malecelebarmpits

[rushingheadlong]

You know something I don't think I've ever seen people talk about is how Freddie changed the lyrics for Big Spender.

Because in case you don't know, all original versions of the song are sung by women - and it is made very clear that they are singing to men:

The minute you walked in the joint I could see you were a man of distinction A real big spender [....] So let me get right to the point: I don't pop my cork for every man I see Hey, big spender Spend a little time with me

Probably not too surprising, then, that when Queen performed this song in 1974 Freddie had to do a bit of a gender-switch on it:

Though, it would probably be more accurate to say that Freddie made this song gender-neutral because he didn't change it to be about a woman. He eliminated the first use of "man" entirely and then sang "I don't pop my cork for everyone I see" (instead of "every man").

And honestly there's probably a whole dissertation you could write just about those changes alone, but what I really love is when Queen brought the song back in 1986 and Freddie changed the lyrics again:

Because yes he still dropped the first "man" but the "everyone" is changed and Freddie instead sang "every guy" with just the barest hint of a "-rl" sound at the end to give him plausible deniability if anyone asked about it.

So much of Freddie's music speaks to his experiences as a queer man but, because of the nature of the times in which he lived, he couldn't always be directly open about that fact. Most of his love songs are intentionally vague, and he sang about "somebody" or "you" to avoid having to use gendered terms as much as possible.

Freddie singing "I don't pop my cork for every GUYrl I see" wasn't just an adjustment to the original lyrics, it was a specific change from how Freddie had sang it before in order to make it more gay in a way that he could rarely be with his own music, and that is what I adore about this. It's such a little thing, but it gives such a unique insight into how Freddie balanced his sexuality and his stardom, and how the relationship between those two changed over the nearly 12 years between these performances.

[swiftllama]

August Compliments ☀️🔍

[Compliments Masterlist]

Hello everyone! So this is the continuation of the first Compliments Post I made and a round up of the compliments from August 2023.

So let’s jump in shall we!

August 2023

Starting off the month we got a double dose 4 days into the month. And it actually comes from Ian!

What Would Our Warning Labels Say? | Let’s Get Talking

Ian, Shayne, Courtney, and Angela all played a Q&A style game where Ian gave some answers relating to and complimenting Anthony :-

I should also say the time stamp title for this question in the video is ‘Who Are Our Fave People’ 🥹

Q: “Who do you admire the most?”

Originally Ian agreed with Courtney’s answer of Amanda but never expanded on why and gave a very Ian answer of “things like that [what Courtney said]”, before changing his answer :-

Ian: “I have a different answer actually - Anthony.”

Courtney: “Awwww!”

Courtney being the resident Ianthony fangirl once again and representing us all 😌

Ian: “I think because he was always - until towards the end of his time at Defy he wasn’t a hundred percent in it, but before that with the sketches and now that he’s back, whenever he’s doing something, he’s a hundred percent into it. He’s fully committed. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure it’s the best it can be.”

I know we don’t get it as often from Ian, but these little tidbits that we do show that the appreciation for Anthony is there just as much as Anthony’s is there for him. Ian just expresses himself in different ways. He actually mentions similar thing when it comes to himself and showing outward excitement even when he is excited and Courtney chimes in with how she has seen him showing his excitement outward and how she’s seen it “especially lately” 🥲 I made a post with the clip at the time which you can find here.

Another little moment from the video that is compliment-adjacent I’d say since I think it says a lot about who someone chooses as their answer to the question :-

Q: “If you had to be handcuffed to a person for a week, who would it be and why?”

Ian: “I guess I would say Anthony, because I feel a lot of the video ideas that we came up with back in the day was just out of boredom of being around each other a lot and we’d just come up with a video idea. So I feel like being handcuffed to him for a week would give us an opportunity to come up with a lot of ideas for sketches.”

Okay, so again in typical Ian fashion we gotta read between the lines a little on this one 😅 Ian doesn’t like to get mushy as we know so his reasoning being “coming up with video ideas” doesn’t surprise me lol. But I think the first part of his answer gives a lot away - having someone you can be bored with says a lot. That’s a very specific level of comfort with another person. Not to let my swiftie side show on this post lol but there’s a lyric Taylor has from her song Peace that perfectly sums up what I mean by this

“Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other.”

That’s what I mean. Someone you can be bored with and it’s still a good time, there’s no awkwardness, you can sit in silence because it’s enough to just be existing in the same space that they are.

Moving on from the Games video.

Variety Article (aka Blue Dot Gate)

On the same day, Variety dropped an article with Ian and Anthony, and for some reason Ian had blue dot on his face in the photo that was used for it 🤷‍♀️ Ian was just as confused and so took to his Instagram Story :-

And Twitter :-

But Anthony was quick to show his support 🫡 :-

SLEEPWALKING DISASTER! Watch Party

So during the livestream someone in the chat says that Ian should change his profile picture in the Smosh Royalty discord server to the one of him with all his cross-country medals from his high school senior portraits. He’s got a really terrible haircut in it 🙈 He does find it funny but I’m not going to share it because I know part of him hates it and I feel bad, but it is out there so you should be able to find it if you’re curious.

Anyways, they’re joking around about it and Anthony’s (affectionately) taking the piss out of him for it.

Ian: [explaining the photo] “So I was posing with all my cross-country medals; Cause your boy is a freakin’ champion. No, not really.”

Anthony: [in cutesy voice] “Yeah you arrree.”

Ian don’t you know by now that Anthony will not allow you to downplay your accomplishments! 😤

Anthony: [finds and shows the photo to the camera] “Why did you take a photo with all your medals?”

Ian: “Cause I didn’t accomplish much else [in high school]...”

Anthony: “Awwwww no, yeah you did!”

IAN STOP BEING MEAN TO YOURSELF THATS SO SAD 😩

Glad Bestie Anthony is on hand 🥺

Assassin’s Creed 3 Song - Flashback w/ Smosh Ep 1

First episode of their new podcast brought forth a few little complimentary moments :-

Ian: “I look so adorable here [the screencap above].”

Anthony: “Yeah, you look so cute.”

Anthony: “Awww, Ian being a soft boi”

Plus the little hint of a smile on Anthony’s face seeing baby-face Ian ☺️

That Smosh Guy - Ian Hecox Interview | How Famous Is Jirard?

Another little compliment from Ian sprinkled in the month. Nothing major, just wanted to include it. He went on this podcast and talked about Defy and how what Smosh became ultimately led to Anthony leaving.

Ian: “So after the years of doing all this extra stuff that Anthony felt like wasn’t really core, I think it just really wore him out, and the thing with Anthony is that - if he has a project, he’ll put his whole heart into it.”

Just thought this was nice little one to include since we’ve had a lot of Anthony recognising Ian’s work ethic, so why not the other way round for a change? I think it’s also another example of why their dynamic works well, especially since Ian goes on to say that he’s not like that, and that if he’s not feeling a project he won’t put all his efforts into it. I feel that must balance them out well - that if Ian isn’t really feeling something but Anthony is he can encourage Ian to see the potential in it, and same goes for if Anthony’s putting too much pressure on himself to create something perfect when he doesn’t necessarily need to, Ian is able to pull him back and recognise that he doesn’t need to burn himself out.

Roasting Each Other’s Cringey Tweets (You Posted That)

They brought up the ‘baby more like daddy’ tweet that I included in the first compliments post. And what did I say about how the period of time when Anthony kept complimenting Ian on social media before their reunion stood out to me. Now we have confirmation that, as Erin dubbed it in have video, they were “soft launching” the fact they were talking/friends again.

Ian: [tweet shows on screen] “So I said ‘Baby’s first chain’. Ha ha [fiddles with necklace] now I’m a chain boi.”

Anthony: “Awww.”

Not really a compliment, just thought it was cute lol.

Anthony: “I remember this was my first time ever publicly supporting you.”

Ian: [smiles] “Noooo, that’s not true.”

Oh 🥺 I don’t know what to call this moment exactly? Almost like the shoe is on the other foot? Ian not allowing Anthony to paint himself in a bad light by saying this was the first time he ever showed support to Ian publicly. I agree with Ian that it definitely isn’t the first time over the years but obviously the ‘between years’ caused a big gap and the years before I think it’s clear from what Anthony said in the journal video about not praising Ian enough in the past that he feels bad about that and it’s why he’s so vocal now in supporting him - to make up for that.

Anthony: “It’s [the tweet] something like ‘daddy likey the blingy’.”

Not Anthony lying to try and save face 🤭 he knows exactly what he said! That man remembers the most random, minuet details about things - especially when it comes to Ian. He just doesn’t want to admit he has a thing for calling Ian ‘daddy’ 😏 it’s okay Anthony, you can embrace it, we get it.

EVIL AI TRIED TO KILL ME! Watch Party

Someone in chat congratulations Anthony for being nominated for a Streamy and the boys talk about how they’ve got suits for it and then proceed to go back and forth saying how ‘good’ and ‘hot’ they’re going to look - Which indeed they did 😍

Someone in chat then asks if their suits are matching.

Anthony: “Matching suits? No they’re not matching. But they do look really good together though. They vibe well together.

I don’t think that’s the suits Anthony, I mean they help, but that’s all Ian and you. They look good and they vibe well together 😌

Anways, that was just a fun little one!

Moving on…

Ian ‘Cupid Shuffle’ Hecox

Ian blessed us with this Instagram post of him busting a move and looking 🔥 at Kimmy’s wedding :-

And of course Anthony couldn’t help himself :-

Streamys 2023

We didn’t really get much from the Streamys (not even Anthony winning 😤) but there was one little moment that happened early on in the show where they mentioned OG YouTubers and a clip of Ian from Food Battle 2012 where it looks like he’s doing ‘questionable things’ to a doughnut plays on screen.

Now obviously I don’t know how Ian felt in that moment having that play, but I think anyone would feel a little under the spotlight, especially given the context of the clip and how for people who’ve never seen FB or Smosh it must have been fairly confusing lol.

But no worry, because Ian’s no1 fan was sitting right there next to him. From the audience, over the people laughing and a few claps, you just hear Anthony’s voice yell “YEAH!” with his hand raised in the air :-

Always there to be Ian’s cheerleader 🥹

Anthony Plays Smosh Hide and Seek

So this was just a silly little moment, that again is more compliment-adjacent but still thought it deserved a little shoutout to close out the month.

In the hide and seek video Anthony and Ian are down to the last remaining few people to try and find - one of those being Chanse. Earlier in the video Anthony had checked the clothing racks and not found anyone - Ian wanted to allow him to seek his own as it was his game, but since they were having to re-check where they’d already been Ian decided to help him out, and low and behold, he found Chanse 😆

Anthony couldn’t believe he’d missed him!

Anthony: “That was such a good spot, holy shit! And your feet being in this bucket - holy shit! I would have never found you. Ian, damn, you found him!”

Literally just thought this was cute of Anthony giving Ian the recognition of finding him and that he wouldn’t have been able to without him. That’s all. Have no more thoughts on this one lol.

And so August slipped away into a moment in time…

Hope you enjoyed reading and I shall see you next time!

[mrs-monaghan]

https://www.tumblr.com/mrs- monaghan/734984629938946048/i-was- looking-through-tkk-blogs-to-see-what- they?source=share

The person who's blog that is i have seen them sharing jaymina's tweets as proof or as reference so you do know damn well how it goes.I read their post about what makes them think tk are real than jk and i gotta say there's literally nothing they said that could make me go "oh they have a point" cause it's just their pov and how THEY see tk but like there's no difference in there?? They said when jk kisses jm's ear it's a friendship for them cause they have been frnds for 10+ yrs, so according to them everything jkk do is friendship cause jkk are also good frnds or close frnds but that's just friendship but the same thing done by tk is "romance" how? They said it's because tk's stays behind longer, when they cuddle it's longer, when they do this that it's longer like really??? It's always been jkk who left the stage later than every other members, it's jm who's bitten jk to the point it left a mark like hickey, the person said when tk sleeps together they woke up interwined when? I remember two incidents only and both of them were not Tangled up but just them sleeping side by side and the one in ITS is tae sleeping while hugging jk. Thing is tae needs something to hug when he sleeps and that's why it might look like that but when did they saw jk working up spooning tae? But i did saw jk sleeping while spooning jm. Both jm and jk does not have a habit of hugging someone while sleeping so they might not woke up tangled up but tae literally is the same with his whole wooga so like am i supposed to think he's dating and there's romance between whole wooga? What kind of logic is this?

The tk's stares are longer bro belive me when i say that taehyung looks at all members the same cause Whenever i see any video of vmin all armys says "why does taehyung looks at jm's lips all the time?" "Why does he looks at jm like he wanna eat him?" Which is true cause there's plenty of clips of tae staring the same way to jin and jm too.

And let's talk about how jungkook does a whole 90degree whenever he sees jm's talking like he Hardly does that with other members but with jm he's consistent and only with jm he's that consistent. He looks at jm even when jm is not looking at him and that tells you alot.

all the things tae has done for/with jk he's done with so many people for example the pictures from jk's listening party the way he's clinging to jk which we know he gets when he's drunk, so he's done same poses with hobi in the photobooth and let's not forgot the paris pictures when he went to pfw like if he can get THAT clingy with literal men he's met first time why is it different when he's clinging to jk who's his frnds for 10+ yrs?? whole army twitter was calling tae gay or queer because of the way he was so touchy with all the men in those pictures lol so show me and tell me why is it different for jk???

all the things or sightings tk has done this yr are all already done by jkk already in the past so why is tk special but jkk not?? all the tk do for e/o they have done with jm but what jkl do with e/o they haven't done it for anyone.

All what i got from the post is that it's op's point of view why they think tk are romantic but if i see it from neutral point of view then I'm seeing no difference and when you use jaymina's account as your go to proof then yeah you have already lost it then and there.

the only thing good there is that op atleast think jkk are close frnds unlike other tkkrs who straight up call jkk fanservice, comapny ship and coworkers.

You've summed it up perfectly my lovely. When Jikook do something they do with other members we don't latch onto that as proof. Can't say the same for these morons. To think JK sees all this during his lurking

[nemojokard-blog]

y'know i feel as if I'm not that self indulgent with this account

Let's fix that >:)

Anyway I got into Inuyasha like a year ago (or maybe two years ago i dont remember <3)

But then i kinda fell off it as i do once i finish things. usually after i finish something the most I'll do is like look at fanart, watch clips, and occasionally listen to the ops and eds.

But for some godforsaken reason

I got back into it. And i decided to read the manga

And I've been enjoying it a lot. (Apart from some minor things that haven't aged too well.. looking at u, miroku..) I enjoy the Inugang's dynamic and the found family they created.

Also let's talk about that Love Triangle..

Kikyo vs Kagome..

After reading the manga.. It's not a competition. At all 😭

The first time i watched Inuyasha i thought kagome was in the way. And i think i quit watching it for a while.

But eventually i started it back up, and after kikyo died for the umpteenth time i was begging "Please let her rest in peace, please"

Now reading the manga.. I think it's more clear that Inuyasha's more guilty about what happened with Kikyo. He's happier when he's with Kagome. And both of the relationships are both pretty different.

With Kikyo, it's two lonely people finding solace with each other. Inuyasha, because he's a half-demon. Kikyo, because she's the protector of the shikon jewel. Their love is intense as first love is (.. i would not know tho lol) But ultimately they go into it too fast. Kikyo immediately thinks the shikon jewel can be destroyed if Inuyasha wishes to be human and Inuyasha goes with it. This way Kikyo can become a normal woman and Inuyasha.. well, he gets acceptance. Of course this never comes to fruition (because Naraku is a petty bitch™️). But ultimately, the issue was undoubtedly, their lack of trust.

They didn't really know each other.

Anyway, let's move onto the relationship with Kagome. Basically the relationship starts off rocky (probably because seeing someone who looks exactly like your dead ex-girlfriend [and is her reincarnation] who you thought betrayed you will shake anyone up I think. Also Inuyasha is kind of a buttmunch in the beginning.) But, his old feelings for kikyo eventually start to show as he sees her in kagome.. at first. And Kagome starts to wonder if she's a replacement for Kikyo.

The anime for some reason didn't include this, but Inuyasha basically tells her that Kagome is herself and that there is no replacement for her.

And his relationship with Kagome also helps him open up and form relationships with others. (i.e. Shippo, Miroku, and Sango)

He's not lonely anymore.

But Kikyo's resurrection complicates things. Especially when she wants to drag Inuyasha into hell with her at first.

Basically, Inuyasha starts thinking that he doesn't deserve to feel happy because of Kikyo and her demise that was orchestrated by Naraku.

But Kagome shows him otherwise. She decides to stay by his side because she loves him and wants to see him happy.

A YouTuber by the name of Bonsai Pop made a video about the series and I think summed it up perfectly.

Kikyo is his past. Kagome is his future.

Kikyo is the choice to die, Kagome is the choice to live.

(Don't take this as me hating on Kikyo by the way. Her character is pretty interesting and it's extremely tragic what happened to her.)

if i were to go full-english teacher

The start of the series is a nice metaphor for this. Like when Inuyasha is stuck to the tree by the arrow.

The arrow in a way represents his regrets with Kikyo. He's stuck to tree, unable to move forward in time. But Kagome pulls that arrow out. He's able to move on now.

And i think that's so beautiful.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

We're coming up to the two-year anniversary of American comedian Trevor Moore's death, which is about a week before the two-year anniversary of Sean Lock's death. The latter of which made me more sad than any celebrity death ever has, because 1) look, I know we're not supposed to be all parasocial or whatever and those people on TV are not our friends, but I had relatively recently finished every episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats and Catsdown, which I think is over 400 in total, and you can't do that without feeling like you know those people a bit, also I watched his stand-up and Fifteen Stories High, so I could better enjoy the silly panel show stuff while knowing he was better than that, just like I knew Jon Richardson was better than that, and just like I knew Jimmy Carr wasn't, and 2) a friend of mine had died not all that long before then, I was still grieving for him and some of the sadness about Sean Lock's death may have gotten mixed in with grief for someone I did actually know.

Anyway. Thinking about that tonight. Trevor Moore's death didn't me quite as hard as Sean Lock's, but it was still fucking tragic, way too young. And he was very good. My brother first introduced me to Whitest Kids U'Know (Trevor Moore's sketch group) quite a few years ago, and it's one of the few things he and I agreed upon. My brother and I have very different taste in comedy, so I didn't expect to love this thing that he described as pretty much his favourite comedy at the time, but he was right. It was so funny that I watched every episode of the Whitest Kids U'Know TV show, and got Trevor Moore's High in Church album. I still have Whitest Kids U'Know sketches on my list of things I occasionally spend an afternoon re-watching (along with SMBC sketches, Chris Flemming videos, Tim Minchin songs, used to have Mitchell and Webb sketches on there but that's tougher with Robert Webb being a dick).

Sean Lock isn't quite as easy to clip as Trevor Moore (not without going through all the clickbait compilations on Channel 4's YouTube account), but there's always:

Surrealism on the letters and numbers show:

This one made me laugh far harder than it should have, really:

And I really like this Stewart Lee story about him:

In about 2005 I was trying to escape Avalon management, a solid career move of which S Lock was an early pioneer ("You're breaking these kids' hearts", I remember him saying to the company's promoters in Edinburgh in '95 or so as they ran another hapless 20-something hopeful into insurmountable debt). I was in an Indian restaurant in Nottingham with S Lock and D Kitson and I was trying to persuade D Kitson to manage me as his 'client', as I wanted to be able to reach the small but discerning audiences he did, and without doing any television or publicity. S Lock said we were a pair of fucking idiots. I don't know why he was so annoyed, but wonder if he took my attempt to eschew popular mechanisms as a personal criticism.

I feel like it sums everyone in that story up perfectly. Right alongside the Russell Howard story from Edinburgh 2004-ish, when he asked Sean Lock why he wasn't doing a long run there with his stand-up show, and Sean replied that he doesn't really like his job that much, he's just trying to get through it (that story came from the 2008 radio episode where they got on the subject by discussing who they'd most like to get to take to work with them, and Jon Richardson said he'd love to take the comedian Sean Lock... both heartwarming and heartbreaking when you think that he did, in fact, get to take Sean Lock to work with him him many times before he died, and contrary to what he told Russell in 2004 once, Sean probably enjoyed up to seven minutes of it). And the Lee Mack story about how he initially bonded with Sean Lock due to a shared distrust of the comedy industry and everyone in it.

There was always this sense that the cynicism in Sean Lock's act was real, and that's why he spent so much of his career on fluff like panel shows instead of the deeper cynical stuff like 15 Storeys High, he knew everything was bullshit so he was just trying to make enough so he didn't have to do more bullshit than necessary. All of Stewart Lee's cynicism but none of his pretension. 8 Out of 10 Cats (the non-Countdown version) has to be worst show that I've ever spent more than 100 hours watching, but it did make me get attached to the regulars who overcame the weakness of the format, and frequently of the other guests, and made it better than that. The Sean Lock/Jon Richardson dynamic is some of the best chemistry I've ever seen on TV. You'd think it wouldn't work - you'd think it wouldn't be as good as the Richardson/Howard thing of someone made of sunshine to balance out the pessimistic one. But nope, turns out two grumpy people go great together if they're Sean and Jon. Channel 4 struck gold with that.

[jacobtheloofah]

so like in my life you are the primary authority on jerma. do you have a favorite compilation of jerma clips? i mainly find clips from your tumblr reblogs lmao

i'll give you two answers:

the first answer is my favorite singular jerma clip, what i think is the pinnacle of his style of streaming that sums his entire vibe up perfectly. he's hosting a carnival stream with machines that throw objects to land on the carnival games, and chat can control these machines. chat proceeds to aim for jerma's face to hit him with a rubber frog:

my second answer is just gonna make me seem insane but its genuinely one of my favorite jerma compilations. it's just a compilation of a bunch of times he's sneezed, cuz he genuinely is such a fascinating individual that he turns him *sneezing on stream* into a whole ordeal:

i've watched this video so many times. i promise i'm normal.

[munsons-maiden]

Jesus I think there is a possibility of Eddie coming back, I don't know if this theory already made it to Tumblr, but, here goes. Eddie was "killed" by Vecna's bats, Eddie, perhaps, could transform into Kas. In D&D Kas is a human vampire loyal to Vecna who then betrays him. The song "Master of Puppets" could be a reference to this, plus the day the guys played D&D, Mike said "I thought Kas killed Vecna" (1/2).

Maybe Eddie won't become a vampire as such, but, maybe he'll get something like super strength or a connection to Vecna like Will. It's a theory, it's okay to dream, if Eleven revived Max, I don't see how this can't happen. I got the theory from a video from a youtube channel called "Stranger Things clips", more specifically from the commentary posted in the video "Eddie's Introduction". (2/2)

I hope it’s okay to sum up these asks in one post 🖤

I saw the tiktok to this theory and when you sent these messages, I did a little deep dive into D&D lore (so sorry that it took me a while to reply!) and holy hell. This is genius.

Because every single puzzle piece of foreshadowing Eddie's fate in ST4 also perfectly fits this theory.

I'll sum up everything from these two asks to sort it out in my head and add what I found out in my research where it fits just because this theory got me absolutely HYPED.

The D&D game. Mike: "Vecna was killed by Kas!" - Eddie: "So it was thought, my friends. So it was thought. But Vecna...LIVES!" & the fact that Dustin rolled an 11 which wasn't enough to defeat Vecna, then Erica rolled a 20 and defeated him: it's common knowledge at this point that the D&D games always foreshadowed the seson's plot (like "I rolled a 7. The Demogorgon...it got me" in season 1 and 5 minutes later the Demogorgon gets Will); and I am only one of many other blogs to point out the seeming importance of this D&D game in ST4. The first half has come true: Vecna still lives, 11/El couldn't defeat him. That was the end of season 4.

The whole connection and the amount of references to Kas in ST4: the whole "drive a stake through his heart"-convo at Skull Rock; the bats; the one-handed blade and shield? Check; the bat tattoos? Check. Thematically, Eddie is very much linked to Kas, whose name was important enough to bring it up in the dialogue during the D&D game in Episode 1.

Kas spent time close to the Negative Energy Plane (!!) and thus got transformed into a vampire (I hope I got the facts straight here). Eddie died in a dark parallel dimension which mirrors our real world - basically a Negative Energy Plane.

Eddie's tattoos, as you said: The thing is, these tattoos could have been simple foreshadowing for his death - as well as foreshadowing for whatever happens after. I'm intrigued. Is the puppeteer tattoo simply a foreshadowing for the song Master Of Puppets - or are both foreshadowing for Eddie becoming Vecna's puppet? Are the bats on his arm simply foreshadowing for the cause of his death - or do they connect him to Kas the human vampire?

I already said that in Eddie's case, resurrection would be way more meaningful than a permanent death, no matter how heroic this death has been.

It would be such a perfect storyline for ST5 if - as both of you already said - Vecna, weakened and semi-defeated for now, used his own powers to resurrect Eddie the same way El resurrected Max; only to turn him into his puppet first (flay him). It would raise the stakes because not only would they need to defeat Vecna, but free Eddie from his control as well.

I'm honest; I don't think the Duffers had the intention to do this, and it's absolutely hilarious how all the foreshadowing and symbolism for Eddie's tragic end would be a perfect foreshadowing for his resurrection and eventual happy ending as well.

On one hand, as I said, I don't believe they planned to do it - but everything, from the tattoos over the choice of weapons in his fight against the bats to the sketchy two-days-later time skip telling us they had to leave Eddie's body in the UD, would be a perfect way to actually write this into ST5 should they realize their mistake and decide to bring him back. Or they're just really convincing liars and Eddie's story was never meant to end in ST4.

No matter what, if there was a plan to bring him back from the beginning, I'd bet money on it that it's this one. And if they didn't plan to bring him back but realize they want to/should...the theory is literally free real estate and none of us would even know whether they just got lucky with unintended foreshadowing or if it was planned all along.

It's as if fate itself wanted Eddie back alive and kicking.

[avinaccia]

A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping,  I have too much time on my hands, let’s go. 

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags 

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes. 

70.  Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice)  My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68.  My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67.  Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66.  Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64.  It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63.  Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62.  Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61.  The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60.  Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59.  W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58.  Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56.  Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55.  Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54.  Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53.  My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52.  With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51.  Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50.  Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49.  Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47.  Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46.  In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45.  Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44.  White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43.  Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42.  We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41.  Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40.  Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39.  May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38.  Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37.  I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36.  Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34.  Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33.  Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32.  Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31.  Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30.  The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28.  Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27.  United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26.  Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25.  Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24.  Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23.  Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22.  Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21.  I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20.  La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19.  Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE. 

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14.  Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13.  Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12.  Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11.  Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10.  Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9.  Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8.  Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7.  Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6.  Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5.  Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate. 

4.  Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1.  The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series) 

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed 

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

[thatmomentwhen345]

Ok ummmmmmmmmmmmmm

These last two weeks have been very emotionally exhausting because of finals and what I’m about to tell you and I don’t really know how to sum it up so I guess you’re getting the same treatment as my Facebook (this is copied directly from the post on there and was posted on December 12th for context)

(This is the beginning of the Facebook post)

You guys, I don’t know what to do.

You might have gathered from my last few posts, but I’m not okay. And it will sound like such a stupid reason to the majority of you. But I made an irreversible mistake back in 2019 that has been haunting me for the past week. This is the first time that I can remember regretting a decision this much. Was it my stubbornness, my closed-mindedness? Was it my see-it-to-believe-it tendencies? Was it my inability to learn from my mistakes?

For those who don’t know, on November 13th of this year, the YouTube channel Unus Annus was deleted from the platform forever. After one year of daily videos by Markiplier and CrankGameplays, it was all gone. The point of the channel was to remind us to use our time that we have alive wisely, because Memento Mori. Remember that you must die.

The channel started on November 15th of 2019, and, well, I don’t know anything about their beginnings. I just saw their introduction video in my recommended or on trending or something and thought, “Is that Markiplier? Shouldn’t he be focusing on his own channel? Who’s this other guy?” and moved on without a second thought. I occasionally saw their videos in the trending tab but ignored them. I didn’t even know they had such a big following. I thought it looked stupid and didn’t think about it until, well, the end.

A few weeks ago, my brother was watching the final livestream that would mark the day that the channel was deleted for good. I was in the room with the livestream on the TV, watching their final hours tick by, still not thinking about the channel at all. Just like, oh hey that thing that people were talking about, wasn’t it like, a cult? I didn’t think about it at all until... the fifth of December? Was it really only a week ago? That feels like a lifetime away now...

The YouTuber FootofaFerret released a video called “Pretending Unus Annus Isn’t Over” and I saw it in my reccomended. https://youtu.be/8SMpCbI9U00 I was like, hey, yeah, I remember that thing that ended. I trusted Foafy’s judgement because of his previous videos about saying goodbye to Steven Universe. So I watched it and don’t really remember how it made me feel. I just remember him saying that the Unus Annus fandom was in mourning and I was like “aw poor guys I’ve seen on TikTok some people are sad about it”. Foafy also suggested that people who were wanting more of the Unus Annus vibe to watch Mark’s Markiplier Makes playlist. I watched some of them and, again, moved on.

The timeline is fuzzy from here on. I’m still processing it, honestly. I think I might have looked up the Unus Annus theme (Turncoat by Michael Rothery) first? Then I think I found some compilations or clips from their videos and was like wow this stuff is funny. And then I realized that there are archived versions of all of their videos (that’s against the rules of Unus Annus for those who don’t know) and... don’t hate me... went looking for them. I watched two in full. I won’t say which two but just know that the second one I specifically searched out because I knew that they did a lot of random stuff on there and that there was a chance that they would do it too. And they did! It was a funny video. I realized how much of a fun dynamic that Ethan and Mark had and looked for more compilations. The more I watched, the more I realized that I had made a terrible mistake in 2019.

I had missed out on so much. And I couldn’t take it back without breaking the rules. The concept of Unus Annus intrigued me so much, all of the people involved on the channel worked so well together, they were all so funny, but now I could never experience it in full because I was stubborn and, well, thinking about other things this year. I could have jumped in at any point between then and November 13th of this year but I chose not to.

Monday was a rollercoaster. 1st stage: denial. I was like well this doesn’t matter, I’m not even in the UA fandom, it’s gone and I don’t care. But it wasn’t that simple of course. I kept watching the Markiplier Makes videos and the UA compilations and became particularly interested in Ethan. He seemed very genuine and sensitive and his on-camera chemistry with Mark was really entertaining. 2nd stage: anger. I was furious at myself for missing out. Those two videos I watched in full were just small teasers for what the entire channel was like. I hated that I couldn’t take it back. And I hated that if I did, I would’ve broken the rules and gone against Mark and Ethan’s wishes, which I also wouldn’t be able to take back. I was horribly conflicted. 3rd stage: bargaining. I desperately went after any content surrounding Unus Annus that I could without breaking the rules, and was still considering watching the illegal archives. I haven’t watched any more of them in full, but sometimes I watch parts of them in incognito mode when it becomes too much to bear.

Tuesday was... Tuesday had to have been the longest day I’ve had the entire year. 4th stage: depression. It was slowly sinking in, the gravity of my mistake. I was starting to realize how much of a phenomenon Unus Annus was and that it was so unique and had such a cool message and that it made so many peoples’ 2020 just a little bit better, but not mine. I then did what I always do and found my comfort in music. I put on a bunch of good songs that I hadn’t heard in a while and just... sat there painstakingly doing my math homework. I couldn’t concentrate on anything the whole day. Monday, either. The song Goodbye to a World by Porter Robinson came on and I was like hey, this song perfectly suits the way I’m feeling right now. I wondered if anyone else had made connections between this song and Unus Annus and looked to see if there had been any AMVs (animated music videos) about the idea and the end of UA. Lo and behold, this popped up and I watched it! https://youtu.be/-q-oByQWdlM It hit all the right spots and I just started bawling. What had I done? Why had I missed this opportunity to improve my 2020, just a little bit? Why had I missed this opportunity to get to know Mark and Ethan better? Everyone who had watched all of their videos could feel peace after the end, like Mark and Ethan. But I couldn’t. I could only forever regret my mistake. MY mistake.

Terrible things have happened this year, but all of them have been out of my control. This, however, was my fault. And I can never take it back. And I am having a very hard time handling that.

I don't know how many times I cried on Tuesday. The next song to come on after I watched the AMV was As the World Caves In by Matt Maltese which of course broke me even further. This song also perfectly encapsulated my dilemma. Later I finished my tribute drawing of the channel logo and felt the smallest bit better. The rest of the day is a blur.

Wednesday was better, I guess? I thought I had made it to the 5th stage: acceptance. I was still very sad and mad at myself but I was starting to realize that there was nothing I could do. I subscribed to Ethan’s channel and started getting to know him better. He’s so sweet and talented ☺️

But no, acceptance is still far away. Thursday and Friday were barely better than Tuesday. I painted my nails black and white as a way of coping. I went to a livestream on Ethan’s Twitch and it was really fun! I started watching more of his streams and on one of them he mentioned that his Twitch chat mods had TikToks. So I wondered if he also had a TikTok, which he does! I looked to see if he posted one on the day UA ended. The answer was no but he did post one the day after asking if someone with the skills required could make a mashup of the song Cancer by My Chemical Romance and As the World Caves In. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJqgyrkR/ I was like wowie this guys got taste! And so I looked up if there was a mashup. As a matter of fact, there was one by Clem Turner on YouTube that came out only three days after the end of Unus Annus. https://youtu.be/a5RTVoreSAY I cannot express how much I love this, what it made me feel, and how much it hurt/helped. So I commented on Ethan’s TikTok about it and only a few hours later a new comment appeared on Clem’s video. Ethan had seen it! So I’m just gonna assume I was responsible for that... not only that but half of the comments on the mashup were about Unus Annus as you can see below. I realized how big of a following UA had and felt bad (because of course the people who had actually been with UA the whole way would be grieving a lot more than me), but also, comforted by the fact we could all connect over the loss of something important to them, if in a lot of different ways.

I’m far from getting over this. I’m far from being okay. I’ve never really felt like this before. I feel like a different person than I was last week. But I wanted to write all this down to let it out, process it a little bit, and maybe get some comfort from you guys. It’s completely understandable if you didn’t read this all the way through so...

TLDR: Memento Mori.

(This is the end of the Facebook post)

What I just described really shifted a lot of things in my head in a way I didn’t expect and in a very short amount of time. So, long story short, my Steven Universe hyperfixation ended very suddenly because of an outside factor and I probably won’t be posting a lot about it anymore. Hope you understand.

(art by me but I used the official UA logo as a reference)

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched (and books I read) - Week 26

I flew to Israel for a month long vacation, but was stupidly turned away at the border and had to spend some days in Latvia before being able to return home.

The upshot of this screw-up was that I had a chance to finally read G.G. Marquez’s ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ (- full text here!) crying and laughing continuously and enjoying every minute of it. A perfect bookend to my favorite ‘100 years of Solitude’.

I’m going to start reading good books again!

Best book of the week!

✴️                 

And as much as I loved Marquez’s book, I hated the 2007 limp, Telenova-style adaptation of it, with Javier Bardem, full of cinematic cliches and devoid of any real feelings, magic or poetry. Boring and truly disappointing!

✴️               

The first 10 minutes in Gus Van Sant’s sad film Sea of Trees sums up the premise: Matthew McConaughey travels to Aokigahara, the Japanese "suicide forest," planning to end his life among the quiet, beautiful trees.

And the last 5 minutes wraps up the story in a moving way.

Recommended!

✴️                

3 by Steven Soderbergh (2 of which are about Spalding Gray):

✳️✳️✳️ Gray’s Anatomy, Gray’s fourth and last stage monologue about an eye condition he suffered from and the outlandish, alternative remedies he tried to heal it with (Indian sweat lodges, Philippine psyche surgeons, raw vegetable diets, etc.) Funny but graphic!

I didn’t know he also acted in porn films, but I’m not too surprised.

✳️✳️✳️ And Everything Is Going Fine is a traditional biography that Soderbergh edited after Gray’s suicide, from clips and TV-interviews, a disappointing capture showing Gray as a self-absorbed, neurotic story-teller.

(There are about a dozen of Soderbergh’s ‘personal’ films, as well as his Ocean trilogy, that I haven’t seen yet, and which I should watch now that I have the chance).

✳️✳️✳️  Also, Bill Hader’s parody of Spalding Gray, Parker Gail’s Location is Everything, which is actually just as deep, or funny, or random as the original. Really, Gray’s was basically a free-associating shtick! 

✴️                     

Soderbergh’s latest, No Sudden Move, is one of his best and most convoluted stories. Another eccentric heist thriller with great performances (except of the Matt Damon role) where everybody turns against and betrays each other.

I especially loved the music note that borrowed so clearly from Chinatown theme’s first chord!

Based on a true, historic background of the ‘smog conspiracy’ and the racism of redlining and ‘urban renewal’.

I will surely watch it again very soon, to enjoy the many, many details.

✴️                

After last week’s ‘Queen of Hearts’ featuring an affair between a mother and (step) son, I wanted to revisit Louis Malle’s 1971 Murmur of the Heart (’Le souffle au cœur‘), a perfectly sentimental bonbon about the 50′s French bourgeois in Dijon, Camus, the Beats and Charlie Parker, with a 14 year old Laurent, who looked just like young Mick Jagger. 8+/10

✴️                   

A man called Ove, a Swedish film with Rolf Lassgård, as an angry, bitter, curmudgeon widower who finds a semblance of niceness in him, after a Persian family moves to his neighborhood.

A standard, sentimental story. Eventually, the only funny parts are his continual failed attempts to hang himself.

✴️                

The Marx Brothers’ last film together, 1946 A Night In Casablanca: Chico must have gone into another large gambling debt, so he convinced the other two to make another movie.

“I've met a lot of pin-up girls, but I've never been able to pin one down.”

✴️              

2 big, loud, dumb anniversary blockbusters:

✳️✳️✳️ 30 years anniversary to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, one of the only “action” films I ever liked.

This is the 2017 3D 4K-resolution version. A blatant Pepsi product placement.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” 4/10

✳️✳️✳️ 25 years after Independence Day, a cliche-laden video game  with mindless special effects and the worst possible dialogue (“Do me a favor. Tell my children... I love them very much... “)

The destruction was the best part of it.  2/10

✴️      

A conspiracy of Faith, the 3rd part of the Danish Nordic Noir “Dept. Q Trilogy” is a stupid, sadistic thriller about a serial killer who murders children. With Nikolaj Lie Kaas and distinct-looking Lebanese-Swedish actor Fares Fares. I guess the series was trying to emulate Stieg Larsson’s Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, but even the religious undertones were weak and superficial.

- - - - -

Throw-back to the art project:

Schwarzenegger Adora song

- - - - -

(My complete movie list is here)

[jmsa1287]

The 10 Best Films of the 2010s

my 2019 pick has already changed since this published lol oh well! 

Compiling a list and picking just 10 films to represent the 2010s is extremely difficult if not nearly impossible — it's hard enough picking a handful of movies for lists that sum up a single year. Films change as the years pass; something you adored in 2011 may not hold up on a re-watch in 2019. Maybe that's because so much has changed in the world this decade, or you've experienced a personal philosophical shift, or a film is tied to a certain experience and emotion that has since soured. And, of course, the opposite can happen. A film you didn't respond to five years ago may have become a new favorite.

This list is a bit of a cheat — or a break — from the typical best films of the decade lists you may have seen online. It will have 10 films representing the best film from each year this decade (2010 through 2019). Though easier, making this list was still difficult mostly because there were so many brilliant and exciting films that were omitted (masterpieces like "Tree of Life" and "Gravity," for instance). Below, find the films that did make the cut and a brief blurb as to why they belong in the cinema hall of fame.

2010: "Black Swan," directed by Darren Aronofsky

Obsession and perfection are two ideas that were constantly explored this decade, thanks to the rise of social media. (There was even a horror movie released on Netflix this year called "The Perfection," starring Allison Williams.) In Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan," a young ballet dancer named Nina Sayers (played by an outstanding Natalie Portman, who won the Best Actress Oscar for the role), slowly detaches from reality as she prepares for the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake." The film's sound design is unlike any other film this decade. With each bone crack, nail clip, and flesh wound, Aronofsky makes "Black Swan" a social psycho drama melded with body horror, which also features a wild Winona Ryder performance.

2011: "Drive," directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Nicolas Winding Refn's movies aren't for everyone but his neo-noir hyper-violent "Drive" is an undeniable classic and game-changer. Starring Ryan Gosling as an unnamed stunt driver and for-hire getaway driver, "Drive" sparked a sea change in cinema, spawning an aesthetic that featured synth-pop bangers (glittery songs by Chromatics and a pulsating score from Cliff Martinez) and neon lighting. "Drive" tells an age-old story in a new and fresh way that audiences hadn't seen before, going beyond its ultra-cool style, to show a classic L.A. noir tale of betrayal and heartache. NWR also uses Gosling in the best way; boiled down to a few emotions, putting the handsome Hollywood hunk in a twisted role you'd never expect. Oh and Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks show up!

2012: "Spring Breakers," directed by Harmony Korine

"Spring Breakers" might be the best prank this decade. An arthouse film disguised as a sexy college romp, Harmony Korine's film features young college students — played here by Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson — desperate to venture from their Christian college and indulge their wild side during spring break in St. Petersburg, Fla. There, they meet Alien (James Franco), a local rapper and drug dealer who Korine uses to show the dark side of unbridled partying, sex and excessive drinking. Intense dubstep, closeups of fleshy bodies doused in alcohol and an iconic rendition of Britney Spears' "Everytime," "Spring Breakers" has gone on to become a twisted cautionary tale and also put the indie distributor A24 on the map.

2013: "Her," directed by Spike Jonez

If "Black Mirror" shows us the evils of technology, Spike Jonez's melancholic love story "Her" is the other side of the coin. It's a warm and strange film where Joaquin Phoenix delivers a breathtaking performance. As does Scarlett Johansson, who voices Samantha, an A.I. a la Siri but begins to form a romantic relationship with Phoenix's sad-sack Theodore. "Her" is more than a movie about technology; it's an emotional film about change, loss and what it means to be alive that is tucked inside a fully realized not-too-distant future L.A. with a brilliant aesthetic.

2014: "The Wind Rises," directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has made some of the most successful and culturally significant films since the 80s, including "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro." But his so-called last film "The Wind Rises" is an impeccable emotional epic based in realism that is a gut punch to the soul. It's a devastatingly beautiful movie that is half dreamlike and half haunting. It is undoubtedly the most moving film on this list.

2015: "It Follows," directed by David Robert Mitchell

If Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive" started a new wave of cinema, David Robert Mitchell's retro throwback "It Follows" is the epitome of it. With a vibrating score from video game composer Disasterpeace, DRM's film winks at slasher films of the 80s, most notably "Nightmare on Elm Street," but dials the aesthetic up to an 11; it's got nothing on "Stranger Things." In this brooding film, a young woman named Jamie (a wonderful Maika Monroe) is cursed after she has sex with her boyfriend, who ties her to a chair and warns her he's passed "it" on to her. "It" is a sinister force that inches itself closer and closer to Jamie in an attempt to kill her. Many saw "It Follows" an allegory to HIV/AIDs or STIs and a commentary of female characters in 80s horror films. It's the film's open-endedness and reinvention of tropes embedded into American cinema that make "It Follows" one of the most thrilling and fascinating films of the decade.

2016: "La La Land," directed by Damien Chazelle

"La La Land" may forever be tied to one of the Academy Awards' biggest blunders in the institution's history, but Damien Chazelle's love letter to the Hollywood Musical is an impressive feat of filmmaking. A romantic saga with musical numbers that don't shy away from its influences (the MGM musical and the Technicolor delights of yesteryear), "La La Land" is an earnest if not corny film. But its Chazelle's impeccable craftsmanship that makes his movie soar while it tells a modern love story about when two figuring out if their passions are more important to them than a future together.

2017: "The Lost City of Z," directed by James Gray

James Gray's mind-blowing epic "The Lost City of Z" will go down as this decade's most under-appreciated film. Like many of the movies on this list, it is a film about obsession, perfection and family trauma. Based on a true story, "Lost City" follows British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) over several years on his plight to find an alleged hidden city deep in the Amazon jungles. There's a World War I sequence and Tom Holland shows up as Percy's son, who is eager to follow in his father's footsteps and head to South America with him. It's devastating and moving in that Gray way even though it is his first movie not set in New York. "Lost City" perfectly melds the personal with human history, resulting in a film that is technically impressive and emotionally shocking.

2018: "Hereditary," directed by Ari Aster

Somewhere in the late 2010s, the term "elevated horror" became part of Film Twitter's lexicon. It's used to described artful films that are grown from horror tropes, most notably "The Witch," "Get Out" and Ari Aster's masterpiece "Hereditary." And though it is definitely a scary movie, labeling it an "elevated horror" film or a horror film, in general, doesn't feel quite right. It's a family drama about trauma that is demented in the same kind of tone of an Edward Albee play. It's more visceral than the late playwright's work, to be sure, and at the center of "Hereditary" is a career-defining performance from Toni Collette. She plays Annie, a grieving mother who is haunted by deep loss and grapples with keeping her sanity and her family together. Aster's film explores family relations and how tragedy can infiltrate the cracks in relationships unlike any other movie this decade.

2019: "Parasite," directed by Bong Joon-ho

"Parasite" is the summation of Bong Joon-ho's work. The Korean filmmaker has long made movies about marginalized folks navigating their way through certain systems. Unlike some of his movies, "Parasite" is rooted in reality; there's no giant elephant-pig or mutated sea creature here. The evil lurking in "Parasite" is privilege and capitalism and if that's not the biggest theme of the late 2010s I'm not quite sure what is. The film is a genre-shifting story told by an expert, who has made a few near-perfect films ("Memories of Murder," "Mother"). When "Parasite" begins to unfold and show its cards, you know you're in the hands of a master and that it won't go off the rails. Here, Joon-ho successfully tells his story with effortless dynamic filmmaking and ease that is completely hypotonic and engaging while being unnervingly gripping and universal.

[writing-with-olive]

How I plot/plan my novels (starting from a basic idea)

so I’ve seen various people wonder how to plot novels, so I decided to share my method. As usual, the steps without the attached descriptions and examples will be posted at the bottom for people who want to copy-paste

this method works for a single storyline/single POV. if there are two storylines or povs, you may have to alter some of the steps near the end of this process to fit your needs.

Spoiler warning: I use examples from both the Hunger Games and The Martian

1. Have an idea. 

This can range from a general vibe, or something more concrete, such as plot points. The easy thing about this step is it doesn’t really need to be super specific, just a general idea of the direction you want to go.

2. Start writing down the things you know.

Start creating a list/brainstorm of all the ideas you have at this point. For me, this is usually an assortment of dialogue clips, worldbuilding, character vibes, plot points, things like that. You will likely find that you have a lot stronger grasp on some of these things, and a lot weaker grasp on others. This is perfectly okay. (for example, when I did this for my current WIP, I knew a lot more than I expected about the worldbuilding, but the characters didn’t have as much detail to them. The more time you spend brainstorming here, the easier it will be moving forward. To make it easier, I usually catagorize this stuff into the catagories of: plot, characters, worldbuilding, other.

3. Identify your main character.

You may already have a character in mind, but you will want to identify who that person is, and in a very basic sense of what they’re like. At this point in the process, it doesn’t really matter if they’re not fully developed/one or two dementional. You just need to know who is leading your story

4. Create a scaffolding outline.

NOTE: this will likely not be the same outline you end up with, but having a basic idea is going to be helpful when you start worldbuilding. 

You should have a sentence/bullet point for each plot point, but not much more than that. Remember - this is going to be more of scaffolding than your final outline, and it’s more to give you a sense of where the story might be headed. If it helps you to think about the story in terms of acts, each of the three acts has two of the plotpoints listed below; one near the beginning of the act, and the other at the very end. Below, the -- indecates the seperation between each act.

The catagories you should fill out are:

Enciting incedent: this is the thing that first rocks your character’s world.

No return: your protagonist makes a decision (or has a decision forced upon them) that they cannot return from - no matter if they succeed or fail, they will not be able to go back to the same life they had. 

--

Midpoint: (this actually comes half way through the second act, rather than being positioned near the beginning) This is a turning point, and something that will test your characters. This will be one of the most intense points in your book to your character, other than the climax and breaking point. 

examples:

in The Martian, the airlock broke, and all the food was frozen. Unless this problem is solved, starvation is imminant.

in The Hunger Games, Katniss has to choose between dropping the Trackerjacker nest on her enemies, or not to.

Breaking point: something really bad happens, and this is your character’s lowest point in the book.

--

Climax: This is where your protagonist finally confronts the antagonist. 

Resolution: This is the aftermath of the climax, and the determiner if your book has a happy ending or a sad one. 

5. Worldbuilding: Brainstorming

Now that you have a scaffolding outline, think about what places might need to exist in your world. Does your Inciting incident plotpoint involve your protagonist finding a dragon in the forest? If that’s the case, you need to have a forest. Dragons are probably rare if this is the first time your protagonist has found one. Maybe they’re unheard of. Think about the implications of each of your plotpoints and add them to your brainstorming list that you started in step 2. The more you do here, the easier the next step will be. 

6. Worldbuilding: Figuring stuff out.

This is the harder of the two worldbuilding steps. Figure out things such as climate, weather, animal/plant life, commerce, social norms, magic system, whether or not there’s a religeous system, etc. I strongly recommend this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja3IgxY7dbU - Worldbuilding Basics) by Jenna Moreci. What I did was take notes about all of the questions she posed, and then copy-pasted it onto a google doc and filled it in from there. Rather than answer questions in order, it’s far easier to answer with what you know first, because that will influence your other answers. As you answer more and more things, other answers will get easier - you’ll be filling in gaps, rather than creating things out of nowhere.

This is also a great time to make world or town maps. Two resources that worked really well for me on this front (for fantasy) are: this tutorial (for making worldmaps), and this tutorial (for town maps)

--

character development, skeleton outline, create a story, organize your cards, fill in holes, more details (optional) all under the break

7. Character Development.

Starting with your main character, start to turn people from cardboard cutouts into 3-d characters. You can use this questionaire that I made based off of two of Jenna Moreci’s character development videos, and a video by a professional editor Ellen Brock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tup43nRDKqM - (Jenna Moreci)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQcQ-As2BU0 - (Also Jenna Moreci)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MozMgyppTjM (Ellen Brock)

I would strongly recommend watching all three of these videos

8. Skeleton Outline.

Now that you’ve got a sense for who the characters are - and how they will likely play into the story, go back to your scaffolding outline. You will likely find that that outline is no longer realistic for your characters. Repeat step four, thinking about what the character’s goals are, and how that’s going to affect their decisionmaking - and therefore the plot.

9. Create a story

I find it easiest to do this step with notecards on my bedroom floor, rather than on a computer, but if you find that doing the following on a computer works better for you, go for it.

Write down your six main plotpoints on notecards and set them aside. then, on more notecards, brainstorm events that you want to happen in the story, writing one thing per card (I usually like to sum it up in no more than six words, with the occasional card going beyond that). You may find later that you’ve left stuff out, or that multiple notecards will fit into one scene, and that’s okay. For now, don’t worry about it. Write down all the events of the story you can think of - and you don’t have to write them down in order, or even know the order yet. Ideally, you’ll end up with 50+ cards.

10. Organize your cards.

I like to start by seeing which events fit into which acts/before or after which of the main plotpoints. To do this, I set out the major plotpoint cards that I made at the beginning of last step, and line them up in a column. Then I take the other notecards and put them next to the major plotpoint they come after. It’s fine if they are mixed up in these catagories. If there are a handful of events that happen before your enciting incident (there shouldn’t be more than three or four tops), but them above your inciting incedent section.

Important: remember that in most books, your character is going to be more reactive to things during the first half of the middle (second act). This means that they will react to problems, but not have too many plans of their own to solve them. Your Midpoint will split up the first and second half of yoru middle/second act. After your midpoint, your characters are going to be a lot more proactive - creating plans, to better their situation, rather than just react.

example:

in The Hunger Games, Katniss spends the first part of the games reacting to things like dehydration or getting attacked

the midpoint is when she chooses whether or not to drop the trackerjacker nest on her competitors

in the second half of the middle is more proactive - she and rue make plans to win, such as a plan to blow up the Career’s supply pile

If your characters are doing something more reactive, it’s probably a better idea to put it before your midpoint. If it’s more proactive, it’s probably better to put it after.

After you have this done, now you’re going to turn the collection of cards into a pretty good outline. Going row by row, organize the cards so that they are in chronological order in your story.

11. Fill in the holes

At this point, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what the plot looks like. Now you’re going to type up your current outline in a google doc or other processer. Then you’re going to create scenes, using the goal>>decision cycle. Basically, that cycle goes as follows:

goal scenes:

goal: your character starts the scene with a goal.

conflict: there is something in the way of your character getting that goal

disaster: either your character does not achieve their goal, or, by achieving it, they create unseen consequences. (or both)

this brings you to...

decision scenes

reaction: your character is going to have an emotional reaction to whatever the disaster is. Depending on the disaster and your character, the emotion could range from mild annoyance to a full-blown meltdown

options: after your character gets through the main emotional reaction, they are faced with two or more options, ideally none of them good. In any case, the default options are to do something, or do nothing.

resolution: your character makes a decision. What they choose to do will be their goal in the next scene.

Your first scene is going going be a goal scene. Go through, scene by scene, alternating between goal and reaction. Some cards will be part of a single scene. This is the time to combine them. If you discover a hole, create the scenes you will need to bridge that gap, and fill in either the goal or decision scene details, depending on which one that scene is. In the scene outline, you may also choose to include notes, or various details that you want to include or avoid as you write the scene. When you’re done with this step, you will have a solid outline!!!

12. More details (optional)

Personally, I don’t do this step, but some people like more detailed outlines. This is the time where you might want to include all of the other details you think you’ll need/want as your write.

++++++++++++

Recap of the steps:

1. have an idea.

2. start writing down the things you know.

3. identify your main character.

4. create a scaffolding outline.

5. worldbuilding: brainstorming.

6. worldbuilding: figuring stuff out.

7. character development.

8. skeleton outline.

9. create a story.

10. organize your cards.

11. fill in holes.

12. more details (optional).

[mahalkitajohnnysuh]

A Tale of Two Valentines (Part I)

Although we’re four months past this occasion, I still want to share this post with you at this time that we’re searching for more love, care, and support. 

Here’s Johnny looking like the ultimate boyfriend material (well, isn’t he always?)  in this edited screenshot. This should give you a clue of what this piece is going to be about!

Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)

–––

Summary: If you saw the photo, then it should be obvious that this story was inspired by this clip that came from this video. How could I not write anything about it when it’s begging for it? 

POV: 2nd person since this is one of the first Johnny-centric fics I’ve written last year. 

Word count: 1,300 + words 

Warning: Every day is a fluffy and cheesy occasion for me, so I’m not sparing Valentine’s Day from this combo. 

–––

You could care less for Valentine’s Day. Not because you were single but because it’s overrated. People always make it seem like a day for couples when it could be a day for everyone you love – family and pets included.

As you buried yourself deeper into the comforter, you scrolled through your social media feeds and grumbled at how everyone seemed in love with one another.

You had the itch to leave a sarcastic remark on one of your friend’s posts until your phone rang. According to your screen, John was FaceTime-ing you. Do I know of a John? was the first thing in your mind until you remembered that one of your best friends, Johnny Suh, tampered with your phone the other day. Of course, he’s John, duh, you rolled your eyes at your stupidity and clicked the green call button.

“Hey,” you started, your voice still rough from the night before. You were up late drinking with your girlfriends as your celebration of Galentine’s Day (thank you, Leslie Knope).

“Hey, what are you doing?” Johnny asked, who was wearing a white shirt with a plaid coat on top. The background he was in seemed familiar, and your eyes widened when you finally recognized it.

“I’m right in front of your house, come on,” he said, taking a quick look at the background behind him. “It’s Valentine’s Day,” he then showed you the cup of coffee he was drinking, “I’ve got some coffee.”

It was his favorite – iced Americano. That drink suited him well: he’s chill as ice, and he’s more American than Korean.

“Uh, but I’m still in my pajamas, dude,” you muttered, glancing at your cupid cow-printed set.

“It’s fine, whatever,” he said with a smile, “the weather’s really great too. Come on, come out. ”

You groaned in response, slowly taking off the comforter. “Okay, I’ll be right here,” were the last words he said until he hung up.

It took you half an hour to prepare, and you felt rushed. Usually, you took an hour to an hour and a half to make yourself presentable. Since you didn’t want Johnny to wait outside that long, you decided to wear a simple dress and your favorite pair of sneakers. You had light makeup on, and you decided to let your curls loose. If you put in more effort, it might feel like you two are on a date when it’s just a simple invitation to hang out.

As you descended the stairs, you saw that he was comfortably sitting on your couch. “Who let you in?” You asked, forgetting your proper greetings.

“Uh, I let myself in. I have a copy of your house keys, remember?” he said, shaking a keychain filled with a dozen other keys. “And it was starting to warm up outside. I don’t want my outfit to go to waste.”

You rolled your eyes at his comment, and he ran a hand through his hair with a sheepish grin on his face. “Well, Mr. Suh, thank you for getting me out of my house on this fine Valentine’s day,” you curtsied.

“You’re welcome, Ms. Park, and oh,” he reached over the side table and held another cup of coffee. “This is yours.” He stood up now and handed you the warm beverage.

You took a sip and made a face. “Hey, this isn’t my usual order,” you said as you took another sip again. “I ordered Café Mocha for a change, dear. White Chocolate Mocha is too sweet.” It was his turn to roll his eyes, and you scoffed in response.

“And your choice of coffee is like drinking tar,” You eyed at his iced Americano, which was about to be empty.

“Can’t we just agree to disagree? Or else I’m going to ask you to pay for your drink.”  

You flipped the bird on him, and he just laughed. “Okay, but seriously. Let’s go. Have a walk outside with our coffee.” He offered his hand, which you took without any hesitation.

As both of you walked towards the park, you noticed other people celebrating Valentine’s Day in their special way. Some couples were outdoing each other on how they will make their partners happy, while some looked like they were having fun just in each other’s presence.

You couldn’t help but smile at these people in love. You felt your ice heart melt at the joy they were radiating. But when your mind had to remind you that you did not have a special someone, you frowned. Yeah, I’m a single lady walking at the park while drinking coffee. I’m with my best friend, who is one of the most handsome people I’ve ever met…You looked at the man walking beside you, whose facial expression you couldn’t decipher.

“Everything okay, John?” Dang, you weren’t used to calling him that.

“Yeah. It’s just that…I feel happy that everyone’s in love and all, but it had to remind me that I’m a single male.”

Both of you were thinking of the same thing, and you could only widen your eyes in response. “You know, I’ve been thinking of the same thing.”

“Seriously?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Maybe you two are destined to be best friends…or even something more.

“I mean, I am happy that the people here are all lovey-dovey, but I want some action too, you know?” You started rambling, eyes focused in front of you while your hands moved animatedly all over the place.

You didn’t see the smile forming on Johnny’s face, which could be interpreted as sheer joy or total mischief.

He cut off your babbling by grabbing your wrist that wasn’t holding your near-empty coffee. He pulled you towards him and wrapped an arm around your waist. You were about to protest, but his breathy voice got to you.

“Why don’t we pretend we’re a couple today? If you’re up to that, of course.”

You looked up at him and saw that both his cheeks and ears were red. His eyes bore into you, expecting your answer.

“Very funny, Johnny. But if you insist…well, people always thought we were a couple anyway!” You were laughing at how people assumed you two were an item since you were quite touchy with each other. Your hands slipped into his, and he squeezed it gently.

“Well, we could make it happen if we wanted to. But it looks like I’m not your type,” he pouted.

You felt your cheeks flame with his admission. If you only knew…

“Did I say who my type was? I can’t recall,” you said, eyes wandering to the clear blue sky.

“I’m just messing with you, dear,” Johnny squeezed your hand again. “How about we grab something to eat? Are you craving for something?”

You put a hand on your belly and rubbed it, hoping it will give you an answer. “How about quesadillas? Or burritos? Mexican food sounds good to me!”

“Por supuesto, mi señorita!” He replied in Spanish, making you thwack him on the shoulder. Deep inside, you swooned at how sexy he sounded whenever he spoke in another language other than English and Korean.

“Gracias! Vamos a comer, porque tengo mucha hambre,” you said, trying to stifle your laughter. It was one phrase that your aunt taught you that you will never forget, as it perfectly sums up your personality.

He wasn’t able to hold it in – he guffawed in public while still holding your hand. It took some time for you to settle down, and when you did, your hands were still intertwined.

“Taco Bell?” He asked, his tone playful.

“Yeah, I’m fine with Taco Bell.” He snickered at your answer and broke away from his hold on you. For a moment, you missed the warmth of his hand, but then it found its way around your waist.

Both of you walked towards the nearest Taco Bell, his hand on your waist and your head on his shoulder.

Now you could care more about Valentine’s Day, even if it’s just for today.

–––

FIN

[tedfashionski]

Seeing Red

I was drawing today and reminded somehow of that depressing development where the sister of David & Samantha Cameron has been appointed editor of the Evening Standard. Like, I’m looking past the implied wider corruption problems in ‘real’ journalism here, but one point she said in her announcement interview really bothered me. She said, something to the effect of ‘Oh, thank god I spent 20 years working at Vogue while David was in politics, because I am just so fond of him and I would hate to have to be critical of him. So I was safe at Vogue.’

That, right there, sums up how far fashion media is from even being able to recognise the functional role of journalism. Oh, thankfully, at Vogue we can hide from criticality and awareness of the political dimensions of the world. All the while, the fashion industry is feeding this planet-killing spirit-crushing capitalist consumerism. But, no, why would it be political? Stop making it political. It’s just clothes.

 K, I’m going to RANT a little about these digital fashion weeks we’ve just been subjected to. I’ll preface by saying, yeah, I get it, it’s hard to be creative in the thick of a pandemic. My standards have been accordingly lowered 20%. I am very generous.

 Chanel and Dior’s lack of energy was no surprise. Although, keeping in mind female designers tend to be more pragmatic as a matter of course, it’s sad the two top women are being so listless. I was pleasantly surprised by Azzaro – it gave a hint of a vibe but was sure of itself. It emphasised that there was no reason for the Chanel & Dior videos & collections to exist, no point of view. The smaller couture players like the Dutch trinity of Ronald van der Kemp, Iris van Herpen, and Viktor & Rolf were a little more canny, you got the impression they were enjoying themselves at the very least.

 Regarding men’s, I do think Rick Owens was actually well judged in its boringness – we don’t need product-based experimentation necessarily. I enjoyed the meta-narrative aspect, it seems to me a good time for that kind of subtle, slightly snide interplay of references. Yohji’s design’s really sang, the video could have worked harder, it felt thrown together and didn’t do the clothes justice. (Side note, that showstudio Yohji review video, 45 mins of failing to say anything, was what finally pushed me over the edge. Dude. Are you guys for real? ‘Where is the avant garde’? If you don’t know, give up already. I’m not even a Yohji fanbear but he deserves better.) Kiko gave us a real stab at a pscho-medieval vibe, and I would’ve written a full review about it cus there’s stuff going on there. But fuck that. If he doesn’t want to talk to us, and show his full vision to the public in a spirit of optimism and faith in the culture, why should I bother with him? Mean and snooty gatekeeping gets mean and snotty graffiti right back.

 Fashion culture (twitter, specifically) wants to be wowed by everything all the time. Then, it complains and says why is fashion week even happening during a pandemic, now isn’t the time for fashion. Another example of our schizo cognitive dissonance as we consume this shit. What do we even want?

 I’ll tell you what I want. I want fashion designers to be engaged in a collective speculative in-depth discussion of what the future feels like right now, as an artform. So, I’m not going to analyse anything as a commercial proposition, because the future features less and less buying shit. In part as I believe that with growing internet dispersal of OG systems, awareness will rise, the vocabulary will expand, and we’ll stop caring so much about the performative aspects of fashion clothing. The interiority aspect will only grow, and that means unique-feeling experiences that are like conversing with a familiar presence. The fashion designer as moot, a parasocial meta-commentator. A friend you don’t actually have to talk to, just talk with, in the culture. That process won’t start from a point of ‘buy my shit’. First, a relationship should be built up, set up and running along. Then, if product occurs it’s incidental. Wow, I’m being a real little weatherbear. Check out my prophecies!

 So, I’m pretty disappointed and depressed about the resentful undertone of much of the work presented to us. Like, they’re crossing their arms and getting all grumpy about how they’re not allowed to carry on like they always do. FFS, you’re FASHION PEOPLE. Change is the name of the game, this shit should excite you. It’s your job to guide each other in an open-ended perusal of future possibilities, and to make recommendations. It’s not just clothes, they’re the medium, the language in which you build the commentary. If all you care about is nice product (*cough*, hedi slimane, *cough* jacquemus), stop calling yourself a fashion designer, because you’re a clothing manufacturer and I don’t care about you.

 Why are all these videos so boring? Have any of these people heard of editing, rhythm? They do realise you can hire people for this kind of thing, right? The deadening lack of imagination amongst people whose full-time job it is to be creative about the present’s transition into the future is astounding. This really underlines the risks of nepotism and gatekeeping. The only people who can afford to participate are the gutless products of a bloated upper middle class. I don’t believe in that class’s creative capacities for one fucking minute. They’ve got nothing at stake, no guts to go against anything, because their boring shitty system works for them, so why should it change? Ugh, vom.

Where is the communicative power? Nothing is being said, it’s filler for an elite determined to go down with their ship. I’m glad it’s sinking, it wasn’t fit for purpose and I’ll happily stick some extra holes in to make it sink faster.

 I’m going to single out Jonathan Anderson again. Listen, he’s a little pretty boy who’s working so effectively within the system, who has played the game perfectly to the best of his ability. His work is top level, he wins every time. So, I reckon he can be held up as an example. He can take it. I’m looking at the box-shows he did for Loewe and his own brand, and I’m thinking, oh that’s such a lovely take on alt fashion communication. So much heart, and care. Then, what’s the internet equivalent? A little video showing off the box. Some 3d shots & backs of looks and boxes. A little extemporised pitter patter from Jonny. That’s it. It’s still classist as fuck. With garment design there’ll always be limits on what’s possible in terms of digital translation. This isn’t actually garment design though. It’s fashion design. If I’m stuck with a low-grade clip and some jpegs, it’s pretty clear to me you don’t care about your wider fashion community. There should be an open digital experience that feels equally cared for and crafted. And here’s where I get really angry: all these fashion journalists have been delivered this unique, beautiful experience, and what are they doing with it? Where is the thoughtful response? Every single one of these people in this privileged position should be DOING THEIR JOBS (WHICH THEY ARE PAID TO DO, FULL TIME) and WRITE ABOUT FASHION. Not post online, ‘omg lovee ittt, so cutee!’. Anyone can do that. Are you a fan or a professional? This is an embarrassment. I’m stuck analysing some pixels. You’re getting the ‘real’ experience. I know I’ll never be an insider given these opportunities. I chose this path and I’m not going to try and play that game, because the rules are: you get access, in exchange for sacrificing criticality. Because these people, as educated and privileged as they are, don’t understand the value of criticism. Good criticism, the detailed, even handed, unafraid kind, pushes the culture forward. You can’t have a healthy art form without it, it’s essential because it’s the back in the back and forth. I probably could’ve tried to play their silly PR game a bit harder. But I had a nervous breakdown, in part, because I knew I would never be allowed to get close to the art enough to analyse it fairly if I spoke freely as I do now. And freedom is essential. So, pixels it is. Rudeness it is. Because there is work to do to salvage the bottom-dwelling wreck of our fashion dreams so that maybe we can travel somewhere new and better with them. It just sucks that there’s people standing there with the tools to help and no desire to save themselves or anyone else.

[djsinquarantine]

Forbidden Broadcast by NinjaSkillzNetwork, By Courtney

Description: I listened to the livestream during two DJ sets from 12-2 pm PDT on May 30. The entire livestream lasted until midnight. The total number of listeners is never shown on screen, unlike other broadcasts I’ve watched, but on the Facebook Event, 171 people responded that they would attend. First I watched AVATARA (darkmattersound), a new female DJ from Los Angeles, who played deep techno and melodic house. I came in the middle of her set. After that, I listened to SAYNT (sayntninja), a DJ from Durham, sho played funky, progressive, and deep house, a primary informant for our project in addition to being project manager. The link: https://www.twitch.tv/ninjaskillznetwork/

Visual Experience: AVATARA’s room was covered from top to bottom in brightly colored fabrics, LEDs, and animated spirals. She even had a monitor behind her playing clips from the Japanese anime movie Ghost in the Shell. In the moment, I thought about how much effort she must have put into decorating, which allowed me appreciate her setup even more. SAYNT’s setup was more homey with the lights turned on, a plain sheet in the background, some string lights, and a Jack Burton doll next to his setup. He looks confident and laid-back as he wears his signature hat and graphic tee with a ninja, and I really enjoyed the visuals because it felt like I was there at his home. The video template set by NinjaSkillzNetwork for both artists had animations of ninja shurikens flying across the screen and images of temples, which created a loud visual atmosphere. The energy I felt through the visuals put me in a great mood and allowed me to let loose a little. AVATARA was using her laptop while SAYNT was using both his laptop and a DJ controller. It took some time to transition between DJs because it brought us to a loading screen. Below the video, in the description box, was a link to Black Lives Matter to stand in solidarity due to the recent protests, and periodically, the video cut to a screen with this same message. 

Sonic Experience: There were very few cutouts with the sound because there was a good connection. AVATARA doesn’t really talk during her set, which is something I actually don’t mind! It added to my immersion in the music. Even though she doesn’t engage with the audience overtly, she looks to the camera often. Both DJs played remixes that contained samples of recognizable tunes, with AVATARA’s use of The Girl From Ipanema in Now Jazz (midnight Mix) by Golfos and SAYNT’s use of Shoop in Make Me Wanna by JI & Afterman, which kept the audience engaged. SAYNT doesn’t talk in his set either, but he’s still very enjoyable to watch as he bounces from side to side with the music. He looks at other people in the room and laughs as he’s having fun. Both DJs kept dancing along with the groove in a playful manner. 

Social Experience: The moderators did not push for a conversation in the chat box because it developed naturally through the community of the listeners. People are vocal about their support for Ava, with most comments focusing on the music she was outputting. People discussed outside events, like the space launch that was happening in the middle of the stream. One listener was listening to the stream while simultaneously watching the launch, among other things. There is a zoom room open, but I know that some of them are people that know each other, and I did not feel like having social interaction at the time. I also did not want to intrude on their space, especially since it seems like a close community. Other DJs who are set to perform interact in the chat and support, saying “This is setting the bar pretty high for the rest of us haha great opening.” “Bar’s been set pretty high.” There was no direct acknowledgement of her femininity, just words like girl or miss to address her. People are listening on the phone app and on the computer (use different emojis). There was a lot more of a joking atmosphere when SAYNT came on and listeners made more fun of him. Some people in the chat were discussing about who exactly this “unshaven hooligan” is, like he was not already established in this particular DJ space. One user said, “Unshaven hooligan! Now imagine him in tutu, you’re welcome.” Others asked, “Who’s that muscleman DJ? Man this guy works out, check out his forearms,” in a way friends or close acquaintances would. Another one mentioned how SAYNT was “a pretty good DJ, eh he’s alright) in a way that signals that SAYNT is actually a veteran. Although I was not part of the community, that made me have a good laugh and I felt a little more connected. Users said hi to each other personally and also related to each other about real life. I think one user summed the feeling up perfectly - “When it’s safe to do so, I want this lineup IRL somewhere.”

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Mac McCaughan And Merge Data Have A Booth At NADA Miami

If you'd like to merge a bunch of audio tracks into one file, AVS Audio Editor is all the time ready to assist, even if your input files are of various codecs. Third step: Select MP3 Recordsdata Concurrently, and hit "Merge", then click on "OK" button. I then downloaded Audacity and tried merging there. It took longer because I've to manually string the information together, however the new merged information play perfectly on the web site. To sum up, Simple MP3 Cutter Joiner Editor is the best choice in order for you a multilingual MP3cutter, MP3 merger, splitter and editor that will do its job fast and easily with many options for the end result. Open a person file, click the Actions menu, and select the SmartMerge option. It will display data with names that sound related to the grasp file.

In September 2009, Algonquin Paperbacks released Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, a book chronicling the label's history. 7 This adopted a 6-day music pageant in Chapel Hill and Carrboro , NC, that includes over forty Merge acts from around the globe eight celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the label's first release. The label additionally released a subscription-only 17-disc box set RATING! 20 Years of Merge Records 9 throughout the twentieth anniversary year curated by pop culture tastemakers reminiscent of David Byrne , Amy Poehler , Zach Galifianakis , Jonathan Lethem , Peter Buck , David Chang , Mindy Kaling and more, with all proceeds going to charities. Now you can choose a wide range of separators from the Select a separator or enter one drop-down menu. Press the Mix all recordsdata button, sort in a file title for the merged textual content doc and click Save. Then you can open your newly mixed text document, with separators included, as under. Free Merge MP3 is a free software program application from the Rippers & Converters subcategory, part of the Audio & Multimedia class. The app is presently available in English and it was last up to date on 2017-03-31. The program can be put in on Win2000, Win7 x32, Win7 x64, WinOther, WinServer, WinVista, WinVista x64, WinXP. Someone mentioned on June 26 this did not work for them - the merged file couldn't be discovered wherever. I do not know if this was their drawback, however I, too, found myself in that very same position a few times - till I discovered why that happened, which turned out to be "my" fault. When I open my apps, I must click "Run As Administrator", and the few occasions I forgot to do this and simply opened the app and tried merging the files, NOTHING happened - no merger came about. As soon as I realized this, in fact, I re-did the merger by FIRST clicking "Run As Administrator" and all was okay again. So only a thought as to possibly why you might not discover the merger anywhere when you have your "User Account Management Settings" turned on and need to "Run As Administrator" EARLIER THAN attempting to merge files. Hope this "tip" can be of some help.

Merge the tracks right into a single, lengthy monitor. Convert the monitor from MP3 to AAC , and alter the file type to make iTunes contemplate it an audiobook. There are some limitations. From the album The Suburbs, out now on Merge Knowledge. 5 Easy Instruments to Edit Audio Info Like a PRO Good free audio modifying software program will help you to supply awesome music. Fashionable audio editors can minimize, trim, merge music, apply filters and results, doc sounds, mix music samples, change voice, normalize amount, make ringtones, mute silence and tons of different cool suggestions. Proper-click (Management-click on for Mac OS), after which select Merge Clips from the shortcut menu. Click the examine box in entrance of each of the two related information to merge. The utility is very useful when duplicate information are found in SmartOffice, e.g., when the Duplicate Records feature is used. Nevertheless, the utility can also be used to merge data that are not duplicates however are otherwise redundant. 2. Click "Submit" button to start out processing. The audio files you added to merge must have the same format and bit charge etc. The new audio file will likely be appended to the latest audio file created. For instance: You submit audio files A, B and C one after the other, the most recent output audio file will likely be file A+B+C mixed together.

Online Audio Merger is focused at linking numerous tracks collectively and consolidate them in a single observe. It incorporates a cross fading software and enables all well-known file sorts like mp3, m4a, wav, etc. High 5 MP3 Merger to Merge MP3 Audios On-line or Offline. MP3 is probably the most properly-favored music format which may be performed on different transportable units, like iPhone, Android cellphone and tablets, and so forth. On the left of the window is a folder hierarchy that you can browse to pick MP3s to merge collectively. Click on a folder there that includes the MP3s you want to merge collectively. Then press the Be a part of the files in the checklist button to merge all the MP3s in the chosen folder collectively. With Home windows Film Maker, you can split video, merge videos, slow down or speed up video, add effects, set video transitions, add titles, etc. What may disappoint you is that it doesn't offer video cutting option. What's extra, some guys say that Windows Film Maker sucks in Windows 10. 2) From right here on, you're in total control regarding the audio tracks and which of them you want to import or merge. The blue cog marked in the image beneath is the key to your endeavors: mark the audio strains you need merged (first!), then click the cog and discover the Join CD Tracks choice (second). Click to confirm your choice. Audacity is among the many greatest sound editor software program for Home windows 10. It's also possible to merge separate audio recordsdata with Audacity by overlapping two various music tracks. Follow the steps below to mix music tracks with that software program. First, I can't seem to merge two MIDI tracks to 1. If the consumer declines to delete the supply policy after a merge, any items that had been copied to the goal coverage in the course of the merge operation (e.g., coverage relationships, advisors, insured contacts, and so on.) are deleted from the source coverage. Any objects that weren't copied to the target stay in the supply policy. update PS. Thus far, mp3splt works for mp3 and ogg recordsdata. I've no success yet for m4a recordsdata. Merge MP3 does what it claims completely and efficiently. Nevertheless, because of the its limitations, it will not be for everyone. Applications comparable to Audacity can also merge MP3s, whereas also permitting you to edit, reduce and mix them collectively, although for easy becoming a member of of MP3s, that is much simpler to make use of. Tag two records to be merged. To begin out with its mp3 merger function it is worthwhile to install it first and launch it. Now on the Audacity's interface hit File; Open and cargo all the mp3 tracks that you wish to be part of together. Combine mp3 recordsdata. The Essex Green's new album, "Hardly Digital," is out on Friday, June 29, via Merge Info. Purchase Now "I really grieved for years as soon as we stopped taking part in," Bell mentioned.