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arqueete · 4 months

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New Year's Meme 2023

This is a survey reflecting on the year that I've been diligently filling out since Livejournal days. Anyone is welcome to take it for themselves.

1. What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before?

I visited Italy! I went on a trip with my in-laws where we stayed in a rented house in Tuscany for a bit and then my husband and I spent a few days on our own in Venice.

I rode a water taxi in Venice.

I'm not 100% sure but I think I had actual tiramisu (as opposed to tiramisu-flavored things) for the first time this year?

I got into very seriously and deliberately writing a romance novel.

I went rollerblading at Red Arrow Park in Milwaukee which only opened to roller skates for the first time this summer.

I saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway (just before it closed.)

After making several recipes out of a Milk Bar cookbook, while we were in New York we got to actually get dessert at Milk Bar

I got this little display called a Tidbyt and I wrote an app for it that identifies airplanes that go past my apartment. (I also visited the observation lot at the airport for the first time because I'm a nerd.)

I went down to Chicago and visited a museum there by myself.

I got a Polaroid camera and took some photos with it.

I got food (biryani) from an Indian restaurant.

I went to beloved Milwaukee bar Bryant's and had a cocktail that was set on fire.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year?

In 2023, I wanted to be more regular in going to the pottery studio where I have a membership, and I did work on that for a while but then I started to slow down again. I don't seem to do well with hobbies where I have to drive somewhere to go do them. I'm hoping to do more pottery stuff at home next year.

I also wanted to throw away less food and use up leftover ingredients in better ways. Still working on this, but my husband and I have a list on our fridge now of stuff we have sitting around that we know needs to be used soon.

I also wanted to ride the bus a little more. I did a pretty good job of this, I think! I bussed to the beach, to a favorite bookshop, to the State Fair, and to the train station.

In 2024, here's what I'm going for:

I want to get this novel I'm writing to the point where I can get some people to beta read it.

I used to keep a budget but since I got married and my husband and I got a joint account, we haven't really figured out a good way to keep a budget together. I'd like to start budgeting again.

I want to read every book the bi book club I'm in has on its schedule for 2024. I also want to reread more books I already own.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I went to a baby shower for one of my husband's cousins. I'm happy for them and their baby boy! 4. Did anyone close to you die? We lost one of my husband's best and oldest friends to suicide earlier this year. It's been rough, to be honest.

5. What countries did you visit? I went to Italy! Trying to learn some Italian from scratch stressed me out but I especially loved eating way too much gelato and walking around Venice. 6. What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023? Last year I said I wanted closer relationships to people who live nearby, to invite people over more. We tried to do a bit of this. We had guests over for dinner a few times, including my husband's cousin who literally lives in our apartment building so it's a little embarrassing that we haven't seen him. Also, things have been ramping back up with the bisexual community group I'm a part of.

I would like to have less stress in 2024 though, you know, wouldn't we all? 7. What date from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? In trying to think of dates off the top of my head and my brain says, hmm, April 7th, the day I saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. I mean, that was a good and important day in my life. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Maybe writing multiple drafts of a novel. I've gotten past first drafts before but it's been years since I've been writing this much and this regularly and I've been enjoying it. 9. What was your biggest failure? After feeling like I was managing my anxiety really well in recent years I think this year it became more of a struggle for me again. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I'm very lucky to generally be a healthy person but this year I dealt with some things... In the spring my chronic hives did finally stop. But then I got Covid. Then I got a painful cyst on my ovary. Then I got the stomach flu.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Probably the Tidbyt. It's a cute little super low res screen that sits in my living room and tells me things like the sunrise/sunset times, the weather forecast, the nearest airplane, and the flavor of the day at Kopp's Frozen Custard. Even though it's a tech thing it's helping me appreciate the little things and I like that about it. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Sufjan Stevens definitely seemed to have a shitty year but it was nice to see him making progress in recovering from his illness and, you know, I'd like to celebrate the great album he put out.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I already complained about Elon Musk in last year's survey but seeing Twitter fall apart has been depressing this year. 14. Where did most of your money go? Besides rent, probably to the Italy trip. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Airplanes! I got really into reading about commercial aviation this year and paying attention to the planes that pass by my apartment. 16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2023? We got a new Sufjan album, Javelin, in October and I listened to it a ton at that time.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. Happier or sadder? Sadder. ii. Older or wiser? Older. iii. Thinner or fatter? The same. iv. Richer or poorer? Richer. 18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I felt like I really didn't pay much attention to the news and world events this year. It seemed like everyone around me was outraged about one thing or another and I've just been tired and uninformed. I'm not proud of that. 19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Staying up late even when I knew I wouldn't get enough sleep. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? I spent Christmas Eve with my family and then Christmas Day with my husband's family out in Madison.

21. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve? We have late dinner reservations and plan to hang around the restaurant bar until midnight.

22. Did you fall in love in 2023? I celebrated my first anniversary with my husband (went went to a nice new restaurant in the city called Lupi & Iris.) 23. How many one-night stands? None.

24. What was your favorite TV program? I loved the new seasons of What We Do In the Shadows and The Bear.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I like to read snark pages about fundamentalist Christian influencers and I've loved to hate Girl Defined and watching them just kind of spiral out of control this year. 26. What was the best book you read? I read a lot this year (I finished 18 books!) and I started a Goodreads account if anyone wants to be my reading buddy. Probably the best book I read this year in terms of quality was Educated by Tara Westover which is well-known and highly rated for good reason.

In terms of books that are not impressive in a literary way but made me feel totally rabid in a fandom way, I recently finished With Love, From Cold World and bought a copy just so I can reread it some time next year. 27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I discovered Jose Gonzalez this year and he was really scratching an itch for me while waiting for a new Sufjan album. His song "Heartbeats" was on my Spotify Wrapped top songs.

28. What did you want and get? I wanted an inflatable Lapras so bad and in previous years they kept selling out before I could buy one but this summer I got one! I got the Lapras!!! I rode it out on the lake!

29. What did you want and not get? There were three different times that people were supposed to come visit us this year and it didn't happen. My husband's friend was supposed to stay with us and he passed before that happened. One of my husband's cousins was supposed to visit and then we got Covid and had to cancel. Then another one of my husband's cousins was supposed to visit and my husband had to go out of state for a relative's funeral and we canceled that, too. These are the sorts of things that added up to the year feeling like there were hard times around every corner, even though we had a lot to be grateful for. 30. What was your favorite film of this year? I saw a surprising amount of movies in theaters this year! I think Barbie was the most memorable (also, the theater I saw it in, The Downer Theatre, has since shut down so I will also remember it for that.)

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 33. My husband and I got lunch at an Italian restaurant and then saw the matinee of Skylight Music Theater's production of School of Rock, which I did enjoy even though mostly it just made the both of us want to rewatch the movie.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Maybe not getting Covid. 33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2023? I'm loving flannel shirts and sweater dresses this fall/winter. In the summer I was wearing a lot of dresses, too. I've gotten into tucking shirts into shorts or jeans. 34. What kept you sane? All the reading and writing I've been doing has helped me feel productive and grounded. 35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Maybe Ayo Edebiri on The Bear. 36. What political issue stirred you the most? Climate change felt relentless and inevitable this year, especially with the wildfire smoke we dealt with over the summer and the mild winter so far. 37. Who did you miss? I don't go on Twitter anymore and that's generally good for me, but there were some interesting people I followed on there where I'm like huh, wonder what they're up to now (but not enough to go back on Twitter and find out.) 38. Who was the best new person you met? My team at work went through a lot of changes this year and I always get nervous about new people getting hired (like, what if they're assholes?) Fortunately everyone who joined our team has been really nice and I'm grateful. 39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023: This year I found a lot of freedom in taking a Marie Kondo-esque approach to my physical surroundings and just throwing shit out if I don't use it and it doesn't have active sentimental value to me. At the same time, this year I stopped being so hard on myself for buying things like coffee shop drinks all the time. So I guess generally the lesson is about recalibrating my idea of what is valuable to me to reflect what I actually enjoy day-to-day more than what I think I'm "supposed to" keep around or spend money on.

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

He said that nothing lives long, only the earth and the mountains As he quoted Black Kettle's death song The words drifting off into the emptiness Of this great land where we’ve never belonged

Death Cab For Cutie - "Foxglove Through the Clearcut"

#meme

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aetherspoon · 11 months

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A not-so-simple relocation, day 0/1.

This month has been the longest year of my life.

I'm typing this from Norway!

ALT: A beautiful sunset from one of my balconies.

Issun and Zoan (my cats) are settling in. There was a lot of concern with Zoan, as he just didn't eat for the first four days and Issun had been heavily bullying him. The bullying part is still present at this point (although less than it was before), at least my cats are all eating now and acting fairly close to normal. But, I'm getting ahead of myself, let's go back to Day 0/1

Day 0/1

Things went better than feared! The Milwaukee airport TSA was staffed by cat lovers, so they immediately volunteered a private searching area for Issun and Zoan.

Things went worse than expected! We had all sorts of issues with our flights and bags. At said airport, all but one of my bags was overweight (even though I weighted them with a luggage scale before), causing some jumbling around of things and one of my friends carrying a large quantity of plates in his bag. This came around to bite him, since it flagged something at the TSA security point when we went through and had an "enhanced" search. That's fine though, another one of my friends didn't realize that I keep All The Electronics (tm) in my carry-on bags and went through FOUR TIMES to search everything. The third of my friends was fine for that part, but he had bunch of screwups with his flight schedule (my fault), but the attempts to make it work cost a crapton of money and still didn't fix it correctly.

On top of that, we also had one flight run late in departure (which caused said friend with the messed up schedule to miss his flight, rebooking him to the one AFTER the rest of us), Zoan threw up in his carrier on the intercontinental flight (poor kitty)... and then there was Oslo.

The sheer chaos of Oslo

For reference, Oslo is the capital of Norway, and also only one of two entry points to the country that have veterinarians on staff to check out paperwork for incoming cats. The other two aren't airports, so this is basically the only city I was allowed to fly into to hit customs for my cats.

We flew in late and had a long line at the passport check. Once through passport check, I called the vet on call to let her know that I was on my way to customs. I asked someone where I should go next, and they told me that I should go to the domestic transfer section, which had me re-go through airport security.

Started putting my things in bins, moving around stuff because I have All The Electronics (tm) in checked bags, prepped my cats, and asked where I should go after this to hit customs for my cats. Turns out, this was the way to go while bypassing customs entirely and I was in the wrong place. Not only would that have meant illegally importing my kitties into Norway (which would be very much illegal), but also completely skipping all forms of customs entirely! Don't worry, that last part comes up again later.

After recombobulating all of my things and finding my way through the inevitable duty-free shop in the airport, I finally reached customs with a poor bored veterinarian waiting for me. She booped both bags and then stated that I was the first person to actually get the paperwork right in "a long time" - apparently she had to send several kitties to quarantine in the past week because of people either royally screwing up paperwork or just not bothering with any at all. Like, what? I had seven or eight different notices about this when I booked my flights with cats, how did someone not notice?

Anyway, that put us in the main Oslo customs line after, for which the vet told me to tell them that we just had the cats scanned and were heading on to Bergen (where I'd hit customs there). They waved us through and we were in the domestic side of the Oslo airport. We had to go back through security again at this point, taking Issun and Zoan out of their carriers to get across, one of my friends getting a few new piercings on his shoulder for carrying Issun, and finally made it to the gate.

Arriving in Bergen, we get brought to the baggage area. Two things are immediately apparent:

We can't reach customs because we were on a domestic flight.

We are missing bags. A lot of bags.

Keep in mind, I had eleven total checked bags across three four people (thanks @kriatyrr, who is over my left shoulder). The number that arrived? Three. All assigned to same person. When we went to the baggage office to report lost bags, the person behind the counter was super nice, went through the paperwork, and left me with the quote of the journey:

"Oslo needs to get their shit together on Sundays."

She pointed to the area around her, which had multiple dozens of bags waiting for couriers. My flight was missing over half of its bags.

Cabbed back to the apartment, laid down, and just took a rest... only to cab back to the airport to pick up the friend with the screwed up schedule (don't worry - he was also missing his assigned bags), bringing him back again.

I opened up what I had, which consisted of one bag (with my suit jacket and a few formal shirts), one monitor box (which was fine), and one box with my desktop in it (which sustained lots of structural damage and managed to bend my heatsink at a 45 degree angle).

Oy.

Previous entry linked below.

#blog #personal #travel blog #moving abroad #oslo get your shit together on sundays

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gucciwins · 2 years

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proud of you

harry works through his feeling and you're nothing but supportive

Word count: 3304

A/N: hi friends! thank you for the response to this story. i know tour has ended, but i promise this story is still going. on the bright side i've got two weeks left in uni then i'm free to write. this part is short and I hope you enjoy it as much as the others. i love you

please remember to reblog! let me know what you thought!

warnings: none (fluff, mentions of eternals)

love on tour series // previous part

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

New York always treated you well, but you were happy to continue on with the tour. Harry was excited to be in Wisconsin. He shared how he was a big fan of the Green Bay Packers. You were too kind to burst his bubble that you already knew. He wore that fact about himself with pride, easily slipping it in interviews or spotting out fans in the crowd wearing a jersey.

There's something about visiting new cities with Harry. It makes them memorable and holds a new place in your heart. It really is about the memories because if it weren't for him, you'd find nothing remarkable about Wisconsin. It's a great state, just not meant for you.

Everyone was excited for show day, lots of chatter and laughter were heard around the arena, and orders to fix lights or secure wardrobe was ready.

It seemed like a great day, except you noticed Harry was quiet today, reserved. You had no idea what it could mean or how to help, he was always talkative and cuddly, yet today you've only received a few kisses and a single "I love you."

To be honest, it made you worried. No one else seemed to pick up on it. You gave him space but were near in case he needed you. You hoped he would.

It went like that all day; the soundcheck was calm. He walked out with you holding your hand, grinned, and kissed you repeatedly as you told him "I love you" repeatedly as he was yelled at to get on stage. Not as present on stage, made little comments but no jokes as usual. The band assumed he was tired, but Mitch shot you a look. You shrugged, not knowing what it could be.

After that, you had dinner with Mitch and Sarah. Well, the parents ate while you and Harry watched over the young bub, who was growing quickly during this tour. He shared small smiles with the young baby, mainly leaving you to chat about nothing with the baby and your friends at the same time.

Ayae came in search of Harry when it was time to get ready, as she liked starting with him in case anything came up at the last minute. She knew she had time. He got up, not looking to see if you were following until he got to the door, turning to see you seated, not having given the baby back. You urged him to go on, saying you'd be there soon.

To your surprise, he listened, nodding, and whether he liked to admit it or not, all he wanted was some time alone, and you'd get that for him.

"You look like a creamsicle." You smiled, closing the door behind you, moving towards him to fix his collar, but stopped when he turned to look at you.

Harry narrows his eyes at you, "are you laughing at me?"

You laugh, "what, no. I happen to love creamsicles a lot, second only to paletas de fresa."

Harry relaxes and meets you halfway, presses a kiss to your lips, "fine."

He walks back over to the mirror, smoothing out the peach shirt with lace overlay tucked into his cream wide-leg trousers and leather boots. Harry looks stunning. It might be the first time you didn't greet him with a direct compliment that made him feel a little insecure.

"Harry,"

"Yes, my love."

"I think you look amazing. Sorry if you thought differently." Your words are sincere, making him turn to look at you.

He opens his arms wide, gesturing for you to come closer, and you do so. You tuck your face in his chest, allowing him to rest his chin on top of your head. "Don't have to apologize. I know what you think, could see it in your eyes. Just feeling a bit off tonight."

"Do you want to be alone for a bit?"

"You wouldn't mind?"

You take a step back, wanting to look up at him, "of course not. Alone time is good."

"I know, I know."

You pat his chest. "Tell you what, I'll go hang out with Elin, and you meditate and relax. You've got half an hour before they come knockin'."

"Thank you."

"Course," you peck his lips before grabbing your phone and walking towards the door but stop at the sound of Harry calling your name.

"You'll come back right to wish me luck."

"If that's what you want."

"I do, I really do."

"Then I'll be here and take you to the others. How does that sound?"

"Perfect."

You walk out, hoping he takes the time to relax; you know better than anyone what it's like having a day off, not focusing on anything. It happened a lot when your grandparents passed away, but with time that stopped, it also had to do with the help of your therapist. Now those kinds of days hit randomly or when their birthdays or anniversaries are approaching. Something you're thankful Harry won't be around to see, at least for now.

All in due time.

You bump into Sarah shaking you out of your thoughts, telling you she's off to change the fussy bub in her hands, and you offer her company that she happily accepts. Truthfully, you're glad for the distraction.

You're there wearing your cozy cream Pleasing sweater enjoying the band on stage dancing around to "Sunflower," allowing yourself to take in the positive environment around you. The pit is always dancing and singing along, but this crowd is surprisingly louder, meeting his energy ten times as much, and Harry feeds off it.

There were lots of stares from Harry, more than usual. He kissed you long and passionately and wished him good luck. He assured you he was fine, and you believed him. His time alone let him get his head on straight and get out of his funk. You didn't know how much Harry appreciated giving him time apart; as much as he wants to spend every minute with you, he would rather be with you than alone with his thoughts.

Mediation is something Harry had made you try more, and honestly, it cleared your mind a lot. You did Yoga to center yourself, but honestly, you haven't found the need during the last month because Harry's a comfort for you. Strangely, you never thought you'd find yourself dependent on someone else, not that you need him to move forward. No, you know you're worth it when you're alone, but when he's by your side, it reminds you that someone is supporting you. That they are with you one hundred percent, giving their all just like you. It's the best feeling.

Harry is on stage singing, a cheese hat on his head. It brings you close to tears. Everyone around you with their phones out zoomed in on the moment. Gosh, he really does anything when he's up on the stage.

It's time for his small intermission where he speaks to the fans, reads some signs. He walks around when he stops chuckling to himself before asking if he can read the sign. He, of course, gets the go-ahead, and being the drama queen he is, he clears his throat, "How does the moon cut his hair?" Harry waits, going silent, waiting for the fans to yell a bit, and the sign flips. "He eclipsed it." He shouts, earning another round of cheers. "Ohhh… that's a stinker."

You laugh, knowing very well he'd be telling his mum the joke over the phone.

The show continues on, and you dance your heart out for those fifteen minutes with your friends around you. It's been a long time since you've been in an environment so loving where you have a friend in every corner, and if you're honest, you never want it to end.

The band extends their exit, your grin wide as you see Pauli run off the stage loaded with gifts from the crowd. Sarah strolled slowly behind, waving, with Mitch following behind, smiling at a person in the crowd offering her his guitar pick. If you had kept looking, you would have seen the girl collapse to the floor in tears, overwhelmed.

You exit, following close behind the others that had stayed behind, making your way to Harry, who had already begun to strip down from his outfit of the night.

"Didn't think everyone would be getting a free show," you tease, pushing the door wider to slip in.

"Love, hi. I'm ready to leave." He shrugs.

Harry slips on his Pleasing hoodie and grey sweats. He offers you a soft kiss as he moves past you to get his bag, eager to leave the arena.

"Proud of you," you whisper.

He stops what he's doing and turns to face you. There's a look in his eyes you don't recognize, but in the next second, he's wrapping you up in a hug. It brings you a calm that you had been missing and knows he must be feeling the same.

"Thank you, I love you."

"I love you too. Meet you out front?"

"Five minutes?"

You nod, removing yourself from his hold, pressing a much longer kiss than he had given you before.

At the hotel, you offered to run Harry a bath, and he happily agreed, showering you in kisses just for the thought alone.

You give Harry his time alone, assuring him to relax, not wanting him to rush. He thanks you as you walk out. You change into a shirt that might be Harry's and sleep shorts, knowing it gets hot with Harry, who likes being cuddled right on top of you each night. Not that you minded, you just hated waking up sweating. Thanks to him, you learned to sleep with less clothing, making your mornings that much more fun.

You pick up a book that Elin had lent you, telling you she could not put it down. It's a good book, but you don't allow yourself to get lost knowing Harry could come out anytime soon.

It takes him 45 minutes to come back, knuckling at his eyes, fighting back the sleep that has started to sit in after the adrenaline rushed night.

Harry smiles at you, lifting the covers, scooting right next to you until he's comfortable laying his head right over your heart. The sigh he releases is one of relaxation, thankful to finally be alone after an eventful day.

"Thank you."

You set your book on the nightstand, slipping your hands into his damp curls, wanting to focus all your attention on your tired boyfriend. "For what?"

"For taking care of me."

You chuckle, "I know you like baths."

He shakes his head, pressing a kiss to your heart through your sleep shirt, "no, earlier."

"It's okay."

"I was overwhelmed, "he confesses.

"By?"

"You."

His response is unexpected. You feel yourself tense up and hope he missed it, but it's impossible with him laying on top of you.

"Not like that," he continues, not giving you a second to question him. "I love you. And you love me."

"I do."

"I know, and well, there's so much you give me, and I–I didn't know if you felt the same. That I love you like you love me."

You feel your eyes well up with tears. He was questioning himself more than anything, "Oh Harry, I feel it."

"Do you?"

"How could I not?" He lifts his head to look at you. "You kiss me and hold my hand. Make me laugh with your terrible jokes. Don't get bothered when I forget a word in English, only knowing the Spanish version."

He giggles, "forgot blender."

"Alright, don't need to bring it up," you joke, loving that he's laughing with you.

"I love everything about you, how you put your cold toes on me to warm up, to claiming you like my grilled cheese even though it always ends up too burnt," he frowns at the thought.

"It's the love that counts." You remind him as you have multiple times. "Harry, it might not always be easy, but I hope you know I love you. I'm going to fight for you, for us every single day."

"I'll fight for us too, my love."

You both go silent, letting your declarations sit in the air for a moment.

"Can I take you out tomorrow?" He asks sheepishly as if he's never asked you before.

"Yes, you can."

"Good," he rests his head back on your chest and knows it's time for bed. You reach up gently to turn off the light, ready for a good night's rest.

"I love you," you whisper into the darkness.

"I love you," echoed back.

"You know we leave tomorrow, right?" you ask Harry as he lets you hold his hand in his lap using his other hand to hold the steering wheel as he drives you to the mystery location.

"Yes, I do." He assures you are making a right turn. "I also wanted to take my girlfriend out for our month anniversary."

You scrunch your nose at that, only a month. That's a bit insane; you feel like it's been longer, and Harry has expressed he feels the same. You aren't sure what you're going to do when you're not seeing each other every day.

"Romantic."

"I try," he giggles.

He takes his final right turn, and that's when you see he's brought you to a movie theatre. You sit up in your seat, taking a look around; the lot is half empty for a premiere night.

"You brought me to see Eternals. I'm so excited."

"Excited to see me?"

"Sure, your two minutes of screen time," you tease.

"Bel," he rolls his eyes as he pulls into a parking lot.

"Kidding, very proud of you. This is the start of something really incredible for you, and I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, love." Harry pecks your lips and jumps out of the car, running to your side to open your door. A true gentleman.

After walking in, the workers don't bat an eye at either of you. Harry gets popcorn, and M&M's something about them being the perfect combination. You're too sweet on him to judge him.

The movie theatre brings you so much joy, as much as it did when you were a young girl. Your parents brought you for every significant moment in life. You watched films you didn't recognize to the Hollywood Blockbusters, and it didn't end with them. Your grandparents kept that tradition alive for you.

You find a bit of your family in all that you do.

Harry got the middle seats reserved in row H. Not all the way in the back and not at the very back where it felt like you might strain your neck.

"Good seats, amor."

"I debated honestly."

You chuckle. That sounds very much like him.

"I love previews," he confesses.

"Makes me excited," you smile at him, bouncing in your seat, ready for the film to start when you hear the intro music to West Side Story. You pull your phone out of your sweater pocket and begin filming. Zooming in closer for Rachel Zegler. The rising Colombian actress.

You feel Harry watching your every move, but pay him no mind as you post it to your Instagram story. "Rachel Zegler, our maria" is the caption, and you know all your fans will have a field day begging to know what movie you're watching and if you're working on something new with her as a co-star.

"Do you go to the movies a lot, love?"

"I try," he grabs your hand, placing it in his lap, encouraging you to keep going. "Haven't tried as we've been on tour."

"My apologies."

You shake your head, "all good." You promise.

"I love consuming as much as making," you continue on about how it's important to watch all because there is always something to learn, good and bad.

The lights went off, and in a few minutes, the film would begin.

"This cast is amazing," you whisper, still respecting the few others sitting around you.

"They are," he shares.

"Are you excited to watch?"

"I am."

"Do you know what scene they used?"

"I do."

"Hmm...you look nice with red hair," you comment.

Harry turns his head to look at you, and you giggle, knowing he didn't expect that, "okay, you have seen the scene."

"No," you lie.

"Bel,"

"Okay, maybe."

"Oh, you impatient girl."

"But I saw it a few months ago. A friend sent it over, very discreetly."

"So you know," he trails off.

You shush him as the title words begin to appear. Time to enjoy the movie and then Harry for his two-minute intro.

You're relatively quiet during the entire film, releasing gasps here and then. Leaning forward when scenes got intense, Harry swore he saw you wipe your eyes, but he couldn't be sure. You sit there quietly, letting the actor's name flash across the screen; it's when Eternals flashes on the screen do you squeeze his hand in a small way to tell him you're excited.

After the scene fades out, you're looking at Harry with the biggest smile on your face, and Harry can't help but replicate it. You press a chaste kiss to his lips, "that was you."

He chuckles, "it was."

"You're an eternal."

He nods proudly, "I am."

"Okay, was it weird seeing yourself on the big screen? I know it's been a while. Personally, it always feels a bit weird. Like it's you but also not." You try to explain.

Harry smiles, bringing you in close for another kiss, "it is odd, but something to get used to. Got two new films releasing soon."

"Trust me, you will never get used to it."

You turn to look at the screen and see Harry's name next to his character Eros.

"That's insanely hot."

Harry smirks, "think so."

"Oh yeah, Gemma Chan as the first name. Proud of her," you tease.

"Bel."

"Teasing."

After the second credit scene ended, Harry and you exited the theatre and began your return to the hotel. He promised you take-out on the way back, and who were you to deny such a treat.

"Favorite characters?" Harry asks as he munches on your shared friends he claimed he didn't want.

You take a bite of your veggie burger, taking a second to think, "hmm…Makkari and Druig, oh and Phastos.”

"Not Eros," he teased.

"As much as I found him attractive, I need to know more about him before saying he's a favorite."

"Is that so? Well, what if I tell you about him?"

"Okay, I'll bite. Go ahead."

You finish off your burger, taking a drink of your water as Harry throws the trash out. "Well, he's handsome."

"Noted," you interrupt. He shoots you a playful glare for cutting him off.

"As I was saying, he's handsome, kind, and funny."

You move over to the bed as he discusses how Eros is all about the pleasure he brings to others. Having the best time, the joy he brings others.

"Hmm…I could get behind him."

"Yeah, that's good."

"Just one thing?"

"What's that?" Harry asks curiously if you're going to keep this going or not.

"Well, I have to see how good he is at bringing pleasure," Harry instantly knows what you're referring to, removing his shirt as he moves to lay on you on the king bed.

"Oh baby, you have no idea what I'm capable of."

You smirk, knowing you're in for a good time for a long time.

Going to the West Coast would bring something new, but for now, you'd enjoy the city you were in tonight for one last night.

thank you for reading <3 i adore you

taglist: @alienorknight @harry-is-my-sunflower @myfavfanficsever @4hazza @springholland @michellekstyles @harryismyfwend @evanjh @onlyamylee @golden-hoax @itsmycorneroftheinternet @harryspirate @tenaciousperfectionunknown

part seventeen tacoma

#harry styles #harry styles story #harry styles x reader #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #harry styles smut #harry styles series #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x famous reader #harry fluff #harry angst #harry smut #harry styles writing #love on tour #lot: milwaukee #harry styles love on tour #hslot #love on tour series #my writing

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perspectivestarters · 2 years

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Perspective's Sentence Starters; Manic (Part IV)

929

"You think I'm lying, but I'm being dead serious."

"Okay, I'll prove it."

"Well, who am I?"

"Can't remember half the time that I've been alive."

"Half was in a cheap apartment, and half was on the Eastside."

"Don't meet your heroes, they're all fuckin' weirdos."

"Nobody loves you, they just try to fuck you."

"Who do you call when it's late at night?"

"Oh my God, there's no way that's me."

"I quit smoking, well recently, I tried."

"I bought another house, and I never go outside."

"(Name), you gotta promise us that you won't die, 'cause we need you."

"Honestly, I think that she lied."

"I remember the names of every single kid I've met."

"I forget half the people who I've gotten in bed."

"I've stared at the sky in Milwaukee and hoped that my father would finally call me."

"It's just these things that I'm thinkin' for hours."

"I'm pickin' my hair out in clumps in the shower."

"Lost the love of my life to an ivory powder."

"I'm no higher power."

"I wasn't in love then, and I'm still not now, and I'm so happy I figured that out."

"I've got a long way to go until self-preservation."

"Think my moral compass is on a vacation."

"I can't believe I still feed my fucking temptation."

"I'm still looking for my salvation."

"Soft and slow, watch the minutes go."

"Count out loud, so we know you don't keep 'em for yourself."

"I think I have a confession to make."

"I'm a liar... man, I'm a fucking liar."

WIPE YOUR TEARS

"Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby."

"Nothing's gonna make you cry."

"I'll be damned if I ever let another hand wipe your tears before they dry."

"Keep your friends close, but this pretty girl closer."

"Little baby is a poser."

"Thinks she's so cold, but the world is colder."

"My bed is too big for only me."

"I keep a pistol when I sleep."

I'M NOT MAD

"I'm not even mad anymore."

"I don't even want you back anymore."

"I don't remember what we had anymore."

"I hope your back aches and your knees hurt."

"I hope you think about me sleepin' in your T-shirt."

"I hope your little brother turns out to be nothing like you."

"I hope that you hurt more than I do."

"Honestly, I still wish you nothing but the best."

"I know that you're still self-obsessed."

"I hear the wicked get no rest."

"I hope you dream of me."

"You know I'm hopin'."

"I don't even hope you die these days."

"I hope it's eating you alive these days."

"I hope you're up late in a bathroom, just wishin' I'ma change my mind and come back soon."

"I hope that when you're thirty-five years you'll wish that you tried to."

"I know that I do."

"Maybe just a little less than I was before."

"I've got a twenty dollar bill that says you're never, ever, ever gonna change."

BE KIND

"Wanna believe that you don't have a bad bone in your body."

"The bruises on your ego make you go wild."

"Wanna believe that even when you're stone cold, you're sorry."

"I know you're chokin' on your fears."

"I'm right here."

"I will stay by your side every night."

"I don't know why you hide from the one, and close your eyes to the one, mess up and lie to the one that you love."

"You can be kind to the one that you love."

"I know you need the upper hand even when we aren't fighting."

"In the past, you had to prepare every time."

"Don't wanna leave."

"If you're gonna fight, then do it for me."

"I know you're built to love, but broken down."

"I know it's hard for you, but it's not fair."

#rp sentence starters #rp sentence meme #rp sentence prompts #sentence starters #sentence meme #sentence prompts #lyric sentence starters #lyric starters #music starters #rp meme #rp memes #rp prompts #ask meme #*mystarters #*manic

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atruththatyoudeny · 5 years

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Monthly Reads | August 2019

Oh, look, it's the 28th again! Celebrating the launch of Gucci's new fragrance and the fantastic new pics I had to reread Landslide. Other than that there are 21 fics in this list - and like always: so many thanks go out to all the amazing authors in this fandom who share their stories with us! ♥

Landslide | aimmyarrowshigh , spibsy (lucy_and_ramona) | historical - 1970s - cults - undercover - psychological drama - racism - period typical attitudes - internalized homophobia - PTSD - and more...please read all the tags carefully - 143k The year is 1976. In November, Jimmy Carter will take control of the White House. Americans are meeting Laverne & Shirley at their apartment in Milwaukee. Hotel California diverges from the reign of Kool & the Gang. And the FBI is still reeling from the repercussions of Watergate, the tragedy at Wounded Knee, Operation Family Secrets, and the strategic terrors of the anti-cult movement. That's what Special Agent Harry Styles has been told is the basis of his mission to an abandoned farmhouse in rural New Hampshire. With his hair grown out long and his shirt untucked, he's going undercover to do reconnaissance on suspected cult leader Louis Tomlinson, who has led a group of people out into the middle of nowhere, leaving no record of the life he'd had before. All Harry knows is what the agency gave him: Tomlinson's name, and instructions to figure out what he's doing with the eleven people he brought with him. In the year that Harry spends undercover and under Louis Tomlinson's wing, he learns more than he ever expected.

I Drove All Night (To Get To You) | lovelarry10 | famous/not famous - strangers to lovers - pining - fluff - 23k Harry’s job as a chauffeur for the rich and famous was not as flashy as he’d thought. Late nights having to listen to the ridiculous demands and whims of these high profile clients leaves him disheartened with the world he thought was all glitz and glamour. One night his boss asks him a favour. To collect one last client before he clocks off. Only problem is when that client gets into the car it’s Louis Tomlinson. As in Harry’s all time crush. As in future husband and father of all his children Louis Tomlinson. He can be cool and professional, right?

Live Like You Were Dying | YesIsAWorld | car accidents - love confessions - self discovery - 2k I’m in love with you. The phone fell from his hand, and the world went black.

Calling Clifford | noellehenry | fluff - humor - 10k The summer AU where Clifford has his own peculiar ways of matchmaking.

Home Remedies | kingsofeverything (FullOnLarrie) | friends to lovers - smut - 4k Louis’ hiccups just won’t stop. Harry, his roommate and best friend, is willing to do anything to help.

Traffic Light | dinosaursmate | Traffic Light Party - smut - friends with benefits - 7k Harry, a university student fresh out of a relationship, attends a Traffic Light Party. He knew all about the red, yellow and green cups, but the blue one confuses him. What does DTF mean, anyway?

Down On the Farm | kingsofeverything (FullOnLarrie) | bonfires - farm/ranch - smut - 5k Every Friday night there's a steady cloud of dust That leads back to a field filled with pickup trucks Got old Hank crankin', way up loud Got coolers in the back, tailgates down There's a big fire burnin' but don't be alarmed It's just country boys and girls gettin' down on the farm — “Down On the Farm” by Tim McGraw

Driving On The Wrong Side, Thinking Of You | dinosaursmate | Marcel AU - implied/ referenced homophobia - High School AU - friends to lovers - promiscuity - 25k Louis is the most popular guy in sixth form. Don't get the wrong idea, he's a good guy, and he absolutely won't stand for his friends teasing his neighbour, Marcel.

Restless Lane | jaerie | a/b/o - secret identity - childhood friends - secrets - friends to lovers - angst - 14k Louis had grown used to his boring life back in Mississippi as a stand-in father figure to his siblings. He never expected his childhood friend to show up on his lawn with the heat of summer or that he would remind Louis how much of himself he'd tucked away and neglected. He also never expected to find himself caught up in a tangled web of feelings or secrets that just might break him. Maybe he had never known Harry at all.

Waiting for the tides to meet | nauticalleeds (metamorphosis) | soulmates - pining - miscommunication - angst - fluff - friends to lovers - slow burn - 60k Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart. Featuring a lovely cup of OT5, a road trip down the coast, and a scene where Harry eats a whole head of lettuce. Don't ask why.

If I Stay | Rearviewdreamer | Walk In The Clouds AU - fake/pretend relationship - mpreg - slow burn - 37k Harry and Louis agree to a temporary arrangement that Harry can't seem to walk away from no matter how many times he tries.

Mirror Touch | pinky_heaven19 | Synesthesia - hurt/comfort - fluff - pining - strangers to lovers - 58k The one where Harry owns a second-hand clothing store, and Louis is a radio host. Louis has mirror-touch synesthesia, which makes him experience what people around him feel. He feels a lot around Harry.

In Your Black Heart (Is Where You'll Find Me) | graceling_in_a_suit | a/b/o - omega/omega - pirates - historical - 36k Louis Tomlinson has been lying for five years. His crew sees him as a pirate, a Captain, and an alpha; only two of those are the truth. He was content to let the illusion go on forever, but an omega named Harry Styles just had to join his crew and get his warm-vanilla stink all over Louis' best laid plans. Or: the story of The Captain and The Carpenter.

Supposed to Be | kikikryslee | High School - stereotypes - enemies to friends to lovers - slow burn - hate to love - 26k The Geek Charming AU where Harry's a film geek, Louis' a popular jock, and they both need each other to get what they want.

Meet me where the tulips grow | tempolarriefics | study abroad - fluff - 19k The one where Harry studies abroad and falls in love with both the city of Amsterdam and the boy he explores it with.

When i'm set alight | mixedfandomfics | teacher AU - hate to love - misunderstandings - 14k Louis and Harry hate each other. Always have, always will. No one is quite sure how they will handle it when their favorite students ask them to lead a new LGBT club at their school.

Breathe In, Breathe Out | dinosaursmate | friends to lovers - pining - 12k Louis Tomlinson begins visiting a new pub on his lunch break, mostly because he really fancies Harry, the cute, curly-haired barman. As Louis gears up to ask him out, he doesn't realise that there is a huge stumbling block in his way: Harry is taken, and by someone rather familiar.

I am mad all about you | godslut | med students - coffe shop - 5k Harry is a pre-med student trying to quit coffee. louis pretends to be spider-man to make kids laugh.

Welcome Back From The Friend Zone | 2tiedships2 | a/b/o - friends to lovers - fake/pretend relationship - mutual pining - 32k The one where an idea to create a fake wedding with the sole intent to receive gifts from billionaires took a turn no one, but also everyone, saw coming.

A Life That's Good (series) | lovelarry10 | fluff - kid fic - adoption - light angst - 66k Harry and Louis were married young, but always knew that they wanted a family together. Soon, through adoption, Hope came into their lives, and was later joined by her younger brother Oscar. Join the Tomlinsons on their journey in family life. ① You're My Only Hope Harry and Louis have been hoping to start a family for a while, but it hasn't happened for them just yet. With the surprise arrival of a newborn baby on the doorstep at work, are their family dreams about to become reality? ② Tiny Dancer It's Hope's first ballet recital, and Harry and Louis are more than excited to watch their four year old daughter perform for the first time. ③ Who You Are Things are going wonderfully for Harry and Louis. Their family has never been stronger. When a connection to their son’s past appears out of nowhere, it makes them wonder what lies ahead for the future of their family. ④ We Got Love Harry and Louis thought their family was complete. They were wrong. ⑤ Follow Your Arrow Hope has a crush, but she’s scared to tell her parents, especially Louis. Harry helps her figure out how to break the news to her other dad, who is ultimately nothing but wonderful. ⑥ Summer Love The Tomlinsons are off on a summer holiday before it’s time for everything to change...

Night Changes | colourexplosion | soulmates - supernatural elements - werewolves - light angst - 40k Louis and Harry are soulmates. (With a twist.)

From The Heart | jacaranda_bloom | coffee shop AU - 25k Every Tuesday, Louis spends his day off holed up in his favorite coffee-come-bookshop, writing his little stories as part of the WordPlay challenge while daydreaming about the resident barista, Harry. Each week a new word prompt is revealed and Louis adds to his series of short stories about Henry, the owner of a B&B in the Cotswolds who has curly hair and dimples, Lewis, his long term guest who just happens to be a writer, and Tigger, Henry’s cat. As Louis and Harry’s friendship develops, could his fantasy world spill out into real life? And how does that reader who leaves the lovely comments with the teacup emoji seem to be able to read Louis’ mind? ① Henry and Lewis Louis hangs out in his local coffee shop to work on his weekly WordPlay Prompt, speaks to his beloved muse aka Harry the gorgeous barista, embarrasses himself in front of said muse, and receives a comment on AO3 from his favourite reader. ② Smuturday Louis struggles with this week's WordPlay prompt before finding inspiration, and a date, in an unexpected place, and could there be more going on with his favourite reader than he originally thought. ③ Tea For Two Louis grapples with what to do about his new found suspicions over his favourite readers real-life identity. ④ Life Imitating Art Louis is taken on a very real journey through his fic back catalogue - life has never imitated art so salaciously. ⑤ Entertain Me All good things must come to an end, including the WordPlay challenge. But while Louis has mixed emotions about its end, and struggling to make sense of the final prompt, he is relishing every aspect of his newly revitalised personal life.

#28th appreciation #1d fanworks appreciation #monthly reads #fic rec #my reads #my fic rec #larry fics

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disinvited-guest · 4 years

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3/9/2020 Detroit

The venue staff were much better for this show, primarily because they were able to chill out just a little. I’m not sure if they had gotten a sense of how harmless tmbg fans were from the night before, or if Flans, who had seemed a bit peeved at how uptight they were, gave someone an earful. Either way, they still were a bit strict about some things, but much more relaxed than they had been.

As with the previous night, I was able to hear all of the soundcheck while waiting in line in the bar. They were practicing a bunch of songs I hadn’t yet heard on the tour, all of which they did play during the show. I heard Authenticity Trip, Memo to Human Resources, Number 3, and Man It’s So Loud In Here, and I just got more excited for each and every one. The soundcheck changed to just individuals trying different things out for a while, and then that stopped and they started soundchecking With the Dark.

The rest of the wait was relatively uneventful, and soon we were let inside. To change things up, I found a spot squarely in front of the drum riser. I think the security fence was set slightly closer to the stage than it had been the day before, but the added distance actually worked to my advantage today, as I could see more of the other side of the stage. I always forget how much I enjoy shows from this side of the stage until I actually get there. It’s different from over on the larger side of the stage, but that just makes it another type of wonderful.

Once again, the first set was the same Flood set from the last several nights, so the recap of the first set will be slightly shortened. I have a few general notes before I begin. Fresh was wearing neon doce socks, and once again had his hair in pigtails. This show was the first since Milwaukee where Dan was able to get through the first set without switching to his backup guitar. Marty was absolutely on fire the whole set. There were also a series of cold breezes coming from multiple directions towards the end of the set.

Coming onstage, Linnell was doing his wavy-armed walk to get up to his keyboard. During The Might Be Giants, Flans was apparently having a problem with his guitar, and desperately trying to get the crew’s attention while singing. Eventually, towards the end of the song, he started singing “John Carter look at me” in place of the actual lyrics (the repeated “they might be giants” at the song’s conclusion). It must have worked, because Flans stopped wildly gesturing offstage after that.

After We Want a Rock, Linnell took the task of welcoming us to the show, before Flans made it up to the mic to tell everyone that it was an exciting day for him, “If you came to the show last night, you’ll notice that I just got a haircut.” He called it one of the few perks of staying in the same city for two nights before launching into a detailed account of the event.

Apparently, his barber asked him what he was doing in town, “and, reluctantly, I told her the truth.” He then told us that usually he lies, and that when a cab driver sees his guitar case and asks if he’s in a band he tells them “Yes, I’m in Fountains of Wayne.”

He continued, saying that he has a “whole fanfiction thing going on” to explain why he doesn’t show up in photographs.

“When it turns out the cabbie is a Fountains of Wayne fan who’s like ‘I didn't see you on the album cover’” Linnell interjected.

“Yeah,” Flans agreed. “I’m just covering my tracks for the inevitable Google Search after.”

Getting back to his haircut story, Flans said “I told this woman I was in a band. She did not ask me the name of the band but she did tell me the entire plot of the movie Queen.”

This got a huge laugh from the crowd, but Flans wasn’t done yet telling us his story. The plot of the movie “lasted just about the entire haircut length. Which was great. I’ve gotta see that movie.”

He then moved to to explain the setup of the show, telling us they had put two songs from Flood in the second set “so that the friends that you dragged here will stick around.”

When Flans asked Linnell about his day, Linnell replied promptly “I’ve just been goofing off.” He then told us that every other time they come to Detroit, he checks up on the city, and this time he found a lot more “boutique-y” stores downtown “and we’ve been informed that that is both good and horrible.” He concluded that he was “excited and disgusted” to see how Detroit comes along.

Flans told us that they were “standing in judgement” from 450 miles away. Linnell agreed, but said the crowd was welcome to judge New York as well.“

But only from 450 miles,” Flans told him. “Those are the rules.”

Introducing the next song, Linnell told us it was off the Flood album, and that it was probably the second shortest song on the album.

“No spoilers, John!” Flans interrupted.

“No?” Linnell continued “And here’s another spoiler: it contains unlicensed samples. OOOH!”

“Now I beg you to shut up!”

“You guys ready for this?” Linnell asked, and they launched into Minimum Wage.

I think it was during Particle Man that Danny, backing up towards the drum riser while playing, bumped into it and sat down with a bit of a thump. He stayed sitting there for a few measures before he got up again.

After Hearing Aid, Flans came up to the mic and, without preamble, told us “So, then Queen fired their manager, and they had the opportunity to do Live Aid. Which changed everything for them. Because they rehearsed.”

Moving on to introducing the next song, Flans repeated his preamble from the day before about playing songs backwards, then told us they were embarking into uncharted territory “where the entertainment value is very low,” and that he hoped that our “thresholds of pleasure are set very finely tonight.”

He explained that they weren’t just flipping the chart, but playing what the sound recording backwards would sound like. “So if one was to reverse the live performance in front of you right now-if you could do that-it would reproduce the actual song, incredibly effectively. If you could do that. But you can’t, so we’re just gonna tell you that.”

He concluded “We’re not sure why we’re doing this, but we practiced it, and we’re committed to it, so we’re going to play it.”

He then introduced the members of the band individually. We were asked to scream for Marty, and then for Danny, who Flans pointed out especially to the ladies. He introduced Dan as “on the electric guitar, with his eyes glued to the chart he made himself.” While we cheered for Dan, Danny lifted his bass and pointed the neck of it at Dan as Flans continued “perhaps the finest electric guitarist in They Might Be Giants.”

“This song is called… Well it doesn’t really have a title,” Flans told us, and they started Stilloob. Maybe it was that they were getting more confident with it, but I do believe that this was their best performance yet!

Afterwards, Linnell responded to the crowd’s applause by saying thoughtfully “We should get you guys applaud before we play it, if we’re doing this correctly.”

“That was really the best applause that song has gotten thus far,” Flans decided. “You are really on the vanguard.” He then predicted that in the future, when all songs are backwards, Stilloob will be seen as the ‘Rock Around The Clock’ of the movement. He then imitated a person form the future explaining their musical tastes “I’m not into songs, man. I’m into songs that are played in reverse. I like digital, I like CD’s. I like the sound of CD’s in reverse. It’s got digital harshness, that’s what I like.”

Someone in the crowd shouted something, and Flans answered back that “I want to hear every word you’re saying, but part of me is saying we should resist that.”

Linnell introduced the next song as being the fastest sung in their entire repertoire (Letterbox), and Flans agreed, saying that they had officially entered the “stunt part of the program: stunt songs.”

After Lucky Ball and Chain, Flans admitted he was curious how many people had been to the show the night before. Finding one person who had been he said directly to them “I just want to tell you that the second set is almost completely different. But this part is music under glass. We’re gonna tell the Queen jokes…”

“As you know,” Linnell continued when Flans trailed off, “we’re doing the exact same raps, including what I’m saying right now. As we said last night.”

“I’m getting my hair cut every day,” Flans agreed.

Apparently this reminded Flans of their conversation from the start of the set, because he asked Linnell if he really hadn’t gone to a museum or something that day.

Linnell responded that he really had just goofed off but “A mystical thing happened to me.” He then explained that he had a can of Faygo “my very first can of Faygo.” This got laughs and cheers from the crowd, and Linnell responded “I know. I can feel the clown makeup just starting to grow on my face.”

He tried to continue with his story, but Flans had gone upstage and grabbed a can of Faygo that had been sitting there, which he was now holding up, causing the crowd to start cheering once again. He started to say something about it, but Linnell interrupted him “Let me finish the story, before you start in with your jokes.”

“It’s taking too long, John,” Flans argued, “It’s taking too long.”

Linnell replied “Alright. Let’s just play the next song, forget it. Nevermind. It wasn’t that interesting anyway.” The crowd reacted instantly, demanding the rest of the story, so Linnell finally got his chance to continue. He had set the can of Faygo on a table and fallen asleep, then “I was awoken by the sound of it falling to the floor, but it was still upright. And I thought, ‘I don't’ know what just happened, but there’s something special about this beverage.’”

“Do you think it was the ghost of Insane Clown Posse?” Flans asked, finally free to ‘start in with his jokes’, “Reaching out from before the grave?”

Linnell responded that, from what he knew, ICP wasn’t reluctant to spill Faygo so that didn’t seem likely. Someone in the audience asked him what flavor it was, and he responded that it was Root Beer.

This got some cheers and a lot of shouted responses from the crowd. Flans, trying to get things back on track, seemed slightly annoyed by the shouts, and responded sarcastically “please, talk amongst yourselves for a little while.”

They played Hot Cha, then brought the topic right back to Faygo, with Linnell announcing “Hot Cha, ladies and gentlemen, sponsored by Faygo Root Beer.”

“I always thought that Fayo was like a cocktail put together by the Insane Clown Posse,” Flans admitted, once again holding his can of the stuff. “Then when I saw this I was like ‘Man, they are ripping them off!’ Lawsuit!”

He put the can down and then continued “But I guess it’s just… they really like soda.”

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say in Detroit. A few people in the crowd cried out “Pop!” “It’s pop!” Other members of the crowd took up the cry, until the room buzzed with it.

Nobody on the stage had any clue what was going on, but realized the crowd was upset. Flans tried to smooth things over, obviously confused “Understand...understand…”

“We are on the outside of this discussion,” Linnell chimed in, coming to his aid. “You guys know what it is…”

Flans, inspired, thought that the anger might be some sort of defense of ICP. “I just want to make it clear,” he said, in a misdirected attempt to smooth things over, “that we are down with the clown.”

This got a laugh from the crowd, and a visibly relieved Flans continued “After that whole FBI thing, I was nervous they didn’t have enough representation.”

That might have been the end of the Beverage Wars, but a few determined people in the crowd started up the “Pop!” cry again, with a few people even beginning to chant it.

Flans, interrupted once again, looked out over the crowd and determined “It seems like fights are breaking out in the audience now, John.”

This stirred up the crowd even more. Flans tried again to calm the crowd while still not sure what they were angry about “Guys, guys, guys…”

He was interrupted by Linnell, who had finally grasped what was going on, “Okay, okay, I get it!” He explained to Flans “They say pop, we say soda. It’s a different language.” As soon as Linnell said the word ‘pop’ emphasizing the final ‘p’ as if it was completely foreign to him, a huge cheer rose from the crowd.

Flans immediately turned this new information into a joking lecture on the cultural differences “We’re from New York City, that means we’re gonna get on stage late. That’s the way it works! People are different, everybody’s got their own thing.” This was all said in an overly-patient voice. “We would change, if we knew how to.”

Linnell, who seemed genuinely amused, chimed in with his thickest Boston accent “But you’ll be cryin’ when we’re havin’ our victory party later on.”

This got laughs from the crowd and Flans cracked a smile, replying in the same voice “At Boston Garden!”

“That’s right!”

“When I put my thumb in my eye.”

Linnell responded with a stadium-organ style scale from his keyboard. There was a beat and both looked a shade embarrassed. Eventually Linnell, recovering, said “Alright, here we go. Another song,” and started them into Women and Men. Linnell switched the words shipwreck and beachhead, singing them in the other’s place.

After Someone Keeps Moving My Chair, Flans stepped up with the picture disk in hand and asked Saul for a “big white spotlight you can throw on me.” He told us he had forgotten to do this yesterday, but was reminded by their new t-shirt person and he promised us that if we bought the picture disk “you could make your money back on ebay right away.”

“We have been asked on social media if it’s true that picture disks don’t sound as good as regular vinyl records,” Flans continued. “And my first thought to write back is like ‘well what do you want it to sound like?’” He admitted that picture disks didn’t sound quite as good but “they have PICTURES on them, which is I think the larger point.” He then introduced the zoetrope on the back, saying they had sweetened the pot with it and promised us “a beautiful visual effect that will remind you of psychedelic drugs.” He concluded by promising that this was “the best sounding zoetrope you will ever see.”

After Whistling In the Dark, Linnell stopped them from moving on because “I just have something to say about that last song.” He told us all that they do a lot of Flood songs slightly different from how they are on the record, and “I was reminded on this song that we completely changed where the big smash sound happens, ‘cause I saw someone in the audience doing it where it happens on the RECORD, and I was like ‘Oh NO! Eugh, no!’”

He then assured us that the live version was the correct one “We did it wrong on the record, and now we’re doing it the right way.”

Flans chimed in with his own observations on the live version of the song, saying that playing familiar songs “at less 4-cup-of-coffee-in-the-studio tempos” gives him “the distinct impression that people just think we’re tired. But there’s no explaining it.” He then did his best impression of the part of the song in question “But it goes ‘Whistling in the dark BOMP, whistling in the dark-”

“It should do that, yeah,” Linnell interrupted.

“It’s a more musical way of doing it, that’s our best explanation” Flans continued.

This reminded Flans of the difference between the album and live versions of another Flood song. Without telling us the title of the song, he explained that they had left out a verse when recording and “didn’t have enough juice, or whatever the term is, to tell the producer people, like ‘we have to redo it.’” Explaining that he sang the missing verse in the live version of the song, he told us that during shows “People will be singing along and then when it gets to that verse, they just stop. ‘Cause nobody knows those words. But we will, uhh-”

Flans had been distracted by a guy in the crowd shouting out the song’s title (Road Movie To Berlin), and responded “No spoilers, man! No spoilers!” The end of this scolding was muffled as Flans lost the battle to keep from cracking up, then moved away from his mic stand for a moment.

Linnell gave him time to recover by promising us “Just bear in mind , we’re older and smarter now than we were then, so this is the right version.”

“You came to the right show, people,” Flans agreed. “We know it’s disorienting when the bass drum is on the opposite beat.”

After Birdhouse, Flans turned Linnell’s accordion mic around to face the crowd. “I just realized the song I was talking about is coming up next,” he told us all. “So I’ve turned the microphone around to you so we can slightly amplify the parts you can sing along to, to which we encourage! And then don’t be afraid of the parts you don’t know. It’s just a little bit different.”

People really took the invitation to sing along to heart, which made it all the more hilarious when, of course, they petered out during the King of Liars verse.

Nothing too noteworthy happened between sets, although I finally was able to successfully pinpoint the end of the new cue song. They used the Godzilla Intro once again, with Linnell speaking over the end of it in his best creepy-TV-narrator voice “Hello...And welcome back.”

Flans introduced Marty on the electronic drums “nothing says unplugged better,” and then made the claim that “In the world of drummers, Marty is Faygo.”

Flans was about to start the first song of the set, when he stopped and decided it needed a better introduction. At this point, I was expecting the Quiet Storm to be identical to the others so far on the tour, so I was completely shocked with Flans explained “This song is the full-length version of a song that a fragment of it was on the album The Else, and we’re gonna perform the entire song called With the Dark.”

And then they performed it. Even though I’d heard strains of them soundchecking it earlier, I hadn’t known it would be this version, or that it would be so beautiful to witness firsthand.

Moving back to more familiar ground, they played 2082 and then Flans introduced Wicked Little Critta, “Ladies and Gentlemen we are now gonna move to the place where John and I first met. It’s a song about New England and it features the Keyboard Stylings of Mr. John Linnell.”

Finishing out the Quiet Storm, they left the stage to a projection of the Gudetama’s Busy Days video, which was a welcome change from Underwater Woman, which they’d used at the last three shows I’d attended. The guys were all onstage before the video ended and Dan, who was apparently raring to go, started Damn Good Times the moment after the last note of the video had finished. Flans didn’t make us sway along to Dan’s solo this time, but he did introduce him as the “King of Pop” beforehand, and demand a “sea of hands” midway through.

This began a truly amazing set. The guys were all at the top of their game, and clearly enjoying themselves as well. They also played a lot of songs I hadn’t gotten to hear yet on this tour, starting right after Damn Good TImes as they went straight into Man It’s So Loud In Here.

Afterwards, Flans started to introduce the next song, claiming that it was on a compilation album of things they’d done during their 2015 Dial-A-Song year. Pausing, he decided “No, it was before that.... It was on an album…that we made...What?” This last bit was directed at Danny, who had come up next to him. Danny said something urgently into his ear, likely the song listed next on the setlist, and Flans responded with a quiet “Oh..” As Danny returned to his spot, Flans grabbed the mic with both hands and whispered into it “Fuuuucck.” Raising his voice out of the whisper, he continued “I don’t even know what song we’re doing.”

Recovering his stage presence and pivoting topics, Flans said, as if he was picking up a story he’d just stopped telling a moment ago, “So, at a certain point Queen realized that if they wrote songs they could do WITH the audience, that it would be like a whole new way of getting everybody involved. And that’s why this song was written.”

This was clearly meant as a graceful exit into the next song, but Linnell had more to say on the topic. “Except… I think he wasn’t wearing the fake teeth in the real story, right? I’m pretty sure.”

“That mustache didn’t look real,” Flans told him.

“I saw the movie, actually,” Linnell admitted.

“Ohh,” Flans was a bit disappointed. “How was the mustache?”

“I-You know- That guy’s a good actor,” Linnell replied, evading the question.

“And he’s a REALLY good singer,” Flans added.

Missing the sarcasm in Flans’ voice, Linnell said “He’s a good singer. You’re not joking around.”

“I actually was joking around,” Flans told him.

“No-no, he’s good.”

“It’s Freddie Mercury,” Flans said flatly.

“But I think the guy can sing,” Linnell insisted. “The robot… The robot guy.” This drew laughs from the crowd, which Linnell stoked by declaring “The robot guy!” once again.

“My acting friends thought that the Oscar should go to Freddie Mercury,” Flans said, as the crowd quieted.

“Oh really?” Linnell asked, “ To the….the robot guy, or to the real Freddie Mercury…”

“No, no, ‘cause he’s lip-synching along to the thing,” Flans clarified.

Linnell answered with a non-committal ‘oh’ and then, after an awkward moment of quiet, brought up that “I hate movies where you’re instructed to like something because members of the audience in the movie are going ‘This is good.’” He completed his impression with a thumbs up and a nodding head. “It drives me crazy. I don’t need a proxy on the screen, I can decide for myself if something is good or not.”

This got a cheer and applause from one solitary member of the crowd. Linnell pointed him out and thanked him for applauding, then Flans declared “This show is dedicated to that guy applauding,” they then finally got around to introducing the next song: Wearing a Raincoat.

From there they played Authenticity Trip, which is always an amazing song to watch live, with Flans roaming around the stage to sing. Introducing Curt as he came on the stage for the next song, Flans told us all “During the break, Curt informed us that in Oklahoma, where he grew up, they refer to all soda-pop...all cola... they refer to everything as Coke. So you just say, like ‘You want a coke? What kind? Orange?’ That’s how it works there.”

This got a reaction from the crowd, who grumbled at the term coke, and even started yelling out a few states where they used the word that way. Flans concluded “There are regional differences everywhere ladies and gentlemen. We’re just ambassadors of disinformation.”

“Which is a way of saying, you were hurting our feelings when you were yelling at us before,” Linnell explained, amused.

“When we saw there was a clamor, we just assumed it was Insane Clown Posse fans,” Flans confessed, “Your mind jumps to that in rock music. We didn’t realise it was the whole pop versus soda thing.” He then started growling deep in his throat in what I can only assume was an imitation of what the upset crowd had sounded like to them.

After watching Flans do that a few times, Linnell moved on with another story about crowds and pronunciations. “I can’t remember if I’ve told you this,” he said, looking over at Flans briefly before addressing the crowd “but I had a solo act about twenty years ago and I had a song. The name of the song was ‘Oregon is Bad’ and I played it in Oregon and people were not offended by the title of the song. They were really offended that I mispronounced the name of their state. That was the- that’s why I had to leave in a hurry. So, you know, I get it!”

“Somebody threw a bottle of Faygo through your windshield,” Flans added.

“Yeah, yeah,” Linnell agreed with a laugh. “So here’s another song not off of Flood.”

This led into Turn Around, and from there straight into Spy. I absolutely love the intro to this song, especially during shows like this, where Curt feels like showing off a bit. The ending was pretty standard for this tour. Linnell used his ‘Take It to the Limit’ sample opposite of and over the band, at normal and slowed down speeds. Flans did a bit of stuff with playing his guitar pressed up against his mic stand opposite the band, and worked in the crowd relatively successfully. At one point, Flans started to indicate the band, but changed his mind part way through and stopped his hand. Marty played anyway, which made some other members of the band play with him. Everyone soon realized what had happened and all looked over at Marty, who must’ve been a bit distressed, because Flans indicated it was his bad at the time and actually went over behind the drum riser after the song to apologize to Marty.

While Flans was dealing with that, the crowd became a bit restless and a few people started to shout out songs. Flans, coming back up to the front, let them go on for a bit. Once the crowd had gone quiet, he commented sarcastically “I was just gonna wait here until someone requested the next song.” This led to another flurry of requests, which Flans quashed with “Guys, guys, guys. We really are from New York City. People don’t- that whole request thing…”

People were still shouting out requests, but Flans ignored them. “It’s like, you know, feel good to a certain extent and then you draw the line. Here’s a song about that. It’s called Memo to Human Resources.” Confession time: I actually cried a little during this song.The song holds a very special place in my heart, and the live experience of it is overwhelmingly emotional for me.

They followed up with Don’t Let’s Start, which is always super fun to watch Flans and Danny spin around during. Dan and Curt returned to the stage and Flans, introducing them, tried on his announcer voice “CAESAR’S PALACE IS PROUD TO PRESENT…”

“That was the thing we did in Chicago, where the guy was like ‘I’M COMPLETELY SINCERE!’” Linnell explained, “I’VE NEVER HEARD OF ANY OF THESE ACTS!”

“I’M YOUR DAD’S ALCOHOLIC FRIEND!” Flans shot back “PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR HEY MUST BE GIANTS!”

This got a mix of laughter and applause from the crowd, which Flans responded to, still in the voice “KEEP IT GOING! FOR AIN’T THEY GUNS.”

Seizing on the moment of quiet after that pronouncement, Danny began the intro to Museum of Idiots. Four songs from Spine in one night! Afterwards Flans briefly introduced Dan, and everyone else stepped back to let Dan begin his intro to Istanbul. After a few fake endings, with some of Dan’s electric and a lot of Curt’s amazing everyone, Dan and Marty left the stage. Flans thanked everybody for coming out and introduced the final song of the night as “the song I thought ended the first set for the last four nights,” Theme From Flood.

(Note: I had no idea of this at the time of course, but Flans’ goodbye had a bit more emotion in it than is typical, and I’m guessing that at this point they were already rescheduling the rest of the April shows.)

Coming on for the first encore, the crowd was a bit rowdy, and Flans made the comment that “I once saw a guy defeated by a mic stand,” before they started the first song of the encore: Number Three! During this song, Marty just plays his kick drum. Danny, coming to the side of the drum riser, looked over at what Marty was doing and began copying his leg movement. It looked more than a bit silly, especially since Danny was grinning hugely up at Marty so he would notice.

“Mr. Dan Miller will be playing the keyboard on the next number,” Flans announced

“Mr. Dan Mil-Ler,” Linnell repeated, with a bit of a call back to the announcers voices they had tried out earlier.

“YOUR DAD’S ALCOHOLIC FRIEND IS ANNOUNCING MR. DAN MILLER ON THE KEYBOARDS,” Flans added, liking the idea.

“MISTER DANNY MY-LER,” Linnell claimed. Dropping the voice with a bit of a laugh, he started to ask “What was that thing where-”

Flans cut him off with a “DANNY MY-LER PLEASE MOVE YOUR CAR!”

Undeterred, Linnell continued telling us about their sometimes trombone player Dan Levine. Apparently, when he was playing in Frank Sinatra’s orchestra “he played that famous trombone solo in You Make me Feel So Young at which point Frank Sinatra said- this is the only time he’d ever called out our trombone player- ‘JOHNNY LEVINE!’” Watching the crowd react, he concluded quietly, “you know, it’s the thought that counts.”

They finished out the first encore with “a song that we do” Doctor Worm. I think Dan finally had the keyboard settings figured out! Just before the trumpet's final bit that ends the song, Linnell called out “Johnny Ramm!”

Coming back onstage for the second encore, they went right into She’s An Angel. I hadn’t realized before, but Marty puts a tambourine on top of his hi hat for this song. They went from Angel to The Guitar without any more of a pause than it took for Linnell to switch from accordion to keys. Flans sang “is it Johnny Levine/ I don’t think so” during the first verse, and introduced Johnny Linnell and Johnny Ramm for an especially interesting and extended Future of Sound. Everybody onstage was really going all out the whole song, including Dan doing what I can only describe as prancing while he played, and as they finished Flans thanked us all for coming one more time before leaving the stage.

The rest of the band quickly followed him as the house mix began playing. Except Danny that is, instead of leaving right away, he grabbed his setlist and walked over to me. He had to step out onto the amp and lean across the aisle for me to reach it. I took it with a big smile, which he returned before heading offstage.

#tmbg #recap

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armlickers · 5 years

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Middle Of Everywhere World Tour :: Enmore Theatre :: June 22 2017

(Originally posted to my Dreamwidth on June 27 2017.)

+ + +

June 22nd featured not only my second show for the tour, but also my third-ever MOE and my seventh Hanson show overall. Rather than sit on my arse all day at the Enmore being babysat by the other fanclub members (and going crazy from boredom and the cold in the process), I chose to spend the day with a friend instead. We got Starbucks from QVB and went shopping at Broadway Shopping Centre, and she helped me pick out an outfit for the show that night to go with the jeans I was already wearing – a top from H&M, and a scarf and sandals from Kmart. We parted company just before four o’clock, and I caught a bus out to the Enmore to join the lineup for MOE.

That evening wasn’t without its share of drama, though. Full disclosure here – I have an anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder to be exact. One of my triggers is crowds, which until now hasn’t included the pit at concerts. And it picked Thursday of all days to flare up. I ended up having two anxiety attacks in fairly quick succession – one just after half past five, a little bit before we all went inside the Enmore for MOE, and the second one right after I joined the crowd on the dancefloor. A group of fans got me through the first one (which they are absolute angels for), while security took me out of the crowd and into the café next door so I could calm down for the second one. I knew there was no way I could go and stand in the crowd again, not without it triggering a third anxiety attack, so they found me a chair to sit on well back from the crowd. Aside from that, though, MOE was pretty awesome.

1. Somebody That Wants To Love You 2. Ghostwriter 3. Reach Out For My Hand 4. I Don't Want To Go Home 5. Call Out My Name (Zac solo, on piano) 6. More Than Anything (Isaac solo, also on piano) 7. Never Let Go (Taylor solo) 8. No Rest For The Weary 9. White Collar Crime

After the performance and the Q&A session, we had our group photos taken. I stood next to Isaac for mine with his arm around my shoulders (I usually stand with Taylor, so it was nice to change things up a bit), and as soon as it was done I worked up the nerve to ask for something I’d wanted for a very long time, ever since I became a Hanson fan – a hug from Taylor. He said yes without even hesitating. His hugs are amazing, and it made me feel a whole lot better after those bastard anxiety attacks knocked me around. It was quite possibly one of the best late birthday presents I could ever have hoped for.

Right before I went to buy my merchandise, I messaged my mum (a fellow Hanson fan) on Facebook to tell her what had just happened.

Being as these concerts were part of my overall birthday present (my birthday being right at the beginning of June, two weeks before the Sydney shows), I treated myself to plenty of tour merch – a tour shirt, a new hoodie, a CD copy of the Play EP, a keyring and a set of stickers. Went upstairs to find my seat after that.

Jason’s second Sydney set was much the same as the previous evening’s, with one small difference – the addition of a cover of John Farnham’s You’re The Voice that had been requested by my friend Alicia in place of the previous night’s 4 Non Blondes cover, one that he absolutely nailed. Hearing the entire crowd singing along just about made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Nine o’clock heralded Hanson’s arrival onstage for the final time in Sydney this tour, and they treated us to another epic show.

1. I've Got Soul 2. A Minute Without You 3. Already Home 4. Waiting For This 5. Where's The Love 6. Look At You 7. Tragic Symphony 8. Thinkin' 'Bout Somethin' 9. I Will Come To You (piano/audience choir) 10. Juliet 11. Strong Enough To Break 12. Penny And Me 13. Watch Over Me 14. Yearbook 15. Too Much Heaven (a cappella) 16. On And On (acoustic) 17. I Was Born 18. Man From Milwaukee 19. Get The Girl Back 20. I'm A Man 21. Shake Your Tailfeather 22. Gimme Some Lovin' 23. Long Train Runnin' 24. MMMBop 25. If Only 26. Fired Up 27. In The City

Encore:

28. This Time Around 29. Long Way To The Top

Highlights of the second show were Yearbook, I Will Come To You, Too Much Heaven, I Was Born (yes, again – I fucking adore that song), This Time Around and Long Way To The Top.

After the show ended I headed back to Newtown station, caught the train to Museum and walked back to the hostel, and went straight to bed.

On Friday morning as I was packing my things to leave for home, I discovered that my camera had gone missing. A search of my room and all of my bags turned up nothing. Not knowing what else to do, I first fired off an email to the Enmore’s box office describing my camera and asking them to get in touch if it was handed in, and then went through to Reception to ask if they could keep an eye out for my camera and to call me if it turned up. I left the hostel shortly after, heading back into the CBD via World Square – I bought bandaids and chocolate milk from Coles, a custard bun from Breadtop, and four CDs from JB Hi-Fi (Nickelback’s new album Feed The Machine, and the three Birds Of Tokyo albums I was missing – Day One, Universes, and their live album The Broken Strings Tour). Caught a train to Waterfall from Town Hall station, changed to the all-stops to Port Kembla, and took a taxi home once my train arrived in Wollongong. I was so tired that I went to bed for a nap not long after I got home, and was woken up by a phone call from the Enmore just before five o’clock that afternoon – they’d found my camera! :D I thanked them for finding it and told them I would be there next week to collect it. I have never been so relieved that it’s turned up, and I am so thankful that the Enmore staff was able to track it down for me.

On June 26th I caught the train up to Sydney again, changing at Redfern for a train to Newtown, and walked back out to the Enmore to pick my camera up from the box office. The Enmore staff are absolute angels for not only finding my camera, but for hanging onto it for me until I could pick it up. I’m going to be much more careful with it in the future.

This tour was everything I could have hoped for. Two amazing shows, another epic MOE, and finally getting a much-longed-for hug from Taylor. As I said to my friend Kris over IM a couple of days ago, I’ve got my photo and my hug – I can die happy now. :D Definitely looking forward to seeing them again the next time they come Down Under.

Once again, thanks to the wonderful staff at the Enmore Theatre, I’m able to post my photos from Thursday evening. Unfortunately the battery of my camera died very early on during Hanson’s set, but I did manage to get photos during MOE. As mentioned in my previous post, the camera I used was a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH1.

Instead of taking photos during Hanson’s second Sydney show, I went nuts posting videos on Instagram. Also as previously mentioned, my phone was a Samsung Galaxy S5.

Jason Singh's pretty much perfect cover of John Farnham's You're The Voice I Will Come To You Yearbook A cappella cover of the Bee Gees' Too Much Heaven I Was Born Man From Milwaukee Taylor rocking out during Long Train Runnin' MMMBop Taylor leading the crowd again on This Time Around The guys nailing Long Way To The Top

#hanson #concerts #middle of everywhere #review

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sportsgameqia-blog-blog · 5 years

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COLUMN: Appreciate, don't condemn, sports dynasties | Sports | crowrivermedia.com

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COLUMN: Appreciate, don't condemn, sports dynasties | Sports | crowrivermedia.com

Ah, Super Bowl Sunday. The annual tradition of gathering with friends, eating unhealthy foods and watching the New England Patriots.

For the third straight season and ninth time since 2001, the Patriots are playing in the big game. In a league structure designed to promote parity, the Patriots have showcased an incredible run of dominance in the NFL. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, it’s undeniable that their run of success — which includes nine straight AFC championship game appearances, 11 straight playoff berths and 19 consecutive winning seasons — is legendary. That’s a stretch never seen before in the NFL, and it likely won’t happen again for a very long time, if ever.

And it’s here where I plead for fans to appreciate their greatness. That Brady-led comeback in the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs? That was an absolute thing of beauty. And he’s been doing it consistently for almost two decades.

The Patriots operate smartly and efficiently. They rarely make stupid mistakes, and their system is successful with seemingly whoever they put on the field. Every move is calculated and well-thought out. It is so cool to see football played with such precision. And yet, they’re one of the most disliked teams in the sport. According to a recent online Leader poll, 77.2 percent of responders were not excited to watch the Super Bowl, likely due in part to the return of the Patriots to the big game.

A fellow modern dynasty that fans love to hate is the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have reached the NBA Finals four years in a row and have won 11 straight games as of this writing to claim the top spot in the Western Conference standings. It would be more surprising if the Warriors didn’t make the Finals than if they did.

The Warriors have arguably the greatest lineup of basketball players ever assembled in the NBA — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins. All five could find themselves in the Hall of Fame one day.

They have revolutionized the game of basketball with their 3-point shooting and fast-paced offense. The NBA has changed drastically since before they came to prominence, with many teams now trying to duplicate their 3-point success. They are incredibly fun to watch. A game could be close, and in a blink of an eye the Warriors are up by 20. Even blowout contests can be fun, simply because of how pretty their style of play can be.

And yet they, like the Patriots, draw the ire of fans nationwide. My question is: Why do fans not enjoy their favorite sport being played at an almost unprecedented level of greatness?

It’s not easy to form an elite team, and they’re usually only around for a short time. But the Warriors and Patriots are in a successful stretch of practically unrivaled territory, and it seems that fans want both to end as soon as possible.

The Warriors being dominant doesn’t take away from the fun of watching a mediocre Minnesota Timberwolves team on the outside of the playoff chase. They won on a buzzer-beater Wednesday night, and it wasn’t any less exciting just because they aren’t going to win a championship this year. My Milwaukee Bucks tout the best record in the Eastern Conference. Knowing the Warriors stand in the way of an NBA title doesn’t dampen the fun.

It’s silly when fans say they are “tired” of watching the Patriots or Warriors, as if witnessing greatness is taxing. Average football or basketball is played all the time. But to get the privilege of watching the sport being played as great as we’ve ever seen it is a treat.

Super Bowl Sunday is supposed to be the biggest and best football game of the year. What better way to accomplish that than to watch the best football dynasty of all time playing in it?

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posijeff-blog · 7 years

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Chapter 2, Young, Poor, and Jewish In my initial year at UWM I took two semesters of Biblical Hebrew language under Dr. Bernard Grossfield. Some of that era of the tongue translated to contemporary conversational Hebrew which I was able to use in my daily dialogue with an elderly Palestinian coworker. I went on in the Religious Studies program to study with Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan who I became friends with. At the time he was writing a book called, American Reform Judaism: An Introduction ( Rutgers University Press) which was to become highly esteemed in academic circles. I never wanted to move from Milwaukee but I knew it was time to travel. I narrowed my destinations down to India and Israel. Israel won out. I met Dana for lunch at Shaharazad restaurant to talk about it. He thought it was a great idea and cool that I had no plans and just a few loose contacts in The Holy Land. At the time I had very little money. Dana told me exactly what to do. "Go to the old city. People are going to ask you if you are Jewish. Just tell them your mother is Jewish. You know more about Judaism than most Jews." "But I have tattoos. I don't even look Jewish." "I didn't say you were a good Jew" I knew he was right. I needed to turn this head knowledge into experiential knowledge. Without doing so there would be no insight into first hand experience as a Jew. This was education and investigative journalism at once. The more I gave whole heartedly of myself as a Jew, the more I knew about being a Jew, and the more of a Jew I became. Believe your own bullshit. Dana told me some very specific things that came to manifest in Israel. For example, I would meet a guy at The Wall named Jeff Seidel who would ask if I would like a place to stay and I could stay with a religious family and study with them. This came to pass and so did some other interesting things. My first stop was in Tel Aviv where I'd to stay with a punk rocker I met in a punk chat room. Our connection was a n anarchist punk band whose 1994 record I had by some Jewish Israeli's called Nekhei Na'atza AKA Renounce Judaism. Like a lot of American punk bands, I thought they were fast and thought provoking but if they believed in what they politically espoused they were painting with some broad strokes. To a large degree it was just another shock tactic, one that got them recognition in Israel and on talk shows where religious Jews tried to "deprogram" them. Believe it or not, pre-911 Israel didn't have a lot else going on as far as a hardcore scene.When I arrived the guys at the squat treated me like I was some sort of ambassador. They really rolled out the cat haired red carpet for me. These guys were so crusty one dude's deadlock fell off. I got up from the chair at the kitchen table after my NesCafe and my butt had a mustache. Their record collections were really small and they were stoked to get some presents I had for them them from the States like the new Shelter, a Sensefield/Jimmy Eat World split 7", EVEL (from Milwaukee), and the Destroy LA 7" from Pressure. They liked the Pressure 7" right away and were pretty open to the other music as well. After taking a walk one of the guys took me aside and told me seriously that that the world would be a better place if the US were blown off the face of the Earth. He wanted me to meet with this guy who he said was the king of the punks in Tel Aviv. I wasn't interested. There was a lot of partying going on that night in the streets because The Maccabees professional basketball team ( part of the European league) just won a big championship title. I slept for a few hours then sneaked out with all my stuff. I slept on a jungle gym and wound up getting this rash called "wrestlers back" from that or the squat: a bunch of gross boils all over my back. I was low on money from the start so I decided to walk to Jerusalem and hitch hike if need be as I heard it was safe to do so. I calculated in my mind that it was only 40 miles which was way off. But the major roads were lined with grapefruit trees and orange groves. I didn't want to steal so I was eating warm, sun drenched oranges and grapefruit that fell off the trees. I hitched a ride in a van after the first 15 miles and got into an argument in Hebrew with the driver. It seems hitch hiking in Israel is safe because you are expected to pay. I told him I wasn't going to pay him one shekel since we were going to the same place. He was pissed but didn't kick me out. The kids in the back seat were cool. An orthodox family, one of the young boys asked if I liked Tu Pac. No matter where I seemed to go on this journey Palestinian and Israeli kids seemed to share a love and excitement for Tu Pac. When I got dropped off I found a grocer and bought a bottle of water. I started walking toward sights I'd seen in books: the mosque with the gold dome (which holds the slab of rock Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac on), The Wall. A conservative guy with a yarmulke, white shirt, and black pants was coming home from work to his apartment and asked me in a New York accent if I was lost. I told him I wanted to get to The Wall before sundown as it was Friday. He invited me up to their apartment where I got to meet his young wife and baby son who I got to hold and play with. He prayed over me and gave me a yarmulke which was not real effective because I had a shaved head. It turned out he knew my friend Raphael's relatives in New York and our mothers were both from Sheboygan. He showed me a a haunting photo of his mom's dad visiting his home town in Latvia that was totally reduced to rubble by the Nazi's. I'm not sure why the guy felt compelled to return. My mother's family is Lithuanian, from that same region of the Europe I knew next to nothing about at the time. The couple sent me on my way with a bag of groceries, mostly native oranges and Israeli chocolates. I was so happy to have food. When I got to the wall it was as predicted I met Jeff Siedel. I wanted to go pray but he wanted to talk to me about the Chicago Blackhawks who were not doing so well at the time. There were so many cute girls there. I looked kind of awful, like a sun burnt skinhead. But the girls were all really sweet and nice to me. Most of them wore long conservative dresses. A few of them kept asking me about my tattoos. There was a group of men praying with some old scrolls. This guy with a beard who was about my dad's age asked if I was married. I told him no. "Well maybe you just haven't met the right girl." "Yeah, well that's the whole trick isn't it." These people were OG. Seidel wrote a name and address on a piece of paper for me of an elderly man and woman who I would have dinner with and stay with. I got to the apartment which reminded me of a clean early 20th century apartment in NYC except cobble stone streets below, less sirens, and more sounds of people praying and singing. The meal itself took hours. I turned down the boiled chicken that was sitting out for three hours. But the wine was delicious. I was really poor at reading from the prayer books in Hebrew but they were patient with me, like loving grandparents. I asked the man why in earlier times miracles occurred like parting of the red sea. People, as he explained were more in touch with nature, with God then. Even the most depraved person had a sense of reverence for that which could not be explained. Today we credit meteorology as a logical science, more believable than God even while fifty percent of people complain about the weather man getting shit wrong half the time. Perfect Deity, developing science. When it came time to bid farewell the next day I wanted to give the matriarch a hug but there seemed to be some rule against it. But I got a strong sense of love from them and some solid handshakes. They even gave me money. I hit the streets and saw the sights. The hottest chicks around were the Israeli Army girls. All these girls were my age and wore grunge styled army fatigues and held Uzis that were attached to a strap that went around there necks. I guess I have a little Ted Nugent in me. I don't know why but if you put a gun on an already hot girl she becomes totally hot. It's a weird phenomenon. I'm weird. I figured I may as well do something positive with my time. I saw a sign that said "Emergency Clinic" in English then something in Arabic outside the City's Jewish quarter. I had just gotten a CPR and first Aid certification from the American Red Cross before I came over. Maybe they could use some help with all the fighting. I didn't see any bloodshed but there was a really high tension in the air as Jews interacted cordially yet cautiously with Palestinians and vice versa. I can imagine it was a similar "in the air tonight" feeling prevalent during the American years of segregation down south. I saw some Arab kids playing with guns, hiding around the corner and shooting at one another. I wondered how long before they would be carrying guns for real. The thought bummed me out. I got to the clinic and it appeared to be run by Muslims because I didn't see anybody there except some shoes on what looked like a Moroccan rug. Out of nowhere two guy ran out of the clinic in white robes pointing Uzis at me. The head guy from the clinic (I was later lead to assume) walked up to me with a Chinese AK and pointed it at my forehead. Realizing I didn't speak their native tongue the head honcho asked what the fuck I was doing there. I told him I was just seeing if they needed any help. It was confusing to him. He grabbed my wrist and asked me what the Hebrew tattoo meant on it. I told him it was one of the Hebrew words for meditation from the Bible. Ironically I got it done in NYC by Tee Schwartz , a skinhead from Milwaukee. Honcho told his buddies to go back in the clinic and started talking to me about meditation. He said his brother was into meditation. He told me to be more careful because he was about to shoot me. It was all good. To be honest, I did not feel scared for one second. I was on Holy ground. One of my last stops that day was at the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. I saw Reggie White from the Green Bay Packers there which was awesome and I got my picture taken with him. Nobody else knew who he was. A few Israeli soldiers thought I was getting my picture taken with him because he was a black giant. They told me there was an even bigger black guy there a few days earlier. What the hell is wrong with these people? It's Reggie White! Seeing him made me homesick. I was already missing Milwaukee, my apartment, and my 13" TV set. I was leaving Jerusalem with more money I had arrived with on account of the nice people I met. I got a shuttle to Tel Aviv and flew to Amsterdam, then home.

#judaism #milwuakee

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