#that katy is MICROSCOPIC

[cometcrystal]

ok time for a little post about how utterly dogshit the aya designs are. i dont believe they used a SINGLE model sheet

gretchen and adyson's heads change sizes between all 3 of these screencaps. everyone's kinda does but theirs are really noticable

ferb is SMALL in the 1st pic, taller and narrower, and then hes shorter and wider in the 2nd pic

baljeet comes up to about ferb's nose in the 1st pic, but then hes almost as tall as him in the 2nd pic

milly is fucking MICROSCOPIC in the 2nd pic after being just regular short in the 1st

katie keeps morphing. in the 3rd pic she looks like a balloon

ginger kind of has the same balloon head thing going on. i think they tried to make it similar to stacy but it just looks weird. i don't know what's wrong but it doesn't transcend

holly's bun has a larger circumference in the 2nd pic than the other two

buford is skinny. that's a whole bullet point by itself. because theyre afraid of fat people. but IF you're going to make buford skinny, you need to change his head shape, because it only works design-wise if he is still fat. his aya design just ends up looking like a thumb with arms and legs because they just pasted all their child design heads on taller skinnier bodies

ISABELLA'S HEAD IS MASSIVE!!! it's the size of baljeet's entire fucking torso!! why did they not use any model sheets!!!

this single episode is like when stephens university started shrinking peridot

[pinkbalrog]

Get to know me

Thank you for the tag, @giazzurra ! These are always so interesting. Love your colors.

Last Song: That I sought out--Tiger Phone Card by Dengue Fever (because Cambodia and research)

Favorite Color: Pink or Yellow (depends on the day)

Currently Watching: The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3

Last Movie: Free Guy (I hadn't seen it yet).

Current Obsessions: uuuh the concept of the inhuman as introduced by the book Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie? I want to be a creature with a thousand different mouths. Lacking that, I'll write one God dammit.

Relationship Status: single (yay!)

Last thing I googled: Okay so I'm going to cheat a bit cause this isn't strictly the last thing I googled but it is the most important thing I researched in the last two weeks. SO, I needed to find a loud insect, yeah? For a story?

So I look up top loud lists. I pick katydids. I find out that they found a katydid fossil from the Jurassic era in such good nick that with microscopes they could figure out how it made noise based on the spacing of the rasp like teeth on the wing edges.

Biologists who specialize in animal sounds study related katydid legs and RECREATE the sound of a 165 million year old katy did and put it on you tube. You can LISTEN TO THEM.

Look:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-scientists-are-recreating-a-mating-call-last-heard-in-the-jurassic-period-164421137/

Okay, I'm done.

Tagging @gabriel-shutterson @inkloom

[the-way-astray]

Hi! This is the meta anon here (as I'll take to calling myself). I have read your response to the meta and I agree that Keefe doesn't actually do things like apologizing or self-reflection without external consequences to motivate him. This was a regrettable oversight on my part since I confess that I don't spend many hours of my KOTLC fandom exploits specifically loving or hating Keefe.

HOWEVER, I do believe that your hatred could set him on the path to self-reflection. My justification is that he doesn't particularly enjoy being hated. He will try to make you fall in love with him. You'll keep on hating him. Somewhere along the way he may have a good long think about himself because of the consequences.

Justification for the justification: Keefe despises being hated. He (obviously) isn't comfortable being hated by his parents even though he works to make him hate them because they're despicable people to varying but undeniable degrees. There's still a 'popular boy' who's actually a friendless (except for Fitz) kid who feels like he needs to keep up the humor and his trademark smirking (and so forth) to make people like him. The idea that someone hates him so vehemently may even make him take it as a side-project-challenge to make you like him. Cue the self-reflection.

Allow me to explain with a fic (sadly no strieefe for the strieefe enjoyers but. gen). Inspired by Alayda and the Never Change anon. Sincere apologies for probably mischaracterizing you (and Katie).

*

hate your lover, love your hater, and be studied by her friend: pt.1

When on a pleasant Friday evening in September Stria received a message from an unknown number, she blocked the number, posted some fascinating thoughts about Aldella on her Tumblr blog, and then proceeded to go to sleep.

The next morning, she had another message on her phone. In her half-asleep daze she opened the message and read the following:

Hey!! This is Keefe 'Lord Hunky-hair' [last name redacted for annoying-daddy-dearest reasons]. I saw that you blocked my human number yesterday, which was a little mean of you, so I had a Technopath friend of mine unblock it on your phone. It was brought to my attention that you put a lot of effort into hating my guts. Could we maybe fix that up and become friends?

Stria almost deleted the message. But then she saw that the number it was from had been the same number as last night.

Keefe Sencen. The real Keefe Sencen? she thought. Can't be. But she was, after all, the person who had written a seventy-five-page anti Keefe rant essay. She could easily convince an anonymous prankster into hating Keefe right along with her. Even if they had friends who were terrifyingly good at manipulating technology.

Let's play at this game, she decided, and typed: Sure. If you're actually Keefe Sencen, meet me at 12:30pm today, my time zone, at the main entrance of this mall. She dropped a link to a mall reasonably far from her house (which had, by all accounts, a reasonably efficient security team), and then called her good friend Katie to bring some backup with her. She didn't want to take chances with a fun joke turning into a terrible kidnap plot.

'You know it could be the real Keefe, right?' Katie pointed out to her. 'It's not completely impossible.'

Stria told her that it was most certainly not possible enough, and proceeded to pack her bags with necessary weapons (things to throw and a nice stout stick) before setting off.

She arrived at the mall at 12:20pm. Katie arrived at 12:30pm. 'Keefe' arrived, fashionably late, at 12:45pm. Not by car, but by what appeared to be light-leaping.

And it also appeared that the person was Keefe, mussed hair and smirk and all. Or at least this was someone in an incredibly convincing Keefe Sencen cosplay.

'Ohhh,' gasped Katie. 'It IS him! Are you Keefe Sencen? Oh, I can't believe it's you, and I love you so much! I want to examine you under a little microscope! Have I ever told you that I wanted to study you?'

He blinked. 'You're not the hater?'

Katie pointed to Stria, who was sitting on the steps of the mall in full view of the public, staring into the middle distance and trying to wrap her head around the fact that based on what she had just seen, both the Lost Cities and Keefe Sencen were real.

She was going to track Shannon Messenger down and have some strong words with her.

But questioning human existence could come later. For now, she simply stood up and looked Keefe straight in his hex-code-ice-blue eyes.

'It's me,' Stria said. 'I'm the hater.'

Then she pulled out a photocopied and spiral-bound version of her seventy-five-page rant on why she hated Keefe, and slapped it into Keefe's chest. It made an incredibly satisfying thunk. 'If you want to know why I hate you, then read this, and never talk to me again. Or if you do, you'd better have read this entire document.' And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed off.

Katie spent an extra five minutes getting Keefe's number, so as to have better access to him and his fascinating 'himselfness', and then followed Stria home.

*

Pt.2 on request; you are welcome to take stabs at my identity but kindly don't take stabs at me because I am small, frail, and weak <3

context here

wahoo!!!! i converted someone. everybody clap and cheer.

i think if i continued to hate keefe, it would not set him on a path of self-reflection, because he wouldn't care enough about my opinion to try to change his ways. heck, he cares about sophie, and he's not even trying to really change for her. he just says whatever he needs to say to appease her, then carries on. so what's going to motivate him to change himself for me, someone who doesn't even like him in the slightest? i would say he's generally indifferent to being hated, unless the person hating him is sophie. think about tam. he doesn't make any effort to try to make tam like him, though he generally knows tam doesn't really like him that much. so there's that.

i don't think keefe does any of that to make people like him . . . it's more of a cover for what's going on at home. everyone falls into the sense of "keefe is this cool, popular kid", and that's all they see of him, so why would they bother trying to think about what his home life must be like? i genuinely don't think keefe cares about being liked. he cares about attention, which is not the same thing. but i doubt he cares whether people like him or not. i think keefe would maybe, at the most, try to try to talk to me to figure out what my problem is with him. it might intrigue him that far. but once he realizes how far my hatred of him goes, i doubt he'd want to interact with me much anymore. and the feeling would certainly be mutual.

alright notes on your fic:

"hate your lover, love your hater, and be studied by her friend" first part is me i guess, second part is keefe i think, and third part is katie????

"[ . . . ] posted some fascinating thoughts about Aldella on her Tumblr blog, and then proceeded to go to sleep." ooooh, you think my thoughts about aldella are fascinating? thank you so much, anon. very much appreciated.

"Hey!! This is Keefe 'Lord Hunky-hair' [last name redacted for annoying-daddy-dearest reasons]. I saw that you blocked my human number yesterday, which was a little mean of you, so I had a Technopath friend of mine unblock it on your phone. It was brought to my attention that you put a lot of effort into hating my guts. Could we maybe fix that up and become friends?" and then stria died. the end. just kidding.

wondering how the fuck keefe knows i hate him. all these fics just have him like. somehow mysterious know that i hate him. did the power of my hatred magically implant that information into his head?

"She could easily convince an anonymous prankster into hating Keefe right along with her." terrifying accurate representation of my thought process. good job, anon.

"[ . . . ] then called her good friend Katie to bring some backup with her. She didn't want to take chances with a fun joke turning into a terrible kidnap plot." i love how i'm convinced that one extra teenage girl will stop a kidnapping plot if it happens. this is hysterical.

"'You know it could be the real Keefe, right?' Katie pointed out to her. 'It's not completely impossible.' Stria told her that it was most certainly not possible enough, and proceeded to pack her bags with necessary weapons (things to throw and a nice stout stick) before setting off." ah, katie. unfortunately, it is completely impossib- *gets shot* also me packing weapons . . . goodbye.

"Or at least this was someone in an incredibly convincing Keefe Sencen cosplay." not the keefe cosplay . . .

"'Ohhh,' gasped Katie. 'It IS him! Are you Keefe Sencen? Oh, I can't believe it's you, and I love you so much! I want to examine you under a little microscope! Have I ever told you that I wanted to study you?'" what do you mean. this is literally such an accurate katie. anon, you've crawled inside her head (/j katie don't kill me).

"He blinked. 'You're not the hater?'" I'M DEAD IN A DITCH.

"Katie pointed to Stria, who was sitting on the steps of the mall in full view of the public, staring into the middle distance and trying to wrap her head around the fact that based on what she had just seen, both the Lost Cities and Keefe Sencen were real." and then she shrugged and started tearing him (verbally) to shreds. keefe then fainted. stria had to then bury him in a ditch while katie verbally dissecting him. placing a good amount of dirt on him in case he woke up, she made katie swear not to come back and dig him up. katie, predictably, did not listen.

"She was going to track Shannon Messenger down and have some strong words with her." fun fact: i've never met shannon.

"For now, she simply stood up and looked Keefe straight in his hex-code-ice-blue eyes." NOT THE HEX CODE ICE BLUE EYES.

"Then she pulled out a photocopied and spiral-bound version of her seventy-five-page rant on why she hated Keefe, and slapped it into Keefe's chest. It made an incredibly satisfying thunk. 'If you want to know why I hate you, then read this, and never talk to me again. Or if you do, you'd better have read this entire document.' And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed off." *sniffs* anon has me down so well . . . this is what i say to people who wanna pick a fight with me over my keefe opinions. also what did i tell you all about the trope of me having a fucking. physical copy of my rant. which i apparently carry around and can afford to just toss at keefe.

"Katie spent an extra five minutes getting Keefe's number, so as to have better access to him and his fascinating 'himselfness', and then followed Stria home." you have katie locked down. to a science, maybe even.

i'm roughly 92% sure you're @worldsunlikemyown but if you're not this is going to be so embarrassing. part two would be interesting . . .

@myfairkatiecat come look at this anon's interpretation of you

[paceypeternathanslawyer]

I've seen so many posts lately about how actors are so unprofessional or actors are too sensitive about dating rumors and can barely look at each other in interviews. I'm sure a lot of this is still stemming from the drama between two of the actors on Outer Banks. I have such mixed feelings about this issue.

Usually in response and agreement to these posts people will point to actors in older shows like James and Joy from One Tree Hill or Josh and Katie in Dawson's Creek. But I don't think that's a fair comparison. Here's the thing. I can tell you exactly why actors are so cagey now vs then. Because social media barely existed back then. Ya'll stans are super disrespectful and disect every single word and facial expression from them. You're rude and obnoxious and then you get annoyed when they don't act the way you want them to? How would you feel if you had a friend and everyone was constantly saying that you were dating or the other end of the spectrum every facial expression would be construed that you hate the person. I really believe that actors should stay so far away from the internet. It's toxic and negative and it understandably could affect your working relationships. Josh/Katie and James/Joy had the distinct blessing of not totally being under that microscope so by the time that they were, they were older and wiser and I'm sure that they can easily block that noise out vs the younger actors today getting death threats and other various disrespectful words online. I personally get it.

I have seen people say that Rudy shouldn't ever work in the industry again and I think that this is a very nuanced situation and I'm still of the belief that Rudy and Madison have been very unprofessional. I'll get into why I believe that in a moment. But I also think that it is important as an actor to create boundaries and get out of toxic situations. Professionalism can be taken too far. I think that "too far" is something decided by the actor themselves. But look at One Tree Hill. The women in that show were abused by the showrunner and forced to do a lot of things in the name of being "professional". I actually think it was totally fine if Rudy asked to be written off of the show. We don't know what the environment was like behind the scenes. In general we need to normalize allowing actors to stand up for themselves and also care about their own mental health. There's no reason to put a fuckin show above your own mental health and wellbeing.

The only thing I thinks actors owe is not puncturing our view of the characters and the onscreen relationships and toxic drama behind the scenes can puncture that especially in the case of Rudy and Madison where they seem to hate each other. People found out about the drama after behind the scenes pictures were leaked showing that Rudy and Madison had body doubles to do a simple hug scene or a scene of Kiara lying in JJ's arms. I've heard of body doubles being used in sex scenes which is pretty normal. Stunt doubles are even used in running scenes or more extreme stunts... also very normal. But it is not normal to need body doubles for a little scene where you are lying in the other person's arms. This to me speaks to an unproffesionalism. Those pictures were bound to be leaked and had those pictures not shown two people who can't even lay next to each other then I don't believe that JJ's death would have led to speculation that it had to do with him asking to leave the show. I also believe that none of the actors on any given show should spill tea about inner drama between fellow actors.

So to recap... asking to be written off a show is totally fine. Asking for body doubles in small little interactions between you and your costar is unprofessional. Spilling tea about drama between any of your costars is unprofessional. Fans being disrespectful and acting like they know all the inner workings of two actors relationships is insane and needs to stop. We need to stop shipping two actors at least in ways that the actors could see. If you wanna ship them in your innermost thoughts then go right ahead. Also if they are dating currently in real life it's totally fine. But learn boundaries. Like stop attacking Kelsea Ballerini just cause you still want Chase and Maddie to be dating. It's great that Chase and Maddie have able to be so professional in the face of fans weird ass behavior but it still needs to stop. Stop shipping two offscreen friends. Ya'll are making it weird. IF Rudy and Madison do hate each other now maybe it's cause of ya'lls weird ass behavior. Little disclaimer. I don't know for certain that Rudy and Madison hate each other but it does seem like the proof is stacking up.

BTW can people stop stalking celebrities pages just so they can know the second they unfollow someone? Or can we stop making assumptions if someone doesn't wish a costar a happy birthday online? You do realize that texts exists, right? Just cause we didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Again... boundaries people!!!!

[sincerely-sofie]

The duality of my song lyric writing means that on the one hand, I have a goofy song addressed to a daddy long legs spider calling it "Mr. bean on several toothpicks" and asking it to go away because pictures of its mouth under a microscope are kinda nasty looking.

On the other hand, I have a song about the ghost of a person who was murdered with the pieces of their body buried under the foundation of an abandoned greenhouse, and the bulk of the song is about the ghost's memories fading away until the line repeated in an effort to preserve the memory of their older sister warning them about going out after dark ("Katie did, Katie did, Katie did") turns into the ghost losing the meaning of the phrase entirely, misinterpreting it as an effort to keep count of the bugs inside the greenhouse where they're trapped ("Katydid, katydid, katydid") as they slowly forget everything but the pattern on their murderer's shirt.

[molusca]

Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), side adashi and romellura

Characters: Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Hunk (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Allura (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt, Romelle (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, biology au, everyone is a biology major, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Siblings, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) are Roommates, Fluff and Humor, Mutual Pining, Bickering, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Microscope, a collection of moments as klance falls in love during college, Lance (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, it switches between lance pov and keith pov, Getting Together, Idiots in Love

Words: 16,374, Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

As usual, Lance was desperate about something. “Keith, my man, my buddy, my pal, you are my only hope left!” “So, you are saying I’m your last option?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow at him, more amused than he should be seeing the other boy almost cry in front of him.

AU where everyone is a biology major

[cringefail-loser]

1, 22, 40

Now give me a treat >:3

1) how many followers do you have ?

442

22) who was your childhood favourite music artist?

katy perry, taylor swift, disclosure, and sam smith

40) what’s the most interesting item you own?

my best friend’s twinky sock that i have hanging on my wall

have this sicknasty cat i drew like a year ago and took a picture of from a microscope lens >:3

[theprissythumbelina]

OC Smash or Pass

@sergeantnarwhalwrites got me for this one, I've never done this before so I just copied their rules.

rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but have a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc)

I'm going to do this for Alyss because I finally found the perfect faceclaim for her! Its Morgana from Merlin BBC (played by the lovely Katie McGrath) because she radiates rage and beauty and also more-than-slight unhingement.

Physical attributes: Dark brown/Black hair, pale blue eyes, fair skin, 5'9", Mid-20s, Thin frame, Strong and a trained infantry soldier.

Personality: Before the war, Alyss was known for being occasionally withdrawn, enjoying art, reading, as well as seaside walks and cycling. She could be flirtatious and had a keen sense of humor with friends. When angry she preferred to walk away from conflict rather than engage. After she is discharged from the service, she is frequently agoraphobic, sarcastic and often harsh to others, jaded, quick to anger, and more than happy to back up her anger with fists. She suffers from periods of complete detachment from the world around her, and experiences flashbacks. Despite that, she is fiercely loyal and protective of anyone needing aid, and has a strong moral compass.

Other/Misc: As a former initiate to the church, she is well educated despite growing up working class; a mage with a preference for fire magic; bisexual; bilingual (Ritanian/Latin) with ability to read in Demotic; out of your league.

@thetruearchmagos (I'm gonna keep tagging you in character things so I can meet them all) @thewriteflame @winterandwords @dyrewrites and @tabswrites

[agent-troi]

Find Five Lines Tag

Thanks for the double tag @television-overload and @randomfoggytiger 🫶🫶

Rules: find any lines in your WIP that fit each parameter given by the person who tagged you. Then change one of the parameters and tag five or more people. Can be lines from multiple WIPs. If you can't find a line that fits, feel free to change the prompt.

Lol since I was tagged twice I got six prompts:

My lines: a line about family, a passionate line, a line expressing dread, a line expressing relief, a line that is screamed, a funny line

Your lines: a line about family, a passionate line, a line expressing anger, a line that is screamed, a funny line

For once I actually do have a WIP in the works (an AU where Scully is an astronaut, also a prequel to Purplerow by my friend @katy-kt-katie), progress on which got stalled when my apartment building burned down (long story) so we'll see if I can find a line for every prompt (some of them might be stretching it a bit but idc lol):

Family:

The colony had been established for research purposes, so the survivors consisted of some three hundred assorted biochemists, geologists, physicists, botanists, and the like, as well as their spouses and children— those few that had them, and also were able to convince them to uproot their lives and make a new home on another world. Ironically, they now had to do so yet again, although not by choice.

Passionate: (maybe not the kind of passion y'all had in mind but it's what i've got lmao)

Dana knelt to the ground to collect a soil sample. “It’s just that– we’re on Mars. We might find fossilized evidence of microscopic life today. I don’t wanna think about my problems with Ed. I wanna think about how much I love my job.”

Dread:

A skittering noise came from behind her. “Dana?” No sound but her heavy breathing in her ears. “Dana, are you still there?” She slowly turned around, hopping on one foot. “Dana? Dana!”

Relief: don't really have one for this and i'm too tired to dive through my other fics looking for one lol but i already had five different prompts so this was technically a bonus hehe

Screamed:

Dana looked down just in time to see a web of thin cracks spider outwards beneath her boots with an ominous crumbling sound. Before she could process what was happening, the ground gave way from under her and she cried out in alarm as she plunged down into a fathomless darkness.

Funny:

“Scully? Earth to Commander Scully, come in please!” Dana rolled her eyes. “That’s not funny, Monica.” A chuckle sounded over the other end of the comm system. “Sorry, Dana, I couldn’t help it. Seriously, though, are you okay? You kinda spaced out for a second there– no pun intended.” “Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about Ed again. When did he start being such an ass? That was a rhetorical question,” she added before Monica could respond. “Being on this mission has not been good for his ego.” “His ego isn’t good for his ego. He wouldn’t even be on this mission at all if he wasn’t so good at his job, and everybody knows it. You could do so much better than him, you know that?”

Tagging @katy-kt-katie @tofuttim @doctorbeverlycrusher @keldabe-kriff @eighthprincessofheart @mollybecameanengineer and whoever else wants to do this bc i'm so late responding to this i'm sure everyone i know has been tagged already😂

[is-she-suffering]

11/2000 - Metal Hammer Whatever Happened To Katie…“ 

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO KATIE JANE?

Chaotic, Intriguing, Fetish obsessed and dangerous - Just some of the terms recently used to describe London four piece Queen Adreena. Pete Wadeson explores the warped mind of vocalist and original riot grrrl Katie Jane Garside.

Exciting, emotionally charged gigs that teeter close to the shambolic have created a buzz around Queen Adreena, not seen since anarcho-grindsters Daisy Chainsaw rattled walls of the pubs and clubs in the early nineties. No suprise then that vocalist Katie Jane Garside also fronted the aformentioned band. With her gutteral howl and unpredicatable Iggy-style stage performances, offset by long blonde dreadlocks and ripped antique dresses, the band not only rattled venue walls but also airwaves thanks to their suprise top 40 single Love Your Money. Refusing to sell-out by playing the game with the lip-synching manufactured pop posturing hype-machines (they turned down a TOTP performance) it was hardly suprising Daisy Chainsaw - sooner rather than later self imploded. Tensions, particularybetween Garside and guitarist Crispin Gray, although always turbulent, finally snapped in 1993. Garside by her own admission was lurching close to a breakdown having said of the time “If I hadn’t left it would have killed me. I was trying to make something mine that wasn’t mine. Because I didn’t write the songs I could never give enough, never go far enough. I couldn’t bleed in words, I couldn’t bleed in lyrics - I could only bleed in performance and that meant attacking me, literally.” A fact all to evident to anyone who witnessed the band live at the time.

Well, that was then and this is now as they say. So whatever happened to Katie Jane? It’s been seven long years since the Chainsaw’s final massacre and through the filth and fury Katie Jane has fought inner demons to return to the fray with a new band, that consists of cross dressing bassist Orson Wajih, drummer Billy Freedom and amazingly old sparring partner and guitarist Crispin Gray. Proof positive that Garside and Gray have a bond that lasts far beyond the trials and tribulations that forced them apart and seemingly bears testament to the fact the Daisy Chainsaw legacy is relevant to the present.

“Daisy Chainsaw relate absolutely to the present in the sense that I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if I hadn’t done what I did then. It’s a page in my diary. I come from the school of no choice, I think theres no such thing as choices as everything that I do right this moment is created by everything that I do right this moment is created by everything I did before that, Queen Adreena is the next chapter of the book.”

Virtually impossible to catagorise, the bands debut album ‘Taxidermy’ released on Blanco Y Negro, bears witness that somebody somewhere believes in the band big time. Whilst Queen Adreena are a tight, musically accomplished unit equally at home mixing hard edge punky riffs and haunting melodies with the occasional psychedelic soundscape, it’s Katie’s inexplicable presence that draws the eye and attention of public and media alike. Her sexuality is obvious in the way she looks, dresses and lyrically voices her views on the world she perceives. So is what we see manufactured for the public consumption or the real Katie Jane Garside?

“No, who do you think came up with this look? What you see is what you get. I think the most truthful performance should involve a little bit of altered state and transcendence but I think while performing you just get magnified. I live under the microscope when I perform. Everything that’s tiny gets big.”

But what influences the complexity of Garside’s musical visions? “I always cite white noise as my biggest influence, it’s the sound of the sea, the sound of the wind, it’s everywhere. That sound sends me into a complete trance. I find it a very beautiful thing. But i don’t separate things. Music to date has been my focus and it’s given me my sanctity; it protects me. I’m doing what time tells me to do, if it works it works, if it doesn’t then it’s not for the want of trying because we work really hard.” This work ethic has seen Queen Adreena visit the States which was an eye opening experience for Katie Jane.

“I used to find it very frightening as there’s no control there, but its also very exciting. Sometimes life of the edge of the cliff’s a lot healthier, theres a brutal honesty to it. L.A.’s extraordinary, we played the Viper Room but it was very strange - New York suited us better, its darker and grittier.” By her own admission Katie’s honesty and previous naivety is the result of an up bringing whereupon she moved frequently, even spending years with her family sailing around the world. Hardly suprising Katie has a myriad of experiences, dreams and imaginings to slip in and out off to fuel her eclectic lyricism. Some may say even the fragile hold she has on reality. “I’m a child of the sea - because i lived on a boat for a long time. When i came back i went to a really hardcore secondary modern school so i changed from being this innocent person not understanding the norm and how you should behave to knowing how you should be. Sexuality became quite fetishised for me - it became quite distorted. I think it is for everybody, but it’s all behind closed doors. I like to magnify that world, i wear it on the outside.”

The facet of Garside is highlighted in the short Black and White film, which is included on the debut album. In this bizarre visual experience Katie can be seen naked riding guitarist Gray who crawls on all fours with a big between his teeth. In the past Katie has been accused of being fascinated by the fetish world, this would seem to be proof of that - is she obsessed? “Yes I am, because I think there’s a lot of truth down there, there’s a lot of truth under the floorboards. We’re animals, we’re blood. There’s a thin veneer of control. "At risk of saying something very dangerous there’s a tribe in Africa where children’s sexuality is completely out in the open and they’re not discouraged from being sexual and it’s numbered as one of the only tribes in the whole world that’s not been to war.”

Unconventional!? Maybe, but Katie’s obviously not afraid to voice her opinion. Suprisingly though, Ms Garside readily admits finding it hard to deal with 'real’ life. “I can’t define the difference between imagination, fantasy and so called real life. I think that’s why I do what I do, dancing around on stage showing my knickers,” She laughs, Katie Jane doesn’t seem to laugh a lot but when she does it’s very infectious. She continues “But it’s playing live where i feel most comfortable. Because I have led an isolated life I was rapidly in danger of not being here. I don’t find communication on a mundane level in day-to-day life easy. I perform to understand myself, i write songs to understand myself.”

Though she denies it, Katie’s had more than a little influence on the whole riot grrrl scene. In particular Courtney Love, who has pinpointed Katie Jane as one of the 3 women who paved the way for the whole phenomena, Katie seems equally enamoured with Courtney. “I think Courtney is stunning, she’s undeniable, she’s an archtypal force, a goddess. She’s Kali!” gushes Garside. “You can draw a parallel to what I said earlier. Everything that Courtney is, is a result of what happened before. Why should she keep ploughing the same furrow year after year? the fact she’s survived is extraordinary, so all power to her - she can do no wrong.”

[colorful-white-ideas]

You kinda stated the issue people are having, in bits though. There are so many brands out there that are really huge and could give you promo for a movie or whatever. Especially if you’re looking for a way to promote a movie that has a goth theme. Why would you want to associate with a weird ass brand that would do something like that for attention whether that’s what it was intended for or not? That’s what people are asking I think. Balenciaga has done some really weird and shady stuff beside the bears though. Even though it is one of the most famous brands out there, a lot of celebrities associate with them, it would sense for him to do the same to get out there I guess but only to certain point? The audience outside of rich people at this moment with everything happening with Diddy, and people like Katy Perry for example being exposed right now for being predatory or having been know to defend or heavily and very closely be associated with predators, it’s not a good move for him to be promoting this current project this way. (being this close to big scandals and all) I’m sure all the arrangements like seating and invites was already planned and done a while ago but to have all this stuff come out right as he goes to both H&M and Balenciaga events is not a good look to people who don’t understand the “behind the scenes” of their kind of jobs I guess. He most likely couldn’t just back out of something like that. As a business move right now yes it was good for him on that behind the scenes aspect of his job, like getting him more promotion and job opportunities, but in the future people who are supposed to be the targets for any kind of media related thing like press for the audience he has to do for those job opportunities probably won’t reach as well because of of his now associations with the brands. The media surrounding hollywood right now is not good, there are a lot of celebrities who are being exposed for being disgusting people and anyone who has been known to associate with them or even seen with them are being put under a microscope because people are suspicious of them. People are starting to get suspicious about some of the weird stuff Alex has done or people he’s been seen with because of all the scandals coming out right now about the industry as well. When I saw that photo of Alex and Bill with that British model or reality tv start at the “Lee” premiere I knew the conspiracy theorists would come rolling in. She was doing the Baphomet symbol with her hands in the photo and now bill is at the Balenciaga fashion show so it was just bound to happen. I’m not the anon that sent those asks so I don’t believe all the “satanic panic” stuff but I do believe that there are really bad people in the industry that have done really bad things to children and anyone they can get their hands on. It’s been a thing for years and some of them joke about it a lot which is weird but I don’t think everyone is like that. I can’t speak on Bill because I haven’t been a “fan” for long. Haven’t really followed the things outside of a few movies I’ve seen him in. But Alex is kind of a weirdo? He makes very odd remarks and jokes and seems to be a bit of a creep. Played a lot of off characters that seemed too “comfortable” to him as well, least that’s the impression I get when I come across something about him. 1/2

Sorry but after the sentence " you kinda started the issue.." I just rolled my eyes. I didn't start shit. I won't take that.

I' ll post it because you want to be heard clearly.

You are barking at the wrong tree. I don't work for that brand , I don't work for Bill , this blog is one of many out there with 0 power to demand anything from him and a multimillion dollar brand.

I'm just a poor person at the other end of the glob enjoying seeing one of her favorite actor have a good promotion season.That's it. It's not that deep.

Bill is getting all this criticism for doing what all actors do: attend to events to get more pictures so people don't forget his face and go to see his movies

Finally now that people want to cancel him for working with that shady Brand I hope they are consistent and do the same when the H&M collection drops tomorrow. They are not a good company either ... We live under capitalism, nobody does big ( real big big money) and keeps their hands clean.

And about " they do bad things under the radar " guess what ? Poor people does too. The amount of abuse of all kinds we see daily around us ... Some never pay for their action and they are as broke as everyone here.

The world is a shit hole. Welcome everybody to real life.

I have nothing else to add. Good night.

[tenofthebest]

2024

1. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

Katie Crutchfield leans further into the sound of her Southern upbringing as she chronicles the ups and downs of human existence on this intimate, clear-eyed country album that pivots with ease between anthemic earworms and intimate tales of relationship disintegration.

2. Jessica Pratt - Here In The Pitch

As any avid napper will tell you, the perfect napping music is a must. And simply put, Jessica Pratt makes the best napping music — beamed direct from an astral plane that is uniquely hers. Her latest collection of hypnagogic folk is at once modern and timeless, soothing and hypnotizing. She's a true original on a decade-long golden streak. 

3. Why? - The Well I Fell Into

Yoni Wolf, the too-confessional-for-comfort��indie pop pioneer, returned with his eight studio album as Why? On these tightly crafted and highly polished pieces he painfully charts the start, middle, and end of his last relationship for a modern take on the classic breakup concept album. 

4. Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future

If you're going to make stripped-down folk rock worth anyone's time these days then you have to be ambitious enough to march right into the Joni/Bob/Neil ballpark and confidently claim your spot. Warmly recordied straight to tape, Big Thief's frontwoman once again proved that she's one of the most emotive writers and singers in the game.

5. Ka - The Thief Next To Jesus

The Brooklyn rapper took a microscope to the relationship between Black America and Christianity over stark beats built from gospel samples. This is a masterclass in demonstrating how to go about raising the genre's quality bar. His untimely death shortly after release immediately made this an even more haunting listen.

6. Ethan Iverson - Technically Acceptable

The former Bad Plus pianist returned this year with his second solo album on the famed Blue Note label. Tastefully handling everything from classic trio tunes and surprisingly innovative covers, to the first theremin solo and sonata ever featured on a Blue Note record, this represents the absolute best of modern jazz piano.

7. EELS - Being Dead

Not to be confused with the band from the 90s! I first dismissed this as pointlessly generic and overly simplistic. However, on further inspection I realized it was as if Brian Wilson had somehow turned back the hands of time and reinvented himself as a hook-obsessed indie rocker, with delightfully catchy results. 

8. Molly Lewis - On The Lips

This most unlikely debut album saw a young LA whistler offer up a delicate, wistful collection of what seem like lost film scores. This was the first time I'd ever listened to an album of whistling, and I was immediately hooked!

9. Clairo - Charm

Clairo linked up with producer Leon Michels (keeper of the funk soul flame and notable for his work with Charles Bradley, Lee Fields, and Sharon Jones) for a loving homage to the type of 1970s soft rock made famous by Carly Simon.

10. Christopher Owens - I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair

The former Girls frontman has been through a lot since we last heard from him - dead bandmates, divorce, drug addiction, near death motorcycle accidents, lost jobs, and lots more. On his first album in 9 years he chronicles his journey through hell. I'm not going to lie and say it's a ray of sunshine, but he's doing much better these days and there's a refreshing simplicity and honesty to his writing. 

[decafcatfeen]

[Incoming Transmission - S.S.S. Centurion Mk4]

So. Cedar what was that scout ship looking for.

And... what was it carrying?

[Katie holds up a vial to the camera and then transmits a electron microscope scan.

Looks like BIC Crystal Black Ink that was squeezed into a 2-d gap in reality, before flying back out.]

Because it looks like whatever it was leaked out of your scout ship.

(Whisphering to self): what in the hell...

(out loud): Atoms squeezed flat. Like it tried to go through the rogue warp bubble, but couldn't and just came back out of where it went in.

Uhhh science department can't even recognize what the hell this is.

They say it's adjacent to ink... but still wayyy off.

First of all. Asteroids move, alot.

Second of all. Mind your own beeswax, you won't generally answer my questions, so it's just a equal response.

And third.

We.. don't use BIC ink.

???

Must have been a transport request they took.

We use high quality calligraphy ink.

[leaahhh]

songs for snowy january-february nights, sticky bushwick bars, hair that smells like baby powder 

tiny moves by bleachers because the day after i met you that late windy saturday night with several layers too few on and an hour’s notice, i made a spotify playlist titled ‘the tiniest twist of fate.’ i was watching my whole world shake – it felt like a miracle to believe in something again so soon, and i quietly knew it was probably too good to be true. i made the cover art of that playlist a photo of my hand touching the year’s first snow on my fire escape, along with a screenshot of the horoscope app i keep on my phone even though i say i don’t believe in that stuff (i do). it reads, “give yourself permission to love and tremble.” i tried. i spent that month bouncing down the sidewalks like margaret qualley in the song’s music video, feeling so afraid and entirely possible at once. i remember the way my hands shook and the weight of yours on mine. i remember thinking that i was probably getting myself into something i might not be able to handle in the car ride over. i remember crossing streets without looking because i already trusted you best. i don’t know what to do with all this remembering.

snow angel by ruby haunt because i’m a worn out fantasy, i’m too cool to care. you’re a weak philosophy, you’re a blanket stare. 

wait listen by katy kirby because i’m always feeling everything a million times over, but rarely does a song bring me to genuine tears upon first listen. this one did the job. i leaned out of my window and into the biting cold night air, burned my right thigh red on the radiator. it’s a several-times-a-day routine that i stick to religiously, regardless of the pain – every part of my body sick and exposed with one single overblown, scalding, dangerous source barely keeping me warm.

august by bnny the morning i was set to turn in my piece about bnny's upcoming album on an already-extended deadline, you told me you needed more time. some people never change but i’ll change one day. i will listen to this whenever i want to return, the snow packed under my silver shoes, our laughter drowned out by one too many drinks and the train clamoring above us. i am naive; i dive headfirst into any new world someone shows me even a microscopic glimpse into. i had already begun to love yours.

dancing around my tongue by truth club because the words, they sting, dancing around my tongue.

me before you by bleachers and i don’t know how there are two bleachers songs here because i never gave a fuck about this band before. “i think you might love too hard,” my friend said to me one wednesday night, barely looking up from his phone at the table when i returned with bloodshot eyes from a breakdown on his bathroom floor. in two years he has already witnessed me blunder through four heartbreaks and take on some permanent posture of restless sadness. he insists it’s not pitiful, but we all kind of know it is, i think. i see it in their sorry eyes and hear it in my panicked attempts to absolve another’s guilt, time and faulty time again. i can’t stop being wrong; still i’m mortifyingly earnest, childishly hopeful, endlessly forgiving. i’m trying to be colder; still i’m getting more violent.

this is the last time by the national because when i turned over to look at you in the dark and watched you mouth these lyrics with your eyes closed, i knew it was over for me. that morning, i listened to this again, sitting in a sunny patch of a coffee shop, and it started to make more sense. i read a poem that felt like proof of another little miracle, and every other song that came on during my walk home was a divine message. i won’t be vacant anymore, i won’t be waiting anymore. i wish everybody knew what’s so great about you. 

i am easy to find by the national and of course there are two songs by them on here because they are unashamedly my favorite band – you laughed at me when i said matt berninger and i would probably have a lot to talk about. i tattooed these words on my own thigh two winters ago and they keep coming truer and truer each passing year. thank you for being kind to me, i will not forget it. 

hold u by indigo de souza because i’ll still remember you as a good thing.

(if you are reading this: thank you for letting me find you, and for letting me risk reviving the dead reflex of reverence)

[michaelcosio]

Amazon is using union-busting Pinkerton spies to track warehouse workers and labor movements at the company, according to a new report

Katie Canales Nov 23, 2020, 11:42 AM PST

Amazon is hiring detectives from the notorious Pinkerton agency to spy on warehouse workers and monitor them for labor unionization efforts, according to a Monday Motherboard report.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that Amazon has indeed recruited operatives from Pinkerton, the spy agency that has a centuries-long history of upending worker union activities, among other services.

Per Motherboard, Pinkerton spies were "inserted" into a warehouse in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2019 to look into an allegation that job candidates were being coached for job interviews.

Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski told Business Insider that the firm partners with Pinkerton to "secure high-value shipments in transit," not to gather intelligence on warehouse workers, and that all activities are "fully in line with local laws."

Motherboard obtained internal emails written by members of Amazon's Global Security Operations Center in 2019. The leaked documents reportedly show Amazon analysts tracking union organizing activity of workers in Europe, with members having the ability to stay updated on labor organizing efforts conducted at warehouses, right down to the date, time, location, and the number of workers involved.

The report also revealed that the data analysts used Facebook and Instagram to monitor the activity of social justice and environmental activist groups, including Greta Thunberg's Fridays4future and Greenpeace. Amazon said the company's analysts do not create social media accounts to track social movements.

Some of the documents suggest that the same monitoring tactics used in Europe could be being used in the Americas, according to the report.

Levandowski told Business Insider that "like any other responsible business, we maintain a level of security within our operations to help keep our employees, buildings, and inventory safe. That includes having an internal investigations team who work with law enforcement agencies as appropriate, and everything we do is in line with local laws and conducted with the full knowledge and support of local authorities."

The Pinkertons were used as a resource by 19th-century industrial bigwigs to spy on unions and to break up worker-held strikes. Steelworkers held a strike in 1892 that devolved into violence and the death of a dozen people when Carnegie Steel Company recruited 300 Pinkertons to act as armed guards, according to History.com. The event led to some states passing laws to prohibit the use of third-party security forces in labor disputes.

As Christy Hoffman, the general secretary of UNI Global Union, told Motherboard, Amazon's deployment of Pinkerton spies to monitor workers' strikes echoes the same tactics used by 19th-century industry tycoons and comes as the company remains under the microscope of anti-trust investigators in the EU and in the US.

"For years people have been comparing big tech bosses to nineteenth-century robber barons, and now by using Pinkertons to do his dirty work, Bezos is making that connection even clearer," Hoffman told Motherboard.

The developments are the latest in a string of evidence that highlights Amazon's robust efforts to monitor and crackdown on its workers unionizing. The retail giant has been staunchly opposed to labor unions — the firm listed, but quickly removed, a job opening earlier this year for an analyst that would monitor employee's efforts to organize.

While CEO Jeff Bezos and his ecommerce giant have profited heavily from home-bound customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon workers have been advocating for better working conditions, staging strikes and protests. Christian Smalls, a former warehouse worker at Amazon's New York fulfillment center, was fired after the company said he ignored social distancing recommendations during a walkout in March. Leaked documents, obtained at the time by Motherboard, revealed an internal effort to mount a PR campaign against Smalls. The documents reportedly revealed that Amazon's top lawyer called Smalls "not smart or articulate" and said the company should "make him the face of the entire union/organizing movement."

A separate Motherboard report from September found that Amazon had been using a tool to monitor dozens of private and public social media groups to find drivers that were organizing strikes or protests.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 5 in Limerick

Hey guys, it’s Katie again, and here’s what happened this past week in Limerick.

Monday: Today, I changed up the procedure in the lab a bit. I’m using the same amount of sludge and acid, but I add the acid after running the reactor, then run it again at a lower temperature. Based on the results from today, it’s possible that doing this results in more liquid product and less hydrochar, but I will need to do a few more trials to be sure. We didn’t do much that evening besides hang out, but we had plans to go kayaking the next day, so it was nice to have a chill evening.

Tuesday: I started by repeating the experiment from yesterday, but during the second run of the HTC reactor, it heated past the set temperature, so I had to discard the products. It wasn’t a huge deal since I have plenty of time to run the various trials, but it was a little frustrating. In the evening, we went kayaking. We lucked out with the weather because it had been pouring rain on and off all day, but cleared up when we went out on the river. It was different than expected since we stayed in the same area on the river and played kayaking games like kayak polo, races, and kayak tag. It was a great time, even though I crashed into everyone multiple times. 

Wednesday: Today we switched things up a bit in the lab by going to use the scanning electron microscope, or SEM, to look at the hydrochar I collected. This ended up being kind of boring because they didn’t have time to train me on how to use the SEM, so I mostly watched Nina look at the samples and practice adjusting the microscope to see better. There was also a program to show some of the elements contained within the hydrochar, and to save pictures of the SEM view. Afterwards, it was too late to start another trial that would take hours, so I went home for the day. I took a quick trip to downtown Limerick to get a book, The Priory of the Orange Tree, which I had heard good things about.

A pretty dog mural in downtown Limerick

Thursday: Today, I retried the experiment procedure from earlier in the week, because Nina and I were not sure why the product in the reactor overheated. I observed the temperature, and when it once again went over 10 degrees above the set point, I told Nina, but this time she told me to collect the product as usual, suspecting an exothermic reaction caused by the acid. Unfortunately, I spilled some of my product at the end, so I couldn't get accurate mass measurements. Friday was pretty much the same, so there's not much to say there.

Saturday: Today, Pascale and I took a bus up to Dublin for the Pride Parade. It was my first one, and it was so cool to watch everyone marching and dancing by, having a great time. Super excited to go to another one next year. Then, I went to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College. First, I walked through a room with information about Irish illuminated manuscripts, which had some enlarged photos of the pages (we can't take photos of the actual book). Then, I saw the original Book of Kells in its own room, and walked up to the Old Library. It had busts of several famous people, as well as manuscripts from an old wealthy family's collection. Once that was over, Pascale and I walked around a little more, got food, and almost missed our bus back to Limerick because we couldn't find the stop. In the evening, we went to the David Bowie Experience at Dolan's, which had a band performing Bowie's greatest hits. It was very loud, but lots of fun, and the band did a great job.

Top left: Image from an illuminated manuscript. Top right: The Old Library. Bottom left: Pascale and me at the Pride Parade. Bottom right: idk what that is

Sunday: Since we were all tired from the concert last night, we took it easy in the morning. In the mid-afternoon, Pascale and I took a bus to see the Rock of Cashel, a complex of medieval buildings with great historical and religious significance. In the 25 minutes or so we had before closing, Pascale and I explored the old Gothic cathedral, graveyard, and chapel, all of which have fascinating histories. The Rock of Cashel is known as the legendary site where St. Patrick banished the devil, as well as the seat of the High Kings of Munster (Southern Ireland). Afterwards, we caught the next bus back to Limerick, grabbed a quick dinner, and headed back to the apartment.

Top left: the Rock of Cashel. Top right: view from the Rock of Cashel. Bottom left: side view of the Rock of Cashel, including the Round Tower. Bottom right: tapestry in a chapel.