#A Giant Dog Philadelphia

[mylifeinsound]

A Giant Dog Delivers a Ferocious Night of Rock 'n' Roll at Johnny Brenda's

On a crisp and starry night in Philadelphia, the electric vibes of Johnny Brenda’s played host to a musical explosion of epic proportions. A Giant Dog, a band hailing from Austin, Texas, took the stage with an air of gritty determination, leaving no doubt that they intended to rock the night away. This memorable evening was also graced by the opening band Dregs, another outfit from Austin, and…

[xpuigc-bloc]

Exquisite esquites

By Mia Leimkuhler

If I were mayor of Picnictown, every picnic would have the following: a blanket, a 1:1 dog-to-human ratio and esquites. The blanket’s there because grass is itchy no matter what the most outdoorsy person in the group says; the dogs because dogs are great. The esquites are essential because my favorite outdoor corn is elotes, but they don’t travel nearly as well as esquites. (The laws of Picnictown consider how easy it is to carry your picnic things on public transportation.)

This is barely a compromise, though, because Kay Chun’s esquites capture all the beloved and balanced elements of elotes: sweet summer corn, tangy lime, creamy cotija (and crema), spicy ancho chile. The smoky flavor you get from grilled corn is here, too, as the kernels are charred in a hot skillet until browned and caramelized. Perhaps the most enticing part of the recipe is this note from Kay: “Leftovers transform quickly into a great pasta salad the next day; simply toss with cooked pasta and olive oil.” Picnictown loves a resourceful pasta salad.

More picnic decrees, because it’s the first day of summer! Make Zainab Shah’s sheet-pan chicken tikka thighs ahead of time, and then toss some roti or naan in your tote bag for effortless but extremely delicious sandwiches. Ali Slagle’s green bean salad with dill pickles and feta is perfect all by itself, but if someone else wanted to bring a container of cooked barley or farro, that would be a really nice collaborative grain bowl picnic moment. (For even more lovely, easy picnic ideas that travel well, check out this recipe collection.)

Every June, the summer produce flows into and overwhelms my corner grocery store, and every June I am positively giddy about it. Right now the shelves are buckling from so many cherry tomatoes, and I’m doing my part with salad e-shirazi, basil and tomato fried rice and salmon and tomatoes in foil, a five-star, five-ingredient dinner from Mark Bittman.

I am trying to be more adventurous with my vegetables, branching out and bringing home goodies I don’t usually cook. I’ve never really loved bitter melon (I’m not alone), but I do like bitter things — extra dark chocolate, dandelion greens, Campari. So I’m going to try this stir-fried bitter melon with eggs, a recipe from Chutatip Suntaranon (known as Nok) adapted by Cathy Erway.

The creamy scrambled eggs, salty soy sauce and molasses-y brown sugar will mellow out the harshest edges of the bitter melon. And I trust Nok — I’ve had the pleasure of dining at Kalaya, Nok’s restaurant in Philadelphia, and Nok never misses.

Lastly: It’s hot out there, and I’d like to give you an excuse to stand in front of the open refrigerator after a long afternoon in Picnictown. Here’s Lisa Donovan’s new recipe for buttermilk tres leches cake, which is best served extremely chilled, straight from the pan. I interpret this as spooning giant mouthfuls of cold, creamy cake into my mouth while bending into the fridge, but if you’d like to use plates and forks and a table, by all means.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Sign up for The Veggie newsletter

Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties.

#the new york times #cooking

#mia leimkuhler #picnic #kay chun

#make zainab #matk bityman

#cathy erway #nok #lisa donovan

#sheer-pan chicken tikka thinghs

#basil and tomato fried rice

#salmon and tomatoes on foil

#butyermilk tres leches cake

#recipe’s #the veggie newsletter

#tania shichynsky #dinner parties

#packed lunches #food

#original food #xpuigc #pucex

#olaf peterson #de tot

[porcelain-rob0t]

If you get this ask, tell us a story from the folklore or mythology of YOUR COUNTRY (e.g. if you are German, tell us a German myth). Then send this ask to ten people! Just want to see more people talking about lesser known myths ;)

oooh this is a fun ask!! im American so i know a lot of the sillygoofy cryptid stories, im from Pennsylvania and we have a lot of regional lore bc this state is SUPER HAUNTED.

Philadelphia alone has a bunch of haunted locations, some from the revolutionary war period, some from more recent history, but the haunted location that sticks out the most in my mind is the Eastern State penitentiary (porcelainrobot nation knows about this one). which is one of the oldest prisons in PA and is now an abandoned site and gets turned into a haunted house attraction during October. thats just one part too, Gettysburg, the whole city is haunted.

in terms of mythical creatures and cryptids, we have the giant thunderbird, the raystown ray (our own nessie type lake monster), bigfoot sightings, the black dog, and horned skulls. we also have the Kecksburg UFO sighting from 1965.

[scotianostra]

15th April 1710 saw the birth of William Cullen, physician, chemist and metallurgist in Hamilton.

William Cullen was renowned in Glasgow and Edinburgh as a physician and professor of medicine. His beliefs that life was a function of nervous energy and that muscle was an extension of nerve were fundamental to his teachings.  

He was a distinguished man who has been described as the ‘Father of the Scottish Enlightenment’, now that’s a big “title” to be given. 

For a time he had a  practice in Hamilton that grew rapidly among the local people and  had the care of the Duke of Hamilton and his family and the estate workers. We can today get a glimpse of the nature of his practice, as there is in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh library a ledger in which he recorded the drugs used for his various patients. The Duke spent more money on drugs for his horses and dogs than for his wife and children! 

He was appointed to the Chair of Medicine at the University of Glasgow in 1751 and  gave lectures for the University, on physiology, botany, medicine, and chemistry he was also joint Professor of Chemistry in the University of Edinburgh in 1756. With an unrivalled reputation as a lecturer, Cullen also gave classes in clinical medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Perhaps often overlooked it was Cullen who first recorded instance of artificial refrigeration  in the mid-18th century. He demonstrated his discovery at Glasgow University in 1748, although no proposal was made to commercialise the technique at the time. Cullen achieved the effect of refrigeration by boiling ethyl ether in a partial vacuum.

Cullen’s influence extended far beyond Edinburgh. His students were instrumental in the establishment of institutions such as the medical school in Philadelphia as well as holding various medical posts across the British Empire. Cullen was among the literati of the Edinburgh Enlightenment.

One source says his role in 18th century medicine was “monumental and intellectually, he was a giant among giants.”

William Cullen died on 5th February 1790 aged 79  and is buried  in Kirknewton cemetery the inscription above the entrance to the enclosure notes that it was erected in 1864 as a memorial to William by the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, it goes on to end with (he was)  “ an eminent judge, elegant scholar, and accomplished gentleman.”

Want to know more? Check the web page here https://www.jameslindlibrary.org/articles/william-cullen-1710-1790/

[therecordconnection]

Ranting and Raving: "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang

Recently, I started reading The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop, a really great book by Jonathan Abrams that came out back in October last year. It’s a thorough work, taking its time to really cover the genre, from all its major landmarks (New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, the Midwest, etc.) and most of its major players are interviewed and represented in it. I really recommend it if you’re someone who doesn’t know a lot of the deep lore surrounding hip-hop’s history (like me) and you’re looking to learn more.

2023 marked the year of hip-hop’s fiftieth anniversary and it’s done a lot of well-earned celebrating throughout. There were tons of retrospectives done, the Grammys held a live concert to honor the occasion, and many Spotify playlists were made to help a new generation of hip-hop lovers go back and become immersed in the full history. It’s a good thing that the fiftieth anniversary had so much dedicated to it and people could enjoy looking back, because this year has been very strange for the genre in terms of mainstream Billboard chart success.

From August 2022 to August 2023, no rap song topped the Hot 100 chart, which hasn’t happened for twenty-three years. Rappers were still very much successful and there were still albums that hit the top of the album charts (Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, Travis Scott’s Utopia, Drake’s For All the Dogs topped it twice) but there was no single song that topped the Hot 100. That dry spell finally ended when Doja Cat managed to break the slump with “Paint the Town Red,” which became a number one hit back in September. In a year where Morgan Wallen and Taylor Swift reigned supreme with no end in sight (especially if you’re Taylor Swift), it was almost a good thing that hip-hop was able to focus on looking back and enjoying how far it's come and celebrate all that the genre has achieved in such a short time.

Anyway, as I was reading the first chapters of The Come Up, which focus on hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx and how it grew out of New York and out of the block parties DJ Kool Herc was throwing in 1973, I was captivated. As I kept going though, there was one thing I kept wondering about.

When do the Sugarhill Gang enter into the story?

When I was young, I had always been under the impression that the Sugarhill Gang were among the first rap pioneers, more or less believing they were the first MCs to spit into the mic and bring hip-hop into the world. They... kinda did, but also not really. They were responsible for playing a major part in the genre becoming the cultural juggernaut we recognize it as today, but as for pioneers? Your mileage will vary on that and I hope that’ll become clear soon as we start discussing them. 

Now, I want it to be known that being a white guy from Bumfuck Nowhere, Pennsylvania, my hip-hop history knowledge has always had giant gaps in it that I’ve only been starting to fill up in recent years. I imagine for many others like myself, they’re only just now really learning the history of hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx and what the first MCs unleashed. If you’re not much of a reader, Netflix’s Hip-Hop Evolution is a really great series that covers a ton of that early history. Charlie Ahern’s 1982 film Wild Style also serves as a historical time capsule of that history as it was being written. The Sugarhill Gang get discussed in Hip-Hop Evolution’s second episode, but they’re nowhere to be found in Wild Style.

So, as I was learning about hip-hop and rap’s origins in New York, eventually the Sugarhill Gang did make an appearance. What I ended up learning gave me an entirely new fascination with a song that up until recently I had just found enjoyable and didn’t think too much of. “Rapper’s Delight” is such a fascinating song. Let me count the ways. Why don’t we start with who the Sugarhill Gang are?

The story of the Sugarhill Gang begins with a woman named Sylvia Robinson, often dubbed the “Mother of Hip-Hop.” A shrewd businesswoman, she was the head of All Platinum Records, a label that started in and ran through the seventies (Sugarhill Records, where “Rapper’s Delight” was released, was a subsidiary of All Platinum and formed in order to focus on the emerging rap scene). Robinson was also a musician herself, being one half of the guitar duo Mickey and Sylvia, scoring a hit in 1956 with “Love is Strange” (a song you definitely know if you’ve seen Dirty Dancing). Sylvia herself also had a hit in 1973 with the song “Pillow Talk.” Robinson has lived a life that goes beyond the scope of our subject today, so we’ll stick with knowing her as a businesswoman. If you want to learn more about Robinson’s story, this Billboard piece on her from 2019 is a good place to start.

In 1979, All Platinum was facing bankruptcy and was in desperate need of a smash hit in order to save it. Robinson had agreed to attend a party at Harlem World, a popular disco club in the late seventies and early eighties at 116th & Lenox Ave, in Harlem. Abrams tells the story of how Robinson first discovered the music that could save her label in The Come Up:

“Robinson witnessed Lovebug Starski work the turntables and the crowd into a frenzy with his call-and-responses. Robinson wanted to capture the music and release it commercially. When Lovebug Starski declined the arrangement, Robinson went on a hunt for other artists.”

Robinson’s search for talent, led by her son Joey Robinson, Jr., took them to a pizza parlor in New Jersey. It still exists today. It’s Crispy Crust Pizza in Englewood, NJ (the surviving members of the Gang are interviewed there in Netflix’s Hip-Hop Evolution). The story goes like this: 

The Sugarhill Gang are made up of three guys: Michael Wright (“Wonder Mike”), Henry Jackson (*Big Bank Hank”), and Guy O’ Brien (“Master Gee”). Robinson only came to hear Big Bank spit, but Wonder Mike and Master Gee also auditioned for her. Unable to make a decision on which one to go with, she ultimately decided to say “fuck it!” and made them a trio. 

It’s the best decision she could’ve made.

They auditioned on a Friday night and by Monday they were in the studio cutting the track. The three guys just kept passing the mic to one another and eventually the full song wound up being fifteen minutes long. 

We’ll get into the rhymes a bit later, but now that we’re familiar with the gang, we should cover what “Rapper’s Delight” ended up being the first of. Hip-hop may have already existed in the Bronx and New York scene for about six years before the gang came along and scored a bonafide hit, but the song does have legitimate cred. It’s the first rap song that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 and the first rap song to break into the Top 40. It paved the way for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to get onto Billboard with 1982’s “The Message” (peaked at #62) and led to eventual chart dominators like Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, which would start sprouting up a few years after the Gang made their mark. The Sugarhill Gang are also some of the first rappers to film an official music video (which is linked above at the top) and be seen performing on pre-MTV television (there are so many videos out there of them performing this on TV shows. It’s nuts). 

Listening to it, it’s not hard to understand why this song still gets written into the history books. First, this shit holds the fuck up. Second, it’s probably the easiest example to use if the aliens ever visit and Captain Cleevmorp asks, “W h a t i s t h i s t h i n g y o u c a l l . . . ‘r a p m u s i c’?” It’s ripping off a disco song that was barely three months old at the time (“Good Times” was released June 4th, 1979, “Rapper’s Delight” appeared September 16th, 1979) but at its core, it’s a rap song and nobody could mistake it for anything else. Did I mention this is ripping off a disco song that was barely three months old at the time? I feel like that’s an important part of the story.

Do you like “Good Times” by Chic? If you do, then hoo boy, do I have the song for you! I don’t think I’m blowing any minds here when I say that musically, “Rapper’s Delight” is quite literally just three guys rapping over an instrumental version of “Good Times” by Chic. I feel the need to stress that it is NOT a sample of “Good Times,” though you would be forgiven for thinking it is. “Rapper’s Delight” came out during a time when the technology for rap sampling and looping didn’t exist yet, so the production team behind “Rapper’s Delight” had to bring in session guys to recreate the song from scratch. They did such a good job recreating it, Nile Rodgers (guitarist) and Bernard Edwards (bassist) from Chic threatened to sue them. They eventually settled out of court, getting co-writing credits on the song and, according to the Library of Congress, “a substantial undisclosed amount of money made off of album sales and performances.” 

Chic won, but Curtis Brown, better known as New York rapper Grandmaster Caz, didn’t. Now might be a good time to start talking about the lyrics to the song.

For brevity’s sake, we will not be going over all fifteen minutes of this thing (I’ve never made it through the entire song. It just goes on-and-and-on-and-on-on-and-on). Rather, we’re going to focus on most single/video versions of the song and just cover the most important parts. 

Wonder Mike is the first one up. Equipped with a friendly voice and a smooth delivery, he spits some of the most important opening lines in rap history.

I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie The hip hip hop and you don't stop the rockin' To the bang-bang, boogie, say up jump the boogie To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

According to Mike in Hip Hop Evolution, these are the lines he used when auditioning with Sylvia Robinson. Those four lines alone tell you everything you need to know about rap flow and delivery. It’s obviously very primitive compared to what MCs are doing now (and even what MCs were doing when this song got big) but to an unsuspecting audience outside of New York that had no idea what the hell rap was at all, those lines are an immediate attention grabber. I’ve always adored the line that comes after those initial four: “Now, what you hear is not a test I'm rappin' to the beat.” It’s a great way to present something strange and new to an audience without alienating them or scaring them away. People in 1979 had long known about disco and would’ve recognized the music immediately, but the rapping part was a new ballgame and Mike’s delivery in the opening verse lays down the framework for the rest of the song. At its core, “Rapper’s Delight” is a laid back and fun party anthem and he immediately sets that tone with his opening verse. He’s a good straight man compared to the goofy braggadocio that starts immediately once he passes it to Big Bank Hank. 

If “Rapper’s Delight” is beloved, it’s because Big Bank comes in and just kills it from the moment he steps up to the mic. The man just sells it and then some. He’s got great flow, a fun loving attitude, tons of style, and a goofy but confident swagger completely on lock. Depending on the version you’re listening to, he’s going for almost two minutes straight with barely any breaks. For one of the first rap songs ever put to vinyl, it’s an impressive feat. He’s got a lot of really great rhymes too.

It’s just a shame he didn’t write a lot of them...

Remember when I said Chic won their lawsuit threat but Grandmaster Caz didn’t end up being so lucky? That’s because a good chunk of the rhymes Big Bank is using are actually Caz’s and it wasn’t a secret to the New York rappers hearing it at the time. 

One dead giveaway is in this line: “The women fight for my delight / But I'm the grandmaster with the three MCs.” Three MCs, huh? But there’s only three of you. There would have to be four of you in order for that line to work. It worked when Caz said that as part of the group Cold Crush Brothers, because there were four of them. Another Caz line is near the beginning of Big Bank’s first verse: “Check it out, I'm the C-A-S-A-N, the O-V-A / And the rest is F-L-Y.” “Casanova” was a nickname of Caz’s. Caz reveals more stolen rhymes and where Big Bank got them from when interviewed for The Come Up:

“Sometimes I’ve been misquoted, and then sometimes I’ve made the mistake of saying I wrote all of Big Bank Hank’s lines for ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ What I meant is his verses. I meant his rhymes. But the little bridges, the hook, that’s DJ Hollywood. That, ‘Imp the Dimp, the ladies’ pimp. The women fight for my . . ., that’s Rahiem from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Those two things, I didn’t write, but the full rhymes he says, ‘I’m the C-A-S-AN, the O-V-A from the time I was only six years old’ and then the Superman and Lois Lane, I wrote all of that.” 

Whether Big Bank got to see a book of Caz’s rhymes and learn them from reading that is up for debate. Caz claims in both The Come Up and Hip-Hop Evolution that Hank didn’t have to study. He knew them all just from knowing Caz and being around him. If you want to hear Caz get bitter about it (which he has every right to be) he addressed this issue of plagiarism in 2000 with the song “MC Delight” (“the cat who bit this rhyme was my manager, pure treason I'll tell you why...”). 

It does take the wind out of the sails a bit when you learn Big Bank cribbed from other rappers for “Rapper’s Delight,” because he’s a very fun and energetic performer with a great voice and great flow, but once you learn the rhymes were stolen from guys who would never get any of the glory of “the first rap hit,” you start to feel bad and look at Big Bank as nothing more than a thief. It blows. New York DJ Grandmixer DXT voices the backlash and problematic nature of getting caught ripping somebody else off in Hip-Hop Evolution:

"Hank was saying a rhyme that we was hearing at the parties already, and he's saying somebody else's rhyme. And for us, that's a catastrophic no-no. There were people who would get beat up for saying somebody's rhyme. And here's a record where this guy bites and actually records it. Like, that was just the worst thing ever."

It goes without saying that the biggest problem with Hank ripping off rap’s founding fathers in the Bronx is that the Sugarhill Gang gets credit for being the first rap stars when one of them is pretty shamelessly ripping off lines from every rapper he heard in New York. There’s no evidence that everything in Hank’s verses are ripped off from somewhere, but there’s evidence of plagiarism all the same. Luckily, Master Gee and Wonder Mike’s parts are both authentic as well as fully written by them. Which is good because once Gee takes over from Big Bank, he takes a little time to get going, but eventually starts feeling himself and really starts delivering some Grade-A stuff. Most of his lines are either about bragging about his status as a ladies man, observations about the listener dancing to the music, and how he’s the youngest member of the three, but can still keep up with the best of them. I do like that his first brag is how he goes by the “unforgettable name” of Master Gee. Personally, I actually think all three of their names are pretty dumb and lame as far as rap names go, but they’re among some of the first rappers so it’s not like they had any way to avoid that.

Master Gee’s most impressive moment is this verse right here, written out in full:

I got a little face and a pair of brown eyes All I'm here to do, ladies, is hypnotize Singin' on-and-and-on-and-on-on-and-on The beat don't stop until the break of dawn Singin' on-and-and-on-and-on-on-and-on Like a hot buttered pop-da-pop-da-pop, dibbie dibbie Pop-da-pop-pop, you don't dare stop Come alive, y'all, gimme whatcha got

It’s stuff that’s downright corny by today’s standards, but Gee’s ability to spit all that without getting tongue-tied is more than I can say for myself. He’s got really great control; all three of them do. Mike, Big Bank, and Gee each deliver their parts like a never-ending party and when you listen to the full version of the song (that fifteen minute monster!) it has the feel of a party where you and your friends are just shooting the shit and passing around a blunt or something to each other. The three of them all seem like friends that are collectively goofballs just having a good time, which is one reason why I think the song has enjoyed the long life it’s had.

I also think the reason this song has lived so long is because white people LOVE this song. Of course they do! It’s a pretty sanitized version of the kind of music that was being made in New York at the time. There’s no message to it, no commentary about social issues, or even using old records in a creative way like the DJs of the day had been doing. Everything about this song was specifically engineered to be commercially viable, right down to completely ripping off a song that had already been a hit less than four months beforehand.

A mainstream audience (read: white) was absolutely slammed with pretty much nothing but disco for most of 1977, all of 1978, and most of 1979 before a bunch of people finally snapped and held a massive bonfire in Chicago about it. “Good Times” was something they already knew and something disco lovers still enjoyed, so you could ease them into this strange new thing called “rappin’ to the beat” and they would understand it without being confused. To most, it was probably just a different style of disco song at the time. It wouldn’t be until the mid-eighties when people would start to begin to understand a better definition for what rap is.

Obviously, the song has a wide appeal and white people really enjoying it isn’t the only reason, but that definitely plays a major factor. You’re looking at the song that inadvertently launched a thousand novelty rap songs in the eighties, all featuring white guys who should’ve never been allowed to be anywhere near a rap song. Rodney Dangerfield with “Rappin’ Rodney,” the Beach Boys with the Fat Boys on “Wipeout,” Joe Piscopo doing “Honeymooners Rap” with Eddie Murphy, and, lest we forget "The Super Bowl Shuffle" by The Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew. What I’m trying to get at is this: The Sugarhill Gang made it so that if they, three dorks from New Jersey working in a pizza parlor, can rap, you probably can figure it out too. Adding to the “White People Have Propped This Song Up as a Monument” theory is how many things have referenced this song over the years. Here’s a Homer Simpson toy that raps the song and dances to it. The grandmother from The Wedding Singer famously does it (also adding to the “elderly women rapping” trope). Jimmy Fallon once had somebody cut and splice NBC anchors Brian Williams and Lester Holt rapping the song. Kid Rock’s breakout 1999 hit “Bawitdaba” references the song in its chorus (“Bawitdaba, da bang, da dang diggy diggy / Diggy, said the boogie, said up jump the boogie”). And there’s of course the famous 2002 Las Ketchup song “Asereje,” though you probably know it better as “The Ketchup Song,” which is about someone who goes to the club and asks the DJ to play "Rapper's Delight" and sings along in gibberish because he doesn't know the English lyrics. The point is that this song has been propped up by a lot of people who should NOT be considered rappers (yes, that includes Kid Rock).

I think the first time I ever started to have suspicions that the song wasn’t universally adored was when I watched In Living Color for the first time. There’s a sketch in the first season where Keenan Ivory Wayans plays Jesse Jackson and goes for the joke that everyone used to make about him: That he speaks in rhymes, almost like he’s a real life version of Gruntilda the witch from Banjo-Kazooie. Anyway, there’s a sketch where Jackson is giving his final State of the Union address (in the world of this sketch, he beat George H. W. Bush in ‘92 and has been president for eight years) and gives his address in the most basic AA BB CC rhyme scheme that wouldn’t look out of place in a children’s book. After a few of them, Wayans-as-Jackson breaks and quickly says: “Hip hop, you don't stop the rockin' / To the bang-bang, boogie, the beat,” which I took to be an insult that the rhymes in that song were just as basic as anything Jackson had ever said. The idea that “Rapper’s Delight” was wack was something I think I had already known in the back of my head but didn’t want to say because I thought that would just make me sound like a guy who hates fun. But, upon reading and hearing testimonies from the founding fathers of rap in New York, I realized that the big sin of “Rapper’s Delight” wasn’t that it was wack...

Its biggest sin was that it was made by a bunch of posers.

Sylvia Robinson didn’t know anything about the hip-hop and rap scene developing in New York, but she knew it was something that could be monetized if it was done and presented in the right way. Wonder Mike and Master Gee weren’t real rappers with any credibility, they were just guys working in a pizza parlor in New Jersey who were given the opportunity of a lifetime. Big Bank was the only one who could lay claim to having connections in the Bronx. He grew up there, worked the doors at famous Bronx nightclub The Sparkle, and also served as a manager for Grandmaster Caz (whom he would later rip off). “Rapper’s Delight” wasn’t made by starving artists who were pivotal to creating a new scene, it was made by a bunch of posers who had everything to gain from it. New York rappers interviewed in The Come Up knew this and were justifiably pissed about the song. The only testimony that was kind to them came from Kool Moe Dee, who understood the backlash as well as the song being embraced by white America.

“I understood why there was a lot of MCs at the time that didn’t like it, because I just think the social construct of oppression puts us against each other in many ways. In my opinion, many African Americans have a hard time giving other African Americans credit for achieving because so much of white America accepted that record and they started to define it from their perspective. And we’re saying we’ve already been here; it’s not new. So a backlash was on Sugar Hill that wasn’t deserved because they didn’t ask for it. ... So it was never not really hip-hop. We just had gotten more lyrically sophisticated at that time and the record was a great record. And looking back, if it wasn’t for Sugar Hill, we might not have an industry as prominent as we have because of the success of ‘Rapper’s Delight.’”

Kool Moe is right. It wasn’t their fault that “Rapper’s Delight” took off the way it did. Robinson was cashing in on what she saw as “the new thing” and wanted in. The song taking off the way it did happened the way a lot of hits happen: it was the right song with the right artists at the right place at the right time. “Rapper’s Delight” has stuck around the way it has because it captures a beautiful moment where music history is at a crossroads. The golden age of disco is going to be gone when the ball drops on January 1st, 1980, but rap music is only just getting started and by the end of the eighties it will begin its big mainstream explosion and keep going from there. 

“Rapper’s Delight” captures rap in its beautiful infancy. What it lacks in authenticity, it makes up for by being representative of what was going on at the time. It’s a time capsule. No matter which version of this song you choose, it sounds like a never ending party that everyone is invited to and a party where everyone is your friend. It’s fun, it’s infectious, and the three hosts are entertaining as hell as they pass the mic back and forth and keep the party going. Mike, Hank, and Gee created a fun rap song for beginners: it’s a very easy song to understand sonically and it’s an easy song to learn how to rap along to. The rhymes aren’t super complicated and the most you’d have to learn and work out is how to get the flow right and how to not trip over the words. If you can master Wonder Mike’s opening lines (if a Homer Simpson toy can do it, so can you!) the rest comes easy. Learning Big Bank and Master Gee’s parts aren’t complicated either and it becomes fun to recite along with them once you start getting it down. The beat of “Good Times” is very easy to keep up with and follow so that helps it as an excellent beginner song. Despite the criticisms against it, “Rapper’s Delight” still stands as a fantastic party song and it’s not hard to see why people still enjoy getting down to it even now. If you play it at the right party, you’ll hear a whole room recite the lyrics and just have fun with it. Hip-hop and Rap started life as block parties DJ Kool Herc was throwing in ‘73 and the Sugarhill Gang continued that tradition by capturing that party on vinyl. The rap world has changed in many ways since the Gang started rappin’ to the beat, but it keeps its status as a legendary rap song because it’s the party rap song that all party rap songs aspire to. Forget authenticity and leave your notions about “what rap really is about” at the door and just let loose. With the Sugarhill Gang, the party goes on-and-and-on-and-on-and-on

And the beat don't stop until the break of dawn.

[mynameischalie]

Survey Sunday

1) Put your iTunes on shuffle. Give me the first 6 songs that pop up.

Depeche Mode - Strangelove

Taking Back Sunday - You Know How I Do

The Misfits - Skulls

Gel - Honed Blade

Weezer - Island In The Sun

Pixies - Gouge Away

2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

That’s such a loaded question. I want to meet George RR Martin, author of A Song Of Ice and Fire: Game Of Thrones, so I can politely ask him “Hey George, its been a decade can we please get the Winds Of Winter book”. I just need to know what happens to these characters so I can forget that last season ever happened.

3)   What is something you're terrible at but wish you could do well?  

I’m terrible at cooking which isn’t something you openly want to admit to people especially women because women enjoy men that can cook, I get it. However, I always like to be honest and honestly I can put pasta in hot boiling water,  I can properly use the microwave, and I have the immaculate ability to order takeout. I’m open in learning to cook so if someone wants to teach me I love for you to show me.

4) What do you think about most?

The Philadelphia Phillies! They drive me crazy

5) What modern invention are you grateful for the most?

Caller ID! It’s incredible because it immediately gives me the option of whether or not I’m going to pick up the phone or not.

6) Do you have any strange phobias?

Giant wasps! I’m not good with them but this goes back since I was a kid so there’s that.

7) What’s your religion?

Catholic.

8) If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Walking or listening to music.

9) What’s one thing you hope never changes?

The happiness dogs give you when you come home every day or the feeling of laying on cold clean sheets after a long day.

10) What was the last concert you saw?

The Cure in Philly which was probably the best concert I saw in my life. I’m not exaggerating it was incredible. 

11) Do you believe in karma?

Yes, so don’t be a bad person.

12)   What is one childhood memory that you remember especially well?  

Going to games with my dad and brother at Veterans stadium to watch the late 90s Phillies bad terrible baseball.

13) What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

My greatest weakness is probably taking things too personally at times. My greatest strength is being supportive and empathetic. 

14) Who is your celebrity crush?

Emilia Clarke!! She’s a beautiful woman

15) How do you vent your anger?

Listen to music or take a walk around the park

16) Do you have a collection of anything?

Records, funko pops, and sports memorabilia. 

17) Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

Of course!

18) What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

I hate the sounds of lawnmowers especially when I’m trying to sleep. With that said I love the sound of the ocean.

19) What’s your biggest “what if”?

Dude, where do you even start? I find it best just to focus on the future instead of looking back on the past.

20) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

I don’t believe in aliens but I guess I believe in ghosts.

21)   What are some core principles you have that you'll never give up or change?  

Treat others how you would want to be treated

22) What is one thing that instantly makes your day better?

When someone gives me any kind of verbal praise that usually makes me feel pretty good especially when I know I’m appreciated.

23) What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

Camden, NJ stranded in a sketchy neighborhood where drugs deals were being done directly in the corner next to my friend’s broken down car.

24)   What trait do you admire in others but don't possess yourself?  

Any traits that are artistic because when it comes to that I possess no traits whatsoever unless you’re looking for someone to make you a good stick figure then I’m your guy.

25) To you, what is the meaning of life?

The meaning of life is what you make it. It’s about the choices you make and the people you affect.

26) Are you ticklish? If so, where?

Oh God yes, I’m very ticklish. The sides of my stomach, my neck, and my feet. I often ask do we ever outgrow this as we get older?

27) What was the last movie you saw?

Can’t Hardly Wait

28) What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

Probably breaking my arm. That wasn’t fun.

29) Do you have any obsessions right now?

This new Militarie Gun record is my latest obsession. 

30) Ever had a rumor spread about you?

No I don’t think so

31) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Yes, it’s hard to let that go.

32) What is your astrological sign?

Taurus

33) What’s the last thing you purchased?

Wawa Iced Tea

34) Love or lust?

Love

35) In a relationship?

That’s a no

36) How many relationships have you had?

Four

37) What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet

38) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

I can speak on this based on lots of experience. I’ll say effort, compatibility, and honesty are the three main ingredients. If you’re insecure and don’t trust the person chances are it’s not going to work out. If one person is putting out way more effort than the other than that’s a problem. You have to show that person that you care and appreciate them.

39) Basic question; what’s your favorite color/colors?

Blue and Green

40) You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

The last pitch by Brad Lidge when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008. I want to relive the glory of a city going absolutely crazy afterwards.

Tagging: @eckspress @ericasucks @dammitnope @tatted-traveler @homeawayfromhere86 (I figured I tag some new people who just started following me, no pressure to do this)

[number44newseries864962]

Genuinely curious did anyone else listen to these albums as a kid? They have a death grip on my memory they're taking up so much space in there.

[zenkor123]

Exploration of district 13 by Peeta Mellark WIP

October 5th 75 DD

As I explore the bunkers of 13 a picture is emerging in my mind. At the very bottom are the mines where Arlo and Helena live. The mine goes far down as since 13 has been confined to the ground miners with their drill have had one mine that has expanded every year. There are more miners in 13 then the entire population of the late district 12. Besides pencils produced near zone A1-15 graphene is produced in the factories of the mine level near vein zone A16 to 30. Arlo told me that miners unlike Soldiers and foresters never once saw the surface until the current war. Julias Nero exempted from the preparations just as they were exempted from combat during the dark days but this was undone by Coin. Miners recieved most of their training under ground in zones 30-65 Cement is also produced in the factories in 65-75l Iron and many metals were smelted as the demands of postwar 13 expanded in zones 75-85. Many talented Engineers are found in the mines of 13. An artificial geothermal plant was created by Julius Nero from the ruins of a nuclear power plant that the miners manage the A level of the plant from 85-125 of the vein network. The waste of 13 heats up the water with the methane and is processed in A126. Unlike 12 miners can be as young as 5 years old they play in A127. The uniforms of miners are different from the grey of the military caste or the brown of the foresters miners wear pure black, their helmets also are a shining metallic Black. They are produced in zone A128. Miner accents are also very different, they say its called a "City accent",instead of "give it to me" they say "Gizzet." Much of English was simplified by the cataclysm that destroyed North America Arlo tells me. They gossip in the "cafe" in zone 129. The miners descend from the ancient cities of New York, Philadelphia and Boston, art describing huge buildings larger then those seen in the capital can be seen in zone 130. I see no one from 12, I ask why: "people in 12 hate mining as soon as another job possibility emerged they went as far as the mines as they could."I ask where the soldiers come from, and 13 in the aftermath of the cataclysm was a base of the army of the ancient United States. Prior to this a network of bunkers existed in the region for the survival of 100,000 soldiers after a nuclear exchange. The soldiers usually came from the midwest and Pennsylvania. They failed in their mission to reestablish the United States and were confined to the area of future 13. The flag of district 13 under President Nero is a bald eagle holding a hammer in one claw and a sickle in another claw. To the background of the eagle there i a red star with a dark blue background. The Republican flag of Panem is displayed in areas where district rebels are more likely to frequent but down here the flag of 13 is more prominent. There is a statue of a miner, holding the giant flag of district 13 from a diagnol pole in A129. Miners breed rats as pets in A130. Dogs are still bred, by foresters called the Albany and Bronx bulls, fearsome house mutts used for hunting and "peacekeeping."

As for the tunnels each level is divided by letters and each section is divided by numbers, at the 2nd B level are the air conditioners of zone 1-100 wire centers of zone 101-151 and latrines of 13 zones 152-250. Lounges called vualts connected to factories are seen in 251-350. The cartel stores supplies in vaults 338-350. They are connected to the many factories of the DA. This is the bottom layer of our tunnel network known as vein A. While soldiers are not much into morphling miners devour it. There are 5 levels in the mines of 13. Miners frequently visit both those levels and what are called the veins of the district. Engineers like Arlo conduct daily inspections of the veins. They check every part of the pipe to see if everything is functioning they meet at a node in vualt 351. Zones 352-425 help clean the water of the district while zones 426-450 are scavanging zones. 451-452 are the postal zones for the mines. The 2nd level of the veins known as Vein B has the electronic distributors , several lounges for vein workers connected to factories. Arlo tells me he hangs out with helena there like he did when they were teenagers. . The cartel stores stuff in them. The tube grub cell resides in these levels. I love this name "tube grub cell" the names for those cells are like our code names.

As I read this I remember following Peeta to the mines. The miners were nothing like those from the seam. They actually used the tunnels unlike the grey soldiers of my level.

The 3rd level, is fed by vein C connects to the miners residences which constitutes 400 zones or zones 1-400. They sleep in large rooms in bunk beds, mobile partitions grant some form of privacy to the miners. A seperate cell works on the jewelry of 13. Miners designed graphite and steel jewelry before the dark days in the tough post war years the value of these gems diminished but as survival was assured despite the opposition of Julius Nero jewlers persisted in their efforts. They are active in zones 300-310. There is also a pool for recreation and training present in this level in 311. Arlo says that it would sooth my nerves if I went and I actually did today. This is location in zone C3 The water comes from the water treatment plant that is on this level 321-400. which comes from both the groundwater, and the lake which Ash showed me. In Vein C there Is a hydroelectric PowerPlant that extracts power from the downwards movement of the water to the hydrothermal plant in Zone C311-320. A sauna is present in zones 321-4 that's one huge sauna, I visit it at least twice a week.

Katniss remembers following Peeta to the pool and seeing Peeta without his shirt on. She later began visiting the pool on her own and took Prim to the pool as well. Arlo and Helene passed by as I watched Peeta swim and gave me a strange look and he muttered to himself "I've wondered how the Mockingjay found the pool, and Peeta expects me to believe that Katniss thinks that he will go from the pool to killi her," he chuckled as he continued to one of the lounges to smoke morphling. I call out: he tried to choke me he's a mutt, he glared at me, "you can tell yourself whatever you want just don't expect me to believe you." But it's true! "So to not be chocked you need to follow him everywhere he goes? Don't think we don't notice. I've seen you watch him sleep at night and break into the den to see Peeta's bottles. You glare at Johanna becuase you are Jealous, don't tell me your as oblivious as Peeta is." Even if I knew Arlo was right I still had some urge to continue tracking Peeta, at this point out of habit though I still thought I was right I was not a stalker! I gave an indignant huff and returned to watching Peeta swim and seeing the motions of the mutts arms, the strong yellow muscles and the reflection and splashes in the water. But I overhear Helena say "which victor is the craziest, Annie,Katniss or Peeta?". I wonder if Helene Stocksbridge needs an arrow full of raw morphling and skunk fluid. One time I went swimming with Prim and Peeta also happened to be there. I went underwater and saw the reflection of Peeta's physical body. Prim tells me to stop staring at him.

Level 4-8 are military zones

Until the later part of the reign of Julius Nero, the weapons of 13 continued to be decades old from the time of the dark days. Level 4 was built to correct this using old military industrial equipment factories manned by soldiers and miners built new equipment.

Levels 9-10 are inhabited by foresters.

[wsct-wholesale-canopy-tents]

Promote Specialty Foods with Custom Pop-Up Tents

Gourmet Food Trucks Tacos from Austin, Texas

Custom Tent Idea: Vibrant, colorful designs featuring taco graphics and local landmarks. Highlight specialty taco ingredients and unique flavors like barbacoa or breakfast tacos. Philly Cheesesteaks from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Custom Tent Idea: Classic cheesesteak imagery with the city skyline. Use bold colors and logos to showcase different cheesesteak variations and toppings.

Regional Food Festivals Deep-Dish Pizza from Chicago, Illinois

Custom Tent Idea: A tent designed to look like a giant deep-dish pizza slice. Use mouth-watering images of cheese, sauce, and toppings to draw in pizza lovers. Clam Chowder from Boston, Massachusetts

Custom Tent Idea: Nautical-themed tent with clam chowder imagery. Incorporate elements of the Boston waterfront and seafood graphics.

Farmers Markets Fresh Apple Cider from the Midwest

Custom Tent Idea: Rustic design with apple and orchard graphics. Highlight the freshness and seasonal nature of the cider, with a farm-inspired look. Blueberry Pancakes from the Pacific Northwest

Custom Tent Idea: Bright and cheerful designs featuring blueberries and pancakes. Use visuals of lush blueberry fields and fluffy stacks of pancakes.

Street Food Events Beignets from New Orleans, Louisiana

Custom Tent Idea: Festive, French Quarter-inspired designs with beignet imagery. Use vibrant colors and New Orleans landmarks to attract attention. BBQ Ribs from Memphis, Tennessee

Custom Tent Idea: Bold, smoky graphics with BBQ rib visuals. Incorporate Memphis-style BBQ elements and a barbecue grill theme.

Outdoor Festivals Kettle Corn from the Midwest

Custom Tent Idea: Popcorn-themed design with playful, retro graphics. Highlight the sweet and salty nature of the kettle corn with large, eye-catching visuals. Lobster Rolls from Maine

Custom Tent Idea: Coastal design with lobster graphics and maritime colors. Emphasize the fresh, succulent lobster meat and New England charm.

Food & Drink Markets Craft Beer from Colorado

Custom Tent Idea: Mountain-themed design with craft beer imagery. Showcase various local breweries and their unique brews with a rustic, outdoor feel. Key Lime Pie from Florida

Custom Tent Idea: Bright, citrus-themed design featuring key lime pie graphics. Use tropical colors and imagery to evoke the essence of Florida.

Local Community Events Hot Dogs from New York City, New York

Custom Tent Idea: Urban design with iconic hot dog imagery. Highlight classic NYC-style hot dogs and famous street vendors. Chili from Texas

Custom Tent Idea: Bold, Southwestern design featuring chili peppers and bowls of chili. Incorporate Texas flags and motifs to capture the essence of Tex-Mex cuisine.

Holiday Markets Pumpkin Pie from the Midwest

Custom Tent Idea: Autumn-themed design with pumpkin pie graphics. Emphasize seasonal flavors and holiday cheer with warm, inviting colors. Eggnog from the South

Custom Tent Idea: Festive, holiday-themed design with eggnog imagery. Use traditional Christmas colors and motifs to attract seasonal shoppers. Using custom pop-up tents designed to reflect these local specialties will help you create a memorable and engaging experience for customers, making your booth stand out at events and markets.

[best-character-named-x-poll]

Dr. Thaddeus S. "Rusty" Venture (The Venture Bros.) Rusty's Real Deal Baseball Chip Skylark (Fairly OddParents) Oberon (Gargoyles) Hope Pym (MC2) Lenore, the cute little dead girl Wendy Oldbag (Ace Attorney) Wendell Elvis "Quasar" Vaughn (Marvel Comics) Dora Standpipe, dear rich Dora Standpipe, how I love her! (father's money) (The Dover Boys) Celeste Cuckoo (Marvel Comics) Luther MacDonald (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) Abraham "Grandpa" Simpson (The Simpsons) Candy Kong (Donkey Kong Country) Candy Southern (Marvel Comics) Lorna "Polaris" Dane (Marvel Comics) Mortimer "Toad" Toynbee (Marvel Comics) Reese (Malcolm in the Middle) Reese (Marvel Comics) Remy (Ratatouille) Remy Remington (Big City Greens) Irma Cuckoo (Marvel Comics) Callie Calamari (Splatoon) Monica Rambeau (Marvel Comics) Blue (Velociraptor) (Jurassic World) Chase Stein (Marvel Comics) Ayesha (Kismet/Her) (Marvel Comics) Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff (Marvel Comics) Cosmo the Space Dog (Marvel Comics) Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld) Cure Cosmo (Pretty Cure) Owen "Molecule Man" Reece (Marvel Comics) Sheila "Dr. Mrs. The Monarch/Dr. Girlfriend" (The Venture Bros.) Alina "Alinatron" Golding (Style Savvy: Styling Star) Dr. Tobias Funke (Arrested Development) Dean Venture (The Venture Bros) Lawrence "Moe" Curls (Ace Attorney) Ray "The Atom" Palmer (DC Comics) Agatha Harkness (Marvel Comics) Dr. Hank "Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket/Wasp" Pym (Marvel Comics) Eugene "Flynn Rider" Fitzherbert (Tangled) Ryan "The Atom" Choi (DC Comics) Quentin "Kid Omega" Quire (Marvel Comics) Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way (My Immortal) Luna Maximoff (Marvel Comics) Klaus Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events) Nadia "Wasp" van Dyne (Marvel Comics) Nico Minoru (Marvel Comics) Malcolm (in the Middle) Lillie (Pokemon) Donald Fauntleroy Duck Maya Fey (Ace Attorney) Elsa Bloodstone (Marvel Comics) Penny Crygor (WarioWare) Phoebe Cuckoo (Marvel Comics) Sophie Cuckoo (Marvel Comics) Isabelle (Animal Crossing)

Thank you for the suggestions!

[char1ottee]

Street Art

Graffiti🍒

Graffiti is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire .

Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban "problem" for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions.

Modern Graffiti

Modern graffiti art has its origins with young people in 1960s and 70s in New York City and Philadelphia. Tags were the first form of stylised contemporary graffiti. Eventually, throw-ups and pieces evolved with the desire to create larger art. Writers used spray paint and other kind of materials to leave tags or to create images on the sides subway trains.[29] and eventually moved into the city after the NYC metro began to buy new trains and paint over graffiti.

While the art had many advocates and appreciators—including the cultural critic Norman Mailer—others, including New York City mayor Ed Koch, considered it to be defacement of public property, and saw it as a form of public blight.[31] The ‘taggers’ called what they did ‘writing’—though an important 1974 essay by Mailer referred to it using the term ‘graffiti.’

Contemporary graffiti style has been heavily influenced by hip hop culture and the myriad international styles derived from Philadelphia and New York City Subway graffiti; however, there are many other traditions of notable graffiti in the twentieth century. Graffiti have long appeared on building walls, in latrines, railroad boxcars, subways, and bridges.

An early graffito outside of New York or Philadelphia was the inscription in London reading "Clapton is God" in reference to the guitarist Eric Clapton. Creating the cult of the guitar hero, the phrase was spray-painted by an admirer on a wall in an Islington, north London in the autumn of 1967. The graffito was captured in a photograph, in which a dog is urinating on the wall.

Films like Style Wars in the 80s depicting famous writers such as Skeme, Dondi, MinOne, and ZEPHYR reinforced graffiti's role within New York's emerging hip-hop culture. Although many officers of the New York City Police Department found this film to be controversial, Style Wars is still recognized as the most prolific film representation of what was going on within the young hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 took hip hop graffiti to Paris and London as part of the New York City Rap Tour in 1983.

Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop culture

With the popularity and legitimization of graffiti has come a level of commercialization. In 2001, computer giant IBM launched an advertising campaign in Chicago and San Francisco which involved people spray painting on sidewalks a peace symbol, a heart, and a penguin (Linux mascot), to represent "Peace, Love, and Linux." IBM paid Chicago and San Francisco collectively US$120,000 for punitive damages and clean-up costs.

In 2005, a similar ad campaign was launched by Sony and executed by its advertising agency in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami, to market its handheld PSP gaming system. In this campaign, taking notice of the legal problems of the IBM campaign, Sony paid building owners for the rights to paint on their buildings "a collection of dizzy-eyed urban kids playing with the PSP as if it were a skateboard, a paddle, or a rocking horse".

Types of graffiti

Methods and production

The modern-day graffitists can be found with an arsenal of various materials that allow for a successful production of a piece.[48] This includes such techniques as scribing. However, spray paint in aerosol cans is the number one medium for graffiti. From this commodity comes different styles, technique, and abilities to form master works of graffiti. Spray paint can be found at hardware and art stores and comes in virtually every color.

Stencil graffiti

Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as cardboard or subject folders) to form an overall design or image. The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface.

Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists Blek le Rat in Paris, in 1982 by Jef Aerosol in Tours (France);[citation needed] by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.

Tagging

Tagging is the practice of someone spray-painting "their name, initial or logo onto a public surface"[50] in a handstyle unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.

A number of recent examples of graffiti make use of hashtags.

[pumathoughts]

Buffalo Bills 2023 Season: Roller Coaster of Emotions

What a long strange trip it has been this season aye Bills fans? We love the stress of rooting for this team and I don’t know why. The playoff drought changed us for sure BUT these Buffalo Bills are different. They have to be at least, right!? But I mean if you told me in July that the Bills would: lose week 1 to a Jets team with Aaron Rodgers not playing after the first series, lose in London to the Jags, lose to the Pats in Foxboro, lose a sluggish game to Denver on a last second field goal they missed but 12 men on the field gave them another chance, fire Ken Dorsey, lose in OT to Philadelphia, THEN have to win 5 straight just to get the 2 seed in the playoffs because the Dolphins got to 11 wins first….I would’ve said, “Jesus that’s a lot going on but I’m not surprised they made it hard on themselves.”

This has been a real test of patience this season. I mean we all have people we talk to each game day, group chats, phone calls, etc. and we all exude the same emotions during a game, “Go Bills, I hate this team, Fire McDermott, Big W Go Bills!” through every Facebook post, every meme, every Tweet, Retweet, sub tweet (the platform is called “X” now yet we still say Tweet and Retweet, weird right?) we have seen it all, everything has been said some true some not but opinions are out there. Whether it’s Colin Cowherd making proclamations, Nick Wright dropping his stupid ass banners, Stephen A. Smith screaming, Mad Dog Russo yelling, there hasn’t been a hot take unheard. But we’ve been hearing it since early this summer.

Josh Allen started by saying he’s 100% committed to football, then went on a getaway with his celebrity girlfriend the paparazzi caught on a balcony. I read some doozy of hot takes on this, like he should be more focused, not on vacation. Um, he’s allowed to go on vacation with his girlfriend in the OFFSEASON! No one in this world makes their job their life. It’s not something you do 24 hours a day 365 days a year. You take vacations, you go places, you do things. Josh Allen is allowed to do that too. Then we get past this to training camp when hope springs eternal and optimism is just at a fever pitch. Super Bowl or bust was the attitude, a Lombardi trophy banner was put in the field house to motivate the team! That was met with scoffs from national media members but McDermott being the master motivator he is (I’ll get to Ty Dunne’s article in a minute) it’s about the bigger picture. The trophy is what you work for, obviously. But then the season starts.

Aaron Rodgers had a season ending injury after 4 plays into his first game as a New York Jet. The scene was set for the Bills to assert themselves as a team that would show no mercy. They should’ve rolled the Jets with Zack Wilson at QB. Instead, I held my newborn son who was hours old by the time that game started, and watched this team bumble over themselves and lose on a punt return to get shocked by the Jets. I mean Rodgers went down and the air left MetLife. That game was over right there EXCEPT it wasn’t. This vaunted Bills offense only mustered 16 points in that loss. I was angry for 4 days after this game. I shouldn’t let this team dictate my mood but I do and I hate myself for it.

Then, all the questions, all the chatter of McDermott’s game management, Josh Allen’s turnovers, what will happen now, is the sky falling? Answer was no, they smoked the Raiders and Commanders setting up a showdown with the “greatest show on surf” Dolphins….and absolutely put on a clinic of defensive mastery. The Dolphins scored 70 points the week before on Denver so of course that’s all you hear about the Dolphins the rest of the year. The Bills beat Miami by 28 points. Then over to London to lose Matt Milano, Da’Quan Jones, and the game to Jacksonville and the funk begins. Frustration is the best way I can describe the 5 weeks following London. A 14-9 win against the Giants which I was there for, loss in Foxboro to New England, win against Tampa, losses to the Bengals and Denver which get Ken Dorsey fired.

Don’t get me wrong by this point in the season I wanted McDermott gone. I knew it would be an end of season firing. But instead, I get Ken Dorsey’s head on a platter and a beat down of a sad Jets team, then the Bills go to Philadelphia. Now when Allen fired it to Gabe Davis in overtime and he missed it, I was mad but IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER GOTTEN TO THAT POINT! Allen threw a INT in a bad moment late in regulation, but gunslingers throw picks. Sean McDermott elected to not give his superstar QB a chance to lead a game-winning drive with 20 seconds left and 1 timeout. Instead, he elects to take a knee and go to overtime where he AND Josh Allen are 0-6. Not to mention the Eagles rushed onto the field for a fire-drill field goal attempt that McDermott CALLED A TIMEOUT TO ICE THE KICKER FOR! I mean, what the hell are you doing!? Let it ride maybe he misses it, but we’ll never know now. Instead, they let Jalen Hurts waltz into the endzone in OT to go into the bye week with a season on the brink.

Then Ty Dunne of Golongtd.com drops a bombshell expose of Sean McDermott and his management of the team and how he isn’t the coach to bring this team to a championship. The most odd and controversial tidbit from this article is in 2019 at training camp McDermott tries to make the point of the team coming together and communicating like the 9/11 terrorists did in achieving their goal. This leaves me with so many more questions but this almost confirmed it that if the wheels fell off the final 5 games McDermott was gone. The Bills won 4 games out of the bye week, in Kansas City, ran all over Dallas, nail biters against the Chargers and Patriots (those didn’t inspire confidence) then a showdown in Miami for the Division and the 2 seed in the playoffs.

They left A LOT of points on the field, that game should’ve been 48-14 but it wasn’t. the Bills outgained the Dolphins and just all around bullied them off the field. Tua’s quest to be taken seriously as a QB took a hit with a pedestrian night and a game sealing INT and now the Dolphins get the pleasure of going to KC instead of having a home game. The Bills get the suddenly hot Steelers.

What can be said other than this season has been typical Bills through and through with a surprise or two. I felt anger, joy, confusion, shock, dismay, hilarity, and overall content with this season. The talk of Allen’s turnovers gets super annoying but he keeps turning the ball over so I can’t be too mad at it. Now we look forward to a matchup with the Steelers who have had their own issues this season and also fired their offensive coordinator. This should be a game where the Bills win by 10 but honestly it can go either way for me. But that is another post for another day. This regular season is over and the Bills somehow salvaged 11 wins. It truly is a week to week league and with this team the roller-coaster of emotions just seemingly never stops, but what a ride it is.

[theultimatefan]

National Lacrosse League and Marvel Team up to Promote Lacrosse’s Legendary Origin Story

To close out this year’s Native American Heritage Month, the National Lacrosse League unveiled a new, multi-year program with storytelling giant Marvel, focused on honoring and popularizing lacrosse’s Indigenous origin story with game-specific promotions starting in the upcoming 2023-24 NLL season.

The central theme of the collaboration, the history of lacrosse, will be at the core of a custom comic book written by Paul Allor, in close collaboration with the NLL’s Indigenous consultants, drawn by Indigenous creator Shaun Beyale, and a cover by JL Giles.

“With NLL-style sixes lacrosse enjoying heightened global momentum with the IOC’s recent vote to add the sport to the upcoming LA28 Summer Olympic games, the NLL wanted to celebrate lacrosse’s fabled beginnings with our rapidly expanding worldwide fan base,” said Kurt Hunzeker, the NLL’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations. “Great stories are the heartbeat of the Marvel Universe, and the NLL is honored to work with Marvel to bring the legend of North America’s original pastime to life.”

The custom comic book will only be available at designated Marvel Super Hero™ themed games every NLL team will host each year of the program. The same core story will be offered in each market, and Marvel will produce variant covers featuring star players from every NLL team that will be given out at their respective games.

The collaboration was facilitated by AthLife, Inc., Marvel’s longtime sports-centric agency of record.

In addition to the comic book premium distribution, each NLL team will wear special edition Marvel Super Hero-inspired jerseys on floor during its designated game. NLL fans can expect more Marvel-themed activations throughout the year.

Each NLL team has designated its Marvel Super Hero theme night for the upcoming 2023-24 season:

Albany FireWolves: Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7pm ET, vs. New York

Buffalo Bandits: Friday, March 8, 2024, 7:30pm ET, vs. Saskatchewan

Calgary Roughnecks: Friday, March 22, 2024, 7pm MT, vs. Albany

Colorado Mammoth: Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7pm MT, vs. Saskatchewan

Georgia Swarm: Friday, April 19, 2024, 7:30pm ET, vs. Rochester

Halifax Thunderbirds: Friday, February 16, 2024, 7:30pm AT, vs. Buffalo

Las Vegas Desert Dogs: Saturday, April 13, 2024, 7pm PT, vs. Colorado

New York Riptide: Saturday, February 10, 2024, 7:30pm ET, vs. San Diego

Panther City Lacrosse Club: Sunday, March 3, 2024, 3pm CT, vs. Rochester

Philadelphia Wings: Saturday, March 2, 2024, 1pm ET, vs. Calgary

Rochester Knighthawks: Sunday, April 21, 2024, 3pm ET, vs. Philadelphia

San Diego Seals: Friday, February 23, 2024, 7pm ET, vs. Georgia

Saskatchewan Rush: Saturday, February 24, 2024, 7pm CT, vs. Halifax

Toronto Rock: Saturday, March 23, 2024, 7pm ET, vs. Halifax

Vancouver Warriors: Saturday, February 10, 2024, 7pm PT, vs. Saskatchewan

The 2023-24 NLL season will commence with NLL Faceoff Weekend tomorrow with a “NLL Game of the Week” doubleheader on TSN in Canada as Saskatchewan travels to Halifax at 7pm ET and Panther City opens up in Vancouver at 10pm ET. ESPN2 will carry the first “NLL Saturday Night Showcase” this weekend with Philadelphia battling New York starting at 7:30pm ET.

[brookston]

Holidays 8.3

Holidays

Airplane Crop Duster Day

American Canoe Association Day

Arbor Day (Niger)

Armed Forces Day (Equatorial Guinea)

Big Forehead Day

Clean Your Floors Day

Cloves Syndrome Awareness Day

El Paso Massacre Anniversary Day

Esther Day

Flag Day (Venezuela)

Golpe de La Libertad (Freedom Day; Equatorial Guinea)

Great Expectations Day

Honey Day (Japan)

International Day of Family Planning

International Friendship Day [Original Date]

International Indigenous Rising Day

Klaatu Day

Marshmallow Day (French Republic)

National Booba Day

National COVID Survivor Day

National Ernie Pyle Day

National Georgia Day

National Guard Day (Venezuela)

National Hair Gloss Day

National Heart Transplantation Day (India)

National Michael Day

National Parks Day

National Ping Pong Day (UK)

National Sales & Marketing Collaboration Day

National Senior Pet Day

National Twins Day

New Brunswick Day (Canada)

Panama Canal Day

Pidjiguiti Day (Guinea-Bissau)

Play Day (UK)

Regatta Day (Canada)

Royal National Eisteddfod (Wales)

Vicki Draves Day

Yazidi Genocide Anniversary Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cornish Pasty Day

Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Day

Grab Some Nuts Day

Honey Day (Japan)

Maine Lobster Festival (Rockland, Maine)

National Watermelon Day

Watermelon Sugar Day

1st Thursday in August

August Thursday (Anguilla) [1st Thursday]

Brat Days begin (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) [1st Thursday thru Sunday]

Emancipation Day (Bermuda; 1st Day of Cup Match) [Thursday before 1st Monday in August]

Kid Lit Art Postcard Day [1st Thursday]

National Dash Cam Day (UK) [1st Thursday]

National IPA Day (f.k.a. International IPA Day) [1st Thursday]

Satchmo Days begin [Thursday nearest 8.4 thru Sunday]

Independence Days

Niger (from France, 1960)

West Sprinske (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Chokhor Duchen (Four Noble Truths; Buddhism)

Dawg the Dog (Muppetism)

Day of the Dryads (Pagan)

Dymphna Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Feast of Caligo (Mother of Chaos)

Gamaliel (Christian; Saint)

George Freeman Bragg, W.E.B. Du Bois (Episcopal Church)

Henri Cartier-Bresson (Artology)

Kanto Matsuri begins (4-Day celebration to encourage a good harvest; Akita, Japan)

Lydia of Thyatira (a.k.a. Lydia Purpuraria; Christian; Saint)

Myrrhbearers (Lutheran Church)

Nicodemus (Christian; Saint)

Olaf II of Norway (Christian; Translation of the Relic)

Postmodernism Day (Pastafarian)

Prairie Down (Muppetism)

Stephen (Discovery of his Relics)

Supplica Canum (Ancient Rome)

Walter Scott (Positivist; Saint)

Waltheof of Melrose (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Premieres

The Bourne Ultimatum (Film; 2007)

Chéri, by Colette (Novel; 1920)

Christopher Robin (Film; 2018)

The Cocoanuts (Film; 1929)

Dick (Film; 1999)

Duck Tales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (Animated Disney Film; 1990)

Eat Drink Man Woman (Film; 1994)

Fear of Music, by Talking Heads (Album; 1979)

Grandview, U.S.A. (Film; 1984)

Hang ‘Em High (Film; 1968)

Havana, by Camila Cabello (Song; 2017)

Hot Rod (Film; 2007)

Hysteria, by Def Leppard (Album; 1987)

Innervisions, by Stevie Wonder (Album; 1973)

The Iron Giant (Animated Film; 1999)

A Man Called Adam (Film; 1966)

Man on the Flying Trapeze (Film; 1935)

Metropolitan (Film; 1990)

Mine, by Taylor Swift (Song; 2010)

The Ox-Bow Incident, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark (Novel; 1940)

The Philadelphia Experiment (Film; 1984)

The Princess Diaries (Film; 2001)

The Spy Who Dumped Me (Film; 2018)

Surfer Girl, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1963)

Total Recall (Film; 2012)

Underdog (Film; 2007)

Unidentified Flying Oddball (Film; 1979)

William Tell, by Gioachino Rossini (Opera; 1829)

Today’s Name Days

Benno, Lydia (Austria)

Aspern, Augustin, Lidija (Croatia)

Miluše (Czech Republic)

Nikodemus (Denmark)

Kaljo, Kalju (Estonia)

Linnea, Nea, Neea, Vanamo (Finland)

Lydie (France)

August, Lydia, Nikodemus (Germany)

Olimpios, Salomi (Greece)

Hermina (Hungary)

Giovanni, Lidia (Italy)

Augusts, Rets (Latvia)

Augustė, Lengvinė, Mangirdas, Steponas (Lithuania)

Oline, Oliver, Olve (Norway)

August, Augusta, Krzywosąd, Lidia, Nikodem, Symeon, Szczepan (Poland)

Jerguš (Slovakia)

Gustavo, Lidia (Spain)

Tage (Sweden)

Lida, Liddy, Lidia, Loyal, Lydia, Lyle, Lyman (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 215 of 2024; 150 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 31 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 24 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Ji-Wei), Day 17 (Gui-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 16 Av 5783

Islamic: 16 Muharram 1445

J Cal: 5 Hasa; Fiveday [5 of 30]

Julian: 21 July 2023

Moon: 94%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 19 Dante (8th Month) [Walter Scott]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 44 of 94)

Zodiac: Leo (Day 13 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 8.3

Holidays

Airplane Crop Duster Day

American Canoe Association Day

Arbor Day (Niger)

Armed Forces Day (Equatorial Guinea)

Big Forehead Day

Clean Your Floors Day

Cloves Syndrome Awareness Day

El Paso Massacre Anniversary Day

Esther Day

Flag Day (Venezuela)

Golpe de La Libertad (Freedom Day; Equatorial Guinea)

Great Expectations Day

Honey Day (Japan)

International Day of Family Planning

International Friendship Day [Original Date]

International Indigenous Rising Day

Klaatu Day

Marshmallow Day (French Republic)

National Booba Day

National COVID Survivor Day

National Ernie Pyle Day

National Georgia Day

National Guard Day (Venezuela)

National Hair Gloss Day

National Heart Transplantation Day (India)

National Michael Day

National Parks Day

National Ping Pong Day (UK)

National Sales & Marketing Collaboration Day

National Senior Pet Day

National Twins Day

New Brunswick Day (Canada)

Panama Canal Day

Pidjiguiti Day (Guinea-Bissau)

Play Day (UK)

Regatta Day (Canada)

Royal National Eisteddfod (Wales)

Vicki Draves Day

Yazidi Genocide Anniversary Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Cornish Pasty Day

Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Day

Grab Some Nuts Day

Honey Day (Japan)

Maine Lobster Festival (Rockland, Maine)

National Watermelon Day

Watermelon Sugar Day

1st Thursday in August

August Thursday (Anguilla) [1st Thursday]

Brat Days begin (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) [1st Thursday thru Sunday]

Emancipation Day (Bermuda; 1st Day of Cup Match) [Thursday before 1st Monday in August]

Kid Lit Art Postcard Day [1st Thursday]

National Dash Cam Day (UK) [1st Thursday]

National IPA Day (f.k.a. International IPA Day) [1st Thursday]

Satchmo Days begin [Thursday nearest 8.4 thru Sunday]

Independence Days

Niger (from France, 1960)

West Sprinske (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Chokhor Duchen (Four Noble Truths; Buddhism)

Dawg the Dog (Muppetism)

Day of the Dryads (Pagan)

Dymphna Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Feast of Caligo (Mother of Chaos)

Gamaliel (Christian; Saint)

George Freeman Bragg, W.E.B. Du Bois (Episcopal Church)

Henri Cartier-Bresson (Artology)

Kanto Matsuri begins (4-Day celebration to encourage a good harvest; Akita, Japan)

Lydia of Thyatira (a.k.a. Lydia Purpuraria; Christian; Saint)

Myrrhbearers (Lutheran Church)

Nicodemus (Christian; Saint)

Olaf II of Norway (Christian; Translation of the Relic)

Postmodernism Day (Pastafarian)

Prairie Down (Muppetism)

Stephen (Discovery of his Relics)

Supplica Canum (Ancient Rome)

Walter Scott (Positivist; Saint)

Waltheof of Melrose (Christian; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Premieres

The Bourne Ultimatum (Film; 2007)

Chéri, by Colette (Novel; 1920)

Christopher Robin (Film; 2018)

The Cocoanuts (Film; 1929)

Dick (Film; 1999)

Duck Tales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (Animated Disney Film; 1990)

Eat Drink Man Woman (Film; 1994)

Fear of Music, by Talking Heads (Album; 1979)

Grandview, U.S.A. (Film; 1984)

Hang ‘Em High (Film; 1968)

Havana, by Camila Cabello (Song; 2017)

Hot Rod (Film; 2007)

Hysteria, by Def Leppard (Album; 1987)

Innervisions, by Stevie Wonder (Album; 1973)

The Iron Giant (Animated Film; 1999)

A Man Called Adam (Film; 1966)

Man on the Flying Trapeze (Film; 1935)

Metropolitan (Film; 1990)

Mine, by Taylor Swift (Song; 2010)

The Ox-Bow Incident, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark (Novel; 1940)

The Philadelphia Experiment (Film; 1984)

The Princess Diaries (Film; 2001)

The Spy Who Dumped Me (Film; 2018)

Surfer Girl, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1963)

Total Recall (Film; 2012)

Underdog (Film; 2007)

Unidentified Flying Oddball (Film; 1979)

William Tell, by Gioachino Rossini (Opera; 1829)

Today’s Name Days

Benno, Lydia (Austria)

Aspern, Augustin, Lidija (Croatia)

Miluše (Czech Republic)

Nikodemus (Denmark)

Kaljo, Kalju (Estonia)

Linnea, Nea, Neea, Vanamo (Finland)

Lydie (France)

August, Lydia, Nikodemus (Germany)

Olimpios, Salomi (Greece)

Hermina (Hungary)

Giovanni, Lidia (Italy)

Augusts, Rets (Latvia)

Augustė, Lengvinė, Mangirdas, Steponas (Lithuania)

Oline, Oliver, Olve (Norway)

August, Augusta, Krzywosąd, Lidia, Nikodem, Symeon, Szczepan (Poland)

Jerguš (Slovakia)

Gustavo, Lidia (Spain)

Tage (Sweden)

Lida, Liddy, Lidia, Loyal, Lydia, Lyle, Lyman (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 215 of 2024; 150 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 31 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 24 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Ji-Wei), Day 17 (Gui-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 16 Av 5783

Islamic: 16 Muharram 1445

J Cal: 5 Hasa; Fiveday [5 of 30]

Julian: 21 July 2023

Moon: 94%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 19 Dante (8th Month) [Walter Scott]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 6 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 44 of 94)

Zodiac: Leo (Day 13 of 31)

[scoreboardpage]

NFL power rankings after the divisional round and before the conference championships.

1. Bengals: Cincinnati knocked off last week’s top dog, so the Bengals jumped San Francisco and replaced the Bills. Will they rise to the occasion in KC? We say yes.

2. 49ers: Dallas made Brock Purdy look like the rookie he is at times, then made too many miscues to pull off the upset. Perhaps Philadelphia picked up some tips.

3. Eagles: The Giants weren’t the best measuring stick, but it was impressive enough to jump the Chiefs and pull Philadelphia within seconds of second.

4. Chiefs: Kansas City stays in fourth, but it’s not disrespect as much as concern about Patrick Mahomes. He’ll need to be mobile against Cincy.

ELIMINATED

5. Bills: Last year, our preseason pick won it all. Buffalo could not repeat that feat for us this season.

6. Cowboys: Time management was a glaring factor again in Dallas’ elimination, but mistakes and a couple of lazy plays were prominent as well. This might be their ceiling.

7. Jaguars: Jacksonville has plenty of good things to build on for next year. What a difference a competent coach made.

8. Giants: Quickly showed that they were not in the same class as Philadelphia, but who really thought they were?