#its best case scenario for a song being retired

[ghost-of-you]

I kinda hate that they said they'll never played osco again, but at the same time the ono being the first and last time they played the song in full is kinda poetic.

[askaceattorney]

Dear jnv11,

Only one word comes to mind in that scenario:

Poor Simon would hit a new record for the number of times he shouted that word in a single trial, and Ms. Oldbag might actually run out of breath before she’s done complaining.

Dear jnv11,

You kidding? The woman’s tough, but she’d have a heart attack in no more than five minutes. It’s been a decade since we’ve seen ’er, plus young samurai prosecutor who was suspected of killing his teacher?

Dear anon,

I think what we’ll actually do is stop answering letters that involve real-world politicians altogether, or at least ones that defame them.  Just to be clear, the answers I came up with don’t reflect my actual opinion on Donald Trump.

Apologies to anyone who was hit the wrong way by those letters.  Make no mistake, I was very uncertain about whether or not I should even bother answering them, but the “answer everything you can” part of my mind eventually won over the “avoid political topics” part.  It was all in the spirit of comedy, but, as I should’ve expected, it became more hateful than funny, so I’d say I’ve learned my lesson now.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ethan Starbright,

..................................................Pff...

PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Okay, I’m not sure why, but the utter randomness of that fact cracked me up for some reason.  Thanks for that.

Dear Ethan Starbright,

.............

.....I don’t get it.

(Previous Letter)

Dear 55,

Glad to hear it!  The Ace Attorney series is good at revealing the plot at just the right pace to keep you guessing about who the culprit is and/or what the motive for their crime was, but it’s just as entertaining to see Phoenix and company find the truth for themselves, even if you already happen to know some of it yourself.

Plot-wise, my favorite game was Trials and Tribulations, mostly because of how cleverly it jumped from one timeline (and main character) to another.  Throughout the game, we get to learn more about the events of the past and how they relate to the present day situation -- Mia’s first encounter with Phoenix, Godot’s true identity and history, how Winston Payne lost his hair, and so on, and every tiny bit of it makes the game more intriguing.  My favorite part was Iris’s confession about what she did for Phoenix near the end.  I’d love to see Hollywood try and come up with anything as beautifully touching as that.

It’s been a little while since I listened to the soundtracks from any of the trilogy games, but I think my favorite one comes from the first game, since it’s the most memorable for me.  I sure didn’t expect to hear those kind of fast and engaging tunes in a game about a lawyer, did you?  The other soundtracks are great too, of course, but the songs from the first game (especially the cross-examination theme) are the most fun for me to remember.

Dear Anonymous,

That’s actually happened a few times before.  I remember one letter were Maya claimed she’d never been out of the country even though PLvsAA is canon in this blog, and there was another where Apollo sounded skeptical about spirit channeling, even though he’d been born in the land of spirit mediums.  Chances are we’ll have to delete letters that point out contradictions like that, but we’ll try our best to answer them if possible.  There’s no way to tell what Capcom will come up with next, but that won’t stop us from making guesses about it in the meantime.

Dear Anonymous,

If something changes in the canon that isn’t reflected in a previous letter, it’s not important. Previous means not in the moment. Not in the moment means no one will notice unless they go far back enough. And if they comment on stuff that happened a while ago, they... no offence, kinda need a hobby.

Dear Professor Oak,

Yes.

Dear Professor Oak,

No.

(Referenced Letter)

Dear Lachtigall,

Sorry to hear that, but hey, at least they picked a different character for the idea, so your letter will still get an answer.  We both answer whatever letters we find regardless of which character they’re written to, but in answer to your question about who answered that letter...

Just kidding, it was me.

Dear guquis,

That should be fine if you’re willing to wait that long.  Just make sure to indicate that in your letter.

Dear guquis,

if you want your letter to be on a specific date, specify it somehow. And also specify if you want that info blurred so it’s not obvious. It’ll be easier for us that way.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Ender,

It wasn’t intended to look scary in any way, but whatever floats your boat.  I thought she looked kind of cute like that, actually.

Dear Ender,

Trust me, neither of them are contenders in the scary contest anymore. Have you ever met Robert? THAT, sir, is scary.

Dear SC,

ComEVENo, huh?  That almost sounds like a Native American name.

I’ve finally finished watching Hotel Dusk, but I’ll save my reaction to it for last so I can go into full detail under the cut.  That’s how much I enjoyed it.

My favorite cross-examination theme is from AJ, believe it or not.  I love how it starts out slow and mysterious, then picks up speed and volume when Apollo’s about to discover a big truth.  It’s also nice how the melody begins on the offbeat.  It almost makes me want to dance to it.

I hadn’t thought much about which cross-examination I like best, but I’d probably go with the final confrontation with Furio Tigre.  While bluffing is nothing new for Phoenix, it was fun watching him use the supposedly useless evidence that Gumshoe gave him to give his doppelganger a taste of his own medicine.  It was one of those moments where I had no idea what his strategy was until Furio opened his huge mouth.  After that, it became an “Ooooooh...” kind of moment.

I’d love to see that case ranking you’ve made.  Every case has its ups and downs, but it’s fun to explore just what it is about each one that makes it memorable and...odd.  Let’s be honest, they all have at least a tiny bit of oddness added in somewhere, am I right?

-Modthorne and Co-Mod

(Hotel Dusk spoilers below)

Oh, man..........oh, MAN!!

Seriously, I can’t remember the last time a game’s story left me this satisfied from beginning to end.  To be fair, I just watched a playthrough of it on YouTube, so I might have avoided some potential frustration by not playing it myself, but man...  I can tell the developers put some serious heart into that game.  The music was delightful, the characters were all very charming, the art and animation style were done in a clever way, and the plot...  Man, oh, man.

First of all, there’s the setup: Kyle’s goal in visiting Hotel Dusk (aside from getting a delivery) is established from the very beginning -- finding his former police partner and figuring out why he turned rogue and forced him to nearly kill him.  Oddly enough, he has no real proof that visiting the hotel will lead him any closer to finding him -- all he has is a hunch.

Then there’s the way he goes about gathering information.  Even as a retired cop, his detective instincts are still keen, and by snooping around the hotel (with some help from his “old buddy” Louis), solving a few puzzles, and asking the right people the right questions, he not only gains tidbits of information about Bradley, but also learns the secrets of the hotel’s residents, and how they and their stories are interconnected.  And boy, did some of those connections surprise me.

But here’s what I loved most about the gameplay (and the entire game) -- in order to get the information he needs out of people, he first has to break them down to the point where they not only can’t hide the truth, but they realize how useless it is to keep lying to themselves.  In fact, Kyle said it perfectly himself during one of these confrontations:

Whether it’s pressuring a pretend author to admit to his plagiarism, telling the spoiled son of a lawyer how dangerous his revenge scheme is, or convincing a drunk father to appreciate what he still has -- namely, his daughter -- Kyle just won’t put up with lies, even if he has to sound like the rudest person on Earth to dispel every last one of them...and he doesn’t even need the help of a Magatama!

Like every game, of course, this one isn’t without its faults -- the interactive parts are short, there’s very little challenge in picking the right dialogue options (usually just whichever is less annoying), and the language, while not terrible, could’ve been left out -- but the charm of the story and its characters more than makes up for it.  Speaking of the story, it seems I was a little off on most of the predictions I made, but at least I was right about Melissa.  She didn’t disappoint at being adorable one bit.

Oh, and one more thing -- if anyone reading this feels like playing or watching this game, which I highly recommend, be prepared for your jaw to drop at the very end.  It’s that incredible.

And with that, my gushing about this game is over.  Thank you for suggesting it, SC!

[verycollectionangel]

Download Files From Gopro To Mac

Gopro On Mac

Gopro Mac Os

HomeYodot Mac Photo Recoveryfrom GoPro Hero 3 Camera

“Hi, I am a techie guy and I record many video footages with my GoPro Hero 3 related to my project and uploaded these videos in blogs. Recently while recording a video footage, I didn’t notice that the camera was out of battery; thus continuous recording resulted in corruption of memory card on GoPro Hero 3 camera. This memory card holds very important videos, so I want to know the best recovery program that safely recovers all files without altering any file contents from corrupt memory card of GoPro Hero 3. Can anyone suggest me good way to get back files from GoPro Hero 3 camera? Thanks in advance”

GoPro Hero 3 is the ultimate camera that one will always prefer to own in life time. Enriched with excellent video and picture capture ability, this action camera is exceptional at recording video footage of Skydives. GoPro Hero3 is embedded with 5 to 12 mega pixel digital still resolution, MicroSD card slot, HDMI port, built-in Wi-Fi for remote monitoring and control, waterproof outfit and different video modes to enhance the quality of video footages. It can record High-Definition videos of 1080p, 4K, 720p and 960p resolution with the support of Ultra Wide Angle Glass lens, Auto low light and SuperView modes. However, many users have lost files from GoPro Hero3 storage media in vivid circumstances.

To recover GoPro files, you need to download and install a suitable GoPro recovery software. We have great experience with Disk Drill, which is why we’re using it for the purposes of this article. Disk Drill runs on both Windows and Mac, and you can download it free of charge from its official website. This video is about GoPro and how to import video. This video will show you how to hook up your gopro and where to import the video to.

Various scenarios causing loss of files from GoPro Hero 3 are:

Unintentional Deletion: Usually, while browsing through various options on GoPro Hero 3 gadget, novice users may tend to erase important files accidentally and incur file loss

Incomplete File Transfer: In the process of moving files from GoPro Hero 3 to Mac system, unexpected removal of gadget from system can cause missing of those files from GoPro Hero 3 digital camera

Micro SD Card Damage: Usage of memory card from GoPro Hero3 on different gadgets; improper mounting of the card on camera; recording videos when SD cad has no free space, etc can result in corruption of MicroSD card and leads to complete file loss

Unexpected Format: There are certain times when MicroSD card on GoPro Hero 3 may show errors like Format error, no card mounted on device, etc. To resolve these errors, one has to format the card that results in deletion of entire files on it

When video footages and pictures are lost from GoPro Hero 3 camera, users incur great loss of precious files. However, if users are clever enough by possessing recurrent backup of all files from GoPro Hero3; then the situation can be easily resolved by restoring lost files from backup. But in most of the file loss cases, GoPro Hero3 camera users lack backup of recently recorded videos and pictures. In such instances it is recommended to employ best video recovery program to recover videos from GoPro camera without making any delay.

Ultimate program to retrieve GoPro Hero3 camera files:

Among the top rated recovery tools, professional data recovery experts advise users to go for Yodot Mac Photo Recovery tool to recover files from GoPro Hero 3 camera. It can successfully restore video files with AVI, MOV, XVID, DIVX, MPEG, MP4, M4V, 3GP, ALE, AVS, etc. file formats on Mac OS X. Including videos, this excellent media recovery program can bring back diverse types of media files like pictures, songs, RAW images and other documents. Using this program it is possible to retrieve videos and pictures from GoPro Hero3, Hero 2, Hero 4, Sony, Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Kodak, Sigma, Pentax, Olympus, FujiFilm and other popular camera brands. Media files lost or erased from storage devices like Mac hard drive, external hard drives, USB pen drives, memory cards, FireWire Drives, etc. that are formatted with HFS, HFS+, HFSX and FAT file systems can be recovered easily. This software is compatible to operate in Mac machines running on Mac OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks operating systems.

Steps to rescue files from GoPro Hero 3 camera on OS X

Download the software on a Mac computer and connect your GoPro Hero 3 camera to this Mac machine

Install the software and run it according to given guidelines

In main screen, click on ‘Deleted Photo Recovery’ or ‘Lost Photo Recovery’ according to file loss scenario on GoPro Hero 3

Next, from the list of logical and physical rives present in screen; select the storage media of GoPro Hero3 camera from which files have to be recovered

Also, precise the recovery process by mentioning what file types you wish to be restored or you can just skip this step

Now, software runs a scan of storage memory of camera to retrieve lost or erased files

After scanning process, examine regained files in ‘Data View’ or ‘File Type View’ modes

You can preview selected files from the list using ‘Preview’ button

At last save these files to desired destination location on host computer drive

Preemptive Measures:

Do not use GoPro Hero3 when there isn’t sufficient power supply and enough storage space to save recorded files

It is always good to hold proper backup of files from GoPro Hero 3 camera at regular intervals of time

Follow me on Twitter. And be sure to read my blog.

(Skip to the bottom of this post if you just want to know how to connect to your GoPro using an internet browser.)

As I mentioned my GoPro Hero3+ Silver Edition has been giving me issues lately.

It started 6 months ago as an iOS app connectivity issue. I would connect to the ad-hoc network that the GoPro Hero3+ creates, open the iOS app, and attempt to transfer the files to my phone but it would only work about 10% of the time.

I figured out how to deal with this issue by first attempting to control the GoPro using the app before attempting to transfer the photos and video off of it. I have no idea why, but this worked for a while. But then even this “hack” stopped working about a month ago.

For these times I would connect my GoPro to my Mac via USB and transfer the files. But recently this has stopped working too. The GoPro doesn’t mount to the Mac. And in Image Capture or Photos for OS X you can only see the GoPro being connected for a few seconds before it disconnects, reconnects, disconnects, repeat repeat repeat. Maddening. It isn’t the cable. Is isn’t the USB port. (I’ve managed to rule these out.)

After searching online for a bit I see a lot of people having similar issues with their GoPro cameras after they’ve had them for a little while. Some ship with these issues.

I do not have a micro USB chip reader so I have no way to get larger files off of the GoPro with all of these crazy issues. Smaller files can still be transferred using the iOS application thankfully.

On Wednesday I attached my GoPro to my kayak and paddled around for a while with the camera pointed under water. Typically I try to stop and start the video recording every few minutes because I know I can only transfer smaller files to my phone. But I just let it run for a while.

Today I cannot transfer that file to my phone (using the app) or computer (using USB). And I don’t have a card reader. So what other option do I have?

It turns out that GoPro Hero 3+ comes with a small web server on it that you can connect to, browse the files, or even see live video from the device. I had no idea this was an option. It wasn’t until I stumbled across a few poorly recorded YouTube videos that I saw it. I’ve read the manual that came with my GoPro at least twice and I don’t think it is mentioned in there either. Just to be sure, I checked the manual again while writing this post. I do not see it mentioned.

Here is how you connect to your GoPro using a web browser.

Turn on your GoPro.

Turn on Wi-fi into “app” mode. (if you’re unsure how to do this, see your manual)

Connect your computer to the ad-hoc wireless network that the GoPro creates.

Open your web browser, point it to http://10.5.5.9:8080 (if this IP address does not work, see what the IP address of your “router” or “Gateway” is when connected to the GoPro. On Windows you can run “ipconfig” using CMD.exe and on Mac you can go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > TCP/IP)

If you did it right, you’ll see this.

Gopro On Mac

It isn’t fancy. But it gets the job done.

Gopro Mac Os

I still wasn’t able to download the 2.1GB video file. It halts at around 1.47GB and just sits there. I think my GoPro is telling me it is time to be retired. Sad GoPro. However, I tried transferring a few other smaller files and it worked very smoothly. So perhaps this is easier than using the iOS app or even mounting it via USB. Who needs cables?

I’m really happy I found this feature.

[boglog]

Wholesome Questionare Tag Meme

Tagged by @80sglamcowboy Rules are: -Post the rules -Answer the questions given to you by the tagger -Write eleven questions of your own -Tag eleven people

This is long as Hell, friends and I apologise.

One inquisitive bitch has asked me:

1. Name one person (real or fictional) that you think you could 100% take on in a fight

Foaming mouth guy from Avatar. He’s got no stamina, barely any health, no skill. He’s unfocused and weak and my noodley nerd-ass could take him. (Though I am a little concerned he has rabies.)

2. What’s your favourite snack rn

Grilled cheese w veggies, mustard, and grilled tofu w a side of ketchup made by my roommate. It’s honestly the purest thing.

3. Which apocalypse do you think you’d do the best in? (i.e. Nuclear winter/ robot uprising/ Too many vampires, etc)

O man. I love apocalypse movies and I love survival horror (that one episode of the X Files where they’re trapped in a cabin, anybody?). I also genuinely love camping and I’m a bit of a medical hobbyist. I also watched an unreasonable amount of prepper videos on YouTube. That said, as mentioned above, I am a couch potato weekling. Furthermore, I don’t do well in conflict so if the world hierarchy collapses into a power vacuum where you have to Orange is the New Black-style intimidate ppl for supplies, I would melt and die quickly.

My best bet, it would seem, is an Arrival-esque alien apocalypse where the ones who have enough patience and sci fi knowledge to communicate w aliens are at the top of the food chain. And worst case scenario it’s better for my ego to die at the hands of an alien than a human.

Sci go apocalypses are just cleaner y'know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


4. Best and worst fandom you’ve been in? Or have you somehow managed to avoid fandom completely?

Worst has to be Steven Universe. I regret not just moving on after I got bored. Ah well.

(I also think celebrity/real ppl fandoms are a dead end.)

My other fandoms all have various pros and cons and it’s hard to pick a favourite.

Adventure Time has great fanart, great meta and ppl have yet to descend into Homestuck-ian chaos. That said, they’re quiet af. People also fixate way too much on the fake fanfic AU Fionna and Cake. I have yet to read a really good Bonny/Marcy fic and that is a tragedy (a few have come close tho). Bottom line for AT tho is that it’s my go to wholesome cartoonist fandom. I like that it has depth but that it’s generally very simple and fun and that the fans are mostly shut in animation adults.

AtLA/LoK fandom’s biggest pro is that it’s huge and you literally never ran out of quality content. I’ve even made a few friends via this decade old franchise. It’s also enjoyably rich and complex. One of my favourite (now inactive) blogs was one that connected world building and little background Easter eggs to real Chinese history and culture. That wAs so cool!! I defs think as a Chinese person it allowed me to connect to non-western culture in a socially acceptable way.

The downsides tho are many: it can be overwhelmingly complicated (esp as someone who knows jack shit abt Chinese history), people take it too seriously, The Great Shipping Wars, it’s so big it’s a little lonely, the show itself has so many flaws upon greater inspection you wonder why you wasted your time on anything related to it, it’s an Asian themed story created by white dudes who make fun of their fans, the best parts of the show were written by other writers but those same white guys get k the credit. Also as w any fandom related to POC culture, racism happens. Anyways most of you know this already. IMO the best thing to have happened do the fandom is korrasami. Now it’s just abt Asian lesbians ruling the world.

(Though I also thoroughly enjoy the Family Rivalry part of the fandom. There are so mNy dysfunctional families to choose from!)

Rick and Morty is technically speaking my newest fandom. It’s got a lot of obvious cons (pickle Rick sexists, Szechuan sauce racists, asfhkkh incest) but one other con is just how pedantic and overly analytical people are abt the world building. I can’t breathe wo being corrected. RM has a misleadingly complicated high sci fi aesthetic that begets the kind of overanalysing my brand of overanalytical nerdiness can’t handle. Too many alternate universes. It’s just too complicated.

However one thing I like is that conversely I can overanalyse the writing and characters’ psychology/relationships (which I LOVE) and ppl take me very seriously. (At least they used to.) it’s kinda validating to have your 3k word essay on an old man’s bedroom and what that signifies for his depression get over 1k notes.

Rm also attracts the fun, super talented animation crowd so there’s boundless fanart and memes. I never knew I would like a gravity falls crossover retirement home AU btwn Rick and Stan so much but the art is objectively gorgeous?? So ??

I really dislike the lack of attention the female characters get from fandom bc they’re all really great? Female rep is limited but both canon and fic really do their 2-3 tokens justice. Also the jerry hatred is getting old (that male aggression… Like… Calm down, Jake) but it’s a refreshing departure drom when Megg from family guy was the butt of the joke.

Harry Potter, one of the pillars of nerd society, has both changed my life and irreconcilably annoyed me to death. (W no thanks to the racist creator herself!) One can’t underestimate how huge the hp fandom is which offers you as many reasons to love it as reasons not to. Harry Potter’s canon has complex world building that’s also charming enough not to take itself too seriously and much the same could b said of fanon. To a degree. Certain corners of the fanbase are fantastic shitposters and meme-ers and can draw you back in like a black hole. Casually enjoying Harry potter imo is where it’s at. The fanfic is probably one of the most impressively vast. Strangers at Drakesaugh, believe it or not, still updates and not only that, I still read it.

Not casually enjoying Harry potter is, um, yikes? HP and Hunger Games love to insert themselves appropriately in real life political traumas and honestly the dedication of the fandom can be overwhelming.

The HP fanart corner of deviantart circa 2010-12 and @flocc HP comics however are the best.

Meet the Robinsons, Ye Olde Fandom, still stands to this day. (Thanks in part to me ngl) As Iroh might say, they are a proud people. MTR is so bizarre and tiny it’s the only fandom I was able to read EVERY fic summary in existence (ones published on obscure sites excepted). The fandom has never ceased to surprise me for better or worse and mostly due to its age range. The original movie was intended for 8-12 yr olds and their (jaded) parents which means that now, ten years later, the fans are anywhere between 12 and 25. It has approximately 20 pieces of professional-grade fanart and fic and I am downright serious abt the quality and thoughtful complexity of this minority of fanart. Like I shit you not some of it’s almost too dark. However, tragically, one can’t talk abt obscure Disney fandoms wo also mentioning the incest ships (this is what happens when middleschoolers have to resort to cartoons to explore their sexuality in an anti sex ed world), the disorganised crossovers, and the blinding lack of imagination. Nonetheless, that a fandom of any kind could sprout from a 90 min cgi movie before the recession, based off an obscure but objectively fascinating children’s book, is still impressive. The fandoms smallness can in many wars work to everybody’s benefit: it’s a tightly knit community w little to no drama. And lots of memes (that I mostly make) to enjoy sincerely or ironically.

I’m also going to mention, very briefly, the Twin Peaks fandom, most of whom, even the die hards, are v casual when it comes to fan content (I need more fic damnit). Nonetheless it’s a decidedly cool art kid crowd for an art house show and I really enjoy befriending twin peaks watchers.

5. What’s one hot food that you prefer cold? (or, alternatively, one cold food you like hot)

Is it snobby to say I like food to be the temperature God intended?

Like I like cold pizza and salad-y pasta but I wouldn’t mind if everything were room temperature as long as the food itself was well made.

6. ya like jazz? What music do you enjoy listening to? Can you recommend any songs/ artists from that genre?

I think in some contexts I can like jazz. It’s very cosy and nostalgic, it can make you feel like a grand dame stepping out of your limo into your martini filled mansion as records pop around you and your fur carpeted living room. I also occasionally like jazz covers and alternate genres of jazz like electro swing etc.

Generally though I also think jazz is a little antiquated and a little all over the place. I lean more towards the ambiguous minimalism of mellow techno music like Jonna Lee, Grimes, Björk, early Lorde, Yasmine Hamdan, Austra, TRST, etc

I mean I don’t stick to just one genre (I imagine most ppl don’t). I like alternative (Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Joanna Newsom) and some musicians who seem to completely exist outside of genre like iMonster and the Gorillaz. Not to mention straight up pop like broods, Ellie goulding, lady gaga and Lana del rey. (I mean technically Ldr isn’t pop but u get the ideer)

7. What binge worthy show do you like?

So many man. There are so many out there! Twin peaks, Transparent, Love, Grace and Frankie, Adventure Time, House of Cards, Bojack Horseman, Rick and Morty, Mad Men, Girls, Broad City, Black Mirror, Avatar TLA, 6Teen, Chowder, Over the Garden Wall, Flapjack, the first season of Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, etc

The list goes on. I’m a TV fiend.

8. What’s an old meme that you miss and wish would be brought back?

Always liked the Gothic [x town or whatever] meme. It was like a text post version of the cursed images meme. Currently I’m really enjoying the song from another room meme and I hope even after it gets old it’ll make a comeback.

9. Tell me your aesthetic



O man. That’s a can of worms! Okay. Deep breath.

I like futurism, of all kinds. I like strong lines and clear shapes. I like colour blocking and minimalism and glass and holographic LED neons. I like white Japanese urban tiled buildings. I like aliens and ruins and cubes and white and colour blocking and black. I like technology and aliens and Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake. Rooms that are empty but for one light and one window and one plant. Love that.

I like the midcentury cubism and Mod and 30’s futurism. Clear and strong industrial shapes and curves and post modernist abstractionism.

I also love nature, I love most every Björk and Iamamiwhoami music video. I love the mountains and the forests and the desert and the winter tundra and most of all I love the water. A vast expanse of sky and sea w so many colours and textures. I love the 2000s and funny blob shapes and y2k’s obsession w secondary colours and shiny round things. Love pink. I am a grown adult who will never tire of pink. (Though I don’t really like when people overdo pink.) I love cursed image family photos taken with flash in a suburb. I love the grime and the sanitary aesthetic of suburbs and hospitals and brutalist office spaces. The fluorescent lights of the institution but with purple carpeting!

I love 70s mod and I love colorful 80s brutalism I like it when houses are shaped weirdly and they have carpets and polished curved wooden countertops and spacious nothingness where everything looks clean and cosy and bizarrely ugly and it all looks like an art gallery w too many plants.

I also really love maximalism and wood and detail and fur and velvet and embroidery and silk and windows and wood carvings.

I love 70s kitsch like John waters movies and Shrimps designer fake fur CDG17 where they just piled on knickknack after knickknack onto white dresses w food long trains. Toys and novelty items and lamps shaped like a woman’s leg in a fishnet stocking. (See also: most Tim burton movies, wes Anderson, Carrie fishers house)

An overwhelming mishmash of wool patterns with clean cubic 70s architecture and so many plants and windows and wallpaper and candles and cobwebs. Also really like witchy mourning jewelry and essentially every house in Harry potter. Love the unfortunately racist boho/hippie aesthetic. Any house designed by bill kirsch is a masterpiece. Woven baskets on the ceiling piles of hats and art supplies everywhere. Stuff!! Everywhere! Hidden passageways reading nooks fireplaces the Pink Palace from Coraline!

Everything!!!

I’m a cartoonist who’s a nerd for design so I like when concepts are taken to the extreme in a humourously charming and clear-minded way. Whatever aesthetic someone chooses, they should go all out and really dedicate themselves to the highest form of that aesthetic. It has to be perfect without being sanitary of fake. It has to be alive yet beautiful, frozen in one perfect moment.

10. Favourite time of day and why?

Dusk. I think it’s a nostalgia thing. I loved the hours before bed time as well the hours before dinner when it was getting dark and the sun was reflecting freaky colours along the horizon while I ran around the grass. It’s cozy but it’s spacious and adventurous. So many things can happen at dusk!



11. You have the choice to live in any fictional universe - which one do you pick and why?

Harry Potter!!! You get the best of both worlds: magical, over-romanticised Victorian/medievalism, wish-fulfillment surrealism and wifi. It’s great. Likelihood of dying is so low, medicine is so advanced and even then ppls n°1 choice of lethal weapon (Avada Kedavra) is painless. Me and Luna could hang in her garden. I’d never have to pay for the subway again. I could live a nomadic life in a tent w infinite space. If you chose to live as a wizard amongst Muggles you’re basically god and you can cheat capitalism. Gravity is my bitch! And I’m not gna lie my dream house has always been a combination of The Burrow, the Lovegood house, and Shell Cottage.

My turn to pick your brain:

1 Favourite texture?

2 Favourite smell?

3 Favourite children’s book/children’s TV show? (I’m talking about the bizarre abstract ones for toddlers)

4 Best and worst prank you’ve ever pulled?

5 Weirdest beginning of a friendship?

6 When you’ve been in fandom for a while you start to notice you’ve a habit of staying in the same corners. What corner are you in? Are you part of the fluffy ship corner? The intense world building spec meta corner? The shitpost comic fanart corner? Etc

7 If you could invent a class that would be obligatory for all high schools across your country what would it be?

8 What’s the weirdest thing you’ve gotten at Halloween while trick or treating?

9 Weirdest family tradition of yours?

10 Describe your significant other (or your crush, or your dream partner or if you’re aromantic your fave person) through only TV references.

11 Favourite piece of dialogue in a movie?

I don’t know 11 ppl but nonetheless tagging: @that-guy-in-the-bowler-hat @skairheart @nochangenohope @eventheslightestrayofsunshine@autistic-jaredkleinman@phoenixkluke

…and YOU (if you were not mentioned above and so choose to accept this mission)

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Boonville in the spring of 1974

from Moonie Buddhist Catholic: A Spiritual Odyssey. by Thomas W. Case    (pages 102-106)

One Saturday morning in the Spring of 1974 I decided to drive up to Boonville. The Oakland Family finally had a place where they could be separate from the city and its distractions and combine all aspects of the training session in a rural setting. I found the place a mile outside of town and drove down a dusty road past some dying fruit trees. This was shortly after the Boonville “Ideal City” had been established—or re-established; apparently it had been used briefly for training sessions in 1972. In 1974 there was no notoriety, no gate, no guards. I parked my car next to some others and walked down to a little bridge over a creek and towards the songfest. Evey was sitting on one of the back rows and turned towards me with a rush of recognition.

“Tom! You’ve come back!”

I’m here, but have I come back? She loved to see me, I loved to see her. She supported me—I supported her. I had never touched Evey, never been close, hardly ever talked with her. But she was one I’d marked out as spiritually sensitive, one of the intelligent ones, one with a great heart. There had been a lot of nit-wits, I thought, a lot of superficial idiots who just married themselves to discipline and a kind of glib discipleship; Evey was one who I perceived as having the gift of grace and an intelligent sense of spiritual realities. As Dr. Durst had represented maturity, so that I did not have to feel out of place among these “kids,” and Christina had been that moving force that made you feel loved by her and important and powerful—you wanted to be a Galahad to her Joan of Arc—so Evey had been one who made you think you were involved in a truly God-loved effort. She was the sensitive.

Evey left the Unification Church in 1976. We traded letters once. In her letter to me she said she was saddened that her former friends in the Family thought she was in the snares of Satan, while the truth was that she still felt devoted to finding a path to God. She had been deprogrammed. In 1976 and 1977 a lot of Moonies left the Family; a year or two earlier had been the first public “taking notice” of Mr. Moon, the start of the deprogrammings and notoriety and news reports, the first real confrontation with this “alien danger” on our American shores. A lot of sincere Family members, caught in the publicity war of charges and counter-charges, betook themselves to a safer ground—or were taken. Jeffy and Michelle were deprogrammed in 1976, and David was preparing to leave on his own. These are some of that original group who had started the Oakland Family and had done so much to make it fly.

That “alien danger.” It was alien all right, and dangerous to American ideas of democracy. But as I walked towards Evey, and smiled that wonderful smile of “Yes!” to her and squeezed in next to her on the bench, I felt again that bon chance, that giving of oneself to something alien perhaps, but perhaps so much better than the dreary getting and going of the world as it is. The skits were over and we all joined hands in a great circle and sang our love for God while the stars sprinkled in the beautiful blue night.

I ran into Christina a little later. I was so glad that they wanted me! In my life I have usually either isolated myself or had to push for love. I have “gotten off,” in a sad sort of way, on the jibes of fellow workers while I sorted mail or packed cooking-ware in an import house, or traded insecurities among the “mystical company of poets” in Boulder, Colorado, but never have I been granted the sense of “I want you” except in a Moonie training camp. Is this a pathetic confession to you tough and well-adjusted folks getting and spending your way through a grim universe? I think any one of you, inside that armor, would love some other adult to come to you cleanly and with no holding-back say, “I love you and I want you to be with me.”

Christina wanted me. To work for an Ideal World. (Conditional love is better than no love at all.) I slept that night in the Chicken Palace, woke to a Sunday, and involved myself with the second day of the training session. When the company of Heavenly Children clapped wildly in the Chicken Palace, I clapped right along. I clapped louder. I decided to throw off that critical inhibition that had kept me in a state of wariness towards most of my fellow human beings. I joined in. After the lecture about the “Cause of Crimes” wherein it was stated that Lucifer had tainted all sexual love by his original seduction of Eve, I told Christina, “I’m worried. I’m beginning to believe this.”

What happened, I think, in all that noise, those musical instruments braying out enthusiasm, the stamping feet and sweating bodies, the thin walls of the Chicken Palace trembling and filling the room with a communal power, and a young woman with small hands sitting next to me, putting her small hand in mine— what happened was that a kind of tiredness about my own “yes buts” and “this but not thats” descended over me, something clicked in, and I thought, I want to be with these people—and I consented to the theory of a jealous angel screwing things up at the beginning of time. It seemed a small concession.

(The trouble is that in all that happy crushing noisy scenario and the look of love from a person next to me, it was not the argument for the theory that got to me, but the scenario itself. Just about any theory of the origin of evil would have sufficed. Of course the question “what went wrong” has never been answered sufficiently by rational argument, so maybe it’s best to get it by drill or song or any milieu that produces a “willing suspension of disbelief.” The Moonie answer to the question is actually not all that different from the Catholic answer.)

What was so good was the release in my stomach, the contrast with the frustrated life all around me in the post office—those lives moving slowly towards retirement, a daily activity of work not so bad in itself, but requiring so much less than what everybody working there could have contributed to life if life would let them. I was at that Moonie training session after eight months of work in the post office, working with people who were using about ten percent of their human capabilities in the gaining of their livelihood. And I knew that this was the condition of most people and their work. Couldn’t something on this earth offer something better?

It seemed to me right then in Boonville that it could.

But I went back to Moraga and to work. Months passed. I think it was about now that I began to write poetry again. (I had written poetry on and off since 1964 and had been published once or twice in small magazines.) In my new poems I considered the parameters of good and evil more often than I considered lost love, my old constant theme. At least I began to combine the issues, and drove towards some mystical resolutions. I would often walk alone out to a rural area near Moraga and try to see God in His creation. I spent hours by a brook, or in a grove of trees, and sometimes I succeeded in becoming open to the infinity portraited in small things. Especially I loved trees and sky and tiny animals and the delicate symmetry of leaves. In my lonesomeness God allowed me to see the clothes He wears.

But I also knew that the most beautiful and provocative article of clothes God wears is a woman’s face, and I was lonely because there was no face I could touch.

Inside Look at a Boonville Moonie Training Session

Boonville – Is this how the Family cared for its children?

Life Among the Moonies by Deanna Durham

Ford Greene – the former Moonie became an attorney

Writings of former members Many recount their experiences in the organization or their journeys out of it

[citizentruth-blog]

Mrs. Diehl - PEER NEWS

New Post has been published on https://citizentruth.org/mrs-diehl/

Mrs. Diehl

*Author’s note: This piece was written on April 4, 2017, the day Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong died in prison.

*****************

Erie, Pennsylvania has been straining, lately.

The Commonwealth is being alarmingly recalcitrant about sending sufficient funds all the way to its northwest corner, as if defying the entropic forces that pull all assets toward the valley is just too much effort, too much of a threat to the homeostasis of those driven to entrench an already archaic class war; as a result, the School District of the City of Erie is in total crisis – closing all but one of the public high schools, losing five thousand students with only the scent of enough loaves and fishes to feed those who remain.

Even the contingent of otherwise safely retired teachers bite their nails, wondering if the time will come when somebody decides to dip into their rightful, guaranteed pensions, that portion of their salary which they deferred for twenty-five to forty interminable years on the promise of that very guarantee.

Mrs. Agnes Diehl doesn’t have to think about any of this. She’s long been dead.

Her daughter, however, just passed away. Today, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong’s life ended in federal prison, her body succumbing to cancer, the disease which often overtakes those who are otherwise hopeless.

Marjorie, a troubled child taken in and adopted by the Diehl family, as accomplice to what would become the stuff of national tabloid news, had managed to cap her life in Erie by participating in the most bizarre crime in the city’s history: the case of the “Pizza bomber.” Details of the morbid scenario, featured on DATELINE NBC this evening, included a frozen body, a bank robbery, and an innocent delivery man whose life came to an end in that bank parking lot in the blazing sun, the bomb strapped to his neck exploding in front of an entire flank of helpless law enforcement officers and medical personnel.

But, Mrs. Diehl had lived a generation before.

She first appeared at Lincoln Elementary School, as a substitute teacher. In those days, substitute teachers paid their dues, and those dues were sure to be rewarded; show up enough times to cover the random classroom, and the offer of a secure, full time position was assured.

I first saw her, seated, at the upright grand piano against the wall, which ran parallel to the teacher’s desk in virtually every classroom at school. She wore perhaps a dark green Chanel styled suit – boxed jacket, small lapels, simple sheath skirt; on another day, a dark blue and black plaid shirtwaist, its full, pleated fabric draping the piano bench. Her lipstick was scarlet, and her hair raven black, classically curled around her ears and neck with the dramatic upward swoop over the forehead which marked a woman of real class who’d come of age in the 1940’s.

It was customary, during the 1960’s, to begin the school day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a silent prayer. But, if the teacher played the piano, there would also be a song. And, this is why I loved Mrs. Diehl.

Well before any of us entered that room in the morning, Mrs. Diehl would already be playing that piano. Full on, with the grandest of gesture, her arms arching and diving from bass to treble, the strains of “America the Beautiful” resounded like a cross between a rousing march and a triumphant anthem. There was nothing, absolutely nothing rudimentary about this woman or the music she made, and the result was utterly infectious. Had we slept restlessly the night before, or endured the screechings of a “We Can Do It”, post-wartime mother frantic to get her children off to school so she could get to the machine shop without being late, the sound of Mrs. Diehl at the piano dispelled any and all angst of such a hyperventilating morning with one, windswept burst of song.

Furthermore, after we had stood to Pledge, to pray, to sing, and to dutifully be seated, Mrs. Diehl would continue to play. And, for myself, a budding young musical student already being chauffeured off to the Erie School of Music every Thursday at 4:00pm for my own piano lesson, I was deeply transfixed – listening, watching.

Several minutes would pass, as Mrs. Diehl, never once making eye contact with any of us, her countenance intently introverted by her voluminous musical mind, played song after song. She would become my first true model of performance, giving herself totally to the enterprise, instinctively knowing and manifesting the inherent value of the music itself.

Other cultures on this planet also know the inherent value of the musical art. They make certain to include music and music-related activities in as much as 50% or more of their student curriculum. And, research scientists who devote their efforts to the study of the human mind and the brain which drives it are consistently putting out data in support of the multi-level value of music as both a discipline and art form. Now, there is enough evidence to defy all detractors; those who make music, and specifically those who play the piano, have some of the most highly developed brains on the human spectrum.

Mrs. Diehl may have been a superior musician, but she was also a woman of compassion. No one knows for sure how or why she adopted the girl who was called Marjorie. But, she did. Yet, just as every human is capable of both strength and profound weakness, of confident stride and defiant misstep, Marjorie made a rocky pattern out of her life and became submerged beyond the point of return.

Mrs. Diehl did not live to see the culmination of her daughter’s actions, a blessing indeed; diagnosed with mental illness, Marjorie very likely did not receive the benefit of music therapy in her lifetime and, in the end, even her mother could not alter the behavior potential of a starling child, though she had made the effort of a lifetime.

But, Mrs. Diehl did contribute to the nurture of hundreds and hundreds of Erie’s children, mentoring other teachers as well, and is remembered by many as a remarkable educator. She also left distinctive, inspiring musical renderings in the minds and hearts of everyone who entered her classroom.

Lest the community of Erie and those who view it from afar regard the story of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong as a tragic stain, a moment of honor is due her mother, whose efforts painted an elegant, graceful picture of enduring nourishment. Perhaps her story, and those of Erie’s best teaching professionals, should be celebrated instead.

Our hometown could use just such recognition and encouragement.

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

HitClips: Remembering the most absurd way we listened to music

If you were a child growing up in the late 90s or early 2000s, odds are you remember the most entertaining and hilariously nonsensical way of listening to music: HitClips.

In 1999, Hasbro's Tiger Electronics released the "slick micro audio systems" known as HitClips, tiny  memory card-like chips that contained a 60-second "clip" of a super popular song. In the early days, that meant tracks from Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears, and later they included middle school anthems from Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff, Simple Plan, and more.

SEE ALSO: Outdated ways of listening to music, ranked

While, from a tech standpoint, HitClips clearly weren't the most innovative devices, they had such a strong cultural impact that for years, people actually felt compelled to spend money on tiny snippets of full songs — a concept that, in hindsight, seems impossibly absurd.

So what exactly made HitClips so successful? And could they ever follow vinyl's path and make a comeback in today's world? To answer these questions, let's take a trip down memory lane.

y'all remember hit clips? i had all the slaps lmao pic.twitter.com/pzGbcOU2fO

— baby💮 (@m0delofiend) August 23, 2018

I recently uncovered my old HitClips players when attempting to clean my basement, but much to my dismay, my extensive song library — hot jams by A*Teens, Baha Men, Aaron Carter, Destiny’s Child, Dream Street, and dozens more — is still packed away somewhere.

Luckily, a single chip was with the devices. Unfortunately for us, that chip happened to be *NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me," which is now almost exclusively associated with memes.

The history of HitClips

HitClips initially debuted as toys in select McDonald's kids meals, but became so popular that they transitioned to the main toy/electronics market. That's when things got really exciting.

From 1999 to 2004, HitClips captivated the minds of budding young music lovers, and over the years, the brand ambitiously moved from basic listening devices to tiny CD players and fun extras.

Back in the day, a player cost $20.00 and a cartridge went for $3.99, which seems like a lot of money, even now. But the price seemed worth it back then considering the collectible tunes quickly became status symbols for America's youth. In school hallways and on playgrounds, the more clips that swung from your keychains, backpacks, or belt loops, the cooler you were. Life was once as simple as that.

The basic player 🎶

Image: martha tesema/mashable

The anatomy of most original HitClips devices were the same. Each player was about two inches long, had a slot for the chip, a single headphone wire that connected to an earpiece, a "Play" button, and a clip on the back so that users could conveniently fasten the devices to their clothing.

One of the first HitClips players I ever purchased (picture above) had a headphone wire that was just 12 inches long, which essentially meant that unless you were extremely petite, there was no way you could clip that thing on your belt and listen to music at the same time.

HitClips eventually remedied this flaw, and though users still dealt with poor sound quality, no volume control, and an inability to enjoy music in both ears, I like other naive children considered these toys among my most prized possessions.

HitClips Discs 💿

Image: martha tesema/mashable

As if the tiny versions of cassette tapes weren't adorable (and unnecessary) enough, in 2003 (near HitClips' retirement,) Tiger Electronics created HitClips Discs that played not one, but TWO minutes of music. Ca-chingggg.

These li'l Oreo-creme-filling-sized discs completely upped the game, but also required completely new players. So in the spirit of not making the original HitClips chips completely irrelevant (they were pricey, after all,) several hybrid devices that played both varieties were invented.

The extras 😎

Image: martha tesema/mashable

As any true fan of the amateur listening device will tell you, the real HitClips magic lay beyond the straightforward players.

You were nothing unless you had some snazzy HitClips extras, like an FM radio scanner attachment, or a three-inch-long boom box that played your tunes out loud for all to enjoy. There was an alarm clock, a Dance Bot, and even a karaoke device called the HitClips Groove Machine that somehow featured Destiny's Child in its commercial.

one time as a kid my parents wanted to follow a big gator football game, but it wasn't being aired on tv on a channel we got so they used the only working radio we had: my little hit clips boom box with the radio receiver cartridge plugged in pic.twitter.com/2NGiWROzg9

— Bobby Schroeder (@ponettplus) July 3, 2018

These came in handy and made the very limited devices a bit more functional. Who wouldn't want to blast a minute of Smash Mouth's "All Star" over and over again?

Less is more: An elaborate sham

The allure of HitClips is best summed by a moment from an episode of The Office where Michael Scott keeps listening to the iTunes Music Store preview of James Blunt's "Goodbye My Lover" on repeat after breaking up with his girlfriend Carol.

When his colleague Dwight Schrute asks, "Why don't you just buy the whole song?" Michael replies, "I don't have to buy it. I just want a taste of it."

Now, in this particular scenario, Michael was likely too cheap to purchase the full song. But the sentiment still remains. HitClips did an excellent job of making consumers feel like they needed only a taste of a song to be satisfied. And our silly little brains — distracted by the novelty of miniature music players and more collectible clutter for our keychains — cast aside any shred of reasonable thinking and believed this to be true.

Think about it: People were willing to spend money on part of a song when FULL SONGS existed for less. And in some cases, people (me) already owned the full songs and even full ALBUMS, but still chose to pay more money for a song clip. That's madness. And it worked, because by 2002, Tiger Electronics had reportedly sold more than 20 million HitClips devices, bringing in $80 million. And that doesn't include sales through 2004.

There's certainly an argument that HitClips were more convenient to carry around than Walkmans or CD players, but when you really sit back and think about the logic of it all, it doesn't seem to hold up. In reality, we all got duped with HitClips. But in the moment, all that really mattered was that we felt trendy AF.

Can HitClips make a comeback?

It's been about fourteen years since HitClips were discontinued, and though they'll always hold a special place in our nostalgia-hungry hearts, the thought of a resurgence today is truly laughable.

Nowadays iTunes gives you a 1:30 song preview for FREE, and charges $1.29 on average for a single track. So why would anyone go back to paying more for less music? 

Kids these days will never appreciate hit clips keychains and that makes me a little sad

— Tabby Moore (@tabbykmoore) August 27, 2018

Today we're accustomed to high-tech touch screens, shareable playlists, and instant gratification. In other words, we're spoiled. Imagine paying money for iTunes and Spotify song previews. You would NEVER — especially when you have access to free songs on YouTube and Spotify (if you're willing to endure a few occasional advertisements). And since streaming caught on, most people have stopped purchasing music altogether in favor of streaming service subscriptions. 

Though HitClips would likely still capture the interest of kids, for the adults who once owned them, reverting back song clips would be a bit like trying to switch back to dial-up internet. (Okay, MUCH less painful than that.) The point is, we're too advanced and too impatient now.

I will say, when I brought my devices to the office, my coworkers were really feeling them. And HitClips still remain a topic of nostalgia-tinged jokes.

When will sweetener be released on hitclips?? @ArianaGrande

— matt (@mattdaly) August 20, 2018

Fixin’ to drop my first mixtape, available on Hit Clips everywhere pic.twitter.com/86QYzQtZjx

— Tom Simmermaker (@tomsimmo) August 21, 2018

THIS JUST IN: OMAROSA SAID TO HAVE OVER 200 HITCLIPS OF THE PRESIDENT AND ALSO THE SPICE GIRLS pic.twitter.com/73ofq1G7HW

— Anthony Carboni (@acarboni) August 17, 2018

Foolish or not, these toys were an important step in music history that helped prep the world for the iPod's release in 2001. For many people, HitClips served as a first experience with a handheld, deconstructed mix tape. Unlike Walkmans and CD players, HitClips let you switch between songs and artists with ease. There was no skipping through tracks you didn't like — you simply selected the song you wanted from your collection of clips.

Sure, they were much less advanced than iPods, but the concept foreshadowed the mind-blowing tech to come. And after the iPod came out, HitClips helped fill voids in the hearts of those who were still too young to own an Apple product.

HitClips aren't likely to make a comeback, unless, as Twitter user @punchworm suggests, an ~extra~ brand tries to revive them for nostalgia's sake.

i just know that the product manager at urban outfitters is waiting for just the right moment to bring back hitclips

— nia (@punchworm) August 26, 2018

But if you're dying to live the HitClips lifestyle now, you can buy them on Amazon or eBay for a pretty penny. Until then, I offer you the best of both worlds with this HitClips-themed Spotify playlists.

But remember, you should listen to just a minute each song if you really want that nostalgic vibe.

WATCH: This multi-instrumentalist understands the rhythm of the subway