#made by janika

[velouriaonmars]

01.2018

Just Gals Being Pals

Embroidery on a denim jacket.

Made by Janika, with love.

[reitsportportal]

Jumping Verona 2023: Simon Delestre gewinnt den Qualifier for LONGINES FEI Jumping World Cup™ Verona

[clouds-of-wings]

Because Spotify doesn't really know that much about my listening habits and because I enjoyed writing this kind of post last year I'll once more make a post about my ACTUAL musical favourites this year. So here goes! Album time!

Grendels Sÿster: Abstieg in die Traumkammer (2024, heavy/folk metal) -- This was by far my favourite album of the year. It came out this August. First album by the band, and what a debut! The album has an English version too (which you can also find if you click the link), but I vastly prefer the German one. The lyrics are really excellent and they fit so, so well with the character of the German language. Musically I would say they sound like "early Týr with a female punk singer", the lyrics feature retellings and re-imaginings of various mythologies and mythological themes of the world, ranging from Norse to Greek to (on their EP) Hinduism or even Tolkien's Valar. They once called their genre NWONOEM (New Wave of Nerd-Oriented Epic Metal).

Other albums I liked, in no specific order:

Kornalyn: Intemporel III (2024, folk) -- Kornalyn has been at this for a few years. He's a French anarchist and folk musician who records modernized versions of traditional leftist & worker songs. He's versatile, he's talented, he's got spirit and a great voice. Worth checking out whether you're a comrade, a history enthusiast or a folk fan.

Alice Longyu Gao: Let's Hope Heteros Fail, Learn and Retire (2023, hyperpop) -- Okay, I'm versatile too. Or at least not so set in my ways that I can't appreciate different genres than I normally listen to. Alice's hyperpop songs have a chaotic artistic spirit that I find charming. In a way, some of her songs are pretty metal-ish too - they remind me a little of old SOAD songs. She's funny, she's innovative, she's a delight.

Stonefield: The Light of Lies (1990, prog rock) -- Some awesome prog rock from the 90s. The singer sounds like DIO. If you like the hammond organ, CLIK TEH LINK! If not, click it anyway, you may start to! When I tried to find out which year the album was from, I found their EP The Eyes of the Dawn (1989), which is also so fun.

Alvader: Hereniging (2024, folk metal) -- Hey you! Do you like Heidevolk? If you found this post through the folk metal tag I bet you do. In this case definitely listen to this band. It's made up of ex-members of Heidevolk and sounds a lot like the "original".

HammerFall: Avenge the Fallen (2024, power/heavy metal) -- What can I say about this one. It's HammerFall. It rules by default. It sounds like all their other albums. HammerFall are one of the few bands where that's a compliment.

molllust: In Deep Waters (2015, symphonic metal) -- There is no music I like better than symphonic metal that takes the "symphonic" part really, really seriously. molllust are one of the few bands that do. Between Janika Groß's gorgeous orchestrations and her operatic voice, this is one of the bands that give me hope for the genre. At first I actually found their older stuff too inaccessible, but after I listened to the newer and more straight-forward Mother Universe album a lot last year, In Deep Waters became a lot more approachable to me.

Wintersun: TIME II (2024, Extremely Delayed Technically Complete Symphonic Death Wish Metal) -- I still can't believe my eyes, or ears. Am I dreaming? Is this the real life? It's really out! And Nuclear Blast didn't even give it a digibook edition (I have the one of TIME I and thought I might have a matched set one day). Is this because their corporate overlords don't care about physical media or are they just so DONE with the album, and Jari in general, that they didn't make more of an effort out of spite?

Norrsinnt: Djupt inni skoga (2024, folk metal) -- Somewhere between heavy folk and very folky metal. A collection of songs the artist released individually over the past years, but the album only came out a short while ago. He fortunately seems to have decided against using an AI image as cover art in the end, so I don't feel bad listing this album here. Oh, there are albums that I found this year and liked musically which I'm not listing for this reason, definitely! I'm glad this one isn't among them, because I've known all these songs for years and I'm quite fond of them, and of the power and originality of the vision behind this project.

Nightwish: Yesterwynde (2024, symphonic metal) -- I didn't expect too much from this album, but ended up really liking it! My favourite parts are, of course, the orchestral passages. I like how Nightwish are still capable of evolution, new paths, instead of being stuck in the 2000s. And, after all, what could be a more fitting topic for music that's as larger than life as symphonic metal than just the totality of existence, the universe, the human equation, the meaning of it all?

Romuvos: Spirits (2024, folk) -- Pagan Folk, immersive, meditative, dark. I don't have much to say about this, other than that I have listened to it a lot this year.

KAMIJO: ??? (????, symphonic power metal) -- I usually only have albums on this list because I'm old-fashioned like that, but that's really unfair to Kamijo, who's my top artist of the year on Spotify and whose greatest songs are spread out across a multitude of single bonus tracks and short EPs. So I will link his song TEMPLE and say doumo arigato gozaimasu, vampire prince rockstar-san, nay, -sama!

---

I also continued my exploration of the world of opera. Since I think I'm beginning to know my taste, there were a lot of works I started and didn't finish, but some I liked very much. My favourite was L'elisir d'amore (1832), which I watched in two different versions and listened to all summer. It's a rather light-hearted one, but the music is nevertheless dramatic, it's fast, it's powerful and... somehow rich. And it's just pretty, I'm not immune to the charms of the easily lovable Italian opera, or of Rolando Villazon and his musical and comedic talent. I'd definitely recommend this recording even to people who have never watched an opera before.

I also really liked Eugene Onegin (1879, can't find the recording now) - much more tragic than the one above, few operas I've watched had a better plot, I read the novel it's based on afterwards - as well as a whimsical 1979 recording of L'incoronazione di Poppea (1643) and a gorgeous staging of Atys (1676, only French subs here, sry). Baroque opera is superior to the later stuff according to me. The beautiful music, the melancholic observations on life in the libretto, the way the operas always seem to reach for the divine, beyond the limits of mundane human existence - it strives for perfection, and my ears think it comes close.

And that's my musical breakdown of the year :)

[padawansuggest]

Hey so if you’re new here and haven’t been around longer than ten minutes you might not know that my fave fave fave tropes ever are 1: time travel and 2: Obi-Wan getting adopted by Mandos, so whenever I find a time travel fic where Obi goes back in time and is promptly adopted by Mandos I get so excited trust me there are a lot but rn what I really really really want is a fic where I combine one of my fave headcanon type things that I like to put in fics with my second fave trope being Force Sensitive Jaster Mereel and then combined with Obi-Wan and Anakin (and probably Shmi too lmao let’s have a force sensitive babies party here) as force ghosts with Jaster and suddenly one of them comes back all ‘YALL I KNOW HOW TO GO BACK IN TIME I FIGURED IT OUT’ and so they all go back in time with the pure goal of saving their peoples (Mandos, Jedi AND slaves okay we makin a trifecta of people who got the worst bullshit in Star Wars two of which got all the blame when literally all of it was Sith and slavers faults) and Jaster goes back in time to Korda 6 and looks around for Jango so they could retreat only for little grunts of ouchies I fell to happen and he looks over to see a small pile of toddlers Obi-Wan, Anakin, Shmi, (Boba and like six other clones you know I have to) and is all ‘oh shit. Please be potty trained please be potty trained please be potty trained’ and now he has to go find Jango to call them back to their ships and tell Jango he in fact has a bunch of new vod’ika all of whom still have adult memories and also can you hold Boba please he’s a crying mess he just wants Jango nvm you can be that one’s Buir he bites lmao NO DONT HOLD HIM LIKE THAT JANIKA I RAISED YOU BETTER and now they’re back to Mandalore and Jaster is all ‘shit. We made this plan to save ALL our peoples. Well fuck.’ And now he’s all wait a sec and calls up the Jedi (yes they had him on hold for 3 hours and he kept bouncing between departments it was very annoying with Obi-Wan’s little fangies teething on his vambraces making the most annoying sound ever the whole time) and now he’s able to sorta blank for a solid 30 seconds before blurting out that they have force sensitive babies and the Jedi can’t have them and then Anakin HANGS UP ON THEM YOU LIL SHIT THAT DIDNT SOUND GOOD and the Jedi sorta like text him back all ‘??? Good for you???’ And now Jaster has to call them again and explain that he needs help with these lil shits teething on his armor and throwing people into walls when they sneeze and the temple is all ‘listen we can send out a master with docs but we’re a lil busy looking for a Stewjoni initiate that disappeared from the nursery’ ‘oh you mean this one?’ *holds up Obi by an ankle who’s chewing furiously on a vambrace’ and says they can’t have him back the kara gave him that baby!!!!! So now they have to send out a team whereupon Plo and Dooku are suckered into a -three way with Jaster- a deal upon which the Mandos will help the Jedi leave the Republic who use them like attack dogs and then they can stop slavery together and raise babies!

Anyways. I just think that would be neat.

[maddygoesthemiles]

Mid-Year Book Update

Number of books read so far: 32

Best book read so far in 2024: Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Best sequel read so far in 2024: He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan

New release you haven’t read yet but want to: I don’t really keep up with new releases but The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland is on my list. I really enjoyed House of Hollow, which is by the same author.

Most anticipated release for the second half of 2024: hard to say. The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali looks interesting.

Biggest surprise favorite new author (debut or new-to-you: Janika Oza, whose debut novel, A History of Burning, I absolutely loved.

Newest fictional crush: Soshiro Hoshina from Kaiju No. 8. Manga counts!

Book that made you cry: The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. His essay on the Lascaux cave paintings really got to me.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought this year (or received): Dubliners by James Joyce, I guess. Specifically the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition. I don’t buy a ton of books.

Book that made you happy: Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin made me laugh a lot!

What books you want/need to read by the end of the year: I’m going to start Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park for book club soon!

I wasn’t tagged, I just thought it looked fun. If you happen to come across this in your infinite scrolling and you think it sounds fun, please do it and tag me! I just can’t remember who reads on this app even though I know I follow some of y’all on goodreads.

[dk-thrive]

I made choices to stay on the side of living. I did what had to be done.

— Janika Oza, A History of Burning (Grand Central Publishing, May 2, 2023)

[orfisheus]

Remember my OC Janika that I posted like. Twice? Well, I updated her design and made a ref sheet! Here she is now! Feel free to give constructive criticism if you'd like, I'm very proud of this, but also looking to improve. :]

[ivaereia]

blog for taggin stuff as my ocs :)

amber acosta, digital mermaid, former wretched cunt, had his redemption arc and is a wonderful father now

tatiana maria king / tia marik'asva, ‘evil’ sea goddess but also just a swag old lady but a little evil. for fun.

lilla tenumbra / luzja gbadamosi, bug, moon goddess, divorcee, quit her job

clarissa roman, killed the adult version of herself from another timeline with a kitchen knife and is coping fine w that

briar hartley-crane, unwilling vessel for a god of decay but they’re still pretty normal about it, and sjezhana, the god of decay, unwillingly given a vessel

uriel danila cielodiyosa, sky goddess that loves monsters and carnage but shes so cute and she makes demons

aeolyn palidiyos, creation god that died on purpose and made everyone sad

others that i’ll describe later include;

janika andrijos

emeryth kazoponic

callisto morozova

charlie-violet tavsan

theres still more i have a lot of these little bitches ok.

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: In This Debut Novel, Power Plays and Contradictions Abound by Janika Oza

By Janika Oza True to the promise of its title, “The Storm We Made” kicks up a weather system of epic proportions, ranging from military terror during World War II to domestic warmth. Published: January 2, 2024 at 05:00AM from NYT Books https://ift.tt/EQhtqFC via IFTTT

[frontporchconsign]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Dansko Janika Shoes Womens Brown Leather Lace Up Loafers Size 8.5.

[velouriaonmars]

11.02.2023

the attempt to mend a hole in a pair of jeans begins

[eurovision-revisited]

1997 Dublin - Number 16 - Maarja-Liis Ilus - "Keelatud Maa"

It's the second year at Eurovision in a row for Maarja, one of Eurolaul and later Eesti Laul's ever presents. Last year she got lucky, snagging the winning song when the intended singer looked like she couldn't make it. Even then she only scraped into Eurovision on a Eurolaul tie-break.

This year it's much clearer. Dominating Eurolaul 1997, Maarja-Liis Ilus bring Keelatud Maa (Forbidden Land) all the way to 8th place in the final - even if this was a little disappointing considering she'd been one of the favourites to win the entire contest, and it didn't hit the heady heights of fifth, where she'd finished in 1996. Nevertheless Estonia was becoming a Eurovision contender and Maarja was the voice driving that.

Keelatud Maa itself is a wistful ballad tinged with sadness. A lover reaching out to her partner, wanting them to adapt and not remain rooted in a past which they can't let go. It's a plea for them to move on, lest the forbidden, foggy, marshy land between them grow so impenetrable there's no way back together. That's a maturity that's not often witnessed at Eurovision; it's hauntingly poised on the threshold between encouragement and hopelessness.

Those wonderful lyrics were written by Kaari Sillamaa, the mother of Janika Sillamaa, Estonia's first ever Euro Laul winner in 1993 who nearly made it to Eurovision, but fell short in the qualification round. I've already written about her.

Maarja doesn't stop at having represented Estonia twice at Eurovision. She tried to get there twice more. She sang at Eurolaul 2004, but finished fourth. The year before that she entered Melodifestivalen in Sweden, but got eliminated in the heats. She's been spokesperson for Estonia twice and has also hosted Eesti Laul, most recently in 2022.

Beyond Eurovision, she's released 11 albums, been named as Estonia's best female singer four times, she's sung the role of Eva Péron in the Estonian production of Evita, as well as several other leading roles in musicals. She was a judge on three seasons of Eesti otsib superstari, including the season in which Jüri Pootsmann won. Maarja is absolutely one of the biggest names in Estonian music.

[butlersforge]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Dansko Janika Oxford Leather Lace Up Platform Shoes Size 37 or US 7.

[daughters-of-liberty]

"It's handmade"

Yah, I know, Janika. I've made jewelry myself, Bethamy. It doesn't take that much to get started, Cressilda, so don't give me that crap.

The dainty jewelry trend is a joke. "It's smaller, easier to lose and break! ...That'll be $300, please!"

[simsitecture]

20 Founder’s Avenue - 2x3 - Residential

Hello all,

This is the latest residential for my ‘hood at the moment. I’m planning on releasing a map once I got the names of the areas and streets figured out. This one has 3 bedrooms and 3 bedrooms as well as a double living room! I also made this for a crowded family and it has plenty of room to go around. It costs around 35k§ unfurnished and 77k§ furnished.

CC list is under the cut!

Download

You don’t have to download everything in the list, they are packaged with the lot file. However I strongly recommend using  Sims 2 Pack Clean Installer to install this lot and for all your other lot and sim installs in Sims 2.

Build mode:

Windows - metro window set by Tiggy -MTS

Doors - bari build set & bakery build set by Veranka

Staircase - Industrial Staircase by HolySimoly (GoS, booty link)

terrain paints - paving terrain by suratan

Floor

Lisbon tiles (MTS) by s4land3r

1 Fish 2 Fish (GoS)

square tile flooring & wood panel flooring  by Dragon Black Sims

shag carpet by Veranka

claybee floors by Liz (MTS)

Wallpaper

circle pattern walls by holotrash

heatonism v2 panels by kriselt

floral wallpapers by honeywell (MTS)

Wall of The Fireplace by 2FW (GoS)

4t2 two tone wallpapers by linacheries

Sincerity walls by Retromaisie

parasol by poppet

Lisbon walls (MTS) by s4land3r

Half-tiled walls by suratan

vermont striped walls by Liz (MTS)

little mix walls by Veranka

Buy mode:

Bonate Kitchen sink by Veranka

Bayside Kitchen counter by Veranka

Island magic rug 4t2 by Janika

I hope you’ll enjoy!

[loosiap]

afbodyuberfamily ----> CloudCat's SummerGarden af

tfbodybabydolltoppants -----> CloudCat's SummerGarden tf (black, pink and light green)

Hey ! Thanks for sharing your talent with the community, you can make a default for this outfits please? Using this shoeswap (https://gardenofshadows.org.uk/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=38248.msg758098#new) i don't know is you can make a extra colour (i know uberfamily has 7 swatch) ><

Hi~ Thanks for nice words ♡ Well I can't make extra colour myself but since I have TS4 and this is CC not content from some DLC I don't own I could convert recolour or recolours of your choice from Cloudcat for this defaults. This creator made 13 colours but didn't make a swatch, fortunately this dress is a mesh edit of ea's dress that was converted to TS2 by Janika31 (and it's lovely! I use it a lot haha) with 12 recolours. Claudcat's dress has the same colours plus additional plain red. So you can check Janika's dress to decide what colours you want for this default replacements and then let me know what colours you decided on ^^ (maybe by using Janika's names of colours so I don't mess anything up)