#non famous nicky

[astrow0rldx]

Mystery pick a card (Some 18+)

Since I did a tarot reading poll for my next tarot reading. lets get the rest of the stuff out of my drafts and reach whoever whenever divine pleases. all different type of questions. some 18+, some not. choose what pile you feel intuitively drawn too.

if you fount it on 10/20-21 24 feel free to vote on the poll for the next reading: https://www.tumblr.com/astrow0rldx/764872633973145600/a-tarot-reading-poll-%E0%AD%A8-%E0%AD%A7?source=share

One

18+ who wants to fuck you?

people probably know them. they are very confident, bold, brave. self assured. they are very wishful, they have a lot of ideas. they could be hopeful, and faithful for big dreams. they could be a person who's naturally inspired, or just carries themself that way. looking for purpose. not really immature energy though, like they seem actually goal-oriented and grounded and serene. this person could make money and actually be well known. they might have a busy life or a lot of eyes on them, like they wake up with a purpose, ideas & confidence in their world,shining. leo, sun, solar plexus energy. but also goal-oriented, focused, practical, money getter. receives nice things. the way they may flirt may be cold-hearted, clever, non chalant. if charming then not too vulnerable. could even be a little shy, have anxiety. or maybe traps in their own head when talking, arguing, etc. so maybe quiet. i don't see them as this optimistic person all the time, they could be very down. maybe a lot of loss hopes. maybe focusing on the bad. could be a person to be like awnn im so sad, so they get inspired to find purpose. they find purpose in themself, and their character and life. you could know them for getting through things. like this person could be strong, a wounded healer. signs: leo, cancer, thick hair, ginger hair, nature, fairy/mermaid, coquette, nighttime, rich, spiritual, moon, been in jail, popular, famous, pretty/handsome. good sleep schedule. mourning and sad but strong and hopeful. get through it energy.

Two

18+ their sexual fantasy with you?

makeup sex, remove tension, confusion and conflict with sex. even tease you a bit. if you guys were both going through a lot because of the connection, or your personal lives, they want to move in and just protect you. stand strong and live a happy ever after and forget about the bullshit. they definitely have fantasies about you fucking while living together and different places around the house, marriage and children may be involved. this type of sex they want to give you they want it to be deep, or performative something to make their mark, own you and make you realize about them or you two. they fantasize about moments when they have to hesitate and they don't know, like should i make a move or should i not. should we go right now, or should we not. and its just so much adrenaline and passion between you guys. they fantasize about you being their ideal woman. you even dressing up in dresses for them, putting yourself together. and then they get to see you take it off, take it off for you and take control. they fantasize about this being connective sex though, so not them only doing the work by the way, don't be afraid to add force, strength or bratty. they want to get.. THERE. rough girlfriend sex. if not girlfriend, bestfriend with benefits, fuck buddy type of thing.

Three

hyping you up and calling you out?

numerology number 222 - You thrive in partnerships, value emotional connection, and have a strong intuition. traits like : Harmony, cooperation, empathy, and diplomacy. You may struggle to assert yourself, compromise too much, or fear conflict. traits like : Indecisiveness, over-dependence, and passivity.

Signs: Strong Libra, Leo, Scorpio, Fire Signs. Favorite - Nicki Minaj

Social butterfly, Creative/Inner child energy. ADHD? maybe Balanced, makes clear decisions. Popular girl energy tbh, if your not, express yourself! popularity doesn't matter anyways your bright regardless this is about you, not others. Heavy re-invent yourself type of person, no matter if its what you been through, your look/aesthetic-ness. Who you are, what you do, you are transformative.

You are a warrior, Your strong. You been through a lot but it made you stronger & only balanced you out. Courageous! It's like you have the power to conquer anything because you rise from it, with grace & confidence. No one should be able to take control of your way when you decide to take control. Game of Thrones energy, like you could look at yourself as some type of character, angel or you know what I mean, it adds to your ego & personality about the stuff you went through. Like this is my goddess, I have faced hardship and became a strong, balanced, warrior with angel wings because of that. You are balanced, wise, & fair. You can make clear, rational decisions. Resilience - the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties. You can re-invent your self, and shine in your character. You are radiant, your full of life, and you bring light to everyone around you. Your positivity & energy is magnetic. Success, joy, and happiness is the aura and energy around you, embrace it and feel it.

Your like this clear, smart, rational person who shines bright and has this positive inner child energy about them. You have a lot of energy, and adaptability. Always on the go, always on the move, facing things, experiencing and going through stuff, or just being that way as your personality. Like Momentum is on your side, you move with speed & purpose. Push forward!!!

Four

how to get to your desired reality?

signs - National Olympics Games, Spelling bees, Swimming, NBA/NFL, Competitive things. Competitive work place/friend group/family. song: Candy Man, Planez by Jeremih. book: 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.

you may want to get away with something. wish you can take something. have a little secret. be a thief, manipulator, sneaky, rebel. something hidden that you want to get away with. this could involve a relationship or another thing you can desire in your life is a relationship. maybe a dynamic of earth sign fem/water sign masc. energetically, a woman who’s stable, has all her material desires, thriving in the physical & reality. with a emotional, caring, loving, mature man. with the 8 of cups outside of that and 7 of swords before you might have sneaky things going on in the relationship that you might want to leave behind. or you might want to leave a relationship for another person. or leave with this person. this could be another desire in your life to just maybe leave something behind, and move on from something.

you probably miss your innerchild. you miss someone you were in the past. a era in your life before. you want enjoy life, take the innocence and playfulness, the creativity & kindness of it all. you probably wish you had more integrity, more real, more logical. you probably wish you were more of a warrior, stronger, control things when it’s unfair. wish you had justice. you wish you were smart, straightforward, and had clarity, can understand things faster and see things through. better communication skills. work hard, you wish you can have consistency and persistence. good work. learn faster. wish you were good in school and your matters pertaining to your education, work, legal matters and children.

YOU GOT TO HAVE FUN THIS WORLD IS YOURS. GET SOME CONFIDENCE AND BRAVERY. take down your haters. make it through any competitive shit and stand on your throne. you control your reality, you manipulate the situation. you gain the control and the power. that means you decide when stuff is done, you leave stuff behind that doesn’t serve your best. and be in peace. SAVE and NOURISH and RESPECT & VALUE your peace. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE put your respect and values to the right things and PEOPLE. your peace can help you understand your wishes and your values and your hopes. and help the tooth fairy to come and help you get it and gain control over the situation. meditate. and WIN 🥇

all you have to do is realize something and have the right discernment and judgement. crumble what doesn’t serve you even if it’s chaotic. bond with the right people and go to/make genuine connections. and that can help you unblock something in you to get here.

Five

How to get to your desired reality?

(same question for pile four)

signs - “Just Do it” Nike. Gigi Hadid, Victoria Secret Modeling, Makeup, Pink. Sexy (Red and Black). Red Room. Leather, Black Boots. Blonde Ponytail. Tumblr Feminine Culture. Female Gaze. Fake Friends. Popular Girl Clique. McDonalds. 4 for $4. Song: Pretty Hurts by Beyoncé. Sippy Cup by Melanie Martinez.

okay you ready to see your work that you put in, the time and investment finally make you satisfied. you probably been holding on to some burdens but your ready for a new life a new beginning something fresh. your ready for the heavy book bag to be off your shoulders life to stop kicking your ass and you can innocently walk into something new. you put in the work and your just waiting till the plants grow and you are thriving and the voids are filled. the happiness and everything you want is there. maybe something that you been wanting to start that you been investing in, caring about is something you see as a fulfillment.

you wish you were more abundant, you wish you were more lucky, you wish you were more physically wealthy. you can receive your wants more easily. you wish you were more of a person that receives good karma and fate. you wish you were emotionally stable and mature and looked at the world differently. and were a better and stronger person to achieve and accomplish.

Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and celebrate. emotionally go forward and connect with people. But be guarded and self assured. start being kind of selfish and more connected back with self. holding on to things valuing things. be more energetic fast and about that action. start moving and starting. start DOING.

you might have body insecurities. you might have insecurities about your luck and fate. insecurities about time. insecurities about your learning abilities, your studies, your goals and ambitions. insecurities about your emotional well-being, your depression, looking on the down side. insecurites about your procrastination, persistentence, and future. your material stability. your plan and progress your path.

[limeade-l3sbian]

You seem to be a fan of Meg stallion. But she constantly plays a role in the objectification of women and sexualizing them and stuff. Isn't this against what you stand for as a radfem ?

Good question!

I am a fan of Megan Pete more than I am a fan of Megan Thee Stallion. I am a supporter of a woman who has been critiqued so harshly for things that have been occurring for years prior to her presence within hip-hop. I care more about supporting her for the ongoing trauma she has endured than I do joining the already present mob who make fun of her mother's death, her being shot by a piece of shit, and call her a man because she is a (fine as hell) tall, black woman.

She's a woman and her hypersexual nature is as much a product of society as any non famous woman doing the same thing. Maybe even increased tenfold at times since the rap industry demands some level of fuckability from female artists.

But honestly, above all else, she is a woman. So by nature of my alignment with personal beliefs, she has my attention and my concern before she has my judgement.

Nicki Minaj is an actual, toxic piece of shit and I judge anyone who still listens to her or openly calls themselves a Barb but I would never make fun of her if her (ex, I believe now) husband beat her or shot her. I wouldn't laugh if there was AI porn made of her or if she was assaulted. Thee Stallion/Tina Snow are industry images. But Megan Pete is a woman going through real trauma who is being attacked for, once again, not being a black woman who just lets black men walk all over her.

[mania-sama]

neil josten, who, for most of his life, never owned more than what he could fit in his duffel bag. he never carried anything that wasn't essential to his survival - his binder keeping track of the famous exy prodigies included. he never lugged more than his weight, and he never stayed anywhere long enough to obtain sentiments.

neil josten, who directs matt and dan to his living room. they are hauling in a tree into his and andrew's apartment. their friends got stuck with the job because nicky demanded they get a tree, but the little pines and needles rubbed against neil's scars uncomfortably, and andrew claims he didn't want the tree in the first place so he resolutely refused to any manual labor. nicky quickly left for germany, and the rest of their friends were either unavailable or whined too much about the work (kevin).

he walks up to the tree - a real one, with the scent of pine and warmth and christmas overflowing the apartment - and hangs an ornament. it's a useless, metal thing that he'd carried around for half a year. he purchased it when the olympic team played in rio de janeiro and kevin forced him and their merry band of friends to go touring around the city when they got the chance.

he hangs another ornament, a little orange paw to represent palmetto state university. he doesn't live in south carolina anymore, but he'd collected it as a reminder of the university that flipped his world upside down. andrew hangs another one beside it, and although he claims to be scrooge and hate all things merry, he collects just as much, if not more, ornaments than neil, and he makes hot chocolate for the two of them. with marshmallows and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

he runs into an unanticipated problem with the cats. or, well, just one - sir (short for sir fat cat mccatterson) seems to love the ornaments. it is a fight every single day to prevent him from climbing the tree and breaking everything they own - all christmas decorations included.

neil josten, who knows that ornaments are stupid, completely useless, and non-essential items to survival. it burns money that he could use as passage tickets, obtain new identities and new passports, and for temporary food, clothes, and shelter. but he lives in a warm brownstone in brooklyn with two cats and a boyfriend who burns nutmeg-scented candles to enrich the air with christmas spirit (though he will never admit to such intentions). but when he's done, and he steps back to admire the christmas tree that lacks lights but does not lack ornaments, he find he doesn't mind. he doesn't mind that he owns more clothes and shoes than he knows what to do with, that he's bought and made ornaments that he doesn't really remember the purpose of, or that, for once, he doesn't feel any desire or need to run.

he's content where he is, with more than he could ever fit in a duffel bag. he has a life.

the tree glitters with all his happiness and life.

[pnchinbeez]

Guys I been feeling ideas recently

And one happens to involve jedtavius

So basically ig for if the ever make a show (the show idea has been popping up on my timeliness alot) I need an episode where a different museum goes on tour and end up at the natm museum (I forgot the name soyeah) I believe it would be funny if they had most of the same human exhibits but a little different like

Wax figurines jed, octy, and the Mayan leader guy ig idk

Instead of teddy you have like jfk (he was consider one of the nicest u.s. presidents)

Marco polo as an famous explorer

King tut or cleo would be a cool one for their pharaoh, I lean towards tut because I feel like a snarky and sarcastic 12-13 yr old would be amazing

Maybe we could get calamity Jane? Idk shes cool (she's the most famous frontier women ever basically, put her name in Google and no joke what shows up is probably what happened, also fun fact I was named after her!!)

Also because we have lancelot in the one movie I feel like we would need one of these three arthur, merlin, or Guinevere, maybe bother merlin in arthur idk that idea needs to be thought of more on my side

Instead of dexter we could have miss baker the squirrel monkey (the first monkey to survive coming back from space) but I think have laika the dog the first animal to go to space,one because I live her and it's so sad what happened to her (search up Brenning Davis's "Fist Dog In Space" IT will make you cry) but also I just think it's such a cute idea in general

Miniatures could be Qin Shi Huang the self declared first emperor of China and the guy that made the terracotta army to protect his tomb in the after life and maybe Victorian Era people

I would also like a plague doctor played by Adam Sandler (WE HAVE OWEN FUCKING WILSON AND HUGH JACKMAN, NOW GIVE ME ADAM OR ONE OF THE RYANS) but beggars can't be choosers

Maybe some Greek pottery and the pictures on them come to life like the paintings in the movies

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

Instead of a t-rex or dinosaurs like that there could be a prehistoric ocean exhibit like whale bones and fish that swim (was that already in a movie?? I feel like it was , idk)

I feel like cool extinct animals should be on display are

barnary lion: the biggest baddest lion ever its the ones the Romans would fight in the colosseum and are also bigger than normal lions they look bad ass

PASSENGER PIDEON: these guys don't get enough recognition they where the funniest things ever and also one of the best messaging pigeons, then we hunted them to extinction, so yeah

Carolina parakeet: this bird went extinct fairly recently, in the late 1980's actually, they where one of the smartest non domesticated parakeet species out there and they are super cute ( another fun fact when my dad went fishing as a 20 something yr old with his dad in the 90's he swears he say a flock of them in an old tree by the lake they were in , around the Georgia border to North Carolina, pretty cool honestly)

Also the night guard for this group should be played by Jack black, channing Tatum,or ben schwartz

Nicky should be either walker scobell or a (and hear me out ) Tommyinnit with gyed brown hair

Weirdly they both kinda are like nicky I lean towards tom because in the animated movie nicky is very skinny and walker randomly got a bit buffer as of now soooo idk

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

So basically this story would follow the timeline of the museum got super popular so they go on tour to another one and meet this group but as both the night guards figure out nicky and the other night guard try to warn each other that their exhibits come to life (nicky ahkmenrahs tablet but the other night guards is a curse on the sarcophagus of which ever Pharoah they have) and then all the exhibits meet and stuff and I think that both big jed and octy and little jed and octy to be dating their respective partner,, it would make for a funny scene

Also big jed and big octavius should basically parent king tut if that's the Pharoah because the real jed grew up with about 10 brothers and sister and had one son of his own supposedly. But octavius was recorded to have a daughter Julia the elder (a very fascinating women) that he exiled and was recorded feeling guilty about it and probably died feeling guilty about it also I think they would make a good parenting duo

Jfk and teddy interaction are strictly mandatory

Marco polo and wea

The miniatures from our museum and the miniatures from the other need interactions NOW

lots of jedtavius please and thank you

King tut and ahkmenrah interactions????

I feel like their relationship would be cool uncle and nephew type

The extinct animals go on a rampage at some point (we need cowboy jed and herder teddy )

Miniature escapades and shenanigans as always

And that's it

Maybe I'll finally write a fanfic for this series but idk

[scotianostra]

On 25th August, 1923 Scottish novelist Dorothy Dunnett, was born in Dunfermline.

Educated at James Gillespie’s High School for Girls in Edinburgh. She started her career as a press officer in the civil service, where she met her husband, Dorothy Dunnett was renowned for the historical accuracy of her fiction which was based on extensive research. She wrote two series in which Edinburgh features prominently. The House of Niccolò is set in the 15th century and The Lymond Chronicles in the 16th. The books feature historical as well as fictional characters and Nicky Cannon has brought the Edinburgh they inhabited to life in Edinburgh.

Much lauded Dunnet was a leading light in the Scottish arts world and a renaissance woman, she was a professional portrait painter and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy on many occasions. She had portraits commissioned by a number of prominent public figures in Scotland. She had a keen interest in opera, was a trustee of the National Library of Scotland, a board member of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, a trustee of the Scottish National War Memorial, and a non-executive director of Scottish Television.

Dorothy Dunnett was married in 1946 to Sir Alastair Dunnett, editor of The Scotsman newspaper, and appears in his autobiography, Among Friends, 1984. By virtue of his knighthood in 1995, she became Lady Dunnett. She died in Edinburgh, and was survived by her sons Ninian and Mungo Dunnett.

On 22nd April 2006, a much deserved memorial stone to Lady Dunnett was laid by her grandchildren, Hal and Bella Dunnett, alongside those for Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and many other famous writers, in the Makars’ Court in Lady Stair’s Close on the Royal Mile.

[andreabaideas]

What costumes would DJATS characters wear for Halloween 1978?

Uhmm, cool one!!! Tough though. I pictured the shows actors and looks for this to work.

The band gets invited to a Halloween promo party at a Haunted mansión themed club party where everyone is presented the fancy way and like going down stairs, as everyone famous or cool IS going...Yeah so they have to be wearing a costume :

Lisa & Warren dresses as Gómez and Morticia Addams, he says that for once Gómez IS played by a latino. He keeps being disgustingly kissy all night long and throwing crass jokes.

Karen dresses in black leather trousers and almost seee through black shirt. She wears tons of makeup. She looks like a Barbie doll gothic edition. She wears red lenses and looks super sexy. Then just before the party she sprays herself with fake Blood and puts fake fangs...etc voila She's a Bloody Vampiress!

+ Graham dresses as a old time XIX cowboy, leather Duster jacket and everything , but Karen convinces him to be a bit more cool and terrifying, to match with her, so he puts some fake Blood on him on his neck and he brings his childhood fake toy gun and a spike , so now he IS a kinda punk Vampire Hunter cowboy. He looks amazing.

Camila dresses as a Vampire too, with sexy make Up (see Camila Morrone Nars Lipstick promo makeup) with a long flowy classy black dress and puts a very simple neck two fangs wounds. She sews a tiny black Witch dress with shiny bits,very pretty, 20's like gown for Julia, with a hat and everything, the hat part IS constantly rejected by Julia , that has other plans...and throws a tantrum until she gets to...wear a red wig, to be dressed as Daisy.

Billy Finally convinces Julia to be a Mini redhead Witch , so both his Girls are Happy. Julia gets the wig, but throws her hat all the time, Camila seems content, but is slightly sad and holds Julia's hat all the time she throws it away . Only just with the shiny black dress (that looks eerily very similar to the dying on the shower Daisy's outfit) she totally traumatises (unwillingly) Billy (for obvious ptsd reasons).

Speaking about the devilBilly...He hates this kinds of things, he always dress as himself with a sticker putting : Myself or alt "RockStar" or "Julia's Dad " "Camis husband" "Graham bro" "Daisy's Shithead"...Etc XD.

This year, and after :

1- Daisys jocking taunting him about last years non effort crappy costumes (75' 76' and 77' previous home parties).

2- Camila's sadness over the hat she made for Julia

and

3 - Julias tantrum.

He , for once, says fuck It! , and makes a Halloween effort, and a great one. He buys a profesional costume like those wore by actors. He looks sexy , regal like he just came out of the XIX century... And he dresses as a Classy regency Vampire, He even cuts his hair shorter just before the party, like when he was twelve, because Camila had told him that He would look super cute like that now too, to surprise her and make her Happy, after Julia's drama. Then he puts into good use the new beard he was growing (my inspo was thirsting over Sam dressed as Edmond Dantes at some of The Count of Montecristo promo pics and It showed XD). Also he wears fake fangs and a bit of fake Blood on his lower lip. He looks like The sexiest™.

Simone accompanies Billy for the surprise to her old time expensive costume store , and she dresses as a old time Queen Voodoo Witch (picture Marie Laveau) She looks like a queen (like always).

Bernie and Eddie dresses as a pair of terryfying realistic Zombies, as they both went to remind Daisy about the party (Bernie ordered by Simone and Eddie by Rod) ; then she uses them as her Makeup Guinea pigs... And gives them some clothes - that the lousy Nicky left forgotten at her House after the breakup- covered in strawberry Jelly. Then she creates fake wounds on both of them with melted cheese sheets and makeup on their skins, to create realistic fake wounds that seems ripped chomps of skin and meat. The both look like munched corpses. They scare themselves and the others. Simone IS super traumatised for Bernie. They are delighted if cheesy smeling XD. Warren jokingly steals one wound from Eddie and eats It. Everyone goes eew!!!

Rod dressed as Drácula a la Bela Lugosi. Super dapper.

Teddy dresses as an ancient Warlock, like Gandalf lord of the rings book drawings.

Daisy comes 2h'30 mins late, everyone thinks she forgot...and to be honest she kinda did forget about the party the first 30 min , until she got reminded by her dear zombies XD

But nope, shell be the Halloween Queen , she IS secretly that "unhinged for Halloween" group friend who likes to traumatise the rest,. She puts a super sexy silky White dress (inspo IS a dress Riley wore once silky and White) , but as she has inherited her father artistic drawing talent , she draws wounds on herself too, she puts something sticky red on those face and arms wounds, and some Green juice too, then she wets and messies her hair too, and goes shoeless...As adult Regan from the exorcist.

Also - as the dramatic little shit she is (affectionately)- She enters the party doing theatrics mimicking the unfamous stairs scene (those artistic gymnastic classes paid by her parents should be put on good use right?) Almost everyone feels like fainting or gets trauma wide mouthed, then as she stoods Up, Daisy just evil laughs...XD

Only one not traumatised , Its tiny Julia, who inmediatelly goes to Daisy hugs her and ask her if she likes her costume . Daisy praises Julias costume, as her "Kid self" was a terrifying little Monster, and after watching Camila holding the hat and Billy trauma face when watching Julia, she convinces Julia into wearing the hat and of being Witchy Baby!Daisy , as she always wanted to be a Witch as a kid. Camila silently thanks her. Billy seems relieved.

Julia then slightly concerned asks Daisy if she got chickenpox " like I did when I started school" and then scrached like she did XD

Billy almost dies of laughter after that.

Everyone relaxes then and has a great time.

Julia wins the costumes kids award of the party as Mini Daisy.

Simone wins best female costume. Billy Its tied with Graham as co winners for male costumes. Daisy wins the best scare /scary time , but never gets invited again to the club party, as the old owner almost got a Heart attack XD

She then start a tradition of making a Halloween party at her House... Everyone Its terrified to go (sauf Julia, brave little nugget she IS).

As an Adult Julia grows even more unhinged than Daisy for Halloween...Dressing as Samara from the Ring or as La Llorona and keeps jumping from corners !!! Billy IS very afraid of her during that week and blames everyone for it. Camila shrugs It off, she's used to that dumbasery already XD.

Looong ooneee, I know.

Thats It!

[hot-boyband-tourney]

Welcome to the Tournament of the hottest boy band members of the 80s/90s

It was inspired by all the tournaments pitting famous beautiful people versus famous beautiful people of specific eras and specific jobs. The polls should start on the 8th of April, leaving around two weeks for submissions. I’ve compiled a list already but you can submit other boys that aren’t on the list through a google form. Feel free to submit non english speaking boy bands.

Propaganda

The only pictures accepted will be pictures from the 80s/90s and very early 2000s. To submit propaganda either use the same google form as for submissions (even if the guy in question is already on the list) or through the submission box or tag me on posts.

The List

Backstreet Boys

Nick Carter

Kevin Richardson

Brian Littrell

AJ Mclean

Howie Dorough

Take That

Robbie Williams

Mark Owen

Jason Orange

Gary Barlow

Howard Donald

NSYNC

JC Chasez

Lance Bass

Justin Timberlake

Joey Fatone

Chris Kirkpatrick

New Kids On The Block

Jon Knight

Jordan Knight

Joey McIntyre

Donnie Walberg

Danny Wood

Jodeci

Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey

Donald "DeVante Swing" DeGrate

Dalvin "Mr. Dalvin" DeGrate

Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey

G-Squad

Chris Keller

Marlon

Gérald Jean-Laurent

Mika

Andrew Mac Carthy

Seo Taiji & boys

Seo Taiji

Lee Juno

YG (Yang Hyun-suk)

H.O.T

Moon Hee-jun

Jang Woo-hyuk

Tony An

Kangta

Lee Jae-won

Sechskies

Eun Jiwon

Ko Jiyong

Kim Jaeduck

Lee Jaijin

Jang Suwon

Kang Sunghoon

2Be3

Filip Nikolic

Frank Delay

Adel Kachermi

Westlife

Shane Filan

Mark Feehily

Kian Egan

Nicky Byrne

Brian McFadden

Boyz II men

Shawn Stockman

Wanya Morris

Nathan Morris

Marc Nelson

Michael McCary 

5ive

Scott Robinson

Ritchie Neville

Sean Conlon

Abz Love

J Brown

Boyzone

Ronan Keating

Keith Duffy

Michael Graham

Shane Lynch

Stephen Gately

98 degrees

Nick Lachey

Jeff Timmons

Drew Lachey

Justin Jeffre

Jonathan Lippman

Dream street

Matt Ballinger

Frankie Galasso

Greg Raposo

Jesse McCartney

Chris Trousdale

B2K

Omari Grandberry

Jarell Houston

Dreux Frédéric

De'Mario Thorton

BBMAK

Mark Barry

Christian Burns

Stephen McNally

LFO

Rich Cronin

Brian Gillis

Devin Lima

The Moffatts

Scott Moffatt

Clint Moffatt

Bob Moffatt

Dave Moffatt

New edition

Ralph Tresvant

Bobby Brown

Ricky Bell

Michael Bivins

Ronnie DeVoe

Johnny Gill

East 17

Terry Coldwell

Brian Harvey

John Hendy

Tony Mortimer

[dollarbin]

Dollar Bin #46:

The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup

I dwell alongside indifferent angels and non-voters when it comes to The Stones. Dante would condemn me to his realm of the Neutrals, where I'd forever chase a blank banner, when it comes to Mick's strutting, Keith's drugs and Charlie's backbeat.

But Goats Head Soup boils my blood: I'm ready to chase some tasty goat brains with a little chomp or two on Ruggieri's brain Ugolino-style every time I listen to it.

Indeed, the record is one of the worst and greatest parts of my entire Dollar Bin.

The whole thing starts, flatulently, with Dancing with Mr. D, a bland bologna sandwich of a song if there ever was one. What the hell was Jagger thinking by making this the lead track?

If dancing with death is this dull I'd rather slow dance for all of eternity with Robert Pollard.

But the rest of Side 1 is wonderful. Indeed, it makes me wanna befriend all kinds of goats.

100 Years Ago is a freakin' masterclass in songwriting and musicianship. It swings, it rocks, it's goofy. It's staggering.

My teenager was watching some kinda sapphic Netflix Christmas ugly sweater film recently. The whole thing was probably written by a chatbot and 100 Years Ago served as the soundtrack for one of the movie's hipsters' mid-film dance party with their conservative grandpa. Meanwhile, somewhere off camera, Keith Richards chortled merrily over a simmering bowl of goat broth.

Coming Down Again, which follows, can't compete with 100 Years Ago, or, for that matter, the previous record's primary Richard's vehicle, Happy. But the song is pretty, earnest and bravely paced.

The rest of Goats Head Soup could have just proceed in this vein: well written 70's soft rock songs performed with skill. Instead, Jagger momentarily hijacks everything and reminds us with the ridiculously titled Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) that we are spinning a Rolling Stones record.

Heartbreaker is silly, sure; but it's also totally awesome.

Mick Taylor's wah wah peddle gets a righteous workout; everyone else in this band clearly plays bass better than the absent sex criminal that is Bill Wyman, who was off making music with his pitiful equals, namely Stephen Stills and Joe Freakin' Lala, at this point in the game; the horns make me want to smelt iron and then pump it.

And then there's Angie. The album's weird choice for a first single, Angie is a classic, I suppose. I love Nicky Hopkins' piano throughout and I don't mind Jagger's day-time-TV-level acting in the vocals department. But the song cools my forge considerably.

Sadly, Side 2 is far worse. Indeed, it's made of up almost entirely of nothingburgers bathed in coddled mayo and sad pickles. I typically flip this record just to listen to Winter.

Somewhere in the months leading up to 9/11 I went and visited my not-yet-famous brother during his senior year of college. I was an adult with a job and a marriage; I mistakenly thought I had things figured out.

I feel like I already wrote about that visit, which featured a preposterously drunken night with his cover band, The Freezermen, and a lot of me swearing in absent-minded exuberance while live on the airwaves. Yes, I did.

But another seminal moment in that trip was hearing Winter for the first time in my life. The impetus was me informing my brother and his big deal bandmate, who would soon have a Ph.D., that The Rolling Stones could suck my (not too compact) disc.

Those two already far wiser twenty years olds pounced on my dumb comment and played me Jagger's quite masterful Van Morrison impersonation track, daring me to not wrap my coat around Winter's late surging guitar midst swirling strings.

I think it's telling that Keith Richards doesn't even play on Winter; the rhythm guitar comes from Jagger; the lead guitar is of course played by the band's reluctant genius at the time, Taylor. But once again it's a non-member of the band, Nicky Hopkins, who in his career played with everyone from Spinal Tap to Jerry Garcia, who holds the whole thing so elegantly together on keys.

Suffice it to say that Winter is not a song I'm neutral about. Winter gives me chills.

By 1973 The Rolling Stones clearly struggled to land their punches as an actual band. But when they connected, wow, they sure could smash our faces right in.

[feminist-ravings]

Something that really annoys me as a gnc black woman is the focus on "black femininity" in a great amount of black women centered content. Black gender non conforming women are just left out to dry. All manner of videos will mention how black women are "masculized" by media, and how black women should aspire to femininity. There is something to be said about how racism makes many people view black women as inherently more masculine. However, I feel like there's not much ACTUAL representation of masculine black women. I can't even think of many mainstream famous gender non conforming black women besides like Young MA.

If anything, in my perception black women in media are hyper feminine, it's like they have to be to be successful. Think of any black female rapper/artist. Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Saweetie, Latto, Beyonce. They always have a full face of glamorous makeup, eyelash extensions, weave down to their butt, long acrylics, feminine outfits that show their curves. The only reason anyone would ever say they are masculine is just racism.

And don't get me wrong, I love those women, but it depresses me that it seems they are the only model of black womanhood that seems to be represented. Gender non conformity in black women is not very visible in the media and it seems to be discouraged by everyone, even fellow black women. Unfortunately many people who claim to be "pro black woman empowerment" really only mean "feminine heterosexual black women empowerment."

[coll2mitts]

#30 Funny Girl (1968)

Funny Girl: How Feminism Killed My Marriage!

It was only coincidence I decided to watch Funny Girl after completing my review of A Star is Born, as it hits several of the same plot points.  I honestly thought the only reason they were strikingly similar to me was because I viewed them back-to-back, but then two videos I watched about the Broadway production noted this as well, so I didn't feel entirely unjustified.  Man with lots of money discovers woman before she becomes a star.  They start a obviously doomed relationship and get married right as the wife's career starts to take off.  The husband struggles with his own vices to the detriment of his wife's career, and ultimately their relationship ends because the husband is too proud and can't handle the fact their spouse makes more money than them.  The end.

Although I don't think the plot is necessarily the reason to watch this movie (the reason is to watch Barbra Streisand be the most Barbra Streisand she can be), it is a fictionalized retelling of the rise of real-life burlesque star Fanny Brice and her relationship with her first husband Nick Arnstein.  From all accounts this leans pretty heavy on the fictionalized, as Nicky was married when he and Fanny began their affair, it took him 6 years to get divorced from his previous wife to marry Fanny, and Fanny eventually divorced him because she was sick of him fucking around on her.  Even though her love life was tumultuous, Fanny's career is what made her special, which is why it's a bit annoying that in the majority of this movie it takes a backseat to her fascination with a useless pretty boy.  Although real-life Fanny's character was a Jewish characture, she helped in revising the criteria of what kinds of women could be famous performers.  Beyond a good body and a pretty face, personality and talent were enough to gain notoriety.  Although let's be real, it's not like Fanny was hideous or anything.

Barbra originated this role on Broadway, and it was tailor made to her talents.  Check out the videos linked from Staged Right for a great summary of how the show was created, how Barbra was cast against the wishes of Fanny's non-fictional daughter, and what a seemingly contentious run the Broadway musical had.  When Columbia bought the rights to the show, it was with the understanding Barbra would reprise the role on film. And oh boy, guys, this is probably one of the best love letters to a leading actress I've ever seen committed to celluloid.

Picture it: New York, 1920s. Fanny Brice, with her name in lights on the Ziegfeld Follies marquis, soberly enters backstage and greets herself in a sound clip I used as a log-in alert on AIM for like 6 years. Giving off "I'm going to retire" energy, Fanny wanders the stage and loiters in the empty theater until her assistant Emma finds her and cryptically asks "This is the day, isn't it?". Fanny confirms, and free of context I have no idea if this woman is making a comeback, or leaving showbusiness, or running away to join the circus. When Emma mentions that Ziegfeld is waiting for her, Fanny disassociates and we're treated to a flashback a few years earlier...

Picture it: New York, 1910s. A young Fanny Brice's neighbors are reading her for filth on her appearance and mocking her for having dreams of singing stardom.

I think this is the only ensemble number that doesn't take place on stage.  Any solo or duet numbers with any character that aren't Fanny, like Eddie, Mrs. Brice, and Nick, have been cut so Barbra is on screen almost 100% of the time.  I was genuinely shocked later on when Omar Sharif started singing because I forgot this was something someone other than Barbra was allowed to do.

Fanny heads to her new gig as a beautiful Arabian lady and is immediately fired for not knowing the routine and hamming it up the entire fucking time. The theater owner Mr. Keeney scolds the director Eddie Ryan for even casting such a goof while Fanny refuses to be dismissed and sings and dances her way around until they're forced to physically escort her out of the theater.

Mid-rant, and after accosting a few children, she breaks back in only to find everyone gone except Eddie, who after hearing her pipes asks why she even considered auditioning for a chorus girl when clearly she's a belter. I giggled uncontrollably when Fanny answered, "If you were looking for a juggler, I'd have been a juggler", cause girl, same. When I was a kid I legitimately auditioned for a part in Harlequin that required juggling skills full-well knowing I couldn't, and when asked to prove I could after the singing portion was acceptable, the ensuing display of athletic prowess cemented the fact I would absolutely not be chosen.

I tried googling this musical and I can't find evidence it ever existed. Maybe it was some public school choir teacher's passion project they only got to see kids perform once a year after a 3 week summer camp? Or maybe I had a fever dream when I was 10 and hallucinated being in it? IDK, help me out here.

Eddie decides to give Fanny a second chance at the chorus after she assures him she can roller skate, even though it was a bold-faced lie. After falling on her ass 20 times, which froths the audience into a frenzy, Eddie allows Fanny to sing a solo. Her unique blend of comedy, talent, and the sudden ability to skate once she's getting sole attention from everyone, wins over Mr. Kenney and Fanny is tentatively offered a permanent position.

"Honey hurry up, hurry up, hurry up..." is Barbra's signature slurry phrasing at its peak.

Fanny's shenanigans also catch the eye of a ridiculously attractive gambler Nicky Arnstein, who successfully hustles Mr. Kenney to hire Fanny for $50 a week, but is unsuccessful in asking Fanny out. She shrugs off his advances after surmising she is well out of his league, but oh my god, how the hell would anyone turn down Omar Sharif? I am not that strong willed.

According to Wikipedia, this is the fourth movie on this list that almost cast Frank Sinatra (previous ones including A Star is Born, The Music Man, and Easter Parade). For as much as y'all know I love Frankie, whoever suggested him over Omar should be well and truly slapped.

Several months later, there's a commotion on Henry street when the Brice's receive a telegram, and once the shock that someone hadn't died worn off, they're left in the wake of Ziegfeld's request for Fanny to come by his theater and audition. She reacts in a completely reasonable way.

Unsurprisingly, she aces the audition, and after fighting with Ziegfeld over how beautiful he thinks she is verses how she thinks she's not, she turns his new finale number from a bizarre ode to seasonal brides into a comedy act about a shotgun wedding in order to deflect anticipated criticism away from her face.

Peek a small cameo from Anne Francis, whose part was cut down so much she tried to get herself removed from the credits altogether. It's fine, instead she'll forever be known as the woman who pranked Dorothy Zbornak by pretending to die while beating her at tennis.

Fanny averts termination even though she deliberately ignored the directions of the director, again, because she's too much of a hit. She rides the high of bossing around Ziegfeld right into the arms of Nicky, who just so happens to be there on her opening night. This time she takes him back to her mother's saloon and he politely allows her friends and family to clean out his pockets at poker even though he's a bit of a professional gambler.

After charming the entire block, Nicky convinces Fanny to follow him to a second location out into the alley so they can be alone, and like, sure, this is a colossally bad idea, but how do you say no to that smile? After establishing both of them are single, Nicky adds more red flags to the parade of them by saying he's been with thousands of women because he likes to feel free and never has definite plans. Fanny reacts to this information by babbling incoherently about how some people kinda like being in relationships and Nicky kisses her to shut her up before riding off into the night.

I would die. Just drop dead right there, thank you and good night, it's been a good life.

Flash forward AN ENTIRE FUCKING YEAR and Fanny randomly runs into Nick again at a train station in Baltimore while the Follies are on their national tour. He invites her to dinner in a private dining room at their hotel, and while she momentarily pretends to be aloof, once inside she does exactly what I would do immediately if left alone in a room with Omar Sharif in 1967.

Fanny asks why Nicky never called on her a year and two weeks ago and he explicitly says he could smell the virgin all over her and didn't think she could hang. When asked what has changed now, he replies, "If you don't, it's time you learned."

So... they bone, and continue to bone the entire week the Follies are in town. Unfortunately after 7 days Nicky's racehorse turned into a pumpkin and he has to leave Fanny behind to board a boat to Europe to scam a bunch of bored dudes out of money since he doesn't have any anymore. Of course Nicky confesses to Fanny he's suddenly in love, so instead of going their separate ways after a brief sexcapade, Fanny abandons the show and makes a big romantic gesture by taking a tugboat to Nicky's waterborne casino to surprise him. Her coworkers try to convince Fanny this is a colossally bad idea and you could anger a million bulls with all the red flags Nicky's waving, but she simply. cannot say no. to that smile. I would make a joke that his dick must be legendary but she wouldn't know any better if it wasn't.

Oh look, another helicopter shot from the 1960s that's a million times better than the one in A Hard Day's Night.

Sidenote: Every time I hear "the sun's a ball of butter" I first cringe because I hate that line, and secondly think of this skit.

This was Barbra's first film role, by the way.  Not that she wasn't well-known at this point - her voice was already acknowledged as one of the greats before she even turned 30.  But she steals the camera in every freaking scene, especially this one when Fanny's clearly making the dumbest mistake ever.  You root for Fanny; you want her to succeed in both life and love because Barbra is so charming.  She won a Best Actress Oscar for this performance, and it's incredibly easy to see why.

To the surprise of everyone (even Fanny), Nick is ecstatic to see her - so ecstatic he only giggles when the porter calls him "Mr. Brice" instead of going on a several-day bender that ends with him crashing Fanny's Oscar acceptance speech.  Of course Fanny plays the "please pick me, I'll never tie you down" card, only to THIRTY SECONDS LATER suggest to Nick that usually when two people love each other, they get married.  Instead of jumping off of the boat and swimming toward the shore, Nick informs Fanny if he can win his huge payday, she'll get a husband.  After much distress on Fanny's part, Nick later returns to the room with a big wad of cash, and they immediately return home to play house for a while.

Fanny went from on the road living like a mouse to being blissfully happy with a husband, a mansion, servants and a baby.  But the other shoe finally starts to drop when Nicky's hot streak turns cold.  While he's losing the house on oil fields that produce no oil, Fanny is headlining in a show, putting Nicky's ego in check.  With a famous wife, his more-frequent losses are being broadcast around both his gambling community and society at large.  When Fanny realizes Nick is drowning after he skips her show's opening night for a poker game, she sets up a scheme where his buddy Tom would approach Nick with a legit job offer running a local casino.  After Tom informs Nick he wouldn't have to pony up start-up cash to make him a partner because his experience conning wealthy gentlemen was valuable enough, Nick smells the deception from a mile away and refuses the position because apparently it's incredibly embarrassing for your wife to network for you.

In an effort to get back on top, Nick decides to participate in an scammy bond scheme, gets caught, and pleads guilty to the crime so it doesn't look like he's stupid enough to agree to something without knowing how fucking illegal it is.  Fanny goes to court to see Nick before they ship him off to prison for a few years, and when he tries to end the relationship by telling Fanny he will never be able to support her, Fanny asks him to reconsider. If Nick feels the same way when he gets out, she won't fight him on the divorce.

The absolute paranoia of a world where women could make more money than their husbands is fucking ridiculous to me.  In both A Star is Born and Funny Girl, the moment the universe takes away the man's ability to monetarily provide for his family he suddenly feels as if he has nothing to contribute.  His masculinity and his ego get in the way of being truly proud of his wife.  The women are both willing to entirely give up their careers to take care of their deadbeat husbands (even asserting in public they should be referred to by their husband's last name), which is baffling on its own, but they've already made the irreversibly irredeemable crime of perusing success, even when their husbands initially encouraged it.  All I learn from these stories is that men want strong women, strong enough where he can brag about them, but not strong enough to overshadow them.  If that starts to happen, the wife needs to intuitively shrink in order to give their husband the chance to catch up.

One thing you can't fault Nicky for is hiding his true nature. He told Fanny exactly who he was when they first met.  He never had a set schedule because he wanted to feel free.  She was Woman and he was Man, and she should be smaller so he can be taller.  He might have cosplayed as a dependable dude for a few years, but ultimately he reverted back to his default.

Flash forward to the beginning of the movie, where we finally discover that Nick had been released from prison and Fanny would find out the state of their relationship before she went on stage.  She warns Ziegfeld that if Nick wants to give it another shot she's going to quit the show, because being a housewife will be the only thing to placate Nick's fragile masculinity.  Thankfully she doesn't need to keep that promise, because when the pair are finally reunited she can tell by his behavior that this dude is about to drop the hammer.  Fanny preemptively ends things, and then goes on stage to sing about her heartbreak.

The end of the movie differs from the musical in a pretty significant way as Fanny belts a lament for the end of her marriage.  Barbra insisted singing the vocals at the end of the song live, and had Omar Sharif recite the line "You are beautiful" to her before each take to make her more emotional. It worked - I cry every time I watch the end of this movie.

"My Man" was a song the real-life Fanny Brice popularized in the Ziegfeld Follies Broadway show, which is the only reason it appears here, ending this depressing story on a weak downbeat that legitimately shocked me when the credits rolled.  In the Funny Girl musical, Fanny goes through a variety of emotions that reprise the songs in the show - bitter and sad, but ultimately victorious with a powerful rendition of "Don't Rain on My Parade."  I can only attribute this change as the beginning of the 1970s bummer parade of weird musicals that make you want to slit your wrists on the way out.

And if this wasn't enough, several years later they filmed a sequel to this, Funny Lady, about Fanny Brice's relationship with her second husband Billy Rose, who was just as shitty of a partner as Nick Arnstein was. Their marriage also ends in divorce, so if you want to watch the same movie as Funny Girl but with a clunkier script just to get 10 minutes of Omar Sharif reprising his role as Nicky being as sleezebaggy as ever, don't bother. It's not worth it.

Funny Girl is a show that will forever be associated with Barbra, to the point where its protagonist Fanny is more of a fictionalized character than a real-life previously-breathing human being. This movie is fairly entertaining, although it clearly reflects the ideals of its time. If you like Barbra, it's a must-see. If not, avoid it at all costs, cause there's nothing else here other than her.

Except a hunky Omar Sharif being stupidly charming. There is also that.

Thanks for reading!  If you’ve enjoyed this post, please consider helping me fund this project by donating to my ko-fi :)

[whatsonmedia]

Thursday Thrill: Week's Epic Event Experiences Await

Welcome to Thursday Thrill, your go-to guide for epic event experiences! Get ready for an exhilarating journey filled with pulsating beats, mind-blowing music, and captivating art. In this edition, we'll uncover the wonders of Kingsland Festival, Mayday Festival Dortmund, and the Big North Tattoo Show. Whether you're a dance music enthusiast or an art lover, these events have something extraordinary in store for you. Join us as we explore the thrilling experiences that await you. Let's dive in! Kingsland Festival: The Ultimate Dance Music Extravaganza in the Netherlands 27 Apr Kingsland Festival, the largest one-day dance music festival in the Netherlands. With multiple stages and a lineup of international artists and home-grown talent, this festival promises an unforgettable experience for music lovers. A Festival Like No Other Kingsland Festival is a non-camping event, making it convenient for globetrotting festival-goers. Located in a special setting, the festival offers plenty of accommodation options nearby, allowing you to drop off your bags and fully immerse yourself in this European city festival extravaganza. Thrilling Performances and Massive Celebrations At Kingsland Festival, you can expect massive stage productions and all the thrills that the Netherlands has to offer. This year, the festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, coinciding with the King's birthday. Get ready for one huge, massive celebration rave to the grave! A Stellar Lineup The lineup for Kingsland Festival is nothing short of spectacular. Prepare to dance the day away to the beats of renowned global DJs such as Martin Garrix, Nicky Romero, COONE, Rebellion, Warface, Thomas Newson, Adrenalize, Hard Driver, Kris Kross Amsterdam, and many more. This year's lineup is set to make history with an incredible showcase of talent. Join the Party Don't miss out on this incredible festival experience. Get your clogs on and be part of the Kingsland Festival on April 27th. For tickets and more information, visit the official website Mayday Festival Dortmund: A Techno Music Extravaganza 30 Apr Get ready to dive into the heart of techno music at Mayday Festival Dortmund. This legendary festival has been hosting its famous techno raves for over 25 years, attracting hardcore techno lovers from around the globe. A Techno Lover's Paradise Mayday Festival Dortmund is a one-day festival that caters specifically to hardcore ravers and techno enthusiasts. Moreover this massive stage production setups, this event promises an over-the-top music indulgence that is not for the faint-hearted. Hence, prepare yourself for a mind-blowing celebration that will leave you raving about your best life. A Phenomenal Lineup The lineup for Mayday Festival Dortmund is nothing short of extraordinary. Featuring techno superstar DJs from across the world, including Marco Bailey, Charlotte De Witte, Dave Clarke, Adam Beyer, Anime, Pan-Pot, and many more, this festival guarantees a pure techno gold experience that will keep you dancing all night long. A Long-Standing Tradition Mayday Festival Dortmund has a rich history and has amassed half a million fans over the years. This year's celebration promises to be off the charts, attracting one of the biggest crowds yet. If you're a techno lover, this festival is a must-visit and worthy of a road trip to Dortmund, Germany. Join the Techno Movement Experience the magic of Mayday Festival Dortmund on April 30th at Westfalenhallen Dortmund. For tickets and more information, visit the official website Big North Tattoo Show: A Celebration of Body Art 27 - 28 Apr If you're a massive lover of body art, the annual Big North Tattoo Show is the perfect event for you. Now in its 6th year, this show is set to be the biggest of its kind ever seen in the North East. A Tattoo Lover's Paradise Taking place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle Upon Tyne, the Big North Tattoo Show offers a full-on entertainment experience for tattoo enthusiasts. Alongside over 300 elite tattoo artists from around the world, attendees can enjoy music acts, comedy performances, refreshments, a retro games arcade, art galleries, tattoo competitions, awards, and a lifestyle market. Get Inked by the Best The Big North Tattoo Show provides a unique opportunity to get inked by highly skilled artists. With a wide array of designs and styles, you can leave your mark with a masterpiece of artwork on your skin. However if you're looking to add to your existing collection or get your first tattoo, this event is a one-of-a-kind experience. Join the Tattoo Community Don't miss the Big North Tattoo Show on April 27th-28th at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle Upon Tyne. For tickets and more information, visit the official website FAQs - When and where is the Mayday Festival Dortmund held?  The Mayday Festival Dortmund takes place on 30th April at Westfalenhallen Dortmund, Germany. - What can I expect at the Big North Tattoo Show?  The Big North Tattoo Show offers a unique experience with over 300 elite tattoo artists, live music, comedy performances, and a lifestyle market. - How can I purchase tickets for these events?  Tickets for Kingsland Festival, Mayday Festival Dortmund, and Big North Tattoo Show can be bought on their respective websites. Read the full article

[nhianh]

WEEK 6:  Social Media Influencers and the Slow Fashion Movement

While fast fashion has gained in popularity in recent years, it has also become the fashion industry's leading cause of environmental and social pollution (Pookulangara & Shephard, 2013). The fashion sector has surpassed all others in terms of pollution due to its manufacturing methods and the incessant need to always upgrade one's wardrobe. Consumers persist in purchasing non-recyclable, low-quality goods, leading to an increase in harmful trash (Joung, 2014). Sustainable fashion emerged as a response to the detrimental effects of quick fashion manufacturing.

The principles of sustainable fashion include local production techniques, slower manufacturing, and less hazardous fabrics (Jung & Jin, 2014). Reducing the detrimental impacts on the environment and society is one of the main objectives of sustainable fashion. Several materials that fit this description include bamboo, a quickly growing renewable resource; organic cotton, which is grown using less hazardous pesticides and fertilisers; and recycling old garments. Buyers said that they do not purchase sustainable fashion because of worries about cost, availability, quality, and ease of use (Lai, Z., Henninger, C.E. & Alevizou, P.J., 2017). This has obvious practical ramifications: slow fashion must be sold at a higher price due to the costs associated with ethical fashion techniques. It might be difficult for consumers to find slow fashion since it often takes more effort to research and acquire. Given the worrisome pace of environmental deterioration, reducing resource use and waste creation is considered a feasible approach.

Customers are able to engage with brands more readily and make better, more informed purchases when they utilise social media (Lay, 2017). Sharing content online has been ubiquitous due to social media, and research has shown that doing so enhances people's satisfaction with their own apparel (Duan, 2018). You could see Instagram influencers advertising products using popular words like "eco," "green," "slow," and "ethical" because it's profitable. Unfortunately, many people have no idea what these phrases signify. For example, a number of influencers from the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle sectors have partnered with fast fashion retailer H&M to promote their products on social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. This company's marketing campaigns have included collaborations with several famous faces, including Gigi Hadid, Billie Eilish, and Nicki Minaj. These influential people may help marketers reach a wider audience by promoting products using popular hashtags.

References

Duan, J. 2018, How Posting Purchases on social media influences happiness: The role of self-esteem, The Journal of Social Media in Society, vol.7, no.1, p.61-77

Joung, H. M. 2014, Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviors, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol.42, no.8, p. 688-697

Jung, S., & Jin, B. 2014, A theoretical investigation of slow fashion: sustainable future of the apparel industry, International Journal of Consumer Studies, vol. 38, no.5, p.510-519

Lai, Z., Henninger, C.E. & Alevizou, P.J. 2017, Sustainability in Fashion A Cradle to Upcycle Approach, 1st edn, Palgrave, London.

Lay, R. 2017, Digital transformation - the ultimate challenge for the fashion industry, viewed 20 February 2024, <https://www2.deloitte.com/ch/en/pages/consumer-industrial-products/articles/ultimatechallenge-fashion-industry-digital-age.html>

Ozdamar-Ertekin, Z., & Atik, D. 2015, Sustainable markets: Motivating factors, barriers, and remedies for mobilization of slow fashion, Journal of Macromarketing, vol.35, no.1, p.53–69

Pookulangara, S., & Shephard, A. 2013, Slow fashion movement: Understanding consumer perceptions—An exploratory study, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, vol.20, no.2, p. 200-206

[vyachki]

i will admit i haven't listened to bjork's discography in full. i tried when i was like 15, and it just didn't click for some reason. i just didn't feel that energy, that spark, that qualitas occulta that a lot of female artists have.

i watched a music video where she was bald, shaking her head and turning into some kind of digitalized bear every few seconds & that was pretty much it for me 😭 like WHAT ARE YOU DOING. you are TOO GROWN to be doing this CAN YOU GET A GRIP.

usually, when i listen to an album, it either instantly clicks for me or clicks after disliking it on my first listen and listening it months or years later. but bjork... she's too pragmatic imo. i'm not feeling the energy. i'm not feeling the EMOTION.

i like both pop and alt, but i do lean slightly more towards catchy bubblegum pop and new wave, so maybe bjork is too alt for me and i just can't get used to it idk. it's probably because i grew up listening to late 2000s/early 2010s pop on the radio (the very basic, yet fun "hot n cold by katy perry"-type music).

and i only really started disliking gaga a few years ago.

chromatica PISSED ME OFF. genuinely one of the WORST albums of all time imo. stupid love being the turd on top a steaming pile of feces of an album. when she started selling jockstraps, condoms and lube i was officially done. like girl... have some class...

and, yes, melanie is such a bad artist omg. her music is so bland and personalityless lmfao. the only songs i like by her are pacify her and mrs. potato head & that's me being generous. her stans need to stop getting brave, especially because she's literally a rapist. and the crybaby persona was just weird, not clever.

Okay so I feel like we're on the same wavelength about a lot of things after all...

As a Björk stan, I feel people often fail to see past her eccentricity & bizarreness especially to casual listeners, but if you take the time to explore her discography, I'm certain you'll find some gems in there. She is just a very true musician through & through—she's produced most of her albums, she herself arranges all her songs for her tours now, she's invented multiple instruments & methods of composition, she's very active behind the scenes of what she writes, esp with musical production, programming, & visuals too.

Björk's collab & friendship with Arca was very notable though (esp after Arca's collabs with Kanye West, FKA twigs, & Kelela previously... which were all ICONICCC) but I do think Arca's music is far more confusing/non-palatable than Björk's... I can't get into her solo work.

Yeah the late 2000s/early 2010s had the BEST pop music of all time. Katy Perry, Rihanna, Cascada, Britney, Gaga, Ke$ha, Carly Rae Jepsen, pop Nicki Minaj etc!!! Nobody does it like that anymore. I had just started going to clubs then & I didn't realise it would be the best time of my life. I kinda see that type of pop being rehashed into what "hyperpop" is now, even though Spotify allegedly invented that term to market it (according to Caroline Polachek). Plus the prevalence of nightcore/CupcaKke remixes of older pop songs on Tiktok.

These younger elusive "hyperpop"/SoundCloud artists like Ayesha Erotica, Slayyyter, & That Kid, and even modern pop writers like Charli XCX & Tove Lo are trying to bring that hype back... maybe it's working, maybe it's not.

Chromatica had a FEW bangers, but everyone was so starved & desperate after being in lockdown for like 3 months (by May 2020) that they hyped it up wayyyyy more than what it was worth at face value. These artists are getting very bold with their merch lmao. As for Melanie... the whole baby aesthetic she adopted was way too borderline pedophilic imo... it didn't translate how she expected it to. How tf is she as famous as she is lol

[movienation]

Movie Review: Just an Aunt and her Nephew Talking about Sex -- "I'll Show You Mine"

“I’ll Show You Mine” is a rather tedious two-hander in which a non-fiction author interviews her once-famous model and ground-breaking “pansexual” nephew for her next book. As drinks are sipped and awkward truths are brought to light, we’re reminded of what sexuality expert Priya (Poorna Jagannathan) says when Nicky, now a pornographic cartoonist, finally sits down for their weekend-long chat.…

[monicashipsnickyjoe]

Joe is a movie star, and Nicky is his longtime non-famous husband.

Presently, Nicky’s on the red carpet following along behind Joe, watching Joe do some interviews and solo shots for the cameras. Joe keeps looking back like he’s making sure Nicky’s still there, though Nicky knows it’s more a call for comfort. So he gives their secret smile each time, and hopes he reassures.

While Nicky mostly blends into the background, sometimes he is recognized and pulled aside for a question from some celebrity gossip reporter, usually something invasive that he will pretend he can’t hear or understand.

This time, the reporter asks him, “Do you ever get jealous watching your husband kiss all these gorgeous actors on screen?”

Caught off guard, Nicky can’t stop himself from laughing.

He thinks back to all the hours upon hours he has practiced lines with Joe. Each romantic word in the script is first promised to Nicky one hundred times over. Each kiss is practiced too, often more than needed.

He thinks of all the phone calls, when Joe has sat alone in his trailer and complained, “Would it be rude of me to offer them a mint?”

Sometimes, early on, Joe had felt as if he needed to placate Nicky, and tell him things like, “I wish it was you.”

Nicky told him, “If it was us, my heart, they would not be able to show it in these kind of theaters.”

Joe laughed.

Nicky had always trusted Joe. Eventually Joe came to realize it.

And now, standing on the red carpet, watching Joe give the cameras his “showtime” smile and not the one he keeps for Nicky, Nicky leans toward the reporter’s microphone and says, decidedly, “No.”

The reporter slumps, clearly having wanted more.

Nicky shrugs. “Spiacente.”

Joe finds him not longer after. He holds out a hand which Nicky eagerly takes. Their fingers lace together.

“Everything alright?” Joe asks.

“They want me to be jealous.”

Joe looks back at him, and there - on his lips, bright as the sun, is the smile he gives only to Nicky.

“Are you?” Joe already knows the answer. He just wants to hear Nicky say it.

Nicky’s more than happy to oblige him. He tugs Joe, bringing him closer. Lips to Joe’s ear, because this is for him alone and no other, Nicky says, “Why would I be jealous? You are mine and I am yours.”

Joe’s smile outshines the camera flashes as he lifts Nicky’s hand and presses it to his mouth. “I am yours,” he says to Nicky’s skin.

The next day, it’s a photo of that moment that makes the top of the gossip sites. The comments are full of key smashes and crying emotes.

True love, someone writes.

Nicky knows, true love is not enough. It’s that, and it’s more.

It’s everything.

“What are you smiling at?” Joe asks from the bed. He has a book open in his lap but he’s watching Nicky.

Nicky closes the laptop and places it aside. He crosses the room and kisses his husband full on the mouth.

“I am happy,” Nicky tells him, when they break. Their foreheads rest together. Joe cups Nicky’s cheek with his palm.

Mischief alights in Joe’s dark eyes. “Not jealous?”

Nicky rolls his eyes and tries to kiss him silent.

Instead, Joe grips him by the shoulder and pulls him onto the bed. He shoves him to the mattress and hovers over him, lips close but not touching, even when Nicky lifts his head to chase them.

“I pity them,” Joe says, voice breathy and low. “If they knew how much I loved you, they would be jealous for eternity.”

“Joe.”

“They turn their cameras toward me, but it is you they should hope to capture. If they could know the depths of your kindness. If they could see the devastation of your beauty.”

“You are impossible,” Nicky says, though he burns with the warmth of Joe’s words.

“They will never know you as I do,” Joe says, setting fires in Nicky’s heart. “For that, I pity them and their ignorance. But not near as much as I cherish the knowledge.”

Nicky licks his lips and then Joe is there to claim them.

“I am yours,” Nicky says.

Joe tells him, “We are one.”

[foxsoulcourt]

As many ventures go, this started out as a little thing: Sunday 26 January 2020 when the work debuted on AO3, I read ch 1 to @dont-rain-on-my-solangelo over the phone. It was fun! We decided we could this for all eleven chapters!  Awww, bedtime story for grown-ups! The authors + Discord friends wanted to hear the bedtime story too, so I recorded us. Everyone enjoyed it, so we did it again, and again, and then --TA DA!-- we birthed a thing: a Podficast. 

Read along with the words or listen while you’re doing dishes/riding the bus/etc. Any way you do it we hope you enjoy hearing us read + respond to this wonderful work!  

Chapters 1 - 4 are complete. Clicking here takes you to AO3 where you’ll find another link to click to listen to the recording on SoundCloud (you do not need to have an account to listen). Going forward the plan is to update Monday mornings.

@dont-rain-on-my-solangelo is the co-host in Chapters 1-4; @pomponia joins the adventure for Chapter 5. I hope to have a few more co-hosts along the way.

P.S. We’d love to see your answers to the Question of The Week in comments.

Thank you so much to @fuzzballsheltiepants @gluupor + @annawrites for your blessing + support. YOU THREE made this collab on a collab so much fun!