#inertia project concept

[drdeltabean]

A couple of concept doodles for Damien, a pivotal character in Inertia :)

I have the idea for him to be a photographer and close with Leo (“close” he says, knowing my plot has them very gay). Just two chill guys, probably in a school paper club or something

Very much a character inspired by artist Jhariah’s music, I’ve been having a lot of fun fleshing out and experimenting with his story!

[cuddlebugmonster]

I present to you Luna Mikey ! From my apocalyptic AU Butterfly Effect !

This has been a little side project that i have been wanting to draw for so long !!!

Whenever i would see others draw peepaw apocalyptic Mikey, they would usually associate his magic with butterflies, materializing them for Casey or just in general

I wanted to play with that concept and make my own ! So yeah ! Born from love and in 2hours with AJR Inertia blasting on loop, this sketch and now full blown mystic warrior was born !

I have a whole story i would love to make, i already have the ending fully ready in my head.

When I was making this design i didn’t initially think about a specific butterfly, but when I drew the dread tails and it made me think of the Luna moth ! So I got curious and did some research, and HOLY SHIT i have never been so happy with results in my life !

YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT THIS DOESN’T JUST SCREAM MIKEY !! it’s so perfect ! It fits so perfectly ! I swear I’m not crazy !!! It’s just AH ! It JUST.MAKES.SENSE !

I rest my case

Next

[pseudonymphomania]

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO ME!

February was the month I became involved in the Obey Me fandom. I had some time last year and I was so inspired that I ended up writing a longfic, but it simply wasn’t enough for my newly obsessed brain. I was a traditional artist until last year when I decided to try my hand at digital art. Uh. It was difficult. I was so frustrated. Canvas size, where my tools are, how brushes work, making a colour palette and layers are all examples of things that I now take for granted these days. Dialuci was the entire reason I didn’t just give up and throw it all away. In fact, they became the reason I got better. I was determined to depict them in whatever scenario I had in my mind even if it was going to be a visual travesty. I focused on the most important thing; having fun. Over time, they became proof-of-concept that improvement is tenacity and repetitiveness.

My first and most-popular fic is Self Control. I spent exactly two months on it powered by creative inertia and an intense hyperfixation that I had not experienced since my teen years writing on Fanfiction.net; the DiaLuci ship dynamics were just that compelling and what was supposed to be a 20-Chapter loosely-connected aphrodisiac-induced smut turned into a whole play-by-play smutty epic about events before and leading up-to lesson 16 (87 chapters!). The rest is history. Now I have multiple stories under my belt and from this, even became a digital artist even though the only thing I thought I could do was write!

Spotlight: Happy Almost-One-Year Anniversary to this comment that I come back to and think about often out of all the wonderful comments I’ve gotten this past year.

I'll have you know that every time I have to write something, I try my best to place the characters in the scene so that it makes sense to someone who isn't me; I think of you every time I do so, dear reader. Thank you again for such a nice comment and representing the value of constructive criticism.

I’ll get back up and writing soon, I promise!

My biggest project to-date:

My Work-in-Progress Lineup:

Based on Obey Me Nightbringer chapter 37 and 38. I am pleased to present these two in their emotional duality. I’m planning on releasing them both at the same time because of the meaning I took from this narrative.

I started out a writer but I've been more involved in art these days. As various platforms are excited to regale me about my anniversaries, I look back on my fandom journey and I remember that you were all at the beginning of it. Thank you all for being excited to see what ridiculousness I get up to and for being a place I can enjoy my time being.

Here's to another year!

[henghost]

thinking about why i love the jamie/sy dynamic so much. i think it comes fundamentally from their difference: sy's inability to remember, and jamie's inability to forget. we tend to think of memory as something passive, some kind of inevitable degradation, but--as sy reminds us every so often--to forget is something active, a pathway to advantage and strength.

nietzsche discusses this concept in depth in his genealogy of morals: for nietzsche, forgetting is "no mere vis inertiae as the superficial imagine; it is rather an active and in the strictest sense positive faculty of repression," "an apparatus of absorption," "a plastic, regenerative and curative force." finally he concludes, "What we experience and absorb enters our consciousness as little while we are digesting it . . . as does the thousandfold process involved in physical nourishment . . . so that it will be immediately obvious how there could be no happiness, no cheerfulness, no hope, no pride, no present, without forgetfulness." sy is the innocent child who cannot hold onto details that have no immediate value for him. this way, he is closer to a hippo or a vine: he is driven by desire or will alone, rather than some kind of historical debt. this is why he is reckless, difficult to control.

jamie, meanwhile, is of course the opposite. he is cursed to remember everything. he has an inescapable debt to memory in the form of his notebook. make no mistake: this is a punishment. nietzsche writes, "‘A thing must be burnt in so that it stays in the memory: only something that continues to hurt stays in the memory." to me, this suggests that jamie is in constant psychic pain, poor baby. perhaps this is why he must adopt his trademark cautious, skeptical, and above all passive demeanor.

this may also shed some light on the nobility's fascination with project caterpillar--at first it is easy to assume that they intend to use it for themselves as yet another "upgrade," but more likely in my view is that they intend to use it on their subjects. nietzsche documents how, in order to develop the faculty for memory in humans (because it would be a mistake to assume that it is "natural"; most if not all other living beings are incapable of memory in the way we understand it) it was first necessary to punish. punishment creates a kind of "memory of the future," it creates fear to control the natural animal impulse. we remember what happened to recipient of punishment and prevent ourselves from committing that same transgression. it stands to reason, therefore, that the nobility would like to make it impossible for the general public to forget, as it could only increase the nobility's power and control.

[cryptocism]

So we have Bart, Thad, Jude, and Nathaniel... If Three, Five, and Six wanted non-numerical names, what would they choose?

tbh i hadn't really thought of it! Jude and Nathaniel having their names taken away was an intentional story thing, tying in to all the clone stuff about identity and personhood. They were the only two clones not made for the project, and got to grow up as individuals, meaning names.

But Thad/Two, Three, and Four were made essentially via assembly line. Only difference between them being Three and Four knew it, whereas Thad did not. Three and Four telling each other who they have to be right at the top of Frequency (approx 8 million years ago) is them literally forcing each other to be a tiny cog in the larger machine of Project Inertia. They both try to claim the name Thad and they both shoot each other down immediately:

"Three. That's your name. I can't call you Thad, after all. That's me." "You're not Thad. I'm - That's me. You're... you have to be Four."

And even that whole concept; of having to fight over one name because only one of them can Be Inertia, is itself a shadow of what Thad was already doing by claiming himself as Thaddeus Thawne the Second. He has to attach himself to someone/something else (in this case the President and the Thawne family legacy) in order to feel validated. More like a real person.

Five and Six are just another level down in this Inception-style layer cake of trying and failing to belong to something. Thad trying to legitimize himself with the Thawne name, then Three and Four trying to do the same with Thad's name, then Five and Six: the most comfortable with their numerical designations specifically because it holds an explicit connection to Three and Four. Each iteration trying to tie themselves to the scraps of things that only make the earlier versions unfulfilled.

Long winded explanation but a very long way to say, I think Five and Six have the most attachment to their numerical names, and likely wouldn't want to change them in the first place, which is why I hadn't really considered it.

Three on the other hand would have to basically dissolve his entire worldview on who he is and what he wants to be if he were to ever even consider a name specifically for himself. Abandoning the need to tie himself to someone else's identity would necessitate an almost unrecognizable change in his character.

[canmom]

since this seems to be my topic of obsession for today...

turns out Bluesky internally uses content-based addressing and IPFS. I don't have a lot of use for it since it's a Twitter clone, and I've never got on very well with Twitter. Bluesky hides most of that from the user - it looks just like any old web app backed by a central server. i need to look into this more, Bluesky is taking inspiration from IPFS but it's using its own protocol, and it is doing some good things. I think its protocols could be used for something more Tumblr-like.

there's a protocol called PubSub which sounds like it does a lot of what I want, or rather gives you the low-level framework to broadcast info across a decentralised network. you could build a social network on top of that. IPFS uses it as one way of handling mutable data, like 'my website just updated'.

there's an absolute plethora of ideas, protocols, and tools for decentralised file sharing, decentralised messaging, decentralised social networks. this broad idea space is very much the hot new thing at the moment. some of them seem like they're growing. a lot of them have glossy websites with animations and stock photos of smiling people. it's hard to know in advance what's worth paying attention to. the whole field is dense with acronyms and rather abstruse concepts. which unfortunately means the current audience tends to be limited to tech nerds (c'est moi) and crypto cultists (ce n'est pas moi. merde!).

Briar is a protocol I find personally very appealing. it's security-oriented, designed to be crazy resilient, creating a mesh network through whatever protocols are available. you use it for E2E-encrypted messaging, but also you can use it for threaded discussions and blogs. right now it's only available for phones but they're working on a desktop version. the primary use case seems to be like "you're at a protest and the gov shuts off the internet", but it would be a very sexy place to put your blog. that said, I expect it would not be very fast at all.

the major encryptable, decentralised Discord/IRC alternative is Matrix. I broadly like the look of it, but we have the same problem of inertia getting people to switch from Discord, and there's still some jank I encountered when I tried it.

there's a lot of cryptocurrency in this whole area. (not surprising since the underlying tech of crypto is also hash-based, and there's ideological overlap between crypto and torrent people, because 'decentralised').

notably, there's a companion project to IPFS, a complicated scheme called FileCoin which is designed to encourage people to host data for a certain period in return for FileCoin tokens. you get FileCoins for consistently holding onto the data, and you lose a stake of FileCoins if you delete it prematurely. these FileCoins can then be used mainly to pay other people to host data for you: you pay FileCoins to a host, and pay them again to fetch your data(!). or you can trade them for other cryptocurrencies.

I'll acknowledge it doesn't seem as intrinsically environmentally corrosive as proof-of-work crypto, or even as simply 'the rich get richer' as proof-of-stake crypto. it's not filling up HDDs with random crap either. though it does sound like it requires quite a bit of CPU work to be done in all the hashing for the 'sealing' process.

I'm still not entirely convinced of the benefit this scheme brings. crypto stuff has a tendency to go belly-up very abruptly when speculative bubbles pop, so I wouldn't be super excited to rely on FileCoin for archiving some valuable bit of data. of course any offsite backup carries risk, e.g. Dropbox could go bankrupt one day. but I'm way less convinced of the benefits of something like FileCoin than IPFS. I guess it remains to be seen if this takes off.

[randomvarious]

Today's mix:

Global Underground 016: Cape Town by Dave Seaman 2000 Progressive House / Progressive Trance

Back on my Global Underground grind this week to check out this turn-of-the-millennium double-disc mix from the one and only Dave Seaman, the guy who, among other things, managed to transform UK publication Mixmag from a DJ newsletter into a biblical monthly electronic music magazine, while also becoming one of the world's most revered DJs. Simply put, you can credit a significant portion of electronic dance music's growth and spread to him.

But, just like with Seaman's Buenos Aires set, I think that I might have an unpopular opinion about this one too, which represents Global Underground's first ever dispatch from Africa. See, something that I seem to keep running into with these showcases of super popular DJs (which is a corny concept on its face, to be honest 🙄) is overall inconsistency. One disc will range from pretty great to excellent, and the other will be pretty lackluster, in comparison. But to me, Seaman's discs serve as exceptions; they are neither pretty great, nor are they lackluster; they're just steadily good. And most of the reviews I've read for both this Cape Town release and the Buenos Aires one don't happen to express that opinion; the majority of them seem to think that Buenos Aires is fantastic, and this one is a tick or two below it.

Now, while, overall, I think the darker disc 1 is the stronger affair here, this release's greatest moments still seem to come in the second disc, with a totally sublime three-song run on its back half, starting with short-lived trio Nerva's "Modo VII (Santo Nerva de Mercia Mix)," followed by back-to-back tracks from duo Way Out West, of which the great Nick Warren—who himself put out the most spellbinding GU disc I've ever heard: the second one from his Brazil installment—is a member. First, Way Out West deliver "The Fall," which, personally, hit me *really* hard, because it samples the vocals that were used in one of my most favorite ambient tunes of all time, Mixmaster Morris' pretty legendary remix of Coldcut's "Autumn Leaves;" and then Seaman follows that up with a terrific Way Out West remix of James Holden's "Horizons." I'm basically an enormous sucker for a trance tune that incorporates rich and classy piano stabs, and a song like that one serves as a prime example of it (Max Graham's "Bar None" is another one that immediately comes to mind too, by the way, although it's not on this mix 😌).

And there's some great songs on the first disc too, but none of them really beat Bill Hamel's "Quadrant Dub" remix of Inertia's "Vellum." That one makes for a pretty transcendent, densely-packed climber in its first half. Plus, the "Futureshock Instrumental" of Moby's "Porcelain" is really cool too, as the duo takes the original's iconic strings and chops off their ends in order to meld them with a chugging mid-90s-type of house drumbeat 😎.

So, not fully bowled over by either of these discs, but definitely not disappointed with them either. Not the best GU mix I've ever come across, but also definitely not the worst. Just a steady-Eddie stream of good dance tunes, pretty much the whole way through.

Listen to CD1 here. Listen to CD2 here.

Highlights:

CD1:

Rui Da Silva Presents The Four Elements - "Earth" Moby - "Porcelain (Futureshock Instrumental)" Ian Wilkie - "Guten Morgen" The Ananda Project - "Cascades of Colour (Saffron Mix)" Inertia - "Vellum (Hamel's Quadrant Dub)" Gloat - "Wuarp" Above - "New Day Dawning (Above's Dub)" Breeder - "Tyrantanic (Slacker's Kingdom Come Mix)"

CD2:

Nerva - "Modo VII (Santo Nerva de Mercia Mix)" Way Out West - "The Fall" James Holden - "Horizons (Way Out West Remix)"

[kalessinsdaughter]

The Emperor's Soul, Epilogue: Day One Hundred And One

kalessin reads cosmere

Preface | Day Ninety-eight

There's eighty factions?! For real? Dear me, that sure makes for interesting palace intrigue. A perfect environment for someone like Frava, so dishonest she doesn't understand honesty.

Good to see that Shai completely pulled the wool over Frava's eyes. Hopefully she'll be so busy looking for the nonexistent back doors to the emperor's mind that it takes the edge off her scheming.

I love that Shai stole her own fake of the painting! Atta girl! Also that she feels Gaotona's genuine honesty has rubbed off on her. He didn't deliberately try to manipulate her, but… it works both ways, doesn't it?

I still want to know about the Imperial Fool, though. That feels like a story in itself.

Yes! Introspection! I knew it! Ashravan is going to find his way back to his idealism, arguably his "genuine" self, and break from the inertia of routine. Beautiful!

I love the irony that in the end Gaotona finds himself burning a matchless work of art, just like he was so angry with Shai for doing.

---

On the whole a very satisfying read! I like the focus on intra- and inter-personal development, rather than on epic action and adventure, but then, I've always been a sucker for character-driven stories. The confined setting and limited character gallery, as well as the novella format, all work together to creating a very condensed, intense read.

I also like the way Shai's growing familiarity with her captors and investment in her project blur the lines between protagonist and antagonist. Shai's relationship with Gaotona especially, but also with Ashravan.

I found the concept of Soul Forgery fascinating. Forgery in general, too, and the way the story explores our ideas of what's genuine and fake, what's art and what's forgery.

Very well done, Sanderson!

[miloscat]

[Review] Butterflies: Episode 1-3 (PC)

They understand the concept of love.

After Bomb Rush Cyberfunk wowed me, I wanted to take a second look at this even more indie project memorialising Jet Set Radio. I've played Episode 1 (and some pre-release demos) before but since then, French lead dev Le Capitaine and their Le Crew have finalised Episodes 2 and 3, and published them to Steam as a bundle. Supposedly it's still to be continued but for now the team is hard at work on an F-Zero homage. Hopefully they come back and keep expanding this because what's there so far is really good!

Rather than using JSRF as a jumping off point for gameplay, Butterflies seems to prefer refining what the original JSR was doing. This means a more realistic sense of inertia, and managing the momentum of your crew of inline-skating delinquents. The dash button is there to pick up speed on the ground and grinding rails is not effortless. It's clearly set on improving the clunky play control of the Dreamcast game though, and the result is fast, technical, and satisfying... when you've put some time into mastering it.

To get you there is a low-pressure kind of game design with a set of missions that populate the large levels. You can roam around, tackling them and finding tag spots as you please without a timer ticking down, which on its own is a big step up from JSR for me. These tasks are usually races that pass through checkpoints or specific line runs that require keeping a combo going—some in Episode 1 are particularly strict—while Episode 3 adds in extra graffiti challenges. Going through the checklist is a nice way of showing off these urban sandbox levels as you hunt for write spots or (as of Episode 2 onwards) collectible music tracks.

Each episode has one map to itself while advancing the overall story. The first two are hilly suburban areas, with a bit of industrial in E1, and E3 features a sprawling inner-city area connected by train tracks. Powerlines to grind on and the ability to wallgrind on almost any wall if you have enough speed help you traverse the high degree of verticality built into these zones. The first two episodes have an interesting grungy, sketchy look while the third revamps things with more colour and shiny detail. Populating the maps are your typical low-poly NPCs (I spotted some modelled on Lammy and Parappa!) as well as bear-hugging cops, flying police drones, and zap-projectile-slinging cameras: as of E3, these can all be dealt with by a quick application of spray paint (which by the way is unlimited).

The story is handled a bit more seriously than in some other street punk simulators. In this near-future world, a Japanese city has seceded and is now run as an independent autocracy by one General Sakamoto, and by the end of E3 the rebellious Nat and her growing Butterflies crew are gearing up to rise above petty rudie squabbles and vandalism to really fight back against the fascism. The inclusion of real-world cultures and concerns keeps the tone grounded, like when one of your teammates Jae (who tags in Hangeul) comments on the treatment of Korean immigrants; another, Zinnie, wears a hijab and interjects in Arabic, while Rin is a trans girl and you follow her journey of self-discovery in dialogue which I thought was handled pretty well.

On top of their characterisation in cutscene dialogue, these touchstones make the characters deeper and more relatable, more than just a cool cel-shaded character design. They also for the most part have clear strengths in their stat distributions; I favoured speed specialist Zinnie for getting around. Each one has distinct graffiti designs (they all get a refresh in E3 as well) that, while simple, usually include their name (in katakana) and tell you something about their personality. Writing involves a three-stage timing-based minigame so everyone has three unique designs, although you might find you end up with the simplest "bare minimum" one all over just to save time with the ~200 spots per map.

Since Butterflies has been released episodically over five years, it's interesting to watch as the new instalments make changes and become more polished. It's still rough around the edges even as of E3 but solid enough, and this release structure gives me hope that even more refinements will be implemented going forward (a better in-game map would be nice!). Either way, I've enjoyed what's there so far, and it's refreshing that multiple projects have been springing up in this vein while having their own character: in this case a little bit subdued, down to earth, but it's got heart.

[cosmignon]

11, 16, 23! :)

11. Favorite comment you’ve ever recieved on your work?

Oh that's such a hard question bc I've gotten a lot of sweet comments over the years! But one that sticks in my head from recently is one of my regulars for my commissions commented that he's appreciated seeing my art improve over the years thru the comms themselves and it made me really happy! Like aw shucks, you liked my art enough then and continue to enjoy it more as I improve and grow?! Golly! Wow!!

16. What’s the most daunting part of your process? Ex, planning, sketching, lineart, rendering etc

Planning and composition can be so hard esp if I need to rope everyone into a background!! Once I've gotten past the sketch I can usually get on with things smooth sailing but oh the planning... for comic pages it's hard to get the panel layouts to look good, I still struggle with that a lot too.

23. Do you listen to music or watch shows while you work? If so, what’s your favourite?

Definitely lotta music and youtube vids and podcasts! There's definitely too many to list favorites properly!! but I'll just go through a small sampling of the more recent go to's

Dice Funk! I love Dice Funk theyre wrapping up their current season Rezubian this Sunday and I highly recommend that one it's a good goofy scifi adventure for ppl who like something of a star trek/spelljammer type setting. Ya Like Ilithids? come get em.

I've had AJR's new Album Maybe Man on loop. and by the album I mean Inertia and a handful of the other songs, tho they're all good!

I also continuously compile playlists for all my projects, like Runaway Drakaina, my DnD comic I'm chipping away at, concepts I'd like to work on someday... the RD playlist is 6 hours long and rn the most recent addition is Gone by Morning by Madilyn Mei

I have been slowly (slowly...) watching hbomberguy's donkey kong nightmare stream after seeing him share his side channel, like on and off when I want something really in the background. no paying attention head empty just listening to a man struggle with an old game while raising bonkers $$$ for a good cause

I like watching speedpaints where the artists really go into their process, ABDIllustrates and GinjaNinjaOwO are two big favs in that department! they inspire me a lot esp when it comes to character creation!

BobbyBroccoli got me to engage in a feature length documentary abt Nortel when I don't particularly care for the history of like... tech companies. so glowing endorsement he makes great docs abt tech/science related scandals

I could go on and on but we would be here All Day

[doomedandstoned]

Pittsburgh’s MELT Airs Astounding New Spin, ‘Replica of Man’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Armageddon, religion, technology, shame and greed -- here's a band dealing with some heavy lyrical themes, and doing it with excellence. It's prog-stoner metal trio MELT from the Steel City, and today they're giving us an advance listen to the upcoming album, 'Replica of Man' (2023)

The album opens with narration from an interview long past from the incredible age of Pandora's Box tampering that the 20th century was: "The concept of the thinking machine has been man's dream for centuries, also his nightmare." To accompany this roving commentary on creeping technocracy, the bass slaps out a wicked jazzy stoner groove with vivacity and conviction. By the time drums join in earnest, it feels like we're in Prodigy territory, with metal vocals and doomy riffs. Recording engineer Nate Campisi takes great care in capturing a lusty sound from all of the instruments, and this serves as a captivating vessel for the message:

It fulfills the prophecy Unstoppable technology Steel has seized the upper hand We concede as it commands It’s too late to intervene Mating man with machine No forgiveness for the damned Heed the replica of man

Indeed, we are several chapters deep into a fledgling Technological State and already the human animal is being stretched and contorted in ways that are alien to his nature, but somehow pleasing to the great labyrinth of circuits that make up our computers and smartphones. It's no longer fodder for fun sci-fi blockbusters like Terminator, but an urgent question for our time as to what makes us truly thrive as human beings and how technology can assist us toward that end, not hurt us. Obviously, the band struck a chord with me straight away!

"It isn’t passive music," remarks frontman Joey Troupe. "It has weight, inertia and leaves a mark. We are writing the soundtrack to global annihilation. That includes elements of destruction, despair, gratitude and sometimes, hope."

Elsewhere on the album, the band conjures Lucifer's Friend vibes on "Problem Child" and "Skeleton Girl" exhibits an infectious nu-metal energy -- both captured within a cocoon of fuzzy low-end and performed with all the vibrancy of the garage experience. "Swamp Water" is a good, old-fashioned swampy stoner romp that would make a good companion to Weed Is Weed's "Alligator Crawl." And "Shame" would fit in great with the likes of Mudhoney and Coal Chamber.

The album closer is bathed in dank, watery shadows, with a grungy, forlorn bass groove. It's called "Hive Mind" and lives in the neighborhood of Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard. The song is about how the secrets of life evade us because we're stuck in rigid mindsets ("Sacrament is our demise"), and struggle to find a meaningful role in this artificial maze of concrete and asphalt ("Disguised by life, destroyed by time"). At least that's my interpretation. As I said, the lyrics are thought provoking -- but there's no mistaking the last lines of the track:

We all seek a higher mind So take your breath and blaze a fire Take flight. Ignite. Leave them all behind

Melt's Replica of Man is a virtuosic blend of influences, captivating themes, and crisp, joyful musicianship. Out Friday, July 7th (pre-order here). Stick it on a playlist with Snail, GoodEye, Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol, Null, and Deep Purple.

Give ear...

Replica of Man by Melt

SOME BUZZ

Melt is a Pittsburgh-based fuzz rock band formed by Joey Troupe, J.J. Young, and James May – three seasoned musicians with a diverse range of experience in the music industry.

Joey Troupe (lead guitar/vocals) has played in various bands around the city since 2007, including Blackbird Pie, The Electric Pear, and Paddy the Wanderer — which released several LPs and EPs, toured regionally, and had a song featured on a Netflix series.

J.J. Young (drums) has played in or appeared with over 10 different musical projects, including Fortune Teller, Daisy Chain, and his own solo project, BITE. He is also a co-founder of Steel City Death Club, a Pittsburgh music multimedia collective.

James May (bass/vocals) started Aberrant Kingdom in 2008 and has also played with Spare Arrows. In July 2021, Melt released their self-titled debut and performed live for the first time, quickly making a name for themselves in Pittsburgh music for their lively stage presence and unique extraterrestrial-inspired aesthetic.

Since, the band has headlined shows across the region, been named the WYEP Artists of the Week, held a featured spot on the Deutschtown Music Festival mainstage, and opened for Silver Synthetic of Third Man Records. Their second studio album, Replica of Man, will be released July 7, 2023.

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[drdeltabean]

"Not Finished Yet"

-

I had some fun playing with environment colors, so he's a little illustration of Leo!

SPEEDPAINT up on YouTube! vvv

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While trying to get my series off the ground, anything helps if you could share and check out my video! :D

[upwardwrites]

Placeholders

I love placeholders. They keep me moving, they let me fly through an idea or explore a concept without pausing or let my writing get weird without consequences. They let me not think.

I also hate them.

I hate placeholders today. Mostly because they are making me have to think.

Not talking about stand-in words or names. I do those all the time until I finally hear a better version to correct whatever dumb words I come up with. Davey Jones becomes Deacon Whitlock. Husband Alice Mom becomes Hobbart Monroe. etc.

No. I’m talking about using placeholders when I don’t want to do something. Like research bullet calibers or common reasons for home foundation failure. In goes XXFigure This Out LaterXX.

See ... My brain loves things like cancelled plans or when the project management system at work crashes and I don’t have to do whatever tedious thing was in front of me. It loves the snappy moments when pieces click into place but it does not love sifting through the mess to find the corner and edge pieces or all the other stuff that comes with making it all one cohesive picture.

Now in my re-second-drafting-phase, I need the edges and the corners and all that shit. So I had to set a rule: No. More. Placeholders.

As I’m replotting these scenes in Obsidian, if I hit a section where I’m inclined to say “I’ll figure this out later,” my tag is #figurethisoutNOW. I am giving my cranky brain the option to overcome its inertia and do the thankless edgefinding OR we go work on another “TO SORT” file in the Bible. Whichever is less painful for CrankyBrain, we do that. 

Or ... we write.

I have a whole folder of prompts or ideas for deleted scenes. And if we’re mad enough at the need to research and CONFIRM exactly what type of encephalitis we’re dealing with here? We go write something and have fun. 

We’ll let the Placeholders back in the house eventually. But for now, they have to go. There is no making this work unless we let the stupid foundation set and we can’t let it set if we half ass it. No more placeholders for now.

[me-kohler]

https://louhangaround.mn.co/posts/60722377

What Does the Political Bulldozer Mean in BJP Politics? Exploring Its Impact in India

Introduction to the Political Bulldozer Phenomenon

In recent years, the term “political bulldozer” has gained prominence in Indian political discourse, particularly associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its approach to governance. This article delves into what the political bulldozer signifies within BJP politics, its implications, and the controversies surrounding its implementation.

Understanding the Concept of the Political Bulldozer The term “political bulldozer” metaphorically refers to a robust and assertive approach by political leaders or parties to swiftly implement policies or decisions, often with forceful actions and minimal tolerance for opposition. This approach aims to break through bureaucratic hurdles, streamline administrative processes, and progress significant reforms or projects.

Origins and Usage in Indian Politics Since around 2017, the bulldozer concept, prominently used by leaders like Yogi Adityanath of the BJP, has exemplified a no-nonsense governance style aimed at rapid development and effective administration. This approach often involves decisive actions such as demolishing illegal structures, clearing encroachments, and implementing infrastructure projects with accelerated timelines.

The Impact of the Political Bulldozer Approach Infrastructure Development and Urban Renewal The bulldozer approach in BJP-led states has been closely associated with urban renewal and infrastructure development initiatives. Under this strategy, road expansions, metro rail construction, and innovative city initiatives have benefited from streamlined approval processes and expedited implementation.

Controversies and Criticisms Despite its perceived effectiveness in delivering results, the bulldozer approach has faced criticism for its perceived authoritarian tendencies and lack of adequate consultation with affected communities. Instances of forceful evictions and environmental concerns have sparked debates about balancing development with socio-environmental sustainability.

Political Strategy and Symbolism Beyond governance, the political bulldozer is a symbolic tool for projecting strength and decisiveness, which resonates with the BJP’s electoral base. It reinforces the party’s image as a proactive force capable of driving change and overcoming bureaucratic inertia.

Case Studies and Examples Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath, as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has been a prominent advocate of the bulldozer approach. His administration’s crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and encroachments is cited as an example of rigorous law and order enforcement combined with economic policy.

Other BJP-ruled States, Such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, have adopted similar strategies under BJP leadership, focusing on infrastructure projects and industrial development with a decisive administrative approach.

Conclusion In conclusion, the political bulldozer in BJP politics represents a proactive and assertive governance style to accelerate development and overcome bureaucratic hurdles. While it has yielded tangible results in infrastructure and urban renewal, its implementation has also sparked controversies regarding human rights, environmental sustainability, and democratic governance principles.

For more insights into BJP’s governance strategies and their impact, visit Case Construction India to understand how decisive leadership influences policy and development in India.

This article aims to enhance understanding of the political bulldozer phenomenon within BJP politics by providing accurate and comprehensive information and offering insights into its implications for governance and society in India.

[project-mothership]

A science fiction novel and art project by @kittydisk

last updated: 7/1 [W.I.P]

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Hi! welcome to the blog of Mothership, my in-progress independent project! I've been endlessly polishing Mothership for about four years now, and I am finally ready to write the novel portion. This post will go over the synopsis, background, FAQ, and navigation links.

➤ SYNOPSIS ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Mothership is a science-fiction novel and art project that delves into the experiences of a group of anthropomorphic engineers inhabiting a giant space station. As the team ventures deeper into an unfamiliar universe, they are forced to grapple with profound psychological distortions and volatile laws of nature.

Perhaps they will uncover that the Mind is even more magnificent and boundless than ever imagined.

➤ BACKGROUND ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

In an alternate version of 1970, interstellar travel became an attainable dream. Further exploration of the solar system revealed a stable, naturally occurring irregularity in spacetime—a path connecting two parts of the universe together. This enigmatic corridor, subsequently named the Caesus Bridge, would fundamentally shift the goal of the Cold War. It amplified global nuclear tensions and conflict as countries fought for their right to research the corridor, plunging the world into a state of confusion and religious zealotism. From those ruins, the intense desire for survival and advancement led the Animal race to be galvanized into a spontaneous pursuit of innovation, a scientific renaissance.

Simultaneously, a space race between the United States and the Soviet Union blossomed, driven by the objective to build something so big and habitable that it could explore the universe beyond the Caesus Bridge and, most importantly, sustain its crew indefinitely.

Three concepts between the US and USSR would be solidified over the span of twenty years, but only two were ever assembled. The 1995 US station, Sunshine, which suffered a catastrophic explosion shortly after crossing the Caesus Bridge, and the successor Pioneer Project, code named Mothership, which victoriously completed an unmanned mission on the same path only a few years later.

Mothership stood as America's crowning achievement, a triumph that not only propelled the nation ahead in the space race, but also played a significant role in diffusing the tensions of the Cold War. Many vehicles and technologies would come after it, allowing the Animal race to establish a network of space stations and highways both in our Solar System, and the space beyond the Caesus Bridge.

The stations oxygenated themselves and provided for its crew through the process of large, photosynthesizing farms, recycled watering systems, and the ability to harness rotational gravity, which used inertia to stimulate the effects of Earth’s natural gravitational pull. This would make the interconnected stations habitable for hundreds of scientists, researchers, and commercial customers to live in for years. Stations vary by country, purpose, and size despite the technology remaining in its infancy. Regular missions in between and beyond the station highways would be the new purpose of Mothership; a research vessel seeking to sustain itself further through scientific inquiry, and perhaps find an imperfect ripple in the fabric of the universe.

➤ CHARACTERS ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

➤ NAVIGATION ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

➥ KINA RICADO [PROTAGONIST]

➤ CHAPTERS ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

➥ PREREQUISITE

➥ CHAPTER ONE

➥ F.A.Q

➥ WEBSITE

➤ CAUTION ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Mothership is intended for mature audiences and includes themes of:

● Violence

● War

● Verbal and emotional abuse

● Substance abuse

● Trauma

● Suicidal ideation

● Delusions & hallucinations

● Self-harm, bodily harm

● Existentialism

● Sexual content

This novel has written scenes involving sexual intimacy - please be 18 or over to interact with this content. Warnings will be issued at the beginning of any chapter involving these themes.

[makers-muse]

Unforgettable Physics: Transforming Theory into Exciting Experiments

1. Roller Coaster Physics

Method: Design and Build

Who doesn’t love the thrill of a roller coaster? Create a mini roller coaster using everyday materials like cardboard, marbles, and tape. Explore concepts of potential and kinetic energy, acceleration, and momentum. Measure and calculate the coaster’s speed at different points using basic physics formulas.

2. Light and Optics

Method: Experimentation and Observation

Lights, prisms, and rainbows — an enchanting trio! Construct a simple prism or use lenses to split white light into its constituent colors. Explore how light travels, reflects, refracts, and disperses. Demonstrate concepts like the electromagnetic spectrum, wavelengths, and light’s behavior through different mediums.

3. Rockets and Newton’s Laws

Method: Hands-on Experimentation

Rockets offer a rocket-fueled way to comprehend Newton’s Laws of Motion. Build water or air-propelled rockets to demonstrate Newton’s Laws of Motion. Modify variables like pressure, angle, and mass to observe changes in trajectory and distance. Connect these actions to Newton’s laws of inertia, acceleration, and action-reaction.

Why it’s Incredible: Kids learn about forces, motion, and the laws governing them by launching rockets. They witness the practical application of scientific principles in a thrilling and visually stimulating way.

4. Renewable Energy Projects

Method: Project-based Learning

Design and build a miniature wind turbine or solar-powered device. Explore the conversion of energy from natural resources like wind or sunlight into electricity. Measure and compare the efficiency of different designs and understand the concept of sustainable energy.

Why it’s Incredible: Engaging in real-world applications sparks curiosity and highlights the importance of renewable energy sources. Kids learn about environmental sustainability while grasping the physics behind energy conversion.

5. Sound and Music Experiments

Method: Exploration through Activities

Music becomes a gateway to understanding sound waves, pitch, and resonance. Create musical instruments using household items like glasses, rubber bands, or bottles. Understand the physics of sound waves, pitch, frequency, and resonance. Conduct experiments to alter the tone or volume by changing the instrument’s properties.

Why it’s Incredible: Kids can relate to music and sounds they hear daily, and by creating their instruments, they connect theoretical concepts to real-world applications. It makes physics tangible and fosters a deeper appreciation for the science behind music.

These methods aren’t just about teaching formulas; they’re about igniting curiosity, fostering experimentation, and nurturing a deeper understanding of the world. People like Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, and Stephen Hawking were once fascinated students too, driven by their awe of the mysteries of physics.

By turning abstract theories into hands-on experiences, we can make physics not just understandable but unforgettable. So, let’s embark on this thrilling journey of discovery, where the laws of physics become our playground for exploration and innovation!