#and recently picked up the native american flute

[eushiloh]

⟨ SYDNEY SWEENEY. CIS FEMALE. SHE/HER. ⟩ though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, SHILOH MONROE is actually a descendent of H Y P N O S. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-THREE year old DANCE MAJOR from COPENHAGEN, DENMARK has taken after their godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite EMPATHIC & INDECISIVE.

howdy howdy howdy, i’m h and lemme just start by saying how excited i am to be here and bring this sweet little baby to life. i’m gonna keep this little section short and sweet because there’s HELLA info below (if you read it all, bless u sweet angels) so without further ado, let’s get into it, shall we?

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME shiloh josefine monroe NICKNAME(S) shi, sj OCCUPATION cashier at eonia theater/dance major SEXUALITY: bisexual AGE 23 DATE OF BIRTH march 3rd NATIONALITY danish RELIGION spiritual THREAT LEVEL 3/10

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

FACE CLAIM sydney sweeney HEIGHT 5′4 EYE COLOR blue HAIR COLOUR + STYLE dirty blonde, typically in messy/loose waves DOMINANT HAND left DISTINGUISHING FEATURES big, sleepy eyes, full lips, wide smile, strong dancer legs ACCENT + INTENSITY danish accent (here is a video for reference of how it sounds) TATTOO(S) she has three tattoos, they are all fairly small and dainty. one is a pair of pink ballet slippers on her ankle, then a cresent moon with clouds on the inside of her right wrist, and lastly (her biggest one) is a dream catcher along her left side of her ribs. SCAR(S) one along her right knee from when she fell off a bike as a child and cut her leg open PIERCING(S) five in each ear, she has a nose hoop but forgets about it all the time, and her belly button.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

HOMETOWN copenhagen, denmark CURRENT RESIDENCE athens, greece LANGUAGE(S) Danish/English SOCIAL CLASS middle BASIC EDUCATION high school COLLEGE EDUCATION currently a junior in college DEGREE(S) N/A PARENT #1 sofia monroe PARENT #2 n/a PET(S) white cat named cloud RAP SHEET? squeaky clean PRISON TIME? yeah right

VICES + HABITS

SMOKES? yes DRINKS? yes DRUGS? only weed VIOLENT? no ADDICTION(S)? sleeping? maybe? SELF-DESTRUCTIVE? sometimes HABIT(S) humming to herself, bouncing her leg, rubbing her lips together, not making eye contact when she speaks, cracking her knuckles HOBBIES dancing, sleeping, binge watching shows in her bed, yoga LIKES native american flute music, the color blue, soft lighting, dance clothes, sleeping in, and reality television DISLIKES loud noises, violence, people staring for too long, and heavy metal music. OBSESSION(S) dancing and sleeping, once again COMPULSION(S) leaving events early to be alone?? does that count?

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

HOUSE hypnos ZODIAC pisces ELEMENT water ANIMAL panda

P O W E R S

when it comes to her powers, the strongest that shiloh has come to obtain would be hypnokinesis , though she tries not to take advantage of it too much. trying be the key word there, because there’s something so entrancing about living in somewhat of a dream like world, which is usually what she likes to use the power for. it first started out with delving into a fantasy land, a place for her to escape to and get lost in, and slowly she found herself falling deeper and deeper into her own rabbit hole. even as a young lady, she’d always heard people refer to her as their “dream girl” and once she realized she had the ability to somewhat make some dreams come true, she couldn’t help but sink into her title. once she got the hang of it, she couldn’t help but use it to her advantage here and there, if she had a crush on somebody she would appear in their dreams more and more. a sucker for romance, it was basically how she swayed her suitors, although sometimes it was for nothing whenever she realized it was all fantasy and never reality. still, living in dream worlds was too delicious not to become wrapped up in, that it became something she mastered perfectly. whether it was astral projecting herself into other settings while she was sleeping, or into other dreams, it seemed shiloh was entirely infatuated with living in her own little dream worlds. although, something that came hand in hand with dreams were nightmares, an area that shiloh hated getting stuck in.

something that she is wanting to dip her toes into more, would be her shapeshifting abilities. the blonde has only been able to do such in a limited ability, only recently being able to do so whenever she is fully awake. it’s uncomfortable, sure, but there’s something so mesmerizing about taking on the form of something else….or better yet someone else. often there’s many eyes on her, so being able to blend into a background and garner less attention is a rush of relief for her.

the girl has also always excelled in the levitation ability aspect of her life, shiloh has always been rather light on her feet, it was almost as if she was always floating. almost a picture of grace, it brought her face to face with something she adored at a rather early age: dancing. enrolled in classes from the age of 8, shiloh practically could float across a dance floor with elegance, something she now contributes to her levitation aspect of her powers.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

with wide eyes and a soft smile, shiloh had always been rather quiet yet somehow still garnered the attention in a room. she wasn’t the type of girl to command it though, often keeping to herself, there was something magnetic and glowy about her that made her fall into the social hierarchy without really trying to. the blonde had always prided herself on being a good friend to those around her, even if they never gave her the same respect back, and soon realized that she was becoming a doormat to those around her. she kept everyone’s secrets, harboring them inside her like a vessel and remembering the little things others might have even forgotten they’d told her. soon enough, shiloh had realized she had enough dirt and ammo on those around her that if they ever did cross her, she’d use against them if need be. but luckily, thus far, the girl never had to shoot her shot to the heart just yet. a part of her always wondered if she had the guts to do it anyways, to cross those who she’d held nearest and dearest, or if she’d end up chickening out from the fear of hurting them too much. a never ending battle of right and wrong within her, she often finds herself torn and defeated by the end of the day. it makes her almost come off as flaky and aloof, although her intentions are typically anything but pure, her own overthinking tends to be her downfall. never letting anyone close enough to pick her brain, she is a beautiful mystery with expectations that had always been built upon her back. to be perfect, to be a vision of grace and poise, but sometimes she just wants to let loose and say fuck it to everything that had ever been expected of her and prove that she’s anything but a delicate flower. she has thorns that she’s never shown, and she fears if anyone gets to close, she’ll draw blood without warning.

EXTRA THINGS LOL

shiloh is on the dance team, obviously, the girl lives for dancing and when she’s not dancing....she’s probably napping. 

also she has a job at the eonia theater as a cashier, so you’ll see her little sleepy self behind the counter and sometimes sneaking into the show to sleep in the back.

her mother was the type to live vicariously through her, always putting pressure on her to be “perfect” and put together. there was even a time in her younger years whenever her mother would put her into pageants, which shiloh absolutely hated, it was too much energy towards something she hated which ultimately left her feeling even more drained than normal. in fact, any pictures remaining of that time in her life are privately stored away and she refuses to revisit that memory which she even went lengths to alter from people’s brains whenever she figured out she had that ability.

the only good thing that she found from pageants was her love of dance, something that shiloh has passionately pursued all her life. she was enrolled in ballet mostly but soon fell in love with contemporary dance, and it was something that satisfied her mother, a win-win.

even though she was accepted as someone that was a part of the “in-crowd” in high school, celeste suffers from social anxiety, instead of hanging out at parties she often finds herself slipping away and disappearing. she’s much more of a homebody than someone who enjoys going out, being peer pressured is something she often falls victim to because she’s afraid of coming off as flaky, although she tends to do so anyways due to her disappearing acts.

the relationship she has with her mother is strained, because while she loves her mom, the constant pressure to “perform” and the way her mother sort of pushed her and talked so highly of her has her nervous to disappoint those around her. she constantly feels as if she has to be some sort of social butterfly, when the idea of getting close to people terrifies her, leaving her in a never-ending cycle of what she SHOULD be and what she WANTS to be.

speaking of relationships, most of celeste’s tend to fizzle out quickly once her partners discover she’s not all that they dreamt her up to be. it could be her fault, inserting herself into people’s dreams to learn more about them, that most of her relationships die out after the honeymoon phase...making her fear commitment all together.

she’s a pisces, because....well, obviously.

shiloh is bisexual, although she is a little nervous about dating women seeing as her mother wouldn’t quite understand, most of her public relationships have been exclusively with men due to her fear of disappointing her mother.

[day-poems]

12/27

I have to admit, after years

of struggle, that I and the

chromatic scale just do not

get along! I can not reliably

identify or reproduce the many

intervals among those 12 notes,

(at least some of which just

sound wrong to me anyway)

and I have never managed

to coordinate any part of

my body, vocal chords to

fingers, with said intervals.

I can hear a simple melody,

and I can appreciate harmony

but I can not reproduce it.

The diatonic scale

and I might become friends

with constant effort on

my part. I can memorize

the pattern of the notes

and play, after a fashion,

if I rely on muscle memory

and not my ear, but

the music does not

flow out of me with

anything resembling

ease. I get a flash of

pleasure the first time

I manage to stumble through

a tune, but it never gets

much easier, and only constant

practice keeps a tune at

my finger tips. However,

I have recently discovered

that the pentatonic minor

scale seems to hard-wired

into my nervous system…

that the intervals require

no though on my part at

all, that my body just

plays a melody pretty

much on its own, following

the tune I am singing

in my head. (Or something

close enough, given the limited

pallet of notes, to satisfy

my imperfect ear.) Of course

it helps that there are no

wrong notes…that what

otherwise might be mistakes

are just variations on the

theme of the song, or

even ornaments, sounding

almost intentional, and

easily rolled into the fabric…

the warp and weave of

melody. I leaned it on

the Native American

Style Flute which borrowed

the scale, apparently,

from Japan…though Pentatonic

minor is common to almost

all ancient cultures…

It certainly fits the figured woods

of the flutes just as well

as it fits my inner voice

and songs. I can pick up

a NAS Flute, and in moments

be playing any song I know

well enough to sing in my

head…even if I can not

wrap my voice around it…

or something close enough

to make me happy.

So now I am tempted to

try an Anglo-Saxon Lyre

(or a Scottish Harp…or even

a Kinder-harp if you have

come across it in the hands

of a Waldorf teacher). Simple

seven string, pentatonic,

and maybe, we shall see,

as easy for me to play

as the Native American Style

flute. Waldorphians say the

pentatonic lyre is the place

to start kids under nine…

because of the natural

affinity of the human mind

for the simple harmonic scale…

(I know, neuroscience differs.

The current wisdom is that

scales are all cultural artifacts,

learned…but based on my

sample of one, I beg to differ.

Maybe it is my Celtic/gypsy

chromosomes, but I experience

something primal in my connection

to the five harmonic notes

of the pentatonic minor scale.)

By anytime after nine the

Waldorphians say, a child

should be able to handle

the diatonic scale, and

even later, the chromatic,

in a step-wise, growth…

(Makes sense if you are

a stepwise thinker…which

I am not…but that is a whole

different story…)

So there you have it.

The evidence to prove

what I have always suspected.

My inner me never made

it to the ripe old age of nine.

I am maybe stuck in

pentatonic minor where

music is concerned…but

that is okay with me.

Given the right instrument

and the right tuning…

me and my inner child, we

make music, and it is good.

[delightful-llama]

It has been a really, really long time since I have introduced myself in this community of people and I figured that since I have found a few networks of people I would come back on here and introduce myself.

Hello Tumblr, I am known as the DelightfulLlama around the internet but you can just call me Llama if you want. I am a 21 year old Psychology and Criminal Justice student from Minnesota, USA. I struggle with depression and anxiety, probably a few other things I don’t know about as well. I am currently working towards getting my BS in Psychology (I have a year and a term left) but after I am hoping I can work towards my Masters and possibly my Doctorate. 

Some Basics: I am a massive fan of coffee, as my blog title can probably tell you. I love music, it has been a huge part of my life since I was a child. I sing, play flute, french horn and basic piano. English is my native language, but I know American Sign Language (ASL) which I need to brush up on because I am so rusty and I am learning Spanish. Because I know a lot of Studyblr’s include it, I am a Ravenclaw as well as an INFJ-T on the Meyers-Briggs scale. I am bisexual, but I do often question if I am actually demisexual based on experiences I have had, and I am also polyamous (You can message me about it if you would like). 

While I love reading, I have fallen out of the habit of reading. Instead a hobby I have picked up is games; video games, board games and table top games. I play D&D with a group of friends every so often, as well as various board games such as Smash Up, Munchkin, and Red Dragon Inn. The video games I play are all played with friends I have made online like League of Legends, Dead by Daylight, Borderlands 2, and Don’t Starve. 

Studies: Since I am a Psychology major most of my studies are in that field.

Lifespan Development

Personality Theory

Social Psychology

Human Sexuality

Why Am I Here?: I created this blog long ago, not as a studyblr but just as a way to navigate the website and reblog things I thought were cool. Over the years, and from my love of learning, I slowly turned to the studyblr community as what I wanted to be a part of and what I wanted to promote. Along with being a studyblr I love to blog about sustainability, zero waste and green living, LGBT+ issues, mental health awareness, and ways to generally be a better person.

Some Favorite Blogs: I see people promoting their favorite blogs all of the time, and along with my favorites there are some blogs I have recently started to network with who have quickly become like Studyblr-children to me. They are: @geneplans, @plantednotes, @study-sparrow, @coffee-and-resolve, @ittybittystudyblr (I love their icon!), @coffeestudying, @bujo-ie, @psycely, @studypsy and so many more that I will have to make a whole post to mention (Someone remind me).

Thank you all for the amazing support that I have received over the years, this community has been great to watch grow and thrive. Recently I started a blog rate…thing to thank you guys for 250 followers and since that post it has grown to an amazing 287. You guys, we just got to 250 and we are quickly getting to 300. I can’t thank you all enough, and I hope we only continue to grow together.

[yunhycran-blog]

( the cuteST )

for once i don’t have a long ass spiel typed before introducing myself, imagine that ! hey i’m kat, i’m 20, canadian, and uh, i’m rly pulling this stunt again huh !! bc of lo siento fucking me up, i’m giving this brat one last shot in the group rp realm rather than pick up a new muse ( i am.. v convinced i kill or ruin rps by presence alone but with her ?? it’s tenfold so fingers crossed GKSKGKSL ) i’m just.. rly attached to her ok. 

i’m a uni student and in love with sowoo if that wasn’t already obvious, plus i’m 90% sure at least a quarter of you have seen me use hyeran before so this shouldn’t be a surprise to you SDKGJGKLDFS. you can find extras abt her — including stats — HERE, hmu on d*scord if you’d like ( STREAM LO SIENTO !!#2030 ) and with that, i’ll shut up and ( re ?? perhaps ? dfgjslkg ) introduce you to this brat !

` +⬦･ﾟ——— SHE/HER, PANSEXUAL — YUN HYERAN is said get mistaken for JEON SOMIN on campus all the time. they are TWENTY-TWO and about to go into their SENIOR YEAR. rumour has it they’re majoring in MUSIC COMPOSITION and came all the way from DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA. their roommate says they’re EBULLIENT & RESOLUTE but also SELF-CRITICAL & CIRCUMSPECT. ( kat, 20, gmt-3:30, and she/her  )

yun hyeran, a daegu native with an older and younger brother, an ambivert and an all around baby

tbh this is a copied intro from a few months back that i tweaked a bit for the rp, and i don’t have the time to perfectly incorporate much of her bg, so you can check out all of that HERE

buT she became involved in music through her father, who studied it in uni and ended up becoming a music instructor with a focus on piano, flute and vocals

her and her mom.. also her older brother, didn’t have the best relationship when she grew older, which seemed to die altogether when her parents divorced and her mom left. but her and her brother’s still exists, albeit barely. he’s a bit of a toxic influence on her, or at least that’s how she perceives it, and she tends to distance herself from him

would visit jeju island when she was younger bc her aunt lived there

she adores said aunt, her dad’s sister and the maternal figure she Deserves, so overall jeju holds a special place in her heart

went to uni in seoul to pursue music like her father ( a daddy’s girl too like ) but transferred to busan u after some.. shit and her own feelings ? anyways she was content when she settled here and soon found her way into the world of production !! by junior year, she’d transferred out of her original program and majored in that instead and has loved it ever since

for the time being, she works full-time as a barista at a café off-campus

she’s also making something of an income as the creator of an acct on youtube and soundcloud for her music, something she’s had for abt a year now

she’s not even close to making it big yet ofc, and she doesn’t mind if she never works for a moderately to highly popular label — though she should if she wants to get by

among the aesthetic, lo-fi music crowd ( one of those yt accts with a livestream for certain playlists that go on for hours, rip ) where for the most part, it’s personal faves mixed with her own works, and has a substantial following as of now. but has an interest in experimenting, with mashups ( as a lover of them ?? i couldn’t help myself sgflkdsjg ) for example, with a small fear of how that change would be received

this is so short since i took out a bit from when she was recent uni grad!hyeran so, pardon that sgkljgskfld

in terms of her personality and other things:

she’s a very loyal person, v e r y. while like i said ( and will elaborate on in her bio ), her relationship with her brother is Not Great, she hasn’t completely given up on him. maybe for the time being — by that i mean another two years or so ?? LJSKSDFGJ my baby’s still hurt by his bullshit so — but her being someone who’s open to the idea of people changing for the better somewhere down the line, leaves a bit of room for her to possibly change her mind if he does enough to allow her to consider it

so she can be a bit of a doormat in some cases, it all depends on how she sees the person that determines if that’s the case, but she generally won’t let you off if you’re being dumb/an ass to someone or if she gets advantageous vibes from you for example ( given she can.. be a little naive and is a p gentle soul ) so.. idk fgklsj good luck to the 99% ig ??

don’t confuse that with her being v forgiving, weak, etc, etc. she’s a soft bitch, p vulnerable too ngl but.. she’s not that Dumb sdljfkg

speaking of vulnerable, she does have a slight dependency on others despite her thinking all signs point to the opposite, and even though her and her mom never rly had a good relationship she still reels from the neglect/abandonment some days so handle her with Care if she deems you a close pal

spontaneous tbh, transferring to busan was a little last minute on her part, for one

she’s a bit reclusive when focused on something, if she tells you she’s working on a track, it’s essentially a head’s up that you might not see her for a couple of days depending on how soon she gets it done — lowkey that bitch™ who makes up an illness to her boss, so she wouldn’t even show up for work if it’s more than just her fucking around

bc admittedly, a lot of what she posts is fucking around and liking it, her more thought-out and effort packed projects are hidden away on her laptop

a bit insecure with her work and just her general disposition ?? those first few points above mess with her a lot and leave her disheartened so.. my poor child

v strong overall, takes people’s shit and if it gets to her, she gets over it p fast. doesn’t dwell on much and will be courteous to you even if she’s declared you too toxic to stick around 24/7

isn’t exactly one to get angry ?? she’s basically just disappointed or annoyed at best 99% of the time, it takes a lot to get her beyond that

positive, ugh. maybe not sickeningly sweet, but.. still dgklsf

don’t confuse that with optimism tho, bc she’s a bit of a defensive pessimist deep down, with her optimistic side always trying to overpower it

a cute bean who wants the best for everyone

uhhh

has a good understanding of english, her mom’s an american national so she grew up with it being spoken in the house at times

prob speaks it better than i speak french ( and uh, i studied that for almost ten fucking years with a shit end result on that end of things LKSDFGJGDKF ), but still wouldn’t consider herself fluent

.. i would tho js

plays piano and bass guitar, but knows her way around a flute and tenor sax ( you don’t know how tempted i was to say clarinet as an homage to jiwoo gjflkgds )

prob had some kind of little amateur rock band with a few music majors and took up bass for the hell of it lmao

loves animals, leans towards cats or big dogs. corgis and those little spaniels get a pass tho

speaking of, she has a cute little calico kitten back in daegu ( i’m shit with pet names so if lucy sounds lacklustre.. you know why rgkjls ) who she Loves, her baby !!

sweater, ball cap and basic t shirt junkie

those glasses somin wears a lot ?? hyeran wears them too but.. actually needs them for reading and especially while she’s working on shit on her laptop, not even close to a fashion statement

doesn’t don much makeup unless someone’s dragging her to a party or something

thaT’S when she looks a little more like a classy early twenties bitch.. which lbr, is hard enough when adulthood is a whole Train Wreck for the most part LGFJSDL

not a heavy drinker, but the textbook definition of a lightweight so.. she’s always praying for anyone who has to deal with her dgfjklsfg

lattes are her livelihood

a bit of a hopeless romantic, just a bit, but god help her nonetheless

her favourite subject in hs was literature/writing and reads quite a bit on her breaks at the café, even took up a couple of courses since attending uni

favourite music genres.. it’s easier to say what she doesn��t like/finds boring, which is prob country and some aspects of edm/pop, not into punk/metal either

these are super basic but.. i’ve gotta get myself together for the day so this’ll do for now i hope ??

so if you’d like to plot, im me here or on d*scord ! i prefer the latter personally, but whichever’s easiest for you. i have a list of a few of the specific wcs i have in mind ( for the time being, catch my lazy ass avoiding listing all the basic ones and revising a few i have on an old blog ) for hyeran up now, which you can find here, so just lmk if any of them appeal to you !!

[hyercns-blog]

( the cuteST )

a bitch is Tired rn after pulling my usual shit, aka staying up until 5am for no reason only to stick out a two hour lab, cry while doing my connections page on my late lunch/packing break and napping in the car, so excuse the seeming lack of enthusiasm lkfdsjglk. hey i’m kat, i’m 20, canadian, and my current means of life rn are chocolate, drag race ( i.. am team anyone but b*b* rn, no offence but my girl needs to come back to earth and stop rubbing me the wrong way sdfgkjgfd ( i think sh*ngela deserves it most despite being more of a tr*xie stan tho js ) ) and 3am you in me listening parties with myself four months after its release rip !! i’m a uni student and in love with sowoo so you don’t wanna know the agony that comes with picking one over the other. you can hmu on d*scord if you’d like ( just find me in the gc and message me from there fkskf ) and this is so boRING, it’s like the life is sucked out of me omg. anyways hyeran, a whole.. other positive muse bc jesus, how many of these do i have rn ?? this is so out of hand man, but nonetheless here’s a bit abt the brat:

- ̗̀ wait, wait, was that JEON SOMIN i just saw? damn, it was actually just that TWENTY TWO year old MUSIC PRODUCER/BARISTA, YUN HYERAN. speaking of them, did you hear that they’re known as THE VIRTUOSO around gangnam? i guess it makes sense considering they act so EBULLIENT & LOYAL but at the same time so MAGNANIMOUS & DIFFIDENT. they’re also apparently a PANSEXUAL FEMALE OUTSIDER who uses SHE/HER pronouns. ( kat / 20 / gmt-3:30 / she/her )

yun hyeran, a daegu native with an older and younger brother, an ambivert and an all around baby

tbh this is a copied intro from a few months back and i don’t have the time to perfectly incorporate her recently developed bg, so pls anticipate a small bio with that explained HERE

buT she became involved in music through her father, who studied it in uni and ended up becoming a music instructor with a focus on piano, flute and vocals

her and her mom.. also her older brother, didn’t have the best relationship when she grew older, which seemed to die altogether when her parents divorced and her mom left. but her and her brother’s still exists, it’s just that he’s a bit of a toxic influence on her and she tends to distance herself from him

went to uni in seoul to pursue music like her father ( a daddy’s girl too like ) and found her way into the world of production !! by junior year, she’d transferred out of her original program and majored in that instead and has loved it ever since; she recently graduated

moved to gangnam bc.. idk, she just wanted to KDFJSGLGKFD

impulsive brat

would visit jeju island when she was younger bc her aunt lived there

she adores said aunt, her dad’s sister and the maternal figure she Deserves, so overall jeju holds a special place in her heart

for the time being, she works full-time as a barista at the café just a block from her cute little studio apartment while looking into internships at record labels for her to take on a little further down the line ( no rush bc it’s already quite competitive and she’d rather enjoy what she has going now )

she’s also making something of an income as the creator of an acct on youtube and soundcloud for her music, something she’s had for abt two years now

she’s not even close to making it big yet, and she doesn’t mind if she never works for a moderately to highly popular label — though she should if she wants to get by

among the aesthetic, lo-fi music crowd ( one of those yt accts with a livestream for certain playlists that go on for hours, rip ) where for the most part, it’s personal faves mixed with her own works, and has a substantial following as of now. but has an interest in experimenting, with mashups ( as a lover of them ?? i couldn’t help myself sgflkdsjg ) for example, with a small fear of how that change would be received

this is so short now that i’ve shortened it immensely iK, it’s a little infuriating if you ask me ljkgdfjls

in terms of her personality and other things:

she’s a very loyal person, v e r y. while like i said ( and will elaborate on in her bio ), her relationship with her brother is Not Great, she hasn’t completely given up on him. maybe for the time being, but her being someone who’s open to the idea of people changing for the better somewhere down the line, leaves a bit of room for her to possibly change her mind if he does enough to allow her to consider it

so she can be a bit of a doormat in some cases, it all depends on how she sees the person that determines if that’s the case, but she generally won’t let you off if you’re being dumb/an ass to someone or if she gets advantageous vibes from you for example ( given she can.. be a little naive and is a p gentle soul ) so.. idk fgklsj good luck to the 99% ig ??

she does have a slight dependency on others despite her thinking all signs point to the opposite, and even though her and her mom never rly had a good relationship she still reels from the neglect/abandonment some days so handle her with Care if she deems you a close pal

spontaneous tbh, moving to gangnam was a little last minute on her part, for one

she’s a bit reclusive when focused on something, if she tells you she’s working on a track, it’s essentially a head’s up that you might not see her for a couple of days depending on how soon she gets it done — lowkey that bitch™ who makes up an illness to her boss, so she wouldn’t even show up for work if it’s more than just her fucking around

bc admittedly, a lot of what she posts is fucking around and liking it, her more thought-out and effort packed projects are hidden away on her laptop

a bit insecure with her work and just her general disposition ?? those first few points above mess with her a lot and leave her disheartened so.. my poor child

v strong overall, takes people’s shit and if it gets to her, she gets over it p fast. doesn’t dwell on much and will be courteous to you even if she’s declared you too toxic to stick around 24/7

isn’t exactly one to get angry ?? she’s basically just disappointed or annoyed at best 99% of the time, it takes a lot to get her beyond that

positive, ugh. maybe not sickeningly sweet, but still. kinda explained parts of it above and i’m 95% gone mentally rn, gotta spare that for other little details gsjklf

a cute bean who wants the best for everyone

uhhh

has a good understanding of english, her mom’s an american national so she grew up with it being spoken in the house at times

prob speaks it better than i speak french, but still wouldn’t consider herself fluent

plays piano and bass guitar, but knows her way around a flute and tenor sax ( you don’t know how tempted i was to say clarinet bc of jiwoo gjflkgds )

prob had some kind of little amateur rock band with a few music majors and took up bass for the hell of it lmao

loves animals, leans towards cats or big dogs. corgis and those little spaniels get a pass tho

speaking of, she has a cute little calico kitten ( i’m shit with pet names so if lucy sounds lacklustre.. you know why rgkjls ) who she Loves, her baby !!

sweater, ball cap and basic t shirt junkie

those glasses somin’s been wearing a lot of lately ?? hyeran wears them too but.. actually needs them, not even close to a fashion statement

doesn’t don much makeup unless someone’s dragging her to a party or something

thaT’S when she looks a little more like a classy early twenties bitch.. which lbr, is hard enough when adulthood is a whole Train Wreck for the most part LGFJSDL

not a heavy drinker, but the textbook definition of a lightweight so.. she’s always praying for anyone who has to deal with her dgfjklsfg

lattes are her livelihood

a bit of a hopeless romantic, just a bit, but god help her nonetheless

her favourite subject in school was literature/writing and reads quite a bit on her breaks at the café

favourite music genres.. it’s easier to say what she doesn’t like/finds boring, which is prob country and some aspects of edm/pop, not into punk/metal either

these are super basic but.. i’ve gotta get myself together for the day so this’ll do for now i hope ??

so if you’d like to plot, im me here or on d*scord ! i prefer the latter personally, but whichever’s easiest for you. i have a list of a few of the specific wcs i have in mind ( for the time being, catch my lazy ass avoid listing all the basic ones and revising a few i have on an old blog ) for hyeran up now, which you can find here, so just lmk if any of them appeal to you !!

[davidbowiedoingshit]

Elkader Opera House Kicks Off 2007 Piano Series

From North Carolina, Minnesota and even New York, talented individuals begin to flock, hoping for an opera house piano series spot. Elkader opera house will launch its piano series on January 28, with award winning performer and composer, Dr. Kevin Ayesh. The Sunday Matinee performance will kick off at 2 p.m. Ayesh is one of the artists being sponsored by the opera house board of directors. Head of the music department at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, NC, since 1992, and a NC visiting artist from 1988 to 1992, Ayesh has performed for thousands and averaged a hundred performances a year. His many awards include the Naftzger Piano Award and Composer's prize at the Fourth New Orleans International Piano Competition. He will perform audience favorites, such as, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and other beautiful melodies with a little jazz. Local pianist Kirstin Dyer will perform on February 11 at 2 p.m. Dyer, a group piano instructor and accompanist at University of Northern Iowa, (UNI) will be performing with a tenor, Peter Grau; A senior that is currently finishing his degree in vocal music education at UNI. "I will be performing solo piano works by Bach and Beethoven and Peter will be singing a variety of music including Mozart and Barber - we will perform a nice variety of music from Baroque to modern," Dyer said. Dyer has also performed with Waterloo - Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra. There will be a short break in the piano series to allow for a little romance when the American Magic Lantern Theater company will give a Valentine showing on February 12, at 7:30 p.m. of the great grandpa of movies, the magic lantern - a precursor to film and TV. It will be accompanied with old-time music and song, for a Romantic Valentine Evening. It is right back into the piano series the same week on Saturday 17, and a matinee performance on 18, by a native of Elkader, turned native New Yorker, Teresa Buchholz, Mezzo-Soprano and Yale University Opera Program graduate. Buchholz will have a piano accompanist, possibly from New York. Buchholz is an experienced oratorio soloist who's most recent appearance was at the Lincoln Center with the American Symphony Orchestra. Her repertoire ranges from Italian madrigals like those of Monteverdi and Carissimi to more contemporary works.

There will be a brief break in the piano series for the Opera House Players to perform Noises Off, April 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday 15, 2 p.m. A household name will be up next when the Ozark Jubilee, starring Randy Newman, will perform at the opera house, on April 22 at 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. Only five days later the opera house will feature another pianist, Dr. Christopher Atzinger, from St Olaf College in Minnesota. The opera house is still negotiating to get in more great pianists, such as Jim McDonough for Mother's Day - and great TV favorites, such as Charo, Queen of Salsa, for Father's Day, but nothing is set in stone yet. There have even been whispers of crooners, such as, Johnny Mathis, but again, no dates set. Before picking up the pace again with the piano series, audiences can enjoy local favorites Backswitch, international touring and acclaimed Celtic band, Friday, June 1. Missoula Children's Theater returns July 16 to 21, 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. Opera House Players will perform The Bakers Wife in the fall and The Best Christmas Pageant ever later in the year. The Keystone players will return once again, as will Big Blue Sky. A very exciting part of the piano series, and likely one of the highlights of the year, will be the return of superb pianist, Eddie Piccard and his Quartet, from Cedar Falls. Also from New York, the beautiful and popular, Ann Tormela will return to perform great opera favorites. She will be accompanied by local Iowan musicians. As the Elkader Opera House calendar continues to fill out, local audiences can look forward to seeing more exciting and stimulating entertainment. The board is currently considering various evenings of entertainment, such as a variety night featuring local talent, a comedy night, an evening of spoken word, featuring poetry recitals by local poets, and an evening of Algerian music; story telling and cultural awareness through the introduction of Arabic musical instruments, such as the Arabic flute, finger drum, bag pipes and mandolin. There is also the possibility of a one act play of Scheherazade and a visit from Abd elKader's (Elkader's) descendent and great, great, great grand daughter, Badria Jazairi, a storyteller.

Visit www.elkaderoperahouse.com for more information on the artists and web links. For all show and ticket information call: 563 245 2098 For ticket reservations contact tickets@strutt.com Or visit the newly instated box office Monday to Friday at the Elkader Opera House on Main St., during the hours of 1 p.m., to 4 p.m. Tickets can also be bought for most shows at Moser Pharmacy. To be put on the opera house mailing list contact: operahouse@alpinecom.net

The Elkader Opera House Needs Your Help

The opera house is currently seeking volunteers who are interested in theater. They need people of all ages who would like to help out with ushering at upcoming events, also those who are interested in learning all aspects of theater performance, stage craft, promotion, management, lighting and sound. The opera house is community based and believes firmly in equal opportunity and enriching the lives of the community through theater. The opera house would also like to work with students that are trying to acquire credits in all aspects of entertainment and promotion. Contact: Opera House Manager, Izzy, 563 245 2098.

[injectionmoldchina]

New Post has been published on http://www.injectionmouldchina.com/cool-plastic-molded-part-images/

Cool Plastic Molded Part images

A few nice plastic molded part images I found:

Printing the past: 3-D archaeology and the first Americans

Image by BLMOregon Photos were captured at the Pacific Slope Archaeological Laboratory on the Oregon State University Campus in Corvallis, Dec. 13, 2016, to accompany the feature story below: "Printing the past: 3-D archaeology and the first Americans." Article online here (and below): goo.gl/viKEZF

Photo by Matt Christenson, BLM Story by Toshio Suzuki, BLM

—————————————-

For the first Americans, and the study of them today, it all starts with a point.

A sharp point fastened to a wooden shaft gave the hunter 13,000 years ago a weapon that could single-handedly spear a fish or work in numbers to take down a mammoth.

For a prehistoric human, these points were the difference between life and death. They were hunger-driven, handmade labors of love that took hours to craft using a cacophony of rock-on-rock cracks, thuds and shatters.

They have been called the first American invention, and some archaeologists now think 3-D scanning points can reveal more information about both the technology and the people.

The Pacific Slope Archaeological Laboratory at Oregon State University takes up only a few rooms on the ground floor of Waldo Hall, one of the supposedly haunted buildings on campus.

There are boxes of cultural history everywhere, and floor-to-ceiling wood cabinets with skinny pull-out drawers housing even more assets, but the really good stuff, evidence of the earliest known cultures in North America, lives in an 800-pound gun safe.

Loren Davis, anthropology professor at OSU and director of the lab, thinks 3-D scanning, printing, and publishing can circumvent the old traditions of the field, that artifacts are only to be experienced in museums and only handled by those who have a Ph.D.

“We are reimagining the idea of doing archaeology in a 21st century digital way,” said Davis. “We don’t do it just to make pretty pictures or print in plastic, we mostly want to capture and share it for analysis,” he added.

Nearby in the L-shaped lab, one of his doctoral students is preparing to scan a point that was discovered on Bureau of Land Management public lands in southeast Oregon.

Thousands of points have been unearthed since the 1930s in North America, the first being in eastern New Mexico near a town called Clovis. That name is now known worldwide as representing the continent’s first native people.

More recently, though, other peoples with distinctive points were found elsewhere, and some researchers think it means there was differing technology being made at the same time, if not pre-Clovis.

One such location is the Paisley Caves in southern Oregon ― one of the many archaeologically significant sites managed by the BLM.

The earliest stem point from Paisley Caves was scanned at Davis’ lab and a 3-D PDF was included in a 2012 multi-authored report in the journal Science.

Davis estimates his lab at OSU has scanned as many as 400 points, including others from BLM-managed lands in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

More scans would mean a bigger database for comparing points and determining what style they are.

“Ideally, we want to get as many artifacts scanned as possible,“ said Davis. “The BLM offers a lot of access to public data ― this is just another way of doing it.”

—

Transforming a brittle piece of volcanic glass, by hand, into a beautiful and deadly 4-inch-long spear point is a process.

In one hand would be a hard shaping rock, or maybe a thick section of antler, and in the other would be the starter stone, which in addition to igneous could be jasper, chert, or any other chippable rock that creates a hide-puncturing level of sharpness.

After what might be hundreds of controlled strokes and rock rotations, the rough shape of a lance or spear tip would take form. Discarded shards of stone would often result in more points, or other useful tools like scrapers and needles.

Clovis points are distinguished by their length, bifacial leaf shape and middle channels on the bottom called flutes. Eventually the repetitive flaking of the point would stop, and the hunter would use precise pressure points to create the flute on one or each side that likely helped slot the finished product into a spear-like wooden pole.

The hunter was now mobile and ready to roam.

—

Prior to 3-D scanning, OSU doctoral student Sean Carroll picks up a can of Tinactin, gives it the obligatory shake, and completely covers “one of the oldest technologies in North America” with antifungal spray.

The talc and alcohol from the athlete’s foot remedy helps the software see even the slightest indents in the point, and it rubs right off afterwards.

“I want to scan all the Clovis I can get my hands on,” said Carroll, who came to OSU because of Davis’ 3-D lab and is using the medium as a big part of his dissertation.

Two random items, a power plug adapter and a ball of clay, are placed on each side of the fluted point to give the camera and light projector perspective. The objects create margins that force the structured light patterns to bend and capture more of the point’s surface detail.

Even so, like the hunter rotating the shaping rock, the archaeologist has to rotate the foam square holding the three items. Each scan takes about six seconds.

Carroll and Davis estimate that the learning curve for this process was about 100 hours. One hundred hours of trial and error — and a lot of watching YouTube videos — for a finished product that they think is indisputably worth it.

A completed 3-D scan of a point will have about 40,000 data points per square inch. The measurements are so precise, they can determine the difference between flake marks as thin as a piece of paper.

Davis says no archaeologist with a pair of calipers can come close to measuring the data obtained via 3-D, because simply, “there are some jobs that robots are really good at.”

“If the end game is measurements, well you could spend your whole life with a pair of calipers trying to achieve what we can do in 10 minutes,” said Davis.

—

Last year, the famous human relative nicknamed Lucy had 3-D scans of her 3.2 million year old bones published in the journal Nature.

In 2015, archaeologists from Harvard University completed a 3-D scan of a winged and human-headed stone bull from Mesopotamia that stands 13 feet high at the Louvre Museum.

And the Smithsonian Institution is currently beta testing a website dedicated to publishing 3-D models from its massive collection, including molds of President Abraham Lincoln’s face and the entire Apollo 11 command module.

All of these new-school efforts are based upon the old-school scientific principles of preservation and promotion.

Rock points, fossils, hieroglyphics — various forms of cultural assets are susceptible to environmental conditions and not guaranteed to be around forever. Three-dimensional scanning is the most accurate way to digitally preserve these items of merit.

Once accurate preservation is done, there are opportunities for promoting not just science, but specific research goals.

In the case of the Lucy bones, scientists hope that crowdsourcing the 3-D data will help get more experts to look at the fossils and prove that the tree-dwelling ape died from a fall.

When it comes to comparing one specific stemmed point to an entire hard drive of scanning data, BLM archaeologist Scott Thomas thinks the work being done at the OSU lab can move archaeology to a new level.

“The 3-D scanning method blows anything we have done out of the water,” said Thomas.

That ability to compare points can lead to insights on how these hunting tools moved over geography, and even expand theories about how native groups learned new technologies.

“It’s going to be a really powerful tool someday — not too far off,” said Thomas.

While long-term data analysis may not be the sexiest form of archaeology, holding a 3-D printed stem point is a pretty cool educational tool.

Davis of OSU has incorporated 3-D prints into his classes and said his students are able to make a tactile connection with artifacts that otherwise are not available.

“The students really enjoy these printed and digital models and often say that they are almost like the real thing,” said Davis.

—

This spring, Davis is traveling to Magadan, Russia — aka Siberia — to inspect and scan some points that may be linked to Clovis peoples.

The goal in Siberia, of course, is to further expand the 3-D database. He is specifically interested in comparing them to stems from a BLM-managed site he excavated in Idaho called Cooper’s Ferry.

As his student, Carroll, begins to clean up and put the scanned points into their individually labeled ziplocked bags, Davis can’t help but mention how much easier international research could be with 3-D scanning.

“You can share cultural resource info with people in other countries and you don’t have to come visit,” he said, adding that Russia isn’t the easiest country to enter.

“It’s as easy as sending an email,” Carroll agreed.

Davis then mentioned his 11-year-old child and how much of school curriculum these days is web-based as opposed to text-based.

“There’s nothing wrong with books, I’m a huge fan of books, but it’s a different way of learning,” said the archaeology professor.

And with that, he made another point.

— by Toshio Suzuki, tsuzuki@blm.gov, @toshjohn

Best places to find 3-D archaeology online: — Sketchfab.com is one of the biggest databases on the web for 3-D models of cultural assets. Institutions and academics alike are moving priceless treasures to the digital space for all to inspect. Two examples: via the British Museum, a 7.25-ton statue of Ramesses II is available for viewing and free download; and via archaeologist Robert Selden Jr., hundreds of 3-D models are open to the public for study, including several Clovis points from the Blackwater Draw National Historic Site in New Mexico. — The Smithsonian Institution is bringing the best of American history to a new audience via their 3-D website (3d.si.edu). Amelia Earhart’s flight suit? Check. Native American ceremonial killer whale hat? Check. Face cast of President Abraham Lincoln? Check and check — there are two. And their biggest 3-D scan is still coming: the 184-foot-long space shuttle Discovery. — Visitors to Africanfossils.org can filter 3-D model searches by hominids, animals and tools, and also by date, from zero to 25 million years ago. The sleek website, with partners like National Geographic and the National Museums of Kenya, makes it easy to download or share 3-D scans, and each item even comes with a discovery backstory and Google map pinpointing exactly where it was found.

[poesfavoritedroid]

I used to collect rocks too! My grandma got me obsidian for my 12th birthday:))

1) I played the alto saxophone all throughout middle school and switched to flute in high school

2) I’ve recently picked up bracelet making as a hobby

3) I am Native American and it’s a part of my identity I am most proud of:))

@wongbal @twi-sight2020 @msmith043003 @starrysunflowery @stylesupdated @ladyflyer20

If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send it to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not! Let's get to know the person behind the blog 💕

Thanks sweets!

1. I’m a huge nerd. Not just Marvel but I love DBZ and my hero academia.

2. I love movies and will quote them randomly when people talk 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

3. I collect Funko pops and a few statues. Again, I’m a nerd 😂

Last few people in my notifications.

@jtargaryen18 @kitkatd7 @sagechanoafterdark @charmed-asylum @nekoannie-chan @imanuglywombat @pagesoflauren

[hippieoiseparty]

Top 10 Sets To See @ Middlelands

For Texas natives, Cinco De Mayo is just as much a holiday as Christmas or Halloween and is celebrated heavily throughout the state. To most, celebrating Cinco De Mayo involves taste-bud wowing foods originating from their southern neighbor, Mexico. From Tamales, to corn tortilla tacos, and enchiladas -overflowing with molten cheese, our Mexican-American amigos really know how to throw down; they also are well known for their varieties of music, like mariachi and Tejano music, which can be heard in abundance during Cinco De Mayo celebration, or really any day in the life of a Texan.  

But this year, in Todd Mission, Tx, we suspect there will be many bumping a different kind of tune. This 2017 Cinco De Mayo weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival grounds, hosted by Insomniac and C3, we lads here at Hippie Noise Party will be attending the increasingly hyped and highly esteemed music festival Middlelands an Adventure for the Ages.

Themed after the venue’s biggest attraction, TRF, Middlelands Music Festival aims to usher in a presence of medieval entertainment and fun. Hosting musical acts on 5 different stages starting Thursday, May 4th and following through until Sunday, May 7th, we expect to have our minds warped and our faces melted as we witness such acts such as Bassnectar, Kaskade, Big Gigantic, Griz, Marshmello, Gramatik, Alison Wonderland, Phantogram, Illenium, Datsik, Space Jesus and so many more truly fantastic performers.

Of course, being the venue that it is, there will be the ability to camp, which always adds to any experience as the crowd out in camping tends to keep the party live until the following sunrise.

No matter if you camp or if you commute, though, anyone in attendance is sure to have a phenomenal time as this venue was ripe for a music fest of this capacity a long time ago.

Now without any further delays, we here at Hippie Noise Party present our compilative review of the top ten acts to see at Middlelands. Keep in mind, that we left out obvious headliners like Bassnectar, Kaskade and a Big Grizmatic performance we are hoping will secretly take place, as we all should know by now that there sets are incrediballs and anyone in their right mind should not miss their sets:

 1.       Crystal Castles

The brain child of Ethan Kath and Alice Glass, the duo split ways two years back after a decision from the vocalist, Alice Glass to focus primarily on a solo project. Since their schism, Crystal Castles has picked up a new vocalist, Edith Francis, and we here at HNP are very excited to see her energy on stage with Ethan Kath’s hauntingly genius melodies. Dominating the Witch House genre, almost before witch house was even respected as a genre, attendees can expect this to be one of the weirdest and most enlightening sets played this weekend.

2.       Alison Wonderland

Alex Sholler, afka Alison Wonderland, has been rocking the EDM world with banger after banger for the last two years after releasing her ‘Run’ album. Based out of Sydney, Australia, we here in Texas welcome her with open arms. Having never witnessed one of her performances, but from someone who jams Wonderland on a daily basis, I can tell you this writer does not intend on missing her set. Bringing her cool, empowered feminine touch to the genre, we look forward to hearing her wow the crowd with her trance wave dub at Middlelands.

3.       Phantogram Musical duo Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel are not new to the touring rock star lifestyle. They’ve been making headlines since 2007. Hailing from Greenwich, New York they’ve dropped top hits such as “When I’m Small”, “Black Out Days”, and “Mouthful Of Diamonds” over their career and just recently dropped a third studio album, ‘Three’ last year in October. They’ve since compiled a new project called Big Grams which has been extremely successful recently. These guys have always been on a bucket list and it will be a true pleasure hearing their electro synth pop sound at Middlelands this year.

4.       Marshmello

Ghost producer and icon of anonymity, Marshmello has hidden behind his signature mask and somehow still gained quite the reputation. This EDM producer has released multiple hits in relatively a short period of time winning him the Best Break Through Solo Artist award back in 2016. No telling what kind of stunts Marshmello may be up to as he is infamous for pulling publicity stunts around his shows.

5.       Bonobo (Live)

British musician Simon Green, better known by his stage name ‘Bonobo’ plans to entrance the crowd while on stage at Middlelands this summer with a mind-numbing, ear-pleasing melody of piano riffs and entrancing deep sounds. Having just dropped his sixth studio album ‘Migration” back in January, we speculate we’ll hear a lot of tracks from this new album. We can’t wait to see the visuals he will implement into this live set, who will he bring on stage to play with him, what display of artistic endeavor does Bonobo intend to leave his audience with? We don’t have the answer to that but believe me, we intend to find out.

6.       Big Wild

After gaining fame from touring with Odesza, Big Wild has been touring heavily since. Dropping major tracks like “Aftergold” and his remix with Zhu, “Generationwhy”, he has been moving up in ranks per se and is now working on his Invincible EP while simultaneously touring around. We saw Big Wild dropping a tropical house set at Euphoria last year in ATX, and he easily was our favorite set for the entire four-day music and camping festival.

7.       Galantis

Hailing from Sweden, DJ duo Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklow move forward into Texas territory spreading good vibes after their new single last year “No Money” became pretty successful. Made famous by their hit single back in 2014 “Runaway (U & I)”, Galantis has produced a series of hit singles last year including, “Make me feel”, “Love On Me”, and recently in December, “Pillow Fight”. Their newest single came out in February titled “Rich Boy”. So we can be certain to hear most of these during this DJ duo’s set at Middlelands.

8.       Getter

In recent years, getter, aka Tanner Petula, has taken the internet community over by storm. His hilarious antics and iconic catchphrase, “Suh Dude” are recognized through various social media forums and threads. Having signed to Datsik’s media label “Firepower records” back in 2012 we’re interested to see Getter pair up with Datsik who will also be featured in the sets played at Middlelands this year. We think it would be amazing to see these two play side-by-side. I can only imagine what kind of gettup Getter will don for his Middlelands performance, but we look forward to his grimy, sometimes wacky dubby sound.

9.       Space Jesus

Space Jesus has been making waves in the dub fest community. Rivalling bass riffs that of the almighty Bassnectar, I’ve seen this guy play twice and let me tell you, there will be a lot of physical motion during his set. Somehow this producer out of New Jersey has made his way out to Texas again to show you guys how to hold Bass Church from Outer Space, right?  Jasha Tull, afka Space Jesus sports a cross-genre field of bassfueled psychedelic style and sound. It ought to be a wicked little party.

10.   Goldfish

Goldfish is an electronica and dance group hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, consisting of Dominic Peters and David Poole. They create dance music containing elements of jazz and African music. The band has released a number of albums, including ‘Perceptions of Pacha’ and ‘Get Busy Living’, and Goldfish was named "Best Pop" at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2014. They create dance music containing elements of jazz and African music, combining live instruments like double bass, saxophones, keyboards, flute, and vocals with samplers, effects and synths. We intend to sit in on their set and jam accordingly during their time spent out at Middlelands.

   That’s our HNP top 10 list. We hope to catch some of ya’ll outside at this event coming up this Cinco De Mayo weekend.

��� 0��

[mikeyd1986]

MIKEY’S PERSONAL BLOG 57, June 2017

On Monday, Mum and I attended the Mind Body Spirit Festival as we both had the Queen’s Birthday public holiday off. We ended up driving into the city which turned out to be a very costly decision as we were hit with a $40 parking fee. Driving through the city is something I usually avoid like the plague as my stress levels reach unbearable heights and it’s honestly not worth it. It’s also very unforgiving as we quickly found out after being in the wrong lane and missing the street we had to turn down. But after turning back around, we eventually made it down to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

I’ve been to this particular festival about four or five times now. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the crowds or the pushy salespeople but at least I’ve learned ways to cope with both of these things. We started by having a meditation session at Brahma Kumaris Centre for Spiritual Learning, The Peninsula which I nearly dozed off in but felt really good. The host told us that we don’t have to be chanting on the top of a mountain wearing orange in order to meditation. All you have to do is stop and look inside yourself. http://www.bkpeninsula.org.au/event... 

We listened to Kathy Ashton at the Soul Kitchen cooking stage who talked about foods that can heal your gut including onions and cold white potatoes. Apparently the resistant starch contained in the potato helps to slow the absorption rate in the small intestine which in turn reduces food intake and aids weight loss. As for the onion, if you remove the inner core section, this will help to prevent the feeling of bloating and having “onion breath”. http://www.livestrong.com/article/3... 

Next we visited the White Light Publishing House & Book Shop stand which my workmate Nicky Stokes is now associated with after having her book The Journey published through them. I had a good chat with a couple of the ladies there and even picked up a book called Journey of a Lightworker for $10. https://www.whitelightuniversal.com.au/... 

At the performance stage, we saw a Native American Indian named Red Horse doing some tribal dancing and playing a variety of instruments from drums to flutes. He was trying to sell copper bracelets that claim to heal painful joints and other health issues but I took it with a grain of salt. He also talked about his belief in “The Creator” aka God and how it’s related to his tribal dances and being healed via sound energy. http://www.healthline.com/health-sl... 

Of course part of my brain thought that his claims were utter horse shit (pardon the pun) but I was still open minded enough to listen to what he had to say. I’m not a true believer in all things spiritual but if it helps me make me feel more positive about life and myself, then I’m all for it. https://www.nativeamerican.com.au/i...

Overall, it was very overwhelming seeing so many stalls, seminars, cooking segments, psychic readings, massages and workshops all happening. We didn’t even see half of it because I felt so drained and exhausted after just three hours. I’m not really a fan of spending all day at a convention but I pretty much saw what I wanted to see and I grabbed a few flyers and entered some competitions along the way. http://www.mbsfestival.com.au/melbo... 

On Tuesday morning, I had my Strength Training session with Luke Davey at Breakaway Fitness in Berwick. Typically, my brain was ready to sprout some more anxious thoughts but I decided to speak my mind with Luke today. The biggest worry that I have right now is that I’m not like the others. I don’t have a large ego, I’m not extroverted, I’m not obsessed with Crossfit training, making personal bests and attending competitions, I don’t wear designer workout wear and socially I don’t really fit in. 

But I have to remind myself...Is it more important to change myself to be like the others or to continue being myself? Answer: Obviously the latter! It’s more just accepting it and trying to be okay with it. I have to start to believe that there’s nothing wrong with having differences in personality, ego and interests. The “Comparing myself to others” tape isn’t helpful for me at all. I need to focus on myself and my own training. Embrace who I am as a person. 

I tend to keep to myself a lot at UFT PLAYgrounds, taking in the training facility around me and waiting patiently for my session with Luke to start. I generally don’t put myself out there socially especially if the trainers and coaches are busy with their clients. I obviously don’t want to bother them. But my shyness can dominate my personality a lot, leading me to hesitate and hold back. I can be really tough for me to make conversation. 

The positives are that trainers and coaches do say hi to me and try to make me feel welcome in the UFT PLAYgrounds environment. My personal trainer is actively engaged in my sessions and wants the best for me in terms of achieving my fitness goals. There’s no sign on the door saying “No introverts with severe mental illness allowed”. If that were the case, then I’d simply go elsewhere. I deserve to be here. https://www.facebook.com/breakawayf... 

WARM-UP...Today I did my usual forward fold stretches over the box, 3 rounds of 90 weighted squat holds and 3 rounds of 15 weighted glute bridges. I’m certainly improving in all of these movements both in terms of strength and flexibility. 

DEVELOPMENT...Back to the dreaded weighted back squats. Honestly, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as the 15 EMOTM workout that I did last time but in terms of weight, it was still tough. I did 5 rounds of eight 60kg back squats. I was trying hard focus on getting my form and technique right and not try to stress about the weight too much. I did have a few moments where my brain went into panic mode (What if I can’t lift the next rep? What if I mess it up?) but I was just being hard on myself as usual. It wasn’t perfect but I was happy that I got through my reps without dropping the bar. 

WORK-OUT...Today I learned a new technique and movement, having to lift and carry a 45kg dead ball (Strongman). The hardest part was getting my grip right and managing to hold it without the ball slipping out of my hands. I then had to hold it up for 15 seconds before carrying it a distance of 20m. I dropped it a couple of times and I felt a little embarrassed but I didn’t give up. I managed to complete four rounds, walking 20m each time, which was a pretty big achievement for my first time doing it. 

On Tuesday night, I went to my Body Combat class with Cinamon Guerin at YMCA Casey ARC in Narre Warren. The new release has been out for a week now and tonight was my first time experiencing it. Boy was it tough. The middle tracks were easily the hardest for me which involved 4 rounds of mountain climbers and push ups on the foam mat. We also had to do quick lunge jumps which changed direction very quickly. But as always I slowed down when I had to and reminded myself that I’m doing my best. It doesn’t matter how uncoordinated I am or if I mess up a combo, at least I’m trying. http://w3.lesmills.com/israel/en/cl...

On Thursday afternoon, I decided to catch up with Mandi Herauville at Gloria Jean’s Coffees in Berwick. It’s hard to believe that this was the first time meeting in the flesh. I’ve known Mandi since last year as she formally trained at UFT PLAYgrounds and now she’s recently opened up her own gym and PT business at The Yard Strength & Fitness. The thing I really love about Mandi is that she gets what I’m going through mentally and emotionally. She is also blunt and brutally honest which is something I need more of in my life. 

The time just flew by as we chatted about our experiences at the gym, doing Crossfit training, dealing with parents and family members, wondering what to do with our lives and talking about our mental illnesses. Two hours later...but seriously I really needed this catch up today. My social life has been so empty lately and I’m glad that I had to opportunity to vent about my personal problems and have a laugh about it. It’s much healthier than keeping it all bottled up inside and being too proud to open the flood gates. I trust Mandi enough to do so. 

On Thursday night, I had my second Strength Training session with Luke Davey at Breakaway Fitness. Tonight I was trying harder than usual to think positive and let any expectations go. Easier said than done of course. I pre-ordered my new UFT hoodie from the front desk. In some ways, I hope that it’ll make me feel more part of the community because recently I’ve felt rather disconnected. But tonight’s big mantra for me was Focus On The Positives. These included having brief but significant interactions with some of the PT’s and coaches and feeling better about my performance overall. 

WARM-UP...Tonight’s warm-up routine was a bit different than usual. I had to do 3 rounds of 10 “Good Mornings” which are essentially stretches into the lower back, hamstrings and posterior with the bar in a back squat position. It was a little tricky getting the body movements correct but I got there eventually.

DEVELOPMENT...Here I did 5 rounds of 12 deadlifts at 65kg. I felt much more focused than last time and I even learned to touch-and-go which is essentially doing continuous reps. I was pretty tough especially around the 8th or 9th rep and I had to drop the bar a couple of times to recover and re-adjust my posture but otherwise I did really well. 

WORK-OUT...Tonight I had to do a pre-programmed workout on the rowing machine which involved 9 rounds, one minute and forty seconds each with a 20 second rest in between. The hardest part for me was keeping my pace consistent at around 700-750. I had a two minute rest after the 5th round and by the last round, I really went for it. I kept those positive mantras flowing (I am enough, I am a champion, I am strong), hitting over 900 at some points. 

I tried really hard to not let the exterior conversations bother me. The topics of conversation being around Crossfit competitions, Instagram posts and going out to the movies tonight. It’s tough fitting in when you can’t even relate to the conversations and therefore can’t contribute to them. But at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with not having much to say. 

During my recovery walk with Luke outside, I decided to open up to him about what was on my mind. Being jealous of the friendships and social connections within the UFT community was what was really bothering me deep down inside. But overall it’s a combination of: a) being too hard on myself b) having unrealistic expectations c) not fitting in with friends at high school d) being socially under-developed since childhood e) the physical absence of my Dad. 

Thankfully Luke understands and was trying hard to encourage me. The fact is that I’d rather be myself than be fake and try to be something I’m not. It doesn’t matter if I’m not everyone’s best friend at UFT. It doesn’t even matter if I don’t talk to everyone at UFT. The fact that I’m there, giving it a go and trying hard to expose myself socially is a massive accomplishment and I need to remind myself of that. 

On Friday morning, I had an appointment with my support worker Ally at Colourfield Cafe Casey Central. My financial issues quickly resurfaced after I decided to check my credit card statement online this morning. I’m still only halfway to achieving my goal and it’s been over two months. In that moment, I felt really embarrassed that I hadn’t paid my credit card off yet for various reasons. Dealing with unexpected setbacks, having the occasional splurge on band merch, coffees and food and all the fitness classes have all contributed to this debt. 

The good news is that at least I have gone back to square one and maxed my credit card out again so that’s a positive. Now I just need to re-assess my goal and how to achieve it. I’m obviously going to need more time to pay it off completely and I’m going to have to be more disciplined and aware of my spending habits. I haven’t failed yet. Far from it. I’m still determined to overcome this burden of mine and accomplish this goal.

Ally and I also discussed challenging my thoughts in social situations and learning to be more assertive, specifically whenever I feel like leaving and saying goodbye to people. I’m particularly nervous about tomorrow night’s UFT dinner catch-up as I only know a handful of people and I don’t want to feel socially excluded, left out or bored. But at least I’ve got some strategies that I can use to cope and get through the potential anxiety and awkwardness of being in this social group. 

On Friday night, I attended a Slow Flow yoga class with Rachel Camilleri at Now, Yoga.. Sadly, I haven’t been to one of Rachel’s classes in months but her style is quite a bit more intense compared to Keren and Kim. That’s no necessarily a bad thing though, it just means I warm up quicker and sweat more often. Rachel has a wonderful, quirky sense of humour and allows us students to slowly explore each pose. We did several different flowing sequences including: 

Flowing Sequence 1...Standing forward bend, half-lift, downward facing dog, plank, cobra.

Flowing Sequence 2...Downward facing dog, three-legged dog, low lunge, ninja, open twist.

Flowing Sequence 3...Downward facing dog, three-legged dog, high lunge, warrior 2, reverse warrior, open twist.

Stretches...Butterfly pose, single leg forward fold, wide legged forward fold.

“When the world’s laying you low. Why don’t you let me carry your load? When things get bad, you know you’ve got a friend. All along the road.” Keane - On The Road (2012)

“And straining at the least you’d be a better man. But each time I try to climb I start sliding.  Some days I think someone's trying to keep me down. But no it's just my own fear that I'm fighting. I feel knocked down but I won't be broken, I won't be broken.”                              Keane - Won’t Be Broken (2013)

[xemidatwospirit]

Reflection on GALita’s Fábulas Mayas

My experience with Fábulas Mayas began in 2013 when I responded to a casting notice from GALA Hispanic Theatre looking for Bilingual (Spanish/English) Actors for a kids play with puppets. I had recently graduated from The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and was auditioning for anything I possibly could. Many people in the industry told me to audition for GALA because of their status as an “of color” theatre and my multilingualism, but when I auditioned for Fábulas Mayas, I wasn’t actively looking for a Native American story to tell. In fact, it was not until after being cast that I discovered that Mayas in Fábulas Mayas was referring to the diverse Native American group the Mayas; I simply assumed it was a show about a girl named Maya telling her fables.

(Ad  by GALA Hispanic Theatre)

From the day of the first read-through, I figured out that most of the artists involved in the production were non-Indigenous, as with any other show. Still, as I had never been involved with a production that featured a Native American story-line, I was excited to be part of something where I could openly explore my history and my identity. As an actor, I was so happy to play many different kinds of characters and to learn puppetry in this show, and as a person who only speaks Spanish with my Parents, I was excited to speak Spanish at work. Still, the lack of Indigenous Voices was alarming to me. I shared with the ensemble my feelings regarding the production; namely, how intensely satisfying it was to perform Brown stories for Brown children. Once closing at the Tivoli stage, we took the show on tour in South East DC, and once the tour ended, I said goodbye to Mayas until the following year.

Once 2014 came around, it was time to pick Fábulas Mayas up once again; this time for the INTERSECTIONS FESTIVAL at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. I was curious to see what more the ensemble could bring to the show. The show stayed virtually the same though, except a few blocking differences to accommodate to the smaller stage, and a couple of scenes were removed. Performing for these new audiences brought some new excitement to the show,  but also brought up old demons I had already put to rest with the first run. I struggled with keeping myself professional and speaking up against the exclusion of Native Artists in a show about Native people. When @dcactorsofcolor released their first comment on Fábulas Mayas, I wasn’t entirely surprised by the content. They said that  “though the production did not feature many Native American/Mestizo artists, the story and the use of playwright Cackley as a performer in the show, provided a smidgen of authenticity and somewhat excused the use of ‘redface’. One minimal move GALA/GALita could have made to further elevate the authenticity of this production would have been to hire a Native American director and a majority Native American ensemble, especially considering they were performing for Native American children.” I find that this assessment of the production was very fair. I agree that the show was a positive representation of Classical Maya stories that was done respectfully, but that still, more could have been done to make the show authentic.

(Puppet Design by Wit’s End Puppets)

In late June that year, GALA announced that another new children’s puppet show by Cecilia Cackley would premiere in the fall, and that the spring 2015 GALita show would be a remounting of Fábulas Mayas. I was beyond excited for Cecilia and the youth of DC for this news. When the Interim Production Manager contacted me mid-January regarding the remount of Fábulas Mayas, I was very happy to accept the role and to do the show again. I so badly desired to work with more Native American artists. In fact, when Miguel Amaguaña contacted me via Facebook before rehearsals even started to let me know that they would be part of the Cast, I was overjoyed with emotion! I knew this mounting of Fábulas Mayas was gonna change my life. It was so refreshing to know that I would be working with Miguel soon, and I could not wait to work with the other Native American artists that I would meeting during the remount. I was feeling empowered!

When the first rehearsal finally arrived, I realized that the only active change made was adding Miguel to the ensemble. Quickly my empowerment vanished. However, Miguel’s strength and courage to speak up about discomfort they felt seeing a brown child with two white parents, gave me the conviction to speak up about my discomfort as well. I mention that we need to needed to change the beatboxing Jaguars.  That same day we reblocked the Jaguar’s first entrance, adding little stage combat and making the characters more cat-like. After rehearsal, I made a group page on Facebook called “Fábulas Mayas Cast Research Group” where the Company was free to post anything that they felt others could benefit from. We posted things such as Maya history, Maya music, Maya organizations, as well as articles about diversity in the arts, talking about race with kids,  who should tell what stories, and much more.

As the days went on, we made more changes to the show and discussed ways to better represent Classical and Contemporary Maya cultures. Since music is a huge part of Native American performance art, we felt it was important to focus on the authenticity of the music. We rearranged our opening scene to start with the Classical Yucatán song “Konex, Konex,” followed by a Blessing to the Four Directions and a brief description of the show’s purpose. We also discussed searching for a Maya language song for the closing to replace our “Arullo” song. I found “Tu Wenel K'iin” by Composer Víctor Manuel Aarón Sánchez (Yucatán) on youtube, and I connected with José Felipe García Vargas (Yucatán), the musician who posted the video of the song, on Google Plus. I let them know about Fábulas Mayas and about how we wanted to use a verse from the song for the production. I shared the song with the Company, and we decided to only use the first verse for our show. In a word document, I wrote down the Yucatán and Spanish lyrics to the verse and translated it to English, so that the team could practice. Another Maya musician, Alberto Ramirez (Ixil), was asked to come into a rehearsal by Carol Spring. He taught us a drum rhythm, a flute melody, and a dance that we later used for the Uncle Coyote Dancing scene.

We made some more changes, such as cutting the character of Mother and giving those lines to the Father, and refashioned the essence of the Creator and Shaper. We began using the Classical Maya names Xpiyacoc and Xmucane for Creator and Shaper respectively, and worked the relationship between the two, reverting back to the original characteristics of the Classical characters: the Grandfather and Grandmother of all Maya people. We also discussed the idea of the flute melody Alberto taught us being played by a non-Indigenous musician. We were going to ask Alberto for more help pre-recording the song for use, but since the five of us did not have the money to pay Alberto for any of the work he did for Fábulas Mayas, we decided to deal with the situation ourselves. We opted to have Miguel whistle the melody instead of having Carol play the flute. Though Carol’s role in the production was being minimized, there wasn’t much more progress we could have made with the circumstances the Company was dealt.

(Miguel & I as Xpiyacoc and Xmucane. Picture Credit goes to Renee Browne.)

Eleven days before opening, @dcactorsofcolor began posting on twitter and tumblr about this mounting of Fábulas Mayas. They urged GALA Hispanic Theatre that “#RedfaceIsDisgrace and to #DecolonizeMayanFables.” They also said that “casting European actors in Native American roles for Theatre for Young Audiences is discrimination against Native Artists and violence against Native American children.” I was not at all surprised by this feedback. @dcactorsofcolor had already suggested to GALA in 2014 that changes for better representation of Native American people were needed, and since Carol was still part of the production, it was only fair that a campaign began against Maya Fables and that the production was listed as perpetuating racism toward Native American women and children.

(@DCActorsOfColor advertisement)

The Company then had a more in depth conversation about what we were doing with the show and what ideas we were perpetuating. We stayed after rehearsal to discuss actions we could take. Miguel and I suggested an open community forum to discuss what happened with Fábulas Mayas and what we wish for the future of Native American theatre in D.C. Fábulas Mayas opened on March 9 to a great crowd of children, which inspired us to work harder to make the forum the best it could. Before and after each performance, the Company would plan the forum, and soon Cecilia began dialogue with GALA Management. Miguel and I actively searched for panelists for the talk. We met with some people we knew that were involved with the DC Activist and Artists communities, to hopefully get some leads on who we could bring on board the forum. Two particular names were given to us that we really wanted to meet: Gabby Tayac (Piscataway) and Chief Margarito Esquino (Nawat-Maya-Lenca). We began to try get into contact with these two Native American leaders. Miguel and I also agreed that we needed to contact the Piscataway Indian Nation to let them know about our forum and to see if we could collaborate with them to raise awareness of DC’s Indigenous communities; we took a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and met with an employee there, Nancy, who offered to share the news of the forum with her colleagues (specifically with Gabby Tayac); and we met with Chief Esquino to discuss having him speak at the forum. Miguel and I were very hopeful with the new contacts we made, that we would be able to have a great conversation with the forum.

@dcactorsofcolor attended one of the performances the first week and wrote a detailed review of the show. They commended the Indigenous Artists who worked on the production, but still had much to say about representation and authenticity. @dcactorsofcolor posed questions such as “was [Xemi] paid for their non-acting based work on Mayan Fables?”, “why put the whole responsibility on Cackley’s shoulders?”, and “why could GALita not hire more Indigenous artists?”. They discussed the huge redface problem (“Over 65% of the credited artists are European-descendants”) and suggested that GALA is “at an ideal place to serve severely underserved communities: the intersection between Latinx and Indigenx cultures and identities”. @DCActorsOfColor discussed the importance of crediting (Native American) Artists for their work, since both Ramirez and Sánchez were not credited in the program, and pressed the need to discontinue the narrative that the Maya people are extinct, by adding information about Contemporary Maya history in the program. They questioned why GALA was not offering Fábulas Mayas as a show to be adjudicated by theatreWashington, and celebrated the successes of the new staging. @DCActorsOfColor said that “the concept of Indigenx performance being about more than music, dance, and theatre, was very strong in this production” and that “ritual and tradition played a large role in bringing authenticity into the production, and helping to #DecolonizeMayanFables.” They also praised the restaging of the Jaguars, adding that the former staging came “off as erroneous and somewhat offensive- bordering on Blackface” and that the new direction “was seamless and children’s laughter and cooperation in the play continued without the awkward hitch from before.” @DCActorsOfColor was very glad we took Xpiyacoc and Xmucane the way we did, commenting that the show “presented an example of queer love without being gaudy, but in a guiltless and endearing way.” They said that for the next remount, that there should be an “adherence to diverse, bilingual actors of color that have Native American roots.” because “representation is really important. #RepresentationMatters”. They also added that it is greatly important for GALita’s Artistic Director Laura Quiroga to respond to these comments, and that “ Cackley can definitely call this show a hit”. They “hope to see more from her (Cecilia Cackley) and Wit’s End in the future!” Overall, the review was constructive and encouraging, as well as provided a easy to follow description of the show’s public history.

With the review in mind, Miguel and I shared what we had planned with the Company for the forum. We set a date for the forum and made deadlines for ourselves to release a flyer and an invitation letter. At the closing performance of the show, we invited the Audience to the forum. It was there that Miguel and I met two Maya Graphic Artists, Frida Larios (Chorti) and Che León (Kiche), and we collected their business cards for future collaboration. After the show, Miguel and I met up with Chief Esquino. The Chief introduced us to Sebi Medina-Tayac, Gabby Tayac’s son, and took us to a ceremony in Native Maryland. Soon after, Miguel received an email from Nancy at NMAI with contact information for Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation), a Tribal Rights Attorney in DC and one of the founders of the #NotYourMascotcampaign against the Washington Football Team, and we began reaching out to Tara on Twitter and via email about the forum. After a few back and forths, Tara also agrees to be part of the upcoming conversation. We continued trying to get into contact with Gabby Tayac (using a direct line her son had offered us) to no avail. I created a facebook event page and we all begin mentioning the forum on social media (twitter, facebook, tumblr). On the event page, I thanked and credited Victor Manuel Aarón Sánchez & Alberto Ramirez for their huge help on the production. I also met with the Chief to discuss the specific role he would play at the forum. As a Spiritual Leader, the Chief was to perform a blessing ceremony to ensure the forum was a success for Native American Artists. On March 26, the Company met with GALA leadership to discuss the specifics of the forum and we were able to release an advertisement the following day.

(Ad for the Open Community Forum. Credit goes to me)

On the day of the forum, March 30, Miguel meets up with Tara in person to discuss that night’s event. I meet up with Chief Esquino that afternoon as well, but unfortunately, due to an emergency, the Chief was not able to attend the open forum. The forum was held at GALA Hispanic Theatre with 20 individuals involved in the conversation. Though there were many small problems, I felt the forum allowed a space for community members to voice concerns about Native American representation in DC theatre, about Theatre for Young Audiences, and discuss ways to achieve a decolonial theatre community. As the forum was bilingual, we did have some issues with translation. Since we weren’t able to pay a translator, we had a volunteer who was not experience with translating this type of conversation, help us out. This was not ideal, and did ostracize some forum attendees at times, something for which I am sorry about and hope to find solutions for in the future. Still, some great ideas were formulated and we helped made a space to continue the conversation in the future by creating a facebook group that anyone interested in the future of DC’s Native American Theatre Community can be a part of. We hope that with this group, the Native American Theatre Artists communities of DC can be more unified to make collaboration easier.

(Artemis [Interpreter], Miguel [Moderator], Tara, Myself, Carol, and Ceci at the Forum. Photo credit goes to Sylvana Christopher.) Fábulas Mayas has been a long walk on a road to recognition. It really has been life-changing. Though all of this issue could have been avoided by collaborating with Maya (and other Native American) Artists early on in the process (as early as the writing stage!), it has allowed the Native American community to demand visibility and respect. I’m thankful that @dcactorsofcolor spoke up when no one else did. Of one thing I am positive: from this point forward, DC Theatre has no excuse for redface anymore. And for that I am forever grateful. Xemiyulu (a proud descendant of the Nawat-Maya-Lenca Nation known internationally as El Salvador)

[mewzikcultere2k17]

Gender and Sexuality in Instruments

Paige Balut and Courtney Crocker Gender and Sexuality in The Past:

As discussed in Bonnie Wade’s book “Thinking Musically”, in the past, instruments a person played suggested a variety of different things about them. Similar to how saxophone is seen as “cool” and  piano is seen as “high class”, instruments also implied sexuality and gender. Since sexuality and gender stereotypes are different in for each culture, there are a variety of different implications in each culture for instruments. In Africa, drums are thought to be female and in Indonesia, the larger gongs are seen as female because their lower pitch is considered female. In the United States, a lower pitch could be considered more masculine, but this is simply a difference in gender stereotypes. In addition to this, instruments available to a player may be dictated by their gender. Traditionally in Bulgaria, only men played musical instruments and playing an instrument was seen as a masculine activity. Meanwhile in Native-American traditions, playing the powwow drum was seen as a way to purify the individual. Since it was believed that women were purified whenever they menstruated, women were not allowed to play as they did not need to be purified.

Gender and Sexuality Now:

A recent study from the University of Washington starts out saying “ask children what musical instruments they would like to play and boys invariably will pick something like the trumpet, drums or saxophone while girls tend to favor the violin, clarinet or flute.” The study discusses how by the age of 5 children’s choices start being affected by gender stereotypes from their environment. Girls show more flexibility when it comes to picking an instrument while boys tend to avoid picking an instrument that can be seen as feminine.  But what makes an instrument feminine? Is the flute feminine because it is a high instrument and the trumpet more masculine due to it being a louder instrument? Is flute not known for its piercingly loud notes and is the jazz trumpet not known for its ridiculously high part writing?  In another article from Rowan University, parents are seen as the main enforcer of gender stereotypes among instrumental musicians. The article states “respondents were asked to indicate from among eight instruments (cello, clarinet, drums, flute, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and violin) the three instruments that they would encourage their son and daughter to select. Results indicated that respondents preferred clarinet, flute, and violin for their daughters, and drum, trombone, and trumpet for their sons.” People have subconsciously grown up with the idea that gender should play which instruments and parents pass this stereotype down to their children. While talking about the best way to change stereotypes, Betty Repacholi from University of Washington states  that “we also wouldn’t advocate using counter-stereotypes by themselves because we would simply be creating new stereotypes. We need to present both males and females playing a full range of instruments to show that anyone can play them. Gender should not be relevant.”

Video: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/bringing-women-conductors-front-orchestra/

Here is a link to a video from PBS about an institute that is focusing on trying to create more women conductors. With about 20 of the nation’s largest orchestra, only one is led by a women director.  

Audio: https://soundcloud.com/datcoolkid1019/talk-with-british-hornist-sarah-willis-insight-germany

In this video, Sarah Willis is seen discussing how she faced gender bias in picking the French horn. When she first began, she was told only boys played the horn. She is the first female in the Berlin Philharmonic’s Brass Section.

Image 1:

This image depicts the split of gender in the brass section of the 20 highest paying orchestras in the United States. In total, women make up 9.75% of the Brass Section and hold 4.25% of the principal players. In relation to gender stereotypes, brass Instruments are seen as more masculine and less women play them overall.  

Image 2:

This image shows the split of men and women in the percussion/keyboard section in the top 20 paying orchestras in the United States. While keyboard is a 50/50 split, women only make up 6% of the percussion section. With combined keyboard and percussion, women make up only 28% of the entire section but they hold 22.5% of the principal players. While different cultures may see drums as a male or female instrument, in America, it is clear they are seen as male. Image 3:

This is image depicts the percentages of men and women in each section of the woodwind family. Making up 68% of the Flute section, it is clear the flute is seen as a feminine instrument. Women make up 39.25% of the woodwind section overall and 30.75% of the principal players. Image 4:

This image depicts the male and female leadership in strings vs. the overall amount. While women make up 58.50% of the string section, they make up 40.25% of the Principal players.

Sources:

Kuhlman, K. (2004). The Impact of Gender on Students’ Instrument Timbre Preferences and Instrument Choices. Visions of Research in Music Education, 5.

University of Washington. “Children as Young as 5 Have Gender Bias When It Comes to Picking a Musical Instrument.” EurekAlert! 11 Apr. 2002. Web. 26 Feb. 2017. “Bringing Women Conductors to the Front of the Orchestra.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.