#the rhythm 4 balloon festival

[arewedoneyet]

via mademypo @ twitter | 02022025

[vani-ash]

mademypo

[bakersstreetirregulars]

Kingdom Headline, December 2023: The Holiday Express

It turns out that Icicle Yeti’s Winter Song was primarily filler, but that’s Meringue’s opinion on the matter and part of the reason why he requested to start studio renovations for the next month or so through the holidays. But no matter, we’ve still got matters to attend to, whether we post here or not. Perhaps this part will be slightly more interesting. Merry Cookiemas!

Perceived Duration: 12/13 - 1/4

Main Events

2023 Cookie of the Year

Jolly Daily Gifts

Board of Mysteries - Meet Linzer Cookie! (Random Board Event)

The Great Leap - Level Up Your Kingdom!

2023 Kingdom of the Year

Seasonal Modes

Squirrel Shop (12/13 - 1/4): A special exchange with a chance to receive the Festive Acorn Gift Box and Acorn Snowball With a Tiny Cookie: two Special Treasures only available from here!

Tower of Sweet Chaos: Season 17 (Ends 12/18)

Tower of Sweet Chaos: Final Season (12/18 - 1/18): This mode and all associated events, packages, and rewards will disappear for a rework after this season ends.

Cookie Alliance: Season 2-1 (Ends 12/18)

Kingdom Arena: Gleaming Memories Season 2 (Ends 12/26)

Gift Month: 🦄 Cream Unicorn Cookie (Ends 12/27)

Guild Battle: Destiny’s Wrath Season 8-3 (12/13 - 12/19)

Cookie & Gacha Features

🎹 Crème Brûlée Cookie (Epic Cookie) 🏹

A renowned pianist known for his skills. Deals Light damage and provides ATK speed buffs that also influence his bonus damage output. Meet him in the Gacha with a chance-up banner.

✒️ Linzer Cookie (Epic Cookie) ⏫️

A mystery writer who can cast a growing Suspect debuff as she gains Deduction stacks instead of attacking. The Suspect debuff can override debuff immunity (IE what Madeline and Caramel Arrow have with their skills). Meet her through the Board of Mysteries event. She can still appear in the Gacha as normal.

🏜️🧀 Burnt Cheese Cookie (Epic Cookie) ✊

The Gatekeeper of the Golden Paradise. Deals Earth damage that can stun enemies and provides a powerful buff to the highest ATK Cookie, which includes DMG Focus, Debuff Immunity, and Curse Protection. Has several bonus passives when Golden Cheese Cookie is on the same team. His Soulstones are now available in the Mileage Shop.

Holiday Parade Costumes

Rhythm of Doo-da Doo-da - 🍩 Space Doughnut

Milky Way Resonance - 🚂🌌 Milky Way Cookie

Embroidered Starlight - ☄️ Stardust Cookie

These holiday themed Special-rarity Costumes can only be found here, and they’ll disappear from the drop list once the banner closes.

Squirrel Shop

Festive Acorn Gift Box

Acorn Snowball With a Tiny Cookie

See Squirrel Shop under the Seasonal Modes subheading for more details on how to get these Special Treasures.

Major Update Features

Added Title and Guild tabs next to your name on the main Kingdom screen

Added Kingdom level milestone rewards

Added Kingdom EXP rewards for Guild Battle, Kingdom Arena, Cookie Alliance, and Trial Grounds

Increased Kingdom EXP rewards for World Exploration, Daily Bounties, Tropical Soda Islands, Balloon Expeditions, Tree of Wishes, and Producing Goods

Added 2.5x speed for World Exploration and Special Episodes after reaching Kingdom level 15

Holiday Express

A mystery is afoot on this holiday train, and Linzer Cookie is keen on solving it with other Cookies such as Crème Brûlée Cookie. Unfortunately… there is a hard paywall here. Without an upgraded Story or First Class ticket, you’ll have to wait for Chapters to unlock. To view the epilogue and get a commemorative photo, you’ll have to buy the First Class ticket. Each ticket, including your free Gift Ticket, also has chapter completion rewards that you can claim for your ticket and anything below it.

Gift Ticket: Free, unlocks chapters every few days

Story Ticket: $11.99 USD, unlocks all chapters immediately, gives the Holiday Preparations Train design, and enables extra rewards

First Class Ticket: $15.99 USD, has all the benefits of the Story Ticket, even more rewards including 50 of Linzer Cookie’s Soulstones, the Happy Holidays Train design, a commemorative picture, and the ability to watch the Epilogue. WHY LOCK THE EPILOGUE BEHIND THIS.

Chapter 1 (Open immediately)

Chapter 2 (Open 12/14)

Chapter 3 (Open 12/16)

Chapter 4 (Open 12/19)

Chapter 5 (Open 12/22)

Event Achievements - Unlockable tasks with bonus rewards. You can only see the tasks after the associated stage is open. Until then… it’s a mystery.

The real mystery, however, is why Devsisters thought it was a good idea to put the Epilogue behind something that’s $16. All it takes is one buyer and a YouTube channel to circumvent this idea anyway. Unfortunately, Editor Meringue is NOT that buyer. The price is too steep for him.

[hospitalproduct]

Exploring the Medical Applications of Balloon Pumps

1. Introduction 

Balloon pumps, often associated with festive decorations and children's parties, have found a surprising range of applications in the medical field. These versatile devices, typically made from latex or silicone by Balloon Pump Manufacturers can be inflated to various sizes and shapes, making them ideal for a wide array of medical procedures and treatments.

 The medical applications of balloon pumps span across different specialties, from cardiology to gastroenterology and even urology. In cardiology, for instance, balloon pumps are commonly used during angioplasty procedures to widen narrowed or blocked arteries. By inserting a deflated balloon into the affected blood vessel and then inflating it, the balloon compresses the plaque or fatty deposits, restoring normal blood flow.

 2. Understanding the mechanics of balloon pumps

To fully appreciate the medical applications of balloon pumps found with Balloon Pump Suppliers, it is crucial to understand the mechanics behind these ingenious devices. Balloon pumps, also known as intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs), are mechanical devices used to assist the heart in pumping blood effectively. These devices consist of a long, flexible catheter inserted into the patient's aorta, with a balloon attached to its tip.

 The concept behind balloon pumps revolves around the intra-aortic counterpulsation technique. During each cardiac cycle, the balloon inflates just before the heart's contraction and deflates just before the heart's relaxation phase. This inflation and deflation process is synchronized with the patient's heartbeat and is precisely timed to enhance cardiac performance.

 When the balloon inflates, it temporarily occludes the aorta, which is the main artery carrying oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body. By doing so, the balloon increases the pressure within the aorta, which in turn increases coronary artery perfusion. This augmented blood flow to the coronary arteries ensures a sufficient oxygen supply to the heart muscle, especially in patients experiencing reduced cardiac function.

 The deflation of the balloon occurs just before the heart's relaxation phase, allowing for decreased resistance in the aorta and facilitating the heart's efforts to pump blood out more efficiently. This action reduces the workload on the heart, enhancing its overall performance and reducing the strain on the myocardium.

 3. Balloon pumps in cardiovascular health: aiding heart function

 The use of balloon pumps in cardiovascular health has revolutionized the field of cardiology, offering a lifeline to patients suffering from various heart conditions. These innovative devices, also known as intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs) found with Balloon Pump Dealers, are designed to assist and enhance heart function, making them an essential tool in the treatment of cardiac patients.

 The primary purpose of a balloon pump is to increase cardiac output and improve coronary blood flow. This is achieved by inserting a deflated balloon into the aorta, which is then inflated during diastole (the relaxation phase of the cardiac cycle) and deflated just before systole (the contraction phase). By synchronizing with the natural rhythm of the heart, the balloon pump effectively augments cardiac output, reducing the workload on the heart and improving overall cardiac function.

 4. The role of balloon pumps in managing heart failure

 Heart failure is a grave medical state that affects millions of people worldwide. It happens when the heart is powerless to pump enough blood to meet the body's requirements. As medical technology continues to advance, new methods and devices are being developed to help manage this condition effectively. One such device that has garnered attention in recent years is the balloon pump.

 Balloon pumps, also known as intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs), are small inflatable devices that are inserted into the aorta, the main artery of the body. They work by inflating and deflating in sync with the heartbeat, assisting the heart in pumping blood effectively. The balloon pump is connected to a console that controls its inflation and deflation cycles, ensuring optimal support for the heart.

 In the management of heart failure, balloon pumps bought from Balloon Pump Suppliers play a crucial role. They can provide temporary mechanical circulatory support, allowing the heart to rest and recover. This is particularly beneficial in acute cases of heart failure or during cardiac surgeries when the heart may need additional assistance. By increasing the blood flow to vital organs and reducing the workload on the heart, balloon pumps can improve patient outcomes and increase the chances of a successful recovery.

 5. Balloon pumps in interventional cardiology procedures

Interventional cardiology procedures have revolutionized the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and balloon pumps play a vital role in these life-saving interventions. These procedures involve accessing the heart through small incisions or punctures in blood vessels, allowing for minimally invasive treatment options.

 Balloon pumps, specifically intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs), have become integral in interventional cardiology procedures. These pumps consist of a long, flexible catheter with an inflatable balloon at its tip. The catheter is introduced into the aorta, the major artery that carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

 During certain cardiac interventions, such as percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the heart may experience reduced blood flow or increased workload. This is where balloon pumps prove their worth. Once positioned within the aorta, the balloon is inflated and deflated in sync with the cardiac cycle, augmenting blood flow and reducing the workload on the heart.

 6. Conclusion: The promising future of balloon pumps in medicine

In conclusion, the future of balloon pumps in medicine is undeniably promising. As we have explored throughout this article, these inflatable devices have proven to be invaluable in a wide range of medical applications. From cardiac support to gastrointestinal procedures, balloon pumps have revolutionized the way we approach various medical conditions.

[yostresswritinggirl]

1.4 Update Stream Live Translation Summary

Spoiler Warning for the update; Watched and taken from Keqingmain Twitch stream

S T O R Y

Main Story with Dainsleif and Abyss Herald, a scene with your twin also seems to appear at the end after fighting this new mob.

B A N N E R

Venti Banner

Childe Banner, with Rosaria

New 5* bow, three Alley Series 4* weapons (can be found in Honey Impact!)

M I N I G A M E S

Balloon Popping

Gliding Event

Rhythm Game

Rewards: Crown, Materials, EXP, Gadjets (Co-op Balloon, Co-op Harp where you can play around with to make music)

You can also give flowers to the characters!

Free four star Windblume bow!

F A L L G U Y S E V E N T??

9 total game modes

Required to play 3 to get buffs for the boss battle

O C E A N I D

Eudora pet!

Just like the Hypostasis Event

Event "Tear" allows you to play the event without resin!

Oceanid CAN and WILL throw hands slcnsknsm

C H A L L E N G E R A R E N A E V E N T

Fighting in limited time

There's a boss, kinda

G A M E C O N T E N T

Dating Sim ft. Barbara, Chongyun, Noelle and Bennett! [Replayable with different routes, different rewards, and save features!]

Spiral Abyss New UI Feature! Restart Option, etc.

Manual Cooking/Auto Cook and Preset Cooking Character for Cooking buff

Condensed Resin max up to 5!

You can now go back one world level! And can be resetted after 24 hours!

Flex your namecards!

C O D E S

KTNSCQWW922M

PSNTC8FEQK4D

ET7ADQFF8KJR

HAPPY WINDBLUME FESTIVAL! FESTIVAL OF LOVE AND FREEDOM!

[paperrocketeer]

Summary of the Genshin Impact 1.4 announcements

• Invitation of Windblume

• Offer flowers/plants to the anemo archon

• Peculiar wonderland - 3 random challenges to grant buffs before fighting an enemy

• Festive challenges

• Bullseye balloons: shoot balloons

• Floral freefall: collect orbs while gliding and falling

• Ballads of breeze: rhythm game

• New gadgets: windblume balloon and windblume lyre (can play notes)

• Upcoming events

• Wishful drops -Oceanid pet

• Raging Rhodeia - Able to directly deal damage to Rhodeia/oceanid

• Contending tides (Dadaupa gorge) - Similar to the hypostasis event but different enemies

• Hangout events: series I (requires story keys) (available even after event ends)

• Barbara, Noelle, Bennett, Chongyun

• Pick certain dialogue choices to unlock certain endings and CG (dating sim??)

• Marvelous merchandise

• Outland gastronomy - KFC skins for Noelle and Diluc?

• Banners

• Rerun Venti and Childe banners

• Rosaria - 4 star cryo polearm (in Childe's banner)

• Skill: teleport behind enemy and stabs (but not big enemies), increases crit rate when attacking enemies from behind

• Burst: summons ice spear that pierces the ground and periodically releases ice damage, increases crit rate of allies

• Codes (until 3/6/21 20:00:00 PST)

• KTNSCQWW922M - 100 primos 10 crystals

• ET7ADQFF8KJR - 100 primos 5 wits

• PSNTC8FEQK4D - 100 primos 50k mora

• Abyss herald archon quest

• New boss: Only in storyline, not weekly (yet)

• We get to meet Dainsleif (Dimitri) again

• QOL improvements

• Increase crystallized resin limit to 5

• Able to cook food manually even the perfected dishes (so you can get the suspicious food achievement)

• Cooking, crafting, forging optimized

• World level can be decreased by 1 (unlocked at wl5) and can be reverted back if wanted (changes can only be done every 24 hours)

• Able to showcase collected namecards

• Spiral abyss (can check elemental resonance for floors that diverge, can exit in between floors, can restart mid-challenge)

[genshins1mpact]

Mini story quests with different outcomes/rewards depending on your choices? Feels very Persona 5 to me w/ the friend hangouts and stuff, nice! Glad to finally get some more interactions with the 4* charas, well deserved!

I can't even begin to tell you how hard I was laughing at the KFC gliders and everything else that went on in the stream lmfaaaaoooo

Can't wait to watch the stream later and get to watch the adorable little chibis as the va's discuss upcoming stuff! (also so I can better understand what's going on lol,,, bili² wasn't very kind to me and kept glitching out,,,,)

The rhythm game and balloon game and the beautiful decorations for the festival aaahh♡

(Also, people are speculating Klee rerun for Ludi Harpastum rather than Windblume, but I think it's safe to say most of us weren't expecting a Childe banner rerun following Venti's! I was expecting a Diluc or Jean one like how we had Keqing's between Xiao and Hu Tao... whoa)

[kierongillen]

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 40

Spoilers, obv.

The first issue of "Okay." I've known for quite some time that it was likely the final arc would use the word "Okay" in some way. The unpacking phrase "It's going to be okay" has been a backbone of the series. Due to the first year on the book, that's been a loaded phrase, all the way through.

But when signing a first volume of the book, I've added the dedication "It's going to be okay." There's lots to unpack in that, and I suspect I'll wait until later in this arc to say any more. But knowing that eventually we'd like have an arc called "Okay" was definitely part of doing it.

The quotation marks are key. It's a move I've done a few times in my career, in terms of showing it's a story that wants to highlight something, and raise awareness that the word should be approached with conscious consideration. This is a choice. I want you to know it's a choice. Let's talk about what that actually means anyway, right?

It's a technique I first lifted from Bowie's "Heroes". Which, of course, is doubly appropriate to use it at the end of WicDiv.

We knew they'd be a gap between the end of Mothering Invention and the start of this. The remaining five issues of the arc were tightly plotted, but in the document, this is the one which I left a lot open. I knew what I wanted to be, and it was a chance of finding an execution to make it work. It was a last chance to do a big concept issue.

(Which isn't to say there isn't conceptual stuff elsewhere in the arc. There just isn't a whole issue of it.)

This is something that I've been trying to do since issue 6. As in, a purely fan-centric issue of mainly talking heads. Every time, it's had to be cut for space. The talking heads shots of realistic footage, showing a lot of fans views on the matter. You get ghosts of it – any time Beth turns up, you get some, basically, but all of those moments could have been issues in another version of WicDiv.

(The one we won't be doing is the whole issue of literal talking heads. As in, Tara, Lucifer and Inanna just telling stories. That's fun, but we just don't have the time, and when I realised I had to stop them talking, it was definitely out. Oh, Minerva. You spoil everything.)

Equally, WicDiv's a book with two poles – the modern fan pop cultural part and the mythological grandeur. We swing one way or another, and it's easy for the latter to mug the former. I suspect that's because that's the easier stuff. Especially as Laura has gone down her hole, she's been incapable of seeing the good parts of fandom. An issue of that before the end, seemed necessary.

(Equally, with where it goes. Like, we start with Laura as a fan, and end with her on stage, saving people. The Bowie Saved More People Than Batman of WicDiv. It's a book about cycles, and ever more so here.)

So! The other side is this apocalyptic final scheme, and give a perspective on that – the necessary plot. Equally, keeping Laura off stage as long as possible.

So we end up with this.

I knew wanting to pick up and run with minor characters in WicDiv was something I wanted to do, and merging it with a disaster rapidly led to something else – this is clearly an inverted Watchmen 11. There, they gather the supporting cast together in the b-plot and then with a I-did-it-35-minutes-ago kill them all. We flip that. We imply everyone we're watching is dead, reintroduce the whole cast and then have Laura save them.

Suffice to say, formally, this was tricky.

Jamie and Matt's cover:

Meet Tom. We surveyed the whole supporting cast and picked someone who was present enough in a scene to be likely to be remembered but minor enough to be a surprise. In the end, there were less options... and the kid who asks Persephone about what to call her obviously has some strong thematic elements. She told him something. What did he make of it? It also gave a supporting cast of friends.

It's fun doing a cover like this and people going "who the hell is he?"

I wish he wasn't white and male – if I realised I was definitely going to use him in issue 24, I'd have likely have suggested otherwise. But, on the other hand, there is a point that white male guys should have heroes who aren't white male guys. So maybe I'm okay with it. Comics!

Claire Roe's Cover Well, this is monstrous. You do get the image of Minerva, like she's in Home Alone, trying to smuggle skulls. Just some great images here.

Ray Fawkes' Cover

For the Heroes Inititative Charity. The theme was "Giving" which immediately jumped to a "Lucifer giving an apple." Giving is very loaded for us. Ray is amazing – he's been an incredible support throughout all of WicDiv, and we love him. Go buy his books. My favourite is THE PEOPLE INSIDE, but for something more genre, the UNDERWINTER books are fascinating, horror. UNDERWINTER: SYMPHONY is the adult gothic sister of Wicdiv, if you squint.

IFC

Flipping "Ascended Fangirl" into "Descended God" was sitting in the script for this issue before anything else.

Page 3

Black page with white text is something that's come to the fore in the last year of WicDiv. In here, the exact word choice was key. While this feels like a documentary in terms of how it arranges information, the text doesn't tell you that. It tells you it's just footage. This means that it's not necessarily an in-world document.

Page 4-5

Working out the exact panel dimensions was a nightmare, and led to a couple of rewrites to move some pages from eight panel to a more accurate six panel. You can also see Jamie start to wrestle with the unique horror of drawing stuff that is slightly distorted, choosing angles which are less traditionally interesting and so on.

Unboxing videos are a fascinating phenomena. It's fun to see culture happen which I fundamentally don't get on an emotional level. That's what culture should throwing up.

The details on the ticket do make me smile, in an awful way.

Yes, the "change the orientation" panel is clearly us showing off. This is the sort of issue I did a lot of doodles for. It also led to a bunch of lettering challenges for Clayton, in working out whether to put balloon tails off-camera to signify the other speaker. In the end, Clayton talked us into the other approach, noting it worked fine in Mister Miracle. Hey, if Tom King does it, I guess it's fine with us.

It's worth noting the way the off-panel speaker is orientated, to ensure you know who they are. See the "Tom" in the dialogue in the second panel, to ensure you know it's Nathan.

"The front row if it kills us" is very us. This issue is a mix of awful tension and strokes of equally awful gallows humour. His smile is also adorable.

Page 6

Sometimes the most beautiful thing in the world is a page of exposition via the medium of power-point. We're all big fans of the 1960s kirby superhero maps, and this is kind of the same thing.

Page 7

This is also a masterclass in a "Naturalism is hard" sort of page layout. The choice of the greys by Matt is really nice too.

Page 8

And back with Tom and friends. Worth noting the planning on this issue – I had this list of scenes, and tried to work how much I can cut between them to create a rhythm, which obviously accelerates the further we go in.

"Shitting them whole"? Nathan is totally right. Tom, you re NASTY.

Trying to get a subplot which fit in the space for them is key. Like, friends navigating a space. That Tom and Nathan are both far from perfect in this is also important. I just realised this is totally an alt-dimension Kohl and Kid-with-knife scene.

Page 9

The greatest tragedy of WicDiv is we never got around to doing the WicDiv calendar with all the dates on. Will we get around to it for Christmas 2019? IT COULD BE POSSIBLE.

The problem in terms of story here is getting the multiple lies – Woden doesn't know what Baal has had him to do, and Baal doesn't know what Minerva is making him do. So trying to set that information up so is clear, while also in a naturalistic fashion is a trick.

We were having LOC CAPs on some of this footage, but decided to cut them all. Only some of them had it, and having it on them all would create a mess. This is the one I regret though – there's one tiny bit of information I'd like to have got in here. C'est la vie.

The colour banding on this is fascinating – the late night recording. Also, Jamie's burn on the calendar is golden.

Page 10

This was another one where the lines were worked hard. What happens BEFORE the image, what happens AFTER the image and all that.

Anyway, some good thinking here Tom.

The chat between the two, in terms of fans-beliefs and minor pieces, and hot takes and their own beliefs. Also re-introducing certain takes.

Page 11

This page is hard. The silent third panel is amazing – what Jamie does with the panning between the two. The caption would have revealed who's filming it – the Sister – but that isn't essential information.

"You soppy twat" is something I'm oddly pleased with getting in. It's a very naturalistic issue, and the tenderness is very real.

There has been a tendency for people to take Baal's fight against the Great Darkness solely to save his family, and understandable why. This scene and what follows shows that no, it's not just that. He actually believes he's saving the world, because if he didn't, he certainly wouldn't fucking do this.

Page 12

And Minerva reveals her side of all this. The little callback to 1373 does make me smile.

The stylistic nature of this is key – Jamie doing the fish-eye, Matt working the blues, giving that night vision creepiness.

Page 13-14

This issue was definitely me trying to look for ways for Jamie to not just draw a million crowd-scenes. The first two is definitely me lampshading it.

In passing, this two pages is basically all of Young Avengers in sixteen panels.

The last panel is a thing of love, and definitely inspired by a Glastonbury festival, circa 1998. I'm there alone, as it was one of the infamous wet years, waiting for Nick Cave to come on the main stage. A highly high and/or drunk guy stops beside me, after pushing through the crowd. He's clearly very excited, to the level where a group of younger women start to join in and/or mock him. He is very entertaining.

Nick Cave comes on stage, doing a half-speed From Her To Eternity.

"From her."

"To."

Eternity."

Murmurs Nick.

Our new friend hasn't actually noticed and howls at the top of his lungs...

"FROM HHHHEERRRRR TOOooOOOOOOooOOOOOOoo ETERRNNITYYYY!"

...at at least twice the speed of Nick.

At which point, he's decides he wants to be further front. Turning to the people around him, he suggests we all go forward. "Yeah?" "Yeah!" the girls scream, and immediately they all form a conga and start pushing through the crowd, with him chanting "NICK CAVE ARMY COMING THRUUUUUU!"

I join in, as clearly I want to follow this journey. It leads us to the front, where I believe I stay for the rest of the night?

On the way to the front I step on the shoe of a guy who, a year or two later, invites me to storm the stage on a Saturday morning TV show. I turn it down, and then he only goes and does it anyway.

Pop music!

Anyway, that panel is for that guy, wherever he is.

Page 15

Okay, I can't hold off crowd scenes forever. Sorry Jamie, but not too sorry, as this looks amazing. Matt pushing the controls completely into the red, with the distortions going on. This is everything. It's also the panel where the conceit of watching television is lowest – the panel shape is wrong, and it's unlikely a camera would be on Baal's mum on the top of the pillar... but they are deniably so, I suspect.

I look at this page and smile. This is some comics. Nice work, us.

Page 16-17-18-19

And we're off. This is... oh, god. There were diagrams for this, in terms of working out panel flow. There's multiple routes through the two pages, which cascade together. The backbone is the "Baal" story arc, across the diagonal on both spreads.

The second panel reads across both pages – notice the orange band leading you to the right – where a talking head explains what's actually going on at the gig, and why everyone is being immersed.

When you finish this row, you get the presenter giving the context for the remaining talking heads. On the first spread, you get a talking head talking answering the question... and then placing them in the crowd. When that ideas's been set up, in the second spread we have multiple talking heads answering it, which all gather around a single group shot showing them all by each other, unknowing. And then there's Tom, and his friends, mixed in, with Tom's own answer stumbling towards his own truth, and his friends together, joined in this.

I'm getting excited here, clearly, but this is some engineered machine monstrosity, and I love how it collaborates with the reader.

This made it a nightmare for the guided view on Comixology. We contacted them in advance, offering to help a little. In the end, I wrote my suggested route, and they went with it. Moving from a non-linear sequence to a linear sequence clearly changes it somewhat, but I think it keeps a lot of the percussion. So don't blame them, blame me.

Oh – I had a list of people to possibly include in this sequence, and selected from them. There's been some impressive attempts by readers to ID everyone. Clearly, I tried to signal who they were in their dialogue a little. My personal hero is the guy from issue 19 who saw Dionysus before Baph nabbed him. You're a fucking legend too, mate.

Tweaks we did was realising it was three hetero-reading couples on the first page, which was heteronormative. We changed that to avoid it. And, yes, that's Jon's mum.

The one I wished I could get in, but lost, was the guy standing to the right of Laura in Issue one, who jizzed to Amaterasu. His line would have been something like "I hope I enjoy this one as much as that time with Amaterasu!"

This is an awful book, in many ways.

20-21

And just let the awful moment linger. Do it naturally and show it. All that rush and then this. Once more, Matt Wilson for Eisners. The hyperbright is one thing, but the flicker on the aftermath another. And the hint of the giant in there is also carefully worked – it's something we needed there, but also was a small part of it. What was important just imagining all those people dying.

22

Inevitable Total Eclipse Of The Heart reference, the go-to song for ending WicDiv dance parties.

23-24

And then, after all that, we get this moment, building towards that final image of Laura.

Honestly, this got to me when Jamie first sent it to me in a burst into tears way. You've come a long way.

I also like the idea that Laura, before heading out, looked through all her stuff and decided "Yes, Hoop ear-rings are the look for saving 20,000 people."

Next issue is out on Wednesday.

Thanks for reading.

[eriknebel]

War and Peace, the comic book

i finished a project recently: a comic book version of Tolstoy’s famous novel, War and Peace. i remember when i first read the novel years ago, i thought, “i have to make a comic book version of this novel! it would be the best comic book of all time! i must do this! i must!” 

in 2008, i started planning out the format of the comic. i decided i wanted to use a structure of 4 panels per page to shape the rhythm of the comic. and i decided i didn’t want to use word balloons. 

in 2009, i broke down the novel scene by scene, and i wrote a script of all the dialogue i wanted to use, and i started sketching out character designs and backgrounds and costumes.

in 2010, i realized that i wasn’t happy with any of my sketches, and i started searching for something else, some other way of expressing what i wanted to say. i sketched out new character designs, this time without costumes, just the outline of their body shapes.

2011 was the year when inspiration struck. i found myself in sort of a mystical state of being, where everything i wanted to express just flowed right out of me. i drew a rough draft of the comic in black and white, and i put it online. my cartoonist friends invited me to share it as a slideshow presentation for one of their comics festival events at a bar in portland, oregon, where a big crowd of drunks watched me act out scenes from the comic as it was projected onto a screen.

in 2012, i started coloring the comic. this is when i hit a brick wall. none of the coloring choices i was making satisfied me. i couldn’t get it where i wanted it to be.

from 2012-2017, i drew a daily 3-panel comic strip online which got me a lot of attention (thank you, tumblr friends). during this period, i experimented like crazy with color. by the end, i started feeling more confident in my ability to color comics in the way that felt right to me.

in 2018, i got back to work on the War and Peace comic, i figured out the colors, and i made lots of revisions to the art and the dialogue. 

i’m super happy how it turned out. you can read it on eriknebel.tumblr.com starting with page one that is on december 13, 2018. so you start reading there, and then you just keep scrolling down until you’re done. it’s about 250 pages. it’s a quick read, maybe 15-20 minutes to read the whole thing.

i think if Tolstoy were alive today, he would read this comic and give me a big hug and maybe a kiss. he’d see how much love went into this comic. i hope you love it, too.

[raifuujin]

MK Treasured Edition Commentary

From here, here, and here.

Volume 1

Hello, it's me, Aoyama. 

In the course of the republication of Magic Kaito I take the liberty to show my memories of this time straightforwardly. (grin) 

The Revived Phantom Thief The memorable first chapter! Actually I became a Mangaka because I wanted to write about a high school phantom (grin) and so I drew it under great tension! Well and back then I was short of money which is the reason why his hatband around his tophat isn't shaded with screen tone… 

The Police Are Everywhere The original title „Keikan ga ippai” referred to a movie... „Taiyou ga ippai”, a movie with Alain Delon („Purple Noon”). Detective Doron is an allusion, too, because ��Delon” is written as „Doron” in Japan. (grin) By the way! The words „When you bend them, they...” Kaito announces the light-emitting diode were literally written on the package of one of those things I purchased on a public festival as a kid. (grin) Appearantly they're actually known as „glow stick”.

 The Clockwork Heart A science-fiction-thriller! A rarity for Kaito (grin). I recall that I perceived it as really exhausting to draw all the parts of the robot and that I had no computer, so that I had to write Kaito's farewell letter by hand (Haha!). By the way! In the panel the robot says „I'm Kuroba Kaito... Haha!!” Kaito's pupils look kinda strange (?). There I mimicked Akemi Matsunae of which I was a big fan back then. (grin)

 Kaitou Kid's Busy Day Off Back then, the 3D movie „Captain EO” starring Michael Jackson was being played in cinemas and has been satirized in this chapter, although I never thought 3D movies could have been revived because of „Avatar”... (grin) By the way! When I read the closing scene today I think that the phrase „But, ice cream... still tastes great!” is my most embarrassing quote ever (grin).

The Pirate Ship Unsurfaced A sea adventure with Kaito? This is a rarity, too! (grin) I can't remember at all why I wanted to draw this story, but maybe I wanted a confrontation between a thief from the mainland and a thief of the seas...? (Ha!) Well, and so Kaito brought his costume of Kaitou Kid even to this place...?! (grin)

The Scarlet Temptress There she is! Mistress Akako! To be honest, she, as practitioner of black magic, is the reason who drove me into the corner the most during Kaitos appearances in Conan. Well, you just have to accept these works as parallel universes. (grin) By the way, Kaito Kuroba is written on the handkerchief, this probably was a prank done by his mom (Chikage)... (grin)

Aoyama Kid ♥

 Volume 2

 Stay Away From Him Although it's more of a romantic tale than a thief story I really like this one ♥ Especially the panel with „Well, excuse me for being an idiot...“ is a real gem, because of how often I had to redraw it! (laughs) Additionally, Superman and Top Gun appear... which is according to my taste! It's also revealed in this story that Aoko is flat-chested. (laughs)

Japan's Most Irresponsible Prime Minister A story I used one of my then-favourite actors Hitoshi Ueki, who has passed away in the meantime, as model! I also dared to use the Japanese prime minister - this was probably really audacious... And then characters appear who look like the past leaders of the USSR and the USA, Gorbachev and Reagan... (sweating). By the way, did anyone notice the „Akako balloon“ in the night sky? (laughs)

I Am the Master! This story was purely written because I felt like it! Anyway, I really wanted to draw how Kaitou Kid makes a balls to the wall ride down the facade of a building... (laughs). I would be nice if they one day made an Anime out of it ♫ Oh well, even if Cleopatra's Vanity case should really exist, two thousand years later one probably couldn't use it anymore... (laughs)

Would You Grow Up If I remember correctly, the hang-glider associated with Kaitou Kid lifted the first time in this story. Well, one could also say that Kaitou Kid could have fled from the get-go with it, instead of stretching a rope to the Tokyo Tower first (laughs). I'd really like to bring the motorized roller skates again.

The Boy Who Bet on the Ball It has also been really daring to take real professional baseball player as a model... (laughs). I think the story was created after I talked with my editor in charge about how thrilling it would be if Kaitou Kid appeared on a pole in Tokyo Dome. Well, the Yomiuri Giants are working together with Conan in several ways anyway, so I hope they can turn a blind eye to this... (fierce laughter)

Ghost Game If I remember correctly, I was frantically busy because I had to draw „Tantei George no Minimini Daisa-kusen“ („Detective George's Mini-Mini Big Strategy“) three weeks in a row for the Sunday magazine, so I finished this chapter in a very short time... (laughs). Directly afterwards my series „Yaiba“ started, because of which „Magic Kaito“ had to pause for a while. Hard to believe that the series is continued until today...! (laughs)

Hustler vs. Magician Originally this was the true second chapter of „Magic Kaito“! But... it was rejected! Since my debut in „Sunday“ there was never a story before or after it that was rejected. It's real luck that it made it into this volume! (laughs)

Omake „Magic Kaito“ was the first Manga I was allowed to publish as a Mangaka, which could be the reason I drew this story with zest and high motivation... Oh well, this probably was my youthful enthusiasm... (laughs)

Aoyama Kid ♥

Volume 3

Star Wars The first „Magic Kaito“ story I drew in the Heisei era (since 1989 -editor's note). There are several stories in which someone tries to gain profit from using a false Kid, but this is the shining first one! At the crime scene Kid announced a lot of Kid fans have assembled and shout "Kid! Kid!". Pretty clever idea, huh? Because this has developed to a classical element until today.

The Great Detective Appears!! Entrance of Saguru Hakuba! No, not only that, the chief inspector also shows his face...! Perhaps the junior was just worried because the top policeman never appears at the crime scene? (grin) By the way, Kid is so bad at ice skating because I'm so lousy in it myself.

Kaitou Under Scrutiny The skirt of Aoko's school uniform is so long and Kid's television is so big! From this you can tell the time! (Haha!) Apropos, the newspaper appearing on the last page is called „Oshima Daily Paper“ in the original version. Most of the newspapers shown in „Magic Kaito“ were named after my then editors. I beg your pardon. (grin)

Akako's Delivery Service Kaitou Kids measurements, 1.74 m (~ 5'9") and 58 kg (~ 128 lbs), naturally are my measurements from back then! The same goes for his blood type! (grin) Back then I thought it's really cool that it's possible to figure out skin colour and age of a person just by a single hair, but today, with DNA analysis you can figure out the whole identity of the person the hair belongs to. The progress of science is frightening... (Haha!)

(Extra Chapter) Yaiba vs. Kaito! I was told to draw a short, self-contained story and this dream sequence is the result. Back when I was a kid I already loved collaborations like „Mazinger Z vs. Devilman“, so I wanted to draw something like this. This is also the reason Kaitou Kid appears in Conan... (grin)

Blue Birthday The first time the gem Kaitou is after is the name origin for the title! Because this was the first „Magic Kaito“ after a very long time I debuted Kaitou Kid's arch-enemy and I can remember how much this motivated me... but it's also a story about a nightly firework in the midst of the city which must have made a lot of trouble in the surroundings... (grin)

Green Dream Oh well, this story is nothing special, but to be honest, it's this story which grew dear to my heart. (grin) What should I say about it? The rhythm is felicitous. This story was the first time I drew Kid's „signature“ we've grown so accustomed to. You can also tell from the name of one of the persons appearing that I really loved „Furuhata Ninzaburō“ back then - a japanese police detective drama.

Aoyama Kid ♥

Volume 4

Hello, it's me, Aoyama.

Since Magic Kaito is being republished I allow myself to show my memories about the past without further delay. (grin)

Crystal Mother This is the Kaito-train story I always wanted to draw! Including some allusions to "Lupin III" or "Sherlock Holmes" it became a story during which I could live it up... (grin) Snake, who got severely hurt in the tunnel returns in the following chapter completely unharmed. That's what I call "tough“! (Ha, ha!)

Red Tear Back when this story was published the first time, the thre first pages were in color! In fact, this created a mystery: „The gem on page 1 is blue, but the one on the cover page is red... Why oh why?“ Great that we can revive this mystery in all its glory! (grin) By the way, the closing scene in which all the photos containing the fondest memories are projected against the wall is an homage to the closing scene of the movie  „Cinema Paradiso“. ♪ I used this highlight again in „Detective Conan – The Last Wizard of the Century“. (grin)

Black Star The first confrontation with the one and only Shinichi Kudo! In this story, Kaito says: „The inspector couldn't catch him even if he used a satellite system!“ But really, it's kind of surprising that he hasn't caught him before, isn't it?! (grin) Shinichi is firing a pistol? Akako wants to use magic to get rid of Shinichi? Little Kaito is flirting with Aoko? What a crazy story! (grin) Well, the scene in which Akako uses her magic powers was cut from TV syndication, but it was restored for the DVD, so everyone who wants to watch it, can do so now. ♥ Oh yeah, the title „Black Star“! I believe there are some readers who ask themselves why this gemstone served as the namesake of the story even though it's just mentioned in passing at the end. That's because Kaitou Kid himself is the "Black Star" after all ★ – hence the title! ♪

Golden Eye The first duel of the phantoms! (... maybe.) Catherine Zeta-Jones was the model for the character Ruby Jones. ♥ Well, they don't look very much alike... (Ha, ha!) In this story it's made clear that Kaito was born in June and Aoko in September! Exactly... Kaitou Kid may be a thief, but he is also a magician, so it really delighted me to slip in the name of the grandiose real-life magician Harry Houdini. (grin) There are a lot of tricky moments that show how much Detective Conan "poisoned" this story... (Ha, ha!)

Dark Knights The mask Nightmare is wearing is based on one I bought during a vacation in Spain, because I really liked it. It now hangs at the wall of my living room. (Ha, ha!) Again, in this story is a lot to analyze and moreover, it ends in a thought-provoking, grim mood, which isn't very typical for „Magic Kaito“. On the other hand, this isn't bad either, isn't it? Superintendent Chaki, an old acquaintance from Detective Conan, had his origin in this story. Further on, Hakuba's nanny „Baaya“ has her very first appearance in here! Actually, it's said that there is another nanny for him who has a more docile personality, but that's a different story altogether... (He, he...)

Phantom Lady (Preannouncement) This story revolves around how the original Kaitou Kid obtained a wonderfully beautiful jewel for the first time. ♥ It will be the first in Volume 5... I wonder when it will be released? (grin)

Volume 5

Hi, it's Aoyama ! Since a new volume of ''Magic Kaito'' came out, I have to delve into my memories from the past. PHANTOM LADY I wrote this story about Kaito's parents four years ago. I had stopped writing Magic Kaito for Conan and I thought : ''Wow, so much time has passed ?'' (laughs) If I recall correctly, his mother mutters ''Kaito, it's time for you to know'', and the story's finally here ! It's this story that finally revealed that Kaito's mother's name is ''Chikage''. It was my first time digitalizing a manuscript, I was glad I managed to portray the security sensor similar to phantom thieves stories so cooly, but I had to drew one night scenery after another, and that took time and so I almost didn't make it in a deadline. By the way, this story leads to Conan's Ryouma case, in volume 70. Read it if you're interested ! MIDNIGHT CROW When it was decided to animate the series, I had a meeting with the animation staff. We asked ourselves ''How are we going to finish the story ?''. So I suggested : ''Why not do one about a black Kaitou Kid that would be published in the Sunday ?''. And that's how I wrote Midnight Crow. I will never forget the staff's face when I told them ''Actually, Touichi is alive'' (laughs) Ikeda-san, Touichi's voice actor, had difficulty saying the line ''When you come in contact with an audience, it's a scene of duel...'' quickly ! <3 The ''sucker trick'' line comes from Kaito Kid's anime screenwriter Kunihiko Okada, who I thank very much. In the Phantom Lady chapter, Kaito's work as Kid was given by Chikage, but in Midnight Crow, he's supposed to quit because a lot happened in Las Vegas... but it's another story (laughs) SUN HALO This chapter was written to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Magic Kaito, so it had to be a love comedy <3 When I drew the chapter, Kaito's bike is a Suzuki GSX 250 R. I had forgotten that it was supposed to be broken, so I had Jii-chan say that a ''doctor friend'' helped him... I leave that to your imagination (laughs) Speaking of characters, Lucifer appears again ! As I thought, Akako uses red magic ! (Fortunately Akako doesn't exist in Conan's world (laughs)). The entrance hall in the chapter is based on Tottori's entrance hall, so please go there if you visit Tottori ! By the way, in Sun Halo, Aoko rides the bike with Kaito ! NONCHALANT LUPIN It's a short story I sent to a shounen magazine, and I got an award for it. As you can see, it was a prototype for ''Magic Kaito'' (laughs) The forms are different but there's no card gun. I drew this because the editor I had at that time told me : ''Show me a story you want to write''. It's my second work ! Now that I look back, I'm embarassed because it looks bad. (laughs) Anyway, the hero's name is Lupin, and the name of the story ''Nonchalant Lupin'', but I don't know where he's nonchalant... (laughs)

[yumenosakiacademy]

ok 4 the 1.4 festival

aiming game where u shoot at balloons (im shit at aiming/bows)

rhythm game (it’s impossible 4 me 2 concentrate on using tht many keys at once ;w;)

u get a 4* bow (i dont use bow players at all)

u get 2 keep a harp n can play music w friends ([cries in Alone])

in short, im Fucked.

[arewedoneyet]

via mademypo @ twitter | 02022025

[vani-ash]

fha_na

[qveensbury]

ch 4: i ain’t gotta flex

summary: iwaizumi shows off and you’re lovestruck. a college au iwaizumi x reader fic.

AO3  | just a little oh a little bit | ko-fi

The temperature was finally falling and you could wear the jacket you bought specifically for your first year away from home.

Noa’s uni was hosting a festival. It received much more funding than your high school festival. They brought in different food stalls, vendors, and competitive games. It was a chance for students, alumni, faculty, and staff to relax. Kaede was planning on joining you but had to meet with a group for their class project. She promised to head straight there when they finished. “Okay. We should mill around until the lines die down then grab something to eat,” Noa said, adjusting her bag. “Ok.” “I think there was a booth selling postcards. We should check that out.” “Yea! I’ve been meaning to send my grandmother one.” “How’s that history class? More manageable?” “Noa, it’s gotten worse.” Noa groaned. “That’s horrible.” “My classmate said there’s got to be a way to read less and still understand what’s going on but it’s tough.” “Ito-chan?” She turned. “Oikawa.” She waved. “Iwaizumi.”

You turned to face the guys. Iwaizumi raised both eyebrows. “Hey.” "Hi,” you said back. “Why don’t we walk around together?” Oikawa put his arm around Noa. “Sure. Kaede is coming later and she still hasn’t met you.” Noa tugged him to start walking. You and Iwaizumi followed them. “I’m sure Iwa-chan has been telling her all kinds of lies about me.” Oikawa turned to look at Iwaizumi. “You’re so conceited. What makes you think I’d bore Miki with stories about you?” Noa giggled, “Oh, I’m not the only one keeping your ego in check? Good.” “So mean,” Oikawa whined. “____-chan, please don’t join their bullying.” “Don’t worry about ____, Oikawa. Iwaizumi and I have it covered.” Noa patted his back. “Oh, do you wanna try to win me a Pokémon? You have arm strength from volleyball. There’s an arm-wrestling machine.” “I can try, but I make no promises.” “Finish strong,” she cheered. Oikawa sat at the machine listening to the operator’s instructions. “I don’t think you and Oikawa would be interested in this. Otherwise, I would have texted you.” “Well, I could have texted you, too.” Iwaizumi rubbed the back of his neck. You smiled. “Next time then.” At the end of the speech, Oikawa nodded to indicate he was ready. Different music started to play. “Oh.” He braced his opposite arm against the table and groaned, trying to pull his arm to the winning side. “No no no no!” The mechanical arm began moving slowly taking the advantage before claiming victory. “Ugh!” Oikawa stood up. “Don’t sweat it! Those machines are really hard.” Noa brushed off Oikawa’s shoulders. “Yea, they’re not designed to be beatable,” Iwaizumi added. “I’ll only believe that if you can’t believe it, Iwa-chan.” Iwaizumi scoffed. “What difference will it make?" “C’mon, it won’t hurt to try.” Oikawa gestured to the seat. “You’re probably way stronger than Oikawa anyway,” Noa leaned against Oikawa. “There’s no need to be modest, Iwa-chan. It’s okay to show off a little.” Iwaizumi sighed and sat down. He listened to the instructions and nodded at the end. The same music began to play and you could hear the machine power up again. But Iwaizumi’s arm didn’t move. Oikawa let out a small tch. “Told you.” Iwaizumi braced his hand against the side of the machine and moved the mechanical arm toward the mat. Bells rang declaring him the victor. “Whoa! Iwaizumi, that was amazing!” you cheered. Iwaizumi turned to you, his mouth slightly ajar. His cheeks started to get a little pink. “T-thanks.” “He’s so cool, right? ____-chan?” “That was so cool.” You turned to Oikawa, nodding your head. You hadn’t seen anyone beat one of these machines before and Iwaizumi did it practically effortlessly. Iwaizumi put a hand on his neck and looked away. “Do you want a plush? They don’t have one I want.” “You should pick one—“ “That one right there is one of her favorites.” Noa pointed to one of the Hoenn starter pokémon. Iwaizumi nodded to the attendant and she took one down for him. “Here you go.” The attendant handed it to Iwaizumi who stood up and handed it to you. “Thank you.” Iwaizumi nodded. Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi’s arm and tugged him forward. “Let’s see what else we could win.” Noa chuckled when the boys were out of earshot. “He was trying to flirt with you, dummy. C’mon! Thank goodness I’m here.” Oikawa waved to you two. “Iwa-chan is gonna try to win this dart game.” “I haven’t done this since our last year of middle school,” Iwaizumi mumbled. “I’m sure you’ll do great,” you added. Iwaizumi looked back at you, his lips slightly parted. He chuckled and faced the balloons shaking his head. “He needs to pop three balloons of the same color and he gets five tries,” Oikawa said. “Oh ____-chan, you should pick the color.” You jolted. “Um…blue.” “Blue? Ok.” Iwaizumi rolled his shoulders. He picked up the first dart. You held your breath. He threw it and popped a blue balloon. “Nice!” Oikawa pumped a fist. Iwaizumi threw another dart popping a second blue balloon. “One more.” He shook his shoulders and threw it. You let out a breath. “Wow.” The attendant spoke with Iwaizumi before he selected a Godzilla plush.

“Iwiazumi, that was amazing!” He turned back and smirked at you. You felt your cheeks burning. He’s so cool. “Wow,” Oikawa scoffed, “so cool.” “Don’t be jealous Oikawa,” Noa said. Iwaizumi walked over to you three. And, you couldn’t look away. You smiled at him. His confidence on the court, once he got into a groove, was one thing but this? A whole new beast. It was magnetic. “What’s next?” you asked. “There was a 3 point game. Let’s try that.” You nodded, following Iwaizumi. You turned to see if Noa and Oikawa were behind you. They were whispering—a huge smirk on Noa’s face. You snorted, softly. “Everything ok?” You looked at Iwaizumi briefly. “That was really cool, Iwaizumi. I’ve never seen anyone get three in a row like that.” He shrugged, rubbing his neck. “Why are you being modest? That was so amazing!” You widened your eyes to emphasize your point. Iwaizumi blinked at you, before running into another student. “Sorry.” Iwaizumi grabbed him steadying the other guy before he could fall. “It’s okay.” The student laughed once he got his bearings. Noa giggled once the other student walked around your group. “Careful there, Iwaizumi.” There was a line for the three-point contest. “Let’s get something to eat.” Oikawa gestured at a food stall behind him. You all agreed and after you got your food you stood opposite the basketball hoop. The other contestants tried to score as many points in the thirty-second window. Oikawa noticed Iwaizumi studying them. “What do you think? A trick hoop?“ Iwaizumi shook his head. “It looks like a regular hoop. Like this guy,” he pointed with his chin, “looks like he plays basketball. He doesn’t have any trouble making the points once he gets in a rhythm.” “So,” Oikawa smirked, “how many points are you gonna make?” “Tch,” Iwaizumi took the last bite of his meal. He shrugged. “4 out of 8.” “Sure, set the expectation low.” “I’m telling you: it’s not like high school where someone would pass me the ball.” “Otherwise, you’d get 8 out of 8. Right?“ Iwaizumi shook his head. “The line’s died down.” Noa finished her meal. “Then, let’s go.” You all followed him to the contest. The basketball hoop was surrounded by a short gate. “____, hold the Godzilla for Iwaizumi,” Oikawa said. You held your plush under one arm and his with the other. Music started and the attendant blew a whistle. Iwaizumi grabbed a basketball and took a shot. Noa let out a sharp hiss when the ball bounced off the rim. “Don’t mind,” Oikawa mumbled. Iwaizumi didn’t hesitate. He took another shot and didn’t make it again. The next ball flew from his fingers and through the hoop. “Yes!” Noa pumped a fist. He made the following five with no problem. The three of you cheered as Iwaizumi walked back. Iwaizumi grinned, holding your gaze a beat longer. “Only four baskets, right?” Iwaizumi shrugged one shoulder. “I’m on a roll.” He glanced at you. Your heart skipped a beat. “Oh.” Noa answered her phone. “Hello. Kaede?.... Yea, where are you?” She listened for a beat. “Does anyone remember where the merry-go-round is?” “Yea, it’s past the darts.” Iwaizumi turned around, “So that way,” he pointed. “Let’s go.��� Noa beckoned with her head. Iwaizumi walked beside her. “____-chan.” You turned to Oikawa who’d fallen in step with you. “Mm?” “If you keep this up, you’ll have Iwa-chan wrapped around your little finger.”

A/N: title from Swoope’s Flex. if you don’t have a favorite starter Pokémon from Hoenn, congratulations Iwaizumi got you a Mudkip.

[awkwardlyamusing-blog]

Romanian Festival 2019 set for Aug. 16-18 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in West Park: A Place in the Sun

New Post has been published on http://doggietrainingclasses.com/romanian-festival-2019-set-for-aug-16-18-at-st-marys-cathedral-in-west-park-a-place-in-the-sun/

Romanian Festival 2019 set for Aug. 16-18 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in West Park: A Place in the Sun

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If you love ethnic celebrations, you won’t want to miss the Romanian Festival 2019 Aug. 16-18 at St. Mary Cathedral, 3256 Warren Road in Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood.

Festival organizers promise three days of live entertainment, food and fun. Hours are 4:30-11 p.m. Aug. 16; 1-11 p.m. Aug. 17 and noon to 10 p.m. Aug. 18.

The Transylvania Band with soloist Filimon Bogdan and D.J. Andy will provide music for all tastes will kick things off beginning at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 16. Also that night, church and museum tours will be offered 5-7 p.m., the Mioritza children’s dance group will perform at 6 and all are invited to dance until the festival close at 11 p.m.

On Aug. 17, church and museum tours are offered 2-4 p.m. and 7-8. Doina Dance Group will perform at 4 and 7 and Mioritza returns at 6.

Mioritza is back at 1 p.m. Aug. 18, followed by Doina at 1:20. The popular Romanian costumes parade will take place at 2 p.m. with people dressed in native costume from various regions. Participants hold signs indicating their region as they parade around the festival area. Church and museum tours will be offered again 3-5 pm. And Doina will perform at 4 and 6. The festival closes at 10.

In addition to the live entertainment outside, tours of the church and the Romanian Ethnic Art Museum located on the second floor of the church building, there are vendors offering Romanian items, clothing, jewelry, religious items and more; a Grandma’s Attic Sale; souvenirs; games for children and audio-visual presentations about Romanian culture.

In the air-conditioned church hall, there is a bar, pastries available for purchase and a variety of home-cooked Romanian food that can be eaten in the hall or taken home.

Visit smroc.org for more information.

Dog Gone Fun: Olmsted Historical Society is planning a special Dog Gone Funday noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Frostville Museum complex, 24101 Cedar Point Road, North Olmsted, in the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.

Tom Dubowski of the historical society sends word that there will be dog vendors, dog games and even a doggie agility course, as well as food, games and a raffle basket. All buildings will be open for visitors.

In addition to the historical society, the Grateful Dog Bakery and Elite K911 Dog Training are presenting the event.

Admission is $3 per family, which includes a chance to win one of two $50 Visa gift cards. All dogs must be leashed.

For more information, call 440-779-4355.

Lawn Chair Cinema finale: The third and final Lawn Chair Cinema for this year, set for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Impett Park, 3207 W. 153rd St., West Park, will include a First District Safety Fair.

The movie “Mary Poppins Returns,” winner of the Facebook poll for which film would be shown, will be shown at dusk on the large, inflatable screen after the safety fair.

Safety fair booths will include information from public health, Cleveland Emergency Medical Service, Cleveland Metroparks’ NatureTracks, El Barrio Workforce Center will have face painting, the city’s Department of Aging, CareSource, Cleveland Transformation Alliance, Cleveland Public Power, Water Pollution Control and Tri-League baseball.

The free family event will feature games and activities at local merchant booths starting at 6:30 pm. Attendees can learn a dance step, clap out rhythms, sing songs and more with DJ Kenny G. Sarah Jackson will be making balloon creations.

Kamm’s Corners Development Corp. presents the Lawn Chair Cinema events, with sponsors Fairview Hospital and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

Visit kammscorners.com for more information.

Mastick Road work: Work is underway to resurface Mastick Road between Easton Road in Fairview Park and the western border with North Olmsted. Motorists should remember that eastbound traffic on Mastick is being detoured along Brookpark Road from Clague Road in North Olmsted to West 220th Street in Fairview Park.

Westbound traffic is maintained on this section of Mastick.

Tyler Williams, from left, Sara Sacha, Patience Smith, Taiylor Sloan and Kollin Reddinger are among 40 students chosen for this year’s Cuyahoga Community College Honors Program Fellowships. (Cuyahoga Community College)

Congratulations: Five students from Sun Post-Herald communities were selected for Cuyahoga Community College Honors Program Fellowships, which offer high-achieving students scholarships to cover tuition, fees and books as they work toward an associate degree.

Scholarship recipients include Taiylor Sloan of Fairview Park; Sarah Sacha and Tyler Williams of Lakewood; and Kollin Reddinger and Patience Smith of North Olmsted.

They signed commitment letters with Tri-C during an Aug. 7 ceremony at the college’s Jerry Sue Thornton Center in Cleveland. Each scholarship — funded by donors to the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation — is valued at up to $5,160 per academic year.

The college’s sixth fellowship class features 40 students who graduated high school with at least a 3.5 GPA and high ACT/SAT scores. By entering the scholarship program, they commit to being full-time students, maintaining a high GPA and earning a degree from Tri-C within two years.

The honors fellowship places special emphasis on academic planning, mentoring and portfolio building to reflect student work. Smaller honors class sizes also ensure specialized attention for students. The program is designed to support eventual transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a bachelor’s and other advanced degrees. Previous Honors Program Fellows received many academic honors on their way to earning Tri-C associate degree.

For information on the Honors Program Fellowship and eligibility requirements, contact Herbert Mausser, Tri-C’s director of Honors and Scholars Programs at 216-987-4660 or herbert.mausser@tri-c.edu.

Free concert: Four student ensembles from The Lakewood Music Collective will entertain at LakewoodAlive’s next free Front Porch Concert at 7 p.m. Aug. 16 on the front porch of Lakewood Public Library, 15425 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. It will be the eighth of 10 weekly concerts in the popular series.

The Exchange is presenting this week’s concert. The series is sponsored by Bentley Wealth Management of Raymond James.

The Lakewood Music Collective is a local music studio owned by Chris Parsons. Four ensembles will entertain the crowd with a variety of musical offerings. Error 707, an all-girl youth rock band, and Better Late, an adult rock band, will present their unique brands of rock-n-roll. Also, a coffee shop ensemble will perform a variety of acoustic numbers and a student jazz band will play.

Now in its ninth year, the Front Porch Concert Series adds vibrancy and an enhanced sense of community to Lakewood’s urban core, drawing several thousand attendees annually. Each week showcases a different style of music

Visit LakewoodAlive.org/FrontPorchConcerts for more information. Attendees are reminded to bring blankets or lawn chairs.

Celebrity bartender: The Power of More chambers of commerce will have a Celebrity Bartenders Night 5-7:30 p.m. Aug 21 at Burntwood Tavern, 5600 Great Northern Blvd., North Olmsted. Celebrity bartenders will be revealed at the event

There will be complimentary appetizers. The event is free, and no RSVP needed. Tips and raffle proceeds benefit the American Heart Association.

Power of More chambers include the following local ones: Fairview Park, North Olmsted, Parma Area (Parma, Parma Heights, Seven Hills), West Shore (Bay Village and Westlake), plus Berea, Cuyahoga Valley, North Coast, North Ridgeville and Olmsted.

Visit powerofmorechambers.org for more information.

New NOFD leaders: North Olmsted Mayor Kevin Kennedy recently swore in two officers to the North Olmsted Fire Department. Newly promoted are Capt. Matt Peters and Lt. Kevin Zywiec. The formal swearing in ceremonies took place at the Aug. 6 City Council meeting.

Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. in Fairview Park, Lakewood, North Olmsted and West Park for the A Place in the Sun column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to carolkovach@hotmail.com.

Source link Dog Training Information

[wewerepromisedsomuch]

Live Review: Foals @ Citadel Festival

Artist: Foals

Venue:  Citadel Festival, Victoria Park, London, UK

Date: 16th July 2017

Rating: 8.0/10

Despite earlier proclamations about never wanting to become arena slaying band, there’s always been something special about Foals and with it, they were never going to be a group confined to measly venues with modest chart success. It’s been a gradual rise to the top but Foals have become a genuine festival topping, number one record holding big deal and it is very much deserved. After the success of ‘What Went Down’, the Oxford outfit’s sublime 4th LP, a coveted headlining spot at Reading and Leeds Festival last year cemented the five-piece’s on-going headlining status. Now here we are, on that album’s victory lap at Citadel Festival in London’s Victoria Park, a homecoming of sorts as most of the group have re-located here from their native Oxford.

Promising a set made up of rarities and deep cuts, the expectation in the air is thick for some old classics (well, from WWPSM anyway). With the sun going down, the quintet take to the stage to a rapturous applause before launching into the life-affirming anthemic splendour of ‘Mountain at my Gates’ which sparks off the first of many colossal sing-a-longs and the kind of arms aloft adulation normally reserved for a biblical reawakening. The snarling beast of ‘Snake Oil’ follows, a gnarled nugget of rock ‘n’ roll befitting Foals’ savage life persona. The promised journey into the outfit’s now burgeoning back catalogue is signalled by ‘Olympic Airways’ arrival, the first of a handful of trips back to 2007’s debut record ‘Antidotes’. The staccato bounce and repeated refrain of “dis..a…ppe…ar/dis..a…ppe…ar” sparking off more feverous scenes. Further dips into ‘Antidotes’ comes via ‘Electric Bloom’, ‘Red Sock Pugie’ and ‘Heavy Water’. The latter having been dusted off for this set of summer festival shows. Cut from the same cloth as set closer and permanent mainstay ‘Two Steps, Twice’, ‘Heavy Water’ transports us back to the early days of the taut highwire Foals, where math rock rhythms powered their awkward time signatures with a fidgeting urgency. In recent interviews Yannis Philippakis mentioned that ‘Black Gold’ would more than likely get an airing and true to his word the euphoric and underrated morsel from ‘Total Life Forever’ is dispensed early on in tonight’s set. Disappointingly, it’s not greeted with the kind of response you’d expect for a rarely played song, despite Foals delivering it with a dextrous poise.

When plunging into the less frantic nuggets of their arsenal, opting for some introspection, it would seem the pocket of the crowd WWPSM is standing in only want to get lairy as the likes of ‘Night Swimming’ and ‘Late Night’ fall on deaf ears. Even sections of the aforementioned slices of ‘Antidotes’ are not given the respect they are due. It would be unfair to tar the entire Victoria Park crowd with the same brush but where we were standing, despite being in the first quarter of the crowd, front and centre, the punters had limited attention spans, opting to fuck about on Snapchat, talk, snort unidentified powders from keys and consume all manner of substances rather than live in the moment. A lot like family and next-door neighbours, you can’t choose who you stand next to at gigs – rest assured, if we could have, we wouldn’t have chosen this bunch of fucking dickheads. Also, to the guy puking up just before Foals’ set – must have been something you ate yeah? Twat.

You know a song is solid gold when it can silence even the chattiest gig goer and ‘Spanish Sahara’ did just that – the track’s understated beginning making the motormouths around stand in awe as Foals slowly let the fan favourite swell to become a euphoric giant. ‘My Number’s jubilant bounce captures both band and audience in a joyful union and main set closer ‘Inhaler’, in the words of Philippakis, lets the Citadel masses “let of some steam” as the feral monster careers and crashes with all the subtlety of a Godzilla wiping out Tokyo.  

With ‘Inhaler’ still ringing through London’s night sky, Foals depart into the wings, only to return moments later to cap off their headlining Citadel performance in star-studded fashion. ‘What Went Down’s fierce rock attack kicks off a huge circle pit, whilst also distilling Foals down to their untamed best. In customary fashion ‘Two Steps, Twice’ caps off a celebratory evening, as it’s tightly wound DNA gives the London crowd one more chance to lose their shit before being enveloped by a streamer and ticker-tape explosion.

Having witnessed Foals blossom from Oxford based minnows, playing diddy venues in their hometown to being the globe-trotting act they’ve become today, it’s with a sense of pride we leave Citadel, albeit tinged with a bit of frustration. Frustration borne from the disrespecting knobhead crowd around us and, being slightly picky, the deep cuts promised didn’t go deep enough – perhaps our expectations became our enemy but we would have loved to have heard ‘Cassius, ‘Balloons’, ‘Hummer’, ‘The French Open’, ‘Tron’, ‘After Glow’, ‘Providence’ and countless others, but given Foals are four albums to the good now – they can’t play everything and we’ve been lucky enough to have heard these nuggets throughout Foals’ triumphant ascent to greatness.

Foals’ meteoric rise doesn’t look like peaking anytime soon, by the time album five drops, the writing on the wall spells out: stratospheric.

 Photography by Naomi Abbs-Williams