#did i not just say that all the pics this year outside felt like rockstar being rinsed and repeated

[faunandfloraas]

No offence because they are nice pictures but that's just the 5 star photoshoot, 2 centimetres to the right

[what-does-one-affects-the-other]

What's your opinion on this robot harry?For me it's so annoying he can't even pretend to be excited for his own tour, his social media presence is such a turn off

Well I’m sort of digging myself a grave with this one, but since I haven’t seen a post I can fully agree with, here we go. Disclaimer, I actually study this at uni. I was the Social Media Manager for the planning and putting together of a fashion show, on all platforms. I just handed in last month a 6-months marketing plan that was based around social media promo. So I do have a bit of knowledge in this area. I am by no means an expert, but this is my future field of choice, so I like to think I’m at least educated.

The situation isn’t as black and white as people have put it so far. All I’ve seen is “he’s horrible at engaging with fans” and “he doesn’t own you shit so stop complaining”. The answer is a very big grey area in which Harry’s actual social media presence fits perfectly in my opinion. First of all, there’s two main templates we studied for marketing purposes this year, Gaynor Lea Greenwood’s promotion suggestions (2009) and Burcher (2013)’s Paid, Owned and Earned media concept. Long story short, the first one is your traditional marketing campaign and the second one relies more on social media and advertising on it. Now, I think Harry’s team went for the more traditional approach, and let me explain why.

Harry started distancing himself more and more from twitter and Instagram ever since the hiatus started.Even before, during OTRA and MITAM promo, most of his tweets were promo stuff, lyrics I’m not sure we fully understand even now, charity work, promoting friends or tweeting about holidays/important days or events. His fan interaction has been low for quite a while, and I’m honestly baffled people are acting like this is news. Looking through his Twitter in 2015, there are some tweets to fans, yes, but they’re very sparse.I counted about 12 in 5 months, most of them in September, when Perfect came out, and around the release of MITAM.His tweets were mostly thanks to fans for various awards and nominalisation, promoting the songs/album, some lyrics and, without fail, after every concert he tweeted a thank you for coming.

It felt more personal than what we have now (tho in all honesty, his tour hasn’t started yet and if we eliminate the OTRA tweets it’s already a different story), but Robot Harry has been a thing then, and people were riding along with it instead of condemning it to the extent they do now.But, the thing is, Harry didn’t have the entire burden of engaging with the fanbase like he has now.Louis, Niall and Liam always took turns in taking the lead in replying to fans and interacting with them, which allowed Harry to do his part and everyone was mostly happy.

And yet, I personally don’t feel this frustration many people feel. I think it’s quite interesting actually. A bold move that wouldn’t work for other artist whose career relies on people who live and breathe social media (maybe Beyonce or Adele, but they are in another league). I was very intrigued by Harry’s statement in the Behind the album video, in which he said that there was a time in his life when people knew everything about him, and he didn’t like it.He has been overexposed since 2012, his personal life splashed across tabloids, fake relationship or not.And now he disappeared for a year (and has been retreating into himself for at least 2) and he wrote this mysterious™ album, trying to see if people can listen and understand it without knowing much about the current him. In this context, having an album that surrounds itself in mystery and then doing 4 Q&As on twitter and 3 livestreams sends…extremely contradictory messages. I can, and will fault his team for presenting a dual image of Harry that sometimes makes 0 sense, for handling a lot of things so poorly, and for the entire Carolina mess, but I will say that his social media fits this old school mysterious rockstar image they’re showing of him. I also think his actual reason is very personal and very real, and I respect the fact that he didn’t compromise this choice he made for promo purposes.

His promo relied on more traditional channels. TV and radio appearances, print magazines, and most importantly, the secret gigs. Now, I’m sorry, but I felt entirely more connected to Harry running across London at 8AM in my pyjamas than by any twitter spree he’ll ever do. I never did this before. This reminded me of the stories my dad told me, of queuing up for days in front of the box office so he’d get the tickets when they went on sale. It was very old school and it worked for me. It was a phenomenal experience, something I will never forget. And he did this for us. All profits went to charity, he didn’t do this for money. And while I know this was for a few selected cities and a handful of lucky fans, it was intimate and it was special and I think everyone, regardless if they were there, or vicariously living through pics and videos, felt a connection to Harry. We got emotional on his behalf when he sang with his idol on stage 2 weeks later, you don’t do that for someone you have no connection to.

Now, the actual reason I’m happy with what we’ve got is that it is genuine from my POV. Liam is the perfect candidate for a comparison, since he also took a bit of a break from social media (not as heavy as Harry’s, but he definitely wasn’t as active as Louis or Niall) and his promo is as textbook as it gets. He slowly, but surely increased his activity since January, a few more tweets, a few more pics on Instagram.A big turning point was April when he posted 13 pics on Instagram, compared to 8 in March, 4 in February and 3 in January. His Twitter went through a similar process.Now, the moment he started posting more, I knew his music was gonna be out soon. It’s pure marketing. You start your campaign weeks before the actual launch, it’s only natural. Unless you want to drop it as a surprise, but that’s another discussion. Actually Harry did it too, with the TV ad, but that was ruined by the info getting leaked beforehand and everyone getting pissed off by that so whatevs. Now, Liam is going for the approachable celeb route. Streams, Instagram stories, snapchat, tweeting fans, loads of pics, videos with popular Youtubers. It’s nice and about as well handled as it gets (apart from that weird video release earlier than it should have been and Liam just generally being a bit…odd?off?idk how to explain it, but a lot of people feel the same way from what I’ve seen). It fits with the image Liam is going for, it aims at the right target audience. He’s not trying to enter a new market like Harry is. He’s consolidating his place in the current market from what I’ve seen (and I’ll admit I haven’t followed his promo as closely as Harry’s). Trying to imagine Harry doing this sort of promo doesn’t really work for me.

Niall has been present on and off social media ever since he came back from his trip last year. Literally, if I pull up the calendars people have been making each month, he doesn’t get more than a handful of days without doing something, so it’s unfair to compare him to the others, since he’s always around and posting and doing stuff.

Louis deserves a better team and I won’t have anyone uttering anything else in my presence, and yet somehow, despite Niall’s constant presence and Liam’s textbook engagement, I’ll never feel as connected to them as I feel to Louis. Louis’ tweets are the perfect mixture of absolutely adorable fan service (“our year” 😭😭) and some of the things he’s passionate about (tv shows, fashion, footie/sports). His promo for JHO was….I have no words for it and I’m gonna have a rage fit if I start thinking about it, but his overall persona is charming and endearing when he’s posting things himself. He created a real communication channel between us and him and he knows how to use it when he needs to send a message (warning selfies anyone?Only you?). There’s an actual analysis of Instagram stats that shows he’s the number 1 male account in engagement and overall likes and that doesn’t surprise me one bit. Louis is a smart businessman, he has a loyal fanbase who is here for him through thick and thin.

And on top of everything I said so far, none of them owe us anything outside the promo bubble. Apart from shoots, songs/albums/tours info and official announcements, they do not owe us anything. If they chose to share a picture from their home, that’s their personal space, and while it’s good for PR, amazingly good in a society that thrives from the feeling of knowing everything about everyone (like what’s your fave’s breakfast and how’s their cat is doing), it’s still a part they can choose to keep private and no one should be entitled to ask for more.

Have you seen Adele’s Instagram? It gives you this illusion of closeness to her, with make up free selfies, funny poses and landscape shots. Too bad literally everything is from touring and other official appearances right? There’s one picture of her home, and that’s to celebrate the end of the tour. Harry sort of did the same with the booklet pictures. He allowed you into his personal space in a controlled manner, just like Adele did. Only he did it in a different way. His promo is just different and you have to think a bit outside the box to see that he actually did a lot of things other artists do. Just a bit differently. Was it perfect?Fuck, no. Was it as bad as many people make it look like?Personally, I don’t think so. It was just different and people are entirely justified to see it as a good or a bad thing. I see it mostly as a good thing. Mostly.

[lilhdram]

20210416

Hey, again Tumblr!

Lately I've been thinking about topics I can talk you about.

I don't want to talk about anything, but at the same time I don't have a specific topic in mind.

Listen, I really thought 2020 was going to be THE year. But I guess that opportunity is yet to come.

My 2019 wasn't that bad either.

I started working out, like really working out.

My sister said this to me: "You really shouldn't buy all this gym stuff if you're not planning to commit to it".

And while I was already spending some 3-4k I look at her dead in the eye and said "I'm going to do it, I wanna do it!".

So on January 3rd we went to this amazing gym in the capital, the whole front of the building was made of glass so you can actually see the sweaty people suffering inside. I was dying to be one of them, with my cheeks red from exercising and my hair plastered on my forehead with sweat.

To say I was really proud of myself those first days is an understatement. I mean I was lifting marshmallow wait, but I felt great. We went to the gym mostly at night (they closed at 11pm, a lot of times we were locked inside).

But on January 17th the worst happened, while doing a chest routine (with a crazy ass machine that could serve as a torturing device, and was way out of my league) I felt something snap in my abdominal area. And I genuinely lost it. My sister thought I was being a baby and that I was faking it because I was too tired to keep up. But suddenly when feeling my abs (you may as well call them absent since there's not signal of them so far) right bellow my left pec, I felt a bump. And you know, a bump is a BUMP!!

I went into panic mode. And the fact that my sister wasn't paying attention to me made it even worst. So I did the only thing I could do in that situation.

I cried in the gym's bathroom and had a panic attack.

Yay me!

But actually a good human took me out of my suffering and helped me breathe, and they even gave me their mint flavored water. I was really grateful, but I was still scared at the bump. I was already regretting starting my fitness life.

So as we usually left the gym at ass o'clock, there was no place opened to tend my bump (at that point I was sure as hell I popped a Hernia, I don't know how hernias work, but I was sure it was one of those 😭).

So my sister and her boyfriend took me to a public clinic and they made me wait there, all sweaty and crying my eyes out since I had a bad case of psychological Hernia.

When the doctor finally saw my "bump" she said I managed to pull my muscle a little, but that I was going to be fine. No hernias! But she said that I had to be more careful and recommended me to take a few days off from my fitness life.

After that I started to be more careful with my routines, I followed advice from coaches (when I managed to get their attention lol).

And I started to see my body changing! I was more fit, and some of my muscles actually started to say hello! (except for my butt and my abs :c).

I fell in love

In 2019 I was in my 2nd year of single life. I was just coming out of a long ass relationship of 5 years! So I took my time to start meeting new people.

Actually I went out a lot. But nothing ever happened since I was to closed up to let someone in for real.

So while trying to date in 2019, I met some great people and some awful people.

In April my best friend convinced me to use Tinder. Yeah, I know.

(As a side note I totally had a crush going on with some gym cutie guy, but I was too shy to ever approach him).

So yeah, back to Tinder. I posted some pics of my new fit self (nothing showy since I didn't want to attract the creepy kind... Yet).

So I was in my second day of swiping left in Tinder and guess who was there?

Mr. Gym!! (Cutie Gym guy!).

So as I was on my way to work and his profile popped in my screen. I was like "What?" at seven in the morning inside a bus full of sleepy people. The shhed me, but I studied his profile a bit more carefully (I didn't want to press any button by mistake!).

And then decided that I wasn't going to think about it yet as I was going to work for a whole of 7 hours in my school and I needed to focus in that first. So I closed Tinder and opened Facebook and maybe freaked out a bit about it.

Later that day I finally found the courage to opened Tinder again.

So I watched the app loading, anxiously thinking that maybe his profile got lost and I lost my chance with it. But nooo! His pic said hello to me as soon as I re-opened the app. He was a year older than me, his name was a good name, but we will call him Mr. Gym.

So I did the only thing I could do in that case, swip right and hope for the best. I wasn't risking anything you know, if he saw my profile but didn't like me, he wasn't going to know that I liked him. Everything was going to be alright. I could still go to the same gym without him knowing.

Ah... If only that had happened.

No, I didn't like him. In my anxious state I actually SUPER LIKED HIM!!

Why oh why?

So my whole "it's going to be alright if he doesn't like you he is never going to know you liked him" went straight to the gutter. He was going to know not only that I liked him, noooo he was going to know that I SUPER LIKED HIM!

So I did what I was trained to do in these situations. I proceeded to freak out in Facebook and panic in my living room.

And not only that, that day was a gym day! So as usual, we were going to see Mr. Gym!

So I threw my phone away and started to pack my gym things, because my fitness life was more important than my dignity. But...

Suddenly I got a Noti.

From Tinder.

"Mr. Gym texted you".

So... After a few more freaking out in Facebook and confusing my friends, I finally found the courage to open the damn app.

And it clicked in my brain: You can't send messages to someone on Tinder unless you matched!

We Matched guys!! Me and Mr. Gym! I felt like crying, since he actually liked me back, and I was still wary of the fact that I SUPER LIKED HIM!

Anyway, I had two messages from him, and he said:

"Hello, Lilh"

"Wow you superliked me, I wish I know how to superlike you back"

My dad was smoking a cigar outside but the smoke came inside the house since he forgot to close the damn windows. So I was starting to feel a bit dizzy. So I wrote back to him.

"Hey, Mr. Gym. You can still do it if you want, it's never too late".

And he actually wrote.

"Mr. Gym super likes you"

And later we started to talk like a lot. I was anxious the whole time I was at the gym. He wasn't there yet. But it was leg day, and we trained leg day as savages, I was sweating like it was my first day. And it was a Tuesday, the outfit of Tuesdays was a shirt that highlighted the sweat like a sore thumb.

So when I was killing my calfs with a torturing device he finally made it. And if I had any doubt of him being the real Mr. Gym, I ventured asking him what was he doing.

"I'm at my gym, I'm doing some cardio before starting my routine".

And guess who was at the second floor doing cardio??

But then he asked:

"What are YOU doing?"

Oh man, if it was possible I started sweating even more ha ha!

"I'm at the gym too".

"Really, which one?"

"Life gym".

"No way! That's my gym! Where are you?"

"I'm with my sister and her boyfriend, we are almost done".

So yeah, I was really scared to meet him there that day. But I went to the bathroom put my sweater on, and when I came out of the bathroom he was doing his routine, so I went right in his direction. And said hi to him.

I guess he didn't expect me to say hi, but he looked genuinely nervous but smiled at me nonetheless.

We talked for a bit, he even showed me his Naruto tattoo (Sasuke's curse mark). Oh man, I was sold at that stage. We bid our goodbyes and when I walked off, I was humming "Close to you" by the Carpenters. I know what you are thinking. It was too good to be true. (And maybe too fast too)

But for the next days, we texted, we met each other at the gym, he told me he was crazy about me. And I fell HARD.

Two weeks in, during BTS comeback with Boy with luv I thought, this person might be my person.

But one evening with my cousin. I talked about the whole situation. And my cousin is like a FBI investigator... he found Mr. Gym's Facebook.

Guys... He had a girlfriend.

I've had my heart broken before. Not biggy.

So I decided to stop talking to him. I remember the last time I saw him. He was dancing to Post Malone's Rockstar, and he was laughing. He huged me and said goodbye as if it was going to be the last time we talked.

And it was.

But don't worry about me. I wasn't alone, and I was strong. So I kept myself up. I cried a bit, but that was only natural. So when I saw him taking his girlfriend to the gym, I tried to never look in their direction. My sister told me that I was prettier. Hahaha but it didn't matter. I had nothing against her. If anything he lied to her too.

So I kept going to the gym with my sister. And even though I tried to not look for him I couldn't help myself.

Until I finally stopped going there.

I'm not gonna say I didn't date again (I did, a lot actually). But nothing felt as strong as those two mother fucking weeks.

It took time but I finally healed, and later that year I asked out my long time crush, after I praised one of his drawings.

He accepted my coffee date. We had a second date after that, at the movies. And when he brought me home we had our first kiss.

We are still together. He is really special, even though I never thought we could go all the way to this moment. I really love him. We are really different from each other but I love a lot of things about him.

So yeah. I fell in love, and I had my heart handed to me. I healed, and I fell again.

Loving is just part of life, take your time understanding your feelings. No one will know more about you than you. So if you don't feel ready, don't do it. But if you feel ready, go ahead, try it, if you fail, it's okay, you can keep trying.

I started practicing self-confidence, loving myself and self-esteem

During 2019 I was taking therapy sessions every 2 weaks, a lot of things happened in that year. I was 24-25 at that time, so I was trying so hard to adult the adulting, that I was feeling tired all the time. I wasn't enjoying it really.

So I started to put myself first.

Whenever I wanted to do something I went for it. That's so OoC for me, but I did. And it felt great.

I wasn't trying anymore. I was doing.

And I wasn't doing it for other than myself.

For me that was the true meaning of being here. I always questioned my existence. And suddenly I had an answer.

You are here for yourself.

You don't need other reasons.

That was so liberating!

I was finally free!

So 2019 was the year of not taking shit from anyone. (Hence why I stopped any interaction with Mr. Gym even though I liked him). And it felt really empowering.

So I decided "Imma do this more often".

2019 truly gave me a lot, so I was so ready to receive 2020 with the same of energy.

But not everything goes as planned.

Life changes, it's part of life itself. Sometimes it's really sutile, and some others it's like a wrecking ball. But you can't hold onto things too tight or for too long. You have to let go.

I really hope those hurting during 2020 got their chance to mourn. I hope 2020 gave us a new perspective of life. And I hope all of you are safe. I cried the first days because I was really scared.

Now I get that this is part of life.

And life goes on.

So I keep going.

Please, keep going too.

Yours, Lilh.

[talhaghafoor2019-blog]

One Year Since Chester Bennington’s Death And Linkin Park’s Music Helps Us Deal With The Loss

PA

Chester Bennington died one year ago today, July 20, 2017, found at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California after taking his own life.

The music industry and beyond switched its default setting to mourn once again, as tributes for the 41-year-old dad of six flooded social media.

We all knew the music of Linkin Park – the band Chester fronted for years – resonated with an army of disenfranchised outsiders, but the outpouring of grief was overwhelming in scale.

Getty

From the moment Hybrid Theory exploded onto our Walkmans with the opening bars of Papercut, we were hooked.

Each song is a three-minute ball of nu metal energy; a heady cocktail of hip-hop, modern rock, and atmospheric electronica, punctuated with instrumental experimentation, which was like sweet musical nectar to our adolescent ears.

The six-piece painted pictures of dark places which piqued some listeners’ curiosity to the depth of the human condition, and simply reminded others of their own struggles.

Hearing Chester brazenly scream ‘shut up’ at the world in One Step Closer felt euphoric to hoards of youths like us, who felt they hadn’t quite found their own voice yet.

The debut album quickly garnered mainstream success in a way never before achieved by an alternative metal mash-up.

Hybrid Theory was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2005, making it the best-selling debut album of the decade, as well as one of the few albums ever to hit that many sales.

But with great songwriting comes great pressure, as UNILAD Sound discovered:

Linkin Park took their responsibility to fans seriously, and created music marked by a perpetual sense of honesty. Honesty about struggling and, as they put it, dancing with demons.

Chester had been sexually abused as a child, went through the strain of his parents’ divorce at just 11, was bullied at school and eventually turned to drug and alcohol abuse.

To overcome addiction and emotional trauma, he started writing poetry and music.

You can find out how others cope with their own cases of child sex abuse below:

One year after his suicide, it’s natural to read into the award-winning song lyrics written by Bennington and his bandmate Mike Shinoda.

Dr Arthur Cassidy told UNILAD this type of ‘parasocial interaction’ between rockstars and their armies of supporters occurs when ‘fans know lots about their pop singers and rappers but the celebs know nothing about their fans’.

This idolisation can create a lot of unrealistic expectations and put pressure on public figures who are – let’s remember – humans with vulnerabilities and mental health stressors themselves.

Listening to Chester, immortalised in his music, can’t bring back the frontman.

But, today, let’s stick on Hybrid Theory or Meteora and appreciate how he can still help fans deal with their own grief, sadness and struggle.

Chester’s earlier piercing vocals – the perfect foil to Shinoda’s low-key licks – are spiked with anger and frustration, but singing along to the epic choruses brings catharsis, whether you can hit the high notes or not.

Sometimes, Chester’s words are ragged with emotion, screamed through gritted teeth. Often, in the bridge, his melodic vocal captures a quiet pain, selflessly showing his own vulnerability to help others put words and metaphor and tunes to their own.

Getty

Over time – and six further album releases – Linkin Park’s raw anger matured and became more nuanced, as did their ability to layer sounds and create walls of sound, both on stage and in the studio.

The final album almost reads like an acceptance letter, an ode to the trials and tribulations of life, which can make you that little bit stronger when you have a support network.

Now, the Linkin Park back catalogue helps us grieve one year later and carry forward the messages of unity and inclusivity Chester championed throughout his life.

Chester began his musical career with Grey Daze, a post-grunge band from Phoenix, Arizona, who recorded three albums; Demo in 1993, Wake/Me in 1994, and …no sun today in 1997.

Then he joined LP – founded in rural LA by Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delson – where he worked hard beyond their musical output to support fans and his show business peers.

Their rap metal style welcomed more diverse collaborations, ushering in Projeckt Revolution and the likes of Cypress Hill, Adema, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and later Busta Rhymes, Pusha T and Steve Aoki, to bring members of different musical tribes together on tracks.

Jay Z has famously paid tribute to Chester a number of times since his death, performing the Grammy-winning Numb/Encore from their collaborative 2004 album, Collision Course, on stage to emotional crowds.

All the while, Linkin Park were accepted by the rock’n roll’elite, winning countless awards during their run and playing on the same stages as the likes of Metallica, Iron Maiden, Placebo and Deftones.

Meanwhile, the band founded a charity called Music For Relief, which staged fundraising events for the victims of over 20 natural disasters, and still works hard to help those hard up today.

We are deeply grateful to every person who donated in any amount to @MusicForRelief's One More Light Fund in honor of @ChesterB 's birthday. Together, you raised more than $90,000 to shine a light on mental health. Thank you for making this possible!

— Music for Relief (@MusicForRelief) April 9, 2018

In 2013, Chester fronted Stone Temple Pilots – a band he cites as an early musical influence – for two years before leaving to focus solely on Linkin Park.

Their last album, released in May a few months before Chester’s death, was received badly by the old vanguard of Linkin Park fans, some of whom unjustifiably said the band had ‘gone soft’.

While tracks like Talking To Myself and Battle Symphony have a more mainstream electro vibe, in hindsight, the new sound marked a moment of acceptance for Linkin Park by the pop culture jury.

Yet, they weren’t forced to change to achieve global success and recognition.

They grew and used their own progression and creative talent to break through barriers, and break the mould of what music critics think matters.

Collaborations with Stormzy, Pusha T and Kiiara show the band were moving forward towards the future of alternative metal, its chameleon-like changeability, and how young artists could take up the baton.

A post shared by LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) on Jul 20, 2017 at 3:49pm PDT

Shinoda, who has since confirmed LP will continue, said of the title track:

was written with the intention of sending love to those who lost someone. We now find ourselves on the receiving end.

In memorial events, art, videos, and images, fans all over the world have gravitated towards this song as their declaration of love and support for the band and the memory of our dear friend, Chester.

We are so very grateful and can’t wait to see you again.

Chester is remembered in his latest solo project, Post Traumatic, as well as through the , set up by Music For Relief, which aims to shine a light on mental health matters.

Chester’s wife, Talinda Bennington, also initiated a movement called 320 Changes Direction, in honour of her husband to help break the stigma surrounding mental health.

She encouraged other public figures to post to social media saying, ‘I am the change’:

Today we honor the life and music of @linkinpark’s @ChesterBe. @TalindaB joins me on @Beats1@AppleMusic to talk #320ChangesDirection alongside a special Playlist made by @mikeshinoda. 10 am PT. Be the change. https://t.co/Urz4A9nnO3#IAMTHECHANGE#MakeChesterProudpic.twitter.com/vDindLb4bB

— Zane Lowe (@zanelowe) March 20, 2018

Just days before Mental Health Awareness Week here in the UK, Talinda called out the media for perpetrating the stigma of suicide in the language used to describe Avicii’s death.

Today, across the world, fans will show there is no shame in depression or poor mental health, having organised meet-ups and tribute nights to Chester, celebrating his life.

Talinda compiled a list of events and shared it online for those interested:

With the one year fast approaching, there are so many beautiful memorials planned all around the WORLD in honor of Chester. I wanted to share them with you. ❤️

https://t.co/cwboB8Jxbt

— Talinda Bennington (@TalindaB) July 3, 2018

Meanwhile, the fans of Linkin Park and Chester have found other more permanent ways to honour his memory – and his creativity and love for body art – in thousands of memorial tattoos.

While the alternative ink is a fitting tribute, there’s no better way to show respect and love for Chester than reaching out to someone you think might be struggling too.

You can check some of the ink designs out below:

Arm still a little swollen and my hand as well but guess it’s ok now. Time to post a pic in my feed 4 days past. Watch my story to see more if you’re interested 🔥

A post shared by 🌙💀🦋 (@jasminlivingthings) on Jan 29, 2018 at 3:31am PST

amazing ♡ great artwork by @babichtattooart • #chestertattoo #chesterbenningtontattoo #linkinpark #chesterbennington #wemissyou #potd #tb #art #beautiful #love #tattoo #artist #artistsoninstagram

A post shared by Chester Bennington Fans (@chesterbenningtonfans) on Dec 3, 2017 at 7:40am PST

Memoriam tattoo … 😶 #memoriam #memoriamtattoo #linkinpark #riptattoo #chesterbennington #chesterbenningtontattoo

A post shared by Astrid Köpfler (@astridkoepfler) on Jun 24, 2018 at 10:43am PDT

Homenaje de Vani 💕🎤

A post shared by Fresia Tatuajes (@fresia.tattoo) on Jan 9, 2018 at 4:31pm PST

This means so much to me. This man and this band have helped me overcome some of my darkest days and will continue to be my therapy for the rest of my life. This will be a reminder of that and to #makechesterproud ❤️ Now, time to start saving for my portrait piece! 😉😄 #LP #LPtattoo #LPfan #LinkinPark #LinkinParktattoo #ChesterBennington #ChesterBenningtontattoo #music #musicislife #musicistherapy #fuckdepression #clubtattoo

A post shared by Ashley (@shleebers) on Oct 1, 2017 at 9:44am PDT

Linkin Park is hands down my all time favorite band and made a huge impact on me in my life. When Chester passed, I wasn't expecting it to hit me as hard as it did. So when Chester passed, I wanted to do a memorial tattoo for him. So I got this today. Still have the shading to do. Really happy with how it's turning out. Thanks @gabslopez2u #tat #tats #tatted #tattedup #tattoo #tattooart #tattoosocial #tattoos #tattoosofinstagram #tattooed #tattooedandeducated #tattooedandemployed #inked #inkedup #linkinpark #linkinparktattoo #lptattoo #chesterbennington #chesterbenningtontattoo #calftattoo #pain #painful

A post shared by RJ Clark (@welcome.2.my.life) on May 30, 2018 at 6:00pm PDT

All those years ago, at the turn of the millennium in 2000, Hybrid Theory left us with a High Voltage closing sentiment, as Shinoda spits, ‘From now to infinity let icons be bygones’.

Even though Linkin Park shunned labels, thrived on authenticity and embraced difference, funnily enough, the band which so dismissed the need for idolisation by way of their own uniqueness, made Chester an icon of kindness and inclusivity.

In the end, that’s all that really matters.

Getty

RIP Chester.

You can speak to someone confidentially about your mental health and wellbeing by calling one of the following numbers: Samaritans – 116 123
, Childline – 0800 1111 (UK) / 1800 66 66 66 (ROI), 
Teenline – 1800 833 634 (ROI).

If you have a story to tell, contact UNILAD via [email protected]

This content was originally published here.

[fesahaawit]

I’m Still Here! What I’ve Been Doing, Consuming, and Thinking About in 2018

As my friend Paul Jarvis says, PRE-S: I’m doing a mini Canadian book tour right now! If you’re in Toronto (TONIGHT), Ottawa (Monday), Edmonton (next week), Squamish or Victoria, come say hi!

Hello, my beautiful friends!

I know it’s been a little while . . . 7 weeks, to be exact! But 7 is my favourite number (my birthday is 7/7) so it felt like as good a time as any to make a return. :)

There are so many things I want to share right now. I’m a big believer in only writing blog posts when you feel like you have something to say, rather than forcing yourself to stick to a strict schedule. I have also taken enough short periods of time off from the blog to learn that distance always helps me generate new ideas—and after 7 weeks, I now have an abundance of them! But first, I want to share some general updates on what I’ve been doing, consuming, and thinking about so far this year.

What I’ve Been Doing

As you probably imagined, I’ve spent the majority of the past 7 weeks promoting The Year of Less. I knew I would have to leave a couple weeks of my calendar open for any possible press opportunities, but I was not prepared for how all-consuming this launch would become. The week before it came out, Raincoast Books (my Canadian distributor) told me they were making it one of their lead titles of the season, which also meant they would be setting up a bunch of Canadian press, etc. That’s when I learned that book launches are a HUGE TEAM EFFORT. I honestly feel like I won the lottery, and have no idea how I got so lucky to have an entire team of people working on this for me. I mean, I know now that this is how they make a living too! But up until a week before the book came out, I genuinely had no idea how this part of the publishing process worked. It’s all been so fascinating, and I’m just extremely grateful to be part of this experience.

So for the past 7 weeks, I have been doing A LOT of press. In the first week alone, I did 30 interviews (more than half of which were radio). I also got to do my first live TV interviews in Vancouver, and am now in Toronto to do more (I talked to Ben Mulroney yesterday! And was a guest on THE SOCIAL!). I was SO overwhelmed by how many friends in the personal finance + minimalism spaces reached out and offered to have me on their podcasts, spread the word, do giveaways, etc. (Thank you, thank you, thank you, my friends!) And then a couple big things happened I still can’t really believe!? Like Vogue listed TYOL as 1 of 7 nonfiction books to change your life in 2018. CBC Books listed it as a work of Canadian nonfiction to watch out for. And then there was this little article in The New York Times . . . yep, I’m still pinching myself about that one.

It has been an incredible time, friends. And something I can’t imagine I will ever experience again!? I mean, I guess I could write more books and have more launches. But TYOL will only come out once, so I have been trying to soak it all up! As such, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of, you know, actual work!? Whenever I have downtime, I’ve been trying to get some quality time in with family/friends, and also going out for walks/snowshoe adventures (and sharing pics of those on Instagram). I’m so grateful for the interviews, but they can also drain my usually-introverted self. But after this little Canadian book tour, I am guessing the press will die down and things can go back to business as usual. I’m still not sure what the “usual” looks like, because it feels like a lot has changed, and the book has opened up some doors I didn’t even know were an option for me before!? But slowly and surely, I will figure this stuff out.

The one thing I have been working on is a new season of the podcast! We’re already three-quarters of the way through season 5, which wraps up at the end of March. You can catch up on all eps here!

What I’ve Been Consuming

Ok, so aside from doing all the things related to the book launch, there’s one thing I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about + trying to change this year, and that’s how I’m consuming information. It started with my decision to cancel my Netflix membership. That’s something I was toying around with for a month or so, then pulled the plug in early January and have been living without it ever since. I will write a full post about this soon, but for now I will say that it is not my intention to never watch Netflix again. I just entered 2018 knowing I wanted to spend less time watching television—and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Here’s a list of the books I’ve read, podcasts I’ve been listening to, and blogs/newsletters I’ve been enjoying this year.

Books

Rework by Jason Fried + David Heinemeier Hansson

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon

Indestructible by Allison Fallon – my fave, so far!

Harry Potter #1 by J.K. Rowling

As you might notice, a lot of them have been on the topic of creativity (although Ally’s memoir has definitely been my fave). I’m also in the middle of reading: Meet Cute, Let the Elephants Run and Scratch.

Podcasts

Hurry Slowly – new fave!

Note to Self – how to use technology more intentionally (she’s the author of Bored and Brilliant)

Terrible, Thanks for Asking – warning: will probably make you cry

Real Talk Radio – discovered Alli Owen, who is a new FI blogger! also, some very real talk in this ep

Being Boss – an old fave I have been listening to since they first launched in January 2015

I’ve also been listening to basically every interview Ruthie Lindsey has done (just search her name in iTunes and you’ll find some) and I think I read she’s starting a podcast!? Fingers crossed that’s true.

Blogs/Newsletters

At the beginning of this year, I deleted my Feedly account and decided to change the way I find/read blogs. Instead of scrolling through hundreds (even thousands) of blog post titles each week, I have started signing up for people’s newsletters again—and I am loving getting the updates and inspiration delivered right to my inbox. Here are some of the ones I’ve been enjoying. If you have any faves, please tell me about them!

Weekly Inspiration from No Sidebar

Weekly Letters from Jen Carrington

Sunday Dispatches from Paul Jarvis

Teacup Owls from Elin Lööw

all emails from The Fresh Exchange

and I support my friends Tammy + Nicole and love the newsletters for their members

(As a side note: this is the exact opposite of how I have been consuming content for the past few years, so here’s a reminder that you are allowed to change the way you do things.)

What I’ve Been Thinking About

Aside from cancelling Netflix, one of the other reasons I’ve been able to change the way I consume information in 2018 is because Jay and I both stopped working on Rockstar Finance at the beginning of the year. For the past three years, it has been my job to read as many blog posts published in the personal finance space as possible. That was an incredible privilege, and I am so grateful that we were able to help so many bloggers by sharing their amazing content on the site! But it wasn’t until walking away that I realized how many hours I would get back each week—and that I would have so many other interests and ideas for what to do with them!

I have become obsessed with the idea of finding inspiration from other sources. That means not consuming as much of what’s created by people in the same space, but instead consuming content created by people who are in entirely different fields. I’ve been reading about design (and following more designers/makers on Instagram), writing, baking and what it means to live more seasonally. I have also thought a lot about creativity, and some of my fears (and also big ideas!) around what it means to live a more creative life. I don’t know what all of this means for me yet, but it feels really good to be exploring new topics and thinking outside the box.

One thing I know for sure: I’m so happy to “be back”! I have missed writing and missed you. And I’d love to hear how 2018 has been for you, so far. :)

I’m Still Here! What I’ve Been Doing, Consuming, and Thinking About in 2018 posted first on http://lionelcapital.blogspot.com