#but also more dropout on 2nd try and more try guys on dropout

[jupiterbyrd]

Grant being a sassy bitch of a judge on Without a Recipe. I love it!

(Spoilers for the season finale of Without a Recipe on 2nd Try aka Try Guys)

Grant: this is my first time getting to judge something like this from you guys and I am pretty unimpressed. I don't think any of them were great. But there has to be someone in 4th place... So I'm sorry to say... Zach you are in 4th place.

...

Zach: What?... Oh I get it, I get it. We have the new Try Guys over here so they have to win. You don't need Zach anymore. Okay that's fine.

Grant: I feel like Eugene would've done a great job.

[iimr3]

reasons why (in my opinion) the try guys hit the nail on the head with forming a subscription service where watcher fumbled:

try guys has already been making TV-caliber content for a while. without a recipe and phoning it in both feel like professional cooking shows, and the fact that they have actual celebrity guests adds to that. their audience is extremely familiar with them having this huge set and a ton of employees working to produce the videos they love. on top of that, they've been around longer. they mention at the beginning of the announcement they've been on YouTube for ten years, & dropout/CH similarly had been around for a while when it's streaming service dropped. try guys just always felt more professional & as a fan you immediately understand why they would need more money

(edit) also, they have formed an emotional connection between the audience and their employees! people love rachel & know how hard she works & want to see her get paid well for that work. not that the watcher team don't deserve that, but their audience is way less emotionally invested in their employees' wellbeings than with the try guys audience & their non-talent team (& I say this as a fan & regular viewer of both channels).

try guys already had experience with paid content that went over really well with their audience. their live shows proved that their audience was willing to pay a decent amount every once in a while for something cool, and they proved that they would actually provide something cool for that money. people pointed out how watcher neglected their patreon; the try guys made very good use of their live shows imo. and as a result, they are able to say "you'll get free tickets to the live shows!" which is a really good perk if you are someone who enjoys those. instead of paying $20 every once in a while for one live show, you can pay 5$ for free live shows and early content and exclusive new content.

plus, they also reveal their expanded cast, which is something all of their fans have been wondering about for over a year. it's not just keith and zach you get to see, but all of these people their audience now loves and is always talking about wanting to join the try guys officially. collectively the try guys announcement feels more positive in multiple senses, both in emotional vibe and in what the audience is getting out of this.

also: no one can say for certain whether or not they decided to keep posting on YT after the watcher debacle, but I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt & believe that they always intended to stay on YouTube. it makes sense as a business decision & it's clear they've been working on this for some time (despite what some people seem to think??). tbh I don't think they were trying to be cruel to watcher in their announcement, I think they just saw that shitstorm and understood they needed to make it clear to their audience that they are not making the same mistakes. EDIT: in the most recent trypod, zach confirmed that they have been planning to 1) create a streaming service 2) keep posting content free on YouTube since 2023. so, no, they did not create 2nd Try or decide to stay on YouTube because of Watcher. stop trying to manufacture drama.

also also: they have, especially in the trypod, been very candid about their struggles with the algorithm and appealing to youtube's demands for content. in one episode I remember them talking about how they wanted to reject the "constant expansion" mindset, placing more focus on what their existing audience wants rather than trying to constantly get new people. they have been open about how certain things they want to do are not viable because of monetization issues; smoke show is a recent example of this.

another edit: also in the recent episode of the trypod, Zach says that they reached out to Sam Reich of Dropout for tips on starting a streaming service & things to avoid. we have no way of telling if Watcher did this, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was also key in why they turned out differently.

tl;dr i think it comes down to what was presented (not leaving youtube, new content that wouldn't be allowed on youtube, free live shows, new cast), how it was presented (shorter video, focus on the excitement & positives, show of respect to those who can't afford the price), and the context surrounding it (being older, a reputation for more professional content, having prepared their audience for a big shift, having previously discussed issues with youtube and their content)

[fourohfourlifenotfound]

Okay so hi I'm not super in any of your fandoms (watcher + try guys + dropout, hello welcome) but I'm a software developer and BOTH try guys and watcher announcing a custom streaming platform so close together had me suspicious.

So with just one, I'd assume that maybe they scraped together the money and resources to hire enough devs to make a well-designed secure platform (you want security for your login info and payment info). But two? Seems a bit odd.

So I actually looked a bit closer, at their privacy policies:

So it looks like Vimeo has decided to up their game and partner with existing yt content creation outlets to make streaming platforms.

Wait, what about Dropout? Dropout uses it too!

What does this mean, exactly?

Well, it means that Vimeo is providing a base software that gets customized for use by the companies (watcher, 2nd try). It means that Vimeo has a hand in your data associated with these platforms (account info, payment info, watch info, etc...). Is that a bad thing? Idk yet. Read through the streaming platform's privacy policy and Vimeo's privacy policy and make your own decision about what you feel comfortable sharing. But realistically the only additional info collected compared to your average youtube use is the financial info, and that seems to go through another third party (4th party?) (like Stripe or something like that. very common, most of your financial transactions online use things like that). It also likely means that Vimeo is taking some kind of cut of the profits made from these subscriptions (and lets be real, in this day and age, they're not just demanding a flat fee. It's likely some percentage of your subscription cost). The companies switching over (watcher and 2nd try) are making the gamble that the money made on subscriptions after cost taken is more than their adsense from yt, which isn't a wild idea considering how much we know yt loves demonetizing videos and paying their creators poorly.

It also means that Vimeo seems to be on some sort of marketing push, and that more of your favorite channels may swap over to streaming services in the near future.

Vimeo???? Yes, vimeo, that bootleg youtube that's been around for like as long as I can remember being on the internet. I guess they finally found a way to usurp yt's market control and good for them ig. Maybe this will be the thing that finally forces yt to fix their creator relationships? time will tell Why are you posting this in my favorite media company's tag?? I wanted fanart! Sorry to intrude, I just think this is neat and would love to hear opinions from other people on this knowledge.

[lexi-the-demon-69]

I saw your CR hot take post and I have something to tell you

1st of all, Licorice literally witnessed Dark Choco getting hurt, and tried to calm the fight down when DC and Pomegranate were fighting, and she literally told Licorice to be silenced. 2nd, there’s literally tons of evidence in game and Pomegranate and Licorice hate each other and Licorice literally has lines in game boasting about how much he wants to become more stronger then Pomegranate. Third of all, Pomegranate has shown interest in Dark Enchantress cookie, who’s an older woman. Meaning Pomegranate could be in her thirties, plus to add onto that, Licorice could be in his early 20s cause of how he’s a possible highschool dropout and how he has a kpop costume and a school uniform costume. With Pomegranate being a manager and a teacher. Plus teachers can get pressed of charges for dating students, and a manager dating a young kpop star can also be illegal to.

Also, next time before you ship a toxic ship, why don’t you actually pay attention to what’s toxic in canon instead of shipping toxic ships right away, cause you alongside every other lic0//p0m3 shipper in the cookie run fandom has the IQ of a grape and wishes to ignore the fact that lic0//p0m3 is toxic. Cause you just wanna be stubborn

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Before I even begin to talk more about my reasoning, all I want to say is this:

I do not appreciate being called names over a damn ship. Saying that I have an IQ of a grape all because I ship two piece of shit characters together is not cool. In my personal opinion, I don't see this ship as toxic. Licorice and Pomegranate are both awful people and both use others to get what they want. They are both part of a cult that wants to destroy the world.

Here's my reasoning

1.) Just because Licorice tried to calm down the situation, doesn't mean he likes Dark Choco, nor is he a good person. It simply means that the guy has standards and doesn't agree with how far Pomegranate went.

2.) I don't really see it as "oh they hate each other", but more as they see each other as rivals for Dark Enchantress Cookie's attention. Everyone can interpret things in a different way. You may see them hating each other, while I mostly see it as a dumb rivalry. There's just something about these two arguing and then angrily kissing each other is just too fucking funny. I don't really take the ship as seriously as say Dark Choco x Parfait, but I still like it.

3.) The School of Darkness is an alternate universe. It's not canon as far as I'm aware or concerned. And I don't appreciate you using that as a way to say that the ship is pedophilic in nature. I don't ship them in that universe. In the canon kingdom universe, I do. The same thing goes for the K-pop thing. I don't see the stupid BTS update to be canon but more as a fun little thing for the fans to enjoy. (However, that is debatable) Trying to imply that this ship is illegal over some stupid alternate universe thing or the K-pop shit is disgusting and you should feel ashamed for what you said.

Am I going to stop shipping this? No. Am I going to tolerate you trying to label me as something I'm not? No. If you do not like the fact that I like a ship YOU think is toxic then you can ignore me or block me!

By the way, why'd you ask anonymously? I honestly want to see who you really are or are you just a coward who likes to call people stupid and imply that they're a proshipper over a ship you don't like?

Sit the fuck down and do not send another forsaken ask in my inbox again because I will not respond.

Thank you. UwU

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

I listened to their TryPod episode on this and also to their interview on Anthony Padilla's channel and honestly, the thoughts are the same. Positive because they're thinking things through, mixed because YouTube truly is terrible.

Also, I have seen many comments going "lol they are trying SO HARD to not sound like Watcher" and, folks, they did most of this before the Watcher announcement. Rachel posted a behind-the-scenes where it showed that they filmed their announcement video before Watcher's got released. Obviously, it is possible they changed things and reshot stuff, but if I understood it correctly, the interview with Anthony was also done soon after they filmed it. I think their TryPod was recorded in a post-Watcher scandal world, but it doesn't have a different vibe from the Anthony video. All of this to say that, yes, I also would've loved to be a fly on the wall in the Try Guys office when the Watcher scandal happened, but it seems like they were going to approach it differently before all of that even happened.

Which, yeah, reinforces the positive part that they have definitely thought it out more. Zach read out his thought that he wrote down in 2023 about how he wants to stay on YouTube and have it be an addition. And in the TryPod, they are very aware of the fact that they're asking for money unexpectedly, so they need to be as open as possible. This is also regarding Eugene's departure: they needed a hard cut/clean break in order to not mislead people. Not only that, but they've been gradually introducing Marissa and Jared and Jonny etc. in order to also see if it worked and they also posted the pilots on YouTube and allowed the audience to vote on what they liked. They even considered 3 other options (becoming a product, being more like Mythical, being more like Smosh) and decided against all of them because of their audience, so it seems like, unlike Watcher, they did do more research into it.

People also said about Watcher that they aren't Dropout. Again, I watched all the Watcher stuff from the outside and I have no clue if they said anything about it after their second video, so I don't know if they shared more about their failed process. Anyway, for 2nd Try, turns out thar Sam Reich was the advisor, although the Try Guys did not want to be the new Dropout since they wanted to stay on YouTube. Just interesting to think about.

And to the mixed: YouTube is truly becoming terrible. It's insane how much YouTube fucked them over for the Ned situation. Apparently they lost millions of dollars of ad deals during that drama, all because "the donut had shit in it". Like, it was known that Zach, Keith and Eugene were very shocked by it, but hearing how deep it steeps into everything that happened and how it almost cost all of those jobs is truly terrifying, all because the already arbitrary YouTube algorithm made the experience even worse. And as Keith also pointed out before, it's more than him, Zach and Eugene. People need to get paid. People have families. YouTube is no longer a safe option for them.

But even before the donut factory went up into flames, it turns out that Zach wanted to leave before Eugene, because it was so rigid and restrictive. YouTube truly fucks creators over and this service model will set a precedent and that's... not good. But what can they do? When I singled out Phil, I mentioned it's not a him problem. It isn't. And sometimes I do get mad at myself for getting mad at creators doing stupid shit for trying to survive, like not watching Phil's AITA video, or getting annoyed at Dan changing titles every five seconds and I shit you not, I have unsubscribed from channels because of their clickbait thumbnails, because it pissed me off so much. The 2nd Try announcement video already has a new title and thumbnail as well. I was actually surprised that the thumbnails on 2nd Try seem to be actual screen captures of an episode, because as Keith said, that doesn't work anymore.

Basically this post is a bit all over the place but man this entire situation is just a mess. I wish the Try Guys well and YouTube a very happy get fucked.

I have positive-slash-mixed thoughts about the Try Guys moving to streaming

[struggling-with-time]

SBI Racing AU Headcanon

Paring: SBI Family

Summary: Racing headcanon for how the family of 4 adrenaline junkies function.

Warnings: Fluff, racing au

Words: 1.6K

Masterlist: SBI Masterlist - Wilbur's Masterlist - Full Masterlist

A/N: Racing AU brain rot, lets goooo. REQUESTS ARE OPEN. Request here.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Let’s get this on the road, ha road get it, anyway

Phil is a retired F1 driver, having had his years on the road chasing the adrenaline high.

He now helps out in Techno’s shop as a mechanic. While working for the nearby racing ring, he claims it’s to make sure nobody gets hurt too badly. In reality, everyone knows it’s because he misses racing himself.

Phil was forced to stop after an injury that left him with a bad knee, a true old man, according to his youngest son, Tommy.

Phil is a now single father, raising his three sons, that are all seeking adrenaline the same way as him. Which horrifies him.

Because if there is one thing Phil is never going to forget from having been behind the wheel in some of the fastest cars, is the absolute high he got from it.

He had to get the nickname Angel of Death from somewhere.

While the man has a calm and nurturing aura when met for the first time, don’t be deceived. The second he gets drunk on speed, and high of the sound. He is nowhere near calm.

Phil is a horrifying force behind the wheel, having multiple track records still standing around the world from before the accident. Not to mention an even longer list of crashes that was potentially his fault. But if you ask the man, nothing was ever proven.

Phil drives a stick shift, specifically a stick shift Chevy Camaro. His children likes to call him an old man for the stick shift.

Techno, Phils second oldest son, and his pride and joy if you ask Wilbur.

Techno can do it all, he’s a mechanic, owns his own shop, where in Phil helps out. In said shop, Techno also does the upkeep on his own car.

He does only illegal racing, the man isn’t the greatest with rules, and legalities when it comes to the legal parts of racing.

Not to mention Phil would have his head if he even tried walking the same path as him. So illegal street racing with his dad cheering him on it is.

(Phil did have a lot of problems in the beginning with Technos seemingly endless craving for the adrenaline. But he over time warmed up to the idea it was better Techno races under Phils wings, than sneaking out and making it more dangerous, than the past time already is.)

Techno does all his car upkeeps by himself, esspcially because the car wasn’t only sponsored by himself, but Phil did give him some money from his own days for the car. A Ford GT in red.

He is known famously as the Blade, but infamously as The Blood God. That red Ford GT leaves nightmares and losers in the dust.

Techno has yet to lose any races, always on top of his game.

Much to the dismay of Dream, the guy who is forever stuck in the 2nd position right behind him.

Technos racing style is known for being aggressive, but for those who have raced him, knows nothing is impulsive. Every single move is highly calculated and precise.

Techno is a college dropout, with the support of Phil and his family. Unlike Wilbur.

Wilbur is the oldest of the three children. The only one who went and completed college. Earning a degree but ended up back home.

Because to him there never was nothing like the nights him and Techno would sneak out to join the racing ring.

Despite Phils insistence that his oldest doesn’t have to be behind a wheel. Wilbur feels no other place quite fits him like that.

Phil knows how Wilbur drives. Because he taught him how to do so himself. Due to Techno just being 1 year younger than Wilbur. The year being enough for Techno to having cleaned up Wilburs mistakes when he ages a year.

Leading to Wilbur, still like Techno, having an aggressive driving style. But unlike Technos nothing about it is refined or precise. Wilbur is an absolute terror behind the wheel. A madman some have called him.

Because like his dad and younger brother. Wilbur craves the adrenaline. And he will do whatever it takes to get it.

So he races, always never first, always just close by. The oldest yet standing in the shadow of his younger brother.

Leading to unlike Techno, Wilburs pride and joy, is their youngest brother. Tommy.

But a close second would be his car, a vintage 1969 corvette stingray. That much to his dismay is mostly upkept by Techno, for while Wilbur is good on the track, he cannot fix a thing on his car alone.

Meaning Techno and Wilbur sometimes have long nights just bonding in Technos workshop, fixing their cars, talking about races, and talking about their starry-eyed younger brother Tommy.

A loud-mouthed blonde, that has been banned from getting behind a wheel. Phil taught him how to drive far too young. Leading to Tommy teaching his friend group how to as well.

And Phil is so not letting the flock of 4 adrenaline junkies with the name of Tommy, Tubbo, Ranboo and Purpled anywhere near the racetrack in any form of car. Phil would very much like to not die of a heart attack.

The group of 4 however had made it their mission to prove Phil wrong, that they should in fact race. Because according to Tommy.

“They are the biggest men” And deserve the glory that comes with that.

Phil still refuses, however, he has provided the four with an old Volkswagen from 2007, that has all the safety it needs, but no plates. A small insurance for Phil, hoping the 4 can be satisfied in cruising in it around the area behind Technos shop.

All this meaning, that while Tommy has his license, he has no car. And neither does his friends. Not that any of them would ever let him drive any of their cars if that had.

Tommy is a speed demon, and much to the dismay of his father and brother. He is as much of an adrenaline junkie as them.

So the when the rest of the family pulls up in their cool cars.

Tommy pulls up on his red Big Man Puch Maxi. Named after the crudely drawn Big Man made in black spray paint over the side. Of course filled with attributes to the people he cares about.

A drawn bee made by Tubbo, who helped him paint it red.

A crown in black and white from Ranboo, who helps him fix and repair it. Ranboo works as an apprentice in Technos shop.

A purple alien face from Purpled, whose brother Punz also drives in the racing ring.

A flag, more specifically the Logo of L’Manberg. Wilburs car. Because as he says.

“All the important things have flags.”

The sticker and design was made by the two, who sat up all night in their garage at home. Wilbur rambling on for hours about the colour meanings and how important flags and recognition is. Techno had ended up joining them after midnight, mostly listening, but sometimes adding his own 5 cents into either the conversation, or a quick piece of advice. That the hard-working brother always seemed to listen to.

So when Phil found the 3 passed out in the garage, and all he did was find pillows and blankets for them. Who is to blame that he ended up taking photos of them.

A sword, to signify his older brother Techno.

And lastly a pair of black wings, to signify the only Man. His dad Phil.

While the 4 of the minors are chaos in person, they certainly are so too when they play around in the car. Tommy driving, Tubbo as his co-pilot and stick manager. Ranboo behind Tubbo. Ranboo usually being the voice of reason, whenever he isn’t drowned out by Purpled, who sits behind Tommy, irking them on to go faster.

The 4 of them also having started what they call a biker gang, in reality it’s just them on their old Puch Maxis.

And Tommy, oh Tommy.

Tommy likes to run his mouth, especially in front of Dream, the number 2 in the racing ring. Unlike his brother Wilbur.

Wilbur has a silver tongue unlike anyone else, that convince nearly everyone, that he did in fact not nearly make the other driver crash. Because like his father, he has a long list of things that can't be proven to be his fault.

Tommy has offered Dream to race the man so many times everyone lost count after the 7th try. Not that Dream doesn’t want to shut the teenager up. More so because he is afraid of his father.

Everyone knows Techno never loses, but that runs in the family. Phil has never lost a match, even in the stick shift that he drives now. Getting into a match with him is an automatic lose, and Dream has too much pride for that.

So there on racing ring stands Phil with his 3 sons, as much of adrenaline junkies as himself, and while it isn’t the most orthodoxic family, it certain is his. And he can’t help but be proud of them. Even if his youngest and oldest is currently yelling “suck it green boy” after Techno has beat him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

[mcustorm]

45 M/M Gay Movies, Ranked

The other day I bit the bullet and decided to watch Brokeback Mountain for the first time. All I knew about that movie was that it was basically the CMBYN of yesteryear and somebody got killed with a tire iron. Anyways, so I finish the movie and realize that I’ve seen a *lot* of gay movies, especially in the last couple of years. So here are my rankings according to nothing but my personal preference. I won’t write about all of them, but you can ask about something if I leave it out.

I wish I could give you a rubric for this. The reality is, there are some radically different movies on this list with different tones and intentions. There’s buddy comedies, tearjerkers, small indie features, big theater releases. So trying to rank them all is TUFF.

The Way He Looks - Such a beautiful coming-of-age movie. Maybe the 2nd one I saw on this list? Perfect length, perfect characterization, simple yet compelling, clever. And nothing feels better than reaching a happy ending (for once, because some of these movies’ endings-- SHEESH) that’s been earned. It just hasn’t been topped.

2. God’s Own Country

3. Pride

4. Kanarie - Yea, we don’t talk about this movie enough. It’s one of the most recent that I’ve seen. Beautiful. The way that it references apartheid and the war to reflect the protagonist’s feelings? Flawless.

5. Jongens - The first movie that I saw on this list, gets many a bonus point for that.

6. Moonlight - Yes, I am black. Yes, I understand this movie may be too low. Moonlight kind of scares me. In general, there’s not nearly enough discourse surrounding this one for me. But while it’s not exactly a popcorn-muncher, to me it’s the most personal movie on the list. When I look at Chiron and all that he’s been through, I can’t help but draw parallels to my own story up to this point. It holds a mirror up to me in a way that no other movie on this list does. That makes me uncomfortable.

But it is so poetic. Have you guys seen the script for this? The directing, the SOUNDTRACK, the acting. Phenomenal. 

7. Weekend

8. Call Me By Your Name - Yes, I am aware of people’s beef with this one. Yes, I understand a lot of people may feel this one is overrated. While I do think this one gets worse on rewatch, the truth is, it’s not really *that* overrated because hot take: most (meaning over half) of the movies on this list range somewhere from “just okay” to “painstakingly bad”.

It’s the score, the cinematography, the subtext in most all of the dialogue, the acting, the way that you can smell the apricots through the fucking screen. People who say this movie is a vacation ad are fucking CORRECT. One of my biggest gripes however is that it’s too fucking long. And uh, that age difference...

And Armie Hammer’s a weirdo...

9. Dating Amber* - Dating Amber has one of those “Duh” premises that sounds like it could’ve been done like 30 times before yet I can’t think of any other examples of it. So what you’d think would be a wacky premise actually turns out to be a frankly poignant movie with an emotional story arc for the main two characters.

10. Hello Stranger: The Movie* - This movie, which is the first sequel (sorta) on the list, frankly had no business being as good as it was. Even though the web series is required viewing, I felt the movie fixed like all of the series’ issues: pacing, lack of compelling drama, the awkward quarantine format. The drama and stakes are there without us having to visit Angst City. And the theme and the ending reprise is HEAT.

11. Uncle Frank* -  Uncle Frank is like The Help of gay movies. Like The Help, it’s *overall* a short, sweet and fluffy movie set decades ago. Like The Help, you’ll still come out of it feeling pretty good even though it has some dark moments. Also like The Help, you’ll wonder after the fact if the central white girl absolutely needed to be so...well, central for this story to be told. Bonus points for Paul Bettany and Character Actress Margo Martindale.

12. Brokeback Mountain - Tragic.

13. Moffie - Set during the South African border war, same as Kanarie. You even hear the word “moffie” throughout Kanarie. Anyways, this is a war movie for the gays, and a very intense watch. I liked that it was a much more realistic view of what a soldier endured during that period, and of course on the flip side I thought it was more thorough in its depiction of the rampant racism. I gotta find a good book on this era.

14. A Moment In the Reeds

15. Get Real - Maybe the most out of place movie on the list. I need to rewatch it. I do recall absolutely loving the score, however. Like, I fucks with this:

16. Freier Fall - When I finished Brokeback I was like, “Wait, wasn’t that just Free Fall with extra steps?” And yea, it kinda is. But even discount Brokeback is still pretty good.

17. Beautiful Thing - There are few things to like about this one, the relationship between the two guys, the mother’s love for her son even though it’s not all rainbows, that nice little final scene. I did not care for the dark-skinned woman being portrayed as, you know, the drug abusing, school dropout, gossipy, butt of jokes neighbor. But that guy really looks like Tom Holland tho.

18. Love, Simon - It’s at this point that I move from “Yea, that movie is good, you should watch it!” to “Look, you may like it, you may not.”

19. The 10 Year Plan - This movie is so fucking cheesy that there was cheddar coming though my speakers. But when I think of “Hallmark/Lifetime, but for the gays” this is the crown jewel. There’s some other movies on this list that could’ve taken some notes.

20. The Christmas Setup* - The trend of fluffy-white-gay-cable-network-movie continues and in good form. It’s not deep. It’s not really thought provoking. It’s cute. Fran Drescher is there. You should watch it.

21. Giant Little Ones

22. Hidden Kisses

23. Alex Strangelove - In a unique twist, the emotional core of this one is arguably between Alex and his girlfriend. All that ends up happening, however, is we the viewer keep wanting more Alex/Elliott scenes; those are the most electric in the whole movie. The end result is a hot yet endearing mess.

24. Fair Haven

25. The Thing About Harry - Freeform’s attempt at making a cheesy rom-com for the gays. It’s...okay. I personally feel like the main character’s friend is highkey trifling but it’s whatever.

26. Your Name Engraved Herein* - So I guess I’ve decided I officially hate angst. I mean, I get how it’s often necessary to tell an effective story, but I’m just not here for 2 hour indie angst fests that get passed off as “high art” anymore. I cannot do it. Somehow this is Brokeback’s fault...there just has to be a better way to tell gay stories in the 2020′s. Anyways, the last song was fuego.

27. The Perfect Wedding - Easily the most bizarre movie on this list. It’s so bad, I liked it a lot.

28. Naz and Maalik - The first half of the movie with the two leads just riffing is some pretty great stuff. The back half starts throwing plot developments that are just less than interesting.

29. My Best Friend

30. The Curiosity of Chance

31. Being 17 - Boring. Angsty.

32. And Then We Danced

33. Center of My World - Has some of the most trifling characters EVER. I was so angry. This movie for me has *0* rewatchability.

34. Just Friends

35. 4th Man Out - This movie was basically “a bro/Hangover-style movie, but for the gays.” I absolutely love the intention, but the execution was a little shoddy. One day we’re gonna get a flawless movie that nails what this movie was going for. I hope we remember this movie whenever that day comes.

36. Latter Days - So fucking preachy. 

37. GBF - Another bizarre one, but at least this movie gets how wacky it is.

38. Beach Rats

39. Shelter - I’ve noticed a lot of people like this one. To that I say...yikes. Remember that scene from Family Guy where Peter says he doesn’t care for The Godfather? I did not care for Shelter. It insists upon itself (not really, but still).

40. Handsome Devil

41. Esteros - It’s at this point of the list that we shift from “Movies that are the definition of ‘ight’ “ to “These movies are bad. Bad. BAAAAAD.”

42. Monster Pies

43. Were the World Mine - I couldn’t even finish it. Wanna watch a better musical? Go watch Kanarie. Wanna watch a better Shakespeare adaptation? The Lion King is the movie for you, or even fucking She’s the Man.

44. North Sea Texas - So boring. I actually think this one may need a rewatch, because I swear it shouldn’t have been as terrible as it was.

45. Salvation Army - I have no idea what this movie was going for. I understand that it is autobiographical, however...it simultaneously barely has any plot or character developments. This one has shades of Beach Rats, but it’s significantly worse, and I didn’t even like Beach Rats that much.

So that’s it, thanks if you made it down this far. I guess I’ll update the list as I inevitably watch more of these. I would love movie recommendations! 

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

Battle #23

Gaunt: Kryptonite ( Side Gene )

Vs.

The Wipers: Youth of America ( Side One )

Gaunt: Kryptonite ( Side Gene )

Gaunt was a pop punk band formed in Columbus, Ohio, in 1991. The band released five albums and a crap ton of singles before splitting in 1998. Actually 5 albums is a bit of a stretch. Sob Story is really more of an extended EP and clocks in Around 20 minutes, but anyway... yeah the 90s Ohio scene was pretty rock and punk and roll. But at the top of that list was New Bomb Turks and these guys. Really almost compliments to each other. NBT was down and dirty, and Gaunt filled in for the poppier and peppier parts. In fact in the earliest days, they shared members with NBT, but it was short lived. They bounced around a few independent labels and one last album was recorded for Thrill Jockey, entitled Kryptonite, and released in 1996. Kryptonite was released with a metallic lime green cover and contained lyrics about Superman, Lois Lane, and lost love. Over the course of the next year, the band began to drift apart, with Wick recording solo material. The band managed to scrape together one more album for record giant Warner Bros when they came sniffing around after Green Day had made it evident that punk rock sells, but they broke up soon after due to little to no support of it. So in the grand scheme of things, their time was brief, but powerful. And in true punk rock fashion, I don’t think the band really gave a crap about any of it. They just played music and had fun. Unfortunately in 2001, lead singer Jerry Wick was hit and killed by a car while bicycling home. It’s sad too, because he was a great songwriter. “Kryptonite” is the lead tune of course. Blast off into the rock and roll Metropolis of garage punk rock and roll. The very thing that made this band cool is that they weren’t afraid to try different things. This one features piano. “Savior Breath” is not only a great pun but another great song as well. That catchy 3 chord stuff lo-fi blast off! Hell yeah! Certainly not gaunt on the rock (#seewhatididthere). “Hope You’re Happy “ is about as punk rock as you can expect to get. This is what it would sound like if NBT did less yelling and sang more harmonies. Horns and $#!t on this number, again utilizing some new tricks with the old. Not immune to the catchy AF pop punk vibe that Green Day had a stranglehold on in the mid 90s comes “Transistor Sister”. It’s a no brainer but a head banger too. There’s even a video for it! “Bust” follows with the breakneck speedy Gonzalez “bust you in your head!” It’s perfectly placed pauses and fuzzed out guitar will leave you wanting more. The last fast track is “Hand in Pants”. Gaunt never lets up and the backing harmonies prevail. This band had something special. They were a band you could respect. Quick, catchy and no frills. Serious but fun all at once. Hook laden and made to order madness. This and Bricks and Blackouts may be one of their most experimental albums. It’s damn good though. R. I. P. Gaunt. Oh! And Of course there’s a “side Gene”. You have to get a Kiss reference in. (The other side is Paul, duh)

The Wipers: Youth of America ( Side One )

Technically just Wipers, but “The” is often attached. Wipers was a punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, along with drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. The group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion were hailed as extremely influential by numerous critics and musicians. The band is considered the first Pacific Northwest punk band. Possibly most famous for being both influential to and covered by Nirvana. Greg was interested in music at an early age and has a rather unique perspective on music. His father worked in the broadcast industry so he had access at an early age to a record lathe. He would often study music under the microscope and loved the way it was produced from the record. This gave him a very deep understanding of the way the sound was reproduced. That and Hendrix inspired him to pick up a guitar and the rest is history. Originally they formed just as a recording project. The plan was to record 15 albums in 10 years without touring or promotion. Sage thought that the mystique built from the lack of playing traditional rock 'n' roll would make people listen to their recordings much deeper with only their imagination to go by. He thought it would be easy to avoid press, shows, pictures and interviews. He looked at music as art rather than entertainment; he thought music was personal to the listener rather than a commodity. He is not wrong, but soon shows and touring did happen. Sage has been quoted and remarked on their initial reception: "We weren't even really a punk band. See, we were even farther out in left field than the punk movement because we didn't even wish to be classified, and that was kind of a new territory. ... When we put out Is This Real? ... it definitely did not fit in; none of our records did. Then nine, ten years later people are saying: 'Yeah, it's the punk classic of the '80s'". So this is their second album, and it’s a reaction to the quick short burst of songs all the punk bands were doing in the early 80s. In fact the title track is nearly 10 minutes long! But that’s on the other side. This side contains “Taking too Long” which has highly advanced guitar for a 2nd LP. It’s a serene and peaceful song. Not the BEST Wipers song but still pleasing. “Can This Be” is more the rocking style Wipers fans are used to. Punk elements but wrapped in rock with those fuzz crunch guitars the6 helped stylize. Like a grunge burrito! The dropout bridge and energy are worth the listen alone. For me, the best tune on this side has got to be “Pushing The Extreme”. The Wipers are good at that “haunted melody” sound. You know, kind of creepy sounding but low frequency and underscored by punching bass lines. Accentuated really. I also like the weird phrasing of the word Extreme, it’s partly why Wipers stand out so much. A very loooooooong song though. “When it’s Over” sees Sage showcasing his guitar prowess. Very surfy (another signature of the Wipers sound) and with all of the builds it’s a pretty great piece. Some spoken word but it’s essentially instrumental. These early records have a great cohesion and consistency in their cyclical riffs. Not bad for one of the Northwest’s most influential acts and precursors to the “Seattle sound”.

So it was a real epic battle today of old vs new punk. Well, I guess they’re both old. More like old vs really old? Anyway. Gaunt had a secret weapon on hand, Kryptonite...but will it weaken The Wipers? Gaunt burned 99 calories over 15 minutes and 6 songs. They averaged 16.50 calories burned per song and 6.60 calories burned per minute. They earned 15 out of 18 possible stars. The Wipers tried to engage the youth of America. The Wipers burned 105 calories over 4 songs and 16 minutes. They averaged 26.25 calories burned per song and 6.56 calories burned per minute. They earned 10 out of 12 possible stars. Looks like Gaunt’s Kryptonite worked! They walk away champs today!

Gaunt: “Transistor Sister” (sorry for the piss poor quality but it was the 90s)

https://youtu.be/T7GTSYz1Bmw

#Randomrecordworkoutseasonseven

#Randomrecordworkout

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

NYC in Your Apartment | Short Story Update!

Hey People of Earth!

You won’t BELIEVE it I have WRITTEN an entire STORY (I’m in shock).

Without further ado, here’s an intro to the latest short story, NYC IN YOUR APARTMENT!

What’s it about? 

In short: Joanne, a 20-year-old college dropout, insists she’s making Bad Decisions because a poltergeist is possessing her. Despite not being religious, she spends her Sundays at a cathedral as a means to re-centre herself. Told in second person, Joanne distantly navigates her life, these choices, and past traumas in order to reconnect with herself + those around her. 

Here’s a quick rundown of the characters:

Joanne

Protagonist

Is convinced she is being haunted

Stans cathedrals, is an atheist

Narrates in 2nd person

Is collecting cinnamon buns (don’t ask)

Hates New York City/basically everything

Julian

Her boyfriend!

So... pure??

Soft boi

Stans crossword puzzles

Is a photographer

He just named himself and I was like ok sis pop off

Magdalena 

An older ‘grandma’ figure Joanne meets at the cathedral

Also very pure

SO CUTE

Tries to help Joanne but also gets her son to help her help Joanne (she’s so cute lol, she’s like son I need u to get this so I can give it to Joanne)

I was going to change her name, but it’s kind of similar to my own grandma’s name and she lowkey reminds me of her so it’s staying 

The story kicks off as Joanne breaks up with Julian unexpectedly. The rest of the story is her trying to cope with the ‘poltergeist’ whilst in a semi-dissociative state. It’s been so fascinating to explore Joanne’s character through a second person lens. Not only do I think the POV is kind of perfect for the story I want to tell, it’s also incredibly fun to write! Joanne is such a vulnerable character and I think second person really captures this vulnerability. 

The title is from a line in the short story, though I don’t *love* it so I’ll probably change it at some point! 

Conception:

On Monday night, I intuitively *felt* a line (that is now the first sentence of the short story) come to me. I wrote it down, went back to finishing that assignment, dawdled, but eventually felt oddly compelled to revisit the line. I told myself I’d just look at it, but ended up copying it into a new document. Doing this prompted the QUICKEST word vomit I have ever partaken in?? I pasted the line in and almost the entirety of the story followed. I drafted over half of it in a night. (Deadass the highest word output I’ve put out in the last 2/3 years in one night?? I usually write -4000 words in a night ha)

The writing bit: 

Writing this story has been so easy, it almost seems... too easy? I’m lowkey suspicious, lol. I’ve started many short stories in the past, only for most of them to sort of fall off after the first page or so. But this story, kept going? Even when I’d written 2k words and was going to head to bed, I ended up writing another 1k words without even... thinking? This story felt like it was just in my brain, the words already picked out, and just occurred on the page (I don’t expect this to ever happen to me again loool). 

Even today when I finished it up, everything sort of just... unravelled. It definitely needs an edit, but I think the story is there. I know where I want it to be/what I want it to do, so I’ll note them for a future edit! But this was definitely unexpected! Right now the story sits at about 5.5k words which makes it my longest story yet! I actually like it enough to... edit it...? Wow? 

At this point I think I need to let the draft rest for a bit and then do a quick edit + send it to some peeps to see what they think! I wish I could share some excerpts on here because oh myyy there’s some interesting stuff, but since I can’t, here’s a mini playlist of songs that remind me of the story (ok it’s all Ex:Re + Daughter but I tRIED):

Playlist:

- New York by Ex:Re

- Romance by Ex:Re

- Too Sad by Ex:Re

- I Can’t Keep You by Ex:Re

- How by Daughter

- To Belong by Daughter

- Made Of Stone by Daughter

- Dreams of William by Daughter

- Landfill by Daughter

- Winter by Daughter

I hope you guys enjoyed learning a bit more about this story! Also @imdisappointed​ wants you to know she is a telepathic legend and predicted I was writing this update. Thank you for reading! :)

--Rachel

[richincolor]

We’re excited to be part of the Permanent Record Blog Tour!

Title: Permanent Record Author: Mary H.K. Choi Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Pages: 400 Release Date: September 3, 2019 Review Copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley

Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact, which Rainbow Rowell called “smart and funny,” comes an unforgettable new romance about how social media influences relationships every day.

On paper, college dropout Pablo Rind doesn’t have a whole lot going for him. His graveyard shift at a twenty-four-hour deli in Brooklyn is a struggle. Plus, he’s up to his eyeballs in credit card debt. Never mind the state of his student loans.

Pop juggernaut Leanna Smart has enough social media followers to populate whole continents. The brand is unstoppable. She graduated from child stardom to become an international icon and her adult life is a queasy blur of private planes, step-and-repeats, aspirational hotel rooms, and strangers screaming for her just to notice them.

When Leanna and Pablo meet at 5:00 a.m. at the bodega in the dead of winter, it’s absurd to think they’d be A Thing. But as they discover who they are, who they want to be, and how to defy the deafening expectations of everyone else, Lee and Pab turn to each other. Which, of course, is when things get properly complicated.

Review: Life for Pablo is definitely taking a troubling turn. They guy has a lot going on in his life and he’s making choices that continue to multiply and exacerbate those problems. When Pablo looks at his bills and tries to think about what he’s going to do with his life, he pushes everything away and decides not to decide. He’s basically stuck and doesn’t know how to get out of his own trap. He uses his charm in an attempt to save himself over and over again when he’s not just blowing people off and treating them horribly. Some readers may not like him spite of the wattage of his charm.

His central plan is avoidance or distraction. This is true with debts, decisions, and in relationships. I felt for the guy though. At one point he ponders about how unfit young people are to make life changing decisions like college majors. Brains aren’t even completely developed when most people are starting college and choosing their life path. Young people are asked to make huge decisions with lifetime ramifications when some of them are simply not ready yet. Pab cannot figure things out and in the meantime his looming debt is just making every single thing more stressful.

The kid is bright though and his word play and repartee had me laughing even in the midst of his often cringey decision making. The conversations between Leanna and Pablo are especially entertaining. Leanna can also make some sketchy decisions and both of them managed to show their humanity and individuality. They’re coming of age in a bumbling sort of way which makes the whole story more endearing than annoying for me. Pab is also talented when it comes to making and choosing snacks. I definitely wanted to give some of those a try.

I really appreciated the look into Pab and his relationships with his parents. His mother is Korean and his father is Pakistani. They live their lives in two very different ways, but they both want good things for their children. Pab thinks he knows what his parents think and why, but there have been misunderstandings between them for a long time. His little brother is also a lot of fun. He adds yet another interesting perspective. He is quite precocious and enterprising. The two siblings really care for each other and that relationship was a highlight for me even though it wasn’t a huge part of the story.

Though much of this story is outside my lived experience, the book was very relatable as Pab questions his future and gets bogged down in mistakes. Even his failure to simply ask for guidance or help was almost too realistic for me. I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit.

Recommendation: Get it as soon as you can especially if you enjoy your contemporary novels  with a bit of romance, a dash of social media drama, friendship and family complications, and interesting snack ideas. Pab and Leanna will likely inspire laughter as well as introspection.

Blog Tour Schedule

August 26th – Vicky Who Reads

August 27th – Adventures of a Book Junkie

August 28th – Utopia State of Mind

August 29th – Read by Tiffany

August 30th – Rich in Color

August 31st – Your Tita Kate

September 2nd – Books on Pointe

September 3rd – Andi’s ABCs

September 4th – Book Scents

September 5th – Twirling Pages

September 6th – Bookshelves & Paperbacks

September 9th – YA Bibliophile

September 10th – Mary Had A Little Book Blog

September 11th – Chasing Faerytales

September 12th – Nicole’s Novel Reads

September 13th – Mel to the Any

Mary H.K. Choi is a writer for The New York Times, GQ, Wired, and The Atlantic. She has written comics for Marvel and DC, as well as a collection of essays called Oh, Never Mind. Her debut novel Emergency Contact was a New York Times bestseller. She is the host of Hey, Cool Job!, a podcast about jobs and Hey, Cool Life!, a podcast about mental health and creativity. Mary grew up in Hong Kong and Texas and now lives in New York. Follow her on Twitter @ChoitotheWorld.

[mwolf0epsilon]

DBH Superhero AU pt.2

Some more cast members for you guys! If you have any questions about their powers or how everyone found out about their abilities, just ask!

Enjoy

---

Deviants:

Kara Curry/Sneak: A troubled and often times unlucky young woman, Kara has had it rough. After a series of unfortunate events lead to her moving to Detroit to live with her abusive uncle Todd, Kara was forced to drop out of college after being forced to become a servent to her uncle. After a particularly bad night, she found her Deviant ability, invisibility, which helped her not only escape the abusive household she was stuck in, but also rescue her younger cousin, Alice, as well.

It was hope and trustworthy friends that lead her to Jericho, and it is determination that drives her to fight for a better world.

Note: Kara's role within Jericho is that of an informant since her abilities are highly useful for stealth missions. Much like Simon and Daniel, Kara also requires a highly specialized suit to use her powers on missions, otherwise her powers are virtually useless (Nudity is not an option and should not be suggested more than it already has, please don't bring it up again).

Alice Williams: Alice is the young daughter of Todd Williams and Kara's young cousin. While it's unknown if she is Deviant or not, Alice's mother was a confirmed Carrier.

As such, Alice is under Jericho's protection and is currently under watch in case of any signs of Deviancy appearing early on.

Note: She seems to have a strangely accurate intuition when it comes to Deviants, being able to point out if people are more than they seem.

Perhaps this points to a more aura based ability if Alice is in fact a Deviant.

Luther Parke/Goliath: Once one of Zlatko's test subjects, Luther's Deviancy was forced upon him by the deranged scientist, in an effort to get something controllable in between a true Deviant and a Red Ice Mutant. While Luther did momentarily lose himself thanks to the cruel tests he was subjected to, his will was restored by Kara and Alice who nearly fell victim to another one of Zlatko's twisted experiments. Sadly, while Luther did regain his senses, he's lost all of his memories except for his name.

Endowed with super strength and inhuman endurance, Luther is a challenging Deviant to go up against. Loyal to a fault and highly protective of those he cares about, it's unwise to cross this superhuman.

Note: Like North, Luther's muscle mass is beyond what is considered normal for his age. Unlike North, however, there isn't much he can do to hide it since his height has also been affected by Zlatko's experiments. At full height, Luther stands at a staggering 9 feet tall, and his skin is as thick as armour. His metabolism is slower than the twins's but Luther also requires a high calorie diet and regular exercise to stay healthy.

Ralph Vladimary/Bruteroot: A 2nd generation Deviant who showed signs of having plantomancy abilities early on in his youth. Once a bright and cheerful individual with a love for gardening, Ralph was a victim of misfortune after accidentally using his powers in public. Attacked and brutally beaten by a group of bigots, a traumatized and wounded Ralph only escaped with his life after retaliating violently, resulting in the deaths of his aggressors.

Found in an abandoned building by Kara and Alice right after they ran away, and eventually taken to Jericho to help him recover, Ralph is a caring individual, but also easily scared and mistrustful of others. He seems to be afraid of his powers and has a hard time controlling them.

Note: Ralph's wounds have never closed properly because his powers seem to have caused plantlife to highjack his body. As such, Ralph seems to be part plant himself, and seems to attract insects and other critters as a result of his bizarre hybrid biology.

Jericho has decreed that Ralph is not allowed to do field missions unsupervised. Should a mission require his contribution, it's advised that Lucy, Kara, Jerry or Rupert be paired up with him to keep him in check.

Jerry(s) Bosch/Legion: Jerry Bosch used to be the cheerful only child of an old Navy veteran who took him in, after he found the poor boy wondering the woods on a freezing cold winter night. Several years later after hitting puberty, Jerry woke up feeling different, while also finding he had an extra arm growing out of his torso.

While still cheerful and an overall ray of sunshine, Jerry is no longer one being, but many beings all linked by a hivemind. His Deviant ability is that of multiplication, which provides Jericho with an intricate communication web of clones that are eager to help anyone in need.

No one is quite sure how Cyberlife hasn't tracked down Jerry or his many clones, since his father has done a lot of reconstruction to accommodate every single one of his boys, and hasn't really hidden the fact he went from having one son, to over 10 of him.

One thing is certain: the world gets a little bit brighter for Deviants in need, one Jerry at a time!

Note: Jerry's biology is comparable to that of an amoeba, since his body seems to have somehow become unicellular without turning him into a blobby mass. Multiplication isn't painful, as the Jerrys cannot feel pain, but it seems to be very uncomfortable for them, with all clones sharing the feeling through their mental link.

Overall the Jerrys are a bit odd but everyone is quite fond of their helpful and kind nature. If you ever need help just ask for Jerry, there's bound to be one positioned near you.

Important: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYONE ASK THE JERRYS TO REUNITE AS A SINGLE BEING. IT'S POSSIBLE BUT THE RESULTS AREN'T PRETTY AND NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT.

Rupert Travis/Eagle-Eyes: A 2nd generation Deviant who's ability came in a little late, Rupert used to be a honor roll student with a veterinarian scholarship, until his ability manifested. A college dropout and pushed away by his own family for his oddities, Rupert is a survivor and a vigilante known as Eagle-Eyes, who will on occasion help Jericho.

It's not in his nature to stay put for long, and his closest friends are all of the winged variety.

Note: Rupert's flight powers while highly beneficial for scouting missions, have caused him to grow two massive feathered wings out of his back. This of course has made him an outcast in his family's eyes, despite his condition being a result of his parents being Carriers.

Rupert is known for having several eyes in the sky in the form of trained pigeons. He seems very fond of them, and in return they seem very fond of him as well.

Shaolin Being: There are many things about the Shaolin Being that people know, and that is that they do not know anything about him.

Not his real name, where he came from, nor if he even has any family.

A mysterious Deviant, the Shaolin Being came to Jericho to offer his assistance as a healer.

He is very good at his job, and seems to be in control of his powers. However there seems to be something troubling his mind.

Something quite terrible.

Note: Shaolin Being's powers are energy based and seem to follow the law of equivalent exchange. With this in mind, it's advised not to ask him to heal someone who is near death. A life for a life, is not worth the emotional damage.

Echo and Ripple: Like the Shaolin Being, no one knows much about Echo or Ripple. They are very reserved 2nd generation Deviants who seem to know North personally, although the latter refuses to disclose any information on both. It's assumed that they were two of the girls she has saved in the past, but the rumors are plentiful and stories change all the time.

The two seem to have discarded their past names and identities and have assumed their Deviant personas as their true selves, making them two of the hardest people in Jericho to track. This makes them ideal for covert missions, and they like Kara and the twins, are favoured for such missions.

Both of them have inhuman endurance and agility, although Echo seems to have mild shape shifting abilities, while Ripple has mild technokinetic abilities. They are the perfect duo of infiltrators and hackers.

Note: Hyperlife has been trying to link the two to a double child sex slavery case that has been archived for a while now due to lack of evidence. Whether or not Echo and Ripple are the missing Tracy and Stacy, is up for debate.

Lucy Wandera: A 1st generation Deviant, Lucy has known pain and loss and become something of a legend among her fellow Deviants. A guide and healer to those in desperate need, Lucy is a respected member of Jericho, and often acts as a voice of reason in the most difficult times.

Her primary abilities are healing and divination.

Note: Lucy does not participate in field missions, acting instead as an advisor and healer. She is in complete control of her powers and is an inspiration to the younger generation of Deviants. Her eyes seem to have turned completely black, due to her usage of her second sight.

Humans:

Hank Anderson: An old grizzled cop with a grudge against Hyperlife, due to their specialist doctors having failed to save his young son's life after he suffered a horrific car crash caused by harsh weather. Once the pride of the DPD's Red Ice Division, Hank has been trying to drown himself in the bottom of a licor bottle, but one chance encounter has slowly lead to a second chance at life. There's just something about Connor that feels strangely familiar...Like he needs to protect this odd kid who doesn't know how to behave his own age.

Carl Manfred: Markus's adoptive father and Elijah Kamski's most trusted friend, Carl is an esteemed and brilliant artist who's spent the last three years trying to do right by his son while also raising a dangerous bioweapon to be good.

Sharp minded and with an eye for detail, Carl can only hope for the better as he tries to lead his sons in the right direction.

Leo Manfred: Markus's adoptive brother and Carl's biological son, Leo is a bit of a mess but he's trying hard to get his life back together after his mother has died.

He seems to like Markus, but his jealousy towards the Deviant often makes him act hostile towards him, something which has only worsened after he began taking Red Ice.

Recently he's began showing signs of mutation, and has tried to go to rehab to stop his addiction before the chemical drug consumes him. Whether or not he'll be able to stop it in time, is to be seen...

Elijah Kamski: Hyperlife's original founder and the man who not only discovered Thirium, but created the T-Vaccine as well. Kamski is an enigmatic man who meant well when he introduced Thirium into the world. Whether or not he is the same person he was before the world began to crumble around him, is up for debate.

One thing is clear however: He has faith in Markus and hopes to still be around when the world finally embraces Deviency. Until then he'll remain in self-exile in the company of his most loveliest creations, the Chloes.

Chloe(s): Elijah Kamski's personal assistants and favoured creations, they are bioengineered beings that are the perfect blend of organic and machine. Very doll-like and passive, people are often unnerved by their unusually calm presence.

Amanda Stern: Elijah Kamski's old mentor and one of Hyperlife's ranking officers, Amanda is in charge of the Rook Division, working as the Hunters's handler.

Strict and ruthless, Amanda is both the calm before the storm, and the eye of the tempest. Everyone is a little intimidated by her.

Zlatko: An ex-Hyperlife employee obcessed with the effects of Red Ice and Deviency, Zlatko is a deranged scientist with a god complex, who wants to create the perfect spliced Deviant. Something which is neither man nor animal, but that can be controlled like a machine. He has yet to succeed, but he's got a basement full of tormented beasts to content himself with.

[karmies]

Simple Wifi Profits Review (2021) - Just Another Scam?

  It's quite rare that you see a course with such a scammy name like Simple Wifi Profits. This gets even more suspicious when you see another 2 teenagers who claim to be millionaires.   To be honest, I saw this as a red flag, so I did what I usually do in this situation, meaning that I went ahead and bought it so that I can share my opinion with you guys.   If you want to know if this course is the right choice for you, then you're in the right place!   In this Simple Wifi Profits review, I'm gonna tell you everything you need to know in order to decide for yourself if this program is worth investing in. There will be some interesting aspects, which I would advise you to pay attention to and read until the end.   Who Created Simple Wifi Profits?   Chris Eom, a Korean immigrant and Andrew Wright, a college dropout are the creators of this course. They recently gained popularity in the affiliate marketing industry because they became millionaires in a short period of time ( like most gurus ).   They provide their students with group coaching, as well as weekly coaching calls. Which is very useful if you ask me.   If you are a beginner, you will find these calls highly useful.   What is Simple Wifi Profits?   Well, in a nutshell it's a program that teaches you how to promote products in the "health" niche by using paid traffic. It's really nothing out of the ordinary and this has been done before by many gurus.   BUT the way that they teach you to structure your ads in order to get traffic to your offers is kinda new. Well at least I haven't seen it before. I can say that I liked it.   There is also a downside to the method that they teach, which I will reveal later.   Simple Wifi Profits Review   As I said in the beginning, I decided to purchase this course because it seemed very scammy and I wanted to share my opinion with you guys.   The second reason why I made this decision was that i saw many other respectable reviewers give it a thumbs up, and I wanted to see if they are lying.   Let's have a look at what's inside of the course:   Introduction   Chris and Andrew start the course by reassuring you that you made the right decision by offering you a very cool bonus pack.     Also, they tell you about the Facebook group, which I will highly recommend you to join. I can say that I liked the first few videos.   1st Chapter: The World Of Affiliate Marketing   They start the course by outlining the key differences between affiliate marketing and other online business opportunities. I 100% agree with them when saying that affiliate marketing is THE BEST business model and will likely be for many years to come.   If you are a beginner, you will like hearing the pros and cons of affiliate marketing based on Chris and Andrew's experience.   Also, they will introduce you to Clickbank, an affiliate marketplace that you are probably already familiar with.   They will recommend you to promote products in one particular field of the health niche, which we will talk about a bit later. 2nd Chapter: A Museum of a Million Dollar Success     As you probably guessed (duh), they will tell you to promote products in the weight loss niche. Which is ... good.   Weight Loss is a so called evergreen niche, meaning that there will always be people that will want to lose weight, as well as willing to spend money on it.   This is the method that they used to become millionaires. They promoted weight loss products via paid ads.   I was also successful in the past in the weight loss niche. The difference is that I used different methods to drive traffic to my offers.   Chris and Andrew will introduce you to a 4 step system which is pretty straightforward:     - Find a big problem that needs solving online.    - Find a product: a solution to the problem.   - Share the product via affiliate marketing.   - Make sales and money.   Such a complicated system, right? :)   They will teach you how to use Facebook ads in order to get customers to your funnels.    You will have access to all the landing pages needed inside the course.   3rd Chapter: The Invincible Bridge To Profit   Chris and Andrew start this chapter by telling you to to use Clickfunnels in order to set up your landing pages.   I like Clickfunnels because you can easily tell if your funnel is working or not. You will be able to see your conversion rate, therefore you will know if you need to change something in the funnel.   If your funnel is not working, you will be able to insert additional files in the landing page (from inside the course).   I really like this method because you are able to make money quickly, compared to something like SEO.   4th Chapter: Build Your Empire     In this chapter, they will teach you how to build your actual Facebook ads. I told you in the beginning that this method is kinda unique and that I haven't seen it before.   The uniqueness consists in the way the ad is created. It's based on providing VALUE, which quite frankly I haven't seen anywhere else in my 6 years of online marketing. I really like this method and I will continue to use it in the future.   Again, everything you will need to know is thaught inside the course. You will not have any problems in making it work if you follow what they tell you.   5th Chapter: The Invictus SWP Empire Begins     Here, Chris and Andrew get a bit more technical (don't worry, it's not very complicated). They will show you how to split test your ads in order to maximize the conversion rates.   There were some things here that I didn't know. I really liked the texts and images that they provided. 6th Chapter: The Secrets Of Scaling To Mars   This is where the fun begins! I tried these methods and they really work.   I am always curious when I see scaling strategies inside affiliate marketing courses. Sometimes they are just filler in order to make the course longer.   They will teach you how to start your campaigns with like $5-$10 and keep adding more everyday.   So, you will be taught how to properly reinvest your profits in order to accelerate the growth of your business.   I saw some people in the group making over $35.000/day. This was my favorite module from this course.     7th Chapter: Super Affiliate Hacks   This is where you receive your bonuses. In my opinion, they were one of the best bonuses i saw in a course.   Some of them teach you how to improve conversion rates, others how to scale quickly and efficiently.   Also, the support is very good. I liked it.     Simple Wifi Profits Pros   - Very effective methods - You can get very quick results - Chris and Andrew are easy to understand - Easy for beginners - It just works   Simple Wifi Profits Cons   - It works best only with weight loss products - Only Facebook ads are thaught     Is Simple Wifi Profits A Scam?   While the name sounds scammy, Simple Wifi Profits is 100% NOT a scam.   BUT unfortunately they don't tell you some things before you buy it. For example, this method works very well with weight loss products.   If you try to promote other products from other niches, you might not be as profitable. If you are experienced, sure, you will not have problems with that.   But if you are a beginner, you should stick to weight loss products. So keep that in mind.   Conclusion   I liked this course. I think it's the best for promoting weight loss products via Facebook ads.   If you are fine with that niche, then go ahead and get the course. I personally like that niche and had a lot of success in it.   As i said before, this is the best course for promoting weight loss products with FB ads. Read the full article

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 2nd June 2019

Top 10

So Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber are still at #1 for a third week after debuting at the spot last month, and there’s another Ed Sheeran single from his upcoming collaborations project coming in the top 10 later on. It’s safe to say Sheeran’s made a comeback but he’s definitely not as massive as he was in the Divide era, it’s not like he’s inescapable now, but he probably has a bigger era coming and this is some pointless side project.

Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus is also holding at the runner-up spot.

Also not moving at all since last week is the entire top four. Yup, “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi is still at number-three.

Stormzy’s “Vossi Bop” is still at number-four, as well. The top four have all gone to #1 for several weeks, may I add, so I guess that’s cool.

Moving up a single space to number-five is Billie Eilish’s “bad guy”.

She seems to have moved past “Piece of Your Heart” by MEDUZA and Goodboys still gaining one space to number-six but not enough to overtake her.

Capaldi’s “Hold Me While You Wait” understandably drops off two spaces to number-seven after the album boost fades.

The late Avicii’s “SOS” featuring Aloe Blacc is at standstill at number-eight.

Oh, and we have our highest debut this week and the only one in the top 10, “Cross Me” by Ed Sheeran featuring Chance the Rapper and PNB Rock – yes, I was confused as well – premiering on the charts at number-nine. This is Sheeran’s 23rd (!) Top 10 hit in the UK, Chance’s fourth (All of which have been features) and obviously PNB Rock’s first, but also his first ever charting song in the UK. Ed Sheeran really can make careers I suppose... except this is PNB Rock’s second charting song by technicality, as his vocals in XXXTENTACION’s “changes” were left uncredited.

Finally, “If I Can’t Have You” by Shawn Mendes has re-entered the top 10 after a three space boost to #10.

Climbers

In terms of climbers, there’s not much of note here, in fact, there is one singular song that had any notable gain this week, and that’s “3 Nights” by Dominic Fike up six spaces to #33. Come on, let’s get this into the top 20 at least. It deserves it.

Fallers

We have a lot of these, on the other hand, a pretty large amount for a cooler week. In reverse order, Lil Dicky and Friends’ “Earth” is slowly making its way out of the charts as it goes down nine spaces to #40, “Motorola” by Da Beatfreakz, Dappy, Deno and Swarmz is down six spots to #38 as most of the UK rap songs fade out pretty quickly if they don’t debut high, “Just You and I” by Tom Walker continues its losses down seven spots to #36, “No Diet” by Digga D loses all its buzz down seven positions as well to #32, “Fashion Week” by Steel Banglez, AJ Tracey and MoStack surprisingly sticks in the top 30 as it dips down five spots to #28, while “So Am I” by Ava Max also has continued losses down six to #25, “EARFQUAKE” by Tyler, the Creator featuring Playboi Carti unfortunately collapses down seven positions to #24 off of the debut, and finally, the album boost dies off for “Grace” by Lewis Capaldi down five spots to #14.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

I am not surprised at all when it comes to these drop-outs, as most of them are pretty obviously not going to succeed past their high debuts last week, such as “Nightmare” by Halsey out from #26, “I THINK” by Tyler, the Creator featuring Solange from #30 and “Jealous” by DJ Khaled featuring Chris Brown, Lil Wayne and Big Sean out from #37, or already extended chart runs like “Walk Me Home” by P!nk from #27 after 14 weeks. Songs that never properly bloomed or peaked at the levels of popularity they could have in their prematurely cut chart run, such as “Homicide” by Logic featuring Eminem out from #38 and “Don’t Worry Bout Me” by Zara Larsson out from #40, as well as “Greaze Mode” by Skepta featuring Nafe Smallz from #35, although due to the album this will rebound next week.

“Falling Like the Stars” by James Arthur has returned to #35 for whatever Godforsaken reason, but otherwise, there are no returning entries, so let’s get straight to the new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#39 – “Wish You Well” – Sigala and Becky Hill

Produced by Sigala and Jarly – Peaked at #9 in Scotland

I hate the plastic house music that gets on the charts pretty much each and every week. Dance music is art, of course, it is, all music is, but this type of plastic, slick house music made by some producer featuring a singer who’s either a complete no-name or established pop princess, both bringing equally bland performances, has no personality and little artistic merit. I don’t hate pop music inherently, of course, I don’t, I love reviewing it but listening to these songs each week is painful because I know for a fact everyone involved didn’t care and just want it to bang in the clubs, but you know what, that’s not a bad thing. Maybe it infuriates me so much because I love house music and this stuff just reeks of soullessness, or maybe it’s just oversaturation, but nevertheless, this is Sigala’s eighth UK Top 40 hit and The Voice UK contestant Becky Hill’s sixth (fifth as a credited artist), and, well, did you expect it to be any good? Of course not, it has pretty dry keys that back up the reverb-drenched vocals from Becky Hill, who really doesn’t match up with the joyful instrumental as she has a lower tone with a lot more bite, fitting the song’s content pretty well considering it’s a sarcastic good luck and good riddance to an old lover. The house instrumental, however, loses that memo entirely, because Sigala doesn’t care, it’s probably a song written by Hill and her songwriters as a ballad or pop rock jam that got completely ruined by Sigala remixing it into a banger for the clubs and radio fodder. There’s something here, for sure, but Sigala misses the point as he does most of the time. Oh, and the mixing is shoddy in the chorus, but I expected that out of the janky chorus because that’s what Siggy does, I guess. God, this is dull.

#31 – “One Touch” – Jess Glynne and Jax Jones

Produced by Jax Jones and Mark Ralph – Peaked at #8 in Scotland

...There’s ANOTHER one? Okay, well, this one happens to be Jess Glynne’s lead single, as she’s getting top billing whilst Jax Jones is second – I can tell also because of how the single cover isn’t a Jax Jones-branded confectionary. Jones, by the way, is actually one of these house dudes I can kind of understand the hype for, the hooks he writes are infectious and I loved “Breathe” featuring Ina Wroldsen in retrospect. This has debuted pretty low for a Jess Glynne lead single, though, but knowing her ability to have insane longevity in this country’s charts, I know she’ll be fine, especially as this is her 13th UK Top 40 single and Jones’ eighth, but this isn’t great either. I feel like I’ve hear d it before, in 2015, from Jess Glynne’s first album, because this is somewhat dated, I feel, it’s very much of the vein of mid-2010s EDM that was massive back then. Glynne sounds pretty great here, but again her performance directly takes from her older work, and the chorus’ melody and its multi-tracked delivery sounds alarmingly similar to her previous hits “Hold My Hand” and maybe even “My Love”, both songs that I absolutely love. The drop is pretty weak, but it works well enough, once again, however, this is generic and derivative, but what did I expect? If this is Glynne’s lead single, yikes. If it’s Jones’, yeah, I figured.

#29 – “Easier” – 5 Seconds of Summer

Produced by watt, Louis Bell and Charlie Puth? – Peaked at #13 in Belgium and #48 in the US

There are two songs in the UK Top 40 now that sample Nine Inch Nails and make absolutely no sense doing so, but “Old Town Road” is different than this new 5 Seconds of Summer track. First of all, “Old Town Road” is actually good. Second of all, it uses an acoustic guitar sample from one of their darker ambient tracks and interprets it into a country-trap fusion which is innovative, it doesn’t attempt to interpolate any of the industrial rock efforts into a lazy boy band jam the Jonas Brothers wouldn’t accept. While I like “Youngblood” still to this day, this is a very disappointing follow-up and it’s clearly trying for the same vibe, except instead of a pumping bassline to make the chorus feel punchier, you’ve got the flattened Nine Inch Nails sample. I’m pretty sure there’s one second of Summer actually singing here, but the insanely Auto-Tuned vocals would make it hard to distinguish anyway. I actually kind of like the chorus somewhat, since the vocal effects sound pretty interesting at least with the electro-industrial tinges from the Nine Inch Nails sample making it feel quite stiff, which works sonically but doesn’t work with a toxic relationship song, well, does it? He’s stuck in this relationship that he’s struggling with, so surely an intimate, cluttered mess would be fitting, but the only reason he’s stuck is because she’s attractive so the dull trudge of the beat definitely detracts from the content, since he can get out at any point if he gets over his own hormonal urges, so maybe it should have more bounce, more energy, maybe a groove, but it’s not there. This is the band’s tenth UK Top 40 single, and it sucks pretty bad.

#18 – “The London” – Young Thug, J. Cole and Travis Scott

Produced by T-Minus – Peaked at #6 in Canada and #12 in the US

Now, I’ve been waiting to talk about this one, because I love Young Thug, or at least I love the concept of Young Thug – an unorthodox constantly switching flow, a voice hitting frequencies only dogs can hear and nonsensical lyrics about nutting on fishes on sofas crooned off-key with an insane amount of Auto-Tune that only makes it more engaging... over average trap beats. This is a genius formula to me, but often the production doesn’t really help Thugger at all, in fact, I’m let down by a lot of the beats he has especially on earlier mixtapes and the YSL compilation project. He kills most features, can easily develop a narrative in a verse, is a crazy performer with funny lyrics, yet most of his songs don’t slap as much as they could because while Thugger’s got everything, he has to commit to the limitations of the beat and often that slows him down and dampens him. I liked his newest EP, and that got me thinking about his new project and where it was going... then I found out it was called GOLFMOUFDOG (Probably) and that J. Cole was executive producing it. Well, lookie here, we have Cole and Travis Scott, which probably propelled it a lot further to become his highest-charting song as the lead artist in both countries. I like all these artists to some capacity, but once again they all have to fit on the same beat, with entirely different flows, deliveries and approaches. This is going to be a bad idea and a complete trainwreck. This is Thugger’s third UK Top 40 hit, Cole’s seventh (sixth as a credited artist) and Travis’ seventh as well, and it’s surprisingly very refined and kind of restrained. The piano-based beat from T-Minus doesn’t catch up, pretty simply, and it works for Cole but not Thugger, while Travis Scott’s hook (He doesn’t have a verse) is actually pretty great. Cole’s verse is also pretty great, ripping a flow from Thugger and drowning himself in Auto-Tune in order to flub some multi-tracked rhymes with some funny lines like Cole posting pictures on a sonogram. Thugger makes this, though, and I see a lot of people saying he doesn’t fit, and of course, he doesn’t, he’s off-beat as hell, and he’s borderline screeching, where he takes about, paraphrasing here, your broad in a garage eating semen, with oddly emotional delivery. It’s hilarious when he takes a break from ogling at her thighs to say that he “sees the pain in shorty’s light brown eyes”. What? Also, there’s kind of a bridge which is not funny at all but it sounds hilarious, where he has a rapid flow, stops and then lets the beat be so empty for a while, before muttering a slight “Yeah”. He does this twice, and the second one gets me every time. Also, he’s reciting the fire escape procedure because of course he is, before ending his verse with a delightful “GRAH GRAH”. Man, this is the Thugger I want, the Thugger that doesn’t work on the beat at all, and doesn’t constrain himself. I want more screeching. Oh, and Cole, Travis, you’re alright, lads, I especially like their vocal riffing on the intro and outro, but come on, Thugger really steals the show.

#17 – “OT Bop” – NSG

Produced by 4PLAY

Remember these guys from “Options” with Tion Wayne? Yeah, this is their second UK Top 40 hit and I’m surprised it debuted so high but I really liked these guys last time with their melodic, synth-heavy take on faux-grime-dancehall that everyone else can’t make interesting if they tried. I figured NSG would come back with something much less unique and quite a bit generic... they’ve thrown me for a loop, because this is actually kind of weird. Instead of a cloudy synth pattern, we’ve got a really eerie, hypnotic vocal sample and an unconventional beat, with pitch-shifted repetitions of the chorus running through the left and right channels abruptly. There’s some fun ad-libs and sometimes the beat just skips, which is somewhat incompetent and really odd on first-listen, but it grew on me and is actually really fun afterwards. The charisma of each rapper is infectious, especially the dudes from about 30 seconds to 1 minute and 20 seconds, he’s really fun (No, I’m not memorising their names), and you can tell they’re laughing while recording. The signature blunt British delivery makes his first bars really memorable as well.

Meant to go to uni... sold drugs / Got a bag... oh f***

The random string accentuations added are really unnecessary and jarring, but they work and they continue to build up throughout the whole song, while the rappers get quieter the beat just continues to develop and become much more bouncy and exciting, with several buzzing synths that distort in a brief spoken word bridge. Not to mention it’s really catchy, and, yeah, I can see this growing on me.

#9 – “Cross Me” – Ed Sheeran featuring Chance the Rapper and PNB Rock

Produced by Fred Gibson – Peaked at #6 in Australia and #34 in the US

Uh... sure. Let’s get this done quickly because, no, I don’t care about a new Ed Sheeran album and the less I talk about him the less I feel the need to listen to it. This is the second single, and it samples an XXL freestyle from PNB Rock, taking his lyrics about his daughter out of context and re-appropriating it to be a macho posturing 90s R&B jam about how if you want to cross Ed’s girl, you have to cross him. PNB Rock said “She’s my seed”, though, Ed, you sick f—

It’s not like he can’t ride the gliding synths, bouncy beat and plunging 808s but it all seems really not thought out at all, and it really isn’t a PNB Rock sample if you just loop his sample. Chance the Rapper’s verse is... great. He doesn’t work as well as he could on this beat, but his charismatic verse about defending his girl with a blade because she’s the queen, while over-protective, works because everyone involved knows it’s really silly and hyperbolic, and the delivery shows that. The chorus is catchy enough so it’s fine. It sure is fine. I don’t want to hear it ever again.

Conclusion

Uhhhhh nothing here is amazing except “The London” so Young Thug, J. Cole and Travis get Best of the Week for that, while Honourable Mention probably goes to NSG for “OT Bop”. It’s a fun track. Otherwise, well, “Easier” is kind of awful so 5 Seconds of Summer get Dishonourable Mention because Jess Glynne and Jax Jones painfully ripping themselves off in “One Touch” is much more painful to listen to. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and I’ll see you next week!

[shirtlesssammy]

The Song Remains the Same: A Well Timed Recap

Then:

Dean’s mom is a babe. He apparently (but not really) still feels this way: @tinkdw awesome analysis of 12x18.

Now:

Dean’s enjoying a nice dream with a dark haired, blued eyed fantasy when Anna busts up the fun times. Awkward. Anna rats out Cas ratting her out, and tells Dean to meet her at an abandoned warehouse.

Instead of meeting the Winchesters, Anna finds Cas.

Cas doesn’t trust Anna’s release from Heaven’s prison, and regrets his previous actions. He questions her actions. She cuts right to the chase: “Sam Winchester has to die.” Okay then.

Cas will not help Anna. He will not kill a friend. Anna vanishes. Cut to two kids lighting up and making out in a Trans Am, and Anna suddenly appearing and falling on the hood.

They rush to her aid, carrying her away to the hospital. Also, we’re supposed to be in intrigued by the Grease poster on the side of the building. Very mysterioso.

Meanwhile, Cas fills Dean in on Anna’s actions. Dean fills Cas in on who Glenn Close is. These two. So many hearts. Sam is concerned about his imminent death.

Cas casts a location spell and finds that Anna went back in time to 1978. He surmises that Sam will never be born if she kills his parents first. The brothers’ Winchester insist on going back with Cas. Cas lets them know it’s more difficult than they think.

Classic dialog Alert:

Dean: So like you’re a Delorean without enough plutonium?

Cas: I don’t understand that reference.

The boys insist again. Cas acquiesces, packs the holy oil, and they’re on their way!

They all make it, but Cas is seriously incapacitated. They shuffle him off to plot contrivance hotel and start their quest. They locate where their parents live, and Sam is ready to burst in to save them, but Dean voices his hesitancy. They need a plan.

Inside, cute as can be Mary and John canoodle and prepare for dinner. The doorbell rings, and Mary is surprised to find her one time hunting buddy, Dean, outside. Before she can get them to leave, John shows up at the door. And guys, just watch Dean when John arrives. It kinda breaks my heart to watch him recoil and draw up straight and stand tall around his dad —even a younger version. *Do not think about Dean’s abusive childhood. Do not think about Dean’s abusive childhood* Dean introduces them as cousins of Mary’s, and John invites them to dinner. Sam is silent and in awe of meeting his parents. Sam Bean!

While enjoying pre-dinner beers, they awkwardly converse before John gets a call from his boss—or Anna pretending to be his boss! Agh, don’t go into work, John! Too late, he takes off without telling anyone.

Mary insists the boys leave again, but they warn her that she’s in danger. An angel is after her. She’s shocked but believes them. They then discover John is AWOL.

At the garage where John works, it’s dark and he finds his boss with burned out eyes. Anna!! She throws him across the room, but starts to see double. She’s still powerful ass angel though. Dean shows up and they share a nanosecond of -remember when we had sex in the back of the Impala? I was thinking of Cas the whole time- then Anna tosses Dean across the room as well.

BAMF!Mary picks up the angel blade and does what any good Campbell does —kicks ass. John is more than a little shocked to watch his little house wife work.  Sam sends Anna to places unknown before she can do any real damage.

Later in the Impala, Mom and Dad in the front, kids in the back, John gets the lowdown on what the rest of his family is already well versed in. It’s all lolz because the parents are younger than the kids. Lolz. But also kinda sad because they never had this as a family.

Mary brings them to an old Campbell family safehouse complete with devil’s trap, iron fixtures, and a well-stocked pantry of salt and holy water. Yum! That won’t help against angels, though, so Sam and Dean teach them about sigils and holy oil. John offers to paint the banishing sigils but Dean warns him it needs to be painted with human blood. John doesn’t hesitate, cuts his hand, and he gets to work arts and craftsing up the joint. Dean laughs humorlessly as young!John shows the seeds of the unrelenting fighter he will become.

Later, Sam compliments John on his handiwork and they talk a little about Sam’s childhood. John expresses horror that Sam was raised in the hunting life. Sam finds himself, surprisingly, defending John. “I used to hate the guy but now I get it. He was just doing the best he could. I understand why he did what he did and I forgive him for what it did to us. I love him.”

brb weeping

Uriel flaps in to see Anna who has called him down to Earth. He recognizes her as being out of his timestream but since current Anna is his superior, he’s okay following orders. He’s doubly okay about following her order to kill a few humans.

Dean checks in with Mary, who demands an explanation for why angels are trying to kill them. She threatens to walk out unless he spills so he blurts out that she’s their mom.

At first she doesn’t believe him but he lays out the facts: their names, so similar to her parents’; the soup she made him when he was sick; singing Hey Jude to him to get him to sleep. She’s horrified to learn that she raised her kids to become hunters and Dean, in a spectacularly horrible mollification attempt, tells her that “you didn’t because you’re dead.” He warns her about the Yellow Eyed Demon. “Listen to me. A demon comes into Sam’s nursery exactly 6 months after he’s born, November 2nd 1983. Remember that date. And whatever you do, do not go in there.”

Sam interrupts them with a different suggestion. He tells her to leave John. That way they won’t ever be born. “There’s a big difference between dying and never being born,” they tell her. (Which is SUCH a horrible thing to argue and really shows the depth of their fear and despair.) Never having children means that her children won’t ever be cursed.

brb more weeping

But Mary Winchester has a secret. She’s pregnant with a little Dean Bean! John interrupts that revelation in a panic. The sigils are disappearing! 

Suddenly an angel speaks and windows burst. Enter Uriel and Anna.

Sam and Dean throw themselves into fistfighting the angels with about as much success as you’d imagine for Season 5 when angels were still the biggest and baddest. Anna stabs Sam in the gut and he slumps to the floor, blood dripping from his mouth. Uriel has Dean pinned by the throat to the wall, affording Dean a great view for his worst nightmare.

John gets knocked clear out of the house and lands in the yard where a bright line shines on him. Possessed!John re-enters the house and Anna, who was about to kill Mary, names him: Michael. Michael lays a gentle hand to Anna and she flames out into ash. 

(I remember thinking wait WHAT? They killed off Dean’s love interest? Little did I know, friends.)

Michael shoos Uriel back to Heaven then touches his fingers to Mary. She slumps, unconscious, then Michael and Dean enjoy a meet and greet. (Or, in Michael’s case, a meatsuit and greet?)

Dean’s astonished that Michael is on Earth. Isn’t he supposed to be his vessel? “You’re my true vessel,” corrects Michael, “Not my only one.” Dean belongs to a long bloodline of archangel-suitable vessels stretching all the way back to Cain and Abel.

Yuck, says Dean’s face. Also, regarding his beef with Lucifer, Michael needs to “get some therapy, pal. Don’t take it out on my planet.” (LOLs for years thinking about Lucifer getting some therapy in Season 11. I guess it actually was just following through from Season 5.)

Michael proceeds to attempt to cultivate empathy in Dean. Michael cared for his brother just like Dean cares for Sam. He doesn’t want him dead. But an archangel’s gotta do what an archangel’s gotta do. His father commanded he kill Lucifer, so he’ll kill Lucifer. “You think you know better than my father? One unimportant little man?”

Dean still believes in free will. Michael attempts to debunk Dean’s staunch belief in the Free Will doctrine by saying every choice he’s made, everything getting his parents together, it’s all working according to God’s plan. ”Free will’s an illusion, Dean. That’s why you’re going to say yes.”

Before he goes, Michael wipes Mary and John’s memories, then brings Sam back to life and sends him forward to 2010. He possessively straightens Dean’s jacket, tells him ominously that he’ll see him soon, and zaps Dean away as well.

Back in their crappy motel Dean contemplates a fresh bottle of whiskey when Castiel appears in the mirror, looking a little loopy. They rush to his side and hold him up as he wobbles. Cas barely gets out that he’s astonished he made it back to 2010 safely when he passes out and the boys drag him to the bed to sleep it off.  

Sam and Dean share a stiff drink. “This is it. Team Free Will. One ex blood junkie, one dropout with six bucks to his name, and Mister Comatose over there,” Dean says.

Sam worries that they’ll say yes to the archangels and while Dean plays confident, we know he’s deeply rattled.

Back in the past Mary and John bond over their decorated nursery. Mary found a statute of an angel at a garage sale and, while John thinks it’s hokey, she likes it. “It’s okay, baby,” she says as she rubs where the baby just kicked. “It’s all okay. Angels are watching over you.”

I Thought this Quote was My One True Vessel:

All these centuries and you're underestimating me now?


I mean, the moustaches alone.

What do I look like? Dr. Angel Medicine Woman?

He’s tough for a little nerdy dude with wings.

Always happy to do some smiting.

Awesome. Six degrees of heaven bacon.

[krisroley]

Monday, March 02, 2020

New Music Releases come out on Fridays. It used to be Tuesdays back when the big hit on the charts was the Maari Chant, but we’ve since understood that people actually have money on Fridays and maybe NOT Tuesdays? With the miracle of streaming music, I can listen to these new releases. Some are freakin’ great, and some are…well, not. Here are the albums I think you should add to your library this week, and understand that this is based on nothing more than what I think is good. If you like this, we can make this a regular thing.

Five Finger Death Punch — F8

Tycho — Simulcast

Christine and the Queens — La vita nuova

Caribou — Suddenly

The Night Flight Orchestra — Aeromantic

Mihali — Breathe and Let Go

Kevin Krauter — Full Hand

Lisa Loeb — A Simple Trick to Happiness

Bullion — We Had a Good Time

There were some metal albums in this week’s releases, and never have I been more aware of how much metal has evolved, and by evolved I mean I had a hard time picking out a melody. Not my cup of tea. Also, I gave some thought to links to these albums, but if I do that someone will ask why didn’t give a link to (insert service here), which will inevitably lead to me including the link to a streaming service set up by Joe in Newark who knows a guy. I will assume that you’re an intelligent life form and can find it on your service of choice.

Some Podcast Rec’s for you: The 2nd Seasons of The Dream and Conviction are out, and a new Pod called “WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork”

The Dream started as a look at the scam that is the MLM industry, this season they’re looking at the ‘wellness’ industry. Outfits like doTerra that sell essential oils and the like.

Conviction’s new season focuses on the Satanic Panic. Living in the Bible Belt (Our national crazy uncle Pat Robertson lives here) there was a lot of that going around in the 80s and 90s. Looking forward to this.

WeCrashed is a six-part ride into the craziness that was Adam Neumann. If it’s anything like “The Dropout" — the story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes — I’m going to like it.

I suppose we need to talk about the SC Primary. I’m not unhappy Joe won South Carolina, and I’m not unhappy he won it by such a decisive margin. That says that we’re very close to a two-person race between Bernie and Joe, and then I have a real problem. Because I like what Bernie wants to do, but going with Bernie means going with Bernie’s cult. There is no daylight between Kellyanne Conway and Nina Turner right now. Let that sink in.

Late Sunday night, Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race. Pete wasn’t unlikeable, he just wasn’t ready for prime time. He will be, and the best way to get him ready for prime time is for the eventual Dem nominee to consider him to be part of this Administration. Biden would not be out of his mind to make him his VP (although I would prefer that go to Warren) but he should be a voice in what’s to come. In doing so, he’s positioned for 2024 or 2028 very well. Failing any of that, Pete could run for House or Senate and get deep in the policy weeds and level grind. He’s 38, he’s got time.

Speaking of sinks, I have managed to take a significant chunk out of the kitchen sink issue. I’ve snaked the drain several times, poured enough baking soda and vinegar down that thing that they may ask if I’m starting a bakery, and pots full of boiling water. It’s draining a lot faster. I don’t know if I have the blockage completely cleared, but from not draining to taking a half hour to drain, to being able to watch it drain is a significant improvement. I’ll take it.

Carved out the time to put out a podcast episode! Holy crap, how did THAT happen? Check it out, it’s a return to some of the old school. Felt good.

One of the things that happened this weekend was taking the time to do a brain dump of all the things I think I need to tackle. Ostensibly if’s a tasklist ‘for March’, but there’s literally no way I’m going to get it all done in one month so it’s just called “Tasklist” in the Reminders App on my iPhone.

These things that end up on my phone start in a notebook and get transferred once I’m happy with it. I’ve had a question as to why I still carry around a notebook if I can put everything on my phone, and the answer is pretty simple: the act of putting pen to paper is the equivalent of completing a circuit. That’s the act of thought, and of planning. Try as I might, I can’t get that same act from a keyboard. I can write with a keyboard, I can’t think with one.

[airoasis]

How to escape education's death valley | Sir Ken Robinson

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How to escape education's death valley | Sir Ken Robinson

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast thanks very so much. I moved to the united states 12 years ago with my spouse Terry and our two youngsters. Actually, honestly, we moved to los angeles — (Laughter) considering we had been moving to the usa, however anyway — (Laughter) it is a brief airplane ride from l. A. To the united states. (Laughter) I acquired right here 12 years in the past, and once I acquired here, I was once advised quite a lot of things, like, "americans don’t get irony." (Laughter) have you come throughout this concept? It is no longer genuine. I’ve traveled the whole length and breadth of this country.I have discovered no proof that americans don’t get irony. It can be a type of cultural myths, like, "The British are reserved." (Laughter) I have no idea why individuals suppose this. We’ve invaded every country now we have encountered. (Laughter) but it’s not authentic americans don’t get irony, however I just want you to understand that that is what persons are pronouncing about you in the back of your back. You realize, so whilst you leave residing rooms in Europe, people say, thankfully, no one was ironic to your presence. (Laughter) however I knew that american citizens get irony when I got here throughout that laws, "No little one Left behind." (Laughter) seeing that whoever concept of that title gets irony. (Laughter) don’t they? (Applause) for the reason that it is leaving thousands of youngsters behind. Now i can see that’s not a very attractive title for legislation: "millions of youngsters Left at the back of." i will be able to see that. What’s the plan? We advocate to leave millions of children behind, and here is how it’ll work. And it can be working superbly. (Laughter) In some constituents of the nation, 60 percentage of children drop out of excessive school.In the Native American communities, it is eighty percent of children. If we halved that quantity, one estimate is it could create a web reap to the U.S. Financial system over 10 years, of practically one trillion dollars. From an economic factor of view, that is good math, is not it, that we should do that? It actually bills an colossal amount to mop up the harm from the dropout challenge. However the dropout situation is simply the tip of an iceberg. What it does not depend are all of the children who are in university however being disengaged from it, who don’t enjoy it, who do not get any real benefit from it. And the reason isn’t that we’re no longer spending ample cash. The us spends extra money on schooling than most other countries. Class sizes are smaller than in many countries. And there are enormous quantities of initiatives each year to try and reinforce education. The hindrance is, it is all going within the fallacious course. There are three concepts on which human lifestyles prospers, and they’re contradicted by using the tradition of schooling under which most teachers have to labor and most scholars have got to suffer.The first is that this, that human beings are naturally unique and various. Can i ask you, how many of you have got got children of your own? Ok. Or grandchildren. How about two kids or extra? Correct. And the relaxation of you could have seen such youngsters. (Laughter) Small persons wandering about. (Laughter) i’ll make you a big gamble, and i’m optimistic that i will win the bet. In the event you’ve received two youngsters or extra, I bet you they’re utterly distinct from each different. Don’t seem to be they? (Applause) you could possibly under no circumstances confuse them, would you? Like, "Which one are you? Remind me." (Laughter) "Your mother and i would like some colour-coding approach so we don’t get harassed." schooling underneath "No little one Left behind" is established on not range however conformity. What colleges are influenced to do is to discover what kids can do across a very narrow spectrum of accomplishment.One of the most effects of "No baby Left in the back of" has been to slim the focus onto the so-called STEM disciplines. They’re very essential. I am now not right here to argue towards science and math. On the opposite, they are fundamental but they are no longer enough. An actual schooling has to give equal weight to the humanities, the humanities, to bodily schooling. An awful lot of children, sorry, thank you — (Applause) One estimate in the united states currently is that something like 10 percent of children, getting on that way, are being diagnosed with more than a few stipulations underneath the wide title of attention deficit sickness. ADHD. I am no longer saying there isn’t any such thing. I simply don’t think it can be a pandemic like this. If you happen to sit down youngsters down, hour after hour, doing low-grade clerical work, do not be amazed if they begin to fidget, you understand? (Laughter) (Applause) kids are not, for essentially the most section, affected by a psychological .They are suffering from childhood. (Laughter) And i do know this given that I spent my early lifestyles as a child. I went by way of the entire thing. Children prosper high-quality with a extensive curriculum that celebrates their various capabilities, not just a small variety of them. And incidentally, the arts are not just primary due to the fact that they fortify math scores. They are predominant for the reason that they speak to materials of children’s being which are otherwise untouched. The 2nd, thank you — (Applause) The second principle that drives human life flourishing is curiosity. If that you would be able to light the spark of curiosity in a youngster, they will gain knowledge of with none further assistance, very mostly. Kids are traditional rookies. It can be a real achievement to put that distinctive potential out, or to stifle it.Curiosity is the engine of accomplishment. Now the intent I say this is on account that one of the vital effects of the present culture here, if i will be able to say so, has been to de-professionalize academics. There is no system in the world or any institution in the country that’s better than its lecturers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools. However instructing is a ingenious occupation. Instructing, appropriately conceived, is not a supply process. You already know, you are not there just to cross on bought know-how. Quality teachers do that, but what pleasant teachers also do is mentor, stimulate, provoke, engage. You see, ultimately, schooling is ready studying. If there’s no studying happening, there isn’t a schooling going on. And individuals can spend an terrible lot of time discussing schooling without ever discussing learning.The entire point of education is to get individuals to gain knowledge of. An historic friend of mine — really very historical, he’s lifeless. (Laughter) that is as ancient because it gets, i’m afraid. (Laughter) however a special guy he was once, exotic philosopher. He used to talk about the change between the assignment and achievement senses of verbs. That you would be able to be engaged in the endeavor of anything, but no longer really be attaining it, like eating regimen. (Laughter) it is an excellent instance. There he’s. He’s weight-reduction plan. Is he dropping any weight? Now not fairly. (Laughter) educating is a word like that. You could say, "there’s Deborah, she’s in room 34, she’s teaching." but if nobody’s studying whatever, she may be engaged in the venture of instructing however no longer clearly pleasurable it. The function of a instructor is to facilitate studying. That’s it. And part of the trouble is, I consider, that the dominant tradition of schooling has come to focal point on not teaching and studying, but trying out. Now, checking out is principal. Standardized checks have a situation.But they must no longer be the dominant culture of education. They must be diagnostic. They should aid. (Applause) If i am going for a clinical examination, i would like some standardized checks. I do. I want to understand what my ldl cholesterol degree is compared to every body else’s on a normal scale. I do not need to be advised on some scale my health care provider invented within the automobile. (Laughter) "Your ldl cholesterol is what I name stage Orange." "relatively?" (Laughter) "Is that just right?" "We do not know." (Laughter) but all that must aid learning. It mustn’t hinder it, which of direction it most commonly does. So in place of curiosity, what we now have is a culture of compliance. Our children and academics are encouraged to comply with movements algorithms alternatively than to excite that energy of imagination and curiosity. And the 1/3 precept is this: that human lifestyles is inherently creative. It’s why all of us have unique rsums. We create our lives, and we can recreate them as we go by means of them.It is the usual currency of being a man or women. It’s why human tradition is so intriguing and numerous and dynamic. I imply, other animals may just well have imaginations and creativity, but it surely’s now not a lot in proof, is it, as ours? I imply, you might have a dog. And your canine may just get depressed. You understand, nevertheless it doesn’t take heed to Radiohead, does it? (Laughter) And take a seat staring out the window with a bottle of Jack Daniels.(Laughter) "Would you like to return for a walk?" "No, i am first-rate." (Laughter) "You go. I’m going to wait. But take photographs." (Laughter) all of us create our possess lives via this stressed system of imagining possible choices and possibilities, and one of the roles of education is to evoke and boost these powers of creativity. As an alternative, what we have now is a culture of standardization. Now, it doesn’t must be that manner. It really doesn’t. Finland more often than not comes out on prime in math, science and studying. Now, we handiest be aware of that’s what they do good at, when you consider that that is all that is being established. That’s one of the crucial problems of the experiment. They don’t appear for different things that topic simply as much. The item about work in Finland is this: they do not obsess about these disciplines. They’ve an awfully large technique to education, which involves humanities, physical education, the humanities. Second, there is no standardized checking out in Finland. I mean, there is a little bit, but it surely’s now not what will get people up within the morning, what continues them at their desks. The 1/3 thing — and i used to be at a meeting just lately with some men and women from Finland, exact Finnish persons, and an individual from the American process was pronouncing to the folks in Finland, "What do you do in regards to the drop-out price in Finland?" and so they all regarded a little bit bemused, and stated, "well, we don’t have one.Why would you drop out? If men and women are in crisis, we get to them quite swiftly and we aid and aid them." Now men and women at all times say, "good, you recognize, you are not able to evaluate Finland to the us." No. I consider there’s a populace of around five million in Finland. But which you can examine it to a state in america. Many states in the united states have fewer individuals in them than that. I imply, i’ve been to a few states in the us and that i was the one individual there. (Laughter) quite. Relatively. I was once requested to lock up once I left. (Laughter) however what all the high-performing methods in the world do is currently what is not evident, unfortunately, throughout the techniques in america — I imply, as a entire.One is this: they individualize educating and finding out. They respect that it can be pupils who’re finding out and the procedure has to engage them, their curiosity, their individuality, and their creativity. That is the way you get them to be taught. The second is that they attribute an awfully excessive status to the educating profession. They admire that you just can not give a boost to schooling in case you don’t prefer great persons to coach and hold giving them regular aid and professional development. Investing in professional development is not a fee. It is an investment, and every other nation that is succeeding well is aware of that, whether it’s Australia, Canada, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong or Shanghai. They be aware of that to be the case. And the 0.33 is, they devolve responsibility to the institution level for getting the job carried out. You see, there may be a huge change here between going right into a mode of command and manage in schooling — that is what occurs in some methods. Critical or state governments come to a decision, they know excellent and they’ll let you know what to do. The obstacle is that schooling doesn’t go on in the committee rooms of our legislative buildings.It happens in school rooms and colleges, and the men and women who do it are the lecturers and the scholars, and if you remove their discretion, it stops working. You have got to put it back to the people. (Applause) there is exclusive work taking place in this nation. But I must say it’s happening in spite of the dominant tradition of education, not considering of it. It is like humans are sailing into a headwind always. And the intent I suppose is this: that many of the current insurance policies are centered on mechanistic conceptions of education. It can be like education is an industrial method that can be expanded simply by way of having higher information, and somewhere at the back of the mind of some coverage makers is that this proposal that if we fine-tune it well sufficient, if we just get it right, it will all hum along perfectly into the future. It will not, and it certainly not did. The factor is that schooling just isn’t a mechanical procedure. It is a human process.It’s about men and women, folks who either do wish to be taught or do not need to learn. Each scholar who drops out of school has a motive for it which is rooted in their own biography. They are going to find it boring. They will in finding it inappropriate. They may find that it is at odds with the existence they are living outside of college. There are trends, but the studies are continuously certain. I used to be at a assembly recently in la of — they may be called replacement education programs. These are programs designed to get children again into education. They’ve unique usual facets. They’re very personalized. They have got powerful support for the academics, shut links with the neighborhood and a vast and various curriculum, and in general packages which involve pupils outside school as good as inside of university.And so they work. What’s fascinating to me is, these are known as "substitute education." (Laughter) you already know? And all of the proof from around the world is, if all of us did that, there’d be no want for the alternative. (Applause) (Applause ends) So I suppose we must embody an extra metaphor. We have to respect that it is a human procedure, and there are conditions under which persons thrive, and stipulations under which they don’t. We’re in spite of everything natural and organic creatures, and the tradition of the tuition is undoubtedly major.Tradition is an natural term, is not it? Not a long way from the place I are living is a position referred to as loss of life Valley. Death Valley is the freshest, driest place in the us, and nothing grows there. Nothing grows there considering it would not rain. For this reason, dying Valley. Within the winter of 2004, it rained in death Valley. Seven inches of rain fell over an extraordinarily brief period. And in the spring of 2005, there was a phenomenon.The whole floor of loss of life Valley used to be carpeted in vegetation for a whilst. What it proved is that this: that demise Valley is not dead. It is dormant. Right under the outside are these seeds of probability waiting for the right stipulations to come about, and with natural techniques, if the stipulations are proper, life is inevitable. It happens always. You’re taking an discipline, a college, a district, you exchange the conditions, provide men and women an additional sense of likelihood, one more set of expectations, a broader range of possibilities, you cherish and value the relationships between academics and beginners, you offer persons the discretion to be inventive and to innovate in what they do, and faculties that were once bereft spring to existence.Great leaders comprehend that. The actual role of management in schooling — and i suppose it’s real on the national degree, the state level, on the institution stage — is just not and must now not be command and manage. The actual function of management is local weather control, making a climate of likelihood. And for those who do this, persons will upward push to it and attain matters that you just fully didn’t anticipate and couldn’t have expected. There’s a distinctive quote from Benjamin Franklin."There are three forms of men and women in the world: those people who are immovable, men and women who do not get it, or do not wish to do something about it; there are individuals who’re movable, humans who see the need for alternate and are prepared to listen to it; and there are folks who move, folks who make matters happen." And if we can encourage more men and women, as a way to be a action. And if the action is powerful sufficient, that’s, within the high-quality sense of the phrase, a revolution.And that is what we need. Thanks very much. (Applause) thank you very a lot. (Applause) .