#golden goose award

[reasonsforhope]

“A young scientist who worked in the jungles of Thailand has been awarded a national prize for his invention of a $2 paper microscope that can be taken on field expeditions.

If a scientist wants to study something at the microscopic level, they need a microscope, which if they are deep in the Amazon Rainforest presents a serious problem.

Stanford University bioengineer Manu Prakash saw in his team’s $50,000 microscope a serious contradiction. As well as being bulky and ridiculously challenging to transport to remote locations, it needed training from skilled technicians to know how to use it. It also had to stay well out of the weather and other environmental impacts.

So he invented a portable one. Costing $1.75, the Foldscope has a 140x zoom, which is a small enough field to see a malaria parasite inside a cell...

“I want to bring science into everyone’s hands, make it more personal,” Prakash told CNN. “We have decoupled everyday life from the process of science.”

The ultimate in schoolhouse science, Prakash’s invention has sold 1.6 million units, mostly to schools in America, but serious scientists are also using it—like Dr. Kirti Nitnaware in India who works on the isolation and characterization of bioactive metabolites in cyanobacteria.

She used the Foldscope last year to isolate a new species of cyanobacteria. For this and other reasons, Prakash received the 2022 Golden Goose Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), parent company of the scientific journal, Science.

“The Golden Goose Award reminds us that potential discoveries could be hidden in every corner and illustrates the benefits of investing in basic research to propel innovation,” said Sudip S. Parikh, chief executive officer at AAAS.” -via Good News Network, 9/20/22

[genericpuff]

Just to add to the speculation: Rachel was on Twitter and instagram over the last week being really excited over how she's talking to Webtoon about LO's return date and seemed to be in good spirits, but now that we have confirmation of LO ending and her and Webtoon are now being really quiet about it, I get the impression she was expecting that meeting to be a renewal discussion but instead was greeted by Webtoon asking when she was wrapping things up with no offer of another season. I think WT was considering it since none of the S3 ads mentioned it was the last season, but they must be seeing the internal numbers and with the potential of the TV show not happening and less and less book sales, they must have seen no financial or business reason of renew it. The obfuscation both her and Webtoon are doing right now implies Rachel was blindsided by this IMO.

fucking OOF BRO

That was definitely an angle I hadn't considered, obviously it's still just speculation/tinfoil but from what I've heard about how cagey WT can be about communicating with their creators, it could very well be a possibility. That said, while it would SUCK for Rachel if that was the case, I feel like it's also something she shouldn't have been pressing her luck with for so long. TBH there's a lot of evidence to support the fact that LO has been getting "special treatment" for years now and I think a lot of that was based on the good will of how well the series performed in 2019/2020. When the series started going downhill, WT would have likely been willing to give her benefit of the doubt, but now with things going the way they are where people are clearly DONE with LO and Rachel isn't making any attempts to actually get her shit together, it would make sense if WT is just finally deciding to cut their losses.

Of course that's, again, HEAVY speculation. But I've seen series that weren't controversial or regularly criticized like LO get suddenly dropped without much warning for the creator (see: Yuna & Kawachan). The fact that LO has been going on this downward spiral for so long without any intervention or attempts to improve things just goes to show how much WT was banking on this series to succeed, especially after all of the time and money and advertising they had sunk into it. Even look at the awards that LO won this year, including the Eisner, which isn't an award traditionally won twice, lending credence to the fact that WT is buying her these awards to try and save their golden goose. It's too late to save it. It's barely managing to stay alive on life support.

If anything I hope this is a harsh but necessary lesson to WT to not undercut their other creators and series just to shove all their eggs in one basket. There are so many series on the platform that could be massive hits if WT would just extend them the olive branch and give them the same royal treatment they gave LO for so many years. There's no reason all of their resources need to go into one series, it's not a pie, everyone should be able to get the opportunity to be seen within their library. Otherwise, if for some reason WT can't allocate those resources due to the sheer number of series on the site, then that should be a wake up call to lessen the amount of titles that are being churned out into the Originals catalogue every week. To be fair, the launch weeks have lessened over the past year, they're not quite as overstuffed with launch titles as they used to be, but it's still a lot compared to what it used to be back in the day.

The reality is that LO was released at a time when the site wasn't nearly as oversaturated as it is today so it was created at the right place, right time - if it was released today, it would likely be another buried series with little to no advertising. It was a product of its time and that time is very much long gone.

[vro0m]

Ok I have one. Explain to me a very basic, level 1 concept of F1. Like. The most simple way. Everyone should know this but I don't.

Hi Sae 💕 I set out to explain simply a very basic level 1 concept of F1 and ended up writing you an essay, I hope you don't mind. I can't help myself but infodump.

If you ask people what's most important in F1, chances are they'll tell you about the cars, the engines, the aerodynamics, the driver's talent but I'm here to argue that some of the most decisive and/or exciting moments the sport has given us to see were down to : relationships.

You always, always have to do better than your teammate (an unnecessarily long essay by vro0m)

I wanna preface this by saying I'm unfortunately missing a chunk of good examples because although I've been, as most of you know, watching Lewis' entire career from the start I've not yet seen 2016-2018 but it doesn't matter.

Introduction :

As you know, F1 is made of 10 teams, and each team has 2 drivers. It also awards 2 titles per season. One is the World Constructors' Championship, hereby referred to as WCC, that is won by a team, as per the points both of their drivers earned combined. The other one is the World Drivers' Championship, hereby referred to as WDC, which, as the name suggests, is awarded to the driver who's won the most points over the season.

This unique feature creates one of the most complicated networks of relationships in the world of sports, because each team wants the most points aka for both their drivers to do well VS. each driver wants to do better than his teammate. They have to work together to help the team, but they have to work against one another to help themselves.

It's a recipe for angst and drama, and god knows we love it.

It's also very much a key feature of the sport, and you can find examples of it influencing the way events unfold in all eras, although I will focus only on the years I have myself seen.

Teammates, rivalries, and egos :

Take the very famous Multi-21 drama. Mark Webber joins the young Red Bull Racing team in 2007. His teammate is David Coulthard, a veteran who's soon to retire. Webber was a midfield driver, who got his hands on a new, midfield team seat and must have thought he was set for life. Who knows, the team might even get better? But in 2009 the stars align and shine not on him but on young, golden-haired Sebastian Vettel, his new teammate, who ran into him once before in 2007 during his first season, after what Webber called him "a kid" and blamed his lack of experience.

Indeed Sebastian is a decade younger, brazen and moving through the ranks about as fast as the rocketship RBR has suddenly managed to put together. It's his third year in F1, against Webber's eighth, and he finishes 2nd in the WDC, not one, but two ranks ahead of him.

In 2010, they collide again during the Turkish GP, while Webber is in the lead and Vettel tries to overtake him, sparking controversy over the team's management of the drivers. Webber finished 3rd and Seb had to retire from the race. But it didn't matter in the end, because that year, he won his first WDC, and RBR won their first WCC. And then again in 2011. And then again in 2012. The blond kid turns out to be the golden goose.

And Webber is pissed. Because as a driver, when your team puts together a winning car, you don't have a good excuse for not winning the title anymore. All there is to it is that he's not as good as his teammate, and that's the worst thing a driver can be in F1. You always, always have to do better than your teammate. Even when your team is last. Why? Because you're in the same car. Your teammate is the gauge of your actual driving skills. If you end up behind another team's driver, you can always say his car was better. There's no hiding your shortcomings when it's your teammate. Even less so when the spotlights are shining on you.

So what does he do? Work his ass off? Train? Study the car better? No. He blames management. Right from 2010, as soon as he realised who he was up against, even though he was leading for most of the season, he claims RBR is giving Seb the preferential treatment.

Team principals :

See, that's the third angle of that love/hate triangle. Driver-driver-team principal.

If you're a team principal, your drivers are a constant headache because chances are they fucking hate each other. Might or might not be okay off track, but as soon as they sit their asses in the cars, they most probably hate each other. And the more your team wins, the more they hate each other! Backmarker teams usually have rather minimal internal drama because what are you fighting about? P19? But when you start winning... boy oh boy.

Because that's the whole point, right? You're more or less happy to be a team player when there's not much on the line for you (although as stated earlier, you still wanna finish ahead of your teammate). But when you're in a winning car??? That might be your only chance to win a WDC in your whole life. Better seize it. Better fucking win. Better run your teammate off the track as you do it because he now also has a winning car.

Back to the team principal. You don't care which one of your drivers finishes first, as long as your team finishes first. You know what doesn't help teams finish first? Drivers crashing into each other while racing for the win, like Webber and Vettel in 2010.

Enter team orders.

Team orders... or not :

Team orders are exactly what they sound like : the team is ordering their drivers to act a certain way, whether they like it or not, because the team is looking out for the team and the drivers are looking out for themselves. It's the team being a stern parent and getting a grip on its rowdy children. No more games. Now you sit down and obey. Now you're also looking out for the team. After all, we're paying you.

Team orders are controversial, because nowadays when a team is good, a team is usually dominating. Hence there's no real racing at the front, the dominating team's drivers finish first and second most of the time. So if you don't let them race, and they have no real competition, then there's really nothing to watch, and it gets boring. Team orders are also controversial because it doesn't give the other driver a chance.

That same year, Lewis Hamilton joins a then "best of the rest" team. Upper midfield, if you will. Lewis and his new teammate, Nico Rosberg, are childhood karting friends who are finally living their shared dream of being F1 teammates. And Mercedes takes a different path. A risky path. They decide that their drivers can race each other. They claim it pushes them to do better. Rivalries drive people, right? As much as your teammate is a gauge, he's a benchmark. You always, always have to do better than your teammate.

But you don't give a shit, you're a team principal. Doesn't matter in which order your cars arrive. As far as you're concerned, your cars are first, out of all the other teams' cars. So you give team orders. You protect your 1-2 finish. Better believe Horner was fucking pissed when his drivers crashed in 2010.

(Now, not always. Not all the teams. There was a time Mercedes let their drivers race for real, for real. We'll get to it.)

RBR tried it the stern parent way. It doesn't always work though. Malaysia 2013. Mark Webber is leading the race. Sebastian Vettel is second. They have about 10 seconds on the Mercedes, there's no threat on the horizon. "Multi-21," they are told. That's team orders for you guys are finishing in that order. That's stern parent for fall in line and bring home the 1-2. Webber is obedient, of course, he's in the lead. His goal aligns with the team's goal. But Seb is a brat, and his goal is not P2. The tensions have been piling up for several years now. While his elder relaxes in the lead, reassured by the team orders, Seb doubles down, attacks, and overtakes him for the lead. Fuck your team orders. Fuck Webber. Although he claims the relationship didn't impact his decision, Webber quits F1 at the end of the season.

The team is actually doing really well, finishing 2nd in the WCC. Lewis finishes 4th, Nico 6th. The challenge is set. And in 2014, new regulations, new cars, the racing gods smile down on Mercedes like they did RBR in 2010, and they get a fucking rocketship for the next eight years. We're in a dominating situation, mostly. They had some competition, but most of the fighting was, in the end, infighting. It's the brocedes era. The most brilliant example of the complexities of F1 team relationships.

At first, it's exhilarating, racing each other at the front. But it's like Icarus and the sun, you cannot lose sight of the goal. Because you can't win and have a friend. From using engine modes they weren't supposed to use to try to beat each other, to controversial pole positions that might or might not have been won by cheating, Lewis ends up calling an end to their friendship only a third of the way through their second season together. And then, it's Mercedes' version of the 2010 RBR drama : Nico collides with Lewis, costing the team the 1-2. Turns out all the F1 roads lead to drama.

Lewis wins in 2014. Mercedes wins in 2014. Lewis wins in 2015. Mercedes wins in 2015. Nico wins in 2016. Mercedes wins in 2016. But Nico is so frayed by the rivalry, he quits. Just like Webber.

Now what? Mercedes tried it the other way and they got the same results RBR did. Many wins, and one driver short.

Toto Wolff hires Valtteri Bottas. And Bottas is the final example of F1 relationships because he's the sacrificial lamb on the altar of Lewis' career. It's the last concept we'll talk about today : first and second drivers.

First and second drivers :

See the last, and arguably most common, solution to the thorny team VS. teammate problem is to have, more or less explicitly, but mostly less, a first and a second driver. Which means, as a team principal, your order of priorities goes team > driver 1 > driver 2. It simplifies things for you because you don't have to juggle your drivers, favouring one over the other and then the other over the one, to keep them both happy and obedient and not crashing into each other, like Mercedes had to at some point to try to tame the intra-team war the Lewis-Nico situation quickly evolved into. They thought they had a spark, they ended up with a forest fire.

But does it, really, simplify things? No. Because you always, always have to do better than your teammate. No driver is in it for the team. They're all in it for themselves. They put up with the team because they have to. If the team doesn't support them, well... Why would they support the team? And that's why they end up ignoring team orders. See, although Webber did it (as long as he was in the lead, anyway) most drivers will not ever admit to being a second driver. Think Perez pretending RBR supports his fight for the title. Why? Well my friend, because you always, always have to do better than your teammate. They will never admit that the whole team decided that their teammate is the one they should back, at their own cost.

And that's just another source of resentment, right? They hate the team for not backing them up, and they hate their teammate because he's better. On top of it, they can't vent openly about it because it would be admitting that they're the second choice. So amp up team radio drama and internal problems shushed behind closed doors.

Now that's not what Valtteri did, actually, surprisingly. Valtteri thought he had a chance, but he didn't. First of all because Lewis is practically untouchable as I mentioned in another essay, but also because his seat was built on the ashes of Nico's. There was no way they were letting the situation get that out of hand again. Enough with the permissive parenting. Turns out Mercedes is not the fun dad after all.

Valtteri is good. But Lewis is great. Valtteri doesn't have the kind of record sheet Lewis does. Choosing a first and a second driver is not so much a thought-through decision than common sense. Mercedes' management most probably didn't sit down at a table and write it down. It just... was. Valtteri never got close to winning the title. And I know I've said it before but it's truly a wonder he didn't start hating Lewis for it. For being the second driver. Oh it did damage, don't get me wrong, but most drivers externalise such things rather than internalise them like he did. But eventually you can only sacrifice yourself for so long. Again, none of them are in it for the team. Valtteri was a perfect second driver, he obeyed, he didn't create drama, and he pushed himself to the point of exhaustion trying to catch up to Lewis to beat him the right way. Some people might argue he's not selfish enough for F1. I'll argue at least he's a decent human being. It might even have worked with a different teammate, but it was Lewis.

So he left. Now he's not stepping on podiums anymore but he is better than his teammate. And you always, always have to do better than your teammate.

[fromtenthousandfeet]

The Goose That Laid the "Golden" Egg

When Jungkook's Golden album came out I have to admit I was really confused about exactly who the songs were supposed to appeal to. The explicit lyrics in Seven and 3D really didn't fit with your average BTS fan. The collabs were strange, too. Usher and Justin Timberlake? Was this album geared towards old Millennials? Jack Harlow and Latto (who, by the way, is hardly a household name here in the US) - rap enthusiasts? DJ Snake and Major Lazer - EDM fans? Was the album geared towards men or women? Young or old? Like who the heck was the target market?

And then one day it hit me. I was asking the wrong question! The target market didn't matter one iota. The right question was cui bono? Or rather, who stands to gain? This got me started digging into the song credits on JK's album. And here's what I discovered - every collaborator has writing credits.

Let's break it down.

3D featuring Jack Harlow. Harlow has writing credits. Justin Timberlake has writing credits on the remix.

Closer to You featuring Major Lazer. Diplo, a.k.a. Thomas Pentz, has writing and producing credits.

Seven featuring Latto. Latto, a.k.a. Alyssa Stephens, has writing credits.

Standing Next to You Usher Remix. Usher Raymond IV has writing credits.

Please Don't Change featuring DJ Snake. DJ Snake, a.k.a. William Grigahcine, has writing and producing credits.

The features are paid up front for their collaboration, and then, because they have writing credits, they will continue to earn royalties from streams and sales. Not a bad deal for the folks listed above. The same goes for the well-known song writers and producers on the album, like David Stewart, Andrew Watt, Jon Bellion, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, and many others. Here's an article about how royalties work for those who care:

I shudder to think how much was spent on marketing Seven/Golden. I assume HYBE America paid for marketing expenses since Scooter was the one doing A&R while leveraging his extensive web of contacts in the music industry. I don't know this for certain, though, without seeing HA and BH's expenditures. Either way, someone paid iHeartRadio (among others) for media play and radio airplay. And then there were paid advertisements all over social media platforms, including forced adverts on YouTube that counted towards Billboard charts.

So much money was spent on Spotify. Paid playlists, paid playlist positions, Spotify Discovery Mode. I know Spotify also modified the search algorithm so JK's Seven would pop up first in the results when one searched for Jimin. If I remember correctly, this happened in YouTube as well (such a dirty move). Like, somebody got paid to rewrite code to override the search function.

More money was paid for media play with Billboard, Rolling Stone, Forbes, and I'm pretty sure NME and Consequence of Sound, too. There were probably many adverts I didn't notice. And then there were performances, awards, and his ad campaign which I won't discuss but I've definitely wondered who paid whom for that endorsement deal.

I don't need to go on and on rehashing 2023, but what I want to point out is that BIG MONEY was spent on the roll out of Jungkook's first single and subsequent album. Was Seven the most expensive single in pop music history? And cui bono? Not Big Hit, since essentially none of the in-house writers and producers were involved. Streams don’t yield big payouts and the digital singles and albums were often sold at a discount. Jungkook didn’t make huge bank since he had zero writing or producing credits. But Scooter Braun's clients and industry friends seemed to do pretty well. And just about every company that's related to the western music industry received payments for pushing and playing the songs from Golden.

So, I see two potential scenarios here.

Number One! HYBE used Golden as a means to, shall we say, line the pockets of the western music industry (cough...bribe...cough) so that releases from HYBE labels will get treated favorably in the future. Also, given the scope of marketing, media play, playlisting, and radio play, Golden could have been used for market research to determine where the company gets the most return on investment in terms of reach and charting. I think you can see this with the rollout of Illit's Magnetic, which has heavy Spotify Discovery Mode and a huge focus on TikTok, but very little standard media play via the traditional music media outlets. And no posters.

Number Two! Scooter Braun saw this album as an opportunity to financially enrich his friends, colleagues, and the companies he has investments in, like Spotify. Was he siphoning money out of HYBE by promising to make Bang PD's dream of western validation come true? Can't you see Scooter whispering sweet nothings into Bang's ear? "Mr. PD, give me a big budget and I will make you the biggest music mogul in 1,000 years!"

Whatever the grand scheme was behind Golden, one thing's for sure, the western music industry and social media platforms made out like bandits.

FYI:

HYBE America lost more in 2023 than Big Hit earned.

HYBE America Sales: 226.3 billion Net Profit: -142.4 billion won

Big Hit Music Sales: 552.3 billion Net Profit: 140.3 billion won

142 billion won is just under 105 million USD. Yowza.

In other news, HYBE Corporation was designated a conglomerate today. I'll try to unpack the implications of this if anyone is interested.

[weclassybouquetfun]

Awards season is inching to a close with the last gasp of screenings coming up the week of January 8th. My favourite movie of the year is SALTBURN and Amazon-MGM is holding three screenings of it on the same day to end its FYC run. The same night Disney finally remembers THE CREATOR exists and is having a screening/Q&A with its director Gareth Edwards.

Notable award season dates:

Jan. 6th-7th: The Creative Arts Emmys. This is the portion of the Emmys that awards the winners of the Outstanding Guest Star category. TED LASSO has four in this category: Three who have all been previously nominated for their roles on the show: Harriet Walter, Sarah Niles and Sam Richardson; and newbie Becky Ann Baker as Dottie Lasso.

If James Lance wasn't promoted to regular, surely he would have received and likely won a S3 nomination in this category.

James and his hair situation with his fellow voice-over artists for the BBC Radio 4 show "We Forced a Bot to Write This Show".

Jan. 7th: The Golden Globes

Prayer circles for Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike for their work in SALTBURN and TED LASSO, Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham.

Wed. Jan. 10: The SAG-AFTRA awards nominations

Sun. Jan 14th: The Critics Choice Awards . Hate that there was no love for TED LASSO and that SALTBURN actors and the script was ignored (but at least the artisans were recognized).

They were robbed!

Really pulling for Da'Vine Joy Randolph of THE HOLDOVERS, Charles Melton of MAY DECEMBER and for Young Actor/Actress, Milo Machada Graner for ANATOMY OF THE FALL.

If Milo wasn't this category, I would be rooting for THE HOLDOVERS' Dominic Sessa who is in the same category. Though, Sessa will very likely win.

Mon. Jan 15th: The Primetime Emmys. We have nods for Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Phil Dunster, nods for outstanding writing, directing, editing,production design, VFX, hairstyling, original music & lyrics and series. I am just hoping for some wins.

Thurs. Jan. 18th: The BAFTA Film Awards nominations.

Tues. Jan 23rd: The Academy Awards nominations

During this time Sundance Film Festival will be live (Jan 18th-28th) ,there we will likely get a couple of presumptive nominees for 2024-2025 film awards season.

Tues. Jan. 23: Academy Awards nominations. I'm a broken record. I'm all in on SALTBURN, especially hoping for nominations for Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike.; and one for Best Film. But as I was all in on BABYLON last year and it got goose eggs, no film should want me as a fan.

I'm hoping for JA Bayona's SOCIETY OF THE SNOW gets a nom and win for Best International.

And as France didn't submit ANATOMY OF A FALL (I assume there's too much English spoken for it to qualify), I hope it gets the same love last year's ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT received and it's put up for Best Picture.

Sun. Feb. 18: BAFTA Awards.

Sat. Feb. 24: Screen Actors Guild Awards

Sun. Feb. 25: Spirit AwardsSun. Mar. 10: Academy Awards

Then we pause until late April and Emmy season kicks right up again and we continue the dance.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Honestly those of us who don't fall for solo rhetoric or conspiracy theories could see this coming, but it still feels so reassuring to have this. Especially as chapter 2 has been filled with uncertainty and we've still got some more temporary goodbyes coming up.

What a beautiful day though to spend time listening to BTS's discography whilst looking forward to whatever awaits both leading up to 2025 and then beyond that!!

*

Ask 2:

BPP I've been going through all your FACE and Seven era posts and I just want to say thank you for having this blog. I checked a few PJMs pages and it amazes me they still keep repeating the same lies and theories that have been debunked over and over:

'Hybe worked with Billboard to sabotage Jimin but save NewJeans' (No both artists were screwed over)

'Hybe never acknowledge Jimin's BB1 win' (No it was acknowledged and announced on their twitter, and celebrated at their investor meeting and you can find the presentations online)

'Hanteo only deleted Jm's sales and gave no explanation or statement' (No every member and other groups have this issue and (bs) statements were issued in Hobi's, Jimin's and V's cases due to Army and solo backlash)

'Hybe prevented Jimin from having a cake' (No Taehyung said how Hybe offered him cake but he chose to decline it and said that unprompted after PJMs screamed for months about a damn cake)

'Hybe refused to stock CDs for only Jimin' (No, groups and singers like Enhypen, TXT, Namjoon, V, are dealing with shipping and stocking issues not only Jimin)

'Hybe chose JK as the golden goose' (No wth does this even mean? Don't these people realize their solo careers don't end in 2025?)

Like you said, they spin a web of delusions and half truths and mindlessly repeat it like a mantra to assure them their fave in BTS is so badly mistreated he needs their help for his career to survive. It's such a bizarre mindset and one I've only seen from q-anon people who think every child is being trafficked and needs rescuing from people across the political isle. Just bizarre to see adults throw away logic and common sense to think like this.

Thank you again for your blog. It helped me survive the constant barrage of conspiracy theories and doomposting from PJMs and the heavily biased who gave them space to run amok with their madness here.

***

Lol the fun isn't over just yet. Jung Kook still has his solo debut, Jimin's documentary is still coming, and awards season is around the corner. All of which will provide more fuel for the most demented in the fandom. I keep saying, BTS akgaes by definition occupy a headspace that's removed from the reality we all see. There's a reason taekookers move more like akgaes than regular shippers, it's because they're functionally the same. And like I keep saying, you're severely underestimating the ability of these people to delude themselves. I don't mind it too much since as far as I'm concerned, it's entertainment, but it does get annoying to constantly repeat publicly available information to people who choose to drink that koolaid, and who only come up for air when announcements like this shock them awake (though it's only for a short time before they fall down the same thought patterns again).

Fun times ahead in Boraland, Ami.

[liam-twatter]

look at the one saying this... Liam would say "you f*ggot fuck you woke spastic"... Noel would say "all of that them/they, I'm like : fuck off you woke fucking idiot"... He's part of those "tolerant", "love everybody", "anti-fascist" Labour ones, hypocrites who don't tolerate even if you have a different opinion...

"...I’ll never forget being present at the Q Awards in 2000, when Liam Gallagher repeatedly heckled Robbie Williams with “Queer!” and Kylie Minogue with “Lesbian!” as the assembled music business and media tittered nervously, reluctant to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. It’s one of the ugliest scenes I’ve ever witnessed. This wasn’t a one-off either. In 2016, on Twitter, he called Russian football hooligans “batty boys”, and in 2018 used another homophobic slur, “bum chums”, against Noel, Johnny Marr and Paul Weller."

Not only that time he reffered to Noel as gay in an offensive way

"Noel, too, has repeatedly expressed prehistoric views, complaining about a hip-hop artist, Jay-Z, headlining Glastonbury in 2008 (though he’d softened his stance by the time Stormzy headlined in 2019), and describing the then Labour leader, Ed Miliband – yes, Ed Miliband – as a “fucking communist” in 2015 and later Jeremy Corbyn in similar terms. In 2021, he appeared on the front page of the Sun calling Prince Harry an “effin’ woke snowflake”, and in 2024 complained about Glastonbury becoming too “woke”. It’s no coincidence that Oasis are the band of choice for flag-shaggers and Reform voters – it’s remarkable how often their fans have the butcher’s apron on their Twitter bios, just as Noel had it painted on his guitar. ..."

[saintmeghanmarkle]

The snare of Scientology by u/jahazafat

The snare of Scientology They award has nothing to do with aviation. He may as well be getting a set of junior pilot wings pinned on him by a Delta stewardess. The dwindling fellowship out for blood, royal blood that is. Harry is the golden goose. Tom Cruise is elderly. His death certificate will claim he died from an overdose of Grecian Formula. Travolta is a lost cause. The Masterson rape trail exposed lots of secret information. Harry has no problem with putting church before family, one of the church's philosophy. The core of Scientology behavior is to bully, control and intimidate, sound familiar? Meghan isn't the target but put the lure of private jets at her disposal and she'll hop on board. P.S. If Harry is such an aviation legend why is he never in the pilot's seat when they travel the globe? post link: https://ift.tt/xJnUtQz author: jahazafat submitted: January 12, 2024 at 01:48PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[wegonbealright-09]

I'm tired.

I'm so tired. I'm actually deactivating my twitter acc because everytime I come back from that app, I'm messed up emotionally and mentally.

The only time I've ever hated twitter this much was in 2018, when BTS was this close to disbandment.

Like I don't understand, I never thought being a fan of jimin would be this hard. It's like Hybe is trying to discourage us, because this is tiring me mentally and emotionally, I'm not in the right space and all this bull shit it just piling up on top of my stresses, like being a fan is not supposed to be this tiring. I'm tired. It's like they want jimin to lose fans because we're fighting a losing battle.

We've been raising the same issues over and over again but they are falling into deaf ears. Recently fans complained well armies complained about something related to seven and BH responded immediately. When we've been begging them to restock like crazy for three months now.

I'm not bitter. But I won't lie and pretend I'm happy for jk and his fabricated success, maybe in the beginning I was because he was one of my favourite members, but now it's too much, we've been begging them to restock like crazy and they've decided to release cds for sevens remix I mean what the fuck?!!!

I'm feeling sorry for y'all armies especially those who think BTS will still be BTS in 2025. They might not disband but trust me it won't be the same. As much as this second chapter has revealed a lot of solo stans, it also made me see the members true colours, who they really are.

This is scooter braun the man whose ass armies are licking. This is him explaining how 2NE1 was CL's biggest obstacle. CL was a member of 2ne1, she was a rapper and scooter brainwashed her into leaving the group. He made her believe that she was bigger than the group, she didn't need the group the group needed her. She was a give a solo contract that promoted her debut successfully but the success didn't even last a year, and he left her like a used condom, when fans questioned he gave useless reasons.

This is the reality we're all facing.

Jk has been feeling really big lately, eversince he debuted. Now alot of people mistake a person having a huge ego for confidence. There's a huge difference between an ego and confidence.

And jk has been talking like someone who's got their ego polished. He's talking about himself being big, giant pop star, the first, the only one and so on.

I mean there's a difference between having goals and being arrogant.

It's like he already sees himself bigger than his group, bigger than his group mates. I've said this before and I'll say it again.

They did not choose jk because he's the youngest, the golden goose, the most talented, the most marketable in the west.

Because jimin is by far the most marketable in the west. This man has Hollywood in wrapped around his little pinky. His Pandora streams are massive, bigger than BTS' own. He's been stable on the charts with no promo so you do your math.

They chose jk because he's the most gullible, the greediest maybe idk, he's always wanted more, he's never satisfied and he's always been competitive, wanting to stand out, wanting to be "the one and only". He was the easiest to manipulate and he fell right at the palm of scooter's hands.

The awards that they are gunning for with all these restocks won't even belong to jk they will decorate scooter's office.

Honestly I'm tired like really tired it's not even funny.

There's no reasonable explanation for this behaviour from jimin's agency's except for the fact he might have not renewed his contract yet and they are showing him he's nothing without them. Or jimin has signed with a different agency for his solo activities because why would they go to such lengths to sabotage one of their own it makes no sense.

And pjms have been losing their minds some think that jimin might not be aware of what's going on but I think he knows. I know he doesn't have twitter and he's been inactive for about a year now?

But jimin has friends who see this and probably tell him, the members like jhope who have his back probably see stuff like this and tell him. Jimin has producers who worked with him on LC and are keeping track of LC so they see what's going on with the sabotage and all and they tell him. So he knows he def knows but Idk what they expect him to do.

I know he's working on something. He is working on something and it might be what we all want and that is him being free form BH and Hybe.

I just need him to release new music as in yesterday. Or give us a clue, a sign because wtf!!!!! 😭😭😭😭

[usagirotten]

“The Wild Robot” Trailer Release: A New Animated Adventure

DreamWorks Animation has unveiled the highly anticipated trailer for their upcoming animated film, “The Wild Robot.” Scheduled for release on September 20, this adaptation promises an enchanting journey that blends technology, nature, and the essence of being alive. Based on Peter Brown’s beloved novel, “The Wild Robot” introduces us to ROZZUM unit 7134, affectionately known as Roz. After a shipwreck leaves her stranded on an uninhabited island, Roz must adapt to the harsh environment. As she builds relationships with the island’s animals, she becomes the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling named Brightbill.  From DreamWorks Animation comes a new adaptation of a literary sensation, Peter Brown's beloved, award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, The Wild Robot. The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, "Roz" for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling. The Wild Robot stars Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong'o (Us, The Black Panther franchise) as robot Roz; Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as fox Fink; Emmy winner Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek, Best in Show) as opossum Pinktail; Oscar® nominee Bill Nighy (Living, Love Actually) as goose Longneck; Kit Connor(Heartstopper, Rocketman) as gosling Brightbill and Oscar® nominee Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once, this summer's The Fall Guy) as Vontra, a robot that will intersect with Roz's life on the island. The film also features the voice talents of Emmy winning pop-culture icon Mark Hamill (Star Wars franchise, The Boy and the Heron), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows, The SpongeBob Movie franchise), and Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible films, Pulp Fiction). A powerful story about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things, The Wild Robot is written and directed by three-time Oscar® nominee Chris Sanders—the writer-director of DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and Disney's Lilo & Stitch—and is produced by Jeff Hermann (DreamWorks Animation's The Boss Baby 2: Family Business; co-producer, Kung Fu Panda franchise). The Wild Robot will be released on September 20th.

Read the full article

[alarrytale]

Hey, I always seem to come to this blog whenever I have thoughts I need to share. So I was for the first time in a while getting existed and enjoying the content we're getting from louis at the awards since it felt like something new and different but that was short lived when I was reminded of how he's been treating us larries throughout the years. It's strange cause most of the time it's easier for me to ignore or move past the things Harry does mostly minor things (not like his silence on things or the people that he surrounds himself with) but it's so hard with louis and I'm not trying to start a fandom war of who's best or worse but it's because he always targets us in his social media outrage like out of everything and every rumor or controversy we're the worse thing and it bothers me to no end especially the way he does it, it feels very homophobic and not just a normal denial like most celebs do, some of whom have it just as bad with people speculating on their sexuality and their relationships being fake, especially when they have a bigger platform and are younger but they handle it better and without sounding homophobic, like there are worse people in the fandom or other fandoms but we're always the ones getting attached from the internet on one side and him the other. I know this was long so thank you for reading it till the end 💜

Hi, anon!

With Louis the highs are high, and the lows are low. It's been like that since 2012. I think people deal with it differently and it affects people differently. It's the same with Harry when he's going over the line of what people find acceptable. It impacts us differently.

I know why Louis is doing what he's doing. And i get why he's being so harsh about it and irrational. I think the blow would be harder for us fans actually if he wasn't acting as ridiculous as he is. It's so ridiculous and over the top that we can joke about it and agree that it is ridiculous and an overreaction. I also know he loves us larries and that he isn't homophobic. He's gay and in a relationship with a man. Louis' actions are forced upon him, perhaps not even done by him, while his hands are tied behind his back. He's being sabotaged. That doesn’t excuse what happened, but the circumstances are extenuating. I know his actions doesn’t reflect who he really is, because Larry is actually real.

My problem is opposite yours. I struggle more with Harry's actions. I don't know if it's because he's put himself on a pedestal of morality with his TPWK philosophy, and i therefore hold him to higher standards than i do Louis, or if it's because i struggle more with excusing him. With Louis i know the reason for his behaviour, i'm used to it by now, and i know not to take him seriously and get hurt by it. I still get hurt, but i move on. Either it's done out of insecurity or fear, or it's done by Sony to keep him down and seperate him from Harry (or both).

With Harry it's more about him acting privileged, inconsiderate and making decisions based on money. I can't as easily seperate those actions from his image as i can with Louis's actions from his image. Maybe i expect more of Harry, but he's also Sony's golden goose. I can't blame Sony, fear or insecurity for Harry's actions. Sony didn’t write his Grammy speech or tell him to lift the hammer of Isra*l. Same with the blackfa*e or no mask during Covid. That's ignorance, privilege and decidedly not treating people with kindness.

I agree that it's no use pitting them against each other and starting fandom wars. I think we must learn to respect that we're impacted differently, have different boundaries and have different coping mechanisms. We can still love them both equally, or have our favourites. It's all okay 🤎

[onearmedlegend]

Top Gun: Maverick Notes Part 1!

Tagging: @crooked-jes @merieltla

1. Opening Image (technically)-planes flying (a past sequence for the audience to be nostalgic for).

2. Opening Image (officially): Maverick walking out of a door with his food. He is alone.

3. Maverick in his ‘natural habitat’: fixing planes, room swarmed with awards, pictures of friends/family.

a. Focuses for 3 seconds longer on the picture of young Bradley, and shifts to a picture of older Bradley.

4. Long pan left/right/zoom in of Maverick traveling (stays consistent)

a. Color grading stays consistent with monochrome in every shot.

5. Admiral Cain reveals with black, tinted windows. (Looks amazing.)

a. Continuity error with Cain’s hand; not on his face, the next shot it is under his chin.

6. Golden ratio of the plane circling around.

7. Kid has to say the “Earth,” line; kids look up to Maverick for the same reason the Navy hates him.

8. Cain says, “The future is coming, and you’re not in it.”

a. Shows that Maverick is still stuck on Top Gun, Goose + Carole, and Bradley.

i. This goes double for Iceman saving him all the time.

ii. Goose and Rooster look a lot alike.

iii. Penny comes back (another reference to the first movie)

b. Predicts F-14 subtly. (something good from his past is returning). This is the answer to the major problem in Act Three.

9. 15-minute mark: Maverick is called back to Top Gun.

10. “Just want to manage expectations.” – reference to how Maverick must exceed expectations (100 ft flight).

11. “Old relics.” – predicting again.

12. The steepness of the hill is resembling Maverick and Rooster; they have to move on faster than the both of them think for this mission to work.

13. “Someone’s not coming back from this.” – shows that Maverick wanted to go on this mission to go out with a bang.

a. PTSD + suicidal tendencies (?)

14. 20-minute mark: “Fly this mission or never fly again.”

a. “I think this is it.” – suicidal tendency again

15. Penny says, “It always ends the same with us, let’s not start.” – reference to past, but that there is hope for it to end better.

16. “You look good.” – Maverick to Penny

a. Exes.

17. “Hangman, you look…good.” – Rooster to Hangman

a. *16 + 17 are basically in the same scene, not a coincidence.

17. Phoenix references Hangman’s ‘easy’ kill, this will come back later. (if he learns to stop leaving people hanging.)

18. Screenplay throws names at the audience quick; it will help the audience to remember them by understanding who likes who and who hates who.

19. Rooster makes a jarring appearance (cut from warm lighting in bar to purple lighting outdoors). He’s already made an impression on the audience by just this + his outfit. (We don’t need to see his face.)

a. Everyone knows him, almost everyone loves him, Maverick looks away. (establishing relationships for later again.)

20. Hangman presses 8 + 6 on the jukebox. Reference to release date of the first movie.

a. ‘Slow Ride’ – foreshadows the development of Rooster having to change flying technique.

b. This gives us an insight into much of an asshole Hangman is. (He thinks that he will be appointed leader; irony: Hangman = leaving people hanging again.)

c. “Special detachment,” Payback says.

i. Rooster and Hangman hinted at being exes again (?)

ii. Shared weird looks among the Daggers

iii. Something unsaid (deeper meaning) behind Rooster and Hangman’s exchange.

21. “Who are they going to get to teach us?” Phoenix says. This shot is an answering quick shot to Maverick, who will be their teacher.

a. “It’s been declined,” says Penny. Meaning nobody is going to like Maverick here soon.

i. When he gets thrown out of the bar.

ii. His teaching methods later.

22. When Maverick is thrown out of the bar, there is a shot of Coyote, Payback, and Hangman.

a. Background is yellow, they are tinted blue.

23. ‘Great Balls of Fire’ triggers PTSD for Maverick. (Used to sing inside the bar alongside Goose, now he is on the outside watching Rooster, who doesn’t even know he’s there.)

a. Maverick is worried for Rooster, too. (That he will end up exactly like his father.)

24. Contrast of red/white on the American flag.

a. Red = hardiness, valor

i. Maverick

b. White = purity, innocence

i. The Dagger squad.

25. They are all wearing green.

a. Green = new beginnings, growth

i. Maverick + Rooster

ii. Rooster + Hangman

iii. Hangman + new Daggers

iv. Maverick + teaching instead of being a pilot.

26. “You going to wash me out?” “That’ll be up to you, not me.”

a. Washing out – to deplete the strength in someone.

b. Rooster only responds to Lieutenant, not his name (Bradley), this is his way of staying ‘strong’.

c. He and Maverick both wear sunglasses because they are literally not seeing eye to eye.

i. “Am I dismissed?” – keeping the ranking instead of it being personal.

27. Hangman and Phoenix are the only two that the camera shows the reaction of.

a. Hangman being the ‘antagonist’.

b. Phoenix being his best friend.

28. ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ – Rooster’s song for not making the same mistake Goose did, or Maverick towards the Navy about being a teacher.

a. Rooster: trusting Maverick.

b. Maverick: getting fired.

i. “Easy, Maverick. Let’s try not to get fired on the first day.”

29. “This guy needs an ego check.” – Irony for Hangman.

30. Dog fight sequence shows that Rooster will die for his friends. (good leadership)

a. Maverick says, “It’s going to cost him.” Rooster says, “Not this time.” – still holding onto the grudge, obviously.

31. “Watch your back, Phoenix.” – Rooster knows that Hangman will ditch, and so does Phoenix.

a. According to the screenplay, Bradley gave Jake the callsign ‘Hangman’.

b. Bob wonders where Hangman went, and Phoenix answers for the audience of why they call him Hangman.

32. Maverick flying upside down – a reference to the first film.

a. Top Gun: Goose flipped him off as a joke because they were friends.

b. Top Gun Maverick: Rooster is looking at Maverick because he’s pissed.

i. This is how the scenes differ.

33. How low can the two go, triple meaning:

a. how low can the planes fly?

i. foreshadowing height for the mission.

b. How far will Maverick go to push his pilots.

i. Proof Maverick can be a teacher.

c. Rooster holding onto something in his past that was not Maverick’s fault, as the audience assumes (Goose’s death).

i. Secretly something else; foreshadowing.

34. “Don’t think, just do.” – Theme of Bradley’s development arc.

35. “It’s too low.” – double meaning, also a foreshadow (but it is also the answer.)

a. Both went too far for the other’s liking, emotional-wise.

b. It is how they will have to fly and pull up.

i. Rooster proves that he can do it, but he didn’t see; Maverick proved it because he knew Rooster’s potential.

36. We finally understand the real reason Rooster despises Maverick: pulling his papers and sending him back 4 years.

a. We didn’t know this as the audience, so Maverick is an unreliable narrator.

i. “Why would he do that?” – Now we must find this out, whether Maverick says it, or it is revealed to him that someone else knows.

37. Maverick explains why he pulled the maneuver (not just for personal reasons) + permission to request to lower the hard deck.

a. Teaching the Daggers how to come home.

i. PTSD from Goose, again.

38. Maverick’s theme: Time.

a. “You could learn a thing or two about timing, Captain.”

i. The next scene: Hangman looking at a picture of Maverick and Goose (+ Iceman, foreshadowing an appearance.)

b. Now, Hangman and Coyote (Bradley’s ‘antagonists’) know inside information on Maverick and Rooster’s ‘problem’.

i. Callback: “Bradshaw. As I live and breathe.”

1. First time was cocky, second time is intimidating and calculated.

39. Theo + Amelia: another sign that time is passing Maverick by.

a. “Captain? Still?”

40. Boat scene: to build the relationship that Maverick and Penny lost/could have had, now they can.

a. “Now you’re in the Navy.”

i. Foreshadowing that Maverick can still be in the Navy elsewhere if it isn’t flying.

41. Maverick states his own theme: Time.

a. “Time is your greatest enemy.”

i. Reference to how everything in their past will tear the mission apart, if they don’t move on.

b. “This makes time your greatest adversary.”

i. Reference to people’s relationships (Maverick/Rooster, Maverick/Daggers, Rooster/Daggers, Hangman/Daggers, Rooster/Hangman) will have to be one mind, same page.

42. Maverick talks about the 100 feet maximum height, everyone is shocked.

a. But some have proven they can already do it. (Rooster)

43. Maverick makes sure that the team starts communicating + thinking about not only each other, but the other Daggers’ families.

a. PTSD again

b. Hangman is still hanging onto the idea he needs to be leader and everyone else is behind him.

c. Rooster is late instead of increasing speed.

i. ‘Slow Ride’.

44. “It’s not the plane, sir. It’s the pilot.” “Exactly!” – triple meaning

a. To not think too much for this mission to go well.

b. Rooster won’t stop pushing back on Maverick, when for once he needs to listen.

c. Maverick won’t stop pushing back against Rooster because Maverick really means himself.

i. Suicidal tendency.

45. “It’s no time to be thinking about the past.” – Hangman to Rooster.

a. Now Hangman has Rooster where he wants him; enraged and vulnerable.

i. This is how Hangman thinks he can prove he’s the better leader.

1. “He’s not cut out for this mission. You know I’m right.”

46. Midpoint: Iceman, the B Story, arrives in person finally.

a. Movie is 2 hours, 10 minutes. Midpoint is around 55-65 minutes in. Iceman is in shot at 55:25.

47. “It’s come back.” Reference to something bad will happen to the last piece of Maverick’s past.

48. “How’s my wingman?” – Maverick wanting to talk about the past. Iceman wants to talk about work. They talk about Rooster holding onto the past.

a. Iceman types, ‘There’s still time.’

i. Maverick’s theme.

b. “Send me.”

i. Suicidal tendency.

c. Iceman types what needs to be said to Maverick, that nobody has told him yet. We see their reactions before reading the screen; because we know, we just want to see how Maverick reacts to Ice—his guardian angel of the past—telling him.

49. “It’s time to let go.” “I don’t know how.”

a. He needs to let go of his guilt of Goose dying and pulling Bradley’s papers.

b. But he also needs to let go of Top Gun after this mission.

50. “The only reason I’m here is you.”

a. True, but we as the audience know that there is a clock on Ice.

b. Time. Things are moving past Maverick again. He needs to become a teacher, not stay an aviator pilot.

51. “The Navy needs Maverick. The kid needs Maverick. That’s why you’re here. That’s why I fought for you.”

a. Iceman gives Maverick the last bit of his strength to move on. It’s all him now.

52. ‘I Ain’t Worried’

a. “Time is running out. […] I ain’t worried about it right now.” The song is about taking things slow for a bit.

i. Taking a break. The beach scene is the fun and games scene.

ii. Also about making sure everyone is playing on the same team.

1. “You said to build a team. There’s your team.”

53. Maverick + Penny love scene.

a. Top Gun: blue

i. Blue = harmony, unity

b. Top Gun Maverick: yellow

i. Yellow = power, ambition

c. Shows that he found the right person.

54. Penny + Amelia

a. Amelia reminds Penny of herself and doesn’t want her to make the same mistakes.

i. She must let her daughter grow up.

ii. Theme: Learning from the Past

55. “Not an easy choice.”

a. Penny: letting Amelia make her own decisions.

b. Maverick: Letting Rooster hate him for a promise he made to Carole.

[parkminijiminie]

Yall can call Jungkook fraudulent but yall can't call him a flop. Him being cherry picked to be the golden goose and having the company push him can be the reason for his success but it doesn't change that the outcome IS success. Call him vapid and shallow even a sell out with shitty music but the records are his the numbers are his the awards are his all objective measures of success are his mind you this is why I can't fucking stand jjks he's doing amazing and getting right in your face preferential treatment at the expense of the other members and they gotta lie and bitch about shit instead of shutting the fuck up and eating their food.

The company chose him to be "the break out" one from the group, it seems. It's not fair to the other members, for sure, but so far, the company is getting what they wanted from JK in terms of charting and numbers, but I fear they are irreversibly damaging the fandom in the process of doing it.

[tetsunabouquet]

Kise X FAB Reader: Daughter of Wind

A/N: I wanted to go with FAB instead of female reader from now on, because I just wanted to make it clear that my characters typically being female coded has to do with most of the characters implied to be just straight, and I wanted to make to make it clear to gender neutral readers of the female gender that I don’t give a crap about gender roles, but then I figured I’d ended up excluding trans girls so scratch that. Being a female at birth still holds true for this storyline though.

Anyways, ever heard of the real ending of The Little Mermaid? Basically, she doesn't gets the prince, desolves into seafoam but because of her selfless character she is awarded to become a Daughter of Air, and earn a soul of her own. Depending on how you interpret that saying, she either goes straight to heaven which not having had a soul left her unable to do or she becomes human and goes to heaven after living her life out.

I'm going for the latter interpretation of this ending.

Once upon a time, you were a mermaid princess, the youngest of your sisters. You had lived in a beautiful palace beneath the sea, with the joys of your magical underwater garden. Yet, you were too curious and the world you were born in couldn't contain you. You wanted to know what mountains looked like, the ones you heard from legends. You wanted to see what kind of grass grew on land, what that felt like. Then came the pain of unrequited love. You had loved your prince dearly, but he had his heart devoted to the princess that cured him back to health. It shattered you to pieces, but you sisters were there to give you a knife, saying taking his life and sprinkling his blood on your legs would turn you back. Not that you could. You couldn't blame him, or destroy his happiness for simply being in love with someone else. That's not the kind of thing you can control. Your self-sacrifice had made you worthy of becoming a Daughter of Air and Wind, being granted the ability to actually work to become human by serving them as wind and breeze for 300 years. Which is what brought you to Kaijo, present day, having recently finished your duty at last. You had known him for years now and had watched him grow from a little boy into an adolescent of your own age.

He was five years old when you first met him. You actually got one year off every time you secretly entered someone's home and found a good child. Kise had been your golden goose that day, the way he allowed his sisters to dress him up like a doll with no complaints, and smiled so sweetly to his parents removed one year. You were already so close to your retirement, that you were slightly getting impatient. After almost 190 years, your examplary work was close to paying off. You took in the boy's adorable and rare features. 'Those golden eyes of his are certainly impressive.' You smiled, and were intending to leave for the day and return to your job when you felt those golden eyes on you, as if Kise could see you. He didn't, but it seemed like he could sense you. 'He must be one of those that can sense magic. Seems he's got some great instincts too.' You smiled broadly at the kid, one more time, before leaving.

You stayed in Japan. With your days of servitude drawing to a close, you decided to stay in Japan and get acquainted with its modern day culture so you actually could intergrate in their human society by the time your work was finished. Perhaps it was because of that, or perhaps it was loneliness, which made you visit the Kise household over and over again. The boy's ability to sense you made you feel like you had some sort of companion in the kid, at least and he was fun to watch. His sisters reminded you of your own, and you watched them occasionally with nostalgic tears in your eyes. A mermaid's lifespan was about 300 years, and with all the hard work you put in, they still had a little more then a century left. Just like your human life. The idea you could still see them, one day, after so long, was a heartache you couldn't forget. The parents were such wonderful, loving people too. Both so incredibly patient with their vivacious children. You loved how the Kise patriarch was part of the neighborhood watch, and would patrol around the area to ensure its safety and help out the occasional animal in need of rescue. He was such a good, responsible father. The Kise matriarch was a complete sweetheart. You had no other way to describe the good hearted woman. Gentle but friendly, she had the perfect welcoming air of a mother. They were such a happy, lucky family. They were enviable indeed.

By the time your service was finished, you stuck by the only thing you knew. The Kise household. There was a young witch living not too far from them, and you convinced her to be roommates. Hina was a noisy, chronically bored early twenty-something who had nothing better to do but to stick her nose in your business in between her work time. Some of it, you appreciated, because she actually wanted to help you track down your sisters. The rest, not so much. Her job was performing magic for the rich, enchanting or summoning anything they desired, in exchange for some good cash. Her customers came and went regardless of the hour. and it could be a rather scandalous place from time to time. But with her magic, she easily forged documents making you her younger sister and her your legal guardian. If you weren't too busy being annoyed with her, she impressed you. With her help, you enrolled Kaijo, knowing Kise was joining that year too. Hina was also responsible for your current situation of the day, obviously, because Hina wouldn't be herself if she didn't thought of being a matchmaker. Which is why, every time, Ryota entered the same room as you, something nearby you would explode. Hina had some very bizarre ideas to get his attention, and some were slightly dangerous indeed. 'It seems all witches have a habit of nearly killing me.' You thought to yourself as this time, someone's bag next to you exploded, the pages from their textbook spilling all over you. 'I curse that witch-bitch!' You thought to yourself as you pulled a half-shredded page from your face, seeing Ryota right in front of you. His golden eyes were staring at you with amusement, and you stiffled a groan. 'Great, now I've been humiliated in front of him.' "Seems things are exploding around you lately, huh?" "Well, yeah. It seems I'm attracting the freak accidents today." You smiled awkwardly, trying not to feel like you were dying at the fact he was acknowledging your existence. He paused to study you, "you really certain we haven't met before?" "For the hundredth time Kise-san, I have nevet met you before. " You said defensively, before hurrying afterwards, frightened you scared him off, "Though it's somewhat of a pity. You seem like an interesting boy." Ryota snorted as a response. "Most girls compliment my looks rather then my personality." "Well, those are impressive too. But there's more to you, isn't there?" You asked whilst looking into his golden eyes. 'God. could I sound any more cliché?!' He chuckled and winked before he walked to sit with Shiki Sousuke, who he'd been becoming close friends with since the start of school year. You inwardly swooned. 'Why is he so god damn charming?'

You were walking down the hallway to go the school library to study for the upcoming classical Japanese literature test. As you turnt around the corner, walking into the large book filled room, you heard someone shouting your name before hearing a loud bang. Just in time, you were pushed down the ground as a bookcase exploded next to you. Ryota pinned you safely to the ground, shielding you from the damage of the blast. Paper snippets were stuck in his hair, but he appeared uninjured. Relief washed over you, and you cursed Hina once more. "I think it's about time you tell me why things are exploding around you, l/n." You bit your lip at his inquisitive gaze. "Perhaps its unforeseen forces trying to bring us together?" You 'joked' lightly. "Or maybe the universe is trying to tell me you're more then just an ordinary girl." Ryota speculated, making you freeze under his grasp. As people gathered around you, he helped you up. You timidly stood next to him, wondering what he was going to do or say. He escorted you to the table, and you could see the fangirls in the library glare at you from a distance, making you sweatdrop. As he made you sat down, he sat next to you. "Tell me, do you have magic powers?" Ryota asked, his eyes shining with a childlike curiosity you had seen a million times, but you had never gone bored off. Especially now he was actually a handsome young man of your age, with abbs and an adonis-like face that would make the prince pale in comparison. "Not anymore. It's someone else who's put me under a magical prank of sorts at the moment." You confessed softly, watching his eyes widen. "So...You lost your powers?" Ryota whispered. "Not really. I worked to become human. I didn't like being magical all that much." "EH?!" Ryota yelped, and you shot him a murderous look. "Keep it down!" You hissed. "Sorry. It's just, that's pretty unusual. Most of us humans want to be magical." Ryota explained quietly, and you shrugged in response. "Everyone wants to be what they cannot be. As a model, you certainly know that, don't you?" He fell silent at that, for a while, but a chatterbox like Ryota wouldn't be shut up with any words forever. "And then you said I was the interesting one. Your story certainly is more impressive and intriguing then mine, y/ncchi!" 'Y/ncchi...' "That's the first time you ever called me that." "Well, considering the magical world seems to have intentions of matchmaking us, I would be an idiot to turn down a beauty literally out of this world. Or was all your pathetic flirting for the past few months the way you socialize wherever you come from?" He teased, and you couldn't help but playfully whack him across the head. "I do like you. " You said, grinning. "You're surprisingly more perceptive then the prince too." "Wait, what prince?!" Ryota asked as you stood up, not wanting to forget to actually study. "Y/ncchi?!" You giggled, feeling as if happiness was tickling the insides of your cheeks as they pulled up in a stupid grin. As you walked back to his table, books stuffed under your arms, he looked at you with teary eyes. "I thought you were leaving me!" "Sorry Mr Drama King. I do have to study. Especially if you want me to have time for a date. I mean, we are dating right now, right?" "Of course! I want to take you out this Saturday, actually!" Not bothering to whisper that part, all of the fangirls slowly gathered at the back of the library to sob their eyes out. But you didn't notice, nor did you care. Because for the first time, you actually had feelings for a boy who wasn't in love with someone else, who actually wanted to try things out with you and saw what you were worth. And it felt good. Ryota heard your voice across the winds when no one else could and he saw you so clearly now, it was the best feeling in the world. 

[astridflies]

Also like researching "useless" knowledge isn't actually that useless!!! People fucking around in the lab find cool and helpful shit all the time!!! Check out the Golden Goose Award!!!

These are awards for publicly funding research into "useless" things that actually turned out to be pretty fucking useful!

One of the previous winners had this highly venomous cone snail and wanted to study the venom. So they evetually isolated the bioactive proteins of the venom and injected those into mice brains just to see what would happen. They learned that the venom wasn't paralytic in mice, but only in fish and frogs.

The omega-conotoxin obstructs a calcium channel, which paralyzes fish/frogs. In mammals, that calcium channel regulates PAIN.

They're in trials right now for a small, surgically implanted device that delivers a copy of this protein to a person's spinal column, which relieves pain without getting people high and with less potential for abuse. Basically the benefits of opiods without the risk of overdose and addiction. It's also changing preclinical research because we can now explore these calcium channels in the brain better than we ever have been able to previously.

So yeah. Let us play more. You'll never know what cool shit we'll find.

I think it’s incredibly fucked how capitalism discourages learning for learning’s sake. People will have interests they’ve spent years researching then say it’s “useless knowledge” bc it didn’t go towards a college degree and isn’t part of their job. Learning is never useless! Your brain is growing and developing throughout your whole life! People would never have epiphanies or sudden lightening strikes of creativity if they weren’t learning new things! That goes double for topics like science, politics, and history, which inform your understanding of the world you live in!

[agrpress-blog]

Nella Giornata del Gatto - istituita nel 1990 - ricordiamo lo scrittore e giornalista Paul Gallico, autore di numerosi libri e racconti felini, fra cui Thomasina: The Cat Who Thought She Was God, da cui fu tratto il film disneyano Le tre vite della gatta Tommasina (1963) di Don Chaffey. «Sono un romanziere marcio. Non sono neppure un letterato. A me piace raccontare storie e tutti i miei libri raccontano storie. Se fossi vissuto duemila anni addietro sarei andato in giro per le grotte e avrei detto: "Posso entrare? Ho fame. Vorrei un po' di cibo. In cambio, ti racconto una storia. C'era una volta, c'erano due scimmie...", e avrei raccontato loro la storia di due cavernicoli» (Paul Gallico, «New York Magazine») Nato a New York nel luglio 1897 da madre austriaca e padre pianista e compositore triestino (nel 1868, anno di nascita di suo padre, e poi ancora per altri decenni Trieste faceva parte dell’Impero Austro-ungarico), Paul William Gallico si laurea alla Columbia University nel 1919 e, nel corso degli anni Venti, diventa giornalista sportivo scrivendo numerosi articoli sul «New York Daily News». La sua carriera decolla dopo un’intervista al pugile Jack Dempsey. In breve diventa uno fra i giornalisti sportivi più pagati degli Stati Uniti e fonda i Golden Gloves, competizione amatoriale di pugilato. Il suo libro, Lou Gehrig: idolo delle folle (1941) verrà portato al cinema con il film sportivo L’idolo delle folle (1942) di Sam Wood, con Gary Cooper e Teresa Wright. Alla fine degli anni Trenta decide di abbandonare il giornalismo sportivo per dedicarsi alla narrativa, dapprima scrivendo un saggio proprio su tale decisione - Farewell to Sport, pubblicato in un’antologia di suoi scritti di sport con il titolo Addio allo sport (1938) - e diventa scrittore di racconti per riviste, molti fra i quali appaiono nel supplemento «The Saturday Evening Post». Il suo romanzo The Snow Goose e altre opere, è costituito proprio dalle versioni ampliate dei suoi racconti pubblicati nel supplemento settimanale. Nel ’39 pubblica The Adventures of Hiram Holliday - diventerà noto anche per via della successiva versione televisiva -, che narra delle avventure di un americano - una sorta di moderno cavaliere errante - che visita un’Europa alle soglie della Seconda guerra mondiale e si lancia in una lotta “donchisciottesca” contro i nazisti di vari Paesi. Le origini austriache di P. Gallico appaiono chiaramente nel forte tema monarchico degli Asburgo che affiora nel libro. Nel ’41 pubblica il racconto The Snow Goose sul «The Saturday Evening Post» e vince l’O. Henry Award per racconti brevi. Il critico letterario Robert Van Gelder lo definirà come «la più sentimentale storia che mai abbia raggiunto la dignità di un Borzoi» (la prestigiosa collana dell’editore Knopf). Il suo racconto, The Man Who Hated People verrà da lui stesso rielaborato nel romanzo Love of Seven Dolls, che, a sua volta, verrà portato al cinema con Lili (1953) e, otto anni dopo, trasferito nel musical Carnival! (1961). Negli anni Cinquanta vive in Liechtenstein, dove scrive Ludmila, rielaborazione di una leggenda locale. Il suo libro Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris (1958) avrà un buon successo e sarà il primo di quattro libri con protagonista la Signora ‘Arris. I diritti cinematografici vengono discussi già nel ’60, quando Gallico è residente a Salcombe - sulla costa meridionale del Devon - e, oltre trent’anni dopo, diventerà un film tv - In volo per un sogno (1992) - interpretato da Angela Lansbury, la quale, in quegli stessi anni, era nota al pubblico televisivo per il ruolo di Jessica Fletcher, la scrittrice di libri gialli della serie tv La signora in giallo (1984-97). Nel ’55, sponsorizzato dal «Reader’s Digest», fa un lunghissimo viaggio in auto in giro per gli Stati Uniti, guidando per oltre quindicimila chilometri. Durante il suo soggiorno a Salcombe, scrive una serie di racconti sul naufragio della MV Principessa Vittoria - il traghetto che collegava

Larne e Stranraer -, tragico incidente in cui morirono tutte le donne e i bambini che si trovavano a bordo. The Silent Miaow (1964) nasce con l’intenzione di essere una guida scritta da un gatto («tradotta dal felino») sul come ottenere, affascinare e dominare una famiglia umana. Illustrato con fotografie di Suzanne Szasz, il libro viene a tutt’oggi considerato un “classico” per gli amanti dei gatti. Fra gli altri libri di Paul Gallico sui gatti - argomento di cui era esperto - ricordiamo The Abandoned  - Jennie (1952) -, Honorable Cat (1972), libro di saggi e poesie sui gatti, e soprattutto Thomasina: The Cat Who Thought She Was God (1957), portato al cinema con il film Disney Le tre vite della gatta Tommasina (1963) di Don Chaffey, interpretato da Patrick McGoohan - il futuro protagonista della serie tv cult Il prigioniero (1968-69), Susan Hampshire, e i bambini Karen Dotrice e Matthew Garber, i quali, l’anno seguente, saranno Jane e Michael Banks in Mary Poppins (1964) di Robert Stevenson. Thomasina, all’inizio degli anni Novanta, diventerà molto popolare nella ex Unione Sovietica, ispirando il remake russo Bezumnaya Lori. Alla fine degli anni Sessanta Il libro L’avventura del Poseidon (1969), su alcuni passeggeri che per mettersi in salvo cercano di risalire un transatlantico rovesciato da una muraglia d’acqua, non otterrà gran successo. Al contrario il film omonimo, uscito tre anni dopo (1972), diretto da Ronald Neame ed interpretato da Gene Hackman e Ernest Borgnine, è considerato - insieme a Airport (1970) di George Seaton e L’inferno di cristallo (1974) di John Guillermin - come uno fra i migliori film del filone cosiddetto “catastrofico” in voga nel cinema americano degli anni Settanta. L’avventura del Poseidon vincerà due Oscar (fra cui quello per la Miglior Musica Originale), otterrà quattro nominations, avrà un grande successo di pubblico e rimane un “cult movie”. Paul Gallico muore ad Antibes - dove aveva trascorso i suoi ultimi anni - nel luglio 1976. Dopo la sua scomparsa, sul «New York Times», Molly Ivins scriverà: «Per dire che il signor Gallico è stato prolifico basta cominciare a descrivere la sua produzione. Ha scritto quarantun libri e numerosi racconti, venti sceneggiature per film, dodici film per la televisione, e ha avuto una serie televisiva basata sul suo racconto Hiram Holliday».