestured vaguely to himself. “Matches right?”

Aqua was still in such a state of surprise she nearly tripped over her feet as she stood up from the stool. His attire did make a little more sense in that context; usually he’d still be in a t-shirt and shorts even this late in the year. She did try to ignore the fact he actually wore something on Halloween with the specific intention of matching hers but her stomach felt light at the thought.

“You did this for me?”

“Yeah,” he said like it was no big deal at all. “Course.”

She reached her hands out to adjust the front of his jacket, the leather old and worn in her hands. “Where did you even get this thing?”

“It’s my dad’s,” Terra said.

Aqua blinked up at him. “Like your actual dad?”

“Yeah,” Terra said, rolling his eyes. “Can you imagine Paul wearing this? I’m pretty sure the only colors in his closet are tan and plaid. No, it was in the garage in a bunch of bags Mom’s been meaning to toss for ages. I figured the least the man could do after walking out on us ages ago.”

She ran her hands down the material a little bit before letting go. She knew she had known Terra’s biological dad but she was a baby at the time and only knew what he looked like from the few pictures that were still around. They did look alike as Terra had gotten older, similar facial structure and build, something she knew used to bother him. He used to be jealous of Ven who looked so much like their mom, making Aqua remind Terra that all three of them not only shared the same eyes and smile, but also the same big heart which set Terra apart from his father. That always seemed to make him feel better; at least back then, he was better with it now.

“It looks good on you,” she said. It was true, it fit him well, not too big or too small though she highly doubted he’d start wearing jackets any time soon.

“Well, thanks, but are we going or not?” He walked backwards a little bit, back towards the bike.

Aqua blinked at him. She had completely forgotten the party and his chosen ride for the night. “Wait, you mean like you want me to come with you on that?”

“That’s why it’s here,” he said, smile looking way too amused for his own good.

“I’m not getting on that with you.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Don’t trust me?”

Aqua crossed her arms against her chest. “I trust you plenty, Terra, but I didn’t even know you knew how to ride a motorcycle until five minutes ago.”

“It’s pretty boring around here with you gone,” he said, leaning over to a side bag. “I had nothing better to do so I asked Cloud if he’d show me, easy as that.”

There was no one in the world she trusted more than Terra and she knew he’d never put her in a situation that was dangerous. Still she didn’t even know if she’d go with Cloud who had been driving that thing since before he could legally drive.

“C’mon,” Terra said, pulling out a second helmet, presumably Tifa’s. “Do you honestly think Cloud would let me use his bike if he didn’t think it was okay?”

That was actually a very fair point. She bit down on her lower lip. “Fine.”

“Is that a ‘I’m only doing this because I never say no to Terra’? or a ‘I’m actually okay with this and it’ll be fun’?” He had dropped his helmet onto the bike, holding the smaller one in his hands towards her.

It was admittedly different and she wasn’t sure if the knots him her stomach were nerves or anticipation but even when she was unsure of herself, she knew she could always trust him. “It’ll be fun.”

Terra took a few steps forward carefully placing the helmet down on her head. It was a little tight and felt odd to breathe but otherwise it was okay. She watched him as he glanced over her shoulder, giving a wave to probably Cid who must’ve known Terra was going to take her from her candy post. He moved back to the bike, kicking a leg over so he could sit down and balance the bike with both his feet on the ground. He gestured for her to come over.

Aqua was pretty glad she decided to wear shorts under her dress for warmth. She walked across the sidewalk and carefully moved to sit down behind him. Her skirt was a little too fluffy and she couldn’t reach the ground at all but the bike was steady under Terra’s control.

“Kick your feet up there,” he said, turning slightly to gesture where she should keep her legs. “We don’t have to go very far, alright?”

She nodded as she did what she was told. It did seem a little better now that she was sitting so close to him, his familiar warmth bringing her the usual comfort, enough to ease her nerves. Aqua reached her arms around him, leaning in so her head was over his shoulder as he put his helmet back on. He smelt a little like leather and oil but it was still unique to him, and not unwelcome.

The bike roared to life underneath her, the vibrations making her legs feel a little like jelly. Terra leaned his head against hers lightly, asking if she was ready. She tightened her grip on him a little but nodded back.

It was slow at first, different, but not too bad. When they got past the crowds of people and the town, the speed picked up, the familiar location blurring by as the wind whipped around her. Her breath was in her throat at the sudden surge of adrenaline but it still wasn’t bad. It was smoother than she expected, not nearly as frightening as she thought it could be. Of course, part of that was she was pressed up against Terra’s back, her hands clenched together around his stomach as he drove, an endless comfort even in a new situation. She risked looking around a little bit, the air kinda chilly but everything else was warm.  

She couldn’t hear him because of the wind but she could feel him laugh a little, like she was gonna get a big “I told you so” when they were done. Whatever. She could take it. Aqua propped her chin up on his shoulder, closing her eyes for just a moment. This was a lot better than sitting eating candy alone all night.

[graphicabyss]

2017.11.08/15 K-chan news: where Koyashige discuss Halloween costumes, getting thicker, pretty shoes and Tegoshi’s birthday gifts

The 2017.11.08 episode was great and I decided to bring attention to it due to several interesting topics. So here’s some of its highlights.

First of all, they talked about CDTV Halloween fest and the members’ costumes. Koyama said he wanted to dress up as a doctor who had nothing under the doctor’s coat but in the end decided “Not this year”. Wat?? That’s even more kinky. But in the end he went with the witch costume because of the hat. Apparently, Koyama also took the hat home and gave it to his mum??

Koyama also said he didn’t know what costumes other members had until the actual performance but Shige said Tegoshi knew right away so he must have told Shige. Koyama recognized Shige’s costume, though he didn’t see the movie, apparently there was a play based on the Clockwork Orange in Japan. Shige said he had no idea what costume to pick and he briefly considered the Mad Hatter but he rejected the idea because he didn't want everyone to think he loved Alice in Wonderland that much. Not that he hated it, but... So Shige.

K: Sorry, there’s one thing I don’t get. What’s "Mad Max" from Alice? 

S: Not “Mad Max”!  Though “Mad Max” would be good too! I might do “Mad Max”! next year!

K: So what’s “Mad Max”!?

S: Mad Hatter! Johnny Depp...

K: Ah!  Johnny-san...    S: From the movie...

K: So you weren’t going to do the female one, Alice?  S: Not Alice, the Mad Hatter with cards. K: Ah, not “Mad Max”? 

S: “Mad Max” would be good too! 

Koyama imagined that? The guy’s really kinky. Also Shige should totally do Mad Max. Though that would require him to go topless. Looking forward to it.

The next message was from a listener who asked what Shige did to prepare for his role in Green Mile since he said he was gaining weight. She said he looked cool as he “got rounder”. Shige said he had the biggest weight yet now, about 67 kg. Koyama said he’s also the heaviest he’s been even if you can’t tell, about 64-65 kg. Wow, you heavyweights.

Another listener said in the 11/29 episode of ItteQ Tegoshi said that in fishing if you catch a fish it’s fun but if you don’t it’s a wasted day. They then asked them if they agree and what their recent hobbies are.

S: Did he say such a thing? Though I watched it.

How could you not notice, Shige? After all of Tegoshi’s claims how much he wants to go fishing with you? Guess that was just an excuse to spend time together. Anyway, of course Shige said it’s not a waste of time and even if you don’t catch anything it adds to your experience.

Then Koyama asked if Shige had any recent hobbies and Shige said he did not. However, there was something he wanted to tell Koyama.

S: I went to a sale and I saw these shoes that I thought were really cute. But then it seemed like they didn’t have my size. Then a salesperson approached me “Kato-kun... These shoes, Koyama-san already brought them.”

K: *deep solid laughter*

S: Hey! You went on the first day in the afternoon! You went as soon as the sale started.

K: Huh? Well...

S: And, you listen...

K: Ok.

S: Apparently, Masuda also went.

K: That’s right. So you went?

S: I did! We have a good relationship so every year, every time I go.

K: I shall explain. There was a sale at the shop and the only time I could go was when it just opened. And at this time there’s the biggest selection.

S: Of course there was. It was a sample sale and there was the biggest selection.

K: That’s right. So I went and I was hesitating between two pairs of shoes. And as I was thinking I heard “Koyama-san! Koyama-san!” I thought “Who is that?” And it was Massu. So I asked him which shoes are better and he said “These are totally better!” and these were probably the same ones you wanted to buy.

S: The ones with patches on them?

K: Yes! Yes! Yes!

S: Woah~ Those were the only ones I wanted.

K: Yes, the ones with patches.

S: I thought they were good, right now those are popular. I thought they were cute. I probably wouldn’t wear them after this year. But they didn’t have my size. Was it 42?

K: 42.5.

S: So they had them.

K: But I’m wearing insoles.

S: So they had 42.5 too.

K: Yes.

S: And 42?

K: Yes. I wore them yesterday. As I went to a meal with you.

S: Huh? I didn’t notice. What are the chances? I’ve been going to that sale for 10 years now.

I’m tired to go on but Shige also accused Koyama of buying the shoes that weren’t even his usual style. They also said that Tegoshi sometimes goes there too so he might have went to the same sale as well.

First of all: how the fuck do you all end up in one shop in Tokyo? Don’t you have anywhere else to go? And then picking the exact same pair of shoes? Seriously. Finally, damn do you boys get worked up over “pretty shoes”.

In the final message a girl  started with talking about getting a boyfriend and ended with “what lip gloss colour do you like?” and Shige got really worked up like “WTF is that for? How the fuck would I know the colours of lip gloss?” Finally, Koyama told him to stfu and pick one so Shige said “Red!” Guys, please. You used more lip gloss in your life than I did. No need to be modest.

In the end they got really relaxed and Koyama even messed up the postal code he always reads at the end so Shige was like “HOW many times have you read this, dude? WTF?” and kept trolling him until Koyama told him to stfu as he wrapped up the show.

http://brightnesses.hatenablog.jp/entry/2017/11/09/111101

The 2017.11.15 episode wasn’t as fun so I’ll just translate the parts about Tegoshi.

K: On November 11 Tegoshi-san is turning 30! Happy Birthday to him! 

S: Happy Birthday!

K: Meanwhile, my guest is Kato Shigeaki-kun!

S: You should have called Tegoshi.

K: That’s true.

S: But his birthday has not happened yet. It’s confusing. It’s like a time capsule.

K: It hasn’t happened yet. Not really. We’ll all be in our 30′s. We’ll be an adult group.

Then, later after they spent like 3 minutes talking about tissues, Koyama asked this out of the blue.

K: What do you think would be a good birthday present for Tegoshi, Gai-san?  

G: Huh?

S: I’m thinking of giving him umeboshi. That I made myself.

K: That’s nice.

S: He might actually be happy about it.

K: I’m thinking of giving him socks.

S: Ah, right. Ah, but give me some too. Seriously. 

K: Seriously, you say? What kind of socks?

S: I’m really good with the simple kind. The long ones are good too.

K: What kind?

S: Then I want some variety.

K: Above the ankle? 

S: That’s right. That’s right. Above the ankle.

K: Those that are, like, when you wear high cut shoes are the same height?

S: That’s good. That’s good. 

K: Ah, ok ok.

S: Two types. Seriously.

K: Two types?

K: Yes. With the slip-on type?

S: The slip-on type.

K: I get it. So to Tegoshi I’m giving underwear.

S: Give him some clothes. That guy is always wearing the same clothes. So buy him some, at the sale. (laughing)

K: Right. I’m buying a lot of clothes lately. But I don’t know his taste, it’s tough.

S: He’ll just wear whatever you give him.

Just buy the kid some clothes. It was beautiful. Classic Koyashige.

[lexacourtney]

If you told me even last year that 2020 would reignite the Twilight and The Hunger Games fandoms, I would have thought you were joking.

With the announcement of Midnight Sun (tbh I wish it had been The Host 2) and the release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I got to thinking. Memories from my high school years started resurfacing. Going to midnight premiers, reading the books, fangirling with friends over the characters. I started remembering my two best friends at the time, our sleepovers, our hangouts, mid night movie premiers and all the other moments we shared for years.

It’s weird thinking back on those moments, since we’re no longer the best friends we used to be. It’s also kind of sad, and probably a reason why I wasn’t super excited when the news for Midnight Sun first dropped. It’s hard to be super excited for something that you initially shared with two important people at such a formative time in our lives.

My friends that I shared Twilight and Hunger Games with – (I’m going to call them “L” and “K” since they asked me to not use their names but gave me permission to use some photos) – were two of the first people to befriend me when I moved to the states. We grew close quickly and did everything with each other. Unfortunately, we rarely talk anymore, and have grown apart and I think it’s sad and I really wish we hadn’t. But, we’re not here to discuss how friendships can end. We’re here to reminisce about an era that define so many of us, jumpstarted the YA genre as we know it, and brought so many people together.

So, let’s start with Twilight, since that was popular before Hunger Games.

Twilight was such a formative part of my journey into reading the way I do now. But it wasn’t always. I first heard a friend talking about it in 8th grade. I think that was the first year it really started to gain traction and popularity despite being out for 2 years. I’m pretty sure we were sitting in a US history class, and she was telling me all about this vampire book she was reading, how good it was, and how I should read it.

I turned my nose up at the mention of ‘vampire’ and I’m pretty sure I told her that I wouldn’t read a stupid vampire book.

Boy did I ever eat my own words.

I don’t remember what exactly prompted me to finally pick up Twilight, but I was in 9th grade, it was a long Halloween weekend, and I binge read the entire series. I had my dad make multiple trips to Barnes and Nobles (thankfully there is one right across the street!) to buy each next book, and by the time I was back in school, I’d downed the whole series.

I don’t really remember how my two friends got into the books, I vaguely remember convincing L, and we would go to her house, put a DiGiorno Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza in her oven, and sit on the floor of her kitchen reading. As for K, I don’t remember how she got into the series, whether it was me, or she picked it up on her own. When we were best friends, she was an avid reader, so she might’ve found it herself. But we bonded and became closer through our love (borderline obsession) with the series. I remember going over to their houses and we would just sit and read the books. We’d print off pictures of the cast from various photo shoots and tape them to our walls. Probably like most teenage girls, we quickly became obsessed. K had this puffy makeup brush that had glitter in the handle, and we’d brush that fine sparkly glitter all over ourselves. At one point, I even swapped out my shampoo for a strawberry scented one.

Then the movies started coming out. We always bought our tickets early – I still have all of mine.  L, K and I made t-shirts for the first two Twilight movies…okay my mom made them since we just used iron on paper and put pictures of the cast on the front and a quote on the back. We arrived at movie theaters, like 2 hours early to guarantee us good seats – this was before reserved seating, and before 5PM showings the day before, became the new midnight premiers.

We would have photo shoots in the movie theater halls. We would get there so early that they wouldn’t have a designated area for a line, and we were always first. We’d goof off and talk excitedly about the movie.

We were Twihards and we were about to see the movie version of our favorite books. I unfortunately only have 1 photo from the Twilight Premier due to an external hard drive accident in 2010. I’m bummed that any photos we took together were lost, but we more than made up for it at the New Moon premier.

At some point in our Twilight crazed days, K ended up with an Edward doll that would sit on her bookshelf next to a brown paper wolf. My bedroom walls were covered in posters, magazine clippings, and L’s bedroom walls had some drawings a different friend did of the cast. I showed them both HillyWood’s Twilight Parodies (if you haven’t seen them yet, you’re missing out) and we fell deeper into the franchise. Honestly, I don’t want to know wha I spent on Twilight Merch.

Where you Team Edward, or Team Jacob?

I was solidly Team Jacob – I definitely had a crush on Taylor Lautner when I was younger. Though I think I’d prefer to be a vamp if it came down to it. The movies came out each fall of High School, with the final one coming out my first semester of college. That plot twist in the final one – yeah, the whole theater erupted. We would make count downs in our agenda books for the premier. It’s been quite a few years since then, so I don’t remember as much, but my friends and I went and saw all of the premiers – or tried to. We were all at different colleges for the last one, so that made things a little difficult.

While the Twilight movies were still being released, another series gained popularity. The Hunger Games! I read THG in 2012 and fell in love with the series. It’s another one that I binge read in a weekend. I don’t remember if L and K were as into THG as I was, but I’m a massive sucker for science fiction/dystopian books. So, I devoured this trilogy and fell in love with it.

My memories for this series aren’t as engrained or easy to dig up. These books came to me right as I was finishing high school and the movies premiered while I was in college. While I definitely was swept up in the phenomena that this series created, i didn’t have the same bonding experience with it, with friends. at least not in the way I did with Twilight.

Friends went with me to the premiers – another friend, we’ll call her A, went with me. It was midnight on a school night, she had just performed in a theater production for our high school (hence the face pain in the photo). I think we left that theater around 2 and had to be at school by 7:15am the next morning. That Friday was rough. Really rough. We wore shirts that we had made to the premier – this was back in the days were I actually used puffy paint to design various shirts.

At this point my walls were void of Twilight and had been taken over by new posters. I had the Katniss and Gale posters. Katniss hung on my bedroom door, and Gale hung by my bed. Please don’t judge me lol. I had a few other posters as well. I even taught myself how to French braid, so I could learn how to Dutch braid, just to be able to do Katniss’ braid. I have a mockingjay pin and was even Katniss one year handing out candy. I very well might’ve been more obsessed with THG than Twilight. God, I wanted to be Katniss so badly.

And fun fact, the location set for District 12 in the first movie is in North Carolina – when he was a kid, my grandfather used to go there and play/hang out with friends. Some details of my recollection of his story might be off, but he knew the location that they shot at because he’d been there as a child, having grown up in North Carolina.

Where you Team Peeta or Team Gale?

I had a massive crush on Liam Hemsworth, so I was Team Gale. Now I’m solidly Team Peeta, but younger me was dumb. Peeta is obviously the superior choice, but damn if I don’t still find Liam attractive LOL.

What can I say?

I remember the excitement for each new movie – when the trailers dropped, the new movie posters. I even did portraits of Katniss, Gale and Peeta for a Senior Art Project in high school. My teacher liked it so much that she put it on display for the Senior Art Wall. I had to explain to her multiples times who the faces belonged to, but she liked the study of light and contrast.

2008-2015 was the time of YA adaptations. Between Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, etc. book nerds had the pick of what they could be obsessed with.

With the release and upcoming release of these two books, it brought back a bunch of memories. Fond memories of good times with friends. Hell, simpler times. There was a different energy back then, everyone came together for a series of books – both were household names. You might not have read the books, but chances were you knew someone who had. I miss the energy of midnight premiers and walking into to school to gush about the series with your friends.

Oaky…maybe not so much the school part but seeing your friends every day.

We get the occasional movie adaptation, or tv show, but there really isn’t that same energy that filled everyone. There really hasn’t been this collective phenomenon since the days of YA dystopia adaptations. I think we’re high time due a resurgence. Vamps are coming back to the genre, outside of this new Twilight book, so, maybe!

I haven’t quite made up my mind if I’m going to read either of these two new releases. I’m kind of over Twilight and don’t really have any desire to revisit it. I’ll forever be grateful for what it did for the YA genre, but I kinda just want to leave my memories as they are. I don’t want to inadvertently tarnish them.

As for the new THG book, I have like zero desire to read about Snow, but people have been really enjoying it, so maybe one day in the future.

So, this post is incredibly long, and if you’ve made it this far, thank you for sticking it out. I guess I got a little lost in remembering good times. It’s funny, I started this post on Tuesday and sat down to write it. I didn’t expect it to be hard or this time consuming. I texted L and K to see if they were okay with me using photos and I actually chatted with K for the first time in a year, maybe? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t really miss them. I miss just being able to talk with them. Then, that night I had a dream that we had gotten together to reminisce about our Twilight days, and when I woke up, I was so disoriented. It felt so real, and then I was in an emotional funk for the rest of the day. But now, it’s taken me hours longer than I thought it would to do this post, due to getting lost down memory lane.

Writing this post was a lot of fun, despite some of the bumps I hit along the way. I think it’s interesting to look back and see where we were when Twilight and/or Hunger Games was a part of our lives. For the most part, it seems like it was a huge part of most readers lives. So, here’s my request to you – think of this whole post as an unofficial tag “tag”- if you feel inclined, share your memories/a memory of how either of these series were a part of your life!

Did you go to premiers? Whose Team were you on? etc.

There are no formal questions – so just write and share whatever you feel like.

I “tag” whoever wants to do this Nostalgia post – and if you do this, please let me know! I’d love to read your posts, see your memories if you include pictures. Let’s reminisce about vampires, werewolves and two tributes who would rather eat berries than be entertainment for the rich.

        Nostalgia – Twilight & The Hunger Games Unofficial Tag - what are your memories? #newpost #blogpost #bookpost #bookblog #books #blog #blogger #bloggerswanted #bloggerstribe #bloggingcommunity #bookish If you told me even last year that 2020 would reignite the Twilight and The Hunger Games fandoms, I would have thought you were joking.

[dovelikewar]

October ‘17 Playlist

Hello, friends! Happy November. October went by really fast, but that’s okay, because that just means the holiday season is starting. 🙌

Since it is the first day of November, I thought I would post about my October playlist. Since January of last year, I have been making 20 song playlists every month. They’re usually a mix of new music from artists I like, new discoveries, and songs that I have been listening to a lot in that specific month. 

This one in particular has a lot of overflow from September because I filled my September playlist pretty early. I will link each song and write a little about why I included it. I will also include a link to the full playlist on both Spotify and YouTube (where you can find all music videos if the song has them) up here so you can follow along that way:

Find the full YouTube playlist here.

1. Fantasy - Superfruit ft. Amber Liu

This song is from the full length album Future Friends by Superfruit, the duo of Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi who are also members of the A Capella group Pentatonix. I am already a big fan of PTX so naturally I was really excited when Scott and Mitch announced that they would be releasing an album. AND BOY WAS THE EXCITEMENT JUSTIFIED. The entire album is SO good. So much so that I was actually debating which song I should include on my playlist. I eventually narrowed it down to 2, and spent the remainder of the month trying to decide between them. I eventually settled on Fantasy, but love GUY.EXE and its music video so much, that I decided to include it in the blog even though it's not on the actual playlist. If you haven’t listened to Future Friends, please do. It’s a masterpiece. 

2. Ugly - Jaira Burns 

I found this song from browsing on YouTube after binging a bunch of Billie Eilish videos. Her music is a bit different as it contains a lot more mature subject matter, but her vocals are delivered similarly to Billie’s, so that drew me to this song specifically.  I also really Jaira’s voice and think it works really well with this genre. I’m not a huge fan of the other two songs she has release, so I don’t see myself following her career too closely in the future, but I feel like she has a lot of potential to grow a large audience around people that can connect with her music more.

3. Sick - Barcelona

I found this song while browsing through my discover section on Spotify. I heard it and automatically vibed with it. The instrumentals, vocals, and just everything about it is such a great mix of a bunch of different styles. Somehow though, it fits together so well and makes for such a great song.

4. Rollin’ - B1A4

This is another roll over from September. On the 25th of September, one of my favorite k-pop groups, B1A4, released their newest mini album. This is the title track from it, and I love it with my entire heart. The entire album is amazing, but I fell in love with Rollin’ the second I watched the MV for it, so I knew it had to be the one I included in my playlist. It is a quite different sound from what B1A4 usually goes for, but it is still so well done and amazing. B1A4 never cease to amaze me, but the entire Rollin’ album is such a masterpiece and was so worth the wait that it took to get released. 1000000/10. Would recommend.

5. Oogie Boogie’s Song - Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack

Of course, since it’s October, I had to include some Halloween-y songs, and what’s more Halloween-y than Nightmare Before Christmas? It is one of my favorite movies ever, and Oogie Boogie’s song is one of my favorite songs from it. It’s such a good song to listen to if I’m trying to get spooky.

6. Walls - Airspoken

This is another song I found through my Spotify discover playlist, and I liked it pretty immediately. It has a very chilling yet rhythmic vibe to it that I really like. Another thing that I found really nice is that contrast between all four vocals in the song. It goes from a smooth vocal, to a deeper vocal, to a more raspy and high vocal, to a weird mix of the three. The different vocalists make the already catchy song even more interesting to listen to, and I just really like it. The group doesn’t have a huge following by the looks of it, but I intend to look into their music more and maybe support them if I like more of their material.

7. Shatter In The Night - Vesperteen

Honestly, I am so sad that I have just recently found Vesperteen, because I listened to more of their music and it is all really good. This song specifically is just a really feel good “driving around a big city at night” type song. I like it a lot.

8. American Love - Smallpools

Yet another artist I wish I would have found sooner. This song landed on my discover playlist and just the very beginning immediately caught my attention. The song is very melodic and the type of song I wouldn’t mind hearing live. I listened to more of Smallpools music too, and all of it is so SO good. The instrumentals and vocals on this and all of their songs that I have heard are top notch and really beautiful. I can definitely see myself getting more into their music.

9. Hobgoblin - CLC

CLC is one of the only girl k-pop groups whose music that I actually genuinely like. I found them quite recently, but I’m still glad I finally found a girl group where I like every song I have heard. This is one of the first songs I heard by them, and is also one of their most popular title tracks. I really like this song and their song Pepe so far, but hope I have time to look more into their music soon.

10. Mess - Jordan Fisher

Not gonna lie, I pretty much put this song on my playlist before I even listened to it just because it’s Jordan Fisher and I love everything that he has ever put out thus far. This song is no exception. It’s very similar to his other music with heavy R&B elements and super strong vocals. Jordan very consistently slays, and his music is always on point. Mess is no different.

11. Bite My Tongue - Logan Henderson

Not gonna lie, I pretty much put this song on my playlist before I even listened to it just because it’s Jordan Fisher and I love everything that he has ever put out thus far. This song is no exception. It’s very similar to his other music with heavy R&B elements and super strong vocals. Jordan very consistently slays, and his music is always on point. Mess is no different.

12. ENVY - coldrain

Finally. I’ve been waiting to talk about this one. This is from coldrain, one of my favorite band’s, new album from this month, Fateless. The entire album is beyond amazing, as expected. This was another situation where I was heavily debating for weeks over which of two songs I would put on the playlist. Ultimately, I just chose the one that had a music video (and then the other song came out with a music video 3 days after the album came out. Go figure.). Still, I recommend the entire album to anyone that enjoys rock music at all. Yet another masterpiece, if I do say so myself. 

13. Close You Eyes - The Midnight Club

I found this song after one of my favorite music critic youtubers tweeted it out saying that it sounded a bit like another one of my favorite bands, Panic! At The Disco. When I listened to the song, I could definitely see what he was getting at. It really sounds a lot like P!ATD’s older music, and the vocalist even sort of sounds like Brendon. More than anything though, I noticed how good the song and band was in their own right. I ended up liking it enough to include it in my playlist this month.

14. J.D. Blows Up - Heathers Soundtrack

More Halloween type stuff! Heathers is another one of my favorite movies. Although it isn’t a horror movie per se, it is definitely a very dark movie. I was reminded of this specific instrumental off the soundtrack while doing homework for a film survey course I am currently taking, and got chills as I listened to it more. It only felt right to include it on this month’s playlist or make it just a bit more spooky.

15. Callin’ - A.C.E

Another favorite artist! A.C.E, another one of my top k-pop groups, had their comeback this month. I love this song, and the music video, and the choreography, and really just everything. Callin’ has the same fast paced mood as their debut song, Cactus. Overall, it is a really fun listen and is even more fun to watch them perform. I am consistently blown away by their talent, and this comeback was just a reminder of how much talent they have. I love this song and I love A.C.E. 

16. Blonde - Waterparks

Keeping with the theme, another one of my favorite bands announced that they would be releasing their new album early next year along with releasing the lead single off of it. This is that single. It does not stray too far from what Waterparks usually releases, but is still different enough to see a musical growth. I especially love the more unclean vocal in the bridge. Blonde has really made me excited to hear the rest of the album. I can’t wait for it to come out in January!

17. Not Thinking Of You - The Royal

A catchy tune I found on my discover playlist. The instrumentals are a pretty normal indie alternative mix with even more normal subject matter. The catchiness of it and the vocals are really what caught my attention and made me want to include it on the playlist.

18. Time Warp - Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack

Because is it really October if you don’t listen to the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack? This song is a classic and a staple at any Halloween party. I had no choice but to include it.

19. South Drive - WSTR

I was drawn to this song because of the raw instrumentals and vocals. It almost seems a bit messy during the verses, but comes together for the chorus. When I heard it for the first time, I questioned whether or not I liked it. As I listened to it again though, I did find myself really enjoying the more authentic garage rock band vibe that it has. It does feel a lot more cut and paste than what you would normally hear from more popular bands of the same genre, but it still works really well. I enjoy it.

20. Astoria - Marianas Trench

The last song on this month’s playlist is very close to my heart. It is the intro to the album Astoria by another one of my favorite bands, Marianas Trench. I decided to include this song last on this playlist because this month they released the music video for the song. It is a very beautiful video that very well sums up what the whole album is about. However, the release of the music video also ended the Astoria era exactly two years after the album’s release on October 23rd. It was a very emotional time for me and all other MTrench fans. The album has provided me with so many great memories, made me dance, made me cry, but most of all made me appreciate the intricacies of music so much more. Although I am sad to see the era end, I hope it means that the band can get some much deserved rest and start working on more music. Never say die.

That is it this week, friends. It’s been a rough week, but writing about music has made it a little better (even if it’s a little late). I used to write blogs like this for my playlists when I first started making them last year, but stopped when I realized no one read them. I still have absolutely zero people reading, but ya know, a girl can dream. Still, happy first week of November, and happy day to you, invisible friends.

- 🕊️ ❤️ 🏹  

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/07/14/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-71417/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 7/14/17

So, I saw Spider-Man: Homecoming. Unlike most of you, I didn’t love it. I really liked it, but didn’t love it. Part of the issue stems from the legacy of Spider-Man films. I kinda hate how every star has delivered a great performance as Spider-Man, yet the minute the roll is recast, fans with short memories start saying the last guy was “shit”. People love ragging on Tobey Maguire, especially after Spider-Man 3, but he was really good in those first two movies. There’s a Spider-Man for every generation, and he was the Spider-Man we needed in 2002. Sure, he wouldn’t work so well now, but to compare his movies to Homecoming is basically apples to oranges. I also kinda hate when people say “They finally got Spider-Man right!” Um, Tobey already got him right. Andrew Garfield, in his own way, got him right. And Holland is getting him right. For now. They’ve all brought something special and unique to the table, and I think it’s unfair to discount that because there’s some new, shiny thing to take your attention.

All that’s to say that I liked Homecoming, but it didn’t really offer anything new to me. I felt the same wide-eyed wonder seeing Holland do the ferry rescue as I did when Maguire did the same thing with the train in Spider-Man 2. Some might call that an homage, but it just felt…familiar.

What did I love? I loved Tony being there. I felt like there was just enough Tony Stark without the film becoming Iron Man 3.5. It’s always good to see Happy, and this movie did more with him than most of the Iron Man films ever did. I especially love movie Happy since comic Happy is no longer with us (sad trombone). I loved sexy, younger Aunt May, but I’ve loved Marisa Tomei ever since she filled out her college application wrong and ended up at that Black college. I loved the running joke of all the guys commenting on how hot she was. It’s a new concept for May, but it works. I loved the Miles Morales Easter egg (I won’t spoil it here if you didn’t catch it). I loved Not-Ganke (For those not in the know, Ganke is the name of Miles Morales Spider-Man’s best friend, who looks EXACTLY like actor Jacob Batalon), even if I don’t know why they insisted on calling him “Ned Leeds”. I loved that Damage Control was officially revealed. Keaton was great, even if he’s not an Adrian Toomes that I recognize. The Liz Allen swerve was cool, ’cause I really didn’t see that coming.

OK, now for the things I didn’t like. They introduced a good swath of Spidey’s rogue (Mac Gargan, Shocker), all at once as Vulture’s gang, only to be relegated to ancillary characters and henchmen. I know the MCU has a “Villain Problem” of wasting their villains, but this just takes the cake.

Now, this is gonna sound stupid, but I spent a good amount of time trying to reconcile the MCU timeline in my head. The movie starts immediately after Avengers, jumps 8 years to Captain America: Civil War, and then to the present day, which is shortly after the airport battle where Spidey debuted. Now, a big part of Act 3 is the fact that Vulture wants to steal a bunch of Avengers/Stark Tech on Moving Day – when everything was being moved from Avengers Tower to the upstate facility. Now, Tony’s rich, so it’s not like he can’t own multiple properties, but why is Moving Day happening NOW? I mean, the upstate facility debuted at the end of Age of Ultron, we saw it again in Ant-Man, and everyone seemed to be pretty moved in by Civil War. So, why the delay in moving everything up there? Does Homecoming maybe not take place when we think it does? Well, we know it’s post-Civil War because Cap’s hilariously referred to as a war criminal by gym teacher Hannibal Buress. If it were just a thrown away reference, I wouldn’t care, but the whole final action piece is based on this Moving Day concept. Anyway, I think it’s fair to say I probably wasn’t in the right headspace for this movie if that’s where my brain was going.

Oh, and the thing I hated most: that effing MJ reveal! First of all, it accomplished nothing. It was corny, and it was executed just as poorly as when The Dark Knight Rises did it. Secondly, at the end of the day, her name is MICHELLE, not MARY. You can call her “MJ”, but that does not make her Mary Jane. And to be honest, the movie would’ve been fine without her character. While she was funny, it seems like she was woven into the movie solely to make that hamfisted name reveal at the end.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll watch this movie a bunch more once it hits the premium channels, but I just didn’t fall in love with it as much as a lot of you did. I’m really sorry about that, too, ’cause I really wanted to love it. Something just didn’t work for me entirely, and I can’t put my finger on it exactly.

Things were heating up in the news world this week. Back when NBC announced they had hired Megyn Kelly from Fox News, Today co-anchor Tamron Hall abruptly quit, reportedly because her contract was about to expire. Industry insiders, however, believe it was because it was rumored that Kelly would be given the third hour of Today – where Hall was currently the co-anchor of Today’s Take. Well, that’s somewhat true, as this week it was revealed that Kelly’s show will premiere September 25th, and will feature a live studio audience, like a traditional talk show. It will, in fact, occupy the third hour of Today, sandwiched between the regular Today and the Kathie Lee & Hoda hour of Today. Not to be outdone, it was also announced that Tamron Hall is developing a daytime talk show with Weinstein Television. It’s also believed that, in several major markets, this talk show will go head to head with Kelly’s daytime show. Now the race is on to see which one of them earns the coveted “Fake News” label first!

In other television news, CBS announced an upcoming animated special called Michael Jackson’s Halloween, which sounds kinda sketchy. Apparently, it’s about two Millennials (there’s THAT buzzword), which is basically to say “two shits too young to appreciate the King of Pop’s music”. Anyway, they meet at a party, end up at a weird hotel, and crazy stuff happens – all capped off by a dance number by an animated Michael. If you ask me, he already contributed his greatest gift to the Halloween industry: “Thriller”! Unless this is just a one-hour animated version of “Thriller”, I don’t think the world needs this. Somebody tell his mama to stop letting his estate make crap like this.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

John Cho joins Fox’s The Exorcist next season. While some are all, “Yay, representation!”, I’m like “Why the F is Sulu doing television?!” Well, I guess since Kumar’s already doing television…

In a move that’s somewhat baffling to me, Lucy Liu will direct the season 2 premiere of Netflix’s Luke Cage

Speaking of Netflix, Bojack Horseman season 4 will premiere on September 8th.

Fresh of the Boat dad Randall Park has been cast as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jimmy Woo in Ant-Man & The Wasp

Netflix has also renewed the Castlevania animated series for a second season

Jeremy Renner essentially broke both arms while filming the movie Tag, though it’s not expected to affect production on Avengers: Infinity War.

Smallville‘s Lois Lane, Erica Durance, is taking over the role of Alura from Laura Benanti on Supergirl.

Despite flopping in North America, the Baywatch film is on track to make $100 million overseas

Showtime is planning a sequel to the hit lesbian series The L Word. If it were up to me, it’d be called The K Word, and it would be about non-binary gender Millennials as they make their way through NYC, but nobody pays me for these ideas, so…

After 27 years of voicing Kermit the Frog, it was revealed that Steve Whitmire was fired back in October, and it currently lobbying to get his job back. Apparently, it’s not east being Steve.

In probably the biggest TV news this week (at least for the geek set), it was announced that AT&T Lily herself, Milana Vayntrub, has been cast as Squirrel Girl in Marvel’s New Warriors on Freeform. I cared NOTHING about this show until that announcement. It still doesn’t really inspire any confidence for me, as I don’t know if the superhero comedy genre works on television (see Powerless), but I’m definitely more inclined to check it out than I had been prior to the announcement. I mean, who doesn’t love that chick?! I love her in the commercials, I loved her in Other Space, and I even loved her as a bitchy ex-girlfriend in Love. Here’s hoping this leads to the big break she deserves. It was a slow entertainment news week so, ya know what, Milana Vayntrub had the Breas…I mean West Week Ever.

[guacnroll]

that 100 question jawn

Yeah so @starsburnouttoo tagged me in this like a month or two ago and I typed it up and never posted it so here it is.  My bad.

1. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR CLOSET DOORS OPEN OR CLOSED?

Closed.  I always thought some kind of monster was in there as a kid. Now it’s out of habit.

2. DO YOU TAKE THE SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONER BOTTLES FROM HOTELS?

Why?  That’s just more shit to pack and potential spillage to clean up later.

3. DO YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR SHEETS TUCKED IN OR OUT?

Sheets tucked in.  You know, like a normal person.

4. HAVE YOU STOLEN A STREET SIGN BEFORE?

I haven’t, but I would and I will.

5. DO YOU LIKE TO USE POST-IT NOTES?

I just use the memo app on my phone.

6. DO YOU CUT OUT COUPONS BUT THEN NEVER USE THEM?

I don’t use coupons unless I need them, so nah.

7. WOULD YOU RATHER BE ATTACKED BY A BIG BEAR OR A SWARM OF BEES?

Swarm of bees, because they could probably be dealt with easier.  Smoke or some shit.  Worse comes to worse, there’s a better chance of survival with a swarm of bees.

8. DO YOU HAVE FRECKLES?

I don’t think I’ve known any full Filipino with freckles.

9. DO YOU ALWAYS SMILE FOR PICTURES?

Lmao barely.

10. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE?

Getting interrupted while tal-

11. DO YOU EVER COUNT YOUR STEPS WHEN YOU WALK?

There’s an app for that, bruh.  Count calories.

12. HAVE YOU PEED IN THE WOODS?

I went backpacking in the mountains for a week for a class, so yeah.

13. HAVE YOU EVER POOPED IN THE WOODS?

A week.  At least we had toilet paper.

14. DO YOU EVER DANCE EVEN IF THERES NO MUSIC PLAYING?

Why would I do that? I’m not even a good dancer in general.

15. DO YOU CHEW YOUR PENS AND PENCILS?

I used to.  Not anymore.

16. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE YOU SLEPT WITH THIS WEEK?

Do engineering textbooks count as people?

17. WHAT SIZE IS YOUR BED?

Twin because that’s what the apartment provided.

18. WHAT IS YOUR SONG OF THE WEEK?

Suede – NxWorries

19. IS IT OK FOR GUYS TO WEAR PINK?

Why would it not be okay?

20. DO YOU STILL WATCH CARTOONS?

Listen man, there’s so much anime out there, and with that Steven Universe shit coming out, damn. Speaking of which when is Koe no Katachi and Kimi no Na wa getting subbed this needs to be a thing also back to Steven Universe what’s Cartoon Network doing like are they trying to lower rati-

21. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE MOVIE?

If I don’t like a movie I’ll just stop watching it.  The worst movie I remember having to watch all the way through is the second Percy Jackson movie, and I only watched it because my little sister wanted to watch it.

22. WHERE WOULD YOU BURY HIDDEN TREASURE IF YOU HAD SOME?

I’d probably take a long drive somewhere, and find a nice secluded area.  Then I’d bury it there, and record the geo coordinates somewhere.

23. WHAT DO YOU DRINK WITH DINNER?

It depends on what I’m eating man.  You gotta match the drink to the food, bruh.

24. WHAT DO YOU DIP A CHICKEN NUGGET IN?

Chick-fil-a sauce, Polynesian sauce, BBQ, ketchup, honey mustard.

25. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?

Filipino food’s da bomb.com.

26. WHAT MOVIES COULD YOU WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND STILL LOVE?

Any Studio Ghibli movie, probably.  Or, you know, Shawshank Redemption.  Maybe Clerks? Idk.

27. LAST PERSON YOU KISSED/KISSED YOU?

Someone at a New Year’s Eve party.

28. WERE YOU EVER A BOY/GIRL SCOUT?

Luh mao.  Nah.

29. WOULD YOU EVER STRIP OR POSE NUDE IN A MAGAZINE?

Yall are funny.

30. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WROTE A LETTER TO SOMEONE ON PAPER?

I dunno, like, sixth grade? Yall ever heard of e-mail?  Game changer, man.

31. CAN YOU CHANGE THE OIL ON A CAR?

I drive.  I better know.

32. EVER GOTTEN A SPEEDING TICKET?

Nah.

33. EVER RAN OUT OF GAS?

I try to make sure that doesn’t happen.

34. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KIND OF SANDWICH?

Either chicken parm or pulled pork.

35. BEST THING TO EAT FOR BREAKFAST?

I was talking to a few of other Filipino friends earlier.  Bacon, eggs, and rice seems to be a staple in Filipino, or at least, Fil-Am culture.  Idk if that’s just an Asian thing or a Filipino thing, tho.

36. WHAT IS YOUR USUAL BEDTIME?

Electrical Engineering major and late working hours dictate between 12-3 AM.

37. ARE YOU LAZY?

Despite all the work I piled onto myself, I still find time to take naps.  So yeah.

38. WHEN YOU WERE A KID, WHAT DID YOU DRESS UP AS FOR HALLOWEEN?

Astronaut, Harry Potter, the usual.

39. WHAT IS YOUR CHINESE ASTROLOGICAL SIGN?

Year of the ox.

40. HOW MANY LANGUAGES CAN YOU SPEAK?

My parents tried teaching me Tagalog as a kid but apparently my bitchass was like “Speak English I’m an ungrateful brat hahahah.”  I know a few words but other than that, nah.

 And English.  But that’s a given.

41. DO YOU HAVE ANY MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS?

Nah.

42. WHICH ARE BETTER: LEGOS OR LINCOLN LOGS?

Better question: who would answer Lincoln Logs?

43. ARE YOU STUBBORN?

Only on something that really matters to me.  So like “drop this class it’s getting in the way of your grades,” I’ll be like “nah.” Other than that prolly not.

44. WHO IS BETTER: LENO OR LETTERMAN?

I don’t watch a lot of late night talk shows, and those guys are like before my generation, bro.

45. EVER WATCH SOAP OPERAS?

My sister told me to watch this K-Drama called Goblin and that’s basically a soap.

46. ARE YOU AFRAID OF HEIGHTS?

If there’s no railing then yeah.

47. DO YOU SING IN THE CAR?

Not unless I’m the only one in the car honestly.

48. DO YOU SING IN THE SHOWER?

Lmao nah.

49. DO YOU DANCE IN THE CAR?

Only when I’m with close friends or alone.

50. EVER USED A GUN?

Yeah.  It was pretty fun ngl.

51. LAST TIME YOU GOT A PORTRAIT TAKEN BY A PHOTOGRAPHER?

Last year.

52. DO YOU THINK MUSICALS ARE CHEESY?

[has flashbacks of high school pit band]

53. IS CHRISTMAS STRESSFUL?

The most stressful part of Christmas is my mom bringing us to Church for like 3 hours.

54. EVER EAT A PIEROGI?

They’re pretty good.

55. FAVORITE TYPE OF FRUIT PIE?

Apple, probably.

56. OCCUPATIONS YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID?

Musician, author, scientist, somebody famous with lots of hoes and money, idk.

57. DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

My friend claims he talks to ghost and I’m inclined to believe him tbh.

58. EVER HAVE A DEJA-VU FEELING?

Yeah, a bunch.

59. DO YOU TAKE A VITAMIN DAILY?

Nah.

60. DO YOU WEAR SLIPPERS?

Don’t touch my chinelas cuh

61. DO YOU WEAR A BATH ROBE?

Nah.

62. WHAT DO YOU WEAR TO BED?

Sweatpants, t-shirt.   The basics.

63. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CONCERT?

Kanye West, floor tickets, TLOP PSU 2016 heh heh

64. WALMART, TARGET, OR KMART?

Target bruh

65. NIKE OR ADIDAS?

I have a pair of Adidas sweatpants so like Adidas I guess

66. CHEETOS OR FRITOS?

Cheetos if I had to choose.

67. PEANUTS OR SUNFLOWER SEEDS?

I hate peanuts.

68. EVER HEAR OF THE GROUP TRES BIEN?

Ohhh you tryna go there? You think just because you know one obscure band means you’re all that but I bet you don’t even listen to prog rock you hipster piec-

69. EVER TAKE DANCE LESSONS?

I should.

70. IS THERE A PROFESSION YOU PICTURE YOUR FUTURE SPOUSE DOING?

Nah.  But the dream girl is probably Yuja Wang, so if you’re classically trained in any instrument then you’re probably an 8/10 in my book already.

71. CAN YOU CURL YOUR TONGUE?

Nah I got dem recessive genes bruh.

72. EVER WON A SPELLING BEE?

Like, once.  In third grade.  It wasn’t a huge thing.

73. HAVE YOU EVER CRIED BECAUSE YOU WERE SO HAPPY?

The only time that would’ve happened in my life is when my sister was born.

74. OWN ANY RECORD ALBUMS?

I got a vinyl of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band b/c y not ya feel

75. OWN A RECORD PLAYER?

I’ll probably buy one. Eventually.

76. DO YOU REGULARLY BURN INCENSE?

The only thing I burn regularly is dat broccoli heh

77. EVER BEEN IN LOVE?

Yeah, that’s like a thing most people do.

78. WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN CONCERT?

I’mma see Chance the Rapper soon, but other than that, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Isaiah Rashad, and I’d like to hear Yuja Wang perform some Prokofiev or Rachmaninoff or something.

79. WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU SAW?

Kanye West lol

80. HOT TEA OR COLD TEA?

Hot tea preferably.

81. TEA OR COFFEE?

I like both, but given my life I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee to stay awake recently.

82. SUGAR COOKIES OR SNICKERDOODLES?

Idk.

83. CAN YOU SWIM WELL?

I know how to swim, I guess.

84. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR BREATH WITHOUT HOLDING YOUR NOSE?

Who can’t?..

85. ARE YOU PATIENT?

I wouldn’t be able to be an engineer if I wasn’t :^)

86. DJ OR BAND AT A WEDDING?

I’ll figure it out when I’m at that point.

87. EVER WON A CONTEST?

Does winning a music scholarship for my high school count.

88. HAVE YOU EVER HAD PLASTIC SURGERY?

Nah.

89. WHICH ARE BETTER: BLACK OR GREEN OLIVES?

I’m not, like, an olive expert man.

90. CAN YOU KNIT OR CROCHET?

Nah.

91. BEST ROOM FOR A FIREPLACE?

The living room I guess.

92. DO YOU WANT TO GET MARRIED?

Yeah sure.

93. IF MARRIED, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED?

Nah.

94. WHO WAS YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH?

There was some cute bassist in the pit band in my junior year.  I prolly could’ve asked her out, but like she was a senior going to college so I didn’t really see a real reason at that point.

95. DO YOU CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR OWN WAY?

No because I try to be better than that.

96. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Nah.

97. DO YOU WANT KIDS?

Sure.

98. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Idk, blue, maroon.

99. DO YOU MISS ANYONE RIGHT NOW?

I’m at home rn so nah.

100. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG TO DO THIS VIDEO NEXT?

Is this a video?  This isn’t a video.

@katie-be-happy @bluebrry  What’s up yooo

[silverscreenclassics2016]

by Paul Batters

It’s a real thrill to be acknowledged by a fellow blogger whose work you respect and enjoy. We rarely receive that acknowledgement and to be nominated by by Zoe K at Hollywood Genes is certainly thrilling! I cannot thank you enough for your kindness, Zoe!

As Zoe pointed out in her acceptance, it’s a great deal of fun to receive the award because the questions allow for introspection that we rarely give to ourselves.  So without further ado, let’s get into the conditions for the Sunshine Blogger Award.

The Rules

Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

Answer the eleven questions from the blogger who nominated you.

Nominate eleven bloggers.

Create eleven new questions for your nominees to answer.

Here are my answers to Zoe’s questions:

The Questions

1). Whose biography would you want to write and why would you pick that person?

James Murray. I became fascinated by his story when I read ‘Hollywood Babylon’ as a kid (which I know is heavy with inaccuracies) but was even more fascinated after finally watching ‘The Crowd’ which is one of my favourite films and an exceptional artwork. There are myths regarding James Murray’s life that need to be cleared up and indeed there’s a lot we don’t know either. There’s something tragic about his story and so many themes to examine that I think it would be challenging and very interesting to research and find out more about the man.

2). What is a film that people would be shocked to find out you haven’t seen?

I’ve avoided many of the Marvel and DC films, particularly the most recent ones. I’m so tired of ‘over-the-top’ CGI nonsense and noise. And for the record I was a huge Marvel comic fan from the 70s onwards (and still am!). But if I had a free ticket to go, I wouldn’t nor couldn’t be bothered to see any of those films. Not judging anyone who likes them – it’s just my taste.

3). Which favorite book of yours has never been made (or made properly) into a movie? If it were, who would you cast in the lead roles?

Definitely Budd Schulberg’s book ‘What Makes Sammy Run?’ – not because it’s a favourite per se as many books I love have been made into films but because it’s a powerful book and should be made. I know and understand the stories behind why it’s never been made as a film, as it is a terrifyingly cynical view of the film industry. In terms of casting, it’s very difficult which might also explain why it was never made. But I’ll take my best shot, using actors from the classic era.

Al Mannheim: Dana Andrews Sammy Glick: Frank Sinatra Cathy ‘Kit’ Sargent: Teresa Wright Sidney Fineman: James Gleason ‘Sheik’: Anthony Quinn Laurette Harrington: Martha Hyer Carter Judd: Jeffrey Hunter Rosalie Goldblaum: Cathy O’Donnell

4). Which blog post did you spend the most time researching and/or writing and what was it about? 

It would have to be ‘Fatalism And Futility In Film Noir’. It’s over 4,000 words and I really focused on it a great deal. Of course I re-watched the films I discussed a number of times, as well as read some critical work and reviews to immerse myself in the essence of what I wanted to write. I think it came out ok!

Here’s the link: Fatalism And Futility In Film Noir

5). When and why did you start blogging?

I began in 2016 for a few reasons; I have always loved classic film and wanted to write about it. The advice that kept popping up in my face was quite simple – just DO IT. It was also an avenue to developing an idea for a book (which I am still working on) nI finally took on the challenge and whilst I have been disillusioned and disheartened at times, I’ve tried to remember why I started writing in the first place and I am starting to get my mojo back.

It’s also a desire to keep alive an appreciation of classic cinema, at a time when it is slowly being eroded away and diminished by so many factors. Researching and writing about classic cinema is also a fantastic way of learning more and I wanted that to be a key part of the reason I started blogging.

The key with writing is simple yet difficult at the same time – just WRITE. Even if they come out terrible, the process is still cathartic as well as being a learning opportunity.

6). You’re hosting a themed Halloween party. Which book or film would you use as the theme and in what ways?

It would be Roman Polanski’s film The Fearless Vampire Killers – simply because it would give everyone a chance to become a creature of the night. Everyone of course would be dressed in period piece, the party would be held in a beautiful old ballroom for everyone to dance the night away and the hired staff (suitably attired) would be on duty to provide everyone with enough food and beverages and keep them satisfied. For those who are interested, there would be viewing rooms with different classic and not so classic horror films playing – and of course the decorations would be appropriate to the evening.

7). What was the last film you saw that really blew you away and why?

The Irishman. Not only were there incredible performances from De Niro and Pacino, but there was also the reminder of why I miss Joe Pesci so much on the big screen. Ray Romano was no slouch and perfectly cast. A tour de force of a film!

8). Marry, Kiss, or Kill: Which film character would you marry, which would you share a hot, pre-code kiss with, and which would you kill like a noir anti-hero or villain(ess) with a score to settle? (And why did you pick these 3?)

Marry: Nora Charles (Myrna Loy). That is assuming Nick was deceased and she was available. (I know that sounds awful but…it is Myrna Loy after all! To spend a lifetime with such a gorgeous gal would be heaven!)

Kiss: Marian Martin (Joan Crawford). Locking lips with a hell of a sexy pre-code dame like Joan Crawford would send the temperature soaring!

Kill: Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark). He’s a sadistic, mad dog and dangerous as hell!

9). Which film character’s closet would you love to raid?

Why any character being played by Cary Grant of course!

10). Recast Star Wars using early Hollywood (silent to 1940s) actors and actresses then recast Casablanca with modern actors and actresses (1990s to today).

I’ve also placed the original players next to the recast actors and actresses.

Star Wars  Luke – Jackie Cooper

circa 1942: Promotional headshot portrait of American actor Jackie Cooper tilting his head forward and looking straight ahead, for director A Edward Sutherland’s film, ‘The Navy Comes Through’. He is wearing a pinstriped blazer with a tie. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Han – Clark Gable

Leia – Olivia de Havilland

Obi-wan Kenobi – Sir Cedric Hardwicke

Darth Vader – Claude Rains (Voice)

ca. 1940s — Actor Claude Rains — Image by © John Springer Collection/CORBIS

Grand Moff Tarkin – Boris Karloff

Casablanca Rick – George Clooney

Ilsa – Monica Bellucci

Victor – Christoph Waltz

Sam – Jamie Foxx

Captain Renault – Jean Dujardin

Major Strasser – Mads Mikkelsen

Signor Ferrari – Anthony Hopkins

Ugarte – Steve Buscemi

  11). You were working in the lab, late one night, when your eyes beheld an eerie sight. What was it and what did you do?

The hour was beyond the clock, as I looked dazedly upon my work. Was it finished? Was it complete? Was what lay before me everything that I had sweated, ached and poured my heart out for? Or was there more to do?How long had I toiled and found myself lost in the seemingly infinite depths of trying to perfect my creation! Yet at every turn there were obstacles; some I had placed there, the rest beyond my control – or so I told myself. The distinction between perseverance and madness had long blurred and I could not remember the last time I had spoken to someone about the weather or sat at the table to eat. Indeed, what was finally driving me to complete my work was something I could not ascertain, even when I deigned to find some moments of peace in disturbed sleep. Even then the only reason I closed my eyes was a justification to allow myself to recover to continue my work. And so at that point, I slumped in my seat and felt my arms fall lifelessly by my side. It was enough. There was no more that I could do. Yet something compelled me to turn to my right, as if a presence was watching me. Finding myself torn between daring to look and pretending there was nothing there, I nonetheless apprehensively turned slowly towards an apparition beyond my wildest nightmares. Staring at me was a figure so grotesque that I could not scream. As I opened my mouth in silent horror, the figure did the same, as if it were mocking my terror and laughing inside at my frozen fear. Its eyes were large and dark, sunken in what appeared to be the hollows of a long dead oak, with hair hanging down bedraggled over its’ face. Its pale face was fixated on me like a predator eyeing its’ prey and as I instinctively raised my hand in some pathetic attempt to fend it off, I saw it too raise its’ fiendish arm as if ready to strike. Rising slowly out of my chair, the figure also stood and I knew that at any moment, it may rush at me and inflict violence upon me. Determined to defend myself, I saw its’ face contort into a horrific mask of contemptuous violence. My fists clenched into red knuckled balls of fury. And waited. Bracing myself for the attack to come. But then I noticed a change in my tormentor’s face, as it looked at me questioningly. I, too, found myself staring back, realising that I knew who it was and the realisation hit me like a thousand thunderbolts all at once… I touched the mirror with the tips of my fingers before turning back to my creation and hitting the ‘Publish’ button on the screen. Sleep beckoned…

The 11 Nominees For The Sunshine Blogger Award

Down These Mean Streets – Musings Of A Noir Dame

Four Star Film Fan

Wolffian Classic Movies Digest

B Noir Detour

Noirish

Queen Of The Lot Blog

Diary Of A Movie Maniac

Cinema Essentials

The Classic Movie Muse

Moon In Gemini

Once Upon A Screen

The Questions

My questions are a mixed bag of my own and others that Zoe.K was given so I hope you find them interesting!

1. Which actor or actress who hasn’t received an Oscar do you think deserves one? And for what film?

2. Who is your favourite child actor and name a film they were in which you love.

3. If a biopic was made of you during the classic film era (1920s to 1960s), who would you like to play you and why?

4. Which famous starry couple (of any time and place) would you want as neighbours?

5. Of all the classic monsters, which one do you feel associated with and why?

6. Is there a classic era actor/actress that you have a crush on?

7. If there was ONE actor or actress (living or deceased) whom you could interview for your blog, who would it be and why would you choose that person?

8. Which film character’s closet would you love to raid?

9. Marry, Kiss, or Kill: Which film character would you marry, which would you share a hot, pre-code kiss with, and which would you kill like a noir anti-rhero or villain(ess) with a score to settle? (And why did you pick these 3?)

10. Of all the classic film studios, which is your favourite and why?

11. Choose a film where you would love to change the ending. Explain what that change would be and why you would do it.

Well, I hope you take part and of course totally understand if you cannot or would prefer not to. However, I thoroughly recommend it as it’s a great deal of fun and certainly is a pleasure and honour to be nominated. Happy blogging everyone! And I’m looking forward to reading your responses.

Paul Batters teaches secondary school History in the Illawarra region and also lectures at the University Of Wollongong. In a previous life, he was involved in community radio and independent publications. Looking to a career in writing, Paul also has a passion for film history.

  The Sunshine Blogger Award – Brightening Up A Blog! by Paul Batters It's a real thrill to be acknowledged by a fellow blogger whose work you respect and enjoy.

[clayray3290]

Clayray Closeout 2018

Another momentous year has passed, and I am feeling reflective about my tastes and my year, so once again, clayray is closing out the year. Usually I don’t do this, but this year, I traveled a lot, like A LOT a lot, and I made the move across the country to LA, so before I reflect on my media consumption, here is a list of all the places I went to this year:

January - Baltimore for a baby shower February - San Francisco Sonoma for a wine tasting trip with college friends March - New York City to see musicals April - Las Vegas for PBS TechCon Two days after getting back - Sarasota for Roadshow Less then a week after - Tulsa for Roadshow May - San Francisco for CAAMFest Louisville for Roadshow Literally the day after - LA San Diego for Roadshow June - Detroit for Roadshow Toronto with mom Montreal to see Sarah July - Charlotte to meet up with Colleen and Katy Smoky Mountains for a bridal shower New Hampshire for a wedding September - Moved to LA! October - San Francisco for a wedding Boston Newport for a wedding November - Florida for Thanksgiving

Whew! As you can see, August and December were the only months that I didn’t travel, and that was because August was spent preparing for my big move and in December, my family came to me. What with layovers, I was on 33 flights plus 5 significant buses plus several “road trips” with friends/family, too. And some of these trips were so back-to-back that I barely spent any time sleeping in my own bed!

Now, I’m still in a weird period of transition, but soon enough, I will develop a routine and establish a place here. I moved across the country with no job, no apartment, and very few friends, and it was a humongous change to make. But as scary and hard as it can be, I think I have enough faith in myself that it will all work out and I will be okay. And with that, I’m looking forward to 2019!

But meanwhile, continuing to look back:

Music - Artists

La Luz

Joywave

Jesse McCartney

Younha

Saint Motel

30 Seconds to Mars

Betty Who

The Aces

BTS

Infinite

As always, artists that I saw live are a huge presence in this list: La Luz, Saint Motel, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Betty Who, and technically I was walking up to the venue when Joywave was playing (which I am still bitter about, for the record.) Other artists I saw live this year: MisterWives and Walk the Moon opening for 30 Seconds to Mars, Tamia, Duckwrth and Buyepongo at the Made in LA Festival literally my second day in LA, Gymshorts opening for La Luz, Vincent Vallières and Brigitte Boisjoli and Martha Wainwright and Michel Rivard and Klô Pelgag at the Fete in Montreal, Bleachers, Sara Bareilles at MisCast, Dionysia and Bazmati Vice, Gryffin, and I guess technically I saw Pregnant Boy.

I have been in love with Jesse McCartney since I was 11 and he released new music this year, which I adored (which you will soon see in the Top Tracks), so of course he’s that high up. Similarly, Younha released an excellent album this year and I’ve always loved her. I actually didn’t find Infinite’s album particularly thrilling, but I guess I liked it well enough that I wouldn’t skip their songs whenever they came up.

I had actually listened to The Aces before, but this year was when I really got into them. Their album is stellar and I love their sound and their look!

And as for BTS, my mom’s actually a huge fan and there was no escaping their immense worldwide popularity. I remember when they debuted! It’s great to see how they have grown to be the K-Pop group that has “made it” to the States.

This is the first time in a long time that my all-time favorites like Secret and McFly haven’t been in the top. Secret’s disbandment really hurt, even though we all saw it coming, and I’m still not over it.

Odesza didn’t make it up to the very top, but I also listened to them a lot with my boyfriend. :)

Music - Albums

Younha - RescuE

The Aces - When My Heart Felt Volcanic

Infinite - TOP SEED

Hamilton OBCR

Alexz Johnson - A Stranger Time

Dan Masterson - When Reality Calls

La Luz - Floating Features

Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer

Eric Nam - Honestly

Anastasia OBCR

Unsurprisingly, my top artists are showing up in the top albums. I was surprised to see that the Hamilton OBCR was so high, but then I remembered that I featured it heavily in my 4th of July playlist that I played during my party. I’ve been fond of Alexz Johnson since Instant Star, even though I didn’t actually watch the show, and my friend Schuyler and I had a bit of a phase reminiscing about that era of “teen show” singers like her and also Drake Bell.

Dan Masterson is, full disclosure, a friend of mine from college, but his album is really excellent, and you should check it out if you’re interested in piano-based singer-songwriter tunes!

What is there to say about Janelle Monáe except that she is a beacon of brilliance, and we are lucky just to be able to witness it.

The other musical on this list is Anastasia, which is one of the musicals I saw this year. I saw it on Derek Klena’s last evening performance, which is actually one of two times that I saw him. I also saw him in Jagged Little Pill at the A.R.T (he is not the best part of that show, though, Lauren Patten’s “You Oughta Know” is hands down unequivocally the showstopper). The other musicals I saw this year were Allegiance, Hello! Dolly, and I saw the Genies’ Jukebox. Not a musical, but I also saw the off-Broadway show Puffs, which was hysterical.

I’m not sure why I didn’t pay attention as much, but Death Cab’s album this year is pretty great. I didn’t love the Arctic Monkeys’ album as much as I wanted to, though they actually just missed being in my Top Artists by 10 listens. Robyn’s album this year was also pretty stellar, but it was released pretty late in the year.

Movies

As always, subjective ranking and not numbers-based.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Okay, biased, what with my children’s media thing and PBS thing. Tbh I don’t even like documentaries that much, but this one. I wept. And we really needed this film right now.

Blindspotting I saw this at the Independent Film Festival Boston, with a Q&A with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal afterwards, and just wow. This is an incredible tour de force. Brilliantly crafted and visceral and hilarious, too. I know a bunch of people were drawn to it because of Daveed Diggs and his Hamilton fame, but genuinely, he and Rafael Casal’s passion for this film and overwhelming talent shine through in this.

Searching Look, I love love loved Crazy Rich Asians and Asian August and Asian-American women bringing back the rom com. As an Asian-American woman, I have been waiting for so long for this to happen. But I picked Searching because as a film, Searching takes the screen footage tactic, heretofore only really used in horror films, and capitalizes on it to such amazing dramatic and emotional effect. John Cho is fantastic, of course in this very tense and very stressful film.

Black Panther I cannot believe it hasn’t even been a year since Black Panther. Can we start using the term BBP and ABP for Before and After Black Panther? I saw somewhere that Letitia Wright is the biggest box office star of the year, which is fabulous because she is fabulous (and a Disney princess!). The world-building is amazing, the action is amazing, the eye candy is amazing (Helloooooo Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o and...you get the point).

Ralph Breaks the Internet I spent a lot of this film marveling at how only Disney could have pulled this off, this massive ambitious bringing together of so many brands and characters and, y’know, the internet. I also enjoy that this is not a romantic love story, and it is a story about love in other ways. Loving your friends and caring for them and respecting them is so important, and dealing with insecurity is as well. This is such a smart movie, and as somebody who cares about children’s media, that is the standard to which we should aspire.

Honorable Mentions: A Quiet Place (Though of the horror films this year, Hereditary and Annihilation were also very good), Madeline’s Madeline for Helena Howard’s performance, I Tonya because um duh figure skating but does not make the list because trying to pass off Margot Robbie as teenage was laughable, Three Identical Strangers

Movies I Want to See But Haven’t Yet: Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You, Support the Girls, Widows, Creed II, The Hate U Give, Halloween, Burning, RBG, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Dumplin’ (My roomie’s in it!)

Movies I Should See But Haven’t Brought Myself To Care About: A Star is Born, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Mary Poppins Returns, Green Book, Love Simon, Paddington 2

2020.12.02 EDIT: I was wrong about Paddington 2. It is an incredible film.

Television

Sharp Objects I’ve read the book (and own it somewhere...) but it had been a while, so Sharp Objects did what a good mystery does - even upon a revisit, the things you don’t remember are tantalizing and the discovery of new clues and revelations keep shifting your perspective and giving it a jolt each time. Amy Adams is phenomenal in this (as she always is) and Eliza Scanlen as Amma gives a piercing performance in this.

Queer Eye All of the remakes happening incessantly is tiring and also eyeroll-inducing (it’s cliche but honestly, where are the original ideas nowadays?), but then we get something like Queer Eye. Reality TV gets a hard rap, but with Queer Eye, you get the entertainment factor and also incredibly moving emotional heft as well. Also, I genuinely wonder at how Bobby gets all that house remodeling done and he doesn’t get enough credit for it!

The Haunting of Hill House I love the Shirley Jackson story and also the original movie (I have not watched the 90′s movie and I don’t think I ever will), so my only real gripe with this show is that I wish they didn’t call it The Haunting of Hill House because it really isn’t. But what it is, is a brilliant family drama launching off of the Hill House story. It is captivating and beautiful and spooky, and also the casting of the young kids is impeccable.

Nailed It! Sometimes you just need to guffaw over people’s ridiculous failures. This show doesn’t take itself too seriously and because it embraces the silly, it’s full of heart and joy.

Élite I love foreign teen dramas. I love murder...in my television/movies. Of course I was gonna love this show. But just because it has these two elements doesn’t mean that I automatically was going to think it’s a great show (It does probably mean I would automatically enjoy it, but that’s different). Both of these genres are rife with tropes, but this show takes them and executes them in such a way that it rings true and doesn’t distract from your enjoyment.

Honorable Mention: Memories of the Alhambra only because it’s still ongoing! It’s a brilliant way of looking at technology and combining it with all the elements of a K-drama that you could want. It’s kinda like if a good episode of Black Mirror (because goodness knows that quality varies) combined with a K-drama.

Also of mention are some excellent series that continued this year. I can’t believe I didn’t watch them when they first came out, but The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Big Mouth are both so so good. Though I have strong feelings about the second season of Maisel and think the Paris bit was just an awkward flex and should have been cut, and the Catskills could have been an entire series of its own. Also, I actually saw Nick Kroll do some readings of all the characters in Big Mouth at the Vulture Festival this year!

In addition to the show-watches-from-the-beginning that I am still working through (Parks and Rec, The Wire, Gilmore Girls, Mad Men, etc.) I’ve also started watching Ugly Betty and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon from the beginning.

There are a few new shows from this year that I really have been wanting to watch but haven’t yet: Killing Eve, Kidding, Homecoming. Mostly Killing Eve for Queen Sandra Oh and also the girl from MMFD!

Okay, whew! That’s enough of that. Where do I even find the time to watch all this stuff??

[superbearfun]

Happy Halloween!

          It’s that magical time of the year, when little ghosts and goblins appear.                                       Scampering up and down the streets, scurrying around with bags of treats.                     Trick or treating back when I was eight; oh, the candy bars then were truly great!

Halloween has changed much over the years. Halloween Trick or Treating in my neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri growing up in the 1950’s and early 60’s  frequently featured homemade baked goods like cookies, cupcakes, brownies, Rice Krispie treats, homemade popcorn balls, and more —  all carefully bundled in plastic wrap. Homemade candied apples were a real treat, along with homemade taffy and fudge at some homes.

And every year — without fail — a few slices of cake wrapped in plastic wrap which always seemed to find their way to the bottom of the treat bag to inevitably end up smashed flat or crumbled before I got home. But cake crumbs are cake nonetheless, so nothing ever went to waste.

Cupcakes, cookies, and brownies always seemed to survive better in the bag than a slice of cake for some reason. Despite being young, even then I appreciated the all-day effort of having baked and decorated what had to be several handmade cakes for slicing, wrapping, and handing out on Halloween night, and knew their hearts were in the right place with it all. But still find myself asking and wondering to this day — really, what were those folks thinking to hand out a wrapped slice of cake for a treat bag?

Appearing a few decades ahead of their time perhaps, there were also a few health conscious homes in the neighborhood who handed out fresh apples along with the occasional orange, banana, or assorted nuts tossed into the bag. We politely said “thank you”, never wanting ungratefulness to poison the well for next year in case they came to their senses at some point, but shaking our heads leaving just the same.

Older folks were known for frequently giving out pennies and other loose change, along with an occasional pencil or two. I always just figured they were older and not able to travel to the store easily to stock up on the really good stuff, but trying as best they could, nevertheless. And that was good enough for us, with “old people” perhaps more highly regarded and respected in those days. We don’t hear the term “hardening of the arteries” much anymore. I think that’s because the medical and drug folks can all charge more for terms like “arteriosclerosis” and “atherosclerosis” because it sounds much more serious. But, may be wrong. Getting back to Halloween, then.

Bubble Gum, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Wax Bottles,  Caramels, Jaw Breakers (always a favorite of mine!), Sugar Daddies, Jelly Beans, Candy Corn, Boston Baked Beans, Milk Duds, Caramels, Saf-T-Pop Suckers with their looped handles, Circus Peanuts, Licorice, and boxes of Cracker Jacks helped fill out the treat bag. Red Spanish Peanuts were popular, too.  Many of the items simply tossed loose and unwrapped into the bag, of course. Individually wrapped packages were only just beginning to come onto the scene at the time.

Some folks didn’t bother with the process of making a popcorn ball, choosing instead to merely wrap the loose popcorn in plastic wrap gathered and tied with a twisty tie. I usually jammed those into a side pocket for a handy street snack along the way later. It was good because it was both filling and wouldn’t sticky-up your hands like candy.

All of this, and of course not to leave out the truly treasured and most sought-after Halloween prize — Candy Bars!  There were only two sizes of candy bars generally available at that time — ‘Full Size’ and the larger “I May Need Help Carrying This One Home Size”.

Some homes offered cold apple cider to refresh on an occasionally warm evening, or hot chocolate in paper cups on especially chilly nights.  Every home seemed warm and welcoming, and homes without a front porch light on to welcome and light the way for visitors were rare indeed.

Growing up in the Midwest, Halloween nights could and did vary from warm to chilly to bone-shivering cold. Nobody under the age of adult ever wanted to cover their costume with a raincoat or parka!

I remember trick or treating in the snow twice. How could one forget something so truly magical as that? And recall more than a few rainy nights in the time when trick or treat bags were truly paper bags in every sense of the word, long before plastic bags and plastic tote pumpkins arrived on the scene. More than a few friends had the bottom burst on a rain-soaked bag, dumping all of their Halloween treasures on the wet sidewalk.

Fortunately, I escaped that calamitous fate thru the years, likely due in no small part to my beloved Mother making me carry an umbrella with me, no doubt. Carefully tilted to protect the treat bag held high and dry, naturally.

It almost goes without saying that every stop required us to actually come inside the house and perform in the living room — tell a joke, tell a story, sing a song, dance, do a trick, stand on our head, or do “something” to earn our Treats. Unearned giveaways were rare. Somersaults were always a big hit for the littlest kids to do.

A good costume got you in the door, but that alone would not fill the treat bag. We were all expected to work for our candy and treats, patiently standing in line awaiting our turn to perform. With only three channels on the black and white television sets and dodgy reception most times, a steady line of kids performing was great entertainment rivaling and surpassing anything on the TV for the night. So, entertain we did. Milton Berle and Jack Benny would have to wait for their turns that night, too.

“Knock Knock” jokes, while usually not earning the highest performance awards of a candy bar, were always reliable in a pinch to rescue the situation when the strange kid in front of you stole your best joke or trick, so the astute Trick or Treater always kept a few entertaining jokes in reserve just in case.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you going to give me some candy?

Although that particular little diddy ran the risk of getting you an orange instead of a Baby Ruth.

But a good “Knock Knock” joke could usually be relied upon to be rewarded with at least a popcorn ball.  If the household had just heard the same joke three times before you arrived, you were probably doomed for pennies, though. And maybe a short lecture about coming better prepared next year.

And it did happen occasionally, as hot new jokes seemed to cycle thru the neighborhood in a given year —“Better tell me another one son, or it’s three pennies for you.  I just heard that one five times before you got here!  What else you got in your trick bag?”

Trick or Treating done correctly was literally a performance art, requiring hours and hours of pre-planning, preparation, and dedication.  And on Halloween night, it was a process that could not be rushed if anticipated rewards were to be realized.  A good performance took both time and commitment to the craft.  On a successful night, multiple stops home might be needed to offload full bags and then head back out for more.  Candy bars being the truly sought-after prize, of course!

It was good to work together, not only in your group so everyone had their own unique performance art for the night, but also coordinating with other groups on the street, as it could save a lot of walking and shoe leather. We never realized at the time that Halloween night was a great exercise in developing teamwork skills.

“Don’t bother stopping here, Jim.  Old lady Jones is already out of candy and dumped pennies in our bags.  But the Haskins has still got Snickers I heard.”

Forewarned, time could be saved by heading only towards the high rollers still handing out candy bars and cupcakes.  By 6:45, everybody on the street knew which house was giving out what, which naturally led to candy bar homes running out before the Bazooka Gum, safety suckers, and fruit houses.

When you spied groups of kids running towards a particular house, you knew to hurry there next.  When you saw kids walking down the driveway shaking their sacks and hearing “thump, thump, thump,” you knew they’d been fruited.  So unless really hungry for an apple, best to pass that one by and come back later.  Chances were pretty good they’d still be open for business at nine.

Can’t speak for others, but on a few occasions, I was treated with Silver Dollars. Honest-to-goodness, better-than-Musketeers, real Silver Dollars!  Sometimes it was wise not to be “too” disguised when visiting favorite neighbors, or those you had helped with summer yard work or fall leaf-raking.

But that was without a doubt at the same time both the awesomest and bothersomest treat one could receive, being simply too special to spend and convert to candy.  Gather enough pennies and nickles from the bottom of the bag and you could quickly convert that into cool, hard, candy. Not so with silver dollars. That just never seemed right to even consider doing.

I still have Halloween silver dollars stashed safely away in the back of a dresser drawer tucked beneath layers of underwear for safekeeping. Back in the day, no self-respecting burglar (or sister) would think of rummaging thru someone’s underwear drawer for loot.  The same silver dollars still tucked safely away from years ago I should perhaps add, not the same underwear, of course. Just, to be clear on that point.

It probably goes without saying, but that stashing away part never would have happened with a Three Musketeers.

Costumes were usually homemade, wholly or at least partly by the kids themselves. Big-footed clowns, cowboys and Lone Rangers with masks, knights with aluminum foil helmets carrying cardboard or wooden swords and shields, Indians in feathers and war paint, policemen, miniature firefighters, princesses with capes and crowns, angels with halos and wings, red-caped devils complete with garden pitchforks, army soldiers in their fathers’ oversized WWII and Korean War gear and helmets, scarecrows stuffed with straw, and ugly-nosed, warty witches with brooms.  A few Tinmen from Oz here and there,  but that was a hard costume to pull off without a lot of help from parents.

Along with many a hobo, most patterned after Red Skelton’s famous “Freddie the Freeloader” character at the time. It was a fun costume which I employed a few times, raiding Dad’s closet for over-sized, baggy clothes, and a hat. He never would part with one of his cigars in order to pull off the complete ensemble look, though.

All accompanied by the predictable number of white-sheeted ghosts floating over the sidewalks, of course.  Skeletons were fairly rare in those days because that was mostly a store-bought costume that neither kids nor parents wanted to admit to having to resort to, as everyone took pride in their self-made costumery.

We talked about them a lot in name but no one ever really knew what a Goblin was to make a costume for it.  It was just a creature of myth and folklore that we did not want to run into on the street that night because chances were pretty good it wouldn’t be a kid in a costume.  Ghosts with eye holes were generally considered pretty safe to approach, though.

Clearly the most outstanding costume I remember was when the older, bigger, “I’m-better-than-you-are” neighbor kid across the street’s father made him the scariest and true-to-life realistic Headless Horseman costume since Ichabod Crane galloped on a plow horse thru Sleepy Hollow, complete with fake dripping blood around the collar and a glowing pumpkin carried on a stick for his head.

Apparently, his dad had worked on the Headless Horseman costume all summer in the garage, keeping it a secret from the neighborhood.  Yeah, every block had one of those kids.  Looking back on it now, he rather sadly always went out on Halloween as a group of one, by himself with his father in tow, helping to carry the bags of candy his son accumulated along the way. Yes — bags — plural. My father was at home, warm and dry, being entertained by endless troops of kids in the living room. His father was serving as a pack mule in the cold and wet. He only needed the costume, he was already doing all the work.

Sometimes I wondered if the Headless Horseman might have been happier in a white sheet running along with the rest of the neighborhood candy scroungers.  It was hard to tell, even back then, if a jerk was alone because he was a jerk or if he was a jerk because he was alone.  Whichever, receiving double rations and more from almost every house, the Headless Horseman made a record haul of candy that year that no one ever came close to matching and that we never heard the end of.

Runner-up for the best-ever costume was the same kid the year before, a square-headed Frankenstein costume his dad whipped up complete with bolts coming out of his neck and walking on platform shoes and getting double-treated again.  Jerk.

Trick or Treating certainly isn’t anything like it used to be.  Many more costumes come off racks in the store or delivered straight to the door from online ordering rather than pridefully homemade nowadays. The only Super Heroes in our minds back then were the parents giving out candy bars on the block.

Kids in our neighborhood now look at you like you have worms crawling out of your ears (which might actually be a good look for Halloween) if you ask them to do anything beyond hold their bag open to toss the candy inside. Forget the carefully staged and choreographed song and dance numbers in the living room. Some don’t even hold the bag open, expecting you to bend over and do that, too.

And regrettably, there are all the safety issues that never even crossed anyone’s mind in our time. Carrying a flashlight in order to “see and be seen” was all we were warned about. X-rays weren’t for candy. They were for broken bones when you missed the last porch step in the dark.

Most curious of all, candy now comes in the “Fun Sized” version, which try as I might, I still don’t see much fun in it. Talk about the ultimate Halloween trick!

Times change. But the Halloween magic of little children trick or treating doesn’t, and they aren’t seeing the night thru our memories, busily having fun and making memories of their own.  Want to make a special memory for a little princess or cowboy?  Give them a full-sized candy bar and watch their eyes light up!  Although, you better be prepared for the onslaught up the driveway when the word hits the street!  Some things never change.

Here are a few Halloween Safety Tips and Guidelines from the National Safety Council to help keep your children and little neighborhood trick-or-treaters safe on Halloween night.

Happy Halloween!  Here’s hoping full-sized candy bars and overflowing treat bags for everyone!  Please keep an eye out for the little Trick or Treaters in the streets, keep the front porch light on, and remember to “Scare Safe!”

Thanks as always for stopping by for a visit and spending part of your day with us! Little Red Bear and I are off now to work on our costumes. Think I’ll be a cowboy this year. I was going to go as an author, but Little Red Bear quickly pointed out that I masquerade as a writer every day so should try something different for Halloween.  Yeah, that kind of took the fun out of that one, so a cowboy it is.

Happy Halloween!  — Jim (and Red!)

“Every pumpkin knows that a Smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks!”

“A full bag, tired feet, dry socks, and sticky fingers meant it was a Happy Halloween.”– JRM

“The Adventures of Little Red Bear” Short Stories on Amazon.

Old-fashioned, Family-friendly, Multi-generational Stories and Fun for All Ages!

~ About an Uncommonly Special Bear and His Friends ~

Tap Here For A Free Preview!

“A grandmother pretends she doesn’t know who you are on Halloween.” — Erma Bombeck

Like and Follow My Writer’s Page on Facebook For Daily Inspirations & More!

This is a purposefully non-monetized, ad-free site to be able to offer the most enjoyable reading and viewing experience for everyone, with all content freely shared, and generates no income to offset the costs of maintaining and operating. If you enjoy your visits and time with us, Join our new Patron Community today. Patrons help my friend Little Red Bear and me to continue this as an ad-free site,  dedicated solely to entertainment and educational purposes.

Happy Halloween! — A Nostalgic Look Back at Trick or Treating in Days of Yore Happy Halloween!           It's that magical time of the year, when little ghosts and goblins appear.                                       Scampering up and down the streets, scurrying around with bags of treats.