#so let’s give it up for mannheim steamroller

[telesilla]

Ventured out today. It wasn’t too bad, but I went to three different stores all over town and a couple of them were pretty crowded. Thankfully people seemed to be in decent moods, but dear God, I’m exhausted and overstimulated. Driving around in Blorbo is great for that; she’s so quiet and the sound system is super good.

[pins-and-needles-and-gears]

[Toby pokes his head in the bathroom window with a cheese board in his hand]

Toby: Hey. Cheese? 

[Natalie takes a piece]

Natalie: Thanks.

Toby: If you don't mind me asking... What is this all about? I mean, you are one of the most strong, independent, non-locking-themselves-in-a-bathroom-on-Thanksgiving people I know. Why... Why are you so upset about us moving?

Natalie: Maybe I just need you guys more than you think.

Toby: Is this about more than us moving?

Natalie: This is good cheese.

Toby: Nat?

Natalie: Yeah?

Toby: Do you think I should've become a Ghostbuster?

Natalie: I think you made the right call, buddy.

[Leo enters the bathroom through the window]

Leo: Hi.

Natalie: Hey.

Leo: Are we still friends?

Natalie: Hope so.

Leo: Good. 'Cause get this. Doby almost adopted a baby. Crazy, right? Poor guy's going through some stuff. He actually tried to rope me into it. Can you imagine me being someone's dad?

Natalie: I'm pregnant.

[flashback to Leo and Natalie in the bathroom at Toby and Nico's house:]

Leo: W... What happened? Did I pass out? 

Natalie: Not exactly.

[a few seconds earlier:]

Natalie: I'm pregnant.

Leo: Are you sure you're not just putting on weight?

[Natalie punches Leo; later:]

Leo: Oh, yeah. So, um, you're pregnant.

Natalie: Yeah.

Leo: Huh. Looks like nobody told your boobs.

[Natalie punches Leo again; later:]

Leo: What happened? Did I pass out?

Natalie: Oh, my...

Leo: Please stop hitting me!

[There's a pause]

Leo: Are you sure you're...

Natalie: Well, no, not positive. I'm a week late. But I'm never late; it's a point of pride with me. I'm going to go see the doctor on Monday to find out for sure. Until then, not a word of this to anyone.

Leo: Not even Cody? I mean, it's probably his. I've spent years training my boys to swim the other way.

Natalie: Cody and I haven't had sex yet. If I'm pregnant, you're the dad.

Leo: That's... wonderful!

Natalie: Huh?

Leo: I'm gonna be a daddy!

[Natalie passes out]

Natalie: Leo, why are you so happy about this?

Leo: Because this is perfect. I want to be a dad.

Natalie: This is not good news. I'm starting to date someone.

Leo: Yeah, but if Cody weren't around...

Natalie: It doesn't matter! I am not ready for kids. I'm not stable enough for kids right now, and never, in a million years, will I ever think of myself as worthy of having kids. Leo, I can't have a baby.

[Leo and Natalie are at a bar]

Leo: Okay, one scotch for me, one iced tea on the rocks in a scotch glass for Mommy.

Natalie: Stop it.

Leo: Sorry, sorry. Keeping it secret. Oop, I think I gave you the wrong one. 

[Leo goes to take the glass off of her, but he can't]

Leo: Here, let me just... Give it to me. Drop... let go. Take it away from you.

Toby: Well, we should go. We have to get to We B Babies so that we can register for our shower.

Nico: No can do. Um, I have a big project that I'm working on. This is the Gunderson's house in East Meadow. Last year, they had the most visited Christmas display in the tri-state area. But not this year. You know why? Because the Ol' Ghost King has come to town, and he brought his two friends: Mannheim... Steamroller. Game on.

Natalie: [retches]

Jane: Are you okay?

Natalie: Yeah. Uh, it's just, um... I hate Mannheim Steamroller. Isn't there anyone else you can use?

Nico: Come on! Who am I gonna use if not the Steamroller?!

Natalie: I don't know. AC/DC?

Nico: AC/DC? Nat, do you have any idea why they call them Mannheim Steamroller? Because they rock... so hard, so festively, that steam comes out of your brain. As it melts.

[Toby, Jane, Natalie and Leo are at We B Babies. Toby is looking around]

Toby: Okay, first on the registry... nipple butter?

Natalie: Uh-oh.

[Toby picks up the tub, and looks at it confused]

Jane: As people breast-feed, their nipples stretch out, like, four inches and get all dry and cracked. The nipple butter stops the bleeding. 

[She looks at Toby]

Jane: I don't think that you and Nico will need this...

Natalie: [to Leo] My four-inch nipples are going to crack and bleed?!

Leo: Yes, but while the baby is gnawing on your bleeding nips, look what she'll be wearing.

[He holds up a baby dress]

Nurse Ann: Well, Mrs. Ouellette, I'm sure that you and your husband...

Natalie: Uh, he's not my husband.

Nurse Ann: Oh, I'm so sorry. Your boyfriend then.

Natalie: He's not my boyfriend.

Nurse Ann: Oh, bozhe. All right, well, I will just cut to the chase. All right, we're ready? Good. You are not pregnant.

[Natalie gets up excitedly and hugs Leo. Leo returns the embrace, but as soon as she can't see his face, it falls into a mildly upset one. Then, he forces himself to smile as she pulls away]

Leo: Look at all these babies. Isn't it crazy how, now that we're not having one, babies are cute again? Look at that one.

Natalie: I'm good.

Leo: No, I'm serious. Look, look.

Natalie: Damn it. That thing's cute as crap. [whispering] Screw you, baby.

Nurse Ann: Natalie, we ran some tests last week,  just to be on the safe side. This is going to be difficult for you to hear…

[Nurse Ann explains something to Natalie with a lot of incredibly long medical terms]

Natalie: ...and the gist of it is… I'm actually pregnant? 

[Ann nods]

Natalie: Uh, great. Uh, well, I mean, um, not-not great. I mean, I've not been sure that I didn't want kids, but if it has to happen to someone...

Nurse Ann: Natalie, is there anyone you can talk to about this? Perhaps a close friend?

[Natalie imagines her friends finding out this fact]

Liu: You need comfort food. Fried chicken, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes. Open your present, I'll work on these shoulders. Okay, just breathe, relax, eat your chicken. Come on, eat, breathe, open it, breathe, open it, eat. Nat, why are you so tense?!

Toby: [sobbing] And here I've been going on and on about Nico and I having kids. Oh, I am such a bad friend!

Natalie: It's okay.

Toby: You have to punch me in the face!

Jane: Have you thought about adoption?

Natalie: Um, well…

Jane: Do any chronic or life-threatening illnesses or disabilities run in your family?

Natalie: Uh...

Jane: What was the date, duration and consistency of your last period?

Leo: A priest and a rabbi walk into a bar. No, a barbershop. No, a post office. No, it's two priests. No, it's two ducks. No, a priest holding a duck. And he's Polish. The priest, not the duck. Actually, the duck could be Polish, too. Doesn't matter. Yes it does. The duck's not Polish.

[There is a pause]

Leo: Pratfall!

[He falls]

Leo: Ow…

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Season Zero: Seto Kaiba's First Kidnapping

It’s Christmas vacation, I have Mannheim Steamroller on repeat, so much chocolate just an arms reach away from me. And I have purposely given myself nothing to do as an attempt to teach myself to do nothing.

So lets watch something weird and revisit Zero.

For those new here, I have been also reviewing most of Season Zero. If you don’t know what that is, you can my recaps in order by clicking this link here.

And like last time, I am not actually affiliated with Team Millennium, and I hope they don’t mind that I am capping their episode. You can find them on Youtube where they are slowly redubbing this season into English, and um--this next episode is the last episode they have! So I don’t know how I’m going to recap the rest?

Probably the same way I did in the first episode where it’s a lot less dialogue and more just...my reaction to it.

And, as always, my disclaimer for the new people that this was made in the 90′s and based off of the OG manga and it is...not the same show. It’s problematic. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s a counter-culture anime from the 90′s. Though this episode is pretty tame, honestly. Weird, but tame.

So, we start off the episode with a very lovingly drawn sky, not sure why it’s on THIS show but it’s here. This post apocalyptic sunset.

And staring directly into this sun going supernova is Seto Kaiba in his green hair, just brooding...

Not sure how he has this view from his Pemberly style mansion, but I dunno, maybe the city is visible from the backyard, or Seto just has really good vision. Either way don’t worry about it, we see Seto vibe out and visualize weird stuff all the time.

So, spurned by his hate for his classmate that beat him in cards once, Seto decides it’s time to enact his revenge by...what sounds a lot like some weird Lord of the Rings Lore and I dunno if it’s a bad translation or I just don’t really know what the hell he’s going off about because I never read the Yugioh version of the Silmarillion. Probably both.

See, while the first couple episodes of this show have different variations on Youtube, this one really only had the Team Millennium version in English (which is fine, there’s just some confusing things) and then the other version I saw skipped half of the episode because I guess they decided this part was boring or something. So forgive the fact that I’m flying on the seat of my pants here and I assume y’all will know all the deets I don’t know. For once, my contribution will be...kind of a lot less words.

So lets get right to it.

(read more under the cut)

Seto, who is in so much denial from Seasons 1-4, that I’ve headcanoned is actually cursed to never admit magic is real, has decided to call upon the (checks notes)

4 Game Masters

Yeah, that’s a new mechanic, these are a thing now. Don’t worry if you never heard of them before, I’ve been capping this show and I also have never heard of the legendary 4 magical Game Masters either.

So at this point these statues start glowing all creepy, and because it’s Yugioh I just kinda assumed...they’d do something.

I’m starting to think that maybe that was supposed to be symbolic, actually. Maybe there was never actually magic in the statues. Maybe it’s part of Seto hallucinating, as always. This whole show kind of runs on being a sort of metal fever dream whenever people get intense about games, so I’m probably not supposed to align it with any established magic laws anyway. It’s just I never know when things are real or just aesthetics, which I enjoy, quite a bit, that it’s open ended--but still it’s somewhat confusing as to if these gargoyles are...a thing now or were just always set dressing to kind of remind us of the cards that come later in the episode.

But, remember the spooky indoor gargoyles in your mind, keep it there, these menacing gargoyles over a fiery sunset...

OK now lets meet the real villain.

There he is. Our villain. And his name? Ripley Sheldon.

MAN to go from spooky gargoyles to Ripley Sheldon. There’s a name. That’s a name all right. I’ve only seen one episode of Big Bang Theory but Sheldon is a name forever ruined for me.

So--sidestory--this one time, my friend was at a wedding in Santa Cruz, which is a pretty beachy hippie town that always smelled like weed before it was legal, and there was just...a doll at the wedding. My friend was seated at a dinner party table just right next to this doll, and the family was like “Ah yes, this is the doll, you have to speak to her. She’s a member of the family.” and my friend had to suffer roleplaying with this doll for hours.

So before you’re like...there’s no way grown ass adults are this weird with dolls in public.

Yes. It happens.

Ah, and it’s the first instances of the Kaiba Corp logo and it’s the same. Complete with helicopter, because that Logo is never done until it’s surrounded by a fast military vehicle of some sort.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh great.

Yo remember that one episode where Yugi almost got his legs chopped off by Arcana and Arcana’s wife was being held behind a curtain, and at the end of the episode Arcana pulls back the curtain and his wife was a manikin the whole time and her head fell off?

Getting those vibes.

Back at school, Miho is busy being the most manipulative human being, this time with losing at cards. Like y’all I am TRYING to give Miho the benefit of a doubt here, but it seems even the translators hated Miho so much they had her refer to herself in the 3rd person. I am trying, really I am, sorry to everyone who loves Miho, I will leave that door open as I watch these--that maybe Miho will...grow on me.

But not this episode.

And then this happened. I guess from the breeze of Honda leaning over too far.

Believe it or not, Yuugi’s vertigo will come back later in this very episode. This whole bizarre scenario was just foreshadowing.

But for reals, Yuugi is so FRAIL in Season Zero. While I appreciate the contrast between Yuugi and Yami Yuugi, I gotta recognize how much Yugi has evolved over 4+ seasons because Yuugi is just...eggshells. Every part of him is polite little eggshells.

But in contrast, you have Anzu who is ready to fight in every single scene she’s in and I’m OK with that.

That and the very clear romantic direction that is just...simple. It’s very simple in Season Zero. That’s nice.

Anzu isn’t even possessed by two ghosts. In fact, between Anzu and Yuugi right now, there are 0 ghosts. So weird. So kosher.

Speaking of weird,

Y’all, I have no explanation for this. I only know so much Kanji.

The translation I watched tried so very hard to do what they could with this, and kudos to them, but...this is what happens with translation, it’s just a very hard job sometimes. So I get how they decided to form this joke into English, but if anyone is like a Japanese speaker and gets the pun that was clearly happening here, feel free to youknow, share the knowledge.

Unfortunately the undubbed episode that exists on Youtube that I found edited out this part so they didn’t have to try and translate it, lol. Either way, I appreciate Orange Jounouchi a lot, as well as the background squids on Squid Jounouchi.

Can you imagine just being in high school, and you get summoned to the Nurses Office? Can you even imagine what rumors would start from that? Like I know Seto wants revenge against Yuugi through cards, but I think he just did. I think he did like maybe one of the worst things you can do to a High Schooler just now. May as well page over the intercom that Yuugi has to pick up his yeast infection ointment.

And this is where we meet...a ridiculous satire. This 30 year old beautiful woman flirting with a child disaster who cannot balance while seated on a low chair.

And predictably, Yuugi lost because things just got THAT weird and awkward. Dunno if the translators put that in there for fun, or if that’s honestly how it was in the original. My bet it was probably exactly that weird in the original. Mostly because this show has a lot of “stranger danger” set ups to teach little children to never trust bad adults and this just seemed like exactly that type of set-up. Don’t trust the overly nice nurse or she’ll steal your cards in a game, kids.

After this really awkward card game (and I’m not going to bother to dive into it because I don’t talk about the card mechanics here), we find out...that Seto’s just been staring at them...the entire time.

Like it has such a voyeuristic vibe to it, it really makes you wonder about Seto’s whole deal just an awful lot. Like Season 1-4 doesn’t really ship Yugi/Kaiba, in my opinion (and just my opinion, I know how y’all feel about the ship and that is a-ok, all ships are welcome here)...but Season Zero ships A LOT. It’s not a serious ship by any means, it’s clearly a crack ship, but they...very clearly know what they’re doing with Seto being this obsessed with Yuugi in this way, omg. It just sounds like a kink to me.

So, ways to beat Yuugi Muto:

steal his stuff halfway through the game, try to kill yourself, rock paper scissors, try to kill Joey Wheeler, or dress up a sex doll like a nurse and have a gross old man have it play cards while he makes a sexy lady voiceover.

(Y’all I’ve been to my share of arcades in my life and I think I’ve only seen like 6 pinball tables total. Do good arcades only exist on TV? I think it’s all a lie.)

Then, because I guess this episode wasn’t going anywhere, Yuugi goes to the arcade to play some video games. The video game is unimportant, and it’s never been brought up before, but he’s dead set on finding it. Because unlike Yugi, Yuugi just doesn’t really have a goal in this series so he just kind of flutters around until someone tells him what to do.

TBH that’s a pretty 90′s thing for a show or a movie to do. To have characters just exist and have things happen to them, but in all, they’re just...wandering. So it’s not so much a knock on the show, it’s just that sometimes it’s a little of a transition to go from a goal being something physical, like finding the lost city of Atlantis before every human’s soul is absorbed into the great Leviathan, to the goal being more of a mental acceptance--Yuugi just learning to accept this curse he doesn’t even know he has yet, and trying to find acceptance in his group of friends.

With Yuugi, we’re kind of just watching his daily life, which is mostly watching him try and sneak games into every spare moment that his local adult has turned around. It has a very slice of life feel to it, but minus the near constant innuendo slice of life tends to have (at least the ones that have been recommended to me)

Now, because this is a show about people getting a real EXTREME comeuppance every time they break the law, what will happen to Yuugi for ignoring his Grandpa’s wishes and going to the arcade before going home?

First, we meet this mushroom haired person.

That’s right kids, NEVER stop by the arcade on the way home from school--1.) The local arcades are almost always 90% boring racing games and busted shooters that came out on the Nintendo 64 when I was a child and 2.) You will get abducted.

And then we get this face swap.

Kaiba just really loves dress-up. No wonder he was hanging out with a guy super into dolls. And like, I went into before how Seto Kaiba is always doused in facsimile energy. He loves faking it up, and apparently that’s been true since Zero.

He introduces that he will have four challenges from four Game Masters and uh so welcome to the...I don’t where this is, but a weird place full of dolls that must exist somewhere in Domino.

I guess this is to make it seem like they have an audience to watch Yuugi fail but even still...what?

So we get kind of a mirror to the scene at the beginning with Miho crying and Honda telling Yuugi to apologize for beating her, except replace Miho with Seto and Honda with this guy who really likes dolls (and Miho is a lot like a cursed doll). Like, if there were a theme to this episode it’s “grow up and stop apologizing when you beat someone in a card game” which isn’t a terrible theme, especially in this show that is about Yuugi learning how to adult.

In fact the “grow the hell up” theme is so strong we have a villain who is just...a big baby who carries dolls around. Kinda makes you wonder if the show would have eventually had Yuugi just...grow out of toys and games completely for the finale. Like in the Yugioh we have now, he can’t, because first off they licensed a hell ton of toys, but also because Yugi does games for his actual job. Even if Pharaoh was gone, Yugi still has to play games all the time. In this case, he could just...be using the games to learn how to do adult things, which is actually why we give kids games in the first place.

But, speculation aside, it’s at this point that a card play knocks Yuugi off of his chair and he passes out. Despite the fact that this isn’t a Shadow game and there...shouldn’t be any magic present. In fact, I don’t think any part of this game in this episode required opening the door of darkness. When he switches to Yami shortly after falling off of his own chair he’s like...yeah this is fine. Seems all above board. No need to kill anybody

And then apparently there’s a type of Dual Monster’s card I was unaware of.

A doll-type.

So I looked it up, is there a doll type card in Yugioh?

And it seems like there’s a lot of dolls, but not like...a type, as far as I can tell. Again, I don’t play this game, I’m only here for the plot and this one just seemed like they really had to reach for Yuugi to have just the right type of card to play.

And again, because this wasn’t a Shadow Duel, our loser just kind of walks away...all the way back to Britain, I guess.

And Seto just stands there behind a window in a rainstorm to allude to his many unshed salty tears, and it cuts to Miho who I guess has learned not to cry when she loses to Yuugi now.

And then she pulls out an absolutely winning tactic. This would win, actually. It’s actually genius.

And that is a very strong

From me. Wow. No thanks. I actually don’t want to see Yuugi do a kissy face ever again, thank you.

Half of you loved that though. This is fine. We’re all different.

Anyway, I assume the game was never played, or Miho won and the show just decided not to show it. If Season Zero Yuugi is a Yuugi that makes out then...that is...shocking. Then again, we’re only like...a third of the way through? I think?

Anyway, it’s...after Christmas because I went out of town for a spell, but I’ll just...post this now. Last post before the new year.

I’ll see y’all in 2020!

[beyondthetemples-ooc]

Oh, great HEAVENS and HELLS and All the Skies ABOVE!

I sang my heart out. And I actually really LIKED the way my voice is sounding! I’ve been teaching myself to sing with More Emphasis on Where Notes Change (cleaning up my pitch especially), but ALSO a lot on EXPRESSION. Bright and happy, warm crescendos for a Happy Moment, and the longer, smoother lullaby sort of legato for the sadder, dismal songs. Sweeter note swings for adoration and mournful keening in a song of loss. I’m learning how to stay not only On Key, but how to Adjust my Tones within that pitch to express more emotion!

And I’m learning, mind you I’m using technical training I received in choir and show choir and senior choir and music theory classes, I’m learning the difference between Purely Scientific Breath Support, and a PASSIONATE all-in huff of the diaphragm!! Theoretically I knew how to RECOGNIZE it, but actually capturing that Feeling was something I always struggled with.

I’ve done a lot of work in the past few years to Unlock my Emotions. I’m getting better at letting them out into the world verbally, and I’m getting better at doing that vocally as well.

Something magical happened. Long story short? Someone enthusiastically, sincerely, 100% honestly COMPLIMENTED my singing!

Last week, Wednesday I think?, I had gone out for a walk. I intended it to take 45 minutes, maybe an hour. Just, enough to get some exercise. But as I was walking, I was singing. And I found something in myself, I can’t quite put a name to it. But that fear of others hearing me? It just.... wasn’t there, as anything more than the faintest shadow faded by the bright light of... some kind of CONFIDENCE!

Now, mind you, I was singing along to songs from Tarja’s Into the Raw album, which I only half-know. (I’m learning them quickly, but I don’t listen to music as much as I used to... hmm. I think I’m in the midst of changing that, actually.) But my point is, I haven’t listened to it many times (Serene aside), and I have sung it even fewer. I wasn’t entirely certain where all of the notes fall, the keys change. But I was singing along as best I could. Not quite a full-on belt, but a sweet lullaby sort of singing to myself, really.

I introduced her to Ghost Love Score. Which she wound up ENJOYING! Hahaaaa, score one for the symphonic metal group. 

So between her and the other neighbor listening with her, I found out that I have to look into Electric Light Orchestra and Mannheim Steamroller, both of which are names I’ve seen, but not musicians I’ve heard. (I still have to give them a listen, whoops. Tomorrow, maybe...)

Anyways, singing came up, turns out she’s quite a trained singer, and I said I could sing this song, if she liked. So I started singing along a bit. Conversation drifted and it petered out; I wasn’t positioned so they could hear me very well over the speakers, anyways. But she did say I have a nice voice.

At some point she decided to sing a karaoke song. No, sing isn’t right-- she PERFORMED it!

I forget exactly what I said; she performed it so WELL, and I gushed With Specific Things I Loved (as I tend to do because it’s good to let people know Exactly What You Noticed), and she said something like “You know something about music!” And we started talking about our choir experiences, the music in our lives. And at one point, she decided she had to play something for me to sing.

So I requested the song I’d been working on, Serene. And she played it. And I sang.

I sang my HEART out! Despite being a bit out of breath from walking uphill (and a few of my notes slipping Too High), and missing a couple lines, I had the capacity to PUSH for those soprano notes, and softened for the bridge, I was swaying, my head dancing a bit, and I was SMILING so, so much! I sang with PASSION, with DELIGHT, and my voice came out so WELL! It sounded like ME, not Tarja or Simone or Floor or Dianne, but ME! Fully ME.

Her response? “I have to get a mic behind you.” She said she loved that my voice had that opera quality, and though I know I’m no classically-trained opera singer, it was just so REFRESHING and RELIEVING and ENERGIZING to hear someone that actually APPRECIATES that!

I’ve spent so many years living with a family that called my music “that crap”, that told me not to sing, that made fun of me for singing with the opera-influenced style that I think brings out the best in my voice. The one year I was with my mother, she was never home, so I was often singing to myself... Sure, in the time I’ve been back with them, both of my younger siblings have complimented my voice. My little brother said he could sing as well as me, and my little sister has told me she likes hearing my voice when I’m singing. But it’s hard to let two little positive comments . After she called Within Temptation “crap”, and got angry that I played it while cleaning, I started wearing headphones, but I still sang along. At least, I did until she berated me for using headphones while I was doing the dishes, because “The whole point of headphones is to not hear the music”. When I would be on the long drive to visit my mother with my siblings, my oldest younger sister would often snap at me to stop singing along with whatever I was listening to. When you’re young and self-conscious, little things like, peppered constantly over your life, that destroy your confidence.

But especially through working with my mother and my organization, I’ve been getting that confidence back, and finding my voice. Quite literally, I’ve used my actual speaking voice more in the past three years than I probably have my entire LIFE. Talking with my siblings, talking with my mentors, voice-chatting with friends... Just, gaining strength in my actual vocal muscles that I never had before. My speaking voice has changed DRAMATICALLY; it used to be higher, further forward, and a whole lot less steady. Certainly less expressive of anything but an underlying sense of worry or tension or questioning or dead cynicism.

So what I’m trying to say is, hearing someone so DELIGHTED by my singing, actually WANT to magnify my voice, just to hear me “free my soul”, which she said exactly because I was a touch hesitant, telling her I wasn’t really warmed up so it might not sound “as good”, but she was adamant that I so it. And I’m so, so glad she was so determined. So reassuring. So delighted!

Employing gloves I’ve been carrying and a separate microphone, she pulled up a karaoke version of Whisper for me to sing. I didn’t perform that one quite as well as Serene, for some reason? Though I NAILED a few of the notes, and I absolutely KILLED the soaring vocalizations after Certain Choruses (the one right before the guitar solo, and the ones in the final verses of the song that I added Some Personal Flair to because I just FELT it). It took me awhile to find My Voice in that song; I think it’s the key, I don’t do nearly as well with alto notes.

Although I seem to have found my “chest voice” with SOME kind of strength tonight, whew! That’s another thing I’ve been working on; I sing quite well in the s2 range, and I can go quite high and still sound refined, but once we start sinking into the alto ranges, I start having trouble with pitch and projection.

But anyways, we talked quite a bit after that, I wound up making a friend, and my confidence in my voice is now shining brighter than ever. I can’t express how much of a gift it is to have someone who’s far more educated in music than me (in a musical profession!) say that she LOVED my VOICE, even though the operatic style isn’t exactly “in style”, you know? It was AMAZING. She said I was welcome to karaoke party with her any time, and she walked me home. 

So tonight, even though it was 1 and 2 and 3 a.m, I sang to the fullest extent of my abilities. The first song I sang was Ghost Love Score, and at first I was timidly shying away from Going All Out because Wow Some of Those Notes are High and require a LOUD and POWERFUL voice to prettify! But by 3 songs in, I was like “FUCK it, it’s my BIRTHDAY, this is my treat to myself, and if they’re awake to hear it, that’s their problem.” 

So I sang the FUCK out of Phantom of the Opera, Sancta Terra, Sound of Silence, Over the Hills and Far Away, Bless the Child, Supremacy, Paradise (What About Us), and Serene, just to round off another triumphant session of singing.~

Difficult ranges and notes that swan-dive and slides and staccato exhalations I struggled most with, but for the most part? Oh my stars. I was SO PROUD of my voice! (The first few videos I was watching were vocal coaches reacting to my singing idols, and some of the things she said? Even if I don’t know exactly where the larynx is, the stuff about the soft palate and note slides and starting high notes strongly... I’ve got some of it down! And it’s quite a glowy feeling when a professional singer compliments a sound that you just made Very Successfully.

I can’t claim I sounded as good as Tarja or Simone; of course not! There were plenty of places I added my own style. My notes aren’t as clean or QUITE so strong in some places. But there were also places I absolutely SHINED, and I would actually be flattered to find out someone heard me tomorrow, because that means I’m really getting good at projecting a strong, solid sound!!

[codynaomiswireart]

“Everyone Has Their Autumn”

A quick ficlet for the Tangledtober Day 18 prompt - “Dream”

Hope you enjoy it!

[Quick author’s note: Some parts of this piece have statements written in italics between parentheses, and these are meant to indicate moments of Varian nearly questioning his subconscious as he’s dreaming, though he doesn’t fully realize that he is indeed dreaming. I know when I dream, things and places will sometimes just change around me for no discernible reason, but when dreaming I often times don’t really question it until either something happens that just really makes me stop and go, “Ok, what the heck?” or when I wake up and think back like, “Oh wait, wow, that was actually weird.” So yeah, I kinda wanted to depict that happening with Varian where things and places around him will just shift as they do in dreams, and that Varian makes a dim note of it being not normal, though his subconscious doesn’t allow him to fully realize it as unusual, so the dream goes on. Hopefully this isn’t too confusing for any readers. I just thought it would help to add a bit of “realism��� to a dream sequence, if you will.  xP]

“...How the gentle wind Beckons through the leaves As autumn colors fall

Dancing in a swirl of golden memories The loveliest lies of all...”

~ Into the Unknown, “Over the Garden Wall”

Varian couldn’t have been happier.  Everything was perfect.

The autumn air was cool and fresh from where Varian sat atop the high hill overlooking Old Corona, and Ruddiger’s large presence at his back helped keep him warm and comfortable as he leaned back, utterly relaxed.  Right above them gold, red and amber leaves fluttered down lazily in the growing twilight, with some of them alighting gently atop of Ruddiger’s head, muzzle, and broad shoulders as the sleepy beast lay dozing on the grass.  Varian smiled, brushing some of the leaves gently off Ruddiger’s coat with one hand, and giving Ruddiger a few fond scratches behind the ears as he did so.  Varian could feel the purr rumble through Ruddiger’s chest and throat in response, and the giant raccoon drowsily nudged him back in return.

It all made Varian feel so safe, and so at peace as he turned back to look down at the crowd of villagers gathered around a roaring bonfire in the center of Old Corona’s greenspace.  These were the days of Old Corona’s annual Harvest Festival, and almost everyone from around the rest of the kingdom came to join in the celebration (for of course Old Corona was the kingdom’s largest supplier of crops and livestock, so it was only natural that they would be the ones to host such an event every year).  From where he was, Varian could hear faintly the sounds of the pipes, castanets, drums, and stringed instruments that played for the many dancers that skipped, hopped, and twirled in wide rings around said fire.  Among them were Princess Rapunzel herself, Eugene, Lance, and of course all the pub thugs from the Snuggly Duckling.  Varian could also see Cassandra sitting off to the side by herself on a haybale, though by the way she tapped her foot and swayed a little in time to the music as she sipped on a glass of apple cider, Varian could tell that she was having a good time as well in her own way, which of course Varian understood well enough himself.

For as he had grown up into his teen years, Varian had taken on the attitude that many boys his age did – where he felt himself too cool and too mature to participate in such odd traditions as dancing all silly-like around a bonfire (at least, what he thought to be odd and silly).  But while he may not have admitted it to anyone, there was definitely something about the atmosphere of the whole affair that Varian found appealing, and of course he thoroughly enjoyed all the sweet autumn treats that came with it all.  Pumpkin pie with whipped cream was his own personal favorite, and Ruddiger always enjoyed a good candy apple at this time of year.

Varian couldn’t help but take in a deep, contented breath of crisp fall air as he thought of these things, and tilted his head back to look up at the darkening sky and the stars that began to peep out as the sun’s light retreated westward, glowing a warm orange on the horizon.  A ways to the east, Varian could see the crescent shape of the moon begin to emerge as it made to resume its nightly watch over that part of the globe.  To the sound of the jubulient festival below and the twilit sky above, Varian felt like this hour marked the epitome of autumn time – feeling somehow slightly melancholic, but also radiating a lot of joy – and he couldn’t help but feel his heart swell at the beauty and mystery of it all.

“Hey there Son,” Varian suddenly heard the deep voice of his father greet him as he came from around Ruddiger’s sleeping form.  “Mind if I join you?”

“Oh, h-hey Dad!” Varian greeted happily in return, and scooted over to make room for his dad to also set himself down against Ruddiger’s furry flank.  “Yeah, take a seat!” 

Several moments of calm silence passed between the two of them as they sat there on the hill together.  A couple of times Varian risked a glance over at his dad, to see his eyes were filled with fondness as he looked over the land and the village that was their home.  Of course, being the village leader, this was both a very exhausting time of the year for Quirin, but also extremely rewarding.  Varian could tell that his dad was very happy with how the harvest had gone this year, and had thoroughly been enjoying the festivities of this year’s celebration.

“Sooo…” Varian began awkwardly after a few moments, and moving to adjust the red scarf he had tied around his neck (When did he put this on?).  “Some night for a party, huh Dad?”

“Mm-hmm,” Quirin hummed in agreement as he nodded.  “It really is Son.  Candy apple?” he asked, handing said treat to Varian who took it happily (and not bothering to question how Quirin aquired it when he hadn’t been holding it only seconds ago).

“Thanks.”

As Varian began munching on his sweet treat, Ruddiger’s nose twitched as he caught the scent of it in the air that brushed passed his muzzle, and soon enough Varian was forced to push and shove away from him a set of large, glistening fangs and a slobbery tongue that flicked outward, trying to swipe at the tasty piece of glazed fruit. 

“Ha ha ha!  No Ruddiger!” Varian scolded his friend.  “This one’s not for you-!  Gah!” Varian exclaimed as Ruddiger opted for swiping his large tongue across Varian’s face instead.  “Augh!  Gross!  Bad raccoon!” Varian cried as he wiped up Ruddiger’s drool with a handkerchief Dad handed to him, but a smile could also be detected in his voice as he said it, and soon enough Ruddiger had hunkered back down again, and Varian finished the remains of the candy apple (Boy, did he finish it off quick.).

“Hey Varian?” Quirin said as Varian finished his snack…his face turning strangely grave to Varian.

“Y-yeah Dad?” Varian asked in return, shivering a little as the sun sank further behind the horizon, and the chilly air of the night began to take hold.

Quirin’s brow furrowed, and he sighed deeply, but the brief shadow that appeared across his face was lifted as he now turned his eyes squarely to his son.  “Everyone has their autumn, Varian.”

A pause followed this statement, with Varian waiting for Quirin to say more.  But Varian was forced to blink up at him in puzzlement with Quirin made no effort to say anything further.

“…Oh,” Varian finally ventured to say, as Ruddiger now made to crawl into his lap (When did he get so small again?), and Varian leaned back into the hay pile at their backs.  “Um…Y-yeah, that’s-that’s very true Dad.  Comes every year, right?”

“And everyone has their spring.”

Varian raised an eyebrow now; very confused.  “Um, yup.  True again Dad,” he said.  “Spring, summer, fall and winter. That’s…kinda normal, right?”

Quirin nodded, and gave Varian’s hair a quick ruffle before resuming a reclined position on the bench they were sitting on together, and watched contentedly as the party before them continued, and Varian could now feel the heat of the fire warm him against the cold that began to set in around them (When did they get down here from the hill again?)

Though, despite now being in right among the exuberant atmosphere of the festival, and even having Cassandra right there next to him…Varian suddenly didn’t feel very happy.  Something felt off.  He blinked up at Cassandra, perplexed at the odd feeling that tugged at his guts as he saw her, and the feeling increased as he watched Rapunzel, Eugene, Lance, and the others continue to dance and play their instruments around the fire, and everyone letting out a loud cheer and applause as the next song ended.

But Varian couldn’t cheer.  Something was wrong.  Not everything was perfect anymore, and while he had some vague sense as to why, he couldn’t quite place it.

Varian shivered again as a gentle snow began to come down from the sky, and he had to wipe away at his stinging eyes as he looked over to see his father highlighted in an amber light from the fire beside him.

It seemed that a winter for him was now coming.  …Or had it already come?

Hardly knowing why he did it, Varian snuggled himself into his father’s side, his gloved hands clutching desperately into the furry texture of Quirin’s vest as he buried his face into him – needing to know that he was there, and wanting things to never change from what they were, and to stay the same.

“It’s alright Son,” Varian could hear in the air above him.  “Just rest now.”

And Varian did…with Ruddiger doing his best to keep him lulled in sleep as Varian hugged his furry companion close, and buried his face into his furry coat, with the gentle glow of the harvest moon streaming into his cell from overhead.

“Everyone has their autumn…”

Some of the music I imagined as playing during the Harvest Festival - “Harvest Dance” by Mannheim Steamroller

[plaidstiel-wormstache]

Above the Northern Lights

Christmas Challenge: request by @grace-for-sale with Cass and the song Above the Northern Lights by Mannheim Steamroller Listen to this first, as it’s more of a feeling I got that inspired the below... AN: the biggest thank you goes to the best beta a writer could ask for - @whispersandwhiskerburn. She wrote half of this, giving it an added sense of magic. Thank you my wonder woman!

Castiel had always watched earth with great interest. The angel watched each creature, but one more so than others. The one that dominated the planet, sprawled across its surface, claiming everything as its own. Humans intrigued Castiel. Not only because it was his Father’s command to watch over the two-legged creatures, to shepherd and care for them, but because he was fascinated by them. By their rituals and short lives. How quickly they formed emotional attachments, and how quickly those bonds could be broken.  But in all his observation, there was one particular time and series of traditions drew his fascination more than others.

Each culture, each religion, they all had one common theme: love. A celebration of sorts that brought them all together. Towards the end of each human year, everyone seemed to shift into a certain way of thinking. They thought about the ones they loved, the things they held dear.

Soon Winter Solstice began - a festival of hope and determination. A celebration of life, the bringing together of communities; villages, clans, groups. They came together in the coldest and darkest times of the year and got through it together. Showing what humanity was truly capable if it worked together. Then Christmas was created - a holiday to celebrate God, though it quickly grew larger than that. Sure people would attend church, some would pray, some would create lists of tomorrow’s feasts, some would even fall asleep. But everyone seemed to have their spirits lifted.

And soon The Angel’s own thoughts lifted, He began to look forward to these celebrations. There was Christmas and Hanukkah, Bodhi Day and Eid al-Adha, The Winter Solstice and The Day of the Return of the Wandering Goddess. Saturnalia, Yule, Kwanzaa and Shade-Yulda, Omisoka and Diwali. So many celebrations, so much Happiness. How could the people of earth not see the shared experience and accept each other. There was so much colour and creation and joy! He especially liked the lights. The glittering and twinkling of all different colours. What wasn’t to love?

So when Castiel found himself grace-less and stranded as a human, he turned to a time that seemed, from above, to make everyone happy. End of year Holidays. He started to put together a list of what he wanted to experience while on earth, things he hadn’t been able to do while leading an Angelic garrison. Mecca for Eid al-Adha, watching as families and friends came together in prayer, sharing meat; a third to the poor, a third to friends and finally keeping the remains for themselves. New Delhi for the third day of Diwali, all the candles that were lit in so many homes across many countries, not to mention the fireworks that could be seen from heaven. A small street in Craigmore, Australia. Every house on the street came together, no matter their differences and arguments throughout the year; combining their lights, creating one long scene. And then finally, seeing the Aurora Borealis from below. Looking up into a black sky and seeing the bright colors of spirits, temporarily caught and floating just above the surface of the earth, flying close to those they were told to watch over.

Alas, the Angel never experienced these miracles, these small human feats. Instead, he stayed close to his new brothers, his new family. He took his father’s word as the only direction he needed, protecting human life in whatever way he could.

Castiel had died many times.

He supposed it had something to do with his choice of the Winchesters and humanity, but the fact remained that he had been banished countless times, assumed many different forms, fought in countless angelic battles, and died more than probably any other Angel in creation.

Most of the time, he didn’t remember what happened when he wasn’t inhabiting an earthly vessel or in Heaven. In fact, he had discovered that there were many times he’d had his memory rewritten by Heaven’s forces, so who knew how many different times he’d been recreated.

But this time was different.

After being cast out of the Empty, he drifted through time and space, nebulous, lost, unaware of what was happening around him. He needed to get back to Earth, back to the Winchesters, but he didn’t know how.

The first moment he had any type of realization of self after the blankness of the Void was a tingling of beauty, of magic in the air. He found himself awake, not in his vessel, but in his Angelic form-- a multidimensional wavelength of song, power, and light. And he knew his location instinctually, a place that was home to many spiritual beings. The Northern Lights. He had finally made it there, when he hadn’t actually meant to arrive… and it was just as beautiful as he’d always hoped.

The energy produced by so many beings coexisting let off colors visible even to the poor human eyes, but to Castiel-- he was awash in a kaleidoscope of dreams and images, hopes and faith, all being poured into the celestial beings that existed in this one section of time and space.

It was Christmas, and the combined beliefs and emotions of so many mortals aimed at so many religions buoyed him up on wings made of magic and dreams, and Castiel was relieved to feel safe, to begin his healing.

Here in this moment, above the Northern Lights on Christmas night, he would discover himself again. He would heal and find his old form. And, soon, he’d find his way through time and space to the Winchesters.

But for now, he would dance across the sky in the endless light and be thankful to have escaped the dark one more time.

Tagging:

@akshi8278 @dont-trust-humanity @yoursmilemakesmeloveyou @redlipstickandplaid @lipstickandwhiskey @jensen-jarpad @avasmommy224 @munlis @arryn-nyxx @autopistaaningunaparte @babypieandwhiskey @beckawinchester @blacktithe7 @bringmesomepie56 @chaos-and-the-calm67 @charliebradbury1104 @chvalkenberg95 @clairese1980 @dancingalone21 @ellen-reincarnated1967 @eyes-of-a-disney-princess @fandoms-are-the-best-escape @frenchybell @gabby913 @green-love-red-fantasyhearts @hasta-impalasta @i-like-your-assbutt-dean @ilostmyshoe-79 @impala-dreamer @impalaimagining @iwriteaboutdean @jalove-wecallhimdean @kazchester-fanfiction @kristaparadowski @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @lucifer-in-leather @lucis-unicorn @melonberri @manawhaat @mogaruke @mrswhozeewhatsis @nichelle-my-belle @notnaturalanahi @oriona75 @ruprecht0420 @sdavid09 @sherloki-moriartea @thegreatficmaster @waywardjoy  @wheresthekillswitch @whywhydoyouwantmetosaymyname @wi-deangirl77 @wideawakeandwriting @you-know-whodoesthat-crazypeople @maddieburcham1 @captainemwinchester @samwinjarpad @kittenofdoomage @room-with-a-cat @atc74 @katymacsupernatural @emoryhemsworth @sandlee44

[homepictures]

30 Reasons Why The Living Room Birmingham Closed Is Common In USA | the living room birmingham closed

Welcome aback to The Bureau. It’s the ninth chapter and it looks like that sandwich you activate in your abridged contains a complete talking allotment of Brain. And man, it’s agriculture you some gab!

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Happy Upcoming New Year. The Bureau is a adventure focused on how we absorb our time on this planet, and afterward this weekend is the anniversary alarm displace for best countries bound on Pope Gregory’s calendar: New Year’s Eve.

To advice set the affection properly, here’s a little Alan Watts:

Now Alan’s accepting a little abysmal here, but analytic time’s complete analogue is a nice affair to consider. Of course, mind-shifting substances can advice with these perceptions. Drugs, acclimated responsibly and with purpose, can be advantageous to acuminate our questions, absolve ourselves from trauma, and acquisition our answers. Digital Drugs are an absorbing category.

Perhaps NYE will be an attentive one for you at home. If so, the afterward binaural architect (especially if commutual with added things) will add to a acceptable Set and Setting.

Achieving the “Set” in Set and Setting: 4 Principles to Accomplish the Best of Your Psychedelic Experience

Digital Drugs are great. They are unregulated, downloadable, and medically untraceable in your system. Their capability depends on the user, generally based on your adeptness to focus or advertence antecedent experiences. Alike if absolutely affected catholicon or snake oil, they are fun. Sound-based ones can accompany about accessible affection boost in the aforementioned way music itself affects Dopamine reception. Others, aback commutual with hardware, can accompany about synesthesia and added accurate attentive positives. If you’ve ahead acclimated LSD it is generally accessible to accompany about a acquiescent anamnesis with the appropriate software, as well, forth with added sedations.

SBaGen (aka the Binaural Exhausted Academician Wave Experimenter’s Lab)Computers accept provided abounding miracles in our lifetime, from actuality able to book a book in your active allowance (to now actuality able to 3D book a active allowance itself) but what about basal affection in a way that is able of actuality played back, on demand?

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In abounding ways, this mood-playback is the ambition of SBaGen, one of the oldest and best binaural exhausted generators. It is accessible antecedent (Download here) and uses your computer to comedy a alternation of tones and rhythms out of accompany in anniversary ear. This account stereo acreage can accept abundant absolute effects.

SBaGen, which stands for “Sequenced BinAural exhausted GENerator”, allows you to address your own Binaural sequences, as well. Its architect Jim Peters describes its origins:

My aboriginal abstraction for SBaGen was to use this account to comedy a programme of altered tones throughout the night, acquisitive to advance absent and dream-recall, and afresh to accompany myself up into Alpha rhythms to (hopefully) accomplish a acceptable alpha to the day. I am now application it added for beneath focussed sessions of about an hour, both during daytime and at night. However, added bodies accept acclimated this software in abounding altered ways. For example, one actuality adversity connected affliction from absolute injuries accepted the way that he could tune the frequencies absolute accurately to his needs to advice him beddy-bye bigger at night. Added added abnormal uses accept included: bond the sounds in as allotment of agreeable compositions, and breeding ambient sounds during alive DJ sets.

And answer Binaural Beats in general:

The approach abaft binaural beats is that if you administer hardly altered abundance sine after-effects to anniversary ear, a assault affect is created in the academician itself, due to the brain’s centralized wiring. If, in the attendance of these tones, you relax and let your apperception go, your apperception will artlessly accord with the exhausted frequency. In this way it is accessible to tune the abundance of your academician after-effects to accurate frequencies that you accept selected, application of the four bands: Delta: abysmal sleep, Theta: absent and automatic stuff, Alpha: awake, focussed inside, and Beta: awake, focussed outside.

It should be acclaimed that mp3s or Youtube streams are not as able as the absolute audio active through software (as it will not accept artifacts or compression) – therefore, accepting a affairs like SBaGen active is absolute bright and nice. Absolute sbg apprenticeship files are abate than mp3 files, too.

How It’s Said to WorkNot clashing music’s aftereffect on our motivations, SBaGen’s rhythms can get us excited, calmed, or meditative, and abounding stroboscopic tones do accommodate a about-face in antithesis and can account acceptable hallucinations, abnormally with your eyes closed. With convenance and calm, you can activate to apprehend audio central the tones; absurd choir are common. Interactions of ablaze blush can absorb into lucid-styled dream images, as well. This is mostly due to the illusions presented to your academician acquired by binaural rhythm. Your academician will appetite to ample in the patterns. It’s like a sound-based strobe ablaze for your brain.

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SBaGen-Emulated Drug ExperiencesSome time ago a aggregation abolished the accessible antecedent cipher and fabricated a bartering artefact affairs SBaGen-based adventures as a commercial, compiled-only (closed source) product. An acceding was accustomed upon, and now you can get these abundant binauraul ‘drug doses’ on github, unencrypted and free. Afterwards you’ve downloaded SBaGen, try this athenaeum out. In particular, adore this account of downloadable sbg files.

The afterward run codes are entertaining:./sbagen lsd.sbg./sbagen DMT.sbg./sbagen Ecstacy3.sbg./sbagen Hash.sbg./sbagen Trip2.sbg./sbagen Ketamine.sbg

And so on.

SBaGen requires some abecedarian compassionate of active and alteration command band cipher sequences, but can be acutely rewarding. If you’re attractive for an iOS app adaptation of this with no code, I acclaim this Banzai Labs bundle. Their Brainwave apps are terrific.

(If you’d like to try customizing your own tones through a touchscreen, Binaural is a acceptable app, as well) — With all of these complete tools, exercise attention with breadth of use and abstain aerial aggregate with headphones.

And now, Aback to The Bureau

Getting aback to our story, absolutely a 45 minute conditioning for you this week! Your sandwich talks, Todd’s been framed, the country’s at War, and you’ve met a absolute nice woman. You and her both feel trapped, but you’ve pulled a batten to accomplish it all stop for a moment and jump off the train. Here’s your soundtrack:

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The Bureau will acknowledgment January 2, 2019 at 4:54pm PST.

View all Bureau installments

Magnetic band ability Randall Taylor, aka Amulets, takes an old Mannheim Steamroller Christmas cassette in a absolutely altered direction… a absolutely altered dimension. Aloof aback you anticipation you were activity to accept to some candied christmas music it turns into a awe-inspiring 7 minute ambient bombinate rework that no one wants to apprehend at your […]

The New York City Council voted to rename streets afterwards hip-hop artists Christopher Wallace (aka the Notorious BIG) and the Wu-Tang Clan and folk musician/activist Woodie Guthrie. If Mayor Bill de Blasio gives his final approval, a block in Brooklyn area Notorious B.I.G. was aloft will be alleged Christopher Wallace Way, Staten Island will accept […]

In 1976, German beginning accumulation Can, antecedents of the krautrock sound, appear “Silent Night” as a 7″ single. Fröhliche Weihnachten!

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Universal Orlando Christmas - Holiday Events

Universal Orlando Christmas events brings buckets of Holiday cheer and family festivities.

Holiday events run from November 17th 2018 through January 6th 2019.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: A magical Christmas magic with Harry Potter with live performances and a spectacular projection show.

Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy's is bigger and better than ever.

Grinchmas: Join the world's favorite mean, green one in the spectacularly colorful Seuss Landing.

Mannheim Steamroller Rock around the Music Plaza Stage with the biggest selling Christmas artists of all time.

Universal Orlando Christmas at Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Christmas at Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Uniquely themed Christmas decorations, garlands and lights adorn the streets of both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. The effect is magical and makes the two locations more atmospheric than ever.

Live Performances

In Diagon Alley, Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees have had a total Christmas makeover. Dressed in holiday finery The Singing Sorceress belts out songs from the Christmas album Nothin’ Like a Holiday Spell. A sprinkling of snow and stage settings bring a whole new element to this popular show.

Over in Hogsmeade, The Frog Choir have also had a yuletide makeover and give us a rendition of both Christmas muggle music and wizardry holiday tunes.

Hogwarts Castle Spectacular

As night falls, the icing on the castle is the state-of-the-art projection mapping and lighting that wraps around Hogwarts. The show is nothing short of spectacular and brings to life incredible Christmas moments inspired by the Harry Potter series. It's spellbinding and a MUST NOT MISS. The show runs every 20 minutes from dusk.

Universal Studios Christmas Events

Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's

Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s showcases lots of festive balloons. Also, there are detailed floats you won’t see anywhere else.

The parade also includes appearances by the Minions and other favorite characters from Despicable Me, Madagascar and Shrek.

And off course the jolly man himself, Santa Claus.

Parade Viewing Tips: If you want to see the parade and the tree lighting ceremony, you'll need to grab a spot early somewhere in front of the Macy's building or Revenge of The Mummy ride. If you want to see Macy's Parade and Mannheim Steamroller then you'll need to get a viewing spot along Hollywood Blvd so you can easily hop over to the Universal Music Plaza. The parade is on at different times, so you'll need to check the schedule to see if the two events are close together.

Mannaheim Steamroller

One of the most popular Universal Orlando Christmas events is the stunning performance by Mannheim Steamroller.

The biggest selling Christmas artists of all time will be performing enchanting orchestral sounds at Universal Music Plaza stage just in front of the Rip Rocket Ride.

The Mannheim Steamroller concert is free to everyone in the park and there's no reserved seating. Stake your patch on the grass. First come first sit with standing room behind. The show lasts about an hour.

Dates for 2018 haven't been announced yet, we'll update as soon as they are released.

The Blues Brothers Holiday Show

As soon as you see and hear the lone saxophonist playing, you'll know the ever popular Blues Brothers aren't far behind.

The regular Blues Brothers Show gets a Christmas makeover as Elmo and Jake put on a Holiday show that will have you rock and rolling in the streets.

They'll perform Christmas hits like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, a Christmas twist to Soul Man and many more. There's snow on Delancey Street too!

The guys perform several times throughout the day, so check the daily park schedule. The show lasts around 12 minutes.

A Barney Holiday

A special treat for the little ones. Barney and his friends put on a show stopper the kids will adore! Packed with Holiday songs they can sing along to such as Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman and Let it Snow.

Christmas Events at Islands of Adventure

Grinchmas

Seuss Landing is transformed into the whimsical wintry wonderland of Grinchmas where you can meet the mean green one himself. Seuss Landing is the brightest most colorful area in all of Universal Orlando. It's enchanting. With a holiday makeover, it's even more storybook magical.

The Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular

A heartwarming live show starring The Grinch, Max and the Whos from Who-ville.

Listen to the live musical rendition of the "Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and slide down the chilly Mount Crumpit Snow Plummet.

Be captivated by the live re-telling of Dr. Seuss's classic holiday tale featuring music recorded by Mannheim Steamroller.

Meet The Grinch

Get up close and personal with The Grinch while you get a photo and autograph. And best of all, you get to kiss his furry cheek. And maybe get a personal dose of sarcasm thrown in.

The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast

Join the fun at Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous. A circus-themed eatery where strange creatures perform and acrobats twirl high overhead. Fill up on dishes like pancakes and bacon, fruit and yogurt and the classic Green Eggs and Ham Platter.

You'll get to pose with The Grinch and receive a Holiday snap as a memento.

Adult ticket is $34.99 + tax with children 9 and under $20.99 + tax. Reservations: Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast

Universal Orlando is a super experience anytime of the year, but the Universal Orlando Christmas event make it extra special.

See All Orlando & Kissimmee Christmas Events

Walt Disney World Christmas:

Universal Holiday Events

SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Holiday Events

Local Christmas Events

[thesinglesjukebox]

WEEZER - AFRICA

[2.08]

We're covering this because it was demanded on Twitter by like... maybe one or two people!

Joshua Minsoo Kim: An exciting musical event for people who go online and say things like "You, good sir, win the internet today." [0]

Taylor Alatorre: What did Weezer have to do to get back in the good graces of the Hot 100 for the first time since the balloon boy hoax? Apologize for party rocking with Dr. Luke and Jermaine Dupri? Drop the affectations and release a cathartic summer bummer album featuring their single greatest track since the 90s? Put the affectations back on, using late-period Fall Out Boy as a guidepost rather than a cautionary tale? Nope. Apparently all they had to do was check their Twitter mentions. The success of Weezer's "Africa," along with Disturbed's "The Sound of Silence" and Bad Wolves' "Zombie," portends a dark future in which guitar groups grasp onto whatever relevance they can by serving up unchallenging, irony-free leaf rubbings of pop's past glories. It's the easy path, and it's also the best way to self-fulfill the prophecy of rock's demise. If rock is destined to become the new jazz, 80s Greatest Hits compilations are the new standards. We should demand more audacious interpretations than this. [4]

Joshua Copperman: A great shitpost functions like a Rube Goldberg machine, putting a maximum amount of effort into a minimal, slight result (see: the GameCube meme). The insistence that Weezer should cover "Africa" was great not only because of the dedication of the Twitter account, but because fundamentally it's not a bad idea! Weezer has a sense of humor, and they're particularly notable for their harmonies and guitar riffs. Yet the result is abhorrent, with the worst mix to hit the Hot 100 this decade, a superlative achieved from the first crash cymbal and distractingly metallic snare. As the song goes on, distorted guitars and multitracked harmonies fight for space, obscuring those drum and culminating in a synth solo that screams Free 80s Synth VST instead of remotely mimicking the original. "Africa" is a hard song to cover, so it doesn't make sense to learn the song so meticulously and then utterly give up on anything else (harmonies and tom fills notwithstanding). The punchline should be that the cover is great, not that the cover exists st all -- think Celine Dion's contribution to Deadpool 2. Weezer's lack of willingness to go the extra mile, unlike Dion, is frustrating and borderline insulting. Internet types suspect that the poor mixing is "passive agressive," but what's the point of that? It's "Africa." The best covers of a song like that, shitposters or otherwise, both play up the camp factor and taking the actual songcraft seriously. The camp is there with Weezer, but it's still jarring hearing a version of "Africa" that feels dry and perfunctory instead of joyous. [2]

Juan F. Carruyo: This is what happens when a (bad) meme comes to life: the boys from Weezer take a note-for-note trip through the yacht rock classic adding metal power chords in the chorus but undermining the groove by subtracting the congas from the mix, so all that is left is a joyless, by-the-numbers execution. [1]

Alex Clifton: I like "Africa" as much as the next white people, but did we need this? Who asked for this? Is this ironic or sincere? "Africa" has been so memed out and Weezer themselves feel like a meme band that I'm struggling to wrap my head around it. As a cover: it's faithful and seems to love the source material. As a Weezer song: surprisingly not sarcastic, which is a nice change from Rivers Cuomo's usual schtick. As a whole: it's kind of a mess. [4]

Tim de Reuse: I mean, it's bad. The chorus, originally personable and warm, is here reduced to a straining mess of sugary guitars and phoned-in autotune. But even if there were an ounce of passion in the delivery, and even if the execution was in any way technically competent, and even if it didn't have the air of a desperate attempt to hop on a long-departed bandwagon, this would still be a waste of everyone's time, because Rivers Cuomo does not have anything meaningful to contribute to song "Africa" by the band Toto. [0]

Katherine St Asaph: At least when Rickrolling was a thing, no one tried to convince me that Rick Astley was a serious studio musician and that I should give an actual shit about Toto, instead of recognizing "Africa" as Mannheim Steamroller-synthed dreck with unsingable verses and mildly questionable lyrics about Africa that should have been left in the '80s alongside Dynasty hair and Ronald Reagan. That's not the most damning thing about Weezer covering "Africa." I also can't help but note that with the possible minor exception of "Total Eclipse of the Heart," this recanonization-via-meme only happens for the dudeliest of dudes. That's also, surprisingly, not the most damning thing about Weezer covering "Africa." Then there's Weezer, endlessly criticizable Weezer, already a meme band when they released Snuggies in 2009, now gone full Smash Mouth Eat the Eggs Imgur-core. It's Weezer in 2018, it's a given they're not trying, but it's still remarkable how mushy this sounds, like the rains down in Africa drenched all their equipment. But that's not the most damning thing about Weezer covering "Africa" either. The most damning thing is that Weezer covered "Africa" in a lower key. If you're going to karaoke your way back to relevance, put up the high notes or shut up. [1]

Edward Okulicz: I hate "Africa," and Weezer sleepwalking through it is the sort of thing that didn't need to exist, because it's easy to imagine it, and it's also easy to imagine something better. Like, say, Toto doing "Hash Pipe." Or! Even better! The Rentals doing "Hold the Line." [2]

Alfred Soto: Let me attempt to clear the fetid air. Toto needed Boz Scaggs, Michael Jackson, etc, to be any good. "Rosanna" is awful. I don't need Rivers Cuomo's power chords to explain how nostalgia for secondhand colonialism works. Who is this cover for? [2]

Jessica Doyle: So the original, while not exactly bland, is more cheesy than respectable; if the song has any notoriety at all it's because the lyrics are soaked in self-absorption, describing without containing any actual information. The cover increases the guitar and, while not changing the lyrics at all, delivers them with a wink. (Otherwise why bother? The original's not good enough for reverence.) And it works! The energy is fantastic, and the revisions make the original's flaws charming rather than grating. I've been having a lot of fun watching their live performances, and -- wait, what? Aren't we talking about Dreamcatcher? [2]

Thomas Inskeep: Not as smooth on the verses, and a little too hard on the chorus, but at least Rivers Cuomo dialed down the most whiny, grating qualities in his voice in an attempt to nail what makes "Africa" so perfect in the first place. This is a straight-down-the-middle second-base hit for me: I don't love it by any means, but I don't hate it. And that's more than I can say for the past decade, maybe two, of Weezer's career. It's nowhere near as good as the original, but you knew that. [5]

Ian Mathers: Is it really a surprise that the dude from Weezer is a less compelling singer (even, or especially with clunky digital assistance) than the dude from Toto? Or that loud guitars don't necessarily improve things? Or that anything good about this finely aged hunk of cheese is totally lost by trying to update it without even vaguely attempting to improve it? This does not bless any rains, anywhere. [0]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: It's impossible to review Weezer covering Toto's "Africa" in a way that reveals anything more than just noting that it is Weezer covering Toto's "Africa" in the year 2018. [4]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[realestate2paul]

Santa Barbara House Cleaning Special Offer ($350 Value)

Dear Friends, Oh, no – the holiday season is here, and there is still so much you have to do. There is shopping, cooking, baking, decorating, and spending time with friends – let alone worrying about getting your house clean for that special party or your visiting guests. Well, you’ve been good this year, so why not give yourself the gift of help from the cleaning professionals at Rosie’s?

This month I wrote about the Top Holiday cleaning tips on our blog, in case you missed it.  These are my top Christmas cleaning tips to prepare your home for the hectic holiday period.  Christmas is a time for family, so relax with yours while Rosie’s Cleaning Service prepares your home for the holidays. Hiring our professional cleaning services will also give you extra time for gift shopping and party prepping.

Our Santa Barbara cleaning experts have a proven track record in quality, security and service. Some of the options we have available to make your holidays just a little less hectic include:

STANDARD CLEANING: Get your house party or visitor ready with our standard cleaning service.  Here we offer surface cleaning in the bedrooms, including dusting and vacuuming. We help clean your bathrooms, including toilets, sink, shower, floors, mirrors and tub. In the kitchen we clean the counters, floors, wipe down the fridge, microwave, toaster, stove, and other appliances. We can even do laundry and ironing for a small additional charge, in case you have fallen behind on these vital household chores.

DELUXE CLEANING: Deluxe Cleaning is an upgraded cleaning package that includes all of the items in the standard cleaning package, plus additional services for an even more thorough cleaning. Extra services can include carpet cleaning or window and blind cleaning.

AFTER PARTY CLEANING: This cleaning plan is perfect for assistance with guest preparation or after-party cleaning services. We are available to get your home or business in entertaining shape, make sure all rooms are clean and guest ready, help with food preparation, serve food and drinks, and return your location to pristine condition.

Other services include pressure washing and exterior cleaning to make the outside of your home look more welcoming, too. If these options don’t suit your needs, we will even work with your special needs to develop a custom cleaning plan for your home or business. Keep our cleaning experts in mind for all your holiday cleaning and entertaining needs. We are licensed, bonded, and insured with liability and workers comp.

SPECIAL OFFER: We’re offering a winter cleaning special from now until Dec. 23rd.  Get 6 hours of cleaning for $220 (reg. $350).

Also, have you finished your Christmas shopping yet?  Why not give the gift of a clean home to your overworked loved one?

STILL LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT?

EVERYONE LOVES A HOUSE CLEANING!

Call us at 805-698-3132 to order a gift certificate for your over-worked wife, sister, brother or mother in your life!

Our Santa Barbara maid service is available for residential cleaning, food preparation and service, and party cleaning service. If you are the one who will be traveling for the holidays, let us handle the dog sitting and house sitting for you. When your home needs a place lift, contact Rosie’s Cleaning Service!

Happy Holidays! Rosie

p.s. As a resource to you, we will recommend local area partners that we feel may be of value to you.  If you are moving in or out of Santa Barbara and need the help of a moving team, contact Casey at http://HazelwoodAllied.com – The Careful Movers.  If you recently had one of your home appliances stop working, give our trusted appliance repair partner Burt Yost a call.

Q: Do I need to provide cleaning supplies and equipment like mops and vacuums? A: Not at all! Rosie’s brings all the necessary cleaning supplies and equipment. Just leave us your mess and we’ll do the rest!

Q: What hours can I schedule an appointment to have someone come in and clean my home? A: Our regular business hours are Monday-Saturday from 8:00am-5p.m. There is an extra charge for visits on Sunday. Other times are available if requested.

Q: Do I need to schedule weekly service or are there other schedules? A: We work to suit your needs. You can set up weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly services. There is also the option of one-time service. But, once you get Rosie’s team in your home, you’ll want us back!

Call 805-698-3132 or email rosie@cleaningbyrosie.com

Things to do in Santa Barbara while Rosie cleans your home  

Windham Hill Winter Solstice 30th Anniversary Concert: December 19, 2016 – Celebrate the Winter solstice at the Lobero Theatre with well-known musical names like Will Ackerman and Barbara Higbie. Ticket prices range from $39-$105.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra Holiday Show: December 19, 2016 – Join Grammy-award winner Brian Setzer and his 19-piece orchestra at the Granada Theatre for a night of music to get you in the holiday spirit. Ticket prices range from $44-$89.

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas: December 29, 2016 – For a quarter of a century, Mannheim Steamroller has been entertaining audiences for the holiday season. This year The Granada Theatre hosts this Grammy-award winning sensation. Ticket prices range from $34-$93.

Blush Restaurant Downtown: Blush will be having a Christmas dinner celebration in downtown Santa Barbara. Blush is a cozy restaurant and lounge that will be open from noon until 10:00 p.m. You and your guests can sit back and relax while their chefs do all the cooking.

Sammy’s wine tours is a great way to enjoy the area by touring around the local wineries. Get shuttled around in style and avoid a costly DUI.

Qui Si Bella Spa is running a Christmas special for their day spa and massage services. Take your family and friends to the spa and get a mani / pedi!

Call 805-698-3132 or email rosie@cleaningbyrosie.com

We’re offering a Winter Cleaning Special until Dec. 23rd. GET SIX HOURS CLEANING FOR ONLY $220 (regular $350)

Call 805-698-3132 now or visit www.cleaningbyrosie.com for a quick cleaning quote.

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @Cleaningbyrosie

About Rosie’s Cleaning Service: Rosie’s Cleaning Service has been the Santa Barbara cleaning experts since 1990. Services include residential cleaning, commercial cleaning, after party cleaning, post-construction clean-up service, and vacation rental clean-up service. Visit the website at www.cleaningbyrosie.com to download a complimentary copy of the PDF, “The Top 10 Reasons Customers Choose Rosie’s Cleaning.” “Like” the Facebook page to receive Santa Barbara cleaning tips. Call 805-698-3132 for a quick quote on Santa Barbara maid service.