#( This is just a general starter taking place in the Sixth Year )

[lucindamned]

+1

Who needs a wand when she's got a rolled-up copy of The Daily Prophet to lightly whack her classmate on the shoulder with!

"Stop with your homework. Have you heard already? Headmaster Black's bringing back Quidditch!" @acourtcfmuses

Who cares if they knew she got kicked off Ravenclaw's team during the Fourth Year? It was Sixth Year now, the captain of her team had already graduated Hogwarts, basically she was in the clear to try out again!

[anneapocalypse]

What is "the occult" in FFXIV?

Ever since I first laid eyes on the EE3 bit about Urianger's parents I have been noodling on one thing in particular. Encyclopedia Eorzea volume 3 refers to "the occult" as Urianger's parents' field of study (and the reason they were so absent from his life). Every since that discovery, I have been curious what that actually means. What is "the occult" in a universe where magic is real, measurable, and a highly legitimate and prestigious field of study?

So, where else is "the occult" referenced in the game?

Thanks to this invaluable searchable transcript, I've found a few other references in MSQ.

The first use of the term "occult" in MSQ that I've found is way back in the Gridania starter quests when some Ixali "Occultists" are trying to summon Garuda at the Guardian Tree. In isolation I'd take this one with a grain of salt since it's very early in ARR, but I think it's consistent with other usages. The description for Whorleater Extreme also uses the term, referencing "the occult knowledge of the Ascians," so from the start there is an association of the occult with Ascian magicks and specifically with summoning.

The only other mention in MSQ comes from Alphinaud in Endwalker, where he and Krile are giving us the tour of Sharlayan, and specifically Phenomenon:

Alphinaud: As the center of what would later become the Studium, it was established to promote the study of aetherological phenomena, hence the name. Alphinaud: Though with aether being a fundamental aspect of nature, its scope expanded to include every conceivable facet of life and even the universe itself. Alphinaud: And then, in the four hundred and thirty-second year of the Sixth Astral Era, Phenomenon was decreed complete and the Studium officially opened as a place of learning. Alphinaud: With a long and storied history, it is without question the world's leading authority in aetherology, the arcane, the occult, astromancy, and countless other fields, standing proud as─ Alisaie and Krile: ...Sharlayan's foremost educational institute!

Okay, so "the occult" clearly falls within the general field of aetherological phenomena and magic, though that we could have guessed already. Something that catches my eye is how in more than one place, "occult" is contrasted with or referenced as distinct from "arcane." This is the case in Alphinaud's speech above, as well as in the Blue Mage quest "Everybody Was Fukumen Fighting," wherein Bluehood says, "No occult tricks or arcane incantations can contend with the all-surpassing might of blue wizardry!"

In the Loporrit Allied Society quests, we also get this odd little quest "Hare-Raising Thrills," in which we're asked to make "Occult Paraphernalia" for a Loporrit called Thrillingway. Depending on crafting job, dialogue with Keepingway will elaborate thus:

"It seems he requires a pair of shears─but not just any pair. No, he desires blades sharp enough to carve fur clean off!"

"He wants a sturdy coil of rope suitable for binding all four limbs of…a 'friend,' allegedly."

"Seems he wants a highly acidic gel for some dubious purpose I did not have the heart to inquire about. Honestly, I think it's best if we don't know."

Which. I mean. Okay. lol. Do what you will with that.

But probably most illuminating is the use of the word "occult" in a couple of Red Mage quests, and in the Sky Pirate raid quests.

In "The Weeping City," Cait Sith says, "Thus did the Mhachi magi construct an occult device that would more securely bind the voidsent to their will..."

And in the Red Mage quests "With Heart and Steel" and "Traced in Blood" we have, respectively:

"The tomes with passages pertaining to the voidsent Lilith are all forbidden occult works..."

and

"...the secrets behind Lambard's occult transformation."

In both contexts, "occult" seems to be connected to voidsent, specifically to Lilith in the case of the Red Mage quests.

And this ties back to the references in ARR as well, since from the beginning Ascians have been connected with the Void, even before we knew what the Void actually was. So it's safe to say at this point, I think, that "occult" can refer to magicks connected to the Void and to Ascians.

There's just one more reference I found that flummoxed me a bit, and that's this description of the Arcanist class, which refers to arcanist weapons as "occult grimoires." I found it odd initially because in most other contexts "occult" seems to refer to magicks seen as illicit, as opposed to the socially acceptable "arcane." But it does make a kind of sense, given that it is from Arcanist that we get Summoner. If summoning of primals is occult, then by extension so is summoning in the arcanist sense, even if it's not truly the same thing. This would seem to be the exception to "arcane" and "occult" being distinct categories, which leads me to believe that the distinction is more cultural than ontological.

So I think from the above, we can consider "occult" to be a fairly broad term that may be used in several distinct but overlapping senses:

Magic related to the summoning of primals.

Magic related to the Void, voidsent, and Ascians.

Magic which is taboo, forbidden, or otherwise outside of that which is socially accepted.

As a footnote, I think this is particularly interesting in the context of Urianger being introduced as our resident expert on primals, despite the fact that that's... really not specifically his field of study but merely adjacent to it. Urianger's primary interest is prophecy, and certainly plenty of prophecy seems to reference primals and Ascians and that's where we see him doing a lot of his research, but it's not the same field, merely overlapping.

Without more information we can't know for certain what his parents were actually studying. Maybe they were interested in primals, or Ascians, or the Void. Maybe they were studying Void-related magics. It's also possibly they were simply arcanists particularly interested in the summoner side and we shouldn't read much more than that into the reference to "the occult." Who knows.

But nonetheless, several of these interpretations would mean that in a way, Urianger has followed in their footsteps despite their making apparently little effort to guide him that way, which I find to be an interesting angle to his character and also profoundly sad in its own way--not that he found his own interests in those areas, but that the Augurelts had a child so naturally inclined toward their own interests and still took so little interest in him.

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

The Top Pets of 2023!

Hey everybody! I hope you’re all doing well, and I thank you for bearing with me with the last few weeks of hiatus. We may be a little over a week into 2024, but let’s take a step back and celebrate the top ten pet contenders of the year according to score!

Well, okay, top ten is a little bit of a stretch. As it turns out, there’s quite a few ties in the top ten scores, and we’re covering them all. This is gonna be a BIG post, so let’s get right into it!

TENTH PLACE

Our tenth place slot is shared by not one but four pokémon! In no particular order:

One of only two Mythical pokémon in our top ten(ish), Mesprit is a pokémon that comes with some caveats due to their lowercase-“l” legendary status. But hey, numbers are numbers!

Next up is another psychic-type, fan-favorite natu! Look at them! They’re looking at you!

Living, breathing keyring coming right up! If you’re adopting a klefki, you’re gonna want quite the supply of keys to keep em happy, but that’s nothing to a dedicated pet owner!

Finally, we’ve got eevee! Reliable, adorable, harmless, cuddly: eevees have it all. Be careful though, this species is one of the easiest pokémon to evolve by accident!

NINTH PLACE

We have two pokémon tied for ninth place! First,

Hey, it’s a recent one! Delibirds are great pet candidates! They’re known not just for looking a bit like a certain holiday icon, but for being exceptionally generous!

Another small Mythical pokémon, another A-tank pet with some pretty big caveats. The chances of any of us even running into Celebi are pretty low. But, if you happened to meet them, I’m sure they’d be delighted to be your houseguest… for a time, anyways. “Pet”? Ehhh…

EIGHTH PLACE

In eighth place, we’ve got a four-way tie again!

First up: silcoon! Uh… Well, silcoons get a “A?” Score for a reason. This pokémon would be the definition of a pet that doesn’t do much. But hey, that’s what some people might want!

I was very excited about this score. C’mon, it’s abra! These little teleporters are adorable! And very sleepy! So far, eighth place seems to be the “doesn’t do much” category…

Except for ditto! What can’t dittos do? Well, they can’t do much to harm anyone, but we can transform into any person, pokémon, or object they want! Dittos are great! You can’t go wrong with a ditto! Look how cute we are! Adopt a ditto today!

Wooloo! Eighth place ends with another normal-type pokémon, and another one that I personally was excited to see score so high. Wooloos might have my very favorite cry out of all thousand-or-so pokémon discovered thus far!

SEVENTH PLACE

Just two pokémon this time around…

What do you know, a “just-a-cat” pokémon made it into the top ten! Listen, as a real-world cat owner, I’m very biased towards any pokémon that resembles mine in either looks or behavior. Skitties are a great pet option. If I had one, I would name them Skittles.

Wow, it’s been a long while since we covered fidoughs, and yet they’ve held strong in the rankings all this time! Special shoutout to my sister, who requested this pokémon!

SIXTH PLACE

There are three pokémon tied for sixth place, so let’s keep it moving!

Speaking of pokémon we covered a long time ago, it’s squirtle! The only starter pokémon in the 2023 top ten, squirtles would make great pets for anyone who likes to play in the water and/or doesn’t mind getting splashed with water every once in a while. I also hear that they look pretty rad in sunglasses…

Spiky baby! Spiky baby! Spiky baby! (Enough said, honestly.)

Would you look at that, it’s a “just-a-bird” contender! Do you like birds? Do you want a pet bird? Do you want a really smart pet bird? Then a chatot may be just right for you!

FIFTH PLACE

Just one pokémon holds the fifth place crown this year and… hold on…aw man…

It’s…uh… it’s another cocoon pokémon. Don’t get me wrong, I think pokémon like metapod and silcoon are charming in their own ways, but I recognize that they’re not the most exciting species to end up in the top ten-ish of the year. To the metapod lovers: congratulations! To the metapod haters: sorry?

FOURTH PLACE

Almost there! The fourth place slot is taken up by a single pokémon as well:

Cherrims are the one and only plant-like pokémon in the 2023 top ten! If you’re looking for a sweet-smelling, low-maintenance pet, them cherrims might be just right for you!

THIRD PLACE

Third place is the last category with multiple pokémon! We’re almost there!

Look at that little celery bowl-cut! Ralts are a great option for pet owners looking to adopt a psychic or fairy-type pokémon! They may be in tune with your emotions, but be warned: your mood will affect a ralts’. Don’t look to a ralts for a emotional support pet!

Wow, psychic-type really seems to be holding strong in the 2023 top ten-ish! So long as you don’t have an aversion to a lot of noise, a chimecho would make a great pet!

SECOND PLACE

In second place, we have another pokémon that we covered pretty recently: alcremie! I personally would still hesitate a little bit, just because I don’t have a great grasp of how a pet made out of a substance that’s at the very least similar to whipped cream, which is so easily dissolved by just water. But hey, alcremies are great! Very few alcremies are the exact same with so many possible variations of appearance, which is an added bonus.

FIRST PLACE

Without further ado, the best pokémon pet candidate of 2023 is…

Chansey! This one caught me by surprise, especially given how large they are! Who’d have thought that a three-and-a-half foot creature would get the highest score? It really all comes down to their friendly disposition and healing abilities. This is a pokémon that isn’t only receptive to living alongside humans, they actively enjoy caring for humans and other pokémon! That being said, they’re surely not common pets: this is a remarkably illusive pokémon that is rarely caught by trainers, so adopting one might not be as easy as popping over to the shelter. Thankfully, they can be found in many regions of the world.

So there you have it, the top ten twenty-one pet candidates of 2023! I’ve said it again and again, but thank you so much for following along with this silly blog! I’m hoping that the blog continues to grow and be enjoyed in the coming year. How far will we get in the pokédex? Who knows! Who can even say how many new species will be discovered this year? We’ll have to just wait and see.

[sportswriterdad]

Ranking the best Red Sox third basemen in my lifetime

This is part one of a multipart series looking at the best Red Sox players at each position since the mid-1970s, as determined by me. (Two notes: One, you had to be the starter at that position for the bulk of the season to qualify for inclusion. And two, we ranked players by numbers, as well as my own personal set of intangibles.) We start with third base.

17. Glenn Hoffman (1980): One of a couple of guys who was shoehorned into the post-Hobson, pre-Boggs era. A utilityman who ended up taking the majority of reps in a year where it was third baseman-by-committee (Butch Hobson, Larry Wolfe, and Stan Papi also started games at third for the Sox that year), he went 4-42-.285 in 1980 and made 17 errors. (If that sounds like a lot, consider the fact that Hobson made 16 errors in 120 fewer chances. Yikes.)

16. Pablo Sandoval (2015-16): I wanted this to work so baldy — I loved Sandoval when he was with the Giants — but this was, without a doubt, one of the worst deals in recent memory.

15. Wilton Veras (2000): I’ll be honest … I had completely forgotten about Veras, who hit .244 in 49 games for the 2000 Red Sox. I also didn’t know he continued to play baseball for another 10 years after leaving Boston at the end of the 2000 season, spending time in Mexico and China. That’s a dude who loves baseball.

14. Scott Cooper (1993-94): The poor sap who had to follow Boggs after he departed for New York. Was a mostly dependable presence who made the All-Star team both years he was the started for Boston (if only because they didn’t have a lot of All-Star worthy players in that stretch), and went 13-53-.282 in 104 games in 1994. Wikipedia says he became a youth baseball coach and part-owner of a baseball facility after he retired. Good for him.

13. Shea Hillenbrand (2001-02): Daniel Nava for a new generation. A really pleasant surprise when he started as a rookie, he sort of came out of nowhere and won the job with a strong camp in 2001. He finished with 30 homers combined in his first two seasons, and while he was an adventure defensively, he appeared to be a part of a team that was building toward greatness at the start of 2003. But Boston acquired Bill Mueller, and that was pretty much that — he was traded to Arizona for Byung-hyun Kim in early 2003. In all, he played two-plus years and had 33 homers, 170 RBI and a .284 batting average. Pretty good. (I fell down a Hillenbrand rabbit hole, and it’s easy to forget he had a really rocky ride after leaving the Sox, including one incident in Toronto where he angered the manager so much he threatened to punch Hillenbrand in the mouth.)

12. Tim Naehring (1995-97): A perfectly respectable ballplayer who saw time at multiple spots before becoming the everyday third baseman in 1995, he played good defense and hit consistently enough. He just couldn’t stay healthy at all; backs, knee, and shoulder issues really derailed what could have been a nice career. The one year he played more than 120 games was 1995, when he finished with 10 homers, 57 RBI and a .307 average. (He also went 4-for-13 with a homer in the ALDS loss to Cleveland.)

11. Carney Lansford (1981-82): A personal favorite because he wore glasses. (I also had glasses as a kid.) Would have been higher on this list if he had stayed in Boston longer, but among his two-year accomplishments was the 1981 AL batting title, a .338 average, and a sixth-place finish in AL MVP voting that season. Sent to Oakland in a package for Tony Armas after it was clear Boggs could hit big-league pitching.

10. Will Middlebrooks (2013-14): You guys probably all know Middlebrooks’ info — solid, workmanlike third baseman who wasn’t much of a hitter (.237 average and 43 homers in two-plus years in Boston), so I’m going to tell you a personal story:

Between the 2012 and 2013 baseball seasons, we went to a fundraiser in the Boston area at the house of a friend. There were people donating to youth sports programs, and one of them had gotten Middlebrooks to show up, do some glad-handing, sign baseballs, that sorta thing. The guy was as great a guy as you would have hoped. My seven-year-old son — some readers know him as The Kid — wore his Middlebrooks t-shirt, and he talked to him, took pictures, signed a baseball. Just fantastic. Flash forward a few months and we are at Fenway’s Winter Weekend. Middlebrooks is there, and in the middle of a clubhouse tour, he comes over and says hi to my son. “Hey buddy, I remember you.” Made his month.

Needless to say, we remain Middlebrooks fans’ to this day. And that’s why we have him in our Top 10.

9. John Valentin (1998-1999): Bumped over to third with the arrival of Nomar (which he was not a fan of, initially, if you recall), he was likely the best third Red Sox third baseman of the post-Boggs, pre-Mueller era. In the end, he was probably underrated statistically — he had a really impressive 1995-99, and led the league in doubles in 1997 (47) while hitting .306 with 18 homers. Fell off the face of the earth after that 1999 postseason, where he driven 12 runs in the ALDS against Cleveland, and hit .348 in the ALCS against the Yankees. But like Rico Petrocelli (twenty-plus years later), he’ll probably be remembered as a better shortstop than a third baseman.

8. Rico Petrocelli (1975): A shortstop by trade, he spent year at third at the end of his Boston career, a stopgap before Hobson was ready for the bigs. Great shortstop, OK third baseman for one of all-time favorite teams. Let the record show he hit .308 in the 1975 World Series.

7. Butch Hobson (1976-79): I grew up on the mid-70s Sox, so I have a soft spot for Hobson. Love the fact that he hit 30 homers out of the No. 9 hole for the 1977 Crunch Bunch, and added 28 homers in 1979. But he played third base like an SEC quarterback ... which is to say that everyone was thrilled when his completion percentage (to first) was better than 60 percent. If he was a better defensive third baseman (in 1978, he committed 43 errors and had a fielding percentage below .900), he’d be a little higher on this list.

6. Kevin Youkilis (2011-12): It felt like Youkilis was around for years, and while he was in Boston for an awful long time (2004-2011, with a brief return in 2012), in truth, he was the starting third baseman for the better part of two seasons. He only played 100 games at third more than once, 2011. That surprises me a bit.  Anyway, he was every bit the Billy Beane fever dream of an offensive player you recall — including a 2008-10 where he raked, finishing with an OPS of .958 or better in all three years and a third-place finish in the MVP voting (2008). But his totals dropped off a bit after he permanently inherited the third baseman’s job after Beltre left. That’s one of the reasons we have him a little lower than you might expect on this list.

5. Bill Mueller (2003-05): Another third baseman who won a batting title, he of course gets a free pass in Boston for the rest of his life because he singled off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. If he retired right after that, he’d still be able to walk into any bar in the 617 area code and have someone buy him a drink. I remember him homering off Mariano Rivera that July while I was driving down the Southeast Expressway on the way to Cape Cod and pounding on the steering wheel like a madman.

4. Mike Lowell (2006-09): One of the great complementary players of his era, Lowell was to that Red Sox team what Patrice Bergeron has been to the Bruins for the bulk of his career; not quite a superstar, but the sort of guy you need if you’re going to be a championship-driven squad. A pro’s pro. The throw-in in the Beckett-for-Hanley trade, he was the starting third baseman for four seasons, but in his five years in Boston, he was as steady as they come; 80 homers, 374 RBI, 290 BA, and a consistent glove. And who remembered that he was also fifth in the 2007 AL MVP voting. Injuries and Beltre’s presence cut into his playing time in 2010, and he ended up retiring at the end of the 2010 season.

3. Adrian Beltre (2010): Is this the single best one-and-done in Red Sox history? Beltre and Nick Esasky are on the short list. This was prime Beltre, a chapter in what became a Hall of Fame career: 154 games, 49 doubles, 28 homers, 102 RBI. He was an All-Star and was ninth in the MVP voting. (That 2010 team was a weird collection of stopover talent, including Beltre, Victor Martinez, and Mike Cameron.) In an alternate universe, Beltre stays in Boston instead of spending the final eight years in Texas, ends up hitting 600 career homers, and we’re talking about him as one of the best players in franchise history.

2. Rafael Devers (2017-present): The only reason why he’s ahead of Beltre is because there’s unlimited potential there, as opposed to the one year Beltre was in New England. When he barrels up, the sound of the ball coming off the bat is so pure. He hits the ball like it owes him money. He stings as consistently as anyone I can recall. The best possible comparison in my mind is Jim Thome, another lefty who seemingly never had a soft liner. Sure, there’s some recency bias here, but you look at his 2019-2021 — and the fact that he averaged 27 homers, 90 RBI, 36 doubles and 263 total bases those three years, to go along with an OPS of .916 in 2019 and .890 in 2021 — and you have to remind yourself that he did that before the age of 25. The mind reels at what he might be able to eventually accomplish.

1. Wade Boggs (1983-1992): Not a personal fan — anyone who went from Boston to New York the way that he did … eh. But you can’t discount the fact that he was one of the greatest hitters of his generation, and a guy who made himself into a very good defensive third baseman. In the end, he checked every box.

[thestargroup4]

Kuruko no Basuke (Kuruko's Basketball)

By: Reginald Matthews

Kuruko no Basuke (also known as Kuruko’s Basketball) is one of the most popular sports, shonen manga and anime series. Its primary focus is high school basketball, and it takes place in Japan. It was written by Tadatoshi Fujimaki. The manga began production in December 2009, and the series finished September 1, 2014. The anime started on April 7, 2012 and ended on June 30, 2015. Both the manga and the anime also released a final ending to the original series that featured a final game played by the most impactful players of the show.

When the anime begins, it gives background on some of the best high school players in Japan, all of which are first years. They are referred to as the Generation of Miracles, and they were the five starters of the Teikō Junior High basketball team. These five players are referred to as miracles for their unique talent and abilities as well as their success, winning three national championships in a row for their former school. All five of these players join different high schools across Japan to rival each other. One of the main characters, Tetsuya Kuruko, also played on this team and was rumored to be the "phantom sixth man” (in basketball, the sixth man is usually the best player on the bench), and he eventually befriends the other main character, Kagami Taiga. They both play at Seiren High and aim to defeat all the Generation of Miracles.

Pictured: Kuruko (left) and the generation of miracles in middle school.

               From the background, the plot is seemingly simple. The main characters run into obstacles along their journey and also interact heavily with their classmates and teammates of Seiren High, but there are not many complex plot points or twists that are hard to follow. Where this anime truly shines is in its animation and the uniqueness that it adds to the game of basketball. Just like many anime that focus on fighting adds another layer of mechanics that makes it fantastical and interesting in contrast to real life, Kuruko’s Basketball does the same thing. Many basketball players in the anime have unique abilities that make them stand out and interesting to watch. Moreover, it makes watching the games the most exciting part of the anime. For example, one character, Shintaro Midorima can shoot from anywhere on the court. Even though there are players in real life who can do this, what makes him unique is the consistent accuracy of all his shots along with his high release point.

Video: Midorima, a miracle, shoots from full court.               

What truly makes this one of my favorite anime of all time is how the animation captures the abilities of the basketball players. Even though they are playing basketball, some portions of the anime remind me of fight scenes. One of the best-animated portions of the show is when Taiga Kagami and Daiki Aomine go back and forth during a tournament game. The effects used, also makes the characters look as if they have superpowers which is also a very cool element. The quality of animation along with the special effects used is what makes this my favorite sports anime series.

Video: Kagami and Aomine duel during a game while they are "in the zone."

Resources:

[ravenbrenna09]

Party in the Forbidden Forest

I tried. 

Note: There are numerous changes that I’ve made to the typical wtFOCK storyline to make due. For starters, Aaron is going to be around the entire time and so is Sander (and Bel!Yousef, when I get his bloody name). Also, Sander, Senne, and Noor (and other characters around that age) were knocked back a year so I wouldn’t have to do a ton of manipulating to allow Robbe’s ‘season’ to be before Sander graduated. This section takes place at the end of Zoë’s season, meant to be the party where she gives Senne the key to the flatshare. 

Simply because it’s mentioned, Robbe stayed with Milan/Zoë over Christmas Break so he wouldn’t be alone at Hogwarts or with his Dad (because something happened with his mom and he couldn’t stay with her). 

In addition, they also make references to a previous section I posted where they met in an abandoned classroom. However, I wrote it before I decided to cut Sander/Senne’s ages so Robbe is referenced as a fourth-year and Sander is a sixth-year (and it’s mentioned to be summer), but I’ll have those changes fixed when I actually get to that section of Jana’s storyline. 

I hope you guys enjoy! 

...

Robbe didn’t know how Senne and the other Beat Boys managed to do it. Planning a party right under the noses of the teachers was one thing. Making the said “party of the century” in the Forbidden Forest on the final day that the students would be in Hogwarts for the year was another thing altogether. 

The clearing that they had found was a short straight shot into the Forbidden Forest. The path had been lit by small fairy lights that only lit up as they approached the edge of the forest, leading them on a small journey to the clearing. Lanterns hovered around the edges of the clearing, showing where the other students shouldn’t be going to, and multi-colored flames hidden behind the glass which alternated between colors on a few minutes scale. 

“There’s Amber,” Aaron noted, his eyes flickering over to the punch table. Robbe glanced over, spotting Amber standing with Luca, talking excitedly about something or another. The Slytherin girl had dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt, her blonde hair half-pulled back on her head, laughing with Luca. Robbe snuck a glance at Aaron, who had been hard-core crushing on Amber for about six months now. “This is the night, I can feel it.” 

Robbe, who had been the witness of Aaron crashing and burning several times in his past attempts of getting Amber to notice his existence, knew that tonight was not the night. But, Jens and Moyo hyped the curly-haired Hufflepuff up, wrapped their arms around him, steering him in Amber’s general direction, and leaving Robbe behind. But, as much as watching Aaron’s likely epic fail might be amusing, he couldn’t bear witness to it all tonight, to listen to his friends try and make it seem like everything was okay.

Robbe’s phone dinged and he pulled it out of his pocket.

Zoë: I see you looking glum over there. Come join the party.

Robbe glanced up, finding Zoë standing on the other side of the clearing. She was half-wrapped up in Senne’s embrace, her hair immaculate and bright red lipstick shining on her lips. She was dressed in a white top and blue denim jeans. Spotting his gaze, she waved him over smiling at him. But, Robbe shook his head. 

Robbe: Not feeling up to it tonight. Jens dragged me along. 

Zoë pouted at him and it earned half of a chuckle.

Zoë: Have you heard from your mama?

Robbe: Yeah, she’s settling into the hospital alright. Once we get settled in, I’m going to go see her. 

Zoë nodded her head, typing out another message. Senne was half-leaning over her shoulder to see the messages and, a moment later, found him across the party and waved at him. Robbe gave him a half-wave and his phone buzzed in his hand. 

Zoë: Well, I know you’re worried about her, but try to relax somehow. 

Zoë: We just completed our O.W.L.s. I know that you and Yasmina have been studying hard for it so try to relax okay 😊

Zoë: Try the punch, it’s a mixture of butterbeer and firewhiskey. Luka’s specialty. 😉

Robbe glanced towards Zoë confused, only to find that Senne had Zoë’s phone. The blonde had her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes affectionately, and Robbe chuckled to himself, thanking Senne in one final text message, who gave him a thumbs up from across the party. Zoë laughed, leaning into Senne’s embrace as he held her tightly, and Robbe felt his stomach churn a little bit. Shoving his phone in his pocket and ignoring the feeling in his stomach, Robbe went to grab a glass of punch. 

The rest of his friends were having a good time, talking with one another, but Robbe couldn’t help but feel left out of it all. Jens was laughing with Moyo as Aaron fumbled his way into another epic crash and burn, which ended with Amber rolling her eyes and moving away with Luca, who was giggling. Jana was in the middle of the clearing, with Zoë and Senne and Luka, dancing and laughing. Even Yasmina, who rarely joined parties, was talking with some of the other Ravenclaws, likely trading answers from their O.W.L.s, but Robbe couldn’t join them.

He felt out of place, on the outside of the room with no way to get in. 

Pulling out his phone again and drowning the rest of his drink, Robbe opened up his messages, finding his messages with Milan. As soon as he spotted Milan’s picture, the one that Milan had taken himself when he snatched Robbe’s phone over the Christmas break, he felt the guilt swarming back in his gut, the final remains of the anger and stress that had seeped out when Milan had simply been the messenger. 

“Stay away from me!” 

Leaning against the tree behind him, Robbe typed out a message, pressing send before he could talk himself out of it. 

Robbe: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lash out at you.

Robbe didn’t have to wait long before three dots popped back up, signaling that Milan was writing a response back to him. They disappeared, but only briefly before the text finally came through.

Milan: It’s okay. I understand. You were stressed about your O.W.L.s and I certainly didn’t help it. 

Milan: But, no ill will, I promise! I’ve already got the room ready for you. And, since the room is yours permanently now, we can go out and find some posters that you can hang on the wall. If you want, that is.

Robbe: Sounds nice. Thanks.

“Care for a refill?” 

Robbe glanced up, spotting another glass of the punch outstretched towards him. Following the leather-clad arm up to the face of its owner, trying to attest that his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him, Robbe found Sander Driesen standing in front of him. The sixth-year Slytherin was dressed in a pair of denim jeans, a t-shirt with a graph that he didn’t recognize, and his signature boots. Beneath the multi-colored flames of the lanterns, his platinum-blond hair shifted with the color of the lights and Sander grinned at him. His stomach did an unexpected somersault. 

Swallowing, Robbe nodded his head, reaching out to take the cup from his hand, “Yes, thank you.” It was a small cup and Robbe’s fingers brushed against Sander’s as he took it. He placed the new cup into the empty cup and settled against the trunk of the tree, his eyes flickering over to the dancing in the middle of the clearing. In the throng of the party, he could see couples kissing and dancing, 

To his surprise, Sander leaned against the tree as well, bringing Robbe’s attention back to him as he brought his own cup to his lips to take a sip. Once he spotted that Robbe was looking at him, Sander scoffed, “I didn’t poison it, by the way.” 

Robbe blinked, confused at what he meant, but then he remembered their last conversation, the one in Robbe’s favorite classroom, his hidden cove in Hogwarts, and Robbe rolled his eyes, “I wasn’t thinking that it was poisoned!” As if to prove his point, Robbe took a drink and Sander laughed, his eyes scrunching up as he did. “Honestly, if you keep saying that, I’m just going to start to assume that everything you give me is going to be poisoned. Do I need to have a bezoar in my pocket at all times with you?”

Sander laughed, shaking his head as he did so. “How did your O.W.L.s end up going?” Robbe glanced up at him and Sander added, “Zoë mentioned that you were stressing out about them.” 

“I think they went pretty good,” Robbe admitted. “I’m sure I did a lot better than Jens did. He’s been so wrapped up in Quidditch and everything that he didn’t study as much as he wanted to.” 

Sander’s eyebrows furrowed, turning towards him. “You’ve been pretty wrapped up in Quidditch too though, right? I mean, it was Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in the final match.” Robbe nodded his head. “I guess you’re just better at prioritizing what you need to focus on more than he can. Since the final match, I’ve seen him practically drowning in the library, trying to get caught up on everything.” Robbe chuckled, laughing at the image. “How’s everything going with that? The two of you seem to be getting along again.”

Robbe glanced up at him. 

Sander was staring off in the direction of the party, watching the crowd move around in anticipation for whatever’s next. When the blond realized that he hadn’t responded, he glanced back over to Robbe and blinked at him, “What?”

“I don’t know,” Robbe remarked. “I just didn’t realize you would remember that is all.” There was a confused expression on the blond’s face, tilting his head to the side, but before Sander could question again, though he was unsure why he would tell him, Robbe added, lightly, “And, since you’re wondering, I got over it.” 

“Oh?” Sander questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah,” Robbe replied, shrugging his shoulders. Eager to do anything else than stare at Sander, he took another sip of the drink that the blond had given him. “He only sees me as a best friend and a brother so it wouldn’t be a good thing to hold onto something that would never turn out the way that I want it to.” Sander nodded his head, taking a drink. His eyes moved back to the party, the flames making his hair look a dazzling shade of Slytherin green, and Robbe stared at him, a knot forming deep in his throat as he managed to get out, “What about you?”

“Hmm,” Sander questioned, turning back to him. 

“Before the break, you were talking about how you knew what it was like to be in love with someone that didn’t return your feelings or didn’t know,” Robbe spoke up. For a brief moment, Sander simply stared at him, his eyes wide and his mouth dropped a little, staring at him. Robbe swallowed, worried that he had said the wrong thing, and hastily added, “You mentioned it last time…” 

“I know,” Sander replied, shaking his head. “I just… I guess I didn’t expect you to remember it is all.” 

“Oh,” Robbe mumbled. 

“But, the jury is still out for me,” Sander admitted, shrugging his shoulders. “They could like me back, or at least in some capacity, but I’m not quite sure that they know it yet.” Before Robbe could question further, Sander moved to the punch bowl, grabbing a new cup and pouring several drinks into the cup. Then, he returned to Robbe, placing a straw in the drink. “Here, take a drink. It’s my specialty and a whole lot better than the one Luka always makes.”

“Did you poison it?” Robbe questioned, glancing down at the cup and feeling a smile creep onto his face.

Sander looked offended, placing a hand over his chest. “How dare you,” the Slytherin spoke. “Because of that comment, you definitely have to drink it now.” He took a step closer, raising the cup out for Robbe to take from him. “Get ready to get mindblown.” The Slytherin was standing so close now… should he be standing that close? Robbe didn’t know for sure. 

He could tell that the clearing was beginning to spin, his heart racing briefly in his chest, and Sander was right there in front of him, waiting for him to reach out and take the cup from his hand, but Robbe felt like he couldn’t move his arms. Without thinking, he glanced down at the straw, raising his eyes back to meet Sander’s green eyes, and dropped his mouth open slightly. Even with the minimum lighting on the edges of the clearing, he could see Sander’s eyes widen and Robbe felt like he needed to correct his mistake, to reach up and take the glass. But, then, Sander took another step closer, reaching up to place the straw against his bottom lip. 

Robbe took a sip, feeling the mixture of alcohol and sweetness pour into his mouth. The concoction registered briefly on Robbe’s tongue, on his tastebuds, before disappearing completely down his throat and it was one of the best drinks that he had. It was better than any concoction that Moyo tried making or the combination of weed and alcohol. Robbe took another drink, swallowing it, trying to savor it before he let go of the straw. 

But, Sander didn’t step away, a nervous smile crossing his features. “Best drink ever?”

Robbe nodded his head, affirming, “Best drink ever.” 

Sander smiled, the kind that made his eyes crinkle, and the Slytherin shifted to his heels, reaching up to take a drink of it himself. His lips wrapped around the edge of the straw and his eyes never left Robbe’s. Sander opened his mouth to say something else, and Robbe felt his chest tighten considerably, the good kind, but his voice didn’t come out of his mouth, “Sander! There you are!” 

The shout felt like a bucket of ice-cold water dropped over Robbe’s shoulders, jolting him back into the reality of the present. The party came rushing back with the music and the multi-colored flames and his mom and he was moving in with Milan and Zoë because… Robbe let out a breath, sinking back into the bark of the tree that he had been resting on, and Sander shifted a step back away from him, moving towards the source of the voice. 

“I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Britt purred, reaching up to wrap her arms around Sander’s neck and press a kiss against his lips. Robbe swallowed, glancing down at his shoes, bringing the remainder of his own drink back to his lips to take a drink. But, it isn’t the same. “Hey, Robbe,” Britt spoke, turning towards him, grinning. The Slytherin girl had the tips of her blonde hair charmed dark green, dressed in a black dress that fit her, and she had a tipsy grin on her face. “Thank you for keeping Sander company. I know he can be annoying at times.”

Unable to form the words, Robbe shook his head, glancing over to Sander, who was resting against Britt with one arm, the one without the drink, around her waist, giving Robbe a shy smile. He wasn’t annoying. 

“Come on, babe,” Britt spoke, turning fully back to Sander. “Let’s dance.” Her eyes glanced briefly down to the drink in his hand. “Oh, are you sure-” 

“It’s Robbe’s,” Sander spoke, quickly. He moved back to Robbe, handing him the glass with a smile on his face. “Have a good summer, Robbe.” Then, Britt was taking his hand and dragging him out to the middle of the clearing, pulling him close to her. 

For several moments, Robbe watched the two of them, happy and dancing, before he moved back to the drinks in his hand, drowning one and the other soon after. Robbe let out a heavy sigh, leaning back against the tree. Glancing back at the party, his eyes found Jens, who was talking it up and laughing with the other guys, and then Sander, in the middle of the clearing, his face pressed in the nook of Britt’s neck as they swayed together to the slow song that had come on. 

Swallowing, unable to think of it, Robbe pulled his phone back out, finding a new message from Milan. 

Milan: You’re welcome! It’ll be the best summer ever. I promise! 

Robbe let out a sigh. As much as he admired Milan’s ability to try and make everything better, he somehow doubted that to be the case.

[journalisticdreams]

A week in the life of the ‘new normal’ sixth form

In the past two weeks, high schools, sixth forms and colleges have opened their doors once again to welcome back the whole cohort after, what was practically, a sixth month long holiday. So, what’s changed and what’s stayed relatively the same? And what could recent changes in the UK mean for the future of this academic year?

 For all students in the UK, our last day of school came a few weeks into March, and those of us who didn’t return for those few days in the summer (for reasons such as living with vulnerable family members or anxiety over the coronavirus) this September will be our first time physically back in school. (I’ve made two previous blog posts about living as a student during lockdown and the catastrophe that was results day, so if you are interested in those I’ll leave them linked at the end of the post). As if the first day back from summer break didn’t hold enough anxiety for some of us, we have to return into what feels more like a hospital than a school – or so I thought…

New school rules

 Due to the current circumstances right now, schools have been told to put protective measures in place in a feeble attempt to follow government guidelines and limit the possibility of a COVID outbreak. I say feeble attempt, as my school at least, doesn’t seem to know exactly what to do at the moment – and the measures in place are not exactly effective or logical. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is just as clueless when it comes to knowing which restrictions are truly effective and which aren’t, so I give the teachers full credit for at least trying to be safe, yet what they are trying seems very contradicting. For starters, each year group is supposed to be one big ‘bubble’. When going outside for break, the younger years are herded into their own ‘factions’ on the school field, in order to stick within their year group bubble. Additionally, students are only ever going to have classes with people in their year group, so the only students they should mix with are others in their year. However, there are two glaring issues with this ‘solution’. Firstly, when students are travelling in the corridors between class, they’re mixing with practically every year group in those claustrophobic, traffic jam prone halls. The one-way system prevents students from facing each other I suppose, but I’ll expand on that later. The other issue with the year group ‘bubbles’ is the fact that if it happens to rain (which trust me is a common problem in Wales, the country in the UK which has the largest rainfall in mm out of the other countries) then the whole cohort will be shepherded in to one of the two dinner halls, where they’ll be forced crowd in one large group and mingle with other years – which obviously completely contradicts the bubble solution altogether.

Now, onto the one-way system as promised. Summed up simply, it really doesn’t make much sense. I understand that in going one way, students are not facing each other so germs are less likely to spread. However, the fact that no students are wearing masks defeats the purpose, as whichever way you’re walking you’re inevitably breathing the same air in close proximity. I doubt that making masks compulsory in the corridors will make much of a difference. Also, there is the fact that no one sticks to the one-way system when there are no chaperones to see you ‘rebel’.

The one thing that I feel like makes sense is wiping down surfaces, computers, chairs, and all communal equipment in general to ensure that everything is as sanitary as possible. Then again, I suppose, it doesn’t make much of a difference when every other rule isn’t being followed. We’re not exactly distancing when we’re sat shoulder to shoulder in lessons.

So, these days it’s hard to know what is within ‘guidelines’ and what isn’t – honestly, most people are just picking and choosing when to follow them. In a way, it’s hardly a ‘new normal’; it’s more like normal with a dash of hand sanitiser.

 What does the future of the academic year look like?

 Of course, as we’ve seen for six months now, no one is any good at predicting the course of this virus and what glorious surprises it has in store next. Every future plan is unstable at the moment, and that definitely does not exclude education. As numbers and the infection rate is starting to increase again in the UK (despite the deaths not significantly rising too) and we’re approaching a sort of ‘second wave’ of COVID, two week localised lockdowns are looming, and the possibility of exams taking place is on the ropes. Rumour has it is that exam boards are planning to push back exams next year, to allow students extra study time to make up for potentially missing even more of our education. Exam boards have already taken out small portions of exams to lower the content in the course slightly, which I think is definitely a step in the right direction so far. As for my sixth form, we’re being given mini assessments and mocks every few weeks, so in case of the event of cancelled exams again next year, teachers will be able to give the exam boards proof of what level we have been working at all year. Again, even if it will be a bit of a stress to keep up as high-level grades as possible on a weekly or monthly basis, it is also a good tactic for the possibility of predicted grades. So as the future of this academic year is still hazy, I’m trying to prepare for the worst just in case!

 My opinion

Thus in my opinion (not that anyone explicitly asked for it) although this year is going to be a bit rocky, I think that we need to just face it head on, and really appreciate the times that we are physically in school. It’s a bit bitter sweet for me really, as I’m in my final year now and, like many others, I feel as if I’m being robbed of all the fun and, as odd as it sounds, the ‘normal’ stress of year 13. In terms of following or not following guidelines, students are less likely to be majorly affected if catching the coronavirus, especially now that it is ‘less deadly’ than it was in the beginning. With that logic, I think that schools can afford to be a bit more lenient with following guidelines, and I think that education should be a priority when looking at what can still go ahead in lieu of the rising cases in the UK. That being said, we should all make sure to stay safe and make logical choices when considering our actions.

What do you think about the guidelines in place at your school or college? Do you agree with them, and are they even being followed? Start a discussion in the comments!

Coronavirus reflection - being a student in lockdown 

A level results day 2020... what went wrong?  

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 50.21 - St John’s, Cam vs Balliol, Ox

Ah, I was on a good run there. I’m not sure what my record for consecutive posts released timeously is (and come to think of it this was probably less than ten anyway), but after a solid October and November I have lost my streak - and unlike Duolingo, there is no cartoon owl I can pay with fake money to restore it. I just have to deal with the consequences, however minor and non-existent they may be. So this is not a review of Monday’s episode, its a review of last Monday’s episode, because I find myself two weeks behind. You know they say failed blog posts are like buses - never on time and always driving round in circles.

I was about to write ‘thats enough nonsense’, but I know myself well enough now not to make that promise. I know for a fact I have more nonsense planned. I will, however, try and get to the point, with an introduction to the teams. 

Balliol and St John’s are two of UC’s most recent winners, taking the trophy in consecutive years, with Balliol victorious in 2017 and St John’s in 2018. The Oxford quartet edged a tight, low scoring contest against Clare, Cam and were looking for their second Cambridge scalp of the series, while St John’s ran riot against a poor Royal Academy of Music side. At first glance this would put St John’s as the clear favourites, but the total score in their match was only 270, indicating that they were unable to properly take advantage of their opponents weakness.

Anyway, let’s get down to business; here’s your first starter for ten.

Paxman introduces the match by saying ‘like Golden tickets in random bars of chocolate, one by one the places in the next stage of the contest are being claimed’. This is an atrocious simile, it is literally like the opposite of that. He then goes on to say that the quarter finals are ‘a land every bit as challenging as the imagination of Roald Dahl’, which I presume is why they used the original comparison, though it doesn’t excuse it. 

On a side note, I saw a picture of Roald Dahl the other day and thought, ‘thats not Roald Dahl’, then I thought some more and realised I’d always had as my vision of Roald Dahl a photorealistic version of Quentin Blake’s BFG illustration.

Balliol captain O’Connor starts as he means to (and does) go on with the opening starter, and his side confer for two bonuses. He comes in early with Beethoven next time out, and there’s a classic UC bonus set on words that can be formed from the word ‘sluggard’. O’Connor completes his hattrick with ‘thermodynamic’ and he’s demonstrated excellent knowledge of a wide variety of subjects already. Things are looking ominous for St John’s, as the lead stretches out to sixty five.

Its the turn of the Cambridge captain to take the limelight next, as Musgrove finally gets some points on the board for St John’s. The corners of his mouth flick upwards as Paxman confirms his correct answer, but they don’t stay there, as if he is afraid to express his joy. He does this every time he gets an answer right. 

O’Connor nabs the picture starter, and the next one too, with Wyndham Lewis, an answer he gives slowly and uncertainly, but apparently he is so good that he can string together two random words and still be right. I mean, Wyndham Lewis, surely thats not a real person, and yet he gets the ten points for it.

When St John’s get back in they get a bonus set on the electoral college, which basically amounts to ‘name the state from the number of seats it has’, a round which I would have been hopeless at prior to the start of November, but which I reckon I could have claimed 50/50 on now if they had enough questions. That NYT infographic is seared onto my brain like the image of Roald Dahl as a photorealistic BFG (see, I can do non-sequitur similes too, UC scriptwriters).

In the music round, Malcharek says ‘if I don’t know it its usually Verdi’, and it is Verdi. She also buzzes in on the third bonus, but she’s right with Mozart then too, so she gets a pass. St John’s have clawed back to within five points somehow. 

O’Connor doesn’t like that very much, and takes his fifth (? sixth? seventh? I’ve lost count) starter of the night to halt the comeback. It isn’t enough though, and consecutive starters from Malcharek and Marrow - who is delighted at getting interferons - swings the match in St John’s favour. No one else on Balliol has got a starter yet.

When you’re writing, you occasionally notice that you’re using the same word over and over again, which is generally considered bad form, so you’ve got to go back through and edit it with synonyms. But some words don’t have good enough synonyms - I remember Robert Muchamore, the author of the CHERUB series, once tweeting that he kept having to say shoulder - so you have to leave them in. I have reached that stage tonight with O’Connor. I could call him the Balliol captain, I suppose, but with the amount that he’s featured that would get grating pretty quickly too. 

Anyway, the aforementioned gentleman who sits in the middle on the right of the Balliol quartet takes his eighth starter of the evening to wrestle back the lead that St John’s had so painstakingly fought for, and then finally he gets some help on the buzzer, as Crowther comes in with wasabi. This gives Balliol a small cushion, but O’Connor hates small cushions and takes his ninth with Zhou to seal the win.

Final Score: St John’s, Cam 155 - 200 Balliol, Ox

A good match, between two teams who outperformed their first round showings. St John’s can count themselves unfortunate that they came up against such a powerful O’Connor. I’ll be back tomorrow for this Monday’s match between Glasgow and King’s, London.

[dimensionsunited]

AUGUST 2020 DIMENSIONS ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of September 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: July schedule posts are due by the end of August 7 KST. Please do not post schedule posts in the fmdschedule tag.

OVERALL COMPANY

Last month’s photo sessions for the base Culture Complex were a success and it seems like the project is off to a solid start, although some idols may be called back in for reshoots, especially for the 3D imaging, as necessary this month. All of the idols under BC, Dimensions, and Gold Star have been tasked with a new duty for the building this month: filming videos that will accompany some of the museum exhibits. The videos will be once again filmed in a studio, this time in front of a green screen, and the idols will be asked to talk about their feelings about important career events like their trainee days, debut, song releases, and major achievements. They will be given all of the subjects they are expected to talk about beforehand to rehearse their answers, and the director may request different wording or delivery of their answers as seen fit. (admin note: Muns have freedom about the specific topics muses are asked to talk about here within the guidelines given above, but any talk about scandalous or negative occurrences will be avoided.)

Important dates:

August 1-August 31: base Culture Complex museum intro videos filming (admin note: muses may encounter idols from other companies while there).

DIMENSIONS SOLOIST 1

Her comeback single is recorded, so it’s time for her to get the choreography down and optimize her performance for the catchy dance performance and charisma she’s so known for. She also has her second fittings ahead of teaser shoots and music video filming next month to decide on the final comeback wardrobe, and at the end of the month, she’ll be joining the company’s other two soloists in Los Angeles for a weekend for KCON.

Important dates:

August 23: Second MV and stage outfit fittings.

August 29: Performance at KCON LA (also performing: Dimensions Soloist 2, Dimensions Soloist 3, 7ROPHY, and Gold Star Soloist 2).

DIMENSIONS SOLOIST 2

He holds two solo concert dates in Seoul this month, where he’ll include “When You Call My Name” in his set list to give his fans a preview of his next release (and so that Dimensions can monitor fan reactions and decide how much promotion budget to give the song). The following weekend, he’s off to Los Angeles with the rest of Dimensions’ soloist roster for another KCON, this time on the west coast of the US. 

Important dates:

August 22: Zero concert at Yonsei University Main Auditorium in Seoul.

August 23: Zero concert at Yonsei University Main Auditorium in Seoul.

August 29: Performance at KCON LA (also performing: Dimensions Soloist 1, Dimensions Soloist 3, 7ROPHY, and Gold Star Soloist 2).

DIMENSIONS SOLOIST 3

She continues to rehearse for her upcoming solo concerts this month, and will continue to be filmed throughout them for her reality show. The domestic market is by far Dimensions’ focus for her now since she’s shown such potential success in it, but they’ve decided to send their full soloist roster to KCON LA this month, which means she’s giving her first solo performance overseas this month, too.

Important dates:

August 29: Performance at KCON LA (also performing: Dimensions Soloist 1, Dimensions Soloist 2, 7ROPHY, and Gold Star Soloist 2).

GAL.ACTIC

August brings their ninth anniversary since debut on the 28th, thought Dimensions hasn’t organized any event for the full group to celebrate for fans in lieu of hoping to raise anticipating for tenth anniversary activities next year. Members are still encouraged by management to put some extra thought into reaching out to fans this month, though. In the meantime, they continue preparing their comeback by learning and rehearsing the choreography for the title track and the choreography for b-side “Bad Man Crying”, and attending fittings as usual. From August 23 to 26, they’ll be in Los Angeles for a festival performance.

Important dates:

August 10: MV and stage outfit fitting.

August 25: Performance at Korea Times Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, USA (also performing: Decipher, Unity, and Fuse).

ALIEN

Alien continue music show promotions throughout the month, alongside a busy schedule of fan signs. The album does well, only improving on their past sales, and the song is received well by fans despite going mostly under the radar for the public as most of their releases have since the lawsuit. The end of promotions signal continued work on their first English album as they’ve been doing for the past year or so now, as they film the MV for ”Middle of the Night”, which they’ll have finished recording in the studio earlier in the month.

Important dates:

August 1: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

August 2: Fan sign in Yongsan, Seoul.

August 9: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

August 10: Fan sign in Yeouido, Seoul

August 17: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

August 20: End of music show promotions.

August 21: “Middle of the Night” MV filming.

August 29: Performance at KCON LA (also performing: Knight, Alien, Lucid, and Gold Star Soloist 3).

MARS

Preparations for MARS’s Japanese comeback continue as they’re taught the choreography for “Can’t Say” in the early weeks of the month. The wardrobe is simple for the music video this time, so they won’t have full fittings before the filming day for the music video comes on the twentieth. Mid-month, MARS are also met with the news that they’ll be making a Korean comeback in the fourth quarter and they’ll record the album in the second half of the month with a return to form of what they’re most known for: a darker concept.

Important dates:

August 20: “Can’t Say” MV filming.

7ROPHY

7ROPHY are fully dedicated to focusing on filming Queendom this month. For the cover song task, they’ll be covering a song originally performed by the group the NPC Soloist competing on the show originally belonged to, so the stakes are high to prove what they’ve got, especially after coming off such a successful first round for them. Full details of Queendom filming for this month can be found here. From August 28 to August 30, they’ll be in Los Angeles to perform at KCON LA.

Important dates:

August 24: Queendom episode three & four filming (cover song stage).

August 27: Episode one of Queendom airs.

August 29: Performance at KCON LA (also performing: Dimensions Soloist 1, Dimensions Soloist 2, Dimensions Soloist 3, and Gold Star Soloist 2).

UNITY

It’s comeback season for Unity after a full year without a comeback and it seems the wait has paid off. The comeback earns them not only the best digital charting of their careers, but also A-tier boy group physical sales and a music show win. There’s no questioning that they’re now the best-selling boy group of the company physically, even if MARS still outdoes them in the public recognition that earns high digitals. Dimensions grows more eager than ever to see the heights Unity can reach as the month draws to a close, and the general attitude of staff around them reflects both the pressure and relief of a successful comeback.

Important dates:

August 7: “Kick It” MV reaction video filming.

August 7: Release of “Kick It” & Unity Zone album, music show promotions continue through September 7. 

August 8: Fan sign in Mapo, Seoul.

August 9: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

August 15: Fan sign in Seocho, Seoul.

August 23: Fan sign in Songpa, Seoul.

August 25: Performance at Korea Times Music Festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA, USA (also performing: Decipher, Gal.actic, and Fuse).

August 29: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

         ↳ CHAMPION

As Decipher finishes promoting their comeback and Unity makes their own comeback, a hold is put on touring, but BC and Dimensions have managed to land the members of the sub-unit a deal with Korean Air and they’ll be recording a special CF song for a music and safety video collaboration to bring more international attention to Korean Air following CHAMPION”s success overseas and to bring more domestic attention to CHAMPION, who are still not wholly accepted as a unit by fans of their main groups.

Important dates:

August 27: Korean Air x CHAMPION “Let’s Go Everywhere” MV and Safety Video filming.

LUCID

Lucid wraps up their Welcome to The Dream World tour on the second and then they fly back to Seoul to finish preparing for their comeback. They film their music video on the sixth, but in addition to comeback rehearsals, they also begin rehearsing for their LOL Showcase tour, which will tour Asia and focus on the “normal realm” side of their concept instead of the nightmare one they just toured for. This tour is far less performance-focused due to having a more fanmeeting-style set list with games, longer talk sections, and a hi-touch at the end of each show, so the rehearsal period is much shorter. Their comeback on the seventeeth proves they weren’t a one-hit wonder as Navillera soars to the top of the charts like “Rough” did and “You and I” failed to.

Important dates:

August 2: Welcome to The Dream World concert at Teatro La Huaca in Panama City, Panama.

August 6: “Navillera” MV filming.

August 17: Release of “Navillera” & LOL album, music show promotions continue through September 17.

August 23: LOL Asia Showcase tour at Yes24 Live Hall in Seoul.

August 30: Performance at KCON LA (also performing: BC Soloist 1, Knight, Alien, and Gold Star Soloist 3) 

[recurring-polynya]

How did the sourdough turn out? ❤️ I've been wanting to do this forever but now that I'm home of course there's no flour or yeast to be found.

Here we go again, @kari-izumi asking me about my hyperfixations, lol!

I’ve been baking with sourdough since about 2007, when my now-husband’s aunt gave me a bit of her starter. Getting starter from someone else is the best way to get started with sourdough, but obviously, that’s a little tricky in these current times. An interesting fact is that starter refreshes itself with ambient bacteria from your kitchen, so there’s no point in ever trying to get “San Francisco Sourdough” starter, because it will just turn into Your Kitchen Sourdough within a few months (unless, of course, your kitchen is in San Francisco). Also, the more you bake, the more free-floating flora you’ll have in your kitchen, so as you’re becoming a better baker, your kitchen is also becoming a Better Place For Bread.

Back to the story! I baked with that for a few years, and then I guess I fell off it, and neglected my starter and it went Bad and I had to throw it out. (I don’t exactly recall the circumstances, but I am sure it had something to do with having a baby). A few years later, when I was on maternity leave with my daughter, I decided to try and make my own starter from scratch, here it is, on what is approximately its sixth birthday:

I made it using the method described in Peter Reinhart’s book, the Bread Baker’s Apprentice, which is my go-to artisan bread book. You basically mix up water and rye flour and keep refreshing it until it catches some yeast. I’ve heard of other methods using ripe fruit and stuff, I have never tried that. I know this worked (look at that bubbly bastard!), although it took several months before it became powerful enough to really rise a bread. If you have it, you can always spike a young starter with yeast until it comes into its own.

I am not the best sourdough person in the world. As you can see, I keep it in a plastic Rubbermaid instead of glass or ceramic. It usually lives in my fridge for 2-4 weeks at a time, then I take it out, remove some for baking, and refresh. If want to make a bread, I will try to take it out and refresh it a day before starting the bread.

For the last year or so, the main thing I make with the discard is pizza. My kid doesn’t like tomato sauce, so I make a lot of pizza at home and just roast garlic down to mush instead as sauce, and then throw a bunch of vegetables on to pretend its healthy. What it is, is delicious.

The reason for this is that most of my bread recipes take a 2-3 day build and I’m just not that organized. But I’m home all the time now, so I have been doing it.

Here is the first one I made, which is just a very standard white sourdough loaf (there were actually 2, a lot of recipes make multiple loaves):

It was, as our friend Paul Hollywood would say, massively underproofed, and this picture was strategically taken to hide the huge rip in the bottom. I made those nice slashes, but noOOOOooo it had to explode itself from the bottom. It was also delicious.

A few days later, I decided to make a sunflower rye (both these recipes are in that Reinhart book). I had the sunflower seeds, I just forgot to put them in:

This one was supposed to be in the shape of a couronne (crown) which is supposed to be a ring with four creases, but it outrose its creases. Also delicious.

I then remembered that I used to make English muffins with discard all the time, so I did that, too. If I owned a proper biscuit cutter, I would have made nice circles, but I usually just cut the dough into 12 squares and then they get all funny shaped when I try to scrape them off the counter. I am lazy and life is too short to re-roll scraps, just avoid making scraps in the first place. These make excellent egg sandwiches, but I also ate a few with beans and cheese on them.

The other thing we do with discard a lot is that my husband makes waffles. I don’t know why this has become his thing, but he is waffle guy (for the record, he does the lion’s share of cooking in general, I do the baking) Sourdough starter is a really useful thing to have around the kitchen! I don’t really care for carrot cake, but my husband and son do, and this is probably the best carrot cake I have ever made.

I just want to say, I’ve seen a lot of people on Twitter making fun of folks who are trying out sourdough for the first time, and I strongly disagree: I’m really proud of anyone giving it a go! My philosophy toward things that sound hard has always been, “Eh, why now, what the worst that can happen? I’m bad at it?” So you’re bad at something, and then you work at it, and then you get better. I was real bad at sourdough when I started and I am so, so grateful to my friends and husband who ate so much of my bad bread, especially this one guy I know who would eat ANYTHING, no matter how much of a brick it was. I am a pretty mediocre baker, but I will try anything, and mediocre homemade bread is still really delicious, and it honestly doesn’t take a whole lot of skill to impress your friends. (I have also found this to be true for drawing, gardening, hockey playing and computer programming)

If you’re looking for baking resources, I learned a lot about bread baking from the Fresh Loaf and that Reinhart book that I mentioned. For all-purpose baking, King Arthur is my fav. I took a cinnamon rolls class at their Vermont Baking Center once, and it might have been the best day of my life.

[tragcdysewn]

hey hi hello it’s your favorite trash bag here with a plotting/starter call! all the info is under the cut, just let me know who you want a starter to and from!!

davina claire

a distraction for the carrow gang, davina isn’t really a huge fan of what she’s involved in, but she’s already been attacked once in this town and needs protection. she’s alright with her current position though, as there’s not really any extreme measures necessary on her part.

ella tremaine

a neutral party, ella is working at a speakeasy. she doesn’t really have any support for either family, as she doesn’t really approve of any of the violence going on in either party, and she believes that just staying out of it is the best option for her right now

anastasia romanova

running from the russians for years makes one very sneaky, leading anya to be a perfect spy for the carrow family. she’s currently undercover as an assistant to a politician, gathering information for the death eaters

ahsoka tano

ahsoka is another neutral party, still working as secret service for leia, and investigating reports of gang activity in the city. she’s curious about both families, but not really invested in either, as long as her family stays unharmed

mal fae

mal is a spy and hitman for the hargreeves family. her time on the isle combined with her magic has made her lethal, and it shows in how efficient she is at her job. she still wants to be a good person, but she knows survival is more important

claire novak

claire joined up with the hargreeves family, and quickly gained a reputation as a brilliant bruiser. she’s never been one to shy away from a fight, and now that quality has gained her protection as well as a steady paycheck

clary fray

a solider for the hargreeves family, clary is fairly low level, just enough to be considered involved so she won’t be in trouble for not choosing a side in the city

cassie lang

cassie has remained neutral in the conflict, working with the police to get information on both sides, using her abilities to once again help people like she did back home

viserion

vis decided early on that the best way to stay safe was to help one side however she could. now she cleans up after the crimes the hargreeves family commits, burning away any potential evidence

lyanna stark

lyanna was always one to fight for what she believed in, and she believes what the government is doing is restrictive and wrong. she isn’t particularly loyal to the carrows, but she stands by their rebellious acts

darcy lewis

fiercely loyal to the hargreeves family, darcy is a bruiser, in addition to being a dancer in one of diego’s speakeasies. she stands by the gang through everything, and loves everything she’s gained because of them

rose weasley

rose is a nurse and an informant for the police, watching from the shadows and working to bring down the carrows

belle beaumont

belle is neutral in the mafia wars, working as a librarian and generally trying to stay out of the conflict. though she could likely be swayed to one side of the other if one was convincing enough

marinette dupain-cheng

mari remains working in her bakery, though she is also incredibly active as ladybug, trying to snag runners, hitmen, or any other mob members she can get her hands on before they cause more trouble

michelle jones

mj has always been pretty anti-establishment, so taking a spot as a runner for the hargreeves family wasn’t much of a hard choice for her. she’s loyal enough to the gang, but will always put herself and her loved ones before her job

jane hopper

jane is incredibly frightened of the conflict, and wants nothing to do with it. she stays out of it, and will firmly refuse any attempts to convince her otherwise

rapunzel corona

rapunzel is quick on her feet, and has no desire to be on her own during such a dangerous conflict. the carrows offered her protection, and despite her better judgement, she took it. but she’s secretly been feeding information to the police, praying they’ll be taken down before she’s caught

elphaba thropp

elphaba is a consigliere for the carrows, advising them on when the best time to strike and which routes will keep them from being caught. she isn’t a huge fan of the carrow’s violent methods, but she believes that overall, they’re doing what’s right

hallie parker

hallie is one of the most dangerous assets of the hargreeves family, working as a distraction. she has access to plenty of explosives, and will not hesitate to use them whenever and wherever she deems necessary 

mya stone

the brunette has always been a great fighter, and someone who put family first. she quickly gained a reputation as a fearsome hitwoman with fierce loyalty to the carrow gang

ariana dumbledore

ariana is a dancer in a club, unaffiliated with either gang, and very against them both. she’s simply trying to stay alive

petunia evans

petunia is a telephone operator, who’s only care about the conflict is worry that her sister is going to get herself in trouble due to her work with the police

rosa diaz

rosa is a double agent in the hargreeves’, working with the police to feed the family false info and get the police into place to catch various members

renesmee cullen

nessie is unaffiliated in all of this in the most technical sense, but is ready and willing to commit to the hargreeves family, along with the rest of the cullens

luna lovegood

luna is a waitress and bartender at a speakesy, though she has no idea what, if any, gang it’s affiliated with. she enjoys her job and isn’t bothered too much about where the money is coming from

shmi skywalker

shmi honestly couldn’t care less about either gang, but got caught up with the carrows by pure accident. she doesn’t mind too much cleaning up the messes the carrows make

vanya hargreeves

vanya is incredibly loyal to her family, the underboss to her brother diego. she often finds herself in the offices of politicians and high ranking officers, threatening, blackmailing, and bribing to keep her brothers operations running

eudora patch

eudora is a reporter working closely with the police. she’s determined to see the end of both the hargreeves and the carrows gangs

abigail mckinnon

abi is a hitwoman for the hargreeves family, out of anger and a desire for revenge on the carrows for their involvement in the organization that ended her family

jaime lannister

a well known prosecutor, jaime has put many members of both gangs in prison, and is well aware of the danger this might put him in

aayla cage

her near sixth sense have made aayla a wonderful runner and spy for the carrows. she’s never been caught, despite some very close calls.

bb-8

bb-8 is a solider for the carrows, and is honestly only there because he trusts poe and will always side with him

[wiiired]

Season 1 Awards

It’s the end of Season 1! Two things: (1) screenshot collages and (2) season 1 awards bracket. 

First, to celebrate finishing the season, I’m putting together screenshot collages of the best of Season 1. I’m starting with characters and will also do thematic compositions as well as best cinematography. Everything is tagged #season 1 awards.

Second, I also thought it’d be fun to make my bracket of Way Down in the Hole’s Season 1 Awards. For those who don’t know, Jemele Hill and Van Lathan run a rewatch podcast over at The Ringer. They’re extremely entertaining, and always point out things I missed. So without further ado, here’s my bracket:

Best Boss: D’Angelo. D’Angelo had all the characteristics you’d want in your boss: reasonable, empathetic, and productive. Even though he was one of the only sympathetic bosses in the Barksdale organization, D’Angelo managed to turn things around first at the low rises then at the towers. He shielded his people from trouble: Cass and Sterling, and later Wallace (well, he tried). Unfortunately, some of his underlings mistook his kindness for weakness, and coupled with Stringer’s personal dislike of him D’Angelo found himself removed from his post all too soon.

Worst Boss: The Commissioner. We see him for all of thirty seconds, and all of those thirty seconds are unlikable. He greets Norris rather than Daniels as “Lieutenant,” refuses to comfort Kima’s girlfriend, and generally sticks himself in the middle of things without contributing in the slightest. Runner-up is Burrell (generally useless, obsessed with dope on the table), and Honorable Mention to Stringer (for making Bodie kill Wallace).

Best Couple: D’Angelo and Shardene. I know, they only lasted an episode or two. It’s a shame. In another world, Shardene and D’Angelo would’ve helped each other escape their respective sinkholes (Orlando’s, the game) and started over in a new city with D’Angelo’s baby boy. Shardene was the only one who actually listened to D’Angelo (compare Donette, Brianna), and I think with time D’Angelo would’ve listened back. Unfortunately, D’Angelo just couldn’t be honest enough with her about the death of her friend, and the couple split up. Truly upsetting, especially because Shardene ended up with slimy Freamon.

Worst Couple: Jimmy and anybody. God, what a mess. McNullty is the poster boy for why you should work on yourself before you inflict yourself on others.

Best Quote: “In this state, there’s a thin line between campaign posters and photo arrays.” -- Burrell, S1E7

Most Inappropriate Line: “You’re gonna look like a glazed donut.” -- Poot, S1E9

File This Away for Later Moment: When Stringer calls Bodie a soldier (S1E12). Bodie will, of course, prove to be the most loyal soldier in the Barksdale organization, right up until the end.

Rookie of the Year: Bodie! Obviously I’m way biased on this one, but think about it. He starts off the season as the low man on the Barksdale totem pole: beneath even D’Angelo, who’s at the Low Rises exclusively because he fucked up. After showing potential by punching a cop and escaping from Boys’ Village, Stringer identifies him as promising and sends Levy to bail him out of baby booking. Then his relationship with Stringer evolves from handshake-denied to private-meeting-in-his-car, in which he’s asked to -- and does -- kill Wallace. Stringer and Bodie’s budding relationship will only improve next season.

Sixth Man of the Year: So, I had to look this term up because I’m useless at basketball. The Sixth Man is essentially the best substitute -- i.e., not a starter but top man below the starters. Jemele and Van picked Wee-Bey, which I have to agree with. He’s not a starter, but he’s doing his job perfectly: taking care of people Avon and Stringer need to get out of the way. And he doesn’t aspire to be more than the Sixth Man, which means he’s content and reliable (vs. Slim Charles in later seasons, who becomes a leader when he has to). 

Best Scene: Cheryl’s reaction to Kima’s hospitalization. While her performances outside the apartment door and at the hospital are good, I’m talking about the maybe-20-second scene where she’s running her fingers over the highlighter stain in the couch. There’s so much wrapped into this scene: we know Cheryl’s nervous about Kima being a cop, a couple episodes ago Cheryl pretended to be mad at Kima for highlighting her couch, and just now Cheryl’s come back from the hospital where Kima may die. Incredibly, the actress communicates the array of emotions that Cheryl must’ve been feeling -- anger, regret, longing, loneliness, and grief -- in such a short amount of time. It’s a perfect example of how The Wire layers so much on top of itself, and why it unfolds like a novel, not a TV series.

Best Performance: Let’s face it, this show doesn’t happen without McNulty. He’s the keystone cementing everything else into place; all action radiates out from him. Dominic West is perfect at making you feel exactly what he wants you to feel about McNulty, whether it’s angry, frustrated, disappointed, sorry for, or charmed by him. 

Stringer Bell Fuckboy Award: Props to Jemele Hill for her absolutely steadfast hatred of Stringer Bell. She called out his twirling of Donette in front of D’Angelo, but I think the bigger fuckboy moment is having Wallace killed (and by one of his best friends). Having Wallace killed is the culmination of season-long disrespect towards D’Angelo: Stringer watched D’Angelo defend Wallace to Avon and vouch for his credibility. And when D’Angelo is upset, Stringer waltzes out with D’Angelo’s attorney, content to leave him in jail rather than feel shame for his cold-bloodness. Truly a villain.

Best Trivia: Not sure if this is the “best,” but apparently Michael K. Williams struggled with a coke addiction while playing Omar.  The scar’s real, by the way.

MVP: Maybe if I were objective, it’d be Lester Freamon. But because I think Freamon is super condescending, and a little creepy (seducing Shardene while she’s a state’s witness, including getting her assigned to live at his apartment? Gross), it’s going to be Bubs. Bubs is a little underrated this season -- he’s not as prominent as he will be later in the show. But he’s the reason the cops are able to get on the Barksdales in the first place. He’s the most street-integrated CI any cop could wish for, and his snitch techniques are so ingenious that he completely escapes consequences for breaking the one street rule. And he’s the most human character: we watch him shoot up, bargain for Johnny’s release, grieve for Kima, joke with the Barksdale boys, and try to get clean. I’m so happy that out of everyone, he got a happy ending.

Check out Jemele Hill and Van Lathan’s brackets on Way Down in the Hole!

[thebuckblogimo]

The Faja Essays.

May 22, 2020

We have all met people along the way who have influenced our lives. If I were to do a “top ten” of those who influenced mine, Garry Faja, my high school buddy who died last summer, would be high on the list. The son of working class parents whose father emigrated from Poland and repaired machinery at the Rouge plant, Garry went on to become the President and CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Health System. Recently, I and four or five of Garry’s friends and former healthcare profession colleagues were asked to write essays for a book about him being compiled by a friend from his grad school days at U-M. It is intended to be a keepsake for Garry’s only child. I was honored to be asked to contribute stories about Garry’s early life. Because several people who follow this space knew him well, I’ve posted the portion I wrote below:

First Impressions.

I had heard of Garry when he was an eighth-grader during the 1960-61 school year at St. Barbara’s grade school, near Schaefer and Michigan in East Dearborn. I was also in the eighth grade, attending St. Alphonsus school, just a mile or two to the north. Garry and I both had neighborhood reputations as athletes at our respective schools.

St. Al’s, however, had a much more successful CYO sports program than St. Barbara’s. We won our divisional football championship in the fall, going undefeated; we won our divisional basketball championship in the winter, going undefeated again; and we were 6 and 0 in the league in baseball that spring when we played Garry’s St. Barbara team on a sunny May afternoon at Gear Field.

That’s when--BAM--it happened: “Down go the Arrows…down go the Arrows…to Dearborn St. Barbara’s.” An old news clip from The Michigan Catholic, a popular weekly newspaper in those days, included the following snippet about CYO baseball that spring: “Dearborn St. Barbara’s came through with the upset of the week by knocking off St. Alphonsus, 11-8. St. Alphonsus still holds first place in the Southwest Division with a 6-1 mark.”

Neither Garry nor I could ever recall how either one of us performed on the field that day. We did recall, however, that we both looked forward to joining forces and playing sports together in high school. St. Barbara did not have a high school; St. Alphonsus did. Garry had long planned to enroll for his freshman year (1961-62) at St. Al’s, where his brother had been a track star, one of the top high school hurdlers in the state.

When we began high school in the fall of ‘61, I recall standing in the middle of the playground with my close friend Anthony Adams, along with Sam Bitonti and Patrick Rogers. I remember looking over to Calhoun, the side-street on which the high school was located, and noticed a small procession of cars dropping off new students from St. Barbara’s: twins Jim and Mike Keller, Sue Hudzik, Margo Tellish (Garry’s grade school girlfriend) and the “big fella” himself.

At the urging of Garry’s mother, Jim, Mike and Garry wore white shirts to school that day. “The boys” and I, on the other hand, wore multi-colored shirts (mine was purple), skinny ties, tight pants and pointed shoes. Looking like “the Sharks” from West Side Story, we approached the new kids, welcomed them to St. Al’s and shook their hands.

I’ve long thought that the way we were each dressed that day—Garry in his white button-down, me in my bold attire—portended the essence of what we would ultimately take away from each other at the completion of high school: for me, a determination to go about things the right way; for him, a touch of edginess.

The Person. The Scholar. The Athlete.

I never knew anyone who didn’t like Garry Faja. Unless, that is, you count a hulking bruiser by the name of “Bucyk” from Ashtabula, who elbowed our buddy Tony Adams in the chest and tried to intimidate us on the street at Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. (Thank God we talked our way out of that one.) Otherwise, all the guys, girls, parents, nuns and coaches of the St. Al’s community loved Garry. He commanded respect on every level—for his heart, his intelligence, his athletic prowess.

Garry was a born leader. Despite being the “new guy,” he made such a good early impression in high school that he was elected president of the freshman class. He was a member of the student council all four years. And he was elected president of our senior class.

Garry was an excellent student, a member of the National Honor Society. He was neither class valedictorian--that was Lorraine Denby--nor the salutatorian--that was my girlfriend, Leslie Klein—but he had an extraordinary ability to “figure things out,” enabling him to excel at algebra, trigonometry, chemistry, the sciences. Moreover, he was highly disciplined. He had what our parents called “stick-to-it-tive-ness,” and it served him well at everything he did.

Garry was an organizer, a strategic thinker, who rallied for increased student attendance and crowd participation at high school games, involvement in a big-brother/big-sister-type mentoring program by seniors for freshmen, as well as causes he believed in. For example, it was Garry, with support from senior class leaders such as Larry Fitch, Vince Capizzo, Tony Adams and myself who compiled a list of “Ten Demands” that were presented to the school principal, Sister Marie Ruth, on behalf of the Class of ’65. It was, essentially, a protest against what we perceived to be unreasonable rules and disciplinary actions created by the priests and nuns of St. Alphonsus: single-file lines and “no talking” during change of class; locked school doors on sub-zero mornings during winter; mandatory daily Mass attendance, etc.

It was a daring, out-of-the box challenge to religious authority for a bunch of Catholic high school kids in those days. Predictably, our demands went nowhere and we were disciplined by having to stay inside the school for two weeks during recess, and, ironically, forbidden to attend daily Mass for two weeks. (The nuns showed us, I guess.)  

Sometimes I wonder whether our youthful backlash, with Garry at the forefront, was an early tip-off to the kind of student thinking that morphed into the free-speech movement and anti-war protests that developed on college campuses across the country a year or two later.

As highly as Garry is remembered as a person and leader by St. Al’s Class of ’65, he is recalled by “old Arrows” for his basketball playing ability. He was a starter on the JV squad from day one of his freshman year. However, it took just a few weeks for the coaches to realize that he was talented enough to help the varsity. In Coach Dave Kline’s last year at St. Alphonsus, Garry was moved up to the varsity where he became “sixth man,” before being designated a starter at mid-season. That was big stuff, really big stuff, for a freshman at our school.

So what kind of player was Garry?

A mini-version of former U-M standout Terry Mills, in my estimation. He was a shade under 6’2” tall…thick-skinned…had a nice 15-foot jump shot…and an ability to use his derriere to “get position” under the basket. Any former St. Al’s player would tell you that Garry had game and a distinctive way of gliding up and down the court. For some reason, he also suffered severely sprained ankles more often than any other young athlete I have ever known.

Garry and I were starters together for three years under Coach Ron Mrozinski and were elected co-captains as seniors. Garry once said, “Lenny, we gotta be the team’s one-two punch.” I had speed and quickness, often stealing the ball at mid-court, and would dump it off to Garry who could be counted on to fill the lane. If he came up with the ball after the other team turned it over, I was to beat my man and streak toward the basket, expecting to receive the ball from Garry. We pulled that stuff off dozens of times each year. But we never realized our dream of winning the Catholic League’s A-West Division title and competing in the Catholic League tournament at the U-D Memorial Building (now called Calihan Hall).

However, Garry was named to the Dearborn Independent’s all-city basketball team after his senior season in 1965, a particularly special honor when you consider that St. Al’s had an enrollment of just 450 students, while most other first-teamers and “honorable mentions” on the all-city squad came from Class A schools with enrollments approaching 2,000 (Fordson, Dearborn High and Edsel Ford).

Happy Days at Camp Dearborn.

It was prime time for Dearborn during the early-to-mid ‘60s. The city had idyllic neighborhoods, spilling over with kids from the baby boom generation. The Ford Rouge plant was pumping out record numbers of vehicles, including an all-new “pony car” called the Mustang. And it owned Camp Dearborn (in Milford, 30-35 miles away), over 600 acres of rolling land with several man-made lakes, devoted to the recreational interests of Dearborn residents.

One of Camp Dearborn’s attractions was a narrow tract of land along the Huron River, designated for tent camping by teenagers. Dubbed “Hobo Village,” it was “chaperoned”—if you want to call it that--by a couple of disinterested college kids who worked day jobs, cleaning up the camp, and who lived in their own tent on the river.  As 15-year-olds in the summer of ’62, Garry and I got our first taste of independence when we camped there together for a week.

We set up a large tent, with two cots inside, that my Dad had purchased at a garage sale. We hung a Washington Senators pennant to decorate its interior. And we subsisted on Spam and eggs that we cooked in a Sunbeam electric fry pan (we had access to electricity) that my Mom let us borrow.

Every evening we’d cross the camp on foot en route to the Canteen for the nightly dances. We’d get “pumped” every time we heard “Do You Love Me” by the Contours playing in the distance. Our goal, of course, was to meet “chicks,” and we attended the dances for seven straight nights. However, I don’t recall that we ever met a girl. Or even mustered the courage to ask one to dance.

But that all changed in the summer of ’63.

Camp Dearborn had another, larger camping area for families called “Tent Village,” featuring hundreds of tents built of canvas and wood, set on slabs of concrete, each equipped with a shed-like structure that housed a mini refrigerator, mini stove and shelves for storing staples. The mother of our classmate, Patty O’Reilly, agreed to chaperone a tent full of St. Al’s girls, next to the O’Reilly family tent, while Tony’s mother, Mrs. Adams, agreed to chaperone a tent full of boys, next to the Adams family tent.

Tony, Vince Capizzo, Larry Fitch, Dennis Belmont, Garry and I occupied one tent. Our girlfriends occupied the other. Much to my amazement, my parents allowed me to take their new, 1963 Pontiac Bonneville coupe to camp for the week. So we had everything we needed—hot chicks, a hot car, rock ‘n’ roll, the dances and secret “make out” spots in the camp (Garry’s girlfriend at the time was a cute blonde St. Al’s cheerleader, Donna Hutson). It all made for perhaps the happiest days of our teenage lives.

And we did it all over again in the summer of ’64.

During both years we were involved in shenanigans galore: We threw grape “Fizzies” into the camp’s swimming pool…we switched out a hamburger from Vince’s hamburger bun and replaced it with a Gainsburger (dog food)…and one afternoon we took my Dad’s Bonneville out to a lonely, two-lane country road, just outside of General Motors’ proving grounds in Milford, where we floored the accelerator and topped out somewhere north of 100 mph. It scared the shit out of us when we hit a bird in mid-flight that splattered all over the windshield. Thank God for laminated safety glass. Thank God we lived to tell the tale.

Which brings me to the “edgy” side of the teenage Garry Faja.

Stupid Stuff We Did.

When Garry came to St. Al’s, my circle of friends became his circle of friends. And an eclectic group it was. Some were college bound kids. Some were mischievous pranksters. A few were borderline juvenile delinquents. None of us, including Garry, were immune to peer pressure. Consequently, we did some pretty stupid things. Here are a few examples:

The Toledo Caper--On a snowy Friday night after a basketball game during our sophomore year in high school, Garry, Jim “Bo” Bozynski and I trudged down Warren Avenue in our letter jackets, headed for Bo’s house, with the intention of ordering a pizza.

It was, perhaps, ten o’clock at night as we crossed the field in front of Bo’s home on Manor in five-inch-deep snow. As we looked ahead, Bo surmised that because the house looked dark, his parents were already in bed and likely asleep. That’s when he hatched a plan:

Bo proposed to enter the back door of his house, go to the kitchen and retrieve the keys to the Bozynski’s ’58 Mercury sedan. Then, he, Garry and I would quietly open the garage door, push the Merc down the snow-covered driveway and out to the street, where we would start the car…and head for Toledo.

Neither Garry nor I objected to the idea. Ultimately, the plan worked to perfection.

However, we were just 15 years old and had not yet obtained our driver’s licenses. Plus, Bo grabbed a bottle of Bali Hai wine that he had stashed in the garage. And, the snow kept falling…then turned to rain. We drove through slop and glop on Telegraph Road, made it to I-75 and took turns at the wheel between gulps of cheap wine as the windshield wipers labored to clear the mounting sleet piling up on the windshield.

I was sitting in the back seat, the bottle of Bali at my side, when the car slid out of control in the middle of the southbound freeway, somewhere in the downriver area. I don’t recall whether it was Bo or Garry who was driving at the time. But I do recall that the car made a 360, sliding across two lanes of freeway, before coming to an abrupt stop in a snow bank on the side of the road.

We got out of the car. No one had hit us. Miraculously, we had not hit anyone or anything. There was no damage to the Bozynski’s family car. That’s when three stupid teenagers got back into the vehicle, reversed course, headed for Dearborn, killed the engine as we turned into the Bozynski’s driveway, silently pushed the Merc back into the garage, and turned in for the night at Bo’s.

No one was ever the wiser.

The Speeding Ticket—Both Garry’s parents and mine were strict disciplinarians when it came to girls and dating, but they rarely said no whenever we asked to borrow the car. We had already turned 16 when on a beautiful June day we took a bus downtown, filled out some paperwork (or maybe took a test) and obtained our drivers’ licenses. My Dad used his old ’58 Chrysler to get to work that day and let me have the Bonneville for our use when I got home. So, Garry, Larry and I jumped in the car and headed to Rouge Park for some joy riding. As usual, we disconnected the speedometer and took the “breather” off the carb so that the exhaust would make a throatier sound when we put the pedal to the medal. When we got to the park, I turned the wheel over to Garry. It was not as though he ordinarily had a heavy foot, but he did that day. I doubt that Garry was at the wheel for more than a few minutes when he spotted the red flasher of a Detroit cop car in the rear-view mirror. We pulled over. The policeman was all business…and gave Garry a ticket for speeding. Garry’s parents were furious that afternoon when he got home and explained what had happened. Garry went to court and lost his license for 30 days.

The Stolen Cadillac--It was a beautiful summer evening and we were playing our usual game of pick-up basketball in the alley between Tony’s house and Schaefer Lanes. As I recall, four of us were just shooting around—Garry, Tony, Butch Forystek and me. Someone looked up and noticed that a 1963 Cadillac Coupe de Ville had turned off the side-street, Morross, and was slowly making its way up the alley. It stopped in front of us. Our pals, Joe McCracken and Gary “the Bear” Pearson, jumped out of the car. Turns out that the Caddy had been parked in front of a store, with the keys in the ignition. Joe and Bear got in, fired up the Caddy, and drove it to Tony’s. Then we all got in, took turns driving the car, and went to M&H gas station to buy Coke and chips. For reasons unknown, Joe and Bear unlocked the trunk of the car. Underneath the rear deck lid were piles of pressed clothes on hangers in plastic bags, apparently for delivery by someone who owned a dry-cleaning establishment. Also, there was a narrow envelope atop the pile of clothes. Someone opened it. Much to our amazement it contained over $200 in cash. We all got back into the car and headed for a cruise down Woodward Avenue. We stopped along the way at a sporting goods store to buy a new basketball. On northbound Woodward, as it passes over Eight Mile Road in Detroit, Butch grabbed a handful of cash and threw it out the window. (It seemed hilarious at the time.) Garry and I each took a five-dollar bill, reasoning that keeping such a paltry sum would not be considered a “mortal sin.” After taking turns doing “neutral slams” at red lights, we turned the car around, headed back to Tony’s, and continued playing basketball while Joe and the Bear ditched the car. 

Again, no one was ever the wiser.  

The Shotgun Incident—It was a crisp fall afternoon. Garry and I were hanging out with Tony in his parents’ basement, while Mr. and Mrs. Adams were away, attending some sort of event. Tony knew where Mr. Adams, a bird hunter, stored his shotgun, and proceeded to take it out to show us. There were also a few boxes of shells next to the gun. Tony informed us that his Dad owned a large piece of vacant property in an area that was known as Canton Township at the time. Knowing that his folks would not be home for several hours, we took the shotgun, a box of shells and placed it in the trunk of Mrs. Adams’ Ford Falcon. Off we went to the property in Canton. To hunt sparrows. Tony had seen his father load the gun. Otherwise, none of us had ever had any training in the proper handling of firearms. We knew enough to stand behind the guy with the shotgun in his hands. We took turns shooting into the trees. And bagged a couple of small birds. We eventually returned to Tony’s and put the shotgun away. 

Yet again, no one was ever the wiser.

How The 53-Game Streak Started.

Most people know that Garry and I attended 53 straight Michigan-Michigan State football games together—whether in Ann Arbor or East Lansing—from 1965 to 2017. In fact, when the streak ended, we had been in-stadium for 48 percent of the Michigan-Michigan State games ever played.

Prior to the 2018 game, however, Garry determined that he would not be able to negotiate the steep ramps to the second deck of Spartan Stadium due to his failing knees. So, for the first time in our lives—since the days of black and white TV--we watched the game together on the tube. Here is the seemingly unremarkable way a renowned tradition began…plus a closing thought:

As I remember it, Tony Adams, Garry and I were sitting in my bedroom on a hot, steamy, mid-August afternoon, making future plans as we counted down the days to the beginning of our respective college careers. Tony would be going off to Western Michigan University as a business major. Garry would be attending U-M, majoring in engineering. While I planned to attend MSU to study journalism.

We had been athletes. Competitors to the core. Garry and I knew that our respective schools would rarely, if ever, be playing Western, but we certainly understood that he and I would be butting heads in the future, pulling for opposing teams in the Big Ten Conference every year. So, in a spirit of friendship, we mutually decided to get together every fall to attend the Michigan-Michigan State football game until one of us died.

It was as simple as that.

But when I think back to that muggy August afternoon when we made our pact, it seems a metaphor for all the goals, hopes and dreams we so often talked about between the games, joy rides, dances, pranks, parties and school projects we collaborated on at St. Al’s from 1961 to 1965. I often think, for example, about how Garry and I worked alternate days at my uncle’s store, from the spring of our junior year until the fall of our senior year, and shared tips and insights into how we each did our jobs—long before anyone ever used the term “best practices”--so that we could be the best damn stock boys my uncle ever had. As I hinted earlier, I will always be grateful to Garry for making a lasting contribution to my determination to do things the right way in life. And I’d like to think that Garry thought well of my tendency to “push the envelope” on the things I attempted, and that maybe I made a contribution to the release of his creative potential.     

Miss you, Big Guy.

[stedes-black-bonnet]

My Baby Does Me: Chapter 30

POV: John Deacon x reader

Notes: life, guys; sorry this took longer than expected.

Warnings: Swearing? Bad driving?

Abstract: The Apartment, Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, Sabrina...

-------------------------

Jim Hutton had always wanted to drive Roger’s Alfa Romeo. But, when the cards were down on the table, who didn’t? Jim wouldn’t have described himself as a gear-head. He might have said he was a good Catholic boy from Ireland who had a perchance for good bar-tending skills, barber-y, and cater-waitering. He wasn’t into cars as a hobby, and for Jim there was a clear class divide between people who drove cars for necessity and people who collected cars. Collecting cars was something people with money did. For fun. Purely for fun; this wasn’t always a concept Jim easily wrapped his head around: spending money for fun. And, until Freddie, Jim had never been in possession of having enough money to really peruse the finer things in life. A car for Jim had always been a means to get to and from work and never as an instrument of enjoyment. And Freddie, generous to a fault, never ceased to shower Jim with everything he had been denied or had denied himself through strict duty of survival. Roger, who maybe had seven cars all told (that Jim knew about), had names for each of them, claimed they all had personalities, different capabilities, and loyalties, saw cars companions.

“Roger?” Jim said, living his best life, top down, having really opened up the goddess in red. They were doing about 80 mph.

Roger moaned. His blond hair was whipping in the breeze, his head hung over the side of his door; he had already vomited once. His blazer had been abandoned. Come to think of it, he was feeling abandoned himself. Abandoned by his own abilities of perception and common sense. He kept thinking about Deacy. What he had said. And why. And that he’d give anything to fix it; he’d give anything to fix Deacy, and had. He had been the one to see her body, after all. And he’d do it again, if the choice came his way again. He was always willing to torture himself at the expense of others. And boy, he had really outdone himself this time. He knew exactly the right words to say to destroy his best friend, and he had said them, without a second thought, without caring, with the desire to harm. It hadn’t been his finest moment. I mean, he had dazzled; the audience had been captivated, and he had always loved that unique feeling, the feeling of holding a group of people in the palm of his hand. It was a rush like no other. It was one thing to do it how Freddie did it, with his vocals and his acrobatics, but it was an entirely different enterprise to do it with the tone of your voice, the flick of a wrist, and a well placed designer suit. So, in a very real sense, it had been one of his finer moments, but in an entirely different sense, it had been his worst. What have I done? He couldn’t dance around it any longer.

“Hey, Roger?!” Jim repeated, ready to perform, trying his hardest to reach Roger.

“Not again...” Roger sighed.

Doing his best John Travolta, Jim said,  “Why it could be Greased Lightnin’!”

“Jim, no; not again, mate; I’m begging you.” Roger said, swallowing hard. “If you sing that song again, I’ll throw up on you--I swear. I’m putting my foot down.”

“Rog—it’s my prime jive.”

“Never. Ever. Say that again.” He wasn’t finding the humor in any of it.

This was their fifth or sixth time around the roundabout. And there was no end in sight. Jim could keep this carousel going all night. He had nowhere else he’d rather be, and nothing else better to do in this moment than to bring Roger back from whatever precipice he was currently gazing into. The void was calling Roger’s name, and it would be quite simply over Jim’s dead body for Roger to reach it.

“Can we please get off this thing?” Roger shouted over the sounds of skidding rubber. “I think you’ve made your point.”

“You know very well I’m not taking us off until you laugh--a real, honest to God laugh. Those were the rules. I can play games, too.” Jim, grinning, kept driving. He hoped he was also driving his point home. He wasn’t so sure, though. And he was terrible at playing games, but that’s what Freddie loved most about him. He was pure, well-lived, hard-worked, and entirely devoted to people.

“I don’t think you’re understanding my predicament here.” Roger moved with gravity and speed, leaning into Jim, leaning out of his mind.

“Oh, I understand it perfectly; you’re the one that isn’t understanding it.”

“What do you mean by that?” Roger hated it when someone presumed to know him better than he knew himself.

“You’re being a child for starters.” Jim said, checking for cops.

“A child?!” His voice was higher than usual; this was a good sign; it meant Roger knew he was being a child, but was trying to hide it from everyone--including, and most importantly, from himself.

“Yes.” Jim confirmed. “Causing all this drama because you fell in love and couldn’t handle it.”

“But Jim--!”

“But Jim nothing. Childish! That’s the most childish thing I’ve ever heard; causing a scene worthy of Billy Wilder in the restaurant back there; breaking my heart and breaking poor Johnny’s, too. Not to mention the meat grinder you’ve put your own through. And for what?” Jim was shaking his head, irritated beyond belief; he took the goddess in red up to 85 mph. “Love is a gift, you fucking idiot.”

“Jim, listen--!” Roger was holding on for dear life in more ways than one.

“No, you listen here Roger Meddows Taylor; grow the fuck up. And stop telling me what to do or say; if I want to sing every God-blessed song from Grease, I bloody well will.”

“But--!”

“I solve my problems and the see the light!”

Roger groaned loudly and melodramatically; this was, perhaps, for a singer himself, the most perfect torture to endure. Jim’s voice wasn’t perhaps the best suited to belt the Frankie Valli hit, but he was enthusiastic and determined, which was really half the battle when singing any song. A talented singer, though, Jim was not. Not that it would ever stop him. Nor should it. Freddie always told him it didn’t matter how he sounded, but what he felt. Jim always held that in his heart, and applied it confidently throughout his life.

“We’ve got a lovin’ thing, we gotta feed it right.”

“Jim, you’re killing me.” Roger didn’t want to see the light; color was light after all, only reflected light; he didn’t want to see the truth, he didn’t want to feed his love, he didn’t want Lydia. Not really. Maybe. Fine, he wanted her. He loved her. But. Well. The unavoidable fact here. The one undisputed fact traipsing through his mind was this: What if Lydia ended up like Veronica? What if she died? Terribly? Suddenly? And Without rhyme or reason? It could happen to anyone. It had to Deacy, and it had completely ruined him. For years. What if Lydia died like Veronica had?

This fear was keen, deep-set, and so ingrained at this point it had driven him to a life of perpetual bachelorhood and luxurious cad-ing around. It was perhaps so hidden in his heart and mind he didn’t even know it was there until now.

“No--you’re killing yourself; love is a gift, and it won’t be wasted on you if you accept it.” Jim took a deep breath and continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “There ain’t no danger we can go too far; we start believing now that we can be what we are. Grease is the word!”

Laughing, Roger said, “I will give you this car if you stop singing.” He had laughed. It was the sound of thin ice breaking in early March. It was the sound of coffee. The sound of velvet.

Jim immediately switched gears and slowed the goddess in red. The laugh had been genuine and light; accidentally won when Roger had least expected it. Roger hated losing. Usually to a fault. Something about this didn’t entirely feel like losing, though. He still wasn’t sure he liked it. Jim did seem rather proud of himself, very smiling, very pleased, maybe a little too pleased.

“I’ve always wanted this car; thank you, Roger.”

“I was joking.” Roger smiled at Jim. “I was joking! There’s no way I’m giving you her.”

“Oh, I think this will be fine payment for saving your life, reuniting you with Lydia, and helping you fix this mess with the band.” Jim wasn’t giving an inch.

“I don’t deserve your help.”

“Not more of that; I can open her up again if you’re going to just slip back into that bollocks.” His eyebrows danced, hand on the gear shaft, ready to pounce.

“No, no!” Roger yelled. “I just mean...I don’t know what I mean.”

Roger was a loquacious kind of fellow. He wasn’t often in the position of not knowing how to express himself or what to say. Words were failing him, like the colors had. Like he had failed himself. What if he said it out loud? What would happen? If he gave song to his fear? What would go down? Would Jim understand? Probably. Would the world end? Probably not? Roger wasn’t sure he could trust logic anymore; he wasn’t seeing colors, and logic couldn’t explain that. Maybe there were some things that logic couldn’t explain. The heart has reasons the mind knows not. Some French dude said that once, and Roger really felt those words. He hoped he lived by them. He wanted to live by them. He used to think if he could trust anything, it would be his heart, and recently, he had really failed himself on this account. He had been doing anything and everything to not listen to it. And now, he had to find his way back to it, if he could.

“Let me do for you what you did for Johnny once.” Jim said. He let the words hang in the air for a bit, because they were important; Roger needed to remember he was oddly noble and desperately loyal. Or that he had been. And that he could be again. Jim hadn’t been lying before: when he had first been introduced to the band and met Roger, he had been somewhat disappointed by this seemingly vacuous and vainglorious blond trash. Over time, Jim saw how much of it was an act of sorts; yes, Roger was emotional, yes he was volatile, yes he said what was on his mind no matter what it was; but, Roger was also the most caring person he had ever met, the most perceptive, and the most unwilling to admit he was a good person.

“Y/N tried to save you, too. In her own way, I’m guessing. But she tried. She stood up for Deacy and for you.”

“About that--How did she know?” Roger asked. His heart rate had increased just thinking about what you had said. “She scared the shit out of me; I’m not ashamed to admit it. She was the last person I was expecting to punch me out. But she did, and with more than her fists. There’s no way Deacy told her about Veronica already. Just no fucking way, mate.”

Taking the deep breath of truth-telling, Jim admitted, “I told her.”

He finally turned off the roundabout and headed towards Garden Lodge. He slowed drastically so he could safely look at Roger’s reaction. Trying to gauge anything flashing on Roger’s face wasn’t the easiest task while driving, or while he was in his current condition. His blue eyes were streaming with tears, whether from wind, his excess of emotions, or from being sick--it was hard to tell. Jim didn’t like to speculate, but he had a feeling it was all three. “Someone had to tell her. And I don’t regret doing it, just as I don’t regret wanting to punch you out earlier, just as I don’t regret coming after you, and saving you now. Though the hell I’m going to take for all it isn’t something I’m looking forward to reckoning with.”

Roger nodded, taking it all in. “I would have told her myself if…” he couldn’t find the words any more than he could find the colors. All he could see was Veronica’s blue Mercedes-Benz. That one had come back; maybe the others could too?

“You would have yourself if you hadn’t been burying your head up your arse?”

“Something like that, yes.”

“So...the colors?” Jim asked, trying to peel the onion that was Roger’s psyche.

“I don’t know, Jim.”

Jim loudly rolled his eyes. “I don’t buy that. The conditions were clear: you need to level with me, Roger.”

Roger knew Jim was right.

He took a breath, trying to steady himself, and he started leveling.

-------------------------------------

Tag List:  @phantom-fangirl-stuff @triggeredpossum @obsessedwithrogertaylor @groupiie-love@partydulce @richiethotzierz @sophierobisonartfoundationblr @psychostarkid@teathymewithben@smittyjaws@just-ladyme@botinstqueen @mydogisthebest@little-welsh-wonder @maxjesty@deakysdiscos@yourealegendroger@marvellouspengwing@molethemollie@deakysgirl@arrowswithwifi@tardisgrump

[gmicahb-blogs]

Next Hawaii Superstar?

With stars like Tua Tagoviloa, Marcus Mariota, and Manti Te’o, who will be the next stud to represent the 808?

Taulia Tagovailoa, Class of 2019, Thompson High School of Alabama / Kapolei High School (University of Alabama)

Living in the lights of his older brother Tua, Taulia shows no fear in taking his brothers place once he leaves Alabama. Taulia isn’t as big as Tua, but however more athletic than his older brother. he shows more mobility to move outside the pocket and extend plays with his feet, to follow up with amazing arm strength, Taulia has the makings of being that next man up for Alabama, and here’s why. 

During his time at Thompson High School, he thrown for nearly 3700 yards, five interceptions, and 35 touchdowns all-year. Clearly, those numbers tell you that he can get the job done when it comes to moving the ball down-field. Even with being a little under-sized at the quarterback position, he has all the tools into becoming the next-generation quarterback out of Hawaii to mesmerize all of football. 

Dillon Gabriel, Class of 2019, Millilani High School (University of Central Florida)

Surprised? So Am I! Dillon Gabriel has shown the college football world why he should be considered one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He has not only lead UCF to the second-best offense in all of college football, but has UCF ranked 13 in all total offense in his first year as a starter. 

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He is in the top 15 in all quarterback ratings, and did I mention he is a true-freshman? How about also putting up 347 yards against a Stanford defense that is supposed to be one of the best in the Pac-12 this year. When you watch Gabriel connect with his receivers, it’s almost like every throw is on the money. He has great understanding of where to throw in any coverage thrown at him, and knows how to manage the clock.

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UCF’s offense kind of reminds me of the old Oregon Ducks offense back when Marcus Mariota was the starting quarterback. Too have that kind of command on an offense that is built to score in less than 2 minutes, there is no room for mistakes. Do not be surprised if Gabriel takes UCF to another New Years Six Bowl this season. 

Jordan Botelho, Class of 2020, Saint Louis School in Hawaii (Committed to Notre Dame 4/18/19) 

The best defensive linebacker to come out of Hawaii since Manti Teo in 2009, and here’s why. 95 rating on 24/7 sports (sixth best in all linebackers in the country), weighs 230 pounds, standing about 6 foot 2 inches. He is built to become a potential defensive standout once he enters college.

Watching him live against Bishop Gorman, he was calling out defensive audibles to his teammates, he showed tremendous awareness on the field, and more importantly, he made it look easy. Jordan lead the team in tackles with 4, and also a couple plays where he broken up short passes towards the sidelines. He was the big reason why Bishop Gorman only scored one touchdown in the first half. Whether it be just to break up a pass, or outside pressure to the quarterback, he can do it all. Which is why he is on my watch list for the next upcoming college football season. 

Faatui Tuitele, Class of 2019, Saint Louis School of Hawaii (University of Washington)

Hawaii high school football players have recently been getting attention thanks to the lights of Tua, Gabriel, Milton, and many others. But since this past couple of years, it’s actually the defensive players that have been getting the attention of these big name schools to come down and recruit them.

Tuitele, according to his scouting reports all highlighted the word “Legit,” as saying he is the real deal.

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In his games at Saint Louis, no other offensive lineman in the State of Hawaii could contain this guy. Double team him all you want, and he will still find a way to come with a sack. Ranked 83rd in the country coming out of high school, and ninth in his position, a lot of schools including Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss wanted this guy to play for them. When watching some of his highlights against teams like Punahou and Kahuku, he would easily run over 300-pound lineman to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Scouts say he is like a younger Justin Jones. Very physical upfront, has the size and strength to shed off blockers and finish tackles in the gaps for loss, and has great footwork on the inside to create lots of room for linebackers to get at the quarterback. I wouldn’t be surprised, with the talent and size he bring to the table, Tuitele gets his degree, and enters the NFL Draft sometime around 2022. 

[goldstarnation]

JUNE 2019 GOLD STAR MEDIA SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of June 30 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Overall Company

All artists will talk with part of a management team in charge of the organization of their upcoming company concert to discuss general plans for stage and conceptual design. Idols are given the chance to pitch special stages to management. It’s highly unlikely they’ll actually make the cut, but the illusion of the artists’ input is what’s important here.

Important dates

June 1-6: Hawaii retreat.

Gold Star Soloist 1

She continues to work on her next album behind the scenes with pressure from Gold Star to release it at just the right time, but to keep her fans engaged, the company has booked her to do a Dingo video that's sure to only get positive PR for her where she’ll surprise a fan, give her advice, and sing with her.

Important dates:

June 22: Dingo video filming.

Gold Star Soloist 2

Album recordings continue as songs are picked up and scrapped or altered and new studio time is needed, but she’s got a concert in California this month too, about two weeks after returning from Hawaii for the retreat.

Important dates:

June 22: [Gold Star Soloist 2] in California concert at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA, USA.

Gold Star Soloist 3

After returning from Hawaii, he’ll be back out on a flight a week later for a half a week of Australian concerts. He’ll do a little bit of radio, podcast, and local promotion while he’s there, but not anything full-out.

Important dates:

June 14: I COLOR U concert at The Triffid in Brisbane, Australia.

June 16: I COLOR U concert at Metro Theatre in Sydney, Australia.

June 17: I COLOR U concert at 170 Russell in Melbourne, Australia.

Silhouette

At the end of the month, Silhouette will hold their summer Japanese tour, where they’ll perform several of their Japanese releases and debut their new Japanese single “Trouble” which hasn’t officially been released yet. This means rehearsals and Japanese lessons between their return from Hawaii and their flight to Japan on the 19th.

Important dates:

June 21: Silhouette Trouble Japan Live Tour concert at Zepp Namba in Osaka, Japan.

June 23: Silhouette Trouble Japan Live Tour concert at Zepp Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

June 25: Silhouette Trouble Japan Live Tour concert at Diamond Hall in Nagoya, Japan.

June 27: Silhouette Trouble Japan Live Tour concert at Zepp Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan.

Aria

To air alongside their comeback, Aria will be shooting a short fake reality series based on Aria members’ lives in an alternate universe. Major filming will begin next month, but this month the members will be filmed an interview explaining what they think they’d be doing in a parallel universe. This must be family-friendly and different enough from being an idol to be interesting (a student or a model is okay, but a solo singer or an idol in a different group isn’t), and their answer doesn’t necessarily have to be true. Since this series will involve acting, all members will be required to take an acting class or two as well.

Important dates:

June 9: Performance at Asia Model Festival (also attending: 7ROPHY).

June 12: Aria‘s Parallel Universe series pre-filming.

Origin

They’ll finish up their American tour in the few days following the Hawaii retreat before flying back to Seoul on the 12th. After that, it’s a CF shoot and intensive rehearsals for their sixth anniversary fanmeetings in Busan and Seoul. They’ll spend the middle of the month in Korea, getting some studio recording in for potential Korean comeback album songs and final vocals on their next Japanese album in the meantime, before once again jet setting off on the 28th to end the month doing their Brazil concerts.

Important dates:

June 8: Speak Yourself Stadium Tour concert at Metlife Stadium in Rutherford, NJ, USA.

June 9: Speak Yourself Stadium Tour concert at Metlife Stadium in Rutherford, NJ, USA.

June 11: iHeart Radio Live Show in New York, NY, USA.

June 13: VT Cosmetics Spotlight Yourself L’atelier Paris CF filming.

June 15: Magic Shop Fanmeeting at Busan Asiad Auxiliary Stadium in Busan, South Korea.

June 16: Magic Shop Fanmeeting at Busan Asiad Auxiliary Stadium in Busan, South Korea. 

June 22: Magic Shop Fanmeeting at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea. 

June 23: Magic Shop Fanmeeting at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea. 

June 29: Speak Yourself Stadium Tour concert at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil. 

June 30: Speak Yourself Stadium Tour concert at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil.

Impulse

This month is for recording their next comeback album once the members have returned from the retreat. Songs have been finalized and chosen, so all recording will be finished this month to get that done before they have their first Korean comeback of the year in early August. This month also involves rehearsals for their world tour, which will immediately follow music show promotions and go until the end of the year, and a CF filming for Shinsegae Duty Free.

Important dates:

June 24: Shinsegae Duty Free CF filming.

Fuse

One festival performance, a Japanese single release, and a show filming will be slotted in between major studio time for a summer comeback. The track list is still likely to be narrowed down, so they’re recording for songs that may never see the light of day. The Stage K filming will involve judging dance groups covering several of their songs, and they’ll also give an interview with questions on their favorite Fuse choreography, the hardest Fuse choreography, and the most memorable choreography to them.

Important dates:

June 9: K-Pop World Music Festival at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines (also performing: Unity).

June 20: Release of “Sayonara” Japanese single.

June 21: Filming for Stage K episode (to be aired July 7).

Element

To milk this comeback single for all its potential, Gold Star plans to send Element out on television appearances past the end of their music show promotion period leading up to their concert in Seoul later in the summer. Gold Star has become known lately for not utilizing television appearances in the marketing of their younger, more internationally based groups like Origin, Femme Fatale, and Element, but they’re breaking that pattern for Element with an After School Club appearance and what they have faint hopes of being a breakthrough appearance on Immortal Song. Element will be performing Wingless Angel, as they’ll learn at the beginning of the month, and they’ll be drilled in continuous practice to give the best live performance they can.

Important dates:

June 15: End of music show promotions.

June 18: Live filming of After School Club episode.

June 29: Filming of Immortal Songs episode (to be aired July 6).

Femme Fatale

Once they return from the Hawaii retreat, the members will go full-force into final pre-comeback prep, making it their busiest month in a long while. On top of perfecting their performance for Ddu-Du Ddu-Du and Forever Young, they also film their comeback music video over two days of filming mid-month. They’ll then be sent out to film an Olens contact lenses CF, as well as photo shoots and interviews for High Cut and for Cosmopolitan magazines. Gold Star has every intention for going all out for likely the only comeback Femme Fatale will have this year and it seems to pay off, even from the first day of release. Gold Star has also booked arenas for their first ever tour, a Japanese arena tour, to happen in the third quarter.

Important dates:

June 14: First day of Ddu-Du Ddu-Du M/V filming.

June 15: Second day of Ddu-Du Ddu-Du M/V filming.

June 17: High Cut Magazine photoshoot (August issue).

June 21: Olens CF filming.

June 25: Cosmopolitan Korea Magazine photoshoot (August issue).

June 28: Release of “Ddu-du Ddu-du” & Square Up mini album V Live-exclusive showcase, promotions continue until July 28.