#bugbear’s café

[askbugbearcafe]

What would happen if they met in different universes?

Art made by @chestnuts-oj4 !

And devils reaction:

@goldeyecafe

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[y-rhywbeth2]

Lore: Life in Faerûn, Part 1

Disclaimer & Other Stuff [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

Abeir-Toril Why it's called the "Forgotten" Realms History | Time & Festivals | Lexicon [1] [2]| Languages | Living in Faerûn [1] [?] | Notable Organisations | Magic | Baldurs Gate | Waterdeep | The Underdark | Geography and Human Cultures ---[WIP]

---

Demihumans in common society (ie human society); common is not a daily language; the postal service; some stuff about gender, gender roles and body modification in the Realms; social strata... Plus some details about other things - most of which will be built on in other posts.

Also featuring; what to do with your leisure time in the realms: like literature, theatre, cafés, where to go clubbing aaand the festhalls.

Education: church school, rich idiots at academies, bardic colleges, etc.

And how good medicine is on Toril, if you can't find a spellcaster to heal you. Baths are both mandatory and freely available, we shall have no unwashed peasants in this setting.

-----

Humans are the dominant peoples of the Realms, and the vast majority of cultures one will find oneself in are human cultures. Nine-in-ten people are human, with the one remainder being one of any of the eight non-humans (some of whom are more commonly encountered than others).

Most of what is said here refers to human lands and cultures (which is 99% of the world anyway), and non-human cultures I'll cover in their own write ups.

Humans mostly know the other "common" races - elves, dwarves, halflings and gnomes, whom they call "demihumans" or "humanoids" - as trade partners or as neighbours belonging to minority groups within their home cities.

Demihumans are mostly accepted as fellow citizens within human lands, although the elves are often viewed with mistrust due to the stereotype that they are fickle fey creatures who get uppity when you start tearing down nature and building your cities in their lands. This tolerance is not extended to people who are categorised as monsters, including the Underdark races, tieflings and "goblinkin" - a category that includes orcs, goblins, bugbears and so forth. Half-orcs usually find themselves being sorted into this category, and most have to deal with a lot of respectability politics in order to be accepted into their human family's lands. Elves and dwarves also share this hostility towards orcs, and have a long history of wars with them.

The hin (halflings, to non-hin) and gnomes who find themselves living in human cities are accepted by being seen as useful in the eyes of the Big Folk. Both are known as being useful as couriers, tinkers and repairmen, and for running laundromats. Gnomes in particular are the chief inventors and innovators of the realms, and due to their tendency to be quiet and helpful they are heavily overlooked by others.

Dragonborn are a rare sight, but have mostly built a reputation of respect.

Most humans do not know much about non-human cultures, knowing them only through story, rumour and whatever personal experience they have. Stereotypes are often taken at face value, and being more used to the likes of lightfoot halflings and silver elves, the average person would probably be quite surprised by the different cultural attitudes and colder receptions they'd get from, say, ghostwise halflings or gold elves.

Outside of cosmopolitan areas, where your neighbour can punch you in the face for stupid comments, humans feel no particular pressure to be respectful to demihumans and foreigners, and would roll their eyes at what their Earth equivalents would call "political correctness" if you told them off.

On the nonhumans' end, humans are watched with concern, as they do tend to cause their fair share of disasters that rapidly become everyone's problem.

Many of the people of Faerûn move around a lot; religious pilgrims, traders, immigrants and those bloody adventurers transcend the boundaries of culture and country on a daily basis. For this reason, the Common tongue was invented.

People do not use Common as a daily language, though certain terms may enter daily speech as loanwords. Common is a pidgin trade tongue that grew out of Old Chondathan and Alzhedo (mostly the former), the language spoken in Central and Western Faerûn. It's a simple language, easy to learn and spread around, and useful for exchanging basic information with people from other lands who don't share a language with you - but it's useless for daily life. While it has a written form, most people can't read or write in it.

-

Maps are rare, and if you want an accurate map you'll usually find it in the possession of local rulers and temples (which supply the Realms with most of their scribes and such). Each realm has a book of maps (atlas) available for the use of their military and other officials.

-

If you want to send a package or letter in the Realms, temples often double as a post office. The delivery will be sent from temple to temple until it reaches its destination and will be delivered to the addressee,

-

Most of the Realms does not consider men or women to be inherently lesser or greater than the other and all genders are equal under all laws, though they do have traditional gender roles that it's believed most are better suited for - or at least areas where one gender is more represented than the other. Women dominate in trade and domestic areas, while men dominate in war and crafting, however it isn't considered immoral or unthinkable to see somebody defying the gender norm. If your daughter picks up a sword, learns to use it and runs away to fight dragons your primary concerns are less "oh no, a girl is fighting" and far more likely about the threat to her life and who in the hells is going to help you run the family store now if she has no siblings? Gender roles can be looser or more rigid, depending on where in the Realms you go. Some realms may be Patriarchal or Matriarchal, but it's not the rule and some of these places have grown more egalitarian over time.

Organisations do not generally discriminate in any way based on gender when it comes to their members.

The term for transgender in the Common tongue is sildur. (Elven: Alur, Dwarvish: Thulol, Gnome: Thoulal, Hin: Zalshaer) Transmutation magic is the primary form of body modification and transitioning on Toril, although apparently most people will turn towards divine magic before trusting a wizard to do it. Mages are expensive to hire and viewed with some measure of fear by the common person.

You can petition the gods at their temples for body modifications in return for sufficient offerings, if you don't trust wizards. Be that "I want to be blond" or "I don't want these breasts." Exactly how much and what the god is going to expect in exchange for this varies on the faith of the petitioner and the past relationship between them and the god. Naturally, certain gods are favoured above others for this kind of thing. You're more likely to petition Sune (love and beauty) or Liira (joy and freedom) than the likes of Bane and Shar. ---

Faerûn has its social classes, defined by wealth and family lineage, but they do not have true feudal or caste systems, or any system where upwards social mobility is totally impossible (though the upper classes will certainly do their best to prevent that. (Hi, Waterdeep, I'll give you your own post)). Any commoner could theoretically gain a noble title to the distress of the hereditary nobility. In Sembia if you have enough coin, you can just give yourself a title and everyone has to shut up and go along with it, because money. And that's how most of them got theirs anyway.

Slavery is illegal in all of Faerûn with the exception of Dambrath, Thay, Mulhorand and Unther. The slave trade still exists underground elsewhere, and is quietly overlooked in some places, but it is considered evil by the world at large and somebody found to be a slaver will be met with violent reprisal.

Nobles are... well, nobles. They're rich and have powerful friends and the law is far nicer to them than to the lower classes. They're mostly corrupt and constantly scheming against each other. Their kids go through rebellious stages and do drugs and cause chaos for the commoners and join weird cults.

Landownership outside of kingdoms and such with codified property law generally follows the rules that you can do what you like with whatever land you hold; charge rent, put up signs, make the rules... but you own it only by the tolerance of your neighbours. If they don't like the way you do things, you're quickly going to find yourself in trouble. Also led to my one of my new favourite quotes:

“If you set up an inn and then murder everyone who stops there and keep their goods, even if that’s morally acceptable to you as a devout follower of Bane or of Cyric, it will not be suffered to stand."

Yes! Screw you, edgelord!

Crime and punishment varies depending on where you are, but carries fun stuff like fines, brandings, prison labour, floggings, stockades and executions. I think the concept of the law, "justice" and court proceedings will be left for another post where I will passive aggressively judge a young Astarion and his corrupt magistrate ways.

-

Leisure:

Literature: Literacy is a hit and a miss in the Realms. Some people prize literacy, and it's common enough that broadsheets and newspapers are in business and PCs can read and write by default; but there are still others who can't and couldn't care less if they can't read some bard's chicken scratch. The ruling class in particular gets a little nervous about the idea of a fully literate populace, since that would allow them to be educated, and better suited to communicate with each other and get ideas. That bit varies though. Cormyr, for example. has encouraged its population to learn to read and get educated for several reasons including making it harder for the country to be infiltrated by enemy spies.

Chapbooks are serially published cheap little paperback things. They contain all sorts of things, like children's tales, donated recipes, political opinions, random bits of advice from people on trades and such, gossip from other countries disguised as news, memoirs, and smut. The rating of that last bit varies in rating. In Waterdeep they favour romantic stories over sex and over in Amn they're just flat out publishing porn about the goddesses of love and sensuality, Sune and Sharess - with the full support and encouragement of their churches.

The most popular genre of actual novels is the personal travel logs of explorers and other wanderers. The Realms are flooded with such books.

There are also non-fiction books available. Philosophy (which is written through the lens of religion, as a rule); books on rulership (controlled by the noble class, sometimes outlawed); and on business (which are subject to attempted control by the likes of merchant guilds)

Book printing is a sketchy business. Authors may one day discover that there are whole new best selling reprints of their books they've never been informed of (or paid for). Plagiarism is also a common problem.

Theatre: Aside from actual theatres, there are a few ways to catch a play.

Traveling caravans are known to sport a few actors, who can make a bit of extra money for the group by putting on a performance as well as advertising the stock their caravan carries (product placement everywhere). Most bards have the "classic" scenes of famous plays memories, so as to perform them on demand.

Theatres often hire doppelgangers, as their shapeshifting ability is very useful in realistically portraying monstrous characters too dangerous to actually hire. Of course there's also this little issue where your doppelganger hirelings may start killing people outside of work hours, but eh. The show must go on.

There are also puppet shows like Punch-and-Judy called Oldboots - because the shows are actually done by wearing worn old boots on your hands instead of actual puppets.

Establishments: Alehouses - Pubs and bars, existing primarily for those looking for an alcoholic beverage. The term "barkeeper" is unknown to Torilians, who would refer to them as tavernmasters. The word "mug" and "pint" also do not exist. Inns and Alehouses don't have menus, you're eating whatever's being cooked.

Dining-house or Feasthall - Known to us as a restaurant. Establishments are also known by the Chondathan word skaethar which is used as a formal term in Common in other parts of the world. In larger inns, one might find a section of the building that acts as a dining-house. Most of the time the menu is a chalk board on the wall, informing customers what's fresh. The really fancy ones, visited by the rich (or those who want to seem so) get paper menus printed by machine or made with fancy calligraphy.

Kaeth house - A café. Coffee is known in the Realms as kaeth or kaethae - or "fireswill", colloquially. The drink is rare and expensive northwards of Calimshan, but is available in large cosmopolitan trade cities, as far North as Waterdeep. Calishite coffee is taken black with nuts and spices like ginger. Sembian and Chessentan styles of coffee are often mixed with chocolate and liqueur. In lands where coffee is widely known, they tend to have their own drinking utensils and customs around it, but in the north it's just served in tankards. Hot chocolate is also on the menu. Teas exist, but are less popular and are seen as a medicinal drinks.

Temples of Liira - The goddess of joy and revelry charges her followers with hosting parties and making everyone they meet is having fun and feeling happy. As such, going to her temples is kind of like going clubbing. The main hall of the temple is a dance hall, with other rooms branching off to include lounges and a well-stocked bar. Liirans also offer dance lessons.

Temples of Sune - As devotees of the goddess of beauty, Sunites are obligated to give you a makeover if you ask, so this is a good destination for a haircut, pedicure or fashion consultation or whatever. As Sune is also the goddess of love, Sunites can also be asked for matchmaking services. The church also sponsors schools and classes teaching all forms of art (including music, song, performance arts, etc).

Festhalls - Try not to confuse these with feasthalls, or you're going to have an embarrassing time. Ah Festhalls, where to start. They're spaces considered outside of society; everyone leaves their real life, identity, social rank and all of that outside and comes here to just let go for a few hours. Festhalls will provide you with a warm bed for the night; they'll wash, mend and dry your clothes; they have hot baths and spa services; you can dance to music, or just lounge around enjoying a good drink and some company; it's also something of a casino, where you can play cards and gamble or even just play normal board games or something... And they're strip clubs, BDSM scenes and specialty brothels! You got a kink none of the brothels can scratch? Festhalls provide and cater to goddamn anything that turns you on, so long as it's legal, safe, sane and consensual.

---

Education: What counts as an education varies from place to place and depends on what the realm desires of its public. Some places will emphasise the commoners knowing the basics of military drills, the chain of command and such in case of the need for a levy. Other places, like trade centres such as Waterdeep, prioritise maths and literacy.

In most of the Realms - especially in rural areas, a basic informal tutoring involves teaching basic maths, local laws and customs and some basic knowledge of the alphabet and market/road signs.

Most schooling is done by priests, which is free to the public. Unless you're dealing with the sketchier gods or the ones with deeper mysteries, all clergy are also happy to teach everything about their faith when asked. While some may obscure less savoury details, no follower of any god will outright lie about the details of their faith, as that is considered a sin.

If you're not rich you can get a basic education by hiring "low sages" - the likes of book shop owners, hedge mages, retired adventurers and other people with access to information who can share with you what they know. Of course, what they know may not be the most accurate information in the world.

You can also purchase some basic short paperback school books.

Most trades guilds will provide a basic education in that trade in exchange for a coin or two. Although some of this will simply just be "don't do this at home, hire a professional." They also hold classes open to the public now and then.

Schools as educational organisations also exist and are usually founded by bards or monastic orders in large cities. Most schools and academies are simply a handful of ageing, well educated people with a house who provide lessons for enrolled children there - though larger establishments exist.

For nobles there are Academies, which will also teach their children social etiquette and other things the upper class needs to worry over lest their reputation drop so low it falls into the Lower Planes and dies in the River Styx. Sometimes these Academies are actually just social clubs for young rich idiots to get drunk, do drugs and have orgies in, but that's not so common and gets shut down when it does happen.

While the rich and powerful have the opportunity to send their darlings to Academies, they'd rather not. It's... embarrassing. It means you can't afford a private tutor (or that your darling is a brat with a personality that suggests they're a demon spawned in the Abyss).

Bards are usually trained at Bardic Colleges - these vary in quality and specialty (some may be better for certain instruments, for example). The only requirements for entry are that one passes an audition, impressing their interviewers enough that they are taken on.

Civic information is typically freely available to anyone who asks for it, and courtiers and scribes are obligated to share the information.

---

Medicine: Medicine is primarily the practice of demihumans, who've been around for much longer than humans and had more practice. They also tend to hold the market, finding a place for themselves in human lands by offering their services as physicians and herbalists.

Faerûnians have an almost Earth-level awareness of human anatomy; the organs and their function, the function of blood and the cardiovascular system as well as the risks of shock and infections are common knowledge. While the concept of microbes and spread of disease is unknown, the importance of hygiene in staying healthy is known, and there are establishments that offer baths and laundry services to travellers and homeless people. The filthy unwashed peasant is not a thing on Toril. Plagues are not as disastrous as they were in Earth history - most households and communities will avoid being totally wiped out, but they are terrible and mysterious things and the afflicted are avoided.

Medicines as we know them - called "physics" - are expensive and hard to get ahold of, and most people rely on herb lore or priests like clerics and druids. Herbal anaesthetics are widely used. Cauterisation is a common practice, and many people have scars from it.

Most trade towns have apothecaries, be they part of a shrine or a business.

Physicians are often in conflict with divine spellcasters, since they're competing over the same market.

Some diseases are known by different names in the Realms: Windchill fever - Pneumonia Sallar - Typhus Whitewasting - Leprosy Foamjaws - Rabies And a heart attack is known as a heartstop.

[alloart1898]

So the other day my cleric managed to recruit two bugbears to work for her Café in waterdeep (yes, my character owns a Cafè lol)

The whole party after session decided to name them Mike and Max, but i prefer to call them the M&Ms duo

[dungeonsandblorbos]

Storytime: Improvised Siege Teapot

so, for our Acquisitions, Inc., our franchise location has an attached tea shop called the Cauldron & Kettle Café, right? when we reached the franchise level that gave us a free vehicle, we obviously had to have our modron gnome mechanics make us a steam-powered car shaped like a giant teapot, which we dubbed the Tea Trolley and have used like a food truck before

anyways because the final boss fight is kinda far away, we take the Tea Trolley there because it's fast. when we arrive, we are confronted with a mass of enemies (mostly gnolls) guarding the area where we assume the BBEG is hanging out. like, we're talking approximately 20 hyena-folk split into packs of four or five each, plus about 8 or so bugbears.

we are a party of four, including one very squishy aarakocra elementalist monk (Taku) and one somewhat squishy half-elf light cleric/bard (me) who routinely puts herself in grave danger to keep said monk from dying—which means that actually fighting all of these fuckers would be a Very Bad Idea, even if we somehow managed to only be fighting one pack of gnolls at a time

so instead of fighting them, we spent literally an hour debating the best way to take care of them with minimal injury and spell slot usage. eventually, we settled on this multi-step plan:

1. cut down a tree and strip it of its greens 2. put the tree through the windows of the Tea Trolley, like so:

3. affix torches to the ends of the tree and light them on fire 4. have my cleric/bard Jun play intimidating music on her fiddle as loudly as possible to attract the enemies' attention and get them all grouped together like bowling pins 5. throw a bong bomb [smoke bomb stuffed with fantasy weed] at the closest gnolls to give them super disadvantage 6. drive fullspeed at the gnolls and bugbears to drive over/clothesline/light on fire as many of them as possible 7. profit?

our DM's response was simply "this is actually a good idea disguised as a bad idea."

and so it was. because despite us very loudly announcing our presence, our first hit with the improvised siege teapot counted as a surprise round because none of the enemies knew how to react to the awesome sight in front of them

we hit a good half-dozen gnolls in one go. it does 4d10 bludgeoning + 2d6 fire damage and one-hit KOs all of them except the one that managed to save. Taku gets to take his turn while this is happening, so that one poor fucker just barely dodges the on fire log, then takes 20 damage from Taku’s backswing and dies. our DM says, "this is the stupidest combat i’ve ever done and i’m so here for it." we keep chugging on, and murder a good 3/4ths of them before our trolley takes too much damage to keep going (accomplished by some gnolls stealing our tires) and we have to get out and fight the rest of them the old fashioned way

while this has been happening, by the way, our DM has been playing an incredible siege teapot soundtrack, which includes such hits as a trap remix of the thomas the tank engine theme song, a song called "hit and run," "wrecking ball," "crazy train," and the song from the to be continued meme

truly, a beautiful fight scene.

[tilthedayidice]

Could I get a palette for my boy Urkaydy? He's a bugbear artificer who left his family's weird survivalist commune to study engineering and now he's been recruited by Dirt NASA because it's fantasy 1969 and they need someone to drive a giant drill into the Underdark. Dark auburn fur, dresses mostly in neutral colors, generally is fidgeting with some piece of machinery or other. His hobbies include looming and being quietly overprotective of the expedition's goblin communications specialist.

This came out much brighter than I had intended, I hope it’s okay!!!!

Chessex Festive Waterlily

Chessex Gemini Translucent Red/Yellow

CozyGamer Shimmering Moss

CozyGamer Sulfur Pools

TeaTwenty Dice Café du Lait

Skull Splitter Dice Antique Brass

Dice Envy Rose and Petal

[wickedsrest-rp-archive]

Opening a smoothie shop had never been on Bruce Barrington’s radar. As an avid carnivore and scare enthusiast, this bugbear had stuck to shifts at Misery Manor. However, when everyone’s favorite demon groundhog announced an early spring, Bruce found himself craving fruit like he’d never craved anything in his life. It looked like the rest of town was on the same page. So he opened up Bear N’ Fruit to serve all his fellow townies a variety of smoothies and spooky edible arrangements. 

Bruce may have scared a café owner downtown into signing over the lease to him. The former owner’s fear made for a great snack and the storefront a prime location. 

The most popular smoothie on the menu is the Bloody Cherry. Bruce likes to tell customers it’s mixed with cherries picked by Bloody Mary herself. 

While the shop serves smoothies, the decor looks like something out of a haunted house and classic horror films play on screens throughout the store. 

It is rare to see Bruce serving smoothies in anything other than his Michael Myers’ mask. 

[patricianandclerk]

just spent an hour picking at this fucking template

so tomorrow... i will actually make characters with the template

the basic intro table

and this is just the contents, but there’s more detail under every heading and subheading, with the contents neatly linked so you can CTRL + click to each section

(link on google docs if people want it)

and the actual list is also below the cut

Brief

Basic intro to the character – their premise, their vibe, their function. The big details can go in here, albeit paraphrased and heavily abridged. 

Physical Description

Separate into individual forms

External Body

Skin (/flesh/exoskeleton) (colour, pigmentation, clarity, etc.)

Hair (colour, thickness, texture)

Eyes (colour, pupil size, eyelids)

Nose, mouth, ears

Other facial features

General size and physicality

Hands, feet, wings, other limbs

Any scars, visible injuries

Tattoos, piercings

How old do they look?

Internal Body

Any invisible injuries, illnesses, little quirks

Note of surgeries and/or magical Macguyvering thereof

Any biological quirks of note

Any organs missing? Any extra?

Aesthetic & Style

Grooming choices – manicures, haircuts, glasses, etc

Scent(s) worn

Make-up/body paint

Jewellery – anything worn daily? Any special occasion stuff?

General wardrobe description, inc. in-depth description of any favourite articles

Links to pinterest boards etc. go here

If there’s any styles/aesthetics/models they look up to, note those here

What’s their vibe at a glance?

General Personality

What the fuck is this cunt like?

Likes, dislikes? Any quirks? Debilitating traumas? Difficulties in conversation? Do they tend to play roles a lot, or are they generally consistent? What do other people think of them? Has their personality changed massively over the years?

Voice & Presentation

Dialogue sample here. Describe accent, upbringing notes in voice – how real is their voice, how authentic?

How real and genuine is their presentation, how artificial? Where’s it come from? Is it subject to change? How do people perceive them?

Values & Moral Compass

What makes them tick? What do they consider most/least important?

Dreams & Nightmares

What are their greatest goals, most unrealistic pipe dreams? What are their greatest fears, most debilitating nightmares?

Strengths

Any big areas of expertise or skill? Any funny points of practice? Any powers, stuff like that?

Weaknesses

Any phobias, bugbears, allergies? Anything they’re just shit at?

Heroes & Targets of Hate

Anyone they really look up to, idolize, want to be like? Anyone who… the opposite of that?

Therapist File

Note any disorders, personality issues, traumas etc of note. The big notes a professional would make on their file, basically. 

Relationships

Familial Relations

Entry.

Intimate Connections

Entry.

Friends

Entry.

Pets

Entry.

Allies

Entry.

Enemies

Entry.

Other Relationships Of Note

Entry.

The Day-to-Day

Job(s)

They got a job? A method of income? They good at it? Bad at it? 

If they don’t work, where does the money come from? What connections do they lean on? Where are their savings from? 

Abode(s)

Where does this fucker live? How long have they lived there? Do they move often? Do they own it or rent it? Do they share with others? What kind of space is it? Well-kept, do they care much about it, are they neat and tidy?

Religion & Worship

Anyone they lay loyalty to? Who do they pray to? Any thoughts about religion in general, childhood raising to religion, etc. 

Hobbies

Hobbies, favourite things, likes, dislikes, etc. 

Habits and Routine

Anything that needs regular taking care of? Laundry needs doing? Any particular self-care or self-harm habits? Any medical or grooming appointments of note?

Any little stims they keep to themselves, books they regularly reread, pilgrimages they make?

Is the way they’re living now what they’re accustomed to? Is this a big change from before?

Diet & Consumption

What do they eat? Do they smoke, drink, anything like that?

Any dietary quirks, anything they can, can’t eat, or avoid eating? Etc. 

Regular Haunts

Places they can be found other than home or work.

Any particular businesses, museums, public areas, other people’s homes, cafés, restaurants, etc, that they regularly go to? Anywhere they’re a regular face, stick it here. ALSO anywhere they’ve been banned from (or just don’t go to anymore) where they once were a regular. 

Treasured Objects

Put ‘em in here. 

Assorted Preferences

Any favourite books, animals, music, etc? Favourite books? Least favourite anything? 

Biography

Circumstances of Birth

Entry.

Childhood

Entry.

Young Adulthood

Entry.

Middle Age

Entry.

Old Age

Entry.

Death

Entry.

Rebirth and/or Reanimation

Entry.

Ancestry

Parents & Grandparents

Here.

Ancient Ancestry

Here.

[pilferingapples]

Victor Hugo in June 1832

I think it’s generally known that Hugo’s political sentiments underwent Some Change as he got older; in 1832, he was still a moderate of the day, insisting that he liked the the idea  of a republic But Not Yet.   Here’s a letter from him to Sainte-Beuve, whose friendship he was still trying to hold onto (for Reasons I guess?!?) at this point, from a collection of his letters :

12th June 1832  I am quite as indignant as you are, my dear friend, with these miserable political jugglers who put Article 14 up their sleeve, and keep the declaration of a state of siege all the time in the false bottom of their conjuring box!(1) 

I only hope they will not have the hardihood to blow out the brains of these hot-headed but generous young fellows. If these would-be keepers of the peace were to venture on a political execution, and four men of spirit were to get up a riot to save the victims, I would make a fifth.(2)

It is, indeed,a  sad, but at the same time a fine subject for a poem, all this folly steeped in bloodshed.(3)  We shall have a Republic some day, and when it does come it will be a good one.  But we must not gather in May the fruit which will not be ripe till August.  We must know how to wait.  The Republic proclaimed by France in Europe will be the crown of our old age.  But we must not let our flag be smeared with red by these blackguards,  For instance, a Frédéric Soulié, who a year ago was devoted to M. d’Argout’s dramatic quasi-censorship(4), must not be allowed to bawl out in the middle of a café that he is going to make bullets.  People of this kind throw back the political ideas which, but for them, would make progress.  They frighten the honest tradesman, who is made savage by reaction.  They make a bugbear of the Republic.  Ninety-three is not much of a bait. We ought to talk a little less of Robespierre and a little more of Washington. 

Farewell. We shall meet soon, I hope. I am working hard just now.  I approve of all you have done, and only regret that the protest(5) did not appear.  At any rate, my friend, keep my signature next to yours. 

Your brother, 

Victor

(1) There had been a brief state of siege declared in Paris in consequence of the uprising; it was not a popular move.

(2) I’m not sure how earnest Hugo was about being ready for active confrontation over this ; I’m not sure even he knew. But he was  entirely ready to fight legally or in the court of public opinion on behalf of anyone who was facing the death penalty; it was one of the few really consistent political opinions in his life. 

(3) of course, thirty years and a major political crisis or two later, “a poem” turned into about 100 solid pages of Barricade Action:P

(4) Frédéric Soulié was another French writer; he would die in 1847. Minister Argout was a moderate conservative politician and governor of the Bank of France from 1834 to 1857. I haven’t been able to find any reason why Hugo should particularly resent either of them; in his memoirs, Argout is a rather easygoing and reasonable figure, who got along fairly well with Hugo despite any political differences, and he was known at the time for having argued against the Four Ordinances;  and I can’t find other outstanding mentions of Soulié at all off the usual easy sources (though there may well be something in correspondence somewhere)--at any rate, he seems to have been a pretty minor author of the day?  Given the year, it seems very likely this was just a brief personal feud. 

(5) There had been plans to print a letter/petition, signed by many prominent public figures like Hugo, in defense of the arrested barricade fighters. 

(Hugo’s  general correspondence at the time shows an extremely mixed and often contradictory bag of social and political opinions and his decades-later edits of some of his work show that he knew full well it wasn’t the neatly unified philosophy the very much wanted to have.  My further opinions about his politically Pontmercying younger years I will save for other times, but I do think it deserves mention that this letter was not part of a particularly consistent political stance or anything-- aside from its obvious contradictions, and the real objection to the death penalty.)

[charlotteuca]

What makes my identity.

Identity as an artist:

·      Photographer

·      Videographer

·      Photo/film editor

·      Digital media

·      Writer

 My origin

·      Mother: Vanessa Lang

·      Father: Ian Cosgrove

·      Place of birth: Tower Hamlets, White Chapel, London E1

·      Siblings: Peri Lang (sister) Age 19

Georgia Lang (sister) Age 19

·      Current place of residency: Hoo, Rochester, Kent

·      Education: Hoo St  Werburgh Primary school

Hundred Of Hoo Secondary school

University of creative arts

·      Appearance: Dark brown hair

       Porcelain white skin

       5”4

       8 Stone

·      Learning difficulties: Dyscalculia with Dyslexic tendencies

 Race and Gender  

·      White British (Distant Manchu Chinese heritage)

·      Heterosexual

·      In a relationship

 What I do:

·      Photography

·      Videography

·      Post processing

·      Equine riding

·      Equestrian instructor

·      Equine groom

·      Motorbike riding

·      Student

·      Festivals

·      Rave

·      House parties

·      Concerts

·      Read

·      Work – fast food kitchen and barmaid in pub

·      Watch films

·      Wander

·      Political protester

  Fashion:

·      Vintage

·      Hipster

·      Grunge

·      Casual

·      Boho

·      High end

·      Piercings

·      Makeup

·      Jewellery

 Music:

Indie

Rap

Classic rock

Grunge

Punk

Classical

House

Jazz

Musical

Theatre

 TV and culture:

·      Social media

·      Traveling

·      Android

·      Cineima

·      Theatre

·      Pub

·      Café

·      Bars

·      Museums

·      Daytrips

·      Eating out

·      Bike/horse riding

·      Dating

·      Feminist

 Habitation:

·      Suburban Town

·      Semi-detached house

Class:

·      Working class

Politics:

·      Left wing

·      Labour

·      Socialist

·      Political activist

 Religion and faith

·      Not christened

·      Philosopher

·      Atheist

 Personality and Character traits

·      Day dreamer

·      Stubborn

·      Independent

·      Sarcastic

·      Ambitious

·      Compulsive

·      Extraverted

·      Content with own company

·      Laid back

·      Inconsistent

·      Chaotic

·      Resilient

 Personality test results:

 CAMPAIGNER PERSONALITY (ENFP, -A/-T)

The Campaigner personality is a true free spirit. They are often the life of the party, but unlike types in the Explorer Role group, Campaigners are less interested in the sheer excitement and pleasure of the moment than they are in enjoying the social and emotional connections they make with others. Charming, independent, energetic and compassionate, the 7% of the population that they comprise can certainly be felt in any crowd.

 You Can Change the World with Just an Idea

More than just sociable people-pleasers though, Campaigners, like all their Diplomat cousins, are shaped by their Intuitive (N) quality, allowing them to read between the lines with curiosity and energy. They tend to see life as a big, complex puzzle where everything is connected – but unlike Analyst personality types, who tend to see that puzzle as a series of systemic machinations, Campaigners see it through a prism of emotion, compassion and mysticism, and are always looking for a deeper meaning.

Campaigners are fiercely independent, and much more than stability and security, they crave creativity and freedom.

Many other types are likely to find these qualities irresistible, and if they’ve found a cause that sparks their imagination, Campaigners will bring an energy that oftentimes thrusts them into the spotlight, held up by their peers as a leader and a guru – but this isn’t always where independence-loving Campaigners want to be. Worse still if they find themselves beset by the administrative tasks and routine maintenance that can accompany a leadership position. Campaigners’ self-esteem is dependent on their ability to come up with original solutions, and they need to know that they have the freedom to be innovative – they can quickly lose patience or become dejected if they get trapped in a boring role.

Don’t Lose That ’Little Spark of Madness’

Luckily, Campaigners know how to relax, and they are perfectly capable of switching from a passionate, driven idealist in the workplace to that imaginative and enthusiastic free spirit on the dance floor, often with a suddenness that can surprise even their closest friends. Being in the mix also gives them a chance to connect emotionally with others, giving them cherished insight into what motivates their friends and colleagues. They believe that everyone should take the time to recognize and express their feelings, and their empathy and sociability make that a natural conversation topic.

The Campaigner personality type needs to be careful, however – if they rely too much on their intuition, assume or anticipate too much about a friend’s motivations, they can misread the signals and frustrate plans that a more straightforward approach would have made simple. This kind of social stress is the bugbear that keeps harmony-focused Diplomats awake at night. Campaigners are very emotional and sensitive, and when they step on someone’s toes, they both feel it.

Campaigners will spend a lot of time exploring social relationships, feelings and ideas before they find something that really rings true. But when they finally do find their place in the world, their imagination, empathy and courage are likely to produce incredible results.

[shannrussell-blog1]

Despite the distances, crossing the Nullarbor is just like being on any road, and it’s truly not as boring as you might think.

Planning what to take, do and look for is the same for a long straight road as a windy mountain climb.

This treeless plain is no different, you plot the day’s travel at the speed and time to suit the conditions offered. However, if you plan to go off-road, you will need a 4WD.

And so the journey begins. 

Get your vehicle serviced before you leave

It’s a long trip, so book a pre-trip service and tell your mechanic your plans. Get advice on what spare parts, like belts and hoses, that you need to take along. Finding someone to fit them will be much easier than finding the part. Keep jumper leads and a torch handy, check the spare tyre and practice using the jack and wheel brace. If towing a van or camper get that checked too.

It’s important to get your vehicle checked out by your mechanic. 

Access to fuel and food

If you’re worried about fuel, don’t be. While expensive, it’s available at distances even the smallest tank can handle.

If you’re worried about food, there’s no need. Every fuel stop has a café or takeaway counter with fast, and sometimes fresh, food to sustain for the road ahead.

Every fuel stop has a café or takeaway counter with fast, and sometimes fresh food.

Packing your vehicle for the trip

Pack your gear securely and ensure you can see out all the windows. Make sure your clothes are easily accessible to add or remove as the temperature dictates.

I’d recommend checking out the

Take care to pack your vehicle properly for this trip. 

Drive to the conditions

We plan for two or three nights across and bring enough food. Once hail and thunderstorms made for a few anxious moments. Miles from any shop, we simply set up camp had lunch, then dinner, then breakfast till it finally stopped and we could see to move on safely.

Headwind is also a bugbear of the Nullarbor. Take a break to save the stress and your fuel consumption and move on once the wind has abated.

There are three time zones on this trip. This works well when travelling west but shortens the day heading east.

Headwind is an issue you will likely come across. 

Road hazards, and what times to avoid driving

Driving at dawn, dusk and in the dark is to be avoided. Road trains abound and there’s lots of wildlife about from large feral cats to kangaroos, emus, wedgetail eagles and camels.

During the day keep an eye out for cattle and kangaroos crossing and eagles on roadkill. Wedgies can be very slow to take off and you’d be amazed at the damage one can do, and you’d be gutted if you hit one.

Look out for wildlife and take the time to stop, stretch the legs and grab an iconic Nullabor shot or two.

Cost effective crossing

For the budget conscious a Nullarbor crossing can be very cost-effective.

Determine how many days you plan to spend getting from A to B, add one and bring enough food, cooking gear, tent and sleeping gear.

How to find the cheapest fuel

The major expense is fuel. Obviously, it is cheapest at either end of the route. Work out your vehicle’s fuel consumption before you start, to determine how often and where you need to fill up.

Get yourself a fuel app and check it as you go for current prices. At the time of writing a litre of unleaded 91 at Ceduna was $1.65, $2.15 at Border Village and $1.99 Eucla not much further up the road. If you do use an app, update it. Even if the price is the same, the most recent date is also valuable to other users.

If you can safely carry Jerry cans that may save you a bit of cash. However, don’t worry too much as you’re already saving on food. Just accept you’re in the middle of nowhere and pay up.

A fuel app is handy for finding the cheapest fuel on this journey. 

Quarantine restrictions

Be aware of quarantine restrictions. There is nothing worse than having to toss out good food, so think about what needs to be eaten first. Some inspectors at the SA and WA borders require you unpack the car for a thorough inspection.

Did you know honey and some cardboard boxes are barred into WA? Check the interstate quarantine website here before you leave.

If you have everything bagged and ready to hand over the procedures are much easier, and they will appreciate it.

Daytime only driving means you have the time to enjoy spectacular campsite views.

Overnight accommodation options

Formal accommodation from dongers to motel rooms is available at most service hubs. You may need to book ahead, especially if the forecast says rain.

Station stays do exist on the Nullarbor like Koonalda in WA and Coorabie Station in SA. Check before you arrive what services are offered.

There are literally dozens of free camp spots set away from the road train roar, some have facilities.

For a minimal cost, you can buy a shower at a roadhouse. They all have toilets and you’ll see some at wayside stops, but not all. Carry loo paper with you just in case.

You’ll find plenty of free campsites off the road, some have facilities. Bring paper with you just in case.

Disposing of rubbish and personal waste

Roadside waste bins have covers to stop birds getting in who are looking for food. Use these for your rubbish bags.

Toilet paper or worse flying around is awful for everyone, wherever you are. Bring a

Phone and internet coverage are unreliable.

Communication

Phone and internet coverage is patchy, it’s likely that you won’t need a Satellite phone, but you can bring one just in case.

If you have got a built-in or hand-held UHF, that’s a bonus. Tune to Channel 40. Don’t be shy, invite the truckies to pass or ask if safe to overtake. These guys have strict delivery deadlines. Don’t hold them up just wave as they go by. CH40 is not for chatting with travel buddies, find a new channel for that, then go back to 40.

Invite truckies to pass, they have strict delivery deadlines.

Take rest breaks, but beware of snakes

Regular stops are important on a long drive. There are often snakes about so be careful where you tread. Don’t get complacent entering old buildings or looking at things on the side of the road where they could be hiding.

Be careful where you tread when stopping along the way, as snakes could be hiding.

Weather conditions

Winter can be cold at night, and during summer it’s very hot 24-hours a day. It’s not called the treeless plain for effect. There is almost no shade, so wear a walking shoes are recommended too.

It’s not called the treeless plain for effect, sometimes you need to make your own shade.

What to see

If you’re lucky to be travelling in spring there will be not only wildflowers but whales too.

The highway skirts the coast and the Head of the Bight whale centre is a good tourist stop. There is also a range of well signposted free official viewing platforms.

In fact, anywhere you pull in along the coast you may see whales. We’ve camped by cliff tops, enjoyed spectacular sunrise and sunsets as well as whale’s breaching below us.

Heed all warning signs and stay back from the cliffs and their soft edges.

You may see whales along the coast.

Nullarbor Links – the longest golf course in the world

The challenging 18-hole, 71 par Nullarbor Links is the longest golf course in the world and a perfect opportunity for stretching the legs so pack your clubs.

A final piece of advice

Finally, remember that even though the bitumen is straight for kilometres on end, that can be tiring. It’s easy to get distracted or start daydreaming, stay focused on the job at hand.

Enjoy your trip across the Nullarbor Plain and drive safely.

  Is the Nullarbor Plain on your bucket list? 

The post It’s Not a Bore Driving the Nullarbor appeared first on Snowys Blog.

[eurosong]

50 days of Eurovision catchup

Good morning, folks! Eurosong here from an internet café. As some of you may have noticed, I'm on my annual easter leave from work at the minute so am not on Tumblr (or indeed, online) much at all this week. I'm hiking in beautiful Galicia, getting some much needed time away from teaching. The maps that have been posted since Friday have been on my queue - the last queued map appears later today, and whilst I would prefer to post a map every day due to the completionist in me, the perfectionist duelling with him would not allow hastily put together maps, so I'll be waiting until I return on Monday.

Whilst I'm here, though, I felt the compulsive need to catch up with @eurovisionfanblog​'s 50 days of Eurovision challenge. Let's begin!

Challenge 11: An artist I'd like to represent my country This is a little complicated for me, since I have at least three countries, so to speak, with which I have strong connections.The country all my family is from (and thus, where I associate with most); the country I was born in; and the country in which I’ve lived for years and years and of which am a permanent resident. For the first, Ireland, I’d be blown away if Hozier represented us. For the UK, I could imagine the dreamy indie pop of Camera Obscura doing well; my nostalgic dream would be Cerys Matthews of Catatonia fame. For Spain, there are so many artists who’d do a great job too, perhaps my favourite being Amaral. (And as a bonus, given that I live on the Portuguese border - I absolutely adore Deolinda and would love Luisa to follow her brother to the contest.)

Challenge 12: Share your favourite Tel Aviv or London video Artsvik in Israël - Now that’s how you do it live.

Challenge 13: Spread the love for an act you think was underappreciated

I’ve got to take you all back to 1998. An amazing voice. Absolutely heartbreaking, poëtic lyrics. Certainly one of the best melancholy Balkan entries at the contest ever - yet it was ridiculously underrated on the night, and still gets little attention amongst fans today. 

Challenge 14: “Choose a song you loved last year. Choose one you love this year. Fight!”

In general, I found 2016 a stronger year than this one, yet I think if I pit my top 3s against one another - Portugal, Hungary and Belarus this year versus Estonia, Bosnia and Macedonia last year - only queen Kaliopi takes it for 2016. I am admittedly someone who really feels music (as noted before, I’m a synæsthete and I don’t just hear songs, but see them.) I have a strong emotional connection to many songs, but I don’t think I’ve felt so moved by a song as Salvador’s for years. Hungary’s speaks to the very fabric of my soul, too.

Challenge 15: Share your favourite interval act of the past 10 years

This really is a tough one, as I find most interval acts annoying as hell - the necessary boredom before the real area of interest, the voting. They’re either self-congratulatory, a moment of “look! You voted for this person last year. Now it’s incumbent upon you to tolerate new songs by them”, unbearably meta or just plain silly. I’ll give the nod, however, to the clever idea in 2012 of inviting the five past winners back to perform with traditional instruments from the host country

Challenge 16: A change you’d like to make to ESC.

Oh, how many I would like to make! If I could, I would just spill a whole tub full of tippex over everything that has been changed since 1998. Begone, ridiculous voting system where the juries’ choices are presented separately and the people’s are a hastily added afterthought - a cruel system that dashes dreams with precision speed all for the sake of a more X Factorish experience. Begone, removal of the orchestras - let them come back as an optional extra and let us hear live music at the contest again. 

And my biggest bugbear - the language rule that should never have been removed should be reïnstated. I want to hear the diversity of Europe through a plethora of languages, not an Anglovision with one or two desultory attempts at defying the new status quo. For people who fear this would give the Anglophone countries an advantage, perhaps make it so that every country has to perform in a language that is not English once per two year period - in those years, Ireland can finally send another song as Gaeilge since Ceol an Ghrá, Malta can make its first forays into their curious and delightful language since the 70s, and the UK can send something in Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish...

[askbugbearcafe]

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Here’s a little date of Devildice Human au version ^^

We still have some questions left to answer but it might take long, stay tuned!

(Sorry for bad English)

-🐤

[recentnews18-blog]

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/i-always-felt-like-i-was-the-funny-friend-of-girls-that-i-fancied-chris-odowd-reflects-his-teen-years/

'I always felt like I was the funny friend of girls that I fancied' - Chris O'Dowd reflects his teen years

Dawn O’Porter and Chris O’Dowd attend the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Patron of the Artists Awards 2017 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on November 9, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SAG-AFTRA Foundation ) Dawn O’Porter (L) and husband Chris O’Dowd attend the red carpet premiere of EPIX original series “Get Shorty” at Pacfic Design Center on August 10, 2017 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) Presenter Dawn Porter and fiance Actor Chris O’Dowd attend Fashion Kicks in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, Beechwood Cancer Care Centre Stockport and the Chefs Adopt a School Project at Lancashire County Cricket Club on May 1, 2012 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage) Actor Chris O’Dowd and wife Dawn Porter attend “The Sapphires” after party during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival at The Brandt House on September 9, 2012 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Todd Oren/Getty Images for Weinstein) Chris O’Dowd and Dawn Porter attend the Elle Style Awards at The Savoy Hotel on February 11, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage) Chris O’Dowd attends the “Juliet, Naked” New York Premiere at Metrograph on August 14, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images) Chris O’Dowd in Get Shorty Actors Chris O’Dowd, Rose Byrne and Ethan Hawke attend the “Juliet, Naked” New York Premiere at Metrograph on August 14, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images) Chris O’Dowd with his wife Dawn O’Porter Chris O’Dowd and Dawn O’Porter attend the launch party for The Pool, a unique multi-media platform for busy women co-founded by renowned editor and journalist Sam Baker and broadcaster Lauren Laverne, on April 23, 2015 in London, England. www.the-pool.com (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images for The Pool)

‘I always felt like I was the funny friend of girls that I fancied’ – Chris O’Dowd reflects his teen years

Independent.ie

Chris O’Dowd ambles into a café to meet me a week before he turns 39.

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/i-always-felt-like-i-was-the-funny-friend-of-girls-that-i-fancied-chris-odowd-reflects-his-teen-years-37518598.html

https://www.independent.ie/incoming/article37218307.ece/5c471/AUTOCROP/h342/GettyImages-872349982.jpg

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Chris O’Dowd ambles into a café to meet me a week before he turns 39.

But by his own biological calendar, that birthday is long gone. In O’Dowd years, he’s already 52. “It’s like, ‘Am I not f**king 40 yet?’ I turned 39 when I was about 26. I feel like I’ve been very old for a very long time,” he says, squinting his close-set eyes. “I was the youngest and last kid [of five], left at home as my parents were breaking up. As a 15-year-old, I took on the behaviour of the man of the house. I was a child-man. That’s why I’ve played a lot of man-children.”

His overgrown boys have included tech slacker Roy Trenneman, his breakout role in Channel 4’s cult comedy The IT Crowd, record label jerk Ronnie in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40, and an assortment of oafs (not least a bad boyfriend in Girls). But since his turn in Bridesmaids in 2011, O’Dowd has become a regular in Apatow’s Hollywood gang of everymen. It was Apatow who suggested O’Dowd for the role of his latest emotionally stunted male: Duncan, a narcissistic music nerd in the film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked.

This is the first of two projects with Hornby. “I’m starting to feel like his muse,” he says chuckling, but he’s keen to dis-identify with the Hornby-esque male. “I don’t have the arrested development of his characters,” he insists. “I was brought up in a matriarchal household. My mother is a therapist, so we had mature conversations about behaviour and identity. Hornby characters believe, ‘You are what you like’. That’s increasingly part of the male psyche as we are clutching for an identity. We were told for centuries that our identity was tied up with machismo and now we are seeing that machismo has a lot of drawbacks.”

O’Dowd’s public image as the affable Irish slacker who merely stumbled into breaking America does not exactly tally with his dynamic CV. But he’s still conscious that “today’s cockerel is tomorrow’s feather duster”. On his writing desk at home in LA he keeps a photo of a “spit bucket” full of 30 half-masticated burgers for an ad he once did, to remind himself that his success is “not just a given”. He admits to suffering less from impostor syndrome than “an Irish inferiority complex. The British can be a bit snooty about Irish people, even now. They’ve seen the danger of the Irish that the Americans haven’t. Americans just see the Irish as jesters.”

It doesn’t bother him, he says, that he’s still seen as a comic actor despite a raft of dramas over the last five years. But some things do. In fact he can get quite riled, for starters, on the subject of Catholicism. In 2014, in John McDonagh’s Calvary, he played a wife-beating butcher wreaking vengeance on the church for being sexually abused by a priest as a boy. O’Dowd didn’t track down historical Irish victims for his research, he tells me, partly because he already knew so many. “They are not that uncommon. I know many people who priests have exposed themselves to.” He is a vehement atheist, and says the “small turn-out” for Pope Francis’s visit to Ireland in August is “the shape of things to come. For hundreds of years, the Catholic Church provided an identity for Ireland at a time that we were suppressed. The need is no longer there. So if they are going to keep f**king kids, they are in trouble.”

Dawn O’Porter (L) and husband Chris O’Dowd attend the red carpet premiere of EPIX original series “Get Shorty” at Pacfic Design Center on August 10, 2017 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Read more: Review: Chris O’Dowd is pricelessly funny from start to finish in ‘Juliet, Naked’

The state of oratory is another one of his bugbears: he once wanted to be a political speechwriter. “Theresa May is such a terrible speaker. There’s so much verbosity and such a lack of creativity. Obviously in America, it’s become so juvenile. Taking ideology out of it, the conversation is dumbing because it’s so poor in its execution.” And Brexit: “Increasingly I’m like, ‘F**k the People. F**k you, if you didn’t get that they were lying to you’. It’s like a clown told me a story and I chose to believe it… It’s such a low ebb of human civilisation, a really dangerous time for Anglo-Irish relations. Boris Johnson wants a bridge to Ireland? What’s that going to solve?” Suddenly he stops, worried about moaning.

O’Dowd was born in Boyle, Co Roscommon, to Sean, a graphic designer, and psychotherapist Denise. He was left to the tyranny of his three sisters at 11, after his older brother left home. They amused themselves by painting make-up on their sleeping brother before sending him to school. As a survival mechanism O’Dowd developed a “big personality” in tandem with his fast-growing body. “I was 6ft tall by the time I was 11. I was a looming, towering figure of ridicule”. He played Gaelic football for the county. But, he says, he was never a “Jack the lad”.

By 13, he was already helping raise his 17-year-old sister’s baby. “I always felt like I was the funny friend of girls that I fancied. I found a position of comfort in that.”

By his own account, O’Dowd stumbled into acting after he accompanied a friend to an audition at University College Dublin, where he was studying politics and sociology. He paid his way through drama school with hod-carrying: “It was a very odd time: I’d get up at 5am to work on a building site, then go to a flamenco f**king class.”

There followed breaks in theatre, Vera Drake (2004) and a three-year stint on Irish drama The Clinic. But it was his role in The Festival in 2005 that brought him to the attention of Graham Linehan, who was casting for The IT Crowd.

Since the series began in 2006, the image of “techies” has gone from basement to virtual rock stars. “Our perception of what IT guys are has changed from Bill Gates to Elon Musk.” He’s not entirely sorry that Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been “getting their comeuppance” recently. “I just think that it’s odd that people who seem so socially stunted have got so much control over our lives.” In 2009 he took a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, where he stumbled upon the “naturalistic” comedy creator Judd Apatow backstage at a Louis CK gig. “I said, ‘F**k me, that’s Judd Apatow. I think he’s the reason I came over here.”

Read more: Dawn O’Porter says she was too proud to come home after her US series was dropped

Chris O’Dowd in Get Shorty

The other life-altering encounter in Los Angeles was with Scottish TV presenter and writer Dawn Porter; she changed her name to O’Porter when they married in 2012. There were only brief bachelor days before then, with co-star Jason Segel as his wingman. They once tried to pull the same girl with “verbatim the same text. It said, ‘Why don’t you swing over and we’ll pop open a bottle of vino on the deck’. We’d been hanging out and drinking a lot, so we must have started sharing a vernacular.”

Segel is godfather to O’Dowd’s first son Art, three, brother of one-year-old Valentine, and is a regular at the O’Porter’s weekly Sunday roasts for 20 in West Hollywood. O’Dowd has little tolerance for British cliches about LA. “People think that everyone in LA lives in Beverly Hills and has surgery. It’s the same as when Americans talk about the British as if everybody knows the Queen.”

He’s currently in pre-production for Hornby’s State of the Union, a TV series co-starring Rosamund Pike, following a couple in marriage counselling.

He was reminded of the salad days of his own marriage while unpacking boxes at their new London home. “We found some tea towels printed with a picture of us dressed as bridezillas for Halloween, and Paul Newman’s saying, ‘Keep the arguments clean and the sex dirty’. Now everything else is dirty.” Perhaps, despite two kids, Hollywood stardom and twinkling charm, O’Dowd is discovering you can’t have everything.

Juliet, Naked is currently showing

Chris O’Dowd attends the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival After Party For Love After Love At Up And Down at Up&Down on April 22, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)

Indo Review

Source: https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/movies/i-always-felt-like-i-was-the-funny-friend-of-girls-that-i-fancied-chris-odowd-reflects-his-teen-years-37518598.html

[rubbishwalks]

Reduce, Reuse, and Refill

[ Many thanks to the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald for publishing my column about the importance of reducing waste and favouring reusable products over disposable. We create the future we want by working on it today ... and won’t it be better if the next generation doesn’t have to clean up our mess? ]

Habits: whether good or bad, we all have them. Indeed, scientists estimate that up to 40% of what we do each day can be considered automatic behaviours. When it comes to the environment and the products we use, our habits tend to favour convenience over long-term sustainability. There’s the coffee purchased every morning in a disposable cup; the plastic bottle, sandwich carton, and bag of crisps grabbed at lunch; the plastic-swaddled fruit and veg collected during the weekly shop. All happen on autopilot, without deliberate thought as to the impact this packaging will have on the wider environment once it’s been disposed of.

But you only have to turn the clock back a decade to a Pixar movie about a little robot who goes on a big adventure. In WALL-E, it wasn’t a natural disaster that forced humans to flee Earth, but rather mountains of waste that crowded out space for all living things, leaving only the titular robot to clean up the mess. More recently, it’s taken David Attenborough and Blue Planet II to literally bring the problem of plastic pollution into the nation’s living rooms. As more and more people realise that an out of sight, out of mind mentality is killing wildlife and choking the planet with waste, a groundswell of support for alternatives is taking shape.

One such initiative is Plastic Free July, an international movement to encourage consumers to abstain from purchasing plastic throughout the month. Although July has come and gone, it is never too late to pick up new habits to prepare for next year. After all, nationwide habit change is possible. We only have to look to the effect of the plastic bag charge: a fee of 5p per bag has led to an 80% reduction in their use. Public pressure and petitions have brought about a ban of microbeads, switched cotton bud sticks from plastic to paper, and is currently encouraging a similar swap in straws.

On an individual level, the term ‘plastic free’ can be daunting, but City to Sea, the environmental organisation behind the push for nationwide Refill stations, offers PALL: Plastic A Lot Less. Starting with single-use plastics is an easy way to reduce your ‘wasteline’ while benefiting your wallet. For example, using a reusable water bottle and filling it with tap water instead of purchasing bottled water can make an enormous difference on both fronts. As Refill stations roll out across the country, it will become even easier to hydrate on the go. Just download the app or look for the blue Refill stickers in the windows of cafés, pubs, and restaurants to find your closest station.

Then there is my particular bugbear, disposable coffee cups. In the UK alone, 2.5 BILLION cups are sent to landfill each year; that B is not a typo. This is because they are not, in any real sense of the word, recyclable. There is, however, a simple fix: swap your takeaway cup for a reusable one. Some coffee shops are now charging for disposable cups or offering discounts for bringing your own, so this is a great way to get a daily dose of caffeine while saving a little dosh.

Many people are remembering to BYOB—bring your own bag—when going to the supermarket to save 5p, and there are a few other tricks that can help reduce waste. Reusable mesh veg bags are a great next step, and using them while shopping at your neighbourhood greengrocer is a fantastic way to support local businesses at the same time. Although not all supermarkets have changed with the times, many are also allowing you to BYOC—bring your own containers—for meat, deli, and bakery items.

When viewed as a game, finding new ways to swap plastic for natural or reusable materials becomes a fun challenge. There is no need to change everything in one go, or even to strive for perfection: as with many environmental issues, it boils down to doing what you can, when you can. By adopting a range of positive habits when it comes to packaging and waste, we can drop our plastic addiction for good.

[ritesritesrites]

Aachen! You were awesome!

Thank you Autonomes Zentrum, Mexican Wolfboys, Bugbear and everyone attending. It was good to see lots of friends like the guys of When There Is None, LANDLINES and WE ARE DUST

Next up: the easter-weekender with the good looking lads of Code Blue Coma; April 14th - Café de Vrijbuiter, Goes (NL) April 15th - Das Blaue Haus, Mönchengladbach (DE) April 16th - Don't Panic Essen (DE) April 17th - Waldmeister e.V. Raum für Kultur, Solingen (DE)

Good times!

[fluentlanguage]

Inside The Tandem Language Exchange App: A Full Review

If you're new to a language exchange, the concept won't be hard to understand: You find a speaker of your target language. That person should want to learn your native language. When you chat to each other, you spend a little time speaking each language, and voilà...it's free, mutual, friendly practice.

Finding those other language lovers used to be a massive pain. Back in the day, you might have to strike up a conversation and exchange addresses with a tourist in the nearest town. Or if you're lucky, someone might put up a notice on a pinboard in the local café.

But what if I told you that right now you're only 10 minutes away from chatting about your dreams for the future in your brand new language...on your phone? Sounds mad, but that's exactly what the language exchange app Tandem is designed for.

How to Start a Language Exchange

Of course, language exchanges are not new. Good ideas start early and stick around. The language exchange concept has been around since the 1970s, named "Tandem" after the word for a two-person bicycle.

Here's an amazing quote from Tandem Fundazioa, explaining the bicycle analogy:

TANDEM is a bicycle designed for two riders both involved in getting forward. We have taken this word into our method of learning by exchanging languages with our motto: "In order to understand each other better I help you to learn and you help me to learn." TANDEM is therefore the bicycle among various language learning approaches - it is cheap, individual and ecological.

Check out this article for more inspiration about how language exchanges can make us happy.

Who'd argue with that... no one. So for free language practice, could the Tandem App be your step into the world of exchanges?

How Good is Tandem Language Exchange App?

You can download Tandem in the App Store for iOS and on the Google Play store for Androis. In this review, I focused on using the iPhone app on an iPhone 7. The app is completely free, with no limitations or premium memberships.

When I opened up the Tandem app, I was immediately taken in by the design and the personalised approach that they took. You open Tandem, connect your profile, and crucially you will tell the app a few things about yourself and your preferences.

There is an approval process, so you cannot join the app randomly and it's monitored by a staff member. I found this reassuring - after all, it's important that you keep your data safe online! Community is very important to Tandem, which has 1 million members from 150 countries.

There are three big sections in the app:

The Community, where you can search for new people

The Tutors section, where you can find and book lessons

The Chats, where you can view all your conversations

Optimizing Your Language Exchange Profile

Before you can join Tandem you have to make an application and become approved by one of their staff members. Your profile will be linked to Facebook.

Once you're in, your profile won't be quite as protected as on other apps. I enjoyed the fact that I could see more photos of my new language friends and learn who they are before I chat to them. This can make it easier to find a good match, but be aware that you're also sharing more data with a big community.

Here are some tips for optimizing Tandem:

Check out the Settings area in your profile to decide who should be able to find you.

Select something fun you want to talk about in My Topics. The app offers lots of fun and inspiring prompts, or you can make your own conversation starters. These will be seen by others when they find your profile.

Go into About Me to make sure you're happy with your profile picture and information.

Finding Language Exchange Partners

The partner search is the most important part of any good exchange app.

Tandem suggests people for you based on your language, but there's also a search bar. I had lots of fun on there, as you can search for anything. I tried

Westworld

hockey (nothing)

Manchester United (SO MANY PEOPLE)

It was easy to find Welsh speakers on this app, as well as people learning each one of my interest languages. Remember not everyone needs native speakers.

The search is automatically limited to those users who are some kind of match for your languages, so you save time.

Tandem feels a little like a dating app. The personality of every profile comes out so well through that deeper connection with photos, likes and information. And to top it all off, you can leave comments on a language partner's profile to recommend them and tell others how nice they are.

All in all, I would say 5/5 - well done Tandem for your search experience.

How to Chat With People on Tandem

Chatting to someone on Tandem is straightforward. You shoot them a message through your profile. This app has the closest experience to texting that I've seen so far. You can send texts and voice messages, phone them on VOIP or go all out and make a video call.

I like how Tandem has simplified the design of its chats to remove anything you don't need.

Unlike other exchange apps, there is no in-app dictionary, but you can correct your partner's sentences easily. Chats are a friendly experience , making languages a tool for connecting with people. And the community moderation made me feel more comfortable sharing pictures and voice messages, too.

If you find someone who looks interesting and you're feeling shy, you have the opportunity to follow their updates and maybe contact them later. I am not sure how useful this feature is in practice, though.

Make Language Exchange Friends Without Losing Interest

If you go ahead and partner up with someone on Tandem, here are a few tips for making the process easier for you both:

Arrange a time to meet and video chat or send each other longer messages on a regular basis. If it's a calendar appointment, you won't ignore it as much

Allow for each person to ask a lot of questions and answer in longer sentences so you don't run out of things to say

Prepare some interesting and unusual topics to talk about, for example these ideas on the Tandem blog:

Follow Up each new exchange session by reviewing vocabulary and making sure you follow the acquire-memorize-review technique (I describe this in detail in The Vocab Cookbook)

Language exchanges do come with a small cost, as it takes your time and energy to prepare properly. In a good exchange, you both have responsibility for making this a fun conversation, so get creative and make sure you put in a little effort.

I give the chat experience a 3/5 - personally I'd like more language tools, but the design was lovely.

Or if an exchange sounds like it doesn't suit you right now...

You Can Find Language Tutors in The Tandem App

The inclusion of language tutors in Tandem touches on a really important point: You cannot expect your language exchange partner to be your tutor. I love that this app gives you the option of deciding how you want to be supported in your language learning journey.

Sometimes we all need extra help. Language tutors can explain more complex concepts, tricky grammar rules and fix your pronunciation.

More about this in my article on what you can expect to pay a tutor.

I tried out the tutor process and was absolutely satisfied. There is a personal vetting process, so that tutors have to apply and show how they are qualified and experienced for offering this paid service. The profiles are also reviewed by other users, so you know what you're getting.

Some tutors offer a free trial, but to be honest I found the prices so low that most people should not have to think twice before paying. The app even takes Apple Pay, a testament to its great user experience.

One thing was weird. I know that there are currently no Welsh tutors on Tandem. But even so, the app showed me tutors for everything. I'm a language nerd, so this wasn't a low point. I found it more inspiring...I could learn Korean! American Sign Language! Polish!

I'm giving the tutors in Tandem a 5/5 - this isn't a language school, and the support level seemed perfect for the app purpose.

Conclusions: Should You Try Tandem?

When it comes to recommending Tandem, I'm giving this app a big thumbs up. 👍 It's perfect for aspiring polyglots, because the community is both enormous and very varied. The user experience in the app is the nicest I have seen so far.

Within minutes, you can start swiping and reviewing dozens of cool people's profiles. Who knows what could be uncovered...a new local friend, an exciting connection around the world? No need to leave your house - you can strike up a conversation halfway around the world without ever getting off the couch.

The tutors as a support network are a really smart idea because they keep you committed.

My one bugbear would be with the general lack of integrations - I dream of a language learning app that lets me connect to my flashcards, my other apps, and more. If it works with Facebook, surely it can be done with Memrise?

I am closing my review with a solid 4.5/5 for Tandem. This app is totally free and worth checking out.

Head over to Tandem.net to learn more and download the app.