#Venera 9

[krakenmare]

Venera 9 Lander: Surface of Venus (October 22, 1975)

#astronomy #krakenmare #solar system #astrophotography #outer space #venera 9 #venus #planet venus #1975 #1970s

[lyinginbedmon]

Tired: "It's amazing that we get to live in a time where a probe has crashed on the moon"

Wired: We live in a time where there exist the corroded remains of a series of landers on Venus that despite the acid atmosphere persevered just long enough to send us images of a landscape that no human will ever visit.

#venera 9 #luna 25 #spacecraft #venus

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24HighSchoolStudents #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental education #environmental justice #environmental protection #environmental health #high school students #high school #youth #youth of america #school

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Only 4 spacecraft have ever returned images from Venus’ surface. The world next door doesn’t make it easy, with searing heat and crushing pressure that quickly destroy any lander.

In 1975 and 1982, 4 of the Soviet Union’s Venera probes captured our only images of Venus’ surface. The Veneras, which mean “Venus” in Russian, scanned the surface back and forth to create panoramic images of their surroundings. They revealed yellow skies and cracked, desolate landscapes that were both alien and familiar—views of a world that may have once been like Earth before experiencing catastrophic climate change.

Ted Stryk, a philosophy professor at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, specializes in reconstructing images from early space missions. Using data from the Russian Academy of Sciences, he has over time reconstructed the best-possible versions of the original Venera panoramas.

VENUS SURFACE PANORAMA FROM VENERA 9 This 1975 panorama from the Soviet Union's Venera 9 probe includes the first images ever taken from the surface of another planet.Image: Russian Academy of Sciences / Ted Stryk

VENUS SURFACE PANORAMA FROM VENERA 10 The Soviet Union's Venera 10 probe captured this panorama of Venus's surface in 1975.Image: Russian Academy of Sciences / Ted Stryk

VENUS SURFACE PANORAMA FROM VENERA 13 FRONT CAMERA The Soviet Union's Venera 13 probe captured two color panoramas of Venus's surface in 1982. This panorama came from the front camera.Image: Russian Academy of Sciences / Ted Stryk

VENUS SURFACE PANORAMA FROM VENERA 13 REAR CAMERA The Soviet Union's Venera 13 probe captured two color panoramas of Venus's surface in 1982. This panorama came from the rear camera.Image: Russian Academy of Sciences / Ted Stryk

VENUS SURFACE PANORAMA FROM VENERA 14 FRONT CAMERA The Soviet Union's Venera 14 probe captured two color panoramas of Venus's surface in 1982. This panorama came from the front camera.Image: Russian Academy of Sciences / Ted Stryk

VENUS SURFACE PANORAMA FROM VENERA 14 REAR CAMERA The Soviet Union's Venera 14 probe captured two color panoramas of Venus's surface in 1982. This panorama came from the rear camera.Image: Russian Academy of Sciences / Ted Stryk

#Venus #Russian Academy of Sciences #Venera #Ted Stryk #Venera 14 #Venera 13 #Venera 9 #Venera 10 #space #astronomy #astrophotography #religion is a mental illness #Youtube

[darsispazio]

Un'ora (intensa) con Venera 9

Sono passati quarantotto anni ma quelle immagini rimangono di straordinario interesse. A colori poi, sono ancora più suggestive!

Sono passati esattamente 48 anni (e un giorno). Era infatti il ventidue ottobre del 1975, quando la sonda sovietica Venera 9 atterrava sulla caldissima superficie di mercurio e riusciva ad acquisire un panorama a 180 gradi (l’immagine in apertura di questo articolo). La sonda era progettata per resistere alle tremende condizioni di pressione e temperatura della superficie del pianeta: in effetti,…

View On WordPress

#Marte #Venera 13 #Venera 9 #Venere

[vampireoccult]

late night simlish lessons...

#ts4 gp #ts4 gameplay #ts4 #gp: faust munch fam #the way milo IMMEDIATELY got an attraction moodlet when i added her to the household lmfao #venera reciprocated pretty quickly as well lol #but then every time ven tries to flirt w/ him bc of the language barrier she 9/10 gets an embarrassed moodlet lmao #plus she has the cringe trait bc she has an earnest zest for life & an interest in human culture #beyond...biology... #milo munch #venera cassini #gp: munch spawn

[deep-space-netwerk]

So Venus is my favorite planet in the solar system - everything about it is just so weird.

It has this extraordinarily dense atmosphere that by all accounts shouldn't exist - Venus is close enough to the sun (and therefore hot enough) that the atmosphere should have literally evaporated away, just like Mercury's. We think Earth manages to keep its atmosphere by virtue of our magnetic field, but Venus doesn't even have that going for it. While Venus is probably volcanically active, it definitely doesn't have an internal magnetic dynamo, so whatever form of volcanism it has going on is very different from ours. And, it spins backwards! For some reason!!

But, for as many mysteries as Venus has, the United States really hasn't spent much time investigating it. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, sent no less than 16 probes to Venus between 1961 and 1984 as part of the Venera program - most of them looked like this!

The Soviet Union had a very different approach to space than the United States. NASA missions are typically extremely risk averse, and the spacecraft we launch are generally very expensive one-offs that have only one chance to succeed or fail.

It's lead to some really amazing science, but to put it into perspective, the Mars Opportunity rover only had to survive on Mars for 90 days for the mission to be declared a complete success. That thing lasted 15 years. I love the Opportunity rover as much as any self-respecting NASA engineer, but how much extra time and money did we spend that we didn't technically "need" to for it to last 60x longer than required?

Anyway, all to say, the Soviet Union took a more incremental approach, where failures were far less devastating. The Venera 9 through 14 probes were designed to land on the surface of Venus, and survive long enough to take a picture with two cameras - not an easy task, but a fairly straightforward goal compared to NASA standards. They had…mixed results.

Venera 9 managed to take a picture with one camera, but the other one's lens cap didn't deploy.

Venera 10 also managed to take a picture with one camera, but again the other lens cap didn't deploy.

Venera 11 took no pictures - neither lens cap deployed this time.

Venera 12 also took no pictures - because again, neither lens cap deployed.

Lotta problems with lens caps.

For Venera 13 and 14, in addition to the cameras they sent a device to sample the Venusian "soil". Upon landing, the arm was supposed to swing down and analyze the surface it touched - it was a simple mechanism that couldn't be re-deployed or adjusted after the first go.

This time, both lens caps FINALLY ejected perfectly, and we were treated to these marvelous, eerie pictures of the Venus landscape:

However, when the Venera 14 soil sampler arm deployed, instead of sampling the Venus surface, it managed to swing down and land perfectly on….an ejected lens cap.

#space #space history #venus #NASA #Venera #spost #I will talk all day about venus #ask me about venus floating sky cities #unpopular opinion venus > mars #this is probably my favorite space history story #the surface of venus is made of lens caps #don't try to tell me the universe doesn't have a sense of humor #well #I guess its more that people have a sense of humor and we happen to live in the universe

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[thefiresontheheight]

Wait this is important

[sovietpostcards]

"February 12, 1961" "Glory to conquerors of the universe!" Vintage postcard commemorating the launch of Venera space station. Artist V. Viktorov (1962).

$9 + $5 shipping Sold

Message me to buy!

How to buy. Other items in my shop. I combine shipping if you buy more than one item

#sp: sold

[zlittka]

About my loop/oc

Place (fictional): the village of Grinevo near the Oko River

Date: June 14, 2010

Ymbryne: Athena the Black-throated Loon (formerly Petrova)

Age: 27 years old (real 49)

Date of birth: May 10, 1961

Year/age of admission to the Academy of Ymbryne: 1978 17 years old

Year of graduation: 1993

Children

1. Ksenia Ogneva - cryokinesis - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 13 years old - when/where was found: Moscow September 2008, 13 years old - date of birth: July 5, 1995 - age: 15 years

2. Ada Rubtsova - additional limbs / wings - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 15 years old - when/where was founde of birth March 31, 1993- age: 17 years

3. Oleg Okun - hydrokinesis - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 16 years old - when/where was found: Kiev August 2008, 15 years old - date of birth July 28, 1993 - age 17 years

4. Konstantin Chubakov - crystal management - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 14 years old - when/where was found: Minsk January 2009 14 years old - date of birth November 16, 1994- age 16

5. Sergey Sobakin - transformation into a dog - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 20 years old - when/where was found: Almaty April 2009 20 years old - date of birth February 10, 1989- age 21

6. Ekaterina Yesaulovna - anemokinesis - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 14 years old - when/where was found: Orsha May 2009, 14 years old - date of birth October 16, 1994 - age 16 years

7. Margo Rastova - the dead raiser - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 14 years old - when/where was found: London March 2010, 14 years old - date of birth: January 24, 1996 - age: 14 years

8. Stanislav Kubchuk - snake control - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 14 years old - date / place / age of location: Perm May 2010, 14 years old - date of birth: May 7, 1996 - age: 14 years

9. Venera Vinnik - control of metal objects - at the time of getting under the care of Ymbryne was 16 years old - when/where was found: a small town near Moscow August 2010 16 years old - date of birth March 9, 1994- age: 16 years

#mphfpc #mphfpc book #miss peregrines home for peculiar children #ocs mphfpc #mphfpc ocs #ocs #oc #my ocs #russian loop #loop in Russia

[mias4rt]

Venera-9

Unstable entity

Eroded firmament

Sea of forgotten beauty

It never rains on venus

Red paint flakes off my sides

I saw and I stayed and waited

Waiting for your dreams in the stars

Dreaming of green fields near home

You said you'd come and see

Apple blossoms that would grow from this seed

Do you still look up and dare to hope?

Are the skies still blue above the earth?

#creative writing #writers #writer #writers on tumblr #writing #writeblr #writers and poets #writerscommunity #original writing #my writing #poems and poetry #my poem #original poem #poem #poetry #poets on tumblr #poetrycommunity

[cepheusgalaxy]

The OC Masterpost (2.0)

A while ago, someone asked who were my ocs, so I made a big post introducing them. Since then, the post became outdated so i decided to make a new one. They are separated by wip.

main wips

1. Ein

2. Meine

3. Totsuka e Megan

secondary wips

4. Trisaster

5. Snow White

6. Little Red Riding Hood Cyberpunk

7. The War Of The Human Throne

8. Unchosen One

9. Across Time and Odds

10. 9 Gates of Hell

11. The Witch's Paladin

12. Rumplestiltskin's Child

coming out eventually

13. Clou & Venera

14. Elysium

wipless ocs (they need a whole other post)

Petrichor - (he/him/it) Witch guy in witch uni. He is a stoic and playful dumbass who thinks he's funny

Jake Valentine - (he/him) You will never hear about him from me but here he is

Gesse Valerie - (they/them) Jake's fuckbuddy

Michael Mia - (he/they/any) Ask me about him ask me about him

Yohann - (he/him) He's just a little guy, really

links:

oc gallery post [to be made] - old oc masterpost - wip intro post [to be made] - my silly selfsonas intro post [to be made]

#i AM working on the secondary wips #in spirit #i cant afford to focus in more than three at the same time #The OC Masterpost #my ocs #ocs tag #ein wip #meine wip #t&m wip #piii wip #sw wip #lrrhc wip #twotht wip #uo wip #ato wip #9goh wip #paladin wip #rumple's c wip #venera wip #elysium wip #my wips #petrichor oc #gesse oc #jake oc #mica oc #yohann oc

[kradljivac-kostiju]

Top 9 people you wanna get to know better

Ok finally doing this lol I got tagged by @godisnji @eka4 and @mojaslavice , thank you all <33

Favourite color: green!! Literally any shade of it, I am particularly fond of dark greens tho. Another fav color is baby pink heh

Currently reading: ngl not really reading anything atm, I have started two things but dropped them (for now) as I don't have any motivation :/

Last song: some song by Billy Talent while my friend was driving me home yesterday, not sure which one was the last one exactly but I know it's by them

Last series: does Critical Role count? Cuz if yes, that. If not then probably Heartstopper idk

Sweet, savoury or sour?: I like them all but probably sweet

Currently working on: multiple diy projects! 3 jackets, a hat and pants. Besides that I am working on 2 drawings for myself and one tattoo commission + a back patch for a customer's jacket! I work on everything a little every day so I don't get bored by working on just one thing at a time

I tag @grizoljub @kitteh-named-ra @pikslasrce @anatomska-venera @muis-daydreams @fried-berries @patched-up-pants @slava-to-the-twinks @suniani and whoever might wanna do it can consider themselves tagged by me! (mutuals who got tagged you don't have to do this ofc!)

#tag game #bones rattle

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 3.5

1953 – Joseph Stalin, the longest serving leader of the Soviet Union, dies at his Volynskoe dacha in Moscow after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage four days earlier. 1960 – Indonesian President Sukarno dismissed the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), 1955 democratically elected parliament, and replaced with DPR-GR, the parliament of his own selected members. 1963 – American country music stars Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and their pilot Randy Hughes are killed in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee. 1963 – Aeroflot Flight 191 crashes while landing at Aşgabat International Airport, killing 12. 1965 – March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence. 1966 – BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707 aircraft, breaks apart in mid-air due to clear-air turbulence and crashes into Mount Fuji, Japan, killing all 124 people on board. 1967 – Lake Central Airlines Flight 527 crashes near Marseilles, Ohio, killing 38. 1968 – Air France Flight 212 crashes into La Grande Soufrière, killing all 63 aboard. 1970 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations. 1973 – An Iberia McDonnell Douglas DC-9 collide in mid-air with a Spantax Convair 990 Coronado over Nantes, France, killing all 68 people abord the DC-9, including music manager Michael Jeffery. 1974 – Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal. 1978 – The Landsat 3 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 1979 – Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by "off the scale" gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters. 1981 – The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, is launched by Sinclair Research and would go on to sell over 11⁄2 million units around the world. 1982 – Soviet probe Venera 14 lands on Venus. 1991 – Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108 crashes in Venezuela, killing 45. 1993 – Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301 crashes at Skopje International Airport in Petrovec, North Macedonia, killing 83. 2001 – In Mina, Saudi Arabia, 35 pilgrims are killed in a stampede on the Jamaraat Bridge during the Hajj. 2002 – An earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines, kills 15 people and injures more than 100. 2003 – In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed in the Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing. 2011 – An Antonov An-148 crashes in Russia's Alexeyevsky District, Belgorod Oblast during a test flight, killing all seven aboard. 2012 – Tropical Storm Irina kills over 75 as it passes through Madagascar. 2012 – Two people are killed and six more are injured in a shooting at a hair Salon in Bucharest, Romania. 2018 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pause the Deir ez-Zor campaign due to the Turkish-led invasion of Afrin. 2021 – Pope Francis begins a historical visit to Iraq amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 – Twenty people are killed and 30 injured in a suicide car bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia. 2023 – The 2023 Estonian parliamentary election is held, with two centre-right liberal parties gaining an absolute majority for the first time. 2023 – A group of four prisoners escape from the Nouakchott Civil Prison, before being caught the next day.

#Events

[newmusickarl]

Top 10 EPs of 2023

As we have seen, 2023 has been a mega year for new albums with LIES being named as my Album of the Year earlier this week. You can read why I was such a fan of that record, along with more on the rest of my Top 50 picks by scrolling below or simply flicking through the New Music Weekly archives for December.

However, as many great longplayers we received in 2023, there was an equal abundance of great shortplayers too. In today’s hectic world where the demand for “snackable” (shout out Andrew Belt for my word of 2023) content has risen, the humble Extended Play has seen a big resurgence. So I’ve looked back over the last 12 months and picked out my ten favourites of the year. As always, I’ve gone for an eclectic selection that pulls from various genres including pop, rock, electronic, R&B, and indie. So depending on your taste, hopefully you’ll find something to enjoy on this list.

Here we go then, my Top 10 EPs of 2023…

Honourable mentions

Forever Means by Angel Olsen

White Magnolia by Bear’s Den

The Rest by Boygenius

Heady Metal by Divorce

Julie Byrne with Laugh Cry Laugh by Julie Byrne & Laugh Cry Laugh

Alaska Sadness by Katie Keddie

That Sweet Breath by Lowmello

My Eyes, Brother! by Opus Kink

Not The Baby by Prima Queen

See You In The Dark by Softcult

10. Modern Day by Bloxx

Kicking off the list with London-based indie quartet Bloxx, who have had a bit of a tough time recently. With multiple shows in recent memory cancelled, it was great to see them make a welcome return in 2023, with Modern Day their first new EP since 2021’s Pop Culture Radio.

Much like their output till now, it is a collection of five songs that showcases the band’s talent for writing catchy hooks and memorable riffs, with the strong opening trio of Modern Day, Television Promises and Runaway helping it secure a spot on this year’s list.

Listen here

9. Not As I by George FitzGerald

It was also a great year for synth-driven shortplayers as one of my favourite electronic musicians of recent times, George FitzGerald, released a new four track effort - Not As I.

Opener Mother is worth the price of admission alone, a beautifully ambient groove featuring American musician SYML on vocal duties. That said, the mind-melting synths of Venera, the spacey chimes of the title track and the pulsating soundscapes of All Roads make this one well worth 15 minutes of your time.

Listen here

8. More Truth by Daniel Avery

Sticking with 2023’s best electronic releases, DJ and producer Dan Avery also released a companion EP to his acclaimed 2022 album, Ultra Truth.

Featuring seven excellent new tracks that didn’t quite make the final cut originally, including trippy Georgia collaboration Going So Low and the accurately titled Bliss, it’s another absorbing collection from the Bournemouth musician who seems incapable of putting a foot wrong.

Listen here

7. Freak Show by ALT BLK ERA

As you can probably tell if you’ve made it this far onto my blog, I am a big champion of new music. On top of that, I am also a big champion of new music emerging out of my world-class local scene in Nottingham. And of all the fantastic Nottingham acts who had a breakout 2023, ALT BLK ERA are the ones leading the charge.

Word is finally getting out about this alt-rock sister duo, who fuse mind-melting electronica, heavy rock and razor-sharp bars for a sound that is entirely of their own making. This was highlighted this week when the pair received a prestigious MOBO award nomination for Best Alternative Act, nominated alongside the likes of Arlo Parks, Skindred and Young Fathers.

So, with ALT BLK ERA seemingly right on the cusp of blowing up in popularity, now is the time to get yourself acquainted with their hypnotic genre-defying sound. Debut EP Freak Show released back in August is the perfect introduction for those not already familiar, with the opening trio of I’m Normally Like This, Misfits: SOLAR and the horn-backed title track all well worth checking out, alongside fan favourite Oggy. I promise you, it’ll be unlike anything else you’ve heard in 2023.

Listen here

6. Homospace by Mickey Callisto

When I was first introduced to Liverpudlian pop sensation Mickey Callisto at Dot-to-Dot Festival earlier this year, it was obvious from the get-go he was a natural-born showman destined for big things. An enigmatic, commanding presence on stage, it was an utterly captivating performance that made for one of the highlights of the day and left me eager to see where his career would go next.

Well, this November saw Mickey releases his first EP titled Homospace and I’m pleased to say it’s a star-making debut release - in more ways than one. Here’s what I said in my review for 5-9 last month:

“Loosely inspired by Arctic Monkeys’ Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, Mickey’s debut EP sees him transport the listener into outer space for a visit to “a gay nightclub on the moon”. The sounds that welcome you upon entry are a mesmerising blend of disco, psych-rock and 80s-inspired synth-pop, with Mickey lyrically jumping between personal stories and cosmic metaphors. The result is a joyful, imaginative orbit around some ambitious planetary pop. This is a fantastic, high-concept debut EP from Mickey; one that is not just a lot of fun to experience, but also offers the perfect introduction and showcase for his talent. Offering a welcome escape into some vivid musical nebulas, once you’ve taken the trip to the outer limits, you’ll be reluctant to return back down to Earth.”

Read my full review for 5-9 here

Listen here

5. The High Life by Bloc Party

2022 was the year Bloc Party got their mojo back. Whilst the band’s 2016 album Hymns still had its moments, it very much reflected a band going through a transition. Indeed, Alpha Games was still far from a perfect record, but if you had ever been a fan of Bloc Party then there was plenty of familiar pleasures on offer. Following on from that effort then, and this year the indie icons released a new four-track EP where they sound even more rejuvenated.

It’s a fun collection, with summery indie belter High Life kicking things off, before brilliant KennyHoopla collab Keep It Rolling flourishes with that classic Bloc Party sound. Similarly Blue sees Kele finally get back in touch with his younger self, with the song presenting some of his most sincere lyrics in years. Final track The Blood Moon is then my pick of the bunch, with shades of Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths early doors, before it then transforms into that vintage Bloc Party of old by the end, thanks to Russell Lissack’s signature riffing.

Even if you weren’t quite on board with Alpha Games, Bloc Party fans will find plenty of resemblance to that band they fell in love with all those years ago on Silent Alarm and Weekend In The City here on The High Life. Another positive step in the right direction for one of my all-time favourites.

Listen here

4. A Little Lost, A Little Found by Grace Carter

It can sometimes be lost on us as listeners just how derailing the pandemic was for new artists breaking out during that time. After discovering Grace Carter at Live At Leeds fest in 2018, it was evidently clear she was heading for superstardom. The following year cemented this prediction, as the London-based singer-songwriter made the BBC Sound of 2019 list and she set off supporting mainstream heavyweights like Dua Lipa and Lewis Capaldi on tour. However ever since the pandemic struck, Grace has been lost in the wilderness unable to further shine a spotlight on her evolving talent – until now.

Her incredible 2023 EP is Grace getting back to basics, releasing a collection of heartfelt pop ballads that explore identity, family, love and racial injustice. From the exquisitely produced groove of Pick Your Tears Up, the gospel-influenced Riot, the atmospheric tribal cries of Mother and the quirky vocal inflections of Hope, it is littered with moments that quickly remind us of Grace’s songwriting talent.

This is the mesmerising sound of Grace Carter finding herself again and getting things back on track – hopefully she has a clear run this time around.

Listen here

3. Welcome To My House by Yonaka

It doesn’t feel like too long ago I was stood watching Brighton rockers Yonaka perform in the 1am graveyard shift at Dot-to-Dot festival back in 2017. With a then long-haired Theresa Jarvis jumping off the stage to sing her lungs out amidst the modest, onlooking crowd, I was instantly entranced by the band’s energetic songs and performance. Fast forward to now and the band are now a prominent name within the British rock scene, with their songs constantly making their way into TV show, game and movie soundtracks. Returning in 2023 with another release packed with addictive commercial rock anthems, you get the feeling this new seven-track mini-album - which comes complete with a music video for every track - will only catapult them further up the chain of popularity.

With each song representing a feeling, memory or emotion within Theresa Jarvis, the trio blaze through each concisely constructed track, with most hovering around the two-to-three-minute mark. Propelled by anthemic choruses, polished production and Theresa’s ever-impressive vocal acrobatics, it’s another tour de force project from the band.

From rousing opener By The Time You’re Reading This to the anxiety-induced PANIC, through to the colossal confidence of Welcome To My House and the full-throttled punk of Hands Off My Money, it’s just an absolute blast from beginning to end. However, the EP’s best moment is arguably reserved for one of the band’s softest, most heartfelt songs to date – Give Me My Halo. Noticeably stripped back compared to the rest of the tracks here, it allows Theresa’s vocals to soar with her raw, passionate cries driving home the song’s uplifting message.

Across their early releases, their 2019 debut Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow, 2021 mini-album Seize The Power and now this EP, Yonaka have built themselves an arsenal of bangers that would put most other British rock bands to shame. A seismic collection of anthems that will no doubt go down a storm when they take it on tour in 2024.

Experience the visual mini-album through the music video playlist here

Listen to the EP here

2. MANHOOD by ROB GREEN

From one visual EP to another then, however you arguably couldn’t find two more different in sound.

During my first visit to Hockley Hustle festival in 2022, an all-dayer around the cultural heartbeat of Nottingham, soul-pop sensation Rob Green’s acoustic set was such an undisputed highlight, I was wondering how he could possibly top it this year. Well, he managed it.

Performing in the corner of Broadway Cinema’s café with the Rob Rosa String Quartet accompanying him, people were literally queueing at the door to catch even the smallest glimpse of his incredible thirty-minute set. And rightfully so, as the enigmatic performer proved once again his unrivalled ability to bring immeasurable positive energy to a room and leave the audience joyously radiant by the end. I always thought if he could bottle that energy and transfer it to his studio output, he would be unstoppable. Based on his MANHOOD project released at the start of November, it looks like he had the same idea.  

Unlike any other shortplayer released in 2023, MANHOOD is a stunning new visual EP that explores masculinity, self-love and racial identity. Centred around his heartfelt recent singles I’ll Be Around and What Are We Waiting For, the other parts are short vignettes made up of beautiful gospel harmonies, catchy hooks, conversation recordings and deep spoken word passages. With the film version impressively shot in a single take too, it all makes for a powerful 10-minute experience.

A special project by a very special talent, MANHOOD gives the perfect insight into Rob’s unrivalled charm and heart as both an artist and performer. Due to take the project on a UK tour next year, I implore you to go out of your way to see his life-affirming live show if you can – I guarantee you’ll want to capture the positivity in the air and bring it home with you.

Watch the MANHOOD short film here

Listen here

1. Sucker by bexx

“Sometimes falling in love feels like the most important thing in the world, especially when you’re not doing it.” – bexx, 2023

For me, the very best shortplayers should be all killer no filler – with most at four to six tracks long, there really is no excuse on that front. Additionally for me though, they should also take you on a conceptual journey or tell you a story in the same way any great album would. Enter Notts-hailing, synthpop superstar bexx, with her banger-filled debut EP that guides the listener through the highs and lows of her hapless love life.

Ever since discovering bexx through a support slot for Fickle Friends at the start of 2022, she has been on a roll. From her incredible breakout single Hard To Love complete with soaring 80s-tinged guitar solo, to more recent efforts like the extremely catchy One More Night and body positive, rock anthem Prettier, bexx has shown her knack for writing addictive, resonant pop songs is as good as anybody in the genre right now. Taking her first big step forward in 2023, she finally released this her debut EP and it is just the perfect showcase for her talent.

Sucker presents five songs about the eternal search for human connection and the stumbling blocks along the way. It is an EP filled with irresistible tongue-in-cheek humour and packed wall-to-wall with cathartic, anti-love songs with which any amiable cynic can relate. This is “unserious, heartbreak pop” of the highest order and it makes for the most joyously fun EP of the year.

The opening title track is the perfect tone-setter, as bexx describes the urge to text back a former lover, with her wry lyricism firmly at the fore on lines like “I still wonder, do you wonder, how I’m doing, who I’m under – I’m not lonely, I’m just going through the motions.” It’s this light-hearted take on these common melancholic feelings that makes bexx so refreshing and the song itself is one of her most instantly gratifying yet, thanks to its hooky chorus.

Inescapably catchy single I’m Disgusting follows, where bexx describes becoming that hopelessly lovesick romantic she’s always despised (“The lovey-dovey shit belongs on the TV, I’d rather die”). However, the honeymoon period of the relationship quickly ends, as bexx then throws us listeners into the brutal break-up on excellent single, Stupid. Culminating in the frustration-fuelled refrain “I hate this song, ‘cause it’s about you”, it is tailor-made for heartbroken festival crowds to sing back with angst.

Recent single Bad For Each Other is then undoubtedly the EP’s best moment, with bexx found unravelling a toxic friends-with-benefits relationship (“Steal a kiss, 3AM, just a secret between friends – even though I don’t feel used, still a little bit confused”). Once again channelling some palpable rock energy with a guitar-driven chorus, it is mixed seamlessly with a brilliantly produced electronic beat on the quieter, almost whispered verses.

After taking this wild journey with bexx through her romantic life, navigating attraction, sex, heartbreak and all the mixed emotions found along the way, the EP’s climatic song Haha, I’m dying alone can’t help but feel brutally poignant. This is the moment where bexx finally lifts that shield of humour that she’s carried throughout just a little bit, but enough to show the vulnerability hiding underneath - acknowledging that making a joke out of these feelings is her way of coping with the strain of it all. It’s another special, brilliantly written pop song and it’ll have you reaching through your headphones to give bexx a big comforting hug at the end of it.

For a first outing, bexx really couldn’t have crafted a better shortplayer to introduce new listeners into her world. A collection that has been cohesively pulled together and is simply beaming with the catchy, singalong choruses and witty takes that have made her music such a joy to behold. She has really knocked it out of the park with this batch of songs and it is no surprise that it has held on throughout the year to remain my favourite EP of 2023.

Listen here

Thanks for reading – I’ll be back next week with final year-end awards, including my favourite live shows and Top 100 songs of 2023!

#new music #best new music #best of the year #best of 2023 #extended play #music EP #albums of the year #album recommendation #album of the week #album of the year #aoty #aoty 2023 #bexx #rob green #alt blk era #nottingham music #notts music scene #yonaka #mickey callisto #grace carter #bloc party #daniel avery #george fitzgerald #bloxx

[thefallencomet]

Little writing thing inspired by H.G. Well’s The War of the Worlds I wrote up real quick before sleeping tonight. Not related to current worldbuilding, but don’t have anywhere else to post. Formatting kinda messed up cause I’m doing this on mobile.

July 14th, 1965.

The world was a very different place. After being visited half a century ago by beings from another world, and several failed attempts, finally humanity had achieved the capacity to do the same. Alamo 4, approached the only other world known definitively to host intelligent life. Mars was in view.

For the first time, Earth's eyes were glaring down at the surface of a world so unfamiliar, yet painfully remembered. Data on Mars was streamed back, picked over, scrutinized and studied by the best minds our world offered. For the first time we could glimpse into the world of beings so very separated from us, no longer hindered by the daunting gulf of space. The findings of this endeavor however, were unexpected, despite obvious signs of intelligent design in the planet-spanning network of irrigation channels, Mars was a depleted world. It was as if the planet were a ghost town, as if the Martians vanished as hastily as the precious resources that once provided motivation to remain had. No active water flows were observed on its surface, if any existed at all. There were no forests, no trees. Just weeds, desert, and expansive cities of metal, with buildings spanning taller than any engineer could ever hope to achieve on Earth, assembled from architectural techniques unknown, alleviated by Mars' feeble gravity. Left to rot.

With no risk to the robotic explorer posed by revealing the information domestically, the images were scattered throughout global media. Notably this was a form of sharing, one regarding intelligence gathered on an adversary, that could never have occurred prior. Earth glared upon the surface of Mars together with communal pride. A world stained as red as the cities and fields the Martians had long ago laid waste to, in a bloody war long ago won merely by luck. We gazed down upon that which we had risen above, a wasteland left to be claimed only by the network of sprawling foliage that was once watered with the blood of long lost relatives.

The nightmare was believed to be over. At the time, it seems strange to me now, how quickly we accepted the seeming resolution to a half century of paranoia. How quickly people accepted and proceeded with their day to day lives, with little concern for what remained unclear. Few could've conceived what was to be found a decade later by Venera 9, a discovery that would be similarly earth-shaking, but entirely disheartening.

#worldbuilding #scifi #war of the worlds #the war of the worlds #mars #writing #long post

[gonzalo-obes]

IMAGENES Y DATOS INTERESANTES DEL DIA 20 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023

Día Mundial de la Estadística, Día Mundial de la Osteoporosis, Día Internacional de Concienciación sobre los Trastornos del Desarrollo del Lenguaje, Día Internacional del Controlador Aéreo, Día Internacional de las mastocitosis y patologías mastocitarias, Semana Mundial de la Novela, Año Internacional del Mijo y Año Internacional del Diálogo como Garantía de Paz.

Santa Adelina, Santa Laura, San Saúl, Santa Irene y San Eustaquio.

Tal día como hoy en el año 1941: Comienza la Masacre de Kragujevac, en el territorio de Serbia ocupado por el III Reich, en la que cerca de 3.000 civiles son asesinados por el ejército nazi como represalia por los continuos ataques partisanos en el distrito de Gornji Milanovac.

En 1968: Se celebra la boda entre Jacqueline Kennedy y Aristóteles Onassis, en la isla Skorpios (cerca de la costa griega), propiedad del magnate.

En 1973: Se inaugura la Ópera de Sídney, en Australia.

En 1975: La sonda espacial Venera 9, enviada por la Unión Soviética, aterriza en la superficie del planeta Venus y envía las imágenes de la superficie de otro planeta por primera vez.

En 1976: Diego Maradona debuta como futbolista profesional con el club Argentinos Juniors, en Buenos Aires.

En 1982: En España, se rompe la presa de Tous como consecuencia de las intensas lluvias que habían comenzado el día anterior. La riada arrasó varias poblaciones y ocasionó más de 30 muertos.

En el 2000: Se incendia la discoteca Lobohombo, en la colonia San Rafael de la Ciudad de México. Dejando 22 muertos y 40 heridos, el hecho de que las salidas de emergencia estuvieran bloqueadas agravó la tragedia.

En 2011: En España, la banda terrorista ETA anuncia el cese definitivo de su actividad armada.

En 2011: En Libia, las fuerzas rebeldes asesinan al presidente Muamar el Gadafi, con lo que la guerra civil llega a su fin tras más de 40 años, pero la falta de gobierno seguirá prolongándose en el futuro.