#now this is public design. the people want frog phone

[elliethesuperfruitlover]

I’m So Baked (says the pie)

A/N: So I’ve been paying more attention to Topazi (mentally) and I realize that I need more shenanigans between her and Klaus..so here we are.

Warnings: some suggestive material

Tag List:  @joz-stankovich, @misskittysmagicportal, @badsext, @super-unpredictable98, @the-freckled-luba, @magic-multicolored-miracle, @ghouls-buddy, @maerenee930, @frogs–are–bitches, @neuroticpuppy, @forenschik, @bisexualnathanyoung, @robert-sheehan, @firstpersonnarrator, @salvador-daley, @lokis-rock-n-roll-chick

“Klaus, what happened to your hand?!” Topazi asked, as her partner walked in, his hand held far away from his body, almost as if it had offended him greatly.

“I was trying to get inside of the house and the patio door shut on my hand. We need to get that fixed at some point.” he said, putting a generous amount of dish soap on his “Hello” hand before putting it under the tap.

“I’ll put it on my list to get to. Do you know when Allison and Claire are supposed to be coming over. I need to make sure I have time to get the flowers done beforehand. And I need to make sure there’s no extra snails in them, like I’ve let slide recently.” she added, getting her tools gathered on the floor of the living room.

“Uh, I think she said around regular dinnertime, 6-7ish.” Klaus replied, and Topazi let out a sigh of relief. That’s plenty of time to construct and reconstruct her design.

  It was a simple bouquet, really. Allison hadn’t asked for a specific type of flowers, but she wanted to get a specific message across. Maternal love and affection. Claire had been through quite a lot, and she wanted to be sure that her kid knew that she loved her very much. Material objects only do so much as well, so Allison planned to write a letter, and just generally try to spend more time with her kid, and be there for her more.

“That’s valid.” T remembered saying, as she picked a few cinquefoils, as well as a few carnations from her collection, looking back at her sketch.

  It reminded her in pieces of a sunflower, actually, how it looked. There wasn’t a darkness in the center, but she chose yellow cinquefoils, and yellow carnations, with regular greenery on the outside, so she’d need to change something up a little. She worked away for some time, and made multiples of the same bouquet, trying different combinations of the flowers.

  In the kitchen, Klaus was looking at a recipe book. He wanted to make Allison one of her favorite desserts, a key-lime pie. He was sure that there were limes somewhere in the house (or if the neighbors have some). There had been multiple occasions where he wished to make a specific dish and lacked a few ingredients. Topazi had mentioned, in passing, of her wishes of having a fruit orchard. That would help with the fruit issue, lest Klaus decide to become a full-time baker. It may not be a huge one, but she wanted to provide for herself. Plus, who doesn’t want to take care of plants?

“Now where is the microblade?” he asked himself as he rumbled through the cabinets, trying to make sure he didn’t let anything drop too loudly.

“I don’t even know if we have one.” Topazi replied, eyes focused on trying to properly tie a ribbon on one of her bouquets.

“Ah, here it is!” Klaus exclaimed, extracting the microblade from between the cheese grater and a plate.

   He finally went into the fridge after a few more minutes of glancing over the ingredient page, and withdrew a few limes from the bottom drawers. Soon enough, Klaus began working on the crust, and took some of his anger out (mostly at the sliding door) pounding the graham crackers to crumbs. A small part of him wanted to taste said crumbs, but then he remembered that it was for his sister, not him. (although her giving him a slice isn’t completely out of the question) He pressed the crumbs into the side of the pie plate, making sure to press from the bottom, going up. He put it in the oven, took note of the time, and got started on the filling.

“T, why do you like flowers so much?” Klaus asked, zesting a lime. He knew the obvious answer, “They’re pretty, and a lot of people like them.” However, he wanted to hear his partner talk, as the sound of the cicadas outside were beginning to annoy him.

“I like them because what’s not to like about them? In a sense. They’re pretty, and were historically used as a means to communicate, when people thought it rude and insensitive to discuss such things in public. Everything about them is made so carefully, down to how they look microscopically. Even though plants themselves aren’t sentient, they still live, and have their own systems to maintain, and how they work. If one was to extract a piece of DNA from a sunflower, specifically one that gives it its color, our perception would be completely different of it.” she stops for a moment to collect her thoughts.

“It’s also how people work, too. I like flowers because they’re easy to maintain, if you know what you’re doing, and don’t forget they exist, or run out of energy. And they’re so nice to look at. You’ve seen me stop in parks to just admire how flowers are placed in the mulch, or soil. They planters may have had the littlest idea of how I would view them, even down to what order they put them in, but they’re there. I find it so worth it to just pause for a moment, and to think, and indulge in the true meaning of something, even if it wasn’t meant to be. That’s why I like flowers. It’s completely fine to just see the surface when someone gets you flowers “Ah, they got me something pretty, and thought of me to give me this. It’s a meaningful gift.” But I want to pick apart every part of it. Because there’s so much more to so many things than what you see.” she responds, and jumps when she looks up to see Klaus leaning over the kitchen island, his face in his hands.

  His hands have small bits of pulp on them, and the “Kiss the Cook” apron that he wears has abstract juice drippage on it.

“I fuckin’ love you T.” Klaus whispers, and bends over to capture her lips in a gentle kiss, and he feels her smile into it. Her hands carefully come to wrap around his neck, making sure not to get any of the stem juice in his hair.

“Love you too.” she whispers back, pulling away “Your crust smells just a smidge burnt (pronounced buent), by the way.” she says, picking up her phone to refresh her memory of other flower requests. A small look of panic passes across his face before he pushes himself off of the counter, practically ripping the oven door off to check on his crust.

  It, fortunately enough, wasn’t too terribly damaged. It wasn’t too crisp, or burnt. He set it on the stove to rest for a moment, and he grabbed the yogurt from the fridge, and sweetened condensed milk from the pantry. He poured the juice, zest, yogurt, and sweetened condensed milk into a bowl, and whisked to combine.

“I never thought I would be so turned on by a man cooking, and the pie isn’t even for me.” T admitted, looking at the way Klaus’ arms flexed while he continued to mix the ingredients together.

“Oh, is that right. I’ll be cooking a lot more then, if your response is openly admitting your horniness to my non-conformity to gender roles.” he said casually, blowing a stray hair out of his face.

 Topazi looked up, and stared Klaus straight in the face, and put a finger up, opening her mouth, only to close it, and put her finger down.

“I’m not sharing my thoughts with a malewife like you.” she uttered, shaking her head in mock disgust.

“And this malewife puts it down every evening for you, willingly that is, and this is how I’m treated, ugh, the gumption.” he mutters, putting a hand to his chest, feigning disgust.

  Topazi and Klaus look at each other once more before breaking out in laughter, urging Minnie, who was sitting on the floor, to wake up from her nap. Klaus snorted, hand gripping the counter. Topazi had to put her head down to prevent any excess spittle from getting on her flowers. Once they caught their collective breaths, Klaus poured the filling into the crust, and put it into the oven to bake. He washed the dishes that he had, and dried the bowl, due to needing it for the topping.

“Okay, good, I just need to write these cards, then I’ll be done with this.” T said, grabbing them, and grabbed a permanent marker.

“These look really good T!” Klaus exclaimed, his eyes shining with glee.

“Thank you love.” she said, dragging a hand across her face. She stood up to stretch, and her back cracked loudly, mildly surprising her. She walked over to Klaus and wrapped her hands around his waist, her head resting on his back.

“Every time you put your arms around my waist like that, I swear I gain 10 more years of life.” he said, wiping his hands on his apron. She felt the vibrations of his speech on her face, and she took a deep breath before responding.

“I wonder what happens when I hug you then.” T said, walking away to put the flowers in their designated “T’s flowers, do not touch nor smell.” place in the fridge.

“I’m so smart, I know.” he retorted, pouring the heavy cream into a bowl, along with a few tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar. T jumped at the sound, and shook it off. 

  She had mentally took note of the time Klaus put the pie in, and took an oven mitt off of the hook, (patterned with tiny cookies on it) The top looked set enough, and she set it to rest on the counter. She turned the oven off, and watched as Klaus finished whipping the topping, holding it upside down to check if it was ready. It didn’t fall on his head, so he put plastic wrap over it, and looked outside for a short moment, looking up the tree in the front yard. 

  He took a breath, and thought for a second. Maybe a bit too long. His mind fluttered back to what it took for him to be where he was. How much it physically took out of him, his siblings, hell, even the timeline for him to be able to have a peaceful life (for the most part) and a loving partner. A tear slipped down his face, and he thought of how silent the ghost had been recently. He still had his powers, but the ghosts seemed to respect his current want for peace. And he loved that. He would float around the house if his feet were tired, and sometimes even do a side gig of being a medium if he felt inclined to. However, something about knowing that he couldn’t physically see Ben anymore, (his Ben, he thought, now with his newest collection of siblings, with a limited edition Sparrow Ben). He still even missed the cult, even with its downsides. He never got the right type of parental love, or familial love. At times, he doubted his siblings’ love for him, even though they’d made it pretty obvious that they’d be there for him, lest he need it.

  “Hey, Klaus, the- are you alright?” Topazi asks. She had been calling a few clients back from her home office, telling them that their bouquets had been completed. She got a random craving for cookies, and planned to go to the kitchen to make them, but she found Klaus in tears, hand covering his mouth. He hadn’t even noticed her there.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. I was just thinking too much.” he explained, letting her wipe the tears from his face.

“You sure?” she asked, and he nodded before taking a deep breath, and releasing it. “I was just coming in here to A. make some cookies, and B. tell you that the pie is good and cooled, and it’s time for it to be topped.” she said, rubbing his back gently.

“Okay. Thank you T.” he responded, gathering the willpower to put the whipped cream on the pie, and adding small lime slices and spare zest on top. He smiled at the completed job, and put it in the fridge to finish chilling.

“Go take a nap darling. You’ve been on your feet for a while, and you look tired. I’ll let you know when Allison is here. Or at least 5 minutes before.” she whispered, kissing Klaus’ cheek. She looked at him for a moment more, and cupped his cheek with her hand. The light scruff that covered the bottom of his chin tickled her hand, and she had the urge to scratch her palm. She however, resisted said urge, and took her hand away. Klaus smiled at her once more, and trotted up the stairs, with Minnie in tow behind him. Topazi went back to the kitchen and gathered her ingredients. She spun some vinyl as background music, and got to work on her cookies.

  A couple hours pass, and Topazi is drying the last cookie sheet she used for her cookies, putting it back in its rightful spot. She stretched again, and checked her phone, seeing that Allison had texted her a few seconds go, saying that she was on the way, which gave her about 30 minutes to get Klaus awake. She headed up the stairs, and ended their bedroom, where Klaus was sprawled across the sheets Minnie resting on his pillow. T gently shook him awake with one hand, and giving chin scratches to Minnie with the other.

“Come on, it’s time to get up Klausie.” she mutters, watching as her partner came to slowly, more of his hair having escaped from its confinements.

“Hmmm, I’ll be more up in a bit. You smell good, hon.” he whispered, rubbing his eyes.

 The sun was shining in his face, and although it may have been mildly uncomfortable to wake up to, he looked absolutely stunning in it. His hair seemed to glow, and his skin, albeit a little pale, seemed to reflect every bit of sun that hit it. His eyes though, seemed to be pools of emerald and gold. Topazi admired him from afar, and she ignored the strong urge to climb into bed with him and bask in the sunlight together.

“You’re staring love.” Klaus says, leaning on his arm in bed, petting Minnie, who was beginning to wake up as well. She meowed gently, and purred at his touch.

“Oh, hush. Like you haven’t stared at me in the sun before.”

“.....You got me there.”

“Yeah, mhm.” Topazi said, jokingly side-eyeing Klaus.

“Come here mama.” Klaus teases, pulling T’s arm towards him. She falls into Klaus’ arms, her head resting right below his. He bends down and kisses her lips, breaking away, before Topazi reciprocates the gesture, taking a small handful of Klaus’ hair in her fingers. Klaus smiles, and chuckles, letting his mouth fall to her neck. He nuzzles into it, and they sit there for several minutes, before coming to a realization.

“Oh shit, I forgot that Allison and Claire are coming over.” T said. “I’ve got to get the cookies in the jar...and I need to fix the bed too.”

“Ah, calm down. It’s fine. She’s not going to come up here and see where we engage in sinful activities, is she? No. However, I would love to join you in the cookie jarring.” Klaus mutters, smiling at her.

“Fine, you can help. But so help me god if I find even a crumb on the freshly swept floor.” Topazi said, closing the bedroom door behind her.

  T worked quickly to get the cookies together, and Klaus took a very short shower, as he knew that it would help wake him up, and he could go back to bed without having to worry about showering again. The doorbell sounded, and Topazi almost slipped trying to get to the door. She checked herself in the mirror once more before letting her niece and sister in law into the house.

“Hey Allison! And little miss Claire.” Topazi said, giving the respective people their own hugs.

“How’ve you been T?” Allison asked as she was welcomed in, shoes taken off at the door. She was also carrying a dish of some sort, covered in Aluminum Foil.

“I’ve been good. The business has been going well, and I’m thinking of making an orchard.” T replies, leading them both to the living room. “Let me get that for you.”

“That’s good. Claire’s been begging me to let her go visit the shop, but it’s always been at a bad time. Oh, thank you! I brought dinner as a bit of a treat.”

“It’s much appreciated. I like seeing you both, and having you two visit would never be a hassle.” she replies, petting JJ, the other cat, who just so happened to be waiting for attention.

“IS THAT MY SISTER AND MY FAVORITE NIECE?” Klaus yelled from the top of the stairs, quickly running down them to give his sibling a hug.

“Uncle Klaus!” Claire exclaimed, giving said uncle a very big hug around his middle, only to be picked up.

“How’ve you been, Allison, smaller Allison?” he asked, setting his niece back on the couch before taking the place next to his partner.

“We’ve been good.” Allison says. “We’ve been doing really good.” 

  The four of them sit and converse for a while, and eventually dinnertime comes around, signaled by Klaus’ stomach growling loudly. Allison had brought a very large amount of lasagna, and Topazi immediately dug in, which shocked Klaus, but he’d bring the cause up at a later time. Claire did, however, get a pre-dinner cookie (Topazi’s request because “That’s how you teach kids that good things come to people who deserve them.”)

“So, I do so happen to have a bit of a surprise for the both of you.” Klaus says, standing up and opening the fridge.

“Ooh, what is it?” Allison asks excitedly, and Claire matches her mother’s expression.

  Klaus pulls out the pie, and T moves to gently give Claire her bouquet, asking her to hold it a specific way as to not jostle the flowers, or change the position of the ribbon.

“That’s so pretty, T! Oh my gosh, I need to ask you to make more things for me, I swear I’ll pay you in whatever you want.” Allison exclaims, looking at the bouquet, leaning forward to smell some of the flowers.

“Thank you! The meanings of the flowers, and ribbon placement are on the card. Also your brother made a whole pie...by himself......we need to eat it before he does.” she teases, sticking a pointed thumb back at her partner, who already had a knife out to cut said pie.

“Klaus, it’s my favorite! Thank you so much.” Allison says, taking another bite of the pie.

“This is really good Uncle Klaus.” Claire states, looking across the island at him.

“Why danke. It was made with love. Both the pie and the bouquet, actually.” he said, kissing T on the cheek. She smiled against him, and took a piece of the pie for herself, trying to resist eating the rest of the pie it all of its entirety.

  The night came to an end, and Allison and Claire said their respective goodbyes, and drove off. T and Klaus lay in bed that night, with a book and knitting needles in hand, respectively. Klaus feels a weight against his shoulder, and Topazi had fallen asleep, small breaths escaping her lips. He put a marker in her book, and took note of note of where he stopped in his stitches. It took him some more time to get to sleep that night, probably due to his earlier nap, but he got to sleep, so peacefully. Something he’d wished for many a day, and now it seemed that he was finally getting it answered.

Masterlist

Key Lime Pie

[iwillhaveamoonbase]

Replay ch. 4

Callum gulped as he sent the text to Rayla.  She was fully in her rights to reject a drawing session in the woods.  Not only that, but he was asking her to bring her own clothes because he didn’t know her exact measurements.  Was he asking too much?  He read the text again.  ‘If it’s not too much trouble, I was really imagining drawing you among the trees, like a faerie or an elf.  If you have any flowy clothes that you are alright with getting dirty, please wear those. I’ll send you the location if you’re comfortable.  If not, we can do the beach or my backyard.  I just can’t imagine drawing you in a confined space like my studio. I don’t think it would fit your spirit.’

Callum internally screamed. Did he really send that?  She was going to rescind her acceptance of his request to draw her, wasn’t she?  ‘Her spirit’? He had met her once!  What was wrong with him?  It was true, though.  That was something about her that, despite the suit and the situation that they met in, made him feel like she would be more at home running barefoot through the forest or relaxing by the sea.

Either way, now all he had to do was wait for her to reply back.  If she rejected the offer, well, he didn’t want to think about that, because that meant he probably was never going to see her again.  Meeting her once was enough to make her haunt his every thought for the past three days.  While he and his friends had finally ironed out how they were going to go full-time with YouTube, she had been right in the back of his mind.  

He had looked up her name and ran across a few things.  She really was the daughter of two bodyguards of the British royal family and her adoptive fathers ran a famous Celtic jewelry shop in Aberdeen, the designs being a mix of traditional shapes and styles and new materials.  She did dance for years as a way to channel her energy. There was even a video online of her at sixteen doing a ballet routine to a Kylie Minogue and Madonna compilation. She had inserted traditional Irish step dance in a way Callum never would have thought worked but it did. Maybe that was because of the sheer joy on her face as she moved.  That made her departure from dance all the stranger and it’s also where information about her basically stopped.  The most recent thing he found was that she worked for Patel and Associates Anti-Fraud Law Office.  

A lawyer…his faerie was a lawyer.  It certainly explained the suit but it was almost absurd.  Here he was imagining her running through the trees and she was surrounded by paperwork in her daily life.  Did she enjoy it?  Did she like spicy food?  What was her type?

Callum hit his head against his desk.  He needed to stop letting his mind drift to her and whether or not she could ever be interested in him.  There was no way someone like him was her type.  She couldn’t hide just how toned her long legs her in her suit.  She probably worked out often while he was a lazy twig that indulged in sleeping in too much.  Also, she was a lawyer.  A lawyer falling for a YouTuber/artist?  Yeah, right.

A stray chip hit his forehead.  Callum looked up to glare at Soren.  “What?”

“You thinking about that hot girl at the cheese shop again?”

“What?  No!”  Callum could feel the blush creepy up on his cheeks and all the way to his ears.

“It’s fine if you were. She was smoking hot.  I never thought I would find white hair hot, but DAMN.”

Claudia hummed in acknowledgement.  “I’m calling it now; she’s Bi or Pan.”

“What makes you say that?” Soren mumbled around a bunch of chips.

Claudia winked.  “Gaydar.”

“Wishful thinking?”

“Maybe some of that, too,” Claudia shrugged.  

“She’s got two dads,” Callum mumbled.

Soren, Claudia, and Ezran all turned to him.  “Does she now?” Claudia asked.

“Yeah.  She told me at the shop.  It was the painting of Aunt Amaya and Aunt Janai that made her accept my offer.  She was raised by her parents’ friends, hence, two dads.  They run Gael Jewelers in Aberdeen.”  

Claudia immediately pulled out her phone, probably to look them up.  Shortly after, she whistled.  “Wow. She comes from a really good-looking family.  Her mom is a totally MILF.”

Soren rolled his eyes. “Claudia, you can’t just-” Claudia shoved the picture in his face. “MILF alert.”

“Mm-hmm.”  Claudia scrolled through.  “Ethari and Runaan and are also incredibly attractive.  Damn.  What is in the water in Scotland?”

Callum rolled his eyes. “Guys.  Let’s focus.  Do we need a production manager?”

Claudia shrugged.  “My vote is you’re in charge of creative for group projects, we run our own channels, and we hire an editing assistant.”

“We also need a social media manager.  Ez can’t do it all on his own while he’s in school.”

Ezran nodded.  “It’s nice that you guys do your own channel stuff, but, sometimes, it would be nice to have some help.”

“Do we need a strong social media presence?  We have YouTube and Twitter.  Isn’t that enough?”

Ezran scratched the back of his neck.  “Maybe? Claudia’s got a large following on Tumblr ever since she came out during one of her make-up tutorials.  Her super casual ‘my ex-girlfriend taught me how to do this and this is the first time I’ve done this eyeliner look since we broke-up’ just made her blow-up and our channel gained thousands of followers over-night.”

Callum nodded.  “We gained a lot of followers after I did that art tutorial with Janai, too.  A lot of people just went gaga over her and I see a lot of requests for her to come back on the channel.”

“Which is where a social media manager could come in handy.  Maybe they could track requests so we don’t have to?”

Soren sighed, taking another handful of his chips.  “We also need someone to help us with events.  Getting us into them, working booths…being famous is hard work.”

“We aren’t famous, Soren.”

“Beg to differ.  I get stopped all the time.”  Soren flexed his arm.  “And it’s not just because of these guns.”  The other three in the room rolled their eyes.  

“Himbo,” Claudia coughed, no-so-subtly.  

“WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?! Stop using words I don’t know!”

“Stop being a himbo.”

“CLAUDS!”  

Ezran and Callum shared a look, snorting at their childhood friends’ teasing.  Soren and Claudia couldn’t go five minutes without teasing each other or making a serious situation humorous.  “Can’t take them anywhere,” Callum whispered.

Ezran nodded.  “Bait is better behaved.”

Callum eyed the frog in the glass bowl Ezran took with him wherever he could.  “He’s glaring at me again.”

“Because you won’t stop thinking about that girl.”

“It’s not my fault she won’t leave my head.  You saw her, Ez.”

“Yeah, she’s beautiful, but she’s not running through my head like she is your’s.  Are you even ready for another relationship?  After Melissa-”

“Melissa was a nightmare. She constantly asked to be introduced in our videos.  I didn’t know at the time, but you were right, she approached me because she wanted to piggyback off our growing fame.”  Callum ran a hand through his hair.  “I was an idiot.”

Ezran put a hand on his shoulder.  “I wasn’t going to say that.  I was going to say that Melissa really hurt you and I want you to be careful.  You didn’t even like her that much, if I remember correctly.”

“She was nice, pretty, liked some of the same things I did.  But she didn’t really inspire me to be better or push my art.  She only encouraged the YouTube thing, not what I actually like.”

“She is why we got almost fifty thousand subscribers in one week, though.  That story broke and you had to give that little video and it really stuck with people.”

Callum remembered that video.  As a way to quiet down any questions, he had made a short video detailing how they had met (in a coffee shop), why they had never gone public (he had wanted to keep his private life and his YouTube life separate), that she had met his family but they kept it hush-hush (impossible not to meet Ezran after knowing Callum for a week), and that the break-up had not been mutual.  Callum had broken-up with her because he had felt that it wasn’t working because they wanted different things.  Melissa pushed the YouTube thing, and there was nothing wrong with that, but, if Callum was going to be known for social media and videos, he wanted to be proud of what he put out into the universe.  He loved his art more, and, if he could, that would be all he did.  Melissa had wanted to do sponsorships and Callum hadn’t.  They just had different values and desires and no one else was owed this knowledge, but Callum had been forced to do damage control because people would not stop asking.  “Yeah. I was really surprised that that happened.”

“People value honesty. I think it comes across in our videos and your art tutorials that you are not in this for the fame.  We’ve done meet and greets and you are just awkward as anything.  Melissa showed her true colors on her own with posts afterwards.”  Callum didn’t even want to think about how Melissa had tried to monetize their break-up.  It had been bizarre to see her sponsored by a make-up wipe company to tell her side of the story, which basically confirmed everything in Callum’s video, but with the caveat that she had wanted him to reach new heights and that YouTube and not his ‘lame art’, as she had put it, was the way to do that.  Their fans had not taken kindly to that and Melissa had lost thousands of followers she had gained overnight in even less time.

“Social media is weird, Ez. No matter what, we have got to stay away from the drama.  We do not want to be involved in any of that.”

“Yep.  That’s why I think a social media manager could help.  A good one.”

“I’m all for it if that’s what keeps our noses clean.”  Callum straightened when his phone alerted him to a text.  

He opened it to see it was from Rayla ‘The woods?  OK.  I’m still bringing my friend.  When’s good for you?  It would have to be on a weekend for me because of work.  Sorry about that.’

“Holy shit,” Callum whispered.

“What?” Ezran looked over his shoulder to read the text.  “That text sounds weird.  Callum-”

“I know, Ez, but she didn’t say ‘no’.  She didn’t reject me.”  Ezran raised a brow.  “You know what I mean.”

“You’ve got it bad.”

“I just need to draw her to get her out of my system.”

“Either that or she is your muse.  Poor Aunt Janai.  She was having so much fun being your muse.  So was Khessa.”  Callum chuckled.  Khessa, Janai’s older sister, did enjoy modeling for Callum.  His exhibit on women of color had been a smash hit in part because of her always accepting when he asked.  She had once modeled with a crown while sitting on a throne and that particular piece now hung in her house in her living room, showed off to everyone who came over.  Callum smiled as he remembered that exhibit.  His crowing achievement, to this day, was the portrait of his mother, eyes softened, and an easy, loving smile on her lips.  People thought of her as this rough former military general and tactician who once taught at military academies.  They didn’t know that she had a sweet tooth or that her relationship with Callum’s father had led her to leaving the military because she saw that the push for peace was more important.  

She was now known for her discussions on US-South Korean and US-Thai relations because both her parents were immigrants and her own history in South Korea.  Sarai and Amaya had both spent half their childhoods in South Korea in Korean schools, helping Sarai learn how the rest of the world saw the States. She and Amaya and joined the military because it helped pay for university, but both found they were really good at it. So good at it, they extended their contracts before finally leaving to focus on family and peaceful negotiations. Callum was proud of his mother’s work and was proud of the picture showing the softer side of her so many people didn’t see.  

He shook his head and sent a quick text to Rayla that next Saturday worked for him if it worked for her.  This Saturday was in a few days and, if things went how Ezran wanted, they were probably going to be doing interviews all weekend for a social media manager.  “Let’s get a social media manager, Ez.”

“YES!”

------------------------------------------

Rayla smiled at the text. The woods was a bit of a strange option, but she was excited.  She hadn’t had a chance to go running through the trees barefoot in years.  She was going to have to ask Corvus if he was willing to head out early so she could do so.  She mentally thought of her wardrobe and realized she didn’t have anything flowing that she was willing to get dirty.  She was going to have to go thrift store shopping.  

Was she really going to go buy a dress so a random artist that she had met one time could draw her surrounded by trees?  Yeah, she was and she was going to look so good she was going to haunt his mind like he haunted her’s.  His voice followed her and she had watched all of his videos in three days.  She barely slept because she wanted to hear him more or see him smile or laugh.  She felt like one of those stalkers who was convinced a famous person was in love with them, but she had met him in real life.  He had approached her, he had asked to draw her.  Either way, she wanted him to be tongue-tied when he saw her and, hopefully, she was going to quell some of the fire that refused to leave her belly since they had shaken hands.

[kintsugi-sheep]

Orchard: Vaccination Day

I have a co-worker who once told me a phrase someone told her: “Eat your ugliest frog first.”

And considering how I’ve found myself hamstrung this morning, I guess it’s better to frontload my day with my misfortune.

I scheduled my appointment and managed to land it on a day when I don’t have to work. Went to bed earlier than usual for my weekend, even got to sleep in a little with enough time left over to do my morning ritual before making my way to the bus stop.

I don’t usually trust public transportation when I have to make serious appointments. However, the stop nearest to my house would take me directly to the vaccination site where my appointment was set up. And it’s Monday morning, a weekday, the average person’s business day, so I could actually rely on the bus to arrive at the proper time.

The bus did not arrive at the proper time.

A hiccup. Almost inconsequential. Sure, it was a straight shot and the cheapest option, but who wants to ride for forty minutes in blissful silence on a religiously deserted bus down routes almost scenic in the way they’re lined with trees? Not I, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority had obviously decided.

Realizing that I’d be even later if I stood around waiting for it, I opted to call an Uber. I remember seeing posters and promotions for Uber recently. Uber has been fully supportive of the mass vaccination efforts. Uber cares about making sure everyone goes and gets their shots. Uber wants you to know that you can rely on them to get you to your designated site.

And at a cost of forty-four dollars, Uber would get you there.

That was a harrowing number to look at. A number attributed to a high rate of the reliable Uber company’s reliable Uber drivers being called. Because they’re so reliable, you see. Still, I needed to make the appointment on time and was willing to bleed myself dry if it meant I could get a ride.

I surrendered my credit card and my firstborn child and the closest Uber driver was on his way. The closest driver actually being over twenty minutes away and in the middle of driving someone else somewhere else.

Even when I’m willing to let myself get robbed, Uber still found a way to screw it up.

Running low on time, my fingers danced across my phone as I reinstalled Lyft. I’m a former user, so set up was nearly non-existent. I was able to breeze into the hub with minimal effort. I remember how I first downloaded Lyft because most Ubers would be operating further into the city when I needed them most. Lyft, conversely, was more spread out.

How much did a ride cost? Around twenty-three dollars. Great. Now I just had to order the ride.

And it took forever to find a driver. I spent a good while watching a little pink bar crawl along the screen, pausing every inch to look up and assure me that Lyft was doing it’s best to find a driver to get me to my destination.

And it did.

My driver was eight minutes away and would be dropping off someone before he came to get me. I rant the numbers and realized I could absolutely make my appointment on time.

If it wasn’t clear already, I was getting antsy. It may seem small, but I rarely make sure to do everything right. I’m perfectly content with waking up in the morning and winging it until I get to work. And on weekends, my Monday-Tuesday weekends, I wake up and wing it with simply being alive.

I’m not a very high-maintenance man. And I don’t expect perfection from others. If someone makes a mistake and I can fix it, I’ll work around it. If something goes wrong and inconveniences me, I can empathize and forgive it.

Usually. But apparently, I was letting this Covid situation get to me more than I thought. So, while crossing and dotting my letters perfectly is an uncommon personal achievement in my eyes, I was really committed to making sure things worked out today. And it would suck to have things screwed up outside of the realm of my control.

I reopened Lyft after a few minutes to see where my driver was. I was greeted, once again, by the crawling pink caterpillar, who said, “Sorry. Your driver had to cancel. We’re looking for another one right now though.”

I canceled the ride, walked home, and talked with a representative about how to go about rescheduling.

I had sometime to think. I was never scared of Covid. I’m a pretty clean guy who makes sure to put his mask on and was socially distancing before it was cool. Nor was I annoyed by it. The metro was empty and quiet, there were no customers staring through our kitchen window while we worked, and the streets were less busy.

I’m not ashamed to admit that my issue was one of luxury. My nearest Korean barbecue is open for dining in and I can’t responsibly go unless I’ve been vaccinated.

No one can stop me from going. If I went, they wouldn’t kick me out either. And I could always order for pick up, maybe even delivery. But Korean barbecue is an experience that is best enjoyed, and this isn’t easy for me to say, socially.

Going as a party of four and ordering enough raw meat for a party of eight. Trying to listen to the huge television but not hearing it over the volume of sizzling pork. Picking off rice or gyoza or kimchi or takoyaki while you wait for your meat to cook. Drinking sake and soju until the colors in the room invert.

That’s the type of thing I want my vaccine for.

I dejectedly went home and ordered some McDonald’s for breakfast. I got an unsweetened tea instead of the sweetened one I asked for.

I’ll close as I opened, with a quote from my co-worker: “Don’t rely on other people. Other people suck.”

[sparklemichele]

Kissing On My Tattoos Part 8

KOMT Masterlist

Everything was a blur. People started to fill up your bedroom as Calvin called family and Mary the PR coordinator. They were trying to talk to you to make you feel better, but you only heard noise.  Mary called all major smut publications and internet news source and told them Tom Hardy will sue them if they chose to publish the pictures. Your phone was ringing off the hook as Charlotte had also leaked your number and people were calling for comments. By the end of the day it looked like everything would be alright and you guys were ahead of the situation when Calvin got a Google alert. He gasped when he looked at the alert. An online publication not caring about the warning, published the photos. You wanted to die. The pictures were now for everyone to see. Tom called you immediately.

“I’m sorry love. I will go after that site with everything I got. I’m also moving out. Charlotte knows she fucked up. Do you want to press charges?”

“No Tom she is pregnant. I don’t want her having your baby in jail.” You sighed with fatigue.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. What’s done is done. I’m just tired of the whole situation.”

Your next call was your boss who in the most tactful way told you that you were fired. You knew you would be if those pictures were leaked. You had no idea what you were going to do for income. You were glad you had a hefty savings to get you through until you could find another job. You would also if necessary, lean on Tom for financial help. As the day came to an end you crawled in bed holding your stomach. Calvin asked if you wanted to see the pictures and you told him no. Mary had already reached out and told them to take them down or Tom would sue. By the end of the day they were down but it did not matter. What was once on the internet stays on the internet. No telling how many people had saved the photos to their phone. You closed your eyes and cried yourself to sleep.

Months later

 “It’s really nice Tom.” You smiled into the Facetime screen as Tom showed you around his new flat, he rented. He and Charlotte was officially separated but that didn’t stop her from calling you and yelling obscenities. You had to change your number twice due to her. You had not really looked for a job as you were soon going to give birth and you wanted to stay home with your baby girl. You were pleasantly surprised that you did get a few offers. You guess some magazines like scandals. Maybe it would draw more readers. You told them you will began talks after you had your baby. You smiled as Woody jumped on Tom’s lap as soon as he sat on his new couch. He had come to the states twice since he left but you still missed him immensely.

“I’m going to get someone to come decorate the room for our little girl. Charlotte said she doesn’t want the baby over here without her supervision.”

“Well she has that right.” You told him. “Make sure you ask me first before you and the designer make any decisions on her room.”

“I will. When will you visit London?”

“I have to get approval from my doctor. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks.”

“Ok. I’ll call you later. I drunk a shit ton of water and need to hit the loo.”

You laughed as you ended the Facetime call.

_____________________________________________________________ 

Your doctor gave you permission to visit across the ocean, but they advise to only stay a week. You were dangerously close to your due date. You called Tom to tell him the happy news and when you would be arriving, but he had tears in his eyes when he answered the Facetime.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” You asked panicked.

“Woody died.” Tom sniffed and wiped tears from his face.

“Oh, sweetheart I am so sorry. I’m catching a flight out tomorrow to see you. Will you be okay till then?”

Tom nodded as fresh tears ran down his face. You knew how much Woody meant to Tom and you knew the loss of his beloved dog devastated him. You were glad you were going to see him tomorrow as he should not be alone. You comforted him the best you could, and he seemed better once you both hung up. You were glad you were heading to the UK tomorrow.

 _____________________________________________________________

You and Calvin bickered as you both carried an army of luggage through the airport. You were not surprised to see the paps following you. You ignored their invasive questions. You were glad for first class as you can stretch your aching feet. Your ankles were swollen, and you were so uncomfortable and always hot. You made yourself comfortable as best you could, ignored Calvin’s yapping and went to sleep for most of the flight.  

Tom himself met you at the airport. You saw the look of surprise when he saw Calvin with you. You might have forgot to mention that detail to him. You knew London’s press can be ruthless and you wanted your best friend with you. He greeted Calvin with a hug and pulled you in a tight embrace.

“You look so damn beautiful.”

“Thank you. How are you feeling?” You asked caressing his cheeks. You heard the shutters of the camera, but Calvin stood in their direct line of sight.

“I’m better since you are here.” Tom grabbed your luggage and escorted you to his car. Once safely inside and on his way to his apartment you asked where he buried Woody.

“I buried him in the backyard. I plan on staying at the apartment awhile.”

Finally, at his new apartment Tom was excited to show you the baby room. You had made all executive decisions on how the room would look.

“Calvin you can take the guest room.”

“Obvi.” Calvin snide rolling his eyes. Tom chose to ignore him and took you to the baby’s room. It was breath taking. You had the Disney Princess theme with the majority being Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.

“It’s beautiful Tom!” You gave him a hug and a kiss on the lips. Tom gave you a toothy grin.  Tom’s cell rung and he excused himself to answer it. You busied yourself in your daughter���s room looking at all the stuff he brought. Your child would not want for anything. You sat in the rocking chair he brought and rocked yourself.

“This is cute!” Calvin squealed when he walked in the room.

“It is isn’t it. I love it.”

Tom entered the room. “That was my mum. She wants us over for dinner.”

You tried your best to hide your lack of desire to have dinner with his parents. You knew you would have to meet them eventually, but you were hoping it would not be this trip. You must have not done a good job hiding your emotions because Tom said you didn’t have to go.

“I will go. I need to meet them eventually. I just know how much they love Charlotte.”

“It will be ok. They know how much I love you and will not do anything to upset me.”

“Ok.” You got up from the rocking chair.

“Show me the rest of the place.” You told Tom taking his hand. Tom was all smiles as he showed you and Calvin his new home.

 ____________________________________________________________

You were a nervous wreck on the way to his parent’s house. You wish you could take something for your anxiety. They seemed pleasant enough as they greeted you and Calvin and escorted you to their living room.

“Have a seat while I finish up in the kitchen.” Tom’s mother Elizabeth told you as she eyes your stomach. You found you and Calvin were not the only guest as Tom hugged a man that was already in the living room.

“Y/N, Calvin this is my friend Greg. Greg this is Y/N and Calvin.”

Greg shook Calvin’s hand and hesitantly shook yours. You could tell instantly he was not a fan of yours. You had a feeling this will be a long dinner. Greg held a conversation with Calvin and Tom and ignored you. You just sat back willing yourself not to get a headache. Maybe you should not have come. Tom’s father Chips came in the living room telling you all dinner was ready. You sighed as you knew you were leaving one torturous situation for another. You sat between Tom and Calvin. You needed the shield of the two men in your life you loved.

“So, you are having a girl I hear.” Chips directed at you.

“Yes, we are.” Tom answered for you. You all engaged in as pleasant but strain conversation.

You were starting to become very self-conscious the way Tom’s mother was looking at you. You wondered did she give Charlotte the same stare down when she got with Tom. Tom and Charlotte also got together due to infidelity so why the fuck was she giving you the side eye and not her son. You noticed Greg was side eyeing you too. Chips was the only one who seemed genuinely happy for you and Tom. You were seriously uncomfortable during dinner. You were ready to go and told Tom you were tired. Tom relayed to his parents that he needed to get you home.

“No dessert?” Elizabeth asked eyeing you suspiciously.

“No mum we need to go.” Tom told her as he got up from the table.

“Well let me pack you some. Maybe you can eat it later.” Elizabeth got up from the table and headed to the kitchen. You got up also and told Tom you will be waiting in the living room. You needed to breathe. You sat on the couch and let out a long sigh. You closed your eyes and rubbed your belly.

“I saw your nudes. Not classy at all.”

Your eyes opened to find Greg in the living room. You let out another sigh.

“What do you want?” You were done biting your tongue and trying to be nice.

“I don’t think you and Tom should be to together. It’s not right.”

You got up from the couch and walked up to Greg.

“Does Tom know how you feel? Did you tell him you were looking at nude pictures of the mother of his child?”

“The whole world has most likely seen those pics.” Greg defended.

“You didn’t answer my question. You are his friend. You should not have clicked on the pictures!” You noticed your voice was raising. “What’s going on here?” Tom asked walking into the living room holding a plastic food container. Calvin walked in too carrying a container as well.

“Nothing.” Greg quickly said as he backed up away from you.

“Y/N?” Tom looked at you. “Your voice was raised. Did he say something to you?” You can see Tom getting upset as he looked at Greg.

“No. Everything is fine Tom.” You lied. Tom looked back at Greg and Greg gave Tom a hug to reassure him.

Fuckin asshole!

Calvin eyes you with pursed lips. He knew something was up. Tom’s parents entered the living room to say goodbye.

“It was nice meeting you.” Elizabeth said giving you a strain hug. Why did she even bother you thought to yourself. Chips hug was more genuine, and he made you smile. Tom hugged his parents as you and Calvin eased your way to the front door.

“You have to tell me what happen.” Calvin whispered in your ear. You nodded. Greg walked up to Calvin and shook his hand.

“It was nice meeting you mate.” He said. He looked at you and extended his hand. You ignored it, turned around and opened the door to exit the house. Tom was coming up behind Greg and did not notice the exchange.

 _____________________________________________________________

You sighed with relief once you all were heading back to Tom’s place.

“I know something went on with you and Greg. Are you going to tell me?” Tom asked looking over at you quickly before his eyes were back on the road.

“No.” You told him. Tom started to interject but you told him you did not want to talk about it, and he let the matter go for now. You turned your head to look out the window. You could not help but smile as you knew if you told Tom he would go off on Greg. It felt good to know you could hurt Greg if you wanted to. You would hold on to what transpired between you two until you needed it. Tom grabbed your hand and kissed the back of your hand. You turned around and looked at him.

“I love you.” You told him squeezing his hand.

“I love you too.” He kissed your hand again and your smile widened.

@imgoldielikehawn​ @laketaj24​ @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol​ @readsalot73​ @titty-teetee​ @fangirlextraordinaire​ @sdcyumyum​ @regular-biitch​ @im-that-one-gurl​ @chocolatemetalprincess​ @warmchick​ @poe-slittleraven13​ @eyesof-mine​ @queenlouisa2001​ @earthsmightiestasses​ @badassbaker​ @demoncrypt1066​ @petrashappyplace​ @captstefanbrandt​ @lokilvrr​ @cheychey10142​ @racing-against-the-sunset​ @zuzuspanda​ @rosey1981​ @laneaseee @melaninmarvel​ @virgosapphire79​ @yes-sir-mr-tom​ @emmysrandomthoughts​ @trishevans​ @oddsnendsfanfics​ @angelswannawearmyredshoes​ @shelbzzzzzz​ @super-autumn-bayou-read​ @centerhabit​ @doloreschanal​ @jenniferhtesta​ @wabi-sabi1090​ @coralelizabeth​ @londonalozzy​ @titty-teetee​ @kmhappybunny​ @mollybegger-blog​ @nys30​ @anhelz​ @kimmietea​ 

[purplesurveys]

749

Have you ever had FOMO (fear of missing out)? Sure, I’ll get it quite often cause there’s always so much going on. If so, what's caused it? The last time I got FOMO it was when Blanch and Andrew made plans to have a drink Friday evening a few months ago, but they invited me by the time I was already home for at least a couple of hours. Fortunately for me the hangout never pushed through that day haha. Are you happy with your social life? I’m a lot happier with it given how dismal it used to be. I’ve since reconnected with some high school friends like Ciamae and my relationships with my orgmate friends are stronger than ever. If not, what would you have to do to change that? Have you ever hosted a party? If so, what kind of party was it? No. I don’t want to bear that responsibility lol I feel like I’d be awful at planning it and that I’d turn out to be a lousy host. I’d rather go to someone else’s party.

What's the best thing you can cook yourself? Meh, don’t remind me of my nonexistent cooking skills. Are there a lot of graffiti around your neighbourhood? No. It’s a gated subdivision, so not only is that not allowed, but the people living here probably aren’t into graffiti either. They’ll be pretty common once exiting the main gate of the village, though. What kind of a phone do you have? iPhone 8. What kinds of stuff do you have on your keychain? I only have the keys to my car and front door. I used to have a rainbow Mickey Mouse that Gabie got for me as well as a UP keychain thingy, but both of them fell off at some point so I stopped including non-key things on my keychain because I was really sad about losing those trinkets. Have you ever made something with your own hands that you're proud of? Yeah. I forgot which province that was in – I think it was Vigan? – but they had a pottery factory that we visited and I was able to make my own small vase. I wasn’t able to take it home because they said firing it would take a couple of days, so I only have a photo of my work as a souvenir. If so, what is it? ^ I’m pretty sure I already posted a photo of that vase on one of my surveys; I just don’t know if this is also the exact survey I answered before lol. What is your favourite Jack Lemmon film? I haven’t watched any of his work. I’ve always wanted to see The Apartment though. What is your favourite David Hyde Pierce film? Unfamiliar name so I had to look him up...andddd after Google I’ve learned I haven’t watched any of his work. A bit of an impressive portfolio though. Have you ever made your own soda? (Soda Stream doesn't count!) No. Do you have a hobby that forces you out of the house? If so, what is it? I don’t feel forced out of the house by it lol but I do love going to museums and trying out new restaurants and what food they have to offer. It’s not as demanding as having Pokemon Go as a hobby as I like doing either on my own time. Have you ever been part of a theater group? No. If so, did you get any lead roles or mostly supporting roles? Which IM app do you use the most? Messenger. For a brief period during the quarantine my friends and I gave Telegram a shot since they also have games in there, but that only lasted like two weeks since the game bots were too wonky. What's the most ecological thing you do? I think it would be segregating my trash. I’ve forgotten most of the things my old school taught me but that’ll forever stay etched in my head, and I’m really grateful that my university also has separate trash bins to allow me to continue the practice, because so many other public areas don’t. My former music teacher, Ms. Ettie, also taught us to ‘save the polar bears.’ It’s essentially lessening your paper consumption by always folding your notebook leaves in half, but she’s always used ‘saving the polar bears’ with us both as an easy way for us to remember, and because it’s a cute way to put it. What's your favourite board game? Why do you like it best? I don’t really like playing lots of board games and I don’t get to encounter them much either. I always end up having a hard time following any of them – especially the new ones that seem to have much more rules :/ – and board games are too expensive these days anyway. Besides English, what other languages can you speak? Filipino. Besides English, what other languages can you read? Filipino. I’ve also been learning Spanish on Duolingo, but I’m still very rusty and despite being familiar with many words and phrases it’s still hard for me to read complete sentences altogether. Do you think you could make it as a chef? No, the kitchen and I have never been friends. This has baffled me for a long time because both sides of my family are known for their cooking, and my own dad is a chef. I dunno what happened to me or my siblings or cousins lol. What's your favourite kind of tea? Unhealthy, sweet, artificial/powdered iced tea. I also like the tea they give out at fancy hotels that are hot, thick, and almost taste like nothing since they make me feel fancy hahaha but I don’t get to have them a lot, so. How do you like your tea? ^ Just the first one I mentioned. I’m not much of a tea girl so the powdered iced teas are already enough for me. What thing/person/happening has made you the happiest you've been? There’s been many things that have made me extremely happy but I suppose I haven’t been as happy as the time I passed my dream school and the time I asked Gab out again and she said yes. Girls, do you ever just say "Fuck it!" and go without a bra? Yes. It’s hardly noticeable whether I’m wearing a bra or not because my chest is really tiny, and in fact it looks even more unnatural when I wear a bra because all of them are just too big for me, even the ones with the smallest cup sizes. Because of that I can alllllllways get away without wearing a bra in school and no one would bat an eye. What's the most freeing thing you've ever done? So far it’s been driving out of town by myself. Have you ever had a restaurant dish that was made with bugs? Unfortunately no. They had bug dishes in Vigan but the menu said their availability would depend on if they’re in season, and unfortunately we were there at a time when they had no bug dishes and I had to settle with the next most exotic thing they had, frog legs. The next place I wanna get to try bugs in is definitely Thailand. If not, would you even want to try one? Yup, I just said I do. Do you think today's kids are really impatient? In the same way that adults are. A lot of kids are exposed to the internet now, so I suppose they’re influenced to be impatient a lot quicker what with the possibility of their videos buffering, websites loading slowly, and other factors like those. But then again I don’t know if I’m making sense; I haven’t had to handle and observe a young kid in years. Have you ever tasted birch sap? Nope.

How about the young buds/shoots of spruce trees? I haven’t. Which edible flowers have you tasted? I don’t think I’ve tried any of them? And answering no to the last three questions has made me realize how inexperienced of a foodie I still am haha. What has been your worst restaurant experience? I can think of three but there were always external reasons as to why they were bad. 

Mad Mark’s was really bad and we had to follow-up so many times for each of our meals AND our check, but I’m not as resentful towards them since one of the seemingly only two servers present was pregnant. 

Barcino’s service was also quite awful and we waited an hour for our food, but we forgave them since it was Valentine’s and the place was ridiculously busy. 

Probably the worst experience comes from a family dinner at Shakey’s, but only because it was my parents’ fault. I had no problem at all with the service but I think my mom and dad just decided to be extraordinarily snippy that evening and criticize every single thing our server – and eventually, the manager – did. It was really embarrassing and I remember spontaneously crying out of frustration at their childish behavior lol. We ended up walking out with my mom sneering “your service sucks” to the manager and me giving him an apologetic look. It was so brutally embarrassing, eugh.

What's the most immature, adolescent thing that still makes you laugh? Probably Pewdiepie jokes. Have you ever had a life threatening condition? If so, what was it? Nope. Do you ever compare your life to somebody else's? If so, why? Eh, it’s something we can’t help but do sometimes. What is a food item or a dish you absolutely cannot stand? Fruitcake or food for the gods. Have you ever had a custom print done on a shirt? If so, what was it? Not me personally, but I’ve ordered t-shirts with custom prints back in high school for our events. What does your favourite mug look like? I really only have one mug and I’ve described it so many times on here, so I just looked for it on Google this time and this is what it looks like. The design turns blue when the beverage inside is hot, and it gradually fades back to black as it cools down.

Do you ever copy surveys to Facebook Notes and share your answers? Mmm nope. I’ve only taken surveys and posted them on my Tumblr. What's the best thing about today? I found out Keeping Up with the Kardashians is coming to Netflix by June and I CANNOOOOOOOT be any more excited for it haha. Do you ever read other people's survey answers? Yes, always. Everyone I follow on here writes very well and it’s always interesting to read their answers :) Do you like daytime or night time better? Why? Nighttime. I don’t really like the sun and I’ve found the nightlife more suitable to my personality, interests, vibe, etc. What's your highest level of education so far? I’m taking up an undergraduate degree but I’m supposed to be graduating this year. The schedule is still wonky due to coronavirus, but I have hope in graduating. I still 130% don’t know if I will be taking up law but I’ve had family and friends lightly nagging me to try taking law school entrance exams in 2021. If you could have any job in the whole world, which would you like? A travel blogger/vlogger. Describe your ordinary day. Back when life was still...normal, I’d drive 1-1.5 hours before my first class so I can beat the traffic, but usually I’d still end up in bad traffic because that’s Metro Manila for you. What I would do on my free time depends; if my schedule was freer I’d go to Skywalk to hang with friends, but sometimes I’ll have errands to run like printing something at the internet cafe. I have nearly-daily meetings in the afternoon so I’ll have to go to those too; and then 1-2 times a week I’ll drive to Ortigas so I can see my girlfriend. It was a very hectic schedule and I miss it a lot. Would you ever have a UV tattoo? A what now? What is the brand and colour name of your favourite lipstick? I don’t have one. What do you like on your tortilla? Just whatever goes on a fajita. I don’t really have tortillas much. How about inside your pita bread? ^ All the same, just whatever goes in a shawarma as it’s one of my favorite food. What do you like in your burger? I answered this in a previous survey but I wouldn’t hesitate to order a burger if a menu says it has caramelized onions, brioche buns, and some kind of secret special sauce because that always makes me curious haha. I’ll sometimes go for bacon, jalapeño, or eggs too, but not always. How about on your pizza? I only ever order quattro formaggi; I never have the heart to order anything else as it’s my favorite variety of pizza heh. Would you ever take part in a games club? Probs not as it’s not really my hobby. If so, what would be your ideal club? I dunno, this question is quite vague haha. I suppose if there’s an club or org that bands together people who love history, debates about it, or likes watching documentaries on different history topics, I’d jump on it. Would you be able to give a speech on your favourite subject right now? Sure. We used to have several impromptu speech exercises in my public speaking class and no matter how much I dreaded each of them I always did quite well, so I got convinced that I must have some sort of talent or skill in it that I never got to discover until I had that class. Do you work better alone or in a group? Depends on what needs to be done. If there’s a video that needs to be done or a poster that has to be made, I’d be much more comfortable if I was in a group cause then someone else could take over those tasks.

Are you more comfortable as a leader or a follower? It also depends. If I like the topic or task we’re given, I have no problem leading the group. Which one of your friends have you known the longest? For how long? Angela, 15 years. What is your favourite song right now at this very moment? It’s a local song called Sino by Unique Salonga. It’s not a recent song anymore, but I came across a fan video of Unique performing it in a gig and just fell in love with it all over again.

[nyrator]

ARE YOU ALL READY

for my first ten days in Animal Crossing New Horizons in picture form (aka the 20th-29th)

because I have close to 3,000 screenshots and it was hard go through them all but I did (mostly because I ran out of the 10,000 limit and had to upload them to my computer anyway)

letsa gooo

The start of the game.

Heck yeah, Tommytown. Also shoutouts to Rocket and Teddy, my first new friends in the town. Can’t say I relate to Rocket, but she’s pink and has a pink house eventually so that’s nice. Teddy’s okay, though not a fan of Jocks in general.

Thanks, random motivational dream K.K.

The start of Nyville

People say Timmy and Tommy are the same, and I admittedly was not a fan of them in ACNL, but I know thanks to this game that Tommy is a true friend and I would die for this tanuki

Also shoutouts to catching like two tarantulas in the first night, jesus

And in one night, managed to get Blathers to want to join our town.

And then the rest of the days came.

DAY 2

Met Gulliver (jerk thinks my head is big all the time)

Made some pro designs and changed my hair

Lots of good friend visits/visiting (though one random guy I added from Splatoon invaded and stole all my apples, rippp)

and that was my second day of playing

AND ALSO I’VE RECEIVED A LOT OF NICE LETTERS FROM PEOPLE... I am bad at writing letters and I’m not sure if people would want them public but aaaa thank you for the letters (shout outs to lala-ko in particular what a good AC frienddd)

DAY 3

Lots of things being built

Got some reactions~

MABLE... but, more importantly, that means...

SABLE... the best NPC in the game...

More friendshippp

Paid off my first loan~

Also shoutouts to local friend letting me get some apples to make some furniture for people to move in after some jerk stole all mine

Also met Harvey, what a dude. ALSO, MY OLD FRIENDS...

And that was only day three of my adventures.

DAY 4

Met Wendy, a Peppy Sheep. You’re okay, Wendy, you’re okay.

BY THE WAY THE MUSEUM IS GORGEOUS

they did not have to go that hard but they did

whoops I didn’t expect it to be that close oh well, I can move things around later so for now everything is next to each other for convenience

also met a ghost friend and he gave me expensive(?) flooring

DAY 5

Got a cute alligator friend, you’re okay too, Gayle. ALSO I SEE YOU MABLE...

Also, finally, new phone, who dis? Dis stylin’ Nyrator. May adjust it later on since I found there’s a template online on how it works.

Did some fishing as well, apparently caught some rare first that day.

Nook continues to ruin me financially, but at least I got more storage space.

DAY 6

Some frog joined, and I think I’d like him if it wasn’t for the burpy noises and the facial hair. Lazy villagers seem great in this game though.

hello Saharah

thanks for all the rugs/wallpaper I guess

Thanks, Wendy.

ALSO SHOUT OUTS TO KOMETA a good friend she got me a lovely heart apron and hair pin and pink hoodie and things and they’re so nice and aaaa thank youuu

Also made more pixel art designs because why not

even wendy agrees

DAY 7

it better, Nook

give me Tommy back to wander the island with his flag and leaf umbrella I miss socializing with Tommy

excuse you Nook told me you wanted this here

more friendship

this game a nice game to socialize in with people (even though I’m terrible at it I apologize especially for never imitating anything with anyoneee)

the letters and the casual tours and having fun are really nice, plus it’s nice to just share things like fossils and DIY recipes, good times

thanks, Wendy

ALSO LOOK AT THIS BAD BOY

It took over 50 bait until I failed a catch and failed getting that one achievement again (farthest was 81/100 fishing in a row and I keep getting into the 60s-80s before screwing up, close to 90 today though so we’ll see how it goes), after failing I was like, heck with it, just throw bait over the small fish until a big one appears, and sure enough, my second-to-last bait, and my third large fish, bam, this baby arrives.

ALSO SPEAKING OF BLATHERS

STAR WANDDDD...

thank you celeste now give me your bow...

Didn’t see a meteor shower at this point, but you better believe I just crafted one today and boy is it good (though stores clothing in the wand which is a bit weird but saves my storage space a bit, I just need to buy multiple hairpins)

DAY 8

there she is, the jingly girl herself

also I put a podium there but misplaced it, sorry Nook I’ll get it right tomorrow- oh wait you don’t do these outside anymore... ripppp

However, before any of that silly nonsense

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LALA

you don’t know how heartwarming it was to be invited to this and celebrate this that morning, had no idea it was happening until it happened, but aaaaaaaaaa so wholesome...

SERIOUSLY THIS WAS ONE OF MY MOST WHOLESOME ANIMAL CROSSING EXPERIENCES...

so anyway back to Nook and Isabelle

and getting this immediately because heck with all the inventory management in this game

So Project K, got it. Heck yeah, K.K.

Also made a town theme (forgot to screenshot it but it’s the Yume Nikki save theme, might change it to Mary Had a Little Lamb though), and also a flag design was already prepareddd

also hi Gulliver again

and a campsite...

heck yeah it’s all coming together

YEAH WHAT OF IT

WENDY YOU WERE JUST COMPLIMENTING ME

jerks all of you are jerks but you’re all still pretty okay/10 (not Merry/Kyle level though)

DAY 9

seriously though rip that podium idea

thank you mabel...

And a campsite~

EXCUSE ALL OF YOU WITH YOUR PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE SUGGESTIONS

Kometa gave me this apron and I will continue to cherish it

But yes, that’s about it for today~ Town’s unweeded, campsite’s built, things have been slowing down while at the same time picking up~

DAY 10

okay cool

okay AAAA YESSSSSS SABLE TIMEEEE FASHION TIMEEEEE...

also hello Daisy Mae, the internet loves you for some reason, can I have some turnips

that is expensive you little snot nosed brat but fine I’ll play your stalk market games, cover my whole town in four million bells worth of turnips again like ACNL...

Also thanks Lyle, I’m a B apparently.

Wow okay I don’t even have a choice, rippp

at least he’s smug, smug villagers are the best personality of villagers

heckk yeahhhh bad placements all arounddddd

I can’t wait to start fixing this island up to a better shape, rip my haphazard placement (I admit I kind of miss the randomness of earlier games, having this much control is weird)

AND THAT’S THE FIRST TEN DAYS OF ACNH...

I may have ran out of screenshot space early the next day and thus uploaded them all to my computer because I need that space (10,000 screenshots, man...)

Got a lot accomplished, I feel~ Still haven’t paid off my back room loan, but I got a bridge paid, got another bridge on the opposite side being built, and I saw some meteor showers the past two nights AND GOT A STAR WAND...

Got Gwen and Hamphrey also moving in and can’t get Merry in town just yet but she’s in the campsite, watching, waiting... debating if I should get ten randos first before moving cards in, though

Also met Gulliver/Celeste/Wisp again the past few days, and also today is the beginning of Easter stuff (so many eggs, also random esports fish guy, he’s weird, also NO BLANCA, rip my empty-faced April Fools cat dude thing (apparently a girl in the US? but I will continue to be a weeb and think of them as their Japanese selves mostly because the voices tend to be masculine)

but yeah made like over 100 wishes in two days and got a bunch of neat star things (not as many as I’d thought I’d get but I’ll take it)

Also, SABLE IS A FRIEND and I love the clothing store but am weirded out that I can’t seem to order things in bulk, just what I’m wearing in the dressing room, which is awkward. Oh wellll

(also may have realized I never got a recent passport screenshot so went and did thattt, should think up more titles maybe)

[absence-of-decomposing]

Demametamort

Have you ever heard of the term Demametamort? If so then this story might make sense to you. If not then please please refrain from looking it up in my personal dictionary and stick around till the end for an explanation. I will now begin his story. 

Imagine a light grey sky, like the ones that make rainy days feel emotionless. Then imagine an unofficial road that borders on a cliff. The cliff has a hard drop into the ocean and at that moment a car had been recently met with sharp rocks and the high-pressure water. The water surrounded the tan automobile in waves that hit the skin of investigators like knives. 

If you looked around a bit more you could see the face of a boy who had somehow survived the tragedy. As he stood emotionless and highlighted by red and blue he was led to dry off while his 6-year-old body was drenched in saltwater. His dark hair and green eyes accompanied by a police officer to the ambulance where most adults looked in awe at how torn up this child was, frantically moving to apply pressure in the right spots. No one could explain how he could have survived the impact and sharp rocks; if that didn't do him in the water would have. This is a prime moment we can look at as an example of how things always worked out in his favor, as long as he didn't bring attention to it he could avoid any consequence. 

The most shocking part, however, took its place in the unphased attitude of the child. Every adult at the scene was shocked he survived, shocked his parents had dragged him along for their suicide, shocked. Shock is what defined the atmosphere so they wrote off Luca’s behavior as him being in shock. 

Little did they know this boy genuinely didn't care. His parents were scared of him but he didn't know why so why should he care? All he did was draw on the walls. Sure it was with the neighbor’s pet mouse but no one seemed to miss it after he stole it at the end of his playdate with their 13-year-old daughter. They just got a new one. And sure, his babysitter didn't know he stole it but to him, the rodent would be much more useful being used as paint than in a cage where it sat in its own mess and made squeaking noises. 

Apparently, this was the last straw. His parents started to talk about how they “couldn't do this anymore!” and “At least it's not as bad as when he was 3.”. Luca doesn't remember what other things he's done but no punishment made his actions not worth it so he had little memory of anything that was deemed “bad”. His parents tried to punish him for his behavior they really did, but it was hard to punish him when he stopped showing his “art” to them. In the end, they considered getting Luca into therapy but this had his mother and father worried about being judged as parents so, in the minds of a couple of parents whose will was stretched too thin, suicide would probably sound like the only option. They loved their son so maybe that's why they brought him with, or maybe it was an attempt at stopping his actions. 

If we move on to the next event of his life you'd see a hospital room with white walls and a small window, where he stayed for a couple of weeks until a caseworker came to situate him into a foster home. You'd see his emerald eyes opening in the hospital bed and his small feet moving to pack up his pencils and toys before his hands where being held on either end by a perfect cookie-cutter family. You'd then see him staying in that home for many more years because the Bander family took a liking to his obedient behavior and witty humor, and as Luca grew in this privileged household he learned to accommodate to people's expectations because that meant he could keep practicing his illegal passions without losing the attention he received from others. The same kid who played football in high school was watching people bid on body parts on the dark web. The same kid who laughed and teased his friends about being stupid compared to his straight A’s was the same kid who was planning to kidnap a few of those same friends and turn their beings into soulless sculptures. He was pleased with how smoothly his plan worked, how the laws of not just humans but of karma has never touched him. He reveled in how simple everything was and how godlike he was compared to his peers who were always facing a misfortune and getting dragged for their underage drinking or for harassing a girl at school. It was when he made his first kidnapping, one so obviously tied to him that it would hurt the observing eye. That is if eyes were ever on him, despite the girl nailed to the walls of his basement being his girlfriend, no one ever questioned him. That is when he realized he was different, god must not know he exists. He's a ghost among men and as visible to every eye as he was not there. I think this is when he rationalized the idea of, “If God doesn't know I exist, then neither does death. Right?”

Today Luca is a couple of years out of high school, he lives in a studio apartment while on a break from college and has a body count of 7 and his work has been all over the news. As he sat on a leather couch and toyed with the volume of his Tv his frustrations grew and grew. 

“Stop ignoring my work! It took me ages to make that!” He whines in frustration to no one in particular as the screen flashed images of his sculpture made of a female body whose bones were exposed due to the skin and muscle being nailed apart like a dissected frog. It zoomed into the bone where he was mastered the art of carving into. After cleaning the bones and draining the blood of the body out, he drills away to create designs so beautiful it could be compared to Chinese ivory or jade sculptures. Beautiful waves of the sea that represented the girls' love for surfing, a few animals like tigers and rabbits also danced along the streams of her life. It was truly beautiful despite its canvas. Lucas carefully tanned skin started to shift over to the arm of the leather couch before placing his hand down for support and standing. He began to pace around, mumbling incoherently. He then made his way to a laptop that was propped up on the counter of a kitchenette. 

“I will make them see, they will worship me. People have begged for this! They loved being used, they cried in joy when the found out they had been chosen by ME!” he claimed. His shadowy whispers did hold some truth however, a few victims had fallen victim to love him and would do anything for his approval. 

However, Lucas fetish for attention was currently driving him mad as his fingers type away at the obsidian keys and made the finishing touches on a public Instagram. He began to upload image after image with his name and face next to countless bodies and gore that he had only ever shown in private forums. The next morning he woke up outrage on his phone and in the news. He had missed calls from his family and friends and he just smiled in glee as he picked up the phone and called his mom back.

He expected to be greeted with admiration like the last girl he carved but in his delusional mind that was realistic, I guess. He was greeted with screams and tears.

“Luca why! Tell me this isn't true? This is someone else framing you right baby?” she said with obvious distress.

“Mama I just made another sculpture, it's not a big deal.” He said, confused at her reaction.

“They have feelings, Luca! FEELINGS! And I am not your mom anymore. I'm calling the cops.” she said shakily before hanging up.

Luca didn't think she was being serious, I mean she knew he that would affect him, right? He put on his apron and gloves and had just picked up the head of a dog he had recently started to work on as a side project when a loud, sharp knock was made from outside his apartment. With head still in hand, he opens the door only to be tackled down by police forces and dragged outside in cuffs. Bright rays of light burned into his eyes as he yelled and laughed. His confusion apparent and his resistance futile. He had dropped the dog's head in the process and suddenly he began to cry out.

“Get off me! Its what they wanted! You know you can't kill me right?” he laughed. This was met by a shaky voice.

A woman was standing in the crowd with puffy eyes and sagging skin. Her auburn hair mirrored that of his last victim, and she held a gun. Without a moment's hesitation, she said,

“Want to bet?” before her shaky hands released the firm hold on the gun to pull the trigger. 

Lucas's life didn't flash before his eyes. His life didn't matter much to him but when he fell to the ground he looked at his reflection in the pooling blood coming from his throat. He recognized the look on his face and that similar to those when he was 6. He recognized shock and fear in his face before he was put into the black void of death.

Crippling and quiet black and was like white sound in a realm with no structure. No walls or floor yet his non-responding conscious was suspended in it. Time did not exist and although empty it was not peaceful. It wasn't a place that provided a feeling of tranquility nor did it scare. It was completely empty. That was until Luca's vision reappeared through opening slits. He could suddenly see a different and darker black, his hands could suddenly feel silky cushion on his hands and his mind was suddenly able to register these things. He was awake, but was he? How could one tell when he all he could see was darkness and the smell of wet soil encased his nose. One would have to define being alive and being dead, what requirements are there to be considered living? Is it the ability to crave and breathe air? To need it? Because Luca definitely craved air but no matter how much he gasped there was no oxygen to fill his lungs. Wheezing was barely possible and when his fingers moved to touch the scabbed hole in his throat, it explained why. Gasp after gasp he was brought back to nothingness and his suffocation was over. Until it wasn't.

He woke again and the events repeated.

Again.

And again. 

And again. 

So, do you think you can guess what a “Demametamort” is? If not I will let you in on it.

A Demametamort is someone who believes they are above, beyond, or better than death. They don't think they can die or can change death. And sometimes they can.

[multipleservicelisting]

Underselling the Vaccine

Want to get The Morning by email? Here’s the sign-up.

Good morning. We explain why the vaccine news is better than you may think.

Early in the pandemic, many health experts — in the U.S. and around the world — decided that the public could not be trusted to hear the truth about masks. Instead, the experts spread a misleading message, discouraging the use of masks.

Their motivation was mostly good. It sprung from a concern that people would rush to buy high-grade medical masks, leaving too few for doctors and nurses. The experts were also unsure how much ordinary masks would help.

But the message was still a mistake.

It confused people. (If masks weren’t effective, why did doctors and nurses need them?) It delayed the widespread use of masks (even though there was good reason to believe they could help). And it damaged the credibility of public health experts.

“When people feel as though they may not be getting the full truth from the authorities, snake-oil sellers and price gougers have an easier time,” the sociologist Zeynep Tufekci wrote early last year.

Now a version of the mask story is repeating itself — this time involving the vaccines. Once again, the experts don’t seem to trust the public to hear the full truth.

This issue is important and complex enough that I’m going to make today’s newsletter a bit longer than usual. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to email me at themorning@nytimes.com.

‘Ridiculously encouraging’

Right now, public discussion of the vaccines is full of warnings about their limitations: They’re not 100 percent effective. Even vaccinated people may be able to spread the virus. And people shouldn’t change their behavior once they get their shots.

These warnings have a basis in truth, just as it’s true that masks are imperfect. But the sum total of the warnings is misleading, as I heard from multiple doctors and epidemiologists last week.

“It’s driving me a little bit crazy,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown School of Public Health, told me.

“We’re underselling the vaccine,” Dr. Aaron Richterman, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, said.

“It’s going to save your life — that’s where the emphasis has to be right now,” Dr. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine said.

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are “essentially 100 percent effective against serious disease,” Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said. “It’s ridiculously encouraging.”

The details

Here’s my best attempt at summarizing what we know:

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines — the only two approved in the U.S. — are among the best vaccines ever created, with effectiveness rates of about 95 percent after two doses. That’s on par with the vaccines for chickenpox and measles. And a vaccine doesn’t even need to be so effective to reduce cases sharply and crush a pandemic.

If anything, the 95 percent number understates the effectiveness, because it counts anyone who came down with a mild case of Covid-19 as a failure. But turning Covid into a typical flu — as the vaccines evidently did for most of the remaining 5 percent — is actually a success. Of the 32,000 people who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine in a research trial, do you want to guess how many contracted a severe Covid case? One.

Although no rigorous study has yet analyzed whether vaccinated people can spread the virus, it would be surprising if they did. “If there is an example of a vaccine in widespread clinical use that has this selective effect — prevents disease but not infection — I can’t think of one!” Dr. Paul Sax of Harvard has written in The New England Journal of Medicine. (And, no, exclamation points are not common in medical journals.) On Twitter, Dr. Monica Gandhi of the University of California, San Francisco, argued: “Please be assured that YOU ARE SAFE after vaccine from what matters — disease and spreading.”

The risks for vaccinated people are still not zero, because almost nothing in the real world is zero risk. A tiny percentage of people may have allergic reactions. And I’ll be eager to see what the studies on post-vaccination spread eventually show. But the evidence so far suggests that the vaccines are akin to a cure.

Offit told me we should be greeting them with the same enthusiasm that greeted the polio vaccine: “It should be this rallying cry.”

The costs of negativity

Why are many experts conveying a more negative message?

Again, their motivations are mostly good. As academic researchers, they are instinctively cautious, prone to emphasizing any uncertainty. Many may also be nervous that vaccinated people will stop wearing masks and social distancing, which in turn could cause unvaccinated people to stop as well. If that happens, deaths would soar even higher.

But the best way to persuade people to behave safely usually involves telling them the truth. “Not being completely open because you want to achieve some sort of behavioral public health goal — people will see through that eventually,” Richterman said. The current approach also feeds anti-vaccine skepticism and conspiracy theories.

After asking Richterman and others what a better public message might sound like, I was left thinking about something like this:

We should immediately be more aggressive about mask-wearing and social distancing because of the new virus variants. We should vaccinate people as rapidly as possible — which will require approving other Covid vaccines when the data justifies it.

People who have received both of their vaccine shots, and have waited until they take effect, will be able to do things that unvaccinated people cannot — like having meals together and hugging their grandchildren. But until the pandemic is defeated, all Americans should wear masks in public, help unvaccinated people stay safe and contribute to a shared national project of saving every possible life.

THE LATEST NEWS

The Transition

President-elect Joe Biden picked two Obama-era regulators to oversee key financial agencies: Gary Gensler to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Rohit Chopra as the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Here’s Biden’s response to aides who use overly academic or elitist language: “Pick up your phone, call your mother, read her what you just told me,” he likes to say. “If she understands, we can keep talking.”

President Trump’s allies have collected tens of thousands of dollars from people seeking pardons.

Capitol Riot Fallout

From Opinion: Today is Martin Luther King’s Birthday. In a video Op-Ed, Martin Luther King III remembers his father’s economic message.

Media Equation: Fox settled a lawsuit over its lies about a murdered young man, but the network insisted that the settlement had to stay secret until after the 2020 election.

Lives Lived: Phil Spector was a pioneering producer who shaped the sound of pop music in the 1960s but who spent the end of his life in prison after murdering Lana Clarkson at his home in 2003. He has died, from complications from Covid-19, at 81.

Why sea shanties are suddenly viral

On TikTok in December, Nathan Evans, a 26-year-old Scottish postal worker and musician, shared a black-and-white video of himself singing a sea shanty — a traditional sailor’s work song — called “Soon May the Wellerman Come.” In the ensuing weeks, Sea Shanty TikTok was born.

Professional musicians, people driving in cars and even a Kermit the Frog puppet shared videos of themselves singing along. There were electro remixes. Some people began covering other songs, like “All Star” by Smash Mouth, in a sea-shanty style.

While the genre may seem like a strange one to go viral, the songs are relatively easy to learn. They also lend themselves well to collaboration, which TikTok’s functions encourage. An original goal of the sea shanty was to foster community, as sailors worked long hours aboard a ship.

“They are unifying, survivalist songs, designed to transform a huge group of people into one collective body, all working together to keep the ship afloat,” Kathryn VanArendonk writes in Vulture. And they’re especially fitting for a time when people are desperate for connection.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

Spanakopita, the classic Greek spinach and feta pie, inspired this baked pasta.

What to Watch

“MLK/FBI,” directed by Sam Pollard, draws on long-secret documents to chronicle the F.B.I.’s harassment of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

What to Listen to

Hear new tracks from Flo Milli, Lana Del Rey and more — including a song that holds the single-day streaming record on Spotify.

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[mrsonychinus]

Some simple RFA headcanons

Jumin: -loves when his s/o wears red lipstick-not nearly as kinky as people think he is -has no idea what curly fries are -fave animal after cats are fish, which is why he has them in his house -when he’s super stressed you may catch him standing there staring at the fish with a dead look in his eyes -knows the sesame street theme song by heart (this one is kinda canon lol) -was deathly afraid of the character big bird as a toddler and would cry when he saw him, but grew out of it quickly -got teary eyed at mc and V’s wedding -once asked jaehee to bring him a popular flavor of donut so he could try it. when she put the glazed donut in his hand, he stared at it for about 20 seconds as it started to melt on his fingers before looking up at her and saying blankly, “It’s gross.” -but he secretly ate it later anyway out of pure curiosity  -doesn’t care much for TV but has somehow seen the fullmetal alchemist series and he actually really enjoyed it, but nobody knows this -Was once offered a laffy taffy at work, to which he replied, “No thank you. I must not laugh at work.” -he said this with an impassive face in attempt to make a joke. -it did not make his employee laugh. -likes pizza but has only tried the fancy, healthy gourmet version his chef makes for him -gets along surprisingly well with young children

Zen: -Loves playing with his s/o’s hair idly. like he’ll be turning a random lock of her hair in his fingers when they’re next to each other even though his own hair is long enough to do that  -is used to getting compliments so they don’t surprise him EXCEPT when his s/o compliments him, it still makes him blush because he knows she’s not saying it to suck up to him, it’s an honest compliment -has never been to the beach or seen the ocean in real life, but he thinks it would be a really romantic setting for a date -cried when his first child was born -is okay at cooking but TERRIBLE at baking even in a toaster oven he somehow always burns it -last one in the RFA to get married -he describes his eye color as “bright ruby” -loves watching plays as much as he loves acting in them, and has written drafts of plays of various genres and themes -loves Mexican food -has been cutting his own hair for 4 years now to save money -a big fan of Beyonce  -has seen Phantom of the Opera 7 times already and owns it on VHS

Jihyun: -can’t sleep in complete darkness, so he actually uses a night light -he used to visit the aquarium with jumin when they were kids -not too keen on PDA but he does have a habit of kissing mc’s hand in public and often holds her hand -doesn’t care for horror movies, but they don’t scare him either -loves rock music, and piano paired with electric guitar -is terrible at playing instruments -doesn’t like bell peppers -eats cheerios bc he thinks they really do help with cholesterol  -its really difficult to make him angry, and when he does get angry it can be hard to tell because his face will be really calm and he still might even be smiling -jumps a lil when he hears someone curse in public (LOL) -loves the desert and uses it as inspiration for his paintings a lot -can speak the most english out of everyone in the RFA except for Saeyoung, who knows 18 languages -was never called by his name (Jihyun) by anyone except MC, including Rika. -doesn’t know much about memes but he likes Kermit the frog -grows a lot of flowers, herb, and vegetables in a backyard garden, where he spends a lot of time in with a giant sun hat like a really cute old man -has that super beautiful, charming Chris Traeger-esque smile that can convince anyone to say agree with him, but this doesn’t work on the RFA since all the talking is done in chatrooms or the phone and they know him too well

Saeyoung: -scared of butterflies -Elizabeth 3rd actually REALLY likes him and Jumin lowkey hates it so much -tried to hold a seance for the internet famous cat Tama, a calico cat who worked as a station master at the Kishi station railroad in Japan before passing away -really good at diy, he and mc do a lot of random and possibly crazy science experiments in their house  -once pranked mc by acting upset and then telling her he was pregnant and she was the father, mc actually believed him for a solid 9 seconds -current password for his front door has to be spoken in an accent like Shrek -can dance perfectly the entire song “Catallena” by orange caramel -he and mc rarely fight but when they do disagree on something he’ll talk to her in another language just to get on her nerves. it makes her laugh but also stuns her bc it reminds her of how freaking smart he is bc he knows 18 diff languages -on the other hand when she’s mad at him she won’t call him Saeyoung, she’ll call him Luciel, and on the rare occasion where she’s really pissed at him, “Seven Zero Seven.” -Loves the song Rocketman by Elton John -forgets to take down holiday/seasonal decorations for months after the holiday has passed

Yoosung: -is actually really good at coming up with lyrics on the spot and rapping them to a beat -has a really tiny sneeze -has the prettiest eyes in the RFA -quit LOLOL for the most part, only plays it here and there when he has free time now -likes kpop, specifically 2ne1, and was disappointed when they were disbanded -he forgets that he’s not naturally blonde a lot -loves couple items and having matching clothes/items with his s/o. he really wants to do a whole matching coord one day -Took full responsibility for Rika after she was finally placed in a center to take care of her mental health, is really supportive and visits her whenever he can so she knows she’s not alone -somehow always manages to win at carnival games no matter how rigged they appear to be -Favorite superhero is Nightwing -wants to buy his s/o an engagement ring from Tiffany and Co. and is saving money for it -wanted to be a pilot as a child but gave up that dream when he was older because he was afraid of heights -has written a 42 chapter long fanfiction based on the world of LOLOL. His penname is not his real name, so no one knows he wrote it except for Seven, who never mentioned it out of kindness. The fanfic has over 2000 reviews and is known famously in the LOLOL fanbase for how well it was written -can’t handle the taste of coffee no matter how sweetened it is, it always still tastes bitter to him

Jaehee: -loves sushi -sometimes forgets that she doesn’t actually need glasses to see -the walls of her house are covered in post-it notes with reminders of stuff she needs to do, whether its for work or for personal -likes growing her hair out but it gets tangled really easily and has to be combed through at least once every day so she’s always cutting it a bit here and there -designed the uniform for her cafe herself -has low blood pressure -owns a lot of watches bc people constantly gift them to her -wears really low heel shoes bc she’s terrible at walking in them -Has a habit of sticking her pens behind her ear and then forgetting they’re there -doesn’t like pet names -Was never really good at art or very creative as a child and it effected her self-esteem -can’t draw anything more complicated than stick figures, but somehow is pretty good at latte art -the number one thing on her wish list is an ebook reader, and to have enough free time to read a book on it -played the flute well in high school but never really liked it -has seven alarms set up in her phone that go off everyday for different reasons -is the most fearless at catching bugs or spiders than anyone else in the RFA -doesn’t have a pet bc she’s afraid she wouldn’t have the time to care properly for it, but if she could have one she would like a snake, turtle or small reptile

[rsballiance]

There has been a surge within female players, and the popularity of e-sports live broadcasts has risen; however the game industry still must face these issues after the epidemic!

An epidemic in 2020 brought a fatal blow to countless industries, however the gaming industry was a blessing in disguise. In the times of "National Home", video gaming have turn out to be the main enjoyment for many individuals. World-class game makers such as for example Microsoft, Nintendo, Twitch, and Activision are all growing vigorously in the epidemic era. In April, Microsoft exposed that the amount of subscribers to Game Pass for its games has surpassed 10 million. Newzoo, a game market research organization, offers released a new "Global Game Industry Market Research Report 2020." The document pointed out that due to the effect of the new coronavirus epidemic and the solid advertising of next-era consoles, the global gaming industry income in 2020 will be likely to reach 159.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-12 months increase of 9.3%. A good start has triggered people's expectations for the future growth of the game industry. A fresh batch of sport version numbers was released, and many stocks in the online game industry rose. Accordingly, the global sport market is also heating system up. The amount of users has increased, sales have increased, and peripheral industries have flourished. So, where if the game industry go after the epidemic is over? And in this, do you know the new challenges? The rise of mobile games brings large changes in user attributes. Based on the Global Cell phone Market Report, the global mobile game marketplace will create 77.2 billion U.S. dollars in income in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%. This increase is mainly due to the large amount of time people devote to smartphones. Lengthen. For instance, in Asia, due to the closure of general public places, players who have been doing offers in Web cafes for a long period have to move their "battlefield" to their mobile phones. The popular domestic game marketplace has completely changed the male to female ratio in the entire player group. The convenience, simplicity, and ease of use have attracted a large number of female players. Consider the Chinese market place for example. As early as 2018, informal games accounted for 43.39% of the mobile game market place. The representative games "Nuan Nuan", "Travel Frog", and "Love and Maker" triggered social media. The dialogue boom offers attracted more female players to become listed on. In the entire Chinese mobile sport market, female players accounted for a staggering 46.2%. This is totally unimaginable in the Personal computer and console sport market, which is dominated by competition and customs clearance.

Travel frogs that exploded a few years ago, the image originates from the Internet The social isolation as a result of the epidemic has allowed the mobile game marketplace to harvest a large number of new players. As more and more female players enter the game world, eventually the male to feminine ratio of mobile game users will get nearer and nearer to 50-50. In foreign countries, ultra-casual games are also very popular. In america iOS free listing on April 20, three female-oriented ultra-casual mini sport products appeared in the very best 10, namely "Super Salon", "Lip Art 3D" and "Being pregnant Idle 3D Simulator".

American women also such as dress-up online games, the picture originates from the Internet From the perspective of game attributes, female users at home and abroad have little difference in their action preferences. This type of growth and placement sport will not require players to invest too much energy to learn the game play mechanism. Such games often enable female players to get a stronger need to share, which makes it relatively easy to understand such games. The growth cycle of competitive mobile games is often long, and producers need to invest lots of money and human resources to produce a game with relatively good gameplay and graphics. Consider the domestically popular "Glory of the King" for example. Initially, it took almost three years to build up a 30-person team from Tencent's inner task to the formal internal check. The overall game balance mechanism, original artwork, and combat values ??all require a little polishing. This is why many game makers can directly duplicate the worldview, plot, character settings and other sections of the mobile game that may reflect the IP worth of the initial mobile sport to the mobile game edition in the period of mobile games, and only need to polish the new battle information. The sections linked to the worldview and plot are often the slowest part for programmers to accomplish and the fastest for players to consume.

The most popular mobile game in China, "Glory of the King", the picture originates from the Internet Just imagine that these major sport companies can save effort and time to make mobile games, not to mention those little studios that have a huge need for capital chains. From the developer's viewpoint, the female-to-super-casual game not only has low analysis and development costs, but additionally includes a relatively determined possible user group at home and abroad, which is very convenient to understand. This can be a good breakthrough direction for small sport companies or studios which have been strike hard by the epidemic. However, the bonus of casual mobile games will also create a potential risk, that is, the ultra-short growth time allows the mobile sport marketplace to be included in a large number of casual games, and aggressive mobile games that require an extended development time will undoubtedly be robbed of assets. . So, will the male players who pursue aggressive and the sense of accomplishment of clearance shed, or even quit the ranks of mobile game players the most? This is undoubtedly a fatal blow to the transformation of the mobile market of conventional game manufacturers.

The characters, vehicles, and the appearance of firearms in the peace elite can all become toll points. The image originates from the Internet If you want to attract high-viscosity male and feminine users simultaneously, then major sport manufacturers may make reference to Tencent's "Honor of Kings" and "Peace Elite" two games to attract male players with competitive gameplay. Functions such as for example skins can attract feminine players and create charging factors. The e-sports industry is more and more powerful, and League of Legends is hardly a successor. In the past couple of months, e-sports has become increasingly more popular due to the suspension of sports events around the world. Numerous traditional sports TV channels also have begun to broadcast e-sports games such as for example basketball, football, rugby, and racing games. But in the game live life broadcast industry, Twitch is still one of the most popular live broadcast systems, and its own data has already reached fresh heights during the epidemic. In the weeks following outbreak, the amount of live sport views reached 869 million minutes per day, an increase of 20% when compared to two weeks before the pandemic. The most popular game live life broadcasts viewed by users are League of Legends and Call of Duty. Two games.

Views information from January to March on Twitch, pictures from the Internet Jason Lake, CEO of Complexity, the gaming business, said: “You can view that millions of people who didn't know anything about e-sports are now participating in the game.” Along with gaining more audiences, e-sports is still The epidemic period has attracted more sponsors. Not long ago, the world-renowned automobile manufacturer BMW (BMW) announced that it will sponsor e-sports groups within Britain, Germany, Southern Korea and China. Actually, mainstream companies getting into the e-sports industry to expand their impact among teenagers aren't new. As early as 2018, after China's RNG e-sports golf club and IG e-sports golf club swept the League of Legends international championship title, famous manufacturers such as for example Mercedes-Benz and Chevrolet Auto manufacturers begun to sponsor LPL (China League of Legends Best League) groups. Mercedes-Benz actually obtained the chief naming correct of LPL.

Poster of the 2019 LPL Summertime Finals, the image originates from the Internet As traditional entity producers pay more and more attention to younger design, e-sports, as a super portal for young users, has become a battleground. Albi Pagenstert, Head of Brand name Strategy and PR of BMW America, said within an interview: "This sponsorship isn't to sell cars to players, but to increase its influence on the list of new era of people. Because e-sports is currently young The crowd includes a great influence." This is also a clear sign that e-sports is increasingly accepted and acknowledged by the mainstream society. And all parties' capital expense in e-sports is also growing, and e-sports is just nearby as a world-recognized sport. However, the near future growth of the e-sports industry isn't without risks. The current e-sports industry has such a large market viewers, "League of Legends" will be indispensable. Its programmer fist and operator Tencent's successful procedure of the game's peripheral e-sports industry has made it a phenomenal sport. However, this has caused the current viewers in the e-sports industry to focus on a large area of ??the sport "League of Legends", and other games have much less attention than this sport. Needless to say, both Overwatch and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds that have appeared previously few years have tried to drive the growth of the encompassing e-sports industry through the game itself. Unfortunately, their R&D operators either haven't any e-sports gene or the grade of the game itself is easy enough. So that it didn't threaten the dominance of "League of Legends" in the e-sports industry. Assuming that the reputation of "League of Legends" drops, plus there is absolutely no brand new king sport to take over, then the entire e-sports industry will be affected.

In the past two years, the good international results attained by the Chinese division have made "League of Legends" lots of heat. The image originates from the Internet Super IP + fresh technology may be the way out for future online games? Although in the first quarter of 2020, the amount of downloads of sport products, the amount of online users, and the sales of hardware devices have repeatedly hit fresh highs, major sport manufacturers also have encountered difficulties in producing. In February 2020, there was no new sport in the very best ten of the sport revenue listing, and there were only 4 fresh games that entered the App Store's best 200 best-selling listing, setting a new low in modern times. The quantity of video marketing during the same time period Among the top 50, you can find only 3 fresh games. Plus some big IP sequels such as for example "Diablo 3" and "Call of Duty" series rely on the excellent sport quality of the prior games and good enough sport content to keep to sell well. Although every major game manufacturer offers its flagship items, just how these games are performed in real life still needs to rely on computers or consoles. Recently, the addition of fresh technologies such as for example cloud streaming technology, motion capture, AI training, and VR\AR has allowed the game industry to build up towards lightweight, cloud-based, and practical development. These fresh technologies are more or less showcased by sport manufacturers at major sport exhibitions or curently have a certain group of players, such as for example Microsoft's "Airline flight Simulator 2020", and the VR audio game "produced by Facebook's studios" "Rhythm Lightsaber" and Valve VR masterpiece "Half-Existence: Alex" are flagship sport works that may represent the near future development of the game industry.

"Half-living: Alex" has become a representative of a new era of VR games, the picture originates from the Internet Later on game industry, the intervention of new technologies has become a formality, but even during the epidemic period, the info of the game industry is really good, it will still devote some time for new technologies to be popularized in the game industry and enter the homes of mass players. Taking VR/AR for example, I believe that most folks are very desiring the future games depicted within "Ready Player A single". The games in this film are developed predicated on VR and AR. Players come in a totally virtual space. Can play games freely.

The description into the future game in "Top Player" is fascinating, the picture originates from the Internet Certainly, VR and AR games are both development development of future games, also it seems that they are really likely to become people's mainstream enjoyment in the future. But the reputation of VR and AR games has an insurmountable mountain-hardware devices. At existing, the costs of VR and AR sport devices in the marketplace are usually relatively high. Consuming Samsung Xuanlong MR+VR eyeglasses somatosensory game system for example, its selling price has already reached 3999 yuan, while some domestic VR sport devices such as for example Aiqi Art's Adventure 2S is also 2199 yuan.

The expensive VR glasses, the picture originates from the screenshot of Jingdong official website Such a price will not appear to be very costly, but they cannot form an unbiased game operating platform like PS4 and Xbox. Players still need to configure a higher PC computer for use when working with VR devices, plus the purchase of games Price, which makes it very expensive for players to utilize VR devices to play games. Therefore, the current VR games in the marketplace often exist within the promotional videos of major sport exhibitions or VR sport experience halls within shopping malls. Apart from the novel gameplay expertise, there is minimal player stickiness at all. Along with hardware issues, the innovation of sport content is also a major challenge for future game growth. Since VR/AR entered the game marketplace in 2015, the majority of the items produced by major producers have added VR gameplay to the initial product line, even though some well-known functions such as for example "Call of Duty" and "Grand Theft Auto" "The response is good, however the loyal players of these masterpieces are too big, and the game behaviors of the player community for many years have been solidified. Thus, it is problematic for such games to attract more player organizations through VR gameplay, and it is furthermore difficult to open a predicament in the emerging future game industry. This leaves several opportunities for some motion picture and television or novel IP outside the game circle. Pokemon Move, which became popular worldwide in 2016, is a very good example.

"Pokemon Go" is still hot in 2020, the image is from the official site of Pokemon Go

Pokemon, a good anime that has been popular worldwide for decades, carries the youthful recollections of various generations, and having the ability to go through the plot in film and television personally will do for many players to dig out their childhood feelings of Zhong Er wallet. In the end, who doesn't want a Pikachu? Thus, when major sport companies are investing big sums of money to seize the game market in the future, you may wish to take into account the joint growth of various film and television IPs which have been popular to form a dual complement of content + technologies, which will not only show the exterior world The new technologies that I have mastered may also make the game "split the circle" and attract more players through the classic IP. In an epidemic in 2020, the near future player user groups, game technology forms, and e-sports industry will develop in a good or bad direction, but whichever direction it really is, it will undoubtedly provide earth-shaking changes to the entire gaming industry. Change. Do you have any expectations for the game industry after the epidemic? Arrive and tell us in the comments section!

[thetravelingmama]

100 Things about your Mom.

Hi Chi. I’m back! All better and cured. I’m feeling like my old self again, energy and everything back. Like my doctor said today: if it’s working, don’t change it. That being said, let’s do something fun! I saw this weird list of questions and said: Game on!

1: What random stranger has had the biggest impact on your life? A Dad at a beach playing with his son. He made us made the decision to start a family.

2: What achievement are you proud of but most people would consider silly or weird? I refuse to “act my age”.

3: What period in history had the best fashion? The 50’s!

4: What silly or funny thing makes you afraid or creeps you out? Clowns.

5: How quickly do you jump to conclusions about people? I try not to, but the reality is that I get “vibes” from people, instantly. I’m never wrong, as much opportunities I give.

6: How would the world change if super heroes and super villains actually existed? I think heroes and villains DO exist.

7: What would be your strategy for surviving an apocalyptic epidemic? I already hoard medicine, movies and booze.

8: What is the most important change that should be made to your country’s education system? Equality, Empathy, Values and Gender Perspective are things that need to be taught. I also believe that a University Diploma should be mandatory. No school? Jail.

9: What is something you think you will regret in the future not starting now and what is something you already regret not starting sooner? I regret not becoming a Mom sooner. I’ll regret it most in the future.

10: What part of your culture are you most and least proud of?

Proud of our strength of character. Least proud of living in a status quo.

11: What's the worst and best thing about being female? Best thing is having a baby, carrying it inside your body. That experience is wonderful. The worst is definitively the inequality, how people treat you different in many ways and what they expect on how you “should behave”. I also believe there are many double standards when it comes to us.

12: If you could put your brain in a robot and live indefinitely, would you? Not for a gazillion dollars.

13: If you could replace the handshake as a greeting, what interesting new greeting would you replace it with? High fives are awesome.

14: Who’s the worst guest you’ve had in your house and what did they do? I’m glad to report that I never let people that I don’t truly trust or know at my house.

15: When does time pass fastest for you and when does it pass the slowest? Fastest: when I have a lot of work and a close deadline. Slowest: when I had to come up with advertising campaigns. I HATED starting on a presentation with all the passion in the world until I had an idea that worked. Then, it just was a breeze. Until that jackpot happens, time is torture.

16: What always sounds like a good idea at the time but rarely is? Telling someone the truth. Sometimes it just turns out that they can’t handle or understand it. Another great one? Getting drunk and knowing that no one is going to take care of the baby next morning. Huge mistake.

17: Are humans fundamentally different than animals? If so, what makes us different? We’re very much alike, I realized it after I gave birth. I just think we have the burden of emotions and logic to deal with, that’s all. I envy them: I’d love to function just on instincts!

18: What pictures or paintings have had a big impact on you? Guernica inspired me to paint. The Marilyn Diptych inspired me to design. At the Moulin Rouge is one of my favorites, just because.

19: What movie or book character are you most similar to? That’s a tough one. I identify a lot (with absolutely no clue of why) with Mia Wallace’s lust for life and her disregard for rules; Marla Singer’s I don’t care attitude and confusion. I’m also a mix of Santino and Michael Corleone when I’m either strategizing or just extremely angry.

20: You can broadcast one sentence to every TV channel and radio in the world and have it translated to each country’s language. What sentence do you say? “What doesn’t offend you might offend someone else. Calm down and let people do and say what they want.”

21: What fact are you really surprised that more people don't know about? That research does not mean that you trust instantly whatever you find online. Reliable sources exist for a reason.

22: What are you completely over and done with? Putting the well-being of others before mine.

23: What memory do you just keep going back to?

It depends on the day.

24: What’s the most immature thing someone can do? I believe that making a scene in public is just sign that you are emotionally and socially immature. From treating strangers badly for a stupid reason to arguing with your significant other in front of anybody is just a sign that you’re the problem.

25: What are you most passionate about and what do you wish you were more passionate about? Reading and writing.

26: What’s the best comeback you’ve ever heard?

“I’m growing a human inside me, what’s your excuse?” I said that. :P

27: Who haven’t you seen or talked to in a long time and hope they are doing okay? With Facebook that stopped happening years ago. I actually miss that feeling of wondering how my friends are. Although, there is one friend from college that disappeared. I sometimes wonder what happened.

28: Where is the last place you would ever go? If by last this means “and then you can die”, Tibet. I can’t fathom thinking about a place in this world not worthy about visiting.

29: What’s something that you’ve never been able to do well? Math and control myself when I am beyond furious.

30: Who is the humblest person you know?

Any person who will do something for free just to help another human being.

31: What is the silliest reason someone you've known has completely lost it? The stuff people write online.

32: What is quite possibly the most annoying thing ever? People who judge others on based on what they wear, own, drive or live in. I also am starting to despise people who post every single goddamn second on social media. My social media algebra is simple: entertain, yes; Report, no.

33: What do you wish people would stop asking you? Can I have free tickets?

34: What is the most unusual fear you have? Frogs and Roller Coasters.

35: What is your favorite TV show? Right now it’s Better Call Saul.

36: What’s the most ridiculous argument you’ve had? If it’s ridiculous, I’m totally ignoring the idea of talking about it. Silence is golden.

37: What’s the biggest lesson life has taught you? My happiness is way more important than anything else in the world.

38: What is increasingly becoming socially acceptable? Telling others how to act, talk, behave, think, write... I remember the days when people judged you in silence or behind closed doors. Thanks a lot, internet.

39: What’s the weirdest tradition your family has? It’s not a tradition per se, we just talk really loud when we’re together, and all at the same time.

40: If you could choose anyone living or dead, who would you choose to lead our country? It would be a mix of Obama, Lady Gaga, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Snowden.

41: What app on your phone do you wish you used more? Tabata.

42: Who was the most power mad person you’ve met? Insert advertising client name here.

43: What world famous monument do you have no interest in visiting? The Tower of Pisa. Next.

44: What is something that you think people are only pretending to like or are deluding themselves into liking? Wine.

45: What joke went way too far? Anything that relates to a pregnancy announcement.

46: What are some of the telltale signs that a guy is creepy? If a man tries to control how I talk, behave, dress, manage a situation or just even decides something for me. If he thinks I need his approval for anything.

47: What is your very first memory? Walking around the beach.

48: What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve said or done around someone you dated? It’s not embarrassing but it did catch me off guard: I made a point in my life to never say “I love you” to a man first until I was sure that it was going to mean something. One day, when I was starting to date your Dad, I just blurted it out. He laughed and said “You said it first!”

49: Who is your favorite actor or actress? Right now it’s Bryan Cranston.

50: What doesn’t exist but you desperately want / need it? A pill that eliminates sadness or anger instantly.

51: What are you most grateful for? My child.

52: If you could hear every time someone said something good about you or something negative about you, which would you choose? Neither. Not interested.

53: What do you wish you could re-live? Just for fun, my twenties. Had the best time.

54: What’s something that you recommend everyone trying at least once? Massages.

55: Do you prefer being warmed when you’re too cold or being cooled when you’re too hot? Warmed.

56: What sentence can you say that makes total sense now but would seem insane 20 years ago? “Do it, don’t wait.”

57: How decisive or indecisive are you? Extremely decisive. I’d rather go out in flames, always.

58: What’s something from your childhood that used to be common but now is pretty rare? I used to play outside unsupervised and came back home when I was supposed to. I also drove my grandpa’s car lots of times while sitting in his lap. Now he would get thrown in jail, I guess.

59: If you were an action figure, what accessories would you be sold with? A bottle of Vodka, books, beach items and lipstick.

60: What weird smell do you really enjoy? Gasoline and the streets of New York City.

61: What do you like that is traditionally considered masculine? Boxing, hard liquors, swearing, dark sense of humor.

62: What’s something you learned recently that you really should have already known? Expectations are resentments in the making.

63: What’s a simple mistake you made that had dramatic consequences? I should have been honest with someone without worrying about what could happen next.

64: What’s the best piece of advice someone has given you? You’re not responsible for how other people feel, it’s their problem to handle.

65: What do you think people automatically wrongly assume about you when they look at you? That I’m delicate, maybe?

66: Looking back on your life, what have you done that has given you the most satisfaction? Besides from being a Mom, having a successful company.

67: If everything was quantified, what life stats would like to see for yourself? The happy vs sad moments.

68: What do you really wish you knew when you were younger? That I am way more stronger than I thought.

69: When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? I think it was watching Dave Chapelle or Joe Rogan on Netflix.

70: What do you wish you had more time for? Being with my child when she grows older. I hope to be alive when she gets married or has a kid.

71: When was the last time you had a gut feeling about something that turned out to be correct? How about a time your gut feeling was wrong? My gut feelings are 99% on point. Sometimes it takes a second, sometimes years. I always end up being right.

72: What’s your curiosity killed the cat story? Your Dad. I ended up married and having you!

73: What areas in your life do you have high hopes for and what are those high hopes? I hope that our child decides to run our company and makes it even more successful.

74: Who was the most spoiled person you personally have met? Met a few. No comment.

75: What makes you feel old? When people don’t know a certain band or piece of music.

76: What’s your favorite non-drug / non-alcohol high? Traveling.

77: What’s the worst thing you’ve heard one person say to another person? It’s a tie between, “Sorry, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” and “Shut up and listen”.

78: What do you love about yourself? I’m starting to love my new sense of self. It gives me meaning.

79: What gets progressively weirder the more you think about it? Society in general.

80: What have you gotten too old to put up with? Being obligated to do something.

81: What event would you like to know the whole and complete truth about? JFK’s death. I also would love to read Mueller’s unredacted report.

82: What have you recently become obsessed with? Home delivery. Hi Jeff Bezos, I paid for your electricity this month.

83: What’s the biggest waste of money you’ve seen? Anything related to spending a lot on cars or jewelry. I’d rather travel, sorry.

84: What’s surprising about you? Most people don’t know that I can’t stand chick films.

85: When you were a kid what silly thing were you deathly afraid of? Dracula. Frank Langella, you made my childhood miserable for months.

86: Besides a raise or more vacation time, what’s the best perk a company can offer employees? Time to relax and focus. In Advertising, we’re expected to produce an insane amount of creative pieces in little time. Creativity and pressure don’t go well. Also, a short amount of time during the month to do the things we can’t during the weekend.

87: Where do you like going for walks? Lower East Side or Montmartre.

88: If you found out you would inexplicably fall down dead in one year, what would you change about your life? I would travel non stop so that I could drop dead somewhere cool.

89: What movie have you seen more than seven times? It might be a tie between Pulp Fiction and the Godfather Series.

90: Most people want to be wealthy for one reason or another. Why do you would want to be wealthy? To travel.

91: What’s the best thing you could tell someone to cheer them up when they are feeling down? My grandmother used to say “Someday, when you look back at a bad moment in your life, you’re gonna laugh about it”. Wherever she is, I know she looks down and reminds me in my dreams from time to time.

92: When you were a kid, what movie did you watch over and over again? Mary Poppins... and The Godfather 1 when no one was watching.

93: What’s the worst trait a person can have? No empathy.

94: If you could know one truth about yourself, history, the world, or even the universe, what truth would you want to know? Is someone out there?

95: What’s your favorite souvenir that you have? Our cheesy “Oia” sign. It reminds me of the best honeymoon in the world.

96: What would you do if someone left a duffle bag filled with $2,000,000 on your back porch? Buy a small apartment in NYC, buy another near the beach in Rincón. Leave the rest for Mía.

97: If everything in your house had to be one color what color would you choose? Black.

98: What would your warning label say if every person was required to have one? Don’t get her angry. You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry.

99: What weird childhood fear do you still kind of hold on to? Big waves.

100: What’s the most polarizing question you could ask your group of friends? That’s the funny thing about us. There is not one polarizing thing we could ask each other. We talk and share EVERYTHING in our lives. The good, the bad, the disgusting, the inappropriate. Even the things we are ashamed to admit or share. That’s true friendship.

[illustratedtapes]

Illustrated Tapes ✕ Shake Bristol Curated by Max Kemp 1 February 2019

➔ spoti.fi/2S0fnwd Listening in order recommended

Shake Bristol is some kinda ‘art fair’ and magazine based in... well you guessed it, Bristol! We linked up with head honcho and illustrator Max Kemp in our first special edition.

What’s up Max! At the end of last year we asked you to put together a mixtape using tracks selected by each of December’s Shake exhibitors -  how’d you get on?

I’ve loved it! It was a bit tougher than the usual playlist as I asked each of the December event’s artists to put forward a few songs each, which i then trawled through, choose one from everyone and then put together a playlist. The eclectic mix represents Shake well i think!

What’s the story behind Shake?

I grew up in Cornwall, but i don’t drink and I’m not hugely into the very British idea of getting drunk to make friends and meet people (there’s not much to do in Cornwall during winter). So i decided to try and make a platform for people like me, that wanted to be creative and make things. The kind of people who tend to spend a lot of time at their desks, in their rooms or studios. Basically a way to get all kinds of likeminded creative people together in person. The result was the Baby Teeth: Art Fair & Gathering, which ran for like two years, and built a good community with a solid local following. But when i moved to Bristol back in 2013 i decided i wanted to work on a better version, and make something which was entirely illustration based with a focus on community, accessibility and personality, and not just some people sitting behind tables in a room selling things. After being in Bristol for a year I made a list of all of the southwest illustrators I knew and reached out, explaining the idea. The first Shake happened in July 2014 above the Stag & Hounds pub in a small function room using whatever tables we had. Lize from Sad Ghost Club was a part of Shake at the beginning too, so it was a result of us both putting our heads together. It went down well, we did a few more together, but Sad Ghost Club picked up and turned into a full time job for her! 

Since then I’ve tried to create exciting events and projects with Shake, as well as using it to try to nurture the creative scene and help out people as best I can! I really like community, and consider everyone involved with every event or publication to be a part of Shake.

What’s the creative scene like on the westside?

A huge part of why i moved is due to Bristol was that it’s an exciting and inspiring place for creativity. The fact that it’s location is pretty central, it has an airport with good connections and has a great university with really good creative courses is a saving grace for constant change and new creative people constantly coming through. I’m constantly finding artists that inspire me through Shake, both local and from further afield.

Shake seems to have a great community vibe and is very organic and down-to-earth, which isn’t the case for all art fairs, do you think the location has a part to play in that?

I think you’re right! I Try my very best to make sure everything is thought of and everyone is ok in the build-up, during and after the event. But I think the main reason it’s like this is due to the general good vibe from most Bristol creatives. There’s a huge student population, and a whole lot of lovely humble people that i’m constantly grateful for being surrounded by. 

Be it stalling, helping me with posters, doing a social media post, coming along on the day and spending their last tenner, or even just liking a picture on Instagram. I like to try and get stallers who will be fun and get what Shake’s about, and I even go as far as to carefully sit people next to each other who i think might get along! But what I think has made shake what it is, is the southwests attitude, comfort, respect, and community.

Do you have any plans for 2019?

For 2019 there’s the February 10th and April 7th illustration fairs at Rough Trade, and April’s will be the last until October. But there’ll hopefully be a collaboration event in may with BRICKS magazine also. I also really want to start putting on the ‘Shake Social’ again, which is a drink and draw event. Basically it’s Shake without the tables, so everyone can just meet and do some drawing together.

I might start working on the next issue of the magazine later in the year too! The last one was so much work for me and my friend matt (he helps with the mag layout and graphic design side) that I decided to give it a while before the next. Also the Shaketober stuff went down well, so I’ll be doing that again for sure.

I might even work on some kind of online Shake drawing club kinda thing as after Shaketober - I kept getting requests to make it more regular. I’d like to do some more events outside of bristol again sometime too!

And do you have any idea about where you want to Shake to go long term? Or are you playing it by ear?

I’ve got a bunch of ideas, but it’s all about natural progression for me. I like to plan the events and then slowly work on all of the other little ideas and projects in the gaps.

Bristol seems to have a great music scene as well. Do you find a lot of overlap between the two communities?

There tends to be a lot of musicians, promoters, and venue staff that stall or come down to Shake! Adrian from Rough Trade and Spectres has always been a huge help and always super encouraging too, so shout out to him!

We love the illustrations you produce for the Shake branding. How did you go about the artwork for the mixtape?

Thanks - stoked you’re into it! For this piece I was freakin’ out, as I find it easy to work with commissions or the random Shake stuff, but with this I was like “ITS GOTTA BE SHAKE, BUT SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT!” I guess in a similar way to when I work on each event poster, it has to be obviously Shake but then I dont want any poster to be too similar! So I’ve kinda done it like a comic strip panel with a close up of a guy wired from drawing, haha. Side note: I was listening to the playlist as I worked on this!

What’s your favourite arty spot in Bristol?

I mostly watch movies, skate and draw at home when I’m not working either job or doing Shake stuff, so most spots I go to are dark rooms or concrete areas haha, so this is a tough one to be honest! Bristol’s a place covered in graffiti, and I like looking out for solid colour and type. A few people I keep my eyes open for are: Mr Penfold, RICHT, 45RPM and Kid Crayon. So yeah, My favourite arty spot is just a few underpasses and some walls here and there.

Favourite place to hang out? In the cinema with my phone turned off!

And your favourite Bristol munchies?

Oowee Vegan for their Cluckin Fries, Marling for the vegan Chinese, Fi Real for Caribbean food and Dangun for Korean food. I like to eat basically.

What’s happening in your own creative world at the moment?

I do posters for shows at The Hope & Ruin, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar in Brighton and Elsewhere in Margate. Most of my creative energy and time goes into making all of the shake branding and planning but I’m trying to work on my sketchbook most days too to keep it going. I grew up doing show posters so that’s the thing I mostly love to do! Oh I just did a tee for BRIGHTR recently too, he’s great and we’ve worked together for a while now on his merch and record covers.

Thanks Max, looking forward to more Shakey stuff in 2019!

Cheers for chattin to me, this has been a fun little project and I like what you’re doing! P.S. thanks to all of the artists who put in songs for the playlist!

Where can we find you?

shakebristol.co.uk instagram.com/shakebristol twitter.com/shakebristol facebook.com/shakebristol maxkdesign.co.uk instagram.com/maxkdesign 

[un-enfant-immature]

Palm phone review: an idea whose time may never come

For such a tiny device, Palm’s got a heavy lift. On the face of it, the self-titled first product from the new startup with a familiar name isn’t too radical a departure from the smartphone set. In fact, the device resembles nothing more than a diminutive iPhone, right down to the camera placement on the rear.

But the new Palm wants you to rethink your relationship with your devices. When the product was first pitched to me, a few days before I finally saw it in person, a PR rep told me the device was something new. It wasn’t a smartphone, exactly, and not quite a wearable. It was, rather, something in-between.

Last year, IDC noted that phablets (screen sizes between 5.5 and seven inches) are set to overtake smaller smartphones by next year. The march toward ever-increasing screen size shows no sign of abating. But for all of the upside of more display real estate, the human body has yet to adapt to carrying around a 6+ inch device all day, every day.

The answer to this problem — like the answer to all tech problems — is, naturally, more technology.

Palm was created to be your phone away from phone. It’s the 3.3-inch device you carry around when you don’t have space for a phone that’s double the size — be it the gym or a trip to the corner store. It’s a device that slips snuggly into the change pocket of your jeans or straps comfortably to your arm when going for a run.

It brings more standard smartphone functionality to the table than a smartwatch, with a screen size that’s roughly double that of the largest Apple Watch. It’s a product for those who can’t quite be away from their smartphone for long enough to justify the cost of an LTE watch.

That’s already a pretty small sliver of the gadget-buying public. Add to that the $349 price tag, and Verizon exclusivity, and you’ve painted yourself into a fairly small niche here. Palm told me in a briefing that it has pretty modest expectations for this first generation, given how perfectly the stars have to align to make someone the ideal consumer. I do appreciate the candor, but wonder how sustainable such goals will ultimately be in the long run.

I’ve been carrying Palm around for a few days now, and reactions tend to follow a similar arc. It generally plays out something like this:

Hey, what’s that?

Oh, that’s adorable.

So, what’s the point?

It’s true, of course, that smartwatches got tripped up in that third bit for quite a while, especially before the Apple Watch came to market. But Palm, on top of its other concerns, now has a reasonably bullish smartwatch market with which to contend. The company has to eke out its market share in that roughly 3.4-inch crack of sunlight that sits between smartphones and smartwatches.

Palm started with this market in mind, an idea it took to TCL. The Chinese electronics giant was the one that first suggested licensing the Palm name. Unlike its deal with BlackBerry, however, TCL operates only as a manufacturing partner. The heavy lifting for hardware and UI design is being done in-house — and that’s a good thing. The Palm team employs a team of people whose resumes include companies like Frog Design, Google and Samsung. On a whole, the product has good product design.

The hardware is solid, and you can’t really argue with product design that’s essentially a shrunk-down iPhone. At 3.3 inches, the screen is a hair smaller than the first iPhone’s 3.5. Of course, smartphone design and component manufacturing have come a long way in the intervening decade. The current screen-to-body ratio means a device that can, as advertised, fit pretty comfortably in the palm of most hands.

Of course, the small body is going to come with certain sacrifices. We’ve already come to accept many of these on our smartwatches, though based on application and form factor, we generally have entirely different expectations with regards to what the product can and can’t do.

The Palm, on the other hand, is simply a small phone. And yet, there are things you either can’t do — or simply wouldn’t want to — with the product. Among the more surprising omissions here is the inclusion of one physical button (power). Palm has made the most of this by including shortcuts — you can tap twice to trigger the camera, for example. But the absence of a volume rocker is pretty glaring. When I needed to adjust it, I found myself clicking through several screens, into the settings. So much for convenience.

The display itself is 720p, which is going to be a tough transition, if you use a flagship device as your daily driver. The colors also look washed out when placed up against a pricier device. I wouldn’t recommend consuming much media beyond the occasional quick YouTube video.

Aside from the tiny screen, attempting to listen to music or talk on the phone will make you hyper conscious of the limitations of an 800mAh battery. On my first day with the device, I unplugged it at 7AM. By noon, it was dead, in spite of some fairly light usage.

I thought I would be able to eke out a little more time, but while scrolling through some news stories just before 12PM, the battery suddenly dropped from 10 percent to three and then down to one before shutting off. The upside of a small battery, however, is that the thing charges up pretty quickly. Using a standard USB charger, I was able to get the battery from 0 to 100 in around an hour.

Palm, of course, will tell you that the device is not intended to be a daily driver. Fair enough. And the company has included some “battery-saving tips.”

You can go to Settings > Users & accounts > Turn off “Automatically sync data.” This will prevent background syncing of apps, so they only refresh when you open them. Major battery benefit.

Use Life Mode. It’s great. If you are really anticipating calls or texts, use the Life Mode timer to temporarily suspend Life Mode.

Use battery saver in the quick-settings menu.

Disable apps you do not use in Settings > Apps.

Minimize notifications.

Disable vibrations.

Charge it while you use your big phone.

Helpful, perhaps, but not exactly the kind of inclusion that confirms the “all-day battery life” suggested in the press material. Tellingly, the phone suggests turning on “Life Mode” by default during set up. Ticking that box “helps you live in the moment and minimize digital distraction,” which is marketing speak for turning off notifications — something that have become a core piece of functionality for many smartwatch wearers.

[Left: Palm, Right: iPhone XS]

The camera, meanwhile, while resembling the layout of the XS, is a single 12-megapixel lens, with the second spot housing the flash. It’ll work in a pinch, but you’re going to want your main phone for most photos, particularly in low light.

The virtual home button also does a lot of heavy lifting. Tap the three white dots once, and you’ll go back a screen. Double tap and you go home. Hold it down and the task switcher pops up, showing you a carousel of all of the apps you have open. Swiping up from the lock screen, meanwhile, will pop up the Gesture Pad.

One of the more innovative software elements, the feature harkens back to the old PDA days. Use you finger to scribble a quick “S” and it will pop up Settings, Slack, Spotify and Sound. It’s a quick workaround that makes the most of limited screen real estate.

In fact, that’s the through line behind all of the design choices made to the UI here. Rather than stock Android, Palm does away with the desktop, instead defaulting to an App view. The design splits the difference between the Android app tray and the UI found on wearables like the Apple Watch.

It’s essentially a scrollable list of large icons that dynamically prioritize themselves based on use. You can also manually drag and drop them to your heart’s desire. This being a Verizon exclusive, there are a couple of pieces of VZW bloatware at the bottom, and it seems you can’t manually delete them, which harkens back to the bad old days of carrier partnerships.

A lot of these choices can ultimately be written off as missteps for a first-gen device. Certainly early adopters have come to anticipate questionable decisions from a new hardware startup. The hardware build is solid, and Palm’s made a lot of clever UI decisions to get around the limitations of a small screen.

The concept is compelling, perhaps, if viewed more as a modular display than a small phone, and some of the accessories play into that idea. Ultimately, however, the device never truly answers the question of why it needs to exist, or how it will fit into users’ lives outside of a few minutes during the day.

And while $349 is a fraction of the price of a flagship device from Apple or Samsung, Palm is asking users to spend that in addition to their regular phone (plus an added $10 a month to their Verizon bill). Justifying all of that is a big ask from a little phone.

Of course, I’m open to the possibility that maybe the new Palm simply isn’t for me. I’ll leave you with Lucy to mull over that possibility. She’s all ears:

[art-angels]

40 Things to Do in L.A. This Week While You’re Safer at Home [4-30-2020 to 5-6-2020]

APRIL 30, 2020 BY WE LIKE L.A. STAFF

We used to tell you about all the things you could go out and do in Los Angeles on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Then, the coronavirus pandemic changed life for all of us, in a thousand small and massive ways. These days, there are no events for us to post about and, even if there were, state and county orders prohibit gathering. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t find entertainment, education, and most importantly, community online. From now on until this whole thing’s behind us, we’ll be posting virtual things you can do from home every Thursday morning. We hope they keep you busy, make you laugh, teach you something, or help you feel less isolated.

This week, we’ve got fitness raves, witchy cocktail shows, magical hotlines, online film fests, so much theater, and more. Have something you want to submit for next week? Hit us up: tips@welikela.com.

On April 30, join KCRW DJs for This Album Saved My Quarantine. Get some inspiration on what to listen to as they each discuss an album that’s making their quarantine a little easier, one song at a time.

WWOZ New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Station presents Festing In Place, an online jazz festival featuring archival sets from the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Listen April 30 through May 2. More info here.

Check out a digital tour of The Autry’s “Women of the West” or virtually stroll through the museum’s ethnobotanical garden.

Get in on Atlas Obscura’s weekly trivia night on May 1 (and several Fridays to follow). Games kick off at 7 p.m. EST (so late afternoon here) and cost $7 per screen. Gather a team of up to five people, preferably those well-versed in “trivial knowledge and fascinating ephemera.”

Microtheater consists of four short quarantine-themed plays you can watch from home every weekend through Safer at Home. This weekend, plays include “Time is Meaningless,” “The Dog Who Fell Into a Mineshaft,” “Well, Well, Well,” and “Rain, Bow, Connect, Shin.” Shows kick off on May 1 and May 2 at 6:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Register to watch as many as you like on Zoom here. Donations welcome.

On May 1 at 7 p.m., LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes will host Keeping the Música Alive…And Well with Louie Pérez of Los Lobos on Zoom. He’ll discuss his work and how the music industry can adapt to the world as we now know it. Register here.

Art Beyond The Glass presents “Sipping at Home,” a live telethon streaming on The Hospitality Life Twitch and Facebook channels on Sunday, May 3. The annual fundraiser gathered some of the best bartenders in L.A. to collaborate on “To-Go Cocktail Kits,” each featuring four special cocktails and some other surprises. Pre-orders are available now for pickup April 30 through May 2 at select locations across the city. The proceeds will benefit the ABTG COVID-19 Relief Fund, which supports local bartenders impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Venice Family Clinic’s Art Walk Auction is now online. You can start building on available pieces on May 3 on Artsy here. Final bids must be placed by May 19 at noon. Proceeds will raise funds for the clinic’s COVID-19 response.

The Pack Theater is uploading some of the best livestream comedy shows on the internet. The next few days include SET LIST, an improv comedy standup show, and Casting Call, where improvisers audition for roles in real-life terrible projects being made right here in Los Angeles.

LACMA is hosting a digital premiere of Arkansas on its YouTube channel followed by a conversation between LACMA Asst. Film Curator Adam Piron and director Clark Duke. The film’s synopsis: Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (Duke) live by the orders of an Arkansas-based drug kingpin named Frog (Vince Vaughn), whom they’ve never met. Posing as park rangers by day, they operate as low-level drug couriers by night under the watchful eye of Frog’s proxies (John Malkovich, Vivica A. Fox). However, after one too many inept decisions, Kyle and Swin find themselves directly in Frog’s crosshairs, who mistakenly sees them as a threat to his empire. Arkansas weaves together three decades of Deep South drug trafficking to explore the cycle of violence that turns young men into criminals and old men into legends.

Check out Los Angeles Public Library’s Storytime at Home every weekday at 11 a.m. on Studio City Library’s Instagram. Each episode, Miss Lauren offers a book, songs, and felt board stories for children.

L.A. Theater Works currently has several audio plays available for streaming, including over 30 sci-fi plays within its Relativity Series. Check out their complete offerings here.

Artist PunkMeTender has launched his exhibit, A Battle Won, online. Click around this virtual gallery to see each piece.

Join the Tonga Hut for a tiki party on Zoom on May 1 at 8 p.m. You’ll have to make your own drinks, but you’re welcome to get dressed up.

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival has moved online, offering film screenings and filmmaker discussions and talk-backs. The fest opens on May 1 with two episodes of the upcoming PBS series, Asian Americans. Check out the complete lineup here.

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival Connect 2020 opens online on May 5 with a screening of The Last Rafter with a Q&A and performance from Lupita Infante to follow. The fest runs through May 29 on LALIFF’s website. All events are free.

Still Life Ceramics will teach you how to make a clay pot on April 27 at 7 p.m. and April 29 at 6 p.m. For $45, they’ll mail you a chunk of clay and postage so that you can mail it back for firing. May 3 at 2 p.m., May 4 at 7 p.m., and May 6 at 6 p.m. On May 7, they’ll host an online teapot masterclass. For $150, you’ll receive clay, basic tools, and firing and glaze for up to two teapots. You’ll need to already have your own wheel and basic knowledge of throwing. 

Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG) has launched some cool virtual programming, including salon conversations from its archives, art-making activities, and more. See what they’ve got going on here.

Beside Itself is Hauser & Wirth’s first entirely virtual reality-based exhibit. It opens on April 30 and features work from Louise Bourgeois, Mark Bradford, Charles Gaines, Ellen Gallagher, Jenny Holzer, Roni Horn, Luchita Hurtado, Mike Kelley, Glenn Ligon, Damon McCarthy, Paul McCarthy, Bruce Nauman, Lorna Simpson, and Lawrence Weiner. Access it on the gallery’s website using your computer, phone, or VR headset.

Intramersive’s Magic Help Desk is a one-on-one interactive show over Zoom. You’re a magical tech support professional who will help a member of the Magic Defense Force with their mystical object, be it a crystal ball or a wand. Sounds simple enough, right? Bookings are available through May 3. Ticketsare $25.

Mister & Mischief have a free answering service you can call for inspiration, commiseration, and more. Just dial (888) 691-3111 any time to choose which messages you’ll hear. Check back often as extensions are updated almost daily. More info here. Speaking of phone messages, check out the Department of Social Distancing website, where callers can leave voicemails about anything they’re feeling right now.

The Corita Art Center rolled out an online arts education program inspired by Corita Kent, the “rebel” nun and teacher famous for her colorful Pop Art interpretations of religious art. Corita 101 is free to download. It’s designed for a K-5 arts curriculum and is available in both English and Spanish.

Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival brings canceled festivals around the world together in one place now through June 30. The next few days include an exclusive series of video interviews with Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen and an interview with British architect Alison Brooks.

Eva Longoria and Enrique Santos co-host Altísimo Live, a Cinco de Mayo celebration and virtual concert featuring Latin music stars Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Luis Fonsi, J Balvin, Diane Guerrero, and Ana Brenda Contreras. The performances will stream live on Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and iHeartLatino’s radio stations and social media platforms on May 5 at 2 p.m. The event is free to view. A donation of $5 to the Farmworker’s COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund is encouraged.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) and HAMILTON just launched EduHam at Home, a free digital program for students and their families to explore the world of HAMILTON and America’s founding era together. Students are also encouraged to create and perform their own narrative in the form of a song, rap, spoken word, or scene and submit their creations to be shared on the HAMILTON app, social media, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s website.

The gently whispering, paper-crinkling folks at WhisperLodge now have a free ASMR scene up on Audible designed to help you fall asleep.

Check out The Light House, a delightfully creepy new horror radio drama from author Jeff Heimbuch and audio engineer/composer Kori Celeste. According to the synopsis: Tara Hollis was supposed to get a fresh new start at her ancestral home, Light House. But when Tara and her family moved into Light House on that warm, winter’s day in 1963, they did not suspect the horror that awaited them; a horror that lurked in the shadows, biding its time to quench its hunger. There is a darkness that dwells in the heart of Light House…one that will tear Tara’s family apart. Do you believe in ghosts? Tara didn’t…until she moved into Light House. Listen on iHeartRadio here.

Get your body pumping with a fitness rave. HyperBody® at Everybody Gym in Glassell Park is now offering HD streams of its offbeat fitness classes, starting with five of its most popular workouts, including the Fitness Rave and Cyborg Abs. An all-day pass costs $5 and an unlimited week pass costs $20.

SCI-Arc’s Main Event 2020 returns in spectacular virtual form this year on May 2 at 6 p.m. The school’s annual gala benefits the SCI-Arc Scholarship Endowment. This year’s festivities include a live dance party with a DJ, digital cocktail lounge experiences, and a few other surprises.

Try a Trap-style Zumba class. Created by @hoodfaory.co, the classes take place on the Trap z*mba Instagram live every Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Thursdays at 8 p.m.

On Thursday, April 30 at noon, join author and Asst. GM at Rappahannock Hope Ewing for a little day drinking. She’ll teach you how to make a savory martini on Instagram.

[id0l-atry]

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Today high pr hyperlinks act as the backbone associated with your seo business since the particular more you have such hyperlinks the greater you're going in order to improve your search engines rank, pagerank, and link popularity. All of us desired to look at a large group that included businesses of almost all sizes and in all industrial sectors so we could really observe how SEO traffic increased whenever the only common denominator was incorporating reviews to their site. In reality, this is area of the SEO technique we have used to gradually grow our organic traffic throughout the last 12 months right here at SnapApp: #3. Mobile can account for 72% of ALL OF US digital ad spend by 2019. This workshop is usually designed to help business proprietors implement Digital Marketing techniques regarding their business including social mass media, organic SEO as well since paid channels. The Beginner's Guide in order to SEO continues to be examine over 3 million times plus offers comprehensive information you require to get on the road to professional quality Search Motor Optimization, or SEO. Whether it's using web analytics for carrying out research or even conversion tools that monitor plus report the usage of essential keywords, SEO agencies know just how and where you can obtain the information they need in order to save time furthermore decrease your in-house price. Right now there is probably no more simple strategy for SEO than the particular integration of internal links directly into your site - it is definitely an easy way to enhance traffic to individual pages, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Consult says. SEO SERVICES Right now there are a number of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION services which can help enhance the organic search engine ratings of a website. Google My Business is Google's business directory and, thus, extra essential to your local SEO Detailed businesses with all the best SEO may appear in the Local 3-Pack, the batch of 3 presented businesses nearest you that show up when you do a pertinent local search. Stir up Visibility recently released SEO: The particular Movie ”. This 40-minute movie covers a brief history associated with search engine optimization portrayed by means of the experiences of some associated with the biggest names within the particular SEO industry. In addition to producing content accessible to search engines, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION also helps boost rankings therefore that content will be positioned where searchers will more easily believe it is. The Internet is getting increasingly competitive, and the ones companies which perform SEO may have the decided advantage in visitors plus customers. Unfortunately, SEO - and research Blog9T in general - is usually soloed into focusing on The particular Google” and not really regarded as for other tactics. This means website owners plus SEO experts will need in order to be on top of their own game when it comes in order to keyword research and keeping the particular context of their site appropriate to users. Varvy's SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Overview tool audits your internet site for key parameters like site strength, links, image SEO, sociable counts, on-page SEO, technical position, page speed, loading time plus more. This trouble is that SEO rating factors have changed a whole lot over the years (find away how in our keyword study guide ). That means the particular search engine optimization techniques the fact that worked 5 years back won't soar today.

A reputable SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION company carries on together with your Company Profile and then do individuals profile building and then Nearby Business Listing Optimization. Our first five steps had been dedicated to on-page SEO techniques Link-building is the primary goal of off-page SEO, and will be also an enormous factor within how search engines rank your own web pages. So far since I know, this only functions for HTML or CSS webpages - I don't go significantly for Flash websites, and We am unsure how that pots and pans out regarding search engines plus SEO. In fact, a huge part of SEO in 2018 is writing for humans PLUS search engines (also known since: SEO copywriting”). SEO is the significant part of any web marketing strategy. Canonical: This connect to handles content syndication, which basically allows other blogs to distribute your job (similar to franchising) with out hurting your website's SEO ranking—simply with the addition of a rel=canonical can obtain your brand and content away on the web in several outlets, ensuring a greater get to and bigger audience without harming your own search results. We are usually offering affordable search engine optimisation SEO services to clients throughout the globe. If you want the strong social media strategy, a person simply can't ignore SEO. Another SEO-related plugin, W3 Total Cache is used to improve the performance of your Wp blog or a website simply by integrating features such as content material delivery networks to be capable to reduce the loading periods for your pages. Upon the subject of speed, in the beginning of 2017 generally there was still much resistance in order to AMP in the SEO local community overall, but as we mind toward 2018 that feels in order to be dissipating now somewhat along with a reluctant acceptance that AMPLIFIER looks as though it's not really going away sooner. The biggest way that individuals misuse SEO is assuming that will it's a game or that will it's about outsmarting or deceiving the search engines. Both are crucial to the particular success of an SEO marketing campaign, but they're on completely different edges of the fence when this comes to improving your search motor rankings. A lot more than 50% of mobile phone customers started using voice search correct from 2015, and so we all can expect that in 2019 and after that not much less than 50% of searches may be in the form associated with voice search. Within the past, getting a great SEO was only about making use of keywords. Just remember that , SEO will be about targeting real people, not really only search engines. In the event that you do these on-page plus off-page elements of SEO in least along with your competition, you can achieve higher research engine ranking positions in the particular organic section of search motor results pages and have the quality website capable of sustaining your revenue goals. In my opinion that 2018 is going to be the particular year where voice search changes how users search and SEOs need to optimize. SEO or Search engine optimisation is a term coined jointly to describe the techniques that will the website should use in order to boost its rankings on the search engine.

Ultimately, simply by the end of 2018 or even mid-2019, we'll see a golf swing back to natural” content created by real humans who may produce valuable content that in fact provides value. Hiring experienced SEO experts will certainly ensure that your website climbs the search engine ranks with out using any illegal practices or even short cuts that could generate short-term spikes in the cyberspace ranking, but eventually lead in order to your website having to spend penalties. Official Site Associated with BlowFish SEO - Professional Search Motor Optimization Services operated by Robert DiSalvo SEO Located in Hand Beach Gardens, Florida. The takeaway here is definitely that if you might have got LOTS of location pages offering A SINGLE business in 1 location, then those are extremely probably classed as some type of doorway pages, and most likely old-school SEO techniques for these types of type of pages will discover them classed as lower-quality : or even - spammy webpages. CRAWL this, like Google does, with (for example) Screaming Frog SEO spider, plus fix malformed links or stuff that result in server errors (500), broken links (400+) and needless redirects (300+). SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION gives you a go at rank for the terms which your own customers use, so you may do better business. The job of the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is to create high-quality content material after which win the attention, the particular love as well as the particular link from a blogger or even editor. The keyword difficulty or even keyword SEO difficulty is the very useful metric for key word research.

There is usually no magic wand in your own hands to regulate or manage your competitors' strategies or administration, Google analytics update, or client's behavior communicate business but a person can manage your SEO. In this particular new environment, the digital internet marketer who views SEO in the broader context will definitely come out there ahead of the competition within 2018 and beyond. Good SEO publications explain in detail how greatest to use keywords and just how to structure your entire web site to attract the attention associated with search engine spiders and associated with human visitors, and a posting such as this cannot perform the topic justice. While businesses start on an SEO advertising strategy, they should realize that a good entire marketing campaign can drop flat on its face in case a business is unable in order to reach the masses, that will be, their target audience. If your own pages were designed to obtain the most out of Search engines, with commonly known and right now outdated SEO techniques chances are usually Google has identified this plus is throttling your rankings within some way. Several business people find keeping upward with the "moving target" associated with SEO distracts them from every day priorities more than they actually imagined, so it's good in order to appear closely at what can make sense for every business. The app process for the SocialSEO Electronic Marketing and SEO Scholarship will be done 100% electronically and demands these list of materials. Here's the truly amazing news: You don't have in order to have to be a SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION wizard to make sure your own website is well positioned intended for organic search engine traffic. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION is the acronym for lookup engine optimisation. The particular search engines have refined their particular algorithms along with this advancement, numerous tactics that worked within 2004 can hurt your SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION today. Therefore, we also produce content on conducting keyword analysis, optimizing images for search motors, creating an SEO strategy (which you're reading right now), plus other subtopics within SEO. In 2018 there will be an also bigger focus on machine understanding and SEO from data. ” Of course, the amplification aspect of things will continue in order to combine increasingly with genuine public relationships exercises rather than shallow-relationship hyperlink building, which will become significantly The Shocking Revelation of SEO 2019 easy to detect by lookup engines like google. Seo (SEO) is often regarding making small modifications to components of your website. In my SEO content writing guidelines I suggest a person take your main keyword plus 3 or 4 other associated keywords and write at 3-4%. Some SEO specialists claim the fact that building links for SEO uses is pointless; others believe the particular role of backlinks to get a web site has continually risen through this years. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a huge part associated with any marketing strategy. This brand-new paradigm of users relying upon voice search for many associated with their search needs will end up being a game changer for SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. In 2018, SEO is content and content material is SEO, content is electronic and digital is content. Before starting a good SEO project, site owners need to carefully read through the site owner guidelines that every search motors provides and follow recommended greatest practices. This is clear that when website owners hire a search engine marketing SEO expert, they stand the better chance of maximizing their own SEO services. Search motors cannot understand this type associated with content, so it's essential to design and style video pages in an SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION oriented manner. Subscribe to our weekly SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION and daily SearchCap newsletters for a summarize of all the latest SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION related news, tips and techniques from Internet search engine Property and other sources all more than the Web. When if you're logged in, go to SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Toolkit » Keyword Research » Keyword Overview. For virtually any SEO technique to operate successfully you will need content and that will can come in any type like keywords, articles or sites. From 2019, AI can be utilized by the businesses to acquire higher rankings upon search engines. As a result, it can be a great idea to incorporate expenses with regard to professional SEO content in your own quarterly marketing budget. Google will see right via sneaky, black hat SEO methods like creating duplicate pages, developing pages with thin content simply for the sake of obtaining more pages and buying inbound links.

To possess a better SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, helps your website can obtain on the top among well-known search engines like Bing plus Google. On the additional side, you can ensure a good effective content marketing campaign just when you apply the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques properly. SEO : Search engine optimization: the procedure of making your blog better with regard to search engines. The purpose of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION writing is to make your own company more visual, more attractive in website search engines. SEO is usually the practice of increasing this quantity and quality of targeted traffic to your website through organic and natural search engine results. 31. SEO data can notify a smart social media technique. Solid keyword & marketplace research assist SEO strategy plus allow us to offer realistic projections and forecasts of opportunity inside your market. Nevertheless, when this comes to developing and performing an audio SEO strategy with regard to your business, just creating content material for the keywords your clients are looking for is each arduous and, well, wrong. In this situation, in, the article ranks correct after the official Google recommendations (and it makes sense that will Google should be number one on their own branded query) but Smashing magazine is proven as a position 0” little of text on the question Google pop up guidelines” within. Search Engine Land, a top quality SEO blog this is the pillar of the community is usually ranking after Smashing (which occurs to be really a style blog than an SEO one). Search engine optimisation (SEO) is one of typically the most important marketing considerations in your studio website. SEO might generate a sufficient return upon investment However, search engines are usually not taken care of organic search visitors, their algorithms change, and right now there are no guarantees of ongoing referrals. A great starting point whenever using keywords for SEO will be to identify existing pages that will may use some optimization. These are called keywords, plus as you will see, these people are an important part associated with SEO. In fact, this particular will actually hurt your home page's SEO because search engines such as google will recognize it because keyword stuffing - or the particular act of including keywords particularly to rank for that key word, rather than to answer the person's question. Prior to we begin, one thing a person want to keep in brain when using one of the following SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION elements is not to overdo it. You might be enticed to shove a lot associated with keywords onto your pages, yet that is not the objective. In situation you create links to some other websites and reverse, it can improve your SEO ranking. Really Cisco predicts that globally, on-line video traffic will be eighty percent of all consumer Web traffic by 2019 (a amount that is up from sixty four percent in 2014). I've bookmarked therefore many SEO websites and assets that it's overwhelming to actually look at. Link authority is the major component of SEO, yet purchasing links is forbidden simply by Google, Bing, and other research engines. SEO is really the shortened phrase for search motor optimization. I believe SEO within 2019 will largely be such as SEO in 2018, with the particular exception of some big” Search engines update that wipes out sufficient websites to make people think the algorithms have grown significantly smarter. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION works by optimizing a cyberspace pages, conducting keyword research, plus earning inbound links. The organization offers excellent SEO packages that will help rank the clients' web site within top three pages associated with search engine pages. That can make SEO an ideal lead era tool, because when searchers adhere to links back to your web site, you have the chance in order to convert them to leads, plus later make sales. Whenever asked to point out ideas that are unique towards the particular web, most people will arrive up with two main types: SEO and social media. How many links do a person need for good off-page SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION? If you are carrying out a professional SEO audit for the true business, you are going in order to have to think like the Google Search Quality Rater And also a Google search engineer to offer real long-term value to the client. 44. Give your own social media profiles an SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION boost. 10% of our experts believe that will there's likely to be the lot of focus on cellular in 2019, as older SEOs realize optimizing for desktop is usually pointless. White hat SEO is not really just about following guidelines, yet is about ensuring that the particular content google search indexes and eventually ranks could be the same content the user will see. Generally there are a few fundamentals that will can help boost the technique, but SEO, or seo, is definitely hardly ever considered. While employing the services of a great SEO agency can get a person good marketing copy for the particular website and an effective make use of of the related keywords, getting a brilliantly designed website can help a lot when this comes to attracting people plus even the search engines in order to your website. You are able to get into important SEO-related data like the particular page title, description, and key phrases for every page or a person can have the system instantly populate this data depending upon a document name or additional fields. SEO has become broadly adopted as an online advertising strategy due to the effectiveness. Creating high-quality content along with SEO in your mind through the beginning boosts search presence. In contrast, dark hat SEO is about attempting to take shortcuts and video game search engines. You may also use Google Analytics in order to find SEO keywords for content material optimization. Keyword research is the particular process SEOs value to discover what search queries consumers get into into a search engine with regard to a given topic. Within today's rapidly shifting world, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques can change on the dime—and the worst part will be that you might not actually know it. Hacks that can have won you a front-page result as recently as 2016 are not only obsolete today, but they may even harm your website's rankings. Join us for a new three-day, one-track conference full associated with forward-thinking, tactical sessions in SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION, growth marketing, the mobile scenery, analytics, content marketing, and even more. The objective associated with SEO is to get the website ranked as high because possible on search engines, for example Google. When you are improving user knowledge by focusing primarily on the particular quality of the MC associated with your pages and avoiding : even removing - old-school SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION techniques - those certainly are usually positive steps to getting even more traffic from Google in 2018 - and the type associated with content performance Google rewards is usually in the end largely from least about a satisfying consumer experience. For instance, when I'm logged in to Google+ and We search for SEO, I obtain the following in my top 5 search results. Black head wear SEO practice involves breaking most of the rules and rules of the search engine. Every time you discover or hear the phrase lookup engine optimization, ” substitute exactly what create quality and indicating relevance” and you'll have the correct mindset permanently SEO work. SEOs conveniently call this effect ‘domain authority' and it appeared in order to be related to ‘PageRank' -- the system Google started in order to rank the web within 1998. When you have more time plus are keen to follow the particular SEO industry, subscribe to Moz and Search Engine Land. Integrating these keywords into the blog post allows you to add range while still retaining SEO energy.

This guide will be made to describe all locations of SEO—from seeking the terms plus phrases (keywords) that generate visitors to your website, to producing your web site friendly to search motors, to building links and marketing and advertising the unique associated with your own site. Without having SEO, a website can become invisible to search engines. On-page SEO refers for you to every strategy, technique, and application you utilize within your internet site to optimize your web webpages and content for search search engines like google. Today, the quality of newly arriving links is evaluated higher as compared to their quantity and may add your SEO efforts. Lookup engine optimization (SEO) tools assist companies position themselves to obtain a favorable ranking in internet search engine results. The particular second biggest SEO trend within 2019 will be voice lookup. Jooxie is long past mobile search plus voice-search being a ‘trend' -- they are the full upon normal now, outdoing desktop lookup in both volume and SEO-favorability. Rather compared to marketing at people, you require to make it possible intended for them to find you whenever they want you, and gowns where SEO is available within. Prior To proceeding BlowFish SEO full Time, Robert Headed very successful internet incoming marketing campaigns for Bella Sante Day Spa's of Boston plus Red Door Spas increasing their particular yearly Gift Card Sales simply by over 400% and increasing consumer appointments over 300%. In 2019 and further than, the majority of the on the web searches will be in the particular form of conversation, and since a result, the online internet marketers will give more importance in order to artificial intelligence keywords for optimisation of the web content. You will end up being introduced to the foundational components of how search engines such as google work, how the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION landscape is promoting and exactly what you can expect in the particular future. The SISTRIX Toolbox consists associated with six modules 1) SEO, 2) Universal, 3) Links, 4) Advertisements, 5) Social and 6) Optimizer. Low-quality content can severely impact the achievements of SEO, within 2018. When your own SEO starts building strong reasons, competitors can start maligning your own SEO backlinks. ” With content marketing spend likely to reach $300 billion by 2019, this statistic is worrisome. Now the electronic marketing companies know how in order to use AI for SEO, plus in coming years AI can dominate in developing the SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION strategies of the digital advertising companies. Ray Cheselka, AdWords and SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Manager at webFEAT Complete, the design and SEO agency, states that in 2019 search objective will continue to become even more important. Expert writers of SEO articles can take the time to study the particular industry or specific niche market market. 2 tools to help with regional SEO are BrightLocal (for rankings) and MozLocal (for local lookup optimization). Concerning on-page SEO best practices, I usually link out to other quality appropriate pages on other websites exactly where possible and where a human being would find it valuable. It includes a favorite Routine Table of SEO Success Factors”, a 9-chapter guide to SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION basics, and links to several from the site's most useful blog posts.

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five Insider Tips for Finding a Great Therapist

It's a new year, you have set new goals, and you've made a decision it really is time to go to remedy. Now what? Moving into "uncover therapist" into your google research window is not heading to aid. There are a good deal of therapists out there, but discovering the proper one for you can be as daunting as trying to locate a great day on the web. After much more than fifteen several years of observing a range of therapists myself, I have had my share of undesirable encounters. I as soon as met with a therapist who greeted me at the door dripping sweat and dressed like Operate-D.M.C. (sans gold chain), straight from the gymnasium. And although I will not consider a therapist's outfit is a reflection of competence, I do enjoy a individual who cools down initial and dresses in a professional method. And then there was the girl whose very first query was "So, what is actually incorrect with you?" Not just the very best way to develop a perception of security. But never let me scare you off, I've also experienced amazing, existence-altering, not-confident-what-I-would've-completed-with no-'em therapists. So even if it seems like you have to kiss a great deal of frogs just before you find your "theraprince," the consequence is absolutely value it. Underneath you will find my best five tips for how to uncover an great therapist. (Still not sure treatment is for you? Check out out my top five causes why absolutely everyone need to go to treatment.) one) Inquire People You Have faith in For Tips Asking individuals you believe in for suggestions is a fantastic area to start off. This could be a pal, household member, coworker or other wellness skilled. If somebody you trust can make a referral, this can act as a prescreening method. If you have a friend or family member who is a therapist, they would also be a excellent man or woman to ask as well. Therapists have a tendency to have good info about other reputable folks. 2) Pick a Expert if Essential Think about why you are searching for assist and if necessary, locate someone who specializes in managing your certain issue. If you are having difficulties with something quite distinct like OCD, ADHD, habit or an ingesting problem, it is really crucial that you see somebody who specializes in the treatment of these problems. There are proof-based mostly protocols which are utilised exclusively to successfully treat troubles like these listed above. If you are viewing somebody who does not have distinct coaching in your troubles, you might be squandering your time and money. Also, someone who statements to be an specialist in almost everything is very likely an professional in nothing at all. The field of mental overall health is just as well wide for any of us to be experts in all issues, so beware of an individual who claims this sort of issues. three) Use the World wide web, But Do not Be Restricted By It The web is a great resource for finding and learning more about local therapists. Psychology Nowadays has a thorough listing of therapists and enables you to search based on many diverse factors. To be listed on Psychology Right now, therapists should confirm that they have an advanced degree and up-to-date specialist license. You can read through profiles or click by way of to person therapist web sites. If you are right away turned off by someone's tone, hear to your gut and keep looking. Just make confident you are hunting in market-acceptable areas. For example, Yelp is wonderful for restaurants, but the same basic principle will not use to treatment. Obtaining a good therapist is a good deal much more nuanced than finding out which cafe makes the ideal duck-fat fried Brussels sprouts. four) Interview Men and women Who May possibly Seem Like a Excellent Suit When you have narrowed down your record of potentials, give them a get in touch with. Get a feel for what they are like on the phone. Do you truly feel comfy speaking with them? Do they look fascinated and empathetic? In addition, you may well request the pursuing queries: A) What is your style like? This is important. Even if an individual is a extremely expert therapist, his or her type might not jive with yours. Try to get a truly feel for what it would be like to be in the space with the person. Are they lively and engaged or will you be carrying out most of the bulk of speaking? Will they be supplying you research or will all the "perform" come about in the sessions themselves? B) Do you have knowledge functioning with my issue? If we ended up working together on this problem what can I assume? You want to make sure that the therapist has familiarity and is relaxed operating with the problem that brought you to remedy. C) What is your theoretical orientation? There are a lot of diverse schools of believed in psychology and every therapist methods problems differently based mostly on their instruction and theoretical orientation. For illustration, a psychodynamic therapist may emphasis on childhood history, dreams and the unconscious roots of your behavior, even though a cognitive behavioral therapist will help you determine problematic feelings and aid you change these thoughts and their ensuing behaviors. There are many different approaches to technique the identical situation, and even though you may have no concept specifically what style you want or want, make positive that what the therapist is proposing is some thing that sounds aligned to your personality and requirements. (For a much more detailed description of some of the most well-liked types of remedy click right here.) 5) The Romantic relationship Is Far more Critical Than the Resume Do not be extremely targeted on discovering an individual with long checklist of achievements. Just simply because a therapist has composed a number of publications or has a hectic public speaking plan, it doesn't mean that they are the appropriate suit for you. Investigation has identified that the most efficient therapists build robust therapeutic interactions with their consumers and have extremely designed interpersonal capabilities such as warmth, acceptance, empathy and the ability to properly discover how a client is emotion. So give more weight to how you really feel in the space with the therapist, relatively than their listing of achievements. Now that you are armed with strategies for obtaining a excellent suit I wish you the ideal of luck in your lookup. I hope you find the therapeutic knowledge as rewarding and lifestyle altering as I have. Satisfied therapist looking!