#i definitely don’t say things the way other Americans be saying jt

[gunnerina]

Sometimes I say certain words and suddenly I remind myself I am not technically a native English speaker 😭

[arsenicpanda]

I wanted to wait until the finale aired to answer this, and also I’m screenshotting so I can avoid the search, and I’m only tagging this with my tumblr savior tags so anon can see this even if they have the jt ship tag blocked. Also, I am a multishipper, I ship bh and jt and bjt and bt, and my desires for canon are based more on what I think works within the story we currently have as well as what treats Tabitha well and avoids racist tropes.

Now then, I do think bhva have a chance of coming back because I don’t think anything is set on this show until the last episode is over, and there are a number of ways this could play out for each pair.

Let’s talk ba first, because how ba goes is tied to va and bh in some capacity

1.) The ba engagement is an indication of endgame and s7 will be Riverdale playing with ba and va, likely with ba as first love but in some way tangled up with va.

2.) The above is true, but the “tangled up with va” leads to an ot3 and not ba alone.

3.) Someone on twitter said that no couple that gets engaged in the penultimate season ends up together, and I think that’s a fair point, although idk if I’ve watched enough live action American tv shows to say one way or the other. In this situation, ba don’t end up together, and however they play with ba and va ends in va, Betty/Veronica, or some other combo of the characters being single and in various relationships (Betty/Reggie, anyone?).  In this scenario, I would especially keep an eye on the possibility of Betty/Veronica.

Now let’s talk jt and bh, and keep in mind that Jughead remembers his previous life and Tabitha is somewhere that creates an “echo” of the fact that she wasn’t in the high school seasons

A.) Jughead’s feelings for Tabitha and the vision of their future together are either the primary or two of the primary drives for Jughead to find her and/or a way home to regular Riverdale, and yadda yadda yadda they end up together. This is compatible with scenarios 1, 2, and 3.

B.) The vision of Jughead and Tabitha’s future together is more of a goodbye to the ship in the narrative than something to fight for.  The ba/va stuff is happening ala scenario 3, and also Jughead and Betty investigate or whatever and fall in love again.  I have no idea what happens to Tabitha or Jughead’s feelings for Tabitha here.

Any combo of 1-3 & A and 3 & B is possible, and I’m not confident enough in my ability to predict Riverdale to say one way or the other.  Like, I think the only things I’ve gotten right are “Jughead and Tabitha will definitely date at some point in s5 for an unknown period of time” (made after 5x11 aired), “Jughead and Tabitha will still be romantically tied at the end of s6” (made after 6x12 aired), and “Jughead will get his hearing back before s6 ends” (made after we learned he would have hearing loss).  And, like, getting only three predictions right over four and a half seasons, one of which is based only on lack of confidence in the writers more than the actual writing, is a pretty bad track record, and you’ll notice that the two that aren’t based on writer incompetence/fuckery were made halfway through the season.  I’ll probably have a more confident answer for you then, but that’s at least like nine or ten months from now, and even then I doubt I’ll be *certain* because certainty and I don’t often exist in the same space.

I will say, though, that I’m not quite sure how people experiencing being teenagers again but with possibly tweaked backstories and having relationships there will affect their decisions as adults with their original backstories–because I assume we’re going back to the real world in the end, although I could be wrong there because of my less-than-stellar track record. I’m rooting for a change in the ba/va situation though, except for the ot3 option, I can’t handle that in a ship that has such harem anime vibes, like I can’t do it, I’m not strong enough, it repels me.

Anyway, I think scenario B is less likely than A, just because Jughead *does* remember his relationship with Tabitha and the future he saw, and it would be weird and kind of dickish for him to just give up on her and it and move on to his ex who currently thinks she’s a teenager, especially if it’s while he’s fighting to get back to regular Riverdale.  Bh would have a *much* better chance if Jughead didn’t have his memory either.  But Betty does have that James Dean poster, who is more visually similar to Jughead than Archie, and they do have *so much* history, so I’m not going to count them out.

But also I don’t see a way to have Jughead move on from his feelings for Tabitha and instead fall for a version of Betty without making him look like an asshole, unless he’s given up on both finding her in this time *and* getting home to her after like at least a year of trying, which, if you’re gonna do that, why have him remember in the first place?  And also, Betty thinks she’s a teen and is presumably different from real life Betty, both adult and teen, while Jughead is the same and thinks he’s an adult, and I just think that romance would be weird; like, it wouldn’t be inappropriate or gross, I’m not saying that, but I do think it would be, like, a weird thing for Jughead to do. Anyway, I especially don’t see a good way of doing this without it being deeply unfair to Tabitha outside of killing her, and RAS has indicated that she will still be in the show, so that’s off the table.  In my opinion, it’s important to ensure that Tabitha is treated fairly, just as it’s important to make sure that Veronica is treated fairly and not just given the bullshit racist “yeah, she wants love, but she should just be a #girlboss who doesn’t need a man!” ending and just as it’s important for Betty to not succumb to suburbia and/or even slightly turn into either of her parents (unless we’re going for a Bad End, but that would be extremely depressing).  But, like, right now they’re doing the opposite of both of the latter, so who knows about the former.

If I *have* to make a guess based on the information we have now, I’ll guess Cheryl/Toni, Kevin/Moose, and to a lesser extent Jughead/Tabitha endgame, but I am still unable to guess what would happen with ba/va, but I do assume that there will be at least bait/crumbs for bh in a few episodes.  But the only one I’m 99.999% certain of is Cheryl/Toni because of the whole fated soulmates across time thing, although I’m at like 70% on Kevin/Moose just because RAS seems to truly love that one and has loved it since day 1.  Jughead/Tabitha is at, like, 35-45% confidence tops

Now I’m gonna throw this over to @elegant-force for her thoughts, printed here because it’s easiest, because she’s less biased than I am:

So, frankly, I’m not super confident in my predictions here. Just going to start off with that. I used to think I understood the general character of the writers’ room for Riverdale, but that hasn’t been true since about Season 4. I don’t have much insight into how their decision-making process works at this point or what values/ideals/principles they have as guiding lights for the show/narratives/characterizations. 

I used to think that the show was purposefully really thoughtful about picking relationships and committing to them so that it could save time for the plot and for other characterization arcs, rather than wasting time on predictable garbage you could find on any tired daytime soap opera. But that’s definitely not what we’re doing at this stage. 

Frankly, my opinion is that the writers saw that fans were invested in the ships, and decided that because of this, messing with them would be an easier way to keep fans “on the hook” than writing a story that people actually could engage with. Instead of caring about the crafting of good relationships or interesting narratives, they seem to have become about “The bas vs. The bhs” or “The vas vs. the bas” or the “How are the Cheryl/Tonis going to feel about X?” 

And I think it’s all incredibly manipulative and, frankly, outrageously sexist. I’ve never seen a show or other work of media purposefully play with and manipulate (both in the narrative and on social media) something that fans were so invested in regarding a work that was targeted primarily at men. I’ve never seen Marvel be like “Maybe next time we’ll decide that Captain America has laser vision and Iron Man is a sorcerer… not like just for a fun lark, but like for real, this is who they are now in the comics, forget all of the time you spent learning about and talking about their powers with other nerds” because if they did that sort of shit, people would be really mad at them and feel like their narrative expectations were betrayed. And it just feels disrespectful to fans to do that sort of thing. But for some reason, when it’s women and the things that they are invested in are relationships you’ve put work into over the course of the show, blowing them up with little to no explanation and using them to manipulate viewership is just normal. 

And I’m sort of annoyed that everyone is buying into it to this degree. It frankly seems like every fucking comment from the writers about a ship is meant to be a tease to keep us on the hook and it’s fucking rude. It’s been a huge turn-off for me in terms of investment because the manipulation is so obvious and sloppy.

But you asked for my predictions and here they are. 

I’ve listed some of the current couples that were asked about as well as some other options I think are likely: 

1.) Betty/Archie

So, I have to wonder why, if we wanted to do this as endgame, we were going to have another season of messing around with the triangle stuff. We got here, they were going to get married, then we all got hit with the Retcomet. Essentially, our relationships were retconned, so either this is about us fighting our way back to our “perfect endings” or we’re going to redo some stuff. 

I don’t think that Betty had a perfect ending to fight her way back to. I think the only person in that category is Jughead (and notably, he remembers his old future). She basically had decided that the job she’d wanted her entire life wasn’t worth it and that she just wanted to be a wife or whatever after graduating top of her class at Yale. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to me that she’d throw everything she’d worked for her entire life in the garbage and that the audience was supposed to think that was good.

I also think that Polly having to wash her “sins” off of her rather than her accepting herself and being loved for who she is darkness included was so fucking gross. Like Betty needed to accept herself and also feel as if Archie accepted her without her former cultist sister doing some weird fake religious bullshit on her to trick her into doing it (this is so what happened, just because Polly was dead for a little bit doesn’t mean she can purify people, she was pulling old cultist tricks out of her pocket and we all know it). Betty only saw herself as a threat because she thought she was one. Polly tricked her out of it. Simple as that.

I honestly think we may come to find out that the reason Jughead remembers and the others don’t is that on some level, the others wanted to forget because they were unhappy with where they were. If Cheryl using the combined powers of all of the others really did, as Jughead implies, send them back due to some sort of manifestation of their wills, then it makes sense to me that part of what Veronica may have absorbed was their collective discontent with their situations and this reset is all of them trying to go back and change the things they did wrong. Especially if this is the case, I don’t see a lot of hope for Betty/Archie endgame. Even if that’s not the reason Jughead remembers when no one else does (if it’s just his writer powers or whatever), I still think resetting and then doing the thing we’re doing now with them doesn’t make a lot of sense. I think it’s possible that we go back and forth and eventually land on this if the bas scream loud enough online, though. I do think online screaming is the main thing determining what the show does. 

Probability: 10-20% 

2.) Betty/Veronica 

This is what I think is the best narrative option if we want to really wipe the slate clean with whatever is happening in S7 1955 land. I think that if the show really doesn’t want to play the traditional Betty/Archie/Veronica love triangle, they can lean into Betty and Veronica’s relationship and build that up. We’ve already introduced the concept of Betty being bisexual with her relationship with Agent Drake and we also had Cheryl and Veronica’s super hot (and very long) kiss at the end of S6. So, I think if we really wanted to go this way, we could. 

I think it’s a great answer to them both wanting to be in a relationship with someone they love and care about and know. And I also think, at this point, Archie is irredeemably awful.  He asked his ex that he broke up with less than a year ago to help him pick a ring for his new girlfriend. He sucks. He just fucking sucks. It’s gross beyond my ability to describe. 

But on that point, Veronica has shown true and unconditional love for Betty. She’s never held the cheating against Betty. When Archie asked her for a ring, she already had one that she thought would be perfect for Betty. She has been there for Betty whenever Betty has needed her. And while, prior to S6, Betty hadn’t always reciprocated, I think that her coming up with the idea for Veronica to kiss Archie and letting her do that was proof that Betty is also willing to take risks and make sacrifices for Veronica as well. I don’t think it was easy for her to do that, because she’s always been insecure about Archie and Veronica, but she did it because she loves Veronica enough to overcome those insecurities. I can’t say that about her feelings for Archie, or maybe even the feelings she had for Jughead. I think that Veronica has done more to help Betty deal with and overcome her insecurities than anyone else in the show. I wish that we could see Betty support and help Veronica more, and I really hope that regardless of what the show decides to do, we do more of that in the final season. 

Probability: 10-20% 

I don’t think that we’re going to do this, just because the show really seems to think that Archie is a good person who deserves love. I disagree with this, but I’m not in the writers’ room. I think he should end up single and alone due to his inability to treat women with any sort of respect. But that’s just me. I think that if the show still cares about crafting a good narrative or things having any sort of thematic resonance or meaning, this is what they’ll do. But I just don’t think it’s likely. 

3.) Betty/Archie/Veronica 

I like this option way less, but I think it’s fairly likely. It’s another reason we could have set up Betty and Veronica being bi, and I think it’s what the show would like to do. And the reason I think it’s what the show would like to do is that the writers, like Archie, can’t choose between Betty/Archie and Veronica/Archie. And I think the writers can’t choose because they have gotten so into playing with the shippers that they can no longer think of a way to make a satisfying ending where Archie ends up with one of these women. 

So, what’s the best solution? To not have to choose, of course. And then they get “points” for being “daring” and “innovative” to have a thruple as the main relationship in their show. They’ll think it will make the fewest people upset and that it will get them a lot of social media attention. And I think that’s honestly all they want: attention that isn’t mostly negative. Maybe that’s deeply cynical of me, but it’s the main common factor I’ve seen in their decision making at this point. 

I do think this could be done well, but I don’t think they will do it that way. I think it really only works if the triangle changes to be a full love triangle (ie: with each person being attracted to both other people in the triangle) and if the thruple puts Veronica mostly in the center. I think we still have to spend most of the season focused on the relationship between Betty and Veronica. I think we also have to embrace the part of Betty that seems to really not want a traditional family or maternal role, but maybe just wants to live with people she is comfortable with and attracted to that she can have sex with. I think that if the end dynamic has househusband/primary caregiver Archie taking care of kids that he and Veronica had together and Betty is part of it but doesn’t have to engage with the domestic things she dislikes, that’s fine. 

What isn’t okay is for this to become an Archie-centric triangle that functions as a mini-harem for him. It can’t just be Archie now sleeps with two women and sometimes watches them have sex because he’s just such a great guy he deserved this because for a white guy not choosing means eventually getting everything you want. That’s fucking gross, but I’m afraid they’ll be careless about it and that’s what will happen. 

Probability: 30-40% 

4.) Veronica/Archie

I think this is slightly more likely than Betty/Archie if Jughead has kept his memories because he’s the only one who doesn’t have regrets. I think it’s possible that Archie still wants to be with Veronica and we know Veronica still wants to be with Archie. She’s only not going for it because she loves Betty more than she wants to be with Archie. I think that in a reset where it’s clear Betty has another path to happiness, Veronica/Archie has a chance. 

Probability: 30-40% 

5.) Betty/Jughead

Honestly, I think this really hinges on why Jughead kept his memories. If it’s because he doesn’t have regrets and wants to get back to the future he saw with Tabitha, then there’s no way that bh is going to happen. I think, at best, what bh gets in this setting is a chance to end cleanly and in a way that both of them move on from that’s healthy. And, frankly, I think there could be a lot of good in that. I think the writers could give this ship the respect it deserves and acknowledge what it meant to both Betty and Jughead, without them having to get back together. I think we could have them date briefly or just spend time together as friends and acknowledge what could have been in a way that isn’t just shitting all over this pairing and/or teasing it with no real hope of follow-through just to keep the shippers on the hook. And I think that would be really nice. 

I think that if Jughead kept his memories as a fluke/due to his writer powers, then I guess we could go back to bh. I think you really have to come up with a good reason that we’re not going to have him try to get back to Tabitha though. Also, I think that the writers know if they throw his relationship with Tabitha in the garbage at this point, it’s just super fucking racist. And they don’t want people to accuse them of being racist on the internet (especially when the accusations are credible), so they probably won’t do it. 

Probability: 10-20%  

(If Jughead didn’t have his memories, I would have put the odds of this ship at 60-80%, frankly. If he didn’t remember Tabitha, I would have seen the time-compressed date as a good final send-off for Jughead/Tabitha, proof that they could have had a beautiful life together but we weren’t able to do that because of the comet coming and tearing us apart and destroying all of the memories that we built together. It would have been sort of rude to Tabitha, but I would have definitely accepted it as a perfectly good ending for the ship and felt like it was done justice. But I just can’t see a good reason for Jughead to keep his memories if the point isn’t for him to try to get back to Tabitha somehow.)

6.) Jughead/Tabitha 

We really invested in them over the last few seasons. I think that if we wanted to break them up, we would have just had Jughead lose his memories as well. There’s no real reason for him to have kept them, certainly no reason he had to that I can see from a writing perspective, unless it was to preserve his relationship with Tabitha (because that didn’t exist in high school).

I do think it’s really hard for them not to follow through on Jughead/Tabitha without looking really racist, frankly. And I think the writers care about that. And I think they should. I also think them backing out at this point is straight up bad writing, even if it’s to go back to bh. I think the window on going back to bh closed a while ago, and now we’re just shipbaiting the fans. I think jt has a good chance to be endgame, though I don’t know how much of it we’ll be seeing during this season, because I don’t know what Tabitha’s exact situation is. 

Probability: 50-70%

7.) Moose/Kevin 

I really used to hate this ship. A lot. I was really sad when Joaquin died because I knew in my heart it meant that RAS was never going to let go of Moose/Kevin. I never really trusted Kevin/Fangs because every time RAS has had the opportunity to go back to Moose/Kevin, he has done so as quickly as he fucking can. He’s really invested in this, so I just think we’re going to get it as long as Moose’s actor is willing to be here. 

Though, honestly, I’ve come to like this ship a lot more in the last season. Every other ship is so garbage (except jt, which is cute) that they’re actually fine and even endearing now. Moose is also less toxic, which is good, and he’s really supportive of Kevin. And heaven knows that boy needs all the support he can get. 

Probability: 70-90% 

8.) Cheryl/Toni Dude. Cheryl’s best childhood lesbian friend broke up with Cheryl because she saw their love written in the stars. There’s not much more of a guarantee than that. 

Also their fans have been as loud as possible about the fact that their ship has been done so dirty in so many ways, and frankly, they were right to say it. The writers seem to know they done fucked up in splitting these two up for so long. Really looking forward to seeing them as 50s lesbians. 

Probability: 99% (because there’s no such thing as certainty with these motherfuckers) 

[path-of-my-childhood]

JT Bates Talks About Drumming For Taylor Swift

By: Jill Riley for The Current Date: July 29th 2020

[Transcript]

How did you end up on a Taylor Swift record? Well, because of Aaron [Dessner]. You know, I've worked with Aaron for the last couple years, in Big Red Machine, Lone Bellow, various other sessions he's been hiring me for. And I've done a few things for him since COVID began; we've been, you know, we're always texting and talking. He's a very inspiringly creative person who just is really constantly making things, and it's pretty incredible. So he, yeah, contacted me at some point and was like, "Hey, I've got this special, fun little project going on here; can you record some drums on a few songs for me?" Because obviously, we're all recording remotely at this point. So yeah, it was very hush-hush, the whole thing, and obviously not really letting out any information as to who this person was or anything like that, and so yeah! You know, you do these things and you send them off, and you don't really know what it's going to end up being or what it's going to be like, and then, sometimes, I guess, apparently, it's a Taylor Swift record.

So was there some kind of code word, like "Operation blah blah"? I mean, did you even know that it was a Taylor Swift song when you started recording? No. I didn't.

So what did you get? You got like a music track? Yeah. You know, I mean, that's how they set it up. I mean, obviously, there's... whatever! There's a lot of reasons that would be set up that way; I don't need to go into that. But anyway, yeah, so he just said, "I can't really tell you who this is." But you know, I know Aaron pretty well; he's become a close musical brother in a lot of ways in the last few years, so I know when he sends me things, I've learned his aesthetic - not that I always know what he's going to do - but just that I can give him some things that he's going to - I know which things I do that he likes, so then you just, you know, like, yeah. I mean, there's a lot of this going on; it's like, someone sends you a song, and normally, we'd be hanging out in a studio talking, and maybe I'd even be listening to the artist sing the song while I'm, you know, maybe not a finished vocal, but like, something's there; you know, when you're at the studio, usually there's something to play to or something like that. So this was a really different experience! But really fun. And then he contacted me very early in the morning on Thursday [July 23] and was like, "Buddy, it's Taylor Swift." And I was like, "I can't believe…" (laughter)  My 15-year-old and my wife were both, you know, aware that I had done this something for Aaron for somebody that's, you know, we're not allowed to know who this person is, whatever, and they were like, "Oh my gosh, what if it's Taylor Swift? That'd be so cool." And they were right.

That's great! I love hearing the insight on that because, you know, I have seen you as a live drummer with a number of bands and artists. But kind of to get that inside view of what it's like to be a session drummer, and it's not unusual for you to get sent something or just called into a studio. Or you get something sent to your studio, and it's like, "Hey, can you play on this?" I mean, that's not a totally unusual thing in your world. No, it's not. And I mean, honestly, during quarantine, you know, for anyone out there wondering how their favorite artists are still putting songs out and still releasing music, that's how it's happening. That's how it's all happening. I mean, I have a handful of friends who I know have gone to a couple studios and done actual physical sessions, but it's really interesting. It's really fun. There's some really fun parts of it for me, because I can sort of be here and I can spend all day, you know, whereas maybe normally that would be wasting someone else's time; I can really kind of get lost and go down a rabbit hole trying different things. Sometimes it just happens instantly, and I can't even believe how quickly I'm sending something back to someone.

And then specifically with Aaron, yeah, it's just like I know that if I've sent him like three or four takes of a song, he's going to grab what he likes and get what he likes, and if he doesn't, then he'll be like, "Hey, can you try this or that?"

Lately, I've been incorporating a lot more FaceTime into it, just personally, because, like, the first couple months of COVID, doing a lot of this was really fun, and then now, I'm really kind of seeking that conversation, because it's just, you know, it's just such a different thing from the live thing and feeling people's energy and feeling the energy of a song and being able to ask a songwriter while you're at the studio, like, "Hey, what's this one about? Where's this coming from?" and all that.

And then also, just the musical, the technical information, too. So yeah, it's really fun, but I've been able to do a bunch of work for a bunch of different, fun people during this, and like I said, it was just sort of, I still kind of can't believe it. (laughter)

We're talking about Taylor Swift's new record, "Folklore"; I'm talking with Twin Cities drummer JT Bates about playing on a couple of the tracks, so "epiphany," "seven" and "the last great american dynasty" are the songs that you play on. So when Aaron Dessner sent you those tracks, what kind of direction did he give you? He probably knows you well enough where he's like, "Hey, can you come up with a couple different things on this?" Yeah. It was a little different. I mean, I don't know how familiar you are with the Big Red Machine stuff, but on that record and a lot of that music that I play on, he's got so much drum programming going, that a lot of times, from me, he's looking for the opposite of that; sort of like the more live activity, "action" sometimes they call it, or smearing things, where I'm not maybe trying to play exactly - you know, because there's a machine playing the beat, so maybe I can be more of a color, more of a texture, things like that. But he did say, kind of out of the gate on this one, "This is going to be more of a poppy sort of thing, so not really looking for the Big Red stuff." And so, like, on "the last great american dynasty," he was like, he just really wanted me to kind of get in; there's a beat that he programmed, and I'm basically just doubling that, just to have, it kind of fills it out in a different way when there's live drums.

[On] "seven," that one he definitely was like, "You'll know what to do on this one." It was kind of a straightforward thing. But then, you know, texturally on that one, we did a little back and forth of trying out different dynamics of the drums, you know, because - and again, that's stuff that, if we were all in a room, would be like a five-second decision, but this was like, I do something, I email it to him; he texts me back. You know, it's like, whatever.

And then, "epiphany," he was like, "Yeah, I'd just like a little bit more of an orchestral sort of thing," so I did a couple different things and then they ended up just using actually just one part of it, but used it throughout.

And that's an interesting part about working with a lot of modern producers, is it's so easy to grab just a certain part that they like or something that grabs their ear, and then, so you might do a lot of work, and then they might just use one little part.

Just like a little… (laughter) But that's fine, too. And that's something that I've learned: How to be really comfortable with [that]. And it's a really great, unattached feeling, you know, to just be like, "Well, here's a bunch of stuff; you're going to use what you're going to use anyway, so if you want something more specific, you'll tell me." That's the great part about Aaron; that's like how he included so many of his good friends and collaborators and our other good buddies on this recording, and friends and family of his and stuff. You know, it's like he knows, he sees people's strengths that way and understands how they could be an asset to a certain song or to a certain vibe or a texture or something like that.

You mentioned friends and family, and I'm really impressed by Aaron Dessner's ability to keep a secret from you, because when it comes to my close friends, I just feel like if I was pushed even just a little bit, like, "Come on, Jill; what is this?" I'd be like, "OK, here's what it is, but don't tell anyone!" But that's pretty impressive. There's, you know, yeah. You want to get called back for more of these things. So there's partly that, there's also just, you could tell he felt funny, when he did call me, I mean, he was like, "Oh, man, I can't even…" Obviously, there's contractual stuff for him, so it's like, he's not going to, you know, anyhow. So and then, of course, I was really curious, but I know Aaron pretty well, and he's a kind of to-himself sort of fella, and so he's not someone I would bug like that anyhow. But yeah. I mean, I was definitely curious, but I'm also good at, I've learned over time, just waiting for surprises or whatever…

All will be revealed. (laughter) It's like, "He just worked with Michael Stipe. Let's see… who could it be next?" That was another crazy one! I played on that song too for him, and it was like, "OK, man, I guess we're playing with Michael Stipe. Great!" You know?

[...]

If your daughter gets to return to school this fall, she's going to have a reason to brag about her dad. Of everything that you've ever done, now she's going to have a reason to brag about her dad. The one cool thing I did, yep! (laughter)

That's really how it goes! Yep!

[chorusfm]

The Top Albums of 2018 (So Far)

I think I say this every year but fuck it – the music 2018 has blessed us with in its first six months has been extraordinary. With all the insane shit happening around us and to us in this day and age, it feels like music is the only sane thing we have. So below we have our top 20 favorite releases of the year thus far. If you can’t find something to love on this list then you just aren’t trying hard enough – this is an eclectic list that encompasses multiple genres and styles. I can’t wait to see what the next six months brings to our ears. Note: You can share your own list in our music forum. The Top Albums of 2018 (So Far) 1. Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers Brian Fallon came up in the New Jersey punk scene writing nostalgic rock songs about ferris wheels and that old house in Asbury Park and sleeping on the beach. He did it all so damn well that his band, The Gaslight Anthem, famously earned the Springsteen seal of approval. Fallon is a Jersey boy through and through, which makes the idea of his new departure of a solo record—an organ-led, British-invasion-influenced solo record recorded in New Orleans—so fascinating. That he completely pulled it off, continuing his incredible hot streak of albums that began with 2008’s The ’59 Sound, proves that Brian Fallon is among America’s greatest living songwriters. Following his solo debut, 2016’s great if slightly by-the-numbers Painkillers, Sleepwalkers feels far more confident and mature, as Brian Fallon stretches his skillset into a dozen interesting new territories. The NOLA flavor shows up when Fallon experiments with sultry new rhythms in “Come Wander With Me” and the horn-driven title track. “Forget Me Not” references the Beatles in the bridge to signal to listeners that, yes, this is a ‘60s pop song. There is a sizable dose of Pearl Jam in the grungy guitar tones on “My Name Is The Night (Color Me Black),” and there is just enough Barry Manilow flavor in stadium-sized ballad “Etta James,” which sounds like if “Mandy” were performed by a guy with neck tattoos. Still, despite the rampant experimentation, Sleepwalkers is as cohesive a record as we’ve come to expect from Fallon over the past decade, making it one of the most exciting moments in his impressive discography and one of 2018’s most well-crafted records. [JB] 2. The Wonder Years – Sister Cities “I feel like if you’ve been following The Wonder Years, this is where it’s been going,” frontman Dan Campbell states in the teaser trailer for Sister Cities, and he’s spot on. This is the band’s most dynamic album yet, which says a lot considering how much the band has grown with every release. “Raining in Kyoto”, one of the heavier songs the band has written, introduces the central theme of the record, which is that no matter how far apart we may be physically, we’re all connected by our shared humanity: “an older man stood close by and smiled at me / I rung the bell like he did, I told you I’m sorry / a makeshift funeral, I tried setting you free.” On the other side of the world during his grandfather’s funeral, Campbell found solace in a place that didn’t share a spoken language, but a language of grief and love. The album’s closer, “The Ocean Grew Hands to Hold Me,” is The Wonder Years at their most vulnerable: “when I was in shambles / when I got too weak / the ocean grew hands to hold me.” The song, and the album as a whole, is about darkness and loss, but it’s also triumphant. It’s about realizing that our individual struggles are our collective struggles. At our lowest points, our humanity—the ocean—lifts us up and carries us home. [SS] 3. Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour While Kacy Musgraves is a country artist, it’s hard to characterize Golden Hour as a strictly country album. She’s been bending the genre since her release of Same Trailer Different Park in 2013. Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me what genre Golden Hour is placed into because it’s just a good album. Some song on the record (“Slow Burn,” namely) require warming up to them before you can enjoy them in the full context of the album, but I didn’t mind giving this a few spins before it sank in. “High Horse” is a catchy tune and it’s not the only one on the record. With each song, you get the sense that Kacey just wants to do her own thing without focusing on what it’s going to be labeled as. Her personality shines through and that’s what makes this album a fun one to listen to. [DC] 4. Spanish Love Songs – Schmaltz Spanish Love Songs are a band that play a particular brand of denim-jacket-punk that feels informed in equal parts by Against Me!…As The Eternal Cowboy and “The Authority Song” by John Mellancamp. Many of their songs contain lyrics where lead vocalist Dylan Slocum fears out loud that he will be killed in an act of random gun violence. This is to say that Spanish Love Songs are an American rock band. Schmaltz is greater than the sum of its parts. At first take, Spanish Love Songs sound a lot like The Menzingers, but that comparison is far too simple to leave unexamined. Compared to the Americana-influenced punk bands that preceded them, Spanish Love Songs’ choruses are more immediate with a notable to well-crafted vocal melodies and the inclusion of synthesizers to punch up the pop elements. The vocals are more frantic and anxious, as Slocum agonizes about the intersection of the aging process, the death of loved ones, and the definite timeline of his own life. Sure, the music Spanish Love Songs make may sound familiar, but the band have nailed the execution to the extent that Schmaltz is handily one of 2018’s most exciting releases from a new band. [JB] 5. Now, Now – Saved Every once in a while the perfect album seems to come along at the perfect time for me. I hear it, it just clicks, and it becomes not only my soundtrack for a few weeks, but my soundtrack for the year. Right now, that’s been the newest album from Now, Now. I find myself returning to Saved when I’m looking for a pick-me-up, when I’m looking to get into my feels on a late night, and when I’m just trying to zone out after a long day at work. The kind of album that just feels perfectly made for where I’m at and what I’m looking for from a record right now. I’m a sucker for pop-music that retains a strong emotional resonance. For music that is full of huge choruses and melodies while maintaining an emotional core. By and large, I think that’s the thread that’s followed me through my entire musical journey. It’s what really draws me to music in the first place. As we reflect on the albums that have made the first part of the year so special for us, I think about what’s going to stay with me through the rest of the year as well. I’ll be playing “SGL” while the sun’s out all summer, listening to “Knowme” as the leafs start to change colors, and have “P0WDER” on repeat in my headphones by the fire this winter. It’s an album for all seasons, for all moods, and it’s been my runaway favorite of the year so far. [JT] 6. Pianos Become The Teeth – Wait For Love After spending the last three Pianos Become The Teeth records recounting the life, love, pain, and loss of his father from multiple sclerosis, the band’s latest album Wait For Love features frontman Kyle Durfey exploring his own fatherhood, as he got married and had a child after finding some sort of closure on 2014’s Keep You. Wait For Love isn’t a happy record nor a sad record – it’s a realistic one that beautifully and painfully captures all the intoxicating highs and devastating lows of being a husband and father. The record is as emotionally complex as you’d expect from a Pianos record, but Durfey’s melodies have never been more powerful, surrounded by the band’s increased gracefulness in their musicianship and enhanced by David Haik’s pulsating and brilliant drumming. From the initial euphoric wave of “Fake Lighting” to the gorgeously intense closer “Blue,” Wait For Love is bursting with some of 2018’s most heartfelt, vulnerable tracks as Pianos Become The Teeth earnestly march into the next exhilarating phase of their career. (DB) 7. Pusha T – DAYTONA It’s been a long season for hip-hop, filled with new releases and controversy in equal measure. While many have taken Kanye West to task for his inane infatuation with Trump and a number of right-wing pundits, there was a certain curiousness ascribed to the announcement of his ambitious Wyoming Sessions. West set out to release five G.O.O.D Music albums within a month, and while ye may be polarizing enough to finally keep some listeners from buying into the producer’s schtick, the first release of these sessions, Pusha T’s DAYTONA, may be the best of the bunch. DAYTONA is as close as it gets to an instant classic, and the publicity surrounding the release, for better or worse, fuels that fact. In some ways, DAYTONA is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Pusha T – that is, luxury drug raps – but in another way, the album pushes new boundaries for the rapper. From the melodicism of opening single “If You Know You Know” to the stunning guitar samples on “The Games We Play” and “Santeria,” King Push manages to mix more braggadocio and quotables in just seven tracks than most rappers are capable of in an hour-plus. [AM] 8. Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog There is no voice in modern rock and roll as unique and indescribable as Hop Along’s Frances Quinlan. A constant see-saw between something beautiful and ugly, she undertakes a variety of different approaches, as if her voice is assuming a different character each time. And it’s so very apparent on the band’s incredible third album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog – a record that encapsulates a catharsis in the most imperfect yet perfect ways. Tracks like “How You Got Your Limp” and “Not Abel” prove that you don’t need to be abrasive to be impactful, each song channeling the tender yet spastic density of the band’s music. Bark Your Head Off, Dog may be the most visceral record of 2018, innately sticking with you long after the final track has finished playing. [DB] 9. Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer Josh Tillman is one of the most divisive voices in indie-rock, for reasons that are clear, but also somewhat silly. It seems many can’t stand the performer’s growing penchant for satire and theatrics, and if that’s the case, many will rejoice upon hearing his shortest and least ironic offering under the moniker yet. Taking sonic cues from his entire discography, God’s Favorite Customer is a piano record, a comparatively minimalist affair that often bursts into lavish compositions that would make a Beatle blush. Rooted in heartbreak and isolation, Gods Favorite Customer offers the unique songwriting chops fans have come to love as well as an unbridled and often bleak look at this particular songwriter’s process. An album of pleas, Tillman chastises himself on “Just Dumb Enough to Try” (“But I’m just dumb enough to try/To keep you in my life/For a little while longer”), but also switches places with his partner on standouts “Please Don’t Die” (“And honey, I’m worried ’bout you/Put yourself in my shoes/You’re all that I have/So please don’t die, wherever you are tonight”) and “The Songwriter.” Saving its least performative bits for the B-side, God’s Favorite Customer is the unfortunately common high point of an artist’s career mirroring a low point in their personal life. [AM] 10. Jeff Rosenstock – POST- If Jeff Rosenstock’s We Cool? is about the internally-directed disquiet that comes when an anxious person starts noticing the aging process, and if WORRY. is about the externally-directed disquiet that comes when an anxious person decides to get married and settle down in a troubled political climate, POST- is about that same anxious person trying their absolute hardest to keep it together in the era of Donald Trump. While POST- doesn’t shake up the WORRY. sound all that much (discounting some experimentation with longer song structures in the opening and closing tracks), Rosenstock has clearly gone through significant changes since Inauguration Day. Specifically, he’s writing from a much lower place. While Jeff postured himself as the flag-bearer in the movement against all that is fucked up in the world on WORRY., POST- finds the singer full of anxiety and paranoia with nothing but questions to offer. Did my friends and neighbors vote for him? How can I speak out against this? Is there really any point in doing so? Can I start a new life in Australia or something? And while “Let Them Win” doesn’t begin to start answering these questions, it does present the only possible conclusion, the only mantra that feels within reach: no matter how bad things get, we’re not gonna let them win. [JB] 11. Fall Out Boy – MANIA If you could put me in a time machine that looks like a DeLorean and shoot me back to the release of Fall Out Boy’s Take This To Your Grave, and let me tell myself that in 15 years the band would still be going strong, and, in fact, may have just released their best album? I’d probably believe time-traveling-Jason. I’ve always believed that this band is special and it’s thrilling for me to watch their career unfold. The constant has been the band’s ability to write very good songs. They’ve walked through a variety of different genres and branched out their sound, but I’d argue that the the underlying “Fall Out Boy-ness” has always remained. (Uh, ditto for people arguing about them on my forums.) MANIA has quickly grown to be one of my favorite Fall Out Boy albums. I’m drawn to this brash confidence I can feel in the songs. It’s got a pulsing soul that reverberates through a razor-tight 36 minutes. Between foot-stomping choruses and soul-baring ballads, it’s the amount of pure fun that I find in the album I’m drawn most to. In a world that feels more hellish each day, there’s a comfort to this record. I’m not surprised this band is still cranking out great songs all these years later, but I’m always pleasantly surprised when I not only find something to like, but something I genuinely want to listen to. Well done you little pleasing purple record you. [JT] 12. Lord Huron – Vide Noir Lord Huron, the indie rock group from Los Angeles, have had quite a few years to grow into their trademark sound of atmospheric landscapes and wandering journeys. Vide Noir, the third studio album and their first on a major label, was mixed by Dave Fridmann (Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips) and self-produced by front-man Ben Schneider, in which he has crafted his early career masterpiece. Schneider recently credited this album to a new habit of taking nighttime drives around LA and the “search for meaning amidst the cold indifference of the universe,” according to his recent social media posts. This album in particular speaks to the late night journeys that Schneider had become accustomed to and takes the listener on a rewarding path of self discovery. Lord Huron are at their most comfortable when they experiment with these sonic landscapes and there’s plenty of this apparent on this LP. [AG] 13. Caitlyn Smith – Starfire Some artists just have those voices that you can’t deny. You might not usually listen to the genre they hail from, and you might not even love the songs, but you can hear them sing and understand why people love their music. Adele is one of those artists. Chris Stapleton is one of those artists. Jeff Buckley, when he was alive, was one of those artists. And Caitlyn Smith is one of those artists, too. For my money, Smith’s debut, titled Starfire, is one of the two or three most well-sung LPs of the decade so far. I’m guessing that one listen to the theatrical tour-de-force “East Side Restaurant” will be enough to tell you why. While Smith’s voice is the centerpiece, though, Starfire is what it is because of the songwriting. Smith has been waiting for this moment for a long time, releasing a series of EPs and writing songs for everyone from Garth Brooks to Dolly Parton to Meghan Trainor and John Legend. Starfire encapsulates that long-haul story into a record about chasing a dream until it breaks your heart—and then chasing it even harder. Songs like “Don’t Give up on My Love” and “This Town Is Killing Me” ache with the sting of everything you sacrifice when you gamble your life on a fool’s hope of music industry success. “They buried my granddad without me/’Cause I was out on the road at some one-off show in Tupelo/And I can’t take that one back,” Smith sings in the latter. Starfire is an album built on a lot of miles, a lot of lonely nights in shitty motel rooms, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. You can hear every ounce of what the journey cost in the songs, so when Smith belts something like the rafter-shaking key change at the climax of “Tacoma,” it feels like nothing less than a triumph of the human spirit. [CM] 14. Camp Cope – How To Socialise and Make Friends There’s a renaissance of primal, emotionally-charged punk rock coming out of Melbourne, Australia right now (roo-rock?) and the all-female Camp Cope is leading the charge. Lead singer Georgia Maq started as a solo artist, but added Kelso Hellmrich and Sarah Thompson to great effect on their second studio album, How to Socialize & Make Friends, a loose reference to the classic Dan Carnegie self-help book published in the 30’s. Maq is equal parts sincere, sarcastic, bitter, and brazen singing about gender politics (“And all my success has got nothing to do with me/Yeah, tell me again how there just aren’t that many girls in the music scene”) and just surviving in a world not built for sensitive people (“But sometimes it’s hard to go outside/And I’ve been driving way too much/I’ve been too lazy to fix my bike”). Her beautiful banshee scream is reminiscent of Hop Along’s Frances Quinlan’s, but nothing about Camp Cope is purely derivative. Now in their prime as a band, they have created a place for themselves all their own. [DK] 15. Underoath – Erase Me The first time I heard “rase Me, I was let down—but somehow totally vibing with album standout “No Frame.” And then I listened again. And again. The songs started wiggling their way into my head. And then I listened again. The next thing I knew, I was belting every song for weeks on end. I’d trusted Underoath for fifteen years, and they delivered again, despite my initial reaction. Listening to an album “freed from religion” was listening to the catharsis of a man not afraid to address God from a place of vulnerability and honesty unafraid of how he was perceived in the asking, conquering the addiction demons of his past, and coming to a new sense of identity—all while exploring new avenues of sound for the band. Some defined these new sounds as selling out—and while I would’ve preferred more “Hold Your Breath”-type songs to “Rapture”-type songs—I’m all for bands writing what they want to write. This will never be remembered as their greatest album, but with enough time, it becomes an intensely personal album if you let it. The soaring chorus of “In Motion” or the absolutely crushing bridge of “ihateit” spoke directly to my life experiences. Spencer sang words echoing the thoughts I’ve kept on scraps of paper only I see. When I come to music, I just like to be seen. Thirteen years after “Young and Aspiring” changed my life, Underoath still makes music that sees me. And I still see them. I’m so happy for the continued success and happiness they’ve found along the way. Erase Me is an album about the journey, and I’m already excited for what the destination of a next album promises. [GL] 16. Soccer Mommy – Clean Perhaps no other artist understands coming of age in the 2010s the way Soccer Mommy’s Sophie Allison does. Her first proper full-length, Clean, displays her knack for chronicling the uncertainties of young love, feeling misunderstood, and avoiding one’s parents in a way that feels far more mature than the subject matter would suggest. Take “Flaw”’s honest retelling of a relationship gone sour, culminating in the self-aware line: “I choose to blame it all on you, ‘cause I don’t like the truth.” Or listen to the rollicking, defiant single “Your Dog,” a screed against a controlling boyfriend that turns into a positive affirmation of her autonomy. It’ll be exciting to watch Allison grow, but for now, Clean is a hell of a first step. [ZD] 17. Animal Flag – Void Ripper Animal Flag’s latest full-length, Void Ripper, is aptly named. It’s the band’s darkest and heaviest release yet, and the music is every bit as crushing and apocalyptic as Matt Politoski’s lyrics behind it – lyrics like, “everyone I know will die” and “life is short, it always ends.” While Politoski’s lyrics are admittedly depressing, they’re also his most personal and thought-provoking yet. He and the rest of Animal Flag have torn through the void, and what they discovered on the other side was something beautiful. [ZD] 18. Frank Turner – Be More Kind Frank Turner is an Englishman, dutifully touring his way around the world and then back again, racking up a whopping 2,202 shows under his belt. So if anyone knows what might help our country right now, it’s probably the very world-weary Frank Turner. On Be More Kind he prescribes one part decency (“Be more kind, my friends/Try to be more kind”) , one part rage (“Let’s make America great again/By making racists ashamed again.”), and one part persistence (“Put on your brave face, honey, your brave face/It’s funny how fear can bring your focus in tight”). It’s a winning formula and the subject matter forces Turner to slow down in way he’s never done before. He leans in hard on the end-of-the-world theme with titles like “21st Century Survival Blues” and “Making America Great Again,” but mostly gone are the fast guitars and punk power chords, replaced instead with sensitive acoustic strumming and even, on standout track “Blackout”, a clubby dance beat. Turner crafts a surprisingly mellow, insightful album, one that feels, more than ever, like one he’s been wanting to make. And if takes an Englishman with four chords to save our country, well, we’ll take it any way we can get it. [DK] 19. The Republic of Wolves – Shrine After my first listen of Shrine I knew that this was a very special record. On their 3rd LP The Republic of Wolves return to their roots. This record delivers an album full of dynamic dark alt rock songs that are sure to fill a void for some. Lyrically, Shrine is a concept album that centers around Japanese folklore while still touching on relatable themes such as heartbreak (Birdless Cage) and spiritual conflict (Bask) . One of the album’s highlights is the centerpiece “Dialogues,” which takes the listener through a musical journey of both loud and soft dynamics, while also containing a call back a track on the bands first LP “Monologues.” The production on shrine is fantastic and contains some of the best guitar tones I’ve heard this year. This record delivers on many layers and is a must listen for fans of dynamic alternative rock. [Teebs41] 20. Turnstile – Time & Space If you’re looking for 2018’s most wild ride look no further than Turnstile’s Roadrunner Records debut, Time & Space. Blending the perfect mix of shout-along choruses, super groovy musicianship, and just the right amount of heavy to get the pit moving (thanks to Will Yip’s crisp production), the Baltimore quintet is the most exciting and unique band to emerge from the hardcore scene in years. “Generator” flows like an out-of-body experience, elevating above any and all distractions, while the fuzzy crunch of “Moon” features a guest turn from Sheer Mag’s Tina Halladay and the blistering “Right To Be” features added production from none other than Diplo. Clocking in with 13 tracks at just under a half hour, Time & Space proves that the tired ideas of what hardcore should be will not stop Turnstile from getting freaky and releasing one of the best albums of the year. [DB] Contributor Key * [CM]: Craig Manning * [JT]: Jason Tate * [AM]: Aaron Mook * [SS]: Scott Surette * [ZD]: Zac Djamoos * [DC]: Deanna Chapman * [DB]: Drew Beringer * [AG]: Adam Grundy * [GL]: Garrett Lemons * [JB]: John Bazley * [DK]: David Kallison Contributor Lists Jason Tate * Now, Now – Saved * Fickle Friends – You Are Someone Else * Fall Out Boy – Mania * Half Waif – Lavender * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Dessa – Chime * The Neighbourhood – The Neighbourhood * Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour * Natalie Prass – The Future and the Past * Pennywise – Never Gonna Die * Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer * Soccer Mommy – Clean * Spanish Love Songs – Schmaltz * Nathan Gray – Feral Hymns * Illuminati Hotties – Kiss Yr Frenemies * The Republic of Wolves – Shrine * Lykke Li – So Sad So Sexy * The Longshot – Love is For Losers * Annie-Marie – Speak Your Mind * Tonight Alive – Underworld Drew Beringer * Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer * The Wonder Years – Sister Cities * Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog * Turnstile – Time & Space * Petal – Magic Gone * Self Defense Family – Have You Considered Punk Music * Beach House – 7 * Pianos Become The Teeth – Wait For Love * Sleep – The Sciences * Tiny Moving Parts – Swell * Jeff Rosenstock – POST- * Culture Abuse – Bay Dream * Rolling Blackouts C.F. – Hope Downs * Dance Gavin Dance – Artificial Selection * Wax Idols – Happy Ending * Now, Now – Saved * Hurry – Every Little Thought * Drowse – Cold Air * Wye Oak – The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs * Anthony Green – Would You Still Be In Love Adam Grundy * Lord Huron – Vide Noir * Middle Kids – Lost Friends * The Aces – When my heart felt volcanic * CHVRCHES – Love is Dead * The Neighbourhood – S/T * Moon Taxi – Let the record play * Car Seat Headrest- Twin Fantasy * Kendrick Lamar/VA – Black panther soundtrack * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Senses Fail – If there is light… * Dashboard Confessional – Crooked Shadows * Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night sweats – Tearing at the Seams * Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino * The Voidz – Virtue * Underoath – Erase Me * Superorganism – S/T * Ben Howard – Noonday Dream * Pennywise – Never Gonna Die * Father John misty – Gods favorite customer * The Longshot – Love is for Losers Craig Manning * Caitlyn Smith – Starfire * Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour * Tenille Townes – The Living Room Worktapes * Dawes – Passwords * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Donovan Woods – Both Ways * Field Report – Summertime Songs * Brothers Osborne – Port Saint Joe * Steve Moakler – Born Ready * Dierks Bentley – The Mountain * LANCO – Hallelujah Nights * Ashley Monroe – Sparrow * Brandi Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You * Courtney Marie Andrews – May Your Kindness Remain * Parker Millsap – Other Arrangements * The Dangerous Summer – The Dangerous Summer * The Church Sisters – A Night at the Opry * Snow Patrol – Wildness * Ashley McBryde – Girl Going Nowhere * American Aquarium – Things Change Scott Surette * the wonder years — sister cities * the republic of wolves — shrine * pusha t — daytona * dance gavin dance — artificial selection * hop along — bark your head off, dog * jeff rosenstock — post- * pianos become the teeth — wait for love * turnstile — time and space * cardi b — invasion of privacy * soccer mommy — clean * jpegmafia — veteran * tiny moving parts — swell * the dangerous summer — the dangerous summer * senses fail — if there is a light, it will find you * pennywise — never gonna die Deanna Chapman * Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour * Hidden Hospitals – Liars * Marian Hill – Unusual * Caitlyn Smith – Starfire * Brothers Osborne – Port Saint Joe * The XCERTS – Hold On To Your Heart * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Hurry – Every Little Thought * Elder Brother – Stay Inside * The Longshot – Love Is for Lovers Zac Djamoos * Spanish Love Songs – Schmaltz * The Wonder Years – Sister Cities * Soccer Mommy – Clean * Animal Flag – Void Ripper * Camp Cope – How to Socialise and Make Friends * Long Neck – Will This Do * awakebutstillinbed – what people call low self-esteem… * Pianos Become the Teeth – Wait for Love * illuminati Hotties – Kiss Yr Frenemies 1 * Mighty – Mighty * The Republic of Wolves – shrine * No Thank You – All It Takes to Ruin It All * Black Foxxes – Reidi 14. Runaway Brother – New Pocket * Speak Low If You Speak Love – Nearsighted * Jeff Rosenstock – Post- * Toy Cars – Paint Brain * Late Bloomer – Waiting * Barely Civil – We Can Live Here Forever * Casey – Where I Go When I Am Sleeping Aaron Mook * Caroline Rose – LONER * Porches – The House * Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer * The Sidekicks – Happiness Hours * Pusha T – DAYTONA * Beach House – 7 * American Pleasure Club – A Whole Fucking Lifetime of This * Donovan Wolfington – Waves * Kraus – Path * Mount Eerie – Now Only Chrisanne Grise * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending * Lord Huron – Vide Noir * Florence and the Machine – High as Hope * Leon Bridges – Good Thing * David Byrne – American Utopia * Father John Misty – God’s Favorite Customer * Frank Turner – Be More Kind * The Longshot – Love is for Losers * Kate Nash – Yesterday Was Forever David Kallison * Camp Cope – How to Socialize and Make Friends * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Spanish Love Songs – Schmaltz * Sorority Noise – YNAAT * Frank Turner – Be More Kind * Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog * illuminati hotties – Kiss Yr Frenemies * Coach Phillips – Learning How To Swim EP * Pelafina – Sorry In Advance * Wonder Years – Sister Cities * Tiny Little Houses – Idiot Proverbs * The Penske File – Salvation * Childish Gambino – “This is America” single * Juice WRLD – Goodbye and Good Riddance * Pllush – Stranger to the Pain * Nahan Gray – Feral Hymns * Animal Flag – Void Ripper John Bazley * Spanish Love Songs – Schmaltz * The Wonder Years – Sister Cities * Staten – I don’t want to be alone anymore * Now, Now – Saved * Pusha T – Daytona * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Kevin Gates – Chained to the City EP * Kississippi – Sunset Blush * Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer * Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog * The HIRS Collective – Friends. Lovers. Favorites. * Jeff Rosenstock – POST- * A Will Away – Hear Again EP * J Cole – KOD * Saba – Care For Me * Tiny Moving Parts – Swell * Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel * Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy * Animal Flag – Void Ripper * Zaytoven – Trap Holizay Garrett Lemons * Underoath – Erase Me * The Wonder Years – Sister Cities * Beyonce & Jay-Z — Love Is Everything * Jeff Rosenstock – POST- * The Weeknd – My Dear Melancholy * Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy * Frank Turner – Be More Kind * Shawn Mendes – Shawn Mendes * Dashboard Confessional – Crooked Shadows * Pianos Become The Teeth – Wait For Love * The Dangerous Summer – The Dangerous Summer * Senses Fail – If There Is A Light… * The Republic of Wolves – Shrine * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour * Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer * Migos – Culture II * Now, Now – Saved * Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods * Pusha T – Daytona Ryan Gardner * The Wonder Years – Sister Cities * Spanish Love Songs – Schmaltz * Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour * Pianos Become The Teeth – Wait For Love * Now, Now – Saved * The Sidekicks – Happiness Hours * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * The Dangerous Summer – The Dangerous Summer * Underoath – Erase Me * Turnstile – Time & Space * Soccer Mommy – Clean * Harms Way – Posthuman Tommy Monroe * Pusha T – Daytona * Anne-Marie – Speak Your Mind * Charlie Puth – Voicenotes * Cozz – Effected * First Aid Kit – Ruins * Vance Joy – Nation Of Two * Princess Nokia – A Girl Cried Red * Fall Out Boy – Mania * Camila Cabello – CAMILA * Jay Rock – Redemption * Beyoncé & Jay-Z – Everything Is Love * Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer * Cardi B – Invasion Of Privacy * Royce da 5’9 – Book Of Ryan * Migos – culture 2 * J. Cole – KOD * The Dangerous Summer – The Dangerous Summer * Julie Bergan – Turn On The Lights * Kids See Ghosts – KIDS SEE GHOSTS * Kanye West – Ye Aj LaGambina * Now, Now – Saved * Pianos Become The Teeth – Wait for Love * Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour * Animal Flag – Void Ripper * Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Jeff Rosenstock – Post- * Tiny Moving Parts – Swell * Fall Out Boy – Mania * MGMT – Little Dark Age Eric Wilson * Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour * Brian Fallon – Sleepwalkers * Mayday Parade – Sunnyland * Camila Cabello – Camila * Mike Shinoda – Post Traumatic * Fall Out Boy – MANIA * Mat Kearney – Crazytalk * Dashboard Confessional – Crooked Shadows * Tonight Alive – Underworld * State Champs – Living Proof --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/features/articles/the-top-albums-of-2018-so-far/

[sunnedberry]

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So you shut leader discovered that you do you say leadership for dictatorship and you can’t tell the difference a Awesome Rap Legends Ain’t Nothin’ But A Christmas Party Ugly shirt country is running its economy around this is the grass will LSI to tell the difference you should be commander in chief Donald Say All These Business Dealings with Russia Those Could Be Disclosed with Tax Returns but They Refused to Americans Need to Worry about Whether Donald Trump Will Be Watching out for America’s Bottom Line Here Is on the Line Wrong Russia. But if you know like a famous person walk as you know dat that somebody else is a mere distraction for Lotta people but also a target well which was really scary looking next to do comes at me with a bucket to shaverand the ghost cameand we gotta shave your groin in order to go through your your heart that I the doctor does it nothing really because yes we are shaver great so can you take off your Georgeand so I got my jeans mind around because I’m terrified of dying number one second biggest fear right behind dying anyone seeing my dick why my family like the doctor who delivered me a way to hide this my whole life with the same woman for 14 years he’s never seen my dad for my wifeand I wear my shirt into the showerand so I’m sure everyone is gone take it off. 50 was alive to tell the storyand they they was very cinematic good point that should I have the person who did to 50 movie or Eminem movie do these movies because those are condo adding to a biotic in the beginning a career experience crazy elevated their Tupac movie was good for VH1’sand maybe one of the Nefertiti at her now they deserve to Tupac is too big to just go to Keith okay he has to go to the movies no JT was going to death row East now that GG there’s something deeper to that store if you watch certain interviews he wasn’t going to go that way that’s what they say in the movieand he cannot get a interview with MTV talking about death row easy still supported show got my jail he was just like Fox showed he was just I want to do my own thing but he still supported show night up until his death because shitand I got out of jail should not kid got him out of jail cell courses can distill rep death row easy maybe plans on reading he still had a rep death really skittish of that is the reason you got out in jail that’s that was major for he could make bail in each of next get jail so that was important now wasn’t garbage well degree dollars now that like especially 57 has a personal problem in LT Hutton because the BNF rights of the movieand healthy hot incessant things by 50and jaded pink it was just saying that those certain things that happened but they did have a special bondageand they had to show that in the movie so they had to show certain things in the movie to show that they had that bond to get that through to the watch I mean you only have two hours 20 minutes to tell a story that a guy that recorded 11 movies seven albums I 15 albums after his death still coming as a Discover corded 21 ounce while he was alive with the material 21 albums 11 movies that’s crazy guys okay they had I had been down much work accomplished a lotand that’s hard to tell in two hours 20 minutes trust me nobody will ever live is to but no matter who plays in the movie you’re right but the guy did the lever he delivered he delivered was given that the two most powerful characters Tupac’s mother does the two most topicsand the government think it was pretty good to I can outlaws were in the movie they were actually in the movie after that was dealt with actually played themselves 11 movies fighting apples he was an 11 movies that’s crazy right I just looked it up 11 movies he did at least 11 they said I think they’re talking all of the seven movies for real it is 11 because they added a few that were documentaries can count those was a seven movies still has a lot of movies she looked like JR she looks similar to jaded I like a girl played Angie Martinez on but that Lewis lost Tupac mom had was on LT Hutton showed talked as sure as a confusing thing but it’s none of our business at this point in our main Pok was in the budget he did I get a lot of trouble but he was also a martyr man because he made easier for rappers to come out today you knowand do is say whatever they wanted was a lot of restrictions back in the day against rappers I mean if you I don’t I didn’t really understand that I was too young like I was super super young back then but you know if you watch footage on YouTube you’ll see that you it was very hard for rappers back then 64 faith know about that bro they made snoop look like a little patient yes to this new character was kinda bad I didn’t like that character in the movie he was in the movie nothing but trouble all he was in the movie nothing but trouble okay I checked out one at a heavier Torres Benny bones a good director two live crew new movie I agree I want to see a death row movie I’ll be sick to made a list in the movie Julia I was sick using the movie to blue da Vinci was in the yard blue da Vinci was I in the jail play character in the jail with’s new voice yes just lights new bright like it is to find his voice to the movie Ike is 70 is crazy is it true they dubs new voiceover they had to man because in the you write toand sounded just like they had to dove his voice in the movie Jonathan PMI appreciated mass I appreciate it bro two short intervals are yeah can’t wait to watch this weekand wanted pastor got to watch the movie gotta watch the movie this weekand guys it’s good Jonathan PM said salute JT keep pushing forwardand putting a consistent quality content doing your own thing no matter what obstacles to hold you down I appreciate that Johnand I appreciate you pushing forward as I know you be going through a lot tooand I appreciate you still tuning inand donating when you can your amazing broad percent activity outside Jay Z dazzlingand have to have a movie I make my miscast done so much man not his cannot have a movie I want Jasper stopped on the rated the dark on completely in the dark just looks dark Rockefeller need a movie night average as soon they done 500 600 block six Jasper if you don’t stop for Dakota G unit out of G unit needs move area 50 movie so your honest opinion movie was good it was good it was an amazingand it wasn’t bad I would say I want to can it was seven I given a seven Wu Tang Clan definitely needs a movie Mike Powell Carlos Corey shattered a few niche occur for giving us Tupac I should deftly not have a biotic that I should write a book on my life will be interesting for myself this document didn’t do a lot have a think about a white boy going to the hood very very different like Dominique Jones I didn’t cheat on my writing needs snacks at the movie theater but I did eat chicken wings today after the movie series is hello Jasper just little psychology will likely commit Jasper says what up guys Jasper says what up they would just say what okay Google is a both sound Jasper said’s corner if there’s any food appears to be wondering right Jasper right you will see what up boy Jasper say what you decided to follow wasn’t about the JT did you cry what type of most is the movie to give you a guy here at one point when he got convicted to jail that I was to how does that need this even pop up you know soon Wolverine Logan movie juices playing now I had to check that out Callie West Chapel needs movie got your crazy the movie was pretty fire I agree with youand looking at a good seven good seven is is the park movie better than an DUI now it’s notand FBI movie was almost perfect I was a good movie good feeling in a movie man would you like to see NTI movie now I’m good on the TM C a TM I like seeing outcasts biotic on television I’ll be cool 50 movie was goodand other that is Jack Russell a big pond movie he lived enough life movie Jay Z movie will be snoop need a movie to snoop definitely does the movie Dr Dre needs a movie I’d say like from the point where NWA he breaks off from thatand has listings of death row then does his record label aftermath I’ll be crazy you know guys will meand I’m radical beyond give you another review tomorrow he watched it today so we will getting more into this tomorrow so make sure you tune in tomorrow appreciate you guys appreciate everythingand I die of the S have a greatand safe nightand I will see that’s tomorrow to drop more videos tomorrow appreciate you guys have a great night checking my Hey guys was going on the sincere with who is sincere

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3 ounce paint on this but rains pretty easily on this bike without much concernand on the same position isn’t overly harsh over like a Awesome Rap Legends Ain’t Nothin’ But A Christmas Party Ugly shirt lot of more performance focused bikes are great like this yellow strain on your ear resting on the restraining arrested upright not present a problem on the neonatal have when production I you really forward into the wind just a little bitand so that does mean that they don’t feel like you’re cussing holding onto the bars 70 or 80 miles an hour just to stay onand that Questar areas windshields available for the bikes so you a lot highway writing speed there’s a way to set I personally thought this bike anyone the first things I would do is probably an exhaustand intake I think that’s a precognitive evil to say that on this bike the character the engine in stock form is a little too sedate for the capabilities of the chassis when he met is that I think this chassis would really benefit from a lot of more rambunctious more red hot motorand there’s many ways to do that with the sportster Odyssey I usually like the hoteland build celebrity SR 1200 had in this chassis that motor be a really good fit personality wise for the chassis is now everything else is been upgraded performance lies like the suspensionand the brakes I think that the bike could really use a little bit extra grunt from the motor little more sound obviously I but also just a little more of a red happy nature so I just need a bike feel that more likely exhaustand intake unitsand goes a long way towards that sustainedand upgrade by a distaste to it some more star focus can so all in all I deathly recommend this for anybody looking for performance focused on I classic style bike I it’s it’s a really good option for that market I knew only hesitation I would have been recommending is if you do a lot highway writing it does have 5 feet is not to buddy out on the highway provided to stay in the low 80 miles an hour you’re trying to fasten I regularly get an ability to decide sustained speed onand then I say it does have a pretty healthy so if you’re just starting out it might not be the best bike to start with as it is I 500 poundsand is quite a policy so if it’s your first bike MS your tall guy or falling out I would recommend potentially starting somewhere else but that that’s just one word of caution it is your first bike view mirrorand mine is a day on the tall side item to see Lisa that Harley in the rest of the motorcycle market is not a particularly called bikes upand I don’t want to scare you away from that but definitely only use it to check one out I sit on itand make sure that you feel like it’s comfortable for you because is one thing that most of the feeling of sportster’ Guys now leave I hear you from the oldest largestand finest leadership in the greater Los Angeles area labor laws Harley Davidson so easily popular model so maybe doing a review etc. Everything I taint over the pain over the course of my career a lot more because nothing was handed to me I just hold that thought for a moment only hear from our sponsorand pain else I know this went mentioned before break time within the greatest earbuds ever been beautiful this week I write make a great on they shot you wireless earbuds right the other copy but these are the real deal I’m telling you you opened up the case is a beautifully bluish tasting a jet yelling next allusions really. I Said I See A Lot Of People Who down like Gannett Feel Attacked by the Fact That They Haven’t Experienced It When They Want to Say My Life Is Hard to Write so I Guess Okay I Have a Conservative Girl Friendand See Not Go from a Girl That Is the Day I Used It As a Way to See the Sea Psych Was like Crying in a Way like Now like You Don’t Understand like We Had Said Sweetlyand I Had to Raise the Sisters We Were Poor We Anything I Had to Live Myself up I Played Sports to Get the Call Is likeand All That One Plane Is Just a Way You Had Opportunities Family Were Had Such a Bad Place Where Our Grandparents Had to Sell 2 Acres of Our Farm That the Teaching Day of Life Are Likely to Verify a Case Was Mostly Foeand a Mule As It Will Mean like I like You Don’t Understand I like like My Friends Are Banks Grandparents May Not Ever Be in a Placeand They Could Do yet See Other related products: Raise Your Hand If You're Tired Of Everything Silhouette Funny T Shirt

[discoveryranchforgirls]

no offense but your 'right' to horde money is always secondary to someone's right to life (like. access to necessary resources) and i don't understand why that is an argument. your excess or desire for excess is not more important than ensuring everyone has access to necessities! 1) there are absolutely enough resources to go around and if you feel there is not, blame the super rich for hoarding them and not the poor for needing them. 2) ok u want ur liberty to not have to help other people or whatever. you have a flawed definition of liberty tho it's very American of you to say that. but consider: if you are upset about your liberty being infringed upon by. something like having to pay more taxes bc the government wants to provide easier and better access to healthcare for more people. your liberty is literally hinging on other people's lives. also. people that do not have good and easy access to resources don't have. what you see as liberty. before you can have liberty you must be able to live. (live well, like if u are poor and alive ur still alive so its necessary to make that distinction its just to note that when i say live i mean live comfortably. ) (and not just bc u are used to the status quo but bc u are able to get what you need when you need it and its not a luxury to do things like get regular check ups and eat salad) so you can talk about liberty but don't pretend like it is anything but selfish. you want what you think of liberty for yourself and not anyone else except who you personally deem eligible. you deny basic necessities to others so that you can live in excess. think of jt this way: you have 10 gallons of water. this is more than enough to last you until you are able to get more water. someone else has no water. the government tells you to share so that the other person will not die of dehydration. you refuse. they die. maybe you refused bc u care more about having stuff than people's lives or u refused bc u are perhaps concerned that there is not going to be enough to go around so you have to keep more than you need in case you are suddenly unable to obtain it with the same ease as earlier. in this case, you need merely to look over and see another person who has thousands of gallons of water. you may look at them and be impressed and want to be like them which is understandable bc we are taught to value excess and aspire to it more than we are taught to value human lives especially when we do not have an emotional investment in the specific lives. (we are also taught to value things above relationships so im saying this under the assumption most people have a small circle of people that they really care about and love) (we re taughto value ppwer over other people more than we are taught to value people as individuals even as they do not effect us on a level we percieve) but the important thing is. that person has more. you know there is a limited supply of the water you want (probably clean and drinkable) you know that that person has more water than they will ever need. recognize that they are the reason why you feel uncomfortable sharing your excess with those who have nothing. (((kill them, steal their water, redistribute))) ok. now you have addressed why the inequality in resource distribution exists. (well the person with nothing should've worked harder. ok um. using that logic. why do you not also have thousands of gallons of water? you obviously don't think you are a lazy mooch so why would you think that about someone with less than you?) you also know that bc of that, you feel safer the more water you have. ok yes now. why do you feel safer? bc water is a limited resource and you know another person has more (a larger fraction of the available resource) which makes less water available to you. this encourages you to collect and keep as much water as you can so you can feel secure in knowing you have and are going to have enough water to sustain yourself. it encourages you to experience a certain level of insecurity about your access to the water which makes you concerned about sharing your water resources with anyone else so you can be sure you will have water for you that fear, especially bc it is surrounding a scarce(limited) resource that is vital to your survival. especially bc (even though you don't know the exact fraction) you know that the other person has a much larger amount of water than they will need (likely more than they will use) and of that they are restricting the ability of others to access water at that moment and in the future. you recognize that this person holds a lot of power bc they have so much water. they can easily manipulate people who need and want more water to do their bidding in exchange for water either in order to survive or in order to own a large amount of the water for themself. to do anything. people that have no water are the most in need and so the most vulnerable and easily exploited. offering people in dire situations tiny barely liveable amounts of water in exchange for any kind or amount of labor for any duration does work and is easy for those who have extreme excess. they lose nothing of any significance and gain whatever product of the labor they forced the needy to perform. it is easy to view this problem in extremes, understanding how the super rich exploit the super poor (almost self explanatory how this system is perpetuated. will explain later tho) for whatever. but this sort of analysis, while good for illustrating the worst parts of resource hoarding neglects to provide an analysis of those in the middle. that is most people. being unable to empathize with those who have less than you is a symptom of this system(will detail later to be clear) and also serves to perpetuate it. (how it started is a different story but very briefly and in the vaguest way possible ot started the same way anything ever starts. entropy. but that's a little too astronomical and abstract for this explanation) this is one way this system affects the middle class. the relationship dynamic just described also explains the relationship of the upper class to the middle class. the upper class views the middle class in a similar way. 'those people should work harder to get where i am' 'im not worried about what they need bc i have what i want etc etc etc. this (flawed)logic is completely thrown out the wealthier someone gets. they just keep hoarding (maybe as a symbol of power and dominance, and also as just a conditioned habit. that's what u do that's wjat everyone does etc etc) this perspective however is not  as harmful when only applied to the middle classes bc they are not in dire need.  the middle classes dont have necessarily exorbitant amounts (although certainly to those with nothing the accumaltion of resources even a little beyond a liveable amount seems exorbitant and an act of gluttony and selfishness) (explaining the use of 'necessarily' and meaning of exorbitant in context) but they are not struggling to obtain vital resources either. their interest in accumulating more of a resource is either a product of feeling insecure in their position in society that determines their access to resources, a product of the idea more=better (this translates various ways. more=better. ok why do people want power what's the point. they get more resources and more security.) or just kind of a robotic motion people do and aspire to just bc. that's considered good and normal or whatever(i think this is just a practical example of those effects though) so often times it is ignored by those fighting for people with nothing. ((thats not to say this SHOULD have these effects it just does.)) which makes people in tje middle class feel left out and potentially unsure/insecure of their access to resources if/when the changes to allow people with nothing access to even some resources will change and how that change will ultimately affect them and their resources. (ideally this wouldnt be an issue and people would just agree to not let others die of preventable things but bc of society being the way it is this is what happens) (and i think acknowledging the struggles although relatively insignificant compared to what lower class people experience is a good way to support and encourage more people to support the revolution)( I don't think it SHOULD be something that needs to be explained in order for people to support the revolution but i think that it is needed) (also i fully fully recognize my privilege in being able to write this in hopes of convincing the middle class to be a part of this instead of being in a position where the only way i can get timely access to resources is by less carefulor even more forceful forms of convincing those with excess to give it up so that others can simply live) (anyway we have to explain how the revolution will affect the middle class) so. a lot of the resistance a middle class person feels when asked to give up their excess is due to the upper class and mega wealthy possessing and being able to access an incredibly larger percentage of any resource at anytime with very little fear that they will have that privilege revoked. the middle class is taught by the economic structure that that is the most efficient and secure way to be (essentially. selfish. unwilling to give up their excess to those with none) and they should strive to keep that status and position either in fear and anticipation of a change or with the desire to become more powerful. (power=access to resources) (creates hierarchies bc of demand) (someone owns all or a lot of a particular resource (always the super rich, a minority) and is able to sell it at any cost) in this way middle class feelings of insecurity are created by the super rich. (feelings of insecurity include the desire to be more powerful (u worry you aren't powerful enough etc)) much of that insecurity manifests in rage towards the people begging and bc they are so worried about protecting their OWN resources rather than recognizing even looking for or considering the reason why there are people with nothing which is that scarcity is manufactured by the rich hoarding. they become angry and resentful towards the beggars and choose and are taught to see the beggars as unequal/inhuman/undeserving of (at the most basic level: life) simply even the same treatment, respect and access to resources (vital and luxury) that the middle class has so that the middle class can protect their resources from being taken (ultimately) and focus on that instead of figuring out a solution to the issue and understanding the source. this perpetuates the system as it is and so perpetuates manufactured scarcity of vital resources which directly causes the death of many people. it is selfish ok yes and horrible im not calling you horrible I'm just trying to find a solution and create a better life for everyone. it's not the beggars fault u feel the need to hoard resources as much as you can it's not your fault you think like this  but it is your fault you act on those thoughts and it is your responsibility to work to change it. and yeah it isn't fair you have to deal with a problem you had 0 part in creating but look. people are dying bc of that and if you refuse to help change the system you are allowing and contributing to their deaths. if all of the unnecessary deaths caused by manufactured scarcity could be evaluated by what percentage of their death was caused by the rich and middle classes, the rich would play a bigger part obvioisly than the middle class. this is not about who causes the most harm but about the fact that there is harm being caused. and the more members of the middle class willing to help lessen the amount of harm they do helps (concretely: directly saves lives) (abstract: contributes to revolution// revolutionary atmosphere/ acceptance/ understanding/exposure etc etc) firstly to save lives and secondly to take steps to begin to put a system in place which will ensure that people are not dying bc they can't get food or water or health care. and so working to create a more equal and sustainable and harmonic society. all around better. and by better i mean does the least amount of harm.

[survivorjunk]

SPOILERr/survivorGame Changers Survivor: Game Changers | Episode 2 | Post-Episode Discussion

DaTigerManKeith • 15h Can we agree that Newku is one of the top 10 tribes of all time?

156 jacka21Malcolm • 15h TOP FIVE BABY

89 eyeslikestarlightMalcolm • 14h Honestly, like…Malcolm, Aubry, Michaela, Jeff Varner, Sandra, and J.T. on a tribe together…this could be my new favorite tribe ever.

92 jusper10Malcolm • 15h The goat scene was probably my favorite non-game moment in a long time. So much suspense and a happy ending.

264 insanity-insightHali • 15h And I think it had real game ramifications, because it ostracized Sandra from the group and ingratiated JT

203 QueenParvatiCydney • 15h Yeah, honestly a crazy bad move on Sandra’s part. Good on baby-goat-protector JT. It made me love him even more ❤

121 IanicRRMalcolm • 15h He’s the one whose a cattle rancher and he wouldn’t do it. Sandra should have picked up some social hints with that and backed way off.

77 TheDemonicEmperorSandra • 14h Did it really? The whole time it was “we have to do this because Sandra wants it”. Looked to me it was more to showcase how much she was running the showing on Nuku.

11 insanity-insightHali • 13h I’d say from an edit standpoint, we had JT and Malcolm set up as very sympathetic - they understood the hunger but they repeatedly talked about having a conscience and not being able to kill a baby goat. Then you had Sandra set up as the opposing force, demanding they kill the goat when the other 5 tribe members made fairly clear they didn’t want to kill it.

They also ultimately overruled Sandra and let the goats free, so it’s not a perfect example of her running the show. I think this is continuing last week’s trend of building up a pretty starkly negative villain vibe for Sandra, which they need to do to make her eventual boot dramatic. So in that way, I think it could serve to show her power in the tribe, in sort of a cruel dictator type way.

12 wayward_sunMalcolm • 15h I was SO stressed about that scene. And like…I’m not a vegetarian, I have no right to be that upset about that. But I thought I was going to cry.

52 doctordeviceSandra • 12h What you felt is probably what all of them sans Sandra were feeling​. “I would totally eat a goat, but there is no way in hell I’m going to either kill a baby or leave a baby orphaned and eat its mother.” Sandra just didn’t get past the first clause.

10

JankinatorSandra • 15h I love, love, love the goat scene. A camplife/character building scene in modern Survivor is more than welcome. Also…#CrotchIdol

313 Andy51Aubry • 15h right? No strategy talk, no challenges, just good old fashion Americans trying to live on an island

118

ILOVEBOPITSandra • 15h I like how it has a lot of old school players on that tribe too, like Jeff, Sandra, and JT (relatively). Very natural to see them doing such things.

65

BenBishopsButtJ.T. • 15h OOOOH JT VERSUS SANDRA!

91 Adam_and_JaySandra • 15h Winner vs Winner Round 2

82

Harrypotter12335Malcolm • 15h The second winners battle of the season!!!! i’m rooting for Jt this time

18 6661llum1n471Tony • 13h Go JT! He won me over by saving goats and stranding the tribe at sea.

7

CydneyGSierra • 15h Tai is probably the worst possible ally that you can have in survivor.

328 JankinatorSandra • 15h I think based off this episode and his Kaoh Rong performance that Tai is easily manipulated. As long as you have those skills, he’s a good ally.

EDIT: Also want to note that Tai’s crisis of conscience could be overblown by the edit and he was savvy enough to go along with the boot and not make a fuss. But he had two very different views of voting out Caleb in this episode, one of which sounds like he was repeating Brad.

81 Penguana7J.T. • 15h Until someone else manipulates him and he votes you out

49 buckdiddySandra • 15h His move was smart in one respect because now he doesn’t have that liability of being associated as a power duo.

21 1rj800Jenn • 15h Didn’t he know he didn’t have a choice?. Wouldn’t everyone else have voted Caleb anyways?

9 victorthepenguinCirie • 15h This is what I’m thinking. If he were to vote Hali Brad, Sierra and Debbie would doubt on their trust of him. This is a way to tell the majority alliance that you can be trusted. He really didn’t have a choice.

11

VncntdlSandra • 15h OK, but Tai made the absolutely best call for his own game.

42 trained_badassMalcolm • 15h I don’t think so. Caleb was going to be loyal to him, and on a 6 person tribe, 2 votes is huge. It seemed like Tai had decent relationships with everyone else as well, like Brad. Only time will tell, but I don’t think he made the right decision.

83 katieorpennerCirie • 15h I think he made a good recovery but not necessarily a good move. As soon as he started emphasizing the friendship between him and Caleb, he pretty much sank Caleb’s chances of staying.

33

OddUsBushCowsKissJ.T. • 15h Good moments like the goat killing debate happens when there’s no reward challenge. I’d be down for less challenges if it means more character moments!

34

PiomboPatronMalcolm • 15h Honestly, I was won over when Brad admitted to loving decorating. I had a completely different perception of him in BvW, and now I’m kinda glad he’s on this season, tbh.

He really is a skillful player.

29

samspopguyWentworth • 15h Should have voted Debbie

63 eyeslikestarlightMalcolm • 14h This is what I was really hoping for.

10

luckyarianeMichaela • 15h I loved seeing the tribe’s reaction to finding the blue camp decorated, and THEN finding out it was Brad who did the decorating. So delightfully unexpected.

39

MarkRosewaterVarner • 15h Brad is a definite frontrunner for this game. He’s explaining his moves, he clearly improved so much from Blood vs Water, and he is showing good social game.

15

Harrypotter12335Malcolm • 15h SO happy JT lived. I need him to stay. next week is promising though. Malcolm and JT would be amazing.

13

uppity_chuckleheadMalcolm • 15h This episode could not have gone any better, even including the preview (JT and Malcolm? YES PLEASE)

10

[annabelharmony]

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You: does she use tounge?

Stranger: a lot of people here say no

Stranger: and no but i wish she did

You: haha you might just be fooling urself

Stranger: so like

Stranger: the other day i had to go to the post office and mom told me to throw all my

Stranger: clothes in the wash when i got home

Stranger: then to shower

Stranger: so i did and i normally always have pants on because i don’t like walking in just boxers so i ran quickly to the bathroom

Stranger: and she was in there and i’m in my underwear and she’s cleaning, i told her i had to get in and i got hard bc she was wearing no bra with a loose shirt :(

Stranger: she kept bumping against me as she left and it made me harder and she kept looking at jt

You: how old is she just wondering

Stranger: like 39

You: um ok

Stranger: looks like 32

You: can you do me a favor

Stranger: yes

You: please for the love of god go on dr phil

Stranger: lmao no

You: so i can say my bff from omegle is on dr phil after he tried to fuck his mom

You: has she ever explicity said anything weird

Stranger: she does enough to make me think, too little to confirm it. yesterday i went to the bathroom when she walked in and i said “i can’t pee when your in here” and turned around enough so she could see my dick and she said “when i was a baby i saw your pp all the time and you

Stranger: peed all over me!”

Stranger: so i laughed and hugged her :(

You: BRO WTF

You: THAT IS SO UNBELIEVABLY UNPROBLEMATIC

Stranger: :(

You: PROBLEMATIC

You: ok that would be a nice story if she wasnt literaly your mom

Stranger: :( can i say it’s my step mom

Stranger: would you feel beyter

You: yes i would

Stranger: so we are talking about my step mom who does this what do i do to be able to get further?

You: just get her pregnant and youll be the father of your half sibling

You: um well like to seduce her

You: or just in general

Stranger: yeah

Stranger: just like

Stranger: i want to know

Stranger: if she wants what i want

Stranger: without ruining everything

Stranger: i give her kisses but even if i don’t pull away she pulls away first

You: walk in when shes changing and dont leave

You: ok so i saw this thing on dr phil right

You: Well I saw two things

You: One was a mother in law and her daughters husband

Stranger: it’s like she’ll ask me to leave if she’s changing, but if she’s peeing in the room i she stands up and wipes in front of me and shows her pussy

You: then dont leave and wait for her to make a move on you

You: youve seen her pussy?

Stranger: yes but like she doesn’t like

Stranger: idk

You: ok so basically the mom walked in while he was jacking off

You: and then she jacked him off so if you want that ig you could try that??

Stranger: but i can’t just let her catch me jacking off what if she got embarassed

You: does she masturbate?

Stranger: she fucks my dad srill

Stranger: still

You: ok then show up right after they finish

You: while shes still naked but hes out of the room

Stranger: thays the problem. i can’t really do that.

Stranger: so i know they fuck when they say goodnight then get up to go to the bsthroom

Stranger: because they have to get ready for bed after they fuck

Stranger: but they say goodnight before then and lock their dolf

Stranger: door

You: well have her walk in on you right

You: and make direct eye contact

You: whats the best advice youve gotten so far i just wanna know

Stranger: well like. when i use the bathroom when she’s in there i’ll show it off and masturbate a little and tell her i’m having trouble prring

Stranger: peeing

You: oh ok

You: has anyone given you any good ideas

Stranger: that was a good idea i thought

Stranger: i haven’t done that much yet

Stranger: but i want to more

Stranger: ohh there’s one more

Stranger: when i get sick and i’m all alone with her i want to call for her in the bathroom if i take a shower or tub

Stranger: and tell her i feel ike i’m gonna be sick

Stranger: and show my hard cock

You: haha ok

Stranger: i’ve been walking around hard and pushing it against her when i can

Stranger: hugs from behind and kisses on the lips

Stranger: and she’s been wearing bras where her nipples fall out lots

You: I really like you but idk what to tell you

Stranger: and like the other night we watched tv and she put her legs on top of me and rested one on my crotch but didn’t make it obvious. if it happens again i’ll press her feet down on it

Stranger: you like me?? but i’m weird as fuck

You: your problem is so fucking specific

Stranger: hahaha

You: no i dont like you like you

You: I think your a good person

Stranger: what makes you say that?

You: But idk if I should be helping you by preventing you from doing this

You: Or give you ideas?

Stranger: give me ideas

You: idk you seem nice

Stranger: right now i’m sitting on my bed with a hard cock just thinking about it. talking about it helps relieve some of the stresss

You: like youre horny as fuck but not as much as some other people

Stranger: like i’m i circumsised right? and i think my mum likes it thay was since she was the one who decided

Stranger: un^*

You: ok

Stranger: so when i show her when i’m soft i think she actually enjoys it

You: so i have a question about like circumcised and that stuff

Stranger: and like when i take the head out it’s super sensitive and i just want my step mommy to give me kisses there :(

Stranger: yes please!

You: i feel like circumsising your cocks like a religous thing right?

You: like its not as common

Stranger: exactly yes

Stranger: mostly common in jews but for some reason most americans do it

You: are you a jew?

Stranger: they think it looks better but i love the way it feels and looks

Stranger: nope because i am uncircumsized

You: wait but like

Stranger: jews are the ones who circumsise

You: this shits so confusing

You: ok i feel like circumsised penises look more normal??

Stranger: hahah yeah a bit, my mommy didn’t want any chances of it going wrong and hurting my dick

You: is that just my opinion ive seen that more

You: she wont hurt your dick

Stranger: i like am so horny talking to you it’s crazy i’m sorry

Stranger: circumsised dudes normally have a super sensitive tip, because the skin goes over the heads

Stranger: head

You: oh wait is it bc guys normally jack off and then we the head

Stranger: if i pull my skin back, it looks the exact same as a circumsised one

You: idk bro it shouldnt matter but ive been really confused

You: yeah that makes sense

Stranger: it’s ok, if you love someone it doesn’t matter the size of their tits dick the shape of their cock or vag it’s all normal

Stranger: you know?

You: are you insecure about yours or smth

Stranger: not at all, there’s things that make it not very normal but i like it

Stranger: like when i’m hard it’s curved upward, a lot of dicks do it’s not perfectly straight

Stranger: and i have foreskin which a lot of guys don’t hahe

Stranger: but it makes it more special i guess thinking someone would wanna give my pp kisses regardless of how it looks

You: yeah girls literaly have no prefrence of it

You: they dont care

You: well

Stranger: as long as it’s clean and nice and smells good it’s fine :)

Stranger: i shave because i like the way it feels

You: i was talking to a guy earlier whos complaining about his gf not liking his big dick

You: wait was that about vaginas

Stranger: i’m 6-7 is that too big too small or average?

You: average i think

Stranger: that’s good :) i have a thick cock too

Stranger: it looks nice is what i’m saying

You: thats good

Stranger: i like romance

Stranger: a fon

Stranger: ton

Stranger: i’d get so turned on my cuddling and small soft kisses

You: i dont really think thats a guys thing

Stranger: when my mom wakes me up in the morning i wrap my arms around her and kiss her and pull her on top of me

Stranger: then she gets up

You: um ok thats nice

Stranger: step mom

Stranger: what do you like

Stranger: are you a virgin?

Stranger: i am

You: yeah obviously

Stranger: hmm what size titties do you have?

Stranger: you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortsbld

Stranger: i just like imagining

Stranger: thay maybe someone like you was here next to me

You: idk what do you think

You: oh well i guess you wouldnt know

Stranger: haha i’ll give a guess uhh B cup

You: yeah thats right actually

You: but sometimes they get a little bigger

Stranger: i’m 180 pounds 6’2 i’m 6-7 inches long i’m white with blackish hair thay is parted in the middle and people tell me i have a nice smir

Stranger: smile

You: haha ok thank you

Stranger: haha :)

Stranger: do you think it’s wrong for me to wanna start showing my pp to my mommy

You: yes

You: but i still accept you

Stranger: tank you :))

You: haha ur welcome

Stranger: hey i think you’re cute. i don’t know you very well but since i’m talking to you i want you to know if you were here i’d snuggle with you and kiss your titties <3

You: i didnt like you that much till i found out your hairs parted in the middle

You: aw ok

Stranger: my pp wants kisses :(

You: hey i have to go in a sec

You: if you wanna keep talking you can give your snap or smth

You: but if you dont want to its fine

Stranger: i have terrible anxiety and i told you i wanted to like do things with my mommy :( i would so give you it but i’ve probably already fucked myself

You: wdym

Stranger: like you said it’s illegal to fuck my mom

Stranger: and i told you i was gonna tru my best to

You: jesus i wont tell anybody

You: but i swear if you dont to its fine

You: *dont want to

You: you still there?

Stranger: yes sorry

Stranger: ;-; i just don’t know

You: ok i literaly have to go now

Stranger: i’m dorry

Stranger: sory

Stranger: <3 thanks for taking wit me

You: ok i hope you end up alright

You: see ya

Stranger: same to you thanks for being super understanding and helpful to talk to

Stranger: hoenstly

Stranger: made my heart happy

Stranger: <3 <3

[theblondegoesabroad]

Day 91 and 92

Monday 19th August and Tuesday 20th August 2019

The last few days have consisted of a heap of travelling. The not so fun kind. For Jamie, it was thousands of kms in a plane and for Benoit and I, it was about the same amount of kms by car – well it felt like it. We arrived in our respective homes at around the same time which is absolutely crazy. I for one am 100% over driving, I don’t think I have driven for that long before in my life (because Benoit needed to study I was the driver from Madrid to Home) and no longer want to even look at the car for at least a few days! It was hard dropping Jamie off at the airport, it was so cool to have him in this hemisphere with me and I am going to miss him and his crazy energy a lot!

Here are some numbers; 6555km driven, 5700 euros spent, 2716 photos taken by yours truely, 666 times Jamie described something as ‘sick as fuck’ – which rapidly declined when we started calling him out on it, 510km walked – each!, 350 incredible tunnels driven through, 210L of water drunk, 130 flights of steps climbed – each!, 101 aperol spritz’s drunk, 99 times that we listened to our unofficial roadtrip song, 50 photos that Jamie probably took, 30 incredible days, 21 years old - the birthday present that got this thing started, 18 incredible destinations we stayed at, 11 hours of me singing on the way back to Belgium, 7 pairs of sunglasses bought (2 lost – both by Benoit), 6 countries visited, 5 languages ‘used’,  4 Toyota Hilux utes spotted, 3 now tanned humans, 2 minor collisions* and 1 promise – to do it all again as soon as we can.

Here’s what I can’t quantify; the constant smiles on our faces, the laughs we had, the incredible amount of bad jokes, the amazement of what we saw each day, the excitement that was absolutely fizzing through Jamie at every new destination we saw, the strengthen bond between us all and the memories that we will have from now on. I won’t go over everything we did and every place we stopped because after what we saw, it would take way too much time and hopefully you have already read about it on the previous blogs. But to sum it up; we had the experience of a lifetime. Three best friends travel Europe on a summer roadtrip. Sounds like a synopsis of an average American movie (that I (and Jamie) would probably watch)! But it was. It was a dream. It was an unforgettable experience. It was exquisite.

I like to think we have seen some pretty incredible things. I asked the boys for their highlights of the trip. Benoits main highlight was our night we spent camping in the beautiful Switzerland, we had the perfect set up, hammocks, a view and some beers. The tiny streets of the swiss towns (one that was like a 45 degree angle, one way and only just big enough for us to fit through), the incredible views we got driving through the swiss alps, the mountains, the fresh air and the overall cleanliness of Switzerland. Another was the open-air concert we went to in Norcia, Italy, our favourite band, hardly any people there, 2m from the stage, the sun setting behind them and a vibe like no other. Plus it was cheap as chips!

For Jamie; he had a few. Which is good news. Some that were up there was the view we got of Paris when we were exhausted after a day of walking around, we climbed for what felt like hours up to the Sacre Coeur and got the incredible view from the top; it was rewarding and breathtaking. Another was seeing Gaudi’s works, the incredible architecture of the Sagrada Familia, which makes you marvel the building and feel incredibly humbled. But for him, the main one was the excitement of arriving in Europe, walking through the airport gates, a goofy grin (probably some relief that he got on the right plane) and seeing Benoit and I, the promise of an amazing month to come, the unimaginable reality that was about to happen, ‘the moment before it all starts’.

For me, it’s difficult to pinpoint a highlight, I have so many good memories, I feel so lucky to have experienced all of them with my two favourite boys. It was honestly incredible to share it with them. I loved Italy, the history, the small towns, the landscapes, the fiats but I have always loved Italy so that was not a surprise. I also loved the food in Italy, I don’t think I have eaten so much gelato and pizza in my life and I am completely happy about that. But if I really had to choose, I think it would be when we stopped in Reims, found the place that Mum, Dad and I went to get dinner and a despos at and did the same. In the moment, we were hot, sweaty, tired, sick of driving and still needing to get to Paris, really just needing a large glass of ice water but looking back it was a full-circle moment, and pretty special. I was there five years ago with Mum and Dad and now again with Jamie and Benoit, having a despos seeing how much has changed. How much I have changed. And how cool it was to share that moment with Jamie. After all – travel is the only thing that costs money but actually makes you richer – and possibly slightly heavier thanks to Italy.

Here I would also like to thank everyone that made this ‘trip’**possible.

Firstly for getting Jamie over here, for me, it started off as an idea that I thought would put me into the best sister in the world books for the rest of my life, but I never could have dreamed of how much better it was than that initial idea. In my opinion, we have succeeded. We were able to show Jamie how much the world has to offer, how much more there is to see and how there is so much more to look forward to. If only you all could see him and the big grin that was permanently pasted on his face that makes you want a some of whatever he is on! For me it was probably one of my highlights of the trip, seeing him so happy again. So thank you, to Mum and Dad, Gran and Deeda, Jo, Nico and Jt, Nan, Grant and Jill and of course, Benoit and myself. You all contributed to a bloody good cause and I was lucky enough to benefit from it too! Now its his job to fill you all in, answer your million questions, show you all the photos and to thank you all individually for helping him have a pretty amazing time.

Secondly to all the amazing people that opened their homes to us, who shared with us their corner of paradise, their family and showed us more than we would have seen alone. We are so incredibly grateful to the homes that were opened up to us without question. So without further a due; thank you to Joelle and Paul who hosted us for Jamie’s first weekend in Europe (and who continue to host me), seeing Liege with Benoits family who Jamie and I both feel very close to was magical and we wished for more time with them. I think that was my only planning error, we all wished for more time with each other. But never the less we had an amazing weekend, a famous pizza party, and a climbing session; so a rather good introduction to Benoits family life. Thank you to Joelle and Paul and Pauls brothers (Marc and Benoit) for letting us stay at Stavelot. An incredible house where we watched an amazing sunset and Jamie discovered the pleasures of Belgium beer with Benoits friends who made the effort to come out to see us. Thank you to the LeBouc’s (Marie’s lovely family) who welcomed us into their home with open arms, just like they did when Mum and Dad came to visit me five years ago. I will forever be grateful to Rotary for connecting our families. Thank you to Vincent Henry and his wife for hosting us at Saint Lion in the south of France for two nights, sharing with us their slice of mountaineering paradise, their love of nature, wine, honey and fried courgette flowers. Thank you to Marc Henry at Goussargues for letting us use his holiday home as a base for a few days and even giving us a welcome cocktail – spritz! We still miss that incredible pool. And thanks to Daphne (his daughter) who let us crash her time there with her friends. Thank you to Denis and Isa at Carcassone for having us for one incredible night where we felt like prised guests rather than gate crashers after the amazing reception dinner we received. And last but not least Eric – the partner of Murielle (Benoit’s aunt) who hosted Benoit and I on our very big journey back home. To all the above, thanks again and I hope one day we can return the favour.

I am at a loss of words to how to sum this up. How to write the final (for now) “Jamie in Europe” blog post. I kind of just want to rewind about a month and do it all again. So instead of me finishing it up, I shall rely on a literacy genius, someone well known for his way with words and simply say that was ‘sick as fuck’. Love Kate xxxxx

*one by me -someone reversed into us at a queue when I was driving, one by Benoit – he backed into a pole.

** Trip is a word I truly dislike, it is so small, it hasn’t got any presence about it and it definitely doesn’t get close to describing the amazing month of travel that you just experienced, the things you saw, what really affected you, how you felt. None of that fits into the word ‘trip’. A ‘trip’ is going to Auckland and back, not a mind-opening month of travels! Anyway, rant over and I shall endeavour to find a better word.

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Dobber’s thoughts on Drouin, Chytil, Zacha, Seabrook, Howard, Hinostroza, Comtois, Kovalchuk and so many more…(Nov 22)

  Ramblings: Dobber’s thoughts on Drouin, Chytil, Zacha, Seabrook, Howard, Hinostroza, Comtois, Kovalchuk and so many more… (Nov 22)

***

To all my American friends out there – Happy Thanksgiving. I enjoyed my favorite meal of the year a month ago, as I’m Canadian. But now I’m jealous that you get to enjoy it now. Although you’re stuck watching football on your Thanksgiving (we’re blessed with hockey games on Canadian Thanksgiving!). Have a safe holiday and leave the belt at home.

*

So it turns out that all Pavel Zacha needed was to show that he dominates at the AHL level in order to properly get a chance at the NHL level. Prior to this latest stint, his only time in the AHL was a three-game run back in 2015 (three points). This time he was down for four games and got five points. Upon this latest recall he saw 16 minutes four out of five games. In his first 10 games before being sent down he saw 16 minutes just three times. A big part of that, too, is the fact that he is now playing with Jesper Bratt as opposed to Tommy Stonehands or Jimmy Lunchpail. Zacha has four points in his last three games and those are his only four points of the entire season. He’s earned PP time as well – Wednesday he saw 18 minutes of ice time and one minute on the second PP unit and scored on it.

Looking at Zacha’s career numbers, as a rookie he had 13 PPPts with just 1:50 per game. Between that and the AHL it tells me that he thrives when given room, but has trouble creating that room himself. I suppose Bratt’s speed opens things up a little for him.

Taylor Hall has a two-point game (Wednesday), a four-point game and five zero-point games in his last seven. Frustrating for fantasy owners.

Damon Severson has six points in six games, five at even strength. Will Butcher is pointless in eight games despite manning the top PP unit. Butcher has just one point at even strength this season. Playing with Ben Lovejoy is tying his hands, in my opinion. Meanwhile, Severson thrives thanks to his partner Andy Greene holding the fort. I also think at 24 and in his fifth NHL season, Severson is coming into his own. I’m not saying he’ll get his 57-point pace. But he’ll absolutely get his career high (currently 31 points).

*

Jonathan Drouin has 19 points in his last 19 games, seven of them on the power play. He’s been at his best with Max Domi and Andrew Shaw. He and Domi are helping each other rebound.

Domi has 26 points! Last season Domi picked up his 26th point on February 15 (funny enough – against Montreal).

Carey Price allowed four (or more) goals for the 16th time in his last 38 starts.

*

Alexandar Georgiev got shellacked in his first game in early October. Since then, thanks to Wednesday’s shutout, he is 4-1-0, 2.02 GAA and 0.936 SV%.

Filip Chytil now has a goal in five consecutive games. He’s seeing regular PP time and Wednesday his ice time topped 20 minutes. He’s now playing with Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes and the line has been very effective. It also allows Mika Zibanejad to play with Vladislav Namestnikov, which boosts Namestnikov’s potential.

Kreider now leads the Rangers with 12 goals and 20 points already, having his big breakout in his seventh NHL season. Power forwards take an extra couple of years and I feel like he would have this last year had he not been injured. All 20 of his points have come in the last 20 contests.

Ryan Strome picked up his first point as a Ranger and saw over 17 minutes of ice time. He’s been playing with Brett Howden and Jimmy Vesey, and getting no PP time. This makes him a solid third liner and 35 to possibly 40 points.

*

You don’t need me to tell you that Sidney Crosby returned to the lineup and picked up three points. But I feel like it’s pretty big fantasy hockey news so there – I said it.

A few things to come out of that Pittsburgh – Dallas game though:

With Matt Murray giving up 16 goals in his last four appearances, seeing Casey DeSmith get a win and continue to add to his stellar numbers has to concern Murray owners. But to me, DeSmith’s value is a house of cards. The team is just playing better in front of him right now. It’s “buy low” time on Mr. Murray.

Tanner Pearson is still playing with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel at even strength, and he’s a part of what is now a pretty decent second PP unit alongside Jake Guentzel and Derick Brassard. He has three points in his last two games.

Landon Bow is a 6-5 goaltender who was never drafted despite a solid WHL career. He had been invited to camp by the Ducks (2015) and the Stars a couple of times before finally getting signed to an NHL contract a year ago. His AHL numbers leave something to be desired and he’s a career NHL backup. But he finds himself in the NHL this week thanks to the Ben Bishop injury. After Anton Khudobin got pulled, Bow came in and stopped all 14 shots he faced. He is definitely not the answer for you if you need short-term help though. His purpose is to warm the bench while Colton Point gets some badly needed games in for Texas.

*

Tom Wilson is up to six points in five games now. His Hit totals are down, from the usual 250 per year to a pace that would put him at about 170. He already has two PPPts and with TJ Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov sidelined, he will continue to see the ice time there.

*

Brent Seabrook had nine shots on goal for Chicago. Under the new coach he’s being given tons of power-play time and he has really been letting loose with that shot. It hasn’t developed into a lot of points, but the situation bears watching and if your league counts the SOG stat he is worth owning right now for that reason.

*

Geez, Carolina fired 29 shots on goal in the first period alone against the Leafs.

Carolina line combinations with Victor Rask (zero points, two SOG) back in the lineup:

#1

24.8%

MCGINN,BROCK – STAAL,JORDAN – WILLIAMS,JUSTIN

#2

22.2%

MARTINOOK,JORDAN – SVECHNIKOV,ANDREI – WALLMARK,LUCAS

#3

20.9%

AHO,SEBASTIAN – FERLAND,MICHEAL – TERAVAINEN,TEUVO

#4

15.9%

DI GIUSEPPE,PHILLIP – FOEGELE,WARREN – RASK,VICTOR

  *

Jeff Skinner has 13 goals in his last 15 games and the Buffalo Sabres have won seven in a row.

Shayne Gostisbehere is minus-6 over his last three games and his now third-lowest in the league at minus-11 (Mathew Barzal minus-12, Tomas Nosek minus-13).

*

I don’t know how, but Detroit has won nine of its last 11 games. What?

What that means is that Jimmy Howard is a great goalie own right now. Way better than Murray, Mike Smith or Cam Talbot. Howard has won six of his last seven starts and he’s allowed two goals or fewer in five straight.

Andreas Athanasiou scored twice Wednesday and he now has 13 points in his last 12 games. He’s also fired 19 SOG over the last four games.

David Pastrnak doesn’t have a point in either of the games without Patrice Bergeron around. Pastrnak’s great, but I’m a little concerned about this. He’ll still get his points, but I’m doubting it will continue at the superstar level without that line (with Brad Marchand) being complete.

*

Mike Hoffman is up to 17 straight games with at least one point. He did it with less than four minutes in the game. Oye. I’ve never owned him, but I remember in the summer saying I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole. Hopefully you didn’t listen to me.

But Louis Domingue and Steven Stamkos were the stories. Domingue stopped 40 of 43 shots and he’s actually faced 153 shots in his last four starts and yet he’s won three of them.

Stamkos had four points, which snapped a bit of a mini-funk for him. JT Miller (three points) was also in a slump, with just a point in five games heading in. Miller played with Stamkos and Yanni Gourde, while Nikita Kucherov was moved to a line with Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson.

*

Under the new coach, the Blues saw some line shuffling. Robert Thomas and Robby Fabbri played with Brayden Schenn. Thomas also saw the most ice time of the season, up over 19 minutes, and he scored the Blues’ only goal – the first of his career, set up by Schenn. This is his big chance to make a rookie impact and so far so good.

*

This really bothers me. Looking at the Top 10 scorers on the Ottawa Senators, Chris Tierney sits fourth with 18 points…yet he’s 10th in PP ice time per game among that group. And despite seeing the fewest minutes there, he’s still sixth in PPPts. So he’s getting it done, yet last night the likes of Bobby Ryan gets four minutes on the PP and Mikkel Boedker gets 3:27. Tierney just 1:50.

*

With three assists Wednesday, Mikael Granlund now has 22 points in his last 19 games.

*

After a couple of partial seasons, Cam Atkinson had 39 points in his first full NHL year, followed by 40 and then 53. After that he broke out to 62, but then was hurt the following year and produced similar numbers though in just 65 games. Now in Year 6 as a full-timer (Year 8 overall), he is on a point-per-game pace. Watching Vinnie Hinostroza a couple of times this season (and of course last year), and listening to what the local commentators say about him, as well as coaches, scouts and GMs over the years (I lock onto this stuff, put it in the vault, about all players – I devour this stuff and never seem to forget it which is why I don’t easily adjust my opinion in future years), I can’t help but feel that his career production will follow a similar path to Atkinson’s. A 40- or 45-point guy for a couple of years, mid-50’s in 2020-21, low- to mid-60s in 2021-22 and then upward from there if given the right linemates (which Atkinson has). If you’re patient with this player, I believe it will pay off.

*

Josh Mahura got some time on the PP for Anaheim and picked up his first point – an assist on the power play.

Max Comtois’ game with San Diego Wednesday marked the last one he is allowed to play there in his conditioning stint. The Ducks now have to decide if he plays in the NHL or goes back to junior hockey. No other option. Considering he has played 10 NHL games and activated his entry-level contract, my guess is that he is back in the NHL.

*

I’m panicking about Ilya Kovalchuk, but it’s too late. Nobody in my league wants him. Can’t even give him away. His ice time is down under the new coach, and that coach was quoted as saying he didn’t trust him in tight games in the third period, and called him a “power-play specialist”. So we have another Sam Gagner on our hands, folks.

Adrian Kempe left the game in the third period with an LBI and did not return.

*

The one game I didn’t comment on, of the 14 Wednesday, was the game that I was watching as I wrote these entire Ramblings – Winnipeg and Calgary. But I have nothing to say – nothing jumped out at me worth noting in fantasy hockey.

*

See you next Monday.

      from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-dobbers-thoughts-on-drouin-chytil-zacha-seabrook-howard-hinostroza-comtois-kovalchuk-and-so-many-morenov-22/

[livinganddyingatdisneyworld-blog]

First Week+

Hey ya’ll.

So my first week here has come and gone. Monday morning was more hectic than I would have liked. I was so tired and was running late, I had to pack up my bags very quickly and I had my Mears driver waiting for me. He had texted me about 8:30 and I didn’t see that til 9, and I got down to him at like 9:15. 

My check-in was at 9:30, and there was a line of cars this time, so my driver had to patiently wait til we got to the front of the pack. I don’t think anyone ever looked at my Boarding pass lol (Just my itinerary). Check-in was quick. I had a nice lady help me with my documents and they took my picture for my housing ID. (Patterson’s are yellow this year, meh) Being back at Patterson feels pretty good. It feels like home (aw). I had feared I might be triggered into some negative feelings but nope. If anything being back makes me realize how much time has gone by and that time heals all wounds, things here have changed and moved on and so have/(or should) I. 

So this girl gave me my new program guide with my apartment configuration on it. It said 1 bedroom/3 person. I’m in building 3 on the first floor. I met my two roommates later in the day on Monday. It’s only been about a week and a half but so far we get along OK, there are still some things that will need to be worked out, but we’ll get there I think. I get along better with one than the other too. The nice thing is that again I do feel very comfortable here already so it wasn’t hard to adjust. My roommates are both very like me, mid 20s, white, American, etc so we’re pretty similar, they are both straight though. Which might be a good thing as long as they aren’t the “toxic” kind of straight I tend to keep at a distance. 

Casting at 11 was confusing because of the way they scheduled the buses and because of the construction around the casting building (yay third parking garage!) I had to figure out what bus to take and when to walk down to Chatham (my least favorite part of Patterson) but I got there eventually. I was like 20 min late to both my check-in and casting but no one said anything, I did the best I could! This lady at casting asked me for my Blue ID and I said I turned it in to my leaders and she said that was the correct thing to do so that made me feel good. There was a nice girl they checked my documents for me and then a guy there to do the “Disney Look” check. My fingerprints still didn’t work and they guy that did them was a little aggressive about it but whatever hopefully it will be like last time as far as that goes. Going back in the casting building is definitely an experience lol. Afterwards a group of us had to wait for the bus so I talked to them for a bit. I got back to Patterson and met my roommates.

Our apartment is nice, fresh and has new carpet. I wasn’t keen on the the 3 in 1 and I ended up taking the top bunk, which works for me but again isn’t ideal. It was funny because it took the confusion out of trying to pick a roomie/room/bed away. I like the building because it’s still close to the main area but kinda off in it’s own space too, just have to walk a bit further than last time. (laundry and garbage won’t be fun, it’s a walk over there). At least I have less roommies and still manageable rent. 

Monday night I made my return to Disney Springs and had Yesake, it was so good to be back finally! I also went to Walmart that night and got supplies. Tuesday I had the day off and went the Boardwalk Bakery(the food has changed, prob won’t go there again). but I still love walking that area at night. 

Wednesday I had my housing at 3 meeting which was the same as last year pretty much. Not a big deal. I stopped in the Grid afterwards and was surprised how low on stock they are. I ended up going back to Walmart for more supplies and went back to Disney Springs for dinner. I went to Earl of Sandwich and tried the wine slushie at Amorettes - it was so good! 

Thursday I had the day free and used it to stay in and rest. I had considered this being a resort day since I couldn’t get into the parks yet but I was tired and it was raining so I stayed in. 

Friday I had my Traditions class. I counted 9 other guys in the room and I sat with 3 of them. The ones I remember are Arvin, JT, Diego, and Steven. We were all Merch which was cool. The class felt pretty fast/tracked and went fast. There were some awkward moments but I knew there would be. I was nervous about going back to Magic Kingdom but it ended up raining and so we played games instead and didn’t have to go. I was relieved. I was nervous about getting my Blue ID but it was there for me. The pictures on both my ID’s are...OK. I changed my pic on The Hub though. They gave me another name tag but I plan on using my old one with my hometown on it from my last program. Overall I did get emotional at certain points in Traditions, (at one point my eye would not stop watering) but it was pretty quick and painless. I was glad to have a later in the day time (mine was at 2:40 and I had to be at the bus/stop by 1:15). I will always prefer a later in the day time. No one in my Traditions seemed to be going to Epcot which was interesting, maybe like 2 others that I heard. 

I decided not to go to the parks that night and instead went to Disney Springs for another slushie and more Yesake! 

Saturday I had free which was nice, I decided that my first park entry would be Epcot of course, and then later in the day I would have my first ride be Flight of Passage. I went to Epcot just to check-out Mousegear and get a feel for it. I felt indifferent to be honest. Like not super-excited but not scared or nervous either. Everything in my program was what I wanted or asked for basically. The Commons would have been nice, maybe I should have been more open to other roles, I probably would have picked the May 21st arrival date if it was offered to me. But Fall Advantage/Merch/June 4th/ and Patterson are all great with me. When I found out I was going to Mousegear I was surprised and happy. Like I just didn’t want to be in MK again, and getting to learn more about Epcot sounded like a great way to spend my 2nd program. (I did not spend much time in Future World last year, I always walked quickly through it to get to World Showcase). Mousegear is one of the biggest shops in the park which is intimidating but I do not claim to know what is best for me (lol). It actually has great reviews from other Cps/Cms that it’s a great location for alot of reasons, it seems very well orgainzed and staffed and it’s an AC/inside area only. You still rotate positions but you only have to learn one store versus several locations. 

After my sneak peak at my new home at Epcot I got on the bus to Animal Kingdom. When I got there I went straight to Flight of Passage, the wait was long and my phone had died (having trouble with the battery). Also I want to note before I forget that the bugs this year seem to be bad (gotten several bites so far, last year not an issue) and when I first got here I had this itchy rash on my arms and neck and apparently I must have done something because the skin basically died and peeled off in those places. Weird! I thought it was a reaction from a bug bite or something. These are just things I was struggling with the first week. As well as figuring out my to-do list and where to put my stuff and trying to stay organized. I definitely spent more than I needed to but I figure it’s my first week and I want to be happy and start out strong and hopefully continue that way. I want to be better about time and money management and this program is a great way to focus on that. I need to figure out how best to get food when I don’t have a car. It’s a struggle. I spent a lot of time before this week getting my body in a good place and I have to keep up with what I’ve been working on. Traveling took so much out of me I was worried I would regress and get to busy to take care of myself but I’m really trying to stay on it. Appearance is everything and then that helps my confidence! I tried to make my hair blonder before coming here and that was another nightmare - I probably wasted like 50+ dollars just on my hair color lol, but whatever. As long as my acne stays in a good place that’s the main thing for me. My spray tan is wearing off and I need to have a pool day still. Shaving everyday is a nuisance and keeping up with it but that’s what you have to do.

Anyway so I went to Animal Kingdom and waited for Flight of Passage - worth it obviously. I really wanted to do at least Everest but didn’t have enough time, so I had dinner at the Canteen, which I’ve been wanting to do for awhile (it was..OK. I mean I love Tofu but I was still hungry after) and I spent 10$ on a tiny little Sangria that I didn’t need....but whatever. I can say I did it and now I know I don’t need it again lol. 

Overall it was a good night at Animal Kingdom, still much more I want to do (I tried to make fastpasses but realized that wasn’t going to work). 

Sunday was my Discovery Day, I had to get up really early and be there by 8am. I was so tired this whole day because I didn’t sleep much that night. It was a really magical day. I won’t go into detail but the boat ride, the welcome, it was all very magical. When I was riding SpaceShip Earth for the first time, I realized some things (lol). It just made me realize how great it feels to be in a place that I feel like this is where I am SUPPOSED to be. How during my last program especially at the end how I said goodbye forever (maybe to MK yes;) but to be at Epcot and realize that maybe I had never done these things before because the universe had plans for me later. (I honestly don’t think I’d ever been inside Mousegear, I just walked past it). My group leaders (4) were very fun and made the day special, I got emotional with alot of things they were saying. Most of my group was people from other countries, very few Americans (my small group was all Asian) It definitely makes me feel a type of way when the only country I’ve been to is Mexico and I don’t speak other languages, but these people are world travelers and speak several languages. One thing that did stick with me was the notion that even we as Americans are considered “international” by tourists from other countries. They look at us (maybe sometimes anyway) with the same interest that Americans look at people from other countries. After my Discovery Day I went home and went to Disney Springs. Here I really splurged and got Yesake AND Earl of Sandwich. I also tried to go to Morimoto Asia but I won’t be doing that again. When I went to Earl the cashier kept complimenting me on my eyes and said I was pretty. It was nice! At this point it had been two weeks since I left Younkers (my last day was Sat May 26th) and one week since I left Sioux City (Sat June 2nd)

Monday I had my first day of training. My trainers name was Casey. She is a former CP and has been at Mousegear for about a year. She is leaving to go work at Toy Story Land which is exciting. I was surprised to find out that they were considering me a “Transfer” and that I would not have to go back to DU for anything. Traditions you have to redo after 6 months (I’m at about 10 months) Dday makes sense since Epcot is new to me, but one day of training? I’ll take it as a vote of confidence but I am not sure I remember everything on the register, and it’s still a new location, things work differently. Casey was great with me through the day and I was so tired and probably not always coherent but I learned alot and got to ask her alot of the questions I had. We ended up arranging for me to have another day of Training on Thursday (her last day is Friday) and then my first regular shift will be on Friday. It kinda feels like I’m her replacement in some type of way. hmm...I’ve met two leaders so far and they seem nice, I also found out one of the coordinators is from MSE (Hi Catie) so I’ll be seeing her. I got HUB access, still deciding if I want to do Food&Wine, took the days off my mom wanted me too, looked at Rostr and took note of the CPs currently staffed at MG. There are currently 30 including myself that are listed as American Cps so that’s cool. Very few guys.There are 5 other guys (Dalton, Grady, Aaron, Charles, and Raul) and one former CP also named Aaron. I do not know how many Cps are new or old or extended or leaving soon (SA, Spring Extenders, Summer Alum etc) I hope I can find some people that can be my work friends but we’ll see....I’ll know soon enough who my allies are and who is not. I’m sure there will be new Cps coming for the Fall program too. On Sunday I decided to try to open Grindr and see who’s out there. I will keep it open for a week and see how it goes. If there’s no one of interest I’ll probably just delete again and wait til August when there’s new people here. I’ve had some of the same guys hit me up which is pretty funny. It’s super disappointing about the lack of guys and options but I will not let guys bring me down. I know they are missing out on what I have to offer so it’s really there loss. (and once you’ve turned me down, do not thing I will give you second chance, I will ignore you)

The main thing is that the people you see most are the people you live with and work with. I’m sure I’ll be getting to see some familiar faces of other castmembers at Epcot, Cps and non Cps, which I am excited about because there’s a lot of cool people that work there! Getting on a routine and figuring out the timing of everything is what I need to work on. Casey showed me that path from the Cast building (I got a locker) to sneak out by Test Track and then walk into the CDS. (the only place you can clock-in) The tunnel is super interesting but the break area is ...underwhelming. Very few selections for food. I never used the temp lockers before but I might here, we’ll see. If it’s raining I might have an umbrella with me. The only bathrooms are down there as well. Another weird thing is that you can’t have water bottles on stage, you have to leave them backstage which might be hard for me, we’ll see. I’ll like the fact that the store doesn’t stay open as late as MK and CPs usually get 2 days off per week. I still need to get new shoes, more socks, and trading pins (I’ll wear the “Earning My Ears” badge as well I suppose. I got my costume and it’s cute! Had a hard time with the pants but found my size. The shirt can be awkward but you just kinda of have to let it hang I guess. I have Tuesday and Wednesday off. Tuesday I had a headache and stayed in all day, later I went to Epcot and watched Illuminations for the first time and got some yummy fishNchips at the UK. I did not know there was extra magic hours so I hung out there til about 11, even though you can’t do any rides. I still need to make a “Disney Do” list but I’m slowly working my through. I don’t plan on picking up shifts ever but we’ll see. I should be open to that I suppose. Not until I have Mousegear down anyway. One more day of training which I’m sure will be alot and then my first days of work will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday. with Tuesday and Wednesday off. We’ll see how it goes! Fake it til you make it I guess. I obviously don’t want to look stupid or awkward, I don’t want to bother anyone with a bunch of questions, or have a bad attitude or have a bad experience with guests. I’ll just do the best I can! So far here has been pretty good, my first week has come and gone and week 2 is fastly moving! My main goals here are to have fun, do a good job, be on time, not let myself get sad or lonely, do more things that I didn’t get to the last time, and try to focus more on the future and my career. I want to use the program to build myself up, not let it tear me down. A fresh start and a second chance is just what I needed, I will miss my mom and Sioux City but this is where I need to be. I can work on keeping my money in check and use my time wisely. My goal is to slowly get on a routine by July 4th ish, one month mark. For sure by the time the transition period happens in August. Summer is my favorite time of the year though so I really just want to enjoy June and July and see what the future has in store. I am sure there are many twists and turns in the road between now and January. 

[inb4vaughn]

Remembering R.J. Harper, Pebble Beach’s Point Man

Editor’s Note: On November 8, 2017, the game of golf lost one of its greatest leaders, characters, supporters and ambassadors. Robert “R.J.” Thomas Harper, who started at Pebble Beach as a course marshal in 1985 and rose through the ranks to become Executive Vice President of Golf and Retail for the Pebble Beach Company, died of pancreatic cancer, leaving behind sons Tucker and JT Harper, grandsons Caden and Hudson, sister Cathy Carr and former wife and close friend Kelly Yost Harper. He also leaves behind a legacy of excellence that may never be equaled in the golf resort realm, or at any level. He was the consummate host, boss, visionary and friend of the game, and he never failed to greet newcomers with a smile, a rich story and a kind word while overseeing one of the most respected and admired golf operations in the world with grace, humor and a tireless work ethic. In 2003, as editor and co-publisher of Fairways + Greens magazine, Golf Tips editor Vic Williams sat down with Harper for the following interview. Though we’re 15 years removed from these words and a few changes have taken place along 17-Mile Drive over those years, including the names of the owners and partners, Harper’s enthusiasm and bright spirit shine through — and will continue to echo across the cliffs and coves of his beloved Pebble Beach.

He runs the most famous and revered public golf operation in the world, but R.J. Harper doesn’t put on airs. He’s as down-to-earth and humble as they come, and always puts the customer first — whether he’s a well-heeled CEO or an everyday Joe who’s saved up the bucks to make the pilgrimage to the Monterey Peninsula and play Pebble Beach itself or its sister courses: Spyglass Hill, the Links at Spanish Bay or Del Monte Golf Club. He’s got the best job in golf, and the toughest.

In his 18 years as Director of Golf Operations for the Pebble Beach Company, Harper has hosted a couple of U.S. Opens — including Tiger Woods’ epochal 15-stroke victory in 2000 — thousands of celebrities and top-tier pros in the AT&T National Pro-Am every February, and hundreds of thousands of golfers who stream in day after day to tee it up in whatever weather the fickle Pacific throws at them.

“Today it’s hot,” Harper told us in late June as he prepared to take a much-deserved vacation. “It’s pushing 85 degrees, with almost no wind. We usually don’t get into the 70s around here. It’s unusual — and gorgeous.”

Just another day in golf paradise, which put Harper in the mood for a fascinating talk about what makes the Pebble Beach Company tick, and how he, his employees and the company’s principals (including Arnold Palmer and Clint Eastwood) are constantly striving to make a unique, stellar product even better.

You’ve seen all kinds of changes in 18 years — changes in ownership, changes in the golf course, moving a new tree to No. 18 in place of the famous old tree just last year. You’re probably at the most revered course in the country if not the world next to Augusta National. What’s it like to be there on a day to day basis and see people’s reaction to the course and the whole Pebble Beach mystique?

Harper: There’s a unique challenge every day with respect to Pebble Beach, the entire company and our resort. It’s exciting to come into the office every day after all these years and know there’s something new on the horizon that needs to be addressed. It’s all about progress, never about looking back.

I was the championship director for the U.S. Open in 2000. I kind of ran the tournament. It was a wonderful shining moment, but the day after the Open left here, we had a full house with both hotels full, and it was business booming and let’s go get it. There’s no real time to sit back and look at the past. It’s about moving forward, particularly with respect to this new ownership. Not to diminish what their predecessors did; they did a wonderful job of polishing the jewel with Pebble Beach. But this group is intent on continuing to progress and keep improving everything we have, everything we’re privileged to manage out here.

How great is it to be here? It’s fantastic. I can’t say there’s no stress in the job. When you manage four golf courses and all that potentially can go wrong, and have as many visitors that come through here with extremely high expectations, there’s certainly a level of responsibility that goes with that. But I don’t love it any less today than when I came here.

After seeing the course in person, the thought is always the same: There’s no way TV can bring across how special the place really is.

Harper: No doubt. There’s a drama to it that changes during the day. It can be sunny and beautiful, and instantly a mist rolls in off the sea and it takes on a different hue. Then the sun starts to go down and everything just “wakes up.” It’s an interesting place. I’ve been to a lot of coastal courses around the world and have beauty and uniqueness, but nothing to match this. You go to Hawaii and get pretty much a continual weather pattern. Same in the desert. Here you get those subtle changes. You’re peeling off and putting layers back on, all in the course of one round of golf. It adds to the magic of the place.

When I came out here I had never seen Pebble Beach, just on TV, but I loved it. I went out and sat by the old pine tree on the 18t, watched the sun go down as the last two groups came in, and I swore that one day I was goingto be able to afford to play this golf course. And to think that now I’m running all of the Pebble Beach golf operations, I pinch myself. It’s a dream I could never have conjured up. I’ve been very fortunate.

Back to the new management team. Obviously they’re high-profile guys. Some of the locals don’t like what they’ve done. Others say, “Thank God they got Pebble back into American hands.” But it still has that feel of a classic American public golf course, even though it might not be accessible to everybody. So what has their contribution been as a whole and on an individual basis?

Harper: All four principals have provided their expertise on a very frequent basis.

I’ve used Arnold in a number of ways. He’s got his hands into the golf at Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Spanish Bay and even Del Monte, so we’re excited about every opportunity we have to engage Arnold in re-examining everything we do relative to the golf course, for a better experience for golfers — and keeping the promise these owners made to continue to improve the product.

Dick Ferris is a real hotel guy and also a golf guy. He’s on the PGA Tour policy board. He and Arnold are very close, so he’s working with use closely as well on the golf and hotel sides. He’s really involved.

Peter is doing a lot of work in sponsorships and marketing sales. He lends his expertise there. And Clint is doing a tremendous amount of work helping inform the community and political bodies about the Del Monte Forest plan so the right information is being submitted out there. We want to grow the core of our business — which is another golf course and some additional hotel rooms.

So each of them is really active in what we’re doing here.

When you headed up the [2000] Open, the USGA swooped in there and set up giant tents and huge infrastructure. You had a couple days of fog delays. Do you ever look back — even though the following Monday morning was business as usual — and think that you’d ever seen anything so colossal in scope? It was like the Super Bowl.

Harper: It was definitely our Super Bowl. We’re fortunate to do it once in a decade, and it’s been great.

I have a picture of the U.S. Open committee on my office wall. I look up every once in a while and look at all the faces that orchestrated this thing. We do sit back and marvel at what a feat it was. We had to build a city that was going to go up carefully and quietly and taken down carefully and quietly. We’re in a significant residential community, and we hear about it if we don’t do things right. We got their support on our side and there wouldn’t too many missteps. There were a few behind-the-scenes things we had to improve upon, but it was almost seamless from the perspective of the people who came to the event. NBC did a great job broadcasting the beauty of Pebble Beach. They had about 40 percent more cameras than any other tournament we’ve had here.

I just went to Olympia Fields [site of the 2003 Open], and that put it all back into focus for me — watching other people do it.

The golf course itself: You’ve got those classic holes, four through 10, along the ocean, then 17 and 18. Do you think some of the inland holes get short shrift? Are there a couple of favorites of yours?

Harper: One of my favorite golf holes is 16. It’s obviously in the home stretch, but it’s just a great hole, sets up real nicely off the tee. You’ve got to position yourself on the left side of that fairway, so you’ve got to hit a precise shot. And the green sitting down among that grove of oak trees is a pretty sight; you can see the ocean in the distance, so you don’t feel the ocean but you’ve got a presence there.

So many people who play Pebble Beach a few times talk about 16 as being one of those unsung, really good golf holes. All the coastal holes are terrific, obviously.

Fourteen is a beast of a hole. It requires three really good golf shots, then you’re not finished. You don’t want to be in that big greenside bunker, and most people are. There are a lot of high scores on that hole. It deserves its No. 1 ranking.

Walking the course, you notice all the design nuances that don’t come through on TV. For instance, the big half-pipe bunker in front of No. 2 green, and the big bunker in front at 16. You get out there and say, “This is totally different than on TV.”

Harper: You’re absolutely right. Television doesn’t have the perspective that you obviously have when you’re walking. Those bunkers are much larger than you imagine.

Being there every day, do you sometimes feel the ghosts of the past? Do you feel Payne Stewart on the 18th green — there’s the story of him going out on the rock wall with his bottle of Cristal…

Harper: Oh, yes, I was part of that. I was in the Tap Room with him that night. There were a couple of guys sitting at the bar; Payne and I and Chuck [Cook, his longtime coach] were in the corner. Most everybody else had gone. These two guys kept looking back at Payne. He didn’t have his knickers or cap on, plus the Tap Room is dark, so it was hard to tell if it was him. When Payne and Chuck got up, they walked toward the lobby of the hotel. Payne had the U.S. Open trophy up in his hotel room. I walked out the front door, then I turned around when I heard the guys saying, “Hey, you’re not Payne Stewart, are you?” And he said, “Sure I am. Why do you ask?” And they said, “No, no, you’re not. We just made a bet.”

So Payne goes upstairs and gets the trophy, brings it back and sets it up on the bar. Then he gets the bartender to fill it up with beer and they’re all drinking out of the U.S. Open trophy. Later, Chuck and Payne carried it out to the seawall. It was pretty funny.

But to answer your question, we saw a lot of Payne Stewart here. He played the AT&T a number of times, and an Open or two. He was a wonderful guy. But there are a lot of guys who have come and gone; Pebble Beach conjures them up in the minds of most people who walk the golf course. They look back from the 18th green along the coast and kind of reflect that they’ve just walked among the greats.

With most Open championships, PGA Championships — and certainly The Masters and the British that don’t move around the United States — you’ve got very few golf courses that a great number of people have had a chance to play. Pebble’s one of them. You can remember shots the greats have hit here to win the U.S. Open. I can’t tell you the number of times people drop a ball at the left side of 17, filling in for Tom Watson’s shot in 1982.

Pebble is so famous and unique, but you’ve got a couple of other tracks there that are pretty darn good. Spyglass Hill has to be one of the toughest golf courses in the state, if not the toughest.

Spyglass is in its best condition ever. All our members and guests tell us that. We have been working so hard on it. The company made a significant capital investment — millions of dollars in infrastructure  — to make sure Spyglass is the golf course it’s supposed to be. We’re not going to stop there, but it’s so good right now.

Spyglass is kind of like Phil Mickelson in golf course form. Phil is the best golfer never to have won a major [Editor’s note: Mickelson finally broke through the following spring at the Masters], and Spyglass is the best course never to have hosted one. It should have had a major by now, but unfortunately it sits in the shadow of Pebble Beach. But I submit it’s still one of the better courses in the United States. It could host a major right now; it’s in that kind of shape. All the players in the state amateur qualifier earlier this year said the same thing.

How often do some of Pebble’s biggest fans — Mark O’Meara, who’s won the AT&T several times, Peter Jacobsen, who’s also done well there — sneak out for a round?

Harper: A number of players come out here on a fairly regular basis. Most top players are signed to sponsorship deals with a number of companies, and when those companies host meetings, outings, client entertainment et cetera at one of our hotels, O’Meara, Freddie Couples, Lee Trevino — all those guys will come out here to enjoy a day or two of golf. Johnny Miller. Mike Weir was here two weeks ago.

Once every week or so we’ve got a top name in the house. We’re very fortunate.

Hard-core golfers see the merit in paying a lot of money to play Pebble Beach. What would you say to somebody who’s skeptical — why is this golf course worth that kind of money? What pushes it over the edge?

Harper: You can play golf at 17,000 courses around the United States. There are a handful where you would say, “I had an experience,” something you’re going to talk about for the rest of your life, over and over again. Others are just a round of golf. I think what separates courses like Pebble Beach and other courses is, this one lingers with you. There are all those intangibles that add up to an experience like no other.

If you look at the price of Broadway shows, or sitting courtside at an NBA game, or NFL playoff tickets, they’re the same as playing Pebble — and that’s three hours of entertainment. So if you compare a round at Pebble Beach with other types of experiences that you’re going to remember and reflect on, and share with your father, or your son, or your wife, then you kind of see the reality of it.

I’m not trying to justify why Pebble Beach fees are what they are. But that’s the way people who want to come out here all the time feel about it, what I hear from them.

And you can’t really put a dollar amount on that.

Harper: No question about it.

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