#there’s only 46 but they’re numbered to 50

[softcarebears]

HOCO WEEK 9/21-9/28

monday 

41. ga tells me that he has a crush on this girl bow that i used to be bsfs w/ before she moved to the other side of cali

42. me and bbsf become close w/ bow 

43. ga tells ginger and bbsf that he likes bow

tuesday  (nothing happened)

wednesday 

44. me and pinkie go get our tickets for hoco 

45. pinkie gets bullied bc she’s (not to be rude to furries cuz idrc abt that do what u want, the context in which she does it makes it weird) wearing a hot pink hoodie w/ cat paws, giant REAL fox tail hanging from her belt and has a cat headband on and also wants to be called a japaneses name (she’s 100% white)

46. i find out that the only real reason i haven’t been over to pinkie’s house is bc she has a wall of real animal bones that she doesn’t properly clean that have bugs in them 

47. i leave pinkie to go w/ a and turtle bc they’re like my bsfs 

48. pinkie gets pissy and skips fourth block

thursday 

49. tutorial time, me and bbsf share my water, bbsf mentions that i’ve done his makeup before. i wouldn’t normally bring that up cuz it’s very common for us but this leads to turtle further trying to get us together 

friday 

50. hoco rally, i sit w/ cowgirl, pinkie, pinkie’s friend tootsie and my friend from dance and drama, ruby 

51. turtle and a sit behind us and i mainly talk to them and ruby the entire rally, pinkie is oddly nice abt it

52. i walk up to bbsf, bear and bow after 4th block ends and apparently pushed bbsf into to bushes and cut him the fuck up 

53. hoco game, band/colorguard get new uniforms (aka bbsf, five, berry, zim and no name)

54. me, pinkie, cowgirl and tootsie sit by band section to hangout w/ them

55. 8pm i have a breakdown bc that officially marks 2 years of my dad being dead

56. obvi all of my friends try to comfort me 

57. pinkie tries to make it about her for some reason

58. one of my friends wins hoco queen

saturday

59. me and pinkie go to a boba shop to take pics before hoco 

60. we run into bbsf who was across the street

61. we get to the school and i go get my friend diamond 

62. bbsf finally arrives

63. bbsf pulls me into a hug (and rejects pinkie’s hug after) 

64. me, diamond and our other friend fuego (can u tell i’ve run out of names) r all dancing when ga, ginger and a guy who i think i mentioned once like a year ago all come up to me and ask if i’ve seen bbsf 

65. like an hour goes bye and i find out the trio is planning on jumping bbsf

66. i send that voice message to bbsf 

67. i find bbsf and we have, the best way to describe it, a moment…

68. bbsf leaves early

69. bbsf’s older sister finds out abt the almost jumping and chews the trio out

70. a bunch of other shit happened bc i was bouncing around like 4 groups but this is called the bbsf saga so everything else will have to wait until the other sagas

HEY POOKIESTAR! sorry for letting that ask marinate...i was very busy (i was lazy bababooing BUT IM HEREE!!😔)

also miss gworl i'm in the middle of a cyclone class 3 rn hehe..but cyclone is not really cycloning...ITS MORE CYCLOWNING🤡

ohhh so ga basically was threatening to jump BBSF because he bbsf grew close to manic pixie dream bow girl BECAUSE HE GA HAD A CRUSH ON HER OHHH

so bow came back from other side of cali very demure...

PINKIE IS A FURRY WTF...she wears a tail and wants to be called a japanese name ITS GIVING ASIANFISHING

..um..chile anyways...hell naw...does make sense though she acts like a feral child...🥱#imapinkiehater100percent

"me and bbsf share my water"FIRST THE SLUSHIE NOW THIS?? JUST SAY YOU WANNA KISS HIM AND SHARE SALIVA U STOOPID biatch U ARE DOWN BAD IN SUPERLATIVE FORM SO THAT MEANS YOU ARE "DOWN WORST"

"bbsf mentions that i’ve done his makeup before." i have a theory about this particular part...ill say in the end but im hella delulu yknow so don't listen to my words 100 percent lmfao (you should actually listen to me)

everyone else's names:🎀🌈✨💎🌺🦌🧸

the others:

for number 55 oh noo pookie im sorry to hear that...fawk pinkie...CAN'T SHE JUST SHUT HER GOOFY FURRY ASS UP

HE REJECTED PINKIE'S HUG AND PULLED U IN A HUGGGGG BOMBOCLATTTTT HE A MAN OF CULTURE HE LIKES YOU GIRL JUST FUCKING DATE ALREADYYYYY HOW MANY SIGNS ARE U TRYNA LOOK FOR U BLIND ASS

Y'ALL HAD A MOMENT OH MAHHHH GAWDDDDDD and not u saving him...stawp!! its giving hero x damsel in distress trope; bbsf is the damsel in distress ofc🎀

haiya but why did he try to frolick in the meadow with bow though...tskk i feel like he is kinda a player my dakoko 🥥

anyways my theory about the makeup thing...because i am a whore in THEORY and not in practice (i am but secretly hehe at times dw...3-5 business days)

ok so when u do someone's makeup...YOUR FACE IS CLOSE TO THEIRS RIGHTTTTT....you get what i mean...there is so much proximity there is no distance at all...BABABOOI

similar to when you are about to kiss someone [coughs coughs]...so the fact that he "randomly" remembered AND SEEMINGLY POINTS THAT OUT OF THE BLUE shows that this particular and notably phenomenal romantic and very intimate moment that emerged from the planets and stars from the milky way galaxy aligning [pro poetic yapper] has marked him or left an impact on him yknow what i mean...LIKE HE MIGHT THINK OF THIS MOMENT EVERY NIGHT OR SO OFTEN THAT HIS TOES ARE TINGLING OR HE IS GIGGLING AND BLUSHING LIKE A MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRL IN HIS ROOM...like y'all were close to kissing...he definitely was examining your face perhaps HIGH CHANCE of him staring at your lips [cutely sips her pomegranate tea under the covers with plenty of passion🍵🔥that shit bussing btw]

also him mentioning that shows his interest in you also in all delulu interpretation that this particular mention to you evokes a sense that he may have been secretly inquiring about whether you remember that very intimate moment of high chance of smoochy smooch camouflaged by you doing his makeup...to see if you have feelings for him or have a romantic interest in him...VOILA!!🎀

bai bai

[im-out-of-it]

part 3 of season 1, episode 9 continued

43. “Stay, good dog. Bite me. Roll over, play dead” wolfie and vampie jokes

44. not even five seconds later and the wolfies and vampies are about to fight 😬

45. well looks like it’s Alec vs jace ah shit (TEAM ALEC)

46. and now Alec is more mad 🙃

47. KICK!HIS!ASS!ALEC!!!!!!!!!!!! #teamalec

48. I love how show Alec can fight and be his own person. he’s not “ive never killed a demon or can’t speak another language” like he’s actually his own and can hold his own

49. Alec: YOU LIED TO ME. when hasn’t jace lied to Alec though??????

50. kill him here because he’s useless and will create 71918819199 problems for ya

51. “you and your damn orders. who cares about orders”- the child asks. “See? That’s how little you know about being a shadowhunter” tell her off Alec 🔥 clary doesn’t know shit or cares about orders and jace knows better but he wants to do whatever she wants to do. what they’re doing to meliorn is wrong but nothing ever stopped jace in the past when he wanted to chase after her without using whatever brain he has.

52. I love Alec’s face (above) because he’s like I don’t understand?????? he broke all those clave rules for jace and got in trouble- and now he’s trying to follow clave orders and repair his family’s honor. Jace and clary could never understand because they always do whatever they want without caring about consequences. at least Alec adapts and changes into a better man AND DEALS WITH EVERYTHING

53. “You’ve broke the rules but never the law until she showed up.”-Alec hitting it with the truth

54. “You’ve had it out for clary from the start”- because she’s a dumbass, doesn’t think, bosses me around as if she’s my boss, is reckless with you, we could go on

55. I love watching Alec beat the shit out of jace after he tried telling Alec he had feelings for him- YES ALEXANDER GO!!!!!!!!! #alwaysteamalec

56. I also think it’s important because even in the books, jace is chosen to be stronger and more powerful than Alec but my man Alec is holding his own proudly

57. this is the face of someone who’s done with your shit

58. I only wish jace’s exit was permanent but whatever (honestly Alec looks so perfect here)

59. also the fact that jace thinks everything is about him. “you’re getting married because of me” okay listen, if Alec was okay with being out and gay, you’re the last person he would chose. whether Alec admits it or not, he is attracted to Magnus and that would be his first choice. I’m only saying that Alec is starting to see jace for who he really is. I don’t even think his so called feelings for jace were ever that romantic but that’s just me

60. y’all ever find it funny how whenever jace needs something, he always reminds Alec of the parabatai bond. but where is that bond when Alec needs something?????? BECAUSE ITS ONE SIDED

61. also can we talk about how wonderful an actor Matt is?????? I feel he captures Alec well (but I see show Alec as original Alec and book Alec doesn’t exist to me) and he can act extremely well with just facial expressions

62. now jace is pouting because Alec said no lmao he’s such a child

63. so meliorn and Izzy are reunited but we don’t ever hear anything romantic between them again??????? well always nice to see you meliorn

64. well Simon has forgiven clary apparently. couldn’t even last a whole episode of calling her out ugh

65. not sorry- I wanted to see her called out more

66. can’t wait for these two to be on the same side and friends again 💓

okay, so 66 was the number for the episode today 👏🏼 thank you for joining the hasn’t Alec been through enough meeting and why must we suffer CLACE scenes. see y’all soon for the AU episode (super psyched for that) and thank you again for enduring me and my posts 🥹

[ghostlyforxst]

A/N- Hello ghostly, welcome to list of prompts. If you would like me to write one these prompts listed below, creep over to my submission or asks. But, please remember to include the following: from which prompt list? The number of the prompt? And lastly, which character/s?

You can add extra, like the gender of the reader, or if the reader is gender neutral, and what you would like to happen. I'll try my best to get them out, but thank you so much for taking intrest in my blog!

1. “Imprison? i wouldn’t call it that, it’s staying with one another for eternity”

2. “Go get the chains. you brought this upon yourself, not me”

3. “Why didn’t you tell me you went outside? you’d better have a good answer, beloved”

4. “Every time you beg, it only makes me want to keep you longer”

5. “Jealous? you haven’t even scratched the surface of true envious desire”

6. “Stalk? i’m just making sure you’re always safe”

7. “You wouldn’t survive a day without my protection”

8. “(Charac. Name), and you think I'm horrible? You make me laugh, but alright I'll call him/her up!"

9. “Well boo-hoo, because I'm all you gonna get darling.”

10. “Care to remind me as to what happens when you disobey me?”

11. “Are you afraid of me? the one who loves you most?”

12. “Break up? of course not, you swore to be mine for eternity the moment we first met”

13. “If I don’t have your love anymore, no one else can either!”

14. “How naive and innocent, you wouldn’t stand a chance in this cruel world without my protection”

15. “I'd never love someone the same way, and you would take that away from me?”

16. “Obsession? it’s dedication, darling”

17. “You can’t leave this life. i’ll gladly take my own to join you”

18. “Me? insane? it’s not me, it’s you for letting me become this way”

19. “Maybe if i sever my arm and your arm, we can switch and we’ll always be connected”

20. “When will you learn to behave? I'm tired of trying to make you learn your lesson.”

21. “Shh, I wouldn’t say that unless you want your family to suffer.”

22. “….Have you ever felt guilty, even once, for what you’ve done to me?”

23. “Live in world, you'll forever be my queen.”

24. “You know you can't run from me forever, one day I'll catch you”

25. “You can at least pretend to love me.”

26. “I think they might be a problem. Don’t worry, love, I’ll take care of them for you.”

27. “Sweetheart, I have to mark you. How else is everyone gonna know you’re mine?”

28. “So…do you want your underwear back?”

29. “I’ll carve out your tongue if it would stop you from flirting with anyone else.”

30. “Please don’t do anything to upset me. The mess wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

31. “I really can’t take it when you cry like that… smile for me, alright? You’re so pretty when you smile.”

32. “I did this out of love, I’m doing this out of love.”

33. “You’re here because I want you to be.”

34. ”It’s for your safety. You’ll see.”

35. ”What? So you love them more than me?”

36. ”C’mon, smile for me! It’s not like I’ve done anything yet.”

37. ”Don’t think of it as a ‘punishment’… it’s more of a lesson.”

38. ”How else would they know you belonged to me?”

39. “I’m trying to help! You had a problem, and I fixed it!”

40. “You’ll be safe as long as you stay with me.”

41. “I’ll love anyone else like this again. You wouldn’t take that away from me, right?”

42. “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t have you.”

43. “You’re so vulnerable right now.”

44. “Just tell me their name and I’ll make this all better.”

45. “It’s like you were made for me.”

46. “I’m doing this for us.”

47. “I won’t be as nice next time you misbehave.”

48. “If you’re not going to talk, I’ll make it so that you can’t.”

49. “Even if you don’t enjoy it now, you’ll learn to.”

50. “I could kill you if I wanted to.”

51. “I’ve dedicated myself to you! It’s only fair that you do the same.”

52. “Don’t say you’re lonely, you have me!”

53. “It’s your word over mine. Who do you think they’re going to believe?”

54. “I’d never hurt you. Not unless you forced me to.”

55. “I love you, and I’ll do anything to prove it.”

56. “You’re calling me a monster? Who do you think made me this way?”

57. “Be good for me this time. I don’t want to see you cry again.”

58. “It’ll be the family we always wanted! The one we’ve been trying for!”

59. “Are you lost!? You belong to me, not him/her!”

60. “Where are we going? Home of course.”

61. “Shh princess...don’t cry over this scum, s/he doesn’t deserve your tears.”

62. “One more chance! I’m giving you one more chance to fucking stop resisting!”

63. “I just want you to love me!”

64. “Oh, don’t worry, this isn’t my blood. It’s the blood of the person who touched you earlier today.”

65. “If you leave me, I’ll die!”

66. “No! Please tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it, just don’t leave me!”

1. "Don't come any closer, I'll catch feelings!"

2. "I'm…m'up I swear."

3. “Can you stop ignoring me please?”

4. “Do me a favor and lose my number.”

5. “Friends don't look at each other the way we do.”

6. "Please, I can't sleep without you."

7. “I-um, Is it ok if I hold your hand?”

8. “If you love me so much then you should be able to say it, right?”

9. “It's three in the morning. ”

10. “S/he's not going to make it, is s/he?”

11. “Wait…is that my shirt?”

12. “Wait a minute, are you jealous?”

13. “We can't be friends, I will always see you as something else. ”

14. “Why do I still like you, knowing you're a total asshole?”

15. “You look like you need a hug.”

16. “You’re joking, right? please, please just say you're joking.”

17. “You'll be my wife one day.”

18. "Get over it, you can't be upset over something you caused!"

19. "I love you."

20. “I want a fucking answer!”

21. “I'm growing bored of you.”

22. “I want to kiss you so badly but there are too many people here.”

23. “This is supposed to be us!”

24. “It smells just like her…”

25. “No matter what you decide, I'll be by your side through it all. ”

26. “Sometimes I wonder why I even try anymore.”

27. "God, you're so beautiful/handsome."

28. “You grew on me, alright?”

29. “I like you, damn it, is that what you wanted to hear?”

30. “Wait, I'm sorry. I'm new at this...”

31. “I used to feel like my stomach turned when you walked into the room. turns out that wasn’t because the sight of you made me physically sick...”

32. “You already hate me as it is, so it's not like I have nothing to lose here...I like you.”

33. "Here to finish me off, sweetheart?"

34. "So...if i liked you, I don't by the way, but if I did-" "Just shut the fuck up and kiss me."

35. "Friends kiss each other right?" "no." "I mean-"

36. "So if you don't like them, then you won't mind me asking them out then, right?"

37. "I mean this in the most friendly way possible, you are easily the most attractive person I know."

38. "I just need to hear your voice, please."

39. "Let's keep it a secret."

40. “As much as I appreciate this random back hug, but would you mind telling me who you are?”

41. “If I gave you five bucks could you pretend you agreed to go on a date with me? I lost a bet and my friends are coming in like five minutes.”

42. “No, you don’t get to walk away with this. Not this time.”

43. “I don’t care where you go, just get away from me!”

44. "You should go talk to him!" "Oh, I'm sorry but if you've forgotten, I'm the nerd. He's the jock. He will bite my face off and then feed it to his friends." "You're being overdramatic."

45. "This is your final warning." "What? Sorry, I can't hear you!"

46. "Let me explain-" "No. Just, don't. Please."

47. "It's quiet. Too quie-" "HELLO?? IS ANYONE IN HERE?!"

48. "Heh, playing victim huh?"

49. "Was I not enough?" "I was just out with my mother, (Charac. Name)!?"

50. "I'm creating a pillow wall so that way you can't give me cooties."

51. "Goddamnit, I love you! Alright? Happy now? You figured out the big secret."

52. "Use your words, love. what do you want?"

[ask-games-from-a-weird-girl]

Prompts with specific descriptions

Let people send you a number (and if they want, a specific fandom or character) and write a drabble based on the specific description you’re getting.

1. Character needs to babysit a toddler for a couple of hours

2. Someone’s going into labor!

3. Two characters are sitting on a rooftop, talking

4. It’s the first time two friends see each other after the vacation

5. A very memorable day at school

6. Looks like someone got their first period!

7. There’s two beds in the room, but only one is comfortable to sleep in

8. Character needs to tell one of their parents something important

9. Uh oh, we got caught kissing!

10. Siblings have to comfort each other after a terrible event

11. Cousins are shit-talking their family members during a family event

12. Characters play hide and seek, but someone hides too well

13. Who calls in the middle of the night?

14. To not get caught, character A hides in character B’s closet

15. Three characters are just trying to have a good time, but it’s hard

16. We accidentally got locked inside a closet and now we get the time to share some secrets

17. This dinner was supposed to turn out well and it certainly is not turning out well

18. You think I'm in love with you and I'm not and now we have a little situation

19. Stepmother and stepdaughter have a conversation

20. Someone takes a pregnancy test

21. Someone finds a letter in their locker

22. Three people in a room. One person third wheels the other two

23. Someone has broken their arm in a very absurd way

24. Character discovers they have flying abilities

25. Due to events, a character needs to take the bus instead of the train

26. A father can’t accept that his child is growing up

27. It wasn’t the plan to come out while talking on stage, but here we are

28. Well, I guess we have to steal a car now

29. Everyone thinks character is queer, but plot twist, they’re actually straight

30. In a flash, suddenly we are 10 years younger. What happens now?

31. In a flash, suddenly we are 10 years older. What happens now?

32. An alternate universe where everyone acts the opposite than what they do in canon

33. Character’s life if -insert specific moment- never happened

34. Two characters are best friends but one of them reveals they have romantic feelings. Does the other person feel the same?

35. A sleepover that got very fruity very fast

36. Character A gets bullied. Character B stands up for them

37. All I wanted to do was just to eat my lunch in peace without anyone interrupting

38. For some reason, four people meet up at a playground late at night

39. Baking a cake goes very wrong

40. Character is now a parent and this is a normal day in their life

41. The wedding speech got very chaotic when the speaker accidentally reveals a big secret

42. A band performance that goes very wrong

43. Due to an accident, the whole room is set on fire

44. Someone, somehow, eats lipstick

45. Best friends just going out roller skating and having fun

46. Some characters time travel to the 1960s, visiting places they know in their own time to see how they looked like then

47. Every character is a ghost and haunts a place

48. A family reunion turns chaotic when someone has an announcement

49. Someone forgot that character was living in their house

50. Stepsiblings bond over having insane parents

51. Flashback to a middle/elementary school where two characters does the performance of their lifetime

52. Character A discovers they can fly and Character B discovers they have telekinesis

53. Character/s has to explain to a kid where babies come from

54. Character tries jumping down from a roof with an umbrella, to see if they can fly

55. A secret couple gets exposed, with disasterous results

56. A secret couple gets exposed, but the results aren’t that bad

57. Ordering pizza goes incredibly wrong somehow

58. Everyone thinks two characters are dating and then it’s revealed they don’t even know each other

59. Character gets to re-live a memory from their childhood. Which memory do they choose?

60. How would the world be if Character didn’t exist?

[flymmsy]

Character Asks (18+)

Based on this post. Send me a number and I'll answer for Gortash, Durge, or Both (specify)!

90 prompts below!

EXPERIENCES

1. How many people have they had sex with?

2. Can they remember the names of everyone they’ve slept with?

3. With whom did they first sleep with? Was it good?

4. What’s the best sex they’ve ever had?

5. What’s the worst sex they’ve ever had?

6. Where’s the most unusual place they’ve had sex?

7. Where’s the most unusual place they’ve masturbated?

8. Have they ever been caught having?

9. If they masturbate, when did they start, and how?

10. Have they ever been caught masturbating?

QUEER SHIT

11. How would they describe their sexuality using only adjectives (describing words–busy, fluffy, squishy, etc.)?

12. Have they ever been in a queer relationship?

13. Have they ever been in a straight relationship?

14. How and when did they realize they weren’t straight?

15. Are they out to everyone they know?

16. Where do they meet queer folks to date? Do they find it difficult?

17. If their parents know about their sexuality, how did they react?

18. Does their best friend know about their sexuality? How did they react?

19. Describe their first queer kiss.

20. What’s the queerest shit they’ve ever done?

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

21. Are they happy with their body?

22. What’s the raddest part of their bod, and why?

23. What do they do with their body hair (pubes, underarms, legs, etc.)?

24. Do they have stretch marks? Where?

25. Describe their nipples in too much detail.

26. (Vagina-owners) Do they have an “innie” (small, tucked-in inner labia), or an “outie” (more visible/larger inner labia)?

27. (Vagina-owners) Is it very obvious when they’re turned on (swelling, wetness etc.)?

28. (Penis-owners) Describe the size and shape of their penis. Are they happy with it?

29. (Penis-owners) Have they tasted their own cum? Did they like it?

30. (Breast-owners) How does the size of their breasts compare? Is one bigger than the other?

SEXUAL FANTASY LAND

31. Describe their most unusual/taboo fantasy.

32. Do they fantasize more about real situations, or imaginary/impossible ones?

33. Who’s the oddest person they’ve fantasized about?

34. Do they ever find themself fantasizing absent-mindedly, or is it something they do on purpose?

35. Do they always fantasize while they masturbate?

36. When they fantasize, does it usually lead to masturbation?

37. Have they ever had sex with someone while fantasizing about someone else?

38. Do they have any celebrity crushes that they fantasize about?

39. Have they ever fantasized about something by accident, and felt weird about it after?

40. Describe their most sexy fantasy.

KINKTOWN USA

41. How do they feel about BDSM?

42. What’s their most unusual kink?

43. In an SM context, do they prefer giving pain, or receiving it?

44. Do they consider themself to be dominant, submissive, both, or neither?

45. Describe their most recent bondage experience.

46. In a BDSM context, have they ever referred to anyone as “daddy,” “mommy,” or any similar term?

47. Do they have a kink for any bodily fluids (pee, saliva, blood, tears, cum, etc.)?

48. Have they ever revealed a kink to someone and had them react negatively?

49. Do they have any kinks that they’re ashamed of?

50. How much money have they spent on equipment for their kinks (toys, whips, chains, etc.)?

COME FOR THE QUESTIONS, STAY FOR THE SUBHEADINGS

51. (Vagina-owners) Do they ever squirt when they come?

52. Have they ever come solely from penetration (anal or vaginal)?

53. Can they have an orgasm without their genitals being touched?

54. Describe how they like their genitals to be touched.

55. How sensitive are their nipples? Does nipple play turn them on?

56. Do they find it easier to orgasm with another person, or through masturbation?

57. Have they ever had an orgasm that they weren’t expecting?

58. Do they get off easier from rough contact, or gentle?

59. What’s the best orgasm they’ve ever had?

60. Did it take them a while to have their first orgasm, or were they an early starter?

ORAL FIXATION

61. Do they enjoy giving oral sex? Why?

62. What’s their favorite position in which to receive oral?

63. Describe their oral sex technique.

64. Do they find it easier to give oral to someone with the same genital configuration as they (eg., they both own vaginas/both own penises), or different?

65. Describe the worst oral sex they’ve ever received.

66. Describe the best oral sex they’ve ever received.

67. Do they ever simulate oral sex while masturbating (sucking on dildos etc.)?

68. How sensitive is their mouth? Is it an erogenous zone, for them?

69. Do they like 69ing?

70. Can they deep-throat?

EVERYTHING BUTT

71. Do they like it in the butt?

72. What’s the strangest object they’ve had in their butt?

73. Do they enjoy being rimmed?

74. Can they take a lot in their butt, or just a little?

75. Describe their most recent experience with anal.

76. Do they like doing stuff to other people’s butts?

77. (Prostate-owners) Have they ever received a prostate massage?

78. Do they own any buttplugs?

79. Have they ever had an embarrassing anal experience?

80. Have they ever pegged someone (ie., worn a strapon and fucked them in the butt)?

SHARING IS CARING

All questions assume they’ve done group sex of some kind

81. Describe their most recent group sex experience.

82. Have they ever had sex with more than two people at once (eg., foursome, moresome)?

83. Have they ever had an orgy? Would they?

84. Do they enjoy watching their partner(s) having sex with others?

85. Do they prefer to arrange group sex beforehand, or allow it to happen organically?

86. Have they ever felt left out during group sex?

87. Have they ever done a gangbang (ie., lots of people have sex with one person, but not each other)?

88. Have they ever teamed up with someone and given a double blowjob/double cunnilingus?

89. Have they ever been penetrated by more than one person at the same time?

90. Have they ever been ejaculated on by more than one person at the same time?

[canmom]

Animation Night 141: short film night (donghua edition)

Hi everyone! Welcome to Animation Night, the night where we watch animation. We’re running mega late due to insomnia + travelling, so I will be brief.

Tonight the plan is to watch some exciting short animated films from China. First up we have the return of the mighty Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

You may remember from Animation Nights past that for a long time through the 50s and 60s, Shanghai Animation Film Studio was Chinese animation (donghua). They created many beautiful and experimental works, such as the astonishing ‘ink wash’ films of Te Wei, accomplished through an ingenious process of stacking up layers of cels to create the subtle gradients.

SAFS was squashed during the Cultural Revolution, its animators sent to the countryside, and animation was instead turned to heavy-handed propaganda films. Under Deng, the Shanghai animators returned for a brief last hurrah... but the chain of reproduction had been broken, and donghua went through a period where few films were being made, and only cheaply, with Chinese animators mostly working on outsourcing for other countries.

That’s changed in a huge way recently with the rise of what is now termed guómàn (国漫), referring to Chinese domestic animation and comics. Despite a hard-to-please audience at home, Chinese studios have been absolutely killing it lately... but Shanghai Animation Film Studio hasn’t really been a player. That’s changing now, AniObsessive reports, with the release of a series of four ~20 minute short films titled  中国奇谭 (Yao - Chinese Folktales) on Bilibili. A decidedly non-commercial project, with four teams and directors spending about two years on each film, it’s unexpectedly become an enormous hit in China:

Yao’s numbers have climbed dramatically since that report. After 15 days, with four episodes online, the series has topped 99 million views on its Bilibili page — and they’re rising fast. Users of the movie site Douban are often harsh critics of Chinese animation, and yet Yao currently scores 9.4 there, based on more than 132,000 reviews.

(...)

Zhang Shengyan, the Bilibili VP, feels that Yao owes its popularity to its ties to China. Not just in the stories and art, but in the Shanghai Animation name — most people in China, Zhang says, have fond memories of the studio’s classics. Yao channels this tradition of artistry for the 2020s, and it may be the start of a new era for the company. There’s already talk of a second season.

So that’s exciting! The four episodes are titled Nobody, Goose Mountain, She-Wolf, and... I don’t have a translation available for the fourth one but in Chinese it’s 乡村巴士带走了王孩儿和神仙, which machine translation renders The Country Bus Took Away Wang Haier and Shenxian. They use a variety of styles from CG to traditional animation.

Our second item is also courtesy of AniObsessive, who have gone to the impressive effort of translating and subtitling a series called Mee’s Forest on their new Chinese Flash YT channel. The series is directed by Busifan, known for the incredible film Dahufa (The Guardian) which we watched back on Animation Night 46 and again on Animation Night 104. (Incidentally, AniObsessive also wrote a wonderful article about the creation of Dahufa, finding all sorts of obscure sources, which is how I know anything at all about Busifan.)

Mee’s Forest is an earlier work, beginning in 2009 about six years before Dahufa’s completion, but after Busifan had made a name for himself with The Black Bird series in 2004. At this time, Busifan had quit his telecoms job, and was working at small animation studios in Hangzhou, chafing against the limits of the industry. This series centers on a young monk who, left alone by his master, is embroiled in some kind of supernatural forest shenanigans. The animation has sparks of what we’d see in Dahufa, notably the abrupt, vicious fight scenes.

I love everything I’ve seen from the Chinese Flash scene and I’m sure this will be no exception. At the time of writing, we’re jumping the gun a bit, with only 15 of 16 episodes translated... but this concords perfectly with Yao so we’ll wrap it up later.

So, with apologies for the incredibly late start - please make your way to twitch.tv/canmom and we’ll be starting on the hour in about ten minutes! (23:00 UK time, 15:00 California time)

[leothelionsaysgrrrr]

For my most favourite reprobate: 33, 40, 41, 46 & 47.

33. What do fear demons look like to Rook?

Subjugation. It’s difficult to explain, but they look like empty, broken, desaturated wraith-like beings staggering along, covered in chains with an uncanny valley version of his face, like he knows it’s supposed to be him but it’s wrong somehow. More recently they can also look like a similarly uncanny valley version of him - his face is older like it is now but pale and gaunt, and the hair and facial hair are the way he wore it when he was younger - with a dagger in one hand and Silver’s head in the other.

40. Describe Rook’s bed:

Messy, never made unless someone else does it for him. Blankets in a ball on the mattress if they’re still on the bed at all. Old linens and worn out flat pillows despite having access to new ones whenever he wants because they’re still fine. Smaller now, meant to accommodate only him rather than a seemingly infinite number of bed partners. He doesn’t know what kind of mattress he has and doesn’t care to ask.

41. What’s on their nightstand?

A drink, though it’s water more often than whiskey anymore. A rag, some coins. Whatever he’s had in his pockets and doesn’t want to carry around anymore.

46. What does it take to earn Rook’s trust?

It used to be all you had to do was make him feel genuinely welcome around you, but he’s a good bit stingier with his trust these days. It happens when you’re living under an assumed name with a tenuous disguise (read: long hair and a beard, which somehow does render him pretty much unrecognizable) in a city where a lot of people, most of all a powerful and influential politician, want you dead. Plus, there’s a difference between trusting people to watch his back and work with him towards a common goal, which he’ll do with most people who prove they’ll do exactly that with as much or more to lose as he does if they fail, and trusting someone to truly know him as a person, know his real name and background and anything that truly makes him tick, which is just not going to happen with anyone he doesn’t already trust like that.

47. What’s Rook’s temper like?

It doesn’t, really. He’s always carried himself with a sort of easy confidence, like he’s just going with the flow and nothing’s going to knock him off course, and he’s even more lighthearted these days. Anger is an unacceptably vulnerable state of being to him, so he’s more the type to respond to slights and insults by either dismissing them with humor or verbally going for the throat rather than lashing out physically. There’s a little change in his tone but not the volume, and he stares pointedly afterward, sometimes a little waggle of his eyebrows, like “yeah, I said it, I went there, I meant it. Now what?”. If someone takes a swing at him after that, well, they started it at that point, didn’t they? That’s not to say nothing ever bubbles over, but he usually will do one of those things and just kind of stews in how he’s really feeling about it until he’s sufficiently alone to get visibly angry.

50 questions for Rook!

[stupendousladypeanut]

See you later. (Number 5)

(My first post on Tumblr! Notes and constructive criticism are welcome, I hope you like it :) )

WARNINGS: Suggestion of violence, kidnapping and also swearing.

1 year.

“You coming out later?”

“Yeah, if I can get away.”

“Heh, okay.”

“Did you see the news?”

“No why?”

“This girl went missing.”

“That’s awful. I hope she’s alright.”

“Yeah, me too.”

…

“See you!”

“See you!”

“See you later.”

7 months.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Where are you?”

“Just running late. Mum made me do the dishes.”

“Oh okay! Anything interesting happen?”

“Yeah actually. She gave me a lecture on being safe when walking alone.”

“Like at night?”

“Just in general I think. She said that I should always be on the phone to someone.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, these two girls where walking together and nobody can find them. It freaked her out.”

“Shit, that’s awful.”

…

“If I need to call someone when walking alone, can I call you?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.”

“See you!”

“See you!”

“See you later.”

6 weeks.

“Have you done the homework yet?”

“No.”

“Oh shit, me neither.”

“What? I was going to copy off you!”

“I was going to copy off you!”

“What now? I really don’t feel like detention. It’ll be the third one, so we get an hour.”

“But that means that it’ll be dark by the time we can go home!”

“I can’t call you if you’re with me…”

…

“I know somebody who will let us copy. And they’re really smart…”

“Oh thank goodness! Meet you back here at break then?”

“Yeah sure.”

“See you.”

“See you!”

“See you later.”

2 weeks.

“Have you seen the news?”

“No why?”

“Apparently, another girl went missing.”

“Fuck, any idea at all where she is?”

“I don’t know, but it’s pretty scary.”

“Yeah. Like, personally threatening.”

“That makes 4.”

“Yeah.”

“I got to go.”

“See you.”

“See you.”

“See you later.”

60 seconds.

“Hi.”

59 seconds.

“Hey. Are you okay? It’s really late.”

58 seconds.

“I’m fine. I’m walking alone.”

57 seconds.

“At 3 past eleven?!”

56 seconds.

“Yeah…”

55 seconds.

“Why? That’s so dangerous.”

54 seconds.

“I know. I’m going home.”

53 seconds.

“Well that’s something at least.”

52 seconds.

…

51 seconds.

“I’m only 2 blocks away now.”

50 seconds.

“Okay. Hurry up, I don’t want you to die.”

49 seconds.

“I won’t die!”

48 seconds

“Don’t laugh. I’m serious.”

47 seconds.

“So am I.”

46 seconds.

“You obviously have a death wish.”

45 seconds.

“Gosh, you’re tetchy tonight.”

44 seconds.

“What?! What’s that supposed to mean.”

43 seconds.

“You’re being rude to me.”

42 seconds.

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

41 seconds.

“You’re not. But it’s okay.”

40 seconds.

…

39 seconds.

“How far away are you now?”

38 seconds.

“Not far. Like, 5 streets.”

37 seconds.

“That’s not bad.”

36 seconds.

“Heh, I know. You know I’m a fast walker.”

35 seconds.

…

34 seconds.

“What shoes are you wearing?”

33 seconds.

“Heels, why?”

32 seconds.

“You’re out wearing heels at night?!”

31 seconds.

“Yeah, duh.”

30 seconds.

“What if you need to run?”

29 seconds.

“Chill out, I’m about 3 streets away from my house now.”

28 seconds.

“Still. Not your smartest move ever.”

27 seconds.

“Like you can talk Einstein.”

26 seconds.

“Shut up. Just think about those poor 4 other girls.”

25 seconds.

…

24 seconds.

“Oh no.”

23 seconds.

“What’s the matter?”

22 seconds.

“I’ve got to pass an alleyway.”

21 seconds.

“Wait, for real?”

20 seconds.

“Yes, for real!”

19 seconds.

“Okay. Stop for a second.”

18 seconds.

“I’ve stopped. Now what?”

17 seconds

“Are you wearing socks?”

16 seconds.

“No…”

15 seconds.

“Shit. Then you can’t take off your heels.”

14 seconds.

“It’s okay. There’s a bunch of broken glass in the alley anyway.”

13 seconds.

…

12 seconds.

“Right, so, you need to walk straight down the middle.”

11 seconds.

“Why?”

10 seconds.

“So nobody can grab you out of any doors or something.”

9 seconds.

“I can’t, it’s too narrow.”

8 seconds.

“Wait don’t-“

7 seconds.

“I have to. I’ll just make a run for it.”

6 seconds.

“But there must be another way-“

5 seconds.

“There isn’t,”

4 seconds.

“Please!”

3 seconds.

“I’m going-“

2 seconds.

“But-“

1 second.

“I’ll be fine. Look, I’ll see you lat-“

0 seconds.

Call ended.

[bosslevelagency]

What Do the 4Ds Mean for Your Brand?

With December fast approaching, we’ll start to see the determined shopping mindset emerge followed by devoted buyers in January.

Leveraging these three strategies has helped us, and will also help you, align with these busy shoppers:

Keep momentum in December and beyond

Connect with customers across touchpoints

Build long-term brand loyalty

Keeping Momentum in December — and Beyond

The opportunity for retailers doesn’t end with Cyber 5, the peak deal period from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

According to a Mastercard analysis we ran with BCG from October 2022 through January, 46% of U.S. consumer holiday spending occurred between Cyber Monday and Christmas Eve in 2022. These shoppers also spent over $47 billion in retail in the two weeks after December 25th.

So what’s driving consumer demand in December and January? We partnered with Ipsos on a few surveys between October 2022 and January 2023 to find out:

In December, shoppers are more motivated than ever to finish holiday shopping. Last year, the average US shopper still had 50% of their shopping left to do after “Cyber 5.” Gen Z-ers had even more left to complete than other generations. [4]

By January, consumers can now shop for their own enjoyment and less-so out of gift obligations. According to our data, 50% of consumers enjoy shopping shortly after Christmas.

Connecting with Customers Across Touchpoints

In-store shopping climbed to record heights last year, topping $1 trillion for the first time ever.

A key driver behind these high rates of brick-and-mortar shopping is shoppers’ use of digital resources before going to a physical shop. These digital offerings are helpful to in both deciding on and fulfilling them.

One company that saw this was cosmetics chain, Ulta Beauty, who spoke with Google about their holiday performance:

We also see consumers increasingly tapping into multiple digital channels over the course of the season.

An online study we ran with Ipsos from October 2022 through January 2023 revealed more than half of shoppers used five or more channels, like video and social media, to shop over a two-day period in 2022. That proportion of shoppers increased in December.

And we actually see shoppers use even more digital resources to make purchases after the height of the holiday season, with the average number of digital resources used increasing post-holiday. From our research, we see that this includes Google properties, like Search, Maps, Youtube, whose already high usage throughout the season increases significantly post-Christmas.

Not only are shoppers continuing to shop, but they’re shopping across more digital properties. This means brands that use omnichannel experiences to connect with customers across touchpoints can stand out from the crowd.

Build Long-Term Brand Loyalty.

In a Google-commissioned study we ran this October, we learned there’s an even larger opportunity to build long-term brand loyalty, especially as almost half (47%) of shoppers say the time after Christmas enables them to shop for brands they love.

Consider promoting loyalty or rewards programs, which are top of mind for shoppers during this period.

In January 2023, we observed a noteworthy 50% surge in search interest regarding loyalty programs, which includes searches like ‘reward program’ and ‘loyalty points’, compared to December 2022.[11]

In data we gathered between September 2022 and January 2023, we also saw the search volume for gift-related queries, like ‘gifts’ and ‘presents,’ remained high in January 2023 — a 45% and 15% increase compared to the early holiday months of September 2022 and October 2022, respectively.

What’s Next?

Now that you’ve learned about these key holiday trends, start getting ahead of the Black-Friday buzz by preparing and finalizing your holiday campaigns — if you haven’t already.

For more content or helpful tips, check out our Holiday Shopping Trends Report from Think With Google, or keep exploring the HubSpot Marketing Blog.

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Children Are Dying in Ill-Prepared Emergency Rooms Across America (WSJ) Hundreds of children die or are left severely injured around the country each year after they are rushed to hospital emergency rooms that are poorly prepared to treat them. Only about 14% of emergency departments nationwide have been certified as ready to treat kids, or are children’s hospitals specializing in treating young patients, The Wall Street Journal found. Many emergency doctors don’t treat enough children to be able to spot life-threatening illnesses obscured by run-of-the-mill symptoms, or conditions more common in kids. Some E.R. staff default to drug doses and protocols meant for adults and either don’t have or don’t know where to find child-size gear in a crisis. Doctors, health authorities and policy makers have known—and warned—of these failures for decades. Research in recent years has quantified the lack of readiness and number of child deaths that could have been avoided, and pointed to basic steps for solving the problem. Yet most hospitals haven’t taken action, according to the Journal’s investigation of certification levels in all 50 states, reviews of medical records and interviews with doctors, health officials and researchers.

Private security (NYT) Michael Bock was still on his way into work for his shift as a private security guard when he came upon his first emergency of the day. He drove into downtown Portland, Ore., a little after 6 a.m., and saw a man swinging a hatchet and chasing someone into the street. Bock, 46, pulled over and watched them circle each other and dialed 911. “A call taker will be with you as soon as possible,” the recording said, and he waited on hold as he steered his car farther into the street, wedging it between the two men, honking his horn and sending them off in opposite directions as a dispatcher answered the line. “We had two transients in a street fight, but it looks like they’re dispersing,” Bock said. He hung up and continued driving into one of the many American downtowns where one crisis now spirals into the next, as spiking rates of homelessness, drug overdoses, violent crime and psychosis threaten to overwhelm the public safety infrastructure once considered basic to the country’s major cities. Average police response times have increased by as much as 50 percent over the last several years in dozens of places. In Portland, the average police response has slowed to nearly an hour, firefighters work overtime to handle more overdoses than actual fires, and each week there are no ambulances left to respond to hundreds of medical emergencies. What has arrived into the void are thousands of private security guards hired by office buildings, coffee shops, stores, schools and parking lots in what has become one of the country’s fastest-growing industries, with annual revenue exceeding $40 billion. Most major U.S. cities now have at least three times as many security guards on the street as sworn police officers.

The amount of U.S. spending powering Ukraine’s defense (Washington Post) The United States has committed more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. That includes more than $43 billion in military aid. That’s more than the United States distributes in aid to any other country. Military aid is only part of America’s commitment to Ukraine. Billions of dollars in economic and humanitarian aid have also been pledged to the country: the United States has provided about $20.5 billion in budget support for Ukraine since the start of the war and more than $2.6 billion to support displaced people, including refugees, and other vulnerable populations within and outside the country. In total, the U.S. has sent Ukraine $66.2 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid. Experts view the amount as a massive investment in a U.S. ally not seen since at least World War II. “These are off-the-charts numbers,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He likened the figures to U.S. commitments to European countries at the end of World War II. The Marshall Plan, when adjusted for inflation, came to about $150 billion over three years.

As China arrives with a splash in Honduras, the U.S. wrings its hands (Washington Post) When the leader of this impoverished Central American country visited Beijing in June, China laid out the warmest of welcomes. There was a state dinner in the president’s honor in the Great Hall with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a 21-gun salute in Tiananmen Square and lengthy bilateral talks over a six-day visit. For China, the attention granted to Honduras—long among the most docile of U.S. regional partners—was both payment and propaganda. Less than three months before President Xiomara Castro’s arrival, despite energetic appeals and warnings of duplicitous Chinese wooing from the Biden administration, Honduras had established diplomatic relations with China, breaking its decades-long ties with Taiwan. It was clearly a win for Beijing. As China continues to campaign for diplomatic support, several of its most recent successes have been in Central America—Panama in 2017, El Salvador in 2018, Nicaragua in 2021 and now Honduras. Guatemala’s president-elect has indicated he plans to follow. In South America—where China is now the biggest trading partner—Paraguay is the lone holdout. In the Caribbean, Haiti and three smaller island nations continue to recognize Taiwan. The government dismisses U.S. concerns as overwrought and patronizing. “For some people,” Reina said, without mentioning names, “I think it’s difficult to see that we’re a government that makes its own decisions.”

Panama Canal Cutbacks (AP) Ongoing droughts in Panama have forced the Panama Canal Authority to reduce the number of daily traversals of the waterway from 32 ships per day in August to 31 ships, well under the typical 36 to 38 ships that can traverse the canal under normal conditions. This means that just nine ships of the NeoPanamax size and 22 ships of the older Panamax size can make the crossing. Each crossing requires large amounts of freshwater from Gatun Lake to run through the lock system and then eventually into one of the two oceans on either side of the canal, and a spell of hot and dry weather has sent Gatun Lake down to troubling levels.

Nightclub fire in Spain kills at least 13 (Washington Post) At least 13 people have died in a fire that broke out early Sunday at a nightclub complex in the southeastern Spanish city of Murcia, authorities said, as they continued to search for the missing and identify the deceased. More than a dozen firefighters worked to contain the blaze that spread to adjoining nightclubs in the Atalayas area, Mayor José Ballesta said in a statement Sunday. A video and pictures shared by the Murcia fire department on social media showed firefighters battling intense flames inside a narrow space around tables and bar stools. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, and authorities are investigating.

Ukraine’s War of Drones Runs Into an Obstacle: China (NYT) Surrounded by rooms filled with stacks of cluster munitions and half-made thermobaric bombs, a soldier from Ukraine’s 92nd Mechanized Brigade recently worked on the final part of a deadly supply chain that stretches from China’s factories to a basement five miles from the front lines of the war with Russia. This is where Ukrainian soldiers turn hobbyist drones into combat weapons. At a cluttered desk, the soldier attached a modified battery to a quadcopter so it could fly farther. Pilots would later zip tie a homemade shell to the bottom and crash the gadgets into Russian trenches and tanks, turning the drones into human-guided missiles. The aerial vehicles have been so effective at combat that most of the drone rotors and airframes that filled the basement workshop would be gone by the end of the week. Finding new supplies has become a full-time job. More than any conflict in human history, the fighting in Ukraine is a war of drones. That means a growing reliance on suppliers of the flying vehicles—specifically, China. While Iran and Turkey produce large, military-grade drones used by Russia and Ukraine, the cheap consumer drones that have become ubiquitous on the front line largely come from China, the world’s biggest maker of those devices. And in recent months, Chinese companies have cut back sales of drones and components to Ukrainians.

Pro-Russian populist party wins Slovakian election (Washington Post) The party of pro-Russian populist Robert Fico has won Slovakia’s parliamentary election, nearly complete results showed Sunday, dealing a potential blow to European unity on support for Ukraine. With almost all the votes counted, Fico’s Smer party led with about 23 percent, according to the Slovak Statistics Office, followed by Michal Simecka’s Progressive Slovakia, with just under 18 percent. The results mean the country is headed for a coalition government, with neither of the largest two parties winning enough support to command a parliamentary majority. If Fico’s Smer leads that coalition, it could reverse Slovakia’s strong support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. “We think Ukraine is a great tragedy for everyone involved,” Fico said in a news conference after the results were in. “And if Smer gets to form a government, we will do everything we can—also within the E.U.—to start peace talks as quickly as possible. Further killing won’t benefit anyone.” He also said Smer is prepared to continue providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and predicted it would take two weeks to form a coalition.

How China-West tensions will shape global markets (Reuters) Tensions between the West and China are rising, from tit-for-tat trade tariffs to tech rivalry and spying allegations. The ramifications for global markets are significant, with Washington and Beijing’s determination to loosen dependence on each other fraying long-established supply chains. U.S. President Joe Biden is determined to bring manufacturing in strategic sectors such as electric vehicles and semiconductors back home. Washington is also pushing “friendshoring”—the idea of replacing China’s role in supply chains with friendly nations. Research led by Harvard Business School’s Laura Alfaro identifies Vietnam and Mexico as the major beneficiaries of the U.S. supply chain shift so far.

Earthworms help produce as much grain as Russia, say researchers (Guardian) Earthworms’ contribution to the world’s grain harvest matches that of Russia, according to a study documenting their enormous role in food production. This amounts to 140 millions of tonnes of food a year, researchers said, which would make earthworms the fourth largest global producer if they were a country. Russia produced 150m tonnes in 2022 and expects to produce 120m tonnes this year. As worms burrow and feed underground, they break down organic matter and aerate soils, increasing fertility and making nutrients available for smaller organisms. They also help soils capture and retain water. Scientists have long been aware that the presence of earthworms makes crops grow better, but before this research, it wasn’t known by how much.

[eleonordiza]

𝟓𝟎 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞:

1. No one knows what they’re doing. Some do it anyway.

2. Work hard on what doesn’t feel like work.

3. Your thoughts make up your life. If you don't enjoy thinking about it, don't spend time pursuing it.

4. To make new friends, treat strangers like you’ve been friends forever.

5. If you want to win awards, be the best. If you want to actually win, be the only one.

6. Most people don’t need advice. They need one person to believe in them.

7. Meditate to upgrade your software. Work out to upgrade your hardware.

8. When you can't decide, the answer is obvious.

9. Pick one problem to solve this decade, and problems today are much easier.

10. The happiest people combine art, passion, and purpose into one compounding vehicle.

11. Spend time with freaks. They have dashes of genius, madness, harshness, and kindness. Authenticity doesn't live in the middle.

12. The world wants to know you for one thing. Do everything you want, but own one idea.

13. To be heard, don’t follow the herd.

14. Fill your mind with inspiration from the edges. Read old books. Walk new streets. Unique ideas start with unique input.

15. People can ‘feel the energy you put into your work.

16. When you’re good, they tell you. When you’re great, they tell others.

17. If you’re following steps, you’re falling behind.

18. The more you’re hesitating to share it, the more you desperately need to.

19. Art is a marathon of creative sprints.

20. The more you write, the more you’re right.

21. Never apologize for doing something good for you but strange for others.

22. The future of work is not 'play.' It's a relentless obsession with what sets your heart on fire. This isn't a game. It's war with a beautiful, torturous craft that consumes your life.

23. If you’re being copied, you’re on to something.

24. Life is short. The world is small. You owe it to yourself to bet everything on a dream you don’t want to wake up from.

25. Obsess the details for a decade, and you will win.

26. When you’re predictably unpredictable, they pay attention.

27. Life gets easier when you fall in love with hard things.

28. Don’t ‘be’ things. Do things.

29. Working out without your phone will solve 99% of your problems.

30. If you're not obsessed with the future you're creating, create a new one.

31. If your problems were given to a friend, you’d know exactly what they should do.

32. When you’re stuck between two things, choose a third.

33. Happiness can be measured by how excited you are to wake up.

34. The more obsessed you are with your craft, the more relaxed you’ll be with your life.

35. If you think you need a haircut, get a haircut.

36. The world is yours if you can make decisions quickly and unemotionally.

37. Use technology more than it uses you.

38. If you want people to follow you, lead them somewhere.

39. Focus on art for a decade, and profit will come for a lifetime.

40. When you start enjoying the pressure, you’re about to win big.

41. Most progress comes without a plan.

42. Everyone is dying to talk about *something.* Notice when their voice changes and their eyes light up, and let them share that world with you. Make people feel seen for their obsessions.

43. Great writing isn’t read. It’s felt.

44. Use your dark side to make something bright.

45. True greatness is a rare combination of obsession, service, and patience.

46. Pain tells you exactly where to go.

47. Don't trust an idea you 'think' of. The greatest ideas come to you. And you have no other choice.

48. Life's short. Go make stuff.

49. Put yourself in places you don't belong. One day, you'll end up where you want to be.

50. The number one rule: Break as many rules as possible.

Thanks for sharing this.... 🙂❤️It is highly appreciated. 👍😄🙂☺️😊

By Amard

[surveysand]

twenty-eight.

Things I Don’t Like 1. Cold weather. 2. People who think they’re better than everyone. 3. People who wear their retainers out in public. 4. When people say that hate someone who they’ve never even talked to. 5. Body hair.

6. Girls that are obsessed with Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. 7. Teachers that favor certain students. 8. People that only listen to one genre of music.  9. When someone buys something you have right after you get it. 10. When people match their shirts as the same color as their pants. 11. When I dye my hair and it doesn’t turn out like the color on the box. 12. People who make a huge deal about Xanga “jocking”, it’s just Xanga, get over it. 13. Ice cream. 14. When random guys from different countries add you on MySpace/Facebook and always try to talk to you. 15. Having the hiccups.

16. When my stomach growls when it’s completely silent. 17. When someone says they’ll call me back and they don’t. 18. Racist people.  19. When little 6th and 7th graders have Facebook/MySpace. 20. Rude people. 21. People who are smart but act dumb to get attention. 22. Yellow skinny jeans… they make you look like a banana. 23. When people try to shove their beliefs down my throat. 24. My hair in the morning. 25. People who don’t wear deodorant. 26. Broccoli. 27. People who lie about stupid things. 28. People who think they’re HILARIOUS but they’re really not. 29. Girls/guys who tell their boyfriends/girlfriends they love them after going out for like a week. 30. Hypocrites. 31. When people constantly use “lol”. 32. When someone says they’re going to pay me back but never do. 33. Bugs. 34. Going out in public without makeup on. 35. Skinny girls that complain about being fat. 36. Not being able to get alcohol. 37. When people walk into my room without knocking. 38. When I’m taking a shower and the hot water runs out. 39. Not having my license. 40. Knees. 41. When I feel hungry but nothing sounds good. 42. When people try to tell me what to do. 43. Radio stations that play the same songs over and over 44. The smell of fresh cut grass. 45. How everyone is obsessed with Twilight. 46. Chainletters. 47. PEOPLE WHO TYPE LiKE THiS. 48. Surveys that ask what my favorite color is. 49. When people type words like cool and can with k’s. 50. When the wind messes up my hair. 51. Funerals. 52. When people take out their feelings on me. 53. My eyes. 54. The taste of food that’s been re-heated in the microwave. 55. Tinfoil. 56. Slow drivers. 57. People who fake drunk. 58. When I have a phrase/word I always say and everyone else starts saying it. 59. People who can’t take a joke. 60. Lemon flavored things. 61. Humidity. 62. Fat chicks that think they’re hot shit. (surveys& addition: wtf? who made this shit?) 63. When someone tries to add you on facebook/myspace and you reject them and they keep trying to add you. 64. Not having anything to wear. 65. People with bad teeth. 66. Feeling dirty. 67. When people flip their eyelids inside out. 68. The sound of knucks/back/necks/etc. cracking. 69. People who think the number 69 is funny. 70. Guys with longer hair than mine. 71. The fact that my mom favors my brother sister and she makes it obvious too. 72. People that could be pretty but don’t try. 73. When people can’t spell simple words right. 74. People who can’t take a hint. 75. When someone thinks they can sing but they really can’t. 76. How everyone is obsessed with the show American Idol. 78. …And Gossip Girl. 79. …And The Hills. 80. When people underestimate me. 81. People who pretend they smoke to be cool and make it obvious that they really don’t smoke because they don’t inhale. 82. Nosy people. 83. The fact that I’m extremely impatient. 84. Show-offs. 85. When I spend all money on food and then when I really want/need something I won’t have any money. 86. Remixes. 87. When my nail polish starts chipping off and I’m too lazy to fix it. 88. Having a bunch of pennies. 89. When people don’t put the cap back on the toothpaste. 90. Cleaning up other people’s messes. 91. Dress codes. 92. Closed-minded people. 93. That I have to wait till I’m 18 to get a tattoo. 94. Online dating. 95. The fact that my room can’t stay clean for over a week. 96. Bratty little kids. 97. Having to wake up early. 98. When people come in the bathroom when I’m taking a shower. 99. Know-it-alls. 100. Wet socks.

[sanjayanbin20]

𝟓𝟎 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞:

1. No one knows what they’re doing. Some do it anyway.

2. Work hard on what doesn’t feel like work.

3. Your thoughts make up your life. If you don't enjoy thinking about it, don't spend time pursuing it.

4. To make new friends, treat strangers like you’ve been friends forever.

5. If you want to win awards, be the best. If you want to actually win, be the only one.

6. Most people don’t need advice. They need one person to believe in them.

7. Meditate to upgrade your software. Work out to upgrade your hardware.

8. When you can't decide, the answer is obvious.

9. Pick one problem to solve this decade, and problems today are much easier.

10. The happiest people combine art, passion, and purpose into one compounding vehicle.

11. Spend time with freaks. They have dashes of genius, madness, harshness, and kindness. Authenticity doesn't live in the middle.

12. The world wants to know you for one thing. Do everything you want, but own one idea.

13. To be heard, don’t follow the herd.

14. Fill your mind with inspiration from the edges. Read old books. Walk new streets. Unique ideas start with unique input.

15. People can ‘feel the energy you put into your work.

16. When you’re good, they tell you. When you’re great, they tell others.

17. If you’re following steps, you’re falling behind.

18. The more you’re hesitating to share it, the more you desperately need to.

19. Art is a marathon of creative sprints.

20. The more you write, the more you’re right.

21. Never apologize for doing something good for you but strange for others.

22. The future of work is not 'play.' It's a relentless obsession with what sets your heart on fire. This isn't a game. It's war with a beautiful, torturous craft that consumes your life.

23. If you’re being copied, you’re on to something.

24. Life is short. The world is small. You owe it to yourself to bet everything on a dream you don’t want to wake up from.

25. Obsess the details for a decade, and you will win.

26. When you’re predictably unpredictable, they pay attention.

27. Life gets easier when you fall in love with hard things.

28. Don’t ‘be’ things. Do things.

29. Working out without your phone will solve 99% of your problems.

30. If you're not obsessed with the future you're creating, create a new one.

31. If your problems were given to a friend, you’d know exactly what they should do.

32. When you’re stuck between two things, choose a third.

33. Happiness can be measured by how excited you are to wake up.

34. The more obsessed you are with your craft, the more relaxed you’ll be with your life.

35. If you think you need a haircut, get a haircut.

36. The world is yours if you can make decisions quickly and unemotionally.

37. Use technology more than it uses you.

38. If you want people to follow you, lead them somewhere.

39. Focus on art for a decade, and profit will come for a lifetime.

40. When you start enjoying the pressure, you’re about to win big.

41. Most progress comes without a plan.

42. Everyone is dying to talk about *something.* Notice when their voice changes and their eyes light up, and let them share that world with you. Make people feel seen for their obsessions.

43. Great writing isn’t read. It’s felt.

44. Use your dark side to make something bright.

45. True greatness is a rare combination of obsession, service, and patience.

46. Pain tells you exactly where to go.

47. Don't trust an idea you 'think' of. The greatest ideas come to you. And you have no other choice.

48. Life's short. Go make stuff.

49. Put yourself in places you don't belong. One day, you'll end up where you want to be.

50. The number one rule: Break as many rules as possible.

[merriammusicinc]

Upright Pianos - Everything You Ever Needed to Know About Upright Pianos

In today's article we are talking about Upright Pianos - literally everything you need to know about Upright Piano. If you're in the market for an upright piano, this is the article for you.

We're not going to tell you what piano to buy or how much money to spend, but we are going to cover all of the critical areas of difference between these lovely instruments, including the price ranges, the sizes, and what makes one different from another, and finally, how to go about selecting one.

Please check out the accompanying video for an even more in-depth explanation and some playing examples as well!

Opening Thoughts

Since, 2020, we have experienced an almost two-fold increase in the number of medium-range and premium-range upright pianos that are sold in Canada.

One has to ask the question - why? What are the trends that are driving these spikes in sales? Dovetailing with this question is another that often gets asked; "Why would I buy an upright piano that costs as much as a baby grand piano?" Most people have a traditional paradigm in their mind that says if you can afford the baby grand, that's always the preferred option, both from an aesthetic standpoint as well as a musical one.

That said, there are a number of realities that are pushing people towards these higher-end uprights, chief of which is the bevy of musical reasons why an upright piano might be a better alternative. Let's start there before moving into our upright piano overview.

Upright Pianos - General Overview Upright Pianos - Kawai K Series Space

The first reason someone would go with an upright is obviously space. More and more people out there are living in smaller urban situations, often times in stacked townhouses. Stacked townhouses of course come with a lot of stairwells. Grand pianos not only take up a lot of floor space, but they're also really challenging to deliver inside 0stacked townhouses and condos.

Design Innovations

A second reason is that there has been more innovation on the upright side of things than the grand side of things over the last several years. A big one is an advancement in hybrid and silent upright pianos available. Hybrid and silent grand pianos exist too, but there's been more advancement done on the upright side of things, and hybrid grands also happen to be very expensive.

Now, let's look at upright pianos as a whole.

Upright Piano Sizing K-300 Upright Piano Dimensions

Acoustic Upright pianos come in a number of different sizes. They typically start around 42" in height (generally known as a console piano), and go up inch by inch until about 54". The common sizes you'll typically encounter are 44", 46", and 48", which happens to be the size of the extremely popular Yamaha U1 and Kawai K-300 professional upright pianos.

The Yamaha U3 at 52" also happens to be a very popular vertical piano, and there are a few high-end German uprights that get up to 54".

You can't always draw absolute conclusions on things like scale design, string length, or soundboard size simply based on the cabinet size, but the size is a general barometer for how loud and powerful an upright piano is.

Price Ranges Used Upright Pianos

What can you expect to pay for an upright piano on the private market or from a retailer? Starting at the very bottom, you can find used pianos for as little as free. These are typically smaller North American-made wood finish uprights from companies like Baldwin and Heintzman, typically built anywhere from 50 to 100 years ago.

Free Uprights

A free upright piano of this vintage is not going to be particularly musically successful. In many cases, if you really strip away all of the bias associated with acoustic versus digital, a digital piano for around $1,000 or so is actually going to give you a better instrument to play on than a free acoustic used upright, especially if the upright is a spinet piano.

$1,000-$4,000

Moving up from there and you'll start to find used Korean, Indonesian and Japanese pianos, anywhere from about $1,000 to $4,000 generally speaking. These are the instruments such as Yamaha U1s, Yamaha B series, Kawai K3s, Samick's, Young Chang's, etc., built from the early 1970s and on.

There's a thriving market for this kind of piano, especially Kawai and Yamaha uprights, and there are certainly some great deals to be had, even if you're not getting the piece of mind that comes with a new piano warranty.

$5,000-$20,000

This category is less common, but you will of course find lightly used uprights out there, as well as used high-end handmade upright pianos that will typically fall somewhere between $5,000-$20,000.

Of course, anyone spending upwards of $20,000 on a used upright piano is looking for a very specific type of instrument that is probably going to retail for in excess of $40,000 new.

New Upright Pianos $4,000-$10,000

New upright pianos start at around the $4,000 USD range, and these are going to be for 44" (sometimes called studio pianos) factory-made upright pianos, typically built in Indonesia or China. If you're going with an instrument from a reputable company, Kawai and Yamaha, you can expect a mechanically sound instrument with a fairly consistent tone and stable tuning. There's not a lot of tonal refinement available at this price range, but for people who are just starting out, you can really start developing proper techniques and have an enjoyable musical experience.

$10,000-$15,000

The next jump brings us to about $10,000, and this is where you start to see 46", 48", and maybe even 50" pianos from those same companies. As the height increases, in some cases, so will the quality of the materials and the design, and a lot of these instruments are built both for the home, and for institutional settings.

Once we cross the $10,000 threshold, we start to get into the hybrid pianos, and hybrid in this case means pianos where there is some component of European manufacturing, combined with Chinese manufacturing. There are a number of brands that mix and match both labor and parts between a European factory and a Chinese factory.

In this category, we're basically trading off the advantage of Japanese assembly, for slightly more expensive components and design, offset by the lower costs of Chinese assembly.

$15,000-$20,000 The sweet spot for people looking for a really great balance of high-quality tone, high-quality materials, and manufacturing quality that is equal to that of a Japanese plant is when you get above $15,000. These are going to be European-built pianos, likely either from the Czech Republic, Poland, or possibly even Germany. These are instruments that can match or exceed the musical performance of a similarly priced baby grand.

$20,000 & Up

Once you hit about the $20,000 mark it becomes a real connoisseur's marketplace. You're largely into European and American-built pianos at this point, and it becomes a highly subjective, highly personal matter of taste with fantastic sound quality, excellent responsiveness of touch, and timeless design.

That $20,000 ranges all the way up to about $60,000 or $70,000 for the most expensive upright pianos in the world, such as the C. Bechstein Concert 8 or the Hamburg Steinway & Sons K-132.

So, that's a rundown of the price ranges you can expect to see out there for upright pianos. Let's move on and discuss the key differences between a factory-made instrument, versus a handmade one.

Factory vs Handmade Craftsmanship

The term handmade is actually a bit of a misnomer, because there's actually some hand workmanship that goes into most factory pianos, and machines involved in making traditionally defined handmade pianos.

A much better way to look at these two categories is to think of limited production vs mass production, with limited production instruments also taking way longer to build.

Most of the upright pianos that carry the label handmade have had some machining that's been used along with computer automation, but there's been an enormous amount of time by one or several members of the assembly crew that has gone into assembling and regulating the action, the assembly of the shaping of the soundboard, and into the engineering of the carpentry to allow for the maximum resonance of all acoustic materials.

Manufacturing Time

The difference in the manufacturing time can be extraordinarily large. For a $4,000 or $5,000 factory-made upright piano, we could be looking at a total manufacturing time of just a few dozen hours, somewhere in the range of 30 to 50 hours. On the other hand, with the C. Bechstein Concert 8 for example, the manufacturing process takes over 300 hours!

As we would say, this huge amount of extra time leads to massive refinement in the soundboard, regulating the action at fanatical levels, and studiously voicing all of the hammers for maximum bloom on every note. And in the case of an instrument at this quality level, the entire cabinet is actually resonating as another acoustic component.

That pretty much sums up the difference between factory-made and handmade. Let's move on to differences with regard to country of origin.

Country of Origin

Another common question or line of research people get into is understanding the difference between American, Asian, and European-made upright pianos. Does the country of origin affect the musical performance or build the quality of a given instrument?

American Made Pianos

Let's talk about the quintessential American sound first. There are only three manufacturers remaining in the United States right now making upright pianos, which are Charles Walter, Mason & Hamlin, and Steinway.

Are there any consistent factors across these three piano makers? American uprights, much like American grands, tend to have a very mid-range heavy tone. There's often high use of maples and other hardwoods, which tend to accentuate mid-range frequencies. American pianos tend to have large dynamic ranges, and they're also known for their exterior furniture as well.

On the negative side, American pianos aren't known for particularly great actions or control. They are also not known for a great deal of tonal consistency from the lower range to the upper range. But, if you're looking for that specific American tonal profile, you won't find it elsewhere.

Asian Made Pianos

If you're looking for a more precise experience,  Asian and European pianos will offer a little more in this regard. When it comes to Asian pianos, it's very difficult to lump them into a single category, because while you have some very basic low-quality pianos from China, there are also so much nicer, more advanced pianos coming out of certain Chinese facilities.

You also have Japan with a very mature piano market that's literally 100 years old. There are also still Korean pianos, but that market has greatly declined and production has instead moved to Indonesia.

Is there any sort of tonal consistency to any one of these 4 Asian countries? With Japanese-made pianos, yes. Japanese Kawai and Yamaha pianos sound pretty consistent, if Kawai is considered darker and warmer, while Yamaha's are usually thought of as brighter with more attack.

Indonesian pianos are generally pretty consistent too. Beyond that, it's a complete mash of tonal styles, designs, and materials being used, to the point that isn't fair to say that there's an 'Asian' sound.

European Made Pianos

On the European side of things, you're generally getting higher grade materials, such as a more expensive or higher grade hammer felt and a higher grade of spruce used for the soundboard. The action regulation typically done at European factories tends to be very high also.

These refinements are generally going to deliver a more precise tone, especially with regard to the consistency across all ranges. There's typically going to be a higher degree of control in terms of the touch, and the quality of the build means the instrument is going to last longer.

We've covered some of the basics. Now, how do you go about choosing one of these pianos for yourself and for your home?

How to Choose an Upright Piano

Upright vs Hybrid Digital

What are the questions you should be asking while you decide on a piano? The first thing you'll have to decide is if you're going to go with a traditional acoustic upright or a digital/acoustic hybrid. An acoustic/digital hybrid is something that combines both digital components as well as acoustic components.

This combination allows an otherwise fully acoustic piano to be played completely silently. The Kawai K300 Aures for example has a digital piano control panel built right into the side, and you can mute the piano and plug-in set headphones so you can play without disturbing others. This added flexibility is a huge deal for some people, but it does add about $5,000 to the price.

Bass Clarity

Once you've decided whether you're going acoustic or with some type of acoustic-digital hybrid, the next questions really come down to playing style, tonal style, and spending some time in front of these prospective instruments.

There are areas on upright pianos that tend to be weak spots, and this is where a really great design immediately solves a lot of issues. One of the things that people focus on with upright pianos is bass clarity, and this is very difficult to achieve in a shorter instrument due to the shorter string length.

When you're first shopping for an upright piano, one of the things you'll want to look for is to make sure you're getting something that's got a nice clear bass tone. It doesn't mean that you have to get a 52-inch piano or even a 48-inch piano as there are shorter uprights out there with great bass registers.

Break

Another weak spot you'll find on some upright pianos is the break, which is the transitional area of the piano where it switches from steel strings to copper-wound strings. This transition can sound very abrasive and metallic if the design isn't well executed, so pay attention to that.

Action

The third weak spot can be the action. There are actions out there made entirely of wood, and others that combine wood with synthetic parts. While there's been debate about incorporating synthetic parts in the past,  the vast majority of the professional community, both on the technical side and musical side have both accepted and recognized that a really great synthetic action can be just as musical, and in some cases have significant maintenance benefits over inexpensive wood action.

So, don't focus on the material so much as the playing experience, which is the true test of whether or not you're playing a good action. Make sure to play the action at a very soft dynamic range, as well as medium and loud dynamic ranges to see how it responds. The hardest thing for an upright piano to do is to deliver accuracy when playing softly, particularly if you're playing fast at a low dynamic range.

Ultimately, you want to make sure that the action on the instrument you're considering can deliver what you need. This can be especially important for students and beginners who do their lessons or perform on a grand piano but practice on an upright at home.

Clarity of Tone

Our last suggestion for where to really judge an upright piano is going to be in the clarity of the tone, particularly in the top-end range of the instrument.

Upright treble strings are so short, proportionally speaking, that you need even more refinement at smaller tolerances in order to achieve really great clarity on the top of an upright piano. What we mean by clarity, in this case, is an absence of buzzing or uncontrolled harmonics.

Higher-quality uprights have great clarity and no distortion, while lower-quality ones start to distort when the volume gets pushed. Let's move on to our final section.

Differences Between Upright Pianos

In this final section here we'll discuss why one upright piano may differ from another upright piano. For instance, why does one 48" piano cost $8,000 while another 48" piano costs $30,000? Well, there are about eight or nine components in an upright piano that will directly contribute to both the cost and thus the quality of the musical experience.

Cabinet Construction Back Post - Cabinet Construction

The first thing we'll focus on is the back post and overall cabinet construction. On our example instrument in the accompanying video, you'll see five large back posts. There is a variety of approaches that manufacturers take with back posts in general. The function of back posts, as well as the overall construction and design of that cabinet, is to provide strength and rigidity. When you get into a higher-level instrument, it actually also takes on tonal importance.

On something premium like a C. Bechstein, Bösendorfer, or Steingraeber, the cabinetry on the back is so precise and designed in a way that not only is it giving the instrument strength, but it's actually contributing to the transmission of energy and tone throughout both the soundboard as well as the cabinet.

On lower-grade instruments, back posts strictly serve a structural purpose, and they're not actually contributing a lot to the resonance of the instrument. So a key difference here is the level and design of the carpentry on a given piano.

Agraffes Upright Piano Agraffes

Agraffes are another feature you'll generally only find on higher-end uprights. These contribute to further string alignment and ensure precise termination after the string has been struck. Their presence can help eliminate things like false beats and uncontrolled harmonics. Less expensive pianos will use a pressure bar for the same purpose, though a pressure bar is not considered as good as a set of agraffes.

The Bridge

A third difference is how the bridging has been approached. Like on a grand piano, there's quite a variety of bridge designs you'll see on various pianos, and an equally wide range of costs to execute said designs.

There's everything from a solid bridge with a single piece of wood, to hardwood bridges with a cap, to vertically laminated bridges, which is by far the most expensive type of bridge. The better the bridge, the better the energy from the strings is transmitted to the soundboard.

To pull this off effectively can get very expensive very quickly, so generally speaking, the less expensive the piano, the less expensive the bridge design.

Soundboard Material

The next difference is the soundboard, and this one is a big deal. Soundboards come in different sizes and with different materials selected. Virtually all soundboards use some type of spruce, but whether or not the spruce is solid or laminated makes a huge difference.

Laminated soundboards are actually significantly stronger and more stable, but the big knock against them is that with all of the layers of wood and glue, the soundboard's ability to resonate and sustain the vibration is dramatically reduced. You've got all sorts of factors that are actually going to suck up more energy.

As such, pretty much all mid-range and high-end soundboards are made with solid spruce, as the acoustic properties are just that much better.

Soundboard Design

The next difference in soundboard design is whether or not to taper or leave it untouched. All soundboards have some type of curve, but a tapered soundboard has been thinned out towards the edges, which allows more of the soundboard to activate and resonate. This means that a smaller tapered soundboard will resonate as much or more than a larger, non-tapered counterpart. This is a time-consuming process, so again, tapering starts to appear as you move up in quality, so less expensive pianos generally don't have tapered soundboards.

The last distinction with soundboards is the choice of spruce. The two main types are some form of White spruce (typically Alaskan or Austrian), versus Sitka spruce. Sitka is a very common, less expensive spruce that tends to have a warmer tone, but with less clarity and sustain. White spruce tends to be more expensive and has a tighter grain, meaning the wood is older and grows more slowly.

Action Refinement

Last but not least is the action, but it's quite simple - the more expensive the upright, the more refined the action is from a design standpoint and the more time that has gone into regulating the action at the factory level.

Closing Thoughts

Thanks so much for sticking with us through this long read. We hope you've found it helpful, but in any case, definitely check out the accompanying video at the top of the article so you can see and hear some of the things we discussed for yourself. If you're new to our channel, we would sincerely appreciate it if you would subscribe to our Youtube Channel.

And if you're in the Greater Toronto Area, don't hesitate to pop into one of our showrooms to try some used and new pianos out for yourself with a selection covering much of what's available out there in the piano world.

Visit Merriam Music for more piano reviews and articles.

The post Upright Pianos — Everything You Ever Needed to Know first appeared on Merriam Pianos

2359 Bristol Cir #200, Oakville, ON L6H 6P8

merriammusic.com

(905) 829–2020

[turn-your-woundsinto-wisdom]

50 short rules for a better life:

தமிழில்

1. No one knows what they’re doing. Some do it anyway.

2. Work hard on what doesn’t feel like work.

3. Your thoughts make up your life. Literally. If you don't enjoy thinking about it, don't spend time pursuing it.

4. To make new friends, treat strangers like you’ve been friends forever.

5. If you want to win awards, be the best. If you want to actually win, be the only.

6. Most people don’t need advice. They need one person to believe in them.

7. Meditate to upgrade your software. Work out to upgrade your hardware.

8. When you can't decide, the answer is obvious.

9. Pick one problem to solve this decade, and problems today get a lot easier.

10. The happiest people combine art, passion, and purpose, into one compounding vehicle.

11. Spend time with freaks. They have dashes of genius, madness, harshness and kindness. Authenticity doesn't live in the middle.

12. The world wants to know you for one thing. Do everything you want, but own one idea.

13. To be heard, don’t follow the herd.

14. Fill your mind with inspiration from the edges. Read old books. Walk new streets. Unique ideas starts with unique input.

15. People can ‘feel the energy you put into your work.

16. When you’re good, they tell you. When you’re great, they tell others.

17. If you’re following steps, you’re falling behind.

18. The more you’re hesitating to share it, the more you desperately need to.

19. Art is a marathon of creative sprints.

20. The more you write, the more you’re right.

21. Never apologize for doing something good for you, but strange for others.

22. The future of work is not 'play.' It's a relentless obsession with what sets your heart on fire. This isn't a game. It's war. With a beautiful, torturous craft that consumes your entire life.

23. If you’re being copied, you’re on to something.

24. Life is short. The world is small. You owe it to yourself, to bet everything on a dream you don’t want to wake up from.

25. Obsess over the details for a decade, and you will win.

26. When you’re predictably unpredictable, they pay attention.

27. Life gets easier when you fall in love with hard things.

28. Don’t ‘be’ things. Do things.

29. Working out without your phone will solve 99% of your problems.

30. If you're not obsessed with the future you're creating, create a new one.

31. If your problems were given to a friend, you’d know exactly what they should do.

32. When you’re stuck between two things, choose a third.

33. Happiness can be measured by how excited you are to wake up.

34. The more obsessed you are with your craft, the more relaxed you’ll be with your life.

35. If you think you need a haircut, get a haircut.

36. If you can make decisions quickly, and unemotionally, the world is yours.

37. Use technology more than it uses you.

38. If you want people to follow you, lead them somewhere.

39. Focus on art for a decade, and profit will come for a lifetime.

40. When you start enjoying pressure, you’re about to win big.

41. Most progress comes without a plan.

42. Everyone is dying to talk about *something.* Notice when their voice changes, when their eyes light up, and let them share that world with you. Make people feel seen for their obsessions.

43. Great writing isn’t read. It’s felt.

44. Use your dark side to make something bright.

45. True greatness is a rare combination of obsession, service, and patience.

46. Pain tells you exactly where to go.

47. Don't trust an ideas you 'think' of. The greatest ideas come to you. And you have no other choice.

48. Life's short. Go make stuff.

49. Put yourself in places you don't belong. One day, you'll end up where you want to be.

50. The number one rule: Break as many rules as possible.

சிறந்த வாழ்க்கைக்கு 50 குறுகிய விதிகள்:

1. அவர்கள் என்ன செய்கிறார்கள் என்பது யாருக்கும் தெரியாது. சிலர் எப்படியும் செய்கிறார்கள்.

2. வேலையாக உணராதவற்றில் கடினமாக உழைக்கவும்.

3. உங்கள் எண்ணங்கள் உங்கள் வாழ்க்கையை உருவாக்குகின்றன. உண்மையாகவே. நீங்கள் அதைப் பற்றி சிந்திக்க விரும்பவில்லை என்றால், அதைப் பின்தொடர்வதில் நேரத்தை செலவிட வேண்டாம்.

4. புதிய நண்பர்களை உருவாக்க, அந்நியர்களை நீங்கள் எப்போதும் நண்பர்களாக இருப்பது போல் நடத்துங்கள்.

5. நீங்கள் விருதுகளை வெல���ல விரும்பினால், சிறந்தவராக இருங்கள். நீங்கள் உண்மையில் வெற்றி பெற விரும்பினால், ஒரே ஒருவராக இருங்கள்.

6. பெரும்பாலான மக்களுக்கு ஆலோசனை தேவையில்லை. அவர்களை நம்புவதற்கு ஒரு நபர் தேவை.

7. உங்கள் மென்பொருளை மேம்படுத்த தியானியுங்கள். உங்கள் வன்பொருளை மேம்படுத்த வேலை செய்யுங்கள்.

8. நீங்கள் முடிவு செய்ய முடியாத போது, ​​பதில் தெளிவாக உள்ளது.

9. இந்த தசாப்தத்தை தீர்க்க ஒரு சிக்கலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுங்கள், இன்றைய பிரச்சனைகள் மிகவும் எளிதாகிவிடும்.

10. மகிழ்ச்சியான மக்கள் கலை, ஆர்வம் மற்றும் நோக்கம் ஆகியவற்றை ஒரு கூட்டு வாகனமாக இணைக்கின்றனர்.

11. குறும்புகளுடன் நேரத்தை செலவிடுங்கள். அவர்களிடம் மேதைமை, பைத்தியம், கடுமை மற்றும் இரக்கம் போன்ற கோடுகள் உள்ளன. நம்பகத்தன்மை நடுவில் வாழாது.

12. உலகம் உங்களை ஒரு விஷயத்திற்காக அறிய விரும்புகிறது. நீங்கள் விரும்பும் அனைத்தையும் செய்யுங்கள், ஆனால் ஒரு யோசனையை சொந்தமாக்குங்கள்.

13. கேட்க, மந்தையைப் பின்தொடர வேண்டாம்.

14. விளிம்புகளிலிருந்து உத்வேகத்துடன் உங்கள் மனதை நிரப்பவும். பழைய புத்தகங்களைப் படியுங்கள். புதிய தெருக்களில் நடக்கவும். தனித்துவமான யோசனைகள் தனித்துவமான உள்ளீட்டில் தொடங்குகின்றன.

15. மக்கள் ‘உங்கள் வேலையில் நீங்கள் செலுத்தும் ஆற்றலை உணர முடியும்.

16. நீங்கள் நன்றாக இருக்கும்போது, ​​அவர்கள் உங்களுக்குச் சொல்கிறார்கள். நீங்கள் சிறந்தவராக இருக்கும்போது, ​​அவர்கள் மற்றவர்களுக்குச் சொல்கிறார்கள்.

17. நீங்கள் படிகளைப் பின்பற்றினால், நீங்கள் பின்தங்கி விடுகிறீர்கள்.

18. நீங்கள் எவ்வளவு அதிகமாக அதைப் பகிரத் தயங்குகிறீர்களோ, அவ்வளவு அதிகமாக உங்களுக்குத் தேவை.

19. கலை என்பது கிரியேட்டிவ் ஸ்பிரிண்ட்களின் மராத்தான்.

20. நீங்கள் எவ்வளவு அதிகமாக எழுதுகிறீர்களோ, அவ்வளவு அதிகமாக நீங்கள் சொல்வது சரிதான்.

21. உங்களுக்கு ஏதாவது நல்லது செய்ததற்காக மன்னிப்பு கேட்க���தீர்கள், ஆனால் மற்றவர்களுக்கு விசித்திரமானது.

22. வேலையின் எதிர்காலம் 'விளையாடு' அல்ல. இது உங்கள் இதயத்தில் தீ வைப்பதில் இடைவிடாத ஆவேசம். இது ஒரு விளையாட்டு அல்ல. அது போர். உங்கள் வாழ்நாள் முழுவதையும் உட்கொள்ளும் அழகான, சித்திரவதையான கைவினைப்பொருளுடன்.

23. நீங்கள் நகலெடுக்கப்படுகிறீர்கள் என்றால், நீங்கள் ஏதோவொன்றில் ஈடுபடுகிறீர்கள்.

24. வாழ்க்கை குறுகியது. உலகம் சிறியது. நீங்கள் எழுந்திருக்க விரும்பாத ஒரு கனவில் எல்லாவற்றையும் பந்தயம் கட்ட, நீங்களே கடன்பட்டிருக்கிறீர்கள்.

25. ஒரு தசாப்தத்திற்கு விவரங்களைக் கவனித்து, நீங்கள் வெற்றி பெறுவீர்கள்.

26. நீங்கள் கணிக்க முடியாத நிலையில் இருக்கும்போது, ​​அவர்கள் கவனம் செலுத்துகிறார்கள்.

27. கடினமான விஷயங்களைக் காதலிக்கும்போது வாழ்க்கை எளிதாகிறது.

28. விஷயங்களை 'இருக்க' வேண்டாம். காரியங்களைச் செய்யுங்கள்.

29. உங்கள் ஃபோன் இல்லாமல் ஒர்க் அவுட் செய்வது உங்களின் 99% பிரச்சனைகளை தீர்க்கும்.

30. நீங்கள் உருவாக்கும் எதிர்காலத்தைப் பற்றி நீங்கள் கவலைப்படவில்லை என்றால், புதிய ஒன்றை உருவாக்கவும்.

31. உங்கள் பிரச்சனைகள் ஒரு நண்பரிடம் கொடுக்கப்பட்டிருந்தால், அவர்கள் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும் என்பது உங்களுக்குத் தெரியும்.

32. நீங்கள் இரண்டு விஷயங்களுக்கு இடையில் சிக்கிக்கொண்டால், மூன்றில் ஒன்றைத் தேர்ந்தெடுங்கள்.

33. நீங்கள் எவ்வளவு உற்சாகமாக எழுந்திருக்கிறீர்கள் என்பதன் மூலம் மகிழ்ச்சியை அளவிட முடியும்.

34. உங்கள் கைவினைப்பொருளில் நீங்கள் எவ்வளவு ஆர்வமாக உள்ளீர்களோ, அவ்வளவு நிதானமாக உங்கள் வாழ்க்கையில் இருப்பீர்கள்.

35. உங்களுக்கு முடி வெட்ட வேண்டும் என்று நீங்கள் நினைத்தால், முடி வெட்டவும்.

36. நீங்கள் விரைவாகவும், உணர்ச்சிவசப்படாமலும் முடிவுகளை எடுக்க முடிந்தால், உலகம் உங்களுடையது.

37. உங்களைப் பயன்படுத்துவதை விட தொழில்நுட்பத்தைப் பயன்படுத்துங்கள்.

38. மக்கள் உங்களைப் பின்தொடர வேண்டுமென நீங்கள் விரும்பினால், அவர்களை எங்காவது அழைத்துச் செல்லுங்கள்.

39. பத்தாண்டுகள் கலையில் கவனம் செலுத்துங்கள், வாழ்நாள் முழுவதும் லாபம் வரும்.

40. நீங்கள் அழுத்தத்தை அனுபவிக்கத் தொடங்கும் போது, ​​நீங்கள் பெரிய வெற்றியைப் பெறுவீர்கள்.

41. பெரும்பாலான முன்னேற்றம் திட்டம் இல்லாமல் வருகிறது.

42. ஒவ்வொருவரும் *ஏதாவது ஒன்றைப் பற்றி பேசத் துடிக்கிறார்கள். அவர்களின் குரல் எப்போது மாறுகிறது, அவர்களின் கண்கள் ஒளிரும் போது கவனித்து, அந்த உலகத்தை உங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்துகொள்ளட்டும். மக்கள் தங்கள் ஆவேசத்திற்காக பார்க்கப்படுவதை உணருங்கள்.

43. சிறந்த எழுத்து படிக்கப்படவில்லை. அது உணரப்பட்டது.

44. பிரகாசமான ஒன்றை உருவாக்க உங்கள் இருண்ட பக்கத்தைப் பயன்படுத்தவும்.

45. உண்மையான மகத்துவம் என்பது தொல்லை, சேவை மற்றும் பொறுமை ஆகியவற்றின் அரிய கலவையாகும்.

46. ​​வலி சரியாக எங்கு செல்ல வேண்டும் என்று சொல்கிறது.

47. நீங்கள் நினைக்கும் யோசனைகளை நம்பாதீர்கள். மிகப்பெரிய யோசனைகள் உங்களுக்கு வரும். மேலும் உங்களுக்கு வேறு வழியில்லை.

48. வாழ்க்கை குறுகியது. போய் சாமான்களை உருவாக்கு.

49. நீங்கள் சொந்தமில்லாத இடங்களில் உங்களை வைத்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள். ஒரு நாள், நீங்கள் இருக்க விரும்பும் இடத்தில் முடிவடையும்.

50. நம்பர் ஒன் விதி: முடிந்தவரை பல விதிகளை உடைக்கவும்.

[ceefourbane]

My Favorite Movies of 2011, 50-1

If you haven’t already read my 2010 list, I would recommend doing so, as I explain a little bit about who I am and why I’m doing this. If you don’t care, that’s fine too.

In the process of going back and examining this year in film, I noticed a couple of things. For one, it really feels like the calm before the storm in the world of superhero movies. Sure, we had a few big ones; Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, X-Men: First Class. But in a day-and-age where the only movies that feel like they’re at the center of the culture anymore are MCU ones (and Top Gun: Maverick), 2011 suddenly seems ripe with adult dramas, studio comedies, auteur projects, and genre fare. Those are the types of movies we wish we had more of. And yet, the actual movies of 2011 aren’t that great. All in all, it was a pretty mediocre year. Welp.

I’d also like to shine a light on this year’s Oscars, which in retrospect... were god awful. The Best Picture lineup consisted of the following:

The Artist, the Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, Warhorse.

By my count, that’s two utterly pathetic movies (The Help and Extremely Loud), four relatively minor works from true geniuses (The Descendants, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, and War Horse), two masterpieces (Moneyball and The Tree of Life), and one of the most deflating Best Picture winners in Academy history (The Artist). Not great. Maybe the most stunning thing about this year’s Oscars are the ratings... 39.5 million. That number continued to go up for two more years. Depressing. I miss the days of movies mattering.

And so, here’s my fifty favorites from a year where they did.

50. 30 Minutes or Less

Lots of reasons why this movie wouldn’t be made today. Fair. But I’m glad we have it.

49. The Devil’s Double

There’s an argument to be made that the best performance of 2011 is Dominic Cooper’s portrayal of both the son and successor of Saddam, Uday Hussein, as well as a morally righteous opposite, named Latif Uahia. Effectively convincing as polar opposites, Cooper pulls off a sensational act of dualism in the middle of a smashingly fun, if not flawed, movie.

I’ll also add that in the 11 years since this came out, Cooper hasn’t been in a single good movie. That sucks.

48. Incendies

Ouch. This one hurts.

47. We’ll get there.

46. Jane Eyre

Taking these digressive 19th century novels, injecting them with some horniness, and adapting them into two-hour movies is a good idea, actually.* Not all of them work but some do. Cary Joji Fukinaga’s very faithful version of Jane Eyre is one that does. Gorgeous to look at and a breeze to get through... I’m a sucker.

*Bridgerton’s existence ceases any need for that nowadays.

45. Source Code

The Best Movies Set on a Train:

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

The General (1926)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Runaway Train (1985)

The Train (1964)

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

The Lady Vanishes (1979)

Unstoppable (2010)

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Silver Streak (1976)

Source Code doesn’t crack this list thanks to it’s lackluster third act, but the exercise proves one of life’s surest promises: trains make for a great movie setting.

44. Nostalgia for the Light

I don’t care for stargazing as a way to spend time, but I liked watching this. A deeply compassionate documentary that grabs the heads of everybody who’s lost staring at the stars and forces them to look internally.

43. The Grey

Liam Neeson has made roughly *checks notes* 25 movies in which the premise revolves around his character exacting revenge upon a criminal organization, governmental body, pack of animals, or nature for it’s injustices. Some of them classify as B-movie pulp, others are true shit stains, one is Schindler’s list, and then there are a few that fit somewhere in between. Not worthy of any real acclaim, but also float above “guilty pleasure” territory. The Grey is one of those.

The pitch was easy: “Liam Neeson fights a pack of wolves.” Sold!

42. The Ides of March

This is the absolute highest I could rank The Ides of March, a stale and forgettable political “thriller” that runs like a slog despite being a thin 101-minutes. This is also the absolute lowest I could rank a fast-talking political “thriller” starring Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, and Paul Giamatti. I kind of hate that I like this movie, but I do.

41. We’ll get there.

40. The Arbor

I’m learning to love documentaries. It’s ones like these that accelerate that process. The ones employing gimmicks that don’t feel gimmicky, and bare a borderline manipulative emotional weight. It isn’t always effective, but when they work, they work.

39. The Arbor

In Bruges’ less successful younger brother (or in this case, technically, older brother). Gotta love those McDonaghs.

38. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

The Mission: Impossible movie that saved the franchise from itself. Non-coincidentally, it’s the first one that loops in eventual director and Tom Cruise business partner extraordinaire Christopher McQuarrie, who worked on rewrites. While it isn’t quite as strong as it’s sequels, there are still half-a-dozen fist-clenching and seat-gripping “fuck yes, Tom” action sequences. It’ll also forever be remembered as the MI movie in which Cruise decided halfway through production that he actually *wasn’t* going to hand the franchise off to Jeremy Renner like initially intended. Thank the good lord.

37. Real Steel

Remember when Shawn Levy made fun, cheesy, low-grade punch-fests that didn’t rely upon constant eyebrow raising self-reference and winking humor, before attaching himself to Ryan Reynolds only to do exactly that and only that? Me neither. But this is the one time he did. I vote for more movie star-led robot action movies aimed for the souls of teenage boys. The ones that had recyclable, saccharine emotional arcs and truly impressive visual animation. Deadpool was fun, but talented directors like Levy being wasted on Netflix depresses me.

36. Insidious

This was a really bad year for horror. One of the worst of the decade, actually. But Insidious, which essentially gave birth to The Conjuring, should be discussed more. It is the godfather of the movie that is the godfather of countless successful horror movies. Without it, I’m not sure how the genre fares over the next eleven years. So whether or not it’s as good as those movies (it is) doesn’t really matter anyways.

35. Kaboom

I suppose this movie could be described as somewhat of a “bizarre inquiry into male fantasy.” But that isn’t what’s interesting about it, to me. There’s nothing truly profound going on here, and it isn’t even that funny. But it is funny enough, and takes some satisfactory aesthetic swings. One of those swings is Haley Bennet getting eaten out by a French model...sheesh. I do hope that Gregg Araki makes another movie.

34. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Unbelievable and shameful that these archives didn’t see the light of day until 2011.

33. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

The kickoff to a marvelous big budget blockbuster franchise that only managed to get better by the film. Matt Reeves’ triumphs shouldn’t be understated but neither should Rupert Wyatt’s, who inarguably had the hardest job — to revive dead IP. It’s a perilous haywire act that almost always goes sideways. This one just checked every box. Exceptional CGI work, a trying movie star, strong character actors doing their best, and a mega-climactic Golden Gate bridge-set action setpiece for the ages. Like I said, all the boxes.

32. Midnight in Paris

How the fuck does Owen Wilson get to be engaged to Rachel McAdams in two movies?! Two fucking movies! Hold one one sec-

-...I’ve just been alerted that Owen Wilson starred in a movie last year in which he gets married to Jennifer Lopez.* God hates us.

*Don’t worry, I don’t miss Jennifer Lopez movies. I actually saw this one, and it was quite bad. Had a good ol’ time watching it though.

31. Bill Cunningham New York

Eye-opening beauty. This movie makes me want to go back to New York.

30. Fast Five

They drove a fucking stolen vault through the streets of Rio de Janeiro in a police chase! They drove a fucking stolen vault through the streets of Rio de Janeiro in a police chase! Don’t make me say it again. I detest the Fast & Furious movies that come after Five, and most* of the ones that came before it. But I stan for Five, and if you don’t then you’re lame.

*2 Fast 2 Furious is dope.

47. Bad Teacher

29. Young Adult

Studio comedies with big, bright, beautiful movie stars at their center. Cameron Diaz and Charlize Theron — two blonde sex bombs with electric presence, charm, and comedic wit — made good ones in 2011. Young Adult has a genuinely good script and finds Theron delivering one of her best performances. Bad Teacher is only dumb fun, but it hauled in about $200 million more than the former. Regardless, they’re a relic of a sort-of last gasp for this type of movie in Hollywood. I wish there were twenty of them every year.

28. Captain America: The First Avenger

27. X-Men: First Class

A bitterly ironic transition from the types of movies that don’t get made to the types of ones that do. The state of superhero movies feels as flat as it did in the pre-MCU 2000s, and yet they’re made at a more rapid rate than ever. On the bright side, these are two quality ones!

On a serious note, I will soon stop talking about how much worse off movies are nowadays than they used to be. Because, as previously noted, 2011′s cabinets are pretty fucking bare. However, I think we need to find the right balance between over-stuffed, self-serious machismo cape movies and mega-self-aware, winking fourth-wall-breaking comedies. These two movies captured that. Talented actors, smart ideas, a shaggy-but-effective script, propulsive action scenes, and maybe a tease in the stinger. That’s the formula.

26. Martha Marcy May Marlene

I just learned that this was Elizabeth Olsen’s acting debut. What the fuck?

25. 13 Assassins

Here’s the thing. This movie is 141-minutes and the first 80-or-so are truly plodding. For a Takashi Miike movie, 13 Assassins is quite... boring? Until. Yes, until. That is until it isn’t boring. Because, I assure you that the last 45 minutes of this movie are some of the most adrenaline-charging, bone-crushing, teeth-gritting, sit-up-in-your-seat-and-jump-into-the-television minutes of a movie in the past 20 years. It is a delightfully bloody massacre that shocks every gorgasmic sense in your brain, body, and soul.

The funny part is that this is actually one of Miike’s tamest movies. That speaks volumes about how sadistic he is, rather than how “safe” this movie is.

24. Hanna

The Saoirse Ronan biopic, I think.