#does alan skate

[lock-my-feelings-in-a-jar]

Russ Ballard producing Daltrey's album

1975 Interview

Russ Ballard has something special. Call it professionalism, the sure touch, luck, talent, a mixture of the lot if you like, but everything he's involved in seems to turn out pretty good, even when it's something completely new to him, like record producing.

When he was fourteen, he wrote his first song and sold it to The Shadows after having had the sense to demo it after their style. Having mastered the guitar and scored quite a bit of acclaim for his playing, he turned to keyboards and now nobody hearing him play would think he hadn't been brought up on them. Argent reached the height of their success when he was with them, he gave Colin Blunstone a monster hit with I Don't Believe In Miracles and now Ride A Rock Horse is enjoying considerable favour. Its producer? Russ Ballard! The man, wearing his customary shades, exudes an air of quiet confidence. He can afford to. He's well respected as a musician and as a writer and he's now in a position many people could envy. After all, a singer of Daltrey's calibre doesn't call up just anybody and say "How about producing my album?"! What is really surprising is that Roger should ignore all the established record producers in favour of Russ, who has only ever produced one album before in his life and that was the solo one he made after leaving Argent.

How did his new role come about? "Well, I worked with Daltrey on his first album, played a little drums and piano on it, but I didn't produce that one, just put in some ideas. He must have liked them because when he was planning his second, he just asked me if I wanted to do it." Russ explained. In an issue of Beat dated April 1966, Daltrey himself described his voice in pretty disparaging terms. "I don't have a good voice, no-one needs to tell me that. I'm a screamer with a group and I'm happy. I'm not worried about my voice, though, it is developing and I can notice the change." He also added "I'd get a real kick if I could have a proper girl vocal group backing." It's taken nine years, but now he's achieved what he hoped for, a voice which no-one can deny is pretty exceptional, and backing singers led by Marsha Hunt, care of Russ Ballard! "I was involved with everything." said Russ. "Going through songs with him, deciding what musicians should be used, who would be good for this and who for that." For a reluctant producer, who admits that "I'm not really into production, even though it's a creative thing, I'd rather be an artist." Russ had some pretty definite ideas as to his treatment of the album. "I deliberately kept his voice well up because in so many recordings I've heard of Roger, he's been immersed in sound. He's got such a powerful and such a good voice which contains many aspects that people haven't heard before. What I set out to do on the album was to expose all those voices for the first time. I don't think it is a good thing for a producer to put his own standpoint on an album, the most important thing is to project the artist." Russ thinks that Daltrey's film work has given a lot more confidence and he also found getting to know him has radically changed the concept he had of The Who. "Many people would imagine Daltrey as an ego tripper, but he's not in the slightest. Before I got to know him well, I was under the impression that The Who were Pete Townshend's baby. But speaking to Roger, listening to his ideas, I think that a hell of a lot of his ideas must have always gone into The Who, a lot more than people think."

It was originally Roger's idea to record an album of his early influences. Then he changed rock horses in mid-stream. "By then we'd already recorded Walking The Dog and that Beachboys sounding song, so we were lumbered with them." The second idea was to project the different sides of Daltrey's voice in a collection of mixed rockers and ballads, including three songs of Russ's, Come And Get Your Love, Proud and Near To Surrender. "We didn't actually discuss the point but I felt he wanted to make a heavier album than the one we'd originally planned. Yet not totally heavy, but a record which would compliment the heavier stuff with lighter stuff. Right from the very first session when he sang the first song I could see his voice was so much better, I feel it's improved tremendously since the early Who days even though I think he had a good voice in 1964."

The next thing to decide on was the overall sound and the arrangements. Ex-Shadows drummer Tony Meehan was the man who worked on these. "I decided to make the sound quite sparse,-" explained Russ, "- rather than over-producing it. Some people just don't know where to stop. I decided that if a song called for piano and nothing else, that's what I was going to do." (Hence Phillip Goodhand Tait's beautiful slow rocker Oceans Away with the composer on piano.) "The most important thing in an arrangement is the song. If it's a good one you should be able to sing it with no backing at all and it should still sound great. If it's not, no matter how many extras you add it won't work." Russ reckons that having been in bands himself definitely helped him as a producer, enabling him to put himself in the artist's shoes. Yet he doesn't think he'd like to produce his own next album entirely alone. "When I was in Argent I found being produced by somebody else was very frustrating because I could tell people were veering away from the original ideas I'd had for my songs. That's why I decided to produce my first solo album, which turned out a bit of a mixture because I had a backlog of work to get out of my system. My next album will be slightly deeper, not so light-hearted. I hope to be co-producing it with Muff Winwood, whom I really admire because he's got such a good ear and can really make a musical point."

At the moment, Russ is doing very well with songs of his which are being covered by other artists. One called Heartbreak, has recently been recorded by Olivia Newton-John and yet another is currently being recorded in L.A. by Stevie Wonder's band. Russ has got a new band together consisting of the ex-drummer from Curly, Alan Wickett, bass player Tony Lester and guitarist Alan Skates- "He really does!" joked Russ. He's got three weeks booked in E.M.I. Studios to get the album done. As for his producing career, it looks like Ride A Rock Horse may be his swansong. What if Roger asks him to produce his third album? "Well… if I want to do what I want to do, that is, sing, play, write and record, I just won't have time to produce anybody." said Russ. There's nothing like getting out when you're on top!

[kyojurotrans]

ELTINGVILLE CLUB INSERT MOMENT !!

hi, presenting my silly fella here too, his name is alejandro and he’s a goth NOT affiliated with the eltingville club, he has his own club. it’s a little extensive to resume his whole backstory so I’ll concentrate on how his relationship began with bill, who he met one day he was roller skating at the street and the boys were rolling their dices in the middle of the road, this caused alejandro to trip over and provoke for their dices to end up in the sewer; of course bill started insulting him along with the group, but he was the louder one and who caught alejandro’s attention, fighting back. the second time a new spiderman issue came out, the planet of the symbiotes, ale as a spiderman fan saved money to buy it, he entered joe’s store and noticed the last copy of the issue was prettily positioned on the shelf, once examining it closely he felt a hand on his shoulder asking him harshy to not buy it since he wanted it to himself, guess who it was? obviously, william alan dickey being an annoying little bitch, anyways alejandro ends up getting it and bill gets super pissy about it.

finally, their third encounter was at a blockbuster, bill wanted to rent the star wars trilogy, browsing the sci-fi shelf he looked up and noticed alejandro right in front of him just a few centimeters away, his face focused on the cover of ‘wes craven’s new nightmare’ (he loves horror movies), to resume bill starts walking behind him yelling at him that he stole his precious comic but then notices the tape on his hand, to which his attention picks up and starts getting interested in alejandro; a few weeks later their situationship starts and both suffer for the other cuz they’re stupid.

thanks to anyone reads this, if someone does !

silly thing also, creds in the image :-)

if you wanna know more about my silly creature just ask me in my inbox I suppose !

[bullet-prooflove]

Patience: Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson x Reader (NSFW)

Tagging: @chickensrule @iwannabeinthesequalmrghostface @crazy4chickennuggets @kmc1989 @withakindheartx @justameresimp @handsupforamiracle @lxaah11 @librarian1002 @littlebadariell @imaginecrushes @luckyladycreator2 @@emersxn99 @flrboyd @nani-kenobi @areamir @b-bradshaw @adaydreamaway08 @crimeshowjunkie @shepgurl @ashcosmo @inkandarsenic @caffeinatedwoman @tortilla-maria1 @lemmons1998 @dr-alan-grantler @burningpeachpuppy @penguin876 @haley-hotchner @deliriousfangirl61

Companion piece to:

First Time

Prequel to the Deployment!Series

The first time with Beau is life changing.

There’s an intensity in this man that goes far beyond his rank and uniform and he brings that energy to bed with him. You expect it to be quick, clothes torn off as soon as you enter the room, fucking on top of the comforter. That’s what all of your other experiences have taught you.

Beau takes his time. He spends an age kissing you, his thumb tracing over your jawline, his firm body covering yours as he learns the taste, texture and feel of your lips. It does something to you, it instils a sense of security you’ve never had before, it makes you feel wanted, it makes you feel loved. It’s too soon to be tossing that word around even though you know it’s true. You’ve been in love with Beau since that night in the bar, when he’d slipped into the barstool alongside of you and commended your work on the Edwards case.

“Patience.” He smiles against your lips when you whine into his mouth. “I want to make the most of the time we have together.”

He has you needy and desperate already, and he hasn’t removed a single item of clothing.

Beau takes you apart over a series of hours, stripping away one item of clothing at a time, exploring your bare skin before he divests you of the next garment and then the next. He’s thorough, mapping out every inch of you with this fingertips and tongue.

You follow his lead, undressing him slowly. Your fingers chase over the planes of muscle, tracing over those scars with reverence. You want to ask but you don’t get a chance because he’s kissing you all over again, drowning out every thought in your head.

“Beau…” You whisper as his skin presses against yours.

“I know baby, I know.” He says as his lips brush over yours and, in that moment, you know he feels it too.

When he sinks into you, it’s perfect. The thoughts rush out of your head and there’s only him and that overwhelming, euphoric sensation that chases through your veins. His palms skate over your thighs, hitching them just a little bit higher on his hips. It changes the angle, driving him deeper, his cock raking over that deviant little spot inside of you. He’s slow with his love making, tender, rolling his hips until their flush with yours before withdrawing and starting all over again.

It’s ruinous, the way he loves you. He builds you up, each wave of pleasure washing over you until you’re tightening around him, fingertips digging into shoulders as the ecstasy claims you. His hand grasps your jaw, guiding your mouth back to his and drinking down your bliss as he spills himself inside of you.

The kissing doesn’t stop, he keeps you there pinned underneath him prolonging the moment for as long as he can because Beau, he’s shipping out tomorrow and he needs you for as long as he can have you.

Love Beau? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[chickenkurage]

OMG OMG OMG CHAPTER 12 AND 13!!! SILLY FLUFF MOMENTS!!! AND I KNEW IT WHEN READING THROUGH CHAPTER 13, I PIECED IT ALL TOGETHER WITH THE SKATING AND THE COOKIESSS!!!

DJ AND PURPLE AS A DUO IS SOMETHING I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED UNTIL NOW YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Also off topic but I thought of a silly idea that's about DJ being in the cursor au in the "a day in a life of a cursor turned stickfigure" fanfic

Alan met a stranger and somehow befriended them which is DJ and I can already imagining them having hanging out moments and DJ being introduced to the hollowheads too! XDD

But idk if this is out of character but I can somehow see the hollowheads being protective over alan and not trusting him at all first since like- its a complete stranger that none of them know at all so they didn't exactly know how he really is and thinking he would do something to alan, but idk though since again this is just a silly idea I thought ofc because I love alan and DJ being together as a duo! They are so silly themselves! XDD

HAHA yeah! It is the skating and cookies XDDD, the dad and the son really needs this talk (looking at Alan and the hollow 3) AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP IS LOOKING GOOD NOW (looking at Alan again and the hollow 3) Purple is already in the process of his reforming with DJ and i can't be any happier! He's finally trying to show he cares for DJ too T^T

DJ and Purple duo is a need! HEHEHE.

And OMG, yes DJ on the Cursor!Alan AU.

ACTUALLY, I DO HAVE A PLANNED SPIN OFF FOR DJ XDD. There is already a story planned for this one and DJ isn't exactly a stranger here hehehehhe.

But i could deffo see the hollowheads being overprotective of Alan LMAO, BECAUSE THEY ARE XDDD. I mean who wouldn't?!?! I would wrap this goofball in bubble wrap so he wouldn't accidentally hurt himself!!! >:)))

And yes with my DJ spin off for the Cursor AU, they are STILL a duo!!!

DJ does exist in this AU mwehehe! I'm sure you already got an idea where I'm heading at!! :DDD - S

[oensible]

[Video description: Drew Remenda interviewing Marc-Édouard Vlasic during the first intermission of his Vlasic's first game played in the 2024–25 season, Lightning @ Sharks on 2025 Jan 2.

ALAN HOSHIDA (voiceover): Marc-Édouard Vlasic is 38 years old in his first game of the season, already getting [an] assist. Let's hear what he had to say with Drew.

Camera cuts from empty ice overhead shot to Vlasic and Drew standing by the bench. Vlasic is not wearing his jersey, only his shoulder padding.

DR: How does it feel?

MEV: (reaching down to grab a towel and smiling) Feels good. It's like my first game in the NHL. Feels really good. Butterflies, excited to go, um... (he shrugs) I'm happy about the first period, yeah. (He wipes his face.)

DR: You had a good first period; you got a nice assist on that, of course, right. You've been working hard, though. What have you been working on to get back?

MEV: (setting the towel back down) Um... lots of retrievals, lot of breakouts, lots of, uh, skating up and down the ice, so joining the rush, making plays, um, watching the guys play from up top, so, I know, uh, he wants us to join the rush more, so that's what I've been trying to do.

DR: I don't know if you noticed, but when you—they showed you up on the big screen being back, you got a huge cheer from the fans.

MEV: Well, that's nice! I love playing here. I mean, I'm on my 19th year; I've enjoyed every year of it, so... still got another one left so I'll give as much as I can here.

DR: Love having you back.

MEV: Yeah, I love—love seeing you in person. You're better looking in, uh, in person than on TV.

DR: (laughing) I don't know if that's a compliment or what!

MEV: (nodding and also smiling, picking up his towel and cup from the bench) Yeah, take it as a compliment!

Drew gives him a friendly clap on the shoulder as Vlasic walks back to the locker room. End of video description.]

[studyinglogic]

— ...there was a time when writing was my joy, when I wrote for fun. But after what's happened, there's been a vague sense of guilt about it. I can write, but each time I try to I feel like I don't deserve to.

— Well, I mean leans back in his chair you know that's not true, right.

— Yes, yes. It's a stumbling block.

— Maybe what's tough is getting started. You used to have that online blog, didn't you? How many drafts do you have on there?

— Oh, I don't know. A lot. Let me check. [beat] Six thousand seven hundred and forty.

— Good God. What's stopping you?

(Option A. — I fear society. You know, judgment on my work.

— If you can't be weird on your own blog, where can you be? Look, maybe ... [C])

(Option B. — Alan Watts titled his autobiography "In My Own Way." I quite like that title, because it has a double meaning. He's doing things in his own way, of course, but he's also getting in his own way. And it implies that the two are linked. That his faults and imperfections are linked to what makes him unique.

— Even if everyone was self-actualised, I'm sure that there'd be a wide variety of people. But let's stick to the topic; what was the point of bringing up Watts?

— Oh, you know. I'm getting in my own way, in my own way. And there's a meta-point here. I have so much, and it's just hard to get a handle on all of it.

— Look, maybe ... [C])

[C, see, si, sea, the third synthesis, cf. Kant's footnote]

— Look, maybe you need to find the joy of writing in a low-stakes environment. Something that doesn't pressure you too much. Your online blog is low-stakes enough, I think. You have six thousand seven hundred and forty drafts. Let's say ninety percent of that is crap. That's still enough to last you more than a year if you post once a day. Just post for joy. If you like it. Get used to doing things which you enjoy. Take yes for an answer. Easy easy. No need to make the posts serious or high-pressure, even in your own head. Post things even if they're not great. Start by being imperfect. End by being imperfect.

— That's the spirit. Genius arrests decay. You've been writing yourself, haven't you?

— Here and there. That's all we can do, isn't it. Write ourselves into our work?

— Heh sincere laughter for a good ten seconds good one, but you know what's not what I meant. What have you been writing?

— Oh, fables.

— Excellent. What type of fables? Kafka or Aesop?

— Closer to Kafka than Aesop. That reminds me, you know those videos, what are they called, the ones where people ask, would you love me if I was a worm. Does anyone reference Kafka's "Metamorphosis" there?

— I don't know. I don't watch them. I'm amazed you even know about them. I didn't know about them. Anyway, who have you been reading lately?

— Cormac McCarthy. That's how I got the idea of writing fables. Fables are simple; they show the world "as it is." An illusion, or perhaps just a part, of course, but they're compelling in that way. And I know McCarthy's work isn't usually thought of as a fable, but in fables there's often lots of senseless violence skated over. And perhaps if you see some of his work as dreamlike...

[long pause]

— Continue?

— Sorry, I don't know what I'm saying. But I guess that's how it is. One day I'll get there.

— One day I'll get there.

[squiddokiddo]

Hey there!

I know Gordon is your favourite but do you have any headcanons for the other brothers?

Yeah, I know I definitely have some but now I'm being asked about it I'm drawing a blank lol, here's a list of some.

𖦹*⊹.𖦹*⊹.𖦹*⊹.𖦹*⊹.𖦹

Scott headcanons:

The only straight Tracy brother.

Likes cooking but doesn't get time to do it very often.

Scott's pancakes are the best.

Practically lives on black coffee and espresso shots.

As a kid, one of his dream jobs was a theme park ride tester. Others include aerial display pilot, airline pilot, falconer and a chocolate taster.

Virgil headcanons:

Demi-romantic Asexual.

One of only two people on the island who will eat marmite, the other is Grandma. (Parker also loves marmite, spread generously on toast)

Had a bit of an emo phase during his teens which later evolved into a grunge phase.

He can handle all sorts of gross things, being a medic and everything, but childbirth makes him a bit squeamish, a total of two people have unexpectedly fallen into labour during a rescue and delivering those babies was super challenging but very rewarding for him.

Virgil keeps all sorts of essential items for any rescuees he may have on board Thunderbird 2 including the obvious like, water, food and medical supplies but also: sanitary products, baby products, medicines for allergies, talcum powder and eczema cream, pet food and products, fidget and plush toys, ect.

Tried to eat pinecones as a toddler, Jeff and Lucy had to keep a close eye on him at Christmas because he'd try to shove their giant redwood pinecone decorations in his mouth. He grew out of his taste for pinecones when he was three.

Alan headcanons:

Bisexual

Gets god awful acne, as he's gotten older it's settled down a bit but he still gets pretty bad outbreaks from time to time.

Into 2000's and gen z culture, lucky for him his dad knows all about that. Unlucky for Grandma she remembers the trends Jeff was into when he was young.

Loves Vines and quotes them all the time with Gordon. His favourite Vines are probably the Freshavacadoo one and Hurricane Tortilla.

Dog person, has never really gotten along with cats despite still liking them. His favourite dog breed is a golden retriever.

Is an absolute legend at Mario Kart, John taught him how to play when they were kids.

John Headcanons:

Unlabeled/questioning - he isn't sure of his sexuality, it's not something he's too worried about right now though.

Has social anxiety, he copes very well with interacting with people at a distance like video calls and messaging but struggles a lot with face to face interactions.

Doesn't really play videogames that much but on the rare occasion that he does, he absolutely demolishes his competition whether that be on Mario Kart, Pokémon or Tetris.

Was into 80's and 90's video and arcade games as a kid, more for the fascination with programming and the machines' inner workings rather than the games themselves.

Hates ice skating, dealing with gravity is difficult enough without walking on a slippery surface with blades on his feet.

Can be the most sarcastic bitch if he's in a mood.

𖦹*⊹.𖦹*⊹.𖦹*⊹.𖦹*⊹.𖦹

[bylerposting]

“technically the roller skating incident could have been entirely avoided if will had just said ‘hey el this assignments actually supposed to be about famous people’”

How so? Angela was still going to be at the roller rink, and she had been bullying El since before the project. Did I miss something?

I say technically because I'm looking at how the story progresses beat by beat.

The opening of the show makes it clear to us that Will's assignment was on Alan Turing, which shows that he understood the rule of the assignment to pick a famous hero.

Which begs for an interesting question. If Will understood the assignment rules, then why didn't he just correct El in the first place?

You could say that maybe El did understand the rules and chose to do her dad anyway because she had a message about heroes she wanted to deliver. Will cheering her on would make sense in that context.

If that was the case, though, then the story would have made that clear. El would have made that clear in her presentation.

But her presentation wasn't about that. El made it about what made Hopper a hero to her. She only talked about how he'd died at Starcourt after Angela had said the assignment was supposed to be about famous people.

Which would explain why she breaks down. Because she's realizing she did it all wrong. And it'd explain why she just walked away from Will and called him a liar for saying "it wasn't that bad" Because she knows that Will could've helped her, and he didn't.

And it also makes Will's "Shit. Shit I'm sorry" when he rushes over to help El collect the pieces make a lot more sense. That isn't just Will being selfless, Will knows he could have done better. I bet it's a part of the reason he goes "I was being a total jerk to El, I deserved it." later on, too

That's what I mean. Will could have helped. He had the ability to change the story, but he didn't. Will could have helped El with her assignment just like how Mike could have just said "I love you" to El when she asked him to.

This wouldn't have stopped Angela's bullying in general, but..

El does the assignment correctly -> Angela has no reason to humiliate her -> El would not have tried to retaliate and failed, causing her more humiliation -> The teacher would never have taken notice to Angela's bullying -> Angela would not have gotten in trouble -> Angela would not have justified a reason to humiliate her again the next time she saw her -> so on and so forth

Or mabye...

Will gives El a heads-up on the assignment -> El is glad Will told her that -> El knows she has someone looking out for her -> El has a friend -> El doesn't feel the need to lie about Angela being her friend -> Mike doesn't have the false pretense that Angela is her friend -> Mike is not oblivious to Angela's bullying, and so on and so forth.

[thefudge]

Doctor Fudge! Welcome back!! I am so glad to see you on my dash! Also since I know you have amazing good taste, I wanted to ask if you have any recommendations of movies/books about dad/daughters with complicated relationships? Perhaps even a bit incest in the mix.

thx!

erm, in terms of books, a few that come to mind: fun home by alison bechdel is such an interesting and queer exploration of a father/daughter relationship. and another memoir that stayed with me is borrowed finery by paula fox, which is on another level because the father/daughter/mother trio is so unhealthy and tragic, but also oddly funny, and the father/daughter duo in particular really unsettled me because it seemed so harmless yet adult. in terms of fiction, our endless numbered days by claire fuller is a pretty disturbing exploration of a father/daughter relationship and it does go into incest territory in a really sad way. i didn't really like this one, but it is oddly compelling. then there's elizabeth jane howard's cazalet series, where there's a terrifying father/daughter subplot that still haunts me.

as for movies: i think somewhere (2010) by sofia coppola is very moving, if slow; it's about a relatively successful film star who is depressed and totally checked out from his meaningless lifestyle and only seems to find joy in the presence of his neglected daughter played by elle fanning, and there are a couple of scenes that have stayed with me, especially one where stephen dorff is watching elle fanning figure skate for ten minutes while "cool" by gwen stefani is playing in the background....i tell ya. another infamous one, the ballad of jack and rose goes into some incest territory briefly and is sooo weird and fascinating, but i wish it was a more cohesive film. a really off-putting (at times) but compelling film is towelhead (2007), about a young arab-american teenage girl exploring her sexuality while coping with a super strict and emotionally damaged father. there's also oldboy (2003), the korean original, which just by including here i'm kiiiind of spoiling, but it's a great one. i also recall a preeeetty disturbing film starring alan rickman called an awfully big adventure (1995) and, to me, the most unsettling thing about it was how young the female protagonist looked because it made the situations she was placed in all the more uncomfortable.

anyway, this is a super small list that isn't meant to be comprehensive at all, there are loads more out there

[radical-revolution]

Alan Turing: Of course machines can't think as people do. A machine is different from a person. Hence, they think differently. The interesting question is, just because something, uh... thinks differently from you, does that mean it's not thinking? Well, we allow for humans to have such divergences from one another. You like strawberries, I hate ice-skating, you cry at sad films, I am allergic to pollen. What is the point of... different tastes, different... preferences, if not, to say that our brains work differently, that we think differently? And if we can say that about one another, then why can't we say the same thing for brains... built of copper and wire, steel?

***

[asphyxiatedredherring]

I typed out the list so it's easier to read (below the cut because it's pretty long)

FROM [covered up]

CARLTON LASSITER

CHIEF OF POLICE

1. Finish lily's castle bed

2. get 50 lbs flour

3. beets

4. beetjuice

5. steaks (32, large, marbled dry aged)

6. reprimand paper boy

7. red line laundry motor

8. weed beach path

9. eliminate hippies

10. detail tacklebox

11. clean rod

12. tape galavant

13. stain sawhorse

14. update Alan Jackson playlist

15. dig luau pit

16. squirrel gps

17. ammo case inventory

18. move drywall sheets

19. confide in mailman

20. tap class?

21. sharpen filet knife

22. sharpen wit

23. flat iron chest hairs

24. wiretap mom?

25. filter ppm down 10

26. wax boots

27. get propane

28. polish canon

29. chuck norris fan letter

30. bud norris fan letter

31. [Unidentified] letter

32. support basic cable

33. reverse vasectomy

34. mountaineer

35. yell at nature

36. whittle

37. repress emotions

38. find the source of the smell

39. burn cousin prom pics

40. pre-register for ironman

41. dig pond

42. refelt pool table

43. walk though mud [run]

44. rotate tires

45. rotate traps

46. chop onions

47. chirping bird d-day plan

48. reclassify cults

49. send hank birthday boots

50. update false address

51. realphabetize suspect wall

52. create frank turner party mix

53. audit braiding class

54. why does oregon pump your gas?

-back of page-

55. practice pokerface

56. solve black dahlia

57. find waldo

58. take risks

59. videotapes!

60. try sixtyone

61. Lenon = Lenin?

62. forget

63. forgive

64. forget the forgiving

65. 100 beanbags -red

66. rewatch bolero

67. reunite the country

68. okay to knit?

69. retrofit bird net for fish

70. say *awww yeah* once

71. rethink disco

72. carve paddle to sea

73. weave something

[74.] question life

[80] erase big daddy

[81] find lauren

[82] update craplist

83. seek mint allergy cure

84. S.E.I.Z.E.

85. dryclean old glory

86. backyard kickboxing ring

87. carve single log canoe

88. smelt

89. miranda someone

90. find bouldering club

91. tan remaining hides

92. reblade left skates

93. reblade right skates

Lassie’s list, a lovingly compiled DVD-extra in waiting; peruse at leasure.

[chrisryanspeaks]

The Armed Announce New Song + Tour Dates

“Does anyone even know you? Does anyone even care?” Sing The Armed. A true question we have to ask ourselves in this day and age when all others see is the image we project. The Armed sing with passion and conviction on their new single “Sport of Form.” Iggy Pop takes the shape of GOD in this video (how apropos). Check out their new, dynamic single below: Read More… The Armed have announced a new album, Perfect Saviors, available August 25th, their first album since their breakout ULTRAPOP. Providing a full accounting of album contributors for the first time, Perfect Saviors was produced by the band’s Tony Wolski along with Ben Chisholm and Troy Van Leeuwen, with contributions from Julien Baker, Sarah Tudzin, Mark Guiliana, Patrick Shiroishi, Justin Meldal-Johnsen and many more (full contributors list below). The album was mixed by Alan Moulder. The news arrives with a first single, “Sport of Form,” which features Julien Baker on vocals and Iggy Pop playing God in the song’s visual. Vocalist Tony Wolski offered this statement on the album: “Too much information has made us dumb and confused. Too many ways to connect have inadvertently led to isolation. And too much expectation has forced everyone to become a celebrity. Predictable primal dangers have given way to newer social ones. And the result is a world that is confounding and terrifying—but ultimately still beautiful. We hope this record is exactly all of that, too. Perfect Saviors is our completely unironic, sincere effort to create the biggest, greatest rock album of the 21st century.” Of the first single, “Sport of Form, he continued: There are two types of sport—those of measure and those of form. A sport of measure like basketball, football, or soccer has a point system and a sort of binary path to victory. A sport of form is something like diving, figure skating, or bodybuilding—something with evolving standards and a layer of subjectivity and some sort of critical component. The world that surrounds us is complex, and our lives are truly more akin to a sport of form than one of measure. Yet, so many people see it as exactly the opposite. Lyrically, this song is about the human need to win a game that we’re not even actually playing. Sonically, it is a reflection of that cognitive dissonance through a constant whiplash between beauty and ugliness, severity and tenderness, obscenity and grace. The album concludes a trilogy of albums examining and dissecting what constitutes “pop culture” in a world of limitless information and access. Using “pop music” loosely as a format in which to express these ideas, each album used composition and presentation as a way to challenge these questions further. Perfect Saviors is the ultimate product of this evolution. Using one of the world’s most well-known mixing engineers to create a beautiful album fully immersed in the language and world of pop through the inherently unique, extreme, and perverse lens The Armed communicate their art. The album was written by The Armed and performed by Ken Szymanski, Randall Lee, Tony Wolski, Dan Greene, Ben Chisholm, Urian Hackney, Cara Drolshagen, Troy Van Leeuwen, Patrick Shiroishi, Sarah Tudzin, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Mark Guiliana, Matt Sweeney, Bryan Aiken, Jacob Bannon, Julien Baker (courtesy of Matador Records), Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins, Josh Klinghoffer, Chris Slorach, Zach Weeks, Brian Wolski & Derek Coburn. The band, who will be joining Queens of the Stone Age on their The End Is Nero Tour in August, have announced headline shows of their own. With more to be announced in the coming months, tickets for the current dates will go on sale this Thursday, 6/29 at 10:00am local time HERE. Read the full article

[audiofuzz]

The Armed Announce New Song + Tour Dates

“Does anyone even know you? Does anyone even care?” Sing The Armed. A true question we have to ask ourselves in this day and age when all others see is the image we project. The Armed sing with passion and conviction on their new single “Sport of Form.” Iggy Pop takes the shape of GOD in this video (how apropos). Check out their new, dynamic single below: Read More… The Armed have announced a new album, Perfect Saviors, available August 25th, their first album since their breakout ULTRAPOP. Providing a full accounting of album contributors for the first time, Perfect Saviors was produced by the band’s Tony Wolski along with Ben Chisholm and Troy Van Leeuwen, with contributions from Julien Baker, Sarah Tudzin, Mark Guiliana, Patrick Shiroishi, Justin Meldal-Johnsen and many more (full contributors list below). The album was mixed by Alan Moulder. The news arrives with a first single, “Sport of Form,” which features Julien Baker on vocals and Iggy Pop playing God in the song’s visual. Vocalist Tony Wolski offered this statement on the album: “Too much information has made us dumb and confused. Too many ways to connect have inadvertently led to isolation. And too much expectation has forced everyone to become a celebrity. Predictable primal dangers have given way to newer social ones. And the result is a world that is confounding and terrifying—but ultimately still beautiful. We hope this record is exactly all of that, too. Perfect Saviors is our completely unironic, sincere effort to create the biggest, greatest rock album of the 21st century.” Of the first single, “Sport of Form, he continued: There are two types of sport—those of measure and those of form. A sport of measure like basketball, football, or soccer has a point system and a sort of binary path to victory. A sport of form is something like diving, figure skating, or bodybuilding—something with evolving standards and a layer of subjectivity and some sort of critical component. The world that surrounds us is complex, and our lives are truly more akin to a sport of form than one of measure. Yet, so many people see it as exactly the opposite. Lyrically, this song is about the human need to win a game that we’re not even actually playing. Sonically, it is a reflection of that cognitive dissonance through a constant whiplash between beauty and ugliness, severity and tenderness, obscenity and grace. The album concludes a trilogy of albums examining and dissecting what constitutes “pop culture” in a world of limitless information and access. Using “pop music” loosely as a format in which to express these ideas, each album used composition and presentation as a way to challenge these questions further. Perfect Saviors is the ultimate product of this evolution. Using one of the world’s most well-known mixing engineers to create a beautiful album fully immersed in the language and world of pop through the inherently unique, extreme, and perverse lens The Armed communicate their art. The album was written by The Armed and performed by Ken Szymanski, Randall Lee, Tony Wolski, Dan Greene, Ben Chisholm, Urian Hackney, Cara Drolshagen, Troy Van Leeuwen, Patrick Shiroishi, Sarah Tudzin, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Mark Guiliana, Matt Sweeney, Bryan Aiken, Jacob Bannon, Julien Baker (courtesy of Matador Records), Eric Avery, Stephen Perkins, Josh Klinghoffer, Chris Slorach, Zach Weeks, Brian Wolski & Derek Coburn. The band, who will be joining Queens of the Stone Age on their The End Is Nero Tour in August, have announced headline shows of their own. With more to be announced in the coming months, tickets for the current dates will go on sale this Thursday, 6/29 at 10:00am local time HERE. Read the full article

[travelingturtles]

And remember dear ones, if you’re reading this, the adventure begins at the bottom and you have to work your way up. Unless, someone knows how to turn it all around, then do let me know.

I’m sitting in my dear old friend’s sun room in Clinton, Connecticut. Could it be that I sat here almost seven months ago trying to decide whether or not to continue our journey home with Clifford? Time, as we all know, is so incredibly illusive. Time, when epic life changing events are staring you in the face, is bewildering. Last Oct, Sue dug a quarter out of jar and asked me to choose heads or tails. She said, “Heads you leave Clifford (our big red van) here and fly home, tails, you continue your journey.” When she flipped the coin, she didn’t show it to me but asked, “What do you hope it shows?” That was the moment I knew for certain and quickly made arrangements to park Clifford and fly home. Another dear friend graciously offered a spot on her property to park our van and gave Eddie and me a ride to the airport. The blessings of friends does not go unnoticed.

Flash back to early October: Eddie and I drive to Bennington College, my mother’s alma mater, and my sister calls to say that Mum’s in the hospital and they are recommending hospice. I call my mum and let her know where I am, that we are wandering around the campus, her campus, and trying to decipher where she may have parked her beat up old jalopy that she sold for a dollar to her brother, Alan, where she may have stolen away to make out with her old boyfriend, Gus, where her life as an adult began. Talking to her in that moment, I thought, she is the ever-ready-battery, she weebles and wobbles but will never fall down, she has come back from pneumonia and cat scratch fever and falls off of mopeds in Greece and too many trips to the emergency room than any of us can count. I also had a moment with her before we left on our journey where she said how much she loved me, that she may not make it until we return. I thought we had had “completion” and that would do. Thank goodness for quarters and perfect friends guiding you home.

I’ll leave the story of the five and a half precious weeks that I spent with Mum before she passed for a different time. This is after all “The Adventures of Clifford, the Big Red Van” and as much as Mum would have loved to have joined us on every one of the adventures we’ve taken, she’ll have to enjoy her journey through the DNA that I carry of her.

After reuniting with Clifford at Nancy’s house we found no rust, no rats, no mice or mold and one turn of the key and he started right up. Good Boy!

There’s nothing like being with an old friend of 49 years. Laughing and crying in equal measure, reminiscing and discussing and discovering new aspects of each other, opening up from where we left off and delighting in knowing that our friendship is still golden. And to have this occur with both Nancy and Sue is a gift beyond measure. Suffice to say that Eddie had to contend with lots and lots of gabbing.

After spending a few days walking on the beach at Sue’s, sharing time and stories and sea glass, Sue got many of our Byfield Bunch (Byfield Lane was where my family lived for 5 years) together for a reunion. We literally took a walk down memory lane, knocking on the doors of our old houses and introducing ourselves, a group of 7 sixty something year olds, to the inhabitants of our old digs. We learned that my old house was still occupied by the woman who purchased it 44 years ago and looked as old and in a state of disrepair as she did. She reminded me of the old lady in Princess Bride that lives in the tree with Miracle Max pronouncing Westley as “almost dead”. We learned that Sue’s house was torn down a long time ago, that the field behind John’s house, where we played flag football, was much smaller than we remembered and that the pond at Carole’s old house hasn’t frozen up enough for ice skating in years. Many shared memories of playing ice hockey, skinny dipping in other neighbors pools (even though we had a pool, the thrill of sneaking onto someone else’s property was much more fun), snow mobile rides on the golf course beyond the woods of Sue’s house, first joints puffed, wedgies at the bus stop for the more unfortunate, hitch hiking to school when we missed the bus, music jams and parties in Sue’s basement…. What a privileged childhood, minus the wedgies of course.

While with Nancy, I got to crash a reunion of a group of women (dubbed “the chain gang” in 6th grade by a teacher) that have been friends since grade school (I didn’t meet them until 7th grade). I hadn’t seen them for 47 years! Amazing how we get older and hopefully evolve, but at the core we are who we are who we are…. So special to have the opportunity to reconnect.

Nancy, Andy, Eddie and I took walks, played music, worked in their garden, talked politics and plants and all manner of experiences concerning our raising of our children and letting go of our parents who had been good friends when we were kids.

With sad farewells and the promise to see one another again soon, we departed and headed towards Gettysburg to feed Eddie’s childhood passion for all things Civil War. It so happens that my great great grandfather fought on both sides of the Civil War, first, reluctantly as a Rebel and then after being treed and convincing the Union army with his northern accent that he was indeed not a Confederate soldier despite his uniform, they conscripted him into the Union Army where he was eventually promoted to Colonel.

I’ll leave you here to ponder the past and hope you’ll return to read the next post of our adventure.

[tuttle-did-it]

A lot of your questions, I'm not really qualified to answer as I was not in the writer's room. I have written on the show academically, about the queer and camp relationships, but as to how much was intentional, I cannot say as I was not in the writer's room. Maybe some of the writers intentionally put things in, maybe they put it in cos they thought it would be funny. I can't say. Maybe get in touch with writers like Ken Levine and ask him most of this.

But whether intentional or not, there are queer signifiers within the show. And a lot of it has to do with the visuals of queer in 1970s. I was alive then, and I was queer, and most of the queer men looked like BJ, Fonzie and Thomas Magnum.

I think it’s been said that it was Alan’s idea for the BJ moustache— but that could be wrong. Whether intentionally or not, BJ’s moustache and over-all appearance with the moustache does fall in with the post Stonewall gay scene— particularly the ‘Castro Clone.’

Archetypes like sailor, biker, etc— these clones were a send-up of the hyper-masculine — so butch it’s gay. Ever notice how gay Fonzie seems coded on Happy Days? Clone. Why Thomas Magnum on Magnum PI felt somehow really gay even if he was kissing a woman? How gay the Village People (All stereotypes of hypermasculinity) all were not in spite of the hyper-butch outfits, but because of it. All worth a very similar aesthetic.

BJ’s hair style, moustache and that straw hat, the pink Henley with red braces, a green vest, slightly curly hair and bit longer than traditional, occasionally a tighter t-shirt, the motorbike, and occasionally in the skates with a lot of chest hair. These images were very common within the clone look.

Couple this with VERY lesbian coding of Margaret (especially when Helen visits), the occasionally usually quite limp-wristed performance of Hawkeye (along with the occasional straw cowboy hat), and how often Hawkeye and BJ tend to touch and embrace, shower together, and their general body language—intentional or not— made them visible to us queers who recognised those aspects.

Let’s take this single moment:

BJ’s hands on the hip, the swagger, an arm around him slightly possessively— met with Hawk’s entirely unnecessary grabbing of the fabric on his waist and holding it there— for most of us, there is nothing heterosexual about this moment. It’s too intimate— especially as it’s in front of so many people, showing a comfort and confidence that this kind of touch it’s normal and acceptable.

And because there are repeated moments like this in most scenes in nearly all the episodes.

There is a reason I say that the final scene with Hawk and BJ in GFA is the most romantic divorce in cinematic history. With the queer coding especially with BJ’s aesthetics, there is and has always been a romantic element to this scene. And most of their scenes.

I think that if you showed this scene to someone who didn’t know the episode, didn’t know this show, and told them to focus primarily on body language, they would say this looks like a break up between these two men—neither of whom want to leave the other. That is a very intimate move. Watch that whole scene i entirety-- watch their body language, their expressions. Watch it with the sound off.

Especially because the hand on the back of the head is how Hawk has previously hugged his canon lovers.

How he held Kyung Soon:

And Carlye:

Thanks to @efort for the pics and so quickly!!

When Hawk loves someone and hugs them, he holds their head. This is just a Thing He Does. Did Alan do it to show that Hawk was gay? I doubt it. But I am convinced he did it because Hawk loved BJ.

Did the writers all decide to make M*A*S*H incredibly gay? Did he actors unconsciously about this body language? Did the costume department decide to queer BJ up? I doubt it. Could one or two of the actors or writers see things this way and decide to play off it? Possibly. Do any of them in the show intentionally construct all of this? Did it just magically happen? I don’t know. Wasn’t there in the room with them.

But I can tell you that to those of us who recognised those queer signifiers, seeing body language like this constantly, there was no question. Did the straights get it? Probably not. But that doesn't mean we didn't see it.

Whether they meant it or not, most of the M*A*S*H characters are queer-coded in one way or the other. But BJ is probably the most visually queer, whereas Hawk 100% is a bisexual disaster. On purpose or not, that's what the show definitely makes clear.

you know we’re all rational adults: there’s no way we all hallucinated gay mash narrative out of nothing

[elennemigo]

"A machine is different from a person. Hence, they think differently. The interesting question is, just because something, uh... thinks differently from you, does that mean it's not thinking? Well, we allow for humans to have such divergences from one another. You like strawberries, I hate ice-skating, you cry at sad films, I am allergic to pollen. What is the point of... different tastes, different... preferences, if not, to say that our brains work differently, that we think differently?"

@paletmblr event xii: Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing | The Imitation Game, 2014. [pride]

Alan Mathison Turing (23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954)