#her reasoning for the tickets was this costs less than it would to see Taylor

[popculturebuffet]

Goof Week: Sports Goofy in SoccerMania: GoofTales Woo-oo! (Paid For for WeirdKev27)

Gorsh all you happy people and welcome back to Goof Week, my Weeklong Celebration of everyone’s favorite goofus. 

And today we have a special treat, something nice and obscure but something that still has a vital place in Disney History. Welcome folks to Sports Goof in Soccermania!  

So yesterday in my Goof Troop review I wished there had been another DuckTales episode with Goofy, you know maybe find out what happened to Peg, see Max and Roxanne again that sort of thing.  Whelp SOMEONE must’ve hid a Monkey’s Paw around here somewhere because I got this special instead on comision. This is a VERY intresting little artifact as it came out only 4 months before DuckTales, was produced around the same time, and was written by Tad Stones, who would both go on to work on DuckTales and even more importantly create Darkwing Duck. 

Not only that but it has some odd things attached to it: it’s the first major production starting Scrooge, as he had an educational short about him, the first animated appearance of the Beagle Boys and most important the FIRST time Russi Taylor would voice Huey, Dewey and Louie, something she’d do till her passing a few years ago. At the time of this article she has not been recast, though I personally vote for Cristina Valenzuela, who took over the role of Young Donald and frankly does such a good job with that voice I didn’t know if Russi had already recorded lines for Season 3 before her passing. 

So what IS Sports Goofy in Soccermania you ask? It was a TV Special from 1987, again four months before DuckTales, that was later sold on VHS. My guess is Disney intended for this to become a regular thing like the Charlie Brown or Garfield specials, but my honest guess is with DuckTales MASSIVE success they wanted to put all the TV Animation resources into making more shows to go with it. The fact the special is essentailly a Scrooge story with Goofy in it and Scrooge and the Boys were now tied up in DuckTales probably helped the decision. So we only got one of these and i’m proud to share it for Goof Week. So join me under the cut to see what a Sports Goof is, what Scrooge sounds like without Alan Young or David Tennant andto see me refrence the film UHF because I likes it. 

 So we open with the titles which are neat and then open at the Money bin, we even get a great sign gag that looks like something Carl Barks would write.

So Scrooge greets his nephews the way he greets everybody.. with a canon to the face... though he backs of firing once he realizes it’s them. The boys ALL wear red this special so .. I guess Huey won and now rules all three bodies with an iron fist? So the Huey Hive Mind asks Scrooge for a donation, a standard Scrooge setup, ask the rich asshole for money, as their trying to help the local soccer program and they need a buck fiddy for a trophy. 

Scrooge’s voice here.. is terrible. I do not like to bash voice actors, they are hard working talented people who do a lot of great stuff, often for less pay than they deserve, and this blog ALWAYS makes that painfully clear. And Will Ryan is not without talent: While he hasn’t done much i’m familiar with he did play Petrie in Land Before Time and was great in it. So while I don’t dislike him as a person.. he did an utterly DREADFUL Scrooge. He dosen’t really attempt to do a scottish accent despite the character still saying cannae at one point, and as for what accent he is going for...

His Scrooge just sounds like someone trying to do a “foreign” accent and failing. It just sounds weird and makes every bit of his dialouge aside from one a chore to sit through. And the dialouge isn’t bad dialouge, it’s a well written and animated Scrooge even with the lower budget than Ducktales, but the voice just ruins it for me. Even without Young and Tennant to compare it to this just blows and the fact it’s paired up with the iconic Russi Taylor voice for the triplets.

This being Scrooge he instead fishes a Trophy out of the bin that’s all banged up and dinky and shoos them out. So in natural Barksian fashion the trophy turns out to be worth a million dollars. So we get some reaction shots.. INCLUDING GRANDMA DUCK!

For DuckTales fans joining us who have ZERO idea who that is, since she sadly did not make it into the reboot and Frank did have ideas, Grandma Duck is Donald, Della and Gladstone’s grandma. She’s a sweet old country woman who lives on a farm and is in fact the one who sold him Kilmotor HIll, with her husband renaming it from Killmule hill. I like her a lot since she reminds me of my own grandma and like her she still works when she can. Donald’s cousin Gus loafs around and eats as her farmhand. As you can tell I like her a lot, agani because she reminds me of one of my grandmas so this was nice even if she was only around for 20 seconds of screentime. 

This ends up in the paper and sends Scrooge through the roof, literally when he finds out. 

Two notes  before we move on: The bin has a unique really cool design , though I get why other productions haven’t used it: besides this one’s obscurity while cool it just looks a bit TOO nice for Scrooge. Even in 2017 while still damn cool looking it still looks practicle. This .. is not that.

This looks like MC Hammer built this. It still looks awesome bu tit’s just not Scrooge sadly. 

The other is that his Butler is named Jeeves here, but looks almost exactly like Duckworth. Just feels weird is all. 

Naturally the Beagle Boys happen upon the paper too and their leader, no name given has a plan: Enter legitmately and win the cup all legal like, which dosen’t sound like it lives up to the beagle code of no hones twork.... until he brings up theri going ot cheat their asses off. 

Meanwhile Scrooge tries bribing the boys with a giant trophy at their house... with Donald oddly absent despite Anselmo having taken over for Nash by this point. I know he was still a bit rough at the roll, but come on. It’s just.. weird especailly for reasons i’ll get into soon. 

So Scrooge agrees to sponsor the boys teams so he can get the trophy back square, and is forced to buy a knew ball and here we FINALLY get Goofy. I say finally because this special is 20 mintues long and it takes almost a fourth of it for him to arrive. It’s just weird for him to not be in it for so long. I mean I don’t want THIS

Flashbeagle didn’t take a fourth of the special to get to Flashbeagle. It did take longer than that to get to the title track but when your sitting on THIS

You gotta use it JUST right. Goofy here is not played by Bill Farmer, which IS odd as he did start playing him that year, but my guess is they weren’t sure if they were going with Farmer or the actor who played him in this special, Tony Pope, so they were trying out both as whoever DID get the role would have it for life. Disney takes the casting of the sensational 7 VERY seriously, as evidenced by the fact most cast changes are caused by death and unlike with Tony and Donald it’s clear Colvig hadn’t picked a succesor. I can also see why it’s a hard choice: while farmer IS excellent and was the right man for the job, Pope is still excellent in the role, bringing the warmth and energy you’d expect from Goofy and having excellent comedic timing that’s vital to getting the dog man right. I can see why this was such a hard choice, even if I also see they went with Farmer: Farmer just has slightly more energy to the roll. It’s a small diffrence and something that dosen’t effect the special, but it is a KEY diffrence and the reason Bill’s THE goofy to me even over his original voice actor Pinto Colvig. 

Also I may of mispoke there... see it’s not Goofy in this special it’s SPORTS Goofy. No really every bit of dialogue refers to him as Sports Goofy. It’d be like if they refered to then CEO Micheal Eisner as Won’t Think Through Eurodisneyland Micheal Eisner. 

So Sports Goofy helps them get a ball in an honestly awesome way and shows despite his clumsy manner, he’s damn cordinated, easily putting everything up and showing some real skill with the ball. So Moneygrubbing Scrooge decides Sports Goofy is his ticket to get the trophy back and recuits goofy as coach and star player for the boys team. 

So Asshole Scrooge meets his team the Greenbacks.. which are a bunch of random animal characters with no real personality. They are a hippo, a goat, expresso the ostrich, a navy (blue) seal,  an elephant in a beanie, a killaroo and a cheetah or leopard. But I have one question, really simple really easy one...

You need 11 players for a soccer team, thank you google. So they DID get that accurate. With Goofy and the Triplets you only need 7 more. THIS is why Donald’s absence is glaring: he’s just oddly not there when they needed 7 other characters but Elephant in a Beanie gets in there. And it’s not hard ot fill either: Donald , Daisy (Because duh), Gyro and Grandma Duck (Because both cameoed but I only mentioned Grandma Duck, though this is ALSO Gyro’s first apperance), Gladstone (who as it turns out had a cameo storyboarded that didn’t make it into the final product), Gus (Since grandma duck) and Scrooge’s butler since he was in an earlier scene anyway so why waste the character model. They could still play the same roll as easily steamrolled underdogs and it’d make more sense.  It just baffles me that with such a deep bench to play from, they don’t use ANY OF IT in favor of the cast of Animal Soccer World.

The Greenbacks can’t play for greenjack, which worries Scrooge.. but Goofy is able to carry them to the finals, while the Beagle Boys make their way there too. We find this out.. via newspaper transition. We get a bunch of headlines telling us what happened instead of you know a montage because that costs money and they already spent 1.50 making this special.. they only have 50 cents left. 

So the Beagles recognizing Sport Goofy is the only thing in their way plots a kidnappin. We get a gut busting scene of the beagles all hiding in Sports Goofy’s house with him being oblvious only to spring on him. 

The next day with Sports Goofy a no show the team is bummed, even mor ewhen they find a kidnapping note from Don’tGetNotToLeaveEvidence Beagle Boys. Seriously give that to the officals. 

So Asshole Scrooge tries to give a rousing speech... and it is a sight to behold and the one highlight of pope as scrooge... it’s why I picked it as the article image. That glitching isn’t me by the way: it REALLY does that. Coupled with the yellow eyes i’ts just fantastic. So the team decides to morosely play the game and Hivemind Huey boos scrooge for not having faith in him. Instead of again you know telling the officials. Maybe assimilating the other made Huey dumber. I

So the game begins and the Cheating Beagles cream the Give Up To Easily Green Backs, while Sports Goofy watches from the other Crime Beagles hideout. It honestly reminds me of UHF: a dumb well meaning guy whose vital to something succeding is kidnapped.. it dosen’t involve Weird Al dressing up as rambo but still. It also makes me want UHF but with the disney cast. Fethry as weird al, Donald as his best friend, Fethry’s girlfriend for the comcis as weird al’s girlfriend, Gyro as philo, Goofy as Stanley, and Pete of course is Stacey Keach. I could go on but you get the point. Someone draw this.  Sport Goofy is a clever bastard and escapes by working one of his shoes off, taking a nearbye knife and cutting himself free.. and almost stabbing a beagle boy in the face but that would just make two. Sport Goofy escapes and the lunkheaded beagle boys chase after him IN THEIR CAR WHILE GOOFY RUNS AHEAD OF IT.  Goofy, he can really move! Goofy, he’s got attitude! Goofy HE’S THE FASTEST THING ALLIIIIVEEEEEE. Sport Goofy makes it in time fo rhalf time, rallies the troops and it goes how you’d expect: They overcome the beagles blatant cheating, win the cup, the beagles attempt to cheat with a rigged ball backfires and they all get arrested. It’s by the numbers stuff. We end with Scrooge deciding to dontate the trophy instead (though in a great bit asking if it was tax deductible), and posing for a team shot> We get some awesome credits music and we’re out

Final Thoughts:

This special is mediocre: There are only a handful of great jokes, it’s your standard “teamwork makes the dreamwork plot” that dosen’t work because our underdogs really CAN’T play without their star, and Scrooge’s voice hurts to listen to. Pope and Taylor are great and while Will Ryan is an awful Scrooge, he is a good Beagle Boy or five. 

It IS worth a watch though. It’s riffable enough with the sometimes sloppy unfinished animatoin in the last part and Scrooge’s terrible voice, and it is still is a neat oddity for 90′s kids like myself to not only see Russi’s first thing as Huey Dewey and Louie, but to also see Scrooge and Goofy with vastly diffrent voice actors, as well as Gyro and the Beagle Boys first animated apperances. The fact this came just months before Ducktales makes it all the more intresting. So if your looking for a legit good Disney product.. this is shoddy at best if well meaning. But as a bit of disney history, especially only clocking in at 20 minutes so it’ sa brisk watch, it’s worth a look if your into that. 

Next On Goof Week: We come on in To The House of Mouse where goofy becomes faster than a speeding punchline,  more powerful than pete when his family has to wrestle him to the ground to take him to the doctor and able to make tall leaps of logic in a single bound. it’s SUPER GOOF!

So thank you for reading and if you liked this review give it a like and consider joining my patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet. As a patron you’d get access to exclusive reviews, the patreon’s discord and to pick a short each time I do one of these shortstaculars. Donald’s comnig next month and the deadline is in only a few days to join up for said month so the clock is ticking. Even a dollar a month helps me reach my stretch goals so please i fyou can sign up today and if not, I understand and i’ll see you at the next rainbow

[crwelsummer]

ABOUT THE BRAZILIAN CONCERT AND SITUATION

Ok, so, basically, I’m brazilian and I’ve been to a lot of international concerts here and I’d like to make things clearer for US and other international fans about what is happening.

1. we’re not having Lover Fest

so if anyone is still confused, WE DO NOT HAVE LOVER FEST AND ALSO SHES NOT COMING AS A FESTIVAL ACT. We’re having a solo normal concert (which, I think, is what we deserve after being ignored in every single tour)

2. This is THE 1st TIME Taylor comes to Brazil or LatAm

Taylor has been here once before for a private pocket show (30mins) for 1k guests only, back on 2012 when she was promoting RED. We never had tour or a concert before.

3. This is her ONLY LatAm concert

if there’s not as many of us as there are US swifties, then there’s even more. I’d say twice as much, at least. Still, only 1 show for a whole continent. 46.000 capacity.

4. Regarding to seats

Brazilian concerts have always been a mess. We have two big pits we call “pista” and “pista premium”, where we kill each other. People have been trampled before, being severely injured and some even died. I’m not even complaining about this rn because since she was never here before, and since there’s only ONE CONCERT for an entire continent, bringing chair seats to the game means less capacity. About 28k. So I’m kinda “ok” with it. Regardless, the right thing would be booking at least another 2 extra concerts in Brazil (1 more in São Paulo and another one in Rio de Janeiro, where usually international artists go to) and have numbered seats, so the amount of people who can attend doesn’t suffer and also to meet the demand. Shawn Mendes will be doing this here and I personally think it will be better and safer.

Also: not even cadeira superior and cadeira inferior, which are the only two chair sections, are numbered. This is a mess. They should AT LEAST number the chairs.

5. Presale

While I understand the presale privilege is always given to a certain bank clients or something similar, it is very dangerous to partner up with a relatively unknown bank for an event THIS HUGE. I checked and yes: the bank is safe. But also, they gave us wrong informations (stating that 50% of the tickets were going for presale, WHICH IS ABSURD and was later denied by T4F). I got the credit card and the limit I need, but what about those who didnt? It’s NOT OK. There are SO MANY misleading info about limit, e.g.: now they are saying that we should buy something irl before purchasing online. I honestly have to spend EVEN MORE MONEY so I can buy the tickets? They also don’t decide if they’re letting people who didnt get the needed limit deposit the difference for the ticket price beforehand. THIS IS AWFUL. The only one benefiting from this presale is C6 Bank. Thousands of young people created accounts in their bank, and NOT EVEN HALF ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM PRESALE.

6. Illegal fees

For me, this is the worst, most serious and concerning issue. I’ve been going to concerts since I was 10, and I can assure you that Time for Fun is the worst event promoter agency in Brazil. 4 of each 5 concerts I go to are theirs. There’s no organization, they don’t answer their phone/contacts, and now THEY ARE CHARGING AN ILLEGAL FEE. As of last March, The Superior Court of Justice of Brazil decided that charging fees over online tickets purchases IS ILLEGAL. That being said, Tickets for Fun IS STILL CHARGING A 20% FEE OVER THE PRICE OF THE TICKET. Also: they even charge for us to print the damn ticket AT OUR OWN HOUSE, using OUR OWN PRINTER. This is not only abusive, but illegal. We have contacted the autorities (Procon) many times, and we always get the same orientation: buy first, then report. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS. 1st thing abt this: not everyone is aware the fee is illegal; 2nd: everything would be easier if they effectively forbidden the company from charging this illegal fee BEFORE the tickets go on sale. Who knows how many months I will have to wait to get my money back after I report them? In a country where approximately 50% of its people live under miserable conditions, this just makes me APPALED.

7. Album and merch prices

Thanks to our fascist president, dollar is peaking at 4,18 reais (as of 10/16). Last month, it was even higher. Only very few wealthy people can afford merch. And I cant even begin to explain how disgusted I was when I first saw the album price. standard version: R$ 59,90; deluxe versions: R$ 159,90. add around R$ 18 for the shipping fee. Keep in mind that these are national products. They are not imported, so there’s no reasonable explanation for this. If someone were to buy the 4 deluxe versions, it would cost almost a minimum wage. Let’s remind ourselves of 2 other important facts: 1. there are families of four that live with less than R$ 200; 2. actually seeing her live is cheaper than buying ONE deluxe version. Cadeira superior (student fare) is R$ 150,00 reais without fees at the official boxoffice.

This is what happening in Brazil right now. If you have any doubts, come to me. HELP US!! LET US BE HEARD!! In 13 years, never once we were actually considered. LatAm swifties, assemble.

[greymattermaelstrom]

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020  -   The Rik and Sophie Show

I attended Ozlander in Melbourne. What an incredible weekend so would like to share my Ozlander experience with you. Of course, it was during the very early days of covid-19 which I’ll address shortly. I’d never met any of the cast before, nor any group of like minded fans. Of course, you are usually lucky to know anyone who watch the TV show (not counting a partner) in your circle of friends let alone personally know a group of fans to chat with. It’s funny though, I’m not sure what I expected, but I thought people would have in depth discussions about OL characters/plots during coffee breaks or in line ups for autographs/photos. I didn’t experience that. I think it was a given that we were all deep into OL. Instead, I found we just chatted and got to know each other, ‘Where are you from?’ etc. As this was the first formal Outlander convention held in Australia, this was big news. I bought my ticket the day they were available (Nov 2019). It was a long way off but I knew the gathering would occur a short time after the first few episodes of Outlander S5 were broadcast, so when S5 started airing, my anticipation grew. Prices were steep admittedly, but a number of us felt it may be the first and last opportunity to meet a cast member, so we did what we could to get there (i.e. sell the healthiest child, blackmail the rich, etc).

Article from “The Scottish Banner” Feb 2020.

Unfortunately, 4 weeks out, Ed Speleers withdrew due to work commitments but local, David Berry, was announced as his replacement on the same day. Then 10 days out, Graham McTavish withdrew due to work commitments in Slovakia. No news of a replacement was announced (I learnt at the event that organising a visa etc with Covid-19 developing had made it nigh on impossible to organise a replacement in time). Ozlander organisers revisited the program and added extra value features to the various tiers. The gathering weekend was so close, yet seemed so far away in these uncertain times. Every day, I anticipated receiving an email stating it had been cancelled. I knew the organisers must have been pulling their hair out. Selfishly and as long as it was safe to do so, I was hoping it would still go ahead. The virus was not as advanced in Australia. Most of our relatively low number of cases were brought in by travellers (residents returning or tourists) from Europe/Asia before flying was cancelled. The Federal Government had restricted public gatherings to less than 500 at the time. Attendance was actually under 200.  FYI, below are the global covid-19 stats as of 19 April 2020, a month later. Australia’s population is 25 million.

A few days after the Ozlander event, only crowds of less than 100 were permitted by the govt. We were so, so lucky!! Of course, that reduced further as precautions were implemented over time. We have self-isolation and a lot of business closures, cancellation of sports/entertainment etc. It is dreadful, but not a total lock down in Australia. We could walk dogs and make necessary trips to the supermarket, pharmacy, doctor or special court appearances. Anyway, just wanted to address this concern. ~ Tickets sold well (premium tickets sold out). I saw fans on sm stating the date of the event clashed or it was a bit expensive so I know more wanted to come. Yes, the cost was relatively high. Return airfares for cast, accommodation, plus I assume their appearance fee was always going to be an expensive venture, especially as our AUD had been declining sharply against the USD for some time. Australia can miss out on some things because of distance and a relatively small population, but overall, I think we have done well over the years. ~ Rik (Richard) and Sophie posted IG photos from Melbourne a couple of days before the event. Yay!! They were in the country at least, enjoying the sunsets, cuddling koalas and hypnotising wallabies lol. Sophie posted a selfie from a public toilet (bathroom) - as you do. See Sam’s comment below. Toilet paper was becoming a precious commodity....🤔

So the odds looked good and finally, Ozlander arrived.🥳 Before we took our seats, a lone piper slowly walked into the throng playing Waltzing Matilda (iconic Australian bush ballad) which segued into Outlander's theme song. Goosebumps! Applause all 'round. The piper was a big fan too.

What a thrilling start to proceedings. We took our seats and Meagan Taylor (the one who dared dream the dream), welcomed everyone. The age range of fans was predominately 40-65. We were excited and expectant. Housekeeping announcements focused on coronavirus precautions of course. Wash hands, use hand sanitiser when you can't, no handshaking and no touching the cast. This last request was a little disappointing after seeing photos from other OL cons, but it was quite understandable. I think we were just over the moon Ozlander went ahead so we were more than happy to comply and consider the health and safety of others. Then Meagan had the unenviable task of informing us David Berry had unfortunately cancelled his appearance due to health reasons. Yikes! What a shame. (David released a press statement 15 March(?) outlining his difficult decision. Sydney is Australia's Covid-19 hot spot, so David being a Sydneysider, had to consider this I guess). There are IG photos of David, Rik and Sophie together in Australia, just not sure where. So of course, it surprised everyone that David wasn't attending. Refunds of his meet and great and the re-jigging of tiers was to be announced on the fly. Then there were two, Rik and Sophie (and no pressure whatsoever!)🤪. Meagan then advised that the five panels across the weekend would be all audience Q & A which got a loud cheer. On with the show! The Rik and Sophie show! 🎉 They came on stage ready for a good time. Rik opened with 'G'day'. Great start I thought and continued his half decent Australian accent. It's a hard accent to imitate as we know. Rik's was a bit exaggerated but that was part of the fun. 

‘G’day. ‘How are ya’?’

Sophie in an outfit she bought here. Same brand as Saturday’s dress that she brought with her.

Roger Mac is in da house.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have seen Rik and Sophie in a lot of interviews, OL promos (talking to camera) and taking part on OL panels on YouTube. I can find their rapport a little strained and snarky at times. Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised that their 2020 version was very endearing and entertaining. I think they’ve worked on this. I also think, that the spectre of Sam and Cait, through no fault of their own, does loom large at cast events. Therefore, it was great to see Rik and Sophie rise to the challenge of working the room in the absence of their cast mates. And I think they really relished this (albeit exhausting) opportunity and the small theatre made it a casual and intimate affair. They answered questions in an engaging manner and often expanded on it, citing on set examples, many I’ve never heard before, and I’ve seen a lot of OL interviews. Almost as soon as they came on stage, Rik was asked if he would play his guitar and sing for us. While flattered, I think it was too early in the piece and he said maybe he would do so during the weekend sometime. Alas, time wasn’t on our side so it didn’t eventuate. ~ Rik was asked if his hair ticks were under control (ep 501)😂. Combing his fingers through his hair, he replied in his strong Scottish brogue that most of them were gone now. Good sport. ~ He was told the OL bts photos he posts on sm (taken on set) were great and much appreciated and to keep them coming to which the audience applauded. I think he quietly enjoyed that moment. All creatives will take that, knowing their skills and hard work meant something to someone, much like our appreciation for OL and these sorts of events!

Then on to costumes, wigs and make up. It was thought that it must be nice to have your scalp/hair attended to in the makeup. ‘No, it’s not’ R&S said in unison.😂 Verra uncomfortable process apparently. The hair is flattened and held down with clips. The hairline edge of the wig is ‘glued’ to the top of your forehead and then alcohol is used to get the glue off after shooting, which dries the skin. Some hair falls out over time with this process also. We know this has happened to Sam to an extent.😬 Rik is hoping to grow his hair long enough so he doesn’t need a wig, which accounts for his current hirsute glory. ~ Sophie said they both share a make up trailer and added that Rik has a magic make up chair. Being early morning, he often goes to sleep in it and upon waking up, hey presto, it’s Roger Mac. At make up time, they do know if the other is a bit touchy, so they try not to annoy each other. Too much.😂 ~ At one stage, we were a bit shy in asking questions. Meagan said if this was in the US, there’d be a line up for the mic.😂

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie. 

~ Sophie responded to a geeky question about wearing wireless mics secreted in their costumes or hair as well using the usual overhead boom mics you see on bts videos. She was asked about her experience with ADR which she’s not a great fan of it. The audience asked, ‘What’s ADR?’ There are a few accepted terms in the industry, Additional Dialogue Replacement is one. It’s when some dialogue needs to be re-recorded late in post production if the original dialogue audio recording at the time is less than optimal for a variety of reasons (thanks Google). Sophie gave an instance when in S4, Bree told Claire she had been raped. The stream in the background got into the dialogue mics too much in this particular outdoor location, so Sophie had to re-record her dialogue (like lip syncing) saying exactly what she said at the time, whilst watching the scene on a screen in a recording studio. It’s hard to get the context and emotion of the scene back into your voice and that’s why some actors hate doing it and plead to have the original dialogue kept as much as possible. But ADR happens more than you realise and for various reasons (see Google). It is impossible to tell when you watch the show, what scenes have had ADR done, it’s blended so well. They would record the stream/ ambient sounds separately at some point and then mix it in lower against the dialogue after ADR is done. 😅

 ~ Sophie talked about her audition process and was sat down in an exec’s office and was told OL fans are very passionate! (we are?🤔😁). They have an idea of how book Brianna should look and Sophie confirmed she wasn’t tall enough, eyes the wrong colour, etc and that yeah, as expected, she received some not so nice things on sm. But she tried not to read too much of it and pressed on with the role of Bree. Her tone wasn’t sarcastic or indignant at all, but humble. I was impressed. 

Queuing for photos with Rik or Sophie on this occasion. We weren’t allowed to touch but we all had a squirt of hand sanitiser (just to be super safe?).🤔            

There were a few photo opportunities over the weekend and a bonus or two thrown in make up for the cast that couldn’t make it. A refund was offered for people with meet and greet tickets for David. However, R & S kindly offered to do a meet and greet for David’s fans instead and they happily accepted. Legends! I don’t know where they found the energy to be constantly ’on’ with so many people over the weekend. Chocolate? Youth?  ~ As it was a small event, there weren’t any extra security staff that I could see. I think it was only the Museum staff and the security cameras which were hardly noticeable. ~ When getting my autographs, Rik and Sophie didn’t ask for my name, but when I read their personal messages, they had used my name (which they’d seen on my Ozlander lanyard. How cool is that? Very slick!). There were assorted costumes, the de rigueur wedding dress of Claire’s which added to the ambience. Of course, most of the audience were women but good to see a handful of men there, some even in kilts! Saw some Aussie Peakers in their MPC tees too. Cool. 

To settle a pronunciation question, Sophie asked the audience after lunch, ‘Is it scone (as in, phone) or scone (as in, shone)? 

An emphatic SCONE (shone) came back. Rik said “Oh, wow, a shouting(?) majority?’ 

Just to be sure, someone asked who lost, Rik pointed at Sophie. He didn’t gloat too much. Poor Sophie!

Of course, what would an OL event be without the cast having a drink or two to lubricate the tonsils (as we say).

Here are a few more tidbits. All the info I’m sharing has been gleaned from the panels and time spent with Rik and Sophie over the weekend as my tier allowed (which was a lot). ~ Yes, they had tried Vegemite (similar to marmite/promite), courtesy of David Berry. Sophie has some in Scotland. Onya Davo! (good on you David). Incidentally, Sam tried some when he was here in 2016 on Studio 10 (morning talk show - March 2016, his interview is on You Tube). It’s a thing. ~ Rik didn’t know if Sam’s whisky would be his cup of tea, but said it was ‘good actually’. ~ Rik was sometimes surprised by the particular take post production used for the show, but was more surprised by what was edited out of a scene (to add dynamics or guide the narrative a certain way which would apply to all productions everywhere). ~ The pyre scene with the Jesuit Priest at the Mohawk Village Ep 412 was hard to watch on TV. He said it was hard to watch them shoot that scene on set as it was so dangerous!😬 ~ Sophie very occasionally discussed the historical accuracy of things in a scene with directors ie. birthing stool or not in Ep 413 and 1960′s The Mashed Potato moves in S5 are different to how we know them now. She convinced the director’s on those 2 occasions. To me, it shows her passion for the show! ~ When asked about Bree meeting Jamie for the first time in S4, Sophie was asked about the eww factor but didn’t think about Jamie’s hand touching her face after he had relieved himself as he had only used a fruit juice bottle.🤣 ~ R & S were asked to respond to: ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!’ And with relish they replied: ‘Oi, Oi, Oi!’. Someone did their homework. Cool. It’s a parochial call and response thing some aussies do at sporting events etc. ~ R & S often went for an early morning run. Before Sunday’s program began, Meagan asked us all to be very quiet. ‘That sound’, she said, ‘is Rik having his hair blown dry backstage.’ Laughter at Rik’s expense all round. Sophie came on with her’s still damp.

Graham McTavish ‘popped’ in from Slovakia to say hi and sorry I can’t be there. Rik and Graham had a good rapport. After some banter, the audience was now supposed to ask a question and GM rolled his eyes as he heard Rik’s voice again, this time asking him what he conditioned his beard with? ‘Well”, said GM, ‘well Richard, um, I, ahh (chuckle), I condition it with...., obviously a little bit of your love ..’. Much laughter in the theatre.

Then GM commented further, (which I missed, sadly), to even more laughter.

Who knows what would have happened had GM been at the event in person?! There is so much more I could share, but you get the idea. 

Sophie wasn’t feeling the best during the last panel just before the close of the event, but she pushed through like a trooper. Rik said she had eaten too much chocolate. A weakness of Sophie’s. I think fatigue was catching up with both of them. They did so much.

Meagan presented Rik and Sophie with an Akubra (pron. uh·koo·bruh) each (iconic Australian outback hat) as a memento of their time here at Ozlander. Rik had the Crocodile Dundee style whilst Sophie’s was more demure. In his best aussie lingo, Rik said: ‘I’m Richard Dundee and this is my partner, Skippy (Sophie).’ (Referencing Skippy the bush kangaroo ? - a much loved Australian TV show 1968-1970). 

The Scottish Banner article promised an intimate relaxed chance to get to know stars from the Outlander TV series and I’m happy to say that this is exactly what we got. Whilst it’s a shame we didn’t get to know Ed, Graham or David better, we certainly got to know Rik and Sophie better than we had ever anticipated. As a result, I see Rik and Sophie in a new light, esp in S5, where they have more scenes together. In a small way, I’ve gotten to know a little of the person that inevitably informs their TV persona (ie facial expressions, mannerisms, speaking cadence and inflections). What a memorable time I had (can you tell?). Thanks to Rik and Sophie, the gathering organisers (who got a special mention on stage at the close) and the other fans I met there. Thanks for reading this far on a rather lengthy post.😊 I know it’s my take on the weekend, but I’ve tried not to editorialise it, but present it, as accurately as I can, hence, it may be a bit dry to read.😅  I think Ozlander is a great name and I look forward to Ozlander Fan Gathering 2021.  

Ozlander graphics: Ozlander Fan Gathering (I tweaked the circle logo in the title)

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie: Ozlander Fan Gathering

other photos: all permissions obtained    

Ozlander Fan Gathering article: The Scottish Banner February 2020

Sophie Skelton post: Instagram

global covid-19 cases stats: Wikipedia

[thewidowstanton]

The Widow’s best of 2020

Well… during a year when we haven’t been able to see many live shows we’ve still managed to find lots of things we loved. Here are some of them; live shows are indicated, otherwise we watched them online – our grateful thanks go to all the companies that streamed their productions for free – listened to them or read them. You’ll notice that our list includes lots of women and the occasional man.

But before that we start with a new category…

PERSON OF THE YEAR: Circus director Carol Gandey (pictured) of Gandeys Circus. If UK touring circus – an artform championed by The Widow’s Liz Arratoon for more than 25 years – is to survive Covid-19, it will be in large part to her. Gandeys had produced three shows before the UK’s March lockdown, two of which never had a chance to open, incurring hundreds of thousands of pounds in costs. It then provided accommodation and living expenses for 33 stranded artists, and meanwhile developed an air-flow working model for circus – trialling an opening at Butlins – which gave the government enough confidence to allow circuses to reopen with reduced seating capacities.  

Carol constantly lobbied the government and the Arts Council for aid – as did other industry figures – and her application to the Arts Council Recovery Fund, which was said to be exceptional, resulted in a £1.1 million grant; the largest amount awarded to any UK circus company. Gandeys used some of the money to cover the losses due to the lockdown, and to fund a survival package that included some reduced-capacity performances this autumn, as well as funding the production costs for reopening in 2021.

From one strong and inspirational woman to another…

BEST EXTRAVAGANZA: Rhianna’s Savage X Fenty Volume 2 TV special for her lingerie range. Wow! What a mix! This was an explosion of creativity; part fashion show, part dance show, part gig, part circus, part ad, and included a simply stunning floral set. Add a cast of big names, a wonderfully diverse choice of dancers and models, no expense had been spared. Exciting, fresh and really impressive.

BEST LIVE SHOW: Zebra, a solo show by juggling genius Wes Peden, which was part of the London International Mime Festival at the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room.

BEST CIRCUS SHOW: The really inventive CAPAS by Circo Eia (pictured) – so great to see so many new ideas, and here’s our chat with cast member Francesca Lissia. Plus the intricate and dazzling Twenty Twenty by Gandini Juggling. 

BEST DANCE SHOW: Faust by the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, featuring the spectral Bernice Coppieters (pictured) as Death; and Cia de Dança Deborah Colker’s super-stylish Belle, inspired by the novel Belle de Jour.

BEST KIDS’ SHOW: Little Angel Theatre’s hat trilogy, presented by puppeteer Ian Nicholson; an adaptation of the picture books by Jon Klassen: I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat and We Found a Hat.

BEST COSTUME: The Widow has always considered costumes to be extremely important. As Federico Fellini said: “Don’t forget that costumes, like dreams, are symbolic communication,” and frankly we wish more artists would make the sort of effort Dua Lipa made on Saturday Night Live!

Staying with costumes… slightly less glamorous, but an effort was made by Hot Mess in party-sketch work-in-progress Dirty Stop Outs.

MOST EXCITING: Meeting Marina Abramović in the foyer at London’s Barbican before the Efterklang gig.

BEST SHOWGIRLS: Seen in the 1972 film Un Flic; costumes by Colette Baudot. Also featured is a stunning black dress, worn by Catherine Deneuve, designed by Yves Saint Laurent.

BEST BURLESQUE: Lady of Burlesque, starring Barbara Stanwyck, who wears costumes by the great Edith Head.

BEST FILM CREDITS: Sudden Fear, starring Joan Crawford as a scorned – but impeccably dressed – woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown! 

BEST CASTAWAY: Hard to choose between Rupert Everett, Ian Wright or Daniel Radcliffe, who all washed up on BBC Radio 4′s Desert Island Discs.

BEST SHOWBIZ STORY: Catherine Russell – on Outlook, BBC Radio 4 – who has played the same role for 32 years and said the same lines more than 13,000 times. She holds the world record for the most theatre performances in the same role; Margaret Thorne Brent – a psychiatrist who might also be a cold-blooded killer – in the off-Broadway play Perfect Crime.

BEST TV SERIES: It was a close call with The Queen’s Gambit, but our choice is the utterly brilliant My Brilliant Friend; the adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s series of Neapolitan novels. 

BEST DOCUMENTARY: The Bee Gees – How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.

BEST CABARET PIC: The ever-lovely Eve Ferret at the Crazy Coqs in London. Picture: @marc_t_albert 

BEST SHOWBIZ MEMOIR: John Cooper Clarke’s I Wanna Be Yours.

BEST SHOWBIZ BIOGRAPHY: Jon Gresham: The Life and Adventures of a Sideshow Showman, Fire-Eater and Magician by Edwin A Dawes, Pat Gresham and Jon Marshall. This is a painstakingly detailed and enthralling account of Gresham’s life, lovingly compiled by his widow and friends from material written by Gresham himself. Want one? Details below.

BEST SHOWBIZ AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The heartbreaking Everything and Nothing: The Dorothy Dandridge Tragedy by Dorothy Dandridge and Earl Conrad. The revealing autobiography of Hollywood’s first African-American sex symbol and screen legend.

BEST GIG: Sevdaliza’s only show this year, streamed live from The Hague's Koninklijke Schouwburg (Royal Theatre) to a global audience.

BEST SONG: Désormais by Charles Aznavour, which was used as the title track for the film Chambre 212 or On a Magical Night.

BEST ALBUM COVER: Charles Aznavour’s Désormais. That hat!

MOST CHARMING: The sheep invasion during Isabella Rossellini’s show Sex and Consequences, which was streamed live from her farm in Bellport, Long Island, USA. Yes, her live sheep! 

BEST TWITTER CIRCUS PIC: The stunning Crystal Pyramids by Severus posted by @PablosCircus.

BEST LIVE COMEDY: Myra Dubois – star of Britain’s Got Talent – at The Poodle Club in Sydenham. Some of us recognised the greatness of Rotherham’s finest before she was famous!

GONE TOO SOON: Actor Chadwick Boseman (pictured) at just 43, funnymen Eddie Large, Tim Brooke Taylor and Bobby Ball, and dancer, choreographer and actor Ann Reinking.

MOST MISSED: Davenports magic shop that closed at the end of January – but you luckily can still order from it online – and a more recent casualty, after 96 years, London’s beautiful Café de Paris.

MOST DISAPPOINTING: Madonna’s Madame X show at the London Palladium. Goodness, this was shoddy! She was so incapacitated that she simply marked all the dance moves and had to be helped around the set, and up and down the stairs. The tickets were exorbitantly expensive and no one paid to see someone hobbling about onstage. We paid to see Madonna!

But let’s not end on a sour note…

BEST SHOWBIZ MASK: Shirley Bassey’s fabulous sequinned number!

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL: Some things we’re looking forward to include:  The 45th London International Mime Festival, which will be screening free-to-view videos of shows from past LIMF editions, running an extended workshop series with live and online classes, and hosting a series of talks.

We’re also awaiting the new series of Call My Agent, which starts on Netflix on 21 January 2021.

And, last but by no mean least, one of the world’s truly funny clowns, Gloria – also known as Mooky Cornish – has been busy training her chickens – Kukuruzza (pictured top), who has been taking piano lessons, and the athletic Galina – and will be touring the Canadian prairies with them next summer. Now that’s something we’d love to see! Picture: Nichole Huck

Better days ahead!

*Jon Gresham book is available via PayPal from jon@magiccarpettheatre.com: P&P incl, UK – £25, EU – £30, USA tracked – $52

[daerjohn]

enough is enough

I have been pretty silent the past week when it comes to this fandom. But I have seen enough now. So below you will find my opinion on Taylor not doing enough for BLM, Fans attacking eachother and Taylor Nation

I wanna start with the most important toppic which is Taylor and BLM. I have been supporting Taylor for 12 years now, I love her and I respect her. I watched fans judging her for not posting much about the BLM Situation which I understand fully! She should have used her platform much more than she did. So don’t get me wrong I wish she would have done more too. But... I didn’t focus on it. And it’s not like she didn’t say anything. She did. At the beginning, the blackouttuesday (I wasn’t really supportive of it cause I do think that many people just used it as some kind of alibi to be able to say ‘Oh look I am posting this black square, I am doing something good!” Nope. Not enough. However she did post earlier this week. So it’s not like she didn’t say anything. But I know it wasn’t enough, I agree. I have a much smaller platform on twitter, tumblr and instagram but I have been using them since I have a platform. What bothered me though is that many fans really only focused on that?! That I don’t understand. I didn’t waste my time on waiting for her to say something. I just did the best I could, I protested, I spread the word on all my social media and I signed my ass off on all the petitions. I couldn’t donate because I lost my job due to corona, so I am struggling enough with that. But everyday I wake up I get on twitter and check for new petitions to sign and if there is another protest, I am going. Because it’s fucking important. I focused on the actual issues - Police brutality, racism, sexism and Trump! I didn’t wait for Taylor to say something because I shouldn’t. Don’t wait, act on it. Most of you did so it was nice to see that but there were a lot of hate posts about Taylor not doing more, fans fighting about it. It breaks my heart because back in 2012, 13, 14, 15 and 16 this fandom was the best fandom to exist. Now not anymore. Which brings me to the second topic.

Swifties building groups and hurting other Swifties!!!???? WHY? If you are a fan of Taylor’s but are against LGBTQ+ or against other “races” (I hate using this word. We are all humans!!!) sorry to say but if you are against them/us you do not belong here. Please leave my blog and please leave this fandom because Taylor wouldn’t have it either. I just saw a message someone published where one “fan” threatens to destroy another fan. What the HELL?! I mean I get it if someone doesn’t get along with someone thats ok. It’s normal. I know people I don’t get along with but talking about them and threatening them behind their back?! No! I am not here for it. If you don’t like them just don’t interact with them and let them be but do not go and spread things about them that don’t concern you. You are not in that position to do so! Mental health is a serious issue and if you decide to use it against someone you are a horrible human being.

My last topic has nothing to do with the fandom or BLM. This is about TaylorNation. I am very unhappy with a few things not just lately but basicly since reputation. Like I said at the beginning I have been a Swiftie for a very long time and I will always love and support Taylor. But since the RepTour Dates I have been very upset which is also a reason why I am not as active on this blog anymore as I used to be. I feel like world records and money are more important than ever and even more important than the fans? kinda. Let me explain what I mean. I am from Europe and we already don’t have not many chances to see Taylor live. We don’t have the big TV Shows and award shows over here. (Germany) And so my only chances to see her is when she does a Tour and when I saw that she didn’t come to Europe for the Rep Tour I was very upset. She only did UK and I just simply can’t afford to travel there, get a hotel and buy the expensive ass tickets. So my question was ‘Why not Europe?!’ Answer: Stadiums only. For records. I was kinda leaving my TS blog during that time because I was upset and hurt and yeah jealous too. I spent lots of money on CDs, DVDs, Tickets, Merch and streaming websites. And yet I never got the chance to meet her or get like a message or whatnot. Now I know it’s not just me but just gonna say it again, it has been 12 years. Next: Lover Fest, now she did plan on coming to Germany and I did buy a ticket but for a lot of money! When I buy VIP Tickets for 5SOS or Hayley I still pay less money for that than for a simple Taylor ticket. But I love her and she owns my ass still so yeah I bought a ticket. What happens next? Covid-19! (not Taylor’s or tNation’s fault) but I am still waiting for informations about it? Like is it just postponed or is it cancelled??? I don’t know. Cause if it’s cancelled I want my 166€ back! My last point on my agenda is the City of Lover Fest. First stream: Can’t watch cause once again, I am not american. Then they say you can watch it on streaming pages. I got excited cause I already subscribed to Netflix for Rep Tour and Miss Americana. What happens? They don’t put it on Netflix only hulu and Disney+. HOW MANY STREAMING COMPANIES DO YOU WANT ME TO SUBSCRIBE?! THEY ALL COST MONEY!!!! AppleTV for 1989, Netflix for Rep and Miss Americana. So yeah till this day I still haven’t seen it. Because I am not rich enough. Also Merch. Can’t afford it anymore since Reputation era cause WTH?! Way too expensive.

So yeah here you have my statement. I love you all, I love you Taylor. Get off if you are racist or against lgbtq+

Thank you

[some-mad-lunge]

What Might Have Been - Malex Fic

Alex leaves Roswell the day after his and Michael’s almost kiss. He comes back for his high school reunion and realizes some things never change, like the way a certain curly haired boy makes him feel. (Malex AU)

This is for @fraudulentzodiacs​ to make her smile. You are loved darling.

***************************

You can’t go home again, isn’t that what they say? What they should say is don’t go home again. Alex Manes had made that vital mistake, gone home and he regretted it. Why? Because he was sitting in a rented luxury SUV, AC running as he tried to pump himself up enough to get out of the damn car.

He’d had his reasons for wanting to show up his 10 year high school reunion but he couldn’t remember them right now.

Well two reasons actually, only two and he did remember them.

First, to throw a John Hughes style middle finger to the four years of hell he’d had within those walls and the people who’d made it that way.

The second? To lay eyes one more time on the boy that was the only reason those same years were even slightly bearable.

Alex wasn’t usually nostalgic, which was ironic given that he was a songwriter. He was paid large amounts of money to make melodies and prose into art, to make people feel something. It didn’t mean he always saw the beauty in the sunset or in the healing of a broken heart. It didn’t mean he looked backwards at all. He normally avoided it at all costs.

It just happened that his invitation to the reunion had arrived less than 48 hours after his interview with Rolling Stone. He’d been picked, along with nine other songwriters, to be a part of their “Voices Of A Generation” issue. It was a tremendous honour and a validation he’d never known he’d needed until he had it.

It didn’t matter that he had two Grammy’s, countless other awards and chart topping hits. It didn’t matter that he had Beyoncé’s and Taylor Swift’s personal numbers saved in his cell phone. It didn’t matter that he had a house in Malibu and an apartment in Manhattan. It didn’t matter what anyone in Roswell thought about him then or what they thought now, especially not Alex’s father.

No, what mattered was that he'd been chosen by Rolling Stone to represent the voice of the very people who had shunned him back in the day. They had tried to make him hate who he was and had failed miserably in their attempts.

Now they listened to his message, they sang along to his lyrics and that was a fuck you very much he wasn’t going to turn down delivering.

But none of it, not one single bit of it, would have been possible without Michael Guerin.

Alex could still remember it like it was yesterday, Michael’s lips, Michael’s eyes. Warm breath on Alex’s face and the moment of finally before it was gone and the soul crushing love of his life had pulled away before it could even begin. Instead it ended and so did any reason to hang on.

If that hadn’t happened Alex wouldn’t have packed his bags that night. He wouldn't have taken out all his savings, bought a bus ticket and gotten out of New Mexico before anyone knew he was gone. He wouldn’t have sat staring out the window as the dessert went by, not bothering to hide his tears as he wrote “Cosmic Love” in his spiral notebook.

It was a song about a love that you can run from but never leave behind. The kind of love that is everywhere and in everything, that sustains you just as much as it makes you bleed. A love that only two people could understand. The love Alex had always felt for Michael.

The lyrics had flowed out of him in one go, the notes he played the first time at a rest stop under a flickering light at 2:00am.

A song that less than a year later made the gay teenage outcast of Roswell a force to be reckoned with.

If Michael hadn’t taken away Alex’s only reason to stay, he never would have left. Alex felt like he owed Michael somehow for crushing his heart.

It hadn’t been that easy of course, but for once luck had been on Alex’s side. Los Angeles had been the escape he’d always dreamed of. He met people like himself, the outcasts, the freaks and the artists. He’d met boys, and men, unashamed to look him up and down, desire him. He’d been allowed to kiss in coffee shops and hold someone’s hand at the beach. He’d sat in the sand and played his guitar in between shifts at the souvenir kiosk where he’d gotten a job.

He’d been in LA six months when he’d met Jason. Alex strummed his guitar, black polish chipping off his nails, hard cement of the boardwalk under him. Jason, who had a voice like honey, sat beside him out of the blue one day and started singing along. Jason, who instantly became his best friend, and then shortly after became Jason Rast.

Cosmic Love had been Jason’s first single off his debut album, and it changed both of their lives.

Alex Manes might write the voice of a generation but Jason Rast sang it, gave it life. He was the epitome of a rock star with a heart of gold. Fame hadn’t changed him, or their friendship. Or how much he liked to text.

Jason - Have you seen him yet? Did he get fat? I bet he got fat.

Alex - I’m hiding in the parking lot.

Jason - You know you have two Grammy’s right? Fuck those people.

Alex - Why did I want to do this again?

Jason- Do you want me to send a jet to come get you? We could go to Vegas. Adam Levine is there, he always throws a good bender.

Alex - You hate Levine.

Jason - Everyone hates him. It’s like a rule.

Alex - No. I’m going to do this. I can do this.

Jason - MY MAN!

Jason - Let me know if he got fat.

Alex pulled himself out of the car, smoothed the front of his button down shirt. He could have gone full celebrity and worn something designer. That was probably what everyone was expecting of him but it didn’t mean that’s who Alex was. Sure his jeans were probably too expensive by most people’s standards but they made his ass look amazing. He did have to face the unrequited love of his life after all.

He walked through the parking lot filled with cars but void of people. He could hear the music coming from the open gym doors, the muffled voices of his past. The sun was starting to set, casting everything in moody pinks and reds.

For some reason he headed towards the football field. Not that Alex had ever played the sport or even gone to a game unless dragged there. No, he’d spent his time under the bleachers playing his guitar or smoking a cigarette when he should have been in class pretending anyone at home gave a shit about him.

Alex had perfected being moody and pissed about the unfairness of life as a teenager. It had been warranted but it was still a damn cliche.

He finally stopped with his hands in his pockets, took in the spot he’d sat with Maria or Liz, sometimes even Michael, but mostly alone. Just him and his guitar. This place seemed bigger back then, the whole world had.

“Looks exactly the same doesn’t it?” The voice from behind Alex didn’t make him jump, it never had. Instead it slide over him like a caress, heat and smoke, easy to fall into if he wanted. He took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder.

Time had been good to Michael Guerin. Correction, time had been sucking Michael Guerin’s dick and thanking him for the pleasure. He looked like sex personified, low slung jeans and curls that Alex still wished he had felt against his fingers just one time.

Michael was a little older, a little rougher around the edges but he still made a shiver go up Alex’s spine. It was like being 18 all over again.

“Of all the things I expect to change in this world Roswell isn’t one of them.” Alex smiled through the words. It was Michael and even when breaking Alex’s heart he was still the best thing about this God awful town.

He got a grin back, Michael walking forward so Alex can meet him in the handshake/half hug that seems to be the straight man staple. He felt breath on his cheek for a second so it was worth it.

“I can’t believe you came.” Michael seemed genuinely happy to see Alex, which he had to admit surprised him.

“Me neither.” He’s a liar but no one needs to know that.

“FYI, Isobel has your Rolling Stones cover up on the “Alumni Wall Of Fame.” It’s right next to Marcus Boyle’s USDGC gold medal.”

“USDGC?”

“United States Disc Golf Championship.”

Alex can’t stop the punch of laughter that escapes. Michael always did that to him, made him feel without fear. Alex could laugh or he could cry but it was easy, and it was safe.

“Is the medal in the shape of a frisbee?” Alex can’t help but meet Michael’s eyes, fascinated that they are exactly the same as he remembers them. Exactly like he still dreamed about most nights.

“No, but now that I think about it that is clearly a gross oversight.”

They stand side by side, their snorts of laughter fading into comfortable silence. Their kind of comfortable, with a pop of electricity that snapped between them. Alex would never forget how devastated he’d been when he realized he was the only one that had ever felt it.

He kind of wants to go back in time and give 18 year old Alex a hug. At 28 he’s unsure how to handle this feeling, 10 years ago must have been terrifying. He doesn’t remember it that way. Michael had never scared him, Michael had fascinated him.

“Should we head in?” Alex turned to the gym, as ready as he’d ever be to face the masses, but a hand on his arm stopped him. The fingers are so hot Alex wasn’t sure how he didn’t catch on fire. He had to fight the part of him that just wanted to press those hands to his bare skin and burn alive.

“Or we could hide under the bleachers with the cooler of beer I put there just in case.” Michael’s smile is small, and if Alex has read it right, a little bit unsure. A peace offering? Which was ridiculous, it wasn’t Michael’s fault that he hadn’t felt the way Alex always did.

No, it wasn’t anyone’s fault that Alex had spent most of his life continuously falling for Michael Guerin.

Alex had been so heartbroken he hadn’t realized when he’d run away he wasn’t the only one who had lost something. Michael had been Alex’s ideal, but Alex had been Michael’s friend. One of the choice few. For a moment he was ashamed of himself. But Alex had done what he needed to do for his own survival back then. He shouldn’t regret it now, but seeing Michael’s face, a part of him did. Alex owed him, even if it would probably smash his heart all over again.

“Lead the way cowboy.”

They ducked under metal bars and squeezed through small openings to get to Alex’s favourite hideaway. It was perfectly hidden, right where two sets of bleachers met in a corner. There were two blankets and cooler with a black cowboy hat perched on top. As Michael sat Alex pulled out his phone, took a picture of the initials he’d scrawled in black sharpie back in the day.

AM WAS HERE/QUEER.

There’s other initials now, some with the same message as his. It makes him feel connected to the kids who came after. The ones who hid here just like he had. He wonders if he’d helped anyone feel less alone.

Alex suddenly feels suffocated by Michael’s gaze, like it’s running the length of him in a slow trail. He’s imagining it, he knows he is, but he lets himself.

Finally he sits across from Michael, his legs tucked as comfortably as he can on the blanket left for him. He gladly takes the beer bottle handed his way, sighs after a long sip.

“So Guerin, do anything interesting in the last 10 years?”

And yeah, Michael’s laugh still sends Alex’s stomach into somersaults. Some things just never changed.

*********

They’re three beers in, the initial awkwardness gone. Their legs are spread out in front of them, Alex is mesmerized by the warmth of Michael’s thigh against his calf. It makes him want what he can’t have, but it’s a feeling he’s used to.

Alex is surprised that Michael never left Roswell, never went to university like he planned. He’s cagey on the details so Alex doesn’t push. Guerin doesn’t seem unhappy but he’s also not content. There’s something missing in his life. Alex can tell. They were always the same, the two of them.

They keep it light and easy. Alex shares stories of LA and the lack of glamor. How he enjoys fame without actually being famous enough to be recognized on the street. He’ll be the first to admit his life isn’t as exciting as people think.

Michael catches him up on Roswell and how much everything is basically exactly the same.

“I was sad to find out the museum closed, I thought I would check and see if they had any new displays.” Alex meant it as a joke but he watches something akin to pain flash in Michael’s eyes. Maybe it’s the shadows from the flood lights, or maybe…

“Michael?!” Alex would know that voice anywhere, Isobel Evans on the warpath. The beer had made him loose, or maybe it’s the insanity of the situation but he can’t help himself. He starts to giggle.

Michael shushes him but it’s no use, Alex can hear the click of Isobel’s heels as they come closer. He can’t stop, he just keeps imaging the blonde princess’s face if she discovers them. That is until Michael reaches forward, one hand to the back of Alex neck and the other to cover his giggling mouth.

He freezes, because suddenly he’s overcome with the warmth surrounding him. The fizz in his stomach now a full blown tornado and the sensation of fingers softly digging into his skin. Michael’s eyes are locked with his, and the world just melts away. He doesn’t know if Isobel has left. He doesn’t know if he’s dreaming but he can’t help himself. That was always his problem. His heart has a mind of its own and it’s always said one thing over and over again.

Michael.

He does the most insane and yet natural thing before he can think better of it, and presses his lips to Michael’s palm in a soft kiss. He does it selfishly, for himself. So Alex can say once, just once, that he got to.

Michael’s eyes soften, his hand gone from Alex’s mouth. Instead it palms Alex’s cheek, a calloused thumb ghosting against his mouth. The moan it brings out of him, Alex would be ashamed of it wasn’t the most honest sound he’s ever made.

It’s there, that flash of heat in Michael’s eyes. The one Alex always thought he’d imagined. It’s real this time and it’s everything he remembers.

They meet in the middle, wet and open from the start. Michael’s tongue a direct shock to his dick, already hard and wanting. Alex wants to weep when he finally gets to slide his fingers into that hair, feel the curls catch and release. He tastes like beer and every good memory Alex ever had.

Michael’s hands are greedy and they’re everywhere. Alex feels the imprint of them long after they slide from his shoulders to his waist, a hard tug as they fist into his shirt. Somehow he’s dragged into Michael’s lap, the earth hard on his knees as he grinds down. It makes Alex whimper, he has to lose those lips to gasp for breath and hold on.

Michael’s arms are holding him so tight, a hand sliding up under his shirt, teeth scraping against his neck. It makes his hips move faster, chasing something he can’t even name. They’re rhythm and Michael’s quick movements are going to end him.

Warm lips drag a path to his ear, breath heavy and wanton. “Always knew it would be like this.”

It sends shockwaves through Alex, digs in deep, the reality that he hadn’t been the only one all those years ago. That he isn’t the only one currently drowning now.

“Michael…”

He’s grasped tighter, held fast and whatever he was about to say disappears. They’re lined up perfectly and Alex has never hated denim more in his life. He wants to slow this down, take his time. He wants to imprint everything to memory, horde it for the lonely nights that are sure to follow. Michael won’t let him, maybe he can’t. It doesn’t matter, not anymore.

Alex needs to kiss him again, so he does. They’re too out of breath, too keyed up. They’re just panting into each other’s mouths and lighting the world on fire. It’s all happening so fast, years of feeling focused into right here and right now.

He’s so close, he’s so fucking close to dying and he can’t get their soon enough. Michael bites Alex’s bottom lip, pain and pleasure and everything in between. He forces his gaze to stay on Michael’s face, that fierce look of possession mixed with awe. Every dream Alex ever had paled in comparison to the real thing.

“Come on baby. I’ve waited a decade for this, don’t deny me now.”

That’s all it takes, the demand in Michael’s words and what they really mean. It’s pulled out of Alex, like a gut punch of galaxies, the burn of the sun. He’s not alone, he feels all of it. Michael’s pleasure, his own eternity and bliss, quakes with it in every nerve ending.

Finally he floats back down, weightless and perfect. His arms still wrapped around Michael, his face pressed into soft flannel. He never wants to let go. Hands are still clutched into his skin. Unheard words are whispered into his shoulder. Alex just tries to relearn how to breathe.

It’s fingers on his face that finally has him moving again, their foreheads pressed together.

“What the fuck was that?” Alex kisses it into Michael’s mouth, in awe of how much he still wants him. How much he always has, how much he always will.

Michael pulls back, runs his thumbs over Alex’s cheeks. His eyes are bright and brilliant, his voice clearer than it has any right to be.

“Cosmic Love.”

Alex stills for a second, has to close his own eyes from what it makes him feel. He never thought Michael would know the song was about him. He should of, of course he should have, who else could it have ever been?

“I went looking for you the next day. Searched everywhere. If I could go back...” Michael’s looking at him like he used to, another thing Alex hadn’t imagined after all. “I knew you’d leave Alex, but you were always supposed to take me with you.”

Alex sees it all in Michael's eyes, all the loneliness and pain of the past reflected back at him. So much regret it breaks his heart all over again. Only this time, this time Alex gets to do it right.

“How quickly can you pack?” He means it, God does Alex mean it. Presses his lips all over Michael’s face, soft and sweet. Years of love he finally gets to show, to give to the boy who helped Alex survive. Now the man he still feels every bit of it for.

Michael stops his caresses, something shutters in his eyes and it hurts. Alex feels the world start to cave in. He tries to pull away, because he can’t lose this again. Not after what they just shared, he won’t survive it.

“No, don’t.” Michael holds fast, searches Alex’s face. “I just need to tell you something first. It might...it could change things.”

“It won’t.” Alex knows it couldn’t.

“Alex…”

He runs his fingers through curls, revels in finally being allowed to.

“I promise you, it won’t.”

They’re still pressed together under the bleachers when Alex learns the truth. It should shock him, it should scare him. It doesn’t, not even a little. He just listens and he believes and none of it matters.

It’s Michael and him, it’s them and what they’ve always been. It’s cosmic, and now Alex knows why.

[jamesv-t]

I follow too many football teams

Decided to sit down and compile a list of all the various football teams I'm following at the moment, across different leagues and countries, and note the reason I started supporting them as well as the extent to which I follow. I was surprised.

Arsenal WFC: started following the club on 4th July 2018, when they signed my favourite footballer, Tabea Kemme. Bought a season ticket and attended as many games as my work pattern would allow; from the first game I was amazed by Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema, the best forward I'd seen play since Robert Taylor's purple patch in 1999. Despite missing all 4 of Tabea's appearances for the club, I bought a shirt with her name and number on it which I've worn to every game possible, home and away. The last match I saw in person was a 4-0 win at Brighton back in January (easier to get to than home games, so of course I'd go) during which I realised that despite Tabbi's injury worries, I was in deep enough to care about the other players. This turned out to be prescient as two days later she retired from playing. Thanks to the FA Player, I can watch (almost) every match streamed live to my tablet.

Matches seen: 5 home, 5 away (Lewes, Brighton [Amex], Crawley, Spurs [new White Hart Lane], Brighton)

Shirts: 1 - 2018/2019 home shirt with Kemme 22 on the back.

Gillingham FC (mens): Where it all began. Attended my first game against Doncaster Rovers in April 1995, taken by my dad and granddad. The Gills won 4-2, my younger brother and I had room enough to chase each other around the terrace. Since then I've experienced nauseating lows, dizzying highs, and creamy middles. As of 21st May 2019 my support for the club has been on hold - they appointed Steve Evans - a man who had previously convicted of tax evasion and falsifying accounts, a man who had previously sought to incite Gillingham staff and players whenever his teams played against the Gills, and an all round nasty piece of work - as manager of the first team. I could not in good conscience support a side managed by him, in person or remotely, so I packed away my shirts/scarf/badges, muted the club's social media accounts, and my Saturday afternoons were a lot more fun as a result. He's still at the club, they're currently fourth in the League One table, but this summer they cut loose the associated women's side, so I don't know if I'll ever go back.

Matches attended: bloody loads. In the three figures, easily. Had a season ticket one year. Attended at least 1/3 of all games - home and away - in the promotion season linked above. Been going at least once a season for the past 20-odd years, mostly more than that. Away games at Crawley a few times (making it my joint second most visited stadium, apart from Priestfield and tied with Meadow Park), once at Spurs (old White Hart Lane), West Brom, Millwall (that was fun, got the tickets through work, ended up with the home fans, Gillingham got a last minute winner that we couldn't celebrate), Charlton twice, a reserve game at Leighton Orient, the above linked game against Wycombe when we went down, strangely not Brighton though despite living here for nearly 10 years.

Shirts: had plenty over the years. I've still got the shirt we got promoted in with Thomson 27 on the back, signed by a number of the squad, somewhere. Currently I only have two - the 2009 promotion shirt because it looks pretty good, and the 2011 home shirt because of fond Football Manager memories!

Borussia Dortmund (mens): Over a decade ago I started a relationship with a German woman. In the getting to know you stage, I asked her what her nearest Bundesliga* club was. (My small talk has since improved. Slightly.) She replied "Dortmund", and I started following the club. I'm not saying that I'm responsible for the team's subsequent uptick in form - they won the league two seasons running after I visited the ground, adding the Pokal (cup) in the second season as well - but I'm not not saying that either. The availability of streams plus the free-flowing, attacking football made them an easy follow, especially at a time when Gillingham went 35 games without an away win in all competitions. I look forward to the club starting up a women's side next season, especially as they're starting from the bottom rather than expecting to be parachuted into the Frauen Bundesliga.

Matches: just the one so far in person, an entertaining 2-3 loss to Wolfsburg in December 2012.

Shirts: had a 2004 home shirt that was horrible material, very plasticky. Also have a really comfortable and stylish 2012 away shirt that I couldn't wear for a few years due to it having Hummels' name on - thankfully he's returned from his Bayern defection now. A Munich fan who stayed with us a couple of years ago found the whole thing hilarious.

*I'm glad I specified the country, as while she grew up nearly 100km from the Westfalonstadion, she was only 20km from FC Twente - but it was complicated enough explaining to people in the early days why I was following a German team, and I think trying to tell them I was following a Dutch side due to my German partner might've been far too much!

BSG Chemie Leipzig (mens): Dortmund aren't the only German side I've hitched my wagon to, but they're the most high profile. Faced with an indefinite period of time with nothing to do during lockdown, and growing tired of my other FM careers, I set about giving myself a challenge. Due to the high praise dished out by the media to Red Bull Leipzig, a team funded by the energy drink conglomerate who bought their way up the league, I decided my challenge would be to - in the words of Sir Alex Ferguson - "knock them off their f**king perch. I wanted to make another team the biggest side in Leipzig. Scouting around the Wikipedia page for the city, and aided by this thoroughly informative Reddit post, I settled on Chemie due to their political leanings and colour scheme. Six real-life months and a dozen fictional seasons into the career, I'm one Bundesliga and one Pokal away from equalling the energy drink's trophy haul. I've taken an interest in the real life side as well, languishing away in the fifth tier of German football (an unholy hell of regional leagues and village sides).

Matches: not yet. One day I'll stand on the terrace of the Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark, Freiberger in hand, cheering on the side. But the raging pandemic that brought me to start the career is, ironically, preventing me from properly indulging.

Shirts: none, as I rarely wear football shirts these days. But this t-shirt is pretty cool.

Gillingham WFC: Simple thing here - when the side were cut adrift from the parent men's club as part of a cost-saving measure in the summer, I decided to go with the team who were not managed by an odious berk. I'm kooky like that.

Matches: one so far, a pre-season friendly away at Lewes last summer. I was the lone Gills fan. There were more dogs supporting the home side than humans cheering on the away team.

Shirts: none, as the club have switched to red after no longer being under the men's umbrella.

Valur (women's team): Some of these have deep, meaningful reasons behind my follow of them. Others, less so. In the early part of 2019 a friend of mine and his Czech girlfriend moved to Reykjavik to live for a bit. We visited them and were surprised to see floodlights from their balcony. Their flat overlooked a football ground, where Valur play, and so it was a simple thing to follow their side to feel closer to Paul and Barbora. It was weird seeing Valur's main striker, Elin Metta, posting Insta stories of playing with the same friendly cat that Paul does!

Matches: just the one streamed so far, due to a dearth of matches available online, but Valur won!

Shirts: christ don't give me ideas.

ACF Fiorentina Femminile: And if you thought that was a tenuous reason...last month we took a tour around Italy, stopping in Rome, Florence, Bologna and Venice. I wanted to get something football related to remember the trip by. Venice was out - I was going to the Venezia store anyway to pick up a few things for a mate who had guided them to glory on Football Manager, and didn't want to tread on his toes. Rome was unsuccessful - Lazio's kits have been cool in the past, but their right-wing fans aren't for me, and Roma had some lovely coloured merch but nothing that grabbed me. A surprise heavy shower sent us scurrying into the Fiorentina club shop, a place I'd earmarked to visit anyway, and a lovely flattering jacket jumped off the shelf at me. (It helped that it was reduced from €100 to €30!) Why the women's side over the men's? Women's football is just much more fun!

Matches: just a 3-1 loss to Sassuolo a few weeks ago. Who loses to a Phil Collins single?!

Shirts: no shirts, but a sexy jacket.

Ashwood City FC (mens, fictional): Ashwood City are Kent's only Premier League side. One of the founder members of the Football League, they've never been relegated from the Premier League. They're also fictional, the main subject of football podcast The Offensive. Now in its third season, it's been a weekly highlight, weaving current football events into an ongoing story arc. It's occasionally sweary, frequently hilarious, and clearly written by someone who's lived in Kent judging by the accurate jabs at Kentish people/Gillingham! It also used an entire episode as set-up for a reference to the 1992 Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner film The Bodyguard, which still frequently makes me chuckle at random moments.

Matches: tricky, as they don't exist. Like Steve Evans' moral compass.

Shirts: nope.

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #27

UPDATE 27: Poke the Hornet Nest

Last time the Undersiders’ benefactor had given them a new assignment: crash the heroic capes’ party and humiliate them. At first nobody except Lisa accepted, but once she mentioned the amazing payment they’d receive – including meeting this anonymous boss, much to Taylor’s interest – everyone except Brian jumped into the job. So let’s see what the plan is!

The plan is unknown, because the very first paragraph is about Tayl—I mean Skitter riding one of Heckpuppy’s dogs. Guess we’re jumping straight into action without any time to waste, I see. They’re all getting ready to get in, it seems.

This plan had been terrifying when we’d just been talking about it.  Actually being on the verge of doing it?  Ten times worse.

You’re going to make me nervous, Skitter. Just what are you all planning to do? Since I don’t know how exactly they expect to escape after doing whatever they came to do, I can’t avoid feeling apprehensive about how what will happen now. It’ll all be for naught if they get caught. I wonder what type of author Mr. Wildbow is...I know he’s not the type to coddle his characters, just look at the way Taylor has gotten injured at all, but I wonder if he’d be willing to give the Undersiders a humiliating defeat. It’d be quite interesting if that happens.

I think your chance of backing off was gone waaaay before you started riding that dog. Too late for regrets!

Right while Skitter is pondering about the possibility of not joining them in their assault, the dog Skitter is riding jumps from the roof of the building they’re on, reaching a patio, and from there they jumped towards a glass roof, no doubt going to make a very noisy and dramatic entrance.

Brutus, a matter of feet in front of us, slammed into the glass of the roof, sending cracks spiderwebbing across it.

For some reason, the mental image that crossed my mind was that of a bird crashing against a window.  Grue almost falls from Brutus’ back, but recovers at the last moment, all they have to do now is break that glass and get in. A+ for kinda realistically sturdy glass, even if it means not having a dramatic entrance as it could have been.

The civilians hurry to get to a safe place, while the heroes prepare for a confrontation. Not only the Protectorate’s heroes are here – oh, hello, Armsmaster, fancy seeing you again. You happy to see Skitter? – the Wards are here too, Glory Girl is over there, even some PRT recruits are among the group. All in all, the Undersiders have quite the numerical disadvantage. Their plan better be the best there ever was, or things are going to get quite ugly for them.

Apparently they had once considered going as guests. I have no words as to how that’s an astonishingly bad plan, and how glad I am they didn’t go ahead with it, because seriously. Besides, the cost of the tickets was ludicrously high, this group of teenagers with no adult among them would stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone in this party is what you’d call the crop de la crème of Brockton Bay, lots of rich people, and also—

And Emma.

--and also her. What the heck is she doing here. Now you definitely can’t lose, Skitter, you can’t afford to humiliate yourself in front of Emma. You’re going to have to do your best tonight.

Tattetale seems a bit nervous, and I can’t blame her! Still, there’s no time to stand around and giggle nervously, it’s time to attack! Darkness covers the room except for the spot where the Undersiders are standing at, providing cover for Heckpuppy and Regent to go do something, while Grue, Tattetale and Skitter go in another direction. What exactly did they plan, hm...

Hah! Smart, the boxes they brought were filled with bugs, Skitter won’t have problems tonight! As usual, she uses the bugs to know what’s going on in the darkness.

If a few more of the biting and stinging sort headed in Emma’s general direction, it wasn’t due to a conscious choice on my part.

Sure it wasn’t. I wouldn’t blame you if you did.

Skitter and Grue go towards the PRT squad, intending to disable their most notorious weapon, some kind of flamethrower they have. She does it correctly yet receives an elbow to the face because these are trained people, not shmucks who are going to stand around and let it happen. The mixture inside the tanks of these weapons spread on the floor, which...could mean it’d be dangerous to use those flamethrowers, right? They’d be at risk of igniting all that, and that could lead to some serious disaster.

...it’s not a flamethrower. I’m the shmuck here, hah. It had crossed my mind how strange it’d be that the PRT would use any kind of lethal weapon, even against supervillains. It also had crossed my mind why they’d bring such thing to a place full of civilians. I brushed all that logic and common sense aside, instead focusing on the words here, which I’m kinda sure I misread, Skitter surely said it looked like flamethrowers, not that those were flamethrowers. I’ll just suppose I did.

I’d watched a discovery channel feature on this stuff.  The PRT, the Parahuman Response Team, was equipped with tinker-designed nonlethal weaponry to subdue supervillains.  This containment foam was standard issue.  It ejected as a liquid, then expanded into a sticky foam with a few handy properties.  It was flexible and it was porous when fully expanded, for one thing, so you could breathe while contained within it, at least long enough for rescue teams with a dissolving agent to get to you.  It was also impact resistant, so PRT squads could coat the ground with it to save falling individuals or keep heavy hitters from doing much damage.

Which is why it makes sense they’d target them first. Getting caught in that foam would mean game over no matter what. These three Undersiders manage to nab a couple of tanks of this substance and go towards the buffet table, Grue dissipating the darkness for them to see and aim. This is good! What more humiliating than a group of villains entering, trapping the heroes with the foam designed to catch capes, and leave after making a mess here? Oh, if only it could have worked as simple as that...

Besides, this is good! There are so many characters here it’d be unwieldy to say what they’re all doing. Take out a good handful of them this way, and you’ll be able to write better. The Wards, Glory Girl and Shadow Stalker are all caught, so that leaves the Protectorate heroes available to fight, the heavy weights among heroes. Perfect! This will be quite a challenge!

Assault and Battery, whose hero names still delight me, get fighting. Assault uses kinetic energy to his advantage. Even though Grue hit him straight on, he still had enough energy to attack Grue and knock him against the wall, but he was buried in the foam right after that. That was...quicker than I thought it’d be. Sorry you didn’t have much chance to shine, Assault. Battery is doing much better, though.

She seemed to stumble into a cocktail table, one of those round ones large enough for four people to stand around, but any clumsiness on her part was an illusion of the eye.  A heartbeat later, she had the table in her grip and was spinning in a full circle.

There she goes, grabbing tables and throwing them like frisbees! Good move! And it knocks the nozzle of the foam tank out of Tattetale’s hands, so it’s effective too. Skitter quickly discovers her powers are based on staying focused, so she uses bugs to distract her for long enough to start piling foam on her. Much to my relief, she isn’t able to finish doing that because Triumph stops her with a shockwave. Triumph who?

Which left only me standing, against Triumph and Battery.  Armsmaster, Miss Militia and Velocity were nowhere to be seen.  I could have used my bugs to feel out for them in the darkness, but I had more pressing matters to focus on.

They must be busy with Heckpuppy and Regent. Three dogs are quite the force, should be enough to keep the likes of those three capes busy with them.

Anyways, Triumph has a lot of strength and has sonic voice. In other words, he’s a classic hero, kind of what you’d expect in this type of story. Doesn’t make him any less dangerous, of course, and he’s also into using tables to fight – well, no, to defend himself against the foam. I like when the characters use what’s available in the scene, gives the fight an unpredictable edge. The noise Triumph makes disrupt Skitter’s concentration, forcing her to stop and try to regain her senses.

There comes one of the dogs, hitting Triumph! That should give Grue enough time to capture him, right? It should! And that’d leave the big three, Armsmaster, Miss Militia and Velocity as the only ones left. I must say, things are going much better than I thought they’d go! The Undersiders were greatly outnumbered, yet they managed to turn things around and get the upper hand! And here I am, still waiting for the other shoe to drop, to see how exactly things are going to go wrong. In fiction, nothing can go as planned.

Shadow Stalker has been struggling to escape the foam that covers her, managing to partly get herself free.

“No,” I growled at her. “Stay down.”  I buried her under more foam.

Don’t try to deny you enjoyed doing that, Skitter, even if you try to deny it I know very well you enjoyed doing that. Doing payback is fun, isn’t it? That’s what Shadow Stalker gets for unknowingly making your school life harder with that note she gave Emma’s father.

Skitter barely has time to move when Grue shouts her to do that, something blue and silver comes fast in her direction. It’s Armsmaster. He’s pissed off, isn’t he? He must be. No way he isn’t.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, quiet enough that I was pretty sure Tattletale and Grue wouldn’t catch it.  I aimed his way with the foam sprayer.

You know, Skitter, if you ever try to join the heroes, by now you can be sure Armsmaster’s not going to be of help at all. Once another reason to stay with the group that accepted you already, that if you try to be a heroic cape, this guy here surely will make your life pretty difficult, more than it is now. Anyway, Armsmaster was prepared for this move, he uses his halberd to direct an electromagnetic pulse towards the Undersiders’ foam weapons, disabling them. If this fight is going to be won, then it won’t be through the use of these nifty tools. Even though those are three capes, I bet it won’t be easy to defeat them – if the Undersiders do defeat them.

Perhaps escaping now is a good choice? I mean, they managed to subdue almost every cape in this room, that’s no small feat. It’s not the best result possible, but it’s pretty good, in my opinion. Would the big boss agree? I’d say maybe they won’t. Still, points for effort?

Armsmaster commands the Undersiders to get the dogs away, because the dogs will be hurt if they try to attack him. Heckpuppy obeys, calling them back. So should I take that as meaning Heckpuppy and Regent weren’t able to make much of a dent on them? That’s unfortunate...

“You were moving like you could see in my darkness,” Grue spoke, a note of wariness in his echoing voice.

“I’ve studied your powers,” Armsmaster told us, tapping the butt of his weapon on the ground. Every bug within fifteen feet of him dropped out of the sky, dead.  “This was over from the moment you stepped into the room.”

Oh. Well...here’s the big challenge of this arc. You know what I fear the most? That Armsmaster will take this chance to reveal the Undersiders that Skitter is planning to betray them. It’s quite the chance, isn’t it? Leaving that aside, if he truly can counter all of the Undersiders’ powers, well...yeah, they’ll need to pull off something new and unexpected. I wonder if he has a trick in his halberd or anywhere that could counter Tattletale’s ability? She could be vital here, they really will need to find a weak point as soon as possible!

Miss Militia stepped out of the darkness beside the stage, with what looked like a machine gun in her hands, Regent as her hostage.  He didn’t have his scepter.

Fuck.

Nnnnevermind, it’s already looking bad for the Undersiders. Kinda. It may sound callous, but in terms of convenience, Regent is the worst one they could get as a hostage. He’s not a powerhouse, he’s not particularly sly, and while his power can be useful, I don’t think any plan is ruined now that he’s captured. Don’t get me wrong, this is bad, but it’s not as bad as it could be.

Say, you know who I notice isn’t here? Panacea. I’d have thought Glory Girl and Panacea would be in the same place, but I suppose I was wrong. Or who knows, maybe Panacea is hiding under a table. I can’t be sure she isn’t, hahaha.

So! That’s the end of the chapter. Pretty fun so far, right? And now that the big fight of the arc is here, it can only get better. Armsmaster, Miss Militia and Velocity versus the Undersiders, I’m checking that right now. Next chapter.

It starts in a way that makes me snort.

“Surrender,” Armsmaster ordered us.

“No,” Grue retorted.

Did you really think that’d work, Armsmaster? A group that had the guts to crash a heroes’ party like this wouldn’t surrender just because you tell them to. Maybe he’s stalling for time. Velocity isn’t on scene, after all, he may be preparing something.

...

...what does Velocity do, again? I mean, the name is a hint and all, but I don’t think his exact skills were mentioned yet.

Armsmaster gives some compliments and informs them he’s prepared to counter anything they can do, including psychic and empathic shields that are made to protect against Tattetale’s mind reading.

Then I remembered.  When we’d gone up against Glory Girl and Panacea, hadn’t Tattletale said she read minds? And now Armsmaster had bad info and was figuring he was immune.

That can be useful! This could be the crack in the armor I was hoping they’d find. I did remember Tattetale had said that, but I wasn’t sure how they could use it to their advantage. I still have no idea how they could do that. But hey, in this kind of situation, they’re going to need every advantage that may give them the edge, no matter what it is. I’m sure they’ll find a way.

Tattetale starts using her wealth of information to try to bluff, which may or may not work against Armsmaster.

Damn it. I wish I could’ve told her he had a lie detector built into his helm.  But I couldn’t without explaining that I knew him.

Is that confirmed? I saw Skitter had said that, but like I was reminded not too long ago: we’re watching the narration from inside Skitter’s head. We know what she knows, we feel what she feels. This doesn’t mean she’s correct about the lie detector. She may be wrong. Maybe Armsmaster really doesn’t have a lie detector.

Tattetale continues her tirade, describing every way Armsmaster has to counter their powers. Armsmaster did his homework, these are quite the accurate ways to stop them. However, I do notice it all seems to depend on his halberd. Take the halberd away and you’ll have the edge over them. Easier said than done, though...

Apparently Armsmaster does have a lie detector in his helmet, because Tattetale deduces that without Skitter telling her, and uses that fact to her advantage.

“So you’ll know I’m telling the truth when I say your team hate your guts.  They know you care more about rising from your position as the seventh most prominent member of the Protectorate than you do about them or the city.”

Oooh, is that so? No surprise there. Still, that makes me even more worried. This is pretty much setting the terrain for Armsmaster to tell them that Skitter is preparing her betrayal, and Tattletale will confirm it to the rest. I’m feeling so much dread right now, seriously.

What Tattetale said seems to have touched a nerve, because Armsmaster’s immediate reaction is to hit her in the gut with something that sprung out of his halberd. Well, what’s for sure is that he won’t believe anymore that she reads minds, but her power isn’t the kind that can be blocked, is it?

Skitter gathers bugs high in the air, and Armsmaster really doesn’t like that.

Armsmaster turned his head in my direction, “Skitter?  You, especially, do not want to irritate me any more, tonight.”

I can’t be the only one who sees the veiled threat here.

Regent tries to escape, but Miss Militia makes a machete and presses it against his neck, which gives grounds for Armsmaster to demand Grue to lift the darkness.

“Somehow,” Grue retorted, “I’m not seeing a major reason why I should listen.”

“Um, got a sword pressing against my neck here, guy,” Regent pointed out.

“…Not seeing a major reason,” Grue repeated himself.

Regent let out a little laugh, “Fuck you.”

Classy, hah. Yeah, good thing Regent is the kind of guy that knows Grue does care about him. Heck, that’s shown right after this when Armsmaster pretty much insinuates they’d kill Regent and argue self-defense, Grue dispels the darkness after a moment.

Everyone in the room seems to be okay. Skitter is forced to make the bugs lift, and she tries to think of a way to lead this in a direction that doesn’t end in her arrest right in front of everyone. Emma’s presence is quite the incentive for that, too.

All eyes were on the scene.  Why had he gone out of his way to get an audience?  Could I use it?  What had he been so upset about, when I’d met him at the ferry?  What had Tattletale gone out of her way to stress to us about Armsmaster?

Reputation.

...eeeeh...I don’t think that’d really work. I mean, would the general public care that the heroes gratuitously harm and beat up a bunch of villains that ruined the party and terrified everyone? I don’t think they would. Heroes are heroes, villains are villains...I can’t say I imagine anyone is particularly concerned about the well-being of the villains – as long as the villains don’t die, that is.

Skitter starts twisting the truth to make Armsmaster look like some kind of cruel brute, even saying Tattetale was willing to be cuffed yet he slammed her across the room. Regent catches on, and I’ll admit that hearing such thing from someone who’s being held with a machete to the neck is quite the credible thing, something Grue does point out. Oh, I almost forgot:

I didn’t dare to glance at the crowd.  Armsmaster was the person we needed to get a reaction out of, here.

Right. The objective isn’t to make the crowd rise against the heroes for rough behavior, it’s to make Armsmaster think they would, or that his reputation as a hero would be stained. That can work. Yeah, it’s worth a try.

In fact, it does seem to work well enough, because he commands Miss Militia to swap the machete for something less lethal. Great! That’s some terrain gained. I don’t think any more concessions can be made, though.

Armsmaster starts approaching Skitter, who’s lying on her back, while Miss Militia starts changing the weapon she has against Regent. That’s all he needs to strike back. He manages to hit Miss Militia in her upper stomach, making her throw up. Skitter also takes advantage of this distraction to pour all her bugs on Armsmaster and grab on his halberd to stop him from using the electrical charge from killing the bugs. It works because spider silk is mildly insulating against electricity. Is it? Huh.

Skitter commands Grue to surround her and Armsmaster in darkness, and Heckpuppy to attack with her dogs. The darkness pretty much blocks the electricity from conducting properly, her bugs have time to get no Armsmaster and sneak under his visor, keeping him busy. Good. As usual, Skitter manages to overturn the situation through the use of some quick thinking. Never stops being impressive.

She steps back to get some range, and Velocity slams into her. The exposition she delivers now indicate Velocity is once another hero like you may imagine: he’s quite fast. Like the Flash? I suppose so.

I have heard that to those that can move at fast speeds perceive the world as moving slower. That’s why Velocity can calculate his punches and moves calmly, attacking Skitter as much as he can. She barely is able to call for support from Grue. The darkness does slow Velocity some, and once she gets a swarm on him, he’s slowed even more. That could have gone worse.

Velocity’s power also makes punches and the such to be less effective, so Skitter instead sprays him with pepper spray, and also makes the bugs sting him. The effect is...well, ‘dramatic’ is a word for that, yeah.

He fell to the ground, stood, tumbled over a chair, then was up the next second, lunging for a table, blindly patting it down in the hopes of finding something to wash his eyes out with.  I felt him slow down dramatically, increasing his own strength enough to allow himself to check the cups and pitchers.

Wow, I feel bad for him, and my sympathy increases when Skitter extends her baton to hamper his mobility, intending to hit him on the thighs or something, but she erroneously supposed Velocity would be wearing a cup. Yeah...he wasn’t. Ouch. Methinks Velocity won’t like you joining the hero side either, Skitter.

I’d find some way to make it up to him, after all of this was over with.

I guess you can send him a cup via mail or something. Did you send the jar of ointment to Clockblocker already?

Velocity is out of combat; Regent has Miss Militia under control – she’s going to blame Armsmaster for this blunder, I’m sure of it – so it’s Armsmaster versus Grue, Heckpuppy, the dogs and Skitter. He’s actually managing to fight all of them sans Skitter, all thanks to his halberd and its very long range. The benefits of being a tinker and being able to make such tools, really. The moment one of the dogs step forward, Armsmaster strikes with a lot of strength, like a wrecking ball. Golly.

It takes Armsmaster like twenty seconds to defeat Grue and two of the dogs. Guess you’re not the only one in this story who can defeat people in no time, Skitter. So it’ll be Skitter, Heckpuppy and one dog against him. If Skitter was able to defeat Lung through such unexpected method, I’m sure she’ll find a way to defeat him here. Heck, part of the fun of reading this is to wonder how exactly that’ll be done! The good thing here is that Armsmaster isn’t like any other enemy Skitter has fought, so whatever strategy will have to be new. What do you have in mind, Mr. Wildbow?

Tattetale takes her gun, but Armsmaster pretty much throws her into a table. That must have hurt, I hope her costume has some armor. Grue and the dogs stand up, Skitter’s narration makes them sound like they’re weakened, so I wouldn’t count on them to be able to give much of a fight. Heckpuppy is threatened with harm to her dogs – and is told they know how the attack and move, looks like the he heroes did battle simulations to train against them. Huh. You know, I’m still expecting him to threaten Skitter with revealing her betrayal intentions. It still looks like the terrain is set for that. If this chapter ends without that happening, well, I’ll be surprised! And...kinda disappointed, but mostly surprised.

He needed to salvage this situation, and the surest way to do that, to recoup his losses and come out of this looking okay, would be to get the meanest, toughest, most notorious of us to bend at the knee and concede defeat.

So he intends to make Heckpuppy admit defeat? Oh, there’s no way that’s going to happen. In a defiant move that tells quite a lot, Heckpuppy takes her mask off and grins. No big deal, everyone knows her face and all already.

“Lung underestimated her, too,” she told him, looking at me.

...that’s not the...big badass reply I was hoping for. Way to pass the ball onto someone else after the dramatic unmasking, hahaha.

Skitter once again requests Grue to use darkness on Armsmaster and her, if only to silence him from revealing the secret everyone reading this knows. Intending to buy some time for her friends, she goes to the patio, but Armsmaster seems to have guessed her intentions and manages to wrap her with stuff from his halberd, reeling her in.

I was not going down like this.

Not with Emma fucking Barnes and her asshole lawyer dad in the crowd.

Now that’s the spirit!

Desperate – I think – Skitter tries to bargain, once again mentioning how close she is to getting the information she promised. Yeah...that’s not going to work. Not after everything that has happened. May as well do your worst, Skitter, because you’re not getting out of this the easy way.

Armsmaster considered for a moment.

“No,” he answered me.

“No?”

“Don’t expect anything other than a prompt arrest for you and your companions for your antics tonight,” he shook his head, “A bird in the hand, after all…”

Alright, it’s settled. After such reply I think Skitter will see the odds of being welcomed in the hero side have now decreased a lot. If she ever does, I think it’s more likely she’d be arrested. If she’s very lucky maybe she’d be treated like Shadow Stalker, introduced to the Wards and watched over as an especially troublesome team member. But I wouldn’t put all my eggs on that particular basket, and I bet Skitter wouldn’t either.

Skitter seems rather confident...and it’s because she has an ace under her sleeve. Well, more like seven hundred aces.

Nearly seven hundred hornets exploded from underneath my panels of armor, all latching onto him, biting and stinging relentlessly, flowing underneath his visor, into his helmet, his nose, mouth and ears.  Some even crawled down beneath his collar, to his shoulders and chest.

I shudder at the thought of seven hundred hornets being on me. But damn, that’s a very effective move, and one that’s sure to distract him – at the very least. Judging by his actions, he’s enraged, and slams Skitter against the floor, still holding onto her through his halberd. It doesn’t take long for the rest of the Undersiders to come to her rescue, though. One of the dogs make Armsmaster lose his balance, giving Skitter enough time to pull the halberd towards her, and throwing it over the edge of the patio – patio I haven’t forgotten is twenty-seven stories high. If that thing doesn’t break, then at least it’ll take Armsmaster some time to find it. Who knows, maybe some random bystander on the street will steal it. All in all, it’s about time for them to get out immediately, before Armsmaster is done swatting the hornets.

Skitter may not have defeated Armsmaster, but that doesn’t matter: the mission was completed, they completely wrecked the party. All that remains is to go away and call it a day. This went better than it could have! Sure, pretty much every Undersider was beaten up quite a lot, but that’s to be expected. What matters is that they did do it, they got into this den of heroes and managed to get away! Against all odds, may I say. The anonymous benefactor surely will be pleased.

Chances were good that this was my last job as part of the Undersiders.

...even after Armsmaster made clear that you can’t expect any kind treatment? No comment, Skitter, no comment.

Well that’s the end of the chapter. I think it’s time for me to stop. I didn’t think this’d be over in only two chapters! And it’s another success for the Undersiders. Perfect! I hope this time I can see reactions from the heroes’ side, even a glimpse of it. A newspaper headline, at the very least.

I think there may be one or two chapters more left in the arc? This’d be a sudden end, so yeah, whatever comes next will be for next time.

Next update: next time

[longlivetv]

I know it's a reblog but I think the person who made the avatar saying she/he was hoping Taylor would be more focused on the fans is not actually complaining. They're stating a fact. It's like Taylor's works are becoming something destined towards an exclusive group of people (AT&T, Apple, etc). Even when she choses fans to give them special treatment she always choses the same fans. Let's keep in mind that those special treatments are pure marketing, it's a way of selling. (1)

What do these groups of exclusive people have in common? They all give her money. Inviting a 17 years old to an exclusive event is a way of making sure that 17 years old is gonna buy her music, tickets for her concerts, merchandising, etc. That’s why she keeps aiming towards a young fanbase because young people are easier to manipulate (and they can’t pick up on the gay). You can see she uses similar strategies when it comes to her squad, she only hangs out with people who brings her (2)

some kind of benefit, the perfect example is Fifth Harmony, she only used Camila because she was the one who the GP followed the more (I hope she doesn’t make a PR with her now that she’s a solo because I can’t stand Camila lately). Remember when several people called her out because her squad was an exclusive group of people and not a squad about women empowerment like she makes it seem? Yeah… (3)

Taylor focuses on the fans but she doesn’t focuses on them in a “They did a lot for me so this time so I wanna give back to them” way, it’s more like a “what can I do to make them buy my works?” way, which is not completely wrong; I mean she’s a business woman but sometime she takes it a bit to the extreme. I’m not saying she shouldn’t make multimillionaire deals or that she should give her music for free, I’m just saying she should be a little more fair with fans (4?)

because fans are like happiness, one day they are there, the next day they’re gone if you don’t take care of them. The reason why I chose to send this message with you is because you have been nice to me in the past and you seem like an open minded, fair person unlike most Kaylors. Sorry for such a long message. (5)

*     *     *

I am posting even though I disagree, mostly because I think most of us are open minded and reasonable here and that means we CAN disagree. I appreciate the compliment but not so much the slight against my fellow kaylors. We’re not all the same and we often disagree, but they’re my brothers and sisters and that means like any other sibling, it doesn’t matter how much we fight, I will still defend them against outside attacks. I don’t know who you are, so you may be one of us, but if you think most kaylors are unreasonable I kinda doubt it.

I am a fan who doesn’t believe she owes us anything more than music, and that it’s her prerogative to not even provide that if she doesn’t love what she’s doing anymore. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the costs of fame and realized I wouldn’t want it, even if it meant I could do something I loved and make a shit ton of money doing it. Taylor has gotten a lot of good things from her career and I doubt she regrets them, but there are costs. Girl can’t win with a lot of what she does, in the general public or among her fans. 

I will be devastated to live in a world without new Taylor Swift songs whenever she decides it’s time to back out of the spotlight. And if she were to publicly support the current president or something I would lose respect for her. But PR friendships/bearding, choosing fans for things based on business decisions (which means I’m not ever gonna be a chosen one), and signing exclusive deals that let her end up in the same place while doing less work aren’t things that bother me. I see them as business decisions, nothing more. She’s not perfect. The flaws just don’t bug me that much at the moment.

[johnmuffus]

7 Figure Skills Review

7 Figure Skills: A Dropshipping (High Ticket) Course Review (AJ Jomah Course)

A course focused mainly on high ticket dropshipping isn’t a common sight by any means. However, is it really worth its $1,297-5,997 packages? Is it just another dropshipping basics course? Is it good?

We’ll review today a course made by AJ Jomah on that subject. It offers 3 packages for $1,297, $2,497 and $5,997 depending on how much guidance you need, from the standard course to a “done for you” offer at the highest price.

AJ mostly dedicates to launch products, and he’s released a huge variety of courses. They span from Amazon FBA all the way to print on demand, and he’s recently focused on high ticket sales through Google ads.

He says selling high ticket products changed his life and that Google Ads is one of the best sources for finding interested buyers ready to spend money on what you’re selling.

However, you must keep in mind that high-ticket products are harder for selling, and newcomers should always start with less expensive items as you build experience.

The issue with high ticket

A lot of people forget that you take payment from your customer. Any issues and warranties must be sorted out by yourself, including refunds and replacements. The problem arises when the supplier fails to respond to your inquiries.

Imagine your customer starts a dispute with you and wins; the following step would be to initiate a dispute with your supplier. Now, what if you lose against your supplier? You’d lose both a client and a supplier.

That’s not all; you also lose the price on your item.

Dropshipping products like toys, phone accessories, or similar items would have you losing around $10-30. However, high ticket items translate into losses that could reach the $10,000 mark.

If you’re starting with a small capital (like a lot of dropshippers do), going with high ticket products could end your business with a single dispute.

Who’s the author?

Taylor owns the website remotelikeme.com, a travel blog she uses to record her experiences as well as offering worksheets, eBooks, and courses among other tools useful for digital nomads.

She started travelling in 2014 to Guatemala as a volunteer worker, and that hooked her into travelling. She’s visited almost all places in Europe and Latin America, and she started working with email marketing.

She has a Facebook group as well, and she says she’s helped many to start their remote careers. She then dedicated her time to creating courses, groups, and eBooks about getting remote work.

It’s easy to see she knows what’s she’s talking about as well.

Reviewing 7 Figure Skills

The course teaches you the basics of dropshipping high ticket stuff, and it also provides the standard dropshipping content regarding getting conversions, finding products, sales funnels, and making large profits.

Since I already know about the topic, I don’t really mind the guidance or having someone make the store for me, so I got the standard subscription for $1,297.

The other two plans include coaching for a month for $2,497 and a store done for you for the $5,997 plan.

Module 1

Here, you’re taught how to find a product or niche for your store. You get all the methods used by AJ for that goal, explained with steps. While some of the videos are mostly basic stuff, there’s also good insight, and I even managed to pick up a few tips I hadn’t considered.

You have some information on common myths and issues and how you can beat them. There’s another video on brainstorming, and all modules have downloadable plans, guides, and even worksheets.

However, it would’ve been nice to see a bit more content inside this module.

Module 2

Here, you’ll develop the ideas exposed in the previous module, with a real-life study on the possibility of generating more than $100,000 each month with a single product. Keep in mind this is for high-ticket; a $1,000 will get there much faster than a $10 or $20 one.

AJ also offers you a trademarked tool by himself to help your brainstorming, so that’s a nice addition.

You finally get a report with 214 product ideas, both high and low ticket, but they’re probably all taken now by members with the same knowledge. There’s also a worksheet for picking products.

Module 3

The third module goes into Google Ads and ways to find out the ideal price for each product. There’s also content on finding the best niches, coupled with another invitation to use his online tool.

He offers a directory with 4,000 suppliers that’s strikingly looks like Salehoo. There’s also one video with an actually neat trick for finding what your competitors are using for success, and it closes with more downloadable content like the action plan and some worksheets.

Module 4

Here’s the first time you’ll learn something you’re going to replicate. You learn how to create your store, and it includes how to set it up, which templates are good, how to expose it, developing your brand, and which plugins are the best for automating it.

Of course, there’s the mandatory downloadable plans and worksheets as always.

This module is mandatory, of course, but it’s the same content you can find on most courses available. You can even find free videos on how to use Shopify, so it’s still little to make up for the price we’re paying for the course.

Module 5

This section focuses mainly on suppliers. You’ll learn how to find and contact your suppliers, and it includes methods both for inside and outside the US, so it’s a nice addition. Besides the tips, AJ also gives you some templates and scripts.

Besides, you have a step-by-step process you can use to deal with your suppliers, and he closes the package with some reselling agreements.

A problem here is that AJ doesn’t tell you that US-based suppliers are unlikely to partner with you if you’re not a citizen in the US or own a company (offshore) in either Delaware or Wyoming.

You need a reseller ID or at least a social security number, and all of this is knowledge that AJ simply skips for some unknown reason. That’s also why so many dropshippers go to AliExpress.

Module 6

The 6th module is all about optimizing your store to get more conversion. Besides the knowledge, AJ includes some templates you can use for several pages, including your Contact and About sections.

While it’s a good intention, you should just use them as inspiration. The reason is that all other students will likely be using the same templates, so you’ll just repeat other people’s content, and Google doesn’t like that at all.

Always make sure to use content of your own, but the templates are a good reference nonetheless. You also get templates for following up emails and some final tips for conversions.

Module 7

There’s really not much to say about the 7th module on automating emails. It’s mostly just some videos explaining how to do it.

I guess his advice is OK, and you can certainly use the knowledge here and automate your emails, but he really didn’t add anything here that would set this $1,297 course from cheaper ones or even YouTube videos you can watch for free.

Module 8

The 8th module the goes into traffic and how you can use Google Ads and Shopping in your favor regarding this issue.

AJ will teach you about how you can set up your first campaign in the right way using the two platforms, and you can then build on the knowledge here for further campaigns. You also get some “hacks” you can use on Google for netting some extra traffic easily.

Besides that, he also teaches you how you should manage your marketing budget efficiently regarding the two platforms covered.

The last feature is a coaching call for free directly with either AJ or one of his associates to discuss and help with Google Shopping.

Given how AJ seems to be always busy, it seems you can only reach out to his associates, so that’s quite a boomer and makes me wonder whether or not you can actually talk to AJ.

However, the content on using Google platforms is quite good, and there’s definitely a lot of stuff you can apply there. The only issue I had (personally) was that it focuses too much on the “for dummies” approach, and there’s little to expand if you already know how to run basic campaigns or want to work on better and more advanced campaigns further down the line.

Module 9

The last module also goes into advertising, but this time it’s Facebook. Admittedly, it does feel a bit rushed and just done “for the sake of it” since high ticket dropshipping doesn’t really benefit a lot from traffic generated through Facebook.

Think about it: most people use social media to kill some time, know what’s going on with their friends and people they like, and of course, looking at memes. It’s a bit naïve to think that someone who’s focused on that is prone to spend over $1,000 on some furniture just because it showed up on their feed.

However, there’s always a few things to pick up from AJ, it seems, so this knowledge actually works for people looking to retarget their ads.

Facebook group & refunds

Finally, you have the standard eCommerce private Facebook group, yet AJ claims that accessing this community would normally be worth nearly $2,000. That claim is really hard to believe, seeing how having a private group is the norm with these types of courses.

This one in particular is pretty inactive as well.

Finally, you can get your money back via Stripe if you don’t feel satisfied by the course within the first month. The refund says to be given without asking any questions, and I certainly didn’t find any terms stating you have to prove completion of the necessary steps for a refund.

Final Verdict

Overall, the course doesn’t quite match my requirements for it to be worth its asking prices. The standard plan’s price tag is already really expensive, and I seriously doubt that the coaching can make up for the additional cost on the 2nd plan.

Finally, the third one does offer you an entire business set up with all pages and traffic strategies. However, it also offers you an entire year of coaching and accounting calling plus whatever the annual beach retreat is.

It all sounds too good, and it’ll probably be.

As is, I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s some quality insight and knowledge spread throughout, but it’s just not enough for its asking price.

What you should get instead

I’d recommend you get eCom Elites for either $197 or $297. It offers more content, more depth and a larger community.

Besides, you’ll also save over $1,000 which can go right into your marketing campaigns and business or learning more about all the other tools available!

I hope you found this review useful and if you have any questions, please comment down below. I’ll be more than happy to assist you.

Once again, thanks for reading my 7 Figure Skills Review and I wish you the best of luck.

The post 7 Figure Skills Review appeared first on Only Genuine Reviews.

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[colorfulsuitdestiny-blog]

Should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance?

"Should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance?

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I'm moving out, my car insurance is at 361.00$ a month now and I wont be able to afford rent and that. Is there anyway to either not have any insurance at all or just some sort of just minimal coverage?""

What are we paying for when we buy car Insurance?

Does any one notice that we shell out thousands of dollars from our income for car insurance, and the insurance company gives us nothing back? Sure, if we get into a car accident, they cover the costs, but then they raise your rate. And you are paying far more than the cost of the accident anyway. And then if you don't get into an accident, what is all that money for? They don't give it back. I just think its odd that we are required by law to pay for nothing, after we already have paid for the car. And then if you don't, you are penalized and punished, so you are given no choice. But really, you're paying all this money and getting nothing back. WTF""

Best place to get term life insurance?

Best place to get term life insurance?

How much does a california speeding ticket and no insurance will cost?

My friend jst bought a car from sacramento and i was driving it since it was manual he was jst learning and i was speeding in the freeway on a 70 went 86 and i got pulled over .. with no insurance since we were going to transfer hes old insurance in hes old car to this new one toyota xrs 06... how much will it cost me for the ticket and the no insurance please help me i have no idea what to do ?

Should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance?

should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance? or, what is the best way to find the cheapest health insurance?

Gerber Life Insurance?

I'm currently pregnant, but I've received several pieces of mail about this life insurance. I was wondering if anyone has it and what they think about it. It seems like a good plan, but then again, life insurance for a 1 year old seems kind of strange.""

How to get a hold of the drunk drivers insurance?

my car and 2 other cars were damaged by a drunk driver. his car flipped and crashed on the ground. they ran away as soon as they got helped out. the police came and all we got was a police report number. my question is my car is scratched and has broken windows/mirror. i am not going to pay for it to get it fix , why should i it wasn't my fault. how can i get a hold off the drunk drivers insurance and policy information. will the police contact me after they get all the information or do i have to contact them? sorry i have never had to deal with the insurance company or the police for any of this so i have no idea. if this matter i live in san diego california""

How much would insurance cost for a 16 yr old female?

I'm 16 & getting a 2010 Nissan Maxima. Don't tell me not to get it because I'll wreck or trash it. I learned how to drive when I was 12 and I drove all the time when I got my permit. I'm not going to trash it at all. All I need to know if how much insurance might be. A rough estimate because I know everywhere is different. Some few details: I'm 16, a female, straight A student, and really responsible. Thanks.""

Car insurance help!!!?

im 16 and can take my drivers test in october. as soon as i do that,and pass i want to get auto insurace for my car (vw). i know some companies would let me put the car in my own name and pay the insurance myself,but i dont know which ones? i live in pennsylvania. if you know any of them that would let me,please let ,e know!! thanks! :)""

Auto insurance for son ?

Is my son automatically covered under our auto insurance now that he has a Driver's license ? If I call the insurance company won't they charge me some ridiculous amount of money for a 16 year old ?

Does employer needs to provide medical insurance?

Hi I am a foreign worker, working here in US, do employers need to provide medical insurance or not??""

Car Insurance not Paying (in Georgia)?

I was in an accident three weeks ago. It was the other car's fault. There were no injuries. We didn't call the police, but I got a written statement from the other driver admitting fault. I got her car and insurance information and filed a claim with her insurance. They sent an appraiser and I got an estimate for the damages. So all that is left now is for the insurance to approve the estimate and send me a check. I have called the insurance company almost everyday since I got the appraisal (about 2 weeks ago) and they are saying that they are waiting to get in touch with the policy holder; apparently they don't have her correct phone number. But they have the signed statement from her admitting fault. The agent in charge of my claim doesn't even pick up the phone or return my calls, I just talk to the operator who can't really give me any answers. I have the basic car insurance, I don't have collision coverage, so I haven't even called my own insurance. My car is operational but my rear susspension is gone, and the bent metal is hitting my tire; I really need my car rapaired asap. Should I call a lawyer even though there were no injuries? I should probably add that my car is not worth much, but I still need it fixed! and I can't afford (don't want either) to pay for repairs out of my pocket. What should I do? Thanks in advance for your help.""

Changing jobs - how do you estimate the value of medical and dental insurance?

Changing jobs - how do you estimate the value of medical and dental insurance?

Uninsured driver with no license driving car with insurance hit my car.?

A teenager hit my car. He had no insurance, no license, but he was driving a relative's car that did have insurance. There is no question he is liable, everything seem to be going well. But now there insurance company is telling me they are disputing wheather or not the kid had permission to drive the car. What are the chances I'm gonna get screwed here? And what should I do?""

""Ran a stop sign, will my insurance increase?""

I am 20 and accidentally ran a stop sign today and got pulled over. I am in FL and the ticket is 166$. I am under my parents insurance and was using my dads car. I was planning on paying it rather than doing traffic school or trying to fight it, i'd rather just get it over with and pay the dang thing. But, my question is will it show up on there insurance that 'someone got a ticket on this day for this price and this reason and raise their insurance even if I pay it off? Reeeally don't want them to find out! Also, how to pay it?""

How can I become an Insurance claim adjuster in California?

Ive searched and searched for classes offered, or forming but there seem's to be non of that offered so how can i get my foot in the door to become a claim adjuster? it seems as if its a catch 22, because jobs that are hiring for trainee adjusters or in house adjusters need you to have experience but there seems to be no way to get your foot in the door. Ca someone guide me towards the right direction? Thanks""

What is the best insurance to buy for maternity care?

My husband and I had tricare but he is out of the military now, so we are looking for good insurance as we are currently ttc. Thanks!""

Car insurance mazda rx8 help!!?

im 18 years old, i have a perfectly clean driving record. no tickets, no points, nothing. how much would insurance be if i got a 2004 mazda rx8?""

Good/cheap car insurance?

I currently have Farmers Insurance. I'm thinking about switching and trying to find a lower rate. Does anyone have positive or negative feedback about companies like Geico and Progressive? Is there much of a difference between their rates and complanies like State Farm or Farmers? Any suggestions would be helpful!

""What is the penalty for driving without insurance on a motorbike, as i feel it was a genuine oversight?""

I was stopped because of a broken rear light and as it happens my insurance had expired about 4 days before. I wasn't aware that the insurance expired , i thought it was at the end of the month. I didn't receive any reminder because i had forgotten to change address with the insurance company, which was completely my fault. This is a genuine oversight on my part, but I'm not sure if they'll look at previous incident i had with my cousins car when i was a teenager about 7 years ago, i got caught driving without insurance. Probably one of the stupidest things i have done but i learned from it, but the court may not look at it like that. Should i get a solicitor and does anyone know how much they cost? Will i be suspended from driving?""

Life insurance.........?

my boyfriend wants to get life insurance. he's 18, healthy, doesn't smoke. what's the best company to get it with ?""

What are some insurance rates for 18 year old drivers?

I know there are multiple factors counted into insurance rates, including age, driving history, car, year. But I just want to know what's some insurance rates other teenage drivers had. Please state what type of car and how much you paid for insurance. Include whether you lived in the city or a rural area also. Thanks""

Which Local Car Insurance has best price in Las Vegas?

I have done my research but would like to know which local car insurance has the best deals? Thanks you for your time.

How much is the average insurance rate for someone in alberta without drivers ed at age 16?

How much is the average insurance rate for someone in alberta without drivers ed at age 16?

How much will motorcycle insurance cost me in CA?

I'm 20 years old college student, I'm getting the 2013 Ninja 300 (my first bike), I have had no accidents driving my car since I've started driving. I haven't gotten my motorcycle liciense yet, how much will it cost me on average..?""

How much will it cost to insure my printing company?

I am doing a project for school and we are starting up a photo/poster printing business. Before I try reaching out to various insurance companies, I was wondering if anyone knew a ballpark figure of how much insurance would be? thanks""

Hi my partner is learning to drive she has bought a car the insurance is expensive for her can she get?

full insurance through someone else

Would you get Uninsured Insurance coverage in this case?

Car worth: $2000 (KBB) Annual driving: 4000 miles Uninsured Insurance Liability ($15k/$30k): $100 (a year) Uninsured Insurance Collision (up to $3500): $50 (a year) Not going to get comp/collision since it's only worth $2000. My insurance company is requesting that I sign a UI waiver since I initially said no to UI. So I'm not sure now. Just liability is costing me $700 a year (even with good driver discount) so getting UI would add $150 to it so was wondering if it's really worth it or not.

National insurance for under 16s?

If a 14 year old set up an online business in england, when it comes to paying taxes how can they fill in the tax form if the don't have a national insurance number. Can a 14 year old have a national insurance number??""

Does it cost to remove someone on your insurance ?

I wanted to drop my sister off my insurance plan because she found a cheaper insurance company, does it cost to remove her ?""

Should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance?

should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance? or, what is the best way to find the cheapest health insurance?

About health insurance?

i don't have a health insurance and my job doesn't provide me one i had a car accident and i owe around 3,000 dollars on my own hospital visit i didn't injure another car if i get an insurance do you think they will pay for my health debts???""

Is it legal to be declined health insurance for this reason?

I applied with a major insurance company in California, am a single vegetarian in my mid/late 30s no children, extremely healthy never been diagnosed with anything, exercise regularly. I guess they dug up that I had taken a fertility drug in the past - I was never even diagnosed as infertile - it's a really cheap common drug that stimulates your ovaries to produce more eggs but I had no partner to get pregnant with so to was just something I got from a fertility doctor if I wanted to get pregnant with donor sperm. That's not even covered by insurance if I ever want to do that again and the drug's like $20 you can practically get it over the counter it's so common I know tons of women who use it. I didn't even apply for maternity care to be included in my insurance, just a basic policy. Is it legal for them to decline me because of this? So if a woman has a baby they are no longer eligible for insurance? Most women who get pregnant take this drug (including both my sisters) yet they still have insurance. Was it legal for the pharmacy to give them this info? I don't know how else they found out.""

Help with Health insurance?

I was wondering something about health insurance - i'm divorced - my ex is suppposed to have health insurance on the child. He has health insurance on it - so I have a blue cross blue shield card for that. my ex has remarried - and his wife also has health insurance through blue cross blue shield. And with hers, she also put my kids on her insurance. My question is: can my kids step mother also have insurance on my kids -- is this legal. Before I start using both insurances - I want to make sure this is legal to do.""

Best and Cheapest Motor Trade Insurance UK?

Need Motor trade insurancefor first time motor trader whats the best and cheapest im in London Uk, thanks.""

Do I qualify for unemployment insurance in California?

I worked a full time temp job that only lasted 4 months. From May to September. I m wondering if that is enough to qualify for unemployment insurance in California?

How much will car insurance cost?

i know you cant exactly guess the costs but can you give me an estimate? i live in va im 17 years old i have 3.81 GPA i am a female how much does it cost a teenager each month?

What is the least expensive auto insurance company?

Currently have geico...

Will a suspended license affect my insurance?

I just found out my license is suspended in another state from a ticket I don't remember getting from 2003. They just put in on my record because I've been to the DMV several times after 2003 and no one ever said anything about a suspension. I have an opportunity to get a new job, but they have to check with their insurance as I will be driving a company vehicle. Will the suspension affect the insurance? My personal insurance rate has not been affected nor has my current company's insurance said anything about it.""

My door was kicked in... looking for average cost of repair?

My door was kicked in recently, someone broke in and robbed me. I dont have home owners insurance, so I have to fork over the costs. The frame will need replaced and a new door will probably need to be installed. Just wondering if anyone has had to replace their frame and door and how much it cost them. I would have called home depot or lowes by now... im just worried that i am going to have a heart attack when they tell me the price!!!! thanks for any help!""

Looking for an insurance that will take my pre existing condition?

Hi, I have a double ureter in my left kidney causing me infection 4 times a year, I've been having this for almost 13 years and is painful and I can't have a normal life. No insurance wants to take me because this pre existing condition and if they do my monthly payment is between $300 to $400 monthly because of my condition, I've already applied for Medi-cal and I wasnt elegible. I tried so many antibiotics and I want to start a treatment and without insurance it is impossible, could anybody tell me if there is a insurance that will accept me without paying so much. I live in Southern California. I want a normal life. Thanks.""

How much do you think motorcycle insurance would be for me?

I am 23 and don't have my motorcycle license yet. I have had my own car insured for 5 years with no speeding tickets or accidents or anything if that makes a difference. I currently pay like $100 a month for auto insurance. I would get an older bike (1980s) that is small (maybe 600 cc)... nothing sporty or anything. Also, how does motorcycle insurance work in terms of paying it during the winter when Im not driving it? Thanks, Chris""

Where can I find cheap motorcycle insurance in florida?

I am looking to finanace a bike, and need to find some insurance. Most of the quotes I have gotten have been at least $400 a month. I am trying to find something a lot cheaper. Do you have to have full coverage when financing or can you just get basic coverage like collision or something like that?""

How much will cost to remove two wisdom teeth without insurance?

I,m male 21 years old and i'm wishing to remove both bottom wisdom teeth since it cause me feel bubbles on my ears and headaches, i don't know how much will cost me to remove them without insurance, but what is the average price on most states? i live in Oklahoma.""

Car insurance for 5 weeks - where from at a good price?

I know Google will happily direct me to tons of crappy comparison sites, but I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for a cheap car insurance in the UK for around 5 weeks. 28 days offered by many temp companies is slightly too short and probably too expensive, as is a year policy!""

How Much Does Insurance Cost?

Okay, So Im 18. Ive Been Driving For A Year And Haven't Had Any Type Of Tickets, Wrecks, Or Anything. And, I Was Told That With This Your Insurance Is Likely To Go Down For Being ...show more""

What company in maryland has affordable health isurance?

What company in maryland has affordable health isurance?

Would insurance be higher on suv/truck or car/sedan?

For example Mitsubishi Montero Sport vs Volkswagen passat, Nissan maxima, or Mitsubishi galant.""

""When someone having AAA auto insurance full coverage, having uninsured motorist.?""

When someone having AAA auto insurance full coverage, having uninsured motorist. Does it also cover the one who caused the accident. In my case I caused the accident. Like there insurance is going to cover her car damage, is it going to claim me the amount of her car damage to pay back to her car insurance, or not ? The persons car I hit, is really sweet even though I hit her car. She told me that her insurance company is just trying to get money off of me, but she told me there's no reason because there is a reason why she pay full coverage having uninsured motorist included. But I did some research and it says that uninsured motorist only apply's if I hit her car and someone ended up injured ? . . . Help me out please ! If there claiming the amount that they are claiming I am going to be in debt. It's AAA insurance the company that the lady has. The lady's car I hit. But like insurances have CRS do there job having to work for insurances, which stands for Claims Resources Services. They sent me a claim amount that the insurance is asking for. They sent me a second notice, and it says if they don't here from me in any way of paying back the money they used up to cover the lady's car they will send the information back to AAA and AAA will end up increasing the claim amount.""

Car Insurance - why does the quote price change depending on occupation?

if i put i'm a student the quote is the cheapest if i put unemployed the quote is the most expensive anything in between is cheaper than the unemployed quote why is this

Health insurance.?

I need affordable health insurance.Where to find one? Thanks!!!

How much do you pay for car insurance?

What company are you with? How old are you? What kind of car do you drive?

Can someone provide best independent health insurance i can buy thats affordable?

I have been chewing tabaco for about 8 years i am 26 years old my teeth havent rotted out yet, but i have a very tiny bump on my tonsils (which i think its just irritated) However to ...show more""

What is the best priced auto insurance company for people who have been canceled due to too many claims?

These claims are all due to serious weather, vandalism, and theft.""

Why do people drive without auto insurance?

Don't give me because it costs too much and they cant afford it. I think it's the price of having a car. You wouldn't get a car and say well tires are expensive, I can't afford them you just need them. The point of insurance is to be able to afford to fix any damages you may cause to another driver's car or person. If I wrecked someone's car I would certainly want the other person to be able to get their car fixed or replaced. And if there was injury I wouldn't want someone else saddled with huge medical bills because of a mistake I made. Is that just me?""

Need good car insurance in new jer sey -?

i recenlty moved form california to new jersey. i was holding my car insurance with 21 st century ,that was earlier called AIG . i needed a better insurance in new jersey with reasonable rates. i see the rats are pretty high in nj , from what i looked at,.please adivse some better car insurances companies""

Should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance?

should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance? or, what is the best way to find the cheapest health insurance?

My car is registered in wisconsin how can I get insurance in california?

My mother bought me a car in wisconsin and i live in california, but the car is still registered in her name in WI. how do i get insurance coverage without having to register the car in my name? is it possible?""

""After buying a car, can you immediately drive it, without switching insurance?""

Or do you need to buy the car, go to the insurance company, switch it over, go back to the dealership, then get the car? I live in AR if that is relevant.""

Whats a proof of renters insurance ?

i wanted to rent an apt for me and my bro in ohio and i have been asked for a proof of renters insurance with a minimum liability coverage of $100,000! wth is that? :/""

Do I need to change my Car Insurance? What do i need to do?

I am a foreign student in United States. I stayed at California for 2 years. Now, I moved to Indiana State. I have a car Insurance with California address. My License plate is still California's. Do I need to do anything with my insurance? When I tried to do a trial quote for changing address at Geico, the quote for new address is almost 2 times more expensive than the old one. I don't know what to do. I believe Indiana Auto insurance must be cheaper than that of California. Should I just cancel it and start a new one? Do I still need to do anything with DMV?""

Any car insurance agents out there? Or at least somebody who knows a lot about car insurance?

I will be driving on my sixteenth birthday if I can get a job, because I will be responsible for paying ALL of my insurance. How much am I going to have to pay? I drive a 1989 Chevrolet Silverado. Plus I heard good grades have something to do with it (sometimes), I have an A average. Help!""

Do you need insurance for a scooter under 50cc in Pennsylvania

Is There Any One-Day Car Insurance?

I have a car that is unplated and I don't drive it for more than one year but I am going for my G license test which can be done in one day. So, I wonder if there is any car insurance for one day in Ontario Canada?""

Auto Insurance Is trying to screw me?

My insurance company totaled my 2002 audi a4 after I hit a puddle and hydro locked my engine After investigating and taking over 3 weeks to finally give me a figure they offerd me 12500 including the taxes the Kelly Blue book rates it at 14000 and the Nada Value is 15,700 I dont know what the process is but i dont understand how they can do this and its very frusterating as well as hard being without a car for over a month now the car was in great condition and had low miles for the year any advice???""

How can the health care be made affordable to every citizen of United States?

Health care has become very expensive due to needless tests and lawyers and frivolous lawsuits.

How to get into a new Car Insurance?

About 1.5 yrs back my wife scratched another car while parking. The claim was settled using insurance. The expense was about $1500. Ever since that the insurance company, AAA, has been increasing our premiums by abt $35 on every renewal. Now I cannot switch or shop with other insurance company since they give quotes much higher than this company. But apart from this one incident we do not have anything else on our record. Also I get discount for Home+Auto insurance. The company increased prices on our Home Insurance too. I am badly stuck with this company now. I would like to buy Auto+home from one company itself. But I really cannot move my Auto Insurance. Please give suggestions.""

How much would car insurance be monthly for an 18 year old girl?

Who's never gotten a ticket or pulled over. Had my license for seven months now and also has not took drivers ed....an estimate?

Is an audi a3 cheap to insure for a new driver?

I came across a forbes article that said that the audi a3 was the chepaest car to insure and this seemed a bit strange to me. Is it true? If not any advice on a good car for a new driver for under 10 grand? I really have a strong preference for vw.

How much would car insurance cost for a 16 year old?

I'm 15, and I am thinking about paying for my own car insurance next year to help my parents out. I was wondering how much it would cost per month given the facts that I am a guy, and I was thinking about buying a used 2005 or 2007 Mustang for my first car. How much would is cost per month for my circumstances?""

Do i have to be on my dads insurance to take the road test?please answer im desperate:(?

Hi, i live in Florida,im 18 no matter what im trying to do my dad finds a way to not make it happen,and im starting college Monday and i have to drive myself and i made an apponitment for this Friday to take the written exam and the road test,my dad went to go put me on the insurance today, and he told me that they told him i cant be on his insurance because quote from my dad that he was told by the insurance ladie im a girl,im under 21, and i live with them. or they have to pay $3,000 he said its florida direct or florida no-fault for his insurance. does this sound like hes lying to me or is this all true? Thank you.""

What is the best family hatchback between 1.4 and 1.8 with Auto transmition?

I have an Auto-only licence and currently drive a 1.4 corsa. However, I'm looking for a bigger car... I have 2 young kids and am looking for something up to a 1.8LTR. However, it has to be roomy enough for a family of four, economical on fuel and relatively cheap on insurance / tax. Any ideas?""

Can you have two insurance policies on one car?

My Dad has a classis car, I would like to use this car for a weekend, but as i am only 19 I cannot have classic car insurance so I cant go on as a named driver. Is there anyway I can insure this car for a weekend?""

How can you keep your car insurance rates as low as possible?

Car insurance rates fluctuate from company to company. What tips can you offer others to help secure the most competitive rate? Yahoo! Canada Answers staff note: This question is asked by Gregory Ellis, co-founder of the the insurance shopping service kanetix.ca. Visit http://www.kanetix.ca/YAHOO_answers for more information.""

I'm 17 and have car insurance that i have to pay 240 every month. I live in philadelphia is there cheaper ones?

i got a 2000 ford taurus and my mom bought insurance since she doesn't have a car herself we had to get my own insurance plan and now we have to pay 240 every month because of my age..i need to know of any cheaper insurance for myself. plz and thank you.

Employer health insurance?

When you have employer health insurance is there a waiting period for maturnity coverage to start?

So where do I get health insurance?

My job doesn't give me health insurance and I'm usually broke and mommy and daddy can't get it for me. Where do I go to get health insurance?

Whats the cheapest insurance out there?

whats the cheapest insurance out there for a 1998 Pontiac grand prix!!

Will one point on my license make my insurance rate increase?

I have been driving for about two years. Being a new driver, my insurance rate is of course considerably high (on a side note, I think auto insurance is legalized theft). Now. Aside from that, I received a speeding ticket. It was 83 mph in a 55 zone. Oops. In court, the judge reduced it from two points to one point on my license, and the record now shows 64 in a 55. Should I expect an increase in my insurance rates? I am insured with Allstate.""

Approximately how much does auto insurance cost for an 18 yr old new driver?

Full coverage and/or liability. I just need a ballpark figure to see if I can afford to pay for my son's auto ins.

Insurance price on harley-davidson?

what would be a good estimate for yearly cost of insurance on a harley? -92 heritage softail classic

Can my insurance tell what the ticket was for?

So, I live in CA and i have AAA insurance. My daughter got a speeding ticket and i know it will raise my insurance. and i know they can tell that thre is a ticket on certain person's name but can they tell what the ticket was for???""

Should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance?

should i pay a broker to find me cheap health insurance? or, what is the best way to find the cheapest health insurance?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/affordable-medical-vision-dental-insurance-audrey-walkman/"

[mredwinsmith]

Dear Beau: Building an Industry

Trigger Warning: Suicide, Sexual Assault

Dear Beau,

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the articles you wrote earlier this year on gender equity and your commitment to join a team that supports this work. You chose well going to New York, where you get to work with Eileen Murray, one of the best coaches ultimate has ever seen, and New York Bent, a team that has put out some of the limited information we have on the herstory of women in ultimate in addition to their incredible highlight reels. I also really appreciate you sharing your story. Finding your voice can be challenging, especially when your ideas feel delicate and unfinished due to the simple fact that the topic of equity is so complex. Or, at least, I feel this way.

You see Beau, we’re not all that different. I too spent my childhood staring at that same Michael Jordan poster above my bed believing that flying was possible and all I had to do was keep practicing. I too am extremely competitive and have spent my life with sports as a top-priority, and I too recently moved across the country from the Bay Area to work in the equity movement in ultimate. I am nervous about sharing this story, in fear of how people will respond, and I’m frequently paralyzed by confusion of what is the right thing to do right now. To be honest, I really have no clue what will work when it comes to equity. It is not an easy task, which is part of why it hasn’t been achieved.

Our bodies have similar privileges too. Our white skin means in America, we have a police system designed to protect us rather than profit off our bodies (link an article on the prison industrial complex). Our college educations means we have access to significantly higher-paying jobs, and our cisgendered bodies mean we don’t have to worry about how we fit into the sports landscape.

And we’re also pretty different. Our bodies are political, whether we want to talk about it or not. My short hair makes people regularly question my identity, turning every day into a coming out experience. My gender means watching sports is acknowledging that less than 10% of sports media will reflect people whom with I identify, and when it does, it focuses on our private lives and not our athletic accomplishments. My body is too short and too muscular to be considered feminine, and my body, as much as she is strong, she has also survived a sexual assault from the man that was her first ultimate mentor, her training partner, and her best friend who would commit suicide eight months later.

That was four years ago. Although I’m in therapy, I still struggle to get through days, having attempted suicide multiple times, feeling the weight of this truth is too big of a burden to bear. I still struggle to connect with friends, family, and teammates, not knowing how to share with them the extent of the experience. I still think about him frequently in ultimate settings: trainings, watching films, and warming up before the first pull of tournaments, as recent as New York Warm Up a few weeks ago.

Times are changing. I am getting better, although I will never be able to go back in my life and take these experiences back. I can’t say this hasn’t impacted me and the work I do and the questions I ask: how can, my company, Upwind Ultimate LLC., create a positive sports experience for folks who have been sexually assaulted, marginalized, and abused by society, at both the local and structural level? How can a company be successful in capitalism while also acknowledging that capitalism is both patriarchal and racist by nature? How can professional sports be a place of healing and growth for players, rather than using them for their bodies until they are too beat up to contribute?

Recent stories from Sophie Taylor, Helen Thompson, and Danielle Byers, tell me I’m not alone in this journey. In fact, RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, found that 1 in 5 college women are sexually assaulted, and 1 in 3 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. In some initial studies for Upwind’s #HUCKYES campaign, results confirmed these 1 in 5 numbers for college, and also found that 84 percent of the folks who responded knew someone who has been sexually assaulted. A survey from Fools Fest found that again 1 in 5 folks have been sexually assaulted, and that 88 percent of folks know someone who has been sexually assaulted. How can we have a professional league that hires women out of strong college programs that we know are statistically dangerous to women, and then not expect them to have lifelong issues with the repercussions? It’s one of the reasons we can’t copy-paste a men’s pro league format onto a women’s or mixed pro league; they’re different products with different ingredients that need different business models. (I’m not going to argue semantics here on what “different” means. The way you and I were born with more differences than just height.) It’s also one of the reasons our budgets for professional men’s leagues should include training on sharing emotions and supporting those who have sexually assaulted other folks. We only address part of the issue if we work solely with survivors and not perpetrators.

When we ask for gender equity in professional ultimate, we need to ask not for equity of opportunity, and instead for equity of industry. Furthermore, when we ask for gender equity, we need to ask it for all women, and not just for some women (as Samiya Ismail of Western Washington University reminded us at the Intersectionality and Race in College Ultimate discussion at College Nationals a few weeks ago), which means when we create support systems for our players, we have to create them with the most marginalized groups at the forefront, for that is true equity. At Upwind, we use equity instead of equality because equity acknowledges the historic and current conditions that have marginalized folks, and attempts to amend these past and current injustices and biases, whereas equality, however, assumes that everyone comes from the same playing field and deserves equal treatment. You can find out more on our website.

Some steps have been taken recently to improve the experiences of women in ultimate, particularly at the level of showcasing top talent. One-off games and “professional” seasons have been created for six teams in the US this year, with some other mixed teams on the West Coast, and a European Women’s All Star Tour, sponsored by the AUDL. These teams, although a step, are not equity, and barely close to equality for that matter. In fact, for the most part, they are inconsequential due to the lack of a long-term or structure to collect on the investment of these teams. They have the potential to fall down the same trap as the All Star Tour did from a couple years ago in 2015 and 2016, it happened, we came, we saw, we loved it, the organizers got tired, and the tour hasn’t happened again. Another possibility is that the AUDL has the opportunity to capitalize on the footage of well-branded teams that participate in the Americus Cup. If it’s not too late, those club teams should sign deals that give them percentages of cash for every clip the AUDL wants to use of them.

Building an actual gender equitable industry in ultimate means securing legitimate long-term funding and consistency in promotion and support for ALL players, especially including women, Trans, and gender-nonconforming folks. It means writing new policy to allow more folks to play, hiring trainers who understand all types of bodies and can respectfully treat all of our players, offering a multifaceted healthcare approach to deal with both the physical and emotional trauma they might bring to the table, and it means paying the folks out there on the front-line of the gender equity discussions. These conversations are emotionally exhausting and if we want continuity in progress, especially in a capitalist system, we need to put our money where our mouth is and pay to learn as we might when we see a physical trainer or a therapist.

Building a gender equitable industry also means not starting from scratch and ignoring the work that so many women, Trans, and gender non-conforming folks have done over the years for their women’s and mixed teams. This has happened time and time again in social justice movements, when we pretend that now, all of sudden, we have these great new ideas instead of building on the foundations of people who have already been working on these issues. It also means believing people, women in particular, when they come forward with stories of sexual assault, and being willing to address all of the issues they deal with in the healing process.

The sports industry is not just about what happens on the field, it’s how we consume it. The cost of a well-branded piece of clothing can be raised when the team does really well, whereas ticket prices might decrease if the team does poorly. The profit is in how we value the brands of those teams, and as a result, the individual athletes who play. Beau, I think you understand how expensive ultimate is at the club level and how much we need something like professional ultimate to increase access for those who can’t afford it. In your first article, you wrote briefly about the relationship between the Flamethrowers and Revolver, explaining, “My large paycheck didn’t feel right when so many struggle to pay their club dues, so when I went to the San Francisco FlameThrowers in 2017, I wanted to get everyone paid. I went back to negotiate for my favorite club team, Revolver. Revolver was still opposed to Pro, but eventually enough got on board thanks to some money and practice fields gained in exchange for signing with the FlameThrowers.” Did San Francisco Fury ever see any of those funds or even have the chance to access them?

It’s issues like this that highlight the difference in financial experience between women and men in sports. Abby Wambach brought this up in her recent baccalaureate speech discussing her experience receiving the ESPY Icon Award in 2016, an award she shared with Kobe Bryant, and Peyton Manning. She explains:

“Each of us, Kobe, Peyton and I—we made the same sacrifices, we shed the same amount of blood sweat and tears, we’d left it all on the field for decades with the same ferocity, talent and commitment—but our retirements wouldn’t be the same at all. Because Kobe and Peyton walked away from their careers with something I didn’t have: enormous bank accounts. Because of that they had something else I didn’t have: freedom. Their hustling days were over; mine were just beginning.”

Getting to play on the biggest stage is one thing; reaping the economic benefits is another. Feeling emotionally supported and valued is a new game altogether.

So where do I and Upwind go from here? Before working on Upwind, I had limited experience in business. I was a camp counselor for 12 years, a high school debate coach, and held a variety of educational project-based jobs, on top of spending the majority of my free time playing, training, and watching sports. When I started Upwind, I took on the roles of 10 different full-time positions, all the while pursuing a full-time MBA and writing a chapter for the updated History of Ultimate. I’m the worst customer service representative, I have multiple outstanding projects, so many unopened emails, an “About” page that is overdue for an update, and hundreds of photos that I have yet to edit and publish.

The funny thing is, Beau, failure is to entrepreneurs what throwing practice is to ultimate players: necessary. Every day I have to ask if I have the courage to go out of my comfort zone to reach new levels of success in both my personal and professional life. And you’re right, Beau, we have to change “I need to help” to “I am going to help.” We have to take this same mentality of growth we have in the gym and apply it to the work we do in the equity movement. Just because I’ve lifted once in my life doesn’t make me jacked. Just because I’ve read one article today doesn’t make me woke. It’s a process of unlearning and growing and reawakening consistently. Trust the process, right? Can you ever say you’ve done enough training?

Over this past year, Upwind has essentially been playdoh. A lot of people ask me, “what is Upwind? What does it do?” And it’s true that I haven’t been entirely clear. I’ve been honored to work with a large group of part-time folks. So far, projects have included Upwind Academy, online courses on the intersection of sports and society; The Current, our weekly (now bi-weekly) newsletter; The Upline Cut, our podcast centered on stories by and about womxn of the world; The Crosswind Tour, a 47-city, 106 day trip to play, discuss, and celebrate the current equity movement in ultimate; multiple coverage angles of games, players, and teams at both the elite and local level; unique merchandise to spread the brand; and a partnership with Colorado Kali focused on their promotion and accessibility, and also getting to enjoy their historic postseason run, finishing second at D-I college nationals.

As the only consistent and singular staff member at Upwind (still), I tried to plan events and activities that both promoted new storylines, shown light to those that existed, and experimented with various ways to engage the community in both fun social events and difficult conversations. There were a lot of wins and a lot of losses, both metaphorically and literally. It’s time now to pull all of those lessons together and make something out of it.

That is why, with this article, I am announcing the development of Upwind’s Policy Institute for Equity in Sports focused on creating policy change at the local, state, and international level, both in government and in our respective sports governing bodies. This Institute will begin with exploring policies on opening up sports to more genders while also providing ways to connect the politics of our bodies to the politics of the environments we live in. I’m hoping to open its doors in the next 2 to 3 years. If you want to get involved, you can sign up here.

I’m also announcing the official kickoff to seeking investors for a professional league focused on providing a platform for the women’s and mixed teams that already exist, with the option to expand into the men’s division. I have a pitch, I have a budget, I have a 10-year plan. At this point, I need help from folks who are interested in working in the league, current teams that want to be involved, and investors who are interested in building the sports league of the future: a league that is up-to-date with social norms and identity politics, and leads the way in innovation and player development and support, both on and off the field.

Teams who want to participate can sign up here.

Folks who want to be a part of the team moving forward can sign up here.

Investors who want to invest anything from $100 to $100,000,000 can sign up here.

Thanks for reading, Beau. None of this was meant to attack, more to start a conversation between us, and attempt to be as honest as you were while sharing my own story. Plus, I can’t ignore that by writing to you, this article gets significantly more attention than if I just wrote it and signed it alone.

And for now, it’s back to the drawing board. Let me know if you want to join!

Sincerely,

Laurel Oldershaw She/Her/Hers CEO, Upwind Ultimate LLC.

The post Dear Beau: Building an Industry appeared first on Skyd Magazine.

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[davewakeman]

Taylor Swift's Ticket Sale Slump Highlights A Number Of Industry Challenges

  The efforts to spin Taylor Swift’s Verified Fan sales has been spun a number of different ways, but yesterday’s effort to boost sales by offering seats with “no fees” attached highlighted a number of issues with the program that should draw a lot of attention from artists, their management, and anyone that touches the entertainment or ticketing industry.

Let’s take a quick look at a few of them.

Discounts will kill you: 

Discounts have often been the go-to move for the lazy marketer or the marketer that is bankrupt of other ideas.

Why?

Any number of reasons come to mind like, but in most cases, the discounter is assuming that the only objection to spending money on a show, a product, or a service is the price.

This goes right to the heart of not understanding your market very well.

Which draws us back to this week’s “no fees” promotion from Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift.

In the buildup and throughout the sales process, everyone involved in selling the shows has made it very clear that they wanted to reward fans for their loyalty, which you showed by taking actions like sharing on social media, buying albums or merchandise, or some other action to share your devotion to Taylor Swift.

This idea is pretty good. You reward people for taking actions that you desire.

It is great. Pearl Jam has been doing that with their fan club for decades.

The problem here is that in conjunction with the no fees promotion, it appears that new seats were released that were considered better and cheaper than the ones that were offered to the people that bought early.

Which gave the people that previously bought tickets the impression that they were getting screwed on both location and price. Which if you bought the line of reasoning behind the boosts, was meant to reward Taylor Swift’s most devoted fans.

As we called that in marketing, a double whammy.

This is obviously a bad look for everyone.

A much better idea would have been to find some way to increase the perceived value of the tickets and the sale.

Off the top of my head, maybe you could have created an incentive program that offered fans that previously bought tickets and people that bought tickets this week a chance to find themselves in the front row. Or, you could have offered some sort of free tax day t-shirt as part of buying tickets this week. Maybe packaged several tickets together and created some sort of bundle.

Whatever…once again, discounts are destroying. This time, it is Taylor Swift’s reputation as a hot act.

Taking your fans or customers for granted or treating them like rubes is always a bad idea:

I get the grand American tradition of the svengali salesman that can sell ice to Eskimos and such.

This idea often masks or is used in conjunction with talking about someone that is willing to spin, dupe, or cajole in any manner necessary to make the sale.

The underlying concept here is that customers are just dummies to be taken for their money and moved on their way.

Taylor Swift’s ticket program has the feeling of a similar view of her own fans by everyone involved.

About 2 or 3 weeks ago, Seth Godin did a podcast where he described a conversation he had with the concert promoter Bill Graham about the price of Bruce Springsteen tickets. In the story, Bill Graham shared his view of entertainment as cultivating a community and that if you look to squeeze every possible penny out of your customers at every turn you can do it, but at what cost?

As Seth pointed out, this is the definition of the “infinite game.” Not taking every penny from your customers and treating them with the respect and dignity that you want them not to just spend money today, but for many more days to come.

That’s the challenge with the combination of strategies employed to help Taylor Swift sell her tickets.

The boost system felt a little sleazy to me from the start. Not because I have any problem with rewarding people for taking the right actions, nor because I want people to buy less merch; it felt sleazy because it felt like a blind money grab that was likely to leave her most loyal fans feeling disgruntled.

From the looks of it, that is exactly what happened.

As with the discounts, there is likely any number of creative ways to achieve the same thing.

Again, not to belabor a point I make regularly, but look at the way that Pearl Jam sells tickets to their tour through their fan club.

That’s one way that could have been employed to show fans you care, reward them for taking your preferred actions, and, likely, ensuring that tickets went to people that you wanted to get them to.

If those were your true intentions.

Trying to play both sides of the ticket market is a bad idea: 

The premise behind “slow ticketing” is that Ticketmaster wants to eliminate the need for the secondary market.

Anyone who offers up that idea as an explanation is lying to you…full stop!

The reasons for this are so many that it would likely require a piece all its own.

The real reason that this “slow ticketing” program is being offered up is that it seems like the best way to maximize revenue. Which I am all for…look at my brand, I love revenue!

The problem with maximizing revenue in a manner like this is that it tries to break Wakeman’s Law of Tickets, which says:

If you pay $500 for a ticket on the secondary market to a hot show, you almost always feel like you won something and are exhilirated by the experience of getting into a hot show. If you pay the same $500 for a ticket on the primary side, you feel like the artist and the ticketing company are abusing you and treating you like a mark. Even if the price remains the same.

This feeling is unfair, but it is real.

I saw it constantly when I was working with American Express and their Centurion Card concierge program on the project that helped Centurion Cardmembers have access to tickets anywhere in the world.

The reason this happens is simple: it is all based on the stories we tell ourselves.

Look at the seminal study that Robert Cialdini did with the United Way where they went out to see how they could boost donations to the United Way.

The messaging they used was “anything you give will help, even a penny.”

This did something crazy. It doubled the money they received and increased the number of people that gave.

When they went back to study why this happened they found out two things:

Lots of people couldn’t see themselves as the kind of people that wouldn’t give a penny to the United Way.

When you had decided that you weren’t the kind of person that would give anything to the United Way, you also decided that you needed to give an amount that was consistent with how you saw yourself.

Stories shape the actions we take.

This is why trying to play both sides of the market is bad news.

Because everyone comes to the world with a worldview and trying to change it is often impossible. For most people, paying the same amount on the primary side as they would on the secondary side is as much about the story they want to tell themselves as it is about the price or the ticket.

It is as simple as, “If I pay Taylor Swift $500, she’s greedy.”

If I pay a broker the same $500, “How lucky am I? I got a first-row ticket to see Taylor Swift.”

Unfair, but reality.

Verified Fan, despite the hype, has dinged every artist’s brand that has come in contact with it:

Some of the criticism is warranted, some of it is not. Isn’t that true of almost everything?

But in the case of Verified Fan, I’ve yet to see any performer come out in a better position with their fans than they came in.

Pearl Jam had the fiasco with tickets to the Montana show where you were forced to buy 4.

Taylor Swift is dealing with her challenges now.

After Justin Timberlake’s Verified Fan on-sale, consumers were scratching their head, asking “Is Justin Timberlake big enough that brokers would even buy up his tickets?”

On and on this seems to go.

Partly, there is always going to be fans complaining that they didn’t get tickets and/or the tickets were too expensive.

But the justification for the program has always been to keep tickets out of the hands of the secondary market…as far as the success of that goes, let’s call that debatable.

If I check StubHub for Pearl Jam tickets, there are hundreds at each of the stops in Missoula, Chicago, and Boston. As a pretty avid Pearl Jam fan, I can say that’s a lot higher number than I typically see on the secondary market for them.

For Springsteen on Broadway, every show there is seemingly an ample supply of tickets available.

Taylor Swift shows a moderate amount of inventory, but she’s having issues selling out at all…so I’m not sure this is indicative of much.

I point these things out because they fly in the face of the justification of limiting the secondary markets’ ability to get inventory to these shows.

If anything, looking at StubHub, even quickly, seems to prove just the opposite.

This becomes a big deal because of a few things:

As far as justifications go, it is pretty ham-handed to talk about shutting down brokers while generating so much revenue from the secondary market resale arm of the business. It comes off as hypocritical and customers aren’t stupid.

While not empirical evidence, a quick look at StubHub says brokers are doing just fine. And, by looking at social media and the news reports, the consumers that are being “protected” are complaining much more than they are talking about being satisfied. Might be just the nature of customers, but, also, not a good look.

Almost everyone I have talked to about Verified Fan has had a bad experience with the program and that dings Ticketmaster and the artist. Take me for example, I’ve gone through the process of trying to get my lady a pair of Springsteen tickets on a presale, used my code, picked tickets, and tried to buy them only to have me receive an error several times that my code is no good for this presale. That’s me…and that’s a lot of other people too.

The biggest reason all of these issues are a problem is because as customers and fans have more and more options for their entertainment dollar, they are going to ask for more and expect more.

If you try to be deceitful, you will be found out.

If you lie, you will be found out.

If customers feel like you are toying with their loyalty, they will turn their back on you.

These are challenges that anyone that is involved in entertainment needs to be thinking about…because as much as we might feel that we have a monopoly on the tickets and entertainment, we don’t have a monopoly on people’s attention or their mindshare.

Once we lose their attention, we’ve lost everything.

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Taylor Swift’s Ticket Sale Slump Highlights A Number Of Industry Challenges was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

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Summer will be over before you know it, and if you’re anything like me, you’re not very good at planning vacations in advance.

I tend to book last-minute trips, which isn’t ideal since last-minute flights are usually pretty expensive. There’s one awesome destination, though, that I can always find a cheap flight to, even if it’s on short notice.

That’s Los Angeles.

Depending on where you live, it can even be a beautiful and scenic road trip up to LA.

LA is the perfect last-minute getaway because there’s so much to do there and tons of completely free entertainment, and you don’t need to book in advance. I’ve zipped up theremany times, and I’ve always booked everything less than 10 days prior.

There are several awesome hotels to choose from and lots of scenic natural wonders. You can get park-hopper tickets for Disneyland the day of, and you don’t need to reserve a Universal Studios tour, either. You can just show up and buy passes at the gate.

Here are 11 reasons you should definitely head to LA if you’re in need of a quick and easy summer getaway:

1. The world’s best theme parks are in Los Angeles

California draws in the tourists by boasting the world’s best theme parks. Disneyland, Six Flags and Universal Studiosare some of the most popular, but other parks such as Knott’s Berry Farm, Raging Waters and Magic Mountain are awesome as well. The top priorities should be Disneyland and Universal Studios.

Universal recently opened the mind-blowing Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction, which was over five years in the making and cost the park over $500 million to create.

These epic theme parks are enough of a reason to go to LA on their own, so consider these next 10 things on this list added bonuses of visiting the City of Angels.

2. The beach culture is the best of the best.

The beach culture in LA really can’t be beat, especially since it’s home to some of America’s best beaches. The legendary beaches include Venice Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Malibu Beach, Huntington Beach and many others.

The beach culture thrives thanks to the youthful surf culture, the beach-side entertainment and the fact California keeps its beaches in pristine condition.

Venice Beach, for example, has it all: a boardwalk lined with shops and restaurants, talented performers who put on free performances, beach-side independent vendors, henna tattoo artists, a skate park, a bike and rollerblading path, volleyball nets and even live music by the beach.

Laguna Beach and Newport Beach are quieter, but extremely gorgeous and scenic with lots of bars and restaurants to choose from.

3. There are incredible, iconic hotels.

Los Angeles is home to some of the world’s most iconic and spectacular hotels. The Beverly Hills Hotel, for example, isone of the world’s most iconic and best-known hotels that should definitely be on your bucket list. It’sclosely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars and celebrities. This hotel (known fondly as the “Pink Palace”) is beyond luxury and five stars.

It feels as though you’re stepping into a fantasy world and leaving the regular world behind. Since the hotel is over100 years old with much of its original architecture and designs intact, it’s no wonder why staying here feels other-worldly. There are so many Instagram-worthy moments here, which is why you should check it out.

The entrance to the hotel has a red carpet and photo wall. Entering the hotel’s iconicFountain Coffee Room is like stepping backwards in time. It’s surreal. It’s a historical landmark built in 1949, and it features 19 restored bar stools around a classic curved soda fountaincounter inspired by the 1940s.

Can you say milkshake, two straws and a really good Instagram filter? Yes please.

Request a (free) hotel tour, and check out the BungalowMarilyn Monroe lived at during her career, and the one Elizabeth Taylor honeymoonedat with six of her eight husbands. It’s worth your time, trust me.

4. The nightlife is awesome.

LA’s huge population of young and fun Millennials helps its nightlife thrive, so bars and clubs are always busy and never boring. From outdoor bungalow-style clubs and glamorous nightclubs to rooftop hotel pool parties and barefoot bars on the beach, the options are endless.

I must say, LA also has some of the coolest and most unique nightclubs I’ve ever seen. I actually hate nightclubs, but not the ones in L.A.

For example, The Bungalowis an outdoor club in Santa Monica that is designed to appeal to almost anyone. A portion of this venue is an outdoor garden patio setup that has a lounge feel rather than a nightclub feel. There’s an indoor section that is set up to look like cozy bungalows, complete with couches, pool tables and a fireplace.

For the real clubgoers, this venue has a real party setup inside a massive white tent. The tent has a full bar, tables for bottle service, a large dance floor and a DJ booth. There’s even a bonfire set up to drink your cocktails around the fire.

My favorite part of The Bungalow was the outdoor garden lounge area because you could still hear the music, it just wasn’t as loud as it is in the tent. Also, I liked how it felt like I was sipping cocktails in a secret garden with ivy walls. It’s a very memorable and unique venue, to say the least.

You can stay at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows where your room would be practically next door to the club, but the soundproof walls allow you to maintain a getaway feel when you want. Plus, you get hooked up with VIP entrance when you’re a hotel guest, so that’s a perk.

5. California’s food and wine is incredible.

I’m sure you’re aware California is known for its delicious wine. California is home to some ofNorth America’sbest vineyards and wineries. A wine tour is a must during your visit, and great wineries in the Los Angeles area includethe San Antonio Winery and The Malibu Estate, Rosenthal.

The food is incredible as well. California is lucky to be an ingredient-rich state, and the food is very multicultural so you’ll be eating the best of everything with plenty of variety.

There aren’t very many places where you’re sure to find amazing sushi, phenomenal seafood, authentic Mexican and traditional Italian. Many of the world’s most renowned chefs have restaurants in LA.

The City of Angels is a foodie’s paradise, and it’s a great place to visit if you’d like to experience the ideal dining experience, especially if you want amazing food paired with a beautiful view of the water while you eat. Not only that, but some of the farmer’s markets have great food vendors set up with fresh, delicious options at great prices.

6. It’s a fashionista’s paradise.

The shopping is awesome in LA because there’s so much variety. The one-of-a-kind boutiques and street vendors along the Venice Boardwalk are where you can find unique items nobody else has. If you’re looking for cool art to decorate your apartment or unique hand-made jewelry, go there.

The fashion district in Downtown LA has some of the best bargain shopping in the country, and the multiple outlets are a great stop for discount items as well. If you’re fancy, you’re in luck because shopping on Rodeo Drive is where all the best name-brand stores have their flagship locations.

7. The entertainment options are endless.

When it comes to everyday entertainment, the options in LA are ridiculous. If you don’t like bars or night clubs, take a walk along the Santa Monica Promenade instead, and watch the various street performers. Or, see one of the city’s awesome burlesque shows.

If you love stand-up comedy, I’d highly recommend going to The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. That place is iconic, and some of the world’s best comedians got their start there. Alumni include Amy Schumer, Dave Chappelle, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Russell Peters and Kevin Hart.

The best part? It’s known for often surprising the audience with a celebrity guest. I was there last month and Dave Chappelle did a 15-minute surprise set. I guess he was just in the neighborhood and decided to stop by his old stomping ground? Who knows? It was just so awesome and the best $15 I’ve ever spent.

You can also get free tickets to be in the audience of your favorite talk show, like with Ellen or Jimmy Kimmel, or go and see an amazing art show. When it comes to entertainment, LA has some of the best options in the world.

8. The sunsets are some of the world’s most stunning.

Los Angeles is known for its stunning, colorful sunsets. The city’s beautiful coastlines, beaches and expansive landscapes offer plenty of places to watch the sun go down, and the palm trees shadowed by pink skies is the cherry on top of that perfect Instagram-worthy moment. Mashable recently named LA the city with themost Instagram-worthy sunsetsin the world.

Some might argue the reason LA sunsets are so colorful and gorgeous is due to the air’s smog, smoke and pollution, but all we really know is that the sunsets are worth seeing here.

9. The world-class spas.

If you love a good facial, massage or body wrap, definitely hit up one of the luxury spas in LA. One of the best spas in LA is La Prairie Spa. Its unique and extravagant treatment options include a Swiss Ice Crystal Facial, a Pure Gold Radiance Facial, a White Caviar Illuminating Facial, a Scalp and Foot Therapy Massage and a Diamond Perfection Body Treatment.

It can be tough to find a spa with luxury treatments like these, so definitely take advantage while you’re in LA. There’s nothing like this where I live, so I definitely took advantage.

10. You’ll see celebs.

Someone told me that if I wanted to see a celebrity, I should linger outside the entrance to the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s no joke. Within five minutes, I saw Al Pacino and Lisa Kudrow. The host was even kind enough to show me Frank Sinatra’s favorite booth (taking a photo of me in it at my request) and Leonardo’s, too.

You’re also likely to see celebrities at The Grove, Rodeo Drive and restaurants such as The Ivy, Koi and Katsuya.

Since so many movies are filmed in Los Angeles, so there’s always notable A-listers around. Yes, you can even get a guided tour to see where celebs live.

11. Nature porn is all around you.

California’s scenic coastline and surrounding nature is absolutely breathtaking. Beautiful natural wonders such as waterfalls, coves, hidden caves, botanical gardens, pristine lakes, inspired canals, mountainsand beautifulhiking trails are just some of the natural sights you’ll see if you travel to LA. There are plenty of national parks to check out in the area as well.

LA isn’t all Hollywood, celebrities and muscular surfer dudeson the beach. Don’t overlook the amazing nature in the greater Los Angeles area, and make sure to spend some time taking in the natural sights when you’re there.

[new-romatics]

My mom is great, she felt bad that neither her or I got a code for presale on Taylor tickets for the Toronto or the Vancouver shows so instead we got weekend passes to the country music festival that happens every summer like 2 hours from where we live and we also have tickets to a zach bryan concert next November