#expect MORE russ and brian

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

[billiousserpent]

This is my interpretation of Keegan P. Russ luvlies!!

Man I've seen people talk about how they were disappointed when they saw his face so I draw him in my style instead. Literally had to trace his facial features so y'all can see what I see 😘

Let's talk about his face— Okay, some may say that I might've draw him a little older than how he old he actually is(?) But that's just how I view him as. Let's be real here this man is almost in his forties, fucking tired from his job, too. The fuck y'all expect? A role model 😭??

Though from how I draw him, he may look a little similar towards Blooms, can you blame me? I traced it and had to at least give Brian some credits for the character. (Ngl he has a big ass forehead, I love it.)

Hair? I like to think that he may, or may not get it buzzed, but either way, I like it. In my opinion, this man has very thick silky hair yet often keeps it trimmed due to his job requirements. Man barely gets contact with ANY necessary products for his body nor hair in a normal daily basis

Little plus— I think he would have a pretty jawline, but I can't say it's the most visible, though. But you can still feel it whenever you caress his handsome face. I have a feeling his facial hair also grows fast, so he shaves it almost every(?) morning to keep it neat. Sometimes would forget it, though. You know what's his reminder? The amount to discomfort he feels once he puts his mask on, man can't even complain shit cus he knew it's his fault for forgetting (poor bebe) I also wanted to add his tattoos, but still don't know how to unfortunately :(( Think it's more of tentacles and as for his leg, i can say there's a cobweb design but can't really see the rest.

Also this is how I would see him if he hasn't buzzed his hair yet 👇👇👇

I'd also like to address that the HCs are from a friend of mine! I have spoken to one of the artist where my friend got the inspiration from, and wanted to give credits to them!

Credits to: @moosch !!

You should check out their content about this man (or about the Ghosts), too! To me (+ my friend) their HCs of him are very accurate!!

[madstronaut]

tis christmas in july aka the season for feasting year-round 

much like the 3-in-1 monstrosity of shampoo/condish/bodywash that the COD men probably use (not gaz, though he would n e v e r) I am tossing in my ramblimmentaries three of cin’s lovely fics together here 🥰

aaanyway not even ashamed to say I’ve been re-reading their holiday keegan fic SEVERAL TIMES a month since I first saw it last december cos it’s so cute and fluffy

ok I need to get this out of the way laughing my ass off rn because autocorrect changed cumikering to cucumber several times throughout here and i was howling when I went to edit this and I was like why are there cucumbers everywhere??? LMAO

Reading: Neighbour Keegan Russ x reader by @cumikering

ah meet cute at the laundry room; I love it alr (as you can see i am easily pleased/amused/moved)

also it’s already on sight with reader’s cuz, i have unfortunately met ppl like this IRL (haven’t we all) and well talk about telling on themselves about how unhappy they are :/

“Well, if you need company…” he said, trying to not sound too hopeful. I’d love to spend some time with you. You turned to him, brow raised. “Wait, you mean, you want to come with? Be my plus one?” “That wasn’t- well, yeah. I can do that.” He shrugged. “If you want.” This wasn’t the direction he was heading for. He was going to offer to spend Christmas together, maybe exchange gifts, but he surely wasn’t going to take that back. Anything for a chance with you.

AAAA OBSESSED WITH HOW CUTE AND AWKWARD THIS WHOLE EXCHANGE IS

He always enjoyed seeing your face brighten like that, despite never getting the chance to see it enough…But between deployments, he was lucky to even catch a glimpse of you once a week, leaving any possible advances towards you simply a fantasy to him. He was out of practice, but was he that out of practice that he came on too strong and scared you? He certainly didn’t mean to make it suggestive. This was going to end before it even started. He grimaced to himself.

we love some good ole mutual pining🥺🥰🥺🥰🥺🥰

That time you saw Keegan on a run shirtless out your window you had to sit down.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA crying laughing at this…also reminded me of a time I hung out with a friend in LA who went to pick up a friend after he ran a marathon and drop him off before we went to dinner - didn’t realize the runner was an old acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a while since he was a senior when I was a freshman in college but I fucking remembered him alright when he came running up ripped af, shirtless, sweaty, saw me and went “MADSTRONAAUUTTTT OMG” and picked me up and spun me while in his giant hulking sweaty arms and I briefly bluescreened…anyway cough sorry back to keegan what was I saying, yes shirtless sweaty keegan yes yes 

He didn’t speak much (you wished he did though because his voice was divine)

my fellow voicekink brian bloom fans where you at

ah wooing by fake dating, is there a better trope (tbh the ones I’ve read are hit or miss but this one is 10/10)

Keegan sat on his bed as you went through his wardrobe. How cheesy would it be if he were to pull out his guitar and serenade you? He, too, was told the ladies liked men who played the guitar. Why do you think he picked it up in high school?

*thousand eyed stare thinking of how many times I've heard wonderwall as a millenial*

He’d made it his mission to make sure taking him to your family was worth your while.

ah yes a true soldier through and throughhhhh~

You were a steady stream of glee that didn’t drain him and he couldn’t get enough.

AAWWWWWWW fucking loved this line!!!!!!!

also the cousin’s name as Bella now has me picturing her as twilight kristen stewart

It only made it hard to dilute your hopefulness that this meant the slightest bit more than nothing.

“dilute your hopefulness” GAAHHH LOVE THIS PHRASE CIN MWAH MWAH

now how to put this lightly but everything about bella just filled me with pure rage lol first off I WOULD ALSO KILL FOR A DYSON AIR WRAP GIFTED TO ME (can I buy one? yes. can I justify buying one? hell no) and I hate to use this term but textbook definition of a ‘pick-me girl’ right here but seeing casual cruelty like this would make me hear those kill bill sirens and have me swabbing some vaseline on my face and taking my earrings off and spitting some razorblades out my mouth and- cough anyway that’s from my younger fanciful days, I don’t carry razorblades in my mouth this isn’t late 90s/early 2000s new york ha cough anyway moving on smh throwing my hands at bella up in air

but I loved the contrast with keegan and let me just say everything about bella’s ‘gift’ goes against the pure nature of giftgiving and I am thrilled that she left the card there but got to take Keegan home 🥰

this whole fic reminded me of a lovely quote I read on a tear-off daily calendar lol

“The wise one knows. The giver of the gift IS the gift. And the gift is just the giver’s heart in the shape of something to make you smile.  The gift decays. The giver stays. And so the real gift remains.”

I will make an exception for celebrating Christmas in July for any of cin's holiday fics 🥰🥰🥰

-----------------------------------------

aaaaand also reading: by Ghost x plus-sized reader by cinny

omfg fucking tearing up my pillows to shreds at how much I love this lil fic!!!

You scoffed, looking past him at the other ladies in the room. “Are you serious? There are plenty who weigh far less.” His brow rose. “Are you calling me weak?”

fucking love reading about a suave smooth-ass ghost

His eyes softened a touch. “May I? Please?”

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 WHO CAN RESIST PUPPY EYED GHOST??? TELL ME WHO

 Across the pub, the table of three men grinned at the massive stranger. The one with the mohawk was very much entertained as he gave him thumbs up.

yes yes we love wingman!141

You laughed, your breath warm against his ear. “Are you going to set me down or am I having my drink on your back?” “Don’t give me ideas.” He chuckled as he lowered you to your feet.

HOW CUTE IS SIMON CARRYING READER TO THE BAR? AAAAAAA

“Okay. Well, thanks for he drink. You could get back to your mates if you want.” “I’m Simon,” he mustered instead.

“he mustered” AAAH I LOVE BIG NERVOUS MEN STUMBLING OVER THEIR WORDS

When he turned to them, they immediately busied themselves with their drinks, averting their gazes.

LMAO

So that was why you were alone. You were waiting for someone. Disappointment anchored at the bottom of his chest. “Right. Okay.” You smiled. “Thanks for the drink, Simon. I’ll see you around, yeah?” He grunted and you headed to the end of the bar. He stood umoving for another second before retreating to his table like a kicked puppy.

ummm omg I literally keeled over and slumped out of my chair in sympathy for simon for a good minute before I could read on OMG CIN HOW COULD YOU (lmao jk I loved this sm)

You flagged down some other blond man who walked over to you with a smile.

LMAO yes yes simon you are clearly superior

“I know she’s with someone, but I can tell she likes you more,” Price said, and Simon finally tore his gaze away from you. “Ye should fight ‘im, L.T. He dinnae stand a fuckin’ chance.” “You can knock him out with a slap,” Gaz quipped.

fucking love this, cin has 141 characterisation down to a T with each of their responses!!!! 

also men of the world if you can please take notes on stepping up from 141 here, please start doing so yesterday tyvm

so busy mopping up my heart from melting at how adorable this meet-cute is and I also got halal two days in a row from the halal guys cart by work thanks to reading about the kebabs in this fic

-----------------------------------------

and finally reading: Ghost x asmr artist reader by cinny

"Simon had a pepper problem and a pasta dilemma"

🥺🥺🥺🥺 I am dying at the cuteness here alr🥺🥺🥺🥺

You turned to him. He noticed the little startle before you shoved your phone back in your pocket.

men who are self-aware of their size and presence and the effect it has on ppl around them and act accordingly, I love you

Your quiet cooking videos were one of the only things left that offered him calmness, especially on those nights away on missions, giving him tingles in all the right places, and shamefully, the wrong ones too sometimes.

sir, sir, there is no room for shame in love~

“Ah- I’m sorry,“ he managed, flustered by your sudden exit. “I didn’t want to be presumptuous, but you make those videos, don’t you? I recognised your voice.” You grinned, turning to him. “I just wanted to thank you,” he said. “Your videos comfort me a lot.” “I’m happy to hear. Thank you for watching.” Simon wanted to tug his beanie over his face because as you walked away, he was unmoving with a racing heart and a blush over his pale cheeks.

omfg WANTED TO TUG HIS BEANIE DOWN??? I AM IN LOVE I LOVE STRONG YET VULNERABLE GIANT MEN SM (this is a fluff fic so I am keeping with the fluffy vibes nd restraining my horny ass from choking out some absolutely thirsty comments here)

Despite the uncomfortable circumstances, your quiet yet crisp voice always sent him into a restful slumber.

yes shoutout to my favorite YT vids and comfort fics for putting me to sleep without fail

The chance encounter only fuelled his attraction. Knowing the kind smile behind the sweetest voice felt like an intimate secret, one you shared with him and only him - not with the rest of your few thousand subscribers.

i love how sweet simon is here with his lil parasocial crush and OMG WHEN READER APPROACHES HIM FIRST IN THE PASTA AISLE I also blushed IRL GOD I LOve FLUFF FICS SM

“Someone sent in a recipe for a video, and it’s absolutely delicious. I’ve been making it at least once a month ever since.”

SIMON’S COMFORT YOUTUBER’S COMFORT RECIPE IS SIMON'S??? WHAT IS THIS GLORIOUS OUROBOROS OF A COINKYDINK

He combed his hair back with his fingers, hoping his hat hair wasn’t terrible. He caught the double take you did at his tattooed arm.

🥰hehehe i love these little tidbits and morsels of vulnerability (hmm good band name, writing that down)

The rich scent of caramelised meat drifting in the room wrapped around him like a warm blanket.

Between sips of tea, you enjoyed your own halves of the chocolate wordlessly, the music melting into the background.

The savoury aroma glided past the thin gaps of the oven, swirling and dancing between you and him.

mmmmmm this has to be one of the coziest fics ive ever read

“I was an apprentice butcher before I enlisted.” He pressed down on the ricer with ease.

so much said in two sentences!!! ugh mwah mwah so many chef’s kisses for your writing style cinny

also loved how both are very self-aware and how reader picks up on simon talking about his mom in past tense and the whole fic emerging to fit around this bit of simon’s story is so wonderful to me… He waited until you took a bite before taking his own, and his breath caught. His brows furrowed as lump formed in his throat. Had the ground cracked and plunged him into a glitched universe? He was once more in Manchester, 10 years younger, finally home after a long day at the butcher, his mum and brother waiting at the table with the piping hot dish in the middle of it.

literally picturing that critic eating ratatouille flashback end scene from the eponymous movie 😂🥰

The last thing he wanted to do in front of you was shed a tear, but there he was, some hulking stranger sobbing on your shoulder as nostalgia held him in a death grip. It was humiliating to be seen like this – he didn’t remember the last time he cried from feelings, yet the tears wouldn’t cease despite his efforts. But you held him close, and his thick arms wrapped around you. He told himself if he pulled you close enough, it would hurt less.

i love how simon’s comfort streamer becomes an IRL comfort place for him to safely break down 🥹🥹 did I cry from reading this? IDK MAYBE WHO KNOWS? (looks at the ruined kleenex piled in my wastebin)

I hope all readers know and have a person and place like this (and may we host such places and become such people as well) 💛✨🌿

and of course I will pause my rambles here with a big-ass hug 🫂 and thank you to cinny for being a wonderful comfort fic writer for meeee 🫶🫶🫶😘👌😘👌😘👌

[globaljobalert-blog]

Senior Product Designer - Remote, (USA, Canada Or Brazil)

Company: Chameleon Highlights - Chameleon is SaaS for product teams to create in-product UX (modals, banners, checklists, microsurveys etc.) to drive user engagement. Watch a short demo here (or sign up here) - We’re a remote-first, Series A, VC-backed (Matrix Partners, True Ventures) startup with ~45 folks distributed across the Americas and Europe. Learn more about us here. - Seeking our third Product Designer; someone with 5+ years of SaaS design experience living in US 🇺🇸, Canada 🇨🇦, or Brazil 🇧🇷 working across our products doing end-to-end design work. - Salary range is $90k - $160k USD annually, based on experience and location. - Our application process is engaging and interactive — we want to focus on your work quality, not just your interviewing skills, while getting to know you during the process. Why this role now? Our product team is ~10 engineers, 3 QAs, 1 PM (Tj), 2 designers (Valentin, Russ), and our founders (Pulkit & Brian). We are building the best product in our category and are shipping great functionality, (see this or our LinkedIn page) but we want to go even faster 🚀 We are concurrently hiring a second PM, and expect that with this we’ll be able to build two pods of work (core and growth/new) with our designers supporting work across projects and themes. We raised a Series A last year after years of bootstrapping with sustained growth, so are in a financially strong position. We have never conducted layoffs and believe in thoughtful hiring. Listen to Valentin and Russ talk about the Design team and process Video (2023-06-23 17_15 GMT+1).mp4 🔮 Where are we heading? It’s a great time to join as we have product-market fit, established the fundamentals of operating as a product team, and work with over 300 outstanding customer, such as Twilio Segment, Mixpanel, Copy.ai, Fivetran, Chili Piper, and more. View some of our case studies here! Users now expect personalized software that caters to their specific needs and context. This is hard to build and manage at scale, but the companies that succeed with this product-led approach are the winners. This provides Chameleon the opportunity to create a category-shaping product that is a part of every company’s stack! 🌐 More on our product, team, culture, and vision here. 📅 What your day might include (+ our stack) - Reviewing and contributing on our product roadmap (Notion) - Researching patterns, components, and flows from other tools (web) - Joining or conducting meetings (we use Zoom, Fathom) for research/discovery - Doing mockups, hi-fidelity designs, and creating prototypes (Figma) - Presenting in our daily design syncs with the product team (Tuple) - Async sharing of designs and or problems for feedback (Loom) - Testing and giving feedback on engineering stories (Chameleon testing accounts) - Updating our design system and component library (zeroheight) Skills and experience that will aid success in this role - 5+ years of full-time product design at a SaaS company where software is the product - 1+ years of startup ( - Experience designing complex product workflows, ideally B2B, from ideation to high-fidelity mocks, and take a system-centric approach to design (think and work with components) - Great at independent research (e.g. competitive analysis, usability testing, surveys, and interviews, etc.) specifically identifying challenges related to usability and adoption - Structured thinking, organized work, clear written and verbal communication - Proficient in Figma or similar tool - You have a fully functioning workstation and a quiet place to work (and take calls) with a high-speed internet connection - You are - Able to join functional and cross-team meetings between 8-10:30am PST - This will be your full-time job (no other part-time roles) - Fluency (written and verbal) in English - Competitive compensation ($90k - $160k USD, based on experience and location) - Early-stage equity (stock options) at a great valuation - New Macbook and $1,000 home-office budget - Flexible work hours, asynch culture and generous paid time off, plus Flexible Fridays! - Fully-paid international team retreats and mini-meetups (last one was in Miami; see - Access to True Ventures portfolio events, workshops, and networking - Ongoing coaching and mentorship from a leadership team that will help you rapidly develop and advance in your career - - - - - This job opening is available on the respective company website as of 4 - Candidates are requested to study and verify all the job details before applying and contact the respective company representative in case they have any queries. - The owner of this site has provided all the available information regarding the location of the job i.e. work from anywhere, work from home, fully remote, remote, etc. However, if you would like to have any clarification regarding the location of the job or have any further queries or doubts; please contact the respective company representative. Viewers are advised to do full requisite enquiries regarding job location before applying for each job.   - Authentic companies never ask for payments for any job-related processes. Please carry out financial transactions (if any) at your own risk. - All the information and logos are taken from the respective company website. Read the full article

[blackmagicspecialist786-blog]

California Is In for a Continuing Parade of Storms

SAN FRANCISCO -The morning of Thursday three men employed handsaws to cut the fallen tree that blocked from the entrance of their. City workers had put trees with cones, but did not remove the tree and residents of the neighborhood decided to take things in their own hands. "We just want to clear it so cars can drive, so people can pass through," said one of the men, Francis Broome, who was removing branches from the walkway within the Western Addition neighborhood when I passed across. One man was using an air blower to get rid of the debris. "Some community teamwork!" Another person said. The group sought to restore some peace and calm after the most severe of the week's storms swept throughout in the Bay Area, just days after a record-breaking rainstorm during New Year's Day. The raging river that hit California over the course of Wednesday and Thursday shut off power for thousands of residents, forced evacuations and caused dangerous waves on the coastline. If the storm did have one motif it was the staggering number of downrooted trees which is the most obvious indication of a state moving between extremes in the environmental of drought and flood, as my coworkers Shawn Hubler and Jill Cowan discuss. If you're experiencing a return to the sunshine of California It's likely to be only for a short time. While California's Golden State is expected to be spared from rain this Friday afternoon, it's set for a flurry of storms after that, which will include a intense one on Tuesday and Monday. The pounding could last into mid-January. "We are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination," said Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. "We are basically in the eye of the storm right now." Over the last few days you've been writing to me regarding how dealing with and being affected by the events which are both good and bad. Here's a sample of your thoughts with me, lightly edited "The greenery of the typically gray Los Angeles hills makes this the most beautiful time to be for me in Southern California. My trees are strong while my plants are flourishing. Utilizing one for just a couple of weeks isn't a problem for me in the least." --- Bill Mayer, Los Angeles "We've been without power within Mendocino County for more than 24 hours. There's no heat, too which is why we're inside wearing layers of clothing as well as scarves, knit hats and scarfs. The only way to communicate is a mobile service with the lowest bars. Making food and cooking has become a challenge. We're lucky to have a few Goal Zero batteries to recharge phones and keep our refrigerator operating, and I'll look after an elderly neighbor this morning." --- Robin Applegarth, Gualala "My husband and I travelled on Wednesday, on Route 101 from Salinas through Santa Barbara. The winds and rain that fell close to Santa Barbara were powerful. The eucalyptus plants along the coast shed their branches. It was quite a snarl, but vehicles were actually slowing down for the first time in a while. But, I am thankful that it rained." -Amy Brewster, Salinas. Amy Brewster, Salinas "We have been hard hit with heavy snow that has fallen over the last couple of weeks. There was a lot of snow-blowing and shoveling. Trees that were damaged due to drought years have been slashed, making power a continuous issue. We are however taking advantage of this! There is a generator which is extremely helpful. You just need to get a grip and tackle it." --- Russ Woods, South Lake Tahoe Read the full article

[i-watch-too-many-movies]

5 Favorite First Viewings of July 2021

Quick note: Hi everyone, I'm back, things have honestly been getting better for me, and I'm glad to be on this site full of cinephiles, people that are too horny, and cinephiles that are too horny. I'll be more active on here. But anyway, let's talk about some movies.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) (dir. Russ Meyer)

CW: Abortion mention

What a picture. What a gorgeous, sexy, horrifying slice of what Hollywood and star life can do to a bunch of bright-eyed young people looking for success. Also is a critique of how macho nature can ruin friendships and romantic relationships with total ease. I was obsessed with the scene transitions, like Pet pouring pancake mix onto a plate after the abortion scene, or Kelly singing after someone screams before their murder in the opening scene.

Great, campy flick with exceptional music too.

Deep Cover (1992) (dir. Bill Duke)

Laurence Fishburne plays Russell Stevens, a Cincinnati police officer who hopes to do well by the community, to make a difference. He’s traumatized by the death of his substance-abusing father, and wants to make sure that he can help the people of his own town. He goes undercover on assignment as a drug dealer, where his boss orders him to take down the kingpin. Stevens realizes the police’s own failings while on assignment. The racist abuse he takes from Agent Carver, and the realization that the police department is protecting drug kingpins like Gallegos and Barbossa. Giving drugs to Black kids and Latinx kids so there will be less of them. The cops are no different than the drug kingpins looking to make filthy amounts of money.

Fishburne’s performance is excellent, as Stevens feels he has to maintain a stone face so he doesn’t get caught by Jason or Barbossa or any of his cronies, but also he maintains a stone face to try and hide his emotion, his trauma. But when he gets pissed, Fishburne acts it beautifully, as is when he has to deliver a funny quip to counter Jason’s douchebaggery. And the production design, holy fuck, the sets and the lighting.

A perfect neo-noir for the HW Bush years, arguably one of the most timeless commentaries on the era, as well as the police as a whole.

Fast Five (2011) (dir. Justin Lin)

I was torn between including this or Furious 7, but I ultimately went with Fast Five because it felt like an important turning point in the series, it's a great heist film, and it reached the same chaotic highs and genuinely excellent filmmaking that I had been waiting for since 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift.

Fast Five opens where Fast & 4ious left off. Dom is hauled away to prison on a bus. Mia and Brian drive in their high-tech cars and knock the bus over, helping Dom escape. The title drops. Fast Five. It’s such an intense yet short action scene, and dropping the title immediately after it lets the viewer know that this movie is not fucking around. It’s arguably gonna be more intense and insane than the previous one.

And it is. The filmmakers made the decision to use a lot more practical stunt work for the film, and as a result, it leads to, so far, the best action in the entire series, since 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift. It’s not just how it’s shot or edited, it’s the geography of the locations, the rooftop chase echoes the rooftop chase of Jackie Chan’s masterwork Police Story, particularly the way each character bounces from top to top.

And of course, there’s the silliest moment in the movie, the one that matches the intensity and kineticism of a film like 2 Fast, which is driving the Reyes’ bank vault throughout the street, getting chased by corrupt cops.

I know we make fun of Vin Diesel for saying “family” all the time in these films, but there’s a reason we remember him saying all of these impassioned monologues. Because he’s unbelievably sincere, and has so much love in his heart for every single person in the room. Anytime he delivers a speech to any of them, it’s genuinely heartwarming.

This is the film that finally shows La Familia in their best environment, which is working together, in a movie genre that allows them to work together, which is a heist film. And a great one at that.

Last Days (2005) (dir. Gus Van Sant)

CW: Mention of suicide

Several films have been made about legendary rock artist Kurt Cobain, and for good reason. He is one of the most tragic figures in rock and roll. A tortured genius who has written and performed classic song after classic song with his band Nirvana. He was called the voice of a generation, and helped change the face of mainstream alternative rock music as we know it. But with that fame, and all of those expectations came a worsening depression and further drug abuse, and his eventual death. But most of the films about Kurt Cobain ask one question which gets under my skin way too much:

“Who REEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY killed Kurt Cobain?”

It was him. He did. And it’s okay, I’m sad too. Thinking that Kurt Cobain was murdered is completely ignoring the depression that he faced. And despite Last Days being more inspired by the death of Cobain rather than actually about it, it feels much more honest than the conspiracy documentaries on his death, wanting to leech off of his dead body.

This is the last installment of Gus Van Sant’s “Death Trilogy”, the previous two installments being Gerry (2001), and Elephant (2003). While I have not seen Gerry, I have seen Elephant though, and love that film for its minimalist, raw nature, and its boldness for not romanticizing the school shooter or the lives they had taken. Last Days falls into that trap once, as I don’t agree with the shot of Blake’s soul climbing up a ladder, that always struck me as cheesy in a film that is anything but.

Last Days is similar to Elephant in terms of the way it is filmed. Its usage of long takes, and still shots of characters doing various things, such as Blake playing his guitar behind a drum set. The way these moments are shot is similar to a Chantal Akerman film, particularly Jeanne Dielman. Where the acts of the mundane are the stars of the film. Blake wanders around an empty house, and the viewer can feel the pain, not just through Michael Pitt’s acting, but from the house itself. Its decay, its paint peeling from the walls, from the soft glow of the lamp that lights his face.

I say this is the most honest film about Kurt Cobain, because, despite the characters technically being fictional (the main character who looks, walks, and acts like Cobain is named Blake), this film focuses on the mental state of a person before they eventually take their own life. They’re still working, still making music, still trying to talk to friends and bandmates, but the depression lingers on. Not once does this film try to make you believe that someone else killed him, because you can see the signs of his own suicide taking place just through the film’s excellent cinematography by Harris Savides, showing his mental state only growing worse through the production design.

And it’s empathetic with him. There’s no judgement for leaving rehab, there’s no finger-wagging at him or the people he was with, there’s just a silent prayer at the end of the film, hoping that he is in a better place than he was.

Sometimes you don’t need to show every event that led you to where you are, all you can show is the moment, which also makes this better than most biopics as well, as it never feels messy or muddled, just showing one moment of Blake/Kurt’s life.

I really loved this film, and I’ll be writing about it in full soon.

The Village (2004) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan)

The Cracked.com/Channel Awesome audience stuck in 2012 will tell you that this was the beginning of the end for Shyamalan. That this was when people stopped taking him seriously, that this was when he became more of a punchline because of his twist endings.

But why?

The Village was released in 2004, deep in the Bush administration, during the early stages of the Iraq War. The leaders of the time were talking about imaginary boogeymen, terrorists that would attack the civilians if they could. Because of 9/11, politicians could get away with these false ideas with the majority of Americans fully believing them. The boogeymen in The Village are “The People We Don’t Speak Of”, monsters attracted by the color red. Yet we find out that they are all costumes made by the Elders of the land, designed to prevent people from going outside the land. They rule by fear disguised as love. They’ve gone through their own traumas through the deaths of their family members, but they’ve decided to completely abandon the lives that they’ve had and have their children living lies.

9/11 impacted American life by teaching citizens to live primarily by fear, to not trust anyone but their own people. And yet, post-9/11, all that increased was not “coming together”, but hate crimes against South Asian people. The rage white Americans had felt led to conservative politicians pushing fear-mongering agendas, and said white Americans blindly accepted. The outside world was progressing, but too many people were fine with living with further conservative politics only regressing American life further and further back, all for the illusion of safety. Meanwhile, the only threats to them were not the brown citizens outside of America they were so afraid of, but the white elders, the white politicians.

The Village explores these fears so eloquently, all while having a terrifying atmosphere, an enchanting score, and brilliant sound design. I enjoyed this movie very much.

Other viewings I enjoyed:

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) (dir. Mike Judge) (re-watch)

Blow Out (1981) (dir. Brian de Palma) (re-watch)

Clueless (1995) (dir. Amy Heckerling) (re-watch)

Furious 7 (2015) (dir. James Wan)

The Long Goodbye (1973) (dir. Robert Altman)

Lupin III: The First (2019) (dir. Takashi Yamazaki)

Unbreakable (2000) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan) (re-watch)

Velvet Goldmine (1998) (dir. Todd Haynes)

The Visit (2015) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan)

[dewitty1]

Fic Recs Wrap Up  -  October 2020 (੭ˊ͈ ꒵ˋ͈)･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

Mental by sara_holmes @captn-sara-holmes

Harry has had quite enough of sharing his mind with someone else, thankyouverymuch. A miscast Legilimency spell says otherwise. Rec Post

Changing of the Guard by Lomonaaeren

Need a perfect stranger? Ask Metamorphosis. Harry Potter runs the business secretly and becomes whoever’s needed for each occasion. He’s not sure whether he should be more surprised, worried, or amused when Draco Malfoy comes to Metamorphosis and requests an actor who can play his boyfriend so that his parents will disown him. Yet Harry has even more dangerous choices after he creates Brian, Draco’s “perfect” boyfriend. Draco doesn’t know who Brian is, but he’s trying to find out—and now so is Harry. Rec Post

Going Once, Going Twice by VivacissimoVoce

Draco Malfoy has been missing for two years. Now the Malfoy estate is going up for auction, and Harry decides it’s time to find out what happened to his former school rival. Rec Post

Oath Breaker by GoblinCatKC @kc-anathema

At the start of seventh year, the Malfoys perform a dramatic double-cross against the dark lord and Draco educates Harry in an old school of magic. With a wild dragon chase, narrow escapes and an unlikely romance as Draco is forced to reveal to a hostile wizarding world that the Malfoy family is dark. Rec Post.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop

It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he's falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him? Rec Post

Never the Same Again by frances potter

The war is over ... in fact it never really got started because the Dark Lord proved to be the more powerful. Now five years after Dumbledore's death, Draco Malfoy has something else to worry about besides being a spy. Rec Post

Starts With a Spin by Maxine @serasarahhhh

It started with the spin of a bottle, and now Harry and Draco have gotten themselves so far into their own game there's almost no way out again. Except to keep playing. Rec Post

Saving Draco Malfoy by Dayspring

While the Wizarding world waits for Harry Potter to save them, Draco Malfoy decides to save himself. Rec Post

We Are Young (I'll Carry You Home Tonight) by Femme (femmequixotic) @femmequixotic

Harry and Draco have been falling into bed on and off again since the last election five years ago, much to the amusement--and financial gain--of their circle of friends. But when Harry agrees to work with Draco to put Kingsley Shacklebolt into the Minister's office, they can't work side-by-side again every day and sleep together; that would be courting disaster. Wouldn't it? Rec Post

₍՞◌′ᵕ‵ू◌₎♡ Here are some other fics you might enjoy-

On the Last Day by trishjames @thusspoketrish

Draco is still mourning the recent loss of his mother when the Wizarding World is struck with the tragic news of Harry Potter’s untimely death. It’s just his luck that Potter not only comes back as a ghost, but seems intent on haunting Draco as he’s the only one that can see him. It’s a race against time to retrace the last few days of Potter’s life in order to find his body before he’s lost to the living or spiritual realm forever. On their journey, they’ll uncover secrets, betrayals, and a horrific truth that will disrupt both the living and the dead. Fic Claim Post, Art Post 1, 2, 3 ( art by @eromnid )

Scenes of Surrender by Rasborealis

Draco just wants to keep his head down and finish his last year at Hogwarts. He's not supposed to let his mask slip, and Harry isn't supposed to care. Art post

You Don't Know Me (Like You Used To) by Anonymous for @hd-fan-fair

"Buy me a drink as compensation for maiming me?" he asks.

"And why the hell would I do that?" It’s a perfectly valid question. A drink invitation from Harry Potter is about as likely of a scenario as me streaking down Piccadilly in broad daylight. Consider me completely thrown off.

Sometimes it only takes a week to change everything. The story of how twenty-five-year-old Draco Malfoy hit one Harry Potter with a door and knocked both of their lives into somewhere entirely new. Rec post

True Children Still by Anonymous for @hd-fan-fair

After years of dancing around each other, Draco and Harry have finally begun to date, though they're taking things slow. They've got enough to figure out as it is, and the last thing Harry needs is an unexpected introduction to desires he's not quite ready to face. (please heed the tags!) Rec post

Asking For A Friend? by Anonymous for @hd-fan-fair

Asking for a friend? Don't be shy! I'm Genna Russ with advice!

Draco Malfoy, drag queen and agony aunt for the Daily Prophet, is very happy with his life. He loves his job. He loves his drag queen persona. And he loves the fact that the wider Wizarding world doesn't know who is offering them sassy advice with their morning news.

When he starts receiving letters from one Harry Potter – letters that are too racy to publish – he does the only thing he can do: he replies. His carefully constructed secret life is at risk of being blown wide open, but he just can't help himself. Draco never did have any self-control where the Prat Who Lived was concerned. Rec Post

Take My Wonder by Anonymous for @hd-fan-fair

Harry Potter is the author of very well-written children's text books. Joshua Starkweather is the author of not-so-well-written erotic fiction. Only one person knows that they are one and the same. Rec post

Starkissed by Anonymous for @hd-fan-fair

“Your tattoos!” The intruder says, boldly stepping over Ron’s chaise and crossing in front of Hermione to get to Harry, eyes wide and hungry. Harry immediately sits up, pulling the towel draped across the back of his chair down over his shoulders.

“No! Don’t cover them. They’re beautiful.”

.

Harry hopes an indulgent trip abroad will help shake him out of the doldrums of his life. What he finds once he gets to Venice is more than he ever expected. Rec Post

If an Injury Is to Be Inflicted by shealwaysreads (onereader) @shealwaysreads

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.

Harry Potter disappeared a year after the Battle of Hogwarts, and with him went all hope for true change in magical Britain.

Three years later, Draco indulges himself and attends his first Dog Fight—the infamous underground fights with no rules, no referee, and no points system bar blood on the floor. The game was simple: you win, or you die.

A glint of green amidst the blood-red changes everything. Fic Claim/RecPost

♡✧( ु•⌄• ) I hope you enjoy these as much as I have!  

As always, thank you so much for  following, reading, and reblogging! Your support means so much to me!

xoxo Carey ₍՞◌′ᵕ‵ू◌₎♡💜💙💚💛❤💗💕💖

[re-readingcomics]

NYCC 2014 Day 3

I was still doing the re-reading Batwoman thing and trying to defend the book while it was on a downswing. I got confused for Batgirl frequently. I think this was around the time the Bombshells started coming out. I think I’ve seen more people cosplay that version of Batwoman. I expect since the TV show is coming out that will change.

Image Comics has been the publisher I’ve read the most for several years. I went to several of their panels that year. Towards the end of the convention I found the moderator of more than one at the Image booth towards the end of the Con and congratulated him on doing a good job.

I swear, I didn’t remember I wrote this down when I wrote about it in a previous post. I would like to say that a thing Saga and Game of Thrones have in common is that  both have sprawling ensembles whose characters you enjoy on their own only to be shocked by how painful and violent things get when they actually meet. They’re both also anti-war stories set in war times, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say Saga does a better job in not glamorizing the war.

I’m a huge Sex Criminals fan. I have two shirts related to the series, a Sexual Gary one (which you may have noticed I was wearing in the selfies) and more recently a “DON’T WORRY BE WORRY” one that I wore to the first day of Book Con this year specifically to impress Kelly Sue DeConnick. (It worked.)

I only read the first issue of Deadly Class. I had recently read the first trade paperback of writer Rick Remender’s Black Science and hated it.  I thought it was needlessly mean, doing things like killing off a character in the first issue only to have her show up in flashback a few issues later all excited about the mission that already killed her. (There was also something degrading about a dancing humanoid female amphibian.) Nothing in that first issue of Deadly Class made me feel like “this might be better.” I’m just really excited to learn about artists’ models.

Right now that everyone seems underwhelmed by Hawkeye’s role in the MCU, it may be hard to understand, but the Matt Fraction penned Hawkeye series was very hot at the time. It had very little to do with the film version of the character. It was a fairly low key tale of the least powerful Avenger being a mentor and a good neighbor in some trying circumstances. I have a shirt based on this run too.

Part of the regular response is that Vaughan wanted The Will to be a Jason Stathem type. Vaughan also jokes about this being an “all white bald men look the same” describing himself as confusable with fellow comic scribes Grant Morrison and Brian Michael Bendis. I actually agree that he and Morrison do look very similar.

Now I’m wondering how much this inspired the flash forward in which The Will is drug-addled and has gained a lot of weight.

This came up with the example of someone on YouTube reading out loud a then recent issue of Thor to point out how bad the dialogue sounded. I wonder if this caused a controversy that I missed.

So this is the point where I have to write about having a pleasant encounter with someone at NYCC and then finding out about that they’re awful. Shortly after this convention in which Upchurch told charming stories about the difficulties of working from home with small children, he got arrested for domestic violence. He served his sentence, had the crime removed from his record, but was still let go from Rat Queens. (His wife claims the abuse was worse than in the police report and that after completing his sentence he abandoned her and the children, both physically and fiscally.) Stjepan Šejić finished out the arc they we’re working on and Tess Fowler became the series artist. She was fired after one five issue arc and a spin off special. At the time she was let go, she was under the impression that she was going to be replaced by Upchurch. That didn’t end up happening, but the whole thing was pretty devastating. I gave up on Rat Queens, but I still follow Fowler and Šejić. Upchurch recently announced a new series. I won’t be reading that.

I didn’t remember writing this as a tweet when I wrote about this in the previous entry. It’s a sign that one remembers things better if you write about them, even if you don’t remember writing about them.

I really do feel like my autograph hounding has led me to being in a rut while attending conventions.

Let’s talk about Dare2Draw. I’ve spent a lot of time with them, though not recently. It’s an organization that promotes people interested in cartooning and drawing for comics. For a while they would have monthly meetings which consisted of an opportunity to draw cosplaying models doing quick poses, a competition involving how to draw some high concept that you associate with comics. (There was a Godzilla inspired one the first time I went, some other time there was what your pet does when you’re not around. Then there’d be types of gods or villains. It’s a very demanding contest.) There’d be a lecture by a guest artist, examples of whom include Cliff Chiang, Bill Plymton and Russ Braun. There wasn’t a lecture part, just the competition. The category was creating heroic types. I had no idea what to do, did a variation of Casper David Friedrich “Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog.” I didn’t place, all three of the people who did were women and had much better, more dynamic drawings then I did. I only ever placed, once. I actually won that time. I haven’t been back. I miss it, even the constant losing.

I would have liked to have met Marc Andreyko. I really wanted to publicly support his Batwoman run. It is as much about me being a contrarian as about me being nice. I also like him as a Twitter follower.

I missed a birthday party for my cousin’s son. I don’t remember anything else that I missed. Maybe a semi-regular baby sitting gig?

[sam-writes]

Queen/BoRhap Masterlist

Fics:

Sunshine and Tea / Ao3 link: 984 words || Ben!Roger x Unspecified!Reader:

Having nothing scheduled for the day, reader spends their time with their boyfriend, Roger Taylor, enjoying the more quiet moments in life.

Delighting Gods / Ao3 link: 1861 words || Ben!Roger Taylor x Unspecified!Reader:

Reader is a culinary student and old friend of Queen guitarist Brian May. They frequently cook and bake for the band. Despite the constant compliments from the band, it seems impossible to impress the drummer, Roger Taylor.

Nightmares and Love Songs / Ao3 link: 1073 words || Ben!Roger Taylor x Masculine Alligned!Reader:

Late at night reader finds a testy eyed, tired Roger Taylor playing a soft song in the back of the studio. It takes reassurance and comfort to calm his mind for the first time in months.

Wandering Eyes / Ao3 link: 1329 words || Ben Hardy x Unspecified!Reader:

Ben Hardy has asked you out on a first date to your local pub to watch a band.

Lover Boy: 1645 words || Warren Worthington iii x Unspecified!Reader:

Warren has become increasingly distant over time and you unintentionally find out why. This results in a painfully distant day, but once night sets, the mood changes entirely,

A Break In The Clouds: 1880 words || God!Ben Hardy AU:

Having found a strange man in the forest late one night, Jaime Miller takes it upon themself to help this man. Unbeknownst to them, this man is Benjamin, God of Spring.

A Big Day: 1272 words || Dad!Ben Hardy AU || Collaboration:

Ben Hardy is left alone with his kids for the day so they decided to spend the day baking and kicking around a ball in the backyard.

Tranquility: 879 words || Ben Hardy x Female!Reader:

Ben is anxious to receive the call about his audition for Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), so you decided to take it into your own hands and get him to relax.

“Speak up.” / Ao3 link: 1862 words || Ben Hardy x Gwilym Lee x Male!Reader || Smut:

Ben and Gwil plan a night out with you and the boys. Unknown to you, it entails more than you expected.

Series

Lipstick Stains:

Ben!Roger Taylor x Male!Reader

Ao3 link

Called into work for a very interesting job, filming for queens new music video ‘I Want To Break Free’, reader finds himself in an unpredicted situation.

Lipstick Stains: 1478 words

On Your End of the Line: 1565 words

Café Contemplations: 1436 words

Queen’s University:

Professor!Gwilym Lee x Teacher Assistant!Reader x Librarian!Ben (polyamorous relationship)

This series isn’t beinrg written in chronological order, it’s more just bits and pieces every now and again.

A Drunken Christmas: 1430 words

It’s a christmas party and the secretive love birds end up accidentally getting drunk when math professor Joe Mazzello spikes the punch.

Death on Two Legs: 1888 words (aka the sicfic)

Joe gets very sick and the QU trio go to investigate.

Cherry Smoke:

Roger Taylor x Male!OC

Ao3 link

Queen loses a gig to up-and-coming rock band, Cherry Smoke, and Roger Taylor is not happy about that.

Cherry Smoke: 2263 words

Unexpected, Not Unwanted: 1841 words

Regrets and Mistakes: 1547 words

A Lover's Note: 1683 words

Headcanons:

Ben Hardy x Reader: College relationship

Professor!Gwilym Lee: part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Benjamin and Jaime: Fluff

Joe Mazzello x Reader: Working on a Stephen King movie together

Joe Mazzello x Male!Reader: Preacher’s Son

Ben Hardy x Reader: Pizza diner

Roger Taylor x Reader: Family get together

Ben Hardy x Reader: Meeting the family

Ben Hardy x Male!Reader: Stealing His Clothes

BoRhap Boys: Hopeless Pining

Ben Hardy x Male!Reader: Secrets Revealed

Ben Hardy x Reader: Meeting Your Parents

Benjamin x Jaime Miller: Domestic Life

Queen’s University: Together On The Couch

Ben Hardy x Joe Mazzello x Male!Reader

Soft Benjamin x Jaime: headcanons

Russ/Jeff headcanons (for Siriuslymooned)

QU professor!Gwil angst

Grease!Borhap Boys

Drabbles

Self Indulgent Early 80’s!Roger Taylor x Male!Reader || 662 words

I’m Exhausted But I’m Emotional Over QU So Have A Thing // 1032 words

[radio-rhapsody]

BoRhap!Grease Prologue and Cast

Pairing: Ben Hardy x OC

Summary: Ben Hardy and Diane Rowe meet over the summer and have a summer fling. By the time school rolls around, Diane is supposed to move back to Australia. What happens when she ends up staying? (To put it simple: The movie Grease but with BoRhap)

Chapter 1

Cast:

T-birds:

Danny: Ben Kenickie: Gwilym Sonny: Joe Doody: Rami Putzie: James Grey (oc, goes by Grey)

Pink ladies:

Sandy: Diane Rowe (oc) Rizzo: Maxine Russ (oc, goes by Russ) Marty: Cheryl Warner (oc) Frenchie: Lucy (sometimes goes by Frenchie) Jan: Priya

Other characters:

Patty Simcox: Linda Bennett (oc) Tom Chisum: Allen Leech Coach Calhoun: Roger Principal McGee: Freddie Blanche: John Mrs. Murdock: Brian

Prologue:

Beach, Last Week of Summer

“Ben!” Diane giggled as she got splashed with ocean water from Ben again.

Splashing him back, she walked over to him in the shallow water.

He pulled her into a loving kiss, then pulled away to speak. “God, I don’t want summer to end.”

“Oh, don’t remind me! I don’t want to leave, Ben. I go back home on Saturday and I’m not ready for us to end.” Diane fessed, her hands going up to Ben’s face.

Ben didn’t respond, just pulled her into another kiss, this one more lust filled. Diane reluctantly pulled away, doing so being hard for her because of his hands moving up to her face.

“Ben please don’t spoil it.”

“Baby, I’m just trying to show that this isn’t an ending, only a beginning.”

Tag list: @i-padfootblack-things (send an ask or message me to be added to the tag list!)

A/N: Yup, finally posted something for this! Expect an actually chapter soon enough!

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

2 and 28.

since i just answered 2 in the last one, i'll pick another song for this one!

this version of since you been gone:

annnnd. 28. MOST underrated band or artist. there are actually so many, it's so sad to me.

like. okay everybody probably expects me to say russ ballard. and i will say that he is not NEARLY as well known as he should be, with everything he's done that so many people know but somehow most people don't know HIM.

which is sad to me but also kind of makes sense because he DID choose to stay home with his kids instead of putting himself out there more by touring. literally chose his family over fame, because he said he said he missed them too much, he couldn't stand being away from them for that long. and he missed touring so much too, but like. priorities.

so then other musicians did his songs, made them hits and he basically just gets left in the dust(with the royalties, at least)

BUT he does have his very loyal and dedicated fans and it makes me feel better when i scroll youtube comments of songs like you can do magic by america or since you been gone by rainbow(or the brian may one which i love) and see at least a few people here and there mention him and praise his songwriting and everything(and they'll correct people that imply anyone other than him wrote it) because. yes. for good reason. praise is well deserved and he does deserve far more recognition/appreciation than he gets.

but i can't say MOST underrated. i don't know who that would be, i probably haven't discovered them yet. badfinger is pretty underrated as well. but again, i don't know if i could say MOST. i don't know.

[the-infinite-jukebox]

Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes (Album Review)

(Review #414, August 12th [2022]) Cheat Codes is the latest studio album from Black Thought and Danger Mouse, as well as their first collaborative project together. For years there has been talks about these two legends colliding. In the time before Cheat Codes was announced, it did admittedly seem like a dream more than anything. After all, Black Thought was busy captaining The Roots and Danger Mouse was occupying himself as one of the most requested producers in the industry. With The Roots on hiatus and the last noteworthy Danger Mouse album being a few years back (his entanglement with Karen O in 2019), the time has finally come for Cheat Codes to be birthed into the world. Cheat Codes has attached to it an emcee who has gone from being a hip-hophead favorite to a general legend in the realm of rap music. Black Thought is one of the defining performers of the genre. His throat-grabbing performances are often unmatched, with even the weakest works that he is featured on still featuring a great couple of lines from him. Not to mention his lyrical ability, which can bounce between the gut-punching serious nature of a track like "Identical Deaths" to the more energy-focused cuts like "Belize." Willing to pull references ranging from Harry Potter to Thelonious Monk, Black Thought is an outstanding songwriter with immense amounts of knowledge on his art form as well as culture itself. The greatest part is that he is fully aware of this. Just because Black Thought is spitting bars heavy enough to overshadow your average producer, Danger Mouse never falls behind. Then again, Brian Burton is far from your everyday behind-the-scenes intellectual. He brings to Cheat Codes the style that many have long associated him with, meaning that anyone familiar with his previous projects such as the MF DOOM collaboration The Mouse & the Mask or his influences like J Dilla will know what to expect from Cheat Codes. That is, of course, a tight production that shines with its reliance on hypnotically old-school aesthetics despite being tailor-made for the performer of the record to shine more than the beat itself. The better question to ask would be how well Danger Mouse's trademark style is able to bounce off of the directness of Black Thought. Thankfully, the two flow together as smoothly as one could hope which results in a record with quite a bit of chemistry between its two primary performers. Also featured are a number of guest appearances from names that just about any hip-hop fan will be familiar with. This includes legends in the making like Joey Bada$$ and Griselda's Conway the Machine as well as emcees set in stone as icons which mainly includes Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon and the late MF DOOM. Although it seems inevitable that a high number of features would have a failure or two littered about, everyone who pops in to drop a verse for Black Thought and Danger Mouse is more than substantial. Even the couple of features that feel less distinct, namely Kid Sister on "The Darkest Part" and Russ on "Because," are fair enough in terms of performance and don't overstay their welcome to the point that they drag their respective cuts down. It certainly takes a lot for two different musicians to bounce off of each other creatively while still feeling isolated enough for them to shine individualistically in the way Danger Mouse and Black Thought do here. However, it takes even more of an ear for talent to have ten features on a less than forty minute album all completely work. In conclusion, Cheat Codes is everything a collaboration between Danger Mouse and Black Thought was meant to be. In fact, it would be difficult to ask for a better piece of work from the duo. This record is one of the finest frontmen in hip-hop having a run-in with one of the music industry's greatest producers; with results that are predictably fantastic and consistently impressive.

Final Rating: 4.5/5 (Absolutely Amazing)

Essential Tracks: Belize, Cheat Codes, Identical Deaths, The Darkest Part, Violas and Lupitas

[abiolaakilla]

The Most Effective Method to get the Best out of Imaginative Ability in an Information Driven World by Abiola Akilla

We see them in huge information, AI and computerized reasoning calculations, A/B testing. Advanced promoting runs on numbers. So where do the words and pictures come in?

"Creative" start their work where the numbers end. They take those logical experiences and transform them into words, pictures and messages that allure the client to make the following snap on that site, message or email message.

Advertisers should deal with their innovative groups to best impact. That implies taking advantage of imaginative individuals, ensuring they network well with their scientific partners. For numbers alone won't get the client to click — it takes a message to transform a possibility into a client.

Frenzy…

Quite a long time ago, promoting and publicizing was directed generally by creative. It was a simple game, best showed by "Lunatics," set during the 1960s, or the pre-web 1990s, John Ball, accomplice, and imaginative chief at inventive office Mires Ball, told us.

Then the web occurred. It took one more 10 to 15 years for the computerized domain to completely appear, Ball said. The web changed inputs, focusing on and expectations, yet it didn't supplant creative, he added.

What's more, that prompts a hidden truth — the information side of the business doesn't supplant creative however can supplement them.

"We entered a period where we accept we can quantify everything," said Russ Somers, CMO at Lytho, programming supplier for imaginative and different work processes. With information security, GDPR and the "cookiepocalypse", "you are depending on your creative." Now you are back to message allure and how it gets through the commotion. "There is somewhat more contemplating the persona you are attempting to impact," he said. "Execution put together advertisers concentrate such a great amount with respect to the snap that they disregard the response that drives the snap."

"You can target individuals in New Mexico who pay attention to the Luminaires and eat avocado toast," noticed Brian Easter, prime supporter of Nebo Agency. An advertiser can know their interest group, yet how would you contact them and engage them? In the event that you would be able, you will sell more stuff, he said.

Painting by numbers

"We're encircled by information. We ought to involve it as a device," Ball said. Track down the story in the numbers, utilize the numbers to show evidence and depend on information criticism to upgrade.

Showcasing is math in addition to sorcery. Or on the other hand it seems like wizardry. "Creative I know are ceaselessly inquisitive." Somers said. To help the inventive oblige information, you would utilize information perception "to carry information into the imaginative reality." Creative should be "valiantly inquisitive" about information, and unafraid. "It is simple for a numbers individual to threaten the inventive individual."

Creative need not be conversant in computerized, "however they have a receptiveness to learning," Easter said. "They are available to learning and getting criticism."

Here computerized can be a resource, as it can give and test minute varieties a shot a promotion to see what works best, Easter said. Creative can zero in additional on technique and approach. "Try sincerely and ensure you are focused. You really want to control the quantity of factors and be. Aware of the factors in play."

Assuming that the computerized side says that a stage created this decent result, return and rerun the test, Easter said. The examiner may ultimately see that the end may not be so "high contrast". According to assuming the examiner, "the information can't be off-base," reconsider, Easter said. "Machines need setting and insight."

Continuously making

An inventive wears their heart on their sleeve, Somers said. The inventive self must be powerless. Thus the expression "I'm putting myself out there." They additionally should be tough and tough, he proceeded. A few smart thoughts get dismissed, so the imaginative should see a thought as a first-round idea, not a first-round arrangement.

One thing Ball, Somers and Easter all settled on is that creative are exceptional, inquisitive and driven. Regardless of whether they were not working at an organization, an innovative individual would likely be doing inventive stuff in any case, commented Easter. "They need to make."

In overseeing creative, Somers focused on the requirement for two things: mental security and genuineness. Mental security permits people to face challenges, as opposed to working in a climate where disappointment is compensated by terminating. Genuineness is essential for good input, as you don't need a climate where individuals won't address stay away from put in a horrible mood. Great input ought to be "merciless trustworthiness generously conveyed," he said.

Some creative can be "laden with self-image and have restrictive sentiments about 'my creation,'" Ball said. Exclusive sentiments are a warning and can be an impediment in a field where few out of every odd smart thought is acknowledged. "The best individuals don't have that issue and welcome joint effort," he said.

Comprehend creative. "Tune in for what they don't say," Somers said. Individuals who need assistance may not lift their hands, so a supervisor must "have a radar for that." When ventures outgrow the individual or group to deal with, scope down the undertaking as well as get extra assets, he said. The objective is to forestall burnout.

What advertisers can do

"Ensure individuals are essential for a group," Ball said. "There is a higher reason to what we do." No one is there just to take care of business, he said. Additionally, search for connectors who tune in and expect thoughts well. "Its advanced side doesn't change things to an extreme. It simply adds another layer," Ball said.

There truly is no agenda, Easter said. Simply oversee individuals as though their work made a difference, give them independence, and care about their professions. Then "incredible things will occur."

Eventually, it takes two-way traffic between the information side and the innovative side to make projects work, Somers noticed. Accept something as basic as variety decision. Ask the inventive for what good reason he picked purple. Get criticism from the information side for point of view. Have the information side do A/B test — and bring the imaginative in to find a spot at the table. On the off

chance that you treat an imaginative shop as a result machine, you corrupt it, Somers said. Information and innovative can cooperate on the off chance that it is a two-way relationship. For more details https://abiolaakilla.blogspot.com/

[agilenano]

Agilenano - News: Elon Musk targets telecom for next disruption with Starlink internet

By Dana Hull | Bloomberg Elon Musk became the world’s richest person this month by upending the global auto industry and disrupting aerospace heavyweights with reusable rockets. Now he’s setting his sights on another business dominated by entrenched incumbents: telecommunications. Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has launched more than 1,000 satellites for its Starlink internet service and is signing up early customers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. SpaceX has told investors that Starlink is angling for a piece of a $1 trillion market made up of in-flight internet, maritime services, demand in China and India — and rural customers such as Brian Rendel. Rendel became a Starlink tester in November after struggling for years with sluggish internet speeds at his 160-acre farm overlooking Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. After he paid about $500 for the equipment, FedEx arrived with a flat dish and antenna. For $99 a month, Rendel is now getting speeds of 100 megabytes per second for downloads and 15 to 20 for uploads — far faster, he says, than his previous internet provider. “This is a game changer,” said Rendel, a mental health counselor, who can now easily watch movies and hold meetings with clients over Zoom. “It makes me feel like I’m part of civilization again.” For months, SpaceX has been launching Starlink satellites on its Falcon 9 rockets in batches of 60 at a time, and the 17th Starlink launch was on Jan. 20. There are now roughly 960 functioning satellites in orbit, heralding an age of mega-constellations that have prompted worries about visual pollution for astronomers. But the Starlink array in low-Earth orbit, closer to the planet than traditional satellites, is enough to enable SpaceX to roll out service along a wide swath of North America and the U.K. As SpaceX sends up more satellites, the coverage area will grow, expanding the potential customer base — and revenue stream — beyond the initial stages of today. SpaceX didn’t respond to a request for comment. “The big deal is that people are happy with the service and the economics of Starlink versus other alternatives,” said Luigi Peluso, managing director with Alvarez & Marsal, who follows the aerospace and defense industries. “SpaceX has demonstrated the viability of their solution.” Last year, SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said that Starlink is a business that SpaceX– one of the most richly valued venture-backed companies in the U.S. — is likely to spin out and take public. That dangles the possibility of another Musk enterprise offering shares after last year’s sensational stock-market gains by Tesla Inc. Starlink will face plenty of competition. While fiber optic cable is widely considered too expensive to lay down in remote regions and many rural locations, cellular connectivity is expected to make big advances with 5G and then 6G. Meanwhile, a number of innovative attempts to extend cellular to unserved areas are being developed by other well-heeled companies such as Facebook Inc. “There will always be early Starlink adopters who think that anything from Elon Musk is cool,” said John Byrne, a telecom analyst at GlobalData. “But it’s hard to see the satellite trajectory keeping pace with the improvements coming with cellular.” Congestion Risk SpaceX, based in Hawthorne, California, is primarily known for launching rockets for global satellite operators, the U.S. military, and NASA. Last year, SpaceX made history by becoming the first private company to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. Starlink marks SpaceX’s first foray into a truly consumer-facing product. Maintaining strong service while growing the customer base is something SpaceX has never tried before. “Like any network, Starlink is going to enjoy rave reviews while it is underutilized,” said industry analyst Jim Patterson. “However, it will be challenged with the same congestion issues as their peers as they grow their base.” Then again, SpaceX says the service will improve as it builds out more infrastructure. “As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will all improve dramatically,” Kate Tice, a senior engineer at SpaceX, said in a livestream of a Starlink mission in November. Fan Fervor Starlink is gearing up for a big 2021, hiring software engineers, customer support managers, a director of sales, and a country launch manager. The fan fervor that made Tesla cars such a hit with consumers and retail investors extends to Starlink. Facebook groups, Reddit threads and Twitter are filled with reports from early customers sharing images of their download speeds. You Tube has videos of people “unboxing” their Starlink dish and going through the initial set-up. Ross Youngblood lives in Oregon and works remotely as an engineer for a tech company in San Jose. He owns a Tesla Model X and follows All Things Musk pretty closely. He got Starlink before Thanksgiving. “I just plugged it all in and it started to work,” said Youngblood. “It’s going to be very disruptive, and I don’t think enough people are paying attention.” Many other customers are waiting in the wings. In December, the Federal Communications Commission awarded SpaceX $885.5 million in subsidies as part of a wider effort to bring broadband to over 10 million Americans in rural areas. SpaceX will focus on 35 states, including Alabama, Idaho, Montana and Washington. ‘Aging Infrastructure’ “We can’t continue to throw money at aging infrastructure,” said Russ Elliot, director of the Washington State Broadband Office. “With Starlink, you can be anywhere. The cost to build in deep rural or costly areas is now less of an issue with this technology as an option.” Early in the coronavirus pandemic, Elliot connected SpaceX with members of the Hoh Tribe in far western Washington. The Native American community had struggled for years to bring high-speed internet to their remote reservation, which spans about 1,000 acres and has 23 homes. Kids struggled to access remote learning, and internet connections were so slow that downloading homework could take all day. “SpaceX came up and just catapulted us into the 21st century,” said Melvinjohn Ashue, a member of the Hoh Tribe, in a short video produced by the Washington State Department of Commerce. Related Articles Teslas keep killing my cats and Elon owes me, Jamie Lynn Spears says Elon Musk surpasses Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest person In a phone interview, Ashue said that the first thing he did once he connected to Starlink was download a long movie: Jurassic Park. Now most of the reservation’s households have Starlink, making it possible for families to access not just online schooling but tele-health appointments and online meetings. “Internet access is a utility. It’s no longer a luxury,” said Maria Lopez, the tribal vice chairwoman. Lopez said that Starlink was easy to hook up. The scariest part was climbing up a ladder to set up the dish on her roof. “Every now and then it will glitch,” she said. “But it quickly reboots itself.” For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com ©2021 Bloomberg L.P. #ElonMusk #Technology #Business #CaliforniaNews #NationalNews

Agilenano - News from Agilenano from shopsnetwork (4 sites) https://agilenano.com/blogs/news/elon-musk-targets-telecom-for-next-disruption-with-starlink-internet

[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2020/12/03/josh-gordon-provides-safety-net-for-already-potent-seahawks-wr-corps/

Josh Gordon provides safety net for already-potent Seahawks' WR corps

8:34 PM ET

Brady HendersonESPN

RENTON, Wash. — The day before his latest suspension was announced last December, Josh Gordon went full extension to haul in a 58-yard pass from Russell Wilson. His only catch of the game set up a touchdown that helped the Seattle Seahawks beat the Carolina Panthers.

Gordon’s contribution to that win and the six catches he made in his other four games with Seattle might be instructive when it comes to expectations now that he’s being conditionally reinstated by the NFL for this season’s final two weeks.

The Seahawks (8-3) merely need Gordon to add to an already-strong wide receiver corps. As in, a big play here and there as opposed to the kind of incredible performances DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have taken turns delivering.

Barring a major injury between now and when he is eligible to rejoin the team in earnest, Gordon will in all likelihood be Seattle’s fourth — maybe third — option behind Metcalf (who leads the NFL in receiving) and Lockett (who ranks 16th). David Moore is already having a nice season in the No. 3 role (five touchdowns) ahead of rookie Freddie Swain and Penny Hart. Metcalf, Lockett and Moore rank second in combined receiving yards (2,141) this season among wide receiver trios, trailing Curtis Samuel, DJ Moore and Robby Anderson of the Panthers (2,353).

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“He gives Russ another fun toy to play with,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said.

Over his five games last season, Gordon was the Seahawks’ third receiver in playing time behind Lockett and Metcalf. He never finished any of those games with more than two catches or 58 receiving yards, but several of the plays he made came in important situations. Four of his catches converted third downs, including one apiece in the fourth quarter and overtime of their Monday night win over the San Francisco 49ers. Another catch came on fourth down in a loss to the to the Los Angeles Rams.

The final tally over five games: seven catches for 139 yards.

“When you’ve got a lot of different players and different spots that the ball could go, you can’t always predetermine where the ball is gonna go,” Schottenheimer said. “But he made some big-time catches for us on third down, some big plays for us. … I think that it starts with just the timing and the training and him getting with Russ, and I think this year, we’ll be farther ahead because they’ve actually worked together. So I think you can see him get involved hopefully even faster than he did last year.”

For all of the personal struggles Gordon, 29, has had over his career — his most recent suspension was his sixth since 2013 — he made a strong impression on the Seahawks during his month and a half with the team last season. Schottenheimer noted how Gordon worked with Wilson before practice the same way Metcalf does and Greg Olsen did before the veteran tight end was injured.

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That should serve Gordon well as he tries to get reintegrated almost exactly one year after previously playing.

“He was an unbelievable pro,” Schottenheimer said. “Just the way he worked. He’s got some stuff he’s got to do to catch up and get up to speed with the things we’re doing. I don’t think that will be any problem. As confident of a catcher as there is the NFL. His hands and his ability to make plays in traffic separates him.

“I remember the play against Carolina on the big post route where … Russ lays it out there, he goes and gets it and he really only gets a couple of his fingertips on it. But an unbelievable catch going to the ground.”

Gordon isn’t eligible to begin practicing until the Monday of Seattle’s Week 16 game against the Rams. He’s eligible to play in that game, but might need more than one week of practice before the team turns him loose. Gordon might not be back on the field until the regular-season finale or the playoffs.

“Hopefully he’ll be ready to play and I think also too, just to come in and be an addition to our team,” Wilson said. “We’ve got so many great guys making plays right now. So we’ve just got to stay the course and praying that he’s ready to roll.”

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[candofm]

Russ Palmer chats to a couple of Santa's - Martin McLeavy & Brian Boyd The Barrow Santa Dash in aid of St Mary's Hospice will be a virtual event for you to take part in your own time in the lead up to Christmas, so you can still raise some pounds for St Mary's Hospice and lose some pounds from your waist. The Santa Dash will still be a non-competitive walk, jog or run and you can choose to cover 4km or more (if you like). As long as you are dressed like Santa you can do your distance in one day or every day for two weeks. The event is organised by The Rotary Club of Furness and you can get further information or enter here: rotary-site.org/barrow-santa-dash Entry includes a Santa suit which can be collected in Barrow or delivery can be arranged to local areas (LA12 - LA16) Participants will be expected to comply with UK Government and local COVID 19 guidelines at all times during their activities.