#this composition makes no sense thematically

[lavb-b]

Just a little something to celebrate 1k on twitter !!

Nothing better than mashing two of my favourite indies and completely obsessing over them.

If you’re wondering why chara’s there its because of this other little celebratory art i made for 100 twitter followers

And i love tradition 🔥

[mcmansionhell]

we've found it folks: mcmansion heaven

Hello everyone. It is my pleasure to bring you the greatest house I have ever seen. The house of a true visionary. A real ad-hocist. A genuine pioneer of fenestration. This house is in Alabama. It was built in 1980 and costs around $5 million. It is worth every penny. Perhaps more.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Come on, Kate, that's a little kooky, but certainly it's not McMansion Heaven. This is very much a house in the earthly realm. Purgatory. McMansion Purgatory." Well, let me now play Beatrice to your Dante, young Pilgrim. Welcome. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

It is rare to find a house that has everything. A house that wills itself into Postmodernism yet remains unable to let go of the kookiest moments of the prior zeitgeist, the Bruce Goffs and Earthships, the commune houses built from car windshields, the seventies moments of psychedelic hippie fracture. It is everything. It has everything. It is theme park, it is High Tech. It is Renaissance (in the San Antonio Riverwalk sense of the word.) It is medieval. It is maybe the greatest pastiche to sucker itself to the side of a mountain, perilously overlooking a large body of water. Look at it. Just look.

The inside is white. This makes it dreamlike, almost benevolent. It is bright because this is McMansion Heaven and Gray is for McMansion Hell. There is an overbearing sheen of 80s optimism. In this house, the credit default swap has not yet been invented, but could be.

It takes a lot for me to drop the cocaine word because I think it's a cheap joke. But there's something about this example that makes it plausible, not in a derogatory way, but in a liberatory one, a sensuous one. Someone created this house to have a particular experience, a particular feeling. It possesses an element of true fantasy, the thematic. Its rooms are not meant to be one cohesive composition, but rather a series of scenes, of vastly different spatial moments, compressed, expanded, bright, close.

And then there's this kitchen for some reason. Or so you think. Everything the interior design tries to hide, namely how unceasingly peculiar the house is, it is not entirely able to because the choices made here remain decadent, indulgent, albeit in a more familiar way.

Rare is it to discover an interior wherein one truly must wear sunglasses. The environment created in service to transparency has to somewhat prevent the elements from penetrating too deep while retaining their desirable qualities. I don't think an architect designed this house. An architect would have had access to specifically engineered products for this purpose. Whoever built this house had certain access to architectural catalogues but not those used in the highest end or most structurally complex projects. The customization here lies in the assemblage of materials and in doing so stretches them to the height of their imaginative capacity. To borrow from Charles Jencks, ad-hoc is a perfect description. It is an architecture of availability and of adventure.

A small interlude. We are outside. There is no rear exterior view of this house because it would be impossible to get one from the scrawny lawn that lies at its depths. This space is intended to serve the same purpose, which is to look upon the house itself as much as gaze from the house to the world beyond.

Living in a city, I often think about exhibitionism. Living in a city is inherently exhibitionist. A house is a permeable visible surface; it is entirely possible that someone will catch a glimpse of me they're not supposed to when I rush to the living room in only a t-shirt to turn out the light before bed. But this is a space that is only exhibitionist in the sense that it is an architecture of exposure, and yet this exposure would not be possible without the protection of the site, of the distance from every other pair of eyes. In this respect, a double freedom is secured. The window intimates the potential of seeing. But no one sees.

At the heart of this house lies a strange mix of concepts. Postmodern classicist columns of the Disney World set. The unpolished edge of the vernacular. There is also an organicist bent to the whole thing, something more Goff than Gaudí, and here we see some of the house's most organic forms, the monolith- or shell-like vanity mixed with the luminous artifice of mirrors and white. A backlit cave, primitive and performative at the same time, which is, in essence, the dialectic of the luxury bathroom.

And yet our McMansion Heaven is still a McMansion. It is still an accumulation of deliberate signifiers of wealth, very much a construction with the secondary purpose of invoking envy, a palatial residence designed without much cohesion. The presence of golf, of wood, of masculine and patriarchal symbolism with an undercurrent of luxury drives that point home. The McMansion can aspire to an art form, but there are still many levels to ascend before one gets to where God's sitting.

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[calware]

Transmasc aranea is so interesting to me…do elaborate on your thoughts 👀

frankly i'm not really committed to this reading, it's just floating around in my head lol. not a "this should happen" idea but a "this would be kind of interesting" idea

the thing i AM pretty committed to is that she's TME, which is informed by comparing her to vriska; essentially, aranea gets to avoid a lot of the bad-faith perceptions vriska gets tacked on to her. vriska is a dangerous weapon that can't be trusted, aranea is just some annoying know-it-all who can't shut up. granted, both are bad labels to have, and both characters are targets of misogyny, but for a good amount of time there aranea gets away with a lot more than vriska does (for example, aranea idolizes her pre-scratch self and nobody bats an eye, but karkat goes running to john to tell him vriska is dangerous at the first sign that they might be into each other). so when you look at vriska through a TMA lens, aranea reads as TME by comparison

there are a lot of directions you can take this ofc, the "main" one being that she's a cis woman. that said, i think it's interesting that hussie posits characters who take on an "authorial role" as thematic representations of toxic masculinity, which was the seed in my mind that led to me considering aranea as transmasc in the first place:

"Much later in Act 6, we see Lil Cal is a juju vessel containing the splintered souls of various controversial characters in the story: Caliborn, Equius, Dirk, and yes...even Gamzee, which means he's actually here watching this ball drop in TWO forms. But all these figures are, in some manner, highly exaggerated negative manifestations of author avatars, who have amalgamated themselves within the body of English to wreak havoc on the story/reader. This is the galaxy-brained interpretation of the line. The most important character in the story is me, or more specifically, the most villainous, destructive splinter-composite of the author's presence in the story."

"Dirk and Equius similarly aren't even that unflattering as avatars either. You could do worse. And we do do worse. As far as demonic author-tiers go, English is the true monster. His dominating personality splinters are much worse too. Caliborn and Gamzee are complete hell-people compared to Dirk and Equius. They are also sort of author avatars in certain ways, but with a degree of cartoonishly evil exaggeration. They absolutely comprise the "authorial wrath" portion of the total Doc/English personality quagmire."

"I think when the time comes to show the douchebag cocktail stuck inside Cal, there's a brief temptation to regard it as an odd, semi-random melange of characters. But there are several layers of logic to the guys who all combine to form his personality. Much of the logic orbits around these negative traits associated with men, or more specifically, the "toxically masculine" aspects often linked to certain male personalities. Dirk has a lot of these traits, which are central to Dave's feelings of tension and abuse concerning his bro. The intellectual aggression, the power of assertion, the knowitall-ism, the mansplaining.

also, this line in particular makes me think of aranea:

As an alt-author figure, [Doc Scratch's] omniscience makes sense, since the author has sweeping knowledge of story details as well. Because I "know everything," he "knows everything" too. Of course, as I write the story, there are plenty of things I don't know yet, and the "not knowing" is always an important part of the process in this largely improvisational medium.

aranea starts out almost as a historian wanting to infodump pass down oral history of previous events; eventually, however, she becomes fed up with the story and decides to seize control of it herself, placing herself in an authorial position (or alt-author) so that she can steer the ship to the direction she that believes is best for everyone. ultimately, however, she fails, and gets herself re-killed by the condesce, a puppet of the real authorial avatar (english). the gendered interpretation of this is that a woman, she can girlboss (translation: be a woman in a man's position) as hard as she wants, but can never achieve true power under the patriarchy. she can play author all she wants (and hurt people along the way) but will never be allowed into the Boys Club

now, this doesn't mean that trying to be in a masculine position means a character is masculine (or even truly wants to be). but it's clear that she wants to be an author, she wants to know everything, she wants to wield the sword, all symbols of oppressive masculinity. and ONE(!!!!!) OF the ways to subvert/break that expectation is to figure out how to be true to yourself by reclaiming and embodying masculinity without succumbing the perpetuation of the patriarchy (which, coincidentally (or perhaps, not coincidentally?) is part of the basis for my transmasc reading of dirk, something i think he's forced to grapple with as well)

again, not my true + perfect vision that i'll die for or anything. just an interesting thought to speculate on

[notdefendingtaylor]

songwriting merits of folkmore vs ttpd

Okay friends. This is a 'softer' critique but I want to explore something that has annoyed myself and others who have expressed the same sentiment re ttpd's egregiously inconsistent meter. It didn't even feel experimental, just painfully sloppy. She has done some cool things with forced rhyming in the past, barely slipping into some form of half-rhyme with very different words, and I generally enjoy that. Simply put, there is a place for some strain or bold experimentation in songwriting/lyrical composition. But the meter in ttpd was just painful to the ear. here is an example of the songwriting style that worked very well in previous albums:

Champagne Problems from Evermore:

You booked the night train for a reason So you could sit there in this hurt Bustling crowds or silent sleepers You're not sure which is worse

Because I dropped your hand while dancing Left you out there standing Crestfallen on the landing Champagne problems Your mom's ring in your pocket My picture in your wallet Your heart was glass, I dropped it Champagne problems

I'm not going to lie, my skills are more in the realm of judging by an informal sense of meter, so I'll use some help from a musical analysis tool to identify the meter of these lines. According to that tool, the analysis is thus:

Iambic tetrameter (4 iambic feet per line) - Rhyme scheme: ABAB The iambic tetrameter creates a consistent rhythm, with the stressed and unstressed syllables following this pattern. This consistent iambic tetrameter pattern gives the poem a rhythmic, musical quality that matches the emotional and thematic content.

My analysis: these are very neat rhymes, in a recognizable rhyming ABAB style. The simplicity of the style and its neatness puts greater emphasis on the lyrics themselves and makes the scenario presented very clear and digestible. The simplicity of the style and content also gives the emotional meaning more weight and sincerity since it doesn't seem to be couched in artificial, baroque artistry.

Contrast this with some of the ttpd songs which have a much clunkier, inconsistent meter:

So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst And tried to tell the town So, they set my life in flames, I regret to say Do you believe me now?

They knew, they knew, they knew the whole time That I was onto something The family, the pure greed, the Christian chorus line They all said nothing

Blood's thick but nothing like a payroll Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul You can mark my words that I said it first In a morning warning, no one heard

Analysis:

The metrical pattern of your provided poem appears to be an alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Specifically: The first and third lines of each stanza are in iambic tetrameter, with four iambic feet per line. The second and fourth lines are in iambic trimeter, with three iambic feet per line

see what I mean? It's a lot. We lose the emotional authenticity and it feels more meandering. It feels a little overcooked. And the actual sentiment is just not very well expressed, I wonder if she even knows what emotional truth she is trying to convey. She might be referring to a real specific event in her life in an oblique way, but it lacks both the universal quality and the coherent specificity of her earlier, more successful entries into her discography. It feels a bit like word salad, to be frank.

The rhymes have also lost their luster. This is pretty rough, from "The Bolter":

She's been many places with Men of many faces First, they're off to the races And she's laughing drawin' aces But, none of it is changin' That the chariot is waitin' Hearts are hers for the breakin' There's escape in escaping

Again, it resists universal understanding and relatability, and also lacks enough specificity to get the listener's mind engaged in her specific experience. More than that, the rhymes build and build in number but the meaning doesn't correspondingly grow; if anything, the content itself becomes more shallow instead of deepening, ending in, "There's escape in escaping." Oof.

I'm going to end this by simply saying, genuine criticism of her artistry can result in Swiftie rage to the extent that Paste had to redact their music critic's name when publishing an unfavorable review of ttpd. Jack Antanoff said that questioning her ability is like questioning the existence of God. Again, a lot of antis are responding back with the energy they see from that kind of behavior. Not all swifties are cultist zealots, certainly. But boy it's annoying when that treatment of critics intersects with a work so badly deserving of criticism.

[desperateknot]

Queequeg's detailed sin analysis(?)

Leaving the "?" there because I dont actually know how to do sin analysis yet. Yeah...This is me attempting to analyse where the sins from her skills come from and what they mean.

Initial observation yields 4 envy skills, 3 pride skills, 2 wrath skills, 2 sloth skills, and 1 lust skill.

We can divide the sources of these sins into 2: Pequod and Middle.

1. Pequod:

The Pequod is responsible for her sloth and lust skills.

a. Sloth:

Sloth coming from Pequod is easily provable. Excluding Queequeg herself and Gasharpoon's, the Pequod crew has at least 9 sloth skills in total, and we can easily how this is a theme from the entire Pequod.

It makes sense on a thematic sense: the Pequod crews followed Ahab and blindly obeyed her. They are too slothful to question her authority (but, they will kinda turn into Mermaids or they do?)

The 2 sloth skills of Queequeg are named "Must...Protect" and "Must Finish Hunt..." They have the same motifs of starting with "Must, "implying this is an obligation she has to fulfil, but also has "...", as if she's trailing off, unsure of what needs to do. They are obligations for her assigned by Ahab, perhaps? Obligation that she was too slothful to question.

b. Lust:

Initially, I found the lust skill really random. That was, until I read Starbuck's skills. They are "Persistent Harpoon" and "Determined Harpoon" respectively. This is a matching skills for both of them, but more importantly, it's Ahab's influence, and I can prove it.

Pictured is Gasharpoon before activating Pip's EGO. As you can see, the fire was orange, lust colour. My understanding is Queequeg and Starbuck's lust skills are the consequences of being influenced by Ahab pursuance for the Whale, her lust for its blood.

2. Middle:

a. Envy:

The Middle is envy-coded. From their clothing to the purple tattoos they get their strength from, it's all very envy. But what does it mean from a story standpoint?

I don't know actually. But I have been told that envy in Limbus is not just want what others have, but also the feelings of inferiority and insecurity. This may be a stretch, but the Middle's relentless Vengeance may be a way to mask their insecurity. An organisation that is stable shouldn't have resolved to such extreme to prove themselves to be threatening.

Other than that, the Middle called themselves a family, but it's no more than a farce. They built themselves upon punishments and the fear of it. And their connections are represented by LITERAL CHAINS. It's actually a bit on the nose. They make a very good metaphor for an abusive family. Are they envious of real, loving families too?

Queequeg, too, is envious. Maybe not in the Middle's style of envy, but envy regardless.

She is envious of the Abnormalities of all things because they have concrete desires and she doesn't.

And, if you do believe that envy is also about insecurity and inferiority, we have a loads of that too with Queequeg's guilts.

b. Pride

It seems contradicting at first to have both envy and pride. However, the Middle is also prideful in the way they are conceited and arrogant.

The Middle never forgets. Is like peak hubris. And their gaudy golden chains are so on the nose for a representation of vanity.

Queequeg, once again, is prideful in a different way from the Middle. She is stubborn in her ways of erasing her tattoos. Pequod Heathcliff's uptie story makes it very clear that mutilating one's own body isn't the only way (in fact, it's not very effective) to erase the tattoos.

But Queequeg is very stubborn. Why? She has a mental block regarding this and won't accept alternative means.

c. Wrath

I probably don't need to explain why the mafia delivering 10 folds retributions for every little offence is wrathful, right?

The wrath in Queequeg's skills is probably more of her...frustration.

That are all the sins, but I still have one last thing to discuss: sin composition.

It's Envy : Pride : Wrath with the heaviest emphasis on Envy. This is also Queequeg's sin composition. And, (depressingly), the 2 envy : 1 pride : 1 wrath is the sin composition of both Little Brothers' variations, The Middle's Little Sister Don ID, AND Pequod Heathcliff, which mirrors Queequeg.

This is why I say Queequeg couldn't truly escape the Middle, with her current state of mind. It lives inside her skin, beyond the tattoos that she mutilated. It took roots inside the mind that she tried to cut into pieces. It hides in the tongue she condemns herself with, much like the way she condemned those innocents then.

Even when she's not physically with them anymore, it's still sins and punishments. This time it's on herself, but it's sins and punishments regardless.

The next analysis is how Queequeg is the soonest person to define evil.

[nanomooselet]

My Brother's Keeper (I)

So, uh, I have seen the complaints that Stampede is "poorly-written". Often enough, really, to get... somewhat overly bent out of shape about it. Stampede was my entry into the story and I may have mentioned once or twice that I like it. You know. Just a little. This is not to say it's without its flaws, but it's technically very skilful, at least to my eyes. It's just… skilful in roughly twenty-two minute chunks, so it crams a whole lot into those chunks.

Vash tells Wolfwood he can "see [kindness] in his eyes" half an hour tops after hitting him with a truck. It's assumed that they're relying on previous characterisation of the two to carry this beat.

They're not.

See, animated shows or films (and definitely in the case of Stampede) aren't only written. They're story-boarded, rendered, scored etc. and all the parts interlock with the other parts. It has to be taken as a whole: spoken, written, visual, musical, situational, compositional. These are twelve instalments of a single story where everything in it develops, comments on, or reflects what lies at the work's thematic heart, but you have to figure out how. It's not going to explain it to you. If the relationship between two characters appears strange, that's because there's more to it. And whenever you see something in it that visually echoes something else in it, get out your pasteboard and stick in two thumbtacks connected with string because the show's letting you know it's important.

Now, because I viewed Stampede first, my reaction to this part was very much like Wolfwood's ("???") but the more of the show I watched, the more sense it started to make, and the more I appreciated what it did for Vash's characterisation. Having since read the manga, in my opinion the boys aren't at all interacting like they're accessing past-life memories. Vash is too busy silently reeling over Jeneora Rock and dreading his confrontation with Knives to keep up the whacky act that the older WW pierced. Wolfwood is too young and trapped by his own hurt to empathise by seeing through Vash's false smiles.

There's something else going on with these two, and if you think carefully, it's clear what it is. There were two loved ones that Vash lost tragically early in life, and we can assume it's not Rem he's thinking of.* The heart of this series is "the song of the brothers."

Whose side are you on?

I have to choose.

Lo and behold, through that lens the character interaction made a whole lot more sense. And I want to talk about how.

So, according to the show's language, right from his very first appearance Wolfwood has a connection with Knives.

In the ensuing scenes/episodes, it was then clear to me that Wolfwood isn't just connected to Vash's brother. He's a representative, serving as a sort of understudy while Vash journeys to confront the real thing. Anything and everything Wolfwood does or says is with that role in mind, because he's either playing along or fighting against it. It dictates his development as the show unfolds. He's got a job and he'll do it, but which of the twins' agendas is he ultimately serving as he does? Even he can't yet be sure.

This is a significant change. It has a huge effect on Wolfwood's characterisation; it's why he comes across as less confident, more surly - he's rebellious, but conflicted and immature. In the manga, the first time we meet Nick he's (mostly) his own man and he (mostly) makes his own decisions. While he isn't honest about his agenda, he is trying to temper Vash's idealism for honest and well-meaning reasons, albeit in a bitchy way. When he reveals himself, throwing down the coin halves, you feel the man is protesting too much so it'll make what's coming easier on Vash. Despite how deeply the two came to love each other they couldn't communicate their forgiveness, but Wolfwood is at his core a good man first who lost his way, then finds it again in Vash. **

Again by contrast in Stampede, Nick's identity isn't his own to shape (yet). He standing in for Knives, and he doesn't much like it. He does know more about the actual shape of things than the reporters - for instance, he doesn't bat an eyelash when Brad mentioned how long they've known Vash. So he can readily talk with Vash and test his convictions. They basically both know each other's biggest secrets already, so they don't have to make a whole production of getting to know each other.

But standing in for Knives is also why the introductory aw-look-he's-nice-really scene is so quickly revealed to be staged. Knives is the primary antagonist, not a neutral agent - he's the most dangerous and personal opponent the protagonists face. He's also cruel, controlling and manipulative. His "help" is anything but. Any gift he seems to freely give, like a protector, will either extract an awful cost down the line or have some hidden purpose (if he isn't "solving" a problem he himself created). Approach with caution.

(You know how Nick did something no one asked him to do then hit Vash, Meryl and Roberto with a massive bill for it like a dick? You know how he then violently rescued them from a situation he himself engineered so they'd have gratitude? Those are Knives's most basic manipulation tactics, when he isn't just hurling verbal abuse: I help you/I love you so I'm entitled to take this from/do this to you. Wolfwood is causing problems on purpose by acting out because it's funny, and knows he won't get whatever he's demanding. Knives thinks he's helping, and rarely hears when he's told "no".

Also, both the English and the Japanese have Roberto calling Wolfwood someone who kills with a smile on his face. He doesn't, really, but we have met someone else who does.)

That means like every other character, Wolfwood isn't quite himself. Not yet.

And that's actually awesome. Because it speaks to who the other characters are - specifically, about Vash.

(Part II)

(Part III)

(Part IV)

(Part V)

(Part VI)

(Part VII)

* OR COULD IT BE, as inevitably assumed on tumblr when two men are in proximity, unspoken romantic desire????

I'm not saying it can't be a factor, but it doesn't explain why they start having discussions over their principles like they've known each other for years. Or at least, to me it doesn't. As I've said I don't ship them. If you disagree, it's totally fine! Hear me out and decide for yourself. There's no reason to believe both can't be true.

** By what's coming, I mean the same development that eventually comes to every iteration of Wolfwood. You know the one. And by "they loved each other" I don't mean necessarily mean romantically. My personal belief is that there were mutual feelings along those lines, but they're both too emotionally reticent to acknowledge them and might not have regardless. But that's just me!

[dweemeister]

Instant reactions to the 96th Academy Awards

A rough night for me. But there have been rougher ones before. I imagine most of my comments put me in a very lonely minority, as has been apparent the last few months.

But here goes:

For all intents and purposes, yours truly was on the Killers of the Flower Moon train. An extraordinary crime epic from Scorsese, with astounding craftsmanship and fantastic performance from Lily Gladstone. More than what I previously believed possible, a major studio production went out of its way to make sure that its Indigenous American representation on-screen was as genuine as it could possibly be (still imperfect, as the film acknowledges, but what an effort). And yet, KOTFM goes 0/10. I've never had a favored Best Picture nominee be shut out in such a way before. And I'm not surprised at all by it. It was clear that non-American and non-Canadian audiences didn't get the context to the film (a criticism I understand, given the screenplay) and, in other quarters, folks thought it was too long (I admittedly have a higher tolerance for longer movies) and others have said something akin to the fact that they are getting tired over "racial guilt" movies from America. I'm not in the mood to respond to the last one. I think it deserved better tonight. I particularly think Lily Gladstone deserved better tonight.

Stat upheld: two non-white actresses have never won on the same night in Oscar history. History, in and of itself, was always against Gladstone.

Oppenheimer winning? Fine, I guess. It was my #4 choice of the ten Best Picture nominees. I guess Christopher Nolan was overdue, but I have always been a Nolan skeptic. The film certainly is his most humanistic, and I appreciate that. As for the narrative organization and editing trickery? It mostly serves to take me out of the movie. And I don't think Nolan truly understands what thematic film music can accomplish for his movies. I think RDJ should have had much more competition all season long, but he did not. Most people are gonna say this is the return of the Academy's favorite subgenre... the Great Man Biopic. But in composition and structure, Oppenheimer (and even Maestro) resembles very little of the past Great Man Biopics. It'll be interesting to see how history treats this movie.

I disliked Poor Things. I didn't care for its sense of humor, didn't agree with many folks' opinions that it was a magnum opus of female empowerment. I thought it was incredibly male gaze-y and troublingly sanitized its scenes of sex work. Jerskin Fendrix's score was unlistenable outside the context of the film and distracting within it. But it has four Academy Awards and people love this movie, so my opinion can go to heck?

Well done Da'Vine Joy Randolph for her win as Supporting Actress for The Holdovers. I truly hope this opens up a lot more new opportunities for her going for! Wonderful speech.

And speaking of wonderful speeches, both documentary winners got me very emotional. The Last Repair Shop is on YouTube for American and Canadian viewers, and it's simply wonderful. Perhaps the happiest I was all night long! And then came Mstyslav Chernov's speech after winning for 20 Days in Mariupol. Chernov had, arguably, the speech of the night. And I agree with him. I, too, wish he never had to make his film and that he never won this Oscar. But he did his job to document what happened in Mariupol. And for that he (and the Ukrainians suffering and dying in their war versus Russia) deserves our plaudits and support.

Once more, Hayao Miyazaki cannot be bothered to show up to an awards ceremony. It's hilarious! I would have voted Robot Dreams, but The Boy and the Heron is not a winner to sniff at. Spider-Verse will have one more shot.... whenever the third movie comes out?

Good lord, they selected the worst possible winner in Animated Short with War Is Over!. There's an unwritten rule that the Academy, among the fifteen nominated shorts, must select one which will piss me the hell off. And for the second straight year in Animated Short, they have done exactly that, choosing something akin to a soft drink commercial.

Billie Eilish and Finneas are now the youngest and second-youngest ever to win two Oscars, after Luise Rainer (Best Actress for 1936's The Great Ziegfeld and 1937's The Good Earth). That feels very, very weird. In both cases of this record.

The "I'm Just Ken" performance? Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Like Ken)??? Busby Berkeley choreography? What do the kids say? Inject that straight into my veins? It was wonderful.

And speaking of nods to cinema history, I'm so glad they led off the stunt performers tribute with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. :,)

And congratulations to Godzilla Minus One and its Best Visual Effects win! After seventy years, Godzilla is now an Oscar-winning franchise, and its win percentage is 100%! Simply wonderful!

I think the moral of the story is that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has been gradually internationalizing over the last decade. And the results of that were very clear tonight. Does that mean I'm too provincial in my tastes? I don't know. But wins such as Emma Stone's, Anatomy of a Fall, The Boy and the Heron, and Godzilla are demonstrative of that.

I'm glad this season is over. I certainly hope that Killers of the Flower Moon will be looked upon more kindly by history and time, without the bells and whistles of awards campaigning and a fuller understanding of why it was made the way it was.

This month has been fun! But now it's time to see movies again without the lens of awards for a long, long while.

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Khrathnu

We've got kind of an interesting-yet-vague entry and a variety of responses to it, so let's get into that. Please forgive any sloppiness I am slightly inebriated.

For anyone who doesn't know what this is about, please see https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

The entry from which our artists are working in this post can be found here:

And if you want to join in, the next entry is here:

Art below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has drawn something in the enjoyable genre I have taken to thinking of as "nonspecific mammal" -- i.e. a creature design that is clearly mammalian and entirely plausible-looking without being any specific known animal. The action shot is very well-executed I think, and I encourage the reader to check out the linked post to learn more about the inspiration for the various aspects of this animal.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has a very good rendition of some kind of canid playing dead as described in the entry -- note the single open eye to allow it to spring its trap. Again very good and quite believable -- the linked post has a few more details regarding the thought process behind this design. (And thank you for including alt text.)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) has another good Nonspecific Mammal, stylized in a way that I find interesting. I don't know enough about art to describe it, but it looks super cool, and they've also provided these nice close-ups and some alt text (thank you for that). There's some additional explanation in the linked post -- I think this one has a certain flair that I really enjoy.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has an interesting concept here where the art itself seems to give the Khrathnu the "nothing to see here" treatment -- after all, the bird (which long-term readers may recognize as a Lumchagg) is more colorful and closer to the center of the image. However, the clever Khrathnu is the true star here, luring its prey to its doom. Very good composition, check the linked post for inspiration, explanation, and an interesting link.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has done a solid weasel-like critter here, clearly playing dead in the interest of luring in some prey. In the linked post you will find a brief in-universe-perspective description of this animal, and as usual I encourage you to go back and read all of Strixcattus's posts in this project.

Okay, so this is the fox.

I feel like between the illustration and the thematic elements of the entry, this is an "oh, that makes sense" kind of situation. Of course the fox is crafty and deceitful in its methods of catching prey. And sure, the artist here got pretty close to an accurate fox depiction. It's canid at least. All good, no problems.

Things I cannot explain:

What's with the other foxes in the burrows there? Yes foxes like to live in burrows, but (a) that's not in the entry and (b) weird way to depict it.

Why is there one (1) magpie present in addition to the various generic birds of prey?

The world is full of mysteries, but please speculate at your leisure.

[czokodanni]

Mane 6 picnic + Weekly sketches version

The next 2 or 3 weekly bunches will not be uploaded in exact order of being drawn. Reason is they will be a bit more thematically bunched- such as this piece. This is basically week4day6 to week5day3 drawings. But it makes sense to just bunch it together right? Especially that i wanted to also edit and colour it a bit after scanning.

► Drawing: So here we have a mane6+spike going on a picnic. There is edited version with a bit of composition change and resizing + original scanned pencil version. I used my previous drawings as a base for these versions of RD, Shy, AJ and Pinkie. Rarity and Twi got a bit of redesign. With this I wanted to give each pony a bit of her own personality. Pegasi have feathered chests and feathers showing near legs. Flutters is the tallest and leanest of the bunch. Dash is compact and aerodynamic, but still well built. Applejack is 2nd talles, but biggest and build like a truck- what you would expect form hard physical work pony. Pinkie is average but has yummy tummy. Unicorns have been given traditional fantasy tails and cloven hooves. Rarity ofc have them painted as a proper lady would and she shaves her unicorn goatee. Also a dump truck at the back. Twilight is drawn a bit differently due to her becoming alicorn- she is bigger, her horn is straight. Also as a base unicorn and not pegasi she does not posses feathers, but unicorn traits- cloven hooves and tail.

► Ramblings: This is the first bigger piece that came out of the weekly sketches. It was drawn before the Stola comic that I posted earlier- it looking decent gave me the push to try and do it actually. There are some colour artifacts on the uploaded coloured version- that is unfortunately due to nightshade. I tried different settings and this was best looking I got and not much I can do about that. Next 2 weeklies will be just pencil sketch, maybe a bit of colour but not much more. And now that I have this finished I'll probably start drawing next follow up to Stola comic. Probably with Octavia or Andrealphus. But that will take some time. As for other things- drawing keeps being fun. The comic reception over at FA was astoundingly good. I knew it would get some traction due to it being a popular fetish drawing, but getting over 1k views was not expected. The followup drawing got over 100 views, which was given as it was not a kinky one. But still I do want to draw comics- I thought a bit about why I wanted to draw and I came to conclusion that I wanted to show ppl my story ideas and feels. I probably will try my hand at more TF, TG or hypnos, but I still think getting something additional with them is the point. Not to just get views- if I wanted that I'd just draw popular tf and big boobs only. I want to draw for me, if others get the enjoyment of what I make that it would be a nice bonus.

[dustedmagazine]

Dust Volume 11, Number 2

FKA Twigs

Well, okay then, that was a long month.  February 2025 is in the books and, gut check, we’re all still alive.  We’re all still listening to music, too, and it’s time for another survey of what’s been playing on our various devices, specifically Dust, our monthly collection of short reviews.  We bring you operatic apocalypse, minimalist repetition, guitar jams, grind ‘n roll, acoustic funk, E-6 associates and other treats, with contributors including Jennifer Kelly, Bryon Hayes, Jonathan Shaw, Ian Mathers, Justin Cober-Lake, Tim Clarke, Patrick Masterson and Andrew Forell.  See you in March, if we all make it that far.

Cruel Diagonals — Calcite (Beacon Sound)

The planet will be fine. We’re the ones in danger. Megan Mitchell, the producer and vocalist known as Cruel Diagonals, takes the long view of environmental devastation in this four-track EP, lending her unearthly soprano and chilling electronic atmospheres to a tale told on a geological time scale. Wordless swells of vocal sound, trilling high and murmuring low, usher in “Scintillation,” her interpretation of planetary formation. Her voice has a ululating middle-eastern quality, but also operatic precision and resonance, as glitchy beds of ominous sound percolate and morph as freely as liquid rock. “Disobedience” tracks the disastrous impact of human destruction in echoing, curving laments and the flicker of electronic keyboard patterns. “Euxinia” glowers in low-toned menace, massed, slightly dissonant voices surging in autotuned, uncanny valley choruses. “Calcite” meant to evoke a post-human, post-biological planet of bare rock, instead ricochets with hocketing voices and blasts of low-brassy synths. It mourns but lightly, agily. All four parts glow with luminous, unreal beauty, abstracting the end of existence into pure tone and emotional heft. Cruel, indeed, but gorgeous.  

Jennifer Kelly

John Davis — Landlines (Students of Decay)

Bay area musician John Davis presents a poignant overarching framework for Landlines, a collection of pieces that “reflect on the importance of connection — to ourselves and to the world around us.” The album’s eight compositions leverage their own unique trajectory as they seek to address this concept. The meditative “Cluster Tone” presents a bare, David Grubbs-ian acoustic guitar that wanders wistfully. A muted trumpet serenades a skeletal piano on the title track, as the two instruments shoulder their way through an Eraserhead-like windstorm. Some of the tracks are kaleidoscopic in nature, segueing between multiple thematic approaches but staying within Davis’ underlying conceptual fabric. The effervescent “Ovum” transitions from sprightly minimalist repetition into a lonely organ howling over a scene of playing children. The entirety of Landlines gracefully emits a sense of fond nostalgia. It flows gently from scene to scene with a dreamy logic that beautifully reflects the artist’s thematic intent.  

Bryon Hayes

Decimus — Morning and Evening Ragas for Solo Electric Guitar (Kelippah)

This is the fourth entry in Pat Murano’s Morning and Evening Ragas series, where he ventures outdoors to record extended sessions among the flora and fauna of upstate New York.  His crepuscular meanderings dissolve themselves into the sounds of birds, crickets, and passing cars. It can be a challenge to discern whether he’s influencing his surroundings or vice versa.  Either way, the results of his extended jam sessions are entrancing. On this recording, Murano pares his arsenal down to the titular instrument: six strings and electronics.  He offers up two divergent pieces. The first is a meditative feast of gurgling mantras and metal whirling through the air, while the latter is a pot of drones brought to boil and poured over a slithering mass of melody. Both sides of this LP defy gravity and float off into the twilit sky, auricular messages that Murano emits with grace.

Bryon Hayes

Drugs of Faith — Asymmetrical (Selfmadegod)

Drugs of Faith has one of the best band names in the biz, even if that moniker sneaks up on the didactic (“Religion is the opium of the masses,” anyone?). The lyrics to the band’s new record Asymmetrical don’t sneak; they go all in. Check out this passage from “Divestment”: “Droughts, floods, heatwaves, fires and hurricanes / They never stop! / Food riots, climate refugees, resource wars / No hiding on the garbage patch from leaks of unnatural gas / Water is the new currency.” And so on. The band’s music is even less subtle. For reasons unfathomable to this reviewer, Drugs of Faith calls its sonic stylings “grind’n’roll,” an execrable phrase, and an even worse idea. But never fear: mostly what you hear on Asymmetrical is a muscular variety of the heavy that combines the angriest sounds of Mission of Burma, the most unhinged guitar breaks Fugazi ever managed, and the occasional superfast bit from early 1980s hardcore. It’s a winning combination that makes the lyrics’ sledgehammering self-righteousness nearly tolerable. Maybe that’s unfair. Maybe direct language is precisely what’s needed. As vocalist Richard Johnson (also of grind mainstays Agoraphobic Nosebleed) shouts at one point, “I forget we’re at war all the time.” Which war does he mean?

Jonathan Shaw

FKA twigs — Eusexua (Young/Atlantic)

Most of FKA twigs’ albums are genre tagged on (that noted authority) Wikipedia as “art pop,” which is fitting enough, but she’s always been club/dance influenced or adjacent enough that knowing that Eusexua is inspired mainly by the techno twigs heard while going to raves in Prague for a while (and yeah, she’s had the kind of life/career where that also seems unsurprising) doesn’t feel like it’s that big a shift. And purely sonically, it’s not quite; but twigs and her collaborators (primarily Koreless and Marius De Vries here, but also everyone from Eartheater to Two Shell) have also made maybe her most focused, consistent record to date. The themes are still the mess of relationships (“Sticky,” “24hr Dog”), the edification that comes from seeking sensual pleasure (the title track, “Room of Fools”), the crucial pursuit of personal autonomy (“Keep It, Hold It,” “Wanderlust”). and here they’re explored over twigs’ catchiest, most danceable set of tracks, even morseso than her fine other albums. An early highlight of 2025.

Ian Mathers

Rich Halley 4 — Dusk And Dawn (Pine Eagle)

Oregon-based tenor saxophonist Rich Halley’s spent a fair bit of his recording coin on collaborations with the Matthew Shipp Trio in recent years, but he’s back on home turf for Dusk And Dawn. The drummer, Carson Halley, has known the saxophonist since birth; bassist Clyde Reed and trombonist Michael Vlatkovich are enduring associates. So, what you hear on this album is a sequence of fluent conversations in a shared language that spans decades of jazz and adjacent styles. During “The Hard Truth,” the drumming prods and tests each horn player in turn, turning up the heat to splendid effect. And on “Spatter,” for example, passages of muscular, acoustic funk sandwich a freer but still propulsive midsection. Vlatkovich and Halley share a penchant for using sturdy, charted passages as jumping-off points for solo exchanges that have an engaging vocal quality.

Bill Meyer

Ofir Ganon — Same Air (Island House)

Ofir Ganon coaxes extraordinary resonance and clarity from his electric guitar. His tone vibrates, shimmering inside a luminous cloud. It splinters like light through a prism into a 1000 different colors. Ganon makes his living fine-tuning other people’s guitars, so perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s able to elicit beauty from his. More surprising, perhaps, is that he does it in a bright, clear idiom that owes very little to folk or blues or Takoma-style picking. “Pelham Blue” for instance, circles restlessly round an arpeggio each guitar sound a liquid drop of melody, but no bends or slides or flatted sevenths. An Israeli who spent time in Morocco, Ganon does slip a bit of middle eastern tonality into the mix, as on the show-stopping “Miel,” which might remind you of Richard Bishop’s Tangiers interludes. “Belleville,” an early single, flirts closest to folky picking, but with a jazz-leaning transparency, every note a bright, sparkling jewel, none run together or blurred. 

Jennifer Kelly

Oh the Humanity! —  Ground to Dust (Sell the Heart)

Oh the Humanity! brought in A Wilhelm Scream's Trevor Reilly for production on their latest album, Ground to Dust. The choice makes sense, given both bands' approach to punk, but what makes this release excel isn't that the band leans into its strengths but that it shows flexibility. The essentials are there, including the anger and emotion, but the group finds coherent ways to blend a mix of sounds. At one moment they push the skate punk sound, but in the next moment they're a metal band in full shred mode. They shift continuously without losing momentum or breaking the flow, mixing angry crunch with catchy hooks (the sound is surprisingly bright, and maybe stepping outside of their hardcore a little bit). When “Never Do Another Rule” gives a solo that could almost be classic rock, it makes sense. Ground to Dust isn't exactly a linear progression, but its sequencing does give it a proper sense of direction. OTH! doesn't quite drift into a commercial sound, but they strike a balance between the punk you might hear in a sticky basement and the punk you'd sing along to in an actual venue. It's a thoughtful album that doesn't relinquish any of the madness, a fun approach to frustration and catharsis.

Justin Cober-Lake

The Rishis — s-t (Primordial Void / Cloud Recordings)

Athens, Georgia’s The Rishis are Elephant 6-adjacent, featuring John Fernandes (Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System) among their ranks. This is the band’s second album, and it has a strolling, wide-eyed quality, best exemplified by opening track “Coloring.” It’s easily the best song here, masterfully balancing float and jangle, bringing together dinky bar-room piano, classic E6 horn moves, and a George Harrison-esque guitar break. The rest of the album continues in this mid-tempo vein, led by frontman and primary songwriter Ranjan Avasthi’s sweet vocal tone, but there’s lots of variety to catch the ear, including lovely cello on “Buffalo” and “Dharamsala.” The parts don’t always quite click into place as satisfyingly as they should — such as the hesitant performance of “Miles,” or the overdriven guitars of “Criminal Activities” — but The Rishis is still a breezy, likeable listen.

Tim Clarke

Ritual Error — Dial in the Ghost (TNS)

I’m a simple man: I see a band contextualized by Drive Like Jehu, Hoover and Circus Lupus, I’m gonna investigate that band. Such was the case when I perused the latest output from the Maximum Rocknroll crew and found the blurb for London trio Ritual Error’s first full-length out late last year on Manchester’s TNS. Sure enough, it doesn’t take but a quick listen of first single “Good Conscience in Three Stages” to confirm these guys get it: Okala Elesia’s vocals evoke Tim Harrington at Les Savy Fav’s most wild-eyed, his razor-sharp guitars spew melodies and countermelodies across the canvas, David Thair’s max attack percussion exacerbates headaches, and Alessandro Incorvaia’s bass only just holds it together. Whether it’s talking listlessness at sea or Maggie Thatcher or moving from home for the first time, Ritual Error is for real, and they’ve come a long way in a short time since their three-song debut demo. I told you when I found it; now you tell me when you have, too.

Patrick Masterson

Ernesto Rodrigues / Frank Gratkowski / Guilherme Rodrigues /Michael Griener — Unstable Molecules (Creative Sources)

First off, let’s all give a tip of the hat to the best-named venue in Berlin — Kühlspot. That’s where this encounter took place in March 2024, when Portuguese violist (and Creative Sources CEO) Ernesto Rodrigues improvised with his cello-playing son Guilherme and two other Berlin-based musicians, Frank Gratkowski (alto saxophone, clarinets) and Michael Griener (drums). This could have gone in a number of directions, for while the string players share a predilection for bristly, romance-free interaction, Griener and Gratkowski can push things in a number of directions. In this case, the drummer seems to insert his sounds within the cello-viola dust-ups, matching timbre for timbre and rustle for rustle, while Gratkowski adds just enough ballast to make this chamber session swing. The outcome is pretty cool. 

Bill Meyer

Saint Vengeur — Sex and Repression in Higher Society (I, Voidhanger)

A hybrid of coldwave, witch house and industrial’s mechanized noise, Saint Vengeur’s music is about as arch, icy, irritating and occasionally exciting as you might expect. Does it help that Sex and Repression in Higher Society comes with a booklet of poetry, some verses of which are occasionally recited along with the tunes? Depends on how you feel about poetic language like this: “Exposed wires beat with cursed life / Bursting in excess / For nothing will suffice / Dig black, lace gloves / Satisfaction is now buried / Somewhere in the lies.” But he’s serious, folks — and sometimes, somehow, it all works. Check out the smartly titled “Poor Homme,” which could soundtrack a gloomily antic moment from a John Carpenter film (The Fog, perhaps) or a vampire-themed videogame. It’s one of the tracks on Sex and Repression in Higher Society that seems to wink at its own gratuitous atmospherics and then heads for the dancefloor. “Affection Paradigm” toggles between nimble synthy stuff worthy of early Heaven 17 and the aural equivalent of an East German sex dungeon, c 1982, which ends up being more fun than it sounds. Not sure that’s the intended effect.

Jonathan Shaw

Traxman — Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 3 (Planet Mu)

Rashad’s martyrdom and RP Boo’s belated flowers aside, Cornelius Ferguson to me belongs in the same pantheon from Chicago footwork’s first wave not just for his mastery of the 160 bpm format that goes beyond post-Dance Mania ghetto house and juke, but also because he recognized the viability of the album format right around the time Planet Mu’s Mike Paradinas was peaking in his push via the Bangs & Works series. The first Da Mind of Traxman in 2012 remains, alongside DJ Diamond’s Flight Muzik, Double Cup or Legacy, arguably footwork’s finest single-artist album. The second volume in 2014 solidified his position among the elite, but since then, he’s done what the rest of these guys do by plying his trade and minding his own as both Traxman and his Corky Strong alias. Renowned producer Sinjin Hawke offers us a timely refresher of Ferguson’s talents for anyone who wasn’t around or may’ve forgotten with this third volume that plucks 15 tracks from the archives. Songs range from 2002 (“Kill Da DJ”) to 2022 (a Benny the Butcher sample in “I’ll Write the Hook”); there’s Mortal Kombat in here (“Round 1”); there’s Carly Simon (“I Bet U Think This Track Is About U!!”); there’s plenty more. It’s tough to shake that this feels like a comp in the same way Vol. 2 did, though, which puts it slightly below the elite tier Vol. 1 justifiably deserves.

Patrick Masterson

Ventr — Ubique Diaboli Voluntas (Signal Rex)

The ongoing deluge of satanic black metal records from what purports to be a mysterious underground of malignant entities may put lie to both the “mystery” and the “underground.” When there is so much information (songs, promo sheets, music videos, manifestos and so on) trying to leach its way into the daylight of the open market for music, just how much obscurity can be sustained? Is that even the idea? Anyways: here’s a new record by another relatively recent addition to Portugal’s fecund black metal scene, Ventr’s Ubique Diaboli Voluntas. It doesn’t have the utterly nuts volatility of Mons Veneris (good luck finding that degree of musical insanity just about anywhere else…) or the compelling impulse toward self-extinguishment you can just about feel in recent releases from Black Cilice. Even Portugal seems to have limits. But as traditional black metal goes, Ubique Diaboli Voluntas is fine, perhaps even good. It may be winning song titles like “The Poisonous Blade of Kindness” or “The Rope around the Neck of Ataraxia” (which made your reviewer laugh aloud); it may be the relative fun in seeing a rat fashioned into Ouroboros on the album art — but something elevates Ventr’s record just above most of this month’s inexhaustible stream of black metal releases. Must be February.

Jonathan Shaw

[pedrocomicreviews]

Absolute Wonder Woman #7

“... I’m not the princess.”

In which Diana of Hell goes to hell to figure out if she can leave. Light discussion of thematic spoilers below.

Our mini arc ends with a banger as we get more in-depth information about Diana and Circe’s relationship, as well as a, I suppose, big status quo change for the character that will shape the rest of the run. It’s a fight-heavy issue that keeps going crazy on the art and dynamic panel composition, and Kelly Thompson keeps reminding us all that she’s been simply holding back her power all these years, and can always write the best comic books of her genre at any given time. She makes it look easy.

Now, look, I’m unfortunately a Hades apologist– there’s a lot of discussion about the reinterpretation of the Persephone myth from a modern perspective to be done, and not all of it is relevant to the story here. But let’s say that I am mostly interested in Hades as one of the few Greek Gods who does not abuse his wife one way or another. It’s always been my preferred way to look at his character and interpret his place in the Greek Pantheon. And I understand there’s plenty of reason to scoff at the idea– I’m just saying I like it.

But Absolute Wonder Woman seems to take a page from Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Wonder Woman Historia, which happens to be my favorite DC Comics book of all time. Every female goddess we’ve seen seems to be on Diana’s, and by default the late Amazons’, side. Every male god seems to be the enemy; aloof at best, cruel at worst, actively antagonistic as a matter of fact. It is a more than valid view of the pantheon and makes perfect thematic sense with what the Absolute Universe has shown us so far, as well as just, Wonder Woman in general. 

I’m also not saying I don’t expect a female goddess of some kind to be evil at some point, or a male god of some kind to be good at another. It’s a story, it has twists and turns, I don’t pretend it’s black and white. But I do kind of use Persephone as a canary in the mine as far as depictions of the Greek gods go– if she’s having a bad time, then it’s likely no one is having a good one. 

And that’s important, because this issue, in many ways, is about Persephone, and Ariadne, and Echo, about myths of women having what they love denied to them one way or another. Albeit, despite the Greek trappings, we actually use a modern American classic as a framing device: Frank R. Stockton’s The Lady, or the Tiger? acts as our north star in this issue, and we accompany Diana’s struggles with the nature of an impossible choice throughout her life. 

This mini-arc is in many ways a meditation on selfishness, on how one’s worldview changes the nature of their problems, and on the nature of learning not from one’s own mistakes, but from those who came before. What saves the day isn’t simply Diana’s wit and force, but her deep and genuine connection to others; the goddesses, her adopted mother Circe, even the humans of Earth for whom she is now fighting. 

Hades, in contrast, doesn’t value connection. He stole the ones he wanted and is little more than a despot over ruins and remains. He’s the lord of the dead and all that really entails is that he doesn’t really have a lot to do with his eternal life. He’s the lord of riches but has nothing to spend them on. His life is maybe as much an injustice to his potential as Diana and Circe’s lives, but he chose to be cruel about it, he chose to do harm with what he actually has. They, in contrast, decided a long time ago that Hell can be a lovely home.

Very excited to see what Diana will do next, now that both her first big threat is finished off and she’s established as having to be on Earth for a long time.

[thetriphibianmonster]

Godzilla Film Watch: Week 2

It's nearly time to say Goodbye to the Showa series. Credit to Wikizilla for the poster images.

Day 8: Seed of Godzilla (1967) Another solid island adventure by Fukuda. The story structure feels a bit more composed than in Ebirah, though I ultimately prefer the earlier film's eclectic mix of characters, despite the introduction of go-to name Goro Maki here. Godzilla's turn as a would be parent here is the highlight, his initial confusion and tough love tactics giving way to genuine love at the end of the film. Unfortunately Minilla leaves a lot to be desired as a character design, and his lack of appeal hamstrings the emotional core of the film. I think it was a mistake to style him after a human child, rather than evoking a baby animal the way the Heisei series would later successfully manage.

Day 9: Destroy All Monsters (1968) In a lot of ways this feels like an expanded iteration on Ishiro Honda's prior film, and I enjoyed it for many of the same reasons. It's fun to see this colorful take on the late 20th century, and we get another cool rocket with Moonlight SY-3. The Kilaaks are also pretty good villains, though they lack the in-depth exploration that the Xiliens got, and I wish the film got a bit more out of the initial human mind control setup before it is resolved. The kaiju action is solid, if somewhat sparse given the expansive roster. Monsterland has some worrying implications though: the forcible confinement of Earth's kaiju to a small island feels deeply at odds with the heroics of many of the more prominent inmates, particularly in the context of later films taking place prior to this one. It's a setup ripe with thematic weight regarding mankind's desperation for control, but the concept remains unchallenged within the film narrative.

Day 10: All Monsters' Revenge (1969) It's funny how neither title for this film matches the subject matter. I understand the argument that the stock footage makes sense in the context of a child's dream, but watching the same battles repeat themselves is hardly engaging, and the film's focus on Minilla certainly doesn't help. The "real world" portions at least have a bit more meat to them. I can see why this was one of Ishiro Honda's favorites: he took the opportunity to experiment with creative framing and camera work. Unfortunately the film's themes don't stand up to scrutiny: what could have been a compelling exploration of the struggles of latchkey children is undermined by a generic "children should fight their own battles" message, minimizing the effects of parental neglect and the dangers of bullying. These themes gets further fumbled in the final scene, where the message seems to be "always cave to peer pressure, as long as you assert your dominance through physical violence first".

Day 11: Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971) This is in the running for my favorite Showa film. Wildly experimental in terms of shot composition and imagery, the darkest film since the original is still never afraid to get a bit absurd. The themes are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face, yet their lasting relevance to the present day vindicates their blatancy: it's hard to argue for a more subtle message when society has yet to truly learn it over 50 years on. Yoshimitsu Banno set out to create a monster with the same symbolic weight as the original Godzilla, and I think he succeeded: Hedorah is incredibly well realized and genuinely creepy at times. In retrospect I think Godzilla's savior role here could be read as symbolizing the importance of nuclear energy in moving away from fossil fuels. He definitely gets put through the ringer this time around, and I love the catharsis of him tearing apart the remains of Hedorah as the film's theme song plays.

Day 12: Godzilla vs Gigan (1972) Unfortunately this one failed to grab me. The stock footage returns in full force, but I think the murky lighting, repetitive traveling sequences, and overuse of slow motion hurt the kaiju battles even more. I can appreciate the idea behind slowing down footage to make the monsters seem larger, but without the ability to properly convey momentum they just end up feeling weightless, and the sluggish movement really hurts the fast paced, frenetic action of the Showa fights. Gigan is a fun villain with a strong personality, and the action picks up a bit towards the end, but even then it can't escape the repetitive choreography (at least alternate the direction Godzilla flips Ghidorah). The human cast is at least memorable, though by this point the alien plots are getting repetitive. The M Space Hunter Nebulans give a decent first impression with their uncanny "true peace" vibes (I wondered if there was commentary on Japanese New Religions somewhere in there), but their plan is pretty underwhelming, and it's not entirely clear why they needed the amusement park as a front.

Day 13: Godzilla vs Megalon (1973) What a fun movie. I was hooting and hollering throughout the whole film, having completely lost it by the end of the Downhill Comedy Car Chase. The stock footage is still very obvious, but is much less of an issue when the new footage is so vibrant, energetic, and creative. While none of the films many technical flaws hurt the watching experience, I do find myself wishing the Seatopians were explored more in depth. The ending (briefly) touches on their legitimate grievances with humanity's continuing nuclear tests, a carryover from Godzilla vs Mothra's themes. I think fleshing out these grievances ala the Nonmalt from Ultraseven could have improved them, though this particular movie might not have been the right place to do it.

Day 14: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974) This movie was the first Showa Godzilla I ever watched, and I think it presents a decent slice of what the era has to offer. It's campy and colorful, but not quite as absurd as some of the earlier Champion series films. This is somewhat reflected in Godzilla's design, retaining the large eyes of the previous film, but giving him a bit more attitude. The film certainly isn't without its own flaws and eccentricities: King Caesar takes up an awful lot of real estate within the narrative considering his limited effect on the final fight, and the second interpol agent feels like the film writing itself out of a corner. The Blackhole Planet 3 Aliens might be the most rote set of invaders yet: they're here to conquer earth and that's pretty much it. They're developed more than the Seatopians at least, and I like the laidback, worldweary performance of their leader, even if I'm used to the scene chewing dub actor. The film is pretty light on themes: the grandfather has a vendetta against the mainlanders, but as it's never really explored it ends up having all the pathos of a relative proclaiming some unsavory political opinion during Thanksgiving dinner. Mechagodzilla himself is the real highlight. Hedorah may be more thematically resonant, but the Cosmic Monster's endless arsenal and Jazzy theme tune allow him to keep his spot as my favorite kaiju. It's easy to see why, despite his late arrival, he would go on to become a key player in the Big 5 Toho Kaiju.

[oneatlatime]

The Siege of the North Part 2

Last episode of the season! I'll post some season round up stuff over the next few days.

The last episode ended super abruptly, so a refresher: -Aang and Zuko are in a snowstorm and Aang is currently hypnotised by a Yin Yang fish -Katara, Sokka and Yue are in the spirit oasis moping about losing Aang to Zuko -There’s a big fuck off Fire Nation Armada parked out front -All current trends point to the Northern Water Tribe being a finely ground and toasted paste by the end of the day

Episode Time!

I don’t know, did Katara really do everything she could? She could have called for backup. Although given Zuko’s track record with taking out scores of guards when the plot requires (hello Blue Spirit episode), I guess it probably wouldn’t have made a difference.

Ignore Momo for a minute and look at this grass texture. I can't decide if I like it or not. It's certainly doing... something?

Is this the spirit world? I'm loving the colour pallette. Since Aang's dreams tend to be sepia-toned, does that mean he dreams in the spirit world?

This monkey guy has so much personality. I love how our first look at this sacred, spiritual, mystical place is an antisocial jerk. Lovely subversion of expectations.

Roku has unparallelled jumpscare abilities.

I have to say the sound design on the ice cracking under Zuko's feet is spot on. That oddly hollow yet muffled thud is exactly the noise ice sheets make when they go.

Poor Aang getting dragged like a kitten. He's got to have frozen skin by now. Should have taken Iroh's advice and covered his ears.

I don't think Aang moves once during Roku's speech about the spirits crossing over. I think he's a freeze frame of animation, something which this show usually avoids.

Judging by the musical sting it's supposed to be a serious line, but the way Roku feels the need to clarify that the Face Stealer will steal your face got a laugh out of me. Was anyone expecting him to do anything else?

"They call him Coe, the Face Stealer. Be careful, or he will validate your parking."

Where did he get fuel to burn? And why does he feel the need to monologue? And if struggling and fighting is what made you into who you are, maybe you should give being lucky a chance, because you're not exactly well-liked or very good at what you're supposed to be doing.

Inclusivity win! These non-benders get to torch the water tribe too!

Ballistic water canon portholes - that's neat.

Those long range grappling hooks are probably the fire nation's most effective weapon.

Please die please die please die please die please die please die

How rotten do you have to be inside, that when you find a giant underground hidden library, you use it to find out ways to wipe out civilisations? And celestial bodies? Zhao is honestly so pathetic. Ruthless, and somewhat effective sure, but you're gifted a giant underground secret library and all you can think to do with it is use it to kill people? Pathetic.

This spirit world stuff is so neat. The scale, the lighting, the animals, everything is slightly off in a way that feels deeply alien. I like.

Get your mind out of the gutter.

The squealing strings in the spirit world are fantastic. The composition of this shot, also fantastic. The colour pallette; fantastic. I would love to live in the spirit world if I wasn't in danger of losing my face.

The face stealer recognising the avatar is chilling. Really adds a sense of the ancient. And whoever is voicing him had the time of their life. Deliciously evil moustache twirling stuff, but still with an underlying very real threat.

I love Sokka's logic here. Co-opt enemy's strength; make it serve you. Zuko being persistent means that there will still be an avatar to save once Sokka catches up to them.

This whole encounter with the face stealer is a cut above. They really pulled the stops out for this finale.

I don't think this is the Blue Spirit, but it's close.

I KNEW those fish were thematically relevant. What a completely unexpected reversal too! Those spirits you're asking for help? Actually, they're asking you.

It pays to be nice! This is why Aang has to stay such a nice boy! See? It pays off!!!

Looks like someone was a little slow with the whole 'conquering the enemy before their main source of power turbo charges them' thing. We've got floor is lava: tank edition, ice machine guns, and Poophead turning a whole row of soldiers into popsicles. Good stuff.

I absolutely hate Poophead but I have to admit it's satisfying watching him go 1 v dozens in tornado mode and kick fire nation butt.

That panda has some powerful breath. And I love that morphing effect between big cuddly guy and horrors beyond description.

"Oh No! Where's my body?" That's pretty funny. I don't think it's supposed to be, but it is.

Forget about the panda, Aang has powerful breath. He just wallpapered Zuko to the cave wall and travelled like 100 feet in the opposite direction.

Keep inching along buddy.

"That won't be enough to escape" "Appa!" "That probably is."

Forget about Aang wallpapering Zuko, Katara just turned him into a floor mat from 40 feet up. How many concussions has Zuko had in the last week?

If that rope is so quality, why did you cut through every loop rather than untie it and save it for later?

Of course Aang has to bring Zuko back. Aang is a nice little boy. That's what nice little boys do, and they get repaid for their kindness down the line with things like rides from giant pandas.

Imagine if Zhao had grabbed the wrong fish? It's a good thing that the moon spirit has a built in indicator light. What would the ocean do if it was in trouble? Get more blue?

Yue exposition. Yue is a moon horcrux. Oh this won't end well.

How long do you think Zhao spent composing his little speech? How many crumpled up parchments did he go through before he had the words just right? Do you think he practiced in the mirror while holding up a sock in place of the moon fish?

Get his ass Momo! I love how the guard in the back is like "nah, I'll let the lemur do his thing. Dude deserves it honestly."

Could we have some more specific examples of consequences beyond "balance" and "Chaos" for killing the moon? I don't think Zhao the asshole is going to pay attention to consequences unless they directly affect himself.

Zhao is way too fond of the word traitor. That's two people he's called traitor who are actually just people he personally dislikes.

You know you done goofed when kindly tea uncle promises to beat your ass. Zhao, meet consequences that directly affect you.

The face of a man realising he has, in fact, done goofed.

That's twice now these fish have yanked Aang around. Powerful fish. Did the fish call upon the Avatar or was Aang so angry that he went glowy and the fish took advantage?

FISHMAN

oh boy these guys are dead. So dead.

Tired of failing at capturing the Avatar, Zuko instead turns to trying to kill Zhao. Brightest idea he's had all season.

"Then at least, you could have lived!" Bold talk for someone who's already lost one duel to this guy and is currently losing the second. Unless you meant to flop backwards off that bridge?

Ooof. But she was always on borrowed time, wasn't she?

He just batted them away like balls on a pool table. So casually cutting through tonnes of steel and people. Fishman is killing thousands. I bet Aang's not too happy about that.

Ouch. More Sokka trauma!

Fish spirit dropping Aang off like he's bumming a ride to school, not killing probably 10 000 + people.

How am I supposed to take this seriously when Zuko's doing silly little summersaults?

Zhao is such a baby. I sincerely hope he's dead now too.

Bit of an abrupt tonal change. And yes, it's LONG past time you helped out the south. I hope Kanna is informed in exacting detail of her grandaughter's Pakku-bahsing exploits. She'd be so proud.

This scene should have come before the scene with Katara and Poophead. Would have avoided the tone switch. Also is that a tree to the right?

"So proud. And sad." OUCH.

Not-fun fact: there are four humans in this screenshot.

I'm guessing that was the firelord? I suddenly see where Zuko gets his muppet voice.

Mark Hamill?!?!

Final Thoughts

Where is the line between self-sacrifice and suicide? Because I have to say, Yue was very determined to do her duty. I guess that's one way to get out of an arranged marriage.

So glad to not see her fiance again, because then I can pretend he drowned. I bet he and Zhao are having fun out asshole-ing each other at the bottom of the sea.

Sokka!!! Somebody needs to give him a hug and get him into the care of a trusted adult immediately because the last thing he needed was MORE duty-related trauma. I bet he views what happened as him failing in his duty to the northern chief. He pretty much says as much when Yue chooses to save the moon. Obviously, there was rationally no way out of that one, but since when are emotions and trauma rational?

Yue describes her saving the moon as her duty, but it was also her choice, and I bet that's the first free choice she's ever gotten to make. Sokka didn't prevent her; he let her choose to do her duty. He definitely had objections, which he voiced, but he let her go once she brought up duty. It's so awful that Yue's first time having her choice respected (dare I say, having her own agency respected) is when she chooses to die.

She is dead, right? Her body evaporated and she's in the moon now. On the moon? Is she the moon? Did she replace the old moon? Or did the moon let her have a few seconds as a ghost for closure before she went to the afterlife? I don't know the mechanics of this.

Poor Aang just killed thousands of people, even if he was fish-possessed at the time. Katara's about the only person who emerged from this episode ok. She got to one-shot Zuko.

Fish possession-induced mega-fishman is not a solution I could have ever predicted to the problem of a whole fleet that needs getting rid of. It totally fits, despite it being a strange idea to contemplate in isolation. Aang pulls (rather, the fish pulls) a move straight out of Pacific Rim and it works.

The spirit world was really capably done. Creepy yet alluring, seemingly detached and untouchable yet both in tune with the real world and vulnerable to the things that go on there. And how clever was it to have Aang go to the spirits for help, only to find out that the spirits need his help? I love that reversal. It really ups the stakes. In any other fantasy story an appeal to the council of higher beings of whatever would either result in help or a refusal. Imagine calling up your godly bosses with a problem only to have them beg you for help? It's kind of chilling. Both in how close things came to disaster, and in the fact that humans in the real world actually have the power to pose that much of a threat to the spirits. Again you see why it's important to have a bridge between the real and spirit worlds: because traffic either way poses a threat to both sides.

What is up with Zuko? He failed the whole season at capturing the avatar (a task at which he was outclassed by episode 3), and now he doesn't have the resources to even try. So he's no longer a villain (not the he was ever good at it), he's no longer even a threat. He's a concussed vulture's meal on a raft. Is he even going to be in the next season of the show? What role could he possibly fulfill? He'll be just... there.

I had tone problems with this episode. A couple of places where I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to laugh, I did. And there were a couple of pretty corny set up lines. Yue discussing how there was no hope gave me Helm's Deep flashbacks. I think maybe this episode should have been a little longer in order to make the tone switches more gradual. And I get that, as a kids' cartoon show, they have to end the season on a happy note, but was there anyone in the main or background cast that didn't have a reason to end this episode seriously bummed out? Momo maybe. Appa's empathetic enough to be sad that Aang is sad. Yes, the North is saved, but the princess is dead, there are presumably thousands of enemy corpses bobbing around beyond the wall, and who knows how many water tribe people got crushed by fireballs.

The last three episodes have really been one big story. Katara's part was really over by the opening scene of the siege of the north part 1, which is about where Aang's part began. The real through line that ties these three episodes together is Sokka and Yue. These last three episodes have been low key Sokka episodes (and Yue episodes by extension). I think it's a sign of good writing and engaging characters, that the season finale of a show named after its main character can put a huge amount of focus on someone who isn't the main character and still have it feel natural.

Turn Sokka into a girl and beat him down with the expectations women face in a patriarchal society, and you get Yue. They are each others' mirrors, which is partially why they connect (the other reasons being Sokka is a breath of fun fresh air and Yue is gorgeous and desperately lonely). While I would give an arm and a leg for a version of the show where Yue joins the Gaang and travels around the world with them, being exposed to opportunities for growth and adventure and becoming her own person rather than an extension of her tribe's will, I think it also makes sense that Sokka and Yue ultimately can't be together. I'm having trouble putting this into words, so bear with me, but I think because Yue and Sokka are mirrors, and largely mirrors of the more burdensome aspects of their lives (ie duty), then wouldn't them getting together limit them? Halt their growth as characters? Would they not drag each other down? Under the right circumstances (like peace) they could help each other grow, but in war time it's probably not a good idea to have two self-sacrificing members on your team.

I know Aang had some crazy stuff happen to him this episode (and last episode too), but so much of what happened to him literally happened TO him. He had no say in the matter. He got yanked around by spirits, fish, and Zuko. Which is why the Sokka x Yue storyline was more interesting to me. Poor Aang may have a hell of a time processing all that yanking around, but that's not in this episode. Sokka and Yue actively making choices are in this episode, and their storyline has had three episodes to develop, so the payoff feels more earned.

The soundtrack was great this episode, especially in the spirit world. Deliciously creepy stuff.

Visuals were gorgeous. I especially liked the beige palete of the spirit world and grey-blue palette during the mega fishman scenes. The creeping blue veins were a good way to express the scale of mega fishman's power without just colouring the whole frame bright blue.

Zhao honestly got exactly what he deserved. It must have been a fitting end for his character because it left me highly satisfied.

Yue deserved better, but if the chief is to be believed, predestination is both a thing and unavoidable in this world, so she got the only end she could ever have. I love characters with quiet strength, but I love them more when they don't have to die.

Overall a good episode! It had to wrap up so many storylines that it ended up going all over the place, with some necessarily expository dialogue that felt clunky. Poor Aang featured surprisingly little in his own show's finale, if you discount when he's fish-possessed. Sokka got his heart ripped out and stomped on, as did the chief. Pakku has hopefully set himself up for a hearty slap from Kanna. Zuko and Iroh survived, but that's about all that can be said of them at the moment. I feel like maybe Katara will be carrying the Gaang for the next few weeks.

[grace--le--domas]

PJO- Some Show Recommendations for the showrunners if s2 is greenlit

Season 1 was kinda...boring? Honestly, that is the last thing I expected a PJO adaptation to be. The books aren't perfect, but they are fun! There is friendship, adventure, humour, all while still the characters grapple with some pretty serious stuff. The show (except for the first two episodes and the finale) feels stiff.

Show is too exposition-y, the pacing is off and it of course breaks the cardinal rule of show- don't -tell.

Thankfully, the concerns are easily remedied. Coming of age stories are a dime and dozen, and I think that the showrunners could actually learn from the TV shows and movies of past. So, I compiled some recommendations for them :) Read on if extensive analysis is your thing :)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer- Honestly, this is theee coming of age story. It follows Buffy (the chosen one), as she navigates high school, college and eventually adulthood, along with slaying vampires. And instead of a sullen main character, we as an audience are treated to a sassy, take-no-prisoners variant of the chosen one trope. There are so many similarities between Percy and Buffy- both are loyal to a fault, sarcastic and stubborn. They understand that they cannot escape their respective destinies, but they'll be damned if they don't see things through their own way. Both are brave to a fault, and adore their found families. The writers could take some inspiration from BTVS and Buffy's character arc (to an extent). Bonus- BTVS has great examples of melding humour in serious situations.

2. Mission Impossible Series- This one might be a bit controversial, but hear me out. I know most people consider the MI films popcorn flicks-and they are- but most the movies in the series are paced excellently. There is a sense of urgency in MI films- which was severely lacking in the PJO show. Have a deadline, let me feel anxious for these kids.

MI also has some excellent action scenes. And before you say, well PJO is not an action series, I would like to say that I agree- but the beauty of adaptating something is that you get to change things. Well paced action sequences, even if they are about a minute or so, are necessary break up the exposition dumps. It breaks the monotony. It makes you feel afraid for these kids, who are running from one dangerous situation/monster to another.

3. Dune (2023)- Thematically, Dune is vastly different from PJO. I am including it in this list for several reasons- editing, cinematography world building and sound editing.

To put it bluntly, I don't feel connected to the world of the PJO series at all- which is a shame because it is an incredible world! Greek mythological creatures co-existing with the modern world! Modern myths! Greek gods!. But it is all introduced in the most boring, exposition-y way possible.

The cinematography doesn't shine until the last episode. I want interesting shots, fluid camera movements- just anything that breaks the monotony of scenes. For example- I loved Poseidon's introduction, why wasn't this type of cinematography present in the rest of the series. Shoot the gods differently, make use of different camera compositions. Experiment a little for god's sake.

Coming to sound, yeah this one was the most disappointing of all. There are no memorable sound motifs, which is a shame because sound can convey so much more than words in certain scenes. I say Harry Potter music and you instantly think about the charcteristic symphony. This is missing sorely in the tv show.

Sidenote- I would have chosen Nathan Barr as the music composer (missed opportunity Disney). Look up his work, and you'll understand why I said this.

Coming to editing, yeah the editing is clunky at best. That is all I have to say about that for the moment.

Let me know if anyone wants a part 2 :)

[girls-lesbiband-cry]

Today I want to look at Nightcord at 25:00’s cover of Bad Apple !! (feat nomico) by Alstroemeria Records.

My reason for choosing to analyze this cover is because, I feel, there are interesting observations to be made in what constitutes N25’s sound both thematically and sonically based on the choices in this cover. Even the choice of Bad Apple !! itself was interesting given how it’s history mirrors the formation of N25 as a group. As the song is a remake based on a melodic portion of the Stage 3 theme by ZUN for the 1998 game Lotus Land Story, which can be heard here.

The N25 cover however is based mainly on the 2007 remake released by the doujin circle Alstroemeria Records and produced by Masayoshi Minoshima. Who took that melodic line and expanded it into the melancholy electronic pop track that is known by many today, because of its inclusion in the viral animated music video by the Anira collaborative. This history is not so different from how N25 itself began as collaboration between Kanade’s music and Mafuyu’s arrangements and later grew into a multi media project with the inclusion of Ena’s illustrations and Mizuki’s video editing. And they too accomplished giving the song a new meaning and sound through their cover.

This was done through two key elements: the addition of the piano and the addition of harmonies. I chose these two especially because other than that the song remains relatively unchanged in terms of composition. This signals to me that this is what ultimately defines the sound of the group as the decision to include the piano changes the dynamics of the track from more traditional club thumping electronica to a sound that is less energetic. As original has more remnants of its roots as a video game track with the energy that provided by its almost relentless tempo. The N25 cover, however feels more like a song rather than a theme, as the piano places more emphasis on the melancholy lyrics that reflective of its member’s journeys and troubles. This is heard in several of the riffs that the piano plays throughout the verses, especially the descending one here (Timestamp 2:09) which coincides with the lines “Even in the midst of time/ I feel languid, look/ Spinning around and around” adding to the idea of sinking “down”. Finally there’s the harmonies that present in the chorus.

The harmonies that are happening in the chorus are further back in the song’s mix but regardless of that make a huge impact on the tone of the song. Functionally their inclusion was to be expected because it’s pretty standard for group’s covers of solo songs to take advantage of what a soloist can’t necessarily do on their own, and harmonies are simple way to achieve that. However, how and where N25 chose to employ those harmonies is what cements it as a part of their sonic identity. The harmonies don’t just add an interesting melodic element to the chorus but also add to a sense of mourning of the person that one feels they can’t be, that pervades throughout the entire song. That emphasis of bolstering the lyrical content through the composition is what gives all of the group’s music its distinct identity even when they endeavor into different genres. It’s their unwavering commitment to truly capturing the human emotions that influence the track through the medium of art in all its forms that makes them Nightcord at 25:00 and this cover showcases it.

[st-just]

Part of the comics thing is because tracing porn is just like a standard practice In Marvel/DC since at least the turn of the century. I actually don’t have an issue with overtly sexual designs or anything but the way it’s usually completely unstylized and narratively-thematically vacuous in comics (because porn is just the readiest source of skinny people in tight or no clothing so a lot of panels are actual shots from porn films) does bother me

Oh so when *comics artists* train themselves off copyrighted pornograaphy to meet commercial demand at low cost and scale that's fine, but when I, GPT4-

But no seriously if true this explains a great deal about the staging and composition about a decent number of comics panels I've seen.

(Anyway my principled aesthetic complaint is less that the designs are sexualized than that they are sexualized in a matter that makes no Watsonian sense and is never integrated into the world. Like e.g. The Boys has a whole running gag about all the heroine's costumes being Like That because they're designed by a branding department marketing them as sex symbols, which works as a gag because it''s just making the actual reason diegetic as opposed to Marvel/DC's 'don't worry about it'. Also do none of them ever hav eto like jog or stand around in the cold or anything)