#one day I will upload the finished version with better listed credits

[rebelichor]

MEDIEVAL

Ariadne Xeha Nihilis of the noble house Deleoux, first of her name, firstborn twin. Daughter of bravery, skies and tide. Forged of ichor and blood. Demigoddess of unseen forces. Naa of Xe tribe.

Ariadne is all that she is and all that she will become because of her twin brother, Vergil. Like ebb and flow, they maintain balance, and together they are stronger.

Ariadne is known across the Kinglands as the silver witch. It is a cold reputation, one that plays on peoples fear of the unknown. She is a master of that which the eye cannot see... What her reputation fails to acknowledge is the one behind it. The girl. Ariadne. The world is cruel but she is not. She seeks to be fair. To be honest. To have a merciful heart. However, the walls she has built around herself are a fortress, and she herself fears her own power, of losing control. It is better to keep the world at arms length with a reputation that pushes others away.

With maturity, she becomes a wayfarer with an adventurers heart, wishing to explore the world and to seek out knowledge whether it's yet to be found or long forgotten. Ariadne has documented several star maps with her celestial navigation, surveyed the flora and fauna of distant lands, and explored ruins from ages long since passed. Throughout her lifetime she expands the trade of goods across the waters, discovers natural medicines, and has hand written invaluable tomes for the scholars of her age.

Maternal grandparents Mahasra, goddess of the oceans. The Tidemother and patron goddess of Galahd. Celebrated for her fierce battle prowess and nurturing heart, she is a symbol for warriors and close family ties. Respect and maintaining balance is key. Galahdan's often warn fellow seafarers about only ever taking what is needed from the ocean and nothing more, else Mahara will reclaim the debt from seawrecks and catastrophic waves.

Xe, god of the night sky. Best known as simply the moon god, he is multifaceted — flamboyant with stars upon his skin and moonlight braided in his hair, the life of the party, full of laughter and mischief. But behind the mask that makes him difficult to read, he feels, and he feels deeply. His most devoted followers make home in the Tribelands, in a tribe of his namesake.

Mother Xemos, first of house Nihilis, goddess of eclipses, shadows, and dark tides. Xemos is as feared as they are misunderstood. They are a goddess of the road less traveled, of the unknown, and what has yet to be explored. They were not the first of the Reborn Pantheon to choose a life among mankind, but they are among the first to fully integrate into human society and remain within the mortal realm. Those who move within the shadows pray to Xemos — the downtrodden, the persecuted, and the criminal.

Paternal grandparents Menrva, goddess of the sky. Also known as the Skymother or Queen of the Gods. Though she is the most well known of all the gods and goddesses, little is known about her. She is a distant goddess, and deeply private, though surprisingly this has only served to elevate her status among mankind. Menrva ushered in a new age — having traveled from a dying star, she led fellow gods and goddesses to a new home. They were all young, minors among the Primordial Pantheon, and they made the heartbreaking decision to leave their dying home. To leave what was left of their families who refused to flee out of fear they would become dead without rest. To defy the end of days for a hope of another tomorrow. For this, Menrva is praised as a radiant leader among her peers, her word is law, and her law is absolute. The Kinglands pray to one Goddess for guidance, and she is always depicted with a solar crown.

Lazarus, former head of the noble house Deleoux, also known as the crownless King, whose selfless deeds elevated him to that of a folk hero of his age. Grounded and chivalrous, he was the mortal Prince who fell in love with Menrva and sought to prove himself worthy of her affection. There are those that confuse his tale as that of a man who sought godhood, when he stripped himself of his birthright to inherit his father's crown, and when he sold his material possessions to found the humble beginnings of the home of scholars, he did so for betterment of people, all people, not only the rich.

Father Lazentis Deleoux, demigod of order and divine protector of mankind. He is the first and the only child of Menrva and Lazarus, a golden child among gods and mortals. Before he drew his first breath he had impossible standards expected of him, and he will strive until his dying day to not only meet, but to exceed each and every one of them. He is a gentleman and a perfectionist whose work is never done, but do not test his patience or good will. He has the kind of stern gaze that can cut a person down without so much as a word. Lazentis is best known among scholars and knights, he receives few prayers because those that look to him look for the strength of his convictions.

#this artwork is the sketch form of a paid commission #art credit: ana1984 #one day I will upload the finished version with better listed credits #but today I will flood the dash with my fever dream typing as a self treat #art #Ariadne #headcanon #verse; medieval #tw long post #Vergil #Mahasra #Xe #Xemos #Menrva #Lazarus #Lazentis

[van-yangyin]

Compilation of characters that appear in the background of our worlds (@lea-heartscxiv and me), although some of them are still not finished as for example Ifrit who lacks the skin with scars and burns (apart from small fixes that I never know if they can be solved).

Ifrit (Beta 2)

This was the second time I converted Ifrit for the sims, because I learned to do it better and I didn't like the previous one.

Uploaded on my Twitter on January 4th, 2021.

And yes, I tried to make Shiva, as you can see in the picture above, but the usb where I had all the backup information in case something happened to the computer was screwed up and to recover all that I had to pay a lot of money, so I only had this picture that I made a few years ago, if at some point in the future I have the courage to do it again I will try again so Ifrit is not left alone in our world. 

(I hadn't yet learned how to use the proportional editing and sculpting tool properly in Blender. Besides in those days I was doing the retexturing manually in photoshop after repositioning the uv_0 in blender instead of using blender cycles baking 😆💦 I remember saving the repositioned uv_0 in the sim .png on the folder, the original mesh uv .png when it was a conversion of an existing model [since at that time I didn't even know how to make my own models very well] and then in photoshop open everything together and try to make the original uv with the texture match the repositioned uv_0. Part of learning how to use cycle baking was the one that made me start Ifrit all over again, so that the textures were accurate, but in his case I did it before the external usb broke down.)

Other characters that we have around in our world  Tho they still need to be improved to look more like the originals (not counting some serious clothing problems like Kairi's dress).

With Sora I have yet to make ダブルフォーム (Double Form) version, but it needs a different uv on the clothing to work, so it can't be used on this particular garment and for the moment I didn't touch it again, when I get inspired in the future I may do it.

Uploaded on my Twitter on January 21st, 2021.

And finally of this compilation all of them.

Kairi-chan obviously doesn’t appear in our our words (unless it is a game in which we play with the little ones or appears in some memory of her) is a version that in the future will be improved and try to do in HD, hair included since I learned to make them in Blender, but for the moment remains as I did at the time, since it is also clothes that our toddler OCs use to cosplay her as a young girl and there are other parts of the project that have priority. On the other hand from Naminé I have to convert her hair but I have to do her hair texture first. As for Strelitzia I have to change her clothes to the one shown in the HD illustration (which I created in MD and Blender and converted to sims before the special illustration of the 5 years anniversary of UX was released) and obviously now I also have to create the clothes she appears in KH4 (not counting the different hairpin and that she no longer wears the pigtails in the shape of strelitzias). [This is now becoming more of a writing to remember, rather than to show the characters that appear in our worlds. (๑˃∀˂๑)ｱﾊﾊﾊ] As for Master of the Masters, he's our special one and we will always have him at the top of lists of our worlds. (≧∇≦)

Uploaded on my Twitter on January 21st, 2021.

And here ends the complication of this post, I don't put many tags so as not to bother people with my random stuff.

Sora’s sim made by @lea-heartscxiv​ Hairs, clothes and accesories converted by me Strelitzia made by me from scratch on Blender and MD Lunafreya’s hair credit here Feet used on Naminé’s sandals and Ifrit’s feet by @magic-bot

Thank you so much for the CC used here 💓

~Extra~

Last year I converted Aqua's clothes and reconverted the hair for the second time, this time with a texture made by me with the bases of the textures of the original game. There is still a long way to go but I like the final result so far.

#my sims compilation #my kingdom hearts sims #my kh sims #my ff15 sims #my ffxv sims #van-yangyin

[neosimi]

Must Have Mods Master List

These are mods I cannot live without! They are listed in categories. This list will be continually updated at https://neosimi.tumblr.com/must-haves.

Inspired by Pleasant Sims! Credits to all mod creators linked below. ♡

Note: With Simbology links, choose your latest expansion pack, then search for the file.

                                              ︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Essential:

Mootilda’s Hood Checker ─  A necessary tool used to check for corruption in your neighborhoods.

Hack Conflict Detection Utility (HCDU) Plus ─  Another necessary tool that finds hack conflicts in your game. Updated to HCDU Plus by whoward because it is able to find many more conflicts. Also recommended: SiMidge.

SimPE ─ Number one essential tool/program that allows you to view package files, tune/create mods, edit ages/names/etc. download version 0.75.69.

Lazy Duchess’ RPC Launcher ─ A custom launcher with added features and fixes. Includes a Discord Rich Presence, First Born Syndrome Fix, Borderless, and Better Live Mode Camera. Can’t live without this!

What Caused This?  ─  Reads the object error log file, extracts some information from it and then looks in every mod in your Downloads folder to see if it can identify the suspect mod(s).

Object Relocator  ─  A utility for moving Buy Mode objects around in the catalog en-masse by changing their Room, Function, Sub-Function and Community flags, and also their Price.

Download Organizer ─ I find this incredibly helpful when I need to see my mods/cc organized by date downloaded.

Chris Hatch’s Lot Cleaner   ─  Object in buy catalog that cleans a lot of sim references, and removes the Super Duper Hug Bug. Essential if you download/upload lots frequently. Recommended to remove from dl folder when finished as it will automatically clean a lot if you just click on it in the catalog.

Anti-Redundancy ─  Eliminates the spawning of redundant NPCs.

No Death Type Loss ─Sims no longer lose their death type upon moving their tombstone to a community lot. Also, ghosts will now be the correct color from the type of death.

No Corrupt Death ─  Suppresses the corrupt death memory.

No Unlink on Delete ─  Game stops partially destroying sims files when deleting a tombstone.

FFS Lot Debugger ─  Lots of very useful debug options. I use the pretty vase version. :)

No Sim Loaded ─ Eliminates “Sim Loaded” and other tokens when loading up a lot. Also prevents and fixes the Super Duper Hug Bug.

Gussy Up ─ Change, buy, and plan playable and townie Sims clothes.

Soft Shadows 2.0 ─ Turns the blobby outdoor shadows into soft ones, like in the family portrait and indoors. Great for screenshots. *Don’t use if you have dreadpirate’s mm lighting mod.

Simnopke's Sliders ─ 24 face sliders available in CAS, plastic surgery machine, and Bodyshop. The 20 face sliders are here!

Sim Blender ─ Holy Grail management mod. Allows for a host of different options. A serious must have! *updated Mar. 2021 with added 1-3-5 day aging.

Sim Manipulator ─  Similar to Sim Blender but with several more options. You can have one or both, I use them interchangeably.

No Townie Regen ─  Prevents the game from spawning new townies.

Day Setter ─  Sets the day of the week for the current lot. Necessary to keep hoods in sync.

Weather Controller ─  Sets the season and weather on the current lot.

Inge’s Age Group Tweak ─  Custom age length mod. Tutorial on how to tune age span: here. Recommended use with Age Correct.

Smart AgeCorrect ─ This mod corrects the age span length of a hood. Must use with custom lifespans in order to change entire hood’s age span. Remove from downloads after loading a lot and receiving the pop up that the mod worked. Updated to Lazy Duchess' version which does not require taking out the mod.

Auto Save Game ─ A pop up appears that asks if you’d like to save the game.                                         »»————-　♡　————-««

Baby/Toddler/Child:

No Baby Harassment ─ Babies no longer harassed a million times by Sims for no reason.

Crib Get Out ─  Toddlers can now get out of cribs by themselves.

Baby Bottle Replacement ─  Replaces the ugly green bottle with a more realistic clear/white bottle.

Accessible High Chairs  ─ Sims can access toddler high chairs from all angles.

Bottomless Bottle ─  Baby bottle that never spoils. Also deletes any regular bottles lying around.

No Empty Potty ─  Eliminates the need to empty the potty.

Baby Wants Fix ─  Removes the distinction between having a baby and adopting. Adopting will satisfy the want to have a baby.

Freetime Animated Cribs ─  No more arms stuck in cribs!

Baby Bottles from Mini Fridge ─  Sims can now get baby bottles from the mini fridge!

Aging Baby to Toddler Fix ─  Fixes an issue with the Help with Birthday code that prevents babies from aging into toddlers.

Kids Can Make Cereal ─  self explanatory.

Breastfeed Baby ─  Sims can now breastfeed their babies!

Wet the Bed ─  If a child sim was not potty trained, there is a chance they wet the bed.

Watch Kids Enabled ─  Allows neighbors and visitors to watch kids like a nanny.

Children Can Throw Parties ─ Finally children can throw parties and invite their friends instead of Mom and Dad!

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Business:

Business Mod  ─ OFB fixes. Must have if you play with sim-owned businesses.

Decorative Parking Spaces ─ Allows for parked cars to spawn when placed.

Park in the Car Park  ─  Sims can park their car on community lots.

No Lame Hires  ─  Non-townie sims with jobs less than or equal to L6 or already working in a user business are no longer considered eligible hires and will not clog the hiring pool.

Townie Budget Mod  ─  No more infinite money for townies. They will not buy items they cannot afford at businesses or restaurants.

Simlogical Business Mods  ─  Modded OFB items, useful if playing with sim-owned businesses.

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Computer & Social:

Monique’s Hacked Computers  ─ Essential computer mod that does much more than the standard Maxis computer. Bank online, buy items, etc. Recolors included.

Default Computer Screens  ─  Replaces the default computer screens with much better looking ones.

Child Computer Chat  ─  Children can chat on computers now.

Ask Age  ─  Enables the social interaction that allows Sims to ask how old are you?

Brighter Computer Screens  ─ Computer screens are no longer dark and dull, you can finally see what your Sims are up to on the net!

Hidden Interactions ─ This is a set of three global mods that unlock hidden interactions that are normally only performed autonomously. Also a part two!

Call Anyone ─ Sims are able to call anyone, regardless if the sim they are calling has a phone or not.

Chat in Pool ─ Sims can now chat while swimming!

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Death & Sickness:

More Dangerous Fire  ─  Fires spread faster and destroy quicker. I use more dangerous. NOT EVEN MORE. unless that’s what you’d like!

Fire Mod  ─ Fixes issues with how Sims react to fires. Sims who practice Fire Prevention will actually put out fires quicker.

Faster Disease Processing  ─  Disease recovery will not get slower if multiple Sims are sick.

Frequent Disease Processing  ─ Disease severity updated every cycle instead of every six.

Deadly Satellites  ─  Increases the likelihood of a Sim dying via satellite.

Realistic Sickness  ─  Makes sickness deadlier than before. USE WITH CAUTION. Sims will die if not taken care of.

Select Your Cemetery  ─  Allows you to choose a cemetery to move a tombstone.

Pneumonia Fix  ─  Fixes the problem where sims would die of colds, instead of having the cold turn into pneumonia as intended by EA.

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Education:

Desk Locator  ─  With this object placed on a desk, children and teens will always put their homework on the designated desk.

Doctors Need Degrees  ─  Limits promotions for Sims that did not attend or finish college, depending on education level. An expanded version of Cyjon’s Edukashun iz Gud.

Semester Changes  ─ University length cut down to 8 days instead of 24.

Move Out of College  ─  Sims of any age can live in uni subhoods and graduated Sims are not forced to move out.

Faster Homework  ─  Homework takes 15 minutes to complete instead of 1hr.

1 Day Uni Aging  ─  Playable sims and pets age and grow up while living on campus (all except young adults).

No Visiting Professors  ─   Prevents those creepy Art professors from stalking your dorms.

No Memory & Want Uneducated  ─  Sims do not get a negative memory for not attending college.

School Mods  ─ Various school mods such as a fix on how the game determines which friend to bring home.

Uni Career Lifetime Wants  ─  Adds missing lifetime wants for University careers.

No Dormie Regen  ─  Prevents random dormies from spawning.

No SS Respawn  ─  Eliminates respawning of Secret Society members.

Prom + Afterschool Activity  ─ Adds Prom experience and after school activities for teens.

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Fantasy/Supernatural:

Abuctions Higher Odds  ─  Increases the chance of getting abducted while stargazing.

Creature Fixes  ─ Fixes issues with supernaturals.

Multi Pollination Technicians  ─  Default replacements I use for the PT.

Sim Transformer  ─  Sims can transform into any supernatural or be cured.

Hereditary Supernaturalism  ─ When babies grow into toddlers they can inherit vampirism and plantsimism from their parents. When toddlers grow into children they can inherit lycanthropy, and when they grow into teens they can inherit witchism.

Werewolf Personality  ─ Adds depth to werewolf personalities.

Deadly Werewolves -- Werewolves can maim and ravage sims with the chance of killing them.

Vampires Can Drink Blood and Turn Sims into Ghouls -- self-explanatory.

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Finance/Job:

Child Support  ─  Sims who have children currently not living on the same lot will pay child support. Other versions of the mod can be found on MTS.

Bills Mod  ─  This mod adds checks and features to the way the game calculates bills.

Loan Jar  ─  Sims are now able to take out loans and pay them back!

Partial Financial Advice  ─  Sims will now get a partial amount of money if the command was canceled.

Social Welfare  ─ Unemployed sims are able to apply for social welfare benefits. Quantity depends of number of children.

No 20k Handouts  ─  Sims no longer receive 20k for free every time they move.

Utility Mod  ─ Basic utilities will be taken into account when the game calculates bills.

More Realistic Wages  ─  Salaries have been cut in half, resulting in more realistic wages.

Professional Blogger  ─  Sims with maxed enthusiasm in a hobby will now get paid.

No Inheritance after Elder Dies  ─  No more cash given to your Sims when an elder relative passes away.

Lower Wages  ─ Reduced salaries for University, FreeTime, and Seasons jobs in order to match base game careers.

Job Options Mod  ─  Several mods included. I like to use “choose part-time or full-time” and “ask before promotion”.

Less Late Penalty  ─ Sims will no longer be fired for missing work 3 days consecutively. Useful for Uni Sims to have a job while attending classes.

Job Stopinator  ─ When placed in a Sims inventory, they will no longer be able to get promoted despite having the necessary skills.

Carpool Warning Fix  ─  Sims who are sick or in first stage of pregnancy will now get carpool warnings.

Job Seeking Noticeboard  ─  This object allows Sims to browse and find the perfect career for them. I love to add this to my career services/welfare lot.

Bring Home Friend from Work  ─ Asks if you’d like to bring home a friend from work.

Lower Job Promotion Chance  ─ Lowers the chance to get promoted. I use the 50 one.

No Carpool for Mothers  ─  Carpool will no longer arrive for pregnant Sims or mothers.

Job Level Labels  ─  Numerical labels for each job position 1-10.

No Friends Needed for Career  ─  Eliminates the requirement of needing friends to get promoted. Never made sense to me! With Simbology links, choose your latest expansion pack, then search for file.

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Fix:

Cyjon’s Mods  ─  Has lots of various fixes and other mods available to download! Make sure to download Smarter EP Check! Its essential for most of their mods.

Dress Me Correctly  ─  Sims will dress correctly for either school, work, or bed. No more everyday outfit after a shower!

Eat More, Talk Less  ─ self-explanatory.

Extended Family Seen As Family  ─  Second cousins, first cousins once removed, great grandparents/children, great aunts/uncles are recognized as family.

Overly Bright CAS Fix  ─  Fixes Sim parts being too bright in CAS on modern hardware if they were made without tangents or if you’re playing with useshaders on false.

No Whining at Missing Objects -- self-explanatory lol.

Matchmaker Fix  ─ Allows Sims to be able to interact with the Matchmaker on community lots.

Random Calls Fix  ─ This mod fixes a flaw with the base game random calls which prevented you from getting phone calls from anyone other than burglars, delivery persons, etc.

Smart Beds  ─ Sims will finally sleep in their respective beds! Hooray!

Smarter Lights ─ The purpose of this mod is to automatically turn the light on and off, depending of the type of the lot, the time of the day and what the sims are doing.

Shadow Fix  ─ This mod fixes Sims’ shadows shown as black rectangles.

Want Mods  ─  Removes annoying and redundant wants like buy gadget, sports party, etc.

No Bathroom Dishes -- Dishes will not be washed in the bathroom. Affects all sinks by placement, not by type of sink. Truly, it is More Awesome Than You.

Woohoo LTW Fix  ─ Stops the woohoo LTW from disappearing after being achieved.

Woohoo Count Fix ─  If a Sim has woohooed with the same sim multiple times in different types of woohoo, the game will now consider that as having woohooed with only one sim.

Social Work Hack  ─ The Social Worker behaves reasonably with this mod. AL version.

LTW Variety  ─  Makes LTW, especially for careers, appropriate to the sim.

Better Butler Meals ─ Butlers will stop slacking off by cooking crap like ramen and TV dinners.

Butler Fix  ─  This mod will stop the butler from repeatedly jump bugging and throwing a “Error: Trying to access array element via iterator that does not exist.” error when he’s trying to cook.

Lockable Garage Doors ─ Allows garage doors to be locked like other doors.

Front Door Hack ─ Sims won't go to your garage door or back door to ring the doorbell.

Date/Outing Stood Up Fix  ─  This mod fixes the broken timer behavior for standing dates/outings up.

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Hobby/Skill:

Exercise Tweaks  ─ Tweaks on motive drops for exercise equipment, balancing them and getting rid of the absurd energy drops on FreeTime items.

Exercise Bike Fix  ─ Sims will no longer exercise to death on the bike.

Jump Rope Fitness  ─  Fitness skill gained when jump roping.

Fitness 4 All  ─ Townies may now become fit or fat.

Diary Memories  ─ While writing in their diary, Sims will recount previous memories. Love this!

Enthusiasm Overhaul  ─ The mods improve the hobby enthusiasm system, better matching hobbies to interests, makes the One True hobby more important than others, decay is dependent on interests, stops annoying hobby messages and more. Also includes a mod that prevents sims gaining cuisine enthusiasm for every meal they eat.

No Hobby Stalkers  ─ With this mod, iconic hobbyists should not appear (and the game should not try to find or create them) outside secret hobby lots.

Fewer Hobby Wants  ─ The purpose of the mod is to reduce the number of hobby wants by stopping certain wants from being triggered.

Bubble Bath Fun  ─  Fun increases while taking a bubble bath.

Become Author without Computer ─ self-explanatory.

Comm Skilling ─  Controlled sims, NPCs, and townies may gain skills/enthusiasm while visiting community lots.

Creativity Gain for Blogging/Diary ─ also self-explanatory.

Crafting Skills and Tweaks  ─ This mod allocates a skill to each crafting station such that as a Sim uses the station they gain the associated skill.  The mod also changes using the Robot Workbench to gain Science enthusiasm, the Toy Workbench to gain Tinkering enthusiasm, and the Flower Station to gain Nature enthusiasm.  Finally it brings the fun mood changes from using the Pottery Wheel in line with the other four stations.

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Memory & Name:

Neosimi’s Custom Memories  ─ coming soon.

Better Names  ─ This file changes the default list of names for townies and NPCs. It is mainly based on US Census data.

No Stupid Memories  ─ Lots of options to remove annoying memories that clog the system like Vermin!

Memory Manipulator  ─ Allows you to add/remove memories and clear gossip in game.

Last Name Copier  ─ Allows you to copy last names between Sims.

Choose Last Name in Marriage  ─ self-explanatory.

Baby Last Name Chooser  ─ also self-explanatory.

Great Grandchild Memory  ─ Grandparents will now get a memory when a grandchild is born.

Engagement Memory Fix  ─ Fixes a very annoying bug that causes some Sims to have a negative memory of getting engaged when it should be positive.

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Misc:

No Plumbobs  ─ Removes the plumbobs from neighborhood screen and above Sims.

Anti Weather Reaction  ─ Sims no longer wake up to gawk at weather outside.

Burglar Mod  ─  Improved and realistic burglars! No burglar sound cue, burglars have a chance of avoid alarms based on skill, etc.

Don’t Walk Away While Cooking  ─  If you find it annoying how Sims always walk away while cooking, this mod is for you.

Macrotastics  ─ Automates tedious and repetitive game play. I like to use it when I want my Sims to clean the entire house.

Perfect Plants  ─ Stops weeds from overtaking your lot.

Welcome Wagon Dialog  ─ A dialog pop up appears asking if you’d like the welcome wagon to arrive on your lot.

Random Stereo Stations  ─ AKA Sick of Salsa Music.

No CAS Smiling  ─ Sims no longer smile for no reason in CAS mode.

Sleepwear by Personality  ─ Changes the logic for sims choosing what to wear when going to bed autonomously.

Watch TV From All Chairs  ─ Allows your Sims to watch TV from chairs facing any direction at least 10 squares back from the TV – even if they’re facing sideways or at 45-degree angles.

Moving Sign  ─ Automatically keeps kitchen and bathroom built-ins, light fixtures, and gives you proper value when moving from a lot.

Immaturity + Fights Mod  ─ Young adults and older are now able to be immature. Adults and elders are much less likely, but they still can be immature. Also fixes a few issues with fight interactions, and it adds new features.

Prank Calls  ─ Adds TS1 style prank calls back into the game. So fun, so creepy!

Want Disablers  ─ Prevents Sims from getting wants for college scholarships, pet jobs, and/or go on vacation.

No Lost Friend Notifications  ─ No more annoying notifications that clog up the side of your screen from losing friends.

Elders Sleep thru Night  ─  self-explanatory.

No Instant Firefighter & Cop  ─ This mod will delay firefighter for 15-45 minutes (randomly picked) and cop for 1-12 minutes.

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Pets & Pose:

Baby Pet Creator  ─ Create puppies and kittens for your Sims to adopt.

Dog Bath   ─  A custom object that only allows for dogs to be bathed.

Caged Pet Fix  ─  Fixed random bird death bug and other annoyances and bugs related to the birds and wormrats.

Pets at University  ─ This mod gives YA Sims the ability to purchase and take care of pets at university.

No Pet Obsession  ─  Fixes the redundancy of Pet related wants.

No Stray Respawn  ─  Stray animals no longer respawn.

Finicky Pet Fix  ─ Fixes a bug which causes finicky pets to refuse to eat from a food bowl until they are near starving to death.

Look At Me Now  ─ Sims will look at you from wherever/whatever they’re doing. Useful for taking screenshots.

No Red Pause Lines  ─ Gets rid of the red pause lines around the screen.

Jaydee’s Pose Boxes  ─ Several different pose boxes. Extremely useful for taking screenshots/family portraits!

Thought/Speech Bubble Controller  ─  Allows you to choose a specific talk or thought bubble to appear above a Sim’s head.

                                         »»————-　♡　————-««

Pregnancy & Adoption:

ACR  ─  Allows your Sims to autonomously woohoo, try for baby, make booty calls, etc. Gives your Sims more freedom to make their own romantic decisions and creates a lot of drama and fun in your neighborhood. A serious must have!

18 Hour Pregnancy  ─  Shortens pregnancy length to 18 hours. I like to use this because I play using 1 day = 1 year.

Sperm Donors  ─  This hack introduces a new social interaction called Request Sperm Donation, which will make your sims pregnant with their child, but on birth the child’s second parent will be set to a sim of your choice.

Fertile Fertility  ─  During “Try For Baby”, the pregnancy chance is rolled again for each parent who has the Super Fertility aspiration reward.

Name the Father  ─  This adds a self interaction to pregnant sims who are showing, which allows you to choose a father for the baby.

Only Family React to Birth  ─ Random Sims will no longer come witness a birth of a Sim they have no relation to.

Parenting Mod  ─ This mod makes it so that sims who have studied Parenting teach all toddler skills at twice the regular speed.

Quiet Pregnancy  ─  Stops the pregnancy chime from going off, making pregnancies a surprise!

Same Day Adoption Service  ─ Adoption process is much faster all occurring within the same day.

YA Pregnancy  ─  Enables pregnancy for young adult Sims.

Death by Childbirth  ─  Adds a small chance of your sim dying of childbirth.

More Realistic Genes  ─  This mod makes hair and eye color genetics more realistic.

Maternity Outfit Fix ─  With this fix, pregnant young adults will properly wear maternity outfits.

Adopt Teen Gender Preference ─ This mod adds the option to adopt teens from the adoption service, it also allows you to choose your gender preference for toddlers, children, & teens.

Pregnancy Relationship Change   ─  For when a sim’s pregnancy first shows and those around her realize she’s pregnant. Allows a Sim to figure out a baby is not “his” if he has high enough logic skill points.

Alternate Pregnancy Controller Lite ─  Adds the possibility of miscarriages and stops pregnancy controllers from deleting themselves.

Pregnancy Test Kit ─ Sims can purchase a pregnancy test kit and find out if they are pregnant or not! Very realistic, 95% accurate. Works great with quiet pregnancy!

Shared Parenting PTO  ─   This global mod allows adults to share paid time off (PTO) (aka vacation days) while looking after the kids.

Surrogate Hack ─  This hack allows sims to have children via a surrogate.

                                          »»————-　♡　————-««

Romance & Relationship:

Aromantic Mod  ─ This is composed of several mods that allow a more accurate representation of aromanticism. Some mods still in testing so check back! Use with Asexual ACR Plugin (below).

Asexual ACR Plugin  ─ Sims with ACR tokens flagged “no woohoo allowed” won’t roll woohoo-related wants.

Teens Keep Love  ─  Teens don’t lose their relationship status with another sim when they age up.

Adult Teen Attraction  ─  Allows adults and teens to have romantic attraction. Recommended for use with ACR.

Bigger Families  ─ Allows an unlimited number of sims on the lot.

Bisexual Influence Fix  ─  Stops influence system from forcing bisexual sims to choose a gender preference.

Wedding Mat ─  Allows Sims to get married on the mat instead of with a wedding arch.  Also, there are any female sims on the lot that are either a sister or child to one of the happy couple then they will be invited to be a bridesmaid.

Find A Mate  ─  Summon the power of the Gypsy’s crystal ball, monetarily free and hassle free!

First Kiss Enabled ─  This mod enables first kiss to be used any time you wish as long as the relationship score is high enough between your sims. Great for cinematic scene.

Secondary Aspiration Attraction  ─  Adjusts the attraction score between two Sims by taking into account their secondary aspirations.

Just Be Friends  ─ Option to choose just be friends at any time.

Replaced Turn Ons/Offs  ─  This mod replaces turn ons/offs to the game with new ones that make more sense.

Zodiac Tweaks  ─ Sims zodiac compatibility.

Same Sex Marriage   ─  self-explanatory.

No Bi Gender Preference Decrease  ─  Checks if a sim has positive gender preference for both genders, and in this case, their gender preference doesn’t decrease.

Breakup Anytime   ─ self-explanatory.

Mood Swing & Midlife Crisis  ─  Want to see your pregnant sims have pregnancy mood swing ? Or may be your teen sims experience mood swing ? Or having your adult sims get midlife crisis ? Then try this mod in your game.

Lecture Enabled   ─ This mod adds a new pie menu to your sim that allows you to have them lecture other sims.

More Realistic Relationship Decay ─  self-explanatory.

More Useful Apologies  ─ This replacement is reprogrammed so that when you instruct a sim to apologize, if the apology is accepted any “furious” state is wiped out, and their relationship is reset to just above zero, (or higher if they got on well before they became furious).  Gives them a chance for a real fresh start.

                                         »»————-　♡　————-««

Townie/NPC/Community:

Townie No Memory Loss  ─ Townies will keep all their memories when moving into a playable household.

Selectable NPC  ─ This mod allows you to choose which bartender, butler, gardener, maid, nanny and repairman you want to hire.

Lot Inspector  ─  Let Prof. von Ball inspect your lots for known problems before deleting a lot that could destroy your neighborhood.

No Humble  ─  Get rid of the annoying Mr. Humble and his free PC.

NPC Aging  ─  NPC Sims on the active lot will age up one day at 6:00 PM, but only if they are ON the active lot. Does not impact playables.

Visitor Controller  ─  Ban certain Sims from your lots.

No Greeting NPCS   ─ Stops the Matchmaker and Garden Club Lady from showing up when you move a Sim into a new lot.

Call NPCS  ─  Allows you to call NPCs on the phone.

Community Lot Parties  ─  Allows you to throw parties on community lots.

Non Townie Outfits  ─ Prevents certain outfits and hairstyles from being selected for townies and newly-aged sims.

Community Time Project  ─ Enables the passing of time on community lots to be spent on the home lot. When a Sim leaves a community lot at 5:00 PM, it will be 5:00 PM when they get back home, but you’ll still be able to play the family left behind in the meantime.*updated Jan. 2021

More Walkbys & Car Passbys  ─ Make your lot more likely with more walkbys and car passbys.

Townie Body Diversity  ─ With these mods installed, whenever the game makes a new townie, it will roll a die to decide whether the townie should be fat, fit or thin.

Telescopes on Com Lots  ─  For some reason the two Maxis telescopes could not be placed on Community lots.  This patch fixes that.

SimWardrobe’s Customer Limit Adjuster  ─  Allows you to set the limit of sims on a lot. Not restricted to OFB lots. Between 3-48. I use this in place of piqiwi’s mod now!

Shiny Tyme NPC Everywhere Patch  ─  Whatever lot type you place this in, it will get an NPC cook working just like they do on dorm lots.

♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥   ♡   ♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥  ♡   ♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡  ♥

#ts2 #ts2 mods #ts2 simblr #simblr #mod links #neosimi #master list

[radramblog]

Dear Swamp-Ass... (Pink Lemonade Pt.2)

I was tempted to give up on today and use some of my backup, but I suppose it’s too early to expose y’all to such cursed content. Let’s just wrap this one up. 

6. Dinosaur Boss Battle

Dear Swamp-Ass…

(huh? That’s how we’re starting this one?)

Dinosaur Boss Battle, as its name suggests, is about luddite dinosaurs in a war with cyborgs who are after their bones. Well, the name doesn’t suggest that much, but that’s actually what’s going on here, with the Fool just kinda having this explained to him and being told to get the hell out of dodge. It’s an alternate timeline neither he nor us were expecting, and he manages to escape just as a big ol’ bomb annihilates the last of the dinosaurs, sending him spiralling once again through dimensions.

Sonically, Dinosaur Boss Battle feels a lot like a somewhat chiller equivalent to Pink Lemonade or Neoprene Byzantine, with more use of backing vocals that works really well in its favour. The slower, quieter moments of the song work really well, in particular the…bridge? The bit where everything cuts off and we mostly just have reverb and vocals (“Wanna see my prized pterodactyl?”) that builds into one of the most energetic parts of the song, with the backing vocals at their peak. The last minute of the song is also excellent, with the instruments again cutting back to let the final, almost spoken word, lyrics settle in, before a big, swaggering finale with the bass maintaining a constant rhythm as the lead guitar just kinda goes apeshit.

7. Mauerbauertraurigkeit

I looked it up, and that’s not a real word. Rather, it’s a made-up phrase from the dictionary of obscure sorrows, describing “the inexplicable urge to push people away, even close friends you really like”. Fittingly, the song is a lament about the Fool’s relationship with Verina, realizing his mistake in pushing her away and his loneliness floating through the space between worlds. It’s the most emotional song on the album, feeling as out of place and stranded as the lyrics imply. The vocals are really carrying the track, a subtle echo lending them an emptiness that makes the regret feel all the more real. The instrumentation is sparce, a loose, with a strangely tempo’d percussion and light guitar that eventually crescendos into an outpouring of emotion, before the quiet riffs of the song return to clean everything up. A syncopated (I think that’s what that word means) drumbeat eventually is the only thing that remains, steadily becoming more synthetic and oppressive before fading away as the church bells introducing the next track.

8. Church of the Technochrist

The other single from the album, and probably a better representative of the whole deal than Seeds of Gold. Church of the Technochrist, despite the name, is not Christian Rock, and we’re all thankful for it.

 (I haven’t actually watched/listened to this video as of writing, but I understand it’s pretty different to the album version, so keep that in mind)

In fact, the tune is basically a rocking initiation to a cult that doesn’t exist, promising and seducing with a back and forth between the preacher and the Fool, who’s doubt is questioned by sinister backing vocals. Like many of the tracks on the album, Church of the Technochrist is a psychedelic energetic banger, that steadily builds into an explosive climax- in this case, the final ravings of the preacher- and does an excellent job of doing so. This build, however, is interrupted by a slow section, in this case representative of the Fool’s realisation that the Church isn’t quite what he thought he was getting into, aborting the upload process midway and sending him once again into isolation as he is rejected by the church he turned his back on. To be fair, brain uploading religions don’t tend to go well from the fiction I’ve seen. I don’t have as much to write on this one, but it’s a banger, and probably the track to listen to on its own if you want a taste of what this album sounds like as a whole.

9. Beckon Fire

Like Mauerbauertraurigkeit before it, Beckon Fire is a sombre track, easily the most downtempo tune in the package. It’s not really one I’d listen to outside of the context of the album at large, however. It’s mostly just fuzzed-out vocals over a simple repetitive loop, supported by what I assume are strings, and I will admit a soft spot for sad strings TM in my rock songs. Calling this a rock song my be a stretch, but despite this it doesn’t feel unnatural in the listing. Actually, as I listen to it while writing this, I find myself appreciating it more than ever, and I can’t quite explain why.

Plotwise, this is the Fool’s final lament. He’s stuck in a desert wasteland, wandering, realising the mistakes of his delusional quest for enlightenment, and finally accepting the death that the desert brings him. Just as he’s about to die, and his despair is replaced with elation, his eyes open again aaaaaaand-

10. Happy Days

Oh, that’s a good sign. Ok so the Fool finds himself in the alley all the way back from Pink Lemonade, everything between then and now being a whole-ass trip from the eponymous hallucinogen. Before him is Verina, who he’s realised is the enlightenment he was searching for all along and rejoices as his quest is over and he’s found a way to be truly happy. This song, therefore, is the happy ending to this whole trip of an album.

This song is just a ball, feeling like the light side of the edgy coin that is most of the bigger songs of the album. It’s unrelenting positivity, with backing vocals here supporting rather than questioning or tearing down, like something you’d hear out of a Meatloaf song. Parts of the bridge, where you get both lead and backing vocals coalescing into a swelling high note, sound downright divine (she’s coming on home and I’m kissing the face of infinityyyYYYY). It’s a powerful theme that feels earned, a stark contrast to the melancholy of the previous tracks, and it feels like the perfect way to close the album- especially as the song ends with the guitar fuckery that’s the trademark of the band, but like, in a major key or something, Iunno it just sounds more positive.

11. ピンク レモネード (Pink Lemonade, but in Japanese)

Psyche, the album’s not over yet. This, however, feels more like a bonus track than anything, and the band’s vocalist has described as like the credits rolling for the album. It’s completely different to anything else on the album, being a chiptune of all things, with guest singers going off in Japanese about…uh… the story, I think? I don’t speak the language, obviously. The song itself is pretty adorable and cheery, but again I wouldn’t really put it on outside of as the finisher to the album as a whole.

The eerie last minute of the track is apparently (again, it’s in Japanese) supposed to be a bit of last-minute horror, as the Brahmatron yawns once again, revealing that even this level of reality is subject to its whims, and as time loops in on itself the singers argue in confusion about what the fuck is going on, before a final yawn ends the album like an old TV being switched off. I’m sure this would work better if I understood the conversation, but I sure don’t and I haven’t been able to find a translation anywhere, so I’m just going based on what the writer has explained it as.

 As a whole, Pink Lemonade is an album that I think really represents a unique point in the genre, or clash of genres. I don’t think I’ve heard anything like it, even in Closure in Moscow’s previous work, and that would be merit enough on its own, but it helps that it’s really good. Like, I don’t know how well I communicated how much I adore this album. Top 10 for sure. Give it a listen if you think you’re up for it, and if you have already, I dunno, do it again? Or maybe listen to First Temple, their first album. They were supposed to have a new project out last year, but 2020 did 2020 things, so we’ll have to wait and see. Until then. Whenever that is.

#music #ramble #prog #closure in moscow #pink lemonade #the dinosaur in dinosaur boss battle was writing a letter to a mate when the Fool showed up #that's who swamp-ass is

[fortunatelylori]

Love your analyses. (You are to Sanditon what jbuffyangel was to Arrow.) Question about 1x03, When Sidney asks Charlotte for “feedback,” her first question is why didn’t he help Tom more. When Sidney says it wasn’t fair. he’d done all he could, she says, ”Have you?” Did she inadvertently contribute to the demise of her own relationship? Sidney is a loyal brother, but he’s also already in love with Charlotte and, whether he realizes it or not, wants her approval.

Before we get started on the ask, I would like to thank everyone who has sent me messages or asks over the past few days. I really appreciate your guys’ interest in my blog and Sanditon opinions and it’s immensely satisfying to me to play a part in the growth of the very new Sanditon fandom.

I have many Sanditon related projects in the works at the moment, namely a new fanfic one shot that should be uploaded in the next couple of days, a very exciting meta that I think you’ll all love and I need to get started on my Christmas fic if I am to finish by the middle of December as I have announced. All of that in addition to my and Mrs. @kitten1618x ‘s Sanditioncreative blog which will be hosting the first Sanditon Christmas event this year.

All of this is to say that I might not be answering your questions as quickly as I would otherwise. If that happens, please don’t get discouraged! I will answer ALL asks eventually, whenever I find the time to work on them. To that end, I would also kindly ask all of you to please send your asks solely to my ask me anything inbox because if you send it via replies or private message, they will end up getting lost and I will forget to answer them.

Hope this works for everyone! Let’s get to the ask …

Oh, nonnie … I’m pretty sure you had no idea what you were getting yourself into when you sent this ask but strap in … because the time has finally come to talk about …

Tom THE WORST Parker

Leaving aside the torch and pitchfork party we’ve all thrown for Tom, I do think we should take a moment and give Kris Marshall a shout out for an outstanding job playing this character. Look at the desperation in his eyes, the strained smile, the implied pressure he is applying on his target (Sidney as per 90% of the time). He even does that annoying calling people over with your hand as if they were your dog thing that drives me nuts!

Fortunatelylori: Put the hand away, Tom, unless you want me to cut it off! Arghhh!!!

Now, you might rightly ask why we’re going to talk about Tom when your ask is about Charlotte and how she might have ended up sabotaging herself.

The thing to keep in mind is that Charlotte Heywood is our entry point into Sanditon. We are being introduced to this world and these characters through her eyes. So we are inclined to take her opinion on everything that is occurring as gospel. However, we should remember a few things about Charlotte: despite having excellent instincts and insight into people, she is still very much a young, inexperienced girl who has lived a very sheltered life. In addition to that, she is very kind hearted and a true romantic.

All of that makes her prone to having better opinions of people than she should at times. For example, she thinks Otis is “a good man who made one terrible mistake” because she doesn’t truly grasp the seriousness of his gambling addiction and because she feels that if he truly loves Georgiana then he can’t really be bad.

Her opinion of Tom is similar to that. Tom is, if not a nice man (he isn’t but we’ll get to that), he’s at the very least a pleasant one and that outward ease and friendliness makes her empathize with him.

On the other hand, her major issue with Sidney is her inability to figure him out and his desire to keep people at arm’s length:

Charlotte: You are determined to remain an outlier. God forbid you give something of yourself!

Sidney: Please do not presume to know my mind, Miss Heywood!

Charlotte: How can anyone know your mind? You take great pains to remain unknowable.

Again and again, she reproaches him for not being more involved with Georgiana, for not helping Tom, for trying to separate himself from those around him. And while there is truth to what she’s telling him, it also reveals that Charlotte can be easily taken in by people who display affection and/or involvement towards others, even if the cost of that is very steep.

She judges Sidney harshly for not behaving that way, while allowing Otis and Tom to get away with their bad behavior because they do involve themselves in people’s lives and give “proof” of caring and thus make Charlotte think they are inherently good people. However, what she fails to see is the selfish reasons behind those characters’ actions.

I did reblog a gif set of Charlotte telling Sidney to help Tom more and made the joke that she shot herself in the foot. But that was me joking and noting the dramatic irony that the writing employs.

The serious interpretation of Charlotte’s line isn’t that she unknowingly acted towards the demise of her own love story but rather that she completely misunderstood the dynamic of the Tom/Sidney relationship.

In her mind, it was Sidney who held all the power in his relationship with his brother, as the younger, more handsome, more successful sibling to the put upon and fate tested idealist Tom. As such, Sidney’s “refusal” to help him seemed petty and cruel to sweet angel Charlotte who is utterly fascinated by what Tom is doing in Sanditon

And by and large I think the viewers have also bought into that image of Tom and Sidney.

But I would like to propose a different interpretation:

There is no reason to assume that Sidney wasn’t helping Tom prior to Charlotte calling him on it. Why else would he have dragged Crowe and Babbington to the ball in episode 1? Why else was he getting his liver smashed in, boxing for their entertainment or playing at cards in the hotel restaurant? Why else would Tom talk about Sidney “profiting” from the success of Sandition if Sidney had not already invested in his brother’s project?

The problem isn’t that Sidney isn’t helping him. The problem is that Tom has an endless list of things he needs help with:

Sidney: At least this time I leave knowing you are in good heart. A new physician, a new regatta to plan. All is well with Tom Parker.

Tom: So it would seem … Oh, I say … I’m … I just wonder if while you’re in London you could stop by the bank for me  and see if they might consider extending …

 First he needs help attracting fashionable people to Sanditon. Sidney provides them. However, as he points out, there isn’t enough entertainment in Sanditon to make it worth their stay. I would suggest that’s Tom’s fault, not Sidney’s.

On that note, remember what Eliza said during the regatta:

Eliza: At the last regatta I attended, they raced Arab stallions. The one before that featured 18 clippers in full sail. But for sheer exhilaration what could compare to a sand castle competition?

Leaving aside that this is Eliza and we all hate her, what does this tell you about Tom and his understanding of his clientele? Because it seems to me he wants Sanditon to be the Regency’s version of  Monaco while offering the quaint entertainment of whatever seaside resort your granny goes to.

He then reveals that he has financial troubles and needs money and eventually sends Sidney hat in hand to beg the banks for a loan. Sidney doesn’t want to do it at first because he knows there’s no point to it but because Charlotte made him feel guilty, he relents. The result is what he already knew: no more credit for Tom. This is Tom’s reaction:

Tom: No, no! That is not possible! Clearly you forgot to explain about the regatta. We are soon to be the most popular resort on the South Coast. Did you even mention Dr. Fuchs?

Sidney: Tom, I spoke to 3 different banks, at lenght. Not one of them is willing to extend your credit any further. 

Tom: What do you suggest I do now, Sidney? What exactly do I do now? 

Look at that violent, desperate reaction! That’s what emotional blackmail looks like. And that, my friends, is abuse. Because in one fell swoop Tom has not only put the blame on Sidney for something that is out of his control (Sidney can’t force the bank to give Tom money) but also put the eventual consequences Tom will face squarely on Sidney’s shoulders.

Also Tom decides to go buy necklaces for his wife instead of paying his workers. When they argue with him at the cricket match, he walks away in a fit, leaving Sidney, and Charlotte, to clean up the mess. It’s also up to Sidney to resolve the workers’ problems by “loaning” Tom the money to pay them. I’ve put loan between “” because one has to be truly naïve to think Tom would have ever paid that loan back.

I would suggest that Tom is an irresponsible, selfish man and a terrible businessman who doesn’t need help. What he needs is a business partner that will control his terrible decision making and handle all of the business aspects of Sanditon while Tom scribbles away at his architecture plans (plans that I suspect were mostly created by James Stringer and that Tom is taking credit for).

And on some level, I think, Sidney knows that as well, which is why he fights Tom’s desire to involve him in the running of Sanditon at every turn:

Sidney: I’m sorry but I have done everything you’ve asked of me, Tom. I’m not your keeper. I will gladly own my mistakes but I cannot own yours.

Oh, you sweet summer child …

I don’t think it’s Sidney’s dream to manage a seaside resort, not is it his responsibility. His brother is an adult who should be held accountable for his own actions. However, at the rate this story is going, running Sanditon while Tom gets all the credit for its success is exactly what Sidney will end up doing.  

His reluctance to get more sucked into Tom’s schemes in the beginning, I think, has less to do with Sidney being a bad person or an outlier and more to do with knowing that once he relents, there will be no end to Tom’s demands on him and he will end up being his keeper for all eternity.

Episode 8 also reveals something very interesting about the entire Parker family: they are all enablers of Tom’s bullshit. Arthur is the first to offer up his inheritance on a silver platter, Diana refuses to let him blame himself and Mary is ready with a love declaration the moment Tom shades one crocodile tear.

Despite being the hardest one to crack out of all of them, Sidney is ultimately one more enabler to Tom. He hops on the first carriage to London and gives up his life in order to spare Tom prison time.

From where I’m sitting, the dynamic of these 2 brothers is the complete opposite from what Charlotte estimated. It is Tom that holds all the power and he and Sidney are involved in a toxic relationship that has been going on long before Charlotte ever met either one of them. Perhaps it started the moment Tom paid Sidney’s debts before he sailed to Antigua. Perhaps it started long before that.

However, I don’t think Charlotte’s intervention in episode 3 influenced Sidney’s final decision. What ultimately sealed the deal on that was the emotional blackmail Tom has been inflicting on Sidney for years, Tom’s expectation that everyone in his life do everything to service him and his family’s compliance with those wishes and, not least of it, Sidney’s lack of selflove that allowed him to prioritize his brother’s temporary stint in prison (he could have worked to pay off Tom’s debts over time; there’s no law that says Tom had to be in prison forever) over his own permanent misery.

I’m not sure this was the turn you were expecting my answer to take but I hope you found it useful nonetheless.

#sanditon #sidney parker #tom parker #charlotte heywood #my meta

[tigerzine]

Fearful Asymmetry post-mortem

Hey, folks! If you don’t love yourselves the way you should and want to organize a zine, this is a post-mortem of things that went well and things that didn’t go so well on this zine, so maybe you won’t have so many goofs if you take on a similar project. Big honkin’ long post under the cut!

What worked:

Having both a physical and digital version and pairing them with well-known and local charities respectively.

A well-known charity itself can help draw in folks for a particular cause.

A smaller charity that doesn’t have the same clout/funding will benefit and may make a large impact for that operation.

International shipping is EXPENSIVE. Offering a digital version can make the zine more accessible for those that may not want or be able to pay that extra chunk.

Getting the majority of content ready before opening for pre-orders.

Getting an estimated page count will give you an idea of what supplies you’ll need and the amount, estimate shipping costs, and help to prevent undercharging for your physical zine.

Mass email posts via bcc and contact groups

Making a contact group in your email client is a time-saver, and bcc (blind carbon copy) makes it so everyone’s email addresses remain known only to you.

Buying a thermal label printer (not using zine funds)

YOU GUYS, I invested in a Rollo thermal label printer (as I ship a fair amount of things anyway) and it is SUCH a timesaver. In the time it takes my regular desktop printer to print a label, this thing does at least 10x the number, and that’s no exaggeration. I don’t really recommend it if you don’t ship items on the regular, but if you do, it’s a godsend.

Keeping contributors up to speed with progress/availability/deadlines, etc.

Folks appreciate when you chime in from time to time, especially during these months-long projects.

What could have gone better:

Collecting submissions/info ended up being all over the place. 

In hindsight, I should have made a form specifically for collecting finished files. Google Forms has the option of letting people upload files on a form. I think using that would have prevented pieces from being left out of the zine accidentally, and also from getting credits goofed up in places.

Didn’t proof the zine as thoroughly as I should have.

Almost 90 contributors and nearly 170 pages of content. Really needed to triple-check everything. 99.9% of the things that went sideways were entirely avoidable.

Digital pre-orders on Gumroad

You can’t actually access funds until you deliver the goods, which is kind of a problem when you plan to use those to help fund the physical version, oops.

Communications with contributors were at times, a bit chaotic.

People don’t always read and won’t always follow instructions. There may also be a bit of a language barrier complicating things.

What I’d do next time:

Choose a smaller number of contributors 

~90 folks is A LOT to manage for one person. Next go-around I probably wouldn’t accept more than 30 applicants. Less work overall, less money needed across the board to fund it.

Enlist help. People will often offer a hand if they see you trying. At the very least, get a second pair of eyes on things. It’s easy to miss something if you’re juggling a lot of moving parts.

Make the application/creation process/instructions as simple as possible.

Use a submission form in both accepting applications and final work. Use a template for the zine layout. Specify file types and color profiles. People will probably still goof up some stuff. That’s ok. It’s fixable.

Take things ding-danged slower!

I work a lot. I'm tired most days. It’s probably the same for a lot of people. Know your limits and give it the energy you’re capable of at any given time.

Let contributors preview the zine before sending off to print. 

Folks will always look for their stuff first. If you goofed on their piece or their attributions, they’ll let you know.

What to expect throughout & other advice

Allow for some flexibility. Life happens sometimes. People will miss deadlines. They will often approach you and explain their situation. Offer reasonable extensions where possible.

Don’t chase people. Sometimes people just won’t get back to you. My personal rule: If you’re two emails in and they still haven’t responded, give them a specific date to get back to you. If they don’t, OH WELL! Cut ‘em from your contact list and move on.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a rework. If I know someone can do better, or if what they submitted doesn’t quite meet the criteria, I’ll tell them so. Approach them politely and respectfully, and most folks will give it a second (or third) effort. It is WORTH IT, believe me.

Own up to your goofs. Mistakes happen. Most people are reasonable, so even if it’s not something you can fix, most will appreciate you trying to do what you can to make things right. That said...  

At least one person will be Big Mad at you. Sometimes it’s for legitimate reasons, sometimes not, sometimes a mix of both. If you can do something to rectify a (legitimate) complaint, try to do so. But also realize you can’t please everyone 100% of the time.

I think that’s about everything, but feel free to comment or send an ask if there’s anything I can clarify. I hope this helps some folks!

#tigerzine #post-mortem #i made the mistake of starting doki doki lit club too close to bedtime #so here I am #writing up long posts when I know I have to get ready for work in five hours #WOMP WOMP #long post

[grimelords]

Two days after I said I’d upload it tonight, here it is! My October playlist is finished and it’s chock a block full of good music and also bad music that I love. From John Mellencamp to drone metal, from Katy B to Cassius, it’s all here and more. Deadmau5 also is here and for that I apologise.

Small Town (Acoustic) - John Mellencamp: Guess who had a legit emotional reaction to a John Mellencamp song this month, thinking deeply about what it means to be from a small town and how much this song gets right and wrong about identity and freedom in a small town versus living in a big town? This guy. I think this song works a lot better stripped down acoustically than it does in the album version. It gives the lyrics a lot more space, and really lays out just how simple the sentiment of the song is. It sets the tone of this month's playlist pretty well now that I think about it. I've been feeling like a real pea-brain hayseed this month and big chunks of this playlist really reflect that.

Katy On A Mission - Katy B: It feels like this and Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears (which was also 2011) is the moment that big american style dubstep completely crossed over into the mainstream, Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites was about six months ago and from there it was a tidal wave until oversaturation and complete death. But Katy On A Mission is different because it's at least got the credentials of dubstep pioneer Benga producing it and it doesn't go all-out on the super dirty bass, or even particularly have a big drop at all - it just uses it textually all the way through and it's better off for it.

I Only Have Eyes For You - The Flamingos: The way this song is recorded is insane. It literally sounds like they're at the bottom of a well. And it's mixed in that good early stereo hard-panned style so the lead is in the right channel and the whole harmony is in the left channel and absolutely soaked in reverb in a way that just sounds incongruous with the rest of the song. It sounds like a dream. My favourite moment is at about 2:30 when the harmony vocals get so large on the high note that they clip out and distort in a way that just sounds very, very cool.

Horses In The Sky (Live Version) - The Sound Of Animals Fighting: The Sound Of Animals Fighting was a post-hardcore prog supergroup where they were all anonymous (it was just the entirety of RX Bandits plus Anthony Green from Circa Survive) and I really wish they'd done more like this after their first album - because they still wrote very very good songs but they got lost in the mire of studio ambient interludes and being avant-garde for the sake of it which sometimes worked and most times just bored you which thankfully they only succumb in the end section of this version. Compare this to the studio version if you want to know what I mean, halfway through the guitar solo it just starts playing in reverse.

Split Wide Open - Cannibal Corpse: Here's what I mean about feeling like a pea-brain this month. Cannibal Corpse is proper troglodyte moron man music. It makes me feel dumb as fuck like a real stupid guy. There's something interesting about Cannibal Corpse's enduring ability to shock people, and that a band making such extreme music are at least a name that people know. They were in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective for god's sake. Before Marilyn Manson and that wave of cabaret shock-rock really got into the popular consciousness Cannibal Corpse were making shocking, violent music without any of the glamour and I think it's served them well in the long run. Songs like 'Hammer Smashed Face' or 'I Cum Blood', are shocking in title, artwork and content to this day are still musically shocking to the vast majority, far more than Marilyn Manson's spooky androgyny and wearing like a top hat and having fangs or whatever that's aged like milk and become just another boring cliche. The idea of the devil being charming and sly, disguised in charisma is so much more boring than the devil just tearing you apart like mince meat and eating you. Anyway I'm here to say Cannibal Corpse is good music for dum-dums like me.

Funeraloplis - Electric Wizard: Someone's edited it now but it's still in the footnote links, but the best ever piece of writing on wikipedia was the quote on Electric Wizard's page where they were explaining the origin of their name because it said "Is the name Electric Wizard made out of two Black Sabbath song titles? [smokes a big bud of weed through a can] Hahahaha, yeah it is!" which is so good and sort of all you need to know about them.

I <3 U So - Cassius: Looking back through this list it seems I'm having a real 2011 moment for some reason. I don't think I *get* Cassius. From everything I read about them they seem to be french dance royalty but they literally have two good songs and they're both in this playlist. These two songs are very good though so maybe it's just that. Anyway it's a shame what Kanye did this to song on Watch The Throne but I don't blame him, it feels like this song is just impossible to work with. It's at a weird tempo, it's incredible loose, it basically has one section. I imagine this song would have frustrated a lot of DJs when it was popular cause I really don't know how you would mix in or out of it, but fuck it while it's on it's a great song!

Youth, Speed, Trouble, Cigarettes - Cassius: This is the other good Cassius song. I'm pitching it as the theme song for when they eventually reboot Skins. I really appreciate that this song has 1 idea and basically just does every variation it can with it before bringing it to a climax. When your idea is this simple and this good that's all you need. Also the big toms that kick in after the 'just one more' but are heaven sent.

It Took The Night To Believe - Sun 0))): Sun 0))) are such morons and it's so funny that you can be so dumb and so serious about this sort of music at the same time. On this song Greg Anderson is credited as Mystik Fogg Invokator and Stephen O'Malely is credited as Taoiseach, which is the name for the Irish prime minister. Whenever I listen to Sun 0))) for the first two minutes I'm like 'lol this sucks' but then suddenly the guy is like 'cry yourself to ash' and I'm feeling the pull of the void quite heavily. Basically it's just like that meme.

Seven Angels - Earth: I remember ages ago some guy posted Earth 2: Special High Frequency edition and it was just this whole album with a high pass filter on it which is a funny joke. Anyway it interesting to think of this album in the context of when it came out. Two years after Nevermind, six months before In Utero - grunge at the absolute height of its power, stoner metal like Kyuss and Sleep huge when suddenly this guy comes out of nowhere and distills guitar music down to its essence: slower, louder, heavier than anything else by an order of magnitude.

Mutual Slump - DJ Shadow: I finally saw Xanadu this month and now I can finally relate to the weird smiling breathing out your nose noise that she makes after she says 'I'd never hailed a cab before' in this song.

Walkin' On The Sidewalks - Queens Of The Stone Age: Queens Of The Stone Age's first album is 20 years old this year and I've been thinking a lot about how it was a two person operation. Josh Homme played and sang everything on this album except the drums and it's funny to think about writing this sort of music all by yourself outside of a jam structure. He really sat down with a pad and paper and wrote down 'outro: bass riff x400' and then recorded it just like that.

Witch - Maps & Atlases: I wake up with this song in my head so often it's insane. I think a triplet groove in 4/4 like this is such a good and underused feeling and this song really deploys is perfectly. I want more of this, the good kind of math rock where it's not just guys doing midwest emo tappy riffs that all sound the same.

Down 2 Hang - Kirin J Callinan: This is what meeting up with people from the internet feels like. It's kind of a shame that this album got completely overshadowed by the Jimmy Barnes screaming meme, and that it's the first and last a lot of americans will ever hear of Jimmy Barnes but in reality it's exactly what Kirin J Callinan wanted to good for him I suppose.

Fast In My Car - Paramore: If you can't tell already I'm having an extremely basic bitch moron man month and that included listening to this Paramore album a lot and telling my girlfriend about how isn't it so interesting that the guitarist Taylor York just took over drum duties for this album after their longtime drummer quit and did such a good job playing drums AND guitar and her rightly not caring at all. I'm always impressed by songs that keep the same chords through the verse and chorus, it seems impossible but it works great here.

Don't Stop The Dance (feat. Delafleur) - Breakbot: I'm clapping my hands to stress each syllable when I tell you that Disco Will Never Die.

Oqiton - Jeremy Dutcher: I'm so glad this album won the Polaris Prize because I feel like I would never have heard of it otherwise. I absolutely love it, and I think what I love so much about it is that it doesn't fall into the trap of similar projects like this in the past of smoothing out all the jagged edges and turning it into plastic pretty music from the untouched ancient peoples - it's a real and alive reinterpretation of old music that looks toward the future and past in equal measure. Including the actual original recordings in each track is such a smart move, it gives you the context you need so this album isn't about liner notes and extra sources and it lets those old recordings seamlessly fold into these new reorchestrations.

I Remember - Deadmau5 & Kaskade: Anyway moron month continues here with the only worthwhile contribution to the planet earth that Deadmau5 ever made, I suspect by letting Kaskade do most of the work. It sounds sadistic but I really appreciate how this song is nearly ten minutes long, I'm a big fan of any song with that much confidence that actually pulls it off.

Overtime - Jessie Ware: Fucking Jessie Ware is back and she’s got Bicep producing! I think I added this song to my playlist before it was even a minute in, I just heard the bassline and my brain stem said yes.

Body - Julie Jacklin: I really think Julia Jacklin might be the best songwriter around right now and I cannot wait for her new album. I guess this keeps with the moron man theme by telling it from the other side. I keep listening to this song and then getting into a real mood for about an hour afterwards so I can't imagine the damage the album is going to do to me.

Can't Tell Me Nothing - Kanye West: Throughout the whole ongoing Kanye drama I've been thinking of this song. " I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny, and what I do? Act more stupidly" "I'm on TV talking like it's just you and me". Anyway he's had is money right for a long time but it's becoming increasingly apparent that you really really can't tell him nothing. I think it's interesting that the thing that seems to have spurred him into clarifying his beliefs and finally backtracking on anything is that Candace Owens tried to credit him for the shitty Blexit thing and it turns out the one thing you can't do to Kanye West is manipulate him into putting his name on something he doesn't believe in or didn't create. It's insane that John Legend and Mos Def and Talib Kweli reaching out didn't change anything but Candace Owens taking one too many liberties absolutely did.

Like Wolves On The Fold - Colin Stetson: I've said it one million times but I love Colin Stetson. I love how straightforward this is for a Colin Stetson song. You can sing along to it! So much writing about him focuses on the intricasies of his technique rather than his resulting very human, very primal music. I feel like his music is not very far from beating on your chest and yelling a lot of the time (especially toward the second half of this song) and the saxophone element just makes it a lot more socially acceptable.

Sack 'Em Up, Pt. I / Sack 'Em Up, Pt. II - Gwenifer Raymond: Bandcamp had a really good article about American Primitive the other day https://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/10/10/american-primitive-list/ and I found this album in it and fell completely in love instantly. I listened to it five times in a row. It's just incredible and I'm so glad that the music I love is finally being rescued from the mire of New Acoustic youtube men with their slapping and tapping and harp guitars and moving forward in new ways with artists like Sarah Louise, Marisa Anderson and Gwenifer Raymond. Women are finally allowed to play guitar now and thank fuck. One of the things I really appreciate about this album is just how written it feels. Every part, even the very swirly Part One of this song feels very purposeful, and if not totally written at least improvised in a tight framework before moving into the completely written second half. There's nothing wrong with improv but in a genre like this that's almost overrun with guys putting out hour long improv records it's refreshing to hear someone with such a clear vision execute it so expertly.

Bleeding Finger Blues - Gwenifer Raymond: Also, get a fucking load of this. An absolute powerhouse performance from a master. There's not enough solo banjo music around and it's a shame because I don't know if there's a better argument for banjo as a solo instrument than this song. The other thing I like about this album is there’s three banjo songs on it, which works well for breaking up the sequencing and making each song really distinct in a genre where albums can really blend together.

4:30 - Danger: It's a shame that Danger never really fulfilled his potential. With songs as good as this as 19:11 he seemed set. But then he took about a decade off before his debut album and I guess he lost something along the way. Anyway, doesn't matter because when you've got a song as good as this it's all you need. Also here's a good video where someone just put this song over the bar scene from Terminator which really accentuates the vibe in my opinion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z37R39-mff8

Crybaby - Abra: I love love love the production on this. A friend sent it to me because he said it reminded him of the Call Me Mr Telephone song I was raving about and he’s absolutely right. I love how formless it is, it goes through about three different verse ideas before finally getting to the chorus at about a minute and a half in and it’s only stronger for it. I’m so glad a new generation of darkwave adjacent people are discovering freestyle because this is great.

OMG!!! - Yelle: This song is probably best experienced with the music video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoWK4rV3INY It’s fantastic on its own, especially the “oh my god!” sample and the whole chorus section, but the video - titties out, covered in glitter, very very good dance move for the rising 'ooo' part, a hamster is there. Really accentuates it.

Copacabana (At The Copa) - Barry Manilow: Was thinking about this song the other day. Woke up with it in my head actually which was strange. I feel like this song and the Pina Colada song definitely take place in the same cinematic universe.

King Of The Dead - Cirith Ungol: I've been rereading Lord Of The Rings and also a very dodgy 70s sci-fi series called Dray Prescot and so divine fate has drawn me to discover Cirith Ungol. The good kind of metal where all the album covers could also be fantasy novel covers and all the songs are about how cool it would be to slay an ancient demon with a sword. I love this song because it feels impossible to sing it without doing some very dramatic face acting and also his voice is completely insane. I feel like this is maybe just how he talks.

Sugaree 10/21/1978 - Grateful Dead: Grateful Dead are good and ever since I came to terms with that I've felt like I'm always on the precipice of buying a box of tapes, covering my car in confusing stickers and dropping completely out of society. The problem with a big chunk of live Dead recordings that I've heard is that while the playing is always on point, the vocals can vary wildly - especially when they try any kind of harmony, but this recording is just great. Fantastic vocals with a lot of feeling, ample crowd noise so it doesn't feel like just a sterile soundboard recording, and of course an incredible extended jam.

Ring De Bell - Brother Resistance: I don't fully understand what rapso music is yet, I don't have enough understanding of the culture or surrounding genres. I basically just found this Best Of compilation and have been listening to it a LOT. As I understand it it's 70s Trinidadian calypso music that got very political, which is very cool. I'm a big fan of this sort of lyric where it feels like you could just go on and on for days about all the places you should ring the bell.

Kojack - David Rudder: The crown jewel of this compilation is of course this song I've posted about before and absolutely love to death. A protest song about them taking Kojack off the TV because it's too violent when shows like Dallas and Dynasty, which are far worse, remain on the air. Miami Vice! Before youtube comments and online petitions you had to make extremely good songs about this kind of thing, and its a huge shame that we've allowed this to die.

The Power Of Love - Celine Dion: I love Celine Dion because all her songs sound like they were recorded across 5 countries and 8 different studios and cost two million dollars. They always sound too expensive for casual listening to me, like I should have an emergency mink coat on me at all times just in case The Power Of Love starts playing in a supermarket.

Airworks - J Dilla: I've been listening to Donuts a bunch this month and really thinking about what makes him so good and the vast legion of Dilla imitators on soundcloud bad and I think this song is a good example. The main sample sounds straight up ugly, it's backwards and twisted to hell, the main strings part keeps folding over itself, it's just chaos but completely controlled chaos. Every imitator is so afraid to make a total mess like he does and is too focused on the underpinning laid-backness of the beat, where Dila somehow makes the relaxed feeling easily as a result of a million clashing elements.

Anti-American Graffiti - J Dilla: I also found a playlist on Spotify where someone had put together Donuts with all of the the original tracks it sampled (or at least the ones that are available on Spotify) and it's such an illuminating new way to listen to this album. https://open.spotify.com/user/keatonkreps/playlist/1TPeWt38uceWXD1Vhyf7wx?si=NJ_jHrYqQpCt18q-W9nrag

Marvel - Solillaquists Of Sound: Every genre has good music in it. Even rappity rap conscious hip hop has good songs like this one. There’s another song on this album called Popcorn that’s basically the It’s Media picture converted to a .wav but this song is good. Especially her vocals when they come in halfway through sounding like an astrology zine except good.

Rock Island Line - Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash has around one million songs about trains, including ‘Blue Train’, ‘Train Of Love’ and a song called ‘I’ve Got A Thing About Trains’ but this is the best one because it’s about train-related fraud and doing perhaps the most outlaw country manoeuvre ever and telling the toll man that you’re carrying livestock when you are in fact carrying pig iron.

I <3 U So (Skream's Made Zdar Feel Like He Was 20 Again Remix) - Cassius: Also as a kind of coda, here's Skream's version of I <3 U So, where he's completely ironed it out and turned it into a pulsing dnb thing which is always impressive to me when people completely reverse the feel of a song in a remix.

Worms Of The Senses / Faculties Of The Skull - Refused: Stereogum had a really good article about The Shape Of Punk To Come on its 20th anniversary and whether it really did turn out to be the shape of punk to come. They asked a bunch of people whether the title seemed arrogant and the vocalist from La Dispute had a really good answer where he said "But it’s like calling your shot and then fuckin’ hitting a home run. If it was arrogant, it was justifiably so." which is so great. https://www.stereogum.com/2020358/refused-shape-of-punk-to-come-turns-20/franchises/sounding-board/​

listen here

#playlists

[camakazi96]

Cinematic - Alt Version

ABSOLUTELY LOVING CINEMATIC! Of course, after listening to it the first time, I had to try rearranging the songs to make an interesting alternative track listing (not that I dislike the original order). So here it is, in an order I think would work well as a telling of a movie-like story. Forgive the length of this post, got really into telling the story X)

1 | The 5th of July: Opening scene, Adam is born surrounded by family who we see adore him and know instantly will play an important part of his life in supporting him.

Title Card: Owl City presents Cinematic

2 | All My Friends (opt. Alt Version): Montage of Adam growing up with a few of his closest friends, doing things like hanging out after school, skating, making some James Bond inspired home videos. They’ve all got dreams, and as they approach the end of high school they know it’s up to them to make it happen. On the day of their graduation, they plan one last outing together before they go off their separate ways...

3 | New York City: ...and that outing is a road trip to New York City. The trip is a blast of a time, and Adam is enthralled by the big city - quite typical when you’ve grown up in the country. Full of wonder, he thinks maybe one day he’ll make a city like this one his home (and he will in a figurative way). Towards the end of the sequence, we smoothly swap from a sprawling city to a open countryside in juxtaposition...

4 | Montana (opt. Alt Version): Jump back a few decades in sparsely populated Montana, a different young man is getting lost not in the big city, but in nature. This story isn’t just about one person after all. Bill Olmstead builds a home for what will become his family, particularly featuring his two children, a boy and girl.

5 | Not All Heroes Wear Capes: Jumping back to Adam, who has returned home and is working an unextraordinary job that’s left him feeling a bit directionless in life. But then he looks to his dad for support, who’s always been a huge inspiration for him. Wanting to emulate what he sees in his dad, he set’s out to follow his heart and live true to himself.

6 | Winners Never Quit: And what his heart is telling him is to pursue music. He’s always loved the medium for creative expression, and as a person he’s unique in his whimsy poetic way of seeing the world - which in the past may have made him feel a bit like an outsider, but here, through music, allows him to thrive. But making it as a musician is a tough gig, and it’ll take plenty of determination and resilience if he wants to make it as one. He sits himself down in his chair, practices the guitar, and starts pumping out songs.

7 | Lucid Dream: Putting your all into something comes at a cost though. All these thoughts running through his head, and he hasn’t got the time to put it all down on the page. They race through his mind late at night, keeping him up, and - when he does drift of - turning his dreams into vivid tapestries of surreal experiences. One night he wakes up after a lucid dream, and starts to write a song about it. We see him recording it in his basement and finally uploading it online to what we now see is his MySpace account with multiple other songs he’s been uploading along the way.

8 | Firebird (opt. Alt Version): Cutting back to Montana, we’re in a white truck (names Troy apparently), with muffled ‘Fireflies’ playing on the radio, but this fades into ‘Firebird’. Bill’s two children Billy and Abbey have grown up over the years and find themselves going off in different directions. As Abbey reflects on her younger years with her brother, she makes peace with the fact that everything changes, and though that’s what leaves room for wonderful new experiences, she knows a part of them will always belong to the old days that they’ll remember fondly. The scene ends with Billy moving away to start a family of his own.

9 | Fiji Water: One morning Adam checks his emails and sees one in his Inbox that he can’t believe he’s reading (scans lines saying “...e’d like to offer you a record deal...”, “...fly you into New York to discuss the contra...”, “You’re lucky break has arrived!”). And truly Adam can’t believe his luck. But as the big weekend arrives, and everything unfolds like in a dream, part of Adam doesn’t like the way this whole deal is heading. How much will he have to give up to keep the support of these guys? A voice of wisdom, as if from his older self, tells him to pass it up and wait for the offer that’s right for him. After all, if he’s getting acknowledgement from a label this big, it can’t just be luck.

10 | Always: As Adam arrives back home in Owatonna, he stops to wonder if he’s just made a huge mistake. What if that was his one big chance? But of course, he didn’t get to where his now on hopes alone. He has faith in God, which he learned from his parents and shared with his friends, and that’s what’s going to get him through any future trials and lead him to the life he’s meant to live. We finish the scene with Adam praying at night, as he looks up to the light coming in through the window with a face of equal parts determination and contentment.

11 | House Wren: Moving forward a bit of time, Adam’s music has taken off, not on the huge scale it might of with the record company, but popular with a devoted circle of fans that have allowed him to quit his day job. He’s decided it’s time to move on from his parent’s home and find his own place to call his own. Thus begins a fun sequence in which Adam compares himself to a House Wren.

At the same time we see Abbey, who has also decided it’s time for her to find a change of scenery, not wanting to sell souvenirs for her whole life. We get the sense now that these two’s stories might intertwine.

By chance or fate, we see them both picking houses in the same tow: Adam moving in on his own, and Abbey with a close friend of hers.

12 | Be Brave: Adam is so grateful for the success he’s found, but still finds his work which is mostly online-based to be a bit isolating. He’s struggled to find connection since his friends left town after high-school, and finds himself feeling lonely. And well... you know how the rest of the song plays out (might I suggest a Star Wars film be on-screen at the cinema, for some continuity with the last song on the album :p ).

13 | Madeline Island: Adam and Abbey have met, and found an instant spark of connection. On a whim, they decide they should go on a camping trip together to get to know each other a little better. They chart a course to Madeline Island, which they’ve both never gone to see despite meaning to. They also invite along Abbey’s housemate and a friend of Adam’s who recently reached out and reconnected with him (I think he said his name is Matt (T?)) for extra company. During the trip, Adam thinks back to the events that led him here, and he feels hopeful while he and Abbey look up towards the stars at the end of the song.

14 | Cloud Nine: The sky returns to a day blue with plenty of bright clouds up there. In the last scene of the movie, we get to see Adam and Abbey spending more time together, Adam continuing his music career, and both their lives becoming more closely involved with one another. There is, and will always be, ups and downs, but they make each other happy. In a world where happy endings almost feel like a myth, or a cop-out, and where perhaps the best we can ask for is a hopeful ending, this is one of the happiest hopeful endings there is.

15 | Cinematic: Roll credits, with fun animations in the background to the uplifting lines of the title track. Some of these animations include characters from some of the films Adam’s written songs for (To The Sky, Wreck It Ralph, The Smurfs, Shine Your Way, and heck put some Oreos in there too), past Owl City music videos, and during that last little pop culture reference in the song get Adam holding up a lightsaber in a really heroic pose. The acknowledgements include all of Adam and Abbey’s family and friends who supported them to get to where they are. Maybe they’ll misspell Breanne Duren’s name in the credits ‘accidentally’ as a reference to Maybe I’m Dreaming’s album liner. The last line of the credits is “Adam Young is Owl City”.

And that’s it, the movie’s over. No post-credits scene or anything like that, but plenty of room for a sequel. Any of the songs with alternative versions can use either and it fits pretty well - I personally prefer to use the original of Firebird, and the alternative versions of the other two (simply because Breanne Duren <3 and the Sky Sailing sound of Alt Montana). Another option is to keep all the main version of the songs in the actual movie, and save the alternative versions for additional credits songs.

Note: Madeline Island and New York City could potentially be swapped around as the two road trip songs in the album, but ultimately I like New York far from the end because it sounds a lot like Cinematic at times, and three really electronic songs right at the end might be a bit much.

Anyway, those are my two cents. No matter how you listen to it, hope you Hoot Owls are all enjoying the songs :D

#owl city #OwlCityCinematic #adam young

[angeltriestoblog]

I watched a couple of movies! (Part 1)

Back when I regularly had the luxury of long breaks, I spent my days binge-watching films, as you can see from my extensive knowledge of 80s chick flicks and all the cheesy tropes and disgustingly adorable, predominantly white leading men that come with them. Sadly, a side effect of growing older in the digital age seemed to be the diminishment of my attention span: the only things I could focus on were academic requirements, simply because I had to. But, thanks to several factors—the suspension of online classes, the sudden annoyance I developed towards Barney Stinson that prompted me to discontinue How I Met Your Mother, etc.—I decided it was high time to rekindle this lost love. So, here is an unsolicited review of the 17 films I managed to finish in a little over a week! Rest assured, I tried my best to venture out of familiar territory and brush up on some of the more cultured picks, according to Letterboxd, at least.

Bar Boys (2017, dir. Kip Oebanda) ★★★

The film that kickstarted everything, which I never would have seen if the director had not uploaded the full version on YouTube. This well-meaning tale of four best friends (Carlo Aquino, Rocco Nacino, Enzo Pineda, and Kean Cipriano) and the challenges they face in law school—terror professors, fraternities, and financial difficulties included—does have a lot of heart, and is sensitive enough to show how the effect of this experience differs depending on a student's background. But, what it lacked for me was a certain degree of specificity: I think the same premise would have been applicable in med school, or any other post-graduate degree for that matter. So, why did the characters choose law? I also would have appreciated some commentary on the shortcomings of the country’s justice system, and further fleshing out of the characters so the audience could have seen why we could count on them to fill in the gaps.

Legally Blonde (2001, dir. Robert Luketic) ★★★½

The rating might be surprising, considering that the courtroom scene was responsible for the short law school phase I had in Grade 5. As if I could ever make use of the rules of haircare in an actual cross-examination. Of course, I am compelled to admire Elle (Reese Witherspoon) and how her motivations for going to Harvard shift from winning back a boy to discovering what she never knew she had and using these gifts to help those around her (especially the manicurist, who I feel was given way more exposure than what was due to her). Ultimately, though it was inspirational at some points, it felt too good to be true and impossible to relate to. (But then again, shouldn’t there be a willing suspension of disbelief when consuming forms of media such as this?)

Lady Bird (2017, dir. Greta Gerwig) ★★★★★

I’ll probably end up making a separate post dedicated to this movie and how it singlehandedly called me out, as a sensitive, occasionally self-important product of an all-girls Catholic high school. For now, I am forced to condense my overflowing feelings into a couple of sentences. Lady Bird takes place over the course of the titular character's senior year, a pivotal moment in the lives of all teenagers. But, instead of focusing solely on the formulaic firsts like the normal coming-of-age film would, it shines a light on her dwindling relationship with her equally strong-willed mother. Saoirse Ronan’s colorful performance as the human embodiment of my pre-teen self's conscience, and Greta Gerwig’s tremendous ability to make even oddly specific scenes speak to any viewer shine through and speak to me the most, and easily make this gem something I will be recommending this to anyone who bothers to ask for as long as I live.

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018, dir. Bryan Singer) ★★★

There’s a lot of controversy surrounding Bo Rhap, particularly its failure to portray Freddie Mercury in a manner that does him justice. While I understand that it is a valid concern for fans of the band, I admit I don’t know enough about who he was as a person to criticize the film in this aspect. Regardless of its factuality, this still was just average for me, the typical rise-and-fall type of biopic that is indicative of a rockstar’s legacy, but with laughably faulty editing. The redeeming factors were Rami Malek’s brilliant portrayal of the legend himself—his Live Aid performance gave me chills that lasted the entire 20 minutes, how alarming—and, obviously, the soundtrack that I kept on loop for several days.

About Time (2013, dir. Richard Curtis) ★

Apparently, this movie focuses on Tim (Domhnall Gleeson), who discovers at age 21 that the men in his family have the power to time-travel and thus revise and repair certain parts of their lives. He uses this to address the fact that he’s never had a girlfriend, and effectively so as he ends up bagging Mary (Rachel McAdams), a charming American who is the settler in this relationship by default. But, of course, this gift is not without its dire consequences—or at least, that’s what it says on Wikipedia. It’s hard to trash on this and admit that I bailed halfway because so many of my friends swear by this. But, I just couldn’t stomach the lack of chemistry between the two leads; the surprisingly boring dialogue for a screenplay crafted by Richard Curtis of Notting Hill fame; and the story that, although bore enough of a resemblance to “The Time Traveler’s Wife” to be interesting, was still not powerful enough to sustain my attention.

Your Name (2016, dir. Makoto Shinkai) ★★★★★

I’m a huge fan of plots that are sure to make my eyes swell and heart hurt—I can’t explain the psychology behind this either. So when this was recommended to me and I had made it through an hour without shedding a single tear, I was prepared to be disappointed. But, the events leading up to the conclusion proceeded to rip me into shreds, as if to taunt me and say, “You asked for it.” Mitsuha (Mone Kamishiraishi) and Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), teenagers living on opposite sides of the country, suddenly start switching bodies following the appearance of a comet. This unexplainable phenomenon causes them to forge an unbreakable bond that transcends the very limits of time and space. I know the description is not much, but it’s best to experience this unique plot for yourself. Besides its storyline, its charm lies in its excruciating attention to detail in depicting life in urban and rural Japan, both in the realistic animation of one picturesque scene after another, and the use of cultural elements to arrive at a twist viewers will not see coming.

Booksmart (2019, dir. Olivia Wilde) ★★★★½

I can't summarize what I imagine Booksmart to be for teenagers in the future, so here's an entire scenario: It's the year 2070. Two young girls of around 16 are sprawled on their bedroom floor, watching this on whatever device they use for streaming. (Maybe it's from an LCD projector embedded in their foreheads, who knows.) The credits roll, and they instantly think to themselves, "Man, we were born in the wrong generation!" (They simultaneously think of doing a high-five, and without raising their hands themselves, it happens because that's technology.) Anyway, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) are best friends who played by the rules all throughout high school and realized too late that they could’ve afforded to have a little more fun. On the eve of their graduation, they decide to cram four years’ worth of adventure in a single unpredictable and outrageous night, getting to grips with everything that comes their way in an exceedingly comedic yet refreshing fashion. Also, the protagonists have such a genuine and wholesome relationship: the way they hyped up their most ridiculous looking outfits, or overshared borderline uncomfortable stories is honestly my personal definition of an ideal friendship.

When Harry Met Sally (1989, dir. Rob Reiner) ★★★★½

Despite this film’s constant presence in every “chick flicks you must watch” list I’ve bothered searching up, I spent a huge chunk of my teen years in constant protest against the decision to cast Billy Crystal as the male lead instead of, I don’t know, literally any other actor on the planet. But, once I finished it, I realized that he’s a much better fit than I thought. The laidback Harry to Meg Ryan’s finicky Sally, both of them spare no effort exploring and debunking truths and misconceptions about modern relationships: examples of which are the idea of being high maintenance, and the quintessential question of whether a guy and girl can ever be just friends. Although their dynamic is the definition of slow burn, audiences can’t help but earnestly root for the pair—the frustration brought by the several almosts pay off in the end, as they lead to one of, if not, the most romantic love confession scene.

Hintayan ng Langit (2018, dir. Dan Villegas) ★★★★½

This tale adapted from a play by no less than Juan Miguel Severo is set in purgatory—a grandiose art museum-four star hotel hybrid of sorts—where souls can stop and rest while their papers for entry to heaven are being processed. It is here we meet Manolo (Eddie Garcia) and Lisang (Gina Pareno), ex-lovers with unfinished business. Things admittedly start off a bit slow, but it's understandable since there needs to be ample provision of context regarding the standard operating procedures of this unique waiting area. Once that’s done, the focus stays on the main actors, who drive audiences to tears with their powerful performances, and thought-provoking questions on matters of betrayal, forgiveness, and the afterlife. The ending had me rocking back and forth like a baby, my shirt soaked with tears, so do take heed and stock up on tissues!

The Social Network (2010, dir. David Fincher) ★★★★★

Within its packed first 15 minutes alone, you can easily see what makes The Social Network an example of cinema at its finest: an intoxicated Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) hacks into the websites of all Harvard dorms to create Facebook’s oldest ancestor from scratch, in an attempt to get back at his ex-girlfriend. The atmosphere is tense, the dialogue is loaded with witty one-liners and powerful insight, and the actors are so in touch with their characters they practically fuse into a single person. This remains consistent for the next two hours or so, making for an enjoyable and fast-paced, yet still informative glimpse into the human side of what is arguable the most powerful company of this era. I also heard that it’s much more fun if seen with the cast commentary on, so I’m gonna have to find a copy of that for myself!

Pretty in Pink (1986, dir. Howard Deutch) ★★★★★

I’m cheating here, I know: this has been a long-time favorite, but I guess I can still give a review if I was still 15 when I last saw this. Andie (Molly Ringwald) and Blane (Andrew McCarthy)’s classic “poor girl + rich boy = happily ever after” story is masterfully tackled by John Hughes, who manages to inject equal amounts of swoon-worthy romance and biting criticism of the inherent class divide in society. Others would argue that Duckie (Jon Cryer), Andie’s devoted best friend, is the true star of the show, and while I do agree that he has his shining moments (if you listen closely, you can hear Try A Little Tenderness playing softly in the background), I sadly inherited my mother’s adoration for Andrew, which I will pass on to my child and so on—truly the defining characteristic of our lineage.

St. Elmo’s Fire (1985, dir. Joel Schumacher) ½

I understand that being an adult in the Real World is bound to come with some grave mistakes and lapses in judgment. But, not a single character in this friend group redeems themselves by the end. While Ally Sheedy’s Leslie and Mare Winningham’s Wendy were just borderline forgettable (why did the latter even end up here with the Brat Pack?), Judd Nelson’s Alec cheats on his girlfriend and believes that marriage is what will make him change his ways; Rob Lowe’s Billy neglects the family he didn’t plan on having by fooling around with other women and making a home out of his favorite bar; Demi Moore’s Jules relies on cocaine and extramarital affairs to hide trauma she refuses to process, and Andrew McCarthy’s pretentiously cynical Kevin suddenly claims he knows what love is when Leslie pays attention to him for 10 minutes. But, none of them compare to Emilio Estevez’ Kirby, the sociopath obsessed with a girl he barely knows. It honestly resembles some sick contest of how many problems this gang can cause before they end up behind bars, with the last scene being a lazy and rushed attempt to wrap everything up, in the name of this surface-level “friendship”.

Before Sunrise, Sunset, and Midnight (1995, 2004, 2013; dir. Richard Linklater) ★★★★★

Guess it’s better to admit it now, but I made this post as an excuse to rave about how beautiful this trilogy is, the most authentic depiction of love in its purest form. Sunrise has been recommended to me by both friends and the Netflix algorithm, but I put off watching it again and again and again. I mean, what could I possibly get out of looking at two strangers roam around Vienna? Well, to answer that question: quite a lot. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy)’s relationship spans an entire trilogy, and throughout that period, they manage to define then destroy the idea of having a soulmate to call your own in approximately six hours. But certain constancies are present in each movie: the emotion intense even in the smallest of gestures (you don't understand the anguish I feel when the scene at the listening booth randomly pops in my head), the dialogue truly thought-provoking and natural, the settings so picturesque, and the chemistry of the actors so electric I have trouble believing that the director didn’t actually invade the personal space of a real couple and eventually get issued a restraining order.

High Fidelity (2000, dir. Stephen Frears) ★★

I’d like to think of this as an essay: I'm confident that the introduction is the protagonist Rob's soliloquy on his five biggest breakups to understand why he’s so flawed that everyone always leaves him, and the conclusion his attempt to win his ex Laura (Iben Hjejle) back. But as for the body, I’m not entirely sure. Interspersed between these moments are thoughtful top five lists of anything that can be enumerated, and occasional banter with the employees at his record store that may be charming, but do not enhance the film in any way, shape, or form for me. Also, I normally enjoy seeing John Cusack onscreen, but more often than not, he was nagging in front of the camera instead of talking to the people around him; no wonder his relationships failed!

Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010, dir. Edgar Wright) ★★★

I wanted to enjoy this so bad, I swear! Sadly, the one thing I gained after seeing this is knowledge of where the “I’m So Sad, So Very Very Sad” meme came from. I get that it’s supposed to resemble a comic book or video game, and maybe the reason why I failed to appreciate this as much is because I was never a fan of either. I found the prolonged action scenes surprisingly boring, the storyline too fantastic, and the whole quest of having to defeat seven monstrous exes for the hand of a manic pixie dream girl not worth it in the end. Although I can’t give it less than three stars given its impressive visual effects, and appeal to the entire Tumblr community (gamers on one end, millennial film connoisseurs on the other), it’s definitely not something I would watch a second time.

There will surely be more where that came from! (I mean it. Since completing this post, I’ve finished another five films.) If you wanna keep tabs on what I’m watching without having to wait on another post, you can give my Letterboxd a follow. Wishing you love and light always, and don’t forget to wash your hands and pray for our frontliners!

#recs #angeltriestoblog #life dump #movies #movies to watch during quarantine #or at least movies I'VE watched over quarantine #so far #17 films are u CRAZY!!!! #i have carpal tunnel #quarantingz

[mrsrcbinscn]

Script Excerpts: Franny’s Top Albums of 2019

[playlist]

tl;dr: A selection of script excerpts from a video on Franny’s YouTube channel called “My Favorite Albums of 2019″. Pretend I finished this in December like I wanted to and that January isn’t nearly over okay

Her channel doesn’t have a super regular upload schedule. She doesn’t feel like adding ~~~youtube personality~~~ to her long list of wikipedia page job titles. And she keeps her social medias (YouTube, Twitter, Instagram) firmly in the “this is for fun” part of her mind. She doesn’t make any sponsored videos or posts on social media but when the mood strikes she’ll upload videos about music, music history, current trends in the industry she’s noticing and her thoughts on them, album reviews, and her favorite content to make is videos where she signal boosts several lesser-known artists in one video and fangirls over how much she loves them and why y’all should, too. 

INTRO: Susadei*, hello, and welcome to my channel, where I, Franny Sor Robinson, share my pesky lady opinions about music on the internet.”

*susadei is the informal way to say hello in Khmer, Franny’s first language

TOPIC INTRODUCTION: It is almost Christmas, which means! It’s time to talk about my favorite albums of 2019. As always, this list is in no particular order, because I believe that especially when talking about multiple genres of music - which we’re going to today - music isn’t something you rank on a linear bad, worse, worst, good, better, greatest scale. 

RULES: Now, the rules!

The album can’t be one I had a part in “And I don’t just mean not a Franny Sor Robinson, Seoul Hanoi’d, or Dara & Danny album. I am an active songwriter and composer even durin’ years I don’t personally release an album. I have co-written substantial amounts of, or entire tracklists, on several albums where I don’t sing or play an instrument on the recorded album, but I’m all over the credits. I think I do enough shameless self-promotion leading up to, and shortly after, the release of anything I work on. So as much as I loved working with Sariya Ibekwe - who is a fabulous Nigerian-American jazz singer - on her debut album this year, I co-wrote a good amount of that album. But, I’ve already talked about Sariya’s album extensively this year, and will link to it in the description box below anyway.

The album can’t be by a close personal friend of mine “I would spend these videos talking only about my friends’ releases if I didn’t have a strict no cronyism rule in these yearly roundups. I hype up, like, Daniel, Vanessa, Yulia, Delia, Lora, Andreas’s, and so on’s stuff whenever anything new drops, so they already got their signal boosts.”

Beyond those two rules, that’s really it. So without further stalling, let’s get into it.

Traveling Mercies by Emily Scott Robinson

The first album I want to talk about is Traveling Mercies, by North Carolina singer-songwriter Emily Scott Robinson - no relation, but oh my god, I wish. I’d love to just meet her, once. She’s so talented, I just - ugh! Anyway.

Emily Scott Robinson is a country singer whose first album, Magnolia Queen, came out in 2016 but I didn’t come across it until after I fell in love with Traveling Mercies. Daniel Maitland - the other half of Dara & Danny - sent the Spotify link of this album to me, and I just ate it up. Her songwriting gets me good, y’all. Her imagery is somethin’ else, her voice has the clarity of Alison Krauss, and her ability to deal with some very heavy themes poetically without sort of...glorifying? or trivializing? them is unreal. 

I should trigger warning this upcoming bit for discussion of sexual assault, so if you’d like to avoid that, I’ll put a timestamp right here [points] for you to skip to. I’ll give you oooone more second to skip, and...okay. 

I had a hard time listening to The Dress at first, because whenever I consume any media that deals with sexual assault, I have to mentally prepare myself. Even the song I wrote about my own experience with it, I don’t - I don’t perform it. Very rarely, I will. It was a write it, record it, release it for your healin’, and try to be done with it kinda thing. But once I psyched myself up to listen to it, The Dress pretty much immediately became one of my favorite songs on this album. I do sometimes have to skip it if I’m not feelin’ up to it mentally, but it. It is a beautifully written song about a very ugly thing, and I think- I think its a wonderful thing that she wrote that song.

[...] and then there’s my favorite song on this entire album, the one that honestly gave me a moment of “oh. OH, she went there.” Pie Song. It starts out by literally, she’s literally singin’ about how to bake a pie, and it made me so nostalgic for home, because I remember being taught by my friend’s mom to make a pie just like that. Don’t skimp on butter for the crust, add a little moonshine, but then she just, the next line goes right into the chorus and its, “but nothing you can make, can make you good enough, if you’re cooking for a man that doesn’t love you.” When I first heard that shift in the song - honey, when I tell you my chest just [both hands go up to her chest] it was powerful. Even though it isn’t the saddest or heaviest song on the album, it’s my favorite. The clear imagery - I could smell the pie she was singing about, I could feel the flour on my clothes - , the plot twist. 

Among the songwriting circles I’m in, this album is pretty popular with them for her songwriting. We go absolutely bananas for it.

Her songwriting is gonna take her places. I really can’t wait to see what she comes out with next. I’m a fan. I love her. SO much. 

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO? by Billie Eilish

This is probably the most quote unquote, mainstream album on this list. Billie’s undeniably a known name, and rightfully so! 

This album, y’all? Amazing. Flawless. True art.  I’m always hesitant when my son tells me what the Kids TM are listening too, because I usually- mm. Far be it from me to gatekeep music, to say what’s good and what’s bad, so I’ll just say that it. Usually isn’t. My, uh, my thing. It doesn’t appeal to me, and that’s fine!

But I- the first couple seconds of ‘bad guy’ got me payin’ attention, at ‘all the good girls go to hell’ I was just like Wow, capital W, and ‘bury a friend’ had me floored. Billie Eilish’s album is probably one of the most interesting, unique, and complex albums I’ve ever listened to. I really- I love this album.

Walk Through Fire by Yola

We’re back in the underground country music scene because of course we are! Yola is a fantastic singer from Bristol, England. On iTunes this album is classified as rock, but her EP titled Orphan Offering was under country, and her music has a very americana-indie-country feel.

Yola’s voice is the best part of this album but that’s not to knock on the music and the songwriting because they are also amazing. I can’t talk about this album and not talk about Yola’s voice, specifically, though. Her voice is like a warm cup of ginger tea on a cold day. It’s husky, and bluesy, on some songs kinda jazzy, and the musicality she displays on the album is really dynamic. She’s soft and smooth, then she’s belting out some high notes, but she’s not spending the entire album hittin’ you over the head with her belting. She really gives you a sampling of what all she can do on this album.

My favorite song off this album is Shady Grove it’s just - it’s - I love everything about it. The string section. The sitar sound. The gentle percussion, and ohhh my good god, the melody is just beautiful. It makes me wish this album was out when my son was little, because [pouts] its a song that reminds me of the song I used to sing to him when we first adopted him, and I’d just kinda hold him in my arms ‘n sway and sing to him. It’s such a beautiful song, it isn’t even the deepest or most profound song on this album but it is the most beautiful song to me musically. And I was want to hold a baby and sing it to the baby, so bring me your babies. Gimme.

Seneca by Charles Wesley Godwin

I’m going to get into this album in a second, but first. We all know I am a slut for odes to one’s roots. I made a whole video talking about how despite its memeability, John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads is actually a masterpiece. The short film I co-wrote and co-starred in with the director Lydia Viravong, a Lao-American I grew up with, is filmed and set in our hometown and based on our mothers. The Dara and Danny album ‘Progidal Children of Clayton County’ is a loveletter to me and Daniel’s hometown in Clayton Count, Georgiay. 

And that’s exactly what the album Seneca is. Seneca is an album about West Virginia. Charles Wesley Godwin grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia, a coal minin’ town. The Seneca Creek ran through his back yard, his daddy was a coal miner, mama’s a schoolteacher - he had a very quintessential coal mining town upbringing. And you know, your upbringing shapes you and this album is all about his love for where he comes from.

The imagery in his songwriting is just [chef’s kiss] perfection. And as someone whose affection for her roots is just as strong, I really - this album made me emotional as all hell. A lot of it is really sad, if I’m being honest, but that’s also because its so honest. For example,  the song Coal Country, tells the story of how West Virginia’s coal industry was the lifeblood of the West Virginia mountains, praises the union heroes of the Battle of Blair Mountain, and laments that in place of prospects for West Virginians, there’s now only food stamps and opiod addiction. 

Seneca Creek...the full version is beautiful, but the acoustic version gives mechills every single time. He wrote it about his grandparents’ love story from when they met in ‘49 to when his grandmother got sick and died in ‘94. It reminds me of Holly William’s 2013 song Waiting on June. It isn’t the happiest song, but even after the verse where the wife’s passed away, the chorus following it isn’t sorrowful. It just goes 

We built a home by Seneca Creek And raised ourselves a family I worked on the farm, you worked the store We had everything we'd ever hoped for

The narrator of the song is just talking about how he lived a simple life with the love of his life. That’s what the song is about, ultimately. And that’s beautiful. It makes me really, really feel lucky to be married to my husband when I listen to it, because for me, that’s what being married to him is like. 

Strawberry Queen is ro-man-tic as HELL! It’s about his WIFE, and as someone who is also trash for their spouse and writes way too many cheesy-ass love songs about him....I love it. It’s beautiful. I cried a little but don’t tell anybody I have emotions.

The last sad one I want to mention is Sorry For The Wait. It is a beautiful song where the narrator’s been killed in a mine explosion and he’s telling his wife not to cry for too long, that he’s buried in the clay and so will she someday, and he’s sorry for the wait. The third verse gets me bad. 

When you miss talkin' at me, holler t'wards the mine It's amazing how your voice echoes inside When the winter breeze tugs at your hair Jus know that it's me with a grin standing there

I’m not! Okay!

 HONORABLE MENTIONS: 

Before I talk about the final album I want to gush about, I do want to mention four albums that I truly enjoyed but in an effort to not make this video go on forever and ever, I didn’t write a whole explanation about why they’re so great. But I really do think deserve a shoutout!

LOVE + FEAR by Marina

Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent by Lewis Capaldi

Closer Than Together by The Avett Brothers

Wildcard by Miranda Lambert

Farmland by Gabe Lee

I can’t believe I haven’t plugged this guy yet because Gabe Lee’s album is fuh-king amazing. Gabe Lee is a country singer from Nashville whose sound you can tell has been influenced by classic country, modern americana, and like classic singer-songwriter types like Bob Dylan. It’s hard for me to interpret 100% of the time what his lyrics are about because at times his writing is pretty abstruse - oooh, pull out your thesauruses, kids - but the imagery in vivid. Its easier for me to talk about what this album makes me think of and how it makes me feel than to outright tell you what its all about. Farmland makes me think about drivin’ out in the woods in my high school boyfriend’s pickup to makeout and drink beer under the guise of deer hunting; or trying to sneaky-clean my muck boots after cuttin’ school to go fishin’  with my brothers; or pulling into a gas station in the middle of nowhere and handin’ some cash for pump one to a clerk that looks like he’s been there since the invention of petrol. There’s this grit to it that’s plain at the same time. Like there’s nothin’ particularly rebellious about skippin’ school to catch some fish, but it’s gonna get you muddy and sweaty. 

The music is very simple and that’s one thing I like about it. It doesn’t feel overproduced, it just feels very classic. Like this album would easily have been made in 1979, 2009, or 2019. The standout song on this album, to me, is Last Country Song. Daniel [the other half of the bluegrass-folk-americana duo Dara & Danny] thinks its Eveline, which is another one of my favorites. The most fun song on this album? Lyra, for sure. I have a lot of feelings about this album, I love this album, and I really hope you give it a listen.

Also, y’all know that as an Asian woman in country music - well, kinda. I got one foot in jazz, and one foot in bluegrass-americana-country-southern-folk, and then I got a hand in indie - [jump cut] LOOK, genre is a social construct, okay? I make whatever music I wanna make and you can like it or hate it. What was I talking ab-- oh! Gabe Lee!

Right, so, y’all know, clearly you can see, I’m very Asian. [*gasp*, puts on a generic American accent] What do you mean you’re not white? [normal voice] Shocking, I know. I like to highlight other artists of color as often as possible, but of course I’ll signal boost whoever I think is fantastic. But whenever I come across another Asian artist in these [air quotes] “white people” genres, I get really excited. And Gabe Lee is Asian-American, which again, we don’t see very often in country music, or like, other genres that we consider “Americana.” So yeah, I think that’s really cool.

#&&...hc

[nancydsmithus]

Monthly Web Development Update 9/2019: Embracing Basic And Why Simple Is Hard

Monthly Web Development Update 9/2019: Embracing Basic And Why Simple Is Hard

Anselm Hannemann

2019-09-13T13:17:00+02:002019-09-13T11:44:31+00:00

Editor’s note: Please note that this is the last Monthly Web Development Update in the series. You can still follow the Web Development Reading List on Anselm’s site at https://wdrl.info. Watch out for a new roundup post format next month here on Smashing Magazine. A big thank-you to Anselm for sharing his findings and his thoughts with us during the past four years.

Do we make our lives too complex, too busy, and too rich? More and more people working with digital technology realize over time that a simple craft and nature are very valuable. The constant hunt to do more and get more productive, with even leisure activities that are meant to help us refuel our energy turning into a competition, doesn’t seem to be a good idea, yet currently, this is a trend in our modern world. After work, we feel we need to do two hours of yoga and be able to master the most complex of poses, we need a hobby, binge-watch series on Netflix, and a lot more. That’s why this week I want to encourage you to embrace a basic lifestyle.

“To live a life in which one purely subsists on the airy cream puffs of ideas seems enviably privileged: the ability to make a living merely off of one’s thoughts, rather than manual or skilled labor.” — Nadia Eghbal in “Basic”

What does basic stand for? Keep it real, don’t constantly do extra hours, don’t try to pack your workday with even more tasks or find more techniques to make it more efficient. Don’t try to hack your productivity, your sleep, let alone your meditation, yoga, or other wellness and sports activities. Do what you need to do and enjoy the silence and doing nothing when you’re finished. Living a basic life is a virtue, and it becomes more relevant again as we have more money to spend on unnecessary goods and more technology that intercept our human, basic thoughts on things.

News

Firefox 69 is out, bringing us JavaScript public instance fields, Resize Observers, Microtask APIs, CSS overflow-block, and @supports for selectors.

General

Chris Coyier asks the question if a website should work without JavaScript in 2019. It breaks down to a couple of thoughts that mainly conclude with progressive enhancement being more important than making a website work for users who actively turned off JavaScript.

Privacy

Brave’s research reveals how Google works around the legal requirements of the GDPR directive on its DoubleClick service, exposing private user data to millions of websites without any control.

UI/UX

In our modern world, it’s easy to junk things up. We’re quick to add more questions to research surveys, more buttons to a digital interface, more burdens to people. Simple is hard.

Web Performance

So many users these days use the Internet with a battery-driven device. The WebKit team shares how web content can affect power usage and how to improve the performance of your web application and save battery.

Scrolling a page with complex rendering and video playback has a significant impact on battery life. But how can you make your pages more power efficient? (Image credit)

JavaScript

Philip Walton shows how we can use native JavaScript modules in production today.

Tooling

There’s a new tool in town if you want to have a status page for your web service: The great people from Oh Dear now also provide status pages.

Bastian Allgeier shares his thoughts on simplicity on the web, where we started, and where we are now. Call it nostalgic or not, the times when we simply uploaded a file via FTP and it was live on servers were easy days. Now with all the CI/CD tooling around, we have gotten many advantages in terms of security, version management, and testability. However, a simple solution looks different.

Accessibility

Adrian Roselli shares why we shouldn’t under-engineer text form fields and why the default CSS that comes with the browser usually isn’t enough. A pretty good summary of what’s possible, what’s necessary, and how to make forms better for everyone visiting our websites. It even includes high-contrast mode, dark mode, print styles, and internationalization.

Work & Life

Adam Blanchard summarized his notes and thoughts from TechFestival in Copenhagen and shares behaviors that transform organizations.

Claire Lew explains why the question of how to motivate employees is misguided and how great managers support their employees’ thoughts and ideas to foster self-motivation.

A lot of developers hate to be interrupted as it can harm productivity for hours. Samuel Taylor wrote a thought-provoking article to help us understand why a “developers vs. others” mentality decreases trust in a team and how you can take matters into your own hands, asking yourself why people interrupt you and take this as a chance to improve.

Nadia Eghbal shares why externalizing all our thoughts is not only a good thing. Embracing the basic in our lives is a virtue we should focus on more and this article is great food to make us think.

A method to solve the problem of that one thing on our task list that is “so meaningful and important that it brings up a ton of uncertainty for us, and causes us to avoid, run, distract, comfort, procrastinate.”

Going Beyond…

Snøhetta’s Powerhouse Brattørkaia produces twice the energy it uses with clever architecture and technology like solar panels all over the place. Isn’t that an office building we’d love to go to for work?

It might be that scientists have been underestimating the pace of climate change as the sea temperature measurements which were made in the past decade lacked accuracy.

This isn’t business as usual. Business as usual has time but we can use a short break to finally start shaping our future. From September 20th to 27th, millions will join young climate strikers on the streets and demand an end of the age of fossil fuels. I’m ready and will support this movement. Let’s do our best to cut down emissions — by driving less or flying less, especially if it’s “for fun”. Together we can change everything.

—Anselm

(cm)

[choclette8]

Recipe for classic fig rolls (aka fig newtons), but made with wholemeal spelt flour. The fig paste is lightly spiced and gently sweetened and the pastry casing is delicious in its own right with subtle notes of lemon. These biscuits are easier to make than you might think.

Fig rolls are one of those biscuits that divide opinion. They have a Marmite, love them or hate them quality. Needless to say I’m in the appreciative camp. So, I was delighted that Paul Hollywood chose these childhood treats for the technical challenge on Great British Bake Off last week. I was surprised he chose such an easy challenge, but I’m not complaining. Finally, it gave me the oomph required to bake these delicious cookies. They have been on my must try list for years.

Great British Bake Off

Every year I try and make something from the current series of the Great British Bake Off. Last year I made a spinach and lemon cake for #CakeWeek. It was my super simple version of Le Gâteau Vert and most delicious it was too. Amongst other recipes, I’ve also made chocolate Viennese whirls, triple chocolate bread and Black Forest gâteau. This year it was the fig rolls in #BiscuitWeek that grabbed my attention.

But it’s #BreadWeek tonight, so who knows, I might be inspired all over again.

Fig Rolls

Fig rolls are a classic British biscuit – or so I thought. Turns out, they originated in ancient Egypt. The commercial variety that we know and sometimes love were first produced in 1891 by Charles Roser from Philadelphia in the United States. He patented the automated process which was almost immediately bought by the Kennedy Biscuit Company. Fig rolls are known as fig newtons in the States, so called as the factory that made them was in Newton, Massachusetts. I can’t find out when the fig roll came to the UK, but suffice to say, it’s been around for quite a long time.

There is some dispute as to whether fig rolls are a cake or a biscuit. I think this might be because fig newton casings are softer and more cake like, whilst ours are crumbly and more biscuit like. But in the UK, fig paste is encased in an enriched sweet pastry and chopped into small flattened rectangles. This makes it a biscuit in my book. Plus you’ll find them in the biscuit aisle in shops and supermarkets not the cake aisle.

Fig Roll Adventures

My mother was quite strict when it came to sweet treats. Well, apart from her famous puddings. She certainly didn’t believe in buying biscuits anyway. My introduction to fig rolls came when I first went to stay with a friend of my mother’s at the age of seven. She lived on a remote Cornish smallholding which you could only reach by tractor or by walking a mile down a steep and sometimes treacherous path. She didn’t have a tractor, so walking it was.

The house had no electricity and in those early days, no running water either. I used to love staying there, it always felt like a real adventure. Down to the well to collect water and to bed by candlelight. Anyway, once a week, a grocery van used to stop at the top of the aforementioned path just so she could catch up on supplies. And one of those supplies was always a packet of fig rolls.

Many’s the time we made that journey across the river and up the track. We had to cross an old rickety wooden bridge and I always wondered if I’d make it safely across before it collapsed into the turgid water below. But it was always worth it. Those fig rolls were such a treat.

Wholemeal Spelt Fig Rolls

I found lots of recipes for fig rolls, both online and in some of my baking books. But in the end I based mine on the Paul Hollywood recipe that the bakers used on #GBBO. His was simpler than most, used less sugar and seemed more like the “real” thing. Obviously I changed it somewhat. I added a few extra spices, changed the method to make it easier and used wholemeal spelt flour for my pastry casing. Oh, and I swapped Paul’s vanilla for lemon zest in the biscuit dough.

Fig Paste Filling

The fig filling is really easy to make. It’s just a question of bunging all of the ingredients into a pan, then simmering them and blitzing. It’s best to do this bit first so the fig paste can cool and firm up whilst you’re getting on with making the pastry.

I didn’t have any stem ginger, so I used some crystallised ginger as I always have a jar of that to hand. Although I adore cinnamon, I thought the quantity Paul used might overpower the other flavours, so I used less of this and added a pinch of ground cloves and a grating of nutmeg instead.

Making the Biscuit Dough

Although the dough casing is more like pastry than a snappy biscuit, it’s made using the creaming method rather than the rubbing in one. It’s very straightforward. I just use a bowl and wooden spoon for this, but you can use a handheld or stand mixer if you prefer.

When it came to rolling the pastry out, I found I made a larger rectangle than the one Paul stipulated in his recipe. Perhaps this is why I made sixteen fig rolls rather than only twelve. In order to make a neat (ish) rectangle I cut ragged bits off the edges and pressed them into the sides which weren’t quite wide enough. The dough is quite malleable, so this wasn’t difficult. I wasn’t going to waste any of it, that’s for sure.

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Form the dough into a ball with your hands.

Roll pastry dough out into a rectangle, then cut in half down the long side.

Filling the Fig Rolls

This was the bit, I felt, where it could all go hideously wrong. But it didn’t. It was all a lot easier than I was expecting. The wholemeal spelt pastry cracks quite easily, so don’t expect your fig rolls to look perfectly smooth. Mine certainly weren’t. But then I like a homemade look.

I baked mine for fifteen minutes as I wanted to ensure the biscuit dough was properly cooked. Plus I wanted them to look properly golden. But if you prefer a paler fig roll, try baking for twelve minutes instead.

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Spoon the fig paste along the middle of the two sides of pastry and form into a sausage shape.

Bring the two sides of pastry together and seal with your fingers along the middle. Turn the rolls over so the seem side is facing down.

Cut each roll into eight equal pieces.

Place pieces on a baking tray, spaced a little apart. Flatten each one with a fork, marking along the length with the prongs as you go.

Finished Fig Rolls

Once baked, the fig rolls just need to cool, then they can be eaten or stored in a tin until needed. They’ll last a few days, but the pastry gets steadily softer as the days go on. Having said that, this batch lasted five days and the biscuit dough held together just fine. I took one in to work with my packed lunch on day two and another on day four. They’re quite substantial, so I reckoned one was enough. As for the rest, CT and I polished the lot off at home.

I doubt Paul would have been impressed by the unevenness of my bakes, but I was delighted with the result. They tasted much as I remember them and CT thought so too. Only better, because they were homemade, healthier and bigger.

Other Classic Biscuit Recipes You Might Like

Bourbon biscuits via Tin and Thyme

Breton butter biscuits via A Baking Journey

Chocolate hobnobs via Donna Dundas

Chocolate Viennese whirls via Tin and Thyme

Custard creams via Lost In Food

Garibaldi biscuits via Tin and Thyme

Ginger shortbread cake via Tin and Thyme

Gluten-free custard creams via Tin and Thyme

Jammy dodgers via Veggie Desserts

Nigella’s florentines via Tin and Thyme

Not so jammy dodgers via Tin and Thyme

Scottish shortbread via Farmersgirl Kitchen

Show Me

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these wholemeal spelt fig rolls, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or via social media. Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them. For more delicious and nutritious recipes, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.

Homemade Fig Rolls. PIN IT.

Fig Rolls with Wholemeal Spelt Biscuit Pastry.

Recipe for classic fig rolls (aka fig newtons), but made with wholemeal spelt flour. The fig paste is lightly spiced and gently sweetened and the pastry casing is delicious in its own right with subtle notes of lemon.

Fig Paste

200 g dried soft figs (Can use dried hard figs, but will need to cook them for longer.)

20 g crystalised ginger (Can substitue for a large ball of stem ginger in syrup.)

20 g muscovado sugar (I used dark muscovado.)

½ tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

grating of nutmeg

Biscuit Dough

60 g unsalted butter – softened

40 g light muscovado sugar

pinch of fine sea salt

½ lemon – zested (optional)

175 g wholemeal spelt flour

⅓ tsp baking powder

1 medium egg

Fig Paste

Place the figs in a small saucepan and add enough water to just cover them. Add the ginger and sugar.

Bring to the boil, then simmer, stirring occassionaly for about 8 minutes or until the figs are cooked through and the water has evaporated.

Add the dried spices and purée with a stick blender or mini food processor until you have a rough paste. Leave to cool and firm up.

Biscuit Dough

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the salt and lemon zest and cream some more.

Beat in the egg.

Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix until it's mostly incorporated. Bring it all together with your hands to form a soft dough. If it's really soft, you may want to cover it and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. But you shouldn't need to do this.

Heat the oven to 200℃ (400℉, Gas 6).

On a floured surgace, roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring 21cm by 27cm. It should be about 4mm thick. Cut lenghtways into two strips measuring 10 1/2 cm by 27cm.

Spoon half of the fig mixture down the middle of one strip and the rest down the middle of the other strip. Neaten it up with your fingers, if needed.

Bring the two sides of each strip of pastry up to join in the middle and roughly crimp with your fingers to seal.

Turn the rolls over so the seem is at the bottom and cut each one into eight equal sized pieces.

Line a baking sheet with baking paper (or silicone mat) and gently transfer the rolls, placing a little apart. With a fork, press each one gently down to flatten it slightly and to add a pattern on the top.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Can keep for up to a week in a sealed container, though the pastry will soften.

Sharing

I’m sharing my wholemeal spelt fig rolls with with Jo’s Kitchen Larder and Apply to Face Blog for #BakingCrumbs. I’m also sending them to Casa Costello for #BakeOfTheWeek and #CookBlogShare, which is hosted this week by Everyday Healthy Recipes.

Fig Rolls with Wholemeal Spelt Biscuit Pastry Recipe for classic fig rolls (aka fig newtons), but made with wholemeal spelt flour. The fig paste is lightly spiced and gently sweetened and the pastry casing is delicious in its own right with subtle notes of lemon.

#figs #GBBO

[arohauniverse]

CeCi Korea June 2017 Issue: Boys, be the ASTRO!

Summer’s coming and you’re making a comeback. What comes to your mind when I say ‘summer’? Moonbin: What comes to mind when you say 'summer’ would be freedom? I want to light a bonfire at a campsite and spend an enjoyable time. My hometown’s in Cheongju so a lot of times I’d have fun like that when it’s summer. JinJin: If you’re talking about summer, then of course it’s the sea. I used to enjoy fishing with my family when I was younger. The image of someone fishing paints itself like a memory. Sanha: I’ve only been to a waterpark once since I was born but it was a lot of fun. I want to go again. Eunwoo: The sun’s up longer during the summer. It makes me remember how it would still be sunny out even though school has ended and I’m playing soccer. My dad’s really been into hiking lately and I want to tag along too. MJ: A weather where you have to avoid the sun!  Doesn’t it totally seem like a song title to you? I want to eat watermelon underneath a shady tree. Rocky: Maybe because I’d sweat more than I usually do but diet is what comes to mind first. Rather than hitting the gym, I want to try a sport that I can enjoy doing so I’m thinking of starting swimming this summer.

Is dieting important even to male idols? Do you regulate your meals as well? JinJin: I usually dance intensely so I don’t see the need to purposely go on a diet. When we finish filming for our music videos, I would hear that I’ve unknowingly lost weight. Moonbin: Before debuting, my diet meals were personally planned and I would have chicken breast and eggs in the mornings. If I’m busy, then it’s one apple. I would eat like that. We’ve decided that we’ll now manage our own selves. Eunwoo: We don’t pay as much attention to it as girl groups. But even so, we would each put in some care when there’s an important filming and if the other seems like he’s gained weight then we would tell him.

Is there anything after debuting that you want to be better at or something that has attracted your interest? Eunwoo: I think I need to continue studying up foreign languages. When we perform overseas, I think it’s polite that we learn their trendy words, dances, etc.. Because we have to do even better. Moonbin: Me too! And having stamina is more important that I thought. We were always overflowing with energy pre-debut so I didn’t think there was a need to worry about our stamina but as we continuously carried out promotions, I can feel that my stamina’s deteriorating. JinJin: I’ve recently developed an interest in fashion. If previously I only stuck to the hip-hop style that I like, then now I’m finding ways to wear clothes that fit my body and physical frame. MJ: I think managing my stamina and just generally taking care of myself is necessary. I try to eat some nutritional supplements too. Rocky: Seeing as how I’m a rapper, I’ve been thinking lately about how I should read more books. There’s a limit to how much I can write just using my own experiences. I’m reading and not too long ago, I asked Eunwoo hyung to loan me one of his books. It’s a book called but I’ve yet to start on it. Sanha: I’m relearning the basics of guitar (playing). I want to be better at it. I also want to show acoustic versions of our songs.

That reminds me, aren’t you having your first solo concert in July? Is there a stage that each of you are dreaming of? MJ: I want to put smile on the faces of fans who are coming to watch our concert. I’m thinking of having a stage with JinJin. JinJin: I’m going to do it with you (laughs). After debuting, I don’t think I’ve had the chance to really show my rap so I want to show off a dark rap that matches with original hip-hop. Rocky: I want to show off a dance stage that’s worthy of hearing comments like “legendary” and “the best”. We don’t have that kind of image yet. Eunwoo: Shall I go home today and upload one? With a title that says “ASTRO’s Legend.”

Do you have male fans too? Eunwoo: We do! There are those who come to our fansigns too. Sanha: I feel somewhat reassured when I see male fans. Seeing as how we’re male ourselves, I’m thankful and it’s nice meeting them. Rocky: It makes me think that I have to do better, that I have to set an example. MJ: I get excited if I hear a male voice when fans are cheering at music broadcasts. The sounds of the cheer become bolder. Eunwoo: “Eunwoo hyuuungung~” I hear stuff like that.

Is there a recent moment when you felt slightly happy? Sanha: When there’s time to spare after we wrap up practice, we’d go for movie together or to the spa. Moments like those are fun. JinJin: We played futsal together not too long ago and then all of us went to the bath house before going for gopchang. MJ: Ah, that was nice. I was happy. Eunwoo: One platter serves three people but MJ hyung and I ate four platter ourselves. Rocky: It’s not something that happened recently but lately I’ve been thinking about how we would hold performances every week at Lotte World pre-debut. Having to show off different stages every week was taxing at that time but I think it allowed us to attempt a lot of new stages. The stages we can show are limited when we’re promoting.

The title track 'Confession’ of your third mini album had the theme of “Don’t be taken by the bad boys and date me instead.” From a guy’s point of view, what kind of guy is crappy? Moonbin: I’ve never thought about it in depth but I think someone whose actions are slow and who’s kind of frustrating is whatever. JinJin: You’re totally attacking me huh? Moonbin: Because I really hate things that frustrate me (laughs). But I think it’s a problem too if his personality is feisty and hot-tempered. Even if my sister were to date someone like me, I think it’ll suck for her.

It’s a self-attack now, haha. How about the others? JinJin: I won’t attack (laughs). Firstly, I hope the girl doesn’t date someone who she’s unable to communicate with. And someone who’s tactless when it comes to feelings. I want to tell her to date a guy who understands girls and who respects her. Rocky: A person with no manners is whatever. You’ll realize things like that quickly. Usually someone who’s good to their parents are good to other people as well. MJ: I think it’s really important that a person has manners. Don’t carelessly speak what’s on your mind. Eunwoo: A person who doesn’t keep to their promises is seriously whatever. Isn’t a guy who’s kind of strict on himself a good guy? Sanha: Someone who lies! You shouldn’t date someone who’s not truthful.

That reminds me, how did you spend Parent’s Day that passed not too long ago? Eunwoo: I sent a selfie of myself in the family chat room (laughs). 5th May is my parent’s anniversary as well so I really wanted us to have a meal together but we weren’t able to. Rocky: I timed when my parents would wake up and gave them a call. I wanted to thank them but ended up accidentally congratulating them. MJ: I wanted to do a video call with my parents but they were driving so they were satisfied with just a normal call. I wanted to show them myself though.

You’re now going all out on promotions again. Is there anything that you wanted to say and that you practiced saying for when you win no.1 or for an important occasion? JinJin: Seeing as how I’m the leader, Eunwoo and I made a list in a notebook of the people that we should say our thanks to. Eunwoo: Yup, we did. Relaying our thanks is important too but I want to tell each of the members something. What kind of words they are is a secret. Moonbin: I was cast when I was in 6th grade. I really want to thank the person who picked me then. He’s like a mother to me. Rocky: I was in 5th grade then. I also want to relay my thanks to that person. And I think it’ll be nice if the members each said something that was heartfelt. We’ve had our opportunities to say those words but still, I’m sure there are words we’re holding on our hearts that we haven’t been able to say. Sanha: As for me, it’s of course my parents! I want to tell them that I’m thankful they gave birth to me and that even if I was born again, I want to be born as their son. Seems like I’ve said it all here. MJ: I want to hug my members and we’d all shout together. Until our makeup’s erased away. Until the broadcast ends.

Translation: @99pmh Please take out with full credits!

#astro #mj #jinjin #cha eunwoo #moonbin #rocky #yoon sanha #t:interview #t:magazine #t:dream part 01 #translations #ceci #ceci korea #ceci june 2017

[astrotranslations]

ASTRO for Ceci (2017 June issue)

Summer’s coming and you’re making a comeback. What comes to your mind when I say 'summer'? Moonbin: What comes to mind when you say 'summer' would be freedom? I want to light a bonfire at a campsite and spend an enjoyable time. My hometown’s in Cheongju so a lot of the times I’d have fun like that when it’s summer. JinJin: If you’re talking about summer then of course it’s the sea. I used to enjoy fishing with my family when I was younger. The image of someone fishing paints itself like a memory. Sanha: I’ve only been to a waterpark once since I was born but it was a lot of fun. I want to go again. Eunwoo: The sun’s up longer during the summer. It makes me remember how it would still be sunny out even though school has ended and I’m playing soccer. My dad’s really been into hiking lately and I want to tag along too. MJ: A weather where you have to avoid the sun! Doesn’t it totally seem like a song title to you? I want to eat watermelon underneath a shady tree. Rocky: Maybe because I’d sweat more than I usually do but diet is what comes to mind first. Rather than hitting the gym, I want to try a sport that I can enjoy doing so I’m thinking of starting swimming this summer.

Is dieting important even to male idols? Do you regulate your meals as well? JinJin: I usually dance intensely so I don’t see the need to purposely go on a diet. When we finish filming for our music videos, I would hear that I’ve unknowingly lost weight. Moonbin: Before debuting, my diet meals were personally planned and I would have chicken breast and eggs in the mornings. If I’m busy then it’s one apple. I would eat like that. We’ve decided that we’ll now manage our own selves. Eunwoo: We don’t pay as much attention to it as girl groups. But even so, we would each put in some care when there’s an important filming and if the other seems like he’s gained weight then we would tell him.

Is there anything after debuting that you want to be better at or something that has attracted your interest? Eunwoo: I think I need to continue studying up foreign languages. When we perform overseas, I think it’s polite that we learn their trendy words, dances, etc.. Because we have to do even better. Moonbin: Me too! And having stamina is more important than I thought. We were always overflowing with energy pre-debut so I didn’t think there was a need to worry about our staminas but as we continuously carried out promotions, I can feel that my stamina’s deteriorating. JinJin: I’ve recently developed an interest in fashion. If previously I only stuck to the hip-hop style that I like then now I’m finding ways to wear clothes that fit my body and physical frame. MJ: I think managing my stamina and just generally taking care of myself is necessary. I try to eat some nutritional supplements too. Rocky: Seeing as how I’m a rapper, I’ve been thinking lately about how I should read more books. There’s a limit to how much I can write using just my own experiences. I’m reading <Kim Eana’s Songwriting Method> and not too long ago I asked Eunwoo hyung to loan me one of his books. It’s a book called <Sincerely Yours> but I’ve yet to start on it. Sanha: I’m relearning the basics of guitar (playing). I want to be better at it. I also want to show acoustic versions of our songs.

That reminds me, aren’t you having your first solo concert in July? Is there a stage that each of you are dreaming of? MJ: I want to put a smile on the faces of fans who are coming to watch our concert. I’m thinking of having a stage with JinJin. JinJin: I’m not going to do it with you (laughs). After debuting, I don’t think I’ve had the chance to really show my rap so I want to show off a dark rap that matches with original hip-hop. Rocky: I want to show off a dance stage that’s worthy of hearing comments like 'legendary' and 'the best'. We don’t have that kind of image yet. Eunwoo: Shall I go home today and upload one? With a title that says 'ASTRO’s legend'.

Do you have male fans too? Eunwoo: We do! There are those who come to our fansigns too. Sanha: I feel somewhat reassured when I see male fans. Seeing as how we’re males ourselves, I’m thankful and it’s nice meeting them. Rocky: It makes me think that I have to do better, that I have to set an example. MJ: I get excited if I hear a male voice when fans are cheering at music broadcasts. The sounds of the cheers become bolder. Eunwoo: "Eunwoo hyuuungung~" I hear stuff like that.

Is there a recent moment where you felt slightly happy? Sanha: When there’s time to spare after we wrap up practice, we’d go for a movie together or to the spa. Moments like those are fun. JinJin: We played futsal together not too long ago and then all of us went to the bath house before going for gopchang. MJ: Ah, that was nice. I was happy. Eunwoo: One platter serves three people but MJ hyung and I ate four platters to ourselves. Rocky: It’s not something that happened recently but lately I’ve been thinking about how we would hold performances every week at Lotte World pre-debut. Having to show different stages every week was taxing at that time but I think it allowed us to attempt a lot of new stages. The stages we can show are limited when we’re promoting.

The title track, 'Confession', off your third mini album had the theme of "Don’t be taken by the bad boys and date me instead." From a guy’s point of view, what kind of guy is crappy? Moonbin: I’ve never thought about it in depth but I think someone whose actions are slow and who’s kind of frustrating is whatever. JinJin: You’re totally attacking me huh? Moonbin: Because I really hate things that frustrate me (laughs). But I think it’s a problem too if his personality is feisty and hot-tempered. Even if my sister were to date someone like me, I think it’ll suck for her.

This time it’s a self-attack, haha. How about the other members? JinJin: I won’t attack (laughs). Firstly, I hope the girl doesn’t date someone who she’s unable to communicate with. And someone who’s tactless when it comes to feelings. I want to tell her to date a guy who understands girls and who respects her. Rocky: A person with no manners is whatever. You’ll realise things like that quickly. Usually someone who’s good to their parents are good to other people as well. MJ: I think it’s really important that a person has manners. Don’t carelessly speak what’s on your mind. Eunwoo: A person who doesn’t keep to their promises is seriously whatever. Isn’t a guy who’s kind of strict on himself a good guy? Sanha: Someone who lies! You shouldn’t date someone who’s not truthful.

That reminds me, how did you spend Parent’s Day that passed not too long ago? Eunwoo: I sent a selfie of myself in the family chat room (laughs). 5th May is my parent’s anniversary as well so I really wanted us to have a meal together but we weren’t able to. Rocky: I timed when my parents would wake up and gave them a call. I wanted to thank them but ended up accidentally congratulating them. MJ: I wanted to do a video call with my parents but they were driving so they were satisfied with just a normal call. I wanted to show them myself though…

You’re now going all out on promotions again. Is there anything that you wanted to say and that you practiced saying for when you win no.1 or for an important occasion? JinJin: Seeing as how I’m the leader, Eunwoo and I made a list in a notebook of the people that we should say our thanks to. Eunwoo: Yup, we did. Relaying our thanks is important too but I want to tell each of the members something. What kind of words they are is a secret. Moonbin: I was casted when I was in 6th grade. I really want to thank the person who picked me then. He’s like a mother to me. Rocky: I was in 5th grade then. I also want to relay my thanks to that person. And I think it’ll be nice if the members each said something that was heartfelt. We’ve had our opportunities to say those words but still, I’m sure there are words we’re holding in our hearts that we haven’t been able to say. Sanha: As for me, it’s of course my parents! I want to tell them that I’m thankful they gave birth to me and that even if I was born again, I want to be born as their son. Seems like I’ve said it all here. MJ: I want to hug my members and we’d all shout together. Until our make-up’s erased away. Until the broadcast ends!

Translations by @99pm​h Take out with full credits

#MJ #Myungjun #JinJin #Jinwoo #Eunwoo #Dongmin #Moonbin #Rocky #Minhyuk #Sanha #ASTRO

[your-iron-lung]

Mixed Up 10 | The Pirate Song |

Chapter Word Count: 2208

Pairings: Zoro/Sanji

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Chapter Warning: Strong Language

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

Next Chapter: 11

The tension that surrounded the front-desk was so palpable that it was keeping customers from entering or leaving the store. A few had tried to overcome their uneasiness by attempting to walk past the duo under Zoro's soul-chilling glare, but were so perturbed and consumed by dread that they gave up and continued to circle dumbly around the store until they felt it was safe enough to pass. Nami and Sanji were oblivious to the anxiety as they stood leaning over the counter, watching Zoro gleefully as he mutely munched away at the sandwich Sanji had brought him for lunch.

The two of them looked absolutely delighted as they conspiratorially leaned together, already at ease with one another despite only having met once before. Knowing that they were waiting for him to make the first move, Zoro took his time eating, slowly consuming his food with all the lackluster of a grazing farm animal. None of them mentioned or even seemed to notice the apprehensive customers that had a formed a line outside the door, waiting to come inside.

Swallowing down the last bite of his sandwich, Zoro finally spoke.

"Well, I'm glad you two are fucking happy about this."

In an instant the thick, atmospheric cloud of tension snapped and dissipated as a collective sigh of relief arose from the customers who felt they were now free to leave and enter.

Zoro slouched back in Nami's rolling chair, swiveling around discontentedly in his seat to cast his seething glare between the two of them, ignoring the sudden influx of people that circulated past them. Nami laughed a bright, jubilant laugh that Sanji took to liking immediately. He then felt compelled to laugh along with her as he leaned across the counter to level Zoro's glare with a mirthful look of his own.

"I bring you food and business, and this is what I get in return? Death threats and empty promises? I expected better from a, uh, hang on-" Sanji paused in his tirade to grab and begin flipping through the Super-Star! Guitar's instructor profile booklet the front-desk counter offered its guests. He found Zoro's page at the back quickly, snickered at the unflattering photograph of him, and read aloud from the quick biography and pretended not to be impressed with what he read. "-From a '3 time Bass Guitar Monthly cover story performer, who's use of the 3-necked bass 'Santoryu' has made favourable impressions across the country.' See here, I thought you were supposed to be a professional."

"I am," Zoro snarled, sitting up to snatch the booklet away before Sanji could read anything more about him. "And my threats are anything but empty."

Rolling his eyes and snatching the booklet back, Sanji said, "I'm sure you're all bark and no bite, but I wasn't talking about your lame death threats, idiot."

"Then-"

"The art show," Sanji replied flippantly, scouring through the booklet to inspect the other instructors and paused over Brook's page. "Usopp's art show is tomorrow; you haven't even tried to make an effort to get me any more involved in that."

"Wow, really?" Nami said in a tone that was so disapproving, several patrons were stricken with a severe sense of inadequacy that would haunt them for the rest of their day. She hopped and twisted onto the countertop so that her legs were dangling on Zoro's side and kicked out at her associate, who easily rolled out of reach in her chair. "I told you to take him!"

"I was!" Zoro said angrily, scooting around in the wheeled chair as Nami continued with her attempts at harassing him. "I still am! The damn thing hasn't happened yet, so get off my ass about it."

"That may be, but I still don't know where the hell it is, or what time it starts, or what the fuck being a fake bodyguard even entails," Sanji said flatly, closing the booklet and setting it aside before it could offer him further distraction.

Rolled all the way against the far wall, Zoro planted his feet firmly on the ground and crossed his arms, frowning harshly at the both of them.

"It starts at 7," he began, narrowing his eyes at Nami when she stuck her tongue out at him. "We have to get there early, though, so we can help set up, so I'll come by at 4."

"That's really fucking early, are you that incompetent with directions?"

"Fuck you," Zoro bit out. "He wants me to pick up some prints at his place beforehand so we have to leave early enough to get that shit done, asshole. Does that cover it?"

"No," Sanji said, amused with how easy it was to irritate him. "Where is it, what do I have to do, etcetera?"

"Hey, Zoro!"

Behind Sanji, a young teenaged girl waved enthusiastically at the grumpy looking punk, prompting Zoro to stand up and ignore Sanji outright as he went to great his next lesson.

"Been practicing?" Zoro questioned as he lead her away, looking back over his shoulder to sneer nastily at both Nami and Sanji.

'Rude fucker,' Sanji mouthed after him as he left, earning a hasty and discreet middle finger in response that made him snicker.

"Don't worry about the details too much," Nami said as she slid off her perch to retake her seat behind the counter. Sanji turned back towards her as she began to organize her desk. "All you really have to do is dress formal and look imposing to keep Usopp from shitting himself."

"Easy," Sanji said, striking what he hoped was a dashing, yet imposing form.

"Sure." Nami smiled. "The hard part for you is going to be getting along with Zoro the whole night."

"Bastard," he said, slumping.

Giggling, Nami reached across to where the printer was situated on her left and grabbed a piece of paper from its tray.

"Anyway," she said as she began to write on it. "I'm going to go ahead and give you the directions to the place since Zoro's probably going to make you drive."

"Asshole," Sanji commented lazily, leaning over the counter to watch as she wrote. "What's 'OperationUtopia'?"

"It's the venue the show gets held at," she replied, handing the piece of paper over to him once she finished detailing the instructions. "It's really hard to find because it's so underground, but Zoro's been there before often enough that if you can at least get him in the general area he should be able to recognize it. But that might be giving him too much credit."

"I'll be sure to jog his memory if he needs a reminder."

He gazed over her neat handwriting before folding the piece of paper until it was small enough to fit in his pocket. He looked back to Nami, who sat twisting in her seat with the sweetest smile he had ever seen gracing her gorgeous face and thought momentarily about asking her out on a dinner date.

Instead, he returned her smile with a charming one of his own and asked for her number.

"You think you're real smooth, huh?" she teased as she pulled out another piece of paper from the printer and tore it in half, writing her number down on one of the halves and handing it over to him. "That's just in case Zoro gets you guys really and truly lost."

"Of course, mon Cherie," Sanji cooed, happily noticing that she had adorned the little scrap piece of paper with hearts. "And now I must sadly take my leave of you, but you can expect many a call or text from me later!"

"Uh-huh, buh-bye now Sanji."

Nami winked at him as he gathered together the containers he'd brought their food in and turned to leave. Sanji's heart fluttered as he bowed before her and then left through the door, ignoring how many people were struggling to get in and out.

As he strode down the sidewalk back towards his car, and even through the rest of his day, Sanji felt wonderfully happy. With the weight of not knowing where to be and what to do the next day lifted from him, he proceeded to get the curtain rods he'd been denied the night before and spent the rest of the day texting Nami off and on, learning various things about both her and Zoro in the process.

He was surprised, though not very, to learn that they had been in a band together a few years ago, though they had since been put on an indefinite hiatus. She wouldn't tell him why, but suggested he check out their music and had given him the name of their band and a link to their old soundcloud.

When he got home and fixed the rods above the windows in his bedroom, he pulled out his laptop and set it up in the kitchen so he could listen to their music while he prepared dinner. Rolling up his shirt sleeves, he entered in the link Nami had sent him via phone, and pulled up the Mugiwara Menace's soundcloud profile.

Glancing through their track listings, Sanji found himself unsure of where to start, and wondered if he should ask Nami what her opinion on where to start was- decided he didn't want to bother her with his indecisiveness- and eventually settled for listening through their discography in the order the songs had been uploaded. With his laptop placed off to the side on the counter, he hit play on the first track and then began to work through his dinner routine.

As the song started to play, he paused and glanced back to his laptop screen, scrutinizing the band's profile picture when the sounds he thought they'd be playing didn't exactly line up with what he thought their punk band would be like.

Along with Zoro (who looked like a younger, dorkier version of himself), and Nami (who was as cute and beautiful as she was now), a third man stood between them that Sanji didn't recognize. Wondering if this was just someone Sanji hadn't met yet, he was startled to see that the band had just over 5,000 followers. For a band of only 3 people to exist within a genre that was as atypical as punk was- to have that many fans was impressive.

Below the picture, a caption read that they were the pioneers of a new punk genre they'd proudly labeled 'Parrot-Punk', which was what was apparently being played for him now.

Snorting at the idiocy of the genre they'd given himself, he wondered what the hell he was getting into when the song he'd selected got over its calm intro. It started out quietly but soon crescendoed into a loud, punkish roar that filled and consumed his apartment with a catastrophic beat that still managed to follow an organized rhythmic pattern. He quickly turned the volume down to something that wouldn't blow his ears out and then tried to resume cooking.

For the most part, it sounded like the same generic punk sounds he'd heard before, but with an odd mixture of instruments he wouldn't have expected a punk band to make use of- and then the vocalist began to sing.

He wasn't sure why, but he'd assumed that Nami's voice was the one he was going to hear shouting out the lyrics, and was taken by complete and total surprise when he realized that the singer was Zoro.

Sanji's first instinct was to laugh.

Zoro's voice was low, rough, raw, and clearly not intended to sing with, but it didn't stop him from bellowing out the words to the song in a manner that was so impactful it made Sanji slowly stop what he was doing entirely.

The song was jaunty and sounded like a rowdy sea-shanty reinvented into an angry anthem of anti-establishment. The overall tune of it sounded happy and carefree, but when he listened to the lyrics he understood just how misleading the tune really was.

There were so many individual components to the song that Sanji initially wasn't sure what he was meant to focus on first. He tried to listen to the song as a whole, and found himself overwhelmed with all the different aspects the song had going for it. The guitar was accompanied with a violin that jilted around the thick, heavy, resounding bass line that thudded in time with the sharp percussion, leading Sanji on as the track progressed towards its end.

It was, he had to admit, very well composed and put together; it went well beyond what he thought Zoro's song-writing capabilities could be, and wondered which one among them was the one who'd actually written it. He stared down at the forgotten ingredients he had splayed before him and doubted his initial ability to be able to make fun of Zoro's singing.

He let the song finish and stood in momentary awe before he decided that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on cooking and listening to the music at the same time. He bookmarked the band's soundcloud and then shut his laptop before finishing his dinner, wondering how his tomorrow would play out and what impact getting into their music would be.

#zosan fanfic #zosan fanfiction #zosan #zoro/sanji #one piece fanfiction #one piece #punk au #modern day au #slow burn #mixed up

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Adobe Cc Collaborative Video Editing Cost

In a corporate environment, it could be several different videos cut from a single, larger set of media. In a feature film, there could be different Premiere projects for each reel of the film. ProMAX is the world leader in integrated workflow technology for creative media organizations. Whether they are creatives working in Film/TV, broadcast, postproduction, education, government, corporate or other industries, our customers trust ProMAX to be at the heart of their creative process. From what I’ve discovered, the free version is perfectly suitable for learning Avid Media Composer.

ISIS 7000 – Requirements for Pro Tools

How many hours a day do actors work?

An actor's work hours may include early mornings, evenings, weekends and holidays. Filming days can run from twelve to as many as twenty hours. Feature films may involve working 5 days a week and can last up to three months of shooting.

Mimiq runs on your Windows or Mac taskbar, allowing multiple editors to collaborate using the same projects, bins and media. Avid Media Composer was the first NLE to add a set of features for bin locking. Although other NLEs have started to implement some of those features, Avid’s bin locking is still the gold standard and the most simple and reliable, so we’ll go into some extra detail of Media Composer’s bin locking tools.

How do I distribute my film?

Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Oct 7, 2019 • 4 min read. “That's a wrap!” When a movie director makes the call, cameras stop rolling, and a film is ready to move into its final phase: postproduction. This the final step in taking a story from script to screen, and the stage when a film comes to life.

Formerly with Avid, David Frasco has over 30 years of experience in editing, post production and building out marketing and sales teams for solutions that have transformed content creation and production workflows. For the past 14 years Frasco served as Avid’s director of enterprise accounts, assisting clients to deploy file-based workflow and production systems. He was instrumental in the debut of game-changing solutions for the past four Olympic games. A large portion learned, or at least honed their skills, by getting a free version, taking it for a spin over a few months and creating some personal projects at home. Film schools may teach the fundamentals of post, but it takes tinkering, exploration and months of practice to become comfortable enough to put in on your resume.

Overestimate the time you'll need

This is an important consideration when looking at collaborating or sharing your session with Pro Tools users not running 12.4. Converting the media from a copyright DVD or CD for example will not work without breaking through a layer of security protection. The process is also illegal and you are better off simply purchasing a digital format of the same media.

An Editor can choose to lock their bin container to the top, bottom, left, or right of the source/record.

Once you're in the web editor, you'll have access to most iWork app tools to make changes.

To borrow an analogy from the biology world, the assistant editor is like the digestive system of the human body.

Once you get over that 25-weddings-a-year mark, it https://www.diigo.com/rss/user/projectivetech makes a lot of sense for you to seriously look at outsourcing your jobs to a company that can guarantee you fast turnaround and consistent results.

Most editors drop footage into their library alphabetically, so any naming convention should keep this in mind.

Every system includes unlimited built-in media management software, file automation, cloud integration, and collaborative features for Adobe, FCP X, Avid, and Resolve.

It supports LTC, RP-188 and D-VITC and real-time timecode extraction from audio channels for accurately synchronizing cameras and other devices. Uniquely, Quadrus synchronizes intelligently with the director’s shot selections in real-time. Using a standard keyboard to switch between sources, dynamic camera selections are tracked, tagged and marked on the timeline, while all feeds are captured. The editing process is accelerated; teams can begin post production closely guided by the original vision of the director. Bins from ‘Avid First’ cannot be opened up in the retail version of Avid Media Composer.

How do I convert a BIN file to ISO?

A BAT file is a DOS batch file used to execute commands with the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe). The danger: A BAT file contains a series of line commands that will run if it is opened, which makes it a good option for malicious programmers.

Uploading a Project

However, over time, people have come to enjoy many of the features- one-touch access to your segment, trim modes, and other features. Media Composer began as a two monitor User Interface- most still use it that way. Now, when Media Composer editors create a new ‘bin container,’ it opens in a floating window that can move to either monitor.

Using LucidLink and Avid Media Composer Print

Nonlinear editing and the Internet were still in their infancy, and there weren't any books on Avid Media Composer, so I did my best to learn by reading the manual. Gain Avid Media Composer (and Avid Symphony) essentials and far beyond, including techniques, tips, tricks, and helpful explanations not found in other publications. Its 435 page task-based approach, and three informative appendices, will help editors at all experience levels gain a deeper, more thorough understanding of the software. Platform's Avid project sharing allows simultaneous and seamless and access to the project media just like an Avid ISIS. The platform uses media composer that enables multiple editors to share platform while working on a project simultaneously without having to pay any extra cost, unlike Avid ISIS or Avid unity.

What does finishing mean in post production?

Post Production Scripts (Pps) A Post Production Script is your film on paper, shot by shot, word by word. Whether you are a Production Company, Broadcaster or Distributor, we can tailor a script that is right for you, including shot-lists, timecodes, dialogue, voiceover, captions, credits and music cues as required.