#mona lisa aces version

[ace-of-garlic-breads]

a TMNT (ace's Version) update IN THE SAME MONTH AS THE LAST ONE?! THIS IS INSANITY! (part 7: pages 14 & 15) I think it's about 2 more updated until this arc is FINALLY finished! plus some Raphmona crumbs for y'all :)

Masterpost/last part/next part (WIP)

[tmnt-aces-version]

So I just hit 400 followers on my IG

(BLOWN AWAY BY THAT)

(Rules and info below if ur interested in participating)

you can:

-change the poses (just keep the general idea)

-add any other TMNT (Ace's version) Characters (only if they've got an official design or one approved by me)

RULES:

-NO TRACING OR AI. entries with those WILL be disqualified

-due September 1st (extensions can and will be given if needed)

- NO NSFW

-please don't include ships that aren't previously approved by me

- Tag or DM me with your entery and use #agb400dtiys

PRIZES

4th place: full body lineart of ONE character

3rd place: Full body flat colour of ONE character

2nd place: Half body full colour & shaded of two characters

1st place: official TMNT (Ace's version) design of your OC and a character sheet OR a full body full colour and shaded of two characters

Without text or lighting:

[teecupangel]

Haven’t seen someone suggest this yet. Velociraptor!Desmond. Ancient or modern, either works. Or he’s immortal. But I can just imagine the chaos that a velociraptor in the AC universe would bring. And make it Desmond, even more so.

Then there’s also the idea of whichever Assassins were around in 1924 (when velociraptors were officially categorized) being super confused about why ancient art in Masyaf and works by Leonardo DaVinci seem to depict this dinosaur that was just discovered. Insert 1920’s version of Shaun setting up a conspiracy board.

I had to make this meme…

The funny thing is… raptors are the size of a turkey so I’m just imagining Ratonhnhaké:ton returning to the homestead one day to find the Assassin turkey has made a friend.

Because of his actual size, he can be quite stealthy, making him a good Assassin companion. He also has a big appetite for meat and Leonardo found it fascinating to read an entire page dedicated to the ‘care’ of the creature Altaïr called ‘Desmond’.

Calling it ‘care’ is misleading because it was filled with observations and some complaints of Desmond’s habits, including how he liked to sleep on newly dried laundry.

Leonardo believes Ezio’s Desmond is a ‘descendant’ of Altaïr’s Desmond and paints him. He also wonders how they reproduce considering they are no records of Altaïr’s Desmond having any mate.

And that’s how Leonardo theorizes that Desmonds reproduces all by itself.

That’s right.

‘Desmond’ isn’t Desmond’s name.

‘Desmond’ is the name of the type of creature Desmond is.

Desmond turning into a raptor meant that velociraptors in AC world are now called…

“Desmonds”

No one is more embarrassed by this than Desmond.

But it’s not like he can tell anyone about it.

He was immortal but any time he tried to write by drawing on the ground, it’s just pure gibberish.

But hey…

He is now the ‘model’ of Leonardo’s greatest work titled “Desmond”.

The fact that the art world are actually still debating if Mona Lisa or Desmond is the far superior Da Vinci work only serves to make him all the more embarrassed.

Shaun isn’t helping at all because he keeps researching about Desmonds, all in the hopes of finding another Desmond for… Desmond.

Desmond’s head hurts from all the other Desmonds he had to hear every day.

Immortality truly has its downside.

[emmajh97-mumaji]

Literally ALL My Blorbos

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍💕💗💝🥰

A comprehensive list of my favorite characters from my favorite media! (I keep this because it makes it easier to decide on what to draw lol)

[This post will probably be edited every so often, so make sure to go to the original and not any Reblogs for the most up-to-date version!]

[page break because LONG LIST IS LONG]

Ace Attorney: ○ Apollo Justice ○ Miles Edgeworth ○ Phoenix Wright ○ Simon Blackquill Animal Crossing: ○ Lily (Rainy) ○ Wilbur Avatar - The Legend of Korra: ○ Mako Barbie in The Nutcracker: ○ Captain Candy Ben 10: ○ Ben Tennyson Black★Rock Shooter: ○ Black Rock Shooter Bleach: ○ Ichigo Kurosaki Danganronpa: ○ Hajime Hinata ○ Kaito Momota ○ Kazuichi Soda ○ Kiyotaka Ishimaru Danny Phantom: ○ Danny Fenton DC Comics: ○ Shazam (Captain Marvel) ○ Aquaman Demon Slayer: ○ Kyojuro Rengokou Detroit: Become Human: ○ Connor (RK 800) Digimon: ○ J.P. (Shibayama Junpei) ○ Marcus Damon ○ Takato Matsuki ○ Takuya Kanbara Dragon Ball Z: ○ Trunks Briefs (Mirai Trunks) Frozen (Disney): ○ Elsa Final Fantasy: ○ Cloud Strife ○ Prompto Argentum ○ Black Mage [any generic one] ○ Zack Fair Five Nights at Freddy's: ○ Glamrock Freddy ○ Golden Freddy (Fredbear) ○ Toy Freddie [in huggable Gijinka Form] Generator Rex: ○ Rex Salazar ○ Six Genshin Impact: ○ Arataki Itto ○ Lisa Minci ○ Mona Megistus Hazbin Hotel: ○ Lucifer Morningstar ○ Angel Dust Henry Stickmin: ○ Charles Calvin Hetalia: ○ America (Alfred F. Jones) ICEY_ (X.D.Network): ○ ICEY Interstella 5555: ○ Shep ○ Octave ○ Manager (Music Producer Guy) Jarrett Williams' Comics: ○ Joe Somiano from Super Pro K.O. ○ Sensational Sike from Super Pro K.O. ○ Ace Estrada (Yellow Hype) from Hyper Force Neo ○ Neil Tran (Blue Hype) from Hyper Force Neo Kingdom Hearts: ○ Axel (Lea) ○ Meow Wow Kiznaiver: ○ Hajime Tenga Legend of Zelda (BotW/TotK): ○ Link ○ Sidon Mario (Nintendo): ○ Luigi Marvel: ○ Clea Strange ○ Doctor Strange (Stephen) ○ Spider Man (Peter Parker) Miyuli's Webcomics: ○ Oz from Morgana & Oz ○ The Bogeyman from Lost Nightmare My Hero Academia: ○ Izuku Midoriya (Deku) ○ Kirishima Eijirou (Red Riot) Mystery Skulls Animated: ○ Lewis Pepper the Skeleton Ghost Mystic Messenger: ○ Yoosung Kim No Straight Roads: ○ 1010 [Eloni, Rin, & Purl-Hew are all good] ○ Zuke Persona: ○ Ryuji Sakamoto ○ Dr Takuto Maruki Pokemon: ○ Ash Ketchum (Satoshi) ○ Cilan ○ Hugh ○ Milo ○ Pearl (Barry /Jun) ○ Deoxys ○ Mismagius Promare: ○ Galo Thymos Rise of the Guardians: ○ Jack Frost RWBY: ○ Neptune Vasilias ○ Qrow Branwen Sanrio: ○ Keroppi ○ TuxedoSam ○ Shunsuke Yoshino Seduce Me (The Otome): ○ Matthew (Zecaeru) SOMA: ○ Simon Jarrett Sonic the Hedgehog: ○ Gold the Tenrec ○ Mighty the Armadillo ○ Shard the Metal Sonic ○ Silver the Hedgehog Soul Eater: ○ Black Star The Book of Life: ○ Manolo Sanchez Tiger & Bunny: ○ Kotetsu T. Kaburagi Vampire Knight: ○ Zero Kiryu Voltron: Legendary Defender: ○ Shiro (Takashi Shirogane) Xenoblade Chronicles: ○ Shulk Yu-Gi-Oh: ○ Soulburner (Takeru Homura) ○ Yami Yugi (Atem) ○ Yusei Fudo ○ Stardust Dragon 2064: Read Only Memories: ○ Lexi Rivers ○ Turing

BONUS: Media I love, but don't have a blorbo from

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar (world of Pandora; James Cameron)

Atlantis (Disney)

Angry Birds

Dekoboko Sugar Days

Disney Princess Movies [i.e. The Little Mermaid, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty]

D.N.Angel

Epic (Blue Sky movie)

Epithet Erased

Full Metal Alchemist

Ghibli Movies [specifically Castle in the Sky & Kiki's Delivery Service]

Hamtaro

Hindu Mythology [Amar Chitra Katha comics]

How to Train Your Dragon movies

Kal Ho Naa Ho

Kung-Fu Panda movies

Land of the Lustrous

The Lego Movie (and 2)

Lisa Frank

Little Witch Academia

MLP: Friendship is Magic

Megamind

Molly Moon (book series)

Mune Guardian of the Moon

Paleoart (dinosaur documentaries & encyclopedias)

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Penguins of Madagascar

Pretty Cure (HeartCatch)

Pusheen

Sailor Moon

Scooby-Doo [What's New? and Mystery Inc.]

Scott Pilgrim

Starlight Brigade - TWRP

Steven Universe

TRON [1982, Legacy, and Uprising]

Tatsinda by Elizabeth Enright

The Avengers

TokiDoki

Tokyo Mew Mew

Treasure Planet

Undertale & Deltarune

Vocaloid / UTAUloids

[yoshifan456]

Tag Games: People l'd like to get to know better!

Thanks @tg-ace for tagging me, I feel honoured!

Last Song: A part of 'The vampire conspiracy part I' by Oli Frost, because I stumbled upon it on Insta. Last song from my own playlist is I think 'Oklahoma' from the 1999 version of the musical Oklahoma!

Favourite color: Turquoise

Last book: Started to reread Ranger's Apprentice part 8 to destress this morning, but the last finished book? Can't remember honestly.

Last movie: ha, I can check that because I have a Letterboxd (follow me, it's Yoshifan456 too because I'm lazy and uninspired): Mona Lisa Smile

Last tv show: Dutch serie Oogappels just an hour ago. For finished ones ehh. Good Omens? I don't watch series in general usually.

Sweet/spicy/savoury: sweet.

Relationship status: Sadly single but also way too busy for a relationship

Last thing I looked up: 'Jonathan Pryce pirates' because I saw the guy in a James Bond movie and thought I'd recognized him from somewhere.

Current obsession: have been recovering from Poolverine for a while now, Benthan is still burning brightly, slightly reaching back to Top Gun and IceMav with some banger fics, been keeping taps on an amazing F1-RPF fix that's been updating so a mix of everything really.

Things I look forward to: MI8, winter break, my birthday (29 December🥳), less busy days at uni.

I'll add one to the list because I think it's fun:

Celebrity crush(es): Tom Cruise, a young Val Kilmer, Hugh Jackman

This was fun! Oh damn now I gotta tag people too🙈🙈🙈

@kcsplace @fuddlewuddle @rebeccasteventaylor (I know you've been tagged already but I'd like to get to know you too😄)

That's it, I'm sorry I'm too shortly on Tumblr for this I don't know that many people.

[listieshadows]

Listie babbles about her CD haul (2024/01/14)

Yesterday I walked into my local Sunrise Records with the intention of purchasing The Beatles' Yellow Submarine Songtrack to complete my collection of Beatles albums featured on a picture I've had of their discography that's been hanging on my wall for years. However, unfortunately, it wasn't there, and in a fit of "Well, since I'm here," I impulse purchased a bunch of other albums. And since I wanna talk about music more, hey, I'm gonna take a sec to talk about them! I hope nobody who sees this on their timeline minds the self-indulgence.

Green Day – Warning (2000)

One of my top five favorite Green Day albums. Probably even top three. I really liked this brief folk punk turn for the band, and tunes like "Misery", "Macy's Day Parade", "Waiting", "Church On Sunday", "Minority"... Aw, it's just great stuff.

I've been meaning to get more Green Day stuff, anyway. For years the only albums of theirs I've had are American Idiot and Revolution Radio, and I'd like to have an unbroken line of their discography from Kerplunk to 21st Century Breakdown. After that, with stuff like the "Trilogy" and Father Of All... Eh, I'll pass. And we'll see about their new album when that comes out. For now, I'll say that I did also consider picking up Dookie while I was there, but all they had was the anniversary box, and I didn't wanna add an additional $92 onto my purchase. But speaking of anniversary editions being my only option...

Elton John – Honky Châtaeu (50th Anniversary Edition) (2023)

This is currently my second favorite Elton John album, behind Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I mean, come on, side one is a killer. Aside from having "Honky Cat" and "Rocket Man", it's got "Mellow" and "Susie (Dramas)"... Come on! Of course side two is great as well—"Amy", "Hercules", all that—but "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters" has just never done it for me, honestly? Plus, sometimes I forget what "Slave" sounds like, so there's that, too.

Now, if I could've avoided it, I wouldn't have paid $32 to own the two disc anniversary edition. But that was the only version they had there, an', y'know, that just sucks a little sometimes, right? Like, you just want the darn album and not all of the extra demos and live recordings they're charging you more for, but that's your only option unless you wanna go trawling around Discogs or eBay for a more standard edition. And if I didn't love physically browsing so much...! Although that's probably what I'm gonna hafta put up with anyway if I wanna get Yellow Submarine Songtrack, so...

Iron Maiden – Powerslave (1984) and No Prayer For The Dying (1990)

I'm pairing these two together for a specific reason, and I'll get to that in a second, but first lemme get my opinions out of the way. Powerslave might be my favorite Iron Maiden album—at the very least it's in solid competition with The Number Of The Beast. I find there's hardly a moment wasted on it, and of course the big hits are all fantastic: "Aces High", "2 Minutes To Midnight", "Powerslave" and the incredible "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner". In terms of Maiden's "epic songs," I like "Empire Of The Clouds" better, but "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" still holds a very high second place.

No Prayer, meanwhile, is an album I only first heard last year, and I can sort of tell why people don't like it so much. After the innovations of Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son, it's a big step back; and even for fans who preferred the earlier sound to the synths, the songs just aren't as tight as Killers or Number or any of them. Fear Of The Dark later on was an improvement, but only so much because of its bloated track list. Still, I've listened to the From Fear To Eternity compilation enough times that I have a spot for "Tailgunner" and "Holy Smoke", plus I think "Mother Russia" is kind of neat as well.

But why did I get both of them? You might not be wondering that up until I tell you that I've already owned a copy of Powerslave for years. In fact, it was the second or third Iron Maiden album I'd ever bought. So what's, uh, the deal, then? To put it in short, there was a box set released in 1998 called Eddie's Head which had their first twelve live and studio albums, from their eponymous debut all the way up to Live At Donington. At some point they were all released individually, and those were the copies I was collecting. After all, their spines formed a picture of Eddie. I had to have a full collection!

But I had one stipulation in mind: I knew that No Prayer was considered the worst Dickinson album, so I wanted to get that one last. That meant if I wanted to finish my collection, I had to find a copy of Live At Donington. Though no matter how many times I looked at HMV or Sunrise, I could never find it. It was only years later when I finally checked Discogs and saw how much a copy was going for these days that I realized, "Oh, they're not selling this at chain stores anymore." And in fact, they're not selling any album from this release anymore. They've all been replaced by the 2015 remaster, so I couldn't even get an Eddie's Head version of No Prayer even if I wanted to.

So I just gave up! I picked up the 2015 remaster of No Prayer so I could finally have an unbroken studio run from their debut to The X Factor, and I got Powerslave alongside so it wouldn't look stupid sitting all by itself. Will I ever get the rest of them? I mean, if that's the only option for the Iron Maiden albums I'm still missing, sure, I guess. I like their spines, too, so I'm getting that out of this whole ordeal at least.

(And in looking up a picture of the Eddie's Head spines to link to, it seems like I was also missing A Real Live Dead One as well? So... Oops! Guess that's two albums I would've had to get!)

Prince – Come (1994)

The first time I heard this album, it was because of a podcast I'm making my way through: Jukebox Zeroes. The whole concept of the podcast is that it sees the two hosts plus guests reacting to and reviewing what's considered the worst albums from famous artists, like Metallica's St. Anger or Madonna's American Life, for example. Come was the album they'd selected to cover Prince, though by the end of the episode they admitted that they should've picked, like, Rave Un2 The Year 2000, 'cuz Come really isn't Prince's worst, or even a bad album. Frankly, it's rather something that Prince considered this "lesser material" that he threw at Warner Bros. just to get out of his contract with them.

I think they largely singled "Dark" as their favorite song on the album, but for me, it's "Letitgo". I absolutely love that synth melody that Prince sings along to for the chorus. The pre-chorus is really fun, too, I think. For, like, a month or two afterwards it was in my frequent rotation, usually played alongside Angela Aki's cover of "Still Fighting It" for some reason.

Ultimately, I prefer the album he put more attention into and wanted to have released at the same time, The Gold Experience (which I've had for months longer), but I don't think Come should be skipped. I mean, at the end of the day, it's still a Prince album. It's rare he makes bad music, and Come doesn't fall into that. Well, maybe "Solo", but your mileage will vary, of course.

And as a little divergence, can I just say that, before I got Come, it was really funny that I had the Love Symbol album and The Gold Experience sitting right next to each other on my shelf? Jus', one where Prince used the symbol as an album title, and then one where he used it as his name. It's great.

[magpiemoonchild]

Selling my entire Kpop collection

Selling from BC, Canada

Will ship for extra

[ ] = Available

[X] = Sold

Albums included:

[ ] EXO - Power X2 (35 each)

[ ] Super Junior - Replay (40)

[ ] Super Junior - Play (50)

[ ] T-Ara - What's My Name (Qri) (35-40)

[ ] Tiffany - I Just Wanna Dance (60-70)

[ ] EXID - Full Moon (100)

[ ] Chungha - SET (35)

[ ] TTS - Holler (45)

[X] F(x) - Electric Shock (65-70)

[ ] Red Velvet - Bad Boy (40)

[ ] EXO - Sing for You (PCY) (40)

[ ] Super Junior - Opera (cd&dvd) (50)

[ ] Super Junior - Sexy Free & Single (30)

[ ] EXO CBX - Girls (Xiumin) x2 (40 each)

[ ] Monsta X - The Clan pt1 (30)

[ ] EXO - EXORIDIUM in Seoul (230)

[ ] Kara - Day & Night (65-70)

[ ] Sunggyu - Stories collectors edition (60)

[ ] TVXQ - Truth of Love (Pink) (40)

[ ] TVXQ - Truth of Love (White) (40)

[ ] TVXQ - Chance of Love (30)

[ ] Show Luo - Lions Roar Collectors Edition (60)

[ ] IU - Pallete (40)

[ ] Mamamoo - Melting (50)

[ ] BTOB - Beep Beep signed (50)

[ ] Super Junior - Black Suit (40)

[ ] Super Junior - Sexy Free & Single collectors edition (70)

[ ] Kyuhyun - 1st mini album (40)

[ ] MBLAQ - Love Beat (30)

[ ] 2NE1 - To Anyone (40)

[ ] Infinite - Destiny (25)

[ ] Infinite - Reality (30)

[ ] Super Junior - This is Love (Kangin) (65-70)

[ ] SM the Ballad Vol2 (20)

[ ] Super Junior M - Swing (30-40)

[ ] MBLAQ - Just Blaq (25)

[ ] Girls Generation - The Boys (55-60)

[ ] Super Junior D&E - Ride Me (30-40)

[ ] Miyavi - What's My Name (30-35)

[ ] EXO Countdown (Xiumin) collectors edition (300)

[ ] Super Junior - Mr. Simple (30-35)

[ ] Taemin - Ace (150)

[ ] EXO CBX - Blooming Day - Chen (30-35)

[ ] JJCC - 1st Single signed (70)

[ ] BTS - Wings (I version) (40)

[ ] Super Junior - Devil (40)

[ ] B1A4 - 4th mini album (50)

[ ] Super Junior - Play (Pause version) (35)

[ ] Lisa - Lalisa (60)

[ ] EXO - First Box (60-70)

[ ] KARD - You & Me (65)

[ ] EXO K - Mama (30)

[X] EXO M - Mama (30)

[ ] IU - Real (15-20)

[ ] MBLAQ - Mirror (25-30)

[ ] MBLAQ - Broken (50)

[ ] EXO - Don't Mess Up My Tempo (all 3 versions) (130)

[ ] Girls Generators - Hoot (50)

[ ] Chungha - Off (35)

[ ] Chungha - Hands On Me (25-30)

[ ] UKnow - True Colours (30)

[X] F(x) - 4 Walls (15)

[ ] TVXQ - Rise As God (40-45)

[X] Luna - Free Somebody (25)

[ ] Infinite H (Fly High) damaged (20)

[X] ATEEZ - Treasure (25)

[ ] BAP - Blue (30)

[ ] TVXQ - Humanoids (40)

[ ] MBLAQ - Mona Lisa (40)

[ ] Monsta X - Deja Vu (ver3) (30-35)

[ ] CLC - Nu Clear (135)

[ ] CLC - First Love (150)

[ ] CLC - Free (220)

[X] ATEEZ - One to All (25)

[ ] Blackpink - Square Up (Pink) (30)

[X] SPEED - Speed Circus (130)

[ ] Kahi - Who Are You? (30)

[ ] Monsta X - Beautiful (25)

[ ] Taeyeon - My Voice (60-65)

[ ] EXO - Kokobop the War (40)

[ ] KARD - Hola Hola (45)

[ ] Chungha - XII (150-200)

[ ] EXO - XOXO Repackage (45)

[ ] CLC - Crystyle (200)

[ ] Monsta X - Are You There? (Ver1) (25)

[ ] Monsta X - Are You There? (Ver2) (25)

[ ] SHINee - Year of Us (45)

[ ] Sunggyu - 27 (25)

[ ] EXO - Winter Special 2017 (30)

[ ] EXO-K - Overdose (40)

[X] ATEEZ - Wave (25)

[X] ATEEZ - Treasure (red) (25)

[ ] EXO-K - Miracles in December (40)

[ ] Girls Generation - Mr Mr (40)

[ ] TVXQ - Tense (35-40)

[ ] EXO - Love Me Right (40)

[ ] SHINee - Lucifer (125-130)

[ ] Ryeowook - The Little Prince (30)

[ ] EXO CBX - Hey Mama! Chen (30-35)

[ ] Red Velvet - Red Summer (25-30)

[lilatreus]

im new to the ac fandom and i didnt know there were any books should i be reading them?? or are there certain ones that i absolutely need to read or would i be okay if i skip them?

Yeah it’s okay to skip them if you want! They’re mostly there to give some more insight on some of the characters. If you want to read them but you don’t have to money to buy the books, you can read them here. I actually have all the books already on paper copy so I would definitely recommend buying them if you really enjoy them.

There’s also some comics and graphic novels about them too which I have included in on the master list. They actually follow the modern storyline of you want to read up on that. If you want to read them just do readcomicsonline. They have them all, only watch out for ads.

Anyway here’s the master list, it’s pretty long won’t lie:

The books, in order of strictly historical events:

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey by Gordon Doherty (2018)

Basically this books gives the canonical story to assassin’s creed odyssey following Kassandra around Greece. If you had the “best” or good ending from the story then you’re probably going to be upset with the book. I actually liked it and if you were ever confused about the game then this is definitely for you to read.

Assassin’s Creed Origins: Desert Oath by Oliver Bowden (2017)

This book takes place years before Origins. It follows Bayek who a teenager at the time. We learn how Bayek and Aya start their relationship and it kind of explains some of the side missions that talk about Bayek’s past. If you love Bayek and Aya’s relationship you will love this book.

[ insert for whenever an ac valhalla book is written ]

Assassin’s Creed: The Secret Crusade by Oliver Bowden (2011)

This book is the one I’m currently rereading, so it takes place with the father of Marco Polo talking about Altaïr’s life. It talks about his—Altaïr’s—dad within the first few chapters, events that happened in the game, and then what happens after. It gives more insight on what happened between the events of ac one and the little bits of scenes we see in ac revelations of Altaïr in game. If you want to know how Maria and Altaïr got together you’ll like this book it’s very sweet and I love how smitten Altaïr was. If you love Atlmal (Altaïr and Malik) you’ll also like this book but it will crush you.

Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance by Oliver Bowden (2009)

This follows Ezio through assassin’s creed two. Literally just the book version of the game. Does talk about how Ezio and Cristina got together and a few of the memories you get to play in Brotherhood are in this book. I like it. It pretty much follows the game exactly so if you want to skip it, you can but still a really good book that I recommend reading.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood by Oliver Bowden (2010)

Follows the plot of the game. It’s pretty similar to it as opposed to a few differences. While I like this book, I will always say the game is better than this book entirely. Still, it’s pretty good and explains a lot of plot.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations by Oliver Bowden (2011)

It explains why Ezio is doing what he does in the game. Why he’s there and what is reasoning is. You get a little small bit about Claudia but that’s it. Ezio does, in book, visit Leonardo on the last few days before the artist dies :( that’s pretty much it. Only some minor differences to the game. If you’re looking for something about Desmond, you won’t find it in this book.

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag by Oliver Bowden (2013)

I’ll be honest I only read this book once so my memory is pretty poor on it but from what I can remember it’s about Edward and Caroline and how they got together. And then there’s something about Anne Boney and Edward towards the end I believe. Kind of explains his backstory from the little scenes we’re shown in the game I think? (Correct me if I’m wrong on this one but I’m certain that’s the gist of it).

Assassin’s Creed: Forsaken by Oliver Bowden (2012)

This one was the first assassin’s creed book I read. Now fair warning: if you do not like Haytham Kenway, I strongly advise you to not read this book. It is all about Haytham until the final few chapters and then Connor takes over the book once you’ve killed him in game. This book explains how he (Haytham) came to be apart of the Templars and how Edward dies. It talks about his relationship with Ziio and how he built the Templar order up during the seven years war. I’ll be honest it was okay when I first read it because I was like 11 and the only other thing I had read was like just percy jackson. Looking back on this book though, it’s not that great. I do not like Haytham at all so I, personally, would not recommend this book. I went in reading it expecting for it to be about Connor and I was very disappointed and upset that it wasn’t. So you can skip this book if you like because the only thing it does is give insight to a lot of what Haytham does.

Assassin’s Creed: Unity by Oliver Bowden (2014)

This is my favorite book. This is about Arno reading Elise’s diary after she passed. There’s little bits where Arno writes in here and there throughout the novel. It’s pretty sad I won’t lie. Explains how Elise grew up, what she did during the parts where we didn’t see her in game, and talks about how she felt during the parts where we did see her in game. Basically at the end of the book it’s Elise asking Arno to please help seek unity and stop the war between the Templars and Assassins.

Assassin’s Creed: Underworld by Oliver Bowden (2015)

This book follows Jayadeep Mir, also known to us as Henry Green. There’s two parts to this book. The first part takes place six years before the events of syndicate and you get to really learn about the twin’s father and then the second part takes place during the events of the game. It talks about Evie and Henry’s relationship during the second part and it’s pretty good!

There are no books about assassin’s creed chronicles (ac China, India, and Russia) if you’re wondering why they’re missing :(

The comics:

*most of these take place during the modern storyline I’ll try my best to explain when they come in and how it adds up to the new our modern storyline at the end

Assassin’s Creed the Fall

There’s three issues with this it’s just a graphic novel honestly. Takes place with the main character from AC Chronicles: Russia

Assassin’s Creed the Chain

Graphic Novel sequel to the Fall

Assassin’s Creed Brahman

Written by the same people who wrote The Fall and The Chain, however this focuses on Arbaaz Mir who is the main character from Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India.

Now from what I’ve seen, correct me if I’m wrong, but the templar and assassin comics pretty much take place around the same time.

Assassin’s Creed: Trial by Fire

Assassin’s Creed issue #1, #2, #3, #4, #5

Assassin’s Creed Templars: Black Cross

Assassin’s Creed Templars issue #1, #2, #3, #4, #5

Assassin’s Creed: Setting Sun

Assassin’s Creed issue #6, #7, #8, #9, #10

Assassin’s Creed Templars: Cross of War

Assassin’s Creed Templars issue issue #6, #7, #8, #9

Assassin’s Creed: Homecoming

Assassin’s Creed issue #11, #12, #13, #14

Assassin’s Creed: Uprising

Common Ground Vol 1: issue #1, #2, #3, #4

Infection Point Vol 2: issue #5, #6, #7, #8

Finale vol 3: #9, #10, #11, #12

Assassin’s Creed Reflections (pretty much a stand alone I would say, focuses entirely on past assassins but canon to the templar comics).

Reflections 1: modern story focuses on Otso Berg historical story focuses on Ezio where we learn Ezio is implied to have hooked up with the woman who in the Mona Lisa painting.

Reflections 2: same thing for modern story but now Otso is looking into Altaïr’s story. We get to see Maria, Altaïr, and their son Darim.

Reflections 3: Otso is now looking into Edward Kenway.

Reflections 4: Otso looks into Connor and we see him with his daughter. It’s super cute this issue is my favorite.

Last Descendants

The Last Descendants (Novel)

Locus: issues 1 - 4

The Last Descendants: Tomb of the Khan (novel)

The Last Descendants: Fate of the Gods (novel)

Assassin’s Creed: the French Books (these have all been translated into english and theyre all graphic novels).

These books I would say to skip. If you want to read it you can, however the modern storyline has been said to no longer be canon anymore. The historical storyline however is still canon but not actually necessary to the plot of anything.

Cycle 1

Assassin’s Creed 1: Desmond

Assassin's Creed 2: Aquilus

Assassin's Creed 3: Accipiter

Assassin's Creed 4: Hawk

Assassin's Creed 5: El Cakr

Assassin's Creed 6: Leila

Cycle 2

Assassin’s Creed: Conspiracies

This takes place during WW2

Vol 1: Die Glocke

Vol 2: Project Rainbow

Cycle 3

Assassin’s Creed: Bloodstone

This takes place during the Vietnam War. A follow up on Conspiracies.

Vol 1: book one

Vol 2: book two

The last two I have listed (Conspiracies and Bloodstone) are canon to the comics’ modern storyline as well as the historical. Cycle one is not. They’re both graphic novels. Also I want to say that I have not read these two yet so idk if I’ll be allowed to recommend them but they’re there. I have no idea where they’re placed in terms of modern storyline bc these two are very confusing seeing as they originally were canon then told they weren’t and now they are again.

Other comics that I really have no idea where to place but they do exist if you want to read them:

Assassin’s Creed: Origins (mini series)

Four issues for this comic takes place following Aya and her journey. You get to see what happens with Cleopatra. I personally really like this comic you get some lore on the Brotherhood and Aya so it’s good. Read this after the video game. (Pretty positive it takes place after the game events but before the DLC: hidden ones)

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla: Song of Glory (mini series)

There are three issues in this. Haven’t read this one yet, however it focuses on Eivor. Read this alongside the video game.

Okay so for canon timeline purposes here is the exact order of everything I’ve listed and where they fall in for strictly the modern storyline:

1 The Fall and the Chain (also called subject four which is just the two of the books into one)

2 Desmond’s story

3 Brahman

4 Assassin’s Creed: Trial by Fire 1 - 5

5 Assassin’s Creed Templars: Black Cross 1 - 5

6 Assassin’s Creed: Setting Sun 6 - 10

6 Assassin’s Creed Templars: Cross of War 6 - 9

7 Assassin’s Creed: Homecoming 11 - 14

Assassin’s Creed Reflections (stand alone don’t have to read if you don’t want to but if you do, read along side the templar stories.)

8 Assassin’s Creed Syndicate modern storyline takes place here

9 Assassin’s Creed: Uprising

10 Origins modern storyline starts here and continues for assassin’s creed odyssey and valhalla*

*If you’re confused as to why Juno isn’t in the game plot anymore the comics explains it. Ubisoft has completely moved her story to the comics entirely and in doing so completely finished the story.

[malecacidd]

tag game

you can tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to

rules: put your favorite playlist on shuffle and list the first ten songs, then tag ten people. no skipping

Thabk for tagging me @peachygos 🥺🥺

1. Valerie by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson (Glee cast version)

2. Nine in the Afternoon by p!atd

3. Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time by p!atd

4. Subaru Crosstrek XV by Hobo Johnson

5. Everybody Talks by Neon Trees (Glee cast version)

6. The Ballad of Mona Lisa by p!atd

7. Girls by Girl in Red (exposed)

8. Somewhere Only We Know by Keane (Glee cast version)

9. Out of my League by Fitz and The Tantrums

10. My Shot - Hamilton

Tagging: @wild-lesbian-ace @is-jus-me @whatisthis-whatamidoing @ur-a-lizard-hairy @the-lyra-cal-trans @ivelivedathousanddlives @hecameinuninvitedandhewontleave @the-eleftheria @starlocked01 @musicalmaniac

[ace-of-garlic-breads]

TMNT (Ace's Version) Raphmona that I started in November and like, JUST finished lmao I friggn love them istg.

[tmnt-aces-version]

TMNT (Ace's version) Character relationship charts! (Legend in corner)

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

Rec This Thing: Panic! At The Disco Pray For The Wicked Europe Tour at AFAS LIVE

Panic! At The Disco Pray For The Wicked Europe Tour at AFAS Live 

My story: Look, in the span of less than a year I became a huge fan, so when they announced their show at AFAS Live, I was in.

Story: It’s a concert.

Rating (1 to 10): 10

Why?: After Hayley, and Troye, it was time for Panic! and lemme tell you something.

This was my favourite.

Once again, I was on my way to Amsterdam with Sammy in tow. We originally planned on going with Maikel, but tickets were sold out in seconds and he didn’t manage to grab them.

The road towards Amsterdam was wonky due to a possible terrorist attack in my country and due to faulty trains. On our way, we met up with two strangers who were also on their way to the concert. We talked about fake vegan burgers and airport security fails and of course Panic! At The Disco.

We parted ways at the entrance. It was packed. We were lucky we got there after the doors opened, because the line was so damn long that they added a second line. That line also happened to be shorter. That was our line. We still queued for a small half hour (and the police kept driving by because... y’know... possible terrorism) (it really was a terrible day for my country).

We bought merch and I got the long sleeved white shirt with High Hopes lyrics and then it was time to find a spot in the venue. Eventually, we got great balcony seats. Third row, close to the middle aisle. We had an amazing view.

*record scratch*

Wait. Hold on? You’re telling me that you could’ve found a standing place almost up front, like you did with Troye Sivan’s concert, and you didn’t?

Nope. I didn’t. For a few reasons actually:

We didn’t have to use the wardrobe.

The show was a very visual show and you could see it best from the balcony, since you could see the entire stage.

After all, Sammy and I are relatively small, so we wouldn’t be able to see shit unless we were completely front row.

I don’t like being stuck in crowds.

And the crowd was massive. It’s really confusing, cause both Troye and Panic! played sold out shows at AFAS Live but Panic!’s crowd was double the size. Ever since it got announced that Panic! got AFAS, I was very confused, because if you look at other venues of the PftW tour, they have massive venues sold out. Panic! easily could’ve played Ziggo Dome or whatever, but nope, they got AFAS. Hmmmm.

Anyway, I did consider going all the way up front so that I could hopefully give Brendon an ace flag to wear during Girls/Girls/Boys, cause that would mean the world to me, but the cons outweighed the pros and besides, I have nothing to complain about my seats. 

Especially now that I’ve seen YouTube videos from the people down at the standing room. It got hectic and loud and woah, at least I could still hear Brendon Urie himself.

The opening band was A R I Z O N A. The band, not the state. They’re from New Jersey. I wasn’t familiar with them, but by now I’ve listened to their entire discography and they’re good.

Then, it was time for an half hour long break and it was time for people to get annoying. Yup, as I mentioned, I had a great seat on the third row on the balcony. I was the first seat of that row, so no one blocked my view. It was wonderful.

But during A R I Z O N A’s set, people started leaning against the banister (is it called a banister?) of the balcony and people were crowding the steps in the aisle, aka people were blocking our views.

Sammy and I got so pissed.

Luckily, we weren’t the only ones cause the man in front of me actually told some people to leave, because they were blocking our view, but the moment those people left, new ones arrived.

So yeah, Sammy and I were pretty annoyed and then the countdown started, so we had a “well, shit, if we have to” moment, but three minutes before Panic! came on stage, security wiped the entire aisle. Everyone had to go all the way to the back to stand there behind the rows of seats.

A part of me felt a bit bad that all those people got pushed to probably the worst places in the entire venue, but man, on the other hand, Sammy and I were so damn glad.

And so, the countdown counted down (wow) to zero, while Toto’s Africa was playing, and the show started. I actually took a small video of all numbers and I put them together in a complication, excluding Girls/Girls/Boys and Bohemian Rhapsody. Those were long enough to have videos of their own.

Now, if someone’s reading this (hi), get something to drink cause this is gonna get long. When I talk about concerts, I write down the entire setlist and my thoughts on the performances, and wow, Panic!’s show was almost two hours long. 

How long? Well, someone put the full show online and it’s 1:48:20 long.

So yeah, the gorgeous purple lights turned on and Nicole (I’m gay), Mike, Dan, the horny boys and the wicked strings (I’M GAY) started playing and then Brendon arrived to start off with...

F**k A Silver Lining: We had one of those smaller stages (cause again, Ziggo Dome who??? I don’t know her!) so all those extras like Brendon jumping out of the stage didn’t happen. Luckily, the wonderfully beautiful visuals and lights were there. Silver linings came out of cannons and the show started. It was a beautiful sight, although it took me a while to realise that the images on the projections were supposed to be “motherfucking” cherries, not dicks.

Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time: Ah yes, Brendon Urie showing off his vocal range by singing random parts in falsetto. I love it and I sang along.

Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind): So delighted to hear this one, since it’s my favourite V&V song and once again, Brendon killed everyone with those high notes. They also put Mike in the spotlight, and it wasn’t the last time they did that during the show.

Hey Look Ma, I Made It!: Ah yes, Beebo. He actually showed up before the countdown. He was just chilling on stage. Anyway, I fucking loved the song.

LA Devotee: Nicole and Mike got front stage and bam LA Devotee, my favourite song from Bachelor, started playing. It was awesome.

Hallelujah: The girls in front of us lost it when the first note started playing. Brendon did his classy falsetto again and it was great.

Crazy = Genius: Hey look, fire. Anyway, this song is amazing and is it underrated? Idk? I love it so much.

The Ballad of Mona Lisa: People went apeshit when the first notes started playing. I really liked it.

Nine In The Afternoon: Where did Brendon go? Oh, he’s at the piano, aka it’s time for Nine In The Afternoon. I loved that you could hear the strings at the end so clearly.

One Of The Drunks: Ah yes, they added this song for the second leg and boy am I glad they did, since I absolutely love this song.

Casual Affair: Wow, okay. The visuals and the lights were amazing in every damn song, but Casual Affair had by far one of the best. AFAS Live became a big laser show. And nearing the end, a laser circle appeared on stage and Nicole and Mike joined Brendon in the circle. And then Brendon started singing very, very high. Probably the highest notes he’s had all evening. I was in absolute awe.

Vegas Lights: I am also so happy they did this song. I’ve loved it ever since I first listened to it and the energy in the room was so high.

Dancing’s Not A Crime: Annika from Plurk said that this song was so much fun live, and I am inclined to agree with her. This was so much fun! They did change the lyrics from “MJ up in the clouds” to someone else and the ending was also done in falsetto, which was great. Yup, yup, yup, Annika was right.

This Is Gospel: Brendon got a guitar and it was time for This Is Gospel. Now of course, this song is great and the added high notes were wonderful, but the very end was the best. After the song ended, Brendon, Nicole, Mike and Dan just jammed for one whole minute. Just music. I knew it was coming, so I filmed it.

Death Of A Bachelor: No surprise here, but Brendon told everyone he wrote it because he wanted to be Frank Sinatra. Since this is a smaller venue (... still... why...), he didn’t have to do the Death Walk, which is a good thing. It was just him and the horny boys on stage and the funk part was so much fun. Heh, horny boys. What a great pun.

It was time for a silent moment. The horny boys left the stage and Brendon started talking about he tried to learn Dutch at 3AM but he couldn’t get very far. Well, he got “Hartelijk bedankt” and “Ik hou van jullie allemaal”, and he thanked Google Translate. Anyway, he moved to the piano and he talked about how he hated it that his mum tried to teach him piano, but that he learned this song. The wicked strings returned and he started playing.

I Can’t Make You Love Me/Dying In LA: In the middle of the song, it transitioned into Dying In LA. Again, smaller stage (wtf), so the whole floating piano thing wasn’t there, but the music was obviously the same.

The Greatest Show: From a slow piano ballad to BAM this. I was not as disappointed by Panic!’s version of The Greatest Show as others, but I definitely agree that the song is much better live. Brendon sounded a bit raspy, which was great. He’d been raspy the entire show and it was great, but here it was amazing.

Girls/Girls/Boys: YES. IT’S TIME TO GET GAY. THE ONE I’VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO. Sure, I didn’t get to show off my ace flag, but Brendon still got flooded by flags, including 2 pan flags, 1 bi flag, and 1 trans flag. He commented on how it was the most flags he’s ever gotten. I saw even more flags in the audience, so he didn’t even get all of them. The Panic! Hearts were lovely, even though there was no rainbow. There was no assigned seating, so colours were everywhere. I had an orange heart and Sammy had a blue one. It still rained glitter and I almost cried when the rainbow love banner appeared. After the song, the rainbow laser lights appeared and Brendon gave a small speech. I want to relive this moment again.

King Of The Clouds: Smoak clouded (pun intended) the stage and it was time for King Of The Clouds. Not much to say, apart from the usual: it was great and the visuals were beautiful. The purple/green/blue colour scheme at the end was mesmerising.

High Hopes: CAN I JUST SAY THAT THAT MOMENT WHERE THE WICKED STRINGS BEND BACKWARDS IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS EVER? And also, oh boy, there were some high notes at High Hopes.

Miss Jackson: Brendon lost his golden jacket and Miss Jackson started playing. He did a backflip as well.

Roaring 20s: Another song that got added for leg two and just like One Of The Drunks, I welcome this change. Yup, I was one of those “*shoves 20$ to Brendon* Add Roaring 20s to the setlist!” people. NOW ONLY THE OVERPASS AND OLD FASHIONED LEFT.

Bohemian Rhapsody: How can you not sing along with this song? It’s iconic. I love the “ending”, so I filmed that (see link above). It’s 3 minutes long.

Emperor’s New Clothes: This is the one song in all of Panic!’s discography that I have mixed feeling about. Like, there are some songs I just dislike, and some I like, and some I love. But this song? Bruh idk. I sing along from the top of my lungs, because I like the energy, but do I like the song? Well, this time I fucking did cause it was a blast to hear it live and the lights were beautiful.

Then it was time for the encore. Some poor unfortunate souls behind us left. I heard another woman saying: “Don’t ever do that. Oh, this is so stupid.” The band slowly came back to the stage and Brendon lost his shirt.

Say Amen (Saturday Night): HE HIT THE HIGH NOTE HECK YEAH. I LOVE THIS SONG.

I Write Sins Not Tragedies: Ah yes, Sammy’s favourite song, since it’s a banger according to her. Well, she’s right. I am kinda glad that Brendon didn’t ask an audience member to sing with him.

It was time for the last song. Brendon said that he’s not the smartest guy (”I didn’t even go to college”), but that he knows that everyone is important due to, well, biology. He gave one of those inspirational celeb speeches about how everyone is important to him, but also to themselves. We were all born as winners, and that stuff.

Victorious: I knew they were going to end with Victorious and it’s the perfect song to end the show. It rained confetti and it was time for them to go. I didn’t want it to end.

They all waved goodbye and Mike and Dan threw stuff to the audience (probably guitar picks and those things). The girl in the seat behind me dropped her heart before Girls/Girls/Boys and she couldn’t find it. I found it after the show. I wanted to return it, but she was already gone, so I now also have a yellow heart.

And yeah, that was it.

Overall thoughts? Well...

I can’t go into detail about the visuals, but they really added something to the overall experience, so I actually recommend getting a seat that allows you to see the full stage in its glory.

Also, Sammy said: “I can no longer listen to the recorded versions now that he’s added all those amazing high notes” and that’s a big ass mood.

To quote Sammy some more, she said something about the beautiful intermission instrumentals between songs and how she’d even buy an album filled with those. That is also a big ass mood.

To continue this trend of quoting Sammy, I agree with her that watching Brendon dance was so much fun. I like that he’s having fun.

Anyway, it was time to go. Some girls complimented me on my ace flag, which was so fucking cool. Just like with Troye, the train station was flooded and there were still many flags.

Sammy and I got the train back home and we briefly saw the girls from before, so I said hi.

And that was it. What a day.

Recommend?: Please.... I want to do this again... oh god....

[mistergoldenwords]

P!ATD Version 1

"This is Gospel for the fallen ones locked away in permanent slumber, assembling their philosophies from pieces of broken memories, mama said don't give up it's a little complicated, all tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting. The black magic on Mull Holland Drive, swimming pools under desert skys, drinking white wine in the blushing skies, I am so much more than royal, snach your chains and mace your eyes. If it feels good, taste good, it must be mine. Heroes always get remembered, but you know legends never die! Oh! Where will you be waking up tomorrow morning? Oh! Out the back door goddamn love her anyway! Yes, but what a shame, what a shame the poor groom's bride is a whore! If I had one more day to wish, if I had one more day to be better than I could have ever been. Hey look Ma, I made it! Everthing's coming up aces, if it's a dream don't wake me! Say what you mean tell me I'm right and let the sun rain down on me, give me a sighn I want to believe this night is heating up, raise Hell and turn it up, saying "If you go out pass out in a drain pipe!" Oh, yeah don't threaten me with a good time! All you sinners stand up sing Hallelujah! (Hallelujah!) Show praise with your body stand up, sing Hallelujah! (Hallelujah!) And if you can't stop shaking, lean back, let it move right through ya! Say your prayers, say your prayers, say your prayers!"

Songs used: This is Gospel, LA Devotee, Mona Lisa, Sins not Tragedies, Ms. Jackson, Emperors new clothes, High Hopes, Hallelujah, threaten me with a good time, Saturday night & Hey look Ma I made it

[oscartrivia]

All 84 Best Original Song Oscar Winners Ranked Worst to Best (Part 2)

Here’s Part 2 of our ranking of the best (and worst) Oscar selections for Best Original Song. If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, you can start there, or just trust me that you’re only missing the 12 worst songs in Oscar history and just start here!

72. Writing's on the Wall (from Spectre — 2015)

Of all the James Bond songs on this list, this one is the least exciting. For me, Sam Smith’s vocals just make this a strange song. Maybe it’s unfair, but with Adele’s excellent “Skyfall” coming just a few years earlier, this song just doesn’t quite measure up.

71. It Goes Like It Goes (from Norma Rae — 1979)

Norma Rae is an important film, and the lyrics of this song are a sugarcoated version of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” without the bite. The melody is  uninspired, and overall the song is a waste of Jennifer Warnes considerable vocal talents.

70. I'm Easy (from Nashville — 1975)

“I’m Easy” is a perfectly pleasant little country ditty, but there’s nothing particularly special about it. Nashville is full of songs with more energy and more fun than this one.

69. The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart) (from Crazy Heart — 2009)

Crazy Heart may have just suffered from poor timing--it’s core song “The Weary Kind” has some of the heart that “I’m Easy” lacks, but the film itself pales in comparison to Country Strong which came just a year later and told a story that has some big similarities. It was also a shame to see this song win over “Loin de Paname” (one of the best foreign-language songs ever nominated for an Oscar), and over a pair of ditties from The Princess and the Frog that handed Randy Newman his 17th and 18th Oscar losses.

68. Born Free (from Born Free — 1966)

This song has a certain nostalgic value for people from a certain era, but its soaring crescendos just aren’t enough to lift this song out of the basement of this list. There’s nothing terrible about “Born Free,” it’s just a song that doesn’t hold up 50+ years later.

67. You'll Never Know (from Hello, Frisco, Hello — 1943)

A sweet but forgettable little ditty from a film that could be described the same way. Somehow, though, the best version of this song came when the original performer, Alice Faye, sang it again over 40 years later:

66. Sweet Leilani (from Waikiki Wedding — 1937)

The legendary Bing Crosby sang 14 nominated songs over the years, starting with 1934′s “Love in Bloom” all the way to 1960′s “The Second Time Around.” The songs range from outright classics (we’ll talk about “White Christmas” and “Swinging on a Star” much later) to oddities like “Zing a Little Zong” to my personal favorite, 1945′s “Ac-Cen-Tchu-Ate the Positive.” While “Sweet Leilani” isn’t the worst of the bunch, it does fall on the blander side, especially compared to the rest of Bing’s body of work.

65. Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man) (from Dick Tracy — 1990)

Say one thing for this tune: its appeal has long outlived that of the film it originated from. The double entendre and lyrical wordplay are trademarks of its author, Stephen Sondheim, but what actually makes this song halfway decent is Madonna’s sultry vocal performance.

64. Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) (from Arthur — 1981)

I’m not entirely sure what “If you get caught between the moon and New York City, the best that you can do is fall in love.” actually means. And I’ve spent more time than I should admit thinking about it. It seems like it’s calling NYC a romantic place, but I’m just not sure that’s what the words mean. Anyways, this song is a bit of an earworm sometimes. Not too bad, but nothing too special either. And it beat out what I think is one of the better James Bond flick themes, Sheena Easton singing “For Your Eyes Only.”

63. Baby, It's Cold Outside (from Neptune's Daughter — 1949)

This perennial Christmas favorite has been the subject of much discussion over the years about whether it holds up against modern sensibilities (particularly the “what’s in this drink” line). The cringeworthiness of the songs outward premise—that a woman is trying to leave and a man is trying to coerce her into spending the night—may not take into account the context of the film or the era, but that doesn’t invalidate the critique itself. The best songs are timeless, and this song is problematic in the #MeToo era. Those factors bumped it down on this list, below songs with less catchy melodies and much less staying power.

62. Mona Lisa (from Captain Carey, U.S.A. — 1950)

It’s hard to dislike any song with Nat King Cole’s velvety vocals. This song is a bit simplistic, and seems to have literally nothing to do with the film it originates from...it’s just a song about a painting, apropos of nothing. 

61. It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp (from Hustle & Flow — 2005)

I distinctly remember being very annoyed when this song won the Oscar. Unlike the previous entry on this list, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” definitely fits into the film it comes from, and it’s indicative of music in the the genre and era it occupies, but the lyrics are still a bit hard to swallow. To make matters worse, the song beat out Dolly Parton’s beautiful, heartwarming “Travelin’ Through,” which deserved far more accolades than it received. Despite its issues, though, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” falls squarely in the “so-so” section of this list for it’s peppy, catchy beat and its groundbreaking status as the first hip-hop winner of Best Song.

[bardqueenofgallifrey]

Classic Who: Starter Pack/List of Recommended Stories

So, you love Doctor Who and want to see what the Classic series is all about. But, you know, it ran for 26 years and it’s fucking huge and just way too daunting, and something about missing episodes?? Help?? Never fear. 

The great thing about Doctor Who, especially Classic Who, is that watching it in order really isn’t that important. 

So, as far as I’m concerned, the best way to get into Classic Who is to sample a bit of each Doctor, and see what takes. And so here is my list of recommendations for each Doctor for those of you wanting to give this beautiful low budget sci-fi meme-factory masterpiece a try. 

Note 1: Classic Who is formatted differently to New Who. It’s made up of ‘serials’, which are storylines of anything from 2-10 episodes, 25 minutes each. Most are 4, but 2 and 6 parters are also common in some eras. So I’m recommending the serials, as opposed to episodes, obviously. 

Note 2: I want to express that this is my personal rec list, and what I think people will enjoy/enjoyed myself. I’m not claiming that these are definitely the best storylines or the ones people will enjoy most because Doctor Who is an incredibly subjective show, and deciding on ‘best’ storylines is so difficult. So, this list is fallible, probably, but I hope you like it anyway. 

These are listed, in chronological order, with serial title, then companions, and then any additional notes I have about the story. 

(Italicised serial title is my top rec for that era if you’re just looking for one of each, with the exception of The Unearthly Child because it’s the first one so just watch it, okay?)

First Doctor

An Unearthly Child (not the unaired pilot version, the proper first episode!! If Susan is drawing weird shit on paper you’re watching the wrong one) - Ian, Barbara and Susan - just episode 1 and first half of ep 2, once they leave the TARDIS you’re good to stop unless you want to keep going which is totally fair but it’s just a lot of cavemen grunting about fire really, though there is an interesting moment where the Doctor wants to kill a dude with a rock

The Aztecs - Ian, Barbara, and Susan - okay basically if you want the serious historical storyline go with this one, otherwise see The Romans

The Dalek Invasion of Earth - Ian, Barbara and Susan 

The Romans - Ian, Barbara, and Vicki (newly joined) - if you want the funny, very silly historical storyline, go with this one, otherwise, go Aztecs

Second Doctor

The Mind Robber - Zoe and Jamie

The War Games  - Zoe and Jamie (as a warning, it’s fucking 10 episodes long but really good if a little stretched out) - first naming of and appearance of Time Lords as a people, Two’s regeneration episode 

Third Doctor

Three’s era has way too many great serials so I’m just gonna let you pick from what you think sounds good. All of these feature the Brigadier to some capacity, too. 

Spearhead in Space - Liz (first appearance) - important for getting an idea of what the UNIT situation is, first Auton appearance, first episode following the regeneration

Inferno - Liz - it’s basically an “all the Doctors friends are evil!AU verse” story

Terror of the Autons - Jo (first appearance), first appearance of the Master

The Sea Devils - iconic Best Enemies serial (the sword fight!), has the Silurian’s “cousins” the Sea Devils, plus the actual Navy and lots of boats

The Three Doctors - Jo - MULTI DOCTOR, First and Second Doctor, first appearance of Omega

The Time Warrior - Sarah Jane (first appearance) - first Sontaran appearance, first naming of Gallifrey! 

Fourth Doctor

Genesis of the Daleks - Sarah Jane and Harry - first Davros appearance/Dalek origin stuff! TMA/TWF in Series 9 of New Who is basically a sequel to this story

Invasion of Time - Leela - set on Gallifrey with Time Lords and Sontarans

City of Death - Romana II (Time Lady companion!!) - centred around the Mona Lisa kinda 

Fifth Doctor

The Five Doctors - Tegan and Turlough - plus old companions, MULTI DOCTOR, first five doctors except Four

Caves of Androzani - Peri (newly joined) - very acclaimed story, Five’s regeneration episode, think Phantom of the Opera meets alien mining shit  

Sixth Doctor

I’ve not seen enough of his first season so this is my main rec, along with the whole Trial of a Time Lord season if you’re looking for more Six. 

Mark of the Rani - Peri - first appearance of the Rani (another renegade Time Lord, amoral scientist who was at school with the Doc and the Master, hates them both lmao), plus the Master, it’s a big messy school reunion set during the Industrial Revolution

Seventh Doctor

Remembrance of the Daleks - Ace - set at Coal Hill, Ace beats a Dalek up with a baseball bat, literally creating the “defining moment of awesome” trope because she’s that iconic

The Happiness Patrol - Ace - dystopia where unhappiness is illegal, the TARDIS gets painted pink

Eighth Doctor 

The 1996 movie - Grace - take the ‘half human’ thing with a grain of salt because Eight is a little shit and the Master was dealing with shifty information

And there we are!

If anyone gets through this list and wants to ask for additional recs, feel free to come into my inbox, I’m always up for helping others get into the joy that is Classic Who. 

Otherwise, sit back, strap in, and prepare to laugh at some questionable guest acting, stuffy Time Lords in stupid clothes, and of course the old/cheap special effects. And of course, enjoy, because the storylines are still solid as HELL and so are the main characters. 

[stephenmccull]

Must-Reads of the Week From Lauren Olsen

Hiya! I’m Lauren Olsen, your new Newsletter Editor. That’s right — the totally official, no more fill-ins, always-here-for-you Newsletter Editor. As the replacement for editor extraordinaire Brianna Labuskes, I’m here to tackle all your health news needs.

Why yes, you’re right — a pandemic is a heck of a time to take over this job. I’d argue, however, that it’s the best time, because who doesn’t need a hand sorting out all this craziness? So far, 2020 has been like trying to paint the “Mona Lisa” while riding a unicycle in a rainstorm — in other words, a sloppy mess teetering on disaster — but, with any luck, when it’s done we might all manage to smile.

In the meantime, I won’t Louvre you in the lurch. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Be sure to read each day’s top health news headlines in KHN’s Morning Briefing, compiled by yours truly. Please subscribe, if you haven’t already — and tell your colleagues and friends, too. Have a comment about the Briefing or the Breeze? Send me an email at laureno@kff.org. I look forward to hearing from you.

A Gift for You, My New Friend

Because we’ve just met, I’d like to offer you a token of friendship: Today’s Breeze will do its best to have a positive spin. Things are dreary enough in the world right now — you don’t need me to blow more gray clouds your way. In the words of Helen Keller, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

What’s Donald Up To?

Today, let’s play a game called “What’s Donald Up To?” You won’t win any points or money. What you will win is the knowledge that there are 180 days until Inauguration Day! (I suppose your real prize will be if “your guy” wins, whether it’s President Donald Trump, Joe Biden or Kanye West.)

So what is Donald up to? He began his busy week of tweeting, mask-wearing and name-calling with a feisty interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace on Sunday. In it, he lamented increased COVID testing (“I’m glad we do it, but it really skews the numbers”), called Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s infectious diseases superstar, an “alarmist,” boasted about the sagging U.S. economy (“I built the greatest economy in history, I’m now doing it again”), reasserted his opinion that the virus will “disappear” and downplayed the potentially devastating physical effects of COVID-19 by saying some people just have the “sniffles.” When asked about the nearly 1,000 deaths a day in the U.S., Trump said it “is what it is.” On the positive side? Well, the interview was only about an hour.

The critiques rolled in, and for most of the week we saw a kinder, gentler version of Trump. Maybe it was because he was happy he supposedly aced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test that detects early signs of dementia. Or maybe it was because he’d passed “multiple” COVID tests a day, according to his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany. (“I don’t know of any time I’ve taken two in one day,” he clarified a few hours later.) Or perhaps he was simply feeling generous, providing $5 billion for struggling nursing homes, resuming COVID task force briefings, renewing the national public health emergency and even (gasp!) tweeting a pic of himself wearing a mask. But I think the real reason may have been because two White House cafeterias closed this week after a staffer tested positive for the coronavirus — providing another excuse for him to keep eating McDonald’s. (Just a theory.)

Even so, Trump’s good mood subsided by the end of the week, probably because he had to cancel the GOP convention in Jacksonville, Florida, amid the state’s rising COVID cases. (Not to mention that the Duval County sheriff did warn him about not being able to provide security.)

Wondering what Biden, Trump’s probable Democratic rival in November, was up to? Well, this week he released his massive “caregiving plan” for Americans — $775 billion over 10 years. (That certainly would buy a lot of Care Bears.)

California and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

California, the most populous state, on Wednesday surpassed New York as the worst-hit state for cases (tallying 413,576 as of that day). The increase of 12,112 was the biggest single-day increase since the pandemic started. At the national level, there have been 4 million cases — it took only 15 days to jump from 3 million to 4 million — and the death toll stands at 144,000. Unfortunately, the rise in cases is outpacing the rise in testing, with The New York Times explaining: “About 21,000 cases were reported per day in early June, when the positive test rate was 4.8 percent. As testing expanded, the positive test rate should have fallen. … Instead, the positive test rate has nearly doubled.”

The number of COVID cases is likely 10 times higher than what we thought, experts now say. On Saturday, the FDA approved the use of pooled testing, essentially allowing the testing of many more people using fewer tests. But the White House, not to be outdone, announced it would push to phase out funding for testing from the COVID-relief bill in Congress. (More on that in a minute.)

In the “oops” category, 113 people in Rhode Island, about 90 in Connecticut, 26 in Kentucky and dozens in New York were told they had COVID-19 when in fact they had tested negative. (Does that qualify as positive news? I’m not sure, but I’m happy those folks are fine.) Conversely, in The Villages, Florida, one of America’s biggest retirement communities known for its golf and rockin’ house parties, is seeing a spike in positive cases, jumping from the single digits last month to at least 29 last week.

Scientists delved into the big question this week: Can you get reinfected with COVID? And the absolute, no-doubt-about-it answer was: Um, not sure. But it’s unlikely, they say. Scientists did determine that mosquitoes most likely don’t spread COVID, and they’re testing whether UV light, which can kill many nasty germs, can kill this virus, too. As a bonus, the CDC now says that if you do get sick, you should isolate for 10 days, not 14. (But severely ill patients should isolate for 20 days.)

So Much for Vacation

Congress returned from a two-week summer recess Monday to begin work on the fifth COVID-relief bill of the year, and it played out like a real-life version of Chevy Chase’s “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” starring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as Clark Griswold, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the Ferrari-driving Christie Brinkley and Trump as the security guard at Walley World who basically ends their fun. (My goodness, can’t you just envision it?)

Republicans had a $1 trillion agenda that included funds for schools and COVID testing, a payroll tax cut, direct checks for individuals and $600-a-week stipends for laid-off workers. Senate Republicans seemed near a deal with the White House on Wednesday as the Griswold family station wagon chugged along. But the car crashed Thursday when the two groups failed to reach an agreement on the unemployment issue. (Mind you, the Democrats haven’t even gotten involved yet.) Republicans vowed to have a new deal next week. As all this was going on, smooth-driving Pelosi left tire tracks all over Trump while speaking on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Tuesday, calling the coronavirus the “Trump virus.”

Let’s Make a Deal: Which Vaccine Is Behind Door No. 1?

Am I the only person who can’t keep track of all the vaccines and treatments in play? Chinese group Sinopharm said it will have a vaccine ready for the public before the end of the year. (Woohoo!) British pharmaceutical firm Synairgen announced a breakthrough nebulizer treatment that reduces the severity of COVID-19, and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine AZD1222 showed promising results in human trials, too. Meanwhile, behind Door No. 2, the Russians are insisting they didn’t try to steal British coronavirus vaccine research.

Back in the good ol’ U.S. of A., five pharmaceutical giants testified to Congress on Tuesday that they wouldn’t cut corners when developing a vaccine. And Wednesday, as if on cue, Pfizer and German firm BioNTech made an unusual $1.95 billion deal to supply 100 million doses of a not-yet-finished vaccine to the federal government, which plans on giving it to Americans at no cost. (Not to nitpick, but there are 330 million people in America. I’m not great a math, but still …)

Meanwhile, behind Door No. 3, the Department of Justice indicted two Chinese nationals this week on charges that they hacked and stole research from companies working on COVID vaccines in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Spain, Australia and other nations.

The REALLY Important Questions

Sure, all of that stuff has big implications. But here in the real world, we’re worried about simpler stuff. For example, when can I watch NFL football? (Not for a while.) Has baseball started? (Yes!) Can I travel to the Bahamas (no), Niagara Falls (yes) or New York (maybe)? If I live in California and need a haircut, where can I get one? (Outdoors.) Should I buy my teen some condoms? (It’s up to you, but more adolescents are improvising with plastic wrap — shudder.) Does it hurt to get shot with a less-lethal projectile? (Um, HECK YES.) Should I wear a mask in Atlanta, at a Marriott hotel or when buying jeans at the Gap? (Yes.) How about at the bank? (Yes, as long as you promise not to rob the joint.)

That about wraps it up for me. Hope you enjoyed my inaugural Breeze. Keep smiling! Until next week,

— Lauren

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Must-Reads of the Week From Lauren Olsen published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/