#belated review ig

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

I'M HERE I'M HERE *trips from stone pebble, face first* i'm here...

That's right, my dear fellows, your local theorist is back and freed from the basement! WA-HOO 🎉 What episode do we got today... *sees thumbnail+title* ...oh. huh.

Team...*inhales* care to tell me what. the. fuck is this? "SMG4:" IS BACK ON THE TITLE?! AND THIS DESCRIPTION?!

oh my god the Team hates me so BAD (/lh /jk) WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!

(the following is my live reaction:)

dude, i don't even know what to expect from this but it looks like i'm going to be incredibly annoying in this review 😅 (sorry in advance)

the way Mario goes to the front door of his home is exactly how i enter every room

Mario to Luigi: "Trying to get me back after locking you in the fridge for 5 days?" wha ...y'know what? that sounds about right

*war flashbacks to Ben's tweet*

*slowly turns to Team* what did you do? :) NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR KNOWING SMILES, ONLY I SHOULD DO THAT. ANOTHER FNAF REF WITH THE VANNY MASK ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

(hey nicc, buddy, how are you holding up?)

btw the Team could've gone with any mask but they went with this for 4 & 3 🤔

*points at 4* he wants that cookie SO BAD

UE UE UE THEY MEAN THE WORLD TO ME💙💜 they do be scheming

look how much they've changed 🥹 (and i will talk about them later)

AND their expressions? *dies*

*stares at Team suspiciously* wow the framing of this scene is quite interesting, huh

speak yourself, 4. you could barely handle horror games

OH I GET THE CLUE NOW @arco-doodles never could i have ever imagined a roles-reversed version of "the princess carry" 🗣️LET'S GOOOOOOO

SMG3: "You've used the same laugh in like all your videos." and ofc, you would know that. you were like his biggest fan (in the classic era), obsessed even smh /affectionate

HOLY SHIT ARE WE DOING FOUND FOOTAGE THROUGH 3'S POV/PHONE?!?! dude this is SICK

*deadpans at you through the screen* y'know...

I'm a sucker for this animation, dude

gonna bounce around the screen like the DVD logo, spooky style

well this feels familiar

and also the fact that Mario looked like that one meme with the realistic eyes (link) that Ben used as his pfp one time. what's crazy is that Ben hasn't seen this episode yet lmao

OH A BIT OF 2D PNG ANIMATION. also the eyeliner 👀

(hmm why do 4 & 3 get trapped in the weirdest places tf? /lh)

welp we found Luigi, we did it guys *cheesy thumbs-up* roll the credits

also it's giving:

i'm just going to drop this here, ok? ↓

4 lifting 3's chin :)

a TADC ref? in my SMG4 episode? it's more likely than you think

love the small details of not only Mario's post-it note of "Mario's Spaghetti, DO NOT EAT" but also his drawing of "stinky 4" just hung up on the fridge

it is still Mario....... NOT EVEN THE SPAGHETTI TRAP?

somehow 3 summoning ghosts fit with his internet graveyard/dark web role

*WHEEZE* the 2 dollar store item...

*danny phantom theme plays*

oh. uh, i'm intruding, aren't i? i should go...... ("he wants that cookie so bad" 2: electric boogaloo???)

i hired 3 & 4 to stare at you /silly /ref

love how 3 has his contacts with the regular names (Karen, Bob, etc.) meanwhile for 4, it's "StinkyMessGuy4". 4's different 💅

aw 4 🥹💙 you did a good thing in apologizing

3 NOOOOOOO

*IGBP war flashbacks*

oh, what's that? i was staring at space again? oh, no, I was trying to figure out HOW DID I MANIFEST 4'S CASTLE COLLAPSING IN AN IGBP PARALLEL OF AN EPISODE?! oh god, did the Team somehow see my WIPs of my door fanart? they're hacking into my tablet /silly

so let me get this straight: a supernatural entity with multiple eyes and red is causing chaos, starting from emerging out of the PC to eventually corrupting the castle and its ground, meanwhile, the friends believed that one of them is possessed by said entity and trying to save them in several ways. AND by the end, 3, having a character development moment, sympathizes with their "possessed" friend...

🧍 ...ok yeah I see how it is, Team. and while i was gone for the weekend? smh

eh close enough, welcome back IGBP

before i move on, it's crazy how the Team kept punching me in the gut for the "Eye of Horus/Ra" stem of the Goop!4 theory and now they jumped into the theory's "Eye of God" and Christianity thing with Mario's new form. "wow Mario really is 4's avatar" i can never catch a break 😔 /silly

here's some context *flashback noises*:

*le gasp* he apologized?! BIG MOMENT HERE FOLKS AAAAAA

...and it didn't work? oh shit. i'm still very proud of you 3 💙

THIS. THIS RIGHT HERE SAYS SO MANY THINGS.

ok ok first off, the fact that 3 was serious about his apology. For once, doing the right thing only to be rejected. It feels very similar to the YT arc when 3 was doing his own thing with Snitch Productions. Here tho, 4 is affirming 3's actions, approving it. 3 really did good. if it was 4 back in the classic era, 4 might've had a harder time believing 3 bc of them being enemies, which was what eventually caused Snitch Productions to get destroyed and 3 clicking into his villain arc. BUT HERE, 4 believed and trusted 3's sincerity, especially since we all know 3 isn't the usual type to be emotionally vulnerable. 4 knows bc of what 3 said to him in IGBP

second, this might be a dark subject so fair warning about death. can we talk about how 4, time and time again, doesn't mind the idea of dying? I know we talked about the death guidelines of this universe and sure, it entirely depends on the context/intent behind it. But the fact he's ok with it regardless... Here, in IGBP, and other sillier episodes, it's almost like he accepts it as some sort of punishment, just enough bc by what seems like the end for him, he's doing the right thing or something he loved or from his own doing/fault. And that is what i worry bc in a serious arc, sooner or later, something like this is gonna happen again, and 4 might say he accepts this supposed fate bc he "deserved it" after everything he's done, even before IGBP. This got sad real quick, dude

Really, Team? All this in a silly spooky episode? damn

...let's go on and try to go back to silly mode, ok? ok

GET PRANKED, BRUH‼️🚨🚨‼️‼️

*shaking violently* Team, was it necessary for you to shove the fact that the window to the boarded-up room is right there, in my face? really?

and let's not prank Mario ever again :D

Congrats to Not_wizz for your art being featured in the end credits 🎉

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

[Ink here! Sorry for the late review, I literally passed out for the whole day from the conference and immediately had a rough production day yesterday. But I'm here now, coming in fashionably late 💅]

This. This was an INCREDIBLE episode, I don't even know how. The animation, the story, all of it was crazy /very pos. If you haven't noticed my insanity already, this feels too familiar to IGBP (says the co-CEO of the Goop!4 theory). at this point, the Team is teasing us. So Team, while I'm upset at the fact that I had to miss this, touché. congrats, you got me good.

Now, some of you might've noticed in the end credits that Cube is the producer instead of Kevin. For the jokes and giggles, Kev may not make it out alive from Creator Clash when his opponent's out for blood, so he's passing it over to Cube. Even some of the Team joked about it when it was first announced RIP Kev /jk.

But no seriously, Cube has been the producer for several episodes now and it's nice to see the Team growing and trusting each other with these roles. I'm sure Kev will be around but hey, things change. we just gotta adapt.

Ok, back to the episode itself. 3 & 4 have really shown how much they've grown over all these years. Obviously 4, who didn't do "childish" pranks before, now does bc of 3's influence and is really getting along with 3. But 3 went through some change from 4's influence as well, episodes before and "subtlety" now. 3 tried to save his friends in Puzzle Park (more worried of their safety than his own) and now he apologizes for that prank they did to Mario. Like he said, he swallowed his pride, and 4 believed in his word. another step of character development for these two, we love to see it.

and ofc, another episode of our goofball Mario, it's really in-character for him to into a biblically accurate angel just for a prank lol.

Anyway, this has been an incredible episode and I applaud to everyone who worked on this 👏 something's brewing and I'm so excited to see what comes next. Apparently, I owe my moot a can of rizz soda so chat, I'll see you all at the next one, and remember: numbers go first........

...so *slowly turns chair* Team, what's up with that title huh? you ain't slick, "SMG4: IT'S A ME..." is LITERALLY a few words away from "SMG4: IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT". and HEY, what's up with the framing showing the DOOR, huh? NO i'm not delusional, ANSWER MEEEE /silly

[musicalhell]

A Brief, Belated Look at The Book of Life (Know the Score)

Yes, it's almost Thanksgiving. I'm still doing this.

Musical Hell Merch now available on Redbubble! https://www.redbubble.com/people/MusicalHell/shop?asc=u

Thank you to our top-level Patreon Supporters!

Midnight Musicals

midnightmusicalspod.com Twitter: @MMusicalsPod IG: @MidnightMusicalsPod

Visit Musical Hell at: http://MusicalHell.com

Support me on Patreon and Ko-Fi! http://www.patreon.com/user?u=235731 https://ko-fi.com/musicalhell Follow me! @MusicalHell musicalhell.tumblr.com facebook.com/divasmusicalhell

For more reviews, commentary, and general awesomeness of every kind, visit: rtgomer.com

[ankcna-blog]

hello guys !! i’m blaire, and i come to you with a VERY belated greeting !! i went to a skz concert a few days ago and as you would expect my life has been flipped upside down ever since !! but now that things are calming down, i’ve got things in order and would like to introduce you to my beloved weirdo kwanchai, more commonly known as dreamdrop’s choreographer KAI ! i’ve wanted to join you all for the longest and can’t wait to have some fun now that i’m finally here ! without further ado, you can find all his links here ( more to come ) as well as some important info about him below ! and of course, like this if you want to plot ! i’ll also be joining the discord very soon, so that’ll be an option too !

background !

from bangkok, thailand ! maybe it’s because of this he’s such a city boy and loves being around people, because that’s basically been his whole life ! in bangkok there were people around nearly all the time and now that he lives in seoul, it’s no different !

like his fc, he’s ethnically chinese but his nationality is thai ! honestly he feels more of a connection to his thai side because it’s the one he’s the most familiar with, though recently he’s been trying to connect with his chinese side. 

grew up around mainly girls, 3 older sisters and one younger ! his dad’s the only boy, but his parents are divorced. they still co-parented pretty functionally, though, so he mainly stayed with his mom and did weekly visits to his dad. he believes the heavy presence of females in his life is the reason he grew up to act a little more conventionally “feminine” and why he has such a high respect for women ! his sisters have always been .... v strong in comparison to him ojoijoijoij so it makes sense why !

his sister is the original dancer of the family, picking up ballet at only 5 years old ! she’s older than him so, wanting to follow in her shoes, he begged his parents to join as well !

his parents were v apprehensive at first, especially his dad, because they weren’t the most progressive and didn’t think a boy dancing ballet looed good. it took some convincing, but eventually they allowed him !

absolutely loved it, would come home dancing nearly every day. once they realized he was really enjoying himself and taking himself seriously he convinced them to add on tap and hip hop classes as well !

always been into american culture, he was always watching shows & listening to music from america, and that transferred into a general interest for the country ! so in high school, he studied abroad for a semester w / a host famiy !

this really helped his english skills and is the main reason he’s so fluent today, which definitely helps with his job ! it’s the reason he sounds less like a foreigner now when he’s speaking.

coincidentally, through america, he found an interest in korean culture ! his host family lived in california, which already was home to a lot of korean spots, but his host sibling was a kpop fan and got him into it ! so when he got back home to thailand he had gained an interest for it.

he started listening to a lot of the music, and at 17 made a very spontaneous decision to send in an audition tape to a company ! ( not noir, a smaller up-and-coming one probably ! )

he was .... incredibly shocked that he’d gotten in, but ecstatic for the chance to do what he loved ! not everyone was quite as ecstatic as him ... mainly his dad who thought his career choice was unfit for the one son of the family.

regardless, he packed up things and moved to korea, where he began to train to become an idol ! contrary to what he’d thought he kind of hated it lmao ! he had a super hard time trying to learn korean initially and didn’t deal too well with the stress of such a cutthroat environment. on top of that, he wasn’t favored by the company and they kept giving other trainees opportunities he didn’t have ! he didn’t like that because he felt he had the personality and drive, they just weren’t willing to take a chance on him. but he really loved the chance to perform alongside other passionate people and learn from them.

so it was a bittersweet moment when, at 18, he terminated his contract. he felt relieved with all that extra pressure off him e but was also sad to no longer be performing. he tried to lie and act like he didn’t to his family but eventually, they found out and his mom sent him back home to thailand. his dad was livid and promised that if he didn’t do something within 2 months to get a job he’d stop helping him out.

kwanchai wanted to keep dancing but still needed a job, so did the best thing he could think of ! a choreographer he’d met in seoul promised him a room in his house if he agreed to fly back to korea and start working as a sort of dance apprentice under him at a studio !

so, going back yet again, he agreed and made one of the best choices of his life ! he got a lot better and not only dance but teaching / choreographing it ! with this, he comfortably began to adjust to the country and learned a lot !

the more he was there, the more he realized how much he enjoyed choreographing ! his friend gave him the chance to begin creating dances from the studio and it was then he decided he wanted to do it as a career !

he didn’t want to feel like a burden at his friend’s for so long, so it was then he decided to apply for a job at noir as a choreographer, hoping to save up and buy his own place. he applied unsure if he’d really get it due to his short experience, but was ecstatic when he did !

the whole thing has proved to be one of the best choices of his life - he’s got a steady job that’s very fulfilling, he saved up enough for an apartment, and he gets to dance while maintaining the level of freedom he’d craved as a trainee !

personality / random tidbits !

his app summed it up well, he’s incredibly eccentric ! he’s just different in nearly every way and if told to do something one way, he’ll probably do it the other. 

his name is kwanchai, but ever since he was 17 he’s gone by kai, a shortened version of his full one ! it’s because it not only easier to pronounce for koreans but to his many american friends as well, and honestly it makes him feel less out of place as it’s a fairly universal name !

he’s super talkative, inherited from his sisters, but in turn is a very good listener ! so you’ll catch him either ranting about all his problems or listening to someone else doing the same.

naturally, he’s very fun and excitable ! rarely takes anything seriously, that is .... unless he’s dancing ! typically when teaching he likes to crack jokes and such to make the experience fun, but if it’s crunch-time he does a whole 180. when he has to he takes dancing very seriously, sometimes maybe even too much ! he may come off as controlling but in reality he’s just very passionate and a true perfectionist in terms of technique. 

speaking of dancing, seeing him do it is quite an amusing sight ! kind of like j-hope he’s always making noises when he does it, and always has some sort of noise or word that correlates with his dance move ! def the type to say “and jazz hands !!”

maybe it helps, maybe it sounds stupid ! but since he has such a horrible memory it does tend to help him out a lot.

his hair right now is dyed, and the best reference i can give you is the john’s banana video lmao !! he keeps it pretty short to keep it out his face when he dances, and tbh his hai is a different color all the time !

he has a food blog, “rate what i ate”, where he does food reviews for restaurants ! it’s really fun for him because he loves to eat and has a very strong opinion on nearly everything. muses feel free to come eat with him, he’ll never say no to a dining buddy !

aside from that he has general social media and an ig where he posts short dance covers ! thinking about starting a yt cover channel.

coffee is his everything. he’s got a horrible sleep schedule, staying up late and having to wake up early ! but coffee is the one thing that gets him through, and no matter what time of the day he can always be found with his favorite cup in his hand.

remember how his app said power poses ? well it’s something kai actually does ! every morning and before doing something important he stands in a power pose for 5 minutes, saying affirmations rather dramatically. that alongside his guided meditation obsession makes kai in the morning time quite the amusing sight.

he has a black bombay cat affectionately named luna ! she’s his daughter whom he loves very very much and would die for. a total sweetheart who will accept all love, muses feel free to pet !

even though he’s fairly happy somewhat out the spotlight, he still has the idol mentality, and definitely has the whole charming personality thing going on ! he’s a whole personality and it’s almost a sin he didn’t become a talkshow host, but i assume he’d have a small following because of it ! not dreamdrop level of course, but a little bit of recognition !

that’s all i can thin of right now, that and i don’t want to keep you all waiting for this intro for too long ! i’ll add more as i see fit, and again, i can’t wait to meet you all !

[tessatalksbooksblog]

Happy belated Publication Day to Game On by Janet Evanovich! . I have read every book in this series and my love of it is unfailing. It has thrills, it has laugh-out-loud humor, and best of all - it has Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer turned bounty hunter who totals at least one car per book through no fault of her own. If you have never tried this series, you must! Pick a book, any book - they all can work as a stand-alone novel. But be warned - you will want to fit them all in once you have finished. (Full review can be found on my blog - link in bio). . What is your favorite fall prop for your IG pictures? . Mine are fall leaves. I get absolutely giddy when I can pull out my fall leaves with twinkle lights and I love collecting the real ones to use too! . . . . #allthebooksoct21 #fallcolors #autumncovers #gameon #janetevanovich #janetevanovichbooks #stephanieplum #stephanieplumseries #mysterythriller #thrillerthursday #thriller #thrillerbooks #thrillerreads #thrillerbook #thrillers #thrillerbooksaddict #thrilleraddict #thrillernovel #netgalley #netgalleyreads #bookreview #bookreviewblog #bookreviewsofinstagram #bookstagram #fallbookstagram #bookrecommendations #book #bookdragon #bookdragons #booklover (at Lake Davidson) https://www.instagram.com/p/CV2uNGfLzbS/?utm_medium=tumblr

[13thhr]

Episode #230: 2020 Goals and Making of the Rocketeer Minifigure Part 1

https://archive.org/download/podcast230_202001/Podcast%20230.mp3

Happy new year, everyone!  During this episode, I reflect a little on what happened in 2019 and what I’d like to do in the coming year:

con’t working on The Thirteenth Hour sequel draft

finish painting the Aurora and Lightning resin minifigures

continue collaborating with a number of fellow podcasters whose work I’ve enjoyed (more below)

publish a second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack to compliment Long Ago Not So Far Away (a few more tracks to go)

continue the D and D campaign my brother and I were doing

and finish this belated Xmas present for my daughter, a little resin Rocketeer figure (she got interested in the original Rocketeer after watching the animated series that launched this past November – most of the episode is actually spent discussing how that came to be so I’ll just put some pictures here of the progress to date):

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

At some point, I will make a little video showing the creation of the figure as well as making the mold as well as the casting process – parts I had the most questions on when I was just learning how to make resin figurines.

I wanted to give a shout out to some fellow creative folks out there who work I’m glad to have found in the past year!  In some cases, I had the pleasure of working with them this past year, in some cases not yet.  The hardest part of podcasting is meshing schedules, so collaborations are always tricky to arrange, so I’m grateful to whatever we’ve been able to do (or will do in this upcoming year).  I mentioned most of these folks on the show but not all – more to come in 2020!

The Whistlekick martial arts podcast (look for our previous collaborations on the 36 Chambers of Shaolin and Ong Bak)

The Classic Gamers Guild podcast (all about classic 80s and 90s computer games, introduced to me by my brother)

The Rocketeer Minute podcast (hours and hours of info on the Rocketeer, loving done minute by minute – found it by accident sometime in October and binge listened to all the episodes in about 2 months)

You Like Toys podcast, done by Adam over at @mom_gave_them_away and @actoydesign on Instagram (check out our last collaboration here)

Happy new year and best wishes in all your creative pursuits in 2020!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

  There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!

You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!

Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.

Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.

Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.

Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.

Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com

Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY

Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

#Happynewyear! On this episode, going thru the crafting of the #Rocketeer #minifigure & saying thanks to creative folks whose work I've enjoyed in 2019 - @whistlekick @RocketeerMinute @NicoleDubuc @TheCGGuild @ACToyDesign @pixelgrotto Episode #230: 2020 Goals and Making of the Rocketeer Minifigure Part 1 Happy new year, everyone! 

[easyobsession]

DWTS24: WEEK 5 (LO RECAPS)

*appears from a cloud of pixie dust*

It’s Disney Week, motherfuckers. Prepare to be swept away and have magic shoved so far up your ass you can taste it.

This recap starts right now.

 OPENING NUMBER:

Aw. I smiled so big watching this. Even my stone cold heart melted a little. Always love Alfonso Ribero (he could replace Carrie Ann at the judge’s table IMO) and while the song was kind of cheesy and annoying, I loved the routine. We don’t get group dances anymore and this felt like a little bit of one, with each celeb getting their two seconds to be introduced and then the entire cast together at the end. Lots of smiles all around. I dig it.

 *It should probably also be noted before I start this recap/review that I watched the package for maybe three of these and didn’t watch any of the judges’ comments because I don’t give a fuck. Kthxbye. #YouTried

RASHAD AND EMMA: FOXTROT (BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) 7898=32/40.

Cute. Nice. Not his best but far from shitty. A little blah. I know a lot of people were upset about the 7, but it’s Carrie Ann. She’s nuts and has needed to be replaced for years. Quit acting so surprised when she pisses you off. Anyway, Rashad was a tinge awkward in places, but overall looked pretty solid. It didn’t blow me away though. For the huge deal about the new B&B movie I sort of expected the show to make more of a big deal about this, but whatever.

NICK AND PETA: JAZZ (PINOCHIO) 9898=34/40.

Somewhere, Charlie White is sobbing at the memory of his Mary Poppins prop debacle. Cudos to Nick for not having any mishaps. The routine was tough- Peta didn’t hold back because holy shit some of that was quick. He stayed on it for the most part. The song was annoying but overall he did well. I would lower the 9s though.

ERIKA AND GLEB: VIENESSE WALTZ (FINDING DORY) 8888=32/40.

Really? They couldn’t even give her a blue dress or something? This was one of the many that I didn’t see the package, so if it was explained there feel free to fill me in. But keeping that in mind, I didn’t understand the lack of theme whatsoever. Aside from that? She did awesome. Erika is easily one of the best Housewives we’ve had on the show and I’m pissed she got eliminated this early when she’s technically far better than several of the others left. I’ve heard several people frequently refer to her as inappropriate but I respectfully disagree. She’s a sexual person and she owns it, but they’ve never gone over the top. Erika didn’t deserve to go and I’ll miss her on the floor.

HEATHER AND *MAKS: JAZZ (FROZEN) 8899=34/40.

I say it every week. I know it gets repetitive, but it’s the truth: she looks like a pro. The more weeks that pass the less confident I feel they’ll give her the win she deserves, but damn it she is hands down the best one out there. I’m honestly just so happy to see her dance again. “Can you show us a video demonstrating how this lift should look?” “No, I made it up.” And cut to Heather and Alan’s WTF faces. xD I adore them- all three of them. The scores are shit. The end.

BONNER AND SHARNA: TANGO (WRECK IT RALPH) 7878=30/40.

Lord almighty. Two eights were generous. Did anyone else notice his face didn’t change the entire time? Literally it was like it was made of stone. Also a belated shoutout to JT from SYTYCD Junior or whatever the season was called- that kid is beyond cute and should be giving Bonner lessons tbh. At this point as much as I love Sharna, I’m over it. You could see her shouting out the steps through the entire number. He needs to go.

NORMANI AND VAL: PASO (MULAN) 1091010=39/40.

Love love love love love. It was intense, it was powerful, and she was on FIRE. She kept up with Val the entire time and it felt fresh. I loved the choreo, I loved their costumes, I loved the props. And Donny Osmond is always fun to see, plus he nailed the vocals. The score was deserved. She killed it.

DAVID AND LINDSAY: JIVE (CARS 3) 7877=29/40.

Oh goodness. Well, it was about as good as I expected. He kept up with the footwork for the most part, but any attempt at crisp and sharp was ran over. I haven’t even seen the first Cars and after this routine I have no desire to, but David and Lindsay had fun and that made me smile. His days are numbered though.

NANCY AND ARTEM: JAZZ (ENCHANTED) 9999=36/40.

SO CUTE. SO FUN. She was smiling and relaxed and the whole thing was adorable and wonderful and damn near ruined because of the shitty singing. GO HOME, SINGERS. TAKE A SEAT WITH BROOKE BURKE AND ACCEPT THAT NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE. But great job to Nancy. I loved it.

SIMONE AND SASHA: CONTEMPORARY (MOANA) 991010=38/40.

Get out your pitchforks kids, because I’m about to start some shit. It was actually… a little disappointing? I’m sorry. I loved the live performance, I loved the song, I loved the costumes, and I loved the concept. But what really took control of the entire performance was the fact that it looked like Simone was trying way too hard. Her face didn’t change through a good portion of the dance and you could practically see the wheels turning in her head, analyzing every detail and trying to perfect every technicality. She did great and looked amazing and some of those tricks were absolutely mind boggling, but I need her to loosen up. ~le shrug. Sorry not sorry.

That’s me. Those are my thoughts. Talk to me and we can debate or argue. I love both.

Social media. I have it. @lauthom93 Come see pics of my puppy on IG. He bites me a lot.

Adios kids.

-Lo.

[deitiesofduat]

DEITIES Update 3/7/16 -- Semi-Hiatus (on Project tumblr)

Hello everyone~ Time for an important update regarding my activity on the blog. Full details are under the cut, but TL;DR: the DEITIES Project blog will be having a semi-hiatus during the spring season -- which will roughly start in mid-March and may last thru at least the end of May. In that time, the Askbox will remain open, but other updates and tumblr content will become more sporadic and less structured.

During said hiatus, I'll continue working on DEITIES planning, research, and drafting offline, as well as addressing IRL things that require my attention. Additional updates on the DEITIES twitter and instagram will continue as normal. Thank you all for understanding and for your support/interest thus far, and for bearing with me for the next few months.

Alright here's a more thorough explanation, but yeah, wanted to give a heads up that the DEITIES Project blog will be going thru… idk if "hiatus" is quite the right word but a dry spell? Dry season?? The short of it is, I have gathered a lot of things on my plate for the next few months that require my attention -- including several inconveniences that I honestly do not want deal with, but that I need to address anyway because That's Life™

Anyway, I really didn’t want any personal stuff to interfere with my activity on the blog, but I've debated this for a while and realized that this may be unavoidable. I decided that a partial hiatus for the blog is preferable to the less ideal options of (1) taking a full hiatus from posting any progress with the project online, or (2) overwhelming myself to the point of experiencing serious burn out (y'know, before the comic even starts lmao;;; ). It's a call I'm choosing to make now for the sake of my project and for my own well being.

What this will mean for the blog is that future updates will be more sporadic than usual, and that there will be less structure for askbox themes, planned artwork, and other regular content. There's a good chance that there may be some weeks where I won't have anything to update on the blog -- something that might be more stark for those of you who've followed the blog during it's busier periods. Having said this, the askbox will remain open for any general questions and prompts, and I'll will do my best to answer them on the blog in a timely manner, but my overall responsiveness may be decreased during this break.

(( As a temporary note: I'm announcing this semi-hiatus right now but as I mentioned above the cut, it'll probably kick in around Mid march. I still have a few things I want to share on the blog that may include a few last/belated drawings for the relationships theme, and maybe a few more mixes as well to finish sharing this month o)7 Also I think?? there is a way to adjust timestamps to trick tumblr to pin a post to the top of a blog, so I'm gonna give it a try with this announcement to see if it works >>+ Okay no u can’t give it a future timestamp but you can change a past one into a current one, so I’ll try it again later ))

In the meantime, while content on the blog will decrease, I'll be adjusting my focus to offline and "behind the scenes" progress. This will include designating more time to continue drafting the main story and prelude comic; catching up on some AE textbooks and resources; and making minor edits and navigation improvements to the blog and other media. Because all of this is done privately and/or offline, this activity may not be obviously reflected on the blog, and some items will be more ambitious than others. I'll just have to hold myself accountable for that progress, and hopefully I'll have an update worth sharing by the time blog activity resumes.

Ideally, this "dry season" for the blog will not extend any later than the end of May / early June; I'll have completed some key obligations by then, and i'm also eager to try a second round of notes and artwork for Worldbuilding June, among other things I have in mind. But this is subject to change, and I'll have to play it by ear and let you all know as the date approaches.

For anyone interested in keeping up with DEITIES or with reviewing more existing content, there are a few options you're free to check out. The DEITIES Archive is a good way to review older content, and the side bar and Navigation page lists additional pages and tags for different content and artwork over the past year. DEITIES twitter and instagram will also continue with occasional updates during this break, and IG will be where I post any new pencil sketches. (Additionally, I may decide to reblog some past ask replies from last year that may be of interest, but it'll also be sporadic / not nearly as often as new ask responses). And if you're willing to help support DEITIES project via ko-fi donations, or by sharing content with others who might be interested in the project, I'd greatly appreciate it!

LASTLY!! I just want to re-emphasize my appreciation and thanks for everyone who's been interested in DEITIES project, and for following/supporting this project thus far, so I just ask for you all to bear with me and this break for the next few months. I just need to ease up activity in some areas and refocus my progress on others, both project-related and otherwise. So again, thank you everyone!

[kennethmjoyner]

Post-ILTA>ON Round-up: Tons of Legal Tech News – Acquisitions, Launches, Updates and More

Last week may have been the first-ever virtual annual conference of the International Legal Technology Association, but just like past years’ face-to-face ILTACONs, this year’s ILTA>ON was the occasion for a flood of major news announcements from legal technology companies.

And given my own perfect storm last week of spending three hours a day hosting live coverage of the conference for Litera.TV, plus preparing for my hosting duties, attending conference sessions, and dealing with my day job, I was barely able to come up for air, let alone keep up with the surge.

So allow me this belated opportunity to catch up on some of ILTA>ON week’s more notable developments.

AbacusNext Announces Updates to AbacusLaw

Legal technology company AbacusNext announced the release of new features and enhancements for its online law practice management platform AbacusLaw. The enhancements include:

Updated look. The toolbar, background imagery, dashboard interface, name and matter screens and case previews have all been updated with a cleaner design for quick access to vital information.

New apps available on the dashboard. The Accounting Overview App provides insight into the AR and AP process including not yet billed and past due invoices; the Hours Comparison App shows available, worked, invoiced and collected hours for timekeepers over selected periods.

Customizable dashboard. Users may now control the color and text of app titles to their liking.

Remote API provisioning. This functionality provides easier API access to third parties and streamlines future integrations.

BigHand Acquired by Private Equity Firm

BigHand, a company that specializes in workflow, productivity and profitability software for the legal industry, has been acquired by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, a global private equity firm.

BigHand says that it has over 3,500 clients and 600,000 users worldwide. Founded as a dictation technology company in 1995, it expanded over the years into a multi-product company and has completed six acquisitions in recent years.

I wrote in April about the law firm Baker Donelson’s accelerated roll-out of the company’s task-delegation platform, BigHand Now, in the wake of the firm’s decision to require its attorneys and staff to work from home.

Previously owned by Bridgepoint Development Capital, BigHand says its new ownership will allow it to further accelerate its growth with the aim of becoming a full workflow business and establishing a wider customer base throughout North America.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

FileTrail’s New Version Addresses Challenges of Remote Working

FileTrail, the company that provides information governance and records management software for law firms and highly regulated industries, released a new version of its software, FileTrail GPS 5.0. The updates to FileTrail GPS (Governance Policy Suite) are designed to address the IG challenges of remote working, disposition related to critical needs around cost-cutting and eliminating paper and policy management tied to increasingly stringent client and regulatory compliance requirements.

FileTrail GPS 5.0 integrates directly within the user interface of a firm’s electronic document management system, with different configurations to fit the color, design and appearance of popular platforms including NetDocuments, iManage and others.

The company said that it allows attorneys and their staff gain access to the inventory of documents in SharePoint, file shares and other sources without leaving the DMS. They also can directly access centralized disposition review workflows and have visibility into policies, guidelines, timekeepers and other information traditionally difficult to centralize and present.

iManage Acquires Closing Folders

The week kicked off with major news from document management company iManage — its acquisition of the transaction management platform Closing Folders.

Closing Folders is technology that automates many of the steps associated with managing and executing commercial transactions. The company says that more than 4,000 transactions a month are negotiated, signed and closed on its platform, ranging from small commercial lending deals to multi-billion-dollar acquisitions of global companies.

iManage says that the combination of the companies offers a number of business and technology advantages, including a “single source of truth” for transaction documents that reduces risk, integration with iManage RAVN’s artificial intelligence technology to enable analysis of transaction data and trends, and a global training and support network.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Intapp Launches Service to Connect All A Firm’s Applications

Intapp, a company that provides software and services for professional services firms, launched Intapp Integration Service, technology that enables interoperability between all of a professional services firm’s software and applications on a single platform.

Available as either a pure cloud or hybrid deployment, the service lowers the cost of software implementation, speeds time to value, and centralizes firm data management to simplify the IT department’s job, Intapp says.

The service is supported by the first-ever Intapp Open API and a set of prebuilt integration processes. Initially, it will enable integrations for four major technology suites — Vuture, Thomson Reuters Elite 3E, iManage, and Dun & Bradstreet. Intapp said it will announce several additional integration partners in the coming months.

Kira’s New Feature Answers Your Questions

The machine-learning company Kira Systems said it will release a new feature in September, Answers & Insights, that will go beyond simply identifying and extracting contract clauses and actually interpret data to provide answers to pressing questions.

The feature will come with a collection of built-in questions commonly asked across legal and business documents. Users will also be able to build their own questions using Kira’s no-code machine learning platform Kira Quick Study.

Kira said that the tool will be able to answer questions such as, “Does the lease name a guarantor of tenant’s obligations?”, “Is LIBOR or Eurocurrency referenced in the agreement?”, or “Does the agreement renew automatically?”

“Answers & Insights represents the next level of our no-code AI technology,” Alexander Hudek, Kira Systems CTO and cofounder, said in announcing the feature. “It allows you to go beyond simply identifying relevant text by additionally assigning fine grained meaning to extractions.”

NetDocuments Unveils New Theme, New Products

The cloud-based document management company NetDocuments introduced new products along with a new vision of how it organizes and thinks about its products.

With the message of enabling its customers to “Work Inspired,” the company introduced two new products: Tasks, a collaborative task management system, and SmartView, a document preview and collaboration engine.

It also introduced a new five-pronged schema for how its various products support its theme of working inspired:

Organize is made up of the core NetDocuments capabilities, including document and email management and OCR technologies.

Protect provides controls and policy tools to reduce data breaches, as well as a geo-aware storage capability that supports compliance while accelerating content delivery around the world.

Plan is designed to bring teams together with one version of work focused on tools for coordinating teams and tasks, providing real-time team communication with ndThread and Microsoft Teams integration, and facilitating task management across matters and projects.

Deliver helps safely organize, package, and share content with clients, customers, outside counsel, and other third parties using built-in extranet and document bundling tools.

Learn provides insights about user activity and documents, and includes enterprise search-driven knowledge management insights.

Tasks gives users a visual snapshot of their workload and project status.

With regard to the two new products announced last week:

Tasks is a task management system designed to provide a holistic view into everything that is important in a project. It provides collaboration inside a workspace for various parties who have interconnected deliverables to help users track project stages, owners, deadlines, and deliverables.

SmartView is designed to simplify document reviews by making it easy to quickly preview, annotate, and mark up documents without ever needing to download the files to the desktop. Users can make Margin Notes to annotate files with colleagues and clients in real-time — and take advantage of findings to easily navigate through people, places, companies, and more.

SimplyAgree Readies New Version of its Signing and Closing Tool

The deal management platform SimplyAgree said that it is rolling out the latest version of its signature and closing management technology for transactional attorneys.

SimplyAgree is a closing management tool that helps deal teams streamline signings and automate the creation of closing sets and other post-closing work. It also provides tools to support professionals in closing deals remotely — including integrated mobile and electronic signing.

The company said that the new version enhances the platform’s performance and flexibility to meet more users’ needs and adds a more modern interface. Other new features include:

Enhanced document visualization and compilation, simulating desktop PDF tools.

Expanded signature packet functionality, including test emails, notifications, group messaging and signature links.

Support for multiple templates and types of binders for different practice groups and users.

Electronic closing binder delivery to securely share closing binders without emailing large files.

TitanFile Unveils New Features and Integrations

TitanFile, a secure file sharing and client collaboration platform focused on the legal industry, announced a number of product improvements. They include:

DocuSign integration: new integration improves work product workflow especially in times of remote office environments due to COVID-19.

Document management system compatible: now compatible with most popular legal document management systems.

Metadata scrubbing feature: upgrade to its “Secure Send” feature where it scrubs and sends and files emails to document management systems.

from Law and Politics https://www.lawsitesblog.com/2020/09/post-iltaon-round-up-tons-of-legal-tech-news-acquisitions-launches-updates-and-more.html via http://www.rssmix.com/