#for I bring you the bi-annual art post

[meticulouslymindlessart]

St. Michael and the dragon

While this took me a whole lot of time to finish, I am very pleased with the end result, both compositionally and in regard to the colour scheme.

The idea for the ornate, white armour in particular came from an illustration of St. Michael in the book of hours of Henry IV of France, which looks like this:

Also, fun-fact: my hometown celebrates an annual little festival, which as its centre piece features a moving mechanical figure of St. Michael slaying the devil, the colour-scheme of which I also referenced for this painting.

* * *

Close-ups:

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: An evening with Bill.

Moon Knight afterward from issue #25. 

Truth, I agonized on if I was going to acknowledge this. My business is with the Moon Knight comics, after all… History, development, and personal insight into the comics. You know, me screaming into a dark room about how much I love this comic. 

But where would we be if we didn’t have a little insight into the legend himself: Bill Sienkiewicz. 

Issue #25 was a special double long comic. These bad boys come out once in a blue moon to celebrate the success and growing popularity of a comic! Once a comic becomes top ranking, you’ll start to get Annuals and yearly (sometimes bi-yearly) double longs! 

So here we sit in 1982, just a few years after the creation of Moon Knight and we get our first double! 

But what really makes you pick up a comic in the store in the first place? Especially if you know nothing about the characters. Sure, Marvel (and DC) will splash a crossover event with a popular character across the cover to lure in those that are fans of the one character. They’ll also do variant covers to get the collectors wild (gotta catch ‘em all!). Limited runs? You know someone’s trolling Ebay for that blank cover that gives nothing away. You’ll also get guest artists who do ONLY covers. Fans of the art will collect them just for the covers. 

But all those special things aside, you know that a well done cover piece is what makes you pick it up and go “Neat. I wonder what’s inside.” 

So what makes a cover? To all the aspiring artists out there, this one’s for you. 

Don’t worry people. I’m not going to make you squint. I’ll just type up everything verbatim that Mr. Sienkiewicz has to say. And I admit, I was so pleasantly surprised to find his sense of humor on point. 

I've also added the final cover product so you can really see how the cover ended up laid out in publishing.

A TALE OF THREE COVERS by Bill Sienkiewicz

When Denny and Ralph asked me to come up with a possible topic for the editorial pages in the double-sized issue of MOON KNIGHT, my first reaction was "Editorial? Isn't that your job? I've just finished the art for this issue and the last thing I feel like doing is an editorial page." Then I made some crack about them earning their money and proceeded to walk out. 

"Hold it!" Denny snapped, bringing his riding crop down smartly on the New York Post. I turned, my nostrils filling with the stench of wounded printer's ink, and did some serious reconsideration. 

"Look," Denny began, "I don't want you to get the idea that this is something you have to do," his gloved hand waving the riding crop in what could be construed as a menacing fashion, "But we'd like to give you the opportunity to do something that you'd like to do to get you involved in EVERY aspect of the book, not just the artwork, to tell the readers some of your viewpoints and..." Denny leaned back, crossed his jackbooted feet on the desk. He smiled a wicked smile "...to let the readers know that we're just one big family here at Marvel. My mind raced. 

"Covers." I said. 

"What?" asked Denny, cocking a thumb under the visor of his cap. Light glinted off some odd metallic insignia there. 

"Covers." I repeated. "Unused covers." 

"Go on..." He crossed his arms awkwardly, creasing his holster.

"Well... The covers -the unused one-- we could run them along with the ones that were used, and I could write about the dumb...the uh, reasons that they weren't used, you know, why I did them the way I did and why you turned them down." 

There was a long pause. Very long. Then he smiled again. Only worse than before, and said -- "We'll do it..."

I relaxed. I turned to leave but Denny wasn't finished. "Sienkiewicz," he hissed. 

I cringed. "Yeah?" 

"Don't make me look like the bad guy in this." 

"No. Of course not." I said, then turned I left. 

I returned one week later, armed with the covers and my feelings about each. I walked into Denny's office and snapped to attention. The Post was still on the desk. It had decayed horribly "At ease." Denny cooed. He shot a sly grin at Ralph. 

"What did our little artist friend bring us perchance?" Said Ralph as he woke up, "Our meal ticket?" 

Denny's smile faded. "You can be replaced, Macchio." 

I looked at Ralph. Innocent of face. Stubbly of beard. Ralph. Ralph Macchio. Ralph went back to sleep. There was a smile on his face. 

Denny turned back to me. "What have you got?" 

This--" I replied, and proceeded to show him what a week of coffee, cigarettes and images of a mutilated newspaper had inspired.

"First: Issue #9's cover for The Return of the Midnight Man. I wanted to do a total image, an essence of the relationship between him and Moon Knight. The paintings --the Jekyll and Hyde shots of Midnight Man's face. The target around Moon Knight. Moon Knight's expression of worry and insanity --He was going through a lot back then." 

"That's all well and good--" Denny smirked. "But it's too tall--the paintings would be obscured by the logo. All that we could see would be the two big faces and MK going crazy. And he's been crazy or in a losing position on the past five covers. I wanted to show him fighting, maybe winning. I thought about it. I really did. But you were moving to a studio and couldn't be reached in time to do another. Frank Miller was in the office and drew the cover that was used." 

"Oh," I said. My hand shook as I reached for another cover. Number 12. Morpheus and Moon KNight. Boffo action. "I wanted a closeup," Denny said. "Simple as that. Miller was in again and did it up. Milgrom inked it." 

"That Miller guy again." I thought. 

I turned to issue 13, which guest-starred Daredevil. Frank was drawing Daredevil. Denny thought it would be fun to have Frank draw the cover and me ink it. I agreed. I spoke to Frank on the phone. He said we could do "crossover" covers; I'd do one later for Daredevil. Fine idea. "What are you waiting for, Sienkiewicz, "Denny screamed, interrupting my reverie. Veins showed in his forehead. Big ones. 

"Right," I said. "The cover for issue 13--Frank pencilled, I inked. I really had a good time with this one. It was the first time I inked anyone else's work." 

Denny Scowled. "Except it was too tall. The logo would have obscured the pinball machine's scoreboard. That's why I nixed it. Ron Wilson happened to drop by the same time as Dave Simons did. The deadline was tight. I had no alternative. They did the cover." 

Deja vu. Denny was beating a dead Post. "That will be all for now. And Sienkiewicz--About the article. Flattery will get you nowhere." 

I managed a weak smile, and again turned to leave. As I did so, I glanced at Ralph Macchio, his eyes closed in contented slumber.

—

Ralph Macchio is a comic book editor and writer. He's done a lot of the big ones (The Avengers, Captain America, Ultimate Marvel, Doctor Strange, Thor, Spider-Man...). He retired in 2011. 

Dennis O'Neil (Denny) is the editor for Moon Knight at the time. He also worked for DC back in the day. He tended to write the more mature themes in early comics that were often controversial. Also the creator of notable characters like Ra's Al Ghul, Talia Al Ghul, Iron Monger, Lady Deathstrike, and many others that I have no idea who they are off the top of my head. 

If anything, I am more endered towards Bill after this. The idea of him turning in cover after cover only to have them nixed and replaced by the LEGENDARY Frank Miller, and then being playfully bitter about it is the funniest thing. The notion that these other cover artists just happened to be hanging around only to ruin Bill’s day… 

Also, some of those nixed covers are amazing! The Dare Devil one in particular is amazing! And relevant to the comic! I wish I could see it in color! What happens to these rejected covers? Do they get sold? Trashed? Look at that Midnight one!

Anyway, there are a lot of little afterwards in the backs of the early comics. A lot of letters from fans with author/editor responses mostly. But now and then they include a behind the scenes with narrative from various levels of Moon Knight creators. My favorites are these ones that show the character of the creators themselves. It also gives us a peak at the process of how a comic is made and the art and skill it takes. 

Current comics don’t really include these anymore. You’ll see some fan letters in the backs of some (I’ve been in one! For a Moon Knight of course.), and a few spotlight articles on writers or artists… But you don’t really get the big behind the scenes things anymore. The characters are all established, the readers/fanbase know what they’re in, and there just doesn’t seem to be interest anymore into the creation of the comics. 

Which is a pity. 

I’d love to see more excerpts like this. Imagine getting an aside from Lemier!Jed Mackay! Smallwood! 

What do you think? What afterwards would you like to see in modern day comics? 

[foggyxrayspecs]

May I ask for an elaboration on the primal hunts 👉👈

-grins- You bet! Check below the cut for all about the hunts. (This was fun. Thank you for the ask!) — Specs

The Hunt is an annual off-site retreat organized by and for the Widows.

The retreat focuses on combat abilities, tactical prowess, and mental agility at the individual level. It also includes strategic discussions and planning sessions at the organizational level to assess their current state, identify potential targets, and outline future missions. This is a crucial event for the Widows, allowing them to hone their skills, strengthen bonds, and strategize for the future.

Rough details of The Hunt:

Location — the clandestine gathering takes place in a remote and secure location (usually within a three-hour drive of the city), ensuring confidentiality and security. The venue varies from year to year to maintain secrecy. Timing — The Hunt lasts two to five days, given what's happening in the organization. Also, The Hunt is never at the same time every year. Accommodations — After intensive training sessions and missions, each assassin has a private room to rest and recharge. The rooms are well equipped and comfortable, with basic amenities to meet their needs. Additionally, there may be bungalows or cottages located outside the central apartments that leadership or couples claim. Schedule:

Keynote — The Hunt typically has a keynote speaker who will leave a lasting impression, reinforcing their purpose and strengthening the bonds. (Typically, this is Natasha, Yelena, or Melina.) Sessions — individual sessions include renowned experts and trainers in various fields, such as martial arts, intelligence gathering, and weapon specialists, to share their expertise and knowledge. In later years, there have been sessions dedicated to teaching sign language. (Everyone knows these are in part to help Cub, so they are well-attended.) There is an actual hunt — The culminating event is a true hunt in the last 36 hours of the retreat. There are a lot of shenanigans here; the goal is to be the last standing. The Closing Ceremony and outdoor picnic — This is a time for the Widows (or Hunters as some would like to be called) to reflect on their journey together, celebrate achievements, and leave with a renewed sense of purpose. Partners and pets are welcome for the closing ceremony and outdoor picnic on the last day.  Post-event — After The Hunt is over, anyone can use the course to stage their own primal hunts with their partners, pets, and lovers. (It's common knowledge that these get pretty kinky.) Internal planning — The Hunt has a rotating chair and a small planning committee. Lessons learned — They did try to go bi-annual, but on the year they skipped, the Widows were noticeably irritable with one another, and Sonja had to put down twice as many grievances than in previous years. Leadership decided to bring back The Hunt annually since it provides them with a unique opportunity to interact with one another, exchange knowledge, and build bonds that can prove invaluable in their line of work. Other retreats outside of The Hunt — Smaller units within the Widows may have a breakaway retreat focusing on the team's development. Also, when a widow marries or commits to a partner, her fellow Widows may throw the couple a smaller primal hunt in celebration. Nothing says from death do you part like an actual brush with death.  

A note: Yelena and Cub are usually very focused on organizing and competing over the five-day retreat, so Yelena lets Cub keep as many sets of underwear of hers as they can find. Given her pet’s tenacity, she packs at least a dozen bottom briefs.

[apocalypticgargoyle]

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙍𝙄𝘾𝙆 | 𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙡 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙨 (18+)

edit by 🐓 anon. im still screaming over this.

∘ request: [insert the 14 asking for more Sapnap humor in a pt. 1.5 of Meet the Jacobses]

∘ pairings: edgy!Karl Jacobs x fm!reader

∘ warnings: smut (18+), nsfw, language, drinking, mentions of Todd the frat boy, lots of dialogue, biting, asphyxiation

∘ links: 𐐪 ao3 𐑂 𐐪 previous part 𐑂 𐐪 submit an edgy!karl edit 𐑂

∘ a/n: this one goes out to the babes in the gc. ily.

i stole the Brick idea from the Jesse McCartney movie, Keith. I'm sorry. [tw for that link - sad & jesse mccartney not talking about beautiful souls]

also thank you everyone for your support on this series. when my friends and I conjured this up, I never thought I would be at the point where I get to share peoples art/paylists/etc. I'm so thankful for all of you.

okay I'll stop crying. happy reading and have a great week! :)

The sun beat down against your skin, your mind drifting to whether or not you should apply more sunscreen. Karl jumped into the light blue water in front of you, the water splashing out to almost completely soak you. You frowned at him as he came up for air, blowing you a kiss mockingly.

Sapnap’s cousins started tackling Karl, the chorus of laughter echoing around the pool. You stretched your legs out beneath the table, leaning into the shade of the umbrella as you watched them roughhouse.

Sapnap came out from the pool house, opening a beer bottle for you before taking the seat beside you. He sighed, buttoning the top of his shirt as he watched the boys. “Did you have a good time at the party yesterday? I dipped after an hour,” he asked, pushing his sunglasses to rest on top of his head.

You shrugged slightly, taking a sip of your drink. You couldn’t wait to tell your roommate how lavishly you’d been living. The fact that you were lounging by a heated pool, drinking beer from Copenhagen with the sons of millionaires was nearly mind-boggling to you.

You wet your lips, squinting your eyes as you looked at him. “I honestly have no idea. I was kind of just there as a Karl accessory,” you joked, making him chuckle softly.

“Yeah, I get that,” he flipped off one of the cousins as they threatened to throw water at him. “It’s always the Karl show around here,” he added. You raised your eyebrows at him and he backtracked. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way. He’s a good guy; everyone’s just obsessed with him.”

You nodded slightly. “Yeah, he’s definitely the star baby,” you joked, making him laugh. “I need to ask you…” You bit your lip voice trailing off as you searched for the night words.

He sent you a closed-mouth smile. “About my mom and Karl?” He asked, biting back a blithe expression. It shocked you how calm he was about the situation.

You chuckled nervously. “I swear I won’t bring it up again, I’m just,” you cut yourself off, unable to describe the question marks pulsing through your thoughts.

He snorted, taking a sip of his drink. “I know right,” he reassured. “When I found out, I almost broke Karl’s nose,” he chided. “Not that I was like… angry it was my mom but out of how weird it was.”

“Yeah it is really fucking weird,” you agreed, laughing slightly.

He gestured as if to thank you for understanding. “I mean, Karl’s a great guy. He was my best friend for a long time but…” He made a face suggesting his discomfort and you snicked. “That’s my mom, man.” You giggled wholeheartedly at this, making him laugh too.

“What are you guys talking about?” Karl asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, dripping wet from his pool time adventures.

“Speak of the Devil and he shall appear,” you joked, making Sapnap wink at you. “Tacitus’ Annals,” you answered, making Sapnap nod at you.

He chewed on his lip, with a calm expression as he supported your lie. “I was telling your girlfriend how much I enjoyed his love of Nero,” he continued, you bit back a smile.

Karl ruffled his hair out in a towel. “Come on now,” he grumbled, calling the two of you on your bullshit.

Sapnap squinted as he looked up at him. “Karl supremacy. As always,” he answered with a touch of quiet sarcasm, making Karl roll his eyes playfully as he took to the other seat beside you.

Karl ran his fingers into his hair. “You wanna get matching tattoos together, Sapnap?” He quipped; Sapnap sending him a smug expression.

“Why? What were you thinking?” He asked, knowing he was walking into whatever Karl was setting up.

Karl pulled the leg of his swim trunks off his leg a bit, furrowing his brows. “I wanna get your mom’s name on the top of my thigh,” he teased, biting his lip. You rolled your eyes playfully.

Sapnap let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh my God, that’s so funny. I totally didn’t see that coming.”

Karl took a sip of your beer and you spoke up. “I think you’d look good with a tattoo, Sapnap. All jokes aside, you’ve got a great body,” you mused, sending him a wink. Sapnap bit back a smile looking at Karl, who you could already tell was glaring back at him. “Side note, I was meaning to ask you. There’s a guy that’s in Karl’s frat,” you paused, trying to remember what Karl had said Todd’s real name was when you were pinning his auction number on him.

Sapnap raised his eyebrows. “Oh, Mark?”

You pointed at him. “Yes, the fake Romney.”

Sapnap snorted. “He did that on campus too?” Karl nodded, a look of disappointment spreading across their faces.

“Speaking of Todd Mark, the king of the Brick” Karl kicked his feet beneath your chair before continuing, “I heard there’s a bonfire tonight,” he probed, making Sapnap slowly shake his head in disapproval.

You raised an eyebrow at the two. “What’s the Brick?”

Sapnap seemed to have already made up his mind on the situation. “A fucking cesspool,” Sapnap grumbled, sipping from his bottle as Karl tsked. Sapnap tilted his head. “You really wanna take her to the Brick? People get together and smoke crack over there. The fact that,” he paused to furrow his brows at you slightly, “Todd Mark? is the benefactor should say something,” he stated, lips curling into an uneasy expression.

You peered over your shoulder at Karl as if to ask if he were crazy. Karl swatted off your gesture. “They don’t smoke crack this time of year. All the locals are back visiting for break.”

Sapnap shook his head again in unease. You chewed your lip, leaning back in your chair. “I don’t know… Sapnap, do you wanna have a movie night instead?” You joked, making Karl sigh behind you.

Sapnap mimicked your mock severity. “Yeah, a stay in and cuddle?”

“Of course,” you repeated.

Karl wheezed. “No, we’re going.”

Without missing a beat, Sapnap chimed back. “Maybe you can take my mom instead?” Karl’s expression flattened at his words and you nodded, high fiving Sapnap in mock victory.

Despite Sapnap’s hesitation, you all went to what they referred to as The Brick. In reality, it was a spot on the edge of a lake. They only called it the Brick because of Todd’s dad, a racecar driver who claimed the post back when he was in high school and later bought it. A large bonfire burned in the center of the space, various people around your age and a bit younger were either dancing to the music coming from one of the souped-up sports cars or shotgunning beers. You pushed away the thought of your stingy fire marshall back home who―more than once―had reported you and your family for “overactive cookouts.”

“Overactive,” meaning your dad and Clay were failing at not catching hotdogs on fire when the two would get lost in a chat about a mutual videogame when the families would cross the fence line in the summer.

As soon as you had stepped foot on the gravel, Karl was welcomed back like some kind of celebrity, so you stayed close to Sapnap. He would lean towards your height, pointing people out that Karl had mentioned in the past or those worth noting. You nodded along, soaking in what he had to tell you and laughing at his jokes.

A random guy strolled past the two of you, making Sapnap purse his lips. “Hey, Sapnap. How’s your mom?” One of the countless jokes thrown at him since you’d arrived.

He tilted his head with a mock look of questioning. “Didn’t your parents just get divorced, Jeff?” He deflected. Jeff’s face dropped slightly as he moved on. You always found yourself struggling not to laugh at how well Sapnap was at counteracting the jabs at his mom and Karl. Most of you felt guilty for how long he had dealt with it.

Karl watched you carefully as you sat down beside Sapnap on one of the vast benches; hands shoved in his pockets as the group around him caught up. You were glad to have someone around like Sapnap, despite the fact that you often went to parties. In the past, it was more of a bi-annual thing, but since being with Karl, you found yourself shoulder to shoulder with nameless people in a line doing shots every other Thursday.

You laughed as Sapnap joked about avoiding the drinks at the Brick because of the mites in the water and the STDs in the beer. “So, I never asked how you met Karl?” He queried, sticking his hands into the pocket of his Baja hoodie.

You smiled slightly. “Uh…” Shameless thoughts of you on your knees in a random building when you barely knew his name paced through your head like a quickfire of serotonin. “We had a lecture together and he liked my handwriting.” Sapnap smirked, chuckling slightly at your words.

Karl’s eyes were trained on the two of you, demeanor shifting each time one of you leaned towards the other to hear over the music or the two of you bumping each other’s arms to grab your attention. You knew he wasn’t jealous, but his look of curiosity was almost hilarious to you. Sapnap stuck by your side while Karl introduced you to his friends. He was basically your encyclopedia on the newer people as Karl would go off on a tangent with them.

The fact that Karl was so close to all of them and was so popular made your heart swell with pride. You were used to Karl’s deadpanned glares at most of his frat brothers and his snide comments, but now he was welcomed back like he was some kind of hero returning from the war.

After saying goodbye to Sapnap for the day, you threaded your fingers with Karl’s, enjoying the time where it was just the two of you. He brought the back of your hand to his lips, smoothing a kiss against your skin. “So… Sapnap’s mom…” you began, making him chew the inside of his cheek. “Where… did it happen?”

He looked down at you with a perked eyebrow before raising his sights forward, pulling you off the street where the two of you were walking. You followed him as the pair of you snuck through between the houses and across the backyards until the two of you were at Sapnap’s house again. Through the front windows, you could see him talking to his sibling in the kitchen.

Karl grabbed your hand, leading you along the side of the estate and toward the pool house. You wanted to groan at the thought before he pulled you through the door with him. “Are you serious?” You hissed, looking around at the dark place. Karl fought not to smirk as he peered out through one of the windows, watching the lights in Sapnap’s house turn out.

The moonlight streamed through one of the slender windows, illuminating his face and washing his features clean. Your gaze trailed along his arms; his tattoos peeking out from beneath his hoodie as he reached up to lock the door.

He turned back to face you, walking closer to you. “Did you have fun today?” He asked, plopping down on one of the couches and pulling you into his lap. He moved your arms to rest around his neck, pressing his lips to your skin. “I feel like I didn’t see you at all. Sapnap’s a bogart,” he muttered jokingly, settling his hands on your hips.

You scoffed before leaning toward him, pressing your lips against his. “Make it up to me,” you murmured, raking your fingers into his hair. “I think I selfishly need you to ruin me here; you know. Like a cleansing of you and Ms. Scarlet,” you chided.

He bit his lip, eyes pulsing with lust as he fought not to grin. You pressed your lips against his, turning to lay back on the couch and yank him on top of you. He chuckled into your kiss, as your hands moved to curl into his hair. His lust was a taste you could get drunk off if given the chance as his hands traveled the length of your body, moaning as you ground your hips against his, gripping into his clothes.

He leaned off of you momentarily to pull his shirt over his head as you slipped out of yours, you wrapped a leg around him, pushing him onto the couch instead and pinning him between your thighs as you straddled him, running your hands up his tattooed chest and connecting your lips again.

One of his large hands covered your breast as you began to grind your hips against his. His teeth grazed against your skin as he caressed your body while you moved against him, trying to create as much friction as you could against his jeans. He ran his fingers along the hem of your underwear, his lips curling into a smirk as he moved slightly to get a better look. "These are nice. Did you plan this?" He leered, snapping the elastic against your hip playfully. You rolled your eyes, pulling his chin towards you and pressing your lips against his. Every movement of his body seemed to lick at the fire deep within you.

You smirked breathlessly as his lips settled against your collarbones. “These are my church clothes. I had no other motive,” you jousted. His hand reached up to rest against your collarbone, his fingers lightly curling around your neck.

“Of course, how could I not realize,” he jabbed, pressing his lips and tongue against your neck. You moaned, tugging at his zipper before wrapping your hand around his cock, pumping him into harder arousal. He groaned against your neck, bucking into your hand lightly. His head tilted back against the couch beneath you, cheeks flushed at the attention. His teeth nipped at your skin as you ground yourself against his thigh, basking in his noises of pleasure.

His cock pulsed in your hand, making him grab your wrist and pull you beneath him. He gripped one of your legs, resting it in the crook of his elbow as he pushed himself into you, connecting your lips to swallow your moans. The feeling of him inside of you sent a wave of pleasure through your body. His voice was low in your ear, murmuring your name as if it were a curse. You moaned as he took one of your hands, lacing your fingers together beside your head as he kissed you again, tongue slipping into your mouth.

His thrusts became more rhythmless, his hold on you driving him deeper as the pool house filled with the noises of your whimpering moans. Karl’s breath was warm on your neck as he took advantage of your submissive state. He moved his hand from around your leg, wrapping his fingers around your neck again. Your body shivered, waiting for the pressure of his hand as his hips rocked against yours.

He chuckled darkly, teeth grazing against your shoulder before his lips hovered beside your ear. “Beg for it,” he commented, voice strained as he thrusted into you.

You swallowed, fingers digging into his back. “Choke me,” you groaned, “please.” His hand tightened around your neck, breath hitching in your throat as his thrusts became rougher. He bit back a smug grin at the way you reacted to his antics, relishing in your body beginning for more.

He relaxed his hand, pressing his lips to yours as you struggled to inhale. Heat ran through your body as your leg curled around his waist, nails raking down his back.

You leaned away from his lips, voice coming out unevenly as you moaned his name. His movements became sloppier as you groaned in bliss, tugging the flesh of his bottom lip between your teeth. You tipped your head back slightly as you reached your climax, riding out your pleasure and sending him over the edge as he pulled you closer to him, his hands digging into your hips as he encouraged you to continue grinding against him. You exhaled deeply, pressing your lips against his neck and his cheek before kissing him breathlessly as your movements slowed.

You pulled on your shirt, Karl’s hands moving to rest on your hips as he pressed a kiss to your neck. “Should we leave a note for Ms. Scarlet?” You joked, making him chuckle as his arms wrapped further around your waist, cheek pressing against your shoulder.

“Who?” He teased.

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[paralleljulieverse]

It’s been a while between posts here at the Parallel Julieverse, but we have finally managed to clear a bit of time from work, life, and other such annoyances to get back to what really matters: all things Julie!  And in this post we highlight an interesting tidbit of trivia from late-1950 when Julie was appearing in Red Riding Hood at the Theatre Royal Nottingham, the subject of a recent 70th anniversary tribute post.

Although she had only just turned 15 when she was cast as the eponymous lead in Red Riding Hood, Julie Andrews was already an established juvenile star of considerable note. Her debut star-making turn as a 12-year-old child prodigy in Starlight Roof in 1947/48 garnered widespread media attention and it catapulted the young singer into a whirlwind period of touring performances, radio programmes, West End pantomimes, and even early television appearances. Julie’s subsequent casting as the resident singer in the hit BBC radio series, Educating Archie, augmented her fame further, bringing her voice into the sitting rooms of Britain on a weekly basis and making her a household name. 

With this growing renown came equally expanded opportunities for cross-promotional marketing such as celebrity endorsements and advertising. A particular variant of celebrity promotion popular in the era was the staged 'star visit’ or what today might be termed ‘celebrity event marketing’ (Segrave 2005). Here the star would be invited to appear at a particular event or special occasion as a way of boosting public and media interest, while serving in return as a form of value-adding PR for the star and his/her professional ventures. 

Julie was involved in several such ‘star visits’ during the three month run of Red Riding Hood. During rehearsals in mid-December 1950, she was invited as a VIP guest and honorary judge at the Annual Dance for Booth and Son, a major British apparel manufacturing company (‘Ilkeston’, 1). Around the same time, she paid a special visit to the Nazareth House for Children in Nottingham (‘Night’, 2), as well as the Borough Green Air Training Corps Cadets Open Night where “[p]art of the evening’s entertainment had to be cancelled in order to allow the enthusiastic younger generation to get her autograph” (‘Julie stopped’,  3). 

One of the more fascinating such events -- and the one that we profile here -- was a courtesy visit to famed music impresario, Lawrence Wright. Today, Wright is little remembered, save by a handful of theatre history enthusiasts, but he was a major figure in the British entertainment industry of the early twentieth century (Wright 1988). Popularly dubbed the ‘Daddy of Tin Pan Alley’ and the ‘Monarch of Melody’, Wright started as a music composer in his hometown of Leicester where, under the pseudonym of Horatio Nicholls, he penned a string of popular songs such as “Down by the Stream", “Blue Eyes”, “Toy Drum Major”, and “Among My Souvenirs” (‘Alley’s Daddy’, 3). 

Wright’s greatest success, however, came as a sheet music publisher and entertainment entrepreneur. In 1910, he chanced upon a catchy tune written by a local Leicester street singer called “Don’t Go Down the Mine, Daddy”. He promptly purchased the rights to the song and published it as part of his embryonic music company. A week after the song went on sale, there was a tragic mining disaster in Whitehaven in which 147 men and boys lost their lives. Recognising a potential marketing angle, Wright had a snipe printed across the top of the sheet music declaring that “Half the profits from the first ten thousand sold will go to the relief fund for the Whitehaven pit disaster” (Wright, 4). The song became a national sensation, selling over a million copies, and making Wright a small fortune. With the proceeds, he moved to London and set up shop as the ‘Lawrence Wright Music Company’ in Denmark Street, establishing what would become the city’s ‘Tin Pan Alley’.

Under the slogan, ‘You Can’t Go Wrong with the Wright Song’, Wright became the single biggest music publisher in the UK with an eventual catalogue of over 5000 songs which he leased to major theatre producers and singing artists of the day. In an era when many homes had a piano and singalongs in the parlour were a popular social pastime, Wright also sold his sheet music direct to the public through a nationwide chain of ‘Lawrence Wright Music Shops’. Ever the canny entrepreneur, Wright diversified his business holdings with a host of affiliate ventures. In 1926, he founded The Melody Maker, the first British periodical devoted to popular music, which remained in continuous publication right into the early-2000s. He launched a popular series of self-paced musical tutorials which taught a generation of young Britons how to play everything from the piano to the banjo. Wright also moved into theatre producing, mounting an annual summer revue, On With the Show at the North Pier Pavilion in Blackpool, which ran for 32 years and served as a showcase for many of the nation’s biggest variety acts (Wright 1988). 

One of Wright’s more legendary professional pursuits was in the area of entertainment publicity. An inveterate showman, he would do anything to advertise his latest song or business venture, often falling foul of the authorities with some of his more colourful efforts. To promote his 1927 song, “Me and Jane in a Plane”, he chartered a bi-plane to fly at low altitude around the Blackpool Tower, while Jack Hylton and his Band played the song on board and dropped advertising leaflets to the startled crowds below. He offered £1000 to anyone who could disprove the title of another Wright song, “I’ve Never Seen a Straight Banana”, with the result that Denmark Street was awash with truckloads of fruit sent in by eager contestants. And what better way to launch a tune called “Sahara” than to dress a bevy of beautiful blondes as Arabian princesses and ride them on camels around Piccadilly Circus (Wright, 11; ‘King’, 7).

Less extravagant, but no less important to his business success, was Wright’s promotional use of stars. Across his fifty year career, Wright forged key professional relationships with many leading musical artists of the day. He even married a star: variety singer and comedienne, Betsy Warren, in 1933, though their union ended in divorce after only a few years. More enduring were his collaborations with the scores of stars who sang his songs and appeared in his shows. In 1960 to mark his 50th year in show business, Melody Maker published a special golden anniversary tribute to Wright that was brimming with congratulatory greetings from a cavalcade of stars old and new: everyone from George Formby, Jack Payne, and Billy Cotton to Harry Secombe, Connie Francis, and Frankie Vaughan (Wright, 18).

It was in this context that 15-year-old Julie Andrews found herself paying a promotional ‘star visit’ to Lawrence Wright in late 1950. The precise circumstances surrounding the visit are unknown. The young singer had an existing professional relationship of sorts with Wright, having included several of his songs in her concert repertoire such as “The Dream of Olwen” and “I Heard a Robin Singing”. Indeed, an article in the trade press from this time makes mention of Julie in relation to a newly published Wright number, “The Song of the Tritsch Tratsch” which she had started to perform in some of her concerts and, she was quoted as saying, it “always gets a grand reception” (‘Song Notes’, 4). Another likely influence behind the visit was Tom Arnold, the producer of Red Riding Hood. Arnold was a close business associate of Wright’s and one suspects he may have been instrumental in engineering the visit as a way of promoting his panto. Either way, at some point in November/December 1950, Julie dutifully trotted off to Wright’s office where, with photographers conveniently on hand, the young “panto starlet” was received by the impresario and what press reports termed a chorus of “his stars”.

It is this “chorus of stars” that makes the visit especially interesting from a theatre history perspective. While the names of the five female stars assembled to greet Julie may not ring many bells today, they were all celebrated theatrical luminaries of their day:

Carole Lynne (1918-2008): A glamorous actress and singer of the 1940s, Lynne starred in a string of big West End musicals including Black Velvet (1939), Old Chelsea (1943) opposite Richard Tauber, and a revival of Jill Darling (1945). She also appeared in a number of wartime comedy films such as Ghost Train (1941) and Asking For Trouble (1942) with Max Miller. In 1946, Lynne married famed theatre impresario, Lord Bernard Delfont -- the brother of Sir Lew Grade who would play a major role in Julie’s career -- and, after retiring from the stage in the early 50s, she became  a prominent society hostess and patron to many theatre charities (’Carole Lynne’, 62).

Dorothy Ward (1890-1987): A noted beauty of the Edwardian stage, Ward rose to prominence in West End operettas such as The Dairymaids (1906) and Tom Jones (1907). She achieved her greatest fame, however, as a dashing pantomime Principal Boy, appearing in over 40 pantos across her 50 year career. In many of these shows, she played opposite her husband, Shaun Glenville, a noted panto Dame, and few Christmases passed without the pair “on the same stage, he in skirts and she in tights” ( ‘Obituary: Miss Dorothy Ward’, 14).

Marie Burke (1894-1988): A singer of remarkable versatility, Burke originally trained for an operatic career but found her niche in the lighter fields of operetta and musical theatre. She made a high profile debut as Isolde in Charles Cochran’s controversial 1919 production of Afgar, after which she spent several years touring in the United States and Australia. Burke had her greatest stage success playing the part of Julie in the premiere London production of Show Boat (1928). Thereafter, she headlined several major operettas including the London premiere of Waltzes from Vienna (1931-32) and its Broadway transfer as The Great Waltz (1934), and Don Juan de Mañara (1937) at Covent Garden. Burke had an equally successful screen career, appearing in over 70 films and TV programmes from the teens till the 1970s (‘Obituary: Marie Burke’, 12).

Patricia Burke (1917-2003) : The daughter of Marie, Patricia Burke was born in the proverbial trunk while her mother and father, tenor Tom Burke, were on a concert tour in Milan. Inevitably, she took to the boards herself as a teen, singing and dancing her way to fame in a string of West End musical successes of the 1930s -- with more than a few Julie connections. She made her professional debut in the 1933 premiere of Cole Porter’s Nymph Errant starring Gertrude Lawrence and later appeared alongside Beatrice Lillie in Happy Returns (1938). One of her greatest West End successes was as the female lead in The Lisbon Story (1943), a show which introduced the popular standard, “Pedro, the Fisherman” which Julie would later record. Following the war, Burke made an unexpected move into 'legit’ theatre, playing the female lead opposite Trevor Howard in a well received 1946 Old Vic production of The Taming of the Shrew, followed with a number of other equally high profile performances in classics such as As You Like It (1948), Jonson’s The Alchemist (1948) and Shaw’s Saint Joan (1948). Burke never forgot her popular roots, though, and she continued to alternate dramatic roles with musicals and pantos, as well as appearances in film and TV programmes (‘Patricia Burke’, p. 44). 

Marjorie Browne (1910-1990): Another popular performer of the mid-century, Browne started her career in the mid-twenties as one of producer Charles Cochran’s ‘Young Lady’ beauties, scoring a major success in his revue One Damn Thing After Another (1927). Browne went on to perform widely in hit West End shows such as On Your Toes (1937) and Chu Chin Chow (1940), as well as touring productions of Rose Marie (1942-3), Hit the Deck (1944) and Good Night Vienna (1946). She also appeared in a number of British film musicals of the 30s and 40s including Lassie from Lancashire (1938), Laugh It Off (1940) co-starring Tommy Trinder, and I Didn’t Do It (1945) with George Formby. 

It was, thus, quite the illustrious welcoming committee on hand to receive our young Julie. And, as much as the visit was a factitious PR event staged for the cameras by the ever-wily Lawrence Wright, there is still something deeply moving about its symbolic enactment of a generational passing of the theatrical torch. As representatives of the outgoing old guard, the five grand stars stand at the rear, poised with the confidence of a lifetime’s experience, charging their glasses in warm salute to the rising star of the next generation. That the women are bedecked with the emblematic accoutrements of mid-century celebrity -- furs, coiffure, champagne -- while, in the foreground, an adolescent Julie -- perched rather awkwardly on the corner of the desk, lanky legs akimbo -- is garbed in a homey juvenile ensemble of woollen coat, tartan skirt, ankle socks and Mary Janes -- cradling that perennial icon of cosy British domesticity, a cup of tea -- only adds to the symbolic poignancy.

By 1950, the tide was also starting to ebb for Lawrence Wright. Musical tastes were changing and audiences were fast moving on from the fireplace singalongs and end-of-pier entertainments with which he had built his career. A few short years later, he would stage his final summer revue in Blackpool in 1956, going into semi-retirement before passing in 1964 at age 76. His voluminous catalogue of songs, however, would endure. Prized as a valuable commercial property, the Lawrence Wright catalogue has been owned, at various times, by the Beatles and Michael Jackson, before being bought up by the Universal Music group (Horn, 595). 

As a final Julie connection, years after her 1950 ‘star visit’ to the great man himself, Julie would once again sing a Lawrence Wright song when, as Gertrude Lawrence in the 1968 musical biopic, STAR!, she performed the classic WW1 music hall number, “Burlington Bertie from Bow”. Wright had purchased the rights to "Burlington Bertie” when it was first written in 1914 and it would remain a valuable possession of his corporate trunk. Even though “Burlington Bertie” was not in fact a song ever performed by Gertrude Lawrence, it perfectly captured the flavour of Edwardian music hall and provided an ideal showcase for Julie’s combined vocal and comic talents. The song was also something of a personal favourite for Julie. She had recorded the song previously for her 1962 album of music hall standards, and had even shared the stage in the late-40s with the original “Burlington Bertie” herself, the legendary Ella Shields (Andrews, 116). Julie’s performance of “Burlington Bertie” in STAR! would prove a highlight of that otherwise troubled film and she would continue to perform the number in concert well into the 1980s, proving indeed that “you can’t go wrong with a Wright song”!

Sources:

‘Alley’s Daddy Dead’, 1964. The Stage and Television Today, 21 March: 3.

Andrews, Julie. 2019. Home Work: A memoir of my Hollywood years. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

D.G. 1964. ‘The King is Dead. Long Live the King!’, The Illustrated Chronicle. 22 May: 7.

Heyes, Joy 1991. ‘Obituary: Marjorie Browne.’ The Stage and Television Today, 21 February: 30.

Horn, David 2004.  ‘Lawrence Wright Music Company’ in J. Shepherd et al, eds. Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World : Media, industry, society. London: Continuum, pp. 594-95.

 ‘Ilkeston Firm’s Event’, 1950. The Nottingham Evening Post. 16 December: 1.

‘Julie stopped the show at cadet’s open night.’ 1950. The Chronicle and Advertiser. 15 December: 3.

“Night of their Lives: Children at panto. dress rehearsal’, 1950. The Nottingham Evening Post. 23 December: 2.

’Carole Lynne: Glamorous actress and musical theatre star who as Lady delfont became one of London’s leading theatrical hostesses’ 2008. The Times, 22 January: p. 62.

‘Obituary: Marie Burke’ 1988. The Times, 23 March: p.12

‘Obituary: Miss Dorothy Ward’ 1987. The Times, 22 January: p. 14.

‘Patricia Burke: Thirties musical star who proved her range with Shakespearean roles, but retained a love of pantomime.’ 2003, The Times, 27 November: p. 44. 

Segrave, Kerry, 2005. Endorsements in Advertising: A social history. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland.

‘Song Notes’ 1950. The Stage. 16 November, p. 4.

Wright, Lawrette, 1988. Lawrence Wright: Souvenirs for a century. Chards: Matthews Wright Press.

Copyright © Brett Farmer 2021

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Translation: German manga of “The Minish Cap”, Part 1: “Link and Vaati”

So, after long last, I have translated all seven chapters of the German version of the manga version of “The Minish Cap” in the entirety. Because I could. I also have the Japanese and Italian copies of “The Minish Cap” and the German version of “Four Swords” that I’ll also do eventually. Also, I’m tempted to do some translation theories, too (in the same vein as the “Forest vs. Town” argument analysis)... But, for now: here is the completed first chapter! I’ll try to remember to post one chapter a day.

My translation key: DT: „direct translation" (translated word for word) EQ: "English equivalent" (as in, as close to an English-sounding sentence as it's gonna get) DT/EQ: „"direct translation/English equivalent" (for when the DT is so similar to an EQ that it's practically English already) OE: "official English (translation as given in the English version of "The Minish Cap")" (NOTE:) "anything I need to point out" (exactly what it says on the tin) BG: „backwards German" for the Minish language in forwards form BOE: "the forwards version of the Minish language in the OE version" BOET: "the TRANSLATION of the forwards version of the Minish language in the OE version"

My translation work under the cut.

1. KAPITEL: „LINK UND VAATI" 1ST CHAPTER: "LINK AND VAATI" CHAPTER 1: "LINK AND VAATI"

Erzähler: „Kennt ihr die Minish?" DT: „Know you all the Minish?" EQ: "Do you all know the Minish?" OE: "Do you know about the Picori?" (NOTE: The book never specifies who's narrating, so I'm bringing back my default Storyteller.)

Erzähler: „Die Minish sind daumengroße Lebewesen, die überall leben." DT: „The Minish are thumb-sized creatures, that everywhere live." EQ: "The Minish are thumb-sized creatures that live everywhere." OE: "They're teeny, tiny creatures the size of your thumb that live everywhere in our world."

Erzähler: „Die Menschen wissen nichts davon..." DT: „The humans know not thereof..." EQ: "The humans don't know it..." OE: "Normal folks rarely see them..."

Erzähler: „...aber sie helfen uns immer wieder, ohne dass wir es wahrnehmen können." DT: „...but they help us always again, without that we it perceive able." EQ: "...but they help us again and again, without us being able to perceive it." OE: "...But when we're not looking, they help us out." (NOTE: Extremely idiomatic. Another translation could be "without us being able to be aware of it".)

Erzähler: „Denn die Minish..." DT/EQ: „"Because the Minish..." OE: "That's because..."

Erzähler: „...lieben uns Menschen." DT/EQ: „"...love us humans." OE: "...the Picori love people!"

Link: „Und hopp!" DT: „And hopp!" EQ: "One, two!"/"Alley-oop!" OE: "Hup... Two..." (NOTE: Both translations work and make an equal amount of sense.)

Toneffekte: „KLONG KLING" DT/EQ: „"KLONG KLING" OE: "KLANG KLANG" (NOTE: This is what I'm calling the "Sound Effects".)

Alberich: „Schönes Schwert. Sicher haben die Minish uns dabei geholfen." DT: „Beautiful sword. Certainly (x) the Minish us with helped." EQ: "Beautiful sword. The Minish certainly helped us with it." OE: "Oh my... That's a GOOD sword. The Picori must've pitched in on this one!" (NOTE: Alberich is still Smith. And conversational past.)

Link: „Opa, gibt es die Minish wirklich?" DT: „Grandpa, is there the Minish real?" EQ: "Grandpa, are the Minish real?" OE: "Grandfather, do the Picori really exist?" (NOTE: Yay, my least-favourite idiom.)

Alberich: „Na, aber sicher doch. Es heißt, nur Kinder können die Minish sehen." DT: „Well, but certainly still. It (is) said, only children can the Minish see." EQ: "Well, sure enough/for sure. It is said that only children can see the Minish." OE: "They say only children can see Picori. If you truly believe, you may see them yourself." (NOTE: ...Idioms. Bah.)

Link: „Wirklich...? Ich habe sie noch nie gesehen..." DT: „Really...? I (x) them still never seen..." EQ: "Really...? I've still never seen them..." OE: "Really?! I've NEVER seen anything like that!"

Link: „Oh, ich muss jetzt trainieren! Bis später!!" DT: „Oh, I must now train! Until later!!" EQ: "Oh, I must train now! See you later!!" OE: "Yipes! See ya later, Grandfather!" (NOTE: Take a drink for every time "Yipes" is used in the English translation. You'll be dead by the time Chilta shows up.)

Alberich: „Gib acht, Link!" DT: „Give attention, Link!" EQ: "Be careful, Link!" OE: "Have fun, Link!" (NOTE: I think the idioms are killing me more quickly than the game did.)

SIGN ON DOOR: „Magnus-Dojo" DT/EQ: „"Magnus-Dojo" OE: "Swiftblade's Dojo" (NOTE: What English calls Swiftblade, that is.)

(The German Translation then adds in an explanation for what a Dojo is). [ADDENDUM: „Trainingshalle für Kampfsportarten." DT/EQ: „"Training-hall for martial-arts."]

Link: „Hyaah!! Yaah!! Haaah!!" DT/EQ: „"Hyaah!! Yaah!! Haaah!!" OE: "Dah! Hyah! Taaah!" (NOTE: Link stayed Link. Naturally.)

Toneffekte: „Bamm Klatsch Huah!" DT/EQ: „"Bam Clash Huah!" OE: "Whack Whack Yah!"

Magnus: „Genug, Jungs! Das Training ist für heute beendet!" DT: „Enough, boys! The training is for to-day finished!" EQ: "Enough, boys! The training is finished for to-day!" OE: "All right! That's enough for today! Hmph!"

Magnus: „Morgen ist das Minish-Fest mit dem Kampfturnier!" DT/EQ: „"To-morrow is the Minish-Festival with the Martial Arts/Fighting-Tournament!" OE: "It's time for the annual Martial Arts Tournament at the Picori Festival." (NOTE: I'll just go with "martial arts" for now, since that's what the original Japanese used. This must be the reason how Vaati got in without a sword.)

Magnus: „Wer daran teilnimmt, kämpft im Namen unseres Dojos! Viel Erfolg!" DT: „Who there of partake, fights in (the) name (of) our Dojo! Much success!" EQ: "Whoever partakes in it fights in the name of our Dojo! I wish your success!" OE: "Participants, your behavior must bring honor to the Swiftblade Dojo." (NOTE: ...But... The English door said "Swiftblade's Dojo"... Which is it?)

Toneffekte: „Glänz" DT/EQ: „"Gleam" OE: "Shine"

Toneffekte: „Japs Japs" DT/EQ: „"Gasp gasp" OE: "Huff puff"

Link: „Jawohl!!" DT: „Yes indeed!!" EQ: "Yessir!!" OE: "Yes, Sensei!" (NOTE: Can also simply mean "Yes!!" in a very emphatic manner... But since Link is saying this to Swiftblade, I thought the "sir" part made more sense...)

Magnus: „Hm? Link, du schaust nur zu." DT: „Hm? Link, you watch only (x)." EQ: "Hm? Link, you're only watching." OE: "Hmm? You will only be observing, Link." (NOTE: "zuschauen"...)

Link: „Waas?! Ich bin aber angemeldet..." DT: „Whaat?! I (x) but registered..." EQ: "Whaat?! I already registered..." OE: "Huuh?! B-But I registered to compete!"

Link: „Bitte, Meister! Ich möchte wissen, wie gut ich bin!" DT/EQ: „"Please, Master! I would like (to) know, how good I am!" OE: "Please, Sensei! I want to test my skills!" (NOTE: There's only one reason I can think of for why German Link calls him "Meister" and not "Sensei"... And that's probably to draw a parallel towards German Vaati, who ALSO calls his teacher, Ezlo, "Meister" in specific.)

Magnus: „Viel zu früh für dich! Der Weg der Schwertkunst ist lang! Noch bist du nicht reif genug!" DT: „Much too early for you! The way (to) the sword-arts is long! Still are you not ready enough!" EQ: "Much too early for you! The way to swordsmanship is long! You are still not ready enough!" OE: "Hmph! I said no! The way of the sword is precise and disciplined! You are not yet ready! Hmph!" (NOTE: EINS, ZWEI, DREI, MARIONETTE NUN SEI.)

Toneffekte: „Glänz" DT/EQ: „"Gleam" OE: "Shine"

Link: „Menno. Menno. Menno." DT/EQ: „"Man. Man. Man." OE: "Hmph! Tsk! Rats!" (NOTE: „Menno" is sort of an... Interjection for annoyance/indignation. Seen as rather childish. Another way to translate it would be something like "Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.")

Link: „Und dafür habe ich acht Stunden am Tag geübt! Es gibt doch nur ein Turnier im Jahr..." DT: „And for that (x) I eight hours of (the) day practised! There is still only a Tournament (of) the year..." EQ: "And I practised for eight hours a day for that! There's only one Tournament a year..." OE: "I practiced hours and hours every day for this! The Tournament's just once a year!"

Toneffekte: „Murmel Grummel" DT/EQ: „"Mumble grumble" OE: "Mutter grumble"

Link: „Yaaaah!! Wirbelattacke!!" DT/EQ: „"Yaaah!! Swirl-attack!!" OE: "Swiftblade School Spin Attack!!" (NOTE: English version, please... Is it "Swiftblade's Dojo", "Swiftblade Dojo", or "Swiftblade School"??? Make up your mind...)

Vaati: "Hi hi." DT/EQ: „"Hee hee." OE: "Heh!" (NOTE: Likewise, Vaati stayed Vaati. That is, from the Japanese version's Gufuu...)

Vaati: „Ha ha ha ha" DT/EQ: „"Ha ha ha ha" OE: "Heh heh heh heh"

Link: „He, du! Was lachst du?!" DT: „Hey, you! What laughing you?!" EQ: "Hey, you! What are you laughing at?!" OE: "Hey, you! Are you laughing at me?!"

Vaati: „Ach... Deine kindische Technik war witzig..." DT/EQ: „"Oh... Your childish Technique was humorous..." OE: "I had to... ...It was such a pathetic display."

Link: „WAAAS?!" DT/EQ: „"WHAAAT?!" OE: "WHAT?!"

Vaati: „Tja... Ich zeige dir, wie man richtig Bäume fällt..." DT: „Oh, well... I show (to) you, how one correctly trees cut down..." EQ: "Oh, well... I'll show you how one correctly cuts down trees..." OE: "Now, now. Want to see the REAL way to defeat a tree?"

Toneffekte: „Baazzack!!" DT/EQ: „"Baazzack!!" OE: KRAK KRAK KRAK KRAK" (NOTE: NO CLUE.)

Vaati: „He he he he..." DT/EQ: „"He he he he..." OE: "Heh heh heh heh"

Link: „Was... Was war das?!" DT/EQ: „"What... What was that?!" OE: "Who... Who is that guy?"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Hallo, Link!" DT/EQ: „"Hello, Link!" OE: "Link!" (NOTE: Name's the same.)

Prinzessin Zelda: „Link!" DT/EQ: „"Link!" OE: "Link!"

Link: „Prinzessin Zelda!" DT/EQ: „"Princess Zelda!" OE: "Princess Zelda!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Was ist denn hier passiert?" DT: „What (x) then here happened?" EQ: "What happened here?" OE: "What happened here?" (NOTE: FINALLY. A MATCHING LINE OF DIALOGUE. THANK YOU, PRINCESS.)

Link: „Ach, nichts! Bist du mal wieder allein vom Schloss hierher gelaufen? Der Minister macht bestimmt wieder ein großes Theater." DT: „Oh, nothing! (x) You (softner) again alone from (the) Castle here run? The Minister makes certainly again a great fuss." EQ: "Oh, nothing! Did you run here from the Castle alone again? The Minister will certainly make a great fuss again." OE: "Nothing... Never mind. Did you sneak out of the Castle again? The Minister's gonna be mad!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Nun, heute ist doch das Minish-Fest. Lass uns zusammen dort hingehen!" DT: „Well, to-day is still the Minish-Festival. Let us together there go!" EQ: "Well, to-day is the Minish-Festival. Let's go there together!" OE: "But the annual Picori Festival is today. C'mon, let's go see it together!!" (NOTE: I love how Zelda just casually dodges the question.)

Link: „Nö." DT/EQ: „"Nope." OE: "I'm not going." (NOTE: ...Bröther. The lämp...)

Toneffekte: „Fosch" DT/EQ: „"Fosch" OE: "Fwp" (NOTE: Okay, no clue.)

Prinzessin Zelda: „Warum nichts?" DT/EQ: „"Why not?" OE: "Why not?"

Link: „Ich muss trainieren! Geh du allein hin!" DT: „I must train! Go you alone there!" EQ: "I must train! Go there alone!" OE: "I'm too busy training! If you wanna go, go alone!"

Toneffekte: „Heul..." DT/EQ: „"Cry..." OE: "Plip"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Du bist so gemein! Ich habe mich so drauf gefreut, mit dir auf das Fest zu gehen..." DT: „You are so mean! I (x) myself so (x) pleased, with you to the Festival to go..." EQ: "You're so mean! I was so looking forward to going to the Festival with you..." OE: "Why are you being so mean? I s-snuck out so w-we could g-go together!" (NOTE: Idiomatic...)

Toneffekte: „Flenn flenn" DT/EQ: „"Blub blub" OE: "Sniff sob wail"

Link: „Ooooch, das war doch nur ein Witz! Ich hab mich auch darauf gefreut!" DT: „Oooohh, that was still only a joke! I (x) myself also there pleased!" EQ: "Oooohh, it was only a joke! I was looking forward to it, too!" OE: "R-Right... I was just kidding! I've been looking for you!" (NOTE: *intense sobbing*)

Link: „Wein doch nicht, Zelda. Komm, wir gehen los!!" DT: „Cry still not, Zelda. Come, we go let's!!" EQ: "Don't cry, Zelda. Come, let's go!!" OE: "Please don't cry! We've got too much to see!"

Toneffekte: „Freu" DT/EQ: „"Pleased" OE: "Perk"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Ja. ♪" DT/EQ: „"Yes. ♪" OE: "Yaay! ♪"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Schnell! Es fängt schon an!" DT/EQ: „"Quick! It began already (x)!" OE: "Come on! It's already starting!"

Toneffekte: „Bumm bumm bumm" DT/EQ: „"Boom boom boom" OE: "BOOM BOOM BOOM"

Link: „..." DT/EQ: „"..." OE: "..." (NOTE: Finally, a game-accurate line of dialogue.)

Link: „Das war ja schon immer so... Ich kann nie »Nein« zu ihr sagen..." DT: „That was indeed already always so... I can never »No« to her say..." EQ: "It's always been this way... I can never say »No« to her..." OE: "It's been like this ever since we were little... I can't say no to her." (NOTE: Yes, the French-style quotation marks are used.)

Toneffekte: „DING DONG" DT/EQ: „"DING DONG" OE: "KLANG KLANG"

Leute: „Oh, Prinzessin Zelda! Link, du bist ja echt gut mit ihr befreundhet." DT: „Oh, Princess Zelda! Link, you are indeed really good with her friendly." EQ: "Oh, Princess Zelda! Link, you really are friendly with her." OE: "Look, it's Princess Zelda! You two sure are close, aren't you, Link?"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Oh, hi hi. ♥" DT/EQ: „"Oh, hi hi. ♥" OE: "Tee-hee!"

Link: „Sei ruhig! Komm, Zelda!!" DT/EQ: „"Be quiet! Come, Zelda!!" OE: "Shut up!! Let's go! C'mon!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Warte, Link! Da gibt es eine Lotterie!" DT: „Wait, Link! There there is a lottery!" EQ: "Wait, Link! There's a lottery over there!" OE: "Wait, Link. There's a lottery!"

Link: „Ach, da gewinnt man eh nie! Höchstens nur einen Trostpreis..." DT: „Oh, there win one anyway never! Mostly only a consolation-prize..." EQ: "Oh, no-one ever wins those! At most, just a consolation-prize..." OE: "Why bother No one ever wins... Not the good prizes, just the cheesy little ones!"

Toneffekte: „Kling klong" DT/EQ: „"Kling klong" OE: "RING RING"

Bruna: „Hauptgewinn!!" DT/EQ: „"Jackpot!!" OE: "We have a big winner!" (NOTE: Bruna is still Pina. You'll see why I keep saying "still" much, much later...)

Bruna: „Hauptgewinn an die Prinzessin! Ihr habt freie Auswahl!" DT/EQ: „Jackpot for the Princess! You have free choice!" OE: "First prize right at the start! Choose anything you like!"

Toneffekte: „KLONG KLONG" DT/EQ: „"KLONG KLONG" OE: "RING RING"

Person 2: „Wahnsinn!" DT/EQ: „"Madness!" OE: "Wow, Princess!"

Person 3: „Prinzessin, nehmt den herzförmigen Stein! Er steht Euch gut!" DT/EQ: „"Princess, take the heart-shaped stone! It suits you well!" OE: "Get the heart-shaped stone, Princess! It's cute! It'd look GREAT on you!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Ich nehme diesen Schild." DT: „I take this shield." EQ: "I'll take this shield." OE: "I'll take this shield."

Link: „Wieso?! Du darfst dir alles aussuchen. Der Stein ist doch hübsch..." DT: „How-so?! You may (for) you anything choose. The stone is still pretty..." EQ: "Why?! You can choose anything. The stone is so pretty..." OE: "Huh? You got FIRST prize. You should chose something better." (NOTE: And no, that's not a typo. English really says "chose" and not "choose".)

Prinzessin Zelda: „Nein, ich möchte den hier." DT: „No, I would like the here." EQ: "No, I would like this here." OE: "No, THIS is what I want."

Bruna: „Wirklich? Ihr seid aber seltsam..." DT: „Really? You are but strange..." EQ: "Really? You're rather strange..." OE: "I see the Princess has... Umm... Interesting taste!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Hier, Link. Schade, dass du diesmal nicht am Turnier teilnehmen konntest. Aber ich weiß, wie gut du bist. Und damit wirst du noch besser!" DT: „Here, Link. Sad, that you this-time not in (the) Tournament partake could. But I know, how good you are. And therewith will you still better!" EQ: "Here, Link. It's a shame that you couldn't partake in the Tournament this time. But, I know how good you are. And with this, you'll get even better!" OE: "Here. I'm sorry you can't participate in the Martial Arts contest. You'd've done great. But use this while you're training for next year." (NOTE: Slightly idiomatic.)

Link: „Oh... Das wusstest du...?" DT: „Oh... That knew you...?" EQ: "Oh... You knew that...?" OE: "Huh? She knew?!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Klasse! Du siehst toll damit aus!" DT/EQ: „"Classy! You look terrific with that out!" OE: "It's perfect! You look SO cool!" (NOTE: That's STILL what she said.)

Link: „He he... Danke." DT/EQ: „"He he... Thanks." OE: "Heh heh... Don't embarrass me!"

Toneffekte: „Bumm bumm bumm" DT/EQ: „"Boom boom boom" OE: "BOOM POOMF BAM"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Das Turnier beginnt. Lass uns zum Schloss gehen!" DT: „The Tournament begins. Let us to (the) Castle go!" EQ: "The Tournament's beginning. Let's go to the Castle!" OE: "Let's go to the Castle. The Marial Arts contest is about to start!" (NOTE: DARNIT, ENGLISH. Is it "Tournament" or "contest"?! MAKE UP YOUR MIND!)

Link: "Ja, los!" DT/EQ: „"Yes, let's!" OE: "Where to next?" (NOTE: But... English... This speech-bubble is AFTER Zelda's... She's already told you... Where you're going...)

Prinzessin Zelda: „Link, kennst du die Vorgeschichte vom Minish-Fest?" DT: „Link, know you the history of the Minish-Festival?" EQ: "Link, do you know the history of the Minish-Festival?" OE: "Do you know the story behind the Picori Festival?"

???: „Waah! Waah! Waah!" DT/EQ: „"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" OE: "HURRAAY ROARR YAAY" (NOTE: The people... Cheering, I guess?)

Person 4: „Gewonnen!!" DT/EQ: „"Won/Win!!" OE: "Look! He won!" (NOTE: Means both; and both make sense. The announcement of who won the match, but all I'm hearing is Yzma as a kitten...)

Link: „Klar! Die Minish-Legende... Opa hat sie mir erzählt." DT: „Clearly! The Minish-Legend... Grandpa (x) it to me told." EQ: "Clearly! The Minish-Legend... Grandpa told it to me." OE: "Yeah. The Picori Legend. My Grandfather told it to me."

Link: „Vor langer Zeit, als schreckliche Monster unsere Welt bedrohten... ...und die Städte vernichteten... ...stiegen Minish vom Himmel herab und gaben einem Helden das Schwert." DT: „Before long time, as terrible monsters our world threatened... and the cities destroyed... ascended Minish from the Heavens/sky down and gave a Hero the Sword." EQ: "A long time ago, as terrible monsters threatened our world... and destroyed the cities... the Minish descended from the Heavens/sky and gave a Hero the Sword." OE: "Long, long ago, terrible evil spirits appeared in the world. They burnt our city to the ground. At the same time, the Picori arrived, bestowing a magical Sword to a Great Hero."

Link: „Und dieser Held vertrieb die Monster mit dem Schwert." DT/EQ: „"And this Hero ejected the monsters with the Sword." OE: "Using the Sword, the Hero drove the evil spirits away... or something."

Prinzessin Zelda: „Genau, Link. Seitdem feiern wir jährlich ein Fest... ...als Dankeschön an die Minish." DT: „Exactly, Link. Since-then celebrate we yearly a Festival... as thank-you to the Minish." EQ: "Exactly, Link. Since then, we celebrate a Festival yearly... as a thank-you to the Minish." OE: "Yes, that's it. So every year we have a Festival... ...To thank the Picori for coming at our time of need."

Link: "Das ist doch nur eine Legende..." DT/EQ: „"That is still only a legend..." OE: "You really believe the legend?"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Oh, du glaubst nicht daran? Die Minish gibt es wirklich. Vater behauptet das auch immer. Sie öffnen ein Mal in hundert Jahren das Tor zu unserer Welt und kommon zu uns." DT: „Oh, you believe not that in? The Minish are (x) real. Father claims that also always. They open one time in hundred years the Gate to our world and come to us." EQ: "Oh, you still don't believe that? The Minish are real. Father always claims that, too. Every hundred years, they open the Gate to our world and come to us." OE: "You mean you DON'T? My father told me the Picori really DO exist. He said they come out when the Door to the Picori World opens once every hundred years."

Prinzessin Zelda: „Und dieses Jahr ist es wieder so weit!" DT: „And this year is it again so far!" EQ: "And this year, it's happening again!" OE: "And this is the one-hundredth year!" (NOTE: Could also be, "And this year, the time has come again!")

ANNOUNCER: „Nr. 28, Vaati! Nr. 57, Max!!" DT: „Nr. 28, Vaati! Nr. 57, Max!!" EQ: "No. 28, Vaati! Nr. 57, Max!!" OE: "Next up, the mysterious Vaati... ...Versus big bad Max!" (NOTE: Max kept his name as well... And because I'm insane, I can tell you that in goroawase, "57" is "Kon'nan"/Like this" and "28" means "Fiibaa"/"Fever"... What signifigance this holds, I don't know. Also, why English removed the numbers... Ich hab' keine Ahnung.)

???: „Wah! Wah! Wah!" DT/EQ: „"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" OE: "YAAY CHEER ROAR" (NOTE: I give up. The crowd is Robert Plant.)

Link: "! Oh, er?!" DT/EQ: „"! Oh, him?!" OE: "! It's him!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Du kennst ihn?" DT/EQ: „"You know him?" OE: "You know that guy?"

Max: „En Garde!!" DT/EQ: „"En Garde!!" OE: "There's the bell!" (NOTE: English Max... Isn't the one talking???)

Toneffekte: „KAWOMM!" DT/EQ: „"KABOOM!" OE: ZWARRKK"

Max: „Bäh!" DT/EQ: „"BAH!" OE: "GAH!" (NOTE: ...Humbug.)

Link: „!!" DT/EQ: „"!!" OE: "!"

Erzähler: „Der junge Mann in der lila Robe hat seine überwältigende Stärke gezeigt. Deshalb war er der eindeutige Sieger." DT: „The young man in the purple robes (x) his overwhelming strength shown. Therefore was he the definite victor." EQ: "The young man in the purple robes showed his overwhelming strength. Therefore, he was the definite victor." OE: "The man in the purple robe showed overwhelming power... And quickly took the Championship."

???: „Wah! Wah!" DT/EQ: „"Whoa! Whoa!" OE: "YAAY HURRAY"

Alberich: „Wer mag das sein?" DT/EQ: „"Who might that be?" OE: "I wonder who that guy is."

Link: „Oh, Opa! Du auch hier?" DT: „Oh, Grandpa! You also here?" EQ: "Oh, Grandpa! You're also here?" OE: "Grandpa! When'd you get here?"

???: „Waah!" DT/EQ: „"Whoa!" OE: "YAAY"

Alberich: „Ich bin hier, um das Schwert für den Sieger zu bringen." DT: „I am here, in order the Sword for the victor to bring." EQ: "I am here in order to bring the Sword for the victor." OE: "I came to deliver the Sword that goes to the Champion."

Erzähler: „Opa Alberich ist der beste Schmied in Hyrule." DT/EQ: „"Grandpa Alberich is the best Blacksmith in Hyrule." OE: "Grandfather Smith is the best weaponsmith in Hyrule."

Alberich: „Das ist das Heilige Schwert der Minish." DT/EQ: „"That is the Holy Sword (of) the Minish." OE: "And to see the Sacred Sword handed down by the Picori."

Link: „Was? Ist das echt?" DT/EQ: „"What? Is that real/genuine?" OE: "What? The REAL thing?!"

Alberich: „Laut der Legende versiegelt es Hunderte von Monstern in dieser Truhe." DT: „According (to) the legends seals it hundreds of Monsters in this Chest." EQ: "According to the legends, it seals hundreds of Monsters in this Chest." OE: "According to legend, the evil spirits are in that Chest, trapped there by the Sword's power."

Minister Friedrich: „Nun beginnen wir mit der Siegerehrung." DT: „Now begin we with the Awards-Ceremony." EQ: "Now we begin with the Awards-Ceremony." OE: "Now let us begin the Award Ceremony." (NOTE: Minister Friedrich/Potho kept his name.)

Minister Friedrich: „Der Sieger Vaati möge hervortreten!" DT: „The victor Vaati may forth-step!" EQ: "The victor, Vaati, may step forth!" OE: "Champion Vaati, step forward!"

König Dartus: „Vaati, dein Sieg wird in die Geschichte des Minish-Festes eingehen. Nimm dieses Schwert." DT: „Vaati, your victory will in the history (of) the Minish-Festival down-go. Take this Sword." EQ: "Vaati, your victory will go down in the history of the Minish-Festival. Take this Sword." OE: "Vaati, please accept this fine Sword and know that your name will be inscribed... ...In the annals of our Festival!" (NOTE: König/King Dartus/Daltus. Same thing. Just wait until we get to a certain pair of Minish twins...)

Vaati: „Ich danke Euch..." DT/EQ: „"I thank you..." OE: "Thanks for the Sword, but..."

Vaati: „...dass das alles so gut klappt!" DT: „...that/because that all so well worked-out!" EQ: "...because everything worked out so well!" OE: "...What I REALLY want is in that Chest!"

Vaati: „Das Heilige Schwert der Minish und die versiegelte Kiste wurden zur Siegerehrung vorgeführt." DT: „The Holy Sword (of) the Minish and the sealed Chest were to (the) Award-Ceremony presented." EQ: "The Holy Sword of the Minish and the sealed Chest were only ever presented at the Award-Ceremony." OE: "And since the Sacred Sword of the Picori and the Bound Chest are only ever seen at this annual Awards Ceremony..."

Vaati: „Lange habe ich diesen Moment herbeigesehnt!" DT: „Long have I this moment yearned-for!" EQ: "I have long yearned for this moment!" OE: "...Winning your stupid Tournament was my only chance!" (NOTE: Or another equally-heartbreaking translation could be, "I have longed for this moment!")

Hofstaat: „Was?! Ein Schurke!!" DT/EQ: „"What?! A villain!!" OE: "What?! Don't cause any trouble, son!" (NOTE: Probably unintentional... But „Schurke" can also mean "knave"... Which is what one of the Fates in "Cadence of Hyrule" calls Octavo... Huh...)

Hofstaat: „Aaargl!!" DT/EQ: „"Aaarghh!!" OE: "AAARGH!"

Toneffekte: „ZABAMM! KARACK!" DT/EQ: „"KABAMM! KRRACK!" OE: "ZWARRKK KRAKK"

Link: „Das Schwert!" DT/EQ: „"The Sword!" OE: "The Sword!!"

Monster: „GRÄÄÄÄÄÄH!" DT/EQ: „"GROOOOOOWL!" OE: "HOOWWWL"

Person: "Iieeek! Lauft weg!!" DT/EQ: „"Eeeeek! Run away!!" OE: "Eeeek! Run!"

Alberich: „Link?!" DT/EQ: „"Link?!" OE: "Link?!"

Monster: „Urks!" DT/EQ: „"Ack!" OE: "Eek!"

Toneffekte: „BUZZZ!" DT/EQ: „"BUZZZ!" OE: "WHAAM"

Vaati: "!" DT/EQ: „"!" OE: "!"

Prinzessin Zelda: „Wer bist du?! Was sollte das werden?!" DT: „Who are you?! What should that be?!" EQ: "Who are you?! What was that supposed to be?!" OE: "Who ARE you? WHY have you done this?" (NOTE: Oh, look... Hello, idioms, my old friend...)

Vaati: „Oh oh... Das ist wohl die magische Kraft der Hyrule-Prinzessin...?" DT: „Oh oh... This is surely the magical power (of) the Hyrule-Princess...?" EQ: "Oh oh... This is surely the magical power of Hyrule's Princess...?" OE: "Well, well... Now we see the mysterious power of the Princess of Hyrule!"

Vaati: „Wenn ich dich jetzt verschone, wirst du mir später nur im Weg sein..." DT: „If I you now spare, will you (for) me later only in (the) way be..." EQ: "If I spare you now, you will only be in my way later..." OE: "If I don't take care of you now, you'll cause me no end of grief later!"

Link: „STOPP!!" DT/EQ: „"STOP!!" OE: "STOP!"

Toneffekte: „ZAMM!" DT/EQ: „"BAMM!" OE: "SLIIIDE"

Vaati: „Der Junge aus dem Wald... Willst du etwas den Helden spielen? Hi hi!" DT: „The boy from the Forest... Want you something the Hero play? Hi hi!" EQ: "The boy from the Forest... Do you want to play Hero? Hi hi!" OE: "Well, if it isn't that little boy I met in the forest. Are you pretending to be a knight? Heh heh"

Link: „Lass die Prinzessin in Ruhe!" DT: „Let the Princess in peace!" EQ: "Leave the Princess alone!" OE: "I won't let you touch Zelda!"

Toneffekte: „BUZZZ" DT/EQ: „"BUZZZ" OE: "KZARK" (NOTE: DENIED.)

Link: „AAAAH!!" DT/EQ: „"AAAH!!" OE: "AAARGH!!"

Toneffekte: „ZIIIPP" DT/EQ: „"ZIIIPP" OE: "SHING"

Vaati: „Seht her! Dies ist der Fluch des Hexenmeisters!! Ha ha ha ha... So..." DT/EQ: „"See here! This is the curse of the sorcerer! Ha ha ha ha... So..." OE: "See that?! BEHOLD the curse of a Mage! Ha ha ha ha! Now..." (NOTE: ...English, you're not even trying to hide the "sorcerer" thing...)

Vaati: „!! Leer?! Was zum...?! Die Truhe hat nur die Monster versiegelt?" DT: „!! Empty?! What the...?! The Chest (x) only the Monsters sealed?" EQ: "!! Empty?! What the...?! The Chest only sealed the Monsters?" OE: "What?! It's EMPTY! It really WASN'T sealing anything but spirits?!"

Vaati: „Na, auch gut. Ich weiß, dass sich das Force in Hyrule befindet. Ich werde in Ruhe danach suchen... He he he he..." DT: „Well, also good. I know, that itself the Force in Hyrule located. I will in peace then search... He he he he..." EQ: "Very well then. I know that the Force itself is located in Hyrule. I will search in peace, then... He he he he..." OE: "But I know the Light Force is in Hyrule somewhere! I guess I'll just... ...Have to keep looking for it. Heh heh heh."

Link: „Uhm... Autsch. Zel... da... bist du...?!" DT/EQ: „"Um... Ouch. Zel... da... are you...?!" OE: "Ungh. Owww. Z... Zelda, are you all right?"

Link: „Zelda?! Sie ist versteinert!!" DT/EQ: „"Zelda?! She is petrified!!" OE: "Zelda?! Sh-She's been turned to STONE!"

König Dartus: „Zelda!! Wie konnte dass nur passieren...?" DT: „Zelda!! How could this only happen...?" EQ: "Zelda!! How could this have happened...?" OE: "Zelda! How could this happen?!"

Minister Friedrich: „Wie shrecklich..." DT/EQ: „"How dreadful..." OE: "Return to normal!"

Toneffekte: „Wuäh wuäh wuäh" DT/EQ: „"Wah wah wah" OE: "Boo hoo hoo hoo"

Minister Friedrich: „Eure Majestät! Wie kann sie geheilt werden?!" DT: „Your Majesty! How can she healed be?!" EQ: "Your Majesty! How can she be healed?!" OE: "Your Majesty, is there no way to bring the Princess back?!"

König Dartus: „Der Fluch ist mit der heiligen Macht des Schwertes der Minish zu brechen..." DT: „The curse is with the holy might (of) the Sword (of) the Minish to break..." EQ: "The curse is to be broken with the holy might of the Sword of the Minish..." OE: "The Sacred Sword... The Picori Blade has the power to remove a Mage's curse." (NOTE: *slams drink for every usage of "Mage"*)

König Dartus: „Aber Vaati hat das Schwert zerstört. Doch die Minish sind in der Lage, das Schwert zu reparieren." DT: „But Vaati (x) the Sword destroyed. Still the Minish are in the position, the Sword to repair." EQ: "But Vaati destroyed the Sword. Still, the Minish are in the position to repair the Sword." OE: "Unfortunately, Vaati broke that, too! And only the Picori can restore it."

Alberich: „Minish? Ihr meint... das Minish-Volk aus der Legende?" DT/EQ: „"Minish? You mean... the Minish-people from the legends?" OE: "The Picori?! But the Picori are only a legend..."

König Dartus: „Minish existieren wirklich. Dieses Geheimnis hütet die Königsfamilie... Die Minish leben im Tyloria-Wald." DT: „Minish exist really. This secret treasured the Royal-family... The Minish live in Tyloria-Forest." EQ: "Minish really exist. This secret was treasured by the Royal Family... The Minish live in Tyloria-Forest." OE: "The Picori race really DOES exist. It's a secret known only to the Royal Family. They live in the Minish Woods."

Minister Friedrich: „Wir senden nun die Soldaten aus!" DT: „We send only the Soldiers out!" EQ: "We'll send out the Soldiers!" OE: "Then let's send Soldiers there!"

König Dartus: „Nein... Keine Soldaten!" DT/EQ: „"No... No Soldiers!" OE: "Alas... ...We can't."

Minister Friedrich: „Warum das denn?" DT: „Why that then?" EQ: "Why is that?" OE: "Why not?!"

König Dartus: „Erwachsene können die Minish nicht sehen. Deshalb werden die Soldaten sie nie finden." DT: „Adults can the Minish not see. Therefore will the Soldiers them never find." EQ: "Adults cannot see the Minish. Therefore, the Soldiers will never find them." OE: "Adults cannot see the Picori. The Soldiers would never dind them."

Minister Friedrich: „Hmmm..." DT/EQ: „"Hmmm..." OE: "Drat!"

Link: „Ich gehe! Lasst mich das machen, Eure Majestät!!" DT: „I go! Let me this do, Your Majesty!!" EQ: "I'll go! Let me do this, Your Majesty!!" OE: "Your Majesty, send me! I'll go to the Minish Woods and find the Picori!"

Alberich: „Link! Untersteh dich..." DT: „Link! Submit yourself..." EQ: "Link! Don't you dare..." OE: "Link! Don't be so impudent!" (NOTE: Okay, this is one huge idiom... An old-fashioned one, at that.)

König Dartus: „Schon gut, Alberich." DT: „Already good, Alberich." EQ: "It's okay, Alberich." OE: "Master Weaponsmith, wait...!" (NOTE: *gives up on the Viz English version*)

König Dartus: „Link ist Zeldas Sandkastenfreund. Ich bitte dich, Link... Zeige das zerbrochene Schwert den Minish im Wald. Und lerne, wie man es repariert." DT: „Link is Zelda's childhood-friend. I beg you, Link... Show the broken Sword (to) the Minish in (the) Forest. And learn, how one it repairs." EQ: "Link is Zelda's childhood friend. I beg of you, Link... Show the broken Sword to the Minish in the Forest. And learn how one repairs it." OE: "It seems only right for Link to take on this quest since... ...He and the Princess are friends. Take the Sword to the Minish Woods, Link. Ask the Picori how to reforge it."

Link: „Jawohl!" DT/EQ: „"Yessir!" OE: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Alberich: „Warte, Link! Auf dem Weg lauern sicher Gefahren. Nimm dies hier mit." DT: „Wait, Link! Of the way lurk itself dangers. Take this here with." EQ: "Wait, Link! Dangers lurk along the way. Take this along." OE: "Wait, Link! The road you travel will be dangerous. Take this." (NOTE: IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE, TAKE THIS.)

Alberich: „Das beste Stück, das ich je gemacht habe. Gib dir Mühe für die Prinzessin!!" DT: „The best piece, that I ever made (x). Give your effort for the Princess!!" EQ: "The best Piece that I ever made. Give your all for the Princess!!" OE: "I put my heart and soul into this blade. Use it to save the Princess!"

Link: „Ein Schwert! Es ist echt! Tausend Dank, Opa!!" DT/EQ: „"A Sword! It is real! Thousand thanks, Grandpa!!" OE: "A Sword! A REAL Sword! Thank you, Grandfather!"

Link: „Nie werde ich Vaati verzeihen! Warte auf mich, Zelda. Ich werde dich von diesem Fluch befreien!" DT: „Never will I Vaati forgive! Wait for me, Zelda. I will you from this curse free!" EQ: "I'll never forgive Vaati! Wait for me, Zelda. I'll free you from this curse!" OE: "I'll bring you back, Zelda! I promise! I'll make Vaati PAY for doing this to you!"

Hofstaat: „Eure Majestät! Überall in Hyrule tauchen Monster auf!" DT: „Your Majesty! Overall in Hyrule emerging Monsters (x)!" EQ: "Your Majesty! Monsters are emerging all over in Hyrule!" OE: "I bring news, m'lord! Evil spirits are attacking all over!" (NOTE: „auftauchen").

Alberich: „Was?!" DT/EQ: „"What?!" OE: "What?!"

König Dartus: „Vaati hat sie gerade entfesselt... Die Soldaten übernehmen die Monster. Du gehst zum Tyloria-Wald! Nimm diese Karte von Hyrule." DT: „Vaati (x) them just released... The Soldiers take-on the Monsters. You go to (the) Tyloria-Forest! Take this Map of Hyrule." EQ: "Vaati just released them... The Soldiers will take on the Monsters. You go to Tyloria-Forest! Take this Map of Hyrule." OE: "When the Sword broke, Vaati also released the spirits! The Castle Guards will have to drive away the evil spirits. Link, here is a Map of Hyrule. Waste not a moment. Go to the Minish Woods!"

Link: „Das ist also der Tyloria-Wald... Wo finde ich bloß die Minish?" DT: „This is so the Tyloria-Forest... Where find I just the Minish?" EQ: "So, this is Tyloria-Forest... Just where do I find the Minish?" OE: "Is THIS the Minish Woods? I wonder where the Picori are?"

Link: „Heeey!! Minish, kommt raus! Minish? Huhu, Minish!!" DT/EQ: „"Heeey!! Minish, come out! Minish? Yoo-hoo, Minish!!" OE: "Hellloooo! C'mon out, Picori! We need you! Picori? Where the heck are you?!" (NOTE: ...It literally never occurred to me until just now that the reason the Minish never came out is because they don't understand him...)

Link: „Es ist doch das hundertste Jahr, in dem sich das Tor öffnet! Ich dachte, Kinder können die Minish sehen?!" DT: „It is still the hundredth year, in the/which itself the Gate opens! I think, children can the Minish see?!" EQ: "It's still the hundredth year in which the Gate opens! I thought children could see the Minish?!" OE: "Is this NOT the one-hundredth year, when the Door to the Picori World opens?! Maybe it's just not true that kids can see the Picori?!"

Toneffekte: „Keuch japs japs" DT/EQ: „"Wheeze gasp gasp" OE: "Wheeeze puff huff"

Link: „UH Moment... Ich hab ja nie an Minish geglaubt..." DT: „UH Moment... I (x) indeed never in Minish believed..." EQ: "UH Wait a moment... I really never believed in Minish..." OE: "GASP Or Maybe... ...I can't see Picori because I NEVER believed in them?"

Link: „Vielleicht bin ich daher nicht mehr unschuldig... Und kann die Minish deshalb gar nicht sehen?!" DT: „Maybe am I hence not more innocent... And can the Minish therefore at all not see?!" EQ: "Maybe I'm not innocent anymore... And therefore can't see the Minish at all?!" OE: "I'm young, but my innocence is GONE! That MUST be it! Even though I'm a kid, I CAN'T see them! Not with THESE jaded eyes!"

Toneffekte: „Entsetzen!" DT/EQ: „"Dismay!" OE: "Oh noooooo!"

Link: „Was mach ich bloß...? Ich kann nichts tun, solange ich die Minish nicht finde..." DT: „What do I just...? I can nothing do, as-long I the Minish not find..." EQ: "Just what do I do...? I can't do anything as long as I don't find the Minish..." OE: "What should I do? If I don't find the Picori, Princess Zelda is doomed!"

Toneffekte: „Hach..." DT/EQ: „"Haa..." OE: "SLUMP" (NOTE: As far as I can tell, this is a sigh.)

Link: „?" DT/EQ: „"?" OE: "?"

Toneffekte: „Wisch" DT/EQ: „"Wipe" OE: "Rub rub"

Link: „Äh... Ich sehe da was Komisches..." DT: „Ah... I see there what comical..." EQ: "Ah... I'm seeing something comical there..." OE: "Hmmm... ...That looks a little weird!"

Ezelo: „Au! Autsch!" DT/EQ: „"Ow! Ouch!" OE: "Quit it! Ow! That hurts!"

Toneffekte: „Batsch! Batsch!" DT/EQ: „"Bash! Bash!" OE: "WHACK SMACK"

Ezelo: „He! Zu Hilfe!" DT: „Hey! To help!" EQ: "Hey! Help me!" OE: "Hey, someone... Anyone... HELLLLP!"

[scifigeneration]

2019 PHILIP K. DICK SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES BI-COASTAL EVENT IN NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA

The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, the annual festival that honors legendary novelist Philip K. Dick through the dynamic power of science fiction film, is returning for its seventh outing with a full schedule of events. For the first time since its inception, the festival will hold a bi-coastal gathering presenting a lineup of films, premieres and panels for audiences in New York City, Los Angeles and Santa Ana, CA. The ambitious endeavor will provide a platform for independent filmmakers who tackle a variety of themes that empower the narratives of Philip K. Dick, whose work continues to serve as a profound mark on the literary and entertainment worlds.

The festival will open in New York City on Thursday, March 7th and Saturday, March 9th. Following its long history in New York, the festival regards the city as an exemplary location to utilize science fiction as a means of connecting with audiences. "We have developed a strong following here," said Daniel Abella, the founder and director of the festival. "Our fans have become loyal supporters of our films and platform so we acknowledge their support by bringing back great sci-fi year after year." Features include Saku Sakamoto's ARAGNE: Sign of Vermillion about a young woman's discovery of a mysterious class of insects and the U.S. premiere of Taking Tiger Mountain Revisited, the remastered version of Kent Smith and Tom Huckabee's post-apocalyptic 1983 film starring Bill Paxton. Then, a lone survivor searches for answers after the human race vanishes in the World Premiere of John Norby's Assimilation.

The west coast edition of the festival will run in partnership with Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA), a non-profit organization that supports its community's cultural empowerment through special resources and initiatives. "We are excited to bring the festival to Santa Ana and allow fans to see some great films," said Victor Payan, the director of MASA who worked with the festival to organize a divine salute to its namesake, a resident of the city in his final years where he wrote several of his last major works. "This will help create discussion about how Santa Ana and Orange County influenced Philip K. Dick's vision and celebrate one of Santa Ana's most treasured and influential artists."

Festivities begin on Thursday, March 14th in Los Angeles with the city serving as a prime destination to bring the festival. "Blade Runner is set in L.A. in 2019," said Abella when referring to the 1982 adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? "There is no better honor than by holding the festival in the very city and year depicted in one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time." Screening titles include Matthew Evan Balz's Corvus, which follows a woman's perilous efforts to build a machine capable of hypnosis and the depiction of extant technology in Emily Dean's Andromeda about an android's awakening of human emotions. Closing the night is Josh Gibson's atmospheric Pig Film about a woman's work on a hog farm during the impending end of the world.

The festival then opens in Santa Ana, CA from Friday, March 15th through Sunday, March 17th. Essential films include Unzipping, the cinematic directorial debut of actress and writer Lisa Edelstein about the poignant unfastening of a marriage and Star Trek veteran Walter Koenig's confrontation with fate in Michael Baker's Who is Martin Danzig? Holding its World Premiere is Tony Dean Smith's mind-bending thriller Volition about a clairvoyant man's quest to avoid his own murder and the U.S. and L.A. Premiere of Sarah K. Reimers' Bitten about a dog's rabid night of risk and adventure. Dive Odyssey kicks off a lineup of feverish documentaries as Janne Kasperi Suhonen takes viewers on an absorbing aquatic journey and Colin Ramsay and James Uren decipher what makes "good" artificial intelligence in the dawn of ethics and technology in Good in the Machine. Observing the 90th anniversary of Philip K. Dick's birth and the 50th anniversary of Blade Runner's origin novel, the two organizations joined forces for the Philip K. Dick Multicultural Dystopian/Sci Fi Short Film Challenge, a short film competition that invited participants to develop projects that analyze contemporary life in view of themes associated with Philip K. Dick. The challenge also evaluated Philip K. Dick's cultural influence on the Santa Ana community and to encourage the representation of multicultural stories by traditionally underrepresented sci-fi filmmakers. "Anyone who has ever felt alienated should look up to PKD," said Abella. "Because the heroes in his stories were everyday people attempting to retain their dignity in a progressively dehumanized world." The festival's expansion has also furthered its commitment to feature a more inclusive brand of filmmaking with 31 percent of the official selections directed or co-directed by women and minority filmmakers. Many films are seen from the perspectives of racially and gender diverse characters. "There is a new freshness entering the genre," said Abella, who curated an equality-driven showcase of films from the emerging talent strengthening the industry. "Science fiction is based on exploring the 'other' and no one is more qualified than those groups who have been marginalized to tell their story using the tools of sci-fi." THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019: Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106) Block 1: Best of Philip K. Dick Short Films Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Glitch Noir 2 - The Rise of el Pelon (2018) Director: Cody Healey-Conelly Run Time/Country: 1 min, USA Synopsis: A trailer to the sequel of Glitch Noir tells the story of a futuristic private eye who with the help of an A.I. that processes big data, tracks and unhinged killer through the murky neon streets of the Sprawl. The Last Office (2018) Director: Trevor Hoover Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In an alternate 1940s, a switchboard operator must endlessly serve as the link between two worlds, connecting calls across the barrier line of life and death. One day, he fields a call from someone he knew in a past life. Harsh Reality (2018) Director: Iain Marcks Run Time/Country: 18 min, USA Synopsis: A cynical professional gamer's life is turned upside-down when he's forced to see the world in a different way. Some of Her Parts (2018) Director: Abie Sidell Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: When future medicine allows people to live past the human body's shelf life, a young woman visits her grandmother in the hospital and is forced to question the value of immortality when you still end up in a box. How I Got to the Moon by Subway (2018) Director: Tyler Rabinowitz Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: After being diagnosed with ALS, a curmudgeonly older man goes to the hospital with his partner to record his voice bank before he loses the ability to speak. Regulation (2018) Director: Ryan Patch Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: In the near future, a young social worker named travels to a small community to administer behavior-modifying 'patches' that guarantee happiness for the wearers. She then must decide what to do when a precocious 10-year-old girl refuses to accept the patch. To Be Forgotten (2018) Director: Masa Gibson Run Time/Country: 25 min, USA Synopsis: A recovering addict trying to erase the online records of his past transgressions gets a call from a mysterious company that claims it can help him be forgotten - not only by the Internet, but by all the people that ever knew him and by the natural world itself. The Desert (2018) Director: Ben Bigelow Run Time/Country: 14 min, USA Synopsis: In a suburban mansion, a woman sneaks into her son's virtual reality chamber. Here, he wanders through a desert with extraordinary powers. The machine is intended as a psychiatric treatment, yet Martha's trespass sets in motion a series of threatening events. The virtual reality, it seems, has begun to leak into their home. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: International Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm The Ticket (2018) Director: James Villeneuve Run Time/Country: 11 min, Canada Synopsis: A man's life takes a dark turn when he accepts a ticket to board a giant space craft. Synthia (2018) Director: Maria Hinterkoerner, Bernhard Weber Run Time/Country: 12 min, Austria Synopsis: In the near future of Vienna, every household is supported by a personal assistant robot called Synthia, built by tech giant ENYO. The robot is equipped with a neuronal network and has access to all electronic devices. Synthia listens, and she learns. N (2018) Director: Iacopo Di Girolamo Run Time/Country: 14 min, Italy Synopsis: An expressionist nightmare in which an inventor and his colleague test the 'Automaton,' a machine able to create things from nothing. The machine works perfectly as long as the items it is asked to create start with the letter "N" in German. The results of the test will be predictably catastrophic. I Want To Kill (2017) Director: Dan Yadin Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA Synopsis: An unhinged, psychedelic romp through the bleak depths of space. Into the Dark (2018) Director: Benjamin Berger Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In the wake of a widespread viral epidemic, two U.S. soldiers stranded during their mission must fight to survive while an old man and his ailing daughter, running low on food, wait to be rescued. Destroyer of Worlds (2018) Director: Samual Dawes Run Time/Country: 44 min, UK Synopsis: A precocious teenager must reluctantly leave his life in 1954 behind when his father makes the most devastating discovery to date: Leap Theory. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019: Producers Club (358 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036) Block 1: Japanese Anime Feature Time: 11:00am - 12:30pm ARAGNE: Sign of Vermillion (2018) Director: Saku Sakamoto Run Time/Country: 76 min, Japan Synopsis: Directed by the digital effects producer of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, a college girl moves into a building on the outskirts of town and sees an insect coming out of the arm of a woman. She learns that they are called "Spirit Bugs," and have existed since ancient times. Unravelling the mystery, she discovers this is only the prelude to a new form of terror. Block 2: International Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 12:30pm - 3:00pm The Vault (2018) Director: Sara Martins Run Time/Country: 10 min, Canada Synopsis: In this post-apocalyptic sci-fi web series, a ragtag group of survivors live in an underground military bunker known as Vault 175. Seedling (2017) Director: Stevie Russell Run Time/Country: 13 min, Ireland Synopsis: A young couple have an encounter with a strange, unknown life form. Graffiti (2017) Director: Barcsai Bálint Run Time/Country: 19 min, Hungary Synopsis: A delinquent sees graffiti of his future self and tries to understand what is happening. Compatible (2018) Director: Pau Bacardit Run Time/Country: 15 min, Spain Synopsis: In this web series, a man has an opportunity to upgrade himself for greater electronic compatibility. Colony (2018) Director: Catherine Bonny Run Time/Country: 15 min, Australia Synopsis: Indentured servants try to establish a new planet but something is alive in the ocean. Eva (2018) Director: Xheni Alushi Run Time/Country: 15 min, Switzerland Synopsis: An introverted young girl discovers a gateway to a parallel world, in which she finds comfort and ease for her guilt. Birth (2018) Director: Andrea Cecconati Run Time/Country: 16 min, Italy Synopsis: Inside a waiting room where people choose to be born or be deleted forever, a little girl tries to drive people who have chosen not to exist into the row of birth. Space Between Stars (2018) Director: Samuel W. Bradley Run Time/Country: 10 min, Canada Synopsis: A group of ethereal creatures exploring a derelict space station are drawn out into the vast, unsettling environment. As their fate begins to crystallize, questions are raised about the nature and ambiguity of conflict. Space Flower (2018) Director: Pam Covington Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: A young woman longs for a forbidden love. From Life (2018) Director: Uli Meyer Run Time/Country: 8 min, UK Synopsis: An amateur artist sketching in a churchyard has a series of encounters with a young woman believed to be a ghost. In fact, the truth is stranger than that. La Supercafetera (2018) Director: Vektorjack, HD Carlos Run Time/Country: 10 min, Spain Synopsis: Three friends share a very special coffee maker but instead of coffee it produces pin badges which give superpowers to those who wear them. By using these superpowers, the three geeks get involved in a quest that will eventually take them to a post-apocalyptic future. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 3: Best of Philip K. Dick Short Films Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm The Last (2018) Director: Samuel Turner and Andrew Dobson Run Time/Country: 9 min, UK Synopsis: Struggling to survive in isolation, a scientist carries out vital work. The Last Dance (2018) Director: Chris Keller Run Time/Country: 8 min, UK Synopsis: In the not-too-distant future, an old man works alone in his garage, click-click-clicking the hours away on an old desktop computer. He is making something great and the not-too-distant future will become the not-too-distant past. The Jump (2017) Director: Andy Sowerby Run Time/Country: 10 min, UK Synopsis: An astronaut braves a pioneering solo mission into deep space, leaving behind her loving husband. Through disjointed communications, she discovers her life on Earth has changed forever. Baby I'm Yours (2017) Director: Hadley Hillel Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In the future as it was imagined in the 1950s, a boy notices his mother acting strange and begins to question whether or not she is a robot. Uncle Griot (2018) Director: Paul Charisse Run Time/Country: 6 min, UK Synopsis: A young girl takes her uncle for a walk. The Drone (2018) Director: Wojciech Lorenc Run Time/Country: 14 min, USA Synopsis: DJ, a small quadcopter is simply trying to fit in. Zoe (2018) Director: Leif Brönnle Run Time/Country: 17 min, Germany Synopsis: A young woman without identity or memory. Two scientists with great ambition. A sequence of tests that will bring them all to their psychological frontiers. The Photographer (2018) Director: Mazhar Kamran Run Time/Country: 18 min, India Synopsis: A woman appears to a photographer but sometimes not in his photos. Faulty Father (2018) Director: Benjamin Welmond Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: In the near future, a young father's morning routine is put on the fritz when he uncovers his wife's bizarre secret, one that forces him to question his sense of self and his role in the family. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 4: Horror and Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm Headcleaner (2018) Director: Nick Scott Run Time/Country: 29 min, UK Synopsis: A documentary filmmaker follows a working class recluse from Scotland who can control his environment through the power of sound. Over a fractured timeline, viewers witness the struggle to reconcile the recluse, his mastery of sound and a found footage tape of a sonic weapon called The Drone Tape, tested on humans in the seventies that will ultimately lead to horrific consequences for the filmmaker's family and the world at large. Post Mortem Mary (2017) Director: Joshua Long Run Time/Country: 10 min, Australia Synopsis: A girl and her mother run a post mortem photography business in 1840's Australia. Whistler's Mother (2018) Director: Robbie Robertson Run Time/Country: 18 min, USA Synopsis: The artist James McNeill Whistler spent years trying to capture the essence of his mother for his most famous work of art—not to create a masterpiece but to save his mother from possession by the Baba Yaga, an evil Russian witch. The Observer Effect (2017) Director: Garret Walsh Run Time/Country: 19 min, Ireland Synopsis: A woman is haunted by a dark watcher, a man obsessed with thoughts of her vicious murder but as the fateful hour draws near bizarre events unfold to reveal truths they could never imagine and a secret that will change their lives forever. The Cold Dark (2018) Director: Mikko Löppönen Run Time/Country: 19 min, Finland Synopsis: A woman wonders off into the dark to search for medicine for her wounded father. As she rummages a cabin, she stumbles upon two men who grant her cover for the night. But something outside is listening. Thursday Night Basic (2018) Director: Mike Hay Run Time/Country: 5 min, UK Synopsis: The story of a man who is changed and ultimately transported to another place, maybe even another dimension, due to watching some strange 8mm footage and drinking something even stranger. Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2017) Director: Peter Miller Run Time/Country: 10 min, Australia Synopsis: An exploration of sleep, sanity and space via H. P. Lovecraft and The Rules and Regulations of the Insane Asylum of California. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 5: Feature Presentation Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm Taking Tiger Mountain Revisited (2018) — U.S. Premiere Director: Kent Smith, Tom Huckabee Run Time/Country: 77 min, USA/UK Synopsis: In this remastered version of the 1983 film, an American draft dodger in a dystopian future is brainwashed and programmed by militant feminists to assassinate the Welsh minister of prostitution. Lurching unwittingly toward his goal, he makes a series of furtive connections with societal outliers like himself, including a feral child, a gentle prostitute, a sadomasochistic delinquent, a lovelorn androgyne, a hippie dope dealer, and a mute nymphomaniac while fending off predators who would sell him into sex slavery. Eventually, he is forced to focus on his mission and face the dreadful dilemma tormenting his psyche: to kill or not to kill. Starring Bill Paxton (Aliens). Written and directed by Tom Huckabee and Kent Smith. Co-written by William S. Burroughs, whose source material Blade Runner (a movie) provided a basis for the film. Block 6: Experimental Sci-Fi Feature Presentation Time: 8:30pm - 10:00pm Assimilation (2018) — World Premiere Director: John Norby Run Time/Country: 79 min, Ireland Synopsis: In the near future, exponential growth in technology triggers an event that wipes humankind off the face of the Earth. But from where did the grand plan for this event come and who or what is behind it? A lone survivor searches for answers in her quest to reconnect with life. THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019: Echo Park Film Center (1200 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026) Block 1: Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Corvus (2018) Director: Matthew Evan Balz Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: A woman builds a machine with hypnotic capabilities. No Country for Old Lizards (2018) Director: Emiliano Rago Run Time/Country: 4 min, USA Synopsis: A conspiracy theory fanatic finds out an unpleasant truth. A Psalm of Sight - Verse 1: Zerfall (2018) Director: Julian Curi Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: Gifted with eternal life after drinking from the Holy Grail, a medieval knight spawns an alternate history where technology is God, and man is machine. Dace Road (2018) Director: Silk Run Time/Country: 9 min, France/UK Synopsis: On a night ride, a female cab driver tries to convince her client he is in a coma and that a collision is the only way for him to wake up. The Golden Record (2018) Director: Rachel Goldfinger Run Time/Country: 7 min, USA Synopsis: An alien crosses her barren planet and stumbles upon a record from Earth. While she is mesmerized by the record's bold, beautiful images, she undergoes a harsh awakening that only her own reality can truly comfort her. The Well (2018) Director: Adam Wheeler Run Time/Country: 19 min, USA Synopsis: When Ted, a withdrawn bachelor discovers a mysterious book while searching for his recently disappeared mother, he enlists the help of an old high school science wiz to piece together a confounding puzzle that seems to center around his family home. The Great 60 Days (2018) Director: Tae-Woo Kim Run Time/Country: 9 min, South Korea Synopsis: A doctor experimenting on fruit flies develops a substance that can dramatically increase activity in brain cells. After a series of failures, one fruit fly finally has a huge reaction when its intellect becomes mutated. Andromeda (2018) Director: Emily Dean Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA/Australia Synopsis: An android who, through her friendship with a little girl, becomes alive. Void Vision (2018) Director: Alexander Stewart Run Time/Country: 8 min, USA Synopsis: An abstract short in which real and the simulated are equally constructions; a space where doubles, twins, duplicates, re-creations, and copies blend into one another. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: Feature Presentation Time: 9:00pm - 10:00pm Pig Film (2018) Director: Josh Gibson Run Time/Country: 60 min, USA Synopsis: In an empty world, a solitary female mechanically follows the protocols of a factory hog farm. Her labors are sporadically punctuated by musical rhapsodies as she moves toward the impending end. Is it the end of the world, a program malfunction, or the beginning of a film? FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019: Ebell Club (625 French St, Santa Ana, CA 92701) Block 1: Philip K. Dick Multicultural Dystopian/Sci Fi Short Film Challenge Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm Winning films to be announced at the screening. Filmmakers will be present for a post-film Q&A. Block 2: "When Worlds Collide" Short Films Time: 8:00pm - 9:00pm Deep Dive (2018) Director: Mohammad Soleimanifeijani Run Time/Country: 6 min, USA Synopsis: A young Persian refugee arrives at the border of Los Angeles and is given a mandatory set of government-issued immigrant transition AR lenses. Shut out of other people's reality she slowly descends into a new form of digital alienation. Who is Martin Danzig? (2018) Director: Michael Baker Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: A mysterious old man sits in the park feeding pigeons, ruing the refuse of humanity encroaching on his sanctuary. He then meets his much younger replacement and learns to accept his future - with the fate of all humanity in the balance. Starring Walter Koenig (Star Trek) and Kevin Page (RoboCop). Precipice (2018) Director: Sean Young Run Time/Country: 4 min, Canada Synopsis: The planet's organics-engineer must decide if we are a species worth salvaging or if eradicating all life on Earth is the answer. Unzipping (2018) Director: Lisa Edelstein Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: A woman feeling unfulfilled discovers a zipper tab under her husband's tongue. Unable to resist, she pulls it and her entire life changes. But when newness turns into the new normal, she is once again unfulfilled and realizes her mistake: the problem has always been her. Starring Lisa Edelstein (House, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce) in her cinematic directorial debut. Tomorrow, Shall We All Be Transhumans? (2019) Director: Benoît Schmid Run Time/Country: 9 min, Switzerland/France Synopsis: Jump into a mesmerizing journey into the spirit of the first man who succeeded to digitize his own brain, algorithm his soul, and who injects himself some Holy Transgenic Fluids in order to transcend his flawed flesh. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 3: Special Guests Time: 9:00pm - 10:00pm A panel of special guests to attend the festival with an announcement made at a later date. SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2019: Orange County Museum of Art: OCMA (1661 W Sunflower Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92704) Block 1: New Frontiers: Documentaries From The Edge Time: 11:00am - 12:45am Dive Odyssey (2018) Director: Janne Kasperi Suhonen Run Time/Country: 9 min, Finland/Norway Synopsis: A meditative journey into the depths of water and mind, viewers enter on a journey into crystal clear darkness where the only light ever is man-made. Weather and Chaos: The Work of Edward N. Lorenz (2018) Director: Josh Kastorf Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: The first film about Edward N. Lorenz and his role in Chaos Theory produced with the participation and of scientists who worked alongside him. With their help a closer look is taken at what the "butterfly effect" actually meant in the context of Lorenz's work and why it should make all rethink the understanding of the universe. Nobody Dies in Longyearbyen (2017) Director: David Freid Run Time/Country: 9 min, Norway Synopsis: Permafrost in a northern island of Norway is affecting Global Seed Vault, infectious diseases like anthrax, influenza and global warming. Good in the Machine (2018) Director: Colin Ramsay, James Uren Run Time/Country: 15 min, UK Synopsis: The question of how to make "good" AI, what it means for a machine to be ethical, and who or what is the agent of the machine. Every Ghost Has An Orchestra (2017) Director: Shayna Connelly Run Time/Country: 7 min, USA Synopsis: What happens after we die is a universal question explored by paranormal researcher and experimental composer Michael Esposito. He straddles the line between spiritual and material and asks the audience to reflect on our purpose, legacy and what our actions say about who we are. UnderSee (2018) Director: Margie Kelk, Lynne Slater Run Time/Country: 6 min, Canada Synopsis: Sea creatures with large eyeballs are curious about invasive gray sludge. Beth's Three O'Clock with Dr. Harlow (2018) Director: Emma Penaz Eisner Run Time/Country: 3 min, USA Synopsis: A woman discloses a recent dream to her analyst. A vivid study of casual brutality and failed empathy, this surrealistic film intermixes stop motion animation with live action sequences. Musa Malvada (2018) Director: Liz Tabish Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: In London 1929, a fortune teller with dark secrets of her own visits various clientele throughout the city. As she navigates the tempestuous personalities and shocking visions, she must choose between telling the truth and her own survival. Extent (2017) Director: Paul Michael Draper Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: Time stands still as two old friends attempt to grapple with a question that defines their very existence. If you could live forever, would you? Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: Feature Presentation Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm Mechanical Telepathy (2018) Director: Akiko Igarashi Run Time/Country: 76 min, Japan Synopsis: The depiction of love and skepticism through the relationships between researchers who visualize human hearts. Block 3: International Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 4:00pm - 5:45pm I Don't Want To Be Alone (2019) Director: Sergio Rozas Run Time/Country: 19 min, Spain/Japan Synopsis: A lonely girl walks around a future Tokyo chased by weird huge monsters. Even though she fights them, the monsters just keep growing in size and number so the girl has to make a decision. Blink (2018) Director: Atmaja Bopardikar Run Time/Country: 15 min, India Synopsis: A man is unable to understand what is happening to him and as his wife slowly loses her patience, he tries in vain to regain control of his perfect life, until one day he finds out it is not him but his shifting realities. Zilly's War (2018) Director: John Broadhead Run Time/Country: 25 min, USA Synopsis: A brilliant young woman on a four year mission to an alien planet finds herself remembering her childhood and facing her inner demons. The Nine Billion Names of God (2018) Director: Dominique Filhol Run Time/Country: 15 min, France/Switzerland Synopsis: In New York 1957, a Tibetan monk rents an automatic sequence computer. The monks seek to list all of the names of God. They hire two Westerners to install and program the machine in Tibet. A short film is based on the book by Arthur C. Clarke. Tatu (2018) Director: Garcerón Alejo Run Time/Country: 2 min, Argentina Synopsis: In this trailer, monster robots in a car junkyard battle it out. The Picture of Dorian Gray (2018) Director: Michal Janicki Run Time/Country: 9 min, USA Synopsis: A stop-motion animated journey through Oscar Wilde's iconic story about a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. The Desert (2018) Director: Ben Bigelow Run Time/Country: 14 min, USA Synopsis: In a suburban mansion, a woman sneaks into her son's virtual reality chamber. Here, he wanders through a desert with extraordinary powers. The machine is intended as a psychiatric treatment, yet Martha's trespass sets in motion a series of threatening events. The virtual reality, it seems, has begun to leak into their home. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers and cast members. SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019: Ebell Club (625 French St, Santa Ana, CA 92701) Block 1: Best of Philip K. Dick Short Films Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm Subverse (2018) Director: Joseph White Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: In this web series, in an alternate reality where everyone spends all their time indoors staring at computer screens, a man agrees to go on a date in the 'outside' world but it doesn't go well. Filled with self-loathing, he returns home and plunges headfirst into a drunken, hallucinogenic trip through the dark net. Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space (2018) Director: Tristan C. Pina Run Time/Country: 10 min, Canada Synopsis: An unfulfilled high school senior becomes obsessed with an ominous radio broadcast containing steps to a cryptic puzzle. Thinking he is being pursued by a sinister organization, his search for clues takes over his life. Ultimately putting the pieces together, it becomes unclear whether or not it was all real. Beyond the Door (2018) Director: Em Johnson Run Time/Country: 20 min, USA Synopsis: One day Hedy brings home a cuckoo clock to decorate the baby's room, unbeknownst that the cuckoo clock has the ability to love and hate just like humans. The cuckoo clock tests the couple's love by mimicking the presence of their deceased son. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Enthusiasm Abounds (2018) Director: Mark Ross Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: In a world where social justice is automatic and absolute, enthusiasm abounds. Flies (2018) Director: Baobab Run Time/Country: 14 min, UK Synopsis: In the faded beauty of the house of his ancestors, a man waits for the return of the love of his life. Dark fantasies and crushing reality weave a dangerous journey as a struggle unfolds for his mind and ultimately his life. Avicenna (2018) Director: Daniel Stanush, Diego Chavez Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA Synopsis: In a remote location, a solitary researcher scours the landscape for a rare mineral. The Hereafter (2018) Director: Paul-Anthony Navarro Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: When a woman awakes into an afterlife of her own design, she discovers that her paradise might just be purgatory. Mise En Abyme (2018) Director: Edoardo Smerilli Run Time/Country: 11 min, Italy Synopsis: An eccentric and aristocratic gentleman devotes most of his time to a bizarre activity. Obsessed by beauty, he wanders everyday in the wood nearby the city, hunting the most rare butterflies. Once captured, he frames them and put in a massive and disturbing collection. He will soon realize to be himself part of a bigger collection. Axium Effect (2018) Director: Ari Dassa Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: A woman drifts through her traumatic memories after overdosing on a drug pilfered from android processors. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: Feature Presentation Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm Volition (2018) — World Premiere Director: Tony Dean Smith Run Time/Country: 101 min, Canada Synopsis: Blending genres, this mind-bending sci-fi thriller about a man afflicted with clairvoyance who tries to change his fate when a series of events leads to a vision of his own imminent murder. But as he sets out to avoid his certain death, he comes to see that his pre-sentient condition is not quite what it seems. Starring Adrian Glynn McMorran (Arrow), Magda Apanowicz(The Green Inferno) and Aleks Paunovic (Van Helsing). Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers and cast members. Block 3: Horror and Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm I Am the Doorway (2018) Director: Simon Pearce Run Time/Country: 20 min, UK Synopsis: After a journey to investigate desolate Pluto, an astronaut returns home a shattered man. He sees eyes forcing their way through the skin of his hands, eyes that distort his friends and the landscape itself into monstrous visions. Believing himself the doorway to alien invasion and gruesome murder, he must take desperate action. Based on the short story by Stephen King. Grey Canyon (2018) Director: Zeshaan Younus Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: A couple encounters a presence in the wilderness that they cannot comprehend. Ulysses (2018) Director: Jorge Malpica Run Time/Country: 8 min, Mexico Synopsis: Warned by the goddess Circe, Ulysses ordered his men to tie him up to his ship's mast, thus preventing him from surrendering to the enchanting mermaid's call, which devoured the unwary men seduced by it. Based on the The Odyssey. Sereget (2018) Director: Dempsey Tillman Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: An emotionally detached husband (with a child on the way) gets a rude awakening when aliens invade his home and target his family. They Wait For Us (2018) Director: Lukas Schrank, George Run Time/Country: 20 min, UK Synopsis: In a near future end-of-life care facility, a reclusive hospital worker starts to believe a coma patient is attempting to communicate with him. Megan (2018) Director: Greg Strasz Run Time/Country: 8 min, USA Synopsis: The story of a woman, who along with the elite Delta Force team, investigates a mysterious attack by in present day Downtown Los Angeles. Bitten (2018) — U.S. and L.A. Premiere Director: Sarah K. Reimers Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: A mysterious and violent encounter sends a dog on a night of adventure and possibility. Spectres (2017) Director: Nick Phillips Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: After losing his family in a car accident, an introverted man interacts with the spirits of the dead who have yet to pass on. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers and cast members. Block 4: Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm A Timely Reminder for Time Parter Partners (2019) Director: Jamie Gower Run Time/Country: 1 min, USA Synopsis: Time travel is a tough job and filling out your timecard is the toughest part. Especially if you're a part-time Time Parter at Time Parter Partners. The Watchers (2018) Director: Andrew McGee Run Time/Country: 9 min, UK Synopsis: Impact in T-minus 97 minutes. 220 miles above our doomed planet, four astronauts on board the International Space Station are forced to confront their fate as the last members of the human race. Consciousness: Awakening (2018) Director: Rafhet Guerola Run Time/Country: 15 min, Mexico Synopsis: At the Universe's final moments, two men take separate paths due to ideology differences. When their environment and their lives are in danger, one of them attempts to retake their relationship. Together, they must to overcome their differences in order to survive at the imminent end of everything they know. Midnight Delivery (2018) Director: Nathan Crooker Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: A mysterious gift is delivered to an unsuspecting woman's door at the stroke of midnight. Her morbid fascination entices her to examine the gift, unleashing a sinister evil from within. Zoe (2018) Director: Leif Brönnle Run Time/Country: 17 min, Germany Synopsis: A young woman without identity or memory. Two scientists with great ambition. A sequence of tests that will bring them all to their psychological frontiers. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Awards Ceremony Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm Guests and filmmakers will be in attendance when awards are presented to the category winners as The 2019 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival concludes.

[blogwritetheworld]

The Write Place: Starting an Online Literary Magazine

Photo by Tamarcus Brown on Unsplash

Looking for the right advice on pursuing the writer’s life? You’ve come to the write place!

Perhaps the best way to support writers is to publish their work. This month, we will focus on some of the best practices for starting your own online literary magazine. As our world becomes more and more digital, online magazines serve to bring great writing to the masses. From blogs that feature work, to full-blown magazines, these online literary spaces help engage readers from all corners of the internet by bringing them the latest and greatest works of our time.

AN OCTOPUS HAS MANY ARMS

Being the editor-in-chief of a magazine is no easy task. Like an octopus, the leader of a magazine must have many arms to complete many tasks. Most chiefly, the editor-in-chief must lead their readers and editors through a process of collecting and curating written pieces by different people into one, coherent magazine. Like an octopus, the editor-in-chief must collect and arrange what it most loves.

Think about the works you most love. What do they have in common? Are they all short? Are they all the same genre? Do they have similar themes? Are they written by similar kinds of writers? Do they share similar imagery? The same sense of humor? Why not get a few friends together and start thinking about your answers to these questions… it just may be the beginning of the magazine of your dreams!

MISSION AND MASTHEAD

The next steps to starting an online magazine are to gather a team and come up with your mission.

Maybe you want to have a literary magazine with many genres. You might consider bringing a team together to handle the submissions, reading, editing, etc. These members of the editorial board are known as the magazine’s masthead. Most literary mastheads look something like this:

MAIN EDITORS

Founding Editor(s)

Editor-in-Chief (or editors-in-chief)

Managing Editor

GENRE EDITORS

Senior Poetry Editor

Senior Fiction Editor

Senior Interviews Editor

Senior Essays Editor

Book Reviews Editor

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Associate Editor, [Genre]

READERS

Prose Readers

Poetry Readers

ART EDITORS

Senior Art Editor

Associate Art Editor

WEB TEAM

Web Designers

Web Editors

CONTRIBUTORS/CORRESPONDENTS

Blog Correspondents

Regular Contributors

MANAGERIAL TEAM

Business Development Associate

Copy Writer

Editorial Assistant

Graphics

Layout Design

Marketing Assistant

Social Media Manager

As you can see, you can build a well-rounded team of people to bring your magazine to life and keep the publication process running smoothly.

Many literary magazines also include an Advisory Board on their masthead or in the credits. Let’s say you start your online magazine through your school. You might use this space to name the teachers who sponsor your efforts. Maybe you meet at your local library to put the magazine together. You might thank the library or the librarians for hosting your efforts. It’s important to give credit where credit is due, and to give thanks to those who help make your magazine a reality!

Your team might not ever be as big as the example masthead above—many small literary magazines run successfully with just a few people at the helm, but this list is a good way to start thinking about how you might start to gather some editors together. Maybe you belong to a slam poetry group at your school?. Likely, some of your friends also have a passion for reading poetry. They may want to join your team of poetry readers or editors. Perhaps you belong to a book club dedicated to mystery reading? Maybe one of your book club members would love to host a monthly blog on great mysteries in literature on your site? All of the readers and writers you know are available to you for these opportunities. If you’re short-staffed, you might reach out to teachers at your school about the project and see if they have any students in mind for your open positions. You can also post on your school’s bulletin boards or take an ad out in your school’s paper.

Once your team has been built, it is time to brainstorm. What is the mission of the magazine? With so many literary magazines out there, what is it your project seeks to bring to readers? What makes it unique? Will you only publish flash fiction? Will you only publish pieces that contain mountains? Is your magazine political? Artistic? Let readers and submitters know what it is you’re looking for.

The last commitment to make in this stage is the model of the magazine’s distribution. Will your magazine come out annually? Bi-annually? Quarterly? Monthly? Weekly? Daily? If you choose quarterly or longer between publications, what other things might you be able to do in between issues? Some things might be related to social-media. You might also have editors contribute little twitter reviews of their favorite pieces each month or week. Anything goes!

With a team intact, a name chosen, a commitment to a timeline, and a mission in hand, you’re ready for the real work of running a magazine to begin!

NAMING YOUR ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

The first commitment to make as an editor-in-chief is giving your magazine a name. A name, like a title, is a promise made to a reader. It offers a sense of tone. It might also indicate the magazine’s content. When a reader hears or sees National Geographic, for example, they know to think of exploration of the world. A reader seeking to learn about science, nature, or anthropology, knows to go to these pages.

Literary magazines tend to have much more coded names—this is unsurprising and writers and readers of literature tend to love good metaphors, double-meanings, sly puns, and the like. A quick study of the “About” sections of online journals can give us a sense of such pretensions. One of my favorite online journals is Canvas. Canvas is an online literary journal for and by teens. According to the about section, the name canvas has many meanings to the editorial staff, ranging from a canvas tent as a place of solace and connection (as the editors hope you will also find a place of solace and connection within their pages) to a canvas backdrop or setting (the editors hope the poems and stories will also help define/set the stage of the world we live in). As we can see, the thought-process in even naming a magazine takes a lot of time and care. Landing on a name for your magazine sets the tone for the works contained therein.

CHOOSING A PLATFORM

Online magazines need online pages. There are many softwares and platforms that are free to the public where you can build out your magazine’s look, format and organization:

wix.com

weebly.com

wordpress.com

doodlekit.com

squarespace.com

As you and your team experiment with these sites, think about the look and organization of your online literary magazine. You might look to other online journals and see how they organize their buttons and headers in relation to issues of their zine. When you land on the site’s homepage, what do you want to see? The cover? The names of the contributors? Do you want it organized in columns? Or lists? These kinds of decisions can be inspired by the various platforms for web design. Just remember that these sites are not affiliated with Write the World so remember to ask a parent or teacher before signing up.

SUBMISSIONS AND SOLICITATIONS

A key part of magazine operations is publishing the works of writers. In order to do that, you must seek out excellent work. This can be done with open submissions as well as direct solicitations. A solicitation means that you directly ask a writer to submit work to your project. Let’s say you’re starting a magazine for LGBTQIA teen writers and you heard someone read a great slam poem aloud at school that fits your magazine’s mission. You might reach out directly to that writer and ask if they’d be interested in having that poem published or if they have any other work that they’d like to submit to your magazine.

Submissions, on the other hand, give all writers an opportunity to make it through the ever-infamous slush pile. You and your team will decide on the dates for an open reading period. Then you’ll have to come up with guidelines. Your submissions guidelines might look something like this:

[INSERT MAG NAME] is open for submissions for our reading period from September 15th through November 15th. Submissions should be accompanied by a brief cover letter introducing us to your work. Poets should submit 3-5 poems. Fiction writers should submit works of no more than 12 double spaced pages. Artists can submit up to 8 pieces.

You might also include information related to formatting (do you wish to receive things in PDF format, or .doc format), or any other information you hope to receive from writers. As submissions come in, your readers will have to give each piece a fair read and pass the most promising works on to their more senior editors.As you start reading, you’ll also need to develop rejection and acceptance letters.

Be sure to be encouraging. As writers, we understand the impulse to take rejection personally. But luck often plays a big role in these decisions—a reader at a magazine may have read 100 pieces before landing on this one. That alone might make a reader less likely to hear music in a given submission. I always feel best when a form rejection wishes me well in placing the work elsewhere and/or to keep submitting.

For acceptances, you’ll want to follow-up with writer by offering a release form. A teacher can help you draft this, making sure that there is parent and writer consent to publish works. This is also a good opportunity to request updated information like a writer biography, the most recent draft of the piece you’d like to publish, and any other writer materials you may desire for your magazine.

GATHERING THE PARTS

Now that your many arms are performing their tasks and works are being selected, it’s time to put your first issue together. Host a meeting with your managing and/or genre editors. Bring snacks, as people tend to compromise more kindly on a full stomach. As a team, you’ll need to select which pieces will be featured together and why. Come up with a protocol for sharing air time and choosing pieces. Will you all vote? Will each editor get a final say? You’ll have to come up with the rules for selection as a team.

There’s still more to do once you’ve selected works for publication. You’ll also need to think about the order in which the pieces appear. Maybe you’ll organize the pieces alphabetically? Maybe the pieces will be grouped by theme? Or maybe genre? It’s all up to you.

Next, you and your editors will need to reach out to writers. You’ll want to make sure that the piece or pieces you want are still available. Depending on your format, you might need to follow-up with the writer for a short bio, photo, or any other contributor information you might include with the publication. As for the writers whose work you did not select, you’ll want to write a form rejection letter that is kind and encourages them to continue writing and submitting work.

FINISHING TOUCHES

As you accept work to your magazine and gather information from each contributor, it’s finally time to put it all together! You and your team can delegate different parts of the magazine for publication. You’ll need to transfer the writing into your chosen website space. Each editor will have to make sure there are no mistakes on the pieces. And then it’s time to press PUBLISH.

Once this happens, it’s up to you and your team to get the magazine out into the cyber world! Post links to your contributors’ works on twitter, IG, facebook, your school website, and the like. We at Write the World look forward to reading your literary magazines!

[march-for-no-reason]

A sincere hug to all my followers and anyone else who roam these circles/happen upon this.

Or if hugs aren’t your thing, that’s okay too. 

~Positivity~ [insert doodle of ELP where Keith is omnomnoming on a ginormous cupcake, Carl is popping out of the cake in a polka-dot shirt and a giant grin, while Greg watches on disapprovingly, grumpily munching on a carrot - It’s alright but the more I edit the more dissatisfied I am with it, and my artistic skills is merely passable] 

An open letter, to everyone out there. 

After some serious reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that, after seeing many of your struggles, no matter how vaguely put, I wish to help spread some positivity, brighten someone’s day, even if a smidgen, as Tumblr has done for me many times in the past. 

I have been fairly vocal about my own problems, and maybe that was kinda selfish to be doing it half/half with the less rant-y stuff. Not an excuse, but opening up kinda opened the floodgates.  Every day, I see some manner of a reflection of someone’s sorrows on my dash. Maybe I’m just a sentimental fool, but it makes my heart ache, makes me want to do something about it, want to make it even a little better. After all, I think that’s what prompted me to get involved here, where I used to go on Tumblr for updates, art and the occasional laugh, when I found, I suppose more generally, the progsquad something clicked. The overflowing sentiments in love and loss, and the sillies, it sang to me. For all the quirks or flaws, or whatever may be bothering you, I just want to say you are all amazing people, who deserve all the love and happiness life can bring, even if you do not feel it to be the case. I am stunned by what reception I’ve gotten. Though I’m still, jittery, I suppose, tremble with every new (1) that appears, hold back tears as I try to write, after years of conditioning and then convincing myself I have zero worth (how dare I voice anything at all...). I...overwhelmed by the stress of interaction which is incredibly draining, I thought about leaving, but I found I could not. There is so much more to experience, to share, to analyze, to squee about...and more. I am always afraid I’m sounding preachy and naive, but honest, from the bottom of my heart, I love you all. It probably sounds shallow from an internet stranger who popped up about two weeks ago, but I’ve learned to trust my hunches. This is quite literally the only time I’ve spoken more than a sentence on the internet (tried various forums in my areas of interest, reddit...and on and on), all other times the stress was too much, slam the eject button, and never return to that sector again due to the cringe.  There must be something right about here that’s extra inviting...and I will endeavour to work towards doing my part to make it a little brighter. No matter how I’m feeling, I’ll try to diminish the negativity I bring, because I’m not the only one hurting, and it is admirable the way you guys carry on. 

I know there isn’t much I can do, but nonetheless, try I will. If there is anything at all I can do, let me know. Post something silly, my ask is always open, offer to lend an ear, I don’t know...so long as I still can provide something, and not be deemed a total waste of space by all. To those who I’ve already talked to, I’m sorry to have been a nuisance, likely rambling too much about myself. I think I’ve gotten out of that twist now, save for the inability to shut up, left over from when I’d write till I get everything out of my system, I suppose. I’ll try to constrain that to rant-y posts. Messages, I’ll get back to eventually. 

In this world where no one is quite sure what is happening anymore, (at least it feels like) this place remains a refuge. As a newcomer, I will strive to uphold it, and do my part in its maintenance. It’s the least I do for the place that had silently helped me get through many long dark days, and the horrid year that was 2016 (barring the obvious, it was absolutely horrendous on a personal level...)  To my IRL friends who sometimes roam around here, I guess it goes double for you guys, but you already know that didn’t you :) Time to start planning the usual bi-annual thing, enough of loafing around! 

[notasawrap]

You can listen to the track right now, and you can expect it to be heavily featured on every mainstream radio station in the world from this morning onwards. Go. Listen a few times. Then come back here and keep reading, because there’s some emotions that I need to express right now.

Even as a member of the world’s biggest boyband, Harry Styles marched to the beat of his own drum. Everything surrounding today’s release of “Sign of the Times” indicates that he’s marching more fervently than ever, and inviting the entire world to fall in line behind him. If you don’t, that’s okay — Styles would never do anything as uncouth as resort to force. But for those who do join him on this journey, he’ll lead you, if you’ll allow me to mix my musical instrument metaphors, like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, into the realms of his own hopes and dreams, into the future, into the truth.

The track, co-written by Styles and acclaimed producer Jeff Bhasker (who has Grammys for his work on “Uptown Funk,” “We Are Young,” “All of the Lights” and “Run This Town”) is a whopping five minutes and 40 seconds long, a piano-heavy, falsetto-ridden epic rock ballad. Given that a song of this length is generally, in this lightning-paced, attention-deficit world, considered unmarketable and un-radio-friendly, this is a declaration of intent. Not a single One Direction song cracks the five minute mark — their own most famous example of the driving pop-rock ballad, “Story of My Life,” just about hits four. Pop stars do not release long songs, particularly not as singles. Particularly not as debut singles. Long songs are for artists.

View image on Twitter

SIGN.OF.THE.TIMES // 7.APRIL.17 //

267,571267,571 Retweets

483,040483,040 likes

Styles’ choice to show his hand with “Sign of the Times” demonstrates either an immense confidence in the loyalty of his existing audience, a deep love of his own material, or an absolute lack of fucks to give about what anyone thinks of him. Honestly, it’s probably a combination of all three: that special blend is what has already made Styles stand out thus far as an approachable yet mysterious idol. It must be a blessed freedom, to be so well-loved that you can put whatever you want into the world and know it will be supported. To have that up your sleeve if pushed in a different, er, direction.

Despite their reality-show beginnings, the authenticity of One Direction as people is what made them into a phenomenon. Those outside looking in may have seen boyband fangirl hysteria, but those inside know that it was more than that. It wasn’t about crushing on them — though they are all extremely cute — it was more like they were your best friends, or family members that you were proud of. One Direction’s success was due to the fans — the fans came before the recording contract. When they were eliminated from The X-Factor, their organically growing fan base — thanks to the irreverent, genuine personalities revealed in their brand-new Twitter accounts and grainy YouTube videos — was the reason that Simon Cowell’s Syco snapped them up.

They didn’t know what they were doing, or what was to come. They were 16 years old. They were just some lads having a go. It was truly a matter of demand before supply — and to the elitists out there, wank all you like, but that’s almost grass-roots. That’s an audience choosing what they love and what they want to support, as opposed to being presented something that was packaged and polished in a boardroom and getting told “this is what you will like. Give us your money.”

One Direction’s working-class roots, their refusal to succumb to the trappings of fame, and their respect for their fans have all been key factors in their unprecedented global success. These fans — mostly young women, the most valuable market for any form of pop culture — cannot be tricked, they cannot be bought. They have to choose you. No one knows this better than Harry Styles — he knows that he’s the Chosen One. He knows what that now affords him.

As I mentioned, one thing you may not know about Styles, if you’re not a Directioner, is that, in the most zen-like way imaginable, he doesn’t give a toss what society makes of him. Perhaps “free spirit” a better way to put it — he’s always been a non-conformist reminiscent of the rock stars of the ’70s, with an added dose of authenticity. For them, it was often part of the performance. This is just who Harry Styles is, and it’s what’s made him a superstar.

His fans have always accepted and cherished his oddities, and no one could claim his image is curated by anyone other than him. The polo shirts and chinos first pushed by the label are just a horrible memory these days. He wears glittered boots and shearling coats and womens’ trousers, collects tattoos and modern art, loves motorcycles and Soul Cycle and scented candles and his mother, laughs way too hard at basic puns, and wants to spread peace and love. He’s wholesome AF. Nothing about him is ironic. Nothing about him is convoluted. If Harry Styles likes something, he just goes for it, and this single is no exception.

“Sign of the Times” brings to mind the wailing, emotional ballads of the glam rock and hair metal bands of the ’70s and ’80s — there’s a little Aerosmith, a little “November Rain.” Vocally — especially in the rather unexpected falsetto, from One Direction’s deepest and raspiest singer — there’s shades of Bowie and Prince, artists Styles is known to admire and emulate in his off-beat and sometimes gender-bending fashion choices. It’s orchestral, almost operatic in scope, with something of Coldplay, something of The Killers, something of fellow British ex-boybander Robbie Williams, something of Bhaskar’s previous production buddies Fun. There’s also, weirdly, something in the melodies that reminds me of Hamilton’s “It’s Quiet Uptown.”

Lyrically, it’s about loss — it seems to be about two people who love each other despite an impossible situation. “Will we ever learn, we’ve been here before, it’s just what we know,” Styles croons, revisiting the themes of “Something Great,” one of his most notable writing credits with One Direction, and one of the band’s rawest tunes. This almost sounds like a continuation of the story of that same relationship. Styles has called the track deeply personal, and out of a catalogue of 70 songs, it’s currently the work he’s the most proud of. It’s a classic heart-on-sleeve performance, and naturally, everyone will want to know who it’s about. That’s if you take his “running from the bullets” chorus as a metaphor about fame, of course. If you take it literally, it sounds like a commentary on the refugee crisis. Knowing Styles, either option could be viable.

Despite being down to earth and actually pretty dorky, Styles knows that professionally, he’s hot property, so the access he’s granted to himself surrounding this debut speaks volumes about his priorities. His first post-hiatus feature article was not with a newspaper, or a teen magazine, or GQ, or even Rolling Stone — it was a takeover of the bi-annual cultural journal Another Man, in an editorial that featured three separate photoshoots, a conversation between him and Paul McCartney, and a self-curated catalog of his obsessions, including scanned pages of his diary.

For his first performance as a solo artist, he’s chosen Saturday Night Live — on the first-ever episode that will air concurrently in all time zones. SNL has featured One Direction several times as a musical guest, but their 2013 appearance, in which they debuted the indie-rock-esque and harmonious “Through The Dark,” was widely credited with changing the public perception of the group and building their credibility with a new crowd, both proving them to be extremely skilled live performers and allowing the show’s primarily adult audience to understand the appeal of their cheeky, but not childish, personalities.

These choices seem to indicate a desire to be taken seriously, to validate himself as an artist that can appeal to all corners of culture. The Styles showcased in Another Man is an ethereal aesthete, an old soul, a highly intelligent and creative being with a carefully measured voice and vision, someone who immediately bewitches everyone who ever meets him. Today’s release of “Sign of the Times” demonstrates a slightly different side of Styles. Unsurprisingly to anyone who knows anything about Styles’ personal life — I don’t mean the women the tabloids claim he’s dating, I mean his real personal life — he’s given the single’s worldwide first play, and his only in depth interview, to longtime friend Nick Grimshaw, host of the BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

While premiering a debut single on the biggest radio show in your home country may simply sound like good business, it packs more of an emotional punch than that. Styles and Grimshaw have been extremely close since before either of them was a household name. After meeting in 2011, Styles joined Grimshaw’s social circle and was accepted as part of the one of the coolest and most media-savvy cliques in London society — a gang that includes Alexa Chung, Florence Welch, and fashion designer Henry Holland. Not your typical boyband crowd. When Styles based himself in London, he and Grimshaw were inseparable. Styles was present in the studio for the final free-for-all of Grimshaw’s graveyard shift radio show – revealing on air that he’s often sat in before, but wasn’t allowed to speak on the microphone — and he was also one of the celebrities involved in the promotional campaign welcoming Grimmy to the country’s top radio job.

As Britain’s biggest popstar and most prominent radio host, they’ve, of course, interacted in an official capacity — Styles co-hosting with Grimshaw for Radio 1’s One Direction Takeover, and Grimshaw interviewing three-fifths of 1Dsurrounding the release of their movie. Their professional interviews tend to dissolve into giggles, a series of personal in-jokes, or anecdotes about their friends and parents — yes, they’re friends with each other’s parents, and Styles has spent Christmas with the Grimshaws in the past — and they’ve also appeared on the radio together slightly less professionally, including a memorable morning after the 2013 Brit Awards, in which Grimshaw, Styles and an assorted motley crew rocked up to the BBC studios still drunk, having not yet gone to bed. They’ve been photographed together doing everything from attending fashion shows to shopping for groceries. Tumblr has even documented a history of the pair sharing clothes.

Nick Grimshaw does not think he, himself, is cool. He doesn’t think Harry Styles is cool. He’s the opposite of a name-dropper: he’s a self-deprecating homebody, he knows his public life is ridiculous. He tells mundane or hysterical stories about his friends on the radio, which often — especially the ones about Styles — don’t actually name the culprit, the pieces only falling into place later, via a social media post or fan sighting. Grimshaw — who is, like Styles, a working-class lad from near Manchester — is famously social, but he does not collect celebrity pals. He spills a lot of details about his life on his radio show, and through this it’s been established that most of his nearest and dearest were all young hopefuls together, and held tight to each other as they became successful.

The fact that Styles was never the nucleus of Grimshaw’s circle cements that it’s not a friendship of convenience or a PR move, and both he and Styles notably and publicly treat all their friends — famous or not — with the same value. Example: Grimshaw’s best friend, creative director Aimee Phillips, recently married his former BBC assistant producer, Ian Chaloner. Styles is friends with both. Styles is also famously close with his hair stylist Lou Teasdale, and lived, during the height of One Direction’s fame, in the attic of 1D’s go-to video producer Ben Winston. (Winston made the move to the USA with his longtime collaborator James Corden — another of Styles’ pre-fame friends. Expect to see him on the Late Late Show extremely soon.)

Styles’ decision to give Grimshaw this exclusive interview — a two hour session, cut down from a three hour recording — is a deeply personal one. There’s no journalist or host who Styles would reveal more of himself to, no one who can humanize him more. Grimshaw has already spoken on Radio 1 about how nervous both he and Styles were about Grimshaw hearing “Sign of the Times” — Grimshaw, as a reluctant tastemaker and a terrible liar, feared disliking his friend’s offering and being awkwardly unable to offer any platitudes. Thankfully, Grimshaw loved it — but the fact that Styles wants to be interviewed by someone who he knows would never lie to him about whether he was any good, who pokes fun at his slow speech and clumsiness and accidental hipsterness, someone who makes him feel normal, says a lot about how he wants people to view him.

Grimshaw’s interview, which meanders over subjects including, but not limited to: the creation of Styles’ new album, naturally; his controversial romantic life — including the deep 1D fandom meme about him dating Barack Obama; his role in the new Christopher Nolan epic Dunkirk; the fact that he still gets starstruck a lot; his family, his bandmates, and his vehement belief that Brussels sprouts are the new kale. Grimshaw also gently mocks Styles about a few of the more diva-like rumors about his life — an organic chance for the star to put them to bed. The recording of this chat is already being provided to other publications as a source for their promotional articles about “Sign of the Times” — instead of their own interview opportunities, they’re getting Grimshaw’s version of Styles — arguably, the real Styles, as close as the public is allowed to get to who he is behind closed doors.

This isn’t a new Harry Styles. This is who Harry Styles has always been — why he’s gained respect and loyalty from so many people, including huge handfuls of industry professionals and dozens and dozens of celebrities, in many genres and mediums, many of whom may be considered, by close-minded purists, to be “real artists” compared to Harry’s “manufactured popstar.” From Ed Sheeran to John Legend, Elton John to Mick Jagger, Kesha to Kristen Wiig, no one has a bad word to say about him. He is beloved by all. Even one of Rolling Stone’s most esteemed music critics, Rob Sheffield, who’s, for the record, a 50 year old straight dude, has gushed his praises. The kid baked Stevie Nicks a freakin’ birthday cake, people.

What Styles puts out into the world, how he presents himself as a public figure, is truly unique. He’s never rude, never snobby, never jaded, never dismissive. He has a wicked and sly humor, he gets along with children and old people. Forget the fact that he’s a heartthrob. As a role model for young women (and young men, and, while we’re at it, the sitting president of these United States) there isn’t a better one around. He’s inclusive and progressive in a way that seems to come from his core — he’s a feminist, a vocal supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, a paragon of atypical maleness, so comfortable with his image that he’s willing to rebut a bandmate’s quip that the most important quality in an ideal partner should be “female,” with a chiding “not that important.” (Styles’ preferences were, instead, ‘sense of humor’ and ‘being nice to people.’) Regardless of where he chooses to put his penis, his gentle wokeness, and awareness of how heteronormativity hurts, is a quality that every 21st century man should aspire to. He’s constantly conscious, and his reputation as a bad-boy lothario is completely bizarre — he’s never made a public mess of himself, never even made a social media misstep, and any mother should be grateful to send her daughter (or, you know, son) out on a date with him.

This isn’t clueless happenstance. Harry Styles knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s put a lot of hard work ultimately into earning the right to be himself, and to use his influence in order to shape the world around him as he dreams it to be. His image, his taste, and now his sound are all both timeless and yet completely original. He’s going to be the biggest male solo artist on the planet — he already pretty much is — and a world in which Harry Styles is a dominant voice in the cultural zeitgeist is a more beautiful, more gentle, more daring world. We must all just pray that we don’t accidentally punch the first person — the first One Direction naysayer who probably also thinks Justin Timberlake is the essence of hip and who would have never given *NSYNC the time of day — who we overhear saying that Harry Styles is “cool now.” Styles really wouldn’t like it.

Listen to the whole interview on BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show now.

[wellhello1derland]

First things first: “Sign of the Times,” the debut single from One Direction’s Harry Styles, just had its first play worldwide, on BBC’s Radio 1.

You can listen to the track right now, and you can expect it to be heavily featured on every mainstream radio station in the world from this morning onwards. Go. Listen a few times. Then come back here and keep reading, because there’s some emotions that I need to express right now.

Even as a member of the world’s biggest boyband, Harry Styles marched to the beat of his own drum. Everything surrounding today’s release of “Sign of the Times” indicates that he’s marching more fervently than ever, and inviting the entire world to fall in line behind him. If you don’t, that’s okay — Styles would never do anything as uncouth as resort to force. But for those who do join him on this journey, he’ll lead you, if you’ll allow me to mix my musical instrument metaphors, like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, into the realms of his own hopes and dreams, into the future, into the truth.

The track, co-written by Styles and acclaimed producer Jeff Bhasker (who has Grammys for his work on “Uptown Funk,” “We Are Young,” “All of the Lights” and “Run This Town”) is a whopping five minutes and 40 seconds long, a piano-heavy, falsetto-ridden epic rock ballad. Given that a song of this length is generally, in this lightning-paced, attention-deficit world, considered unmarketable and un-radio-friendly, this is a declaration of intent. Not a single One Direction song cracks the five minute mark — their own most famous example of the driving pop-rock ballad, “Story of My Life,” just about hits four. Pop stars do not release long songs, particularly not as singles. Particularly not as debut singles. Long songs are for artists.

Styles’ choice to show his hand with “Sign of the Times” demonstrates either an immense confidence in the loyalty of his existing audience, a deep love of his own material, or an absolute lack of fucks to give about what anyone thinks of him. Honestly, it’s probably a combination of all three: that special blend is what has already made Styles stand out thus far as an approachable yet mysterious idol. It must be a blessed freedom, to be so well-loved that you can put whatever you want into the world and know it will be supported. To have that up your sleeve if pushed in a different, er, direction.

Despite their reality-show beginnings, the authenticity of One Direction as people is what made them into a phenomenon. Those outside looking in may have seen boyband fangirl hysteria, but those inside know that it was more than that. It wasn’t about crushing on them — though they are all extremely cute — it was more like they were your best friends, or family members that you were proud of. One Direction’s success was due to the fans — the fans came before the recording contract. When they were eliminated from The X-Factor, their organically growing fan base — thanks to the irreverent, genuine personalities revealed in their brand-new Twitter accounts and grainy YouTube videos — was the reason that Simon Cowell’s Syco snapped them up.

They didn’t know what they were doing, or what was to come. They were 16 years old. They were just some lads having a go. It was truly a matter of demand before supply — and to the elitists out there, wank all you like, but that’s almost grass-roots. That’s an audience choosing what they love and what they want to support, as opposed to being presented something that was packaged and polished in a boardroom and getting told “this is what you will like. Give us your money.”

One Direction’s working-class roots, their refusal to succumb to the trappings of fame, and their respect for their fans have all been key factors in their unprecedented global success. These fans — mostly young women, the most valuable market for any form of pop culture — cannot be tricked, they cannot be bought. They have to choose you. No one knows this better than Harry Styles — he knows that he’s the Chosen One. He knows what that now affords him.

As I mentioned, one thing you may not know about Styles, if you’re not a Directioner, is that, in the most zen-like way imaginable, he doesn’t give a toss what society makes of him. Perhaps “free spirit” a better way to put it — he’s always been a non-conformist reminiscent of the rock stars of the ’70s, with an added dose of authenticity. For them, it was often part of the performance. This is just who Harry Styles is, and it’s what’s made him a superstar.

His fans have always accepted and cherished his oddities, and no one could claim his image is curated by anyone other than him. The polo shirts and chinos first pushed by label are just a horrible memory these days. He wears glittered boots and shearling coats and womens’ trousers, collects tattoos and modern art, loves motorcycles and Soul Cycle and scented candles and his mother, laughs way too hard at basic puns, and wants to spread peace and love. He’s wholesome AF. Nothing about him is ironic. Nothing about him is convoluted. If Harry Styles likes something, he just goes for it, and this single is no exception.

“Sign of the Times” brings to mind the wailing, emotional ballads of the glam rock and hair metal bands of the ’70s and ’80s — there’s a little Aerosmith, a little “November Rain.” Vocally — especially in the rather unexpected falsetto, from One Direction’s deepest and raspiest singer — there’s shades of Bowie and Prince, artists Styles is known to admire and emulate in his off-beat and sometimes gender-bending fashion choices. It’s orchestral, almost operatic in scope, with something of Coldplay, something of The Killers, something of fellow British ex-boybander Robbie Williams, something of Bhaskar’s previous production buddies Fun. There’s also, weirdly, something in the melodies that reminds me of Hamilton’s “It’s Quiet Uptown.”

Lyrically, it’s about loss — it seems to be about two people who love each other despite an impossible situation. “Will we ever learn, we’ve been here before, it’s just what we know,” Styles croons, revisiting the themes of “Something Great,” one of his most notable writing credits with One Direction, and one of the band’s rawest tunes. This almost sounds like a continuation of the story of that same relationship. Styles has called the track deeply personal, and out of a catalogue of 70 songs, it’s currently the work he’s the most proud of. It’s a classic heart-on-sleeve performance, and naturally, everyone will want to know who it’s about. That’s if you take his “running from the bullets” chorus as a metaphor about fame, of course. If you take it literally, it sounds like a commentary on the refugee crisis. Knowing Styles, either option could be viable.

Despite being down to earth and actually pretty dorky, Styles knows that professionally, he’s hot property, so the access he’s granted to himself surrounding this debut speaks volumes about his priorities. His first post-hiatus feature article was not with a newspaper, or a teen magazine, or GQ, or even Rolling Stone — it was a takeover of the bi-annual cultural journal Another Man, in an editorial that featured three separate photoshoots, a conversation between him and Paul McCartney, and a self-curated catalog of his obsessions, including scanned pages of his diary.

For his first performance as a solo artist, he’s chosen Saturday Night Live — on the first-ever episode that will air concurrently in all time zones. SNL has featured One Direction several times as a musical guest, but their 2013 appearance, in which they debuted the indie-rock-esque and harmonious “Through The Dark,” was widely credited with changing the public perception of the group and building their credibility with a new crowd, both proving them to be extremely skilled live performers and allowing the show’s primarily adult audience to understand the appeal of their cheeky, but not childish, personalities.

These choices seem to indicate a desire to be taken seriously, to validate himself as an artist that can appeal to all corners of culture. The Styles showcased in Another Man is an ethereal aesthete, an old soul, a highly intelligent and creative being with a carefully measured voice and vision, someone who immediately bewitches everyone who ever meets him. Today’s release of “Sign of the Times” demonstrates a slightly different side of Styles. Unsurprisingly to anyone who knows anything about Styles’ personal life — I don’t mean the women the tabloids claim he’s dating, I mean his real personal life — he’s given the single’s worldwide first play, and his only in depth interview, to longtime friend Nick Grimshaw, host of the BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

While premiering a debut single on the biggest radio show in your home country may simply sound like good business, it packs more of an emotional punch than that. Styles and Grimshaw have been extremely close since before either of them was a household name. After meeting in 2011, Styles joined Grimshaw’s social circle and was accepted as part of the one of the coolest and most media-savvy cliques in London society — a gang that includes Alexa Chung, Florence Welch, and fashion designer Henry Holland. Not your typical boyband crowd. When Styles based himself in London, he and Grimshaw were inseparable. Styles was present in the studio for the final free-for-all of Grimshaw’s graveyard shift radio show – revealing on air that he’s often sat in before, but wasn’t allowed to speak on the microphone — and he was also one of the celebrities involved in the promotional campaign welcoming Grimmy to the country’s top radio job.

As Britain’s biggest popstar and most prominent radio host, they’ve, of course, interacted in an official capacity — Styles co-hosting with Grimshaw for Radio 1’s One Direction Takeover, and Grimshaw interviewing three-fifths of 1D surrounding the release of their movie. Their professional interviews tend to dissolve into giggles, a series of personal in-jokes, or anecdotes about their friends and parents — yes, they’re friends with each other’s parents, and Styles has spent Christmas with the Grimshaws in the past — and they’ve also appeared on the radio together slightly less professionally, including a memorable morning after the 2013 Brit Awards, in which Grimshaw, Styles and an assorted motley crew rocked up to the BBC studios still drunk, having not yet gone to bed. They’ve been photographed together doing everything from attending fashion shows to shopping for groceries. Tumblr has even documented a history of the pair sharing clothes.

Nick Grimshaw does not think he, himself, is cool. He doesn’t think Harry Styles is cool. He’s the opposite of a name-dropper: he’s a self-deprecating homebody, he knows his public life is ridiculous. He tells mundane or hysterical stories about his friends on the radio, which often — especially the ones about Styles — don’t actually name the culprit, the pieces only falling into place later, via a social media post or fan sighting. Grimshaw — who is, like Styles, a working-class lad from near Manchester — is famously social, but he does not collect celebrity pals. He spills a lot of details about his life on his radio show, and through this it’s been established that most of his nearest and dearest were all young hopefuls together, and held tight to each other as they became successful.

The fact that Styles was never the nucleus of Grimshaw’s circle cements that it’s not a friendship of convenience or a PR move, and both he and Styles notably and publicly treat all their friends — famous or not — with the same value. Example: Grimshaw’s best friend, creative director Aimee Phillips, recently married his former BBC assistant producer, Ian Chaloner. Styles is friends with both. Styles is also famously close with his hair stylist Lou Teasdale, and lived, during the height of One Direction’s fame, in the attic of 1D’s go-to video producer Ben Winston. (Winston made the move to the USA with his longtime collaborator James Corden — another of Styles’ pre-fame friends. Expect to see him on the Late Late Show extremely soon.)

Styles’ decision to give Grimshaw this exclusive interview — a two hour session, cut down from a three hour recording — is a deeply personal one. There’s no journalist or host who Styles would reveal more of himself to, no one who can humanize him more. Grimshaw has already spoken on Radio 1 about how nervous both he and Styles were about Grimshaw hearing “Sign of the Times” — Grimshaw, as a reluctant tastemaker and a terrible liar, feared disliking his friend’s offering and being awkwardly unable to offer any platitudes. Thankfully, Grimshaw loved it — but the fact that Styles wants to be interviewed by someone who he knows would never lie to him about whether he was any good, who pokes fun at his slow speech and clumsiness and accidental hipsterness, someone who makes him feel normal, says a lot about how he wants people to view him.

Grimshaw’s interview, which meanders over subjects including, but not limited to: the creation of Styles’ new album, naturally; his controversial romantic life — including the deep 1D fandom meme about him dating Barack Obama; his role in the new Christopher Nolan epic Dunkirk; the fact that he still gets starstruck a lot; his family, his bandmates, and his vehement belief that Brussels sprouts are the new kale. Grimshaw also gently mocks Styles about a few of the more diva-like rumors about his life — an organic chance for the star to put them to bed. The recording of this chat is already being provided to other publications as a source for their promotional articles about “Sign of the Times” — instead of their own interview opportunities, they’re getting Grimshaw’s version of Styles — arguably, the real Styles, as close as the public is allowed to get to who he is behind closed doors.

This isn’t a new Harry Styles. This is who Harry Styles has always been — why he’s gained respect and loyalty from so many people, including huge handfuls of industry professionals and dozens and dozens of celebrities, in many genres and mediums, many of whom may be considered, by close-minded purists, to be “real artists” compared to Harry’s “manufactured popstar.” From Ed Sheeran to John Legend, Elton John to Mick Jagger, Kesha to Kristen Wiig, no one has a bad word to say about him. He is beloved by all. Even one of Rolling Stone’s most esteemed music critics, Rob Sheffield, who’s, for the record, a 50 year old straight dude, has gushed his praises. The kid baked Stevie Nicks a freakin’ birthday cake, people.

What Styles puts out into the world, how he presents himself as a public figure, is truly unique. He’s never rude, never snobby, never jaded, never dismissive. He has a wicked and sly humor, he gets along with children and old people. Forget the fact that he’s a heartthrob. As a role model for young women (and young men, and, while we’re at it, the sitting president of these United States) there isn’t a better one around. He’s inclusive and progressive in a way that seems to come from his core — he’s a feminist, a vocal supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community, a paragon of atypical maleness, so comfortable with his image that he’s willing to rebut a bandmate’s quip that the most important quality in an ideal partner should be “female,” with a chiding “not that important.” (Styles’ preferences were, instead, ‘sense of humor’ and ‘being nice to people.’) Regardless of where he chooses to put his penis, his gentle wokeness, and awareness of how heteronormativity hurts, is a quality that every 21st century man should aspire to. He’s constantly conscious, and his reputation as a bad-boy lothario is completely bizarre — he’s never made a public mess of himself, never even made a social media misstep, and any mother should be grateful to send her daughter (or, you know, son) out on a date with him.

This isn’t clueless happenstance. Harry Styles knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s put a lot of hard work ultimately into earning the right to be himself, and to use his influence in order to shape the world around him as he dreams it to be. His image, his taste, and now his sound are all both timeless and yet completely original. He’s going to be the biggest male solo artist on the planet — he already pretty much is — and a world in which Harry Styles is a dominant voice in the cultural zeitgeist is a more beautiful, more gentle, more daring world. We must all just pray that we don’t accidentally punch the first person — the first One Direction naysayer who probably also thinks Justin Timberlake is the essence of hip and who would have never given *NSYNC the time of day — who we overhear saying that Harry Styles is “cool now.” Styles really wouldn’t like it.

Listen to the whole interview on BBC’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show now.

BY NATALIE FISHER EDITED BY DONYA ABRAMO APRIL 7, 2017

[aliciabuncle]

Is Christmas spirit still the North Pole’s greatest asset?

Nestled at the northernmost point on the planet sits a legendary operation of massive scale. Producing billions of gifts per year, it has primarily relied on Christmas spirit to ensure that every child on Earth has a holiday to remember. But to make all of this happen is no elfin task. It is critical that the hundreds of thousands of pieces of equipment, workshops and one magic sleigh are operating at peak performance.

As we uncovered in our interview with the Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) and Chief Operations Officer (COO) last year, these complex, connected software-driven assets are the key to delivering the most joyful day of the year. To maximize their usage, intelligence has become the North Pole’s greatest asset using insights from data, IoT, and AI.

In last year’s feature, we focused on the health and safety of the equipment behind the manufacturing of these toys. This year we sat down again – with only the finest cocoa and sugar cookies – to discuss three key topics:

      How to engineer billions of connected toys at scale

      Creating the most enchanting workshop experience

      Why arctic hares and musk oxen introduced the need for a remote monitoring solution

Since the CHO and the COO were away at the annual MUG Council (Merry User Group), they had us sit down with Twinkle, the Chief Tinsel Officer (CTO), Noel, the Head of Workshop Planning, and Kris, the Director of Chimney Operations to better understand how the North Pole continues to put data, IoT and AI to work.

 Delight is the outcome that matters most

In an operation as complex as this, the primary goal is always to deliver higher-quality toys faster – at lower costs. As a non-profit operation, fueled only by Christmas spirit of the youth it serves, it is important to stretch every positive sentiment to the max. However, these young lads and ladies are not always easily impressed. In an era of limited attention spans and children who can navigate a smart phone before they are 6 months old, toys have become increasingly software-driven, connected and sophisticated. Development of these toys must respond in kind.

Elves examining the 2020 model of the next-gen toy car

How does a CTO with consumers who are not easily impressed always create such delight? Twinkle deploys an AGILE (Always Gifting Incredible Life Experiences) methodology to software development. Whether it is the toys that land under the tree or the software that guides the sleigh through the night to its billions of destinations, agile development means faster software engineering. Twinkle learned about this methodology at last year’s IoT Exchange from a presentation given by one of her peers.  She has since found enormous value in implementation of the engineering lifecycle management solution.

“Informed by AI and letters to Santa, the North Pole has been able to cut software development and delivery time by 37%. If that’s not a Christmas miracle, I don’t know what is!”

Toys are more complex than ever before

As toys have evolved far past the traditional days of wooden pull-ducks, basic stuffed dolls, and pressed tin tanks, delivering them at Christmas scale has become a substantial challenge. But, toys, just like any other complex product, are only as good as the requirements that drive them and the tiny, adorable elf hands that craft them. For Yuletide Engineers to manage the growing complexity of connected knickknacks, they need better visibility into changes, deeper insight into data and shared tools for global distribution.

Operations at the pole form a traditional super-system and today’s systems-of-systems require mechanisms to create versions and variants of holly products while maintaining relationships between the traditional and the new. The CHO’s shared, digital dashboard stores data in a single location from which many different teams can benefit.

Complete traceability all through the year

This approach integrates project stages for complete traceability, starting the day after Christmas, in order to achieve evergreen compliance and become less complicated. All activity and changes in requirements can be viewed by anyone at any time. It shows relationships throughout a project such as circuit boards to R/C cars or batteries to Power Wheels. The documentation is built-in to help manufacturing teams conduct reviews and audits more easily while remaining both holly AND jolly.

“The last thing any of us wants to see is a disappointed look on little Billy or Sally’s face after they open a beautifully wrapped box and the surprise inside doesn’t work to their absolute delight. You see, there’s no amount of milk or cookies that can fuel the magic we need to bring smiles to all the little boys and girls around the world. We have to rely on advanced technology to enable the annual production cycle that we strictly adhere to. During that time, we have very little room for even the smallest errors in our systems, assets, products, and more. We turned to IBM Engineering Lifecycle Facilitator (ELF) for their leading end-to-end, integration and goodwill development solution for complex gift management and cheer engineering.” – Twinkle, North Pole, CTO

 Elves are demanding a workshop experience that promotes community and cheer

 When you think of the North Pole and the holiday it serves, what comes to mind? Probably singing elves, open-space workshops, festive décor, and plentiful milk and cookies. If you recall from last year, the North Pole is home to many festive facilities, such as:

       Toy Workshops

       Worker Housing

       Reindeer Hanger

       Bake Shop

       Hoofsmith

       Candy Shop

       Hat Maker

       Post Office

       Cocoa Cafes

       Sleigh Valet

Each facility is the workspace for an elfin community. Yet, last year, the Head of Workshop Planning realized some alarming trends. Certain workshops were showing decreases in SLEIGH (Singing Loud Eagerly In Great Harmony) measurements. There were also some shops that were over-crowded while others sat under-utilized. This led to an increase in artisan milk and cookies running out in the over-used spaces. It also meant we were spending way too much Christmas spirit, the currency of the North Pole, to power the under-used spaces. The North Pole is not a cheap location to host one of the largest operations in the world. With real estate costs being second only to the cost of homemade cookie delivery, managing those costs is critical. Noel was concerned by these trends and began to do some research on how to improve in these areas.

Millieni-elves are shaping the future of the workshop experience

What he found gave him pause. No matter where they spent their days tinkering, some commonalities arose in what elves value in their workspace. In a recent study that interviewed 500 Millenni-elves (those elves that had been in the workforce for only 1000 years or less), some commonalities rang true.

Optimizing workshop utiilization

Shops that rank high in elf engagement are 21% more productive and have 37% less absenteeism. They also have up to 59% less turnover than their less-engaged counterparts.

“There is nothing more disheartening to see than a disengaged elf. It’s just not in their nature so we knew we had to fix it ASAAP (as soon as angelically possible.) “

In addition to this, elves spend their entire lives training for this job. It is their livelihood. “The only kind of turnover we want to see in the North Pole is of the apple variety!”

Spaces matter for elf engagement

Noel took it upon himself to attend IoT Exchange in Orlando last April. While it gave him the opportunity to visit surrounding theme parks to do market research on his ideal customer, his biggest takeaways were around the technologies he could deploy to improve how his spaces were used. He wanted to make sure elves had the workshop setups that would ensure improvements in spirit and productivity.

Last year they had invested in additional Candy Cane Lane conference rooms and reduced the number of Snowball Bungalows. This had allowed them to save on square footage without needing to lease another building. However, they could see now that this shift simply wasn’t enough to increase elf engagement. Having rooms available was great, but not if it wasn’t easy to book one.

Jolly the Elf explains: “I had an important presentation to give last week about why we needed to enhance security measures on our AI-powered dolls after the release of the latest killer doll movie gave some parents a fright. It took me 15 minutes to find a free room and by then it was time for the bi-hourly cookie break and everyone had their next meeting to go to. Now I need to reschedule and it was a waste of everyone’s Christmas spirit.”

This experience is not uncommon for many elves. Nearly 70% of elves report that finding a place to meet is one of the biggest wastes of Christmas spirit. The average elf wastes 15 mins per day. Multiply this number by 400,000 elves and you’ve got a productivity issue!

While the North Pole has been using a facilities management solution for several years to manage maintenance and lease accounting, this expansion into space management and workplace experience has really helped them address their elf productivity issues.

In fact, in the most recent poll, SLEIGH scores were up 716% and turnover was at an all-time low. Noel is very excited to report these findings at IoT Exchange 2020!

Monitoring equipment near and far

Monitoring the operations of equipment at the North Pole is no small feat. A few things to consider are the extremely cold climate, unpredictable fluctuations on the naughty/nice list, and the global scale of operations. Think of what it takes to ensure that 2 billion chimneys are safe and operable for the CHO to scoot down each year! This can only be done using a state-of-the-art asset monitoring solution. Configurable dashboards and alerts mean that any change in chimney soot density is immediately detected and the nearest remote team is sent to restore to appropriate levels.

Ensuring equipment stays up and running with asset monitoring

On the Pole itself, they can immediately detect when there’s an overgrowth of ice chunks on the equipment that keeps the shops running.

“We have many Musk Oxen and Arctic Hares above the 85th parallel. When it gets cold, they huddle together for warmth. There was one time a few years back that we got a record-breaking cold streak and they needed to go to extreme measures to stay warm. They huddled together near one of our generators because it was emitting heat. But that then caused the generator to overheat. We had no monitoring equipment on it so it went down and caused 14 workshops to go dark for days. So much lost productivity and such a mess! It still makes my cheeks so red to think about!” – Kris, Director of Operations, North Pole

Thankfully now the North Pole has an asset monitoring solution that notifies them when temperatures and conditions are at risk for a similar situation.

“We’ve equipped all 7,000 of our power generators with sensors and are notified as soon as anything goes out of range. We send a crew out to clear the hares, oxen and/or ice chunks so there’s no more interruption to production. We’ve estimated that it has saved us thousands of hours of lost elfpower and many disappointed children. Can’t put a price on that, no sir.”

Bring joy to the world with IoT and AI

The North Pole has aggressive targets to meet and the goal every year is 100% joyful children. Any deviation from that is unacceptable to the elves that dedicate their lives to the toy craft. Joy is the goal and solutions from Watson IoT help the North Pole reach their targets every year. Infusing intelligence into everything from buildings to toys to equipment produces the results they require.

How can you bring more joy to the world? Come share your story and network with your peers at IoT Exchange 2020!

  The post Is Christmas spirit still the North Pole’s greatest asset? appeared first on Internet of Things blog.

Is Christmas spirit still the North Pole’s greatest asset? published first on https://decalsgraphicstore.tumblr.com/

[josephborrello]

Magnitude and Direction, Issue #44 | 18 Oct 2019

Hardware, Prototyping, and Fabrication

I'm eagerly awaiting IKEA's mass-production of this flat-pack toaster. There are few websites that belong in this section more than This to That, a resource to help guide you in your journey to stick various materials to one another. Relatedly, there's also Can You Microwave? a running message board of people asking that very question about a variety of different substances and foodstuffs. Some of the scenarios that frame these questions are a bit tmi, imo. Maybe I was the only one hoping to come across this some day, but here's a great guide on how to fabricate your own, in-home air hockey table. (You know I'm making one of these.)

Software and Programming

It used to be that when an artist erased a painting it stayed erased. Thanks to neural networks, though, we can "paint" and restore these lost works, as shown with a famous Picasso painting from his Blue Period. I happen to know that at least a few readers of M&D are pretty bad at hangman, so I imagine they're going to get very frustrated when they try to play Cheatman, which is hangman against a computer that cheats. ➰ I'm sure you've heard that blobs are in when it comes to web design, so here's a nice little tool to make all kinds of them for your hip, modern, graphic design needs.

Science, Engineering, and Biomedicine

This might be the best article title I've ever read: How much are you polluting your office air just by existing? From one of the other newsletters I help run, The Lattice, here's Parts 1 & 2 of my series there on 3D printing and scanning in the clinic, based largely on my experiences in the Sinai BioDesign prototyping center.

Mapping, History, and Data Science

Forebears.io is a website working to aggregate all the disparate data around our last names to build a more comprehensive picture of who we are as individuals, families, and societies. (Relatedly, I wonder what that one person with the last name Borrello is doing over in Egypt ) When I was a kid, seeing a non-yellow "school bus" felt like finding some kind of mythical creature. Why is the "yellow school bus" such a fixture in our society, though? Smithsonian magazine gives the history. Most satellite imagery of the planet is from a top-down view, but a lot of our geography (both natural and man-made) is better appreciated from a more oblique angle. From longtime M&D reader Christina: What the big data of pizza in New York City can tell us about our society. (It turns out, if you're near a pizza joint, you're probably also near the subway.)

Events and Opportunities

Well, my busy weeks are behind me (mostly), but I'm not sure the community calendar is getting any lighter...

Saturday, 10/19 New Lab's annual open house birthday celebration is back, with a theme this year of Light+Motion. As always, you can expect pretty much everyone affiliated with technology, design, science, and/or entrepreneurship to turn up for what's one of the bigger bashes of the year.

Saturday & Sunday 10/19-20 The biggest bi-annual graduate career symposium in the country is back at NYU Med showcasing all the career trajectories you can pursue post-PhD. This is one of the best opportunities for graduate students and postdocs to learn about the breadth of career paths for doctorates and an amazing place to network with the next generation of scientists. More info on the two-day conference can be found here, and the registration link is here.

Sunday, 10/20 It's no secret that the Secret Science Club always puts on a great barroom lecture and this Sunday's talk promises to be no exception to the rule. They'll be featuring atmospheric scientist and climatologist Sonali McDermid down at the Bell House in Gowanus.

Monday 10/21 It's not always science and startup events here. One of my favorite organizations, the Society for the Advancement of Social Studies (aka SASS) is back with more barroom history, this time with a focus on the spooky, scary, and ghoulish.

Wednesday, 10/23 VR investors and practitioners in the healthcare space will gather at RLab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard for a showcase of the latest and greatest VR technologies and applications in the healthcare space.

Wednesday, 10/23 Scientists, artists and everything in between meet up once again at Peculier Pub for the October edition of SciArt's Synapse social mixer.

Wednesday, 10/23 Women Owning It, a "celebration of women in media and tech killin’ it in their fields and owning their space in the industry" is focusing their Fall 2019 panel event on the art of negotiating. Hear from women who are pros at closing deals and negotiating contracts, from female founders, to filmmakers, to a negotiation coach. Whether you’re in media or in tech, you're welcome to come and learn negotiation tips from both industries.

Thursday, 10/24 The NYC biotech/life science/entrepreneurial communities get together at JLABS once again for the October edition of their Innovators & Entrepreneurs mixer.

Saturday, 10/26 The Future of Care conference is back at Rockefeller University featuring some of the latest breakthroughs in clinical care and the innovators helping shepherd them from bench to bedside.

Tuesday, 10/29 Join Columbia Nano Labs for their annual Industry Day conference. Learn how you can use and leverage the Nano Labs facilities, hear from a panel of entrepreneurs who have done just that, and listen to faculty and technical experts discuss the way these sophisticated tools contribute to cutting-edge research. (Yes, this was rescheduled from the originally planed date of 9/5.)

Tuesday, 10/29 Taste of Science NYC invites you to a seasonally appropriate evening of phantasmagoric talks about perceiving things that may or may not be there! Learn about the neuroscience behind popular illusions and stage magic, and why paranormal investigators maintain a healthy sense of doubt in their work.

Tuesday, 10/29 Mark your calendars for Derek Brand's next ECHO bio-entrepreneurship mixer, a mainstay of the NYC biotech and startup ecosystems and something I recommend all M&D readers try to get to at least once.

Wednesday, 10/30 The Transit Techies are back to talk planes (maybe), trains (likely), and automobiles (possibly) at their next meetup held, as always at the Sidewalk Labs/Intersection offices in Hudson Yards.

Thursday, 10/31 Pitching your startup in front of investors doesn't have to be spooky. The Mid Atlantic Bio Angels 1st Pitch events offer NYC's biotech entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their innovations in front of a panel of real investors and receive critical feedback on their pitches and business plans. The 1st Pitch events are also a great place to learn about the latest innovations in the NYC biotech ecosystem and connect with some of its major players.

Friday-Sunday, 11/1-3 Join NIST and CCNY for a weekend-long hackathon focused on developing technologies to improve community safety and help the first responders who help keep us safe. All skill levels are welcome and $35,000 in cash prizes will be awarded at the end of the weekend.

Some other upcoming events to keep on your radar...

Thursday, 11/7 The LifeSci NYC meetup hosts their next event at BMCC with a focus on careers in the public health sector featuring a panel of NYC leaders in the field discussing what it means to work in public health, what it takes to get into the field and succeed, and what the public health ecosystem looks like in NYC.

Friday, 11/8 The Intrepid museum's Innovators series returns for another evening of showcasing startups powered by NASA technologies, plus networking and mingling between scientists, entrepreneurs, and technologists.

Friday-Sunday, 11/8-10 For 36 hours on November 8-10, HackPrinceton will bring together 600 developers and designers from across the country to create incredible software and hardware projects. They'll have swag, workshops, mentors, prizes, games, free food, and more.

Friday, 11/22 One of the year's most interesting conferences, SciViz NYC is back and once again bringing NYC-area visual science communicators, researchers, clinicians, journalists, artists, and enthusiasts together for an event focused on visualizing science for analysis, education, inspiration, and provocation. It's a day dedicated to exploring the parts of science we might forget about, but deserve just as much consideration.

Map of the Month

⚡ Here's a live map of carbon emissions being generated by electricity generation around the world.

Odds & Ends

Which medieval lion illustration are you today?

[its-lifestyle]

Do not underestimate the power of drums; their rhythmic beats can affect you more than you think. That’s something American John J. Hagedorn, 61, can attest to.

A drumming enthusiast, Hagedorn has been under the influence of rhythm most of his life. He uses drums in his team building and corporate training programmes, believing that they can be used to maximise a person’s potential.

In particular, he regularly conducts drum circles, or groups of people playing together to create in-the-moment music using hand drums and percussion instruments. Unlike professional ensembles and performance groups, drum circles require no previous drum experience from participants.

Hagedorn believes that the drum circle is a powerful tool for teachers, corporate trainers, social workers and therapists to work better with people and get the best out of them. In a drum circle, he explained that it is possible for a skilled facilitator to transform a group of non-drummers into a performance level percussion ensemble in just an hour!

“It feels like the whole group (of people) is a drum orchestra and everyone is playing together and playing different parts. There’s no rehearsal and everything is in-the-moment music.”

For many people, Hagedorn added, “a drum circle is an inspirational gathering; it’s euphoric and makes people happy.” Hagedorn, owner and principal learning facilitator of Better Training Solutions (BTS) in Kuala Lumpur, is a certified drum circle facilitator and certified trainer for Village Music Circles (VMC) in Santa Cruz, California, United States.

Hagedorn incorporates drum circles in his corporate team building programmes. Photos: John Hagedorn

Founded by American Arthur Hull, VMC offers rhythm events, interactive rhythmical experiences and facilitation trainings utilising community building values and leadership skills. Hagedorn is the only drum circle facilitating trainer in Malaysia and represents VMC in South-East Asia. He uses ashikos, djembes, tubanos – African-style drums that have been modernised – and other hand drums in his circles.

Drum circle facilitation has changed the way Hagedorn conducts his corporate trainings. “Now I try to get the best out of everyone instead of telling them what to do and pushing information to them,” he said, adding that once one learns how to facilitate a drum circle, one can apply the process to many different situations.

Hagedorn has also introduced drum circles in schools, churches, corporations and communities, organising sessions on a pro bono basis for churches, schools and NGOs. He has also volunteered at the Malaysian Parkinson’s Disease Association since 2009, providing regular “rhythm exercise” classes for its members. “We don’t understand why,” he muses, “but as long as these folks are engaged in rhythm, they are people WITHOUT Parkinson’s.”

Therapeutic rhythm With over 100 people in the local Drum Circle WhatsApp group, Hagedorn shares the many benefits of group drumming with the rhythm community he has founded and continues to support.

For instance, a drum circle can be used productively with many target populations. In the US, facilitators work with prison populations, soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, and recovering addicts.

Locally, trained Malaysian facilitators are working with school kids, special needs children, cancer survivors, corporate groups and religious communities.

“Drumming is a recognised method to help people relieve stress. Group drumming helps to keep people healthy,” said Hagedorn.

Rhonwyn in her element, facilitating a drum circle.

He has also roped in his eldest daughter, Malaysia-born Rhonwyn, 25, to take up community drumming.Rhonwyn quipped that her father “dragged” her into a drum circle training session when she was just 11, the first time Hull came to Kuala Lumpur in 2006. She dutifully attended the three-day training, despite not knowing the significance of the session.

Today, Rhonwyn is a certified facilitator and uses drum circles for her community development work. She is also the managing director of Project WHEE!, a social enterprise on rural eco-tourism development in Sarawak, which she founded at the young age of 19.

Both father and daughter also run MYbeat, formed in 2016, which organises rhythm workshops and training programmes throughout the year. In fact, MYbeat will be conducting a Drum Circle Facilitators’ Playshop from Aug 30 to Sept 1 in Petaling Jaya (www.MYbeat.com.my).

Hagedorn and Rhonwyn are also the organisers of the bi-annual Asian Rhythm Facilitator’s Conference.

Next February, Rhonwyn will be going for a one-week training programme in Arizona to become a certified VMC trainer. After that, she will most likely be the youngest drum circle trainer in the world. “In my teen years, I felt ‘cool’ with my status as a drum circle facilitator and held on to it as my identity. Now in my 20s, the philosophy of the drum circle is ingrained in my (community development) work,” shared Rhonwyn.

In perfect rhythm: Both Hagedorn and his daughter Rhonwyn enjoy being facilitators of drum circles.

Early days A New Jersey native, Hagedorn has been drumming practically all his life. “I have been a drummer since I was eight, first playing in a school band and later a rock and roll band in high school and college,” said Hagedorn, who has lived in seven different countries. Hagedorn has a Master of Arts in Teaching Language and Communications from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.

He first came to Malaysia in 1986 to teach English language courses at Institut Teknologi Mara (now known as UiTM) in Shah Alam. In 1994, he started his business as a corporate trainer and conducted programmes in business communication, negotiations, business writing and business presentations.

From 1997 to 2000, he was also a columnist (Better Business Communications) for the business section of The Star. From 2004 onwards, he introduced group drumming into team building programmes. Hagedorn attended his first VMC drum circle facilitation programme with Hull in 2005. Since then, he has attended 25 of Hull’s programmes worldwide.

“Team building is just one of the many different applications of drum circles,” said Hagedorn, who has conducted such sessions for a group of six up to a whopping 320.

“A big part of the philosophy behind the drum circle is community development. It is about bringing people together, putting people in touch with each other, and encouraging them to play. It’s an opportunity for them to share and grow together.”

Rhonwyn explains why drums are more friendly musical instruments rather than guitars or trumpets. “Everyone can play drums and once they realise they are part of the music, it brings out the confidence in them.”

Hagedorn added, “Everyone has rhythm inside them. Rhythm is all around us – in your breathing, walking and heartbeat. It’s up to us as drum circle facilitators to help bring it out.”

A drum circle is not a performance, added Rhonwyn. “A drum performance is for people to enjoy. A drum circle is about getting people together to participate and get involved.”

from Family – Star2.com https://ift.tt/2yUfgGt

[demitgibbs]

What’s Hot South Florida Apr. 19 – Apr. 24

Friday, April 19

The Pub presents the triumphant return of Lady Bunny to their stage at 9:30pm. Bunny’s filthy mouth offers scowling, spiked comedy, with political jabs sweetened with southern-fried gregariousness. If you can’t catch her tonight she will be back at the Pub on Sunday for one more performance at 9pm.  

Sage/Prime Gentlemen monthly film presentation presents: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at 1:30pm at The Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors. Winner of Four Academy Awards including Best Actor – Rami Malek, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture-Drama. The film is a celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer, Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and convention to become one of history’s most beloved entertainers. The film also chronicles the band’s reunion and one of the greatest performances in rock history. This is a FREE event with free soda and popcorn.

Saturday, April 20

The Pet Project presents their annual Easter contests at the Pub from 4-6pm, where they invite you to go and watch the pet competition for best bonnet, best costume, and best owner look-a-like. Featuring lots of prizes, great fun, a silent auction, and no charge to enter your pet.

The WMAE (Wilton Manors Art Expo) presents their monthly Art Walk from 5-8pm. South Florida’s fine artists will be displaying paintings, photographs, jewelry, and sculpture at various locations up and down Wilton Drive. For more info, go to: WMAE.org.

Female impersonators are to transform the 700 block of Key West’s Duval Street into an improvised speedway entertaining crowds of spectators during the wacky Great Conch Republic Drag Race. The eclectic event features racing drag queens dressed in their highest heels and most stylish racing attire. The first qualifying heats are scheduled for 2pm with finals around 5pm.  Hosted by the Bourbon St. Pub, the event typically spoofs an auto-racing spectacular with a starting gate, pit stops, finish line, and viewing areas. Organizers are outfitted as pit crew and race officials, while an island DJ blares the sound of air horns and revving engines. The drag competition is part of Key West’s 37th annual Conch Republic Independence Celebration. Drag Race information: New Orleans House Guest House at 305-293-9800.

The Club Fort Lauderdale features their bi-monthly (1st and 3rd Saturday of the month) Res-Erection Naked Blackout event at 10p.m. This is always a sold-out event, so get there early!

Noche Latina Saturdays inside the Ivy Dance Room and Patio, at the Manor Complex celebrates Easter starring Kalah Mendoza and Carmen Adore. We will also be celebrating the birthday of King Jomar.  The night will also star DJ Larry Larr and sexy Latin Go-Go papi’s.  Doors open at 11pm to 4am, and feature NO COVER before midnight (FL Res) and only $7 for members after midnight and $10 for non-members (18-20 – $12 all night).

Sunday, April 21

The Ramrod presents their monthly E.D.C. (enforced Dress Code) from 9pm to 12am on the patio hosted by the Minotaurs.

The Pubs Sunday Brunch is expanded today in honor of Easter. At 1pm catch Skye and her girls performing and Easter Drag Brunch and then at 3pm they feature a most outrageous bonnet contest and a hottest gym bunny contest. This event will be a benefit for Julian’s Fountain of Youth.

Tuesday, April 23

The Broadway Across America touring company of Anastasia come to the Broward Center starting tonight and going through Sunday, May 5.  This dazzling show transports us from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love, and family. For tickets, which start at only $35go to: BrowardCenter.org.

Wednesday, April 24

The Broadway smash hit, The Lion King, makes 2 stops in South Florida as part of its Broadway Across America tour. Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this landmark musical event brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway. This show also features some of Broadway’s most recognizable music, crafted by Tony Award-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice. Starting tonight through May 5th at the Kravis Center in Palm Beach and then moves to the Arsht Center in Miami from May 8-26.

Hot Stuff

Broward House presents their annual “Dining Out For Life,” on Thursday, April 25, where restaurants donate a portion (up to 50%) of their sales back to the organization. For a list of participating restaurants and what they are giving back, see the ad in this week’s mag or go to: BrowardHouse.org/DOFL.

This is HOT

The original cast album to the Broadway hit The Cher Show was released digitally this past week via Warner Bros. Records (you can download it on Spotify, Amazon or most music streaming services) with the physical CD album release scheduled for Friday, May 10th. The bio-musical, which opened on December 3rd at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York, is a celebration of the one and only Cher and her amazing six decade career and life story.  

The release contains 22 songs including the legend’s biggest hits like “If I Could Turn Back Time,” “I Got You Babe,” “Believe,” “The Beat Goes On,” “Bang, Bang,” and “Strong Enough” and is performed by a stellar cast. Tony nominee Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks and Micaela Diamond (in her Broadway debut) all play Cher at various times in her life. The cast also includes Tony Award-nominee Jarrod Spector as Sonny Bono, Tony Award-nominee Michael Berresse as Bob Mackie, Michael Campayno as Rob Camilletti, Matthew Hydzik as Gregg Allman, and Tony Award-nominee Emily Skinner as Georgia Holt.  

“I can’t imagine anyone else but this incredible cast performing my songs and telling my story. I truly love them all,” commented Cher.  

Cher, currently on tour, is an Oscar, Emmy and Grammy award-winning star and recent Kennedy Center Honoree. She has enjoyed over 50 years of success as an actress, recording artist, producer and global entertainer breaking down barriers, pushing boundaries and letting nothing and no one stand in her way. That story is told nightly on Broadway at The Cher Show.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/04/17/whats-hot-south-florida-apr-19-apr-24/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/184251203665

[hotspotsmagazine]

What’s Hot South Florida Nov. 29 – Dec. 4

Thursday, November 29

Stonewall National Museum – Wilton Manors (2157 Wilton Drive) presents, Home for the Holidays – stonewall movie night at 6 pm. Jodi Foster’s 1995 star-studded directorial debut is a perfect representation of why they say you can’t go home again…When her teenage daughter opts out of Thanksgiving, single mother Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) travels alone to her childhood home for an explosive holiday dinner with her dysfunctional family. Claudia quickly tires of her parents, her long-suffering sister (Cynthia Stevenson), her snobby brother-in-law (Steve Guttenberg) and her nutty aunt (Geraldine Chaplin). But the evening gets interesting when Claudia’s gay brother Tommy (Robert Downey Jr.) turns up with a new friend named Leo Fish (Dylan McDermott). The parents seem to accept their son’s homosexuality without acknowledging it, which is an accurate note for many families. Claudia is disturbed by the absence of Tommy’s former boyfriend, who was popular with the entire family. Free to attend with a $5 suggested donation. Friday, November 30

The City of Oakland Park presents their 3rd annual Holiday Village at Jaco Pastorius Park (4000 N Dixie Hwy) starting tonight with the Holiday Tree Lighting at 6:30pm and featuring events all weekend long. Friday is from 6-10pm, Saturday & Sunday from 11am to 7pm and Sunday. The events are free and open to the public!

Saturday, December 1

Today is World AIDS Day and Broward House along with CAN Community Health presents a Vigil and Remembrance Walk which starts at 6:30pm at Hagen Park and ending at the Pride Center.

Miami Beach is also doing something, but the details were not available at Press time. Keep an eye on our Website and Social Media channels as we will be posting.

The Ramrod presents Pig Dance #124 (first Saturday of every month) from 10pm to 3am with this month’s guest DJ Barry Huffine.

The Club Fort Lauderdale features their bi-monthly (1st and 3rd Saturday of the month) Res-Erection Naked Blackout event at 10p.m. This is always a sold-out event, so get there early!

Sunday. December 2

The Pub presents Brutbears the Bear Necessi-T Dance form 4-10pm with great music and Go-Go bear dancers.

Flip Flops Dockside Eatery presents their monthly T Dance (first Sunday of the month) from 4 to 7p.m., hosted by Amanda Austin with DJ Robert Lavalle spinning and this month’s special guests: Nickey Monet, LuLu Cavali and Joanna James.

The Ramrod presents the closing party for Pig Week, which will be a Happy Hour Pig Roast  hosted by Chad Bush with free food on the patio from 6-9pm.

Tuesday, December 4

Art Miami (art-miami.com), the city’s original and longest running international contemporary and modern art fair returns for its 29th edition, together with the seventh edition of its adjacent sister fair Context Art Miami,  (contextartmiami.com) running from today until December 9th. They will present an array of iconic and exemplary works, dynamic projects and special installations.  Art Miami and Context Art Miami will kick off Art Week with a VIP Private Preview at the Art Miami Pavilion located at One Herald Plaza at NE 14th Street on Biscayne Bay in Downtown Miami between the Venetian & MacArthur Causeways.  A One-Day Fair Pass provides admission to Art Miami and Context Fairs at $50. A Multi-Day Pass provides admission to Art Miami, Context and Aqua Art Miami Fairs for $90. Students aged 12 – 18-years, and seniors aged 62-years and older are $35. Children under 12 are free. The VIP Pass costs $250 and provides access to the VIP Previews; unlimited admission to Art Miami + Context Art Miami during public fair hours; and access to Art Miami VIP Lounge + Context Art Miami VIP Lounge; and complimentary admission to partnering museums. This pass will also provide access to Aqua Art Miami for the VIP Preview and during fair hours.  

This is HOT

Capitol/UMe celebrates a half-century of top-shelf music-making with the release of Neil Diamond’s 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, a 6CD retrospective that spans the singer/songwriter’s entire storied career. This fully loaded collection contains 115 tracks overall set in a hard-cover book, featuring scores of Diamond’s most beloved hits alongside demos, rarities and 15 previously unreleased tracks. 

Diamond’s unique connection with audiences the world over is evident all throughout the breadth of material presented on this box set. Witness the folk-rock reverie of “Solitary Man,” the unbridled exuberance of “Cherry Cherry,” the sweet acoustic twang of “Forever in Blue Jeans,” the pure Americana swing of “Kentucky Woman,” the eternal sing-along sunshine of “Sweet Caroline,” the raw emotionality of “I Am…I Said,” the welcoming arms of “America,” and the deeply expressive heart light that’s on full display in his chart-topping duet with Barbra Streisand, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” for just the tip of the iceberg of Diamond’s artistic achievements.

A full disc containing 12 unreleased songs, including recently unearthed gems such as “Sunflower,” (written and recently updated by Neil Diamond, originally recorded by Glen Campbell), “Before I Had a Dime” and  “C’est La Vie” a song that Neil co-wrote with friend Gilbert Bécaud. Meanwhile, the original demos of two of Diamond’s most indelible tracks, “I Am…I Said” and “America,” give listeners further insight into the creative process behind a pair of his most iconic songs. 

Order Neil Diamond’s 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition here: NeilDiamond.lnk.to/50CollectorsEdition

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/11/29/whats-hot-south-florida-nov-29-dec-4/