#its giving 2012-2015 vibes am i right?

[itskeisy]

parents are parenting

#josh hutcherson #jennifer lawrence #joshifer #<- just for old times sake #no hard feelings #five nights at freddy's #the hunger games #thg #Movie #lets go #LETS GOOOOO #its giving 2012-2015 vibes am i right? #fnaf #fnaf movie

[darkpoisonouslove]

Sparks of Life Opera Edition

I am still not over Singing a New Tune so I am going to recap for you the experience of writing that fic because there were many interesting moments over the course of those three days. Lemme start from the beginning.

- So I’m writing a fic that mostly focuses on sexual stuff but it is also mainly happening in an opera so my first order of business is to figure out what that opera is. Both the building itself and the show they’ll be watching. Because that is of utmost importance.

- I have already mentioned that SoL is located in New York so I looked up New York operas. I do not vibe with research most of the time but I vibe even less with having to come up with names for any kind of thing so research was definitely the choice here.

- I somehow get results about operas that are in the other end of the USA. That was not great. I get to the Metropolitan Opera House at last (which I might have known existed if I cared about opera in any way, shape or form) which is great! I am so close to starting the fic! Just need to figure out what opera they’re watching. Because I need that for reasons.

- I end up downloading a PDF with the seatings inside the Met Opera so that I can figure out where the hell they will be seating. But I leave that for later. I look through the actual plays that they’re having while absolutely failing with the navigation of their site. I find a show that catches my eye. It’s called The Magic Flute. I have zero idea what it’s about so I read the Wikipedia summary just to be aware. It mentions that a character has a moment when he’s singing about his search for a wife and I think “Perfect! Foreshadowing!” (since this is set pretty early on in Griffin and Valtor’s relationship).

- I decide to look up the opera and see if I can find a part of it on youtube to figure out how it will sound. I am pretty sold on it already because of the summary I read and also because it implies there is magic as a subject in it which would call back to canon. Still, I look it up. I find a full version of it on the internet with English subtitles... It is 2 hours and 35 minutes:

- “Wow, okay... that’s a bit much. But hey, it has got subtitles in English. Maybe I’d actually watch that... once I’m done with the fic. I’m just gonna listen to a little bit while I finish my research, though, so I can have an idea of what it sounds like.”

- Now it’s time to open the engagement fic - Enough to Be Yours - because I don’t remember what year they got engaged in and I need that to reverse engineer the year in which this fic is taking place so that I can make sure that The Magic Flute was being performed back then. I don’t have an year stated in the engagement fic, though. I have a date - 9th October which is Friday and that means the year is 2015. Great! So I need to figure out if they were performing The Magic Flute back in 2010. Great.

- That takes a shit ton of time and nerves as it turns out. I spent over 4 hours just researching the logistics for this fic and a lot of that was unnecessary but I’m getting ahead of myself.

- I cannot find out whether they were performing the Magic Flute in 2010. I get results of it being broadcast in English (for the first time, I believe) in 2012 but that is way too late for this fic to be happening. Also, they are speaking of a broadcast which just doesn’t work for me. So I am having a hard time over here.

- I find a list of the new titles in 2011 but nothing mentions The Magic Flute as far as I can see.

- I am now considering switching to another opera. I see an opera that is based on events from The Song of the Nibelungs (I cannot be assed to go back and check what the actual title was). That catches my eye because I have read a book that was titled The Ring of the Nibelungs, I believe, and I kinda remember stuff from it... which is what makes me hesitate because that was a big tragedy.

- Meanwhile, I have stumbled upon a trailer for The Magic Flute:

MY GOD IS THAT BEAUTIFUL! THOSE PROPS ARE FUCKING GORGEOUS! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN THAT YOU GET TO GO AND SEE THAT LIVE? THAT IS NUTS! (Also, when I mentioned paper birds (I think they are) in the fic, I meant the ones shown in 0:13, not the big one in the beginning but HOLY SHIT, DID YOU SEE THAT THING????? HOW IS THAT REAL?!?!?!?! IT IS SO FUCKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN’T. I AM DYING. THIS IS JUST TOO BEAUTIFUL.)

- I somehow happen upon an old archive of the opera (idk how I did that but I bookmarked it in case I’ll need it again) that has information about plays going back as far as the year 1900. This is nuts! I am in too deep but I can’t pull myself away. I’ve gotten this far, I will see it through.

- I search for keyword “flute” and I get results. Some of them are pretty old but I finally find what I need. Performances of the Magic Flute in 2010! Bingo!

-  ...Oh, wait, they’re all around Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Hmm... when will it be okay for them to go? I mean, Valtor has been established to have zero free time around that time of the year and I can’t see them going on the 24th or the 31st... Oh, those are matinees. Definitely no! I need them to go in the evening. And some of these are broadcasts which doesn’t work for me either.

- I looked up earlier years as well. I considered another opera again. I decided to switch up the timeline a little. It makes sense if it’s in 2009. I think they had spring performances of The Magic Flute then. Or was it 2008? Anyway, I finally settle on an early April date in 2009 (I think). Now that that’s settled, let’s go back to the seats.

- First I need to figure out what floor (let’s say) of the opera they’re on. I was thinking of the last one first (family circle) but the boxes (I figure those seats will be safest for their activities) look like this:

which isn’t vibing with me because they would be in the front row and it seems more visible. So I relocate to the previous floor (balcony) that looks like this:

That works a little better although there’s the danger of having more people in their box. But they’re sitting in box 14, seats 5 (Griffin) and 6 (Valtor) (where the arrow is pointing) and there’s only one man in seat 4 in front of them. So that is the best I can do.

- Wow, all that’s finally figured out. I decide to do all the rest of the research up front in order to be able to just write after that and not stop for another 4 hours. More on those other things later BUT I get to the part where I need to pick a vibrator and... well, I done fucked up.

- First thing that comes up for a remote controlled vibrator is Lush, of course. And I am immediately sold because it has a sound activated setting which Valtor will definitely love to utilize while in the opera.

BUT

Lush 2 (which is the first one to have the sound activated setting, I believe) came out in 2018. Even if we accept that Lush also has it, that came out in 2015. My fic is set in 2009. Searching for 2009 vibrators literally went no where so in the end I decided that the SoL verse is actually set in a parallel universe where time is a little warped so the Lush 2 is out in 2009. Plus, that way there isn’t going to be a pandemic in future installments. Overall, that works. Except that I needn’t have been so thorough with my opera research beforehand. Oh, well. It’s finally time to start writing.

- How do you write? How do you start a fic? One word in front of the other? Oh, okay, never mind. Lipstick is a girl’s best friend. Let’s start from there. And a kiss that leads to the discussion of lipstick... Damn, I forgot to spend one more hour on researching what kind of lipstick Griffin would have worn. Shame! You don’t get that detail now. I believe I didn’t even mention a shade.

- Oh, wait. Need for his breath to taste like something. Hmm, let’s see. Tonic water? Yeah, that sounds about right. Never mind that he should have probably drunk it right before getting out of the car to kiss her if it was still lingering on his breath. I mean, that’s not impossible. Just improbable.

- He’s also wearing cologne, right? Gotta research that too. How else would I get this:

and zero idea what it actually smells like despite the description. Also, did not check if that was a thing in 2009 but the story now exists in a vacuum so who cares.

- Apparently, Griffin doesn’t own any golden bracelets even though she does have a golden necklace? Or she could have a golden bracelet, just not one she likes for the current situation? Anyway, I wanted to mention Ediltrude as well because the twins always go together and that was the best I came up with. (That said, I didn’t need to put the mentions of them one sentence apart.)

- My god, I used a semicolon! That feels illegal. I sure hope I used that bitch correctly.

- Okay, I absolutely love all the banter and just flow in the car. Idk how I did that since it’s such a constricted space but I am really proud of it. However, the logistics were sometimes hard to logic my way through. I mean, Valtor doesn’t get to look at her a lot and I had to employ a red traffic light to give him the chance to do so.

- I hit a wall about three paragraphs later. Things started going in a weird direction. I was considering even deleting the last two lines but then I managed to get back on track thanks to having figured out how they met and I decided to write a little bit about that without spoiling it (that will be a fic of its own some day). Suffice it to say it was a meet-very-ugly. But it bailed me out. Also, they got over it so it’s all good.

- And now... that paragraph. You know which one I’m talking about. It stands out with the locations I’ve given. That paragraph required 30 minutes of looking at Google Earth to figure it out and I still nearly got it wrong. At that point it occurred to me that they’ll need a place to park. I mean, idk how parking is in NYC but it’s probably not the way it is in Bulgaria especially on small neighborhood streets where it’s just... park wherever (even in front of a garage if you’re brazen enough and don’t fear having your tires slashed). So first, I was going to have them coming down Tenth Avenue and passing by the backside of the Opera which is not ideal for me because I needed Griffin to figure out they’re going to the opera so that they can have the following dialogue. But there is the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts right next door so I figure Griffin will recognize the area if it’s next to a library. And I have them almost at the garage but... that’s not looking right. This garage is on 65th Street and mine is on 62nd... I have been looking at the wrong garage for the past hour. Now that I have caught that mistake, things get easier. They just drive right past the facade of the opera, take a right turn and then enter the garage. Easy peasy. For whoever’s actually paying attention to the map.

- They’re in the garage now and I have to write another kiss. Shoot! I do not vibe with writing kisses. Writing sex scenes is much easier. But I’ll try my best because this is a little bit necessary if we’re dealing with an insertion of a vibrator in a public bathroom one minute from now. (Again, logistics!) I actually went back to add in a little discomfort during the kiss (but not too much because they’re consumed with each other anyway and probably missed something) just to make it more realistic. They can’t be comfortable in the car. Also, you have got to love how I never even thought of what make the car is. But I did stop to research the tinting of the car windows.

- Now this is extremely funny but I would have had zero idea that there are different laws about how tinted your car windows can be in the USA if I hadn’t read a very extensive critique of Fifty Shades (whichever part it was that had that info). So I look up the VLT for New York and it says 70%. Great! Then it won’t be that visible through the windows what they’re doing inside. Oh, wait! VLT means Visible Light Transmission aka 70% of the light should be passing through the window. Aka it is only tinted on 30%. This much:

That’s practically nothing. You can see everything through it. Welp, then someone’s gonna see, I guess.

- Can’t believe I didn’t stop to look up clutches either. (Lmao, I was calling it a purse instead of a clutch at first even though I definitely meant a clutch. And then I remembered that clutch existed as a word. Who would’ve thought?) It’s baffling trying to figure out why my brain was prioritizing some details over others and I just genuinely have no idea what was going on.

- Griffin is blushing a lot in this. Can you tell I have no idea how else to convey Valtor giving her feelings through body language?

- I first envisioned the box being opened by the hair pin by turning it like a key. Only later did I realize that that wouldn’t be possible because the pin has two parts (whatever they’re called) and that would make turning it impossible unless all of the base fits into one hole in the lid of the box. So I had to adapt my vision to using the extensions at the ends of the hair pin like a hook that pulls the lid up once it’s clicked free. I have zero idea how that would be done but I’m sure it can be done. So yeah, anyway, the pin looks like this but with attachments at the ends to open the box:

- I might have gone a little overboard with Griffin’s reaction to having the vibrator inside her. I might have made her a bit too embarrassed but I still think that she simply wouldn’t appreciate someone knowing about what she considers a private experience (despite the very public setting).

- And I am being overly specific again with the seats but I worked for that information so you’re getting it against your will!

- Speaking of, that man in their box was pretty ignored throughout the fic. But then again Griffin wasn’t overflowing with lucidity. She is sure to have missed... A Lot, actually.

- My apologies (once again) to @her-majesty-wears-jeans​ for not letting Griffin punch Valtor in the face for the terrible pun he was about to make but I thought that that would ruin the mood so I had to skip it.

- I might have imagined things a little differently but then consent factored in and I had to change things up so that Griffin is clearly on board with everything. I hope it came through that way at least. She is on board even if she is very, very frustrated. She would never throw the bet just because it’s difficult for her. Though, I’m taking note for future fics of maybe being a little bit more explicit about the enjoyment of all parties involved. I just couldn’t really think of a way to convey it better back then and I am coming up with several ideas now and I will try to keep them in mind for future fics.

- I keep going back and forth on just how far into their relationship this is. Sometimes it feels like it’s not enough time for them to get this familiar with each other and sometimes it feels like too much for them to still be skirting their feelings for each other like that. Will update when I make up my mind about how long exactly it has been.

- In retrospect, probably should have picked up an opera that people would be less likely to bring their children to (as brought to my attention by @her-majesty-wears-jeans​). I apologize for this. Did not consider it at all.

- A wild tangent about Griffin’s sexual experiences before Valtor popped up (for the second time now). This is giving me thoughts and I am not even sure if I’ll manage to get them all out in the bachelorette party fic. Oh, no, I am getting ideas again.

- God, I had to mention those paper birds because I adore them. Also, needed to do a time skip somehow (sure hope they don’t show up at the very end or the very beginning).

- So there are some things about the whole thing with the suit jacket that if you squint, you’ll miss the very far-fetched and convoluted ways in which I could make them make sense but again, it isn’t impossible to make them operate according to logic so good enough.

- And now for the dress:

I thought it would be reasonable for Griffin to own something like that. It doesn’t look overly expensive or dramatic.

- I swear that most of the 2% angst was an accident. Griffin was supposed to say the “You paid how much for tickets exactly just so you could fool around?” line but the following few paragraphs sprang on me out of nowhere. That was where I left it off the first day I was working on it and I wasn’t sure how to continue it. Then the angst happened.

- I do not believe the retaliation part was planned but would it really be a Griffin x Valtor story if something like that hadn’t happened? XD

- “reverberated”, “multitudinous” and “unobtainable” are probably not words that Griffin’s muddled mind would go to in that precise moment but everything else I came up with for them just did not sound right.

- I completely forgot the word for neckline and was so mad at myself for that but, luckily, I managed to remember it before posting the fic. I believe the original read “he slipped a finger under the fabric of her dress, running it over the top of her breast” which is not incorrect but just not precise enough for my liking.

- Sure hope the shortened version of the opera did not cut out the ending musical sequence. But that seems unlikely.

- The idea was running overly long in my head by having them going back to the penthouse so that I could have the scene where he picked her up so I decided to move things around and have him carry her bridal style on their way from the opera to the car. It’s not like she didn’t earn it.

- Pretty sure I had planned something a little different for the last several lines of dialogue but I couldn’t remember what so we get this. Which isn’t a disadvantage. I mean, Griffin is already thinking of marrying him. XD (That’s probably a bit of a stretch at the current status of their relationship but then again, she was thinking of a wedding, not necessarily of their wedding even though I’m clearly a little romance gargoyle that meant exactly that.)

- Originally, Valtor was supposed to floor the brakes while they were out in the NYC traffic but then I decided that doing it while still in the garage with only one car behind them and both vehicles driving at a very slow speed was a lot safer so I switched to that. It also saved me writing more words which was appreciated. I thought this fic would be a bit shorter.

- I was at a loss for how many orgasms Griffin should want from him but then the commitment line happened and that was all avoided.

#winx club #winx griffin #winx valtor #griffin x valtor #covenshipping #sparks of life #singing a new tune #trivia #trivia tuesday #research #my writing process #the magic flute #yeah no cut and this is gonna be hell on mobile #i know #i'm evil

[malphiguswrites]

ANALYSIS of Face Cages

Denada Permatasari. 1 September 2017.

Fig 1. Zach Blas’ Face Cages, exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, Gallery 1. 29 July - 22 October 2017.

I visited Gallery 1 at B1 on LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore and I was immediately drawn to Zach Blas’ Face Cages exhibition.

The exhibit contains four 113.7 x 64 cm screens displayed in portrait mode, with each screen presenting a twelve-minute video of people wearing different masks. The screens have the distance of 93 cm between them. At the front of the screens there are the original masks that were worn by the subjects, not remakes. The plain black background behind the screens and the contrasting white lights illuminating the masks gives off a very polished and technologically-savvy vibes of the exhibition, even when the placement of the exhibition is not at the front of center of the gallery.

The face masks are 3D-printed with stainless steel as their material, and the polygonal patterns are from the subjects' own biometric data from facial recognition scans. They are symmetrical and express a progression from barely a mask until a mask so wide it goes beyond the just the face. The material's strength and durability is a symbol of oppression that is everlasting, while the progression shows the growth of imprisonment that steadily gets worse overtime. 

Face Cages is the title of the series and I think the title is self-explanatory. At first glance, I understood immediately what the series is about. It's about not being able to express our true selves, and that we are trapped within our own selves. But after further study I found out that the artwork carries a more nuanced meaning.

First, I learned that the artist who made them, Zach Blas, is a gay man. The rest of the subjects also belong to the LGBT community. Aside from Blas, they are also racial minorities (non-Caucasian). The fact that the subjects wearing the masks are minorities of minorities makes this series a bold political statement: "We, (referring to Blas et al. as representatives) the minority, suffer greatly."

To give this series even further context, "Zach Blas is an artist and writer whose practice confronts technologies of surveillance, security and control with minoritarian politics."  (Blas) The masks do not fit the subject's faces and in doing so, it is an "endurance performance" as it is very painful to wear them. I can confidently say that this is an analogy of the minority struggle, in which they suffer until they can't anymore (implying rebellion and or suicide).

From the start of the 2010s, especially up until the mid-2010s, the LGBT discourse is reaching its all-time high, with notable moments such as the USA legalising same-sex marriage country-wide in June 2015 and the suicide of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen, in December 2014, just to name a few. This series rightly belongs to the Contemporary Art genre, which has all the hallmarks of the genre: identity politics and incorporated technology (Kleiner 942).

Taking into account of today's social and political context, this series is a plea for attention, a "dramatization of the abstract violence of the biometric diagram." (Blas) When I read that, I disagreed with the description as 'violence' is a strong and specific word, but upon more research I discovered that it is about literal violence; countries all over the world are implementing a nationwide biometric face scan for identification purposes, and people whose faces aren't recognised will receive penalty and years in prison. (Blas)

At this point I realised that Face Cages is a literal title, not a metaphorical one. The revelation drives home at the gravity of systemic discrimination and violence inherent in a so-called 'objective' algorithm that runs biometric scans, and that this invisible brutality is happening right under my nose. After viewing Face Cages and having knowledge of its context, I am grateful and impressed at Blas' courage for speaking up through his art, to give the oppressed minorities a voice that can, and should be heard. 

References

Blas, Zach. “Biography”. <www.zachblas.info/biography/>

Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art through the Ages. 14th edition. Wadsworth Publishing, 2012. Print.

Blas, Zach. “Face Cages”. <http://www.zachblas.info/works/face-cages/>

Blas, Zach. “Escaping the Face: Biometric Facial Recognition and the Facial Weaponization Suite”. Journal of the New Media Caucus. CAA Conference 2013 (2003). <http://median.newmediacaucus.org/caa-conference-edition-2013/escaping-the-face-biometric-facial-recognition-and-the-facial-weaponization-suite/>

#zach blas #face cages #lgbt #oppression #minority #queer #biometric #identity #algorithm #essay #analysis #art #exhibition #lasalle #2017 #malphigus #malphiguswrites

[lunias-takes-on-homestuck]

My Classpects Through the Years

I started getting into Homestuck in late 2012, about a year after [S] Cascade dropped, and like most of y’all I got pretty interested in the system of Classes and Aspects.

...Okay, I got obsessed with it. Who wouldn’t? A highly-flexible system of essentially taking an aspect of reality and interpreting it through the lens of a key verb or idea, creating unique and self-determined power sets limited only by your own imagination? That’s wild. And when I say I got into it, I mean I really got into it. I dove deep into Homestuck’s lore, reading up on popular and somewhat fringe theories about what each Aspect related to, how the Classes utilized them, what the potential Active/Passive pairings were, and how certain Aspects seemed to oppose each other. I even went so far as to contribute to a theory regarding the future of Tavros Nitram, which... didn’t exactly pan out as expected... but it was a ton of fun! And of course, while I was certainly interested in what this all meant for our cast of characters, I was also interested in how it could be interpreted and/or applied to real people.

People are, of course, far more complicated than a simple personality test could possibly explain, but I still got a lot of entertainment out of trying to pin down the classpects of characters or people I knew irl. Which naturally included me. Looking back on it, I think it’s very interesting to see the progression in ideas that led up to my more recent musings, so I figured it would be cool to dive into that and share my past and current classpects here!

Credits:

All images are pulled from the Homestuck Classpect Chart Updated posted by JosiahR94 on DeviantArt.

Artists: Zynchilada (compiled, partially drawn) and Owyn (updated at original resolution). Both blogs listed on the artwork have since been deactivated.

2012-2013 - Knight of Breath

This one is the byproduct of some test manipulation on my part - the fan test I was using was based on MBTI and Jungian archetypes, and honestly I’ve never found them to remain accurate for longer than a couple months at a time. I’ve wound my way around four different MBTI results over the years so I’m not inclined to use them as the basis for much, especially since the original test included fan-created classes and aspects that I really didn’t understand or jive with. But even once I narrowed it down to strictly canonical classes and aspects, I still wound up going with the 3rd-most accurate one. At the time I saw the Knight as the Active Exploiter class, the type to jump into action and wield their aspect as a weapon. I really related the idea of a detached loner who was fiercely protective of their friends, and John had shown off very, very recently (for me, anyway) just how powerful wind could be. The powers were sick, the outfit was neat, and it was absolutely wrong in nearly every way. Nearly. But we’ll get to that.

2013-2015 - Seer of Doom

You’re probably a little familiar with this one if you’ve been keeping up with Homestuck theorists lately, as there are two prolific content creators I know of who identify as Seers of Doom. For some time, I did too! The change was largely brought about because I thought my initial Knight of Breath result hadn’t been accurate enough, and also because I wanted to try my hand at classpecting myself without the aid of tests. At the time I was really feeling the Doom aspect and I saw myself as a guide (or maybe a teacher?) so it felt like it fit. There was just one sliiiight problem - I was entirely focused on how the Doom aspect related to the problems I was having in my life, rather than how I viewed the world around me and interacted with it. I still felt like I was sort of onto something with Doom, but it took some major life events to give me the nudge I needed to see things a little more clearly...

2015-2020 - Sylph of Life

For me, 2015 felt like the year I was finally coming out of my funk and figuring my shit out. It’s the year I started taking college courses (well, a college course), getting into meetups, making new friends, and reinventing myself. At some point I decided that the issue with my initial Doom analysis was that I was overly focused on the challenges I had instead of how I actually dealt with them, and my new aggressively-optimistic outlook would simply not mesh with Doom. Not one bit. I also felt that my class didn’t quite fit, and Sylph was sitting right there with their magick-y healing and creation powerset -- the ultimate support, and the type of person who makes their own way through life by simply refusing to accept they could be stopped or put down by anything. By the time the Extended Zodiac Quiz came out in 2017 and confirmed I was Lifebound, I had already proven to be on top of my game in college in a creative field. I joined our LGBT+ club and started somewhat aggressively railing against overly-restrictive labels and social constructs in Contemporary English to the point that I was exceeding the page limit on our essay assignments on a regular basis and still felt I wasn’t saying everything I wanted to say. Sylph of Life just clicked for me in a way the Knight of Breath and Seer of Doom never had, so I figured I’d nailed it.

Then, earlier this year, I found out I was actually a girl.

2020-Present - Knight of Life... or maybe Heart???

Imagine for a minute that you’re at a theater watching some movie through the perspective of the protagonist. You think you’ve got the plot all figured out, you’re guessing every story beat, and then in the last 5 minutes the big twist reveals the protagonist has unwittingly been an unreliable narrator for the last two hours. Literally everything you thought you understood has been flipped on its head, and it’s still good but it’s all very confusing. You leave the theater wondering what you just watched, and as you turn on your car you suddenly realize there were subtle hints foreshadowing the twist for over half the film. With every passing second the pieces start coming together, and you just know that watching it again would leave you going “How the hell did I miss that?!”

That’s about the best way I can explain what I’ve been experiencing for the past four-ish months. All the puzzle pieces I had put together were thrown totally out of whack and I’m finding every day that there are aspects of myself and my personality that I never knew where there. Discovering myself is hard work, but it’s a wonderful feeling, and it’s no wonder that on the heels of this I’m seriously vibing with the aspect relating to Personal Identity. That said, I still find myself parsing labels and identity through the lens of Life - words which are too restrictive to properly convey who I am, and an experience that can’t be explained or constrained by the stereotypical narrative people tend to have about people who are bisexual, polyamorous, transgender, and at once more complicated than those words can really describe. When I take the Extended Zodiac Quiz I find that I’m still Lifebound, but changing even a single question by a single step leaves me Heartbound instead, and I think that dichotomy really mirrors where I feel I’m at as a person.

Class-wise, I feel drawn to both Sylph and Knight to a degree, but in the years since I first chose the Knight of Breath classpect I have come to understand the class as a Passive Server - one who gives for the benefit of others - and that speaks to me. The wonderful Mythological Class Quiz by @homestuckexamination has only confirmed my suspicions about that. I have yet to decide between Knight of Life and Knight of Heart, but they’re both very interesting classpects imo, and either way I’m sure I’ll be spending far too much of my free time developing powers and things for them :P

Takeaway

Whew, that’s a lot of words! But what exactly does it all mean? Well... if you ask me, Classpecting is sort of a process. I’m sure that, years down the line, I’ll probably say I had it all wrong and I’m actually some other combination of class and aspect, and I’ll reminisce about the days when I was so obviously misreading myself. But that’s kind of the fun of it, isn’t it? It’s just another form of personality quiz, albeit one where you get sick powers and a nifty set of pajamas at the end. And for all the good that introspection can do to help you understand yourself a little better, you better believe I’m going to be spending the next hour or two debating whether passing out heals and buffs while tanking everything would be more cool than body-surfing and turning enemies into clones à la Agent Smith in The Matrix: Reloaded.

#Homestuck #Classpecting #Knight of Breath #Seer of Doom #Sylph of Life #Knight of Life #Knight of Heart #Lunias Takes #Lunias Personal

[exosmuttytalk]

Exo’s DO MV hairstyle rating: a comprehensive list

What is Love, 2012. 

Probably the longuest DO’s hair ever been. Surprisingly, I don’t mind it. For some reason, the demarcation between the super long and super short hairs isn’t that stark. I like that. It looks super dated, tho. 

Final rating: 5/10 KS

History, 2012. 

A different version of the previous hairstyle but leaving the waves aside. I like it because it seems more achievable in his (probably) pin straight hair. Looks soft and fluffy :D

Final rating: 6/10 KS

Mama, 2012

Eh, no. He looks like a fluffy rhyno. What are those spikes on the sideburns? I bet all that fringe hair without gel to hold it flings straight into his eyes. 

Final rating: 2/10 KS

Wolf, 2013

Let’s agree that everybody looked horrendous in Wolf. Like ma boy here who could be strutting the best catwalks in Syberia but the moment he stopped walking he’d freeze to death because he’s not wearing a coat. He looks like a fluffy mushroom and I wouldn’t eat one of those.

Final rating: 0/10 KS (Shame)

Growl, 2013

This must have been the “wildest” color KS’s ever wore, right? I don’t really know about this one. I can appreciate the attempt to change the color, as it’s very obvious he’s not one to experiment much with that sort of stuff. So A for effort. Now, that fringe is all messed up. When his hair falls down naturally without being gelled up he probably has strands sticking out in different directions and all different lengths. 

Also, the more I stare at this picture, the more I can sense Uncanny Valley creeping from my toes up and I don’t like that. 

Final rating: 3/10 KS

Miracles in December, 2013

Here KS has what in my language is called a bowl cut. I don’t even know if that’s the term in English and I don’t really feel like looking it up. 

Either way, from what I’ve seen in the Korean media I’ve had access to is that this hairstyle seems to be super common among teens and young adults. That surprised me because where I am it’s a hairstyle reserved to little kids. 

I understand the appeal, tho. He looks soft and cuddly despite having been ghosted. He’s not menacing (because you can’t see his brows). Makes you want to give him hot cocoa and bundle him up inside a big, soft, fluffy white blanket.

Final Rating: 8/10 KS

Overdose, 2014

So baaaad... I mean so gooooooooood. 

I really like this one. It’s longer, but it’s longer in an unniform manner. Also, this looks like he’s woken up in the morning with each strand of hair in a different possition. He’s then washed his face and making sure he’s wetting his hair as well. He’s us’ed a comb to make a very precise parting but then hasn’t combed through the rest of the hair, so now that’s getting dry, all the strands are starting to stick up again. 

That’s very relatable.

Final rating: 8/10 KS

Call me Baby, 2015

This is one of KS’s best looks and I will die on this hill. 

It’s rather short. Blunt. Structured. Has a little flair but the flair is not too long that it sticks into his eyes. The color is natural and dark but has subtle golden and redish highlights. Looks very effortless. NOICE.

Also, filled in, strong eyebrows.

Final rating: 9.5/10 KS (Because there’s always room for improvement)

Love me Right, 2015

Ohh, yes. This is the second main contender to the first position, Again, to me this looks effortless, which is exactly the type of lifestyle I can see KS having. Chill, easy, no fuss, manageable. I woke up like this and I think I last brushed my hair two days ago. A natural man.

I love the styling too.

Bonus Chanyeol happily vibing in the brackground.

Final rating: 9,5/10 KS 

Sing for you, 2015

KS is barely visible in this MV. You know he’s there; you can feel him looming ominously around the borders of every scene. You can hear his voice. But you can’t really see him. The natural darkness of a B&W video shot in a supposed snowstorm grants a shadow for him to disguise himself into. 

That’s the reason why I’ve had to take those screenshots directly on the mv and why we can barely see his hair. But we can imagine. Looks shot and functional. Not so short and functional as it’s military counterpart. Seems like it would be nice to stroke it. It’s not flashy or attention grabbing. Discreet, but with a little room to play, represented as the spikiness of the fringe area. 

Imma give this one a lower rating because I feel there’s another hairstyle that unites all those characteristics and that both KS and I like better.

Final rating: 8/10 KS

Lucky one, 2016

This is just a shorter version of the Sing for you supposed hairstyle. It’s alright. Although it’s a little bit lazy, I feel it fits the aesthetic of the video quite well. Clean and neat. I like how his perplexed expression during the beginning of this mirrors my own façade so well every time I rewatch this MV.

Final rating: 7/10 KS

Monster, 2016

The styling of the hair may be the exact same as in Lucky One, but I don’t really care. My eyes dart directly to the bruise on his cheeks and the scar on his eyebrow. The holes and burns on his clothes. There’s something really special in a rugged man for me. 

Final rating: 8.5/10 KS

Lotto, 2016

This is a problem, because there’s two main stylings of which I hate the first one and really like the second one. In the first one, they obviously wanted him to look like he actually jumps into the cages with the roosters and physically trains them on fight. The second one looks pretty standard, soft and floofy. It’s shiny too and it looks healthy. Also I like the pirate like clothes styling here.

I’m conflicted.

Final rating: 4/10 KS

Dancing King, 2016

He doesn’t have a lot of screen time in this MV. Most of the time, he’s either on rehearsals or performing. He wears a lot of caps. I never really understand the purpose of a cap if you’re not out in the sun (or scaping fans and papparazzi). Seems easy to knock off accidentally, a gust of wind could suddenly come by and snatch it off your head. You are going to make it all sweaty because all that dancing and then you’re gonna have to stick it into the washing machine. Can you put a cap on the washing machine? Does it lose its shape or smth?

I digress. The cap is, despite all the previous reticence, one of the few accessories he seems to wear irl. So Imma going to give him a good rating for realism and for giving us a little more BTS content. 

Final rating: 7/10 KS

Coming over, 2016

It was impossible to find still of the video but he wore the same styling as in this card, We have to set things straight. 2016 was a hell of a year. They released six different MVs, one of them a collaboration and one of them in japanese. There’s just not enough time for drastic hair changes. Hair doesn’t grow that fast. And it’s easier to leave the more lowkey members in a simple style so you have more time for the not that lowkey members. I get it. Imma a bit bored but I get it.

Final rating: 6.5/10 KS

Kokobop, 2017

Yeeeeees, the change we’d all been waiting for. Aaaaand I hate it. I dislike that his hair matches his jacket. I dislike the fact that even his eyebrows look color coordinated. If it wasn’t for the blue shirt, he’d look as if he had been passed through a sepia filter. Not into it.

Final rating: 3.5/10 KS.

Power, 2017

I love this whole look. Almost everybody’s looks, in fact. It seems like it was a very fun video shooting. We hadn’t seen a KS smile since love me right. He looks so young and playful, so boyish. 

There’s not much to say about the hair. It’s all carelessly hidden under a crownless cap? and some other accessories, but we can appreciate he’s gone back to his natural color. Praise the stylist noonas. 

Final rating: 7.5/10

Universe, 2017

Ahhh, my white whale in the shape of a head. You were short and fleeting, but at least there’s a MV and a whole film to remember you. 

I love bald KS. I definitely don’t appreciate Eggsoo, but what’s not to love about a shaved head? Especially, his bald head. He’s extremelly symmetric and looks so uniform all around. It probably feels like a stroking a very dense but soft brush. He’s said himself he like this hairstyle. It’s strong. Durable. Reliable. Pragmatic. Still, soft, aesthetically pleasing. All KS really is. 

I also love the lighting and the clothe styling in this MV, it’s like a honey and caramel wet dream.

Final rating: 9,5/10 KS

Electric Kiss, 2018

There’s not much to say about this either because it’s not easily visible. Looke like he has his sides shaven. The top is definitely longer but not a lot. Unceremoniously passes.

Final rating: 6/10 KS

Tempo, 2018

I think he looks specially good in tempo. Boyish but not too much. Longer hair, which is a change. The worst part is that he doesn’t have a lot of parts and even less screen time. I love how his lipstick matches the background.

Final rating: 7.5/10 KS

Love Shot, 2018

I love this. Men driving are a kink for me. Black hair, yes. Aviator jacket, yes. Strands of hair loosely framing your face, yes. You usual stoic expression, yes.

Final rating: 7.5/10

His final MV pre-enlistment was a success. Let’s hope for more good looks when he returns.

#exo #DO #do kyungsoo #exo hair #do hair #exo hairstyle

[doodlewash]

My name is Abey Zoul, and I spent a memorable childhood in a beautiful small town called Bachok, Kelantan, one of the states on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Full of sandy white beaches, Kelantan is also rich in unique cultural heritage that are still practised today by the current generation. For example, the mystical performances, namely wayang kulit, a traditional shadow puppet play and, Menora, a type of dance drama.

After graduating from an architectural school in 1999, I spent most of my life working in a few architectural firms in Kuala Lumpur. Every evening after work and during weekends, I used to find joy in riding big bikes. In 2012, I shelved my bike and started on my journey in watercolour painting.

In Malaysia, watercolour has always been considered as an inferior painting alternative to other mediums. Hence, my friends and I decided to set up a watercolor group called Gangstawatakala. Our vision is to bring back the glorious days of watercolour.

My love towards everything that relates to heritage and culture, traditional houses, quaint old shops and wooden fishing boats, becomes the setting in most of my watercolour works. Fishing boats, primarily Perahu Kolek, is a wooden fishing boat which can only be found in my hometown and in southern Thailand. Its long history of craftsmanship is my main interest.

Kampung Baru, the one and only village amidst the crowded city of Kuala Lumpur, is where my friends and I regularly spend our weekends together painting and sketching. The old wooden village houses give a rural vibe in spite of the modern and iconic steel cladding of KLCC and other modern buildings. My paintings try to capture the stories of people whose wooden houses are surrounded by Kuala Lumpur’s skyscrapers.

Painting is not just about producing a beautiful artwork on a piece of paper, it is about telling the story behind every image produced from the eyes of the artist. It is also about digging deeper through history. The more you see things to be painted, the more stories you know behind it. Hence, painters are, in a way, also storytellers.

Tools & Materials

Mistakes in choosing tools and materials often occur in watercolour. Being a fragile medium, choosing the right tools is of utmost importance. From the choice of paper, brushes, pigments as well as the surrounding temperature, all these affect the result in watercolour painting. I believe in the concept that the best tools will yield the best result in the right hands. If the best results cannot be achieved, it is you who have to improve in terms of technical skills, keen observation, level of taste and patience.

Pigments

I have proudly been appointed as Malaysia’s first independent brand ambassador for QOR Watercolor by Golden Paint USA, endorsed by a leading Malaysian arts and craft store, Scrap’n’Crop. This endorsement to QOR however does not prohibit me from exploring other brands and pigments as an artist. My palette consist of a majority of QOR pigments which I find to be very transparent. QOR’s vivid colours perfectly matches the colour tones on my mind. QOR’s Raw Sienna for example produces a very clear golden light brown tone on paper, not the muddy golden tones of some other brands.

My Skies – I now use Manganese Blue as a base colour for skies, replacing Cerulean Blue. It is a luminous and transparent blue as opposed to cerulean which is opaque with a greenish tinge.

My Greens – My favourites are Daniel Smith Undersea Green (Dark Green) and Olive Green. Avoid Viridian when painting foliage. I often come across students’ palettes with stains of Viridian. It has an artificial green tone. However, Viridian when mixed with Gamboge or Indian Yellow will produce a very cool greenish yellow tone suitable for the painting of paddy fields.

My Water – I used to mix Viridian with Cobalt Blue when painting water. Now, I use Cobalt Turquoise mixed with Viridian. For boats and other reflections, I mix Cobalt Turquoise with Raw Umber.

My Shadows – Shadows are not black so do not use any black, Ivory or Lamp Black. My advice is do not buy or keep black pigments. Instead mix Mauve, Magenta and Ultramarine in different proportions for the shadows. The next time you go shopping, opt for Daniel Smith’s Moonglow which has been specially blended to create shadow tones.

My Earth Tones – When I was younger, Yellow Ochre was the colour of choice for the earth tones. It proved to be my folly as it is an opaque pigment and can easily cause muddy colours. Now the wiser, I replaced Yellow Ochre with Raw Sienna, a pigment similar in tone that gives a transparent golden earth colour.

My Glazing – As I have always wanted my paintings to have a classic look, Aureolin (Cobalt Yellow) is a must for my glazes. It is a transparent and cool yellow.

My Jewelries – Opaque Cobalt Teal, Cobalt Violet, and Cadmium Red are used for clothings, signages, traffic lights and car lamps. These tiny but important final touch-ups make the paintings “pop”.

Watercolour Brushes

Brushes are more subjective than paper. Different brush shapes are made for different tasks. For example, you cannot make a broad sky wash with a small size 3 round brush. The best brushes are made of natural hairs and notably for watercolour, sable and squirrel hair brushes are strongly recommended.

I am against advising you to buy a whole range of these expensive brushes which can sometimes be more than the price of gold, ounce for ounce! Choose appropriately within your budget. As for me, yes, I do have a stable of sables, but I rarely use all of them. If you are an Edward Seago fan, where bold strokes and simple shapes are the order, then sable may be your perfect choice.

My impressionistic style incorporates a certain level of structural detail that requires me to go deeper. Synthetic round brushes with a sharp, stiff point work better for my style but I initially stayed away from them as I considered the nylon based synthetics to be inferior. It was not until I discovered Escoda Perla, used by the Master watercolourist Joseph Zbukvic, that I started using synthetics. Perla is the best synthetic with an excellent point. Personally I use Perla size 2, 4, 8, and 12.

For pre-wetting paper, I have a round handle Frank Clarke Goat Hair “Hake” brush. A large Proarte and Mary Whyte’s cat’s tongue squirrel hair brush helps me with painting the skies and impressionistic trees. My jewel in the crown and most precious brush is surely the Leonard extra long sable hair scripture brush. This brush works well for irregular shapes such as branches, leaves and foliage. It was bought during a trip to Paris in 2015 at the Sennelier Art shop, a few miles from the Lourve.

Last but not least, is my Rekab reservoir brush bought on eBay. A perfect size 4, I can freely paint wires, cables and masts with just a stroke from the brush. What a life!

Watercolour Paper

As a watercolour impressionist, I normally use Canson, Arches and Saunders Waterford 300gsm watercolour paper with a rough texture. Both are artist grade 100% cotton rag, mold made paper and acid free. Arches is in my opinion the best and most expensive paper today with Saunders Waterford a close runner up. Saunders is more forgiving than Arches whereby you are able to make more mistakes on it due to its better lifting qualities.

Additionally I use student grade 25% cotton Bockingford and Canson Montval paper for light works such as line and wash, watercolour sketches and thumbnail studies. Both are excellent cellulose-based paper and usually cost about half or less as compared to Arches and Saunders Waterford. My advice is do not use drawing paper unsuitable for watercolour painting. You will go nowhere.

Plein Air vs. Studio Work

Plein air in simple terms is open air or outdoor painting whereas studio work is the process of producing art works based on photo references or imagination inside the studio. Normally at the start of the season, I will work in the studio from subjects gathered from the previous season. On a daily basis, I will task myself to complete works based on specific themes or series.

If, for example, the series I am working on is fishing boats, all other subjects like buildings, flora or portraits will not be intermingled. Upon completion of each series and when I am out of ideas or subjects to paint in the studio, I will take a “break” for three to four months without producing any new work. During that period, I will gather ideas, think, sketch, read and do research on new subjects for the next part of the season.

Plein air activities commence and fill up the rest of the season with the break providing a fresh and dynamic mood whether to join in an urban sketching activity or going on a painting trip with friends to exotic places that I have not painted before in watercolour.

Plein air gives you the energy, mood, freshness, and also live interaction with what we are painting. In contrast to studio painting which is more relaxed and organised, plein air provides more challenges to the painter. A painter must quickly observe the mood of the subject, arrange the composition, light direction and the need to make oneself comfortable in whatever condition one is in with the tools available. We must also be strong-willed and confident when plein airing.

We need to interact with the surroundings and curious locals and onlookers that crowd around us while we are painting.

There will be those who will ask questions and others who are ever too willing to indulge with us through the long history of the subject in focus. We need to treat them nicely and become friends with them. A great painter has to be one who Plein airs!

Thank you, Let’s paint.

Abey Zoul Website Facebook Instagram Books

GUEST ARTIST: "Painters As Storytellers" by Abey Zoul - #doodlewash #WorldWatercolorGroup #watercolour #watercolor My name is Abey Zoul, and I spent a memorable childhood in a beautiful small town called Bachok, Kelantan, one of the states on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

#watercolour painting #WorldWatercolorGroup #art studio #art supplies #artist #doodlewash #featured #Malaysia #painting #plein air #watercolor #watercolor painting #watercolour

[goindanswingin]

Les Amis Webshows - Reviews!

So! There’s been a whole two new Amis webshows premiering this January! However, I’ve noticed not that many people are actually talking about them! New content, and we’re not yelling??

So, I’ve decided to give short reviews on their debut pilot episodes, as well as the first episodes of some other Les Amis webshows (I probably missed so many, feel free to add more if you know of them!) in order to maybe spread the word about some cool creators online as well as give y’all a lil more content to consume that isn’t just grim BBC Les Mis discourse atm

(I’ve reviewed them in the order they premiered)

1. Stories From Les Amies

This is a vlog story of the les amis with all the genders purposefully changed! Now this one has an awful lot of content to make up its plot, having premiered in 2013 and wrapped up with an HOUR LENGTH FILM at the end of 2014, so there’s a hell of a lot to digest here! The Enjolras behind this is actually also the author of TextingEnjolras/EnjolrasRising so the plot does bear some resemblance to that also! (Another piece of content I’d highly recommend if you’ve not read yet).

But, to keep it fair, I’m going to stick with just the pilot episode! It’s set up like a big group skype call with our amis introducing themselves, where we are first introduced to their personalities, mostly led by Enjolras although Combeferre acts a beautifully sarcastic arbiter. The video quality isn’t excellent, but surprisingly, the audio quality is pretty great (for every character except Marius), with almost no background noise or fuzz.

Enjolras: All of us make up a society that we call the Friends of the ABC

Enjolras: *awkwardly nods and grins*

Enjolras: Which is actually a pun, because... ABC pronounced together sounds like the word abaissés, which means “lowly” or “abased...

Enjolras: So... it’s... it’s a pun.

I know I’m only reviewing pilot episodes to keep it fair, but I will say yes, the quality of the series absolutely does improve over time, and I would highly recommend giving it a go if you’ve never seen it before! You can find the whole series here.

2. Official Les Amis Vlog

Premiering at almost exactly the same time as number 2 on this list, the Les Amis Vlog is similar in terms of quality but different in style. This is as it says - a vlog channel, with divided playlists for each character in the Amis. Every character uploaded vlogs between 2013 and 2015 introducing themselves, answering questions, and making content on certain themes. 

This one took me by surprise - I was very much underwhelmed by the camera quality and lack of plot, but once I started watching, I realised why the Les Amis vlog doesn’t have plot - it’s because instead of making up political issues and action, they actually discuss real politics - in the pilot episode, Enjolras actually talks about a real news article from Reuters and then goes on into an impassioned rant on public surveillance  - it’s kind of amazing.

Enjolras: I mean, you wanna hide your face for whatever reason? Well, congratulations! You’re now a potential t*rror*st for having stood in the way of the observational machine!

Obviously this one is much more about the characters than it is any sort of plot like we’ll see in some of our later series, but... these characters are by far some of the most convincing Les Amis I’ve seen! Particularly Enjolars - wow. So if that sounds like your kinda thing, check it out here!

3. Vines de l'ABC

A multimedia webseries that ran from 2016-2018, but mostly confined to Vines, this one in essence is similar to the Les Amis Vlog in that it is more character driven than plot driven - the different characters were all cast and then separately uploaded Vines (and occasionally YouTube videos) as well as answering questions to the main blog.

The first “episode” is, as common for these webseries, a video of our Enjolras introducing Les Amis and his character, then being interrupted by a phone call. The quality is webcam quality, the sound pretty fuzzy, but I do think Dorian here makes a great Enjolras... more on that shortly! Overall, the quality of this first episode isn’t super relevant to the rest of the series though, because as is obvious by the name, it’s mostly comprised of amusing little vines.

*Tik Tok by Ke$ha plays*

Enjolras: Hello? Did you change my ring tone again? ...Again? Well, I mean, I'm trying to do the video... No, I mean, I'm actually in the middle of doing the video right now, you're on camera... No, no I don't know how to edit it out... I mean, does he have a concussion, or..? *sighs* ...How did I know he had a concussion.

Obviously vine is dead, but everything is available here - if this sounds like your kind of thing, definitely go check it out! There is TONS of content for your consumption here.

4. Barricade Boys

Next up is a comedy/parody show from NyxRising, an already established group of YouTube cosplayers who’ve made lots of similar shows previously. This means, for a start, that the production quality here is some of the best you’ll see - great audio and video quality, basic but good set design, great costumes.

Now, let’s make it clear: if you’re looking for a brick accurate show, this is not the one for you. It’s a pretty ludicrous parody, with an unbelievably arsehole Enjolras with no notion of personal space, a Grantaire with weird sideburns and a crush so obvious it’s hilarious, a Marius so dumb he thinks he’s joining a “lonely hearts club” and a Courfeyrac so OOC that I don’t even know where to begin. 

But god damn, did this make me laugh out loud a good few times.

Enjolras: You do you, Grantaire. Nobody else will.

This one has a couple episodes out already, and I’d highly recommend if you want some laughs! You can find it here.

5. The Downtrodden

Aaaand... onto our January debuts! I’m super excited to give a review of the pilot episode of Shadow of the Tor’s “The Downtrodden”! 

One thing that stuck out to me immediately is that this might be the most diverse cast yet - we have multiple POC, and also a trans Enjolras - in both cases, there’s no self-congratulatory back-patting, but it’s made very clear and very casual, and it’s wonderful. Another point worth mentioning is that our Enjolras is the same Enjolras seen in Vines de l’ABC - and as I mentioned, I think Dorian is great at the role.

The Downtrodden seems to be going for an enjoyable line between plotty and humorous, and so far I’m super excited to see where they take it. The audio and video quality is outstanding, though the cafe background noises could do with being toned down just a tiny bit (as there are occasionally character lines in the background that are a little drowned out), but overall it’s by far the most professional looking alongside Barricade Boys (which had to contend with far less characters!). One comment I will make, though nitpicky, is that unlike Barricade Boys, which moves extremely swiftly through its jokes, The Downtrodden is edited just a pace too slow in one or two scenes, meaning the comic timing falls a little off and the jokes don’t quite get the reaction they really deserve.

Grantaire: You get free coffee refills here if you’re part of a student group. I gotta make that loan last.

Cosette: Do you consider yourself a politically motivated person?

R: I barely even consider myself a person.

C: Oh. Are you alright?

R: Is anyone?

Surprisingly, one of my favourite characters in the pilot episode was Marius! I often find he’s overplayed to death, but in this he appears a little dim but genuinely charming, and he got some of the best laughs out of me. I’d be interested to know how well all the jokes landed with someone who isn’t a Brit, however, since I’m super sold on all these characters being British uni students (student poverty aesthetic and Oxfam shopping bags, goddamn!), and also love Courfeyrac for the same reason - he seems like your typical friendly but laddish uni type, which works perfectly for his character. Also, I own that mug he has.

One of the strongest points, and a very common issue I have with Les Amis webshows (and the 2012 movie NOT GONNA LIE), is losing track of who is supposed to be who - I had no such problem with The Downtrodden - everyone is introduced naturally, gets at LEAST a line or two, and is beautifully acted - go check out the pilot here!

6. The Les Amis Webshow

The last one on our list - the Les Amis Webshow premiered on the last day of January!

First impressions of this webshow are: the most enticing hook yet straight from the beginning, and some of the worst sound quality.

After the introduction - structured as Marius speaking to us from the future - the pilot episode actually centers around a random film student coming up to Marius and asking if they can film him. Is this Cosette? Will we ever find out? Who knows, but for some reason Marius just takes it in his stride and lets this person follow him around, in what I can’t decide is a very weird move, or a very Marius move.

Jehan: Are you wearing your lanyard?

Marius: Yeah. Why? That’s what it’s for.

Jehan: (laughing) You simple little freshman!

Marius: *long pause*

Also Marius: We’re gonna get along great!

The editing is actually fun and a few shots seem to be going for something quite adventurous - I just wish the audio quality were better.

I like Enjolras so far - he seems very confident in himself and a little bit of a rich boy, and I’m really interested to see what they do with Marius, since this is the only webshow so far where Marius has been front and center instead of Enjolras - in that snippet at the start, he seems very anxious and weary - it’s very Empty Chairs at Empty Tables! Overall, this has the most “plot-y” vibe to its initial episode so far, and reminds me a lot of Stories from Les Amies, honestly. I’m very excited to see what they do with it, and am also euphoric at a REGULAR UPLOAD SCHEDULE unlike the other two which are currently running - Barricade Boys and The Downtrodden. Keep up with it every Thursday here!

Thank you so much to @starberry-cupcake for helping me compile this list!

highlight reel: @/SFLA who the fuck makes a feature length movie oh my god, the sheer levels of gay in BB, Marius’ super poshboy accent in TD (sorry if thats just how u speak Ethan), and best of all the German flag taking centre stage in tLAW - the european cynic in me is desperate to know why its there and hopes that you didn’t just mix up French and German flags lmao

#les mis #les miz #les miserables #les amis #exr #bonus points for the first person to make a compilation #of all the pronounciations #of enjolras #of combeferre #and of courfeyrac #every fucking show gets at least one wrong

[blognoraliah-blog]

HOW TO PRESERVE TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN MALAYSIA

Introduction

First of all, I would like to introduce myself. My Nama is Noraliah Sabrina Binti Ahmad Jefry. I am 20 years old and I was born in 27 may 1998. I live in Bandar Baru Sungai Buaya, Rawang, Selangor. I entrolled in music field when I was 11 years old and my first instrument that I played was Piano. Now I am pursuing my studies at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UITM) Shah Alam in Diploma of music majoring in Classical Piano.

Malaysia's multi-cultural and multi-racial heritage is most prominently exhibited in its diverse music and dance forms. Middle Eastern music is popular with Muslim Malays. Malay music is influenced by Islamic prayers and Middle Eastern and Arab music as well as music from Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Europe. Traditional Islamic-style music endures mainly in Kelantan. Most Malays like pan -Asian pop. Instruments used in traditional Malay music include the rebab, gendang, rebana, Chinese-style tawak gongs, the harmonium from India and Western-style violins. The tong is a Kayan instrument similar to a Jew’s harp. Malaysia has two traditional orchestras: the gamelan and the nobat. Originally from Indonesia, the gamelan is a traditional orchestra that plays ethereal lilting melodies using an ensemble of gong percussion and stringed instruments. The Nobat is a royal orchestra that plays more solemn music for the courts using serunai and nafiriwind instruments.

The more recent major influence on the performing arts of Malaysia, was effected by the Portuguese are credited with the introduction of the violin and the guitar, while British cultural influence in Malaysia has been much more generalized. (Ghouse Nasuruddin 1992). In addition to popularizing western music, dance, and theatre, the Europeans have also directly influenced the development of semi-modern syncretic musical forms such as the asli, keroncong, ghazal and bangsawan, which combine both western and traditional musical elements.

As a conclusion of these influences, traditional Malaysian music exhibits multi-faceted musical styles which combine regional as well western and West Asian elements. For example, the musical styles and instruments of northern Peninsula Malaysia resemble those of the Thais, while those in the southern part of the Peninsula have incorporated Indonesian musical elements. Furthermore, all over Malaysia western musical influences are glaringly evident.

How to preserve traditional music in Malaysia

Nowadays, whenever we asked people about these particular things, it is not be surprised that most of them do not know about these traditional instruments or worse haven not heard about it. Therefor it is expected if they do not know on how to play with the instrument. This scenario is worsen the society. It reflects how ungrateful we are toward our ancestor heritage. 

As a traditional music lover, we have to preserve traditional music in Malaysia. Making a Traditional Music Festival is the best way to expose to people especially young people about music traditional. Such Gamelan Festival that was approved by the FOBISIA Heads of Schools during the November 2015 meeting that the Gamelan Festival will be broadened to the World Music Festival to be more inclusive of a wider range of music and to give wider opportunities for cultural enrichment.

As we can see, many people are not care about traditional because they are not being into traditional music vibe since kids and they are not familiar of sound traditional then pop music. Due of these reason, the traditional music industry are not being taken seriously by the people now. For me, we have to take seriously about our culture especially our traditional music because symbolizes the identity of a culture in our country.

Fortunately, there are still many musicians are fighting for our music traditional. For example Monoloque the new singer in industry music that try to make a new and fresh music. As we can know the new song of Monoloque that tittle “Chinta” has put sound of gamelan in his song. This is really amazing for me because not everyone will think to do such things. With that, people can see that sound of gamelan are not only used in official functions. I think Monoloque is the genius Composer. He knows what people now want to heard. The ideas in making music are so fresh and according to trend now. So with this, I believe our industry of music traditional will be more upbeat and not forgotten young people.

  Next, to maintain and uphold the traditional Malay music art especially among the younger generation, efforts must be initiated early, for example, at primary level so that the desire can be achieved effectively. The Ministry of Education, for example, should introduce the traditional Malay music in Musical subjects or at least in co-curricular activities at national schools. Musical subject teaching in schools should not focus on modern music alone, but it is time for traditional Malay music to be taken seriously. The approach is very important to ensure that traditional Malay music is not only extinct, but it is also able to continue its survival in tandem with the rapid evolution of Western music that has now hit. If Tamil-Chinese or Chinese-style schools find much emphasis on the arts and cultural aspects of their respective races, the majority of schools in the Malay nation should also be left behind in the matter. Music is an essential element that must be emphasized in addition to the History and Literature subjects, where it is able to build thought, identity and awareness about the fate of the struggle of the Malays. During this time, traditional Malay music seemed to be less noticeable at earlier levels. Otherwise it is more significant at the level of study at public institutions of higher learning (IPTA). As we can see, there are also the most talented lecturer that are trying hard to introduce our traditional music to our young generations in school. Kamrul Hussein or more familiar we call it “Cik kam” is one of lecturer that are expose to our younger people about traditional music in school. Mohd. Kamrulbahri has been teaching and lectured many places such the National Arts Academy of Malaysia (Akademi Seni Kebangsaan) A.S.K or ASWARA (2001-2008), the National University of Malaysia (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-UKM- 1997-2003), University Of Malaya (U.M), University of Technology Mara (U.i.T.M), University Of Putra Malaysia-UPM, The International College Of Music-ICOM, Sunway University College (2009), full time Contract base lecturer at Music Faculty, Akademi Seni Budaya Dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA) 2008-2012. Distinguished Creative Scholar at the Faculty of Music, University Technology MARA (UiTM) 2012-2014. He really hope that our generation are not forget our culture music and hopping they are more musician in tradition were born.

In order to achieve the syllabus of Malay Traditional Music subjects at the school, the Ministry of Education may work with the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage to achieve that goal. Application of artistic and cultural values base on through the teaching of traditional music at the children's stage may warn them of their origins as well as forming their identity when they become adults. Traditional music lessons that are leisurely taught are among the channels that are easy to live with by the children as well as being able to apply side-by-side elements such as Malay language and customs. The fragility of the identity and weaknesses of the Malays at the present time, among others, is due to the lack of application of cultural values and Islamic teachings as fortresses and practices in daily life.

Hence, the inclusion of traditional Malay musical elements at the early stages of the school will hopefully contribute to maintaining the identity and identity of the nation to be more competitive in the future. When our young generation has been expose in traditional music so our industry music will be more developing. After that, to preserve our Traditional music the government have to creating more broadcasts on television about traditional music. As we can see the people are most often watch television to entertain themselves. The influence on television can attract attention people. So with that we can show audience about our culture music. The example shown on TV that we have right now is Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (STMB) or TV3 was established in 1983 as Malaysia's first private TV, and began broadcasting in the Klang Valley on June 1, 1984. With the presence of this TV station the music industry could grow further along with music programs such as Lagu Juara (1986) which until now became one of the recognized awards in the music industry. At present there are six stations of TV broadcaster and nearly 40 stations radio (including RTM stations) all of which provide a lot of opportunities and incentives which is strong for the development of the music industry in Malaysia. This is proved that we also can create channel on TV about our Traditional Music. So the young generation can watch and know about their traditional music. This same on what broadcasts on Indonesian do. One of example of show on TV attract people's attention this tradition music is Konsert Orkestra Tradisional Malaysia (OTM). seen as a catalyst for the Malaysian music revolution in the 21st century. It is based on various ethnic and ethnic music such as Malay, Chinese, Indian, Aboriginal, Sabah and Sarawak. The combination of this variety of music genres is hoped to be a platform to a new concept of Malaysian music in the coming century. 

Lastly, many origin has produced diverse traditional musical instruments, thus generating rich and complex music artistic heritage. Despite being culturally diverse, however, music has succeeded in establishing its own identity and highlighting the characteristics of equality that can be shared by various races across the country. So we can create a connecting between our traditional music Malaysia with all ASEAN. Musical instruments of membranophon, cordon, idiofon and erofon are played through a similar match, thus giving soul and aspiration towards the formation of a united nation within ASEAN member states. This are example concert that connecting with other country, The ASEAN Consonant Concert C held at Tengku Abdul Rahman, Matic, Kuala Lumpur for two days has recently been seen gaining the attention of local communities. This concert is a form of appreciation at the same time can be regarded as the uniformity and richness of the traditional culture, especially the music in ASEAN member countries. We can see that the traditional is really important and we have to make sure our generation know the tarditional sound. Cultural media, institutions and industries can also play a crucial role in ensuring the viability of traditional forms of performing arts by developing audiences and raising awareness amongst the general public. Audiences can be informed about the various aspects of a form of expression, allowing it to gain a new and broader popularity, while also promoting connoisseurship which, in turn, encourages interest in local variations of an art form and may result in active participation in the performance itself. Malaysia's Ministry of Tourism and Culture Secretary-General, Tan Sri Dr. Ong Hong Peng described the ASEAN Consulate C Concert as an initiative to combine experts from ASEAN member states through art and culture. "By featuring traditional musical instruments from the 10 ASEAN countries, this concert has basically promoted unique melodies from the respective country's musical traditions and most importantly showcase new talents among young ASEAN children," he said.

As conclusion, it important for us to keep the traditional music industry in Malaysia because Symbol of a national culture. There are many reason why our tradition music getting forgotten especially on our young generation. Many parties should play a role to ensure that these traditional music is not extinct. When we into in this traditional music we will be able to get new experiences and extensive knowledge. We can also see how it feels like to play traditional instrument in an ensemble. When played in Ensemble automatic you will discipline yourself and learn how communications between the teammate. I hope this Traditional music will keep continue to be seen by the upcoming generation so that our grandma will be more proud of us and they will be more appreciated.

[itskeisy]

then vs now

#thg #the hunger games #tbosas #hunger games prequel #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #ballad of songbirds and snakes #katniss everdeen #lucy gray baird #jennifer lawrence #rachel zegler #its giving 2012 2015 vibes am i right? #meme #funny memes

[iameverything]

A Conversation: Lost Under Heaven

“The Manchester duo Lost Under Heaven, or LUH, have never been keen on subtlety. Super-sized in every dimension, the music of former WU LYF leader Ellery Roberts and visual artist Ebony Hoorn sought grand answers about love and mortality by way of drastic melodies.”

First off, for people who dont know, who is Lost Under Heaven? Ebony Hoorn & Ellery James Roberts Collaborative life work.

The first time I heard of you guys was 'I&I' on the HBO show Ballers and I was hooked. I originally thought of bands like July Talk etc, where the voice coming from the person is a surprise, in a very fascinating and amazing way. Was there a moment you can remember when you (Ellery Roberts) realized you had such a unique voice? When I was young I found a cathartic uplift in singing as hard as I could, usually in response to the noise of the rest of what ever teenage band I was playing with, since then I���ve learned to control it, focus it, People always tell me my voice is unique, it’s just how it comes out, but these days I am singing quite differently, working on a softer croon. I have nothing to shout about anymore.

In regards to the previous question, whats it like to get your music featured on HBO Ballers and even Netflix 13 Reasons Why, among other content? How surreal is that? Its always strange to see a song that has quite specific meaning or ambiance to you, put in a totally different context, but that is also the beauty of creation, once you release something you never know what it may go on to inspire.

With how unique Ellery's voice is and than to be accompanied by the other beautiful voice that is Ebony, I am surprised your music isn't showing up in a lot of other content. I picture LUH having a song in a tv show as the intro in my opinion. How much longer until North American tv/movie productions start taking notice you think? Have you gotten any offers you turned down? We haven’t turned anything down, sure it would be nice to have some high level syncs, make cash flow easier and get the name out to a wider audience, but these things always come out of the blue… We enjoy narrative, atmosphere and an expansive sound in our song writing so it lends well to soundtracks. We are actually working on our first soundtrack for ‘8 days with hopper’ a feature film due in 2021, a really beautiful project that we are very excited to be a part of.

Before we dive into the bright future that is Lost Under Heaven, we gotta go back to the past. Before you (Ellery) joined Ebony for LUH, you started in a band called WU LYF, mindset wise, what was it like being in WU LYF vs LUH? And creatively how different was it? WU was a teenage jam band that got picked up on a wave of hype. I loved the creation of the record and feel it is a very genuine document of untamed youth, but after touring it for 18 months relationships soured and the joy, the fire was gone- trying to write the second record and growing in awareness to the state of the world I fell into a deep depression, I longed for a deeper life and my heart knew I needed to make a change. I broke the band up quite impulsively which I regret for it needlessly hurt those closest to me- but life moves on, wounds heal. creatively all the songs came out of 4 people jamming together for hours and hours- with LUH the process is much more focused, considered, I sit at a piano or with a guitar & write songs working with Ebony to produce them in a cinematic world of atmosphere and tension. I only miss WU LYF in the nostalgic way people miss their teenage years of wild abandon.

With endings come new beginnings.... Right before the end of WU LYFE, did you guys always know Lost Under Heaven was the next project in mind? And has it lived up to the expectations of what you pictured? Lost Under Heaven began when I moved to Amsterdam to live with Ebony, we were not really anticipating working together but it naturally came with me making music whilst she made her visual art in the same small apartment. We then started to have grande visions of what we could create together, we see LUH as a life work, ever evolving, a process thru which we can experiment with ideas and express our ever evolving level of consciousness.

You guys are just absolutely marvelous, I even went as far as calling you my favourite band of the last decade. You guys present not just new ideas, but new sounds and something I have not yet seen. You guys have such a unique vibe its insane. Have you guys ever been approached by any labels or music reps to change anything up significantly? And what do you think of artists doing that to get signed? Fortunately we both have always had a very clear idea of what we should be doing. We are ever motivated to create and have great gratitude that we are able to live this life. To be honest nobody’s ever really challenged us to change, the way in which we work is essentially D.I.Y so we just explore where ever the energy take us. We probably would benefit from some business management, but the blessing of doing everything yourself is you learn and grow at a high pace. As to other artists, each is own their own path and they have to live with themselves so I have no judgment- personally I have never compromised my art to get a wider appeal, or more success, I strive for soulful honesty- not just entertainment.

Little backstory: I was once standing on a beach somewhere in a middle of nowhere, and the beach was a temporary home, something to hide away in but it was only a band-aid of escape. In the mist of the sunset setting and nothing but ocean in the backdrop, your track Loyalty from the album Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing came on, and everything made sense in that moment. One of my favourite songs ever, hands down. Talk about what that song means to you guys? How did it come to be? Loyalty is one of my favorites, it was actually the first song Ebony sang on, the first time I really heard her voice- I wrote the cello part years ago, probably when I was a teenager and always had the idea to make an epic street hassle (Lou Reed) kinda record, but could never figure out how, then I came up with this guitar riff and sang along it all started to come together but I had no idea how the chorus should go, so I asked ebony to just play around and those line’s “we are going to sail away…” came out of it- perfect! yeah I love that song, we have never really been able to play it well live (with out a cello player!) so I haven’t heard it for a few years- but you made me want to revisit it now…

While we are on the topic of your first album, what was the song writing process for it vs your second album Love Hates What You Become? Would you say there was a difference creative wise between the two? Spiritual Songs was written in lots of little fragments over a couple of years (2012- 2015) I mostly wrote it on a piano and then straight into Ableton so its a lot more processed production, - Love Hates I wrote whilst we toured the 1st record in 2016- I had started playing guitar for the live band so I wrote nearly all the songs on 6 strings, I finished it up in a week in January 2017 so it was fast, focused- we produced the record with Jon Congleton in 3 weeks recorded and mixed, so it was all very fast- I felt the record to had a raw urgency, to keep us moving, keep the band on the road, but then the label stagnated the release schedule for 18 months and it kinda lost the energy, I am proud of the record- but it was quite a frustrating period, which I am happy to have behind us.

I've always wondered, with your album titles like Love Hates What You Become or  Spiritual Songs for Lovers to Sing, where do these ideas for album names come from? The Unified Field. I don’t know man, ideas arrive and you note them down and then months later they have meaning, that’s the way titles, lyrics most of what we do comes to be- I like walking around aimless, letting my mind roam, writing down anything that feels exciting

Speaking of creative, you guys recently left Mute Records to start your own label LUH International. What prompted this big change up? And in a nutshell what can we expect from these big changes? As eluded to earlier, after the release of Love Hates we had become frustrated by the slow and bloated process working within a label system can place on your creativity- We were looking for new way to work in the world with more intimacy and spontaneity, an opportunity had arisen with a de-centralised video platform called Vevue that enabled us to become financially independent for the foreseeable future- so we decided to make LUH.international formalised as an entity- to release our work, not necessarily a record label, I see it more as creative studio that will periodically make short run pressings of our projects- we are currently putting together the First, a book that consolidates our work on the Love Unite Humanity web series release via Vevue.

What advice can you give someone who would want to start up their own record label? Patience, perseverance and maintain a level of success consciousness- law of attraction vibes.

You guys are not just starting your own record label, but developing original content (and music) titled Love Unites Humanity (Episode zero here) and will be featured on the video platform Vevue. In saying all that, what does this project mean for you guys? And how will this take Lost Under Heaven onto the next level? Love Unites Humanity brings together a lot of our thoughts and experiences over the last few years, I see it as a way of articulating our world view, thru artistic expression. It also provides us a free space to experiment, creating work quickly and immediately releasing it with no middlemen, the Vevue platform enables us to directly earn from our work with it token exchange economy.  

When can Canada expect to see LUH live in concert? ah man, I have no idea, we’d love to get over to you tho- perhaps some one reading this will want to make it happen.

5 rapid fire questions, give the answer that comes to mind first If you were not called Lost Under Heaven what else would you want to be called? Ebony & Ellery James and their Famous Flames Best venue to play in? The White Hotel, Manchester Favorite current song? ROSALÍA - Juro Que  Best underrated artist? So many but my today I say, Kali Malone Favorite song that is your own? Here Our Moment Ends or Black Sun Rising

Cover photo by Chris Almeida

#luh #lostunderheaven #www.seohero.uk #london #music

[wiremagazine]

TWIST CELEBRATES ANOTHER WONDERFUL ANNIVERSARY: 26 YEARS GOING STRONG IN SOUTH BEACH

By Rafa Carvajal

As LGBTQ establishments go, TWIST is truly an institution. For 26 wonderful years, it has provided fun nights out for countless members of the LGBTQ community from Miami and the Beaches, the U.S. and countries around the world. TWIST has also been visited by many famous celebrities looking to have a gay time out in South Beach partying with both locals and tourists.

Whether having a stiff drink for happy hour, hanging out with friends, watching a drag show, dancing to your favorite pop, house or Latin music, enjoying TWIST's sexy dancers, or partying into the early hours of the morning, everyone loves TWIST for its seven bars, three dance floors and different vibes in every room. "Never a cover... always a groove," seven nights a week, every week of the year has made TWIST legendary and extremely popular with all its patrons.

I sat down with TWIST co-owner Joel Stedman, manager J.D. Bower, bartender Mario Trejo and drag performer TP Lords to look back at 26 wonderful years, and chat about what makes TWIST so special to our LGBTQ community.

JOEL STEDMAN | CO-OWNER

Rafa Carvajal: From your perspective as an owner of TWIST, how does it feel for it to turn 26? Joel Stedman: We are honored and so incredibly thankful. Our extremely loyal guests and friends continue to make TWIST the institution it is today.

RC: What are you and your team planning for this year's anniversary? JS: This year, we will have complimentary cocktails from 9-11 p.m. with amazing hors d'oeuvres from the Gourmet Station. VJ and bartender Nathan P. Smith is giving away a select few of this year's 26th anniversary DVD compilation. Our dancers in the Bungalow will arrive early and put on a special anniversary show. The legendary TP Lords will perform with the one and only Athena Dion in the main room. Josefina Globos is putting together another outrageous show for her comedy hit La Fiesta de la Croqueta in Bar 5. It will be nonstop all night.

RC: How do you see TWIST evolving in the next 5 years? JS: We try to listen very hard to what our guests want and don't want. Nightlife and South Beach are changing very quickly, and we want to always be that sweet spot in the mix. One thing is for sure, TWIST will always have friendly, engaging bartenders, world-class DJs and a vibe that is always about having a great time! Cheers to another 26!

J.D. BOWER | MANAGER

Rafa Carvajal: How did you get your job at TWIST? J.D. Bower: Several years ago, when I was working and living in Provincetown, I helped make reservations and arrange accommodations for TWIST co-owners Richard Trainor and Joel Stedman for a Fourth of July stay. At the last minute, an unexpected disaster happened and I quickly had to find new accommodations. I did and they were impressed with my ingenuity and ethic of "making it work." From there, Richard and I became friends, and he asked me to join the TWIST family in a managerial position.

RC: What is the best part of your job and what are your main responsibilities? JDB: The best part of my job is that I get to work with everyone. Bartenders, co-managers, bar backs, security and office personnel. I oversee the flow and progression of work in seven bars, and the end result is that it all must work. It's my duty to "make it work," and when it does it's a great satisfaction.

RC: What should your patrons look forward to the most about celebrating TWIST's 26th-anniversary? JDB: The celebration of the amazing fact that it's 26! No other club in South Beach has existed for that many years consecutively. It's an institution.

RC: Why do you think people love TWIST so much? JDB: People love TWIST because it is for everyone with seven bars appealing to all cultures, genders, and nationalities with friendly, knowledgeable bartenders and security that greet every guest with a gracious welcome at the door. TWIST is considered by many to be their home.

RC: Who is your favorite celebrity you've met at TWIST? JDB: Richard Trainor. He is a true celebrity.

MARIO TREJO | BARTENDER

Rafa Carvajal: How did you first start bartending at TWIST? Mario Trejo: At first, I was opposed to the idea of even working in a gay club. However, a friend at the time convinced me and introduced me to the then general manager, Valentino Erickson, and then I met with co-owners Joel and Richard. The rest is history.

RC: What do you enjoy the most about working in the video bar at TWIST? MT: It's hard to pick one thing, but it's the energy! The combination of our loyal patrons from near and far, the videos and the comradery between myself and Nathan.

RC: What makes a good cocktail? MT: One that's fun, tasty, and made with love.

RC: You're a pro during Turnabout. Which one of your performances is your favorite, and why? MT: My favorite is when I performed as Diana Ross and did a number from the movie Chicago with Duni. We rehearsed the routine for two months to get it perfect. I was living in New York at the time and flew in specifically to perform in the 2015 turnabout. It was a lot of fun.

RC: Why do you think it is important for our community to have such a popular LGBTQ establishment in South Beach? MT: It's very important because our community needs a safe place to call home. Somewhere we know we can be free, able to express ourselves, and not be judged or chastised, and TWIST allows that!

RC: What are your top three memories at TWIST? MT: 1) When my mom and aunt came to visit me. 2) When TWIST was honored by the City of Miami Beach. 3) New Year's 2012.

RC: Is there anything else you would like to share with Wire Magazine readers? MT: I would just want everyone to remember to be kind and loving towards each other. Throughout the years and decades, our community has been hated on, chastised, beaten, bullied, treated cruelly, called vile names, looked down upon by society, and even murdered. This is the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. Let's not perpetuate the hatred and negativity towards one another by shading or looking down at those who may or may not fit the status quo or have a different view on what's good or not, right or wrong. But, embrace everyone's individuality and differences, and lift each other up to higher heights and a stronger, united community.

TP LORDS | DRAG PERFORMER

Rafa Carvajal: Why do you like to be a drag performer at TWIST? TP Lords: I like being a drag performer at TWIST because it's like a family. Everyone is so respectful and, of course, TWIST is an iconic staple in the LGBTQ community. I am honored to be part of such a legacy.

RC: Tell our readers about your drag persona. TPL: My drag persona is basically fueled by music. Anything that I really like, I put a performance together and serve nice and warm.

RC: What are you looking forward to the most about performing at TWIST's 26th anniversary? TPL: I am looking forward to seeing all the people who have supported us for so many years. Getting to meet them, chat with them and, of course, party with them!

RC: What does TWIST mean to you? TPL: Having a safe space where we can all be ourselves and share it with other LGBTQ people.

RC: Describe your drag style. TPL: Out of the box, musically motivated and creative.

RC: How is performing in drag at TWIST different than at other bars and clubs? TPL: Performing in drag at TWIST is different because you really get to connect with the audience. It's more intimate and personable, and always a good time.

RC: What is your fondest memory performing at TWIST? TPL: When we have Turnabout. All of our hard working bartenders get in drag and get to perform for the audience. I get to host and watch these men turn it out.

RC: Is there anything else you would like to share with Wire Magazine readers? TPL: The only thing I would like to share with Wire Magazine readers is that you can come to see us at TWIST every day of the week. There is always something different going on. You always have a safe space to enjoy yourselves with us, without drama.

This was originally published in Wire Magazine Issue 12.2019

#wire magazine #wiremag.com #wire #miami #miami beach #south beach #sobe #fort lauderdale #wynwood #wilton manors #gay #lgbt #glbt #twist #twist anniversary

[doofcake]

BEST OF 2016

Hello everyone! I've got a list for you. In fact, I've got SEVERAL. Introducing:

Doofcake's Lists of Best of 2016

Let's have a look at what wasn't an absolute disaster in 2016. Starting off with the most important list.

BEST MUSIC

#1   Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation

Released just at the end of October, but I feel like in that short time, it's already my most listened album in 2016. I was pretty excited about Bonito Generation's arrival all the way up to its release and I'm glad that my excitement was justified. Bonito Generation is an incredibly fun album from track 1 to track 12. I'd normally have a hard time picking out my favourite album, but not this year. Bonito Generation is my number 1.

#2   Suiyoubi no Campanella - UMA

I was pretty excited for this album's release and I really love the direction Suiyoubi no Campanella went with it. They make strange music that makes me feel strange. Strangely euphoric. It makes me feel good. I’ve danced to Chupacabra more times than I can count. I love it!

#3   Daruma

Daruma is actually a compilation of sorts, but they released 5 volumes in 2016, Daruma volumes 5 to 9, and I like to think of them as one single collection, since they are all very similar and I always listen to them all together.  Daruma volumes deserve a little special recognition from me. They're beautifully crafted strange loud music.

#4   Quentin Sirjacq - Far Islands and Near Places

The mellow sounds, soothing melodies and overwhelming feeling of beauty and peace. It’s super zen. Everything about this album is right up my alley and I don't think I could ever get tired of it.

#5   PC Music - Vol. 2

Would be incredible if they didn't make this a Spotify and iTunes exclusive. I can't buy it on iTunes! So I'm currently forced to only listen to it on Spotify. Anyway, PC Music is something I can't and don't want to explain. It is its own thing. It has almost spawned its own genre as other artists try to copy their style. It's awesome. Go check it out.

#6   TOYOMU - Imagining "The Life of Pablo"

Fun story with that one. Basically Kanye released his album on a platform that wasn't available in Japan, so this guy TOYOMU, who's a big fan of Kanye, got mad and made this album in a sort of protest. He looked up the samples and the lyrics Kanye had used in each of the songs on the album, and then created his own version of the Life of Pablo album with the same samples and lyrics run through TTS, without ever hearing the original songs. And the result... Well, in my opinion, the result is BETTER than the original album. I love it to bits. From the idea to the result itself, it's a masterpiece.

#7   Perfume - Cosmic Explorer

Yasutaka Nakata sure likes making BANGERS lately. This album is full of it. Sweet happy tunes coupled with loud banger instrumentals is my jam. Getting my body moving while also making me feel happy, euphoric even. Thank you, Yasutaka.

#8   Haywyre - Two Fold pt. 2

This album is COMPLEX. Pretty diverse songs here. Calling it banger would be wrong, although at times it kind of is. It's mostly actually very chill. I mean, one of the songs is basically funk. So it's music that you can dance to and it has a nice beat, but it's not LOUD and all up in your face. It's perfectly good music to just sit back and relax with some drinks.

#9   Charli XCX - Vroom Vroom EP

Produced by SOPHIE, who is one of the most prominent PC Music artists. Silly stupid fun music. I sure do like PC Music and I love SOPHIE so it was pretty obvious I’d love this album. Beep beep!

#10 General Mumble - Pollogamy

I like to think of this as Mumble's "best hits". It certainly includes most of my favourite tracks from him, if you exclude the entire PEGASII +- DOGGE AM album, but that was 2015. I actually reaaaaaaally love Mumble’s Vibe as well, but I wanted to limit the list to one album per artist. Can’t leave it unmentioned though.

Runner ups

David Bowie - Blackstar

The King's Parade - Vagabond

KANYE WEST - The Life of Pablo

Kikagaku Moyo - House in the Tall Grass

FAMM'IN EP

Astrix - He.Art

Overhead, The Albatross - Learning to Growl

Noisia - Outer Edges

There's a whole bunch of other albums from 2016 that I listened to, and I can assure you they were all great, but just didn't have enough of an impact on me for me to give them a shoutout.

But I do want to give a shoutout to a couple of singles from 2016. They're single! They deserve love too!

Harrison Fjord - Approximately 900 Miles - This was almost like me and my friends' summer hit. 

Yunomi & nicamoq - Indoor keinara track maker - It's FUN!

And now I'd also like to have a couple of special mentions for music that wasn't released in 2016, but which I either found out about in 2016 or just listened to a lot in 2016.

Mura Masa - Lovesick Fuck - I'll be honest, I mostly listened to this a lot because it made the LEDs in my PC look cool. But it's a cool song without the LEDs too! 

DNCE - Swaay EP - God damn it's good. It's just good vibes put into music. 

Petit Biscuit - Sunset Lover - I'll be honest, again. I found out about this song through the best video of 3D tits I've ever seen. The editing on that video was stellar. Damn nice chill music too.

Kentaro Shimizu - Shitsuren Restoran - I listened to this song a lot last year and I listened to this song a lot this year. It's timeless.

Alright!! That's enough of music now. That was my favourite music in 2016. Applause *clap clap*

BEST VIDEO GAMES

Best Multiplayer Game of 2016

Competition was rough with Call of Dutys and Battlefields and whatnot all fighting to be the best multiplayer shooter this year, but the crown goes to

OVERWATCH

I don't think there's really any competition here. I know some people don't like it, but MOST people who have tried will probably agree it's the best multiplayer game this year, hands down.

I was incredibly skeptical of this game for a long time. Blizzard making a first person shooter? It's a TF2 clone? Has some MOBA elements in it? Pfft, it'll fail. Then they put out cinematic trailers, which of course aren't any sort of indication how good the game is, but damn the trailers looked gooood. Like straight up Disney. Still thought the game itself will fail. But then the public beta arrived and oh my dear lord, I couldn't stop playing it. It was the most fun I've had in a multiplayer game since GTA Online. Right. Well, the beta ended, and I thought I was burned out and done with it.

BUT OH MY DEAR LORD, I decided to buy the game because everyone else was playing it and now I am always up for a round of Overwatch. It's just, so damn well made. Sometimes incredibly frustrating when a cycle path gets in your way, but other than that, it's just... So damn well made.

Best Singleplayer Game of 2016

2016 was a FANTASTIC year for video games. It really, really was. So it's incredibly hard to pick out a number 1. So I'm going to pick out 3. Not in any order. They're all equally amazingly number 1.

Mirror's Edge Catalyst 

It got a lot of flak for bizarre reasons. Most of the early negative user scores on metacritic were saying it's feminist propaganda, but... how? Why? What That aside, there is of course some criticism that is well deserved. The story isn't super amazing, especially since the beginning of the story is told in comics, sold separately. And a lot of the backstory is kind of hidden in texts and audio logs AND in the original game. So people who aren't hardcore fans of Mirror's Edge like me were probably incredibly confused by just about everything in the story. But Mirror's Edge Catalyst SHINES in the areas where I want it to shine. I don't play Mirror's Edge for the story. I play it for the gameplay and the setting. And both of those are huuuuuugely improved from the first game. The running feels a lot faster now, your movement has a lot more impact to it and you can get through enemies without fighting or just knocking them out in the middle of running, without having to slow down. The world building is a lot more fleshed out, they did a lot of work with the backstory. And the world is full of huge electronic screens and neon lights, with a lot of grimy areas. Visually, it's almost my dream cyberpunk world.

Gravity Rush Remastered

This game came out on the Vita already in 2012, but I didn't get to play it until the remastered PS4 version came out and I finally got around to buying it. I didn't know much about this game when I went into it. Just that you control gravity as the name implies and that people on the internet wouldn't shut up about how everyone needs to get it for the PS4. Well, those people on the Internet were right. That game ended up being incredible. It was a bit difficult to get into at first, especially once the skill upgrade screens popped up and the map filled with dozens of "challenge missions" that you seemingly had to undertake in order to get those upgrades. And if you know me, you probably know I absolutely HATE RPGs mainly because of the very same overwhelming skill screens. But I ended up only doing one of the challenge missions just to try it out and the skills were very straightforward and in a fairly small number, so it wasn't overwhelming at all! The gameplay was incredibly fun. You control gravity, but only in a very small radius so the gravity shifts only affect you. And you use this ability for traversal and combat. Already the idea sounds fun! And the execution was well done. Although quite a few times I did get a bit disoriented, but that's to be expected and the game had clever visual cues to help you understand which way is up. All of that exciting gameplay coupled with an imaginative world and a superb story made this game an incredible experience. BUT! The story leaves a LOT of things unanswered and sort of ends on a cliffhanger. I don't really like it when games do that, since you never know whether there will even be a next game, but thankfully in this case, Gravity Rush 2 exists and is already coming out right at the beginning of 2017, and I can't wait to dive into that world and gameplay again. When I said Gravity Rush was difficult to get into at first, then after a short while, I could no longer stop.

Titanfall 2

Perhaps the biggest surprise to me and I'm sure many others. I played the original Titanfall only in the beta and it didn't leave me much of an impression, so I didn't even bother buying it. When Titanfall 2 was announced, I didn't care for it much, but the mention of a singleplayer campaign piqued my interest. The idea of a Call of Duty-esque singleplayer campaign with giant mechs sounded pretty neat, but only so-so. The huge amount of praise this game got, especially for its singleplayer, made me jump on board to see what it's all about and... Once again, those people on the internet were right. This campaign wasn't Call of Duty-esque at all. It was better. Way better. Everything was perfect. The story has you form a friendship with a giant war machine. The gameplay is full of really fun and awesome feeling traversal and offers various methods of approaching your enemies. It has BOSS FIGHTS! I LOVE a good boss fight, which has become awfully missing from first person shooters. And Titanfall 2 had a boss fight every half an hour. Even featuring that sweet camera zoom on the bosses like in Borderlands. The titans all have their own set of abilities and you can choose a set to use at any time as well. Each one providing completely different gameplay. It's kind of like Overwatch. Yeah, actually it's totally like Overwatch. Each titan setup even has its own ultimate ability that you need to charge up. Fighting against soldiers on the ground felt like just fighting creeps in a MOBA, coming up against enemy titans is where the real fun started. The only problems I have with Titanfall 2 is that the campaign only took me 4 hours to beat, which may actually be a good thing, you don't want to drag out the game to the point where it turns from amazing to a snoozefest. And the other problem is that the game has poor sales, because not only did the game come out at the same time as two major shooter franchises, but the marketing efforts were also focused on EA's other game, so people don't even know much about Titanfall 2 to think to choose it over the other games.

And that's all the awards I have for video games! Though I should give a very honourable mention to the new Doom. This game does things very, very right. The only thing I don't like about it from the little I've played is the huge focus on animated melee finishers. The reason I can't really say much more about the game is because I simply haven't been able to purchase it yet. Not necessarily because I can't, but because I want to get a new graphics card first, so I can enjoy its glory with the best visuals and highest framerate.

BEST TV SERIES

Orange is the New Black

Took me completely by surprise. It’s a series about women in prison and I can’t stop watching. Each individual character’s story is so intriguing and has me cheering or jeering on non-stop. It makes me feel frustrated.

BEST ANIME

South Park

It's South Park.

Member when South Park was just ass jokes and swearing kids and Kenny getting killed every episode? I member. But I like this new South Park a lot more. Actually, I don't know if that's really fair to say. It's so different, you can't even compare it with the old South Park. They're both great. But man the last 2 seasons have been amazing.

Jokes aside. My favourite actual Japanese ani-may was probably 

91 Days

It was slow to start, but when it picked up, it gave me a cliche riddled mafia story, which... was a good thing. For one I'd never seen something like that done in anime and the story, although full of cliches, was still original and exciting enough to have me hooked. And the way it ended took me completely by surprise. And that was also in a good way. One of the few anime series in 2016 that didn't end with "oh shit we have to end the series somehow, let's just stop trying and let the writer smack his head into the keyboard, see what happens"

BEST MOVIE

Sigh...

Bad year for movies. Prettttty bad year for movies. Most of the time I saw the cinema banners full of supehero crap and they all got really high scores too. It's been that way for quite a few years now. Don't people get tired of superhero stuff already? And that fad doesn't seem to stop any time soon.

EDIT: Originally, I named Zootopia my favourite movie of 2016 and also complained about remakes and reboots that were just pure fan pandering like those superhero movies. But I’ve changed my decision now.

The best movie of 2016 BY FAR is

Kubo and the Two Strings

The best movies, music and video games always hide behind all the popular stuff it seems. I had heard nothing about Kubo and the Two Strings up to its release and even when it was in cinemas I only knew of its existence thanks to looking up what’s currently running. What took my interest was a video on YouTube showing a little bit of the “making of” process of the film, which made me realise it’s a stop-motion film! Needless to say, I really wanted to see it. It’s pretty rare to see a stop-motion film these days.

The story is about a boy, Kubo, whose eye was stolen by his grandfather, so Kubo’s mother escaped to save him and they’ve been hiding ever since. Kubo goes out to the nearby village every day with his shamisen and magic to manipulate paper into moving origami characters, to tell stories of his father who was a mighty samurai fighting the evil Moon King. Of course, Kubo’s story doesn’t stay there, as his grandfather finds him and he has to escape once again. That’s where Kubo’s journey begins.

That journey was breathtaking. When I began watching the movie in the comfort of my seat, I thought I’d go and lie down on my bed to watch it, perhaps try and have a nap while I’m at it. But I couldn’t get out of my seat. The story had me so captivated that I couldn’t even bring myself to pause it to grab a snack. The story coupled with flawless stop-motion animation, which was done so well that most of the time you couldn’t really tell it was stop-motion, made the whole film experience magical. And it made me tear up numerous times, dealing the final blow with the ending and catching me in tears. Happy tears. Truly happy tears.

I wish more films were as imaginative and beautiful as Kubo and the Two Strings is. I’m sad that the film got seemingly very little attention, but I’m glad I decided to dive into it.

And I guess that's it! Thanks for reading!

Have a lovely 2017!

[omnigeekempire]

Well, this truly is the last day and blog of the decade huh? Man, I can’t even remember where all the years went to to be honest, but I guess that just means I’m getting old, or maybe I spent most of my time playing video games and didn’t realize. Either way, in the last decade I have played some remarkable games of that period, many of which have left a lasting impact on my psyche. So today, I wanted to commemorate those games in this blog today. My Top 30 games of the last decade!

Now, I know many have done this kind of thing already, some even rounding it up to just ten games, however, when I look back at the times and all the games I’ve played I couldn’t leave certain games behind or out of the list. So what I’ve decided to do is break them down into the ten year period in groups and give a line or two as to why I enjoyed the game. This way the blog won’t be a chore to read. Hopefully!

2010’s

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood & Darksiders

Let me start with Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. I got into the series in AC2 and I was immediately engrossed with the concept of the Creed and the Assassins. So when AC:B came out, I was more than ecstatic to jump back into the world of Ezio and I was not disappointed. The combat and stealth abilities was amazing for it’s time and being able  explore 16th-century Rome as a history fan was unreal.

Darksiders was a game based on religious background, mainly the Christian belief that dealt with a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mankind has become extinct and angels and demons battle for the world’s control. Among them are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the last of the Nephilim who are tasked to bring balance to the universe. It’s I’ve always been interested in concept of angel vs demons, so seeing this take was unique. The story was great and the game had the right balance of combat, puzzling and everything in-between.

2011’s

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim & Sonic Generations

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was probably the first proper open world rpg game that I can say I’ve sunk so many hours into. I honestly remember how everyone was hyping this game up, making it seem like the ultimate game that lets you do whatever you wanted. Naturally, I was drawn to that idea and what I got was an amazing adventure that has made me a fan of the Elder Scrolls series.

After Sonic Unleashed (a criminally underrated game imo) I was starting to get excited for the future of Sonic games. I won’t lie that I am a fanboy of the blue blur as he has, and still is, one of my all time favorite video game character of all time. So when I so Sonic Generation, a game that celebrated 20 years of Sonic, I was hyped. I can happily say I was not disappointed. They finally got the gameplay right and every stage was a blast to play. To this day, many still hold this game as a standard for future modern sonic gameplay. If only they’d take inspiration from Unleashed level stages, now that would be a dream.

2012’s

Guild Wars 2, Journey & Gravity Rush

One of the main core reason why I have a PC today was all thanks to Guild Wars 2. After Champion’s Online had gotten boring, I needed another MMO to dive into and I came across this game that talked about all this features such as dynamic events and the likes. At that time, it looked amazing so I knew I needed to build a PC for it. After that, I sunk more that 500 hours into the game and I still play it occasionally from time to time.

Journey was one of those games that I just came across randomly, I had no idea what to expect but that part of why I enjoyed it so such. From its stunningly beautiful graphics to it’s simply gameplay, there was something that made me comeback to the game. The journey was something I still think about to this day, and the way they implemented the multiplayer was genius.

Just like Journey, Gravity Rush was a came I picked up when I first got the PS Vita. It’s a game that in we players take the role of Kat, a young woman who can manipulate how gravity affects her, allowing her to walk on walls and fly through the air. It was a very unique ide at the time and was one of the first PS Vita game that I enjoyed.

2013’s

Tomb Raider & Injustice: Gods Among Us

The reboot of Tomb Raider was one that of those games that I felt has always been criminally underrated considering she came before Nathan Drake’s Uncharted. I was an action-adventure video game that operated as a reboot that reconstructs the origins of Lara Croft. And that it did very well, establishing the character really well, keeping her exposition ground in a plausible world. One of my favorite aspect of the game was was seeing how the world of Yamatai, a fictional lost island in the Dragon’s Triangle off the coast of Japan unfolded as you progress through the story.

Man, Injustice: Gods Among Us gave me exactly the storyline I’d hoped for in DC story. The idea of Superman crossing the line and becoming this overbearing ruler actually made for a more compelling story in a fighting game and a DC story. Combat was great for its time but it was the storyline that captivated me.

2014’s

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor & Dark Souls 2

Shadow of Mordor was I believe the first game that did the nemesis feature right. It was the first game that I genuinely felt a passion of hatred for a NPC that shit talked me after beating me in a fight. Forcing me to post-pone my main mission to hunt that bastard down. I enjoyed every moment of it and the story was very good from what I can remember.

Dark Souls exposes a lot of games when it first came out. And even though I’ve played the first game, the reason why I put this on the list was simply because it improved on a lot of the feature of the previous game and its the one were I played co-op with my brothers that showed no mercy in exposing me and calling me trash for dying a lot. I plan to finish the games on my own some day (i’m actually quite far into it) but it made an impact to me so it’s here.

2015’s

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain personally wasn’t my first exposure to the MGS universe, but it was the first game I became engrossed with. I never thought an open world stealth game could work, but my goodness did it work. From the story, the characters, the visuals, everything was amazing. This was the game that made me actually take the MGS series, more seriously and go back to playing the other games.

Dying light in my humble opinion did the zombie genre right. I’ve never felt scared of a slow moving zombie, but one that can run and climb building. Yep, that will do. Not only that but the traversing and free-running mechanics in the game was amazing, probably the best of it’s time.

When it comes to Until Dawn, it was one of those games that I got from the PlayStation Plus deal. I read the description about an interactive drama survival horror video game where your choices affects the story, got it and didn’t regret a second I spent with the game. The story was compelling and interesting and over time the characters started to grow on me. But man, knowing that your characters can die and you have the abilities to save them really added the tension because I wanted everyone to survive. I managed to only lose one person but shit I never liked that fucker anyones.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse did something I never thought we’d get from a dragon ball game. A brand new story that lets you be the main character. The story was OK if I’m being honest but it was the multiplayer that proved to be the most fun, before hacking became the norm.

2016’s

Final Fantasy XV & The Last Guardian

Now, despite what many will say, Final Fantasy 15 was still a great game to me. It could be that this was my first Final Fantasy game, so I didn’t have much expectations going into it but I really did enjoy my time with the game. The story of Noctics and how it all ended hit me harder than I actually expected. The gameplay was fun too and exploring the world felt rewarding. Yeah, I know they sold pieces of the story in dlc (which I did not buy) but at it’s core, I had fun playing the game.

Last Guardian was another game that I never played the original and jump right in. The game lets you clim structures, carry objects such as barrels, and operate mechanisms such as levers. It was innovative and unique, especially using Trico’s to reach areas that the boy can’t reach alone. It created this unique dynamic in which you couldn’t directly control Trico but had to tell him what to do hand hope he did it. Aside from that I really enjoyed the way the game told the story, making Trico seem almost alive in the process.

2017’s

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Little Nightmares, Nier: Automata, For Honor & Sonic Mania

I was never a fan of Zelda, I tried in the past and couldn’t get into it. So when the Breath of The Wild version for the Switch came out, I figured why not! I’ll give it one last chance and oh boy was I hooked. The amount of freedom this game gave you to solve all the puzzles and how you wanted to approach the world was insane. This is when I learned how open world games should be handled.

For a long ass time, after the Ezio/Desmond had concluded, the Assassin’s Creed story had been all over the place. No other came afterwards was able to capture the vibe I got from playing the game. That was until Assassin’s Creed Origins came out and introduced a strong character by the name of Bayek. The gameplay was solid and actually made me appreciate the changes but there was two reasons why I both this game. The first was that it was telling the origins of the Assassin’s, so that means we would be going back in time where it’s less industrialized and more ancient. Secondly, it was based in Ancient Egypt, an African civilization featuring a black assassin that didn’t start out as a slave but as a Medjay. The did both very well and the game shot up to two spot in my ac list.

Little Nightmare was a simple puzzle-platformer horror adventure game that I found enjoyable. There was something about the atmosphere of the game that kept me coming back, making me want to learn more about the world.

Nier Automata was perhaps one of the best action role-playing hack and slash video game to come in recent memories. It’s best feature was the story hands down, but not only that, the gameplay was challenging and there was a lot or lore to explore that your leisure. And jeez, don’t even get me started on the music, S-tier materials right there.

With For Honor, I’ll keep it real with you guys, I did not play the story mode. All I played was multiplayer and it was glorious. Yeah the game had some issues at the beginning but that was mostly ironed out over time. But man, I’ve never raged in a game so much yet enjoyed every moment of it. The tactical combat system, known as “Art of Battle”, was a very interesting take on a sword-based fighting game and proved successful if you ask me.

Sonic Mania, the most rated game in Sonic’s history. I enjoyed my time with it. Yeah, I’ll admit I’m not a fan of 2D Sonic, simply because I started with the 3D era, but of course I can appreciate a solid game when I play one.

2018’s

Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man PS4, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Detroit: Become Human, God of War PS4, Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Red Dead Redemption 2 was an experience that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Yeah, so will say it was a slow burner but to me, the pacing was perfect. It took its time to tell the story of Arthur Morgan and his crew and how their world around them was changing. Seeing Arthur go through his change was amazing and if you got the good ending, then you’d understand .

Spider-man was the game all spidey fans have always wanted. A game where you feel like Spider-Man. The controls for the swinging mechanics is the best it’s ever been and following a Peter Parker that was all grown up, dealing with adult life stuff while doing the Spidey gig was a fun experience.

There’s not much to say when it comes to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Its hands down THE best looking Dragon Ball game ever. To the point where now everyone in the anime community is begging Arc System works to make a game based on other anime IP’s’.

Detroit: Become Human is another interactive game that I really enjoyed. This time I was anticipating the game after playing Until Dawn. I really liked how the told the story from three different perspective. Yes, the game had a real life narrative but I really liked how it was executed.

God of War was one of those games that will linger in people minds for years to come. The compelling story of how Kratos went from a raging spartan to a man trying to be the best father he could be was touching to say the least. Combat and the boss fights in the game wasn’t as crazy but still it was a great experience nonetheless.

Once again, not much to say about Super Smash Bros Ultimate. It is the ultimate version of the Smash series and one that will probably go down in history as the greatest crossovers in gaming history.

2019’s

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Outer Worlds, Astral Chain & Fire Emblem

Sekiro well deserved to win Game of The Year. I was a game that challenged you and made you get better by learning from your failures. Amazing combat and an interesting story, this game was also my game of the year pick.

The Outer Worlds was perhaps the best open rpg to come out in 2019, which was why it got nominated. The world may be small in comparison to other open world games, but what it lacked in size, it more than made up on it with quality. Side quest feel like main quest, companions are actually interesting, dialogue has depth and gameplay was great. Can’t complain really.

Astral Chains lest player take the role of a detective from the “Neuron” special police task force, who are tasked with solving cases and investigating incidents. It had exploring, questioning characters and examining evidence but the main take from the game was the insane combat in which you take control of another character called Legions. Once you had leveled up your legions, there was almost a crazy amount of combos you could pull off in game. It was also the game that got PS4 fans to actually complain to Platinum Games about not brining the game to PS4. Good game.

Last but certainly not least is Fire Emblems: Three Houses. Probably my favorite tactical role-playing game on the Switch. I really enjoyed the Harry Potter like house gimmick of you being the teacher guiding your students and building a bond with them, only to have watch as you mercilessly kill them on the battlefield years later. Aside from the great 80 plus hour story, the tactical aspect of the game as been well refined and would make even the most elite Fire Emblem fans happy.

Well that’s it from me. Man, hope this list ain’t too long for ya. I tried to keep it short and concise for you guys but I didn’t want to leave any game that made an impact on me. Please, do share your list in the comments below.

Top 30 Games Of The Decade (2010 -2019) That Made An Ever-Lasting Impact! Well, this truly is the last day and blog of the decade huh? Man, I can't even remember where all the years went to to be honest, but I guess that just means I'm getting old, or maybe I spent most of my time playing video games and didn't realize.

#decade #Discussion #GAMES #games of the decade #Gaming #News #The 30 best video games of the decade #The best games of the 2010 - 2019 decade #The best video games of the decade #The Decade&039;s Most Influential Video Games #top #Top 10 games #top 30 #Top games of the decade #Top greatest games of the decade

[biofunmy]

It’s Called ‘Plant-Based,’ Look It Up

The terms “vegan” and “plant-based” are often used interchangeably, but there’s a growing effort to define just what it means to follow a plant-based lifestyle.

According to Brian Wendel, the founder of the “plant-based living” website Forks Over Knives, going plant-based is “for people who are very enthusiastic about the health angle” of eating mainly whole plant foods.

Reynolde Jordan, who runs a food blog called Plant-Based Vibe in Memphis, said it’s also a way to distance oneself from the rigid ideology of veganism, which calls for abstaining from animal products of all kinds.

“When you classify yourself as vegan, you’re now being watched,” said Mr. Jordan, who posts vegan recipes for dishes such as Cajun seaweed gumbo and raw beet balls along with photos of the vegetarian meals he orders on trips. “In my DMs, I’d get all these messages from activists for protests. I’m just not that guy — I did this for the purpose of eating better.”

Mr. Jordan is one of a growing number of health-conscious consumers embracing a plant-based lifestyle. Unlike many vegans who adhere to a philosophy of animal rights, those going plant-based tend to be inspired by research showing the health benefits of a diet made up of largely fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, grains and nuts. Free from specific ethical constraints, plant-based eaters often have no qualms buying or wearing items made with or tested on animals.

Awareness of the term is growing. And though just 6 percent of Americans eat vegetarian, according to Nielsen, almost 40 percent now make an effort to eat more plant-based foods.

Plant-Based Eating Enters the Mainstream

In 2015, Beyoncé wrote in an email to The New York Times: “First it’s important that you know I am not a vegan.” However she and Jay-Z co-own a food company with Marco Borges, their personal trainer, called 22 Days Nutrition, which promotes what is essentially a vegan diet.

But as Mr. Borges later explained to The Times, Beyoncé eats a “plant-based breakfast daily” and consumes no meat on Mondays. Jay-Z, meanwhile, eats “2 plant-based meals a day,” he wrote in an email.

The number of food and drink products made in the United States that use “plant-based” in their labeling spiked 287 percent between 2012 and 2018, according to the consumer research firm Mintel.

Plant-based items such as jerky, ice cream and protein bars are becoming increasingly common on supermarket shelves. Fast-food chains including Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King have even started offering plant-based menu options such as the Impossible Whopper.

Some restaurants, such as Café Gratitude, a small chain in Southern California, have even rebranded themselves as entirely plant-based after originally characterizing their menus as vegan. In 2016, after a website dug up a year-old blog post by the restaurant’s owners revealing they had begun raising and slaughtering animals on their family farm, many vegans boycotted and picketed the chain while its founders reportedly received death threats.

In the wake of the controversy, the restaurant made a “conscious choice” to rebrand as entirely plant-based, according to its head chef, Dreux Ellis.

But with the abundance of plant-based choices now available, customers are increasingly looking for options they know reflect vegan values, Mr. Ellis said. In response, Café Gratitude employees have again begun describing the restaurant as vegan, and there have been discussions about restoring the term in its branding.

“We feel like there’s nothing to be lost by trying to regain that confidence in the vegan community,” Mr. Ellis said. “It’s us reclaiming what is rightfully ours.”

The implications of a plant-based diet

Thomas Colin Campbell, the Cornell University biochemist who claims responsibility for coining the term plant-based, said he came up with the phrase to help present his research on diet to skeptical colleagues at the National Institutes of Health in 1980.

“I wanted to emphasize that my work and ideas were coming totally from science and not any sort of ethical or philosophical consideration,” he said.

Mr. Campbell now advocates a “whole food plant-based diet,” which he termed to draw a distinction between more nutritious whole plants and processed food products such as veggie burgers. He said he’s noticed the term catch on since the release of the 2016 edition of his book “The China Study,” which summarized his findings from a survey of 6,500 Chinese people on their eating and other lifestyle habits. The study’s results suggested that following a plant-based diet may help reduce the risk of certain cancers and diseases.

But not everyone thinks eating only plants is always healthy. “Anytime you’re restricting a whole food group or number of food groups, it’s a red flag for a possible disordered eating mentality,” said Vandana Sheth, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “That’s not always the case, but it’s important to figure out how to get all the nutrients you need to prevent chronic conditions within your diet choice.”

“The Game Changers,” a documentary released on Netflix in 2019 about plant-based diets and athletic performance, has both broadened the appeal of plant-based diets and drawn criticism for some of its health claims.

According to Joseph Pace, a producer and writer on the film, the vegan and vegetarian movements carry connotations of New Agey-types or PETA activists, which don’t always resonate with male viewers.

“Using ‘plant-based’ allows people to feel they’re not joining a specific group for eating a specific way,” he said.

Mr. Campbell sees the plant-based concept as a way to educate people on the environmental consequences of eating meat. A recent report from the World Resources Institute pointed to raising livestock as a significant source of carbon emissions and recommended reducing meat consumption as a way to combat climate change and stem deforestation.

“The environmental issue is a big one, and this plant-based phraseology works well when you think about it in a broader context,” he said.

The trouble with labels

Yovana Mendoza Ayres, the vlogger formerly known as Rawvana, was a star of the expansive world of vegan YouTube — until she was caught eating fish in another YouTuber’s video earlier this year.

The backlash was swift. “Fishgate,” as the ensuing controversy was dubbed, triggered a deluge of outraged comments and videos chastising the 30-year-old influencer for misleading her followers.

Some disgruntled fans flooded her social media pages with taunting fish emojis and GIFs. Others made death threats, which Ms. Ayers said she continues to receive.

“Just like how the vegan community welcomed me, when this came out, I became their enemy,” she said.

In an apology video titled “THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING,” Ms. Ayers said she began eating meat after experiencing a variety of health problems including a gastrointestinal disorder and the loss of her period, which occurred after completing a 25-day water cleanse during which she consumed nothing but water. In an interview, she added that she had planned to tell her followers about giving up her raw vegan diet but “didn’t want other people’s opinions to affect my transition.”

In the months since her public apology, a half-dozen popular influencers have roiled the vegan internet by renouncing veganism after claiming to have experienced health complications caused by their diet. Ms. Ayers, who now goes by her first name online, said that as she and other vloggers have left veganism behind, she’s noticed more discussion about what it means to be vegan as opposed to eating a plant-based diet.

“A lot of us used the word ‘vegan’ because that was a way of communicating that we ate only plants,” she said. “Maybe after seeing us, people are learning not to put labels on themselves or on their diet,” she added.

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[gaiabros]

Short on time? Head on over to our ELECTROWEEN Mixes page where we have created an archive for all of our ELECTROWEEN productions. There you will find our latest 2019 mixes to stream and download. If you like what we’ve been creating, please subscribe to GAIA BROS to receive news and announcements about forthcoming projects and articles.

You read that right, ladies and gents. 2019 marks the decisive end to a decade of Halloween-inspired, pop culture infused music productions, which have been in production since the series’ humble beginnings back in Fall 2009. Right off the bat, you may have a question or two popping up. Why is ELECTROWEEN ending on its decade milestone 2019 mix? Will there be more EDM mixes coming in the future?

Grab a beer and find a cozy seat, then come back and join us for the details. Story time, kids!

Setting The Stage: First Mention of the Series’ End

Before jumping into ELECTROWEEN 2019 details, I need to spend a little time establishing some relevant details from a year ago.

Last Fall, shortly after we had released ELECTROWEEN 2018, I flew down to San Diego to visit Matt and his girlfriend Jessica for the weekend of Halloween. We saw the Halloween movie reboot, carved up some pumpkins, dropped by Tatsu Ramen in L.A. for some delicious bowls of noodles, and drove up to Universal Studios Hollywood for their Halloween Horror Nights (in particular, to check out the Stranger Things attraction). We had a wonderful time together.

Pumpkin carvings by Scott, Matt and Jessica

It was during this visit when I announced to Matt that 2019 would mark the final year for the ELECTROWEEN series, ending a solid run of releases spanning our 20s to our early 30s. It has become a cherished tradition… something we’ve always looked forward to with the start of each new calendar year. ELECTROWEEN is Halloween for us, and a token of our years of friendship and love for the arts, electronic dance music, cult video games and films. In short, it is the summation of everything we love, and have come to love. This was bittersweet to talk about, but in the end it’s for the right reasons.

The rationale behind this decision is, for the most part, straight-forward. Since jump starting my DJ hobby back in 2006, I have released over 30 studio production mixes, manned two radio shows ([OuteR HeaveN] and PLURALITY at WSNC Radio), and performed countless live DJ sets at house parties, bars and private events.

In many ways, I’ve exhausted myself from the art form and feel a burning need to start creating my own music, rather than curating the works of others as I’ve done for the majority of my adult years. But also, life has happened, too.

Other Happenings That Have Influenced This Decision

During the same weekend I visited Matt last October, I simultaneously released my second album, Gravitational Waves, for my chillsynth project Gravity Mission. The album took three years to envision, create and release (collaborating remotely for the entire process) after a six year dry spell from our initial 2012 debut Before The Spoken Word. I came to realize the creative process was deeply rewarding and allowed me to evolve artistically in ways I had not previously imagined. In a real sense, it showed me that the barriers to creating music only exist in my head, and that changing course at any time is entirely possible.

Gravity Mission’s Gravitational Waves album (released October 26, 2018)

Lastly, life changes have been a considerable factor, often left out of the picture here on GAIA BROS. Having moved eight times since the release of my initial 2009 mix, I’ve been feeling the need to get more serious about putting down roots, connecting to a single place and getting acquainted with my local community. After my wife and I bought our first home in 2017, I started switching gears and pursuing other interests, including gardening, foraging, craft beer, table top gaming, GM’ing and traveling. It’s been a wonderful past few years, but a lot to handle. Thus I’ve had to make some tough decisions and learn to be more realistic with my time commitments.

“Tell Us About ELECTROWEEN 2019 Already, Please!”

Whew! Thanks for hanging in here for the entire reason why you’re reading this post! Let’s jump right into ELECTROWEEN 2019 — its inception, influences and more.

As the crown jewel in this decade long saga, ELECTROWEEN 2019 needed to be fantastically epic in a way that other mixes couldn’t be. It needed flair, funk and spirit on all levels. But most importantly, it absolutely HAD to be a fun reminder of why we started doing this whole thing in the first place. Returning full circle to our beginnings was key.

Where it all began: ELECTROWEEN 2009 (released October 16, 2009)

I began by looking back on our early mixes and questioning why we fell in love with the concept of merging EDM tracks and jack-o’-lantern heads together. We were creating something different, something bold — a novel form of expression that did not yet exist in the world. Several tracks started to stand out, and they were always the ones that jacked our bodies in ways unlike anything else. That’s when the realization struck: our final mixes for the ELECTROWEEN series needed to be celebratory and sentimental, using tracks with massive swing and vibe that pulse with uplifting energy and emotion.

This led to months of heavy Spotify rotations and research, ultimately pointing to the spiritual successor of the 70s: Nu Disco! A long time fan of Daft Punk, their French house discography was a great starting place for finding similar artists and classics. What originally felt like a monumental undertaking quickly became a super synthesized formula for hot disco beats and flashing synths, and the energy continued to pick up from there!

September Reunion in Portland, Oregon

A few weeks back, Matt flew up to Portland to celebrate the end of the ELECTROWEEN series. We GAIA BROS reunited over glorious moments of food, drink and beats at home, while foraging in the woods for Chanterelles, and driving out to the coast. Matt and I carved up our pumpkin helmets for the last time and fully embraced the defining characteristic of our early mixes.

For the first time in seven years, we embarked on a photoshoot with gold and silver capes in search of Portland’s most aesthetically gratifying street art. Some gloomy weather rolled in, but we ended up working with the rainfall to leverage its luminous quality for the end product. Below is a gallery of the final images processed from the shoot, which we have included within the download files for the 2019 mixes. Continue on after the gallery for liner notes and the final cover art designs created especially for the occasion!

VII’s Decade Celebration Mix Liner Notes

From Scott: My tenth and final mix for the ELECTROWEEN series touches on the things most sentimental to me. It is everything I have to give, and everything I could ever say, in a timeframe just short of an hour and a half. This is the longest production I’ve created to date, and looking back on it, I never wanted a single moment of it to end. The mix embodies the essence of the long and wholesome nights spent with close friends and loved ones… those irreplaceable times that will forever shine in our minds and hearts.

My 2019 mix is divided up into three seamlessly transitioning acts: a soaring and lofty Halloween introduction at-length (VG OST and Synthwave), an all night long celebration (Nu Disco), and finally a sincere and heartfelt closure, painting a pensive mood with vulnerable feelings of love, melancholy and, ultimately, acceptance.

Samples from Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night are most prevalently stitched in between tracks. I completely fell in love with this game upon its release this past summer. Matt and I have patiently waited four years for this game, as we were original backers from the April 2015 Kickstarter campaign. It’s clear that Koji Igarashi and Michiru Yamane have put their souls into this beautiful masterwork. I also drew samples from other favorites including Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Game of Thrones, and 300, which all have their own places within the narrative of this work.

Having ventured into the darkness (perhaps a little too long) in years past, I’ve found my way back to the grooves that bring the “feel good” vibes in spades. I should note here that initially I had started working on this mix back in March 2019 in order to get a head start on the final mix concept. With that said, I am extremely satisfied with the end product. The coin design illustration I created for the cover art came together effortlessly based on the passion encompassing this special time. The whole process has been cathartic on a deep level. I’m grateful for these ten years of ELECTROWEEN and will always take them with me into whatever comes next. Special thanks goes to Matt for believing in this project and being a great collaborator, my wife Lindsey for her support and encouragement, and David for listening and being a loyal fan all these years.

Loveless’ Decade Celebration Mix Liner Notes

From Matt: OHHHHH MAN! Has it been a decade already? Where did all the time fly? I was just a wee lad yesterday bumping to Scott’s mixes and now I’m a seasoned vet of the Halloween variety. Tonight I am going to see Lana Del Rey with my girlfriend which will be a great cap on the end of ELECTROWEEN. Lana’s moody and melodic music is of a bygone era. She really evokes the spirit of ELECTROWEEN (side note: thank you to Jessica, my aforementioned girlfriend, for introducing Lana to me). This year I open with an instrumental and a remix of her first big hit, Video Games. A song that reminds me of a few weekends ago when I visited Scott.

We went mushroom foraging and shot the ELECTROWEEN liner photos. We haven’t shot photos like that since 2012 and it was amazing. The rain followed us every spot we went that day, brightening up all the colors. It was a tough shoot, but well worth the results.

We also went to a retro video game bar in Portland. There, we found the Sega Genesis version of TMNT: Hyperstone Heist. I haven’t played that game since I was in grade school and it was an incredible moment to share with Scott. The song “Video Games” evokes a simpler time with a tinge of melancholy. I think I’ll always pair this experience and that song together.

ELECTROWEEN is coming to an end. As I type that, my heart hurts. When Scott and I spoke about it earlier this year, it bothered me. I wasn’t upset with the decision, but ELECTROWEEN has become an integral part of who I am. However, it is important to move on and hone our passions. You cannot be married to every creative thing you do, and ELECTROWEEN has come to a fitting end. I think Scott and I will take everything we learned over the years and make something truly magical and different in 2020.

As for my mix, this year it was more personal. I skipped many of the video game pleasantries that have made up ELECTROWEEN’s previous iterations. I tried to throw in all styles of music we’ve used in the past 10 years and kept the overall mix more funky and positive. Halloween is for mischief after all!

In 2019 Loveless (my DJ persona) is locked away in a mental institution and the key is thrown away. This, of course, is the end of ELECTROWEEN and Loveless’ fate is uncertain, but you always gotta leave the end open for a sequel. Thank you to everyone who has listened to these mixes over the years. It has been a labor of love that I wouldn’t have traded for anything else. From now until the end of time the crisp Autumn air will always feel like ELECTROWEEN to me.

Thanks For Listening and Being A Part of ELECTROWEEN!

We sincerely hope that you enjoy the ELECTROWEEN 2019 mixes while testing out some of your best moves this Halloween season. Whether this is the first mix you’ve listened to of ours or your tenth, we want to thank you for being a part of our community and keeping the spirit of Halloween alive. ELECTROWEEN has been one of the most meaningful projects of our entire lives, and it will always be here, preserved in time. The mixes will continue to be available on GAIA BROS well into the future; feel free to dive back in any time.

The era of ELECTROWEEN officially ends here, and a new one begins. What is to come, no one can know for sure…

—

I’d like to close this significant chapter of our lives with a special quote:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman

Peace, Love, Unity and Respect — forever and always. ❤

VII (Scott Werley) and Loveless (Matt Konop)

The End of an Era: Celebrating 10 Years of ELECTROWEEN Mixes #electroween #halloween #mixes Short on time? Head on over to our ELECTROWEEN Mixes page where we have created an archive for all of our ELECTROWEEN productions.

#2019 #Celebration #ELECTROWEEN #Gaming #Halloween #Mixes #Nu Disco #Synthwave #VG OST

[recentnews18-blog]

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/how-much-money-do-you-have-to-earn-before-you-get-weird/

How Much Money Do You Have to Earn Before You Get Weird?

This article originally appeared on VICE UK.

Who is your favorite billionaire? Wrong answer: Being a billionaire is a fundamentally immoral thing to be and all of them should be slaughtered, their blood drained from their bodies, and their heavy heads placed on spikes. But ignoring that: Who is your favorite billionaire? If it’s not Elon Musk, you’re doing billionaire fandom wrong. And I’m not talking in that Rick-and-Morty-poster, le-epic-win–style way of enjoying Elon Musk: Enjoying him as a spectacle, as a projection of who you would be if you were rich, that’s the way to do it. Think about it, if you were a billionaire, would you be Bill Gates (philanthropist, still fundamentally looks like he gets wedgied now and again)? Jeff Bezos (unapologetically rich hench dude, first villain to get grenade exploded in an Expendables film)? Mark Zuckerberg (a grey t-shirt that got a bit carried away and an alien who has to actively remind himself to blink)? Richard Branson (“Mommy, why is that dinner lady suing the NHS?”)? Or would you be Elon Musk, who keeps trying to send shit into space and occasionally summons a beautiful woman from the world of celebrity to come and be his blonde concubine? Elon Musk is so rich he called a cave diver a pedophile three separate times because he keeps shit talking on Twitter and he knows he’s so rich he’s essentially legally bulletproof. You telling me that’s not you? Because that’s me. You’re telling me that’s not you? That is me if I ever get rich. So Lord help you all if I ever get rich.

Here’s an example of how Elon Musk is exactly you if you were rich. A couple weeks ago he smoked a joint on the Joe Rogan show, which we all know about and remember fondly because he did it with the casual élan of a 13-year-old who just tried to stick his dick in an N64. The next day—for this reason, as well as two executives quitting on the same day and the hangover from Musk tweeting he was taking the company private and a New York Times interview where he started crying—Tesla stock crashed 6%. I have to caveat the next section by saying: I am bad at math.

I am bad at math: a caveat

Listen. I am not good at math. Accepting your flaws and embracing them—working with them, and not against them—is part of growing and becoming a complete human. Numbers are a foreign language to me! I am not good at math. For that reason, I am going to, bafflingly, attempt a ton of maths.

How much did that joint cost Elon Musk?

According to CNBC, as of June, this year Musk owns 33.7 million shares of Tesla. Before he took a massive rip of that fat J, it was trading at $280.95, making his shares worth $9.4 billion. After honking on dank, dank kush, shares went down to $260.32 (making Musk’s shares worth $8.7 billion). A lot of billionaires’ wealth is theoretical—it is tied up in stock, which waxes and wanes as the days progress, or is locked into hard real estate, so their actual money on-hand is a lot less than the total calculation of their worth—but by my calculation, that puff puff pass cost Elon Musk: $695,231,000. To clarify: six hundred and ninety five. Million. Dollars. Sure, maybe your mom caught you with a little bit of weed once and you got mildly in trouble and grounded for a medium length of time. But tell me: Have you ever bong ripped so hard someone’s GDP disappeared? [1]

Musk’s recent behavior (best described as “gloriously erratic”) has made me realize something: Basically every billionaire goes weird, in the end. And that’s got me thinking: Is weirdness inherent to the billionaire-fated mindset, or is weirdness thrust on to the normal human mind when it is exposed to such a ludicrous bank balance? Are billionaires billionaires because they’re weird, or are they weird because they’re billionaires? Or, to put it another way:

What is the exact amount of money I have to have before I go insane?

I intend to investigate that.

The billionaires

I have spent a very substantial amount of time now[2] investigating the historical wealth of the following five billionaires, who all broadly represent one end of the five-point billionaire personality matrix:

We will plot first their explosive wealth, then map their historical erratic behavior. I’m then going to put one graph on top of the other and try and figure out the exact net worth you need to have before you start going on podcasts and trapping Azaelia Banks in your house.

A few more caveats: Sometimes it is very difficult to figure a billionaire’s registered net worth in the years between their first mythologizing money-making deal (Richard Branson sold $6,000 worth of advertising in his first magazine, Student, when he was 15; Elon Musk sold a video game for $500 when he was 12) and their first billion because nobody (i.e. Forbes) really pays attention to how much money you have until you have a billion dollars. So there are some gray areas between, like, Mark Zuckerberg’s first million dollars in 2006 and his first billion-and-a-half dollars two years later (nobody knows how much Mark Zuckerberg was worth in 2007). Equally: I have not adjusted for inflation in any way at all because: come on! Boring! Thirdly: all accusations of erratic behavior are purely from me, purely on my own terms. I am the lash and I am the law, the only person saying what’s up is me. And so:

Bill Gates

Wealth: My guy Bill Gates is the vanilla ice cream of billionaires. Microsoft secured a deal worth $50,000 in 1980, when he was a 25-year-old CEO; in 1981, he became a millionaire through Microsoft holdings and the general business the company was doing. Although the exact figure is unclear, he had a rollerskating party in 1985 for his 30th birthday and he got speeding tickets a few times, which was about as wild as he ever got[3]. Then, in 1986, Microsoft’s initial public offering (IPO) went gangbusters and Gates, with at least $350 million in stock to his name, became a headline-making billionaire overnight. He’s basically been the go-to “Richest Man in the World” all the time you’ve been coherent and alive before Bezos took over from him this year.

(This is a chart of Bill Gates’ wealth. You will notice his age, written along the X-axis, is wildly incorrect, a running theme throughout this piece. This is because I could not get Excel to change it.)

Mania: In 2006, he announced he was going to start stepping back from Microsoft to focus on philanthropy, and signed the Giving Pledge in 2009 vowing to give away at least half of his wealth over his lifetime. And since then, he’s done nothing too wacky. He put some money into developing Vitamin A-enhanced bananas in 2012? In 2015, he drank a glass of reclaimed toilet water? Like? Nothing he has done is too crazy and most of it is for the wider good of the developing world? Gates is our control billionaire. He’s the most wealth of any man alive, the least signs of deep mania, the noble model of what an impossibly wealthy man should be.

(This is a chart of Bill Gates being weird. Instances of notable weirdness are marked in blue. You will notice there are no instances on this chart.)

Richard Branson

Wealth: Branson started making money in his teens after launching Student magazine and basically turning rival advertisers against each other to secure funding (“I soon learned the art that if I let Coke know that Pepsi were definitely in, that Coke would then jump in. And my education started,” he told CNBC last year. “It was an exciting time.” And the past is a foreign country, clearly, if a 15-year-old can just call Coke up and be like, “alright, money please”). He made his first million at the age of 23 after launching a mail-order record sales business, and then he started chain-launching businesses: he was worth £5 million [$6.5 million] in 1979, made his first billion at 41, and spent the next 18 years making another half a billion to take his net worth higher, then doubled it again the next year. His net worth now hovers around £5 billion [$6.5 billion], making him our poorest and therefore most cucked billionaire.

(This is Richard Branson’s wealth. He was the only one whose age I could get to work on it.)

Mania: Oh, Richard Branson is big time a maniac. Big time. I don’t know how old you are but if your age vaguely aligns with mine you might remember a period in the late-90s where basically the only news story, for about four years, was about Richard Branson repeatedly attempting and failing to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon? He just kept crashing into the sea and doing a big OK-sign when the authorities came to rescue him? He tried to launch his own soft drink to rival Coke? In 2004 he started selling tickets to space and still hasn’t honored a single one of them?[4] When he sold Virgin EMI he ran through the streets sobbing? But the high point of Branson’s billionaire mania, the tipping point, the exact moment he cracked in a way he could never be glued back together again was when, shaven-faced and beaming, he donned a bridal gown for a doomed business called “Virgin Brides.” This man was worth £1.5 billion [$1.9 billion] at this exact moment in time.

Which gives us a good starting point in our studies: Earning £1.5 billion [$1.9 billion] is bad for you.

(Branson’s wealth with weirdness—every time he invested in hot air balloons, basically— marked in blue)

Mark Zuckerberg

Wealth: Mark Zuckerberg has done well for a guy who is the crystalline vibe of “spending too long online researching until your back seizes up,” making his first million in 2004 as Facebook started to receive piecemeal outside investment, and he turned it into his first billion two years later when the company hit its 500 shareholder limit and went public. Since then, his wealth has escalated wildly: He’s worth around $60 billion as of right now, today. Like Gates, he’s signed the Giving Pledge and set up various charitable endeavors, but also took the bullet for the Cambridge Analytica thing at the start of the year and did that weird bulgey-eyed water drinking when he was being deposed. He just feels like he’s your cousin’s older boyfriend who is quite boring and just got really into climbing, and he’s wearing a North Face fleece and eating in silence at your family barbecue, only he’s Mark Zuckerberg, and he’s richer than God.

(Think I got his age more-or-less right with this one, actually)

Mania: Mark Zuckerberg’s lack of outward mania is actually what makes him so terrifying—he sort of has the eerie non-personality of an MRA who only eats red meat and reads books about murder —but yeah on the whole he’s not done anything too weird beyond getting repeatedly sued, forever, by everyone. It’s kind of funny that Mark Zuckerberg just quietly wants to live his life, driving a Prius and wearing a ton of zip-up fleeces, collecting every bit of data on every single person alive—and instead, he just keeps repeatedly getting in trouble for being himself. Anyway the high point of him being a maniac was the water-drinking thing, and his net worth was close to it is now when it happened, so I’m saying: Earning $60 billion is bad for you.

Jeff Bezos

Wealth: Bezos is currently the richest man on the planet and until Amazon Prime stops being so incredibly, annoyingly convenient, that is only going to continue. Early era Bezos was just a properly “reads the whole internet, every day” guy who didn’t know how to buy shirts that fit him, but a few years ago, he did a U-turn and started getting big into arm workouts and wearing padded vests, so he’s possibly the only one of our billionaires to glow-up in any significant way. Anyway, he’s now worth $120 billion and he looks like he can pick you up over his head so sadly the world’s richest nerd is now a Bond villain, meaning we’re all doomed.

(Yeah got the age right on this one as well. Really… really had a time making these graphs you’re just barely flicking your eyes over, I have to tell you. Have you actually closely read any of these graphs? Of course you haven’t. I wouldn���t, if I were reading this. It’s OK. I understand. It’s just I really did try.)

Mania: If being a billionaire is a fundamentally immoral action then Bezos is the epitome of that because he has enough wealth to hand every Amazon employee $10,000[5] and he’d still be the richest man on the planet, and his empire is built on the backs of hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers who are too afraid to take a pee break in case they get fired or camp in a tent near their workplace to minimize their commute. Like most of our billionaires, he has dabbled in space travel (why does everyone with a net worth of $4 billion or above think they can crack space travel, when NASA, working on it for years, still occasionally fucks it up? Start on flying cars and work your way up.) and is begrudgingly tipping his toe into the waters of philanthropy, but the real billionaire weirdness of him lies in his (undoubtedly successful) leadership qualities and approach to work. Here, from Wikipedia:

Bezos does not schedule early morning meetings and enforces a two pizza rule–a preference for meetings to be small enough to where two pizzas can feed everyone in the board room. [122] When interviewing candidates for jobs at Amazon he has stated he considers three inquiries: Can he admire the person, can the person raise the common standard, and under what circumstances could the person become exemplary? [123] He meets with Amazon investors for a total of only six hours a year. [122] Instead of using PowerPoints, Bezos requires high-level employees to present information with six-page narratives. [124] Starting in 1998, Bezos publishes an annual letter for Amazon shareholders wherein he frequently refers to five principles: Focus on customers not competitors, take risks for market leadership, facilitate staff morality, build a company culture, and empower people. [125][126]Bezos maintains the email address “[email protected]” as an outlet for customers to reach out to him and the company. [127] Although he does not respond to the emails, he forwards some of them with a question mark in the subject line to executives who attempt to address the issues. [127]

On one hand, that question mark thing is so, so sociopathic and chilling. But on the other hand, the guy who can barely type an e-mail is worth $150 billion. So who’s the real idiot? Once again: it is me.

Elon Musk

Wealth: Elon Musk’s wealth is my favorite of the lot because he’s basically just a chain-started nerd businesses and made millions turning to billions with each. His first software company, Zip2, netted him $22 million when it sold in 1999. A month later, he started X.com, which merged with Confinity a year later and became the PayPal we all know and love and use for ill-advised late-night eBay purchases (it sold for $1.5 billion in 2002: Musk made $180 million). Following the sale, he smooshed everything into three businesses—SpaceX, the world’s most expensive ego massage, an airspace company with designs on occupying Mars; Tesla, an electric car company that is statistically massive despite nobody you know seeming to own or drive one; and SolarCity, a solar energy company HQ’d in California. At the time of the three investments, Musk is on record saying he had to borrow money to pay rent: now he’s worth $20 billion and he’s shot a Tesla into space. Yeah? What have you ever done?

(His age is just completely fucked on this one.)

Mania: Elon Musk’s mania is my favorite of the bunch because it’s come to the surface this year—he started going out with Grimes, he invited Azealia Banks over to his house to watch him tweet, he keeps crashing his own stock by doing aforementioned tweeting, he tripled-down on calling a Thai-based cave diver a pedophile, he smoked weed on a podcast, he shot a car into space. His net worth this year is hovering around $20 billion despite all the times he gets high, he starts crying or calls someone a nonce, so it’s safe to say that: Earning $20 billion is bad for you.

But did the bizarreness start earlier than this? If you read the 2010 Marie Claire story where he double-fists ice cream cones and threatens to fire his wife, you might think: yes. In 2001, after Musk left PayPal, he got slightly too into the idea of firing a ton of mice into space and seeing if they breed up there. From 2017’s Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future:

Musk’s friends were not entirely sure what to make of his mental state. He’d lost a tremendous amount of weight fighting off malaria and looked almost skeletal. With little prompting, Musk would start expounding on his desire to do something meaningful with his life—something lasting. His next move had to be either in solar or in space. “He said, ‘The logical thing to happen next is solar, but I can’t figure out how to make any money out of it,’” said George Zachary, the investor and close friend of Musk’s, recalling a lunch date at the time. “Then he started talking about space, and I thought he meant office space like a real estate play.” Musk had actually started thinking bigger than the Mars Society. Rather than send a few mice into Earth’s orbit, Musk wanted to send them to Mars. Some very rough calculations done at the time suggested that the journey would cost $15 million. “He asked if I thought that was crazy,” Zachary said. “I asked, ‘Do the mice come back? Because, if they don’t, yeah, most people will think that’s crazy.’” As it turned out, the mice were not only meant to go to Mars and come back but were also meant to procreate along the way, during a journey that would take months. Jeff Skoll, another one of Musk’s friends who made a fortune at eBay, pointed out that the fornicating mice would need a hell of a lot of cheese and bought Musk a giant wheel of Le Brouère, a type of Gruyère.

At this point, he was worth an estimated $165 million. My guy got so rich he tried to emulate biker mice from mars. Takeaway: Earning $165 million is bad for you.

(Weirdness marked in blue: at $165 million, with the mice, and at $22 billion, with the Grimes and the weed.)

Conclusion

Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos cancel each other out: Gates has been monstrously rich for 30+ years and never done anything weird, and Bezos has been monstrously rich for 20 years and has always been sort of background-hum weird. They are two opposite forces of billionaire weirdness that negate each other to meet in the middle at true neutrality. Mark Zuckerberg is fundamentally odd, but has not ever done anything psychotic enough to be interesting, but as our youngest billionaire, he has time and money on his side (remember when that guy who did #StopKony took all his clothes off and masturbated near some parked cars? I feel like we have something like this in Zuckerberg’s future. Keeps doing press conferences while solemnly holding an AK, for example. Decides to launch a career in pro wrestling and gets slammed to death by Ric Flair with one final, terminal “woo!” Runs for president). This leaves us with two full-on billionaire weirdos: Elon Musk, who made $165 million and tried to fire a tub full of mice into space, and Richard Branson, who went very peculiar in the ‘90s and thought he could dick on Coke. So seeing as they went weird at $165 million and $1.5 billion, we can split the difference and say that this amount of money will send you bananas:

$832,500,000

So try not to ever earn that. Thanks.

[1] Stock being stock, it has since climbed back to $280, so Musk has made his money back. I only put in this horrendously sterile, water-carrying footnote to fend off very tedious “well actually…” replies I’m going to get from people on Reddit and Twitter.

[2] This is a bad idea because now the concept of money means very little to me. Example: In 2002, Elon Musk sold PayPal to eBay, and the value of his stock made him $165 million. In my head, having investigated billionaires all week, I am reading that figure and thinking: Pathetic. What a pathetic number. Try making some real money, 2002-era Elon Musk. Do you understand how in my overdraft I am! Do you realize how much I spent on Ubers this weekend now that I think $165 million is an insignificant amount of money! I have broken my head!

[3] From a 1986 profile I cannot believe I read: “Oddly, Gates is something of a ladies’ man and a fiendishly fast driver who has racked up speeding tickets even in the sluggish Mercedes diesel he bought to restrain himself.” I just really cannot imagine Bill Gates as a ladies’ man, sorry. I know we’re meant to be building him up. But come on.

[4] Though quite why you’d trust a man who can’t even fly a balloon around the planet without crashing it into the ocean with the task of flying your soft human body into space: I don’t know. A Virgin train can barely get to Edinburgh without stinking of shit about it. No way do I trust that dude with space travel.

[5] As of April 2018, there were 563,100 Amazon employees registered, which at $10,000 a pop would make a hole of $56.3 billion in Bezos’ personal finances, which again he’d probably make back within a year just from me buying spatulas, Command hooks, and books I’m not ever going to get around to reading and having them delivered straight to the office

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Source: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wjydmm/how-much-money-do-you-have-to-earn-before-you-get-weird