#this date is also very big for me because every year around 28/29 of november

[jellyluchi]

It's the one year anniversary of jellyluchi!!! 🥳💜🥰

I'm so happy I made this blog... I didn't think it would function the way it does now, at all! The way I was used to participating in fandom was very different back then. I would make graphics and maybe write canon ship fics. I made this account just to read Prosciutto x reader works, that's it 💀 and maybe find old content of him. I wasn't used to reading x reader works and I thought it was extremely embarrassing because self-shipping is frowned upon and people looked down on others who enjoy x reader fanfics. No one understood my self-ship with him and how I love him.

I was afraid of exposing myself on main for some reason and was EXTREMELY shy about my love for Pros. I couldn't even talk about him without going on anon (shoutout to [insert some blogs I'm too shy to mention] who I sent anons to thirsting after Prosciutto back then and feeling sad about shipping with him, some of whom are my MUTUALS now?!??! which is crazy) and was sad all the time thinking I was no good for him. But he made me so incredibly happy I just had to have a sanctuary where I could archive all my absolute favorite content for him. And thus, this blog was born.

I used to frequent other people '#prosciutto' tag very obsessively and read and re read so many of my fav works that I was frustrated having to bookmark the links instead of just going to a tag I made myself. I did want to start writing for him because I knew in the coming months that content for La Squadra would dwindle (especially for Pros) so I thought I could make content for myself to make me happy. (Shoutout to creators who write and draw for La Squadra!!! YOU are the backbone!!!). I was too scared to share my writing at first thinking it'd be no good either but I'm so glad it is received well, at this point I'm just happy to have fun with everyone instead of worrying if my content is good / bad etc 🥺

The idea of making an OC was completely out of the question! I'd never done anything in-depth like that before despite trying to make OCs in the past which ended up in me not being passionate enough to develop them. But because of the help and inspiration I've encountered here I was able to pull through and create a character that I love very very dearly.

Then came the wonderful people I met because of this blog in the past year. I couldn't thank each person enough for what they've done for me 🥺 every single person who's interacted with me has encouraged me to show my love for Pros more and not be ashamed and it lead me to be so much more of a happier person. This blog most definitely changed my life! In so many ways !! I made wonderful friends and memories thanks to this blog, found a community of people that help me feel accepted and who have fostered a better friendship with me than I could do for many years!!! In previous fandoms I tried to connect with large groups but inevitably there would be a fallout and I wouldn't be interested anymore (or worse, getting involved in drama). In the end I would lose passion for the source material and move on. But I feel like the connections are very personal this time around 🥰.

I just hope to continue making happy memories with this blog, it's such a big part of me now, I don't even check my main blog anymore. This is one of the only places I can be honest about my feelings and have fun which is so important to me! Thank you for everyone who has stuck around so far idk how to thank you enough 🥺💜💜💜 Thank you for your love and support, for encouraging me, for liking my thoughts and feeling for Pros and my ramblings about Focaccia, and everything else in between!!!! There were many times I thought perhaps I should abandon this place but... I'm so happy I stuck around. Here's to many more years!!!

[purplesurveys]

1139

1 - What's your favourite TV show that was released before you were born? What is it that got you into that show in the first place? My parents introduced me to Perfect Strangers when I was 10 since they both grew up watching and enjoying the show - it came out in 1986 and ended in 1993. I love it mostly for the dynamic of Larry and Balki, which was really the whole point of the series. Then there’s also Friends, which first came out in 1994. It’s my comfort show for years to come and it’ll always be a series I’ll come back to whenever I need a pick-me-up.

2 - What is your preferred brand and flavour of ice-cream? I usually just stick to Selecta and I always get cookies and cream. Sometimes I’ll spoil myself and get Ben and Jerry’s and get whatever flavor that has cookie dough.

3 - When's the last time you got something in your eye? Can’t remember the last time I either cried or felt irritated with something in my eye.

4 - When was the last time someone got you flowers and what was the occasion? I’m not so sure. It was two or three years ago, I think. I don’t get to receive flowers or bouquets often, and especially not these days.

5 - What are your plans for tomorrow? Are these normal for that particular day of the week or are you doing something out of the ordinary? It was such a draining work week so I wanna use the free time this weekend to relax; but since I’m a bit of a workaholic I might also end up finding some time to do some work on the side just to feel productive hahah. I can’t go out either since we’re experiencing another spike in Covid cases - we’re reaching 7000 new cases a day - and stay-at-home orders and curfews are in place everywhere again, so I’ll just have to make the most of my time at home this weekend.

6 - What will you be eating for your next meal? Depends on what my mom is making for dinner, but I’m guessing another pasta dish...it’s Friday, though, and I usually allot this day to have food delivered in the evening as a reward to myself for finishing the week strong heheh. I got a spicy tuna salad and sushi again :)

7 - Who was the last person to pay you a compliment? How did you come to know that person? Andi, I think. We met at an anti-Marcos rally three years ago. They were carrying a big-ass guitar and I approached them because I liked their wrestling shirt.

8 - When is the last time the weather changed your plans? What were your plans and what did you end up doing instead? That would be last November, when we were in the middle of a bad typhoon and I had to file an emergency leave because we had a village-wide power outage and it kept me from being readily available for work. I made plans to a nearby mall to get wi-fi, but our village was seriously flooded so there was no way out. I had no choice but to begrudgingly file the leave even though I really wanted to attend work lol.

9 - What's your favourite kind of liquor? Do you prefer it "plain", flavoured or in a mixer? Tequila. Preferably as straight shots, because I like having a good time lmao.

10 - Who was the last person you spoke to via video call? Did you speak to this person via video before the pandemic hit? My workplace doesn’t really make it a norm to turn on our videos unless we’re pitching to or speaking with clients who prefer video calls. But I did just come from a Google Meet (albeit just using audio) this afternoon to present a deck and that call was with my co-workers and the clients we were presenting to. And no, I wasn’t even employed before the pandemic so other than Bea, I’ve never met any of the people in the call in person.

11 - Are you someone who prefers routine or spontaneity? I thrive on routine, but I also like it spiked with the occasional spontaneity.

12 - What streaming services (if any) are you subscribed to? Do you think they're good value for money? Just Netflix and Spotify. Yeah, I’d say both are good deals, especially Spotify.

13 - When was the last time you struggled to get to sleep? What did you do to help things? I’m not so sure, actually. I have no problem passing out these days lol. If I do have trouble falling asleep, I usually remedy it by watching YouTube videos or take a survey until my eyes feel tired.

14 - How often do you get your five a day? What was the last fruit or veggie that you ate? I’ve never heard of that concept...anyway, I looked it up and it has something to do with having a good amount of fruits and veggies per day. In any case, I had eggplants in my dinner tonight.

15 - How do you take your coffee? 3-in-1, so that it’s already made and blended well for me lmaaaaao. If I’m ordering at a coffee shop, I like sweeter flavors; I never take mine black.

16 - Is there anything that you're currently putting off? When do you think you'll finally get round to doing it? Getting new frames for my eyeglasses and an updated prescription along with it. Idk man, it just seems pointless to book  an appointment for the meantime since I’m never out and I can manage during my workdays without glasses anyway. With another strict lockdown order in place, idk when I’ll ever get around to setting an appointment.

17 - When was the last time you watched a Disney film? Which one was it and is it one of your favourites? I have no idea, it’s definitely been a while.

18 - What was the last household chore you completed? Is this something you do regularly? Just cleaned out the tray underneath Cooper’s playpen since it had some food crumbs and some of his fur. Yeah, I do it every night.

19 - Who were you with the last time you went out for a meal? Angela, Hans, Pia, Kyelle, Al, Gab, and Sam.

20 - Have you had your COVID vaccine yet? If not, are you going to accept it when you're offered? No, not yet. My workplace booked a bulk order for one of the vaccines - though I can’t remember which one - and we should be getting it in a few months or so.

21 - Do you have any pets and how many? If not, would you like to have one someday? I have two dogs. I’ve always wanted dogs, so I’m okay for now.

22 - What's the most unusual meat you've ever eaten? Did you like it? Carabao meat. It was fine, not horrid-tasting or anything, but I wouldn’t have it again. The one I had felt very hastily made, apart from smelling and tasting very farm-y.

23 - Do you prefer still or sparkling water and why? Still. I don’t like carbonated stuff period, so I doubt I’d enjoy sparkling water.

24 - Do you own a car? If so, could you live your current lifestyle without one? If you don't have one, would having one change your life in any way? My parents technically own it because they bought it, but it was designated for me. I mean I’d obviously survive without a car, but I’d find it very inconvenient. Booking a Grab every time would be so costly, and I’m not willing to try out our public transport anyway because they’ve been constantly terrible with disinfection and sanitation protocols throughout the pandemic.

25 - Who was the last person you made plans with and what are you going to do? Andi; we made plans to have our thesis printed and bound so that we can finally put a close to our college life hahaha. We just have to figure out a date and I also have to remove Gabie from my acknowledgments.

26 - What's the worst kind of physical pain you've ever experienced? Is this a one-off or is it something you experience regularly? Accidentally ripping my earring off my piercing was a fucking thrill I’d never want to go through again.

27 - What's your favourite length for a survey to be? Do you get put off if surveys are longer or shorter than you like? Anywhere between 35-80 questions is fine. Anything else would be too short or long. I’ll occasionally give long surveys a pass since it’s easy to take breaks in between, but I ignore short ones altogether.

28 - What colours are you wearing at the moment? Are any of those colours your favourite? I have a multi-colored striped top on and a scarlet pair of shorts. And no, I’m not wearing any pink rn.

29 - Once you've found a TV show you like, do you tend to watch it over and over again? What was the last TV programme you watched for the second or third time? Not with all shows - like I haven’t revisited BoJack Horseman after completing it the first time. I’ve been like this with Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, though.

30 - When was the last time you cried and what was the reason for it? Do you feel better now? No idea when but it was probably from a heartwarming video.

[goldenpctals]

TRUTH BOOTH, mackenzie edition 

GENERAL QUESTIONS

1. Please state your full name: I’m Mackenzie Juniper Quinn 2. Does your name(s) have any kind of meaning? If so, what is it? I was named ever my mother’s grandmother, Mackenzie and Juniper was my own grandmother. So classic, right? 3. Do you have any nicknames? A few. Kenz, Kenzie 4. Where were you born? And in which country? Born and raised in Brisbane, Queensland. Also known as Australia 5. What is your date of birth? November 1, 1995  6. Of course, the following question; what is your Zodiac sign? Scorpio 7. Do you believe in Zodiac signs? No, they never add up. There is a moment where every now and then, I can relate to a certain post. However, Zodiac signs are just a myth to me 8. Where do you live? I jump between Violet Springs and London  9. What is your home situation like? (ex. do you live with your family? Your partner etc.?) In London, I have my own apartment, but in Violet Springs, I live with Theo. I have an apartment in London because of my work duties 10. Do you have any siblings? I have one twin brother named Sebestian who constantly reminds me that he is the oldest by 30 seconds. Sad  11. Do you have any kind of allergies? Peanut allergy 12. Do you own any pets? If so, what kind of pets are they? Do snakes back home in Australia count? We usually occur a wild snake every now and then. They keep seem to come back? 13. Why did you apply to St Jude’s? My mom recommended it to me and eventually, I had a scholarship 14. Did you had to go through a lot audition rounds? No, I was discovered  15. What is the current course you’re following? Acting, mostly on screen/tv 16. If you can switch courses, which one would you switch to and why? Producing. It’s a new journey I’m starting at the moment  17. What is your proudest project you’ve done? I, Tonya 18. What is the proudest project that someone’s else has done? Anything Mason does. His work is absolutely fascinating 19. Do you like FanCons? I do 20. What do you like about FanCons? The answer would be pretty obvious, but meeting fans and getting to know them 21. What don’t you like about FanCons? Too personal questions. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s FanCon and fans will ask questions, but some are unbelievably severe 22. A fan memory that always stuck with you? Can be positive or negative. Whenever they dress up as Harley Quinn. That always stays absolutely adorable 23. Your favorite event so far? I love any kind of award show 24. What kind of event would you like to see in the future? Maybe some kind of camping / surviving trip?  25. Would you recommend St Jude’s to friends, family. etc? Depends. If you handle the pressure and you are career-focused, then yes. If you can’t handle the drama, then no

PERSONALITY QUESTIONS

26. What are your positive traits? Passionate, purposeful and patient. The 3 P’s that Quinn’s usually swear by 27. What are you negative traits? Incredibly stubborn and a little too fierce 28. What would other people describe you as? I hope positive things. But I know some of them have a lot to say other wise, oops 29. What are your pet peeves? Picking men over your friends 30. What makes you happy? Family, genuine friends, working 31. What makes you upset? The classic: ‘seeing one of my loved ones upset’  32. What is something you love? Working. I’m a workaholic  33. What is something you dislike? Being so proud of something and then not getting the recognision that everyone deserves 34. What are you strengths? I would like to say that I’m organised?  35. What are you weaknesses? Picking my head over my heart. Poor choices have been made, unfortunately  36. A misconception people often think of you? That I’m a spoiled brat, probably. Little did they know, everything I’ve done, has been acchieved by me, myself and I 37. Do you have any fears? Yes, but I’m passing this one since I have 3 passes 38. What scares you the most? Tiny holes. They are awful  39. What do you do to entertain yourself? Work out, go shopping or be around my friends 40. What is your MBTI? My MBTI type is ESFP 41. How do you deal with stress? Talk to Amber, she is like my personal therapist 42. Are you a determined person? Are you a stubborn person? Stubborn, very  43. Do you consider yourself selfish? I am. However, since when is this a bad thing? You should be looking out for yourself?  44. Would you like to be different? No, I don’t  45. Are you more introverted (focused on your inner world) or more extraverted (focused on other people and the outer world)? Extraverted

ROMANCE QUESTIONS

46. What is your sexual orientation? My sexuality is: Heterosexual 47. Current relationship status? I’ve been in a relationship with Theo Carmichael for a couple of years now, even when we had our low moments, I still adore him 48. When was your first kiss? Behind a bar, I was drunk and snuck out of my house 49. Do you remember your first date? If so, with who was it? What did you do? Yes, it was that awful that I’m sparing you the details. You’re welcome!  50. Have you ever experienced heart-break? Pass 51. Have you ever been in love? (If yes, skip to question 53) I have!  52. If no, how so? n/a 53. How do you know when you’re in love? Honestly, this was pretty hard for me to answer. I have experienced multiple relationships in my past and with Theo, things were just different. There was so much more and he opened up a whole new world to me by being so patient and understand 54. What would be your ideal date? Take me on an adventure and you’re good to go 55. What is your perspective on marriage? Being pressured into marriage is never good. My parents tend to do so. However, I would love to get married someday. 56. (only for non-virgins) Are you a sub, dom or switch? You had the audicity to ask that? 57. What do you think of relationships? If you’re in love, then it’s wonderful. I wish people stopped getting their lonely souls mixed into business they shouldn’t even be in 58. What do you think of one-night stands? Used to, but it’s a no for me, thanks 59. Are you still a virgin? No, I’m not 60. Most attractive trait in a different person? Passion 61. What matters most to you when it comes to a relationship? Being truthful to one another and talk things out if there is something to talk about. I’m still learning this myself  62. Are you comfortable with PDA? Or would you be comfortable with PDA? Not the biggest fan, but I don’t really mind it?  63. Are you more of a type to be asked out or the type to ask the other out? The one to be asked out 64. How do you express love to the other? *looks away at Theo* 65. Who is your celebrity crush? If I don’t say my boyfriend, he will probably ignore me for a solid week and come back with a replacement for me. Probably a dog. So, my boyfriend, Theo 

GETTING DEEP QUESTIONS

66. Do you regret anything? Yes, I do  67. Is there something you woule like to re-do? So, start all over again? There are a couple of things yes. But that’s for me to know and for you to dot.. dot.. dot.. 68. What is something you would never share with anyone? What happened in Brisbane on July 20, 2012 (OOC: This is that her secret happened)  69. When was the last time you cried? Why did you cry? Yesterday. Sometimes I tend to get overwhelmed by the pressure of my parents. Bash thinks he isn’t their favorite and always calls me out for being the favorite. I don’t think he knows what they want me to be 70. Most memorable event that happened in your time in St Judes? This could be anything: I almost drowned whenever the ship sunk. This happened twice. Twice? Like, excuse me? Did St Judes raised their insurance policy? I hope they did 71. One thing you wish you could do all over? See question 67 72. Someone you miss? People leave for a reason. It is what it is  73. Something you wish you could forget? Once again, July 20 2012 74. Who has the biggest impact on you? Disney has a pretty big impact on me. She is definitely someone I look up to, a lot. Also my mom or my grandmother  75. What is your perspective on love? Is it beautiful? Does it scare you? It shouldn’t be scary. If love scares you, are you ready for it?  76. What has hurt you in the past that you don’t want others to go through? Hm, can’t really think of something?  77. What is something you have gained, something you have lost and something you let go of during the past year? Gained: More confidence in my work. Lost? “Friends”. Let go of: Chopping my hair so short 78. Have you ever lost a friend? do you wish you would still be friends? Yes and no.  79. Do you have any triggers? What is the history behind these triggers and are they related to any disorders or mental illnesses? I don’t 80. If you could meet your 16 year old self, what would tell them? That life isn’t really that painful and that I should really get a sense of fashion......... 

RANDOM QUESTION ROUND

81. Summer or Winter? Summer, any day 82. Cats or dogs? Dogs  83. Beach or mountains? Beaches, but I love the mountain view more 84. Phone calls or texting? Phone calls 85. Have you ever skipped class? Rarely 

[thesportssoundoff]

“A very weird card for a very weird month” UFC Fight Night: Weidman vs Reyes Preview

Joey

October 14th, 2019

It's Octobr and the UFC's scheduling usually goes like this in my estimation:

Jan- New year, we're all excited, folks get injured, overpacked shows in December hurt the new year but we deal with it.

Feb- Injuries/cold means makeshift cards, people get mad.

March- Shows are a bit fatter, big title fights are coming around, people are excited.

April- The "set up" for the summer months, usually really good fight cards on paper with little to no name value.

May- Normally the "bad" PPV month, free events are good.

June- The last month before things get wild and wooly. PPV's tend to be damn good, free cards tend to be pretty balanced.

July- Everything has to be BIG so you get BIG PPV and then an event or two after the PPV that drag down the blocks average.

August- The end of the summer, injuries get heavy because of the seasonal change, focus is on prepping for November and December.

September- OH MY GOD EVERYBODY IS HURT! EVERYTHING IS REALLY WEIRD! THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON!

October- The down month where they're scrapping and salvaging just to get to MSG. Shows are pretty much whatever they can put together without working too hard. Usually where they do some kind of weird Canadian card. The cards tend to bounce between "This is surprisingly good" and "I don't have the time or the energy for this".

November- IT'S MSG! IT'S LOADED! What about the rest of the month? Ah, okay then. Carry on.

December- The end of the year where they try to end with a bang. Normally a lot of drama, prep for 2020. We get fights announced for next year that usually top what we're being offered this year. Big PPV to end things on the right note.

This card is pretty much 100% October. You have a kind of weird but kinda good main event at the top of the bill, a really good yet weird co-main event under it, a really weird but kinda good HW fight and then a bunch of Northeast projects and prospects. If you remove the top three fights, finding the next good fight that is objectively good might depend on how you feel about Gillian Robertson vs Maycee Barber. Me personally I think you can do far, far worse than Barber vs Robertson and actually quite like the fight as a good test for Maycee Barber. After that? You have some highly touted prospects coming off losses (Manny Bermudez, Randy Costa, Boston Salmon), some guys off the Contenders Series trying to find their niche (Brendan Allen, Sean Woodson, Jonathan Pearce)  and a bunch of filler. It's kinda not bad filler though? Everything about this card is just weird, folks. Bare with.

Fights: 13

Debuts: Tanner Boser, Brendan Allen, Sean Woodson, Sean Brady, Diana Belbiţă, Ben Sosoli, Jonathan Pearce

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: (Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Calvin Kattar CANCELLED/Eric Spicely OUT, Kevin Holland IN vs Brendan Allen)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 5 (Greg Hardy, Jeremy Stephens, Yair Rodriguez, Chris Weidman, Joe Lauzon)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Joe Lauzon)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 6 (Dominick Reyes, Chris Weidman, Greg Hardy, Gillian Robertson, Maycee Barber, Kevin Holland)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 24-15

Chris Weidman- 1-2 Dominick Reyes- 5-0 Jeremy Stephens- 3-3 (1 NC) Yair Rodriguez- 2-1 (1 NC) Greg Hardy- 2-1 Ben Sosoli- 0-0 Joe Lauzon- 1-3 Jonathan Pearce- 0-0 Gillian Robertson- 4-1 Maycee Barber- 2-0 Deron Winn- 1-0 Darren Stewart- 3-4

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Featherweight- 3 (52) Women’s Flyweight- 2 (31) Middleweight-  2 (40) Heavyweight- 2 (31) Welterweight- 1 (62) Light Heavyweight- 1 (39) Bantamweight- 1 (53)

Lightweight- (66) Women’s Strawweight- (26) Flyweight-  (15) Women’s Featherweight- (8) Women’s Bantamweight-  (18)

2019 Number Tracker

Debuting Fighters (33-55-1)- Tanner Boser, Brendan Allen, Sean Woodson, Sean Brady, Diana Belbiţă, Ben Sosoli, Jonathan Pearce

Short Notice Fighters (28-35)- Kevin Holland

Second Fight (52-34)- Randy Costa, Boston Salmon, Deron Winn

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (20-37-1)- Charles Rosa, Joe Lauzon, Daniel Spitz

Undefeated Fighters (35-37-2)- Dominick Reyes, Sean Woodson, Maycee Barber

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (11-8)-

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (29-20)- Chris Weidman, Manny Bermudez

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Why is a New York vs New York fight taking place in Boston? I know that might not matter from a lot of folks but as the guy who grew up with boxers headlining in their home markets, this irks me.

2- I feel like this main event almost depends entirely on how you view Volkan Oezdemir as a fighter. The last time we saw Dom Reyes, he was given a really hard tough fight against Volkan Oezdemir in London. I don't think "robbery" is fair but I do think if you scored it for Volkan then you have a justifiable grumble about him losing that decision. What has gone under the radar is that Reyes did a tremendous job to adjust to what wasn't working and mix in more work to the body to keep it close and then the general rule of "win the third round, win the fight" wins out. I think there's no shame in a young prospect getting tested on his way up the ranks and managing to get by. You'd rather see warts now than in the middle of the first round of a title fight. Also Volkan Oezdemir is proving to be a pretty good quality 205er who even in his losses has moments of success. As such, I'm left to wonder if folks are a bit too harsh on a dude who iced Jared Cannonier, had no issues with OSP and remains the most exciting LONG TERM prospect at 205 lbs.

3- Is it too late for Chris Weidman? Despite the calls of folks to move up in weight, Weidman held off until seemingly all options were exhausted at 185 lbs. The fact of the matter and the unbearable truth is that Chris Weidman's style was based all on his durability and versatility simply fell apart when he needed it the most. He couldn't withstand the wars he was putting himself in at 185 lbs and his wrestling isn't as advertised anymore. At the same time, he still subbed Kelvin Gastelum, has a Hall of Fame worthy resume and enters a division where mid tier MWs are having breakout runs to title shots. Weidman can still crack, has a variety of offensive tools in his backpocket and in SPURTS he's still a good wrestler. Weidman's biggest problem for me as a wrestler has always been his lack of control once fights hit the turf but maybe cutting less weight will help. Then again Luke Rockhold didn't get much help in that regard either.

4- Here's how I'm beginning to feel about guys from 185 lbs going up to 205 lbs. If you're an athlete (Thiago Santos, even Anthony Smith to some degree) then it can work because the athletic barometer at 205 is better than HW but lowert han any other weight class. Guys who are fast at 185 lbs will remain fast at 205 lbs because that travels. They're also likely to hit a lot harder given the increase in weight. That said, if you're slow or clunky, no amount of weight cutting is going to fix that. Luke Rockhold simply looks and perhaps may just be a slow and clunky guy. Against Jan Blachowicz, he LOOKED like a heavier version of his usual self. What makes me worried about Chris Weidman and his chances at 205 lbs is that he's slow, clunky and kind of sort of broken. I don't think his body and his (lack of) speed will travel much at 205 lbs.

5- So who is hurt more by having to cut weight again for this fight, Yair or Jeremy Stephens? I kind of think it'll be Yair but I also saw him show up on two weeks notice to fist fight the Korean Zombie.

6- I really hope there's a chance, honestly and truthfully, that Joe Lauzon calls it quits win or lose. Lauzon feels like one of those guys who would be better suited in his personal life giving up the ghost and embracing the next phase.

7- This feels like the first real card to roll out the Contenders Series for season 3 so I'll break down who is whom and how they got here:

HW Ben Sosoli faces Greg Hardy- Sosoli is an Aussie kickboxer who made the MMA transition, fought on TUF and emerged on the DWCS in season 3. He had a "no contest" but was on his way to winning the fight before an eye poke (by him) ended the fight. Sosoli is being brought in to have a slugfest with Hardy.

LW Jon Pearce has a pretty crazy story. He was in a coma after getting jumped by somebody at his gym after hours. He recovered and fights like every southeastern dude who has ever fought in the UFC; basically scrapping when he wants to and wrestling out of trouble when he has to. I would say "He's the kind of guy who can give Joe Lauzon trouble" but I think at this point anybody with a working pulse gives him trouble.

FW Sean Woodson is REAL interesting. He took on a super prospect in his DWCS fight and struggled with the consistent wrestling----then he hit one of the cooler flying knees ever and scored a walk off second round KO. Dana even admitted that his finish was TOO good to not get signed despite the concerns he had about his wrestling.

MW Brendan Allen is your yearly "LFA has a middleweight champ and we gotta sign him" guy. He's accomplished-ish at 12-3 with some losses to good competition (Anthony Hernandez and Eryk Anders are both having solid runs). He's a violent kinda dude but I think he's a step below Ian Heinisch and Anthony Hernandez IE: he's kinda sketchy.

8- Boston Salmon was a really hyped L(R)FA prospect, the kind of guy who the UFC normally signs before he's ready and rushes out there. Salmon won on the DWCS in Season One and disappeared, re-emerging this year before losing in ugly fashion in his first fight with the organization. We've detailed here how badly debuting fighters struggle but also how much better they do in their second go around. Of course the same could be said for his opponent Boston Salmon. I guess win or lose, I think Salmon's going to look worlds better than he did in his debut. It couldn't in theory have looked much worse?

9- I wish I knew about Molly McCann's opponent so I could somewhat excited about her fight upcoming. Diana Belbita lost to Ariana Lipski who Molly McCann beat so....I dunno dudes.

10- I wonder how many fighters people would know off of this main card. 4 or 5 tops? Manny Bermudez, Molly McCann, Kevin Holland  and then?

11- So let's talk about Kevin Holland briefly, shall we? Holland's UFC run has been weird to say the least. Holland debuted on short notice against THIAGO SANTOS (!), took all of Santos' best offense and somehow lived to tell the tale about it. In large part, Holland's ability to just talk copious amounts of shit no matter the circumstance endeared him to UFC fans and supporters. In the end, Holland got his best opportunity and since then the UFC has taken it slow and steady with him. Holland has wins over John Phillips, Gerald Meerschaert and most recently a close decision win over Alessio Di Chirico. Holland's rep as an action fighter is overstated (as is most of his game) but to go 3-1 in the UFC under any circumstances is pretty solid. He's the sort of guy who doesn't like to work too hard theoretically but lacks the middle ground to carry himself beyond that point. Yet he's so gifted, long and determined that he tends to be able to get by doing the bare minimum. Brendan Allen is probably going to give him plenty of opportunities to be offensive if he wants to be but that's entirely up to Holland and his mentality.

12- The last time we saw him, Deron Winn was having a FOTN style war with Eric Spicely on short notice. Winn has a lot of "poor man's DC" about him which is a really unfair comparison but I can't think of a guy that short in a weight class who prioritizes the same arsenal of strikes that he does other than DC. He gets a kind of risky step up in competition with Darren "The Dentist" Stewart. Stewart has a bit of a funky UFC record, he started his run 0-3 and then hit a stride of sorts since then, going 3-1 with the sole loss being a super close split decision to MW prospect Edmen Shahbazyan. Stewart hits really hard and has found some tremendously timely resolve with his takedown defense, creating a sort of fight that should be closer on paper than some folk might realize.

[whoiskt]

Doing this year-end thing for me again

1: What did you do in 2019 that you’d never done before?

Told a man I loved him, graduated college, said goodbye to a loved one, lived alone, gave a eulogy, was Maid of Honor, went to a bachelorette party, and saw my favorite band in concert!!

2: Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I forgot whatever my resolution was. Most likely I didn’t complete it then oof. Although there’s a strong possibility my resolution was just to survive the rest of senior year which was a valid resolution and I made it.

3: Did anyone close to you give birth?

No, but my other sister is married now. I’ve given up hope on my oldest sister, but there’s new hope now. Maybe soon I will be auntie.

4: Did anyone close to you die?

My grandma passed away from cancer at the end of May. I’m happy to know she’s not suffering anymore but I miss her. This is the first time I’ve had to deal with a loss like this.

5: What countries did you visit?

Still have never left the country. Furthermost I traveled this year was to the U.P.

6: What would you like to have in 2020 that you lacked in 2019?

More money, less debt! Please, I need a real job ASAP!

7: What dates from 2019 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May 30th because that’s when my grandma passed. November 15th because that’s when Erika was married!

8: What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Graduating.

9: What was your biggest failure?

The hundred rejection emails I have for jobs in my inbox. Please employ me for your video production needs.

10: Did you suffer illness or injury?

No, but my allergies were really bad this year. For a while there I was having to take allergy meds everyday on schedule just to be able to breath. And I hate taking pills unless totally necessary.

11: What was the best thing you bought?

My graduation present to myself was my studio apartment. I know I didn’t buy it technically but living alone is an opportunity some people never get so paying the rent for no-pants-zone is best thing.

12: Whose behavior merited celebration?

I think mine deserves to be celebrated in the form of a job offer soon. Of course, I love all my friends and family who bring love into my life and make it worth living. My bf has been by my side through thick and thin this year and lord knows I’ve been depressed lately so I’m very thankful for him.

13: Whose behavior made you appalled?

If you might recall, my boyfriend’s friend group is all messed up right now from a huge cheating scandal. That’s a really long story but I think that was the wildest and worst thing of the year. So S/O to those snakes.

14: Where did most of your money go?

Tuition. Rent. Food. Where it always goes.

15: What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Love! Friendship! Vacation! Graduation! Being free!

16: What song will always remind you of 2019?

All I know is if I ever hear another Panera Playlist Song(tm) I’m gonna wreck whatever device is playing one of those songs. Seriously that place has made me hate “Big Yellow Taxi” which was previously a song I hadn’t heard in YEARS.

17: Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer?

Sad to announce. Sadder. About the same. Poorer.

18: What do you wish you’d done more of?

Been successful in my endeavors. Be creative. Gotten something done so I had something to show for myself.

19: What do you wish you’d done less of?

Sit around and do nothing. Kept my feelings bottled up.

20: How did you spend Christmas?

Home with the family. There’s no where else to be. Although part of the family was missing, and Will didn’t show up until later... it was still a good Christmas!

21: Did you fall in love in 2019?

A little more each day

22: What was your favorite TV program?

Things I enjoyed this year: Bojack Horseman. The Good Place. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul. Documentary Now! Madoka Magica. Death Parade. Doctor Stone. (yes my bf really conned me into watching all this anime) Tuca and Bertie. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. A Series of Unfortunate Events.

23: Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I’m not much of a hater. Don’t have it in me.

24: What was the best book you read?

I’m gonna be real with you fam, haven’t been reading much this year :/

25: What was your greatest musical discovery?

Uhhh, Cosmo Sheldrake. Lizzo. Idk I’m not very good at following artists it’s more like a heard a few good songs.

26: What did you want and get?

Out of college. A studio apartment. Away from all the stuff about college that wasn’t actually college but still made me feel bad like the people around there and stuff.

27: What did you want and not get?

A MOTHERFUCKING START TO MY CAREER!!

28: What was your favorite film of this year?

I was so poor all year I didn’t see like any movies :’( And I’ve also been super depressed lately so my memory is failing as to what I even saw. You know, I liked “Us” a lot so I’ll just go with that.

29: What one thing that made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Knowing I don’t have to go back to school and soon I won’t have to live in this city anymore.

30: How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018?

A poor person who has like 3 good outfits that are “looks” and just has to keep re-wearing them in different combinations.

31: What kept you sane?

I went insane this year. Honestly every now and then someone would just be really unexpectedly nice and kind to me and it would be like a slap in the face to me and I would feel better.

32: Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Man, I do not care about celebs.

33: What political issue stirred you the most?

This year? Climate change still. Also how fucked up Parking Enforcement and the local government is around here like I’m going to burn this place to the ground I hate it here so much and I’m POLITICIZING IT!!!

34: Who did you miss?

My grandma. My cat because she never comes out even when I come to visit.

35: Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2019.

People be lying. 

36: Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Only thing that’s coming to mind is “Oooh, I gotta get out of here.”

[quietya]

What’s Coming Up: Your Mod Went to Book Expo

Hello everyone! It’s your mod here and I want to talk about some of the titles that should be on your radar for the second half of 2019 (and some of 2020).

This year, as I have for the past several years, I was able to attend Book Expo and Book Con as press so I could learn about YA books and share that information with you all. And this year, I don’t really have another platform where I can do a recap like this one, so I thought I’d bring it here!

For those who don’t know, Book Expo is a professional publishing conference that happens every year - and most years it happens in New York City - where publishers preview their upcoming titles. Book Con is the more commercial side of the event, where it opens up to the public and focuses more on connecting readers with their favorite authors than showcasing new titles. I’ve been going to these events as media for I think three years now, but I also attended on a blogger badge for three years back when a blogger badge was more affordable.

ANYWAY, I generally do a lot of research into YA titles coming out each year before Book Expo and don’t learn about a ton of titles at the event, but I do get to pick up some books early, including some books that I wasn’t sure were my thing but somebody said something to change my mind.

So, on to the recap!

This year, I was at Book Expo briefly on May 29 (literally, like an hour) before heading to prep for Blogbound Con, then most of the day May 30 and May 31 and I was on the floor June 1 until An Intense Illness hit me (it’s been over a week and I’m almost? Recovered?) I picked up 28 full books, though some are adult and two are middle grade, so I’ll skip over those. Most of these aren’t out yet, but there are one or two that are out now that I’ll talk about.

The Map From Here to There by Emery Lord (January 7, 2020) - This is a companion/follow-up to Emery’s novel, The Start of Me and You. While there’s lots of adorable, nerdy romance in these books, it’s also very focused on a group of friends who’ve gotten each other through a lot of hardship together. The first book is set during their junior year of high school and the second book focuses on their senior year. I’m obsessed with Emery Lord’s books and so thrilled to have my hands on this new book.

Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor (October 15, 2019) - I don’t know a ton of details about this book besides the fact that it’s really queer sci-fi. There’s ace main characters, a f/f ship, a girl with an illegal clockwork heart, and a boy determined to catch her.

Slay by Brittney Morris (September 24, 2019) - This is perfect for fans of Ready Player One and Black Panther. Kiera is one of the few Black girls in her high school and, unbeknownst to anyone, the creator of a popular online role-play game inspired by Wakanda. Then a teen is murdered over an in-game dispute. It’ll be as hard-hitting as THUG and Dear Martin, but filled with the virtual conflict of Warcross.

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda (October 15, 2019) - Truthfully, I don’t know much about this one either. I was walking by when I saw they were putting this book out and there are dragons in the book? And I love dragons. 

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper (February 4, 2020) - This one was sort of on my radar, but I wasn’t planning to pick it up. Then at Blogbound, they had copies available for everyone who went to the breakfast event, so...it happened. But it’s basically a queer, m/m romcom that’s contemporary, but heavily involves space because their two parents are chosen for a trip to Mars.

The How and the Why by Cynthia Hand (November 6, 2019) - HarperTeen, the publisher of this book, did a drop of two books, both involving teen pregnancy, and while I’m excited for both, I chose this one because I love Cynthia Hand. This is a dual narrative, featuring a girl who was adopted and wants answers about her biological family, and the letters a teen mother wrote to the child she was giving up.

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (October 22, 2019) - Ruta Sepetys is a master at historical YA, especially aspects that are generally ignored. This one is set in Madrid in 1957, during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. It features an American boy who’s mother is from Spain and a girl who’s family was caught up in the Spanish Civil War and I’m so intrigued.

10 Blind Days by Ashley Elston (October 1, 2019) - This was pitched as perfect for fans of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which is totally my jam. Right before Christmas break, Sophie’s boyfriend breaks up with her. To help her heal, her family sets her up on a series of 10 blind dates - but her ex wants another chance too. This sounds adorable and fun and hilarious and I’m very excited to read it.

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett (October 29, 2019) - After her HIV-positive status gets out at school, Simone transfers to a new school for a new start - and she’s finding it. She’s even found Miles, who makes her melt. She knows she’ll have to tell him before things get too serious - but before she can, an anonymous note warns her that somebody knows she’s HIV-positive, and they want her to stay away from Miles or they’ll tell everyone.

Destroy All Monsters by Sam J. Miller (July 2, 2019) - Solomon and Ash were both traumatized when they were 12. As the years go by, these two best friends suddenly live in alternate realities - one lives in a world like ours, the other lives in a world full of monsters and beasties. But which one is the real world? And what happened that day when they were 12?

Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi (September 3, 2019) - After a year of college, Pablo is working at a deli, dodging calls from the student loans office, and unsure what’s next. Leanne has been successful her whole life, debuting her first #1 single at 15. Four years later, her whole life is a blur. They meet at random at 4 in the morning during a Brooklyn snowstorm and know it can’t be permanent, but long for a few moments of privacy that they’ll never have.

Shadowscent by P.M. Freestone (November 5, 2019) - Rakel is incredibly skilled with scents, but her scents can’t save her dying father. Ash is an imperial guard forced on a diplomatic mission to an outer province with the prince, who gets poisoned. By time Rakel and Ash make it to the field where the Empire’s rarest flowers grow, both hoping to save a life, they find the blooms on fire, and they’re the only ones around.

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson (July 9, 2019) - Magical crows are everything in Rhodaire until another empire invades and destroys everything. Princess Thia falls into a deep depression while her sister runs the kingdom - and is forced to arrange a marriage between Thia and the prince of the empire that invaded them and killed their parents. (Also, the first printing has a special cover under the dust jacket that’s GORGEOUS)

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh (October 8, 2019) - Here’s what I know about this one - the main character is a seamstress, it’s set in New Orleans in 1872, there are vampires, and there’s a murder mystery. And that’s all I want to know.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He (Out now!) - Hesina has no desire to rule, but when her father’s murdered, she’s forced into an unsteady queendom. While trying to stabilize her kingdom, she’s determined to catch her father’s murderer and does something illegal - hires a soothsayer, despite magic being outlawed. And with the information the sooth provides, she turns to convicted criminal who may be the only one who can solve the case.

Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo (October 8, 2019) - Ideal for fans of Six of Crows and Beneath the Citadel, four magical crooks have to work together after dark magic ends up in the wrong hands to save their city. But they can’t trust anyone, least of all each other.

There were other books that were on my radar, but I wasn’t able to pick up for one reason or another. If you’re interested in hearing about those, let me know and I’ll happily do another wrap up! But for now, I hope you learned about some new titles to pick up this year (or next year).

[callunavulgari]

Year-In-Life | 2018

Or that annual New Year’s meme about yours truly.

1. What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before? Got a big girl job! Got insurance! Made my very own eye doctor appointment! Got an apartment all on my own with my boyfriend! And this all happened since October! Basically I haven’t had time to do more than sleep in like two months!!!!!

But like. I’m making good money now, I can actually do things like go to the freaking doctor when I’m sick and not completely bankrupt myself if I get hit by a truck or something. Oh, and my new job has PTO! How rad is that, I can get paid for taking vacations now? The only downside is my eyes are not taking the staring at a computer screen all day very well and ache ALL the time now. But hey! Things are looking up other than my eyes being stabbed out of my skull?!

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Ugh I never remember what resolutions I actually made though! I mean, I know one of them was get a better job, which I did. I started smoking again for like two months and then quit again in November because holy shit I don’t need that in my life. I... briefly lost weight and then gained it all back because I stopped caring.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Couple high school people, I think. One of my best friend’s from middle school had her second kid. Another friend from middle school is expecting a third next year. But nobody particularly close, no. 4. Did anyone close to you die? I don’t think so.

5. What countries did you visit? Alternatively, what is your favorite place that you did go this year? Ugh, no countries. Nick got to go to Germany for his job training but I had to stay here because y’know, money, and also, money. Didn’t have the big girl job at the time and he went to Germany the week before we were due to go to North Carolina and I’m sorry, but I can’t freaking afford two weeks off of work. Couldn’t? Eh, still probably can’t unless I work crazy overtime to obtain more PTO. 

That said, I had lots of fun on our annual trip down to North Carolina. Once again I got to read a lot of books in the pool, chill on the beach, and play dumb drinking games with people five years younger than me. We also had an added date night, which I think I’m going to require every year.

6. What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018? Oh hey, I basically got everything that I wanted from last year. More steady job with insurance, apartment, not doing the college thing yet, but I’m going to have to think long and hard about how I want to proceed from here. This job opened up a LOT of opportunities for me, and I may pursue some of those instead of college. I just have to decide if that’s what I want.

Only thing that I didn’t get was, y’know, the ring thing. So here’s to hoping for next year? 

Also, ideally, we’re looking to buy a house sometime in either 2020 or 2021, so here’s to hoping we save up enough to make that happen.

7. What date from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? October 15th is when I started my new job. November 9th was when we moved out. Not many big events this year other than those. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Got new job! Got apartment! Read a metric crapton of books! Bought a nice couch that is all ours!

9. What was your biggest failure? Honestly? I’m not really sure. This year was kind of a good one. I’ve been very patient with Nick’s mom whenever we go on our weekly outing to one of the bars in our hometown and haven’t dropkicked her into the street whenever she gets too drunk. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Since moving out of the old house last month my weird allergy thing has improved wildly. We’re still using the sensitive skin detergent and I’m using very mildly scented soaps, but all in all the itching is so much less. I got really sick and missed Thanksgiving because I got some kind of stomach flu, and I think I had another stomach issue a few months back, but it’s been mostly mild. 11. What was the best thing you bought? I got new glasses at a vastly discounted rate because my vision insurance is apparently really good? We also bought a huge new sectional that is bigger, comfier, and LESS EXPENSIVE than all of the other couches we were looking at. I got Nick a sit/stand desk for Christmas and got upgraded to his old one by proxy. Got new books and a new painting for our living room. We also bought a new TV, because my old one was fucked and since we were moving out we didn’t have Seth’s to watch. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Mine. I was so good this year. 13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? Eh. Nick’s mom drives me nuts, my mom drives me nuts, the roommates aren’t as bad now because we aren’t there, but it got a little spotty near the end there.

14. Where did most of your money go? Mostly things like bills, car payments, groceries, plane ticket to South Carolina to see my family, Christmas presents. While I got a reasonably good big girl job Nick got a reasonably good computer engineering job which means even if he is just a starting salary it’s still about 30k more than I make. Which just, blows my mind to say? Because I’m not making less than 15k a year now?  15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I’m sorry that you have to hear it again, but new job! New apartment! New books and new things and hopefully a new chapter of our life. I’ve been trying to not get too psyched about things just in case the bottom drops out, but for now I’m letting myself enjoy this.

16. What song will always remind you of 2018? Paradise Valley. The Sailor Song. Daddy. Smallest Light. Lots of things off the Stranger Things soundtrack. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? Happier? Yeah, happier. ii. thinner or fatter? Little more, maybe? Again, lost a bunch but gained it back. iii. richer or poorer? Richer. With both of us having good jobs it’s so much easier to save. I dumped a little more than I should have into Christmas presents, but I’m still okay.  18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Write. I’ve been really bad about it, but I’m hoping that this year I’ll find my stride. 

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Still pretty chill this year. Maybe gotten my head out of my ass and tried to get a good job earlier, but I can’t regret it too much. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Spent Christmas Eve listening to Nick’s mom bitch about things and eating food that kind of turned my stomach. Spent Christmas Day at his mom’s in the morning and then his grandparents’ all afternoon. Only managed to squeeze a tiny amount of time for ourselves this year, but we had breakfast together and opened our presents. Hopefully next year we get Christmas Eve to ourselves again. 21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? So, last year we spent New Year’s cooking curry (him) and pirozki (me) and watching Planet Earth. I’m hoping to do something similar this year, but we might end up at his mom’s place getting trashed since we’re both off the next day. We’ll see. 22. Did you fall in love in 2018? Maybe a little more. 23. Best month for you this year? October? November? August? April-ish? Honestly most of my months this year were pretty okay. Like, I’m so sorry for all of you that had shitty years, but mine was so much better than basically anything from the past goddamn decade.

24. What was your favorite TV program? Of just 2018? Didn’t watch too much this year? Watched the second season of Westworld, Voltron, the Sense8 series finale, Killing Eve, Castlevania, The Haunting of Hill House, Bride of the Ancient Magus, Lost In Space... But honestly, most of them were good but not fantastic. I really liked the Sense8 finale and Hill House. Oooh, also, She-Ra. And Little Witch Academia! Those were good ones. 25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Eh.

26. What was the best book you read? Spinning Silver was so good, guys. The Goblin Emperor, A Tale For the Time Being, the Queen’s Thief series, the Kingkiller Chronicle, and the Nightrunner series were highlights too. It was a real good year for books, okay. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Paradise Valley. Holy shit that song is the best. 28. What did you want and got? I got a lot of stuff I wanted this year. The job, the apartment, books, games. Nick got me a fucking switch for Christmas and this really pretty teardrop necklace made of green glass that’s just fucking gorgeous. And I got the glasses, the stupid tv, the better couch... ugh, we spent so much money this year, but I mean, it’s kind of about time that we had the money to splurge a little?

29. What did you want but didn’t get? A... ring? I mean, we’ve talked about it and we’ve both been moving steadily in this direction, but it didn’t happen this year. I foolishly made a bet with one of his brother’s friends while I was drunk. He thought that he’d propose before December of 2020, I thought he’d propose before the end of 2019, so now even if I’m right I’m wrong and I know he is going to give me shit about it.

Also. I think I might actively want kids now? Like, not in a nebulous eventually kind of way, but I think I might want to start trying? I don’t know. More on that next year. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? The Greatest Showman was really great. Other than that though, I didn’t watch that many. 31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 29 went a lot like 28 and 27. Had lunch with Nick at the Lantern, and then lazed around until we went out to Old Bag of Nails with a few of our friends. It was nice. Nick got me knitting supplies because I mentioned a million years ago that I kind of wanted to learn so I could do something while listening to audiobooks.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Hah! A better president and a ring is the only thing that I didn’t get from my wishes last year. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2018? Honestly until I started having to dress for an office job my personal fashion concept was PJs all the time except for when I had to go wait tables for a few hours. Now that I have the office job I’ve been wearing lots of sweaters, scarves, and skirts with tall boots when it’s not too cold for them. My bet is next year I’m going to give up and buy scrubs like everybody else in the nursing department. 34. What kept you sane? Reading was really, really great this year. - STILL leaving this answer 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Eh. Amber Heard was recently very pretty on my tumblr dashboard? 36. What political issue stirred you the most? FUCK DONALD TRUMP IN THE EAR 2015678. —– Ayyyyy, this was my response from last year, and apparently also the year before and the one before! Hello past me’s, don’t worry, it’s still getting worse. 37. Who did you miss? Nick, while he was in Germany and when I was in South Carolina. It was dumb. I wanted to smooch his forehead gently. 38. Who was the best new person you met? I have lots of new coworkers, but Bryan is my favorite. He’s pretty cool and I could see myself being good friends with him if he doesn’t fuck off to a different state. 

39. Talk about a new friend that you made this year: *Sherlock voice* I don’t have friends. ---- I’m just going to leave this here. 

40. Post a picture from the beginning of the year:

Took this one in... early March, but it’s technically the earliest photo I took of myself that wasn’t technically from December of 2017. I really miss the dark hair.

41. Post a picture from the end of the year:

This was taken a couple days ago when I got new glasses. I am 100% not naked, I’m wearing a tanktop.

42. A memorable meal discovered this year? Uh. I don’t know if I actually tried any new recipes this year? Most things that I cooked were repeat favorites from last year and Nick hasn’t cooked too terribly much either. The new jobs thing has been nice, but also we have SO MUCH LESS TIME.

43. What was your favorite memory this year? I don’t know. There have been a few of them. I had a night that was kind of shitty and empty, and ended up reading that Cornstalk Fiddle fic that I’ve talked about and it turned into one of my favorite memories. The vacation and moving was pretty nice.

44. What are you excited for next year? Still wanna try for that trip that’s just me and Nick, but I’ve got my little brother’s graduation to go to in May and the North Carolina trip in August, which basically wipes out my PTO for the year, but we’ll see. Maybe we can take a weekend trip somewhere nice.

Oh. Also, I’m freaking excited for KINGDOM HEARTS 3?!

45. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018: Things can get better? Your life isn’t over if you don’t make it to college? Just. Things get better. We’ll go with that one. 46. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: I’m singin’ in the rain Just singin’ in the rain What a glorious feeling I’m happy again

First Fandom of 2018: January seemed to be an ecclectic mixture of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Captive Prince, The Exorcist, and Teen Wolf before I settled into Stranger Things at the end of the month. Favorite Main Character of 2018: Ahhhh. Fuck, I don’t know. Ryan Dalias or Doug Eiffel, probably. Favorite Villain of 2018: Damien, from the Bright Sessions. He’s not... exactly a big bad, but he certainly isn’t good. Also, Billy Hargrove. Favorite M/F Couple of 2018: I actually read a lot of Jaime/Brienne this year because astolat started writing it and it was just really solidly good. Oh, Miryem and the Staryk Lord was also A++ Favorite F/F Couple of 2018: I did not read or write any, but let me tell you, I felt Isabelle Lovelace and Renee Minkowski on a fucking galactic scale. Favorite M/M Couple of 2018: Mark/Damien and Billy/Steve absolutely dominated all of my other fandoms this year. But also, Ryan/Akmazian hurts my entire heart. Fandom That You Never Expected To Get Into: The Bright Sessions? I did not expect to actually have feelings about these characters. Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Read some Harry Potter and Thor fic sporadically throughout the year. And Pacific Rim 2 hit my like a freight train. Fandom That Inspired The Most Crack: Uh. Stranger Things, I guess? Last Fandom of 2018: I mean, technically I’ve been reading more Harringrove because of the holiday exchange, but I’m still pretty hung up on Wolf 359 and the Bright Sessions. Unfortunately, neither of them really have fic? Favorite Fandom of 2018: I liked all of them, but Stranger Things and The Bright Sessions was so much of my year I’m gonna have to go with those two.

[cthulhuofficial]

I picked out all the parts of my old journal about when Sean and I started dating!

October 22, 2018

Wish I didn’t fall for people so easily.

November 5, 2018

One thing I like is that Sean has clear goals that excite me, that I would also be excited to pursue. A common future goal that we work towards together, that we’re both equally excited for. I want that inborn sense of adventure, of being game! I want someone standing next to me, not following behind me. Heck, I want someone I have to run to keep up with!

November 15, 2018

For him, maybe I would… I like so much about him. I don’t know if I’ve ever had attraction/intelligence/humor/hobbies/goals/sex all converge in one person the way they have with him.

November 18, 2018

I recently saw someone’s apartment that was so undeniably them that I just fell in love with it. It was just so warm and cozy and comforting

December 5, 2018

He cooked me dinner last weekend - pork chops and wild rice and asparagus! It was incredible and romantic and kind. I want to do something really thoughtful for him, but I have no idea what. Cooking’s not exactly my forte. I’d like to plan a fun adventure or quest, but… I got nothing 😂

December 19, 2018

It makes me sick to my stomach to imagine him looking at someone else the way he looks at me, with the big grin and the crinkly eyes

December 20, 2018

I need to reframe this less as a doomed relationship and instead think about it as a stepping stone. What can I take from this that will help me grow? He does make me want to be a better person; let me learn about the kind of person I’d like to become, someone more like him. Let me practice being aware every day - every hour - of my feelings about my relationship. Let me learn more about the kind of person I would want to be with.

December 21, 2018

It’s hard not to want to cry over him in the dark

December 29, 2018

I love you. Just wanted to say it somewhere.

It’s gonna hurt so bad when you’re gone, but I can’t wait for you to find the person you’re meant to be with and have lots of babies. I love you so much that I want you to have everything you want, even if it’s not with me. What a lucky woman she will be.

January 28, 2019

Missing him hurts so much. And every time I leave him, it’s like I mourn for us all over again. I wish I could keep him, I think I could make it work with him.

It doesn’t help that I’ve never met anyone else like him, so leaving feels very final. I hate that I’m missing his birthday, but we’ll probably be broken up by then and I can’t put my life on hold.

January 28, 2019 (later)

He calls me lovely and makes me cum like no one ever has and then makes me breakfast the next morning

February 11, 2019

I LOVE HIM <3 <3 <3 <3

February 25, 2019, 7:07pm

Right now I think I could. Imagining coming home after work to find him doing homework with our kid with dinner cooking on the stove. Kissing him hello, ruffling the kid’s hair, eating dinner together.

February 25, 2019, 7:07pm

I don’t think I can do this

February 25, 2019, 11:41pm

Maybe I can do this

March 3, 2019

Falling asleep on his chest after slow Sunday afternoon sex while he’s still inside of me <3 <3 <3

March 5, 2019

It's been a joy making delicious meals with Sean, dumplings, pork chops, shakshuka. We're going to make homemade mozzarella soon, and make pizza with it!

Sean is always up for anything, to the point where I fear he'll find me boring in my general easygoingness. I have to put in some effort and come up with things for us to do!

March 11, 2019 I really think I could do it. Have a baby. 99.9% of life is day-to-day - I shouldn't discount that.

March 11, 2019 He came in my ass last night and I can't stop thinking about it 😍😍😍

March 11, 2019 Is it possible to change your mind about something like that after like... 20+years of being sure of yourself? I don’t even think it’d be such a sacrifice anymore. Things would change, it would be challenging. But I love cooking and keeping my house and taking care of Sean. I think I want to do this for him. People say “You just have to meet the right person.” I always thought that was patronizing, but maybe they’re right?

How do I know if this is real and not something I’m going to wake up from in ten years and feel trapped? If I even have that doubt, is it even worth trying?

But that feels like such a... human emotion. I don’t think anyone who has kids can say for sure. I don’t think I’m unique in that.

March 16, 2019

It feels fine at this point. I feel like we’re going to do it. There are still some questions for me - would we adopt? how many? am I going to breastfeed (I don’t want to)? But they’re not gamebreakers. I’m scared about how our relationship will develop and evolve, but that’s a leap of faith I would have to take regardless of who I ended up with. And I just love him so much. I can’t remember if I ever loved anyone else this much. I want to be so much better for him, I feel so lucky to be with him, every day we’re together, I am grateful for the time we have.

March 17, 2019

I LOVE HIMMMMM

And at this point... I would have a baby with him. Maybe he’d agree to only one. Or to play it by ear. It’s not like I’m dying to have a kid all of a sudden, it’s just... an option. I could be okay not having a kid, but having one is not a terrible thought anymore.

Just the idea of the house we talked about, and supporting each other, and getting to take care of him... it’s all I want. We were talking to a guy who had a surprise kid last night... he said they didn’t want kids, but they had a son and he is so happy. He was scared, but he said as soon as he held it, he loved it. So I even think I’d love it if I had one. I’m less afraid of just being completely apathetic.

March 18, 2019

I love you, my darling!

Is it an infatuation? Is it brought on by so many orgasms? Is it an unstable sense of identity? Or is it real? I think it’s real. I really do. I know we’ve only been together for five months, and long-distance-ish at that, but I think it’s real. I would do it for him.

I keep worrying about what other people might say about me changing my mind, namely my parents, but I can’t live my life like that.

March 25, 2019

He’s so special, I feel so lucky that he’s chosen to send time with me. It makes me want to be a better person, but I don’t even like phrasing it like that because I like who I am and I don’t want to change myself for him, so it’s like... I want to be who I am but moreso. All the good things about me, but more of it. We met and fell in love while I was this self, my truest self, the first time I’ve felt sure of myself and confident and competent, so I think this is me, and that is him, and this is us, and I don’t think I’m “faking” it or changing myself for him. It feels real.

I also don’t like saying “I feel lucky,” because that feels like a fluke, coincidental, or something I don’t deserve. I want to feel deserving of his love, not like I tricked him or won a bet or something. More like I feel grateful to have found someone like this.

(When is he gonna wake up and realize what a mess I am? That he could do better, find someone prettier and more together?)

April 11, 2019

I’ve never been “long distance” with someone, and it can be frustrating (especially sexually), but it’s made me really appreciate the time I do get with him, and no matter what happens with this, that’s something I hope I never forget. I wanna appreciate every day I get to spend with the people I love, even if it’s Every Day.

April 29, 2019

Being without him is like an ache

May 12, 2019

I’m throwing myself into love, even though I feel right now like I don’t deserve it, and I’m coming around to that, too. I’m forgiving my mistakes in the past, I’m being open and allowing myself to be in love, and to see my relationship (all relationships, not just the romantic one) as a support that makes me stronger, instead of a dependency that makes me weaker! And any help and support I am given just makes me love that person more. More love can never be a bad thing.

[hallyuandthephilippines]

The Wings Chronicles – A BTS Exhibit For A Cause

Last September 2, I attended The Wings Chronicles exhibit here in Manila, which featured fan arts and photographs of the popular group Bangtan Sonyeondan (방탄소년단) also known as BTS . The two-day non-profit event was attended by numerous Filipino fans and was organized by Army Box.

I spoke to Rosie, head of Army Box, to get to know more about the Wings Chronicles Exhibit and the team behind it. “Army Box is a fan artists community with the goal of providing artistic BTS-related products in terms of goods and services by collaborating with different fansites, fanbases and organizations that will help uplift the image of BTS. It was officially established last year August 19, 2016. The team consists of 30 members from Philippines and USA.”

The Wings Chronicles Exhibit made its first stop in the Philippines, holding it in both Cebu and Manila, followed by Bangkok and Singapore. Just like BTS, The Wings Chronicles is also ‘touring’ different countries. So better check out the list of places they will go to at the end of this article to see if they are making a stop in your city.

It was definitely fun to be in a room full of Armys (fanclub name of BTS), all full of admiration and appreciation for the group. What makes the Wings Chronicles exhibit different from other BTS exhibits I’ve seen is that they are doing the event for a cause, as the proceeds will be donated under the name of BTS to humanitarian charities such as War Child USA Organization, St. Jude Children's Research and UNICEF. This is what drew me to the event all the more. In the Manila stop, there was also a photobooth set-up that fans availed of to commemorate the day with their friends. The accumulated cash from that section was said to have been donated to the children of Marawi, a place in Mindanao Island in the Philippines that is currently in the midst of a heated war between the local troops and armed Maute-ISIS group. Over the years I’ve seen donations using the names of the groups they idolize being common, especially fans of Korean artists, and I’m glad that besides supporting our favorite singers…we’re also making a difference.

Rosie explained that the Wings Chronicles concept actually started on a whim. “The admins (of Army Box) were planning about doing a whole year project in relation and likeness of how BTS has given everyone opportunities. We decided to pursue Global Embarkation, a two part project that focuses on extending help to our fellow Armys and mankind. The first part of this series was entitled, “Army Meets What”, which was held from January to June in celebration of BTS 4th Year Anniversary. For the second part, we are now going on a journey for a worldwide exhibit in collaboration with different fansites and fanbases carrying the title, “Wings Chronicles: The Exhibit”.

The team decided to hold the Wings Chronicles exhibit in places where Wings Tour happened. We wanted to share, relive and reminisce the experience of attending the concert with fellow Armys who were not able to do so and of course to meet Armys in different parts of the world. The exhibit will be held in different countries mainly, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, United States of America, Canada, Malaysia, Hongkong and South Korea.

It takes about 2-3months to organize each stop…from venues, set up & layout and other details. The team for each exhibit also vary by country. It usually ranges from 5 and above. There is about 25 fan artists consisting of Army Box members that produced fine artworks for the exhibit.”

Fellow ‘fangirls’ who I talked to after the Wings Chronicles exhibit stated that they highly recommend going to these kinds of events. “It’s like attending a concert” One excitedly said. While another thought that being surrounded with fellow fans helped her have fun and gain new friends. I noticed that a lot of the girls who met up on the day were just friends via the internet before, the event gave them a chance to personally meet each other to put a face behind their usernames…or what is called ‘meeting mutuals’ in today’s terms.

There were numerous photos and fan arts that the fans in the event’s place gush over. If you know the ‘heart eyes’ emoji on your phone, that’s the expression all of the attendees had. Background music of BTS was played all throughout which made fans ecstatic, we sang along and even did the fan chants all together.  Honestly I am very envious of people who can draw because I simply can’t, so I really admire the fan arts. Instead of the usual paintings that we grew up seeing in our homes, I imagine KPOP fans having these fanarts and framed photos of their idols as part of the interior design.

(The Wings Chronicles Exhibit held at the BTS Brick Live Café in Bangkok. Photo courtesy of Wingschronicles)

I was also able to interview one of the fan artists that participated in the exhibit, Giulia, who creates art featuring BTS as a hobby.  

“Getting to participate in events such as exhibits like the Wings Chronicles is an opportunity to me. It's an opportunity for me to share my art and interact with people. It is also an opportunity for me to learn. I learn to improve myself as an artist, getting to know what people like or what they appreciate. Also, picking up details here and there.

I only started my art account (@tiramijuu) last January 2017, but I already have been doing fanarts around June last year. Instagram was my first source for any BTS updates when I got into the fandom, and I'd always see fanarts posted by accounts I followed. I got inspired by them. I decided, why not give it a try? I had a talent for drawing and this could become a way for me to improve my craft. So, I started posting them on my personal account, then later on opened an art account. I draw because I want to, because I like it. I enjoy what I'm doing, and that for me, is very important.”

For Giulia, she still feels overwhelmed whenever people post pictures of merchandise featuring her artwork. “Their reactions and feedback are rooms for improvement. This is also a main reason why I like participating in these events, it's because I get joy from people seeing my art. Simple compliments of 'It's very cute' or 'I really like it' already makes me smile from ear to ear. Overall, I greatly appreciate it and am really glad.”

A lot of people have noted that the KPOP market has been oversaturated, with more and more Korean groups and singers debuting almost every month. So I was curious what made BTS stand out for Giulia and turn her into a fan. “Their playful nature attracted me. However, their music, pulled me right in and sealed the deal. I really love the music they produce, it speaks to the heart. And the fact that they talk about unusual topics made me stay. And also, the creative cinematography and storyline of their music videos had me sold.”

As BTS somewhat brought out Giulia’s creative side more, I too can relate. As shy as I am, I never thought I’d put myself out there by creating content on Youtube, stepping out of my comfort zone and to share my feelings all spurred by my love for Korean pop culture. I can say that BTS became an influence for me to lessen my self-doubt and just take the jump.

If you’re also a big fan of BTS and want to ‘fangirl’ for a cause, here is the list of the upcoming places where the Wings Chronicles’ will be held. Do follow them on twitter (@WingsChronicles) for updates, registration, additional dates, etc.  Aside from the confirmed dates below, they are also planning to bring the event to HongKong and South Korea.

 SINGAPORE: Visual Arts Center

Sept 23 - 24

 USA

*CALIFORNIA: Prime Mid-City Gallery Event Space, Los Angeles.

October 7 - 8 2017

*NEW YORK: Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

October 14, 2017

 CANADA

*VANCOUVER: The Space Art Gallery

October 21-22

*TORONTO: Diverse Character Studio

Oct 28-29

 INDONESIA: Qubicle Senopati, Jakarta.

November 11-12

 MALAYSIA: Makespace LG2, Kuala Lumpur

November 18-19              

Photos:

 Nadine Postigo

Wings Chronicles Twitter

Giulia

[junker-town]

Why Will Healy might unlock Charlotte’s potential

The man who resurrected Austin Peay gets a chance to prove Charlotte’s ceiling as a program is quite high.

Bill C’s annual preview series of every FBS team in college football continues. Catch up here!

Over the course of three and a half years and 200-something episodes of a podcast, you’re going to end up with some pet topics. That has been the case with Podcast Ain’t Played Nobody, hosted by Steven Godfrey and yours truly.

As I mentioned in last year’s Charlotte preview, one of Godfrey’s pet topics is how high of a ceiling coaches think the UNCC job might have, with its combination of recruiting potential and low expectations. We might get to find out if they’re right.

Charlotte’s first FBS-level coaching change was memorable. The 49ers dumped Brad Lambert on November 18, the day after their seventh loss of the season. They would finish with nearly as many wins in 2018 (five) as in their first three FBS seasons combined (seven), and they had finally dug out of the FBS cellar in S&P+ rankings (they were still just 118th, but that was eight spots better than any previous performance). But the improvement had been minimal and one-dimensional, so it was time to make a move.

Their first move was a big one: they all but wooed James Madison head coach Mike Houston. He had gone 37-6 in three seasons at JMU and had briefly wrenched away North Dakota State’s stranglehold on the FCS title, winning at Fargo as part of 2016’s championship run. Despite fewer scholarships, JMU had undoubtedly been better than Charlotte, and he agreed in principle to come aboard.

But then he dragged his feet. ECU, with its AAC money, began wooing him as well. Charlotte cut its losses.

Only when compared to Houston’s record does Will Healy’s name seem underwhelming. The 34-year-old Healy won the 2017 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award after pulling off one of the most dramatic turnarounds you’ll ever see. He inherited an ongoing Austin Peay losing streak, and it stretched to 29 games before his Governors whomped Morehead State in the third game of his second year there. But once they won, they kept on winning — they went 7-1 in the Ohio Valley and 8-4 overall (8-2 against FCS opponents) and damn near made the FCS playoffs. Should have, in fact.

APSU slipped a bit in Healy’s third season. The Governors lost every close game and fell to 5-6 overall, but most of the shine remained. You could argue the experience he gained in building something out of nothing in Clarksville applies more specifically to the Charlotte job than Houston’s performance — making a very good program better — would’ve.

Healy won’t be starting from scratch. He inherits a senior-heavy defense that improved quite a bit in coordinator Glenn Spencer’s only year. (The former Oklahoma State DC moved on to FAU following Lambert’s firing.) They ranked 24th in Rushing S&P+ and return most of the reasons why.

The offense is a work in progress, to put it diplomatically. The 49ers will start as many as nine seniors on defense, and by the time the offense finds some traction, the defense might have to be rebuilt. Still, the 49ers had begun to show a hint of promise before Lambert left, and Healy might — might — be able to build on that.

Offense

Poor Benny LeMay. The senior-to-be from the Charlotte area has done everything he can over the last couple of years to drag the 49ers offense forward.

In 2017, he rushed for 158 yards in a four-point loss to NC A&T, then rushed for 178 yards in a one-point loss to FIU. He finished that year averaging 5.3 yards per carry for an offense that had little else to offer, then he averaged 5.4 in 2018 with the same “LeMay in a losing effort” performances — 129 yards in an eight-point loss to eventual C-USA East champ MTSU, 159 and four scores in a seven-point loss to FIU, etc.

Barring injury, LeMay will likely finish his career with over 3,000 career rushing yards; he also hasn’t yet played on an offense that ranked higher than 122nd in Off. S&P+. Just imagine what he could do with help.

He might get help from a change in scheme, at least — Healy named former Willie Fritz assistant Alex Atkins as his first UNCC offensive coordinator. Atkins worked for the run-happy Fritz at both Georgia Southern and Tulane, recently as offensive line coach. We’ll see what he tries in his first year, but odds are good it will feature Benny.

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Benny LeMay

Tulane shifted away from its spread option roots a hair in 2018, asking its quarterbacks to throw nearly 25 passes per game. Considering the non-LeMay personnel, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Charlotte attempted something similar — LeMay’s returning backups averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, and the line only returns two starters. (Redshirt freshman and former star recruit Terrick Smalls Jr. will have a chance to take on a decent load if he’s ready.)

Receivers Victor Tucker and Rico Arnold combined for 1,014 yards, 13.3 yards per catch, and 8.2 yards per target. Whenever anything exciting happened in the Charlotte passing game last year, these sophomores were probably the reasons. Plus, Healy just added seven to the receiving corps (five WRs, two TEs) in his first class, including high-three-star freshman Noah Henderson. You probably don’t do that if you’re running the ball non-stop.

One more reason to throw: your quarterbacks aren’t extremely mobile. Both Chris Reynolds and Evan Shirreffs averaged about one non-sack carry for every seven pass attempts (not a high ratio), and Reynolds, the far more successful passer of the two, averaged only about 3.3 yards per carry with a 27 percent rushing success rate. A burner, he is not. USF transfer Brett Kean, added in January, isn’t either.

So Healy hired a run-first coordinator, then added a bunch of pass-first personnel. That’s interesting, if nothing else.

It bears mentioning that Reynolds was showing potential before an ankle injury. The 5’11 redshirt freshman completed 65 percent of his passes, with a 139.2 passer rating in six games. Shirreffs, a Miami transfer, completed 52 percent with a 101.5 rating.

Reynolds predictably struggled against a good Appalachian State, but Charlotte averaged 31 points per game against Fordham, ODU, and UMass, and in those games Reynolds went a combined 61-for-88 (69 percent) for 752 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. In those games, Tucker caught 22 passes for 336 yards — that both Reynolds and Tucker are still just sophomores shows there’s a pretty high ceiling. Atkins will have to balance between continuing to give them further chances to develop while giving LeMay as many carries as he can handle.

Defense

Marcus Cooper and Brandon West have a higher bar to clear. Charlotte’s new co-coordinators inherit a unit that showed spectacular upside ... in at least one of its main duties.

Spencer’s only year in Charlotte produced some of the best run defense in the Group of 5. The 49ers ranked 19th in rushing marginal efficiency, 18th in stuff rate (run stops at or behind the line), and 42nd in opportunity rate (percentage of carries gaining at least four yards), and they were able to generate pass pressure in non-blitz situations (22nd in standard downs sack rate).

Everything fell apart once opponents were forced to pass, but ... baby steps.

Charlotte had five primary havoc producers (tackles for loss, passes defensed, forced fumbls), and in end Alex Highsmith, linebacker Jeff Gemmell, safety Ben DeLuca, and corner Nafees Lyon, four return. Only linebacker Juwan Foggie departs. Almost all of the primary returnees are seniors, though, so Cooper and West will be up against a deadline.

Cooper and West are both former Healy coordinators. Cooper led APSU’s defense in 2016-17 before becoming Minnesota’s line coach in 2018, and West took over for Cooper when he left.

Their Governor defenses weren’t particularly disruptive. At their best moments, they were best in the big-play prevention department. While the run defense didn’t allow much of anything, the pass defense certainly allowed big plays. UNCC was 100th in passing marginal explosiveness and 101st on passing downs, when the pass rush failed to get home and opponents had the option of completion short or long passes. Even with Lyon making quite a few plays (three TFLs, five breakups), Charlotte allowed a 66 percent completion rate, 126th in FBS.

Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images

Marquill Osborne (3)

The secondary gets a refresh, and that might not be bad. DeLuca and Lyon return, but the other two starters don’t. But corners Quinton Jordan and Robert Cheatem are both likely to return; they missed 2018 after combining for 67 tackles and eight breakups the previous year. Plus, the 49ers could get a boost from Tennessee transfer and former blue-chipper Marquill Osborne. It’s unclear to me if he graduated from UT, but the NCAA’s Random Wheel of Destiny could declare him eligible anyway.

(Another power conference transfer, former Penn State linebacker Brelin Faison-Walden, appears to be in the same boat. A redshirt sophomore to be, he definitely didn’t graduate in State College. But with the NCAA, that only sometimes matters.)

Special Teams

Lambert left Healy a nice present in special teams. Place-kicker Jonathan Cruz ranked 20th in FBS in FG efficiency, going 8-for-10 on field goals longer than 40 yards, and he was only a freshman. Even if Charlotte’s offense isn’t a lot better, he can make sure the 49ers get points out of any scoring chances they can scrounge around for. He was good in kickoffs, too.

The rest of the unit was nondescript, but UNCC ranked 69th in Special Teams S&P+ because of Cruz, and they’ll have him a while longer.

2019 outlook

2019 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 31-Aug Gardner-Webb NR 24.1 92% 7-Sep at Appalachian State 31 -30.8 4% 14-Sep Massachusetts 125 4.6 61% 21-Sep at Clemson 3 -50.2 0% 28-Sep Florida Atlantic 79 -14.0 21% 12-Oct at Florida International 88 -17.0 16% 19-Oct at Western Kentucky 101 -11.7 25% 26-Oct North Texas 84 -13.3 22% 2-Nov Middle Tennessee 104 -6.0 36% 9-Nov at UTEP 130 8.2 68% 23-Nov Marshall 77 -14.2 21% 30-Nov at Old Dominion 119 -2.8 44%

Projected S&P+ Rk 120 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 126 / 95 Projected wins 4.1 Five-Year S&P+ Rk -21.8 (130) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 123 2018 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 1 / 2.5 2018 TO Luck/Game -0.6 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 65% (60%, 69%) 2018 Second-order wins (difference) 3.6 (1.4)

Lambert’s last season was his most promising, and while it wasn’t enough, it painted a more optimistic picture for his successor.

The trick, however, will be class balance. The defense is senior-heavy, as is the run game, but the passing offense is crazy-young and could be exciting sooner than later. There’s upside, but a lot of it has a bad expiration date.

It’s not hard to see the combination of LeMay in the backfield, Reynolds, Tucker, and Arnold in the passing game, and a veteran-heavy defense improving enough to eke out a bowl bid. Still, S&P+ suggests that the most likely scenario is closer to four wins. With the turnover coming in 2020, the ceiling might be four then, too.

Luckily, Healy’s not afraid of a hard job. He got APSU off the mat more quickly than anyone could have expected, and he’s in fertile recruiting ground.

Team preview stats

All 2019 preview data to date.

[unicornsandcharlie2]

1. What is one thing that brings a smile to your face, no matter the time of day?

David playing around, my baby cousins.

2. What’s is one thing that you’re proud of?

Being a good sister, a communicative daughter and keeping a diary for 11 years.

3. What makes you laugh?

My best friend Marina, she’s hilarious. The Receipts podcast, stan twitter, Real Housewives fight compilations, Dance Moms 

4. When you’re feeling super lazy, what’s your guilty-pleasure Netflix show?

I’ve only begun watching it recently, The Thick Of It, but I haven’t watched it enough for it to be my go to.

5. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Telling my parents I was sexually abused as a child and who had done it.

6. What is one memory you have from childhood?

Going to the toilet in my kindergarten in Kenya and wearing the blue uniform.

7. What’s the best thing about your life right now?

Not sure. My health maybe.

8. What is one thing that you’re thankful for?

A loving and supportive family.

9. What’s one thing that you fear?

Losing my friends.

10. If you could only watch one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

11. Can you tell me one thing, big or small, that you’ve never told anyone else?

I get blisters on my feet

12. If you were forced to leave your home and move to a county you’ve never been before, what are three things that you’d take with you?

My diary, laptop and my bank card. 

13. What’s a favorite memory with a pet/animal?

Walking ralph and stroking him to sleep.

14. Who are you closest to in your family?

My brothers. But my mum knows the  most about me.

15. What’s your family like?

Loving, invasive, safe, ever growing, loud and Eritrean

16. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Salted Caramel but I love a cheeky chocolate cornetto 

17. What’s your favorite joke?

The Gregg joke

18. What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever done?

Stapled my finger 

19. If you could rewrite your past, what’s one thing you’d change?

I would kiss him back.

20. What do you think your best physical feature is?

My smile

21. What’s one thing about yourself, personality-wise, that you like?

I am an Optimist

22. When you’re feeling down, who or what is your biggest go-to person or activity?

Listening to my favourite podcasts, and talking to my best mates.

23. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Old me would have said chocolate digestives, but I am trying to be healthy so no idea mate.

24. What’s one thing you’re super passionate about?

Reading.

25. If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would you give up and why?

Sense of smell, everything else is essential.

26. What’s the hardest thing, physically, you’ve ever done?

Surviving Masawa heat in a car with 6 other people, sitting on leather seats 

27. What’s the hardest thing, mentally, you’ve ever done or been through?

Coming to terms with my childhood trauma, and the latent issues it caused and manifested itself in destructive behavioural patterns.

28. What’s the best part about your job?

I do not work currently.

29. What’s one thing that defines who you are?

Reading and being a big sister.

30. If tomorrow was your last day on earth, what would you do in your last 24 hours?

Spending time with all my family, kissing my cousins incessantly, calling back to Eritrea, eating my favourite foods, swimming, go for a run, see my best friends .

31. What do you believe in, generally or faith-wise?

I believe in myself, I believe in being kind to people, I believe in being critical when necessary. I haven’t quite figured the rest out yet.

32. If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?

I’m a Sagittarius. 

33. Where’s the coolest place you’ve ever been/traveled to?

Eritrea

34. What’s one thing people would never know about you just by looking at you?

I love X men and used to read the comics a lot.

35. What’s one thing about the opposite sex that you’re attracted to?

Their backs.

36. What are three qualities you look for in a potential date?

Communicative

Compatible

Beautiful

37. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for a girl?

I got the bus all the way to the practical outskirts of London when I was like 12 to give her a lock in the shape of a heart to let her know she was still my best friends even though we went to different schools.

38. How would others describe you?

Smart, funny a little bit crazy.

39. What’s your all-time favorite memory?

Floating in a river in Turkey looking up at the sky, waking up in the morning to have breakfast with my family in Eritrea, when David says my name, my brothers giving me a hug and a kiss everytime we say goodnight.

40. What are your parents/step-parents/guardians/people who raised you like?

Eritrean, one is a Libra, the other a Scorpio. Nuff said.

41. What’s your go-to alcoholic drink?

Disarrano and coke

42. What would be your ideal first date?

Bonfire night, huddled up together to get warm, in our cute but warm winter clothes. I am drinking dairyfree hot chocolate, November has just begun, the air is crisp and cool. We look at each other, our faces illuminated by the fireworks above us, amongst all these people I know I will be safe with them. We kiss.

43. If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

1) Return back to 2016 and start life again

2)Redistribute wealth and resources to the global south and reparations to the colonised countries

3) Protect all my cousins and brothers from ever being abused.

44. If you could a full 24 hours without any work or obligations, a day to just do whatever you wanted, what would you do?

I did try this and fell into a depressive episode so..

45. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

When Ali told me he liked my smile.

46. What is something you’re talented at?

Finding books when I have forgotten the name of the book, name of the author and really only know the obscure details of it.

47. What’s your favourite college memory?

Did not enjoy it enough to have a favourite experience.

48. What is your best friend like?

Funny, a Pisces, irreverent, kind, intelligent, athletic, adaptable, mysterious.

49. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

North London.

50. What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Go to Antarctica.

51. If someone gave you a million dollars right now, what would you spend it on?

Put it all in savings and buy plane tickets for my WHOLE family to visit Eritrea one year so we can all see each other before my grandparents die.

52. Have you ever made a decision that changed your entire life? If so, what was it?

Telling my teachers I was having suicidal thoughts.

53. What’s your favourite thing to do on the weekends?

Read and drink tea

54. What’s your zodiac sign? And do you think it describes you?

Sag sun, Cap moon and Venus, Gemini rising. To a T.

55. What’s your biggest regret?

Too many to count.

56. What can always put you in a good mood?

A good cup of tea and Beyonce.

57. What’s your guilty pleasure snack, drink, or junk food?

Being a Barb and Chocolate digestives.

58. If you were forced to eat fast food for your every meal, what would be your top two places?

Five Guys.

59. What’s one thing you wish you could change about yourself?

I wish I was better being focused and also a billionaire. And to stop dwelling on the past.

60. If you had the option to hit restart and begin life all over again, would you?

YES

61. Have you ever lost someone close to you? What were they like?

In regards to death, yes my Grandfather. He loved me a lot but I couldn’t tell you anything about his personality, stoic I guess. In a broader sense of course I went to 4 different schools, so I have lost friends that way.

62. What’s your favorite social media profile?

My secret twitter, I am very wholesome on there.

63. What’s one thing that totally relaxes you when you’re stressed?

That one day everybody is going to be dead and none of this will matter eventually because our bodies are temporary things which will decay.

64. What’s a random hobby you’ve always wanted to try but never have?

Ballet.

65. When was the last time you cried, and why did you?

Cannot remember, probably a few days ago because of my academic obligations.

66. What scares you the most about the future?

Climate change and my career and my family’s health.

67. Do you want to have children someday?

Yes.

68. What do you imagine your future family will be like?

Healthy and Eritrean.

69. Have you ever done or accomplished something you never thought you could? What was it?

Yes.Telling people about my abuse.

70. What’s one thing you could never live without?

Pen and paper

71. Who is one person you could never live without?

Myself, literally.

72. What’s your favourite vacation place?

Eritrea.

73. Would you rather go out or stay in on a Saturday night?

Go out ( but I don’t very often )

74. What’s your favourite quote, line of poetry, or sentence?

“You don’t have to change, you just have to learn how to live with yourself”

75. What’s your favorite family memory?

I don’t know.

76. What’s one thing that helps you decide you can trust someone?

If they are measured, if I can relax around them.

77. Have you been in love before?

No.

78. How would you explain what ‘love’ is?

Still loving them and wanting the best for them when you are extremely angry.

79. Have you ever gotten your heart broken?

Yes.

80. What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself from a past relationship?

I am not as slick as I think I am and physical affection makes me feel nervous.

81. What’s your biggest pet peeve?

People moving my shit and not telling me where it is,

82. What’s one thing that’s a total turn off?

Ignorance.

83. What’s one thing that’s a total turn on?

A nice voice.

84. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for a girl?

I don’t fucking know?!

85. What’s your go-to drink/food/activity when you’re sick and in bed?

Tea and biscuits and spicy noodles.

86. What’s the scariest thing that ever happened to you as a kid?

Watching Taken and having very vivid nightmares about it afterward.

87. Who in your family, immediate or extended, are you the most similar to?

Henok.

88. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Happy, and thriving.

89. What’s your favorite song or artist?

Fast Car- Tracy Chapman.

90. What would be your dream job?

Getting paid to read the books I want.

91. If you were writing a book about your life, what would the title be?

I don’t know what’s going on either

92. What’s your favorite word?

Sefanit. It used to be unrealistic.

93. What keeps you up at night?

My academic obligations, trauma, the idea of never being happy and the internet.

94. What’s your go-to phrase?

Good for her.

95. What’s one silly, little-kid item that you still have somewhere hidden in your room?

My unicorn pet pillow, Hayley.

96. Who is someone that’s impacted your life or helped you become who you are?

Myrto- my therapist.

97. What’s one thing you want to achieve before you die?

Go to Antarctica.

98. What’s your favorite book?

This book will save your life by AM Homes.

99. What’s one thing, silly or serious, that you’re guilty of?

Swearing a lot.

100. What makes you blissfully, completely, smile-from-ear-to-ear happy?

Reading, a good cup of tea with chocolate digestives, my best friends jokes, when David says my name, having fun with my mum, my dad calling me sweetie, hearing the right playlist at the right time and clean sheets

[purplesurveys]

1053

1. What did you do in 2020 that you'd never done before? Other than the obvious getting-a-job and other adulting stuff, 2020 was the year of my first cigarette, the first time I had to use eye drops, the first time I got sick for longer than a day, and the first time I tried my hand in embroidery.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t make any because I usually get tired of maintaining them after a few weeks. But idk, last night I had an idea that I want to try a new restaurant by myself every weekend in 2021. It’s very self-care-y which is what I need these days, and it’s definitely feasible now that I have my own money. Given my track record with resolutions I’m not expecting too much, but I still hope I’m able to hold out for as long as I can.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I know a co-worker became a mom this year, but I don’t consider myself close to her. We’re cool with each other, but that’s about it. Her baby is the cutest though.

4. Did anyone close to you die? One of my great-aunts passed away in April.

5. What countries did you visit? I stayed put here. It wasn’t like I could get on an airplane this year anyway. The Thailand and Vietnam trips are going to have to wait.

6. What would you like to have in 2021 that you lacked in 2020? Me back.

7. What date from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 10 (the start of the lockdown); August 2 (my university graduation); September 15 (the breakup and Angela’s birthday); November 9 (my first day as an employee).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Being able to be strong enough to stay.

9. What was your biggest failure? Self-harm, or blaming myself.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yeah I got a UTI early in the year, which gave me a week-long fever. I’ve also gotten hundreds of scratches and play bite marks from Cooper since we got him in June.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My embroidery kits! I bought them on a whim and seriously doubting if I’ll ever enjoy it given my previous hatred for anything sewing/knitting; but I’ve already done two templates and I just ordered two more to do during the holiday break. I haven’t gotten much for myself yet because my first paychecks coincide with Christmas lol, but once the gift-giving is out of the way I want to get myself games on the Nintendo Switch, Airpods, and candles.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Andrew has been incredibly supportive and patient, and has stuck by me through the whole year whether I was on top of the world, stressing out over our thesis, or in my inconsolable black hole of sadness. No clue where I’d be without them.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Gabie, at least by August. I don’t know anyone who consistently let me down in the last 12 months.

14. Where did most of your money go? Christmas gifts for others; for myself, Starbucks coffee and pastries.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Graduating college and sharing my graduation photo with everyone. I remember also having been super excited to work on my birthday gift for Gab, which was to make a short video for her using iMovie (which I had never touched before until then). I was the best fucking girlfriend. Also, getting Cooper!!

16. What song will always remind you of 2020? Not sure. Music wasn’t a big part of my life this year. Maybe Why We Ever by Hayley Williams? I put it on repeat too many times in 2020.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder? A lot sadder.

ii. Thinner or fatter? Said sadness made me lose my appetite and a whole bunch of weight by the latter part of the year. All of my shorts and jeans have gotten loose around my waist, so I’ve definitely felt the weight loss.

iii. Richer or poorer? I’m richer now, but only because I didn’t have a job before and I do now. My family’s finances have taken a blow due to the pandemic, though. I try to help by chipping in for the electricity bill, and buying my family nice food every now and then. 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Love myself, appreciate myself, thank myself. All the self-love crap I didn’t think I deserve.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Tolerating bullshit I knew I didn’t deserve but kept going with anyway.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? We’ll be with my mom’s side on the 24th; having family come over to our place on the 25th; and will be going to my dad’s side on the 26th. Gonna be the most hectic three days ever and I’m PUMPED tbh lol. It’ll be the busiest we’ve been all year.

21. What was the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in 2020? Meh, I just hated the times I made mistakes at work as I hate fucking up in general and looking bad in front of colleagues.

22. Did you fall in love in 2020? I stayed in it.

23. How many one-night stands? No thanks.

24. What was your favorite TV program? The Crown was, until it got associated with painful memories and I had to put my viewing indefinitely on hold. My favorite show this year would be either Descendants of the Sun or Start Up; both are amazingly good.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I don’t think so. I don’t throw that word around a lot anyway.

26. What was the best book you read? Bret Hart’s memoir was a fun read.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Beach House and Chase Atlantic. ALSO, Twice lolololol

28. What did you want and get? My first job.

29. What did you want and not get? Commitment from the one person I asked it from.

30. What was your favorite film of this year? I didn’t watch a lot of movies this year. I actually think I just saw one?? which is really unlike me; but it wasn’t a big year for film anyway. I have yet to see Ammonite, which I already think I’ll love.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 22 and I just stayed at home with family while my best friend and her boyfriend sent over sushi for me.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If I got to keep my relationship, which I thought had been faring well until she abruptly pulled the plug on everything.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2020? Casual and didn’t really evolve too much considering I didn’t go out a lot.

34. What kept you sane? Good Mythical Morning. I owe my life to them. And embroidery.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I didn’t develop a crush on him until this month lmaaaaaaao but Kim Seon Ho is so so so so so dreamy.

36. What political issue stirred you the most? The shutdown of ABS-CBN early in the year and the US elections.

37. Who did you miss? My friends in my org.

38. Who was the best new person you met? The people at my workplace that I ended up having a great rapport with.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2020: From a tweet I retweeted: “You keep bad people around you and make excuses for their behavior because if you decided to hold even one person accountable, you’d have to recognize the offenses you’ve ignored and accepted. You’ll realize how much you’ve invalidated your own pain to ensure the comfort of others.” It was a harsh slap in the face, but I needed to hear it.

[useyourrwords]

Down the TBR Hole 1.9 // Recently Released – Part 3/3 Mid-Late 2018

Today it’s the last of the recently released books!

For those of who’ve missed it, I’m currently going through the books on my Goodreads TBR that I put on my Unreleased shelf and then immediately forgot/ignored them. It’s been a year since I went through them so now is definitely the time!

I’m getting closer to the perfectly organized Goodreads TBR! One Down the TBR Post at a time!

This post is the last of the recently released books still on my Unreleased shelf because I am trash!

June 2018

1.│The Bird and the Blade│Megan Bannen│June 5 2018│

│ I added this because…Mongolian fantasy with ghosts and riddles. Stay or Go? Stay!

2.│A Thousand perfect Notes│C.G. Drews│June 7 2018│

│ I added this because…Queen of book blogging has released her very own book. Stay or Go? Stay!

3.│How Do You Like Me Now?│Holly Bourne│June 14 2018│

│ I added this because…My fave feminist YA lit author journeys into adult fiction! Stay or Go? Stay!

4.│Not the Girls You’re Looking For│Aminah Mae Safi│June 18 2018│

│ I added this because…This sounds cute and light? Stay or Go? Move to the Undecided shelf.

5.│A Thousand Beginnings and Endings│Ellen Oh│June 26 2018│

│ I added this because…Re-imagining East and South Asian folklore and mythology! Stay or Go? Stay!

     July 2018

6.│Bright We Burn│The Conqueror’s Saga #3│Kiersten White│July 10 2018│

│ I added this because…I loved the first book in this series and I have been waiting for this one to come out so I can read the whole series from the start! I just need to order it from Book Depository because Big W for some reason decided to sell the first two but not the last one! Stay or Go? Moved to my To Complete Collections Shelf!

7.│Floored│Sara Barnard│July 12 2018│ I added this because…I added it because one of the authors for this collaboration novel is Holly Bourne. Stay or Go? Go! Not really interested anymore.

8.│Kill The Farm Boy│The Tales of Pell #1│Delilah S. Dawson│July 17 2018│ I added this because…This is supposed to be a parody fantasy novel. Stay or Go? Go!

9.│The Cheerleaders│Kara Thomas│July 31 2018│ I added this because…I really enjoyed Thomas’s Little Monsters so I’m interested to see what this one will be like. Stay or Go? Go!

10.│Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury #1)│Tracy Banghart│July 31 2018│

│ I added this because…“For every woman who has been told to sit down and be quiet… And who stood up anyway.” Stay or Go? Stay!

11.│Sea Witch│Sarah Henning│July 31 2018│ I added this because…I wanted the backstory of the Sea Witch in the Little Mermaid. Stay or Go? Go! Doesn’t seem it delivers that at all and going by reviews, it’s a rather slow book and I don’t do well with those.

     August 2018

12.│The Dark Beneath the Ice│Amelinda Bérubé│August 7 2018│

│ I added this because…‘Black Swan meets Paranormal Activity.‘ Stay or Go? Moved to my LGBTQIAP+ Shelf!

13.│These Rebel Waves│Stream Raiders #1│Sara Raasch│August 7 2018│

│ I added this because…Gay pirates!!! Stay or Go? Go! The reviews…aren’t great.

14.│Catwoman: Soul Stealer│DC Icons #3│Sarah J. Maas│August 7 2018│ I added this because…Okay, here’s the thing. This could be really good. But it could also be really bad so I am scared. Stay or Go? Moved to the Unreleased Undecided shelf.

15.│Foundryside│Founders #1│Robert Jackson Bennett│August 21 2018│ I added this because…Uuuuhhhhh I don’t know, maybe because there was a thief?? That sounds about right. Stay or Go? Go!

16.│To Be Honest│Maggie Ann Martin│August 21 2018│

│ I added this because…Positive fat girl rep! Stay or Go? Stay!

17.│Mirage (Mirage #1)│Somaiya Duad│August 28 2018│

│ I added this because…‘It’s about a poor girl who becomes the body double to the cruel imperial princess.‘ Stay or Go? Stay!

18.│Seafire (Seafire #1)│Natalie C Parker│August 28 2018│

│ I added this because…‘Follows the captain of an all-female ship intent on taking down a corrupt warlord’s powerful fleet‘ Stay or Go? Moved to my LGBTQIAP+ Shelf!

19.│Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft│Tess Sharpe & Jessica Spotswood│August 28 2018│

│ I added this because…Guys, it’s witches!! Stay or Go? Moved to my Anthology Shelf Shelf!

     September 2018

20.│Sadie│Courtney Summers│September 4 2018│

│ I added this because…This sounds super weird and creepy and I’m here for it! Stay or Go? Moved to my LGBTQIAP+ Shelf!

21.│The Echo Room│Parker Peevyhouse│September 11 2018│ I added this because…This sounds super weird and creepy and I’m here for it! Stay or Go? Stay!

22.│The Demon Race│Alexandria Warwick│September 18 2018│ I added this because…Honestly is as just the demons. Stay or Go? Go!

23.│Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens│Marieke Nijkamp│September 18 2018│

│ I added this because…It’s a whole anthology dedicated to disabled teens!!! Stay or Go? Stay!

24.│Pride│Ibi Zoboi│September 18 2018│

│ I added this because…Look at that cover! Also a retelling of Pride and Prejudice! Stay or Go? Stay!

25.│Black Wings Beating│Alex London│September 25 2018│

│ I added this because…I don’t know, this just sounds interesting! Stay or Go? Moved to my LGBTQIAP+ Shelf!

26.│The Sisters of the Winter Wood│Rena Rossner│September 25 2018│ I added this because…I think I was just sucked in by the cover. Stay or Go? Go!

27.│For a Muse of Fire│For a Muse of Fire #1│Heidi Heilig│Septemeber 25 2018│

│ I added this because…‘Will captivate fans of Sabaa Tahir, Leigh Bardugo, and Renée Ahdieh.‘ Stay or Go? Stay!

28.│Give the Dark My Love│Beth Revis│September 25 2018│ I added this because…I don’t actually know why I added this to be honest. The only thing I can think of is that a character is called Grey and I’m sometimes I am very narcissistic. Stay or Go? Go!

29.│A Blade so Black│LL McKinney│September 25 2018│

│ I added this because…I’m not a big fan of Alice in Wonderland but I like the idea of Wonderland existing in Alice’s nightmares so I don’t know. Stay or Go? Stay but moved to the Unreleased Undecided shelf.

     October & November 2018

October & November will be in the next Down The TBR Hole post under Unreleased because I wrote this posts ages ago, so they’re all unreleased as of writing date. And also if I moved it here then the next post would have all of one book on it! 

September was a busy month!

This time around I kept 10, got rid of 9 and moved 9 around to different shelves!

I didn’t get rid of as many as I had hoped but the ones I’ve kept I’m pretty confident with!

What books have you been dying to read? What books come out in October that you’re looking forward to? 

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[giavannarose]

Rubbish

1 - Who was the last person you texted? My mom

2 - When is your birthday? November 22nd

3 - Who do you want to be with right now Luke which I am however he’s sleeping 😏

4 - What sports do you play? None guys

5 - Who is the first person in your contacts? Allie

6 - What is your favorite song as of the moment? Hmm Poor Boy - Elvis

7 - If you were stranded on an island, who do you wish to be with? My boyfriend

8 - What do you feel right now? Like what am I touching or how am I feeling?! Feeling good, touching phone

9 - What chocolate is your favorite? Butterfingers really tuck me in nice, idk what kind that is good kind haha

10 - How many boyfriends/girlfriends did you have? One girlfriend and boyfriends that were serious 6ish

11 - Why did you create a Tumblr account? Why not!

12 - Who is your favorite blogger? Not on here enough to have one

13 - Where do you want to be right now? A hot tub with a big joint and a slush would be ideal

14 - What do you want to be in the future? A better version of me now and married with some babins

15 - When was the last time you cried? Why? I shut my fucking pinky in my door and it killed and I think last week probs

16 - Are you happy? Yes

17 - Who do you miss? My sister

18 - If you were given a chance, would you like to have a different life? Nah I mean maybe more doll hairs but not different

19 - What was the best thing you were given? This year Bruins tickets and Peach Witch Hazel I’m a simple person haha

20 - Who was the last person who called you? Some telemarketers

21 - What is your favorite dish? Right now idk I guess I’ve been thinking about Chicken and Waffles a lot

22 - Who is your bestfriend? My boyfriend

23 - What is your biggest regret? Not taking better care of myself at 21

24 - Have you ever cheated on your partner? I have not

25 - Who do you spend crazy moments with? I guess that depends

26 - Name someone pretty. Suki Waterhouse

27 - Who was the last person you hugged? Luke my boyfriend

28 - What kind of music do you listen to? All types guys except like today’s country music puke

29 - Are you over your past? Yes and No depending on what we are talking about

30 - Who is the last person in your contacts? Walgreens

31 - What kind of person do you want to date? Luke

32 - Do you have troubles sleeping at night? Sometimes

33 - From whom was the last text message you received? Mom piece

34 - What do you prefer, jeans or skirt? Ugh skirt

35 - How’s your heart? Heathy I believe

36 - Did you ever have a girlfriend/boyfriend whose name starts with a “J”? Nah

37 - Do you like someone as of the moment? Luke

38 - What would you want to say to your latest ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend? Nothing prob haha

39 - Do you have any phobias? I think bugs bother me is that a phobia?

40 - Did you try to change for a person? I suppose yea

41 - What’s the nicest thing you’ve given to someone? oh I’m not sure I always make homemade valentines which aren’t nice money wise but they are fun and beautiful.

42 - Would you go back to your previous relationship? Oh my no haha

43 - Are you in a good or bad mood? Decent mood guys

44 - Name someone you can’t live without. Luke

45 - Describe your dream date. Waking up going to brunch, then walking around some flea markets & book / record stores, getting some fast food on way home from shopping, watching Real housewives, smoking a joint, Disney film or The Office & Bed.

46 - Describe your dream wedding. I’m not really sure but if I really thought about it it would be way to fucking long to type.

47 - How many roses did you receive last Valentine’s? Zip

48 - Have you ever been kissed? Yes

49 - How long is your longest relationship? 3 years in April

50 - Do you regret your past? Nah

51 - Can you do something stupid for someone else? I need an example

52 - Have you ever cried over someone? Naturally

53 - Do you have a grudge against anyone? Nah

54 - Are you a crybaby? I guess I can be sure

55 - Do people praise you for your looks? I don’t believe so

56 - Did you fall for someone you shouldn’t? I wouldn’t say shouldn’t no

57 - Have you ever done something bad but you don’t regret? Oh yea

58 - Do you like getting hurt? ?!?! What haha no

59 - Does anyone hate you? Oh I’m sure

60 - Did you slap anyone whose name starts with an “R”? Um I don’t remember if I did

61 - What hair color do you prefer? Black Brown

62 - If you can change anything about yourself, what is it? Just overall heath, always good to have positive body goals

63 - Do you love someone as of the moment? Luke 💘🦄

64 - Have you ever thought of killing yourself? I did attempt once before yes

65 - Do you have issues with somebody in your school? Not in school

66 - Can you live without internet? Of course it would just be very different and probably somewhat challenging at times

67 - What’s the song that remind you of your special someone? Harvest Moon Neil Young

68 - Are you good at holding back your tears? Hmm it depends

69 - Are you a crybaby? I think I already answered dis, but sometimes sure

70 - Have you ever experienced being hysterical? I sure have

71 - Are you a KPOP fan? Um I’m going to go ahead and say nah

72 - Do you study hard? I don’t study anything

73 - Have you ever sacrificed something important to you for someone you love? Not really I don’t think

74 - Hahe you ever had a kiss under the moonlight? Maybe not on purpose tho

75 - Have you ever ridden a boat? Yes

76 - Did you have an accident last year? Yeah but nothing major

77 - What kind of person are you? Warm I guess and somewhat funny a lot nicer then I was and less self centered also more shy I guess

78 - Have you ever thought of killing someone? like murder nope cant say I have, even if I really dislike someone I don’t think anyone deserves being killed just to be killed

79 - Have you ever been jealous? Oh sure

80 - How can you prove your love to someone? Just being there i think is sometimes enough

81 - What are you thinking right now? This survey

82 - Who is the 6th person in your contacts? Carol boyfriends family friend

83 - Do you have any memories you want to erase? Hm yeah just one prob

84 - Have you been hurt so bad that you can’t find words to explain how you feel? No I’m very expressive when sad or hurt

85 - Did you ever badmouth someone? Oh sure

86 - Have you ever had an argument with someone? Who hasn’t guys

87 - Do you have trust issues? Sure don’t

88 - Are you broken-hearted? The opposite

89 - Who’s the person who first comes to your mind when someone mentions “love”? I think I was asked dis but my boyfriend Luke 💘 also basically every cat I’ve ever met basically

90 - Do you think all the pain is worth it? This seems dramatic

91 - Do you believe in the phrase “If it’s meant to be, it will be”? Sure do

92 - Who do you want to marry? Yes prob when I’m 26 or 27

93 - Do you believe in destiny? Sure

94 - Have you ever thought “I already found my soulmate”? Yes I believe I have but I think soulmate sounds a little cheesy. He’s just my person and life partner

95 - How do you look right now? Mysterious

96 - Do you believe that first true love never dies? No because I love him as a person or pal but not in a romantic way

97 - Have you found your true love? I believe so yes

98 - What should you be doing right now? Sleeping prob not filling out this long ass survey

[gaymusicchart]

GAY MUSIC CHART – 2017 week 52

 Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 50 actuality and most request.

Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on :

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 Here is the recap for this week :

 OUT : Não Recomendados - Não Recomendado (Remix Deep Lick) (LW: 18 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 18)

OUT : Kevin Chomat - Un homme à terre (LW: 27 / WO: 45 / PEAK: 01 (x3))

OUT : Oscar and the Wolf - Breathing (LW: 32 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 10)

OUT : Banda Uó - Tô na Rua (LW: 34 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 34)

OUT : Oscar and the Wolf - Runaway (LW: 37 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 19)

OUT : Jvel - Los morbos, los vicios y todos los servicios (LW: 38 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 38)

OUT : Brandi Carlile - The Joke (Live from Studio A) (LW: 39 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 39)

OUT : Living Without Prejudice - Stronger Together (LW: 41 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 41)

OUT : Bilal Hassani - House Down (LW: 42 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 25)

OUT : 10cm - Help (LW: 43 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 24)

OUT : SOPHIE - Ponyboy (LW: 44 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 44)

OUT : La Pelopony - Ic��nica (LW: 46 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46)

OUT : So Brown - United States of Deprivation (LW: 47 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 47)

OUT : Parson James - Only You (Lyric Video) (LW: 48 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 47)

OUT : Sam Vance-Law - I Think We Should Take It Fast (LW: 50 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 23)

  01 (=) : Alfie Arcuri - If They Only Knew (LW: 01 / WO: 25 / PEAK: 01 (x7))

This is the new music video of the winner of The Voice Australia 2016. What must do a gay man when he's in love with his best male friend, who's dating his best female friend?

  02 (=) : PJ Brennan - Tease (LW: 02 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 02)

PJ Brennan is well known for his role as Doug Carter in the British television soap opera Hollyoaks.

 03 (+ 14) : Kevin Chomat - Issue de secours (LW: 17 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 03)

 04 (+ 1) : Calum Scott - You Are The Reason (Lyric Video) (LW: 05 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 04)

 05 (+ 21) : Eli Lieb - Next To You (LW: 26 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 05)

 06 (+ 2) : Huntington - Love Is Love (LW: 08 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 02)

Three years after "Secret", this is their new original song. It was released specially for the Australian debate about marriage equality. Every cent made from this song went go to the Yes campaign. Now that the debate is over, finaly, LGBT can now get marry : congratulations Australia !

 07 (+ 24) : Trevor Moran - Sinner (LW: 31 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 07)

 08 (+ 11) : Jakub & Dawid - Pokochaj nas w święta (LW: 19 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 08)

This time, the Polish couple sings for this Christmas song, always to change mentalities in their country !

 09 (- 6) : Larva - For Ruy (censored version) (LW: 03 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 02)

Larva is a Mexican openly gay heavy metal band. The uncensored version, only for adults because of its raw sex content, is now also available on YouTube.

 10 (- 6) : Leon Else - What I Won't Do (Lyric Video) (LW: 04 / WO: 28 / PEAK: 02)

The British singer has came out on Facebook last May.

 11 (- 5) : Wrabel - The Village (LW: 06 / WO: 21 / PEAK: 01 (x1))

This engaging song was written the day after US President Trump removed new federal protections for trans students in public schools last February. Trans actor August Aiden plays the role of a young transgender who tries to be himself despite the hostility of his father in the music video.

 12 (=) : La Prohibida - Baloncesto (LW: 12 / WO: 22 / PEAK: 03)

 13 (=) : Conchita Wurst & Ina Regen - Heast as Net (Hubert Von Goisern Cover) (LW: 13 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 13)

The power of yodeling, but in a classy way.

 14 (- 3) : G&D (Geez & DIK) - Freelove (LW: 11 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 07)

There are several straight, gay, lesbian and bi couples making love in this music video.

 15 (+ 1) : HEIDRIK - Monster (LW: 16 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 15)

 16 (- 6) : Michele Bravi - Diamanti (LW: 10 / WO: 14 / PEAK: 04)

This is the third single from the Italian singer taken from the album “Anime Di Carta”.

 17 (- 8) : Greyson Chance - Low (Official Lyric Video) (LW: 09 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 09)

 18 (NEW) : Erik Altemus - Love Crimes (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 18)

 19 (- 12) : P!nk - Beautiful Trauma (LW: 07 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 06)

In her new music video, P!ink supports her husband Channing Tatum who loves wearing her dresses.

 20 (+ 4) : Alfie Arcuri - Love is Love (LW: 24 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 12)

The Australian singer took position with this song for the YES in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. 61,6% of the 12,7 millions people who voted said YES to mariage equality. Now that the debate is over, finaly, LGBT can now get marry : congratulations Australia !

 21 (NEW) : Reigen - Rollin (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 21)

 22 (- 8) : Kevin Chomat - Sens Interdit (LW: 14 / WO: 16 / PEAK: 01 (x2))

This new single of the French singer reached the top 10 YouTube trending in France.

 23 (- 8) : SAKIMA - Daddy (LW: 15 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 15)

 24 (NEW) : Anye Elite - White Boy (Like A Kite) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 24)

The track is #1 in the Top 40 LGBT Urban Chart.

 25 (- 4) : Bobby Newberry - Up (LW: 21 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 08)

 26 (NEW) : Tom Goss - Gay Christmas (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 26)

This song is dedicated for those who can't spend their Christmas holidays with their family, which are the moment in the year when LGBT are most exposed to homophobia in family.

 27 (+ 6) : Tokio Hotel - Boy Don't Cry (LW: 33 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 11)

The lead singer Bill Kaulitz becomes a beautiful drag queen in the new music video of the German band.

 28 (+ 1) : Namuel - Joven de Corazón (LW: 29 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 11)

In his new music video, the chilean singer is a teen at school who has a crush on his bully.

 29 (+ 1) : Michele Bravi - Tanto Per Cominciare (LW: 30 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 14)

 30 (- 5) : Sam Smith - One Last Song (LW: 25 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 25)

 31 (NEW) : Blondie - Doom or Destiny (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 31)

 32 (NEW) : Linn Da Quebrada feat. As Bahias e A Cozinha Mineira - Absolutas (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 32)

The video discusses the prejudices, diversity and representativeness of the LGBT community in Brazil.

 33 (NEW) : Tokio Hotel - Easy (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 33)

 34 (- 12) : Léo Áquilla - Princesinha da Favela (LW: 22 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 22)

 35 (NEW) : Brockhampton - Quiver (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 35)

The song is the chapter 3 of a short movie called "Billy Star", which included several songs.

 36 (- 1) : K Anderson - Cluttered (LW: 35 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 25)

 37 (NEW) : Smashby - Ringleader (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 37)

 38 (NEW) : Blake McGrath - Before You Go (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 38)

A song dedicated to his father.

 39 (NEW) : Out of the Blue - Merry Xmas Everybody (Charity Single) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 39)

 40 (NEW) : Wham! - Last Christmas (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 40)

Fans tried to make this classic Christmas song tops the UK singles chart for Christmas, to honore George Michael, but it only came third.

 41 (RE-ENTRY) : P!nk - What About Us (LW: - / WO: 16 / PEAK: 01 (x3))

The music video includes audio contents from the tragic events in Charlottesville for denouncing the hate speeches from the supremacist movements, and shows several people dancing under the intimidating eye of the authorities, including two men together.

 42 (+ 3) : Hunter - So Gay (LW: 45 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 42)

The Tanzanian singer dares to proclaims his homosexuality in music in a country where homosexuality is criminalized and punished by prison. He has perhaps created a new anthem for LGBT rights in Africa.

 43 (- 20) : Hayley Kiyoko - Feelings (LW: 23 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 04)

The singer flirts with another woman while she’s dancing in her new music video.

 44 (NEW) : Willam Belli - Ho Ho Ho Ho (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 44)

 45 (- 9) : ILY - Your Love (LW: 36 / WO: 11 / PEAK: 05)

Two new brides are kissing in this Swedish music video.

 46 (NEW) : The Presets - Do What You Want (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 46)

 47 (- 7) : Virgin Suicide - Evil Eyes (LW: 40 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 30)

This Danish music video is like a short movie, telling the struggles of a closeted gay teen taken by his father to a fathers-sons's camp.

 48 (- 20) : Javiera Mena - Dentro de ti (LW: 28 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 28)

 49 (=) : Sufjan Stevens - Mystery of Love ("Call Me By Your Name" OST) (LW: 49 / WO: 7 / PEAK: 11)

The movie Is actually nominated for 3 Golden Globes for Best Movie, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.

 50 (- 30) : Steve Grand - Walking (LW: 20 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 05)

The song has now a music video shot in New Orleans!

  ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

 Katy Perry - Hey Hey Hey

Katy Perry plays Marie-Antoinette who dreams to be Joan of Arc.

 Björk - Arisen my Senses

Arca is featuring in her new music video.

 Måneskin - Chosen

 Candy Ken - White Man Privilege

 Macy Rodman - SFUB

 Picco feat. Lunascope - Broke

 Alok & Mathieu Koss - Big Jet Plane

 Bobby Newberry - Holiday

 Bonnie McKee - Have Yourself a Merry Fucking Christmas

 Sam Sparro - Christmas in Your Heart

 Davis Mallory - Christmas Giving

 Nicki French - Very Christmas (Matt Pop Glitter & Sparkle Mix)

 NU3L - All I Want For Christmas Is You (cover of Mariah Carey)

 Chris Weaver and Stephanie’s Child - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (live @ The Voice 2017 - Finale)

Even if the drag artist has been eliminated in episode 15 last November, he came back to make an amazing performance in the final, but some conservative viewers didn't appreciated it.

 Hansol 한솔 Sexy Dance (IU - "Jam Jam" choreography cover)

The South Korean singer, member of the boyband Topp Dogg, has came out as asexual last summer.

 Dez Mona - Skai Blue ("Skai Blue" OST)

This is the original soundtrack for short film SKAI BLUE by Guido Verelst, about a gay Cameroonian refugee.

 TURN IT AROUND - trailer (short movie by Niels Bourgonje)

The Netherlands, 2017

The trailer is only available on Vimeo. When the fifteen year old Bram meets Florian at a house party, he immediately falls for him. There’s only one problem: nobody knows Bram is gay.

 GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE - Y.M.C.A.

It's funny to see how an iconic gay anthem is covered by this famous Japanese boy band, even if it loses all its gayness.

 SECRET GUYZ -『悩めるヒーロー』Nayameru Hiro / The Troubling Hero

This is the new single of the Japanese transgender band.

 風男塾 (Fudanjuku) / 新たなる幕開けのための幕開けによる狂詩曲～キミがいればオレたちも笑顔 / Rhapsodism by the opening for a new beginning - If we are there we are smiling

 氷川きよし Hikawa Kiyoshi - きよしのねずみ小僧 / Kiyoshi no nezumi kozo

The latest single of the prince of enka.

 【TDC】Tomioka Dance Club 登美丘高校ダンス部 feat Shinsuke (from Beat Buddy Boi) - Baby Dance バブリーダンス

The original video from a Japanese high school dance club in Osaka made the buzz in Japan last September, so a lot of dance cover have raised on YouTube, like this one with a man dressed as a woman (the only one without heels). An occasion to hear again this old JPOP track from the eighties "Dancing Hero (Eat You Up)" from  荻野目洋子 Oginome Yoko.

 東京ゲゲゲイ Tokyo Gegegei -「世界中からサヨウナラ」"Sayonara From All Over The World"

A dance cover by Japanese choreographer Mikey.

  See you next week and don’t forget to vote for your best LGBTQA music videos ! Here are the rules :

1 ) You can vote for many videos as you want under the videos on YouTube in the comment section. It could be recent or past music videos, which must provide at least one among the following conditions:

- the music video has LGBTQA related content, in the lyrics or the music video

- the artist is LGBTQA, an LGBTQA icon or eventually ally

- LGBTQA medias talked about it.

2 ) You can’t vote more than 3 songs of a same artist per week.

3 ) In case of an artist who receive votes mostly by a fan base, we will count only one song, in a limited time of 10 weeks of presence in the top.

4 ) You can vote with only one account.

5 ) If you make 5 votes or less, your first vote will represent 5 points, your second vote 4 points, etc… until your last vote and following 1 point. If you make 6 to 10 votes, your first vote will represent 10 points, your second vote 9 points, etc… If you make more than 10 votes, your first vote will represent 20 points, your second vote 19 points, etc…

6 ) People who make 1 to 5 votes form the amateur ranking, those who make 6 to 10 votes form the fan ranking, those who make more than 10 votes form the expert ranking. We form the jury ranking. And we count now the ranking of minutes of views of our weekly playlist of the previous week. The Gay Music Chart is the addition of the five charts. In case of equality, the number of votes and the dates of votes will count.

7 ) The votes will close on Thursday, 8 PM, European time.

[tonyduncanbb73]

Alton Brown Appreciates Boston’s Hand-Pulled Noodles and Sardine-Filled Wine Bars

Tell him where to eat when he returns to the city in October

“Slippery, slurpy, stinky,” says Alton Brown — food television personality, author, and more — describing a memorable Boston dish, the hand-pulled noodles at Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe. “It was pretty great stuff,” he says, recalling a 2014 visit when he was in town for his Edible Inevitable tour. “It stands out mostly because I didn’t expect it [in Boston]. I expect great seafood, I expect clam chowder, I expect that kind of Boston fare, but I didn’t expect those noodles.”

Brown is returning to Boston later this year as he embarks on the final five-week segment of his current tour, Eat Your Science. (See dates and ticket information for all of the New England tour stops below.) “I’m glad to be coming back to Boston,” he tells Eater. “I’m glad to be coming back to Boston when it isn’t the middle of winter — and because I like playing there. Good crowds. We had a really good show last time with the Edible Inevitable tour, and I think Eat Your Science will go over even better.”

As he did during his last tour, Brown is using a social media hashtag to determine where he should eat while he’s in town, going by a strictly numeric system where the places with the most votes win out. (To provide recommendations, see the city-specific hashtags below.) In particular, he’s looking for breakfast, lunch, coffee, and late-night dining recommendations, although late-night dining usually comes down to what’s available for delivery after the show, since Brown and his crew are typically heading right out to get to the next city on the tour. Unfortunately, this aggressive schedule also means that there’s only an opportunity for dinner on a rare day off.

But Brown doesn’t get tired of crowdsourcing his meals, which he also tends to photograph, post about online, and talk about at each night’s show. “People really love to see that because they’re the ones who sent us there,” he says. “You’ve got to eat, right? It helps me. Auditoriums, it’s really easy to have them all kind of blur together after a while, but when you can attach to a town a particular meal, that really anchors in your memory, so it makes it a richer experience for me, and it certainly provides a basis of connection with the community.”

The downside is that it’s hard to make repeat visits to favorite spots because he’s always trying to cover all the new recommendations and relying on fans’ votes to determine his itinerary. “The one place I wish I could go back to…there’s a place that I really love [in Boston], a wine bar that serves canned sardines,” he says. “Haley.Henry. I adore that place. I think that they’re doing such ingenious work there, and with nothing — they don’t even really have a kitchen. I hope to go back there.” He visited during his 2016 book tour, finding Haley.Henry’s way of selling wine to be “extremely innovative.” (They’ll open any bottle of wine if a customer commits to two glasses of it.)

Sarah De Heer

Brown speaks highly of the Boston food scene, complimenting its fairly newfound ability to break out of its traditional mold. “I think that it has the same challenges that any city with a great kind of classic cuisine has,” he says.

“I think that Boston was a great food town before a lot of other great food towns came into being because of tradition, but eventually that tradition can start to hold you back, and I think that Boston is just now starting to get to the point where it’s figuring out a way to own its tradition and own its past but not be held back by it. Cities that everybody’s talking about right now, like Los Angeles — what kind of local food tradition does Los Angeles have? Well, taco trucks, but it’s easy for [the Los Angeles food scene] to spread out and experiment and even be avant-garde. It’s just tougher when you’re so firmly established as kind of a food mecca, which I think Boston is. We automatically expect beans, seafood, brown bread, chowder — and those things are great — but you have to be able to move past them, which I think Boston’s doing.”

As for seafood, Brown weighs in on the all-important lobster roll debate, warm with butter or cold with mayo: “Yes,” he laughs, indicating both options. “I tend towards the warm with butter. I will eat the cold with mayo all day long, but given my druthers, I’m going to go warm with butter. I think it brings out more of the actual flavor of the lobster, and in the end, I think that a lobster roll ought to be about the lobster.”

The ever-popular Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, Maine is currently at the top of his list for lobster rolls: “Simple but perfectly done and with bread that was just right,” he says. “Getting the roll right is a really, really big deal. I’m not saying that there isn’t anything in Boston that would beat Eventide, but I haven’t had it yet.” (Meanwhile, Eventide’s new concept is getting closer to opening in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, and although it’ll be a different restaurant, there will be a lobster roll on the menu.)

Fans who saw Alton Brown’s previous tour know a bit of what to expect this time around, from big food demonstrations to live music and more. This tour will contain those aspects as well, but it’s a completely new show with a game show component, lots more science, and plenty of audience interaction. “Don’t raise your hand if you don’t really want to be on stage for a long time doing things and being dressed in strange protective garb,” he warns.

Sarah De Heer

Brown is keeping the details of the big science demos a surprise for audiences, but “they are large, extremely impractical for the home cook, and I’m potentially going to be injured on every given night of the tour,” he says. “I haven’t had any audience members or volunteers injured yet, so that makes me feel good.” No ponchos needed for audience members in the front, but he does recommend that those in the first row avoid wearing open-toe shoes. You’ve been warned.

As for music, “there’s everything from a lullaby to a tango to a punk rock number,” he says, “and we’re going to be doing a number that we only do around the holidays called ‘Grandma Forgot to Brine the Bird,’ which is about a very, very bad Thanksgiving experience.”

For those who leave the show itching to learn more about the science of food, Brown recommends checking out his Good Eats reruns, which are always airing on the Cooking Channel. There’s also so much food science being written these days, whereas in the early days of Good Eats, Brown and Harold McGee were pretty much holding down the fort.

“Now it’s kind of blossomed,” Brown says. “So many great people are writing about it.” He has high praise for The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science by Serious Eats’ J. Kenji López-Alt, published in 2015. “That’s the book I wish I had written if I had time to write a book that big,” says Brown. “It’s a massive tome, and I think it’s one of those books we’re going to find ourselves using decades from now. [López-Alt] is certainly one of the top five recipe writers in the country right now.”

So when Brown comes to town, bring curiosity, bring closed-toe shoes if you’re sitting in the front, and bring the family. “As always, my shows are family shows,” says Brown. “We love when families come together and have a good time, so that’s a big emphasis of what we do in the show.”

When this tour ends in mid-November in Tennessee, that’s it for this particular show. “I’ll be putting this show to bed,” says Brown, “so if you want to see Eat Your Science, this is the last chance.”

Lamar Owen

New England tour stops and their associated hashtags for fan recommendations (can be used on Twitter and Facebook):

Mashantucket, CT (at Foxwoods) — Friday, October 27; #ABRoadEatsFoxwoods [tickets]

Boston, MA (at the Wang Theatre) — Saturday, October 28; #ABRoadEatsBoston [tickets]

Stamford, CT (at the Palace Theatre) — Sunday, October 29; #ABRoadEatsStamford [tickets]

Burlington, VT (at Flynn Theatre) — Monday, October 30; #ABRoadEatsBTV [tickets]

Concord, NH (at Capitol Center for the Arts) — Wednesday, November 1; #ABRoadEatsCON [tickets]