#then it's a tonal 180. and it never gets old!

[disturbnot]

other muses underestimate ash all the time hehehehehe it's so funnyyyyyyy /pos

[nannyan]

Okay so there are e few things in DSAF 2 in particular that I've wanted to ramble about for a while so this is kind of the start of that haha.

In this post I am going to talk a really little bit about one of my favorite scenes in DSAF because I've been meaning to for a while and I finally sat down on my ass to write this.

The scene in question being the one in DSAF 2 where Peter confronts you about what a piece of shit monster you are!!!! YAY

This isn't going to really be about the writing in this scene. Because I mean yeah we all know that it's amazing. That's pretty obvious.

Nor is it going to be about it in the context of the overall story - the little things it reveals and how it becomes infinitely more powerful and heart wrenching when you know the characters.

What I more so want to highlight is its placement in the second game itself, how that elevates it so much more. Because I've never really heard anyone mention this before and I've been thinking about it for a while.

I think the point at which this scene is placed is incredibly smart, and is part what makes it so memorable and effective.

And where is it placed exactly? Well right about in the middle of Dave's routes.

The purple guy is, dare I say, the most entertaining part of the first game. With his wacky antics and "Old Sport" this "Old Sport" that, he leaves and immense impression. He is most people's favorite part.

And upon meeting him again in the second game, with him giving you the same proposition - kill a few kiddins to shut down the restaurant and be a free man, you'll most likely accept. Because you want to see down what ridiculous path he'll lead you this time. So his is the first route you'll probably get to experience. Most players coming off of the first game will be fully expecting DSAF 2 to be more of the same - a silly meme game. And it really does present itself like that - when you open the game you are once again greeted with a music box rendition of a meme song. But this is also where you've fallen into the trap.

If you need a little refresher on what leads to Phone Guy's speech - you rig one of the suits full with silly putty, with the help of Dave, so that it fails with Jimbo the janitor inside, who is forced to wear it when you don't show up on time the next day.

Standard DSAF ridiculousness, you wouldn't expect less.

But what follows is one of the most raw and realistic scenes in this game (I'd even say the whole trilogy). Phone Guy goes in on you, hard. And you're kind of just forced to sit there and take it. Jack tries to lighten the mood with a few quips but Phone Guy doesn't let him. The game doesn't let you take this moment lightly.

There is a complete tonal 180. You go from watching Jimbo experience some VAST DISCOMFORT to being told, straight up, what a horrible person you are. And that whiplash kind of takes you out of it. Personally it reminded me of being a child and getting scolded by your parents, for doing something wrong. It makes you feel uncomfortable.

Now I am not giving all the credit to the scene's placement. The writing is obviously doing the majority of the lifting. But I do genuinely believe if it was anywhere else in the game, in any other route, it just wouldn't hit as hard. From Dave's route, again, being the most probable one you'd choose first, to you being like deep to your neck in the Aubergine's ridiculousness and then being, suddenly, completely pulled out from that, and being hit by the weight of your choice. It is all just so perfect. I love it so muchhh

[musiesmusic]

Brahman and LilDarkie’s departure from the idea of “LilDarkie” with a close look at the idea of “are you ready?”

Mixing rap and rock is a very very fun idea for me and it hits the spot CORPSE does without the gamer LED setup and his little cat ears. This is more of sound analysis without that much parsing through lyrics. I think with his recent releases of songs like “banana pie” he's going for more heartfelt angst with the tonal tag of a three wolves howling at the moon, coming from a 2020 perspective, in the same way CORPSE does it, and CORPSE is the sex icon of our generation for it. And honestly CORPSE is both underrated and overrated with people missing the absolute gem of “fuK u lol” and how it really encapsulates the idea of his spotify picture, it really is a “fuK u lol.” Very y2k without the tiktok.

I love how this genre of edgy boy music can be summed up in animated music videos. Being able to be actually soulful with an understanding of what the aesthetic is and how that plays into music. What “LilDarkie” now “Brahman” has over CORPSE is having more grit and less anime (which is ironic since I tend to prefer grit but love the anime music videos after y2k and I’m an ironic baddie). But said grit can lead to the stranger sounds of his guitar soul music Brahman now makes. Looking at his instagram Brahman is genuinely doing a full 180 from his previous persona dropping most of his trademarks to focus on his Indian blood heritage. Also as a tidbit on his insta he's seen doing a lot of wellness therapy which I find pleasing, self care seems to be much needed and I’d like to think it plays into the irony of HOLOCAUST without mentioning Hitler a single time.

His “big announcement” of who he is now and how he still has the “idea of LilDarkie” is in “are you ready?” which is very funny considering how it starts w/ “hahaha” and how it goes right into a CORPSE guitar solo which honestly is one of the freshest takes in current music and will be remembered fondly being put right in the niche where older music is just passing from cringe and into retro, where y2k music (like rave girl just not as universal) is going to come back into mainstream through it being paved in by CORPSE (please make more music we need you). But considering its LilDarkie I don’t think he’d give a single shit since he’s the man who made HOLOCAUST. My giddy around this new song is how it feels like hes stomp kicking his old fans who crowded around his persona of “HOLOCAUST” and “GENOCIDE” even with them being amazing songs which can be fun to critique on a social standing, to be done at a later date. What I hope is bringing back the skype days of the y2k genre, less glitz and glam and more of skype and anime posting with the same full-heartendess of a furry. If you were online in the early days you know what I’m talking about, it's My Immortal done right. 

It feels like his newer stuff on Brahman can be seen as more “hidey” with his song “reminding” being a soulful guitar solo which he known to make. I find that fascinating and what has changed in him. Listening to his newest if not last album under the persona of Lil Darkie is just a social critique of society in general with the line “did the FBI calcify your third eye?” being the perfect line for his album with the context of “hehe funny hat.” He now has my soul and being with HUMANS AND MONSTERS being his best song of all time please devour me along with the earth and your Little Darkie realness. Also Lil Darkie flexing his platinum plaque is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen and all I do is squeal like a tumlbrina fangirl begging more more HOLOCAUST with a PC culture layover. 

But considering the social critique his latest came off as I can fully see how he started to transition to a more soulful sound as a palette cleanser since he too, is a human being. Also consider his last song on this banger of an album is “it never gets better”

Glad youre in therapy Brahman, may you spend your time wisely soulfully and really tune into the ice that the blue filter brings into y2k internet and genuine feelings on myspace. You have enough clout and soul to carry it

Love

Tumblrina fangirl who hopes you mention her to your therapist, I am a fangirl after all 

[montyterrible]

“(Beverly) Hillbillies, that is…”

The first DVD that my family owned was a collection of assorted Beverly Hillbillies episodes. While not as primordially formative for me as the re-runs of The Andy Griffith Show we watched even before we had such a modern convenience, it’s safe to say that this was yet another piece of media that shaped my… sensibilities. There are modern mega-hit songs I hear on the radio all the time that I don’t actually know the lyrics to, but I know the opening and closing themes of The Beverly Hillbillies. Of course, often, those old DVD collections didn’t have the actual themes and had some other lyric-less tunes in their place.

I wouldn’t call the series anything approaching “high art” or “essential viewing,” and it certainly trafficked in stereotypes: The Ignorant Yokel is still with us—often the go-to voice and posture when someone wants to indicate stupidity and backwards or conservative thinking—but The Beverly Hillbillies itself was just as much a send-up of the hill folks as it was a critique of the Beverly Hills culture they were dropped into after patriarch Jed Clampett was “shootin’ at some food” and unearthed a fortune in oil. A repeated early joke in the show is how some person will treat the Clampetts like dirt and then do an over-the-top 180 after discovering they’re wealthy. It’s just as much a joke directed at the supposed well-to-do and cultured rich and how completely and utterly their nose-in-the-air posturing gives way to obsequious hand-wringing and smiling as they try to stay close to the money, in the good graces of a particularly big new fish in a small pond. Even as the show devolves into sillier and sillier escapades (like Jed’s nephew Jethro buying a tank), this core element remains true as their banker, neighbor, and sort-of friend Milburn Drysdale tries to carefully placate the Clampetts so that they keep their money in his bank, with his greed arguably enabling their continued cultural rampage through the land of (not exactly) good taste.

Looking back at the TV series as an adult (watching some new-to-me re-runs), there is a cynical, mean core buried beneath the string twangin’ “Aw shucks!” fun of making jokes about “possum innards” and the “cement pond” (swimming pool) which I always took for warmth and sweetness and fun. And, as such, the 1993 Beverly Hillbillies film isn’t actually as far off the mark as I kind of thought it was for years…

Here’s another weird Monty quirk: I actually listened to the book on tape (literal tape, cassette) of the novelization of The Beverly Hillbillies film before I saw the movie. We probably got it because my parents recognized the brand, though the actual movie and its novelization are so much meaner and more sexual than the 60s TV series, which featured plenty of talk of courting and marriage, as well as the occasional schemer looking to get their hands on the Clampetts’ money, but was never so forthright and vulgar as this. There’s a particular line from the novelization that I’m not sure is even in the movie—something from Mr. Drysdale directed at his wife and about “getting her liposuction butt in gear” (or something like that). I remember that line because of how explicit it seemed to me as a child, when I heard it riding in our car, and because of how mean it was. I’m not sure if I had seen the original show at that point, but (even if I hadn’t) after I had, the movie still struck me as mean in contrast. Aggressive, tonally.

Here's a great, representative line from the movie: Gold-digging Laura Jackson in disguise as a French tutor says to Jed, “Happiness is hard to find.” But remember that she’s FRONCHE, so take away the “H”… There’s also a sequence of scenes early in the film as the Clampetts drive to their new home where they decide that giving someone the middle finger is the “Californy” way of saying “hello,” so they do it repeatedly. The aggression’s also there in how the character of Granny is treated. Jed uncharacteristically, meanly tells her to “hush up” when they’re tying her in her rocker to the top of the car to take her to Beverly Hills, and Laura calls her an “old hag” when she and her co-conspirator, sycophantic worm Rob Schneider (I mean “Woodrow Tyler”), are dragging the eldest member of the Clampett clan off to an abusive old folks’ home after she overhears their plans. The general state of the Granny Abuse—and the fact that we barely see her or the mansion’s kitchen during the plot—feels somewhat uncannily “off” given how central that location and the character are to so many of the original TV series episodes.

The casting conjures up similar uneasy vibes overall. While I don’t think Jim Varney really looks much like Buddy Ebsen’s original Jed, the others struck me as much closer. They’re still clearly not quite right, but they’re not quite right in ways that only stick out to me because the differences feel so slight and therefore more noticeable. I thought Lily Tomlin was excellent as Drysdale’s right-hand woman Jane Hathaway, and immediately fell for Diedrich Bader’s extremely toothy performance as Jethro, during this re-watch. Cloris Leachman was also a great, if somewhat under-utilized, Granny.

I would say that replacing refined grown adult mama’s boy Sonny Drysdale with the extremely 90s-coded teenager Morgan Drysdale was some kind of aesthetic crime against the original show, but the movie is generally visually coherent with the TV series, though the big-screen cinematography certainly adds to the feeling of uncanniness with how much more expressive and less static it all looks. You see the Clampett mansion from unusual angles that feel, in their own way, as obscene as when Laura is in her skimpy attire getting her legs waxed (while Tyler watches), a gif of which is labelled as potentially explicit in Google’s image search.

Honestly, I had a good time re-watching this movie! It definitely feels more aggressive and mean (or at least more honest about those feelings), but it’s genuinely well-paced, and the jokes are well-executed. There are some physical bits—like Jethro plowing a car into the outhouse Granny is using—that are filmed in a matter-of-fact way that really tickles me. And it’s not like the movie is un-reverential where the source material is concerned. There are jokes taken directly from the TV series (including the Clampetts’ struggle to connect their doorbell ringing with people appearing outside their front door). The opening and closing themes are both used, and Buddy Ebsen makes a brief late-game cameo appearance in his role as the detective Barnaby Jones, of the 70s TV series of the same name.

The 1993 Beverly Hillbillies doesn’t so much swerve from the source material or take it to truly radical new places, but it does enliven it, with the improved camerawork and a new pep (that same aggressiveness, in a way) adding what I found to be an infectious energy this time around.

It’s ultimately of a kind in my head with a whole line-up of similar films, like the 1991 Addams Family or the 1997 George of the Jungle or 99’s Dudley Do-Right, the 2000 The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, the 2004 Fat Albert film, and even Rob Zombie’s 2022 take on The Munsters. This line from the back-of-the-box description of The Beverly Hillbillies movie novelization audiobook kind of, sort of applies to them all if you squint a little: “But times are a-changin’, and corporate raiders circle their fortune like vultures.” These are, as a loose-knit collection, films about some sort of more innocent source material coming into conflict with a more “modern” and mean and greedy world (loosely speaking). I find the repeated premise charming, and I guess it just goes to show that the original Beverly Hillbillies is kind of timeless or prescient since they were already essentially sort of doing this back in the day, just with less obvious edginess and a lower budget.

[depizan]

I spend a lot of time griping about fiction. Perhaps, for once, I should talk about something that sparks joy.

Han Solo's Revenge by Brian Daley. The book that made me a Star Wars fan.

Now, I freely admit that there might be some nostalgia involved (I did first read it at the age of 14), but it's held up better than a lot of the Legends works I read as a teen and young adult. (Considerably better than some of them.) And I still enjoy it, and the other two books in Daley's Han Solo trilogy.

Daley captures the genre-blendy nature of Star Wars ably, throwing in a dash of western here and a pinch of old serial there, and manages to tell a - now that I think about it - remarkably morally gray story, without being at all tonally gray about it. Everybody is either space criminals or employees of the Corporate Sector (which has the approximate ethics of your average cyberpunk government). We're rooting for the better people, certainly, and Fiolla (and maybe Chewie) probably land in some good flavored square on the alignment grid, but I can't really call anyone the good guys, exactly. (Han is more on the good-adjacent edge of true neutral - there are things he won't do, but he's pretty much in it for himself (and Chewie).)

Still, it's a fun story, not a grim one. Daley stuffs a truly remarkable amount of action into 180 pages (This is a book from 1979, long before doorstoppers became the norm in genre fiction.), while still managing a slightly twisty plot and enough characterization to bring the characters to life.

He also writes Han as smarter than some other Star Wars writers do. His Han is reckless and hot headed, but he can also be clever. Sure, his attempts at cleverness sometimes backfire due to not having all the information. But he's never stupid.

Hell, basically all of the characters get to have some clever moments and make some mistakes. Even the bad guys.

Brian Daley is also excellent at writing action scenes I can actually follow, whether we're talking close-quarters combat, a speeder chase, or something else.

And I will always be grateful to my eighth grade English teacher for having bookshelves of random old paperbacks. It's been a very long time since 14 year old me grabbed a book during a dull moment in class and discovered an author, a genre, and a franchise all in one moment. It wasn't what I was supposed to get out of eighth grade English, but it probably had more impact on my life than anything I was.

[boringlibrarianthoughts]

Spn Series Finale - and How It’s Still Destiel Endgame

 I’ve been thinking more about the finale and have finally assembled my thoughts on it.

While I understand many fans hold to “the finale wasn’t real/canon,” to me, it was because that’s what was shown on tv, so I’m attempting to come to terms with it. You don’t have to feel that way and that’s totally fine. That’s just how I feel. So, here are my very lengthy thoughts:

*keep reading below*

I’m gonna be honest and say that I have always felt 100% sure that Dean would die at the end of the show. I started watching during like season 3, and I’ve believed that from more or less the start, so I went into the finale expecting him to die. Dean’s self loathing resulted in risky behavior on his part that was definitely indicative of someone who would never reach old age. That doesn’t mean I wanted Dean to die. Quite the opposite. His character deserved a chance to break out of the vicious cycle that had damaged his entire life; I wanted to see an arc of redemption and coming to love yourself (this would have been huge given Dean’s self-hatred). I wanted to see Dean move beyond the life his father trapped him in. As far as character development goes, it actually made more sense at the end of the series for Dean to get out of hunting and live a quiet life (with Cas) and Sam to continue the hunting lifestyle (with Eileen). This is what I hoped for, but given that for some reason showrunners and writers seem to hate their audiences and want to punish them for enjoying their shows, I figured this was unlikely.

So yes, I wasn’t shocked when Dean died. As soon as I saw that friggin piece of rebar on the screen, I knew that was it. So my main issue wasn’t that Dean died (again, I didn’t want that at all, but I knew it was coming), but what happened during the death scene. Like, I get that now without Chuck keeping them alive to entertain himself and Jack deciding to be totally hands off, the odds of Dean or Sam dying accidentally would increase exponentially. So yes, I could even cope with the rebar death (I know, I know).

What actually bothered me about the death scene was how Dean’s death is made completely about Sam. Wtf? Like, it seems the indication is that Dean’s death is a noble sacrifice for Sam to be happy. 

I don’t like that.

While the first few years of the show focus on the tension between Sam and Dean and the struggles of family, it eventually moves past this (thank goodness, too). Their relationship becomes more or less settled and they are comfortable with their brotherly bond and no longer feel angry or bitter about it for the most part. That was satisfying to see. Instead, the focus shifted to other relationships. Sam would have girlfriends, a fun relationship with Rowena, and learn to trust himself more and grow into a leadership role. Dean would struggle with himself rather than his brother, but he would learn to develop friendships and grow closer to Castiel. The brothers were no longer codependent.

Dean’s death did a complete 180 and shifted back to the pathetic codependency of the early seasons. Dean saying his life was always about Sam blah blah blah was gross and a mean thing for the showrunners to make Ackles perform. Dean and Sam had outgrown this period of their lives. Reverting to it was out of character for Dean.

Now, I am certain this was done to “bookend” the show. Have the relationship between Sam and Dean go back to the way it was in the beginning - and this could be done since every other character was written out of the finale. There was no one left for them to care about anymore except each other. I think that if the show had ended like this around like season 5, it would have fit fine. Dean and Sam’s relationship was sadly like this, and Dean felt he had no worth beyond what he could do for Sam. 

HOWEVER - the show has been on for 15 freakin seasons. A lot will change during that time. During the last 3 seasons of the show (at least) the main relationship in Dean’s life was that with Cas, not with Sam. Whether you believe the relationship between Dean and Cas was platonic or romantic, you can’t deny that Dean valued Cas very, very highly and loved him in some way. To me, it seems pretty straightforward that Dean had been actively trying to repress romantic feelings for Castiel for the last couple years of the show but whatever.

Dean’s speech during his death was out of character. And yes, as others have pointed out, Sam definitely could have done SOMETHING to keep Dean alive.

Here’s where I think his feelings for Cas were suggested in the episode (as an aside, I genuinely think that the COVID delay allowed for some... nervousness on the part of showrunners or whoever regarding Dean and Castiel’s relationship being explicitly romantic, and the tonal shift of the last two episodes is the result of that). Dean wanted to give up and die. He didn’t fight. Sam had been trained by the best witch around (Rowena) and surely could have come up with something. Call the friggin ambulance. Do the vampire reversal thing y’all have mentioned. DEAN DIDN’T WANT ANY OF IT. Now, we’ve seen before that Dean becomes suicidal when Cas is dead. I think this is a continuation of that theme. By killing Cas and then not bringing him back, the writers created a situation where Dean had literally nothing to live for anymore. And that’s really sad. I know, I know, I shouldn’t be so attached to fictional characters (whatever), but I really care about Sam, Dean, and Cas. I wanted them all to be happy after all the crap they’ve been through.

Dean’s closest companion was taken from him in a really, really awful way that would doubtless be traumatizing for Dean. He would likely feel intensely guilty about Castiel’s death and that he didn’t tell Cas how he felt (however, it’s clear Dean’s actual response to Cas’ love declaration was cut, so who knows what happened there - I wrote another lengthy post about that, actually). 

I think Dean’s death happened a couple years after they defeated Chuck - the montage in the beginning of 15x20 represents that. Dean didn’t literally die on the very next hunt. However, a couple years still is not a long time, and doubtless Dean would have spent that time struggling with the idea that he couldn’t save Cas no matter what he did. That’s terrible. Who knows what he might have tried during that time to bring him back from The Empty, and the thought of him fruitlessly working toward that before finally giving up and having to live with the finality of Castiel’s death is really depressing. Of course, he wouldn’t know that Cas wasn’t even in the frickin Empty anymore because Jack pulled him out, which makes it even more sad. Now, I’ve seen some people wondering why Cas wouldn’t come back to Dean... it seems pretty clear to me that when Jack said he would be hands off, he meant the forces of heaven in general. That means Cas would be in heaven working to improve it and not be able to leave or communicate with Dean and Sam.

So Dean dies, alone in life and likely still feeling like he’s a failure. Not cool, Spn writers. The best we can assume is that he took Cas’ speech to heart and was trying to be a better version of himself (as shown by being merciful to Chuck).

Then he ends up in heaven where he’s greeted by Bobby (and not Cas - remember Becky’s little Funko POPs display of Dean and Castiel together in front of The Roadhouse? I think that was the initial plan before someone got cold feet). Anyway, I really think someone involved with this show was honestly trying to throw us a bone with the Dean/Bobby conversation. 

Bobby points out that Heaven is basically like living a normal life again and not just reliving your memories because Jack rebuilt it.

Bobby says Heaven is now “What it always should’ve been. Everyone happy, everyone together,” then mentions some side characters (no one too important so we wouldn’t ask why the actor wasn’t in the episode) and Dean’s parents being nearby.

Now, I totally get the John Winchester hate (he’s abusive, no way around it), but I think Dean had always dreamed of getting to know his parents in a good way and not the way life on earth had been. This is giving him that chance.

Then, this is the big line to me.

Bobby: “It ain’t just heaven, Dean. It’s the heaven you deserve. And we’ve been waiting for ya.”

This is everyone’s shared heaven now, not just Dean reliving some memory. This is everyone’s heaven. And yet, Bobby emphasizes that Dean is the focus of this. Dean. Dean was the motivation for this new heaven - the kind of heaven that Dean deserves and ought to have and everyone has been waiting for Dean to be there to enjoy it. Why? Frickin why? “Why,” I asked myself upon watching this episode live. Sure, Jack loved Dean and wanted Dean to love him back, but that seems weird for Jack to do this for Dean.

And then Bobby explains what actually went down.

Dean: “So Jack did all that?”

Bobby pauses and says meaningfully: “Well, Cas helped.” He looks meaningfully over at Dean and then raises his eyebrows suggestively. This is a hella weird response if you take it as anything other than an indication of a (future) romantic relationship between Dean and Cas. Castiel, as Jack’s adoptive father, would have helped, guided, and advised Jack on what to do, and Cas’ motivation for all of this would be to prepare a heaven for Dean that would make him happy. That’s an incredibly loving gesture. Like, Cas is really into Dean.

Likely, Bobby has learned things he didn’t know during his mortal life. He doubtless has either learned or inferred that Castiel and Dean love each other. If Dean didn’t love Cas back, Bobby would not have mentioned his being in Heaven so suggestively. If someone wiggled their eyebrows about my bestie being nearby, I’d be weirded out because I’m not into my bestie in that way lol. I’m into my husband, who is my romantic partner. Seeing Cas busily working to improve Heaven with Dean in mind would be a dead giveaway to Bobby about what was going on between the two of them.

Dean’s smile in response to hearing this is honestly how I smile when I think about something that makes me happy but I don’t want anyone else to know about. And that’s how I think Dean is reacting.

Next, Dean drives around. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be a montage of time passing for him and he doesn’t literally just drive nonstop or if it’s really just a little while in Heaven time before Sam shows up.

Now why wouldn’t Cas appear? Well, couple reasons. Firstly, it would’ve been “too gay” for the higher ups involved in the finale. There really wasn’t a non-gay way to reunite them. I think this is ultimately why Collins wasn’t in the episode.

As far as the in-show story, I think it makes sense for Castiel to be a little shy of Dean. I mean, he did confess his undying love for the man assuming he would never have to face Dean again. Castiel didn’t know Jack would resurrect him. He was literally like “ok, I love you, sorry, gotta go die now.” Now he’s got Dean in Heaven with him for eternity. There’s no rush for them to meet up again. I think Dean would want the resolution of knowing his whole family is in Heaven again, and it makes sense that Castiel would be bashfully hiding in a corner until Dean called him. Then once they met up, it’d probably be some messy making out and pure joy at being together again (sorry not sorry lol). I really think that was supposed to be our takeaway from this finale regarding Dean and Cas’ relationship. Was it ideal? No, but I do think there was something.

Some other thoughts: Eileen was perfect for Sam and not explicitly showing them together was a major cop-out. I think that because Padalecki had a new show coming out on the same network, they didn’t want to show Sam settled with a specific woman thinking “oh we want the fangirls to imagine they could be with Sam” which is dumb but probably their line of thinking. This also explains Sam’s totally random and unnecessary shirtless shot in the finale. I’ve known these characters for so long and care about them and that shot was like seeing your brother naked. No thanks.

I think this also explains the choice to revert to Sam being the main character and Dean’s only focus in the end. That’s how the show started out, and it makes sense from a marketing standpoint to emphasize Padalecki’s performance.

Anyway, I’ve probably left something out that I planned on including, but this is already crazy long lol. So there you have it - I finally wrote down my thoughts on a finale that aired 3 months ago. I’m clearly on top of everything.

Plus, I feel pretty confident they will do a mini reunion series within a few years, so hopefully some of these issues will be corrected before too long lol.

[theromanticrationalist]

Foundation 1x03 The Mathematician's Ghost: My Thoughts

Okay! Well. That just did a complete 180 from the previous episode. It is like night and day in comparison. Suddenly the writing was better, there was a clear focus, themes were starting to surface, and it even brought a tear to my eye! WHA...??? They've suddenly made Emperor Cleon much more nuanced of a character and concept. The clone thing wouldn't have been my choice for the story, and it is rather bizarre seeing as Asimov never wrote about clones, but it actually felt deeply sad to see the cycle that the Empire was trapped within. They really made you feel the weight of it, the sorrow of it, and the vanity of it. I was like, wow! Did this suddenly just get GOOD? They also used some good visual cues - like Brother Dusk going back to the mural which is call back to when he was trying to do that earlier, but his old age wouldn't let him. Again, showing the rut and stagnation the Empire was stuck in, trying to maintain its own greatness, in love with its own glory - a glory that may have once been dreamt with a heart of good intentions (aka the symbol of the Star Bridge and what that meant to Cleon), but is now long sense rotted from the inside. That was very effecting! Demerzel has also improved as a character. It was sloppy the way they introduced robots into the story, but after this episode she is much more in line to what I would want from an Asimov robot. She still isn't perfect, and I still don't want her to be Daneel, but she is exhibiting more of the spirit of goodness and purity through her love and loyalty to Cleon. (The key would be for her to show this same love, care, grace to all humans! It is a problem that she hasn't exhibited this yet!) So, what happened in episode 2 doesn't make sense to what we are being shown of both Cleon and Demerzel right now. I am just going to pretend none of that happened, I've decided. It just makes it more logical.

It was so beautiful and sad seeing Demerzel walking with Cleon through his many lives. I really loved the song that she was singing to him! That was a lovely touch.

This episode also introduced us to Salvor Hardin, and finally it feels like the whole concept of the Foundation is becoming much more solidified. I am still upset she they had to make the character a woman, but they did a good job establishing her as a relatable character. Although, it is kind of annoying how they felt like they had to emphasize that Salvor Hardin is "special." I wish American media wasn't persistent on this concept. As if a character cannot be important unless they are somehow "different" and "special." It is just kind of ridiculous and besides the point in context of the Foundation, but whatever. So it is. I also do not like how they keep throwing in random romances. I'm not watching Foundation in order to watch people have sex. Thank you very much. Can we please stop. It just slows the story down. So, it isn't perfect, but ultimately they've made it much more clear what the Foundation is doing and that there are different viewpoints which have arisen over the years, i.e. those who have grown heavily dependent on 'The Plan' vs Hardin's viewpoint of them needing to think for themselves. I really hope they explore this more through the 'Seldon Crisis' that has revealed itself. I also hope that this isn't what I can hope to expect from the show, i.e. inconsistent writing and tonal shifts. I really hope that with this episode they've hit their stride and will keep it on a steady path. None of this is what I would have wanted from an ideal Asimov adaptation, but if they stay on this path I will at least find the story and characters compelling, and really enjoy it for what it is.

[kanralovesu]

How Does Persona 4 Uses Liberal Arguments to Come to Conservative Conclusions?

After playing Persona 4 Golden on PC recently it’s quickly become one of my favorite RPGs, but from my experience even die hard fans admit their are some problematic elements namely in terms of LGBT representation. However, when I got to the Naoto’s dungeon, I initially was pleasantly surprised. Naoto was struggling with his identity in a profession dominated by toxic masculinity, constantly trying to live up to his and the world’s perception of who he should be. I had beaten the boss and we were being given a speech on how Naoto should just be himself and all that jazz. But then Yukiko just chimes in “Yeah, you don’t really want to be a man do you?” and then Naoto is just like “Yeah I guess you’re right.” The tonal whiplash blew me intro the stratosphere. For my money we had just spent an entire arc reaffirming the fact that Naoto’s transgender status was valid, but in one line of dialogue the game threw all of that our the window. The weirdest part was, when I went back and looked at the rest of the game, the same pattern was repeated over and over again. How does Persona 4 use a liberal argument to come to a conservative conclusion?

Well because we all know about the problems with Naoto and Kanji I’ll leave them out of this for the rest of the post and instead prove that this is a reoccurring problem by quickly focusing on some other social links. Yukiko initially rejects tradition when she rejects the idea that she will inherit her family’s inn. She’s confident and self-assured that she can make it on her own, taking you shopping so she can learn how to cook, etc. But then a few evil tv crews come to her front door and she makes a 180, determined to “give back after all they had done for her”. Yumi (drama girl) is angry with her father because he was a deadbeat dad and now is determined to come back into her life. But then she quickly makes a 180 and goes so far as to quit drama club to try and find out “why her parents gave birth to her”. Rise quits her life as an idol to escape the horrors of show biz. But then she returns after remembering she helped some fan about bullying. While becoming an idol again isn’t very conservative, its still this idea that she’s going back to her roots rather than trying to change.

Now admitted I didn’t max all my social links on my first playthrough, but among the ones I did this trend held true for about 50% of them. For fairness I’ll just bring up that both Kanji’s and the Devil’s Social Links seemed pretty openly Liberal to me with Kanji fighting both against toxic masculinity and the police and the Devil fighting against work culture. After you deal with Kanji’s shadow form of every problematic stereotype of gay men, his character feels very close to positive representation. 

Back to the matter at hand, even outside of social links this dichotomy holds true. The game is pretty obviously anti-consumer culture and therefore can be read as anti-capitalist. However, this ignores that fact that the old shopping district is seen as an unequivocally good even when the encroaching Junes is not. For some reason we come to the conclusion that some capitalism is good even after we criticize elements of capitalism. When we find out that Adachi, a police officer, is the villain and he begin to explain how he “just wanted to own a gun” and how he tampered with evidence constantly, one might think the game is making a statement. However, when we compare Adachi to your surrogate father Dojima we start to realize that Adachi is constantly portrayed as slacking off and not being good at his job. Dojima and Naoto are real cops who are just getting spoiled by a single bad apple and even Chie wants to be a cop when she’s older!

Okay that’s enough of the what, how about some of the why? Well after compiling my previous post about the core themes of Persona 4, it hit me: the central theme of this game is “finding the truth”. This theme does not have a political leaning. Both liberals and conservatives would say they are the “truth”! Naoto’s story and every character’s story was about finding his true self. To a liberal this means accepting that you are transgender and you’re not mentally ill, harmful or alien and to a conservative this means no, you are not transgender you are your biological gender. The same is true for every other aspect of the story that initially seems liberal. In reality when I looked back all they were stating was that we need to search for “the truth” and as a liberal I projected my own interpretation of what the truth is onto that argument. Then the game, a largely conservative one, finally reveals its master plan after taking steps it understood where in service of this conservative conclusion, but which I never thought of that way. 

Now this is actually kind of great on the games part. If the game openly dog whistled to conservative ideas and was constantly making openly conservative arguments, I bet most of us wouldn’t be able to find much enjoyment in it. However, seeking the “truth” is such a universal concept that anyone could enjoy a story about! Even though I was very often blindsided by just how conservative this small-town loving game is, I never found myself so insulted that I had to put the game down. Most of the game was 100% universal to the human experience so there was always something I could connect to! 

[literallychris]

This is a very long vent post because I can’t sleep, am very sad and needed a way to get it out. TW suicide & self harm

I love you a lot, and miss you a lot. It's a shame how things are. I feel guilty about lots of things, and even though it's hopefully better for both of us, it's hard not to feel like a piece of garbage for going this route. I always feel shitty and evil and blah blah, whether it's warranted or not.

It's hard not to pull a 180 on it, too. Every day like "maybeeee I should go back?" I'm constantly daydreaming about things magically being fixed, and we get to talk again. I've never really had many lights in my life, still don't, but you were definitely one of the brightest, and it's hard not having that. It's hard not knowing what's going on with you day to day, or getting to joke around with you, or being there to comfort you, hoping someone's there to do it. Someone to count you to sleep. I never liked that you had to struggle, but I fucking loved being able to help take care of you. You've got a lot of struggles, I hope someone's helping. I don't want you to hurt.

I've missed people before, but I just missed them. I actually notice your absence all the time. Things don't feel normal anymore, it really sucks. One time I ended up going through my old screenshots. We all know how that goes. Reading chat logs, not even anything funny or interesting, just random stuff I had for whatever reason. As soon as I stopped, I realized how wild the tonal shift in my life has been. "Wow, for 5 minutes my life felt normal again."

You're everywhere. I see the things you'd like everywhere, stuff I wish I could send you, someone saying something that you might say. I recently streamed to our server, and right at the beginning, one of my teammates was the first to join in. It was the first time I heard their voice, and their voice, and cadence, and jokes, was so spot on for yours that it almost killed my mood immediately. It was weirdly comforting eventually. I guess the familiarity helped my anxiety.

I'm drowning myself in lots of work these days, getting dev shit done, even if it's personal work. I'd love to say it's me taking initiative to improve and be productive, but honestly I think it's a distraction technique. I can't be idle these days, my mind goes to bad places fast. It scares me sometimes, because I spent years fighting mental illness, and depression, and suicidal thoughts, and I think I got pretty good at it! For a long while all of that stuff was easy to shove away. Now, if I have 10 seconds without immediate mental activity, I think of you, or any of the other things I'm struggling with, and it's a slippery slope to places I don't wanna end up again.

I think I'm writing this because I need to hurt myself, but I can't allow myself to do it other ways. I could put my phone down, but I'm thinking about it all anyway, so may as well utilize it, right? Plus, writing is a distraction, right? I write all of the team's goofy, happy news posts, I should spend time letting the less than positive stuff out, even if it's about you and you won't even see it. I keep going on tangents like this and I think that's why. More distraction. Even when I'm hurting myself, I'm still trying to take care of myself. Mental illness is weird.

But just like every other time, eventually the distraction wears thin, and I'm back to square one. I truly hope that whatever's going on with you, you're getting along better than I am. This is really lame. Whenever I think about you suffering, I need to scream, so please I hope you're able to better yourself and be strong and okay! I want you okay, so badly.

I don't know what's gonna happen in my life, neither the short term nor long. Things are weird. I feel like I'm burning bridges before I've actually crossed or not. I picture myself lighting a match, dropping it, going "Hopefully I make it!" and breaking out into a sprint across a long-ass rickety bridge. Sometimes I wanna make it across, sometimes I wanna turn back, sometimes I hope I fall into the abyss. Kinda feels like that's where I'm at now Har Har.

You and I are both sick, so things are hard to figure out and get through. Especially stuff like this. Above all, I want us both to end up happy, whatever form that takes. And we're both fighters, so we'll get there. I'm the guy who sent a suicide note to his teammates, then went and sat in the woods with a gun for a while. It's been some years, and you've seen how optimistic and positive I can be! And you, I can see that same fire for recovery blazing inside of you. I've seen you trying so hard, it always amazed me. I've seen you knocking on death's door too, and yet you're still around. I've never felt you were hopeless, you've got so much strength in you. You got this!

Whatever happens, we're gonna be okay.

[darkarfs]

I’m currently...not doing anything with my life (except worrying that my edema not going away after two days and a 6-mile hike is serious), so I’ve been climbing through the DC Universe Animated canon. (Caution: spoilers) On the one hand, I really love how cavalier it is regarding death. When I was growing up, comics meant nobody could die unless it was like, a huge moment, and then it was someone like Gwen Stacy, or Elektra, or someone almost completely meaningless, like the first Bucky Barnes, or, the case of DC, they crushed all their continuity in the Crisis for Infinite Earths storyline, only to start anew.  On the other hand, I really HATE that they’re so cavalier regarding death. Mostly because it’s really graphic and grim when they DO show it (it shows SO many civilian casualties), it’s often in hideous, painstaking detail, often to show how ruthless a murderous villain is. But after 5 movies, I wanna go, “YES, they’re all ruthless, we get it!” But then actual characters, people you might have grown attached to are often killed on a whim (Batgirl, who is in two movies as a complete character, basically makes a cameo in the last one to be descended on and ripped apart) and often, other times, they are killed OFFSCREEN. I get that not everything has to be a climactic duel, and not every villain needs an epic send-off. I know that the fundamentals of emotional investment and storylines don’t always call for that. (Says the person who was unpleasantly pissed at the 40-minute mark of No Country For Old Men, though partially because I was yelled at by the internet, saying “IT’S A DECONSTRUCTION, YOU JUST DON’T GET IT, MAAAAN!” And I wasn’t even invested in the dead character, either. Maybe the Coens are just too precious about certain things? Anyway.)  And maybe, in their own roundabout way, DC’s Animated division are trying to deconstruct all of that. “Maybe you won’t get to see your favorite characters die. It’s something that just happens, and you’re not always there to see it.” Maybe.  But then why touch on all the comic book milestones? Why make a whole movie about the death of Superman, or John Constantine’s deal with the devil to make sure he doesn’t die of cancer? Why flesh out SOME of the important ones, but then kill other key players...often ones within that storyline...offscreen, or in a moment you can blink and miss how it happened? I wouldn’t even care about it, except that one of my favorite cartoons since 2005, the Harley Quinn series (or the less reference-heavy Venture Bros, mostly because they’re using licensed DC properties), does a fine deconstruction all on its own. And IT only kills pivotal characters onscreen. It treats civilian and henchmen death as a punchline, but doesn’t treat us to TOO many of their gruesome dismemberments, or as many MAIN characters.. A few, yes, but arguably less than the first two Justice League: Dark (I know) movies. Parse that out as 180 minutes vs 598 minutes.  I forget what my point was. And I’ve claimed over and over that I don’t care about most superhero continuities. I was famously (in my Livejournal days) one of the biggest Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita fans you could find on that website. And I still liked it, as I got older. The last volume was published in December of 1998. So I had 21 years to reconcile how I would feel about the movie adaptation, which was teased since maybe 2007, with multiple directors (if you look up James Cameron Battle Angel in Google Image, you will eventually see him directing some film with a bootleg Battle Angel shirt, it’s kinda great). And when I saw it, and it got a lot of shit wrong, I wasn’t mad. I said, to myself, in the theater, “well, that was not how it happened,” but I wasn’t MAD that they didn’t depict it correctly. But I ALSO watched the first Transformers, and said to myself “this isn’t in the spirit of the show or even the toys. The toys never peed on people.” So, again, what do I know.  I lost my thread again. What I’m saying is that the DCAMU is wildly inconsistent, tonally (regarding death; it’s otherwise seriously “grim action movie” in tone otherwise), and I found it annoying and upsetting more than once. All said, though, you know what? The fights as usually very kinetic and choreographed very well to extremely excellently, tailored often to the characters’ powers and temperaments, so I can’t see any fault in that. Hang on, is Joaquim de Santos involved? Lemme look... Nah. I would call it a shame, but that means there’s someone else out there who cares as much about animated fight sequences. 

[constantviewings]

The TV Show Trials - Christmas Movies

‘Tis the season! I’m steering off course this month to review films instead of a TV show, because a TV show that’s only about christmas wouldn’t make much money.

White Christmas

A successful song-and-dance duo become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general by planning a yuletide musical extravaganza.

This film is iconic, and I loved every second of it. The costumes in this film are gorgeous and I want to own every single one. I plan on making a tradition out of watching this every year.

Rating: 5

Elf

Buddy is a human who was adopted and raised by Santa’s elves. He learns about this and heads to New York City to meet his biological father while also spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics in the process.

I feel the need to proceed my thoughts with the fact that I have never been a fan of Will Ferrell, and I am not a fan of this movie. Most of the jokes come down to Will Ferrell either screaming or being dumb. Also, not be overly sensitive, I’ve never been a fan of casting a bit role for a dwarved actor just to make jokes that they’re short.

Rating: 2

 Scrooged

Based on Charles Dickins’ A Christmas Carol, Scrooged is a modern retelling that follows Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive, who is visited by a succession of ghosts on Christmas Even Intent on helping him regain his Christmas spirit.

The film does drag in the first act, but once the ghost of Christmas present shows up, it only gets better. I thought the touch of Bill Murray ‘interacting’ with the audience is a fun way to close out this entertaining film.

Rating: 3

 It’s A Wonderful Life

George Bailey has given up his dreams in order to help others, and his imminent suicide on Christmas Even brings about the intervention of his guardians angel, Clarence. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched, and how different life in his community would be if he had never been born.

This is a beautiful film with a great sentiment, but my god is it boring! Like everyone else, all I really knew about this film was the ending, and that is truly the only part that I enjoyed. By now you should all know how I feel about films longer than eighty minutes, and at one-hundred and thirty-five minutes, this film is way too long.

Rating: 3

 Crown for Christmas

After getting fired from her job as a maid at a ritzy New York City hotel, Allie reluctantly accepts a temporary job as the governess to the daughter of the King of Winshire. Soon, Sparks begin to fly between Allie and the king.

This film is just A Christmas Prince (which is coming up) but, in my opinion, better. The editing is pretty tragic, but it makes up for that with heart. I am always a sucker for father-daughter stories.

Rating: 3

 A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Six years after their last adventure, Harold is asked to look after a Christmas tree by his father-in-law, but his ex-roommate Kumar ends up destroying it. The two then set out to find a replacement for the damaged tree.

Despite my earlier comments about Will Ferrell, I am a sucker for irreverent comedy and this film is full of it. I’m also a sucker for goofy 3D, another feature of this film. Also, Neil Patrick Harris is always great to see, especially in this.

Rating: 3

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Charlie Brown finds himself depressed despite to onset of the cheerful holiday season. Lucy suggests he direct a neighbourhood Christmas play, but his best efforts are ignored and mocked by his peers. After Linus tells Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown cheers up, and the Peanuts gang unites to celebrate the Christmas season.

This special is weirdly anti-commercialist? As well as being very boring, I can guarantee that I won’t be re-watching this.

Rating: 2

 The Muppet Christmas Carol

The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of Scrooge, an old miser who doesn’t care about the joyous season of Christmas is visited by spirits who foretell his future. Will Scrooge turn over a new leaf and change his ways?

This has earned it place as my second favourite Christmas Carol adaptations; behind the Barbie version, of course. Like any Muppets film, it’s entertaining, funny and the songs are great. I also really want one of this tiny mouse muppets.

Rating: 4

 Klaus

A simple act of kindness always sparks another, even in a frozen, faraway place. When Smeerensburg’s new postman, Jesper, befriends toymaker Klaus, their gifts melt an age-old fued and deliver a sleigh full of holiday traditions.

This film has a beautiful heart, but is tonally dissonant in the first half. Once Klaus and Jesper start delivering their presents, it picks up drastically. The heart-warming story, mixed with the gorgeous animation makes for a cute Christmas film.

Rating: 4

 A Christmas Prince

When a reporter goes undercover as a tutor to get the inside scoop on a playboy prince, she gets tangled in some royal intrigue and ends up finding love - but will she be able to keep up her lie?

How did this film get two sequels, it’s so boring?

Rating: 3

Krampus

Frustrated by the constant quarrel between the members of his dysfunctional family, max loses interest to celebrate Christmas, awakening Krampus, a demon who will punish his entire family.

Making a tonal 180, we land on this film; which I adore. The creature design for Krampus and his minions is fantastic and the family dynamic is perfect. My only gripe is that the whole film is too dark, visually, I don’t like struggling to watch movies.

Rating: 5

 Better Watch Out

Ashley travels to the suburban home of the Lemers to babysit their 12-year-old son Luke during the holidays. She must soon defend herself and the young boy when unwelcome intruders announce their arrival.

I hate home intruder films, by that I mean they scare the shit out of me, so I actually love them. I’m not going to spoil this film, because it is best to go in with all I’ve given you already. I loved this movie and the cast does an amazing job, especially Levi Miller.

Rating: 4

 Christmas Under Wraps

When a doctor doesn’t get the position she wanted, she ends up movie to a remote Alaskan town. She unexpectedly ends up finding love, happiness and discovers that the small town is hiding a big holiday secret.

I don’t know why I expected more from the most popular Hallmark film, but this isn’t much. Also, this Santa’s pretty shit if he only leaves on Christmas Eve in Alaska, he would have already missed half of the world.

Rating: 3

Magical Christmas Ornaments

Marie finds her Christmas spirit reawakened when her mother begins sending her the family’s Christmas ornaments. As each ornament arrives, it brings a positive change to Marie’s life, including an introduction to the handsome man from next door.

This film, is the worse precursor to The Holiday Calendar on Netflix. There’s nothing wrong with this film, but maybe watch The Holiday Calendar instead.

Rating: 3

 Jack Whitehall: Christmas with My Father

Jack Whitehall invites his notoriously stuffy father onstage in London’s West End for a Christmas comedy extravaganza, complete with celebrity guests.

Is it a fun watch? Yes. Will I watch it again? No.

Rating: 3

Christmas is easily my favourite time of the year, and I hope it’s pleasent you as well. I’m wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons and a fantastic 2020!

[catsbest-uk]

Music to Make Cats Sleep - Best Music For Cats

CATS AND MUSIC: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW 

Music for Cats? Is there such a thing – and if so – what information do we need to choose the right kind? 

Here is everything you need to know. 

Music moves us as human beings. This is due to the fact that the human brain sends all kinds of acoustic signals which are triggering emotions in the brain. But is the effect the same for cats and does it yield the same reactions?

All of these are questions that scientists and musicians have examined by performing tests on what influence music has on cats: A very positive one! – given, the right type of music is played. 

But what exactly is the right kind of music for cats and why do they like it?

Can cats anticipate distinct tunes?

How do they perceive music?

Cats are excellent hunters, all their senses are refined for exactly that reason. 

Not only do they know how to approach their prey soundlessly, they can also feel their environment via specifically sensitive hair on their front paws. 

Thus, they perceive even the slightest of vibrations that we as humans normally would not even recognise – cats are purring seismographs! 

In the animal realm, the hearing of cats is one of the best; it is developed to an extent that they can hear the slightest peep of a mouse. 

Even in their dreams! 

This is a matter of survival – because in the wild, they would become easy prey to their predators during nap time.

Music is always preceived by cats – even if noted down by the composer as “ppp” – pianissimo possibile (as low as possible). 

Species-appropriate music

Scientists of the University of Wisconsin in Madison took a closer look and examined how different cats reacted on a variety of music initially composed for human ears only.

The result: There is a special kind of music which is pleasant to cats’ ears – not surprisingly, it is the type of sound best suited for their highly sensitive feline ears.

Orientated on cats’ sounds

So what tunes flatter your cat’s ears the most?

Scientist have found out that sounds perceived as pleasant during the first weeks of childhood remain the most enjoyable ones for cats throughout their lives. 

When kittens come into this world, they are well fitted with a number of survival reflexes. However, in the beginning, they can’t see or hear. Only in the second week of their lives can kittens perceive their environment with all their senses.  

Want to know more about a kitten’s development stages?

The first rhythms that a kitten perceives are the vibrations of their mother’s heartbeat, purring, or the drinking noises they make when sucking on their mom’s teats. These sounds are connected with comfort and security.

High frequencies

Cats’ feel-good music entails sounds connected to positive early-life experiences. Purring or sucking noises are therefore “top of the pops” for cats – they lead the feline charts, so to speak.

Cats like to communicate in rather high frequencies, since they simply like the sounds that are – in most cases – an octave higher than the human voice.

Anyone composing music for cats should therefore include instruments with a high pitch. 

Perfect are the violin, cello and electronic keyboard instruments – with these, also beginners have a good chance of achieving a good spot in the cats’ top ten.

The right speed

But it is not only the tone which makes the music, dynamics and tempo also play a role!

For comparison: Purring creates 1000 beats per minute!

Based on the structure of purring sounds, frequency and tempo are most pivotal to making music which is pleasant for cats. This “purring speed” synchronises the heartbeat and allows our feline housemates to completely relax. 

Cats don’t like noise

Music for cats should never be too loud.

Since cats have a much more sensitive hearing than humans, keep the volume down!

Aggressive sounds, repeating staccato rhythms and chords don’t sound right to your cat’s ear – they are definitely not techno, trash or heavy metal fans!  – Stick to the headset to avoid stressing them out. 

Many different instruments and a mix of tonalities are not the right thing either – you would not find multiphonic jazz combos in a cat’s record collection. 

Which soothing music is right for cats?

Now you know what type of music is not well received. But what are the cats’ favourites?

What is the ideal chill-out music?

Is there any music which is not only pleasant but also de-stressing for cats? 

For example, relaxing and sleep-enhancing music?

Classical music is often a safe choice: Baroque composers like Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Händel appease and relax our feline friends. 

Soft classical music

Classical pieces are soothing not only for humans but also for cats. Tests have shown that music influences the vegetative nervous system which in turn controls the cardiovascular function. The kind of music we listen to even affects our blood pressure and breathing.  

The soft, harmonious sounds also calm down our cats and lead to relaxed breathing and a well-balanced heartbeat – with some cats, even the pupils get smaller.

But which exact music has this effect? Not all cats like the same tunes – play a few pieces to your cat to find out about it’s taste. 

Here are some examples that should have a relaxing effect:

Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg-Variations (BWV 988)

Ludwig van Beethoven Moonlight Sonata (op. 27, Nr. 2) Piano concert No. 4 G-major (op. 58)

Frédéric Chopin Fantaisie-Impromptu (op. 66)

Claude Debussy La Mer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony No. 40 G-minor, 2nd movement (KV 550)

Maurice Ravel Piano trio in A-minor

Camille Saint-Saëns Symphonie Nr. 3 c-minor (op. 78)

Natural sounds and frequencies  If you are looking for soothing music for your cat, also try playing natural frequencies and sounds.  

Natural sounds have a relaxing effect on both humans and cats.

A prime example is the sound of sea waves.

This frequency (twelve vibrations per minute) is perceived as soothing, as it resembles our breathing rhythm during sleep. It does therefore not only remind us pleasantly of holidays on the beach, we also – subconsciously – connect it with relaxation and rest. 

Also our cats search for these natural sounds and vibrations, which to them send “pleasant” and “calming” signals. Certain music used for meditation practise may for example have the same soothing effects on both you and your cat.

Music composed for cats

Various scientists have meanwhile conducted research on the musical taste of cats. The results were used to compose special cat music related to the frequencies used for communication among the animals.

By adding some conventional musical elements, these compositions were then made “human-friendly”, so that we can also enjoy them. Then, they were played to cats.  

– The test subjects were thrilled! And this is how it was done: 

Composers like Oliver Kerschner, Charles Snowdown or David Teie created species-appropriate music using the research results. 

Admittedly, some pieces may be a little hard to get used for human ears at first – but cats just love it!

“Music for Cats”– David Teie

David Teie is a professional cellist with the Washington National Symphony Orchestra and teaches at the University of Maryland.

Together with Professor Charles Snowdon,  psychologist and expert for animal behaviour at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, he composed “Music for Cats”.

Cat fans from all over the world were enthusiastic and reported relaxed and soothed cats, caressing the loudspeakers!

You can get both the “Music for Cats” albums by David Teie here

Sensitive hearing

As opposed to eyes, ears unfortunately cannot be shut: Whoever shares a flat wit a cat knows when things are getting too loud for the feline housemate – a harmless vacuum cleaner may border unbearable conditions!

In that case, cats choose flight over fight – off to a quiet refuge. 

Your cat’s hearing is extremely sensitive!

Even better than the hearing of a dog! 

Their ears are like big, movable hearing aids, consisting of 64 single muscles (32 in every ear); with those they can point their ears quickly in all possible directions. 

For this, they don’t even have to move their head. 

High frequencies

Imagine, you have an amplifier implanted in your ear – hearing everything better and louder. 

Cats hear a lot more than we do. They perceive sounds that we don’t even realise;  much lower sounds for example, or other frequencies we are not aware of – mostly among the higher pitches. Humans only hear sounds between the frequencies of 16 Hz to 20 kHz.

Animals can hear ultra sounds of up to 20kHz to 1.6 GHz – too high a frequency for us to perceive.

Localisation of sounds

Nothing escapes a cat’s ear!

Outside or inside – even in the dark – cats know how to find their prey before the victim itself knows where it is. 

The cat’s hearing does not only amplify sounds many times over – the animals can also estimate perfectly, where the noise is coming from; because their ears are extremely movable and can rotate to up to 180 degrees.  

The sound hits the eardrum after having been transmitted by fine hairs, membranes and small bones through the ear canal, and signals to the cat’s brain, where the noise is coming from. 

Bad hearing in old age

Cats can suffer hear-loss in old age, just the same as humans do.

This is mostly a matter of blood circulation; if the ears are not well supplied with blood any more, the cat will hear less. You will realise this e.g. by an increased jumpiness because they can’t hear you approaching – or even their meowing gets louder, as they can’t hear their own voice as well as they used to. 

Most cats hear less after reaching the 10th year of their life. However, cats normally learn to cope with age-related loss of hearing and will find a way to work around it.  

The other senses will take over part of the tasks and help out, so to speak; an older cat has a rich wealth of experience to fall back on and will know how to adapt to the new situation.   

Music has a calming effect

Music influences emotions.

In many a vet’s practice, music will be used to calm animals down and make the visit easier for them. – And it works!

Certain types of music are known to be especially effective for calming cats. When cats hear this kind of music, you can tell, how quickly they relax – even fighting tom cats will calm down. 

Playing relaxing music is also a good way of easing unknown or stressful situations. Prime examples are holidays like new year’s eve or long car trips – not very popular with many cats. 

What music suits a cat?

Is there such a thing as cats’ music?

How about the musical “Cats”? Should our feline friends not go for it automatically?

Andrew Lloyd’s melodrama counts as the most successful musical of all times – and all the leading roles are cats!

But seriously, do cats really like the same music as we do – or do they perceive it entirely differently and therefore have a much different taste in music? 

What counts as pleasant to them?

“What kind of music do cats like and what effect does it have on them?” – Many scientists have asked themselves the exact same question – and found an answer to it...

[thesinglesjukebox]

TAYLOR SWIFT FT. BRENDON URIE - ME!

[3.53]

Things have changed for "ME!"...

Alex Clifton: A lead single should not make me think, "Oh, is this the Kidz Bop version?" [3]

Abdullah Siddiqui: This isn't the Old Taylor or the New Taylor. It's some entity so devoid of anything remotely substantive it doesn't warrant a human name. And I'm not very familiar with this Brendon Urie, but his delivery of the line "and you can't spell awesome without 'me'" sounds like the sonic embodiment of a Disney XD mid-season replacement choking on its own blue-cotton-candy puerilism. And I know that makes literally no sense but it's honestly the best way I know how to describe it. [2]

Taylor Alatorre: On the one hand, this was designed to subvert as few expectations and step on as few toes as a late 2010s Taylor Swift lead single can. On the other hand, it commits so hard to the bit that it ends up becoming a Lonely Island parody of the kind of post-Glee positivity pop that fueled the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Our culture may be more jaundiced since then, but the market for that stuff hasn't gone away, and Swift and Urie deliver the message in a way that feels more true to how people actually consume those songs. Rather than offering the prize of social recognition as a package deal with some nebulous invocation of societal change, they make a beeline for the inner voice of narcissism that resides within the overworked neoliberal subject. They listen to that voice, they give it what it wants, and the result is a communal celebration of self-regard that, in all its candidness and mutual puffery, makes you feel connected to something larger than just another grueling megastar album cycle. Unfortunately, that "something larger" happens to be the same collective unconscious that apparently just wants Panic to be the "High Hopes" band now. [7]

Jessica Doyle: It's catchy, granted, but so insistently, aggressively vapid that I am resisting the obvious conclusion that Taylor Swift actually thinks that this is work to be proud of. It makes more sense as a reconciliation of three opposing forces: she wants to make music; she feels responsible for the multi-hundred-dollar machine she's spent half her life putting in motion; and she dislikes and resents the performer (maybe also the person) she's become. That would explain pairing a catchy song with lyrics such as "can't spell awesome without ME!" and a video whose final shots suggest she is actually made of toxic rainbow sludge. [3]

Katherine St Asaph: A garish mess in exactly the same way "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was. Yelpy vocals, forced whimsy, obnoxious spoken word, slapdash everything -- well, almost everything. The chorus is the second song in a year to rip off Emeli Sandé's "Next to Me," which really wasn't in need of two ripoffs. The old Taylor can't come to the phone right now, because she's been replaced with the New Boring. Brendon Urie is the best thing about this, though I'd rather listen to three minutes of him singing Vines. [3]

Tobi Tella: Can something be inoffensive enough that it becomes offensive? It's hard to imagine a song this generically pleasant and basic angering people off the heels of some of the Reputation singles, but here we are. It's disappointing to see Taylor put out yet another vapid lead single devoid of any deep themes, but goddamn if this didn't grow on me almost immediately. It's just so much dumb fun, and even though these two people are capable of much more and I'll probably forget about it in a few months I will definitely scream it every time it comes on the radio for now. [6]

Will Adams: The singular badness of Taylor's past three lead singles can all be boiled down to their overblown-ness, whether in song, in video, or in their inevitable absorption into The Discourse. But "ME!" is a special kind of bad, one whose wrongness comes from all directions to create something truly confusing. There's the sonic rehashing of a single from two albums back (also those terrible horns), inert lyrics that offer nothing recognizably Swift, the aesthetic 180 that makes Reputation feel even more pointless and, worst of all, the patronizing kids show affect. It's really hard to figure out what she was trying to do here. Without Max Martin's catchphrases, Shellback's sheen, or even Jack Antonoff's weirdness, we're left with an overblown Train song. Here's hoping, come the album, she keeps her promise that we'll never find another like "ME!". [1]

Jibril Yassin: Taylor Swift loves dispatching red herrings for her forthcoming albums in the form of lead singles. While she couldn't fully commit to the heel turn, Reputation went out of its way to show her songwriting capacities hadn't diminished, but it says a lot that I already want the Right Said Fred-aided Taylor back. "ME!" flows and surges with the pop efficiency she's mastered, but the lyricism resembles a once-sharp camera lens out of focus. Draping herself in the sounds she last used on Reputation, now drenched in major-key sunshine, also feels like a serious misstep when a theatre-kid diva like Brendon Urie decides to show up and completely steal the show. A song like "ME!" calls for high theatrics and powerful vocals and here, Taylor doesn't play to her strengths. [3]

Katie Gill: Taylor Swift was one of the first people to sign on for the movie-musical Cats. I'm not saying this just because that fact brings me joy and happiness every time I remember it, but because you don't agree to be in a show that features tap-dancing beetles, a magic show, and a character called Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat unless you have a healthy appreciation for cheesiness. And this song further proves that Taylor Swift is fully embracing the concept of cheese. Why else would she include lyrics like "hey kids! Spelling is fun!". But three things prevent this song from reaching its full, beautiful, glorious Gouda potential. One: the fact that the chorus seems designed from the ground up to play in a Target commercial. Two: the fact that the lyrics never get past the braggadocio, "I'm so awesome" hubris that tainted a lot of her Reputation-era work. Three: Brendon Urie's existence on the track. [6]

Ryo Miyauchi: Taylor's past fuck-yous to her former guys worked because she didn't leave room for them to speak in the song's narrative or actually in the music itself. Brendon Urie in "ME!" functions as wish fulfillment on top of wish fulfillment, singing the ideal response from the man to go with Taylor's perfect last words. His presence is extra fluff that the track can do without, but he's just one of many campy toppings that sugarcoats the stinging bitterness at the song's core to the point they wash away any taste when consumed. The cliche series of contrasts in the pre-chorus, the Sesame Street bridge, filler rhymes just to get to the next lyric -- all of this lyrical blandness doesn't help prop Taylor up as the underdog to cheer for in this breakup. [4]

Joshua Copperman: Every part of this song sounds like other songs that were successfully upbeat without being too cutesy. "ME!" isn't one of those. Like former contemporary Katy Perry with her "Swish Swish" video, Swift actively tries to be cringey but the attempts at cringe make her cringey. It's like Patrice Wilson's self-conscious follow-ups after "Friday" if he was given a Dave Meyers video budget. Taylor's own friend-by-her-right-ay Brendon Urie helps a little bit, because he's good at hamming it up, but while Taylor has pulled off hamminess in the past ("Blank Space" is one of her most-loved songs for a reason), this doesn't suit her. Even the lines about fighting in the rain feel like perfunctory good lyrics. The rest of the album will probably be fine, as even 1989 led with "Shake It Off." But even that song's bridge didn't have "spelling is fun." [3]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: For a second, right around "spelling is fun," I thought this would ascend, phoenix-like, into glorious schlock. But before and after that incredible interlude, "ME!" is not even the exciting kind of trash. It's content to just be mediocre, occasionally winking at the camera in ways that its authors clearly think is endearing but mostly come off as desperate. It's an emphatic shrug of a song, at once saying nothing and doing so loudly. [1]

Scott Mildenhall: Tonally aimless, it's very hard to deduce the spirit in which this is meant. In its most desperate moment -- yes, "spelling is fun!" -- it doesn't so much tip its hat to the audience as frisbee it into their face, but at the same time it's not so ironic as to be mean-spirited. As a whole, it's like a Wiggles mash-up of "Blank Space" and "We Go Together", and it's hard to know how anyone, whether their intentions were wholesome or cynical, would ever reach that by design. Perhaps this is simply just a spectacular misfire. The thematic mismatches, zero-dexterity crowbarring of aphorisms, desultory brass parps and gossamer-thin hook suggest seriously misplaced ambition. The one time "ME!" seems to be heading in its intended direction is its conclusion, at which it becomes an ever-ascending celebration. By then, though, it's already dug itself a deep hole to fly out of. [5]

Alfred Soto: The first time she's sounded manic and desperate, like someone pleading for her life; she could've titled it "You Must Love Me." [3]

Stephen Eisermann: Remember when everyone said "Look What You Made Me Do" was Taylor's worst lead single and it could never be worse? I do. And guess what? This is worse. [1]

Jonathan Bradley: "ME!" takes as its starting point the belated success of "Delicate," the late-cycle Reputation single that helped remind more than a few listeners and critics that they'd radically misinterpreted that album on its release. It makes sense that Taylor Swift would return to the source of that renewed goodwill, and this new single does sound designed as a rebirth of sorts: it is sunny and outward-looking after an insular and intimate record. It's also unashamedly and jubilantly corny. That should not surprise; Swift has never only been a dextrous chronicler of emotional contours, and corn has been a part of her songwriting toolbox going back at least to the time she wrote a gushing romance starring Romeo and Juliet that ended with a marriage and hefty key change. "ME!" is unabashed in its goofiness, pairing that dorkiness with the frivolity of "Shake It Off," her biggest hit to date. Panic! At the Disco's Brendon Urie fits in well with this theatricality, and Swift helps temper his archness; he's had "High Hopes," but never this much fun. And it's this sense of fun that makes "ME!" so enjoyable. This is a song that sees the strangenesses and imperfections of ourselves and the people around us, and greets them with optimism and -- Reputation hasn't entirely left us -- a bit of wanton selfishness. I've been to plenty of Taylor Swift shows and, as with "Shake It Off" or "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" or "This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" -- I can already tell how much of a blast of a setlist-capper "ME!" will be. [8]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: "Taylor finger, Taylor finger, where are you?" [1]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[rwbyconversations]

Seeing Red, or: The Assassination of Adam Taurus(’s character) by the Coward Blake Belladonna

Adam Taurus. The RWBY fandom’s preferred punching bag, Adam is often dismissed as an emo turbo edgelord thanks to his design, dialogue and somewhat shaky voice acting from Garrett Hunter. But regardless, thanks to his depiction in the Black Trailer and an impressive showing in Volume 3 that led to a... notable moment in the show’s tonal shift-

Adam managed to earn a fan following, and after a lack of real appearances in Volume 4 outside of the OP and Yang’s nightmare, his fanbase were chomping at the bit to see their favorite abusive bull-headed jerk show up again. Volume 3 and 4 set the stakes for Adam’s comeback, and the inevitable rematch between himself, Blake and Yang. Heck, Yang’s focus song in Volume 4 was essentially all about what Adam’s attack did to her and how she was going to reciprocate the pain she felt on Adam’s skull stupid face. 

Regardless of how you looked at Adam, his rematch was anticipated. People were dreading and looking forward to it in equal measure, you could drown in the amount of fanart imagining the rematch. And then...

Well...

Yeah. 

So Adam’s portrayal at the end of Volume 5 was a bit poorly received. I personally take the most umbrage with “Blake teleporting into his sword strike” and “Adam going down and staying down for a good minute before getting back up from a strike that didn’t even get past his Aura.” But it wasn’t just Adam’s fanbase who were let down by the fight. Among Volume 5′s many, many fight letdowns (I will never not be over the blueballing that was Ruby, Blake and Weiss vs Hazel, Mercury and Emerald), this ranked high on the list since it combined so thoroughly with what can be generously described as a character derailment. Adam went from the cool, composed and utterly vicious juggernaut that crippled half of our protagonist team to... well just look up at those GIFs.

So what happened? Well, that’s what I’m going to try and answer. But first, we have to set the stage.

Adam in Volumes 1 through 3 was generally liked by the fandom. Tauradonna (the ship name for him and Blake) was a moderately appreciated ship at the time, and even among people who didn’t ship it, it provided some good old Angst for Blake in whatever ship people actually wanted her to be in. Adam was appreciated for his cool design (I’m a slut for men in suits), the mystery of his mask and his impressive weapon and fighting style. Coming off Metal Gear Rising, seeing Iadio in practice was a treat. And after Volume 3, Adam was in the “Love to hate” range. His reputation had been established in the fandom as an abusive monster, but one who was a terrifying nightmare to face on the battlefield and on his own, neutralized half of Team RWBY. Were it not for a lucky save by Blake, he’d have taken her scalp home with him. 

What’s especially important about his scene in Volume 3 is that while it establishes Adam as a deranged psychopath, he’s one that doesn’t lose his cool. The one time he raises his voice to Blake, it’s when he denounces her beliefs. “What you thought is impossible!” For the rest of the battle, Adam is chillingly calm, even in the face of defeat. When Blake tricks him with her Semblance, does Adam fly into a rage, start screaming and shooting at them as they run?

No. Adam just frowns and strides away, not even stopping to kill a Grimm that tries to kill him. His composure remains unbroken even as Blake flees away with Yang. He’s so sure in his victory that he turns his back to them and lets them run away, even when he could easily chase them and get the kill.

This is Adam’s last scene in Volume 3. It’s the last we see of him in person until Volume 5. That last shot stuck with the fans, Adam just... walking away, barely affected by what he had done while Yang would fall into the depths of PTSD and Blake would run with her tail between her legs, jumping at her own shadow. Like him or hate him, Adam was nonetheless a terrifying villain, mocked as he was for his edgy voice.

That’s the image that had settled in the eyes of the fandom, and would for nearly eighteen months. An abusive, cold, calculating, vicious, but composed and effective monster. One who wouldn’t even shout as he declared “I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love.” 

So jump cut to late 2017/early 2018. And, uh...

Adam, sweetie, what happened to you? You went from a person who barely frowned as the object of your twisted affections ran away to someone who screamed into your Facetime chats like a low-budget Kylo Ren. The hiatus has been mostly kind to Adam until Volume 5. Sienna says that he is seen as a symbol by many of the younger members of the Fang, Salem approaches him personally and sends an envoy in Hazel so he can gain more power. Two episodes into Volume 5, and Adam has nearly everything he could want except for Blake’s corpse at his feet. 

And yet despite Adam being one of, if not the only characters to come out of the hiatus smelling like roses, he’s been reduced to a child throwing a tantrum when in private. The cold, calculating figure stages a brazen coup in the heart of the White Fang when Sienna won’t play ball. Ideally, Adam shouldn’t be angry. He should be smug. And wouldn’t that make you, the viewer, hate him more than Adam just yelling about the Belladonna name? The one guy to walk out of Beacon better off than when he walked in being inconsolably smug about the events, that would make anyone loathe him. 

But instead, he’s lost it. 

So yeah, let’s stop beating around the bush, Adam’s character does a nearly complete 180 in terms of his depiction personality wise (not to mention fighting wise) and it’s a character shift that doesn’t make much sense in the grand scheme of things. That much is obvious, Adam’s downfall was one of the more criticized moments in Volume 5′s... eh, let’s call them contentious... batch of finale episodes. Adam takes a nosedive in intelligence and falls for the same trick Blake played on him at Beacon with her shadowclone (nevermind that Adam and Blake worked together for years so that trick shouldn’t work once let alone twice)

So why did Adam suffer the cruelest fate of all, in character derailment? Why did he specifically go from his A-game to a joke in just one season?

Well, this is just theorycrafting, and I might make a full post about this one day, but I believe it’s because The Battle of Haven was rushed to fit in Volume 5 due to Miles and Kerry over-reacting to the backlash from Volume 4. 

Adam’s character derailment is actually part of the theory. I believe in the original draft for Volume 5 (which we know got a heavy rewrite close to the end of the production cycle) that the Battle of Haven was never going to be part of the volume, and that instead Volume 5 would focus on getting the pieces set up for the battle over Haven. We’d get moments like JNR meeting Pyrrha’s parents, Yang dealing with being a pariah since people still thought she maimed Mercury, and most importantly, Blake getting over Adam.

Outside of her scene with Sun where she personifies him as wrath, Blake never mentions Adam in Volume 5 while she’s in Menagerie. She never has a scene where she acknowledges that Adam essentially groomed her to be his lover or that he abused her. Think of how powerful it would be to see her not so much getting over Adam, as learning to swallow her fear so she could face him head-on next time they met (also it would give Kali something to do outside of  smashing Lanipator’s face in with a tray). Hell, think of what a great scene it would be between Blake and Ilia where Ilia learns just how depraved Adam truly is.  

But instead, Blake never acknowledges Adam. When they meet in Haven, she’s just over him, because “I have better things to do.” She’s content to just let Adam run away after lightly smacking him upside the head. Villain exit stage left, audience is too busy applauding Miles and Kerry for letting Blake just noclip through an entire character arc like a speedrunner. 

There’s a great post by @y8ay8a about how Adam’s downfall feels cheap because it feels like Miles and Kerry engaging in self-gratification at the cost of the story at large. Adam as a consequence of this rush to write a “Fuck Adam Taurus” moment has been weakened. He’s not a scary threat anymore, he’s not someone whose presence inspires dread like the old Adam was. And I feel like Adam can’t really be saved. Letting Blake beat him so thoroughly, and having Adam leave Haven by running with his tail between his legs has neutered him, and now I feel like the Yang and Adam rematch won’t have the impact, that moment of visceral satisfaction that it would have had Adam not even been at Haven. For the sake of a cheap “hell yeah!” moment that Blake never earned beyond “the plot says so,” Miles and Kerry have made Adam Taurus almost a caricature, a yandere that isn’t even good at being that. And that saddens me, Adam had so much potential as a villain that I don’t really get with the rest of WTCH or even Salem. He had presence, a personal connection with our heroes, and had the strength to back up his claims and be a genuinely scary threat- moreso than Hazel “How many children must die as I crush a child’s skull” Reinart. And now with Volume 5... he has a zipper. Was it worth it, Miles and Kerry? Was it worth ruining Adam’s potential so he could get some zippers like he’s guesting in Kingdom Hearts? 

Could Adam pull himself back from the brink? Maybe, but at this point Volume 5 would remain a black spot on Adam’s track record, one that his fans would never let him live down.

To close this post with an analogy, Blake beating Adam now is like eating candy every day. You get the sugar rush but it becomes predictable after enough time. But if you go a few days without indulging, earn it by hitting the gym and shaving off the pounds, when you finally treat yourself it feels all the better than just having it right there. 

Thank you for reading. 

[parttimespellbinder]

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Daily Life Arc

Hi! So, this is my first review of something on Tumblr and I’m really happy to start sharing things with people. I’ve always been incredibly opinionated and I like to share those with others. Bear in mind that this is a SPOILERS heavy review, and profanity will be rampant. So without further ado, let’s get started.

This is the story of Tsunayoshi Sawada, a boy so incredibly useless he makes a standard Harem lead look like a compelling and well written character. His grades are horrible, he has zero athletic ability and all together he’s pretty pathetic. He also happens to be the tenth generation heir to the Vongola crime family and is about to be whipped into shape by a fedora wearing, gun toting infant named Reborn. Now Tsuna’s day to day life is a series of hijinxs and misadventures centering around himself and the band of eccentric weirdos that orbit him like we do the Sun.

Reborn was initially penned by one Akira Amano way back in the ye olden days of 2004. It was a big hit at the time in Weekly Shonen Jump so it’s inevetiable that an anime adaptaion would eventually make it’s way down the pipeline. For the sake of brevity I will not be comparing Reborn to it’s source material and I will be attempting to omit the manga entirely unless relevant to this particular review. Even though I like to do it in my day to day life, I kinda hate the whole “let’s compare the adaptation to it’s source material” thing for reviews. I feel here that the anime, or at least this opening arc of it should be able to stand and fall on it’s own merits so...let’s see what it does, shall we? Mind you, all of what’s to follow is my own personal opinions. Cool if you agree, cool if you don’t. 

So if there’s one thing that Reborn’s never winning, it’s a best looking series award. The animation, courtesy of studio Artland (Demon King Daimao and Mushishi) is perfectly serviceable and, if anything,  I like that all the characters have a completely distinct look to them. The hair is totally Shonen, with all of them sporting their own unique style. Points go primarily to Tsuna and Reborn’s spiky hedgehog hairdos. But really and truly, Reborn definitely looks like something that’s been done more than a decade ago, and not in the really good stylistic way like Cardcaptor Sakura. Reborn just looks like a reflection of its time in the most average way possible while sporting some nice character designs. The animation gets kinda static at some points, especially when we like to get all of the relevant characters together for whatever that episode’s activities are. Then it gets worse because then we like to have them just stand around while we exposit a bit. But these moments are rather few and far between. The animation is, of course, at it’s best when we’re doing our high comedy slapstick and points are definitely given out to everyone’s big expressive eyes that were much bigger and more expressive in the manga.

The soundtrack and vocals are much better than the animation though, probably two of the show’s highlights. The vocal cast is absolutely excellent with some of the standouts being the titular Reborn’s, Neeko, and Hitomi Yoshida as the eccentric and bubbly Haru Miura. On the boys side of the vocals, I’ve got to say that Hidekazu Ichinose and Hidenobu Kiuchi definitely steal the show as Hayato Gokudera and Ryohei Sasagawa who tend to be the loudest of the performers. Everyone else does well too, delivering performances that are equal parts over the top, subdued and everything in between depending on what’s needed. The music is great as well, perfectly capturing the moments and characters in every episode. A lot of the characters have their own musical theme that play when they appear on screen or when doing something particularly epic. Special points here go to Bianchi, who gets some jazz and a vocalizing choir as well as Kyoya Hibari who’s theme starts with a few piano keys before jumping into an epic string frenzy. 

So, in these first 19 episodes, we essentially lay a lot of groundwork for the rest of the series that’s to come. The most important concept we introduce is that of “Deathperation”. Every episode, Tsuna and his friends encounter some sort of crisis, more often than not putting all of them or one of our weaker female characters in danger. Reborn will then turn his chameleon Leon into a gun and shoot Tsuna with a “Deathperation Bullet” which kills him but instantly revives him by allowing him to fulfill his last regrets. It’s a plot device that carries the bulk of the show and will continue to carry it though its run. Used here throughout these first 19 episodes, it’s alright, again its more just used to assist with the formulaic set up of the show. The problem I have with it is that we’ve essentially got about 9 episodes too many here and could’ve easily jumped right into the plot. This arc is supposed to introduce us to the world and the characters and it does, but it’s just a bit of a chore to sit though if you’re advertised a more action packed narrative, which Reborn eventually grows into. But really and truly starting the series just kinda leaves you meandering through 19 episodes before arriving at a rather abrupt tonal shift. The series you begin watching and the series you’re watching at episode 20 are rather different creatures, which is why I’m covering the show arc by arc rather than season by season.

So in addition to repetitive formula and lazy plot contrivances, Reborn also has one of the more passive shonen leads in a genre where....yeah….no. That just doesn’t work. Tsuna’s already set up to be practically pathetic in every way and with the introduction of Rebon and the Mafia into his life, Tsuna’s left just trying to survive his day to day life. And again, unless that kind of comedy and writing floats your boat, you’d be better off just watching a few episodes here and there and then just straight skipping right to episode 20 where the actual story starts. Mind you, this is again just my opinion. Reborn was wildly popular as a manga running on this kind of comedy to the point that it was able to do it for 8 straight volumes and was doing so for WEEKS in Weekly Shonen Jump. So clearly someone was heavily invested in this since it was able to keep going like that for WEEKS back to back. So really for me it’s more of a personal preference that my shonen series start with a bang. So we have Tsuna here just kinda...reacting to the weird shit happening in his life, never able to take initiative because of his own inability to actually do anything without Reborn there to pull the trigger and force him to take action. It’s just not the kinda thing that makes for a great leading man to start off with. But how do the other characters fare?

Sadly not particularly well. As the show is primarily a comedy at this point, the characters themselves are a little lacking in layers and depth, usually only existing to orbit Tsuna as if the sun. Oh how applicable that metaphor will become in seasons to come. But as it is, our characters at this point really and truly only have a couple of prominent character traits that are played up for all the comedy it's’ worth. So naturally it gets old fast. Related to the above, Gokudera and Ryohei are likely the most annoying when it comes to this. Gokudera pulls a total 180, initially hating Tsuna and then acting like a slavish dog towards him in the course of his introductory episode. His incessant cries of “JYUDAIME” and proclamations that he’s Tuna’s right hand man are more than just a little annoying and the same can be said for Ryohei’s “KYOKUGEN” lifestyle. Lambo is as annoying as any child in real life would be, which if you hate children like I do will be a rather lovely experience, that is until he’s shot by his 10 Year Bazooka, replacing him with his future self who instantly entered my pantheon of anime men I want to fuck. Pervy Shamal’s a total perv, Bianchi believes in love and is always on the lookout for her poison cooking ingredients and I-Pin is in no way a stereotypical Chinese anime character. Nope, not at all. Yamamoto is easy enough to get behind, with his eternal optimism and stupidity being strangely endearing and Haru, while loud and spaztic is LITERALLY BEST GIRL! OMG MY WAIFU! The worst of the characters is probably Kyoko Sasagawa, or resident sexy lamp. 

Kyoko exists like so many love interest characters before her to show that while our protagonist spends a lot of time interacting with members of the same sex he’s still straight and expresses an interest in one single girl. Tsuna spends most of his time fawning over Kyoko who has just barely enough personality that she doesn’t feel like a total piece of cardboard but she walks a fine line. She literally does nothing relevant and spends most of her time being an inadvertent damsel for Tsuna can save like his life depends on it - which according to the internal series logic of these 19 episodes, he never thought of doing before getting shot by Reborn. Like, she’s not bad, she’s just kinda...there. Tsuna likes her and it’s like...why? She’s pretty, like all of the girls in a shonen show, especially a main one, Kyoko is designed to be very cute but her personality is seriously lacking so it makes you as a viewer wonder why Tsuna is so in love with her. It’s actually kinda insulting that he likes her so much when Haru GENUINELY likes him and actually HAS a personality and he acts like he’ll contract plague if she so much as breathes in his general direction. Tsuna you should be so lucky that Haru even thinks to breathe in your general direction, you insolent swine!!!

But what’s good about the show? Is there anything? Actually yes, there is. As mentioned before, from the character standpoint, Haru is the best damn thing and Yamamoto makes for a great friend to Tsuna. The running gag that he thinks the whole Mafia thing is just a game gets a little annoying but we can’t have everyone taking the whole thing seriously, now can we? Additionally, and I never thought I’d EVER say this but Reborn himself is actually a saving grace. The shit he puts Tsuna though is incredibly sadistic and over the top but he does it so flawlessly that it’s genuinely hilarious. Additionally I like the sibling-like relationship between Tsuna and Dino, the head of an allied family who ALSO instantly entered my pantheon of hot men I want to fuck when I first saw him. While the character jokes get annoying there’s just barely enough to most of them that hints that there’s more to them than what we’re allowed to see. If anything, and I’m speaking from experience, everyone will be much better once the plot is allowed to rear its ugly head. Tsuna himself exhibits very very subtle character growth. He’s less of a wimp than he starts off as but we’ll really see his growth in the arc to follow. The comedy is GREAT when the jokes are used sparingly or when they pop up for the first time. And despite him being an annoying piece of shit, Lambo is laughs aplenty when the slapstick is happening to him.

It’s honestly hard to significantly praise these first episodes and indeed this show at this point because everything about it just kinda feels like a waste of time. Aside from the initial character introductions, you don’t really need to sit through all 19 episodes. Maybe just watch episodes 1-10 and then 19 and you can skip right to episode 20 which contains the meat of the show. How do I feel about it after all these years? Well, I do love Reborn, warts and all I just don’t appreciate my time being wasted, but here I am about to go and keep watching because I know in my heart of hearts that it’ll be worth it. So, I’d this first arc a...5.5 out of 10. It’s just engaging enough to me personally because I know it’s an unpolished piece of coal at this point and I’m waiting for my diamond to break through. So...those are my initial thoughts. Join me again next time for a review of The Novice and my follow up to this with the Rokudo Mukuro/Kokuyo arc. Special thanks to my little sister Krystal for helping me form and shape the review and offering her opinions on it as well. She also helped to edit it.

[theeverlastingshade]

Veteran- Jpegmafia

             A few months ago Jpegmafia released his fourth LP Veteran, and it’s a remarkably cohesive, and stylistically singular record. Veteran is first and foremost a hip-hop LP, but it’s one that’s heavily informed by industrial music, punk, and psychedelia while slathered in noise. A few songs barely have any bars, or opt out of vocals all together for an emphasis on pure texture. When he does rap it’s loose and lively, giving the impression of a stream of conscious approach if it wasn’t so ridiculously clever and well-informed. He straddles a tight line between laugh out loud, tongue-in-cheek absurdity and endearing introspection more successfully than any conceivable peers of his. Though not without its flaws, Veteran is one of the most impressive, and deeply engaging LPs that I’ve heard all year, helmed by perhaps the most interesting MC to have emerged throughout the last handful of years.

              With opening cut “1539 N. Calvert” Jpeg deceptively lulls you into the assumption that Veteran could be a relatively straight-forward record, with a melodic cadence that brings to mind debuts from Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad. And by the second track any such presumptions are completely obliterated. Over a galloping tom/kick drum rhythm mixed much higher than everything else and maniacal yelps plucked from Old Dirty Bastard’s “Goin’ Down”, Jpeg delivers an explosive verse that takes the alt-right and internet trolls to task, references Mick Foley, and condemns anyone that has an issue with people protesting systemic racism by taking a knee during The National Anthem. When taken together, these first two songs effectively set the stage for much of what’s to come, both tonally and sonically. His eclectic taste and willingness to take risks ensures that Veteran is a consistently thrilling listen, and while not everything here works, even the missteps are thrilling to witness.

               Veteran frequently deviates from conventional song structures, and Jpeg seems to take perverse glee in thwarting listeners expectations at every opportunity. “Rock N Roll Is Dead” begins with disjointed, lo-fi industrial trap as Jpeg threatens a blogger and dares the Alt-Right to rally in Baltimore before subtly transitioning into buttery cloud trap. “Germs” is perhaps the most bizarre song here, with a minimal beat consisting of little more than hi-hats, snares, and a kick drum with shrill textures that seep in and out over which Jpeg provides a variety of different inflections that don’t move in harmony so much as seem to constantly impede one another. On paper it’s a complete disaster, and yet there’s something oddly alluring about the jarring precision with which it comes together. “Williamsburg” finds Jpeg pitching his vocals low amid a plethora of industrial synth textures before opting for a soulful, surprisingly Drake-indebted bridge that seems almost in direct opposition to the brooding arrangements around him. On Veteran Jpeg is following no one’s impulses but his alone, and the album is all the better for it.

                 On an album flowing with colorful and mesmerizing sonics, it’s actually pretty remarkable how much the lyrics not only standout, but are themselves a major draw here. Jpegmafia is one of the cleverest lyricists I’ve listened to in years, and from a few of the song titles alone “Libtard Anthem”, “Whole Foods”, “Macaulay Culkin”, & “I Cannot Fucking Wait Until Morissey Dies” most notably, one can gleam a sense of the delightfully absurdist sensibilities coursing throughout Veteran. On the last song alone he drops so many instantly quotable lines “Fuck a Johnny Rotten/I want Lil’ B”, “I’m the left-wing Hades/26 with a 380”, “4chan on my dick cause I’m edgy/Calm your pale ass down have a pepsi” that following the narrative thread seems entirely beside the point. The same goes for “Williamsburg” which clearly takes shots at the gentrification of Williamsburg, and is completely elevated by his sly use of language when fleshing out the details “I’m in New York like I’m Peter Parker/Wrote a 16 and then I tossed it/If I wanted bullshit/I’d just read Gawker”, “A yuppie pop shit/Call the gun Brittany Jean/When the spears come out/I hit you and JT”. And on “Libtard Anthem” Jpeg drops the crown jewel, quite possibly the best line that I’ll hear all year “Word on the street you’re a Libtard/Word on the street you’re a Bill Maher”.

                 While many of the tracks throughout Veteran are more akin to sketches than full-fledged songs, a few of the tracks here are among the most distinct and compelling that I’ve heard all year. Breakout single “Baby I’m Bleeding” is a legitimate “Yonkers” moment, the kind of song that barrels forth with an unrelenting energy unlike anything else happening in music right now. The first two 50 seconds are pure build-up; a sputtering, undecipherable vocal loop surrounded by scattered percussion and various ad-libs set the stage before Jpeg’s gruff voice comes to the forefront, and from there the sound of hip-hop in 2018 is laid bare. It’s a no-bullshit call to arms that goes straight to the jugular of hypocrisy “It’s ironic you talk jail-time/But ain’t never seen no central booking/It’s ironic you hang with a nigga that beat women/And have the nerve to call yourself girl pusher”, with so much sonic variation that he comes close to approximating an EPs worth of ideas into a single song without overstuffing it.

                 Highlight “Thug Tears” brings the pace down after the whiplash inducing “Real Nega”, offering a melodic, but no less abrasive side of Jpeg’s artistry. He allows his humanity to bleed through here, offering up the duality that exists between the reality of what’s required to survive with the emotional responses accrued from those necessities “I’m a thug, I don’t play with no rap beef/Fuck around, end up on a backstreet/And I done cried so many times/I done did so many crimes”. And despite its relative simplicity with respect to what follows, “1530 N. Calvert” is an immense earworm of a song, folding in mesmerizing hi-hats, a steady kick drum, and warm synths as Jpeg talks shit for 2.5 minutes “Fuck a blog, fuck a fan/Hope my record gets panned”. He’s practically begging you to completely write him off before Veteran really gets going, but the melody he offers up here renders outright dismissal a foolish proposition.

                 There are quite a few industrial and noise-adjacent hip-hop acts that Jpegmafia immediately brings to mind, but he doesn’t sound like anyone else. He’s far too self-aware and eclectic to exist in the shadow of any other act, and you get the sense while listening to Veteran that his next LP could be a complete 180. It’s this quality that makes Veteran such an engaging listen from start to finish; the feeling that you never quite have him pegged down, and the instant that you start to get a sense of what he’s doing or where he’s coming from he sends a curveball your way. This could understandably frustrate some listeners, but it’s difficult not to get the sense that that's what he’s gleefully anticipating, and in fact working towards. I’d be surprised if Veteran ended up being my favorite hip-hop record of 2018, but I’d be just as surprised if any other hip-hop record this year manages to thrill and confound in equal spades to the degree that Veteran does.

Essentials: “Baby I’m Bleeding”, “Thug Tears”, “1590 N. Calvert”