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hillbillied · 4 years

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i found your post about andy and eddie's kinks from a couple of years ago and i was just wondering do you have any updated thoughts?

firstly, thank you anon!! I love writing these two!!

secondly fuck, I left this ask in the ‘box for a while because, double fuck, I couldn’t think of any kinks I hadn’t included in the OG post!! I am very sorry for the delay!

(I had to read through them to check, still crispy if I do say so... let’s see what else we can get in there. god I could go on a whole bunch more about the ones from the OG post lmao my fave losers in love having great sex!)

The Secret Kinks of Andrew Haldane and his Lieutenant, Edward Jones (pt.II)

(highly nsfw, 18+ only)

I’m gonna rag on Andy’s exhibitionism kink a little louder than before because it’s so embarrassing. going to the cinema is a chore because Andy doesn’t have the patience for long movies and he really can’t get behind anything that’s not a really fucking hilarious comedy or a truly gripping drama. anything even a little lacklustre (most of what’s on in the 50s) has his gaze wondering elsewhere

the amount of times Eddie has been enjoying his movie experience (he loves movies, btw, he didn’t get to go to many as a kid – think Gunny-level attention in the scene where the marines are watching For Whom the Bell Tolls) and suddenly a hand is brushing his knee. he can’t help but roll his eyes because Andy, good lord, can’t you enjoy the plot for five-fucking-minutes?

luckily for Andy, he’s got a semi-indulgent boyfriend or at least a condoning one; either Eddie will lift his longs legs and put them over Andy’s lap, teasing him with the weight whilst simultaneously giving him some cover to enjoy himself (in no relation to the movie) – or, if he’s feeling generous and equally turned on, he’ll give his stupid fucking would-be husband a hand so he can go back to his popcorn. Eddie’s got skilled fingers and only makes eye contact with his flustered, heavy-breathing boyfriend in scathing glances to show his “disapproval”

car sex is as normal to the two of them as breathing. it started fairly uncreative and vanilla, just screwing in the one long seat of Hillbilly’s pickup. it’s a little on the tight side but Eddie’s more flexible than many would believe. Andy loves having two hands just under his knees, pushing his thighs up against his chest so he can fuck him nice and deep. it has Eddie’s toes curling and his teeth gritted and colourful curses dripping out the cracked window (no AC means a real sweaty cab)

that, or Hillbilly will be riding Andy passenger side. he likes smoking in his car and he likes riding Ack Ack’s cock, so this is a win-win scenario. the leverage from the seat means he can light up while rolling his hips, humming around the cigarette. it’s an erotic sight for sure; Andy has to cover his eyes with his hand while laughing out a breathless “shit, Eddie…”

romantic evenings include soft kisses and mutual handjobs in the truck bed, after giving up on star gazing. less romantic evenings include parking somewhere discreet (or… not, because Andy’s exhibitionism is a nightmare and the 60s were pretty wild) to get them both out on the road. there’s sweaty handprints on the hood where Andy has Eddie bent over it, pinned between his chest and hot metal. it’s some of the hardest, roughest sex they have, and Andy usually uses Eddie’s t-shirt for leverage, something to twist into an psudo-harness to pull him back against his dick. Hillbilly likes to growl out threats – “you stain m’ car, Andy, I’ll fuckin’ kill you” – but it’s all a ruse to cover how there’s sweat dripping from his curls and how his pants for air are turning into moans and how he’s the one staining the tire where he’s cum, hard enough to have him flat out over the hood and gasping

this is all while the car is parked, of course. Andy loves giving Eddie head while he’s driving. it’s lucky Hillbilly’s had to drive bigger, scarier machines than a Ford, honestly. his disapproval (fake, every time) is portrayed where he grabs Andy’s hair and forces his cock down his throat. “Cop car” he’ll say, “gotta stay down”. he’s a lying sack of shit but it’s worth the sin to glance down at Andy when he lets him pull back, spittle running from his tongue and his coughing turning to a gasp then a moan in quick succession. it’s really difficult for Eddie not to grin super wide and push Andy’s head back down for more

(side note: Andy’s a service top so he gives great head, none of this fake dom shit. they each say the other gives it better because they are both weak for one another and stupidly in love)

gags become a thing after a while. Andy is an expert at introducing/asking about bedroom ideas without being condescending and he knows he has to decipher Eddie’s interest without it sounding like he wants him to shut the fuck up. (he does not, he loves everything that comes out of Hillbilly’s mouth, from stone-cold threat to lazy joke to breathless groan)

but a thing they do become. (it starts with Andy shoving a couple of fingers in Eddie’s mouth to “keep quiet”, an old familiar trick from the war, and it snowballs from there) so the next time Andy’s bent over Eddie, facing him and maybe got his hands pinned above his head, and Eddie decides to let off a quip, Ack Ack stops. slows his motions and pretends to think, then reaches for his master plan. the first time, it’s just fabric, shoved into Hillbilly’s mouth. his pink cheeks (from semi-annoyance or embarrassment, not sure) and deep frown and almost-offended stare are fucking priceless

(Andy buys a proper gag, one Eddie can bite down on. one he can grab the back of and pull Hillbilly’s head back with so he can kiss his neck, tell him how fucking hot his moans are when they’re all he can make)

collars slip in there somewhere. they’re not sure where that came from but there’s a suspicion it may have come from the wholesome conversation about adopting a dog (which they both want to do they’re just terrified of going to pick one and falling in love with more and then what are they gonna do?? have fifty dogs?? but I digress)

Andy’s not one to be embarrassed of his sex purchases but he was definitely scratching his neck when he bought it. luckily, his boyfriend can read him like a goddamn book. the man likes being in control, sure, dominating the room in his own masterful way, definitely – that doesn’t change the look of complete adoration that takes Andy’s features when Eddie buckles the collar around his neck

it fits well with Andy’s orgasm denial kink. he doesn’t do it to Eddie much (he’s got enough kinky shit he can do to him) but Hillbilly definitely does it to him. it’s a treat to test Andy’s self-restraint and not with any bondage. Eddie’s a very patient man, used to unfulfilling sex prior to Ack Ack, so he’s got all the time in the world. he loves making Andy wait, teasing him with a grip around the base of his cock. he gets a cock ring for him later, when his tight grip isn’t cutting it anymore

there’s nothing better than watching Andy’s thighs tremble, sat on his own hands on a chair, desperately keeping his cool while Hillbilly carefully lowers himself onto his cock (Eddie uses that collar to get him to look him in the eye)

they usually can’t be bothered with food play (“Food is f’ eatin’, Andrew, not wastin’.”) but there’s occasional things. Andy has a tendency to take Eddie’s fingers in his mouth and lick them clean, whether from an accidental or purposely spillage. he doesn’t really care what’s on them so long as it’s edible and he can watch Hillbilly’s lip curl watching him

Eddie’s definitely done a “spillage” of his own once or twice. except his are obvious, just how he likes them; he’ll straight up pour a splash of beer on his dick and invite Andy to come lap it up. his house, his rules and all. Andy always obliges

Eddie gives a great spit ‘n shine to boots, Andy’s found. he loves demanding Eddie get on his knees and do the daily duties he learned as a marine, making sure his captain’s uniform is in order. (slightly funny if Ack Ack’s not wearing anything but his boots while saying it, but he can live with that) having Hillbilly look up at him – “Like this, Skipper?” - as he runs his tongue across the leather is more than worth it

Eddie likes tearing open clothes, though he feels really, really bad about it. it’s obvious it turns him on because Andy loses a lot of shirt buttons over the years. (they sew them back on together, which is nice, gotta know how to mend and make do. Eddie actually knows a lot about cross stitch and Andy adores learning from him)

one time Andy’s waving his ass Eddie’s way, has been for a whole morning whilst they were gardening, potting flowers, weeding the lawn, working, Andy, we’re busy – so it’s just been a build up of hard-ons and no time to deal with them. and they’re wearing old clothes for the task, threadbare jeans. (that used to be Eddies, even the ones on Andy’s ass) so when Hillbilly finally presses up against Andy, bites his ear, and grabs his pants with both hands - he just pulls. they tear open and Andy feels Eddie shudder against him (shortly before he feels Hillbilly’s cock pushing inside him but that’s just a massive bonus)

Andy’s an indulgent boyfriend so he buys underwear and pants on the cheap and waves them Eddie’s way. the “rippables” as he calls them. made to be ripped, end of. no hard feelings, good riddance to them

I said they were too lazy for bondage because they can just pin each other and I stand by it; it remains a special thing. one of the ‘hardcore’ things, like the belt and gun play. mainly because, while they can actually pin each other down quite effectively with limited wiggle room, there’s still the ability to y’know, headbutt each other. because they’re also both trained in how to flip a guy that grabs you. fatally, if need be

so tying Eddie up (Andy’s always been down to be tied up, blindfolded, etc. by Eddie because he trusts literally one man in the whole world and it’s Edward Jones) is a big thing. because Eddie has had to fuck people up who tried to fight him and his brute strength is what’s gotten him through (finding something capable of realistically holding him is also a struggle in sexual hilarity because fuck, it’s gotta be thick rope or actual police handcuffs)

when Andy asks him about it (and presents the short length of rope he went for because he couldn’t find handcuffs yet) Eddie immediately says yes. because he trusts Andy completely. but he also says not tonight and not every night and not any time he can see it coming. if he works himself up about it, he’ll embarrass himself

when it does happen (Andy’s can read him right back, he knows when), Eddie ends up with his hands tied behind his back. he jokes about Ack Ack’s poor navy knotwork and gets a laugh back. then Andy slow bends him over the bed. that’s all Eddie thought he’d do, which isn’t a bother, long legs are still able to roll away. until Andy kneels down below him, caressing his thigh lovingly, and nudges his legs open. Eddie ends up standing bent over on the mattress with each ankle tied to a leg of their heavy bed frame

it’s a lot but Andy takes his time, kisses his way up from Eddie’s calf all the way to the back of his neck, keeping a hand pressed to his inner thigh. the tremble there is aroused and overwhelmed all in one. the first time, Ack Ack just enjoys giving his boyfriend a nice, slow handjob, supporting himself over Hillbilly so he can feel his weight. it’s amazing to have Eddie coming apart under him, whispering for more until he gets a shaking orgasm, biting the sheets to try and cover how loud he whimpers (it’s too much for Andy, too, and he cums just from rubbing between Eddie’s thighs)

Andy’s trademark aftercare is as excellent as ever and they sit together with some tea on the bed, listen to the radio, Eddie leaning against his chest with two loving arms around him. he asks if next time Ack Ack will fuck him and naturally, Andy just says “if you want me to” while kissing his temple. Hillbilly wipes his face and asks “please”

#andyeddie #the pacific #very not saif 4 wurk but i cant tag it that because tumblr algorithy

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d2kvirus · 4 years

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Dickheads of the Month: October 2020

As it seems that there are people who say or do things that are remarkably dickheaded yet somehow people try to make excuses for them or pretend it never happened, here is a collection of some of the dickheaded actions we saw in the month of October 2020 to make sure that they are never forgotten.

After months of the Tory government fucking up their response to the Covid pandemic you would think that they’d have some baseline of competence by now, but no, it turns out that the Test & Trace program they were so proud of was nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet - an Excel spreadsheet that lost the data of at least 16,000 people, while also begging the question how they spend £12bn of taxpayer’s money on an Excel spreadsheet, to which the answer is...they didn’t, it was existing software, they just pocketed the cash

It comes as no surprise that proven liar Boris Johnson puts the blame on the rising Covid numbers in the UK on the public - because it's definitely not been his master advisor breaking the lockdown rules to pop to Durham with his family after testing positive for Covid on what just so happened to be his wife’s birthday, not the Tory government changing the rules on masks when Michael Gove was spotted in Pret Manger without one, and definitely nothing to do with cases rising significantly within two weeks of the double whammy of the Tory government saying children “must” go back to school and people must go back to work as they can now be fired if they don’t. Definitely not their fault, Not at all...

The approach of the Tory government to Manchester being upgraded to Tier 3 boils down to initially promising to provide the fully-costed £60m package that Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham requested, only to turn around and give them £20m instead and try and justify it by saying it boils down to £8 per head for the entire population. After all, if Burnham really wanted that money, he’d have been one of Dominic Cummings’ mates and completely unqualified for the job, as that’s the quickest way to open the purse strings as wide as he’d like

It was quite impressive that Margaret Ferrier came to the conclusion that, having tested positive for Covid while in London, obviously the best course of action would be to take a train journey 400 miles back to Scotland before self-isolating, because of course nobody else used that train

...although some of the Tory MPs criticising Ferrier really should have paused before commenting, mainly to check whether they were the ones vociferously defending Dominic Cummings for his 300 mile drive to Durham after testing positive or his subsequent drive to Bernard Castle to test his eyesight

Not only did the Tory government vote against giving free school meals to children a mere ten days after awarding Marcus Rashford an MBE for his work in trying to give underprivileged children free school meals, but they tried all manner of excuses to defend it best exemplified by Nicky Morgan saying she voted to let children starve because Angela Rayner called one of her parliamentary colleagues “scum”, while Twitter troll Ben Bradley claimed that people spent their free school meal vouchers in crack dens and brothels, before claiming he was “misquoted” - which is Tory code for “I have deleted that tweet, because I do not understand how screengrabs work”

Remember how Rishi Sunak has been presented as the human face of the Tory party? I have to ask, since he decided to yank £1000 a month from Universal Credit payments, and for some reason the “centrists” of Twitter who have been lionising him for several months have been oddly quiet

The batshittery of the Home Office has now extended to coming up with increasingly ludicrous plans to prevent migrants, with the latest bright idea of Priti Patel (and don’t pretend it was anyone else) being to have ships in the English Channel using pipes to blow air into the water that will create waves to send them back to France - as if a dinghy wouldn’t just steer around the ship, or that they wouldn’t make Calais and Sangat the best surfing destinations in northern France overnight

...and it got worse when we learned that Priti Patel was informed that a knife-wielding man stormed into the office of a migration solicitor spouting the exact same rhetoric and injured the receptionist, to which her response was to double down on the rhetoric as if she and proven liar Boris Johnson weren’t inciting violence at this point

...which makes smirking cretin Priti Patel issuing a statement expressing sadness at a couple of child migrants drowning in the English Channel about as sincere and reassuring as a card from Harold Shipman expressing sympathy for the death of an elderly relative

Not for the first time Keir Starmer managed to take all the focus off the Tories and onto the Labour party with his moronic approach to running his own party, namely by suspending Jeremy Corbyn for the crime of...hang on, he actually hasn't said what infraction Corbyn committed by responding to the EHRB report into antisemitism in the Labour party, but he suspended him anyway

...while Lisa Nandy supported this by using a blatant strawman argument saying “There are some on the left” who believe blatant anti semitic tropes...blatant anti semitic tropes that she invoked in the exact same sentence as her obvious strawman argument

Suspected rapist Brett Kavanaugh has been busy using legal loopholes to try and claim that votes in Wisconsin only count if they were tallied up on Election Day and no day past that. Because as we know, US Presidential Elections have often been straightforward affairs where both vote counts and recounts are always necessary, as Kavanaugh obviously remembers as he was working for George W Bush’s campaign in Florida after the 2000 election

How nice of the Tory government to use a parliamentary loophole to completely avoid allowing a vote on whether or not the UK should import chlorinated chicken, therefore enshrining both the importance of democracy and the importance of food safety standards - in the EU

Once again Keir Starmer seems to think “Opposition” means “Whip your MPs into abstaining”, this time on the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill, because as we all know letting legislation pass that absolves the police of any and all illegal activity is definitely going to win voters around

Good guy Rishi Sunak took the Tim Martin approach to worker relations by telling musicians to get another job if they were so worried about their finances - which not only ignores the fact that plenty of musicians do already have more than one job, but also begs the question why this same advice hasn’t been given to the landlords carping about rent holidays etc

Not only did The Sun blatantly lie by claiming a photo of Jeremy Corbyn taken at a wake was at a “posh dinner party” as obvious rage bait for their knuckle-dragging readership, but it has to be asked where they got the photos from as they weren’t shared publicly on Twitter or Instagram

...although the Freudian slip by the BBC when reporting the non-story, calling Corbyn “the Labour leader”, not only sums up just how shit they are at reporting facts these days, but also underlines he’s doing a better job of rattling the establishment’s cages than Keir Starmer has

Definitely not a conspiracy theorist Julia Halfwit Hartley-Brewer claimed that the government are combining Covid numbers and flu numbers so that they could...anyone got any idea what the point of making this up was?

Instead of keeping Robert Jenrick locked in a cupboard until the whole “Getting backhanders which influence who he gives property contracts to” thing goes away (spoilers: it won’t) instead they sent him out to justify £25m to a Jake Berry’s constituency - to which he said it was fine, as Jake Berry gave £25m to Jenrick’s constituency so there’s no reason to say anything dodgy is going on

For some strange reason Dominic Cummings doesn't have to face any charges for his failure to pay £30,000 worth of council tax on a property he also broke planning laws to have extended. Yes, there’s a reason I put this directly after the phases “Robert Jenrick” and “backhanders”...

The ridiculousness that is Liz Truss started the month proudly stating that post-Britait trade negotiations with the US would undermine Britsh farmers - and this wasn’t a flub, she genuinely meant to express this - and ended with the frankly baffling crowing from the Department of Trade about how “soya sauce” which was being sued by Great British Bake Off contestants would be cost the same post-departure thanks to the UK-Japan trade deal, which ignores the fact that most soy sauce is imported from China - also that paying zero tariffs on £100k of stilton being exported to a country with high lactose intolerance while Nissa, Toyota et al face no tariffs when importing tens of millions of pounds of cars a year is not what anyone should be calling a victory...unless they work for Nissan, Toyota et al, anyway

Convicted criminal Darren Grimes learned that there’s such a thing as “responsibility” when he learned that the police were investigating his interview with David Starkey for incitement of hatred, which could have easily been avoided if he was in any way competent or if he admitted he isn't a journalist - and of course, the usual voices of Toby Young, Laurence Fox and Julia Halfwit Hartley-Brewer all came running to his defence...and shut up when they were informed this ruling was introduced by Thatcher

Somebody should have explained to WWE that, when their move to ban their employees independent contractors from third party platforms such as Twitch already cast a remarkably negative light on their shady employment practices, they should ramp it up by demanding their employees independent contractors hand over those third party platforms and then out of the goodness of their hearts WWE would hand them a percentage of those earnings

As if Steve Baker describing himself as “the hard man of Britait” isn’t reason enough to include him, his demanding that the Church of England be disestablished if it doesn’t fall in line with their No Deal death cult certainly is

It has to be asked why Ross Clark saw Jacinda Ardern winning a a record mandate in the New Zealand elections so decided it was in his interests to write a Telegraph article claiming her Covid has been a disaster...you know, a country which currently has 0 cases and a total of 25 deaths since February. It’s almost as if the thought of a left-leaning leader who hasn’t had a disastrous response to Covid being rewarded by the electorate has Clark worried for some reason...

Professional victim Laurence Fox has identified the biggest problem in modern society: Sainsburys supporting Black History Month. Of course, it definitely wouldn’t be something like Laurence Fox calling anyone who disagrees with him a paedophile, that’s all part of a healthy society...

The latest idea of Tim Davie to make sure that BBC newsreaders remain compliant drones was to bring in a set of rules saying they are never allowed to state an opinion ever (no doubt aimed at Emily Maitlis, who did) and to ban that favourite buzzphrase of the right, any form of “virtue signalling” no matter how worthy the cause...except for wearing poppies, that’s still allowed, in spite being a clear example of this “virtue signalling” that Davie is banning

Complete and utter nutcase Dan Wootton is dangerous as well. That’s both the entry, and also a quote from Labour MP Chris Bryant in response to him banging on about herd immunity as if he's an expert and not The Sun’s showbiz bottom feeder who has been elevated for no logical reason

Once again Laura Kuenssberg is quoting anonymous “sources” critical of the Opposition - meaning she’s either not a very good journalist as she can’t even name her source, or she doesn’t have a source so she's a liar. Has anyone else noticed this is a regular occurrence with Kuenssberg yet?

How thoughtful of Manchester United and Liverpool to pitch a wonderful idea that the Premier League be reduced to eighteen teams, while also christening the concept with the definitely not Orwellian moniker of Project Big Picture under the guise of helping the Football League and not, say, easing their fixture lists by four league games per season. Of course, they’re volunteering to give up their Premier League places, aren’t they?

Once again Isabel Oakeshott just had to be on the wrong side of a story, this time howling in outrage that an anti-lockdown petition with 15,000 signatures is being ignored - signatures including Harold Shipman, Bernard Castle, Dominic Cummings of Bernard Castle, Dr Johnny Bananas, Dr Person Fakename, and last but by no means least, Dr Corona McCoronaface...

Former wrestler Joey Ryan is dealing with his wrestling career being over due to a wealth of allegations of him being a sexual abuser in the most healthy manner possible, namely filing lawsuits against literally anyone he can blame, be it the accusers, his former employers, or random people who call him out via social media

So far it appears Shaun Bailey is planning on winning the London Mayoral election with batshit promises to allow corporations to sponsor London Underground stations and change the names appropriately (which won’t be confusing for tourist guides...) and try and say that Sadiq Khan is at fault for fans not being allowed into football stadiums nationwide

Clueless grifter Tim Pool came up with a genius answer when asked why his “centrist” podcast only ever seems to have right-wing guests and that was to claim that his setup couldn’t handle remote interviews - which would make sense if a.) He hadn’t been saying how much money had been poured into his setup, b.) Zoom didn’t exist, and c.) We forget all the times he’s done remote interviews in the past

Your would think that Lars Sullivan would have learned to not potentially jeopardise WWE’s efforts to promote him after a combination of injury and also not mentioning him for months due to being a creepy bastard online, but no, as soon as he returned to TV he was being a creepy bastard to a yoga instructor - while using his official WWE Instagram account to be a creepy bastard

Not only did Alex Hutchison open himself up for criticism by outright stating that Twitch streamers can count themselves lucky that they don’t have to pay licensing fees to stream games and their careers would be over if they did, he also opened himself up for ridicule when his aforementioned idiotic statement led to Google seeing his Twitter bio and telling him that, no, he was not a lead designer for Stadia and needed to change that shit PDQ

Once again Arsenal showed their lack of understanding of juxtaposition, with them announcing their longtime mascot was being let go for cost-cutting measures - and then a few hours later announcing they’d signed a player with a £200k a week wage

Some faultless logic from Apple regarding the the iPhone 12: the box won’t include a charger or earbuds to reduce packaging...yet it cost the same as if it did, while also meaning people have to buy chargers and earbuds separately that requires far more packaging

To nobody’s surprise it’s clear that Kim Kardashian does need it explained to her that saying how haaaaaaaaaaaaaard it is to spend two weeks being screened and self-isolating so you can go to the private island for your birthday is galling most of the time, but outright disgusting during a global pandemic

Oh dear, it looks like Eric Trump tried being clever again asking how Joe Biden owns a house that’s worth $4m on his senator’s salary of $174k...only to be told that Biden bought the house for $185k, sold it in 1996, pays more than $750 in taxes and loves his son

And finally, testing positive for Covid, is Donald Trump - but he assures us that he is fine and definitely not a contamination risk having been pumped full of steroids and aborted foetus cells which are available to so many people, and definitely didn’t need a better Twitter password

#dickheads of the month

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circuit-music · 5 years

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2019 Music Recommendations

2019. Another stellar year! There was so much excitement this year to be found musically. First off some surprises from some older acts who haven’t released material in decades. Both Heavy Water Factory and Numb had terrific returns to form with new full lengths this year and not surprisingly after the long slumbers - still showcased modern sounds and futuristic ideas. Some terrific re-issues this year from the likes of Dive, Force Dimension and Robotiko Rejekto all from the awesome Mecanica label. If you missed them the first go-around seek them out – those are all important artifacts in the industrial-ebm history. Oh yeah, they also re-issued Acid Horse and Pailhead records this year too! Synth-pop and synth wave made a huge impact again this year with remarkable releases from Hatchie (favorite record of the year), Silent Em, Luminance, Iris, Body of Light, Minuit Machine, Wingtips, Replicant and others. Post-punk seemed to be the buzz phrase this year with a lot of attention on it. Many great records from the likes of Foreign Resort, Present Moment, Ritual Howls, Veil of Light and Years of Denial. Retro sounding EBM still caught my attention with outstanding releases from Klack, Randolph & Mortimer and Unconscious. Likewise, there was so much contemporary energy surging in the newer techno-ebm realm with punchy releases from Crystal Geometry, Maedon, Kontravoid, Raffaele Attanasio, Rhys Fulber, Ansome and so many others. This isn’t a top 10, top 25 or even a top 100. Instead, it’s an A-Z recommendation list encompassing many genres as those lines are getting more and more blurred. The majority of what I listen to is electronic based and that runs a whole gamut of sub-genres from techno-ebm, to synth-pop to whatever. A good tune is a good tune, regardless of genre. For each release I’ve listed a format (the one I purchased the release in). If there’s not a format listed - it’s usually digital. My preferred format is vinyl, but if you can’t find it on vinyl it’s likely available digitally as well. RE stands for re-issue by the way.

There’s a ton of new pioneering music out there for sure waiting to be discovered and it’s the “what’s next” that keeps me a motivated music fan. There’s never a dull moment in speaking, writing, DJ'ing or promoting new music, so I’ll keep doing it and hopefully be a guide for you all ;).

HIGHLY encourage you to get out there and seek out new music; Visit the record stores, go hear a new DJ, fire up Spotify or another streaming service, check out some new music via podcast, DJ mixes, label sites, online retailers, Facebook, BANDCAMP, BANDCAMP, BANDCAMP, etc. There’s a plethora of discoveries to be found out there. If you do the work, you’ll be rewarded ;) Speaking of Spotify – I made a playlist this year featuring plenty of the bands on my list. There’s at least a track or more from the artist who have a presence on Spotify. Here’s the link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZxvyspTQAiizVe2WN43Fr?si=jsLN6-DiS5WQerWSRbb9Fg

As in years past I’m sure I missed a few things, ignored the hype on certain releases or just plain forgotten something. If it needs mention and I overlooked it - I may do an addendum in the next week or so. Anyways, got your notepaper and plenty of beverages ready? Don’t be a TL:DR (Too Long: Didn’t Read) fool. Read up. Enjoy the music of 2019!

Onwards with the list!!! :D

-Marc

000 - We Became Reptiles EP (RND. Records) Adam-X - Midnight Sun 12” (BITE)

AEmit - Devourer 12” (Fleisch) Ansome - Hounds of the Harbour 2x12” (Perc Trax)

Arkan - Stamina (RND Redcords)

Autumns - Shortly After Nothing LP (Death & Leisure) - Pissing Away My Youth CS (Opal Tapes) Autumns/Verset Zero - ST 12” (Soil Records) Axkan - Torment 12” (Omen Recordings) Blush Response - Fissures in the Megastructure (Schematic Music Company) - Selection for Societal Sanity 12” (Sacred Court)

Body Beat Ritual - Instinct Primitive/Crash report 12” (Haven)

Body of Light - Time to Kill LP (Dais)

Boy Harsher - Careful LP (Nude Club) - Tears 12” (Nude Club) - Come Closer 12” (Nude Club)

Cardinal & Nun - I Met the Devil 12” (L.I.E.S.)

Celldod - Under Isen 12”(Veleno Viola) - Myndighetsforakt 12”(Unstable Signal) - Kemisk CS (AMOK)

Cervello Elletronico - Top Ded Ctr. CD (HANDS)

Chromatics - Closer to Grey CD (Italians Do It Better) - The Sound of Silence (Italians Do It Better) - Time Rider (Italians Do It Better) - Petals (Italians Do It Better)

Codex Empire - Slow Erosion 2xLP (aufnahme+wiedergabe)

Cold Cave - Promised Land (Heartworm Press)

Comfort Cure - Night Sweat (Self-released) - Intimate Vocabulary (Self-released) Confines - Geography of Nowhere CS (Synthicide)

Crystal Geometry - The Cyber Heresy 12” (Sonic Groove) - State of Play 12” (HANDS) - XV Signs of Doomsday CS (Tripalium Records) - Hexa Hexes (RND. Records)

Dax J - Chaos Comes to Conquer 12” (Monnom Black) Distant - Fallen Emperor CS (Detriti Records)

Dive - True Lies 2xLP (Mecanica RE)

Downwell - I See Death in Your Eyes 12” (Oraculo Records) Fee Lion - Blood Sisters - Blood Sisters Remixes (BOUND)

Force Dimension - Dues Ex Machina 2xLP (Mecanica RE)

Foreign Resort - Outumbered LP (Artoffact Records)

Fractions - Scars of Love 12” (Fleisch) - Constellations 12” (Rotterdam Electronix Harsh Mentor - Salve 12” (aufnahme+wiedergabe)

Hatchie - Keepsake LP (Heavenly Records)

Headless Horseman - 008 12” (Headless Horseman)

Heavy Water Factory - Fluid and Meat Remastered (Self-released) - Spillage (Self-released) - Purity of Evil (Self-released) - Amandava (Self-released) - Reaktif (Self-released)

Horrorist - Separate Dimension 2xLP (aufnahme+wiedergabe)

I Hate Models - L'Âge Des Métamorphoses 3xLP (Perc Trax) - Intergalactic Emotional Breakdown 12” (Arts)

Illnurse - Unreleased (Self-released)

Image of Life - Attended by Silence LP (Kernkrach)

Imperial Black Unit - Murder Under Establishment 12” (aufnahme+wiedergabe)

Inhalt Der Nacht - Deine Aura 12” (Seelen)

Iris - Six LP (Dependent)

IV Horseman - Dies Irae 12” (aufnahme+wiedergabe) Keepsakes - Modern Anxious Vernacular 12” (HAVEN)

Klack - 2400bps 8-N-1 (klackprodukt) - Introducing the 1984 Renault LeCar, Layover

Kontravoid - Too Deep LP (Fleisch)

Korine - Uncrossed / To You 7” (Born Losers Records)

Kris Baha - My Master 12” (Pinkman) - Palais 2xLP (CockTail d’Amore Music) Lapse of Reason - Sorrows 12” (aufnahme+wiedergabe)

Leathers – Phantom Heart (Self-released)

Liebknecht - Produkt V1.2 LP (Ant-Zen) - Ice Over Erfurt (Digital) - Koln EP (Digital)

Linea Aspera - Preservation Bias LP (Dark Entries RE)

Luminance - Ahead 2xLP (Medical Records) Lust For Youth - Lust For Youth LP (Sacred Bones),

Maedon - Against His Will 12” (Sonic Groove)

Maenad Veyl - Body Count 2xLP (Veyl) - Onto Duat 12” (Bedouin Records) Mind | Matter - Peste Nere CS (Detriti Records)

Minuit Machine - Infrarouge LP (Synth Religion)

Multiple Man - High on the Hog 12” EP (Fleisch) New Frames - Schweres Wasser 12” (HANDS)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen 2xLP (Ghosteen Ltd.) Nordstaat - Ein Opfer Auf Dem Altar Der Technologie CS (Clan Destine Records)

Nostromo - Extreme Manifestations 12” (aufnahme+wiedergabe)

Numb - Mortal Geometry LP (Metropolis)

Parallx - RP4 (R-Label Group)

Physical Wash - Physical Death CS (Self-released)

Populists aka Yan Wagner - Belgian Trip 12” (Detriti Records)

Present Moment - Split LP (Oraculo Records)

Radical G/Horrorist - RR2 (R-Label Group)

Raffaele Attanasio - Lust It Fills the Space 12” (LFJ)

Randolph & Mortimer - Manifesto for a Modern World CD (Self-Released) - Exclude/Divide (mp3 self-released) - R&M Remixes (mp3 self-released) - Electronic Body Weapon (mp3 self-released) - Body (mp3 self-released)

Rendered - Adrenalin EP (Mindcut)

Rendered / Black Egg - No Compromise 12” (Tripalium)

Replicant - A Taste of Midnight LP (self-released) - Pale Blue (mp3 self-released) - Lifelike (mp3 self-released)

Rhys Fulber - Ostalgia 2x12” (Sonic Groove) - Baut Mit 12” (Sonic Groove)

Rhys Fulber + Blush Response - Corruption of Form 12” (Sonic Groove)

Ritual Howls - Rendered Armour LP (Felte) - A Safe Haven From the Sun Robotiko Rejekto - Communication 87-92 2xLP (Mecanica RE)

S.I.T.D. - Stunde X LP (Infacted Recordings) - Sturmlicht CD Single (Infacted) - Requiem X CD Single (Infacted) Salem Unsigned - Cantica (RND Records)

SARIN - Moral Cleansing LP (BITE) SARIN / Imperial Black Unit - Will to Destroy 12” (BITE)

Schwefelgelb - Aus Dem Gesicht Remixed 12” (aufnahme+wiedergabe) Sharplines - Born of God and Void CS (Dead By Overdose)

Silent EM - The Absence LP (Disko Obscura) Sina XX - My Body, Your Rules EP (RND Records)

T_error 404 - Spacemorgue (Khemia Records) - Ritual of Time (Area Z)

Test Dept. - Disturbance LP (One Little Indian) - White Label 12” (One Little Indian)

Thomas P Heckman - Acid Seduction 5 12” (AFU Limited) - Bone Breaker 12” (Molekul) - EBM Manifest Part 3 the Remixes 12” (AFU Limited) - EBM Manifest Part 4 The Remixes II 12” (AFU Limited) Tommy 47 - Veer 2xLP (47) - Veer Remixed 2xLP (47)

TR/ST - The Destroyer Part 1 LP (Grouch), - The Destroyer Part 2 LP (Grouch), - Gone (Grouch) Unconscious - Your God Is Dead LP (Detriti Records)

Unhuman - Nylon Speech 12” (BITE) Various – Benzeen Part 1 (Green Fetish records) with: New Frames, hel.IV, LAVEN and more

Various – Infidel Selection Vol. 2 CS (Infidel Bodies) with: Rendered, Crystal Geometry, Thomas P Heckmann, Hypnoskull and more Various – RAW Compilation Second Breath Parts 1-4 (RAW) with: I Hate Models, Keepsakes, 14anger, Crystal Geometry, IV Horseman and plenty more Various – Sardonic Tonality Vol. 1 12” (HAVEN) with: New Frames, Keepsakes, Ansome and more Various – Self Aware IV CS (X-IMG) with: Konkurs, Primary, Survival Paradox, Unconscious and more

Various – Synthicide II 12” (Synthicide) with: Ortrotasce, Andi, Cervello Elettronico and more

Various – The World of Monnom Black II 3xLP (Monnom Black) with: Fractions, Zanias, Dax J and more Veil of Light - Inflict LP (Avant!) Veldt - Ground Floor CD (Detroit Industrial)

Velvet May - Vast as Black Night 12” (Tears on Waves) - Unknown Bodies 12” (Tears on Waves) Verschwender - Face of Silence 12” (Seelen)

Vittorio Di Mango - RND.R030 (RND Records) VTSS - Self Control 12” (HAVEN) Wingtips - Exposure Therapy CD (Artoffact Records)

Years of Denial - Suicide Disco 2xLP (VEYL) - Body Map 12” (Pinkman Broken Dreams)

Yello - Bostich (ancient methods remix) 12” (aufnahme+wiedergabe)

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the-cookie-of-doom · 5 years

Text

“B-b-b-but interacting with Scoot McSchmuck made Derek improve and grow as a person! Derek is a better person because of Scoot McSchmuck, really!!!!”

https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/185677939080/its-funny-that-its-explicitly-canon-that

RUSSIANSPACEGECKOSEXPARTY: It’s funny that it’s explicitly canon that interacting with Scott McCall was what ultimately made Derek improve and grow as a person. But fanon interpretation has it be Manic Pixie Dream Boy!Stiles who helps the emotionally constipated but Good Alpha grow. Ignoring that Stiles just doesn’t have that kind of relationship with Derek, no he didn’t spend summer Sculder and Mullying with him, no he wasn’t a shoulder to cry on for him. Scott worked with Derek and had his trust eventually

PRINCEESCALUSWORDS:

Shhhhh. You’re getting in the way of the fantasy!

I began to comprehend a lot more of the impetus behind Sterek when I realized that Stiles as a character is much more relatable as a power fantasy than Scott will ever be for a lot of the fandom and the source of much of their dissatisfaction with the plot. Stiles is a power fantasy – the idea that you can be liked, loved even, without having to practice or develop empathy or maturity. From season one to season five, the hallmarks of Stiles’ behavior is always a sense of entitlement to other people’s affections and, more sinisterly, their obedience.

Stiles loves people – that’s undeniable – but with him that devotion always crosses into possession. With his father, with Scott, with Lydia, and with Malia; from the first episode (”Have you been listening to my phone calls?” “Not the boring ones!”) to the last episode (“Okay, not too close. Watch the, uh… Watch the hands. Okay. Okay, all right, let’s just break that up.”), Stiles represents the fantasy that love means never having to check your worst impulses. Stiles can lie to, manipulate, emotionally lash out at, and physically assault the people he loves and they just keep on coming back for more!

This is why in many Sterek writings, Stiles is nearly unidentifiable except for the name. Gone is the Stiles who was willing to let the Argents kill Derek and Peter so long as Scott (and his father, and Lydia) was safe in Formality. Gone is the Stiles who urged Allison to shoot Derek in the head in Venomous. Gone is the Stiles who didn’t give two shits that Derek was dead in Frayed. Gone is the Stiles who noted that Derek was losing his powers in Orphaned and did nothing about it.

Of course, the question is why wouldn’t the production make Derek one of Stiles’ loved ones? The answer, of course, is that Derek wouldn’t tolerate Stiles’ possession of him. It wasn’t banter when Derek bounced Stiles’ head off the steering wheel – Stiles crossed his boundaries and Derek wasn’t having it. “You know what you did!”

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t a friendship between them. There was. But it wasn’t going to be the relationship that encouraged Derek to change and grow, because Stiles’ behavior was exactly comprised of his worst impulse, which Derek had grown to expect. It was Scott’s faith in other people’s ability to change, his acting on that belief without being a pushover, that showed Derek he too could learn to trust people. It’s why Derek – much to many fan’s chagrin – came back for Scott.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“a sense of entitlement to other people’s affections and, more sinisterly, their obedience… represents the power fantasy that you can be liked, loved even, without having to practice or develop empathy or maturity and that love and devotion that love means possession… can lie to, manipulate, emotionally lash out at, and physically assault the people he loves and demand they keep on coming back for more” That’s literally canon Scott McCall in a nutshell, PEW!

But then again, apparently antis despise canon Scott McCall so fucking much that they feel the need to transplant Scott’s canon characterization, hypocrisy, opportunism, and black-and-white mentality onto other characters now, because take a look at this brand new delusion right here https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/185653894015/stans-harp-on-black-and-white-mentality-yet

RUSSIANSPACEGECKOSEXPARTY: Stans harp on “black and white mentality” yet… that has never been Scott. Not really? He has an amazing capacity to forgive. But if you wanna get technical, Stiles himself fills the “black and white mentality” more but we know that “the world is gray” folks just want Stiles to freely get away with murder and such. But had Scott ever killed someone like Stiles suggested, he’d be crucified

PEW: Thank you for bringing up with this is very illustrative point! “Black-and-white thinking” or “splitting” is defined as when you see everything in terms of labels. According to Andi Chrisman’s article “Splitting is the inability to see the dichotomy of both positive and negative aspects of our thoughts, usually associated with how we think about people. Everything is either all good or all bad – there is no middle ground. All of my thoughts are polarized. My life is either absolutely terrible or completely amazing, but nowhere in between… “

We do not see this in Scott’s emotions or Scott’s behavior. Scott is noted for his optimism, his ability to see the good in people, and his dedication to saving people’s lives. Yet, every season, he recognizes the gray areas that he exists in. Yes, he recognizes that being bitten by a werewolf lets him play first line and helped him win a relationship with Allison, but he also recognizes the dangers of its bloodlust and its susceptibility to domination by the alpha. Yes, he recognizes that asshole Jackson is killing people, but he sees the situation that created this behavior and that Jackson isn’t a willing participant. He’s able to see the potential for good in his enemies (like Derek in Formality, Chris Argent in Fireflies, Ethan in The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Deucalion in Lunar Ellipse, Kincaid in Echo House, Sean in Muted, Peter! in Parasomnia, etc.) He’s able to foresee his own plans failing and be able to bend or even break the rules in the service of a greater cause (in Chaos Rising, in Master Plan, in Lunatic, in Illuminated, in Orphaned).

None of these exhibit black-and-white thinking. Holding people to a standard is not black-and-white thinking, especially when he’s willing to give people second chances if they mess up.

Then why do people think he does? Because a white villain told them so! The only mention of black-and-white thinking as a character flaw for Scott is mentioned in Fireflies by that paragon of not-trying-to-manipulate-anyone-by-my-words, Peter Hale, when he’s busy trying to convince Derek to let Boyd and Cora murder people or to kill them himself. Peter said it, and it became neo-Biblical truth to a large part of the fandom! Which leads back to my point that I repeatedly strike – the actions and opinions of white characters are always going to be given more weight and validity than characters of color (until the community does something about it). The fandom knows that Peter will say or do anything to get what he wants. The production had scene after scene of Peter manipulating people that way; look at that scene in Alpha Pact, where Peter becomes the Iago-est Iago to ever manipulate Derek.

What they really mean when the fandom complains about Scott being a ‘black and white thinker’ is that he resisted resorting to killing as an expedient solution. He never rejected the possible necessity of killing (as seen in Code Breaker, Master Plan, Lunar Ellipse, Orphaned, Monstrous, and Apotheosis, etc.) but he refused to employ it for the sake of efficiency, and he refused to consider it for people who had been changed against their will (the chimeras, Boyd and Cora, Jackson). Yet this refusal isn’t greeted as evidence of compassion and principle, but stubbornness and stupidity. Why? I’m loathe to think that people want to see blood, but I feel it’s more likely that the characters pushing him to do so – Peter, Derek, Stiles, Deucalion, and Theo – have something in common.

****************************** “Splitting is the inability to see the dichotomy of both positive and negative aspects of our thoughts, usually associated with how we think about people. Everything is either all good or all bad – there is no middle ground. All of my thoughts are polarized. My life is either absolutely terrible or completely amazing, but nowhere in between… “ Again, this description fits canon Scott McCall just perfectly. Escalus is definitely right about one thing though: holding people to a specific standard you set for them and demanding they obey it while refusing to hold yourself to that same standard is not black-and-white thinking. It’s entitlement and dictatorship.

Also, I think it’s hilarious that so-called canon purist PEW would claim that Scott refuses to employ killing for the sake of efficiency and refuses to consider it for people who had been changed against their will when actual canon literally showed us that Scott’s more than willing to kill as long as he doesn’t lose his precious “True Alpha” status and only if it benefits him and only him; I also think it’s funny that PEW would try to use Josh and Tracy as evidence of Scott’s nonexistent principles and compassion despite the fact that Scott actively plotted and conspired with the likes of Deucalion (aka Boyd and Erica’s murderer) behind everyone’s back just to murder a bunch of scared, traumatized, mutilated chimera kids he had referred to as “innocent victims” in the previous episodes.

But of course delusionals would try to justify Scott’s own canonical shitty actions, hypocrisy, opportunism, and black-and-white mentality by screeching that Peter Hale is a villain therefore Peter having a vulgarly low opinion of Scott and actively mocking Scott for his lack of intelligence and black-and-white thinking throughout the whole show doesn’t really count [remember when they said that Scott’s totes an academically gifted student with perfect grades pre-bite and that Gerard’s just a lying liar who lies even though Gerard had Scott’s school records at hand?], or by blabbering that it was all someone else’s (usually Derek, Stiles and Peter’s ‘cause delusionals’ pathological jealousy and butthurt is transparent like that) fault for pushing/wanting poor little dumb as a box of Scotts Scoot to kill as an expedient solution, or some other self-fabricated blame shifting~victim blaming bullshit with no basis in canon like that, lol!

If canon erasure were an Olympicc sport, princeescaluswords & Scott McCall defense squad colleagues would win the gold medal. That’s for sure

Cookie: PEW definitely missed the ball with this one, yikes. “But fanon interpretation has it be Manic Pixie Dream Boy!Stiles who helps the emotionally constipated but Good Alpha grow.” I don’t like pulling this card, but hm, referring to the neurodivergent character as a “Manic Pixie Dream Boy” sure does leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway.

PEW: From season one to season five, the hallmarks of Stiles’ behavior is always a sense of entitlement to other people’s affections and, more sinisterly, their obedience.

Hey PEW, you misspelled Scott McCall. When has Stiles EVER been entitled to someone’s affections? Was it when he hallucinated his girlfriend making out with another guy as his worst fear? Was it when he stalked her? Was it when he harassed her with pictures of them together after they had broken up, and then refused to accept that it was wrong when she was forced to leave class crying?

OHHHH, I”M SORRY. That wasn’t Stiles at all, my mistake. Yeah, no, Stiles has never been entitled to anyone’s affections, even when rightfully he should have been. (Scott practically abandoning him everytime he gets a new girlfriend, anyway?) If anything, he is afraid to accept it, and only does when he is in extremely emotional or distressing situations. (After his nightmare, when Melissa finds him sleepwalking, after they get the Nogitsune out of him, when he goes to the hospital because he has no idea what’s wrong with him.)

And obedience? Stiles has never been entitled to anyone’s obedience. You know who has, though? Scott! How about season 2, Derek is trying to build a pack for himself since Scott rejected him. (Y’know, that time Derek moved on and Scott couldn’t handle it, and neither could the stans, because everything has to be about him?) Scott tried to keep Boyd from accepting the bite. He didn’t know Boyd, sure as hell didn’t care about him; he was only trying to keep Derek from building a pack, and once he found out Boyd had already accepted the bite, bam, back to not caring. But okay, that was early in the show. He was still a stupid teenager. How about season 4, when he kidnapped a teenage boy, tied him up, and left him in the bathtub? How about when he shunned Stiles over Donovan instead of trying to talk to him and get his side of the story? How about when he forced Derek to bite Gerard, violating his agency for the sake of an Argent for the second time in his life? How about all those times he lied to Kira where her Kitsune was becoming stronger and uncontrollable, trying to make her listen to him without explaining to her what was happening, because her unconditional loyalty was more important than her wellbeing? What’s a better way to prove your love and loyalty than blind trust, after all. Oh, and perhaps the best one of all, now that I think about it: how about what he did to Isaac? You know, where he repeatedly throws Isaac into the wall for daring to want to be with Allison, who Scott has absolutely no claim over. But how dare his beta want to go after what Scott sees as his property.

Stiles doesn’t care about obedience. He wants people to do what he says, yes. When he comes up with a plan, when he’s trying to keep his friends safe, he wants them to do what they’re told so they don’t all get killed. But when things don’t go according to plan, when people exercise their free will, Stiles works around it. He doesn’t get irrationally angry for it. Because all Stiles cares about is keeping all of them together. First and foremost, he doesn’t want to lose his friends, his says as much in the first episode of season 5. And that is a hell of a lot different than believing he is entitled to anyone’s obedience.

PEW: Stiles loves people – that’s undeniable – but with him that devotion always crosses into possession. […] Stiles can lie to, manipulate, emotionally lash out at, and physically assault the people he loves and they just keep on coming back for more!

You’ve misspelled Scott again. Since I pretty much just covered this already: Allison, stalked, lied to, consistently tried to keep Isaac from being with her even after they broke up, refused to accept them breaking up when SHE was the one who did it, ignored her when she told him not to wait because she DIDN’T WANT HIM TO PUT THOSE EXPECTATIONS ON HER, I could honestly go on. Everything he did with Allison was disgusting. Kira: lied to, manipulated, endangered her and others because of his lack of ability to tell the truth. Stiles: lies to, manipulates, casts him aside when it’s convenient for him, but doesn’t hesitate to call when he needs him to fix one of Scott’s messes.

PEW is confusing Stiles’ well-founded issues with abandonement (His mother died, his father is a workaholic, and Scott drops him at the first sign of a short skirt) with posession. Stiles doesn’t want to possess people. He clings to them. He doesn’t want to be ALONE. But he does not try to possess people; that implies a level of control he does not have or want.

Oh, and Stiles listening to his dad’s phone calls? I’m sorry, 1, how is that possessive? His father is the sheriff of the town, listening in on his calls is the equivalent of listening to a police scanner, and Stiles is a stupid teenager. 2, even if he is posessive of his dad, literally so what? That is his DAD, I promise he’s not suffering from the situation, considering Stiles doesn’t try to control his schedule, keep him from dating, or ruin interpersonal relationships. (You know, that thing that ACTUALLY possessive people do.) Instead all we see is Stiles just trying to take care of his dad, because Stiles doesn’t want to lose him too.

PEW Gone is the Stiles who was willing to let the Argents kill Derek and Peter so long as Scott (and his father, and Lydia) was safe in Formality. Gone is the Stiles who urged Allison to shoot Derek in the head in Venomous. Gone is the Stiles who didn’t give two shits that Derek was dead in Frayed. Gone is the Stiles who noted that Derek was losing his powers in Orphaned and did nothing about it.

And where is the Scott that was willing to violate Derek’s agency so that he could be with Allison? Where is the Scott that replaced a cancer patient’s medicine with placebos, knowing that it would kill him wither way? Where is the Scott that lied to the police and told them Derek was the one who killed the janitor, instead of keeping his mouth shut? Where is the Scott that told Derek his family might have deserved to die horribly by burning to death? Where is the Scott that noticed Kira was losing control fo her powers, and neglected to tell her? (And instead talked to Theo about it, y’know, the random kid that just showed up out of nowhere.)

I completely forgot this part in my amazement of PEWS ability to project Scott’s bad behavior onto Stiles. “Ignoring that Stiles just doesn’t have that kind of relationship with Derek, […], no he wasn’t a shoulder to cry on for him.” And Scott was? Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question. Of course Scott wasn’t. He had the emotional range of a teaspoon, and no empathy to speak of.

Meanwhile it was Stiles saving Derek’s life when he got shot, it was Stiles staying to comfort Derek when he was forced to kill Boyd (the only one, mind. And then Scott went to team up with Deucalion because he never cared about Boyd in the first place, so why would his death mean anything?), it was Stiles who Derek dreamed about when he needed guidance, do you see the recurring pattern here? Scott was not there for Derek during emotional moments. Stiles was. Scott was the Action Hero, and Stiles was the empathetic sidekick trying to comfort people whenever he could.

(God this is exhaustively long and I’m only halfway through, PEW needs to learn to be more concise.)

PEW: We do not see this in Scott’s emotions.

Lol we would have if Poesy could actually act.

PEW: He’s able to foresee his own plans failing and be able to bend or even break the rules in the service of a greater cause .

First off, Scott is blind as a bat and can’t foresee shit, which is why he always has to call Stiles when one of his ‘plans’ doesn’t work out. Second of all: so Scott is allowed to break the rules in service of a “greater [usually his own] cause” but Stiles isn’t?

PEW: None of these exhibit black-and-white thinking.

I can tell you exactly where the black-and-white thinking with Scott is right here: When Scott does it, good! When anyone else does it, baaaad.

PEW: I’m loathe to think that people want to see blood, but I feel it’s more likely that the characters pushing him to do so – Peter, Derek, Stiles, Deucalion, and Theo – have something in common.

Yup, the thing they have in common is that they’re all compelling characters portrayed by great actors!

Hoenstly, I would give more credence to PEWs hardon for imaginary racism in the fandom if he put as much effort into the other characters. Where is the outrage over Boyd being criminally underused and then killed off for Derek’s mainpain? What about for Kira being horribly sterotyped as a Japanese ninja when fighting, but a horrible Klutz everywhere else like she came right of a harem anime? Or Mason being LITERALLY turned into a monster, because there is nothing at all problematic about that.

Of ocurse, I’m SURE PEW would just say that they don’t matter because they’re just SIDE CHARACTERS, not the main. To which I say: either their is racism or their isn’t, the size of the role doesn’t matter.

As we all know, PEW doesn’t actually care about racism, or sexism, or any other -ism or -phobia that may or may not be present in fandom. (I personally have yet to see any of these on a fandom-wide scale) All he cares about is that his personal fave isn’t liked enough. And I have to say, his ranting and raving sure doesn’t make anyone like him more.

#cookie speaks #fandom discourse #ia ctually had no problem with Scott before the anti's #I thought he was just a p generic character #but now??#submission #edit: forgot to add the read more #sorry guys #fixed it

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aviewfromhell · 6 years

Text

Metal in 2018

DISCLAIMER- Increasingly, I find these year-end album lists becoming more personal and less critical. This is definitely a list of my personal favorite records from this year, and is not intended to be a critical survey of the artistic merits of various albums falling under the metal banner in 2018. Most of your favorites, and a huge percentage of metal journalism’s consensus “best of” will therefore be absent. There are even things here that probably aren’t “metal,” and definitely something that isn’t (originally) from 2018. So, you caught me. The title is a lie. But then again, it is my list, so I guess I can make the rules.

Immortal – Northern Chaos Gods

Mighty Ravendark returns! When Immortal parted ways with Abbath a few years back, most people assumed the band was essentially done. Shortly thereafter, founder Demonaz picked up his rime-crusted axe of old and announced that not only was the band not done, but that a new album was in the works. Many fans were skeptical, myself among them. How good could a new album without Abbath be?

This year, Demonaz (with the help of longtime drummer Horgh and session bassist/producer extraordinaire Peter Tagtgren) let the deathblow of his mighty axe fall, cleaving the heads of skeptics and doubters alike with the incredible Northern Chaos Gods. How good could this new album be? Better than anyone expected.

Far from sounding out of place, Demonaz's vocals fit the new material perfectly, and his lyrics are spot-on as always.Tagtgren's production is a great fit as well, and I hope the band continues their collaboration with him.While everyone will miss the grandeur of Abbath-led Immortal at their peak, I'm equally excited for this new incarnation of the band. If we keep getting albums of this quality from Demonaz, and Abbath continues releasing killer records utilizing his own trademark Abbath-isms, it may even be better than if the band had stayed together. If I had to pick a single release to be my actual "Album of the Year," this would most likely be it. Northern Chaos Gods has gotten more spins from me than any other 2018 release, and writing about it just makes me want to go listen to it again.

Judas Priest – Firepower

Judas Priest suffer from a rare condition in the metal world. They have so many great records that it's extremely difficult to release something new and relevant that plays to their strengths and isn't doomed to live in the shadows of their monolithic masterpieces. However, with this release, I think they achieved it. Sure, Firepower feels closely related to the untouchable Painkiller in pacing, structure, and overall style. However, Andy Sneap's production really sets this record apart as its own beast, and the combination of classic Priest writing and modern punchy production make Firepower one of the best metal records of 2018.

Aura Noir – Aura Noire

Norway's black thrash masters surface once again with an album that simultaneously feels like both a direct follow-up to their 1996 debut full length Black Thrash Attack, and a fresh new take on their abrasive, in-your-face style. Blasphemer, as usual, provides sickening riffs aplenty, melding different styles and techniques together into his own unmistakable sound. Aggressor and Appolyon deliver their signature, often over-the-top vocals in spades, and Aura Noire presents us with several tracks I'd consider to be new Aura Noir staples in an already impressive roster of black thrashing death anthems. All hail the ugliest band in the world!

High on Fire – Electric Messiah

One of the consistently best bands in American metal unleashed another monster upon us in 2018. Electric Messiah is solid throughout, and I'm as impressed as ever by Matt Pike & co.'s ability to deliver high quality albums like clockwork since their inception nearly two decades ago. Still, vicious album opener "Spewn from the Earth" does make me wish the band would release a record of nothing but high-speed rippers. Maybe one day, but until then I'm perfectly content with the killer mix of doom-drenched thrashy three-piece arcana that High on Fire has honed to perfection.

Sigh – Heir to Despair

Just look at the cover art. It may be the most "Sigh" thing I've ever seen. Mastermind Mirai Kawashima and friends return with the band's 11th full-length album, considered by many to be their best in years.The band's provenance is more evident than ever before; Heir to Despair's lyrics are almost entirely in Japanese, and various flutes, piccolos, and even taishogoto feature prominently. This album also happens to be one of the most "metal" in the band's recent discography, while still being as off-the-wall and unpredictable as fans have come to expect. This avant-garde offering delves deep into themes of madness and insanity, and I dare any listener to sit through the full album and claim they haven't gone a little crazier themselves.

Mayhem – Grand Declaration of War (2018 remix/remaster)

I know, I know. This album is from 2000, not 2018. However, as a Grand Declaration of War connoisseur, I can affirm that this is different enough from the original that it warrants inclusion on any list willing to allow remix/master/makes of any kind.

By most standards, this new version sounds almost objectively better in every way normally employed to determine musical sound quality. The album sounds much more organic and warm, particularly the drums. Everything sits nicely in the mix as well, with each instrument a little easier to pick out and enjoy than on the 2000 original. However, like other Grand Declaration of War enthusiasts have noted, the cold, digital, clinically-dead sound of the original was part of its charm. It added to the overall aural aesthetic and concept of the record. This 2018 version doesn't have that same detached quality, but luckily, we don't have to choose between versions; Mayhem has graced us with both.

I intended to restrict myself to talking only about the new release (since that's the only thing '2018' about the record), but I can't resist a small rant about Grand Declaration of War as a whole. This album was, and remains to be—if slightly less so—very controversial among black metal and Mayhem fans. Lots of fans hate(d) this record. They're wrong. Grand Declaration of War embodies both Mayhem and the spirit of Norwegian black metal perfectly. One of the absolute highlights of my year was being fortunate enough to play a gig with Mayhem, and the highlight of their set, for me, was "Bloodsword and a Colder Sun."

Maggot Heart – Dusk to Dusk

Perhaps my most anticipated album of the year, Dusk to Dusk did not disappoint. Last year's City Girls EP set the stage, and the full-length delivered big time. Maggot Heart is hard to classify, but if you look at the performers and their past bands, the sound won't really surprise you. Linnéa Olsson is writing some of the best riffs in a world where rock and guitar music is increasingly considered dead. Moreover, her vocals really shine on Dusk to Dusk, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the band. Maggot Heart may be the most irresponsibly overlooked band of 2018.

Deth Crux – Mutant Flesh

This mid-December release is a perfect example of why I try to wait until the last minute to write any kind of year-end list. For me, it took about a listen and a half to know Mutant Flesh belonged here. A ton of vague descriptors could be used, but I'll just go with dark, weird, catchy, and awesome. The band isn't necessarily reinventing the wheel, per se, but they also aren't committing the grave offense of just making a worse version of the records that influenced them. The album is hooky, memorable, and original in the ways that count. The instrumentation and vocals swirl and haunt, coalescing into a driving, addictive blend of gloom and defiance. Sanford Parker's production is a huge plus for the record, and clutch sax contributions from Bruce Lamont seal the deal.

That’s it!

While a few of these records were probably obvious, I hope this list exposes some friends and readers to stuff they otherwise wouldn’t have checked out.

I normally end these with some humorous, often snarky mini-lists, but I'm afraid I'll have to skip that this time around; I'm engaged in listening to mixes of the upcoming unarguably BEST metal album of 2019. But now is not the time nor place for discussing that. . .

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blakeella · 3 years

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im-fairly-local · 6 years

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Naagin Season 3 28th July 2018 Written Episode Update

Bela comes to the Jamini. Jamini says so angry, after coming, I’m attacking me. She says that you should know about auspicious beginning. Bela says that I will not harm you the Wish. Jamini says that I am marrying her, a witch is marrying a nagin. She laughs and says that people are getting modern in our world. She tells him that if Wish marries him, he will lose all his powers and then you will also lose your problem. Bela is angry. The grandmother asks if she wants to fight and says that fight today. He shows his hand Bella removes his poisonous tongue. Sumitra comes along with Shekhar’s wife. Jamini says that Bela was giving her tips on keeping her husband happy. Bela tells them that she will bring Jamini. Sumitra and Mukti go Bela tells her to come. Jamini says that she is very excited to go. Bella feels somebody

Following me, Jamini asked, do you accept your defeat? Bela tells her to see and says that you will push your head. She takes her to the pavilion. Desire is sitting in the pavilion The master asks if he wants to run away. Rehan says no, no. The salvation tells them to come soon. Jamini says that marriage is a barbadi and it is said to start reverse counting. The South Rehan disturbs. Mukti thinks why Jamini is trapped on the way. The liberation calls them and sees Dupta. They become worried. Sumitra asked the lady to check that where they are. Bella takes out a house from the house as a nagin. He threw it on the ground. Jamini falls. Bela asks him to get up and says that Vish is my friend, not my maid. He said that I told you to go, but you did not agree. Now see what I can do, I have to kill you. The grandmother laughs and says that what you think is that you have lost me. She tells you what you think that you brought me here and says that I brought you here so that I can face you alone. She says that you have given me a chance to yourself and tell me that she is a bunny mother’s ear, and my search is for me. Bela says that you want to take a witch nagani baali. Gemini flies in the air and laughs.

Jamini says that today your story will end Nagrani with my hand. He screams and makes noise that makes Bella unconscious and he falls. Jamini says that now anyone can save you from me. Mahir says that someone had forcibly taken them. ACP man said that he was keeping an eye on Bela, did not know where they disappeared. Shekhar says that if marriage was in my house then it would be a marriage. Andy scolds him and says that there is some drama every time. Kuhu asks him to rest Pulomi says that Andy is right and asks Panditji to read the purification mantra for the house. Bela assumed that Jamini had accepted Bela. In the Jamini cave, the temple takes Bella. She asks Bella to get up. Bela receives consciousness and listens to her.

Mahry says that Bella’s phone is not connecting. Pulomi tells that they can be in pillars. Andy asked him not to speak like uneducated. Shekhar asked ACP for doing something. Rahaana / Wish thinks that he will be saved and saved. Mahry says to Sumitra that he has to go and find Bella. Wish comes to the temple and prays for Bela. She tells God that where Bela is. Bella asks why did you bring me here, what do you want? Jamini says that the last time you were saved, you will not do this. She says that this Kankali Maa temple is and she asks to lie silently. She says that I will give you head and take a sword in her hand. He closes his eyes and reads the mantra. Bella becomes a snake and tries to bite it. Jamini says that you got so much strength. Bela comes in human incarnation and asks why you want to kill me. Jamini says that she wants to become immortal and will rule over three lock. I can kill someone and destroy them. Bela says that you can use your power to improve someone. Jamini laughs and says that she is not a witch, a ghost, and a Bhagat. They have no rules. She says that you are the owner of Nagami because you are talking. Bela says that nobody is her boss, Bhol Nath is her boss and I am only serving her. Jamini says that I will not come in your talks and will say it silently to lie.

He makes Bella a voice to unconscious, but nothing happens to him. Bela says that you know everything and do not know that Nag does not listen to anything. I did not hear your screaming but only you were unconscious listening to it. Gemini is shocked. Bela says that the snake has not heard any noise, they feel movement. He said that you worked according to me. That sword falls Jamini says that you are like me and ask where your rules are now. Bela says that I am not greedy with power, and can not do anything wrong. Jamini says that you came here to take revenge but were dying for the fatal attraction of the killer. She says that you love your heart and love for human beings. You have lost it, Bela says that it is not so.

Jamini says that you forgot your revenge due to Mahar. Bela asked her not to take the name of the woman. The Gemini asks that when you hit Rehan, why can not you kill the woman? She says that you take care of Mahri and say that I saw that Mahar was jealous when Rehan was running behind you. Bela tells her to keep quiet. On the tail of Jamini sword and Bela takes attack. Bella screams. Wish alert Beela is in danger and prays for him. She looks at Bela in the cave with Jamini.

Mahir comes in the temple. Desire hides by looking at it. Mahir called the Kahu and said that Bela is not here. He tells God to protect Bella until he reaches there. Wish listens to him and he prays. Bela killed Jamini and said that you do not know the serpent. Jamini says that I do not need a sword to kill you, and says that my nails are enough. She tries to tamper with her nails on Bella’s body, Bella holds her hand and quarrels with her.

She is on the way and thinks that maybe Bela went to the cave and maybe even Rehan. She thinks she will not let anything happen to her. Bella laid a bail bond with her tail and hit it. She says that I will take my revenge one day, but you will never get embezzlement. Jamini says that I will not leave you. She falls into the pit pit and goes inside. Wish comes there and asks Bella that she is fine. Thank God for protecting Nagrani. The woman arrives and calls Bela. Wish becomes Rehana and Bella come in the incarnation of a wife. The master asks what happened and where is the Jamini? Bela saw the hand of Jamini. Jamini completely drowned. Rahan tells Bella that they will tell him everything. He tells that Jamini was a woman and was running from jewelery. She shows jewelry bags. Bela doubted her and told me also. He followed her. Bela says that she saw him removed from the window and followed him. Mahin asks why did not you call me? Bela says that I tried your number, but … she says that she tells Rehan again.

Rahane tells Mahar to know that you are stressed because of us and say that there is nothing between us, we are just friends and say that we were talking to him because I wanted to know about Jamini from him . The master asks, ‘Where is Jamini?’ Bela says she has run away. He says that why did not you tell me and said that his gang was here. Rehan says what he would have said, and he says that Anu and my father hate him and believe him wrong. He says that I am doing this and need to break. I had enough and wanted to leave this country. Bela says that I’m glad you are not in danger. Rehan says that I am also happy and ask him to be safe. Mahi Sumitra receives the call and she tells her that Bela and Rehan are safe. Mahila Concerns for Bella. Man of mind … .song plays. He says that he was getting bad ideas as if he lost it. Bela remembered Jamini’s words and said she wants to go home.

The addicts jumps from the drawer and falls to the ground. Sumitra says that Jamini is a thug and says that I do not believe. Pulomi says that my left eyes were blinding him. Andy says that you have made garlands for him. He says that he is happy because the jewelry has been saved. Sumitra says that our real jewel is safe and talks about Bella. She asks him not to risk his life and say that they all know that he loves them. He prays for his pair. Pulomi prayed for a pair of first and Sahani. Sumitra says that I have decided to leave this house. Andy asks what she tries to talk about. Pallomi embraces Sumitra and says that you have taken the right decision and asked to remove the car from Andy. Sumitra asked her to go to her house and said she is going to her mother’s house with her family. Andy explains that there is nothing inauspicious about the house. Pulomi says that Andy had gone to the police station here. Vyar says okay, we will go to Nani’s house and we will assure Andy. Sumitra hugged her and said that you are the best son. Bela thinks and looks at the words of Jamini.

AU ACP comes in the house. The ACP asks if Bella has been kidnapped. Anu says that I did not go to Rehan’s wedding and say that he was very humiliated in the house. She tells him to take Ravi. The ACP tells her to go and says she is closed today. He says that all officers went to find him. Anu asked them to trust and once they started meeting Ravi. ACP says okay. Rehan / Wish called for liberation and said that he is going to New York and will not be in contact with anyone, and Dad asks to understand. Wish comes in his incarnation and says that this story has ended. Someone / maybe Arvind comes and does not say so far. The desire seems shocking

The post Naagin Season 3 28th July 2018 Written Episode Update appeared first on Latest Indian TV Serials Written Episode Updates.

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clarencenicholsonata · 4 years

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4 Best Tips to Master Single Keyword Ad Groups (Skags): How to Maximize Ecommerce PPC Ad Campaigns

Today we’re diving deep into the world of PPC ads for the experts. The verdict is in. Single keyword ad groups (SKAGs) can help improve your quality score along with the overall effectiveness of your PPC campaigns.

By using a single keyword per ad group, you can be sure that your ad, keyword, and landing page are in perfect alignment. You know what this means: More money in your pockets!

This sounds great until you realize that PPC campaigns and Google Shopping campaigns work differently. In an ordinary Google search campaign, you bid on the keywords and have control over where and when your ads show.

Unfortunately, that’s not how Google Shopping ad campaigns work. Here, you’re not allowed to pick keywords! Instead, Google will crawl your site and product feeds and then show the items that are most relevant to the searcher’s query.

We’ll be covering how can you maximize the efficiency of your ecommerce paid campaigns? Here are some tactics that can help you accomplish your goal.

1. Use Single Product Ad Groups (SPAGs)

Since you’re basically advertising based on product types, optimizing your product feeds can determine whether or not you’ll make a sale, right?

So, if your Shopping campaigns are not properly organized by relevant themes and around the most profitable products, you may end up spending the majority of your advertising budget on products that don’t make you the most money.

Can you tip the odds in your favor?

Yes, you can – by using single product ad groups (SPAGs).

What are SPAGs and how can they help? Basically, single product ad groups are ad groups within your Shopping campaign containing a single product. By implementing this strategy, you can:

Identify the exact terms people use in searching for your products

Eliminate irrelevant search terms that drain your ad budget

Determine the profitability of each search term

Next question: how do you create SPAGs? Here’s a step-by-step guide in setting up your first SPAG.

Go to the Products tab in Google Ads.

Copy the Item ID and Title columns and paste the information on a spreadsheet. You’ll use these data for generating SPAG names.

Modify the file by creating separate columns for “Campaigns,” “Ad Group,” and “Max CPC.” Input the SPAG names under the Ad Group column.

Export the spreadsheet to your Google Ads editor and paste the data from the clipboard. Don’t forget to check “My data includes columns for campaigns and/or ad groups” to avoid duplicates.

Go to the ads pane in Google Ads editor, scroll down to “Shopping Ads,” and add a shopping ad to all of the ad groups in your campaign.

By default, Google Ads provide an “All Products” group, but this isn’t what you want. Turn this into a SPAG by clicking on the “+” sign and select the designated product in the ad group name. Additional tip: Always exclude the “everything else” subcategory or all your efforts will be in vain.

Setting up your first SPAG can be a lot of work, but you’ll be thrilled at the results: improved ROAs, increased revenue, and lower cost per conversion!

2. Optimize Product Feeds

As mentioned earlier, the quality of your product feeds determines the performance of your shopping campaigns. Thus, the need to optimize. There are two ways to do it: go for broad level optimization or optimize individual product information.

Here’s what you need to do to ensure maximum performance:

Include a lot of details: Let Google and potential customers know everything they need to know about the product by just reading the title. The average search engine user has a short attention span, so put all the possible details (including brand name, GTIN, and other basic information) in the title.

Keep it simple: While the title should be as informative as possible, it shouldn’t confuse the audience, so keep it simple and understandable.

Optimize product images: Who doesn’t appreciate high-quality product images? Certainly not Google or any of your customers. Using high resolution images can increase your conversion rate and win Google’s favor so go for it! For best results, optimize your products’ compressed image size as well.

Choose the right product categories: This will attract the right audience and improve your sales performance. Moreover, Google loves keeping things neat and in order so you’ll score bonus points for doing this.

Use customizable spreadsheets: If you want total control over your data, don’t rely on any product feed management tool since they may not be as flexible and as easy to use as you think. Our recommendation: Use Excel or Google Docs.

Manage your budget: Identify your top and least performing products and adjust your budget accordingly. This slight tweak can make a huge difference in your CTRs and profitability rates.

3. Implement the “Gold Panning Technique”

Running a shopping ad campaign without proper optimization can be pretty expensive.

You can attract huge search volumes and spend most of your ad budget, but won’t make a lot of sales. That’s the so-called “Mob Effect” in full force. However, while most of that traffic will not translate to sales, you can turn things around and increase your chance of hitting the jackpot.

How? By implementing the “Gold Panning Technique”! Basically, it helps you get high-intent searches by segmenting your traffic into generic, branded, and product-specific searches.

Ready to get started? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make it work.

Create a multi-campaign structure: If consumers don’t usually do product-specific searches in your industry, you can get good results from running two campaigns (generic and branded). But if they do, like when you’re selling appliances and electronic devices, add a third layer of segmentation (SKU) in your campaigns.

Set your campaign priorities: Maximize your campaign’s potential by giving the highest priority to your generic campaigns. This way, you can capture all the traffic the product feed is optimized for.

Funnel your searches: Create shared negative keyword lists (universal, brand, and SKU negatives) to drive higher-intent traffic to the appropriate campaign. As a rule, apply all the negative keyword lists to your generic campaigns but make sure you only apply the universal keyword lists to your SKU campaigns.

Adjust your bids: Bid differently across levels, with the lowest bid going to the generic campaigns and the highest to the SKU campaigns. Aim for 60% to 80% difference between campaign levels to make sure Google sends the traffic to the right campaign.

Use a shared budget: If you allot separate budgets for each campaign, you risk pulling in generic traffic to your brand and SKU campaigns. Why is that so? Your generic campaign has the highest traffic potential so the daily budget for this campaign will be exhausted faster. When this happens, your brand and SKU campaigns will start pulling in generic traffic, causing ROAS to drop. With a shared budget, none of these will happen since searches with higher intent will land on the right campaign

4. Put Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) in Action

Do you have a fully optimized ecommerce website with a particularly large inventory and constantly changing products? If you do, then dynamic search ads (DSA) can be your ticket to success!

DSA campaigns are unique since instead of relying on keywords, Google scans your website and uses your content to target your ads which are then served to people with matching search queries.

There are several advantages to using DSAs. A DSA:

Saves time and effort by eliminating the need for keyword research, bidding, and ad text creation.

Automatically generates ads for relevant search terms.

Gives you full control over your ads by allowing you to choose the most appropriate targeting options.

Provides opportunity to generate additional traffic.

Dynamic search ads work particularly well for ecommerce businesses like Seal Skin Covers which offers semi-custom car covers for different car brands.

By running a DSA campaign, Google simply pulls in text from relevant product pages in response to a search query, making it easier to have ads targeting BMW owners, Mercedes owners, Mustang owners, and other car owners.

There are still a lot of ways to maximize the efficiency of your ecommerce paid campaigns. Honestly, these are just the tip of the iceberg but one thing’s for sure: you can derive satisfactory results by implementing these strategies!

About the Author

Andy Beohar is a co-founder of SevenAtoms, a marketing agency that is a premiere Google AdWords Partner and a Gold level HubSpot partner. Andy develops and manages ROI positive paid marketing campaigns for Tech, SaaS and Ecommerce companies.

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armorbirdpress · 7 years

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Armor Bird Reviews: Black Panther

Heyo, it's been so freaking long since I've done a movie review! But in the wake of all the positive reactions, hype, and feels surrounding the Black Panther movie, I knew for a fact that I HAD to give it a review after seeing it this past weekend. I’ve already posted this review on the PPC Board, so if you want to check it out, the alternative link is here!

Black Panther is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, and is the eighteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Ryan Coogler, and written by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, it stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther, alongside Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. As with any MCU movie, a lot of fanfare and attention has been drawn to this film, and I was dying to see it to determine if it lived up to all the hype; I am so very glad that we got tickets in advance to watch this movie, because otherwise all the seats would’ve been taken by the time we got to the theater - there were just that many people who wanted to see it. And just as well, because good golly, it is an absolute masterpiece. Spoilers under the cut!

Starting things off with the writing and characterization, I have to say that almost all the characters in the film were enjoyable and engaging to watch, and there were plenty of great moments from everyone concerned. T'Challa, despite being the obvious star of the show, actually feels kinda stoic compared to the liveliness of quite a few of the secondary characters which I'll get to a bit later, but he still has a compelling storyline, and while I was worried that he'd remain somewhat static throughout the movie, there were quite a few gut punches that ensured that he'd grow as a person and also as a ruler. The movie did a good job of demonstrating that he had big shoes to fill in a metaphorical sense, and also that even if T'Chaka had tried to be the best example that he could be for his son, his past mistakes would still come to light eventually and force T'Challa to reevaluate his worldview. This is especially apparent when it becomes known that T'Chaka, when he had donned the Black Panther suit, had been forced to kill the Wakandan traitor whose son would grow up to become Killmonger. It was a split-second decision driven by the impulse to save the life of the other Wakandan spy present, but the urge to keep up appearances for the sake of the nation ended up having far-reaching consequences that would've resulted in far more unnecessary casualties if T'Challa and later M'Baku and his tribe hadn't intervened. That kind of split-second decision is mirrored in the story in general, when T'Challa's lack of information regarding Killmonger's origin story almost costs him the throne and even his life, only being saved by the intervention of M'Baku and his remaining allies' delivery of the last Heart-Shaped Herb. Eventually, after fighting his way back to his own kingdom, he's forced to deal with Killmonger using the only remaining option left after the failure of diplomacy and civility, through violence and possible death. This history essentially repeating itself is one of the biggest contributions to T'Challa's character growth, and also his decision to make Wakanda a more publicly open nation willing to use its resources to aid the world at large in the end. It shows that he's realized how much impact even very short-term decisions can have in a sort of ripple effect, as well as the major setback of trying to lock Wakanda as a whole behind figurative closed doors: that sort of isolationism prevents you from interacting with the world around you and, like it or not, making the kinds of mistakes needed to move forward.

Naturally, since T'Challa sets a pretty high bar, the secondary characters and antagonists kinda have to settle for being second fiddle, but they all have traits of their own that help move the plot forward. The main antagonist, the aforementioned Killmonger, is interesting among the other Marvel villains in that instead of the typical "KILL EVERYTHING" or "take over the world" MO (or sometimes both) without many reasons other than "MWAHAHA I'M EVIL", he actually has a rather valid and understandable reason for his actions. The recent instances of black people being persecuted simply for their color, even in the modern day and age, are a strong force of motivation grounded in a sad reality, although the means by which Killmonger was planning to achieve that goal - by waging war on every other race - were undoubtedly going to cause as many problems as they'd solve if not more. Another interesting factor is how Killmonger's rule essentially divides up the entire nation; while Shuri (whom I'll get to later) is loyal to T'Challa through and through, and goes out of her way to help him and his cause, other characters like Okoye (initially) and W'Kabi simply serve the man in the throne whether or not he's truly fighting for the force of good. This actually threatens to tear the nation apart during Killmonger's campaign, and again, it's only because T'Challa and M'Baku's tribe join forces to stop him that things don't escalate into all-out carnage. As a wise man once said, hate begets hate - whether you think it's justified or not, the total extermination of people who are different than you, even if a few gave you grief in the past, is the wrong way to act, and only makes you like those very people who attacked you first. I have to give props to T'Challa for not falling into the same trap that his father did and offing Killmonger directly; instead, he attempted to show mercy, as well as a Wakandan sunset like in the tales Killmonger had heard as a child, but rather than spend life in prison with his reputation in shambles, Killmonger chose to essentially commit suicide and end the cycle. Even if he nearly caused an all-out civil war within the Wakandan borders, Killmonger is still a tragic figure, and that makes a big impact on all of us.

My favorite character by far, however, has to be Shuri. It's established very early on that she's not only a child prodigy, but also a youthful, spunky teenager with a wholesome sense of humor (and in at least three instances, a penchant for memery, trolling, and cringe-inducing puns on almost the same level as Chibi Yang). While she seems to be a light-hearted comic relief, though, she also plays one of the most critical roles in the story - rescuing the Heart-Shaped Herb that would later be given to T'Challa for his second wind - and her humor is offset by a dedication to her responsibilities as well as her intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of the Black Panther role as well as his loyalty to T'Challa regardless of the situation. It's probably this that leads to her being so important in helping T'Challa recover, and I'm proud of her for being both the heart of the movie (T'Challa, of course, being the soul) and a nuanced and lovable character in her own right.

The writing of the movie is also quite well done due to the points noted above and much more. Racism, prejudice, loyalty, and the impact of even the smallest things are themes that are prominent throughout the entire movie. I was very concerned that the sole major white character, Everett Ross, would turn out to be a villain (though thankfully that wasn't the case, and he gets an awesome support role in the climax that Han Solo would be proud of), and Ulysses Klaue IS a secondary antagonist, but it's interesting that ultimately, the conflict is waged by blacks, among blacks. This ties into the concept that there is no such thing as reverse racism - even if it's blacks persecuting whites, it's still way over the line if it isn't in self-defense. The conflicting solutions proposed by T'Challa and Killmonger - coming to terms with the outside world and reaching out to lend aid to it vs. only looking out for your own and forsaking all others to keep them from harm - are an uncomfortable mirror to a lot of real-world politics in recent years, but in true MCU tradition, it's the idealistic approach that wins the day in the end, although as expected for a conflict as intense as this, there are still quite a few casualties at the end of it all, and unlike many other instances in the MCU and beyond, most of these are impactful and placed tactfully enough to move the story forward.

I dont' even need to say that the graphics and visuals of this movie are absolutely gorgeous. Wakanda as a city is stunning, the various African landscapes breathtaking, and the vehicle design and choreography as masterful as a Star Wars movie. The costume and character design as well are splendid, and it is at this point that I'd like to call attention to the costume designer for this movie: Ruth E. Carter, who's also done work for such films as "Malcom X" and "School Daze" - plus she's African, and has done extensive research for this movie's designs, drawing from a wide variety of African cultures. Really, this entire movie is a feast for the eyes and absolutely worth seeing for that fact alone. My one gripe is that the war rhinos seen early in the movie and then in the climax are notably CGI, and could've been improved with some animatronic work like in the first Jurassic Park movie (or heck, they could even have used real rhinos, but IDK how much hassle that would've resulted in), but that's a minor quibble that doesn't detract from an otherwise spectacular feature.

I'm well aware that complaints about this movie have had to be filtered extensively on RottenTomatoes to prevent Internet Racism(TM) from marring the reviews unnecessarily, but that's a can of worms I'm not going into for the sake of my dignity. On my own terms, however, I do have one suggestion for improving the movie: instead of murdering Klaue just halfway through the movie, Killmonger could've just as easily pounded him into submission and forced him to work for him as a sort of Dragon (in TV Tropes lingo). T'Challa and Ross vs. Killmonger and Klaue would've been interesting to see, especially considering how threatening Klaue was with his cyborg arm and what it could do to both T'Challa and those poor innocent vehicles involved in the car chase in Korea. He'd have made an interesting secondary antagonist that could've opportunistically interfered with the warring parties and stirred up tensions just to tear down Wakanda out of spite. I'm not about to suggest an "Everett vs. Klaue" scenario - which was actually what Everett was planning in the first place when he entered this movie - but giving Klaue a bigger role before he gets offed would've made said murder more impactful and karmatic after all he's done. That's largely splitting hairs, though - I'm sure there are people who instead feel that Killmonger getting rid of Klaue early prevents competition. Who knows?

On a final note, here are two things I really want to see in future MCU films: 1) a movie with a predominantly Asian cast and setting, and 2) a movie starring Devil Freaking Dinosaur. I'll admit that both of these are kinda self-centered, but the first one in particular is probably more desirable at large because there aren't that many Asian characters at all in the MCU (Mantis from Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 and Colleen Wing from the Iron Fist TV show are probably the only ones I can think of off the top of my head, though I may have missed a few more), but one of the big things I'm noticing from the Black Panther release is that African-American and black children have come to look up to him as a hero in the same way that a lot of girls look up to Wonder Woman with the number growing since her own film release - so if the same thing could happen with an Asian superhero, that would be amazing. A quick look at the Marvel Comics online archives presents me with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, who has actually joined the Avengers in the comics and would make a very interesting and cool addition to their MCU incarnation. As for Devil Dinosaur, I don't even need to explain why he'd become beloved if he ever shows up in a MCU movie, even as a minor character... just keep him away from the palaeo-discourse and he should be fine.

All in all,

Black Panther

isn't a perfect movie, but it's very close to being one and I'm so happy for its success. While there are a few minor things I feel would've been worth fixing here and there, I don't see any obvious faults and certainly none that detract from how amazing it is. Do yourself a favor and give it a spin - I can promise that you'll be in for a visual and auditory treat from start to finish.

Grading Scheme:

96 - 100: A+

93 - 96: A

90 - 92.9: A-

87 - 89.9: B+

83 - 86.9: B

80 - 82.9: B-

77 - 79.9: C+

73 - 76.9: C

70 - 72.9: C-

67 - 69.9: D+

60 - 66.9: D

Below 60: E

Grades:

Writing: 9

Characterization: 9

Pacing: 8

Creativity: 9

Consistency: 9

Cinematography: 10

World Building: 9

Music and Sound: 10

Effects: 9

Engagement: 9

Final Grade: 91 (A-)

#Armor Bird Reviews #Black Panther

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newagesispage · 7 years

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JULY 2017

*****Kathy Griffin lost her CNN NY gig over her Scary Clown 45 severed head gag. Word is that Anderson Cooper wants to replace her with Andy Cohen. Last I heard, he had not talked to her directly either. Jim Carrey wonders about all that The President says and he still has his job. He commented that he has a dream about golfing with Trump and just holding that club and then he wakes up.

*****Chance the Rapper and a few others are calling for Bill Maher to be fired after his comment about working the fields.

*****A federal court upheld a ruling that could free Brendan Dassey. The court said the investigators led the confession and Dassey’s story was involuntary. Wisconsin has 90 days to retry.

*****Better call Saul had its season finale and OMG!! If Michael McKean does not get an Emmy, the world is just wrong!! Actually the show and the whole cast is amazing but come on!!

*****Elon Musk , David Rank and others have resigned from the Trump administration after America was taken out of the Paris climate agreement. The deal took years of negotiation and compromise and clean energy is the economics of the future. Scary Clown said that he represents Pittsburgh, not Paris and seems to see the agreement as a threat to his isolation America first ideas. The mayor of Pittsburgh tells us, “What Trump did was not only bad for the economy but also weakened America in the world.” It will take 4 years before the U.S. can actually quit the deal. Luckily, so many companies in this country are so against Trump that we’ll probably hit our goals anyway.** The mayors of Paris and Pittsburgh have since made their own climate deal.** Others have resigned over the lack of interest the Trump administration is showing AIDS.

*****The Eagles will use Vince Gill and Glenn Frey’s son, Deacon for some NY and LA shows.

*****Word is that the American Idol reboot wanted Randy Jackson for the host gig but he turned it down.

*****Wal Mart insurer, Ohio Casualty is in a dispute against Tracy Morgan who refuses to testify. The company claims he exaggerated his injuries after being hit by the Wal Mart truck. Morgan’s camp say that the 90 million they claim to have paid him is the exaggeration.

*****Do you notice all the home security ads on the ID channel? I guess the true crime scares you into getting more protection.

***** After many of Trump’s minions have tried to convince us that what they have done is not a travel ban, the man himself says it is. They originally claimed that this would only be for 90 days and they would have new things in place and it has been over 90 days. The President tells us that they are extreme vetting anyway so why does he want to take this to the Supreme Court?**The supreme court is letting them do it now!!** His rabid supporters and GOP cohorts are just enablers at this point.

*****The Cosby trial ended in a mistrial. I was at the Red Cross the other day and some employees were watching a news report about the trial. The pig of a man in the group piped when they put up a shot of Cosby’s accuser. “Ooh, she is not a pretty woman. I’d have to drug MYSELF to do her,” he laughed.** Cosby is now going to do a town hall type tour.

*****Anne Rice says that she has been blocked from trump’s twitter site.

*****Trump lawyer, Jay Sekulow is so blatant about using donations from his Christian non profit to fund his personal life. Please read the article in the Guardian because the history of this is so far reaching that I can’t even go into it all here. Perhaps these givers don’t care and want to support this guy but they should know where there money is going.

*****The buzz about American crime story is starting even though it won’t be out until 2018. Next up is a look at Versace then hurricane Katrina and the Lewinsky scandal.

*****George and Amal had twins, Alex and Ella.

*****Megyn Kelly didn’t do much hard hitting on her Putin interview. She sure seems to like interviewing the hate mongers.

*****Alice Cooper is coming out with a new album.

*****Jay-Z is upset with the Prince estate. He is quoted as saying, “This guy had ‘slave’ on his face. You think he wanted the masters with his masters?”

*****Elvis Costello is working on a Broadway musical about A Face in the crowd. Hooray! He is also heading out on tour.

*****Forbes is doing its part to expose the Trump’s. They did an in depth story about how Eric Trump’s charity money for kids with cancer was funneled back into the business. There is now an investigation into this claim.

*****Thank you Chicago for the 10 story mural by Eduardo Kobra. The Muddy Waters mural was unveiled on June 8 at 17 N. State Street for the Chicago blues fest. The Muddy Waters legacy gave a free concert.

*****The HBO doc,’ If you’re not in the obit, eat breakfast’ is so inspirational and adorable. Dick Van Dyke is still a sexy beast and who knew that Carl Reiner’s oldest friend is an army buddy known as the greatest harmonica player.

*****Reality Winner has been charged with leaking classified info.

*****The infrastructure plan that Trump told us was” largely complete”, isn’t done at all. He now signed a proposal that is not binding so it means nothing. WTF are they doing?

*****Days alert: Oh, I was so hoping that they would find Tony Dimera on that Island, even though Anna carries around his ashes. It is a soap, everybody comes back. Speaking of that, Chandler Massey, who played the first ‘out’ Will Horton, is returning in September. Rory’s back!!** Where is Paul’s Mom since he is fighting for his life? ** So.. Chloe gives up the baby to Nicole and the court takes it away. Maggie is allowed to see the baby, why wouldn’t she just try to get custody of her grandson and Holly would still be in the house?? ** Thank goodness we are seeing more of Andre!

*****Chris Rock was on the cover of Rolling Stone and is on tour to make money after his divorce. He “jokes” that he had multiple affairs. Many claim that the famous affair he mentioned was with Kerry Washington.

*****The President wants to give 110 billion to Saudi Arabia for weapons.

*****Chris Wray has been nominated for FBI director.

*****Beyonce and Jay Z had twins.

*****Paul McCartney got the companion of honour in the UK.

*****Thank you CBS all access for topping off your latest ad with Matthew Gray Gubler! YES!!

*****Panama is breaking ties with Taiwan and shifting allegiance to China.

*****The director of health and human services in Michigan, Nick Lyon has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the contaminated water.

*****Congrads to Jill Brummel and Keith and baby Wagner!

*****Check out Blood Orange for some great tunes!!

*****Woodstock has joined the National register of historic places.

*****Intel chiefs like Dan Coates refused to answer questions from their oversight committee in the probe. Rogers, Rubenstein and McCabe all seem to have trouble talking. This cover up is so much worse than Watergate. Former US director of National intelligence, James Clapper says, “Watergate pales, really, in my view, compared to what we’re confronting.”** The opening statement of James Comey was released the day before his big day. He confirms that Trump wanted him to drop the Flynn stuff and talked about the cloud of the Russian stuff. He transcribed the conversations with the President as soon as they were over.**Ya know, I was mad at Comey for the Hillary crap that he now tells us went public because he did not like the Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch meeting. Most that have worked with him seem to call him an honorable man. I was trying to believe he would do the right thing in the Trump administration investigations. After he was fired, Trump mentioned he may have tapes and Comey had a friend release his version even though some say the leaks were first. The Trump tweet was May 12 and the first news of leaks were May 16. Now, I still try to believe that Comey is an honest man but he sometimes acts like a child (someone does something so he immediately seems to say, ok, well take that!!). But we have to notice that Scary Clown’s stories always change, Comey’s does not. As far as who called who, there must be records.**As Comey was testifying, the house repealed Dodd Frank. C’mon Press, let’s get ALL the news out there!** BTW, there are no tapes, that was just more scary clown BS.** It seems that 38% of this country is trying to run the show and those 38% don’t give a shit about the rest of us.

*****Investigators have found a direct link that puts Putin at the center of the election disruption. The plan was to help Trump and hurt Hillary. Word is that the Obama administration did not take action because they thought Putin might escalate his cyber meddling. John Kerry tried hard to get some action but the White house thought they would be accused of trying to sway things for Hillary. It’s sad but true because the Trump camp would have went nuts. The instability and doubt may have changed this country forever. It seems many do not care as long as they have their guy in power now. **Power outages in the Ukraine have also been linked to Russia. It looks like they are now gunning for us. The centralized system in the Ukraine is not as hard to set right as ours would be. Our power system is more complicated and would be harder to tamper with but also harder to straighten out. Russia appears to have an adaptable and reusable software.** Fox’s Brit Hume says that even if the Trump campaign did collude with Russia, “it’s not a crime.” They all say ‘America first’ but I am beginning to think they would all be happier in Russia.** Over 2000 pages of financial documents have been turned over to the investigation.

*****And WTF is up with John McCain? He was like a dog with a bone about bringing up the Hillary stuff again. And he does not seem to like women asking questions because he keeps interrupting. It is time to retire.** Did you see Sen. Martin Heinrich??

*****Rep. Al Green of Texas and Brad Sherman of California are drafting articles of impeachment because Trump obstructed justice when he fired Comey. Just as this is in the works, Melania and Baron finally move into the White house.** Pence and even Trumps lawyer have hired attorneys.**After 8 years of class and pride, this country sure has taken a big step into the gutter.

*****The Generals seem to have their problems with the new President. A quote from Trump says,” The Lieutenants, the captain, their majors, the colonels- they’re professionals. They love doing it. So I authorized the generals to do the fighting.” I thought he said he knew more than them but now he gives no direction so his hands don’t get dirty. He has no strategy and there are so many vacant positions that there are not enough experts to go around. Using U.S. money to follow his family around while they make business deals instead of the government being properly staffed does not seem very safe for the rest of us.

*****Did ya’ll see those relaxed pics of Obama and Trudeau and their wine in Montreal? Wow.. It all seems so wonderfully normal.

*****Turkey has banned Wikipedia, calling it a national security threat.

*****Kevin Spacey did a great job hosting the Tony’s. His opening number included Whoopi and Stephen Colbert. Spacey later did his Carson and said “admit it, you missed me”. I suddenly felt so sad because I realized I really do miss him. Richard Thomas and Danny Devito were both nominated for The Little Foxes but both lost to Michael Aronov. Foxes did get a win for Jane Greenwood for costume design and featured actress, Cynthia Nixon. Nixon gave a fabulous speech about the people of this nation that do not take what is happening in Washington lying down. James Earl Jones won the lifetime achievement but only got a snippet of time on air. Laurie Metcalf won for leading actress in a play for A Doll’s house part 2. Bette Midler looked great and won but would not shut up.** Best Dressed was Sarah Paulson and worst was Carolyn Murphy.

*****Patricia Krenwinkel was denied parole again.

*****Oliver Stone interviewed Putin over 20 hours in 4 visits. Putin drove him around and seemed to convince Stone that he is a pretty great guy. He seemed to take Putin’s word about meddling in the election. Some say it is a love letter to Putin and I see shades of Barbara Walters and Fidel Castro.

*****There was some voter fraud in Alton, Il. An 88 year old election judge pleaded guilty to voting for Trump for her dead husband. She claims he would have wanted her to.

*****Summer Camp 2017 in Chillicothe, Il. had some great artists this year with Claypool Lennon delirium, the Wood brothers and Gov’t. Mule. A few people were taken away after the sudden storm but other than that fun was had by all.

*****Phil Collins had to postpone a London gig after a fall.

*****Dick Gregory is out again making appearances and I wanna go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*****Theresa May misjudged her public when she called for an election in the UK. Her conservative party has lost some of its power.

*****The UK has acquired Feud: Bette and Joan to play later this year.

*****OMG: TLC SYTTD UK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*****John Oliver is being sued by a great friend of Trump’s, Robert Murray. Murray, the CEO of Murray energy warned him not to do a story on him but he did it anyway. Go John!! Look it up, it’s a story worth seeing.

*****Diedrick Bader just gets hotter

*****The Downton Abbey movie will start production in 2018!

*****An inconvenient sequel, which is out July 28, has added a bit after Trump pulled out of the Paris climate accord.

*****Ivanka is being ordered to give a deposition in a lawsuit about copying a shoe design. The Italian company that sued is Aquazzura but she claims that she had nothing to do with any of it. Her claim is that she can’t give the deposition because it would be a distraction from her WH duties. Her Fox and friends interview sound bite was :”I try to stay out of politics.”

*****Leslie Jones hosted the BET awards and earned good reviews but she later tweeted about the hotel she stayed in. She suggested that people not stay at the Ritz Carlton because, “they don’t like black people.”

*****Farm Aid is being held in Burgettstown, Pa. with Willie, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and the Avett Brothers among others.

*****Fox news will no longer use the line, “fair and balanced.”

*****Daniel Day Lewis has retired from acting.

*****Tony Bennett is given the Library of congress Gershwin prize.

*****Judd Apatow is making a doc bout Garry Shandling. Can’t wait!!

***** Sean Spicer is interviewing his own replacement including Fox news and Daily mail employees.

*****The U.S. spent 28 mil on uniforms for the Afghan military. They were not field tested and did not work out. An official wanted a specific lush forest motif while most of the landscape is desert. WTF?

*****O.J. is up for parole.

*****The secret health care bill came out and many protested at Mitch Mcconnell’s office. Police were sent in to drag them out, wheelchairs and all. It seems we have not been this divided since the civil war. What is more important than health care for all, than equality? Is a wall more important? Are tax cuts for the rich more important? In the end, the haters always lose but not without hurting so many along the way. It always comes down to equality. It is always about some trying to keep down others and that is never right. It always has to lose in the end. ** The vote has now been delayed. **Good old Mitch who was given treatment for his polio, as a child, because of the kindness of the March of Dimes now refuses to talk to them. They disagree with the health care plan.**More health care insurance providers are bowing out of coverage. The companies blame the uncertainty of Washington. This is just another reason to blame Obama for the senate and house’s own doing. Keep things in chaos and blame the other guy while the rest of the country suffers. ** The Pres now says that the ACA should just be repealed, new plan or not.

*****It is being reported that the CIA health professionals did not just torture detainees during the Bush administration, they performed experiments.. This is like right out of the Nazi playbook.

***** We don’t hear enough about men who are straight and mostly dress masculine but like a little makeup. I find that adorable and they need to be represented

*****Wow!! The NY senate after a decade, still did not vote on the child victims act. The Catholic Church and the Boy scouts lobby so hard because they think it will bankrupt them. The bill would let survivors bring civil cases until they are 50 years old, felonies until 28, and give a 1 year window for both public and private institutions instead of 90 days. Republican majority leader John Flanagan will not even put it up for a vote.

*****Illinois has its fair share of problems right now with the budget crisis, Chicago and Peoria shootings and the Belleville shooter, James T. Hodgkinson.

*****Why do the View and the Tonight show play all these stupid games with their guests? Does the audience enjoy this? It is often so awkward.

*****Jess Session says that Trump has not been in a single briefing about North Korea. I am sure the new South Korean president is reassured by that as he came for a visit. The shuffling of reporters and questions about the idiot in chiefs twitter made him feel welcome too.

*****And now the airwaves explode with the latest scary clown 45 twitter directed at the Morning Joe team. Why do we have to talk endlessly about this crap every time the baby has a tantrum? Unless we find some real evidence or this impeachment march does some real good, we better get used to the fact that our President has no fucking class!

*****Neil Young is reminding us to stand up for what we believe and resist this 4th with a new video.

*****The Presidents team is trying to get personal info on voters like social security numbers and voting history which could lead to voter intimidation.

*****The Frye fest head Billy McFarland has been arrested for wire fraud.

*****Adele has cancelled the rest of her tour because of damage to her vocal chords. It is especially sad for she has hinted that this could be her last tour.

***** If you haven’t seen the 2014 doc ‘ Starring Adam West’, check it out. The Kickstarter film is so honest and a great tribute to a man who will be missed. He also has some hot sons!!

*****R.I.P. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Manuel Noriega, Jimmy Piersall, Roger Smith, Peter Sallis, Modd Deep, Stephen Furst, Rosalie Sorrels, Glenne Headly, Simone Veil, Adam West and Anita Pallenberg.

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techovy · 3 years

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Funny quotes about technology failures

At some time or another, technological failures have happened to all of us. What follows are fun, funny and thought-provoking quotes about computers, technology, and digital systems in our work, businesses, and home lives, curated by the Techovy review team.

Frank Lloyd Wright: "If it keeps up, man will atrophy all his limbs but the push-button finger."

Max Frisch: "Technology…the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it."

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 MPG."

Henry David Thoreau: "Lo! Men have become the tools of their tools."

Karl Marx: "The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people. "

Sydney J. Harris: "The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers."

Marshall McLuhan: "The future masters of technology will have to be light-hearted and intelligent. The machine easily masters the grim and the dumb."

Mike Trout: "Technology is ruled by two types of people: those who manage what they do not understand, and those who understand what they do not manage."

Arthur C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

John Tudor: "Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, except over technology."

Andrew Heller: "Technology is like a fish. The longer it stays on the shelf, the less desirable it becomes."

Andy Rooney: "Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done. "

R. Buckminster Fuller: "Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons. "

Nicholas P. Negroponte: "It's not computer literacy that we should be working on, but sort of human literacy. Computers have to become human-literate. "

Joseph Weizenbaum: "A computer will do what you tell it to do, but that may be much different from what you had in mind."

R. Buckminster Fuller: “I just invent. Then I wait until man comes around to needing what I've invented.”

Albert Einstein: "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity."

Elbert Hubbard; "One machine can do the work of 50 ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man."

William M. Kelly: "Man is a slow, sloppy and brilliant thinker; the machine is fast, accurate and stupid.”

Joseph Campbell: "Is the system going to flatten you out and deny you your humanity, or are you going to be able to make use of the system to the attainment of human purposes?"

Author Unknown: "Computers have lots of memory but no imagination."

For more great technology content, check out Techovy today.

#books #ebooks #techovy review #techovy reviews

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laurelkrugerr · 4 years

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Staying Connected And Learning From Each Other

About The Author

Juggling between three languages on a daily basis, Iris is known for her love of linguistics, arts, web design and typography, as well as her goldmine of … More about Iris …

A month is a long time to stay on top of things. Here you’ll find an overview of everything we’ve been working on and have also enjoyed reading over the past month. Of course, you can always find us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and also stay updated with our RSS feed as well as our Smashing Newsletter (sent out every second week with all sorts of goodies!).

Digital space obviously has its challenges, but it also provides incredible opportunities for us to connect and learn in ways we just wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. The situation with COVID-19 has challenged us to consider ways in which we could offer a similar SmashingConf experience and access to experts just as in an in-person workshop — without needing to leave your desk.

With insightful takeaways, exercises, access to slides, recordings and friendly Q&As, it has been such an incredible experience already! We’ve had literally people from all over the world collaborating together on group exercises — something we’d never be able to achieve with an in-person event.

We’re looking forward to connecting with Brad Frost, Joe Leech, Miriam Suzanne and many others. Try spotting them, but don’t get too distratced by the Mouse!

And we’re just getting started! We already have a schedule of online workshops ready for you so you can start marking your calendars and join us anytime you like. What better way is there to boost your skills online and learn practical, actionable insights from experts in the industry — live!

Do you like what you see, but are worried about getting some time off from work? Well, you surely didn’t think we would leave your hanging? We know how difficult it can sometimes be, and so we’ve prepared a neat lil’ Convince-Your-Boss template to help you out. Good luck!

Ready For The Next Smashing Book?

That’s right! Paul Boag’s Click! Encourage Clicks Without Shady Tricks is currently in its final production stage and the pre-release starts on May 5. This practical guide has 11 chapters full of advice that can help you start improving your conversion rate in just a matter of simple steps. You can subscribe for a pre-order discount and be one of the first to get your hands on the book. Stay tuned!

Live UX Review With The Author

Next week, we’ll be hosting a Smashing TV webinar with Paul Boag who’ll be reviewing your websites and sharing some techniques you can use to improve conversion rates — without having to resort to any shady tricks. Tell me more →

As for the previous book, printed copies of The Ethical Design Handbook have made their way around the world, and we got to see some happy responses and thoughtful reviews. If you’d also like a copy, you can download a free PDF excerpt (5 MB) to get a first impression of the book — we’re sure you won’t be disappointed!

Also, in case you missed it, there is a Smashing Podcast episode featuring two of the authors of the book: Trine Falbe and Martin Michael Frederiksen. They discuss what it means for a design to be ethical, and how we can make improvements in our own projects.

Drew has also interviewed Laura Kalbag, Eduardo Bouças, Stéphanie Walter, and many more. You can subscribe and tune in anytime with any of your favorite apps!