#nitr

[alabasterandpitch]

Fuckin hell Weeks there is NO need to go this hard with the banger imagery but I am here for it.

Funny how we find ways to relate to characters nothing like ourselves

[idvotd]

The Identity V design of the day is:

Mechanic: Nitre (B-Tier)!

"Things I hate: damp detonators, gunpowder impurities, expired orange juice and living traitors."

[fortunato-official]

love is in the air? wrong. potassium nitrate

[magnus-marmot]

Transmutations in TMAGP

Since most of the incidents deal with change and transformation, I'd like to collect my thoughts on their nature in one post. So I'll be explaining some ideas on the alchemical processes taking place. First I'll explain a (relatively) simple Tria Prima model, and then I'll try to break down some processes and symbolism we see in the show. This will be really long, like excessively long. Look, I'll throw in some nice alchemy pictures to make it more palatable. Feel free to skip the Tria Prima part if you've been reading my previous theories, I'm not really covering anything new in that.

Transmutations broken down with the Tria Prima

I think the most simple way to view it would be with the Tria Prima. Many of you are probably aware of the Body/Mind/Soul division, and while it's extremely simplistic, it actually works for us here.

From Alchymia complementum (1630)

We have the Body, or the Salt 🜔, which is the core, the physical shell, the metaphorical earth that the change is inflicted upon. In an alchemical transmutation, Salt must first be separated from the volatile components by burning or decomposition, and in the end they are brought back together. In TMAGP, Salt would be the physical, grounded part, such as a human body, a Bonzo suit or a creepy toy. You can think of it as a vessel.

Then we have the Mind, or the Mercury ☿. This is trickier to break down because the alchemists saw it as so many different things, but you can think of it as the essence. Not just the essence of the subject, but of everything. It's the malleable and volatile part of the subject, but it's also the intangible thoughts, concepts and archetypes in the collective unconscious, the metaphorical water or air that flows through everything. It's both the prima materia and the dissolving principle. In TMAGP, this would be the the changing ideas and beliefs around a concept, most recently demonstrated in how Henrich Unheimlich came to be, but you can see it in a lot of the cases. It's why all the supernatural phenomena reflect not only fears but also expectations and other strong feelings. Why the lack of clocks and purpose creates timeless liminal spaces, why the fear and reverence given to Bonzo made him what he is. It's what the Archivist uses as a fuel for its human transmutations and what the Magnus Institute tried to tap into for their Magnum Opus.

And finally we have the Soul, or the Sulphur 🜍, which seems to confuse people the most because of what we usually think of as the "soul". It's not the entirety of a human psyche, just the active, conscious and feeling part. But it's also the soul of all matter, in that it gives them life and allows active change. It's the metaphorical fire. Alchemists thought that Sulphur can be used to coagulate Mercury, to give it form. In TMAGP, Sulphur would be the catalyst that initiates the transmutation. It can be literal fire (like what possibly created Heinrich Unheimlich), or just a metaphorical fire, such as the violent act that gave birth to Bonzo.

From Hermaphroditic Child

There are also clearly two types of transmutations in the show. First we have the active ones, caused by fire or intent. Then we have the passive ones, caused by slow dissolution and characterised by coldness. These mirror the active (Celestial Nitre or Sol) and passive (Celestial Salt or Luna) principles of alchemy. It also evokes solve et coagula, where all matter is constantly dissolved and coagulated. As alluded to before, Mercury is what dissolves and Sulphur is what coagulates, and their purified counterparts in Luna and Sol form a harmonious unity when brought together. Which brings them back to their Salt.

A lot of the cases can be broken down into Salt/Mecury/Sulphur, but it's not an entirely clean model because many of the transmutations go wrong or are incomplete. Next I'll try to break down the actual processes based on some common symbolism and what we're given in the show.

Transmutation stages and common symbolism

For this I'll assume the most basic version of the Great Work, which consists of three stages: nigredo, albedo and rubedo. There are loads of different stages and processes, but they generally fall under these three. The cases in TMAGP rarely involve the entire process, and some are clearer than others.

From Pretiosissimum Donum Dei (1475)

Sealed vessels

First of all, I've noticed that a lot of these transmutations take place in a sealed vessel of some kind, much like they do in alchemy. This can be anything from a Bonzo suit to a closed Victorian carriage, a coffin, a locked room (such as a prison cell, a lock museum, a room in a reptile emporium, a virtually made zoom call room, the Archivist's office), a closed off liminal space (like a secret garden with no exit, a pier enveloped in fog, a brutalist building trapped in a void), or even a human body (like in Alice's dream, like alnewman's thigh, or like Herr Schmidt's brain).

Nigredo (blackening)

The stage where matter is broken down, burned or decomposed. Transformation can only occur once the old has been reduced to ashes so that something new can be born from it. Spiritually it involves ego death, stripping down the conscious thought and dissolving into the unconscious. Common symbolism/imagery include death, corpses, skeletons, dismemberment, rot, toads (ie. the decomposing prima materia), crows, ravens, Saturn/lead, darkness/night, indistinguishable black mass (massa confusa), flooding, drowning (especially of the king), eclipse, the green lion (=mercury) swallowing the sun.

From Philosophia Reformata (1622), coloured by Adam McLean

Here are some examples I've found in TMAGP:

Calcination or decomposing matter with heat (either open fire or a more subdued, natural heat). While there are cases with proper fire, heat seems to be the important factor here. In her dream, Alice describes the unbearable heat that envelops her when she's stuck inside her heart. We also get the exterminator at the reptile shop complaining about the heat when she's stuck in the room with an infection (=decomposing flesh), Lady Mowbray's caterer is cooking with high heat when his experience begins, Magnus mentions the unreasonably warm weather when he encounters the carriage, Menke was "sweating buckets" in the Bonzo suit, Mrs. Locke keeps forgetting to get someone to turn the heater off, and so on. Heat is what begins the transmutation process in these cases.

Dissolution into the mercurial waters. This is usually what drowning signifies in the alchemical imagery, and also what I think it signifies in TMAGP. Especially the drowning of the old king, which we're straight up given in the lock museum. Bonus points to the pest control lady who was about to be drowned in snakes, an extremely common symbol for Mercury. We also have the tech review guy speaking about the screen dissolving, and one of the transcripts has an instance of the Archivist dissolving into the wind. (No one can convince me that these word choices are coincidental.) And then we get some dissolving egos. The guy with his cursed dice seems to be losing his identity and starts seeing himself only as an archetype of a stranger who tricks people into rolling the dice, and poor Kyla's ego was dissolved into the emergent mind of Liverpool. We also have several cases of people who get lost in liminal spaces (such as the pier or the service station, even the custodian at Hilltop) and then get their identities dissolved. I don't think it's a coincidence that this happens at liminal locations, which are very aligned with the concept of Mercury. Especially if there's an element of water present. These themes are also usually accompanied by mentions of coldness, which tracks with Mercury's properties being wet and cold.

From Splendor solis, coloured by Adam McLean

Descending or entering a dark space, both of which align with the idea of descending into the collective unconscious or the "dark night of the soul". The darkness is pretty straight-forward. It's the violinist getting lost in the dark woods, Doctor Webber entering the dark garden, Patricia repeatedly talking about being in a dark space/world with her baby. The descent is more incidental, but I'm keeping an eye out for patterns. For example, the old couple had to descend to enter the lock museum, the food critic descended the alleyway to Hungry Man's Grill, a lot of descending into basements. It's a recurring theme but could be meaningless.

Infections or putrefaction, or the literal decomposition of living matter. We've got our fair share on the account of this being a horror podcast, but this should be seen as a transitory stage in a transformation. Some good examples include Dr. Webber's body breaking down and decomposing to give way to his new plant self, or Alesis's body becoming paralysed and moldy to allow the coral to grow. Magnus's colleague being ingested in the carriage, Bonzo's victims putrefying inside the suit, Alice/Sam's rotting corpse in her dream, the rotting food in Hungry Man's Grill (this one seems interesting, because the restaurant seems to be stuck in the putrefaction stage and the food refuses to decompose even when the guy leaves).

Sunset as a manifestation of the green lion devouring the sun (gold dissolving into mercury), which symbolises the onset of ego death or the beginning of the blackening (or the night). This has been emphasised in two cases. Firstly, the crypto bro from ep. 13 looks at the sun setting behind the sea (=Mercury) twice when making decisions on the trading app, and secondly, Lady Mowbray's hunt begins when the sunset colours everything crimson. Both of which are pivotal moments for these characters' personal transformation.

From the Rosarium Philosophorum

Albedo (whitening)

This stage marks the purification of matter through repeated washing, distillation and the like. It's where we begin to see the true essence of the prima materia and will be able to separate it from the rest. This stage is often associated with Luna, silver, or the White Elixir/Tincture. In psychology, it's where you discover and reconcile with your Shadow (or Animus/Anima) in the unconscious. Common symbolism includes doves, swans, lilies, whiteness, vibrant colours and eyes (known as the peacock's tail stage, though it's technically the transitional stage between nigredo and albedo), water of life, bathing, dawn (as in "always darkest before"), light emerging from the darkness, the queen, the moon (Luna), Anima (in the Jungian sense).

From the Mellon Collection

Some examples in TMAGP:

Purification or washing as an intentional attempt at removing impurities. Daria making adjustments to her painting in an attempt to perfect her own body. The violinist washing his hungry violin with blood in order to purify the music it produces. Alesis attempting to rid herself of her own impurities by growing a new self out of a coral (a lot of water and moonlight in that one, which fortifies the connection for me). Since purification is also often attributed to mercurial water, a lot of the water symbolism fits here too.

Colours, as seen in Daria's vibrant tattoo. Also the colours rushing into the liminal service station and the odd colours seen in the fog surrounding the pier. It's fitting, but not a very prevalent theme. Unless you count all ink, in which case it's very prevalent.

Encountering one's Shadow, which is a big theme in both TMA and here. Coming to terms with your inner darkness, fears and desires is what purification is about in spiritual alchemy. I think this is what the Archivist is doing. It's an embodiment of the Shadow, covered in eyes, here to distill and purify your fear and then project it back to you (killing you in the process). Although it's up to debate whether it feeds on the purified, distilled fear or the impurities left behind, it does leave something to be coagulated into the physical manifestation. (It's also worth noting that the compulsion has a lot of water imagery attached to it in the transcripts, things like "the dam breaks", "words gush out", "pouring out of her unstoppably like a river". And just to be extra clear, rain, dew, seas and rivers are all common symbols for Mercury.) Other than that, there are plenty of doubles or reflections in the show. We've got Darrien and his alternate darker self, the Millenium Dome construction worker's clone, Herr Schmidt's actual Anima crying to be let out of his brain, the horror blogger seeing his traumatic memories projected onto the big screen, Dr. Webber encountering his late wife in the garden, Alesis meeting her Piece in a dream, the list goes on. The important part for purification is the acceptance or healthy integration of the Shadow, which usually takes a twisted turn in TMAGP.

Dreams are often attributed to Luna, and they function as a link to the subconscious. In TMAGP, many of the dreams are linked to an epiphany, though it's not always a purifying one. Especially on the TMA side. Though I think the tech reviewer's meditation in the locked room could be seen as a form of purification. I think dreams and meditation have a wider metaphysical effect that I won't go into here.

The queen or the mother would go more into discussions on characters than processes, but I'll mention it here anyway since the albedo stage is most often equated with Luna and the emergence of the queen. We've got a couple of mothers, most notably Patricia (probably not Rupey's real mother but anyway) who's feeding her baby with her own blood (this is often symbolised by a pelican which were believed to bite their own chests to feed their young). Alesis is also very nurturing, and her entire case screams lunar symbolism. And the most obvious queen would be Lady Mowbray, who's described as a matriarch. But the most interesting one of all is our very own Celia, who fits the lunar archetypes of motherhood, secrets and deception to a T.

From the Ulrich Ruosch Manuscript

Light in the dark is pretty straightforward. Patricia describes Rupey as bringing light to her dark world, in the Hilltop custodian's memories there's a sudden light coming from one of the shops in the dark shopping centre, the computer monitor sheds light into the dark zoom room, the ritual Sam witnessed radiates yellow light into the dark. (Though the yellow makes it more in line with the citrinitas or yellowing stage, which is specifically the solar light shining through instead of the lunar reflection. It's a frequently forgotten stage with little direct symbolism so I thought it would make more sense to omit it, but just know that depictions of sunrise or yellow light might lean towards the citrinitas stage between albedo and rubedo.)

Rubedo (reddening)

The final stage marks the completion of the Work and the emergence of the Philosopher's Stone. It includes the conjunction of the opposites and the coagulation of the ultima materia. In psychology, it involves the integration of the unconscious and the ego into a singular self. Common symbolism for the reddening includes a phoenix, the king, a crown, the sun (Sol), gold, red or purple dye, red roses or poppies, blood, trees (specifically the Philosopher's tree) and lions. The union of the opposites (Sulphur and Mercury, silver and gold, Animus and Anima etc.) is symbolised by a marriage of the king and queen, sun and moon, red and white flower, two lions fighting, a lion (sun) devouring a serpent (moon), procreation, and so on.

From The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine

Examples in TMAGP:

The union of opposites is a continuation of encountering one's Shadow, and sometimes this part is counted into albedo (or citrinitas) as well. But the conjunction can only happen once you've separated and purified the components, or made peace with them. Dr. Webber is unified with his late wife (queen) in the garden, and the two are coagulated into one tree. In Alice's dream, she's also unified with her late husband (king) into the same body, though the process is incomplete and has to begin again (probably because she's not able to perform the separation, which is thematically fitting and painful for my soul). The conjunction is also present in the union of Sulphur and Mercury (or their purified versions Sol and Luna), which I discussed in the Tria Prima section. And I currently think it's also what Fr3-d1 or the entity inhabiting it is trying to do with the data it's collecting.

Blood and dye, which are symbolic of the liquids that give the Stone its crimson color. Lots of blood to go around, but the most relevant case would once again be the violin and the blood that purifies it. Purple dye reminds me of one case alone, and it's notable that the more purple paint there was on Bonzo's cards, the more present he became. It's not entirely clear to me when Bonzo actualised into what he is now, so it's difficult to say whether that was intentional. Though the episode was written by Alex, which means I'm much more willing to read intentional alchemy symbolism into it.

Devouring is big in alchemical iconography, and it's big in TMAGP too. We've got masses of people biting into each other (the violinist's audience and the hungry non-people in the service station), obviously Bonzo eating people (and letters), Lady Mowbray's cannibal party, little German kid eating a mum sandwich, demon baby eating his "mum" just cause (bringing us back to purification with blood), and Hungry Man's Grill which we can't prove isn't serving human meat. Either way, it's often used as a metaphor for the conjunction.

Trees have also only popped up twice (as far as I recall), but in compelling cases. First is Dr. Webber, who by now has gone through all the stages. Second is Newton's Arbor Philosophorum, which is usually formed with Mercury or Silver. He feeds its fruit to his dog (another act of devouring and union), who begins to grow into a tree itself. Newton truly was on the precipice of something.

From the Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine

Conclusion

Whew, I'm never writing something like this again [bzzt]. If you read this far, wow. I'm impressed, and I appreciate you. Did the pictures help? Or make it worse? Let me know.

PS. I recognise that I might be drawing parallels where there are none, but that's what I do. I hope you got something out of it. Also do not ask me what's up with Needles. I have no idea what to make of him.

[honesty-my-policy]

i'm so infuriated

I'm not Jewish and I'm so infuriated at the world.

I can't imagine how it must feel to be Jewish. Especially as this entire ordeal has made me dive more into educating myself about Jewish history and how the world truly has always blamed everything on the Jews.

How is everything their fault?

Even the crucifixion of Christ has been blamed on the Jews when it was a Roman tradition?

Martin Luther who is known as one of the original reformers in Christianity's history wrote a book called "On the Jews and Their Lies". In which he advocated for burning down synagogues, Jewish homes and if that didn't work, Jewish people!

Apparently, somehow, Jews caused the Black Death despite the fact that the most predominant modern theory is that due to climate change in Asia, rodents began to flee the dried out grasslands to more populated areas which ended up spreading the infected fleas they carried, thus spreading the disease. The fleas infected not just rats but ground rodents in general, so once the rats migrated the fleas could jump to any ground rodent and the infection spread.

Some of the craziest modern stuff though has come mostly from the Middle East (i wonder why)...

Apparently, Israel has remote control sharks that can attack Egyptian civilians and tourists, at least that's what a Governor of Egypt things. source

According to a fundamentalist group of Muslims called the Wahhabis, the Jews have a secret ally they've been conspiring with... the Gharqad tree. A tree, they call it the Jew tree. source Which is identified as either nitre bushes or Lycium which is part of the nightshade family, it's such a thing that the TREE WIKI PAGE TALKS MORE ABOUT THAT THAN THE TREE ITSELF source

Palestine once said that Israel was breeding super rats that could grow twice the size of a normal rat - just to chase Arabs out of Jerusalem, note this was in like 2008, where are these super rats NOW? source

The Nation of Islam (an organization) accused Jews of tricking people into thinking slavery exists??????? Sorry, "still" exists. This was originally in 1996, the gall this motherfucker had in 1996 to say "Where is the proof?" - oh, his name is Louis Farrakhan btw and there is an entire section dedicated to him on the anti-slavery website iabolish.org - his page

Also, Pokémon is a Zionist conspiracy plot to overthrow Saddam Hussein, at least, in 2001 that was what some Iraqi security personal reported. source

listen... I won't lie. I love a good conspiracy theory because to be honest, the amount I trust my government or anyone in authority is so small that just about anything could come out as true and I'd be so un-phased.

but blaming the Jews for everything when they make up an estimated 0.2% of the population versus say the 23% that is Muslim? Which there are approximately 50 Muslim-Majority countries in the world, though depending on sources the exact number differs.

If anything Christianity (32%) and the unaffiliated (16.3%) should be eyed at. Also, how come no one ever gives the folk religion people a hard time? Not that anyone deserves to be given a hard time as long as they aren't hurting anyone, it just boggles my mind to be honest.

sources for numbers cited came from this website: https://worldpopulationreview.com/

anyway, woke up this morning and just wanted to say this cause I'm mad and I want to show my support but also call out stupid people. I'm here to fight for Israel and the Jews, fuck off pro-palestine simps.

[otherworldseekers]

Meet Cinnabar (Cyberpunk Noir AU)

Cinnabar is a courtesan who works in Solution 9's pleasure district. At times she might simply be providing entertainment at a high class party, or playing the part of a hostess in a club, or serving as the exclusive companion of a rich citizen. Having spent several years in the role, Cinnabar is one of the highest ranking courtesans in the district.

Modeled after a race that went extinct long ago in the Storm Surge, Cinnabar has many features which can be customized to her client's tastes. She is highly skilled in a number of areas including musical performance, dance, games of strategy, and conversation in addition to her expertise in providing physical pleasure.

Due to her high rank, Cinnabar has some control over the choice of her clients and which sexual services she offers. Her cybernetics are tuned to heighten her own pleasure during intercourse and may be set to turn pain into pleasure. Her lack of regulator signals to her clients that she no longer offers death as a service.

Cinnabar works for the famous procurer of the Solution 9 underworld, a man named Nitre. She is currently under contract as the exclusive companion of a rich businessman, but lately she has grown bored of him. Who will be the highly sought after lady's next conquest? And should she be concerned about the rumors spreading of a newcomer to the city who bears a striking resemblance to her?

[incorrectklavekatz]

Mike Morton Deductions (short analysis on his dynamic with Bernard)

I feel like this deduction isn’t talked about enough? I know I touched on this in a previous post, but Mike and Bernard’s dynamic is WEIRD. I’d love to know what other people’s opinion on this is because I’ve seen a couple of different takes, I think it can be fairly confidently stated that Mike was groomed by Bernard to some degree, at the very least emotionally.

“How people call each other often reflects the degree to which the relationship has developed” I don’t know about anybody else, but calling your adoptive father ‘darling’ isn’t a common thing.

Maybe if it were just that you could excuse it as theatrics or just the nature he was raised in, but the second comment about wanting to be told off by him, and on top of that having him specifically say that he wants to put his hands down his collar? Now I am totally aware that that is a common joke, but alongside the other things that are clear in their dynamic, and the things Bernard was not only allowing to happen, but actively encouraging and participating in? I don’t know.

The extent of Mikes codependency on Bernard and Bernard’s reaction to Mike supposedly taking harsh chemicals regularly (nitre, which is known to limit oxygen in the blood and in turn cause neurological issues eg balance, critical for an acrobat) seems very unconcerned? If not as a boss with an employee being put at risk, as the at employees adoptive father?? Again, incredibly strange and clearly not healthy.

Again, on the point of Mikes adoption, as far as I’m aware we’re never told how Mike came into Bernard’s custody, just that there’s a picture of him with a young Mike in front of the circus (and of course the clip in hullabaloo’s intro video), was he legally adopted? Did Bernard know Mike’s parents? Are his parents still alive? Was he even an orphan in the first place? We have no idea, and considering how young Mike was when it happened, he likely has no real idea either, what motives does Bernard have in adopting a child when he was clearly so uninterested in his own blood nephews life?

Im not making any claims here as I have not even in the fandom for a very long time, but I’d love to hear other people’s opinions on this, and I’d love for Bernard to be added to the game as a Hunter, I hate his guts so much but there’s so many gaps in Mike specifically’s story that could only really be filled from Murro or Bernard’s perspective.

[halfincontextmagic]

Mahoyaku in a nutshell (screenshots translation collection) #1

2025 New Year's voiceline, Owen

A drink that invites inebriation, Nero SR

Dreams of the sun-radiant blade

Tesoro of the banquet devoted to Nitre

2nd Anniversary: Like magic, the bonds we connect

4th Anniversary: Together, miracles shall surely bloom (title translations taken from fandom wiki)

oe is harrassing kishisama first thing of the year, nero is a chronic overthinker, snow and white being insufferable is their charm point, shino "don't start a fight" sherwood, mithra fired oz, riquet really likes mitile, the game

apologies if these look messy, i'd originally only done these to share them with friends

✧TRANSLATION INDEX✧

[transthadymacdermot]

perhaps you might tell us something about 'nitre'? intriguing...

Nitre is a document with a variety of random stuff, scenes I can't fit in anywhere else, and one offs I wrote to feel out the characters of some of the less important ribbonman guys. it's named after the first one (or the second? can't remember lol) which is about crilly inspecting an improvised nitre works. going to go off about research stuff under the cut because I've been given an opportunity ^-^

Basically, the scene centres on a series of tubs one of the guys (his name is rafferty but he's called stuff like nicholas flamel or hermes trismegistus because some of the other characters think he's a wizard for all that. etc) has set up in a cattle shed, which his little crew combines with sulphur etc to make powder. while it may sound a little anachronistic for the characters to be, uh, basically mixing explosives, this is actually based on reports of the united irishmen doing the same thing just before this story would be set. the book the belfast jacobin by kenneth dawson talks a little about this, the sparknotes being that saltpetre was tightly controlled at the time because everyone knew you could make powder out of it; primarily the worry was that the Barb'rous Fench or the spanish (both of whom england had a thousand year psychosexual death rivalry with, as we know) would manage to steal a ship bringing the stuff to britain from its colonies, but authorities in ireland were conscious of the fact that insurgents there wanted it, too. it was also particularly important to keep track of saltpetre in ireland because there was actually a really really easy way for enemies of the crown to get ahold of saltpetre in the north of ireland specifically -- it's used in the linen bleaching process, and many united irish leaders had businesses doing just that, so it wasn't too difficult for them to say heyyyy customs man I actually need to buy 50000000 kilos gunpowder ingredients for. my fabric #myfabric and then just abscond with it.

All this to say, by the mid 1790s the united irishmen were so desperate for powder that reports reached general lake from some of his underlings of the UI opening improvised nitre works where saltpetre could be leached from animal carcasses in the mountains surrounding belfast. allegedly, belfast's most fashionable women's clothing maker, joseph cuthbert, was in charge of both this and what has been described as the "assassination committee" (yes that was its name. like the rebellion papers say they called it that), but I'm not sure how true that is lol. there's also the question of where they got the sulphur... but anyway those familiar with the north of ireland might have something to say about how crossmaglen is not the same place as belfast, which is true, and I've found frustratingly little documentation of how more agrarian groups like the one my story is about got powder irl, but there are enough adjacent stories about rural mid-ulster that do exist that for now I feel p comfortable inserting this even though I've no positive evidence of it (tangent of a tangent, but my personal favourite such anecdote comes from when then-teenager william blacker, who went on to be the first grand master of the orange order, melted down pieces of his father's lead roof to make bullets for the battle of the diamond). ANYWAY after all that basically the only part of the document I'm willing to post is my semi subtle joke about nelson because it's terminally unedited

Sources: the belfast jacobin by kenneth dawson, belfast in the french revolution by brendan clifford, orangeism in ireland and britain 1795-1836 by hereward senior, the chosen fews by darach macdonald

[tastydoge]

hiiiiiii I have a fic request :3 How about WX and Wilson exploring the caves, one of them (funnier of the 2 would be WX) dies and has to guide the other through the caves back to the surface, the living one having to use the context clues of a ghost going "OooooOoooOOOOO!!" and quickly moving back and forth in one direction n things like that..

This is totally not based on what literally happened in a DST gaming session between us that ended like 5 minutes ago wdym

Cherry On Top

“Damn it, WX, am I going to the left or the right?!” Shouts a disgruntled Wilson, through the ruckus of seismic rumbling and droplets of rain falling from stalactites.

The floating mass of spectral matter next to him, formally known as the ghost of WX-78, produces a chorus of ghastly noises that equate to a hateful scoff.

“Y-you know I can’t understand you!” Wilson shouts, narrowly avoiding a sharp gem falling from the ceiling. It hits the floor and shatters upon impact.

“OOOO. OOO OO, OOOO OO,” WX-78 says, rather unhelpfully. They slowly float over to a fork in the landscape of narrow trails that make up the cave and begin to follow the left path. Wilson, shaking and side-stepping fallen shards of rocks and nitre, hastily jogs after them. He hoists his backpack up and over his head as a form of protection, briefly hitting himself in the face with his lantern with enough force to start a nosebleed. Of course, he has no time to pay this mind as he jogs to keep up with his companion. Blood drips down his face as he readjusts his grip on the ever-dimming lantern, wary of its low fuel.

“OOO. OO OOOO OO,” WX-78 says once more, beckoning him to follow them through a forest of blue mushrooms.

“Are you sure?” He shouts over the noise of the earthquake. “I remember cutting through the red— Stars and atoms!” He squeaks, flinching away from a Depths Worm that has seemingly sniffed him out and emerged from the damp earth. The beast snaps its jaws on nothing as Wilson sprints away from it, following WX-78’s form.

The earthquake finally ceases just as a sharp piece of flint strikes Wilson’s arm, leaving a weeping gash that forces the lantern from his grasp. It clatters to the ground, the sound reverberating along the walls of the cave. When he picks it back up, the glass on the outside is cracked and splintered, but still in tact.

“OO OOOOO. OO OOOO, OOO,” WX-78 enounces, and despite the language barrier, Wilson can feel the condescension leaking from their unintelligible sentences.

“I. Can't. Understand. You,” Wilson says through his teeth, falling into a walking pace next to the ghost and glancing over his shoulder. He can see the mound of dirt that hides the Depths Worm following him, but if living and dying a thousand times has taught him anything, it’s how to bait and switch anything that wants him dead long enough to make it somewhere safe.

After an uncomfortably slow and long walk through a forest full of spiders (whose nests Wilson disturbs at least seven times), they make it to a grassy clearing that seems like it’ll offer them some peace. Wilson drops his lantern on the ground and pulls a grass suit over his head.

“Time to deal with this thing,” he mumbles, finally taking on the Depths Worm with a crooked, splintering spear.

After he lands his first hit, the glass of the lantern shatters from the reverberation of the Depths Worm retreating into the ground, and he’s left in the dark.

“I can’t— I can’t see!” He shouts, panicked, and narrowly avoids the attack of the Depths Worm based on sound alone. He hears the telltale hissing that only spells doom and closes his eyes, bracing for impact.

Except... it doesn’t come. He opens his eyes to see WX-78 right next to him and sags in relief, realizing that their form radiates just enough light to ward Her off.

“Thank you,” he mumbles, instinctively reaching out to where their shoulder would be but recoiling at the feeling of his hand going through freezing cold nothing. He brushes his hand off on his pants hastily before grinning up at WX-78.

His relief only lasts mere moments as the Depths Worm rears its ugly head once more (literally!) and snaps its jaws two inches from Wilson’s bloody face.

Guided only by the light of WX-78’s ghost, Wilson finally, finally kills the beast. He huffs with his hands on his knees and swallows thickly.

“Good heavens,” he mutters, retrieving grass and twigs from his pocket to quickly create and ignite a torch. As an afterthought, he detaches the glow berry from the carcass beneath him and pockets it. He steps away from WX-78, a headache growing from the back of his skull reminding him that it’s only a matter of time before he loses his mind.

A Terrorbeak on top of everything else would be the cherry on top, really, but he’s not one for sweets in the face of mortal danger.

“Where from here?” He asks, turning to WX-78, only to see them halfway across the grassy plains.

“Hey, wait for me!” He shouts, jogging once again to catch up with them. “I’m the one who’s going to revive you, you know,” he mutters, brushing his dusty shirt off from the whole ideal and adjusting his backpack with his free hand.

The walk back to the staircase is relatively silent save for the ominous whispering bouncing along the cave walls, although Wilson is fairly sure that that part is just in his head.

When the pair finally ascends the stairs, they find it to be evening on the surface. Wilson is immediately swarmed by a colony of Batsilisks, and they spook him into dropping his torch down into the sinkhole. He doesn’t dare watch as it falls down the stairs, bouncing noisily along the way.

The Batsilisks circle around him tauntingly, howling with anger at his mere presence. He can’t focus on one long enough to target it, not with the voices in the back of his mind getting stronger with every passing second.

Wilson doesn’t have a moment more to concentrate before the jaws of a Crawling Horror are forcibly clamped around his midsection, eliciting a pained shout from the man. It lets him go and rears up on its back legs, releasing a menacing growl and preparing to strike again.

“Okay, new plan!” He shouts, and books it away from the sinkhole. He may not have known where he was in the caves, but now that he’s on the surface, it’s easier to remember landmarks in the light of day. Even as the sun sets rapidly, he sprints through thickets of trees and weaves between scarcely spaced ponds as he approaches his destination. Eventually, the Batsilisks lose his scent, although the Crawling Horror stalks him relentlessly. He doesn’t slow down despite WX-78 lagging behind, although he briefly glances back to find that the two are going at the same pace.

The sight of the campsite greets Wilson’s view and he nearly drops to his knees in relief.

“OOO! OOO, OOOO OO!” WX-78 cries from far behind him. Just as he turns around to see what they’re trying to communicate to him, darkness envelops his vision once more. He doesn’t have time to pat his pockets down in time to make another torch, nor does WX-78 have time to reach him before the lady of the night rudely thrusts her hand through his body and up his esophagus. She tears through his vital organs and viscera before retracting her hand the same way it entered, coating the grass in slick blood and chunks of flesh.

Wilson flops to his knees uselessly just as WX-78 reaches him. He hoists himself to his knees on his palms, wobbling for a second before looking up at them. Red veins speckle his vision.

He pats down his pockets to pull out the glow berry. He shoves as much of it into his mouth as he can and swallows without chewing, briefly gagging against the sensation of it scraping against his raw throat. The migraine plaguing him becomes borderline unbearable, but he begins to glow nonetheless, regaining vision in a small circle around himself just in time to see a Terrorbeak materialize.

Stars and atoms, does Wilson hate cherries.

He jogs away from it, leaving WX-78 behind in favor of running and trying not to choke on the berry as he eats the rest of it. He can feel his strength waning as he finally reaches the entrance to the camp. From the edge of the fire pit, he sees Willow turn to glance at them and then do a double take. She rushes over to Wilson, torch in hand, just as WX-78 catches up with him.

“What the hell happened to you two?!” Willow shouts at the man in all of his glowing, bloody glory.

“The caves sure are something, huh?” Wilson tries, voice frail and strained. He forces a smile, but Willow just looks horrified. She opens her mouth to say something back, but then looks up behind Wilson and gasps.

“Hey, watch out!” She screeches, flinching away from him. The second he turns around, the Terrorbeak from earlier sinks its teeth into him, practically tearing him in half. Once again, Wilson drops to the ground.

This time, he doesn’t get up. Instead, his consciousness separates from his body and he becomes a ghost, much like WX-78 had.

Willow gawks at the scene for a moment, then turns around and sprints towards the rest of the adults who are situated in the heart of the campsite.

"YOU ARE A MORON," WX-78 says to him. He turns to look at them, finding that he can understand them now that they share the same plane of existence.

"You died first," he says, and although their physical manifestation is unmoving, their form radiates with anger.

"I CANNOT WAIT TO BE REVIVED JUST SO I CAN KILL YOU AGAIN," they growl.

Wilson slowly scoots away from them, noting that he'll need to give them space (and a copious amount of gears) before they'll be on good terms again.

Unfortunately, the only clockworks he knows of currently reside in the Ruins. Of the caves.

Maybe he'll just give them a little extra time.

[wizardlizardtravels]

It was a 20 degree snowy day when I decided to go on a trip to Mammoth Cave. This was due to me assuming that a cave would be a good vacation on a winter’s day due to it staying the same temperature no matter what it was like outside. Was it still cold? Yes of course it was, especially when we first entered it was essentially a wind tunnel. My work jacket could only protect me so much. I registered for the historic tour, and if you have never been I highly recommend it as your first tour. I laced up my boots and got on my way. Our tour guide was a man full of humor but also harsh truths about the cave system. He was formerly a high school science teacher and it shows in the way that he carried himself.

On this tour I learned about the slave labor that went into carrying this cave. We learned of the low light that the slaves had to work in. I had the pleasure of getting to blow out the lantern. It was pitch black, one could not even see their hand just a few inches from their face. No one screamed thankfully, we had forewarning. We learned of the nitre and salt that was mined from the caves. We learned a little bit about how limestone is used to treat heartburn. Our group was also treated to an old gospel hymn that had been sung for years in the great cave. Our tour guide had a lovely voice as he showed us how the cave allows the voice to echo and made for a great tune.

Mammoth Cave is the world’s largest cave system and it shows. It stretches out to roughly 425 miles, and that is only the parts of the cave that are mapped. The cave has stood the test of time and has graffiti in it from all the way back in the 1700s. Back in the 18 and 1700s people would use melted animal fat and oil on a stick in order to painstakingly dot by dot paste their names onto the cave walls or even the taller ceilings.

Bands have even played in Mammoth Cave. Back in 2023 the Louisville Orchestra, featuring world renowned cellist Yo Yo Ma played in the caverns. One can only imagine how beautiful the orchestra must have sounded down there within the ever stretching maw of the cave. I for one wish that I could have seen that likely masterful performance live.

A stretch of the cave called Fat Man’s Misery was surely my misery as well, even as a man who is five foot and about a hundred pounds it was still a bit of a nightmare to get through. Our tour guide warned us that these caves were no place for people with claustrophobia and went on to quip how odd it would be for someone with that specific fear to book a tour in the first place. I had to think it odd either way it is for I and many other people to pay money to have a complete stranger take us into a dark tunnel several feet under ground.

I took a small walk on a trail where Floyd Collins got trapped near. Floyd Collins, if you are not familiar with this famous story of a caving adventure gone wrong, was a caver who was trapped in what is today called, “Sand Cave”. He got trapped in late January of 1925. The whole thing was a huge spectacle with food vendors and even bootleggers selling their wares. Collins ultimately died despite rescue efforts. I went on a small roughly quarter mile trail showcasing a few of the landmarks.

The tour itself was around two hours long and roughly a two mile walk. It was a fun experience and I look forward to doing other tours sometime as well. Overall I highly recommend a trip to Mammoth Cave. It will surely be a trip that will be unforgettable as you behold the majesty of this gigantic cave.

I hope you enjoyed this blog and please leave a comment as well. Thanks for reading.

-Nick

[anadorablekiwi]

Hfdshjy

Mm hmm, goodnight 💜🫂

@silvercaptain24 @anadorablekiwi

I am approaching both of your locations

BLORBOS INCOMING

[branches-and-whippets]

Between 1617 and 1621, the English polymath Robert Fludd unveiled his magnum opus, "Utriusque Cosmi… Historia," a two-volume work featuring over sixty intricate engravings. These volumes delved into the macrocosm of the universe and the spiritual realm. Fludd, a respected physician in the court of King James I, explored a vast array of topics, from alchemy and astrology to theology, melding practical knowledge with esoteric wisdom.

Fludd's masterpiece, "Utriusque Cosmi," dissected the Microcosm of human life and the Macrocosm of the universe, incorporating the spiritual domain. A staunch Anglican, Fludd blended Paracelsian chemical theories with theological insights. His lavishly illustrated cosmology depicted the universe's creation through divine alchemy.

A devoted follower of Paracelsus, Fludd's medical theories emphasized the celestial forces of light, attributing vital importance to the aerial nitre or quintessence. His medicinal incantations invoked the Hebrew name of Jesus, equating Christ with the kabbalistic angel Metatron.

Fludd's treatises featured extraordinary engravings, revealing his visionary approach. These intricate images, designed by Fludd himself, showcased his influence on contemporaneous occultists. His concepts of light's creative and healing forces were illustrated through diagrams, depicting the balance of spirit and matter, male and female, sulphur and mercury.

While I present only select fragments from this extensive work, it showcases Fludd's profound impact on alchemy, medicine, and mysticism. The imagery provides a glimpse into the visionary mind of this 17th-century polymath, influencing subsequent occultists like Michael Maier and Jacob Boehme.

[kaija-rayne-author]

Dragon Age Veilguard 7th review in series

Obligatory I'm not an asshole disclaimer. You can skip to the cut if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

52 hours in, 50 hours playtime

Part 6.1 is here.

Massive spoilers for Veilguard

Another long one. And it's largely negative.

So. What to say. Well, the first should be I called it on Illario being the crow traitor. At least, at this point in the game. (He just broke Zara's neck to keep her from telling Lucanis his name. Presumably.) They could throw a plot twist in there and have Illario be innocent but acting squirrely to bring out the actual traitor. That would be interesting. But to be completely honest, I don't think the writers are that skilled. The plot of 'jealous younger cousin/family member seizing power and betraying everything to do it' is a classic trope.

It's also as stale as the package of crackers I keep meaning to throw away. They really went with that? I think my eyes are in danger of rolling out of my head. And digging them out from under the dresser is just so awkward and uncomfortable. Have you ever washed eyeballs? They’re squishy.

Can we mention plot holes? I took Emmerich with me for the crow mission. Why exactly didn't he do his 'corpse whispering' to get confirmation that Illario was/was not the traitor? Even if you didn't take Emmerich, they could've easily taken the corpse to him, but nooooo. That would've made sense! Especially because there's then a scene of Emmerich whispering a corpse about the hand of glory. They sooooo needed to take all that back to the drawing board and tighten it up a lot.

But I've said before that they need better editors. Honestly, even though I don't particularly want to work for Bioware given their history of firing useful, skilled people... maybe they do need me. Or someone else as exacting as me and good at editing. Cause much as I hate to critique another editor? Whoever edited this isn't very good. Whoever edited DAI wasn’t very good either. I'm a far better editor. It's a niche, nit picky sort of field. You have to care about the details and you have to dedicate yourself to it. It's a field where you need to constantly be learning. Things like, say, how locks work. You can have advanced English degrees, you can be a phenomenal writer, and still suck at editing. Because it's so very specialized if you want it done right. Whoever their editor is shouldn't be editing games professionally. There's obviously too much to keep in mind to tie everything together. (Honestly, autistic and auDHD people like me make phenomenal editors if we enjoy words/stories and get into it.)

I have no personal grudge against their editor/s. It's just my professional opinion that they need an editor with more skill.

Also, whoever drew that hand of glory probably should've looked up what one looks like. They went for an Addam's family vibe and that's just... not a hand of glory. I'm a witch and a student of witchcraft history. I should know.

So, a hand of glory is an actual thing.

This is how one was made.

"It must be cut from the hanged body of a criminal (usually a murderer) on the gibbet (usually a roadside gibbet); dried in nitre, pickled in the urine of man, woman, dog, horse and mare; smoked with herbs and hay for a month or dried under the sun during the dog-days; hung on an oak tree for three nights running, then laid at a crossroads, then hung on a church door for one night while the maker keeps watch in the porch.

The candle part had to be rendered from the fat of the same criminal you got the hand from. It’s usually the left hand, but could also be the hand that murdered. Images from the period when people believed in them vary on how the candle part worked but one of the more common is the whole hand dipped in the tallow rendered from the criminal until it was stiff like a candle. Then the tips of the fingers would be lit."

They did get what they were supposed to do correct, though.

Good idea? Yes. Bad follow through.

The name is bastardized from the French word for mandrake.

As usual, better editors needed.

Did the Weisshaupt quest. I'm not sure if that's the end of act 1 or half way. I'm leaning on end of act 1 given the way the plot is shaping up. It was a fun enough sequence. If a bit loud. I also like it when the heroes fail in stories. Because that's realistic. We fail. We pick ourselves up, and we keep trying.

I've said it before, and I can't claim authorship, I'm not even sure who used it first, but 'hope gets kicked to the floor, beaten the shit out of and still spits out blood, maybe a tooth, picks themselves up and says, 'bring it, bitch".' Hope isn't gentle. Hope is ready to throw down.

Can I just say that Zimmer was a fucking mistake on the music front? He's been phoning it in for ten years and he absolutely did for DAV. It's a shame when the soundtrack for DAI was so stirring and just... fucking epic. DAO's too, for that matter. (The OST for DAI also helped tie the world together.)

It's like someone decided to toss the collections aspect (which was a large part of the fun for me and many others, including collecting enough stuff to make fun armour) without even remotely understanding what those collections did for the story. Big mistake in my professional opinion. In any story, you need little things that tie all the big things together. DAV doesn't have the small threads tying the big bundles of yarn together. It's just... not good.

There are parts of the game I do legitimately like, but they're far outweighed by the sheer dumbassery.

I am still so utterly flabbergasted that they nerfed rogues so much. Why in the world would you take a good half of what makes playing a rogue fun and just toss it? Why even bother to have a rogue class at all? They’re just a light skirmisher in DAV.

They Legolased my elven rogue and I'm not happy about it.

Don't get me wrong, I love Legolas, and he's an elven warrior, good with his bow and dual weild, and that's basically it? (He’s a lot more in the books, but I'm thinking movie Legolas. He’s not even a rogue in the books.)

As a rogue in DAV, there's no traps to set/disarm, you can't pick locks, you can't sneak or hide in shadows, it's just ridiculous to even call them rogues. Oh, but you can hit the locks! Someone has been watching too much hollyweird. Hitting it hard works, right? Of Course the lock just breaks.

Y'Know? I'm not a locksmith, but I know a decent amount about picking locks and how they work because I'm an author and like to know how stuff works. Hitting a lock? Makes it less likely to actually open. I really really wish whoever made that decision many hours of disappointing game play in a class they love. Because that's what they gave me and other rogue lovers in DAV. It just fucking sucks. Are the rest of the classes this bad? I don't think I have the stomach to play this again as my second favourite class to find out (mage).

I think I figured out what DAV is missing/what's bothering me the most.

A lot of things are more streamlined, better designed, I do have to give them that. But they took it waaaay too far. They've streamlined it to the point of boring mediocrity.

There's very little to collect other than codex entries. Which are fine, barring the massive number of editorial issues in them. Even if they really aren't answering any of the burning Lore questions I've wanted answered since I started playing these games.

But there's nothing else to subtly tie the world and story together. I've mentioned it before, but the mounts you could collect in DAI were gifts from different peoples and cultures. That tied the world together and to Skyhold.

Same goes for the Warden memories, and all the other little collection bits. It made an intricate, beautiful tapestry of DAI. DAV is a poorly woven bedsheet. With plot holes you can stick an arm through.

DAI had issues, every game does. Some of those issues I'm glad to see fixed in DAV. And overall, they took a lot of the fun out of a Dragon Age video game with the over zealous streamlining of DAV.

And I'm not sure if I'll ever get over the 'rogue who isn't a rogue at all' issue.

I played around with the decor part, and honestly, why did they even bother? You could completely customize Skyhold to how you wanted it. That was great fun for me. In DAV? You can put mementos on shelves and change the central statue, that I've found so far.

The Lighthouse is pretty cool, but it floats unconnected from the world, and it really shows. There's just... nothing tying everything together. Not to mention the complete retcon of, 'oh, living beings can't go into the fade unless they're mages, and even then it's dangerous to the point of suicide.'

Yes, the Inquisitor went into the fade in DAI. It was either that or splatter on the ground, and they barely survived it. And you had to leave a companion behind as the price of getting out. In DAV they live in the fade (without consequences that are clearly spelled out in the Lore). People are strolling into and out of the fade like it's a shopping mall. Y'know, the fade that's supposedly chock full of blight? According to the actual game I'm playing?

It's like the different departments and different writers never once talked to each other. And man, does it show.

I think the only section where they must've communicated well is, again, backgrounds, scenery, and environments. That is literally the only thing holding this game together and making it feel even remotely like Dragon Age.

And that's just sad. They had so much material to work with from the Lore and the previous games... so much, and as far as I can see? They've ignored most of it.

And I know a video game can't do everything, but my elf has Dirthaman's vallaslin. Dirthamen is the twin soul of Falon'Din. There's a puzzle in Arlathan that is a bunch of owls, and my Rook dopily says, 'guess someone liked owls'. Oh, you mean the brother Evanuris whose mark you wear on your damned face? Really? Really really? JFC. So, yeah, they're probably not going to do shit about figuring out anything to do with the Vallaslin. Which in both my personal and professional opinion would've been a very interesting thing to write about. What happens in a culture when they find out they've been wearing slave markings. Do they all get rid of them? Do they have interesting discussions and quests about figuring out the meaning of old and new? Of old things that might’ve been bad at one time, but have a completely different meaning now?

I dunno. This game just isn't great so far.

Goddess. I hate writing negative reviews of Dragon Age stuff. I utterly love the previous games, the world, the Lore.

Y'know, the Lore they've decided isn't important and brushed under the rug? Talk about disappointing. I was so hoping for some answers to all the burning questions I've had for years about the Lore.

And I'm dreading the end of Solas and Inky. I don't think it's going to be remotely what my Romance loving heart will think is even close to a happy ending.

Weekes tweeted at me that 'there's a suggestion of a happy ending' for Solas and Inky. And that gave me some hope, because Tresspasser left a few things dangling in good star-crossed lovers fashion. But unless Inky and Solas end up, 1. Alive. 2. Together. 3. At peace or close enough to it... it's not a happy ending. I'm afraid Weekes, who isn't a Romance writer (I am) has a very different definition for 'happy ending' than me, most Sollavellans, and Romance readers in general.

A HEA (Happy Ever After) or a HEfN (Happy Enough for Now) is a staple of Romance.

Something can't be considered Romance as a genre unless it has two things. 1. Focus on the romance/relationship of the characters. 2. An HEA/HEfN. In each book/story/piece of media, not even the end of the series, in every installment, Otherwise, you can't even market it as Romance without violating stores terms of service and risking having your account taken down for misrepresentation of what you're selling.

I swear to Gods if we get some Romeo and Juliet sort of ending for Solas and Inky, I'm boycotting Bioware for life.

Romeo and Juliet is not a fucking Romance. It's a fucking tragedy. If we get a tragic ending in any fashion, for Solas and Inky? I'm just absolutely done with Dragon Age. Them being together with a chance at happiness is all I want. (Honestly, I desperately want the intimate scene we were denied in DAI too, and I don't think that's too much to ask for either.) One intimate scene and a HEA. Let them retire someplace out of the way so Solas can grow flowers and play music and paint. Inky can do stuff she loves, and they love each other. The parameters of how exactly they do that don’t matter. They could do literally anything as long as they're alive, together, and with the same chance of happiness any Romantic couple/group has.

That is the only type of ending that won't have me boycotting Bioware for life. Especially after the lackluster showing of DAV.

I saw the title of one news article (on steam, I'm trying to stay as blind to this game as possible to provide a fair review that are just my thoughts). And it said something along the lines of 'The best fantasy game released this year.'

My immediate thoughts were, 1. Had whoever written that actually played this travesty? 2. How much was the writer paid to say that, and 3... what? Is DAV the ONLY fantasy game release this year? Cause that's the only way it's the best.

8th in series here.

[greensparty]

This Month In History - November Part 2

This is quite a month for pop culture anniversaries. For Part 1 read here. Here is Part 2:

Nov. 10, 1969: Sesame Street premieres

In Nov. 1969, the children's educational TV institution known as Sesame Street premiered on public television. It was quite revolutionary. It was a show for kids with valuable life lessons, but told in a way that was also entertaining for grown-ups watching with the kids. Best of all it featured Jim Henson’s Muppets. More than anything, the show had and still has an important message about respect, decency and equality. A neighborhood where people and puppets of all different colors can play and work together. When I was growing up, I was a fan of the show. I especially liked Burt and Ernie, The Count and Kermit the Frog. Years after I outgrew Sesame Street, I would watch it as I babysat when I was a teen and realized some of their humor was really sharp, i.e. their Twin Peaks parody “Twin Beaks” or the Pearl Jam parody Fur Jam performing “Don’t Waste the Water”. In recent years I watched Sesame Street with my son, who liked the show too! How many TV shows began 55 years ago and are still just as good if not better than when they began? Happy 55th Sesame St!

Nov. 10, 2014: Sonic Highways released

In Nov. 2014, Foo Fighters' highly ambitious 8th album was released. The band went to eight different cities, studied the musical history of each city and recorded a song in each city with producer Butch Vig. There was an accompanying documentary series on HBO as well. The band remains themselves in each city and there's some serious bangers here and some cool guests like Scream's Pete Stahl. I included this in my Best Albums of 2014 list as well as my Best Albums of the 2010s. It's an album that doesn't get enough credit from them, but should. Happy 10 Sonic Highways!

Nov. 15, 1974: Desolation Boulevard released

In Nov. 1974, The Sweet's third and best album was released. I first discovered the British glam rock band through 80s glam metal, much of which was heavily influenced by them. As a teen, I checked this album out of the library, recorded it onto a blank tape and listened to it countless times. In addition to “Ballroom Blitz” (later covered by Tia Carrere for Wayne’s World, which also featured the original), the album had “The Six Teens”, “No You Don’t”, “Sweet F.A.”, and one of my favorites “Fox on the Run” (featured on the soundtracks to Dazed and Confused and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). In 2021, I got to interview guitarist Andy Scott about the band's album Isolation Boulevard and he said "What better way than creating a similar path that our 1974 album, Desolation Boulevard produced. With that in mind Isolation Boulevard in 2020 was a piece of cake and the results speak for themselves." Happy 50th Desolation Blvd!

Nov. 16, 1979: Night in the Ruts released

In Nov. 1979, Aerosmith's 6th studio album was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 45th NITR!

Nov. 16, 1984: Night of the Comet opens

In Nov. 1984 one of the best valley girl movies was released, this one a sci-fi horror movie. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019 and here is my brief interaction with star Kelli Maroney at the 2018 Rock and Shock. Happy 40th NOTC!

Nov. 16, 2009: Them Crooked Vultures released

In Nov. 2009 the debut album from supergroup Them Crooked Vultures was released. Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin came together for a rocker of an album. Even before this album was released, the band was announced and they did a mini-tour. I was lucky enough to see their 2009 show at Roseland in NYC and was highly impressed. The album sounds like Homme and his QOSTA tendencies took over much of the album which is too bad considering the other two, but it was a joy to hear these three playing and riffing off each other. Happy 15 TCV!

[shinraryuu]

Day 3 (3/9/24): Tracy & Naib (Nitre x Hound)