#Presto Clip

[grrl-beetle]

Nike Air Presto Clip

[grrl-bubble-acid]

Nike Air Presto Clip+

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S3 - "Long Face" song lyrics (Lestat wants his wife back!)

This Count Dracula/IWTV joke was made while ago, too!

Lestat stays wearing his wedding ring, y'all!

The whole reason Lestat is even going on tour with Satan's Night Out is to redirect all negative attention & threats away from Mr. I Own The Night du Lac--Lestat saving Louis' life all over again.

Fake personality, fake face. Who is the REAL Lestat, behind the smoke & mirrors? ("Who are you, Louis?")

Cycles keep cycling!

Go as fun & campy as y'all want, Rolin--so long as y'all keep it GOTHIC and keep it HORROR. Take us to The Witches Place!

"Evil of my evil!" 😭

These vampires have a capacity for enduring--have FUN; and make the most of it; "I'm just getting started~!"

"Clipping of pianoforte, from Italian pianoforte, from piano (“soft”) + forte (“strong”). So named because it could produce a wide range of varied volumes note-by-note, in contrast to older keyboard instruments...." (Wiktionary)

"In classical music, it is customary to describe the tempo of a piece by one or more words, most commonly in Italian, in addition to or instead of a metronome mark in beats per minute. Italian is typically used because it was the language of most composers during the time these descriptions became commonplace in the Western musical lexicon.[6] Some well-known Italian tempo indications include "Allegro" (English "Cheerful"), "Andante" ("Walking-pace") and "Presto" ("Quickly"). This practice developed during the 17th and 18th centuries, the baroque and classical periods." (Wikipedia on Tempo)

Lestat's French Revolution lookin arse. 🙄😂 But I'm surprised by this--he sees Louis as his forte/strength and allegro/cheerful (my happiness/mon bonheur); while he self-depreciates as piano/soft and andante/moderate (but perhaps also more menacing/dramatic).

"Come to me.... You little wh*re~!" 🎶💜

Lestat is feeling JILTED, oof.

Louis & Claudia packed their bags and left your arse to rot in a dump in NOLA--then Lou left his arse in Paris--then Lou left him in a hurricane in NOLA again--oh yeah, Les is biiiiiiiitteeeerrrrr~! XD

🌈🏳️‍🌈🦄

Y'all heard Bi-con Lestat the last time!

In more ways than one! 🦇🩸🍆

THANK YOU, AMC, for being absolutely feral!

[ignalina-c0re]

flashfireeee

WIP folder game

Aaah, my beloved mess of a Pacific Rim AU MOTA/SAS:RH crossover <3 I've been pretty quiet on this front lmao.

Flashfire!Bucky follows a lot of the story beats Raleigh does in PR, except his former co-pilot Curt was not his blood brother, but a foster brother of sorts, and a lover of sorts, and a best friend above all. Bucky is MESSED THE FUCK UP about losing him. Like, waaay messed up. Boy needs therapy and probably medical attention.

That would be an exceptionally stupid way to die, is Bucky's first thought as he looks down from his perch at the top of the Wall, a mile above the bustling hive of activity at the base. He's anchored with a harness and some magnetic clamps, sure, but it would only take one slip, one tired belt or rusted clip, and splat goes his melon on the mist-shrouded concrete below. Wouldn't that be a pity, huh.

He's as careful a worker as any of them, doesn't take stupid risks, and triple-checks his safety every time he goes up the metallic ribs of humanity's latest attempt to build monsters to fight monsters; he is also a worker with absence seizures he hides well, and some fried nerves along his left shoulder, buried under circuitry burns and claw marks: the twitching and cramping of his arm is harder to disguise. His mind comes and goes sometimes. He'll leave his own flailing, limping brain behind for minutes at a time, and come back to the warning creak of his harness, or a supervisor yelling at him for slacking off. He'll watch his own left arm, disconnected, as it pushes against the beam he's anchored to. One of these days, he'll swan-dive off this thing, and not even know it.

Psychological hemispherectomy, the doctors call it. In the real world, the one without monsters and giant robots, they use hemispherectomy to treat epilepsy: they neatly scoop out the malfunctioning half of a person's brain, and presto, you are cured. Bucky didn't get the grace of a neat scoop. He didn't even get to choose which side malfunctioned enough to be excised. Curt was torn from his head bloody and messy, and Bucky feels like he's the malfunctioning side that got accidentally left behind.

Now he's left with odd, aborted thoughts that don't feel his to finish, impulses from nowhere in particular, scents and tastes out of the blue that used to be familiar to Curt, the memories of knowledge he wasn't the one to posses, memories of memories. He remembers the smell of the detergent Curt's birth mom used to use. There's a curious gap, somewhere, that used to be occupied by memories of somebody's heavy-handed boyfriend, a man Bucky's never met, and now doesn't remember. He hums a random tune, and later hears it on the radio in a song from a band Curt used to love.

He misses Curt like a missing limb. His steps falter without him by his side. He takes stupid bets and loses most of them without Curt's uncanny ability to read people right there in the Ghost Drift. He misses not having to speak before Curt moves first. He misses Curt thinking he should duck now, and avoiding a bottle aimed at his head as he does so. He misses the endless feedback loop of ecstasy when Curt pushed him down in their bed and pushed into him, and the Ghost Drift made them just one whole instead of a them.

He misses their idiotic inside jokes, Curt's cheeky grin, his chilling blue eyes, his blunt, scarred hands, always so gentle, and thinks about loosening his rigging. Splat.

"Do you even know how to foxtrot?"

"What the what?"

"Do. You. Know. How. To. Foxtrot. Bucky. It's a dance."

"I know it's a dance dumbass."

"And do you know know it?"

"Why would I?"

"It's the name of our lady angel, if you haven't noticed."

"And…?"

"And and, get off your fat ass and come here, I'm gonna teach you a thing, fuckface."

"Jackass."

"You love me."

"…Unfortunately, I do love you. So, how does it go?"

"Attaboy!"

[doofazoid]

how did Starlight Trio came together?

Flo and Chip first met at the end of Trolls 2, they were both separately captured by Barb and the rock trolls and were taken to Volcano Rock City. During the Just Sing number, they bumped into each other, and started to laugh and dance together as complete strangers, caught up in the music. A quiet moment passed, and they looked into each other's eyes for a moment, a small spark of...something?? (they couldn't quite name it at the time)...flashing between them. But Flo abruptly left to go board the funk ship, worried he would be left behind. He apologized to Chip profusely as he left. In his rush, he accidentally dropped one of his hair clips and left it behind instead. Chip, enamored by this stranger, took the clip and managed to bring it all the way back into the funk ship and return it to him. They talked some more and really hit it off. During their conversation, Chip brought up her childhood dream of forming a band, and Flo, equally charmed by her, happily went along.

As a pair, they formed the first two members of CosmicCalypso, which was unnamed at the time. After Trollstopia was founded, they found Presto and Bell (which are entire stories of their own) before they sought a rock troll. They asked Val, the rock representative of Trollstopia, to pick one of her trolls to join Flo and Chip's crew. Crash happened to be making a scene in the crowd at the time, so he drew Val's attention and she picked him. He was completely confused at first, and was initially unwilling to go with them. But the cheering crowd behind him changed his mind. Maybe this was finally his chance to make it big.

[cutiepieautistic]

Stimming on a budget:

Cut up straws(especially ones in fun colors!) And string or cord can be used to create fidgets similar to pony bead rollers,and so can wooden beads!

You can use nuts and bolts and other metal parts from hardware stores can be used to make metal fidgets!

You can make worry stones out of play doughs,simply just form them into your desired shapes and let them dry to create your worry stones!

You can use leftover fabric scraps,cheap vase fillers or lentils and other small,dry food stuffs or marbles or pony beads/wooden beads to create beanbags!

You can use pipe cleaners and various cheap,large hole beads to create sliding fidgets or tangle-like fidgets!

You can use binder clips or cheap floral wires and cheap beads to create rolling bead fidgets,or use pop tabs and other large hole objects instead!

You can use things from nature to stim,such as stones or acorns!

Use hair gel or various small,nonsharp objects to fill up a zip lock bag. Duct tape it shut,and presto you now have a fidget bag!

You can use small strongly scented objects to fill up a small jar,bottle or tule bag to carry with you. You can use it for olfactory stimming on the go!

You can use cheap scented oils dollar stores/discount stores to scent beanbags,small glass bottles/worry stones etc etc.

You can buy baby teether at discount stores for a cheaper alternative to high price name brand chewy toys!

Certain dollar stores sell chewy silicone beads,and baby teether and silicone straws.

You can use rice,lentils,legumes,other dry food stuffs,acorns,rocks,small metal objects and rocks or other objects that make sounds to fill up a large hole bottle to use for auditory stimming!

Cheap candles make for good olfactory stimming toys,and you can watch them as their wicks burn down for extra visual stimming!

You can use soft,squishy car sponges for squishing,or rubbing against your skin and picking at!

You can use rice,or other small non sharp weighted things to fill up a kid's bath cloth,then sew it up tightly for a weighted stim toy! Add scents with the aformentied scented oils from a discount store or dollar store,or add dried flowers from outside for an even cheaper scent option!

You can use pony beads,duct tape,and flexible plastic woven tubes(you can find these sold as cat toys,even or as party supplies at a dollar store!) To create your own marble meshes/boinks!

You can use clear glue from the dollar store,and a little bit of baking soda melted into hot water to make slime! You can use small containers at the dollar store to store your slime. You can also find scented orbeez or regular orbeez and slime or putties(and so many other stim toys!)at certain dollar stores!

You can silly putty at the dollar store,and use buttons,pony beads or other small non sticky/dirty objects to create your own therapy putty! You can dig those small objects out of the putty to strengthen your motor skills!

Cheese wax can be used similar to putty once you warm it up in your hands! (Just be sure not to play with it so long that it completely melts on your hands!)

Plants and other natural things can be used to stim in multiple ways!

You can use safety pins+ sead beads and other beads with large enough holes to fit onto the needle,and slide all of the beads that fit onto it and close it,to create a spinning bead fidget!

You can use strings of beads from craft store bargian bins for stimming!

You can pick apart felt sheets!

if you fill up plastic or metal containers with small objects that make lots of sounds,then you can use that as an auditory stimming toy!

Shower gel and gel like body washes from discount stores/dollar stores can be used similar to slime! You can also use corn starch and water to create oobleck!

Feel free to add on your own suggestions!

[newsatsix1986]

Stephen Peacocke as Rob Rickards in The Newsreader’s S01E04 - A Step Closer To The Madness 🤴🏻🌟📺

.

.

I’ve shared this photo multiple times, almost an unhealthy amount, if I’m honest. But there’s purpose behind this reposted photo, I promise!

Number One, it is a ripper of a photo. It’s one of those photos that truly captures Rob’s complexities and portrays him in a more serious manner. And Number Two, for these next posts we are adding to my The Newsreader On Location series, and conveniently for me, all three of these posts are in the same location!

It took me embarrassingly long to figure out where this photo was taken. As I’m not a Melbourne local it’s tricky for me to pinpoint geographical spots unless they are glaringly obvious, like the Russell Street former police headquarters, and the Observatory in the Botanical Gardens.

However, when I was looking back on my photos I took in Russell Street back last March, I noticed the corner of a white building that looked awfully familiar. I went on Google Maps, located the corner and hey presto, I came across MacKenzie Street!

In A Step Closer To The Madness, this is the side street in which Rob, Dale, Tim and Ross parked in to go to the pub. It’s a short scene but it was wonderful to find the location. I even screenshot roughly the spot Stephen/Rob stood in for this photo! I also have these screenshots featuring Stephen/Rob from a Nine News Melbourne clip to share in this post also. You can see the others and also Michael Lucas in these too!

I do feel a touch embarrassed as I would have walked right past the MacKenzie Street when I was walking from seeing the plaque for Constable Angela Taylor on the former headquarters to get to Carlton, and on the way back too, and for some reason it didn’t compute for me that this was the street. But I do have to give myself some grace; I’m not a local to the city, and I shouldn’t expect that I’m going to recognise everything. In fact, I think I’m doing a pretty tip top job with the knowledge and geographical distance that I have, and must remember to be kinder to myself as a result! I’m really not doing badly for a girl from regional New South Wales.

Have you been to MacKenzie Street? Did you know this was the spot?

[fermented-writers-block]

Kind of related to my thoughts on Lake forging chrome items from her hair and nail clippings, but before she gets to trimming in the latter case, now I can’t stop picturing her giving herself pretty much actual claws. Just gotta let her nails grow out enough, hammer the ends into shape, and presto!

Of course, if and when she first gave herself claws, it would most definitely lead to Jesse eventually coming to her each time onwards with a new suggestion for what outfit, accessories, or cosplay to pair them with.

And you just know that one would inevitably involve cat ears, heh.

[hollownoire]

Current W.I.P's and Future Plans! Exciting Shit!

A lot of ya'll may have noticed I've been kind of quiet or otherwise preoccupied lately, and that's because there's a ton of really exciting stuff I'm currently working on! :3

There's a lot I wanna share, so for those of you who are interested this post is gonna go over all of the stuff I've been doing lately, a glimpse at what things might look like for me down the line.

TL:DR : Taking art more seriously, tons of art studies and practice, just finished moving, drawing projects and W.I.P's, working on making a YouTube channel and picking up filmmaking?!?!?!?!

So, a bit ago I set off to do this 30 day "learn to draw" practice/routine/program thing by Marc Brunet on YouTube.

I picked it up because I've felt like I lacked a lot of knowledge regarding space and perspective that you'd typically learn practicing the fundamentals of art. I understood that I needed to make things look three dimensional, and had the smallest grasp on how to do that, but the core understanding and experience was something I lacked.

For anyone trying to learn how to draw, I highly recommend checking out this video and giving it a go! I'm not going to go over every single day's exercise I did, partly because I didn't actually finish the whole program... (There's so much to do lately hnngn)

But, I made this thing! Tada!

I'm also delving into making my first drawing timelapses in clip studio with these next couple of projects I'm currently working on...

One of them being a commission for a friend's DnD character, a sort of gambler themed vigilante called "Vermillion" that was made for my DnD setting, Benediction. Here's the progress I have so far on our resident card-thrower:

...Neat, right? This drawing was one of the most recent ones where I'm really trying to challenge myself with perspective, foreshortening, and composition work. I've fallen in love with painting and you'll most likely see it as a permanent addition to my art style.

A lot of that is thanks to Bluebiscuits, who's art style has been a massive inspiration to mine for a very long time. Their art guides have been invaluable to my creative growth, and they deserve all of the support they could possibly get.

They have a patreon, so maybe check that out if you're interested in their work. :>

The other big project I'm working on is actually design work for a very important character I'm making. This is tied into the potentiality of YouTube and all that would entail, so bare with me for this next part.

It's a kind of...mascot, of sorts. An evolution of my avatar(s) that I've been fucking with on and off for years at this point. It's kind of important to get that nailed down, because...well, it's the first thing people are gonna see when they check out my stuff, so, I needed to make a "face" for my art.

Especially if I want to do YouTube. Which...I do! I've wanted to have a creative outlet like that for a while. I have tons of things to say and share, and a lot of it would probably be best off in video format.

Plus, then I get to have an excuse to design an eldritch girl-thing to be on screen and talk for me. Yeah, the second project is a RantSona. I mean...it's more than just a rantsona, but this design has been workshopped to be used for that...while also doing other important things! Like being a hot eldritch horror-lady generally. A suitable vessel for my creative endeavors >:3

Meet "Hollow", or, I guess the early blueprints of Hollow. Hollow-to-be if you will:

Presto! What will most likely end up being my..."Mascot"? My avatar...thing. Me. Me but way cooler.

On the side there you can see some early attempts at making a good "talking mouth", all of which....didn't...look great. Mouths are hard it turns out! Even harder when you're making a puppet for entertainment purposes.

One day, one day there will be a marketable Hollow plush. One day.

I still have tons of work to do, I mean, look at this shit:

I have a lot to do. That drawing up there is the result of like...over a couple of weeks of design-work, reference gathering, and notetaking.

Which you cant get a little looksie at down here:

This was the early framework for giving myself direction. Haven't really ever done something like this for an art project, so it's been really damn cool seeing where it's led me. I'm definitely going to be using this kind of "set up" going forward for my creative endeavors.

In a way it feels like all of my progress so far was put to the test. I buckled the fuck up and really started trying to chisel at something...big. I made myself a work schedule, a posting schedule, and am (trying) to wake up at 9:00 every day to squeeze in as much time as possible.

I'm getting side-tracked, but, yeah! Framework! Moodboards! Milanote:

Milanote is actually fucking GOATED, I'd be absolutely crippled trying to make this project work without it's help. Those two little design sheets I made by hand in clip studio took honest to god days to make, when I could have used Milanote to just make a mood board...reference....thing...instead.

I ended up doing that regardless, cause I needed to make a vibe board to refer to during the building of Hollow's outfit/body design, which is also the stage I'm currently on in the whole process.

Literally all of it is just drag-and-drop. I didn't even need to download all of these images, cause Milanote just lets you drag an image off of a website and shove it in that bitch all easy-like. It's incredible.

You can add text, links, images, yadda yadda yadda, this sounds like a sponsorship but I am in fact just sharing the gospel of this unit of a website. It's good, it might help you, check it out? Do whatever you want.

Anyway, after making a good enough pool of references I started working on Hollow's body/outfit. I'm extra, so I wanted something eye-catching that won't...hopefully...be too distracting in a video. I mean...well, if its distracting in a bad way. I do like having eyes on me, after all. ;]

I've been rambling, so I'm going to try to be more concise from this point onward.

In order to really nail the character design I need to communicate the important bits effectively. That means a strong silhouette, shape language, design, and conveying the character properly. I mean, I'm trying to make an eldritch horror girl, here, if you can't tell that on first glance I did something wrong.

In summary, I gave myself six dummies to practice on. Using my candy pile on milanote I pick and choose various elements from designs I like and incorporate them into my own while keeping in mind the important elements I listed in my outline from earlier.

Ideally, by the time the sixth is finished, I'll have a good idea of what I like and don't like about each one, and can compile all of that into a "Pre-final draft" where I put it alllll together :3

The main thing is I'm trying to make her clothing look like it's a part of her. Kind of organic. Able to be changed at her will, her skin, basically. So there's lots of carapaces and warframe-like skin material there.

I'm very pleased with how it's going so far. Even just the second iteration looks fuckin' fantastic imo. Very Arrancar/Vasto Lorde (From Bleach). Good shit.

That's basically it. I probably skimmed over a lot of stuff, but at this point the caffeine and vyvanse is wearing off, and I'm crashinnnggg.

Before I go, the film I'm making. Yeah, so I needed practice learning a video editing software, especially if I was going to fuck around with a rantsona, so I've been editing a ton of Lethal Company footage I've saved over...quite a long damn time.

I wanted to do something a little bit more on-theme with me, my aesthetic, and the shit I want to do in the future, rather than just mash a bunch of "hehe funnies" together and call it a day. There will still be some of that, it is lethal company after all, but I wanted to be a little bit more dramatic than that...

The result is a meta-ey surreal analog horror style experience with some elements of an ARG. The primary premise is an artist's descent into madness, the game being "haunted", the power of belief, and artistic depictions of very real struggles I and many others have. Depression, isolation, loneliness, feelings of disconnection, and other things of that nature.

I find the contrast very fascinating. I've even reached out to several...oh god what's the word...? Music artist. Not musician. People who make digital music, like game OST's. Those.

I reached out to some people including a close friend of mine and "CAMA", one of the folks who contributed to making the sound overhaul mod "Lethal Resonance" for lethal company, for permission to use music, or in my friend's case make original music for the film. (My sentence structure is falling apart, I'm so sorry I'm almost done).

Cama has a soundcloud, check it out and give them some support, their music makes my ears happy.

Okay. That's it. I don't currently have a set title for this short film yet, but I do have a placeholder (That may just end up being the actual title. I don't fucking know dude, dinner is still cooking.) that I'll leave you with,

"I am not me."

If anybody actually read all of that, congrats! You're now one of my favorite people. Take care of yourself <3

[captainclickycat]

Sometimes when you see people whining that “comedy is getting too woke these days” you assume there’s at least some kind of coherent meaning behind it. Like when someone says that you assume that they’re sad they can’t take pot shots at some marginalised group or other and call it a joke and that’s what they’re complaining about.

But then one day you stumble into the comments section of a Mock the Week clip or whatever and you discover that what “comedy is too woke” actually means is “people who aren’t cishet white men get to be comedians now”.

It reminds me of when the 2016 Ghostbusters film came out and people who hadn’t even seen it were whining about how “feminist” it supposedly was, based solely on the fact that there were women in it. Didn’t really matter what the film was about or what kind of messages it was trying to broadcast, the presence of women just existing in the main roles was enough to make it the feministiest feminist film about feminism to ever feminist.

It’s the same with comedy, as far as these people are concerned. If you’re a comedian who isn’t a cishet white guy, you could tell jokes about treading in dogshit and nothing else, but as long as it’s coming out of your mouth, heigh presto, it’s “woke” now. A black woman could tell jokes that would have these people rolling around on the floor if a white bloke said it, but because she’s the one saying it it’s magically “woke” and unfunny. Women can tell jokes about broad topics that aren’t even stereotypically gender-specific, but because it’s a woman saying it, suddenly it’s its own specific brand of “woman comedy” that men couldn’t possibly be expected to laugh at or relate to.

And I mean, so far so laughable. But it must be a little disappointing for people who actually do want to be socially conscious or draw attention to political issues in their comedy. Must be a bit disheartening to hear that some people are being effortlessly “woke” just by getting up on a stage and existing.

[grrl-beetle]

Nike Presto Clip

[giorgihan]

Noir Désir - Le Vent Nous Portera (Clip Officiel)

Poesie dell'addio

Al vento d'inverno

si consuma e cade presto

la foglia di porpora.

- Manji Takao _ Jisei

[fancoloredglasses]

[RERUN] Dungeons & Dragons Module X: Requiem

As I’ve stated previously, the final episode of Dungeons & Dragons was written, but never produced. I present it for completeness’ sake.

[QUICK NOTE: As the episode was never finished, the images aren’t from the actual show, but a fan-animated video, which you can find on YouTube. The video follows the script as faithfully as possible, but the official script did not write an ending, since it was unclear if a 4th season would be green-lit, so the ending is the video owner’s concept of how to end the campaign]

[ADDITIONALLY: As I mentioned, this is a fan-made video using clipped animations from the series and original animation where it couldn’t be clipped. As it had been over 30 years since the original series, the producer of this episode couldn’t use the voices of the original actors as they would sound MUCH older]

Where the PCs are:

The players walked away from the table after the last adventure, but the DM managed to beg them back to finish the campaign. As with every other break, the party had adventures with another DM, so have gained an additional 10% of their current XP total. This is enough for Hank to reach level 9.

As for the rest of the party: Sheila is level 11, Diana and Presto are level 9, and Bobby and Eric are level 8.

We open on Dungeon Master on top of a tall plateau, calling out to Venger. Venger appears and suggests a test for the party without Dungeon Master’s aid, with “the key” (whatever that is) or the party’s magic items (oh, and their lives) in the balance. And apparently Dungeon Master is a betting…whatever race he is, as he accepts.

Meanwhile, the party is on the run from…

…a 3-headed hydra? Dammit, the DM is making up monsters again! One of the heads grabs Eric by the cape, but Bobby quickly comes to his aid by knocking down a tree. However, it is all too clear that the party is outmatched.

Then Dungeon Master appears, and everyone looks to him for help (Why? It’s not like he’s ever helped before!), but he refuses (saying, “You got into this by yourselves, my young friends. Now get out of it by yourselves!” Talk about tough love!) and leaves.

Hank blasts a hole in the side of a rock face, revealing a cave that the party escapes through, but the Hydra continues to give chase. Eventually, the party comes to a columned structure and baits the Hydra into charging, then scatters so…

Not sure how long that will hold it, but long enough for the party to get away.

OK, I’ll call that a win. The Hydra was much larger than a typical Hydra, but with fewer heads than would normally be the minimum, so…I’m gonna say 225XP

Later, the party comes across a road sign (of sorts)

Since there’s no clear path, Hank decides to go the way that has a downward slope, as they’re more likely to find water, but Eric wants to go the other way, as it might lead to a town (when has finding a town ever ended well for these guys? I mean, they never even bother provisioning before they’re run off) Hank pulls rank, which causes a huge argument. However, Hank calms everyone down, reminding everyone who they’re actually upset with (HINT: his name rhymes with "Engine Faster")

That night, the party laments about Dungeon Master abandoning them when…

Venger shows up and makes a compelling argument for the party to abandon Dungeon Master (what has he done for them, really?) and to ally with him…in exchange for a way home. All they have to do is journey to a tomb, retrieve a key within, and toss it into an abyss (Is it a trap? I think it’s a trap)

Hank refuses, but Eric provides a counter-argument, which Sheila and Presto agree with, meaning once again, the party is split with Presto and Sheila following Eric.

Eric leads his half of the party to…

…a pirate ship? I thought they were going to a tomb. Maybe it’s the tomb of Davey Jones?

The trio climb aboard and Presto magics the ship to allow it to fly to the tomb.

Hank decides to head them off before they can reach the tomb (How? Eric’s group is flying and the party apparently eats every mount they’re given)

…when a Bronze Dragon appears. Diana convinces it to help them.

[For those not familiar, the metallic (bronze, gold, silver,  brass, and copper) dragons are good, with the chromatic (red, black, blue, green, and white) dragons are evil, which explains the colors of Tiamat’s heads]

Team Hank catches up to Team Eric over a volcano near the tomb. Hank tries to convince Eric to abandon his mission, but Eric is determined to go home, so Hank opens fire! Eric defects Hanks shot with his shield, sending it into the volcano, causing a jet of lava to shoot for Eric’s flying boat (which isn’t very fireproof)

The Bronze Dragon flies clear of the eruption

…leaving Team Eric to their Viking funeral. The Bronze Dragon drops Team Hank off, and with no way back due to the volcanoes, they march on toward the tomb.

Meanwhile, Team Eric somehow managed to get off the boat with Presto’s hat (though they don’t show how)

…and they believe Team Hank was engulfed by the lava. Eric decides to press on before anyone else is killed by the Realm.

Meanwhile, Venger and Dungeon Master watch on from afar as Team Hank approaches the tomb.

(more like a tower, but what do I know?)

Hank mopes that he let down Team Eric, when guess who comes over the hill.

There’s an emotional reunion…until Team Eric tells Team Hank they plan on continuing Venger’s quest, then the argument starts up again (hopefully without anyone firing anything) Unfortunately, not two seconds after saying that…

Presto conjures a fireball that takes out the door to the tower tomb and Team Eric runs in. Hank tries to talk Eric down by firing at him again (because that worked so well the last time)

About that time, the tower tomb shakes

…and tentacles emerge from the ground (I’ve seen too much anime to not see where this is going!) The tentacles combine into some kind of Gelatinous Blob that chases the party further up the tower tomb. Hank’s bow and Presto’s magic have no effect on it.

Bobby collapses the staircase behind the party, keeping the Blob from advancing, but now there’s no going back (going back means dealing with the Blob, so it’s not like they would anyway)

I would call that a defeat, but once again I need to figure out a DM-created monster. The closest thing I can find that matches this is the Gelatinous Cube, but this isn’t cube-shaped, plus it’s much larger than the 1000 cubic feet a Gelatinous Cube’s volume would otherwise be. Judging by the relative size, I’m going to guess about 4 times larger, plus magic resistance and (according to the Monster Manual) paralyzation, I’m awarding 5600XP for the blob. Eric gloats that now they have to continue on, much to Hank’s chagrin. 

Meanwhile in the central chamber, Venger and Dungeon Master continue to comment on the party’s progress. Dungeon Master claims that in the end Venger will be the winner.

The pair vanish as the party enters the chamber. The party sees a stone casket in the center, as well as…

…which is odd, as it was daylight (not to mention full of volcanic clouds) outside. The party investigates, and determines it’s another dimension (the “abyss” Venger mentioned earlier (remember that?)) They then see a door with an emblem viewers may find familiar:

Sheila sees a keyhole in the door.

On the lid of the coffin is an image of Venger, but somehow looking noble. Inside the coffin, they find a key. Eric grabs the key and runs to the abyss to throw it in, but Hank immediately stands in his way, saying that Venger can’t be trusted.

At that time, the room shakes in a familiar way, and the Gelatinous Blob makes its triumphant return! Everyone falls to the ground and Eric makes another play to toss the key, but once again Hank stops him. As the party is about to become Purina Blob Chow, Hank realizes that they aren’t the only prisoners in the Realm, but Venger is as well (huh?) Bobby once again uses his club to cave in the area around the Blob, but…

Hank falls into the Abyss! (It’s Kids’ TV; I’m sure he’ll be fine…right? Right? I mean, this never aired so the same rules don’t apply, but…right?)

Unfortunately, no XP this time as the Blob continues to advance, ensnaring the rest of the party. About that time, Venger makes his presence known, demanding Eric throw the key into the abyss (at least Hank will have a key to keep him company)

However, Eric makes a run for the door. Venger attempts to blast him, but the Gelatinous Blob grabs him as well. Eric puts the key into the door

…and the light within fires at Venger, apparently vaporizing him yet again (for 63,580XP…hey, I’m counting it as the party defeating Venger!), as well as firing beams throughout the Realm

...opening portals that the denizens of the Realm (including the various humanoid races) run through (apparently to their own home worlds)

The Gelatinous Blob then vanishes (for another 5600XP) and suddenly everyone remembers Hank went into the abyss. The party immediately run to the opening to see…

Hank precariously hanging on a ledge just below the opening (whew! I mean… told ya!) After they pull Hank up, they see…

OK, so the XP award for once again defeating Venger may have been a bit premature…but not by much! They watch as Venger is transformed (and rolls out! Well, I mean the original voice actor did voice Optimus Prime) into the image on the lid of the coffin.

At that time, Dungeon Master makes his presence known and it’s finally confirmed that Venger is in fact Dungeon Master’s son.

With that, Dungeon Master opens a portal back to the party’s home (so he could’ve done that at ANY time? Yeah, that’s a bit of a dick move), but offers them the chance to stay and help Dungeon Master continue to fight the evil forces within the Realm.

The party, of course, chooses to return (I mean, do you really think these guys wanna have more sessions with this DM?) Bobby has a tearful goodbye to Uni.

However, Presto chooses to remain, as he wants to become an actual wizard, and remembers that Venger (disguised as Merlin) offered to teach him.

With that…

THE PARTY (except Presto) FINALLY GOES HOME!

And we have the resolution of a couple of unresolved threads, including Bobby reuniting with Terri (there was a “Bobby’s First Crush” subplot I didn’t explore in my review of that episode), as well as Presto returning to Varla.

The party earned 80,605XP, or 13,434XP each, for their final adventure. Not enough to level anyone up, but at least they got closure.

[levysoft]

Tutto ciò che Google ha annunciato all'I/O 2025

La più grande conferenza per sviluppatori di Google dell'anno non ha deluso le aspettative, con annunci di nuovi prodotti e aggiornamenti relativi ad Android, Chrome, Ricerca Google, Gemini e Gmail. Ecco tutto ciò che è stato annunciato al Google I/O 2025.

Modalità AI nella Ricerca Google

Google ha iniziato a distribuire una nuova scheda "Modalità AI" a tutti gli utenti negli Stati Uniti, consentendo loro di effettuare ricerche sul Web utilizzando il suo chatbot Gemini AI.

Quest'estate Google testerà nuove funzionalità in modalità AI, tra cui la ricerca approfondita e le funzionalità di acquisto.

Il progetto Starline ora è Google Beam

Originariamente una cabina per video chat 3D, è stata rinominata Google Beam e presto verrà lanciata all'interno di un dispositivo a marchio HP, utilizzando un display a campo luminoso e sei telecamere per creare un'immagine 3D della persona con cui si sta chattando durante una videochiamata.

Traduzione linguistica quasi in tempo reale in Google Meet

Questa funzionalità utilizza l'intelligenza artificiale per fornire traduzioni istantanee durante le riunioni, consentendo ai partecipanti di comunicare senza problemi in diverse lingue.

Gmail riceve un importante aggiornamento dell'intelligenza artificiale

Le risposte intelligenti in Gmail ora sono più personalizzate e utilizzano le informazioni della posta in arrivo e di Google Drive per elaborare risposte più precise e in linea con il tuo tono.

Gemini può anche gestire attività come l'eliminazione o l'archiviazione di e-mail e perfino rilevare quando stai organizzando una riunione e ti chiederà di condividere la tua pagina di prenotazione.

Gemini Live è ora disponibile per tutti

Gemini Live con fotocamera e condivisione dello schermo è ora gratuito per tutti su Android e iOS, così puoi puntare il telefono verso qualsiasi cosa e parlare.

Imagen 4 e Veo 3

Il nuovo modello di generatore di immagini offre una generazione di testo migliorata e supporta nuovi formati di immagine.

Google ha inoltre lanciato Veo 3, un generatore video basato sull'intelligenza artificiale che consente la generazione simultanea di video e audio, mentre Veo 2 include ora strumenti come il controllo della telecamera e la rimozione di oggetti.

Lancio di Flow: app di intelligenza artificiale per la produzione cinematografica

Utilizza Veo, Imagen e Gemini per creare videoclip di otto secondi basati su prompt di testo o immagini. Include strumenti per la creazione di scene, che consentono agli utenti di unire le clip e produrre video più lunghi generati dall'intelligenza artificiale.

Gemini 2.5 ottiene la modalità "Deep Think"

Questa modalità di ragionamento avanzata è progettata per compiti complessi come matematica avanzata e programmazione. È in grado di considerare "ipotesi multiple prima di rispondere" e sarà disponibile inizialmente solo per i tester fidati.

Xreal e Google collaborano al Progetto Aura

Un nuovo paio di occhiali intelligenti che utilizzano la piattaforma Android XR per dispositivi di realtà mista. I dettagli sono ancora limitati, ma saranno dotati di integrazione con Gemini, ampio campo visivo e fotocamere e microfoni integrati.

L'assistente AI universale di Google diventa sempre più proattivo

Ora Project Astra può completare le attività per conto tuo, anche senza una richiesta diretta, e può scegliere di parlare in base a ciò che vede.

Google aggiunge Gemini a Chrome

Gli abbonati a Google AI Pro e Ultra potranno utilizzare il pulsante Gemini in Chrome per chiarire informazioni complesse o riassumere il contenuto di qualsiasi pagina web.

In futuro, Gemini funzionerà su più schede e navigherà sui siti web per conto tuo.

Un nuovo piano “AI Ultra” da 250 dollari al mese

Il nuovo abbonamento di Google offre accesso ai modelli di intelligenza artificiale più avanzati dell'azienda e limiti di utilizzo più elevati per app come Gemini, Flow e altre ancora. Include anche l'accesso anticipato a Gemini in Chrome e Project Mariner.

Il nuovo strumento di Google utilizza l'intelligenza artificiale per creare interfacce per le app

Disponibile su Google Labs, "Stitch" può generare interfacce utilizzando temi selezionati e una descrizione.

È anche possibile incorporare wireframe, schizzi e screenshot di altri progetti di interfacce utente per guidare l'output di Stitch.

Aggiornamenti delle password in Chrome

Entro la fine dell'anno, Chrome sarà in grado di offrire aggiornamenti della password se rileva che la tua password è stata compromessa.

Il browser sarà in grado di "generare una sostituzione efficace" e aggiornarla automaticamente sui siti web supportati.

[daveinediting]

So I'm arriving at some rules—guidelines, most likely—I'm developing as I use AI to bring still images of real events to life.

Why would I do that?

Because I tried this out in a number of different ways already and definitely if what I'm doing is fiction then no rules need apply. If, however, what I'm doing is straight up nonfiction then, yeah.

Rules.

Guidelines at the very least.

What about something in-between, then? Something real... ish?

That's someone else's call and, as a practical matter, doesn't require any more skill on board than I'm already carrying.

But nonfiction?

Yeah.

That takes more consideration. More effort.

And some rules to guide the process.

For example, my current experiment is to take frame grabs of all the footage shot at a specific location in a show. Usually that's one frame grab per clip. If the photographer pivots to a second or a third angle or framing within that clip, though, I'll grab single frames from those shots, too. Anything that will reasonably look different from everything else with one, at most two AI-conjured clips from each still frame. And then all those clips get uprezzed through Topaz to full HD resolution because RunwayML outputs files at 1280x768.

For some reason.

Still... Presto! Like that I have "new" footage from existing footage. And in that process I'm discovering some rules, guidelines, to help navigate the way forward. So far, these rules concern themselves with preventing the AI from creating stuff that's just. not. there. For example, the camera moves available to me are Tilt, Vertical, Zoom, Pan, Horizontal, and Roll. As I manipulate these values, a target frame is created to show me how and where that frame will land. Therefore, in order to avoid AI-imagined space, no matter how I manipulate the camera controls, the target frame has to land inside the boundaries of the starting frame.

Ish.

Because anything outside that starting frame is conjured by the AI. Pan left or right without zooming in first and the AI will show you what it imagines is there. Same deal with moving vertically above or below the starting frame, moving horizontally beyond the right and the left of the starting frame. The AI makes that stuff up.

Don't get me wrong. It's great stuff. Fantastic stuff.

It absolutely looks legit but it's just not Real.

And if Real is the objective...

Then rules apply.

I'd say "guidelines" but it's useful for me to think of these as Rules in order to force myself into thinking about the boundaries of each shot every time I take control like this. 'Cause this is gonna come up. I'm gonna get the question. And I'm gonna need an answer that's backed by genuinely intentional thinking.

Once during my early tests, the AI panned left of what's inside the frame of Breughel's "The Census" to reveal another street in the neighborhood. Another time, The AI panned hard left of The Last Supper to reveal an infinite extension of the Disciple's table packed with diners dressed as French waiters. And then later I was working with a frame grab of a restaurant along a canal in Venice. The AI camera immediately panned left to reveal a nearby canal vectoring directly away from the restaurant into the distance.

No idea if that's what was actually there... it looked fantastic, though.

But this brings up another rule: if there's no way to know if it's right then it's not right.

Okay. Two rules so far:

1) End the shot within the bounds of the starting frame, and

2) If there's no way to know if something new isn't right then it's not right.

The third rule actually relates to the second under a specific circumstance. If the frame grab includes someone standing in front of an object and then they move away from the object...

That's a No Fly Zone.

Why?

In my most recent case, I have a host standing in the middle of a room at a museum. He considers the sculpture in the middle of the room then walks away. Nice. Simple. Effective.

The only thing is he's standing in front of a painting hanging on the wall behind him... and when he walks away the full painting is revealed. Only... the original shot has him in place for the duration of the shot. So there's no way to know if the revealed painting is what was actually painted...

Or simply looks it could've been painted.

There's just no way for the AI to "know" so this type of shot is an immediate non-starter.

So.

That's what I've got so far. Three rules when bringing frame grabs to life with AI in a 100% nonfiction context:

1) End the shot within the bounds of the starting frame

2) If there's no way to know if something new isn't right then it's not right, and

3) If the frame grab includes a person who's standing in front of an object and you want that person to move away left or away right of that object... no. Don't even try because the AI has no way of knowing what to reveal and, unless the wall is a blank solid surface or color...

See Rule #2

😊

#runwayml #topaz labs #ai #artificial intelligence #rules #guidelines #intention #fiction #nonfiction #authenticity #real #reality

[micro961]

Ivan Francesco Ballerini “Linea d’ombra”

Il primo singolo che anticipa il nuovo disco di inediti

Una preghiera di pace di amore

Un viaggio che alla guerra risponde con la poesia Una speranza per le nuove generazioni

Inizia da questo primo singolo il viaggio verso il nuovo disco di inediti del cantautore toscano Ivan Francesco Ballerini che torna a distanza di due anni con nuove canzoni. In rete il video ufficiale diretto da Nedo Baglioni con le tavole disegnate da Leonardo Marcello Grassi.

La penna si è mossa assai prima dei conflitti a cui stiamo assistendo. La penna di Ivan Francesco Ballerini non si ferma dal 2019, anno del suo esordio con il disco “Cavallo Pazzo” uscito per la Radicimusic Records. Uscirà molto presto questo suo quarto lavoro di inediti dal titolo emblematico “La guerra è finita”, un monito,

una speranza, un urlo di pace dal peso poetico e dal suono romantico di ballate folk dai contorni a pastello, come ci ha abituati sin dal suo esordio.

Ad anticipare tutto ecco il primo singolo estratto dal titolo “Linea d’ombra”.

In rete troviamo il video ufficiale diretto da Nedo Baglioni, una clip densa di semplicità che cattura la potenza visionaria dei disegni firmati dal fumettista Leonardo Marcello Grassi (Dark Horse Comics di Milwaukie, OR.)

“LINEA D’OMBRA” - Official Video

Questa canzone parla di un viaggio, sia fisico che spirituale, un viaggio a cui non possiamo sottrarci. Non si sa esattamente dove ci condurrà e non è dato saperlo. L’unica certezza è che al ritorno nulla sarà più come prima, la nostra vita, le nostre convinzioni, i nostri amori, insomma tutto quel fardello che ci teneva inchiodati per terra, mentre la nostra mente e il nostro cuore ci urlavano disperatamente di volare... volare liberi.

«Quando lessi, anni or sono, il bellissimo racconto “La linea d'ombra" di Joseph Conrad, ne rimasi subito affascinato. Il racconto descrive quel momento della vita, capitato ad ognuno di noi, in cui ci accorgiamo che per qualche motivo, stiamo lasciandoci alle spalle il periodo della giovinezza e la stagione bellissima dell'adolescenza per entrare a pieno titolo nella cosiddetta età adulta.». I. F. Ballerini

Ivan Francesco Ballerini

Biografia

Ballerini Ivan Francesco (Manciano, 15 gennaio 1967), nato nell’entroterra maremmano, sin da piccolo ha mostrato uno spiccato interesse per la musica, la letteratura e il canto. Suo padre, Romano Ballerini, è un noto pittore, conosciuto grazie alla mostra di pittura di Manciano divenuta, col passare degli anni, un punto di riferimento per moltissimi pittori provenienti da tutto il mondo.

A casa di Ballerini sono stati ospiti pittori davvero illustri: Annigoni, Barbisan, Guttuso, solo per citarne alcuni. Sua madre è stata una insegnante, ed è a lei che, sul finire delle scuole elementari, Ivan chiese di acquistare un pianoforte per poter così iniziare a studiare musica.

Nel 2019 esordisce con il disco “Cavallo Pazzo”, un concept - album, interamente dedicato agli Indiani d’America. Il disco, realizzato negli studi di registrazione Brahms di Cavriglia, a quattro mani col chitarrista e arrangiatore Alberto Checcacci. Nello stesso anno riceve un prestigioso Diploma di Merito dalla casa editrice Aletti – Mogol, venendo selezionato con il brano “Preghiera Navajo”, una vera e propria preghiera laica, in cui l’autore immagina un punto di contatto tra i nativi americani e l’uomo bianco, usurpatore di terre e di libertà.

Nel 2021 esce il suo secondo disco di inediti intitolato “Ancora Libero”. Si tratta denso di riferimenti all’attualità: solitudine, amore, nuove tecnologie e tanto altro ancora.

Ad ottobre del 2022, per la casa discografica Milanese Long Digital Playing, Ballerini esce col suo terzo album dal titolo “Racconti di mare – la via delle spezie”, un album molto impegnativo che narra di un viaggio, non si sa se fisico o spirituale, ma un viaggio che ogni uomo, giunto ad un dato punto della sua vita sente il bisogno di compiere. La direzione artistica si riconferma nelle mani di Alberto Checcacci e ad affiancarlo troviamo: Alessandro Golini (violino), Alessandro Melani e Luca Trolli (batteria), Giancarlo Capo (chitarra, basso, arrangiamenti, cori), Stefano Indino (fisarmonica), Silvio Trotta (chitarra acustica, chitarra battente, mandolino) Marco Lazzeri (tastiere e pianoforte) Lisa Buralli (voce solista e cori).