#build a zoetrope

[mathart]

SVG artwork for laser engraving/cutting plexiplas replacement tiles for Mark Rober's/CrunchLabs Build Box #6

https://www.crunchlabs.com/products/strobe-light-animator

[publishinggoblin]

Live now on Backerit, Confluence: The Living Archive is the capstone of the Publishing Goblin journey. In the world of Ajurea, you can play any game you want. Horror, sci fi, fantasy, slice of life, drama, intrigue-- Confluxes bring people, objects, buildings, ideas, technologies, magics from other times present, past, and future, as well as from other worlds entirely.

As a result, you can have swashbuckling adventures, play sports in the Gravity Isles where contestants float through the air, start a crime ring in Motley Coast City, form a union in Crop Circle Junction, or take part in a chili cooking contest!

Pledge for a set of the 6 books that make up this game now and you'll receive the Atlas for Motley Coast, one of three regions on the continent of Wemrel, itself just 1 of 6 continents in Ajurea. The Atlas is an in-world artifact that shows you the world, with mechanics, handwritten marginalia and notes that give story hooks, and so much more!

Sujatha's Journal will be your guide to the lore of the world, all the unique new lineages to meet and play as, and the new forms of magic and technology to be found here!

The core game system for players and Story Leaders alike can be found in the Confluence Guide to the Living Archive!

A list of your unique character traits and abilities can be spotted in the Catalog of Lists!

The Calibration zine will guide you through session 0 to setup a game, as well as help you re-set your game if you need to recheck in on your themes and safety tools.

Then the So You Want to Build It? zine will teach you how to make your own tools for the game system, including new Facets to customize your characters with new mechanics, as well as Focuses to give new area mechanics and NPC abilities!

You can get the whole game in PDFs (well over 1000 pages of material!) for $40, or the whole hardcopy set for $85!

So come visit the Backerkit page today and check out all that Ajurea has to offer, from a huge living world to expansive bonus materials to all the Publishing Goblin projects connecting back to it one way or another. The Alleyman visits here often, as does the Publishing Goblin, and time agents from ZOETROPE, and ghosts from WHAT WE POSSESS, and the Koukyla from NEW AVERNUS.

[sanfranciscoblog]

Sentinel Building in North Beach was purchased and restored by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola and is home to American Zoetrope, the film company he founded with George Lucas.

[traceloops]

Building a responsive, zoetrope-like structure in cuttle

[alex-the-nonsensologist]

Disney Dreamland - Part 6: Discoveryland

Here it is, the final part! This area follows in the footsteps of Discoveryland in Paris, allowing more creative freedom than the traditional Tomorrowland. The land would be divided into two major “time periods”, one based on Victorian era / Belle Époque steampunk, and the other based on a high-tech modern day digital era that would evolve from said steampunk era.  There would be a decent amount of greenery in the land, none of those lifeless metal tree sculptures. Trees could be in their natural form in the steampunk half, while in the modern day half they could be trimmed into neat geometric shapes.

Timeless Square

This area serves as the entry point from the hub. It is in-between the two major time periods of the land, bridging them. Would feature a detailed astronomical clock tower landmark. 

“Discoveryland Thru the Years”: Successor to Carousel of Progress / Progressland, one of the four New York World’s Fair attractions. Tells the land’s “history” progression from the turn of the 20th century to the modern day, and ends with an optimistic hope for the future. I didn’t call it a carousel to avoid confusion with the other actual carousels I put in the park, but it is still a rotating theater.

Discoveryland PeopleMover: Successor to Ford Magic Skyway, one of the four New York World’s Fair attractions. A relaxing classic ride that weaves all throughout Discoveryland, including through various attraction buildings. The only challenge would be creating a vehicle that matches the aesthetics of both time periods of the land. 

Discovery Academy

The steampunk-inspired half of the land. While the theming uses elements of British Victorian steampunk, the architecture would mostly be modeled after Art Nouveau / Belle Époque Paris. I want the vibe of the area to be similar to a college campus or museum, but a really fancy inviting one, not a cold imposing one. In the center of the building is the Automaton Courtyard, a garden courtyard to rest and relax, but also part-walkthrough attraction. Would feature lots of fancy automatons and 3D zoetropes that guests can activate. Includes:

Butai Karakuri theater: Performances by Japanese automatons. 

Steampunk Carousel: In the center of the garden. Animals could be artistic sculptures made of metal and gears.

Gift shop that sells mini wind-up automaton toys, and features coin-activated booths for drawing automata that produce souvenir pictures.

This area also includes:

Escher Exhibit & Mathmagic Land: Walkthrough attraction inspired by the artwork of M. C. Escher, particularly the multi-dimensional maze of “Relativity”. Guests can also view optical illusion sculptures such as the Penrose triangle and the Impossible trident.  Alternatively, I wouldn’t mind an attraction based on “Donald in Mathmagic Land” either. Giant numbers and “square root” trees would dominate the landscape. Interactive geometric shapes and puzzles.

Astronomical Orbiter: This indoor version features a planetarium ceiling that projects the stars and colorful galaxies so guests can actually feel like they’re flying through space. Diverting for both riders and guests still waiting in the queue. Inspired by the Chamber of Planets in Fortress Explorations from Tokyo DisneySea. 

The Time Machine: Dark ride inspired by EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth. Travel through various time periods from the age of dinosaurs to the start of the Victorian era (so as not to conflict with the fictional history of the land).

Cafeteria: British, French, and Indian cuisine. Buffet.

“Paris Métro” station: As mentioned previously, this is probably not feasible idea, but I think it’s very neat. Provides underground transport between Discoveryland and Mysteryland (the Mysteryland is themed to the London Underground). The tunnels could contain zoetropes for guests to view during the ride, which tease the theme of the destination land.

Explorer’s Landing

Technically part of the Academy, but features attractions that are “off campus”. Inspired by the original concept of Discovery Mountain for Paris. Features a lagoon for the submarines, and a mountain range for the other rides to blend into; would somewhat resemble the Mysterious Island from Tokyo DisneySea.

Soaring Skies / Weather Kites: Airships are a core part of steampunk, but I wasn’t sure where to put such a ride in my park that didn’t disrupt sightlines. I eventually settled on a version of Soaring. I love Tokyo’s iteration, but sadly, my version of the ride does without the fantasy aspects and GORGEOUS fantasy artwork, but the queue will still feature neat “history of flight” and weather exhibits. Ride vehicles would of course fit the steampunk aesthetic. Most important of all, I want the ride movie to focus on skyscapes and natural landscapes, not famous landmarks (I personally don’t mind the landmarks version, I think it was balanced out nicely with some nice landscapes, but now all the ride movies are the same which is boring). I want winding rivers through forest valleys, fluffy white clouds over mountain peaks with machines blowing clouds on the guests, golden sunsets over the sea, lightning storms with thunder and actual wind blowing and rain spraying the guests, and a starry night sky with a brilliant rainbow Aurora Borealis over a snowy tundra. The building exterior and queue could resemble a giant air zeppelin in an air hangar, similar to the Hyperion in Paris, based on the unbuilt Discovery Bay concept. In hindsight, this area probably has too many rides, so this attraction could also be moved to the Wild Western Frontier area in Adventureland, and be rethemed to environments of the American West, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest. 

Journey to the Center of the Earth: I absolutely love Tokyo DisneySea’s version. It's one of the best rides out of Imagineering, but in my park, this would follow the original drop tower concept for Paris.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea / Expedition Atlantis: Suspension ride like the one in Tokyo DisneySea, with water filled windows that bubble to create the illusion of being underwater. Could either be another take on Jules Verne’s novel, or based on the Atlantis movie. Either one works.

The Nautilus underwater restaurant: Seafood dishes. Table service. 

Lunar Mountain: Based on Paris’s original De la Terre à la Lune incarnation of Space Mountain. I love the idea of a giant cannon firing guests into space, and I especially love the cannon’s design with the classical illustrations of the sun and the moon on it. I also prefer the look of Paris’s more secure seats. I’ve only ridden Tokyo and Orlando’s versions, and as fun as they are, I always get an irrational gut feeling I’m going to be decapitated during the ride. 

Journey to Treasure Planet / Journey to Mars: Omnimover dark ride. To sell the idea of blasting off into space, guests would ride in a “rocket elevator” prior to boarding, similar to the entry performance for the Space 220 Restaurant in EPCOT. Treasure Planet is another movie that deserves more recognition, but due to it taking place in another universe with its own separate world-building, I am also okay with this ride having an original story instead. Perhaps a trip to Mars with a secret civilization living under the planet’s surface. For reference, I’m thinking of something inspired by the Castle in the Stars graphic novel series by Alex Alice. The building facade could resemble an observatory. 

“Planetarium restaurant”: Would feature international dishes not available in the Small World buffet. Table service. The Space 220 Restaurant was really neat (if a little overpriced), and I would love a steampunk version in my park. 

Disney Dreamland Railroad Discoveryland station: Art Nouveau steampunk style.

Discovery Institute

The modern digital half of the land. Discoveryland opens a new campus dedicated to computer sciences. I do not want this area to look sterile like the current Tomorrowlands, though I might be okay with it resembling Shanghai’s version of Tomorrowland; I have heard their glass structures described as “organic” and I quite agree. I want the architecture of the area to be a believable evolution from the Art Nouveau steampunk, with the curves of Nouveau transforming into the curves of something resembling what Tokyo has planned for their renovation of Space Mountain. 

Visions of Tomorrowland: Based on an idea I once had of a version of Tomorrowland that represents alternate timeline futures. This ride could show different “what if” scenes of different Discoverylands.  There could be a main story featuring a scientist as our host, the inventor of a multiverse portal, showcasing his invention to guests, and along the way we run into alternate versions of the scientist from the other realities. One version could be a classic mad scientist from a dystopian world, bent on conquering other dimensions and exploiting their resources, and our host has to fight them off. I guess you could describe this as a much more immersive sci-fi version of the Jungle Cruise. While I would prefer this to be a ride, I guess it could also work as a stage show.

Adventure Thru Inner Space: I have heard nice things about this ride and would have loved to experience it. Shout-out to @disneylanddilettante.

Robot Showcase: Omnimover dark ride. This ride is basically just an excuse to show off high-quality animatronics. Animatronics for days! Could include Baymax, Wall-E, and Lil Bulb as cameos in the ride. 

“Robot Cafe”: Based on the unbuilt concept for The Great Gonzo's Pandemonium Pizza Parlor. This restaurant would have robot animatronics deliver guests’ food by way of an overhead "train track" system.

Cyberspace Arcade

Technically an area within the Discovery Institute, but significantly different enough to require its own description. The entire area would be indoors.   Guests are “digitally transported” into Cyberspace. For visual reference, I’m thinking of the concept art for the (maybe canceled?) Play! Pavilion at EPCOT, but without the Ralph Breaks the Internet branding (I LOVE Wreck-It Ralph, but the sequel not so much) and without all the Disney IP spam (I’m already putting in three movie based rides, so the IP quota has been met). I want the area to feel more like a representation of a private server, or at least a single website, instead of the broader Internet (the Internet is a very scary family-UNfriendly place). The "sky" would have cool graphic projections, similar to how Mamoru Hosoda visually portrayed the Internet in Summer Wars and Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! As for the three movie based rides, I want the explanation to be that the scientists wanted to be able to travel into their favorite video game worlds, and here is the result. The entrances to each attraction could look like a giant icon you can click on. There could also be an actual arcade area, for guests to just relax and chill. That area would feature actual working console games of Fix-It Felix Jr, Sugar Rush, and Hero’s Duty.

“Cyberspace Playground”:  Guests can physically change the environment by interacting with it. If anyone has watched Infinity Train, think of something like the first episode’s Grid Car, but on a grander scale. Could utilize interactive projection mapping.

Videopolis: Stage for live entertainment and dance parties. Just an excuse to have a specific area dedicated to the 80s / 90s. …I just really miss the 90s, okay? I also think the retro music would add the perfect energy to the area.

Star Command Astro Blasters: I honestly just put this here to help balance queue wait times with the other two major rides, and to have at least one thing based on retro space aesthetics. Between this and Toy Story Mania, at least this has physical sets and is less rushed. There would still be plenty of kinetic energy on the ride (not at all like the embarrassingly lifeless and static Ant-Man and Wasp update in Hong Kong). I would only change the animatronic Buzz to at least have a real face though. And maybe at the end of the ride, everyone could get free stickers or postcards or some other physical reward so that it feels like the points earned meant something. I would also emphasize that the context here is Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, NOT Andy’s Buzz from Toy Story. 

TRON Lightcycle Run: I have no personal attachment to Tron, but my friend @mewtwowarrior loves Tron, so this indoor coaster is included just for her. Shout-out to @pureimagineering for the idea of two different colored tracks that wind around each other in twists and turns as the two groups of guests race against each other. At the end of the ride, the unloading dock would flash the colors of the track that wins.

Sugar Rush Speedway: Wreck-It Ralph is my top favorite Disney movie. While the movie’s themes of mid-life crisis, rejection by society, and found family would be difficult to adapt into an attraction, this ride can at least embody the “love-letter to video games” aspect, and recreates one of the most visually stunning worlds Disney has ever designed. Sadly this ride makes no references to Ralph, King Candy/Turbo, or non-Princess Vanellope (which includes her glitch, hoodie outfit, and the kart she and Ralph made together), as those aspects are specific to the console in Litwak’s Arcade, and adding them to this ride would have sad implications that Mr. Litwak gave up his console and thereby separated the Sugar Rush characters from their community in Game Central. Alternatively, having the entire Arcade be themed as Litwak’s could fix that, but then would raise questions of why Mr. Litwak let a research team experiment on his games and interrupt his business. So it’s best that this Sugar Rush is a “generic” console to make things simple. That said, I have no issues if the candy shop makes reference to the movie’s events, or with having Ralph and Vanellope as walk around characters (we can say they’re visiting this Arcade via the Internet). When thinking about the queue, I considered it could wind through the candy box grandstands, so that guests that are still waiting for their ride could double as a cheering audience for the guests before them. The theme song by AKB48 would of course play on a loop. On the ride, guests would “race” through rich environments such as Gumball Gorge, Cherry Bomb Cakeway, the Frosty Rally ice cream mountains, and Diet Cola Mountain. To make it feel like a video game, there could be “power-ups” located throughout the ride. The guest that “claims” the power-up first (perhaps by pushing a timed button in their vehicles) gets the advantage. Power-ups can cause some karts to speed up or opponents slow down, or activate obstacles and surprises. Would it be a hazard to shoot “sprinkle” confetti at the guests? Alternatively, this ride could also possibly use virtual reality headsets to enhance the experience with visual effects and make the ride feel like even more of a game, as demonstrated by the Mario Kart ride at Universal Studios, a ride with gorgeous physical sets that is maximized by the VR (again, emphasizing that VR should not be a replacement for good physical sets and effects). The guest who wins the race could receive a free framed souvenir snapshot of their victory.

Finish Line Sweet Treats: Candy shop, bakery, and ice cream parlor. Based on Vanellope’s Sweets & Treats on the Disney Dream cruise ship. Guests could make their own kart cake at the Kart Bakery. Sundaes are served in trophy cups and replicas of Vanellope’s kart like the ones on the cruise ship. The Ralph-in-a-cupcake red velvet cupcake is a must. Would also feature a selection of Japanese sweets such as konpeito and mochi. Giant cotton candy like the kind you’d find in Harajuku.

Closing thoughts:

There was a lot I wanted to include, but couldn't think of solutions for, such as attractions based on Zootopia and Monsters Inc. But I'm quite happy with this end result. (I say this like it's actually being built, and not an elaborate daydream in my mind, lol.)

As you might have noticed, my park does not feature Marvel or Star Wars in any capacity. While there are some Marvel shows I like, I do not consider myself a Marvel fan, and I have little interest in Star Wars. And quite frankly, I think that visually, they clash horribly with most Disney aesthetics.

There are a lot of minor things I forgot to mention, like there would be plenty of benches and sitting areas with shade, plenty of restrooms, the food would have effort and quality put into it to be worth theme park prices, and backstage would have plenty of space and comfortable break rooms for Cast Members. Not related to the park itself, but I would also like to imagine the Cast Members here are paid and treated well, and have a good amount of free benefits, like park tickets and room and board for out-of-town residents and interns.  

I realize that in order to accommodate everything I want, this park would have to be MASSIVE, at least the size of Shanghai Disneyland. I just like far too many things. I realize it would have been smarter to break off some parts for a second park, but I'm just too fond of the idea of having everything all in one place.

As I mentioned, I REALLY love carousels and could not resist putting so many themed carousels in my park. They might not be exciting rides, but I legitimately think they are GORGEOUS works of art that add perfect visual beauty and musical atmosphere.

Much like Walt's initial sentiment, I don't think my ideal park will stay this way forever. Who knows, in a few years I might update this. We'll see. Thanks for taking the time to read these. :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The rest of the park:

World Galleria

Adventureland

Mysteryland

Fantasyland

Create-It-Land

[my-rights-are-grian-rights]

You got any music recs? I gotta see what ur music taste is like :0

I'll take anything lol

hi joey!!!! uhhh most of my music taste is just collect ppl’s song recs into a single playlist I’ve been building since elementary school BUT!

one band I really like is The Real Zebos ! :D

i was gonna list some favorites but then I started to just list like. half their songs. so! uh. let’s see. trying to pick one from each album/ep (i don’t know what an ep is or why it is different) I really like Nostalgia, Domino, Zoetrope, and Simple Love! also Just Drive is a song that is very good for thinking about the stig to. for obvious reasons. Glow is a single I like.

also wwe song lyrics might be so goofy but tbh they’re all rad. check out The Rising Sun (Shinsuke Nakamura) for some banging violin. it’s even cooler in his entrances because the entire audience sings along. Eyes of the Reaper (Tatum Paxley) is a sick theme song to give to little miss toxic yuri. King of Kings (Triple H) is a song with a guy I need to fistfight over the shared name but the song itself is sooo silly. On your knees dog. (he says that) also Sexy Boy (Shawn Michaels) he’s a sexy boy ! I have gotten distracted

[rolesplay]

・┆✦ALMOST LIKE A FAIRYTALE — a cendrillon inspired, vy2/hatsune miku fanfic.

少しだけでも Even if just a little 無意味な世界なんて無いと There's no such thing as a world without meaning 信じるための明日をつくりあげるの I will create a tomorrow to believe in もう諦めたりしないから I won't give up anymore – Zoetrope, yanaginagi

They have lived and relived so many lives, only for it to end up the same way: they both die, and in some queer way, it was because they love each other so much. Love and blood. Such was the red string that connected them. The strong string that connected light and dark even after death. Even after many, many deaths.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

Their first life he was a powerful emperor, he had done what he pleased. But he wanted to be even more powerful. He was such a monster. A demon. She was his wife. He had planned it all, how he would terrorize the people even more, how he would make them suffer. But first, he had to make sure his wife would not experience his cruelty. So one night, he stabbed her. Unbeknownst to him, she had liquid poison on her mouth. She forced it down his throat with a kiss.

"So… this is how it ends, huh?" he asked as he clasped her body close while caressing her cheek. He could vaguely feel the effects of the poison already. "I love you, my dearest princess."

She chuckled weakly. "And I you, my lord."

He killed her as a gift, so she would not need suffer, and she killed him so he would not turn into the devil himself. Such was the love they felt for each other.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

The next he was a hired killer. He was good at what he does. And then he met her, the girl who smiled at him even though most everyone, who sees he has a sword, tends to avoid him. They befriended each other. It seemed that she did not remember him, or at least she pretends not to, but he does and he wanted to start over again.

But he had his work, and one night he killed a group of men. The next morning, when the bodies were found, a girl was sobbing over one of the bodies. Later, he finds out it was her, and the body she was crying over was her fiancé's, when she stuck a knife through his chest and he, in retaliation and instinct, slashed at her torso deeply with his sword.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

Again and again, it happened. He tried to avoid it from happening. He avoided everything, even to the point that on one of his lives, he would not go out of his house (it did not work, of course). Fate was mocking him, laughing at his face. So he decided to change his plans, his tactics.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

Fire.

The fire spread everywhere, surrounding them. He was a spy working undercover. She was the government agent. And somehow, it ended to this: the two of them, pointing their guns at each other, while the fires rose in the building. The upper floors had been bombed, the lower floors streaked with fire. They were trapped.

"Just give up," she said, all in a cold, business-like tone. It hurt him. "The president might—"

And he realized: unlike their other lives, she was negotiating. Asking him not to continue, asking him to live. Ah, so she does remember! Perhaps her views had changed? Because of their repeated killings of each other? That maybe, just maybe, loving someone is making sure they live; that they live happily, that they live and bask in the light of life before dying. That they enjoyed life. He smiled, "I'm sorry."

He saw her get ready with her gun, finger on the trigger, but instead of shooting her, he pointed his gun to himself. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "And I love you." He pulled the trigger, and the last thing he heard was her screaming his names—all his names, from the first to the current.

༘˚⋆𐙚｡⋆𖦹.✧˚

He woke up and saw green. A green, lush woods, grass beneath him. A pond nearby. And a girl.

The odd girl merely ignored him, as she swung her legs over the pond, nearly touching it but never doing so. Then she suddenly spoke—"You changed your destiny. Such a will you have. Such a brave, brave boy. Tell me, why did you do it?" It was only after she spoke that she looked at him. She was smiling.

He blinked confusedly, and ran his tongue over his lips. He wondered how this child should know, but he spoke anyway. "I… Because I love her. I have loved her. I always have. I still do. But the difference now, is that I see where I went wrong."

"You have seen your errors then?"

"Yes, I think so. That's it. I did not want her to die. I want her to live. Happily."

"Then go," she gestured to the pond. "Go back and make her happy then."

Hesitantly, he walked over and jumped down the water. The last thing he saw was the girl's smile (just the smile—it reminded him of the Cheshire cat somehow), before he woke up again, this time, in a whitewashed room.

He was lying on a bed and beside the bed was a chair, where she was sitting while holding his hand tight. She seemed to be sleeping.

He looked around. A hospital room?

She stirred. He found his attention back on her, on the way she blinked open her eyes and squeezed his hand while she woke up.

He ran his thumb fondly over her hand. "Good morning."

"You're an idiot," she mumbled as she woke up, immediately frowning.

"Hey, I changed our destinies, didn't I?"

"What destinies? You nearly died! I know I should be grateful that you saved me from that truck but look what happened to you!" She gestured frantically at his whole body. She yapped about his apparent broken bones and other injuries he seemed to be suffering with. He stopped it only by squeezing her hand and bringing it up to his lips.

She blinked rapidly in surprise. She smiled. "What has gotten into you?"

He laughed sheepishly. Last time he remembered he was a spy…? And then, in his mind's eye, he saw a vague picture of pushing her before she got hit by a vehicle. He blinked. Had he remembered all his past life because of the accident? Is his memories all muddled? He smiled, and looked at her. "Let's just say I want you to be the happiest girl in the world."

"Well then you can start on not dying on me, okay?" she bit her lip. "You had me worried so much. I-I thought you'd die I just—"

And just like that, he kissed her.

[daydreamtofiction]

Playlist #2 // Glass

Listen Here

Chapters 1-10

Opening Titles - David Arnold, Michael Price

Don’t Dream it’s Over - Crowded House

Amber Eyes - Jon Winterstein

Crates of Books - David Arnold, Michael Price

Ala - Joep Beving

Gardermoen - Julia Kent

Intro - The xx

Wicked Game - Chris Isaak

Closer - Kings of Leon

The Game Is On - David Arnold, Michael Price

Irene’s Theme - David Arnold, Michael Price

LDF - 100 Monkeys

The Woman - David Arnold, Michael Price

Hurt For Me - SYML

Back To Work - David Arnold, Michael Price

You Are a Memory - Message To Bears

you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish

Me and the Devil - Soap&Skin

listen before i go - Billie Eilish

Blood on the Pavement - David Arnold, Michael Price

Chapters 11-19

Timshel - Mumford & Sons

Mary - Kings of Leon

#SherlockLives - David Arnold, Michael Price

I Gave You All - Mumford & Sons

When Anger Shows - Editors

Wind Song - Ludovico Einaudi

Run Boy Run (Instrumental) - Woodkid

To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra, Patrick Watson

Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) - John Lennon

Security Cameras - Michael Price, David Arnold

Zoetrope - Joep Beving

April - The Lumineers

Sinnerman - Nina Simone

Sewn - The Feeling

Potential Clients - Michael Price, David Arnold

Fear of the Water - SYML

You Won’t Feel a Thing - The Script

Status Symbol - David Arnold, Michael Price

Tell Her This - Del Amitri

Domestic Pressures - Jóhann Jóhannsson

Dream 1 (before the wind blows it all away) Pt. 8 - Max Richter

Stag Night - David Arnold, Michael Price

Divenire - Ludovico Einaudi

Waltz for John and Mary - David Arnold, Michael Price

Amber Eyes - Poor Saint Lazarus

Lies - MARINA

hostage - Billie Eilish

Chapters 20-33

I Wanted to Leave - SYML

Eros - Ludovico Einaudi

Hotline Bling - Gibran Alcocer

Magnussen - David Arnold, Michael Price

ceilings - Lizzy McAlpine

Prepared to do Anything - Michael Price, David Arnold

Youth - Daughter

Blackbird - The Beatles

In the Kitchen - Mree

Always the Grown Up - Michael Price, David Arnold

Can’t Keep It Inside - Brett Dennen, Benedict Cumberbatch

Library Books - Michael Price, David Arnold

Female of the Species - Space

Etude - Joep Beving

Seduction - Adam Hurst

Tell Me The Truth - Two Feet

Truth - Balmorhea

Nicest Thing - Kate Nash

Driving With The Brakes On - Del Amitri

In Between Breaths - SYML

Appledore - David Arnold, Michael Price

Experience - Ludovico Einaudi

Letters From The Sky - Civil Twilight

Chapters 33-39

The Stranger - David Arnold, Michael Price

Solas - Jamie Duffy

Nocturnal - Joep Beving

Signing - David Arnold, Michael Price

Slide - Jake Bugg

AGRA - David Arnold, Michael Price

Gunshot - David Arnold, Michael Price

Icarus - PHILDEL

Chapters 40-50

Everybody Dies - Billie Eilish

Angst - Agent Fresco

Margaux - Matilda Mann

The Problems of Your Future - David Arnold, Michael Price

Lay All Your Love On Me - The Butterfly Effect

The East Wind - David Arnold, Michael Price

Stayin Alive - Bee Gees

Bitter and Sick - One Two

Brother Mine - David Arnold, Michael Price

Hearing - Sleeping At Last

Forsaken - Adam Hurst

i love you - Billie Eilish

No Fait Awaits Me - Son Lux, Faux Fix

everything i wanted - Billie Eilish

Next To Me - Civil Twilight

That Home - The Cinematic Orchestra

Glass - Hania Rani

[elfietheespeon]

Mediums that have yet to be seen in Midst appendixes (as of s3e4):

-Blueprints (building layouts) -Instruction manuals -Praxinoscope/Zoetrope -Flip book -Pop-up book -Field guide -Comic book -Real estate contracts -Script (stage directions) -In-world works of fiction -Toys/games -Recipes -Arts and crafts -Poetry -Sheet music -Receipts -Divorce papers

[salantami]

San Francisco

Cozy Little Wine Niche of Cafe Zoetrope

The Sentinel Building (or Columbus Tower, depending on what you like to call it) is my favorite building in the North Beach neighborhood. ⁠

⁠ This building was created right around the time of the great earthquake of 1906.

[mathart]

Laser Explosions! Camp CrunchLabs Week 6

And the Zoetrope Build Box!

[ecl0wn]

a totally un-biased review of amnesia: memories

AMNEƧIA: memories

Release Date: 25 August, 2015 (North America) | 11 August, 2011 (Japan) Developers: Idea Factory, Otomate Publishers: Idea Factory Platform(s): PlayStation Vita, PlayStation Portable, iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch

Amnesia: Memories is an unforgettable otome experience. Before I start, I need to mention, this is covering the game and not the anime. The anime is a trainwreck - mostly because it tries to cover every route in it and it becomes a mess, leaving you feeling confused and having little attachment to the characters. If you want to watch the anime, go ahead, but I personally wouldn’t recommend it. The only saving grace of the anime would be the OP, “Zoetrope” sung by Nagi Yanagi (stylised as “yanaginagi,”) which is just beautiful.

Unlike other otome games, where you would have to build up your affection with a certain character to enter their route — Amnesia starts off by selecting a “World.” The world you pick determines which route you’ll be on, only once you enter a route do you have to worry about gaining affection.. amongst other things.

STORY

It was the 1st of August. That morning, when she awoke, the heroine found herself without any memories from before August 1st. Everything, from the sort of life she lived, to the relationships she had, was a blank...... A young boy named Orion appeared in front of her, referring to himself as a "spirit." Under Orion's guidance, the heroine began the struggle to regain her memories. She searched her house for clues about her everyday life, and received a message on her phone... What was displayed on the screen was an unknown name to her. Now, she is asked to meet with him, a boyfriend whose name and face she doesn't know. In a position where who to trust is uncertain, the heroine must move in a way that her memory loss remains undetected by her partner. Because of this, the story becomes tangled in complex ways. With no memories of "him," our heroine will write a new love story starting today... — Game Description from the Official English Website

Yup. Amnesia is the name of the game (literally,) while trying to recover your memories, you deal with your love interests and have to try to play it cool, so they won’t notice that you’re missing your memories.

One of the things I found interesting when I first discovered Amnesia back in 2016 was the parameters.

You have three parameters to focus on:

Affection: The heroine’s favor toward the chosen character Trust: How strong your relationship is with him Suspicion: Suspicion elicited by the heroine’s memory loss

Actually you have four in one route but I’ll touch on that later.

Since each route takes place in a different world — the story background varies depending on which world you’re in, but for the most part things are pretty much the same.

In the prologue of the game you’re introduced to Orion, who serves somewhat as a tutorial figure and a voice of reason throughout most of the routes. His goal is to help you recover your memories and live a normal, happy life. The more you delve into your chosen route, the more you’ll see how difficult that can really be.

LOVE INTERESTS

Shin ♥ Blunt, Earnest

Shin is the main love interest of Heart World. Childhood friend turned lover, and also a tsundere.

Shin’s route feels like a murder-mystery V/N rather than a romance V/N, which is fine actually. He speaks with harsh words (as any tsundere does,) but as they say, actions speak louder than words; he is very protective of you and it’s clear, by behaviour alone, that he cares about you. Despite the romance in his route not being as focal as in the other routes — it’s still handled well. His route doesn’t really get too emotional until the end but that’s alright. During my first playthrough, it left me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who the culprit was, however the further you get into the route, the more obvious it becomes (at least to me.)

Ikki  ♠ Alluring, Fascinating

Ikki is the main love interest of Spade World. Co-worker turned current boyfriend... with a time limit?

I can say this; when I started Ikki’s route, I did not expect to like him as much as I did by the end of his route. He is the flirtatious playboy character of the love interests, incredibly popular — so popular in fact, that he’s garnered himself his own fan-club. The fan-club is so incredibly annoying to deal with, however, during his route you find out how and why he has a fan-club and why you two got together in the first place. His route feels a lot more... sexy? Than the other ones, which has to do, in part, to the incredible voice acting of Taniyama Kishō. The route starts off feeling weak, and in all honesty, annoying — but as I got further along, I found myself intrigued and enjoying it.

Kent ♣️ Cool, Logical

Kent is the main love interest of Clover World. Complete relationship-noob with a pure heart.

Kent is the shadow MVP of Amnesia, to be honest. He is blunt and speaks without a filter (he’s unaware when he’s being rude,) but he tries his hardest in this relationship of yours, and he’s just so precious and cute. His route is pretty vanilla but can get some emotions out of you when the time calls for it. Considering the other suitors of the game, his route is unexpectedly refreshing; mostly because even though he tries his best — the outcomes of his endeavours are usually awkward as all hell, which is cute in it’s own way. The only thing I have to say negatively about his route; is that he makes me do math. Not even kidding. Kent is a graduate student in mathematics, and although the questions he gives you are relatively simple, I still feel stupid every time I have to do them while replaying his route. A simple and cute route about Kent letting go of all his apprehension while learning how to fall in love.

Toma ♦️ Affectionate, Intense

Toma is the main love interest of Diamond World. Miscommunication: The Route! Also yeah, “Intense” is one word to describe him..

I’m going to be completely transparent: I like Toma. His route? Pretty meh, in my personal opinion but, as a character I like him, and apparently, so do a lot of other people considering he won 1st place in the 2011 Amnesia Popularity Poll.

Spoilers Ahoy!

I just want to get it out there real quick, that Toma is a character who fits with the yandere trope. Here are the trigger warnings for his route if you need them: drugging, isolation, imprisonment.

Oh yeah, remember how I briefly mentioned one of the routes has a fourth parameter? ...Yeah! Doubt: Measure of doubt felt by the heroine In his route, you need to actively doubt the things he does, which is just another thing to worry about on top of all the other things you’re currently worrying about.

If you can look past those things, or in fact, if you enjoy characters like this; Toma’s route will be a breeze... maybe. The thing that annoyed me the most about his route is how short it could have been and how many problems could have been avoided with proper communication. However, since the Heroine lost her memories, it’s unavoidable on her end. His route is Intense. With a capital ‘i.’ However, I found it enjoyable enough. More enjoyable, however, is his routes in the other games post-Amnesia.

Ukyo  🃏 Mysterious, Enigmatic

Ukyo is the main love interest of Joker World. If you’ve played any of the above routes, you might recognise him.

Spoilers Ahoy! This entire route has spoilers so proceed with caution.

Upon successfully finishing your fourth route, and moving on to replay the game once again, you might notice a fifth world option: Joker World. Welcome to the final frontier!

That strange green-haired guy who makes appearances in every route? This is him! Complete with all the questionable behaviour he’s shown in the past — however this time, we get backstory. Joker World is often considered the “True Route” which you’ll understand why upon finishing the good ending, however, I personally don’t believe that there’s any “True Route.” However, this route is the best one (not biased.)

You get backstory onto what really happened before you lost your memories, who you were, what your real life was like before picking a random world to continue into. If you thought Toma’s route was intense, just buckle up; this is one hell of a ride.

Even now, with over 99 hours put into the game — I still cannot blind my way through Ukyo’s route and will have to resort to the walkthrough. Why is this? Well, because if you mess up even one line of dialogue; it can ruin the entire route somehow — just, trust me, okay? The difficulty level skyrockets — if Kent’s route was 10% difficult, Ukyo’s route would be 90% difficult. So, what’s there to gain from such a difficult route? Is it worth playing through it?

Yes. (Not biased.) No matter how difficult his route is, it is always satisfying to complete it and get that good ending. Always. (Still not biased.)

There is something, however, I will briefly mention: despite his behaviour — Ukyo is not a yandere, and if I have to say that again I might implode.

Spoilers Ahoy! No going back.

Upon finishing his good ending it should be completely apparent on why he isn’t a yandere; but I’ll spell it out anyhow.

Ukyo has travelled across different worlds — either dying in horrific agony, or killing the love of his life, causing him to jump to another world to try again. Repeating this cycle over and over, the amount of trauma he inflicted upon himself, caused a new personality to be born.

The definition of yandere is as follows: A character who has an obsessive and possessive side in regards to their crush, ready to use violent and murderous means to maintain an exclusive bond.

Anyone can see clear as day, that this isn’t Ukyo. As his alter-ego is only violent and murderous towards the Heroine because if she doesn’t die, he will. It’s a fight or flight response, and his response is to fight.

OK. Rant over, let’s proceed.

SOUND & VOICE ACTING

Amnesia’s score is good, albeit often forgotten. Amnesia’s OST is composed by MANYO. Known for composing the Collar×Malice OST and also worked on the STEINS;GATE 0 OST and HIMOUTO! UMARUCHAN OST.

Both themes for Amnesia are sung by the incredibly talented Oda Kaori, both taken off from her fourth single “Reverberation.”

The voice acting is immersive! Each actor really did their best and you can tell, the quality is superb and suits each character really well!

“Orion” — Hiromi Igarashi (五十嵐裕美,) known for: Anzu Futaba (IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS,) Aoi Hyoudou (Kaichou wa Maid-sama!)

“Shin” — Tetsuya Kakihara (柿原徹也,) known for: Subaru Akehoshi (Ensemble Stars!,) Azuma Yukishiro (A3!,) Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)

“Ikki” — Kishō Taniyama (谷山紀章,) known for: Shinomiya Natsuki (Uta no Prince-sama,) Chuuya Nakahara (Bungou Stray Dogs,) Jean Kirstein (Shingeki no Kyojin)

“Kent” — Akira Ishida (石田彰,) known for: Shun Kamiya (TRIBE NINE,) Byakuya Togami (Danganronpa,) Aru Akise (Mirai Nikki)

“Toma” — Satoshi Hino (日野聡,) known for: Kyoujurou Rengoku (Kimetsu no Yaiba,) Momonga (Overlord,) Noiz (DRAMAtical Murder)

“Ukyo” — Kōki Miyata (宮田幸季,) known for: Chihiro Fujisaki (Danganronpa,) Hanataro Yamada (BLEACH,) Aiichirou Nitori (Free!)

FINAL SCORE

I give it a good out of very. Go play it.

...Hey. If you enjoyed this incredibly-not-biased review, I run some twitter bots of otome characters, so follow them if you’re interested. This was less of a proper review and more the ramblings of a hyperfixated teenager, sorry about that.

MY BOTS: Ukyo Quote Bot, Ukyo Pics Bot, Zen Bot

[publishinggoblin]

TAKE ME TO THE DARK

Take Me to the Dark: 3 Games of the Strange by Publishing Goblin — Kickstarter

In early October, TAKE ME TO THE DARK: 3 Games of the Strange is coming to Kickstarter! Click the link above to signup and be notified of the campaign's launch!

Take Me to the Dark: 3 Games of the Strange by Publishing Goblin — Kickstarter

Three card-run TTRPGs that take little to no preparation to sit down and play, not even for the person(s) running the story. $25 a piece, or $60 for all three games in a bundle.

ZOETROPE: Death Didn't Take is the second edition of time travel madness! Play time agents trying to stop (or cause) time anomalies in a ridiculous game. Build the timeline on the table with your action cards, so when you rewind (or fast forward) time, you know exactly what did or didn't happen.

SECRET HALLS is 1993 Chicago urban fantasy at its best. You are mages tasked with keeping the peace between other mythological beings, while trying to keep the mortals blissfully unaware of the supernal dream hiding in the dark alleys of their city.

WHAT WE POSSESS is a game of vignettes of the living, paired with the onlooking hunger of the dead. Figure out why your ghosts are haunting this space before their energy fails and they fall to the Whispers that keep them locked here.

[awordbroken]

collecting the moderately interesting parts from this year's new Tomb-Colonists Sacks investigation:

Day 7 (Fires Sacks):

[...]

Mr Sacks flutes in confusion. It notices Lettice, and the smattering of other bandaged persons occupying hiding places throughout the room. It lunges forward—

And Lettice flips a switch.

Pressure builds to a thunderhead. A great gout of steam erupts from a valve. Mr Sacks freezes in place, straining against invisible bonds. Something hisses from within its cowl. Something bubbles. And then Mr Sacks explodes, in an avalanche of ammoniac lacre.

Lettice and company leap into action, scraping the lacreous mess from your furnishings and into buckets, pails and boxes. Their words fade in and out amidst the dizzying fumes.

"…the one we thought then…"

"…share the memories of the original…"

"…ever they're making at Caminus Yards…"

"…fire and horsepower…"

They do an admirable job collecting all of the acrid white sludge, but your salon is still in a state when they leave. Lettice looks around, slaps you on the shoulder, and shrugs. "I lied. One little explosion."

--

Day 11 (Iron Sacks):

London flickers past the carriage windows like a jerky zoetrope. Hastings Place to Daughtry's Passage; glowing gaslamps and lacre-slick cobbles. Between each jolt and hairpin bend the city is glimpsed in crisp, frozen moments.

If Mr Sacks is perturbed by your concentration on the view, it does not show it. It seems almost to have forgotten you, scratching on twin pieces of yellow parchment, a quill in each gloved talon. Sacks' fingers articulate with more than the usual number of phalanges. The scripts on each leaf of paper are different, and neither is English.

When the carriage turns a corner to begin its rattling, too-fast approach to Hood's Bridge, you almost miss your cue to disembark. But judging from the state of your salon, the Mercy is not one for overstatement when it comes to explosions, so you throw open the door to the carriage.

Cobbles whip past. Stars blossom behind your eyes as you impact the street, and you are tumbling, rolling between stone and sky. Behind you, through the open carriage door, Mr Sacks moves horrifyingly fast, the embered eyes within its hood a well of cavernous fury. It is almost out of the carriage, struggling to fit its many-jointed and unfolding bulk through the door. A hand stretches longer than any hand should. The lacquered wood of the carriage splinters and breaks. Sacks is emerging, and will be upon you in a moment, a silent, bladed death—

And then, just as Lettice promised, there are a great many explosions.

--

London reacts very little to the violent explosion of not one, but two, Mr Sackses – if the city even notices at all. The Unexpurgated Gazette makes no mention of any lacreous misdemeanours. Although something on the front page does catch your eye…

'…this paper can report a series of audacious thefts around Wolfstack Docks. It appears that criminals targeting the factories of Caminus Yards, as well as Iron & Misery, have absconded with undisclosed quantities of naval artillery. The thieves acted with what one foreman referred to as "inside knowledge" of each operation. Neither Mr Fires nor Mr Iron could be reached for comment…'

[turtlethon]

“A Real Snow Job”

Season 7, Episode 3 First US Airdate: September 25, 1993

Krang and Shredder hatch a plan to alter the climate of Austrian Alps.

The “Vacation in Europe” side-season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues with “A Real Snow Job”. Misty Taggart is the credited writer for this adventure, which aired on CBS in a double bill with “Venice on the Half-Shell".

Today the Turtles travel through the Alps of Austria, the Turtle Van having been fitted with special rear tracks to allow it to forge a path through the snow. Splinter is drawn glaring angrily at both Michaelangelo and Donatello, so perhaps it’s for the best that he splits off from the group here, heading into the mountains to engage in meditation. The Turtles wave their sensei goodbye before continuing their journey to Lichtenbruck, which is similar in name to the real-world locale of Lichtenberg but as far as I can tell has been made up for the purposes of this episode.

April and Irma get some new, decidedly early-nineties outfits today as they’re given skiing instructions by the tall, dark and somewhat dopey instructor Rudy. Recreation isn’t the reason the Channel 6 ladies are here though, as Burne has asked them to cover the Olympic skiing trials. As April leaves the slopes to review the tapes of her footage, she notices that the snow is beginning to melt, despite this being “the middle of winter”. (Wait, the first episode of the European Vacation arc took place on Bastille Day, in the middle of July. Have the Turtles been wandering around Europe for half a year?!)

Krang is monitoring April’s activities from Dimension X, and goes on to check in with Shredder, who’s implementing a plan to melt the glaciers and flood the village below, apparently just to be dickish as this doesn’t help to free the Technodome in any way. Bebop and Rocksteady are dropped through a portal to accompany Shreds, as they have a side mission to carry out involving April.

The Turtles make another stop on their way to the village, as Raphael insists on trying out skiing for himself. Wacky antics follow as he soon winds up in trouble, the other members of the team heading downhill to help him, but all four ultimately wind up in a heap. Meanwhile April reviews the footage of her reports over the previous days, noting that less snow appears each time. She calls the Swiss weather bureau to inform them of her findings.

Bebop and Rocksteady are supplied with rocket sleds, which they soon manage to crash. After being chastised by Krang, who reminds them of their mission to destroy April’s tapes, they continue past the big seam that appears on-screen on their way to the village. (Production values haven’t increased much since the Turtles were in Paris.)

April receives information revealing that the area of the ozone lair immediately above the Alps is rapidly melting. She attempts to relay this to Donatello via Turtlecom, but the conversation is cut short when Bebop and Rocksteady arrive, set on abducting her.

Act two opens with April dropping one of her VHS tapes out the window of her chalet. This goes undetected by Bebop and Rocksteady, who carry her and the rest of the cassettes away. Irma and Rudy arrive at the ransacked building first, the cries for help from April’s friend alerting the Turtles. After some investigation, the team recover the tape thrown outside and reach the same conclusion that April had – that the snow is melting rapidly, which must be Krang’s doing.

April is brought to Shredder’s hideout, where Krang appears on a multiple monitor setup in easily the coolest visual of this episode. The two villains use a model to demonstrate their plan, simulating the impending flooding of Lichtenbruck and explaining that the world’s temperatures will raise, this village being just the first target, which at least makes a little more sense. Elsewhere, the Turtles return to their van alongside Irma and Rudy, with Donatello using the vehicle’s equipment to pick up on unusual zoetropic waves – microwaves that are altering the climate.

At his hideout, Shredder tasks Bebop and Rocksteady with setting up the final relay station needed to implement the Scheme of the Day. April attempts to sabotage this plot by buttering Shreds up, suggesting that he could be a guest on her new show, “Lifestyles of the Vicious and Infamous”. Incredibly, this works, as the masked villain agrees to free the reporter from her restraints so she can film him. We get a few crumbs of backstory here as Shredder explains the roots of his evil ways, revealing he was “just born that way I guess – mother kept threatening to run away from home”. Krang interrupts this to yell at Shreds for being side-tracked, providing April with an opportunity to reach for her Turtlecom only for the Foot Clan leader to unwittingly crush it under his foot.

We hastily need to come up with a cliffhanger to ensure the viewers stick around through the commercial break, and so the Turtle Van is seen veering out of control, falling off a cliff edge and down a slope as act two ends. When we return Donatello implements a parachute to break the vehicle’s fall. More problems follow as the ice beneath the vehicle begins to crack, almost pulling Michaelangelo into it after he ventures outside. After he uses a grappling hook to return to safety, an odd moment follows where Leonardo chastises Rudy, suggesting that as a tour guide this was his fault. (This makes no sense as the team were tracking the zoetropic waves, Rudy had nothing to do with it – perhaps there was some dialogue or even entire scenes removed here that showed him leading the Turtles astray.)

Bebop and Rocksteady set up the final relay station, allowing Krang’s scheme to be fully implemented. The snow nearby is seen beginning to melt, but Leo and Mikey arrive to confront the henchmen in... the Turtle Blimp? I suppose if it really has been half a year since the team arrived in Europe then they’d have had plenty of time to arrange to have the Blimp sent over somehow. Meanwhile Donnie and Raph confront Shredder in his hideout. To prevent our heroes from stopping his plan Shredder destroys the controls, an avalanche seen on the network of screens in the hideout. Joining the two Turtles are Irma and Rudy, and in a genuinely shocking moment it’s revealed that the ski instructor is an evil cyborg controlled by Shredder. Rudy turns out to be not long for this world as he’s swiftly kicked into a control panel by Raphael.

As Shredder tries to escape only to find his exit route blocked by snow from the avalanche, Donatello works to create a solution to the current crisis. Using Rudy’s wiring, he connects the cyborg’s power source to the relay’s control panel, allowing the team to stop the machine and return temperatures to normal.

Later, Shredder is seen in a snowstorm alongside Bebop and Rocksteady. The mutant duo loses patience with their boss after he’s unable to pinpoint where Krang’s portal back to Dimension X is supposed to be, pelting him with snowballs. Back in April’s chalet, the Turtles eat pizza before being introduced to Irma’s latest love interest, an un-named man who she assures the team isn’t a cyborg as she “ran him through the metal detector at the airport”. We close out with everyone engaging in uproarious laughter.

“A Real Snow Job” retains some of the unfortunate quirks from “Rust Never Sleeps”, the individual stories within this side-season being frustratingly contradictory and disconnected. It’s a real shame as the wider scope of the Vacation in Europe and the idea of the team travelling from country to country had the potential for a kind of ongoing storytelling we don’t usually get in this incarnation of TMNT.

As we’ve established, Shredder and Krang’s plan here makes little sense as even messing with the climate on a global scale doesn’t resolve their problems with the Technodrome being wedged in an asteroid in Dimension X. The revelation that Rudy was a cyborg the entire time is even crazier given that he must have been created long before Shredder had any awareness that the Turtles were in Austria. Rudy seems to have been built solely to mess with April, but the idea that he’s a saboteur is only hinted at by a single line of dialogue from Leonardo suggesting that he was giving the team bad advice, and he spent most of his existence cavorting with Irma anyway. (For what it’s worth, Irma is unfazed upon discovering Rudy to be a cyborg, declaring that she’s “open minded about these things”; this is consistent with her characterisation in previous adventures, as you may recall from REX-1's first appearance.)

One last note concerning Rudy: his name is given as “Gustav” in the synopsis for this story from the official TMNT website. I have no clue where that came from, Rudy certainly feels like a better fit for his slightly goofy character to my ears. The title accompanying the description is listed as simply “Snow Job”, although the full one is used in the actual list of episodes, another possible mid-production change.

This arc is proving to be a tough watch. Italy will be the next stop on the tour, as we join the ninja teens for "Venice on the Half-Shell".

[k00288091]

Primary Research 2 - Arduino Board Pinwheel/Zoetrope

Following on from my initial idea of things that move in circles, I decided to research how certain things move. My uncle Gerard is an electronic engineer and after talking to him about my project, he gave me the lend of a piece of equipment called an Arduino Board.

An Arduino board is an open hardware development board that you can program to do what ever you want.

He would have used this piece of equipment to complete assignments and projects in college.

There's a particular project that you can complete from the handbook called the motorised pinwheel, where you build a spinning wheel from scratch. You can continue on this project by making your own zoetrope and attaching it to the pinwheel to make a small animation.

So, I decided to build this project and pay attention to the small details to see how things move.

You have to use a 9 watt battery and your laptop with a USB connection to power the board. You also have to write a few lines of code to programme the board so it does what you want.

It was extremely interesting to use the board and follow the technical steps to see exactly how to move the wheel.

I made a draft version of a zoetrope with a series of drawings of a balloon going up and down. This was definitely a fail as the drawing was way too light and you couldn't see the animation as it spun.

I would love to make a larger version with a more intricate drawing and darker, so you can see the actual animation. I'm not too bothered by this though as this was really about just focusing on the movement and how the board worked.

In the next post I will post a video of the whole thing working!