#i love how in the recent like 5 or so years riot has started marketing towards women and gays

[kuppikahvia]

i love arcane for giving us so many complex morally gray (or horrible) female characters with compelling story arcs because holy fuck we have desperately needed more of that for so long

[lockdownuk]

Lockdown Diary Part 3

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 61: Writing this in the afternoon on day 62. An exercise driven day. Two walks and stair climb as usual plus I popped round Jeff’s early evening. First time I’ve been to his house, 1 Garden Row, Elmington. It’s further than I thought so, with walking there an back, I managed a daily total of 14km. It was good to see him and have a social (but social-distanced) beer. When I got home, @9:45pm, I made thai green chicken curry, watch The Report (a great, if worrying film) and then TikTok-ed until gone 5am!

Day 62: Typing this on day 64! Beer round Karen’s. Missed Sam’s quiz.

Day 63: Typing this on day 64! Beer round Karen’s. Again! Well, it is bank holiday Monday! Had dirty pizza for tea and watched The Heat. Again! It is the most piss funny film.

Day 64: Well, I have been feeling guilty about treatung the bank holiday w/e l;ike a bank holiday w/e. It’s dawned on me that that guilt is way too self-disiciplned. I got up about midday, usual two walks and stair climb but that’s it. I need to clean the house from top to bottom, get on top of my online courses, get the garden done, get the car fixed, go shopping…fucking hell - if only I had the time…

Day 65: Today I swapped Amazon prime free trial for about the 5th time in my life. Same card and address - will they get wind of my skullduggery. This is all so I can finish watching Hunters and catch Homecoming S2. I went shopping at Asda near Raunds. I wish I hadn’t, it’s no good for a comprehensive shop. Received an email from RCI inviting me to a Zoom meeting with Pal Mulcahy for a business update. I fear the worst. And it’s at 10:00am, FFS!

Day 66: Logged in an attended zoom forum with Paul Mulcahy and over 250 RCI staff this morning. The message was that there is going to be redundancies. I expected this and expected to fall victim. All staff that are going to be put through cionsultation would be contacted today. I however wasn’t! Very, very surpised. meanwhile, Nick Reilly asked to connect via LinkedIn (including become a LinkedIn staff team member -  that’s new to me so I’ll see what it is but I accepted the invitation) Later, I WhatsApp-ed him and asked who has been affected from IT. All he could tell me was no one on Jon Rodger’s team is under threat. Also, Mark C emailed - I’ll respond tomorrow. I got up at 09:00ish and had my mornming walk before the 10:00am meeting. I am now, at 09:30pm, fucking knackered. Dinner and then bed, methinks but not before one more episdoe of Hunters!

Day 67: Typing on Day 68. Got pretty drunk last night. I’ve got blisters from walking (new boots) so I don’t think I’ll walk tomorrow (well, today!).

Day 68: I did fuck all today. Got up after 1pm, no walking. I did manage to clean the bathroom (and smash my little mirror) and do my 26 stair climb. I am typing at 9pm and I feel whacked!

Day 69: I have an abscess. It’s not too painful (today) but I am going to call the dentist tomorrow (Monday). I think antibiotics are in order. I watched a film, which I actually started yesterday, called The Voices starring Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arteton and Anna Kendrick. Fuuuuuuuuuuuucking weird. The closing credits are the most bizarre, in context, I’ve ever seen. But, in general, a very good film. Back to normal exercise regime today plus hovered the hall and stairs. Get me. It’ll be interetingh to see my Google Fit figures for May tomorrow.

Day 70: Contacted the dentist who advised salt water rinsing and ibuprofen. But, tbf, it’s a lot better today and the swelling has gone right down. The dentist I called was the Oundle House (Rodericks) one. I was not hopeful since last time I saw them they referred me to their Northampton clinic for root canal work which was quoted at over £600. However, the dentist was very nice, had my x-ray to hand from that last visit and seemed more interested in making sure I’m OK than gaining a paying customer. He still wants to see me when possible though! I must mention the weather. It has been glorious weather nearly every day throughout May (it’s June 1st today). Seriously sunny and like a holiday every day. The news mentioned it today - the level of sunshine throughout the transition from spring to summer is unprecedented, apparently. My T shirt tan is, quite frankly, ridiculous!

Day 71: Today’s ‘must mention’ is what’s going on in the US and it’s not particularly related to Trump. There was a black man killed while under arrest. George Floyd died Monday 25th May (8 days ago) A policeman, who knelt on his neck for minutes while he complained of not being able to breathe, has been charged with murder. Now there are riots and curfews and military intervention all over the country. It’s similar to the English riots of 2011. It’s worrying, sad, scary and not what the fight against the pandemic needs. Most of all, it’s racism rearing its ugly head yet again. I’ve had a normal-ish day. received an email from Jim checking in, talked to a recruiter about a promising job lead (although the hours are 8-5 which I am not happy about), talked to Barry across the road and sent Barzzy a WhatsApp. And I logged in Shaw Academy and started lesson one of module 2 of web Design. It’s been a while, so long overdue, but I only did about 15 minutes. Must try harder / do better! As I type, late (10:10pm) I have dinner cooking and a strange pain in my left side and am in the middle of No Country for Old Men. Don’t think I’ve seen it since the cinema (13 years!)

Day 72: As soon as (well, within a couple of days) I mention the weather, it turns. It’s rained a little and is a lot cooler (15° rather than mid-20s). Much better for walking, I have to say. I finished Hunters today (Amazon Prime series). While I enjoyed it, it got too surreal at the end. It is loosely based on the real story of Nazi hunters in the US in 1977 but the straying from loosely based to down-right ridiculous fiction annoyed me. If it goes to S2, I will watch it, however. Received some of my rental deposit back today (the law changed so that only 5 weeks rent can be demanded as deposit). Over £600. Nice.

Day 73: I made a short video for Marc and Clare’s 26th wedding anniversary. I ‘dressed up’ for it. I enjoyed doing it and I think it was appreciated.

Day 74: Typing on Day 75 for no other reason than I couldn’t be bothered on day 74! I received a letter either today or the day before (well, yesterday or the previous day!) from Mr Minos at the eye clinic informing me that, while there is some stuff going on in both eyes (garnered from the photo scans done at the last hospital appointment), he wants to see me in three months. Always a refief when that happens. Been getting into two series on Amazon: Alex Rider and Modern Love. One is a male Hanna, the other is soppy affairs of the heart based on real life stories (from essays written in the NY Times). Both enjoyable for totally different reasons.

Day 75: Lazyish day. Well, not really, just that I only went for one walk, alebit 6km andI got pissed on. Wehn the rain hit, it was also fucking freezing! Some of the clouds were stunning today, made for great photos. As I type, it’s 21:12, I’m listening the wonderful Phoebe Bridgiers. Now, I’m gonna make some tea and sup a few ales, I reckon.

Day 76: Done lots of walking today (over 13,000 steps) I made sausage casserole with too much chilli (scotch bonnet and birdeye). I had an online (fb) debate with Sam over whether the George Floyd murder was a racial.

Day 77: Received a new (used) wing mirror for the car. £18 with delivery, I reckon that’s a bargain. I cashed in £20 from Prolific as well, so I’m satisfied at the financial full-circle. Dropped the car off at Barnwell (Nene Valley Body Shop) and walked back - 7km. Just about to dive into tea - finishing the blazing hot sausage casserole from yesterday. Then I’m going to do some more Rubik’s cube practice with my recently acquired GoCube.

Day 78: Lots of daily walking, 26 stair climb, press-up and late nights watching TikTok (gone 3am this morning) are making for a constantly knackered Tim Stubbs. Today I made veg soup and cooked up some meatballs. Both are delish. How did I ever to learn how to conjure up such stuff? The Rubik’s cube learning is coming along except that I need good daylight to distinguish between the yellow and white faces on the flipping thing!

Day 79: Listening to Radio 6 most the day and the news is making for dire listening. Forecast of severe recession, especially if there is a second peak of the virus, which I think there will be. Plus, an offshoot of the George Floyd murder and the #BlackLivesMatter movement, institutions and town councils are being lobbied by campaigners to remove statues of anyone associated with things like slavery (one was toppled in Bristol at the w/e) and rename buildings etc. that were named after historical characters with any links to something that now is deemed wrong or offensive. I agree with it but it’s not pleasant to hear amongst other bleak news. Walked to Barnwell to collect my car - front trim reseated and new wing mirror fitted, £20 - bargain (I source the replacement wing mirror). But, also, forked out £165 on car tax! Cleaned the lounge from top to bottom. Knackering!

Day 80: Chatted with Dad and Rita - he’s pissed off with the slavery backlash but otherwise they are both OK. I saw Baz in the Tesco queue where I mentioned my disgust at the Thursday market being allowed (I found I could not maintain 2m at all times just walking to Tesco’s!) and that I really don’t want to catch Covid19 as I will probably die. Maybe a bit dramatic but he messaged me later today to say he’d been thinking on what I said and offered to shop for me. I replied that I am OK to shop but am scared at how people are taking things so much less seriously than when lockdown started yet the virus is still out there just as it was then! I am very touched at his massage. I thoroughly cleaned the bedroom and changed the bedclothes today. House work really knackers me out!

Day 81: Spare room cleaned today. Not much else to type about. It’s Friday, I making curried mince and I don’t feel like a beer. How I’ve changed!

Day 82: I did have beers last night. Ended up going to bed with daylight and dawn chorus for company. Today, when I woke, gone 1pm, I have been greeted by what can only be described as thoroughly depressing news from every quarter. This includes violence in the capital, further virus outbreak in Beijing. Fog’s political posts on FB make for depressing (but vaild) reading. I’m feeling thoroughly fed up today. Not even music can lift my mood…

…but, I am currently listening to Craig Charles on BBCR6 and, I have to say, he’s putting in quite an exceptional effort - there may be hope that my mood might lift, even at gone 8pm! I might have a beer or two and grab something postivity and enjoyment from the day after all.

Day 83: Another late one last night but up before noon today. Started watching something called Condor on Sky One. It’s OK - there’s stuff I wanna waytch on Amazon Prime but, more often than not, it keeps telling me there’s ‘a problem’ when I try to play anything. Pissing me off. I just checked and I have two weeks of the initial 12 of furlough to go. I shall started asking the questions about what might happen on the Connections website.

Day 84: Typing this on Day 85. On the way back from dropping off some shoes for Sean Davies at his brother’s (martin) I met Karen and she said why not pop round for a beer so I did. Certainly not used to a drink on a Monday so that, and the genral upheaval to my evening, while good fun and a nice change, put pay to my usual diary entry! I sorted Amazon Prime out by leaving the TV turned off for over an hour. Day 85: Tim did the garden today and it looks great. The pipes in the bathroom have been knocking loudly, on and off, for a couple of weeks now. Last night, they were so loud that today I took it upon myself to resolve it or ring Woodfords. So, having turned off the water, run the taps dry to get rid of any trapped air and then turned the water back on slowly, I discoved it’s the cistern and its pipes. Woodfords are arranging Corvee to visit. Meanwhile, leaving the water turned off at least stops the noise which is, otherwise, costant and unbearable! I emailed HR a couple of days ago about what’s happening in a couple of weeks time in terms of furlough when the 12 weeks will be up. Sue Cockimngs got back to me attaching an email Deryn sent on 15th May which I never received. Basically, they’ll extend furlough if need be and an update should be forthcoming late May/early June. Well, that time has passed, so who knows what is going to happen. The furlough scheme (CJRS) has been changed by the govenment, I’ve read, and it looks like any new people would have to have been furloughed by June 10th (it’s the 16th today) so no furlough rotation, which is annoying. The CJRS ends 1st October with employer contributions required from 1st August - that’s D-Day as far as I am concerned….so job hunting will have to step up a notch! Day 86: Pete’s birthday and he bought himself the same speaker as me. When I asked if it lived up to his expectations he mentioned it’s better through WiFi than Bluetooth. That confused me as I haven’t got WiFi available on mine…..long story short, I bought the wrong fucking speaker. I got a AudioPro AddOn T10 instead of C10. To say I am fucked off is an understatement. To think I was so pleased at the cheap price I paid. Now I feel like I have wasted  €200. Bollocks.

Day 87: Finished Alex Rider last night. Another series that started off so well and ended a litte weak but, overall, not bad. I’ve started keeping strange meal times…lunch very late (4pm) and dinner really late (11pm). I need to sort it ‘cos it’s playing havoc with my sugar levels. I had a huge hypo while having my second walk today, second day on the trot that’s happened. My late dinner was Chinese chicked curry with a quarter of a scotch bonnet and two birdeye chillies. Delish.

Day 88: I have managed to be bitten yesterday or the day before on one of my walks. There are strange, itchy lumps on my right inner forearm. And I do mean itchy. I trimmed my sideburns today, I was very pissed off with them. My hair looks just a little less shit. I did a shop at Tesco in Corby today. Mainly booze as follows: 20 cans Sam Miguel £18 18 cans Stella £15 20 bottles Bud £10 8 cans Tyskie £9 3 lrg bottles Warsteiner £5 £57 Bargain.

Day 89: Lazy day. One short walk and usual stair climb. Howard and Sue popped round to give me a pressie - bottle of Monkey Shoulder. I’m building up quite a collection of whisky!

Day 90: Dad called and we chatted for an hour or so. I had to apologise for not sending a father’s day card! Dan messaged me and offered to pay for a pizza delivery which I declined.

Football has started again this past week…Prem and Championship only. L1 and L2 season was cut short and Posh missed out on the play-offs by one place. As I type, Everton v Liverpool is on Sky Sports on a Sunday evening - it’s very strange with no crowd. There’s crowd noise being played thorugh the tannoy.

[manjuhitorie]

Hitorie’s various antics + bonus bursts of trivia - Mid June-July 2019

I’ll begin this long digest with news of ygarshy’s recent involvements! Because he has been dipping his toes into a few pools of waters and his bass is *chef’s kiss* precious.

It’s been disclosed that he played for the song ‘Shadow Tag’ on Ken Kamikita’s new album! Kamikita is a singer songwriter, also once known as KK, who belches out vivid vocals from his diaphragm while the substructure of skilled technique is there as instrumentals, holding it together sturdy. His songs are very thought-provoking alone, yet music isn’t his only reign as he writes scripts for his shows, he puts careful consideration into his visuals: and abracadabra! ygarshy is continuing to be supporting Wasureranne yo with concerts for the summer.Concurrent reports consist of ygarshy smiling, poker facing to hide his smile, yet his smile seeping out because of Shibata’s noble passion for music. Shibata will do risqué shouts or gatling release the word "sex" out of his mouth, when which yg will subtly sip his water in a means to dodge, or just knifesharp glare at him. I love these drunken bards. Wasureranee yo's twitter posts clips of them performing after ever show also!

Also Wasurerannee yo with The 50 Kaitenz↑ good. June 8th was the Kankaku Pierrot x Hitorie concert, which was originally meant to be a joint show for their tour, yet was now turned into a jamboree of respects and thunder... Rie themselves were unable to attend yet Kan-ero nevertheless performed a cover of Ao, Polaris, and clenched a spiritual presence...! The cover of Ao is a tear trenchcoat I'm a trench of water... Kan-ero so good...

I was finally able to tell Shinoda-san that “These lyrics are way too long.”. For the sake of today I had to spend the whole week sleeping on the couch, as my bed is practically buried by all the alphabet He wrote, yet still I simply want to thank him for leaving us with so many words. They’re really all so cool. I’m sorry for being unable to sing them well. Let’s meet up again soon. The photo shows a large cloth-covered bed-like surface strewn with printout papers of World End Dancehall, Montage Girl, Imperfection, and Senseless Wonder lyrics.... Because..... The setlist for Village Man’s Store’s concert on 6/13 went like this. 1. Senseless Wonder 5. Montage Girl 7. Imperfection 13. Ao Encore 1: World’s End Dancehall

Thanks for coming to our show, “The Holy Land Pilgrimage - Village Man’s Store VS Hitorie”! Utmost love and gratitude goes out to Hitorie and all of you who made this day possible. P.S. Hitorie, cheers to doing even more with you in the future. From vocalist: Mizuno Gii. Mizugi “I sent Shinoda-san a LINE message reading “I'm going to be playing this song and this song and this song and~~... at the next show”. And normally right, you’d think someone’d reply “Sorry ‘bout making you do this” right? Yet Shinoda replied “Why’re you doin’ that many lololol” Han (drummer): “He laughed at you" After all is said and done, have y'all properly purchased 'Tsuiraku, Kurushiku wa Lucky Strike’ yet or what. It’s fire isn’t it

((I hate(love) how Mizugi has (14 years old pun) in his profile, (63 years old) in this MV while dressing up as a slanky old man, and is actually 31 years old.)

When is the rain going to stoppp

There's a lot of people who dislike Weezer's Green Album but I like Green Album Is it cause the music takes such a different turn? Reply from Saito Shinya, the vocalist and producer of ONIGAWARA: The drums suddenly neatened up so it hit by surprise. Also Matt Sharp left. SND: Ahhh so it’s because of Matt Saito: Fans of their first-second album’s more squishy sound went into denial I think

I can’t believe 'Sayonara Dake ga Jinsei da' isn’t here *The late 90's band 'Eastern Youth’ has uploaded the majority of their discography unto music streaming sites. Except for the niche EP which SND is fond of, but all their albums are cool so zipper your lips and open your eyes shuuush!

Is Tanktop Shoutai's new video out yet They're a posse of blurred out faces with burlesque bases. Their current series is one where they dress up as Yugioh characters, roleplay them with accurate voices and cult-like enthusiasm, before the instigation of the series’ famous ~Shadow Games~ together. Which are all uhh, epic card games, yeah, like tabletop Jenga or  or Mariomaker or electric Russian roulette, pick them up like they’re Kuribos. It’s a riot.

 I’m sure I’ve said this for the umpteenth time now but, my favorite album from syrup16g is “delayed" syrup16g are an indie band who began in 1993 and keep resurging again to pop off. With performances in Budoukan and high Oricon points on their back. This pivotal album of theres is mellow with whimpering instruments and ephemeral sounding visuals and it's really nice, thank you SND.

Media outlets have been making misleading headlines like “A manga opposing the legalization of euthanasia”, and I bet there’s a lot of people are blindly dissing Death Harassment now Death Harassment is a comic written by Yoshida Yori, challenging the problems which could come with euthanasia, and a society which might pressure departure unto the unwilling. Euthanasia has been becoming a uproarious subject in Japan, ever since a woman fled to Sweden because she suffered brain diseases, and wanted to die while still preserving her sanity and dignity. People are now starting to welcome the prospect and yearn for a mercy fate but, please consider the demerits and the demoralization also, is the message. I translated the comic for fun also here.

This evening as I was eating soba alone, in front of me were a middle-aged couple throwing curses at each other with sullied mouths, but by the time I finished my soba they were smiling together. I think that’s perfectly peachy. That reminds me, I ate 4 whole eggs today. I think I ate too much.

My habit of getting the urge to play with people only at this time of the day, is really bad.  Posted at 3 AM JST.

Yumao, also at 3~ AM JST.  Bubble milk tea for sensible people has been gaining traction on twitter but, the fact that it's not Chinese tea milk tea is the nonsense to me. There was a post about purchasing uncooked tapioca pearls at a Seijou Ishii (an exotic super market chain), and putting them inside of a convenience store bought bottle of cheap tea. Budget bubble tea.  In regards to Yumao’s comment, the Chinese oolong tea is such a standard I’m assuming he’s referring to that. Is this more flavor wars, the civil wars over various flavors of integrated foods from equal or same brands is rampant throughout Japan’s domestic history. It’s kinoko VS. takenoko etc. Why such fervor over flavor YUMA

I gotta buy toothpaste I can’t sleep whatsoever so I thought if I drank I would get sleepy but I drank and it’s somehow backfired by revitalizing me so now I got no idea what the fuck to do, I’m screwed I’m screwed I know that feeling when your stomach is in a frenzy, too well

I haven’t heard the term “moe” used in a while I kinda want to go heavy on it now Replies: "Shinoda you’re moe” “Shimoeda” “Your expression when you got kicked was so moe" (He was kicked by yg during SLEEPWALK ref: the 6/1 report)” “The term moe technically d- (*The definition copypasta-ed from wikipedia*).�� Within a split second replies have already turned into hell so I’m putting the lid back on moe, please forgive me Damn it’s hot.

I saw Tokyo Syoki Syodo in concert for my first time today. It was the best. I seriously thought I was gonna burst into tears. It might be a long time since I was last this excited to see a band live - it's been a long time since I even saw a concert live but still,,, I was surprised by how much of the lyrics to Saisei Button I subconsciously remembered. It just shows that Tokyo Syoki Syodo's songs are that good. They are a group who indulge in the typicality of cutesy culture, instagram filters, sparkling make-up, and all while flexing the power to whack you with whamming hard rock. He mentioned them again in his June 9th twitcast also, calling them natural and epiphanic to how bands can just be just as they are. I have no doubts that this is my top-played song these past few months. This is my anthem. -Saisei Rock, their most recent music video, check it out! I don’t even know how many years I’ve lived at this point but it’s not commonplace to find a song this great. 

This example will only be understood by super like-minded folk, but I haven’t felt this way since I got obsessed with Sakasama Cider. 

He’s expressed countless times how much he likes this song and the artist, Gucha Gucha's, Though the story behind SND’s partiality may be ultimately uncertain, it can be easily understood from one listen. The guitarist and cofounder of the Gucha Gucha’s, Shimoyaka, borrowed Shinoda’s guitar for their first live. Chikyuu Monogatari chapter 3 uses Shimoyaka as a model.  Shimoyaka has posted porn on forums, getting banned from youtube, he was on a team with infamous Shotacon Kurage, here’s SND’s cover of Sakasama Cider playing over the team, nowadays he does retro~modern gaming livestreams or his own cooking episodes because he got kicked off a cooking show, he slipped at the Niconico Douga Game Party, he’s videos are quite civil now though Shinoda even joined him for a stream and is watching them often.  Shinoda on the July 9th live said not verbatim “When I heard Sakasama Cider and ‘Sad Delay-chan’’ live, I was amazed by Shimoyaka that he can actually make good songs. Justice doesn’t have to be one-sided~ Gucha Gucha’s are unrefined and shitty and helpless, but then they bounce back up with a sudden good song and it’s irresistible. I’m always yearning to meet those sort of exciting experiences. 

We are people who clench our fists until our palms are red with blood, and we keep going on singing. Though we tend to forget it

Happy birthday ygarshy!! ygarshy's birthday is on June 17th and I hope you celebrated. SND’s birthday is also on June 6th. And I Hope. If not they can still be celebrated 365/24. Because even SND had proceeded to tweet these words of celebration at…. 12 o’ clock AM June 18th. Right when the clock changed!!

Look at this simultaneous trickery. Then Yumao RT-ed them both. I love you Rie… I love you so much...

I liked when Brocken Jr. was hit by Prisman's rainbow shower and super fucking glowed. (Timestamp 1:38) Also Mariposa’s victory pose was freakish-, ly cool (Timestamp 3:14) Kinnikuman is branded as Ultimate Muscle foreignly, if you recognize it! This youtube video is is a short promo reel celebrating the 40th anniversary of the series, Yudetamago has been in it for the long haul and is well honored by the lords of the wrestlers.

Wooooooooooah

I wanna eat a negitoro bowl Raw tuna and scallions plomped on top of a bowl of rice The special issue of Kinnikuman, I didn’t think it would put me on the verge of tears like this. Chairman takes way too many goods to the table. Plus everyone is cheerfully chit-chatting about how absolutely maniacal of a character Robin Mask is. Robin Mask really is one loony mister. Most characters are weirdos on thin ice but Robin Mask is in a whole different league of weirdo so,,, Also for the 40th anniversary, an original episode was spotlighted in the 29th issue of Shounen Jump magazine. and taken for another spin! Chairman, AKA Harabote Muscle, had an emotional arc in it too. Robin Mask I'm guessing is as rambunctiously malicious as ever in it.

The final episode of Sarazanmai had me bawling like a baby.

A photo of the possession of Kinnikuman -Supermen Dictionary-.

futurrrrrrrreee funnnnnnnnnnnk

I spent about 4 hours dancing alone in the club I am a party person Party people(パリピ is just ENG articulated into JP)* is a slang which means just that. It’s believed to have been originally popularized by a song called Let’s Party People from Illmania. Since then it’s curved to hold different nuances for all kinds of different people also. It can indicate ‘avid partygoers' or ’normies’ or it can just be for people who’re having a good time.

Puuuuuuussssshhhh! An issue of 100M, an upcoming shounen manga by the author Uoto. It's bout a runner who’s world revolves around his sport and nothing other, who then meets a boy who runs only to forget the troubles of the rest of the world. The story spurts off from there. 笑顔いっぱい！ https://youtu.be/QXuGweSMxUI @YouTubeさんから ときめきメモリアル　キャラソング【おサカナになりたい～1000wに願いを～】～虹野沙希～（TokimekiMemorial music） https://youtu.be/rV16KgKKUi8 @YouTubeさんから YUNG BAE - Fly With Me https://youtu.be/BWgQvj0Nd_U @YouTubeさんから TenmaTenma - September https://youtu.be/6VsJgk5Qw6s @YouTubeさんから ~~~A slew of various song recommendations~~~

People that're posting pics of ramen while talking about being on a vegan diet, and people who gang up on them both, aren't they all becoming a clusterfuck of boringness without even heed to their actions

People who were peacefully posting their favorite music until suddenly bursting blustery onto the net, ain’t that the definition of emotional instability SND are you heeding your own actions Seven-eleven when are you gonna sell microwavable mugimeshi (rice with boiled barley mixed in) Task-san (a trusty companion of all of Rie’s, and an even more lovable animator who runs most of Minaken): *Replied to SND with a photo of Seveneleven brand microwavable mugimeshi*  SND: So they do have it

As I was frying some fried eggs, it hit me, people who heedlessly throw heavy words at other people tend not to let anyone else complain about the heavy weights they themselves may put onto other people huh.. But actually that’s not necessarily true so whatever

I just recently caught up with Murata-sensei’s version of One-Punch Man but, thanks to the insanity of the quality level, Tatsumaki has gotten so sexy I burst out laughing See: ONE VS. Yusuke Murata 

Clever folks, I’m positive you could figure out who my favorite One Punch Man characters are. There’s two of them.  The answer is King and Unlicensed Rider Oops there’s Zombieman too

I’ve noticed that washing ashtrays squeaky clean seems to put me in a better mood The Marías - Cariño youtu.be/QHVp9xiUr9U @YouTubeさんから The Marias are soo good The 3 monkies game, the host is so cockeyed that I’m laughing out loud I think he’s talking about サルヂエ(Sarudie), a quiz show about 3 people donned in hyper-realistic monkey attire, overseeing the “homo sapiens” as they try to solve unique questions. Which are usually twists on daily life concepts, find the difference, or digesting puns on pop culture. The word Sarudie(猿知恵) itself refers to something which seems profound but is actually simple and shallow, like monkey business etc, and the hosts are spoofs of The Three Wise Monkeys, while they hooked in a lot of famous figures to be the quiz undertakers. I want the DVDs. Though if SND is talking about a different 3 monkey game then I’m oopsie-doopsie. I heard a voice for the first time in a while

I can feel my manga-artist muscles crippling

nico.ms/sm35308083?ref… #sm35308083 #ニコニコ動画 It’s here!!!!!!!!!! Ref his tweet from earlier 'Is Tanktop Shoutai's new video out yet’. So if any youtuber works with a band on a music video then everyone’s going to assume they’re Starmie next I guess A recent cause of discourse was the twitter account A Starmie Who Wants to Quit My Band(@shhf9kr)*. It originally was suspected of being the side-account of KANA-BOOM's bassist, Meshida, due to the timing of the account's appearance and the unsettling content. Meshida had gone missing for about a week’s time, much to relief he’s returned home, but upon return he’s now taking a break from the band to heal from pressure/anxiety… Which is a huge worry in itself (On top of Alexandros’ drummer going on hiatus because of physical issues and then MONGOL800.....) though for now we only have the power ease his soul.. BUT ANYWAY - This Starmie twitter account tweeted “I’m so far gone with band work that I’ve devolved into a Starmie. ~~~~ I feel so disgusting.” on the exact same date as the dilemma. As the situation progressed the details Starmie revealed about financial problems and wage didn’t match up with KANA-BOOM, so they’ve continued to suspected to be SEKAI NO OWARI, now signing salient as someone named Ishihidari from BASEMENT TIMES, the writer of a snazzy sassy J-Rock blog and band of that same name. Shinoda here is a direct reaction to Starmie’s recent tweet under the lines of “I hate having to work with a youtuber.” Yeah SND you're 100% right, it's now on the radars of us curious critters. Why is the J-rock scene such a pain hoho. I bought new shorts but it’s chilly out today so I’m in a sort of pickle

I tried out lo-fi hiphop style for a change of pace and I ended up making songs I get to feel like I’ve done good work as easy as fast-food, lo-fi hiphop is good Maybe this is fine, we have flowers here (The word in the insta video means "to hide from the rain")

I don’t wanna add screentones

He used a southern accent on this, unlike his usual slurry casual city boy tone. I notice that southern JP seems to simplify the connotation of tone by omitting certain sounds or replacing them with vowels and then they’ll proceed to make the whole phrase more musical, it’s like ending your sentences with a “~” but it’s a whole accent done that way~ vowels are cute, gimme more~ Or maybe not idk It’s a hardship to even work on my manga because of my back pains, people who’ve actually wrecked their back must go through serious hell Kobayashi Doumu (*ref: later in this post): *sends SND a photo of himself hospitalized with crutches and bandages for his back* I was watching Kura-kyun’s stream but, does that guy actually still live in Aichi…? This seems like a rabbit hole I don’t want to dip my toes so I’ll take a step back but… Shotacon Kurage is a long time streamer who seems to get up to a lot of unfavorable antics. のどちんこって呼び名、いくらなんでもメチャクチャ過ぎないか No matter how you put it, isn’t the nickname “throat schlong” just a little too messed up Kids super often call the uvula part of the mouth by that nickname I don’t like the rain because I can’t go out drinking

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ボディメンテナンス怠るべからず

A post shared by シノダ (@snd_vs_snd) on Jun 27, 2019 at 11:14pm PDT

One mustn’t slack off on their self-care The drawing says “Shoulder pains”.

シノダ「地球物語 35話 – BABYBABYの夢 – 」 | MEETIA After a 2 month break period, the 35th issue has been topped off. It’s full of all the ideas and memes I’ve accumulated over the whole 2 month span, so please if you may, take it easy on me. And please give it a read. Shinoda “Chikyuu Monogatari: Chapter 35 - Dreams of BABYBABY - meetia.net/manga/shinoda-… #meetia 

Shiohigari, fantastic artist of 1 panel light-heavyhearted gags, girls who share their feelings and a Picasso-esque mascot named after himself. He also happens to share many interests with SND and a decade-long historic friendship with him: That part there, that’s the Robin Mask moment! During the Survivor Match for the Kinniku Throne Arc, the match against Kinnikuman Zebra and Parthenon!  SND: I’ve been exposed Trivia: ●The title "Dreams of BABYBABY” is a reference to the song by TANUKI of the same name. SND’s interest in future funk grows. ●The Chikyuu Monogatari chapter has a parallel to a Kinnikuman scene. When that manga went on hiatus for 3 months due to an illness of the author's, right in the middle of a fight scene's cliffhanger, he returned and doubled-down on it. By making the characters do this:

And SND’s comic has this parallel:

“Wake up!” “Please excuse me. How could I not get sleepy after being left here for 2 months….”“Are we allowed to say this stuff, I’m sorry Yudetamago-sensei.” ●Please keep having fun Shinoda-sensei.

I made 10 lo-fi hiphop songs *They’re magnificent and they’re incoming, check his Instagram for the ongoing bonanza! https://www.instagram.com/snd_vs_snd/  Laundry is so draining  Harassment sentences are going to such extremes that now it’s as if they’re the one’s doing the harassment meow, said the kitten who’s sleeping next to me There’s not actually any kitten sleeping next to me: it’s the imaginary friends in my head

What an article. Don’t be releasing things like this into the world. Do they have no dignity, mishandling words while trying to write about the subject of words.  Emo, in terms of usage and genre, has especially been through a lot of change. But upholding only the era you lived in and then proceeding to feel nostalgia and begrudging the next generation for being different is amazing in itself, not to mention their absolute subjectivity combined with presumptuous usage of “Us”. 

Or, so had spoke the kitten sleeping next to me... In reference to his retweet of this article: https://letters-to-you.life/emoi It’s a petty, convoluted text rebuking the masses for a simplicity and resisting the implacable evolution of language. The word “emoi” in Japan (which is super equivalent to the English "emo") is transforming from not only the emo band subculture or a descriptive of emotional experiences, but also to mean the likes of an adjective for any emotion-evoker and the author is uhhh conservative. Let us get emotional over things!! wowawa lived through all the evolution also and he’s still an enthusiastic user of all definitions of “emo” too...

I’ve been cooking nukaduke at home recently and all I have to say is that home-cooked nukaduke is the best. 

Trivia: Yumao lives together with his super duper saikou cool mother, Yurika.

My nukaduke paste is getting better and better, and the pickles I’m making are amazing. I need to consider cutting back on the salt a bit though.

Ah nukaduke is emo

Yumao has nowset his location to nukaduke, hunger ensues

Kobayashi Doom congrats on a good run & Congrats on the new issue #SupportForLet’sMeal

The picture shown is SND’s face was drawn in the background of Meshi ni Shimashou(Let’s have some food!), a manga by Kobayashi Doom. It’s a story which digs into the lives of a a manga artist and her assistant, who bask in the dying embryos of production and then cook meals with crazy twists or gimmicks to restore their “MP”. There’s an official sneak-peak preview of it here! It’s only available in JP though… If you like the look of it please feel free to yell at your local manga provider to officially translate it, Kobayashi Doom is someone SND is so undeniably influenced by. Especially their series Negi nee-san. A webcomic about a surreal girl drowned in surreal antics. It’s usually rooted in nonsense and that’s the grandest appeal. The visuals consist of copy-pasted collages, intricate professional art dynamics, cute girls, to stoic jokes such as “’seven eleven is an integer so seven & I is a complex number” and mostly references to mathematics or science or Jojo. The most parroted one is “Yes” “Not yes”. Also worthy of mention is that things resembling Negi-neesan’s various nameless beasts will show up as backdrop etc. in SND’s manga Chikyuu Monogatari. And most importantly here, there’s even a comic about Shinoda on that link, with the Let’s Meal characters! It reads: Madare ”Who's that?" Omega "From the band 'Hitorie',His name is Shinoda and he seems to be a zealous fan of mine, (sign reads: zealous whatever food hall) He told me he wants me to experience his recent works so he sent me the mp3"Madare “Ooh Isn’t Hitorie that [insert amazing praise here]“. Omega “Look, he’s even wearing a Negi-T (Negi-nee-san’s surreal brand) in this video” (Reference: In the Talkie Dance MV he wears this one) Woah　Click-click Omega “So now, I’ve listened to it 100 times but in sheer honesty I don’t know anything about rock besides the band Ningen Isu so I thought I’d use this comic as an equivalent of an answer to him, a sort of "guess my feelings" quiz. Madare “I see you're popping your conman skill again. (You’ve even beaten me with that skill before )” “I’ve been eavesdropping. Time to cook a meal and get together with him” Omega “I like it." *The chorus lyrics to Hitorie's NAI from ai/SOlate are written on the top left corner, Kobayashi Doumu on the right, and the beastly text written next to the youkai-looking Shinoda in slide one I believe is an feisty ateji encrypting ‘For Shinoda’. SND replied to that comic too! Saying “Even insane miracles can happen huh, Doom-sensei thank you so much!! No this is seriously sick, wtf…." Q.E.D. Kobayashi Doom is strangely important for SND’s character development.

This isn’t specifically concurrent with my current feelings but The text on the video reads “I like you I like you!l I snuck a glance at myself in the mirror and my back has a hunch far worse than I even imagined SND’s RT:  ONE BY ONE RECORDS, the indies label, is hanging up the hat after 12 years of service…. Ahhhh… Congrats and good luck on future ventures oh employees..  Key to this article is the band, JONNY. A Weezer cover/original group of which, a certain familiar chestnut-headed rock hero played for. I’ll save the stories of the explorations into that beloved dark past dungeon for another day but, yes, click that link and you’ll see, that glasses fella is a young Shinoda in the flesh.  I woke up in the middle of the night. Have a listen to this if you plan to go to bed anytime soon. instagram.com/p/BzV23p6HpRl/… Written on the drawing is “Poyashimi”, which simply means “Oyasumi (Good night)". It was originally just a misspell due to “O” and “P” being so close on standard keyboards but, it’s cute so it’s been adopted in it’s own rights. Can been paired with “Pokita (= Okita = I just woke up)” in the morning. Cute. I wanna go to the beach instagram.com/p/BzawsWGHaGg/…

I wrote MUNEYAKE but I myself don’t have any muneyake heartburn, that’s all there is to it I couldn’t make the bubble tea visible without making the emblem on the hat invisible, and just fought a weird-ass battle with this https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzh7fqRnkBQ/?igshid=1hmx49pswt6ns … “Yasumi" means like “take a breather"

I recorded drums for Sasaki Sayaka’s song, the ending theme for 'Ultraman Taiga’. I used a big and powerful setup for this. The broadcasts start on 7/6. I can’t wait. Also Taro's son is crazy. Ultraman Taro's son is the main character of this new spinoff tokusatsu series! The ending song is called “Hitotsubishi” and will premiere along the first episode, I’ll update this if an official video arrives later, so we can listen to it! I watched the first episode of Taiga, I’m think I’m gonna cry.

This morning a drunken me slipped while walking down the stairs, and turned into the Kinnikuman side of the Kinniku-Buster. My butt hurts. Smack down on the floor, legs aflight.

colormal’s concert was downright fantastic, everybody listen to colormal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ83BZ_BIHA&feature=youtu.be

colormal, a galvanized nerd who turned his hobby into a hopping constitution for his livelihood, his quest for the alternative rock. He makes music alone and he’s namely even inspired by Shinoda’s past solo project “cakebox”. He’s bound to mention a cakebox song in his interviews, on top of a whopping list of other western or indie bands. His music itself has flows of climaxes into unfluctuating concord and it’s either guitar or guitar with pretty effects and I enjoy it SND. His filling bassist, Matsuyama, was even thrilled! https://twitter.com/mtymJb/status/1147537998898069504

My body isn’t able to finish even the small size ramen with full toppings. “Mashi” is a trademark menu option of the chain Ramen Jiro. It’s under the lines of “Pile it up”. You can choose to pile up a bit of everything like Shinoda seems to, or you can choose from specific topping such as veggies or meats. If you ever go into such a ramen shop, try shouting “yasai mashi mashi!” or “buta mashi mashi!” for a heap of piggie. 

Tokyo Shoegazer are definite They’re an indies band who had a concert in Shinjuku that day! One of their most recent tweets draws my attention 👀 The wheat and grated yam beef meal at Yoshinoya is delectable but, the sign says the large rice portion and refills are given for free until 11 PM, but when I go there’s a fee on the large portion, how am I supposed to interpret this Reply: I work at Yoshinoya but the free portions and refills is a recent offer, the menus just haven’t been reprinted to represent it… The meal packages generally all have free refills and large rice portions. Shinoda: Thank you. Ref: their ENG menu. Feel free to use this information if you ever get the chance to go to a Yoshidora!!(?) SWEET https://www.instagram.com/p/Bznm6DTH-Gs/ I want to see Siamese Cats live They’re a definite J-rock band who have tinges of psychedelic and a sort of 80’s pop style to their music. They had an outdoor show the day before SND tweeted this, but they also have a 10th Year Anniversary Celebration concert this December. SND GO! Siamese Cats - Escape Eve (Official Video) 2018　　シャムキャッツ - 逃亡前夜 https://youtu.be/5Jtd5nmI0Fc

salad days was on Amazon Prime so I gave it a gander but it was really fucking good. The walking alone Straight Edge scene or at the beginning when everyone was partying together until strange people starting flooding in one by one and the safety of the concert went downhill Or how the terminology “emocore” doesn’t resonate at all with people who were directly associated with it at the outset.

The fact that controversy which we’re still having today has existed since the 80’s is an astonishment
 Also once the Smells Like~ MV wrought the knowledge of crowd-surfing (stage-diving) upon the world, and then the crowd became a flood of stage-divers so much that Fugazi lost his temper, that scene was so good

The joint show with Trouble Funk, when they were reflecting on what became the final Minor Threat show, everyone was vocalizing the horrors, the turmoil of it, yet I laughed when only Ian said it wasn’t that bad

Not disregarding how these types of issues really did exist those days, ultimately the concerts and their music really are awesome, the energy and thrill everyone held was amazing

Formidable figures such as Thurston Moore and Dave Grohl are shown looking back on the past, and then pops in J Mascis with such batshit indifference that I laughed again 
Why does Ian MacKaye not have a Japanese wiki page If it draws your attention here’s the link!:https://www.amazon.com/Salad-Days-Fred-Armisen/dp/B01MAV0YAH I’m not specifically feeling emo https://www.instagram.com/p/BzqVd4wnaOX/?igshid=nhnyzm9vipdi …“emoi”

[pagesaplenty]

Fridays with the Booksellers: Navigating Change, Negative People (and a world if we are being honest), and a Reading Mojo that would rather be napping

In a rare moment of ‘hey you should write’ and ‘hey wouldn’t it be cool to have a column of sorts’, I’m sitting down tonight, before bed, to write a little something for a Friday post for the shop. It is the age of TLTR (too long to read), of the programmed mindset to not click out of one location (don’t leave FACEBOOK ever), and an increasing mass exodus from the aforementioned. It is difficult to find an added self-motivation to write. We might be writing for no one and that might sound easy because it removes pressure to be great (though we should strive for this regardless), but it has this side effect of prompting a why bother response.

I had this brewing idea to get back into writing and writing for the shop, about books, the shop, and even life. It kept sitting in the back corner, rather patiently, and then an email came through on my account. I haven’t even read it yet, but the subject line was enough to prod some words out of me this evening.

“Self-expression, not self-promotion” *

Call my mind a little blown away by this idea because increasingly I’ve become disenchanted with this saturated mindset of social media to be an influencer. It is pressure; it is filled with holes that anxiety, depression, and a load of other things are waiting to fill. I can’t keep up and even when I try I ultimately feel as though I’m failing, but by whose standards I don’t know. It may be akin to the great and powerful Oz, behind a curtain dictating to us the rules and regulations for influencing in an influence hazed world. Yet behind that curtain is someone like you and me.

I didn’t mean for this to turn preachy or self-reflecting. I wanted to start a self-motivating writing project for the shop’s page. Low-pressure, fun inducing, thought provoking, and read worthy. We haven’t been minding our page at full tilt lately and we took a break from the After Hours Book Club for August. Our September is looking CRAZY and our birthday is in October. I think you can say we are feeling the pressure a bit these days to perform.

Freddy and I both have jobs outside of the shop. Some of you know this and have known, but many may not realize it. I recently accepted a job locally that fits in well with the hours I work at the shop. It is still a new challenge to accommodate the change and find a routine that benefits everyone. It is change and change can be a kind of four-letter word. We take each day and we strive to grow as business partners and as adults in this crazy world. Essentially this is what we have been doing since day one of opening our shop at 19 and 21.

Perhaps it is because we are young, because we are women, because we live in a small-town, or this is the Midwest so live with it, but Negative Nellys have been aplenty at Pages Aplenty lately. I’m not telling you this so you can assure of us the opposite or rush out to buy more books because you might read in this a ‘we are not thriving’ vibe (because that’s not the case). However, I believe it is important to manage your naysayers with a “chew like you have a secret” swift style and to be honest with fellow conspirators. In honesty maybe others can be educated or take the highroad and in this case the highroad is stop saying negative things.

Someone in passing remarked to me today that they can’t believe the shop has made it this long in a town like Mentone. Every week we have people who walk into the shop and tell us bookstores are dying. In a pat you on the head style comment, eBooks are taking over the market and isn’t it sad for you. I just can’t believe you can make it still.

Chew like you have a secret is essentially this motto that makes you smile when you remember the movie it came from and then it reminds you that a small percentage (oh howdy do we hope it is small) will always think bookstores are dying. It is easier to keep chewing and not waste your breath explaining to someone who believes such nonsense. Books have been around for longer than any other media type (I think it is okay to write such a blanket statement, but if not I’m sure someone will comment and correct me).

The other day I got chills thinking about the printing press. I am getting them now. Here stood this machine that was going to guarantee, not right away but eventually, that millions of people would be given access to words. I wonder if Gutenberg had an epiphany and his mind went forward in time to show him THIS IS THE IMPACT YOU WILL HAVE, THIS IS WHY YOU MUST CREATE THIS THING. Chills.

When I look at a page, when I swipe on a screen, when I listen to someone, and when the story is being told in pictures as well as words, I never want to think or fear that books are dying… because they are not. They are adapting. They are thriving. They are being used as tools in resistance, to strengthen resolves, to unite, and yes in bad places by bad people for not such good things. But books are not lying down, booksellers are not weeping in the streets with sandwich boards…unless you think that would help *wink*.

Books are published every day. A writer is sitting at their desk each and every hour. Booksellers are not waning; they are dreaming up ways in which they will not break into song and dance because that is how excited they are to share their love with you.

It is almost 10 years for our ��little shop” and the comments haven’t stopped. Some weeks they are worse than others and some weeks we have none. We both realize and accept this is all part of the job and that if we are meant to be here 5, 10, 15 years from now… books will always be dying, according to someone. We will just keep chewing our secrets and sharing with the other secret keepers.

I was going to delve into my reading mojo being on hiatus and how you are not alone, but it is getting late. I also like where I ended the above. As an episode of the Book Riot podcast recently suggested… just go with it. Maybe you need that break to enjoy other things and your love of reading hasn’t gone away. It wants to give you space for a Netflix binge or to enlighten your mind with some thought provoking podcasts. Reading mojo will return, that’s a promise.

Happy Friday, Pete

* Thanks Shuffle for that boost in my writing.

[migleefulmoments]

my new fav thing about Abby is her desperate attempt to shame us for "contributing to Darren's oppression" by not believing her insane conspiracy theories. like damn Abby, I think that's actually YOUR fault since you fail to provide us with evidence more compelling than "he referenced star trek instead of star wars so you know his decade long relationship is a sham". gimme something I can use!!! then I'll be happy to stop oppressing him.

Oh my God YES.  Every time she shares Abby’s Big List of ccProof followed by “but the Stans will never see/hear/listen/believe ____” I think to myself “well do a better job of proving this cuz this is a big ole’ nothing burger deluxe” 

I like your take- it’s Abby’s fault that Darren is oppressed because her arguments suck. That’s a problem since she went to school to become a lawyer- making a case and persuading a jury should be a slam dunk and she’s had 4 years to make a compelling argument. 

Nobody here wants a gay/bi/pan actor pushed into a closet against his will for a decade while his forsaken lover/husband/boyfriend sits quietly at home, slowly scrolling Instagram, his crocodile tears falling softy onto his iPhone X as he pines away and looks for good “diss” posts he can secretly aim at Mia. Nobody wants that. But two award-winning actors had good chemistry on screen while playing characters they were hired to play as they read lines written for them isn’t compelling “proof” they are a couple. Other bad evidence: they have so much in common when you mean they both liked Harry Potter and Star Wars when they were kids, they both starred on Glee, or they were the two most intelligent people on set because couples fall in love for lots of reasons but being the smartest in the room isn’t always one of them.  If you want to use Abby’s logic- Chris never went to college and Darren went to the University of Michigan...why would Darren belittle himself with someone who never went to college? It’s an argument as stupid as claiming that Darren wouldn’t love MIa because she isn’t working 9-5 in an office.     

Lest you missed the most recent Abby’s Big List of ccProof

ajw720 answered:

Hi anon, I think a lot of people think like you. I am the complete opposite. They had obvious chemistry and an easy friendship. They have myriads of things in common. They were easily the two most intelligent people on set. They spent more time together filming than with anyone else.  And overnight they went from being friends to completely ignoring each other?  and these changes that occurred over season 3 and solidified by season 4 coincided with the PBB moving to LA and W morphing into the public plus one.

And if you do look at the limited interactions they had post season 3, that chemistry is very much alive, You see it in the BTS from the skating riot, the break up, New York, and Bash. You see it in interviews- look at E/llen when D said C was the life of the party.  Look at how they mirror each others actions.  Look at C’s SM, he posted D headless multiple times.  And it is absolutely him, people are fooling themselves thinking it is not.

They were told they could not interact in public to shut down the significant rumors they were a couple. D literally cannot look at C without giving everything away. Look at T/revor L/ive.  And C is more guarded but not much better.  D is the ONE person that he fully lets his guard down with.  

What has happened post G/lee has been criminal. But their complete lack of interaction to me is screaming that there is something wrong, that something is being hidden. If not, it is marketable for the actors who played K/laine to continue to interact.  It would have been meaningful and significant for them to take a photo together at S/pirit Day 2018.  Yet they didn’t.  Even if they hated each other, they could put their differences aside for ONE PHOTO to inspire LGBT+ youth.

Then mix in the copious amount of clues. You cannot dismiss C/hris Col-Fur, probably the most rebellious action D has EVER taken,  A joke he started ON C’s Birthday that continued for 2 months and was repeated twice in San Fran.  And C is literally the captain. he just posted the black hole, something thought to be UNPHOTAGRAPHABLE that after years they finally were able to snap a photo.  Read his books, D is EVERYWHERE.  He is embodied in so many characters and their story is all over the pages.  He literally named not one but TWO evil characters after PBB.   And F/roggy’s story is D’s (and we can only hope the ending as rewarding).

To me their complete lack of interaction states one thing and one thing only. They are protecting the ting that is the most precious to them. Their relationship.  And this will continue until D is free.  Depriving the world of a beautiful love and depriving so many of a truly inspiring and strong same sex couple that could undoubtedly knock down some barriers that exist in this discriminatory and hateful world we continue to live in.

Depriving the world of a beautiful love, Oh my God, Darren’s love isn’t on display for the world.  It’s his.  

[cryptoevent]

Microsoft waffling over Bitcoin? BTC’s return to Xbox unlikely to spur adoption

Microsoft is sending mixed signals about its true intentions regarding bitcoin (BTC) and the crypto currency market in general. On the one hand, Microsoft chairman Brad Smith gave an interview earlier this year in which he said the multinational had no interest in bitcoin and claimed that Tesla’s decision to invest $1.5 billion made no difference to the company.

A few days ago, however, the tech giant seemed to change its mind by releasing an online survey asking customers how they would like to pay for their Xbox Games Store purchases in the future, with bitcoin being one of the top options on the list.

The development also comes shortly after Smith said fintech companies don’t need to issue their own digital currencies. He argued that central banks should be concerned with the common good of the masses and thus should be the ones managing the flow of the global money supply.

If bitcoin is indeed accepted as a payment method in the Xbox Games Store, it wouldn’t be the first time Microsoft has ventured into crypto currency, as in 2014 the company accepted bitcoin to fund its accounts, which allowed US users to purchase all Windows Store content, including Xbox games.

However, the company’s crypto sales came to a halt in 2018 when the general market went into a frenzied bear market that sent the value of most cryptocurrencies to relatively low levels. However, earlier this year, Microsoft again decided to allow bitcoin payments, but only for its MS Store.

Does the importance of Microsoft change anything in the industry?

The 24th. In March, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that his company would be accepting bitcoin as a payment method for its cars, prompting many in the social media world to finally bring the crypto to the forefront. But even if that’s the case, it’s unclear whether BTC will become the primary means of payment when other major companies like Microsoft, which have questioned cryptocurrencies in the past, do allow them as a means of payment.

On that note, Joe Zhou, founder and CEO of FirstBlood, a blockchain-based esports platform, told Cointelegraph that this development looks generally positive on paper, especially since it will help increase the adoption of crypto in the global digital landscape.

So far, game manufacturers have not been the first to adopt this technology. For example, the makers of League of Legends, Riot Games, do not have a blockchain policy. I think it is. If you allow your users to use cryptocurrencies for purchases in your ecosystem, your competitors will be more inclined to follow you, otherwise they will lose out.

Zhou went on to say that if Microsoft decides to allow crypto payments, it could potentially lay the perfect foundation for the marriage between the gaming and crypto communities, especially since he believes gamers between the ages of 18 and 35 are most likely to choose digital currencies in the future.

Ultimately, he believes that apps like Cash App and PayPal, which allow users to buy and store cryptocurrencies, will help unite the two worlds and enable even greater adoption in the gaming community. I would be very curious to see how Microsoft’s treasury would handle its crypto revenue. Will they be sent to landfills? Or they will keep them like Tesla and MicroStrategy, he added.

Is Microsoft myopic in its cryptographic perspective?

While many believe Microsoft’s interest in integrating crypto currency into its existing payment system is a sign of great things to come, Andrew Colosimo, co-founder of Xaya – a digital asset management gaming platform – told Cointelegraph that while the development is a positive sign in itself, he’s not entirely sure it will have much direct impact on bitcoin, adding

Transaction fees could add more than $5 to the existing cost, unless Microsoft wants to use payment channels like the Lightning Network, as some people in this thread have already suggested. Players will only pay for what costs less. More importantly, no one wants to spend their bitcoin.

However, he acknowledged that if just one major player like Microsoft starts accepting BTC as a form of payment, it could create a Ripple effect that would potentially cause other console operators to follow suit.

Hatem Hachana, COO of the Utopia Genesis Foundation – a blockchain-based platform for tokenizing music rights, assets, and royalties – also believes that most players are already familiar with the concept of in-game purchases, so adding a crypto payment option wouldn’t make much difference, even if it became even more widely accepted.

He added: If Microsoft accepts this, Sony and Nintendo will surely follow. If you look at the field as a whole, everyone is adapting, moving forward and integrating crypto.

The introduction of cryptography makes sense

It’s likely that Microsoft is sensing a new trend around crypto, especially with regard to the incomprehensible token market – an area that has been booming recently. To put things in perspective: The market for digital collectibles has grown significantly in recent months as more and more celebrities take advantage of the trend to digitize their artwork.

Looks like it: NFT Art Revolution: Knocking about his 5040 days of work of love.

For example, Jack Dorsey’s first tweet as an NFT recently sold for $2.9 million. Also, Mike Winkelman – the artist known as Bipple – recently sold one of his works to the Christie’s auction house for a whopping $69 million, making him one of the most valuable artists in the world.

So Microsoft has every reason to re-explore this ever-evolving space and potentially expose its huge customer base – the number of people who own an Xbox One console is estimated to be around 48.69 million – to the digital asset market. When BTC returns to the platform as a payment method, it will mark as a crypto currency exchange point, suggesting it could stay there for some time.

Related Tags:

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[allbeendonebefore]

Caroline and Edith: A Brief Intro

I figured I don’t talk enough about the gals so I will do so here because i can’t concentrate and wanted to write about them for like a year

about: the concept of nyo characters and 2p characters is a thing in canon hetalia and the fandoms- i’m not terribly fond of 2p as its been characterized by the fandom (as sort of two dimensional ‘bad’ versions) and have only treated it jokingly thus far, but i have for whatever reason been curious about gender bending/sliding/swapping. I personally like personifications to /mean/ something and not simply give them a different gender, so I personally have thought of nyo and on occasion 2p personifications as different aspects of one city. In the case of ‘fem ed’ and ‘fem cal’, they represent former municipalities that are absorbed into existing ones. Some people do this with their nyo!characters, some people don’t, it’s just a personal preference of mine that I think gives an extra dimension and twist to just popping existing characters into different clothes. Basically, they look similar after having lived together so long (the joke being that to people outside the city they are basically the same thing) and they have a sort of adopted sibling relationship though they are not biologically related. 

and now the gals

fyi i know more off the top of my head about edith because i’m a u of a alumna and grew up on the south side literally on campus so therefore a little biased :^) Do i have interest in creating nyo characters for other alberta ocs? idk - i have a slight interest but idk if i have the time or energy to invest in characters who aren’t as familiar or immediately important. It’s more a development that comes after a lot of research and local knowledge. But anyway, without further ado, here are some facts.

Edith / Fem!Edmonton / Old Strathcona / South Edmonton

History

- once an independent and successful city (Strathcona), joined Edmonton in 1912 for tax benefits. 

- Now exists as Old Strathcona - most well known for being the home of the University and Whyte Ave as well as Rachel Notley’s stronghold - typically the only riding in the province to consistently vote NDP in both provincial and federal elections. Hipster central (though is slowly losing that status to Ed and 124th street on the North side). 

- was given the University of Alberta to compromise between Ed/Cal, but Ed ended up getting it anyway.

- represents the area on the south side of the North Saskatchewan. As a result she has more Blackfoot heritage where Ed has more Cree heritage. Also home to a lot of Metis people who fled Red River. Really sad because Laurent Garneau’s tree just got brought down ToT

- got the railroad that ed was supposed to get because the CPR was too lazy to build a bridge. only some vague bitter feelings between her and ed over this but they’ve gotten over it - ed is making sure to hold on to the old railway tracks Just In Case.

- Fought really hard in the 1970s to keep her heritage buildings and status during a time when the city was ready to tear it all down. Still really rankled by new developments.

Looks/Personality/Interests

- round hips and buff legs, narrow torso, not-quite-flat chest. Basically shaped like a bowling pin if a bowling pin was pointy, or alternatively, shaped like the Strathcona Public Building 

- always has her hair up when not at home, most usually in a bun. Cats eye glasses which she actually does use to see. 

- Younger than Ed but grew up faster than him. Is still taller than him today (but only slightly). Generally more blunt, more fashionable, more open and outspoken politically, and less of a worry wart. Technically closer to Cal in age.

- cat person, tea drinker, and so many tattoos. probably piercings. i haven’t figured it out. seems to manage to eat cake at block 1912 and all the trendy instagrammable foods and drinks every day and yet has no obvious source of income. Seems to disappear into that mysterious door just off Whyte labeled “SECRET LOCATION, DO NOT ENTER” (aka a local brewery’s secret hq a close walk from the old railway station which has since been converted into a beer market). Her personal style is more rockabilly than explicitly hipster- there are a lot of retro dress shops in old Strath + tattoos + leather because Alberta

- volunteers at fringe every year and probably on a first name basis with nathan fillion. fringe/acting is her life. Has an expansive and expressive theatre ability on stage, but off it she’s just kind of ‘meh’ and indifferent and private.

- is at the farmer’s market every saturday, probably selling stuff ed has grown

- lives in an old Edwardian heritage home somewhere in Old Strath, has a fluffy white cat, bikes or takes transit everywhere.  

- likes to weld weird abstract metal... things?

- Likely the one who caused the political Orange Crush for Ed, but could care less about the Orange Crush of the sporting world. Literally could not care less about hockey because of the bad riots they cause on Whyte that keep her up at night - ‘literally no amount of alcohol is going to fix this for either of us, go home’. Her sporting passion is actually basketball and roller derby, but nobody knows that because she doesn’t tell anyone. Doesn’t ride horses, (if she does, it’s English style riding), but really loved betting on them back in the day. Has a lot of FC Edmonton merch and watches soccer games, but gave up on lacrosse when the Rush moved to Saskatchewan and broke her heart. In general, she loathes organized sport and Especially the NHL, but will watch U of A Pandas/Golden Bears games because they are cheap and accessible. 

- sex positive, just not interested in discussing her own sex life or those of people she knows. I tend to think of her as aroace-spectrum (i.e. sex neutral or favourable in certain contexts, not interested in long term romance. No gender preference. Doesn’t like dating people she knows/friends.) She recently started hosting Pride herself and it has been a great success. Only enters adult stores if they are cute and queer friendly.

------------------

Caroline / Fem!Calgary / Bowness / Northwest Calgary

History

- Used to be part of Cochrane Ranch in the golden age of cattle ranching. Grew up with kind of a southern belle/debutante lifestyle that hasn’t totally left her. 

- Younger than Cal, grew up in the golden age of ranching and in the middle of massive immigration. 

- that is, both she and calvin were raised in ranch houses learning to play croquet and polo and dressing well and having tea and so on and so forth - Caro in some ways moreso than Calvin who had previously grown up in the old NWMP fort as well and knew differently- slightly more about Calgary-the-wild/mild-west-frontier

- The ranch was later divided up into recreational parks and ice skating rinks and golf courses and houses and things - though it wasn’t part of the city, people from Calgary would come up to visit all the time by streetcar as a little mini ‘escape’. Met a lot of famous people during this period, including Fred McCall the ace wartime pilot who would fly her and Cal out to Banff for day trips 

- Joined Calgary in 1964 because the nearby town of Montgomery had already done so, so why not. 

- still has really strong class divides due to the history of the area

Looks / Personality / Interests

- Though she’s sort of a prairie princess in some ways, Caro really embraces the “tough flannel wearing” sort of image of western ladies who would ride all day to get to a dance in another town. She’s still very insistent on presenting herself as feminine and well to do, but she can’t shake the country image no matter how hard she may try to play big city socialite.

- Tall like Calvin, only slightly shorter than him. Freckles, more obvious and more numerous than Calvin’s. Pretty much an hourglassy figure and a little bit busty (c cup because the city’s dumb obsession with cs get it). When I draw her i have that terrible quote from Destroy All Humans stuck in my head i.e. “would you get a load of this brassiere? i could torpedo a uboat with these things!” because I guess I also think of her as a post-war suburban housewife secretly.

- Usually has her hair in a loose side braid but will attempt fancier up-dos for social events. It’s wavy and relatively long, past her shoulders. Pierced ears, likes long dangly earrings and Expensive jewelry. I tend to look at the Library when I draw her - I like the round wheely shapes from its history as an ATV shop and use those as jewelry, so its like Long and Round shapes for her body but she also has a pokey chin/nose/fingers etc like Calvin.

- she tries to keep her fashion sense in that sort of light and airy feminine zone but she still gets all her dresses and blouses from Lammles. Will Absolutely rock the full western jeans and flannel during stampede or on vacation in the mountains, but in the city she tries to keep it more urban and/or professional.

- bigger fan of sports than Edith, Extremely into hockey and is a Serious supporter of the Calgary Inferno. Only wears jerseys on game day, but has one in each colour for each team.

- her political views are slowly ~seeming~ to shift- being a typically right wing conservative stronghold was upset in the 2015 election and she now lives in an NDP riding which is Very Interesting. It was a split between NDP/Cons/WR 5:5:3 so you could argue the right-wing vote outnumbered the left wing 8:5, but it’s still Very Interesting, thanks First Past the Post. Generally like Calvin she is a True Blue Conservative, though she might lean more towards WR and he leans more Liberal (shocker, I know). But I won’t be able to figure out whether she’d be a UCP voter yet so we will have to Wait and See who she hates more xDD  

- that said, like many Albertans and particularly those in urban areas, Caro is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. She does take a longer time to understand issues that don’t obviously affect her and for that reason she is the sort of person to deny the feminist label even though she really aligns with it, but she’s learning. Generally really traditional and embraces femininity and the division of labour between genders, etc. WASPy. 

- generally very no-nonsense and more biting verbally than Calvin, but also very much a romantic. She can be the PTA wine mom of your worst nightmares or the harlequin heroine of your dreams, just try not to get on her bad side. She likes numbers and finances because they are straight forward and say what they mean.

- I’m still divided on where she lives. Calvin is the one with the penthouse downtown, Caroline is the one in the suburbs but she probably still owns ranchland that she likes to supervise even if she doesn’t actually live there. All her horses are named after horses from Heartland or something, probably. Dog person. Hangs out in Edworthy Park to meet dogs, probably.

- literally both the girl in pumps and a pencil skirt who drives a car2go to get groceries and also the girl in rhinestone studded boots who drives a big black truck with a huge pink flowery cursive ‘oil wife’ decal on the back window, or the pink flowery cursive ‘dirty money’ across the top.

- literally to understand caroline-as-socialite pls just watch gavin crawford’s wild west - the oil wife [part one] [part two] i swear to god i cry laughing every time at ‘how about a western theme- how about not’. Everything gets me but especially the passive aggressive ordering-dessert-for-everyone and staring them down until she gets her way. You know what, just watch all of the shorts, it’s a brilliant series.

[howwearestories]

10 Questions with Director Tim Irwin of Don’t Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker

This spring it was announced that influential punk band Jawbreaker would play their first show in over twenty years at Riot Fest in Chicago. Soon after that came news of the release of Don’t Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker, a documentary featuring members Blake Schwarzenbach, Chris Bauermeister, and Adam Pfahler exploring the trajectory of their career, along with interviews from Steve Albini, Billie Joe Armstrong, and Chris Shiflett, among others. The film, directed by Tim Irwin and the late Keith Schieron, will screen tonight at Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn (with an additional screening added for September 6th, due to popular demand).

We caught up with Tim Irwin for our latest 10 Questions interview and talked about his earliest directing experiences, his advice for aspiring filmmakers, and his goals for the film.

1. What was your introduction to punk rock? And to Jawbreaker specifically?

I was kinda primed for it at a pretty young age by one of my friend’s older siblings who had introduced me to The Cure and Joy Division. But I actually came to punk mostly through early skate videos. Specifically, it was the Streets on Fire video that Santa Cruz put out. I remember being kinda blown away by the first two tracks. I think it was Sonic Youth’s White Cross, and then The Minutemen’s Paranoid Chant. I was smitten with the sound. I went out and bought Post ‘Mersh Volume 3 that day. As far as Jawbreaker goes, my lifelong friend (and co-director on this film and on The Minutemen film) Keith Schieron introduced me to them.

2. Tell us about your earliest film inspirations and first experiences directing.

The absolute earliest stuff I can remember is in about third or fourth grade. My grandpa gave me a 110 instamatic camera. In school I had this artsy fartsy hippie guy for a woodshop teacher. Only he wasn’t that interested in woodshop, so he’d do these units on different areas of art. When he did a section on photography, all the kids showed up with these crazy expensive SLRs and I had this 110. I remember thinking that I wasn’t going to let this get in my way, and that my stuff had to be really unique because the actual quality of the photos wasn’t going to compare with the rest of the class. It kinda lit a fire under me to help me really try to come up with unique and creative angles or points of view. Later on in high school, I went to a communications magnate and took video classes. That’s where I met Keith and I started filming my friends skateboarding, and Keith and I would do little documentaries about our friends’ punk rock bands, and I basically just never stopped doing that.

3. Jawbreaker has a very dedicated fan base and has influenced countless bands over the years. How did the process of capturing their history come into fruition?

It was all Keith’s doing. We had just finished our documentary about The Minutemen (We Jam Econo) and we wanted to do another film.  I don’t remember if it was Keith reaching out to Adam, or Adam reaching out to Keith, but regardless of that, I do remember that we definitely wanted the next film to be about Jawbreaker.

4. Were there any similarities between working on this film and your previous music documentary? What was different?

Yeah, it was similar in that it was about a band we loved and we self-funded it and had to work our butts off in between gigs to make it happen. Also, the fact that the band was so well respected made it relatively easy to get other people to agree to be interviewed. It was different in that everyone in this band is still alive. Another huge difference is that there was just a lot of normal but difficult life situations for both me and Keith that caused long delays in finishing the film.

5. What is the best piece of advice you’ve received in terms of following your passion and moving ahead creatively? 

Take a hike. Literally. When I find any sort of block, creatively or otherwise in my life, I head to the mountains to spend time there clearing my head so I can approach things from a fresh perspective.

6. Many aspiring filmmakers don’t have the funds available for the cost of production and/or promotion. What do you think is the best way filmmakers can deal with these obstacles?

Visa / Mastercard / Amex. Just kidding, sort of. I would give the advice that you build your career around a marketable skill like editing, or shooting, or sound. Those are all things you can get paid to do while also building your skill as a director.  

7. Jawbreaker recently announced that they'll be playing their first shows in over twenty years. How difficult was it completing a documentary about a story that is still being written?

Well, there was always the (incredibly remote) possibility that they were going to get back together. When it actually did happen, the film was pretty much in a finished state and we (the filmmakers) had no idea. It caught us totally by surprise. The guys in the band didn’t want to film the reunion shows for the doc. I think they didn’t want it to look like they just got back together to make a nice ending for the film, and I totally respect that, and I’m so happy that these guys are finally playing again. It feels like they are finally getting their due. Also, can I add that as a huge fan of the band, I was beyond stoked. I got to go to the show in San Francisco and it was amazing, I just had the biggest grin on my face the entire time.

8. What advice would you give aspiring filmmakers?

Find an interesting story and tell it. If you plan to at least break even money-wise, then it helps if your story has a built-in audience already. But be prepared to not break even anyway-Ha!

9. If this film can accomplish one thing – What would you like that to be?

Creating a few more Jawbreaker fans would be great, but ultimately, we just wanted to tell a story of what it’s like to be in a band. There are some pretty universal things / arcs / feelings that happen when you are in a band and I hope we’ve allowed audiences to connect with that stuff.  

Additionally, Keith passed away while we were finishing this film and to me this film stands as a reminder of who Keith was and I hope it will help others remember that as well.

10. What are your plans for the rest of the year?

Just gonna keep pointing cameras at stuff.

---

Stay up to date with screening news by checking out the Don’t Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker website here and by following along on Facebook.

[nikihawkes]

Title: Mirage

Author: Julie E. Czerneda

Series: Web Shifter’s Library #2

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: Relationships get complicated when you don’t know who—or what—you really are. Esen must find a way to rescue a hapless group of chimeras, beings who are a new and unique blend of species she knows, when she can’t become one herself. When Evan Gooseberry tries to help, he is shattered to learn he himself isn’t entirely Human and begins to suspect his new friend Esen isn’t what she seems. Complicating matters, a mysterious contagion has killed the crew of the ship that brought the chimeras—and Evan—to Botharis. Everyone’s been quarantined inside the All Species’ Library of Linguistics and Culture, including over a hundred disgruntled alien scholars. The risks climb as Skalet and Lionel continue their quest to solve the disappearance of Paul’s mother’s ship, the Sidereal Pathfinder, only to find themselves caught in a tangle of loyalties as Skalet is betrayed by her own Kraal affiliates, who infiltrate the Library. All of which would be quite enough for one Web-being’s day, but Paul Ragem hopes to rekindle the romance of his first love. A shame Esen hasn’t told him who’s hiding in their greenhouse. -Goodreads

The Review:

I’m a mega Czerneda fan, and Beholder’s Eye (the first Esen novel) has long been a go-to scifi recommend. It was my first Czerneda… heck, it was one of my first sci-fi’s, and I’m sure that plays a role in how thoroughly I’m enjoying this revisit, even 15 years later. Since that first read, I’ve read all of the sci-fi trilogy sets she has on the market, and one thing has become abundantly clear: Czerneda is having more fun than ever.

Her writing always had a good bit of situational humor (my favorite kind), but this latest trilogy really amps up that component, making the books an absolute riot. The tone actually fits in nicely with the latest generation of sci-fi that boasts a lighter, feel-good atmosphere (hi Becky Chambers), so she’s on trend, and recommending her just got even easier.

Good humor aside, she includes some of my favorite creature creations (aliens) across the genre, which is still true now that I’ve read a LOT more sci-fi authors. With a background in biology, Czerneda’s aliens are always well thought out and expertly executed. The fun element comes into play here as well – the ways the aliens interact with the main characters is always great for some laughs.

She also has good characters. I like that Esen isn’t written from a human-minded POV. She’s a Web-Being with thought patterns and tendencies different than our own. Thank goodness we have Paul (human) to keep Esen grounded. ;P Czerneda also has excellent perspective immersion… which can sometimes be so well done that it sacrifices clarity for creativity. All of her books include these signature interlude chapters that take away all context and throw you into the depths of an alien perspective. They’re quite ambiguous and I often find myself retreading them to figure out what’s going on (not that reading them over helps much). Even when seriously studying them for the chance to become a beta reader for another Czerneda project, I struggled with these passages (which is probably why I just missed out on the opportunity). These passages also exhibit a clipped, to the point writing style that makes an appearance to a lesser degree in the rest of her works. Her writing is very stylized, and she often seems more interested in the cadence and mood of the delivery than she is in proper sentence structures (a liberty I don’t mind in the least as it makes the books feel more conversational). In recent books, that unique style has gotten more refined, to the point where the pacing of the scenes rockets (not to be confused with the pacing of plot-advancement, which is ironically a bit slow). It makes for an engaging read, just don’t blink or you’ll miss something.

Overall, this was a good bit of blue blob fun, and I can’t wait to see what Czerneda has in store next.

Recommendations: don’t start here! Go back and begin with Beholder’s Eye or even a different great series starting with Survival. Both hold sacred space on my bookshelves.

I’d like to thank DAW Publishing, Julie E. Czerneda, and Netgalley for the chance to read and review an early copy of Mirage!

Other books you might like:

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Beholder’s Eye by Julie E. Czerneda

Survival by Julie E. Czerneda

Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Fortune’s Pawn by Rachel Bach

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

by Niki Hawkes

Book Review: Mirage by Julie E. Czerneda Title: Mirage Author: Julie E. Czerneda Series: Web Shifter's Library #2 Genre: Science Fiction Rating: 4/5 stars…

[fine-gov-blog]

Date: 6 May 2052 - 5 February 2053 Archived: 7 December 2067

The journal of Tu Ah Zheng, a 15 year old girl from the domed city of Jingding. Her journal accounts the Chinese Strife from her upper-middle class perspective in a relatively safe city. Note that it is largely incomplete due to missing pages.

Translation available:

6 May 2052 Father said I should no longer use the internet as the warlords have "seized the servers". I'll need to physically write now; good thing I've been practising my writing recently otherwise I would have forgotten, much like my friends. 8 May 2052

School set up their own Server-Generator system, though I'm not sure how legal it is now. We were under Sun Qirui's protection for a while but his militia fought with Cao Chun. Father says it's important to always stay updated, but so much changes so quickly it's hard to keep up.  17 July 2052

Mother got punched accidentally today at the supermarket. Punched! There was a sort of skirmish after some of Cao Chun's soldiers came into the supermarket. Mother said they stole food, claiming it was "town tax", and she got caught in the middle of the fight after some residents protested. She didn't tell me what happened to them after it ended. 31 July 2052

The soldiers shut down the school's Server-Generator system so we have to use these old musty textbooks now. They smell nothing like I've smelt before! Liang joked about them being better suited as kindle than learning material. He's rather cute... 1 August 2052

Mai came to school late today. She was in tears. Cao Chun’s soldiers shot her neighbour right in front of their house. Says she doesn't know what he did wrong but he was always a lovely old man. Poor thing probably didn't deserve it. 27 September 2052

We got let out of school early today! Ever since the soldiers started patrolling the corridors kids have been getting rebellious. Liang thinks one of them might have done something. We went down to the old tea shop but they were closed! Something about eviction for tax avoidance. Cao Chun has been taxing an awful lot lately. 30 October 2052

Oh my god, I can hardly write this. Apparently there was a riot in the market after another shop got seized for 'tax avoidance', and the soldiers just killed them all! Nuo was there, and her mother and her just managed to escape. God, I feel bad for her, and those other people! 13 December 2052

Some soldiers came to the door today before I woke up. They told mother that I’m no longer allowed to attend school as it 'drained the economy' and 'distracted children'. I'm happy I don't need to go, but Father doesn't seem to impressed. 2 February 2053

Went to the history museum with Liang and just as we were leaving we saw the blue helmet men from TV drive by. Liang thinks they'll make us go back to school. 4 February 2053 Father tells me they're Peacekeepers from the United Nations. Says they'll bring back the internet and even unite our city with the neighbouring ones. 12 March 2053 We’ve been seeing a lot more UN Peacekeepers about town recently, even some official looking men in suits! Our internet came back on! I kinda forgot about my journal. Anyway, apparently my parents have to vote for something today, I think the UN is setting up something new…

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

What We Learned: NHL parity is actually insanely bad

(Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend’s events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about it.)

The quality of the hockey in these playoffs has been good. Mostly.

The quality of the teams in these playoffs, at least those still standing, kind of isn’t.

In terms of teams that were dominant on a level commensurate with some of the best Stanley Cup winners in recent memory, only two seemed to really be in the conversation. It seemed that Pittsburgh and Washington had the best top-to-bottom lineups and talent at every position to really have been competitive with, say, the 2012 Kings or 2011 Bruins. They didn’t finish especially high in the rankings in unadjusted expected goals percentage (Washington 13th, Pittsburgh sixth) but many of the teams ahead of them — Boston, Minnesota, Los Angeles — had obvious fatal flaws that precluded their legitimacy as true top teams.

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

So problem No. 1 for the NHL in this postseason, as has been discussed at length, is that the two teams in the League you could see as obviously being elite played each other in the second round and somehow the one with all the injuries advanced.

At this point, teams Nos. 5, 7, and 8 in xGF% are still alive, and through its surfeit of inexplicably favorable draws, 20th-ranked Ottawa lingers as well. This generally tells you that expected goals remains a strong predictor of postseason success.

But the fact that one of the top eight teams in this stat either didn’t make the playoffs at all and four more got bounced in the first round tells you a lot about how narrow the gap between elite and not-elite has grown, just over the past few years.

To be elite you have to be both good procedurally and have top-end players. A lot of teams have one or the other, few have both. How today’s Penguins — even at full health — would stack up against, say, that first Chicago dynasty team, with its galaxy of future All-Stars (seriously, look at this roster!) is “unfavorably.”

It’s tough to say this, but whoever wins the Cup this year will probably be the weakest team to do so since Carolina in 2006. And that’s because of how little the salary cap has grown in recent years, and how much the league pushes Capital-P Parity above all other considerations.

How many top teams have been forced to sell off talent in recent years simply because cap flexibility runs away from you when you win Presidents’ Trophies, Stanley Cups, and more than a few individual awards? How much will that continue this year with Washington and (probably) Pittsburgh? It keeps happening for Chicago, even without their previous status as a top team.

What truly separates today’s best teams from the ones that came before them is the fact that they’re just not as good. The best xGF% team left in these playoffs is Anaheim, not a team anyone would really be too impressed with; fair to say they benefited from a pretty weak division. The Ducks’ regular season xGF% ranked 51st since 2007-08, which is not ideal.

One of things you knew about hockey on any given night was that games were effectively a coin flip. Play a game between the best and worst teams in the league, and there’s probably only about a 60 percent chance the best teams wins. Maybe a little smaller than that, even, depending on where the game was played.

That’s the League’s beloved parity at work: There just aren’t the kind of incredibly fun super-teams that run riot over the entire NHL from October to April and everyone comes to hate them and want them to lose. And then a decent amount of the time, they would. Everyone loved that. These were true upsets. Now the No. 8 seed sweeps the No. 1 seed, and a good amount of people league-wide are like, “Well, yeah, that’s not surprising, really.” Nashville was significantly better than Chicago, process-wise, and the only thing to cast doubt on their superiority was the quality and reliability of Pekka Rinne’s goaltending. He was beyond great, Corey Crawford was bad, and here we are.

Meanwhile, Ottawa “upset” Boston, with its mostly AHL D corps, and New York, with its mostly AHL D corps, but they weren’t really upsets in the grand scheme of things. Pittsburgh beating Washington? Barely an upset, and even then really just because of the injury circumstances. Anaheim knocking off Calgary and Edmonton?

Honestly, no one on Earth had any right to feign surprise.

No one wants this to become the NBA, where the Eastern Conference Final is a bloodbath and the Warriors are averaging 123 points a game in the Western Conference Final. The entire season has been prelude to a clash of the titans, but it springs from an opposite problem to what the NHL faces with its forced parity. There, the salary cap has risen so quickly that clubs can put together a handful of All-Stars for their starting five and let them go. The Cavs’ worst starter was the No. 4 pick in 2011.

Of course, the NBA is better and more fun than it ever has been on a night-in, night-out basis. Yeah, the Cavs and Warriors were teams of destiny, and the NBA Finals are going to be appointment television in the way that even two fun teams like Pittsburgh and Nashville wouldn’t be. Or, god forbid, Ottawa/Anaheim.

The NHL, it is constantly acknowledged, is arguably as bad as it has ever been, and very unentertaining most nights. I’ll put the absolute worst of the late-90s/early-2000s slogfests against a standard Colorado vs. Arizona game and tell me how today’s version of the sport is appreciably better.

The only reasonable answer is, “They don’t have the red line any more.” And even then, the NHL has considered bringing back some version of the two-line pass. It’s amazing, really.

What the NHL wants, at the end of the day, is a league in which literally every game is as close to a 50/50 coinflip as possible. Fans don’t want this; they don’t want the best team in the league maxing out at like 108 points, but if the cap remains relatively flat from one year to the next, that’s what’s going to happen. Not next year or the year after, but soon enough.

It’s no coincidence that we’re only a handful of years removed from the first No. 8 seed to win the Stanley Cup, and are now looking at the possibility (continually waning though it may be) of the Nos. 12 and 16 playing for the title. Of course, the league would likely argue that by doing what they have, teams like the Predators and Ducks and even Senators — small-market teams, mostly on a budget — have a better chance to get ahead.

[Fantasy Football is open! Sign up now and start winning season early]

But we’ve spent most of the playoffs bemoaning various issues with the process, the teams, and so on, and that’s all because the NHL values every team having a half-decent shot at getting deep into the playoffs.

And if it feels like the NHL is lacking something these days, that’s because it is. No great teams means far less intrigue.

These are good teams (well, not Ottawa really) but it feels like the definition of what constitutes a “good team” is greatly diminished. In the long run, I’m not sure who that helps.

What We Learned

Anaheim Ducks: This whole “I didn’t know it was a homophobic slur” thing is a load of crap. So is his dumbass “I’m sorry you were offended” non-apology. Just another reason to not-like the Ducks.

Arizona Coyotes: Another coincidence that the most qualified guy for a front office job was an NHL player who once played for that franchise. Crazy!

Boston Bruins: Yeah this McAvoy kid is gonna work out alright.

Buffalo Sabres: What better way to deal with the disappointment of playing for the Sabres than by, ahem, “learning to win” in the minors first?

Calgary Flames: Yeah the reason the Predators are good is because they have an arena downtown. Makes sense. These people are shameless.

Carolina Hurricanes: The only winning move is not to play.

Chicago: I can assure you that you do not want to know the real answer to this question.

Colorado Avalanche: This franchise finally gets a W – That All-Star team they put together 16 years ago is one a bunch of idiots remember being pretty good.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Definitely wise to always get excited when a large 20-year-old goes above a point a game in the WHL.

Dallas Stars: The Stars should trade the pick. For a goalie.

Detroit Red Wings: Yeah it’s amazing what happens when Dylan Larkin gets to play with actual good players.

Edmonton Oilers: The only reason Peter Chiarelli isn’t going to trade for another middle-pairing defenseman is that he’s running out of former No. 1 picks.

Florida Panthers: How many recent Panthers season could this headline refer to?

Los Angeles Kings: Jeff Carter has 10 straight seasons of 20 goals. Folks, I didn’t realize it. That’s a lot, baby!!!

Minnesota Wild: How are you gonna get a “star” for Nino Niederreiter? I’ll hang up and listen.

Montreal Canadiens: Man the knives are o-u-t out in Montreal these days and I gotta tell ya: Only about two years too late.

Nashville Predators: Ah yes, Pontus Aberg. The highlight-reel goalscorer we definitely all expected to get the Preds within a game of a Cup Final.

New Jersey Devils: I mean technically there’s a real chance Ilya Kovalchuk finishes the season on the Devils too, or also that he explodes at center ice in Game 36. All things are possible in the omniverse.

New York Islanders: I hope all future coaching hires in the NHL include “won a Spengler Cup” on their resume. I still don’t understand what that is!

New York Rangers: Yeah, I know.

Ottawa Senators: This is the saddest thing in the NHL right now, by a wide margin.

Philadelphia Flyers: If Mike Vecchione makes the Flyers next year they have much bigger problems than how Nolan Patrick affects him.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins’ fourth line has been a factor because at various points in this postseason it has been their third line.

San Jose Sharks: Joel Ward had surgery on his shoulder but he’s good to go for next season so whatever.

St. Louis Blues: Was there any question about this? I feel like there really shouldn’t be, right? So why bring it up? Hmm…

Tampa Bay Lightning: This is basically the gritted teeth “ehhhhh” emoji in headline form.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Finally, the Leafs are getting a talented young player on an ELC. Finally!!!

Vancouver Canucks: Y’know who Vancouver should get to be their goalie? Cory Schneider.

Vegas Golden Knights: This is the stuff I like to see! Get everyone playing hockey.

Washington Capitals: With all due respect to Stanislav Galiev: “Who?”

Winnipeg Jets: THIS IS NEVER A GOOD HEADLINE WHEN NHL TEAMS ARE STILL PLAYING HOCKEY.

Play of the Weekend

That’s a good First Career Playoff Goal.

Gold Star Award

Pekka Rinne keeps doing it. He’s up to .942 for the playoffs. I’m amazed.

Minus of the Weekend

Ryan Getzlaf is either dumb or super-disingenuous and neither one of those things are good. But the NHL not-suspending him for a game? That’s even worse.

Perfect HFBoards Trade Proposal of the Year

User “PuckSeparator” is trying to make up for the Erat trade.

Alex Ovechkin for Filip Forsberg

Signoff

Hey, he looks just like you, poindexter!

—

Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is here and his Twitter is here.

(All stats via Corsica unless otherwise noted.)

[jobmbaileytait-blog]

Zed Nelson

Zed Nelson is a photographer who lives in London with his work being published and exhibited worldwide. Nelson has made 3 books as well as a few films and commercial work, using the money to fund his personal work.

Zed Nelson began by introducing each of his books briefly before going in to more detail about them. Beginning with Gun Nation, a documentary on America’s love affair with guns and the consequences of it every year. This was Nelson’s first book, made 16 years ago, where he then decided to go back and interview the people making a short film out of this. I was so interested to hear about this project, mainly because the UK is so different to the USA when it comes to certain laws.  10 years after Gun Nation, Zed published Love Me, which is about the beauty industry and how it has manipulated us as humans, making us self-conscious, vain, paranoid and self-aware just so they could sell us there products, how we are brainwashed. I was surprised by the topic of this project and egar to find out more!    

 The third book Nelson made was called A Portrait of Hackney, a very different book which was a lot smaller and more gentle. This book was started after Love Me. He wanted to remind himself of his local area and what it was like to take photographs. I found it rather interesting that Nelson took his time to publish these books and that with A Portrait of Hackney he wanted to “remind himself of what it was like to take photographs”. I didn’t think I would ever hear a photographer say this. A final fourth book which was a disaster and never published was “In This Land” looking at Israel and Palistan claiming it to be a “agonising subject”.

 Moving on to talking about the first picture he ever had published taken in Trafalgar Square. Margaret Thatcher was priminister who had introduced poll tax. The photograph is of a demonstration which ended up turning in to a riot. Nelson then told us how he was actually there as a demonstrator more than a photographer. Making me want to know more. He was able to cross between worlds, being both a demonstrator as well as a photographer as he was able to cross from the demonstrator line to the police line.

 After leaving college, Nelson went to Somalia when a civil war was going on, he found there was a situation of total anarchy with no police or army just some bandits ruling the streets. I wondered what made him choose to go to Somalia in the first place. We always hear of how dangerous it can be and corrupt places like this are. I began to get interested about this project, or what even the project was going to be. Nelson claimed he learnt to much whilst in Somalia, the photographs Nelson was taking were being used for the front page of newspapers in The Independent which would suggest that “everybody was dying”, yet only about a mile away at the market free food was being given. Although began to learn that there was food but it was more to do with economics, and the guns had been brought from the UK, America. It turned out to be more complicated than he first made it to be.

After Somalia, Zed travelled to Angola, a similar situation was going on here in the fact there was a war going on. It was here that Nelson started working for The Face. Nelson explained how he couldn’t understand why the photographs in this magazine were being used and that they all gave a typical idea of a war zone.

 After going to these countries, Nelson felt sickened and confused and that all the early work he had made in these countries was pointless. Nelson decided he wanted to focus on the Western culture, making America a big focus but looking at the negative aspects of it. Back to Gun Nation and talking about how after doing research he found that 30,000 people are shot and killed every year. I was shocked to have learnt this, the number was so high it was almost unbelieveable! It was seen as a black people problem, a gang problem, although this was never officially said. This made Zed decide to focus on typically white people parts of America, where Americans call themselves “normal americans”. Normally the people who manufacture the guns and advertise them.

 One person who Nelson spoke to was Mike who owned a gun store. Mike told Zed he owned a gun because he wanted to protect his family and his daughter. This led to a portrait of Mike and although the statement was seen as pretty specific and reasonable, the image itself is quite ‘controversial’ where it could be seen as reckless and a dangerous act. Where as other people saw something quite different. I agreed with and could see where people were coming from in regards to the statements about this image.

 Continuing on with his project on Gun Nation, Nelson then went to meet a group of Memphis housewives, who had all bought a gun because the advertisement in America had got in to their heads that someone in the parking lot at night would be waiting for them, and so therefore needed a gun to protect them from the people in the bad Neighbourhood they lived near by. I couldn’t understand this, because there are bad neighbourhoods in every country and if you compare it to the UK just as much trouble can be caused as in the USA yet as UK citizens it is not allowed for us to be walking around with guns.

 The next person he studied was Sarah who he recently tracked down and is now 28, and told Zed that she received a 4-10 shot gun from Santa Claus. I just remember at this point saying “oh my goodness” because I would just never think of receiving a gun from ‘Santa’. Whilst working on this project Nelson explained how he wanted to think about the way he photographed things and how with his books the text was going to work with the images.

 Describing how the images were shot, some taken on a large format medium format camera with lighting and details as well as landscapes, others were more reportages in a more documentary way. The reason Zed did the project this way was because he wanted to mix it up and stop it from being a traditional documentary type project.

Allowing the images to not be such an easy ride. Finding out how using gun’s in America becomes so normal and so ‘everyday’ and how the gun issue in America has become so normalised that is has almost become invisible. These are the sort of things which interest Zed.

 Zed Nelson began to talk about a couple, John and Kay, who he met who he says were like ‘born again christians’. Nelson photographed them on a backdrop with light as if it was like a family studio portrait, as if they were like grandparents. However, the strange thing about this photograph is that they are holding a gun. What amazed me was that Nelson asked the woman if she would be prepared to kill someone with the gun to which she replied she would! I was in such shock when I heard this, but then realised for Americans something like this is almost normal. Zed even mentioned about them being born again Christians, to which the reply was it doesn’t say “thou shall not kill” in the bible it says “thou shall not murder”.

He then went on to talk about bullets and how he wanted to photograph them in a product shot like an advertisement. I found this quite interesting as he had been speaking about gun advertisements and what he saw they said. It was great to hear that Nelson used this project which he wanted and chose to do and turn it in to a form of work which could possibly be commissioned. The reason I think he chose to use bullets as an advertisement form of photography is because he began talking about one specific bullet which is the best-selling bullet in the USA. Speaking about how guns are used a lot for suicide and used at home maybe during an argument causing accidents. White middle class men are the biggest victims of suicide in America. I was both surprised and not surprised hearing this because you hear a lot about gun problems in America however they are normally to do with black people rather than white people. Something which really should made more aware.

The next photograph was of a guy who had shot himself in the leg, he was a hunter and many hunters have accidents where they end up shooting their own legs and/or feet off. Following on from this was a photograph of a man named Daniel whose friend had shot him during an argument. I could not get my head around this.

Zed Nelson explained how towards the end of the project he was finding it harder and harder to complete, being quiet meeting people and pretend he wasn’t anti-gun. All of a sudden a high school shooting happened, where two teenage boys went to school and killed 12 class mates and a teacher. Texas had just bought in this law where if you are 21 and over you are allowed to carry a gun on campus. Due to this shooting, instead of banning guns they actually banned trench coats in schools because the teenage gunmen had gone to school in a long black coat. This amazed me, you would never hear of something like this in the UK. The amount of research Zed put in to this project really allowed me to understand a lot about the gun laws in America and his project fascinated me completely. I could have listened to him go on forever. The project took Nelson two years to complete but only went to America about 5 times in total.

“Love Me” was another project of Zed Nelson’s. It took him five years to complete. It looked at how the western beauty idea we are bombarded with, a blonde, blue eyed, pale skinned girl is the definition of beauty now all over the world. They are the standard idea of “beauty”. Nelson spoke about Iran specifically saying how in Iran nose jobs have become massively popular because they typically have a strong nose but the American way seems to be quite chiseled and so this is what they want. Nelson wanted to look at how the concept of beauty has become like a new religion. Hearing this was quite weird, but I understood what he meant because women are all about looking beautiful. So this was an interesting way for Nelson to put it.

Zed spoke about how men are now also being targeted like women have always been. Aging has been sold as a disease. A que to be embarrassed by. What Nelson was interested in in this book was that we cease to understand its effect on us. Talking about a photograph of two 13 maybe 14 year olds in England where the girl was wearing a playboy bunny costume, as if she was exploring being a woman whereas the boy was still a little boy. It wasn’t even fancy dress. Nelson realised that playboy had become a brand popular within this age. When I heard this I suddenly remembered myself at 13/14 and noticed that many of my friends and maybe even myself did own playboy clothes or accessories and now at 22 years old this was actually quite wrong because we understand what playboy actually is. Moving on to talk about hair and in South America the aspiration is to be blonde, so women spend a lot of money and time on their hair. Barbie dolls are looked up to and it is what every girl dreams to look like growing up because they are so perfect looking. Something which Nelson wanted to look in to.

Zed Nelson went to both Miss England and Miss South Africa beauty pageants where he photographed people. He doesn’t say much else about this and begins to talk about going to Brazil where he met a plastic surgeon and his wife who is the surgeons ‘Frankenstein’ where he had completed seven procedures on her. He also spoke of a photograph where the woman had had vaginal surgery. I did not even know this sort of surgery existed and just listening to him talk about it made me cringe, Nelson himself also spoke of how he put this one off and left it till last because he couldn’t bare it. The photograph was taken in Los Angeles as there was a plastic surgeon who specialized in it, it was a new thing to get done. Zed felt he had to study this because it was one of the more extremes and that “what we used to think was weird, has now become normal and now what we now think of as weird will become normal if we are not careful”. A quote of Nelson’s which I remembered well because he put it in such a good way that when you really think about it, it is very true. Nelson asked the doctor about this vaginal surgery and he explained how women come to him with porn magazines and say “Doctor I want to look like that”. I thought this made his project even more intriguing as well as being stronger and different because this is not something someone would usually look in to or think of when we talk about beauty.

The next photograph Zed talks about is of a woman he met in a beauty convention. The reason Nelson finds this an interesting image is because the woman is about 75 and looks great for this age and when we say someone looks good what does that mean? This was a good question for Zed to bring up, how are people meant to look? Another photograph which Zed showed us was of a tummy tuck. Seeing this made my stomach churn yet the photograph itself was taken in a way which worked with the rest of his project. He wanted to show the reality of plastic surgery as Zed thought it sounded so delicate. I thought he did this very well with this specific image because it was something which could and would put a lot of people off of having plastic surgery yet others would still go ahead with it. Discussing a photograph on a face lift, which Zed described as peeling the skin off a chicken breast. If you were able to see the photograph you would see what he meant by this and that his comparison was extremely close. I found the project Love Me strange, but I understood it. I felt I had learnt a lot about plastic surgery but also felt I had learnt that portraiture photography can be taken in so many different ways. This interested me in to taking more portraiture photography whereas before I was not too confident with it and so have hardly tried it. However, I believe this is something I should get used to and practice with, especially if I want to work with people in art therapy.

The next project Nelson talks about is of Israel and Palestan. A project he did not seem to confident on. He began by saying he went to Israel because he never wanted to go…? I didn’t quite understand this at first and thought I would see where he was going with this. He came up with how he eventually just thought it is in the news all the time and so he wanted to try and understand something of it which is why did a story about the contrast of how a place that has become so modern could also be so un modern. Nelson showed us some photographs and said as soon as you see the images you get the politics of it where you have Palestan and Israel, where Israel have squeezed the Palestinian’s into smaller areas which then had walls built around them to separate them. A photograph he shows us is of a wall between Israel and a part of Palestan even though it is controlled by Israel. The next thing Zed decided to do was to look at the psyche of Israeli’s, the people who are accused of mistreating the Palestinian’s. I thought this was quite a good thing to look in to, because not everybody understands or knows what is going on in the world, which I think is an important thing to know and so a project like this may be able to help that. The next photograph was of a Palestinian shepherd who is based in one of the areas specifically for the Palestinian’s yet Israel are building settlements in these areas, they are white houses which are built illegally and so for the shepherd his view and his land was these white houses. Zed chose to make a book to try and explain and keep the interest of this subject which he gave up on as he thought it was pointless and so he began to photograph stones on a 5x4 camera and wrote a story about each rock. To me this didn’t sound very fascinating and I didn’t really understand how this worked with the rest of the project. Zed even said himself that if you did not know the background of Israel then you would not understand these photographs even though they had a story to go with them. By the end of this project I was still left a little confused and could see why Zed needed to do more work on it, but it made me feel better that someone within the industry has produced work which hasn’t worked out the way they have wanted it to, yet he still has managed to produce other work he is pleased with.      

I was fascinated by Zed Nelson’s projects, especially as he had made books out of some of them because that is something I am really in to and would love to keep working on for future projects. I was specifically inspired by the project Gun Nation and would love to document projects myself which are about real life issues or people’s real life issues. I think hearing this and what the American people had to say about gun’s allowed me to understand more about the law over there. Where Art Therapy is something I want to go in to, and issues like these which can, as proved causes accidents means that some people will want some form of therapy to get themselves through it and so being able to have an idea of this would help with that form of therapy. Overall, I thought Zed Nelson had produced some fantastic projects which I found myself really engaged in.

[mdye]

What would happen if we gave everyone free money, every year, forever, with no strings attached?

This is a concept known as a “universal basic income,” or UBI. The idea is to guarantee everyone some minimum amount of money so that no one has to live in poverty. And while it might sound a little crazy, the idea is being tested around the world — with pilot studies in Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Kenya, and even one in the United States, based out of Silicon Valley.

In the most recent episode of the Weeds in the Wild podcast, we explored a Kenyan pilot experiment run by a nonprofit called GiveDirectly. They’re giving everyone in a small village around $22 a month for the next 12 years. We talked about how it might shape policies overseas.

In our reporting, we also talked to two people about something slightly different: what a universal basic income might mean here in the United States.

Bob Greenstein has been working on poverty-related policies for 45 years. He’s with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Andy Stern is a former national union leader.

Stern and Greenstein both like the concept of universal basic income and think that people could be trusted to spent a basic income appropriately.

But when it comes to making an American universal basic income a reality, the two have examined the same set of facts and come to fundamentally different conclusions. We spoke to Greenstein and Stern on different occasions, but we asked each of them questions about arguments the other had raised. We’ve put them into a kind of dialogue, so that they can address each other’s claims.

Would a universal basic income work in the United States?

Greenstein is skeptical of the idea. He worries, given his experience in the United States, that creating something like a UBI here would mean slashing other important safety net programs. And he doesn’t think it’s worth the trade-off:

UBI would replace virtually every program in the federal budget focused on low- or moderate-income people.

No food stamps. No Medicaid. No low-income housing. Forget child care. Head Start. Job training. Pell Grants to help people attend college.

You're going to have more deep poverty, homelessness and things like that. That's not what UBI proponents favor, I know. I've had discussions with people where they say, Bob, that's not what we're calling for! I know!

But what they're calling for? I don't see it in the US politically. I share the goals; I just don’t think you can get there from here. And I want to focus on progress we can make.

Stern argues that the US is losing jobs to automation and new technology, and is only going to lose more. He says we need to start getting very creative about ways to solve the problems that job loss will create. A universal basic income might mean cuts to welfare, Stern admits, but he argues that it would be an effective way to build bipartisan support, or “crossover.”

I think it's politically unfeasible in a ... world that, at the moment, politically, is controlled at a federal level by Republicans that we're going to hold on to the things that Bob says we need to improve upon.

I think you need crossover. And I think Bob is right that if you gave the Republicans a free rein, they would cut too many programs and hurt too many people, but I don't think that's the starting place for the discussion.

I am for getting rid of some of basic welfare as we know it. I would get rid of EITC [the earned income tax credit], food stamps, [and] unemployment insurance, and substitute cash for it. I would never touch, you know, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. So I'm taking about half of the existing welfare programs and repurposing them for a universal basic income.

How would we pay for it?

The two also disagree about whether it would be possible to fund a universal basic income even if you did make cuts to welfare as we know it. Stern has a plan to offer $1,000 a month to every citizen between the ages of 18 and 64. He estimates it will cost around $1.7 trillion, and believes we could find that by shuffling around our tax code:

I think paying for things is always important. I say that there's $500 billion as part of the 122 current cash transfer programs that could be repurposed for this.

There's $1.3 trillion in sort of corporate tax expenditures, which mostly go to [the] middle and upper middle class. There’re tax breaks, you know, for things like charitable deductions or your second vacation home that most working people don't ever get to take advantage of...

People who've lived in other countries understand that we're the only country in the OECD that doesn't have a value-added tax of any level. You know, that would raise a tremendous amount of money.

So to me it's about political will, not a question of is there enough money in the United States.

Again, Greenstein doesn’t believe that’s politically feasible. He told us that a radical shift like this is unlikely to pass, especially since it involves the government giving cash payments to people without jobs. Policy change, he says, is incremental:

Yes, I know that UBI supporters, some of them, say, “No, no, we'll do huge taxes on the rich.” Well, we haven't done a really good job of getting them through. You completely lose the right side of your left-right coalition when you do that.

And besides, we're going to need very substantial tax increases in the years ahead just to shore up and prevent insolvency in Social Security and Medicare, to deal with other big problems like crumbling infrastructure, climate change...

If I thought the political culture in the US was like Western Europe, where you have much higher levels of taxation, and more universal support, I'd love that. I'm for that. But that's not the real world in the US.

The political culture and history of the US is very clear that policymakers and the general public do not support big cash payments for poor people who don't work, who don't have jobs, who aren't employed.

I don’t agree with that! I’ve spent years fighting that!

I have really learned in 45 years in the trenches that there is not the same kind of support in this country. I wish there were!

Wishing doesn't make it so.

I've been working here on poverty and budget issues since 1972, and what I've really learned is: Change comes incrementally in this country.

It's unglamorous. It's frustrating. It's imperfect. The name of the game is just to spend year after year, decade after decade, working as hard as you can.

If automation eliminates jobs, a basic income could be a solution

Stern thinks the loss of jobs to automation is going to change what is and isn’t politically feasible:

I think technology is gonna destroy the labor market as we know it, and it's going to create a desperate need to find solutions in order to provide social stability.

Wealthy people, historically — when there were riots in the ’60s, you know — were able to respond in order to in some ways protect themselves. But now their kids, middle-class kids, are going to be affected.

So I think there will be a growing political movement that includes middle-class people involved.

And, Stern adds, the policies Greenstein is fighting for may not be any more feasible than a UBI in the current political climate.

We're about to lose some of the most basic programs we had, like Medicare, potentially. I don’t think there's any proof that it's any more politically feasible to hold on to what we have than to build on a big new idea.