#corporate extravaganza

[beingjellybeans]

Flash Portable Studio presents a world of magic with its enchanting mirror booth

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who��s the most unforgettable of them all? Look no further than Flash Portable Studio’s brand-new magic mirror booth! This portable marvel is set to redefine the photo booth experience and give event and party organizers a surefire way to create unforgettable memories for their guests. So grab your wand and get ready to embark on a whimsical journey filled with…

[loafbud]

OKAYYYY i ponder a lot about how the duck shuffler from toontown corporate clash might look in your style

1st pic is done w/ the lasso tool, 2nd pic is w/ my regular brush !!

i've always liked some of the ttcc designs, including this guy! he's fun to draw but also challenging LOL!!!

[royalecollection21]

Making Diwali Lit with Royale Collections’ Corporate Gifting

Diwali’s around the corner, and you know what that means? Lights, laughter, and a whole lot of gifting! But before you start imagining the clichéd box of sweets and candles for your business partners, let’s get a tad innovative. Welcome to Royale Collections’ way of saying, “Happy Diwali!”

Why Diwali Gifting isn’t Just About Wrapped Boxes

Ever received a gift and thought, “Ah, they really didn’t have to”? We get it. Gifting in the corporate realm is a tricky path. But with our extensive catalogue of corporate gifts, we’ve got you covered.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

From the charm of Indian artifacts to modern must-haves, our clothing range brings luxury brands like UCB, Cantabil, and Skechers right to your fingertips. After all, why should gifts be boring?

Because Quality is the Best Business Plan

Every item we curate, be it our eclectic electronics selection or elegant cosmetic choices with brands like Yardley, screams sophistication and class.

Let’s Get Personal (With Gifts, of course!)

What’s better than a gift? A personalized gift. Dive deep into our customized bath care range, enhanced with scents from Enchanteur & Santoor.

When the Old Meets the New

Whether you’re inclined towards tradition or modernity, our Diwali special collection has something for every taste.

Green Gifting: Because Earth Deserves a Diwali Gift too!

Our eco-friendly gifts aren’t just responsible; they’re a class apart. Now that’s a sustainable way to light up someone’s day!

Not Just Things, but Experiences

How about gifting memories this Diwali? From curated gourmet hampers to wellness retreats, we’ve got the experiences ready to be wrapped.

All Geared Up for the Digital Age

Being tech-savvy isn’t just for your IT department. Our tech gizmos ensure you’re gifting something that’s not just contemporary but downright cool.

Wrapping it Up (Pun Intended)

So, this Diwali, don’t just light lamps; light up faces with smiles. With Royale Collections, every gift isn’t just a product; it’s a promise of unmatched quality.

[callmeagardengnome]

✗ mob mentality ✗ | ATEEZ (series masterlist)

pairings ✃ individual! mafia! ateez ot8 x fem! reader

genre ✃ mafia au, one-shots, angst + hurt/comfort here and there, romance, potential yandere behaviour, romance

details ✃ a collection of (unique…?) mafia one-shots WITH NO SMUTTTT created by yours truly. (all are standalone)

۶ blood in the clouds ৎ

[mafia leader! hongjoong x flight attendant! fem! reader]

it’s finally your last day as a flight attendant. you wanted nothing more than to laze on your couch and watch netflix - just to find out that one of your passengers blew out the brains of your pilot with a gun.

in which hongjoong hijacks a plane that his rival’s daughter is on.

poll | deleted scenes

۶ sugar and sin ৎ

[mafia! seonghwa x fem! reader]

seonghwa goes above and beyond to eliminate his targets: going undercover in places they go to most. when you happen to spend your time in a secluded bakery, seonghwa decides to bake your treats with doses of poison - yet somehow, you keep surviving.

in which you thought you made a new friend in your local bakery, when in reality - your ‘baker’ keeps mistaking laxatives for poison.

deleted scenes

۶ marathon extravaganza ৎ

[mafia! prisoner! yunho x police officer! fem! reader]

you’ve worked in a high-security prison for years, and yunho has never given you any trouble. unlike the other inmates who harassed, threatened or flirted with you - he treated you with something close to respect. so when you caught him escaping with a man you’ve never seen before, it dawned on you: yunho was never a good inmate. he was waiting.

in which you and yunho enter a wild goose chase. 

۶ under the hood ৎ

[mafia! yeosang x car mechanic! fem! reader]

as a mechanic, you tend to see clients on the daily - some new, some old. but when one of your regulars leave a $100,000 bag of cash on your counter, it seems like you’ve turned from ordinary citizen to wanted criminal. 

in which yeosang accidentally gave you the bag of money he stole instead of a ten dollar tip. 

۶ fries in the bag ৎ

[mafia! san x fast food employee! fem! reader]

san’s most effective method of killing is by using his looks to lure his enemies - making many powerful women (and men) fall for him. but when a regular person seems to be unfazed by his charms, san decides to do anything to make you fall in love with him. 

in which you finally got through your 2am shift, only to find the severed head of your abusive manager at your doorstep. 

۶ voice of crime ৎ

[mafia! mingi x anime VA! fem! reader]

when you entered the voice acting industry, you knew that there would be people that either loved you or hated you. but what you didn’t expect was to get shot at an anime convention by a weeb in cosplay. 

in which mingi accidentally shoots his favourite voice actress instead of her boyfriend that was beside her.

۶ money makers ৎ

[mafia! wooyoung x fem! reader]

day and night, you work in a shitty multi-million dollar corporation that doesn’t care about you. and to make matters worse, you had to find out that the whole company is in debt to a mafia gang by getting kidnapped during office hours. 

in which wooyoung tries to torture information out of you, only to realise that he’s found his kryptonite: a suicidal intern. 

۶ siren’s call ৎ

[mafia! jongho x jazz singer! fem! reader]

as the newest addition to the mafia, jongho got assigned to the boring task of scoping out a random bar in town. annoyed, he decided to leave early. or so he tried. when the singer stepped on stage and sang into the mic, her voice pulled jongho further into the bar than out. 

in which you begin to notice a regular in your gigs, though you can't ignore that your male audience seems to be disappearing one by one. 

hi yall! i initially only wanted to make one hongjoong oneshot until i realised how much i love mafia aus. there will be no smut in these stories and at most, there will be a detailed kissing scene. also do not expect regular updates!

if you want to be added to the taglist, feel free to ask!

series taglist [OPEN] - @hanoishere @scuzmunkie @sinfullygay @arusio @midnightrebel1028 @neemaxx @seungminsrighthand @arilevenatz @ateezswonderland @beabatiny @lemirabitur @sunnyhokyu @frzzenfrxg @cylovesmg @txtsoobean @seonghwasslytherin @sundaybossanova @sweetinsaniiity @cybrnaya @choisanchwego @mrskill2 @devilzliaison @scary-thingz @gaonashi @jonghosbrainrot @mintchocoyum @justconniez @shiningpaint-marbleheart @stercul1a @sophrxsyne @pansexual-and-eating-pancakes @hii-hawaiiu @inkpot-winters @kryscent @hwateezz @xionarauwu @clmstorm @darlingz99 @physicofanatic

spec one-shot taglist [OPEN]:

yunho: @hoe4yunho

other fics

[thealternateuniverse]

The Chaotic & Charismatic Brothers – Marriage Edition 💍🔥

Jaebom – The Reluctant Groom Turned Power Couple King

👑 "It's just business. We'll be divorced in a year." — Famous last words. 💼 The heir must marry, so daddy sets him up with a business partner's daughter. She hates him. 😌 Plays the role of the patient, doting fiancé to make his life easier. If she wants something? He just gets it. Less tantrums that way. ❤️ Unexpected plot twist: She falls for him. 👩‍❤️‍👨 Plot twist part two: They actually get married. The world’s most iconic power couple—rich, famous, and effortlessly stylish. 🔥 Business headlines: "The Perfect Pair: A Love Story or a Merger?"

Mark – The Master of Uno Reverse Card

🤢 Hates the entire concept of arranged marriage. 👊 Told his father if he was forced into one, he’d disown himself. Meant it. 💍 But then Jaebom actually went through with an arranged marriage. Mark, officially paranoid, escapes overseas. ✈️ The escape plan fails when daddy announces publicly that Mark is next. 🍼 Comes home married—with a 3-month-old baby. His dad almost collapses. 👀 Turns out his “business” overseas was just him living his best life with his longtime girlfriend, who he secretly married a year ago. 🎤 "Surprise, I’ve been married. Also, meet your grandson."

Jackson – The Forever Rich Uncle

💃 Hates arranged marriage with every fiber of his being. 💌 Too busy attending exclusive parties and dating around to care. ✈️ When his dad sets him up on a blind date? He disappears for a year. 🍾 Will settle down when he decides to, not when daddy demands it. 👶 Rich uncle mode activated: Spoils all his nieces and nephews. 📢 "My only commitment is to looking good and having fun."

Jinyoung – The Lawyer Who Stays Three Steps Ahead

📑 Too busy drafting prenups and handling corporate lawsuits to think about love. 💔 "If one of you gets divorced, at least make it easy for me." 🕵️ Accidentally ends up with the perfect partner—someone in his field, just as sharp as him. 💡 Outmaneuvers his father by introducing his actual girlfriend before the matchmaking circus begins. 👶 Ends up being the responsible, doting husband and the unofficial babysitter for his brothers’ kids.

Youngjae – The Tech Nerd Who Pulled The Ultimate Baddie

💻 Quietly hacking his way through life until—BAM!—he lands the heiress of Samsung. 🔥 They bond over their shared love for tech and probably build a cybersecurity empire together. 💔 Almost breaks up with her because of an arranged marriage setup—until they realize they were arranged to marry each other. 💒 Wedding goals: A high-tech, futuristic cyber-themed extravaganza.

Bambam – The Diva, The Icon, The Untouchable Bachelor

🚨 Allergic to marriage. Screams it from the rooftops. 📸 Loves the drama surrounding his brothers' love lives but refuses to be part of it. 🎭 Outsmarts his dad by pulling publicity stunts before any matchmaking rumors start. 🤣 Gets roasted by his brothers for being chronically single. 💔 Last serious relationship? Middle school. She ghosted him. The trauma still lingers.

Yugyeom – The Lost-Love Trope in Real Life

💔 Constantly in dating rumors—half the time, he’s never even met the person. 😍 Fell in love at first sight in college, but the girl vanished. 🔍 Finds her again years later. This time? He won’t let her disappear. 🔥 She turns out to be Simon Dominic’s little sister. 👶 Surprise: They already have a son, who is older than Mark’s kid. 🥺 Begs his father and Simon D for permission to marry her because "I am NOT losing her again."

[essential-randomness]

Your angle or yuor devil: choosing between LLC and nonprofit

It's time! For this week's Tuesday Content, I'm cheating a little: first, it's Wednesday; second, instead of new content, I'm "unpaywalling" a section of my $upporters-only "Quarterly Extravaganza".

Learn below (or in the blogpost) about the eternal dilemma: should our org be a nonprofit or an LLC?

To support our project (and get early access to this content), support me on Patreon!

The first step to settle the LLC vs nonprofit debate was to look at the path chosen by other fandom-adjacent entities. Turns out, there's historical examples of both!

So, armed with grit, we took the logical next step: get clarity on the legal differences between the two!

Cutting to the chase, we chose to (very soon) incorporate as an LLC. It was not an easy choice, and we went back and forth–and agonized over it–for quite a while.

However, a few considerations tipped the scales:

First, while our projects have a “charitable intent” that would allow us to qualify for 501c3 status (a.k.a. become a nonprofit), we decided that the procedures required would place a too heavy weight on our already-stretched shoulders.

Next, as we spearhead many ambitious projects with very little budget, we wanted to be able to reward those who took a bet on us with their time and work, should our efforts eventually pay off.

(You can learn about these projects here)

Finally–without mincing words–the online (and fandom) discourse around nonprofits made us uncomfortable: while it’s true that nonprofits have a charitable intent, they still have a balance sheet to balance, and produce work that deserves to be paid for. This is too easy to forget!

Obviously, given that our projects have a clear “anti-corporate bent”, becoming a for profit corporation came with concerns.

However, we found that LLCs are an incredibly-flexible legal structure that gives us ample power to add ethical guardrails!

There's a lot to say about the various options, and we've just started exploring them. If you want to learn more about these, you can read the article/slides or watch this video by the excellent Sustainable Economies Law Center, whose help has been invaluable throughout all this!

(To be clear: until we have more resources in place and a better understanding of our future, we’re going to keep things simple: at first, our LLC will be what’s called a “single-member LLC”, owned by yours truly (me). We'll keep evaluating options as we work to reach stability!)

...and that is all for this week! Once again, to support this journey towards a better web, you can donate on Patreon or on my own website!

You can also help us by reblogging this post and sharing the blogpost with all your friends and fandom-oriented Discord servers!

We'll keep you updated about this all as the year progresses. Look forward to it!

[retrodjevententertainment]

Melbourne’s Ultimate DJ Events – Party Like Never Before!

Make your event the talk of the town with Retro DJ Event Entertainment, the experts in DJ events Melbourne. Whether it’s a milestone birthday, a wedding celebration, or a corporate gathering, our DJs bring the right mix of music, energy, and entertainment to make your event unforgettable.

With customized playlists, top-quality sound equipment, and vibrant lighting, we create the ultimate party experience. Our DJs interact with guests, take song requests, and ensure a lively, engaging atmosphere throughout the night. Turn your event into a music-filled extravaganza – book now!

[greedcartel]

indepentent exploration into crimson from helluva boss, based primarily on original headcanons.   permanent low activity. i'm just here to have fun; this is a very low-maintenance blog, not my main one. as sponsored by doll, she/her, 18+

(*) carrd. (*) visuals. (*) pinterest.

examining themes of . . . the mob, consumerism & corporate greed. class differences. the gruesomeness of family affairs. the extravaganza of crime, execution as entertainment, murder as art.    

[grandhotelabyss]

Thoughts on Steve Sailer?

I'm old enough to remember when you could read Sam Francis's weekly column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, so Sailer, as a moderate paleocon of proudly middling cultural tastes, a pure golfing product of Reagan's California, and a business-school quant with an interest in race-and-IQ, does not for me rise to the level of a figure so startlingly transgressive as to possess the glow of the forbidden.[*]

Why, then, beyond this sense of the "forbidden," has Sailer in particular become an icon to the reactionary avant-garde? If we disaggregate the component parts of his persona as I've listed them above, then it must be because his persona manages to associate a human-capital view of the world—which we would otherwise link to soulless bureaucracies public and private, to the death of culture and art and thought as bearers of unquantifiable inspiration, and which worldview seems obviously despicable even when expressed by left-of-center thinkers who disclaim racism, like Matthew Yglesias—instead with the bygone sun-washed glamor of the American Century, lowered sunglasses and the ripple of pool-light across a tanned thigh, just as Costin Alamariu affiliates the same unpropitious ideology with the solar glint of a Mediterranean dawn across the colonnade of the Acropolis.

Sailer has expressed his admiration-since-boyhood for Robert A. Heinlein, on whose novels I also grew up; but, when I was a boy, I mostly skipped the libertarian and Californian-by-adoption author's boys'-own-adventure tales, culminating in the Spartan Starship Troopers, in preference to sexy philosophical novels of the 1960s and '70s, from the free-love cultus of Stranger in a Strange Land to the autogynophile extravaganza I Will Fear No Evil to the proto-cyberpunk femme heroism of Friday, all of which tend to overrun and overwhelm, if only in tone, Heinlein's own literary sources in the social comedy and utopianism of Twain and Shaw, a culturally sterile intellectual satirism become a richer and more novelistic satyriasis. I doubt Sailer has this or anything like it in his repertoire, and it limits how fascinating a writer he can ultimately be—though, with his modesty, he would almost certainly disavow any such ambition.

If you're asking because of the present schism between the tech right and the American cultural nationalists over the question of high-skilled immigration, with Sailer taking the part of the latter, albeit defining himself as a patriot rather than a nationalist, well, I do suspect his vision of America is not ambitious enough, and, applying novelistic perception, I find something poignant in an adopted child's obsession with lineage. Now, precisely because I am an immigrant's child reared in part in an only half-assimilated immigrant milieu, I am a moderate on this subject. I consider myself an American without hyphenation, and I don't believe in open borders, except as a distant utopian horizon for a more fully matured humanity. It probably is too disruptive to the polity, any polity, to bring in too many new people too fast, and it is, as Bernie used to say, a corporate scheme for cheap labor. In that sense, quantity does bear some relation to quality. But if needful borders become an excuse for the human-capital worldview to police everyone with biometric surveillance or to reduce everyone to gene and lineage, then this, too, is America getting away from itself, from what it is and was meant to be, perhaps not in the eyes of its somewhat too-Enlightened founding figures, like the life-hacking self-optimizing Franklin or the plantation CEO Jefferson, but in the eyes of those Romantics who took over its definition from the Deists: Crèvecœur and Emerson and Cather, for all of whom America was an aspiration with the power to transfigure the merely given, the wearily biological. America enjoins both its native sons and its recent arrivals to transcend their origin, or else what's the point of America?

_______________________________

[*] I'm only three years older than Anna K., however, so I'm not sure what her excuse is.

[lboogie1906]

Terry Carter (John Everett DeCoste; December 16, 1928 - April 23, 2024) was an actor and filmmaker, known for his roles as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on McCloud and as Colonel Tigh on the original Battlestar Galactica.

He was born in Brooklyn. His mother, Mercedes, was a native of the Dominican Republic, and his father, William DeCoste, was of Argentinian and African American descent and operated a radio repair business. He attended Hunter College, Boston University, and UCLA before earning a BS from Northeastern University. He left St. John’s University School of Law after two years to become an actor.

He gained theatre experience in several productions on the Broadway and off-Broadway stage. His Broadway credits include playing the male lead in the play Mrs. Patterson and performing the title role in the musical extravaganza Kwamina.

He worked as a weekend newscaster for WBZ-TV in Boston, where he became an anchor-reporter. He served as New England television’s first African American opening-night movie and theater critic.

He acted in numerous TV series, specials, and theatrical films. He was a regular cast member of The Phil Silvers Show. He played boxer Rosie Palmer in Breaking Point. He was the only African American actor to have a role in Combat! He played the part of Police Officer Tuttle in Benji. He played opposite Pam Grier in Foxy Brown. He played the role of CIA chief “Texas Slim” in Hamilton. More recently, he had a recurring role in Hotel Caesar, as Solomon Tefari.

In 1975, he started a small Los Angeles corporation, Meta/4 Productions, Inc. for which he produced and directed industrial and educational presentations on film and videotape for the federal government. He is president of the Council for Positive Images, Inc., a non-profit organization he formed in 1979, dedicated to enhancing intercultural and interethnic understanding through audiovisual communication. Under the council’s auspices, he has produced and directed award-winning dramatic and documentary programs for presentation on PBS and distribution worldwide. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[terrence-silver]

I know that Terry is the type of guy to be super groomed, like facials, manicures, pedicures; but would he ever get his nails polished with color? And if so, which color? 🤍

---

At one point in time, any color.

Even though, on a day to day basis, I see him opting for a tactically unassuming transparent nail finish and perhaps a discreet filling that can fly under the radar in a commonplace setting if he wants it so (or in the strict, no-nonsense corporate world that comes with well-established rules of masculinity) perhaps the best giveaway being that this guy isn't just some ordinary Joe Schmoe is how well taken care of his hands are. Suspiciously well taken care. These ain't the hands of a worker, even though they can somehow break rock. That, and his immaculately slicked back hair with not a single stranded where it shouldn't be, every day, all day, morning, noon and night; something a working class man wouldn't be able to maintain with such ease, efficacy and perfection because he'd be...you know...working? And too exhausted when he wasn't. But, Terry Silver does maintain it, and if someone ran into him on the street by accident, finding him posing as a blue collar somebody, you'd have to wonder just how he does that. He does it by having his on stand-by stylists, manicurists, pedicurists and an entire entourage of professionals there to take care of his appearance, even when he deliberately tries to make himself shabby, he doesn't do it on his own. Undoubtedly flies in fashion experts just to make him look poor. Or relatable. Or daunting. Or charitable. Or approachable. Or whatever image it is he wants to tactically broadcast next. Presentation is king. Man has an outfit and a grooming choice for any occasion.

But, outside of that?

Have we seen the 80's?

Have we seen the fashion flamboyance and the loud glam-extravaganza men tended to carry themselves with? If we could have Johnny Lawrence and his Cobra friends in highschool, macho-boy extraordinaire that they were, going around in skeleton face paint with his nails colored black for Halloween, then surely, everything under the sun's possible. In equal measure, there's the 70's, bell bottoms, face paint rock bands, deep slit sequin shirts and the disco craze --- we can even go further back into the 1960's and the Bohemian Hippie fashion if only it wasn't for the fact Terry would've been a child or a teenager then, then promptly off to Vietnam with him and the fact that if he undoubtedly tried experimenting with any flamboyance, his father would've had a thing or five to say about it; these decades are decades associated with going all out and by god, if anyone went all out, it was surely Terry Silver. Think this man had black nails, silver ones (for his own name sake), gold, red, bejeweled antique clip on nails from China that belonged to some Empress that ended up in his collection of rare, expensive and unusual items, stiletto sharp ones he could drag across the backs of many a lover, leaving his trace behind on their scratched cheeks and when he was done being a sadistic wild cat, he'd have them clipped and re-groomed into something that blends in with whatever place he's inhibiting, matching his styling with his surroundings, like so many masks for so many instances of life, in equal measure, so many nails, styling choices and grooming habits to match whatever role he wants to play next.

[runwayrunway]

No. 6 - jetBlue Special Livery Extravaganza

My relationship with the paint jobs of the various jets blue has been an intense whirlwind for the past few days, but there was always something else about them I wanted to cover. Like many other airlines, jetBlue has a fair few special liveries, and I'd like to talk about them. Consider it a cleanse and an opportunity to rest your eyes.

So, upfront, I'm not going to talk about all of jetBlue's special liveries. There are a lot, and many of them are just sports team logojets or the like, and I don't feel like that's something worth commenting on too much. Seriously, so many sports liveries. They generally double-dip on NY and Boston teams, except they've firmly placed their hat in the ring by being the official airline for the Red Sox but not the Yankees, so...your move, New Yorkers. The only other thing worth mentioning is that their Bruins jet, N632JB, has the absolutely brilliant name "Bear Force One".

I'm admittedly honestly a bit exhausted at this point - this is my fifth jetBlue post - but I sincerely do want to cover these and have planned to from the moment I made this blog. So here's a handful of jetBlue's single-plane creations - at least, the ones I want to talk about.

Binary Code Fly-Fi - N709JB "Connected to 01000010 01001100 01010101 01000101"

The binary code says 'blue', predictably. This plane was painted in a custom livery to celebrate jetBlue's introduction of their in-flight "fly-fi" service. I've used it. It's totally adequate internet and they don't charge for it, can endorse. That's irrelevant to my opinion of the livery.

I can actually endorse the livery too, though. I like the way it looks like it's spreading out to envelop the plane, I really like the shade of blue they chose, and it looks absolutely gorgeous with the sun lighting it up. The design is pretty simple, nothing too galaxy-brained, but it works. It's a notable improvement over the default livery.

The airframe has since been repainted with the spotlight tail variant and renamed to "My Other Ride Is A JetBlue A220", seemingly the first stage of setting up the My Other Ride Is A JetBlue E190 loop with their new A220s, which are set to phase out the E190s in the next couple of years. (The E190 being considered an older plane now is so surreal to me. Time is truly a bizarre thing. It hasn't even been that long, though. jetBlue was literally the launch customer and they're younger than me.)

Grade: B(blue)

Inspiring Humanity - N598JB "Bluemanity"

I love this. This might be my absolute favorite type of awful cloying soulless corporate design. Slap a bunch of words on it and call it a day.

The words are actually their motto - Safety, Caring, Fun, Integrity, Passion. Not in that order, but I don't care enough to look up the proper one. To be fair, they are a very safe airline (no-fatality-no-hull-loss club 23 years in) and they are also fun. But this looks like the wall I swear I've seen on every public library I've ever been to that just says 'welcome' in a bunch of different languages.

I think my favorite thing is the name itself. "Inspiring Humanity". They have like less than 200 destinations. Change it immediately to "Inspiring New York And Boston And Like A Couple Other Cities". I literally can't stop laughing. This is so stupid.

Grade: D(umb)

Blueprint - N304JB "Blueprint"

I think it's obvious why I chose the above picture despite it being useless for showcasing the livery.

I've actually had the pleasure to see this lovely girl parked on the apron in person. She's very hard to miss. I mentioned her earlier - I do think this is jetBlue's bluest plane, and I love her.

Okay, here's what she actually looks like. This is a livery that requires a bit of zooming in to fully appreciate, but the general idea is that it's a cross-section of the plane. In each section you can see depictions of what's inside the plane, be it luggage, the pilots' chairs in the cockpit, or even the inner workings of the engines. It even shows off the divide between the vertical stabilizer and the rudder.

I also think it was a good choice putting it on an E190, which has a nose that borders on being a regular polygon, instead of negotiating the adorable little round stub that Airbus puts on the tips of their planes. Despite the little details being what make it great, the basic concept is visible from a distance. It's exactly as complex as it needs to be and no more. Almost flawlessly executed.

I love this livery. It's creative, it's fun, it uses a combination of two visually pleasing shades of blue, and it's very, very memorable. They make a scale model of her and to be entirely honest I really really want it. (Again, I will edit jetBlue's website and accept scale models instead of money as payment. All they have to do is ask.)

Grade: A( very blue plane indeed)

jetBlue For Good - N809JB

Astoundingly, this is the only jetBlue plane I can find that isn't named. Why? Why couldn't you name her? Do you hate her specifically? Why doesn't she get to be anthropomorphized and also funny? Could you not come up with a pun? Here's one for you: Bluegooder. That's off the dome. Can you imagine what I could come up with if I actually workshopped this?

I'll pull from their website for the description of this livery.

This design depicts a curtain being pulled back to show what is always underneath—JetBlue’s culture of doing good.

If you zoom in pretty close you actually can see a couple small people pulling back a curtain. From any distance it's invisible, though. This livery just doesn't communicate what it set out to. The images feel like nonsense and I think nobody would ever make these connections if they happened by this jet on the tarmac.

Also, that orange out of nowhere. It looks downright yucky with the light blue shades which predominate this design and, more importantly, draws all the attention to the front of the plane and away from the design.

Grade: D(o the right thing. Give her a name. Name her. Name your daughter.)

New York Jets (2017) - N746JB "I Love JetBlue / NY"

I don't care about American Football. I mean, you should see that coming, I run a tumblr about airplane graphic design. The only New York sports team I support are the Mets. This is sort of just a sports airplane. So why am I bothering to mention this livery?

Because she's my favorite color. Yep! That's it.

These exact shades of green are my favorite colors. And I like how they look. I'm not sure I like how the plane looks overall. I think I maybe just don't like the Jets logo. The engines being the same color as the fuselage is also something I hate, though the little silver rim mitigates it a little. What I'd really like to point out is the little American Football field distance markings (if they have a real name I don't know it) on the bottom of the plane. That's neat! I enjoy that.

Also, painted nose always a plus.

Grade: C(an more airlines please use these shades of green I am starving)+

I ♥ NYC - N586JB "I ♥ Blue York"

According to their website, they are

proud to be New York's Hometown Airline®.

That's right. Registered trademark! Fancy.

Okay. Just a few notes®:

Wouldn't it make more sense to name this one "I Love JetBlue / NY" and the Jets one something like 'Blue York Jets' or 'Let's Go Blue York' or something else related to the Jets? I can't help but feel like opportunities were missed here.

I'm glad it comes off the tail a bit. But why did you have to put it on the engines?

The I ♥ NY logo is iconic. The epitome of tacky chic. You couldn't have put it more out of the way if you tried. If you got the okay to use that logo on your airplane, you might as well use it on your airplane.

I know I normally complain about the engines being the same color as the fuselage, but if they're the only thing that's a different color, and the main color is white, and the engines are dark blue, it does actually look pretty bad.

FULLY WHITE FUSELAGE ENTIRELY WHITE PLANE BIG FLYING WHITE THING SHE'S GIVING SMARTLYNX SHE'S GIVING WEIRDLY SHAPED CLOUD GO GIRL GIVE US NOTHING!

Grade®: D(on't ♥ this livery)

10th Anniversary - N569JB "Blues Brothers"

Can I be totally honest? I planned to find a bunch of 10th anniversary liveries (Air Arabia also has one, I think, and there must be others) and review them all as a little 100 follower special treat. I was going to keep doing that for every 100 followers, up to 100-year anniversary liveries as a 1,000-follower special if I ever got there. Before I could do that, I hit 200 followers, and it's only been steadily increasing from there, so that is no longer happening. But I'll still give her a shot while I'm talking jetBlue.

The design is very...modern art museum. I don't like how white the whole situation is. Could be a whole lot worse but could be a whole lot better. Why always with the orange, jetBlue? But at the end of the day I respect the commitment to a visually overhauled anniversary livery instead of just slapping a 10 Years! sticker onto an otherwise regular plane.

Despite being honored with the special livery N569JB was given an unrelated name (more than poor N809JB got), and in 2017 she was repainted to the standard livery with the highrise tail variant.

Grade: C(an't really complain about gaining too many followers, though. I love you all. It's not a bad problem to have)-

New York International - Vintage - N763JB "What's Old Is Blue Again"

Aside from Blueprint, this is probably the most interesting livery jetBlue has and one of the main reasons I wanted to make this post. Logojets and liveries bragging about how you're such an ethical company are a dime a dozen, but this is something a little different.

Well, you might say, retrojets are actually incredibly common. And that's true! But this isn't a 'true' retrojet, because jetBlue started operations in 2000.

That is to say, unlike other 'retrojets', which are heritage liveries - older, retired liveries put on new planes (see my Lufthansa post for an example) - jetBlue's is an actual example of retrospective design, an intentionally fun take on what a 1960s jetBlue livery might have looked like, filtered through their modern brand identity and design sensibilities. From their website:

We dug deep into popular 1960s branding styles and themes to create an old look that is truly original, the Retrojet livery.

And this is definitely original! While it has recognizable features of actual older liveries, it's hard to argue that someone could mistake this for actually being a heritage livery. And I think that's good.

Let's be honest - as much as this blog reads as a puff piece for older liveries sometimes, just putting cheatlines on your planes isn't enough to make for interesting design. One of the main reasons I hate Eurowhite so much is the fact that every plane looks the same, and even back in the cheatline era that was a problem. Dominant industry trends have always been a plague in any sort of visual design, and aircraft liveries are no exception. Liveries like Lufthansa's older ones were actually above average, and a lot of designs from the time were utterly identical white planes with a hockey stick cheatline. It would be so easy to make a 60s livery which is just entirely generic. And they didn't do that.

I'll be entirely honest, I'm far from an expert on the 60s, but apparently jetBlue spent a while hitting the books and looking through old 60s adverts and such. Again, I can't really evaluate it on the basis of period-compliance, but I can surely say if I like it or not. And I do. I do like it.

It might just be me, but this plane looks like she's having such a good time. Hopping around with her little wings outstretched, a small-town girl from Toulouse in the big city of New York JFK Airport for the first time and she's ready to write her name all over it. There is just something about the way the cheatlines are painted on that makes her seem like she's delighted, and that delights me in turn. Plus, always a big fan of the painted nose.

jetBlue seems to have a thing for forcing orange into their liveries, and I nearly always hate it, but I really like it here. It's a nice understated shade which straddles the line between orange and yellow. I think it adds a nice contrast which the typical-of-the-time monocolor cheatlines sorely lacked. Again, it really reminds me of my beloved 1960 Lufthansa livery, which they also liked enough to put on a retrojet.

That said, it's far from a copy. It goes for tramlines instead of the single rule, with one wrapping around the windows and the other looping down under the nose, though not quite as far as Lufthansa's does. The cheatlines take up a lot more vertical space on the jetBlue jet, rendering the text quite small, smaller than was usual for the time, and it creates a unique look.

The initial reason for the popularity of cheatlines is that airlines thought it would mitigate the shortening effect of the many windows breaking up the fuselage and make the airplane look more streamlined, 'cheating' an aerodynamic look. I think it...at least sort of works. At first glance N763JB definitely looked long-ish to me, despite a closer look revealing that to be false. That's impressive considering A320 family planes have always looked sort of cobby to me in general.

Just looking at the plane honestly kind of underscores how much effort was put into jetBlue making their own 60s self-insert OC. To begin with, the "New York International" bit might seem a little confusing at first, but it's the name they've come up with for said self-insert. Since they're New York's Hometown Airline® they based it around that for a full name of jetBlue New York International Airways, I think? Sure, they're technically an international airline, so I'll let it slide. It does stir up a bit of that lofty golden-age emotion, doesn't it? There's a world of difference between Pan Am and Pan American World Airways, so I see where they're coming from and I respect it.

With the help of my in-house font wizard @spirifage I was able to identify the fonts used here as Craw Modern and URW Franklin Gothic. I think these are fantastic choices, both on their own and especially as a set. They're both relatively common to see in period media (well, other variants of Franklin Gothic are, at least) and they pair well together, a widely-spaced narrow sans-serif all-caps font to contrast the staggered heights and snappy serifs of the Craw.

It's a bit hard to read from a distance, but thankfully they chose to make the 'jetBlue' part larger and bolder to maximize legibility. Did it work? At least somewhat. The forward slant also matches airplane design trends of the time.

...why the phone number on the nacelles, though? That's a real 2004 budget carrier move, not so much 1960s international airline. It definitely kills the fantasy for me a little.

My other major criticism is the tail. I love the design itself, all exciting and unconcerned with appearances, unabashedly fun, but all this excitement being limited to the tail is strange. While the cheatlines prevent the jet from looking unbalanced, it definitely feels odd isolating that all to one small part of the jet. Couldn't they have used the nacelles for that instead? Seriously, what a strange choice for the engines.

(At least you know what number to call if you'd like to let jetBlue know about their pilot's flying. And yes, 1-800-JETBLUE actually is their phone number.)

In all, this golden oldie design is a total gas, but wipes out just short of being the best thing since sliced bread. It's a bit of a bummer that such a marvy concept isn't as outta sight as it could be, but I still dig it.

(jetBlue, if you let me edit your website, I will let you pay me in scale figures of Blueprint and the Retrojet.)

Grade: B(ad, a word which here, as in the 1960s, means 'good')+

(oh, wait, I didn't realize until I saw this image that they do the tail pattern on the inside of the winglets too. That's neat. Doesn't change my rating.)

Well, that's it! We're jetThrough with jetBlue, for the time being. Let me know which one of these special liveries you liked the best and why it's Blueprint, and thank you for bearing with me for this wild ride through a whole blue world.

Before I go, I would like to make one final comment on jetBlue's livery:

Bluebirds. Literal bluebirds. It's right there, jetBlue. I know you're reading this and I expect my scale models in the mail as soon as shipping allows for.

[handeaux]

Here Are 17 Uncommon Curiosities Reportedly Found In The Ohio River

The Queen City, as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow famously wrote, sits “in her garlands dressed, on the banks of the Beautiful River.” Once claimed by the French and named by them exactly that: La Belle Riviere, the Ohio has been the soul and foundation of our city ever since the first houses went up, but our Beautiful River has also proved to be a weird and moody companion, coughing up a bizarre miscellany from time to time.

Alligators In 1879, Dr. A. Jackson Howe procured a live, three-foot long alligator for display at the museum of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History. The reptile had been captured on the Covington shore, while several others were spotted frolicking in the Ohio River among some empty coal barges. Three years later, John Thornton found an alligator sleeping beneath the floorboards of his Newport icehouse. Charles Pitts of Covington lassoed a three-and-a-half-foot alligator from the Ohio River at the foot of Covington’s Main Street in 1870.

Bodies, Lots Of Bodies Almost from the time Cincinnati was first settled bodies have been recovered from the Ohio River including suicides, victims of foul play and accidental drownings. Among the earliest casualties was Francis Kennedy, who operated the first ferry between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and who drowned while hauling beef cattle to Fort Washington. Over the years, the old newspapers printed hundreds of inquest reports, often directed toward ascertaining the identities of bodies found overnight.

Catfish Of Unusual Size The Cincinnati Commercial Tribune of 3 February 1849 reports that Frederick Diserens, proprietor of the William Tell restaurant, and Colonel Josiah J. Stratton of the Fire Department, had shipped a “mammoth cat fish” to the Exchange Hotel in Philadelphia. The leviathan, caught in the Ohio River at Cincinnati, measured five feet, ten inches in length and tipped the scales at 158 pounds. Prior to its shipment east, the beast hung outside Diserens’ establishment on the south side of what is now Government Square. In 2009, two fishermen landed a blue catfish measuring four feet, six inches long and weighing 96 pounds within view of downtown Cincinnati.

Chemical “Slug” The Ohio River, lined with heavily fertilized farmland and a multitude of manufacturing plants, is regularly listed as among the most polluted streams in America. Residents of a certain age will recall the great carbon tetrachloride “slug” of 1977. When a tank full of toxic “carbon tet” ruptured at the FMC Corporation facility in February of that year, it released 5000 to 6000 pounds into the Ohio River as a 50- to 60-mile “slug” of highly polluted liquid. Water purification systems up and down the river shut off intake valves until the “slug” passed.

Elephant Bathing All of Cincinnati – and Covington, too – turned out on the morning of 9 August 1860 to watch an elephant swim across the Ohio River. The elephant was Lalla Rookh, star of the Dan Rice Circus. Lalla Rookh had been, for the past decade, a highlight of Dan Rice's big-top extravaganzas. Billed as the “Pachyderm Princess,” she was famous for her tightrope act and she also danced, rang bells and fired a pistol. She was a huge draw and, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, brought out a good crowd for her river bath, estimated between 15,000 and 20,000

Ghosts No one ever solved the 1890 murder of Billy Fee, who was knifed and shot on the banks of the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg. Almost a year later a young man traveling by boat up the river past the murder scene cried out that he could see shadows on the darkened waters vividly recreating the murder scene. For years, residents of Lawrenceburg venturing near the river at night reported visions of the dreadful crime, accompanied by the sounds of shrieks and gunshots.

Giant Snakes On 11 August 1849, a Clermont County “man of respectability” named John Wait swore to an affidavit in which he claimed to have seen a snake more than 30 feet in length on the banks of Hartman’s mill pond. A posse was assembled and searched all over for the beast with no results, even after draining the mill pond. Sightings, however, continued for the next decade. In 1858, the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune reported that the dam at Hartman’s mill had been badly damaged by a flood and the snake was assumed to have escaped toward the Ohio River. According to a 1940 article in the Cincinnati Post, the Cincinnati Zoo offered to help citizens near Gallipolis locate a snake estimated at 35 feet in length. Coincidence?

Green Clawed Beast It was a sultry afternoon on 14 August 1955 when Naomi Johnson and some friends headed to the Ohio River at Evansville for a refreshing dip. While swimming just 15 feet offshore, something swam up behind Mrs. Johnson and grabbed her leg. She felt claws scratch her leg as the thing pulled her under the water. She began kicking her assailant and was pulled under a second time before her friends lifted her out of the river. Her left leg was extensively lacerated and bruised, with one mark distinctly hand-shaped. Mrs. Johnson claimed to have seen a UFO just before she was attacked, and there were several UFO sightings in the Evansville area around the time of the incident, leading her to believe an extraterrestrial origin for her attacker.

Kentucky Border For most of our region’s history, the entire Ohio River belonged exclusively to Kentucky. That all changed on 21 January 1980, when the United States Supreme Court fixed the border between Ohio and Kentucky at the low-water mark of the river in 1792. With two centuries of dam construction and other navigational improvements, the Ohio River is significantly deeper and wider than it was in the 1790s. The border is now, in some cases, hundreds of feet off the Ohio shore.

Madonna’s Yacht Rusting away in an Ohio River tributary just 25 miles downriver from Cincinnati is a 186-foot yacht originally known as the Celt but probably most famous as the USS Sachem among a variety of names acquired over its 120-year history. Thomas Edison used it for anti-submarine research. It ran out of New York as a recreational fishing vessel and served as a coastal patrol ship during World War II. After the war it hauled tourists around Manhattan. Robert Miller of Finneytown bought the yacht for $7500 in the 1980s and rented it out to Madonna, who filmed part of her “Papa Don’t Preach” video onboard. Miller hauled it upriver to its current resting place shortly after sailing a boatload of friends around the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986.

Man Afloat On 11 March 1879, a crowd of fifteen thousand swarmed the riverfront to catch a glimpse of the “Fearless Frogman,” Captain Paul Boynton, as he arrived in Cincinnati while floating from Pittsburgh to Cairo in a buoyant rubber suit. Outfitted with sails and oars, Boynton’s “peculiar life-saving dress” allowed him to maintain speeds of five or six miles per hour on his downriver odyssey. That night, he attended a performance at the Grand Opera House on Vine Street and, being recognized, was called to the stage and compelled to give a speech.

Mud Mermaids The Cincinnati Enquirer of 6 September 1894 reported two “nondescript creatures, horrible in appearance and strange in habits” at a sand bar in the Ohio River near Vevay, Indiana. The creatures appeared to be carnivorous, dining on fish and mussels plucked from the river. They were described as being yellowish in color, about five feet long, with webbed and clawed hands and feet. Their hairless heads had sharply pointed ears standing straight up. In the years since, the Vevay beings have been dubbed “Mud Mermaids.”

Octoman Police dispatchers along both sides of the Ohio River were swamped with frantic calls from late January to early February 1959 as dozens of residents and travelers reported strange creatures emerging from the depths. Sightings were recorded from New Richmond to the Licking River bridge. One witness compared the critter to an octopus while others said it looked like an immense human, leading to the nickname Octoman. Panic spread, with one 11-year-old boy calling the Cincinnati Post to confirm his teacher’s story that green men were clambering out of the river in platoons of twelve. To add to the mystery, all the streetlights along Kellogg Avenue from Lunken Airport to Coney Island extinguished as the first reports came in. After a week, sightings abated and Octoman seemingly disappeared.

Petroglyphs Just as the Ohio River slips across the state line from Pennsylvania, at the junction with Little Beaver Creek at East Liverpool, it covers a vast array of submerged designs carved into the rock. First recognized by French explorers in 1755, the display has been largely immersed in a much deeper river, only occasionally emerging into visibility in times of extreme drought. Hundreds of these Native American carvings were found for about 10 miles along the Ohio River from Midland, Pennsylvania through Wellsville, Ohio. The origin or date of the petroglyphs remains unknown and will likely never be determined.

Sea Lion In May 1962 several people reported a strange beast frolicking in the Ohio River near the Fernbank locks. The animal was not large; maybe three feet in length, but it was unlike anything naturally associated with the wildlife of the area. An expedition organized by the Cincinnati Zoo discovered that the mysterious visitor was a sea lion named “Playful George” that had escaped from a menagerie in Huntington, West Virginia and made its way nearly 200 miles downriver to the Markland Dam. George was captured and quarantined at the Zoo before returning home.

Sea Serpents In the dim, pre-dawn light of Friday, 11 January 1878, Ben Karrick was driving his horse-drawn delivery wagon over the Roebling Suspension Bridge when he saw a most unusual sight in the Ohio River below – a sea serpent. He told the Cincinnati Gazette that the creature’s serpentine head protruded from the water some twelve or fifteen feet and it lashed the water into foam with its tail. Karrick told the newspaper that the beast made a noise similar to the deep lowing of a cow, interspersed with a loud hissing noise. A day previously, John Davidson, master of the Silver Moon steamboat, saw a nearly identical monster while docked at Vevay, Indiana. In July 1893, pleasure boaters near Blennerhassett Island saw “a monstrous submarine animal or serpent, with an immense head and staring, bulbous eyes” gliding alongside their boat. The witnesses estimated the critter at more than 10 feet in length.

Underwater Pedestrian Newspapers around the nation carried the news in July 1878 that Captain John T. Guire, identified as “the celebrated submarine diver,” had entered into a wager that he would walk from Cincinnati to Cairo on the bottom of the Ohio River. Guire’s previous exploits in the Mississippi River at Saint Louis were cited as proof of his skill and determination. Although it was noted that Guire engaged in practice strolls near Cincinnati, it does not appear that the 500-mile underwater hike to Cairo ever materialized.

[pressplaytech]

Is cPanel on Its Deathbed? A Tale of Technology, Profits, and a Slow-Moving Train Wreck

Ah, cPanel. The go-to control panel for many web hosting services since the dawn of, well, web hosting. Once the epitome of innovation, it’s now akin to a grizzled war veteran, limping along with a cane and wearing an “I Survived Y2K” t-shirt. So what went wrong? Let’s dive into this slow-moving technological telenovela, rife with corporate greed, security loopholes, and a legacy that may be hanging by a thread.

Chapter 1: A Brief, Glorious History (Or How cPanel Shot to Stardom)

Once upon a time, cPanel was the bee’s knees. Launched in 1996, this software was, for a while, the pinnacle of web management systems. It promised simplicity, reliability, and functionality. Oh, the golden years!

Chapter 2: The Tech Stack Tortoise

In the fast-paced world of technology, being stagnant is synonymous with being extinct. While newer tech stacks are integrating AI, machine learning, and all sorts of jazzy things, cPanel seems to be stuck in a time warp. Why? Because the tech stack is more outdated than a pair of bell-bottom trousers. No Docker, no Kubernetes, and don’t even get me started on the lack of robust API support.

Chapter 3: “The Corpulent Corporate”

In 2018, Oakley Capital, a private equity firm, acquired cPanel. For many, this was the beginning of the end. Pricing structures were jumbled, turning into a monetisation extravaganza. It’s like turning your grandma’s humble pie shop into a mass production line for rubbery, soulless pies. They’ve squeezed every ounce of profit from it, often at the expense of the end-users and smaller hosting companies.

Chapter 4: Security—or the Lack Thereof

Ah, the elephant in the room. cPanel has had its fair share of vulnerabilities. Whether it’s SQL injection flaws, privilege escalation, or simple, plain-text passwords (yes, you heard right), cPanel often appears in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. It’s like that dodgy uncle at family reunions who always manages to spill wine on the carpet; you know he’s going to mess up, yet somehow he’s always invited.

Chapter 5: The (Dis)loyal Subjects—The Hosting Companies

Remember those hosting companies that once swore by cPanel? Well, let’s just say some of them have been seen flirting with competitors at the bar. Newer, shinier control panels are coming to market, offering modern tech stacks and, gasp, lower prices! It’s like watching cPanel’s loyal subjects slowly turn their backs, one by one.

Chapter 6: The Alternatives—Not Just a Rebellion, but a Revolution

Plesk, Webmin, DirectAdmin, oh my! New players are rising, offering updated tech stacks, more customizable APIs, and—wait for it—better security protocols. They’re the Han Solos to cPanel’s Jabba the Hutt: faster, sleeker, and without the constant drooling.

Conclusion: The Twilight Years or a Second Wind?

The debate rages on. Is cPanel merely an ageing actor waiting for its swan song, or can it adapt and evolve, perhaps surprising us all? Either way, the story of cPanel serves as a cautionary tale: adapt or die. And for heaven’s sake, update your tech stack before it becomes a relic in a technology museum, right between floppy disks and dial-up modems.

This outline only scratches the surface, but it’s a start. If cPanel wants to avoid becoming the Betamax of web management systems, it better start evolving—stat. Cheers!

[seriouslycromulent]

Ramblings & Reactions to Deadpool and Wolverine

So for the first time in a long time, I actually went to see a movie on a Saturday night. I figured it's been a minute since I've enjoyed a "summer blockbuster" like I did back in the olden times. (You know, before the world seemed perpetually on fire.) And this particular nerdgasm extravaganza committed to celluloid would be a great distraction after last week's year.

So I decided to go all out and see it on opening weekend and on a Saturday night, no less. (Well, it was the 6:45pm show, but you get the point.)

Anyway, below are some of my thoughts about the film now that I've had a chance to digest it properly. Then, after I digested it, I feasted on it again when I went to see it a 2nd time on Tuesday because I really felt like I missed some jokes, as well as some of the rapid-fire references because I was too busy laughing at the jokes that I didn't miss.

Before I dive in, I am happy to say that I somehow remained relatively unspoiled about the film until the day it opened. Other than a gif of a certain cameo by a certain non-MCU actor that kept showing up on my Tumblr timeline, I went into the cinema completely unaware of who would be in it other than the main villain played by Emma Corrin.

So kudos to the studio for managing to keep a tight lid on this one. That, and it's entirely possible that the interest in superhero movies is so low at the moment that not as many people were trying to spread spoilers or leak clips as they once were.

Anyway, I prefer it that way -- sans spoilers. So with that in mind, if you are the same, please know that you should absolutely stop reading here because I'm about to spoil the hell out of this movie with my honest reactions and poor descriptive skills.

You have been warned.

But as a courtesy, I'm also going to place a little doohicky here so you can't see my spoiler-y goodness so easily as you scroll by.

This commentary is in no particular order. I'm just sharing thoughts about the film as I remember them ...

Although I was never a fan of the classic yellow Wolverine suit from way back when, I have to admit I squee!d with joy when Logan put on the cowl. I still think the body of the suit is awkward and unflattering, but that cowl makes it all worth it.

I was driving on the highway the Monday after seeing the film for the first time and I couldn't help but start laughing every time I saw a Honda Odyssey drive by. That's some pretty effective product placement, Mr. Reynolds. Well done.

I can see why during all the promotional press for this film, Ryan pretty much kept the plot under wraps the whole time. Because once you know the plot, the possibilities kind of spoil themselves. But just in case it blew past you, the very idea of past comic book movie universe characters being thrown into a "void" by a random corporate jackass who decides they're not worthy of our time and attention anymore is some brutal and diabolically meta commentary on the current zeitgeist and our culture of constant consumption.

With that said, I'm glad D&W provided proof that the studio was right to pull the plug on the Gambit solo film, because ... um, yeah. ... Great concept, but he was woefully miscast.

Out of all the fight scenes in D&W, the fight in the minivan was my favorite. Between the fight choreography, the songs playing on the car stereo, the creativity of the camera angles, and the epic -- and I do mean, EPIC -- verbal takedown that Wolverine doled out right before the fight began, it had everything any fan of this genre could possibly want.

Speaking of music, I loved the use of contemporary pop music in this movie. Yes, I know all the Deadpool films use pop music, but for this one, it just felt even more on the money in terms of tone and atmosphere. It was definitely the way to go. Plus, I found myself singing along more than a few times. And in some instances, wanting to dance along too. Especially the opening fight scene with Deadpool using poor Old Man Logan's corpse remains as weapons throughout the entire fight.

I also want to take this time to personally thank Hugh Jackman for putting himself through hell to turn his 55-year-old body into that Adonis statue we caught an eyeful of near the end. I have a feeling that scene will become the cell phone wallpaper of many, many, many fans.

I, for one, am also glad D&W didn't mar the ending of Logan because I honestly feel that movie is pitch perfect. And it wouldn't have had the impact that it did if Logan didn't die in the end. Unlike some, I was fine with Jackman walking away from the character, plus I don't think Marvel is going to come up with a better send-off than 20th Century Fox did.

Back to the shirtless scene -- not that I'm complaining about the fanservice -- but when the atomic reaction caused Wolverine's shirt to explode, why didn't it cause his pants to explode too? I mean ... I'm just asking.

Some of the faces I was really delighted to see in D&W include: Aaron Stanford as Pyro, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, and Dafne Keen as X-23. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy Wesley, Chris, Tyler, or the others. But I think I actually felt giddy when I saw Aaron, Jennifer and Dafne appear on screen each time.

It was only via IMDB did I learn that Blake Lively played (or was the voice of) Lady Deadpool and Nathan Fillion was Headpool. That info could be wrong, but their voices sounded about right. I particularly like that bit of trivia because Fillion is the voice of Green Lantern in most of the animated DC films now, and of course, Ryan played Green Lantern in the live action film.

Although I don't understand why Nicepool had long hair when most of the other Deadpools didn't, I kind of liked that look on Ryan. It's a darn shame his head got blown off though. Poor thing. (Tbf, I saw that coming a mile away.)

The one MCU cameo I really wish they could've gotten was Dr. Strange/Cumberbatch. I'm ok with the knowledge that some version of him was in the Void at some point, but I think an onscreen cameo would've been even better.

Wolverine: You got that poor Johnny kid killed! Deadpool: Kid? He's like 50! Me, along with the rest of the audience: ::dies laughing while nodding it's true::

Why yes! I did catch the Stan Lee "cameo" on the side of the bus as Wolverine and Deadpool were tearing through the Deadpools inside the bus. I think it was an ad for a "StanLee Steamer" or something like that and it had Stan's face beside it. Very clever nod to the man himself.

Now here's where I veer from popular opinion. Hold on to your butts: I don't believe for 10 seconds that Henry Cavill would've been treated better in the MCU than in the DCEU. The fact is the only reason the DCEU didn't stand by its vision for their multi-film overarching storyline was because so-called "fans," who cared more about their slavish devotion to some antiquated rivalry between Marvel and DC that had no place on the big screen, insisted on demanding DC films be like Marvel, even though DC clearly cared more about character development and telling stories that explored realistic aspects of humanity instead of churning out vapid, cookie-cutter, meme machines that brought out the worst in the worst people in all of fandom culture. Cavill was mistreated because of MCU fans. Not because WB wanted to mistreat him. If WB had trusted their vision and focused their attention on the feedback from DC fans who are far more "ride or die" than any Marvel fan has ever been, then Cavill would've been treated better. So as a genuine comic book fan who loves all things DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Infinite, Verve, and the like, I have to give a giant middle finger to Deadpool and anyone who agrees with the statement that Cavill would've been treated better in the MCU. You bitches are the #1 reason he wasn't treated better in the first f*cking place. /end rant

Now this is me taking a moment to appreciate the scene in the Borderlands hideout where Ryan and Hugh were both acting with folks they had worked with in other movies in the past. Ryan, of course, worked with Wesley Snipes in Blade 3. And Hugh, of course, worked with Dafne Keen in Logan. But Ryan Reynolds worked with Jennifer Garner in The Adam Project, and Hugh worked with her in the small budget, but very much underrated film Butter.

I'm not going to lie. It warmed my heart to see that Wade had invited Logan back to his home at the end of the film instead of letting him wander off into the sunset. And the fact that Laura/X-23 was there too fed my fanfiction-loving brain. Now I want to read stories of this Logan acting all dad-like to Laura.

That final scene after the credits roll might be the most I've ever heard Chris Evans swear in a film.

Speaking of guest cast, I love that they were able to get so many people who've played their original roles, but I would be remiss to not notice that we unfortunately don't get to see the original Lady DeathStrike, Psylocke or Toad in this. I suspect the budget was kinda blown on Evans, Garner, and Snipes. Which is a fair trade, even though I adore Kelly Hu.

OK, so after seeing it twice now, it appears that the biggest reaction from the 2 audiences I saw the film with came when Chris Evans first appeared and when Wesley Snipes appeared. And if I had to judge by the applause and gasps alone, Wesley definitely got the biggest reaction.

And what can I say about Matthew Macfayden as Mr. Paradox. He was just the perfect amount of smarmy corporate bitchassness you'd expect from villain who thinks he's not a villain. I loved that he got to be funny while also being made fun of. That's not an easy thing to do with a villain without making the audience feel like they shouldn't take him seriously as a threat. And Macfayden knocked it out of the park with his delivery and timing.

Overall, I would say my main appreciation for Deadpool and Wolverine is that it gave us the Deadpool we know and love, but without sacrificing the gravitas and haunted characterization of Wolverine. Somehow, the writers managed to work in just the right amount of idgaf tension, emotional struggle, and forlorn angst to make sure Logan stays true to form and he isn't there to just be the straight man to Wade's shenanigans.

In other words, the humor, fun and fanservice are great, but the heart of what makes Logan one of the best characters in all of comic fandom was not lost for the sake of fanboy feels. Some of my favorite moments in the movie were those scenes with Logan doing his classic tortured brooding as he lamented over his past and his present. The scenes with Laura/X-23 by the fireside and the scene with Cassandra Nova digging into his mind to see what he's hiding were exactly the kind of emotional touchstones that kept the storyline true to character, and really knocked it out of the park for me.

That's all for now!

[r3dblccd]

Rough description of my new muses, members of a group called Deadly Extravaganza, aka what if the seven deadly sins made a group together lol. I'll eventually add more information on the group and muses, I just wanted to finally post this and set these menaces free. I put it under the cut because it gets a little long.

Claude, they/them (fc: Park Seonghwa) -- the personification of Lust; main vocalist, main dancer, sub rapper & face of the group, can also play the guitar and the saxophone; it's painfully obvious to everyone, including fans and viewers that they're the most favoured member out of the group even leading up to rumours of them being in a relationship with their company's CEO (though it's never been confirmed nor denied). 1/3 of the "I only kill eat boys" club; in an open relationship with Don and Eris and always looking for an addition.

Do beware of potentially explicit stuff, for obvious reasons.

They were the first person in the group to be introduced to the public with the songs BEG! (with backing vocals from Kali) & Closer

playlist + pinterest

Jiyoo Ava, she/her (fc: Yoo Jimin/Karina) -- the personification of Greed. The person she possessed used to be a doctor who truly wanted to help people instead of caring more about their paycheck, but gradually lost hope due to corporate greed. The actual person died in a housefire as she took over, the doctors were surprised she survived, but they did not know the full true story. What they found even more confusing for them how only her fingertips were burned up (and she still has burn scars there), but other than that she was completely fine, it didn't make any sense compared to the time frame she was presumably trapped in the fire. To the surprise of all the people who once knew the previous person, Ava changed her name and turned her life full 180° by becoming a singer, she also cut all contact with those people. (Also nepo baby allegations? I don't know her) Despite all of that one could say there are still remnants of the old Jiyoo.

She was the second member of the group to be introduced to the public with the songs BLOODMONEY and Midas Touch

playlist + pinterest

Don, he/him (fc: Bang Chan)-- the personification of Pride; the tired leader of the group who constantly has to argue with Kali, especially when they share the screaming parts in songs. More information on him tba.

The third member to be introduced to the public with the songs Sun//Eater and Personal Jesus (there was a leaked snipped of a song called God Complex thought to have been for him, but later on the full song was released as a duo song sung by Ava and Eris and him only doing some of the backing vocals)

playlist + pinterest

Eris, she/her (fc: Seo Soojin) -- the personification of Envy; sub vocalist and lead dancer of the group (she's good at contemporary dance as well), can play the flute. Despite the fact Don and Claude don't exactly like Yi and Luca, she secretly meets with them for the latest tea. more information on her tba.

The fourth member to be introduced to the public with the songs Obsessed and INVU

playlist + pinterest

Dennis, deadboycoric (afab), it/its (fc: Huening Kai) -- the personification of Gluttony; lead vocalist & visual, mainly plays the drums but can also play the guitar, its screaming vocals are extremely underappreciated both by the company and the fans; one of the less serious members of of the group, 1/3 of the "I only kill eat boys" club. Annoying little bastard. It kind of works as a manager of the group (even though they do have one that's not part of them) and plans things for them.

The fifth member to be introduced to the public with the songs Teeth and Concrete

Important note: Do keep in mind that if you want to interact with this muse it's possible for triggering topics such as eating disorders to pop up.

playlist + aesthetics

Kali, also known by the nickname "Rex", she/her, they/the & he/him (fc: Huh Yunjin) -- the personification of Wrath; lead vocalist, lead dancer & main rapper, if there are any screams in a song, she's usually the one to take care of them, can play the drums and the guitar, from time to time she does some DJ gigs at clubs too, a big chunk of the group's music is created with her help; she's been a part of a few musicals and movies as well. Stronger than all the other members combined together, 1/3 of the "I only kill eat boys" club (no but really, if you're a man you should be scared for your life if you're alone in a room with her, she doesn't fuck around); the girlies are gatekeeping her, and for good reasons. Has a short temper and anger issues, and usually constantly has beef with at least one of the other members, as they should; will always argue with the leader of the group. She's also the member with the most scandals revolving around fighting; just give her a bat, I promise nothing bad will happen. Surprisingly hasn't started any fires so far, or at least that's what they say. "At least I am the life of the party!" (Claude - "Keep dreaming, babygirl.") Anger issues aside, Kali is probably the member who has the most empathy towards humans, especially those treated unfairly, and being fair is very important to her. Despite being the one who does a huge chunk of the work to make music and stuff, she's probably the most neglected member of the group. She would be your scary dog if you want to go out at night and not have to worry about being in danger, but if you call her "Rexie", she will fuck you up.

She was the last one to be introduced to the public with the song Burn Your Village (featuring Ava). Later there were leaks of three songs rumoured to have been possible demos for her debut called Growing Pain (later released as a full song sung by all the member in an album), Brutus & K.O (later released as a separate solo songs of hers).

playlist + pinterest

Nyx, any pronouns, aroace (fc: Park Jongseong/Jay) -- the personification of Sloth; tired all of the time, honestly not really in the band - he doesn't often get involved in the making of the music, doesn't perform on stage at all, only goes to the studio from time to time to record some background vocals. Most of the time you could find Nyx at home in his room sleeping, they don't go out much often on their own so the rest of the members have to drag him out (with Kali usually being the one to bring it up). That caused of some rumours about the group having a secret member after some fans noticed the unfamiliar voice in the background of some songs and also finding images of him being with the members. On her own time, Nyx usually talks the most with Kali out of all the members, the others honestly kind of forget about her.

Important note: Triggering topics such as depression and trauma could be present when interacting with this muse.

playlist + pinterest