#they also buy me a lot of classics and got me the shortened version of the count of monte christo

[riverofrainbows]

I will never forget how my grandparents, when asked by me for more Lord of the Rings books for my birthday, managed to gift me one of the only two books by Tolkien that aren't actually about Middle Earth. The second one being Tolkien's collected letters. And they gave my sister "The little Hobbit", a shortened version of the Hobbit (which i find incredibly nonsensical to even exist in the first place since the book is a children's book already and not actually that long, so of course they had to buy it). Truly a unique talent for giving the worst gifts imaginable, one that is really shining here.

[therecordconnection]

I just saw the news tonight that Howard Hesseman, better known to the masses as Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, has just passed away last night. I admit that it’s odd to feel sad about the death of someone you’ve never met; someone who you know and have watched for a long time but has no idea who you are. 

However, I think the magic of actors, particularly sitcom actors, is that in a strange way they do become like old friends. I never knew Hesseman, but I knew Johnny Fever (and later on I knew teacher Charlie Moore from Head of the Class.) Hesseman did a lot of great work, but part of me knows he’s always going to be known for WKRP and I have no complaints about that. Fever was a character that just had a magnetic presence. You take one look at him and you just admire how cool he seems. He’s the perfect fictional rock station DJ because he fits the fantasy of what we all want a rock DJ to be like: unassuming, charming, aloof, uncompromising, witty, someone who is willing to play all 17 minutes of “Dogs” by Pink Floyd in a world where every other DJ is spinning the shortened single version of a song. If you watch the rest of the show, you’ll learn that Fever’s life isn’t anywhere near glamorous, but as far as the mystique of radio is concerned, he’s the once and future king. I think the scene I’ve shared above displays everything that makes Fever a great and entertaining character. I adore all of his one-liners that he throws at Carlson, especially at the end when Carlson says, “Keep up the good work” and Fever’s only response is a sarcastic, “I’m giving it all I got.” It’s the way I want to remember both Fever and Hesseman, even though I have no way of knowing how much of Fever was Hesseman in his day-to-day life.

I would also like to use this post as a means of writing a bit about how much WKRP in Cincinnati means to me. My father used to watch the show whenever re-runs were on and I fell in love with the entire premise of the show. A sitcom taking place in a radio station? Where they’re actually playing bits of real songs? That’s so cool! I learned about so many cool songs from watching old WKRP episodes and when Shout! Factory finally (finally) got the rights to put it all on DVD with 85% of the original music back in the show, it was a Day 1 purchase for me. 

Dr. Johnny Fever immediately stuck out to me as a character because he and I shared similar tastes in music. He picked the stuff he wanted to play and rarely bent to the whims of others. He was proud of the music that he loved and didn’t show any guilt about his love, even if others thought it sounded old and out of touch with what other stations were doing (he refuses to buy into the Disco craze, which was big when the show was being made). In fact, it’s that philosophy that makes Fever the #1 Morning DJ in Cincinnati by the end of the series. I always remember this one line from the episode where the station has a bomb threat. Fever doesn’t really worry about himself so much as he shows concern for the people by asking, "If I die, who will teach the children about Bo Diddley?”

There are many great and classic episodes of the show. One of my favorites was an episode from Season 2, titled “In Concert”. It was made in response to the real life tragic Who concert from Cincinnati in 1979 when 11 people got trampled to death trying to rush into the venue. I think the episode does a really good job responding to that tragedy as well as asking whether the station (in-universe) was responsible in some way for what happened due to promoting the show (in-universe). The episode is linked below.

WKRP in Cincinnati - In Concert (Full Episode)

Another one of my favorite episodes is one called “Real Families”, which I think really holds up well in the modern age. The whole episode is about a camera crew following around WKRP Marketing Manager Herb Tarlek as he shows viewers at home his family/home life, his coworkers and job, and more. Naturally it’s a disaster and he ends up embarrassing himself on national television, but I think it holds up well for a number of reasons. 1) Herb shows some pretty progressive politics in terms of the camera crew thinking that it’s weird his son plays with dolls. Herb doesn’t think it’s weird. For 1979-1980, that wasn’t a common attitude. 2) The whole episode is filmed in a mockumentary style similar to The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family, decades before those shows hit the scene. The whole episode is linked below.

WKRP in Cincinnati - Real Families (Full Episode)

I could gush forever about my love for this show and I probably will in the future, but for now, this will suffice. Death comes for us all fellow babies, so while we have time here on Earth, we might as well kick back, listen to some good tunes, and enjoy what we got.

Goodnight Dr. Fever. Keep it cool and get ready to spin the hits once we join you up there. 

[vincentspork]

Movin this into a separate post so my poor computer doesn’t bite the damn dust. Here’s part one of the actual story segment of Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom: Trial Version!

This demo starts off RIGHT after Cornet’s dream, and we’re introduced to Kururu (with a slightly unfinished portrait? The colors are definitely different).

Cornet looks a little off, too. Something about her left eye migrating up her head....she’s also blonde, which I guess was changed to brown closer to release.

Ledgem is in the corner!

Oh, these are definitely unfinished portraits. Some of the text is formatted differently between this version and the retail version, too, but that isn’t as noteworthy, imo - the content is still the same.

Kururu’s happy portrait looks a lot more sedate and less mischievous in this version.

Some cruder animation on Kururu opening the curtains, and fade to -

We immediately start off the playable section with a slightly cruder Cornet sprite, though I’d argue that it’s still just as cute as the final one. We can walk up to Ledgem and talk to him, but predictably, he isn’t feeling chatty. Kururu doesn’t leave sparkle particles when she walks (thank god, because my computer has a hard enough time running pSX as it is) and I venture downstairs to see what’s poppin.

Grandpa doesn’t want to talk to me, probably because I’m a disappointment who can’t open her inventory screen, or maybe he’s Mustaki’s evil twin, because his hat is orange here. He also doesn’t have any puppets to give me. in fact, he just tells me to greet everyone I meet outside (which I don’t remember being in the final game  - if it is, it certainly isn’t here) so he can get his failure of a granddaughter out of his hair.

We like pizza, in the morning. We like pizza, every day. We like pizza, in the evening. We like pizza..............anyway,

“Hey, hey! Did you know?“

(if I select ‘yes’) “That means......You already preordered Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom. I’d better preorder my copy.”

A lot of the classic townspeople can be found, such as the little girl who wants to find a frog to bother Cornet with, and the guy who got yelled at by his mom because he asked for money (although he literally says he wants to buy his copy of Puppet Princess with the money)

AH, THE ELUSIVE BETA KURURU, CAPTURED ON FILM AT LAST

Playing at Melody Square causes Cornet’s entire recruitment theme to play, and not just the shortened version that’s in the final.

Where the hell did this chicken come from? Was by enamored with my smooth jazz? Is this where the egg brothers came from?

Next up on lengthy beta Rhapsody discoveries with Kat: dragons (?)

[tomioneer]

the yyh marathon continues 10 with episodes 31-33

CHU CHU CHU CHU

no, I’m not making train noises

he’s amazing.

i love chu’s stupid hair, I really do. it’s so fun to like, watch move around 

10/10 would date someone with that style ponytail. not the mohawk though, that’s too tall.

better and bigger and BUFFER than I remember damn son

speaking of sons.

soft yusuke

pure, blessed, angel baby yusuke

you’ve realized by now, of course, that I prefer his hair down, but did you ALSO KNOW that i prefer this child is garishly bright coats

no wonder I love napping!yusuke so much and remember these early matches so fondly despite what horrible shit the other kids go through

reminder that they are ALL children

except for rinku. honestly, in retrospect, presumably full-demon rinku is probably older than any of them? 

except for kurama. because. youko.

hiei is somewhere between actually fourteen in human years and like. 300 in demon years, probably.

I feel like kurama, an apparently four tailed fox (I maintain this is a lie, as kitsune can willfully appear to have less tails than they actually possess) is like. four or five hundred human years old at least

koto is a standard kitsune, by the way--transforms into a pretty girl, has one tail in her human form, and is a red fox.

I digress.

chu. chu is an adult. chu is not fourteen, so I can enjoy his shirtlessness without any qualms

koto,  oh my god: “well, they’ve burned their skin, shortened their breath, and somehow lost their shirts. altogether I’d call it a successful fight!”

relatable

they’re laughing, and it’s honestly adorable. 

they’re not hysterical, koto, they’re bonding. 

yusuke used to fight because he had nothing better to do and nothing worth staying out of trouble for, to his perception. maybe he thought it better to get killed in a fight than end up like his mom??? I can’t say

and he certainly never understood keiko’s vested interest in him

he fell in love with that kind of fighting, the carefree brawls where he always came out on top, and used them as a way to prove himself

but now he understands fighting at another level entirely, where his life really is in danger, and the stakes are higher than he’d previously imagined they could be. this isn’t about territory or revenge, he’s been saving lives

and he loves it, and so does this random stranger he’s ended up fighting

of course chu comes back as an ally later

he’s one of the first people yusuke’s ever understood on such a resonant level

thanks for the dramatic preview, kurama, but I really wouldn’t call them perfectly matched

in a fight bewtween two people of equal skill, the bigger one usually wins

or so says anita blake in laughing corpse, a book I havne’t read in ten years lol

so I have a thing for supernatural detectives, sue me

I ran out of ice cream ten episdes and 2 days ago. in retrospect, It hought I was going through these episodes faster than that

knife-edge death match

why is he australian

have I asked that yet, because I’m asking

koenma doens’t like the sound of that but I rmember how this goes and I LOVE IT

shizuru makes a dick measuring joke

watching chu remove his shoes is my new sexuality

btw if you don’t know what ‘toe off your shoes is’ in fanfiction, please watch this sequence because chu does it and yusuke does not

yusuke, I will say again, is a CHILD

yusuke loves the rules of this fight and if it weren’t amanga where he’s not aloud to use the same sort of fight more than once for fear of boring readers, I guarnatee ytou yusuke would do this more often

I can’t believe yusuke and chu are both just standing there in that position waiting with their feet on the sharpened edges of knife blades while the cimmitte decides whether or not a death match is allowed in a death match

yusuke is so small

ominous dark clouds that I missed bc I was typing lol

boys just punch okay

oooh and they even light the fight fo us, interesting

koenma somehow doesn’t recognize someone he knows and has known for years, according to the genkai tournament arc.

yusuke has to reach a lot farther to hit chu

karasu showed up like the little bitch he is

are those tiny eyeglasses on his mask, because if so that is BEYOND STUPID

karasu has a crush on yusuke, I know because his eyes shone and he’s gay

no, I don’t ship it

I could almost ship yusuke and chu though lol

I DO half-ship chu and koto

what the hell, I count them both

ship count: 6/400

kuwabara: I could watch them fight for hours... 

keiko, immediately: I can’t watch them fight anymore!

knowing how this match ends really makes it funny that  the dub, when those plant zombies showed up, had yusuke ask Kurama if he should headbutt them  

shizuru makes an totally unacceptable, but still funny, joke about yusuke having died once already (because they don’t know he pretty much died a second time against rando, and a third time against suzaku)

keiko runs off and shizuru chases her

is this why shizuru meets sakyo? he left his viewing room earlier so I bet it is

I remember shipping them as a kid, let’s see how that goes this time

this is pretty cool actually

she dresses like a first calss gay, honestly

I wishi I could pull that sort of look off

SAKYO hey who guessed he’d show up here , not me

he is beautiful

I actually forgot that this whole time, my favorite fight was going on

I can’t beleive keiko actually got into the fighter’s area and made it onto the field that girl is fucking unstoppable

Keiko, crying: Kuwabara, you have to make them stop fighting!

Kuwabara, clueless: no way, why would I wanna do that?

classic

I read a theory online that kuwabara used to be friends with keiko and yusuke when they were all little, and it has totally changed the way I see it whenever these two interact.

kuwabra genuinely tries to explain this fighter’s mindset to a noncombatant. he is a good, patient boy

yusuke is loving this fight

so is chu

rinku’s internal observations are completely different in the subtitles, saying that chu still has something hidden up his sleeve and it waitinf or the right time to use it, where in english he says that hie wishes the reast of team urameshi had given such a good fight, so rinku could have ‘given his yo-yo a workout’ which is a terrible euphemism for... using his yo yo weapons.

I’m surprised we haven’t gotten more shots of their feet against knives, bleeding

as I went  to type that, we get the first shot of exactly that, as yusuke goes in for his own headbutt to counter chu’s

which was aparently the ‘secret weapon’ rinku meant in the subs

yusuke has beautiful eyes

chu’s head BROKE THE FLOOR

yusuke called chu mate, I dig it

yusuke and kuwabara are cute and gay

oh, they are extra gay when they do sidehugs

I can’t believe that of this whole team only two people are left

yusuke is my hero

he just yelled loudly enough to shup up the entire arena of spectators

“if you idiots got something to say, say it! but say it to my face, or else say it to my fist.” 

that’s a badly written but highly epic and kickass line

I have NO IDEA what chu just said because the audio broke and he has am AUSTRALIAN ACCENT

son of a--

the narrator just fucking punned

yusuke flipped off the toguro kyoudai, and the screen does the dramatic stylized freeze, and the narrator goes, “yusuke may be flippant now”

YOU SUCK

but also it’s a good joke I hate it

where did keiko go during the dramatic pan over the team anyway, she was down there with them.

I rewound and she is Not There.

WHYYYY did they even make Chu say anything??? he doesn’t in the japanese version, there are no subs for him

I really miss the old ED. I love the images for this one, the keiko focus. but. it doesn’t have the same energy. it’s not a jam

now that I thinka bout it, the photograph at the end of that ED could only have been taken in universe on the return trip from the tournament, so I should never have worried that hiei or kurama or kuwabara actually died.

I’m so glad for this arc if only because it’s means all these casual clothes for our cast, and I love that

look how high wasted yusuke’s jeans are, I love it, Ireally do. BOYS , wear high waisted jeans.

during purely internal monolgue, dub yusuke gives a fraction of the information sub yusuke gives by just saying “damn it” instead of “I can’t focus my reiki, why??”

kuwabara’s outside, coincidentally passing by where yusuke is, because hs’ not psychic and ISN’T LOOKING FOR HIM cuz he’s not gay

look, I realize I’m calling yusuke and kuwabara gay a lot. I don’t mean literally gay. 

they are obviously bisexual, or pan, or demi.

I just mean they fall under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, which is in my region frequently shortened to “gay”

Kuwabara immediaetly ruins my theory by straight up admitting to looking for yusuke and wondering why he wasn’t left a note

kuwabara (paraphrased): I wanna have a team meeting

yusuke, a smarty who already knows he ain’t straight: have a meeting with yourself, then. you’ll learn a lot.

kuwabara, who clearly needs more time: what does that mean?

justas I was about to say tha tI couldn’t beleive they just--left genkai in the room alone, we see that genkai is actually stalking her student now that she’s bored of intimadting kuwabara

we just--that’s the ichigaki team

those poor men

those three poor, wonderul men

I remember nothing about those two demon members of the team but now I’m getting flashes of--delaying hiei and kurama?

thank you kurama, you nerd, for bothering to do research on the next team

yusuke, who now trains on his own time even after running out of reiki: why am I so damn tired?

is this. a filler villain? or did togashi really come up with a character who manifests rubgy balls and calls himself rugby

WHY is the dub so far off the sub right now? there’s no lip flap to match!!

this is awful

buys a fucking gymnast

well he lasted for three minutes before getting killed by his own teammate

GENKAI SPEAKS BLESS HER

oh man yusuke thought is was genkai and is now confused as fuck by this young voice amazing

but why the fuck does she sound young, when she hasn’t exerted herself at all that day

she just, fucking tells them about hiei fucking up his arm

baby YOU KNEW you were making that trade, you KNEW

botan looks a lot like sailor moon right now

keiko confimrs that she is aware yusuke has the hots for her, but also that she can see how happy he is here in the tournament

shizuru’s ass is AMAZING

it’s shocking to think neither hiei nor kurama could tell toguro was alive when they were just a room away from him

why are yususke’s eyes glowing

that whole team is huge, how did rugby even make it on that team lol

‘don’t you have a team?’ “of course I do, but they’re extremely lazy” amazing.

I mean, we know they brothers are famous, but it makes so much more sense WHY they are famous--having previously WON the dark tournament

I wouldn’t be opposed to a movie or something about that tournament, honestly. I want to se more of toguro when he was human. 

I wonder how genkai feels weatching him do this

toguro is sort of like an early saitama, if you strip away personality. their drive at this point is similar from what I know of OPM. 

okay so the dub has creepy-possessive implcations thanks to toguro saying (about yusuke) “that boy is reserved for me”. the SUB on the other hand--toguro just says, ‘it’s a bad day to be a large guy, huh?’ which is fucking. amazing. bold. iconic.

yusuke is sitting next to the previous LOVE of toguro’s LIFE, and he doesn’t even notice her. just yusuke. I guess amask really can hide everything?

I’m stunned they aren’t having more trouble  about sittin ght eaudience that was calling for their blood yesterday.

of course yusuke and his friends have to deal with an extra match lol. 

okay but what’s up with this reigun thing. I don’t remember it at all. 

I guess we just really need to see genkai fight.

i do love and admire her a lot.

on the other hand, I do NOT want to see the vs. dr. ichigaki fight. I remember it pretty well I think? and it was just so--upsetting. 

did we uh. ever get a NAME for the younger toguro brother???

[ainomessage]

Le Mouvement Final - Spoiler Free Report *Warning - long ass post.  I went to see the musical in Tokyo 4 times this year! I had only planned on seeing it 3 times, but well... 😅 Before my first show I got my nails done at my usual place, Cocotte in Harajuku. I asked for the planets (/moon) for each senshi plus shooting stars for the lights. To see more of Mashima’s incredible work, check out his insta! He paints every tiny detail by hand with itty bitty brushes.  Wednesday, September 13 I went to this show by myself, but was able to meet up with the lovely @redcat36 @miniaturephantomprincess and @clockworkangel ! Everyone was super sweet and it was wonderful to be able to share the myu experience with fellow international moonies who were just as crazy for the cast as me.😆 This was also the fateful day in which I made the mistake of buying just enough can badges to get myself hooked. My seat was in the 6th row on the left side (facing the stage) so my view was good other than occasionally having a few things blocked by cast members or set pieces. I’m very glad that I wasn’t alone in how much crying I was doing throughout the show. Everyone around me had tissues out and you could hear sniffling throughout the theater. That evening Hinari played Chibi Chibi, and you could hear the whole theater squeal when she first appeared on stage. TOO. CUTE. 💖 Poor Shuu had a lot of mishaps - she flubbed one line, her suspenders popped off, and she almost missed touching Sayaka’s hand during THAT scene. After the show there was a Starlights + Kakyuu sendoff, which went by WAY too fast. I later learned I could slow it down a bit and am sad I didn’t do this for the Lights, but alas. After the show we waited outside the theater to say goodbye to the cast. Hinari gave everyone high fives (AWW) and the Lights stopped to talk to people for a bit! Saki shook my hand and noticed my Kuma Crafts Star Yell necklace and said my Galaxia + Animamates t-shirt was cool.💚 Friday, September 15 This time I went with my good friend @kaikinapela  and once again met up with the other girls. This was one of the “fanclub service days” which I have to say was a disappointment. The possible prizes were a photoshoot with the cast, a signed pamphlet, or... a sticker. As you can probably guess, we all got the sticker. I think they could have done better for a third prize, especially considering the sticker was the same image as the flyer. They could have at least given us an original photo! We did, however, miraculously manage to get first row seats through the fanclub! The picture of the stage above is from that seat. I’m not sure it quite does justice to how crazy close we were. The actresses were all about 2 feet in front of my eyes, it was insane. Several times I got distracted from the show by just staring at whoever was in front of me. This is when I learned that Kobayashi Yuka (Seiren) has a belly button piercing lol. This day I also had AMAZING luck with can badges - I managed to pick two signed ones! Rimo and Kaede💛💚  This night Chise was playing Chibi Chibi and she got just as much of a gasp from the crowd at her adorableness. She’s much smaller than Hinari! During the curtain call I managed to catch eyes with Meiku and Mirai. Airi, who is the most adorable ball of energy on the planet, waved at us twice and made a heart with her hands in our direction.💖  She’s too cute! My friend has been trying to catch Yuga’s rose since 2013, but was sadly thwarted again - she did get an apology look from Yuga in return for her disappointed face, though.😉    Saturday, September 16 Same group of girls for this show! This time @kaikinapela and I were seated in the 10th row in the center (right behind ROOT, the former Jadeite, incidentally). Once again I had crazy luck with can badges - this time I pulled 3! Yume, Satomi, and Saki! I still can’t believe I got my two favorite characters (Venus/Healer) and SATOMI. Yume’s signature says “Thank you very much! Let’s meet again!” and Satomi’s says “Satomi Cosmos.” The others signed their name and did a doodle. 💖  We were back to Hinari for this show. I have to say, she was my favorite (more on this later). Though I loved being so close to the stage for the other two shows, this was the first time I fully appreciated all of the visual effects. I hope everything comes through on the DVD. After the show there was a sendoff from the Inners, and this time I at least managed to properly make eye contact with each of them as we went by.  Monday, September 18 This was my bonus show. I hadn’t managed to get tickets for it online, but loved the other shows so much I had to try to get into the Tokyo finale. I waited in the insanely long line for the same day ticket lottery and drew “awaiting cancellation (#5).” This means I was 5th in line to get a ticket if someone cancelled. I thought for sure this meant I wouldn’t get in, but no! I managed to get one of the folding chairs they added behind row 6. It was incredibly uncomfortable but WORTH IT. This meant I was in front of an aisle, which is a good place to be on the last day. During Moonlight Densetsu everyone but the villains, Cosmos, ChibiChibi, and Moon (with her giant wings) ran out into the audience. At first no one was coming down our aisle, but I made sure to hold my yellow light high and Rimo saw! She came down our row for high fives. 💛 Later Mikako made a second pass and came down our aisle too. ♥ When everyone returned to the stage to wave and bow, Rimo pointed at me, waved, and blew a kiss! I almost didn’t believe she was aiming at me since she was on the opposite side of the stage, but I was the only yellow light around. 😭 💛 　That evening the inners + Tux gave short speeches, and I could see Meiku trying not to cry.💔 　Poor little Chise just looked bewildered the whole time. After the show I managed to talk to all 3 of the Lights! I was wearing my signed Healer and Venus badges, so Saki gently patted her own badge and then flicked Venus in the face.😆  Meiku was very surprised when I complimented her singing - she doesn’t seem to be very confident, which is unfortunate because she’s very talented. Riona also noticed my badges and asked if I shipped Yaten/Minako. When I said yes, she said “What about Taiki/Ami?” I told her I love them too, and she wondered if she had forced me to say it (she did not). She asked me to wear a Mercury shirt next time.💙  I also met a few other lovely international moonies that evening, but sadly I don’t know their tumblrs! If you guys see this, message me! Thanks to trading with friends, through twitter, and at the venue, both @kaikinapela and I managed to collect a full set of badges! 

Overall Impressions I would rank this as one of the best musicals of all time - including the classic Bandai era. I will admit to being biased because the Stars arc is my favorite, but they really pulled out all the stops. The entire cast was amazing, even those who had small roles. Singing was fantastic across the board - the inners have improved a lot and all of the new cast members were great. While it was sad not having Karin stay for the “last” (last!?) musical, Mirai did a great job and was a strong singer. I think everyone will be especially blown away by Galaxia and Kakyuu (who is once again an opera singer!). If you’ve listened to any of Isuzu Coco’s music through her twitter, her Galaxia voice is so different! Much deeper and more powerful.  Poor Sayaka seemed to be sick during the Tokyo shows - her voice got progressively weaker and more hoarse. Hopefully she recovers by the finale!  The set and visual effects dramatically improved with Amour Eternal and this musical continues that trend. Hotaru does some impressive running up and down moving stairs in her Eternal Moon costume, all of the attacks are projected, and we again have part of a scene projected as a video on stage. You’ll see all the Sailor Crystals float away, which adds another layer of emotion to those scenes.  Both actresses playing Chibi Chibi were adorable, but Hinari won out as my favorite. Being a little older she was able to speak all of her lines clearly (Chise’s speech was muddled) and she showed a lot more emotion in both her movements and expressions. I’m glad she’ll be on the DVD performance. A few things were different each show (details in my spoilery post to come), so I hope some sort of compilation ends up on the DVD!  There were lots of throwbacks to the Bandai era as well as a few references to the past Nelke era musicals. I think overall in tone this was a nice blend of the two styles - there was a lot of humor added and plenty of references to specific anime scenes, but the overall plot was manga oriented and gave proper weight to its serious moments. They find smart ways to keep the whole cast involved throughout the show, despite everyone being killed off pretty quickly (I don’t consider that a spoiler since it’s a manga plot point).  Everyone is going to LOVE Cosmos. I was seriously shocked by how much Satomi had improved at singing. Taking lessons with Coco and Asami seriously paid off. They found a really touching way to give her a bit more story time than she had in the manga, and I think they’re quite clear about who she really is in this canon.  This musical had a TON of original music - only two previously used songs made an appearance, and both in shortened versions. “Celestial Born” was made into it’s own song (it initially was part of “Shuketsu - Yume no Atsumaru Basho” during Amour Eternal) and “Music of the Spheres” is used briefly in battle. They save the throwback music mostly for the post-musical curtain call show, which I appreciated. For the first time since the revival of the musicals I loved ALL of the songs (Amour Eternal comes close). One of my few complaints has been the abundance of “talk singing,” where long lines of dialogue (often ripped straight from the manga) are set to awkward, stumbling melody. There is little to none of that this time, and far fewer songs are interrupted by long bits of dialogue. Hopefully sales of the Amour Eternal CD will be good enough to entice them to release another soundtrack - this time with a lot more music.  They weren’t kidding when they said everyone has a moment to shine. I fell in love with Nyanko and Mouse, despite them having such small parts. Miraculously, even with all the dying and with an enormous cast, everyone was given enough to work with that they were able to truly embody their character. If this truly is the last musical, I’m going to be super bummed that this cast doesn’t get at least one more opportunity to show off how amazing they are. 

[fantasmagoricx]

1. Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora? SoundCloud….

4. Do you like your name? Why? I adore my name. I know that no one else will have my name ever (unless,,,, mayb,,, if i ever got famous for some inane reason,,,). I also really like the meaning of my name, and that it’s a gender-neutral name in its original language. I like that it is spelt one way and pronounced another. I love the sentence it spells. I love that it’s tied to family history. I really really REALLy love my name.

6. Describe your personality in 3 words or less. Uuuuhhhh this is hard,,,,, bookish, encouraging, giggly

10. How would you describe your style? Oh mann… It’s a mish mash of everything tbh. One day I’ll be looking like a 20th century aviator and the next I’ll look like some futuristic techno space navigator… It’s very eclectic. I guess I like to compare myself to Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus though.

14. If you can live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why? I’d love to try living in Ireland, Mexico, and Chicago. I have ancestry from Ireland and it just really intrigues me as a place to live. The culture seems very lovely. I’ve actually been to both Mexico and Chicago. I’d love to see more of mexico. Food’s delish, sights are beautiful, the ART is GORGEOUS, the Spanish is lovely. Chicago has a huuuuge puertorrican community so that’d be cool + I’d maybe be able to go to the Art Institute a lot. They bay looks p great at least from a distance and the people were very friendly. The architecture was also very inspiring. 15. Favorite snapchat filter? FLOWERCROWN!! It’s so cute??

16. Favorite makeup brand(s)? Dude I am the Worst person to ask. I buy at Walgreens and I just choose whichever has my skin tone because it is frustratingly hard to match. I guess the only “brand” things I really like are the Wet n Wild kohl eyeliners and the Revlon Ultra HD matte lipcolors.

20. How tall are you? I’m a hobbit at 5'0.

23. Describe your dream date. This is,,,, a really cute question,,, thanks ghostie. I’m really low maintenance so honestly you could tell me our date’s just crashing in my bed for a snooze and I’d be ecstatic. But that’s not my dream date. I really like stuff that has to do with nature or animals, so stuff like roadtrips with historical landmarks (lighthouses, old railway tracks, sugar mills), or driving out of the city until we find a spot remote enough we can see the stars while w a star chart, or volunteering at an aquatic animal rescue organization, really appeal to me. I also love night drives and museums a lot.

26. How many pillows do you sleep with? Four!

30. What’s your favorite candle scent? Don’t use candles often, but Lavender for incense.

32. 3 favorite girl names: Soledad Priyanka Estella-Marie

37. Do you read a lot? What’s your favorite book? I read all the time. More fanfiction than books, because of accessibility in the last three years or so, but I’m practically always reading. I have a great many favorite books. All of David Mitchell’s literary work is a joy to read and I can’t wait until he releases new stuff so I can read more. By far he is my favorite author. My fave of his books is the Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. Other favorites by other authors include: the Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz, Hopeful Monsters by Nicholas Mosley, the Charioteer by Mary Renault, Nightswimmer by Joseph Olshan, Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice, Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin, the Robot Series by Isaac Asimov, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick, and the Once and Future King by T. H. White.

39. Do you have a nickname? What is it? I do! I have three! Wen, Wenmi (both shortened versions of my name), and Mimi!

48. Who is your role model? David Mitchell, in all honesty. I’ve just fallen in love with the man through his writing. Either that or Sidney Paget and J. C. Leyendecker.

70. What was the last concert you saw? I have no fuckening clue my dude. It was, no doubt, classical music since the last time I went to a pop concert was Elton John back in 2009.

94. Favorite lyrics right now. I’ll always love the lyrics to Act Your Age by Mimicking Birds, but right now I’m really feeling Youth by Glass Animals.

98. Favorite month? October or November…things start to cool down.

uhhhhHHHHHH I LOVE YOU!!!! @theghostchronicles mwah mwah

[belindisney]

I’M HERE!

First of all, I want to say sorry for not writing this as soon as I got here, but I was really exhausted! In fact, I’m also exhausted right now as I type this, but I think I’m a bit jetlagged... 

I flew out on the 20th of January, and the flight wasn’t so bad! I did have to sit in the exact centre of my row, which made going to the toilet a bother, but I managed to sleep for a couple of hours here and there. I won’t comment much more on that except for the food being really nice for airplane food! I had chicken and rice (which burned with the intensity of a thousand suns, I was too white for that sauce), and later was given half a ham and cheese sandwich with a Tim Tam as a snack. Just before the descent I had a bit of what I think was quiche with a tomato relish, which tasted excellent, but because the descent was turbulent it ended up making me feel sick. 

Here was where the problems began. The plan was I had an hour and a half stopover at LAX before catching my next flight to Orlando. Everyone reassured me that this was doable - let me tell you right now that it is not! For starters, it seems to be total luck of the draw when it comes to getting through the visa check when you arrive. The guy that saw me made me feel like I was in the sloth scene from Zootopia - even when I gave some pretty heavy hints that I needed to be at Terminal 7 in MINUTES, the guy sloooooowly pulled a stapler out and sloooooooowly wrote something and slooooooowly typed. By the time I got through Customs and to the baggage check-in I was told quite simply that they couldn’t take my bags, that I had missed it. I was really frustrated! Thankfully, they gave me a flight with a stopover in Houston which I had about forty-five minutes to get to. 

Unfortunately, LAX is the size of a small country. Imagine, if you will, that you have just arrived at Melbourne Central, and you have to get to somewhere just past the Arts Centre. That is approximately how far I ran to get to Terminal 8. I was told that there were shuttles, and there certainly were, but LAX shuttles seem to have a problem with signs. Mostly they said they were going to carparks. I had no idea which one would take me where I needed to go, and so I ran. And ran. Getting to customs for the check in of the next flight was really awkward. I was worried I was going to look suspicious, because there was sweat dripping down my face. They were certainly understanding when they patted me down, though!  Getting to the gate I needed was another nightmare. Imagine you have left your destination from before, and you’ve just passed Flinders Street station, only to realise you only have about fifteen minutes before your bus outside Melbourne Central leaves the city. I only just managed to make boarding! There were only a handful of people left by the time I got there, and I felt awful as I got to my window seat, dripping with sweat and probably smelling terrible to the two attractive young men in my row.  I managed to sleep through most of the flight to Houston, and I was lucky enough that my bags were going to be taken straight to the next flight. As it turned out, the gate that I needed to be at for the flight to Orlando was the same gate that I had exited, so I had some time to rest. 

The flight to Orlando was more of the same - I slept nearly the entire way there. When I arrived I was beaming, exhausted and in dire need of a shower but super excited to have arrived. Baggage pickup was easy, and it wasn’t too long of a walk before I found the Magical Express! There was also a Disney store there, which I would have loved to take a look in, but I’ve been very good so far at not buying merchandise.  

One thing is certain - Disney people are lovely. Those rules for employee appearance and behaviour are there for a reason, and it makes such a difference! I was directed to my bus and quickly found myself in a seat, while shortened versions of classic Mickey cartoons played, interspersed with trivia. I did guess a couple of them, which was good considering I don’t know much about the parks - for example: Disney property extends for 25,000 acres. Huge, right? And it certainly feels that way! 

When I was dropped off at the All Star Music Resort I was overjoyed! I could shower! First, however, I had to stumble my way through reception. I found myself braindead as I approached the desk. I forgot how to make words, and sputtered at the lady before she prompted me kindly and guided me through check in. I won’t bore you with the details, but she even let me attempt to use the printer (I say attempt, because logging into my email made Outlook think I was an intrepid hacker out for those Typo sales emails) before I was off to my room! The resort is beautiful - every building (in groups of 2) is dedicated to a genre of music. I looked wistfully at the Broadway themed building before continuing to Building 5, or Country Fair. My room is very close to a giant pair of cowboy boots. 

I entered to air conditioning and quiet instrumental music from the television. After taking care of some essentials, including calling Mum and Dad, I made it back to the main building for dinner. I had chicken nuggets and chips, which were really good but a lot, plus a biscuit (and by that I mean a huge m’n’m cookie) and my first ever Rice Krispie treat. This was more or less immediately followed by a shower and finally bedtime. I didn’t sleep through the night, unfortunately, but that will hopefully change as time goes on. 

I’ll write about my first day at a time which isn’t nearly 3 in the morning, but I’m also trying to upload my video of day 1 as we speak! Something tells me (translation: Youtube’s abominably slow upload speeds) that I won’t be actually uploading vlogs as often as I’d like, but I’ll try and make up for it by making long videos. My update schedule will probably be once a week. 

I’ll see you real soon! 

[humanoid-lovers]

4.0 out of 5 stars more fun for the adult

5.0 out of 5 stars A sweeter version of the hilarious original This is an endearing book and this g-rated version is sure to please adults and kids alike. For me, it's not nearly as funny as the original, but many people found the original version offensive due to the language, so this version is great for reading with your kids.If you'd still like to enjoy the gist of the book (we've done everything and said everything, and now it's time to GO TO SLEEP!) without the swear words, this is the book for you.If you'd like the version that's made for adults only, you can get it here: Go the F**k to Sleep. Go to Amazon

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute! While I thoroughly the adult version of this book, I was curious to see what the kid version would look like. I can safely say that Seriously, Just Go to Sleep is very kid friendly and one I think all kids will enjoy. The illustrations are done really well and really help enhance the story. I read this to my son, who has a lot of trouble staying in bed at times and he got a kick out of the book. If you are looking for a good bedtime story, pick this one up and read it to the kids. I think you will both enjoy it. Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are a parent, read this to your child when you are frustrated with him. If you a parent you will love this book. If you know a parent buy this for them(or buy it's counterpart, though don't let them read that one to their kids). This one is safe to read to your kids. You will probably have a lot of laughs reading it's counterpart for yourself. This one you will too, but there is no cursing in this one. Read this to your child when you are frustrated with them. It will certainly make you feel better. It's the greatest children's book in the world. Also buy the counterpart. It's the greatest adult children's book in the world. This is basically the same book as "Go the F*** to Sleep", however I look at it like this. "Seriously, Just Go To Sleep" is what you actually tell them, but "Go the F*** to Sleep" is what you really want to tell them. And you will be glad you purchased both. One book to politely(well sorta) tell them to go to sleep and the other to vent when you are done. Go to Amazon

1.0 out of 5 stars Seriously? Just get the original. Or just buy a different children's book. When censoring is used to create a "safe" version of some creative work, one of two things will happen: either the end product remains enjoyable, or it pathetically fails. This book is an example of the latter.The outcome of a censored work all depends on how vital the so-called "objectionable" parts were to the original. For example, the safe-for-TV version of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is still enjoyable, because even after you overdub the film's only two swears and shorten the violent frames, you're still left with a great adventure movie. But when they tried censoring "Scarface" for TV, the result was a hilarious failure. That's because the extremism of it all is precisely what makes Scarface, "Scarface". You simply can't censor it without butchering it. It's strictly an adult movie, not for children or prudes, period. You may as well print an all-text version of Playboy magazine.It's the same thing with the original #1 New York Times bestseller "Go the [word that Amazon won't let me post] to Sleep", and this censored re-work of it. I spotted "Seriously, Just Go To Sleep" in the store, flipped through it, and was appalled. The magic of the "F" word is what MADE the original book WORK! That simple contrast of American English's most blunt and verboten word, with the innocence of a children's book, is precisely what made the book what it was. Sure it was one-dimensional humor, but it worked. It ultimately spoke to parents who know that frustration of getting a child to go to sleep, and it expressed what these parents really want to say some nights, but obviously can't.So why oh why would you take that all away? If it's a children's bedtime book you're looking for, there are thousands of other choices out there. Otherwise, it's like trying to buy your family that TV version of "Scarface", or serving Dixie cups of non-alcoholic beer for your kids' birthday party -- what's the point? Go to Amazon

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute, clean version of the now classic book for parents [This review also appears on Andi's Kids Books.]Adam Mansbach rocked the social media world with his now classic picture book for adults called Go the F*** to Sleep. Anyone who has had to put a child to bed could relate to that bone tired, desperate exhaustion of the adult whose child simply refuses to go to bed, no matter what. You can anticipate every argument the child has to give. One of my favorite parts is when the child is finally asleep and the parents prepare to sit down with their microwave popcorn to watch a movie. As soon as the microwave beeps that the popcorn is done, the child is up again. The parent just gives up and they all try again to go to sleep.That original version, of course, as not appropriate to read to children, considering its language. So, Mansbach decided to clean up the language and republish his tale as a children's story. The illustrations by Ricardo Cortes are vibrant and just as much fun as in the original, as they are the same.My only issue with reading this book to children is the fear that it could encourage them to not sleep. A skilled reader, though, would be able to turn it into a challenge for kids and trick them into going to sleep quickly. This is a fun one.I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Go to Amazon