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tubbytarchia · 3 months

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IM LATE i was out with a friend... forgive me jimmy solidaritygaming....

SOMEONE STOLE A DISC FROM THE DISC WALL...... jimmys guess is eloise (apparently he knows exactly what disc is missing???)

he goes to get the disc but comes across martyn. whos building a one piece base? idk anything about one piece but its like... a white boat with a fish head on it.

THEYRE FIGHTING THE DRAGON TODAY!!! just jim and martyn. martyn gives jimmy some slow fall potions and they head off.... martyns already found the stronghold (but not looted it) so they know where theyre going.

jimmy does a water clutch off the disc and he. lands on top of some tall grass?? insane clutch

martyn collects some flowers and jimmys like "dude its crazy that youre collecting items like youre coming back" TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR martyn also doesnt fire back which is a little odd.... maybe he is nervous about dying

for some reason theyre travelling at night. theres so many skeletons.

they start talking about tiktok and. i really don't know what's going on here.

they talk about if they die what'll happen and they say they can have each others stuff which is cute i think.

they arrive!!! its quite far down its like... y-10. and its all split up by a dripstone cave which makes it look really cool but also hard to navigate.

they explore a bit and jimmy breaks a lot of blocks and it stresses me out. JIMMY NO!!!! THE SILVERFISH!!!! they get some good books some armour trims but nothing crazy.

they get lost trying to get back. martyn keeps pretending he knows where hes going and its really funny.

they get back to the portal and go through and theres a SILVERFISH ON THE OTHER SIDE

new effect when u blow up the end crystals.? but its only on jimmys screen and only the first one he did. looks cool though theres probably some lore reason we can make up

JIMMY GETS THE KILL!!!!! martyn ran out of arrows JUST before. he gets immediate payback by somehow managing to pick up every single xp orb. im not exaggerating jimmy picked up One (from 8 to 8) and martyn is level 68. for some reason the xp dropped as just a singular large orb.?.??? martyn apologises and offers to enchant jimmys stuff :') its cute....

they head back and jimmy puts the egg on his bookshelf. he says this base is one of his favourites that hes done in a while!!!

jimmy and martyn meet back up and jimmy shows him the disc wall. martyns reaction is really funny "oh we love a waterfall entrance-OH MY GOD" martyn is largely unbothered by jimmy stealing his stuff.

they go over to eloises base together. eloises base floor is a pattern involving chiseled bookshelves. martyn accidentally breaks one and is confused when it doesnt drop. they proceed to break like 5 before realising they dont drop. they then joke about her hiding her disc under all the shelves so they break all of them. they arent expensive to craft or anything but... why......

jimmy goes off topic and asks martyn his thoughts on shepherd's pie. when martyn says hes not a big fan jimmy goes dead silent. he puts on his radio voice and goes "thats the day they stopped being friends. its crazy a little thing like that broke the love/law" (I CANT TELL WHICH ONE HE SAID. I THINK? LOVE. 1:03:50 SOMEONE HELP ME.)

there's a wandering trader and martyns like i cant even repeat what hes selling. and jimmys like whats he selling?? so martyns like "hes selling crack cocaine. cant believe it." i think this is the closest ive seen to genuine bewilderment on jimmys face. he goes through like 5 expressions in a second. he then checks the trades to prove to his chat that hes not selling it???? strangest bit of the stream but its funny

martyn comes over to jimmys base to enchant for him and jimmy gives him everything (all armour + sword and pick) at once and its a big display of trust.... i love them a lot

martyn doesnt like mess around and he does properly enchant all of jimmys stuff. its all very sweet to me then jimmy decides to say "bring it home papa" and. Okay

they split up (jim offers to stay with martyn but martyn sends him off since hes worried that he himself will not make good company while building) and jim goes to fish for a nametag again.

there may or may not be a stream break soon since he was talking about how he really didnt feel like streaming today and offhandedly said he needs a bit of a rest ^_^

new roblox video tomorrow and some next week too. with katherine!

HE GOT HIS NAMETAG!!!!! he forgot what he had planned to name it but he ends up naming him HONK

stream ends shorter than usual wooooooooo

Oh my goodddd the property police.... "it's crazy that you're collecting items like you're coming back" so uncalled for?? Why did he say this... Is he expecting Martyn not to come back... Because he fears that Martyn would die or that Martyn would just choose not to... Oh the Evo demons are getting me. Them saying the other can have their stuff if one dies and Martyn pretending to know his way is such property police banter mannnn. Offering to enchant stuff for him and not being bothered by Jimmy stealing from him... The exaggerated break up joke...

Something especially about Jimmy taking off all of his gear at once for Martyn to enchant. Big display of trust as you said... the maid demons are getting me now. And Martyn not fooling around here nor in any of the earlier instances to any notable degree?? Feels odd... I feel like he would at least a little... Something melancholy to me about the fact that he didn't. Sweet but melancholy. Banter between these two has usually gone both ways in the past to at least some degree (Not just Jimmy being picked on). I would scoff at the papa comment but. I can't, papa is too cutesy lol I'll let Jimmy get away with that one. The split up feels weirdly melancholic too even just from reading about it. Mmgh something about all the property police stuff this time around is making me feel so many vaguely sad emotions :( Feels so nostalgic too though... I really need to watch this part of the stream sometime. Especially cause these two are funny together. Finally jokes that I can chuckle at that aren't just "lol sex!!"

At least he finally got the nametag.... Honk...

#mmgh feeling weirdly sad about this one #blabber #jimmisery

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queer-ragnelle · 19 days

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So, regarding your novels, what made you write backwards? I'm so curious about it.

TL;DR I started writing in Mordred and Galahad perspective. I then became possessed by the "older" characters and went "back" in the timeline to write their origins (starting with parentified Agravaine). I did this several times until I ended up with Ragnelle/Gawain as book 1, "the beginning," of what turned into an Epic many books long.

Let me give you a timeline...

1900s: I am born and develop Arthurian brain worms.

21st century: The worms declare Ragnelle/Gawain are my favorites and I write their Wedding multiple times for fun based off what can be gleaned from Wikipedia and retellings as I have no medieval resources at my disposal.

February 2020: I think Mordred and Galahad would make neat narrative foils and write a short story about them playing chess.

March 2020: The plague. I'm furloughed from my job. Writing becomes my full-time focus. I write 60,000 words in Mordred and Galahad perspective, plotting their story to be a trilogy.

June 2020: I'm back to work but I'm still writing. With money and curiosity at my disposal, I begin hoarding Arthurian books. Local quirky secondhand bookstore owner had an Arthurian fixation in his youth—I clear his shelves. He asks if I'm a medievalist major and I have to break it to him I'm just a High School drop out at the mercy of the Tell-Tale knights chattering in my head. I learn more lore. I splurge to buy the Vulgate cycle. I'm forever changed.

Late 2020: Reading medlit and retellings and watching all the movies super charged the brain worms. The Vulgate especially. I develop an obsession with circumventing the Orkneys/Welshmen blood feud with the power of gay sex. (Joan Wolf did it first in her 1988 book The Road to Avalon with Agravaine/Lamorak.)

January 2021: Historical research shows that Islam didn't exist yet during the 5th/6th century I'd been writing in. I order Zoroastrianism by Mary Boyce to make sure I'm depicting Ragnelle and Gromer's religion properly. But it's nbd their page time is minimal as background characters right? ....right?

2021 continued: The Agravaine/Lamorak brain worms take on a life of their own as I'm hospitalized and bedridden. Chronic pain and isolation become my themes. I write endlessly on my phone from bed. 2/3 novels are completed and readable straight through with a third book in pieces. These are currently at a combined total of nearly 140,000 words. (Plus the notes file with scenes I haven't moved yet...whoa.)

Late 2021: I rediscover old Ragnelle/Gawain stuff and decide to write about their wedding. Again. But this time with legit sources. Except Ragnelle isn't some ambiguous character of color, she's now very specifically Persian [Iranian] Zoroastrian. So the whole thing takes place in Persia and research goes crazy. Someone gives me their college log in so I can download and hoard essays and textbook PDFs. I do beta-read trades with people in facebook groups (bad bad idea) and yet...

End of 2021: I get sample edits from various editors including one guy who insulted my "lack of education" and said emulating J. R. R. Tolkien's old style didn't work anymore and I should take inspiration from The Hunger Games....for my queer romance in Persia. Right. Anyway I pay the $100 for the pages edited so he'll go away and continue searching for my unicorn editor....

2022: Ultimately facebook group scouting finally yields results as I stumble upon a fellow Ragnelle/Gawain enthusiast who would become my editor!! Editor says I have to cut the giant book into thirds, so what is now book 1 ends up chopped.

2023: I'm still revising book 1, now titled The Moonlit Knight, with my editor. All the while I'm drafting book 2, sporadically cheating to write in other books including an Elaine and Perceval book that appeared out of no where, and scouting out beta readers. One beta reader came via a tumblr mutual who connected me through instagram. A second beta reader discovered in a discord server. Another beta reader from a different discord server. So on and so forth.

Early 2024: Beta reading continues, until I have readers for every angle I require; queer people of all flavors, Zoroastrians, Arthurian enthusiasts, Jewish readers, people with DID knowledge etc! Slowly but surely I work through revising the book with all these wonderful people to a final 95,000 words!

Mid 2024: But now...it needed a cover. I commission a tumblr mutual and work for weeks with them on that, still editing/revising and having betas read book 2, Sunshine's Lady, which is currently almost 132,000 words long and half edited/beta read.

September 2024: I still haven't published. lol. But the process takes a long time and has a lot of moving parts!

So why do I actually recommend this method? Well, this has been hugely helpful to write foreshadowing. Forgetting for a second the blueprint drawn from Arthurian Legend itself, I know how my story with my version of the characters is going to go, so I can set all of that up way in advance. It's all well and good to know (spoiler) Arthur dies at the end, but it's never been about the conclusion so much as the journey there and the unique perspective of whichever character the author has chosen to focus on. I mean, Godfrey Turton's The Emperor Arthur is Pelleas point of view. He's instrumental at the battle of Camlann. It's the same with Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles and our one-handed friend Derfel, the reasoning for which isn't revealed until book 3. The world is your oyster! Fixate on your special character and set that shit up and pay it off!!!

Knowing what you're writing toward is extremely helpful during the drafting process. Even if it's only vaguely shaped it'll develop detail as you revise. Other than Derfel's missing hand, the best example of this I can think of is in Realm of the Elderlings series by Robin Hobb. It has a huge fanbase on tumblr for a reason, it's just an insane amount of set up you're not even aware of until the impact slams into you many books later and you're left going, "Whoa.....it was there the whole time." Mind blowing. I want have half as much narrative resonance as that.

Another thing that came of this is, since I wrote Agravaine/Lamorak first, and I'm obscenely Ragnelle obsessed, she pops up in their pov as a hag, only for them to not realize she's one and the same as Gawain's bombshell wife they "meet" later. I wrote this as the lads first, but it's extra funny now that, actually, the reader will experience Ragnelle's perspective first. Hottie uncursed Ragnelle does know she met them before, but feigns otherwise. So it's very fun to see the same encounters happen a second time a few books later. Agravaine is like, "Okay granny whatever. Bye... :^/" and Lamorak is like, "That granny was weird but I like her! :^)" meanwhile the reader is like, "AHHHHH! I KNOW HER!!! YOU FOOLS DON'T KNOW HOW IMPORTANT SHE'LL BE AHHH!!!" At least, that has been the beta reader reaction, which is gratifying. Even better, the books can be read out of order, so actually if you read Agravaine/Lamorak before Ragnelle/Gawain, it works in reverse, too. So if the reader knows who Agravaine is from reading his perspective, when Ragnelle or Gawain runs into him, the reader will realize who he is before it clicks for the point of view character. I had a lot of fun developing all of this across the series for multiple characters, it certainly happens more than once.

Wow that was long but I hope it makes sense and gives you an idea how it all went down. Thanks for taking an interest and I hope you enjoy my books when they're out. Take care! :^)

#arthuriana #arthurian legend #arthurian mythology #arthurian literature #writing #my writing #elegy of an empire #writers of tumblr #writeblr #ask #anonymous

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deathlessathanasia · 1 year

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“Until recently, it has been assumed that there were no gods in Minoan religion. Or, if there was a god, it was the relatively powerless vegetation god who died every year with the crops, to be reborn the next year through the will of the Earth Mother. Once scholars began to abandon the Cambridge School way of thinking, though, it became apparent that there were gods in the Minoan pantheon. Nevertheless, there appear to have been fewer gods than goddesses; there are certainly fewer artistic representations of gods. But these representations do exist, and they tell us something about the male elements of Minoan religion.

One piece of Minoan god iconography is the master impression from Khania. Here is shown a male, nude save for a tight belt, a codpiece, sandals, a necklace, and an armband. He poses in proud fashion holding a staff on what almost resembles a tripartite shrine, except one would really have to call it a multipartite shrine, since there are so many levels and architectural elements. Many of these elements are capped with horns of consecration, suggesting a religious orientation. Below the architecture is what appears to be a beach, and at the bottom of the seal, there is water. In short, the god stands upon a city that is located on a beachfront. The male’s size in relation to the city identifies him as a deity, as does the fact that he stands between two horns of consecration. All this shows his dominion over the city with its adjacent beach. This notion of domination is further emphasized if we compare the man-with-staff pose with similar stances in Near Eastern iconography, in which such imagery portrayed a victorious god or king over his domain. Judging from this, it appears that we have here a city god, owner and protector of the urbs (city).

Perhaps the most important piece of Minoan god iconography is the Palaikastro Kouros, a chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statuette from Palaikastro. The statuette is one-half meter tall and stands in a standard worship pose for Minoan males, although a slight stride given to the legs probably comes from Egyptian influence (Moak 2000, 65–66). Rather than a worshipper, though, this image appears to be a god. This is evident first in the materials used in its construction. Both the gold and the ivory had to be imported, probably from Egypt. Such precious materials were probably reserved for divine images; male votives were made of clay. The elaborate workmanship that went into making the Kouros also speaks for its importance, thus its divine nature. In contrast to the rather rude votive images from Crete, there is exceptional anatomical detail in the Palaikastro Kouros, even down to the veins in its arms. The image was found by a city shrine, apparently situated in a place of visual prominence, suggesting that it was intended to be the center of attention (Driessen 2000a, 95). This idea is strengthened by the fact that the statuette was originally set upon a stand: There are tangs on his feet, which fit into a blue faience mounting disc. All in all, it appears that the Palaikastro Kouros is a cult image of a Minoan god. What type of god is a more difficult matter, and all identifications must be tentative. J. A. MacGillivray, who has done considerable work on this image, has suggested that the Palaikastro Kouros is some manner of dying and rising vegetation deity, possibly the Minoan version of Diktaian Zeus, with some Near Eastern influence in the form of Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead. MacGillivray has even suggested that a small repository in the shrine’s floor is where the image was stored during the sowing season, when the god would have been in the underworld (along with the seeds the people had sown) (MacGillivray and Sackett 2000, 169).”

- The Ancient Greeks: New Perspectives, by Stephanie Lynn Budin

#minoan religion #iconography #gods #quotes #excerpts

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disworl · 2 years

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Homestuck Music You Might Not Have Heard

[NOTE: Tumblr's formatting is really finicky so doing dual updates to this thing is not worth my time. If you want the most recent list, find it on Ao3.]

Yes, “MeGaLoVania” and “Time On My Side” are damn good songs, but a music catalogue this large is certain to have several diamonds in the rough. Here’s a selection of likewise lovely Homestuck music that you might not have heard.

V 1.0, updated 2022.10.10

I wrote this as an appreciation for all the wonderful music this comic has, and to give spotlight to the works that aren’t as well-known as “Black” and the like. Homestuck is a truly unique piece of media, and the soundtrack is one of the reasons why.

Great thanks to the HSMusic Wiki, which is what I used to check a track’s artist and contributor credits, whether it had been used in a flash, and what, if any other tracks it referenced. In my write-ups, I try to be as accurate as possible, but I’ve no music education aside from half-remembered childhood violin lessons. Apologies if I make a mistake.

I’m slowly working through the catalogue, so when I listen to more albums I’ll update this.

Full Playlist

Some Vague Guidelines

Official music only on Disc I Side A, with good semi-official unreleased tracks from the Homestuck Sound Test and some fan music on Disc I Side B. Disc II is the same, except in a bulleted list of every track covered, who it’s by, and what album it’s from, for the sake of readability.

The official music section is split into three categories: Deep Cuts From Popular Albums (popular being somewhat arbitrarily defined as Vol. 5, Strife!, Alterniabound, and both coloUrs and mayhem), Lesser-Known Takes on Something Else (for tracks that are well, primarily an interpretation of a pre-existing track, usually something more popular like “Doctor”), and Cool and New Music is for original compositions (though they may have minor references to other music).

Tracks are organized by chronological album release date pre-merger and the Vol. 1-4 re-release, and then by track order within the same album.

Nothing readily available from a Flash (so phonograph tracks and something like “Pony Chorale” are fine) is allowed.

Neither is anything with 1 million views or more (based on the most popular video at time of writing) on Youtube for Deep Cuts, and then for Lesser-Known Takes that threshold is halved, and again for Cool and New Music.

Themes from Alterniabound and the two ColoUrs and Mayhem albums ("Vriska’s Theme", "Green Ghost", "Rust Servant", et cetera) will not be included regardless of popularity because their obvious theming gives them an obvious profile for any fan of what character they’re for.

I will not be covering any albums released after Homestuck Vol. 10.

I want to keep featuring Toby Fox to a minimum – he’s a wonderful musician, but he is also by far the most well known member of the music and tends to overshadow everyone else by a wide margin.

Disc I - Side A

Side A Playlist.

Deep Cuts From Popular Albums

Deep Cuts Playlist.

“Light” by Erik “Jit” Scheele off of Homestuck Vol. 5 is a sort of comfortably adventurous composition that uses 413 as a chord progression. The piano melody that that leads off the track combined with the wind instrumentation gives the feeling of just a wonderful day, helped by the fan art for it in the Vol. 5 track art anthology fan project.

Also off of Vol. 5 , “Softly” by Robert J! Lake is a sweet toned electronic tune driven by a fuzzy, bouncing melody – though the beat gives it just a bit of an edge.

“Atomic Bonsai”, from hard-going solo album Strife! By Joren “Tensei” de Bruin, is the only kid strife track to not get used in some sort of official Homestuck-related thing (“Time on My Side” is a flash track, “Heir of Conditioning” was rearranged into flash track “Heir of Grief” in addition to being a phonograph tune in [S] Kanaya: Return to the Core, and “Dance of Thorns” was used in the Kickstarter video), and that’s a shame. It brings as much energy as the other three, and the combination of bass guitar and East Asian musical influence gives an equally unique sound with hook after hook.

Compared to the effervescence of Nepeta’s preceding music, “Catapult Capuchin” by Toby “Radiation” Fox off of AlterniaBound is nothing but the fierce hunter’s prowess on display in Video Game music fashion, as it was constructed from Mega Man X samples. It’s a high powerful ride throughout, but my favourite part is the bit at 00:33.

“Clockstopper” by viaSatellite and infiniteKnife off of coloUrs and mayhem: Universe B arguably counts for the first category, too, but I’m putting here because it’s specifically a symphonic rock mix of Beatdown, Atomyk Ebonpyre, and Upward Movement. The tension-building intro launching into the full force action of the flying strings always gets my blood pumping. My favourite take on Beatdown so far.

Lesser-Known Takes on Something Else

Lesser-Known Takes Playlist.

Humorous and infectious, “Pony Chorale” by Michael Guy Bowman with Tavia Morra off of Homestuck Vol. 4 is – well, it’s certainly a song! A mournful Western whistle on “Chorale for Jaspers” set to the beat of cartoonish hoof noises, punctuated by cymbals, all wrapped up with one simple word: neigh. And if you want some visuals for your viewing pleasure, there are two (probably not so) secret Flash pages for this song.

“Squidissension” by Mark Hadley, off of Homestuck Vol. 6 does an admirable and unique spin on the difficult job of combining the hyper-pop sugar-overdosed “Squiddles!” theme and the slightly ominous guardianstrife theme for Jade, “Dissension”. Serving as the main running melody, when shifted into minor key and given “Dissension” as a complement, “Squiddles!” becomes frantic instead of desperate, while “Dissension” is given that extra jump in momentum to keep pace, making for a track that’s something different, more adventurous, and more dire than either of its progenitors.

While it’s close to blowing the 500k Youtube requirement, “Anbroids 2.0” by Malcom Brown off of Homestuck Vol. 9 is still in the clear, so I’m putting it here as an early favourite of mine. With a very synthetic Strider sound, the track’s got a nice bouncy melody that serves as a fuller-realized version of the original “Anbroids” in the flash. Perfect for a rap-off.

“I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew (Post-Punk Version)”, by Michael Guy Bowman with Erik “Jit” Scheele and Marcy Nabors, from Homestuck Vol. 9, is a seedier, sharper, and stabbier take on the Victorian original and the acapella cover featured in the comic proper. The vocals just kill.

“II – Sarabande” by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell for her solo album Symphony Impossible to Play , is, unsurprisingly, a symphonic cover of “Sarabande” by Erik “Jit” Scheele. What might be surprising, however, is how much restraint is employed in it – the difference from the original is subtle, bearing a slowly rising string backing before the cello solo of the main melody kicks in around the minute mark.

Where “Homestuck Anthem” has a weird, portentous and artificial atmosphere, “Homestuck” a more present and traditional rendition, “Elevatorstuck” a dedicated – and listenable! – parody of muzak, and “Homosuck Anthem” a… copious amount of animal sound effects, “IV – Anthem”, also off of Symphony Impossible to Play brings a triumphant fanfare to the thematic melody for the comic. It is powerful and keeps the tension in the original throughout, driven by the backing – my favourite part is when the brass first cuts and you’re just left to bask only in the beat and the strings. “I – Overture” might have been the track to finish the comic, but I can’t think of a better track to end the album.

While the popularity of “Penumbra Phantasm” is debatable given that it’s never been released in full, “FantasyP”, by Erik “Jit” Scheele off of his solo album One Year Older, is a wonderfully hopeful and free take on “Penumbra Phantasm”, instead of referencing it as part of a larger composition. If you don’t know what “Penumbra Phantasm” is, prepare for roughly four minutes of “hey, that sounds familiar” while listening to just a really nice song – though, notably, it omits that one haunting piano riff from the original that serves as a code for a great many of the flashes. (One Year Older is available for free on Scheele’s bandcamp.)

“Another Chance”, a bonus track from One Year Older but done by Eston “silence” Schweickart”, is a synth remix of “Walk-Stab-Walk (R&E)” that gives the already good track some serious extra juice.

Starting off as a far-off sounding piano rendition of “Ruins” before crackling into a mechanized-backing of “Flare”, then bringing in clear, present electric guitar at 2:00 and finally adding in “Explore”, “Solar Voyage” by Marcy Nabors (with several others, check Disc II for full credits) off of Homestuck Vol. 10 definitely feels like a journey. The twists and progression on these recognizable musical staples are a sound to behold.

“Conclude” by Seth “Beatfox” Peelle, also off the same album, is the closer to the final volume of Homestuck music, and it lives up to the challenge. Beginning with a flying rendition of Sburban Jungle that turns the frenetic rush of the original into a hopeful retrospective, before switching to a bittersweet refrain of “Showtime”, the song then dives into original territory with a fanfare at 4:13, backed by “Skies of Skaia”, before closing with a soaring rendition of “Homestuck”, free and full of light in comparison to the pounding might of “IV – Anthem”. It’s a wonderful encapsulation of the complicated feelings flowing into one another that come with the end of a comic that means so much. My favourite bit is the far-off echoed “Showtime” at 1:19 – looking at the early morning of that April 13th, 2009. It did turn out to be a very long day, after all.

Cool And New Music

Cool and New Music Playlist.

“Squiddle Samba” by Michael Guy Bowman off of the album Squiddles! (no longer for sale, do with that information what you will), a thematic concept theme giving a whole extensive soundtrack to a fictitious children’s television show, is an energetic and bubbly jam that does not take the concept so far that an excess of irony is needed to enjoy it (though, the sugarily crystalline Squiddle voices appear for a scant fifteen seconds near the end, if that’s what you’re for).

Also off the same album, “Ocean Stars” by Mark Hadley is a calming, sweet and savoury treat to top off the excess of sugar cubes (and occasion tentacles) put on your musical plate. The layered build-up of the various elements is simple, befitting a children’s show, but done oh-so-well in a way that gives it meat.

“The Lemonsnout Turnabout” by Toby Fox for his solo album Alternia is a narrative piece wherein a young Trollian girl has an intrumental motif established (Neo-baroque harpsichord), and sets to take in a certain neon yellow draconian senator (represented by an oboe) for adjustments. In contrast to “Terezi’s Theme” and its more faster action, there’s a certain cerebral, well-plotted atmosphere to “The Lemonsnout Turnabout”. You can see the wind-up of the machinery fueling Terezi’s long noose in nailing Lemonsnout, echoed by the fearful groan of that oboe and the sharp jabs of the harpsichord in turn.

Also from Alternia, “dESPERADO ROCKET CHAIRS,” establishes Tavros with a Latin theme the way “The Lemonsnout Turnabout” establishes Terezi with the harpischord. It begins a short intro, before the horns really come in blaring – a far shot from the dying string reference of “Rex Duodecim Angelus”. Tavros is a dork, but he’s got fire behind him, and “dSPERADO ROCKET CHAIRS,” does a good job of showing that.

“Shade” by Clark “Plazmataz” Powell off of her solo album Medium, themed around the kid’s lands. A mixture of synthetic and often industrial noise combined with more organic instrumentation helps express the strangeness of these game worlds. In “Shade”, the shimmering melody that drives the track forward expresses the quiet and curious nature of the bioluminescence of LOWAS, before transitioning into a piano tune made for Typheus.

“Heat”, off the same album, takes a more hard-pressed approach, utilizing scissoring violin backdropped against industrial swirl to conjure up the swelter of churning lava in LOHAC. When the violin breaks free of that rhythm to climb, it only adds to the drama, and the song ends by sonically pulling away from the ebb and flow to leave the planet behind.

Starting off with thunder, “Exodus” by Tyler Dever for his solo album Sburb and performed by Erik “jit” Scheele, Exodus balances the apocalyptic severity of the meteors sent during the beginning hours of SBURB with skittering notes of the various players attempting to enter the medium. It closes out with a stark, last-second rendition of “Sburban Jungle” before quietly fading. (Sburb is available for free on Dever’s bandcamp.)

“Carapacian Dominion” by Seth “Beatfox” Peelle, opening the exile-themed album The Wanderers (also unavailable for purchase), sets the stage for the rest of the music by combining more unexplored, ethnic sound with a more Homestuck-typical industrial beat that’s perfect for the long trek along the desert of earth, years in the future (but not many).

In contrast to the forward-hiking rhythm of “Carapacian Dominion”, “Aimless Morning Gold” by Michael Guy Bowman off the same album is a track for staying in one place. Glittering synth (?) notes linger and warp in the heat, contrasted by the lazy ramble of the bass, all punctuated by a slight turn to Westerns with rattling machine gun shots.

And taking a strong turn from both of them, “Years in the Future” by Robert J! Lake, still off of the same album, is track following in Lake’s style of slightly eclectic, slightly choppy, but nevertheless catching and catchy electronic noise tunes. It takes a bit for the track to get going, but the combination of blips and bleeps that all call up the idea of electronic communication in the Can Town of the future makes for a wonderful swirl in the end.

“Derse Dreamers” might be one of the most famous songs in Homestuck, but that isn’t to say Prospit is lacking in terms of good music. “Center of Brilliance” by Solatrus for his solo album Prospit & Derse, themed around, well, you guess, begins with a shimmering chiming intro before bass and piano step in to bring a more full view of the center of the golden moon. The regal fanfare and drum setup ties things to Prospit’s formal atmosphere as a contrast to John and Jade’s instruments of choice. Something I like for all of the Prospit songs in the album is the bass guitar – it stands out as a driving instrument rather than just backing, and it’s true here, too. (Prospit & Derse is available for free on Solatrus’ bandcamp.)

“Song of Skaia” by Mark Hadley with Tarien Ainuvë, off of the same-titled album, is probably most recognizable as the bursting upswell chorus three minutes into “Creata”. Compared to that triumphant recital, however, “Song of Skaia” takes a more singular approach. It’s more minimalistic, and generally has the feeling of looking down from a thousand miles out in space.

“Cancerous Core” by Erik “Jit” Scheele gives a very short moment in the comic – the descent into Skaia – a full musical backing. The subtle brush of the air in combination with the restless roll of the piano in Locrian mode, accompanied by the ancient call of the wind instrumentation. It’s a track that definitely calls a strange and perhaps unsettling journey into some unseen world.

Alien and enchanting, “Voidlight” by Thomas Ferkol off of Homestuck Vol. 10 bears a flowing atmosphere that still contains a sense of drama. From commentary, it’s based on Calliope hiding in the Furthest Ring, which makes sense for the quiet not yet calm nature. The strings in the intro help convey the quiet, secluded landscape, and all around it’s a wonderfully ethereal piece.

“Feel (Alive)” by Luke Benjamins and Robert J! Lake from the same album, on the other hand, is a straight up chiptune rocker. It’s got raucous energy that absolutely earns its title.

Disc I - Side B

Side B Playlist (incomplete, not every track is on Youtube).

Homestuck Sound Test Gems

Sound Test Playlist (incomplete, not every Sound Test track is on Youtube).

“Cuttlefish Rag” by Alexander “Albatross Soup” Rosetti is a jaunty little ragtime tune originally written for Squiddles! , though you could also easily interpret it as a track for Feferi.

All memery aside, “Karkalicious (Guitarkind)” is a rockin’ guitar addition to a short excerpt of the Broadwaystuck classic. Yes, it’s hilarious. It also has some genuinely sick riffs. I daresay “Karkalicious” has never sounded so good.

“Mother (Davekind)” by Erik “Jit” Scheele is a take on “Mother” from One Year Older (can you tell I really like this album?) but in the style of Dave instead of John, trading out the slow, matured piano and strings for synths and turntables with a more energetic beat.

“Sea of Derse” got more instrumentation for the jazzy and relaxed “Breeze” in Homestuck Vol. 10, but in some ways I like the slightly more melancholic, stripped-down piano original.

“today i butchered a homestuck song (three in the A M)” by James “soselfimportant” Roach is a slightly weird, catching arrangement on “Three in the Morning”. In some way, it’s a precursor to what Roach did with “Karkat’s Theme”, “Terezi’s Theme”, and “Davesprite” for the Pesterquest soundtrack.

“Aggrieve (Piano) v2” by Toby Fox is… well, it’s a piano arrangement of “Aggrieve”, the second of three, and the best of them. I might be biased in terms of instrumentation, but what makes this track so good personally (and in fact, my favourite version of “Aggrieve”) is that it brings a level of energy that tends to be sublimated for a more measured and cerebral Lalondian pace – even in “Aggrievocation”. There’s a lot of great moments in this track, but my favourite bit’s around 1:42.

Fan Music Gems

Fan Music Playlist (incomplete, not every fan music track is on Youtube).

Found in the ~2011 Fan Music compilation of the Homestuck Archives, “Sunrise” by Yan “Nucleose” Rodriguez is a cheery guitar cover of the previously mentioned “Light”. It brings a sharper edge to the main melody, definitely befitting those first cracks of light over the horizon. I might like this more than the original. (Ironically, a later track by Scheele for One Year Older used the same title, and also referenced “Light”.)

“Sunshaker” by D. Crystal off of Land of Fans and Music is a very faithful jazz arrangement of “Sunsetter”. It’s mellower than both “Sunsetter” and “Sunslammer”, but still upbeat, all pinned together by that rolling piano.

Done by “Tarranon” for the concept album Sburb OST, “Amongst Smiling Faces [Prospitian Dignitaries]” is a theme for the agents of the Prospit. As its title might suggest, it takes a much more relaxed tone than Prospit & Derse’s regality, going downright pastoral with a sound not out of place for a first town in a JRPG.

“Waste of Space” by therosielord off of Songs for Monsters , is a lamentful fansong for Jade H arley on the occasion of her death in the Game Over timeline. The lyric s have some really clever moments underscoring Jade’s rise in agency, only to see that same agency fall by the wayside through death and grimbarkification. The ambling, almost slee py guitar backing only underscores the tragedy. (“Waste of Space” is the first of a quartet of songs for the Beta kids – the girls’ featured on Songs for Monsters , and the boys’ featured on Songs for Gods .)

The third in the Beta Kids quartet by therosielord and off of Songs for Gods, “Out of Time” is a fansong for, of course, Dave Strider. It’s a rambling, wordplay-laden tune that’s set to the relentless pace of Sburb on a single day in April, before scratching and resetting to a layered repetition of information and elements. The verse at 2:12 is my favourite of all of the Beta kid songs.

The twelve fansongs for the trolls might be PhemieC’s most famous contribution to Homestuck fandom, but the songs off of their other album, Songs for a Doomed Timeline aren’t slacking, either. “The Path” is one of their less well-known works – a fansong for Alpha Dave and Rose. Prognostic and methodical, it’s sung with the unclouded and heavy knowledge of the events to come, and the lyricism is sharp at every corner.

Yeah, I’m waiving the no character themes rule for Fan Music, because Fan Music is already niche enough. “♐Broken Strings♐” by psithurist off of Ancestral , an album dedicated to the ancestors, is an off-beat math rock styled string track for E%ecutor Darkleer. The odd rhythm and combination of strings and percussion is perfect for the loyal agent of the empire turnt exile.

“Of Rust and Royalty” by Grace Medley and off of the same album is a thudding nu disco take on the fight between the Handmaid and the Condesce, splicing up various elements of Rust Servant/Rust Apocalypse, Fuchsia Ruler, and Eternity Served Cold in a way that sells the power of the two (three?) individuals involved.

“The End of Something Really Excellent” by Rhyselinn off of Lands of Fans and Music 4 is, itself, a r eally e xcellent medley of “ The Beginning of Something Really Excellent” and a lot of narrative Homestuck hits. The tone is mostly relieved and a little nostalgic, like finally being able to catch a real breath after two very long days and three years of a suspense-building in-between – a nice contrast to the more triumphant and energetic musical recaps in Homestuck. The commentary has both and outline of how the song follows the plot of Homestuck and timestamps for each song referenced.

“Calming Quartz” by PoisonedElite is the opener for Xenoplanetarium, an album in a similar vein as Medium, only for the trolls’ planets instead. Whereas Medium touches on the at least tangential familiarity that comes with the kids’ planets by utilizing industrial sounds with organic instruments, Xenoplanetarium at its best gives an odd and isolated soundtrack to its subjects, and “Calming Quartz” is exemplary in that. The bounding piano reflects the glacial nature of the quartz in LOQAM, backdropped by music box melody fitting with the cardinal movement. That melody’s isolation and eventual fade into mechanized hum at the end might be my favourite part of the song.

Continuing in the steed of “Calming Quartz”, “Sandy Skyline” by Aris Martinian from the same album brings the ever-stretching dunes of LOSAZ with some notes in the breeze and strong low stringwork, set to a clicking rhythm. The echo processing effect is noticeable but not too excessive, all making for a track perfect for that orange expanse.

Disc II - Side A

Side A Playlist.

Deep Cuts From Popular Albums

Deep Cuts Playlist.

“Light” – Erik “Jit” Scheele (Homestuck Vol. 5)

“Softly” – Robert J! Lake (Homestuck Vol. 5)

“Atomic Bonsai” – Joren “Tensei” de Bruin (Strife!)

“Catapult Capuchin” – Toby “Radiation” Fox (Alterniabound)

“Clockstopper” – viaSatellite, infiniteKnife (coloUrs and mayhem: Universe B)

Lesser-Known Takes on Something Else

Lesser-Known Takes Playlist.

“Pony Chorale” – Michael Guy Bowman with Tavia Morra (Homestuck Vol. 4)

“Squidissension” – Mark Hadley (Homestuck Vol. 6)

“Anbroids 2.0” – Malcom Brown (Homestuck Vol. 9)

“I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew (Post-Punk Version)” – Michael Guy Bowman with Erik “Jit” Scheele” and Marcy Nabors (Homestuck Vol. 9)

“II – Sarabande” – Clark “Plazmataz” Powell (Symphony Impossible to Play)

“IV – Anthem” – Clark “Plazmataz” Powell (Symphony Impossible to Play)

“FantasyP” – Erik “Jit” Scheele” (One Year Older)

“Another Chance” – Eston “silence” Schweickart (One Year Older)

“Solar Voyage” – Marcy Nabors with Michael Guy Bowman, Clark “Plazmataz” Powell, Erik “Jit” Scheele”, Joren “Tensei” de Bruin”, Paul Henderson, and Jamie Page Stanley (Homestuck Vol. 10)

“Conclude” Seth “Beatfox” Peele (Homestuck Vol. 10)

Cool and New Music

Cool and New Music Playlist.

“Squiddle Samba” – Michael Guy Bowman (Squiddles!)

“Ocean Stars” – Mark Hadley (Squiddles!)

“The Lemonsnout Turnabout” – Toby Fox (Alternia)

“Desperado Rocket Chairs” – Toby Fox (Alternia)

“Shade” – Clark “Plazmataz” Powell (Medium)

“Heat” – Clark “Plazmataz” Powell (Medium)

“Exodus” – Tyler Dever and Erik “Jit” Scheele” (Sburb)

“Carapacian Dominion” – Seth “Beatfox” Peele (The Wanderers)

“Aimless Morning Gold” – Michael Guy Bowman (The Wanderers)

“Years In The Future” – Robert J! Lake (The Wanderers)

“Center of Brilliance” – Solatrus (Prospit & Derse)

“Song of Skaia” – Mark Hadley with Tarien Ainuvë (Song of Skaia)

“Cancerous Core” – Erik “Jit” Scheele (One Year Older)

“Voidlight” – Thomas Ferkol (Homestuck Vol. 10)

“Feel (Alive)” – Luke Benjamins and Robert J! Lake (Homestuck Vol. 10)

Disc II - Side B

Side B Playlist (incomplete, not every track is on Youtube).

Homestuck Sound Test Gems

Sound Test Playlist (incomplete, not every Sound Test track is on Youtube).

Cuttlefish Rag – Alexander “Albatross Soup” Rosetti

“Karkalicious (Guitarkind)” – Joren “Tensei” de Bruin

“Mother (Davekind)” – Erik “Jit” Scheele

“Sea of Derse” – Erik “Jit” Scheele

“today I butchered a song (3 in the A M)” – James “soselfimportant” Roach

“Aggrieve (Piano) v2” – Toby “Radiation” Fox

Fan Music Gems

Fan Music Playlist (incomplete, not every fan music track is on Youtube).

“Sunrise” – Yan “Nucleose” Rodriguez

“Sunshaker” – D.Crystal (Land of Fans and Music)

“Amongst Smiling Faces [Prospitian Dignitaries]” – Tarranon (Sburb OST)

“Waste of Space” – the rosielord (Songs for Monsters)

“Out of Time” – therosielord (Songs for Gods)

“The Path” – PhemieC (Songs for a Doomed Timeline)

“♐Broken Strings♐” – psithurist (Ancestral)

“Of Rust and Royalty” – Grace Medley (Ancestral)

“The End of Something Really Excellent” – Rhyselinn (Land of Fans and Music 4)

“Calming Quartz” – PoisonedElite (Xenoplanetarium)

“Sandy Skyline” – Aris Martinian (Xenoplanetarium)

#Homestuck #Homestuck Music #Playlist #Writing #Homestuck Music Recs #Music Recs #Andrew Hussie's Earthbound Fanfiction

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masterscrafts · 1 year

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Art Deco Style 18Kt Gold, Diamonds, Lapis Lazuli & Turquoise Cat Clock - by Patek Philippe PATEK PHILIPPE, A FINE & UNIQUE GOLD, LAPIS LAZULI, TURQUOISE & DIAMOND SET MINIATURE EGYPTIAN-STYLE TABLE CLOCK 1978 REF 2011 MVT 1500401 CASE 2780492

* cal. E26 quartz movement * gilt dial, Dauphine hands ¿ within a sunburst adorned with 22 circular-cut diamonds totaling 1.04 carats, surrounded by 22 turquoise petals, fitted within a circular lapis lazuli disc framed with 18k gold, case back secured by 4 screws, supported by two outward-facing 18k gold Egyptian-style cats elaborately adorned, resting atop an 18k gold and lapis lazuli rectangular base * with French hallmarks for 18k gold * case, dial and movement signed, further signed by casemaker in four places

Condition

Rare and collectable! Quartz movement running while cataloguing. Dial looks nice and clean. Diamonds and gemstones in nice colours and sizes, diamonds totalling 1.04 carats. 2 cats, case retain good definition, but please note that only one earing remaining on one cat. Case retains crisp French 18k gold hallmarks and case maker's mark stamped in 5 places: 1. On the outside of the case back, in the center 2. Right panel of the base 3. On the outer frame holding the lapis lazuli 4 & 5: 2 Cat's tails "In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping.

Important Notice regarding importation into the United States of Rolex watches Sotheby's cannot arrange for the delivery of Rolex watches to the United States because U.S. laws restricts the import of Rolex watches. The buyer or a designated agent may collect the property in the country of sale."

Catalogue Note

Accompanied by a Patek Philippe Extract from the Archives confirming production in 1978 and sale on August 25th, 1986.

This piece belongs to a series of one-of-a-kind clocks produced during the early 1980s, made on special request for Patek Philippe customers. The lapis lazuli and turquoise used in this exotic piece are typical of the jewelery and design of this period, with an emphasis on powerful symbols of status and luxury. For similar clocks see Erhart, R., Demesy J., Patek Philippe, p. 217, 219 and 220.

Cats in ancient Egypt are auspicious symbols, deified and believed to ward off evil spirits.

#time pieces #quartz #clock #clockwork #turquoise #lapis lazuli #table clock #gold #diamond #patek philippe

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doomedandstoned · 1 year

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Dublin Bass & Drum Duo TRUE HOME Drop Meditative Doom Record ‘Black Lotus’

~Doomed and Stoned~

By Billy Goate

There aren't a whole lot of bass and drum acts out there. Bell Witch, Big Business, Bardo, and Behoover come to mind (strangely, the majority of bass-led bands also choose names that begin with the letter "B"). What may not be as tough to pull off when tempos are swift, becomes a challenge when everything slows down to a doom's pace. And you want to strip the band of its (arguably) most popular instrument?

That's at least how the heavy underground felt until OM came along and blew our minds with the advent of Meditative Doom, sans guitar. Other bands have followed in those footsteps, including Zaum from New Brunswick and Breath from Oregon. Now from Dublin, Ireland comes bass & drum duo TRUE HOME with their own take on meditative doom in 'Black Lotus' (2023).

True Home's most accessible song is placed first on the album, "The Cry of the Mountain Hawk," featuring a slithering stoner-doom riff that sounds like a royalty fuzzified Tool. Vocals are droning and clean, not too distantly removed from Reverend Bizarre, and share a kinship with Sleep frontman Al Cisneros. This one's got a chorus that I'll probably find myself singing whilst making breakfast or taking out the trash. It's just something I do.

Beneath each song is the lulling sitaresque tone produced by programmed synth. It grounds us to the experience and becomes more and more comforting with eath encounter. "The Great Journey" takes a bluesy, jazzy, off-beat approach to Gregorian Chant, at least until things get electrified to work out all that nervous energy -- with irradiated noodling that rivals Swamp Ritual.

The intensity ramps up even more for "Sailing The Sand Dunes," in which the bass moves with big, sweeping gestures and stays busy as hell trying to keep the barge moving over barren Saharan hills and flats. This is the one, I'm sure, that'll get people headbanging at concerts.

The last two songs on the album usher us deeper into a realm of tranced-out introspection, with the mysterious, hazy, and hypnotic "Buddham Sagnahram Gachami" and the near 20-minute transcendental colossus, "Ascension Of The Astralnaut," featuring spoken word passages that serve perhaps to guide the listener into a state of general meditativeness.

The record is ideal for Cursed Monk Records, who specialize in dark musical esoterica. "The darker, weirder, and heavier the better," their motto goes. True Home's Black Lotus will be released on May 26th on compact disc and digital formats (pre-order here).

After suffering a dreadful bout with COVID (the Delta strain) in 2021, psychedelic, meditative doom was key to my mental, physical, and spiritual recovery. I'm pleased to have another band enter the fold. Stick True Home on a playlist with OM, Bong, Zaum, Breath, Saturnalia Temple, and Megalith Levitation.

Give ear...

Black Lotus by True Home

SOME BUZZ

Photographs by Shane J. Horan

True Home is a Dublin Based Psychedelic Meditative Doom Metal two piece. Featuring Declan Beare on Bass/Vocals, and Charlie Appleby on Drums and percussion.

The Bass and Drum combo balance between transcendent meditations and earth shattering heavy riffs.

For two people they move a serious amount of air at bone crushing volumes, helped by the droning modular synth providing a continuous atmosphere to get lost in.

Their 3rd studio album "Black Lotus" comes out on CD and Digital Download May 23rd via Cursed Monk Records.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

#D&S Debuts #True Home #Dublin #Ireland #doom metal #bass & drum #Cursed Monk Records #D&S Reviews #Doomed and Stoned

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dustedmagazine · 2 years

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Mac J — True Story (True Story Ent)

youtube

When Young Slo-Be was killed in August it was a devastating loss for all hip hop community. It only made sense that Mac J would dedicate his new tape not only to Slo-Be but to Bris as well who was killed two years ago. True Story is a tribute album by the Sacramento MC which was released with a hashtag #LongLiveDaThugs.

True Story is a departure for Mac J. His previous efforts were short and tight. This one lasts more than an hour and consists of 23 tracks. It’s not exactly a baggy monster, but it feels that it was done in haste, like Mac J has just thrown in a few tracks which laid loose on his hard drive. It’s not that Young Slo-Be and Bris don’t deserve a full blown tribute. Trimming the disc by half might provide a moving memorial. True Story is 2021′s 7-song, 20-minute Tricky Situation, Mac J’s best to date, except he’s forgotten to delete all the mediocre tracks.

Mac J’s best weapon has always been puns, but here they’re drowned out. He jokes less and less. You have to dig through whole verses to find good quotes: “I never wear hats so I never turn a cap on”, “I get them bags to your door like I’m bellboy” or “Keep your eyes on that paper, that’s what teacher said.”

It’s not surprising that his mood turns darker. He’s writing about revenge for his fallen comrades. He mourns – and barely holds himself from spraying at the opposition. On every track, he reminds the listeners that he’s ready to avenge his friends. He raps on “Talk 2 Much”: “Make sure to count me in when it’s count time \ I ain’t give a fuck ‘bout yours but about mine.” Even when the production is playful and slappy, the Sacramento rapper has little use for play. He goes straight for threats. Maybe this is the reason why the CD lacks clarity: emotions get in the way of artistry. Half of the tracks are out of focus. Only the hooks hold attention.

As a tribute to the killed partners, True Story is as genuine as it can be. As a piece of art, not so much.

Ray Garraty

#mac j #true story #ray garraty #albumreview #dusted magazine #rap #hip hop #young slo-be #bris

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borntobecheap · 4 months

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“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… THE NICEST KIDS IN TOWN!”

IF I HAVE one regret in life, it's that I wasn't a Buddy Deaner. Sure, as a teenager I was a guest on this Baltimore show. I even won the twist contest with Mary Lou Raines (one of the queens of "The Buddy Deane Show") at a local country club.

But I was never a Deaner. Not a real one. Not one of the Committee members, the ones chosen to be on the show every day—the Baltimore version of the Mouseketeers, "the nicest kids in town," as they were billed. The guys who wore sport coats with belts in the back from Lee's of Broadway (ten percent discount for Committee members), pegged pants, pointy-toe shoes with the great buckles on the side and "drape" (greaser) haircuts that my parents would never allow. And the girl Deaners, God, "hair-hopppers" as we called them in my neighborhood, the ones with the Etta gowns, bouffant hairdos and cha-cha heels. These were the first role models I knew. The first stars I could identify with. Arguably the first TV celebrities in Baltimore.

I'm still a fan—a Deaner groupie. I even named some of the characters in my films after them. So you can't imagine how excited I was when I finally got a chance to interview these local legends twenty years later.

"The Buddy Deane Show" was a teenage dance party, on the air from 1957 to 1964. It was the top-rated local TV show in Baltimore and, for several years, the highest rated local TV program in the country. While the rest of the nation grew up on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" (which was not even shown here because Channel I3 already had "Buddy Deane"), Baltimoreans, true to form, had their own eccentric version. Every rock 'n' roll star of the day (except Elvis) came to town to lip-sync and plug their records on the show: Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Fats Domino, the Supremes, the Marvelettes, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon and Fabian, to name just a few.

You learned how to be a teenager from the show. Every day after school kids would run home, tune in and dance with the bedpost or refrigerator door as they watched. If you couldn't do the Buddy Deane Jitterbug (always identifiable by the girl's ever-so-subtle dip of her head each time she was twirled around), you were a social outcast. And because a new dance was introduced practically every week, you had to watch every day to keep up. It was maddening: the Mashed Potato, the Stroll, the Pony, the Waddle, the Locomotion, the Bug, the Handjive, the New Continental and, most important, the Madison, a complicated line dance that started here and later swept the country.

Although the show has been off the air for more than twenty years, a nearly fanatical cult of fans has managed to keep the memory alive. The producers of Diner wanted to include "Buddy Deane" footage in their film, but most of the shows were live and any tapes of this local period piece have been erased. Last spring five hundred people quickly snapped up the $23 tickets to the third Buddy Deane Reunion, held at a banquet hall in East Baltimore, to raise money for the Baltimore Burn Center. Buddy himself, the high priest, returned for the event. And more important, so did the Committee, still entering by a special door, still doing the dances from the period with utmost precision. I was totally star-struck and had as much fun that night as I did at the Cannes Film Festival. All on tacky Pulaski Highway.

IN THE BEGINNING there was Arlene. Arlene Kozak, Buddy's assistant and den mother to the Committee. Now a receptionist living in suburbia with her husband and two grown children, Arlene remains fiercely loyal, organizing the reunions and keeping notebooks filled with the updated addresses, married names and phone numbers of all "my kids."

She met Winston J. "Buddy" Deane in the fifties when she worked for a record wholesaler and he was the top-rated disc jockey on WITH — the only DJ in town who played rock 'n' roll for the kids. Joel Chaseman, also a DJ at WITH, became program manager of WJZ-TV when Westinghouse bought it in the mid-fifties. Chaseman had this idea for a dance party show, with Buddy as the disc jockey, and Buddy asked Arlene to go to work for him.

On the air "before Dick Clark debuted," the show "was a hit from the beginning," says Arlene today.

The Committee, initially recruited from local teen centers, was to act as hosts and dance with the guests. To be selected you had to bring a "character reference" letter from your pastor, priest or rabbi, qualify in a dance audition and show in an interview ("the Spotlight") that you had "personality." At first the Committee had a revolving membership, with no one serving longer than three months.

But something unforeseen happened: The home audience soon grew attached to some of these kids. So the rules were bent a little; the "big" ones, the ones with the fan mail, were allowed to stay.

And the whole concept of the Committee changed. The star system was born.

If you were a Buddy Deane Committee member, you were on TV six days a week for as many as three hours a day-enough media exposure to make Marshall McLuhan's head spin. The first big stars were Bobbi Burns and Freddy Oswinkle, according to Arlene, but "no matter how big anyone got, someone came along who was even bigger."

Joe Cash and Joan Teves became the show's first royalty.

Joanie, whose mother "wanted me to be a child star," hit the show in early 1957 at age thirteen (you had to be fourteen to be eligible, but many lied about their ages to qualify), followed a few months later by Joe, seventeen. Like many couples, Joe and Joan m* through the show and became "an item" for their fans. Many years later they married.

"I saw the show as a vehicle to make something of myself," remembers Joe. "I was aggressive. I wanted to get into the record business" —and years later he did.

Joe started working for Buddy as "teen assistant" and, along with Arlene, oversaw the Committee and enforced the strict rules.

You received demerits for almost anything: Chewing gum. Eating the refreshments (Ameche's Powerhouses, the premiere teenage hangout's forerunner of the Big Mac), which were for guests only.

Or dancing with other Committee members when you were supposed to be dancing with the guests (a very unpopular rule allowed this only every fourth dance). And if you dared to dance the obscene Bodie Green (the Dirty Boogie), you were immediately a goner.

"I got a little power-crazed," admits Joe. "I thought I was running the world, so they developed a Board, and the Committee began governing itself." Being elected to the Board became the ultimate status symbol. This Committee's committee, under the watchful eye of Arlene, chose new members, taught the dance steps and enforced the demerit system, which could result in suspension or expulsion.

Another royal Deaner couple who met on the air and later married was Gene Snyder and Linda Warehime. They are still referred to, good naturedly by some, as "the Ken and Barbie of the show." Gene, a member of "the first Committee, and I underline first," later became president of the Board. Linda reverently describes her Committee membership as "the best experience I ever had in my life." They later became members of the "Permanent Committee," the hall of fame that could come back to dance even after retiring. "That was our whole social life, being a Buddy Deaner," says Gene. "It was a family: Buddy was the father, Arlene was the mother."

Even today Gene and Linda are the quintessential Deaner couple, still socializing with many Committee members, very protective of the memory, and among the first to "lead a dance" at the emotion-packed reunions. "Once a Deaner, always a Deaner," as another so succinctly puts it.

The early "look" of the Committee was typically fifties. And although few will now admit to having been drapes, the hairstyles at first were DAs, Detroits and Waterfalls for the guys and ponytails and DAs for the girls, who wore full skirts with crinolins and three or four pairs of bobby socks. Joe remembers "a sport coat I bought for $s from somebody who got it when he got out of prison.

I was able after a while to afford some clothes from Lee's of Broad-way" (whose selection of belted coats and pegged pants made it the Saks Fifth Avenue of Deaners).

One of the first ponytail princesses was "Peanuts" (Sharon Goldman, debuting at fourteen in 1958, Forest Park High School Chicken Hop), who went on the show because Deaners were "folk heroes." She remembers Paul Anka singing "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" to her on camera as she did just that. She became so popular that she was written up in the nationwide Sixteen magazine.

"On the show you were either a drape or a square," explains Sharon. "I was a square. I guess Helen Crist was the first drapette: the DA, the ballet shoes, oogies [tulle scarves], eye shadow—eye-liner was big then—and pink lipstick."

Helen Crist. The best little jitterbugger in Baltimore. The first and maybe the biggest Buddy Deane queen of all. Debuting at a mere eleven years of age, taking three buses every day to get to the show, wearing that wonderful white DA (created by her hairdresser father) and causing the first real sensation. She was one of the chosen few who went to New York to learn how to demonstrate the Madison and was selected for the "exchange committee" that represented Baltimore's best on "American Bandstand." She was the only one of the biggies who refused to be on the Board ("They had power; a lot were disliked because of it").

Helen's fans flocked to see her at the Buddy Deane Record Hops (Committee members had to make such personal appearances and sign autographs). "I got all these letters from the Naval Academy," Helen remembers, "so I went there one day, and all the midshipmen were hanging out the windows. It was a real kick!" Her fame even brought an offer to join the circus. "This man approached me, telegrammed me, showed up at the show. He wanted me to go to a summer training session to be a trapeze artist. I wanted to go, but my parents wouldn't let me. I was really mad. I wanted to join the circus."

Two other ponytail princesses who went on to the Buddy Deane hall of fame were Evanne Robinson, the Committee member on the show the longest, and Kathy Schmink. Today they seem opposites.

Over lunch at the Thunderball Lounge, in East Baltimore, Kathy remembers, "I could never get used to signing autographs. Why?' I'd wonder." She wasn't even a fan of the show. "It was a fluke. My mother wanted me to go; she took me down to the tryouts. At first I was so shy I hid behind the Coke machines."

But Evanne "used to come right home and head for the TV. I had always studied dance, and I wanted to go on (the show]. I'm the biggest ham." Although she denies being conscious of the cam-era, she admits, "I did try to dance up front. I wasn't going to go on and not be seen." But even Evanne turned bashful on one show, when Buddy made a surprise announcement. "I was voted prettiest girl by this whole army base. I was so embarrassed. Buddy called me up before the cameras, and I wasn't dressed my best. The whole day on the show was devoted to me."

BEING A TEENAGE STAR in Baltimore had its drawbacks. "It was difficult with your peers," recalls Peanuts. "You weren't one of them anymore." Outsiders envied the fame, especially if they lost their steadies to Deaners, and many were put off by boys who loved to dance. "Everybody wanted to kick a Buddy Deaner's ass," says Gene, recalling thugs waiting to jump Deaners outside the studio.

"It was so painful. It was horrible," says Joe. "I used to get death threats on the show. I'd get letters saying, If you show up at this particular hop, you're gonna get your face pushed in?" And Evanne still shudders as she recalls, "Once I was in the cafeteria.

One girl yelled 'Buddy Deaner' and then threw her plate at me. My mother used to pick me up after school to make sure nobody hassled me."

The adoring fans could also be a hassle. "I must have had ten different phone numbers," says Helen, "and somehow it would get out. There were a lot of obscene phone calls."

And the rumors, God, the rumors. "They all thought all the girls were pregnant by Buddy Deane," remember several. "Once I was off the show for a while, and they said I had joined the nun-nery," says Helen, laughing. "It was even in the papers. It was hilarious."

Some of the rumors were fanned on purpose. Because "Buddy Deane's" competition was soap operas, the budding teenage romances were sometimes played up for the camera. "One time I was going with this guy, and he was dancing with this guest I didn't like," says Evanne. "Buddy noticed my eyes staring and said, 'Do the same eyes.' And the camera got it." Kathy went even further. "I was with this guy named Jeff. We faked a feud. I took off my steady ring and threw it down. We got more mail: 'Oh, please don't break up!' Somebody even sent us a miniature pair of boxing gloves. Then we made up on camera."

Romance was one thing; sex was another. Most Deaner girls wouldn't even "tongue-kiss," claims Arlene, remembering the ruckus caused by a Catholic priest when the Committee modeled strapless Etta gowns on TV. From then on, all bare shoulders were covered with a piece of net.

Other vices were likewise eschewed. If a guy had one beer, it was a big deal. Some do remember a handful of kids getting high on cough medicine. "Yeah, it was Cosenel," says Joe. "They would drive me nuts when they'd come in the door, and I'd say, 'Man, you're gone. You are out of here. You are history.' "

Although many parents and WJZ insisted that Committee members had to keep up their grades to stay on the show, the reality could be quite different. With the show beginning at 2:30 in some years, cutting out of school early was common.

"I'd hook and have to dance in the back so the teachers couldn't see me," says Helen. "I had to get up there on time. My heart would have broken in two if I couldn't have gone on." Finally Helen quit Mergenthaler (Mervo) trade school, at the height of her fame. "The school tried to throw me out before. I couldn't be bothered with education. I wanted to dance."

"We had a saying: "The show either makes you or breaks you,'" says Kathy. "Some kids on the show went a little nuts, with stars in their eyes; they thought they were going to go to Hollywood and be movie stars."

Yet Joe was a dropout when he went on the show and then, once famous, went back to finish. And according to Arlene, Buddy encouraged one popular Committee member (Buzzy Bennet) to teach himself to read so he could realize his dream of being a disc jockey. He eventually became one of the most respected programmers in the country and was even written up in Time magazine.

WITH THE 1960s came a whole new set of stars, some with names that seemed like gimmicks, but weren't: Concetta Comi, the popular sister team of Yetta and Gretta Kotik. And then there was teased hair, replacing the fifties drape with a Buddy Deane look that so pervaded Baltimore culture (especially in East and South Baltimore) that its effect is still seen in certain neighborhoods.

Some of the old Committee kept up with the times and made the transition with ease. Kathy switched to a great beehive that resembled a trash can sitting on top of her head ("I looked like I was taking off"). And Helen, Linda and Joanie all got out the rat-tail teasing combs.

Fran Nedeloff (debuting at fourteen in 1961, Mervo High School cha-cha) remembers the look: "Straight skirt to the knee, cardigan sweater buttoned up the back, cha-cha heels, lots of heavy black eyeliner, definitely Clearasil on the lips, white nail polish. We used to go stand in front of Read's Drugstore, and people would ask for our autograph."

Perhaps the highest bouffants of all belonged to the Committee member who was my personal favorite: Pixie (who died several years later from a drug overdose). "You could throw her down on the ground, and her hair would crack," recalls Gene. Pixie was barely five feet tall, but her hair sometimes added a good six to eight inches to her height.

But by far the most popular hairdo queen on "Buddy Deane" was a fourteen-year-old Pimlico Junior High School student named Mary Lou Raines. Mary Lou, the Annette Funicello of the show, was the talk of teenage Baltimore. Every week she had a different "do" —the Double Bubble, the Artichoke, the Airlift -each topped off by her special trademark, suggested by her mother, the bow.

"We really sprayed it," remembers Mary Lou today from her home in Pennsylvania. "The more hair spray, the better. After you sprayed it, you'd get toilet paper and blot it. Sometimes you'd wrap your hair at night. If you leaned on one side, the next day you'd just pick it out" into shape.

Mary Lou was the last of the Buddy Deane superstars, true hair-hopper royalty, the ultimate Committee member. "We have a tele-gram," Buddy would shout almost daily, "for Mary Lou to lead a dance," and the cameraman seemed to love her. "When that little red light came on, so did my smile," she says, laughing. At her appearances at the record hops, "kids would actually scream when you'd get out of the car: 'There's Mary Lou! Oh, my God, it's Evanne!' Autograph books, cameras, this is what they lived for. They sent cakes on my birthday. They'd stand outside my home. They just wanted to know if you were real. I was honored, touched by it all."

Mary Lou was aware that in some neighborhoods it was not cool to be a Buddy Deaner. "Oh sure, if you were Joe College (pre-preppie), you just didn't do 'The Deane Show.'" "Did you ever turn into a Joe College?" I ask innocently. "No!" she answers, with a conviction that gives me the chills.

But as more and more kids (even "Deane" fans) did turn Joe College, many of the Committee made the mistake of not keeping up with the times. Marie Fischer was the first "Joe" to become a Committee member-chosen simply because she was such a good dancer. As with the drapes and squares of the previous decade, she explains, "there were two classes of people then-Deaners and Joe College. The main thing was your hair was flat, the antithesis of Buddy Deane," she says, chuckling. "I was a misfit. Every day I'd come to the studio in knee-highs, and I'd have to take them off. You had to wear nylons. Before long I started getting lots of fan mail: I think you're neat. I'm Joe, too.' There was a change in the works."

Part of that change was the racial integration movement. "I had a lot of black friends at the time, so for me this was an awkward thing," says Marie. "To this day, I'm reluctant to tell some of my black friends I was on 'Buddy Deane' because they look at it as a terrible time."

Integration ended "The Buddy Deane Show." When the subject comes up today, most loyalists want to go off the record. But it went something like this: "Buddy Deane" was an exclusively white show. Once a month the show was all black; there was no black Committee. So the NAACP targeted the show for protests. Ironi-cally, "The Buddy Deane Show" introduced black music and artists into the lives of white Baltimore teenagers, many of whom learned to dance from black friends and listened to black radio. Buddy offered to have three or even four days a week all black, but that wasn't it. The protesters wanted the races to mix.

At frantic meetings of the Committee, many said, "My parents simply won't let me come if it's integrated," and WIZ realized it just couldn't be done. "It was the times," most remember. "This town just wasn't ready for that." There were threats and bomb scares; integrationists smuggled whites into the all-black shows to dance cheek to cheek on camera with blacks, and that was it. "The Buddy Deane Show" was over. Buddy wanted it to end happily, but WJZ angered Deaners when it tried to blame the ratings.

On the last day of the show, January 4, 1964, all the most popular Committee members through the years came back for one last appearance. "I remember it well," recalls Evanne. "Buddy said to me, 'Well, here's my little girl who's been with me the longest.' I hardly ever cried, but I just broke down on camera. I didn't mean to, because I never would have messed up the makeup."

IN 1985 THE COMMITTEE MEMBERs are for the most part happy and healthy, living in Baltimore, and still recognized on the street. "They kept their figures, look nice and are very kind people," says Marie from her lovely country home before taking off for the University of Maryland, where she attends law school.

Most are happily married with kids and maintain the same images they had on the show. "We are kind of like Ozzie and Harriet," says Gene Snyder as Linda nods in agreement. "I'm a typical middle-class housewife," says Peanuts, "Girl Scout leader, very active in my kid's school." Mary Lou is still a star. That she has an affluent life-style surprises no one on the Committee. In her home, near Allentown, Pennsylvania, she serves me a beautiful brunch, models her fur coats and poses with her Mercedes. "When I get depressed, I don't go to the psychiatrist; I go to the jeweler," she says.

Oddly enough, few of the Deaners I've talked to went on to show biz. Joe Cash has Jonas Cash Promotions ("my own promotional firm—we represent Warner Brothers, Columbia, Motown-eighty-five percent of the music you hear in this market")-and Active Industry Research (a "research firm-I'm chairman of the board"). Evanne and her brother run the John Brock Benson Dance Studios and have a line of dancers who appear at clubs all over the state. But most have settled down to a very straight life.

And none are bitter. Although the Committee was a valuable promotional tool for WJZ at the time, and belonging was a full-time job, no one (except teen assistants) was paid a penny. Even doing commercials was expected. Mary Lou laughs at the memory of doing a pimple medicine spot on camera. And who can forget those great ads for the plastic furniture slipcovers that opened with the kids jumping up and down on the sofa and a local announcer screaming, "Hey, kids! Get off that furniture!"? Or the Bob-a-Loop? Or Hartford Motor Coach Company? Or Snuggle Dolls? The Deaners didn't mind. As Marie puts it, "The rewards were so great emotionally that you didn't have to ask for a monetary award."

Many had difficulties dealing with the void when the show went off the air. Gene calls it "a big loss." "It was living in a fantasy world," says Helen, "and later on, growing up, it was a definite blow: reality." "I still have a whole box of fan mail," says Evanne. "If I'm ever depressed, sometimes I think, 'Well, this will make me feel better,' and I go down and dig in the box."

Holding onto the memories more than anyone is Arlene Kozak, who is by far the most loved by all the Committee members. (They gave her a diamond watch at the last reunion.) "Do you miss show biz?" I ask her. "Not show biz," Arlene answers, hesitating, "but the record biz, the people. Yes, I miss it very much. I don't think I'll ever get over missing it, if you want to know the truth."

Many of the Committee members' spouses faced an even bigger adjustment. In "mixed marriages" (with non-Deaners), many of the outsiders resented their spouses' pasts. "At twenty-one I married a professional football player," Helen remembers, "and he made me burn all the fan mail. I had trunks of it. He was mad because I was as popular as he was. He just didn't understand."

But some have dealt with the problems in good humor. When Mary Lou's husband gave me the long and complicated directions to their home on the phone, he ended with, "And there you will find, yes, Mary Lou Raines." He later confided that when he first started dating her, he had no idea of her early career. "Everywhere we went, people would say 'There's Mary Lou.' I wondered if she had just been released from the penitentiary."

THE BUDDY DEANE phenomenon is hardly dead. Each reunion (and a new one is in the works) seems bigger than the last. Deaners seem to come out of the woodwork, drawn by the memory of their stardom. Buddy returns on a pilgrimage from St. Charles, Arkansas, where he owns a hunting and fishing lodge and sometimes appears on TV, to spin the hits and announce multiplication dances, ladies® choice, or even, after a few drinks, the Limbo. Some of the really dedicated Committee members get tears in their eyes. Was it really twenty years ago? Could it be?

Why not do "The Deane Show" on Baltimore TV again? Just once. A special. The ultimate reunion. From all over the country, the Deaners could rise again, congregate at the bottom of Television Hill, and start Madison-ing their way ("You're looking good. A big strong line!") up the hill to that famous dance party set, the one that now houses a talk show. The "big garage-type door" they remember would open, and they'd all pile in, past George and "Mom," the Pinkerton guards who used to keep attendance, and crowd into Arlene's office to comb their hair, confide their problems and touch up their makeup. Buddy could take his seat beneath his famous Top 20 Board, and the tension would build. "Ten seconds to airtime. . . . three, two, one. Ladies and gentlemen. . . the nicest kids in town!"

John Waters (Crackpot: The Obsessions of John Waters, 1986)

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asidesandbsides · 9 months

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Starts With J, Part 1

The Jackson 5 - I'll Be There / One More Chance

The sound quality is decent, and it really must be said that Michael's voice sounds both impossibly young and disciplined. Kids that age (12) rarely sing this well, and while the songs are alright it's obviously the novelty of Michael's talent that's kept them remembered.

Michael Jackson - She's out of My Life / Get on the Floor

The sound is actually really clear on this disc, and again you have to marvel at what an incredible singer the adult Michael Jackson was. The A-Side is a very subtle ballad with a lead vocal that can break your heart. The B-Side has that jazzy disco feel so characteristic of the Quincy Jones years. You can't deny this is a quality record.

Tommy James - Draggin' the Line / Bits and Pieces

If you haven't heard Tommy James before, I'll tell you I think he's one of the best pop artists from the '60s to be flirting with obscurity in the present. "Draggin' the Line" in particular is an excellent track with an all-time killer guitar riff, and it sounds great here. I'm not as crazy about "Bits and Pieces," but it works as a B-Side.

Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit / Plastic Fantastic Lover

I wasn't optimistic when I saw all the dust on it, but the quality is not bad! Both sides still retain that signature psychedelic spookiness. If it's a contest between Grace and Marty, I think you have to give it to Grace, but "Plastic" sounds a little clearer.

Billy Joel - It's Still Rock and Roll to Me / Through the Long Night

Crystal clear, and a great pair of songs to boot. I didn't really know "Through the Long Night" before, and I think it's more than carrying its weight on side B. But the A-Side? It's lean, mean, and definitely not to be pushed aside.

#the jackson 5 #michael jackson #tommy james #jefferson airplane #billy joel

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hoobieho · 11 months

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　 ♱　﹕　𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ﹐ ✧ 　　୨୧　𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜　. . .　eren j.　✩　𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘶 　　　　𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 ﹕　writing 　　　　𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ﹕　21.2K 　　　　𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 ﹕　part two ﹒ 08.29.24 　　　　𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ﹕　❛❛ 　　　　𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ﹕　You're running from the spillage of your 　　　　　　　　　　 past. With feint optimism, you hope to 　　　　　　　　　　 turn the course of your life around and 　　　　　　　　　　away from bad habits. A series of 　　　　　　　　　　fortunate events occur, and over time, 　　　　　　　　　　you grow to know the saving grace that 　　　　　　　　　　is an animal-loving guy with a knack for 　　　　　　　　　　prolonged eye contact.

　　୨୧　𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚝, 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚎　. . .　oc　✩　𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 　　　　𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 ﹕　writing 　　　　𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ﹕　39.4K 　　　　𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 ﹕　part three ﹒ 8.17.24 　　　　𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ﹕　❛❛ 　　　　𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ﹕　Studies say that before Earth became 　　　　　　　　　　 the world as we know it, it was a disc of 　　　　　　　　　　 dust and gas, orbiting the sun. During 　　　　　　　　　　this orbit, Earth collided with a massive 　　　　　　　　　　object. The world lost a piece of itself. 　　　　　　　　　　But with that missing chunk, the moon 　　　　　　　　　　was formed. 　　　　　　　　　　At the edge of seventeen, Lucille Clarke 　　　　　　　　　　finds herself as an injection. Placed into 　　　　　　　　　　an all-boys private for her junior year, 　　　　　　　　　　she's forced to measure just how much 　　　　　　　　　　she can endure before she unspools. 　　　　　　　　　　Ford Eastwood is the only thing that 　　　　　　　　　　keeps Lucille sane. With his boyish 　　　　　　　　　　charm, pretty green eyes, and 　　　　　　　　　　unyielding loyalty, Lulu feels just a little 　　　　　　　　　　bit better walking through the halls. 　　　　　　　　　　In an ossified orbit, the two collide, 　　　　　　　　　　melding their deep craters of 　　　　　　　　　　imperfections along the way.

　　୨୧　𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗' 𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚜　. . .　jean k.　✩　𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 　　　　𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 ﹕　writing 　　　　𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ﹕　9.5K 　　　　𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 ﹕　part one ﹒ 9.3.24 　　　　𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ﹕　❛❛ 　　　　𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ﹕　Like the orbited sun, you're the center 　　　　　　　　　　 of attention; the town of Marley's 　　　　　　　　　　 prized pigeon, always done up and 　　　　　　　　　　shown off. Ever since you were a little 　　　　　　　　　　girl, you've never taken societal 　　　　　　　　　　standards seriously. You curse like a 　　　　　　　　　　sailor, severely lack a poker face, while 　　　　　　　　　　 also loving each dress you're 　　　　　　　　　　 submerged into on the daily. 　　　　　　　　　　Your life is overly organized and 　　　　　　　　　　predictable—that is, until one 　　　　　　　　　　dreadful night. From there, everything 　　　　　　　　　　you knew, all of the predictability, tilts 　　　　　　　　　　 You become a devoted follower to the 　　　　　　　　　　 alternate side of things, fawning over 　　　　　　　　　　a man dressed in leather and lead.

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fearsmagazine · 1 year

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THE VENTURE BROS.: THE COMPLETE SERIES - Review

DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

SYNOPSIS: Twenty years in the making, one of the iconic pillars of Adult Swim, THE VENTURE BROS., comes to DVD and digital in a box set that includes the seven year run of the show, all 82 episodes (14 discs), plus every single piece of previously released special features.

REVIEW: Full disclosure, I have not gone through everything. I only got the package on Friday and there is just so much, and that’s just the episodes. What I have watched so far is a real “Wow!”

The series premiered twenty years ago in 2003. It was the year my daughter was born and it was one of the late night shows on Adult Swim that kept me company. It was a delight to go back and rewatch the early episodes, especially on a big screen TV with surround sound. Oh, and no commercial breaks. Twenty years may not be a lot of time, but the writing still stands the test of time. From the writing and the music, to the design of the series, THE VENTURE BROS. pays homage to many of the adventure animated series we grew up with in our youth but takes to a whole other level, an adult comedy level. Watching these episodes again was like a trip down memory lane and there were quite a few things I had missed and made me appreciate the writing even more.

I popped in all the DVDs to view the menus and see the list of extras. No wonder they didn’t list the special features in the press release because there are a lot of them. I had never watched any of them before so I took in a few. They were well made, entertaining and informative. As a fan of the show I enjoyed the insight they added to the viewing experience.

Regardless of your level of fandom with the show, THE VENTURE BROS.: THE COMPLETE SERIES is a nice package that provides hours of viewing pleasure for you to get reacquainted with an old friend. Regardless of the nostalgia, it is the writing that made the series a hit. Some of the episodes were saterial of the period they were written in, but the style is such that it remains timeless and the humor fresh.

The 14-disc box set has a combined runtime of 1,968 minutes.

The TV series was canceled in 2020, with the final season aired in 2018, but The Venture Bros. swan song is coming with the film The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart and will be available Digitally on July 21st and on Blu-ray Disc on July 25th, 2023.

CAST (voices): James Urbaniak, Christopher McCulloch, Michael Sinterniklaas, Patrick Warburton, Paul Boocock, Doc Hammer; plus a cast of hundreds over the 82 episodes. CREW: Creator/Director/Writer - Christopher McCulloch; Directors - Jon Schnepp, Ki-Yong Bai, Juno John Lee, Barry J. Kelly, & Ethan Marak; Writers - Doc Hammer & Ben Edlund; Series Composer - J.G. Thirlwell; OFFICIAL: www.adultswim.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/adultswim/ TWITTER: twitter.com/adultswim TRAILER: www.youtube.com/@adultswim for lots of clips and the show opening credit sequence. RELEASE DATE: Digitally and on DVD June 13, 2023

**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay), or 👎 (Dislike)

Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri

#dvd news #dvd review #VentureBros #complete series #Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment #adult swim #joseph b mauceri #joseph mauceri #Christopher McCulloch

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sciencespies · 2 years

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The Webb Telescope Is Just Getting Started

https://sciencespies.com/news/the-webb-telescope-is-just-getting-started/

The Webb Telescope Is Just Getting Started

BALTIMORE — So far it’s been eye candy from heaven: The black vastness of space teeming with enigmatic, unfathomably distant blobs of light. Ghostly portraits of Neptune, Jupiter and other neighbors we thought we knew already. Nebulas and galaxies made visible by the penetrating infrared eyes of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The telescope, named for James Webb, the NASA administrator during the buildup to the Apollo moon landings, is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. It was launched on Christmas one year ago — after two trouble-plagued decades and $10 billion — on a mission to observe the universe in wavelengths no human eye can see. With a primary mirror 21 feet wide, the Webb is seven times as powerful as its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope. Depending on how you do the accounting, one hour of observing time on the telescope can cost NASA $19,000 or more.

But neither NASA nor the astronomers paid all that money and political capital just for pretty pictures — not that anyone is complaining.

“The first images were just the beginning,” said Nancy Levenson, temporary director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which runs both Webb and the Hubble. “More is needed to turn them into real science.”

A bright (infrared) future

The Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared view of the Pillars of Creation, which showcases the telescope’s ability to detect dust, a major ingredient in star formation.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Deep in a cloud of dust and gas, a star is being born. At the center of the hourglass light from a spinning shrinking protostar leaks out the top and bottom of a thick disc of matter feeding it and illuminates surrounding gas and dust clouds.NASA, Esa, Csa, and Stsci, J. Depasquale (Stsci)

For three days in December, some 200 astronomers filled an auditorium at the institute to hear and discuss the first results from the telescope. An additional 300 or so watched online, according to the organizers. The event served as a belated celebration of the Webb’s successful launch and inauguration and a preview of its bright future.

One by one, astronomers marched to the podium and, speaking rapidly to obey the 12-minute limit, blitzed through a cosmos of discoveries. Galaxies that, even in their relative youth, had already spawned supermassive black holes. Atmospheric studies of some of the seven rocky exoplanets orbiting Trappist 1, a red dwarf star that might harbor habitable planets. (Data suggest that at least two of the exoplanets lack the bulky primordial hydrogen atmospheres that would choke off life as we know it, but they may have skimpy atmospheres of denser molecules like water or carbon dioxide.)

“We’re in business,” declared Bjorn Benneke of the University of Montreal, as he presented data of one of the exoplanets.

Megan Reiter of Rice University took her colleagues on a “deep dive” through the Cosmic Cliffs, a cloudy hotbed of star formation in the Carina constellation, which was a favorite early piece of sky candy. She is tracing how jets from new stars, shock waves and ionizing radiation from more massive nearby stars that were born boiling hot are constantly reshaping the cosmic geography and triggering the formation of new stars.

“This could be a template for what our own sun went through when it was formed,” Dr. Reiter said in an interview.

The Cosmic Cliffs, a region on the edge of the gigantic, gaseous Carina Nebula, as seen by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Annotated views of the Cosmic Cliffs, indicating some of Megan Reiter’s observations.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

Between presentations, on the sidelines and in the hallways, senior astronomers who were on hand in 1989 when the idea of the Webb telescope was first broached congratulated one another and traded war stories about the telescope’s development. They gasped audibly as the youngsters showed off data that blew past their own achievements with the Hubble.

Jane Rigby, the project scientist for operations for the telescope, recalled her emotional tumult a year ago as the telescope finally approached its launch. The instrument had been designed to unfold in space — an intricate process with 344 potential “single-point failures” — and Dr. Rigby could only count them, over and over.

“I was in the stage of denial,” she said in Baltimore. But the launch and deployment went flawlessly. Now, she said, “I’m living the dream.”

Garth Illingworth, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who in 1989 chaired a key meeting at the Space Telescope Science Institute that ultimately led to the Webb, said simply, “I’m just blown away.”

At a reception after the first day of the meeting, John Mather of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Webb’s senior project scientist from the start, raised a glass to the 20,000 people who built the telescope, the 600 astronomers who had tested it in space and the new generation of scientists who would use it.

“Some of you weren’t even born when we started planning for it,” he said. “Have at it!”

A wayback machine

A deep-field image from the Webb telescope includes Earendel, the most distant individual star ever seen. Its light took 12.9 billion years to reach Earth.NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

A close-up of Earendel, indicated by the red arrow, and the Sunrise Arc galaxy.NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

Thus far the telescope, bristling with cameras, spectroscopes and other instruments, is exceeding expectations. (Its resolving power is twice as good as advertised.) The telescope’s flawless launch, Dr. Rigby reported, has left it with enough maneuvering fuel to keep it working for 26 years or more.

“These are happy numbers,” she said, as she and her colleagues rattled off the performance statistics of their instruments. Dr. Rigby cautioned that the telescope’s instruments were still being calibrated, so the numbers might yet change. Prepare to recalculate your results at the push of a button, she told a group of astronomers in the lobby: “Otherwise, you will hate your life.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the Webb telescope so far involves events in the early millenniums of the universe. Galaxies appear to have been forming, generating and nurturing stars faster than battle-tested cosmological models estimated.

“How did galaxies get so old so fast?” asked Adam Riess, a Nobel Physics laureate and cosmologist from Johns Hopkins University who dropped in for the day.

Exploring that province — “cosmic spring,” as one astronomer called it — is the goal of several international collaborations with snappy acronyms like JADES (JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey), CEERS (Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science), GLASS (Grism Lens-Amplified Survey From Space) and PEARLS (Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science).

Webb’s infrared vision is fundamental to these efforts. As the universe expands, galaxies and other distant celestial objects are speeding away from Earth so fast that their light has been stretched and shifted to invisible, infrared wavelengths. Beyond a certain point, the most distant galaxies are receding so quickly, and their light is so stretched in wavelength, that they are invisible even to the Hubble telescope.

The Webb telescope was designed to expose and explore these regions, which represent the universe at just one billion years old, when the first galaxies began to bloom with stars.

Left, an observation made by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, or GOODS, in 2016. Right, the JWST NIRCam image of the GOODS South field, with four confirmed high-redshift galaxies.Left, NASA, ESA/Hubble; Robertson et al., arXiv:2212.04480

“It takes time for matter to cool down and get dense enough to ignite stars,” noted Emma Curtis-Lake, of the University of Hertfordshire and a member of the JADES team. The rate of star formation peaked when the universe was four billion years old, she added, and has been falling ever since. The cosmos is now 13.8 billion years old.

Astronomers measure cosmic distances with a parameter called redshift, which indicates how much the light from a faraway object has been stretched. Just a few months ago a redshift of 8, which corresponds to a time when the universe was about 646 million years old, was considered a high redshift. Thanks to Dr. Curtis-Lake and her colleagues, the record redshift is now 13.2, corresponding to when the universe was only 325 million years old.

Dr. Curtis-Lake and her team had aimed the telescope at a patch of sky called GOODS South, looking for galaxies that Hubble had been unable to detect. Sure enough, there were four of them, specters in the heat-fog of creation. Subsequent measurements confirmed that they were indeed way back in time.

“We didn’t want to say we believed it — publicly,” said Brant Robertson, a JADES member from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The record is not expected to last long. The CEERS collaboration has reported a candidate galaxy that could have a redshift of 16, from when the universe was only 250 million years old.

Experts are already arguing about whether these overeager galaxies reveal something fundamental, and overlooked, in current theories of the early universe. Perhaps some field or effect juiced up gravity back then and sped up the growth of galaxies and black holes. Or perhaps the discrepancies merely reflect scientific uncertainties about the messy details — the “gastrophysics” — of star formation.

For the last 20 years, astronomers have honed a solid “standard model” of a universe composed of dark energy, dark matter and a smidgen of atomic matter. It’s too soon to break that model, Dr. Curtis-Lake said in an interview; Webb has perhaps three decades of observing ahead of it. “We’re in early stages,” she said.

The closing talk fell to Dr. Mather. He limned the telescope’s history, and gave a shout-out to Barbara Mikulski, the former senator of Maryland, who supported the project in 2011 when it was in danger of being canceled. He also previewed NASA’s next big act: a 12-meter space telescope called the Habitable Worlds Observatory that would seek out planets and study them.

“Everything that we did has turned out to be worth it,” he said. “So we are here: This is a celebration party, getting a first peek at what’s out here. It’s not the last thing we’re going to do.”

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king-of-better · 2 years

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Number.32: The 31 Machine Primevals Strike Back

Kaidou uses a similar but different technique to Mamoru's, reverting the 2 codes into what look like 3D puzzle pieces, before leaving with the J-Ark, giving a condescending look to Mamoru when he calls out. Paggliacio notes Soldato-J, strongest warrior of the Trinary Star System, has awakened, presumably seeking what Abel left behind, and pursues.

Mamoru is left confused and wanting to save Gai, when his parents arrive, when suddenly an even larger battleship appears, landing, and Stallion emerges, introducing himself as being there for Mamoru, being with the United Nations Defense Organisation, as the vessel recovers GaoGaiGar. AI is shocked when Isamu let's Mamoru go, understanding this is something Mamoru needs to do.

The ship starts to Fusion Out, while Stallion explains what they know of the Primevals, like EI-01 two years ago they appeared via Escape Window from distant stars, and if the Zonderians were the advance party, these will be the main force from the next ES Window. Gai and Mamoru have a moment before Stallion calls them to the bridge so they can witness the arrival at the new HQ, Orbit Base, which bears the GGG logo to their surprise. The ship they are on is Division IV; High-Mobility Twin-Hulled Supply and Maintenance Ship, Amaterasu. The voice on the intercom is Mikoto's, calling from the Main Order Room.

Amaterasu docks, and Stallion takes them to the Main Order Room, where everyone else is, including Liger. Taiga announces the disbandment of the Gutsy Geoid Guard, all personnel transferring to the UN sponsored Gutsy Galaxy Guard. The UN only finally approved the formation of this group after the Primevals appeared, it seems only a select few, Stallion and Liger among them, knew about the work on this until then. The Hexagon alone was launched from the Bay Tower Base as it was destroyed, sent straight to the Orbit Base.

When the next ES Window opens, the plan is to send out all 13 Mic Sounders brothers to counteract it. It opens prematurely, but the Mic Sounders Brigade deploys, simultaneously taking on Boom Robo Mode, and as 5 pillars emerge, use Disc X to wipe them out.

Paggliacio declares this method of minor risk, and ZX-03, the survivor of the first attack, starts attacking Mic and his brothers, destroying I, III and VII, and continues attacking, when the J-Ark appears again.

Mic has the remaining brothers focus on destroying the Primevals, when ZX-03 tries to flee, the J-Bird separates and transforms into J-Der, using Plasma Wings to chase before cutting it down with a Plasma Blade.

Mic's remaining 6 brothers destroy the last wave emerging from the ES Window, unfortunately, the 28 cores survived, and fall to earth.

Number.33: Journey to Absolute Zero

Some months ago, Leo explained to Taiga from analysis of the Black Box data the existence of 31 Primevals who were the origin of the Zonderians. Thanks to G-Stone technology, they were able to create the Orbit Base and 4 Division ships.

Mikoto takes Gai and Mamoru down to the Second Order Room, where Liger presents 3 other recruits to GGG, Nozaki Toru, Hirata Akiko, and Inubouzaki Minoru, the former EI-12, EI-20 and EI-15.

Nozaki explains Division I; Ul-Tech Engine Drive Space Carrier Base, Izanagi, Hirata explains Division II; Multi-Purpose Special Machine Ship, Kanayago, and Inubouzaki explains Division III; Ul-Tech Engine Drive Command, Comm and Control Ship, Susanoh, Stallion finishes up by explaining Amaterasu again. The Orbit Base is still not fully operational, not to mention the Brave Robots are still unconscious, and Mic's brothers need repair. Mic takes Mamoru home, Mikoto giving him a new satellite based pager.

Gai briefly sees an image of a woman, while at home Mamoru starts wondering about his powers, and if he's some sort of weapon, but Isamu distracts him.

Offshore mining platform Explorer 7 has been integrated by one of the cores.

The existence of the new GGG is public record for the first time, an emergency hotline is set up to notify them of suspicious activity, after Ushi explains his brother is now in space Hana gets caught up in the romance. Mamoru invites Hana on the next family fishing trip, then after she leaves he spots Kaidou, who summons J-Ark and takes on his red form, telling Mamoru to take his own form, and leads him aboard.

Mamoru sees Pizza, but J explains Pizza is dead, he was revived by the J-Jewel as Soldato-J. While noting Mamoru's earth name, J tells him not to get in the way of their mission, or they will consider GGG enemies. While Mamoru starts questioning, Kaidou, or Arma as J calls him, senses activity to the north, and the J-Ark launches. Seeing the J-Ark, Hana calls it in, which allows GGG to actually trace it.

Arriving at Explorer 7, J-Ark enters combat with it, while GGG realise what has become of the Platform, and that the Primeval has total control over matter. They're able to thwart defences using ES Missiles, but Explorer 7 is moving, and Leo relaises the entity plans to destroy the Van Allen Belt, which will kill all life.

As the J-Ark is downed, Taiga orders Izanagi deployed, noting they must destroy ZX-04, with only Gai, Galeon and Mic at hand.

Number.34: Braves' Reborn

2 months ago, Kaidou fell from Tokyo Tower and his J-Jewel activated, awakening his abilities. He went to the firebird that had been Pizza, reminding him to their mission, and purified him, they then found Penchinon, unable to regenerate, reminding him of Pizza's true name, and telling him they needed to fight together again.

Izanagi is still heading to face ZX-04, as Mamoru awakens after falling when J-Ark was shot down. He explores the triangular corridors.

Aurora's start appearing in Tokyo

Mamoru finds the room holding the pieces from the cores Kaidou purified, which they tell him will make a Zonder Crystal. J is bothered that one made by Cain doesn't know what that is, Arma realises that like him, Mamoru's memory was sealed.

The plan of GGG is for Mic to get close to ZX-04, shielded via Baribarien, but plans change when they discover Mamoru is nearby, mistakenly believing the Primevals kidnapped him. GaiGar starts searching, when J-Der appears and confronts him, Gai recognising Pizza. Gai isn't particularly inclined to listen to his nitpicking, and tries to attack, unsuccessfully, Mamoru takes this chance to simply leave. J-Der decides to leave for now.

GaiGar and Mic now attack ZX-04, due to lack of real data Disc X is too dangerous, so Mic uses Disc M instead. The Primeval is too powerful, leading Hyuma to prepare to kamikaze Izanagi, but is stopped when Amaterasu appears nearby. GaiGar seems beaten until Big Volfogg arrives, freeing him and taking his place in battle. HyoRyu and EnRyu are there as well, EnRyu using Chest Warmer to melt the ice ZX-04 defends with. GoldyMarg is there as well, and Mic switches to Disc P to help them keep fighting.

Mic, GaoGaiGar, ChoRyuJin and Big Volfogg start fighting, now upgraded from GS-Rides to Ul-Tech Engines.

Eraser Head neutralises the barrier, then it is crippled, and the Goldion Hammer is used, Liger asking to retrieve a core so they can time Disc X for the Primevals.

The Braves agree again to fight together to protect the world, and Mamoru purifies the core, or rather tries to, at which point King J-Der steals the core. Gai at least doesn't believe J is their enemy, but Mamoru is shaken by his inability to purify the core when Kaidou could.

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