#decided i should just start putting band photos on my blog for me <3 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

commander-hanji-zoe · 5 years ago

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Do you have any advice for a new blog?

🌸 Oh this is such an interesting ask, I’ve been thinking about it for a few days now, sorry it’s taken a while to get back to you but I was thinking how best to answer it! While this blog has only been around for 3 years and I’ve only really started posting in it recently, I have had my main tumblr blog for 10 years and several side blogs with quite a few followers so I’m hoping I can provide some insight! I do apologise as this turned into a bit of a ramble that I feel is about tumblr but beings to overlap into life advice lol - I blame my age. 🌸

1.) I would say firstly, enjoy it. I feel sometimes there’s a lot of pressure to get loads of followers, create new content etc. and you can forget why you’re here. I got tumblr to reblog photos of things that made me happy from bands to tattoos, movie stuff, art etc and occasionally I would forget that and end up getting bogged down in comparing stats and myself to others. So yeah, enjoy it and remember why you joined ^_^

2.) If you love work that others create (writing/art/gif sets etc.) show your appreciation not just with likes but with comments and reblogging where you can/feel comfortable doing so. Likes are great and always appreciated but comments help to inspire and reblogging means more people will see their work. It encourages content creators to continue creating, it’s also a really good way of gaining followers and make friends. If you support others they will likely support you in return.

3.) Share the art/fan art/cosplay photos you love as per above - but don’t repost work. This was something I wasn’t really aware of when I first joined tumblr, a lot of people would just save photos from google or deviant art (it was a very different place back then) and post them on tumblr to show appreciation. But often there would be no artist detail or link to the artist, instead if you find something you like reblog it from the creator. If it isn’t on tumblr and you’d really like to post it here, contact the creator and ask their permission to post - then include a link in the post and explain you have the artist’s permission.

4.) Talk to people :) - Okay like Alice in Wonderland here’s some advice I could really use sometimes! Through tumblr I have met some of the most amazing friends. When I first started out I started chatting to a girl who went to the same Uni as me, we met up to go for coffee, browse record shops and saw The Vaccines together. I’ve also met numerous people who encouraged me to go to Hobbit Con in Germany - I had the most amazing time, remained friends, one of them came to my wedding. I guess the message here is that internet friends are great and you never know what a friendship can blossom into. If there’s someone whose work you admire or blog you love, don’t be afraid to reach out and send a message, even if you feel a bit silly (I often do!).

5.) Tags - My take on tags is pretty simple, tag correctly. I often tag things quite heavily but I make sure that I only tag characters that feature in a post or fandoms that feature in that post etc. You often come across posts where every character in the show has been tagged, I get why people do it, it means the post will come up in more results but it is rather infuriating when you’re looking for something specific. It also looks messy and can make things hard to find on your own blog. So yeah tag the show/film/book etc, tag the relevant characters, add whatever tags you want regarding your feelings/emotions about the post or thoughts on it. But ideally keep it relevant. On that note, tag ships (people often blacklist ships they dislike or that they find problematic) so doing this helps everyone. Anything that’s only really suitable for people 18+ tag however you see fit (due to Tumblr’s changes last year we had to revert to tagging things on the citrus scale again so I tag anything like that as lemon as well as nsft) Finally Trigger/content warnings - I do use them, some people put warnings on everything, some people don’t do at all. Again like with shipping it is helpful for people who have

6.) Remember to take breaks - tumblr can be a little addictive and easy to pass time (like social media) so remember to take breaks, when you get back they’ll be loads of new stuff on your dashboard to look at ^_^

7.) Follow loads of blogs! I probably should have put this higher up. But have a think about the kind of content you want to see and spend some time searching for blogs that fit that, I also find it’s nice to follow some more aesthetic blogs or blogs that are calming/relaxing, seeing things like that on my dash is always a reminder to have a breather!

8.) Enjoy playing around with themes - decide what you want your blog to be about (and remember there’s nothing wrong with having a main blog that’s a little bit of everything you love as well as personal stuff!) and then have fun with the settings. There’s a lot of free tumblr themes, some of which are pretty neat and user friendly in terms of customisation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you’re stuck.

9.) Side blogs are also really great. I begun to create side blogs because I didn’t want to spam my main blog with Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, Red Dead Redemption 2 or Attack on Titan, so I created side blogs. I still post about all these things on main but not as frequently. A side blog can also be good if you want to create a blog you can share with employers - I have a side blog for my photography and one for my writing. Sideblogs are also a good way of keeping certain material away from the blog where people in real life are most likely to find you. Generally I won’t post 18+ material on my main blog, so smutty fan fiction etc. goes on the side blogs. As a side note, when you have a side blog you cannot like posts or ask questions as that side blog - it will be from your main blog.

10.) Try not to get disheartened if you create original content and it doesn’t get a lot of attention at first. When you create a blog it can take time to gain followers/traction. But remember as per point 1, that Tumblr should be fun and creating content should first and fore mostly be for you and your enjoyement. But if you continue to create, tag appropriately but also show appreciation for fellow creators there’s no reason why in time you won’t flourish. And as per point 3, if you reblog others work there’s a chance they in return will reblog your art.

11.) There’s extension kits you can get for tumblr, I know some people use them and find them helpful. I’m not sure they’re as poplar/needed now as they used to be. I used to use one but don’t feel the need now, however might be worth a google or asking someone more knowledgeable to see if it’ll work for you.

12.) You can blacklist tags through settings, if there’s any ships, characters, things you’d rather not see on your dash or that you find upsetting or triggering I’d recommend blacklisting them. If people tag correctly you shouldn’t much/if any of it.

13.) Under blog settings you can also choose whether you want your blog to be searchable via the email address you registered with and on google. I switched this off pretty much as soon as it became a feature! My blogs, even my main blog are a piece of me which is only shared with a select few people in real life. I really do not need my colleagues, employers, certain family/friends finding this!

14.) Use Queues! I adore a queue.... Once I discovered they were a thing I try to have around 100 posts in my queue on main at any time. You can amend how many times you post a day (mine is around 8-12 times, I change it when i go away). It just means your blog remains active even if you can’t really log on for a week or two or if you’re on holiday. Occasionally I’ll add original posts into my queue with writing, it can be nice to come back and see the feedback. A lot of people put ‘queue’ in the tag, but you’ll realise most people have a quirky tag. For example on main mine is - one does not simply queue their way through tumblr. And on my red dead blog it’s - I had a god damn queue! Sadly on here I haven’t got one yet!

15.) Finally I would say engage in discourse as little as possible. It can be tempting and while drama can be fun for a while, even just to watch from the outside it can quickly escalate into something nasty and toxic. At first you might want to join in but tumblr can be, well it can be a lot at times and very noisy with everyone screaming their opinions and trying to be louder than the person before. I would say no fandom is inherently toxic, but it happens. A fandom I was heavily involved in last year had so much discourse and there was so much drama that even though I wasn’t involved in it my anxiety was through the roof, I had a panic attack over it and felt paranoid. After speaking to other older members in the fandom I felt much better (they too were annoyed with what was happening) and we realised that essentially a lot of it boiled down to a real lack of critical thinking. I’m not saying don’t get involved at all, sometimes I have seen things where I’ve felt things need to be said/action taken especially when it comes to intolerance and hatred. But I would say when you do engage - pick your battles. (I hope this last one makes sense). I started writing a lot more and going into the politics of it and ranting about bigots and then thought that’s probably enough! 😁

I hope this post helps! Like I said I’ve never been asked something like this so it took a bit of thinking but these are some of the key thoughts I had.

edit - I meant to add that obviously the above is just my opinion and based on my experiences on tumblr/thoughts about things.

#asks #blogging #tumblr stuff #advice I guess?#rambling #non aot #non snk

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japanessie · 6 years ago

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Hi Shelly! Hope you're doing well! Thank you so much for this blog, it is so very appreciated because as I discovered MFS through OOR, I was nearly discouraged from the band by all thr comments and the lies. Thank god I decided to learn more and came across your blog. Now I wanted to ask you about yout thoughts about yesterday's Coldrain show in Paris, specifically about what Masato said when he was asked about a collaboration with My First Story. And he was like noooo, if it's One Ok Rock yes.

Hello 😊

Thank you for writing to me and thank you so much for reading. Always happy to hear from a fellow fan 🤗

【If something has never been said or discussed with the other party, isn’t it wise to just answer “No"?】

Honestly, I don’t see anything weird or sinister with Masato’s answer. He was being professional. At the very least, a collab already happened between OOR and Coldrain. They probably talked about more future possibility during their hanging out time together. Masato could only answer on behalf of Coldrain that they’re not doing anything with MFS and he also was not in the position to answer on behalf of MFS either. Hence, “No" is the right answer here, isn’t it?

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

Now let’s see things from Masato’s point of view and not our angle as ordinary fans. Artists do collabs mainly for TWO reasons. One is the fun factor and the other is for what it can bring to the table (either creatively or even business benefit).

1. The “fun factor" ~ Coldrain and OOR are peers and real life buddies

The two bands started not too far apart and were in the same scene before OOR became exponentially bigger. They are “brothers". The “When I get married you’re my best man, bro,“ and “Bro, you’re in town? Let’s go have a drink!” kind of friendship. They meet up when they can and hang out. Did you see Masato celebrating Taka’s birthday in Hong Kong 😁?

For two groups of people to work together voluntarily, isn’t it imperative that they should also be able to gel together well?

Though they are also friends with MFS, they don’t really have that kind of friendship with each other as bandmen. Hiro in particular, besides being Taka’s lil bro, was more like a mere fanboy of Coldrain in the early days. Certainly not a peer because Hiro was just a rookie bandboy at the time.

OOR’s Skyfall certainly falls into the “fun" category. They did it as friends. The main songwriter was Mah from SiM. They put it together with John Feldman whom OOR was working with at the time. Roping in Ken (Crossfaith) and Masato, it was obvious they did it for the sheer enjoyment as J-Rock peers and real life buddies 😊.

Between OOR and MFS, it’s a no brainer that Coldrain would pick OOR. They already have the working chemistry with OOR. They’re closer and they know each other better which are important factors if you want to work together.

2. Would it bring something to the table musically?

There’s a reason why artists tend to collab with those as far outside their genres or styles as they can. You want to create something new. You want to bounce ideas from each other which you probably wouldn’t think of within your own group. You want that freshness but most of all, the challenge. So you can learn or at least appreciate each other.

Coldrain fans might remember the time when Alexandros invited Masato to feature in one of their songs?

youtube

Now THIS is a good creative collab 😍! Both sides stepped out of their comfort zones and ended up producing something you wouldn’t normally get from each of them.

Honestly, I can’t envision a Coldrain/MFS fusion to even give us anything new musically 🤔. The most it can achieve is them looking cute together 😂.

3. It’s pretty pointless from a business angle

You do collab to expose yourself to the other party’s fanbase. Coldrain and MFS pretty much share the same crowds. In other words, the OOR crowds 😑. Their fanbase won’t expand that way. MFS knew this and had already stepped away from touring with similar artists since 2016. The closest MFS got to “revisiting" those crowds was when they invited The BONEZ. I think that’s more because The BONEZ bassist T$UYO$HI, formerly of Pay Money To My Pain, also works professionally alongside MFS’ Sho and Nob as sessionist musicians.

Just from this factor alone, the Coldrain x MFS collab is already unlikely. What’s the point of Coldrain doing that with MFS when they already got the same exposure and even more impact with OOR?

4. Coldrain & MFS’ paths don’t really cross

Where and how 🤔?

Coldrain has already been in and out of Japan for years doing overseas tours and performing alongside non-Japanese artists, even before OOR did. MFS, on the other hand, insists on not touring overseas till after doing Tokyo Dome in 2021. At most they do one-off shows like Taiwan and China.

How about Japan? Well, MFS also is not focusing on bands from the OOR crowds like Coldrain to tour with nowadays. Apart from the occasional music festivals, Coldrain & MFS actually walk on two different roads.

5. A collab with MFS at this point will make Coldrain look like an “opportunist"

Masato and Taka are “bros". Yes, they had worked together. Yes, Coldrain had been invited to be on OOR Tour too. Now imagine if they suddenly announce working with MFS. It will look like they’re trying to cash in on the Moriuchi brothers’ popularity. Yikes! 🙊

Back in 2013 or 2014, it might not look bad at all but this is 2019 and MFS already surpassed Coldrain in terms of sales and marketability. Coldrain tagging along with MFS after working closely with OOR will only imprint an image of an opportunist.

“Oh, so you are doing both brothers, huh?“

6. Japanese artists sometimes refer to “touring together” as collab

This is something I’ve been observing quite some time. It seems like the word “collab" isn’t limited to working on a song together to them. Forget doing a song, there is not even any indication nor inclination of Coldrain getting invited to be on MFS Tour and neither is MFS getting invited to be on Coldrain Tour. No. They are each focused on their own marketing strategy to strengthen their fanbase.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

There is no bad blood, don’t worry

I know some people like to talk garbage about “so-and-so-hating-so-and-so" and whatnot. In case someone tries to do so, please feast your eyes on these photos.

An old photo of Hiro with his natural black hair and Coldrain bassist RxYxO 😊.

Hiro fanboying at the back …. LOL. Told ya he’s a Coldrain fan 😉

If you can find any video of Coldrain’s performance at Japan Jam Beach 2015, you will see that Hiro actually stayed throughout Coldrain’s set 😊. How cute!

Also, I’m positive that Coldrain got invited to do VAMPS Halloween Party 2017 after HYDE opened the door to MFS before that in 2015. Indirectly, MFS does make a good impact on the highly respected senior JRocker which have benefitted bands like Coldrain too 😍. Rottengraffity was invited in 2017 too. Nowadays, HYDE has also worked with Pablo (Pay Money To My Pain) and is regularly seen catching up with OOR here and there 😊

So, there. It’s all good! See? 😉

Oh my God *gasp* 🙊, I ended up answering this long …. as usual LOL 😂

#reply #my first story #coldrain #one ok rock #maifasu #マイファス

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milkmoneyzine · 4 years ago

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"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" #3

#Follow4FollowMyGuy asks: As an artist in uncertain times, how can I keep promoting my music from quarantine?

M$: The first thing you need to do is find some compromising evidence on a friend that runs a website. Then you blackmail them into letting you write a pointless Advice Column that no one actually cares about. That’s the most important place to start.

Once you’ve got that secured, and the money from the blog is flowing endlessly into your account, then you just hustle. Hustling is a lost art these days. There are so many online outlets, and so many different social media platforms that it can get overwhelming pretty quickly. The key is to not let that happen. Focus on one or two at a time. Get weird on Twitter and sneak in some links. Ask for questions on your Instagram story, then find a way to relate your answers to songs you can post. Dive into the hellscape that is Reddit and find a thread that your music fits with, and drop a link. Not all of this is going to work, but it’s worth a shot.

The other important thing to remember is that you don’t have to promote a specific song, or an album, or a video. Just interact with people. Everyone else is online all the time, so just be visible, be friendly, and be accessible. As long as you’re doing something online, no one is going to forget about you.

Maybe don’t use the band page to drop heart eyes on thirst trap photos. Slide into those DM’s from your own account, you know? The last thing you want is the fucking bass player seeing their reply first and stealing your thunder. But then again, all is fair in love and hardrock.

Dan Price asks: Can I have your milk money?

M$:

@FiendingForMosh asks: When are shows coming back?

M$: The real answer is that no one knows. Probably sooner than you think, which is also probably too soon. It’s kind of a lose/lose situation.

Live music is in a weird spot. To go from “Everyone needs to practice social distancing until we can get a handle on this extremely contagious thing” to “Well, it’s not contained, and we don’t have a vaccine, but fuck it. Go ahead and pack as many people as you can into a tiny, poorly ventilated space and let them all slam into each other” in the span of a couple of weeks seems insane.

There are some medical experts that say live shows shouldn’t start again until 2021. That’s not going to happen. That can’t happen. Every place that relies on a steady stream of smaller touring acts and local shows—which is almost all of them—will close if that’s the case. No one wants that. Venues need to make money and bands need to make money. The only way to do that is with shows.

What’s going to be really interesting is seeing who takes the risk. Some bands are going to hit the road two days after “shelter in place” ends. There will be venues ready to host the shows, and people dying to see them—no matter who that band is. The very idea of getting back out in public and seeing their friends is going to be enough for a lot of people. Those bands are probably going to do pretty well, and play for a lot of grateful people every night.

Then there are going to be other bands that take the whole rest of the year off. To them, the juice won’t be worth the squeeze. They’ll stay home, write new songs, make a new record, and continue to wait it out. The bands that take this route are probably the bands that are a little more established, and have other sources of income. Some bands can afford not to tour. Others can’t.

There are also going to be a lot of people who just don’t trust anyone in a large crowd for a while.

“I’d love to see that band. But there’s no way in hell I’m going to stand in the dark while a drunk, sweaty guy—still wearing a heavy denim jacket in fucking July for some reason—brushes his damp hair across my face as he tries to squeeze through an already tiny space.”

It’s weird, it’s scary, and it’s pretty unprecedented. But it is going to be okay. Live music will always be something that people enjoy, and there will always be someone who figures out how to make the most of it. Things aren’t going back to normal anytime soon, but maybe that’s a good thing. It gives everyone a chance to decide what the new normal is.

There is one upside that could come from this, and one that Milk Money wholeheartedly supports: Maybe venues/bars/clubs will actually keep their bathrooms clean, stocked, and operational.

Ahhh, who are we kidding? No one is going to learn anything from the last five weeks.

XtestpressX asks: Who are M$’s favorite current #SLCHC bands?

M$:

M$ PRESENTS THE #SLCHC2020LOVE THE MIXTAPE: 1. Victim To None - Sacred 2. Devoid - Another Life Wasted 3. Ape $hit - Pretty Neat ft. Dea Giokas 4. Degeneration XXX - Bitter End 5. Dirty Mike - Angel (Prod. by Teemane) 6. Zodiac Killer - Serpent's Tongue 7. Crow Killer - Close Grip 8. Witchtrial - Burn 9. Absent - Dimmed Love 10. Tamerlane - Absense

Run tha trak!

Milk Money Mixtapes

M$ presents #SLCHC2020LOVE The Mixtape

@StatuteOfLimitations asks: What is your wildest tour story? Dan$: As all of Milk Money will attest, my memory is not the hottest. But I’ve been blessed with a metric shit-ton of sketchy/amazing tour experiences, so here’s a montage of pretty true events... - Coming up with the idea for Milk Money with Trevor on west coast Cherem runs.

- Roger Miret teaching me his prison workout regimen in an old church in Switzerland.

- Watching Madball and Obituary festival sets in Turino, Italy from the fancy comfort of an above-ground pool.

- Breaking up fights between American soldiers and German hardcore kids.

- Breaking up fights between American soldiers and Japanese hardcore kids.

- Getting into fights with American soldiers in foreign lands.

- The time Lord Ezec asked me if I wanted to smoke some crack with him.

- The time the moon crashed into Idaho.

- Hiding outside the backstage tent of symphonic metal cover band Apocalyptica in a giant mud puddle during a Czech Republic downpour with Vinnie Stigma, waiting for them to take the stage, so we could sneak in and steal coffee from their espresso machine.

- Taking Matt Mascarenas to the beach for the first time in his life.

- Fuck Nick Cannon. - Watching an aggro road-rager freak and back down a steep-ass, 500-foot grassy slope into a cow pasture after he pulled us over to fight. - The Lightkeeper’s Trail (What's good, Countdown to Life/Broadway Calls?!?!?!) - Watching Sparky from Demented Are Go bite the head straight off a dead rat, pound a bottle of vodka, and say, “That’ll clean it up.” - Chasing a not-be-identified drummer from brothel to brothel in Graz, Austria to watch him dance with girls for a few seconds before running to the next brothel… just to make sure he didn’t get left behind by the bus.

- Not joining Hatebreed in a backstage jacuzzi full of actual erotic dancers. - 30 Seconds to Mars telling us we were “pretty heavy” when we shared a venue in Minneapolis. - Moshing in a Drum’n’Bass tent at a Euro festival with a not-to-be-identified NYHC band who were skying way high on ecstasy. = Learning so many important lessons the hard way while making all of my closest friends cuz… hardcore. Trevor$: I don’t have nearly as many globe-trotting adventures as Dan, but some of my favorite moments with my friends happened on tour. - Spending two full days at a Fazoli’s (the only kind-of vegan option in the city) in Grand Island, Nebraska on our first tour because the transmission went out 13 hours after we bought the van. - Directions to a venue that were “Turn left at the women’s prison, and drive to the end of the road. It’s in the junkyard.” Once inside the junkyard, getting the instructions “Stay away from the fences. That’s where the ladies have ‘yard time’ and the guards in the tower get really angry when we talk to them.” - Air guitar and autographs with a drunk guy named “Deth” in Tijuana. - Almost having to fight a promoter in New Mexico because he accused us of stealing a microphone, only to find out ten minutes after leaving that Bill accidentally put it in the pocket of his cargo shorts and forgot. - Swimming too far out in the Florida ocean and getting stopped by the beach patrol just before the shelf drops off and all the bull sharks hang out. - Going on tour without confirming anything, then having to beg every promoter to let us play when we showed up. - Trying to pretend there wasn’t a fight happening in the crowd until Jake pushed his drums out of the way to jump in at every single out-of-state show Tamerlane ever played. So what we're saying here is, once this plague blows off, GET IN THE FUCKIN VAN CUZ LIFE IS SHORT AND YOU SHOULD LIVE IT!

Until next time, this is Milk Money saying, “Tamerlane is not the Five Finger Death Punch of Salt Lake Hardcore."

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writing-in-the-impala · 7 years ago

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Hey Darling: Part 5

Pairing: Rob Benedict x Reader Misha Collins x reader

Series Summary: You’re new to conventions but it’s okay because you meet some pretty amazing people, including Rob Benedict.

Warnings: Swearing, angst, suggested smut

Word Count: 2894

A/N: I’m posting this from my phone because I don’t have access to a computer right now so yeah I'm using the Tumblr app which isn't too great. Also there’s massive paragraphs because on moblile Tumblr there’s a stupid 100 text blocks per post limit.

Part 4 | HEY DARLING MASTERLIST (if a part is missing or the link doesn't work just search #hey darling on my blog)

The flight was long but you spent most of it asleep when you landed it was late in Friday night because you couldn't fly in on Thursday due to filming and you didn't want to take the early flight, when you arrived at the hotel you and Misha said bye and went straight to your own rooms. You decided to open up the "g-spot" group chat and see what the girls have been talking about.

-- 20:03--

Bri: Has everyone got their stuff for Karaoke on?

Kim: Ruth and I are already downstairs we're waiting for you Bri

Bri: I'll be there in 3

Kim:

Look how hot Rob looks in this pumpkin Suit just for you Y/N

Bri: Wait is it official yet?

Kim: Y/N ?

Kim: Y/N is probably still on the plane

Bri: Damn missing her hot Robbie

Bri:Happy early birthday y/n have this sexy beast and I’m not just talking about Ruth ;)

-- 22:43--

Ruth: Where's the after party?

Kim: Brian's room, room 127

Bri: Yeah my room bring drinks!

Kim: I'll be there in a min babe

Bri: Okay, Rich, the band and Matt are here Rob is coming after he checks if Y/N has landed ( Y/N have you landed?) and Adam + David went to the shop to buy drinks

Ruth: I have some drinks in my room I'm coming to your room

You decided to text Misha and ask him if he's going to Brian's room for drinks.

You: Mish you going for the after karaoke drinks with the group?

Daddy Misha: Sure when?

You: Well 20 minutes ago everyone was on their way, I was thinking I'll go to buy some drinks and then go

Daddy Misha: I'll do the same wanna go together?

You: Sure, I'm ready when you are

Misha and you quickly went to but a six pack of beer each before going to surprise everyone in Briana's room. You knocked on the door, you and Misha with great big smiles as Kim opened the door and then squealed in joy. "Fuck guys I didn't expect this, this is so fucking awesome." She exclaimed hugging the two of you. "Hello to you too." Misha said and at that moment you realised his hand was on your back so you shifted your weight uncomfortably and he moved his hand. You walked in and greeted everyone and then you noticed Rob on the bed laying down balancing a beer on his forehead as Rich took a photo. You picked up the beer from his forehead surprising both of them. "Thanks for holding my beer." You said with a smug smile as you watched Rob's expression change from surprised to happy, he quickly stood up from the bed and embraced you in a long hug. "Hi." Hi breathed out. "Robbie are you going to let her go so I can say hi?" Rich asked and Rob let you go rolling his eyes. "Hi." You and Rich said in unison sharing a short hug.

"You said you'd ring when you arrive at the hotel." Rob said quietly. "I know but the girls and I have a group chat and they said that everyone is coming here so I thought I'd surprise you."

"Well it's definitely a great surprise." Rob said. You stayed for another hour, most of the time you spent lying on Briana's bed next to Rob and Rich, drinking beer. Around one am you decided to go to your room and Rob said he'll walk you there, you walked down the hall way holding hands until you for to your room. "It's here." You said stopping at the door. "Okay, well then I'll see you tomorrow morning, have a amazing night."

"See you in the morning Robbie." You said before the two of you kissed and Rob left to go to his room. The next day was busy yet again you were running around from place to place, luckily you did have some time to sit in the greenroom and relax. You were sitting at a table on your phone, Rob was sitting next to you on his phone and Rich was opposite you on his phone too, all of you on your phone in silence.

"Hey Bobbo." Rich said breaking the silence but Rob didn't look up. "I see you." Rich continued and Rob looked up to see Rich filming.

"Oh Jesus." Rob said putting his phone down on his lap and resting his head on his hand. "You know who else sees you?" Rich asked calmly. "DICKCHAT!" Rich shouted making Rob laugh and shake his head. "Should I ask or?" You asked confused. "It's a thing he does, Snapchats but he calls it dickchat." Rob explained to you. "Right?" You said giving Rich a puzzled look. "Just because my name's Richard, it's not dirty." Rich explained. "Alright ." You said shrugging and looking back at your phone. Not too long after it was time for your panel that surprisingly didn't include any questions about Rob, after you were done with everything you went back to the greenroom tired after everything, you lay down on the couch and drifted off to sleep. You were woken up with Rich shouting "Dick chat." And the first thing you said was "fuck you Rich!" When you woke up. “Sorry Y/N I was recording Bobbo.” Rich said woth an apologetic look. "What you doing Robbie?" You asked sitting up to look at him and he was sitting with his guitar in a chair. "Thinking of a new song." He replied casually. "Oh I want to hear." You said and he laughed at your enthusiasm. "I haven't thought of anything yet." He said picking the strings in a slow melody. "But I could play something for you if you want." He suggested with a small smirk. "I'd love that." You said and Rich stood up. "Ew couples." He said making you and Rob laugh as he left. "Okay." Rob said adjusting himself and beginning to strum and find the tune before looking at you and starting to sing.

Hey darlin', what you doing here tonight?

Your eyes are shining bright as the sun.

Hey baby, won't you look at me tonight?

Wont you make me feel like

I'm the one,

He had a shy smile as he looked down at the guitar before looking at you again.

There's one life I've ever known

Much I've changed but not outgrown

And I'm trying to make a go

Alone

But I can't see without your stare

When your voice is never there

There's a void hang in the air

At home

Hey darlin' can you dance with me tonight

Let me hold you tight

In my arms

You nodded a yes making him chuckle slightly before the pase of song got faster.

When I wake up

And I'm kicking myself

For not holding the door

When- "SNS is starting in five minutes!" One of the handler's shouted interrupting Rob and he sighed softly. "Sorry I have to get ready." He said putting his guitar down. "Damn, but that was just wow, better than you on stage of that's possible." You said and Rob grinned widley. "Well there's plenty more where that came from, I can serenade you all you want."

"You're great." You said with a smile standing up. "You're greater, anyway I'm gonna go backstage to join the guys." He said giving you a small peck on the cheek."Break a leg." You said and he just stood there not moving away. "Rob? Hello earth to Rob you need to go." You said making him laugh. "I'm sorry you're just so beautiful I got lost." He said leaning in to kiss you, it was a passionate kiss however he pulled away quickly because he actually had to leave. You decided to sit at the greenroom table with everyone as they all sat on their phones or talking to each other, Misha came over and sat next to you. "Hey." He said. "Hey I feel like I haven't seen you all day." You said."Same although I did see you kissing Rob." Misha whispered with a sad look. "What are you jealous?" You teased him. "Slightly." He whispered and you didn't know what to respond. "Sorry but you know he's my boyfriend." You said at lack of a better thing to say. "I know but I was thinking we have over a hour of SNS where Rob is busy but we have nothing to do, want to let off some steam in my room?" Misha suggested. "Misha that's-" you began. "I know it's risky, I just, please." He pleaded and you nodded. You were starting to confuse yourself, you liked Rob a lot but then there was Misha it was a safe when it was exclusive to Vancouver where Rob wouldn't find out but here when Rob is there it was too risky. You got to the hotel you guys were staying at in ten minutes and into Misha's room. "Want anything to drink?" Misha asked. "Misha I can't do this." You said sitting down in his bed. "You can't drink?" Misha asked and you sighed. "No I can't do this." You said gesturing between the two of you.

"I understand." Misha said with a sad expression sitting next to you. "I- I, you know I like you and I like well our arrangement? If we can call it that but I can't do it when my boyfriend, who I think I'm in love with although it's too early to tell is playing on stage in a hotel ten minutes away." You said tearing up feeling guilty for cheating on Rob. "Hey, hey Y/N it's okay." Misha said hugging you. "We won't say a word about this, Rob will never find out that something nearly happened okay and if you want we can stop this all together even in Vancouver because I get it you feel like you're cheating, just remember to delete the pic of us kissing in bed that I took." Misha said winking and letting you cry into his shoulder. "Just please stop crying it's okay, think of the plus you've finally said you love Rob."

"I guess I have." You said sitting up and checking your phone. "If we go back now we can make it so it seems like we never left." You said putting the phone down on Misha's bed. "Let's go then." Misha said grabbing his jacket putting it on. When you guys got back you went backstage and from there to the table everyone was sat at. "Where have you been?" Kim asked you. "I left my wallet back in my room and since we're going out for drinks I thought it would be a good idea to go and get it."

"Oh okay you know that Rob will be buying you drinks and you won't have to spend a cent." Kim said making you laugh. The rest of SNS was great as usual the band played a great show and after you all went to a bar, you were quite tired so you and Rob left early of course loads of comments were made. "Y/N can I ask you a question?" Rob asked once you two were outside. "You just did, but yeah sure what's up?" You said but he only gently smiled, something was bugging him.

"Well where were you and Misha when the show started?"

"We went back to the hotel I left my wallet in my room and Misha offered to go with me and pay for the taxi on the way there." You lied noticing Rob smile. "Okay, I'm sorry I know you wouldn't cheat on me I was just paranoid." He said quietly. "Robbie don't be scared." You said entangling your fingers with his. You two walked for a few minutes before you heard a voice behind you shout "I ship it!" You turned around to see the gang walking behind you. "You two are slow walkers, and not very subtle about your relationship." Rich said. "Shit I didn't even think there's fans everywhere." You said to Rob and he smiled. "I mean it's been two months, and we're fine, I guess we don't have to hide it."

"Rob, are you suggesting we tell everyone?" You asked slightly frightened.

"I don't see why not, we're both happy, we're bad at hiding it we might as well."

"We can't- I'd have to tell my parents first or they'd murder me if they'd find out online and not from me."

"Yeah I'd have to tell my mom and sister or they'd kill me." Rob said. "Let's wait and the we'll announce it soon."

"Soon." You echoed. When you got to the hotel you went to Rob's room to watch a movie in bed with him and some wine, however you started to panic when you noticed you were missing something. "Fuck, shit." You said checking all your pockets.

"What's wrong?" Rob asked watching you search yourself."I- I lost my phone."

"Oh jesus, okay don't panic we can find it." Rob said pulling out his phone. "I, I I'm sure it's around here somewhere." He stuttered while starting to call your phone. "Okay I'm calling you, maybe go to your room see of you can hear it and I'll listen out in here." Rob suggested and you agreed, you ran to your room which was just a few doors down to look for your phone. Rob was still calling you when all of a sudden someone answered the phone. "Hello?" The voice said. "Hi who is this?" Rob asked. "Misha, Rob I thought you'd recognise my voice ." Misha said laughing."Why do you have Y/N phone?" Rob asked suspiciously. "I don't know, I guess she left it in my room." Misha said genuinely. "When was she in your room?" Rob questioned. "Um..." Misha didn't know what to say. "When was she in your room Misha?" Rob repeated more sternly. "During SNS I offered her a drink in my room but actually she wanted to get back a soon as possible so she came in sat down and we left." Misha tried to explain. "Okay thanks Misha I'll come fetch it." Rob said through his teeth hanging up and going to pick up thevohone, no too long after you walked in.

"Not in my room." You said sitting down next to Rob. "Maybe it's in Misha's room." Rob said through his teeth. "Why would it be-" you questioned as Rob interjected. "I don't know why would it be in Misha's room?" Rob said standing up and walking away. "I can't believe you Y/N." He said stomping around.

"Hold on I'm missing something why are you all in a mood." You said your own anger starting to build over his accusations, of course he wasn't wrong but he couldn't possibly know.

"You know, I, I don't understand, I've been nothing but kind and caring and- and you do this?" Rob looked both disappointed and angry at you.

"This? What's this Robbie?"

"I found your fucking phone." He spat.

"Thanks but I'm still missing why you're fucking upset."

"You're phone was in Misha's room."

"Oh." You said realisation hitting you.

"Oh? That's all you're gonna say? You won't even apologies? I thought we were happy, I wanted to tell the world but you kept hesitating at least I know why." Rob said his voice breaking in parts he was obviously hurt.

"Rob it's not like that. Nothing happened!" You felt the tears build up. Rob took a deep breath before he started to pase in the room.

"And I'm supposed to believe that? You mysteriously leave the con with Misha and go to his room, Misha the guy who you are really friendly with for some reason."

"Rob! Please stop, nothing happened I promise!" You cried guilt pouring over you.

"Oh jesus, oh fuck this wasn't the first time was it? You guys fucking live together this is normal for the two of you isn't it?" He spat.

"Rob, please-"

"Please? Don't speak to me anymore."

"Rob I told Misha in his room that I'm in love with you, you, Rob Benedict."

"Was that before or after you two fucked?" Rob's words were like venom.

"Fuck off! That's just cruel you won't even listen to me! Honestly you don't trust me enough to go to a guys room? Do you trust me at all ?"

"No because it's Misha."

"Misha Collins, one of the nicest guys on Supernatural who fucking has a charity? Oh yes he's the anti Christ!" You said sarcasm flowing. "You know what I mean, there's no question that Misha is a great person but I knew that there's something going on I'm so dumb I should've never started going out with you."

"Fine if you never wanted to go out with me then okay, I'm leaving." You said tears flowing down your cheeks. "I'm not stopping you, please go. And here's your fucking phone, great picture by the way. " He said handing you the phone with the picture of you and Misha kissing in bed, the picture that proved it, now he just told you to leave, fuck, he was going to tell you he loved you but instead the whole phone fiasco ruined it. He watched you walk out the door slamming it behind you.

Part 6

People who’s hearts I just tore out because I ruined their relationship with Rob...Aka Rob tags: @waywardswain @supernatural-everyday @winchestergirl-13 @perksofbeingafangirl26 @natasha-cole @girl-next-door-writes

#rob benedict x reader #rob benedict rpf #rob benedict #misha collins x reader #misha collins #hey darling

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artdjgblog · 5 years ago

Photo

Innerview: Stephanie Haselman / Indie Workshop May 2005 Photo: Travis Wears, 2004

Note: Blog feature.

01) Your work seems to have quite a range. Can you talk a little about the various mediums you work in? Many people ask me this. It is not that I set out to use a certain this or that. Most of the time it is intuition, or whatever lies in the path. Sometimes it’s really what’s in front of me or whatever I find that solves the problem efficiently and effectively. Every day is different. Every day my mind is different. I sometimes get silly because I obsess over if a project should wait because the ideas could be in a totally different language tomorrow or next week. Though, sometimes I only have a small hoop to jump through…and thus, must crank it out. There are times when I will try not to approach the same thing, and in the same way twice. I do have strict rules with myself about recycling my own work…unless I truly need to. There may be a definite feel and/or look to my body of work, but I try to reach each solution in a different way. It’s more about idea and process than trying to earn cool points. I’m not really concerned with the current styles and trends in the news, books or galleries. When a person spends their time worrying about that stuff, they can become easily lost or burnt. It’s all a vessel. It’s all chaff. I was never really a fan of piggy-back riding. The majority of my time is spent not thinking, rather doing. I may pick things out of the street, off of my floor, or rummage stores/sales and keep them for my boxes-full-of-potential-goodie-use, but sometimes I never know where and how they will be conceived (sometimes they just find a place in a scrap book or on a shelf). However, there are times when I will get a certain image in my head rather quick…and I will instantly know how and why it needs to be done in a particular medium. Every time somebody starts asking, or saying why and how…or, that I’m a this or a that…I start to overthink. That’s when it can become dangerous. That’s when I consciously try to get one step ahead of myself. The only competition I have is myself. 02) Is there a particular era or movement that inspires your work with collage? There are definitely certain art & design movements and individuals that have inspired me with collage, cut-paper and a more hands-on technique. These include: Constructivism, European Art/Design, Hans Schleger, Lester Beall, Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Ivan Chermayeff, Push Pin Studio, Ray Johnson, Art Chantry, Stanley Donwood, Philip Cheaney (it keeps going and going). Really, design is collage in the truest form: cooking up a batch of ingredients to get a final product or solution…in hopes the audience will eat it up…or it sometimes eats them (sometimes it can eat the birth parent too). I started doing collage work at a young age with my older brother, simply thumbing through Mom’s magazines and cutting out fun words and imagery. Eventually, after struggling with drawing I found that I liked to illustrate with collage. It’s not that it was easier, I just enjoyed it better and I enjoyed the very hands-on appeal and variety that came from it. I could be more aggressive or I could be more subtle with it. I especially liked doing things from scratch more and more after I was taught design on the computer. I didn’t like, and still don’t like that screen barrier that keeps me from actually touching my work. The first semester at college we didn’t even touch a computer, and I was so naive to them anyway that I didn’t care. We were mainly doing a lot of hands-on, fundamental projects. It’s funny because one day I was talking with some friends about our second semester of design, and beyond. They were all gung-ho about finally getting on a computer to do their design. I mentioned how I was going to take the non-computer route of the graphic arts. They all kind of looked at me like I was stupid and told me that I had to learn the computer if I wanted to pass school and get anywhere in the modern design world. That is so funny to me now, since I’ve started my own thing and have had a little bit of success with my creations. Designing on a computer was quite a struggle at first (and still is at times). For a short time in college I even considered not doing design because the computer was a huge road block to me. However, after the struggle with myself and with computers, I soon realized what a valuable learning experience I was in. But, I didn’t completely realize that, and I didn’t really find myself until school was halfway over. My design/illustration professors hailed from Eastern Europe and Russia. They stressed drawing and more of an old fashioned hands-on approach. They taught the computer, but they also preached that the computer is only a tool. The instructors at Southwest Missouri State University (now called Missouri State University), being from a different part of the world and culture than I, had a tremendous amount of influence on me. Along with the fundamentals (which I use more than anything each day), I was taught to find my voice of expression. It took me a couple of years to really process it and really understand what I was going to do with design. When I started doing so, it was in more of a hands-on way. If illustration or drawing communicated more effectively, then so be it. If strictly a typographical method…and so-on. It was a very creative environment, with so many things mixed in the pot. Towards my last year I didn’t really have an emphasis that bent me in a significant way. I had kind of learned to put it all together, draw from that pool and focus more on idea…with the methods of reaching being unhandicapped. It was an incredible learning environment. I not only looked up to my instructors, I also fed off of my friends/classmates. The energy there is quite incredible (it’s one of the best kept secrets in the country)….that is, if you really “get it”, and are willing to partake and work. I just wish I would have worked harder. However, I think I did work hard, it just took me a bit longer to develop and see my potential. There isn’t really a formulated way of “getting it” in design (or life for that matter). The “getting it” comes more individually…finding that certain thing that lights the fire. After visiting several design firms and professional working atmospheres, I would always come home disappointed and unfullfilled. I felt the things that I could do best, and really enjoyed doing, weren’t found in a lot of design firms. And being very protective of my creative abilities, and very private, I did not want to work in a potentially smoothering situation. I don’t see anything wrong with designers working in those environments, it just wasn’t my calling and I just didn’t want to go that route personally. So, after doing a few music related projects on the side and being inspired by a lecture from legendary designer Art Chantry (who simply told me, “Expect to starve…several times over.”), I decided to drop-out of school, move to Kansas City and begin my own design adventure. Fortunately, I kind of hit it at the right time because music poster designers are getting a lot more creative recognition than they used to. Of course, now you can throw a rock and hit a poster designer. 03) You obviously do a lot of work for local bands in Kansas City such as the James Dean Trio, Namelessnumberheadman, and The Elevator Division. What can you say about the local music scene there and how it has influenced your work? In college I befriended the band Elevator Division, started designing for them, and we all eventually moved into a large, old house in January of 2002. For over two years that orange and poop-brown Kansas City ghetto home leaked with productivity. It was an incredible creative monster at it’s peak of development…DJG Design operated out of an old photography studio in the basement and a nook in the garage that was literally made out of old doors and mattresses, Elevator Division practiced and recorded in the basement (along with four or five other bands/projects along with a part time recording studio), there was creative writing brimming out of the top floor and much chaos on the two floors in between. At one point you couldn’t fit another person in there. Full-time inhabitants were sleeping on floors and couches and touring bands/musicians would stay there about every other weekend and there was always a visitor or two. I think there were close to ten or twelve people actually living there at one time (which I’m sure is illegal). When we sat down to do the exact family tree of our time in the house it was astounding as to how many people stayed or lived there….we even had rats coming up from the local doughnut shop and random birds coming out of the walls…even a cat or two. However, all great towers are toppled and thus Bunker 5032 collapsed in the Spring of 2004. I am very thankful for the time we all shared, and we all peacefully departed our own ways. A lot of things came and went in the wake of that, but I think we all took a little bit of that magic with us. The thing I miss most is the brotherhood we had. We all helped each other, and not just as friends but on a business scale too. For instance, the bands that lived there (I think there was about three or four at one time) and the ones that visited, all needed graphic design…and I could easily be found tormenting myself in the dungeon. For some of my clients/friends who didn’t have a key to the place, I developed a special knock on my West basement wall for them so I could run up and let them in. I’ve never really had to go out of my way with self-promotion…it has been mostly a trickle-down effect. So, this is how I officially started my design odyssey. This is how I was creating at such a rapid rate and meeting so many bands and people that needed my sword of protection. One of my favorite memories from that time is when I was creating the packaging for Elevator Division’s “Whatever Makes You Happy” EP. I had wrestled with my design for a couple of months, and finally completley changed it at the last minute of the production process. This project was made out of cardboard, with each design individually cut, glued and spray painted by my shaky hands. In one of the biggest rain storms that I can remember, my idea (and I) came alive like Frankenstein’s monster. I was spray painting out of a small room in the basement and was starting to get a little nauseous from the fumes and pure madness of it all. In the third hour, a loud crack of thunder shook that mighty house frame and I bursted out of the basement in a large puff of red, and with red paint streaming out of my nostrils, ears and hair. I then dived off of the front porch, head-first down the small grass embankment and into the gushing current in the street…all of this in full view of the drug dealing squatters that stayed across the street. Anyway, it is one of my favorite designs and favorite design moments. Since moving my operations into a small apartment on my own, and not really getting out to shows much, I don’t have the outlet for client potential and client relationship like I once did. Though, I gained great assets in privacy, two kitty cats and keeping things in order, it was a strange transition because the life in some of my friendships died a bit and I didn’t know how I was going to continue my design quest. In the past year I haven’t done the amount of work like I did in the first two years, but I am still doing a lot. And no matter how much I do I still need more to pull out from under my pillow in the morning. I do set goals to make at least fifty posters a year, but I always feel like that’s a wimpy goal to accomplish. My main client right now is The Brick, a really great music venue in Kansas City, Missouri. I still make posters for other various shows/bands/musicians, but the ones I do for The Brick are always some of my favorites. I also have an exhibition there every December. It’s kind of a yearly DJG Design bowel cleaning. I still design for local indie lable The Record Machine from time to time and anyone else who comes knocking. I also have many things in the works and some plans to get my name out a bit more too. A milestone in my new place was having sixteen nice design girls from Iowa State University visit. It was so nice. I don’t think I could have done that while living with a bunch of guys. There is a pretty decent music (and art) scene here in Kansas City and in Lawrence, Kansas. Though, at times it feels non-existent. But, perhaps that’s because I’m not really into the whole thing…which is kind of strange because I like music and I like producing music graphics. Also, scenes can be very band wagon-like sometimes…and sometimes bands have to show their worth by making it in other cities before they are fully recognized and appreciated here. The older I get the less shows I go to, or even want to go to…I kind of maxed-out my concert punch card a couple years ago and I am usually too broke or tired. It’s not that I don’t care, I kind of just stay home more, watching movies and studying…or designing. It’s kind of funny how I slipped under the radar here. I am so out of a loop that is so small and fragile that the people who are in it are probably behind at times too. I’ve got nothing against it all, it’s just kind of interesting how I’m not really a part of it. I’m well into my fourth year here, and though I’ve got my work up around town, and nationally recognized in magazines and books…it seems like I’m still not really known here. I’m ok with that though. I’ve always kind of kept a low profile without even trying to. I just get up and do my thing. And as a designer I don’t really have to show my physical face…though, I guess I do expose many faces of myself through the work. But, that’s left up to subjective interpretation. Anyway, It would be detrimental for the city if they had to watch me give the six o’clock news every night. 04) Your paintings and illustrations seem to feature a lot of animals. Is this a personal interest of yours? My most vivid memories/experiences have all involved animals in some way. Growing up on a farm extremely helped me pass the time. I was never bored. There was always a new adventure and animals played a major role in my life. I have too many random incidents and stories to tell (and I do not want to take up all of the indie workshop server space). However, one of the things that had a major role in my life was a dead animal backpack that my grandmother made for me. It was denim and lined with plastic for easy cleanup. Very quite brilliant and I wish I still had it. Sadly though, I think it was tossed for stinky reasons some time ago. I don’t really think a lot about the animals depicted in my work. A lot of times when I work it’s like a “Choose Your Own Adventure”. Things just keep building until they are complete, or they just kind of happen. Hardly ever do I consciously make a decision to draw an animal unless I truly need one. Once I had a thought of doing a Noah’s Ark-like tribute. Perhaps I’ll jump on the boat this instant. The best thing I’ve done since I was a child, depicts a lonely handicapped water buffalo that I brought to life while on hold with the phone company. Sadly though, precious Mortimer was stolen at an exhibition…and more so, I did not have any copies, slides, or scans…nor can I even begin to reproduce him. He is sadly missed each day. Hopefully he will come back to me, and justice will reign on the poor soul(s) who cheated me. If I do really start thinking about animals…which you have gotten me to do… well, apart from animals adapting to man and invention, I think about how they haven’t really changed much (at least from my unscholared animal knowledge). I find their need for survival and reproduction so much more intelligent and superior than ours. Sometimes I sit and wonder what my voice sounds like in an animal’s ears…or what their thoughts are about me. I also think about the beast in man…that constant wrestle. And if I could be an animal, I’d perhaps be a centaur with dust mops as hind legs with a cookie dangled in front of my crooked teeth. However, most centaurs prefer to romp naked, and I would not be comfortable with that. 05) Personally, I’m interested in how an artist’s childhood has influenced their creative output, particularly Midwesterners. How do you think your life so far has inspired your work? While developing in my toddler and grade school bedrooms/art classes, I really enjoyed that head-to-hand doodling and scribbling…that awkward imagery, in a world that was mine (and I still do). I think that those glorious and beautiful naive drawings and things that we all did…and more importantly, our young ways of thinking…that stuff is the real meat and potatoes of life and has a higher value of truth and purity than most professional art and design, business and so-ons. Growing up on a farm in the Midwest definitely played a major role in my artistic development. It’s so interesting because I don’t know where I got my artistic jeans from. There are very few artists in my collective family tree, that I know of. As I extend those jeans in design form, my siblings are too in their own ways…my younger brother is a musician, my older brother works at Disney World and my sister has a young child of her own, so I guess she is going through all of that art and discovery stuff right now too. We were definitely raised in a rural society, but it’s almost like we never finished growing on that branch in some regards. I feel that in some weird way a mold was kind of broken. I don’t know how it happened. It’s not like we were gifted, considered golden or special by any means… we started as children like everyone else. We were always drawing or creating, every week we were into something new. My brothers and sister and I would always be in the sand box, yard, creek, timber, and bedroom, re-creating the places or things we had just visited and experienced: tractor pulls, theme parks, state fairs, museums, sporting events, cities, movies, television…you name it we framed it. I don’t think my parents ever really put a cap on our creativity or with what we could or couldn’t do, even with movies and television programming. I can remember always watching cartoons and creative movies and tv shows…sometimes violent and filthy ones. Always playing war, building forts and tree houses, drawing WWII battle scenes with my dad, dragging dead animals into the yard with the dogs, even hunting at a young age. Even in high school, when everyone else my age was moving on with dating, going out…the typical stuff, I managed to continue to hold onto a large chunk of my childhood. Sometimes I would rather spend my nights and free time drawing or researching in my room…hmmm, actually I haven’t really changed much. One of the little things growing up that I remember (and try to apply with life) is how some of the kids had the giant boxes of crayons (you know, the box that had fifty different colors or something ridiculous like that?). Well, I always had the small pack and I knew it took more than a bunch of colors or a name brand to get me where I personally wanted to go. I could go on and on about my childhood (short snippets of it can be read on my website). More importantly, I and my siblings were raised in a good home. We were taught right from wrong and we knew our limits. At times we certainly weren’t the best kids, but my parents gave us everything they could. I am very thankful for my upbringing (Thanks Mom and Dad), and I appreciate it more and more the older I get. It’s funny because when I was in high school there was a hunger in me that wanted to get out of that rural environment so bad…but, now that I’m older, it’s nice to to go back to the farm. I think that someday I would like to live on a farm, but I would want to be a little bit closer to a larger city. Perhaps I’ll even get a chicken or two. Anyway, it’s not that I thought I was a great artist as a child/young adult…I just enjoyed it. However, when I finally decided to pursue a future in art and I got to the point when I started recognizing for myself what “real” drawing and “real” design was, I realized that my skills lacked (or, at least I thought they did). This I especially found out with my first couple of years in college. It was like starting over. At times I didn’t think all of this was meant for me. It was really discouraging and I fell behind a bit. It wasn’t until my third year, after finally getting the strength to take illustration classes, that I really started getting comfortable with myself again. I really started “getting it” and learning how to apply myself to “it”. I finally started discovering things about myself again. It was such a crucial moment in my life. I was like a kid again and having fun with it…actually getting something out of it and not just doing it for a passing grade. From there I stopped wrestling with my drawing self, and with a few other parts of myself. Through the more recent years I’ve also found my eyes popping-in-love with Folk Art, Graffiti, Polish Posters, Push Pin Studios, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Saul Steinberg, Cy Twombly, Paul Klee, Joan Miro…I could go on and on. However, it seems that so many kids really find their sense of design smell by picking other people’s noses. They may be really good at it, but hand-me-downs can only get you so far before they begin to fall apart. I think it is great to study others, maybe even borrow a piece of yarn or two. Everyone does it, everyone has their influences and certain kings ‘n’ wings in their own design heavens. But, it can be dangerous if crucial development doesn’t take place on a personal level. I’m not saying that you have to be one-hundred-percent fresh, or have to go a certain route…that’s near impossible, nothing is completely original anymore. However, it’s putting your own touch on it…a thumb print…a soul. That is what gets me off the couch to do this. If I couldn’t find myself in my own work, learn more about myself, and really get my hands dirty, then I would take a scoop shovel to all of it ( and roast a hot dog or two). Somedays it’s like learning to walk again…or Indian arrowhead hunting…or plucking fatted ticks from the farm dog and squishing them with a stick…or studying for a fifth grade spelling test when the words were starting to get a bit more challenged…or stressing over who to take to the prom, when you honestly don’t want to attend…but you end up going and having a good time anyway. So, I’m a believer in everything that has made up my life has brought me to this point in this here interview. I don’t think I’m explaining all of this in the exact way that I want to…but it is close, and foremost I trust you “get it”. Thank you for your valuable time, patience and showing interest in me and my work. Spread the good word. Now, get to work! -djg

#innerviews

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ka-lada · 7 years ago

Text

Tagged!

Yooo the awesome @daniellaux429 tagged me to answer some fun stuff, thank you buddy!!

1: nicknames: The Normal™ ones: Ka, Kaka, K, Kakazinha, Ellen (my surname). My name doesn't really allow cool nicknames The weird ones: Kalada (yep funny story I will tell later), Lambe Sal (Saltlick, because Animal Crossing), Pikachu, PT, Nine, Salvadora de Pudins (Pudding Savior), Dedinhos Mágicos (Magic fingers, because according to my little cousins, I play Mario Kart very well or something), Kakaroto, Kakariko Edit: my sister said I forgot about Katita and Fofoleta All this stuff real people called me, I still can’t believe

2: gender: Female

3: Star Sign: Taurus

4: Height: 1,60m

5: time: 21:40

6: B-day: May 12th

7: Favourite bands: Coldplay

8: Favourite solo artists: Jeferson Pillar

9: Song stuck in my head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKM15TaKLUI

10: Last Movie I watched: Anthem of the Heart, it’s nice

11: Last Show: I’m currently watching the Netflix version of Erased ;3; I really enjoyed the anime, and it’s been long since I’ve seen it, the series was a good call

12: When did you create your blog? December 2012

13: What do I post: I reblog a lot of mixed stuff, things that I found interesting in some way. Funny stuff, cute animals, Nintendo and gaming things, pretty photos, anime and series content, etc. I also make gifs sometimes and reblog my own art from my art blog c: (and sometimes I vent in text posts but yeah)

14: Last thing you googled: What was the original name of the last film I saw: Anthem of the Heart = Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterun Da, almost scared me

15: Do I have other blogs: Yes, my art blog!

16: Do I get asks: Sometimes, mostly when I reblog one of the “ask meme” things :3

17: Why I chose my url: Time for the story I probably already told here: Sooo, I was in eighth grade. I had made a lot of new friends, and I was still very shy around them. And with that, I mean I barely talked to them. It was a large group and a loud one. So I wasn’t sure yet how to speak and join the conversation; I was not used to that yet. When I got the chance to be alone with one of them, I could talk normally. And some of them was surprised that I could. BUT, not all of them were really my friends. There was this person that didn’t like me or my best friend, I guess. Then he and other girl created a fake blog here on tumblr to trash all of us. At the time we didn’t know who did it, so some of us just accused each other. All my friends had a tumblr, except for me and my best friend (i think). So they just created each post tagging that person (without really revealing the name), saying bad things. When we thought they stopped, they posted about me. I didn’t expect to receive this kind of attention. In the post, since I didn’t have a tumblr, they gave this nickname to talk about me: Kalada. It’s funny, actually. It works perfectly in Portuguese. My name starts with K, so they just replaced the C in Calada. It means “quiet” or “silent”. They basically said that they weren’t sure if I could talk or if I could be trusted because of that, and honestly, it was really lame compared to what the other posts said. They didn’t really know anything about me to trash, you see. Also, they didn’t make a post about my best friend, and that made everyone thinks it was her behind all this. It wasn't.

So, I already used Tumblr by visiting manually my friend's blogs, then I just decided to make one for me. I couldn’t think of a name, so I just picked the one they gave to me lol

18: Following: 191

19: Followers: 523 in this blog, but I hope to decrease this number, since I’m currently blocking the porn bots lol

20: Average hours of sleep: What now Uhh I think 5-6 at best

21: lucky number: 2 and 12

22: Instruments: None!! I’m lame

23: what am I wearing: I got ready to go to the mall with my mom, but she canceled, so now I’m laying in my bed with jeans, a black shirt and a coat. I should really get up and put my pajamas, but I’m lazy kdfjksdjfs

24: Dream Job: I wish I could work making books (designing them or writing lol)

25: Dream Trip: I want to go to Itally, New Zeland, Australia, and maybe Disney for once

26: Favourite food: Lasagna!!

27: Nationality: Brazilian

28: Favourite Season: Summer

29: Languages: Portuguese and English

30: Eye colour: Brown

Yay now I tag: @booksloversnevergotobedalone , @re-exista , @mgjournal , @kokirisaria (lol), @bigbryan , @yureimori , @curlyhermit , @vanover-crossing , @crumpassingmaster

#tag game!#also sorry for my english #i remember doing another tag like this but who caresss #also the first four I tagged knows about the weird nicknames #I blame them

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divinitykittty · 6 years ago

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Get to know Kit

It’s the question(s) on nobody’s mind: who is divinity kittty?

Well let me just start by saying I have A LOT of time on my hands, like too much, like enough to find and fill all of this out for no other reason than because I felt like it. & with that being said, here’s some light public self reflection; hope it’s as good for you guys as it was for me!

1. Full Name

Im gonna stick with “Divinity Kittty” but you can call me Kit, Kittty or Divinity.

2. Zodiac sign

Gemini sun Aries Moon

3. 3 fears

dying with regrets, dying unfulfilled, living as a slave or vegetable.

4. 3 things I love

warm desserts served with icecream, debates and/or theory discussions, new experiences

5. My best friend

is it wrong to say, myself ...?

6. Last song I listened to

Changes / A$AP Rocky

7. 4 turn ons

sense of humor, witty come backs, strong/toned back/shoulder, intimacy that isn’t awkward or asking for something, that V line cut thing people get sometimes

8. 4 turn offs

bad breath and body odor in general! being mean to animals, being mean to servers and people who are just doing their jobs, greasy skin/hair, cowboy boots.

9. How many tattoos/piercings

I currently have 8 piercings and 9 tattoos. Actually just took out 2 rings though (not sure if ill put them back in before they close), and working on getting another tattoo or 2 soon... so ask me again in about a month lol.

10. The reason I joined tumblr

I joined tumblr like forever ago when it was fresh and new, immediately fell into the hole because I was a big dr.who, supernatural fan... didn’t really decide to actually “run my blog” until recently, because I just feel like it’s a cool platform to like be vulnerable and be myself without worrying about like local bs or anyone texting me or seeing me in public wondering “what was that post about.” Also, like I said, I’ve been here a while kind of just lurking in the shadows of my main acct, so I feel comfortable being myself here. Everyones weird and intellectual, it’s cool.

11. How I feel right now

Satisfied. I just had 2 black bean burgers and some homemade fries so.. can’t complain really.

12. Something I really really want

To RV or renovate a camper or van and just explore a couple parts of america before headed into south america via mexico+panama, into brazil for carnival, and then as far down as i can make it before catching a plane to (Australia first, and then) the East. Never to return!

13. Current relationship status

Dating a cishet man.. pray for me.

14. Meaning behind my URL

Honestly, it’s nothing really that deep. I’d say I relate to the feline community, domestically house cats, but also panthers and lions. I also practice divination in the form of Tarot and Astrology.... I Am a Divine Feline. Divinity Kittty. the 3 Ts represent Trinity - which closely relates to perfection or completion. I also Love the number 3, for creation and manifestation (Trinity again). Idk, I guess it was that deep after all, lol

15. Favorite movies

Ok so it’s somewhere between spirited away and Princess Mononoke... but also like maybe Bug or Teeth... Breakfast at tiffany’s too though, and Heathers.. Have to mention fight club of course, for the culture. and Cloud Atlas!!!! oh man. Apocolypto?? like hello! I don’t know, I’ve seen so many great movies. I really enjoy watching film actually.

16. Favorite songs

Really depends what mood I’m in but right now F Q-C and Spiral by Wilough are both greatttt on soundcloud. Never skip.

17. Favorite bands

I don’t listen to many bands anymore but I’d say maybe Tame Impala if he counts, or Cigarettes after sex.. the beatles will always hold a place in my heart too. And muse... and coldplay oh god. Sorry mom!

18. 3 things that upset me

People who don’t pay attention when I’m trying to share or express something, bills, capitalism in general.

19. 3 things that make me happy

helping/being useful, holding hands, inside jokes

20. Relationship with my parents

My dad kind of tries, but its one of those “too little too late” kind of deals. My mom is great, a bit negative and anxious, but my biggest regret is maybe I’m not expressing as much Love as I’d like to sometimes, due to my own traumas. I love her, I’m just a very casual lover. We try though.

21. My pets

At my mom’s theres 2 wiener dogs, Mocha and Lulu who sleep in my room when I’m there. My bf and I also care for a Pit named Nomu, a cat named Ashes, and her fresh little month old cubs who don’t all have names yet but theres 5 of them... for adoption btw. Please.

22. Do I smoke or drink?

Social drinker, I don’t really just like sit at home and drink for fun but I like going out for a drink and some dancing every now and then. Or wine nights. I don’t smoke... cigarettes.. haha ;)

23. Celebrity crushes

Donald Glover. Scott Mescudi. Beyonce & Rihanna (duh). Jaden Smith. Willow Smith.

24. What I did yesterday

Yesterday I made some sales, hung out with my boyfriend, saw my cousin who’s in from out of town, and pretty much just vibed for the rest of the night.

25. Something I’m talented at

Movement. I don’t know if that’s a real talent, but why wouldn’t it be. I’m really good at moving my body, like dancing, yoga, posture, flexibility, balance... I just like to move.

26. Number of kids I want

One day, maybe like 2. Really I only want 1 but I’d have 2 just so they won’t be lonely growing up.

27. 3 habits I have

If I’m not careful I can easily spend an entire day in bed, I smoke at least 1 spliff almost every day.. especially before bed, spending more than I should.

28. A lie I’ve told

The most recent lie I told was actually today, to my boss.. hear me out though, I just got this new job & she scheduled me but never gave me a log in for the schedules, so she calls me 2 hrs before my shift (opening) and I was just like oh yea “ I have to pick up my cousin at the airport so I can only come for like an hour while you find a replacement.” mind you my cousin got in yesterday... and she drove.. but whatever, I got a free day lol.

29. Something I fantasize about

Civil and/or Spiritual Revolution, my role in the war+the new world

30. My idea of the perfect date

Something outside, preferably in the sun and grass. Some kind of activity, either a game or like something where we get to create but also get to know each other better. Maybe some art or music is involved some how... last date I went on we kayaked out to a little private island and tripped half a tab, that was pretty perfect.

31. Something currently worrying me

MONEY! omg, I’m a broke ass college kid man. And im not even in school right now, can you imagine the distress. I need my bills paid, and fast!

32. Something that’s constantly on my mind

How I can be better than I’ve been.

33. A photo of myself

This is the most recent (quality) photo I have of myself, except my hairs black now... hi.

#about me #get to know me #random questions #newtumblr #newpost #divinity

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spektijim · 8 years ago

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Hello everybode!

A month ago I ran the Derby 10k for The Trussell Trust, who run food-banks in the UK.

A little more than a month ago I posted a blog about the fact that I would be dressing as a Unicorn to do it.

Well, never let it be said that I let my public down, because that’s exactly what I did, and here is the picture evidence!

1. Ears and Horn

The ears were the first thing I made, using some felt I had acquired during a mad felt-buying spree (fellow craft addicts – you know how these things happen) several years ago.

Nearly finished ears!

Being me, a lot of the felt was pink, and so it was an easy start.

Next was the horn – I decided early on that the basis of this, the most important part of the costume, should be an alice band, as many people on Pinterest had shown the way with their own unicorn horns – onto this would fit a ‘head-dress’ with horn and ears.

I used the time-honoured cereal box and toilet roll tube as a base. There really should be some kind of tribute – a poem or song – to these crafty stalwarts which have saved many a parent (and even more so their children) every end of term, Halloween or birthday party.

These were covered with tissue paper (first white, then pink) and decorated with acrylic paint and plastic gems. The inside was painted purple and eventually it was hot-glued to the alice band – hooray! My horny head-dress was my pride and joy.

Getting shiny…

Grumpy, craggy unicorn.

My pink horn. Ooh err missus!

I was just putting some extra gems on two days before the race when I realised…I nearly forgot to add the ears!

Because I’d started on them so early they had completely passed out of my memory – sadly the full ears were a little too big to work with the head-dress, so I trimmed them in half and glued them on. A sad fate but the result was pretty good, if I do say so myself!

2. T-Shirt

This T-shirt was one I bought last year for a costume, but I ended up using a long-sleeved on instead- it seemed perfect for this task, just needing some careful applique. This was my first time using applique and I have to say I am now hooked. It was much easier than I first thought and produced some great results.

I cut the pieces I wanted out of paper first, then ironed a rectangle of the bondaweb on a piece of material, slightly bigger than I needed, then traced around the original paper and cut out the shape. This worked well because, like interfacing, the bondaweb makes the material slightly stiff and easier to cut through. Then I ironed each piece onto the t-shirt – it looked pretty darn good. Sad to say I think I spoiled the perfection by securing each piece with some stitches, as it cause the fabric to ruck up in places, but I suppose it was worth it knowing they wouldn’t fall off mid race.

The lettering was in the always unpredictable 3D Pearl paints – it work eventually but the mix kept on going wrong and sinking into the fabric, hence why it’s not quite as neat as it could have been! I added extra stars with some acrylic paint and it was all ready for running!

The colours might also give a subtle clue to something. Maybe.

3. Tail

The tail was a relatively easy build – using strips of felt sewn together and then sewn into a tube (and sealed), I more or less cut of random sections of gauze to put in – finished off with a couple of hot-glued gems, of course!

On the day of the run it was attached using that age old tail-attached- safety pins!

At this point in the making I got a chance to visit the local Trussell Trust food bank in Sawley to make a food drop – a wonderful friend of mine very kindly drove me there and took some photos of the nearly-finished cozzy…

My donation to the trust!

Posing with a lovely volunteer at the foodbank!

Posing with Twilight Sparkle!

4. Finished Article

The finishing touch to my look was, of course, makeup.

I have been getting pretty good at day-to-day makeup recently (though I don’t actually wear it day-to-day, more’s the pity) but I thought I should go one better for this unicornage. Of course, sparkly was the order of the day with the majority of the leg-work being done by eyeshadow (isn’t it always?).

I used four different colours, starting with a dark blue in the corner of the eye, working through purple into pink, with silver below the eye, topped off with liquid eyeliner and mascara. So sparkle, much glitter!

5. The Race Itself

The Derby 10k took place on the morning of a lovely sunny day – thankfully it started at 9am so it wasn’t roasting (as it became at midday) but mild. I have to be honest, I wasn’t at my best – my right knee had been giving me some problems after my last 10k practice and I hadn’t run in about a week – that is a sensible part of the ‘tapering’ process common to running but it meant that I’d had no opportunity to test my leg, and was worried it might go wonky at the starting pistol or – even worse – halfway round!

I arrived a little late (thanks to putting on my makeup – damn my vanity!) and had to join a queue of about 10 million to put my bag into safe storage, as I would be starting all on my own.

The moment I dropped it off I had to hot-foot over to the starting line which was already bustling the four top tiers of runners – A-D. I was group B – as I’d waited to put my bag away I’d found myself worrying if I’d been perhaps a bit ambitious – perhaps even hubristic – as I saw much more keen looking runners in groups C and D.

It was barricaded all along the side with such a press of people I had no idea how to get over and into the fray. Eventually I was naughty and hopped over the barricade, there being no wardens around to either advise me or prevent my scandalous behaviour.

Although 10k is enough distance for you to find your pace by about mid-way and join the runners who are your natural speed-mates, it is frustrating to have to start in such a tightly packed knot that you lose valuable seconds at the off.

Still, all this aside, I tried to give it my all – I smiled at the wardens and the cameras, gave high fives to a couple of kids, waved at people pointing to ‘the nice lady dressed as a Unicorn!’ and kept up a decent pace. As I drew in they announced my time but I was wearing headphones (safe ones, I promise!) and missed it – all I knew was they were calling 58 by the time I’d collected my bag and gone to meet my friends.

I had to wait until that evening to discover that I had come in 892nd of 3208 at a time of 49:57 – my goal of being under 50 minutes was reached, if only by a hair!

I sadly don’t have any pictures of me actually running in the 10k (there were some by a professional photographer by I haven’t got the money to buy one right now – maybe another time!) but I do have one right after – as you can see, I was quite tired. Most of my makeup melted.

6. The Aftermath and What’s Next

Thanks to the generous support and donations from friends and family, my running with a pink sparkly horn managed to raise (drum roll please)….

£365!

Not too shabby! Way off my target of £1000, but I knew that goal was over-ambitious anyway. So, what’s next? Well, I plan to continue supporting the Trussell Trust in whatever way I can – I haven’t had a chance to volunteer for them yet but I have got my papers so I will be signing up soon!

If you feel that my banging on about it for ages has made you care about people who need food-banks and more, please do start a monthly donation for the trust or bring stuff for a food parcel – trust me (groan) it’s worth it! Depending on the result on the election on June 8th, we may sadly find ourselves needing them more and more.

On the running side I am planning to do the Wilne 10k in September, a nice break before a new challenge, and am also signed up to my local Park Run at Markeaton parkMarkeaton park – join us there every Saturday at 9am! Although I won’t be dressed as a unicorn there, sadly.

Thanks once again to all my lovely pals who contributed, you are awesome and I love you.

Spekti out!

Flight Of The Unicorn Hello everybode! A month ago I ran the Derby 10k for The Trussell Trust, who run food-banks in the UK.

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omgpengwens · 6 years ago

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Its that time of year again! No, not Christmas, Hyper Japan Summer! I ran out of clever Hyper Japan titles so you’re stuck with this boring one, but at least it describes the actual blog entry properly for a change!

You’ll notice I’ve not updated for a while, that’s because this was last weekend and it made me very tired because I went for the whole weekend again. Having been to the Christmas one for the whole weekend last time, I realised I wanted to check out the summer one for the full weekend. I’ll break it down by the days again, so if there is any part you don’t want to read about, I guess just scroll past it? For those of you who have no idea what I’m on about, feel free to go back and read some of my older posts about Hyper Japan (just put it in to the tag search and you’ll get a load of entries on it!). The photos throughout the blog will be a combination of those taken by me and my partner. (I can’t give proper photo credit as he doesn’t have a photography page.)

We turned up on the Friday for opening and the queue outside the venue was looooooong. What they have done in the past is go along the queue and exchange tickets for wristbands so that when you get to the front you can just wander in. This time, no such luck. We got in fairly quickly (around 20mins or so after the doors opened. No real drama as we had all weekend, I just hate queuing!). We started with the usual scoping of the area, just checking out the stalls and what is where. We’d looked in advance at the stage times to plan when to see/do various things, quite a handy feature on the website. Something that was a newer addition for this time was the Kawaii photo booth area.

There were some photo op items in the main area, but one of the stall areas was a dedicated photo area which was quite cool. We paid a visit to this on at least one occasion and it even had a ring light you could use as you chose for your photos. There was also a photo area with various backdrops in the Cosplay area. During our shopping I decided to buy a lucky bag from one of the stalls. I have been disappointed by these at Hyper Japan before but this time, I was actually quite pleased with what I got! I paid £10 for the bag and actually got a decent haul. Will aim to go there another time I think (hope the company comes back!!!).

After the usual perusing, we decided to check out the food court. As it was the first day, the food show area was not open to the public, only businesses and VIPs. There was still a good selection of food stalls but the queues seemed to be pretty huge all the time. I had the (now) mandatory bubble waffle. There was also a reasonable amount of tables and seating this time, which is usually lacking and you end up having to try and walk and eat or just sit on the floor. If you’re as clumsy as I am when eating, neither of those options are ideal!

The first live act we went to see was Ijen Kai. These guys? girls? mixture of the two? (I’m not being harsh, they all wear massive helmets so you can’t tell!) …..This…group…were described as “mysterious” and no-one knew how to describe them, where they came from (or even what planet apparently?). I watched some videos of Ijen Kai before Hyper Japan as I often do for the live acts and thought “hmmm, I think they’d be interesting to watch”. In theory, yes. The music is basically like EDM, what you’d have played in Cyber Dog or like in a Cyber Goth club potentially. The group are a 3 piece, consisting of a vocalist, a DJ and a dancer. I use the term DJ loosely here because when I see a DJ in a band, I generally think they should do some actually DJ-ing during the performance, not just press play on a laptop at the start of the song and then pretend to press buttons throughout the song (could see them genuinely not make physical contact when “button pressing” on said laptop). They were reasonably interesting to watch but I’m not sure that mid-afternoon on a Friday at this type of festival in the middle of a hall was the best setting for their performance. If we were talking like 1am in a club after a few bevvys, I am sure I would be dancing and loving life, but alas, this was not that time. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the music, but the presence was a bit lacking. The MCs seemed very nervous and apologetic which really don’t go with the aesthetic. To their credit, the dancer did go out in the crowd and try to get people involved, but I think that just the environment and time of day were not on their side. I was hoping for a bit more based on what I’d seen in advance. I think they should definitely be given the opportunity to play at some clubs over here and that would be better to showcase them as a group. I went to the meet and greet but this was a bit fumbled (due to getting a picture as well) so I wasn’t really able to say much and then was moved on. This year it seemed that there wasn’t the same emphasis on having to buy merch before being able to attend a meet and greet, which is nice really. Not everyone can afford to buy a band’s merch at these events but they still want to be able to meet and thank the performers for coming.

The next act I saw were Necronomidol. Again, I had checked them out before going as they were a band I’d heard of but not listened to. They are an all-female idol group but the music is more along the lines of heavier rock. Imagine Babymetal but more mature, less annoying and more entertaining (I’m not a fan of Babymetal, sorry to all the fans out there but they are just not my cup of tea). They were very interesting to watch with the full choreography and lovely harmonies. There were songs with difference pace throughout the set as well to change up the performance. I think they’re a group I’ll be following from now on and would gladly see again. I again, went to the meet and greet. There were no photos or autographs allowed for this one, it was just handshakes. I can understand this decision as this would take absolutely forever with the amount of people that wanted to meet them. There was a group photo taken afterwards at the group’s stall but I didn’t get in on this. All of the members were lovely and chatty and seemed really good with their English. All of them complemented my make-up and some called me cute (honestly, when they are that cute its crazy for them to say it to me). Just overall, they were so genuinely friendly throughout the meet and greet which was nice and just added to the whole experience of doing a meet and greet that you don’t always get.

We ended the day with some shopping (including sampling some of the Sake that was at one of the Sake shops). I bought 3 bottles at this stage, but in my defence, I have to make the most of it being so accessible. Especially with the opportunity to try before I buy. I must say I have a lovely bottle of Ume Shu now (I think this was the tastiest alcohol I may have ever tasted. Like I want to replace my blood with it). Looking back, I kind of wish I bought more than 1 bottle of it. The day ended at 8pm and we left shortly before this. The Friday is usually the quietest of the days and its a good chance to get a bit of a look and if there is anything you definitely want to buy you can grab it before it sells out. Day 1 was tiring enough and I still had 2 more days to go! We got back to our temporary apartment and ate kind of late ready for another crazy busy day!

Hyper Japan Summer 2019 Day 1 Its that time of year again! No, not Christmas, Hyper Japan Summer! I ran out of clever Hyper Japan titles so you're stuck with this boring one, but at least it describes the actual blog entry properly for a change!

#2019 #culture #Experiences #food #Fun #Hyper Japan #JRock #London #music #random #reflections #tired

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davidpires578 · 6 years ago

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A Minor Project

I’m finally completed some work that was under a N.D. Agreement, so I can return to regular programming, blog-wise. Look for another post in the Dark Chocolate and Sponge Cake series soon!

Meanwhile, I can talk about a small project I tackled over the last couple of afternoons in my frozen cold shop: a wooden serving tray. Maybe it is hardly worth writing about, given that it took less than 6 hours to put together, but it did allow me to explore some fun joinery that came as a result of considering various options for connecting some sort of feet to the tray top.

I’ve made many sushi geta previously, which are simple wooden tops with transverse battens, held in to the top with full length sliding dovetails, and serving as feet. If you google the term you’ll see what I’m talking about.

The issue with that sort of construction, even with a top as narrow as 6″ (155mm) across, is that seasonal movement in the top across its width will leave the end of the dovetailed battens either protruding or slightly recessed at different times of the year. It’s no big deal, considering what they are used for, but it is nonetheless a drawback to that form of connection. The exposed dovetail joint is also a decorative feature on the geta, a sort of message most people will get, if that’s going to be part of it, design-wise. If you’re not interested in such messages, then it’s a drawback to have the joint exposed.

Also, while a flat-bottomed batten is a relatively simple thing to produce, in order to have a piece that will be less prone to rocking from bottom surfaces that are not co-planar, or are bowed slightly by movement of the top, one might resort to hollowing out a mid-portion of the batten undersurfaces to produce, in effect, a pair of ‘feet’ at either end. This is what I’ve been doing anyhow, and on recent pieces I’ve taken to more deeply machining out a hollow in the bottom surface which leaves much more pronounced 2-footed look.

With a wider top board, even if one were to employ quartersawn material, the dimensional difference between the width of the top (which shrinks and swells) and the length of the battens (which hardly change length at all) would be evident at both the driest and the wettest time of year, so it is an even less ideal solution when you get into wider tops.

And if you’re going to shape a batten’s undersurface to produce 2 contact points widely apart, then you’re well on your way to another form of feet for the tray altogether, one consisting of 4 separate feet instead of 2 battens. That way the feet can float back and forth with the movement of the top board. The batten doesn’t serve much purpose besides that of a foot in a sushi-geta, so though simple, I thought more about having 4 independent feet on the tray.

Along those lines, I considered different ways one could connect those feet to the top. There are plenty of options, and in thinking about placing feet so that they meet the perimeter of the top in some locations, one consideration that came to mind was thinking ahead as far as the chamfering is concerned. It’s an issue with the regular exposed end of the sliding dovetail batten form of construction – it is a joint interface which doesn’t lend itself well to chamfering unless you also partially house the batten sidewalls into the surface.

So, with those considerations in mind, this is the solution I decided to explore, by all means not the only one, but one which I think may have a certain usefulness.

I’m lucky to have an off-cut chunk of quartersawn Honduran mahogany, and that seemed like a good piece with which to make a large serving tray. In preparation for the layout and joinery, I leveled the bottom surface:

Despite a clean appearance, the board had a 3″ (76mm) long slightly scalloped band in the surface, which you can faintly see in the above photo after the first round of passes, and there was no point taking many shavings to get rid of that dip when just 3~4 heavier passes, one of which you see above, did the job. Obtaining a clean, tool mark-free surface is the goal regardless of how many passes one takes, and that was managed somehow.

Then, entirely on the mill, using a sequence of cutters and operations, I produced some double-dovetailed sliding trenches at four points:

A closer look reveals the double dovetail trench:

Then some chisel work followed to clean up the interior abutment:

A small block of tight-grained cocobolo, 4″ (105mm) square and 1.25″ (30mm) thick provided enough for the four feet:

As the run of the grain is aligned between the top and the sliding dovetailed feet, I could have glued without the usual concern for seasonal movement working over time against the connection. But instead I decided to do the connections dry, using just the friction of fit between the parts, and trust that to hold up over time:

This piece will be in use in our home, so I can observe how this dry fit joinery approach plays out over the years. I’m not much concerned though, as I’ve plenty of other pieces with dry-fitted joinery in my living room and they’re doing fine.

Besides, cocobolo, being an oily wood, it tough to glue and my strong preference in that case would be a special epoxy that I have for oily woods. While mixing a bit of glue is no big deal, after a brief mulling over I concluded ‘some other time perhaps’ for that way of doing things. Let’s try something else this time.

The foot starts its journey, a hand press-in to start:

Then a mallet does the persuasion:

I know there should be final ‘all the way in’ pic inserted here, but I forgot about taking a picture, so…

…and there we have it, four feet fitted:

#woodworking #wood #working #miter #saws #Woodworking

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jessicakmatt · 7 years ago

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5 Ways to Promote New Music Way Before Your Release Date

5 Ways to Promote New Music Way Before Your Release Date: via LANDR Blog

Promoting your new music shouldn’t start on the release date.

Waiting until your music is released to start promoting is way too late. Effective music promotion starts months before it’s out.

A solid pre-release campaign can build excitement for your release, grow your audience, and turn casual listeners into real fans.

But where do you even start? And more importantly, how do you make it work while still having time to finish your music?

Here’s five tips to help you get the most out of your promotion efforts during the time leading up to your release.

But first…

Set Your Release Date!

Whether your music is finished or not, you need to set your release date.

Setting a release date to aim for has tons of benefits, like helping you decide how to manage your time and providing some healthy pressure to finish.

Once your music is mixed and mastered, use digital distribution to set a custom release date for your project on all major streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music.

Just fill out your custom release date on the fourth step of the LANDR release builder, and your music will be live in all stores on the same day—just be sure to leave enough time in advance.

It’s possible to choose a custom release date as early as 7 business days in the future, but give as many days as you can (2-3 weeks) for a better chance of your release being live on the same day.

1. Find the story behind your new music and tell it

Every album, every song, every chord has a story inside it. Your promotion efforts should tell it.

Figure out what’s interesting and unique about your new music and tell your story in the lead up to your release.

Examples like Bon Iver’s hunting cabin or Tennis’ husband and wife sailing trip tale show that stories can add a whole other layer to your music.

Promoting your own music can feel pushy or overwhelming. Telling your story makes your promotion more personal.

To figure out your story, ask yourself:

What inspired me to write my music?

Was writing it in response to something significant that happened in my life?

Where was I when I wrote and recorded it?

What are the ideas behind my music?

What’s the connection between me, my instruments, bandmates, and collaborators?

These are all good questions to get you thinking about the story behind your new music. Let everything you discover guide your music promotion leading up to your release.

At the end of the day, your music should speak for itself. But telling your story helps you keep your promotional efforts personal and genuine—2 things most music promotion needs more of these days.

2. Have a new bio and press release written and ready to go

You’ll need to have an up-to-date music bio and press release written and ready to send to venues, blogs, press outlets or playlist curators.

It’s important this is done before your music comes out and not after.

Why? Because whether you’re pitching to radio or your local newspaper, all music media outlets plan features and promotions months in advance.

Here’s some stuff you’ll want to make sure gets included in your press release:

An announcement of your release (link out to where the music can be streamed)

Short band bio

Contact info

Writing about yourself can be tough. Not sure where to start with your music bio? Read our music bio guide for everything you need to update yours.

3. Compile a list of radio, blog, peer and press contacts

Okay, now you’ve got a narrative around your new music along with a great bio and press release to go along with it. Who are you going to reach out to?

Answering this question takes either a lot of time or money. PR campaigns can be a lot of work. That’s why they’re so expensive when you get someone else to do it…

But with the right strategy, hard work and time, you can—and probably should—go it alone for promoting your release.

To get the most out of your promotion efforts, put a list together of everyone you want to pitch your new music to long before your release date.

This can be radio hosts, blogs, magazines, playlist curators, or even other bands that you’d like to cross-promote with.

Give yourself a few months to start the process. This will ensure there’s plenty of time for pitching, follow-up and other correspondence.

Response times and availabilities from the people you reach out to can really vary, so give yourself plenty of time to manage your promotion efforts.

Use your time to create real interactions with the people you’re speaking to. Don’t rely on cold calls or bulk emails. Try to reach out to a more manageable list and create real connections.

4. Update your website, mailing list and social media accounts

This one is obvious, but it really is important when promoting new music.

There are so many ways to listen these days. Fans are able to reach your music from many different directions and sources.

So make sure these sources are all up to date ahead of your release. Draft new announcements for your social media bios before your release date.

Don’t try and scramble all over the place the day of your release while trying to freestyle your messages.

Make sure everything, and I mean everything about your band or music online is up to date.

This can and should include your:

Website

Mailing list

Spotify artist page

Pinned tweet

SoundCloud bio

Promolinks page

Bandcamp bio

Facebook artist page

And all the other places your listeners can learn more about you and your music

Make sure all your information online is updated. This will give your fans the best chance to learn about your new music no matter how they listen to or follow your music.

5. Match your music’s story with a visual one

Video, photos, images and even color schemes are all part of the lead up to releasing.

They help to reinforce your story and build up some momentum during your lead-up time.

The visual element of an artist’s music has become more important than ever in the current music industry.

It can all be a bit overwhelming. But knowing the story behind your music will help you come up with a great visual element for your music promotion:

Think posters, banners, merch, profiles, website design and what you post on your social media profiles.

Working with an artist to help shape the visuals behind your promotion materials months before your release can help.

But remember, even simple posts, like your new tracks playing in your studio, a quick live jam, photos of your process or anything else that’s part of your new release are all simple ways to build momentum behind your go live date!

Documenting and sharing your process is one of the most personal and engaging ways to share your music. So try to tell your story with your visuals as well.

Steady Wins the Race

The lead up to your release takes quite a bit of planning—something musicians aren’t always known for…

But with the right patience and focus, taking care of these 5 parts of promoting a new release will put you ahead of the curve for your next release.

In the end, your music will always speak for itself. But using your lead up time in smart ways will put in more ears to begin with.

The post 5 Ways to Promote New Music Way Before Your Release Date appeared first on LANDR Blog.

from LANDR Blog https://blog.landr.com/promote-music-free/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/176592445254

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daveshevett · 7 years ago

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My Personal EDC Geek Kit

New Post has been published on http://planet-geek.com/2018/05/28/geekitude/my-personal-edc-geek-kit/

My Personal EDC Geek Kit

This month finds me in France for a few weeks, away from hearth, home, family, and all my worldly posessions. While getting ready for this trip, I spent a bunch of time reviewing what I carry in my backpack – cleaning out debris that had accumulated (A few handfuls of receipts, some cold meds, and cables that didn’t make sense anymore), and making sure I had everything I’d need while away from home for an extended trip.

Contents of my every day carry backpack.

I realized while double-checking my kit that it really doesn’t change much. And since I got here (about a week ago) I haven’t had to replace or change anything, and I haven’t gone “Dammit, I’m missing something, guess I’ll go buy it.”

Now I’m not off in the wild jungle or anything – Paris does in fact have stores – but I’m pleased to say everything I’ve needed for work, and for my various jaunts around the city, have all been pretty well covered.

Someone on Slack asked about what I’m carrying for kit gear, so I decided to quickly write it up…

OGIO Camera bag – I got this bag something like 5 years ago, and it’s been great. It’s starting to get a little worn, but nothing is broken, and it came with a rain shroud that I’ve used a few times. It has a special pouch along the bottom specifically for camera gear.

Macbook Pro 13 – this is my every day computer. I don’t have a desktop machine at home. This is both my work and my personal machine. I’m typing on it as we speak!

Camera Flash – A small electronic flash for my Olympus

Memory cards – This bag contains about 20 memory cards – some USB3, some SD, a few microSD cards, and adapters. I used to have a specialized plastic case for cards, but there’s no reason to keep them that organized. Just toss ’em in the bag.

Earplugs – These are wax custom forming earplugs. I’ve used them on overnight plane flights, or in hotels that are just Too Damned Noisy

Macbook power supply – The smallest configuration I could get

Checkbook – Yes, there’s circumstances where I may need to use a check. I will probably just pick a few checks off this and put them in my wallet soon.

My journal – I have a journal. This was a gift from my sweetie – it’s about 3/4 full of a lot of dense writing. I find the act of writing in it cathartic. It slows me down and lets me think without all the geekery

Brainwavez Delta IEM Headphones – This is my “>second set of these (and I’m using them right now). They’re still fantastic sounding, and roll up into a nice light zippered case. The only reason I replaced them was the laptop fell off my lap at one point and bent the headphone connector all out of whack. Oops

Yes, I carry a rubiks cube around. It’s a great fidget toy, and a great way to relax. Also tends to start conversations. Best time right now is 1 minute 14 seconds for a full solve. But I’m out of practice, so nowadays it’s closer to 2 minutes. Also, a friend just reminded me that I sometimes use it for showing scale in a photo. Everyone knows how big a rubiks cube is.

Generic clip-on Sunglasses – these are a pair of clip on sunglasses I got off Amazon. They work remarkably well

My work ID pass

My passport – I don’t keep this with me all the time, just for this trip. I keep it in a buried pocket in the pack, very difficult to reach unless you’re trying hard Pickpocket proof as best I can do it.

Cleaning cloth for glasses – I wear glasses. I have sunglasses. Not having a good cleaning cloth at hand can be infuriating, particularly if you’re not wearing a cotton shirt or something.

KMASHI K-MP816 10000 mAh battery – This is critical. This battery has saved my ass a dozen times. It’s your typical portable battery pack. The reviews on it aren’t particularly stellar on Amazon, but for $12, I’ve totally gotten my money out of it. It’s a good balance between weight and capacity.

LKY DIGITAL Travel Adapter – This is a nifty little cube (it’s int he black zippered case) that has also been a godsend. It is a multi country adapter, able to plug into most European countries, as well as Japan and others I don’t know about. The real kicker is it has 2 USB charging ports on it also, so at night I can plug in my laptop, my cell phone, and my watch for recharging (or my travel battery), and have enough plugs for them all.

Apple Displayport to Ethernet adapter – Sometimes you’re in a place where the wifi just plain sucks or isn’t available (like a datacenter).

Charge cable for my Android Smartwatch

WMZ Multi Charger Cable – I love this thing. It’s a single USB cable with 3 ends on it. Lightning, Micro USB, and USB-C. It’s pretty rare I need more than one at a time, but I have a very good cable in case I need to charge my SO’s iPhone, or charge my KMASHI battery. My phone uses USB-C, so I’m all set no matter what I need. The cable itself is very well built, with a little velcro keeper and everything.

A spare small USB multiport charger, just in case.

Gerber Bear Grylls Compact Multitool – So, this is a bit of a problem. This is a very small (and inexpensive) multitool that I like to have with me, because having a multitool is handy. I normally carry that inside the Altoids tin with the rest of my ‘support stuff’, but out of the last 10 plane flights, two of them have been pulled out by the TSA and confiscated. Now what I do is take the multitool out of my bag and put it in my checked luggage (if I’m bringing some). If I don’t have checked luggage, I leave the multitool at home. Frustrating, because this thing is tiny, and incredibly useful.

Altoids ‘kit’ – It’s a little hard to see in this pic, but there’s 2 altoids tins there. One is full of tasty altoids goodness. The other is a sort of emergency kit I build after reading some of the more sane prepper sites. In that second tin I carry:

Bandaids

Antibiotic ointment

Advil

A small LED flashlight

Some cash

Several rubber bands

Several paper clips (these things have come in handy SO MANY TIMES, I honestly cannot tell you. Seriously, carry some.

Some anti-itch cream

Alcohol wipes

The rest of the items are specifically for my Olympus PEN-F Mirrorless Camera. A note here – this is the first long trip I’ve taken with the smaller camera, and I LOVE IT. I’m already having ideas for different lenses to carry but my current set is working quite well.

Spare lens caps

Olympus 25mm F1.8 Lens – The equivalent of the standard ‘nifty fifty’ lens so common on 35mm bodies. It’s been okay for my work, though I think I’d like faster glass.

Spare batteries and charger. I carry 3 batteries with me, because I’m almost ALWAYS having one go down, so having one to switch to that’s fresh, and one in the wings is great They charge pretty fast, so keeping them all charged isn’t much of a challenge.

Panasonic Lumix 20mm F1.7 Lens (on camera) – A great landscape lens. Flat and easy to work with, great for scenery and tourism shots!

Olympus 40-150mm Zoom Lens – This is equivalent to a 300mm lens in the 35mm body family. It’s great for doing ‘long lens’ work, and is extremely light.

Olympus PEN-F Mirrorless Four-Thirds Camera – See my other blog post about this camera, but this is now my everyday shooter. I love it.

Leather case for PEN-F – I freely admit one of the reasons I got the PEN-F was it’s retro styling. This brown leather case completes the image, and of course works really well protecting the camera. I leave the lens cover off when carrying it around on shoots, and bundle it up when it’s on it’s way any long distance (like on a plane).

Theres naturally other stuff I have that’s not in the pic, like my cell phone, but one thing I’d like to add in is I carry a Pocketmonkey Wallet Multitool. This is a super handy thin credit card sized piece of metal that has things like a bottle opener, screwdriver, wrench, etc etc on it. I’ve used it half a dozen times, and it is 100% TSA approved (I’ve only gotten nudged on it once, where an overzealous TSA agent asked about it, took it out of my wallet, went over to confer with his supervisor, and came back “Huh, these are 100% okay. Cool!” and off I went.

I’m sure there’s stuff I’m missing. Leave a comment if you think of something I should change or get. I will probably be looking to replace my Ogio pack soon, as it’s a little long in the tooth. Something a little more outdoorsey would be nice.

#camera #edc #geek #photography #tools #travel #Geekitude #Travel

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mattyappeventmanagement-blog · 7 years ago

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Event Management - Live Event: Planning

Audience

With the event being based around university students, we targeted our audience towards students as well as people of a similar age because they would be able to relate to the artists playing the event. The primary audience were people from the all of the music courses at the university as well as media school pupils. We did however find ways in promotion to interest other people as well.

Marketing

After we finalised the details of the event, we decided to make a poster to promote the event. Callum chose to create the poster but we all had an input in terms of colours, fonts and positioning.

The majority of promotion was done via social media because, it is proven as a way to get information to people quickly and effectively. Posts were made regularly through Facebook and Instagram on both the event pages and our own. personal pages.

We announced the acts at different times to add a bit of mystery to the event, making the audience intrigued to see who else is playing. This helped us have a larger amount of posts to make as well, helping us interact with those interested in coming.

The screenshots above show the dates in which we posted as well as the number of people that we were able to reach. Towards the end of the posts we were gaining more interest which was really promising to see.

As well as virtual promotion, we decided to use the posters and advertise using physical copies as well. We printed of a load of posters as well as flyers so that we could promote the event outside of social media.

We were able to put posters up around the universities media school areas as well as in local businesses in town. Takeaways like Valentinos and Go Peri agreed for us to place our posters in their window. The venue itself also had posters up both inside and outside a week before the event took place, to try and bring in a larger crowd.

Badlands Record Company were holding an event for their store the Saturday before our event. Tom came across this event on Facebook and we all decided to go along and hand out flyers for our own event. This worked for us really well as we were approaching people interested in music. It was also great that the store allowed us to put up multiple posters inside.

Tech

Below is a list of tech equipment we need:

PA (including speakers, cables, mixing desk, microphones)

Cameras

Smokey Joes allowed us to use their PA system so we didn't need to worry about hiring one out. The camera equipment was provided by the photographers we hired for the gig.

The event was an acoustic gig meaning that no amps or drum kit were needed. This made the stage look nice and tidy and not cramped. We did this because, we have all played gigs where we were cramped on stage.

Bookings

As a group we worked together to discuss artists that we could approach to play at the event. Below is a list of suggestions that we came up with for both POM and Alumni.

POM:

Jack Cooper

Hot Beige

Dom Watton

Tandem

Courteney Yeoell

Ryan Nicklin

Lewis Shepherd

LEAH

Chloe Hepburn

Will Mawer

Conor Begley

Rosie Mountjoy

Alumni:

Harry Daniels

Ben Cipolla

Bobby Scaife

Will MackMersh

Dan Walton

Lucy Gray

Charlie Sly

Melissa Grace

Rob (Thrill Collins)

After going through the shortlist, the six acts we decided on were Jack Cooper, Courtney Yeoell, Ryan Nicklin, Bobby Scaife, Harry Daniels, and Ben Cipolla. All of these acts agreed to play, however Bobby went back on his word saying he didn't want to over play Cheltenham and Ben ended up double booking himself meaning he was unavailable as well. Ben let us know well in advance of the gig so finding a replacement was easy.

We then had to go back to the shortlist and find replacements for the two acts. We decided on Charlie Sly and Lucy Gray as suitable replacements as they both are still based in Cheltenham and both have a good following.

Unfortunately, Charlie pulled out on us the night before the event giving us no time to find a replacement. (This cannot be evidenced fully as he pulled out for personal reasons that we don’t want to display on a public blog).

Callum and Tom were both artist liaison and were in charge of talking to artists if they had any queries leading up to the event. I was the sound engineer on the evening so I also was in contact with some artists a week prior to the event discussing any tech related questions they had. Both Jack and Courteney had questions regarding the use of drum kits and full band setups with which myself and Callum dealt by visiting the venue and looking over the PA equipment to see if it was possible. We both decided the venue was suitable for a I've band if the artists wished to play that way. The final decision from both acts was that they were just going to perform acoustic sets.

The event ran smoothly and I was really happy with how things went. The only thing to look at is to book artists sooner to prevent what we experienced with some alumni acts.

Contracts

The contract above clearly lets the artist know that they will be paid via rider on the event night. As well as the contract, we created an artist information document. The document told each artist exactly where they needed to be and what exactly was happening at the event.

The artists received the above document and the contract 4 days before the event. The idea of the document was really good but I think it could have been distributed to artists a lot sooner than it was.

Promotion

We decided that we wanted to try and find cool and exciting ways to bring people in to our event. We thought that a deal with MooMoos Clubrooms would bring more people in if they could get discounted entry to MooMoos after. Callum contacted MooMoos and they got back to us saying we could offer people who attended the gig £3 entry to MooMoos (instead of the usual £6), a free queue jump and a free cocktail. This was all put onto our posters.

Another promotion idea we had was Callum’s idea of allowing people to pay £2 to draw a design for Callum’s new tattoo. The winner was picked as a raffle and the design is now on Callum’s arm! The £34 raised through this didn't benefit us financially but it helped us bring more people into the venue.

Meetings

Like the broadcast event, we had meetings every Thursday to discuss ideas and voice opinions on how to promote the event. We all had equal say in the decisions that were made both in and outside the meetings. Like the broadcast event, we regularly talked on group calls and on Facebook to make sure everything would run smooth.

Venue

The original idea we had was to host the event at The Stable. We liked the stable as it is a chilled out venue and has a relaxed vibe to it. After we enquired about hiring the venue, we discovered that if we were to hold the event there then we could not charge an entry fee. We decided that as a business that we shouldn't run an event if we were to make no money back at all.

We then started looking for other venues, ruling out obvious gig venues like Frog and fiddle and Two Pigs because we didn't want the event to be like a standard event you would go to.

We decided that Smokey Joes was the best backup option that we had because, it is a quirky venue making people want to come along. Smokey Joes is a decent sized venue meaning that we can get a large crowd in.

We arrived early on the day to set up the venue and the PA system. We opted to move some of the tables and chairs back a bit to allow people the option to stand in front of the stage if the wished.

The only venue cost was paying Smokey Joe’s a £50 deposit which we would get back after the event had finished. We decided to use this £50 as the money for the artist rider as we were not allowed to bring our own alcohol onto the premises.

It would be a really cool idea if in the future, we could have our own venue to host these sorts of gigs in so that we do not need to worry about deposits or venue costs.

GANNT

We did end up falling 1-2 weeks behind schedule but everything still ran for the same time lengths as we had planned. For future events, we should try and stick in with the GANNT chart better.

Staff

Below is the list of jobs that we had to do:

Sound Engineer

Artist Liaison

Stage Manager

Door Staff

Photographer / Videographer

I am the most experienced sound engineer in the group, so I decided to take on the role. Each artist had one instrument and one vocal meaning that, it wasn't too hard for me on the night and things ran as smooth as they could have done. As artist liaison, Callum was in charge of sorting out any queries the artists had on the night. Tom worked as stage manager and worked closely alongside myself and Callum to ensure that artists were sound checked on time and that the layout of the stage looked as good as it could. Will was overseeing the event helping the rest of us in roles if we needed his help.

We hired Will and Callum’s girlfriends to work on the door on the night, to collect ticket money as well as the money for the tattoo raffle. We had a few issues with people wanting free entry, but this was sorted out by Tom and Will.

We also hired Jonny Nolan to take photos and Jake Randall to record some videos of the event. Both were really easy to work with and luckily didn't request any payment from us. We did buy them a few drinks though, just to thank them.

The hiring policy worked really well. The only thing we might change in future is my role depending on if we hire a venue with a sound engineer. This would be fine though as it means I can helps the others in a different role.

#MD5212

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twentysomethinginorlando · 7 years ago

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Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase 2018

New Post has been published on https://twentysomethinginorlando.com/fairy-tale-wedding-showcase/

Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase 2018

Disclaimer before any of my relatives freak out: I am not currently engaged or planning a wedding, but I like research.

A few months ago, the Disney Ever After blog announced the 2018 Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Showcase, a miniature expo designed to show off all the magical wedding options Disney has to offer. I read a few reviews of previous years and figured why not? It sounded fun. There were two ticket options- one that included just the Expo for $45, and one that included the Expo and a Happily Ever After dessert party for $90. I considered doing the dessert party, but we wound up deciding it made more sense to do the less expensive one, and buy a second ticket for Jay.

Somehow, I didn’t think Duffy would need one.

Before the Expo, they were having an Open House at the Wedding Pavillion at the Grand Floridian Resort. Neither of us were off work in time to make it, since we didn’t want to take the whole day off, but I really wasn’t concerned. I’ve wandered all over the Grand Floridian. If there’s nothing going on, you can literally walk right up to the Pavilion and stare in the glass doors.

I did manage to get out of work early enough to get to the Contemporary Resort around 2:30 p.m., and Jay was joining me when he got off work at 3:15 p.m. The night before we had put together last minute Disneybounds, and I was super excited. I had my Meg dress and Wonder Woman boots on and he was going to be Hercules. (I would like to state for the record that this was another case of Jay saying no one would get it, and me proving him wrong, as multiple people told us how great we looked.) I got checked in and sat down to wait for the doors to open. The name tag was already falling off my dress; it wouldn’t stick, so I put it on Duffy instead.

The doors opened about five minutes after three. The Expo was set up in the Fantasia ballroom with vendors up against the walls, and tables spread in the center. It was a really low lighting setup, which, from what I saw online, was different from previous years. I started to wander with no real plan in mind, after dropping off my raffle ticket. I didn’t want to talk to anyone until Jay arrived, so I focused on taking photos and somehow found myself in line for raw cookie dough. Pretty awesome line to accidentally wind up in!

The room was divided into four themed sections: Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Tangled, and Classic Fairy Tale. Basically, what this meant were there were four decor examples scattered about the room, in addition to the light projections on the walls and the Cinderella Coach.

I had read online about spa treatments so I wandered over to the Senses booth. They were doing mini facials and make-up as samples of what you could have done for your wedding. I figured I’d save that for last since I didn’t want to mess up the make-up I was already wearing before pictures.

The well has actual running water!

I wandered around a bit more before heading out to wait for Jay. I didn’t want to miss anything but being by myself just felt awkward, and trying to handle the backpack, camera, and Bear all at once was getting tricky. I had jumped in line for the bar but realized I didn’t have a hand to find my ID with. Thankfully, he wasn’t far away, and arrived about ten minutes later. We checked him in and grabbed his wrist band. I proposed starting with the alcohol and then working our way around the room in a circle, and he agreed.

There was the big open bar with the wine options, and a smaller table to one side with shot glass samples of mixed drinks. I grabbed the “Cinderella’s Glass Slipper”, which was a blue drink with vodka. Jay got the pink mai-tai since he prefers rum, and then we both jumped in the line for wine. One of the men pouring the drinks explained that all the drinks had ties to Disney. Some were from family wineries with Disney connections, including one owned by Lily’s family, and others were from Disney properties like Skywalker Ranch. My favorite was the Fairy Tale Cuvee Champagne, which is apparently created exclusively for Disney weddings. There were no limits on how much you could have, and I noticed they were filling Jay’s glasses higher than they were filling mine. To be fair, I was carrying a Duffy Bear. I had two glasses and he had three, the first time through the line, and we went back twice.

Rather than going to the next booth, we crossed the room to start our loop next to the stage at the cake displays. Not intentionally because we wanted cake or anything. They had about seven different pictures of cakes, and four or five on display. I don’t understand how anyone eats something so pretty! We waited our turn for samples. You got to choose what cake base you wanted, and then the icing. I got Marble with Cookies and Cream, while Jay opted for Chocolate with Churro icing.

I have long said the only things I care about with a wedding are the cake, the dress, and the photos, so I jumped in line to talk to cake artist. He explained that all the cakes are three tiers and they feed about fifty people.

“That’s great. Now can you make it look like him?”

I held up Duffy.

Apparently, they aren’t allowed to do actual Disney characters because they’d never get them 100% right and Disney wants them to always look perfect. I’m very curious about the chocolate Chip and Dale on the table then, but that’s fine. He suggested making the cake look like Duffy’s fur, and I asked if ears could go on it too. The answer was yes!

The next booth was a bunch of food samplings. They had chicken pot pie, Sheppard’s pie, mac and cheese, and something with fish. I grabbed the chicken pot pie and glared at Jay as he got the mac and cheese. Stupid dairy allergy. (For the record, I acknowledge chicken pot pie is likely not dairy free, but I can do it in small doses. Cheese is about the worst thing on the planet for a Chelsea.)

The next table had a painter who apparently can be on site for the ceremony or reception, and paints as the day goes on for a memorable keepsake. Sounds awesome, but we kept walking and trying to balance our food to eat it. The next booth was all food as well, but for some reason it was all cauliflower themed. While I understand they were trying to be different… cauliflower? Jay doesn’t eat vegetables in general, but even I won’t touch cauliflower. We moved on.

Next to the cauliflower food booth was the beautiful Tangled wedding display table, complete with Snuggly Duckling sign and chocolate frying pans. Out of all of the décor sections, Tangled was definitely my favorite. It looked the most like the movie.

The next table was actually more in the middle of the floor than on the sides like everyone else. They had a frame photo prop like you see in the parks with Photopass, and we stopped to see what the deal was. There were two different kinds of cameras on the table from HP Sprocket. Essentially, they’re modern versions of the Polaroid camera and you can have them out for guests to document the wedding day. They took our picture with the photo frame and it printed out as a sticker.

Apparently, this was the photo section because the next area was a display of different photo offerings. We skipped that. There’s not really anything Disney can tell me about photo printing other than prices, but there were some beautiful options.

We couldn’t figure out what the next booth was, so Jay jumped in the long line while I went to find out. It was a virtual photo booth, sort of like a second generation to a green screen. Instead of a traditional photo booth with a background, they had different options you could choose from. For the Expo, they had all four parks represented in about twenty options. Normally your guests would have four photos to choose from, that you picked out ahead of time. They promised me they could get the Jungle Cruise. I actually picked one that wasn’t from any of the parks but seemed the most fitting.

Now we were back at the doors and moved over to what was probably the first booth most people hit, the Honeymoon planning service. I talked to the girl for a minute. She herself had gotten married about a year ago, and now was getting to help other people.

The next booth was for Vero Beach, the resort about two hours south of Orlando that everyone forgets about. They also do weddings there, and had their actual wedding planner at the Expo. She explained both the indoor and outdoor venue options, and handed me what was probably the thickest packet of information I got all day.

We spent a long time talking to Alex at the Disney Cruise Line section. He was super informative and didn’t mind taking the time to answer all my questions. Disney Cruise Line weddings are surprisingly some of the most affordable Disney weddings, with the basic package starting right at $3,000 for up to eight guests. However, they are some of the most limited. Where the sky is the limit of what options you want at a Walt Disney World wedding, the Cruise Line weddings have a set number of options. I was told I could bring all my Duffys though, as my own decorations, so there’s that at least. (His eyes got a little wider when Jay mentioned there are fifty of them.)

Disney Springs had the next table, most importantly with chocolate samples from the Ganachery as examples of add-ons you could do for your guests.

The next booth was a display from Themes Come True, which is a service that provides anything printed you could possibly need for your wedding. I should have taken more pictures but the graphic designer in me was too busy geeking out. They had everything from Haunted Mansion Stretch Room invitations to programs that looked like park Times Guides.

We had made it back to where we started and jumped in line for our second pass at the bar before we headed past the spa booth to another food station.

This food station was slightly less strange than the cauliflower one, but I’m still surprised by the choice. Given I haven’t actually been to that many weddings, but soup just doesn’t seem like something you were serve, much less in little goblets. Jay got a sampling of one that I honestly don’t remember what it was, but it was frozen with nitrogen. They had four options and it all looked fancy- I’m just not a soup person.

We had reached another decor section, this time dedicated to Snow White. There was a wishing well with actual running water and a beautiful table of red roses and mirrors. Next to it was the Zales Jewelry table with samples of their Enchanted Jewelry collection. It was all super pretty, but none of it seemed wedding themed, unless maybe it’s for the bridesmaids or to go with the dress? One of the women asked who my inner princess was and I said, “Wonder Woman.” Somehow, I don’t think that was the answer they were looking for.

The final food station was the one I had hit first, the cookie dough. They had four flavors to try in a cup or a cone, and it was all oat based, whatever that means. (It did feel a lot thicker than the Wonderland Cookie Dough that I’m used to.) We went back for seconds, thirds in my case.

Around the cookie dough was the Beauty and the Beast section covered in red roses and gold accents, complete with Cogsworth.

Next to the stage was another cake display, this time modeling Disney’s famous projection technology. They took the magic they use to project pictures onto Cinderella Castle and scaled it down for a wedding cake. It’s gorgeous.

At some of the tables in the center of the room, they had Disney wedding consultants on hand to meet with couples to discuss their plans. Jay and I didn’t want to waste their time, but it had only taken us about an hour and twenty minutes to get all the way around the room. There were still raffles left, so I certainly wasn’t going anywhere. We took a few more passes at the food booths and found someone to take our picture together in front of the Cinderella Coach.

Jay told me to go see about the facial while he took pictures, so I headed back to the spa booth only to find out you had to sign up and the list was a mile long. I’d really like to know why I wasn’t told that the first time I came by, or I would have signed up then. So, no facial for Chelsea.

They announced the final raffle at 5:15 p.m., a two-night hotel stay for two. We hung around another half an hour or so hoping the spa would get to me, but no such luck.

This was the first time I’d been to the Disney Wedding Showcase. I did read a few reviews of previous years, so it seems like they cut some things for this year, including the two classes they offered in the past. I definitely feel like there wasn’t enough to do for three hours, but I also didn’t meet with one of the planners to see how much time that would eat up or go over to the Open House at the Grand Floridian, although it started at 2 p.m. instead of 3 p.m., like the Showcase. I got a good feel for how expensive a Disney wedding can be, but I never saw a price in writing for anything.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I never should have seen pricing. They didn’t have printed prices to hand out, but I found what I think is a Cast Member’s cheat sheet that they dropped with the exact pricing of the decor spreads. I’m not going to publish that information online, but feel free to email me at [email protected] or message me on the Twenty Something in Orlando Facebook page and I’ll be happy to answer your questions as best I can.

Honestly, I didn’t learn a whole lot that I couldn’t have found out on Disney’s wedding website. Seeing the stuff in person was way more fun, however and we got lots of free samples. A photo sticker, a digital photo with the background, chocolate, cake, food, and more. Plus, I’m fairly confident we each drank more than $45 worth of alcohol, at least at Disney pricing. It was definitely a cool way to spend an afternoon.

Cost: $45 flat per person.

Duration: The Showcase lasted three hours, but we could have left in two. We did skip the Grand Floridian Open House that would have added more time.

Value: A lot of fun and pretty informative. I highly recommend it if you are planning a Disney Wedding, but I’m not sure I’ll need to do it again when the day comes.

Add Ons: They had a $90 ticket option that included a fireworks dessert party. Some friends of ours did it, and it looked really cool.

#convention #disney #disney resorts #expo #happily ever after #wedding #Adventure Report

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