#source link points to the english version of the website

[designobjectory]

Reproduction 19th century neoclassical door handle in brass or nickel-plated brass by Byggnadsapoteket/ Rakennusapteekki Finland, after an original by Låsfabriksaktiebolaget E.A.Näsman & Co, Sweden, late 19th century.

Neoclassical-style door handles have been produced by many factories in Sweden and Finland up to the present day. The exaggeratedly round curves of this model are typical of the 19th century; later versions tend to be slimmer.

[annabelle--cane]

"the magnus protocol had a whole ARG beforehand? what?"

yes! it did!

"oh so I need to have participated in this whole big thing to actually understand the podcast?"

not at all! from the official post-mortem put out by RQ, "while the ARG was not something that was necessary to participate in to understand the magnus protocol, it was designed to contain a wealth of background story and context that would enrich any player's listening experience."

"a wealth of background context that would enrich my listening experience 👀👀👀 how can I learn about this?"

SO glad you asked. sadly, many of the materials made for the arg have been taken down since the game ended 😔 (ex., the official OIAR, magnus institute, and bonzoland websites. (edit ii: I found partial wayback machine captures! see below) though @strangehauntsuk is still up!), so we're a bit low on primary sources, but in terms of learning about what happened:

for a starting point, I would really recommend this video by @pinkelotjeart

it's super accessible, it was made in real time as the game progressed and follows the solving and revelation of clues as they happened, it hits all the major points of the mystery and moments of community insanity while eliding some of the nitty gritty puzzle grinding, 10/10 would recommend.

here's the official summary put out by RQ, and I'd recommend reading through this once you've already gotten a basic handle on the flow of the story and the basic connections between major clues and events. it's got some fun behind-the-scenes info and lays out the thought process behind the puzzles in simple terms

here's the full masterdoc of all puzzles and resolutions put together in the statement remains discord server. masterdoc my absolute BELOVED, masterdoc my bethrothed, masterdoc my soul mate. I'd recommend this as a second port of call after the above video as it either contains all details about the puzzles or links to other expanded docs that do.

here's the narrative summary doc that lays out all the plot and lore discovered in three pages of plain prose. if you just want to get to the good bits as fast as you can and get blasted directly in the face by contextless lore bombs, this is the doc for you. if you don't want to start with the video, I'd say this is another good entry point.

once you've got the lay of the land, some of the game materials that I found particularly interesting include:

the in-universe east germany expat usenet forum, with all content translated into english. most of it is irrelevant space filler with occasional extremely sus lore, but I still found it fun to read through. love to soak in some fictional forum drama.

chdb.xlsx, the spreadsheet of the names of all the children the protocol 'verse magnus institute was studying/experimenting on. EDIT: here is a version of the sheet without any annotations and with all of the names in their original order, kudos to @theboombutton for catching that the commonly shared copy had the order swapped around.

klaus.xls, a (very corrupted) spreadsheet with what looks like the classifications of a bunch of old OIAR cases.

EDIT: have a few more saved materials from the game that I forgot to include.

an in-universe audio ad to apply to the OIAR that ran before archives episodes and kicked off the whole game.

an in-universe video ad to apply to the OIAR, this one is an official upload that's still up from the game itself. you can subscribe to the OIAR's official youtube channel today, if you so chose.

the robo-voicemail greeting from the OIAR's phone line.

EDIT II:

here is a wayback machine capture of the OIAR's official website.

here is a wayback machine capture of the bonzoland website.

(pretty sure both of the above captures just archived the home pages, though I haven't tried clicking all of the links. I'd say they're still worth looking at, the home pages give a good window into the vibes.)

once you start poking around in these documents, you'll find a bunch of links to others with further information, the materials I've included here just contain what I feel to be the most relevant details to getting a broad feel for the whole game. once again, huge shout out to the statement remains server, I was barely in there as the ARG was in progress and only ducked my head in every so often to find links like these. true mvps of the fandom.

[fortunelowtier]

I was gonna reblog my original post but I didn't wanna spam people with a long ass post (this post is already long enough) so instead I'll just link the previous post here and if yall wanna go look at it you can, but the short version is that a few days ago I made a post talking about HBs incredibly high turnover rate, and apparently within a few days it got enough traction to where it started spreading to the higher-ups of Spindlehorse, including Viv herself. I decided to make this update post just as a way to debunk what I can and as clearly as I can. 

First tweet:

So for starters, they say this as if IMDB's numbers aren't publically available, it's not like I pulled these numbers out of my ass without merit, these are numbers I got off of IMDB. And I know some people might pull the high school English teacher card of “Anyone can edit that!!” and to be honest I dont feel like going into the semantics of one of the most non-arguments you can possibly use so all I’ll say is that the process of editing a Wikipedia or IMDB page is not as easy as your English teachers taught you to think it is. Sure you can edit it but it's another story if the edit will be saved. There's moderation, it's not a free-for-all.

Also, I find it interesting how this tweet was made (and subsequently deleted) mere days after their promotion to Animation Director, and if there's anything I've learned from Spindlehorse controversies it is that if someone is in any real position at the top of the companies proverbial food chain they shouldn't be allowed to speak for the experiences of employees lower on the ladder than them, especially when a lot of them seem to have a habit of denying certain claims despite the public availability of numerous pieces of evidence pointing toward the contrary

It's like if you visited a bunch of former employees of a restaurant with a high turnover rate with proof that they had worked there and for exactly how long they worked there and then the manager comes along and tries to basically say “NUH UH” despite information proving the contrary being publicly available (maybe not the best analogy but you get what I mean)

—

Ok now onto the second one by Viv herself:

There’s a lot to dissect here so I’m gonna break it down bit by bit.

Firstly:

"They’re listing every single credited person in EVERY art department"

So the way I got my numbers was by going to the Series Animation Department section of HB's IMDB, highlighting every name from the beginning of the section to the end, and then pasting them into this website which gave me the line count of 444. Was that the most optimal way of doing so? No, especially after I learned after the fact that there's a way to just see the numbers straight up, but that hardly matters considering the fact that there are allegedly more people in the animation dept who were uncredited, however, I'm still waiting on some more info from my source as to the validity and the scale of these claims (How many people were uncredited, how little were they paid for their work, etc etc) to make a proper post about it, so until then ill just leave it at that as to not make accusations without merit.

So, humoring Viv, I added up the total IMDB credits for the Art Dept and Visual Effects Dept, as well as the Sound Dept since I qualify sound as a form of art and because I wanted to give Viv as fair a chance as possible and actually tally the total credits of “every art department” as Viv claims I did, and it still only equals 155 total credits, a little over a third of the credits in the Animation Dept

Secondly:

“That includes the TC and Chaos credits”

So these are in reference to Toon City and Chaos Emporium, 2 companies known as a source for outsourcing animation, and just to humor Viv I decided to go onto IMDB and tally up all of the Chaos and TC credits since according to her that's where I got most of my final number.

After doing so, Chaos Emporium had a total of 15 credits, and Toon City had a total of 45

So Viv is making it seem like the TC and CE credits make up a large majority of them, which is why I got the number I did, when in reality when combined they only equal 60 credits. 14% of the total (technically it’s 13.5% but I’m rounding to the nearest whole for the sake of convenience)

Thirdly:

“We dont even have 400 people. Simply Misinformation.”

You’re right Viv, you dont have 400 people, because I never said you did, nor did I imply you did. I said you've had 400. Of course you dont have 400 current employees, your company burns through them like paper because you underpay them while you go burning your Amazon and merch money on cruises and vacations and continuously post photos of you buying from zionist companies knowing full well that they're part of an active boycott.

—

So yeah, that's my 2 cents. Sorry if this sounded like some shit you'd see on a Twitlonger but after Viv was made aware of the posts I made about the turnover rate (and subsequently blocked me within the hour after seeing it) I knew that it wasn't gonna be long before I had people DMing me about how wrong I was because “Viv said it was wrong so it must be wrong”. 

One more thing I wanna add because I've gotten a lot of angry messages/asks about this, a lot of Viv stans seem to think I have this bizarre hate boner for Viv when I really don’t. I don’t hate Viv, I hate what she’s become. I hate how ever since the HH pilot she’s become a bully who can’t take criticism. And not just on the surface level of “criticism makes her upset”, because yea no shit, criticism makes everyone upset at least a little, and it's why I hate it when people see someone being upset at criticism and going “ERMM, CANT TAKE CRITICISM?”

When I say “Viv can’t take criticism” I mean she actively tries to shut down any convo about it without trying to learn from it. She blocks anyone who talks poorly about her or her company and makes baseless claims knowing full well her fans will follow her to the ends of Hell regardless of whether or not what she’s saying is even correct.

That’s all I got for now

[eat-your-milk]

Hi! I've been binging your fic Kiss The Sky (omg it is SOOO GOOODD <333) and I've gotten curious about the bits of old Norse you've slipped in. I've been researching and trying to figure it out for the past few days (for my own fic as well loll) and I can't figure out where you're getting it from.

I know quite a bit of HTTYD fic authors, if they use translations in their fics, use Icelandic because it's easier to find a translator for it and it's pretty close to Old Norse. I don't think I've seen a fanfic use either of the Futharks, (but.. there's good reason lol. Translation machines on it will/would be iffy [more than the Icelandic ones], and it's hard to find a Futhark font lol) and it doesn't seem like you're writing out a Romanized version of the Futharks (unless you are :0 ). And plugging in those words into an Icelandic-to-English translator only works part of the time (could entirely be the translator's fault).

I guess I'm just trying to find where you're getting your language and culture notes from? Sorry for the ramble, and I hope you're doing well! :D

First off OMG THANK YOU!!! Im so glad ya like my fanfic!!! :D!!!! And I am doing ok, thank you for asking!!

This is a fantastic question! I hope this answer isn't too overwhelming! I just really like history lol.

While I do try to draw some knowledge from Elder Futhark, I tend to lean towards transliterations of Old Norse (mainly for the reading experience and the fact it would take me many years to understand what we know about Futhark lol. And translators from what I can tell are VERY iffy lol.)

I draw from a lot of different sources which I then cross reference to get as accurate as possible. Most of my translations come from the work of Snorri Sturluson, namely the Ynlinga-Saga and The Poetic Edda. Specifically: I tend to use the Bellows and Bray translations of the Poetic Edda as my go-to for Old Norse.

In fact, a ton of Snorri's work will come in handy for understanding some religious and cultural aspects, namely the Heimskringla, which is about the various leaders of Norway.

Good news is these are actually available online for the most part! Some translations vary though, so it is good to cross reference.

I have read (mostly) through Viking Language 1 by Jesse Byock which was pretty helpful as well! (planning on reading the second one at some point)

I also tend to reference this website for Old Norse Translations and info (Definitely not to be used as the only source tho since some translations are iffy) As silly as it looks it is actually a FANTASTIC source for specific things like what Vikings used as directions, names for boats, runes, measurements, etc.

https://www.vikingsofbjornstad.com/index.htm

For my culture notes~

The Vikings by Johannes Bronsted (I sure hope I wrote that right but im not looking at it rn lol) was really helpful! I am still in the process of reading Children of Ash and Elm by Neil Price, which has been pretty helpful with understanding Viking's as a whole and how their actions were influenced by their religious beliefs.

I always try to cross-reference online sources when I can just to be sure (I trust websites waaay less than books lol), but here are my main websites I use:

https://www.norsevk.com/

https://viking.style/

https://thevikingherald.com/

I have done more research outside of these specific sources, but I have a bad memory and I can't remember the specific book titles and websites :( Sorry about that! If I remember anything else Ill link it!

If anyone else has any good references, please feel free to add it!

I hope this helps you and answers your question! Thank you so much for asking!! :D

[phoebosacerales]

Are there any other astrology books besides the ones you mention in your master list that you would recommend to read?

Oh, I should make a list, thank you for asking. I'll first give you these few ones that I use the most, but I'll try to update it regularly, I have many more recommendations than this. If anyone thinks it's hard to find a good version of any of these you can talk to me through chat and I can send you a link ;)

Beginner's books:

On the heavenly spheres/Tratado das Esferas by Helena Avelar and Luis Ribeiro is the ultimate beginner book, that's used as main bibliography in my school, Saturnália. It covers a bit of everything, except predictive techniques. The authors are also historians who have great academic research on astrology. You should definitely take a look at the Astra Project website and follow their youtube channel. In fact, I met Luis Ribeiro two weeks ago at a conference at my university (coincidentally my university is the only one in Brazil that has a research group that brings together researchers in astrology, called Academia Celeste), where he gave a mini-course and I was impressed above all by his rare way of valuing astrology as an object of academic research, emphasizing the history of its techniques as well, and the ease with which he can teach about its epistemological debates and fundamentals etc.

Deborah Houlding's Houses: Temples of the sky is the best book on the subject of houses. I believe you have to go to a book that's specific about houses, because the topic really deserves the depth and it's probably the most important thing to understand in astrology.

Demetra George's Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice volumes I and II.

Predictive techniques:

The Seven Stars Astrology blog was actually my first source on this subject, it's easy but very well researched and it was very important for me to find. Anthony does a pretty good job at gathering the hellenistic sources and explaining what's important to understand about them, it's the best to have someone to hold your hand through things before you dive into the primary sources.

Astrología Hermética by Eduardo Gramaglia. I'm not sure if there's an english translation of this one, it's one of the best introductory books too, complete and concise.

Astrologia Gallica book 23 by Jean-Baptiste Morin, which is about Revolutions. I always go back to chapter 18 as recommended by my teachers, where he gives universal rules for solar returns that you can adopt (or not).

Firdãriã: Periods of Life - Aswin Subramanyan. I've been getting into the Firdaria system just recently and this is a great book for it. Firdaria is one of those things that easily remind you of the deeply syncretic history of Astrology, with strong Hindu, Persian and Hellenistic influences.

Ancient sources (from I to IV AD):

Marcus Manilius' Astronomica is just beautiful on a lot of points, you should go to it for the poetry, just to have the delight. And his poetry also gives the best and concise insights on the fixed stars and the signs.

Dorotheus of Sidon's Carmen Astrologicum is probably the first most technical book of the ancients that you should go to. It's the most influential and easiest to find. Dorotheus was a contemporary of Manilius, but the versions we have of his book are influenced by later Arabic translations.

Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos. Even though astrologers are right to be ingrates to daddy Ptolemy we should still read him.

Vettius Valens' Anthologies is everybody's favorite hellenistic source. I used to have a hard time with getting through this book, even though I love Valens' perspectives, because the versions of it online weren't that great, but now I found out that someone took Mark T. Riley translation that he generously put on his website and formated it and made the nicest pdf ever. There's just some layout errors in some of the example charts, but it's amazing.

Firmicus Maternus' Mathesis is a bummer of a book, his delineations are super dramatic, but it's great to read from the beginning to understand Firmicus' logic and you'll start getting how he thinks and predicting what he's going to say next, which then means you learned something.

On Mundane Astrology:

The Meio do Céu newsletter is my first and main source on mundane astrology. The writer Ísis is one of my teachers. I participate in her workshops, where we contribute collectively to the predictions and learn a lot. It's in portuguese, but it's pretty understandable with the translation option on your browser. It's free with special editions for paying subscribers. I recommend starting with edition 72.

Bonatti on Mundane Astrology, by Benjamin Dykes. This is one of our favorite sources with Ísis on the workshops.

Tetrabiblos book 2, Ptolemy.

On philosophy, history, important topics etc:

The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology: Origins and Influence, by Dorian Greenbaum. This is one of my favorites and I can't recommend it enough, because very few astrologers take much time to understand before talking about the daimon. And it's impossible for you to avoid the daimon in your practice, because it's very ingrained in Hellenistic astrology.

On Horary:

William Lilly's Christian Astrology. There's a reason we all go back to him, it's the fact that is such a didactical book, you can always use it as an instruction manual basically. He gives instructions on how to approach any kind of question and gives so many examples, it's a hit.

On the fixed stars:

The Constellations of Words website is still the easiest source for learning about fixed stars, but here are their most cited books:

Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos book I chapter 9-11, of course, because he's the earliest source and it's important to see the difference between how the hellenistics called and understood the fixed stars and how things changed after the persians.

Vivian E. Robson's The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology (XX AD) is a must have. It's another one that's strictly astrological and plus gives a method on how to interpret fixed stars, though you don't need to follow it necessarily.

Marcus Manilius' Astronomica book 5. I always make sure to read attentively Manilius' poetry about the constellation I'm researching. It's always incredibly useful, never disappointing.

William Tyler Olcott's Star Lore: Myths, Legends and Facts (XIX AD). This is a great one to get a lot of the different stories and histories of the stars. It really helps you to understand the constellations in depth.

[margaretkart]

Hey, Margaret! This is a long and somewhat specific question, so I hope I'm not bothering you!

I was reading a theoretical book on Greek mythology called "Mitologia Grega Vol 1" (i.e Greek Mythology Vol 1) by Junito de Souza Brandão (there are three volumes, each more focused on a specific aspect. For example, the third, which I haven't read yet, is about the heroes).

In the early parts of the book, there are some explanations about whether there was a matriarchal religion (the Great Goddess of Ancient Crete, with a goddess who the author says is theorized to be either Rhea or Goddess of Serpents, but without full confirmation) and how eventually it became mostly patriarchal (pantheon with Zeus), about the alternation between the peoples in the region (Anatolians, Indo-Europeans, the Ionians and so on), the functions of each god and what connection they had with society, etc. etc. However, there is one part that left me intrigued. You see, the book is Brazilian and it's in Portuguese, and, from what I saw, it isn't available in English. So I'll have to translate the passage in question, which, with my non-fluent English, MAYBE generate some misunderstanding.

This is the excerpt:

Which translated is something like:

The absence of authentically Cretan names of gods, such as Rhea, Britomartis or Dictina, Velcano, the cock god, and Persephone, gives a feeling of strangeness. As can be seen, with the invaluable Cretan cooperation, the future Greek pantheon of the classical period, although very mixed, was already ready in the 14th century BC. There was talk of Cretan cooperation because, among the gods mentioned, they are considered as Minoans (rank that there is still debate about one or the other): Artemis, Athena, Hera, Illythia, Persephone, Rhea; the secondary ones Enialio, Velcano, Britomartis or Dictina and perhaps Hermes. If Dionysus and Aphrodite are certainly Asian deities, there remains very little that is authentically Indo-European among the future twelve great of Olympus, since, regarding the origin of Apollo and Hephaestus, a convincing conclusion has not yet been reached, not even from the etymological point of view.

Notes:

It's really Velcano (Zeus, I think? I'm not sure), not Vulcano or Volcano (Hephaestus).

Junito says "if" in the sense of hypothesis. He's not stating that they FOR SURE are Asian, just saying "if they were definitely, which they aren't, Asian..."

There is much more on the subject in this chapter. For example, Junito also comments that Hera, Athena, Demeter, and Kore/Persephone are of Cretan origin and that there was an Indo-European Zeus and a Cretan Zeus and the version we mainly know today is a kind of fusion of both. For Hermes he mentions Indo-European. At one point, he also mentions a historian called Pierre Lévêque. There is a general bibliography at the end of the book, but there are so many books that it's difficult to know which one refers to this specific chapter. There is a footnote in one part, note 58, but it's precisely about the phrase by the aforementioned Pierre Lévêque.

I don't know much about Greek mythology yet and I had never seen the association of Aphrodite and Dionysus with Asia in my life, so I went searching (in English because there aren't many results in Portuguese). The results were:

Aphrodite

The title "Urania" is used by Asian deities, information on a website called Britannica, and others as well.

The "Etymology" section of Wikipedia mentions that scholars tried to link Aphrodite with Indo-European, but this was not carried out, and that she later came to be accepted as a Greek deity with a name of non-Greek origin. In this part, two linked sources are relatively recent: "Etymological Dictionary of Greek, vol. 1" from 2006 and "The Name of Aphrodite" from 2000.

Still on Wikipedia, the "Origin" section has subtopics "Near Eastern Love Goddess" and "Indo-European Dawn Goddess". In the first, it's said that she may have Semitic influence and in the second it's a link between her and Eos. In this part, the number of linked sources is large, so I won't name them, but it's there.

On the Theoi website, in the section "IDENTIFIED WITH FOREIGN GODS" we have Syrian, Persian, Arab, Roman, Egyptian, Scythian and Assyrian deities. But Theoi seems more to relate similar deities or that were perhaps the same than to point out which possibly came from whom.

Dionysus

I found pages about stories in which he GOES to Asia and even has cults there (in particular, I saw India mentioned a lot), but I didn't find much about the name or the divinity itself having an origin at least interconnected with Asia.

The "Etymology" section of Wikipedia links it with Mycenaean origin, with a pre-Greek origin (here they mention Robert SP Beekes having said this) and the page also says that attempts to have an Indo-European origin turned out to be doubtful. Too many sources to name here, but they are there.

Wikipedia's "Origin" section comments on him possibly being a foreign god, but doesn't directly state where. It's also said that one of the oldest records of worship of him dates back to Mycenaean Greece. This part also has too many sources to name, but they're there. And in the last paragraph, they compare the similarities between Dionysus and Shiva, although without linked sources.

The Theoi website has a section called "IDENTIFIED WITH FOREIGN GODS". It mentions Thracian, Phrygian, Phoenician, Roman, Mysian, Indian (although here the god himself is listed as "unknown"), Egyptian, and Arab deities. And this was the only one I saw with the most direct correlation with Asia. But Theoi seems more to relate similar deities or that were perhaps the same than to point out which possibly came from whom.

My question is: are there, in fact, convincing theories of a possible origin specifically linked to Asia for Dionysus? Specifically asking him because your blog is more focused on him, but if you know something about Aphrodite that's cool too. I even searched your blog to see if you had already answered a similar question as you tend to make some more informative posts, but I only found a few posts about Dionysus' association with foreign people in general, but not Asia itself.

Hello! Not a bother at all i like discussing long theories about Greek mythology!^^Great analysis on this topic but we should also mention that counties involve all the time and so they did back then with their mythologies oftentimes being inspired by other cultures.

Minoan civilization was the first advanced civilization in Greece and they are many theories of their origins. But of course centuries went on they expanded all over Greece and developed their myths and Gods. So it's speculated they took some parts from other countries and developed what we know as the Olympian gods.

In this civilization women held great influence and power in society. According to historical records women back then could have property, own land, be in charge of trading and marketing. Also their main god was a Snake goddess due to the influence of women in society and the meaning of the snake (fertility etc).

So again with the part of the origins of the gods even if some were inspired by others after centuries the way they acted, portrayed, spoke, what ethics and traditions they have are all Hellenic origins. I even answered this post about the origins of Dionysus and i quote:

His attribute of "foreignness" as an arriving outsider-god may be inherent and essential to his cults, as he is a god of epiphany, sometimes called "the god that comes". He's also said to have travelled in Asia minor and even India in places as some theorise that ancient Greeks believed that anywhere grapevines could be found and wine was cultivated, Dionysus had once visited.

In general the mentions of the gods in other countries it's only based on the fact that they were inspired by other cultures before they were fully developed into what we know them now. Even Egypt and Mesopotamia and rest of Asia more or else did the same before they included their culture into their deities to fully shape differ.

[grabyourpillow]

Because I can't help myself, here are the key points of the article disproving it:

The transfer of the mummy happened in 1976, not 1974

The fake-passport presents as a biometric passport, which are only delivered since 2008 in Egypt

The barcode on the fake-passport comes from the original blog article posted on the website heritagedaily.com. it's written underneath

This heritagedaily is a blog dedicated to paleontology and archeology that CLEARLY STATES THE FAKE PASSPORT IMAGE WAS CREATED TO ILLUSTRATE THE BLOG ARTICLE

The creator of the heritagedaily website confirmed to the fact-checking website linked above that he created it in 2018 and then republished it in 2020

Other versions are online, one more minimalistic, another in Arabic. All are false.

The mummy was received in France in a big show, with honors becoming of a sovereign. No mention of passport in any interview or article from that time.

The person in charge of documentary studies at the Egyptian antiquities Department of the Louvre Elisabeth David states that there is no fundament for the existence of a passport.

There is NO FRENCH LEGISLATION ACCORDING TO DECEASED HUMAN PEOPLE REQUIRE PASSPORTS

Mummies aren't even considered as "people" in case of a transport they are considered as "goods".

Elisabeth David cites a report from the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Natural History Museum) issued in 1985 as possible reason for this confusion:

[Translation by me: "Obviously, for such a grand figure to leave Egypt, obtaining a "pass"(port) required reaching out to the highest authorities of both countries, after reaching a mutual agreement, after long and tedious negotiations."]

Okay so obviously I'm not a professional translator so I'm not exactly sure how it reads in English, but in french it's pretty clear that the person writing just uses the term "passport" as a metaphor for the long and tedious procedures required to get the mummy out of the country, just as for issuing a passport. She uses it so the sentence reads as "obtaining an okay [to pass through]".

(Anyone who's ever had to deal with the french administration will have similar feelings on such a matter.)

TLDR: THE WHOLE IMAGE WAS CREATED TO ILLUSTRATE A BLOG ARTICLE. THERE IS NO SUCH FRENCH LEGISLATION

Mostly English-speaking websites relay either the default faulty assertion, or the version according to which only the photo is fake but there was a passport, probably because they don't have to the original 1985 report that mentions this "passport" nor access to this fact-checking article that provides the full context. (The latter part of the sentence is a hypothesis by ME)

MISINFORMATION SPREADS FAST BUT FACT CHECKING TAKES HOURS

PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE

The original fact-checking article cites and links all relevant sources. This website is a trusted fact-checking website operating under strict guidelines. It is a foundation with no political, commercial, or ideological ties.

it’s the “date of birth: 1303 BC” for me...

[generouslycunningdimension]

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 ✅ Conclusion

With its simple user interface and fast experience, the JetBet Android application provides easy access to games and bets without the need for a filter breaker. Features such as high odds, acceptable security, 24/7 support and various bonuses have made this application attractive to Persian-speaking users. If you are looking for a smooth and attractive online betting experience, installing JetBet for Android is a great option.

If you have any questions or specific points about this application, I will be happy to help you!

https://digishart.net/jetbet-android/"JetBet Android App - Best Betting Sites"

Jetbet app

[just-made-to-comment]

Locating Pengwern

So, there was this Brythonic kingdom in what's now England called Pengwern. Cambrian Chronicles has a good videö about it. It's mentioned in like three places. It's capital is disputed. Some say it's actually just Shrewsbury in Welsh, but that's Amwythig, a name which we can't figure out what it means and so is probably very old with contextual sound changes blurring wherever the words that make it up used to join to the point we can't tell where it is.

One of the sources is Canu Heledd. This is a poëm written in the voice of but not by Heledd ferch Cyndrwyn, a princess, and sister of Cynddylan, the last king of it.

So anyway, one of the places mentioned is Tren and aa lot of people think it's the river Tern, but according to the translation I linked above that doesn't sound quite right. The poëm says "Protected Tren, the town of his father!", and "Defending Tren, that wasted town!", ah yes, because "That wasted town" is a reference to a river.

Google maps has a town called Tern on the river but nowhere else does so that's probably an example of what they call a paper town. I'm just gonna say Tren is probably some now lost Welsh name for somewhere in England. (I couldn't find any possible Latin matches in Britain for Tren either, no Trandium, or anything).

Actually, Tren does also seem to be a river as there is a segment of the poem that goes "Parallel with the Avaerwy,/The Tren enters the Trydonwy,/And the Twrch falls into the Marchnwy./Parallel with the Elwydden, /The Trydonwy flows into the Tren, /And the Geirw flows into the Alwen."

Unfortunately I cannot find much about this River Trydonwy. The Twrch is a river far to the west of Pengwern, which we know thanks to the lines about the Church of Basa.

The poem also in a section lamenting the fate of Cynddylan's hall.  This is called Stafell Gynddylan, which means "Cynddylan's hall".  This would likely be the political centre of Pengwern.  One stanza reads, "The Hall of Cyndylan is not pleasant/To-night, on the top of Carrec Hytwyth,/Without lord, without company, without feast!", did you catch that?  The author of the poem has just told us where the location of the hall is.  The University of British Columbia, unlike the website I found the full poëm on, tends to use modern rather than middle Welsh proper nouns.  But according to them, Carrec Hytwyth just means "strong rock".  This version also translates "loegrians" as just "English".  The issue is, the normal word for English in Welsh is "sais", and the poem uses Lloegrwys, which is more literally something like "England-ese" meaning people from England rather than some sort of linguistic identity or the Anglo-Saxons.  However, it's probably just for metrical reasons as we can actually date Cynddylan's rule to include at least one year from 654-655, because he killed Peada's son.  This is after any sort of Celtic polity called Logres may have existed and long after the majority of the midlands were taken by the Mercians.  

For the llocation of Pengwern, we also have, "Have I not gazed from Dinlle Wreconn on the patrimony of Ffreuer?".  This is the connection that people have siezed on most, as Wreconn is either the Wrekin or Wroxeter.  It could be either.  Cambrian Chronicles thinks this is an English name the author has used but I disagree.  While he is more qualified to be talking about this than I, he mentions that in Welsh Viriconium would become "Gwregon", or the like.  Except, middle welsh likes spelling voiced plosives using their voiceless equivalents in postvocalic position.  Anyway, this name alone could be Wrexham, The Wrekin, or Wroxeter.  This may also be what pseudo-Heled refers to as "The White town", this is "between Tren and Trodwyd", and "between Tren and Traval",

I do not know any of these rivers, except the idea that tren = tern. But Wrexham isn't near any such named rivers. For the Wrekin, it's near the Tern, and could be a place she looked out from, but if it is that, then it cannot be the white town, as it is said by Pseudo-Heledd to be in a valley, and the Wrekin isn't.

Allow me to quote a stanza of Pseudo-Heledd's on the fate of the town from an alternate translation: "The fair town on the slope of the woods,/this was always its fate:/on the surface of its grass, its blood." This fair town is what is beïng destroyed, this is likely the same event as the earlier in the poem "Of Cyndylan; Llys Pengwern, is it not in flames?/Woe to the youth that longs for good fellowship."

The last option—Wroxeter could be it, but apparently it was abandoned soon after Roman Rule ended. Judging by the fact it was burned, this should leave archaeological remnants, a burn layer in the late 7th century.

However, if we look at another text, we can find a list of brythonic cities--Historia brittonum, we do see Cair Guricon, which could be the Urecon of Pseudo-Heledd. As Cambrian Chronicles says, this would be from the English name, of Wreocon Ceaster, but wouldn't this be borrowed as a diphthong? Anyway, it's a loan back from originally brythonic, and it could be that Pseudo-Heledd spoke some weird diälect. Regardless, Viriconium was abandoned in the 6th century, so it's not that. Whitechurch is also in Shropshire, but nowhere near the Tern. Maybe it was like Uxacona?

The main argument for Wroxeter is that it was the capital of the Cornovii, and there's not really a better candidate in the area anyway, except the dates ddon't line up. However, the fact borders after the roman period generally followed iron age lines, suggests continuïty between pre- and post-roman polities, so the people who ruled Viriconium were pobably in charge of Pengwern. Thus, it could be some undiscovered place the people who abandoned it went to. At the very least, you would expect burn layers, which could be in some undiscovered site.

[twstarchives]

Admissions Videos Transcripts

● Video Source: https://admission.twisted-wonderland.aniplex.co.jp/ ● Info: These videos first debuted at an in-person event at Shibuya Modi on October 26 & 27, 2019. Attendees were given an invitation card (pictured above) and instructed to place it in a “fire” where it then turned into a card with a keyhole. There were designated screens at this event which appeared blank to onlookers, but if you looked through the keyhole you received, you’d be able to see one of the dorm leaders greeting you. These videos were later posted on the official website on December 25.

                            ・━━━━✥◈✥━━━━・

Dire Crowley

Please allow me to welcome you today to the mage-training school Night Raven College’s admissions experience. I am the school’s headmaster, Dire Crowley. Now, please place that invitation you are holding in the light.

Are you ready? If we were to host a proper entrance ceremony, the Mirror of Darkness would select a house that perfectly matches your soul. Today, however, is a special admissions experience. I will use my own magic to choose a house for you. What do you think? Aren’t I so kind?

Another thing, today is a bit different than an official sorting. Regardless of which house is chosen for you, please refrain from any complaining. Now then, shall we begin?

One! Two! Three!

A keyhole linked to the gates of Night Raven College has opened in what used to be your invitation. Now, don’t be afraid; take your invitation back from the light. Hold the keyhole up to your eye, and take a peek out from the gates. I wonder where your soul will be guided?

Riddle Rosehearts

My name is Riddle Rosehearts. I’m the dorm leader ruling over Heartslabyul, which was founded on the severity of the Queen of Hearts.

You’re the new student, right? Since you’ve joined Heartslabyul, you must obey the laws of the Queen of Hearts just like a card soldier. First, start with a greeting.

…No. Speak more nicely. Don’t twiddle your fingers. Turn out your toes, and curtsy! Open your mouth a little wider!

Very good. You have quite a bit of promise in you. I don’t hate a person who obeys the rules. I have faith you’ll be able to follow all 810 of them.

But I’ll tell you just in case: If you ever were to break one of this dormitory’s rules…You already know, don’t you? It’ll be off with your head. Keep that in mind.

Leona Kingscholar

Are you the new kid?

What? Why do you look so excited?

Yes, well, forgive me for not leaping for joy. I’m Leona Kingscholar. The dorm leader for the house founded in the indomitable spirit of the King of Beasts, Savanaclaw.

We have only one rule here that’s absolute: Obey the king. It’s something even an herbivore like you can understand. Not too much to ask for, right?

You want to know what happens if you break that rule? Oh, no, no, let’s not think about things you don’t need to. I’m worried something horrible will end up happening to our adorable little newbie.

There are tons of aggressive guys in Savanaclaw. You wouldn’t want to end up in a mess with a pack of starving hyenas, right? If you want to see the light of another day, then curl up your tail and do as you’re told.

Azul Ashengrotto

Hello. So you are the new student everyone’s been talking about. Allow me to welcome you to Octavinelle, the dorm founded on the mercy of the Sea Witch. I work as its dorm leader, Azul Ashengrotto.

You are really quite fortunate. Since you’ve become an Octavinelle student, you’ll be able to spend your school life without feeling miserable, lonely, or depressed!

Why, you ask? Should anything happen that leaves you troubled, I will immediately come to help you. Yes, feel free to ask me anything at all. As dorm leader, I’m only doing what’s expected of me. I am very kind to those who are obedient.

Of course… In the case that you are unable to pay the price… I would have to punish you. Even I would feel just anguished if I had to hear your screams. You wouldn’t do anything to make me sad… would you?

Kalim Al-Asim

Oh?! You’re here! I’m Kalim Al-Asim. I’m the dorm leader for Scarabia, the house founded in the tactical spirit of the Sorcerer of the Sand. I’ve been looking for you. ‘Cause we can’t start the party unless everyone’s here! Today’s gonna be so much fun!

Golden camels, purple peacocks, white Persian monkeys, birds that warble on key… and a whole bunch of other animals; we’ve brought them all! And also… a magic carpet!

We’ll watch the parade, dance and sing, and have the best time of our lives!! Ah! Obviously, I had a whole lot of food prepared too! Hehe! The food our vice leader makes is the absolute best!!

He… told me this isn’t the time to throw a party, but… don’t you think there should be a little fun in this, too?

RIGHT?! I have a really good feeling about you coming to our dorm! Don’t even worry. I am an excellent judge of character.

Vil Schoenheit

This is Pomefiore, the house founded on the heavy efforts of the Beautiful Queen. We’re the fairest dormitory at this academy, as well as the most historic. I’m the dorm leader, Vil Schoenheit.

Are you our new student? Hm~? Well, let’s see if you’re eligible for now. Although… This still isn’t good enough.

Do you think the color of that top really suits you? Do your hair and skin always look perfect? Do you keep your nails nicely polished? Right now, I spare no effort in making sure that I am the most beautiful. And since you’re a student here too, I’ll make sure you’re working to improve your own self too.

Pomefiore has no room for lazy people. If you ever try to go behind my back and even think about slacking off… You’ll experience something that will make your breath still and your blood congeal. Please prepare yourself.

Idia Shroud

I-I’m Idia… Idia Shroud. Hello. I-I’m the dorm leader for Ignihyde, the house founded on the… diligence of the… Lord of the Dead. Anyway…

Y-You… really are unlucky to have been chosen for this dorm. Welcome to a school life that’s nothing but dark and gloomy; I’m so sorry for you—it really almost feels like you’ve been abandoned by the Goddess of Fate herself, doesn’t it!

T-There’s a lot more accurate information you can find on the internet about our dorm than you can get from me; you can look those things up yourself.

…Do you still need something? You really are persistent. Unlike you new students, I have a really busy schedule.

If you want to get by peacefully at this academy, my advice to you would be to not stand out. The people here are nothing but bad news.

Malleus Draconia

Oh? There’s quite a clamor over here.

What? An admission experience? Hm? That’s what all these festivities are? In that case, are you one of the humans who were invited here?

Then I will introduce myself to you, who is nothing more than a baby. I am Malleus Draconia. The dorm leader of the house founded in the noble spirit of the Fairy of Thorns, Diasomnia. And… I’m a descendant of the king who reigns over all dwellers of the night.

What’s the matter? Don’t look so frightened. I’m not going to suddenly transform into a giant dragon and set you on fire or anything like that.

I would love to chat with you a little while longer, but I’m afraid we must part for today. I was not invited to this glittering assemblage, you see.

I apologize for barging in uninvited. …Tell that to the Headmaster for me.

Of course I’m not angry. I’m not.

There are several Disney easter eggs hidden in these dialogues. I reworded some of them to better match the version spoken in the English versions of the movies.

Below I gathered the official lines for both the EN and JP dubs if you’d like to compare! If text from the JP dub was different enough to point out, I translated that in italics.

Alice in Wonderland

The Queen of Hearts’ dialogue:

Look up, speak nicely, and don’t twiddle your fingers! Turn out your toes. Curtsy. Open your mouth a little wider. もっと丁寧に。指を動かしてはいけないよ！左足を引いて、敬礼！口をもっとおおーきく開いて、こういうんだよ。

The Lion King

Scar’s dialogues:

Yes, well, forgive me for not leaping for joy. そうか、飛び上がって喜べなくて悪いな。

You wouldn’t want to end up in another mess like you did with the hyenas. この間のようにハイエナに襲われたら大変だろう。

You shall never see the light of another day. お前は二度と、太陽を拝めぬ身の上。

The Little Mermaid

All of these cameos are lyrics from the song Poor Unfortunate Souls.

The miserable, lonely, and depressed 憂鬱で悩める人

On the whole, I’ve been a saint いい子には優しい (I’m kind to good children)

Someone couldn’t pay the price and I’m afraid I had to rake ‘em cross the coals お代もらえず、お仕置きするの　泣きながら

Aladdin

All of the animals Kalim lists were also mentioned in the song Prince Ali.

Additionally, one of Kalim’s lines reflects a dialogue spoken by the Sultan:

I am an excellent judge of character. わしの人を見る目は確かじゃ。

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Evil Queen’s dialogue:

Her breath will still, her blood congeal. 息は止まって、血も凍りつく。

Hercules

“A little dark, a little gloomy�� is how Hades sardonically describes the Underworld.

“The Goddess of Fate” refers to the Fates, who are called the “Three Goddesses of Fate” in JP

Sleeping Beauty

“Glittering assemblage” is the phrase Maleficent uses to describe Aurora’s birthday celebration

[spn-headcanons-daily]

Hello people of the crazy spn fandom, how are we doing? (not well)

Wanna read some headcanons?

Since the finale, which brought me a new flavour of disappointment, I started to create a list of made up facts/headcanons (don't know how to call it better) of what should in my opinion happen to characters instead. Points about Dean and Cas from this list are slowly turning into my first actual fanfic, but points about Sam and Eileen are more difficult to write into a short story, so for now they are just staying as facts in a list. And I decided to post them here.

Will anyone ever read it? - Probably not.

Will that logical fact stop me? - Definitely not.

I'm going to post these ideas in order, one in each post. They can't count as actual fanfics, but they are long

Side note: I do not accept 15×20 as canon. Nope. It doesn't exist. I chose to completely ignore it, and by now I successfully erased it from my memory. Except for the part that in a few years Sam has a son named Dean (actually not really, but I'm going to call him that for simpler understanding, if you read it you will later find out why). And also Miracle the dog stays, he is a good boy and deserves the best.

I also should mention that in my imaginary world they saved Cas. And I have an idea how, and I think it's a good idea, but that's for another time, 'cause for that part I'm actually writing a fic (and it's becoming longer and longer, I don't know how to stop, it's out of control, please send help)

So they all know now that Cas is alive and he is okay.

Also you should keep in mind that English is my second language which I didn't study properly like a normal person but instead learned purely by watching tv shows, so feel free to kick my ass for any mistakes, there's probably a lot here.

If you read this shit below and liked it at least a little bit, please live something in the notes to make me feel less lonely and useless. Thanks :з

So, too much words, huh? Here is the first headcanon idea:

SAM WRITES A BOOK

After their big victory brothers still hunt monsters, of course, but now, when they are finally not constantly forced to save the whole world, their days are far less busy. They even have free time. And Sam makes a decision to do something useful with it.

Sam pulls together all his previous research, goes through hundreds of books from the library, adds other sources, and he writes and publishes a book. A really long book. It takes him almost a year from the first idea to the completion of it. This book is sort of a database, a full encyclopedia of all supernatural things that the Winchesters and the other hunters they know encountered over the years, with an accurate description of how those things look, what they do, what they want, where you can find them. And, of course, how to stop them, kill them, or protect yourself from them. The content is quite impressive, Sam put all his time and soul into it, checking and double-checking all information, comparing sources and trying to grasp the essence of each part of the lore and put it on the pages as short and simple as possible.

The book is called "The hunter's manual". Eileen insisted on that title - both Sam and Dean (who didn't help that much but nevertheless felt invested) right until the publishing kept offering something different. Sam wanted a long and self-explanatory name for his beloved creation, Dean wished for something more "pretentious and catchy".

It was supposed to be just a wiki-style website at first, but halfway through work Sam got excited about creating an actual book, so through some acquaintances they found a publisher, who knew about monsters and other stuff after his encounter with some vampires and another hunter, and agreed to publish a book in exchange for a right to sell its copies.

Eileen fully supported the idea of the book, but after a few weeks she gets quite annoyed by the fact that sometimes she literally can't pull Sam away from the book writing process. Dean jokes that his brother got married to book before he married Eileen, which somehow leads to a long serious conversation about marriage and love and life in general. But actually Eileen understands the importance of Sam's book for him way more than Dean, who thinks about it only from the practical point of view.

Sometimes Eileen is also worried for Sam, because he spends too much personal resources on his project, and she is the one who reminds him when he forgets to eat in time or not sleeping enough, and makes him remember to take care of himself. Eventually she becomes quite invested in the process, and she helps Sam with a lot of research and gaining information from other hunters across the country. She gets an honourable mention in the book's authors' information page, under a fake name, of course, but it still counts for them.

In a few years Sam's book becomes a handbook for almost every hunter in the US, and it even gets translated into a few other languages, because turns out it considerably eases your life to have one source for all basic material for the hunts, instead of going through the whole libraries of controversial information.

A few people got their book signed by Sam and Dean: the Winchesters at this point became sort of legendary figures in hunters' world. Dean complains that this is not the way he planned to become famous. Sam objects that his brother has no right to sign the book and therefore shouldn't be complaining when he lets him be part of his fame.

The hunters now often give a link to a digital version of the book to all ordinary people who had to face something supernatural and now know that it's all real - because if they are already aware of the nightmares of this world, this book's instructions will help them to be safer in the future. This digital version is also heavily redacted, to contain only information for protection: no summoning rituals, for example, as well as no any other things and information that could potentially hurt anybody. This version was created after some dumb teenagers, who encountered a ghost before, got their hands on an unedited book and decided that summoning a demon could be a good idea for a party entertainment. It definitely wasn't.

Ironically, some time later this book accidentally becomes fairly popular among the general public, as a book in the fantasy genre, and now passionate fans of the "supernatural" books in the long internet discussions are accusing mysterious author of "The hunter's manual" of ripping off their favourite series. Sam finds it amusing and sometimes when he is bored anonymously goes into some forums to argue with fans.

[nctinfo]

[TRANS] WayV’s interview with Vogue Korea December 2019 issue!

The reason why idols of 2019 differ from idols of 10 years ago, apart from fashion and music, is because they are from another generation. Rookie idol group of the newest generation. I realized this again when I interview WayV (Kun, Winwin, Ten, Lucas, Xiaojun, Yangyang, Hendery). They answer questions about dreams or people they admire differently. Before we continue on this, we need to know what exactly their team name 'WayV (Weishen V)' stands for. WayV is a Chinese group that made its debut under the Chinese label 'LABEL V' after going through SM's systematic production system. WayV is 威神V in Chinese. 'V' stands for 'Vision' which means 'to grow into global artists through music'. WayV, written in English, is a shortened version of 'We are your Vision'. The team name is explained in three languages.

They debuted in China on January 17 with their first digital album <The Vision-The 1st Digital EP> setting a record for 'firsts'. The title track ‘理所当然(Regular)’ came in second on the Chinese music website QQMusic popularity chart upon the release, third on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart in the U.S and 4th and 16th on the Social 50 chart and the Emerging Artists chart, respectively. This being the best result ever for a Chinese boy band. On May 9th, their first mini-album <Take Off-The 1st Mini Album> topped the QQMusic popularity chart and 30 local iTunes charts, making them the Chinese boy group with the most no.1 ranks on iTunes Album charts. On October 29, the title track 'Moonwalk' of their second mini-album <Take Over The Moon> topped the Chinese music site QQMusic's popularity chart and topped the iTunes Albums chart in 16 regions.

They also sang Chinese songs on a Korean stage. 'Moonwalk' was introduced on MBC Show Champion on October 30th. For Lucas, who is also a member of SuperM, it was the first time to sing a Chinese song on a Korean stage. "It was amazing. Since I had never been on a Korean stage as a Chinese idol. There are not many stages in Chinese to show our performance, so the members were very happy and nervous." (Lucas) "Around two-thirds of the audience were Korean fans. I was very happy to see we're liked in Korea too." (Winwin) Already, WayV is forming fandoms not only in China but also in Asia. On November 22nd, they will start their Asian Fanmeeting Tour, starting in Wuhan, China.

Their beginnings were all commonly K-Pop. Except for Xiaojun, who naturally dreamed of becoming a singer as both his parents and brother were involved in music and Ten, who danced from when he was young and after his grandmother introduced him to artists, he went on the path to become a singer after seeing K-Pop stars. "EXO is very popular in China. I dreamed of becoming an artist after watching Hyung's music videos". (Winwin) The same goes for Yangyang who grew up in Germany from 11 to 16 years old. "I saw EXO sunbaenims stage of 'Growl' in Germany and took part in SM's world audition. Now, I want to become an artist who is good at anything like Taemin sunbaenim." (Yangyang) "I wanted to be an artist who plays the piano and sing ballads. As I entered the company I dreamed of dancing and performing while watching EXO sunbaenim." (Kun)

As expected, the classic idol formula 'let's try our hardest everything' is common to them. They continue learning and upgrading themselves. Language is fundamental for those who dream of a global stage. Although there was an interpreter during the interview, the members spoke basic Korean. "At first, there were trainees who gave up because it was so hard. In fact, I cried a lot when I was a trainee. Since I didn't know how the future would look like, rather than studying hard. So that's why I thought I needed to learn more and build on my skills." (Hendery)

With the same mindset, Hendery learned to play the drums. "My roommate, Ten, suggested to look up different fields, saying that dancing and singing are basics for idols. There already are members who play the guitar and keyboard, so I chose the drum. Although we have a busy schedule, I'm constantly learning." (Hendery) "For me, I open my dictionary and watch Korean dramas. Recently, I watched < Melo Is My Nature>  and although there are a lot of lines they talk fast, I try to keep up." (Ten) "Korean idioms like 오장육부 [human organs], and proverbs like '내 코가 석 자 [something like: I have my own problems and can't take care of others]' are fun. I'm learning it to use it someday." (Winwin)

The most impressive part of WayV is the unique 'me' orientation of the new generation. They don't specifically mention the ones who they admire, want to resemble or a stage they want to stand on. In older interviews with idols, Beyonce and Justin Timberlake were often mentioned as icons and [idols] wanted to stand on the Super Bowl stage or Tokyo dome stage. Favorite music genre and songs were also shared without hesitation. But rather than wanting to be like/envy someone special, [WayV/the new generation] wants to choose from and combine numerous cultures that eventually create their own 'me'. The most important thing is to find and perfect your own style.

When we asked lead vocal Kun which vocalist he wants to resemble he replies "I want to continue finding my own style". After majoring in practical music, he is studying composition, and often plays his own songs to his team members and receives feedback from them. "I learned music theory in school, now I'm trying to find my own thoughts, my own style in music." (Kun) The same goes for Ten, who all members acknowledge as being an artist. Starting with breakdancing to popping, hip-hop and auburn dance, Ten says there isn't one particular choreographer he especially admires. "I just want to learn all kinds of great choreography, I don't want to resemble someone. A creative choreography needs to have your 'own identity'. It's important to find that first." (Ten) All his actions are linked to self-expression. "One part of my identity/self-expression is the silver accessories and piercings I'm wearing right now. I also draw to express myself. If I weren't an artist, I would have had another job that would allow me to express myself, for example, a fashion designer or photographer." (Ten) Idols of this generation don't hide their other dreams. Gone are the days when other dreams could only be hinted at during booming popularity. “I want to stand on a musical stage. Whether it's as a singer or for a musical, the stage is precious to me." (Xiaojun) "If there is a chance, I would like to act. I saw almost all of Ha Jungwoo's work." (Winwin) 

Another strength of WayV is their unity. Among them, leader Kun, nicknamed 'Kun-ge', is the one who the members go to when they have concerns. “The members have a lot of concerns about music. Not long ago, I talked with Xiaojun on how to express emotions while singing. Although my nickname is Kun-ge, I often feel comforted by our youngest Yangyang. Yangyang is someone with a lot of bright energy. The goal is to deliver great energy to the fans and this guy is already doing it naturally." (Kun) During their Korean activities on <Show! Champion>, Winwin, who is a detailed member, let the other unfamiliar members know where the restroom could be found. "We always get together to eat and also go out together. These days, we often go to the Han river on the electric kickboard that are popular in Korea now." (Winwin) "We go to schedules together and are together in the dorm too. We play games, watch movies and do everything together with the seven of us. It's nice, I like it." (Xiaojun) Lucas describes WayV in one word 'family'. "We understand each other, help each other, point out what we lack and hug/care for each other when we're sick. There were struggles when we were trainees, but that only made us stronger. WayV is not just someone I met through work, they are family. You have no idea how fortunate that is." (Lucas).

Translation: Esmee @ FY! NCT (NCTINFO) | Source: Vogue Korea — Do not repost or take out without our permission!

[brokenbuttonsmusic]

Laura Cantrell: Nashville-born, New York-based, Acclaimed Country Singer-Songwriter & DJ (& Kitty Wells Fanatic)

This post is a near- transcript of the Broken Buttons: Buried Treasure Music podcast (episode 2, side B). Here you’ll find the narration from the segment featuring the pioneering rock band Fanny, along with links, videos, photos and references for the episode.

Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Anchor or Mixcloud.

Music blog Stereogum used to have a running feature called “Quit Your Day Job” where they interviewed indie musicians about their current or former jobs. There was one with Marty and Drew from the band Blitzen Trapper. The two discussed being torn about walking away from teaching as their third album, Wild Mountain Nation, was starting to blow up. There was another where the lead singer of War on Drugs detailed some of the disgusting things he had to clean up while working as an apartment property manager. Mostly dead rats and clogged toilet stuff, but he did walk into an apartment that had been converted into a porno set. I remembered this discontinued “musician day job” feature while reading up on my next featured artist and it got me thinking. 

How many professional musicians do you think have a full time day job? How many juggle multiple side gigs and still manage to tour and put out records regularly? How many have really successful careers all while trying to make it as a musician? 

I don’t actually know. I did some research and there aren’t any reliable stats that I could find. There is a lot of anecdotal discussion on the topic. The consensus seems to be that most musicians are not getting by with music as their only, or even their primary source of income. I don’t think anyone is surprised by that. 

One Reddit user said less than 5% of musicians derive all or most of their income from music. He didn’t offer a source or anything, but he seemed very authoritative in his post. And then after a few more Google searches I lost interest and listened to more Laura Cantrell. 

Laura Cantrell’s story is what got me pondering how indie musicians go about juggling making art with the necessity of, you know, making a living to survive. In 2003, after two critically acclaimed albums, including a tour opening for Elvis Costello all across the United States and Europe, Cantrell was at a similar crossroads. Laura had risen to the position of Vice President of Equity Research at Bank of America in New York. Yes, you heard me right. Laura Cantrell was working as a corporate executive and touring with Elvis Costello at the same time. She actively worked on the road during the day and then performed for thousands of people each night.

Before we get further into what led up to this point and what came after, let’s hear a song from Laura Cantrell’s debut album, Not the Tremblin’ Kind. Here’s the title track.

That was Not the Tremblin’ Kind from Laura Cantrell’s first album back in the year 2000.

Laura grew up in Nashville. She played a little bit of piano and sang in the church choir, but did not get into performing music and playing out until her college years. As a teenager she worked at the Country Music Hall of Fame as a tour guide. This job, in addition to the influence of the diverse musical tastes of her parents, sparked an interest in traditional music, particularly classic country. She also became somewhat of an aficionado in this area. 

This love and knowledge of the early days of country music would help differentiate Laura as she honed her sound and selected her songs while developing as a performer down the road. Before that, however, it would make her an excellent college radio DJ and later an even more excellent DJ at WFMU, one of the best and longest running free-form radio stations in the country. Out of the New Jersey/New York area, WFMU is awesome to this day, with a wide array of programming where DJs still get to play whatever they want. 

Laura is my favorite kind of DJ, and the kind that has been dwindling in numbers since the rise of music downloads, which then gave way to streaming and endless algorithms. First off, she’s knows her stuff. She carefully curates each shows, and thoughtfully sequences each set within every episode. She packs in history, context and story to create something that transcends your typical weekend-afternoon-background-radio-soundtrack. I know this show is about under appreciated bands and artists, but Laura Cantrell’s contributions to radio deserve to be heard by more people. You can find her past WFMU shows, called The Radio Thrift Shop, archived on the WFMU website. You can hear her present day on her “States of Country” radio show on the Gimmie Country radio app, or on her SiriusXM George Harrison themed show “Dark House Radio,” on The Beatles station.

This concludes the part of the show where I babble my enthusiastic endorsement of Laura Cantrell’s past and present radio career.

Laura began playing music with others in college at Columbia University. Her jam pals included Andrew Webster, future member of Tsunami Bomb and Mac McCaughan, who would go on to form Superchunk and Portastatic + found Merge Records. The friends would call their band Bricks. A lo-fi, mostly apartment recording projects that played sporadic gigs over the years. 

Here’s the Brick’s song, The Girl with the Carrot Skin.

Living in New York, Laura began playing guitar and writing her own songs. She also plucked some choice classic country finds and incorporated them into her own performance catalog. One day she met a guy named John who asked her to sing on a song that would appear on his band’s next major label release for Elektra. 

That’s The Guitar from They Might Be Giant’s 1992 album, Apollo 18. John Flansburgh asked Laura to sing on that recording. It was the first time Laura recorded in a professional studio. John Flansburgh became a fan of Laura’s music and released her first recorded material as part of his Hello CD of the Month Club, an EP called The Hello Recordings in 1996. 

Let’s hear another Laura Cantrell song. This time one that she wrote with Amy Allison. From Laura Cantrell’s 2014 album, No Way There From Here, this is All the Girls are Complicated. 

That was Laura Cantrell with All the Girls Are Complicated from her last full length release, No Way There From Here. Actually, that was her last full album of new material, but Laura did release an album a few years back of her BBC recordings on John Peel’s radio show. That album is called At the BBC: On Air Performances and Recordings 2000-2005. 

I mentioned earlier that Peel was a big fan. Again, here’s John Peel’s full quote about Laura’s first album, Not the Tremblin’ Kind: "[It is] my favourite record of the last ten years and possibly my life.” Having the endorsement of the legendary English disc jockey was enough to give Cantrell wider exposer throughout the UK. She developed a loyal fanbase through regular appearances on Peel’s show, as well as US and European tours, including the opening slot for Elvis Costello. Which brings us back to Laura’s fork in the road. Before her third album, Laura decided to walk away from the corporate gig. She was excited to focus on music full time, but a little worried about walking away from the security of a successful career she liked and position she was good at.

From a spotlight CNN Business did on Cantrell in 2004:

“For several months until she finally quit, Cantrell balanced her day job with a growing schedule of rehearsals, gigs, recordings and publicity. On the day she appeared on the Conan O'Brien show she was at her desk until lunchtime.”

“And while life as a professional musician is a dream come true, Cantrell still looks back with fondness on more than a decade on Wall Street.”

“‘I came into Wall Street with a very typical kind of stereotype that it was all going to be people just obsessed with money. What I found was that there were just loads of interesting people who were a lot like myself, just doing it as a job and who had lives that were full of other things.’

‘So I miss some of the contact with people I met. Ironically it was a very supportive environment for me as an artist.’”

Laura’s first two albums were released on the the indie label Diesel Only, which was founded by her husband, Jeremey Tepper. Her third album was released by Matador Records, also an indie label, but with an impressive roster that included Liz Phair, Modest Mouse, Pavement and Sleater-Kinney. Released in 2005, Humming By the Flowered Vine continues Cantrell’s classic country sound, but with some evolved production and arrangements. Laura’s mastery as a song selector gets more and more impressive. This album includes a cover of a rare, unreleased Lucinda Williams song form 1975 called, “Letters.” 

In fact, Lucinda Williams herself was thoroughly impressed with Laura’s cover of “Letters.” She attributes the cover to bolstering her confidence to go back through her earlier material and look for her own buried treasures. 

From Blurt Magazine: 

“The inspiration for her journey through the past struck when she heard Laura Cantrell’s version of her song ‘Letters,’ which Williams wrote around 1975 and recorded on a demo but never officially released. Explains Williams, ‘She got a copy from a mutual friend and did a beautiful, really sweet version of it that made me think wow, she brought this early song back to life, maybe I should go back and review some of my old stuff. I’ve got all these tapes of old little songs, but I never thought they were good enough to do anything with.’”

You know you’re an ace at finding under appreciated gems when you surprise Lucinda Williams by helping her discover one of her own songs. Let’s hear Laura Cantrell’s version of Letters.

That was Laura Cantrell with Letters from her 2005 release Humming by the Flowered Vine.

In 2008, Laura returned with an EP called, Trains and Boats and Planes with 9 songs about… trains, and boats and planes. It’s very good and it includes a fun cover of New Order’s Love Vigilantes. 

Throughout this time, Laura continued her radio show. She also started a family and became co-owner and co-operator of Diesel Only Records. 

In this clip from an interview with Face Culture, you can really hear Laura’s passion for country music and its roots. She talks about the importance of country’s influence on rock n’ roll, and how each artist is inspired by something great that came before. 

And Laura continuously pays tribute to the greats that came before through her radio show and on her own records. In 2011, Laura released a tribute to Kitty Wells called “Kitty Wells Dresses: Songs of the Queen of Country Music.” The collection includes nine Kitty Wells covers and one original, the title track, Kitty Wells Dresses.

From the Washington Post:

Here’s Laura talking about the inspiration for the album. 

“Kitty wore very typical stage clothes for women who performed at barn dances and in early country music shows,” says Cantrell, a Nashville-born, New York-based country singer and host of an old-time music show on the legendary radio station WFMU.

“They were these frilly gingham dresses, non-threatening and cutesy. It became this uniform that all the women of the era wore, and I always thought it was a great metaphor for how you can underestimate the strength of the person or the value of the artist underneath.”

That was the song Kitty Wells Dresses from Laura Cantrell’s tribute album of the same name, released in 2011. Wells was the oldest living member of the Country Music Hall of Fame upon its release. She was also the first woman inducted into the hall. Cantrell met and talked to Kitty about her album. She said that Kitty asked which songs were selected and as Laura began calling them out, Kitty would sing each one. 

I’ve mentioned all of Laura’s past and present DJ efforts, all of which I’ll link to on my website, brokenbuttons.com. Laura also continues to release music. She had planned a host of special activities for the 20th anniversary of Not the Tremblin’ Kind, which had to be put on hold due to all things 2020. 

You can contribute to Laura’s IndigGoGo campaign to help fund her new digital singles collection that she’s already started releasing. The plan is to release six singles with an A and a B side, all working with different musicians and producers. I’d recommend the $50 Kitty Wells Dresses Pack, which gets you access to the digital singles as their released, a signed CD copy of both the singles collection and the Kitty Wells Dresses album, as well as a copy of Laura's essay on Kitty and Patsy Cline from the book "Rock and Roll Cage Match: Music's Greatest Rivalries"

Laura Cantrell is the rare performer whose work is deeply rooted in its original source material while still feeling fresh and exciting. Laura’s radio shows can be described the same way. A buried treasure unearthing buried treasure and taking the old and classic and making it new and lasting and so much sweeter. Laura Cantrell.

References and other stuff to check out:

Laura’s Indiegogo campaign for her digital singles series

The Radio Thrift Shop - Laura’s prior radio show. You can stream past episodes and check out her playlists

Gimmie Country, where Laura hosts her current show States of Country. New episodes air 3:00 Monday EST. Laura chats during the show with listeners in the app.

Darkhorse Radio on Sirius XM. Laura’s other show dedicated to George Harrison. New episodes air Thursday at 3:00.

John Peel wiki entry about Laura

TMBG wiki entry about Laura

A Wall Street journal feature on Laura

An NPR feature on Laura

A CNN Business Week feature on Laura

Stereogum archive of the Quit Your Day Job feature

[miniaturestarlightsandwich]

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GG Strive: Highlights pt. 2

Welcome to part 2 of the GG Strive highlights! If you haven’t seen the previous one, please go here.  During the livestream, the developers announced the official website for GG Strive(both English and Japanese) will feature content to help people understand the lore of Guilty Gear. The website features manga based on the events of the games separated by chapters. There’s also Youtube videos of the Xrd series’ story modes uploaded directly from Arc System Works.  My perspective of the manga will mainly be from me being a long-time fan of GG. I’ll look at how well and how much information it gives to those not familiar with the series. And, I’ll also be reviewing it as a manga in general with how the writing is, etc. I’ll be using the grade system to judge each aspect. This will definitely be a long post since it’s about the lore.  WARNING: My review will contain some spoilers. If you haven’t read the manga yet or you don’t wanted to be spoiled, it’s best not to read this post.  (Here is the line for the GG manga!) https://www.guiltygear.com/ggst/en/story/ Readability:  The GG Story Digest comics follow the format of reading from right-to-left and turning the pages is from the left side; this is different if you’re not used to reading Japanese material. The font size and style of the dialogue, titles, etc. is generally clear enough. But there are times where it may be hard to see like this one.

The story introduction text of Chapter 5 is mixed in with the background image that has some dark shades of gray. This made it hard to see what it says, especially since the website doesn’t have a zoom-in/zoom-out feature for the pages. You would have to use your browser if you have trouble seeing certain words. Other than this, the readability is very good! Rating: A Artstyle & Presentation: The artist chosen to do the GG Digest comics is Sumeragi, whom you may recognize because she’s known to do artwork for Blazblue. The presentation of her art is nicely done from the opening scenery of each chapter to the expressions on the characters’ faces; there’s a good amount of detail on everything. My favorite part about Sumeragi’s style is the beautiful, soft colors implemented at certain moments in the story like this one.

It perfectly highlights how special the moment is whenever I see it, but it also makes me wish all of the chapters were in color. Sumeragi’s art fits the modern anime style that’s been more mainstream for a while. I think her artstyle is really cute of how she interprets the characters’ designs. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Blazblue more than Guilty Gear at times, though. I personally would loved it if they got with an artist with a distinct style reminiscent of the 90s/early 2000s(for example like Outlaw Star or Record of Lodoss War). Other than this part, I like looking at the pages! Rating: B + (Note: I’ll be going by the English version of the manga by the western side of Arc System Works. The translation has gotten better over the years, but I’ll check the Japanese one for any noticeable differences in the future.) Writing/Pacing: The general quality itself is good, so there won’t be errors like “Welcome to die!” or “This guy are sick”, XD. I noticed the dialogue based on the events of the first Guilty Gear game is improved and the personalities of the characters is conveyed well in each chapter. It does a great job of providing brief character bios and the world of GG in a straightforward way. If you were ever confused on which paths took place as part of the main story, the writing will help make it easier. The writing also adds small details in some of the chapters that you may recognize. For example, on this page below...

For GG fans, doesn’t the man Sol is talking to look familiar? It’s the same guy Sol was stepping on from this.

What happens is the following page between them is probably the funniest part to me throughout all the chapters. The final chapter of the manga ends on a cliffhanger, which is done on purpose for you to watch the Story Modes on Youtube. Now for the negative part... The website does state it’s a quick-overview of events, but I think it’s too quick. There’s so many important details missing that the manga completely ignores. Examples include information about Forbidden Beasts, the Assassin’s Guild, the other Sacred Treasures(like Anji Mito’s fans called Zessen), nations like Zepp, the P.W.A.B.(Postwar Administration Bureau), etc. Other mainstay characters that play supporting/vital role to the series(for example Faust) is reduced to being just there for 1 or 2 chapters. There’s some that don’t appear at all like Slayer, I-No, and Anji Mito to name a few. Things like this is essential to world building in general, but especially for introducing new people to Guilty Gear.  Except for Chapters 5 and 3, the chapters of the manga is short. The final chapter being short is understandable, but not for the previous ones. It ruins the overall pacing of the manga because it’s too focused on getting to the point instead of inform you of the details. The second part is something the official GG website lets you know immediately; there will be some events that differ from the games. This itself isn’t an issue, though there are some things I personally disliked. One of them for me is how the Xrd SIGN design of Justice being incorporated in the earlier events of GG(like The Missing Link). That design of her looks like a xenomorph reject with breasts, XD. It’s not as amazing as Justice’s iconic, mech-like design. Another one is based on GGX Plus when Sol encounters Dizzy. It follows the game version at first, but it then changes a bit with creating a scenario where Ky intervenes. How it was done ruined how is in the game with Sol showing some of his humane side to Dizzy and sparing her on his own. It could’ve been done better. I think it’s best to view the GG Digest manga as a basic guide to the world of GG for those new to the series. For long-time fans, it’s just nice seeing more GG related content in general. It obviously doesn’t negate the source material like the novels, Drama CDs, etc. The manga is definitely worth reading, but still important to play or watch the games’ stories for full context. Rating: C  I’m glad the story of the Guilty Gear series is being promoted more in the West. I love the lore of GG and its characters, especially since it has the depth of an JRPG rather than a generic plot in most fighting games. Sadly, it’s not easy finding info due to either it’s Japan only and/or it’s very rare. There are a few fanmade English sites and blogs continuously trying to provide this for years. Each of them do have some reliable info that can be trusted, so it’s good to browse around to put the pieces of the puzzle together. So far, there’s no #1 source for GG lore yet because besides the part of finding info, there’s also still areas where mistranslations, misinterpretations, etc. of GG is still present. Mistakes like this happens sometimes and not always easy to spot, but can be fixed with no problem! But sadly, it isn’t always that simple because some people handling GG information be very... “heavy-handed” instead of helpful.  So I think it’s best to be not afraid to check and dig, dig, dig! I’m still digging for more GG material, XD.  Stay turned for part 3!