#but a used disc is still like $55!!!!

[softandwildx]

I finally broke down and got Lies of P!!

[charkie-ee]

💚💛❤️ Third Life Series in 2024 (happy 3 years of third life!!) 💚💛❤️

“This series went from being like ‘it’s hardcore with a gimmick!’ to ‘it’s like battle dome in here!’”

so because it has been 3 years since our beloved traffic series has started, i figured a good way to celebrate would be going back and watch 3rd life from the winners pov.

this post will basically contain notes from the 1st episode that my brain has entirely/somewhat forgotten.

if you have not watched 3rd life FULLY this is will contain spoilers! i feel like thats a given, but i'll put it here anyway.

(i was thinking about making this post just for funsies but then i checked the date and realized that it was actually 3rd life’s 3 year anniversary TODAY. fjdkjfkdjd I SO PLANNED THIS. TOTALLY!)

ONE MORE QUICK THING!!: did i forget anything? reply, or put it into the tags if theres something I missed!!

EPISODE ONE: Grian plays Minecraft… With a TWIST

. this is the first series Grian’s officially played using the proximity chat mod.

. mentioned briefly at 2:55, this is Grian’s first hardcore series he’s ever played in.

. the first person grian meets up with is BigB!

. Grian only sees RenDog once in his first episode.

. Grian was originally going to base somewhere in the flower forest (closer to where Scott and Jimmy eventually live) before basing with Scar in the desert. However, once he started building, Grian immediately disliked it, and called it the ugliest thing he’s ever built.

. Grian gives his flint and steel to Scar, which he uses to burn down Etho's dark oak tree.

. Grian hides two villagers, and originally wants to show them to Etho. However, Impulse, and Bdubs, follow, and the word gets out shortly after. *

. Scar and Grian were going to team up BEFORE Scar was killed. Scar first brings up having a monopoly on sand around the 12 minute mark.

. (not really notes but) Scar takes his shirt off for the first time at 15 minutes exactly. (i can’t believe im writing this smh)

. * Grian is invited to go back to the village after venturing to the sand biome with Scar, and trades his villagers. (he trades them for 3 diamonds, a dark oak sapling, a lava bucket, a juke box and disc, a bed, and some other lint)

. Grian explodes Scar at the 21:25 minute mark. There were 6 witnesses to his 'prank'. Impulse, Etho, Cleo, Bdubs, Tango, and Martyn. (my favorite thing about this is that Ren puts in the chat "Enchanting would have helped with that")

. Grian pledges his 1st life to Scar(didn't really forget that part, but i did forget that Grian loses his first life near the end of the series

. Pizza is first seen at the 25 minute mark exactly! (i think Pizza spawned in during a cut in Grian’s video. because i am only watching his pov, i do not know where Pizza originally cane from, this is the best estimate.)

. Grian abandons his first base in the flower forest at 26:15. This hole-in-the wall base didn’t last an episode.

. Grian and Scar originally wanted to have a monopoly over sand AND dark oak, and successfully chopped down the ‘only’ forest they saw. However, there was another not too far away from their base which ultimately ruined that monopoly. That being said, if the second dark oak forest had not been there, they might’ve had a chance at monopolizing dark oak saplings.

.💚💛❤️.

I will be doing more posts like this for all of the episodes of Grian’s pov. that being said, if i miss something that was said/a scene in a different pov, i will not include that in this post.

for now, i hope you’ve enjoyed this little forgotten-info post, and i encourage you to watch the series for yourself!

I remember watching 3rd life for the first time when the episodes were still coming out, and i’ve loved the series ever since. It was, and still is a comfort series i watch when going through tough times. I’ve met lots of people, and made lots of friends through this series, and although i don’t post a lot about it on my blog, i’m grateful to have found a community who feels the same.

thanks for reading!

.💚💛❤️.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 05/10/2024 (The Weeknd & Playboi Carti, Nines Quits While He's Ahead)

For a sixth week straight, Sabrina Carpenter remains at #1 on the UK Singles Chart with “Taste” - we’ve got a week with several debuts from Nines today so… a riveting line-up, I’m sure. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, brief mentions of gang violence and self-harm

Rundown

As always, our episode starts with the notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 - the region I cover - after five weeks there or a peak in the top 40. This week, we bid adieu to “Guy for That” by Post Malone featuring Luke Combs, and that’s pretty much it aside from this week’s one big cause for celebration: all three Oasis songs that were charting, those being “Live Forever”, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Wonderwall”, have excited - at least for now - from the top 75.

This really is a bit of a dire week, especially when it comes to the actual content of our new arrivals, but it’s even evident in the songs gaining, as we don’t have any re-entries but we do see boosts for old songs like “Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC at #56 and “Yellow” by Coldplay at #55 - will be interesting to see if this stays or get replaced by a Moon Music cut. Then we have few gains in general, but what we do have includes “Free” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding at #46, “Tony Soprano 2” by Nines at #44 (more on him later), “Diet Pepsi” by Addison Rae at #22 and that’s pretty much it outside of a surge for “Heavy is the Crown” by Linkin Park off of the debut to #18 - it’s not a good song, but it is interesting enough, it’s definitely got more energy than what else is here this week.

As for our top five, we have Sabrina Carpenter bring “Please Please Please” to #5, with “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars at #4, then more Sabrina with “Espresso” at #3, followed by Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” at #2 and of course, “Taste” at the very top. Now for a perhaps less interesting week than it should be, but still a handful of new songs to think about.

New Entries

#73 - “NEW DROP” - Don Toliver

Produced by Coleman, Dez Wright, Psymun, Wheezy and Brian Yepes

In June, Travis Scott protégé Don Toliver released HARDSTONE PSYCHO, an album that has more ambition and aspiration to be interesting than it actually shows up in its execution. For a while, this specific album cut has been having more traction, presumably due to TikTok or some other virality as there does not appear to be a single push or big feature here. I did not actually get to discuss the album on this series, but it did grow on me over time just through throwing enough different paints at a canvas to eventually make some complementing colour scheme. “NEW DROP” is not one of those, primarily because it is so unfocused. The tight drill of “ATTITUDE” that finds such a specific tone it struggles to deviate from, the hook overload of songs like “TORE UP” or “GLOCK” and even the closing rock ballad “HARDSTONE NATIONAL ANTHEM” all find themselves committing to the bit, so to speak, seemingly aware that there is a gimmickry to their musical or lyrical ideas and running with it. The third disc of the album is where everything really throws me for a loop, especially in our charting song, “NEW DROP”, which lyrically is about… who cares? I’m pretty sure it’s about a threesome, but it could not matter less - Don murmurs through the chaos of his pre-chorus-adjacent moments that tip off overly long, messy verses that can’t pit themsselves to a flow. Even when near-yelling, he fails to enunciate in all his Auto-Tuned jabbering, but at least he’s clear on the chorus which uses a slick vocal loop and the makings of a house beat that too quickly deviate into a trap dirge and unnecessarily eerie soundscapes for whatever remains of the content. A squeaky loop appears in the left channel for no reason, he emulates Kid Cudi’s least interesting ad-lib if all the humming wasn’t enough aping for you, and you do start to wonder what this song is actually trying to be, with no thematic construct allowing for these beats to constantly switch or for the more menacing or playful elements to come in and out. Perhaps it would be a cooler execution of an okay idea in better hands.

#69 - “Stars Will Align” - Kygo and Imagine Dragons

Produced by Kygo

Kygo and Imagine Dragons collaborate once again in the year of our Lord 2019 - I mean, 2024 - and it’s about as serviceable as you’d expect. Kygo has always been more cinematic with his whooshing EDM, I actually like the way the rising house percussion slides into a smashing gated 80s drum, but Dan Reynolds is uncharacteristically out of it here. You may not need to fully go into rock belting mode for a song like this, but he’s damn near whimpering, especially as he continues to go into the falsetto at the end of so many lines, with him being so absent from the song’s first build and most drops coming off so strangely. It almost feels like a song was written and a house production was made, with little communication between the two camps, and they were just slashed together to try and work. Once Reynolds can bring in harmonies and acoustic fumbles, he feels more at home, but there’s still two very basic ideas combating for space perhaps too kindly! Instead of filling up too much space, not much space is filled at all, and the two elements barely coexist in the first place. Like a lot of this week, it is somewhat lifeless and definitely refusing to make the most use of its ideas or artists, but at least it doesn’t embrace that lifelessness as a character trait or appeal, more just a way to flag its way into EasyJet adverts, which… is still a purpose I suppose.

#65 - “Cold Hearted World 3” - Nines featuring Marnz Malone

Produced by mike allure and J.B. Productionz

I feel like Nines has got to have some form of cult-like appeal I’ve just yet to understand, because for years he’s shown little in the way of lyrical substance or vocal charisma over what is usually pretty cheap, dime-a-dozen production, not often even being that close to trends of the time, since his flow is a sloppy slow burn more than anything. Yet he still charts more consistently than most, and we have two tracks here from his most recent album, Quit While You’re Ahead, acting somewhat as a swan song of sorts as it debuts at #4 on the albums chart. Maybe there is a new sense of consciousness or just actual life injected into this album? Well, if the tracks we have to review from it are any indication, that simply can’t be the case.

Thankfully, at least for this track, Nines isn’t really the main point of interest, but instead, guest rapper Marnz Malone, a Birmingham rapper who sounds similar to Nines but has a tighter flow to accommodate a chiller delivery over soulful beats, or at least is the case on his other tracks in this trilogy. Similar to Nines’ “Tony Soprano” series, the “Cold Hearted World” tracks are intended to be one long, more lyrical verse, except these are typically over liquidy R&B samples, and Malone has a bit more intrigue to his absolutely defeated cadence that doesn’t stop him from going in for up to three minutes about his reality, with less stupid lines than a Nines verse, typically. The two worlds collide on a track very similar to the other instalments, just this time with Nines’ clunkier flow just ruining whatever vibe you could get from the beat. The topics are very much as you’d expect, but at least Nines brings some cuter 2000s rap references alongside a really ugly, cheap trap skitter and a vocal mix for Malone that sounds frankly like it was recorded in jail… which oddly adds much more to his stoic bars about how closely intertwined he is with gang violence that it’s a core part of his identity. I love the rhyme scheme in the second half, it takes his verse to very interesting places, and I generally think Marnz Malone delivers here, but this may be the worst beat in the trilogy and Nines feeds off this song really lazily, preventing him from really shining… I know, there’s a certain irony in using that term here, but I just wish I could enjoy this more or at least see more elements of this song in Nines’ catalogue to help explain the appeal.

#59 - “Lights Camera Action” - Kylie Minogue

Produced by Lewis Thompson

Ironically, if there’s someone to count on this week, it’s a decades-into-her-career Kylie Minogue still keeping up with the trends on a single for her upcoming Tension II, really maintaining her focus on these heavily-processed future house tracks from in-demand producers like Lewis Thompson. This particular song is just about looking good, feeling good and name-dropping fashion brands and designers doing so. It really is a Kylie Minogue brag rap in some ways, and it is once again completely serviceable. I will give this the edge of having a really riveting pre-drop with the rise of the synth strings and sparse, quieter claps before that tunnelling synth digs into a bombastic final drop and a rubbery bass that is really worth the wait. The rest of the song is fine, but much more distant and perhaps less applicable lyrically than her more universal recent hits, and that may be why it couldn’t crack the top 40 since this doesn’t have the same all-encompassing sexy club energy as say, a “Tension”, “Padam Padam” or even “Dancing”. It’s still perfectly fun for a late-era Minogue bop though, and for this week, that’s really something.

#39 - “Going Crazy” - Nines

Produced by Karlos, Jacob Manson and J.B. Productionz

Maybe Nines was right to mention the 2000s rappers because I do tend to forget how closely his “thugs need love” or breakup tracks get to tracks from that era of that ilk, including an overly loud chipmunk sample that cascades over blocky drums, an uncredited female guest vocalist on the hook, awkward skits to book-end their relationship troubles and awkward sex-raps. He even directly quotes the dated references from Ye’s “Through the Wire”… why the line about Tom Cruise and not any of the actually timeless funny lyrics on that song? Nines’ general sloppiness has always showed up the worst on his “for the ladies” jams and LEILAH can’t save this from just being lazy and somewhat like he’s trying to revisit or dress up as a character he can’t really pull off. It is at least something with a soul, however.

#7 - “Timeless” - The Weeknd and Playboi Carti

Produced by Pharrell Williams, Ojivolta, Twisco, MIKE DEAN, BBYKOBE and BL$$D

The credits to this song read like it got left over from the Donda sessions, and fittingly, it is just as lifeless, being Abel’s worst song in years. The intent of this song was to be a massive smash that lives up to the hype and anticipation awaited by fans following its performance at a concert in Brazil, accumulating success based on the idea of getting a “grail” officially released, cleared and finished this soon. The problem here is that much like what a lot of Carti fans will hype up, this is utterly disposable and they’ve been latching onto substanceless drivel that hopes you plug into the idea that it’s just “hypnotic”, “vibes”, it’s just different, man… when it’s really not. Abel mumbles his way through a sprawling intro before the rote trap drums clunk in and completely overpower the vague sense of atmosphere created by MIKE DEAN’s rainy synths - we don’t even get a typical Pharrell four-count, and whilst I tend to love his production, when working with rappers recently, he can make very stiff, robotic trap slogs, and this fits perfectly within that category. Carti uses the gimmick of changing his voice to cover a verse full of absolutely nothing - there’s some fun to how he coughs in and out of the baby voice - whilst Abel decides to remark that he’s timeless on a song that does sound as such, but not because it will last generations or that it’s a vintage-sounding track. Rather, it’s “timeless” because it seems to be purely for the moment, made ephemerally for the one last hurrah of a long career combined with Carti’s memelord status. As a song, this could have been absolutely anything. It doesn’t matter to them… or you. Unless you love hearing Mr. Tesfaye croon about how if he was you, he’d cut his wrists, before DEAN sprays his synth ejaculate all over the outro to whisper some character into a mindless void of non-character. I know this is an easy vibe for Abel and Pharrell to tap into, I’m just disappointed that for such an important project as Hurry Up Tomorrow, that they’ve decided to fully play into a lack of personality, a quality the two have otherwise held proudly onto. I am aware that all of this week has been lacking in interest or character, but it digs the harshest when you know that they know they’re feeding you sludge.

Conclusion

Probably the oldest of these acts, Kylie Minogue, is sounding the most alive, so she grabs Best of the Week for “Lights Camera Action”, even if it is just pretty good. As for the opposite side of the spectrum… Playboi Carti and The Weeknd are firmly the Worst of the Week for “Timeless” and, remarkably, I’ll give it to Nines: he sticks to an idea, but on “NEW DROP”, Don Toliver doesn’t so he bags the Dishonourable Mention. Maybe I really am getting old now… or is it the Opium kids who are wrong? Well, we should see Coldplay mooning us on the horizon, alongside potential hits from Perrie Edwards and Ella Henderson, so we’ll be exchanging safe for safe. Joy. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you next week!

[oshi-nakadapiroki]

Nakada Hiroki Nakacha no Ma #55 @ Hiroki's GAME Parlor 2024.6.18 Notes [Eng translation]

[Due to NicoNama's services being suspended for the time being, this month's Nakacha was streamed on his gaming channel over at OpenRec instead!]

≫ Intro:

His voice is still raspy (from all the screaming and laughing as Majima I'm assuming)

🎶BGM ↓ 🎙Microphone ↑

He doesn't want to show his face cuz he's got the day off

He says he won't be doing a gaming stream tonight

He's not used to not having the comments pass by on-screen like they do on NicoNama but he'll try to answer our comments to the best of his ability

He tries to enlarge the comments but instead gets rid of them (sasuga)

He apologizes for not being able to stream the day before as planned

He thinks he'll be able to save this broadcast in the archives (it's still there!)

He doesn't read comments on his phone simultaneously when streaming Nakacha but he does when he's at Parlor

He turns his camera on and instantly announces he has a pimple on his cheek

His hair has gotten longer in the last couple of weeks! (The hairdye has faded too)

He doesn't like that the camera quality is as good as it is (then why not change back to streaming on your iPad like before 😭)

The BGM disappeared when he turned his camera on so he's clicking back and forth to get it back, fixes it, but now there's an echo (there's always some type of technical issue lol)

He removes his glasses but quickly realizes he can't see SHIT

This month's drink: Homemade gin soda 700ml

He's only had a few beers recently with some of the LycoReco male cast and action ensemble cast

We've all collectively decided Ono Kento's main scene was the Pants Man scene 🩲

Post-COVID, he thinks female cast members don't go out drinking anymore like the male cast members

One day after rehearsals, he went to Akabane (neighbourhood in northern Tokyo, next to Saitama) by himself and there was this place called Senbero which advertisied food and alcohol for just 1000¥ which he found surprising so he went inside - turns out he had to pay 5000¥ by the end of his meal

He looks like a man who got ripped off

He might have drunk too much (this man istg)

He tries to move the screens around his dual monitors and his mouse keeps making clanking noises on the table

He's remembering that time he forgot to shut off the stream once and had to have upper management remove it for him

He prefers the way the comments go by on NicoNama after all, it's easier for him to read

≫ Lycoris Recoil:

Everyone were really professional

The director Akira-san created a nice atmosphere where you could feel at ease. Hiroki feels like they were good friends and were joking around together every rehearsal

He's bullying Rintaro (affectionately) 🤖

He thinks the Bluray disc will be quite generous with backstage content this time, the cameraman were basically present all the time

After each performance, they had an evaluation meeting for the higawari scenes (he doesn't know if it will be included though; it might be a waste of space, he says)

As for the adlib scene in Robota's room, the director pretty much left it up to Hiroki and Rintaro to do whatever

None of the Guy Hard adlib was part of the script at all

Because they all liked Hiroki's donut adlib (Guy Hard scene) during rehearsals, the director left it up to him too lol He had to step it up each time

He rewatched Die Hard once

He didn't tell Misato (Chisato's actress) his adlib ideas because it wouldn't make them as interesting

He goes on to talk about how he tried to preserve the vividness of reality in his adlib scenes, how each performance is different (compared to if it was to be put in the anime). He thinks the play needed unscripted funny scenes like those as a break from some of the emotionally heavy scenes

He stayed up til 3 in the morning before senshuuraku, creating his own script, to write down the last adlib

Someone in the chat said he did the same thing for DisGOONie's Motherland

However, he couldn't go too meta with his adlibs (apart from senshuuraku) - compared to Yoshi's pantsu scene, that one was allowed to be more meta because it was an imaginary scene lol

Yoshi's pantsu scene wasn't even in the script in the first place!

It's not even Yoshi's scene at this point - it's just a weird old man who likes pantsu lmao

Majima's pantsu are indeed red in the anime but they're (supposedly) black in the preview on YouTube, and because Rintaro was having a hard time with his higawari scenes, they went with that one

Hiroki himself actually didn't want to do the black briefs scene 🩲 He came up with the maid café scene all on his own though (sorry everyone who had to see that) He'd been practicing it ever since rehearsals

That scene was actually so crucial for them as time was precious; they had to time it exactly and finish it in 1 minute and 32 seconds because of the BGM

He's having difficulty with his hair, it get's wavy due to the humidity

Also, his hair dye from last time pretty much disappeared in an instant, it didn't last for more than two weeks

He apologises for using the camera as a mirror

This month's snack: Fried chicken with sweetened vinegar and tartar sauce 🍗 And octopus, broccoli and basil salad 🥦

In the Guy Hard scene, initially Majima and Chisato would just look at each other, go "hmph!" and look away

When he told her she had big eyes, that was just him saying it in the spur of the moment

He was glad the audience seemed to enjoy his off-handed comments at Chisato

They made other comments too like "you've got a tall nose" and "your eyelashes are flimsy"

The pre-show announcement wasn't made by him nor Majima (then who was it?? ww) He isn't sure why they asked him to do it

Within the theatre hall, because of its rules and manners, there are certain words you must use during announcements (such as emergency guidance etc), that's why he didn't say it as Majima

↑ That was the thing he got a message about during last time's Nakacha livestream

He hopes he got a good balance between announcing it as neither Majima nor Nakada

He's flicking around with the aircon he bought himself (brand: Daikin). Since he lives in a rented apartment, it didn't come with the aircon

He's starting to feel the alcohol from just one glass tonight

Whenever he's had a particularly hard performance schedule, it's not the day after the final performance but the day after that when he feels like crashing

He hopes he's given a good performance to those who came to see it for the first time, those who have seen it alot of times, those who have never seen a stage play before, and those who simply like the original work

He thinks he didn't do as much action as Chisato but his moves were quite different in the sense that he had alot of jumping and longer distances to run

It was tough on the body cuz he had to raise his legs alot. He might have told this previously but when he tried kicking for the first time, his muscles were sore all over the next day

He's not used to gun action so that was really difficult for him. Rather than shooting, it's more difficult to look like you're getting shot

There's different types of impact when shooting; rather than pulling or pushing, he's more for gripping and squeezing

He thinks Mari (Fuki's actress) did her shooting impact really beautifully

He apologises to his own muscles for getting hit so many times lol

Majima's bones are probably torn to pieces lol

The first time he got shot, he actually threw up a little

Normally, you would stop the moment you get hit but because of Chisato's rubber bullets, he had to keep going each time

Before he got used to getting shot, he felt like the abnormal titans running

However, he feels like his reactions to getting shot was nothing compared to the action team - they're all pros, after all

He can't decide on his front bangs so he wants to get a headband

Shoutout to Tsukada Tomoki who's an action veteran in the ensemble cast; Hiroki and he met for the first time while on Toumyu Kishou Hongi, they got talking alot together on this stage (he even helped Hiroki out on the Guy Had adlibs)

Chat: "I want to see Hiroki with a sword soon" Him: "Please let the management know. If it's not just coming from me but from all of you, it will probably be decided. So please!"

Majima's whistling was also Hiroki's idea, it wasn't in the script. He was intentionally lowering the last tone to make it more eerie (the whistling was also a reference to Die Hard)

He doesn't remember what they discussed in the after-talk

He didn't mean to stay silent the entire time, he wasn't able to enter the dialogue naturally so he was just awaiting his turn. Then, Kento ended up introducing him

He thought the planking was gonna be a joke (until it wasn't)

He thought he would ruin the vibes if he kept talking for more than 30 minutes

"You gotta be careful with adlibs!" He talked all that time just because he wanted to say that line lol He came up with it the day before, it was for pantsu man's sake

He hasn't thought of any adlibs for Tensura yet

He's off to make another 700ml pint of alcohol 🍺

Aaand he forgets to turn the camera back on for 3 minutes before he notices

He's having his octopus and broccoli salad and reminds us that Majima is not officially affiliated with broccolis ww

He's always liked green as colour and thinks his shirt is cute (brand: TTT MSW, ¥14 300) There were three colours but he chose green 💚

The director of the LycoReco anime told him he wanted to make a Majima spin-off! It would focus on young Majima, Chisato and the Alan children

He wonders if there's any Alan children within Lilybell

He wants to know the story of Majima's parents, he wonders at what age Majima began thinking they way he does

Then again, if they're Alan children, their parents probably aren't in the picture anymore

As a viewer, he's excited to see if LycoReco ever gets a season 2

There's the theory that Yoshi isn't dead after all

He's mulling over the possibility if there were more artificial hearts, and if Yoshi had it put in or not since he still has the scar

He thinks it'd be lame if the heart actually was inside the carrier bag

Suddenly there's a bug in his room and he has to get up to let it out through the window 🤣 And he briefly changes the BGM to last boss music www

≫ Furuba:

He apologizes for not being able to be in Furuba The Final except for a video appearance

He can't think of a time when he's only had a video appearance before (he's had a voice appearance in the Wind Boys musical)

If there's no one there to stop him, his Aya appearance might be 30 minutes long. Yuki might cut him right off though (probably)

Although he's never been in a video appearances, they're always scripted and they're very strict about it so he hopes they won't ask him to improvise

"What's the point of improvising if you've only got one shot?"

Daily adlib video appearances are too much, they're too innovative (that's one way to put it lol) Even if the director Mori tells him it's fine with a smile on his face

He should just be in it already if he's gonna do daily adlib videos

Since it's Aya we're talking about, all of this might be possible because he just wants to bless Yuki

≫ Lycoris Recoil:

Someone in the chat mentions to all LycoReco fans that they can watch Furuba at d-anime Store and DMM TV, and Hiroki tells them they don't have to advertise it 🥺

He's getting frustrated over his hair again; he's got hairpins somewhere but he's not gonna go get them cuz he doesn't want to show his forehead

He seems really happy for the person in the chat who mentions LycoReco was their first irl stage play and they liked his Majima!

The chat asks how it was to perform at G-Rosso, he thinks it was very difficult (due to its height and how steep the steps were), both on stage and backstage, especially in the scene where he had to run at full speed then roll over

He tried searching his indirects (egosa) during the performances but majority turned out to be about Majima Goro from the game, Like a Dragon/Yakuza

He won't say anything else on the matter because he doesn't want to upset fans of the game

He's gotten quite used to how to handle the long coat, he thinks he's good at it

He felt like all air had been punched out of his stomach when he did the last fall

Him stocking the cans were at random each time, but they tried to choose the Gokigen can (imitating the old dairy drink Fukigen) when drinking. For senshuuraku, they absolutely had to choose Gokigen

He apologises for not being able to stream on NicoNama this month but hopes we can spend time together on this platform in the meantime

He thinks it was refreshing to stream on OpenRec like this for once

Congratulations to everyone born in June! 🎉

"We cannot live without you, much like the rainy season!"

No rollcall this month

He hasn't taken a bath in two days, perhaps that's why his hair is the way it is today

"Namaste 🙏"

≫ 2nd part of the stream:

He's feeling fuzzy because of those two drinks yet he goes to make another one

He thought he was gonna be cute and clap his hands on camera, then he looked over and got embarrassed over himself 😭 maji kawachii

He wants us to ask more about LycoReco because at this point he'll absolutely tell us things he shouldn't ww

He feels like the stream is lagging

He starts talking about his Majima wig but gets cut off by his Nanoleafs falling off the wall (he's got a 9 piece set)

He says his computer is paripi (shortened pronunciation of "party people" in Japanese) and sparkly

He wants to show it to us but there are some parts that are quite unsightly so he'll show it some other day

They had Majima's wig remade from scratch for this stage! The amount of hair increased and the silhouette also changed

It was very difficult for him to breathe while wearing Majima's bandages, especially due to his labored breathing from his final battle with Chisato

He wasn't scared to do the last fall, probably because he was in character - he would have been scared if he was himself doing that

He laughs when the chat tells him he fell beautifully

"'The BGM is a bit too loud'? As you wish~"

He wonders what we all think of Majima's fall, how it differs from the original work and what it implies - he says there's no right or wrong, each answer lies within us individually

The chat seems to have enjoyed how he lowered the volume on Robota's phone call

The chat was concerned for Yoshi's ears as well, although Hiroki is more worried about his eyes because of him eating Mintia and blowing his minty breath in Kento's eyes

y'all thought Majima's choice of weapon was a gun but it's actually his breath www Yoshi featuring the mint endurance championships

Hiroki was the one who came up with the marimo adlib for Robota when trying to come up with things that Majima resembled

For senshuuraku, he had already made up his mind that he wanted to do that one ("okaerinasai, goshujin-sama!") even if they repeated it from an earlier performance

He had to hit Robota's head at an angle that the noise would get picked up by the microphone on the inside, yet not hard enough that the mic would fall off (while also being careful not to break it since the head is just a prop 😅)

He's laughing as he shows the screenshot of him hitting Robota that someone sent him

He wants us to look forward to the backstage footage showing nothing but love for his hacker ("mai hakka ai")

They also had Majima likened to a swallow's nest in their drafts for adlibs

While they were thinking of their adlibs, Keigo and Kento were thinking about pantsu adlibs - the boys' dressing room were getting pretty rowdy apparently

He apologises for subjecting us all to his lame adlibs (which he himself found hilarious at the time)

He thinks Rintaro had grown lots as a person since the last stage

There were too many highlights backstage, he doesn't know if/how they're going to include all on the disc later

The chat updates him on all the winner poses Walnut did (Ultraman, Goku's kamehameha, Sailor Moon etc.) The kamehameha pose was for those in the audience in their 30s

He tried saying midori (green) and burokkorii at the same time and ended up with burori (also pronounced as Broly, a character in Dragon Ball) Not to mention Piccolo is also green, but not his hair

Everyone's trying to come up with green things in the chat, he says it's fine if the shape is mushroom-like

Suggestions: Suumo mascot, latok sea grapes, muscat grapes, melon pan, 1/3 of a dango, advocado

He tries to think of the shape but the only thing that comes to mind is a lightbulb

Apparently he had one more idea that he sang about in the wrong key so everyone backstage told him not to do it on stage? (Idk if he's saying 'key' or ki as in tree cuz the chat is mentioning この木なんの木 which seems to be an old song used in commercials which has been used since the 70s?)

Someone mentions Mike from Monsters Inc but he says that would have definitely offended some lol

Back when he did Furuba, there were lots of children in the audience that day and apparently he said a word that sounded like 'unchi' (poop)

Someone mentions Yoda in the chat and he bursts out laughing

If Robota had suddenly said Yoda at him, he absolutely wouldn't have been able to keep his cool

But if it would have been ok to mention Yoda, he might as well have mentioned Shrek too

Someone in the chat writes 誰かが座っているヨーダだ (which can also be read as 誰かが座っているようだ and then gets rid of any copyright *not*) Hiroki compliments their smart move

More NG options: The Mask, Keroro, Toy Story aliens, Grinch, TMNT

He's still going on about trying to picture Robota calling Majima Yoda ww He REALLY wishes he had done that one for the adlib 🤣

He goes on to tell us he doesn't actually know that much about Star Wars; he doesn't really understand the flow or in what order to watch, which is C-3PO or R2D2

Apparently someone told him he resembled C-3PO at one point (he probably did some robot dance moves or something)

He says he's gotten more muscular recently

His muscle training recommendation is planking, he does numerous sets for 2 minutes and then his body is trembling

He says 2 minutes might be too much for girls to handle

Even after 1.5 min he feels like quitting

The chat wants him to do muscle training rooting voice clips 💪

Someone in the chat wants him to say "lose weight, you pig!" (he won't)

He's looking sly over the fact so many seem to want that kind of voice clip

He has no plans of doing Natsu no Jin this summer 🙅‍♂️

He probably won't be doing Aki/Fuyu either due to his schedule

"Please adjust your schedule without trouble. Just prioritise yourself when it comes to your wallet. Valuing yourself the most, that's what's most important to me. That feeling makes me feel happy, or rather, it makes me feel at ease."

He wants to travel somewhere for summer but he won't have the time for it

He tells everyone to be careful now that the cold is going around

He asks if we have any more questions about LycoRico because after today he'll forget all about it lol

For dai senshuuraku curtain call, he intentionally bent the knee when directing the attention towards Chisato and Takina (compared to the other performances where he just gestured with his arm)

Recent 7-11 recommendations: Borscht soup (with a piece of bread)

Although it has meat, it's basically an onion soup

Someone asks him which scene he was the mosts moved by, he can't say for sure a certain scene at the moment but it might be the scene where Takina yells the heart is getting away

Again, it was Hiroki who came up with the idea of mentioning "who's the one to fall off the building" in the Guy Hard scene - he got permission to put it in there

Because the one who fell laughing from the building in Die Hard (?), Majima also laughed when he fell

He thinks finding a balance in today's world is important, and Majima found that in his own sense surely

Even if there's an overflow of good things, that doesn't necessarily cancel out the bad things

(He's going on a bit of a tangent justifying (?) Majima's way of thinking, it's hard to translate - he himself ends it with, "it's difficult")

He just wants to have a serious talk about Majima

"Was it a loss to fall or not?"

(He looks really deep in thought at this point)

That's all for LycoReco 🙌

He's got rehearsals starting again next month!

People are sending him both strawberries and watermelon Yells in the chat

He won't be tweeting tonight; it's no good when he's been drinking

He notices he's been streaming for 3.5 hours at this point

He says he won't be streaming any games today, yet he's still got Placid Plastic Duck Simulator open on the other screen

He totally just bought something in-game (the screen is still cut off)

And he's gone off to the bathroom 🚽

He's got a new pool for the ducks!

It's supposed to be a relaxing game but he can't get his game controller to work so he's stuck using his computer mouse and he keeps hitting it on the table (pls get a mousepad)

He's chewing some ice from his drink and has gotten a bag of Sapporo potato chips that's making alot of noise

His wipe camera is working!

He says BBQ chips are good no matter how old you get

His FENDI earring is hurting his ear now that he's wearing headphones

(His reactions towards the different ducks are adorable but his gaming and excessive clicking is insufferable)

He attempts to yodel the way they do in the game

There's a hot air balloon far away in the distance, he says he wants to go irl but he'd absolutely die from crashing it

He wants to go to the type of lodging that's in the game, but only for two days, then he'd want to go home

He takes a screenshot of the shark duck on screen, then ends the stream after 4 hours 🫶

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 4 ("The Road Trip To Harvard") Aka JessMas Eve This episode makes my list of favorite episodes. On that list of episodes, only two of them don't include Jess (the other being Rory & Paris' super gay spring break trip). So I guess you could say I enjoy the episodes where the characters manage to escape The Hollow for a bit and visit The Real World™. I already reviewed Jess' debut in the next episode ahead of schedule (which you can read here), so next time you see me post it will be Season 2, Episode 6. You can read the rest of my reviews here. I'm going to enjoy these last gasps of breath before Jess shows up and the agonies begin. Until then, let's pack our shit, print out our Mapquest directions, drag out the giant binder of compact discs, and get on with the road trip. Let me just say I admire Lorelai's ability to self reflect and admit to herself that she wasn't ready to get married and that Max wasn't the right person for her.

Rory: What did that sign say? Don't? Or Death? We're doomed. Lorelai: Wrong. We're being guided by fate.

Same things I'm saying as I await Jess Mariano's arrival.

I love Rory's disdain for all the late 90's pop music that I cherish so dearly.

Is that the name of the local asulym in The Hollow?

Debatable. Lorelai: I hope you didn't get too far on that cake. I know the kind of work you were gonna put into that cake and I'd just kill myself if you went crazy for nothing.

"Oh sure, don't worry about it Lorelai. It's not like I poured blood, sweat and tears, dozens of man-hours, and expensive ingredients into this god damn monstrosity just for you. I'm not going put you in a chokehold the next time I see you or anything. I'm Sookie! I'm too cute and quirky for that!"

"Here's what I think about your cold feet, Lorelai. " *grabs knife*

Awww Sookie, you're too kind. Thank you. I... don't understand Lorelai putting down Bed and Breakfasts. Doesn't she literally manage one? I suppose there is some minute difference between a charming, small town, New England "inn" run by quirky characters, and a charming, small town, New England "Bed and breakfast" run by quirky characters? Lorelai at the Cheshire Cat B&B: We can't stay here. Rory: Where are we going to sleep then? Dying of exposure in a car is my worst nightmare. Rory when she saw Jess dying of exposure in a car:

Lorelai: We found the only room that would have made Liberace step back and say "Wow, step back, no one's that gay!" Early 2000's tv writing, everyone! Lorelai: Are you hungry enough to risk having to answer 100 questions about Chilton, your life in a small town, and your hunky hunky boyfriend? No matter how far from home she strays, Lorelai's's thoughts are never far from Dean. Handsome, tall, beautiful, hunky hunky, 16 year old bag-boy Dean Forrester.

Rory: What do we do now? Lorelai: Go to sleep? Rory: It's only 8:30. How about we talk?

"Please say Dean, please say Dean, please say Dean..."

"...Damn it."

This screen shot has so many potential uses for future reviews! I will be stealing it. Thanks Lorelai! #Yoink Lorelai calls Sookie again, who is just chilling at Luke's instead of at the Inn for once, honestly kind of an unusual sight that threw me off. Earlier in the episode, on her first call to Sookie, Lorelai asked her to have Miss Patty spread the gossip that the engagement was kaput, but we learn that news has not yet reached Luke, who is in the middle of trying to throw Kirk out of the diner for ordering 8 refills of his coffee and occupying a table for too long. Kirk: I've been trying to figure out the tip, I'm not good at math. What's 6% of $4.43? 8 cups of coffee for under $5? 55 cents a cup? Good deal. See that Gilly Girls? Someone who pays Luke for their food and even leaves a tip! Granted, he's only about to leave 26 cents but at least it's something. Learn from this man. I know Lorelai eventually begins to pay Luke back with Nature's Credit Card (booty) but that's still a few years off. Sookie breaks the news to Luke, and the Grinch's heart grew 4 sizes that day. In light of the bad news, he decides he won't charge Kirk for his (now 9) cups of coffee, forgoing his 25 cent tip, and also gives free coffee to everyone else in the diner, plunging himself even deeper into debt. Anyone else ever think about poor Jess waiting tables, depending on tips but knowing that R&L never tipped him? And Rory would never even tip him with Nature's Credit Card. Shame, that.

I recognize the woman on the left from an episode of The Golden Girls and the guy in the middle from an episode of Seinfeld (Fun bit of trivia: Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson both made appearances on Seinfeld!)

Sorta kinda. And now for easily the best thing ever spotted in the background of a tv show.

Wanted: SAT Instructors? No, that's not it. Conference on Voting Modernization. Hmm, not quite...just move up a skosh there... Affordable Spanish tutoring? No..

Rory, you desperately need a job and I notice you're not jumping to sign up for this easy gig. I think this would look impressive and really stand out on your college application and you may learn a thing or two. Dean and Jess would be very appreciative. Sadly, even with my good vision I can't make out what the rest of the tiny writing says except "Gay and straight" and that the last line is some pervy perv's email address.

"Hey baby, you signing up for the Porn Watching job too?"

Sounds like a good place for getting paid to watch porn. I think Jess would have loved college, and in my headcanon he definitely gets his GED and goes to college in his 20's. The WB network basically made a show about it. It's called The Bedford Diaries. Or as I affectionately call it "Jess Goes To College". The GillyGirls commit some light breaking and entering and walk into an open dorm room.

I just wrote a song, want to hear it? Here goes: Vintage computers, oh so cute, early 2000's I love youuuu!

I know this was 2001, but Lorelai thinks it costs $100 to take a class at Harvard.

How do you know you're really at Harvard? Everyone wears sweatshirts that say "Harvard" on them. Rory tries to sneak into the class unnoticed but drops her coffee which causes every single person in the room to turn around and angrily glare at her and she gets reprimanded by the professor for not sitting in a seat. My heart breaks for her pathetic self. But if it's any comfort to Rory, in The Real World ™ I can promise you nobody in that class would give a shit about you or your coffee.

♫ I'm at a payphone, tryin to call Luke, I never pay him for his food ♫

The two women next to Rory are rolling their eyes so far back in their heads they're going to make a full rotation and come back out the other side.

Oh hey I know that guy in the red shirt! A time traveler from the distant year 2006. He didn't stick the landing, had to re-live 9/11 a month earlier and now he's being forced to listen to Rory Gilmore's thoughts on philosophy. That was a Heroes joke. That's the guy who played Hiro on the tv show Heroes. He could travel through time.

My man in plaid here has fallen into a coma.

Out of Context Gilly Girls Lorelai comes home and forces her mother to watch slides of their trip. Emily to Lorelai: Why would you go out of town right before your wedding? Wouldn't your fiance mind?

Heh heh, woopsie daisy! Emily thinks Lorelai eloped and flies into a rage but Lorelai tells her what happened. Emily's only response is that she's returning Lorelai's wedding gift. Lorelai once again swallows and represses her ongoing trauma and instead grills her mother on what the gift was, but she won't say. Doesn't Lorelai recieve an ice cream making machine in the mail with no return address a short time later, or was that just a fever dream? Ah, I suppose we shall soon find out. And now for the Relevant Stuff That Happens In The Last Three Minutes: Lorelai & Luke have a very sweet conversation where she decides to keep the chuppah and turn it into a positive instead of a painful reminder. Lorelai asks Luke if he will give her guidance on owning a business and he accepts. She wants to begin the process of opening an Inn with Sookie. Lorelai opens her flip phone and thank god she's just calling Sookie again and not Christopher. And Lane escaped from Korea. Good for her.

Tomatos Sign: Spotted.

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 - Disc 9

Finally reached the final volume! Really the only things I got out of this was the art and maybe the omake bits. Didn't care about the characters/plot at all lol. I guess this is a parallel universe so it doesn't contribute much to canon...It was cute though, so no regrets.

Ch. 52

-These "final battle" chapters have been a breeze to get through since it's mostly just action. I'm glad they threw a little bit of strategy in there with Taichi's explanation of the dot matrix though. Makes it feel more well thought out.

-In the previous volume I had complained about the lack of a team, but they did explain how Hideto's previous battle was crucial to winning this one, so I guess that's something. (But Zero and Taichi still have to be number one...)

-The mangaka confirmed my suspicions about Neo being an anagram for One. I guess that was pretty obvious...

Ch. 53

-So we finally see the "super ultimate" form of Arkadimon which I guess is stronger than the mega form? IDK...shit's confusing. The design kind of reminds me of the witches from Madoka. Sort of eldritch looking. I don't understand if his appendages are supposed to be like hair or tentacles...

-Sort of want to see an alternate ending where Neo achieves his goal, just so he can then fall into loneliness and despair when he's all alone in his new world (or would he be OP enough to create fake people? IDK...)

-"God Matrix" was pretty epic, but I feel like it didn't seem all that destructive despite looking like a nuke went off. We lost, what, one digimon? (One named digimon anyway)

Ch. 54

-More deus ex machina stuff. Apparently most overwrites shorten digimon's lifespan, but OH! There's a super-special-secret overwrite, the Alforce, that makes digimon power up through sunshine and rainbows! Riiiight.

-I don't like Zero's Alforce form because he looks kinda soulless now, almost like a bad guy. His "outfit" gives super sentai vibes. It's just kinda all over the place. Also, Mari said "he doesn't look like a dog anymore!" This manga keeps tryna gaslight me into thinking Zero looks like a dog when he never did lol.

-I thought the whole "Neo is doing this because of his sister's accident" thing was already established? I know Rei didn't know, but Sigma?

-Lol at Rei INSTANTLY jumping off a cliff. She didn't even hesitate for a second.

Ch. 55

-Okay, I'm going to say something hypocritical. First I was annoyed that Neo was a flat, evil-for-the-sake-of-it, villain, but now I'm annoyed that he gets to be insta-redeemed for "secretly having his heart in the right place." How are they going to pretend he still cares about his sister at this point? I feel like I could go back and find a bunch of evidence of Neo not giving a shit about Rei anymore (in fact 2 seconds ago he was carelessly tossing nukes in her direction), but oh well. I get the vibe that this franchise really likes redemption arcs.

-Lol guess Demon is the final boss after all! What a twist! I like his super ultimate look, very Go Nagai looking. Too bad his name is kinda stupid. Will Neo help fight him? (Somehow...without a partner...)

Ch. 56

-Ugh, they're doing that really tedious shounen power escalation thing. Every other chapter it's like "yes, we've powered up, no one could possibly beat us!" and then "What's this? An even STRONGER digimon!? And they know that legendary, ultra powerful technique!? This is our toughest battle yet!" and then a stronger mon/ability shows up and so on and so forth. I think the digi-formula is to drag the battle on a liiiiiittle past the point of annoying the audience to make things feel more climactic.

-They tried to give Demon some nuance by pulling the whole "liberation from tamers" schtick. I feel like there's not a ton of merit to it since it's the digimon that called the humans into their world in the first place.

-Demon says "humans created us!" I guess in this version of digimon the v-pets exist, so true (but then some just came outta nowhere like Zero?)

Ch. 57

-Okay, I'm glad they used the already established digimental's power instead of introducing more new, innate ancient digimon powers. Super ultimate Zero doesn't look super different from his prior form. It's maybe a slight improvement, but not very noticeable...

-We get a redeemed!Neo moment. I still kinda wish he'd answer for his crimes more, but maybe that comes later. They're kinda busy right now lol

-The digimental looks pretty different from the ones in the anime. Reminds me of an exsphere (from Tales of Symphonia)

Ch. 58

-This was a pretty paint-by-numbers ending. The day is saved, everyone celebrates and then the kids have to go back to their world. One element that set this apart from the anime is that there's still the v-pet element so Taichi is technically still acting as Zero's tamer. How things look from Zero's POV we'll never know.

-The ending reveal of everyone's human world counterparts threw me back to Dot Hack, especially with Rei in her wheelchair. Sigma without a mask was cute, I like how there's some subtle shipping with him and Mari in the background.

Omake - A New Courage

-Lol Taichi and Taichi, now we're getting REALLY meta! They did a good job of visually distinguishing the two Taichi's while still making them nearly identical. The art was definitely the most fun part about this omake.

-Agumon looked soooo cute in this ;w; so tiny next to Zero! And he gets to ride on his shoulders <3

-Why did Zero devolve (de-digivolve?) in this? I thought in the manga universe that wasn't a thing...

-The excuse for the plot this time was pretty lame "oh, the humans are making viruses and stuff so that manifested in our world," yeah whatever. Again, it kind of annoys me how anime!Taichi just instantly agrees to help with a battle that could take ages when he should be more concerned if he'll ever see his friends again.

Overall this was like a C+ experience. Perfectly serviceable, but not super memorable. In MAL terms I give it like a 5 outta 10. What do you call shounen for younger kids anyways? Super shounen? Baby shounen? There's gotta be a term out there...

[fishmech]

You know what else can't be taken from you? A digital file someone already ripped for you from a CD. lmao.

Also legally if you buy the CD you still don't "own" the music on it just like you don't own the purchased digital file. And in fact CDs can be taken from you! It's trivial for people to steal your CDs lol. We used to have people doing that all the time when they were actually popular!

There's also that the vast amount of legal music downloads these days lack DRM - no one at the greedy ass publishing label can take your non-DRM music files from you remotely. This has been the standard for well over a decade.

Like yeah if you got some fuckin iTunes downloads from 2004 those still had DRM on them. But even at some hellhole store like Apple's now if you buy a music track from them, it's unencrypted, there's no licensing enforcement mechanism on it, you can slap that file on a million different devices and they can't stop you.

Buying CDs is just flat out wasting your money. You buy them new and you're flat out over paying and it's not like any of the overpayment is going to the artist, it's just going right to a record executive's pocket. You buy them used and it often still costs more than a "legit" online download

If you simply must put things on optical discs, here's what you need to do. Fuck cd burners, fuck dvd burners, get a blu-ray burner. You can burn BD-R and BD-RW in a variety of sizes - 25 GB, 50 GB, 100 GB. You can store easily 48 days of music on a 100 GB disc, 12 days on the 25 GB. And if you're buying the special long life formulations they could actually last 50-100 years before degrading past the point they can be read.

And thats the equivalent of ~864 CD-Rs written using traditional CD audio on one 100 GB blu-ray disc, or ~140 CD-Rs if writing in modern music formats on the same disc. To put that in perspective for costs, you're looking at $80 for just 50 long life CD-Rs (standard quality ones tend to become unreadable within 15 years, all the CDs i burned back in high school have severe disc rot now cuz i used cheap discs!) versus $55 for 5 of the 100 gb long life blu-ray discs - themselves equivalent to a total of 4320 cd-audio discs in storage altogether, or 700 cd-r discs used as straight up data storage.

So you know, you're looking at paying ~$7000 or ~$1120 for storage you could get for $55. And particularly when you consider you can get an external blu-ray burner capable of those largest discs over USB for around $100 vs $29 for an external DVD burner (it's rare to even find a just plain CD burner anymore unless you're shopping straight up vintage equipment) - the savings add up super quick if you're at all serious about wanting to burn optical discs because you're worried about longevity of flash and magnetic drives!

HOLD THE LINE!! KEEP PUSHING!!!!!

[billk128]

Jesse Malin Finds the Light (+ sidelong musings)

Greener pastures always wait for you You can make it tonight

So ends the Jesse Malin song Greener Pastures, here the final track on his "Chasing the Light (Live)" CD released this past spring (the package also comes with a Blu-Ray disc of performances with an alternate slate of songs). The lines close the book on a record themed with overcoming obstacles to live one's life, while looking both forward and back on what life has delivered.

What life has delivered to Malin - a vibrant indie rock/club figure in New York City, 57 years of age with 4 decades in the business - was a rare spinal cord stroke late spring of 2023, that left him paralyzed from the waist down. This is a performer who works a room old school and interactively, traversing crowds for a deeper connection, leaving the stage breathless like the best performers often do.

The album's songs and their sequence feel purposefully rueful and ultimately hopeful (Malin remains unfailingly positive), and are punctuated with the joyful kind of playing that Malin pulls from his band. Recorded live, albeit sans actual crowds - the sleeve cites "no overdubs" but there were more than one takes. Regardless, the sound is crisp and the vibe is fluid, highlighting the capabilities of the players and the subtle musical depth to the songs themselves.

A trio of tunes that open and close the record tightrope across its themes as well, with the excellent opener State of the Art setting the tone (and aided by Tommy Stinson's garage-raw rhythm guitar contribution); later Malin gets Stonesy with Meet Me At the End of the World, and then finishes with the folkier, poignant Greener Pastures.

Jesse may indeed be chasing the light given the physical hit he took, but this record is another example of him bringing the light to us. And this was just a beginning - in late June, a show (including multiple guests) at the Beacon Theater in NYC on 12/1 was announced, which sold out, and 2nd show on 12/2 was added. I don't know if the extensive physical therapy Malin has been undergoing in Argentina has changed much, but I will be at that 12/1 show to see for myself. Info on the shows and their varied artists, plus on a tribute album coming out in September appear here.

Pearl Jam's Grab Bag

For any believer still paying attention, Pearl Jam has released 5 solid records starting with 2006's eponymously named pseudo-return to form, with the recent "Dark Matter" rounding out the set. I occasionally find myself thinking that Eddie Vedder's powerful baritone can leaden their sound at times, but the band is skin tight and Mike McCready's guitar leads are nimble and reliable, and all of that continues on the latest offering.

I also felt they might have been dabbling and/or having fun with both contemporary and influential artist sounds within their own battle-tested framework on this record. There are several examples, so choosing one, the radio released Wreckage, and its Tom Petty samplings.

The song in general espouses the chiming timbres of Petty's signature work, along with backing vocals echoing both Heartbreakers and solo Petty recordings, perhaps leaning towards the Jeff Lynne-produced choral flavors of the solo albums. More specifically, starting at 2:20, the guitar break hints at what later culminates with a riff from Petty's Learning to Fly (after a series of Vedder's signature emoting) from 3:55-4:05, and echoed in the ending notes of the song. Otherwise, the backing chorals adroitly bring stylings of both Petty and Guided by Voices' lead man Robert Pollard together, Pollard having spent a period opening for Pearl Jam some 15+ years ago that retains its impact.

And finally...

Low Cut Connie is a Philadelphia-based band fronted and driven by Adam Weiner, and 2020's Private Lives was an unexpected career milestone that merits discovery and multiple listens. So I found myself surprised to have missed the 2023 follow up "Art Dealers."

And if not as memorable as "Private Lives" the record achieves as an encouraging follow up and reimagining of the previous record's sweet spots. While the results lean a little more Elton John than Jerry Lee Lewis, the passion remains and the sonic palette expanded. Two samples:

The Motown-flecked leadoff track, Tell Me Something I Don't Know;

and King of the Jews, which doubles down on both ethnic roots and this local bar band's Philly soul genesis...

[hlmowrer]

Week 55: "O Remember, remember"

You guys, this week was weird.  I'm still kinda trying to collect all my thoughts and make sure I'm remembering all of it, because this bad boy had MANY chapters.

It wasn't a bad week.  We reconnected with two friends we had lost contact with...one is very enthusiastic and wants to be baptized (yay for Dylan!) and the other is less gung ho but we had a really great impromptu Bible study and we were far closer to the same page than we were when we started, so we're making it a weekly thing now!  All of this was a tremendous blessing, because finding new people to teach has become extra difficult lately and we haven't had a lot of success.  Never underestimate the Lord's power to work miracles!

Wednesday I had another exchange with Elder Burrill, one I expect to be the last for a while.  We supported each other as always, and we were so spirit led!  Elder Burrill is amazing at listening to where God wants him to go...we were putzing around in Meijer and he suddenly felt prompted that we needed to go in the direction of the sporting goods...and immediately got distracted looking at the disc golf equipment.  We began to wander off, hoping we hadn't missed our moment when he decided we needed to go back, and 30 seconds later decided that "dang it, we don't need to be here anymore".  We were a bit disappointed, but I made a crack about how perhaps the Lord sent us over here just to delay us, knowing that our juvenile minds would get caught by the discs for just long enough to be in the right spot later.  We went to go find the car, and at exactly the right split second we ran into Austin, a super chill dude that was down to hear a scripture and ended up being pretty interested in the Book of Mormon!  It was such a rad testament to the need to sometimes follow the Spirit without knowing why, and I was pretty proud of myself for correctly guessing what was happening.  Later on our faith was tested again...we were prompted to go into a restaurant, and we found the person we think we were looking for but making our escape without buying any overpriced pizza was a challenge.

Also on Wednesday (now you can see how packed this week was) we had a district council, and I felt inspired to share a message about remembrance.  I've been pondering this a lot lately, and the need to remember is so critical to holding on to your relationship with Christ.  We are taught things in our lives by the Spirit, sometimes through a thought or feeling, or perhaps through an experience.  I know that there have been moments in my life where I felt like I could not be more joyful to be alive/more faithful in Jesus Christ/more loved/more confident.  We ALL are given the experiences we need to be faithful and happy...but how often do we handicap ourselves by forgetting them?  This is why we write things down and say them out loud.  This is why we must consciously choose to keep the joy and the confidence in spiritual things at the forefront of our minds always, because if we never forget we will never falter.  And I feel pretty confident in that being what the Lord wanted me to share, because once again (this happens a lot in the Big Rapids District) every person who shared at that council shared a very similar point despite there being no communication amongst us beforehand.  And then a member of our mission presidency did a missionwide devotional about remembrance two days later...again without knowing about anything we were talking about amongst ourselves.

Saturday we had a really epic opportunity to travel to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo for an oratorio performance called The Lamb of God.  The Lamb of God is about the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and is designed to bring people of different faiths together.  It was written by a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but each Lamb of God performance is put on by over a hundred people from dozens of Christian denominations.  It was a powerful performance, and as part of a district goal from Elder Burrill I considered what the Lord may want to teach me as I listened.  Remembrance once again filled my mind, and temperance also.  I think the Lord is trying to tell me something.

About half the mission was invited to the performance, so it was also a very fun opportunity to see people I haven't seen for a while.  I really, really have such a great love for these missionaries.  I've been working hard to see people as Christ sees them, and I feel like I'm getting better at it.  I've also never been to Kalamazoo before (it is apparently a real place) so that was neat.

Since then, my life has mostly consisted of taking care of my dear companion...he seems to have gotten something stuck in his intestines, and has been in pretty brutal pain for the last few days.  We're trying to get approved to go see a doctor...pray for us pretty please.

Alright folks, I hope I got it all (I probably didn't, but when do I ever).

I love you all!  (Really!)

<3

-Elder Beren Mowrer

[waterfiltergurus]

We Tried Cyclopure's PFAs Water Test Kit: Results & Review

We’ve used the Cyclopure PFAs water test kit to test samples of tap water in Steamboat Springs, CO. In this review, we’ve discussed our own experience using this test kit, including the sample-taking process, turnaround time, test results, and more. We’ve also shared whether or not we think the test was worth the money. Our Rating★★★★★ Cyclopure Water Test Kit PFAS If your budget is smaller but want to test for as many forever chemicals as possible, we think the Cyclopure Water Test Kit PFAS is the ideal testing kit for you. Price: $79 Type: Lab Test Test Kit For: City/Well Water Analytes Tested: 55 Turnaround Time: 10 days Free Shipping: Yes 🧾 Overview of Cyclopure PFAs Water Test Kit The Cyclopure PFAs Water Test Kit is the most unique water test for PFAs that we’ve ever used.  Rather than sending a water sample to a laboratory for testing, the idea is that you collect water in the container. The container filters the water and the small extraction disc grabs the PFAs. The filtration process took around 20 minutes for us (it’s gravity-based, so things really slow down towards the end). We could then send off the extraction disc to the lab.  The test can be used with any type of water, including municipal water, well water, and even surface water, like river and lake water. It tests for 55 PFAs compounds, which includes 21 precursors and all the PFAs currently listed under EPA Methods 533, 537, and 1633 draft. Price$79TypeLab TestTest Kit ForCity/Well WaterAnalytes Tested55Turnaround Time10 daysFree ShippingYes Overall, our experience using the Cyclopure PFAs Water Test Kit was great, and we found the instructions clear and easy to follow. The actual sample-taking process was very user-friendly, but it took quite a long time. The 7-day TAT was pretty standard for a lab test, although it might not be ideal for you if you need to get a PFAs reading of your water ASAP. The test report wasn’t the most comprehensive or interactive we’ve received, but it was clearly laid out and provided all the most important data.  👍 What We Like - Easy-to-understand instructions - Test is quick and easy to follow; user-friendly - Don’t have to send a water sample to the lab - Comprehensive report highlights 50+ different types of PFAs detected - Good turnaround time - More affordable than other PFAS test kits we’ve used - Can be used with any treated or untreated water source 👎 What We Don’t Like - Sample-taking process is time-consuming - Small risk of inaccuracy due to user error - Test report could be more comprehensive ❔ What Is Cyclopure? Cyclopure is a science and environmental engineering firm that developed a water treatment media that’s effective in removing PFAs. The same DEXSORB® media that removes PFAs in Cyclopure’s water treatment systems is also used to extract PFAs from sample water in the company’s PFAs testing kits.  The organization is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. 💡 Our First Impressions Our first impression of the Cyclopure PFAs test was that it’s a little on the expensive side, but still pretty affordable for a laboratory water test.  We got the test for $79, which is a bit steep given that the kit only detects one type of water contaminant. But we identified a few reasons for the price in our research:  - It’s more comprehensive than most similar tests - It detects multiple different PFAs compounds (50+) - It uses a revolutionary sampling method that eliminates the need for shipping a water sample Price aside, the Cyclopure website provided all the information we needed in the product description.  Quite a few water testing websites miss out a lot of important info about the testing process, but Cyclopure seems to be pretty transparent about what exactly you’re paying for and how the testing process works. We could order the kit with just a few clicks.  🛒 The Ordering Process Although the Cyclopure PFAs test is technically a service, we could buy it just like we’d we’d buy any other product online. There were two buying options that we could choose from:  - Click “Add to cart”, then click “view cart” to be taken to the checkout page - Click “Buy With G Pay”, which bought up our Google Pay details (including a pre-saved address) for faster checkout On the checkout page, we entered the following information: - Our name - Our shipping address (to send the test kit) - Our email address (to receive our results) - Our card details - How we heard about Cyclopure We could also review a summary of our order, including the cost of the test and additional shipping costs, at the bottom of the page.   Once we’d entered this information, we clicked “Place Order” and completed the transaction. An email confirmation was then sent to the email address we’d entered within a few minutes with our order details.  With the order process done, we now had to wait for our order to be processed and the sampling kit shipped to us.  🧪 The Sample-Taking Process If you’ve ever used a laboratory water test before, you probably had to take a water sample and ship this back to the laboratory in a vial.  The Cyclopure PFAs test is different. Rather than taking a sample of tap water and shipping it to the lab, you do an element of the testing at home.  The test used a technology called DEXSORB®, which extracts PFAs from your water sample using a process known as adsorption. That means you can send off the extraction disc to the lab, rather than the water sample.  Looking for more info about the sample-taking technology? Cyclopure has shared a couple of spec sheets for DEXSORB®, which you can find here.  We received our test kit a few days after ordering it on the Cyclopure website. It was packaged in a cardboard box, which contained the following equipment:  - The instructions booklet - A report card for our sampling information - The returns label - The water collection cup with built-in extraction filter in the bottom - A pair of disposable blue gloves Be careful not to damage the box - you’ll need it to return your sample.  We followed the instructions in the booklet to take our water sample. Here’s what the process looked like:  - First, we put on the disposable blue gloves (this is to prevent accidental contamination of the water from your fingers).  - Next, we filled the water collection cup to the top and held it over our sink.  - We then had to wait as water drained through the extraction filter in the bottom of the cup.  - Once all the water had filtered through, we put the lid back on the empty collection cup and secured it back inside the box. - Finally, we filled out the report card with information about our sample, including our city, state, and zip code, and the date and time that the sample was taken.  After we’d taken our sample, we stuck the included returns label over the shipping label and took the kit to our local UPS. Cyclopure covers the returns shipping fee, which we found pretty handy and time-saving when it came to sending off our samples.  What did we think about the overall sample-taking experience? It’s a novelty - we haven’t taken a sample like this before. The instructions are easy to follow and it’s very difficult to get it wrong. We also liked the fact that we wouldn’t have to send water back to the lab, which seems a bit risky.  Issues We Experienced There were a few unique issues that we experienced when following the sampling process. None of these were dealbreakers and nothing affected the results we received, but we want to mention them anyway because they’ll help you to get a clear picture of what to expect. First, we were concerned about contaminating the bottom of the cup if we put it on a surface, so we held it throughout the filtration process.  Having to stand around holding the water collection cup for 20 minutes was a bit boring. Maybe accidental contamination from setting the cup down isn't an issue because the collection disc is higher up inside, but we couldn’t be certain because this wasn't explained in the user guide. Another unique issue we experienced was that a few small slivers of cardboard from the internal part of the test’s packaging somehow came detached. One bit of cardboard was inside the collection cup when we filled it with water.  We didn't try to fish it out because we were concerned about further contaminating the water. But we were worried that the cardboard might throw off the results. Luckily, it didn't, and the only PFAs compound detected was from another source. This may have been a fluke with the packaging in the box we received, but it’s still something worth being aware of. Plus, we noted that there was a risk of contaminating our sample if we touched the extraction disc or didn’t wear the gloves. But we think this risk is pretty low as long as you follow the instructions correctly.  💡 TAT & Our Results After mailing our water collection cup to the lab, we waited for our results to be sent to our email address. In the meantime, we received an email when the lab had received our kit, which gave us a few helpful bits of information about our test results. We learned that: - Our test results would be delivered within 10 business days - We’d receive an email with an attachment that identified our results For reference, we sent our test on December 14, and we received the results on December 21. That meant our turnaround time was 5 business days.  So no, the Cyclopure PFAs test doesn’t deliver instant results, and this wasn’t a problem for us. But if you have a reason to be concerned about dangerously high levels of PFAs in your drinking water, our advice is to drink bottled water until you get your results back.  📊 The Report We received a report in PDF format, which we could download to review on our computer or phone.  The report listed the concentrations of 12 different PFAs that were tested for by the lab.  These were:  11 types of PFAS compounds:  - PFOS - PFOA - PFBA - PFPeA - PFHxA - PFHpA - PFNA - PFDA - GenX - PFBS - PFHxS 1 additional PFAs compound:  - MeFBSA The report made it super easy for us to see which PFAs compounds were detected in our water because they’d been highlighted in yellow.  Only one compound was detected: MeFBSA.  Underneath the results table, there was some regulatory information about PFAs in Colorado (where we tested our water), as well as information on the EPA’s PFAs regulations.  This was followed by an appendix table, which listed all the PFAs compounds detected by the lab’s analytical methods, and their abbreviations.  What did we think about the test report overall? It’s clear, simple, and told us everything we needed to know about PFAs in our water. But it’s not the most exciting report we’ve ever received. We’ve been spoiled by Tap Score, which offers interactive reports and makes every other lab testing company’s test reports seem pretty boring in comparison.  We also wish the test report contained information about the specific type of PFAs detected in our water, its possible health effects, and how best to remove it from our water at home.  📩 Email Follow-Up  The email we received with our report was generic and looks like the standard email that gets sent to all customers when their test results are returned to them.  But we then received a follow-up email from the owner of the company, Frank, who reached out personally to add an anecdote about the PFAs compound detected in our water and provide some additional information.  We’re not sure if this is something that Frank does regularly, but we definitely appreciated the insight given that our test results themselves didn’t give us any specific information about this compound.  Frank gave an explanation of MeFBSA, which was useful since it’s not one of the better-known PFAs compounds and we’d never heard of it. He added that MeFBSA is associated with ski wax, which makes sense since Steamboat Springs is a ski town. We appreciated having this extra insight and understanding into why our water might be contaminated with this type of PFAs.  🗃️ The Importance of Our Data So, why exactly do we need the data supplied by Cyclopure? There are a few known health effects of PFAs exposure according to emerging studies. These include:  - Damage to the immune system and liver - Birth defects and low birth weight - Increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer - Increased cholesterol The good news is that according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), PFOA and PFOS levels have declined by 70-85% in human blood from 1999-2000 to 2017-2018. However, as our Cyclopure test demonstrated, these aren’t the only two types of PFAs that exist. And, as the report notes, it’s possible that as these PFAs were phased out and replaced, our exposure to other PFAs increased.  We’re yet to come across a DIY or at-home water test kit to evaluate our water’s PFAs concentrations. PFAs have properties that mean they can only be detected with specialized equipment. We were also looking for more precise testing than we could get from DIY test strips, and the Cyclopure PFAs test fit this description.  It’s likely that a less comprehensive laboratory test wouldn’t have detected MeFBSA in our water. It’s not one of the better-known PFAs, but Cyclopure’s wide-ranging coverage meant that the compound was detected in our water.  ✅ Results Accuracy The Cyclopure lab analysis process is validated to EPA methods and quantifies to a 1-2 PPT (parts per trillion) level of accuracy. However, it’s possible that a user error might affect the accuracy of your results.  Some examples of possible user errors include:  - Not recording the sample information - Not following the test instructions - Contaminating the inside of the sample container or filter These setbacks can be easily avoided, and they’re not unique to the Cyclopure PFAs test - there’s always a risk of accuracy issues with any type of water test that involves taking samples at home.  Just make sure to follow the sampling instructions carefully, and you won’t go wrong.  📲 Online Support We didn’t personally have to use Cyclopure’s online support because our sample-taking and testing process went smoothly. But we still want to mention your options in case you need to contact the customer service team for whatever reason.  Cyclopure doesn’t currently have a live chat setup, which we were a bit disappointed by. It’s becoming more and more common for lab testing companies to offer live chat support, but Cyclopure is still a relatively small brand, so we’re assuming that there isn’t enough demand for this service.  To contact the company, we clicked Contact at the bottom of the Cyclopure website. This brought up a contact form, where we could fill out our name and email address, and type our question into the box. Responses are sent to the email address you entered into the box. We tried reaching out to Cyclopure using this function and received a response within just under 12 hours.  The Cyclopure website also lists the following contact information for inquiries:  - Phone: (312) 639-5009 - Email: contact@cyclopure.com 🔎 Can We Trust The Cyclopure PFAs Test? One of the key factors we consider when determining the trustworthiness of a testing company is who owns the testing labs.  This is an especially important consideration for Cyclopure, which sells whole-home PFAs removal water filters, so it’s in the company’s best interest to make you believe that you need to remove PFAs from your water supply.  From what we can tell, the Cyclopure tests are carried out in the Cyclopure lab. There are references to “our lab” in the product description, suggesting that Cyclopure has its own testing laboratory rather than outsourcing the testing to a third-party lab.  But the company has a good reason to conduct the testing in-house: it uses Cyclopure’s own proprietary resin to trap PFAs substances.  The manufacturers at Cyclopure created the entire process themselves, and there is no other company that can test for PFAs like this. So, outsourcing to a third-party testing lab isn’t an option.  We were able to find a reassuring third-party indicator of trust: Cyclopure’s lab analysis has been validated to the requirements of EPA Methods 533, 537, and 1633 (draft). They also follow “instrument procedures for internal standardization and calibration”.  🤔 Do We Think The Cyclopure PFAs Water Test Kit is Worth It? In our opinion, the Cyclopure PFAs testing kit is worth it for folks who want to comprehensively test for many of the PFAs compounds that are most likely to contaminate water supplies today. We think this test is the best fit for folks who want an easy way to extract PFAs from their water at home, without the risks associated with shipping a water sample.  It’s a great option if you have a flexible budget and you want a breakdown of the PFAss in your water. We appreciate that you don’t have to actually test your water at home, and we found the sample-taking process easy.  That said, there are some scenarios where this test might not be right for you. If you don’t want to stand around waiting for water to filter through the sample cup, you might prefer to use a test where you can simply collect a water sample and send it straight to the lab.  It totally depends on how much you want to spend, and your preferred sample-taking process.  Read the full article

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Monday, 30 October 2023:

Gimme Altamont Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse (Total Music) (released 22 July 2022) (this version is the second pressing)

Gimme Altamont is the forerunner of Giddy Skelter, their newest album which came out in September of this year. They share songs. That is, different versions, of course, because with this couple, they take a song and beat it into some altogether different the longer they work on it.

I only learned of the existence of Gimme Altamont when I received Giddy Skelter and was trying to sum it up in a paragraph. I ordered a copy of the album after spinning Skelter twice the day it arrived in my post. For a variety of reasons, this second pressing was delayed in being mailed. (I received an apology e-mail from Kinsella/ Pulse with their reasons for delaying in mailing this out. I wrote back and told them not to fret, real life gets in the way of artists who have to do everything themselves.) Besides, I've downloaded the album and played it and it most certainly is a must have if you own Giddy Skelter. Companion albums are wondrous things, at least in my viewpoint.

Above you can see the album cover and the back of the album. This came inside a thick plastic sleeve similar to those often found with picture discs, although I think this is even thicker, but it lacks a flap, thank heavens!

This is a second pressing, although I can find nothing anywhere documenting what the first pressing looks like. Well, almost, but I'll talk about that momentarily. This is limited to 100 copies and this particular edition is hand numbered (mine is 55) and it is pressed on blue vinyl. Check out the two photos of the blue vinyl below.

There is a lyric insert included in this album and you can see both sides of it below. (By the way, the fringe you see at the bottom of the second photo, by the flamingo's head is the fringe from my scarf I wore as I took these photos on my back porch! It was darn cold today!)

The two sides of the labels can be seen below.

When the couple wrote to apologize for the delay, they asked "what size t-shirt do you wear?" I didn't acknowledge that. While i appreciate their willingness to make up for being (slightly) tardy in mailing an album out, I completely understand that many of the musicians I enjoy and follow and buy, do not make Taylor Swift money. People like Kinsella and Pulse are working around the clock creating art be it painting, writing novels (Kinsella has three and they all look right up my alley) and recording endless music. Not to mention touring, packaging and mailing out their own albums and as they reminded those of us they wrote, tending to parents who are aging. I get all that. Christ, today I'm barely able to accomplish reading 50 pages of Zola (and I haven't been able for five days running). I didn't need a t-shirt because life got in the way of this industrious couple.

But, they still included something for me and I was thrilled with the choice. They have a newspaper they charge $10 for on their website about the efforts they put into that went towards making Gimme Altamont/ Giddy Skelter. You can see a shot of this paper below.

I've included a few random (not so random) pages of this insides. This is a 24 page paper, so I didn't shoot photos of everything.

I like Giddy Skelter considerably so I'm looking forward to playing both these albums as if they were a double over the course of November. One of the things they provide in this paper is a list of all the shows they attended while making these albums. Then they list a huge amount of books they read. I am lucky to have read at least a fourth of the same books (from Tolstoy to Annie Ernaux to Tove Ditlevesen to Murakami)! Here is the back of the paper in which they provide a playlist of what they listened to while making the albums. Any playlist that begins with The Latin Playboys is alright with this boy.

Lastly, I close out with the apology on the packing cardboard.

[taecasadilla]

So it's the first story of this disc and I've lost the ability to care if I'm right or not. These past two seasons have just been exhausting. They have so much potential and it's just squandered. Especially episodes like this one. So let's talk about 'Orphan 55'.

Oh boy, this episode. I was excited to have an episode on a sci-fi resort. I've listened to one by Big Finish called Phobos. Was it good? Not particularly but I loved it for the gadgets it introduced. It's a mediocre 8th Doctor story. The setting is great for sci-fi stories, these two ('Phobos' and 'Orphan 55') are not examples of that.

It started out strong, I liked how they were sent there so quickly because of how future coupons work. Cool idea. I liked the idea of possible viruses that can contaminate both electronics and creatures. Another good sci-fi concept. Oh? These viruses are being used by someone to sabotage the resort? Intriguing. And the resort is on an orphaned planet with walls that make the resort look bigger than it is? Oooh, this is getting good. The wall is to keep out the local fauna because they're dangerous? Ooh, why'd they build it there? There was a breach in one of the walls and visitors are being killed? There's the Doctor Who I'm here for.

Is the characterization great? Not particularly. But I'm fine with that if the story is good and the message they want to tell is done well. If you've watched the episode, it doesn't do either.

It goes down really quickly. The employee Hyph3n (that's an even funnier spelling than I thought it was going to be) assuming the virus that just came out of Ryan was probably a sex thing (that's how I interpreted it) was super weird. Like, you have someone coming to you about something and doesn't explain it well to you and you're just dismissing them like that? I get it, I also work customer service, but you can't just tell them to tell them later as they've been called to do something important.

This could've been just a base under siege story. Where there are Dregs that keep coming in and they keep having to defend themselves from them and learn about them as they go. No, they leave where they're safe because an old man somehow got out and they must bring his fiancé with them. How did he get out? I'm pretty sure it was from a Dreg, we find out he's going way faster than an old human man with an oxygen tank can physically go. Also, you could've told us that he was mutilated to the point where death would be better than, "he told me to kill him". I figured something bad happened but it would've been nice to hear it. But it was cute having him ask his fiancé to marry him.

This is added in later, but why did that filter thing work on the Dregs? You'd think for storytelling how The Doctor makes the filter it would still include the Dregs because she doesn't realize that the things they're trying to keep out were human.

Leaving wasn't the best thing for them to do. But the worst part was when they were actively not telling what's so bad about the Dregs and the planet actively made their situation worse. Especially when the older lady basically tried to pay them off with a necklace. Just tell us why we can't continue to go after the old man so everyone goes 'Oh shit you're right, continuing is a bad idea.' But they don't and they get into even more danger because they're on a planet during a nuclear winter with the fauna being able to adapt to anything.

Their vehicle gets attacked by the Dregs and they escape into a tunnel and this is where the episode completely lost me. So a character Ryan had been flirting with turns out to be the villain of the episode. Because her mum doesn't recognize her and wasn't a good mother? And the mother is one of the security heads? When it happened I thought she was just trauma dumping and didn't think her mum was actually there. That did not come across well at all. Maybe they could've done wigs for them as well so they'd have the same hair colour, like the father-son duo in the episode. Keep them having the same hairstyles, just give them purple hair or something.

The last thing I liked in this episode was the answer to why a resort was built on the planet, and that was so they could fund a terraforming project on Orphan 55, or what we learn at this point, Earth.

So the Dregs are mutated humans and some are still survivors from the nuclear war, whenever that happened. Ok, that could've been great. But this isn't 'Planet of the Apes'. It could've been though. Just end the episode seeing the Eiffel Tower or something. But it didn't and it had two points where people questioned it because not everyone was at the first one with the Russian writing signifying that they're in a subway tunnel. I don't remember but, were there train tracks in that tunnel at all? If they were, good job.

The final bit was defending themselves from one Dreg in the tunnels and then being rushed by a ton of them around the teleport, but of course, not all of them can go. And of course, it's the mother-daughter who decide to stay and sacrifice themselves because they've resolved their issues already?

The episode ends by saying that it's a possible cause if we don't do anything about climate change. Something I've been hearing since I was a kid in the early 2000s and have been watching it happen my entire life while everyone around me says it isn't happening. Lovely a message the people who need to hear won't and wouldn't listen to anyway because of the way they worded it. If it was the 12th Doctor he would've gone straight to blaming capitalism and governments for their inaction. Not saying that the average person needs to change everything. They did get one thing right though, there will be wars over the little resources we have left.

The next episode is 'Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror'

Rating: 1.5/5

Time for 'Resolution'. The title feels too short. But that doesn't matter. What matters is the episode itself.

I enjoyed this episode. The episode was actually camp. There were a few things I didn't like but those are overshadowed by what I do like. The scene calling for UNIT was fun. I was iffy on introducing Ryan's dad now of all times but I think it worked by the end. I think the relationship between the two at the beginning of the episode was cute. The Dalek looking different had me confused but it being a pilot fish explained its different appearance. How the Dalek told the lady how to move was goofy and felt like it was like those scenes in heist movies. Not sure what else to say as it was just a fun holiday special.

What event caused UNIT to get defunded? Did they commit another genocide? I bet that's what happened.

Next time we cover Spyfall part 1

Rating: 3.5/5

[notquiteaghost]

congrats on making a public inquiry on a line of interest situated in the middle of a venn diagram of like four things i've been thinking about a lot lately, your prize is this ask that is so long that in the time spent writing it and checking info someone less annoying may have directed you to some of it! this is all like easy enough to google but just in case it feels less uuhh to have someone with an approximate knowledge on some things offer you some pointers: here are some pointers

(i AM ALSO a thousands of CD's type of guy, but i've not done any big digital management of them since the last time i was regularly using ipods in the 2000s, n i am kinda Prepping for big digital management around my current standing main hyperfixation (participants of a season of an old korean idol reality competition show, a collection of Too Many Gotdamn People who have made Too Much Gotdamn Music) but i don't actually currently own a lot of the physical media there, so none of this are pointer from like. oh here is a workflow i am using etc, but)

answers to your two questions are 1) file sizes really depend on lots of factors but rule of thumb is that in a collection of 'normal song' mp3 file size averages out to 5-7MB a song, and a 3-4min mp3 file being >10MB is surprising

and 2) re: storage prices, 1TB (~1,000,000MB, so probably ~166,666MB 3min mp3's) in external harddrive will run at about £50 in western digital brands atm (western digital is what i've been occasionally looking at for my data management thing bc i've seen it mentioned specifically as more reliable than seagate, which i have had issues with; anecdotally, my mum's WD elements has lasted her about a year longer than her seagates kick the bucket). prices atm on curry's stack up at £80 for 2TB, £108 for 4TB, £180 for 8TB

refurbished is an option when it's 'rectified' and sold by the company itself; for WD, those prices atm stack up at £30 for 1TB, £35 for 2TB, £55-60 for 4TB (their page for these are https://www.westerndigital.com/en-gb/products/recertified) (i do not know enough about this area and would wanna look up specific reviews on a company's rectifying track record before purchasing myself, so obv do the same)

answers to questions you DID NOT ask but may have later on if you do set out on the CD Digitization Project that i have answered preemptively bc i am ANNOYING:

tagging music with correct info is often the most time-consuming part of this shit, so a tagger is your friend. the musicbrainz database should have a lot of stuff covered, so their tagger picard might well do (https://picard.musicbrainz.org/, also has some good plugins for like formating multi-disc albums etc if you wanna scan through those), but tagscanner (https://www.xdlab.ru/en/index.htm) can also pull from discogs if needed, though you may still need a discogs account + to make an api key do use that

i was like. spike will probably appreciate it if i provided ways in which their dad could still be autistic about music in a digital format, but i'm having a hard time pulling up music players that meet my vision / make it clear if they do re: you can see cd booklet, and also this info seems to not typically be in databases. i'll carry on looking for players in this area bc i ALSO want this, but suggested desktop windows players other than windows media player / grooveshark / vlc (which are all fine, but imo none are the most intuitive for regular heavy listening) are my best friend foobar2000 (https://www.foobar2000.org/, also has a tagger that pulls from musicbrainz and maybe discogs?), musicbee (https://getmusicbee.com/, tagger plugins available), and aimp (https://www.aimp.ru/); deadbeef (https://deadbeef.sourceforge.io/) is created more to get your hands into with the technical stuff, but it's got custom metadata fields. really after you've looked to see if you think your dad would want a particular feature, unless space is a major consideration then it is just well what looks nicest.

file backup! backblaze (https://www.backblaze.com/) allows an external hard drive to be added in an image backup of a machine, which is the only good way to do a (pseudo-)sync backup without paying for cloud subscription or setting up a NAS etc; at $70/year it is obviously A Cost but way less than premium cloud drive subscription, so if it feels useful to know,

if the NAS mention / video at the end of that post wrt turning an old computer or laptop into a media server (so thing that is plugged into a wall that has files on it + a media player --> other computers / phones / etc on the same network (which can be outside the home too) can connect to that player and files) was interesting lmk bc i've also been looking into that a lot mostly as like, storage nerd aspirations, it's just a whole other thing that's irrelevant if you're more interested in just bunging stuff on an external drive (i've send this as an ask with the intent for you to keep it On File, so sent me another or a dm to lmk!)

you are not at ALL annoying you are a godsend!!!!

the thing abt my father is he is actually better at tech stuff than me (he ran his school's website & also michael's website, in the 00s, when that meant he built them from scratch) (he's still a little bitter abt his school outsourcing their website to whatever service every school uses nowadays. he used to add little falling snowflakes in the winter n april fools jokes n such), so yes i was very much anticipating saying to him like. find a backup storage method you like and i will do the legwork of actually ripping n sorting everything

i did NOT know taggers even existed but holy shit yes i will definitely need one. i do not anticipate him ever actually getting rid of his physical copies – smth he has already done is buy a ton of plastic wallets n move the CDs & booklets into them so instead of ur standard plastic jewel case taking up all that space it's effectively as thin as the actual CD – & also he no longer has a computer (i do not get this decision either. he just uses his phone????) so i doubt he'll need music player software. my thought is really 'he needs backups spare CDs and a CD writer so if any die they can be replaced'

however i will definitely look into the music player software, and maybe also forward this info to my brother (if it's even news to him, he's the kind of music autistic who has a £200 pair of headphones). thank you SO much <3

edit: just saw ur second ask n shdgdhd yeah i am gonna bookmark this post, my askbox is a pit things vanish into forever

[marshmallowgoop]

Update to this post about where to find textless openings and endings for Detective Conan/Case Closed!

To my knowledge, I now own every music album containing a bonus DVD with clean footage that's been released at this time (save for the Detective Conan edition of the "TRY AGAIN" single, since that content is also included in The Best of Detective Conan 5 and Mai Kuraki x Detective Conan Collaboration Best 21).

So, I can definitively confirm: across the nine DVDs, you can find creditless versions of 27/55 openings and 32/65 endings. You can also find clean movie endings for five of the films—5, 6, 7, 13, and 21—but there's a bit of a catch. For the two Mai Kuraki songs used both as TV and movie endings, "always" (ED 12, Movie 5) and "Togetsukyō ~Kimi Omou~" (ED 55, Movie 21), you don't get a textless version of the show ending. The videos depict the movie ending only.

That creditless OPs and EDs (generally) aren't included on the literal hundreds of volumes that the series is sold in, which each contain only the runtime equivalent of about four episodes and sell for 4,620 yen apiece, still baffles me. But given that one of Discotek Media's highlights for their recent Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie Blu-ray was "a clean opening sequence not available anywhere else," I guess providing this content just really isn't DetCo's thing.

And while I admittedly bought close to a dozen albums pretty much solely to get my hands on the textless footage included on a separate disc, you do of course also get a lot of music—a fact illustrated to me in crystal-clear clarity when I finished importing all of the CDs to iTunes:

Granted, these are some bloated stats; they also include The Best of Detective Conan 3, which I purchased to fill out the collection even though it lacks the bonus DVD, and there are 13 duplicates of Mai Kuraki songs if you buy every album pictured above. But subtracting all of that, there are still 77 Detective Conan or Conan-adjacent songs and about 5 hours and 24 minutes of music. If the 1,000+ episode count and 25 movies don't do it enough, these numbers put into perspective how massive this franchise is! Enough OPs and EDs that only a portion of them fill hours.

And make quite the fat stack:

Anyway, I can't say that this was my preferred method of picking up creditless footage—ideally, I would have liked it all included with the dozens upon dozens of Japanese Conan DVDs sitting on my shelves—but I am glad that you can purchase this content somewhere. Plus, you get loads of music, and the packaging can be quite cute, with some nice extras here and there, too.

For example, The Best of Detective Conan 5 comes bundled with three adorable music-themed prints; I think my favorite might have to be this one with Shinichi on guitar and Conan on harmonica (though the one with Ran playing piano and Conan singing is a close second!)

And for the "Countdown" single, there's a pin featuring one of three scenes from the opening sequence. Mine's this Heizuha moment, but I wonder what the other two are?

I also have to say that Mai Kuraki's stuff is wonderfully charming. The disc designs are pretty and pleasing; the "Barairo no Jinsei" and "Kimi to Koi no Mama de Owarenai Itsumo Yume no Mama ja Irarenai" album contains one disc adorned with a rose and another with the moon, fitting the lyrics of both songs:

And while "ZERO kara Hajimete" translates to "Start from ZERO," call me silly—I didn't make the connection to Shinichi's speech in the "Holmes' Revelation" arc until I saw the disc with the English translation and Conan's face next to it:

Also, what a cute back cover:

So, yeah! If you're looking for creditless DetCo OPs and EDs, buying these nine albums is one way to find a nice chunk of them—and get you a ton of music to boot!

[g0reoz]

i’m taking a break from art homework because i’ve been rewatching season 1 of burst in the background and i have once again developed Opinions ��

i’m the (or at least a) Music Guy, right? that’s sorta my schtick, especially irl (maybe less on here?). i like the beyburst soundtrack, doubly so for the first season—been meaning to transcribe some of it at some point, maybe over the summer! anyways, i just finished episode 20 and, uh. this is the first in (maybe, depending on what other hot takes i come up with) a few posts about that.

remember xhaka’s theme? leitmotif? whatever you wanna call it? The Piece Of Music That Only Really Cropped Up When He Was About To Kick Someone’s Shit?

ok, but do you remember how Completely Fucked Up the first 2 sections (the only ones used in season 1, from what i remember) of it are? if you really want to see what i’m saying, pull up episode 21. it’s right at the start of the last round from the team battle; timestamp is around 16:55. try keeping time with a consistent beat. hit it in downbeats, triplets, sixteenth notes, or whatever. or, even better, pull up a metronome and set it based on that initial tempo from the first few beats. you’re gonna see pretty quickly what i’m talking about, yeah? how sooner or later, it’s gonna be off to the point where the beat isn’t even close to lining up? (i’m not talking about the second section. even in the first one, it does this. i thought it would work if i subdivided the notes?? but even then, something‘s still off. )

i was just sitting there working on my stuff, and i tend to sorta do SOMETHING to keep time when background music exists. clearly, that did not work. CLEARLY, this part of the soundtrack is Really Weird. i can’t even figure out what fucking time signiature(s) it’s in—i’m guessing it changes every so often, but WHERE? where, beyblade? where does it change? i thought i could narrow it down if i counted it in triplets, but that would require some bullshit too. i really want to try transcribing the sheet music for this because i’m sure that’d Make It Make Sense, but until then i really don’t know.

***side note: in episode 27 of chouzetsu, there‘s an extended version at around 14:26. i am not complaining about that because, from the third section until around the end, it is Fine And Normal. you could probably feel it in a fast 4 instead of a moderate 2 and everything would work out alright on paper.***

not to get too literature teacher-y on you guys, but i have a working idea as to WHY it‘s the way it is. pretty sure it’s like a more abstract representation of the inherent unpredictability and lack of stability that come with (any) xcalibur and any strategy you could possibly formulate using it. like, for season 1, there’s the whole double ended launcher thing. the fact that the longer side hits harder but is less likely to make contact at all. in general, the way it’s off balance and sorta just moves haphazardly when the heavy point on the layer and disc line up, but that‘s also what makes it hit the hardest. every move you could possibly make will end in some sort of unstable movement, and that’s reflected by how…odd this theme in particular is. it stabilizes later on in chouzetsu, which is also at the point where there’s less of a gamble involved because, hi, hello, 5th Impact Is a Thing That Exists. you land a hit with that, and you’re pretty much guaranteed a burst finish—which is pretty much what happened. (the drums towards the beginning were sort of weird too, but i think they worked well considering everything else.)

overall, despite everything i just said, i actually really like the theme :] getting a lot of masked man mother 3 vibes, but i hope this one isn’t in 29/16 😓 but i’m a sucker for weird music shit, especially in a lower tenor-ish range :))) SPEAKING of which, is it pandering if i say it would sound good with some trombone? am i biased? either way, i think some scoops/glisses/growls/Extra Flavor coming from a Really Grimy Sounding Trombone (fast air, rough sound quality, shut up you guys i’m not just saying this because i‘m a jazz trombonist i promise <3 ) would be a great move.

also heehoo trumpet synthesizers Do Not Sound Like Trumpets but they sure as hell make A Sound

[semi-sketchy]

Alright last edition to this post but JUST IN CASE anyone finds it useful, I went ahead and wrote down the timestamps for each episode so if you're using a computer (like me) you aren't just guessing where an episode is.

Timestamps start at the preview for the episode and it's given the Japanese name with the English name in brackets.

Disc 1

Season 1

Ep 1 - Supersonic Hero Appears [Chaos Control Freaks] 00:00

Ep 2 - Infiltration! Area 99 [Sonic to the Rescue] 24:05

Ep 3 - Dr. Eggman's Ambition [Missile Wrist Rampage] 48:40

Ep 4 - Get the Chaos Emerald! [Chaos Emerald Chaos] 1:13:14

Ep 5 - Clash!! Sonic vs Knuckles [Cracking Knuckles] 1:37:50

Ep 6 - Fierce Battle! School Wars [Techno-Teacher] 2:02:24

Ep 7 - Giant Free-for-All! Chris' Home Party [Party Hardly] 2:26:59

Ep 8 - Emergency Launch! X-Tornado [Satellite Swindle] 2:51:34

Ep 9 - Amy on the Beach [The Last Resort] 3:16:09

Ep 10 - Fierce Fight! Sonic Baseball Team [Unfair Ball] 3:40:44

Ep 11 - The Beautiful and Mysterious Thief Rouge [Fly Spy] 4:05:19

Ep 12 - Eggman's All-Out Base Attack! (Part one) [Beating Eggman, Part 1] 4:29:54

Ep 13 - Eggman's All-Out Base Attack! (Part two) [Beating Eggman, Part 2] 4:54:29

Ep 14 - Chase the Hero Sonic! [That's What Friends Are For] 5:19:04

Ep 15 - The Flying Fortress Egg Fort Attacks! [Skirmish in the Sky] 5:43:38

Ep 16 - Aim for it! The Sunken Ship in the Southern Sea [Depths of Danger] 6:08:13

Ep 17 - Knuckles! Clenched Fists of Anger [The Adventures of Knuckles and Hawk] 6:32:48

Ep 18 - Huge Shoot-out on the Savanna! [The Dam Scam] 6:57:24

Ep 19 - The Ghost of the Old Castle, King Boom Boo [Sonic's Scream Test] 7:21:58

Ep 20 - Departure! Egg Fort II [Cruise Blues] 7:46:33

Ep 21 - Speed Match! Sonic vs Sam [Fast Friends] 8:11:08

Ep 22 - Summer Vacation ~ Chao Observation Diary [Little Chao Lost] 8:35:43

Ep 23 - Mayhem! 6 Chaos Emeralds [Emerald Anniversary] 9:00:18

Ep 24 - Wild Sonic! Strategic Capture Operation [How to Catch a Hedgehog] 9:24:53

Ep 25 - The Last Chaos Emerald [A Dastardly Deed] 9:49:28

Ep 26 - Birth! Super Sonic [Countdown to Chaos] 10:14:03

Season 2

Ep 27 - The Beginning of Disaster [Pure Chaos] 10:38:40

Ep 28 - The Mysterious Life Form Chaos [A Chaotic Day] 11:03:12

Ep 29 - Amy the Captive [A Robot Rebels] 11:27:47

Ep 30 - Egg Carrier Battle [Heads Up, Tails!] 11:52:22

Ep 31 - Gamma the Wanderer [Revenge of the Robot] 12:16:57

Ep 32 - The Scream of Perfect Chaos [Flood Fight] 12:41:32

Ep 33 - The Mystery of Project Shadow [Project: Shadow] 13:06:07

Ep 34 - Sonic the Fugitive [Shadow Knows] 13:30:42

Ep 35 - Escape From Prison Island [Sonic's Big Break] 13:55:17

Ep 36 - The Threat From Outer Space [Shadow World] 14:19:52

Ep 37 - The Space Colony ARK Battle [Robotnik's Revenge] 14:44:27

Ep 38 - Maria's Request, Everyone's Request [Showdown in Space] 15:09:02

Ep 39 - The Chaotix Detective Agency [Defective Detectives] 15:33:37

Disc 2

Ep 40 - Eggman Corporation [Sunblock Solution] 00:00

Ep 41 - We Can See the Light! [Eggman for President] 24:04

Ep 42 - Amy's Love Escape Journey!? [A Date to Forget] 48:39

Ep 43 - Huge Home Electronics Panic!! [Mean Machines] 1:13:14

Ep 44 - The Ridiculous Epic Spy Battle [Sewer Search] 1:37:49

Ep 45 - Sonic Battle: Opening!! [Prize Fights] 2:02:24

Ep 46 - Sonic Battle: Finale!! [A Wild Win] 2:26:59

Ep 47 - Big Decisive Battle on Latitude 0!! [Map of Mayhem] 2:51:34

Ep 48 - Sonic VS the Monster from Underground [The Volcanic Venture] 3:16:12

Ep 49 - The Day the World Stood Still [The Beginning of the End] 3:40:44

Ep 50 - Morning of Farewells [Running Out of Time] 4:05:19

Ep 51 - Chris' Long Journey [Friends 'Til the End] 4:29:54

Ep 52 - Memories of the Wind [A New Start] 4:54:29

Season 3

Ep 53 - The Messenger from a Meteor Shower [A Cosmic Call] 5:19:03

Ep 54 - The Spaceship Blue Typhoon [Cosmic Crisis] 5:43:08

Ep 55 - The Water Planet Hydo [H2 Whoa] 6:07:48

Ep 56 - Dr. Eggman Joins the War! [An Enemy in Need] 6:32:28

Ep 57 - The Battle on the Ice Palace [A Chilling Discovery] 6:57:08

Ep 58 - The Maidens' Jungle Trap [Desperately Seeking Sonic] 7:21:48

Ep 59 - Chaotix, Go into Space [Galactic Gumshoes] 7:46:28

Ep 60 - Shadow Rebirth [Trick Sand] 8:11:08

Ep 61 - Metarex Battleship Attack! [Ship of Doom] 8:35:48

Ep 62 - Secret of the Underground Canyon [An Underground Odyssey] 9:00:28

Ep 63 - Space Fortress Metal Plant [Station Break-In] 9:25:08

Ep 64 - Clash! Sonic vs Shadow [A Metarex Melée] 9:49:48

Ep 65 - The Chaotix's Great Shocking Lovey-Dovey Operation [Mission: Match Up] 10:14:28

Ep 66 - Crossing the Galaxy Corridor! [Clash in the Cloister] 10:39:08

Ep 67 - Black Trap [Teasing Time] 11:03:48

Ep 68 - On a Destroyed Planet [A Revolutionary Tale] 11:28:28

Ep 69 - Please Marmolin! [The Planet of Misfortune] 11:53:08

Ep 70 - The Eggman Fleet Appears! [Terror on the Typhoon] 12:17:48

Ep 71 - Hedgehog Hunt [Café Chaotix] 12:42:28

Ep 72 - The True Form of the Metarex!? [Zelkova Strikes Back] 13:07:08

Ep 73 - Assassin Shadow! [The Cosmo Conspiracy] 13:31:48

Ep 74 - Lost Planet [Eye Spy] 13:56:28

Ep 75 - The Day of the Plantations [Agent of Mischief] 14:21:08

Ep 76 - Decisive Battle! Dark Oak [The Light in the Darkness] 14:45:48

Ep 77 - What I Can Do For You [A Fearless Friend] 15:10:28

Ep 78 - The Place Where Stars Are Born [So Long Sonic] 15:35:08

Does anyone know if they're gonna restock the Sonic X Japanese discs?

It was only out for like a month before it sold out everywhere and I didn't have the cash to order it when it was in stock. I figured it'd be safe to wait a bit (although after an unexpected vet trip I have even less money now haha) but it went really quick. There's only a couple being scalped on Amazon and that's it.

I seriously was looking forward to picking it up so right now I can only hope they do another print.