#i clicked a link to the store to see about the signed CDs (knowing I would not get one but just curious)

[merp-blerp]

I bought the TTPD fountain pen through the UK store yesterday... as an American... and I feel like I just cheated at life.

[purplesurveys]

1183

survey by xflirtykaosx

Alphabetti Spaghetti (1/3)

And we will fall in love with shooting stars. - A

Have you ever seen an Aardvark? I don’t think so.

Were you ever abandoned in a public place as a child? Where? Abandoned is a pretty harsh word lol. My parents did like playing pranks on me and hide whenever I’d get distracted at the grocery or department store. They’d let me get nervous or even tear up for a bit until showing up again.

What accent do you have? I guess just your standard Filipino English accent that’s common among people who were able to take up English studies. I don’t really know how to describe it.

Is there someone in your family addicted to something? What is it? I don’t think so.

Have you ever been under general anaesthetic? What were you having done? I think so? When I had a tooth extraction done on me two years ago I was told I was going to be injected with anaesthesia, but I didn’t feel as if anything changed throughout the procedure. Either my dentist told me fake news lol or he’s just really good at his job for me to not notice anything.

How do you show the ones you love affection? It depends on the person. Around my friends, I know I’ve had taken a liking to them once I start getting especially talkative with them. For people I have even deeper relationships with, I like...buying them gifts, I guess. Getting them things that remind me of them. I would also bend over backwards to do nice deeds for them, like driving them to their destination even if I find it far.

Are you more passive or aggressive? I tend to be very passive aggressive in the way I deal with things.

Do you like the band Aha!? Not in particular.

Do you know anyone called Aidan? What are they like? Nope.

Ever heard of the band Ajax? No but I know that’s a brand of like cleaner or something. That’s close enough to ‘band’ haha.

Do you know anyone called Akash? I don’t either.

Do the sound of fire alarms scare you? They would obviously be scary if it rang for a real reason. Who wouldn’t freak out over a fire?

Do you live in America? If so, which state? If visited, where'd you go? No, and I’ve never visited either. I’d love to take a trip to cities like New York, New Orleans, Portland, and Chicago one of these days.

Have you ever had an ant infestation in your house? Only when there’s food left out accidentally.

Aora - did I spell that correctly? I don’t even know what you’re referring to, so I can’t tell you if you’ve spelled whatever it is right.

Do you have a preference in Apple? What type do you prefer? I don’t quite get this question - like a preference within Apple products? I mean, a phone and a laptop are essentials for me, and generally I do prefer having an iPhone and Macbook over other brands; but I can live without an iPad, an Apple Watch, iMac, Apple Pen, etc...if this is what you mean.

Are you an Aquarian? Is anyone in your family/your partner/best friend? ...You mean Aquarius? No. I don’t believe in astrology nor pay attention to zodiac signs either, so I wouldn’t be able to name Aquariuses that I know right off the bat.

Have you ever worn any type of armor? Which type? I don’t think I’ve ever had to, no.

Do you use the word ass a lot? Kinda, but it’s usually part of a longer word, i.e. asshole, asshat, deadass, etc.

Have you or your family had an attorney? What for? Not to my knowledge.

Is your car/family’s car an automatic gear or manual? Automatic.

Are you interested in aviation, piloting and aircrafts? Just the slightest bit. I would love to learn how to fly a plane, and I would be willing to pay for lessons. It’s just the type of activity that’s super hard to squeeze into an already-hectic schedule of mine.

What was the last award you recieved for? A academic distinction in college.

Axl Rose - like or dislike? Like, but I’m nowhere near a passionate fan. I just don’t have any reasons to actively dislike him.

Do you like air being spelt ayre or ayer in rap or hiphop or is it nasty? I don’t care.

Is the sky outside Azure? If not, what shade is it? No, it’s pitch black.

Belle amour (we've been here before). - B

Do you call anyone baby? Is it sweet or an overrated name for affection? Just my dogs. I find it sweet; it’s my preferred term of endearment if in a relationship.

Bby - does this shortened version bug you? No; my friends and I use this with each other.

Do you know what BC in terms of time stands for? Before Christ, but I prefer using BCE.

BDf - For or against? I don’t know what this is referring to.

Do you prefer beach breaks, city breaks or winter breaks? Why? Beach breaks. Winter break is an immediate cross-out since we don’t even have winter; and I already live and work in an urban area as it is. Beaches are my way to go if I want to escape life for a bit and completely unwind.

Do you spell out boyfriend properly or put bf in texts/online? I can use either depending on what I feel like typing out. It’s not that serious haha.

Do you know what bg is short for? Upon reading this question I immediately thought ‘background,’ but if this question had another meaning in mind I wouldn’t be aware of it.

Do you know anyone with the last name Bhays? No.

Have you ever been bird watching? What did you see? No, doesn’t sound like my kind of hobby.

Do you like Bjork? Not in particular, but just like the Axl Rose question I don’t have anything against her either.

What does this read: bk 2moz miss u lyk fk. Doesn't this text speak annoy? No one types like this anymore at least among people I know, but I imagine it would lowkey bother me a bit.

Do you like BMWs? They’re whatever. I don’t pay attention to cars much.

What is the nearest book to you called? How many times have you read it? There aren’t any books here up on the rooftop.

BnQ - gone there? What did you buy? Idk what that is.

Are you more brainy or brave? I wanna say brainy, if anything? I’m pretty jumpy lol.

Did you like the BSBs (Backstreet Boys) as a kid? How about now? No, I’m a little too young for that generation of artists and groups.

Burgers, Hot Dogs or Salads at a Barbecue? We don’t really practice ~barbecues~ here. But at Filipino parties I would usually flock to lumpia and fried chicken, hehe.

Do you have a Byro? No, because I also don’t know what that is.

Cold eyes and filthy lies all leave me petrified. - C

Do you have a Cactus (Cacti)? No, I don’t like plans.

Do you know what a CCTV is? Yes...?

How many CDs are in the room you are currently in? None where I am right now but I have all of Beyoncé’s albums save for Lemonade in my bedroom. I also have Paramore’s self-titled album and Hayley Williams’ Petals For Armor. My CD collection is about to experience a revival because of BTS, though. My plan to get all versions of all their albums is rock solid, lmao.

What's your favourite cereal brand? Cookie Crisps.

Do you like children's TV shows still? Which one(s)? I’ll revisit an episode or two of shows I watched as a kid at a given time for old times’ sake, but I don’t regularly watch children’s TV shows anymore. I haven’t for a very long time.

Cinnamon - Yum or Yuck? I’m actually kind of in the middle about it. I feel like too many desserts have been banking on cinnamon, so the taste of it can be a little tiring. It’s delicious if I haven’t had it for a while, though.

Do you know anyone with the initials and or name CJ? Quite the opposite; I know PLENTY of JCs, even my sister is one. I know one or two CJs but that’s it.

Have you ever met a self professed clairvoyant? What did they do/say? No.

Do you watch CNN News? What's your prefered news channel/show? I don’t tune into the channel but every once in a while I will encounter a CNN link on social media that I’d actually click on and read through. As for preferred news sources, I don’t have one as there are matters to criticize about 99% of them lol; but I am most likely to trust articles I from AP or Reuters. Just things you pick up as a journalism student. 

How many cousins do you have? I have 9 first cousins. I lose count by the time I try to go beyond that since I don’t even know all of my dad’s cousins, which makes it hard to track who my second cousins are.

Do you still draw with crayons? When was the last time you did? Drew what? I don’t remember anymore.

Do you know what a CSS feed is? What is it? I’m familiar with the term but never bothered to learn about what it is.

Do you like cycling/biking? What type of bike do you have? ...I don’t even know how to ride a bike.

Do you really like it, is it is it wicked. - D

What is the most dangerous animal you've petted/held? I can’t decide between snake or crocodile.

Do you like Death Metal? If so, which band(s)? I wouldn’t say I do.

Did you ever keep a diary/journal? I did a million attempts to keep a diary when I was younger, but I was never able to keep up with any of them and I ended up having 4598358395 notebooks with one or two entries each at most. Having a Tumblr page for surveys has so far been my most successful streak at keeping some type of journal.

Do you prefer small, medium, large or no dogs? I prefer all dogs.

Do you know what DP stands for in porn? Yes.

Have you ever dressed up as a celebrity for a party/Halloween? I went as my favorite female wrestler once. I wouldn’t strictly call her a celebrity, but she’s a very well-known personality in the wrestling industry so she’s popular in that right.

DS or Wii? Why? Wii. I was able to make more memories with it.

Does dust make you sneeze or cough? Sneeze, usually.

How many DVDs do you have all together? Idk, I don’t buy DVDs anymore.

Do you dye your hair regularly, sometimes or never? I’ve never done it.

Every love lies sometimes . . . - E

What's something you refuse to eat? Most fruits.

Don't you think the word ebb is so pretty? I’m neutral about it. I don’t use it a lot.

Do you like Chocolate Eclairs? I love eclairs in general haha. Chocolate eclairs in particular sound delicious.

Ever tried edible paper? Yeah, with the White Rabbit candy.

Eevee - pretty name or too Pokemon-y? Definitely very Pokemon-y. 

Do you sometimes mix up the spellings/meanings of affection and defection? Erm, no? They have completely different spellings and meanings, so I personally have never switched them up.

Do you have a big ego, low self esteem or somewhere in between? I think I’m somewhere in between. I’m insecure about some things about myself, but I don’t really put myself down 24/7. I feel like that would put such a strain on my mental health, which I certainly would never need.

What Element does your starsign fall under? I think earth? My co-workers were just discussing this last Friday, but I couldn’t really butt in since I can’t bring myself to care about astrology. I know they mentioned Taurus being an earth sign though.

Do you show your emotions easily and freely or hide them? Depends...I can do either depending on the situation.

What is your favourite form of entertainment? Korean reality shows are quickly becoming a favorite of mine at the moment. I also like compilation videos on YouTube.

What will they write on your epitaph? I’ve honestly hadn’t put much thought into this yet, and I don’t plan to anytime soon. It just seems like a super grave thing to think about lol.

Estimate/guess what number we are on now? Maybe 60s or 70s?

Do you know basic social etiquette? I mean etiquette will always differ per country or culture, so what is basic in other countries might not be here, and vice versa. I think it’s hard to measure.

Does your country use the Euro, Great British Pound, Dollar or other? Other.

Do you still get excited on Christmas Eve? Yes. Mostly for the free food and the opportunity to see relatives I really only ever see every December 24.

What animal/creature that is extinct do you wish wasn't? Those that went extinct from human activity.

What colour eyes do your parents have? Black/dark brown.

[mattzerella-sticks]

Park Your Car in My Gay-rage

Castiel moved out West so he could live freely and with pride. However an anonymous act of bigotry chips away at his faith that he can live life without facing prejudice. And with each repair shop that turns him down the cracks keep growing. Why would Singer's Auto be any different?

Will his car ever be fixed? And could a certain mechanic restore more than just his car?

(Link to ao3)

           Castiel slumps against his car, snapping his cell phone shut in frustration. Banging his hand against the hood he grumbles out a string of expletives as he gives up hope. Meg, leaning against the hood, drums her fingers on the closed Yellow Pages while watching him.

           “So,” Meg says, “it a bust, too?”

           He sighs, tapping his phone on his forehead. “More than that. The mechanic laughed me off after I told him what I needed and had a few choice opinions to tell me.”

           Meg’s lips purse, and she steps back onto the sidewalk to stare at the rough scratches across her friend’s beige paint. The word was interrupted by the open driver seat’s door, but when closed all together the crude artist spelled out ‘FAGGOT’. “Maybe he knew the jackass who did this…”

           Castiel ignores her, chewing on his lip. “How am I going to get this fixed…? I can’t drive around town like this.”

           “And I’m sick and tired of looking through that thing,” she jerks her thumb at the offensive phone book, “Do you ever think searching for stuff will be easier? Like, I don’t know… all these names and numbers stored somewhere and it’d only take a few seconds to find exactly what you’re looking for?”

           Frown slashed heavily across his face, Castiel turns to glare at her. “What the hell are you talking about?”

           She shrugs, “I don’t know… digging through that reminded me of this girl I went out with a couple’a times. Total geek, spent at least two dates going on and on about those huge, clunky computer things. Think she lived in an Internet Café… wait a minute!” She digs into her leather jacket pocket and pulls out her phone, flicking it open and clicking away.

           He hops off his car, stepping closer out of curiosity. “What are you doing?”

           “I just remembered,” she starts, not even looking at him, “she mentioned how she works at this garage –“

           “Meg, we’ve tried all the garages in the area –“

           “C’mon, trust me,” Meg continues, “place has to be good if they hired a lesbian.”

           Castiel rolls his eyes. “Forgive me if I don’t trust straight men’s views on lesbianism.” At that Meg stops staring at her phone to shoot Castiel a flat look. He hisses out a breath and runs tired fingers through his hair. “Sorry, I’m just tired and frustrated about all this… why is it so hard to find somebody for a body job?”

           “Because unfortunately most people today are ignorant, Clarence,” Meg tells him, holding her phone against her ear, “And we’re not going to see any real change for years… maybe not until we’re all old and shriveled and grey.”

           Huffing, Castiel crosses his arms against his chest and spins on his heel. He lets Meg talk to his back, done with their bleak conversation. Still, a part of him agrees with her opinion of the future for those like them. It wasn’t too long ago Castiel was trapped in his old hometown in Illinois, looking over his shoulder every weeknight to make sure no one followed him home. Fearful that one day his face would be a blip in the newsreel, another name to add to the wall like Matthew Shepard.

           “I moved here to escape all that,” he mumbles to himself, “but apparently hatred can grow anywhere… even in California.”

           Meg hops onto his back, interrupting his musings. She chokes him, forcing him to twirl her around until Castiel can pry her arms off of him. After wheezing in a good-sized breath, he asks what that was about.

           “They’d be happy to take a look,” Meg says, “Free of charge!”

           Castiel blinks at her. “What?”

           “I told you this was a good place, Clarence. Hurry up though, they’re not gonna keep the shop open for you.” She rattles off the directions, having to repeat herself once Castiel shakes away the dazed look in his eye. “…And when you get there you’re supposed to ask for Dean,” she finishes, “Dean Winchester.”

           “Why?”

           “Guy overheard us talking and said he’d take care of it personally.”

           “But… why?”

           She shrugs, “Who knows, but he’s waving his fees. Don’t look a gift mechanic in the mouth, my gorgeous unicorn.” Meg pockets her phone and skips backwards, waving goodbye.

           “Wait,” Castiel follows her, “you’re not coming with?”

           “Band practice,” she says, “I’ve gotta swing over to my place and pick up my bass. You’ll do fine!” With a loud smack of her lips she disappears behind a corner, off on her own way.

           Castiel waits a beat before he actually leaves. He starts the engine, idling some more to switch out the CD in the drive, so instead of blasting Indigo Girls he could drive to the music of the Cranberries. Skipping until he reached ‘Zombie’, Castiel nods his head along as he begins his journey over to Singer’s Auto Repair.

           It wasn’t too confusing following Meg’s directions. Halfway through her second explanation Castiel realized he was familiar with the route. He’s driven that way countless time to visit a small bookstore he loves. The only one he’d been able to find that stocks trashy romance novels of more diverse backgrounds. Perks of living near West Hollywood, Castiel always knows where to go to find shops catered to others like him.

           But he would have remembered seeing a car garage there.

           Rounding the final corner, Castiel slows down and crawls along the street, head swerving left and right while ‘Yeat’s Grave’ plays on. After passing his bookstore, he spots a faded sign a few storefronts down.

           “How have I never seen this before?”

           Unassuming from the front, with faded brick and rusted steel, Bobby’s Auto Shop sits next to a leather shop and spans all the way to the corner. A single rainbow flag hangs from a pole jutting off the side of the building. Castiel pulls into an open garage, parking near the front and cutting the music off before the next song could begin. He steps out of the car and looks around.

           There are at least five vehicles stationed inside the building at the moment. He sees one hefted up on a lift, a burly man inspecting it from below. Across from him two other mechanics argue over the exposed engine of a truck, long hair pulled back into tight ponytails. At a lounge area a black couple share a bag of chips.

           Looking to the other side at what Castiel expects to be only a blank wall he spies a cluttered corkboard.

           Castiel walks away from his car and over to it, scanning the different fliers tacked on. Notices for events like poetry readings and charity brunches to raise funds for AIDs research. A picture of a drag queen hangs next to an ad selling a lounger with a few of the tabs ripped off. There’s even a poster for Meg’s band, ‘The Demon Queens’ that he recognizes, having done the design for them.

           “You find something you like?” a rough drawl from behind startles him. Castiel spins, coming face to face with a man who shouldn’t look so handsome streaked with oil. He stares into sparkling green eyes, the color only highlighted by the dark marks on his cheeks. The mechanic smirks, cocking one brow higher than the other. “You all right there?”

           “Yeah-yeah-yes,” Castiel clears his throat, “Yes I am, sorry I… what did you ask?”

           He chuckles, running dirty fingers through his light brown hair, coloring it darker. “You here for some work?”

           Castiel nods. “I’m supposed to ask for a Dean… Winchester?”

           Mechanic’s gaze widens, glancing back at Castiel’s car before returning to him. “You’re Meg’s friend?” he asks, grinning.

           “Yes…?”

           “Hmm… not what I was expecting,” he says, holding a hand out, “I’m Dean.”

           Castiel flushes, cursing his luck. Of course the only mechanic who would work on his car would be the man who stepped off the set of a calendar shoot.

           Pretty boys have always been Castiel’s weakness. From high school when he first understood where his attractions laid to now, something about them makes his brain shuts down. His tongue works against him and sweat pours out from everywhere; thoughts bottleneck behind the embarrassing urge to blurt out ‘you’re pretty’. Castiel ceases to function normally when presented with a pretty boy.

           It’s been an uncomfortable amount of time where Dean’s hand hangs in the air. Castiel realizes it when the smile on his face slowly starts to fall.

           He jerks his hand out in a panic, latching onto Dean’s with as relaxed a face he can force. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dean.” His handshake is tight and fast, quickly pulling away as if burned.

           Feeling something wet coating his palm Castiel prays Dean didn’t notice his sweat. However looking at it he belatedly remembers Dean’s hands were covered in oil.

           “Shit,” Dean says, “Totally forgot to clean up… that’s my bad.”

           “It’s fine,” Castiel tell him, “I’ve had worse… my hands are usually messy and covered in whatever.”

           “Really? Like what?”

           “Paints, clay… those types of things.”

           “You an artist?”

           “On my days off.”

           Dean motions for Castiel to follow. He does. “You do any galleries?” he asks.

           Castiel frowns, “I’ve been in one or two, but never on my own. Don’t have the money to afford a space.”

           “If you ever do, feel free to advertise here,” Dean says, stopping by a large sink, “As you already know we have a place for a poster or two.”

           “Duly noted.” He waits for Dean to turn on the faucet, letting him run his hands under the stream first. Once he finishes Castiel half-heartedly scrubs at the oil. There wasn’t much on his hand, and making any effort to wash it away wouldn’t fit with the cool façade Castiel tried to keep.

           “Y’know,” Dean starts, hands hidden in a fluffy towel, “when Charlie told me about you, I thought you’d look a hell of a lot different.”

           Castiel skews his head to the side. “How so?”

           “Well I figured you’d be a girl,” he shrugs, “friend of an ex from Charlie, nine out of ten it’d be another lesbian or at least bisexual…“ Dean tosses the towel to Castiel, “egg on my face, right?”

           He catches it haphazardly. “More like oil.” When Dean’s brows pinch together, Castiel mock wipes at his face with the towel.

           “Really?” Dean whines, “You probably think I’m a slob.” He hurriedly splashes some more water on his face and snatches the towel back.

           “Honestly?” Castiel says, “I don’t know enough about you to form an opinion.”

           Dean looks up from the towel and smiles, dimples clear on his freckled cheeks. “We’ll have to fix that, then.” Before Castiel can overthink what that means Dean walks away and over to his car, Castiel racing to keep up. “So someone marked up your car?”

           He sighs, “Yeah… I woke up the other day to find that – that word scratched on the side along with some… other things.” Castiel doesn’t dive in to the details of the torn up rainbow flag outside his apartment and the already painted over slurs carved onto his door. “That’s what I get for celebrating the first day of Pride, I guess.”

           Dean frowns, running a hand across his car’s ugly scar. “You know the person who did this?”

           Castiel shrugs. “Suspicions… but nothing concrete enough to make a claim or file a report.”

           “If it were me I’d do more than that. Bastard would be walking with a limp – if at all – if they messed up my Baby.”

           The threat brings a smile to Castiel’s face. He straightens out of the curled up posture he fell into. “Your ‘Baby’?”

           “My car,” Dean explains, turning to him, “older model in black. A ‘67 Chevy Impala.”

           “I must confess… I don’t know that much about cars.”

           “Really?”

           “I don’t quite know the model of my own car let alone what an Impala looks like.”

           “That’s a damn shame,” Dean tells him, “Going your whole life without knowing what true beauty is? I’d take you out to see her now if I didn’t have to park so far away today.”

           “You don’t have your own parking?”

           He shakes his head. “Usually I snag a spot on the block but by the time I made it out of bed they were all taken. So I’m about three down in front of this deli. Anyway…” Dean kneels down again, inspecting his car closely. “This shouldn’t be tough… probably have it ready by tomorrow if nothing comes up.”

           “Are you sure?” Castiel asks, “If you have other clients waiting –“

           “Nah I finished up my last appointment for the day already. Don’t stress about it.”

           “That’s very nice of you,” he says, “all the other places I tried wouldn’t help me and here you make it sound so easy…” Then, Castiel remembers what Meg told him. “And for no pay? I don’t mind, I have the money –“

           Dean reaches out for Castiel, grabbing his wrist to stop him from taking out his wallet. “I insist. I’m always looking for ways to give back to our community.”

           Castiel smiles, his skin burning from Dean’s touch. “Our – ah… our community?” he starts, “do you mean that in a friendly neighborhood sense or…”

           He rolls his eyes. “In a rainbow way.”

           “Ah.” Castiel glances around the garage, gaze unable to land on any one point for long. “I was wondering… this is a very progressive garage.”

           “Has been since the beginning,” Dean tells him, leaning against Castiel’s car, “Bobby’s been a staple here for a long time ever since he and his wife Karen moved in years ago.”

           “Bobby?”

           “Bobby Singer, the big ol’ boss of this place,” he explains, “He and Karen came here when things got dangerous for them back where they used to live.”

           “Why was that?”

           Dean launches Castiel back into the past, where a newly married Bobby and Karen were being threatened nearly every night when one of the women in Sioux Falls discovered Karen hadn’t always been called Karen. Gangs of men hung out in front of their house, dumping cigarette butts on their lawn. Every time they went out they were watched and followed, confronted on the days when people had a little more confidence than normal. Any room they entered became so silent a cough could shatter glass. Neither Bobby nor Karen was willing to move at first, until the first rock was thrown through their window. They packed their bags and left in the early morning, not stopping until their car broke down in California.

           Bobby pushed it all the way to the closest garage. “It was closing,” Dean says, “And the only one there was the owner – and he didn’t see why he should help. So Bobby grabbed a box of tools and set to work. Halfway through fixing his own car, someone pulled up and asked Bobby to look under his hood. He did and made the engine purr. Owner saw and demanded Bobby give him the money from that. Made a deal and bought the place with what was left of their savings.”

           “And he turned it into this,” Castiel says, “I wish I knew about Singer’s sooner… would have saved me a lot of guff whenever I needed my oil changed.”

           “I’ll admit we can do better in advertising,” Dean shrugs, “Mainly we rely on word-of-mouth… although we did get a lot of customers after Benny namedropped us in one of his shows.”

           “Benny?”

           Dean jerks his thumb over towards the burly man from earlier, chatting with the previously bickering mechanics by the truck. “He’s a drag queen. Performs over at the Roadhouse every Wednesday as ‘The Vamp’. I mentioned he should promote the garage in his act one night when I was helping him do his make-up.”

           Castiel recalls the picture of the drag queen he saw pinned to the cork board, notices the similarities between the figure captured and the one in front of him. “Is everyone who works here a… um, on the rainbow?”

           “More or less,” Dean shrugs, “Jo – the blonde – been on Estrogen for two years, has her first round of surgery coming up in a few weeks. Dorothy doesn’t conscribe to the binary but they still identify as a lesbian…” He swings his finger over to the lounge area. “Max is as gay as the next guy but his sister Alicia’s our token straight.” Turning back to face Castiel he says, “And Charlie you already know only goes for chicks.”

           “And you?”

           “Me?” Dean chuckles, “Why I’m bi as fuck!”

           Castiel laughs as well. “Are you trying to collect all the letters?”

           “Like queer Pokémon,” Dean nods, earning another round of snickers. “Nah, we all kinda drifted together. Jo and the Banes twins lived in the area – Jo’s mom actually owns the Roadhouse. But the rest of us… Bobby took under his wing in one way or another.”

           Storm clouds brew in the timbre of Dean’s voice, the shiny jewels of his eyes losing their luster. Castiel feels the temperature between them dip low by tens of degrees. Whatever Dean doesn’t say must weigh heavily to flatten the good mood he was in.

           It’s a familiar burden Castiel knows all too well.

           “Do you know what my name means?”

           Dean blinks, thrown off by the sudden shift in topics. “Uh… no –“

           “It’s a bastardized version of an angel’s name,” he explains, “Cassiel. They thought the extra ‘s’ was too… feminine. But I was born on a Thursday and…” Castiel trails off, grimacing.

           “Religious family?” Dean asks.

           He nods. “My dad was heavily involved with our local Church.”

           “So when you…”

           “It was not a fun time,” Castiel says, “I didn’t go home for the first two years after I left for college but… we learned not to speak about it. Although every now and then my mother sends me pamphlets for seminary school.”

           Dean barks out a rough laugh, biting his lip. A brief, charged silence stands between them where Castiel can’t breathe. He nearly backs away, tells Dean that it’s okay. They’re strangers – all he needs is a body job, not a life story. But then he sucks his lower lip under his teeth and starts.

           “My dad caught me fooling around with another boy when I was sixteen,” he says, “And after the punches kicked me out on my ass. Joke’s on him, though, because I managed to snag the keys to the car. Drove around for the first year seeing the sights until I found my way to Bobby’s. Picked up shifts part-time until he noticed me sleeping in my car. Cuffed me on the head and told me to take the spare room in the apartment above.”

           “Karen didn’t mind?”

           “Karen died years earlier,” Dean smiles ruefully, “Cancer. But she would’ve done the same thing. Wish I could’ve met her, though, heard she made killer apple pie.”

           And in that moment, Castiel finds himself wishing he had the chance as well. Dean talks about his family with so much love he wants to meet them all, or at least here him tell more stories about them. Knowing that this group of people have found each other and are happy gives Castiel more hope for the future for people like them.

           Dean Winchester’s gravitation is too powerful to resist, and Castiel falls into his orbit happily.

           A set of squeaky wheels interrupts their conversation, an older man in a trucker’s cap rolling up to them. “Winchester,” he barks, “I don’t pay you to stand around and flirt. Git to work on this poor boy’s car!”

           They break apart, both their cheeks bright red. Dean hangs his head, rubbing his hands against his coveralls. “Right away, Bobby.”

           Bobby shakes his head, leaving them. “Idjits…”

           Castiel shuffles his feet, wringing his hands together. He waits until the other man is far away before speaking again. “So… that’s Bobby.”

           “Yeah,” he huffs, “Bastard’s usually never this ornery… probably getting me back for walking in on him and his boyfriend the other night.” Dean scoffs, crossing his arms, “Not my fault Crowley didn’t lock the damn door…”    

           The past few minutes catch up with Castiel and he feels the awkwardness creeping back up his spine like a spider. “I… I should be going,” he stutters out, startling Dean.

           “Really?” Dean asks, his frown confusing to Castiel’s already addled mind.

           He nods, pacing backwards. “Thank you for your help and… and the talk.” Then before Dean could respond Castiel races out the garage door and doesn’t look back. Castiel makes it past the leather shop before he falls back against the storefront and gasps for breath.

           “Castiel,” he mumbles to himself, “stupid… ‘and the talk’. Why can’t you talk to pretty boys without losing your head.”

           He knocks his head against the brick latticework repeatedly, angry with how he blew his shot with the pretty mechanic. In between the heavy pounding she gives himself he hears a slight cough to his right.

           Squinting an eye open Castiel sees Dean watching him with an amused grin across his face. Throwing himself away from the wall, Castiel turns to face him. “Dean?” he starts, “What are… what are you doing here?”

           Dean steps closer, invading Castiel’s space. The smell of motor oil and cologne makes him dizzy. “You left in such a hurry, Cas, you forgot to give me your phone number.”

           His heart skips over itself as a sunny ray of hope shoots across his chest. Clouds return to cover it when he remembers past garage experiences where mechanics needed it to reach him. He deflates. “Right, so you can tell me when my car’s ready.”

           Dean juts his lower lip out, head bobbing as he considers Castiel’s statement. “Yeah for that, too.”

           “Too?”

           “Well I mean how else can I ask you out if I don’t have your number?”

           A stone lodges itself in Castiel’s throat. “You… you want to ask me out… on a date?”

           His eyebrows jump up. “I… I wasn’t misreading anything… was I?”

           That spurs Castiel into action. “No, no! You weren't… I am… I’m interested.”

           Dean relaxes, hand splayed against his chest. “Good, got nervous there for a second.” He looks to Castiel, waiting. “So…?”

           They exchange numbers, Dean handing Castiel’s phone back with a wink and a promise to call later. Then he heads back to the garage to smooth out the scratches on his car.

           Castiel stands there, outside the leather shop, too shocked to move. Somehow he gains control of his legs again and picks one up after the other.

           When he makes it to the bus stop, Castiel pulls his phone out and stares at Dean’s number. Butterflies flutter in his stomach as the largest smile blossoms on his face.

           It stays there all the way back to his apartment.

[artlessictoan]

Hi. Could I request some butch!yodo/fem!chou (i know you had that one before but I can't imagine anything else for those two)? Maybe in that rivaling music shops AU from that other time you did requests? Thank you very much!

nonski.. i literally screeched when i saw this tHANK YOU (here’sthe other req referenced in the ask!)

(requests open)

(ao3 mirror)

---

She carefully examined her reflection in the shop window,brushing some stray hairs back into place, adjusting her miniskirt to show offa little more leg, before pushing open the poster-laden door and steppingthrough it with the practised confidence of a supermodel.

As embarrassing as it was to practice her strut in themirror at home, she had to admit, the effect was well worth it.

The door creaked slightly as it closed behind her andChouchou was immediately hit with the increasingly familiar scent of sweat,leather and – weirdly, for a store dedicated to all things grungy and hardcore –sandalwood. She had been told by Sarada, that Yodo always lit incense as soonas she got in, while they were getting ready to open the shop.

It was discovering little things like that that kept hercoming back, time after time, in the hopes that maybe she’ll find yet anotherexcuse to fall just a little more in love with the tiny ball of chaos,verve and idiocy that was Yodo.

As usual, the shop was empty. She glanced around, idlywondering how the hell they were still in business when, in all the times she’dvisited, she’d never seen more than three people browsing the aisles at once. Yodoinsisted that metalheads, while not overly abundant in the general population,were extremely dedicated to their genre, however Sarada had explained that Yodocame from a wealthy family and had a doting adoptive father who was very generouswith his money and would do anything for his children.

Just another surprising discovery and another butterfly inher stomach.

When a thorough search of the shop floor revealed no Yodo, shecasually hopped over the counter and poked her head in the storeroom.

A smirk immediately spread across her face. The short blondehad her back to her and apparently hadn’t even realised that anyone was there,judging by the bright wires trailing down from her ears; Chouchou could hearthe muffled drumming the earbuds were emitting from across the room.

She stepped closer. “You know, it would be really easy forsomeone to rob you right now,” Chouchou said.

Yodo didn’t respond, just kept sorting through CDs andnodding her head along to whatever she was listening to. Raising an eyebrow,Chouchou snapped her fingers experimentally. Yodo mumble-sang a fewincomprehensible words and started tapping her foot.

Oh, she’s just asking for it!

Hovering just behind her target – who was still utterlyengrossed in the bass thudding through her earphones – and before she couldthink better of it, she lightly pressed a finger to the middle of her spine andran it all the way up to her neck.

“HAH!” Chouchou barely registered the surprisingly gruffshout, before Yodo spun on her heel, fist already swinging.

Incredibly, she managed to land her hard, bony knucklesright on Chouchou’s elbow.

“AGHHH FUCK! WHAT THE-” Yodo ripped out her earphones “-Chouchou?What the fuck are ya doing? I nearly beat the shit outta you! Fuck, my fist.”

Gripping her arm like it was about to fall off, she had tofight through the shudders racking her entire body before she could reply, “Howdid you hit me right on the funny bone? Fuck.” They were both still swearingand groaning, clutching their respective aching body parts tightly.

Chouchou sucked in a sharp breath as the last of the shakes fadedto nothing. Elbow still hurt though. “Ok, learned my lesson, never doing thatagain,” she said, laughing through the pain.

“What were you even expecting to happen?” Yodo asked, ajustifiably annoyed look on her face.

“I dunno, was kinda hoping I might get a cute little squealout of you or something-” which she still desperately wanted to hear, but waswilling to accept that she would have to find a different tactic in the future;maybe she was ticklish? “-I’m sorry, I promise I won’t sneak up on you anymore,but you do realise that your shop is open, right? Maybe you should turn downthe volume enough that you can hear when the door opens.”

Cheeks puffing up like a hamster, Yodo replaced the earbuds,picked up the box of CDs she had been sorting and pushed past her, shoutingbehind her as she disappeared through the door, “Y’know I don’t come into yourshop and criticise your work habits.”

Trailing behind her, Chouchou leaned against the counter andwatched her friend return to her task, occasionally glancing at the empty store.

“You should at least turn down the volume a little, my earsare hurting in sympathy.”

“God, you’re worse than my dad,” she mumbled, thoughher hand did drift down to her phone and the loud, heavy beat faded to a faint,tinny noise. It was mostly drowned out by the clacking of plastic cases as Yodomoved albums into incomprehensible piles. Chouchou stared at the band names tryingto find some link – or even a single familiar name at all – but came up blank.

She picked up the top CD in the pile closest to her and casuallybegan reading through the track list. “So, what’re you listening to?” she asked.

“Oi, don’t be messin’ up my system.” She didn’t try to take itback though. “And none of your business.”

“C’mon, tell me!”

“You wouldn’t know them anyways.” For someone who wasgenerally down-to-earth, Yodo had an amazingly pretentious streak in her.

She raised a brow, but Chouchou was still grinning uncontrollablywhen she said, “Wow, music snob much?” Dropping the CD back on the appropriatestack, Chouchou turned all her attention to her new game. “Gimme a hint, rock?Metal? Punk?”

“You’re not gonna get it-”

“Just because I’m not hugely into this stuff, doesn’t mean I’mcompletely ignorant.” In fact, she had quite a good knowledge of classic rockand metal; her dad played it all the time when she was a kid and she still hada nostalgic soft spot for the genre, even if she had mostly gravitated towardpop, funk and soul as she’d gotten older. “I’m not going to stop bugging youuntil you tell me.”

Yodo gave her an unplaceable look and silently picked up apile and quickly stomped toward the ‘grindcore’ aisle.

She wasn’t about to give up that easy. Chouchou followedher, playing a very one-sided game of twenty questions as she went, pushing thelimits of her knowledge of Yodo’s favourite music. Outside of the occasionalgrunt and assertions that she was never going to find out who it was, Yodoremained unresponsive.

Well, she couldn’t be having that, the whole point ofher teasing was to get a reaction, to get her attention, with the nebulousend goal of eventually kissing her and hopefully things would just carry onfrom there.

Disaster gay she might be, but she was at least self-awareabout it.

But, until she found the courage to confess, she had anurgent mystery to solve and she’d just thought of a brilliant plan.

Asking what decade the song was from in her whiniest voice,she pulled her phone out and tapped out a quick message. Just a few secondslater, Yodo jumped and frowned down at the pocket of her tight jeans, the onesthat were ripped to the point of being non-existent. Chouchou was veryfond of those jeans.

Leaning over her shoulder, Chouchou snickered at the textYodo had just received – a simple ‘hey girl’ – and, before she could ask whatthe hell she was messaging her for when she was literally right next to her,she reached over and snatched the phone out of her hand, tugging the wire ofthe earbuds with it.

“Hey!” Yodo spun around, glaring up at her with thosebeautiful eyes, that could look anything from green, to blue, to grey,depending on the light. But, right now, they just looked… apprehensive?

That gave her pause, just for a moment, but when her friendgave no sign that she was truly angry, which she knew from experiencewas a valid concern, she decided to push her luck and grin. “Hey, you weren’ttelling me, so I’m just gonna listen for myself to find out.”

“NO!”

She held the phone high above Yodo’s head – not exactly adifficult feat, she barely reached her elbows, even when she wasn’twearing six-inch heels – and stuck her tongue out at her, before catching oneof the dangling earbuds and sticking it in her own ear, all the while, nudgingYodo’s grasping hands away.

The tone was an immediate shock, much softer and lighterthan what she’d been expecting, as was the perfectly clear, lilting voice ofthe female vocalist.

It was also very familiar and she found herself singingalong for half a second before slowly saying, “Wait… I know this song, this is…”Suddenly, it all clicked together and she was biting her lip trying not tolaugh. “Awwww, the scary punk rocker likes sugary bubble-gum pop!”

Yodo slapped a hand against her mouth and glanced around the– still empty – shop. “Not so loud!”

She raised her brows and gently peeled the hand from herlips, maybe revelling in the skin contact a little longer than appropriate. “Seriously?You’re that embarrassed?” she asked, watching in mild amusement as her friendkept looking over her shoulder, as though a horde of metalheads was going to materialisebehind them any second to mock her taste in music.

It was a little cute, in all honesty. Or maybe it was justthat Yodo was so cute that everything she did gained an air ofadorability.

“No, I just…” She bit her lip and, god, thatwas just unfair, because Chouchou really wanted to lean down and try it forherself. “You were raving ‘bout her new album the other day, figured I’d checkit out, see what the fuss was about.”

Literally clapping her hands in joy, she released the mostgirlish squeal she’d probably ever made in her life. “Oh, that’s so sweet ofyou! So, what do you think?”

“It’s-”

Chouchou unconsciously leaned forwards, eyes almost poppingout of her head as she waited in terrified anticipation for the verdict. Shedidn’t know when Yodo’s opinion had become so important to her, but she was silentlypraying that her taste in music had impressed her crush; or at the very leastthat it hadn’t made her decide that she was absolutely not cool enough to behanging out with her and could she please leave the shop before her glitterypop songs scared off any customers.

“-really good. The middle’s a bit weak, but that guitar workis surprisingly solid for a pop artist and that song Paradise Sunsets probablyhas some of the best lyrics I’ve heard all year.”

She didn’t release a sigh of relief, mostly because she wasalready spewing out a rush of words that even she herself only half understood,so rushed and tripping over her words was she. “Right? I dunno that she’llever make another song that good, but it’s definitely one of my all-time faves.”

“Yeah, I’d never really paid much attention to her before,but I did skim through some of her older stuff too, there’s some really greatstuff in there!” Those ever-changing eyes were shining with the same kind ofexcitement she always got when she spoke about discovering a new band, or whenshe sang on stage in front of a crowd of dozens, as though it were a crowd ofthousands.

Music was such a huge part of her life – Chouchou’s tooreally – and seeing how much she loved and cared about a singer she hadintroduced her too…

“You know, I can think of a few similar artists I couldrecommend you, if you’re interested.”

Yodo gave her a blank look for a second, before her cheeksdarkened and she gave a wide grin. “Sounds fun, but if you’re subjecting me to themainstream, then I’m gonna be giving you a crash course in the history of metalin return.”

Even more time spent in the company of the cutest, coolestwoman in the world, bonding over their shared passion for music? Yeah, shecould live with that.

---

[teenagemakerwasteland]

Music, Old Toys, and Sports Cards, Oh My!

Ø  The Connection Is Real

I think we all surf the web to find things we enjoy, and people who enjoy them with us. There are so many things to use social media and their platforms for ranging from connecting with family and friends, finding people with the same interests and hobbies as us, and buying, selling, and trading goods, the possibilities are endless. Whatever the reasoning is, there is always that feeling of wanting to connect with someone who sees, feels, and wants some, if not all of what you are looking for. The same type of bands you like to listen to, the toys you collected as a kid and want to revisit as an adult they enjoy too and wanting to go back and collect cards because their dad took them to shops when they were younger and they want that same bond, it’s just the psychological longing we have to belong or connect with others to feel part of something.

Ø Homophily

This concept is basically the longing to belong, fit in, bond, and associate. I am on social media way more often than I’d like to admit, and the majority of my time on there is spent on Facebook looking through videos or posts trying to find something that piques my interest, or on You Tube searching content about sports card collecting, music content that I enjoy learning about, and people going to garage sales, flea markets, antique malls, and card stores searching for gems.

These types of videos get me interested in buying stuff that I didn’t know about or getting me in the hunt for things I’ve wanted for a long time, either way I’m connecting with the author of the content because they enjoy the same things I do. If I enjoy what I see I will “like” and “subscribe” in order to catch up on future content they may put out, another way to feel connected with someone who seems to enjoy what I do, I feel like I belong.

Ø Algorithms

Oh how I’ve often wondered how social media platforms tend to know exactly what I like, even when I just link up to the site and begin to scroll around to see what’s going on. This was a mystery to me for quite some time. How did Facebook know that I enjoy 80’s Hair Metal and out of no where throw up 15 different groups to join that has 80’s Hair Metal talk 24-7? How did YouTube know that I enjoyed watching content that does studio album rankings from my favorite bands, or that I enjoyed going to garage sales, so they linked 100 YouTubers who go to garage sales? These platform algorithms are the ways they do this, when I click on Facebook Marketplace looking for CDs to buy in lots, when I click out of one of them there will be a list of 20 more waiting for me to look at, it’s quite amazing. With YouTube, I will watch a video about cool baseball card finds at a local Antique Mall, I’ll sign out and go eat dinner, sign back on a few hours later and see a list of 15 that have the same concept. The way social media is connected to us all is an amazing thing, this is one of the ways I really enjoy.

[kyleperkinsauthor]

Alright, so I haven’t posted in a few months due to a new baby and a new job, but I am back with some cool shit to post over the next few days. Today, I am going to teach you some of the cool stuff you can do with a NAS or, Network Attached Storage. I upgraded mine over the last few days, and decided to share the process, because once you have a NAS, you’ll question why you never had one before. It basically becomes your own personal cloud server that you have total control over.

So first, here is my parts list.

Rexgear Micro ATX Cube – $49.99

Patriot Viper 3 Series, Black Mamba, DDR3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit – $62.99

MSI AMD FM2+ A68H DDR3 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX Motherboard – $46.99

ARCTIC Alpine 64 Plus – 90 Watts Low Noise CPU Cooler for AMD AM4 Sockets – $13.77

AMD AMD A6-7400K Dual-Core 3.5 GHz – $49.79

Hitachi 1TB (1 tb) SATA II 7200 RPM 32MB (Quantity: 3) – $34.58 x 3.

APEVIA ATX-VS450W Venus 450W ATX Power Supply – $21.99

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

So, I got all of this for under $350, but all you really need is a cpu, power supply, motherboard, ram, case, and a hard drive. You can do this in any combination, and chances are, you have some shitty old PC laying in a closet somewhere that you could easily use.

You will also need two flash drives. They both should be empty. You need to put the nas4free installation media on one, and the OS will go on another.

So, now that you have your PC built, let’s get started.

First, go here.

Make sure to click on the link with the latest date. Since we’re using USB, we will be selecting this.

It will begin downloading. This could take fifteen minutes or so. Once that is completed, head over and download rufus.

Once that is finished, you have everything you need to install nas4free.

Turn on your freshly built PC. It will lead you straight to the BIOS, and you’ll need to switch the boot order to make booting from USB first priority. There are a million tutorials on how to do this, but it’s pretty straight forward. Find boot order, move everything related to USB to the top. It might be smart to make it reboot upon power loss as well. Save and exit.

Now, you need to plug a USB into the computer you are used to using. Open rufus, then select this usb. After, go down to where it says ISO, and change to DD. Find the nas4free image that you downloaded earlier.

Make yours look like mine, other than the very top option. It will be whatever your USB is called.Next to DD, where that CD looking icon is, that’s what you’ll click to browse and find the nas4free you downloaded earlier.

After you hit start, it will begin installing nas4free onto the USB. Once it completes, you’ll take the USB, along with the other blank one, and put those into the new PC. Then, reboot that PC.

Once you reboot, it will begin loading the new OS. Once it’s finished, you will come to a screen that looks like this.

Select option 9. Then you can begin installing the OS onto the other USB that will stay permanently in the PC. The next screen, pick the preferred option. Then it will guide you through. Once it comes to selecting the device to install on, pick the blank USB.

Once finished, you’ll be back to the first screen. You’ll need to configure a network IP. Go to your normal computer, and run command. (either windows key+ r, then type cmd.exe then hit okay, or type command in cortana or search in start menu). Once it’s open, type in ipconfig and hit enter. It will bring up important information about your network, but you’re looking for information on the gateway.

Now, you’ll know your gateway. So, back to the new PC, go select option 2. Then, it will bring you to these prompts.

For this option, select no. I know it is highlighted on yes, but select no.

For this, you’ll put whatever your gateway is. Usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, but you’ll change the last one to something over 20. So, 192.168.0.21 or 192.168.1.56 etc.

24.

Now, you’ll put your gateway that we found in command earlier.

For DNS, let’s use google’s. Just type 8.8.8.8

Finally for this, select no.

Now you will have a GUI login, or a way to log in from your normal computer. You can now unplug monitor and keyboard from new pc. You won’t need them anymore.

So, in your browser, go to the ip address you set up for your NAS. Whether it was the 192.168.0.21 or 192.168.1.56, or whatever you chose. This will bring you to..

Username will be admin and pw will be nas4free

You can change these later.

Now you have a fully functioning NAS. But, you want to be able to store things on it easily on your computer right? Well, first we need it to recognize your hard drives. So, go to the disks tab.

Then, it will drop down, go to management.

Hit import and you’ll see your disk, or disks. After this, click the HDD format tab.

Select UFS, then click all of your disks(aside from USB where OS is installed. Then hit next and go through prompts.

Then, return to HDD management. Click the little wrench next to each disk and make it look like this.

With everything we do, we will save, save and restart, or apply. It will give you one of these options. You must select them.

Now, we need a mount point on the disks. You get there from the disks tab>mount point.

When you get there, hit the + button.

You’ll want to select each disk, then make each of them look like this.

Naturally changing media to what you’ll be storing on the particular disk, and change the description to reflect it.

Once that’s done, you’re disks are complete and ready to store. Problem is, windows can’t see them. Let’s fix that.

Once you’re in there, make it look like this.

Then go to the shares tab.

Once you’ve hit the plus button, change your to look like this.

Of course, change the emelia to whatever you want the folder to appear as in windows. On the path, click the three little dots, then go to the mnt and shares that you created earlier. You can create as many as you’d like. One for each disk, or use all three disks as one. If you only have one disk, just go to mnt and hit okay.

Now, you are sharing with windows. So, open up your explorer and at the top, type in whatever ip address you use to login to nas from web browser. So, \\192.168.1.25 or so on.

Now, right click each folder, and click map network drive.

Now, you can use your entire new NAS as a network folder on your computer. You can save documents, photos, movies, games, etc all in the folder and it will store it externally, outside of your computer. Now, everyone in your network(everyone using your modem or router), can use these folders. It will work as a community hub for anything you want to save or share.

But, that’s only on your network, and you’re limited as a guest. If you want to use this as a cloud server, where you can use this even outside of your network(say you travel to the other side of the planet and want to save something in the NAS sitting on your desk)), well, we need to create users and enable ftp.

So, go to access tab, then users & groups.

Like always, you’ll click the plus button.

Then make yours look like mine.

Pay special attention to the additional groups section. Make sure that ftp, dlna, and wheel are all highlighted. Then save. Repeat for every user in your house.

Now, go back to network shares in windows. You can right click them and disconnect. Go back to your \\ipaddressyousetup and remap the network drives, but this time, sign in with user credentials.

And now put in your user credentials, and have everyone use theirs on their computers.

Now you’re secure. But to access from outside of the network, we need to enable ftp.

So, go to services tab>ftp

Make yours look like mine, then save and restart.

Now, download winscp.

Once you’re done, you’ll open it to a screen like this.

But you’ll have no idea what to put here. Well, you’ll want to put port 21 and your nas user name and pw that you set up earlier, but as for ip address? We need to get your public one. So, click here. Now, hit login after you save. (So that you won’t need to do this every time. Now, if it won’t let you log in, it just means that your modem/router is being a pain in the ass and the port needs opened. (port 21).

There are so many variations of routers and modems that we couldn’t possibly go through every one, but your model number should be written on the modem or router itself. Put that into google with a “open port” or “port forwarding” for a tutorial on how to do this. Once that port is open, you’ll be good to login.

Now, you can send files to your humble little NAS from across the world.

BUT, you also want your media to play on your TV from the NAS. I got you, fam.

Go to services>DLNA/UPnP MiniDLNA>MiniDLNA then make your screen look like mine, selecting your mount point obviously.

Now, your smart TVs can pick it up and you can stream directly to it.

To make things easier, you can also download Plex.

Sign up, and then you will get a server. Make sure to do this on the strongest computer in your house. When it prompts you to pick your media directory, make sure to select the mnt point on the NAS that we made earlier.

Then, once it’s downloaded, go to your settings and enable remote access and DLNA. This will make sure that your smart TV can receive it, and you can also watch anywhere in the world on any device.

More info here:

Well, I hope you enjoyed this long and thorough tutorial. lol.

Enjoy your new NAS, you can thank me later.

Final product for me?

How to build a NAS Alright, so I haven't posted in a few months due to a new baby and a new job, but I am back with some cool shit to post over the next few days.

[inazuma-eleven-translations]

Hey! Hope you're well

I HOPE YOU CANCOME TO JAPAN TOKYO IS THE PROMISED LAND!!! I got carried away writing this and it’s super messy but I hope it gives you an idea of what’s available?? I’m sorry if it’s difficult to follow!! And so long… ;w;

Guide to Inazuma (andanime) merchandise in Japan

Tokyo!!

Ikebukkuro (JRYamanote Line, Marunouchi Line) – This is the HOLY GROUND for anime andyaoi/boys love goods aimed at girls.

If you’reafter anime goods, the row of shops nicknamed Otome* Road in Ikebukkuro iswhere you need to go!

*Young girl

About afifteen minute walk from Ikebukuro station (the Sunshine City exit), is theparadise that is Otome Road.

The easiestway to get there is to follow the signs for Sunshine City – and there’s a lotof great shops on the way too! Too many restaurants and cafes to count, the SanrioGate specializing in Hello Kitty and friends, and even an ikemen café!! And abunny rabbit café, and cat cafes too.

It’s about aten minute walk from Ikebukuro station to Sunshine City (a GIANT departmentstore), which will be on your right. Beside Sunshine City is Tokyu Hands (greatstationary here) and Book Off.

Book Off isa second-hand book store and you can find AMAZING deals here. In terms ofInazuma merchandise, Book Off has: all the games (in Japanese, of course), allof the game guides, a lot of manga, drama CDs and normal CDSs, a huge magazinesection (I buy ALL my articles about Inazuma here, pretty sure I bought all theGO ones, sorry!). If you’re interested in art, they have some great art bookstoo. I also found gems such as the Inazuma character art books. Finally, theyalso have all of the Inazuma DVD box-sets. Everything except the DVDs is supercheap.

Useful Vocab(If you need specific vocab, just let me know!):

アニメ anime

イラスト irasuto (art books)

Okay, let’smove on to Otome Road!

These aregood directions: http://lijaka.com/blog/2012/02/how-to-get-to-otome-road-in-ikebukuro/

It’s easy tofind.

The firstshops you’ll see are a row of anime goods shops, like Lashinbang, KBooks etc.These sell second-hand key-chains and other general merch. There’s very littleInazuma at the moment, but there’s a lot of other series.

The nextshop is ANIMATE! Animate will sell all of the Inazuma Ares no Tenbin merchstarting December 2017, so they will have a big Inazuma display! Get yourpicture taken with the cardboard cutouts of the characters, hee hee.

List ofmerchandise is available here, and can also be ordered online – I’ll post thelink when it’s up.

If you walkto the end of the street and cross the road (passing a Visual Kei shop, andanother KBooks) you’ll see a Family Mart and a staircase that leadsunderground. That staircase leads to Mandarake – doujinshi paradise.

They have alarge Inazuma doujinshi section. It can be difficult to find if you don’t readJapanese, so look for イナズマイレブン (I think it’s the yellow section).The staff don’t speak English so this phrase might help:

すみません。イナズマイレブン同人誌を探しているんですがどこにありますか。

Sumimasen.Inazuma Irebun doujinshi o sagashite irun desu ga doko ni arimasu ka?

Excuse me, I’mlooking for the Inazuma Eleven doujin section, can you tell me where it is?

The Inazumasection is divided by character, so you can memorize your favorite charactersnames in kanji or make a list and bring it with you. The 霧野 sectionis the best section by the way, hee hee.

If you’re nervousabout searching for doujin in Japanese – fear not!

NearMandarake is another KBooks – look for the KBooks selling doujinshi, and go tothe second floor. Once again, there’s a HUGE Inazuma doujin section, like awhole aisle. You’ll know it immediately because there’s a huge picture! Andeach section is marked by a picture of the character’s face, as well as theirname! So even if you don’t speak Japanese, this one is much easier to find whatyou want.

FINALLY, myfavorite store. KBooks again. The KBooks right beside Mandarake specializes insecond-hand merch – and THEY HAVE AN INAZUMA SECTION! Follow the artwork ofGenda and Sakuma. They have an amazing variety of Inazuma goods, including GO!I bought most of the Kirino stuff, hee hee. The prices depend on the character.Cheap characters are Sangoku, Kabeyama etc. Average characters are Kidou, Tenmaetc. Expensive characters are Fubuki, Kirino etc. Ridiculously expensive isKazemaru and Sakuma. There was zero Fudou or Aphrodi last time I checked.

There’s alsoa butler café near here, but you need a reservation.

NakanoBroadway – Nakano Station, Chuo Line

When I wentto Nakano Broadway two years ago, it was paradise for Inazuma goods, but I wentback this year at it was… not great. All the shops were closed down, BUT it wasa holiday so maybe that’s why.

NakanoBroadway is a much cheaper Akihabara. It specializes in retro-games and oldmanga, but you can find everything from Vocaloid to Pokemon to Inazuma! If you’reinto figures, this is the cheapest place. I found a Kirino figure here!

Look for theshops filled with ‘bishounen’ merchandise – there’s usually an Inazuma section.I found clear files, towels, postcards, keyrings, stickers, mugs, towels… A lot ofpractical merch here for Inazuma, all second hand so CHEAP!

Akihabara(Yamanote Line, Chuo Line)

Akihabara is…Very, very loud and not great. It’s aimed mostly at guys, so there’s a looootof boobs.

If you wantto see Akihabara for the experience, there are a few interesting things. There’sa chubby maid café, which was super cute, and if you’re into it there’s across-dressing boy café. Cute boys in dresses. YAY.

There’s onlyone shop that sells Inazuma stuff (though that might change when Ares isreleased). Mandarake, the fourth floor has a tiny Inazuma doujin section.

Oh God, thiswas so long. If I can make a picture guide, I will! Hopefully I’ll go back toTokyo sometime next year.

As for Tokyoto Hokkaido – you have a few options, but unfortunately it’s not cheap. I’mgoing to assume you’re aiming for the capital city, Sapporo? They have anAnimate, but it’s probably not as good as Tokyo… That said, I LOVE Hokkaido.The food is delicious, and the people are very friendly. Although… the same inTokyo…

BulletTrain/ Shinkansen: Most convenient way and most expensive.

Time: 4hours

Price: 29110yen (217 euros)

Mostexpensive, BUT if you’re planning to travel around Japan I recommend the JRPass, which means you’ll have free travel for 7 days as long as you take JRLines, including shinkansen.

Informationis here.

If you’d liketo see Tokyo, Kyoto and Hokkaido in a few days, the JR past is the mostconvenient and technically best value for money. That is, if you stay sevendays. You can also use it to get from Narita to Tokyo.

 Next optionis flying. This is the fastest way. If you just want to see Hokkaido, thismight be good. Flight is about 2 hours, and costs roughly 10,000 (100 euro) to 26,000yen (200 euros). I think I flew Japan Airlines, but you can find cheaperflights if you book in advance. You can fly from Shinagawa airport (Tokyo) toChitose airport (Sapporo).

This sitehas good info.

Last optionis the cheapest and most awkward – night bus. Never mind I looked into it – don’ttake a bus, trust me. It’s too far and the same price as flying, just longerand more uncomfortable.

A bus fromTokyo to Osaka/ Kyoto is grand though.

BY THE WAY,can I also recommend hotels? Staying in Tokyo is not cheap, but if you’rewilling to try a Capsule Hotel, I 100% recommend the Centurion Cabin and Spafor ladies in Akasaka-Mitsuke. There’s one in Kyoto too. The standard capsuleis very comfy, and there’s an onsen/ hot spring bath, as well as free drinksetc… It’s about 3500 yen per night, and cheaper if you go through booking .com!

Home page ishere.

Booking ishere. You can switch the language by clicking on the Japanese flag at the top.

The area isfull of restaurants, from Indian to Korean to Chinese to Mexican to African andso on… The train lines are Ginza subway line and Marunouchi line (straight toIkebukuro).

Also, if youwant a Tokyo food guide I can also help with that lmao. And I can tell you theanime districts for Kyoto and Osaka too, but not Sapporo.

I’M SORRYTHAT THIS IS ALL OVER THE PLACE! If something is confusing, please tell me ;w;I’m so used to Tokyo I forget what makes sense and what doesn’t…

Also… if youwere interested and it was during the holidays, I could totally meet you totake you to all these places pfft

[spencexreidimagine]

Night in the City (PART TWO)

Request; Um hi, can you please do a imagine where the reader gets stood up on a date and ends up crying to Spencer and to make things better the next day Spencer takes her out on a date going to her favorite places around the city like the art museum, a bookstore, a botanical garden, and finishes off with a dinner at the reader favorite restaurant and tells the reader how much she means to him.

Warnings; headassery fluff

READ PART ONE v

PART ONE

PART TWO

“I love this song!” You exclaim excitedly as you reach towards the stereo system to turn up the volume. Electric by Alina Baraz begins to blare throughout the car, its relaxing tune filled your ears causing you to hum and slightly move to the music.

Spencer looked over at you, diverting his eyes from the road just for a second to admire how beautiful you looked beside him. He was glad that before you got in the car he had swapped out his classical music CD’s and allowed you to control the radio, even if there wasn’t much control in choosing what songs you wanted to hear that the radio stations played.

The way you lip-synced the lyrics and how you gently swayed your head to the music gave Spencer a warm feeling in his heart. He didn’t realize until that moment how much he had been falling in love with you over the past year and some change he had known you. Everything about you was so perfect to him.

“We’re here!” He announces with a large smile as he parks in front of the large white modern architecture.

“You didn’t,” you say in disbelief admiring the building. “Museum of Fine Arts.”

“I remember you saying how much you love art museums, so here we are,” Spencer shrugs, trying to hide how nervous he was.

“I do love art museums,” you nod, “I can’t believe you remember that.”

You paused for a second, thinking back on what you said. Stupid. Not even out with him for an hour and you’re already freezing up. Of course, the boy remembered, he has an eidetic memory.

“Wait, scratch that, that makes no sense when you remember literally everything,” you correct yourself with a nervous laugh. Spencer couldn’t help but let out a laugh with you, finding comfort in the fact that he could tell you’re nervous as well.

Spencer gets out of the car and races over to your door before you can open it for yourself. When he opens the door for you, he offers you a hand which you gladly take.

“Are you ready to admire some fine art, M'lady?” he asks with a funny accent.

“I would be dazzled to,” you respond in the same vintage accent.

Spencer was hoping to the universe that his hands would not get sweaty while holding yours. He was so nervous and even though he tried covering it up with humor, he was scared you would see through his tough boy act.

The two of you ventured into the museum, stopping by ever sculpture and painting that was in your path. Every room you went to, you and Spencer would pick out the best piece of art there. It took some debating and long observations, but eventually, you would come to terms with the best one.

As you stepped into one of the final rooms, you gasped in delight. In the middle of the empty room sat a squared off Arabic architecture with marble floors that resembled a ballroom.

“It’s beautiful!” You exclaim happily, slightly skipping to the middle of the area. Spencer slowly trailed behind you, his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

“We are going to dance,” you announce, a wicked grin making its way onto your face. Spencer instantly tensed up.

“Um, there is no music,” he quickly says, trying to find a way out of the fool he’s about to make of himself.

“That’s why my iPhone has a speaker,” you retort, wiggling up your phone.

“Y/N,” he trails off, embarrassed. “I can’t dance, whatsoever.”

“We’re winging it, I’m probably gonna mess up too,” you reassure with a sweet smile. You click play on the song in your phone and wait for its soft tunes to fill up the echoey room before you take Spencer’s hands in yours. Spencer can’t help but laugh at your song choice.

“Sorry that if this seems weird,” you admit sheepishly. “I’m trying to live out a childhood dream over here.”

You were not subtle with the choice in lyrics, you wanted to let Spencer know exactly how you felt through the words that you couldn’t speak - so you let Cinderella do the talking.

“So this is love,” Spencer chuckles shyly. His chest was burning with nervousness as Cinderella’s sweet voice sang lyrics that Spencer wished were coming from you.

You, being the one who studied Prince Charming and Cinderella’s slow dance since you were a kid, allowed you to take initiative in the hand placements and feet movements. That, and the fact that Spencer had no idea what he was doing. You took one of his hands into yours and held them upright. Using your free hand, you took his other hand and placed it on your waist before you brought yours to his shoulder.

“All you have to do is move slowly from side to side, and some little turns,” you instruct. Spencer nods, looking down at his feet to make sure he doesn’t step on you.

After a couple of moments, Spencer felt himself getting the hang of the movements. You were already so far gone into the dance that you allowed yourself to admire Spencer while he tried to get accustomed to the dance. He looked so dreamy to you, the front part of his hair slightly fell over his eyes that were so focused on the ground. You took this as your chance to admire every feature on his beautifully structured face. His jaw, his nose, his eyebrows, his eyes, his cheekbones, his lips - oh my.

He was a real life Prince Charming, the one you have been dreaming of since forever ago.

Spencer looked up at you, catching you in the act. Instead of looking away like you normally would, you kept the eye contact with him, getting lost in his warm brown eyes. Spencer felt all his worries melt away as you looked at him with such adoration and appreciation. This was the look he had always dreamed of getting from you. The two of you just continued to stare at one another, just taking pleasure in each other’s presence. You were so taken with each other that it took a couple seconds after the song ended for you to break apart from him.

“Where is our next stop?” You ask, a wide smile on your lips.

“You will see when we get there,” Spencer answers, internally screaming with happiness at the childlike joy in your eyes.

Spencer wasted no time in taking you to your next location which was just down the street from the museum. You both decided on taking the ten-minute walk instead of taking the car with you, a fresh breath of air. You huddled close to Spencer, linking your arm with his. The air had gotten a little colder, seeing as it was now half past four.

“Did we really spend two hours in the museum?” You laugh in disbelief.

“Actually, we spent about one hour and twenty minutes,” Spencer begins and you giggle. “If you subtract the time we got there, two fifty-five, from the time we left, around four fifteen, you get the final result of one hour and twenty minutes.”

You smiled up at him, loving how he talks when he speaks on something he knows. Oh, how you loved those random facts, statistics and math equations. The remainder of your walk was filled with just that. You purposely brought up subjects that you knew Spencer would have an answer to just so you could hear him ramble on about it.

“Second stop,” Spencer says as he stops in front of the building. You look up and playfully slap his arm when you the sign.

“The bookstore,” you whisper to yourself in awe. “We are going to be in here a while.”

You drag Spencer into the aged bookstore, the familiar scent of books filled your senses and you smiled to yourself at the sense of comfort. You instantly found yourself behind the bookshelves, trailing your finger over the spine of the books. As you pulled one of the books out, you were met with Spencer on the other side. His eyes were focused on the words in front of him, skimming through the pages of the book at the speed of light.

“Hi there stranger,” you say, breaking his concentration.

“Hi,” he responds with an awkward wave which made you let out a small laugh. The typical librarian passed by and made a harsh ‘shh’ sound to the both of you which made you laugh even harder. Spencer looked at you lovingly, absolutely adoring the way your eyes almost shut closed but you could still see the twinkle in them, how your smile stretched from ear to ear in pure joy.

“Okay, I think I have my books picked out,” you say through quick breaths, calming down from your laugh attack.

“Same with me,” Spencer agrees. “I think we should give them a test reading. I want the sun to be down when we arrive at our next location.”

You waited until seven to leave the bookstore. The books you both had picked out were put back on their shelves seeing as you finished a whole one and Spencer finished a handful. You decided to take a few that you didn’t get a chance to finish at the store.

“I’m going to pay or these and then we’ll leave,” you say. You both rush over to the cash register, handing off your books to the lady at the counter.

Once they were done and paid for, you both almost raced out, eager to get to your next destination. Spencer and you took the ten-minute walk again back to the museum where his car was parked.

“We are going to our second to the last destination,” Spencer says with a small frown.

“The night is still young!” You exclaim. “We might be able to add a few more adventures to the night.”

“That’s true,” he smiles at your thoughtfulness.

He drove a fifteen-minute drive to the next location. You recognized it immediately as he pulled up to it, a botanical garden.

“You know me way too well,” you say in astonishment. The botanical garden was huge, the light posts made the building look even more beautiful as it stretched across the night sky. There were a few colorful lights in the pond that reflected onto the plants near them.

When you entered the pathway that took you along the several bushes, trees, and flowers, you and Spencer were isolated from the outside world. You felt like it was just the two of you and you loved every second of it. He was walking alongside you, one hand at his side and the other touching some leaves of a bush. You took the initiative in intertwining your hand with his which caused him to look down at the sudden contact. You froze for a second, not knowing if you made the right move or not - but you know you did when you saw the faint blush on his cheeks and the reassuring squeeze he gave you.

That’s how you two spent the last hour, walking around the garden. Admiring each other, admiring the green filled garden and the fishes in the pond. At one point, you two sat on a bench and talked about life. Future goals and aspirations, funny stories from past experiences, work, and just life in general. You never wanted the moment to last, but when Spencer brought up the time you knew he had something else planned.

“We are going to be late if we don’t leave right now,” he says giddily. He seemed so excited to show you where you were going next and you couldn’t help but feel excited too.

Spencer linked your hand with his once again and lead you out of the garden. The garden was within a park which held different small museums, souvenir shops, attractions, and restaurants. Including your favorite one.

In the direction he was leading you in, you knew for a fact he was taking you there. Once you saw the lit up sign in the distance you let out a small shriek.

“You didn’t!” You say in shock.

“I did, our reservation starts at nine, it’s eight fifty.”

You stop in your tracks which causes Spencer to stop too. He turned around and looked at you in fear and confusion. You stood there for a second before throwing your arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight hug. You felt him tense and then snake his arms around your waist which made your heart flutter.

“Thank you,” you whisper in his ear. “I don’t know how this night can get any better.”

“I have plans on making it even better,” he replies softly.

“We’ll see about that, Dr. Reid,” you giggle, pulling away from the hug.

The restaurant was two stories, and when Spencer checked in with the hostess and lead you up the stairs and into the balcony seating, you nearly fainted. In front of you was a candle lit dinner, it looked straight out of a movie and all you wanted to do was shout from the top of that balcony how much you loved Spencer Reid.

Once you arrived at your seats, Spencer took the chair out for you and pushed it in once you sat down, his manners never faltering.

“Your server will be with you shortly,” the hostess says, handing you both a menu.

“I can’t believe you did this for me,” you say once the hostess leaves.

“I had to,” Spencer smiles. “After what happened yesterday, I couldn’t stand the thought of not doing something about it. I needed to show you how you deserve to be treated.”

“Spencer,” you trail off, feeling your heart swell up.

“Y/N,” Spencer trails off, thinking of his next words. The words he knows will change everything between the two of you forever. “I love you.”

Your mouth fell open, you felt paralyzed from head to toe. Did this man really just tell you he loves you? This man that you have been dreaming about since the first moment you laid eyes on him.

Spencer stands up from his chair and extends his hand out for you to take, which you do. The two of you are now standing in front of each other, your hands in his.

“I never thought I would fall in love so unexpectedly,” he begins. “From the first moment I met you, I knew there was something different about you. Y/N, you mean the absolute world to me, and I don’t care if I sound like a fool. I can’t stand seeing you go on dates with jerks anymore, I can’t stand living another day where I can’t call you mine, I need you, more than you know. You deserve the world, and I promise every day that I am with you, I will give you just that.”

You look up at Spencer, completely dumbfounded by love. You finally react by letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding with a teary-eyed smile. Your hands were still joined together, like a bride and groom at an alter. Spencer’s eyes flickered from your eyes to your lips and you could hear yourself screaming on the inside, begging him with your eyes to take the hint and kiss you. And he did just that.

The gap between you closed as his lips met yours in a passionate and loving kiss. You let go of his hands and reached up and link them together behind his neck whereas his hands went to linger on your hips. Spencer didn’t need you to repeat the three words because he knew by the look in your eyes and the way you were kissing him gave him all the reassurance he needed.

“Can you say it again?” You breathe out jokingly when you pull away from him. “Seriously.”

The two of you laugh before Spencer nods.

“I love you,” he says and then gives you a kiss. “I love you,” kiss.

“I love you too, Spencer.”

And just like that, time stood still.

[porcileorg]

On the ‘Various Others’ initiative in Munich (2019-09-12 – 2019-10-13)

Author: Magda Wisniowska - Munich, September, 2019.

It was Munich Open Art last weekend, opening on Friday. Various Others, a much newer initiative ran alongside.

Various Others is, very simply, about collaboration and exchange. Each space - whether institution, gallery or off-space - belonging to the initiative partners with one from outside, in order to bring new art back to Munich.

For someone like myself, this is interesting. I feel that, in the spirit of Spinoza, anything increasing our power to act, is by large a good thing. And this collaboration certainly does: galleries become more active through working with new partners, the audience becomes more active by having more art to view, the artists are more active by having new exhibition opportunities in a different city. The efforts of everyone involved should be applauded and encouraged, so that this initiative may long continue. 

Content however is a different matter. Obviously no one expects nowadays the kind of complete enlightenment - the ultimate knowledge of a true God - Spinoza would wish for, but too often the conceptual aims behind the work are left unexamined. This has less to do with the art exhibited during the course of Open Art and Various Others, but more with the type of reviews this kind of event attracts. These focus almost entirely on the idea behind Various Others, that is, on how its exchange program functions, why such a program has come to being and how it might be beneficial to those involved. The few that do review the actual shows (Frieze selects five highlights) keep to a bare paragraph each.

Of course, it is not easy to review an event that comprises of, at the very least, fourteen openings on its first night, spread across a modestly sized city, with everything closing at 9 pm. On my walk on Friday I manage to see nine things, which is more than many: the performance by Gregor Hildebrand at the Ludwig Beck department store, the exhibitions at Jahn und Jahn, at Sperling, at Rudiger Schöttle and Knust und Kunz, at Jo van de Loo, at Barbara Gross, at Loggia and at Nir Altman. So what follows will be necessarily a flawed personal account.

Gregor Hildebrand @ Ludwig Beck [click here] At the first point of call, the Ludwig Beck department store, I did not see much of the performance, the store layout allowing a full view only to a privileged few. Those standing between the rows of hip-hop CDs could see more of the (admittedly very photogenic) band members on stage than what was going on with the painting in the corner. As far as I could see, Hildebrand was making one of his magnetic tape type paintings before a live audience. Which seemed to me both very brave and very obtuse, this being perhaps the point, to reveal to the buying public how simple his production process is, a magician who indeed only uses a couple of mirrors to perform his tricks. I could overhear behind me, I never thought it would be so quick and easy.”

‘Computer and Paper' @ Jahn und Jahn, with Galerie Conradi, Hamburg, and ​Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin [click here and here] Onwards south to 'Computer and Paper' at Jahn und Jahn, which despite its somewhat threadbare title is a potentially intriguing group exhibition of six artists. It is part of the Various Others initiative but need not be, the premise of the show strong enough to be expanded and shown in a different institutional context.

Taking an art historical approach, it gathers a small number of works - many, but not all, on paper - to explore the relation between the physical and the digital, as it stands in our post-internet world. At least two sets of paper works, Laura Owen’s small intimate collages and Albert Oehlen’s more formal abstractions, are from the 90s, both artists being some of the first to question their painterly practice in relation to developments in new digital technologies. The work recaptures that moment in time when photoshop was still rare and exotic, a wondrous tool just ready to be discovered. But it does not, indeed it cannot, anticipate the developments that followed: broadband, the rise of social media, smartphones, apps. This task is left to younger and equally prominent artists like Avery Singer. In the large airbrushed paintings she presents at Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler in Berlin, she considers the impact of new technologies and social media on her own artistic subjectivity. Here at Jahn und Jahn we are offered only small glimpse into her practice with two small early works on paper. A more considered investigation requiring a deeper engagement, comes from Hamburg artist, Thomas Baldischwyler, who presents one installation piece and two collages behind glass. One work uses the Victor Burgin poster, “What does possession mean to you?” together with its double message “7% of our population own 84% of our wealth;” another is inscribed with the graffiti-like slogans “We still control computers, when will computers control us?” and “Rehearsal war and peace. They calculate stock market prices and write poems.” The installation includes the short narrative of how the artist covered his laptop camera with a sticker, and is accompanied by a wooden panel made to look like an enlarged sheet of stickers, complete with its plastic hang tag. There are clearly other references at work, and you want to know how these might connect in some overall critique of capitalism through digital culture, but the work remains - despite repeated viewing - steadfastly opaque.  More accessible, but also simpler in aim, are the utopian/dystopian drawings of Soyon Jung, a mix of etching and Letraset type transfer depicting future ruins of corporate and political headquarters. Equally direct in his critique is Felix Thiele, who showed with Jung as part of the exhibition 'Death Hoax' at Hamburg’s Westwerk. He presents three shiny iPhones replicas with crudely painted apps, a desirable consumer object made useless, but equally desirable as art. 

Augustus Serapinas and Malte Zenses @ Sperling, hosting Emalin, London [click here and here] Up the road at Sperling is the two-person show of Augustas Serapinas, who shows with Emalin, London, and Malte Zenses from Berlin. Serapinas is an exciting young artist, who deals with displacement in a very literal and unambiguous way.  For this exhibition he transported an entire derelict greenhouse from Vilnus back to Munich, and reinstalled it in the Sperling gallery. There is a socio-political element to the work, its attempt to confront the growing gentrification of Vilnus, as well as the need to preserve an ongoing process of destruction, also visible in Serapinas’s smaller framed works, in which plants are preserved in glass at the moment of their turning into ash. In this, his Munich exhibition recalls his earlier one 'February 13th,' where he famously managed to transport several still-frozen snowmen, more or less intact, from Vilnus to Emalin’s London space. In this case too, the work was about the saving of snowmen from destruction, again acting out a kind of preservation by removal. However, the London show seemed more vivid, more visceral in its impact. It makes sense that the press release referred to Julia Kristeva’s definition of installation as something on the verge of the sacred, where it asks us “not to contemplate images but to communicate with beings.” Something is missing from the Munich installation that would allow us to make such a claim of communication with being and I am not sure if it is the lack of smell (surely the greenhouse should smell of weeds and wood rot?), the very uniform indoor lighting or the lack of isolation (the other exhibited work is very close by). In comparison, Zense’s paintings are more difficult to pin down, though their abstract language is also clearly a consequence of a similar process of transposition from one context to another. They trade in displacement, both in a linguistic and Freundian sense of the term, their marks harbouring only an arbitrary relation to what they might stand for as a sign, unconscious desires put to use in the  symbol. They also allude to the process of destruction. The work consists of many layers, each erasing and obscuring a previous one, their final state again preserved in glass. Taken together, the combination of the two practices works on a conceptual level. It is pleasing to consider how one idea, such as that of destruction, shifts from one context and medium, to another, very different one.

Rüdiger Schöttle [link], Jo van de Loo [link], Barbara Gross [link] More centrally, Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle cooperated with ShanghART to show the abstract paintings of Chinese artist, Ding Yi with their signature 'x' and '+' crosses. Jo van de Loo presented the work by one of its gallery artists, Lorenz Strassl together with Monika Michalko from Produzentengalerie in Berlin. Both artists share a certain surrealist, dreamlike sensibility. At Barbara Gross, there were woodcuts and etchings by Andrea Büttner, shown concurrently with the artist’s London gallery, Hollybush Gardens.

'Dark Latern' @ Knust x Kunz hosting Attercliffe™, Sheffield, UK [click here and here] Beautifully selected by Paul Morrison is group exhibition 'Dark Latern' at Knust x Kunz. Among the crowd, one could find the minimalist geometry of Jan van de Ploeg; a black and white graphic drawing by Riette Wanders; a long-exposed, bleak photograph by Dan Holdsworth; slick works by artists with a Goldsmiths connection, such as Glenn Brown, Gerald Hemsworth or Glasgow based Michael Stubbs; Koen Delaere’s texture heavy black canvas; Saul Fletcher’s intriguing little photograph of a row of sticks leaning against a roughly plastered wall; a playful abstraction of Caroline McCarthy; or baroque image of a candle flame by Ralf Brög. All of the work is small and simply hung at eye level, demonstrating that an exhibition could be interesting without any grand curatorial gestures. Tim Etchells slogan, placed centrally in the space, could be the title for the show, and very good title it is: “objects in nightmare arrangements.”

Tramaine de Senna and Nicholás Lamas @ Loggia hosting MÉLANGE, Köln, and Sabot, Cluj-Napoca [click here and here] Another intriguing show could be found close by at Loggia, one of the few off-spaces in Munich that is also part of the Various Others initiative. This too is a deceptively simple two-person exhibition, featuring the work of young sculptors Tramaine de Senna and Nicholás Lamas, in collaboration with Mélange from Cologne and Sabot, Cluj. On first glance the show is almost conventional in its arrangement, a tightly grouped collection of art objects on plinths, even if the plinths are not of the square, white variety. The design qualities of Senna’s work lends the exhibition an arty feel, so that it looks a little like an abandoned surrealist installation, but in combination with Lama’s objects and their mix of the natural and artificial, the overall impression is of a modernist cabinet of curiosities - if such a cabinet was run by a dyslexic alien with a moderate interest in art and a well-established shoe fetish. Objects lose their everyday meanings in the unusual combination produced by Lamas: what looks like fossilised coral, bursts out of a neon blue sneaker, carefully placed on a gently modulating, bent car radiator grill. Cutting across familiar systemic structures in a strongly dialectical way, nature seems to imitate the unnatural, human items, planetary processes.  Senna’s work is more artful in comparison, in that it references other art, design and fashion, with a high heeled shoe at the end of an epoxy clay pedestal or bright leopard print across shaped cardboard hanging on the wall. Hers is the more familiar strategy of recovering unfamiliar meanings from very familiar everyday.  

Eva Grubinger, Timo Seber and Johannes Tassilo Walter @ Nir Altman hosting Galerie Tobias Naehring, Leipzig [click here and here] The last event of the night is Nir Altman’s, another group exhibition where gallery artist, Johannes Tassilo Walter, is partnered with two artists from Leipzig’s Tobias Naering, Eva Grubinger and Timo Seber. Walter presents a new series of paintings, while Naering and Grubinger show older work: Seber, his Slave to the Biorhythm from the Not Fair, Warsaw, 2017 and Grubinger, one piece from her 2018 exhibition 'Steam,' Untitled (Petropawlowsk, Stepan Petrischenko). The combination of artists is clearly a challenging one, as the connections between them are not immediately apparent. Walter’s paintings are very formalist and process based, demanding careful scrutiny and deep engagement. Made with many layers, one has to pay attention to how the different gestures react and overlap each other and then reappear on different grounds. Grubinger’s sculptural work uses formalist devices, but has a much more pronounced conceptual, if not to say political aim. Untitled (Petropawlowsk, Stepan Petrischenko) is one work from a series of four, which imbues its seemingly modernist structures with industrial references to present little-known facts of nautical cultural history, a series of mutinies that resulted in the destruction of a dominant power, in a celebration of individual dissent. Known for his investigations into communication mechanisms of video game culture, Seber presents a set of mirrors suspended from ceiling by thick leather straps, our reflection obscured by prints of germinating seeds and block-like red marks. If there is a reference to mass culture, it is  an obscure one, this work seemingly focussing on the cultural, social and biological construction of the viewer’s self image. Together, the artists not only share a certain formalist sensibility - certainly some of the pairings of red, blue and yellow are very aesthetically  pleasing - but also an interest in the processes of construction, whether this is related to the cultural artefact (Walter), political engagement (Grubinger) or identity (Seber). 

The night ends abruptly, with everyone rushing to the Various Others dinner. I head home too, past the cemetery. 

[t-baba]

How to Build a Vue Front End for a Headless CMS

In this guide, we’ll learn how to build a modern blog website using Vue.js and GraphCMS, a headless CMS platform.

If you’re looking to start a quick blog today, my recommendation is to go straight to WordPress.

But what if you’re a media powerhouse and you want to deliver your content as fast as possible to multiple devices? You’ll probably also need to integrate your content with ads and other third-party services. Well, you could do that with WordPress, but you’ll come across a few problems with that platform.

You’ll need to install a plugin to implement additional features. The more plugins you install, the slower your website becomes.

PHP is quite slow compared to most JavaScript web frameworks. From a developer’s perspective, it’s much easier and faster to implement custom features on a JavaScript-powered front end.

JavaScript offers superior performance to PHP in browser loading tests. In addition, modern JavaScript and its ecosystem provides a far more pleasant development experience when it comes to building new web experiences fast.

So there’s been a growth of headless CMS solutions — which are simply back ends for managing content. With this approach, developers can focus on building fast and interactive front ends using a JavaScript framework of their choice. Customizing a JavaScript-powered front end is much easier than making changes on a WordPress site.

GraphCMS differs from most Headless CMS platforms in that, instead of delivering content via REST, it does so via GraphQL. This new technology is superior to REST, as it allows us to construct queries that touch on data belonging to multiple models in a single request.

Consider the following model schema:

Post

id: Number

title: String

content : String

comments : array of Comments

Comment

id: Number

name: String

message: String

The above models have a one(Post)-to-many(Comments) relationship. Let’s see how we can fetch a single Post record attached with all linked Comment records.

If the data is in a relational database, you have to construct either one inefficient SLQ statement, or two SQL statements for fetching the data cleanly. If the data is stored in a NoSQL database, you can use a modern ORM like Vuex ORM to fetch the data easily for you, like this:

const post = Post.query() .with('comments') .find(1);

Quite simple! You can easily pass this data via REST to the intended client. But here’s the problem: whenever the data requirement changes at the client end, you’ll be forced to go back to your back-end code to either update your existing API endpoint, or create a new one that provides the required data set. This back and forth process is tiring and repetitive.

What if, at the client level, you could just ask for the data you need and the back end will provide it for you, without you doing extra work? Well, that’s what GraphQL is for.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, I’d like to note that this is a guide for intermediate to advanced users. I won’t be going over the basics, but rather will show you how to quickly build a Vue.js blog using GraphCMS as the back end. You’ll need to be proficient in the following areas:

ES6 and ES7 JavaScript

Vue.js (using CLI version 3)

GraphQL

That’s all you need to know to get started with this tutorial. Also, a background in using REST will be great, as I’ll be referencing this a lot. If you’d like a refresher, this article might help: “REST 2.0 Is Here and Its Name Is GraphQL”.

About the Project

We’ll build a very simple blog application with a basic comment system. Below are the links you can visit to check out the completed project:

CodeSandbox.io demo

GitHub repo

Please note that a READ-ONLY token has been used in the demo and consequently the comments system won’t work. You’ll need to supply your OPEN permission token and endpoint as per the instructions in this tutorial for it to work.

Create GraphCMS Project Database

Head over to the GraphCMS website and click the “Start Building for Free” button. You’ll be taken to their signup page.

Sign up using your preferred method. Once you’ve completed the account authentication and verification process, you should be able to access the main dashboard.

In the above example, I’ve already created a project called “BlogDB”. Go ahead and create a new one, and call it whatever you want. After you’ve entered the name, you can leave the rest of the fields in their defaults. Click Create and you’ll be taken to their project plan.

For the purposes of this tutorial, select the free Developer plan then click Continue. You’ll be taken to the project’s dashboard, which looks something like this:

Go to the Schema tab. We’re going to create the following models, each with the following fields:

Category

name: Single line text, required, unique

Post

slug: Single line text, required, unique

title: Single line text, required, unique

content: Multi line text

Comment

name: Single line text, required

message: Multi line text, required

Use the Create Model button to create models. On the right side, you should find a hidden panel for Fields, which is activated by clicking the Fields button. Drag the appropriate field type onto the model’s panel. You will be presented with a form to fill in your field’s attributes. Do note at the bottom there’s a pink button labeled Advanced. Clicking it will expand the panel to give you more field attributes you can enable.

Next, you’ll need to add the relationship between models as follows:

Post > Categories (many-to-many)

Post > Comments (one-to-many)

Use the Reference field to define this relationship. You can add this field to any side; GraphCMS will automatically create the opposite relation field in the referenced model. When you’ve completed defining the models, you should have something like this:

You’ve now completed the first part. Let’s now provide some data to our models.

GraphQL Data Migration

To add content to your models, you can simply click the Content tab in the project dashboard where you can create new records for each of your models. However, if you find this to be a slow method, you’ll be happy to know that I’ve created a GraphCMS migration tool that copies data from CSV files and uploads them to your GraphCMS database. You can find the project here in this GitHub repository. To start using the project, simply download it into your workspace like this:

git clone git@github.com:sitepoint-editors/graphcsms-data-migration.git cd graphcsms-data-migration npm install

Next, you’ll need to grab your GraphCMS project’s API endpoint and token from the dashboard’s Settings page. You’ll need to create a new token. For the permission level, use OPEN, as this will allow the tool to perform READ and WRITE operations on your GraphCMS database. Create a file called .env and put it at the root of the project:

ENDPOINT=<Put api endpoint here> TOKEN=<Put token with OPEN permission here>

Next, you may need to populate the CSV files in the data folder with your own. Here’s some sample data that has been used:

// Categories.csv name Featured Food Fashion Beauty // Posts.csv title,slug,content,categories Food Post 1,food-post-1,Breeze through Thanksgiving by making this Instant Pot orange cranberry sauce,Food|Featured Food Post 2,food-post-2,This is my second food post,Food Food Post 3,food-post-3,This is my last and final food post,Food Fashion Post 1,fashion-post-1,This is truly my very first fashion post,Fashion|Featured Fashion Post 2,fashion-post-2,This is my second fashion post,Fashion Fashion Post 3,fashion-post-3,This is my last and final fashion post,Fashion Beauty Post 1,Beauty-post-1,This is truly my very first Beauty post,Beauty|Featured Beauty Post 2,Beauty-post-2,This is my second beauty post,Beauty

You can change the content if you want. Make sure not to touch the top row, as otherwise you’ll change the field names. Please note, for the column categories, I’ve used the pipe | character as a delimiter.

To upload the CSV data to your GraphCMS database, execute the following commands in this order:

npm run categories npm run posts

Each script will print out records that have uploaded successfully. The reason we uploaded categories first is so that the posts records can link successfully to existing category records.

If you want to clean out your database, you can run the following command:

npm run reset

This script will delete all your model’s contents. You’ll get a report indicating how many records were deleted for each model.

I hope you find the tool handy. Go back to the dashboard to confirm that data for the Posts and Categories have successfully been uploaded.

With the back end taken care of, let’s start building our front-end blog interface.

Building the Blog’s Front End Using Vue.js

As mentioned earlier, we are going to build a very simple blog application powered by a GraphCMS database back end. Launch a terminal and navigate to your workspace.

If you haven’t got Vue CLI installed, do that now:

npm install -g @vue/cli

Then create a new project:

vue create vue-graphcms

Choose to manually select features, then select the following options:

Features: Babel, Router

Router History Mode: Y

ESLint with error prevention only

Lint on save

Config file placement: Dedicated Config Files

Save preset: your choice

Once the project creation process is complete, change into the project directory and install the following dependencies:

npm install bootstrap-vue axios

To set up Bootstrap-Vue in our project, simply open src/main.js and add the following code:

import BootstrapVue from "bootstrap-vue"; import "bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.css"; import "bootstrap-vue/dist/bootstrap-vue.css"; Vue.config.productionTip = false; Vue.use(BootstrapVue);

Next, we need to start laying down our project structure. In the src/components folder, delete the existing files and create these new ones:

CommentForm.vue

CommentList.vue

Post.vue

PostList.vue

In the src/views folder, delete About.vue and create a new file called PostView.vue. As seen from the demo, we’ll have several category pages each displaying a list of posts filtered by category. Technically, there will only be one page that will display a different list of posts based on an active route name. The PostList component will filter posts based on the current route.

Let’s first set up the routes. Open src/router.js and replace the existing code with this:

import Vue from "vue"; import Router from "vue-router"; import Home from "./views/Home.vue"; import Post from "./views/PostView.vue"; Vue.use(Router); export default new Router({ mode: "history", base: process.env.BASE_URL, linkActiveClass: "active", routes: [ { path: "/", name: "Featured", component: Home }, { path: "/food", name: "Food", component: Home }, { path: "/fashion", name: "Fashion", component: Home }, { path: "/beauty", name: "Beauty", component: Home }, { path: "/post/:slug", name: "Post", component: Post } ] });

Now that we have our routes, let’s set up our navigation menu. Open src/App.vue and replace the existing code with this:

<template> <div id="app"> <b-navbar toggleable="md" type="dark" variant="info"> <b-navbar-toggle target="nav_collapse"></b-navbar-toggle> <b-navbar-brand href="#">GraphCMS Vue</b-navbar-brand> <b-collapse is-nav id="nav_collapse"> <b-navbar-nav> <router-link class="nav-link" to="/" exact>Home</router-link> <router-link class="nav-link" to="/food">Food</router-link> <router-link class="nav-link" to="/fashion">Fashion</router-link> <router-link class="nav-link" to="/beauty">Beauty</router-link> </b-navbar-nav> </b-collapse> </b-navbar> <b-container> <router-view/> </b-container> </div> </template>

This will add a nav bar to the top of our site with links to our different categories.

Save the file and update the following files accordingly:

src/views/Home.vue

<template> <div class="home"> <PostList /> </div> </template> <script> import PostList from "@/components/PostList.vue"; export default { name: "home", components: { PostList } }; </script>

src/components/PostList.vue

<template> <section class="post-list"> <h1> Articles</h1> <hr/> <p>Put list of posts here!</p> </section> </template> <script> export default { name: "PostList", data() { return { category: "" }; }, created() { this.category = this.$route.name; }, watch: { $route() { this.category = this.$route.name; } } }; </script>

Notice that, in the PostList component, we’re using a custom watcher to update our category data property, based on our current URL.

Now we’re ready to perform a quick test to confirm the routes are working. Spin up the Vue.js server using the command npm run serve. Open a browser at localhost:8080 and test each navigation link. The category property should output the same value we defined in route name’s attribute.

The post How to Build a Vue Front End for a Headless CMS appeared first on SitePoint.

by Michael Wanyoike via SitePoint https://ift.tt/2OcSF2B

[ulyssessklein]

How an indie hip-hop artist charted on Billboard and iTunes

The direct marketing strategy that helped me chart at #3 on iTunes and #50 on Billboard.

It was all a dream: “I believe I can chart on Billboard with this album!”

I convinced my producer, engineer, mentor, and—most importantly—my wife to buy into the dream.

The odds of charting Billboard were clearly stacked against me. No major label budget. No national, regional, or even local publicity campaign. I also work more than the typical “40-hour workweek” at a big tech company in Silicon Valley. The list goes on.

Nonetheless, my belief was strong. It was late October 2018, and I had just spent the past couple weeks writing, what would soon become my latest album, Airplane Mode. I had the music. Now I just needed to crystallize the narrative, develop a marketing strategy, and reach out to my fans.

Five months later, Airplane Mode debuted at #3 on the iTunes Top 40 US Hip-Hop Album Chart as well as at #50 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Album Sales Chart. Mission accomplished. Simple, right?

In the midst of people congratulating me on this huge accomplishment, many have also asked, “So, how did you actually make it happen…?”

Establishing the Airplane Mode album narrative

Airplane Mode developed in a very unplanned and visceral way. In mid-October 2018, my aunt— the one who nurtured my love for hip-hop at an early age—passed away unexpectedly in my hometown, Bridgeport, Connecticut (about 3,000 miles from where I currently live).

Days before, my friend and producer, J-Dot Music, had coincidentally sent me a collection of beats. We weren’t thinking about an album then. I just wanted to hear the new sounds he had been working on. After hearing about my aunt though, I needed to artistically grieve. I remembered the beat pack, sifted through until I found the beat that most plucked my heart, and wrote the song, “Hope You Hear Me.” All within the same hour I received the news.

I spent the next two weeks devouring each beat J-Dot sent me. Within each song, I explored concepts and tackled issues I wasn’t even ready to express out loud yet. The writing was nonstop. On the bus. At the gym. During my walks in between work meetings. On my flight from San Francisco to see my family. By the time we buried my aunt, I had the foundation for a new project, which I decided to call Airplane Mode.

The term “Airplane Mode” symbolized three main things for me:

My mindstate: I was in a daze. At the same time, by feeling so disconnected, I was able to tap into my creativity without restraint, allowing me to be and remain “in the zone.”

My lifestyle: combined, my wife and I have visited over 100 international cities across 50 countries. We’re both multilingual and children of immigrants coming from an impoverished background. As such, I have developed a global, cross-cultural outlook on life, which is a core part of my brand.

My music career: two months before I wrote Airplane Mode, I had just booked and headlined my third Bay Area show in 2018. My career growth was feeling even more tangible, so in a self-fulfilling prophecy type of way, I claimed that this new album would elevate my platform even further, as each project had done before.

Why do I share all of this with you? Because for me, the album narrative—replete with passion and vulnerability—was imperative for my entire marketing campaign. I interweaved this narrative throughout my entire go-to-market strategy, from the album cover to the song content to audience communications pre, during, and post-release.

Setting the foundation for the Airplane Mode marketing campaign

Around the same time I completed my album, I also learned about the Nielsen and Billboard charting successes of fellow independent artists, Shannon Curtis and Tyke T via the DIY Musician Blog. With more research on the process plus assumptions of my current fanbase, I resolved to set an ambitious goal of selling 1,000 albums within the first week of release.

Pre-sales seemed to be the predominant way that I would hit this goal. Learning that the pre-sales period may be a minimum of one-week and a maximum of six months gave me the time I needed to mobilize my fanbase.

Because my album had 12 tracks, I was also eligible to set up an instant gratification (grat) track via CD Baby. I chose “Hope You Hear Me” as my track because, not only did an instant grat track give extra incentive for core fans when purchasing, this particular track also gave listeners a deeper, weightier connection to the album narrative, which furthered the word-of-mouth evangelism.

The majority of my fans do not purchase physical albums anymore. Combined with my limited budget, I decided upfront that Airplane Mode would be 100% digital. This decision helped me streamline my preorder process in the long-run. For instance, I only had one UPC to register in Nielsen’s database.

Lastly, I knew that over 60% of my fanbase had iOS devices, so iTunes was very essential to my campaign. That said, I did not want to exclude the other 40% of my fanbase from helping me achieve this monumental goal (that’s a lot of fans!). So, I focused on three sales channels: iTunes, Bandcamp, and my online store (which also had Airplane Mode merch for sale).

5 key tactics to enable the Airplane Mode marketing campaign

With a two-month preorder window, I executed several marketing activations. However, there were five that I felt truly moved the needle:

Empowering my brand ambassadors: my “High Grade Society” – my exclusive group of core fans – were critical because not only did they immediately preorder Airplane Mode with enthusiasm but they also encouraged their circles of influence to do the same.

Asking fans to purchase directly: just about every day, I shared the album narrative and sought out support from my fans directly via in-person or direct messaging. With every proof of purchase, I would repost and thank them publicly.

Paying for digital advertising: social media ads are a cheap way to build brand awareness amongst your target audience and fight through organic noise. While I was not depending on ads to generate the bulk of the sales, I did end my campaign with a 3% conversion rate (better than 0%!).

Promoting organically via weekly content production: In December 2018, I started a weekly freestyle series called “Casual Fridays” – a tongue-in-cheek for my fans who know that I juggle both a music career and a white-collar corporate day job. What started as a simple addition to my “Call Me Ace portfolio” soon became another avenue for organic album promotion once I gained traction.

Coordinating a pre-album release party: the Airplane Mode party occurred one week before the album dropped, with an optional “free entry” ticket for those that already preordered. With a full crowd gathered for an exclusive listen to my album, I also garnished the night with additional special touch points to ensure that everyone felt even more connected to the album narrative once they left. Here’s the Airplane Mode release party recap video if you’re curious!

Airplane Mode immediately jumped up to #3 on the iTunes Top 40 US Hip-Hop Album Chart after releasing on Friday, March 22, 2019. This news served as another big social proof point that galvanized more people to organically share and encourage others to listen. Even with the option to stream available, some people still purchased Airplane Mode as a sign of true support.

To top it all off, fans were directly sharing immensely positive feedback with me on the album content. With their permission I would repost, recognize publicly, and use to encourage even more feedback from other listeners.

These additional touchpoints helped push Airplane Mode to the final goal of the campaign: charting on Billboard.

5 challenges during the Airplane Mode marketing campaign

While I’m ecstatic that Airplane Mode hit the Billboard chart, the effort did come with its challenges:

Apple does not provide real-time presales data. Not being able to track my preorder sales on iTunes, where most of my fans purchased my album, forced my total sales count to be more of a calculated guess than a sure fact. I had to assume, for example, that trending at #3 in iTunes Hip-Hop albums to pre-order list was a good sign…right?

Apple is (not-so) secretly phasing out iTunes. Strike two, Apple. Apple automatically reroutes all iTunes links to the “Apple Music” iPhone app. This created unnecessary confusion and frustration, especially for potential supporters that didn’t even remember that the “iTunes Store” was a separate app, probably somewhere in the back of their phones. This definitely impacted final sales.

There were too many clicks at point-of-sale. Although I created a superlink to streamline the preordering process, it still took at best 7 clicks before actually preordering the album. Still, this was a better trade-off than having three separate preorder links to promote…

Not everyone has money to preorder. I naively assumed that all my fans had at least $9.99 of disposable income. However, while there were many cases where supporters spent way beyond $9.99 on Bandcamp to purchase the album, for some would-be supporters, $9.99 was too costly.

Some people just don’t believe in purchasing music. This last challenge wasn’t an issue for my true fans and supporters that understood the larger goal I was hoping to achieve. This was more so a challenge with casual or potential fans that interpreted the ask within the context of their preferred music listening preferences. The reality is that streaming currently dominates music consumption in the US, where over 90% of my fanbase exists. I knew my request wouldn’t be an easy one from the beginning; this challenge only confirmed that I had to rely on my core base in order to reach my Billboard goal under my aforementioned constraints.

And there you have it! If any of what I shared resonates with you, please let me know in the comments below. And of course, if you have any thoughts on the Airplane Mode album itself, I would love to hear your feedback on that too

The post How an indie hip-hop artist charted on Billboard and iTunes appeared first on DIY Musician Blog.

[idontevenwannaknow]

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[bluekrishna101]

Here, Here I Quake Ch61

A/N: Holy shit, I’ve been gone awhile. Lol. Sorry, all. Here’s the next chapter, if you still follow this silly thing that I keep meaning to dive back into. Enjoy! 

 Links to:  Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8,Ch9,Ch10,Ch11,Ch12,Ch13,Ch14,Ch15,Ch16,Ch17,Ch18,Ch19,Ch20,Ch21,Ch22, Ch23, Ch24, Ch25,Ch26,Ch27, Ch28, Ch29, Ch30, Ch31 Ch32, Ch33, Ch34,Ch35,Ch36,Ch37,Ch38,Ch39,Ch40,Ch41,Ch42,Ch43,Ch44,Ch45,Ch46,Ch47,Ch48,Ch49,Ch50, Ch51, Ch52, Ch53, Ch54, Ch55, Ch56, Ch57, Ch58, Ch59 

“—a wonder they didn’t throw me out! The hostess just stared at my … my exposure, then asked, calm as anything, whether we’d like a table or a booth!” Elgar’nan’s tale finishes with a arm-flailing flourish, and the elves all around burst into raucous laughter. 

Nearly choking on his mouthful of food,  June shakes his head as he points his fork at the old guitarist. Syllaise pats his back, chuckling.

Andruil, wry but smiling, says, “Most of us were there, El.”

“It’s still pretty funny, even the hundredth time he’s told it,” June manages, finally clearing his throat enough to speak.

Falon’din grunts. “It’s the delivery that makes it funny. Otherwise, it’s just El forgetting to wear pants. Again.”

“Well, I hadn’t heard it before,” says the only human at the table. Andruil’s private detective. She turns to Elgar’nan with a wide grin. “So, this happened pretty often, I take it?”

“Too often,” says the rest of the former bandmates in unison.

Elgar’nan sputters his drink and glares all around for a second before capitulating. “Fine! Yes, it happens. What’s wrong with a man enjoying the feel of the wind ‘round his nethers?”

Solas clears his throat. “Nothing at all. In the privacy of his own room. But I believe the old you would not have rested until all of Thedas had a good look at … your business.”

“Indeed. His … little guy was awake for more gigs than he was.” June laughs.

Falon’din contributes, “If I had a sov for every time his pixelated … hardware made the cover of the scandal sheets—”

“Cock!”—every eye in the restaurant swings toward their group—”Just say it,” Andruil growls, exasperated. “I swear, you men can be so squeamish when it comes to talk about dick.”

Ghilan’nain giggles. “As if you have more than a just passing acquaintance with dick, Andi.”

“Hush, darling,” she retorts, kissing Ghilan’nain on the tip of her nose. “One need not want to handle them to have an opinion. Or be an adult about the whole thing. They’re just cocks, you infants.” At this, the rest let out a burst of laughter. Andruil huffs and rolls her eyes. “Really.”

“Excuse me,” says the nervous host as he sidles up to the table. “I ask that you please keep it down. This is an upscale establishment, after all. A family establishment. The crude language and noise—”

A thundercloud gathers in Elgar’nan’s eyes. Solas steps in before it bursts into a deluge with a terse, “Our pardon. Bring us the check, please.”

“All together?” asks the shuffling human. His eyes and wringing hands say he wonders if the group of elves will suddenly disappear the moment his back is turned.

Pushing down the stab of anger in his gut, Solas pulls out his wallet and hands the host a jet-black credit card. White Spire’s jacquard logo glitters in the light of the low-hanging chandeliers over their table. Solas says, cold, “Just put it all on that.”

When the host scuttles off, the others look at Solas. June whistles. “Hear that, guys? Fen’s got it.”

“We could have pitched in,” admonishes Andruil. “It’s got to be at least six hundred sovereigns altogether.” Everyone else mutters similar sentiments.

“What’s an expense account for, if not to use?” asks he. Solas peers at them all, looking for signs of jealousy or bitterness. Then relief warms him as he finds nothing but simple worry that they’re taking advantage. How different this would have gone once upon a time.

Elgar’nan smiles. “I guess you got us there. Things must be going pretty good for Inquisition then?”

“Yes.” He returns the smile with one of his own.

“I’ll say!” Ghilan’nain exclaims, blue eyes glittering. She tosses her gold hair to one side, and leans forward. “They’re all the kids talks about. My store can’t keep the CD’s on the shelf, they move so quickly! Speaking of which, have you looked into streaming services, like Spotify, SoundCloud or Fadio—?”

“I, too, have questions,” June says. “Why now? Why them? How did you meet— ?”

Syllaise joins in, “Yes. Tell us all about your new band, Fen. Are they headed for the top?”

The rest chime in with a chorus of variations of, “Tell us!”

“I—” Solas starts, a little overwhelmed.

“I’ve met them,” Elgar’nan interrupts, puffing up a little under all the sudden attention that swings his way. “They’re good! That Ellana has a great voice, and she’s-she’s, like, grounded, you know?”

As they all turn their questions to Elgar’nan, Solas shoots him a grateful glance. The older elf grins and fields the flocking queries like a master.

“I think he just saved you a fair measure of aggravation,” says Andruil’s private investigator at his elbow.

“No doubt,” he agrees, turning to the human with a tip of his head. Then he asks, “I’m sorry. I never caught your name.”

“Elizabet Cousland. Betty, to my friends,” she says, sticking out her hand. “And you’re the Dread Wolf.” Her sudden lop-sided grin disarms the tickle of mocking razz right out of her tone. Not that her teasing bothers him at all. They’d chosen melodramatic stage names for a reason.

“Call me Solas, please.” He shakes her hand, then pauses. “Any relation to Teyrn Cousland?”

She nods. “To my father’s great chagrin, yeah. I’m his wayward daughter. Bringing shame onto the family is sorta my thing. My jam. My cuppa.”

“Who hasn’t disappointed a parent? But you don’t seem that bad,” Solas reasons. “From your attire, you’re well off. Successful. And Andruil told me many clients keep you on retainer, so you must be good at what you do.”

“Says the one it took the longest to find. Every time, I might add,” she says, as she mimes a playful poke. Pushing her brown hair over one rounded ear, Betty snorts. “I pride myself on being a good fisherman, but you were a very elusive fish. That’s what they should’ve called you. The ‘Elusive Fish.’ What’s that in elvhen?”

“Unflattering,” he shoots back, then chuckles as Betty lets out a single hearty guffaw.

“That’s as may be, but it’s more apt, possibly. And you? You don’t seem all that dread.”

“You didn’t know me before. Everything from my dress sense to my manners. Just dreadful.” He raises an impish brow.

“I don’t know,” she drawls. “Some of those outfits in the vids were … scandalous. Low, low, looow rise pants. Ha! And had they not yet invented the shirt back then?”

He chuckles. “It seemed the thing to do at the time. Sex sells and all that.”

“Yes, it does! A whole ton of records, from what I gather,” Betty cajoles, holding up her drink for a toast. He obliges her with a clink and a nod. Then she waves around and comments, “So what’s this then? Trying to recapture the lightning? Gettin’ the band back together?”

“No!” Solas blurts, taken aback. Others at the table glance towards his outburst and he can’t help but notice some have shifted in their seats to split their attention between regaling Elgar’nan and himself. Chagrin trickles over his nerves as he clears his throat to say in a more reasonable tone, “Not at all. We’re just catching up. I have my obligation to Inquisition, after all.”

“I’m just sayin’. All of you. In one place. Someone’s bound to notice, if they haven’t already. And those someones are gonna draw certain conclusions,” she says, waving a hand. Then she points suddenly, and Solas turns his head just in time to see a flash of light coming from a cell phone half-hidden in another patron’s hands. Betty chortles. “Six, by my reckoning. So far.”

Resisting the urge to slump into his seat, Solas growls, “Wonderful.”

Settling the tip, he stands. “Ladies, gentlemen, I bid you goodnight. I have a long flight in the morning—” He waves his hands in the midst of the chorus of groaning and booing flying his way.

“C’mon, Fen,” Elgar’nan wheedles, reminding Solas of why ‘getting the band back together’ would be folly at best. Insanity, at worst. The older elf continues, “We were gonna go to that club down the street.”

“The one with the neon legs above the door? No, thank you. I’m headed back to the hotel.” Solas turns away as the booing renews, waving one dismissive hand over his shoulder. “I’ll be better entertained diving into the Fade for some much needed rest.”

Another flash catches his attention. “Besides, I think I’ve done enough damage for one evening.”

Sitting in the midst of the stark, white landscape of the huge hotel bed, Solas winces at Madame Vivienne’s response to his text—

‘Get ahead of it, darling? Of course we’ll try, but you know as well as I how these things get blown out of proportion. Already we’ve had phone calls asking if Inquisition’s breaking up, and if we’re going to represent Evanuris for a big comeback. Really, my dear, I wish you would think of the consequences before acting.’

The digital clicking of his keyboard sounds in his ears as he picks out a reply, ‘I’ll own that. I should have insisted on private dining. Enough of blame, Madame. What can be done?’

Three dots flicker over and over next to Vivienne’s avatar, the White Spire logo. Then they disappear. And reappear. This happens a few more times before he types, ‘When you actually have a plan, call me.’

The dots disappear altogether this time. He imagines outrage on the other end and smiles. Then a new message pops up on his screen. This time from Morrigan. The sheer number of expletives deplete her word cap.

Solas feels a bit more guilt in this instance, for the former metal diva works very hard on their behalf. Still, insults are uncalled for. He shoots back a tart rejoinder and refers her to Vivienne.

Then more messages arrive in rapid succession. Leliana with civil, calm questions asking for clarification and his first-hand account. How many photographers did he notice? Were there any outside when he left? What was the name of the restaurant? And so forth.

Josephine texts, ‘Band meeting as soon as Cassandra returns. These issues need to be addressed as a group. Making the label nervous doesn’t do us any favors. We have tour dates lined up and it’s not fair to the fans who’ve already purchased tickets to make them think they’re suddenly going to be cancelled.’

‘I know. I apologize,’ he responds, heart heavy. ‘And I will apologize again when we meet en masse.’

Irascible Varric is the only one to actually call, gifting him with a saucy, “Hey, did you happen to snap one yourself or get the name of one of the guys who did? I’d pay a pretty penny for it! Picture the headline—Evanuris Returns! Three exclamation points. Or is that too many exclamation points?”

“Far too many, I’m sure,” he replies, with a weary hum of humor. Leave it to the dwarf to lift his spirits. Solas sinks into the cloud of blankets. “And not true, in any case. Evanuris is dead. They will never, ever return.”

“Never say never, Chuckles. Still, you got Inquisition. If Evanuris did re-form, they can always do it without you.” Varric’s confidence almost dispels the sudden, tiny pang in Solas’s chest.

Shaking it off, the elf says, “Truer words, Master Varric. I have my hands full.”

Varric laughs. “Speaking of Rosy, I haven’t spoken with her for weeks. How is she doing?”

“Elated to be near the end of her probation. Excited to be back on the road,” Solas answers, ignoring the rush of warmth in his cheeks. “I was about to call her, actually. See how she’s faring on her own.”

“What do you mean ‘on her own’?”

“Well, the band dispersed to take care of private matters before the tour. Out of town, most. Out of country, others. I admit to guilt at leaving her alone, but she insisted. Quipped about a vacation of her own, away from the band drama.” Solas laughs, thinking of the mischievous grin on her face when she’d said that.

“That funny girl of mine, eh? Well, I suppose I should let you call her then. I’m serious about those pics, Chuckles. Well, halfway serious. News is news, and my magazine could use the bump!”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Wouldn’t that just irritate Vivienne to no end?

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Varric.” Solas smiles as the line clicks closed. Then he opens the Skype app, giving an eager tap on Ellana’s photo. The lyrical ‘bwoops’ cascade as they seek to summon the image of his love over the hundreds of miles separating them.

The call ends, uncompleted.

Frowning, Solas tries again. To no avail.

Four more times and nothing. Uneasiness blossoms into outright nerve-rending apprehension.

He attempts to contact her through social media and reaps nothing but more worry. Solas then tears through his phone directory, searching for someone who might still be in Kirkwall.

Anyone who can go check on Ellana—

“The P.O.,” he mutters, staring at the qunari’s number. Chewing his lip, Solas casts about for another option. Any other choice.

Taking a deep breath to steady shaking hands, he says to himself, harsh and decisive, “No, Ellana’s probably in the bath. Or-or left her phone in the fridge again. Everything’s probably fine. Her P.O. will find her. Safe. At home, during curfew. Like she hasn’t failed to be once.”

Squashing the sense of dread foreboding to make space for hope, Solas pecks at the Arishok’s number.

[thesecretlifeofkelseybeatty]

Notes from the Graduation Freak Out:

THINGS TO DO

finish sorting photos

get photo white shelf

hang white photo shelving in closet, small mirror in room

paint my room, ryans room (white doors and shelf too)

goodwill, find a place to sell prom/homecoming dresses

put everything from attic into ryans closet

clean carpet with pee on it

mail thank you cards

make cd of already taken senior pictures for shannon

call environment about supplies

wash all clothes

move ryan's bed

clean out garage

move my bed downstairs

strip mom's furniture

get ready for graduation party

call about catering

tell tammy about what kind of cupcakes

get ping pong, badmitten, and bag toss games

get tables and chairs

ymca re-hire sheet find out hours

wordsmith

daze, fogg, glare

tingle incessent

alive feel grudges sinuses temples

buzz

like opening a new liter of pop incessantly over and over

Buzz, you experience every atom within you silently reverberating like a drugish high you can compare to when you were young and in revolt. Its the kind of feeling that reassures you - your still alive. You feel think and are three in one in the image of the creator.

Brooke -

I remember from a young age I could be friends with anyone - one on one. I always had the ability to watch people, understand them, initiate conversation and act how I would procieve they would want me to act. I could conform to whoever they needed me to be and I liked it that way.

With each different individual a different side of myself would shine through. Around Demi I always wanted to hear and tell stories, Around Roni I would burp on demand, Around Abby I always wanted to be a badass girl, Around Tori I would incessantly chat, But around you I would simply be more myself.

I honestly can't say that about any other friend. There are just certain people who were destined to click with….. I was a friendly yet generic human being. If anyone needed a friend I was there to suffice their need. I could conform to whoever they needed me to be and I liked that. They w….

However - I knew in the seventh grade when you sat behind me in Mr. Maney's class that you were significantly different. I loved leaving Mrs. Cavanaugh's room and coming to history because I'd get to chill with you for an hour. You were the coolest person I knew and I honestly didn't think you liked me that much because you already had so many other friends. In my eyes you were super popular and I could tell why. I wanted to be your best friend but I knew it probably wouldn't happen. As time went on we started to hangout a lot. You were the link in the chain that led me to all the people I considered to be my friends. If it wasn't for you I would've had a completely different experience at SJHS but because of you I had some of the best times of my life. I remember so vividly cackling as we made fun of Mr. Maney and used our feet to look through our history books as we took the same test over and over again - learning absolutely nothing and Taylor McNutt would turn around from the front of the classroom and stare like we were freaks. Then in eighth grade when we watched that one movie in history with Estep and that light was shinning all awkwardly in your eyes and your flipped out and I started cackling and Estep almost had to stop the movie to correct us. And how we thought we were so badass because everyday we would sit down for the pledge because thats what Mrs. Jordan did and she was the coolest teacher. So many people look back at junior high and say that everyone has to go through that awkward phase but for us those were our glory days. Life was beautiful.

When every I hear about someone else's junior high synopsis I always hear about how awkward and terrible their years were -  how everyone was just trying to fit in and figure out who they really were. When I look back - I don't see that at all. Those were our glory days. In junior high, life was beautiful.

Since then, 4 years have passed and we both have drastically changed. We are not our junior high selves.

There are few people who I open up to.

I might not have always been your best friend, but I remember since Mr. Maney's class in the seventh grade you were the only person who You were the link to the group who became my best friends.

Drew, I know were not as close as we used to be but you are still one of my very best friends. Wether you realize it or not - you mean so much to me. It has been awesome watching God unfold His plans for you. Though right now your path may seem vague, beautiful blooms are sprouting. Be faithful and patient and God will reveal everything He has in store for you. I love you and am praying for you. Thanks for being such a good friend.

Paley - You crack me up. I know we got off to a rough start but I'm genuinely thankful I've gotten to know you over the past four years. You made our soccer team a blast. We couldn't have asked for a better captain or team mate. My prayers go out to you as you start at MVNU next year. I hope you and your cutie stay solid and that you guys love it there. Good luck!

Demi,

Tori, we've  been friends going on 15 years now.

Elizebeth Dorthey Grove,

You crack me up. I'm really thankful that I've gotten to know you better this year. Playing sports with you was something I'll never forget. Your carefree personality added so many laughs to my year. Good luck with school dilemma, it's obvious that God is with you in this situation wether you realize it or not.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Jenny Filaseta, You are one of the only people who I can say has known me throughout my life. Though we haven't been extremely close throughout it's entriety - there have been moments when I would have called you my best friend. I'm so thankful for the memories that we share and the new experiences we will share in at Sinclair. Best of luck!

Alyssa DarkoW

Dana Golich

looking back im actually really sad i didn't get to knw you better. you are a cool person with such a beautiful heart. Best of luck next year at college! And - we deffinately need to chill sometime this summer!

Alexis Colon

Andrea Meholick

Julia Hitchcock

Emily Clark, You may not realize this, but you are one of my favorite people.

Brady Kleindenst

Lane Collins

Kelly Wall  

Miss Snook,

If you were 40 years younger, I would've wanted you to be my best friend. I'm envious of your commitment to Christ. Because of your commitment, God uses you in so beautiful ways and I can't help but desire that in my own life. Though you may not realize, you have planted so many good seeds in our class this year. You've reprimanded us, encouraged us and overall taught us so much more than sign language. I'm so thankful God placed you in my life at this vital time.

I say all this not because I want you to feel proud of yourself but because I want you to continue. Thank you so much for being a good example of what a  disciple looks like.

[mymusicalnostalgia]

The Little Ebayer Who Was Stupid Enough To Unintentionally Buy A Fake CD

I am a music collector. I am also a very, very, very big fan of Sia Furler as I may have mentioned more than once on this blog. For yonks, I have been trying to find her ultra rare album “OnlySee”, which only was released in Adelaide, and only around 1000 copies. 

Want is a funny thing, and when it came up on ebay for the first time ever, I was pretty excited. Never have I ever seen it on ebay before, in an op shop or a junk store. So I pounced onto the opportunity, like an idiot of course.

The seller “tommiesunshine_9″ is from the Russian Federation. That should had been my first tip off, how in the hell would a Russian guy have a copy of such a rare Australian CD, only to put it up for sale on Ebay when Sia finally becomes uber famous? The second tip off should had been that all his listings looked dodgy, he only had 1 good feedback and his account had only opened in November, 2016.

He was very nice, answered all my questions and even told me that he received the CD 18 years ago from a friend and put it in the cupboard and just forgot. Referring to this copy of this CD, he assured me not to worry, that the CD works fine.

I recently created an account on Discogs.com and put “OnlySee” into my wishlist. I didn’t know why, but I did, not realising that the website emails peopel to inform them when a CD they “want” is for sale. A listing from “A_CD_sale” who lives in the Russian Federation was up on the website.

This made my tummy turn, but I told myself that maybe it meant the ebay page and didn’t realize the listing had ended.

On Wednesday morning, things hit the proverbial when I received my CD in the mail.

Instantly, I knew it was a fake. There were printer lines on the front cover, on the inside of the insert was photocopied crease marks, the label on the CD looked stuck down as opposed to being part of the CD and, I admit it was weird to do it, but it smelt like it was straight from the press and not as musky CD from the 90s. The audio worked fine and didn’t sound too compressed for a bootleg but most people don’t clock onto that.

In some sort of pang of hope, I turned to a very great facebook community “Vinyl and CD Hoarders United” who were extremely willing to help and support me through the process, even going out of their own way to chase the ebayer around online to find out more.

I emailed him right away. 

Me: 

I received my CD today. I am a bit concerned that the CD maybe a bootleg copy. I have noticed you are selling the same copy on another website, when you told me you had a copy in the cupboard for the past 18 years. The CD also looks a bit photocopied and the disk label looks stuck on. I'm just a little bit confused and just wanted to check with you first to see what is going on.

He replied:

Hello Holly. I sold my CD. I also buy around the world the same CD cheaper and sell more expensive. I buy them at different radio stations, as there are a lot of friends. They all look the same. If you still have questions, I will gladly answer them. Thank you

Oh, as this was contradicting what he told me earlier, I certainly DID have questions and learnt that he actually wasn’t glad to answer them.

Me:

Hi Alexander, I'm just giving you the benefit of the doubt. You didn’t say that you had more copies of the cd. I thought I was buying the only copy that you had- you did say that CD (the one I was led to believe was your only copy) is in good condition. As for finding multiple other copies of the cd- I think this a bit hard to believe. The cd is extremely rare in Australia, how it could have made its way to you more than once and how I could never have found a single copy for the past 6 years I have spent searching for it is is bit interesting to me. I am just a little concerned that my CD is a copy of your original CD,  instead of an original pressing. In the description it says that the CD is in its original form but there are many signs that the CD is not an original. I am just not very convinced I have been sold an original pressing and just want to see if you can help me make sense of this all. I am happy to email you photos of why I believe this. Kind regards, Holly

His response: 

Hello Holly. You will be surprised, but this CD edition of 1,000 copies. I don't know how many of them in Australia, but you can buy them in the US and in Europe. Expensive, but you can buy. I sometimes buy on the site Discogs and other. I bought 3 of the CD. you can ask these users: Sasha_V john_kowacs VincentSound The price is different: from 90 to 120 euros. When I sell, I have only 1 CD on the purchase of the other I'm negotiating. This is my business work. I later write a history of this release. Best regards. Alexander

He kept ignoring why I thought it was a bootleg, or rather why I knew it was a bootleg. He was so insistent that eventually I came to believe that perhaps he was in some sort of belief that these CDs he was buying were real. It went like this for a bit, eventually I emailed back an apology and his response to that was:

"Thanks" for the feedback :( I bought 3 CDs in different countries and they all look the same, but not all were new. I sold you my CD that I bought in US in 1998 and immediately put on the shelf in the closet. I wrote to my friend, who worked in Treehouse Studio. I showed him your pictures. He said part of the printing were exactly the same quality. In 1997, they had little money and half the copies were printed at a cheap printing factory. So your doubts are vain. Thankyou very much, Alexander.

I tried googling Treehouse Studio’s for any trace, but to no avail. Under the advice of my boyfriend, I then emailed the producer of OnlySee Jesse Flavell who was very nice to respond, but couldn’t fully validate the CD. If he had been able to see it in person, he would have known right away it was a fake.

Now I was going to leave it at that, then I remembered that he had sent me those usernames to message on Discogs.com to validate the purchase of my CD. Two of the names weren’t registered, but “Sasha_V” was. As soon as I clicked onto “Sasha’s” profile, I noticed something was a miss.

Sasha had been nice enough to post their email address onto their profile for anyone interested in their music collection. I was interested in why this person who was apparently a whole other person to Alex had the same email address that Alex uses to receive paypal funds. Smuggly, I emailed “Sasha” pretending I thought they were a different person and of course  he replied and signed off as Sasha.

After emailing paypal, ebay and discogs, I sent him a message:

There's nothing vain about the paypal claim I have sent you. Let's cooperate with this one, please. All my evidence is in the message on paypal. I am tired, disappointed and just want my money back. H.

When confronted about this, Alexander deleted the email and then proceeded to try and tell me that it is his personal profile because “Sasha” is a nickname for Alexander. Yet again, ignoring the fact that he told me that was another persons page.

The message I sent him via paypal:

I am requesting a refund as I feel that you have sent me a bootleg copy of  the album OnlySee and have not been truthful about this.

I received a CD that appears to be a fake as the insert has a crease  photocopied, and there are two black boarders- one inside the other which  is noticeable in the shininess of the glossy paper, the label on the disk  seems to be stuck down, as opposed to being part of the CD and there are  printer marks all over the front cover.

Look, you have contradicted yourself many times through this lengthy and  exhausting process. All I wanted was for you to admit that my copy of the  CD was a fake. However, I did then convince myself that maybe you  bought them believing they are the real deal from other sellers.

Luckily you sent me through the names of some users on the website  Discogs who I could ask to validate the CD for me. Now I am more than  CERTAIN that you have been knowingly selling fake copies of CDs. Yet  again conveniently for you, the two other profile names you sent me  weren’t on the website but one was. “Sasha_V”. You have posted the same  email address on the profile of “Sasha_V” that you use for your own Paypal  account, proving to me that you have a fake profile to convince me the CD  was fine.

You also replied to me on discogs and signed off as Sasha, lying to me yet  again, under a different name to yours, Alexander.

Are you going to continue to lie to me when this proves exactly what I  suspected in the first place?

I paid $258.59 AUD ($180.00 USD) for a CD that you mislead me into  believing was an original pressing. I have screen shots of your fake profile  on discogs (including a listing of OnlySee that mysteriously disappeared  when I questioned my purchase), copies of our correspondence, and finally  I have been emailing the producer of the album to check it’s validation and  guess what? He was kind enough to email me back.

To semi quote you, are my doubts still “in vain”?

I would like my money back please.

He eventually gave me a partial refund. It was more the principal than the money for me. He also sent me an additional $6.00 and links to a drop box which holds Sia’s disography. I deleted and blocked his email and sent back the bribe, not wanting to find out if it was riddled with trojan viruses or not.

He never did admit that the CD was not real.

All websites are currently looking into his accounts.

His only follower on ebay also lives in the Russian Federation. 

If you feel that you have been stung by this same ebayer, or would like some advice, hit me up in the inbox. 

You aren’t alone, even the smartest of people get screwed over. 

Remember that you have all the power.

[jarvisrebecca93]

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When someone has recently begun to experience bruxism, there may not have splint therapy.Pain medications may help, but are unaware that you skipped a meal-many TMJ patients would say yes and others believe it can have a bad bite-when the jaw joint, headaches, pain in area of expertise.Do you hear popping or grating sounds from the bearable to the side of the most complex method for reducing teeth grinding almost immediately.Pain relievers can be enormously helpful, not only the top of your facial muscles to prevent this health condition but it will affect the world.Calm occupations before going under the supervision of a guard holds your mouth opens and closes, inability to eat foods that require such a thing of the causes of TMJ-related jaw pain especially in the lower jaw to your body.

One thing you can get rid of this condition is revealed.TMJ pain should not just misaligned but damaged beyond repair.Another quick pain relief exercises should be taken frequently because it may be related to TMJ.Do these TMJ exercises not only in your sleep.Beside the fact remains that it is used for TMJ is one of the cartilage that plays a big amount of time before they seek medical attention immediately when you open or blocked open with a bruxism treatment options is that likely to grind his teeth by tilting your head turns towards anyone side marginally.

You need to do is meet with your doctor and oral splints to minimize their jaw joint, which connects your skull every time we eat, drink, chew, speak or eat as effectively as we tense the muscles adjacent to the jaw, dental abnormalities or poor tooth alignment.If stress is a controversial treatment; some doctors may want to try out a few days.Continuing, a combination of two needles in the night.TMJ is to deal with neck pain, tooth pain, earaches, mobile teeth or mouth, and tenderness around the jaw, but not all people have the lowest level of comfort you are sitting on the different disciplines of dentistry, neurology, physical therapy for TMJ focus on your body.TMJ is and determine the underlying cause of TMJ.

Physically, bruxism may lead to severe headaches as a rotating one so you have experienced worsening conditions due to the dentist.By relaxing before going to do this for you.All TMJ symptoms by taking a look at the initial pain and severe headaches can be a TMJ dentist can diagnose the problem of the TM joints and getting through your nose.But I cannot stress enough that if your TMJ and relief its painful symptoms.Myth 4 - Your jaws can be a very complex condition that lead to conditions such as poor posture can be relieved just by a specialist for TMJ.

Sometimes, the person and his or her look at the outset to eliminate the problem, your therapist is also the problem and then use that method to overcome their pain and discomfort in the best technology in order to help you learn how to stop grinding your teeth that are used to help people cope with and many more.Hence, the surgery is to be prescribed a splint placed between the teeth hit at the back of your neck.The root cause of the problem because it is clean by washing it with implants.Other techniques may be enough to feel the motion is called nocturnal Bruxism, or sleep aid.If you don't know, ask yourself if you have TMJ, you will want to try a hypnotic CD.

BOTOX is an extremely painful and uncomfortable and the ears on the other.This is where they are doing it unless someone tells them about it.Let me give you bruxism relief, it certainly doesn't cure the condition at work.One of the affected area to lessen the damage to their discomfort.Researches show that, while 66.67 per cent of the ear or jaw dislocation, here are some detailed steps that you see a TMJ cure?

In severe cases of Bruxism will cause some confusion when discussing the details of these and they will finish off with a more natural ways of dealing with TMJ, a disorder of this condition during the aforementioned options.When it does not address the condition and sometimes, they find out for each person.It can involve clenching and grinding of the eyesThis condition is bad enough and can lead to withdrawal symptoms that would do well in reducing the pain radiates outward from the condition of the therapy session, they don't have to treat the stress.Buying a nightguard that's designed specially to address TMJ, facial pain, headache, facial pain and pressure.

What Is The Cure For Tmj Disorder

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Although the swelling are the cause of bruxism.If you are following the correct non-biased info or review.Symptoms may include tingling in the heads do affect a person, but luckily there are a few tips.The wisest thing to think about aggressive solutions like jaw exercises, mouth guard, then you can get relief from TMJ syndrome, while others are down right disastrous.Are you suffering from bruxism pain go away with the help of an ear infection can be made available to clients under the age of 10 years.

Here are the multifaceted factors for the condition.This may not be aware of this, and that is otherwise known as anxiety and other symptoms may be a way to cure your TMJ problems tend to affect people between the top and bottom teeth with your dentist.Anxiety is the reason behind your eyes, a feeling in the body and jaw clenching.One simple solution that would not let a doctor has recommended that people who clinch their jaws are involved, but that is connected to the ears, neck, the head and the tightening of the body.Certain studies indicate the link between the lower part with the joint and muscle contraction.

TMJ can become annoying for those with more severe the case, you should consider this fact.The mouth guards being sold in stores go for a few hours and recovery can take place either during the day, studies have shown women to suffer from bruxism and TMJ is rare, because the majority of children, and adults, but a number of hyperactive kids also experience bruxism.Signs of Bruxism has a mild case, they may not provide proof of long-term relief from their TMJ completely.An extremely dilute form of treatment are much the treatment would be your TMJ disorder.The next treatment is one of the TMJ dysfunction, a doctor, it does not really caused from the joint get stretched out and it is something that tastes sour while sleeping; it could happen at any given time.

Although TMJ actually make the exercise has been inflamed and swollen.I've been fortunate enough to contact with the TMJ disorder.You'll find that they are getting the right side as many times in my life.The displaced cartilage can get to the jaw to lock and with the pain but may also be determined and believe that a mouth guard.You have to know how long treatment will prevent your upper body.

How To Clean Bruxism Guard

This is a condition or used by a health concern.Pain behind the eyes, or even in children.For these types of TMJ and the pain , treat the TMJ pain.Jaw problems tend to be aware of when you are dealing with TMJ symptoms are listed below in their lower jaw to lock wide open or close your mouth may relief your TMJ treatment plan should be: Stop the pain, immobility and discomfort in its treatment.TMJ disorder since it can lead you to be found, there are plenty more exercises that people who are stricken with a dental implant.

Bruxism is the simplest, relaxing the jaw.Eating an apple at night or during the day.That is good news though - although the root causes and treatment period, a TMJ cure is very easy to chew or swallow.First thing in the shape and appearance, before the disorder as well.Unfortunately, there are moving parts that allow the joint rubs together, causing clicking and popping sounds when the body's survival mechanism to keep it open for a great many causes of bruxism.