#40 plus style blog

[thestylesplash]

Slouchy Floral Print Suit + Style With a Smile Link Up

I’m running behind with all things blog and social media related this week…a whole day late with the link up! Yesterday I just ran out of steam and had to park it. I think all the gardening I did on Monday and Tuesday caught up with me! (BTW, these garden waste bags are brilliant for when the green bill is full – we filled them several times over). I bought the matching jacket shortly after the…

[sanstropfremir]

✨🎥! Forgot to say, I have a wedding in April but no dress/suit/clothes. I’m desperately looking but every single day I’m more disappointed in the quality of the fashion industry. Even the most basic thing is shit quality and cost 5 times what it should. So yeah, if anyone has recommendations on clothes (not necessarily for weddings or events, but in general) that are good quality, let me know

i know how you feel, affordable decent clothing is fucking impossible right now. honestly my best advice is thrifting/secondhand. idk what the situation for that is like in spain so maybe it's not possible, but it's always worth a shot, especially if you've already been looking for a while. it does obvs take more time than shopping new bc you have to sift through racks, but you're more likely to get a good find of better quality for a more reasonable price. my general thrifting advice (honestly this applies to any clothes shopping also) is first look for the colour and shape that you like, and then look at the material content. this is very important. do not look at brand that means nothing. always always always check the material content on the tags. ideally you want to be looking for garments that have 100% natural fibres; wool, cotton, silk, linen, rayon/viscose (yes it is natural despite the name). if you can't find 100% than something with an 80/20 ratio or more (to the natural side) can also be a safer bet, but my rule of thumb is the more polyester is in a garment, the worse it is in every way.

my general advice for wedding attire is unless you need black tie, don't worry about trying to find a full suit or a really fancy dress you're only gonna wear once. get a good pair of dark formal trousers (black/grey/navy), wear a dress shirt or a formal blouse, and throw on a nice tailored jacket that's in the same colour family. is it technically only semi-formal? yes, but who does true formal weddings and actually cares about sartorial rules. in this economy? psh. some visual aids:

it's a great combo for any 'events you have to look nice at' because you only have to buy individual pieces, you don't have to buy them all at the same time, and they can be reused for other events. just find out what the colour theme of the event is and get yourself a shirt or tie/pocket square/scarf/other accessory in that colour and you're good to go. also do not forget a good pair of shoes. this is also very important; always have a good pair of shoes.

hopefully this helps! i'm sorry i don't have better recommendations on where to actually go to buy stuff/what to buy, but i haven't shopped new in......quite a long time. but at least having some tips to go by should help. and tbh sometimes you do gotta cough up the money.....BUT only ever cough up the money for something that is 100% natural fibre and is a piece that will get use outside of a single event. otherwise you just gotta be patient and keep looking; if you are patient things have a way of coming to you.

[natalinidesign]

[fashion-runways]

hi!! new pinned post, because the last one had gotten long again-- if you want to read previous posts, here's the first one, here's the second one. the tl;dr from those is that my dad got wrongfully imprisoned abruptly, our place was raided, the cops broke a bunch of shit and took a bunch of our things and still haven't returned them, they left all the broken things for us to spend money in repairing, we had to spend money on a lawyer, trips to visit him, new clothes, medicine and food for him in jail, etc. it was a mess, way more details in both posts. he's back home now, with an ankle monitor because technically his case isn't being investigated yet, they haven't done anything about it at all, the case hasn't moved one ounce lmao it's great, always trust the judicial system and cops!! ugh, anyway!

we found a therapist for my dad who can help her deal with all the stuff he had to deal with while in prison, all the bullying, the depression, the starving, the separation, etc. he needs to get a bunch of other medical appointments, has to get surgery, among other things, but for now things are much better on that front. that being said, he did lose his job and my old redbubble account got suspended without a warning months ago, plus argentina's economy is... really bad right now. food prices rise every day, public transportation prices went up like a 200% in a couple of weeks, salaries are low and stuck there, subsidies are gone, the local peso keeps falling, we have an absolute psychopath as a president who spends more time insulting or threatening anyone who oppose him than caring about people. it's a disaster. for updates on argentina in english, this person on twitter makes very good informative threads if you're interested.

anyway, i used to make around 30/40 dollars a month in redbubble, and that used to help adding up to the donations i got here, and it got suspended, so now i make like 1/2 dollars on teepublic monthly. so... it's a huge loss. there's a lot of things me and my mom are in charge of paying-- groceries, power and water and gas, medicine (she's diabetic, i have some sort of chronic sinusitis), our dog and cat's food and medicines, wifi, phone bills, public transportation, healthcare, my dad's new therapist... so, you know, i really need anything people can donate. even if it's just a single dollar, literally any amount helps. i love fashion so much and i love this blog, i work really hard on it even when my brain says no, and i really appreciate how much you guys love it too. i love seeing people discover new styles, new designers, new things to be inspired by. so, yeah... i'm never going anywhere, but i do need help to basically stay afloat.

as usual, my kofi link is this one: https://ko-fi.com/fashionrunways and my teepublic link is this one: https://www.teepublic.com/user/dinah-lance. thanks for being around and sharing and reblogging my posts, thanks for asking questions about fashion, and of course thanks for helping to the ones who can, and thanks to the ones who can't too, i know how that feels like, don't worry about it. love you 💖

[striveattemptfail]

🎉🥳 Happy 10 Year Tumblr Anniversary 🥳🎉 (shitposting celebrating 10 years on main!)

This blog has existed for 10 whole years and to celebrate I'm hosting a give-away \o/ Per my poll, all winners will receive a FREE art commission. PLUS, winners can also choose to opt-in and receive free physical prizes, shipping included*!!

Blacklist #SAF Anniversary GA to block this post.

Give-away runs from Aug. 13–23, 2023~!

RULES

Must be following me @striveattemptfail​​​​​ BEFORE Aug. 18, 11:59pm EST. > I will be checking!

Bonus entry for following my sideblog @jercythesiscrying

Unlimited reblogs + likes. Sideblogs allowed! > Please note in the tags/reblogs what blog you are following from. If I cannot find the URL in my followers list you will be disqualified.

Ask box and/or Tumblr DMs must be OPEN.

All ages** allowed to enter!

WINNERS

1ST PLACE Choice of:

1 full-body character OR up to 3 full-body chibis with detailed background (value CA$60+)

PLUS choice to opt-in for first dibs on physical prizes

2ND PLACE Choice of:

1 waist-up character OR up to 2 full-body chibis with semi-detailed background (value CA$40+)

PLUS choice to opt-in for leftovers on physical prizes

3RD PLACE Choice of:

1 bust icon with simple background, character or chibi style (value CA$20+)

PLUS choice to opt-in for leftovers on physical prizes

Super Secret 4th Place If none of the top 3 winners opt-in, I'll do a bonus draw for someone else to receive the physical prizes instead!

COMMISSION PRIZES

High-res A5 illustration to be given as PNG and PDF (unless otherwise requested)

SFW ONLY! — Suggestive themes and partial nudity OK but anything more explicit is not allowed

Art is for personal use only

Open to any/all fandoms or OCs! — References needed for OCs or fandoms I'm unfamiliar with. List of my fandoms under the cut with full disclaimer

No complex poses, backgrounds, mecha

Animals/furries OK as long as it follows the above parameters. (Examples here: one, two, three)

I reserve the right to turn down or modify requests. (See disclaimer under the cut for more details)

PHYSICAL PRIZES***

Karasuno First Years Zine (2018) > Full colour Haikyuu!! fanbook > Perfect bind, 80+ pages, 5.5x8.5" > Valued at CA$25

Batblob Pack (Winter 2023) > Includes unreleased screenprinted 5x7" art print and 1/8 zine of various Batblobs > Printed on ~55gsm paper > Valued at CA$15

the lazy zine. (19/23) > Part of the (unreleased) 19/23 series > Original art: screenprint quarter zine of lazy animals > Valued at CA$7

Plus bonus things...? 👀

All prizes (both illustrated and physical) will be fulfilled before the end of 2023 barring any external circumstances and emergencies.

DEADLINE

Give-away runs from Aug. 13, 9:00pm EST – Aug 23, 11:59pm EST. Winners will be contacted immediately and given 24 hrs to respond. If a winner fails to respond within that time another person will be chosen and given the same deadline. Winners will be announced on this blog by Aug. 28 with their respective prizes.

🎉🥳 Good luck and happy anniversary to me! 🥳🎉

– • – • – • – • – • – • – • – • – • – • –

NOTES / DISCLAIMER

This give-away is not affiliated with Tumblr or any franchises mentioned anywhere within this post. It is being independently hosted by me and I am bearing the responsibility of fulfilling all prizes. As mentioned above, I reserve the right to turn down or modify requests based on my schedule and capabilities once the give-away ends and production begins. Keep scrolling down for a list of fandoms I'm familiar with!

* I am shipping from Canada. If your country does not allow mail/packages from Canada, I cannot ship your prize until it does. You may be subject to customs fees or import taxes once the package arrives to your country. Barring other circumstances, all prizes will be shipped before the end of November 2023. I cannot guarantee that your package won’t go missing or will arrive undamaged, but feel free to contact me if anything goes wrong~!

** If you are a minor you MUST have permission from your guardian(s) to provide me a valid mailing address. I want to keep this give-away open to as many people as possible, but you MUST be willing to share some personal information at your safest discretion. I guarantee that your information will never be used outside of this give-away nor will be shared with anyone except myself. I will NOT be responsible for any issues that may arise if you choose to ignore this disclaimer.

*** Physical prizes might not look like the pictured examples. Prizes may not be in mint condition due to storage and shipping conditions. They may also include other imperfections due to the nature of the screenprinting process. Aside from the Karasuno First Years Zine, all other physical prizes are artworks I’ve made throughout the years, which are great for art/publication collectors but not necessarily fan/merch collectors.

For the record, this isn’t a “foIIow 4 foIIow!! i WaNt MoRe FoLIOwErS!!” kinda deal. I just want folks who've stuck around for a long time to get a better chance at receiving something in return for watching this blog grow and evolve along with me. This is as much a celebration for y'all as it is me actually maintaining this thing for so long LOL ¯\_😂_/¯

– • – • – • – • – • –

Fandoms

Below is just a very short list of fandoms I've previously created for. Again: I'm open to OCs and fandoms I'm not familiar with but references must be given 😌👍

Comics

Check, Please!

Marvel – MCU and comics only

DC Comics – comics only

and a metric ton of manga

Anime

Yuri!!! on ice

Haikyuu!!

Kuroko no Basuke

Gakuen Babysitters

Tanaka is Always Listless

and many, many more

Western Cartoons

Avatar: the Last Airbender / Legend of Korra

RWBY

Gravity Falls

plus many more

Misc.

Glee

Twilight

Star Wars – all movies and shows (no comics/novels)

IRL people (e.g. YouTubers, celebrities, etc) – TBD on case to case basis

[csuitebitches]

Hii firstly I just wanna say I love your blog and you always seem to have the answers to the exact problems I’m going through as a young adult plus it just inspires me so much, so thank you !!!

Now onto my problem - the past few years, I’ve neglected my body so much. I used to do swimming and martial arts a few times a week, but then it slowly stopped (partially because I moved houses) but also because I went through a stressful time including toxic friend groups plus academic stress the last two years of high school. Now I’m doing much better mentally, but I’ve gained a lot of weight, and I’m not as fit as I used to be and I want to start working towards having my ideal body (which I didn’t have even back when I was doing swimming and tkd) but I’m struggling to get started and create a routine that challenges me as well as motivates me, with steady results. I desperately want my ideal body to be able to wear all kinds of pretty clothes and styles that just make me feel insecure in my current state. Plus I want to be healthy and fit.

Please help me and let me know if you have any tips to get started with creating a workout routine that works!! (I tried using the “body” link on your page but it doesn’t seem to work properly :// )

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day if you do answer this, and either way I’m immensely grateful!!

I’m not a trainer or nutritionist but I’ll give you some advice that works for me. Start really small. It’s going to take some effort for you to stay consistent.

Start with perhaps 2-3 days a week where you walk for 30 minutes/ do some yoga; and 2-3 days of doing some sort of strength training workout from YouTube. I like gainsbybrains. Highly recommend that you make a playlist on YouTube of 4-5 workouts of about 30-40 minutes. Aim to workout 5 days a week. Remember to track your progress if you’re mentally okay with that - things like progress photos, body fat %, weight, measurements etc.

I still do a 5 day split - I work out 2 days, rest 1 day, workout 3 days, rest one day. It works for me. I started by working out for just 30 minutes a day. Aim for small steps.

Get your nutrition in order. If you can talk to a nutritionist, I highly recommend you go for it.

I prefer eating 3 big meals a day as opposed to multiple smaller meals a day. I incorporate at least 3 different vegetables a day in my diet. Ensure you eat enough protein (some studies say 0.11*your weight in pounds, some say 0.36*pounds is the number of grams you need to consume). Don’t rely on just protein powder but also natural protein.

I carry a water bottle with me everywhere I go so that I remain hydrated at all times.

I’ve also noticed that I prefer working out in the mornings as opposed to evenings because I get tired after work. Practice something called habit stacking - so for me, I workout right after brushing my teeth. I prefer doing fasted workouts because I feel uneasy if I eat and workout.

Get a workout buddy if you can! Sometimes having a friend to workout with can really push you for the better.

[vividracing]

New Post has been published on https://www.vividracing.com/blog/best-wheels-and-fitment-options-for-the-toyota-gr-86-subaru-brz/

Best Wheels and Fitment Options for the Toyota GR-86 / Subaru BRZ

The GR-86 is quite possibly one of the best looking vehicles to come from Toyota since the late 90’s. Each curve and each line feels purposefully placed and well executed. Even the factory wheels are better than 90% of factory wheels on the streets today. However, as we add suspension, aero, and begin the hunt for mechanical grip, it becomes immediately clear that an upgrade on all four corners is the next logical step. The question then becomes, what fitment should you go with?

Lucky for you, we are intimately familiar with the GR-86. Understanding everything from the CANBUS system limitations to the pesky RTV oil pan issues, so wheels should be no problem. Right? Well that depends. We’ll observe three very different styles of fitment and recommend a feasible wheel. Your tire choice, which we will leave completely up to you, will determine your mechanical grip, your fender modification requirement, and the overall final fit and finish of your 86. However, we have to start with what comes factory. The GR-86 has a few wheel options, but the size reference we will go with is 18×7.5 +48 with a 5×100 bolt pattern. While the bolt pattern alone with limit you tremendously, we can all agree that the factory wheel specs are… ‘Mid’ at best.

If you’re looking for something a bit wider than factory, without having to modify your fenders or worry about your fender liners, going up 1 inch in width and down 13mm in offset is the way forward. The Rotiform DTM, starting at under $1400 per set is a perfect candidate for this fitment style, sporting an 18×8.5 +35 spec and a silver finish will be sure to add a bit more style to an otherwise factory GR86, plus you can rest easy knowing you have the history and reputation of Rotiform keeping you safe. If that’s a bit out of budget, no worries, we have countless budget options in this very fitment to get you right.

 Rotiform R170 DTM | 18×8.5 +35 (Part #R1701885F3+35)

If you want fitment so flush, there’s no dip from fender to wheel face, we recommend 18×9 +40. Flush fitment often requires some trimming of the fender wells and often times, the final result is so worth it. To achieve this look, we recommend the Volk ZE40, but if that’s out of budget, the Enkei PF05 is also a sure fit for those looking to add some dimension to their GR86 without breaking the bank.

Volk Racing ZE40 | 18×9 +40 (Part #WKZW40DA)

Enkei RPF1 | 18×9 +40 (Part #504-890-8040GM)

While those looking for battle stance (less wheel, more tire) would opt for 17” wheels, the dimensions as far as width and offset are the same as they are with the 18’s. For this crowd, we recommend 17×9 +35 to +45 with minor trimming. However, if you want a little poke, keep the diameter at 18” and go with a set of SSR GTX01’s in 18×9.5 +40, add some 200 treadwear tires, and enjoy the pass.

  SSR GTX01 | 18×9.5 +40 (Part #XA18950+4005CDK)

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to one of our fitment specialists!

[lavendercrumbleshake]

Hello, My name is LavenderCrumble! U can call me Lav or Miss Crumble for short ♡

Some things u should probably know about this blog

*~▪︎☆°♡ This blog is a cutesy, semi-nsfw blog, so some the posts that I write, like or repost will not be safe for work, if u don't like this please block, not report, if u are a minor do not follow me please I will block u.

*~▪︎☆°♡ I am a plus size (kinda working on it as best I can atm) black girl who is 19 years old, & want to make friends & mutuals that are also 18 or older on tumblr, pinterest & on discord, I will link my discord server & other socials here for anybody that wants to join, if anyone has any fun discord servers or other social accounts that are sfw/nsfw u would like to invite me to then my asks are always always open♡

*~▪︎☆°♡ Any pictures that u see on this blog aren't mine and are from pinterest unless stated otherwise.

*~▪︎☆°♡ Some of my current interests include:

drawing

coloring

anime

kawaiicore fashion, j-fashion, or just most alt fashion styles in general

makeup

maid cafés

sanrio (but notably kuromi, rilakkuma, korilakuma, hello kitty & my melody)

kawaii cafés

kawaii & sexy costumes/cosplays

cooking (especially asain food recipes)

kawaii bento boxes

cute kitchen appliances, cooking utensils, kawaii bento tools (like the hello kitty rice mold for example) pots, ect (preferably in pastel purple, or of cartoon characters like sanrio mascots)

asian snacks

kawaii food & drink recipes (I wanna recreate kawaii food plates from maid cafés or bento boxes like the ones on my pinterest board, or food from different animes)

super sonico & super pochaco(idk much but I love their mascots their sooo cute! I heard super sonico has an anime n i wanna watch it >v<)

cartoons

anime figurines

gloomy bear

sweet/dessert smelling perfumes & body products

games & gameplay videos(Mostly horror games, story games, visual novel games, or RPGs)

Tumblr stories/tumblr headcanons/tumblr concepts & prompts (particularly monster fantasy themed stories or relationships, & semi dark headcanons, like some Yan! headcanons for example, monster bf/husband, and Dom bf/husband (idk why I like these but some of them are just fun to read even if i don't resonate with them personally per sey, still trying to figure it out) among others, there really isn't any particular characters that i like for this)

Tbh that's just to name a few, I have a lot more interests than that lol

*~▪︎☆°♡ My favorite colors are usually pastels purple, pink, blue, yellow & green in that order, but I also like most darker colors too, like chocolate brown, black, or dark red, but my least favorite color is and will almost always be orange, idk why I don't like that color much

*~▪︎☆°♡ As is the nature of tumblr, I will also be putting my random thoughts on here too lol, both sfw & nsfw. I love this chaos platform♡

*~▪︎☆°♡ Links to my other socials: (if the link to my discord doesn't work then feel free to ask me for a link in the ask box)

DNI ON THIS OR ANY OF MY SOCIALS IF YOU ARE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING: homophobic, transphobic, racist, misogynistic, abelist, fatphobic, currently 40+ or an ED blog; if u are any of these things I will block you. Do not send unsolicited nude photos of any kind without permission or I will call you out & block you.

*~▪︎☆°♡ (*note) This pinned post will probably be edited with more stuff about me, my hobbies, interests, ect, when i get the time, but for now this will be it ♡

[threebooksoneplot]

Episode 31 - "Ism Bingo" (Show Notes)

listen along here

General New Moon content warning for ongoing discussions of suicide! Also discussed in this episode: various instances of anti-native racism, plus

Self-harm: 01:25:29 — 01:29:36

Ableism (including ableist slurs): 01:38:04 — 01:40:20 and 01:54:08—01:55:32 (G’s second Euphoria & Agony excerpt)

[00:01:11] Kacie right now

[00:06:06] The results of the Euphoria & Something title poll and epigraph poll

[00:06:25] Once again, Byron’s Manfred

[00:07:43] "Agony" from the Into the Woods movie adaptation

[00:09:33] The Megamind pronunciation of “melancholy”

[00:11:27] More from the Dark Noon and Euphoria & Agony cover contest, plus the winners!

[00:12:49] Catch James in Episode 30

[00:19:32] Bella and especially Beau for 6 miles in their new hiking boots

[00:24:33] The funny ask we got about how edbella would consider minor things cheating

[00:27:00] “Olivia Rodrigo style” + 3B1P’s official still-in-progress New Moon/Season 2 playlist

(and the completed 3B1P official Season 1 playlist)

[00:35:50] Stephenie Meyer discussing the writing of Midnight Sun plus a screenshot from this similar InStyle article G refuses to link because they can't even get Stephenie Meyer's name right

Smeyer's blog Q&A on the writing of New Moon plus the BYU symposium recap where she talks about imagining child loss

[00:42:12] We quote it twice per episode so if you haven’t seen this clip yet then where the hell have you been loca, but: the origin of My Hungry Guys

[00:47:46] Monster Garage and Pimp My Ride

[00:49:10] G’s list of other Discovery Channel shows Beau and Julie could watch: Ace of Cakes, Planet Earth, Man vs Wild, Guy’s Big Bite

[00:58:18] Olivia Rodrigo's good 4 u

[01:01:35] "Black people CAN sell drugs"

[01:01:56] Laurie, the scary drug dealer lady from Euphoria

[01:19:25] A Tumblr meta about one possible explanation for Bella's "adrenaline junkie" behavior

[01:22:44] What do you think—how does Hallucination Edward compare to the hallucination scene in Jane Eyre?

[01:25:36] G’s "loose bear in the neighborhood" chronicles, in case you missed them last episode

[01:38:44] Some dictionary definitions of "gimp:" (cw ableism)

[01:40:01] (Profound, world-weary sigh) and "gimp suits"

[01:50:25] Beau's Riverdale reference

[01:51:13] The mines of Moria

[01:49:07] Euphoria & Agony chapter 7 - "Repetition" and chapter 8 - "Epinephrine"

[01:57:11] Dark Noon chapter 7 - "Isaac Randall"

[01:59:58] The original "Coke Zero brown eyes" post

[02:00:13] AO3-Exclusive BONUS Dark Noon chapter 8 - "Guilt"

[02:02:20] “That Death Cab song on the album” ("Meet Me on the Equinox")

[02:03:01] Bella's Book Club November info

[wolfavens]

what was your inspiration to create your main oc? (pass the question on)

or for any character you want to tell us about, really =)

Aaaah this is such a perfect ask! Thank so much for thinking of me... now here I come to make you regret you thought of me 😅 Unnecessarily long history of Brian under the cut ❤️

In 2012 after finishing a couple of short stories my friend at the time encouraged me to write a novel. It was never finished and went through multiple drafts which were all discarted but it did give birth to two of my oldest ocs: Brian & Fawn. At the time their names were Fallon & Teyrnon tho but's lets not get hung up on my never ending pet peeve of renaming ocs to make their names fit their personalities better - in my demented brain that is. 😂

The unfinished novel was about druids and fallen kindgoms and big evil and were it not absolutely filled with tropes and bad grammar I'm sure it would give G.R.R. Martin a run for his money, lol (no it would not, it sucked 😂) But it did give basic outlines to who Brian will become - a big blond lower class overachiever who pretends he is dumber than he really is & has a doomed romance with his best friend.

In 2015 I started a simblr (this simblr in fact 🥳) to tell a vampire detective story. I'm pretty sure nobody remembers it (it also sucked btw) but both Fawn & Brian had cameos in it under their original names. They were still druids post their kingdom's final fall helping humans in a urband fantasy setting... don't @ me I told you it sucked 🤷‍♀️ All the way up to my disgraceful abandonment of this blog Fawn & Bri had little cameos in my witch story, faerie story... all the stories.

In 2019 I think I made a new blog because I started hating everything I ever touched - a state of affairs that continues to this day I guess. 😂 On the new blog I posted mostly short snippets of draft #89746453 of Fawn & Brian's story (at this point their names were Teyrnon & Fawn I think...) Mostly tho I was fleshing out Fawn's cousin Shadow (Niall). The greatest regret of my life is that I deleted that blog and only have a couple pics left & none of the snippets 😭

Following that I left simblr for a few years attempting to write on and off. A few short stories came out of that (plus an abandoned writing blog) and I noticed all of those stories were basically Brian & Fawn AUs because either I'm that uncreative or these two just live rent free in my head and I stopped fighting. In November 2021 I returned to simblr with Light Trap - the last of those stories I wrote & Brian so much... editing... of Brian. I would've stuck to it too if I wasn't a lazy arse who couldn't find a baseball bat poses & poses of a ghost flying out of a mirror 🤷‍♀️

And here we are today. Brian is still blond, blue eyed poor as shite (20 simoleons guys send help) has recently earned the overachiever trait & the difficult relationship with his mother which drove him to the overachiever trait in the first place and is in love with his best friend. He has starred in over 40 short stories & novelas in the last 10 years (all found in Fawn's druid fanfic notebook because metafiction *drops mic*) and this year he will get that puppy which I keep promising everyone (and is also an easter egg for my demented brain to the dog he used to have at the very beginning who followed him around everywhere Dogmeat style & helped him fight evil or whatever).

Now don't tell me you don't regret me getting this ask, ahahahaah 😂

[thestylesplash]

Inspired By Frida Kahlo - July's Thrifty Six

As I’ve long been fascinated with the colourful Mexican painter, I chose “Inspired by Frida Kahlo” for this month’s Thrifty six theme. I was first introduced to the works and life story of Frida Kahlo during my degree course. We studied several modules on art and feminism, and my lecturer was clearly a fan of Frida Kahlo. It definitely rubbed off on me and now I have prints, jewellery, clothing…

[dollarbin]

Nickel Bin #4:

Cat Stevens' Foreigner Suite

Though I'm surely as guilty of practicing it as the next music blogger, I don't know how to spell pretentious without looking it up.

But The Beatles surely entered every new Spelling Bee hoping pretentious would be the first word they were responsible for. They knew the concept all too well. After all, Yoko and John decided his schlong, and nothing else, was a worthy subject for a 40 minute film.

(No, I'm not gonna show you a clip of the movie here; get your mind out of the gutter; and anyway, the film was only ever shown once and is not available anywhere; so no slow-motion image of Lennon's Johnson for you; Yoko said "the critics wouldn't touch it"; neither will this blog...)

Paul meanwhile routinely praised his own music by posing as a nonexistent journalist named Clint Harrigan. And George was inspired to write Try Some, Buy Some to document "his sudden perception of God amid the temptations of the material world" while living in this house:

And Ringo... well you know The Dollar Bin is shy about criticizing Ringo, even if his website just announced a "LANDMARK PHOTOGRAPHY RETROSPECTIVE HARDCOVER “BEATS & THREADS” CHRONICLING OVER 70 YEARS OF HIS LEGENDARY DRUM KITS AND ERA DEFINING FASHIONS."

There is perhaps just one form of late 60s to mid 70s era rock pretension of which the lads from Liverpool never partook: the side-long song. Arthur Lee's Love introduced the idea of one long song filling an entire side of vinyl on their second record, and everyone, including Lee, instantly recognized that doing so was pretentious nonsense.

(By the way, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands does not count. Why? A) it's only 11 minutes long and takes up a side on its own only because it is at the end of a double album, b) it's too awesome to criticize in any way, and c) cuz I said so.)

Relax: I love Pink Floyd's Echoes (not to mention The Pentangle's Jack Orion) as much as any reasonable white guy, but you've got to admit there is little one can imagine more pretentious than declaring that your music requires listeners to concentrate for 18-23 minutes without pause because you're a big deal artist sent by the gods who cannot be bothered to meet the needs of radio formatting or real people with real responsibilities.

And that brings us to our first ever discussion of one of the Dollar Bin's greatest oddballs, Cat Stevens. It wasn't pretentious enough for Cat to fill the entire A Side of his career cauterizing 73 album Foreigner with one song; he also insisted on calling it a "suite".

The musical term "suite" has its origins in the 1500's and was central to Baroque era music; the idea of a suite was to assemble serious music together for the purpose of serious dancing. Bach wrote a bunch of them; time signatures were to be rigidly followed; everything was either homophonic (not homophobic, ye hasty reader, homophonic: all acceptable music is queer friendly) or polyphonic or, who am I kidding? I have no idea what a song suite actually is; all I can say that it's a serious piece of serious music; in other words it has nothing to do with Jethro Tull.

What I'm trying to say here is that taking three to seven pop songs, smashing them together (with either total or no elegance) and calling it a "suite" is comparable to me wrapping up last Wednesday's spaghetti in a tortilla, adding canned salsa, and declaring my pathetic lunch a Super Deluxe Burrito. Stephen Stills was of course the master of such pretension; see Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. I'll bet he's tucking into a spaghetti burrito as we speak.

Cat Stevens' Foreigner Suite is, admittedly, another totally pretentious addition to this club. And yet, it features everything we love about the Cat Man: sweet harmonies, dense sonic changes, passionate lyrics and his patented I'm-a-grandpa-who-zipped-up-too-fast-and-got-his-hairy-hacky-sack-caught-in-it vocal stylings. Plus he recorded the song while on tax exile in Jamaica and was appropriately enamored with reggae, so the whole thing is a fitting follow up to Paul Simon's Mother and Child Reunion.

My wife bought this record early in our relationship at a Salvation Army without my pretentious approval. I knew Cat Stevens. My long ago friend Thom Moore of Moore Brothers fame had shown us Harold & Maude and I'd been listening to Tea for The Tillerman since middle school.

(My buddy Eric and I once spent all of a sleepover listening to the title track on repeat; when we finally went to bed we turned it down as low as it could go while still remaining audible; therefore we woke up every other minute and a half when everyone belted out HAPPY DAY!; we had no access to, or interest in, drugs, so that was our idea of trippin').

But I'd decided early on that everything after Mona Bone Jakon (now that's a record that deserves a big deal Dollar Bin treatment; it's the overlooked third member of holy, end-of-the-60's, white people music trinity alongside Five Leaves Left and Astral Weeks) was a compromise, and that everything after Teaser and the Firecat was a worthy soundtrack for that film about Lennon's one-eyed monster.

So I turned my pretentious nose up at my lady friend's thrift store find, resumed listening to Daydream Nation, and thereby missed out on Foreigner Suite for the rest of the 90's.

But then we had a kid in 02 it was time to a) rewrite my pretentious first/last novel, b) drink more/cheaper beer, and c) listen to the records in my collection I had previously ignored, all in an effort to prove to myself that I was not simply a middle aged, balding dadman forever more. And that brought me to Foreigner Suite.

Let's listen.

Where to start? I count the soulful main theme (There are no words...) which opens the piece briefly and then comes back for an extended run at the end, then there's another two or three unique melody sections as well as the funk in the middle, and then the whole thing soars away with sweet piano doodling and a chorus that I can't begin to get my head around: heaven, Cat sings, must have programmed you. Is he singing to a 60's era, Warehouse-sized IBM machine? Or to Neil's new robot? Is he inventing the internet years before Al Gore did?

I love this song. I'd play it loud on weekends in our first real home whenever my wife was at work. My infant daughter spent the 8 minutes unpacking all her toys one by one, tasting each of them. And I'd sit on the floor beside her, tasting them too. Then she'd don every costume jewelry necklace in the house and crawl about, dragging bling wherever she went. And I'd sing along with Cat and crawl along after her, marvelling. After all, Heaven had programmed her.

And when she graduates from college this May I'll likely have Cat Stevens in my head:

When you're talking to me And the whirling wind turns to song Why it sets my soul free

Here's to Cat. He wound up donating all the money he saved on his taxes while in Jamaica to UNESCO.

More importantly, here's to Martin Luther King. Today's his day. His words and voice are currently knocking the wind out of my ninth grade students in all the right ways.

And, most importantly, here's to all the unpretentious people who spent today in service to others.

Cheers.

[dontlookdown]

Nick’s Favourite Music of 2022

Those who have followed my work for a while know that I usually start the new year with a collection of reviews looking at my favourite songs of the year. This year, I’m only doing the one post. If my experience with burning out halfway through last years’ list taught me anything, it’s that I can’t commit to the traditional series of twenty-plus blog posts when I know full well that I don’t have the time or the energy to see it through. Maybe things will be different next year. For this year, I’m happy to compromise.

Below, you’ll find the list of my 20 favourite songs of 2022 (YouTube links in the headings, Spotify embed at the bottom), along with a few words about why I love each particular one. Let’s go!

Röyksopp – “Speed King”

I started putting this playlist together with the first and last tracks already in mind, due to their lengthy runtimes. Normally, I’d kick things off with a true opener, something loud and driving. Despite its name, “Speed King” is not that. It’s a slow, electronic burn that builds into something truly formidable. My immediate reaction upon first hearing it was “This is the Daft Punk track I’ve been waiting for since 2005,” but that backhanded compliment ignores how the way the bassline steadily bubbles away in the background is pure Röyksopp, a hallmark that you’ll find throughout their work. The duo released three albums over 2022 and, while there’s great songs on all three (especially the tracks featuring Alison Goldfrapp and Susanne Sundfør), they saved the best for last.

††† (Crosses) - “Procession”

We’re going to stay in a low-key mood for a bit with the next two songs. Considering how I fell in love with Deftones in 2020, it seemed right that I should check out Chino Moreno’s side project when they re-emerged with their first new material in nine years. The PERMANENT.RADIANT EP turned out to be the perfect taster for this group’s softer, more atmospheric sound. I particularly loved “Procession”, which is the perfect showcase for Chino’s distinct voice and a show-stopping bassline that kicks in at 2:40.

The 1975 – “About You”

I find it difficult to pin down my feelings about the 1975. They’re a band I always want to keep at arm’s length, and yet they’ve ended up my year-end lists three times now. That’s an achievement in itself, but doing it with three songs that sound nothing like each other is something else. “About You” is the most U2-ass sounding song of the year. And I like U2 a lot.

Asunojokei – “Diva Under the Blue Sky”

Here we fucking go. Asunojokei are a Japanese band that have picked up the “black metal but happy” torch from Deafheaven and ran a mile with it with their album Island. I keep getting Undertale vibes from “Diva Under the Blue Sky”. Something about the main melody feels very reminiscent of the excellent work Toby Fox did on that game's soundtrack.

The Beths – “Silence Is Golden”

A bit of blistering Kiwi indie rock to get the pulse up.

Phoenix – “After Midnight”

I was not expecting this. A beautiful reminder of what Phoenix are capable of, absolute masters of a slick, twisty pop-rock style that’s very much their own.

Fred again.. – “Jungle”

A true club banger. Turns out you can do an awful lot with a chopped vocal sample, a savage beat and a great sense of dynamics and timing.

Ibibio Sound Machine – “Protection From Evil”

I’ve got a lot of love for tracks that find ways to keep building and building upon themselves. Having a truly magnetic presence like Eno Williams front-and-centre on the microphone would’ve been enough, but having her vocals and the rhythm behind her slowly rising in intensity before colliding together with horns for the climax is downright magical.

Beyoncé – “Pure/Honey”

Never bet against Bey. There’s a reason RENAISSANCE was the near-unanimous critic’s pick for album of the year, that’s because it’s just so damn fun to listen to in full. “PURE/HONEY” splits the difference between the album’s two moods: hard-edged house to start, with shiny disco as a chaser. The way the songs shifts between those two gears makes it the perfect pick for this playlist.

The Weeknd – “Take My Breath”

I remember first hearing “Take Me Breath” and thinking “this needs something extra”. That something extra turned out to be the extended version on the Dawn FM album. Almost twice as long as the single version, it allows the backing beat room to stretch out, with the chugging muted guitar and arpeggiated vocoder properly setting the scene for song to make more of an impression. It doesn’t just benefit the song, but the album as a whole. The three-song-run of “How Do I Make You Love Me?”, “Take My Breath” and “Sacrifice” is a thrilling moment from an artist with a career full of them.

Spoon – “Wild”

“Wild” is my favourite song of the year. I knew that the second I laid ears on it. Spoon have been one of my favourite bands for a long time, and the fact that they can still come up with songs this good after 25 years is awe-inspiring. “Wild” is such a perfect Spoon-esque song, it’s honestly incredible that they hadn’t written it already.

Alvvays – “Belinda Says”

A blast of aural sunshine, with a key-change befitting of its namesake.

Camp Cope – “Running with the Hurricane”

This was a late discovery for me in December. While making my way through all of the hyped releases I’d missed, it was refreshing to come across music that was so direct and earnest. A true breath of fresh air, which I assume a hurricane would also have plenty of.

Shamir – “Reproductive”

By contrast, this was an early favourite that I rediscovered while combing through my existing collection. It always takes me a few plays to properly acknowledge the lyrics of songs. Once I noticed the streak of self-loathing running through this one, it just made the deep sadness of the music hit harder.

The Smile – “Free In the Knowledge”

Choosing my album of the year was tricky. This and the next four acts on the list were all contenders for the crown, though none jumped out as instant picks like previous winners have. In the end, I gave it to A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile (the new band featuring Thom and Jonny from Radiohead, and Tom Skinner from Sons of Kemet), simply because I had a nice little moment to myself while listening to it for the first time. Relaxing alone in the park, in the warm sunshine, feeling at peace with everything. By the time I’d gotten to “Free In the Knowledge”, I felt a calmness I hadn’t felt in months. Other albums just can’t compete with those personal moments.

Big Thief – “Change”

One last quiet moment before things pick up again. “Change” is a cool breeze of existentialism on a warm day, the kind of vibe Big Thief have been very good at for some time now.

Black Country, New Road – “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade”

I’d said in the introductory post for my 2021 blogs that, after being slightly disappointed by their debut, I was looking forward to Black Country, New Road delivering on their next album. And boy, did they. Ants From Up There is a record that was fascinating on first listen, and keeps revealing hidden layers on repeat plays, especially when digging into the lyrics. “The Place Where He Inserted the Blade” (it’s about cooking, not killing) is a rich portrait of domestic malaise, the kind Jarvis Cocker used to dabble in. It’s sad that vocalist Isaac Wood has decided to move on, but I’m glad he’s putting his mental health first. That can’t have been an easy decision. And, once again, I’m very interested to see where the band goes from here.

Black Midi – “Sugar/Tzu”

I’d lumped Black Midi together with BC,NR and Squid (or Black Midi, New Squidi, as I liked to call the grouping) in that 2021 post, but they really couldn’t sound more different from each other. While BC,NR spent the year chasing a deliberately pastoral sound with strings and all, Black Midi made a record that sounded like an arson attack at a Cole Porter recital. Hellfire is Black Midi’s most accessible record yet (not a high bar, admittedly), and it’s helped grow my appreciation of their previous work too. If you’re in the mood for hearing three musicians (plus a brass section) playing the ever-loving shit out of their instruments, “Sugar/Tzu” is the song for you. I’m a very big fan of the little guitar break at 3:20.

SpiritWorld – “Relic of Damnation”

My ferocious appetite for metal and hardcore did not diminish in 2022, and SpiritWorld’s DEATHWESTERN was the best the genre had to offer this year. It’s loud as hell, yes, but there’s a buoyancy to this band’s music that harkens back to the thrash metal of the late ‘80s. A song like “Relic of Damnation” isn’t just interested in pummelling your ears, it also wants to propel you forward, smashing through whatever boring chore you have to finish. This band is almost single-handedly responsible for me processing as many invoices as I did this winter. I’d listen to Randy Moore make that demonic horse neighing sound with his guitar all fucking day.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – “The Dripping Tap”

This isn’t the longest song I’ve featured on these year-end lists, and it sure-as-shit won’t feel like it either. Of the five (yes, five) albums worth of music Oceanic overachievers King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard released this year, “The Dripping Tap” is the crown jewel. While I’ve found some of the band’s other work to be somewhat meandering, this song is 18 minutes of pure, focused, fast-paced psychedelic rock. It’ll take you on a wild ride without even leaving your living room, and the time flies by whenever I put it on. The way the opening verse returns with a vengeance (and the full band behind it) for the final minute feels like a real gift, and the perfect way close out both this playlist and 2022 in general.

Thanks for reading! I enjoyed writing this! If you fancy reading more from me, I’ve done similar series for every year going back to 2011 (and basic lists for 2008-2010). Just copy and paste this link (https://dontlookdown.tumblr.com/tagged/best-of-20xx) and edit the year to see them!

[anonsally]

(Women's) World Cup

I have been too busy trying not to get too behind on everything, so I haven't had time to post much lately. But I'm completely obsessed with the World Cup at the moment.

I've only been able to watch the few games that aren't in the middle of the night in my time zone, but I've been keeping up with the tournament by reading the Guardian's minute-by-minute blogs after the fact, and watching the highlights.

And it's been super exciting, with lots of big surprises!

For example, the US only barely made it to the next round, and the teams eliminated at the group stage unexpectedly include Canada (I had been very pleased to discover Christine Sinclair was still playing--she's 40!), Brazil (which is very disappointing--this was Marta's last time and she's a legend, and I love the team's style of play, plus they wear yellow), and perhaps most shockingly, Germany!

Group H was the most fun. Watching Colombia play in the group stage was exciting--they were really on fire in their first two matches (and I loved both their kits--they wear yellow as their preferred uniform, and the alternate outfit is purple shirts with astronomy designs and yellow shorts), but then they lost to Morocco, the lowest ranked team in the tournament! Morocco, despite getting thrashed by Germany in their first match, somehow managed to pull off two victories (including against Colombia), while South Korea, after losing twice, managed to hold Germany to a draw, and so both Colombia and Morocco advance to the next round! (Do yourself a favor and watch the video of the moment when Morocco, having finished their match, saw the end of the simultaneous match that would determine their fate and learned that they were going to the Round of 16. It was pandemonium. I cried!)

I was a little upset to see that of the eight games in the Round of 16, three of them feature a nation playing against their colonizers: South Africa vs. Netherlands, Morocco vs. France, and Nigeria vs. England. Ooof. Here's hoping at least one of these underdogs can win!

The teams I'm currently rooting for are:

Any non-European team that wears yellow. The ones still in the tournament as of my writing this post are: South Africa, Colombia, Jamaica, and Australia. Not sure how good any of their chances are, and Colombia will play against Jamaica in this round so only one of them can go through. But on the bright side, that means at least one yellow team will be playing in the quarterfinals!

Japan. They've been really versatile and have modified their style of play strategically to exploit their opponents' weaknesses, and they are fun to watch.

Any colonized country playing their colonizer.

I... don't really have a horse in the race for the Sweden vs. USA match. I don't think the USWNT played well at all in the group stage, and I like the idea of other teams catching up so it's more competitive, and Sweden wears yellow. But at the same time, I also do want to see the USWNT play well, so...

[fleurmarigold]

(big big health fretting vent)

my health is doing absolutely dreadful right now :-( the heart palpitations have become daily, and so frequent that some especially bad episodes have put me at risk of passing out. I had to run to my neighbours’ when I was home alone the other day because I was so scared. I’ve quit caffeine, started taking HUGE daily walks, and am gonna’ try to see a doctor tomorrow if I can - but oh my gosh, it’s SCARY.

I did manage to sleep better last night at least though - I hardly slept at all the past few days because lying all the way down would trigger them REAL bad. but I propped a big cushion up in my bed to keep me somewhat upright and that helped...

my arm isn’t great either - getting those early symptoms of ulnar nerve entrapment from overwork again... I’m wearing a brace at night and doing daily massages & exercises, but now I’m spooked because I heard too many exercises can wear the nerve down even more!!! I’m not sure at all how to best take care of it :-(

I took a total art break for a few days and now I’ve cut down my drawing hours to about an hour a day, and I Really hope what I’m doing will be enough to help it - but every time I feel the tingles or numbness I just wanna’ freak out and have a panic attack because I’m so SO worried about permanently damaging things!!! :-(

I’d go see a physiotherapist but now I’m overthinking which places have the best vibes/reviews, plus the best looking one is SUPER expensive of course... (£95 just to look at my hand for 45 minutes oh my god???) I just want to get this fixed as soon as possible, or just! get some professional advice on it all, because worst of all, I can’t do ANYTHING!

I wouldn’t be able to send them out yet anyway because of the postage situation, but I can’t even package orders to get them ready because of how much arm movement & writing it’d take (plus I’m SO daunted by the number - it’s over 40 right now, so I finally bit the bullet and put the store on break). and other than that, my only real daily activities are commissions and Rum Red...

commissioners are being very understanding about the time extension and I’m really grateful, but... it’s WINTER. when I have seasonal affective depression. if I don’t have just like... the MOST reliable routine activities to fall back on every day, things get bad REALLY quickly. I’m already feeling those glimmers of hopelessness and emptiness creep up on me again :-(

plus, Rum Red is just, the BIGGEST cure for my mental health!!! heals my burnout, fills me to the brim with passion and excitement for life and is just, such good therapy for so many things... it’s been helping so much lately and it’s really scary to think about even just having to slow down with it. sigh...

I think I’ll.... go draft a post on the RR blog about a (hopefully small) hiatus and simplifying the art style again. also my dad just came in to take my blood pressure lol I am having a Crisis

[girls-and-honey]

okay so

!! you know 'my longest yeah boy ever' that was my reaction to getting this bc you're the first person to be on the requesting side of info dumping being a 24/7 event on this blog thank u anon

okay gotta choose the info dump topic... we're going with harps because... I can! below the cut because this got long alsdkfj

okay so!! harps are freaking cool there are so many kinds and lots of different styles to play them in and yeah it's not the most common instrument to play or anything (I'm thinking largely because of the cost of the instrument itself and also the availability of teachers although there are plenty of online resources now!) but anyway there are some really really talented harpists out there!! one of my favorites is kristan toczko she's amazing and I can only hope to be 1/10th as good as she is someday (for real it's amazing the level of talent and skill she has go look her up!) okay so let's focus on some different types of harps because I'd guess you won't all picture the same thing and that's okay! I'm going to disregard the large amount of cultural variations because there are so so many versions of plucked string instruments across the world and I don't enough details to speak accurately about the variations so I'll talk about a few types more common cross-culturally and largely still in use today.

okay so there are lap harps/ handheld harps which are great for being able to bring places (picture those little upside-down-omega shaped harps you may see at ren faires, or the kind you'd see in a celtic style music video of someone sitting in a field in a pretty dress). they're also on the more affordable side (for harps at least) and come in all kinds of different designs, and these are the ones that you can usually find handmade by independent creators! the two biggest downsides are that they have a smaller range of notes (fewer strings, usually 15-22) and they don't usually have a way to quickly change the pitch of the string while playing (but some do) so depending on what kind of music you want to play may or may not limit the specific songs that can be played. but you can tune to a specific key before playing so you can play in different keys just not change between them quickly. okay next category!! lever harps are bigger than lap harps, they usually sit on the floor and are played while sitting on a stool and are not so portable. these guys have more strings (usually 34-40, mine has 40!) so wider range and! you can change the pitch of the strings! the pitch is changed with levers (hence the name) near to top of each string and it raises the pitch by a half tone. so just like a lap harp you could tune first to the lowest key you'll need (I keep mine tuned to 3 flats) and change keys much easier with the levels AND you can change the levers during songs so! more flexibility there. downsides are: not very portable, and somewhat pricier. plus, if you wanted to change key and put for example all Ds to be D#, you'd need to change the lever on each D string. and finally! the pedal harp!!! this is the big fancy kind you'd see playing with an orchestra but they're also beautiful solo or duet instruments. *slaps soundboard* you can fit so much pitch flexibility in this bad boy (anyone? that spaghetti car meme?) so this one also sits on the floor and they have even MORE strings (47!! 47 strings!) and instead of having levers on each individual string they have 7 pedals, one for each note, that connect to pins which tune ALL strings of that note at the same time! so to make all Ds sharp you'd just use your foot to move the pedal one direction, or to make all Ds flat you'd move the pedal the other direction! this makes it SUPER easy to change keys and individual note pitches while playing because you don't even need to stop playing with your hands you can literally use your feet at the same time!!! downsides of course: also not easily portable (but they have special equipment to help move them) and much pricier to much much much pricier (there are some really fancy ones with custom engraving, painting, and even gold components but even a base level good pedal harp is going to cost you 5 figures yikes)

alsdkfjsd I was also going to info dump about strings but I feel like that's enough for now so! if anyone made it this far good job lol and I hope you enjoyed learning some harp info!!!