#and like her gf is Ethiopian

[wis-art]

Jag vill att göra konst som gör amerikanska människor känner som invandrare, som jag kände när jag kom till Sverige i 2020, alla var ny och spännande och jag kände som någon andra från svenskar men, välkom här. Jag vill att göra amerikanska människor känner "foreign" men inte ovälkom i det (((jag är trött av Amerika som kulturs central))) också nie jestem Szwedką, jestem poprostu zmęczona brakiem mediów które pokazują kraje w których mieszkałam i mieszkam, lubię pisać moje postacie po angielsku ponieważ to jest lingua franca dużej części świata i poprostu mogę dotrzeć tak do większej publiki. Prawie każda postać którą zrobiłam jest bazowana na ludziach których znam.

[lazy-otter-writes]

I love silly roleplay.

I've recently DM'd a Vampire the Masquerade oneshot set in an Edwardian era. Since it was a oneshot and there were a couple of new players (my friend's gf and her friend) I made some playable characters (or rather character outlines, like age/clan/bit of a backstory and rules for each, like one character was a proper lady, so she had to put on a stoic persona, and another was an Ethiopian Prince, etc). They all were first class passengers and all had the reason to board the Titanic, like delivering an artifact or an important letter, so they needed to make sure the Titanic didn't sink.

Well, it didn't.

However, the players:

Scared Murdoch

Tried to seduce Lightoller

Did a couple of tarot readings

3/4 characters fell into a frenzy and ate their ghouls so instead of the Titanic sinking now there's the mysterious Titanic first class massacre

But hey, at least my dearest darling completed their mission

[maximuswolf]

If I'm ordering flavored beans does it matter if I get them pre-ground?

If I'm ordering flavored beans, does it matter if I get them pre-ground? So I have this dilemma where I got very into pour-over & espresso over the past few years, and I really love learning it and figuring out different techniques and flavors and all of the stuff that I'm sure attracts yall to coffee, too. My girlfriend, though she appreciates coffee (and is super busy so she drinks a lot of it), doesn't necessarily care too much about all of that aforementioned nuance. She loves flavored beans (specifically when I make pour-over).I know flavored beans aren't great for my grinder, but to split the difference, I rotate between bags that she likes (i.e. Cinnamon Coffee Cake) and bags I like (i.e. Ethiopian Harrar). I know as a rule for freshness I should be grinding my own beans, which is what I do, but it just dawned on me - should I just be ordering pre-ground for the flavored stuff?As a rule, I feel like the actual beans anyone uses with flavoring are gonna be a blend of left-over, non-prime stuff, and a fairly dark roast. If A) grinding flavored beans is bad for my grinder and B) freshness/flavor of the beans isn't really that important if they're flavored - wouldn't the smart move be to order ground instead of whole bean?There are a lot of assumptions baked in there so I would love to hear your thoughts. Is there anything I'm missing?Bonus question: My gf wanted an espresso machine for her bday/xmas. I figured it's a win-win bc I will love it and get a ton of use out of it. It's obviously a big investment, even for an entry-level (got the BBP on sale for black friday) and I want to make sure she gets good use out of it. Given her lack of time and preference of flavors, any thoughts on how I can make sure she really loves it? Obviously flavored beans are out of the question, and she has this mental thing against adding syrups to the cup even though I've explained a million times that the flavoring on the beans is a syrup. I really like Happy Mug and have been ordering most of my beans (flavored and non-flavored) from them recently. I tried their "powder beans" for flavoring in pour-over but it tasted super artificial (I probably got the dose wrong tbf). Submitted December 07, 2022 at 11:54AM by DrMrPootytang https://ift.tt/SlsCbkQ via /r/Coffee

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#80-79)

#80: Edsilia Rombley -- Hemel en Aarde (the Netherlands 1998)

“Nederland was koel en kil, En dan vooral het weer”

“The Netherlands were cool and chilly, And especially the weather”

Aren’t these opening lyrics so cute? They are especially relatable for me because I live in a maritime city, where it rains nine months of the year. It's also known for having aloof people--they would be nice and welcoming at first, but disappear as soon as they come.

Either way, they definitely set the scene for Edsilia to tell her story of struggling through love and finding the one who brings heaven and earth together. Then, the sun breaks out of the clouds and everything feels like a dream. She definitely shines with her stage presence, clear vocals, and absolute energy. Plus, the R&B influences buoy the song in its joy and vivaciousness; the chorus is quite fun to sing-along to, and one will have to do this loud while doing the choreography I can't get enough of the latter.

Also, the orchestration definitely adds to this upbeat number. I like how the strings make this song twice as vibrant, as well as the brass before the second verse. There's a sense of lightness in how it's performed, but it makes its case for fame more and more apparent. Who said that a modern-sounding song couldn't be helped by such (example 2, please also see #93 for a great example)?

So much so, I'm torn between this and the song that would eventually be my winner of its year...

Personal ranking: 2nd/25 Actual ranking: 4th/25 in Birmingham

#79: Jonida Maliqi -- Ktheju Tokës (Albania 2019)

"Një ditë jeton Në tjetrën vdes Sa mall, pak shpresë I vetëm, pa identitet"

"One day you live The next day you die Yearning, with little hope Alone, with no identity"

I remember when one of the members of the FB fan-group posted this track for the first time when it was competing for Festival i Kenges. On an initial listening, it had some elements of 1944 in how brooding and dark it was, but it also contained the lushness and grandeur of Amanacer in its strings and soundscape. It really grabbed me. The tribal drums, the wailing by the backing vocals, and the overall brooding feel is what entrenches it in its greatness. The revamp cleaned up some of the production and let Jonida's vocal shine.

Just as important to the mood are the lyrics, which implore on the Albanian diaspora to come back to the country, as "a heart waits for [them] there"--their family, friends, and original life. While the first wave of Albanian migration took place in the sixteenth century, it really accelerated in the 1990s, with the collapse of communism opening doors for the otherwise isolated country; and the unrest in the country and the Kosovo War of 1998-99. One of those was Jonida's sister, who lives in Cyprus.

It's quite pulling, especially considering I'm the child of Ethiopian immigrants, and I keep hearing stories about my parents moving here for better economic opportunities. While I know they yearn back to come home, I don't feel the same pull towards it, as my identity is firmly grounded in the United States. I could see why some people have reservations about the lyrics, as having "without identity" could result in some nationalist sentiments, especially in the era of populism (#94). Simultaneously, if a country goes through too much of a brain drain, then they cannot develop at all.

The eagle that was supposed to appear at the climax of the song was going to be a moment--a symbol of how the Albanian nation could rise and work together. While it ended up a bit glitchy, the rest of the performance was on-point--not enough could be said about Jonida's vocalizations with her backing vocalists. Though Jonida definitely looked like a queen--her dress was absolutely divine.

Personal ranking: 1st/41 Actual ranking: 17th/26 GF in Tel Aviv

Final Impressions on 2019: I'm not 100% sure what to feel about this year. On one hand, it's a diverse year, with a number of songs in different genres and my favorite actually qualifying for the grand final. Plus, the production was quite solid--I liked the intro to the semi-finals and grand-final, the postcards, and Kutiman's "Eurovision History" segment. On the other hand, something about it prevents me from saying it was a great year; maybe it was because of the outside stuff surrounding it?

[bipocinpdx]

Mt.Hood

So I am from Europe but go to PDX every other year to visit my family. That summer I saw a flyer about summer activities on Mt. Hood. So I asked my aunt if we could go there. We love hiking and nature we are outside almost everyday even during the heatwaves. So we went hiking and whatnot. I saw people staring at us. I thought it was because we were in such a big group (4 cars). So after being stared at we went back home. Not before going to a Dairy Queen in the area. This is where this white dude stared at us for the whole time we were there. So after eating our burgers my cousin and I were waiting in line to order ice cream for everyone. He stood in front of us talking to his girlfriend who looked out of place af. Overdressed in high heels and a skimpy dress. He looked like he could have been her dad dressed in golfer gear and had these porsche riding gloves on lmao. Definitely midlife crises. Anyhow... I realised he was talking to his girlfriend about my family. So I fake cleared my throat and he turns around. He bombards me with questions and I am shocked that he has the audacity to ask some of these. "Some what are you doing here guys? You're as far away from the 《hood》 *does a attempt to act gangster* So what is this some city/government program to show African Americans nature? Am I paying taxes so you guys can go to Dairy Queen? Etc. " I'm just staring at him thinking ¿wtffff? I did tell his camembert looking ass that first off were not African Americans from the "hood". We were Ethiopians from Portland and my mom, sis and I from Amsterdam the Netherlands in Europe. We were here on vacation we that we came by our own volition. That we went hiking and didn't need his tax money to show us a good time. Also said that he needed to shut the fuck up before I asked his daughter (gf) to make him take his medicine Dronabinol because I would slap the taste out of his mouth. 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃 His girlfriend looked so embarrassed by him and pulled him to the till to make their order. My cousin started laughing out loud and I said hard enough for him to hear. "Can you believe the racist shit he just asked us?"