#then I go on fb and look at the racist ass comments there and get even more infuriated

[evansbby]

If y’all wanna know what racism in the UK looks like in 2023, especially racism towards black women, then watch the current season BBUK.

[talkingtea]

She never wanted to be famous but she also enjoyed being an actress (The bs on The Flash aside). She has seemed to make her whole life about him and his needs. His ex did the same thing. She talked about her co-dependency. Shardea seemed to do it too until she got away. Ironically they both seem to be in a better place within themselves as women without him.

I also don’t think she’s ready to deal with the backlash. I know she’s “private”. I don’t think people care as it is as it was so long ago and TBH he’s a washed up NBA player but there will be some comments at first but nothing too major. It’ll probably be more comments from the racist Flash fans tbh.

The difference with this situation and all the other women is that JR had a 1 year old baby at home and was still acting married and leaving heart eyes under his wife’s pictures before they posted up at that party. It was messy and although CP didn’t owe his family anything, it wasn’t a good look from the family angle. She shouldn’t have involved herself with that.

But it is what it is. CP chose him and all his baggage. It’s sad to see a woman diminish her light for a man, let alone a man like him. Women always think they’re getting a better version of a man who has left a path of destruction before them. It never seems to work out that way. He’s still the same man, IMO. I still can’t believe she went back to him after the whole Shardea thing.

Everything you said is on point but this part especially…

‘She has seemed to make her whole life about him and his needs. His ex did the same thing. She talked about her co-dependency. Shardea seemed to do it too until she got away’

That’s how we know all this isn’t just about her not wanting to be famous or taking an indefinite break from acting. His wife’s whole world revolved around him and their kids and she had nothing going on until he left and found someone ‘better’ and she was forced to pick up the pieces. It took a while before she really started doing it but when she did you could tell she was much lighter and happier because of it. Same for Shardea. When she was with FB she didn’t have anything else going on and she was up his ass 24/7 while he did his thing—which included talking to another woman—but it wasn’t until it was over that she finally started going back to doing her own thing, hanging with friends and booking work again, etc. And just like Jewel she’d looked so much lighter and happy because of it.

So what’s happening with Candice isn’t new, it’s just how he operates in a relationship. For whatever reason a woman with him isn’t allowed to shine in any way and her world has to revolve around him at all times. We long for the day when Candice chooses to move on and more than that chooses herself and her happiness over choosing to diminish herself and her talents to placate a small, toxic man.

[micoo-and-gavvy]

In a heated moment I responded to a transphobe in a Fb comments section and I lost the energy for what I knew was going to be a pointless interaction so quickly all I could get through was a half assed sentence 

Tumblr can give you this sense of ‘if I don’t defend a minority then I’m a bad person’ and while in a real life situation that’s true, it’s really negatively affected how i interact with social media. There’s akways going to be a racist/homophobe/transphobe/etc no matter where I look and I just don’t have the energy to try and engage in a conversation that will most likely end in them calling me names and making me more upset than I should be

[racingtoaredlight]

College Football 2020 Season Week 10 TV Watch Em Ups: Some of these games will even be played

These are bad times for living but there is a slight shadow of hope. Hope doesn’t normally cast a shadow but, you know, bad times. Dark around the sun. Clouds for months. We live in a bog. Follow me on twitter for more mirth!

This is the way the games are listed right now at about midnight Eastern but the dominos they are a-fallin’. We might see some more cancellations / postponements but you know the rules by now. Shit’s not getting updated on this site unless there is something really crazy going on. Like one of the proprietors of the site actually looking at it during the day. Highly improbable, as you well know. Bad info (incorrect kickoff times, wrong channel listed, flip-flopped lines) is not my fault. Bad takes are all me. Just keep the good ones in mind when you are painting my portrait.

Saturday, November 14

Matchup                                                     Time (ET)                   TV/Mobile

9 Miami (FL) at Virginia Tech                     12:00pm                       ESPN

Virginia Tech is favored by 2.5 and I am legitimately puzzled. What is Vegas expecting here? Miami has been underwhelming at times but the Hokies have actually been bad for the most part.

10 Indiana at Michigan State                     12:00pm                        ABC

Sure, Indiana is undefeated and ranked #10 but this season shouldn’t count and they’re still Indiana. I laughed when Michigan State beat Michigan two weeks ago and I’ll do it again if they knock Indiana off their pedestal. To be fair, Sparty getting run the fuck over would also be funny. B1G 2020 - it’s even worse than it looks!

Vanderbilt at Kentucky                               12:00pm                        SECN

These two long-time SEC rivals should have more cancellations in their series history.

TCU at West Virginia                                   12:00pm                         FOX

Go WFV. I feel that in my heart but there’s no magic here.

Wake Forest at North Carolina                   12:00pm                       ACCN

I was happy for UNC when they were #5 but I also want to see them buried under the graveyard. The duality of man.

Western Carolina at 22 Liberty                    12:00pm                       ESPNU

Vegas Insider doesn’t have a line listed for this game so I guess Western Carolina is FCS but I really don’t ever know anymore. Especially in the mid-Adlantic region. Liberty had an all-time great stupid game ending last week so it would be perfect if they lose the rest of their games and we can forget all about this tragedy of a season that has Liberty ranked every week.

Middle Tennessee at 16 Marshall                12:00pm                      CBSSN

This is probably my backup for the Canes game but I can’t tell you anything about either team as of now.

Army at Tulane                                               12:00pm             ESPN2/ESPN+

On paper this isn’t even the worst game with a noon kickoff this week and let me tell you why that has my heart just glowing.

Penn State at Nebraska                                12:00pm                        FS1

Teenage me would have been overjoyed at the prospect of 1994′s co-National Champions playing in a nationally televised showdown of winless teams in November 2020. Is that weird? Sure, but I still hate both of these programs and love to see them struggle. Penn State has to win this one, I reckon, but there is still an outside chance at a cancellation. If we can end this season with zero wins for Penn State then all the risks were worth it.

Illinois at Rutgers                                           1:00pm                          BTN

Here is yet another example of a game that should have been cancelled in a non-pandemic year.

South Alabama at 25 Louisiana                     2:00pm                        ESPN+

A 6-1 Sun Belt team with a top 25 ranking is a clear indication that this season needed to be over before it started. This is madness.

Fresno State at Utah State                             2:30pm                           FS2

This is not a midday kind of game and, as such, should also be cancelled. Or at least pushed back 8 hours for the sake of aesthetics.

Georgia State at Appalachian State              2:30pm                       ESPN+

I have the song “Kill Em All” stuck in my head but the word kill is replaced with cancel. The meter does not work at all but it’s close enough for me and it’s my only comment on this game.

UTEP at UTSA                                                  3:00pm                       ESPN+

If you want to see the nation’s second leading rusher, his name is Sincere McCormick and he plays for UTSA. Yes, he is now second.

Louisville at Virginia                                         3:30pm                       ACCN

Great matchup of horrible teams that don’t always seem horrible.

Southern Miss at WKU                                    3:30pm                      CBSSN

There is no way to carry any self respect watching this shitty game, imagine writing about it? Imagine reading my writing about it? Goddammit, man, it might be time to give up on football altogether.

Texas State at Georgia Southern                    3:30pm                     ESPN3

Pure unadulterated misery.

USF at Houston                                                 3:30pm           ESPN2/ESPN+

I love it when these two programs thrive but this is not one of those years and the idea of actually watching this game this year is wholly unappealing.

2 Notre Dame at Boston College                            3:30pm                 ABC

Until beating Clemson last week the last time Notre Dame had beaten a #1 team was 1993 when they outlasted Florida State in one of the most mercilessly hyped games in college football history. Florida State dropped all the way to #2 in the polls and Notre Dame followed up that high with a loss to an unranked Boston College team. You know what they say about history - those who don’t remember how funny it is for Notre Dame to lose to Boston College are in for a real treat if it happens again.

Colorado at Stanford                                                3:30pm                ESPN

Great uniform matchup. Still rooting for the cancellation.

20 USC at Arizona                                                     3:30pm                FOX

UPDATE!: I still hate USC.

Hawaii at San Diego State                                       4:00pm      Spectrum PPV

I saw last week that you can download an app that lets you watch Hawaii games for free but I think you have to cast it from your phone to the TV for some reason. Also, I forget what the app is called.

Eastern Kentucky at Central Arkansas                   4:00pm               ESPN3

Is there a trophy for this game? Is it a rivalry? If it’s a rivalry and they don’t have a trophy already then I’d like to suggest awarding a barrel of moonshine to the winning team.

Baylor at Texas Tech                                                 4:00pm                  FS1

Look at this beautiful SWC shit being ruined by existing in 2020. Related: how did Baylor manage to do so much embarrassing shit as a school after the SWC collapsed?

23 Northwestern at Purdue                                       5:00pm                 BTN

I’ve mentioned it in these posts plenty of times but I have a truly inexplicable hatred for Northwestern.

Pittsburg State at Stephen F. Austin                         5:00pm              ESPN3

Without doing a modicum of research I’ve concluded that Stephen F. Austin transitioned to FBS this year but their schedule is still set to NAIA.

Nevada at New Mexico                                              6:30pm                FS2

How are there still so many games that haven’t been cancelled yet?

19 SMU at Tulsa                                                           7:00pm             ESPN2

SMU is #19 and I know there are no good teams this year but I feel it in my heart that this is too high for SMU to be ranked.

Arkansas at 6 Florida                                                  7:00pm              ESPN

I’m too busy being baffled by the amount of football being played to dispense with too much half-assed gambling advice this week but Arkansas +17 seems like the easiest play of any line I’ve looked at.

11 Oregon at Washington State                                  7:00pm               FOX

The only reason to play this game would be to try to give Mike Leach COVID but he isn’t even coaching Washington State anymore.

South Carolina at Mississippi                                      7:30pm             SECN

In a world full of COVID this game is an STD. The racist south is going to be wearing some stars & stripes themed uniforms, I think, which isn’t really markedly different than their Confederacy-themed normal look.

Florida State at NC State                                              7:30pm            ACCN

FSU is currently at the lowest point that any of the big three Florida programs has been at in my entire life. NC State is favored by 10.5 and that seems too low by half. NC State being unranked is very fair and they are still, from what I’ve seen, easily good for beating Florida State by 21. What a fucking world.

13 Wisconsin at Michigan                                             7:30pm          ABC

Michigan is totally going to win this game. It is written in the stars.

Temple at UCF                                                               7:30pm        ESPNU

Just realized it’s Tulane that’s playing Army. When I wrote the capsule I was thinking of Temple. Oh, well, nothing we can do about that now.

UNLV at San Jose State                                                10:30pm         FS2

There is no reason for this game to be played.

Oregon State at Washington                                         11:00pm        FS1

Has UDub really fallen this far this fast (again) or are they just forgotten? Let’s all agree to not find out.

GAMES OF THE WEEK

Memphis at Navy                                             Postponed

3 Ohio State at Maryland                                Canceled

Gardner-Webb at Charlotte                            Canceled

Air Force at Wyoming                                     Canceled

North Texas at UAB                                         Postponed

Arizona Christian at Abilene Christian          Canceled

1 Alabama at LSU                                            Postponed

Rice at Louisiana Tech                                    Postponed

12 Georgia at Missouri                                    Postponed

15 Coastal Carolina at Troy                            Postponed

[sweetcatastrophex]

there’s so much going on, i feel overwhelmed again. i’m being attacked personally and professionally on facebook for simply asking for local reactions to the presidential election bc my editor asked us to do stories on it. these people are in complete denial of reality and calling me fake news and not real journalism. meanwhile i’m busting my ass day in and day out for dirt wages to bring high quality news to more than 30,000 people. also, they’re fucking WRONG lmao so embarrassing for them. then i have my mom denying reality too, diverting constantly from how horrible trump is, claiming facts aren’t true and she even said to me that she lost respect for all journalists. that my industry is going down the tube. i’m scared. this is terrifying — truth is losing its sanctity. people discredit facts simply because they don’t like them. and trump and people like ben shapiro and tucker carlson and rudy guliani make them comfortable doing so. and it’s not just this country — demagogues around the world are crumbling democracy. and if we crush democracy here, what happens? even tho biden won there’s still more than 70 million people who support racist, narcissistic, dumbass failure of a salesman trump. our country is literally divided in half and that half has guns. i do my best to avoid news about trump, avoid hearing what he says or tweets, but he still creeps into my life in other ways — even causing my family members to stop talking to me. and i’m so sick of it. yeah the same family members who preached about “family first” family is always there for you blah blah blah bitches you blocked me out of your life after one political post i shared. liars and hypocrites. i just finished a mental breakdown. was hysterically crying as soon as i finished work bc of the onslaught of things — the FB comments, my mom denouncing my career choice, the crumbling sanctity of the truth, the mistrust of journalists, democracy being attacked and overrun... it’s just a lot tonight. i was crying so hard but i guess i had to let it out. and i was doing so good. i wasn’t sharing political posts on social media as much, wasn’t interacting with trolls for the sake of my mental health... then this shit happened. thanks, work, for making me post on FB. these people are absolutely fucking delusional. ima ignore em all tho lol. poor morty cried a little too and was looking at me as i was sobbing.. he came over to me prob bc i was so loud and comforted me, pushing up against me with his body and licking my feet lol then jake stopped playing video games when i approached him and talked to me and calmed me down. my boyzzz <3 i tried calling karen but she’s watching a movie with a friend and i called peter to talk to him bc he’s a reporter too so we relate on that level and it helped a little. i think ima read some NY Times opinion columns or something.  like i get it. this is nothing new — i’ve been analyzing conservatives for years now. the psychology of it (massive projection almost constantly), their mindsets, what drives them (fear), etc. the party was even prepping to call the election illegitimate for months by falsely claiming voter fraud and “illegal votes” (what is that). we knew it was coming. i said to my mom that i know there’s shitty things happening in the world and in the country, and it’s easy to deny them and pretend like they don’t exist but that’s not how you make things better. to improve something you have to first accept there’s an issue (in this case, many, many issues). 

[jerichocalling]

Hold my sparkly ass for a while I need to rage.

Henna’s around 17, yeah? We were in this group of friends, which, during school time, had a clear leader (other such people in our gang went to different schools). This leader, I’m just gonna call Cuntface, is the one to look at when we drill into the issue on why I’m the one who does 99% of all friendship interactions and not Henna. Cuntface fucking traumatized her by screaming at her out of nowhere for like half an hour, in her trauma environment, aka, her home.

The story goes like this. Cuntface has a sister who was bullied at school by total dickheads for having learning disabilities and being socially awkward (such as the many times she just hug attacked [yes, glomped. Does anyone remember glomping. I bet you do] without consent and even after being told “alright, can you let me go? sorry..” Like Henna was clearly very uncomfortable with that. No one ever intervened, least of all Cuntface.) Henna and the sister would on occasion chit chat about books, manga, drawing comics and stuff, but not to the extent we would’ve had what I’d describe a friendship.

One day most of the family of Cuntface (a lil bro, the sister, Cuntface, and her mom) took us to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. All of our other friends had seen it so naturally I was the friend of choice for Cuntface. In the car, Henna is talking about books with the sis - or more like listening to her talk. We were really excited to get to go to the movies, conservative laestadian family, remember? So when we get to the theater and all the commercials have rolled and movie begun - the sister is still talking about goddamn Robin Hood books! Henna shushes her like please, the movie’s begun, let’s continue another time!

Now scroll forward many months. It is the town fair. I’m there with a friend and we bump into the mother and sister of Cuntface. Mother looks at us with this pure hatred seething through her eyes and is really cutting cold with her words, sister acts like nothing’s wrong. We’re like wtf is going on. Cuntface has been ice queen towards us for a long time, snooting her nose up and avoiding eye contact, cutting us out of conversations and we have no clue what the fuck is up with that. “Nothing,” she always says. That evening the group gathers up at the town fair and visits us (we live across a 5-minute walk from it). Everyone but Cuntface acts normal again but it is when they leave, she finally turns and says “You know what, Henna, we need to talk.” She sounds pissed and Henna sheepishly okays and we retreat to our room. Finally we get to hear what we’ve done and mentally get ready to apologize. Then it’s this.

We sit on our couch-bed shaking and tearing up while Cunface stands and whirls her hands and insults at us - for what again? Shushing her sister in a movie theater. We are a monster, how could I, a bullied kid myself act that way?! How cruel we are! How despicable! How disgusting! Our face that was so angelic before has become just fugly! (yes, she insulted our appearance as well) Cuntface has been really doing her best to keep this bottled up (lmao) but now she just simply can’t stand it anymore! She is barely holding herself for punching my face! I am bullying her sister goddamn it and that won’t stand! Even her mother is disgusted by my actions when Cuntface told her about it! (figures why the mom was so suddenly hating me, now she sends hearts on my hi i’m dying fb posts)

We listen to her yelling and screaming and shouting and Henna is unable to get a word in. She shakes and begins crying, first silently then scream-crying and huddling her feet and holding her head I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry oh god I’m so so sorry I didn’t mean to-!

Cuntface says that once I’ve apologized to her sister she’ll forgive me - which I do that evening through deviantArt because I don’t have other means of communicating with her. She answers few days later completely unaware that this had been going on. She really thought nothing of me shushing her and had no conversations about this with Cuntface. So yeah, confused and amused, she forgives me. And so, then, does Cuntface. The queen smiles again.

But I do not forgive Cuntface. That attack, that explosive aggression towards us from seemingly out of nowhere during our trauma time in our trauma environment scarred us deep. Henna is so afraid of setting her friends off accidentally that she rather not be in touch with them. I do most of that while she sheepishly agrees to everything resembling an opinion from her friends, smiling politely and entertaining them with funny YouTube videos, ha ha ha, ah oh no it seems the social spoons have been drained, I’m terribly sorry dear friend but would it be okay if we were to continue this at a later time? Thank you so much for visiting talking asking how I am commenting on my fb update thank you, see, I pushed “like”, I really like you, thank you for being my friend, please, be my friend in the future as well? It’s okay if you don’t though, I can see why you wouldn’t, ha ha ha, I’m sorry, am I being a bother? I’m gonna go. See ya! <333<3<3

I do not fucking forgive Cuntface. That fuck was always openly and unapologetically racist as well. A rude, racist, mean, hypocritical, glorified piece of shit. Not one of us (in the system) has considered her a friend since that trauma and none of us ever will. Not that she’d care anyways. Because she’s Cuntface.

[kbaldwin0609]

'The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All' Recap: Keeping it 100

‘The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All’ (Photo: ABC)

Warning: This recap for the ‘Men Tell All’ episode of The Bachelorette contains spoilers. 

Welcome to the penultimate week of Rachel’s “journey,” rose lovers!

Yep, it’s time to revisit all the “drama” and “controversy” and “heartbreak” from the past 9 weeks — which will be far more tolerable if you play the “take a shot every time some dude you don’t recognize speaks” drinking game. We’re lookin’ at you, pal.

But first, filler!

Did any of us really need to relive those moments featuring Kasey, Kalon, Clint, Chad, some random dudes from Andi’s season, Kaitlyn’s hate tweets — and the highly awkward gender reveal of Ashley and JP’s baby? Of course not. That time would have been better spent grilling Dean about his weird tsunami hairdo.

Still, the crowd LOVES him.

At last, it’s time for the awkward reunions.

Lucas says he still doesn’t understand why Blake was “obsessing” over him in the house, but before Blake can really respond, Adam jumps in with the joke he must have been practicing in front of the mirror for weeks: “There was so much Whaboom, where it should just kind of been like, ‘Whabye.’” Nailed it, bro!

Chris Harrison then turns the conversation to DeMario — who, it should be noted, will only make one very oblique reference to the Bachelor in Paradise s**tshow tonight, because Team Bachelorette is apparently saving that for a separate DeMario-Corinne interview special. Instead, DeMario is here tonight to defend himself against Girlfriendgate.

Sure, says DeMario, I had sexual relations with that woman — but she was nothing more than a “side chick.”

“You can boo me, but I’m keepin’ it real,” DeMario tells the crowd.

Harrison counters that DeMario told him on tape that he and Lexi had dated, but DeMario just continues to deny it, while also dropping some kind of expletive-laded reference to President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Dean, bless his heart, puts an end to the discussion by declaring that while DeMario made “some stupid decisions,” at least he’s not a piece of human garbage like Whaboom or Lee. Solid point, sir. Let’s move on.

Oh God, now it’s Iggy’s turn to defend himself.

We feel you, Josiah.

“Look, I have no problem being opinionated,” says Iggy. “My responsibility at the time was to be honest with this woman that I was really, really attracted to… I would do it again.” I wonder if he would say the same thing about choosing to wear that Mr. T chain to the taping.

If you went to refill your wine glass during Iggy’s brief moment in the spotlight, hustle on back to the couch now, because it’s time for Kenny vs. Lee. Or more accurately, it’s time for the other guys to talk s**t about Lee and his less-than-inclusive attitudes. “Kenny might have been the most well-liked guy in the house, and it’s hard to say the same about Lee,” says Dean, who was apparently nominated by Team Bachelorette to be their Spokesperson Against Racism. “And when you have literally 30 people on your side versus one person, it’s clear who the person in the right is and who is wrong.”

While Adam jumps in to say that Lee’s claim that Kenny tried to pull him out of a van in Hilton Head was simply “not true,” DeMario comes to the tiny white Southerner’s defense: “When all my s**t was going on, Lee reached out to me first,” he says. “The Lee I know was a very genuine guy.” Will agrees, saying that he had a decent relationship with Lee for most of the show, and that he was surprised and “disappointed” to learn about Lee’s racist tweets. Even Kenny notes that his conflict with Lee “didn’t feel like racism… It really just felt like, this dude’s out of his league.”

This goes on and on, with the Kenny asserting that he did his best to take the high road so as not to disgrace himself in the eyes of his daughter, McKenzie, and the guys insisting that they never once witnessed Kenny being “aggressive.” Lee, meanwhile, hasn’t said anything — and when he finally does start talking, it’s clear he’s in Redemption Tour mode. First, Lee admits that Kenny didn’t actually try to pull him out of a van (“Yeah, no s**t,” notes Kenny drily), and then he apologizes for not being a “better friend.”

Okay thanks, Captain Understatement. And then, in an effort to wash away all the bitterness of the Lee-Kenny feud, Harrison surprises Kenny with the news that McKenzie is actually backstage. And you guys, she’s carrying a rose for her Dad.

Dammit, I hate when this stupid show makes me cry! “I’m proud of you,” McKenzie tells her Dad. “You were, like, number eight.” And her little face, when Chris Harrison announces that the show is sending them to Disneyland to celebrate Kenny’s birthday?

My stone-cold heart just can’t handle this much sweetness. Good thing it’s time to talk to Lee.

“I should have been a better friend,” Lee repeats, after noting that sometimes his “facetious” sense of humor does not come across well. Yeah, the guys aren’t buying it. “While the episodes were airing, you did not take to social media once to denounce anything that you were saying or doing,” snaps Dean. “In fact, you were promoting your actions every single time on Instagram… Now that you’re in the hot seat, now that 18 people are calling you on your s**t, this is the moment when you’re saying sorry.” Dean’s got an excellent point, but I almost missed it because I was so busy puzzling over his bizarre hair.

Anyhow, all the guys want Lee to truly apologize — not just for “ruffling feathers” in the house, but also for things like this:

“For me to read that out loud makes me feel unbelievable uncomfortable,” says Harrison. “When you see it now… how do you feel about it?” Oh, you know, Lee feels like he has “a lot to learn” in “that area” (meaning, what, common human decency?) and that his statements were “inconsiderate.” But once again, the Men Tell All’s titular men are not having it. “Everybody’s sorry when they get caught,” says Kenny. Josiah takes it a step further, walking on to the stage and sitting down next to Lee on the couch. If Lee really believes the NAACP is like the KKK — “people who hung my ancestors,” notes Josiah — why did he come on a show with a black Bachelorette?

“I don’t like racism at all,” counters Lee. “And when I woke up and I saw that those [tweets] came out, it hurt me a lot, and I started thinking about how reckless…”

At this point, Lee is shouted down by the other bachelors, who know they didn’t just hear Lee say those racist tweets hurt him. “When you woke up the next day and you realized that you sent those racist-ass tweets, the next day did you go, ‘I, Lee, denounce these tweets’?” asks DeMario. “Or did you wait a year and nine days to be on this stage right now, and now are you saying it?”

Clearly the answers to those questions are “No” and “yes,” but instead Lee mumbles something about not intending “for it to come out the way that it did. It cut it in half when it released it onto Twitter from my Facebook.” Okay, so the message was truncated — so what did Lee intend for it to mean, in its full and glorious context?

Yeah, Lee’s got nothin’ — unless, for some reason, Team Bachelorette edited his answer out. He will say he denounces those tweets, and reiterates that the KKK tweet was only part of his full post on FB. (But what did the rest of that post say? He doesn’t explain, and as far as I can tell his personal profile page is private.) So Anthony tries the direct approach to get Lee to say something — anything — reflective about his past behavior: “Are your actions motivated by racist thoughts that are implicitly embedded in your mentality?”

Short answer: Maybe? “I was lacking, and I did things that were wrong,” says Lee. “I am grateful that I have people in my life now that make me not like I was when I made a racist comment. I completely denounce that, and I denounce that Lee. And… I want to learn.” Lee adds that he’s sorry for being “ignorant in those subjects” — and the guys finally decide to accept his apology.

Okay, great. Let us never speak of this drama again. We have more pressing matters to cover: Like Dean’s heartbreak. (And his camo tux.) ((And his hair.)) I know, I know, I should leave the poor guy alone — especially when he’s talking so thoughtfully about his very emotional hometown visit. “That was the realest, most raw moment that I had throughout the entire experience,” says Dean. “Had I not gone there with Rachel, I don’t think that I ever would have addressed the feelings that I had suppressed for so long.” Harrison doesn’t dwell too long on the catharsis, though, because he wants to make sure everyone knows Dean will be in Paradise with these bozos come August 14:

Hey, look who’s here — the Queen herself!

Rachel’s barely up there a minute though before Dean joins her to learn more about why she sent him packing in Dallas. “I am just still kind of confused about why you told me you were falling in love with me, and then I got the boot, like, four days later.” Of course, as Rachel tries to explain herself, all I could do was study Dean’s entire lewk.

Though Rachel insists she meant it when she said she was falling in love with him too, Dean wonders now if she just said it because she felt bad for him after the disastrous family visit. “I’m sorry that’s how you feel,” she responds. “But if you know me, I never say anything just to say something — at all.”

They hug it out, and Harrison pivots to DeMario. “Who?” asks Rachel jokingly.

Rachel dismisses her former suitor with a shrug. “For me, the dishonesty was like, ‘All right, you gotta go.’” Roger that!

As for The Kenny and Lee Situation, Rachel tells Kenny she was “disappointed” in how he handled it — because he’s clearly the bigger man (literally and figuratively). “Lee was Lee,” she says. “I wish you could have just realized that was background noise.”

As for Lee? Well, sir, don’t come for our Bachelorette (or her men) unless she sends for you. “I’d be more than happy to give you a black history lesson,” says Rachel. “A lesson on women’s rights — you know what I’m saying?”

God willing, this will be the last we hear from this dude.

Harrison wraps things up by letting some of the other guys ask whatever burning questions they have for Rachel — but mostly they all just want to say how great she is and how they understand why she made the choices she did. All of them, that is, except for Fred. He’s pretty annoyed that Rachel didn’t give him a chance. “I thought that because I knew you, that I could bring a level of comfort to you,” he says. “But the reaction that you gave me was one that I least expected.” Still, he’s “so happy” to see her happy, so yay?

Let’s give Kenny the last word.

Damn right. Now, on to the bloopers!

The best of the bloopers involve food: Josiah stuffing his face with oysters and Norwegian hors d’oeuvres, Rachel munching chips while preparing to send Josiah home, and Dean’s disgusting gum storage. (“How is that gross? It’s my ear.” Blech.)

Speaking of gross, Team Bachelorette made sure to zoom in on DeMario just as Harrison faked out the crowd by announcing a “sneak peek of the exciting and already controversial new season of Bachelor in Paradise.”

You can exhale, pal — the promo won’t air until next week.

Welp, rose lovers, we’ve almost made it to the end — and I want to know what you thought about tonight’s Men Tell All. Did Lee redeem himself at all? Should Dean skip Paradise and head right to the Bachelor mansion? And am I paranoid to think that Mike Fleiss is already grooming McKenzie to be the Bachelorette in about 15 years? Post your thoughts now! And stay tuned for Chris Harrison’s behind-the-scenes blog, coming Tuesday. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch that Dave Chappelle routine about OJ.

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Read More From Yahoo TV: ‘Game of Thrones’ Recap: Another Queen Bites the Dust ‘Big Brother’: Could Kevin Actually Win?  ‘The Walking Dead’: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Jeffrey Dean Morgan

[hwdevlin]

Pieces of Silver

The old storekeeper kept a lot of cash on him because he didn't like people knowing his business. His mother, long dead, had always told him that aside from the old priest, Father Fahey, there were very few people you could trust to keep your secrets. Doctors and their nurses were supposed to keep everything to themselves but when the doctors had drinks at parties or the nurses went to the bars on weekends everyone's information tended to become public. If you couldn't trust a doctor, then bankers were even worse. It wasn't that he didn't have some bank accounts. He opened one account locally and one account in Jacksonville, a place where meager funds like his would never be noticed. His family had owned nearly the whole block on the edge of town since the days of Chief Shik Shak. Little by little they had sold off sections, but the place where he built his home and kept his little country store was still the size of a football field. Tiny outbuildings dotted the landscape, some crumbling and termite infested while others he kept in decent condition, repairing them as necessary to keep their ancient contents well-preserved. The rest of the ground was a mixture of a plush lawn and prairie grasses where he cultivated certain beloved plants like purple coneflower and Queen Anne's Lace. The store had four levels. a basement where he still kept antique canned goods in gleaming jars, the main floor where he had shelves of grocery items, from aspirins to ziplock bags, a small butcher shop, and a little room where he sold cold drinks. The third floor had tall ceilings and was wide open. A large flue ran right through the center and was connected to a series of wood-burning stoves that in the winter burned warm and red with locally harvested oak and hard maple. On winter nights and on breezy summer evenings he was joined on the third floor by his old friends, Macawber, the farmer, Harden, a local mechanic and Mr. Galantine, who taught English at the local high school. They had all graduated together from red brick school that still sat on the top of Founder's Hill and whose imperturbable face meditated on the community below with a somber satisfaction. Each morning during the school year, Mr. Galatine would stop not far from the entrance and sigh, recalling his own years spent gazing out the windows of his own English teacher's class, wondering what was perched on the horizon beyond the empty fields at the edge of his vision, and whether he would end up there someday. Most nights their conversations turned on local gossip, politics and general items that occupied their lives. Some nights they simply drank whiskey quietly from the heavy glasses the storekeeper kept in a small cabinet on the wall, while Galantine read them items from the local paper or turned on his little tablet and read items of interest from FB posts made by shared friends. Galantine was the only one among them who took advantage of modern technologies. The rest of them, out of some grudging desire to be different, said they believed such technologies were at the core of society's problems, though they eagerly listened and discussed the items Galantine read. On this particular evening, there was a blood orange moon that made them shiver as it hovered in the third-floor window. It seemed to fill the room, an easy segue into the evening's discussions. "Look at the size of that moon," said the old farmer. "A good night for crazy." "As if the crazies need any encouragement,"  said Harden. "Jack said he was going to tie one on tonight." Jack was Harden's extra mechanic. He spent his days like many of his friends: nursing a hangover and a hope that he would do better the next night. He was a good mechanic who had a knack for knowing what was wrong with a vehicle after the first few minutes of analysis, even the newer ones, the ones with the complex computer chips and components the companies made purposely hard to reach so the owner could only get them repaired by the more costly company-sponsored repair shops. Harden had invested in him, believing that the working folk around the county would much rather pay local prices than the inflated costs in the city. And he was right. Jack had a loyal following, young and established citizens, who helped make Harden's business one of the most successful for a hundred miles. But Jack was rough around the edges, too. A couple times a year, Harden would have to bail him out of the county jail because he had refused to leave a bar at closing time or had mouthed off to a local police officer who had pulled him over for DUI or for driving on revoked. He'd long ago lost his legal driving privileges, but because he was a native and because even the local police agencies came to him for repairs, he was usually given a pass and followed home, or thrown into jail to let him sleep it off. He wasn't married and most women had learned their lesson with him, leaving him embittered and obnoxious when he had too much to drink, which was often. "Oh, this is a moon for Jack," said the storekeeper, holding the glass of the deep amber liquor in front of him as he contemplated a sip. "Thank God he can't swallow such a moon. It's bad enough hanging over his head." They all smiled and seemed pleased with the storekeeper's assessment. They drank from their glasses in silence. Macawber was the first to finish. He smacked his lips, savoring the sweet woody flavor as it lingered on the pocket of his tongue. He set his glass beside him on an end table made from old tire rims welded together with an antique Chevy hubcap like a bottle cap turned upside down for the top. "New York shooter expressed hatred toward women, made racist comments," Galantine read from a local headline. There had been a mass shooting in New York state, not in the city itself, but in a small borough, a town barely larger than Grand Place, but still similar. Galantine continued reading.                      The man who walked into a local beauty salon on the east side of                        Hampton and began firing randomly, killing at least six women, had                     a history of making misogynistic statements and engaged in racist                      rants on both Facebook and Twitter, according to authorities in New                     York. "I'm not surprised by much anymore," Macawber said quietly, taking his big hand and running it over his shiny bald head. "Life is very cheap, very cheap, and we've raised a couple of generations of children teaching them that the things that are important are the things that cost money." Galantine. whose long blond hair was tied in the back in a bun, smiled broadly and set the paper in his lap. "Oh, I think that's pretty convenient, Macawber," he said, sipping from his drink. "I've worked with these kids, millennials, Gen Xers, and I wouldn't say they all spend their time coveting their neighbor's goods." Harden spit into a coffee tin on the floor beside him. He still liked the Day's Work tobacco his father and grandfather had chewed and he cherished it just as much as he did the heirloom tomatoes in his garden. "No, maybe not," said Harden, bending over and spitting again. "And this guy had some particular issues, like a motor that never got tuned or was allowed to run rough a long time. But, no matter what, there's a lot of anger behind an act like this. No one kills a bunch of people unless they're mad about something." The storekeeper remained silent. His face was broad and brown as an acorn from working out in the sun. He had a neatly shaved crewcut and, even at 60, still had powerful arms with faded tattoos of hearts with knives through them on each bicep. On one forearm was the faded image of a P51 fighter with a blond woman waving from the cockpit. On the nose of the plane was written, Clem. "What do you think, Clem," Galantine, asked, looking up from studying his drink. "You've seen a lot of people come through here over the years. Have people really changed that much or is it just that everything gets published in the media much faster and news reaches farther than it used to?" The old man thought for a minute, even though he seemed to have formulated the answer for himself a long time ago. "It's a little of everything," he said, leaning forward and reaching out to warm his hands by the stove. "Look, there's something to be said for teaching kids that not everything is black and white. But that doesn't mean you teach them there's nothing wrong or right. We've confused them. We've taught them that marriage doesn't work, that your gender is negotiable and that your values are determined by the latest edition of the DSM. "When they look at the world we're leaving them they say Why in the hell would I want to bust my ass for 40 or 50 years behind some desk, only to retire to play golf, travel and then die alone surrounded by disinterested family, even if it is one of the finest quotes assisted living facilities in the world?" They all laughed and sipped their drinks, saying 'you're right, you're right' as they did. Clem got up and walked around the darkening room turning on tall lamps that he had set against the walls. The wood burner was glowing and he could see from a distance the convection waves rising like spirits. It was comforting to have his friends there. The liquor was warming him and the conversation had taken him to a place that was at once familiar but rare. His children were gone. His wife, his ex-wife, he corrected himself, was long gone. This was his tribe. He had washed up on their shore 60 years ago and they had befriended him. Now they were all here at the sunset once again huddling around a fire on the shore. It reminded him of something he had read about the arrogance of man, talking of appliances and cars while behind them their houses burned and their children screamed from open windows. He was here. That was all. And in some province in France, another man or woman, just like him, was engaged in the same ritual, watching the same blood orange moon, drinking the same smoky liquor, questioning the same strange events. "The windows are starting to frost, there, my friend," Harden broke in. A spider web of frost was growing around the edge of the windows. The wind had picked up and now and then the old leaden panes rattled as they were battered. It would be a long, cold night. **************************************************************************************** The two men were released from prison and sent out under a gray canopy of April sky that had been sending a steady silver rain onto the bleak Illinois plains since sunrise. Abe was the older of the two, a savvy con with broad shoulders and forearms like hams. For more than thirty years, since his twentieth birthday, he had navigated the inside of the facility, fending off his share of territorial and sexual attacks without adding one day to his 50-year sentence in a murder-for-hire scheme. It was that stainless record that had led the parole board to release him twenty years early.

Adam, the younger of the two, who stood dripping alongside the older man in the parking lot, had committed an armed robbery at the delicate age of 17; but because he had wounded a cashier in the process, it was considered an aggravated robbery; and, because his public defender was running for State's Attorney and the victim was well-liked in the community, the legal, social and political elements all came together in such a way that it was inevitable that he would go to jail for his first offense. At least, that is what he had come to believe sitting in that gray cell every day, watching evil, good, and indifferent men suffer all the same indignities that he suffered. It was true, he thought, the rain falls on the sinner and the righteous alike.

A long white van pulled through the front gate and stopped in front of the pair.

"Only you two?" asked the guard disinterestedly. "That should make for a nice quiet ride. Get in."

When they left the prison they were hungry, but by the time they got to the halfway house, they were exhausted and starving. The younger man jumped from the van and stood to survey the squat red brick building where he would be living for the next few weeks -- or months -- depending on when he found a job. The older man stepped slowly onto the curb, raindrops catching on his thick beard and freezing there like ice diamonds.

"Let's get some food first, boy," he said, pushing the younger man toward the doorway. By the time they both got signed in, signed their contract that outlined their hours, their obligations and their duties around the house, they were extremely disgruntled because they could smell some kind of food, the scent of which filled the hallways and their nostrils. At last, the night orderly said if they wished to get a hot meal they might still have time, but that if they missed the hot meal, sack lunches or dinners were in the refrigerator. They rushed to the cafeteria and found it was nearly empty, except for two elderly men, maybe employees, they guessed, sitting in the corner. The lunchroom was like most institutional places: spare and smelling of bleach and some kind of pasta casserole. There were rows of long, narrow tables where generations of ex-offenders had written or carved their initials or pontificated in the best language possible about everything from the probability of God's existence to numbers for certain women they knew in previous lives to the names of hated prison guards. The only hot items remaining were goulash and garlic bread and while they were probably dumped into their steam trays out of big cans the size of oil drums, to the two of them it was as fine as any feast they could have gotten in the swankiest joint in Chicago or St. Louis. They each had two large plates of the pasta and no less than 5 slices of the thin pieces of bread sprayed with garlic butter and lightly salted. The sun had gone down and from their seats they could see street lights warming alive, covering the street and the parking lot outside in a creamy, shivery light. When they were finished, they each had a slice of pumpkin pie and a scoop of ice cream and they greedily inhaled several cups of black coffee that was old enough that a thick film stayed on the surface all the way to the bottom of the cup where it dissolved into a puddle of gritty oil. As part of their living arrangements, they were required to find jobs. The halfway house itself had some connections to the business community and some men had skills that could easily translate into work, skills like carpentry or automobile repair or barbering. "Barbering is a great trade for someone who likes to move around a lot or who has trouble with his passions," an old convict from Ohio had told the young man as they worked washing dishes one day. "You'll find a lot of barbers who have problems with booze, just like you'll find a lot of fat fortune tellers." The old man had a couple of children somewhere in the country. After his incarceration, his wife, a squat, stern redheaded woman with a smile like a crocodile, simply kissed him on the cheek and said, "I've met someone else. I'm taking the kids and leaving." He couldn't blame her, really. He had taken the money from a woman with whom he worked at the local nursing home. The woman, the wife of a career Harley rider, was lithe and attractive with pallid blue eyes and tiny lips that were always shiny with some sort of gloss lip treatment. She had encouraged his interest by confiding in him each day the treatment she suffered at the hands of the "biker." The old man had met him only once when he came by to pick her up from work. The husband was bandy-legged with big thick arms covered in thick hair with tattoos hiding in the forests. Each morning they woke and showered before getting in line for breakfast. Stainless steel canisters of steaming coffee stood like silver silos along the wall and were nearly empty by mid-morning. Later, the cons without regular work gathered at the back of the complex to smoke and tell stories about prison or life before prison. These were always embellished tales made to make the author sound well-heeled in the ways of deceit, physical daring, and criminal enterprise. Sometimes they talked about how things would be if they could just get enough money to 'get on their feet', meaning enough money to get them a place to live until they could figure out a new scheme. For most of them, success was always just around the corner, over the next rise, under the shining overpass. "There's really only three ways to do this," Abe said, one afternoon watching a gulp of swallows ascend like a cloud of gray smoke. "You either inherit lots of money, ask for help or help yourself."

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

What’s Australia on About?: A Summary

the entire country is overreacting bc a poc woman newscaster posted something on fb on anzac day...

Twitter / FB - To drown out the hate, if you have time.

- - - -

The post was legit just:

“LEST. WE. FORGET. (Manus. Naru. Syria. Palestine.)”

-

You know... places full of current war, with people who are suffering...? Who should be remembered on a day that commemorates the victims of war, not just the soldiers who fought in them?

IMAGINE SEEING SUCH A SIMPLE LITTLE MESSAGE AND BEING DEEPLY OFFENDED ENOUGH TO TRY AND RUIN SOMEONE’S LIFE AND/OR THREATEN HER WITH DEPORTATION AND DEATH?!

-

And now we have shit fucking news stories like this:

HOW DOES THIS DEMEAN OUR WAR HEROES? 

...also are we never going to talk about some of the horrific things our soldiers did, in other countries (and are still doing) which they go to ‘protect’ or ‘fight for’. Bc there have been a lot of murders and rapes covered up by the military from both aus and the us...

And people calling for her to be sacked for ‘disrespect’

Everyone’s cashing in on the hate.

-

Like my dudes, you don’t give a shit about the anzacs 364 days a year, and a lot of the high-profile people cashing in on this hate would never fund veteran services and probs complain about the unemployed people in the country...

(Not to mention, in more recent years ANZAC Day itself has become this weird sort of commercialised spectacle, which only some people take seriously? It’s very odd.)

-

LOOK AT THEM ALL:

Just say you’re racist and it’ll save time, guys. You don’t give a FUCK the rest of the year... 

I can’t give you all of them, there’s too many similar comments, and the last one is not the only one calling for her fucking DEATH over a vague comment on FB. Notice how her identity as both a woman, an immigrant and a Muslim are brought up repeatedly as negative points.

-

-

NOTICE HOW THEY KEEP PUTTING PICTURES OF HER ON HORRIFIC WAR BACKGROUNDS. That’s Not Fucking Subtle, Media. Fuck Off.

-

SHE DIDN’T INSULT ANYONE, YOU ILLITERATE, ILLEGITIMATE, COUSIN-FUCKING DRONGOS, LEAVE HER ALONE.

-

Not to mention they clearly found the only selfie they could that seemed vaguely ‘gang-like’ for her... 

And they MADE her delete the ‘shameful post’.

-

And she’s not wrong. Not to mention, she’s an activist? They fucking KNEW it when ABC hired her? Everyone does. Of course this is her sentiments on the situation...???

-

My good dude I could write an entire fucking essay on being anti-ANZAC and actively hating the troops or something equally sinister on my FB, and no one would call my ass out on tv... or every newspaper in the country... 

...who took the original screenshot and got offended though? Is her FB set to private, should she look for a family member or friend who has betrayed her in order to get media money for creating a scandal, like...?

There are many levels here.

-

Now we have Racist Queen of Oz, Pauline fucking Hansen on tv every few minutes and all over FB feeds talking about how shameful the post is.

Let me draw your attention to the line, “ Are some employees on the ABC a protected species? It's time for tokenism to end in this country.”

...It’s a race thing. 

-

so like... what the fuck is this about?

Oh. Right. We know what it’s really about.

- - - 

FROM THE GENERATIONS WHO CALL MILLENNIALS TOO FUCKING SENSITIVE, I PRESENT... THIS BULLSHIT.

[fangsofsin]

Fang! Opinion on the pewdiepie shebang? You had such a well thought out opinion on the septiplier shenanigans, id love your thoughts on this... If you want

(The following opinion may not be your own and that is okay. If You wish to unfollow me for this, I understand and don’t hold you ill.)

I’ve been asked a few times to give myopinion on the whole thing with Felix and Disney and the slander. Ihaven’t said shit, though, because I was afraid – in the earlystate of all this happening – I wouldn’t be able to give a wellthought out and fair response. I’m very big on being fair. Or as fairas one can be about shit. Can’t do that for everything, I know… Butthis is Felix. I’ve been following him since 2010. He got me throughdepression in college. Hell he still does these days… I wanted tobe fair to him but also to what was going on. Because it’s not alight topic to just half-ass reply on. This isn’t some shipping warplayground war… This is a serious topic.

So I’ll give the most basic opinion onthis whole thing. Although you all know me. I’m a rambler. So just…Give me a little patience to explain my thoughts because they may getall over the place. And also know, yes, I know not a lot of peoplewill agree with me. If you have a differing opinion, cool. Share itwith me. Say what you feel. Be honest to me. Everyone is entitled totheir opinion. No matter how I feel against it, it’s their opinion.Opinions can change and grow. So I won’t judge you on that. So try togive me the same courtesy, okay? I like debates anyway. They’re agood way to get shit off your chest.

Anyway, lets start with me saying thatmy first initial response to everything was pretty superficial andpetty. I was mostly just made that Scare PewDiePie Season 2 was beingcanceled. I had been all prepared to get ready to buy YouTube Red atthe end of February so I could watch this without tracking down theepisodes like I had to do with season one. I huffed like a child anddidn’t take into account exactly why everything was getting canceled.I’m human. I can be selfish. And that’s what I was being… Then Ifound out exactly what the fuck was happening, and I was indistraught.

For those that don’t know what’s goingdown and what’s happening, I’m not going to explain everything that’shappening because it would take too long and fill up this post to belonger than I want it to be. But I highly suggest watching h3h3’svideo and Philip Defranco’s video on the whole ordeal (Linked for you. Seriously I would watch thesebefore you go on with this if you don’t know what I’m talking aboutat all). Or if you want more of a basic and outside opinion check outScarce and DramAlert. To get an opposing opinion on everything, checkout Casey Neistat. Seriously a lot of YouTubers are talking aboutthis.

So if you decided to watch all these,cool. If you get what’s going on already, then let me be to the pointand say that yes, I stand with Pewds but I’maware that he did mess up a bit. As I’ve said, I have to be fairabout this whole ordeal because this is a pretty big topic to notthink through. You can’t just gut jump this kinda thing.

I hadto do a lot of research into things as I was reading all the newsarticles and looking through the facts and opinions. I literallyspent a whole day off of work to research what I was being fed byeveryone. I don’t like to not be informed on shit. I like to know abit about what is going on before I jump throats. It’s why I neversaid anything during political debates because I didn’t want to soundlike an idiot ranting about something I didn’t look into. That’s justasking to be verbally smacked down.

Thepeople that are comparing Felix to Hitler… No. Just.. No Really?Why? Second, this whole thing is media manipulation and I know for afact everyone is far more aware of what the fuck that is since thebig media fight after the whole election cover and with fightingagainst the media manipulation of the Dakota Pipeline incident andeven the very obvious media scandal against the POC community! I knoweveryone knows that the media will stop at nothing to make a quickbuck by turning against someone to cover up another incident or evenbecause they were paid undercover of the public eye. I know we areway more aware than that, everyone.

Yetthat doesn’t seem to be the case this time. Pewds has been left as asacrificial lamb to the slaughter house and no one seems to beremembering that this is all happening at a rather convenient time.For awhile, the media was skimming away from Trump trouble – thepossibility of early impeachment coverage hasn’t been covered and Iwasn’t even aware of it until it was pointed out to me during mediaresearch. The Shay Carl incident – which is covered again by allthe above YouTube news coverage and can be found about in multiplearticles – has basically been forgotten. I mean I feel like that’sa little too convenient. Which, hey, it could just be acoincidence… But something about all this doesn’t seem like it is.All lines up too well.

Idon’t trust the media. I’ll say that now. I don’t trust the media andI have to do my own look into things. So everything I’m seeing beingsaid about Felix is just a bit fucked up. I’ve watched all thosevideos that they used to “point out how anti-Semitic” he is. Andthat’s not even right at all. Those clips are clearly edited andimposed with emotion jerking music to promote manipulation! Nevertrust everything on the internet! Rule number one they teach you whendoing research or just goofing around. That’s the first rule Ilearned in my early digital media classes in middle school.

It’slike people forget that manipulation is a thing. Also, to top thingsoff, how wrong is it that so many people were just happily willing tobe like “Oh it’s PewDiePie so it has to be accurate because I hatethat guy”… Seriously. Felix has the largest channel on YouTube.He’s basically the king of it… But he also has such a huge fuckinghate group too. So how fucked up was it that it was easy for peopleto just be like “Sure I buy that” and not even really listen orstop and thing? It’s like the best example of how easy it is forpeople to fall into media traps and that makes me cringe. Becausethat’s one reason Trump is our President right now. Media traps. AndI’m not ashamed to say that because it’s the truth. Hilary and Trumpwere put in Media traps and used media traps. Both did. Equallyfucked up.

TheThird Crusade, Hiter’s anti-Jew propaganda tactics with theholocaust, or the wiping out of over five hundred Jews during theearly 1900s because of false blame of Russia’s peasantry are examplesof extreme Antisemitism. An example of some that is anti-Semitic isHitler. Extremist skinheads are examples of someone anti-Semitic.Hell! Even Walt Disney himself is an example of someone withanti-Semitic behavior.

Thisis not Felix.

Now!Here’s something to keep in mind. Felix isn’t without theshit he’s done in the past that can be considered / is wrong.First off, examples of shit Felix has done in the past is drop theN-Word (Not a fan of that at all and I don’t forget he’s done that),made fun of people with serious disorders like turrets or downsyndrome (granted he was trying to be funny, but even I was like“Okay Felix you’re dragging this out” and “You went from FamilyGuy to Oh That’s Cringe, dude”), and using the term of Gay as a bitof an insult (That’s his much older videos and he fixed that up a bitbut it’s still pretty much there). And he’s even had the occasionalrude comment that can be taken pretty insensitive, on his Twitter. Soyeah, he’s said and wrote down some pretty wrong things. But he hasadmitted to them (Most. I’m not sure if that N-Word shit was coveredbecause I can’t find more on it, but I know it fucking happened) andhe has stepped away from messing in that area.

Thiswhole Fiverr thing is what started it. He set out to do anexperiment. He wanted to show the idiotic things people would say anddo for a quick buck. He was not expecting a response. Even in thevideo – the true video – you can tell he was very much in shockand disturbed by what he was seeing and hearing. That someoneactually went through with this kind of thing…

Itwas a joke, an experiment, that went down south real quick and it’svery obviously not what he was expecting to happen. And much of usjust saw this as a fucked up video and that it was proof that, yes,people will say and do shit for money like some kind of brainwasheddog on puppet strings. All for five damn dollars – I believe thatwas the amount anyway – these guys said and did these things. Ifanyone should be talked to, it’s also the people in the damn video.Not just Felix.

Now Ialso have to say that Felix is a giant – well known – publicfigure. My parents even know who he is, and they don’t watch YouTubeor even mess around on any social sight besides Facebook (my momdoes, dad refuses a FB). Kids in kindergarten know who he is. Thelittle kids I watched at my daycare have Brofist shirts and love him.He’s a well known face. Some even call him one of the faces ofYouTube next to iiSuperwomanii or Tyler Oakley.

Sowith that, yes. I feel like Felix does need to watch himself better.When you’re a public face like he is – like any of these YouTubers– you have eyes on you. You have people ready to string you up forthe execution gallows because of one wrong move. Because apparentlyit’s cool to hate and attack people. It sucks and it’s wrong, but atthe moment it is how it is. We live in a digital media where yourmistakes and fucks up are forever on display. Where you can dig intoanything if you know how and where to look.

PewDiePieis in the wrong for stupid shit he’s done in the past. But those donot defy him. If that’s the case, then every bad and horrible thingyou’ve ever said or done is who you are. No rules. You said somethinga bit racist in the past – even if you truly didn’t know it wasracist – doesn’t matter. According to this logic, you are nowforever a racist. You stole something when you were like six – apiece of candy or a sticker – you are now a thief by this logic. OrHell, say you got drunk one time in your life and made a dufus ofyourself – drunk dance on bar and fell off it or something – youare now forever a drunk because you pulled one stupid.

Thatis the way the world is acting. Felix has acknowledged the shit inthe past. He spoke up and admitted that, yeah, what he said in thepast was insensitive and wrong. He admitted it. And he stepped awayfrom a lot of it… But he’s a comedian, you guys. Hell I think hesaid it best in his video. He pushes the boundaries. THAT’S WHAT YOUDO AS A CONTENT CREATOR! You push to see what does and what does notwork. Obviously this didn’t fucking work for Felix. He learned.That’s that. That’s all it should be.

Andjust today, as I’m finishing typing this up for you, Mark posted avery important video. Now I agree with Mark to an extent. I’ll be thefirst to say that some things he said I kinda have to go “Ehhhh”because there’s a very black and white painted imagery around some ofthe stuff he’s saying and that’s not the case. There are gray areasin life and they do matter. You can’t be extreme one way or anotherwithout it eventually crossing over and becoming a gray spot.

Do Iagree that we are all humans and we all will fuck up? Yes. Do I alsoknow that even though we are humans and we fuck up, we still must beheld accountable for cases such as murder or rape or childpornography or etc etc? Yes. And as far as labeling people, yeah thatshit is obnoxious. It puts too much pressure on someone to be thisimage that has been slapped on them.

Istand with PewDiePie. I stand with the fact that he made an error.But I also am not ignorant enough not see that the media is straightup fucking with him and slandering him.The full proof is right out in the open for everyone to see. He saidwhat he said but he did not say it like they’re trying to play it as.I’m sorry, but as someone who has been in journalism and multimediaclasses, I can straight up say that this is slander all over it. Fakeand degrading news.

That’swhat I think about all this. I don’t agree with the fact the WSJ didthis. I think someone was trying to cover tracks and used Felix asthe lamb. I think it’s beautiful how much of the YouTube community isstanding with him and backing him up, even the YouTubers that don’tlike him. And I think the WSJ needs to be punished and needs to admitthat they lied and made this whole bullshit scandal out of thin air.

Now.If you don’t agree with me, talk to me. Don’t come at me with a rudeattitude. I’ll smile and look away. I don’t do rude anddisrespectful. Be an adult. Have an adult conversation with me. Tellme what you think and why. You may open my mind to something I didn’tthink about. There could be things I’m ignorant about. Enlighten me.Be a teacher. Teach me. I’ll listen. Fair and square.

[onesimpairedthoughts]

Yellow Vest Canada!

Yay for the dudes (gender neutral) kicking ass in France! We totally need that here in Canada. So I found a group.... I think some of them are insane. I saw a comment buddy wrote, "I made a comment about the carbon tax being the Muslim tax. It was taken down." It was a mystery to him why his comment disappeared. It remains a mystery to me how the carbon tax is a Muslim tax. There was a post that said, don't cover your face. Canada made a law in 2013 (or something) about face coverings, this is a crime. Obviously people made jokes about female Muslim attire. It was reported that Antifa is trying to sneak though the cracks. A possible false flag, someone wrote. Don't trust anyone with face coverings. A woman posted abut "flash rape mobs". I must say it was quite the horrific post. A circle of men protect another circle of men while they all rape a woman under a bridge or something similar. The outer circle of men hold off anyone who might try to interfere with the multiple rapists. I follow a fair amount of women pages on fb, none have posted about these "flash rape mobs". The pages have reported on multiple types of rapes from multiple countries. Which leads me to wonder how common is it that immigrants are participating in these "flash rape mobs"? Why don't I recall hearing about rape mobs? It is quite possible I heard about it sometime ago but nothing recent. What country or countries had mass immigration with rape mobs? Germany? Sweden? One thing is for certain, a gathering of men raping a woman is horrific and no one wants that. They very idea will make people want to kill these people, that is human nature. I've witnessed a lot of unjustified hate toward "Muslims" (which seems to be brown ppl from everywhere) so I take most of what I read with a grain of salt. I don't know where these "mob rapists" come from. I'm not denying that they exist. The one thing that lady's post will do is make people look very differently at people from India. For those that don't know rape is incredibly popular in India. They made a sex registry and added 500,000 names the fist day. If you rape someone under the age of 12 you get the death penalty. The amount of rapes a year is insane. I want to say over 40,000 are reported a year. That's in 356 days. Over 112 women a day report rape. Something like 4 out of 10 are children. Google it, the information is easy to find. (See, women's groups lol) You may have guessed, Yellow Vests Canada is not in favor of signing the UN immigration agreement. They also oppose the carbon tax. I have a trolling account on fb. It's not really trolling it's me being me. I'm quite offensive. I say a lot of things I find humorous. Other people don't find it so funny. I started getting a lot of friends requests. I started to notice some were seemly conservative. This is how I found yellow vests Canada. The more I kick around the more I'm thinking luntics. I'm not for this UN agreement and I don't like carbon tax or cap and trade but I'm not a luntic. Sure I joke about it... It's clear when people are bashing muslims for random rubbish , they are going to be extreme people who drank the contaminated Kool-Aid. I understand why people are paranoid. They are a product of the MSM. The mainstream media has been telling people since 9/11 that Muslims want to kill them. Now the media is telling you to open your doors to them. People rightfully have a problem with opening the door to somebody that wants to blow them up. A post was made about some people leaving the group because of violence in comments. They do point out that the group just started and they will need to weed out the extreme. A few comments were very clear on this not being a conservative group but rather a Canadian group. The group is not about politics it's about Canada and the borders. (If these people were right leaning they would know that makes them a bigot, racist, white supremacist, Nazi, amongst other things. The things they have to learn) I'm getting side tracked, I'm off to have a puff December 8th

[pete-and-pete]

James Patrick: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

James Patrick, of Winter Haven, was arrested after making threatening Facebook posts relating to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

“I am about to accept an offer on my house. Just to get more money to fund my plan to kill democrat office holders and their families involved in this sham to keep kav from being on the Supreme Court,” one post reads.

Patrick, 53, is being charged with writing a “threat to kill or injure” after authorities were alerted to Facebook posts that Patrick wrote, threatening to shoot members of Congress depending on the outcome of the confirmation hearing, as well as any law enforcement officer who showed up at his home.

Here’s what you need to know about Patrick:

1. Patrick Was Arrested After Writing Several Disturbing Facebook Posts Over The Span of Kavanaugh’s Hearing

Deputies arrested Patrick after he threatened to kill members of Congress and their families on Facebook if Brett Kavanaugh wasn’t confirmed to the Supreme Court.

One post reads: “I am about to accept an offer on my house. Just to get more money to fund my plan to kill democrat office holders and their families involved in this sham to keep kav from being on the Supreme Court.”

Several of the posts of since been removed by Facebook after the disturbing content was reported and news of Patrick’s arrest spread, but Heavy has screenshots of the content in the event that it is removed. Be warned, some of the content is and disturbing.

One post, that can be seen above, has a close-up picture of a bullet, accompanied by a long post of Patrick talking about “having all arrangements made” because he will “not be coming home if Kav(anaugh) is not confirmed.”

Another post talks about how he is willing to “sacrifice himself” for his country, while exclaiming that he “will know who needs to be killed” after the Kavanaugh hearing comes to an end.

“I can tell it seems I will be sacrificing my life for my country,” Patrick said in another post on Facebook on Sept. 27. “But I am ready and will know who needs to be killed after the vote to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.”

Read More From Heavy

Avalone Fishback: Student Arrested After Attempting to Hire Someone to Kill Ex-Boyfriend

2. Patrick’s Facebook Page is Also Filled With Racist, Misogynist & Graphic Posts That Encourages Violence Against The Left & Vulgar Sexual Innuendos Toward Women

Patrick’s posts didn’t just include threats to the lives of Congressmen and women, his violent ideals extended back years to the 2016 presidential election, where he wrote a post wishing that Donald Trump would beat Hillary Clinton with a hammer.

“Th [sic] presidential debate is about to start ..would be funny as hell if.. when they both got behind thiertheir [sic] podiums .. Trump reached over to Hillary and Bashed her in the head with a hammer and said ‘There’s another concussion for you Hillary.'”

In a different post from 2017, he wrote “I can’t do this by myself ! Need more conservatives going into liberals’ homes at night killing them in their sleep!”

Another, more recent post written on September 27 made a vulgar reference to “running a train” on Christine Blasey Ford, one of the women accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, while another post talks about needing a woman to “clean my house, wash my clothes, cook and just do what I tell her to do.”

He also shared memories on the social media site, complaining about Facebook suspending him for other violent and racist posts. There are several other posts that Patrick has written over the last few months that were extremely vulgar in nature, so be warned – some of the posts below may be considered graphic and disturbing to some readers.

There was one specific post that he “wrote a little song for the ladies,” thanking the Lord for making him white.

“I wrote a little song and it goes like this right here .. uh one an a two

Thankya Lord .. fer makin me white We all know that white makes right

Well .. that about does it .. Ladies send me a personal message if that made you moist”

A post from earlier in September claims that he believes the “blacks that are conservative” are totally different from the “Democrat voting blacks.”

“Just got a week vacation from twitter for telling the naacp that whereever there are large numbers of blacks. Anywhere in the world there is violence poverty and government having to take care of your sorry black asses .. maybe I got kicked off for not showing respect and capitalizing naacp .. I do not include the blacks that are conservative and are totally different than democrat voting blacks.”

The above posts only date back to early September. Heavy did not continue any further.

3. Patrick Claims to Own Five Businesses & “Doesn’t Find It Humorous to Hurt People’s Feelings”

Patrick’s bio on Facebook states that he owns five businesses, likes people with good attitudes, and that he doesn’t “find it humorous to hurt peoples’ feelings.”

reads: “i am extremely adventurous. i own 5 businesses but still have lots of time for fun. i like people that have a good attitude, smile and laugh, are not self centered and i do NOT find it humorous to…hurt peoples’ feelings, embarrass people, or make anyone the butt of a joke that the person does not think its funny.”

He also has several pictures of a handgun on his page, one as his profile picture, and despite his vulgar, violent posts, most of the pictures on his page are of cars and puppies. One of the posts threatening to murder the Congressmen and women claims that he has “made arrangements” for his dogs in the event that he doesn’t return, or he dies.

His profile also states that he studied at the University of Florida and is from Mulberry. Under his favorite quotes, he has several, including “don’t achieve in order to be happy, happily achieve,” and “death is my b–ch, death will come for me when I tell him to come for me and he will come with his head bowed.”

He also added “other things I say regularly,” that include strange quotes such as “thank the Lord for these adult diapers cause I just s–t my pants again,” and “pee pee poo poo.”

“I play in my own doo doo – just kidding I just like saying doo doo – I have a different sense of humor.”

Read More From Heavy

WATCH: Woman Calls Out ‘Racist’ Who Yelled at Hispanic Women in Viral Video

4. Due to His Account Being Public, Hundreds of People Have Commented on His Pictures & Posts, Calling “Hate-Spewing Pig”

Since Patrick’s Facebook profile was still public when he was arrested, it didn’t take long for angry social media users to flood his posts with insults. Many called Patrick a “racist pig,” while others laughed at the irony of his post about Bill Crosby getting jail time.

“Looks like you’re going there, too, dumbass,” one user wrote.

Another wrote: “You’re exactly where you belong, Pig. FYI arrogant, entitled, prep school boy Kavanaugh wouldn’t wipe his a*s on you.”

Most of the other comments involved hurling various insults at Patrick, calling him names and laughing at the charges he is facing.

“Typical trump supporter. No brain, spewing hate with diarrhea of the mouth,” said another user, while someone else claimed otherwise, writing “not your typical Trump supporter. Clearly he’s mental.”

In the comments of Patrick’s post claiming he needed a woman to cook, clean and do whatever he wanted, one user wrote: “Asshole, there is a reason (well, several) WHY your ass is single!”

5. Patrick Is Being Held on a $500,000 Bond & When Arrested, Told Police He “Didn’t Think He Would Get in Trouble”

This is James Patrick Jr. & here are some of his FB posts threatening to kill politicians & cops. He’s in jail now being held on $500k bond. Here’s the news release https://t.co/ya6n9lQX8e pic.twitter.com/5cdqRioRJU

— Polk County Sheriff (@PolkCoSheriff) October 4, 2018

Patrick was booked into Polk County Jail, where he was held on $500,000 bond. According to jail records, he was previously arrested in 2009 for battery.

“Within five hours of receiving an email tip about the posts, our detectives investigated it, obtained an arrest warrant and search warrant, and took the suspect into custody without incident,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. “People need to calm down, and stop making threats of violence – we will not tolerate it. Anyone who threatens to shoot or kill any public servant or law enforcement officer will go to jail immediately.”

“When we went to arrest him, he goes, Oh I knew it was pretty bad language, but I didn’t think I would get in trouble because I didn’t say it about any one person. News flash, you did get in trouble,” said Sheriff Judd.

READ NEXT: Terrence Carraway: A Tribute to the Fallen Florence Officer

source https://heavy.com/news/2018/10/james-patrick/

[kutee-boutique-fan-blog]

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt

Do you love it? https://kuteeboutique.com/shop/everybody-vs-trump-shirt-hoodie-sweater-ladies-t-shirt/

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt

So let’s all listen to this thug who wears a belt that don’t work. Everybody Vs Trump Shirt. And I guess it’s everyone against lynch cause TRUMP won. Fucking Jack ass. lmao I knew the chump supporters would be crying in the comments. I didn’t have to look far for the beta bitch lol fucking snowflakes. Jason Forbey excuses Nazi Sympathy and Terrible Governance, because he’s a Snowflake and doesn’t like objective reality hurting his fragile belief system.

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt, Hoodie, Sweater, Ladies T-Shirt

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt Hoodie Sweater Ladies T Hoodie

Why is it that all trump supporters are ugly sweaty hillbillies with 2 friends on FB? I see a interesting pattern here. Atleast he’s more successful than your trump cock sucking racist ass whose man hood and intellect is limited to talking shit on Facebook in which you don’t even have the guts to say to a person’s face. You racist fuck of a cancer to humanity. Michael Rodriguez Stop using your flexing and use your brain maybe you will find the answer to your question

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt Hoodie Sweater Ladies T Sweat Shirt

Bald white man with a confederate flag on your page. Not even trying to hide the racism. Go fuck yourself. Bet you wouldn’t say that in Oakland, you chump. You talk about Marshawn sagging his pants, but what about the nasty things Trump let’s fly out of his mouth? What a filthy hypocrite you are.  Hey everyone it’s another asshole Russian troll – has to be, nobody is this ignorant or openly racist – unless you’re from Kenfuckme the home of the cousin.

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt Hoodie Sweater Ladies T Ladies Tee

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt, Hoodie, Sweater, Ladies T-Shirt

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt Hoodie Sweater Ladies T Ladies V Neck

That’s a man who has saved every cent of his career earnings. And done countless things for his community. Show some respect. Why is he a thug again? Cuz he has a job, is highly successful, does mountains of community work.. or cuz he’s black and you don’t like him?  I don’t think he’s a thug and he’s a great runner but he can’t run with them pants around his knees …….looks fucking stupid to me white or black or brown pull ya fkn pants up that’s sending messages in prison.I’m looking.

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt Hoodie Sweater Ladies T Unisex Tank Top

Are you that ignorant that you have to talk about how he wears his clothes? Maybe you should be on the grind for some money like he is, then maybe you could have a Gucci belt just like him one day.  Stefan Jovanović Who gives a shit how much he earns. That does not define someone in life. i dont get why hes a thug?…hes never been convicted of any crime…,he has philanthropic endevours , hes charitable..does not run with a street gang….i dont get why u labeled him a thug….it seems racist..divisive..and down right stereotypical.

Everybody Vs Trump Shirt Hoodie Sweater Ladies T Unisex Longsleeve Tee

Thug? Throw a little more racism on there bruh, not quite at full piece of Everybody Vs Trump Shirt. World class athlete who pays millions in taxes is a thug? Unreal. Stefan Jovanović I’m not sure why. I guess it must be that 12 yards on 9 carries. I’d be wearing that shirt also to take people’s attention off of the fact that he’s a scrub.  I love how they Label us Thug. Just because of pants Drooping the Fact this has so many likes says so much of a lot of Americans mentality. Judge us individually by our actions not how we look or dress. And people wonder why we be so upset and complaining all the time. Take some time to get to know us calling us Thug just shows your true Racist Colors.

[songwriting-analysis]

SPICE GIRLS - Say You’ll Be There (1996)

Here’s the sheet music which will definitely be helpful: http://pop-sheet-music.com/Files/20e567da641e171fd9077f12d979029d.pdf

This music video, along with the Jabba-slaying Leia outfit, was definitely a point of sexual awakening for young me. The vocal delivery in the verses drips with almost as much sexuality as the video and unlike 80% of pop songs, the verse isn’t just filler to hype up the chorus. We got some fiber in our diet here, kids. Compressed-to-shit talk-singing is now passe in the world where Britney Spears and Katy Perry have been around for decades but it still had some novelty in 1996. The Spice Girls were a precursor to both the “loudness war” of over-compressed pop songs and the millennium-era golden age of boy/girl group pop.

Harmony

The harmony of “Say You’ll Be There” is neat. It’s a turnaround like the I-vi-IV-V Heart and Soul progression meaning that you can loop it for a long ass time and it won’t get too droll. This one starts on the relative minor (Bbm) and ends on the tonic (Db) giving us vi-II-iv-I. Keep in mind that II and iv are not scalar chord voicings (ii and IV would be typical) so we wind up with this cool, underlying chromatic voice leading.

Bbm Eb Gbm Db

F      G   Gb    F            < - chromatic voice leading

Db    Eb  Db   Db

Bb    Bb   A     Ab           < - chromatic voice leading  

For whatever reason these descending chromatic progressions (Eight Days A Week is another one) always instill a nostalgic feeling in me. This is a subjective thing to say but the chromaticism creates a bittersweet effect and nostalgia is bittersweet…

VERSE

The verse and chorus both use this chord progression so the form is generated by the arrangement and also broken up by the four-bar prechorus. The busy arrangement in the chorus is toned down a lot in the verse to make room for the sexy talk-singing. The Spice Girls were doing simple bass-drums-vox arrangements 2 decades before Drake and various other R&B artists made it cool. Sadly, having a Hipster Spice would have been anachronistic.

The verse is really clever melodically. The phrases are kind of notey but their beginnings are strongly demarcated by two quarter notes surrounded by quarter note rests (rest “last time” rest ). It’s kind of like capitalizing the first letter of a sentence; really making sure the stupid-as-shit, lowest common denominator musical consumer can process the form. Then there’s a cute little syncopated motif (“that we had this”) leading into four 8th notes (“conversation”) which are a reversed variation of the chorus melody (“giving you e-”). This is a good way to predispose a virgin listener to enjoy the chorus before they hear it (though in this song the chorus happens first). The first verse phrase ends with an upward run (“fri-e-ends”) that sounds incomplete. The second phrase ends with a down step to ‘do’ (“end”) which sounds much more final. There’s even a little blue note that gets thrown in on measure 7 of the verse. Talk about spicing up your life.

Then we switch from Baby Spice (creepy character choice in hindsight) to Scary Spice (possibly racist character choice in hindsight) for the second part of the verse and jump up a partial. The third phrase harps on more melodic suspensions (The 7th of the Bb minor scale and a few suspended 4ths) but it ends the same way as the first phrase (“be-e-e”). The fourth phrase basically repeats the second phrase but replaces the blue note with scalar note ending the verse with mi-re-do (“emotions at me”). So we wind up with a phrasing form of ABCB with the last B being slightly varied.

Also contributing to the perception of form are the partials that the melody outlines. If you’re not familiar with this concept, a good example would be blowing into a brass instrument. The more you purse your lips, the higher the note you will get outlining the overtones of whatever the bass note of the instrument is. I used to play tuba so if you didn’t hold down any valves, blowing into it at various pressures would give you Bb, F, D or Ab if you went high enough. Bb, F, and D are all roughly equivalent to home base and Ab generates a bit of harmonic instability. Transposing melodies to different partials is an easy way to keep a song going and generate form. The hymn “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” is a good example of this.

I’m not sure if this would be correct in terms of Schenkerian Analysis but the verse roughly outlines Bb / Eb / Ab / Eb - Bb giving us a nice little circle of fourths. (Same partials outlined as Jesus Christ is Risen Today though in a different harmonic context. I should note that scale degree 4 [Eb in the key of Bb] is not a harmonic partial but that’s a whole other conversation.)  I keep using the adjective “little” not to disparage the song in anyway but because it’s impressively concise in terms of how much harmonic/melodic/formal resonance is crammed into so little content. As an offhanded comment, scale degree ‘ti’ is the only one that doesn’t get used in the verse. Pop music loves the major pentatonic scale though suspended 4ths are used in this song more often than is typical.

Pre-Chorus / Chorus

Even though the pre-chorus is only 4 bars it’s very cool. It continues the pattern of straight note runs alternating with syncopated phrases. The contraction of the 8th notes (“but any fool”) into 16th notes (“I gotta make”) is neat. The use of suspended chords and vocal harmonies gives it a jazzy kind of feel though I believe the real purpose here is the Schenkerian descent in the melody of Gb-F-Fb-Eb which is like throwing a cool bucket of water on the listener’s face before re-invigorating them with the chorus.

If we looked at the chorus in Schenkerian terms we’d wind up with Bb-Eb-Eb-F / Bb-Eb-Eb-Db. Just like the verse, we get the same feeling of incompleteness from the F at the 4th bar and the same feeling of closure from the return to the tonic Db in the 8th bar. We have the same pattern of straight runs alternating with syncopation. The chorus has been so excellently set up by the verse that I don’t have much else to say about it beyond the fact that I LOVE how (“everything” / Eb-D-Bb) over the Eb chord becomes (“joy can bring” / Eb-D-A) over the Gbm chord. I also love the embellishing hooks that get thrown in like the “yes I swear” and “giving you everything” later on.

Lyrics

Feminism was not as big in the late 90’s cultural zeitgeist as today and the Spice Girls may as well be synonymous with the phrase “girl power.” The lyrics are not your conventional love song expressing vulnerability but are spoken from the standoffish perspective of an empowered woman who could take or leave the relationship, is a bit put out by the lover’s emotions, but nonetheless will give you everything; all that joy can bring!

I do find it confusing how she prefers that the love remain unspoken and would just as soon show the lover the door but is also willing to open the gates of romantic heaven contingent on the vaguery that the lover promises to “be there”. It’s not that important though. Pop songs are not meant to be literary masterpieces or even make much sense. The phonetic consonance of the words is often more important than their meaning and this is still an excellent song that does a good job of portraying a woman in an empowered romantic situation, albeit a seemingly hollow and Tinder-esque one.