#it's definitely not the same vibe i had pre october so thanks again

[jewvian]

אני חושבת שהגעתי לאותו מספר עוקבים שהיה לי לפני אוקטובר, אולי אפילו עקפתי אותו.

המספרים תכל'ס לא משנים, אני בעיקר שמחה שהצלחתי למלא את החלל עם בלוגים שמעניינים אותי, בלוגים של עוד ישראלים, שיש לנו סוג של קהילה קטנה ונחמדה.

אז תודה לכולם!! 😊

[sakurasakiyama]

Goodies I’ve Received During My Offline Period! ❤

Since it’s always been a tradition for me to share with all of you what I’ve received on arrival of some of the DVDs, CDs, Magazines and Good’s that I buy; I thought I would make a *little* post of some of the things that I have purchased and has arrived since being offline! :D This won’t be as long since I haven’t purchased much since I was away due to pre-ordering and a hectic December, but I try my best to keep up with what I can :) And a head’s up that some of the photos have the flash on since my room is at the back of the house and the light doesn’t come through my window xD

There’s a lot to get through, so all of it will be under the cut (especially things that could be spoilers) ♥

1. Di Kita Malimot Drama DVD & Magazines!

I pre-ordered the Di Kita Malimot DVD back in August last year. I was really excited to see the Drama for the first time, and I wanted to have a copy of the extras as well as the visual book that came as a bonus. Unfortunately since I don’t have a Blu-Ray player for my laptop (as it’s a laptop without a disc drive), I was only able to watch the extras once on the Blu-Ray player I have in the living room for the TV when no one was home xD The Drama itself is quite funny and good to watch! You’d see them act in ways that you never thought they would, which is a good pick-me-up on days when you’re sad and in need of a laugh xD Overall, the Drama was definitely worth the wait! :D And, the visual book has a text mistake in it as well that was pointed out to SLF, and they made a note on the item page for those who purchased it. But they didn’t request for people to send it back, only to just be aware of it and what the part was meant to say. 

The magazine contents for all of them are amazing (especially the photos ♥), and the magazine’s in that photo are:

CDJournal October 2018 Issue

B’s LOG November 2018 Issue

Stage Fan Vol. 3 Issue

Cast Size Summer Special 2018

JUNON September 2018 Issue

JUNON November 2018 Issue

2. Stage Stars & Sparkle Magazine’s (Present)

These were one’s that I didn’t buy myself, a friend ended up getting them for me as a present in November! :D This was actually a big surprise for me since I didn’t know that they were going to get them for me, it just arrived at my door xD So, at least this post allows me to say thank you to them for getting me these magazines and I love them very much! ♥ The magazines here are Stage Stars Vol.3 and Sparkle Vol. 35 :)

3. UTOPIA Albums & Sakiyama Tsubasa Birthday Event Goods

I’ll start with the Birthday Goods first xD I pre-ordered them the second pre-ordering started, which actually happened to be during my lunch break when I was doing my teaching placement LOL! But, there’s a long story with these and the UTOPIA albums. Due to December being a busy and a not very financial month for me (I went on a trip to the city, I had to pre-order the Toumyu nendo’s, and I had to pay for subscriptions, phone bill and Christmas presents), I had to put off getting these shipped out to me (along with the albums), until January this year. Luckily I got paid on the first of the month, so I was able to get them shipped out as fast as I could xD They arrived to my proxy around the end of November. The bromides are literally dangerous and cute, and the pamphlet photos are just as perfect, along with the interview being quite deep interesting! ❤ The contents in this photo are:

Birthday Event Pamphlet

Birthday Event Bromides A, B & C (there was no bonus for getting all 3 of them as that was only during the event run)

Birthday Event Ball-Pen (Pink) & Automatic Pencil (Blue) (it’s one of those pencils that you push on and the lead just comes out, so you don’t have to sharpen it, just buy lead refills xD)

Next is the UTOPIA Albums xD I pre-ordered these in November and they arrived the day before release day to my proxy xD I wanted to have them as a Christmas present, but because of the lack of funds was an issue for me in December, I had to wait >.< I got them online which included the online purchase bonus with 2 RAW photos per album (one as a bonus, one as an extra), and there’s 2 in each of those 4 holders. With the RAW photos and the Trading Cards, let’s just say that bad luck is still on my side, and you’ll know what I mean in a moment xD

After listening to all of the songs in full for the first time (excluding “Dancing☆Samurai” thanks to KENZO and TOMO from DA PUMP collaborating with Tsubasa to make a Music Video for the cover of the song by doing the choreography and producing the MV), I fell in love with all of them instantly! ❤ The lyrics for them all have a purpose behind them and you can really feel the emotion in his voice. For the songs Tsubasa wrote the lyrics for himself, “Re:quest” for Kurogarasu and “Snow Gift”, I was really proud and amazed by them! The lyrics for “Re:quest” gives that dark, powerful vibe, which i feel links perfectly with the theme of his main starring movie “Kurogarasu”. “Snow Gift” was a lot more softer and kind of brings out his loving side. But it could also be perceived as him and his passion and never wanting to let go of it. This is his first time writing lyrics, but I do hope in the future, he will be able to write more songs and let his feelings come through ♥

As for the MV, MV Making Video & Special Movie, the short MV of UTOPIA gave us a preview of most of it, so the last part was a total mystery, and it was really beautiful ♥ As for the other 3 MV’s that were on there, I STILL love them to this very day xD The MV Making Video was short but sweet :) They just showed some of the places he took photos at and a couple of other little things that I had a good laugh at, as I had my suspicion that the Special Movie would give the full making in Macao. And I was right xD But I still loved the Making Video since there was some good shots :D The Special Movie was really good! ♥ The way it started I had a bit of a laugh at, but it was really cute. It follows through the 2 days he was in Macao doing his MV shoot and the photos as well for the cover, trading cards, and etc. He really did seem to have a lot of fun and was grateful to be able to do it in Macao, and Tsubasa would still have his little antics here and there as well xD Overall, I loved all of it! ❤

These are the RAW photos I got: 

I got doubles AND triples LOL! As expected of me to end up with the random draw like that, but I still love all of the photos anyway! ♥ They’re all of Tsubasa’s good sides and he’s really attractive in them all ❤ And if anyone has any doubles that aren’t in this photo and I have one of the photos in the triple and double that you’d like to trade with, by all means don’t be afraid to ask! :D If not, I might sell them or do a giveaway xD

The Trading Card bad luck continues to play with me and get worse each time xD So, I’ll let the photo speak for itself:

THEY’RE BOTH DOUBLES LOL! So, I ended up with 2 out of the 5 this time. It’s the same with Crescent Moon, except I got 3 of the same in that one xD I got the two top ones in the MV and Special Movie editions, and the bottom two in the photobook and CD only editions xD The trading card photos are really cute (not to mention quite good looking ♥), and I was super anxious when opening them as well as the RAW photo bonus also. Again, if anyone has a double of the other trading cards and you don’t have one of the ones in this photo, I’d be glad to trade with you! :D If not, again I’ll either sell them or do a giveaway :)

4. Surprise Birthday Present

Since what I’ve purchased is a surprise birthday present for a friend, I’m not going to show or say what they are (hence I took a photo of what it looks like from behind, and put a line in it to keep it as a surprise as it had the name of it on the back xD) since their birthday is still a while away and I don’t want to ruin the surprise! xD I got these off Mercari for a reasonable price and brand new! Thank you to the lovely An, @beansproutsong, for helping me purchase these for me through her proxy! ❤ I have used her a few times and her service fees are very reasonable for second-hand goods and her service is literally 10/10 in every way possible! So don’t be afraid to message her here on Tumblr or on Twitter (@Angelic1408) if wanting any goods that you can’t get shipped overseas, or from second-hand sites! :D She’s one of the friendliest people (out of the many others who are friendly too) who is willing to do a personal proxy for everyone, so don’t be afraid to ask questions or get a inquiry on something :) More info about her proxy service can be found: HERE

[callmeblake]

Artist Interview – Frank Iero

Posted on September 24, 2016

by Abby

I’ve always been a Frank Iero fan, and I was lucky enough to go to a frnkiero andthe patience show on Monday. The show itself was beyond amazing (check out my review here!), and I got the chance to talk to Iero after the show. I’d had an interview scheduled, but there was a mix-up and Iero wasn’t able to make it before the show. Fortunately, his tour manager is incredible and got me in afterwards. Everyone that I got the chance to interact with, all of Iero’s crew, were incredibly thoughtful and genuine, from Frank himself to the rest of his touring band. Anyway, without further ado, here it is:

Indientry: Hi, it’s really nice to meet you. Thank you so much for meeting with me afterwards.

Frank Iero: Thank you so much, I really appreciate this.

I: Sorry for all of the hassle. So, you said that you were feeling sick because you guys were just going, going, going?

F: Yeah, so last week, we left on Thursday and flew to Paris, we did this press trip, we went to Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and then back to London, and we did all of these acoustic sets, and we did interviews all day, so I was talking for maybe 12 hours straight and I had two double-headers, acoustic shows, and then we flew back and I was home for a minute and then we flew out and did this tour, the double-header with Death Spells and the patience, and then a Death Spells set the next day, and yesterday we did a double header a patience set to another double header, and I have nothing left.

I: Wow. That’s a lot. I’m impressed that you’re still out here giving it everything, that’s awesome.

F: I don’t know if it’s everything, but it’s everything I’ve got.

I: It was a lot, it was good. It was an excellent show. How’s your family? I always hear about them.

F: They’re good, yeah, they’re the best. They’re the reason I can do this stuff. They’re so awesome. Like, my girls are starting first grade, and my son is in pre-k, and my wife’s just like, the f*cking supermom of all supermoms. I think I’ve got a busy schedule, and then I realize she’s at school and f*cking being a mom, and putting up with my sh*t too, and it’s like, I can’t imagine, I wouldn’t be able to do that. All I gotta do is sing.

I: Yeah, that’s really great. So your birthday is on Halloween, talk about that, I love Halloween!

F: I like Halloween too. If I could’ve picked a birthday it would’ve been on Halloween. Yeah, it’s always been my favorite holiday. Not because it was my birthday, but actually because, I think it was the freedom, you know? When you were a little kid, you got to go out and be an adult for a couple of hours. You got to, like, just go out with your friends and knock on peoples’ doors and be nuts and pull pranks and stuff like that. You could be whoever you wanted to be, you know, I guess that was the appeal to it. And I always gravitated towards the imagery of it and it was the best weather, especially in Jersey where we get one month a year that’s really nice out, and it used to be October, now I feel like winter starts in October. Yeah, it’s always just my favorite time of year. Just so happens our record comes out around then, too.

I: Yeah, I was just about to ask about that!

F: Well, it just so happens that I was talking to my friend and he was like, “Yo, wouldn’t it be good if it came out for your birthday,” I was like “I guess so!”

I: It’s the day after my birthday, too, so it’s perfect for me!

F: Is it? Wow! So you’re a Scorpio?

I: Yes!

F: Nice! It’s hard for people to put up with us, huh? *laughing* We don’t realize it sometimes.

I: I was about to ask about the album actually! What can you tell me about the sound of Parachutes as opposed to Stomachaches and your previous solo stuff?

F: So, Stomachaches started out as I was writing these songs, and I didn’t know why I was writing these songs, I just had these songs in my head and I didn’t know how to get them out. And I kind of felt like if you had asked me then what the plan was, I was like, “Oh, I probably am done playing music, I just wanna do, like, other stuff and I wanna write a book.” I wanna, like, I had this really weird thing where I would really love to be a mailman.*laughing* I think it’d be really fun. I don’t know, yeah, it’s weird. That was, like, a goal of mine. So I thought, “Alright, well, I’ll just do this stuff in my free time, pursue my other interests.” And one thing led to another, and I got out the doors on some Death Spells stuff, James was on tour, and a friend of mine, Matt Galle, he’s my booking agent, he asked me what I had been up to, and I played him the stuff I had made in my basement, and he was like “You should do something about this.” And so I played it for some people. Basically, when I wrote those songs, I wanted it to be like a moment in time, like, I wanted it to be like, I wanted you to feel like you were listening in on something, it was like a time capsule for me. This time around, y’know, life got in the way, I got a record deal, we went on tour with it, I’m more comfortable in that situation and I came to grips with the fact that I was gonna do this again. And I knew I was gonna have to write a record that people were gonna hear. I’m a big proponent of letting songs tell me what they wanna sound like, so Stomachaches, I guess the songs, they told me that they wanted to sound like a makeshift art project. And this time around, the songs, they were kind of begging for a little bit more. I felt like I needed to kind of push myself a lot, almost to the brink, y’know? And so I decided that it was the perfect time, it’s one of those bucket list things, so I called Ross Robinson, somebody that I was always too scared to call. And it just so happened that he wanted to make a record with me too, and so this record is definitely a lot different than Stomachaches. And that’s also, too, why I thought I gotta change the name of the band. If I’m gonna reinvent myself and reinvent the way I think about music, and how I’m approaching this project, it’s not the same band, I gotta change that. I think every record you should do that, so I think every record the band name will probably change.

I: So do you plan on releasing more?

F: *laughing* I never said that! We’ll see.

I: At least plan on making more, whether or not it gets released?

F: That ties into this: basically, I thought for a very long time that making music and art projects, that that was just something that I did, and real life was separate. And I’m starting to realize that the things that I do, making music and art and photography and all that, it’s not just something that I do. It’s who I am. So I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop. It’s like that curse that you live with, this thing that you love but you also hate it at the same time. It brings you a lot of joy but also a lot of heartbreak. So I’ll probably always do it. I don’t know if anybody will ever hear it, but I’ll always do it.

I: Good! So Death Spells and the patience, do they have any influence over each other, or are they two separate entities?

F: I feel like with everything you do, everything you make, everything you experience, y’know, even the dumb stuff that you don’t even really pay much attention to, like the mundane stuff that happens to you every day, it shapes the person who you are. And I think that’s really the beauty of life, like, we’re this collection of moments, this collection of experiences that we’ve had, or little tics that we’ve stolen from other people, it’s like we’re this amalgamation of all of that. So I feel like when I was doing Death Spells, no one ever heard the record, it made me feel weird because I felt like I was building this skyscraper with the middle floor missing. And I knew that there was stuff that I got to on the patience record that I never would’ve gotten to without Death Spells. So I feel like it’s definitely a journey, y’know? And how’d you get to this point without that road in the middle? I didn’t really plan on releasing them both at the same time, but it just so happened to be that way.

I: Awesome. There are so many fans who you’ve influenced, who you’ve helped through your music, and the positive vibes that you put out there, the positive vibes. I’m sure they tell you this all the time. How does that make you feel, and is there any responsibility there?

F: I mean, I thought for a long time that within art, that you would come up with an idea, you would labor over it intensely until you felt like it was done, and then when you finished it, that was the final stage. I started to realize that that’s not actually the completion of it. The final stage of any kind of art is to really lose control over it and let it affect other people. You can’t control the effect that it has on people, but you hope that it has some sort of reaction. You just hope that they’re not indifferent to it, you wanna make people feel something, whether it’s love or hate. Sometimes art is just about getting a reaction, that’s really the end-all be-all. I’ve been really fortunate where I’ve made stuff that connects to people on a positive level, and that makes me feel really good, but I can’t feel comfortable in dictating what they’re supposed to feel out of it, nor am I a professional in something where I can really help people any farther than creating the things that I make to help myself. It’s nice that it helps other people, it’s really not my job or my place, but I have found that sometimes people just need to say certain things and they need someone to talk to, and if I can be that sounding board sometimes, then that’s cool. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming to take on other people’s stories, that’s just the kind of person I am, maybe I’m empathetic to a fault, I internalize a lot, so it can be a bit hard sometimes, but I understand that that’s what they need, and if I can do it, then I’ll do it, but if I can’t, then I’ll try to take a knee.

I: That’s really awesome. Tell me about your tattoos. You have a lot of them, which are your favorites?

F: These are birthmarks. *laughing* Some of my favorites are the worst ones. I tend to really like things that are broken, I like the ones that are perfectly imperfect, but I have a couple of tribute pieces to my grandmother and my grandfather that are very special to me. Y’know, this kind of goes back to what I was saying before, that every experience that you have is important. I found out recently, it’s taken me 35 years to figure this out, but I realized that things don’t happen to you, they happen for you. And it’s the same thing, every tattoo you have is part of a scrapbook, it’s a memory, whether that’s good or bad, it’s about a time or a place that affected you. So there’s a special place in my heart for all of them, even the ones that are real f*cked up.

I: You talked on your website a little bit about the name of the new album, Parachutes, they’re life-saving devices, music is one of your parachutes, talk about that a little bit.

F: I feel like the older I get, the more I start to think about life in general. All the clichés that people tell you, the ones that you hear over and over and over again, there’s a reason they’re cliché, there’s a reason you hear them over and over again, because it’s all true. As much as you don’t wanna hear it, it’s true. You’ll find out later on, like “Man, they’re all right.”*laughing* So I started thinking about how life is a lot like getting pushed out of a plane. You didn’t ask to be here, none of us did. But we’re all careening through space towards an eventual end that no one’s gonna be able to put off. That’s the only thing that’s definite, this impact. So I started to think about how a lot of us fall at an incredible velocity, and it’s over in the blink of an eye. I’ve always tended to emphasize that, I did for a long time. But I’ve started to realize that’s not what I wanted out of this fall. I like taking my time and seeing the things around me and appreciating the now. I started to realize that the things that helped me do that were these things that brought me love, brought me joy. And if we’re all just falling towards an eventual end, falling towards the ground, then these things are parachutes. We’re all gonna land, we don’t have rocket packs that last forever. But these things that we love, these things that give us purpose, these moments along the way are our parachutes. So I feel very fortunate to have all of these. Art and my family are pretty much my biggest parachutes.

I: Since we have to wrap it up, can we take a picture for the article?

F: Sure. Thank you so much.

I: Thank you! Good luck on the rest of your tour, and I hope you feel better!

I can’t thank Frank and his crew enough. The show was incredible and they all stuck around afterwards so I could talk to him for a few minutes. Keep an eye out for Parachutes, the new frnkiero andthe patience album, coming out October 28th! I can’t wait to hear it!

[trentteti]

November 2019 Post-LSAT Carnival

You must be exhausted from partying at this point. You celebrated finishing the November LSAT, then partied the Wednesday before Thanksgiving where you invariably reconnected with some high school acquaintances at the hometown watering hole, and then finally feted during Thanksgiving itself. You have been lit off the LSAT celebrations, smacked by the small talk, turnt off the tryptophan, and now you probably just want some sleep. But rest must wait, at least for now. For better or worse, the LSAC powers that be decided to tether this year’s LSAC schedule to American holidays. So just as the October test takers had to endure our post-exam festivities after a week of over-celebration, all you November test takers must now endure our favorite kind of party — a mandatory one. One we’re calling our post-exam carnival.

As is our tradition — and your obligation after enduring an LSAT — you’re attending the post-exam carnival we’re throwing. What does a post-exam carnival entail? This isn’t the trademarked Carnival cruiseline. Our onboard activities will not include trampoline parks or watersides, but at least your chances of contracting norovirus are less than 1%. This will also not be the Shrovetide Christian parade that Latin American countries turn into insane block parties. And no, despite what you’re thinking, it is definitely not one who consumes the flesh of one’s own species — that would be a cannibal, which is not even close to what we’re talking about. You really do need rest.

So what does a post-LSAT carnival really entail, my bleary eyed friends? It’s an intimate congress of those who fought alongside each other on the tablet-strewn battlefield of the November LSAT. We also welcome those who, for unforeseen circumstances outside of their control, were unable to take the November LSAT. We’re gathered here to talk about the exam, to unwind and unburden ourselves. To exercise the demons of the November test with a few drinks and the occasional curse word (OK, with a lot of drinks and a lot of curse words). But for those who are planning to take the December 8th make-up test, maybe try to get home at a reasonable hour? You have a lot of last minute studying to do, and we don’t want you getting side-tracked once everyone else is on their fourth drink and the conversation turns to peptides. But for everyone else, kick back, enjoy the night, and share with your fellow test taker your enmity for everything you thought was unreasonably difficult on this test and your delight for everything you felt you were eminently prepared for.

Let’s get started, then. Let me get some appropriate, November themed music … Let’s see, that Guns ‘n Roses power ballad is too obvious and wouldn’t set the right vibe. Let’s see … we’re all book-ish nerds here, so we must all love the National?

Ehh, I’m probably showing my age on that one. Too mopey, right? Probably shouldn’t go with the Morrissey November song either. What about …

No. I got it, here’s a slice of 90s RNB that’s literally from an album called The Carnival.

All right, music’s thematically appropriate, everyone’s got their drinks, let’s chat then. OK, I’ll start … how did you feel before the day of the test?

I’m sure we all felt that way. Did anyone have anything that helped them get past those pre-test nerves?

Hope that “sketchy” vitamin turned out all right. OK, let’s talk about the test itself. What was the hardest section?

Hmm, not a lot of agreement there. Well, let’s start with RC, which passage gave you the most difficulty?

Woah, language everyone! Oh, look “cityofbridges_” brought some decorations they want us to use as a dart board ….

I don’t understand anything about this, but I assume it’s hilarious. Any other annoying part of the RC section?

Oh … you all are annoyed by pretentious language? Verily this impels me to revise a veritable smattering of recondite and recherché blog posts, post-haste. Anyway, let’s hear it from the people who disliked Logic Games. What happened there?

Ahh, gotcha. Ahh, time, once again, our mutual enemy on the Logic Games section. Did anything else go wrong?

Yeesh, who invited the copy editors? Well, despite these difficulties … how are you feeling?

Man, things have gotten pretty negative, that’s my fault. It looks like the couldn’t-take-this-LSAT-crew is itching to leave pretty soon, so let’s hear from them …

Man, cancel culture really is getting out of hand if it’s reaching the LSAT. For real though, there were always going to be difficulties in rolling the digital LSAT out — this is obvious, but given the course of the rollout, it’s a point worth reinforcing. But … and here’s where you’ll have to excuse your host as he rants about this …

… we’re now at the point where I’m curious if LSAC is telling these proctors anything about how to set up the tablets. This the fourth official digital administration, and it doesn’t appear that administering these things is getting any better. In fact, by all accounts, it’s getting worse. About thirty test centers were canceled before the test was administered, and many more centers were canceled the day of the exam — about 10% of all the test centers experienced difficulties. And then, LSAC emailed in error a bunch of people who did take the exam, telling them about a make-up date. I used to end these discussions of “technical difficulties” with an encouraging “I hope these things get better next time!” I can’t really muster that anymore — I’m more in the “let’s all hope things don’t get worse”-stage of things.

That said, if you want to take the LSAT again as soon as possible, you can sign up to take a paper version of the test on December 8th, and have almost two weeks to cram in some extra studying. Plus, scores for that make-up will be released on December 19th, the same day as the regular November exam. Or you get priority registration for a later LSAT, or you receive a refund if you want to stick it to LSAC and opt-out of this LSAT business altogether. So you have options. And to answer your question, Femme_Fatale786, it will be a different test.

And, look, I don’t mean to dwell on the negative, let’s hear it from some of you who experienced some positivity last Monday …

Thanks for staying positive, ya’ll. Congrats to all. Here’s to happy news dropping December 19th.

November 2019 Post-LSAT Carnival was originally published on Blueprint LSAT Blog