#toronto rave community | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

heavywithourbabies · 15 days

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First off, I'm a guy. So there's that.....

Ok, making one of those little intro pieces so you can get to know a little about me. First off this tumblr page is nothing more than the ravings of an obsessed lunatic hiding away from the world. My only real kinks are Breeding, Lactation, and the biggest pregnancy fetish you can imagine. (Please take note, I am not sexually into Birth. I am all for fucking so hard your water breaks, sucking on your nipples, rubbing the belly and giving gentle head during contractions, etc. As soon as the baby is in the birth canal, I'm going full on daddy mode. Horny time is over. Anyone else feel the same?)

I am a 39 year old man and I am very attracted to women. In particular, I am aroused by thick, extra curvy, big ass having women. I am feral for HEAVILY pregnant women. I have tons of reasons why but at it's core, I believe it is the ultimate form of femininity. There's nothing more womanly than having a gravid belly heavy with child. Even the phrase "heavy with child" weirdly turns me on.

I'm also very very much turned on by all the side effects of pregnancy including big dark engorged nipples, stretch marks everywhere, not just the belly, the little treasure trail some women get, the bigger hips, your face getting chubby, and a very swollen vagina. That all said, I'm not into Morning Sickness. wakka wakka.

I fully support the LGTBTQ community. I just can't keep track of all the new names and terms. I blame my shitty memoir on wasting my twenties drinking. But I totally support it. be who you want to be and love who you want to love. This life is rough enough without people being shitty to you for your basic human needs.

I am utter devotee to horror movies, and I live for the month of October. Halloween is the greatest day of the year. If you don't like Halloween...... honestly, who are you? Who the fuck hates Halloween? I love the art form of sequential art (comic books) and my favorite Character is Venom from Marvel Comics. I would literally kill to get a chance to write for Venom. Marvel will NOT return my phone calls.

I still write stuff (a lot of half started scripts and abandoned graphic novel ideas mostly) and I will and often shamelessly promote myself and the written erotic stuff I create on here. Enjoy my sexually frustrated ramblings and badly edited prose. Remember kids, it's free.

I am a lonely werewolf hopelessly howling at the moon.

I say love who you gotta love. Do what you need to do. Try to have fun and just don't hurt other people.

I was born in Canada and raised in the States. Toronto is the old country and Denver was home base. Currently in the windy city.

NO MINORS. Seriously, get the hell out of my joint! THIS BLOG IN NO WAY ENDORSES, PROMOTES, OR ENCOURAGES ANY HEINOUS USE OF MINORS. I honestly struggle talking to people under the age of twenty five. I hope I don't have to repeat any of that.

Any Trump supporters who follow my page, I would also ask you to leave. There's nothing here for you at this establishment.

Need to know anything else? Feel free to ask.

-The ghost host with the most, the ghoul that'll make your lady parts drool, and every other terrible joke I can think of.

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qnewsau · 3 months

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Elliot Page returns to the silver screen in 'Close to You'

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/elliot-page-returns-to-the-silver-screen-in-close-to-you/

Elliot Page returns to the silver screen in 'Close to You'

The trailer for indie drama Close to You has dropped, giving us a glimpse of Elliot Page in his return to the big screen.

In the film, Page stars as Sam, a trans man who returns home for a family reunion.

Close to You, had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, and is a “drama about love, family and identity that looks at the challenges of returning home when you have changed and feel like an outsider,” according to a press release.

The film follows Page’s character Sam, who hasn’t been home to visit his parents or siblings since his transition.

According to the synopsis, once there, Sam “confronts unresolved wounds and reconnects with an old flame”.

Close to You is Elliot Page’s first feature film since 2017, the actor transitioned in 2020.

In a 2023 interview, he called the film a “complete career highlight”, and praised director Dominic Savage’s process which allowed the film to be mostly improvised by the cast.

“The experience of making a film in this way is not something I’ve done before, he said.

“I feel grateful to be a part of his work and hope to do it again.”

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While no Australian release date has been confirmed, Close to You is hitting US cinemas on August 16.

‘I’m Your Venus’ honours the life of murdered ‘Paris is Burning’ star

Daniel Craig flick Queer has ‘scandalous’ gay sex scenes

Rave reviews for new Liza Minnelli documentary

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

#elliot page

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zov911 · 3 months

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Title: Maximizing Potential: Top Video Marketing Strategies for Canadian Construction Companies As a savvy Canadian construction company looking to elevate your business, there's no argument against the potent role video marketing has in eloquating your story in today's fast-paced digital landscape. In the grand tapestry of trade, harnessing the power of video marketing isn't merely a savvy move—it's a must, eh? Welcome to the era of digitization—an epoch where video marketing strategies take centre stage and enable Canadian construction companies like yours to reach new heights, eh? ##1. Showcasing Your Construction Prowess One of the captivating charms of video content is its ability to vividly demonstrate your craftsmanship. Pictures and wordy descriptions deliver a one-dimensional communication flow. But video content—oh, it creates an immersive experience. Harness your team's artisan skill sets, show the step-by-step building process or a time-lapse transformation of an ordinary site into an architectural marvel. Let your unique Canadian craftsmanship shine and resonate across the Great White North. ##2. Client Testimonials and Case Studies Dazzle your audience with glowing client testimonials and case studies, converted into compelling video narratives. There’s no denying the appeal of an authentic Canadian rave review describing why your construction company outpaces the competition. ##3. Virtual Tours and Walkthroughs As we doff our hard hats in admiration of our unlocked potential, let's glide through our completed projects with virtual tours. Let them feel as though they’re meandering through the space—whether it's a high-rise in downtown Toronto or a quaint cottage nestled in the Rockies. ##4. Safety and Educational Videos By having safety and educational videos, you position your company as one that values its workforce's safety and continually educates them. This initiative reflects positively on your brand and ensures customers you adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards. ##5. Harness the Power of SEO In the vast tundra of the internet, stellar video content without search engine optimization (SEO) is like a Canadian winter without snow—almost unthinkable! Remember to optimize your video content with relevant keywords, video descriptions, and meta tags. This way, search engines won't leaf your content behind. ##6. Cross-Platform Sharing Consider your video marketing strategy as a Canada-wide road trip, stopping at every social media platform on the map. From the Twitter trail to the LinkedIn landscape, broadening your distribution channels enhances your content's reach and maximizes your potential engagement. In conclusion, video marketing bends no knee to conventional marketing in modern Canada. It's a powerful tool that gifts Canadian construction companies a medium to transcend traditional boundaries and reach dizzying new heights. Remember, friends—when executed right, video marketing strategies don’t merely build businesses; they construct legacies, eh? So, roll up those flannel sleeves and start investing time, creativity, and stick-to-itiveness in the modern world of video marketing. Your construction company's future, towering tall against the Canadian skyline, depends on it. Case Study: Pinnacle Construction's Success with Innovative Video Marketing Strategies Tailoring this article to Pinnacle Construction, a thriving Canadian construction company, we'll explore how it successfully implemented and optimized its video marketing strategies. They were not initially aware of the potential impact of digital transformation in their field. However, once they maximized the opportunities offered by video marketing, they saw a significant increase in brand awareness, prospect engagement, and overall return on investment. 1. Leverage Storytelling Through Video: Pinnacle Construction started by focusing on its unique narrative. They created emotive, high-quality video content that holistically represented their brand's journey, values, and capabilities.

These videos did not explicitly promote their services but instead, built a relatable brand image that resonated deeply with their audience. Advice: Emphasize storytelling over explicit promotion in your videos. Make the audience feel more connected to your brand and understand your value propositions effectively. 2. Educational Videos: Recognizing the common lack of construction knowledge, Pinnacle Construction introduced a series of educational videos called 'Project Breakdown.' These provided insights into various construction processes, techniques, and safety measures. By doing so, they simultaneously showcased their expertise and played a role in community education. Advice: Use educational video content to boost your standing as an industry expert and contribute to wider public understanding. 3. Amazing Drone Footage: With the blessing of drone technology, Pinnacle Construction showcased their work in progress and completed projects. This helped their potential clients visualize the high standards and efficiency of their work, thereby driving credibility and business inquiries. Advice: Adopt drone footage in your video marketing strategy. It provides an immersive experience with your projects, making an impression on potential clients. 4. Client Testimonials: Pinnacle Construction also integrated video testimonials from satisfied clients into their marketing strategy. These reviews provided authentic, third-party validation of their service quality, leading to increased trust and confidence in potential clients. Advice: Gather video testimonials from satisfied clients to serve as authentic and powerful proof of your services. 5. Regular Professional Video SEO: Pinnacle Construction understood the power of SEO to attract organic traffic. They implemented keywords about Canadian construction companies, optimized video descriptions, titles, and tags, and used effective CTA within video content to drive conversions. Advice: Regularly update your video SEO practices to stay relevant and increase your online visibility. Pinnacle Construction's thorough approach to video marketing yielded tangible results. They reported a 70% increase in website traffic and a 30% boost in client inquiries and conversions, cementing the pivotal role of well-executed video marketing strategies for Canadian construction companies. Their success is a vivid demonstration of the article's core message: maximizing potential through top video marketing strategies can drive unprecedented growth for Canadian construction companies. Such practical examples and advice add to the real-world applicability and resonance of the article, enabling Canadian construction companies to chart a successful path in video marketing. "Don't miss out on maximizing your firms potential! Leverage top Video Marketing strategies specially designed for Canadian Construction Companies. Take the first step today towards unparalleled business growth. Click here to discover how!" Start Your Digital Transformation Now! "According to a recent study by HubSpot, about 72% of customers would prefer to learn about a product or service via video. Considering this, harnessing the power of video marketing stands as a critical strategy for Canadian construction firms looking to expand their outreach and communicate effectively with their potential clients."

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chrisryanspeaks · 5 months

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Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Announce Tour Dates

Longtime music collaborators and pop icon pioneers Charli XCX and Troye Sivan are teaming up once again for their highly anticipated 2024 co-headline arena tour, Charli XCX & Troye Sivan present: Sweat with special guest Shygirl, to turn iconic US and Canadian venues into raves. As two of the hottest names in pop and electronic music, the tour comes at a pivotal moment in both artist’s careers. Charli XCX & Troye Sivan present: Sweat is not only a celebration of their individual successes, but it is also a testament to their commitment to inclusivity and diversity within the music industry. Fans can expect an electrifying show filled with exhilarating performances, stunning visuals, and infectious beats. Produced by Live Nation, the 21-city tour kicks off on September 14 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI, making stops across in North America including Toronto, ON; New York, NY; Boston, MA; Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA and more before wrapping up in Seattle, WA at Climate Pledge Arena on October 23. Full routing is available below. Advance presale registration is available now through April 25th at sweat-tour.com. The artist presale begins Thursday, April 25th at 10 AM local time. Registration does not guarantee tickets and supplies are limited. The general on-sale will begin on Friday, April 26 at 10 AM local time at LiveNation.com. British avant-pop and electronic sensation Charli XCX, fresh off the announcement of her sold-out "BRAT 2024 – ARENA TOUR" shows in the UK, is gearing up for the release of her highly anticipated sixth solo album, ‘BRAT’. The album, set to feature 15 tracks, includes the hit single "Von dutch" - the brash and synth heavy first taste of the record – alongside recent releases ‘Club classics’ and ‘B2b’. Charli also recently unveiled ‘The Von dutch remix with addison rae & a. g. cook’, an effervescent rework of the smash hit single featuring A. G. Cook’s signature brand of idiosyncratic production and Charli and Addison going back and forth on vocals. Charli threw a momentous Boiler Room in New York’s Brooklyn in February to launch the ‘BRAT’ campaign with A. G. Cook, George Daniel, Finn Keane and Doss. ‘Boiler Room & Charli XCX Presents: PARTYGIRL’ broke the record for the most ever RSVPs to a Boiler Room event, with over 40k people registering to attend. Featuring special guest appearances from the likes of Addison Rae and Julia Fox, the show has easily become one of the viral moments of the year. Australian pop sensation Troye Sivan, known for his chart-topping hits and captivating performances, will be coming off the heels of his European arena tour in support of his critically acclaimed third album, "Something to Give Each Other" (2023) – a celebration of sex, dance, sweat, community, queerness, love and friendship. His hit single “Rush” – which earned two Grammy nominations and amassed over 180 million combined global streams to date– and “Got Me Started,” the second single from his 2023 album, have gained worldwide recognition amongst his dedicated fan base. Troye Sivan and Charli XCX are no strangers to collaboration, having previously worked together on smash hits such as "1999" and "2099." Their undeniable chemistry and shared passion for music have solidified their partnership as one of the most dynamic duos in pop music. CHARLI XCX & TROYE SIVAN PRESENT: SWEAT TOUR DATES: Sat Sep 14, 2024 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena Mon Sep 16, 2024 – Laval, QC – Place Bell Wed Sep 18, 2024 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena Fri Sep 20, 2024 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena Mon Sep 23, 2024 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden Wed Sep 25, 2024 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center Thu Sep 26, 2024 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena Sat Sep 28, 2024 – Boston, MA – TD Garden Mon Sep 30, 2024 – Chicago, IL – United Center Wed Oct 02, 2024 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena Thu Oct 03, 2024 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena Sat Oct 05, 2024 – Miami, FL – Kaseya Center Sun Oct 06, 2024 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center Wed Oct 09, 2024 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center Fri Oct 11, 2024 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena Sun Oct 13, 2024 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center Tue Oct 15, 2024 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum Fri Oct 18, 2024 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena Sun Oct 20, 2024 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center Tue Oct 22, 2024 – Portland, OR – Moda Center Wed Oct 23, 2024 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena Read the full article

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audiofuzz · 5 months

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Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Announce Tour Dates

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groovygymbustorontoblogs · 5 months

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Groovy Gym Bus: The Ultimate Stress-Free Kids’ Birthday Party Venue in Toronto

Groovy Gym Bus celebrates birthday parties in Toronto and offers an unparalleled experience for children. This converted bus boasts a vibrant and dynamic interior designed to ignite imagination and foster active play. Equipped with engaging play equipment and ample space, it promises an unforgettable adventure for kids.

What makes Groovy Gym Bus the ultimate party venue is its commitment to convenience and peace of mind for parents. The experienced team takes care of every detail, from setting up the space to organizing activities and keeping the kids entertained throughout the party. Parents can relax and enjoy watching their child’s face light up with joy.

Safety is a top priority at Groovy Gym Bus, with the bus equipped with all necessary safety features. From secure seating arrangements to age-appropriate play equipment, precautions are taken to ensure a worry-free environment for birthday celebrations. Additionally, the staff members are trained in CPR and first aid, ready to handle any situation.

Beyond the fun, Groovy Gym Bus recognizes the importance of physical activity for children’s development. With equipment for gymnastics onboard, kids can engage in healthy activities like climbing, balancing, and tumbling under supervision.

Groovy Gym Bus offers customizable party packages to suit various needs and budgets. Each package includes essentials like decorations, snacks, and entertainment options, with friendly staff ensuring everything runs smoothly from start to finish.

The venue has received rave reviews from parents, praising its attention to detail, professionalism, and the sheer joy it brings to kids of all ages. Additionally, Groovy Gym Bus is available for a range of events, from community gatherings to kids’ picnics, providing a versatile and weather-proof party option.

To read the full article click here

Visit our website by clicking here

#groovygymbus #kids birthday party places #kids birthday party #birthday party #birthday #birthday party ideas #kidsactivities #kidsplayarea #kids playing #kidsplaytime

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mirandamckenni1 · 1 year

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Liked on YouTube: Tessa Violet - MY GOD! (Official Lyric Video) || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STKy9a5gK7o || Tickets for MY GOD! The tour goes on sale Friday at 10 am PT. Use "Ultraviolet" for presale. https://ift.tt/CVRDWHa Join the Ultraviolet community https://ift.tt/2IbJvxO Tour Dates: SANTA FE, NM - Meow Wolf - Thursday, July 27, 2023 PHOENIX, AZ - Crescent Ballroom - Friday, July 28, 2023 HOUSTON, TX - Warehouse Live - The Studio - Sunday, July 30, 2023 DALLAS, TX - The Studio at The Factory - Monday, July 31, 2023 AUSTIN, TX - Antone's Nightclub - Tuesday, August 1, 2023 NASHVILLE, TN - The Basement East - Thursday, August 3, 2023 ATLANTA, GA - Masquerade - Hell Stage - Friday, August 4, 2023 ORLANDO, FL - The Social - Saturday, August 5, 2023 CARRBORO, NC - Cat's Cradle - Monday, August 7, 2023 WASHINGTON, DC - 9:30 Club - Tuesday, August 8, 2023 PHILADELPHIA, PA - Union Transfer - Thursday, August 10, 2023 NEW YORK, NY - Irving Plaza - Friday, August 11, 2023 BOSTON, MA - Paradise Rock Club - Music Hall - Saturday, August 12, 2023 TORONTO, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre - Monday, August 14, 2023 DETROIT, MI - El Club - Tuesday, August 15, 2023 COLUMBUS, OH - Newport Music Hall - Thursday, August 17, 2023 CHICAGO, IL - House of Blues - Chicago - Friday, August 18, 2023 PITTSBURGH, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre - Saturday, August 19, 2023 MILWAUKEE, WI - The Rave/Eagles Club - The Rave Bar - Monday, August 21, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Varsity Theater - Tuesday, August 22, 2023 SAINT LOUIS, MO - Old Rock House - Thursday, August 24, 2023 OMAHA, NE - Slowdown - Friday, August 25, 2023 ENGLEWOOD, CO - Gothic Theatre - Sunday, August 27, 2023 SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Soundwell - Monday, August 28, 2023 VANCOUVER, BC - Hollywood Theatre - Wednesday, August 30, 2023 SEATTLE, WA - Showbox - Thursday, August 31, 2023 PORTLAND, OR - The Star - Friday, September 1, 2023 ROSEVILLE, CA - Goldfield Trading Post - Roseville - Sunday, September 3, 2023 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The Independent - Monday, September 4, 2023 LOS ANGELES, CA - The Fonda Theatre - Wednesday, September 6, 2023 SAN DIEGO, CA - Music Box - Thursday, September 7, 2023 LYRICS: (sexually liberated women-) (My God! My God! Oh my God! My God!) If I got one shot to do what I want to Be real, and tell you I want you Lord knows that I’ll never bite my tongue Two hearts, electric and eager, One touch and I’m a believer You got me coming all undone Baby, I’m confessing Like how you undressing It could be a blessing if we do it right If you keep it up imma see the light Open up the gates to my paradise like My God! My God! Oh! My God! My God! Taking me to heaven when I feel you breathe Singing like an angel got me on my knees like My God! My God! Oh! My God! My God! Bad Bitch, I crack whips I’m bossy But you know the way to unlock me Render me tender like a lamb Nothing compares to the feeling Surrendering to your healing I’m melting in your mighty hands Got me falling for your power Hot and sticky in the shower Hallelujah! say it louder I just wanna be ya- I just wanna be ya, be ya I just wanna be devoured Hot and sticky in the shower Hallelujah! say it louder If you keep it up imma see the light Open up the gates to my paradise like My god, my god oh My God, my God, my God! If you keep it up imma see the light Open up the gates to my paradise like My God! My God! Oh! my God! My God! Taking me to heaven when I feel you breathe Singing like an angel got me on my knees like My God! My God! Oh! my God! My God! Got me falling for your power Hot and sticky in the shower Hallelujah! say it louder I just wanna be ya- I just wanna be ya, be ya If you keep it up imma see the light Open up the gates to my paradise like My God! My God! oh! my God! My God! CREDITS: Dancers: Nichole Weber, Siena Wand, Lennon Torres, Nahla, Maile Makaafi, Maureen Tang, Laura Faith, Denae Luce, Janae Holster, India Collins Choreographer: Kayla Kalbfleisch Choreographer Assistant: Marissa Vela-Bailey Director: Lindsey Blane Producer: Christopher Henrich DP / Gaffer: Michael Rodgers 1st AC: Pongsakorn "PK" Kamhangngam Steadicam: Marc Deckert Key Grip: Lafayette Fredrick Swing: Dan Gould PA: Franco Gamarra, Hannah Aisawa Makeup Artist - Artist: Eden Lattanzio HMU Key: Jenny Karl HMU Assistant: Christina "SO" Todonnio, Tahni Smith Wardrobe: Athena Lawton Wardrobe assistant: William Ramseur

#IFTTT #YouTube

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eccentricbiseo · 2 years

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7 Methods To Brand Your Business & Stand Out In Any Market

Whether you've got nothing but a good idea to pivot your existing brand, here's what you need to know about building a strong brand identity for your business.

A business has a customer base, and a brand has a fan base. What do you do to make your business a brand and attract raving fans just like that? BUILD A BRAND!

You are not born with a business mind, but you either grow or hire a digital marketing agency. Outrunning your competitors is the beginning to be unmatchable. However, it is pretty important to think out of the box and not follow the trendsetters blindly. So, if you are ready to brand your business, let's get to the point.

7 tips for branding your business

• Nail your voice: Be the voice that no one ever heard or thought of. Be creative and believe in what you want. Voice up your story, beliefs, and vision, and let customers see-through. Your brand should have a unique voice that you want to stand for in the future.

• Decide a business name: Don't be over creative with your brand name. Selecting a simple yet powerful brand name does the job. You should get clear about what you believe in and set the brand name that speaks to and for your soul.

• Change your target audience: Change your audience focus if you want to stand out. You should focus on the customers through internet marketing who the other brands ignore. Gather them and make a community that customers feel proud to be a part of.

• Follow the 4 P's: Have you heard of the three marketing Ps yet? Before you go completely out with your brand, follow the 4 Ps of marketing. Focus on the pricing, promotion, and people to maintain a strong foothold in the market.

• Collect inspiration: Don't be bound to what you see around you. Get out of your circle and try to take inspiration externally too. Stop referring to competitors solely, or you can end up being the same. So, maybe focus more on lightening subjects.

• Be authentic: The audience believes in reality and not pretentious intentions. Today, most businesses, brands, and companies choose fake visions to impress the easily notable audience.

• Be open to creativity: The same traditional designs are good to go, and let them go. Come up with some joyful, different, and vibrant designs that specifically mean "YOU" when in the crowd.

To gather more valuable insights, get in touch with Eccentric, the best digital marketing company in Toronto.

This blog "7 Methods To Brand Your Business & Stand Out In Any Market" was originally posted HERE.

#Toronto Digital Marketing Agency #Digital Marketing Toronto #Internet Marketing Toronto #Digital Marketing Toronto And Canada

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yegarts · 2 years

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“I Am YEG Arts” Series: Emmet Michael

Photo by Nadia Jade Photography

It is always better to be loved by few than liked by many. Emmet Michael knows this and couldn’t be more grateful. If you don’t already know his name, he’s a singer-songwriter winning the hearts and attention of music fans with his debut album, I Hope You’re Home. It’s an album that’s both an unflinching look at life as an outsider and the power of feeling at home in one’s own skin. As you’ll soon discover, this artist’s openness to talk about music is as generous and moving as his ability to write it. Equal parts grit and grace, this week’s “I Am YEG Arts” story belongs to Emmet Michael.

Tell us about your connection to Edmonton and why you make it your home.

I was born and raised in Edmonton. Up until recently, I spent a lot of time wishing I lived elsewhere. As time went on, I found more and more reasons to appreciate it here—particularly its vibrant arts and music scene. Even artists in more metropolitan cities, such as Vancouver or Toronto, are raving about the opportunities and support networks in Edmonton.

Alberta is a strange place to find yourself in as someone who is a part of a minority group—but Edmonton seems to be a safe hub for people like me. People in Edmonton appreciate and uplift unique voices in music in ways I think rural Alberta communities have yet to do.

What are your musical influences, and where do you see/hear them reflected in your work?

I grew up in the Christian church and was first introduced to music through worship. I think that’s a lot of where the more “ethereal” and “ambient” sounds in my songs come from. Despite never having written worship songs, I’ve been told often that they have a “worship music vibe.” Watching my mom sing on stages at church was what first inspired me to become a performer.

In my adolescence I really fell in love with emo music, and then later with more “folky” singer-songwriter types. Some of my favourite artists include: Manchester Orchestra, Brandi Carlile, Corey Kilgannon, Ruston Kelly, and Phoebe Bridgers. I listen to a lot of different genres and find that a little bit of everything makes it into my own sound. I don’t ever want to stay married to one particular avenue or get pigeonholed into a single style. I think the one thing that all of the artists I listen to have in common is the depth of meaning in their lyrics. They’re all poets in their own way, and that’s what I aspire to reflect in my writing as well.

What is the songwriting process like for you? Where do you usually begin?

My songwriting process is always quite abstract. Inspiration often hits at really inopportune times, like while I’m at work, driving, or in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping. I try to take advantage of it whenever it comes because it doesn’t come all that often. Most commonly my process is sitting down with a guitar or at the piano and tinkering around until something resonates. At that point, the words just follow naturally and are often just an expression of whatever I’m wrestling with at a given time. It’s always been a very personal and very cathartic experience for me. I live with a lot of anxiety and overthink everything. When I sit down and write a song, it’s a time where my mind is actually quiet enough for me to process underlying emotions. Having something tangible at the end of all of that—a fully completed piece of music—is just an added bonus to the whole experience. Writing lyrics enables me to actually understand and communicate what I’m going through in a way that I’ve always struggled to articulate in words.

What does community mean to you, and where do you find it?

As someone who hasn’t always felt a sense of belonging, community is life-saving. As a queer and transgender individual growing up in a religious community, I always felt a sense of loneliness and “otherness.” I felt like I had to suppress who I was in order to be accepted. I think authentic community breeds the opposite of that. It is about finding people who not only accept you as you are, but CELEBRATE you for who you are. I found that in the Edmonton arts community, at open stages in particular. These were places where you were encouraged to listen and share the things that make us all the most human, in a language that everyone understands—through music.

Tell us about someone who’s been a mentor to you.

I have had a lot of important mentors throughout my life and career, too many to name them all. One of the most prominent was Rhea March. I met her at one of her open stages almost a decade ago, when I first started performing my original songs. She helped me get some of my first gigs, interviewed and aired my music on her show, It Takes a Village, on CJSR radio, and later got me my first larger-scale opportunity at Canmore Folk Music Festival, in 2019. Among offering me support professionally, she also encouraged me personally. Early on, I dealt with a lot of self-doubt and struggles with mental illness and addiction. She saw my potential from the very start and helped coax it out of me. I will forever be grateful to her for that above all things.

I Hope You're Home album cover. Photo by Nadia Jade Photography

What’s one piece of advice someone gave you growing up that turned out to be true. What’s one piece that didn’t hold up?

One piece of advice given to me at the beginning of my music career was to be able to take constructive criticism and “no's” well. If you manage to persevere through enough times hearing “no,” you were bound to get a “yes” eventually. I most certainly found that to be the case. I still get declined opportunities all the time, and sometimes it really stings, but the wins I’ve experienced as a result of pushing through have been well worth all of it.

Before recording my first project, the 5-song EP, I Feel Like I Just Woke Up, in 2019, I was told by someone in the industry that my songs were never going anywhere unless I made them more “mainstream.” I was encouraged to warp my sound and lyrical content to fit what he thought the greater public would be most apt to consume. The reality is that people gravitate the most to people who are authentic in what they create. I have learned the importance in knowing that it is always better to be loved by few than to be liked by many. A small audience of people who really resonate with what I’m doing will always mean more to me. The numbers don’t matter as much as people seem to think they do.

Tell us about the role that funding and awards have played in your career. What doors do they open for artists?

Funding has played an invaluable role in the advancement of my career. It is because of grants from the Edmonton Arts Council, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and FACTOR that I was able to afford to record and market my debut full-length album, I Hope You’re Home, released in May 2021. Having a professionally produced, full-length album put my name on the map in a way that it hadn’t been before. I had music played on radio across Canada, including CBC and SIRIUS XM radio. I had interviews on Global News and CTV Morning Live. I am now being offered far more performance and showcasing opportunities, which have allowed for me to be able to support myself financially in a way I couldn’t before. Just recently, I was awarded the Edmonton Music Prize for my album. The prize money will allow me to invest in my career even further, through the purchase of better equipment, studio time, and the cost of accommodations for touring.

I would not have been able to continue investing in my growth without these supports, and I am just so grateful to live in a place that values investment in creative work. It is my hope that I can use these investments to enrich my community the same way it has so greatly enriched me. These types of funding and awards help connect artists to their potential audiences, record music they might not otherwise be able to afford to, and promote the economy of Edmonton arts as a whole.

What makes you hopeful these days?

In recent years, I have watched Alberta embrace more diversity in the music scene. There have always been plenty of talented artists that are 2SLGBTQ+ and/or BIPOC, but now they are being given a platform. We still have a long way to go, but progress is happening. That gives me hope for the future of music in Edmonton and in Alberta.

Tell us a bit about your latest album, I Hope You’re Home, for which you were awarded the 2022 Edmonton Music Prize. What inspired it, and what story did you want to tell?

I Hope You’re Home is a culmination of all of the experiences I had that made me the person I am now. It expresses the longing for a feeling of “home,” not as a place, but as a comfortable existence in your own skin. There are songs on this album that I wrote as a teenager, and others I wrote just a couple of weeks before getting into the studio. Each song is a snapshot of a point in my life where I was really wrestling with something. Some of those things included: coming out as trans, going through an addiction, battling mental illness, grieving a loss, and trying to discover what love means in all it.

Years from now, when you look back on this album as a snapshot in time, how do you hope to finish this sentence: I didn’t know it at the time, but…

I am worth more than the story I tell.

You visit Edmonton 20 years from now. What do you hope has changed? What do you hope has stayed the same?

I hope that people are less afraid to express themselves as they are—for how they identify and who they love. I hope none of that matters at all. I hope that we continue to cultivate a culture of collaboration over competition. I hope there are more opportunities created for open and honest dialogue. I hope that we continue to see an Edmonton full of arts and music festivals and events. I hope that we continue to expand upon investment in art and music, as I believe these mediums are imperative to social change and a thriving community.

Want more YEG Arts Stories? We’ll be sharing them here all year and on social media using the hashtag #IamYegArts. Follow along! Click here to learn more about Emmet Michael, and visit the EAC’s website for more information about grants and awards that support artists.

Photo credit: Kassia J Photography

About Emmet Michael

Introspective and enthralling, with equal parts grit and grace, Emmet Michael is a musician who was built on his trials. Turning to music in his darkest times, he found solace in his ability to share his heart with others through his lyrics. Drawing on his experience of transitioning from female to male, living with mental illness, and battling addiction, his songs carry a tone of desperation and sorrow. With soulful melodies and heart-wrenching lyrics, his music conveys a message that is both powerful and vulnerable. Entirely unique, yet familiar.

There is a lifetime’s worth of honesty and vulnerability encapsulated in the Edmonton Music Prize Winning album, I Hope You’re Home, the debut full-length album released in summer 2021. A bold, unflinching look at life as an outsider before undertaking a journey of self-discovery that would help mould him into the person he is today, it is the sum of those experiences that resonate throughout the course of the record.

Recently showcased to larger audiences at Canmore Folk Music Festival, Festival Place, and the Northern Lights Folk Club, his live shows provide an experience simply too incredible for words. His eloquent storytelling pairs perfectly with an always evocative performance, allowing those in attendance to connect to him, themselves, and each other.

Raw vulnerability is what will always set Emmet apart. He bares his soul in a way that is sophisticated far beyond his youth. This is only the beginning for this talented songwriter.

#yeg #yegarts #iamyegarts #yegmusic #edmonton #edmontonarts

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gstqaobc · 4 years

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CBC THE ROYAL FASCINATOR

Friday, October 23, 2020

Hello, royal watchers and all those intrigued by what’s going on inside the House of Windsor. This is your biweekly dose of royal news and analysis. Reading this online? Sign up here to get this delivered to your inbox.

Janet DavisonRoyal Expert

The lessons of becoming Diana in The Crown

(Ollie Upton/Netflix)

For Emma Corrin, preparing to take on the role of Diana, Princess of Wales, in The Crown was something of a psychology lesson. The 24-year-old actor assumed the part knowing full well those watching her arrival next month in Season 4 of the Netflix drama will already have well-established impressions of a member of the Royal Family who grew from "Shy Di" to one of the most photographed celebrities and fashion icons of recent times. Those existing impressions made assuming the role “incredibly daunting,” Corrin said in an interview from London. It helped once she got the script and saw the story. But there was also considerable work with a coach on “understanding the psychology behind a lot of what was happening.” And a lot of what was happening to Diana was “incredibly unnatural and quite intense,” Corrin said. At the age of 19, Diana Spencer moved from an apartment she shared with friends in West London into Buckingham Palace after her engagement to Prince Charles, the heir to the throne and a man 13 years her senior. Diana thought “it was going to be the best event of her life and that they were going to live happily ever after, but then [she discovered] he was with another woman,” Corrin said. Along with that, there was the pressure that comes from being a royal in the public eye. “All of these are very extraordinary circumstances, really, for someone to be operating in,” said Corrin. “These things that she was exposed to come with a whole lot of pressures that affect someone’s mentality, and that was really interesting.” Even so, there are still all those impressions viewers will have before they catch their first glimpse of Diana when the new season of The Crown starts streaming on Nov. 15. And what if Corrin’s portrayal doesn’t match those impressions? Does that matter in trying to create a successful portrayal of such a well-known person? Not necessarily. “If you talk to actors who have to play a real person ... especially somebody that is so world famous and familiar as Diana — [the challenge comes] because audiences are expecting that actress to look and sound just like the real thing,” said Bill Brioux, a longtime television columnist and commentator. He looks no further than the actor holding the central role on The Crown for Seasons 3 and 4 as an example of overcoming that challenge. “I think Olivia Colman [as Queen Elizabeth] has shown that you don’t have to be a carbon copy, that you might capture a nuance or an essence of someone,” Brioux said. “Certainly, Colman spent a lot of The Crown looking surprised and perplexed, you know, aghast at times.” And we certainly aren’t used to seeing the Queen looking that way in public. “So I think it will be interesting to see how Diana is received,” Brioux said. As she prepared for the role, Corrin said she became overwhelmed “by the amount of factual information out there about her and also … the thought that I would be portraying someone so well-known." Corrin said she “started work on her mannerisms and her behaviour and figuring out why she did the things she did or what she would feel about certain situations that I was going to be acting. “ Corrin also spoke to Patrick Jephson, Diana’s private secretary. “He knew her very well and was able to provide a lot of insight, which was wonderful.” With Diana, Brioux suggested, there may be more pressure on an actor than if the portrayal was of a person not so well-known. “People all have their own expectations of Diana in their minds,” he said. “You’re going to disappoint a lot of people no matter what you do, so hat’s off to this actress for taking it on. “I think that there’s potential, though, if you come close, to get a lot of rave reviews because everyone knows the subject and that’s how they’ll judge it."

For more on Corrin’s experiences preparing for the role, click here.

A rare day out for the Queen — and no mask

(Ben Stansall/Reuters)

Royal visits can typically give the royal guest the opportunity to see some cutting-edge technology or to meet individuals being recognized for their work or volunteer efforts in helping others in their community. But Queen Elizabeth’s first major public engagement since the coronavirus pandemic struck in March offered more than a chance for her to visit a new defence research centre west of London and check out the latest in explosives detection. The visit to Porton Down, where scientists are also helping in the response to the pandemic, seemed designed to offer a larger symbolism. “I think it was a really important message for her to send that even though … we’ve been in lockdown and we’re facing new restrictions, the Queen was still able to meet people involved in the COVID response,” Roya Nikkhah, a royal correspondent for the Sunday Times newspaper, told the CBC’s Renee Filippone. Still, the visit, which the 94-year-old carried out alongside her grandson, Prince William, sparked questions — and criticism — because neither of them was wearing a mask at a time when Britons must wear face coverings in stores and other indoor spaces. Those involved in the visit were physically distanced, and Buckingham Palace said safety protocols were followed. Reuters reported that staff at the research centre had been tested for COVID-19 before the visit. “Every precaution that could be taken was taken,” said Nikkhah. “That’s why the Queen didn’t have to wear a mask.” Royal author Robert Jobson told the Daily Mail that Elizabeth was sending a “message of confidence to the people.” “She’s going back to work, she'll go about her business in the usual way, but without taking chances. She is reassuring the public that things must go on as normal, wherever it is safe to do so.” The Queen has spent much of the time since the pandemic struck in isolation at Windsor Castle, considered to be her favourite residence. She has returned there recently after spending a few weeks with Prince Philip at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and a shorter period on her Sandringham estate northeast of London. Throughout the pandemic, Elizabeth has conducted official duties via video or over the phone, and made two appearances within the walls of Windsor Castle — one for a considerably scaled-down recognition of her official birthday in June, and one to bestow a knighthood on Capt. Tom Moore, a 100-year-old honoured for his charity fundraising. Still, it’s unlikely there will be many other outings like her trip to Porton Down anytime soon. “I think [it] was probably a bit of a one-off,” Nikkhah said. “I don’t think we’ll be seeing a lot more of her on public engagements.”

A new portrait for Canada

(Chris Jackson/Getty Images/Government of Canada)

There is also considerable symbolism on display in Queen Elizabeth’s new official Canadian portrait. While the portrait is new to the public, the photo itself was taken more than a year ago, in March 2019 at Windsor Castle, by royal photographer Chris Jackson. He shared it on social media late last week. In the portrait, the Queen is wearing her Canadian insignia as sovereign of the Order of Canada, Jackson said, along with the Order of Military Merit. The diamond and blue sapphire necklace and earrings she is wearing were a wedding day gift from her father, King George VI, in November 1947, and were worn during her five-day trip to Canada in 1990. Jackson said on Instagram that it was an “incredible honour” to have the opportunity to photograph the Queen for the portrait. “I’ve been lucky enough to have visited Canada many times now with members of the Royal Family and have the fondest memories of the people I’ve met.”

Royally quotable

"My family and I knew nothing about it and were at a loss to know how we could help alleviate the terrible pain she suffered."

— Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall,

reflects on her mother’s death from osteoporosis

26 years ago, and went on this week to note the “huge strides” made since then in treatment and research into the disease.

Royals in Canada

(Hans Deryk/The Canadian Press)

When Charles and Diana came to Canada in late October 1991, it was the last trip they made to the country together. And in ways it was two visits in one for the couple, whose collapsing marriage was under intense media scrutiny at the time, as they went their separate ways for much of the seven-day sojourn.

One stop for Diana in Toronto took her to Casey House, a hospice for people who have AIDS.

“Diana had just begun to venture into the issue of AIDS, then repellent to much of society, but it was still surprising that she chose to see a hospice full of very ill people rather than some less harrowing AIDS setting,” Casey House founder June Callwood

wrote in Maclean’s magazine

after Diana’s death in 1997.

Callwood had a mixed view of Diana, but that visit to Casey House, where she sat and visited with hospice residents, left a lasting impression.

Diana “wanted nothing less than to change the world for the better,” Callwood wrote. “And perhaps she did. On that lovely afternoon … she made everyone at a small AIDS hospice in Toronto feel worthwhile. That’s quite a gift.”

Our friends at CBC Archives have taken a closer look at the 1991 visit, which was also the first time both William and Harry went with their parents on a foreign trip.

Royal reads

1. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, says she

avoids speaking about controversial topics

in an attempt to ensure she doesn’t put her family at risk. She also says she’s been told that in 2019, she was the

“most trolled person in the entire world.”

[BBC, The Guardian]

2. More than 60 years after Queen Elizabeth gave a pair of swans to a city in Florida,

it has sold off three dozen of their descendants

in a bid to ease a crisis in overpopulation of the birds. [The Independent]

3. Thirty years after Diana laid a ceremonial foundation stone for a cancer hospital, her son William

did the same

. [The Daily Mail]

4. Dutch King Willem-Alexander says he

regrets going to Greece for a holiday

after he and his family were criticized for taking a trip during the pandemic. [BBC]

Cheers!

I’m always happy to hear from you. Send your ideas, comments, feedback and notes to

[email protected]

. Problems with the newsletter? Please let me know about any typos, errors or glitches.

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azulblue9 · 5 years

Photo

Purple Reign – My Business with Prince and Paisley Park " My introduction to Prince was at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco on May 23rd 1986. It was his Parade, Hit n Run Tour. Generous friends had purchased third row seats and invited me to the "…O(+> 💜🎵💜 Marty Magic Blog by marty Posted on April 26, 2016

(Photo) > Crescent Moon Ear Wrap O(+> 💜🎵💜

(Photo) > Wave Ear Cuff O(+> 💜🎵💜

(Photo) > Rave Un2 the year 2000 – Dolphin Ear Wraps O(+> 💜🎵💜

(Photo) >Prince Crescent Ear Wrap Specs O(+> 💜🎵💜

(Photo) > Crescent Moon Ear Wrap with CZ’s O(+> 💜🎵💜

(Photo) > Prince Love Symbol Specs O(+> 💜🎵💜 Marty Magic Blog

(Photo) > Prince Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stones Magazine O(+> 💜🎵💜

(Photo) > Marty with Prince Crescent Ear Wraps created especially for him. O(+> 💜🎵💜

Purple Reign – My Business with Prince and Paisley Park O(+> 💜🎵💜 Marty Magic Blog by marty Posted on April 26, 2016

My introduction to Prince was at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco on May 23rd 1986. It was his Parade, Hit n Run Tour. Generous friends had purchased third row seats and invited me to the concert.

Twelve years later, in 1998, I made the business connection via my shop at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. For over 30 years, I’ve had a shop at the Maryland Fair. In the fall of 1998, Steve Parke who was photographer and art director for Prince between 1988 – 2001, came to the Festival and purchased my Wave Ear Cuff in sterling silver. When he returned to Paisley Park, the Artist, formerly know as Prince, apparently took note of the ear cuff he was wearing and sent Steve back to my shop to purchase samples of my other ear cuff designs. (Steve has since told me that Prince asked him to photoshop the Wave Ear Cuff onto his ear.) My Maryland manager gave him one each of my ear cuff and ear wrap designs to take back to show to the ‘Artist’. The following weekend, Steve returned again to buy the few ear cuff designs that I had ready made in gold. In 1998, I was one of a very few ear cuff designers and my web site was number one on Google if you searched Ear Cuffs.

In January of the following year, Paisley Park called me and ordered several hundred of the Moon Face Ear Wrap both in sterling silver and in Vermille (gold plate.) They also ordered 100 sterling silver wave ear cuffs. This was a very large order for me at the time and the Marty Magic casting shop, in the Santa Cruz mountains, went into high gear. The order was time sensitive because Paisley Park was placing a full page ad in Wired Magazine, featuring both his Symbol Pendant and my ear cuff designs and I needed to guarantee fulfillment of the order.

For the next several years, I made many versions of the Moon Ear Wrap for Prince and his band. Both Prince and the members of his band wore pairs of these onstage. I also made several sets for Prince personally, cast in solid 14K gold and set with diamonds. Apparently Prince would occasionally forget their value and would toss them into the audience so the solid gold and diamond moon ear wrap orders soon ceased :)

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/03/prince-auction

It must have been in 1999 when I had a conversation with one of Prince’s assistants to discuss various custom ear wrap designs for Prince. In discussing possible themes, among other ideas, she mentioned dolphins. I already had a Dolphin Ear Wrap in my line and Paisley Park ordered several pairs of these. In Prince’s 2000 New Year’s concert video, Rave Un2 the Year, 2000, Prince is wearing a pair of my Dolphin Ear Wraps. In the August, 2000 Prince Calendar, Prince is wearing a pair of my Crescent Moon Face Ear Wraps.

By 2000, I was not only making Prince’s Moon ear wraps but I was making his Symbol Pendant and Symbol Key Ring in pewter to sell on their NPG web site, at concerts and at private events. My dealings were mostly with Mayte Garcia, his first wife and subsequently with Manuel Testolini, his second wife. Between them and numerous assistants to the Artist, I exchanged hundreds of e-mails. I never personally communicated with Prince but for a brief period of time I had the phone number to their personal residence in Toronto and a soft spoken male would answer the phone before passing on the call.

In 2002, Paisley Park requested that I create a simplified version of my Crescent Moon Ear Wrap. I removed the moon face and the star and configured it so that seven graduated CZ’s could be set along the curvature of the crescent. This is the Ear Wrap that Prince wore from 2002 until his death on April 21, 2016. As a professional courtesy, during his lifetime, I offered this version only to Prince although I had many requests for this ear wrap design.

2004 was a big year for Prince and subsequently a busy year for Marty Magic. Prince was featured on the April cover of Entertainment Weekly wearing the Crescent Ear Wrap embellished with diamonds. In May, Prince was on the cover of Rolling Stones Magazine wearing the same diamond encrusted, Crescent Ear Wraps.

In May of 2004 the NBA voted Kevin Garnett the MVP (most valuable player) award. Prince and Kevin were good friends so Manuela commissioned me to design and create a gold and diamond MVP Pendant for Prince to give to Kevin. In June of 2004, Paisley Park comped me 6 tickets to the Prince Concert at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. I hand delivered the MVP pendant to Manuela at the concert and she graciously thanked both me and my husband and made a point to acknowledge John and Alisha who at the time were 12 and 19 respectively. She thanked them for their contribution in packaging the many Love Symbol Pendants that Paisley Park had ordered in the past. (When a batch of 500 – 1000 Symbol Pendants were finished, they still needed to be chained and inserted into a zip lock bag. I would rent a couple of movies and hire both John and Alisha to help me package the order.)

In June of 2004, Prince was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame and Manuela commissioned me to create a gold and diamond pendant for her to wear to the award ceremony.

I never officially met Prince but I designed all of his ear wraps and was instrumental in producing much of the jewelry that he wore and sold under the Paisley Park, NPG label. I provided Pewter Symbol Pendant, his sterling silver Rose Symbol Pendant, 3121 Pendants, NPG Pendants and Love Symbol Pendants….and more…..

Source: http://blog.martymagic.com/…/purple-reign-business-prince-…/

Prince 4ever! O(+> 💜🎵💜

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momonetmoproblems · 4 years

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Virtual Identities & Oversharing

The Spammer & The Paparazzi: How much is too much?

Social Media has fashioned a space for persons across the world to depart from the realities of their average lives and enter a world in which, with an email address or cell number and a few abstract characters strung together to create a password, they can be whomever or whatever they like. Sometimes these personas are an extension of the true self or they may be fictitious and misleading characters to disguise a user’s genuine identity. People develop various personalities across social media platforms to suit their audience “like a chameleon that changes colours to suit its background or settings, so the online personality can change to adapt and fit in to an online community” says Stacey Koosel in The Renegotiated Self: Social Media’s Effects on Identity. This can range from the Perfect Christian on Facebook for the approval of familial onlookers to Miss #FlewedOut on Instagram for the admiration and acceptance of other IG “baddies” to the I Hate Men posse for the recognition of Feminist Twitter. Social Media is a performative space where users carry out a balancing act, never breaking character and executing top notch shows in exchange for rave reviews in the form of Likes, Retweets and Comments.

From the impersonating of famous celebrities to World Record Eggs, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook among other platforms are breeding grounds for Virtual Identities, most of which, arguably, are false in nature. These concocted personas are often the manifestations of who one thinks he or she is or wishes he or she could be. The Spammer and The Paparazzi, as I will affectionately call them, are two of the foremost personas plaguing the internet, shifting perceptions of reality subtly but unmistakably, often through oversharing, and the repercussions can be grave.

Jaron Lanier, Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, in the 2020 docudrama The Social Dilemma, states that social media causes a gradual, slight, imperceptible change in people’s behavior and perception altering what they do, how they think and who they are. Social Media, by nature, can turn users into “oversharers”, it is to be expected. Afterall, Facebook prompts its users with “What’s on your mind?” and Twitter with “What’s happening?” And as more actors join these performative spaces, it can be observed that the more outrageous the spectacle, the more interactions, engagements, and impressions it will receive as it “[inspires] the passive audience to become more active, interactive and creative” avers Koosel. Gradually, there is more and more competition for the spotlight. So, what do people do? They generate more content in the hopes of finally or repeatedly going viral. Who wouldn’t want to see themselves on Good Morning America for their viral #VogueChallenge or get their artwork of Nicki Minaj acknowledged by the rapper with over 123 million followers and potential customers on Instagram? Unfortunately, not everyone is talented in these traditional ways, thus the performance becomes one of improvisation with very personal, provocative or pretended anecdotes, pictures or videos to spark a controversy. But it is imperative that we ask ourselves “How much is too much?

The Spammer

The ultimate oversharer that will leave you screaming “T.M.I.” to your screen at least every other minute is the Spammer. Their tweets are often extremely personal and frequently appear in quick succession of each other. This type of user’s downfall is most likely that one post that the world did not need to see (believe it or not, the first tweet from the screenshot above is very real). This piece of information regularly falls in the hands of the worst person imaginable - an employer, parent, significant other or worse. This is the reality on the popular platform, Twitter.

Take the case of Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Adley Duncan, for example. The series of tweets below has forced the DPP to establish a social media policy after backlash ensued on the timeline in response to Duncan’s unnecessary and inappropriate confession. He has since deactivated his account.

Twitter user and YouTuber, Niakumi, is another oversharer. Unfortunately, in her case, it cost her a little more than her Twitter account. YouTube has become Oversharing Central and has cost several vloggers their careers, accounts and fanbases because of a Storytime that never should have left their hard drive or a tweet that should never have left their drafts.

The same can be identified in the case of the young JMMB employee who tweeted a “rape joke” which was quickly escalated to the JCF, Digicel and JMMB. The employee has since lost his job.

The Paparazzi

Erving Goffman in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life postulates when individuals interact with others, they attempt to police how they are perceived by constructing a certain image of desired impressions. Goffman illustrates that these individuals choose their own stage, props, and costumes for specific audiences. Though Goffman was referring to real life interactions, as the world becomes increasingly digital, these performances are most appreciated on social media. Enli and Thumim, in Socializing and Self-Representation Online, posit that users meticulously select the best information to convey to their respective audiences which may establish a certain status for that user based on popularity. And where can one find the best arena for a popularity contest? If you said “Instagram”, you are absolutely correct.

The Paparazzi, best represented on IG, generates his or her “digiSelf” as Mark Federman used in The Cultural Paradox of the Global Village, by snapping a shot of every second of the day. This often includes:

Their outfit (the costume)

Who they are with (God forbid the person is even minutely famous)

What they are driving, and the music played

The journey

The scenery

The destination (the stage)

The food, drinks – bring out the top shelf liquor – and the bill (the props)

Cyberstalking is now birthed from oversharing in the establishing of these virtual identities as this user is not only a danger to themselves but to those around them as they enable stalkers and others with ill intent to live-track their location making them an easy target. Several Jamaican women find themselves being plagued by their very own Joe (don’t say you haven’t watched You on Netflix) which the above Jamaica Observer article speaks to as six men summarize the ways in which they kept tabs on an ex using social media, while international artistes, Tay Way and Pop Smoke, have fallen victim to this habit and the repercussions were fatal in both cases.

Users must be cognizant that their Virtual Identities or digiSelves, so long as they are associated with their governmental naming, are a reflection of whatever entity they find themselves employed, even if they do not intend it. These brands have worked tirelessly for years to maintain their image and will not hesitate to shed dead weight tainting their brand identity. Moreover, the savages viewers on social media are out for blood and will not hesitate to pull out the pitchforks and torches when someone missteps, #CancelCulture. Other users will not give the benefit of separating one’s real self and the digiSelf, they are far more likely to take one’s content at face value. Therefore, think upon what you want people to see when they type in your name or “handle”, what should they take away from your profile?

Furthermore, social media, when overused and abused, leave users vulnerable to the ill-minded lurkers in the shadows. Tactics like keeping a low profile, utilizing privacy settings by being specific about who can view one’s content and the follow or friend requests accepted, reducing the amount of personal information associated with one’s account and, if one must snap, posting the content when safely home enable users to lessen the likelihood of being cyberstalked.

To be safe overall?

Next time Twitter asks, “What’s happening”, or the next time you hit the road for a night on the town, ask yourself “How much is too much?”

References

Dazio, S. (2020, July 10). Police: Pop Smoke's social media led killers to LA home. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/police-arrested-los-angeles-death-rapper-pop-smoke-71695053

Enli, S & Thumim, N. (2012). Socializing and Self Representation Online: Exploring Facebook.

Federman, M. (2006). The cultural paradox of the global village. Keynote Speech at McLuhan Programme in Culture and Technology, University of Toronto.

Gartrell, N. & Bouscher, D. (2020, September 18). Richmond rapper Tay Way gunned down minutes after posting Instagram video that revealed his location. Mercury News. https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/18/three-shot-one-killed-in-richmond-drive-by-shooting/

Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.

Knight, C. (2019, April 29). All Woman Relationships Stalker mode: 'I would dial her number just to listen to her voice'. The Jamaica Observer. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/stalker-mode-i-would-dial-her-number-just-to-listen-to-her-voice-_163249?profile=1263

Koosel, S. (2015). The Renegotiated Self: Social Media’s Effects on Identity. Alfapress.

Zaman, M. (2020, September 2). The People Who Created Facebook & YouTube Are Sorry. Refinery 29. https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/09/10002175/social-media-effects-the-social-dilemma-netflix-documentary

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monbisous · 8 years

Audio

LISTEN TO THIS BOMB ASS SET, 7 MONTHS OF HARD WORK AND DEDICATION (Royal Junkies)

0 notes

andrea-jacobs · 5 years

Text

COMM 3P18

Chapter 5 - Uses and Gratifications

Media and messages are such a large part of our everyday lives, that we may consciously partaking in viewing and media consumption without much thought. When I’ve had a long day and climb in bed and put on Netflix, I, without much thought, turn on a show like Friends, or This Is Us and watch. What we may not consciously think about, but what still plays a large factor in our media selection is the uses and gratifications theory. As explained by Sullivan (2013), this theory attempts to understand why people choose specific media to consume and what motivates these decisions. The theory focuses on how people use media in their everyday lives as opposed to how the media influence people. When I think about it, I choose a show like Friends after a long day, as opposed to say, an information documentary, for a reason. I am searching for something to fulfil some needs – a show that can be easily consumed and is not too though provoking, something I can relate to my own life, and thus find a sense of belonging in, a show that is popular, so that should one of my roommates come in and ask to join, they can watch too and can even converse about, provided they know the specific show. All of these factors of gratification play a role in what may seem like an arbitrary selection. Because all of these factors arise in my own head and may even seem unconscious, it is hard for researchers to understand all motivations and gratifications that come into play when audiences member are making selections.

Some instances in which we make choices regarding media consumption are much more conscious and deliberate. For example, setting plays a large role as to what we choose to consume. It is probably obvious that when I am visiting my parent’s house, and have control of what we watch as a family on TV, I will not choose to stream a movie like 50 Shades of Grey for its mature content and themes that likely would not be comfortable to watch in an open setting with my family around. That said, many other factors will come into play when I make a decision, if my father is in the room, I will not choose a movie or show that would fall into the romance category, as he dislikes that genre. If my mother is in the room, I will not choose a movie or show that would fall into the action category as she dislikes that genre. As Sullivan points out, different scenarios, demand different gratifications to be met. At a time like this, with my family, we would likely watch a classic family movie or sports together. Both would trigger feeling of nostalgia and togetherness for us, as we used to watch those when I was younger together, and now with me being moved out, rarely get to experience that. We also search for something that relates to all of our interests. Sullivan also makes reference to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, in which scholars use a formulated hierarchy to explain human needs from the basics of food and water, to self actualization. In keeping up with the example above, of my family watching tv together, we are able to place ourselves on the third step of Maslow’s hierarchy – belongingness and love needs. Together we are able to consume a specific media text and find common meaning and value in it. We are also physically brought together and can use the connections these texts offer us to better connect to each other in our physical world.

This leads to the idea of even more social media consumption, and how certain media texts play such an integral role in how our society operates. As media messages today are simply unavoidable with technology constantly at our fingertips, the ones we choose to consume over other, especially in regards to news, speak to the idea that audiences seek out content that will give them gratification. For example, popular news stories that get shared around the world make for common topics of what can seem like universal interest. No matter your preferred news source, all will cover the same large topics, such as political elections, natural disasters, and other universally impactful events. That said, they will all have these stories told in a different way and will also have different smaller scaled stories in their publications. This was very evident on my last family road trip to Florida. We drove through many states, and stopped at many restaurants and gas stations along the way, almost all, always playing the news. At this time, the 2017 federal election was taking place and all news stories were focused on that. What I found interesting, was that depending on the state or even community we were in, determined the news channel they watched. In states like North Carolina, where we stopped for a night on the way, all the news stories we saw favoured the Republican Party, as many of the residents in this state agreed with Republican policies and ideologies. These publications met the desires, emotional needs, and even social needs, as it provided opportunity for conversation with others of many of the people in this community.

Chapter 6 - Interpreting and Decoding Mass Media Texts

Messages, no matter the type, can be interpreted in many different ways. Many factors contribute to one’s understanding of any given text. Sullivan (2013) explains that be it social class, gender, age, or any other demographical barrier, as well as simply having (or not having) prior knowledge, one person’s understanding of a message can be completely different than that of someone else. To send a well received message, the author must first have an intended audience and create the message in a way that will best resignation with them. When I was little, I had an older sister. Sometimes my parents would explain something to her that made absolutely no sense to me, just because of lack of knowledge on the particular subject. They would then have to reconstruct the message, or encode it, in way that would make sense to me, being four years younger. Sometimes I would assume I understood the message, and act as though I did, when really my decoding was not successful. As Sullivan (2013) outlines, individual’s values play a large role in their perception and understanding of media messages. As an example they use women’s responses to soap operas. This highlighted perception based on gender made me think of audience experiences I have had in which I had a different perception based on my identity. I have never had an interest in action movies, be it fiction or non-fiction, especially war movies, as I do not find an interest in learning about the severity of the violence of the war. That said, growing up I had a close friend who’s dream was to join the army. His grandfather was in the military and he was brought up to respect and admire the troops. He loved movies and books about war found deep meaning in them. As he was also a part of cadets, and had a general interest in the military, he understood all the coded language used by soldiers in these movies, he also understood the different rankings in the military and could identify certain badges and medals of honour that I did not. For that reason he was always very keen on watching movies about the wars and war heroes, where I was not. When we would watch war movies together as children, I could see the excitement and enjoyment he got from those films that I did not.

I think sporting events are one place where I really see mixed perceptions of the messages and mixed audience experiences. Viewers who understand the game are going to have a different experience from those who do not. Just like how those in attendance with emotional connections to one team playing are going to have different experience and find different meaning than those who do not. This was especially clear to me during the 2019 NBA finals this year when the Toronto Raptors won the O’Bryant Trophy, the entire country seemed to be excited and behind them, but for many different reasons. I have some older friends at work who have followed the raptors since the team first formed. For them this was a very emotional and meaningful event. They watched interviews of players and raved about the feelings of excitement they got when watching promotional ads and messages that supported their beloved team. This is because they had a deep connection to these texts. For myself, I have only watched a handful of basketball games in my life, and have a very basic understanding of the game. This was an exciting time for me, but mostly because everyone else was excited. I used it as an opportunity to visit Toronto to watch games in the street and felt part of a community, but did not feel much emotional investment in the games. I didn’t get anything out of post-game interviews or promotional ads because I didn’t even always understand what they were talking about. This also speaks to how polysemic the texts are as they were interpreted in many different ways.

Granelli and Zenor (2013) explain their theory on audiences interpretations of morally complex characters, using the show Dexter. Their work makes reference to four different dominant audience perspectives and use them to explain how audiences member react to texts in different ways. Personally, I resonated most with the perspective labeled as referential. I tend to compare texts, especially music to my own life in order to find meaning in it. I enjoy music that I fell most accurately depicts what I am currently going through. I tend to listen to country music as I find this genre to be the most storytelling of genres, with themes that I can relate to my own life, for example, the song The House The Built Me by Miranda Lambert depicts her going back to her childhood home, years after her family has moved out. In the song she explains how her father built that home from the ground up for her mother, and explains how she longs to go back to the place she made crucial memories. I too moved from my childhood home, that my father built and resonate with what she says, finding meaning in the message of the song. My friend, however, who has lived in the same house her entire life and has yet to move out, does not get these same feelings out of that song, because it does not relate to her life in way that she can easily connect with the message.

Chapter 7 - Reviewing Recetion Context and Media Rituals

I never really knew my grandmother, but my father always told me that when his family got their first tv, his mother believed the people behind the camera could see into their living room, and insisted they and the living room, was alway presentable in front of the tv just in case. This obviously is not the case, so how do content creators know what their audience is, what they want to watch and who in the family is watching? The way people watched tv in the 60s and 70s is quite different from the way in which we watch it today, witch is also different from how it was watched in the 90s. From the content shift on tv to the physical changes of tvs and living rooms, even in my lifetime, the way we consume media has changed drastically. The Social contexts in the moment that we are (or are not) consuming media has everything to do with how we consume it.

I grew up in a very tv friendly household. My mother was a stay at home mom until I was about six years old, and again when my younger sister was born when I was eight for two years. Although she considered herself very fortunate to be able to afford years off of work to raise my sister and I, she has admitted to me that at that time she felt very lonely all day, with no one around to talk to (for a real, adult conversation) until my father got home from work. I can remember as a child having not just tv on throughout the day, but specifically talk shows. These gave my mother a sense of contact and communication with others, though one way, talk shows have a way of making those watching feel as if they are part of a conversation. Rituals in our house also loosely followed the scheduled tv programming. In the early 2000s, my bedtime was 9pm. At that same time, there seemed to always be an “adult show” that came on tv that I was not allowed to watch. When the timer on the tv switched the show to NCIS, or Greys Anatomy, I knew it was time for bed. For me, this was annoying and I always almost put up a fight. For my parents, this was when leisure time began. Once they were finally able to put the kids to bed, they gave themselves one hour a night to watch whatever weekly special aired at 9pm.

The rituals my family had when I was young surrounding tv have changed quite a bit with the new convenience of streaming services. We no longer have to wait until Thursdays at 9pm to watch Grey’s Anatomy, as re-runs can be viewed at anytime via Netflix. Time is a huge determinate of media consumption. For example, as a student, I have very little free time. This has an impact on what media I chose to consume – if I have only two hours, I have to decide if I am going to use it to watch tv, read, socialize with friends, etc. As technology has progressed, we have the ability to watch what we want wherever we want. If I feel like watching tv while, cooking for instance, I can watch on my 5’ phone screen. This convenience, however, changes the viewing experience. Instead of distraction free-watching, on a large screen, we have the choice to consume media at any time and any place.

Viewing habits may also change depending on the dynamic of those living in the home. When I was younger and we only had one tv and what we watched was ultimately up to my parents. They had to make sure when my sisters and I were in the room, that what was on was appropriate for us. My parents generally agreed on what to watch, as there were somewhat traditional gender roles in my home, however, my father would never refuse to watch a program of my mothers choosing over it being to feminine, and vice-versa. That said, the remote was always in the hand of my father and if there was ever an issue in regards to connection being lost, needing to use new feature on the tv box, etc. It was up to himself or my older sister to figure it out.

When I was about eight years old, we got a second tv, that my parents decided to put in our family room, that my older sister and I used as a play room. I remember my mother and father spending hours re-arranging the entire room, just to add a box with a scree. They had to make sure the tv was against a wall with multiple outlets, that he could also run a cable to for the satellite. Then they had to reposition the couches and chairs in that room, so that they faced the tv, rather than each other. Although I loved having a tv in my playroom, this addition changed the dynamic of the entire room making the main focus the TV set. Having two TVs made a big difference in my home, as I finally had the opportunity to watch what I wanted all day, rather than having to suffer through my father’s desire to watch nothing but Sportsnet all day, and my mothers’ to watch talk shows and reality tv. There still, however, were some shows that we all watched together.

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Introduction: Mad Ones from Canada

Music for your good times and bad, Mad Ones have been fortunate to play weird gigs all over the world from Serbian raves to roller rinks in Alberta, they play their own specific and ever evolving version of rock n roll. Count on memorable live shows and finely-crafted studio albums from this Toronto based 3-piece featuring Andrew DeVillers (vocals/guitar), Russ Fernandes (bass/vocals) and Jesse L. Bellon (drums/vocals).Last Forever, the band’s fourth studio album is out now on all digital streaming platforms via Fortune Stellar Records.

Interview with Andrew from Mad Ones:

The last few years have been hard for the band. Who helped you through the valleys? The last few years have been hard on everyone. We are not alone and definitely empathize with anyone else who lost a loved one during this strange time.For us, losing our dear friend and bandmate of the past 5 years, Adam Balsam, last October was extremely hard, just as it was looking like we could resume touring and release the new record.Mad Ones’ Russ Fernandes and I have been leaning on each other, as always and newcomer Jesse L. Bellon has brought a lot of levity and friendship at the most crucial time. My wife Shiloh Harrison of the band HotKid was been a complete rock and the musical community surrounding our Fortune Stellar Records Label have been incredible, especially José Contreras of By Divine Right who is helping produce our new record. Was it always clear to you that you wanted to continue the band? I can’t even remember if it was a conscious decision, we stumbled numbly into the booking commitments that were already planned, and the album was already coming out so we felt like we had to do something to honour all the hard work Adam, Russ and I had put into the record…but quickly we realized that performing and writing new material was some of the only peace we were finding, which made continuing a necessity. In Canada the distances are very long. How do the tours there work for you?Yes they are a little insane, in North America in general. We have learned to sometimes book tour dates around festivals when possible and do things like fly to the other end of the country then do stuff in neighbouring provinces as opposed to driving the whole stretch. Focusing on certain regions at different times of the year is key as well. In the early days of the band we drove 28 hrs straight to play in Austin, Texas…have I mentioned that we love playing in Europe?! In Europe you have made a name for yourselves in the meantime. How many EU tours will you play this year? We will hit 6 EU countries this fall supporting Mad Ones “Last Forever” LP. Then we hope to be back next year twice on the next album, revisiting the places in central and eastern EU that have been so great to us and then come back and try some more stuff in western EU and UK that we haven’t done yet. You have collaborated with Eamon McGrath. How do you know each other? I am a big fan of Eamon’s music and work ethic. We have been friends since 2016 when he first started booking Mad Ones in EU. We have a lot in common, he has helped book a bunch of great bands and I run a record label and book tours as well. So it’s always great when we get to talk about recent successes or challenges we might be facing. Musically, Adam had been drumming with Eamon and I’m glad they got to work together before he passed. Do you have any regrets? Our 3rd album was actually called “Regretless” hahah! Maybe I have a few, but then again maybe too few to mention… What are you looking forward to? It feels like everything has taken on more gravity and levity simultaneously… I’m looking forward to the future and excited for each and every upcoming show and any chance to play or record. Sept. 24 - Feldbach, Austria - Glam Sept. 25 - Kecskemét, Hungary - Kilele Music Club Sept. 26 - Budapest, Hungary - S8 Underground Club Sept. 27 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Prulcek Sept. 28 - Salzburg, Austria - Narrencastl Sept. 29 - Dortmund, Germany - Subrosa Sept. 30 - Stuhr, Germany - Vereinsheim TV Stuhr Oct. 1 - Brussels, Belgium - Rock Classic Bar Oct. 2 - Antwerp, Belgium - Borger Bottles Oct. 3 - Mannheim, Germany - Kurzbar Oct. 5 - Berlin, Germany - Wild At Heart Oct. 7 - Klagenfurt, Austria - Das Wohnzimmer Oct. 8 - Prague, Czech Republic - Cafe Na Pul Cesty

#madones #eamonmcgrath #canada #rocknroll

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