#mostly I went with the earliest time I remember it entering the rotation

[mykidself]

96 Albums I listened to, and was deeply into or deeply impacted by, age 5-18, in (roughly) chronological order. Made with Topsters.

List of artists and album titles behind the cut.

1. The Beatles - With The Beatles

2. Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree

3. Various Artists - The Lion King

4. Elton John - Elton John's Greatest Hits

5. Original London Cast - Phantom Of The Opera

6. Hanson - Middle Of Nowhere

7. The Wallflowers - Bringing Down The Horse

8. Smash Mouth - Astro Lounge

9. Sugar Ray - 14:59

10. Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind

11. Third Eye Blind - Blue

12. Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want

13. Green Day - Dookie

14. blink-182 - The Mark, Tom And Travis Show

15. Built to Spill - Keep It Like a Secret

16. Our Lady Peace - Clumsy

17. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication

18. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape

19. Nirvana - Nevermind

20. Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up the Girl

21. Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

22. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

23. Papa Roach - Infest

24. Staind - Break the Cycle

25. Alien Ant Farm - Anthology

26. Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler

27. P.O.D. - Satellite

28. System of a Down - Toxicity

29. Howard Shore - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

30. System of a Down - System of a Down

31. Staind - Dysfunction

32. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People

33. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American

34. Sum 41 - Does This Look Infected?

35. System of a Down - Steal This Album!

36. blink-182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket

37. Tool - Lateralus

38. Tool - Ænima

39. Tool - Undertow

40. Deftones - White Pony

41. Evanescence - Fallen

42. 36 Crazyfists - Bitterness the Star

43. A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step

44. A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms

45. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia

46. dredg - El Cielo

47. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon

48. Pink Floyd - The Wall

49. Radiohead - Kid A

50. Depeche Mode - Violator

51. Opeth - Blackwater Park

52. Opeth - Damnation

53. Opeth - Deliverance

54. The Ataris - So Long, Astoria

55. The Ataris - Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits

56. The Ataris - End Is Forever

57. Box Car Racer - Box Car Racer

58. Jimmy Eat World - Clarity

59. The Early November - The Room's Too Cold

60. Further Seems Forever - The Moon is Down

61. Finch - What It Is to Burn

62. Thursday - War All The Time

63. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News

64. Staind - 14 Shades of Grey

65. Bright Eyes - Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

66. Bright Eyes - Fevers and Mirrors

67. Elliott Smith - XO

68. Elliott Smith - Either/Or

69. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

70. Radiohead - The Bends

71. Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

72. Coheed and Cambria - The Second Stage Turbine Blade

73. Queen - Greatest Hits

74. The Decemberists - Picaresque

75. The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts

76. The Decemberists - Her Majesty the Decemberists

77. Jonathan Larson - Rent

78. The Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls

79. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

80. AFI - Sing the Sorrow

81. Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch

82. Green Day - American Idiot

83. Jimmy Eat World - Futures

84. System of a Down - Hypnotize

85. System of a Down - Mezmerize

86. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs

87. Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth

88. The Beatles - Love

89. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

90. Arcade Fire - Funeral

91. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism

92. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

93. Radiohead - OK Computer

94. Elliott Smith - Figure 8

95. Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill

96. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

[dreadwhoop]

Super Torment Mode Diary - Prologue & Day 1 Recap

http://dreadwhoop.tumblr.com/post/153000857118/super-torment-mode

PRELUDE -

I want to first say Pokemon Sun/Moon is a very strong inclusion to the series - certainly the strongest since Gen V and surpasses Gen III, Gen VI, and Gen IV easily. I think the most refreshing aspect are, aside from the great UI improvements (Pokedex, quick selecting Pokeballs), how they addressed certain Gen I Pokemon and revised them to be appealing for the first time whilst making the new inclusions feel less recycling of the same concepts than before. The world itself is likeable and thankfully opted not to include a massive Sea Route between islands holy balls it would of been horrendous. I think the plot unfortunately reveals itself a tad too quickly however it does have strong moments in the reveals and boss battles. I am gobsmacked of all things to omit they omit Farfetch'd (despite at one point you getting a Stick from somebody) and Solrock/Lunatone - the Pokemon LITERALLY MADE TO LOOK LIKE A SUN AND MOON.

So, yeah, right off the bat one of my rules is completely pointless. Oops!

Spoilers are below although the story itself is not a central focus more how I need to address new mechanics and variations on the traditions of the series to better tweak the ruleset aka Super Torment 2.0. I had to make and adjust rules as I went along so felt sharing the process will help deign what works and what does not. It could of helped if I was also a better player*! Remember - I did this blind - I didn't look up walkthroughs, spoil myself in any way, and tried my best to not expect anything too different from a conventional Pokemon game.

The ruleset is not final from this post - it'll be condensed in due time. For now enjoy reading some of the experiences of this particular playthrough.

Yes I realise it is long and likely boring - just skip to parts highlighted if you'd rather not read it all.

*Imagine if I did this mode in an SMT game. I think I'd of become a crazy cat lady.

---

DAY 1 (Dec 26th)

NOTE - I have the ability to get the bonus launch Munchlax as a gift. For the purposes of this playthrough I am going to grab it but it will be placed in a special box and assumed not to exist. The reasons behind are simply because gift Pokemon are, whilst not strictly breaking Rule 5 on traded Pokemon, still changing the ruleset because it's possible playthroughs of this game with this mode may not include this Pokemon and thus a disparity occurs I'd rather not have to address. This goes for all gift Pokemon. Now it should be stressed although I have 'caught' Munchlax it should not count as an official team member so if I find one in the wild then I'm entitled to collect it. As for the items gift Pokemon hold they remain on the gift Pokemon too. Hope this clears up any potential confusion from them! (This includes Pokemon imported from the Demo version of Sun/Moon).

***

NOTE - I keep Battle Style to Switch...swapping in battle should be allowed and this should highlight a change to Rule 1 - When you SWITCH Pokemon your rotation on the moves are reset so you can create a new rotation once switched back.

I CHOOSE YOU ROWLET! I named it Ibid. Has a Hardy Nature hmmm...yeah I know people might enforce soft resets but honestly I don't care too deeply.

I did a bit of Pokemon Refresh with Ibid.

NOTE - Pokemon Refresh is perfectly allowed - in fact it's highly encouraged you use it often.

Okay here we go first battle. Now remember - Rule 1 is I can only use moves once then I have to exhaust the others before using again. Leafage, then Tackle, then Growl for now. I combed Ibid after battle to help him out! Stay clean!

Once you've dealt with the intro and Kukui gives you 10 Pokeballs it's time to get cracking on the crux of Super Torment mode!

NOTE - Remember - do not use healing items.

NOTE - Okay remember Rule 3? - Upon entering a new Route you cannot leave until you have at least met 3 Pokemon in a row in which they are all ones you have captured. NOTE - This brings me to a rather novel idea I had in mind on Super Torment mode - balancing out capturing a weakened Pokemon to one who is not. See if they're weakened then they'll likely die when you use them unless they go to the box. In the early captures weakening is actually bad. I feel you can get away with it I just figure it'd be amusing if you forgot you can't heal. Of course if you don't and they escape capture then you'll get punished...a tricky predicament!

NOTE - I realised I never threw down a ruleset to say you can't heal at your Mom's place. I guess you really shouldn't but I am not going to account this as a hard rule so I'm choosing not to but if you want to it's cool. Remember - NO HEALING or POKE CENTER HEALS. Once you get to Hau'oli City resting at your Mum's place is completely off-limits for the rest of the game. NOTE - you can go through the entire game without ever talking to the Pokemon Nurse (pretty sure no cutscene forces you outside of Blackouts which don't count for obvious reasons). NOTE - A newer inclusion is the fact upon capturing Pokemon you get exp. Only capture your first encounter of a new Pokemon and you cannot run if it's new. If it's not new then you must run from it.

Here I encountered, in order, a Pikipek, Caterpie, a Yungoos, a Ledyba, then another Caterpie, a Yungoos, and another Yungoos so now I'm free to avoid the brush if so desired. Keep in mind you can STILL look for Pokemon if you wish but remember - new = must capture and caught = run.  

Okay first battle went great...I already have 2 KO'd Pokemon LOL (Caterpie and Yungoos). Ebony Rattata too stronk for lowbies.

NOTE - I got a free heal through Hala so this is ok. Mandatory heals you don't trigger unless they progress story are fine but don't abuse them - use once or not at all. As you progress through the game you'll meet many people outside of the Nurses who heal (especially Lillie) so for non-Blind playthroughs it's very much the case you can't use them unless it forces you to do so. NOTE - It's possible you may run into a Metapod before a Caterpie. Here's the rule, especially given Rule 0 no longer functions - if you know a mid-form or evolved form of a Pokemon can exist in the same area as its Basic (another example would be say Pichu and Pikachu in the same place) you can only get the Basic form. Much much later on there will be exceptions but this is the rule.

I finished this session getting a Rattata.

NOTE - It's entirely possible you can on Route 1, even before fighting your Rival again, to have found and caught a Pikipek, a Caterpie, a Yungoos, a Ledyba, a Pichu, and even a Grubbin. Now this, including your Starter, means 7 Pokemon - what occurs with the 7th if the team is all active and none are KO'd? It gets boxed. What if there is a KO'd Pokemon. You can add to party and swap out the EARLIEST Pokemon KO'd. As the game progresses it's wise to consider this notion when strategically allocating for new Pokemon - after all not every Pokemon you get initially is a beast (see Abra or Smeargle) so you may want to have them as meat shields for your Pokeballs but then of course one has to balance the fact if you catch them too early before they KO said meat shield and your steam is full...it gets boxed. This is why healing and swapping Pokemon is such a reliant part of why most players find this game easy not just grinding and knowing what's ahead - all of which is specifically denied to see how adaptive one can be.

###BREAK### (This means session break on 3DS so I come back to it later)

NOTE - As I touched on before, Sun/Moon has a rather large and extensive Route 1. I gather it is all the same but it is mindful given the 3 seperate areas depicting it - the part North of your house, the part South of your house and the part West of your house. I'd say they are all the same so the rules apply to assume it is all Route 1.

Okay left off at the lab. I like the fact Poliwhirl is the 'Alola everyman' Pokemon here.

Got a Grubbin! NOTE - Festival Plaza is totally allowed go nuts with it.

NOTE - You are absolutely allowed to use Refresh to heal up status inflictions after battles. Just don't use full heals and the like during or before battles.

NOTE - Okay regarding Rule 2 - Going back to a Pokemon Centre after a Pokemon is KO'd is only encouraged if it is on the forward path NOT backtracking. Yeah because I imagine someone would be pedantic and just go back every time thus soft 'healing' their Pokemon. Don't do this. So, since you're on Route 1 still, you can rotate Pokemon here if one KO'd but once you step into Hau'oli City this Pokemon Centre is off-limits. Doesn't really matter since Hau'oli City has one too I'm just saying some routes later on do not and you just have to push forward.

NOTE - It's totally cool to use this item and have it turned on. Why would I restrict it what kind of monster do you think I am?!

Got a Grimer!

FAIL! I accidentally used a 2nd String Shot before I rotated out my Vice Grip and Mud-Slap on my Grubbin. Basically used String Shot then Mud-Slap then String Shot again. I went automode since it was a Bonsly using Copycat. Yeah my bad there. Try not to fuck up on Super Torment mode. Used Vice Grip and then Mud-Slap and then Vice Grip again so now it's all even at 2 uses each. NOTE - Given how the game under Super Torment can be a long one to remember which rotations you have per battle/switch I expect at some point you may foul up your rotation by accident as I did. Therefore let's be fair and say a single muck-up isn't a disqualification but you get 3 lifelines here. If you make a rotation error 3 times in your playthrough though then it is a disqualification. I am on one strike now. NOTE - Held items are (mostly) allowed. Pending specific omissions later. NOTE - A flinch counts as also using a move even if denied. See Confused. NOTE - Replacing moves when a Pokemon levels up to learn more than 4 is normal. No need to force replace anything. Just treat like normal. NOTE - Okay this might be considered a breaking of Rule 2 at first but let me explain. I just battled the teacher and every Pokemon got KO'd save for Ibid. Now according to what I wrote down I should technically go to the Pokemon Centre to swap out but I won't because they got healed up after. The rules are if the Pokemon is KO'd after the battle and I can go if they are KO'd then it's fair but since they're not it doesn't count. Yeah it's kinda bullshitty logic but again it is my ruleset. In other words - when a battle ends look at your Pokemon. Are they KO'd? If so then go to a viable Pokemon Centre if it's on your route. If not you gotta wait until the next one on your path. What if they get healed before you reach one? Then they're not rotated out. If they were healed when you check after battle then assume it to be a mandatory heal.

Finally at HAU'OLI CITY.

Found an Abra! It ran away ofc...

NOTE - Here I find everyone's favourite teleporting annoyance Abra. Now what happens if a Pokemon runs before you can capture it? Well...you have to find it again. Yep - any Pokemon you don't capture but know they are in the current area must be found and caught before moving on...if you get a Blackout prior you have to return and try again. My advice? Hope you are lucky not to encounter before meeting 3 Pokemon you have captured! NOTE - Taking photos records to your Pokedex...

Got a Meowth! Got Abra! Got Wingull!

Ended Day 1 at the Pokemon Centre in Hau’oli City.

###BREAK###

[shontaviajesq]

What to do when an American president (or anyone else) is vindictive, racist, and out to get you - Lessons from Ona Judge

When I was in middle school, I went on a field trip from my small town in South Carolina to Washington D.C. I was part of something called Kennedy on Stage, which was kind of like “Glee” for middle school students. I wasn’t particularly musically or artistically inclined, but I knew KoS had great field/performance trips and I wanted desperately to visit anywhere outside of my small town, so there I was.

I remember two things distinctly from the D.C. trip. #1 was the fact that it was SO STRANGE for me to see my teachers outside of school. Who knew that middle school teachers had lives outside the classroom? Even though I had a number of teachers in my family (including my own mother), it was strange to see my teachers in shorts and sneakers, bopping to whatever was playing on their Walkmans (Google it, Generation Z-ers).

#2 was our opportunity to tour Mount Vernon, the plantation of George and Martha Washington. This was the earliest of the 90s, and what I most recall from the tour was not hearing much at all about the enslaved people who lived and toiled there. There was some brief mention of them, mostly of the happy slave variety, and I was pissed. At that age, my parents had taught me a lot and I knew the dangerous nature of this kind of revisionist narrative, as terribly illustrated by this TRAGEDY of a children’s book:

I had a right to be pissed. One of the stories missing from that tour was that of Ona “Oney” Judge, who I learned about much later in life. Ona’s life and story is remarkable, and there’s a lot we can learn from her even today. There are [at minimum] three things I think we can learn from Ona, who was targeted and hunted by America’s first president, who was vindictive, racist, and out to get her.

#1. Run away from, and stay away from, the President’s (or other aggressor’s) house.

Ona had been enslaved by George and Martha Washington at Mount Vernon from the age of ten years old (Washington himself had, quite literally, been a slave owner for most of his life—he received his first ten slaves at eleven years old). Ona’s mother was an enslaved woman owned by Martha Washington’s first husband. When he died, Martha received a lifetime interest in a group of enslaved people, including Ona. Essentially, these people had to work for Martha, but then once Martha died any ownership interest would go back to her first husband’s family (this all may sound familiar to those of us who suffered through 1L property law). Le sigh.

Ona became a skilled seamstress and worked mostly for Martha. When George became America’s first president in 1789, he took seven enslaved people with him to the nation’s capital (then New York City). Ona was one of those seven. When the capital moved to Philadelphia in 1790, Ona was one of nine enslaved people who was taken there too.

Interestingly, Pennsylvania had a law called “An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery,” which authorized a-slow-but-deliberate end to slavery in 1780 in Pennsylvania. It also prohibited people from importing slaves into Pennsylvania, while providing some flexibility to slave owners who came to visit the state. While the law was somewhat complicated, it basically allowed slaveholders visiting Pennsylvania to keep slaves in the state for up to 6 months. A term longer than this meant that slaveholders had to free their slaves.

George Washington, who had moved to Pennsylvania to serve as president, exploited a loophole in the law. He would rotate his slaves out before the 6 month deadline, thus keeping them in bondage so that they didn’t have to be freed under the Pennsylvania law.

Ona was one of the people rotated in and out of Pennsylvania this way by George Washington. She hated being enslaved, particularly after having seen free blacks during her rotations in Pennsylvania. She decided to escape after being told that she was going to be given to the Washington’s granddaughter as a wedding gift. The next time she was scheduled to go back to Virginia, she secretly boarded a ship to New Hampshire and successfully escaped. This was in 1796. She had made friends with free blacks in Pennsylvania and they helped her get out undetected (at least for a long enough period of time to make it out).

Ona began to make a new, life in New Hampshire—getting married, having children, and finding work where she could. While it was difficult, and she experienced significant familial and other hardships, she was quoted later as saying that her freedom had been worth it all. Leaving the president’s home was a good move for her.

On to the next lesson…

#2. Do not negotiate with someone who does not or cannot honor an agreement.

George was furious upon learning that Ona had escaped, and he used the full force of the federal government to pursue her. Here’s the ad he placed in the newspaper to solicit others to catch her and return her to him:

George solicited the help of the most powerful people in government to hunt down Ona, including the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott Jr. In his letter to Oliver, George notes “the ingratitude of the girl, who was brought up & treated more like a child than a servant (& Mrs Washington's desire to recover her) ought not to escape with impu[nity] if it can be avoided.”

Oliver enlisted the help of other government officials in New Hampshire to capture Ona, but she thwarted all attempts. Joseph Whipple, Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s collector of customs, was one of those local officials. Joseph tricked Ona into coming to his office and tried to negotiate with her. He suggested that she return in exchange for freedom at some point in the future, and she played along once she realized the ploy (seemingly so that she could get out of there unscathed). Ona told Joseph she’d return if George and Martha freed her upon their deaths. When Joseph shared that with George, he was incensed. He wrote to Joseph:

I regret that the attempt you made to restore the girl (Oney Judge as she called herself while with us, and who, without the least provocation absconded from her Mistress) should have been attended with so little success. To enter into such a compromise, as she has suggested to you, is totally inadmissible, for reasons that must strike at first view: for however well disposed I might be to a gradual abolition, or even to an entire emancipation of that description of People (if the latter was in itself practicable at this Moment) it would neither be politic or just, to reward unfaithfulness with a premature preference; and thereby discontent, beforehand, the minds of all her fellow Servants; who by their steady adherence, are far more deserving than herself, of favor.

His letter also makes veiled threats to Ona’s family and friends, who are still enslaved by the Washingtons. He also references the fact that he knows she may be pregnant, alluding to the potential peril her children could be in by her actions.

Even after George left the presidency, he continued to send people to try to capture Ona. In one particularly harrowing event, George‘s nephew, Burwell Bassett Jr., came to New Hampshire to kidnap Ona and her recently-born infant child. Burwell went to Ona’s home, knocked on her door, and told her he was there to take her back to the Washingtons. Ona refused to go and instead escaped and hid in a small town several miles away. This kind of thing was part of Ona’s life as long as George was alive.

Ona did not even find reprieve once George Washington died. While George and Martha both freed many of their slaves either by will or manumission, Ona was not one of those because of her status as a dower slave.

This lesson from Ona is an important one. She did not attempt to negotiate with George to her peril. Had she actually returned to the Washingtons, she never would have been freed because of her status as a dower slave, no matter what the Washingtons did or did not do. Her first husband’s family held a property interest in both her and her children. Ona knew this and was not intimidated into second-guessing herself.

On to the final lesson:

#3 Speak out and share your truth.

Ona valued her freedom more than nearly anything in her life. She actually did not go quietly into the night—she gave several interviews to anti-slavery newspapers in the 1840s. In fact, more is known about her than any other enslaved person from Mount Vernon because of these interviews. She was unapologetic about escaping—when asked if she ever regretted it or felt sorry for leaving the Washingtons, she replied "No, I am free, and have, I trust been made a child of God by the means.”

Here’s an excerpt from one of the articles, though you can read the full text of both at this link:

Ona’s interviews marked her place in history and allowed others of the day to hear about and frame opposition to slavery. Her story is now the most robust of nearly all of the other people enslaved at Mount Vernon. What is also remarkable is that roughly 90% of the fugitive slave narratives exist are from men, which makes Ona’s story even more important.

Experiences like Ona’s have led Mount Vernon to more fully share the experiences of those enslaved there. Remaining silent was not an option for her, and American history is better for it.

Ona Judge left us with not only an important recounting of the American slavery, but also with lessons for how to survive in a world driven by hate, greed and grudges. I, for one, am taking those notes. Shoot me a comment if you have other lessons to share from Ona and her experiences.

If you’d like to hear a fuller accounting of Ona Judge and her life, check out Uncivil’s episode on her life, titled “The Fugitive.” It is brilliant.