#it's also a nice little time capsule for the early 2000s

[sleepy-monochrome-prince]

You and I are probably the only Silver Diamond fans active on this platform

Silver Diamond is such a gem (pun unintended). I refuse to let it fade completely. I'm happy to see at least one other person has an appreciation for it ♥

Seriously, if anyone is interested in a shounen ai with an interesting story (that doesn't take a backseat to the romance) give it a read.

[popculturebuffet]

Lilo and Stitch Crossovers: “Morpholomew” (American Dragon Long): Stop Trying to Make Am Drag a Thing (Commisson Done For WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people! And welcome to a brand new retrospective/story arc/thing from yours truly, comissoned directly by WeirdKev27. If you’d like to comission your own review or set of reviews like this one, it’s 5 bucks. Just contact me via my ask box or direct messages on this very blog or my discord technicolormuk#6550.

With Shadow Into Light in the books, Kev decided he wanted to comission something not duck related and a bit smaller as a buffer before the next big arc, ALL of three arcs from season 2 of Ducktales, and decided to go with something he suggested to be a while back as a possible future retrospective: The Lilo and Stitch Crossover episodes! 

That’s right for the next three weeks, with TWO reviews this week since I had a spot open up and Kev paid for this one in full and way in advance, we’ll be taking a trip to Hawaii to visit everyone’s faviorte little girl, her best friend/pet/killing machine as they try to find homes for his 625 cousins. 

I loved Lilo and Stitch when I was a kid: Disney admitely got their hooks in me on that one with their cool prequel comics in disney adventures. These comics set up the movie, showing Jumba creating Stitch and the events leading up to both getting captured. The movie did not disapoint with cool character designs, a drop dead gorgeous recreation of Hawaii, and a really heartfelt, heartbreaking and heartpumping story of loss, family, and ving rahmes voicing one of the few heroic child services workers i’ve seen in a medium, a refreshing change of pace. The film is a masterpiece and I really do need to watch it again sometime. 

Given the series was a huge hit and that thsi was before the big lull in the late 2000′s and early 2010′s where Disney refused to make any tv shows based on their movies, a series followed, given a lead in by the direct to video movie Stitch.

The movie set up the basic premise; 624 capsules containing Jumba’s previous experiments, cousins as Stitch calls them, ended up raining over Kauai, awakening when dropped into water or any other liquid. Lilo and Stitch, with help from Jumba, his live in boyfriend Pleakley, her tought but fair sister Nani, and her boyfriend David, who dosen’t show up as much as i’d like but is my boy so he gets a mention here. But anyways our heroes try to reform the various engines of distructoin who all have unique powers and find them their one place they truly belong. 

So yes the show was a Mons-type show clearly captalizing off pokemon.. but the slice of life setting as opposed to the shonen style of most shows following in pokemon’s wake, gave it it’s own unique feel: while our heroes did fight, it was more about shenanigans, adventures and what not with these unique creatures and the purpose is very heartflet: Lilo simply wants to give these guys the same kind of love and support she’s given Stitch and a chance to do good. 

Opposing them is Gantu, the shark bounty hunter from the first film who, now out of a job, is working for Dr. Hamstervile, an imprisoned sceintest and a character I really don’t like that much as he’s not funny or a genuine threat or both and feels like a waste of time. Thankfully he’s not the focus and Gantu is instead partnered with 625, my faviorite Lilo and Stitch character. 625, as the name suggests, is stitch’s immediate prototype.. but unlike Stitch is too lazy and peaceful to be a real threat and isn’t even really a villian despite being on Gantu’s side. He’s busy making samwitches, his calling to the point when he gets a name in the finale movie it’s naturally Ruben, and snarking at gantu. He’s sadly not in this one but hopefully it’s JUST this one. 

As you can tell I liked this show a LOT at the time. I haven’t watched it since, mostly because disney scarely replayed it after it’s run, but it was vibrant, fun and intresting and a nicely laidback and creative take. The fact I came into the franchise with the comics and thus 625, who was introduced there in fact, and had a hunger to know more about the other experiments certainly helped. It was great fun. 

But while I grew up with the show and the four shows it teamed up with, i’ve never seen these episodes before these reviews. I wondered why for years as I caught the tail end of the kim possible one and saw images ocasionally, but never saw them. 

Turns out it’s because in general Season 2 got screwed over. While Season 1 was pushed out the door fast and aired at a rapid pace Season 2.. was portioned out over several years, and the Recess crossover one, the last one aired and the last one i’ll be covering never even got to Disney channel, only airing on ABC kids, DIsney’s saturday morning block at the time I rarely watched. I did watch it’s predecessor one saturday morning though. Good stuff. 

Since I couldn’t find any making of stuff for why these episodes happened, my best guess is DIsney wanted some cross promotion, and the shows used were chosen because they were the most popular at the time and honestly all 4 represent some of disney’s best, with Recess being in heavy reruns at the time, hence i’ts conclusion despite the show being finished before Lilo And Stitch the movie came out, let alone the series. 

So yeah i’m taking this ride for the first time.. but I was happy to. While Kev pays for a lot of my work, I still have to accept the idea.. and this was a great one. It allows me to cover 5 amazing series and gage how much people would want to see reviews of said series on this blog in one fell swoop.

So to kick us off we have American Dragon: Jake Long, a series I waited forever to come to Disney + as I loved it at the time, badly need to rewatch it (Been busy ), and find it genuinely great: It’s a great teen superhero story about the magical protector of new york, with a charming lead, a great setting and horrifcally great villians in the violently racist magic creature hunting huntsclan.. and their top agent who happens to be jake’s love intrest Rose. It’s really excellent and i’m glad it’s now widely avaliable for all to see. I will say ahead that all four shows in this crossover arc are excellent, and were fine choices for this. 

So what happens when an action comedy about a hip hop teenage dragon meets a slice of life show about aliens? Find out under the cut. 

So we open at a fancy hotel where Lilo’s bringing lunch to her sister Nani when she runs into.. Keoni Jameson. 

The second I remembered this kid all the hate just came flooding back, coursing through my veigns. Just pure liquid hatred for this little perosnalitiless little punk. Keoni is Lilo’s crush and local “stupid white audience stand in”. He has no real personality other than “generic cool kid” and “likes skating”, and just sucks the air out of the room anytime he’s in an episode. Keoni is part of a recurring problem in cartoons across the ages, one that’s slowly going away: the bland love intrest. Intorducing a character whose only traits are being cool for the lead to fawn over with usually no intent of either getting the two togehter or just ending it. IT’s annoying, it was in a good chunk of my childhood, I wish it’d stop. I cannot tell you how many shows used this trope. There were exceptions, American Dragon Jake Long actually used it well by not only making Rose a fleshed out character..  but making her jake’s nemisis in their other lives, and thus making things increidbly difficult on both once the truth comes out, with Jake grappling with if he can trust her or not and Rose grappling with the slow relization eveyrthing she was taught her whole life was wrong.

And again I have seen GOOD storylines using this as a tool: Dipper and Wendy ended with her having been aware teh whole time, but simply not knowing how to let him down given the age gap, and Regular Show rebounded the best from it: it turned the stop and start relatoinshpi of Mordecai and Margret’s relationship into a character flaw for him, openly explored it.. and ended up having him work past it and actually date her for a bit. Before she moved away, he got an even better love interest, then they destoryed the relationship in the worst way posisble and I wil lbe getting to that at some point. Some point. 

So yeah even at the time it was done better, hindsight haas only made it worse and it made watching the first few minutes tough because I had to keep pasuing because I hate him so damn much. He just adds NOTHING to the show and is a blank yanwing void from which no good came out of and I was terrified he’d be in the rest of the episode. Thankfully while he drives the plot he’s only in this scene.. but it’s still one more scene than both 625 and Pleakly got. yeah both are missing, as is nani. 

I did uncover one fun fact that made things a bit easier though: The crew ALSO hated Keoni. No really. Disney forced the character on them as they wanted an audience surrogate, and this abomination is what popped out. They DID NOT want him here and likely only used him as mcuh as they did because Disney forced it on them. And Disney would NOT learn from this as Star Vs got saddled with Alphonso and Ferguson soley because of network mandate. The two aren’t TERRIBLE characters but they aren’t great and feel as tacked on as they were. And part of this does fall on the crew: you CAN twist a stupid mandate like this to work well: Joe Murray was asked to add “A female character with a hook”, as in some sort of dumb gimmick to Rocko. He used those words, meant to create a superfical girl power cardboard cutout.. and created the wonderful Dr. Hutchenson, a bright cheery doctor, the series best sidecharacter.. and someone with a hook hand. But I won’t go too hard on them: they probably didn’t have as much room to manuver and the fact Keoni was sitll being shoved into episodes in season 2 tells me they likely had a set number of episodes he had to show up. I’m suprised they didn’t demand they have characters ask “Where’s Keonie?” any time he wasn’t in an episode. He was unecessary and it comes across with a massive chunk of unforutnate implications: that they didn’t think a series with a mostly hawaiann cast would work, that they wanted at least one other “nice” white character to offset myrtle instead of having the only major white character be a bully and antagonist, and that they thought tehir mostly white audience coudln’t enjoy a series without a white character, which as someone who was in the target demo at the time, I call bullshit on. As I said I hated him then, I hate him now and his involvement is the worst aspect of this episode. 

So after Lilo fawns over him for a bit we find out this chonk of wood’s purpose in the episode: to set up the plot. There’s a massive Skate Competition coming to town with the prize being a really cool skateboard.  This plot point itself.. I don’t mind. Jake is a skater, it’s part of his character and one of the things he loves doing in what minsicule spare time he has. And while it was a common trope at the time having a character skateboard really dosen’t harm most works. We’ve gotten great characters like Jake, Jackie Lynn Thomas, Branwen and Ronnie Anne Santiago out of it, and it feels like natural parts of the character, and frankly An Extremley Goofy Movie wouldn’t be NEARLY as awesome without having skateboarding bizzarley attached to the plot via the college x-games. Granted somtimes you get Rocket Power out of the deal but that’s the price you pay for the good stuff. I only regret it’s involved because Keoni has to be there and I had to pause multiple times to get through his scene. He’s just a sampler platter of terrible decisions made in 2000′s cartoons and he irritates me more than this guy. 

And anyone whose read my Loud House reviews can tell you that is a high bar to clear. 

So naturally Lilo wants to enter the Hawiann X-Games to get the board for Keoni. Though I will give the writers credit for having Stitch voice their thoughts and the audiences thoughts by having him take Keoni’s picture and throw it in the garbage. Where he belongs. 

Lilo’s not great at it as they practice.. and said practice naturally ends up waking up a new experiment, 316.. who i’m just going to go ahead and call Morpholomew. Stitch eventually catches him though like many of the experiments he’s not actively malevelolent and is easy enough to get home. 

Jumba gets to his schitck of breaking down what the experiment of the week does: In this case Morpholomew is  a shapeshifter though he has a VERY intresting twist on those powers: while he can naturally morph himself into anything he’s seen or has a picture of, he can do the same to anyone he touches. It dosen’t effect their voices, but otherwise it’s a perfect recreation. 

So Lilo instead of finding him a home right away.. decides to wait until after the compettition because we need him for the plot. 

So at the Skateboard Competittion Lilo tries to enter, but finds she’s too young.. but since she has a picture of Keoni, which is a nice way to use her photo hobby from the movie for plot reasons and thus dosen’t feel like an ass pull. Why Keoni’s not in town to skate is as his dad left because it’d be too crowded.. even though the event is at the resort he owns. 

So while Lilo commits identtity theft, our guest star appears. He’s cool, he’s hot like a frozen son, he’s young and fast he’s the chosen one, people i’m not braggin, i’ts the American Dragon. Jake is here for two reasons: the first is that Grandpa Long got reports of magical creatures out in the open, so naturally they need to look into that. It’s a clever way to get him, along with Grandpa, Fu, Trixie and Spud, over to Hawaii. The Dragon Council would defintely be suspcious hearing about this, and my guess to why they hadn’t sent another dragon over is they simply dont’ have one on the islands. As for why the Huntsclan didn’t get involved in any way, it’s simply too public for them.  With the magical community in new york, they don’t have to worry about exposure because neither side wants it, so neither side can out the other. Here with a bunch of creatures out in the open it runs the risk of the Hunstclan being dragged into the light.. and given the populace dosne’t care about the “magical creatures” alongside them, it would make them look like the monsters they are. 

Spud and Trixie tagging along also makes sense besides “they needed them for the plot”: While they’d obviously want to come to Hawaii, the skate competition is likely Jake’s cover for why he’s there, as well as one for why it’s just him and grandpa going with a couple of his friends so they don’t have to deal with manuvering around jake’s dad. That sad them never TELLING jake’s Dad is it’s own can of worms as it feels cruel, made things harder for jake and there was no real reason not to. At worst he’d want Jake to stop for his own saftey but given ther’es an active threat in  the huntsclan for the first season and a half, NOT helping people would be the right thing and I feel he’s a sensible enough man to understand eventually. 

And it’s stuff like this that already makes this crossover really work for me: they don’t really have to strain to get Jake over there or tell the audience heavily, the blanks fill in themslves. Or I am but that’s because it’s my job and I love doin it. 

So everyone goes off to their corners; Jake to do a few practice runs, Foo Dog to bet on his friend because of course, Trixie and Spud to go to the beach (even though Spud’s terrified of sharks so I question why Trixie needs him for this), and in a delightfully adorable subplot, finds a lady to woo: local fruit stand vendoer and crankly old lady Mrs. Hasagawa. 

I am here for this subplot: While Grandpa not focusing on the mission is weird for him that’s the entire point.. and their just really cute together. He’s smitten with her entirely because he sees her chewing out one of the people running the contest for making her sign too small. And he performs one hell of a romantic gesture by, while everyone’s back is turned, using his dragon fire to make an add for her on the skate ramp itself, and they have a lovely montage of their time together.. which also weirdly includes grandpa using his dragon fire on stage inf ront of everyone which makes no sense for his charcter but is so cute and does feature david I really don’t care. The writers of Lilo and Stitch probably weren’t deeply familiar with the show and likely just wanted a fun gag. Could be wrong there but it’s cute. He continues to act grossly out of character by trying to avoid going home at the end.. but again I find it simply because he’s in love, they have genuine chemstiry and I like to think they stayed in touch and he retired out there at some point once Jake was old enough to handle things himself. This may not be a ship I expected to support going in but I will die for it going out. 

So back to the main plot, Lilo uses Keoni’s body to imitate him which... she’s only loosely called out on and realizes is bad by the end only because she gets stuck in another body. And that’s not even getting into the fact she BREAKS UP WITH KEONI’S GIRLFRIEND. Yes really.. she just does that to get her out of the way. She comes around and realizes she was wrong and tries to fix it which would be fine.. if hte episode didn’t try to cop it out by revealing “Oh she’s not his girlfriend, she’s just someone who keeps telling people that”. It just feels lazy and dumb and a way to keep Lilo’s crush on Keoni for reasons I DO. NOT. GET. But the identity theft is just brushed aside by everyone: Keoni never finds out, and Jake just brushes it off. The real issue is more her trying to bribe keoni into likng her which while something kids need to learn is not the only thing she did wrong here. It feels like they didn’t think all the implications out here and it hampers the episode

Speaking of which as Gantu captures Jake, he sees him transform into dragon mode and assumes he’s the experiment, Jake’s charactization is pretty shallow.  And why yes it DOES feel weird writing sentences about a character with the same name thank you for asking. I wasn’t expecting a deep character piece or anything: This is a guest spot, the writers here are not the same normal ones for American Dragon. That’s fine. The problem.. is that they clearly did not get Jake. Grandpa being partly out of character is half the joke, Trixie actually gets a really nice moment towards the end, and Spud.. is eh. But out of them Jake just feels like a basic character description: He likes hip hop, he likes skateboards, he calls himself Am Drag despite that sounding like a good name for a drag act but a terrible name to shorten your title, he fights.. that’s it. 

While jake is all of that in the main series, he’s also a kind young man who while sometimes irresponsible does the right thing when the chips are down.  He’s someone weighed down by a responsiblity he didn’t ask for, often makes his life more difficult and often finds himself in trouble because his mother and grandfather won’t bother to tell his dad he’s a dragon. Yes that part still bothers me, and I don’t see why we couldn’t just have a superhero show where both parents know. But regardless this just dosen’t feel like Jake , like they just watched the intro and that was it. Jake feels more like a plot device in his own crossover. 

That being said there is some good stuff: The minute Jake realizes some Sci Fi stuff is going on instead of hte normal magic stuff he tells him “The am drag’s show isn’t about sci fi” a nice meta bit and then breaks out. Meanwhile Lilo takes on his form.. and ends up stuck after badly botching her run again, as Gantu finds the real shapeshifter. 

We get the best stretch of the episode from here though: Lilo awkardly tries to play jake and like jake we get a nice meta nod to how diffrent their show is as she’s worried about his belief in magical creatures.. and is startled out of her charade when Foo Dog talks, a really nice bit especially since it’s tame compared to the weirdness he deals with. Spud and Trixie have questions... only for Jake to show up and his agressive behavior leads to the best bit of the episode: Jake Vs Stitch. The catlyst is understandable: jake has no idea why Lilo’s taken his identity and Sttich is just protecting his best friend from harm. The animation is fluid, the fight is fun and quick and uses both’s powers stellarl. Whle “two heroes get into a misunderstanding and then fight” is a well worn cliche at this point, it’s moments like this that show why: you get to see two heroes who in this case never have interacted before or sense, duke it out, why each is special and it’s fun to watch. 

Lilo breaks it up, and admits to the whole thing.. including the whole give Keani the board stuff. While Jake and Spud, being awkard with girls and a loveable moron don’t see the problem with that Trixie gets a moment to shine. As far as I can remember she really didn’t get much on the show proper so it was a nice suprise to see her mentor lilo her, telling her trying to give someone gifts to love you is not okay, she should just be herself all that good stuff. It’s a nice character stuff and tha’ts the kind of character interaction this episode needed more of. 

With the misunderstandings washed away our heroes team up and storm gantu’s ship leading to another great sequence as Stitch rides on Jake’s back while the two keep him busy and Lilo gets turned back, Trixie complimenting her dress “Thanks I have 10 just like it at home”. It’s such a sweet and genuine moment” They head back out and gantu semeingly grabs morpholmew from where they hide.. only to find out when he gets back it’s spud, our adorable little blob monster transforming Gantu into a bunny and our heroes leaving. How does Gantu get out of being a bunny?

But it’s a nice enough gag. So we end the episode. We get another nice gag as grandpa had himself and his lady transformed to try and avoid going home, and Jake is fine with having lost out on the board what matters is he made a friend. Sadly we did not get a followup in ADJL., but spud does name our experiment, Morpholomew. 

We end on Morph getting his home: a costume shop where he gets paid in fried chicken, he was shown to enjoy it throughtout the episode and changes people into things. It’s a nice little button to the episode and one of the funnest parts of the show was figuring out where the experiment would end up at the end. 

Final Thoughts:

This episode is a really mixed bag. There is some good character interactions, two tremendous fight scens and Trixie gets a chance to shine for once if only for a scene or two, and the clashing genres end up making for some great jokes> The shows do go well together as while Lilo and Stitch is more laid back both have slice of life elements. And hasgawa X Grandpa is just oto cute for words. 

The episode is held back by Jake and Lilo’s lackluster characterizatons: Jake is simply the theme song as a character, which in theory is awesome because that theme song slaps but in practice is pretty lame, and Lilo is selfish and irresponsible even for her in a way that dosen’t feel at all convincing. It drags down what’s otherwise a fun crossover and Morpholomew is truly a unique and wonderful experiment. Still if you like either show it’s worth a watch even if you have to suffer through Keoni for it. It’s worth it.. I just wish it was better and hopefully the next 3 will keep the good parts but take out the bad. Granted this was produced last so I could be wrong, but here’s hoping.  Oh this episode also featured Miranda Cosgrove as the girl who claims to be Keoni’s girlfriend. This is also Keoni’s last episode meaning I do NOT have to worry about accidently running into him. Thank fucking christ. 

Next Time On American Dragon Jake Long: Jake’s dad drags him and his friends on a camping trip and Jake ends up encountering the Jersey Devil. Now all they need is a sexy lady devil cake to lure it out... what it worked for the Cake Boss. And yes that happened, Allison Pregler did an episode on that episode. Check it out. 

Next Time On Lilo and Stitch Crossovers: It’s the family, the family, proud familllyyy as the Prouds take a vacation at Peakly and Jumbas bed but not breakfast and we get some kind of squirrel demon for our experiment of the week. We also get Wizard Kelly appearing...

See you at the next rainbow. 

[aion-rsa]

How iCarly Defined a Millennial Era

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For those of us in the late millennial generation, TV, movies, and videogames of the late 2000s were ideal platforms to explore the ways in which the planet was changing rapidly. They were a way for teens to connect with each other when the older folks were too stuck in their ways to move along with the new times. And when certain pieces of entertainment really nailed the intricacies of the era, that media became eternally ingrained in the psyche of the audience it was targeting.

iCarly ran on Nickelodeon from 2007 through 2012 and embodied these descriptions more than any other adolescent show of the decade. Starring Miranda Cosgrove as the clever and ambitious 13-year-old Carly Shay, the show depicted the journey of teenage exploration through the eyes of her webshow, a program that eerily resembled the entertainment provided by YouTube pioneers and OG social media stars of the time. 

With her friends Sam (Jeannette McCurdy) and Freddie (Nathan Kress), and her goofy older brother Spencer (Jerry Trainer), Carly shared her oddball sense of humor with her web show audience, and vicariously through her actual TV audience behind the fourth wall. A show within a show is nothing novel, but it was a bold decision from showrunner Dan Schneider to create a world that allowed young people to explore their creativity on screen in a way that was completely unique to the years being lived in. 

For those who didn’t fit the targeted demographic the first time around, it would be no shock if they didn’t understand why the show was being revived for Paramount+ this summer. To truly understand why the series connected with ‘90s babies, you’d have to have trekked with the show through the internet globalization that it was birthed into. Millions of returning fans rushed to watch the trailer and were rewarded with the familiar humor they were looking for when the show returned on June 17. 

Unfortunately, Sam is absent from Carly’s life now because McCurdy chose not to return due to the toll on her mental health from working in the entertainment industry as a child and young adult. New character Harper (Laci Mosley) fits in nicely as a semi-replacement, sharing Sam’s spunk but also adding some racial and sexual diversity (the character is both Black and dates women). Spencer has finally cashed in on his dream of being an artist, but it hasn’t altered his struggles to find a wife or create a family outside of his little sister. Freddie has a step-daughter from a divorce and is living with his mom again after failing to make it big as a tech entrepreneur. 

All of the occupations and tribulations of the cast make sense and fit with what we would have imagined would happen to these people in the nine years since going off the air. 

Read more

TV

What Nicktoon Reboots We Want to See Next

By Nick Harley

Both the original airing of the show and this reboot fit together like a locktight time capsule, displaying for the viewers at home a select set of people who are simultaneously relatable, but also even more flaky and unpredictable than ourselves. In 2007, Carly and her cohort wanted to show the world all of the zany things that suddenly poof into the millennial mind: what happens if you hit someone with a sock full of butter? What about putting a grown man’s face inside a plastic baby’s body and flinging ketchup, lotion, shampoo, and other gooey substances all about the crib? 

iCarly is special because it was and still is all about feeling free to do whatever the hell you want, whenever you want, and not being embarrassed to share it with the world! It had a keen understanding of the teenage struggle, and that sometimes letting off steam and just doing some stupid crap and broadcasting it to people who are like you is a great anecdote for the most confusing time in life, compounded by existing on a planet that had never been more in the process of evolving. The show even brilliantly foretold some of the pop culture events of the early 2020’s, such as feverish fan panels a la Comic-Con, or social media stars getting in the boxing ring for a minute or two. 

Through the first four episodes of the reboot the characters’ choices in social media interaction reflect their growth in age; the webshow remains as the chosen avenue for Carly to project her views to the world. If the original were being made today, Tik Tok would almost certainly be the chosen medium for Carly’s teenage fans. Today’s adolescents are experienced vets in tech, whereas 2007’s were pioneers still learning the new ways. Being trampled by the overabundance of options available, the current kids are most attracted to instant gratification and short bursts of artistic expression. YouTube is a little too long-format for the contemporary attention span, but it fits like a glove for 20-somethings who are willing to adapt and learn about new world affairs, but are also starting to sound more and more like their “get off my lawn” ancestors. 

This is why the show embraces having been pigeonholed into the demographic that is so in love with it nearly 15 years after the pilot episode (the show’s trailer on YouTube has garnered nearly 4.5 million views in the month of June and the official Twitter account has over 3.5 million followers). Every piece of humor and every choice the characters make is a reflection on a little bit of ourselves trying to figure out what the hell this world means and how we can become successful in it. 

While older folks call us lazy or undriven for using these artistic or unconventional methods to try and achieve greatness, we know that we are simply not going to be deterred until we are thriving in the chaos. If you live outside of this bubble, you’ll think of the show with the same confusion that someone from this time would perceive Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Sixteen Candles. The former is celebrated on Twitter annually on the anniversary of its release, and younger generations are expected to worship at the altar of an iconic flick that screams 1980s and nothing else.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

And that is the most universal thing about iCarly and any other era-specific piece of media, the concept that ties them all together for every age: if entertainment understands where it came from and why it exists, there is no reason to try and progress forward or backward from that point. The memories are unaffected, and even when the nostalgia-glasses are removed, the emotions and lessons of the work have an ability to transport us right back to where it came from. And if they remake the show again in 2040 when Carly has her own teenage kids, we’ll still be there to see where she takes them!

The iCarly revival series is available to stream on Paramount+ now.

The post How iCarly Defined a Millennial Era appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[morlock-holmes]

Okay, so... I saw this story on my dash, a little capsule “How did you get out of the incel culture?” story, and I’m not going to quote or link to it, because it’s a nice story he should be proud of and I’m not going to shit on that.

I do, though, kind of want to shit on the way it was told. Basically, it was told in a frustratingly Underpants Gnomish fashion that basically went.

Be an incel. Start feeling increasingly bitter about it. A friend asks what I have to offer others. Break down and realize that I can’t think of anything and need to change that

????????

Now I’m doing legal work for non-profits and about to marry a beautiful woman who I love.

And, again, that’s great, just also completely lacking in any kind of “how” that another struggling person could put into practice.

I don’t know, I find it intensely frustrating because I had the fucking opposite story happen to me. After leaving high school I spent a lot of time following the NEET lifestyle, and once that got to be crushingly despair-inducing, I tried taking some art classes at the local community college. My beginning animation teacher told me I was too talented, that I shouldn’t just resign myself to being a barista at Starbucks and I should apply for CalArts.

And I did. And I got in.

Now, if you don’t know, CalArts is the most prestigious animation school in the country, and tons of people you’ve heard about are graduates. Tim Burton, Brad Bird, Pee Wee Herman, Steven Hillenberg, like, honestly, if there’s a cartoon you liked then the creator almost certainly came out of CalArts.

And I’m saying this not to brag (much) but because in the narrative here this is supposed to be what turns me around, right? I’m working on myself! This self-improvement will really help with my sexual issues too, just like they say!

Except that’s not what happened. I spent three semesters waiting for an attractive woman to show some interest in me. I felt more and more alone in the crowd, more uncertain about what I should do, until the depression was so bad I couldn’t even get out of bed, and I came home and I’m still clawing my way out of that pit.

As an aside, despite pretty much being an incel NEET one of the reasons I’ve never gotten sucked into that culture was because what I saw at art school was a bunch of gangly, weirdo nerd artist guys having flings and long-term relationships with very attractive and interesting women. Like, I saw more than one complete anti-Chad dating a girl from the dance school.

As an aside to that aside, the only person I’ve ever known who was actually named Chad was my animation teacher who wore a fedora through the late 90s and early 2000s so I always find the whole internet “Chad” thing deeply amusing.

But back to my point. 

I’m not so much looking for sympathy, as for the why. Why was I so lonely and sexless at CalArts? I had as much to offer as any other guy there, so... Why didn’t that “Work on yourself and the rest will follow” shit actually work?

Here’s a story. When I was younger people would always say that confidence was the key.

So, if I wasn’t getting good results, it must mean that I was lacking some kind of confident mindset when I would stare at my feet and flap my hands while people talked. If I just flapped those hands confidently enough, then eventually...

Took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out that what they actually meant was “Mimic confident body language by looking people in the eyes, keeping your hands still, and being unafraid to take up space, and 99% of people won’t notice or care if you actually feel like a complete fraud while you do it.”

[murdercide626]

My SSBU Roster DLC Wish List

Pretty sure I’ve done this before, but whatever. lol

This is a list of characters I’d like to see added to Smash Bros. Ultimate’s roster, grouped by likeliness.

(I also made this list under the assumption that Spirits deconfirm DLC, otherwise I would’ve added more characters, such as Rayman and Shantae.)

Fairly Possible:

Crash Bandicoot

This is probably the character I’d most like to see make the roster. It makes enough sense seeing as Crash is a (former) rival mascot to Mario, the Crash Bandicoot series has been fairly popular in both the west and Japan, and the Crash franchise has been on pretty good terms with Nintendo since the early 2000s. Not to mention the series’ revival with both N.Sane Trilogy and CTR:NF getting ports to the Switch. All of this gives the orange fleabag some pretty good odds, imo. :)

.

Battletoads

Perhaps not as likely as Crash, seeing as how Banjo & Kazooie’s inclusion seemed pretty unlikely to start with, but with third party publishers getting multiple reps (Konami: 3, Sega: 3, Capcom: 3, Square-Enix: 2) it doesn’t seem entirely out of the question for the Battletoads to get in, especially considering there’s a Battletoads revival on the horizon. I always loved the wacky over-the-top action of the Battletoads games, and I think it’d be a nice fit for something like Smash Bros.! ^^

.

Taizo “Dig Dug” Hori

If Namco adds another rep to the roster, I personally hope it’s this guy. Dig Dug is a pretty fondly remembered classic from gaming’s humble beginnings, and putting Taizo in the roster would be a great way to pay homage. Maybe we could take the Pookas’ inclusion back in Smash Run as a kind of foreshadowing? lol

.

Porky Minch

Some more Earthbound/Mother representation certainly couldn’t hurt, and Porky seems like a good candidate for that. Considering he was a prominently featured antagonist in both Earthbound and Mother 3, his inclusion as a boss in Brawl, AND his bizarrely conspicuous absence in the list of Spirits (unless you count the Absolutely Safe Capsule), then Porky’s inclusion as a playable rep seems like a shoo-in! Good luck, ya little bastard! ^^

==============================

Unlikely:

Earthworm Jim

Though EWJ was fairly popular in the 90s, getting a handful of games, some merchandise, and even an animated series, the series has lost relevancy since then. That said, there IS a revival currently in the works, so who knows? *shrugs*

.

Sora

Though Kingdom Hearts is definitely popular and Sora is a highly requested Smash candidate, his inclusion seems a bit unlikely if only because Disney would have to get involved, and that would no doubt bring all sorts of complications with it! lol

.

Conker

Yeah... Considering the sort of content that Bad Fur Day is infamous for, and the fact that the Conker series has been pretty dead for a long time, it’s very unlikely that Microsoft would want their second rep to be Conker, especially when they have other still active IPs they’d likely much rather get exposure. As unlikely as it would be, I’d definitely welcome Conker with open arms!

[lunar-lattice]

Solaris Caelum (9)

It’s time for a party the recipient didn’t ask for...but isn’t that all surprise parties?

Mirrors in reblogs.

< Previous x Next >

9. A Major Party

15 years ago, on September 13th 2000...

Just like that, the world had exploded into an orange cacophony of harsh light and sound. The wind and world and something else screamed. Across the destroyed Antarctic base, a man carried his daughter, weathering his own wounds and the collapsing world for her. There, he saw it; the last and only remaining emergency capsule. He propped his daughter against his shoulder and reached out, ignoring the pain that jolted through his nearly flayed arm to open it.

Behind him, the monster they awoke still wailed, its brilliant form illuminating the world through the gloom. Not much time left. He set his daughter into the capsule as gently as he could. Blood from his head wound dropped onto her cheek and she shuddered. She looked up at him, confusion on her face. "Father..." she whispered.

The shutting of the capsule prevented any more conversation. His mission done, the man collapsed onto the capsule and awaited the end.

Inside the capsule, his daughter didn't dare make a sound. The capsule rumbled then flipped over and over. She cried in surprise, "Father!"

The capsule eventually came to a stop, slowly bobbing. She sat up as much as she could, pressing the button to open the capsule. She flinched and held her side as she sat up.

The world was much darker than it had been but an orange gloom still settled over it. Before her, where the facility had been, twin pillars of light extended from the ocean and into the atmosphere. Whatever they belonged to still wailed. She clenched her side.

Now, Misato was getting dressed, the memories of that day swirling in her mind. Her fingers ghosted over her scar. It was best to move on...but difficult with the lasting reminder across her chest.

Outside, Tokyo-3 was in the midst of a thunderstorm. Inside Misato's apartment however, it was warm. Shinji rushed out of the hallway, passing a pair of towels to his friends, Toji and Kensuke. Toji took his, "Man, thanks Shinji! You really saved us from the rain!"

Shinji laughed nervously, "It's really nothing."

Kensuke looked around, "Where's Miss Misato?"

"Probably sleeping still. She's been working all night recently."

"Oh, right," Toji sat down, toweling his hair dry, "She has a really tough job."

"So let's keep it quiet so we won't wake her up," Kensuke put his finger in front of his mouth in a 'shh' gesture.

"What are you guys doing here?" Asuka poked her head into the kitchen.

"Shh!" Toji and Kensuke gestured to keep her quiet.

Shinji explained, ignoring them, "Taking shelter from the rain."

"Hmmm," she narrowed her eyes, "Alright" and disappeared back into the hallway.

"Hope Miss Misato didn't wake up," Toji said.

The door to Misato's room opened and she stepped out. "You're real good at jinxing us," Kensuke said.

He looked at Misato, "Sorry for disturbing you!"

She waved him off, "I was up already so it's alright. Welcome!"

She nodded to Shinji, "Remember, harmonics test tonight."

"Right."

"Asuka?"

"Got it!" she called from her room.

Misato looked back at them, "Rei and Kaworu probably know already but if you guys can pick them up before you leave if they're still home, that would be great."

Shinji nodded, "We can do that."

Misato smiled, "Thank you, you're such a dependable boy."

Shinji returned the smile. Beside him, Kensuke leaned forward, squinted and adjusted his glasses. He gasped and went straight, "Congratulations on your promotion!"

Toji looked confused but went straight too, "Yeah, congratulations!"

Shinji blinked, "What are you two talking about?"

Kensuke sighed, "On her jacket! Her pin is different! Misato's a major now!"

Misato chuckled, blushing slightly, "That's right. Thank you."

Kensuke beamed and bowed, "You're most welcome!" Toji followed suit, much deeper with his face fixed into a stoic respectful expression.

Misato laughed softly and nervously, "Well, see you guys later," and she beat a hasty retreat out the door.

"See you!" Toji and Kensuke called after her.

Shinji sighed, "I think she was a little embarrassed..."

"I don't see why!" Kensuke grinned, "It's quite the honor!"

"What going on out here?" Asuka asked, dressed in a large t-shirt and shorts, toweling off her hair.

"Misato's collar tab has two lines now instead of one. So she's been promoted from a captain to a major!" Kensuke said, gesturing to his own collar.

"Really? I wouldn't have noticed that,"

"Huh...I wonder when she was promoted," Shinji said.

"Must have been recently," Asuka said thoughtfully as she stopped beside him.

"Are you serious! You guys are pathetic!" Toji cried.

"You wouldn't have noticed either if not for Kensuke!" Asuka shot back.

Toji opened his mouth to refute her then closed it. "You may be right," he conceded.

"She's right," Kensuke said.

"Awww, shut it!" Toji punched him in the arm.

Kensuke winced and rubbed his arm. He turned back to the pilots and asked, "But you know what this means?"

"What?" they asked.

He grinned, "A party is in order!"

"You think Misato will like that?" Shinji asked.

"Oooh, can I invite Hikari?" Asuka asked, showing no attention to Shinji.

"Sure! We'll invite everyone! Us, Rei, Kaworu..."

"We could see if Ritsuko could come," Asuka paused, "Maybe even Kaji!"

The three continued to plan and Shinji sighed, his question forgotten by the trio. He hoped a party wouldn't be any issue. He didn't exactly want one himself...but he supposed spending time with his friends was never a bad thing. He'd deal with it.

As they left the apartment to gather the other two pilots, Kensuke asked, "Say, is Misato coming with you home?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow but answered anyways, "Probably not tonight. She finally got all the paperwork done from the last Angel. She's gonna drive us home though."

Kensuke sighed, "Alright...party tomorrow!" he cheered, his demeanor changing on a dime.

"Tomorrow!" Shinji cried, "That's a little early, huh?"

"And there's no chance of anyone spilling the secret!"

Shinji frowned. Toji sighed, "You can't get him off a subject once he's on it so don't even try," he turned to Kensuke, "And I suppose you will want me to help?"

"Of course!"

A little over an hour later, the group was in the middle of their sync test. Asuka sighed softly, fidgeting slightly in the plug. Her sync ratio was just above where it was last time, for good reason. Any sudden change in her ratio would set off suspicion. At first, she had done it deliberately but now it came easier than she expected. Perhaps her mother was in cahoots with her. She smiled at the thought.

"Asuka's ratio just shot up another two points," Ritsuko observed.

"But her and Rei are at the edge of the contamination zone. They might have reached their limit," Maya said.

Ritsuko looked over her shoulder, "Shinji can, however. Lower the graph depth another 0.3."

"Alright. What about Kaworu?"

Ritsuko looked over his graph. Their current setup with him was little more than shadow of what it would be when they had his Eva. It was a test plug loaded with the current data from his Unit. It did the job well enough but no doubt his score would change drastically when he got the real deal. "Keep him as he is," she said.

Kaworu felt weird inside the test plug. It was quiet and empty in a way Unit Two wasn't. Data was no substitute for a true Eva. As such, his general scores were low. What purpose it served to test him in his own plug anyways was unknown to him. Perhaps as a baseline? They usually followed up these tests with putting him in Unit Two and letting the others go home but not tonight. He didn't mind that too much.

Shinji felt conflicting feelings toward the entry plug. It was a place of pain and comfort. Pain such as white hot tentacles through his torso or the agonizing pain of a beam to his whole front. But comfort such as the quiet warm environment of the plug itself. The feeling was familiar in a way he couldn't pinpoint, like a memory from a time he couldn't consciously remember.

"He's almost nearly reached the contamination zone," Maya reported.

"And he's still getting these readings? Incredible," Ritsuko whistled softly at it, "Truly incredible."

Maya glanced up at her, "And his harmonics and sync rate are also catching up with Asuka's."

"It's almost as if he has a gift for piloting Eva," Ritsuko said, "And I'm not usually one to believe in that sort of thing."

"I doubt he'd be happy to hear that, since he doesn't like to do it…," Misato murmured.

She said it so no one would hear her but Ritsuko did, a frown flickering across her expression. She turned to the screen and pressed the comm button, "Good work you three. Shinji, you did well."

It didn't take long to unload the pilots. They each had a quick rinse from the adjoining room to where they exited then were lead back up to the monitoring room to see their results.

"All of you are always improving. Shinji here though, has gone up eight points since last test," Ritsuko explained.

"Really?"

Ritsuko nodded, "Data doesn't lie. You're improving the quickest behind Asuka who had a four point increase this time."

"Nice!" Asuka pumped her arm in the air, "I'm still in the lead though?"

"For the time being."

Asuka muffled the last dying cries of her past life that insisted that even this was a failure. "Good job," she patted Shinji's shoulder. The cries died in her mind.

"As for you two," Ritsuko turned to Rei and Kaworu, "Both of you are steadily improving and that is good as well. I'm hoping we see a nice increase when you have a chance in your actual Eva, Kaworu."

He nodded, "Am I to stay behind to test in Unit Two too?"

"Not tonight. I have a lot of data to get through."

Asuka tilted her head slightly, "You sound really busy, Doctor Akagi. Maybe you could take a break sometime?"

"That's very sweet of you to suggest but I always have so much work..." Ritsuko trailed off.

"She's right," Misato pointed out.

Ritsuko shrugged, "We'll have to see."

The pilots went to the locker room, the girls in theirs and the boys in theirs. Asuka dressed quickly and walked to Rei, who was just trying the knot on her dress. "Rei, we're having a party of Misato tomorrow. Wanna come? You've gotta keep it a secret thought!"

"A party?" she echoed.

"Mhm! Misato's promoted so we're having a surprise party tomorrow for her!"

Rei was quiet then nodded, "I'd like that and I am not busy. So I shall come."

"Sweet!" Asuka cheered, "Get there by eight since Misato should be home thirty minutes after."

"Now," she looked into the hallway, "We just gotta get Ritsuko and Kaji."

"I can inform Dr. Akagi as I have to go see her before I leave."

Asuka smiled, "Alright! See you then!" she left with a wave.

Rei slowly waved back and watched her leave. She was glad her upload was tonight rather than the next day. She could go to the Major's party as well as Dr. Akagi. The Doctor should be happy when Rei came to deliver the invitation. A small smile flickered upon her lips as she left the locker room. She felt...excited at the prospect of the doctor's reaction.

The trip to Terminal Dogma was ingrained in Rei's bones by now. She believed she could even do it in her sleep. She watched the elevator tick down as she rode it, nothing but the quiet hum of the machinery as her company. Down here, it was colder. Whether it was because the depth or the contents of it, she didn't know. Nor did she ask. All she was needed for down here was to perform her role.

She exited the elevator, following the dim hallway into a side room where she shed her clothes. Dr. Akagi appeared in the doorway, "Good, Rei. You're here on time."

Rei nodded and walked up to her, following her through the hallway until they reached a large circular room. Twisted machinery made up the ceiling and in the center was a tube. Off to the side was an archaic computer terminal. "Wait a moment," Dr. Akagi instructed her as she went over to it. She tapped a few keys, humming to herself.

"Dr Akagi," Rei said quietly.

"What is it, Rei?" she asked, not looking up.

"Asuka wanted me to inform you you've been invited to a party for Major Katsuragi's promotion."

Ritsuko looked at her, a perplexed expression on her face, "She wanted you to invite me?"

"She told me you and Mr. Kaji should come. I said I'd pass the message to you."

"Huh," her expression softened, "That's…kind of you."

She went back to her terminal, "Tell her I'll see if I can make it. No promises."

"I see."

"Anyway, I'm ready for you," she gestured to the tube.

Rei had been acting different, Ritsuko noted as Rei walked into the tube. The tube sealed itself and LCL flooded it, causing Rei to float off the floor. She inhaled and closed her eyes, letting herself float.

Ritsuko smiled softly. It wasn't a bad different. Perhaps Commander Ikari would find it a bad different but Rei still acted the part. Still, her behavior warmed the doctor to her.

"Thank you, Misato," Kaworu said from the back seat of Misato's car.

"It's no problem, Kaworu! I would have took Rei home too if she didn't have to stay behind," Misato replied as they drove home.

"I also heard you were promoted so congratulations!"

"I bet Shinji told you, huh?"

Shinji and Kaworu exchanged glances. "Yes," Shinji admitted.

Misato chuckled, "You guys are more excited about my promotion than I am…"

"Why aren't you?" Asuka asked.

Misato shrugged, "I mean, not much changes. I guess I do get paid more but that's about it. I still rank as one of the highest in NERV. So it doesn't seem as big a deal to me."

"It's a big honor though," Asuka said.

Misato sighed, "I don't know really how to explain it. Maybe it's different because I'm an adult."

Asuka shot a worried glance at the two in the back. Shinji piped up, "I think I understand. Being praised is nice but there's a lot of pressure."

Asuka shook her head, "You should just take the praise and be happy! They say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Shinji frowned but said nothing. Kaworu cut in, "I suppose there's a healthy balance. Be happy for it but don't let it get to your head. But also don't let people's criticisms go to your head. Just do what makes you happy!"

"Sounds right. Try to not put too much stock in what people think of you," Misato finished.

The three went silent, mulling this over. Misato smiled, "You kids are more thoughtful than when I was your age...granted, this time when I was your age, I wasn't doing a lot of talking at all."

"Are you really sure Misato'll be happy?" Shinji asked the next day, in the afternoon as he watched her flit around, setting up her game console in the living room.

Asuka had roused him from bed and told him Toji and Kensuke were coming by early so they can set things up. And of course, Shinji was on cooking duty. He didn't mind that part, he minded the fact he was put on it without being asked. It seemed everyone was more excited for it than him, but he supposed at this point it was more an excuse to throw a party. He smiled softly. And for Misato, an excuse to drink.

Asuka shrugged, "Whatever her weird stance on being congratulated, everyone likes a party!"

"I guess you're right. Though, she'll probably take it as an excuse to drink," he said.

"There you go!" she beamed.

The door bell rang, "Oh that'll be them!" she said, going to the door.

She opened the door to reveal Kensuke and Toji accompanied by a man with glasses. She blinked, "Hello guys and...?"

Shinji appeared behind her, "Oh that's Goichi, Kensuke's brother!"

Goichi chuckled, "I had the day off and Kensuke insisted I must meet the Major...you must be Asuka."

Asuka gasped and put a hand to her chest, "Not another nerd!"

Goichi blinked and deadpanned, "I've heard things about you too but it wouldn't be polite for me to repeat them."

The two stared at each other, neither willing to give the other an inch. Kensuke broke the silence, "We haven't said anything bad about you. Goichi is just messing with you."

Goichi laughed, "Actually, all I've heard is pretty favorable. Might have seen you in action," he winked and gestured to Kensuke's camera, "Or maybe not. After all, having such footage would not be allowed."

Asuka grinned back, "You are right but it would be rather cool if you did see it."

She led the trio inside, gesturing for them to set their cargo on the table. "Isn't Misato not home for some time?" Shinji asked.

"Obviously! We want to be utterly prepared!" she said as she rooted through the bags, setting the groceries on the table.

"This didn't cost too much, did it?" Shinji asked Kensuke.

"Nah," he waved Shinji off, "I can already see you pulling out your NERV card to reimburse us so don't bother."

"Just leave some for me to take to Sakura," Toji commented, sitting at the table and cracking a can of soda, "She wanted to come but she still can't leave the hospital."

Shinji sat beside him, "Is she getting better though?"

Toji nodded, "They actually started her on physical therapy last week. Progress is slow but it's better than nothing," he smiled softly.

Shinji nodded, "I'll have to visit her again sometime with you…"

"I'd say bring everyone else but I wouldn't want her getting hurt with how excited she'd be," Toji joked.

"Shinji!" came Asuka's call from the kitchen.

He sighed and sat up, "Guess that's my cue."

The next person to arrive was Kaworu, a cake in hand. "A cake is customary for celebrations, is it not?" he asked sheepishly as Asuka ushered him in.

"I think it's more of a western thing but hey! You won't find me complaining!" Asuka eyed the cake. It was a simple white cake with 'Congratulations on your promotion!' written in purple icing.

"Did you make it yourself?" she asked.

Kaworu shook his head, "I wanted to try...but last time I tried to bake, I burnt it," he laughed softly.

A grin stole onto Asuka's face, "Hey, I bet Shinji knows how! He can teach you!"

He shot her an exasperated glance and went into the kitchen to set the cake down. Shinji was tending to a pan of pork. Kaworu set the cake on the table and walked over, "What are you making?"

Shinji jumped, "Oh! Kaworu! I'm making ramen er, actual ramen. Not the instant stuff."

Kaworu chuckled, "You think Misato will appreciate it?"

"Well," he trailed off, "I hope she finds it funny. And if she doesn't, I'll say it was Asuka's plan."

"Bold of you," he smiled, "How can I help?"

"Oh, you wanna help?" Shinji seemed surprised.

He nodded. "Oh, well you can cut the scallions," he gestured to the cutting board where a knife and a scallion, along with a bulb of garlic and a ginger root.

He began to cut it into small diagonal slices and asked, "Want me to cut these too?"

"I'd like that! But just crush the garlic."

Kaworu hummed as he worked. Shinji turned down the heat for the pork and set a lid onto it. Before he knew it, he was humming too. He asked, "What is that you're humming?"

Kaworu smiled at him, "Beethoven's 9th, Ode to Joy. Do you like it?"

"Oh! Yeah, I do like classical!" Shinji returned the smile.

"It's actually my favorite piece of music. Do you have a favorite?"

Shinji shook his head, "Not really, I've never thought about it. But I like a lot."

Kaworu nodded in agreement, "Good. Music is good. I'd say it's the pinnacle of your culture."

Shinji raised an eyebrow, "Japanese…?"

Kaworu chuckled, "Of all culture."

"I think you're right," he smiled before turning and beginning to make the sauce for the ramen.

Back in the living room, Asuka was ushering Rei and Hikari inside. She smiled, "Glad you two could come!"

Rei nodded, "I am glad. I also told Dr. Akagi."

Hikari smiled, "Of course, I'd come."

"Sweet, I told Kaji on my way out of NERV!"

Rei raised an eyebrow, "I thought Misato disliked Mr. Kaji?"

"Oh, Rei. Misato is just saying that. I think she still likes him!"

"What if you're wrong?"

Asuka winked, "I'm not wrong."

Hikari laughed softly, "I'd dare say you're turning into a right matchmaker, Asuka."

Asuka simply smiled and hushed her.

Time passed quickly and before anyone knew, it was nearly time for Misato to get home. Asuka had ushered everyone to be on alert. Shinji himself was jittery with nervous energy. The door opened and everyone tensed. Misato entered, yawning and taking off her hat. She didn't notice anything was wrong.

Kensuke lead the cry of, "Congratulations, Misato!"

Misato jumped, her hand flying for her gun. Then she froze and blinked. Then she blushed bright, "What are you—"

"It's a party! For you!" Asuka cried.

Misato blinked then fled for her room. Silence dominated the room. Goichi asked, "Did that go well?"

"Er," Kensuke mumbled.

Misato exited shortly after, having shed her work clothes for her casual clothes. "You guys...you did this?" she asked, stopping before the group.

Asuka pointed to Toji and Kensuke, "It was their idea!"

"Actually, it was mainly Kensuke's," Toji cut in.

Misato looked over them then stopped on Goichi, "You are?"

He bolted up, sticking his hand out, "Goichi Aida! Kensuke's brother! Er, Major!"

Misato took his hand, gingerly shaking it, "Nice to meet you…just call me Misato…"

He saluted her and sat back down. Shinji stood, "I'll go get the food put together."

"I'll come with," Misato followed him and groaned, "I need a drink..."

She took a beer out of the fridge, cracked it and drained half of it in one swallow. She glanced over at Shinji who was dutifully starting the noodles. "Do you need help?" she asked.

"Oh no!" he shook his head.

He paused, "Well, I do but I don't want to ask you. It is your party."

A mischievous look crossed Misato's face, "I'll go gather Kaworu. He's a reliable boy."

She stayed just long enough to savor the blush on Shinji's cheeks before she left for the living room. "Kaworu!" she cried, "I think Shinji needs some help so would you help him!"

She chuckled internally seeing Kaworu jump to attention, "Sure thing!" and walked past her into the kitchen.

She did, however, smile smugly as she sat at the table and sipped at her beer. She said, "Thank you all...this is really nice, if a surprise."

"I mean, it is supposed to be a surprise," Asuka pointed out.

Misato rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

"Anyway," Toji pointed to Kensuke, "Ken planned it all. We just helped."

"Exactly!" Kensuke bolted to his feet, "It was I! Kensuke Aida, the mastermind!"

Goichi chuckled softly at his antics. Misato dipped her head at Kensuke, "Then thank you, Aida."

"Awww, nah," Kensuke waved her off, "I was doing what anyone would have done!"

Misato nearly rolled her eyes again but let the boy have his fun. Kaworu came in, two bowls in hand and set one in front of Misato and the other to her right, where Shinji was sitting. "Ramen?" Misato asked.

"Homemade," Shinji commented, bringing more bowls and dishing them out, "I thought you'd like it better this way."

"When did our Shinji get so cheeky?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shinji used the excuse to get the rest of the bowls to retreat. Misato chuckled and pulled a bundle of noodles and pork from the bowl, bringing it to her mouth. It tasted...just as good as from a ramen stand. No...even better! Kaworu, having returned to give Kensuke and Toji a bowl grinned, "I think Misato likes it, Shinji."

"Judging by how she'd putting it away, I think that's an understatement," Asuka chuckled, digging into her own bowl which Shinji had just brought her.

"It's so good, Shinji!" Misato grinned between bites, "You've got an eye for this sort of thing!"

"You think?" he asked while he sat beside her.

Misato shook her head, "No. I know you do."

Shinji blushed furiously and instead found more of an interest in eating than continuing the conversation. Goichi chuckled, "She's right. Might have to have Kensuke invite you for dinner sometime so we can have this again."

"Don't do that," Kensuke warned, "He won't say no."

"Oh, Toji," Shinji looked up, "I made a container for Sakura too...if she can have it."

"Wow, man!" Toji grinned, "That's awfully kind of you! You should come visit her with me so you can give it to her yourself!"

"Uh...if you want..." Shinji trailed off.

They continued eating, everyone making conversation between themselves...that is, except for Shinji. Misato glanced over at him and said softly, "How are you doing?"

Shinji looked up at her, surprise in his face, "Oh..I'm alright. I guess. It's just a lot of people."

Asuka had just launched into an argument over how Toji and Kensuke should take Kaji's example and how they should be more like gentleman. Toji pointed out Kaji wasn't even there yet so what kind of gentleman was that? Asuka didn't seem to want to argue that. Hikari seemed exasperated, Goichi was watching it with a hint of bemusement and Kaworu was protesting that they shouldn't argue at Misato's party. Rei was quietly eating but keeping an eye on it. Shinji murmured to Misato, "Why must they be so noisy?"

"The noise is bothering you?" Misato asked softly.

Shinji nodded. Misato stood, "Here, let's take the bowls back and cut into that cake."

In the kitchen, Shinji asked her as he rinsed the bowls, "A promotion. So, that means that people have acknowledged your work?"

Misato nodded, busy opening the cake container and cutting it into equal slices, "Yeah, I suppose."

"That's why they're happy," he jerked his head in the direction of the living room, "But it doesn't make you happy."

"I mean, I am a little happy. And the celebration is nice...but that's not why I work at NERV."

Shinji tilted his head, "Then why do you work there?"

Misato glanced at him, seeing him regard her with genuine curiosity. The instinct to tell him a lie died on her tongue. She looked away, "It's long and complicated. I'll tell you someday."

Shinji frowned but nodded, "I think I understand. I think I'm ready to go back."

He sat back down by Kaworu when he returned, Asuka and the boys having migrated to the TV to play a fighting game. Asuka was trying to coax Rei into playing with them, "C'mon! It's more fun with more players! And Hikari won't play!"

Rei said softly, "I don't know anything of it though."

"We can teach you," Asuka said, offering her a controller.

Rei regarded it then took it with a cheer from Toji and Kensuke. "Why don't you want to play?" Shinji asked, "You had fun that one time."

Kaworu smiled, "I was waiting for you to return."

Shinji returned the smile with a faint blush on his cheeks. "What were you and Misato talking about, if I may ask?" Kaworu asked.

"Oh, just Misato didn't seem too happy with this. But she must be happy enough to let us have fun," he glanced at Misato sitting on the couch, watching the truly great task of the boys and Asuka teaching Rei the art of video games. Goichi seemed fidgety, with the Operations Director of NERV so close.

Kaworu chuckled, "I will admit this seems more like Kensuke just wanted an excuse for a party..." he paused and said thoughtfully, "But I suppose fun is important for us."

"Important?" Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"In a way, we're almost in a war," Kaworu explained, "Constant fighting and no fun would run us down."

Shinji nodded, "I see. That's why Misato sends us to school."

Kaworu smiled, "Same principle though I'd argue school isn't fun."

They sat back and watched as it seemed Rei was getting a hang of it, applying the same attitude towards real battle to play battle. Kensuke cried, "I can't believe it!" as Rei knocked him out.

"Say Kaworu," Shinji said, "You have an admirer at school, right?"

Kaworu raised an eyebrow but internally he tensed, "Mhm. I'm about due to respond back. The last letter was him telling me about himself. Not much."

"Do you know who it is?"

Kaworu tilted his head, considering Shinji's motivations for asking that. Did he want him to know or did he fear he already knew? Shinji was tense too and wouldn't meet his eye. "I suppose you're curious too?" he asked carefully.

Shinji jumped up, "Wh-who isn't?!"

Kaworu nodded, "I suppose you're right. And no. If I did, I'd like to think I'd go ask them myself."

Shinji relaxed, "Maybe they just need time before they do."

"That's what I think is the case."

The doorbell rang and Asuka jumped up, "That must be Kaji and Ritsuko!"

She went to the door and Rei mercilessly knocked her player character out. "Harsh," Kensuke commented.

Rei blinked at him, "She didn't pause."

Asuka opened the door to reveal Kaji and Ritsuko in casual wear. Kaji waved, "I came directly from HQ and me and Ritsuko just met on the way."

Misato eyed them with suspicion, "A likely story."

Ritsuko sighed, "You act like you're jealous."

"I am not!"

"Anyway!" Kaji stood up straight, "I'd like to offer my congratulations, Major Katsuragi. I guess I cant gripe at you anymore."

A faint blush spread across her face and behind her, the kids exchanged glances. Misato snapped, "And just what are you trying to say, you jerk?!"

Kaji grinned, hands on his hips, "You know how unprecedented it is for both the Commander and Vice Commander to be out of Japan together. That just shows how much trust they hold in you to hold down the fort while they're gone."

Shinji piped up, "Wait...my father's not here?"

Ritsuko shook her head, "Commander Ikari is at the South Pole right now."

If one saw the South Pole as it was right now, one might argue it wasn't even of this world anymore. The seas were a purple-red, the color of a bruise. Pillars of salt dotted the landscape where glaciers once were. Above, auroras danced, beautifully eerie. A fleet of ships cut through it, the largest having a long object tarped over and tied to it. From the deck, Commander Ikari and Fuyutski surveyed the land. It was silent, not even the wind existed here it seemed. It wasn't even as cold as it had once been, just the tiniest chill in the air. Fuyutski said, "The South Pole...a world of death where no life is permitted to exist. One may say it's no longer of this world. So should I simply call it Hell?"

"Nevertheless, we, mankind are here. We're living things and we're alive," Gendo replied.

The words were so familiar but if Fuyutski thought of who they reminded him of, his heart would hurt. "It's because we're under the protection of science," he pointed out.

"Science is the power of man."

Fuyutski gave the alien landscape another long glance, "That arrogance is what caused the tragedy of fifteen years ago, Second Impact. And this is the end result. This is a greater punishment than we deserved. It is truly the Dead Sea."

"Yet this is a world that has been purified, purged of its original sin," Gendo kept his flat facade but Fuyutski could hear the smile behind his words. The uncomfortable idea of Second Impact being merely a test trial lodged itself in his brain.

"I'd prefer a world where people live, no matter how stained with sin," he murmured.

Gendo did not respond so Fuyutski didn't even know if he had heard or not. Not that it would matter if he did.

Author's Note:

Here's another chapter that got cut in half because length, because together it was nearing ten thousand words! The first bit here with the party took up a lot of work so it gets its own chapter, a choice I'm happy with. Breaks up the action a bit. Also its fun sometimes to put a lot of characters in a room and play with 'em.

[tudorscharlot]

Parsley Days (Andrea Dorfman, 2000)

Sometimes you watch these turn-of-the-century super low-budget indie films and you strike gold (Funny Ha Ha, for instance). Sometimes they’re terrible. This one is just fine, but not great. 

SPOILERS

It’s the story of Kate who discovers she’s pregnant around the same time that she’s realizing she’s no longer in love with her boyfriend, Ollie. They’re in their early 20s and have been together since high school. He’s still totally happy in the relationship but it is dawning on her that she wants out. But he’s the nicest guy in the world (actually he’s not - more on that below) and they don’t have any obvious problems. It’s called Parsley Days because one of Kate’s friends is an herbalist/botany enthusiast and says that consuming huge amounts of parsley can induce menstruation and/or miscarriage. Which would be easier than having an abortion - and also creates a really nice visual motif throughout the film. This movie is great because at no point does it present abortion as a bad or controversial choice and there aren’t any scenes of her being troubled or conflicted about it. She doesn’t want to be pregnant and she takes the appropriate steps to end the pregnancy. 

The one thing that IS troubling about this film is that we find out at the end that Ollie had poked a hole in a condom with the intention of getting her pregnant. He did so because he could feel her pulling away from the relationship and thought that would keep them together (by permanently linking them). Her reaction to learning this is subdued, but her plans to end the pregnancy and the relationship don’t change. It isn’t necessarily unrealistic or dishonest from a storytelling point-of-view that she isn’t more angry or that he doesn’t experience more fallout for committing what is totally sexual assault. Everybody processes trauma differently. But it feels unsatisfying and wrong to end the film the way it ends with them on good, warm terms.

END SPOILERS

Despite this questionable narrative choice, it’s still a very enjoyable film. It’s cute (across the board) and it’s a real glimpse into life in fucking Nova Scotia in 2000, which is sooo rad. It’s a valuable time-capsule both as a portrayal of a corner of the world in a time that is gone and also in how that portrayal was made. Does that make sense? What it shows is lovely to see, because even though the world has moved on, we’ve got this sweet little picture. But also, the equipment available at that time to take that picture, and the cinematic language and style of that time are also wrapped up in how that picture was taken. This film is full of the idiosyncrasies of Andrea Dorfman and of the film art values of the year 2000. In contrast, there is so much incredible and exciting independent cinema happening right now in part because the equipment needed to make it is so inexpensive and accessible. But realizing how hard it was to make a movie even just 15 or 20 years ago really deepens my appreciation for the drive, ingenuity, and economy that pre-digital or proto-digital indie filmmakers had.

[doomedandstoned]

After 21 Years, Beloved UK Rockers SHALLOW Are Back!

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

English stoner rockers SHALLOW have returned after a long hiatus -- last heard from when we were all partying like it was 1999.

Their first full-length record was released on Rise Above Records. '12 Sunsets in 24 Hours' (2000) has long been considered a classic collector's item. Listening to it now is like digging up a time capsule, dating well before the mad exposition in stoner and psychedelic rock that erupted over the last decade, which some have dubbed the New Wave of Traditional Metal and Rock.

Shallow's chief stylistic distinctive is heaviness, but with a chill sort of vibe. Formed around '96, the team-up of Tony Inskip (guitar, vox), Danny Unnet (guitar, vox), Phil Brough (bass), and Rod Vyse (drums) was hard to categorize with a little of this, a little of that, some of the other. Thankfully, there were nice catch-all labels like "indie" and "alternative" that were well vogue by mid-decade.

Though they had more in common with the emerging Palm Desert scene than anything else, alternative rock they were to many a critic and DJ. I'm not even sure if this music was commonly called "stoner" at the time, except among stoners of course. Nowadays, we have plenty of next gen bands that strive to achieve this sort of sound, some with success, others with struggle. Shallow always seemed to pull it off without a sweat. They always had a certain cool about them, bleeding right into the music they played.

At the time, Shallow released a split with Jane Doe somewhere around '97, then got attention from Kerrang and Metal Hammer with an EP, 'Live At Heimi Hendersons' (1998 - Undergroove Recordings). Terrorizer Magazine summed up 16 Sunsets in 24 Hours succinctly enough: "Think classic Sabbath and early Nirvana, then think Hawkwind."

And then somewhere around the millenium, all four members of the band started another act called The Last Drop, releasing to my knowledge just one LP, 'Where Were You Living A Year From Now' (2002 - Rise Above Records). It showcased a "tougher" sound, with some reviewers even speculating that that The Last Drop is what Nirvana might have sounded like "today," had it not ended in such a sudden and tragic manner. Much of this had to do with Tony's similar vocal pitch and attack to the late Seattle crooner

In those bright early days, Shallow shared stages with a cavalcade of stoner-doom royalty -- from Cathedral, Orange Goblin, and Electric Wizard to Goatsnake, Nebula, and Spirit Caravan -- even the great post-Kyuss project Unida, appropriately enough. Since then, the band hailing from Stoke-on-Trent has surfaced on many a compilation and playlist, but we didn't see hide nor hair of the boys otherwise.

Now, seemingly out of nowhere, the band has reawakened from hibernation -- and what a strange landscape greeted them! Imagine a world without Facebook and Instagram, iTunes or Bandcamp. That at least explains the lack of a social media trail. It's staggering to consider how, even in their absence, Shallow's music has now borne the fruits of its influence many times over, with a stoner-psychedelic scene that has mushroomed in size in England and elsewhere.

Nevertheless, this is no Encino Man thawing from the Stone Age to meet the Rock Age. Shallow define stoner rock in so many ways, and it's good to see them in good hands with Future Noise Recordings, who is shepherding the legendary act's return record. ‘From the Ground Down’ (2021) it's called, and it will initially see the light of day on digital format across various platforms this Friday, April 2nd.

The album begins quietly, with gentle picking and moments of post-metal reflection, while song after song takes its own distinct shape in terms of melody, tempo, lyrical character, and rhythmic complexity. Three of Shallow's four original members (Tony, Phil, and Rod) are still intact, with guitarist Ike Reed jumping in on "Into The Ether" and "Bring To Mind." Several weeks back, we got our first listen with the single "Into The Ether," which naturally got a lot of us -- both longtime fans and curious onlookers -- quite excited and pining for more.

From The Ground Down by Shallow

This isn't the over-eager, barnstorming, take-no-prisoners kind of heavy music out to grab the impatient skip-prone on Spotify. Certainly, it has its moments of sturm und drang, but Shallow's From The Ground Down also has a kind of desert calm about it (not unlike the records of Fu Manchu) that invites us to share in wide-open spaces where the band can let each track start, develop, flow, and really “air out” its ideas. They would have been a perfect addition to the Live In The Mojave Desert Vol. 1-5 series that just concluded, featuring performances from Nebula (who Shallow's opened for in the past), Earthless, Mountain Tamer, Spirit Mother, and the latest Brant Bjork/Nick Oliveri vehicle, STÖNER.

Doomed & Stoned is thrilled to welcome Shallow back, bringing you From The Ground Down in full ahead of it's weekend release on Future Noise Recordings (though you can pre-order it here). Breathe it in deeply, friends. This is unlike any other record you're likely to hear this year, for it emanates from the soul of a true original.

The album is not simply psychedelic, nor are these 10 tracks easy grunge fare. You just gotta settle down and let each one do its own thing, appreciating the record on those terms. Best to take it with you on a long walk, maybe, or solidary drive across lonely spaces. Or an easy ridin' trip through inner space. Shallow kept me company over the past 21 years of life and I’ve a good hunch they'll stick with me for another 21 years still. Who knows, maybe even longer. Life, after all, is full of surprises.

Give ear...

From The Ground Down by Shallow

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[demirlugat]

pauvre schwarzenegger (2)

Playlists title> It has been explained here umpteen times where they come from. Definitely not by hacking anyone into the LEO system. So shut up, slanderer. A third factor is necessary to counteract susceptibility to injuries, why stretching, because only because of a better stretchability does a muscle not get any stronger. If more, and that's what many sports are about, not just the lowest price Muscle mobility, but also that of the capsule-band apparatus is increased, complementary strength training is not only necessary because of the better athletic performance, but also for the prophylaxis of injuries and degenerative symptoms.

On Friday noon I left home with my friend Selina Rudel. She was so nice and dedicated her whole weekend to me and stood by every second. By using FILMSTARTS you consent to the use of cookies. These enable our website to be better serviced. With the growth (termination) of the musculoskeletal system or as it progresses there, the possible peak performance often drops. In order to be able to get involved in the top level beyond childhood and early adolescence, intensive mobility training is mandatory.

Bodybuilding: POWERSTAR FOOD athlete Antonella Trantakis preparing for the EM 2013

I will of course keep my fingers crossed for my protégé Jury Kruber, even if he will have a difficult position as the smallest athlete at the start in this strong field. However, he proved his qualities with his victory in the Loaded Cup two weeks ago. Despite everything, the story is too gripping, the staging of the action too solid - and the impact of Linda Hamilton predominantly. It actually manages to make Arnold Schwarzenegger's return as a T-800 a marginal note, also in this review. Someone should imitate her.

This video is not available.

Pioneering for “Dark Fates” is that the film starts right at the end of Part 2 - literally. With this, he ignores the later sequels and gets rid of all the harmful ballast that they would have brought. Including a totally screwed up time line beyond repair. In the beginning, abdominal training was very exhausting and unusual for me, but it has now become one of my favorite exercises. I am only satisfied when it really burns, because our goal was to improve my stomach a little. My coach is very happy with me, and that calms me down too! But unfortunately my weak point is still the belly. I have been practicing bodybuilding since 2000. At that time I weighed 70 kg and was 1.83 m tall. I only trained occasionally for several years as a recreational athlete. Little by little my interest in sport and nutrition grew and I trained more seriously and perfected not only my training but also my nutrition. My progress increased and sport became a passion.

[amazingworkspaces-blog]

The And Now For Something A Bit Different Workspace

Here are some of the products that make this workspace an Amazing Workspace:

It's a little different from most battlestations you see posted here, but I like it. It has that cool retro feel and matches the rest of the stuff I have around the room and gives it character.

If you like quieter keyboards but you hate mushy rubber domes I would definitely recommend this one, it has the best of both worlds. Only thing to watch for is it's a PS/2 board so make sure your mobo has a real keyboard port before you go out and buy one lol.

RAM: 16GB DDR4

Finally in the middle you can see my little sub which helps add a little extra kick to the stereo and the two smaller speakers on top of the desk which control the sub and act a little more like a "center" channel.

The Microsoft keyboard may not be mechanical but this is probably one of the nicest rubber dome keyboards I've ever used. It's not loud like a Model M but it has enough resistance in the keys that it feels similar to my Model M2 without all the noise.

It's got a nice BSR player in it which can stack multiple records and play them back one after another before turning itself off after the last album so you can create your own vinyl playlists and just let it go!

The microphone is just some generic 60s radio mic I picked up at a yard sale for $0.50. Eventually I want to make a real mic stand for it so it doesn't need to stand upside down on my desk. For now though, it works fine for discord with my friends and the likes.

This setup doesn't joke around. Say what you will about Yorx but this thing actually has super impressive sound quality when you run a PC through the auxiliary port on the back. It has great sound reproduction for everything I've tried and when you turn it up you can hear it from the living room above it so it's got great volume also.

HDD: Seagate 250GB master with 3439d power-on hours and no signs of stopping

HDD: Seagate 1TB slave split into two 500GB partitions

Here is my little mixing and control center for all things audio. I got the mic amp and mixer off my friend for free a while ago and they've been working great for everything.

Now don't worry! This isn't an incorrectly linked r/retrobattlestations post! These stickers on the front lie to you! :P

Ignore the wiring... you're not actually supposed to see under the desk! (This is partly why I put these speakers here :P)

The mic amp has also been pretty good for recording ideas and rough tracks for various songs my friend and I are working on with our band.

And welcome to the vintage HI-FI section of my desk! As I mentioned earlier this Yorx stereo kicks ass pumping out the jams from my desktop. The turntable I got at a thrift store a while ago for $7.50 because the power switch was jammed. Some light hammer work on the inside got it all moving again.

Mobo: MSI Gaming M3 B150

The mouse is also a generic early 2000s Microsoft mouse but I love the feel of it. It's a very responsive optical mouse, it's simple and it feels nice. I don't need fancy macro buttons and stuff on my mouse, just two clickers and preferably a scroll wheel. I think I have at least 4 of these mice laying around here somewhere lol

Now if you walked into this room and looked at the desks on the opposite wall from this one you would almost think you found a time capsule to some 90s computer shop, so when I was building my new machine I wanted the new case to match the aesthetic of the room, and a transparent RGB case didn't fit the bill :P (not to mention it was out of the budget)

And because all of you guys seem to post it here's my mouse and keyboard. Nothing fancy but it works for what it's needed.

CPU: Intel I5-6500 @ 3.2GHz

Currently hooked up to the mixer I have my turntable (the board has a really nice pre-amp built in for this), cassette deck, mic amp and 8 track player all run on the various inputs. This makes it really easy for me to archive the old tapes and/or create vinyl rips of all my old albums because I can just run the one cable from the mixer into my PC and I don't need to worry about moving around cables or playing around with inputs for the various equipment anymore.

When I got the parts in initially I was looking around for a new old case. I was looking around on kijiji and the likes for people selling old Win9x boxes for cheap that I could strip and throw the new stuff in but didn't really find anything.

GPU: PowerColor Radeon RX 480

The new PSU I got for the build has these annoying covers over all the cables and also way more cabling than the last one so I couldn't really find a nice way to run all the cables and make it look nice with all the drives and everything in there, but no big deal you can't see inside the case except for adding upgrades anyway! Makes it faster and easier to do that regardless. :P

(Fun fact if you look up the service tag on the Dell site you can still find manuals and Windows 98 drivers for this exact model of PC!)

Luckily, when I was talking to my uncle about this he was saying he had his old Dell he got in 2001 that wasn't working anymore so he'd be willing to give me the case. When I got it I just had to make one small modification where I had to bend a metal bar off the back above the port guard so I could fit the new one in and everything else just slid perfectly into place.

Sorry for the quality... I took at least 10 pics of the whole desk and I could not get the camera to focus properly for the life of me. Either way, this is my battlestation I have set up in my basement workshop.

Specs:

Finally for the OS I'm running Windows 7 Pro 64bit with Classic theme, classic start and a few more shell tricks to make it more usable.

Anyway... I guess you could call me a bit of an audiophile. In total I have 7 speakers hooked up around the desk. Under the table as you can see I have the two crate speakers which are powered by my large 80s stereo and in the previous picture you can see the two slightly smaller crate speakers above the desk. One is on the shelf to the right and the other sits on top of my desktop to the left (stupid wall :P).

[thefloatingstone]

I know you're super into ponies, and I saw you reblogging something about how much the pony collectors community hates it when d/d/l/g or l/i/t/t/l/e/s/p/a/c/e blogs reblog yours stuff (added slashes so your blog won't show up under search for those tags). Why do they hate it so much? I'm not a part of any of these communities, and I'd like to understand. Thank you!

Hey there! :D That’s ok, I’m happy to try my best to explain!

The reason is actually pretty simple. Obviously I can only speak for myself but I imagine it’s the same for the other collectors as well (But if there is some different reasons I’m sure they’d be happy to add or correct me)

Basically, I collect the 80s My Little Ponies (although I won’t say no to the other generations and own ponies from all 4) I collect them because they were my favourite toys ever when I was small, and I loved the cartoon as a child. I liked it because it really was my first exposure to a high-fantasy setting. And it was done with really cute characters, in nice colours who were nice, sweet and kind to each other, but could still stop bad guys and work through bad situations and were very proactive characters.

As an adult, I can see the flaws in the show now, but I still think it’s highly immaginative with its ideas, and I still love the colours and that the characters don’t have to be snarky or aggressive to be heroic. As for the toys, I’ve always kept my childhood ones. I like them the best because again, I am a big fan of 80s and early 90s colour schemes, which I felt were better harmonised than the 2000s. And I also really liked that they resembled real ponies and weren’t AS stylized as how thy became later.

It’s also fun to be a collector. Because you’re constantly on a treasure hunt! Toys that were a big deal in pop-culture when they came out, and really represent what it meant growing up during that time period. And people don’t fully understand the value of “old toys”. So you’re always hunting at flea markets and thrift stores and some of the strangest places! Looking for collector’s items that the owner doesn’t have any attachment to and only sees as ‘an old toy’. In a way it’s like collecting bone china tea cups while they were still being made in England (before the 60s) or Medallions and medals. They are all a kind of time-capsule to a very specific era, and with ponies, they happen to have faces and be characters. So it’s fun to think of each pony as a little personality you’re finiding somewhere, taking home, cleaning up, and displaying.

These blogs that regblog these things however, have absolutely no interest in the individual items they are reblogging. Because to them, it only represents a sexual kink. Specifically the submissive pastel cutsey ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ kink. And look, a kink is nothing to be ashamed of as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. Honest. But the problem comes from the fact that we share photos, screenshots and gifs of these things because we’re honestly interested in the product. Whereas when they then take that post and reblog it, it’s for no reason other than to be part of a bigger kink to get themselves off on. The toys and collectors’ items because a sex toy, basically. Even if just in terms of visuals. It robs the post of its original intention and turns it into smut.

Smut is fine. But in this case it feels like someone has taken something that makes you happy and that you wanted to share with your fellow toy collectors and made it all about getting sexual satisfaction off of it based on what it represents to them; the idea of a girl being in the submissive position of ‘Daddy’s little girl’

It doesn’t become about ponies, or collecting, or showing off the value of a specific item, or about the episode or the character. Honestly the gif could be about anything in the kink blog’s eyes, as long as it fits into the kink they’re into. t robs the post of meaning, and turns it into something dirty.

I’ve recently had some porn blogs reblog some of my artwork by their bots and add things to it like ‘Hey I just got home, wanna chat?’ and ‘Hey I’m gonna be undressing for the camera, here’s a link!” and it has 0 to do with the picture. it’s just a way to promote their porn. And it feels icky you know? You feel taken advantage of. And they’re using your silly drawings to do it, not because they’re drawings, but because they happen to be getting a certain number of notes and reblogs. Your posts are being used and marked with something you’re uncomfortable with without your consent.

It’s the same thing :\ It also bugs a lot of my collector friends because they do their best to plaster their pages with “please don’t interact” banners, headers, tags, and sometimes within the images themselves, and the kink blogs completely ignore it. “consent” is a bit of a hot-button word because of its connotations, but that’s really what it is, isn’t it? “Please don’t reblog this as something to masturbate to.” “I’m gonna do it anyway and pretend you didn’t say ‘no’“

It’s just… it takes a hobby and turns it into something dirty. And then whether we like it or not, it makes us seem like we’re doing it for kinky, smutty purposes, all based on the nature of the toy (in this case, ponies). It builds an association.

If we were collecting wall-mounted plates none of us would be having this problem.

Anyway, sorry for the long reply. And I apologise if I got anything wrong. But this is my stance and experience with the matter. And why I personally really don’t like it. I imagine it’s very similar for a lot of collectors.

We collect the toys because it happens to be something we enjoy doing as an activity, from finding, to restoration to displaying on a shelf and looking at and being impressed by each others’ collections.

We share items among each other and trade, and help restore, and share tips on preservation and fixing problems. Some of my collector friends have kids who like playing with the toys themselves. We form friendships based on mutual interests, and its fun to hear each others’ collection adventures and childhood ties with the toyline.

and then someone reblogs it to their kink-specific blog with “dude I could totally masturbate to this.” Even after we have asked nicely “please don’t”

Also I’m sorry if this annoys anyone. I know kinks and stuff are a difficult topic on the internet as a whole, let alone tumblr. And I stand by the opinion that having a kink is fine if it doesn’t hurt anyone. But there is a level of selfish disregard here, and that is the main problem. It’s not all about the nature of sex, but more the active and decided action to ignore the OP’s feelings and requests and just do whatever you want. Until you start feeling like nothing but a ‘gold mine’ for kink blogs. And then you don’t even want to do it any more in the end.

Please help me guys! I’m talking about difficult subjects and I might be wording it wrong! I don’t want to insult anyone by accident ^^; I’m just trying to explain!

[organicdietguide]

Feeling Bloated | ways to reduce bloating

Feeling Bloated...Secret Ingredients to Feel Great!

What causes bloating in the stomach?

Bloating usually happens when gas builds up in the digestive tract and you’re unable to expel it. Gas can be caused by:

Overeating

Swallowing air while you eat or drink

Chewing gum

Smoking cigarettes

Eating certain foods; such as spicy, fried, or fatty foods

Other causes of bloating include:

What Is The Paleo Diet

Constipation: a condition characterized by bowel movements that are tough or happen less often than normal.

Gastroparesis: a condition that causes delayed stomach emptying.

Gut sensitivity: intolerances to certain foods, or irritable bowel. syndrome.

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: a medical condition in which a person has an unusually large population of bacteria in their small intestine.

ways to reduce bloating:

Take an Epsom salt bath.

Woman pouring Epsom salt into the bath

The simple lifestyle shifts in the Eat Sleep Burn ugly belly fat…

Relaxing in any tub is always nice, and adding two cups of magnesium-rich Epsom salt may help deflate your belly more effectively by pulling excess water out of your body. Your body will absorb the magnesium, which is an electrolyte, which can help displace the extra water your body is retaining. To avoid dehydration, only do this ritual once a week.

Eat a banana.

Woman eating banana

Melt 7 Pounds Every 7 Days

Bananas are packed with potassium, a nutrient that helps regulate fluid balance to flatten belly bloat. (It’s just one of the amazing benefits of bananas!) The potassium offsets the effects of sodium in your diet, which is a common cause of water retention. And bananas won’t just help you beat bloat overnight; An Anaerobe study found that women who ate a banana as a pre-meal snack twice a day for 60 days experienced a 50 percent reduction in bloating.

Avoid certain veggies.

High and low fodmap food examples

Even though they’re filled with health-promoting nutrients, foods that are high in FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) also contain sneaky belly-bloaters that may be contributing to your ever-clinging food baby. The culprit is poorly absorbed carbohydrates and sugars. When your body ferments these carbs in your gut, it produces gas, which causes bloating. Avoid foods like…

The Real Mom’s Guide

White onions

Artichokes

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Don’t chew gum.

Chewing gum

Shutterstock

Not only does chewing gum cause you to swallow tummy-bloating air, many gums also contain sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners like sorbitol and xylitol. Because these sugar alcohols are not absorbed by your body, they can cause discomfort and bloating, according to a Clinical Nutrition study.

Eat This! Tip: If you need to have something to chew on, go for an organic gum variety like Glee gum or Simply gum instead.

Secret Anabolic Recipes | Cook Healthy | Muscle Building Meals

They’re still low-cal, but they don’t use those sweeteners that’ll make you puff up. If that makes you cringe, then you’ll definitely want to see the most horrifying things found in food!

Eat dinner early.

Woman eating salmon

Travis Yewell/Unsplash

Intermittent fasting is increasing in popularity because of it’s science-backed weight loss benefits. For most of us, not eating for 16 hours in a day doesn’t seem like an appealing prospect. But here’s a secret: You actually fast every night, while you’re asleep—that’s why they call the first meal of the day “breakfast.”

Belly Fat in Women

The longer you can stretch out that period of fasting, the fewer calories you’ll take in. The fewer calories you consume, the less opportunity you have to eat something that will bloat your stomach.

Cut off food intake by 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. at night, and delay breakfast a little further into the day.

Make sure you have at least 12 hours between your last meal tonight and your first meal tomorrow. You’ll give your digestive system time to recover, and deflate your bell

Another method is to eat the bulk of your calories before 3 p.m. You’ll be more likely to have a flatter stomach than your splurge-at-dinner peers, says a 2013 International Journal of Obesity study.

Have a high-protein breakfast.

High protein keto breakfast of bacon and eggs

Once you have awakened your digestion, start your day of eating with a burst of protein. We all get distracted or busy through the day, but a high-protein breakfast will prevent surprise mid-morning or early afternoon energy crashes that leave us reaching for a quick jolt of energy via ultra-processed foods that are high in bloat-inducing ingredients like excess sodium.

Healthy Diet Plant-Based Diet Eat This! Tip: Add a morning protein shake or a breakfast of eggs and nut butter waffles. The goal: don’t leave the house without first loading up on at least 15 grams of protein.

Make ginger tea.Sliced ginger and ginger root on wooden cutting board

A sluggish digestive system equals a slower metabolic rate. Wake up your innards by starting the morning with a cup of ginger tea.

This fast-friendly drink will help improve the digestion and elimination of your food, according to a 2000 study, and is a key part of The 7-Day Flat-Belly Tea Cleanse. Another reason for your bloated belly is inflammation, which is often brought on by spicy foods, dairy and chemical additives.

According to numerous studies, ginger, traditionally used to ease stomach pain, blocks several genes and enzymes in the body that promote bloat-causing inflammation. Not a fan of ginger? There are plenty of other teas that make great bloating remedies.

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol

Try yoga poses Certain yoga poses can position the muscles in the abdomen in a way that encourages the release of excess gas from the GI tract. This can reduce bloating.

Child’s Pose, Happy Baby Pose, and squats can all help people to relieve a buildup of gas quickly. Learn more about yoga poses for flatulence.

Use peppermint capsules Peppermint oil capsules may also be helpful for indigestion and related gas. Manufacturers usually market them as a treatment for the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but people without IBS can also use them to relieve bloating.

Peppermint works by relaxing the intestinal muscles, which allows gas and stool to move along more effectively.

People should always follow the instructions on the packet. Anyone who is prone to heartburn may need to avoid peppermint.

Peppermint capsules are available to buy over the counter (OTC) at drug stores or online.

Best Diets Weight loss Diet plans

Try gas relief capsules Simethic one pills and liquid are anti-gas medications that can help to move excess air out of the digestive tract. It is essential to always take medication according to the instructions on the label.

People can find gas relievers in drug stores or online.

Try abdominal massage Massaging the abdomen can help to get the bowels moving. A massage that follows the path of the large intestine is especially helpful. People can follow the steps below to do this:

Placing the hands just above the right hip bone.

Rubbing in a circular motion with light pressure up toward the right side of the ribcage.

Rubbing straight across the upper belly area toward the left rib cage.

Moving slowly down toward the left hip bone.

Repeating as necessary.

If the massage causes any pain, it is best to discontinue it immediately.

Use essential oils A study from 2016 tested the effectiveness of supplements containing a combination of fennel and curcumin essential oil in 116 people with mild-to-moderate IBS. After 30 days, people reported an improvement in their IBS symptoms, including bloating and abdominal pain.

People should not consume essential oils without speaking to a doctor first. This is because some formulations may be toxic or can interfere with medication, and there is no regulation of dosages.

Take a warm bath, soaking, and relaxing The heat of the bath can provide relief for a sore abdomen. Relaxation can reduce stress levels, which may allow the GI tract to function more effectively and help reduce bloating.

Long-term solutions for bloating Quick fixes are not always effective for some causes of bloating. However, people who have frequent bloating may find that certain lifestyle changes can tackle the causes and reduce bloating over time.

People can use these simple steps to try to prevent bloating in the long-term:

Increase fiber gradually Increasing fiber intake may help to treat bloating.

Eating more fiber helps to prevent constipation and bloating. Most people in America do not get enough fiber, with only 5 percent of people meeting their recommended daily fiber intake of 25 grams (g) for females and 38 g for males.

However, it is important to bear in mind that eating too much fiber or increasing fiber intake too quickly can cause even more gas and bloat. People may notice adverse effects from eating more than 70 g of fiber a day.

When increasing fiber intake, it is best to start slowly and increase the intake over several weeks to allow the body to adjust to this change in the diet.

Replace sodas with water Fizzy, carbonated drinks contain gas that can build up in the stomach. The carbon dioxide that makes soda and similar beverages fizzy can also cause bubbling and bloating in the stomach.

Sugars or artificial sweeteners in the diet can also cause gas and bloating. Drinking water eliminates these issues and helps to treat constipation as well.

Avoid chewing gum The sugar alcohols in gum can cause bloating in some people. Swallowing air while chewing also may lead to bloating and gas pain. People can use ginger mints or peppermints to freshen their breath instead.

Here are my 4 top secret ingredients help flush excess fluids out of your system.

Dandelion Greens/Tea:

full of beneficial vitamins A and K, plus important minerals like iron and calcium, they also have gentle diuretic properties. This means that they help flush excess fluids out of your system.

Ginger:

used to help fight nausea and indigestion all over the world. Scientific research also suggests that ginger can help soothe tense digestive muscles and reduce gas and bloating.

Black Pepper:

it stimulates the release of your body’s digestive enzymes, which are responsible for breaking down the food we eat.

It also helps your body absorb nutrients more easily, and can help improve blood-flow to your GI system. So go ahead and sprinkle on more of that fresh black pepper, it’s good for you!

Ceylon Cinnamon:

cinnamon can help with gas, heartburn.

Breastfeeding superfoods

Health and Pregnancy

Pregnancy Tips on Health, Your Body

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Diet Guides

[allspark]

Blasting his way into the Allspark Studio today is the Maximal one man army, Big Convoy!  Will he head into battle on your shelf alone, or will he stop all that nonsense and babysit the next wave of Maximal recruits?  Tune in after the jump to find out!

As I have said many times, Beast Wars got me back into Transformers. It was the vehicle that guided me to a collecting passion I have enjoyed for more than 20 years. As Beast Wars was close to an end, I became aware of Japanese versions of Beast Wars molds being used as new characters, then finding out Japan got brand new figures we had never seen in the states. This was the onset of my eBay addiction during the early 2000’s. Suddenly, the universe was open and multiple many-colored versions of my favorite figures existed in a magical land on the other side of the globe. All I had to do was get on the Internet and research the characters and then start hunting them in online auctions. I have fond memories of getting my first Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo figures in the mail, and frantically opening the packages to get to the plastic jewels inside. Big Convoy was a quick favorite of mine because who does not like woolly mammoths? Making a woolly mammoth into a version of Optimus Prime is chocolate and peanut butter, am I right?

Beast Mode

As impressive as he was in both modes, Big Convoy had a few issues that I was never able to get over. First off, his mammoth mode is basically a solid brick. Yes, his ears move, and so do his tusks and snout, but that’s not the kind of articulation I think most action figure collectors are asking for when they spend their cash. In addition to that, his beast mode was basically a puzzle AND a shell at the same time. It was as if someone from Takara took two of the fandom‘s greatest complaints about figures and forced them together in a brilliant middle finger that everyone would have to buy. I have also found that over time, the rubbery parts on the snout have developed some sort of sticky residue. I really hope I don’t get to my Beast Wars Neo shelf one day and find a disintegrated face on my original figure. All of this is to say that beast mode looked really nice but lacked a little in execution.  Still, for what he was, he looked great on my shelves as a stoic mammoth back in 2000 or 2001 when I first purchased him.  Almost 20 years later and he continues to get comments and attention from anyone that is new to my collection.

For the Encore release, Takara has put this mold out in much better colors. Gone is the gold plastic (which still frightens me to this day) and the two-toned look to the fur. The only remnant of this is on his mammoth feet. The dark brown fur is a deeper color than on the original release, giving the beast mode a much closer appearance to the way Big Convoy looked in the Beast Wars Neo cartoon. Having eyes with actual pupils is also a huge improvement. I can safely say that the Encore release has produced the definitive version of his beast mode, with improved colors and a bit more personality.

  Robot Mode

Big Convoy’s robot mode has always fared a little bit better than his beast mode. He has some superior articulation. Between the double ball-jointed feet, double-jointed knees, 360° ratcheted hips, waist, ball-jointed shoulders, elbow articulation, and a limited ball-jointed neck, this pachyderm is packed with a passel of potential possibility. Yes, I went there. 😛

Unfortunately, he suffers a little bit from top heaviness and balancing him in some dynamic poses for shelf display can be difficult at times. Fortunately, he looks very majestic in a general standing pose, holding the Big Canon in his hand. That is pretty much my go to pose for this mold in any color variation.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this figure was that he was the first “Prime” to my knowledge that had an actual matrix as part of the original production of the figure. No third-party add on for this guy!

Overtime, other issues like the residue on the mammoth snout have begun to appear on the various uses of this mold. Sometimes the mammoth puzzle pieces don’t want to lock in the way they are intended. The back piece that connects the rear legs to the tail section seems to be one of the worst parts. Additionally, I have noticed that the mammoth parts that connect to the underside of the forearms have been very loose on some versions of this mold. That does not seem to be the case on the Encore release of Big Convoy. I was very happy to find that overall the quality of the mold seems to have been restored for this and the Blue Big Convoy release.

Along with improving his color scheme in beast mode, the robot mode is very clearly attempting to pull off the animation color scheme and I love it! The scary gold plastics have been swapped out for blinding yellows, and the off-white plastic is beautifully bone white. The metallic blues and silvers and the muted reds have also been replaced with a vibrance only seen on film. This is the closest thing to having Big Convoy jump out of your TV screen and join you in your living room.

This release has me floored with how well it turned out.  Therefore, I give Encore Big Convoy 92 Angolmois capsules out of 100!

He is a thing of beauty that’s sports repairs to his molding and much improved color choices in this deco. If you were not in the fandom during his original release, or you are just now coming around to the glory of beast modes, you definitely need to add him to your collection! He is a little on the expensive side for some budgets, so you may not want to get him for your children, but if you do, you will be the most awesomest parent in the entire universe. Seriously, no one would be able to beat you. Give your children the power of the matrix.

  Encore Big Convoy Gallery and Review! Blasting his way into the Allspark Studio today is the Maximal one man army, Big Convoy!  Will he head into battle on your shelf alone, or will he stop all that nonsense and babysit the next wave of Maximal recruits? 

[saam-pahlavan]

The 3 games of 2017 you missed

Instead of doing a top 10 / best of 2017 list this year I thought I’d shine a light on a couple games that I thought stood out among the giant behemoths that are Zelda, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and whatever other shooty game that people liked.

Paradigm

Paradigm feels like a weird adventure game fever dream that could only come from the mind of a single person. It’s got a cast of odd characters including a beat-boxing eggplant, a horny personal computer, and dude that wears a cone on his head. Mechanically it’s pretty much your typical adventure game, drag items around, talk to characters etc. It’s full of humor though, including one of the best tutorials I’ve ever seen in a video game called “DOG TUTORIAL”. It was probably the most bizarre game I played this year, but totally something I could imagine on Adult Swim.

Emily Is Away Too

This one is a bit more of a nostalgia hit for me. For someone that came of age during the AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) era it hit a lot of notes from back then. The game does some really smart stuff including trying to make your computer’s desktop a part of the experience and even has its own early / mid 2000′s YouTube and Facebook pages. The conversations I had with the characters felt pretty close to the ones I’d have with my friends back then. It brought back a lot of feelings / memories from my teen years. Some I enjoyed remember and some I did not. Either way it’s a nice little time capsule of how I learned how to talk to people on the internet.

Star Fox 2

Yeah a Super Nintendo game came out this year. I played SF2 before it came out on this year’s miniSNES official and it’s probably my favorite Star Fox game. SF2 breaks from the formula by adding a sorta Tower Defense element to the game. Your goal is protect the home planet of Corneria from Andros’s incoming attacks. You do this by navigating the SF crew to different planets and destroying Andros’s bases. At the same time waves of enemies / missiles slowly approach Corneria in real time. Meaning that you want to complete missions as fast as possible. SF2 led the way for a lot of the tech in SF 64 including the more open all range mode levels. It’s got a lot of neat ideas like being able to turn the ship in a walker and a 2 pilot life system. It also introduces 2 new female characters to the SF crew including Miyu the lynx and a poodle named Fay. Even if you didn’t get a miniSNES it’s worth checking out if you have to do it by other means. (shifty eyes).

GOTY

Mario Odyssey was my Game of The Year. That’s it, bye.

[universeinform-blog]

England 2-0 Lithuania: five talking points from the World Cup 2018 qualifier

New Post has been published on https://universeinform.com/2017/03/28/england-2-0-lithuania-five-talking-points-from-the-world-cup-2018-qualifier/

England 2-0 Lithuania: five talking points from the World Cup 2018 qualifier

1) Guidelines of progress below Southgate

Given how low the bar become whilst Gareth Southgate got herein, the first thing he had to acquire so one can factor to progress become keep away from turning into embroiled in a countrywide scandal or humiliation. It is thumbs up on that front for now and there’s circumstantial proof of development, past that. After an honorable defeat by using an improvised Germany group,

England showed towards Lithuania simply enough pace and clever motion to unhinge combatants who aspired to do nothing extra than erect human barricades around their field from the primary minute. Each desire were beauties but there were additionally bouts of familiar stodginess. At the least Southgate has made some bold picks, fetishised the captaincy and cautioned he’s a man with a plan and the power and clarity of thought to put in force it. The proper exams lie ahead, however, Southgate has made a truthful begin. Jermain Defoe and Jamie Vardy provide England victory over Lithuania Examine extra

2) Large crowd contributes to harmless amusing

The bar for measuring the performance of England’s lovers additionally starts of evolved low. At Wembley there had been, At the least, no struggle chants or loutish nonsense and silence prevailed all through the Lithuanian national anthem, which changed into followed by means of respectful applause from the hosts. The minute’s silence in memory of the sufferers of the Westminster assaults became also located with decorum, as was the tribute to the overdue Graham Taylor.

As soon as the game got going the temper within the floor was fun. The visit of the crew ranked 107 inside the world for an apparently foregone conclusion of an in shape did not quite draw a complete residence, however, an attendance of seventy-seven,690 seemingly properly-humoured people became still a pleasant turnout. The sight of Jermain Defoe main out the crew with five-year-vintage Bradley Lowery become also lovable. Hope springs everlasting.

3) Arsenal representative makes little affect

With Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere all failing to increase as hoped and Danny Welbeck nonetheless working his way returned from damage, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain become the best Arsenal participant with a hazard to decorate his international credentials at Wembley. however, he did now not capture the initiative. His passing turned into now not as wayward as it has been in his final look for his membership – that miserable defeat at West Bromwich Albion – but nor become it specifically sharp or imaginative.

If he became covered because he became expected to provide extra thrust than Jake Livermore, he generally did no longer fulfill his project, although he did pressure a shop from Ernestas Setkus with a great shot inside the 53rd minute. Nor did Oxlade-Chamberlain make a contribution as plenty dynamism as Jordan Henderson or Ross Barkley likely could have. He turned into now not bad but, all in all, this became a possibility missed for him.

Best Travel Destinations in England

Royalty! That is the first issue that might pop into your mind while you consider England. Sure, it does house the arena’s richest and maximum famous royal own family, however, that’s not all there’s to England. From small thatched villages to museums and royal castles,

England can offer you nearly something that you would possibly want. Don’t believe me? Well, why Do not you take an experience to England and discover for yourself? (And here is a pro travel tip: Save your money and simply Buy British Airlines Miles while you tour). So if you plan to return to England, here’s a list of places you have to honestly go to:

1. The London Eye, London:

Big fan of panoramic perspectives? Then This is the area that allows you to go to. This exaggeration of a Ferris wheel literally takes you for the ride of your existence. Taking you to a top of 440 ft, the London Eye offers you a study the entire of London metropolis alongside its regular hustle and bustle. The passenger capsules which convey you up are made of glass accordingly offering you with the opportunity to have a first-rate 360-degree view of the whole thing. What more do you want?

2. The city Of Bath:

You understand how they are saying that suitable things are available in small packages? Nicely, the metropolis of Bathtub is the right example of this example. Although small, this city nonetheless has a lot of things to offer to its tourists. The Romanian baths, and then this town is named, are the precise location to loosen up if you’re looking into getting far away from everything. That blended with the Georgian Townhouses all round metropolis will come up with the lightheaded revel in that you’re searching out.

3 .The Buckingham Palace, London:

One of the few places that are in working circumstance till nowadays, The Buckingham Palace will come up with the risk to take a look at the Queen’s guard all dickered out in their best red and black livery. Do they surely now not move irrespective of what occurs? Nicely why Do not you cross yourself and find out?

4.The Tower Of London:

The Tower of London is essentially a historical castle that is located on the north financial institution of the river Thames. This tower of London houses the largest diamond within the international, so even in the case, you’re no longer a Huge fan of heights or castles I would nonetheless advocate you cross there to get a very good observe that beauty.

The Traditions of Cultivation of Flax and Linen Weaving in Lithuania

Linen is a material used for all kinds of functions, commonly clothing and decoration, this is favored for its sturdiness, naturalness, and freshness. Linen is made of the fibers of the flax plant which is grown during the whole world – from Canada to Ethiopia. Flax has been cultivated for the reason that instances of historic Egypt and historical Ethiopia, at the same time as the cutting-edge findings of dyed flax fibers dated to 30000 BC.

In Lithuania, a small country in Northern Europe with completely wealthy records, linen has a special area inside the country’s traditions, arts, and crafts. Flax has been grown right here for the reason that instances of the Baltic tribes that have been living in the cutting-edge united states of America’s territory from around 2000 BC. inside the Medieval times, while the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was considered one of the most important countries in Europe, linen changed into in all likelihood the simplest fabric used for clothing via the peasants and the soldiers (except for the armor, of course)

Even in the early twentieth century, when the supply of other fabric was a lot extra, flax and linen had a major component in Lithuania’s exports. The importance of linen in Lithuania has dwindled ever on the grounds that, yet there are nonetheless a few folk artists inside the united states of American who weave linen and preserve the traditions alive.

Travel the World of Freelancing

Are you a mother looking for methods to earn at the consolation of your own home? Or a father who would really like to apply his abilities, pastimes, and hobbies to make money on the same time? Or an educator who would really like to percentage his expertise and understanding? Or a mere student who would like to be impartial to aid his studies? Or a crew of experts with the intention to benefit from fee and income?

Or someone who wanted to installation a domestic enterprise, a micro-entrepreneur and who would like to be his own boss? Or are you the only who would love to exchange his profession course or would like to have a few form of profession spoil? Or without a doubt a person who would really like to have additional work and bonus income?

In this eon of excessive technology and social media proliferation, earning thru freelancing is one of the ways to increase family or character profits.

learning with the aid of freelancing can be your threat to acquire your vision, your dream and a first-rate way to gain greater income. This could even end up a supply of your complete time earnings.

Why not study on and let us traverse the sector of freelancing…

What are freelancing and freelancer?

Before, freelancing paintings isn’t always so popular and not given any well worth in any respect. Others understand freelancer as man or woman and not using a solid job and who do activity hopping and looking from one vicinity to every other. In quick, no fee.

These days, in electronic media and eCommerce improvement, freelancing is already a “word of mouth”. There may be a higher connotation nowadays when a freelancer says he belongs to this class. Freelancing is in stratum to compete with company giants incomes competitively in a blink of a watch.

Others term it as outsourcing professional and gifted people in the undertaking wished by means of client or purchaser. The people In this type of paintings are classified as the freelancer, freelance, freelance employee, impartial contractor and so on.

The freelancer, the individual that is doing freelancing activity, is a self-employed repute and has no employee-agency dating. That is primarily based on mutually agreed arrangement and may be finished either verbal or written shape declaring the requirement of the customer including: