#what a great christmas present

[the-music-keeper]

So I owe y'all an update.

The applications have been turned in and now I'm waiting on recommendations (UT Austin can be a little delayed but I'm missing one from Indiana AND IT'S DUE IN TWO DAYS HELP I'M PANICKING).

Yes, I only applied to two schools. Long story short, your girl is getting out of DC. When finals are over I'm moving home, and I'll commute for the spring semester. But y'all, I have been so unhappy in DC. So it seemed really silly to apply to a school in College Park -- with the assumption that I'd be there for five years or more -- when I already know that I would feel isolated and sad for those five years. It's not worth it. If I don't get into the other two, fine, I'll wait and reapply. But I'm just not willing to put myself in that position when I know already I'd just be hurting myself.

Anyway. That was long. That intro might even be longer than the actual list!

Theory

1. Part writing assignment. (This did get done on time, by the way.)

Thesis

2. Keep gathering sources. (Well, I didn't have a bibliography of over 100 entries, but I got pretty darn close.)

Research Assistantship

3. Watch my lecture video. (Why am I so CRINGE)

Piano Practice

4. Practice at least a little bit. (Our concert is on Sunday!)

Adulting

5. Take out my trash. (Done!)

6. Pack for this weekend's visit from my parents. (Done!)

7. Send an email to my landladies. (Two weeks' notice sent.)

8. Send an email to the chorus HR people. (This is one of the two big cons about leaving.)

9. Course evaluations. (Done!)

No German this week! It's all in-class practice exams from here on out -- works for me.

[notesonartistry]

I got floor tickets for Christmas!!! Can’t believe it! Are floor seats worth it for short people, I’m 4’11, sucks being this short. 😐

Yay anon!! That's amazing. I'm so happy for you. All seats are worth it! Taylor's stage tends to be a little higher than most so I think it's ok if you're not too tall. Plus, she moves around so much that it's not like she's hidden by the inevitable 6'6" person that comes and stands in front of you! You'll be able to move around a little to keep her in view and when the worst comes to the worst you can use the screens for a bit.

It's gonna be fantastic!!

[pitohuimaki]

guys it’s official: my name is taylor :’) (taylor eren i’mnotpostingmylegallastnameontheinternet) (submitted all the paperwork today and got told it would take 3 months bc i wasn’t eligible for priority but the lovely lovely man there called me while i was on the way home to say they decided to bump me to priority because i was so emotional) (i’m going to buy him flowers when i pick up my certificate i s2g)

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

and so i return to my roots of eating half a cantaloupe in one sitting

[janiedean]

will get to all your lovely replies asap but for now let me get down the mood with my usual

fuck but i really do hate this month and everything it represents or better the fact that each single year it gets just more miserable

[pinkytoothlesso11]

Now that you've seen it, what did you think of the new Christmas Carol?

Well, I think my spamming of Scrooge says a lot about what I thought lol.

But seriously, I've read the actual book and watched several remakes and this one is definitely the best, and I'm not just saying that because of Scrooge's stellar design.

The ghosts had distinct designs and personalities, especially the ghost of Christmas past, she was so snarky, and each of them had unsettling moments that simply added to the atmosphere, making it much more in line with the novel.

Most of the songs were alright, nothing particularly stood out, and I'm not the biggest fan of musicals, except for 'Later never comes' that honestly had me in tears. The theme of lost opportunities and what could have been hit strong in this one.

As did the theme of breaking generational cycles, or rather, breaking the 'chains' of the past and that its never too late to change.

And of course Prudence was an excellent addition. After all, dogs give love to everyone without judgement. I was uncertain about it at first, but she grew on me for sure.

All in all, well worth watching!

[linguenuvolose]

I had a revolutionary evening in that I went to several stores and I actually had a good time?? It was kinda nice? Ended the evening with buying a little boba. Congrats to capitalism and to my mental health

[azure-clockwork]

Nothing worse than finally having enough yoke to try the sweater on and realizing ‘damn, this yarn feels fucking terrible’.

I’ll just wear a shirt under it and learn for next time cuz I already own enough yarn to finish the sweater lol

[jewish-elphaba]

the velveteen rabbit be like "folks I actually do need to BeReal"

[breannastewart]

stewie: shit got hot!

sue: OH!

stewie: you know sue, you tried

sue: it was so hot she took it to the— yeah *raises drink*

stewie: *starts laughing a bunch*

sue: JUST GOT HOT IN HERE!

THEY’RE BOTH SO WEIRD AND STUPID BLESS THEIR HEARTS 😭

[forestlovesyou]

[notjanine]

this week me n Books got dressed up and went to a slightly famous fun new restaurant,* the next day we stayed in for a cozy movie night,** and the next we met their mom for dinner.*** it’s almost like we’re building a life together or something****

[eurovision-del]

I solved the Super Saturday conundrum of what to watch this year by going out to a rugby match instead, and stayed out late celebrating the result! However, I’m back at home now, and I’ve had a chance to get caught up on all the winners of the night so far!

First up was Estonia, where won Alika with Bridges. I’m not too into this song honestly, but I must admit that Alika is a fantastic vocalist, and I can see this ballad connecting with people, even if it doesn’t with me. I think it’s a decent pick for Estonia. I am wondering what might have been seeing that two of my faves, Monsters and Venom, were in the superfinal with her, and am wondering if they cancelled each other out with both being rock songs, albeit in very different styles. I’m excited to check out their live performances, and both songs are already added to my personal playlist, but I wish Alika the best in May.

DGMP was a selection that I didn’t really care for this year. I’m happy enough to see Reiley win it, the song may not be the most exciting, but it’s sweet and easy to enjoy. Checking out his winners performance, I thought it was decent, he had good stage presence, but his vocal was swamped by the pre-recorded vocoder vocals on the chorus, and I don’t know how that will go down at Eurovision. I could be wrong though, he sounded alright in the verses and Eurovision is fine with pre-recorded backing vocals these days so maybe it won’t be an issue.

Croatia shocked me by picking Let 3 with Mama ŠČ. I ranked the song pretty high based on studio cuts because I enjoyed the chaos of the music, but watching their performance I have no idea what to make of it. It feels like satire, but I don’t have enough understanding to know of what. I’m going to have to do a deep dive into the lyrics, context, and intention of this one when I get to my full ranking in May. Apparently Harmonija Disonance came second – I preferred their song and they were well liked within the Eurovision fandom so I wonder if this was a missed opportunity for Croatia. Mama ŠČ feels like a very risky entry, but hey, the semis this year are televote only so who knows what will happen.

The next couple of results, from Latvia and Romania, I was very happy with! Sudden Lights were one of my favourites so I was so happy seeing that they won Supernova! They’re such a great band and  Aijā is a very interesting song, so I’m so excited to see them at Eurovision! Then, in Romania, D.G.T (Off and On) was my favourite song from a selection I wasn’t too fussed about, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see that it won! I thought he sung well live, his rough vocal works so well with the song, but I hope the staging and performance gets completely reworked for Eurovision, I wasn’t that keen on it, even though I guess it does fit the song…

Finally, Malta also picked my favourite song tonight with The Busker and Dance (Our Own Party)! This is such a great surprise, I was sure Malta would go for Brooke, but I’m so glad they went with this instead! It’s such a catchy song, and the staging and performance at MESC was engaging, I’d be happy if they brought this exact show to the stage in Liverpool! I’m actually so sad I won’t get to vote in the first semi final, with both Latvia and Malta there. We’ve still got plenty more songs to be released, but I want so badly to see both make the Eurovision final, even more since both countries have struggled the past few years.

With so many results going my way tonight I almost wish I’d seen some of the shows live! Maybe there’s been a couple of disappointing results here and there, but I think overall this year is shaping up nicely, we’ve got a good range of songs, with several I really like. Now just to wait for Sanremo to finish to get an idea of what Italy might send!  

[givemeasword-callmequeen]

I know my family doesn't know me at all... But especially on my birthday I get hit with "wow they really don't know me. You were looking at that & thinking of me? Please look again & think again."

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

The thing with the Mari Lwyd, though, is that it's being... I don't know, 'appropriated' is the wrong word, but certainly turned into something it isn't.

Thing is, this is a folk tradition in the Welsh language, and that's the most important aspect of it. I feel partly responsible for this, because I accidentally became a bit of an expert on the topic of the Mari Lwyd in a post that escaped Tumblr containment, and I clearly didn't stress it strongly enough there (in my defence, I wrote that post for ten likes and some attention); but this is a Welsh language tradition, conducted in Welsh, using Welsh language poetic forms that are older than the entire English language, and also a very specific sung melody (with a very specific first verse; that's Cân y Fari). It is not actually a 'rap battle'. It's not a recited poem. It is not any old rhyme scheme however you want.

It is not in English.

Given the extensive and frankly ongoing attempts by England to wipe out Welsh, and its attendant cultural traditions, the Mari is being revived across Wales as an act of linguistic-cultural defiance. She's a symbol of Welsh language culture, specifically; an icon to remind that we are a distinct people, with our own culture and traditions, and in spite of everyone and everything, we're still here. Separating her from that by removing the Welsh is, to put it mildly, wildly disrespectful.

...but it IS what I'm increasingly seeing, both online and in real world Mari Lwyd festivals. She's gained enormous pop-culture popularity in recent years, which is fantastic; but she's also been reduced from the tradition to just an aesthetic now.

So many people are talking/drawing about her as though she's a cryptid or a mythological figure, rather than the folk practice of shoving a skull on a stick and pretending to be a naughty horse for cheese and drunken larks. And I get it! It's an intriguing visual! Some of the artwork is great! But this is not what she is. She's not a Krampus equivalent for your Dark Christmas aesthetic.

I see people writing their own version of the pwnco (though never called the pwnco; almost always called some variant on 'Mari Lwyd rap battle'), and as fun as these are, they are never even written in the meter and poetic rules of Cân y Fari, much less in Welsh, and they never conclude with the promise to behave before letting the Mari into the house. The pwnco is the central part to the tradition; this is the Welsh language part, the bit that's important and matters.

Mari Lwyd festivals are increasingly just English wassail festivals with a Mari or two present. The Swansea one last weekend didn't even include a Mari trying to break into a building (insert Shrek meme); there was no pwnco at all. Even in the Chepstow ones, they didn't do actual Cân y Fari; just a couple of recited verses. Instead, the Maris are just an aesthetic, a way to make it look a bit more Welsh, without having to commit to the unfashionable inconvenience of actually including Welsh.

And I don't really know what the answers are to these. I can tell you what I'd like - I'd like art to include the Welsh somewhere, maybe incorporating the first line of Cân y Fari like this one did, to keep it connected to the actual Welsh tradition (or other Welsh, if other phrases are preferred). I'd like people who want to write their version of the pwnco to respect the actual tradition of it by using Cân y Fari's meter and rhyme scheme, finishing with the promise to behave, and actually calling it the pwnco rather than a rap battle (and preferably in Welsh, though I do understand that's not always possible lol). I'd like to see the festivals actually observe the tradition, and include a link on the booking website to an audio clip of Cân y Fari and the words to the first verse, so attendees who want to can learn it ahead of time. I don't know how feasible any of that is, of course! But that's what I'd like to see.

I don't know. This is rambly. But it's something I've been thinking about - and increasingly nettled by - for a while. There's was something so affirming and wonderful at first about seeing the Mari's climb into international recognition, but it's very much turned to dismay by now, because she's important to my endangered culture and yet that's the part that everyone apparently wants to drop for being too awkward and ruining the aesthetic. It's very frustrating.

[4fahy]

christmas is really not the same after grandma dies