#just hire latine people y'all

[ghostatrandom]

could you explain the issue with the chili mango line in lagoonas song? im not latine and im not sure how to go about researching where the problem is

Like I said, it's because of a thing called racial estereotypes-

Latina women are usually always depicted as hotheaded, loud, party crazy, agressive. But there is also the part where them, by not being white/North american or european, are considered exotic, and also usually being depicted with only tanks tops, shorts or any clothes that can sexualize them under the excuse of being "from the tropical area". Along side with the whole "every latino is mexican, latinoamerica is all about jalapeños and spice", it forms a racist and fetishy way latino characters are sadly shown most of the time.

And this is not only a problem latino people face, if you look for it you can find other versions of this trope adapted to multiple cultures that are not white centric, like the Dragon lady estereotype or the angry black women estereotype, which you'll discover all of them go around the idea of a white male dominating and taming this otherness, this agressive exotic creature that came into his life to serve as a supporting role; but also being damaging enough to not praise this characteristics and putting us as more of a hassle and more annoying than your sweet, angelic and absolutely so pure white women.

Having an agressive and romance oriented latino character is not a sin, and we usually take well this type of characters when are written by a latine person and from a latine perspective.

But when you have this character (in this case, Lagoona) being called as "sweet and spicy" and this is THE ONLY CHARACTER getting this treatment, while also being the only fully latine character in the lineup, is kinda fucked up (Clawdeen is afro latina, but she has her own deal with the mixed race alegory and what the movie did with that, its a can of worms I'm not opening today).

Its impossible for us to not associate that when they say textually that she is "the spicy character", and that probably there weren't many latino writters in the room when they did that (I hope I'm wrong, I really hope I'm wrong)

Skelita Calaveras was a hit here in latinoamerica and especially in México because she was designed by a latina woman. Jinafire raised some red flags because she was designed by the same latina woman. It's important to give minorities the final decision as to how they want to be represented.

[qqueenofhades]

Okay, y'all. I had An Dream (TM) last night that I need to run by you, because, in short, What the Fuck Was Actually Going On. I Need to Know.

It started in a weird rundown Target Starbucks, where I had somehow been hired to work/cover someone's shift for just one day and was convinced that I had worked before in the waking world (i.e. not in dreams). I also seemed to be aware that I was dreaming and was discussing how weird it was that you remember things and histories in dreams that haven't happened in real life, that it looked awfully familiar to somewhere I had been before and where I was convinced that I had worked (for the record, I haven't, though I have worked at similarly crappy kiosk Starbucks and Mmm No Thanks).

I got a strange order for an excessively complicated drink from a customer I didn't see. The lights went out and I couldn't find any coworkers. Then someone appeared, gave me a book with a diagram on the cover and a wad of cash, and told me to follow the diagram and it would take me to some place I was happy (?!?!?!?).

Okay, so. It's a dream, what else do you do. I follow the diagram, and after some misadventures and side quests, find a fancy bookstore that looks like a Barnes and Noble but isn't. I wander into the equally fancy cafe, then back out. I get on an elevator with a bunch of other people to go to the first floor, to browse the stacks. The door shut, off we went... and then did not come out anywhere near an ordinary bookstore. In fact, we were informed, we had been sent on a seven-year adventure to solve a dangerous mystery, and it started NOW.

The basic premise of this adventure was that you went through different doors and ended up in different places/times in the world. There were also complicated rules governing which door would open and when; you were given a watch that would turn red or green depending on the portal status of various nearby doors. You could use a door to escape your current location at any moment (presuming it was open) but the more you jumped, the more difficult it got to escape where you were. There were also Trolley Problem-esque moral conundrums where if you used the door for yourself, it might prevent a friend or teammate from getting through and being trapped. We were all being hunted by a villain named Ograndar, whose name couldn't be said aloud or it would summon him (we started calling him O and/or writing it down). He looked like an average young man in a green sweater. It wasn't specified what would happen if he caught us, but it wouldn't be good. It was also implied that he was a reincarnated Roman emperor of some kind (one of the crazy ones) and if we went through a door that took us to Ancient Rome, we would be trapped forever and unable to get home.

I traveled to various EXTREMELY detailed locations that I remembered despite never being there before: a water park in Abu Dhabi, a noodle shop in Taiwan, a giant mega-mart in America, and then the last place: a regional KGB office sometime in the USSR. The officers were speaking Russian, but I was able to understand it, and I was also apparently the person in charge of hunting down The Villain Known As O in this time period. The clue lay in a cheesy niche 1980s fantasy novel, but we only had one copy. It was in Dutch, except for one page that was inexplicably in Latin.

Myself and my KGB-dream-minions were all trying to read this book when my alarm went off and I woke up.

Please tell me what the hell was going on.

[princessnijireiki]

wait okay so I def have been hearing & absorbing criticism from other Latines & Latin American ppl about Encanto bc imo it was still very nice, aesthetically beautiful, and better than I was expecting from Disney, but yeah, white writers & directors & producers, obvs Lin has only written 1.5 musicals in his life and keeps remixing them for everything else he's hired for (Encanto is just surprising bc it's one of his most successful executions, I think he def detracted from & held back Moana's potential a LOT), and as soon as they announced Encanto my first thought was, "were no Colombian songwriters available?" bc besides him being under contract... VERY weird that he is the one size fits all "It Boy™️" for white Hollywood's take on Latin rep rn

which is to say: I am open to less than glowing reviews of it!

HOWEVER, I saw a FB post on my feed from somebody complaining abt not liking the story or songs, but being like, "I loved seeing representation for all my AfroLatinx friends & family, though!" and it irked the shit out of me, and I couldn't place why... girl... I just remembered lmao.

first of all, no she's not Hispanic, so yes that was irritating, idk that she has any Latino family in the first place. secondly, yes she adored Hamilton.

thirdly... THIRDLY. I tend to forget she did this because it was in fucking sane & completely out of left field. she's the one who asked me both to brainstorm a "nonappropriative way" to do a Día de Muertos taco themed birthday party for one of her now-ex friends... and no I am not Mexican... and no it did not occur to her to just serve tacos without doing an ethnic "theme" complete w Party City type decor & costumes. and also asked me to translate a list of chores for that same ex-friend's new maid into Spanish bc she hired someone who didn't speak English (likely to be exploitatively cheap!) and did not herself speak Spanish... which is an INSANE ASK OFF TOP, RIGHT. but Y'ALL. to this day she has yet to hear me ever speak Spanish in front of her!!! she has never heard ANYBODY in my family speak Spanish!!! she assumed I spoke Spanish, was fluent, was open to that crazy fucking request, and that I SPECIFICALLY would have strong vocab skills in fucking cleaning products & bullying minimum wage employees.

I've talked about that incident on here before tbh just because every time I remember it it pisses me off AND bewilders me bc she would rightfully be fucking offended if I said, "oh we're doing a costumed sushi, samurai & Shinto funeral themed party lol" or "oh you definitely know how to say 'scrub the shit out from under the rim of the toilet & wash my dirty panties on 'sanitize' mode, oh also you get one unpaid 15min break' in Japanese, right?" ...and bc she's Black this weird ass fucking behavioral issue of hers is also not sth that came up in Black cultural discussions, bc of COURSE that racism is not directed towards herself or the aspects of MY identity that WE have in common. but when your baseline interactions are not fucked up in that specific way (until they suddenly are), it feels really weird to get the "nice" liberal "progressive" version of being called a fucking wetback by someone you considered a friend.

and anyway yeah she don't like Encanto but she's claiming all the Black rep + not a peep on the Indigenous rep, political backdrop, narratives of trauma, the artistic context it functions within, etc (and to top it all off Yes: she graduated w a whole history degree, Yes: she literally used to work doing historical reenactments alongside Native reenactors + costumed conquistadors in one of the local Spanish cities, and Yes: she still has a job in the history & education field).

and yk, this is one of those things where as a post it started out about Encanto & the importance of #ownvoices creation AND intracommunity convos re: critique of our own cultural works outside of a white, colonial, and/or xenophobic gaze, plus, like... general things people do that piss me off lol. but the post is ending on this note instead:

in 2022 I need to get used to the idea of not only continuing to assert boundaries over how I'm treated going forward— because at my big age now, I would never let that shit fly again, but my whole life, I've endured a LOT of shitty one-sided friendships just because I didn't know I didn't HAVE to LET people treat me bad... and there was never any shortage of people who WOULDN'T have done that to me, but that internal weakness & vulnerability, like that lack of self respect + enforcing standards of that respect from others, both attracts people who like you not having strong boundaries, AND it mentally closes you off to being open to relationships that DON'T look that way, because you think it's normal to endure physical cruelty or being demeaned or being expected to demean YOURSELF to access or deserve love or companionship.

but I also need to get more & more accustomed to stepping on toes in a very big way in order to do it. like in a very permanent, soccer cleats to the instep kind of way. because it's EASY to do that with people you don't give a shit about. who have no power over you, or whose treatment you aren't numb to (tbh FB is mostly sth I use for family, so the fact that this is usually background noise should tell you she's not the only person I need to remove from my friends list lol) or who you aren't clinging to out of some unaddressed desperation, loneliness, or needing closure, hesitation to abandon invested time (sunk cost fallacy...) or just being too afraid to confront the fact that someone you'd never do that to treats you badly BECAUSE they think of you exactly as badly as they act.

but no matter what reason you have for not having done it sooner... it feels silly the first time you accept a small frivolous thing like a cartoon can be a catalyst... but even if the last fucking straw is something stupid, that camel's back ain't any less broken. so it's a hard life skill. but I accept that I need to put loyalty to MYSELF over unearned loyalty to others, especially if that loyalty was spat on, exploited, and abused. and that includes the process of getting comfortable with hurting people's feelings when you tell them no & walk away.

but YEAH whew it's surreal to process that the last nail in the coffin of resentment that this friendship is being buried in is a fairly mild post about a Disney cartoon, specifically because 1) I've spent a long time (on this website specifically, actually) learning how to outsmart my ADHD by verbalizing my anger in longform stream of consciousness until I remember what dots to connect, and it clicks— can't do that on Twitter, baby— and 2) because in the years I've known this person, I've done a lot of self-work on self-valuation (ironically: a narrative theme of Encanto), and that means the cartoon post SHOULD have bothered me BECAUSE not only is it a friendship I've outgrown, I am & always have been worth more than being treated like that. so now the next step is I just gotta get used to making that the other person's problem, because it's damn sure not mine.

[layceland]

So, heres a translation of the new villanous animation I did for @zwagyzonk, full of author notes no one asked for uwu Enjoy it <3

Bh Narrator: Welcome, clients desperately waiting for an evil help, to the orientation videos from Blackhat Organization™. Get ready for another season on what you /don't/ have to do, here in the “lost cases of-”

Original The Powerpuff Girls Narrator: “-Townsville!” A city that possesses one of the most diverse and dangerous collection of villains in the-

Bh Narrator: hey hey, wait a minute, who the heck are you?

Ppg Narrator: Me? I'm the narrator.

Bh Narrator: In your dreams, /I/ am the narrator.

Ppg Narrator: What are you talking about?! /I’ve/ always been the narrator of “Townsville!”.

Bh Narrator: but we are /not/ in Townsville.

Ppg Narrator: but, but-

Bh Narrator: get out of here. Townsville! A pacific place, always protected by- Ugh, who cares. Now I present to you, Lord BlackHat!

Blackhat: Welcome, disgusting cockroaches-

Flug: U-uh, sir?

Blackhat: *growling*

Flug: I-I just wanted to say that you look gloriously evil today-

Blackhat: In this occasion, we are analyzing one of the most recognized, disgusting and deplorable villains of Townsville. /Mojo Jojo/. This primate is slightly more developed than the average human.

Flug: sir, he's just a banana lover monkey.

Blackhat: Bah, for me all of you are the same. Anyways, his big mistake is not to hire our Blackhat Organizations™  services. There are some things that only I can do, and I might, and that's the end of it! (I didn't really understand what he meant here either, sorry)

Flug: Um, hold up sir. Mojo is a black diamond platinum member of the organization, and has spent millions in our products-

STAND BYBlackhat: Mojo Jojo, a disgusting and merciless primate, evil genius from “NightmareVille”

Flug: Um, sir, isn't Townsville one of our multiple test zones for our manufactured monsters?

Blackhat: If you dare interrupt me again you’ll hAVE TO MANUFACTURE A NEW HEAD FOR YOURSELF. The attribute that makes Mojo Jojo a specimen more advanced than the average human is his superior intellect!

Flug: But not superior to mine!

Blackhat: He posses a big arsenal of weapons and deadly machinery!

Flug: Almost as deadly as the ones in our catalog, sir! (why is dementia only 1 peso per month, and where do I sing)

Blackhat: an evil hideout on top of a volcano

Flug: That’s not as cool as a giant hat completely habitable!

Blackhat: And a /long/ list of purchases from Blackhat Organizations™  

Flug: Designed and constructed by a true genius.

.

(Okay, there's a joke here that can't really be translated, since depending on what translation of the show you watched (The Latin American or the European one) their name change. In Latin America they're called “Las chicas superpoderosas”=”the super powerful girls”, meanwhile in Spain they are called “Las chicas coquetas”=”the flirty girls”. They're both correct, just from different places so. I dunno how they'll do the actual translation, but the dialog goes something along this)

.

Blackhat: The ones that ruin his evil plans are his arch nemesis, The Flirty Girls.

Flug: They’re the Super Powerful Girls, my lord and master!

Blackhat:... *shoot that bitch*

Flug: AY! Ow my ass!

Blackhat: This Flirty Girls are the defenders of “Trashtown”. And they're not more than three kids, still in kindergarten! I don't need to see the rest, his mistake is to lose his dignity against human children that have not even developed fingers!

Flug: *shaking* he’s a frequent platinum client, a frequent platinum client!

STAND BY

Blackhat: Let's analyze his diabolic plans. Ah, the head of Anubis, one of the oldest and MOST USELESS RELICS IN THE WORLD. The only thing he's gonna achieve is turning everyone in “Shoeville” into dogs! What kind of villain would like to rule over a world full of dogs! Instead, he should have used Quetzalcoatl's (I have no idea what that is) head! Now that's an actual relic~

Bh Narrator: A deadly relic with an offer to die for! Now you can rent Quetzalcoatl's head to incinerate your heroic enemies, and not have to worry about where to put it away when you're done using it! Rent it to destroy your hero, the hero league, your mother-in-law, or-

Ppg Narrator: “-Townsville!”. Don't miss this crushing offer, only for the next 24 hours!

Bh Narrator: Get out of here, this is my show!

Ppg Narrator: Hehehe, doesn't feel so good when they're trying to steal your job now, does it?

Bh Narrator: Get out!

-

Blossom: Not so fast,

Buttercup: Evil

Bubbles: Monkey!

Mojo Jojo: Listen here, PowerPuff Girls, you're not a threat anymore~

Powerpuff Girls: *barking*

-

Blackhat: Ah, I see he's also an enthusiast about kicking cute creatures. But he’ll never outrange my multiversal record of distance traveled in one kick!

5.0.5: *squeal while getting fucking wrecked*

-

Mojo Jojo: Muahaha, you can reach me here!

Buttercup: *bite that ass*

Blackhat: It's obvious that monkey is as pathetic as the rest of the biped creatures that infest this world…

Bh Narrator: If you're so weak then even a group of cute puppies can defeat you, then you need the bottom cover the Blackhat Organization™! (why is the warranty only 30 seconds, BH please) Uh, w-what are you doing here Dementia?

Dementia: I'm here to narrate, duh~

Bh Narrator: Why does everybody want to steal my job today!

Ppg Narrator: You're the one stealing my job! And you didn't even go to narrator school!

Dementia: No, but I found this!

Bh and Ppg Narrator: What?! *get zapped biatch*

STAND BY

Flug: Dementia, and the narrator?! Don't you see they charge by the hour?!

Dementia: I thought you were smart Flug! Isn't it obvious? Now /I’m? The narrator! And I'm here to narrate a... “Dementia Tips!” Hi! It’s me, Dementia, and I'm here to help y'all weak villains that can't even protect your own ass with my Dementia Tips! In this case, if a hero tries to bite your booty, what you have to do is… Open an umbrella in their mouth! Or… Flood their house with raccoons! *ominous* Or you can shoot them… With your silicone pistol! *singing* Tatara, silicone power~

Flug: Dementia! Leave, you’re ruining everything! (here he uses an explanation that I don't know what it means exactly)

Dementia: Nya na na na na *mockingly singing*

Flug: Hawkbots(?), catch her, lethal mode~.

Dementia: You’ll never catch me alive!

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

STAND BY

Blackhat: One of the biggest injustices that villains suffer, is that they always have to fight against teams of heroes! To contrarest this factor, a mediocre villain must for his own team of villains. In this case, Mojo Jojo forms an alliance with Fuzzy Lumpkins, Princess Morbucks, and *weird creepy noises*

Flug: hm, why does that happen every time someone says Him’s real name?

Blackhat: When someone says his name, weird things happen, when someone says mine, people die, to each their own~

-

Powerpuff Girls: *screaming*

Him: I got you~

Princes: Yes! Yes! Yes!

Fluffy: Now, to leave them on the floor!

Blackhat: Muahahaha! Yes! Yes! Again! Again! Muahahaha!

Flug: You see, my master? Mojo’s evil alliance looks like it’s gonna be victorious! He managed to crush The Powerpuff Girls more than once!

Blackhat: I’ve been in this world enough to know that feelings are about to destroy this alliance…

Moko Jono?: *Annoying ass noise*

Mojo Jojo: I love you too~

Him: Oh no…

Blackhat: I told you so!

Mojo Jojo: This is the lovely Moko Jono(?), she has great evil plans in mind that we should try~ Imagine people getting desperate because they cant reach their destination in time!

Blackhat: That's not evil, that's just inconvenient!

Mojo Jojo: Stealing articles that are completely white doesn't go against the law, so we are taking them!

Blackhat: If it's legal to take them, then you're not stealing them!

Mojo Jojo: The louder you scream, the more it’ll hurt the ones listening!

Him, Princes and Fluffy: We quit!

Blackhat: And I'm out of here!

Zookeeper: Come here Michelle~

Mojo Jojo: Whos Michelle? Moko, you know who- ah!

Flug: Um... Lord Blackhat had to leave to do… really ugly stuff.

Blackhat: *Playing golf*

Flug: I'm going to continue analyzing this villain, starting with rule 10v3, do not involve your heart, don't be like that. Now, let's see what Mojo is planning this time.

Ppg Narrator: Ah, Mojo Jojo, what are you planning this time?

Bh Narrator: I thought I told you that this is my show! *rewind* Oh, Mojo Jojo, what are you planning this time?

Professor Utonium: Oh, Mojo Jojo, what are you planning this time?

Blossom: If you hurt the Professor-

Mojo Jojo: You think I'd hurt my own dad?

Blossom: What?!

Bubbles: What?!

P.Utonium: What?!

Flug: What? Blackhat’s newspaper: “What?” “Powerpuff girls siblings with Mojo Jojo?”

Mojo Jojo: The substance explosion that created you three did also affect me. My little monkey brain started mutating. Continuously feeling worthless against your physical powers! My brilliant achievements going underrated…

Flug: *crying* That's not fair, not fair. It's too sad, shu, shu. I Understand my “Mojito”, I understand, come on you can do it.

Mojo Jojo: ...Never poor Jojo.

P.Utonium: Mojo, I feel like a tyrant, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?

Mojo Jojo: Give me superpowers as well.

P.Utonium: Okay

The Powerpuff Girls: *little girly gasp*

Flug: In my experience, giving superpowers to beings with suboptimal intelligence never really ends well.

-

Mojo Jojo: ...Dad?

P.Utonium: Son?

Flug: Ah, a classic, he's using his enemies as baseball bats. Lord blackhat loves to do that~

Blackhat: Yes! I do love to do that!

Flug: *Slowly clapping* who would have thought? You're not as incompetent as I thought.

Blackhat: Just wait and see, noob, this always ends with a letdown

Mojo Jojo: So many weapons and evil plans, all worthless! *wreck that shit*

Flug: Ah! What are you doing?! Dementia, stop!

Dementia: Eh? But I’m not doing anything!

Flug: Ah, s-sorry, post-traumatic stress…

P.Utonium: Now that I remember, you were the worst lab helper! And If my memory doesn't fail me, it was that day, when I was working on the formula for the perfect little girl, when suddenly, you pushed me!

Flug: I mean, who in his right mind thinks of having a monkey as an employee? I don't know what you expected.

P.Utonium: That’s the day The Powerpuff Girls were born!

Flug: What?!

Blackhat: WHAT?!

Flug: What? You’re responsible for their birth and the reason of their existence?!

Mojo Jojo: ...What? I am responsible for their birth and the reason of their existence?

Flug: Unbelievable, he made the classic mistakes of an evil genius! This where his mistakes; Number one, you can involve affection into your plans. That disgusting feeling ruins everything.

5.0.5: *weird noises he makes*

Flug: Not now, my beautiful, genetically altered child, dad is working~. Number two, he never shuts up. And after a long list of mistakes, like excessive confidence, wear a cape, and lose against human children, without a doubt his worst mistake was creating his arch nemesis! Who in his right mind is capable of such foolery?! This is unthinkable! There's only one thing I can do to make something better out of this brute.

Mojo Jojo: *shaking, tied with whatever that is*

Flug: from an evil genius to another Mojo, let me tell you, this won't kill you, even tho you might wish it would.

Ppg narrator: and once again, everything is worse than ever thanks to Lord blackhat and Blackhat Organizations™’s orientation videos!

Blackhat: Shut up already!

Ppg Narrator: *scream like the lil bitch you are*

.

.

.

Anyways, it’s my first time translating something this long, so any tip is welcomed <3 

[jpaulfontan]

Preaching in All Circumstances

Preach the word, preach the cross, preach redemption to a lost and dying world. Lift your voice, unashamed, of the Gospel of His name! Hello, You’ve found the senior adult Sunday school class of Corinth Baptist Church in Singleton, Ms. The title of today’s lesson is….

Preaching in All Circumstances

This will be our 1stin a 4-lesson series under the general heading of: Facing Adversity

We’ll be drawing Scripture from the 24th, 25th, & 26th chapters of the Book of Acts.

Now, I don't know about you all,

but for me, when several names at

a time start getting thrown around

together in Scripture, it gets hard

for me to keep them all straight;

especially when I'm not real

familiar with all of them.

So I want to begin today's lesson

with a sort of Who's Who.

I want to try to keep them in the

order they're mentioned in the

Scripture we'll be covering today.

1st, then, is Ananias ben Nebedeus.

He was the high priest in Jerusalem

who was intent on having Paul killed.

By the way, "ben" means "son of" so

Ananias was the son of Nebedeus.

It was Ananias who hired and

accompanied Tertullus to Caesarea

hoping to have Paul convicted and

put to death.

This Tertullus character is described

by historians as a sort of forensic

lawyer who was familiar with the

various Roman legal procedures.

He was known as an articulate orator.

It's generally accepted that he

himself was a Hellenistic Jew,

(a person born Jewish and very much

influenced by the Greek culture).

He was probably from the North

African city of Alexandria.

Next to appear in our lesson is

a man simply addressed as Felix.

At the time that Ananias and Tertullus

made the journey to Caesarea, Felix

was the Roman governor over Judea

and Samaria.

Felix was formerly a slave but was

promoted by Claudius Caesar to the

office of governor.

Felix's wife, Drusilla is mentioned

in these verses, and I have learned

to never ignore seemingly

unimportant passages.

Felix was attracted to Drusilla,

a daughter of Herod Agrippa I.

The fact that Drusilla was already

married made no difference to Felix.

He enticed her away from her husband,

Azizus, and they later married.

She and their son, Marcus Antonius

Agrippa, died in the eruption of

Mount Vesuvius....Pompeii...

I hope y'all find this stuff as

interesting as I do; it gets better.

Then comes Festus.

Porcius Festus is the Roman governor

who succeeded Felix.

This is the man who tried to persuade

Paul to return to Jerusalem for trial

by the Sanhedrin.

This was Paul's ticket to Rome because

it was in answer to Festus' suggestion

that Paul appealed to be judged by the

Emperor.

And, it was Festus who had the very

difficult task of detailing the

charges against him that would be

read to Agustus Caesar.

Next comes King Agrippa II and Bernice.

King Agrippa II was a puppet king who

ruled under the Roman supervision of Israel.

Now, King Agrippa I had 5 children.

One of Agrippa II's sisters was Bernice.

These two were in an open incestuous

relationship.

Care to guess who another of their

sisters was?

If you haven't already guessed it, it

was none other than Drusilla; the wife

of Felix.....remember Felix?

(I told you keeping all these folks

straight wasn't so easy!)

Yep, Agrippa Jr., Drusilla, and Bernice

were brothers and sisters.

And that brings me to the last of the

characters I wanted to showcase for

you.

Augustus Caesar.

Oh, sure, he was the Roman Emperor.

But, very often, names and titles get

all jumbled up in the reading of

history.

The word, "agustus" is a word that, in

Latin, means;

"what is venerable, or worthy of

honor and reverence."

That sounds to me like a description

of God.

It's how most of the Roman Emperors

preferred to be thought of by their

subjects; as gods.

So, as it turns out, Agustus was a title bestowed to reigning emperors

by their Senate.

That all began during the days Jesus

still walked as a man on this earth.

It was 1st given to Caesar Octavianus.

So, who was Agustus Caesar?

It was Nero, the guy who burned most

of Rome and blamed it on the Christians.

It was Nero who ordered the Christians

be put to death; and regardless of

whether Paul's murder was ordered

directly or indirectly by Nero is

irrelevant.

I haven't been able to find out if

Paul ever actually got the opportunity

to appeal to Caesar, but in light of

what I've learned, I doubt it. One thing’s for sure, God ordered Paul’s steps even when he was in Roman custody. God’s plan and God’s truth, the gospel, cannot be thwarted by Satan or the schemes of man. What I hope to do in this lesson is to reveal for us how God’s providence was at work in both the life of Paul as well as in ours. That providence is to be revealed in our lives both before and after we embraced Jesus as Savior. It’s just good for us to remember this as we walk through our lives. God will never lead us where He can’t keep us!

And with that, let's get into the 1st

section of our lesson.

Section 1 God Guides His Servant to Preach to Others

Acts 24:1-10

(This is The Accusation against Paul)

1. After five days Ananias

the high priest came down

with some elders and a lawyer

named Tertullus.

These men presented their case

against Paul to the governor.

2. When he was called in,

Tertullus began to accuse

him and said:

“Since we enjoy great peace

because of you,

and reforms are taking place

for the benefit of this nation

by your foresight,

3. we acknowledge this in

every way and everywhere,

most excellent Felix,

with utmost gratitude.

4. However, so that I will

not burden you any further,

I beg you in your graciousness

to give us a brief hearing.

5. For we have found this man

to be a plague,

an agitator among all the Jews

throughout the Roman world,

and a ringleader of the sect

of the Nazarenes!

6. He even tried to desecrate

the temple,

so we apprehended him and

wanted to judge him according

to our law.

7. But Lysias the commander

came and took him from our hands

with great force,

8. commanding his accusers to

come to you.

By examining him yourself you

will be able to discern all

these things we are accusing

him of.”

9. The Jews also joined in

the attack,

alleging that these things were so.

(And, this is the beginning of

Paul’s Defense before Felix)

10. When the governor motioned

to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Because I know you have been

a judge of this nation for many

years,

I am glad to offer my defense

in what concerns me. There's no doubt

in my mind

that God

had His hand on Paul

from a very young

age; as he himself implies in the 1st chapter of his letter to the Galatians.

Every aspect

of his life

had led him to his

Damascus moment.

The Lord had brought him

to a realization of truth,

groomed him for ministry,

instilled in him

complete trust,

courage,

and an assurance

that everything

he would encounter

was in accord with

God's plan.

God's providence can

easily be seen

working in Paul's life

before and long after

he embraced Jesus

as his Savior.

Ananias,

along with his high-

powered lawyer

may have thought

they were going to

go before Felix,

the governor and

make short work of Paul,

but God had not yet

completed the work

to be done through Paul.

As this chapter

in the Book of Acts

continues to unfold,

Felix deferred the matter

claiming there was

more evidence to be

heard.

But, there was something

that caught my attention

down in verse 26.

It says, more or less,

that Felix was greedy

and hoped a

large bribe would

come from Paul to be

set free.

Apparently he hoped for

the bribe for two years.

I just have to believe

God put this in Felix's

heart.

(And, if y'all didn't

know it already,

one of my favorite

verses of Scripture comes

from Proverbs 21;

"A king’s heart

is like

streams of water

in the Lord’s hand:

He directs it

wherever He chooses.") Make no mistake, God IS in control!

Our Bibles tell us

that Felix often

called for Paul over

those two years,

and you can bet

they weren't

talking about the weather.

You know,

in Luke 21:14-15,

Jesus said to

His disciples;

"14. Settle it therefore

in your hearts,

not to meditate before

what ye shall answer:

15. for I will give you

a mouth and wisdom,

which all your adversaries

shall not be able

to gainsay nor resist."

….I will give you a

Mouth ANDWisdom…..

My Lord!

Earlier, while still

in the city of Corinth,

Paul had written a letter

that we now call the

Book of Romans.

In it he had penned;

"If God be for us,

who can be against us?"

He knew perfectly well

that the things that

came to mind while he

witnessed or while he

defended himself could

be spoken because Jesus

had already promised that

He would give him the

wisdom and the words

he needed at the time

he needed them.

Let’s move on to the next section of our lesson.

Section 2

God Sends His Servant Where He Wishes

Acts 25:9-12;

9. Then Festus,

wanting to do a favor

for the Jews,

replied to Paul,

“Are you willing

to go up to Jerusalem,

there to be tried

before me on these charges? ”

10. But Paul said:

“I am standing

at Caesar’s tribunal,

where I ought to be tried.

I have done no wrong

to the Jews,

as even you

can see very well.

11. If then

I am doing wrong,

or have done anything

deserving of death,

I do not refuse to die,

but if there is nothing

to what these men

accuse me of,

no one can give me up to them.

I appeal to Caesar! ”

12. After Festus conferred

with his council,

he replied,

“You have appealed to Caesar;

to Caesar you will go! ”

If you'll remember

from my introduction

for this lesson,

I gave you a

"Who's Who" list of

the various people

who would be involved

in the Scriptures

we're covering today.

Festus was the

Roman governor that

replaced Felix.

This was two years

after Lysias had

rescued Paul from

the Jews just outside

the gates of the

Temple in Jerusalem.

So, in deciding what

to do about Paul,

this new governor,

Festus,

being a politician,

was obviously trying to

do what would be to

his own best advantage.

The phrase in verse 9,

"...wanting to do a favor

for the Jews...",

shows us that he was

wrangling for an

advantageous position

with the people that he

had been appointed to

govern.

Festus knew perfectly well

that the Jews had every

intention of assassinating

Paul on the journey

to Jerusalem.

And, whether they killed

Paul on the journey

to Jerusalem,

or the Sanhedrin

had him stoned

once they got him

there,

either way,

it was a win-win

for Festus.

The Temple priests

would see to it that

Festus was looked on

favorably by the

Jewish nation.

But, given the

wisdom of God,

Paul answered Festus

by declaring that

he was currently

being tried in a

Roman court

for charges that

he was innocent of.

He told Festus

to his face

that he knew

perfectly well

that he was

innocent of the

charges the Jews

had brought

against him.

He said that

he was right

where he should be,

given the fact that

he was a Roman citizen.

He told Festus that

he wasn't afraid to

die, but if there

was no proof of any

wrongdoing on his part,

there was no Roman

official that could

hand him over to the

the authorities of a

foreign court.

Then he boldly demanded

his right to appeal his

case to Caesar himself.

Obviously,

Festus had

at his disposal,

lawyers who he

depended on

to ensure he didn't

step out of line

with Roman law.

This governor was

weighing his options

looking for a way to

gain favorable advantage

with the Jewish People.

Nevertheless,

he had to be careful

not to violate the

laws pertaining to

Roman citizens.

Recorded in the

New Testament,

Roman officials

cringed

at the thought of

violating the rights

of fellow citizens;

probably because the

consequences would

be too severe......

their own deaths!

After conferencing

with his advisors,

Felix was left with

no other option

than to grant Paul's

demand to be sent to

Rome where he could

take his case to

Caesars' court.

God meant Paul was

going to Rome and

no one was going to

prevent that from

happening.

You know,

God was protecting

Paul from his enemies

by having him in the

custody of the Romans.

If the Jews, bent on

killing him, had gotten

to Paul, it would have

probably been the ax

for the soldiers who

were assigned to guard

him. And later, when he finally did get to Rome, he was protected by Roman guards while he lived under house arrest there too. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get into the final section of our lesson for today.

Section 3

God Controls His

Servant’s Circumstances

Acts 26:27-32;

27. King Agrippa,

do you believe the prophets?

I know you believe.”

28. Then Agrippa

said to Paul,

“Are you going to

persuade me

to become a Christian

so easily? ”

29. “I wish before God,”

replied Paul,

“that whether easily

or with difficulty,

not only you

but all who

listen to me today

might become as I am...

except for these chains.”

30. So the king, the governor,

Bernice, and those

sitting with them got up,

31. and when they had left

they talked with each other

and said,

“This man is doing nothing

that deserves death or chains.”

32. Then Agrippa

said to Festus,

“This man could

have been released

if he had not

appealed to Caesar.”

I want to stop right here and have you compare verse 28 between this translation and that of the King James. I just read to you the rendering; … “Are you going to

persuade me

to become a Christian

so easily? ”… In the King James it says; …”Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”…. To me, these two

quotes from King Agrippa

mean entirely different

things.

They seem to portray

entirely different

attitudes from the

King.

The 1st one seems

to suggest that

Agrippa was saying

he would not be so

easily convinced

where the 2nd

gives the hope

that he doesn't

completely disregard

what Paul is saying

to him.

But to be fair to

King Agrippa,

both of these verses

could also indicate that

he was being the

consummate politician

here.

Could his statement in

either verse possibly be

considered a side-step?

Perhaps a way of avoiding

giving a straight answer?

I mean,

on the one hand,

to declare an unbelief

in the prophets

would have probably

caused an uprising

from the Jews

under his leadership.

On the other,

if he had affirmed

his belief in the prophets,

right then and there,

he may have seemed to

have been

just as

out of his mind

as Paul

to this

Gentile Governor,

Felix.

I would like to believe,

that when we get to heaven,

we'll discover there,

Agrippa & Bernice,

Festus,

Felix,

and all of the

others who heard

the gospel from Paul

during his

two year stay

there in

Caesarea.

The Bible doesn't

tell us that they

died lost.

Anyway, I just felt

like God would have wanted me to point

out this difference

to y'all.

Perhaps it'll give

you something in His

Word to ponder and

meditate on.

One thing's for sure,

just witnessing to

people can't persuade

them to become

Christians;

it takes a

work of God

in their hearts.

But God

does that work

through the

proclamation

of the gospel

of Christ.

Paul had written

in his letter

to the Romans,

"And how shall they

believe in him

of whom they have

not heard!

and how shall they

hear without a preacher!

and how shall they preach,

except they be sent?"

God has a plan, people!

The part of His plan

that we are

living in right now

is called,

among other things,

the time of the Gentiles.

The Jews have been

and

always will be

God's chosen people.

But, right now,

He's building

His church.

It's made up of

Jews and Gentiles

alike.

And He's doing that

in partnership with

His saints; we

carry out His

Great Commission by

being His witnesses,

and He brings the

increase by touching

the hearts of those who

hear the gospel.

Moving on....

It was God's providence

that Paul would be

given the opportunity

to share the gospel

with kings.

As Festus,

the Roman Governor,

sat with King Agrippa

and Bernice,

listening to Paul,

he dismissed him as

a nutcase.

But it wasn't that

easy for Agrippa.

Paul had pointedly

asked the King if

he believed the prophets

of old.

He even declared to

the king that he knew

he did.

He boldly declared

that the king knew

the truth of what Paul

was telling him

about Jesus.

The prophets,

as Agrippa well knew,

had

foretold everything

Paul was now declaring

about the life,

the death,

and the resurrection of

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Look, Paul had a

crystal clear

understanding of the

difficulties and the challenges

of presenting

the gospel

to both the Jews

and to the Gentiles.

The Gentiles prided

themselves on wisdom;

and the Jews, well,

they placed their hopes

in supernatural power.

On the face of it,

the idea of the cross

of Jesus as Messiah,

to them,

seemed like foolishness

and weakness.

(?) And, the very idea

of Jesus somehow being

brought back to life

after His brutal scourging

and crucifixion

three days later?

Well, that was just as

unbelievable and

equally as foolish.

Yet, that's exactly

what the Gospel is;

it's God's wisdom and

strength on display

for the whole world

to see.

Paul never backed down

from its fundamental

truth.

He gave everything

he had

for this message

to go forward.

He stood before

Kings, High Priests,

and Governors in chains,

enduring their criticism

in the hope that

everyone who heard

the gospel through him

would believe

just as he had.

That's a great goal

for us to set in our

own lives;

for everyone that we share

a meaningful conversation

with to be supernaturally

compelled to embrace

Jesus as Lord!

As we go through our lives following Jesus, we may be ridiculed, mocked, falsely accused, and, perhaps, even jailed. The times for us in this country are definitely changing. But whatever comes, we just have to hold on to the same truths that Paul did.

I believe with all my heart that God guides our steps so we can preach this gospel of Jesus Christ to others. I believe God plants us where He wants us to be. And, I believe He is absolutely in control over all of our circumstances. Let me end with this statement of faith: God continuously guides His people, both collectivly and individually where He has called them to carry out the mission He has given them. God carved out Paul’s path and protected him amidst false accusations, being unjustly detained, and the constant threat of being killed by his accusers. God also sent His Son, Jesus, who humbled Himself by enduring false accusations and an undeserved death sentence so that we might be saved. Knowing this should compel us to be concerned for the salvation of others. God providentially connects

us with people who don’t know Jesus so we can share Jesus’ story with them and they might believe and be saved. Let’s pray….

[aaronmascoll]

Chapter 41 - Colt

Robbing a bank. It was so much like the movies, Colt thought he was in one. Four guys rob a bank storm into a bank with guns blazing. A fifth guy secretly hides among the customers. Robbers break into the vault, and steal one item. Demigod shows up, and then everything goes wrong.

When Al hired Colt to rob a bank with Nigel, the blonde guy with tattoos and a mohawk, he didn't know what to expect. He didn't the first thing about robbing a bank, but Nigel apparently had it all planned out. "Don't worry bout it," he said. "I got the play on lock."

Colt was sitting at their table, trying to get to know them. He figured it would be beneficial if he was going to be robbing an actual bank with them. "Y'all niggas heard how my mans right hear waxed all dem shorties when he first came through the spot," Rigo, the Latin man, said.

Everyone shook their heads. "So," Rigo began. "When my boy showed up, old Lucy gave em the fo-one-one, and was like 'Pick a set'. Naturally, homie knew where his peoples was at, so he linked up with boss lady, and together they got to hoofin it. But, you know how she be doin niggas dirty."

"Facts!" The guys said in unison.

"So, boss lady, and my mans pull up to the spot on Saturday."

"You rolled in on Saturday, cuh?!" Nigel said.

Colt nodded while Devante and Marquise, the two black guys in matching Atlanta Falcon jerseys, laughed. "Yeah, nigga, yeah. So, some weak ass mortal tried to finesse my boy, but he didn't know homie was bout that life!"

"Facts!" They all said again.

"And listen to ya boy. When this nigga gave man the business, he gave him the business."

To his left, Nigel pulled out a black cigarette carton from his pocket. He opened it, and pulled out a firm, brown, blunt. He lit it, took two long drags, and passed it to Colt. "Then, after homie got his ass whooped, nigga, everybody and they momma wanted some."

Colt started to laugh, and so did the others. Even people at nearby tables who were listening in were laughing. Colt didn't know why he laughed, maybe it was the way he was telling the story, or maybe it was his eccentric hand movements, but something about the story was funnier than he remembered.

"So, my boy started slappin bitches, and manhandling niggas bro. Left em all in a pile lookin straight stupid. And you know boss lady hit em with that debt. Rule number one!"

"No killing in the bar!" The entire bar shouted. "You will be charged a fee if you fail to follow this rule!"

Colt looked backwards at Al, while everyone in the bar laughed at him. She had a very whimsical smile on her face. "How much she finesse you for?" Devante asked.

"Three hundred and forty five thousand gold peices," Colt said.

"Ooh nigga, let's go get this bread. Help my mans out right quick."

Colt was surprised by how these guys spoke. He also wondered what God did they serve.

They all got up, and before they left, Colt noticed a small placard above the door. The placard had only two rules on it, rule number one, which had just everyone recite, and rule number two which read, "No hitting on the bartender."

I married the bartender, Colt thought to himself. I wonder if Al's gonna try and charge me for that too.

Outside of the bar, Colt and the rest of the guys jumped into the back of a nearby by fishing boat. "Hey bro," Nigel said as the rode it down to the next pier. "If General Zapp shows up, which he will, you run, shake the spot. Ight?"

"General who?" Colt asked.

"General Toffler Zapp? Son of Zeus? Gold boy? The guy with the flail, and lightning! You must have seen him on the way to the pier. He's always killin somebody in Bagwell."

"We should be fine. I've killed a few dragons, so he shouldn't be a problem."

"Bruh, General Zapp eats dragon!"

[theworstbob]

yellin’ at songs, week 26

capsule reviews of the songs which debuted on the 7 July 2017 and 8 July 2017 editions of the billboard hot 100

7.7.2007

61) "Lost," Faith Hill

"With everything I have doesn't mean a thing if it's without you." I. Don't know what that means? I could stare at some of these lyrics and not really understand what's happening other than I'm supposed to believe in love and all its power, which is probably the most we can expect out of a late-career Faith Hill song. It's not great, but, y'know, just as I feel weird about trying to assess Fifth Harmony songs, I feel like Faith Hill songs are reaching for that Aunt With Too Many Inspirational Quote Pillows demographic, and I have to respect the choice she had made to service this demographic. This was someone's third wedding song, and I think that's beautiful. (Also, credit where credit's due, Kara DioGuardi co-wrote a song I tolerated.)

65) "Never Wanted Nothing More," Kenny Chesney

This is a weird one. Because it's Kenny Chesney, but it's also Chris Stapleton, but it's also Chris Stapleton writing a Kenny Chesney song. It's complicated. Like, you look at Kanye West's early discography, you see names you know, Jermaine Dupri, Goodie Mob, Lil' Kim, Nas, Alicia Keys, you see respectable names, you can see how the songs Kanye produced would fit into the greater Kanye catalogue. There's a difference, of course, between production and writing, but early Kanye doesn't feel like producer-for-hire. This song is written so outside the voice I've come to associate with Chris Stapleton that I can't imagine him ever writing it. Like, this song fits in with the Chris Stapleton origin story because it shows Chris Stapleton has been doing this thing for a long time and was good at it, but that's the only way it fits. This is just a Kenny Chesney song that Chris Stapleton happened to write, whereas "Izzo" is a Jay-Z song with a Kanye beat. Country music's weird as hell, man. I ain't gonna get it.

69) "Dance Tonight," Paul McCartney

it's gotta be pretty nuts to know that your status as one of the greatest songwriters of all time is so secure that there is absolutely nothing you could do to remove yourself from that pedestal. Like, the only reason I can find for a song like this (read: a bad one) being made from a dude at this level is, he was bored and wanted to see if people would call it an extraordinary songwriting feat if he just dropped a track like "it's nice when people have fun!"

74) "Let It Go," Keyshia Cole ft./Missy Elliott & Lil Kim

Pretty good! A little subdued for my taste, a little too restrained for a song about letting go, but I think we've talked about how I'm not naturally drawn to R&B simply because the genre is so subdued and restrained, so it's probably my own fault I'm not as into this song as I feel I should be. Like, I like all the names involved, I thnk Keyshia Cole was a pretty decent singer, I like the ingredients of the song, but someone put them together with a different palette than mine in mind. Ugh, and that's just the worst, how the world doesn't make enough things for white males to enjoy. This song, though, I think it's a'ight! I have no complaints about it specifically!

91) "How Do I Breathe," Mario

...i swear i've heard this exact same r&b song at least twice, though. like, "let it go" had missy on the track, it was cool. this is another song about a man who is sad his girlfriend left him and wishes she would come back. mario's a more engaging vocalist than the joes and tanks of 2007, like i'd like to hear him sing a better song, but... man, this week is just songs i didn't need to hear, and not in the sense that pop music is bad and i shouldn't try to listen to this much of it, more that 2007 just kinda said, "hey, here's some shit you've already heard from us, have fun." i feel i don't need to have an opinion on this song because i've already had an opinion on some stargate joint or another, y'know?

97) "Doomsday Clock," Smashing Pumpkins

hey speaking of unnecessary, another smashing pumpkins song! and not even one i need to begrudgingly admit is good, this one is the thing i expected smashing pumpkins to sound like, billy corgan nasally whining about some bullshit or another while the guitar plods along dutifully. nothing here is innovative, nothing here takes smashing pumpkins and frames it in a new light for me, this is just a song that exists. these songs all exist.

Well, obviously, since we’re hitting the halfway point, we’re gonna be doing something special! ...Or I would forget how to count and not realize this was the halfway point. Anyway, no Top 20s because nothing changed. 2017!

8 July 2017

4) "Wild Thoughts," by DJ Khaled ft./Rihanna & Bryson Tiller

I don't believe anything Bryson Tiller says on this song. My understanding of Bryson Tiller was that he was a simpering sad boy who sang about his feelings, so when he comes on a track where he a) has to present himself as an equal to Rihanna and b) has to make the argument that he is a worthy sexual partner for Rihanna, it's hard to take him seriously, because all he's done before suggests he's not this person. Like, someone thought of Bryson Tiller was the answer to the question "Who could make Rihanna think wild thoughts?" and that's just amazing to me. Literally anyone else would have been better. Are we not ready to lean so fully into the Latin trend that we'll give Luis Fonsi a starring role in a DJ Khaled song? Are we just this over Miguel? Hell, we know from "Run Up" that PARTYNEXTDOOR's capable of being occasionally interesting, why not him! This song could've been something, but man, that Bryson Tiller feature sinks it.

51) "Feels," by Calvin Harris ft./Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry & Big Sean

I appreciate the work Calvin Harris puts in to making pop music funky again, I think he's aware there's a direct line in music history from him to The Chainsmokers and he's doing his best to distance himself from that, but there's a limit to how much I can enjoy a song with the line "I know you're not afraid to catch feels with me." Like, this is another good song, Calvin Harris has been doing work this spring/early summer, it's just, one of them has to be the worst, and it's this one with its tumblr-ass hook. I wish I had a more legit reason to not be into this song. Nope. It's just that one word. I don't even necessarily mind that word, it's just, an entire song built around that word isn't a party I wanna attend.

61) "First Day Out," by Kodak Black

Nope!

83) "Relationship," by Young Thug ft./Future

Comparing Young Thug to the other dudes in his genre is like comparing a wasp to a group of bumblebees. They're sort of the same thing, but Young Thug is so much different and fearsome. ...This isn't his best song? This is the song you'd expect to chart off the album given the pedigree, but also, it isn't, because there's so many other, better songs on the album? But we should be evaluating this song for what it is, not what it isn't. "I put my dick inside her mouth before she act." Neat! Of all the many things Young Thug is, he is not perfect.

89) "Feel it Still," by Portugal. The Man

I AM IN FAVOR OF ALL THE BRASS 2017 HAS GIVEN ME THIS YEAR. The only instance of a brass instrument I remember from 2007 is the "Get Buck" beat, and I am so thrilled with the occasional blasts on this song. It's a fun song by a band I know I've heard about at some point but didn't expect to see here. I thought Portugal. The Man was ponderous indie nonsense, but yo, if they got one of these in them, I'm down to see what else they got. It's weird when it turns out bands everyone says is good make good songs. Like, what happened to bands like the Arcade Fire, who just whined monotonously over jingle-jangling?

100) "Real Hitta," by Piles ft./Kodak Black

...Are you. Guys. Are you serious? Piles? PIIIIIIILES? Of all the fucking. So many rappers hit in 2007, and the one y'all dredged up to make the Deacde Dance Club, literally the week I introduce that as a thing, is maybe the worst one, the one whose name I didn't even bother to spell right, I thought he was so yesterday. I'm not gonna listen to it for what I hope are obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean we can't jump into the AZ Lyrics page. "All that ass she got back there startin' to look like a Pamper" This is the least sexy way to describe a butt since "My Humps." "Sex game undefeated, think I'm 100-0" ...Has Piles only fucked 100 times? I mean. Hey, nothin' wrong with that, I'm not here to prude shame anyone or promote promiscuity or whatever, but even in the last 10 years, 3,650 days, Piles has only fucked once every five weeks or so? Or is he just on a winning streak, like, that's how many times in a row he's ejaculated? (I'm assuming he's not bragging that, every time he has sex, he makes the woman cum. I don't think Piles has ever had a woman's pleasure in mind when setting about his business.) This is a bizarre boast. "Biggest thing he ever did for you was take you to Chili's." ...Okay. Okay, that's pretty good. "That lil pussy was so sorry, I call it minimum wage." You know what fuck it I'll take gross political commentary. Piles had two lines I enjoyed out of the context of the song! There may be hope for all of us y -- oh right Kodak Black "I'ma come through, and I'ma fuck ya like the police lookin' for me" Well, that's about as tone deaf as I expected, alright, well, there's hope for some of us.

Decade Dance Party

...Um. 31) Piles We said that it’s hard to have two hits ten years apart. What this list presupposes is... What if it isn’t?

Who Won the Week?

A few weeks ago, there was like a three-year stretch where the Houston Texans and the Cincinatti Bengals would play each other in the football playoffs. They were boring games and bad to watch, and while the Bengals and Texans were good enough to have made the playoffs, it kinda sucked that one of the two got to go to the next round while a different, more fun team to watch gets eliminated, or was left out of the playoffs entirely. “Feel It Still” is a fine song and is definitely better than “Let it Go,” but like. “Feel it Still” shouldn’t be the champion for the week. I dunno, kinda meh for both weeks, 2017 takes it because I don’t think “Feel it Still” should get demerits for all the Kodak Black I didn’t listen to. So.

2017: 14 2007: 12

Next week, 2007 is giving us what is indisputably greater than all The Beatles songs put together. (I linked to that specific post because gosh that dude adding his two cents at the end is the reason op exists.) But will it be better than the alt-country song and the indie-rock song I for some reason ranked over “Umbrella?” ONLY TIME WILL TELL.