#Alto (Ground Type)

[flea-eats-bugs]

I was just supposed to color in this line art so I would know what colors to paint him; I got a little carried away TwT

I've also been designing his pilot and her girlfriend + giving them fun lore so I'm excited to finish drawing them too. I literally just had a Wing Gundam kit that I kept losing pieces of and wanted a quick kitbash to fix him and it turned into three blorbos. What is my life

[julysouthblood]

Model kit community needs to talk more about 30 Minute Missions. They’re so good.

[wavesinereverse-blog]

30 MM Alto (Ground Type)(Brown)

the standard Alto but with new lower legs, a new mask...thing, a new weapon, and a new backpack (currently as a support unit)

the bazooka-type weapon is neat

the new bulkier legs are also neat and change up the Alto's silhouette even without the backpack

[hattiestgal]

Been wanting to get into model kits bit im scared bc i dont like dealing with paint or glue. Did the models you posted need those? They look super cool...

Nope! For the kits I've shown off, you basically just need the kits and some nippers, and you're good to go!

If you're gonna start anywhere, I totally recommend 30 Minute Missions kits for all things mecha! They're relatively cheap, and are designed with quick and easy construction in mind! Plus, they don't have a franchise like gundam attached to 'em if you don't want to watch an entire anime series to get attached to the machines, ehehe. Additionally, they're super customizable, so if you're feeling creative after your first few kits, there's a lot of mix and match encouraged!

Plus, they look pretty good if I do say so myself~

Plenty of variety, and a decent amount of the kits come in a pretty decent range of colors!

These (along with an absolutely awesome and very enthusiastic friend of mine) are what got me into doing Gundam model kits and actually pushed me to watch some of the shows!

Apart from that, though, I know for sure that Gundam kits are also paint and glue free, seeing as that's what I was showing off before, ehehe. Speaking of which-

Another Gundam kit to appreciate if you've read this far ^^

[dresshistorynerd]

The Real Cost of the Fashion Industry

Atacama Desert, in Alto Hospicio, Iquique, Chile. (source)

The textile industry is destroying the world. The industry is wasting massive amounts of energy and materials, and polluting the air, the ground and the water supplies. It overwhelmingly exploits it's labour and extracts wealth from colonized countries, especially in Asia. I assume we all broadly understand this, but I think it's useful to have it all laid out in front of you to see the big picture, the core issues causing this destruction and find ways how to effectively move forward.

The concerning trend behind this ever-increasing devastation are shortening of trend cycles, lowering clothing prices and massive amount of wasted products. Still in year 2000 it was common for fashion brands to have two collections per year, while now e.g. Zara produces 24 collections and H&M produces 12-16 collections per year. Clothing prices have fallen (at leas in EU) 30% from 1996 to 2018 when adjusted to inflation, which has contributed to the 40% increase in clothing consumption per person between 1996 and 2012 (in EU). (source) As the revenue made by the clothing industry keep rising - from 2017 to 2021 they doubled (source) - falling prices can only be achieved with increasing worker exploitation and decreasing quality. I think the 36% degrees times clothing are used in average during the last 15 years (source) is a clear indication on the continuing drop in quality of clothing. Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2015, while 30% of the clothes produced per year are never sold and are often burned instead (source), presumably to prevent the returns from falling due to oversupply.

These all factors are driving people to overconsume. While people in EU keep buying more clothes, they haven't used up to 50% of the clothes in their wardrobe for over a year (source). This overconsumption is only made much worse by the new type of hyper fast fashion companies like SHEIN and Temu, which are using addictive psychological tactics developed by social media companies (source 1, source 2). They are cranking up all those concerning trends I mentioned above.

Under the cut I will go through the statistics of the most significant effects of the industry on environment and people. I will warn you it will be bleak. This is not just a fast fashion problem, basically the whole industry is engaging in destructive practices leading to this damage. Clothing is one of those things that would be actually relatively easy to make without massive environmental and human cost, so while that makes the current state of the industry even more heinous, it also means there's hope and it's possible to fix things. In the end, I will be giving some suggestions for actions we could be doing right now to unfuck this mess.

Carbon emissions

The textile industry is responsible for roughly 10% of the global CO2 emissions, more than aviation and shipping industry combined. This is due to the massive supply chains and energy intensive production methods of fabrics. Most of it can be contributed to the fashion sector since around 60% of all the textile production is clothing. Polyester, a synthetic fiber made from oil which accounts for more than half of the fibers used in the textile industry, produces double the amount of carbon emissions than cotton, accounting for very large proportions of all the emissions by the industry. (source 1, source 2)

Worker exploitation

Majority of the textiles are produced in Asia. Some of the worst working conditions are in Bangladesh, one of the most important garment producers, and Pakistan. Here's an excerpt from EU Parliament's briefing document from 2014 after the catastrophic Rana Plaza disaster:

The customers of garment producers are most often global brands looking for low prices and tight production timeframes. They also make changes to product design, product volume, and production timeframes, and place last-minute orders without accepting increased costs or adjustments to delivery dates. The stresses of such policies usually fall on factory workers.

The wage exploitation is bleak. According to the 2015 documentary The True Cost less than 2% of all garment factory workers earned a living wage (source). Hourly wages are so low and the daily quotas so high, garment workers are often forced through conditions or threats and demand to work extra hours, which regularly leads to 10-12 hour work days (source) and at worst 16 hour workdays (source), often without days off. Sometimes factories won't compensate for extra hours, breaching regulations (source).

Long working hours, repetitive work, lack of breaks and high pressure leads to increased risks of injuries and accidents. Small and even major injuries are extremely common in the industry. A study in three factories in India found that 70% of the workers suffered from musculosceletal symptoms (source). Another qualitative study of female garment workers and factory doctors in Dhaka found that long hours led to eye strain, headaches, fatigue and weight loss in addition to muscular and back pains. According to the doctors interviewed, weight loss was common because the workers work such long hours without breaks, they didn't have enough time to eat properly. (source) Another study in 8 factories in India found that minor injuries were extremely common and caused by unergonomic work stations, poor organization in the work place and lack of safety gear, guidelines and training (source). Safety precautions too are often overlooked to cut corners, which periodically leads to factory accidents, like in 2023 lack of fire exists and fire extinguishers, and goods stacked beyond capacity led to a factory fire in Pakistan which injured dozens of workers (source) or like in 2022 dangerous factory site led to one dead worker and 9 injured workers (source).

Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 is the worst industrial accident in recent history. The factory building did not have proper permits and the factory owner blatantly ignored signs of danger (other businesses abandoned the building a day before the collapse), which led to deaths of 1 134 workers and injuries to 2 500 workers. The factory had or were at the time working for orders of at least Prada, Versace, Primark, Walmart, Zara, H&M, C&A, Mango, Benetton, the Children's Place, El Corte Inglés, Joe Fresh, Carrefour, Auchan, KiK, Loblaw, Bonmarche and Matalan. None of the brands were held legally accountable for the unsafe working conditions which they profited off of. Only 9 of the brands attended a meeting to agree on compensation for the victim's families. Walmart, Carrefour, Auchan, Mango and KiK refused to sight the agreement, it was only signed by Primark, Loblaw, Bonmarche and El Corte Ingles. The compension these companies provided was laughable though. Primemark demanded DNA evidence that they are relatives of one of the victims from these struggling families who had lost their often sole breadwinner for a meager sum of 200 USD (which doesn't even count for two months of living wage in Bangladesh (source)). This obviously proved to be extremely difficult for most families even though US government agreed to donate DNA kits. This is often said to be a turning point in working conditions in the industry, at least in Bangladesh, but while there's more oversight now, as we have seen, there's clearly still massive issues. (source 1, source 2)

One last major concern of working conditions in the industry I will mention is the Xinjiang raw cotton production, which is likely produced mainly with forced labour from Uighur concentration camps, aka slave labour of a suspected genocide. 90% of China's raw cotton production comes from Xinjiang (source). China is the second largest cotton producer in the world, after India, accounting 20% of the yearly global cotton production (source).

Pollution

Synthetic dyes, which synthetic fibers require, are the main cause of water pollution caused by the textile industry, which is estimated to account for 20% of global clean water pollution (source). This water pollution by the textile industry is suspected of causing a lot of health issues like digestive issues in the short term, and allergies, dermatitis, skin inflammation, tumors and human mutations in the long term. Toxins also effect fish and aquatic bacteria. Azo dyes, one of the major pollutants, can cause detrimental effects to aquatic ecosystems by decreasing photosynthetic activity of algae. Synthetic dyes and heavy metals also cause large amounts of soil pollution. Large amounts of heavy metals in soil, which occurs around factories that don't take proper environmental procautions, can cause anaemia, kidney failure, and cortical edoem in humans. That also causes changes in soil texture, decrease in soil microbial diversity and plant health, and changes in genetic structure of organisms growing in the soil. Textile factory waste water has been used for irrigation in Turkey, where other sources of water have been lacking, causing significant damage to the soil. (source)

Rayon produced through viscose process causes significant carbon disulphide and hydrogen sulphide pollution to the environment. CS2 causes cardiovascular, psychiatric, neuropsychological, endocrinal and reproductive disorders. Abortion rates among workers and their partners exposed to CS2 are reported to be significantly higher than in control groups. Many times higher amounts of sick days are reported for workers in spinning rooms of viscose fiber factories. China and India are largest producers of CS2 pollution, accounting respectively 65.74% and 11,11% of the global pollution, since they are also the major viscose producers. Emission of CS2 has increased significantly in India from 26.8 Gg in 2001 to 78.32 Gg in 2020. (source)

Waste

The textile industry is estimated to produce around 92 million tons of textile waste per year. As said before around 30% of the production is never sold and with shortening lifespans used the amount of used clothing that goes to waster is only increasing. This waste is large burned or thrown into landfills in poor countries. (source) H&M was accused in 2017 by investigative journalists of burning up to 12 tonnes of clothes per year themselves, including usable clothing, which they denied claiming they donated clothing they couldn't sell to charity instead (source). Most of the clothing donated to charity though is burned or dumbed to landfills (source).

Most of the waste clothing from rich countries like European countries, US, Australia and Canada are shipped to Chile (source) or African countries, mostly Ghana, but also Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire (source). There's major second-hand fashion industries in these places, but most of the charity clothing is dumbed to landfills, because they are in such bad condition or the quality is too poor. Burning and filling landfills with synthetic fabrics with synthetic dyes causes major air, water and soil pollution. The second-hand clothing industry also suppresses any local clothing production as donated clothing is inherently more competitive than anything else, making these places economically reliant on dumbed clothing, which is destroying their environment and health, and prevents them from creating a more sustainable economy that would befit them more locally. This is not an accident, but required part of the clothing industry. Overproduction let's these companies tap on every new trend quickly, while not letting clothing the prices in rich countries drop so low it would hurt their profits. Production is cheaper than missing a trend.

Micro- and nanoplastics

There is massive amounts of micro- and nanoplastics in all of our environment. It's in our food, drinking water, even sea salt (source). Washing synthetic textiles accounts for roughly 35% of all microplastics released to the environment. It's estimated that it has caused 14 million tonnes of microplastics to accumulate into the bottom of the ocean. (source)

Microplastics build up into the intestines of animals (including humans), and have shown to probably cause cause DNA damage and altered organism behavior in aquatic fauna. Microplastics also contain a lot of the usual pollutants from textile industry like synthetic dyes and heavy metals, which absorb in higher quantities to tissues of animals through microplastics in the intestines. Studies have shown that the adverse effect are higher the longer the microplastics stay in the organism. The effects cause major risks to aquatic biodiversity. (source) The health effects of microplastics to humans are not well known, but studies have shown that they could have adverse effects on digestive, respiratory, endocrine, reproductive and immune systems. (source)

Microplastics degrade in the environment even further to nanoplastics. Nanoplastic being even smaller are found to enter blood circulation, get inside cells and cross the blood-brain barrier. In fishes they have been found to cause neurological damage. Nanoplastics are also in the air, and humans frequently breath them in. Study in office buildings found higher concentration of nanoplastics in indoor air than outdoor air. Inside the nanoplastics are likely caused mostly by synthetic household textiles, and outdoors mostly by car tires. (source) An association between nanoplastics and mitochondrial damage in human respiratory cells was found in a recent study. (source)

Micro and nano plastics are also extremely hard to remove from the environment, making it even more important that we reduce the amount of microplastics we produce as fast as possible.

What can we do?

This is a question that deserves it's own essays and articles written about it, but I will leave you with some action points. Reading about these very bleak realities can easily lead to overwhelming apathy, but we need to channel these horrors into actions. Whatever you do, do not fall into apathy. We don't have the luxury for that, we need to act. These are industry wide problems, that simply cannot be fixed by consumerism. Do not trust any clothing companies, even those who market themselves as ethical and responsible, always assume they are lying. Most of them are, even the so called "good ones". We need legislation. We cannot allow the industry to regulate itself, they will always take the easy way out and lie to their graves. I will for sure write more in dept about what we can do, but for now here's some actions to take, both political and individual ones.

Political actions

Let's start with political actions, since they will be the much more important ones. While we are trying to dismantle capitalism and neocolonialism (the roots of these issues), here's some things that we could do right now. These will be policies that we should be doing everywhere in the world, but especially rich countries, where most of the clothing consumption is taking place. Vote, speak to others, write to your representative, write opinion pieces to your local papers, engage with democracy.

Higher requirements of transparency. Right now product transparency in clothing is laughably low. In EU only the material make up and the origin country of the final product are required to be disclosed. Everything else is up to the company. Mandatory transparency is the only way we can force any positive changes in the production. The minimum of transparency should be: origin countries of the fibers and textiles in the product itself; mandatory reports of the lifecycle emissions; mandatory reports of whole chain of production. Right now the clothing companies make their chain of production intentionally complex, so they have plausible deniability when inevitably they are caught violating environmental or worker protection laws (source). They intentionally don't want to be able to track down their production chain. Forcing them to do so anyway would make it very expensive for them to keep up this unnecessarily complex production chain. These laws are most effective when put in place in large economies like EU or US.

Restrictions on the use of synthetic fibers. Honestly I think they should be banned entirely, since the amount of microplastics in our environment is already extremely distressing and the other environmental effects of synthetic fibers are also massive, but I know there are functions for which they are not easily replaced (though I think they can be replaces in those too, but that's a subject of another post), so we should start with restrictions. I'm not sure how they should be specifically made, I'm not a law expert, but they shouldn't be used in everyday textiles, where there are very easy and obvious other options.

Banning viscose. There are much better options for viscose method that don't cause massive health issues and environmental destruction where ever it's made, like Lyocell. There is absolutely no reason why viscose should be allowed to be sold anywhere.

Governmental support for local production by local businesses. Most of the issues could be much more easily solved and monitored if most clothing were not produced by massive global conglomerations, but rather by local businesses that produce locally. All clothing are made by hand, so centralizing production doesn't even give it advantage in effectiveness (only more profits for the few). Producing locally would make it much more easier to enforce regulations and it would reduce production chains, making production more effective, leaving more profits into the hands of the workers and reducing emissions from transportation. When the production is done by local businesses, the profits would stay in the producing country and they could be taxed and utilized to help the local communities. This would be helpful to do in both exploited and exploiter countries. When done in rich countries who exploit poorer ones, it would reduce the demand for exploitation. In poor countries this is not as easily done, since poor means they don't have money to give around, but maybe this could be a good cause to put some reparations from colonizers and global corporations, which they should pay.

Preventing strategic accounting between subsidiaries and parent companies. Corporate law is obviously not my area of expertise, but I know that allowing corporations to move around the accounting of profits and losses between subsidiaries and parent companies in roughly 1980s, was a major factor in creating this modern global capitalist system, where corporations can very easily manipulate their accounting to utilize tax heavens and avoid taxes where they actually operate, which is how they are upholding this terrible system and extracting the profits from the production countries. How specifically this would be done I can't tell because again I know shit about corporate law, so experts of that field should plan the specifics. Overall this would help deal with a lot of other problems than just the fashion industry. Again for it to be effective a large economic area like EU or US should do this.

Holding companies accountable for their whole chain of production. These companies should be dragged to court and made to answer for the crimes they are profiting of off. We should put fear back into them. This is possible. Victims of child slavery are already doing this for chocolate companies. If it's already not how law works everywhere, the laws should be changed so that the companies are responsible even if they didn't know, because it's their responsibility to find out and make sure they know. They should have been held accountable for the Rana Plaza disaster. Maybe they still could be. Sue the mother fuckers. They should be afraid of us.

Individual actions

I will stress that the previous section is much more important and that there's no need to feel guilty for individual actions. This is not the fault of the average consumer. Still we do need to change our relationship to fashion and consumption. While it's not our fault, one of the ways this system is perpetuated, is by the consumerist propaganda by fashion industry. And it is easier to change our own habits than to change the industry, even if our own habits have little impact. So these are quite easy things we all could do as we are trying to do bigger change to gain some sense of control and keep us from falling to apathy.

Consume less. Better consumption will not save us, since consumption itself is the problem. We consume too much clothing. Don't make impulse purchases. Consider carefully weather you actually need something or if you really really want it. Even only buying second-hand still fuels the industry, so while it's better than buying new, it's still better to not buy.

Take proper care of your clothing. Learn how to properly wash your clothing. There's a lot of internet resources for that. Never wash your wool textiles in washing machine, even if the textile's official instructions allow it. Instead air them regularly, rinse them in cool water if they still smell after airing and wash stains with water or small amount of (wool) detergent. Never use fabric softener! It damages the fabrics, prevents them from properly getting clean and is environmentally damaging. Instead use laundry vinegar for making textiles softer or removing bad smells. (You can easily make laundry vinegar yourself too from white vinegar and water (and essential oils, if you want to add a scent to it) which is much cheaper.) Learn how to take care of your leather products. Most leather can be kept in very good condition for a very long time by occasional waxing with beeswax.

Use the services of dressmakers and shoemakers. Take your broken clothing or clothing which doesn't fit anymore to your local dressmaker and ask them if they can do something about it. Take your broken and worn leather products to your local shoemaker too. Usually it doesn't cost much to get something fixed or refitted and these expert usually have ways to fix things you couldn't even think of. So even if the situation with your clothing or accessory seems desperate, still show it to the dressmaker or shoemaker.

If it's extremely cheap, don't buy it. Remember that every clothing is handmade. Only a small fraction of the cost of the clothing will be paying the wages of the person who made it with their hands. If a shirt costs 5 euros (c. 5,39 USD), it's sewer was only payed mere cents for sewing it. I'm not a quick sewer and it takes me roughly 1-2 hours to cut, prepare and sew a simple shirt, so I'm guessing it would take around half an hour to do all that for a factory worker on a crunch, at the very least 15 minutes. So the hourly pay would still be ridiculously low. However, as I said before, the fact that the workers in clothing factories get criminally low pay is not the fault of the consumer, so if you need a clothing item, and you don't have money to buy anything else than something very cheep, don't feel guilty. And anyway expensive clothing in no way necessarily means reasonable pay or ethical working conditions, cheep clothing just guarantee them.

Learn to recognize higher quality. In addition to exploitation, low price also means low quality, but again high price doesn't guarantee high quality. High quality allows you to buy less, so even if it's not as cheep as low quality, if you can afford it, when you need it, it will be cheaper in long run, and allows you to consume less. Check the materials. Natural fibers are your friends. Do not buy plastic, if it's possible to avoid. Avoid household textiles from synthetic fibers. Avoid textiles with small amounts of spandex to give it stretch, it will shorten the lifespan of the clothing significantly as the spandex quickly wears down and the clothing looses it's shape. Also avoid clothing with rubber bands. They also loose their elasticity very quickly. In some types of clothing (sport wear, underwear) these are basically impossible to avoid, but in many other cases it's entirely possible.

Buy from artisans and local producers, if you can. As said better consumption won't fix this, but supporting artisans and your local producers could help keep them afloat, which in small ways helps create an alternative to the exploitative global corporations. With artisans especially you know the money goes to the one who did the labour and buying locally means less middlemen to take their cut. More generally buy rather from businesses that are located to the same country where the production is, even if it's not local to you. A local business doesn't necessarily produce locally.

Develop your own taste. If you care about fashion and style, it's easy to fall victim to the fashion industry's marketing and trend cycles. That's why I think it's important to develop your personal sense of style and preferences. Pay attention at what type of clothes are comfortable to you. Go through your wardrobe and track for a while which clothing you use most and which least. Understanding your own preferences helps you avoid impulse buying.

Consider learning basics of sewing. Not everyone has the time or interest for this, but if you in anyway might have a bit of both, I suggest learning some very simple and basic mending and reattaching a button.

Further reading on this blog: How to see through the greenwashing propaganda of the fashion industry - Case study 1: Shein

Bibliography

Academic sources

An overview of the contribution of the textiles sector to climate change, 2022, L. F. Walter et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science

How common are aches and pains among garment factory workers? A work-related musculoskeletal disorder assessment study in three factories of south 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, 2021, Arkaprovo Pal et al., J Family Med Prim Care

Sewing shirts with injured fingers and tears: exploring the experience of female garment workers health problems in Bangladesh, 2019, Akhter, S., Rutherford, S. & Chu, C., BMC Int Health Hum Rights

Occupation Related Accidents in Selected Garment Industries in Bangalore City, 2006, Calvin, Sam & Joseph, Bobby, Indian Journal of Community Medicine

A Review on Textile and Clothing Industry Impacts on The Environment, 2022, Nur Farzanah Binti Norarmi et al., International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Carbon disulphide and hydrogen sulphide emissions from viscose fibre manufacturing industry: A case study in India, 2022, Deepanjan Majumdar et al., Atmospheric Environment: X

Microplastics Pollution: A Brief Review of Its Source and Abundance in Different Aquatic Ecosystems, 2023, Asifa Ashrafy et al., Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances

Health Effects of Microplastic Exposures: Current Issues and Perspectives in South Korea, 2023, Yongjin Lee et al., Yonsei Medical Journal

Nanoplastics and Human Health: Hazard Identification and Biointerface, 2022, Hanpeng Lai, Xing Liu, and Man Qu, Nanomaterials

Other sources

The impact of textile production and waste on the environment (infographics), 2020, EU

Chile’s desert dumping ground for fast fashion leftovers, 2021, AlJazeera

Fashion - Worldwide, 2022 (updated 2024), Statista

Fashion Industry Waste Statistics & Facts 2023, James Evans, Sustainable Ninja (magazine)

Everything You Need to Know About Waste in the Fashion Industry, 2024, Solene Rauturier, Good on You (magazine)

Textiles and the environment, 2022, Nikolina Šajn, European Parliamentary Research Service

Help! I'm addicted to secondhand shopping apps, 2023, Alice Crossley, Cosmopolitan

Addictive, absurdly cheap and controversial: the rise of China’s Temu app, 2023, Helen Davidson, Guardian

Workers' conditions in the textile and clothing sector: just an Asian affair? - Issues at stake after the Rana Plaza tragedy, 2014, Enrico D'Ambrogio, European Parliamentary Research Service

State of The Industry: Lowest Wages to Living Wages, The Lowest Wage Challenge (Industry affiliated campaign)

Fast Fashion Getting Faster: A Look at the Unethical Labor Practices Sustaining a Growing Industry, 2021, Emma Ross, International Law and Policy Brief (George Washington University Law School)

Dozens injured in Pakistan garment factory collapse and fire, 2023, Hannah Abdulla, Just Style (news media)

India: Multiple factory accidents raise concerns over health & safety in the garment industry, campaigners call for freedom of association in factories to ‘stave off’ accidents, 2022, Jasmin Malik Chua, Business & Human Rights Resource Center

Minimum Wage Level for Garment Workers in the World, 2020, Sheng Lu, FASH455 Global Apparel & Textile Trade and Sourcing (University of Delaware)

Rana Plaza collapse, Wikipedia

Buyers’ compensation for Rana Plaza victims far from reality, 2013, Ibrahim Hossain Ovi, Dhaka Tribune (news media)

World cotton production statistics, updated 2024, The World Counts

Dead white man’s clothes, 2021, Linton Besser, ABC News

[raincandyy-u]

Gravity falls the musical

So like for theatre I had to pitch an adaptation of a show/movie I liked so I chose this show specifically cause I have a lot of stupid ideas for this. Also I’m gonna be making a lot of other musical comparisons sorry I don’t study music

Ok so first would be like vocal ranges

Dipper- bass , i was debating this actually, I think when I think of dipper I think of Seymour from lsoh, but realistically I don’t think kids 12-13, especially dipper who there was an entire joke running about his voice cracks, has a voice that would go super high to be a tenor, so I think him being the middle ground works

Mabel - mezzo sorprano, same with dipper, I don’t think her voice would go like that”Cady from mean girls” high I think it’d be like sally bowles ish where sometimes you’ll see actresses play her with a nasally voice

Both stans are baritones this isn’t up for debate

Wendy - alto, I think alto voices are cool and I feel like a lower range just fits Wendy’s laid backness

Now for the villains I lowkey want them to have the higher vocal ranges

I think Gideon having a high voice fits the whole “town angel” thing, in fact I’d take it a step further and say for him to do a “choir voice” instead of a character voice when singing and then the second he stops singing his voice goes back to normal

Pacifica sings high in that one episode so yeah and also same as Gideon, I think the high voice fits her “celebrity” status

Now for bill it’s complicated because I think him being either a baritone or a tenor would be fun

As a baritone, you could open up the opportunities for him to be a more “Audrey 2” Mr genie type of character

But higher voices just sound more supernatural to me and I think it could create a super cool effect if you were to make him sing with other characters

Something SUPER unnecessary you could do is the actor for bill changes depending on who he’s talking to, talking to an adult? Takes the dorm of an adult, preferably one that looks like them, and then somehow with the power of tech the second the deal is sealed he switches back

I think it’d be cool if each character had their own musical style and then when bill possessed or controlled them it’d sound like his music style and their voice would sound a lot like his, maybe they could do a falsetto or something

But I think it would make the musical sound very clumpy and wouldn’t work which sucks because I feel like each character is too distinct for me to fit them into one genre

Staging

This show would be an absolute NIGHTMARE to stage and tech omg 🥀

Please I want a fly system I wanna see bill flying around pls pls pls it’s so dumb but so cool

God no wonder I quit doing tech after middle school this set model fucking sucks

It’d be cool if there was a trap door somewhere so that when the eyeballs capture people they look like they got evaporated when in reality they just fell

The shacktron and Gideon battle are just projections (speaking of which I have no idea how the acts would work, it could be season 1-act one and s2-act 2 or we could start off only from s2 and then act 1 ends with D&MVSTF )

For weirdmaggedon it can be like

Literal hell is at the bottom while Mabel land is at the top OR

they do a set change, bill gets his throne on the platform and Mabel land is on the bottom

I was thinking that the tbd space can be used for anything such as

- rooms in the shack

- New Jersey

- school

- fearmid

I’m not quite sure how the scene where ford turns to gold would look like I think we could so something like there’s a black out on wherever he’s standing while there’s only lights pointing at bill

I think overall a lot of the paranormal scenes can now be done with modern technology or with just cool stage tricks like for example how some productions of the Carrie musical are done with stage tricks to make the telekinesis look real

I think it’d be cool if the rift was a smoke bomb but realistically that may be a hazard and could leave a mess, but then again, I haven’t done tech since middle school so maybe there is a way to pull this off safely and I just don’t know

I’m wondering if you’d need to cut out the episodes in order to be able to fit all this into a 2 hour musical, there’s no way 40 30 minute episodes are gonna fit into a span of 2 hours and I don’t think modern audiences are gonna watch a 20 HOUR show…I’m just saying there’s episodes people wouldn’t feel sad about being excluded…(Roadside attraction)

The budget - I don’t know but it’s Disney if they can sped 200mil on live actions they can spend maybe 1mil on this musical

If anyone here who ACTUALLY has theatre tech and music experience can tell me what is and isn’t possible I’d love to hear pls my only experience are the musicals im in for schools that have the budget of a penny and hopes and prayers

This was never meant to be that serious this was literally just a school project , my actual google slides on this is literally like 2 sentences per slide max

[someonesomehowsomewhere]

Been playing around with some 30 Minute Missions/30 Minute Sisters kits. I really like the Alto Ground Type legs on the Gardonova, just kinda... fits.

Also, putting a 30MS head on a Gardonova is funny as hell.

[wingsoffirenames]

SkyWing Names - Letter A #1

Ablaze (Burning fiercely, or something brightly colored.) Accentor (A dull-colored Eurasian songbird) Accipiter (A genus of medium-sized forest-dwelling hawks that have short broad wings and a long tail.) Achondrite (A stony meteorite without rounded grains) Acorn (Fruit of the oak tree.) Actinolite (A fibrous mineral that can be pale green, yellow, blue and black.) Adret (The sun-facing side of a mountain.) Adularia (A white or colorless mineral often found in the alps) Aegolius (A genus of small owls) Aerial (Of, relating to, or occurring in the air or atmosphere.) Aerie (A large nest of a bird of prey, especially eagles, typically built high in a tree or on a cliff.) Aerosol (Small particles suspended in the atmosphere.) Afterburn (A burning sensation.) Agate (A variety of chalcedony that comes in many colors, often with swirl or banded patterns throughout.) Aiguille (A sharp-pointed pinnacle of rock.) Airstream (A current of air.) Alabaster (A mineral often used for carving.) Alabio (An Indonesian duck breed.) Alate (To have wings or wing-like appendages.) Albite (A pale-colored, usually white, mineral.) Alder (A type of tree from the birch family with toothed leaves.) Alev (A Turkish name meaning 'flame'.) Alexornis (A prehistoric bird.) Algodonite (A copper arsenide mineral.) Alizarin (A red pigment.) Almandine (A type of garnet with a violet tint.) Alp (A high, rugged mountain that is often snowcapped.) Alpaca (A domesticated mammal related to the Llama and known for its wool.) Alpenglow (The rosy light of the setting or rising sun seen on high mountains.) Alpine (Relating to high mountains.) Altitude (The height of an object or point in relation to sea or ground level.) Alto or Altocumulus (A fleecy cloud formation that occurs at a medium altitude.) Altostratus (A fairly uniform mid-altitude layer of gray cloud.) Alunite (A white, gray, or reddish mineral that can be found in volcanic rocks.) Amaranth (A purple color.) Amaterasu (The Japanese Shinto goddess personifying the sun.) Amber (A hard and translucent fossilized resin, or a yellow/orange color.) Amblygonite (A pale yellow gem.) Amethyst (A violet or purple quartz gem or a violet color.) Ammolite (An opal-like gemstone made of the fossilized shells of ammonites.) Analcime (A white, gray or colorless mineral.) Anapaite (A green mineral.) Anatase (A rare gemstone that comes in many colors.) Andalusite (A gemstone that is typically brown, red or green.) Andes (A South American mountain range.) Andesine (A rare gem known for it's orange-red and red colors, but also comes in yellow, green, and blue.) Andesite (A gray lava rock with white and black speckling. The speckles are crystals such as feldspar or quartz.) Andradite (A kind of garnet that comes in many colors.) Angelite (A blue gemstone but can also be white, violet, colorless, or dark gray.)

[ardentprose]

the day matt murdock became devout

Type: angst, no relationships, young!matt murdock

Length: 1.5k~ | 6 min

Warnings: grief; mourning; mention of bullying; religious subjects; mention of blood and injuries; depression

Feel free to message me if a necessary warning isn’t mentioned.

Summary: A short scene exploring the time shortly after nine-year-old Matt Murdock loses his father.

Read on AO3

A/N: (I am still figuring out how to format these...) So this one was written after a downward spiral of emotion. I wrote it in one sitting and lightly edited it, but it's not beta read. I'm not Catholic, so forgive me if anything is amiss. However, I was raised in a religious background and this draws inspiration from that.

This is the song that inspired the work and which I kept on repeat while writing, if any are interested.

__________

Nine years old is too young to know the taste of blood.

It smells like acrid dust that burns the throat.

It smells of rain and rotting wood and moth balls.

It smells of claustrophobic velvet.

Matt doesn’t know where he is. All he knows is he ran with hands outstretched, stumbling into walls and corners until he found a closet deep in the recesses of the church.

It’s dark. It’s quiet. It’s safe. For now.

Sobbing until he chokes on the blood running into his mouth and spewing from his lips. Salt and iron.

Dust. Cobwebs. He knows there are spiders in the corner above his head. He doesn’t know why but he knows they are there, on webs that thrum like pricked violin strings.

Loneliness, like a dagger, tears with every inhale. It deepens the black gash of loss that has bled into the cavity of his chest for weeks now. His ribcage thunders against his heartbeat. His veins strain with agony.

Matt falls to his knees in scuffed jeans. He swallows, grasping at oxygen before the next round of grief wracks his body.

He’s scared.

He’s alone.

Alone.

So very al-

May we sing.

Together.

Always.

Matt huffs, trying to stop the momentum of soft cries tumbling from his lips. His panic stops only because his curiosity outweighs it. He tilts his head, his ears ringing with voices.

May our voice be soft.

Soprano. Alto. Tenor. Bass.

A choir.

Angels.

May our singing be music for others

And may it keep others aloft.

Matt sucks in a sharp breath, determined to stop crying so loud so he could hear. It wasn’t that the choir was distant, it was that his body was too close. He could hear everything, from his heart, to his blood, to his organs convulsing and squelching and it was scary. He was so scared.

He wanted a hug. But his father was gone.

He has no mother.

He has no one.

A wail tempers at his mouth, threatening to spill, but he bites his lip until it stings. Matt bows his head, screwing his eyes shut and holding his breath so he could hear better.

Sing,

Sing gently,

Always.

Sing,

Sing as one.

He releases his breath slowly. His body shudders.

May we stand together,

Always.

May our voice be strong.

The voices blend together as they carry to the ceilings of the cathedral and echo throughout the church. Matt can picture it. He can sense it. His eyes flit back and forth, chasing fiery impressions behind his eyelids as they continually morph into different shapes.

He rests his forehead on his crossed forearms, bowed into a shivering ball on the ground. His cries become ragged whispers.

The voices rise once more and caress his senses. They lull him into a state of temporary stability. Nowhere near alright, but just enough to be fascinated.

To be transfixed. To have a shred of comfort.

Guilt flashes across Matt’s chest. Maybe he shouldn’t be eavesdropping. He shouldn’t be here, hiding from Sister Maggie and the other nuns. He’s going to get in so much trouble if he doesn’t show up for dinner.

But he can’t bear to leave the four walls he’s cowered in, listening to the choral melodies reverberate around him. It feels like a cocoon. Like a safe haven.

May we hear the singing and

May we always sing along.

Fresh, hot tears pour from Matt’s obscured eyes. Peace, or at least a semblance of it, takes the tension from his shoulders. He presses into the floor, now sobbing for a completely different reason.

Now he cries for the beautiful music soothing his heart. He cries for the comfort he’s longed for since everything changed for the worst. He cries for the choir with their sacred voices singing for a divine love towards heaven and one another.

How badly he wants to be apart of it all. To not be alone anymore.

He hugs himself tighter and tries to remember his father’s scarred hands on his stomach and back.

No one hugs here. Not law enforcement, social services, or reporters. He’s too old for the nuns to give him more than a reluctant pat on the back, pushing him towards his next activity on the itinerary.

For one sacred second, here in this closet, Matt Murdock feels comforted, held, and loved. Through their voices alone, Matt feels the presence of God wrapped around him.

If the church was the bride of Christ, then maybe it could be his mother as well. Embrace him with the maternal affection he will never experience in the flesh.

_____

Matt jolts awake, startled at first.

Why is it so dark? Where is he? Where did the voices go? Did he fall asleep and for how long because it’s so dark and- oh.

Right.

His heartbeat settles as he remembers everything. Then his brow crumbles, threatening to repeat the entire process of the previous moment.

A firm hand squeezes his shoulder.

“Matthew? Matthew Murdock?”

A low, soft voice. Father Lantom. He recognizes that quiet authority from mass.

Matt is half asleep, eyes swollen and aggravated. His temples pulse with the start of a migraine. His lips are puffy from being chewed on, drool and spit and blood crusting on his round cheeks. He flushes with embarrassment at how he must look in front of the priest.

“Son, what are you doing in here?” He’s in huge trouble now.

How can he explain to the priest that he wasn’t trying to disobey? He just needed to-

He only wanted to…

Hide.

He doesn’t remember how it started. Only that the other boys made fun of his father for losing a match and that he must not have been that good. Jack Murdock was probably so embarrassed he killed himself and then, Matt’s hands were flying out in wild directions until they struck someone. Then he was shoved. Kicked. And a fist flew into his nose.

The sound of his cartilage crunching and the blood bursting from between his skin cells terrified him more than the pain of being beat up by three other boys. Somehow he crawled far enough away to scramble to his feet.

Their laughter and feet were loud and so he ran. He ran, collecting more bruises on his knees, face and feet as he kept slamming into things, unaware of his surroundings and too terrified to orient himself.

Then he found the closet. The choir. God’s divine bride cradling him in heavenly voices.

“I…” Matt shuffles into a sitting position, still half-coherent. He felt drunk on the music and now that it had stopped, he felt the stark emptiness that was quickly taking over his whole life and becoming a constant companion.

Father Lantom hums and Matt can feel he’s being stared at.

“Never mind it. You’ve made quite the mess. Let’s get you outta here and cleaned up. We’ll have you back to the nuns before anyone’s the wiser.”

“Sir? I-I mean Father…” Matt is confused by the lack of punishment. He’s trying to sort through why he can hear Father Lantom’s skin stretch into a smile and further away, hear the sound of churchgoers arriving in the sanctuary. Footsteps and coats and soft greetings.

“Unless you have something to confess?”

“What?” Now, Matt’s truly confused. Did the boys lie to the nuns? Well, Matt did instigate it…but it was in self-defense so technically speaking-

“Matthew, you’re sitting on the floor of the confessional and by the look of that guilty face, something awful is weighing on your conscience. It’s enough that you’ve made quite the mess in here and those blood stains won’t come out that carpet for a good while. Now, either tell me what’s on your mind or let’s clean you up.”

“Oh…sorry.” Matt sniffs. He runs the back of his arm across his face, unbeknownst to him, smearing the snot and blood garishly across his young face.

Father Lantom sighs. He stands up, then offers his hand. “Up you go, Matthew.”

Matt accepts the hand that pulls him to his feet as if he weighs nothing.

Father Lantom clamps down on Matt’s shoulder and Matt expects him to turn his small body in the direction of the nearest bathroom to clean up.

Matt nearly twists his ankle as Father Lantom pulls Matt into his chest instead. Matt finds his face buried in the priest’s shirt, buttons pressing into his cheek. The priest hunches slightly to wrap both arms around the young boy.   

Hugging him.

Matt’s lips tremble, but he couldn’t face anyone if he cried again. Besides, he was too exhausted. Everything hurt.

Father Lantom pulls back, keeping his arm across the young boy’s shoulders. Matt turns his face up at him, waiting for some explanation.

“You just looked like you could use it.” Father Lantom smiles. Then, satisfied with his appraisal, Father Lantom turns Matt’s stance the opposite direction and begins to walk with him towards the back exit, towards the orphanage.

“Now, we’ll keep this a secret between us. Priestly confidentiality and all that. I’ll tell Sister Susan a wild rat got into the booth and I had to do what I had to do.”

Matt snorts. Pain flares up his nose, across his face and to his temples.

But he keeps smiling. Bloody face and all.

[andy-paleoart]

🇬🇧

Scientists in southwest England have recently unveiled the discovery of the oldest fossilized forest known on Earth, dating back an astonishing 390 million years. This finding, detailed in a new study released by the University of Cambridge, surpasses the previous record held by a forest in the state of New York by 4 million years.

The fossils were found on high sandstone cliffs on the south side of the Bristol Channel, near Minehead, close to a holiday park. The trees, identified as Calamophyton, bore resemblance to palms, although their trunks were thin and hollow, devoid of leaves but with branch-like structures covering their branches. These trees ranged in height from 2 to 4 meters, losing branches as they grew.

The forest dates back to the Devonian Period, a critical time between 419 and 358 million years ago when life began to venture onto land. The trees played a vital role, trapping sediments in their root systems and stabilizing riverbanks and coastlines.

The study also highlights the rapid evolution of primitive forests. While the English forest is less diverse, consisting of only one tree type compared to New York's oldest forest, which housed a variety of species, it demonstrates how flora changed quickly in geological terms.

Additionally, these trees provided habitats for ground-dwelling invertebrates, leaving evidence of tracks and tail drags from primitive arthropods. Although the exact identity of these arthropods is unknown, their tracks and drags indicate the presence of sizable invertebrates, some reaching widths of 5 to 10 centimeters.

Scientists also noted that at the time, the cliffs where the fossils were found were connected to parts of what is now Germany and Belgium, rather than England. The study was published in the Journal of the Geological Society.

The discovery was described as "fortuitous" as the team was in the area investigating general geology and stumbled upon the fossils during a casual lunch in a field. This revelation not only emphasizes the importance of forests in stabilizing ancient ecosystems but also underscores the luck involved in such scientific discoveries.

🇧🇷

Cientistas no sudoeste da Inglaterra recentemente revelaram a descoberta da floresta fossilizada mais antiga conhecida na Terra, datada de impressionantes 390 milhões de anos atrás. Esta descoberta, detalhada em um novo estudo divulgado pela Universidade de Cambridge, supera o recorde anterior mantido por uma floresta no estado de Nova York em 4 milhões de anos.

Os fósseis foram encontrados em altos penhascos de arenito no lado sul do Canal de Bristol, próximo a Minehead, perto de um parque de férias. As árvores, identificadas como Calamophyton, apresentavam semelhanças com palmeiras, embora seus troncos fossem finos e ocos, desprovidos de folhas, mas com estruturas semelhantes a galhos cobrindo seus ramos. Estas árvores tinham uma altura variando de 2 a 4 metros, perdendo ramos à medida que cresciam.

A floresta remonta ao Período Devoniano, uma época crucial entre 419 e 358 milhões de anos atrás, quando a vida começava a se aventurar na terra. As árvores desempenhavam um papel vital, aprisionando sedimentos em seus sistemas radiculares e estabilizando margens de rios e litorais.

O estudo também destaca a rápida evolução das florestas primitivas. Embora a floresta inglesa seja menos diversificada, composta por apenas um tipo de árvore, em comparação com a floresta mais antiga de Nova York, que abrigava uma variedade de espécies, mostra como a flora mudou rapidamente em termos geológicos.

Além disso, essas árvores forneceram habitats para invertebrados do chão da floresta, deixando evidências de pegadas e arrastos de cauda de artrópodes primitivos. Embora a identidade exata desses artrópodes seja desconhecida, suas pegadas e arrastos indicam a presença de invertebrados consideráveis, com alguns atingindo larguras de 5 a 10 centímetros.

Os cientistas também observaram que, na época, os penhascos onde os fósseis foram encontrados estavam conectados a partes do que hoje é a Alemanha e a Bélgica, em vez da Inglaterra. O estudo foi publicado no Journal of the Geological Society.

A descoberta foi descrita como "fortuita", pois a equipe estava na área para investigar a geologia em geral e, durante um almoço casual em um campo, depararam-se com os fósseis. Esta revelação não apenas destaca a importância das florestas na estabilização de ecossistemas antigos, mas também ressalta a sorte envolvida em tais descobertas científicas.

[giant-robot-builder-mk1]

My new kit: The Alto Ground Type!

I'm a sucker for tank tread feet so I had to get this one. This is my 6th kit so I didn't really run into any issued putting this together. I may try my hand at a master grade next. Here's the photo shoot:

Zooming across the battlefield:

Taking a shot while the Royroy keeps an eye on the treads:

Sneaking across enemy lines:

And the Royroy by itself:

I think I've got enough parts and experience now to try combining some of these guys into a custom mech. Hopefully it'll turn out cool.

[lonely-mans-limbo]

One of the main subject of this blog: Altos

The inquisitive mind of the lake guardian trio. Grounded in reality and in tune with time.

They where created by Arceus to keep control of Dialga when the creation trio had went haywire with their power. Altos is a pokemon of knowledge and enjoyed spreading their wisdom to the earliest pokemon. In the modern day, they stick closely to their friends and fellow lake trio Caris and Khine. They enjoy reading and learning about the modern day biological landscape, something that is completely different to the old past they are used to. While they don't focus on the supernatural element of the pokemon world, they have an explanation for everything, as they can always communicate to Arceus or Dialga if they are truly lost.

Type: Psychic / Ground

Gender: Genderless - Nature: Calm - Characteristic: Often lost in thought - Ability: Levitate - Level: 88 - Height: 2' 00"

Moveset: Mystical Power | Earth Power | Rest | Sleep Talk

[wavesinereverse-blog]

the Flight Alto with other Altos and the Forestieri 03

surprised that the Alto (Ground-Type) isn't taller but its replacement lower legs aren't much longer than the Alto's default

Flight Alto is definitely the tallest Alto variant

30 MM Alto (Flight Type) (Navy)

the other 'custom' variant of the Alto; the different legs, chest ornament, and mask create the aerodynamic feel even without the flight backpack

oddly I don't think there's any packaged Alto variant that changes the arms

[eccozone]

New weapons & Head for Alto Ground Type

[roaming-kerala]

Discover Kerala’s Capital at Your Own Pace

If you're planning a trip to Kerala’s vibrant capital, you should definitely rent a car in thiruvananthapuram to unlock a world of convenience, flexibility, and comfort. With your own vehicle, you can create your own schedule, linger where you like, and venture beyond the typical tourist trail. Whether you're an intrepid solo traveler, a family seeking adventure, or a couple on a romantic getaway, having wheels at your disposal elevates the entire experience.

1. Why Renting a Car Makes Sense

Freedom & Flexibility Public transportation in Thiruvananthapuram is functional—but it won't get you everywhere you want to go, especially early morning or late at night. Buses and trains follow fixed timetables, which can limit your itinerary. On the other hand, when you rent a car in thiruvananthapuram, you can rise at dawn for a scenic drive to Ponmudi, or return late from a seafood dinner by the beach with zero stress.

Time Efficiency Waiting for shared cabs or autorickshaws can cost you precious travel time. With your own car, you won’t wait in line, and you won’t need to negotiate fares. Just gear up and go—every departure is at your convenience.

Comfort & Safety Air-conditioned space, clean interiors, and genuine privacy—especially important in Kerala’s tropical humidity. Car rentals typically include GPS, emergency assistance, and insurance, so you can drive knowing you’re protected.

Tailored Experiences Want to tailor your own food tour from street dosa joints to upscale beachside seafood restaurants? Or chase the best sunset spots along the coast or quiet back‑roads villages? Renting a car lets you customize your journey however you choose.

2. Choosing the Right Vehicle

Understanding Your Needs

Solo or Couple: A compact hatchback—like an Alto or WagonR—is economical and easy to park.

Friends or Family: Opt for a sedan (e.g., Swift Dzire) or a compact SUV (e.g., EcoSport) to ensure space for luggage and comfort on longer routes.

Luxury Seekers: Premium sedans and SUVs are available with chauffeur options for weddings, VIP tours, or business travel.

Transmission Type

Manual: More widespread and typically cheaper.

Automatic: Ideal if you're not used to driving on Indian roads or prefer easier city maneuvering—but usually at a premium.

Self-Drive vs With Driver

Self-Drive: Ideal for confident, experienced travelers familiar with local driving rules.

With Driver: Perfect if you want to relax or if you're not comfortable with local driving conditions. Drivers often double as informal guides, sharing local tips and shortcuts.

3. Top Spots to Visit by Car

A. Iconic City Landmarks

Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple: The priceless architecture and rituals deserve at least a couple of hours. Easily accessed via your rental.

Kuthiramalika Palace Museum: Nestled next to the temple, it features antique royal collections. A quick hop from your hotel.

Napier Museum & Zoo: Great for families, with green grounds and historical charm.

B. Coastal Beauty

Kovalam Beach: About 17 km from the city—perfect for sunbathing, water sports, and elegant beachfront dinners.

Varkala Beach: Roughly 50 km away. A dramatic cliffside setting with mineral springs and yoga retreats. Having a car means you can time your beach visit for sunset and still return comfortably.

C. Hill & Plantation Getaways

Ponmudi: A serene hill station roughly 60 km from town. Enjoy tea gardens and mist‑covered landscapes.

Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary: A 70‑km drive through scenic roads, ideal for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts.

D. Hidden Gems & Cultural Stops

Veli Tourist Village: Just off the Thiruvananthapuram–Varkala road, with backwater lagoons and pedal‑boat rides.

Fishing Villages: Drive to coastal hamlets like Vizhinjam for fresh catch, laid‑back local charm, and sunset views.

Traditional Temples & Churches: From the hilltop Attukal Bhagavathy Temple to historic St. Joseph’s Cathedral, each stop offers unique cultural flavor.

4. Getting the Best Rental Deal

1. Book Early Reserve your vehicle at least 2–3 weeks in advance—especially during high season (December to March)—for the best rates and vehicle availability.

2. Compare Agents Use aggregator websites, third-party apps, and local agencies. Local vendors often offer flexibility and cheaper add-ons—just make sure they’re legit.

3. Inspect Thoroughly Check for dents, scratches, tire wear, and functioning electronics. Take dated photos of any pre-existing damage to avoid disputes later.

4. Understand Your Rental Plan

Inclusions: mileage, fuel policies, driver charges (if applicable), insurance.

Exclusions: tolls, parking fees, late‑return penalties.

Add‑ons: GPS, additional driver coverage, night‑drive charges.

5. Insurance & Emergency Support Opt for full insurance (Collision and Theft Protection). Get clear instructions on 24/7 roadside assistance, accident procedures, and what to do about local police involvement.

5. Driving Tips in Thiruvananthapuram

Start Early: Roads are quieter at sunrise, and you can beat midday heat.

Stay Alert: Be vigilant with two-wheelers, cattle, and occasional potholes—especially on rural roads.

Follow Local Customs: Use horn lightly and early as you approach tight turns, and observe local lane‑sharing practices.

Parking Essentials: Carry some ₹10–₹20 notes for roadside attendants. In dense areas (like Kovalam), official lots are worth the small fee.

Fuel Strategy: Highways have fuel stations every 30–40 km, but rural lanes can be sparse. Keep the tank topped.

6. Sample 3‑Day Driving Itinerary

Day 1: City & Coastal Intro

Morning temple visits: Padmanabhaswamy, Kuthiramalika

Lunch in the city

Afternoon drive to Kovalam Beach

Sunset beach stroll, seafood dinner

Day 2: Rural & Hill Retreat

Early drive to Ponmudi via tea estates

Short trek in the hills

Return by evening, with a stop at Veli Village

Backwater boat ride at dusk

Day 3: Offbeat Coastal Charm

Stroll through a fishing village (Vizhinjam)

Optional: continue to Varkala cliff beaches

Sunset and return drive, detouring via small temples or roadside coconut juice stops

A rented car turns this itinerary into a relaxed and personalized adventure—no waiting for buses or trains, and no restrictions on timing or routes.

7. Final Thoughts

The magic of Kerala lies in its hidden gems—remote hilltops, tranquil backwaters, beachside sunsets, roadside snack stalls, and centuries-old temples. To truly experience it, don’t just see it—live it. And the best way to make that happen is to rent a car in thiruvananthapuram.

With your own wheels, you chart your own journey. Stop when the light is perfect, linger wherever you wish, and explore far beyond the tourist paths. Whether you’re seeking archaeological wonder, lush nature, serene villages, or spectacular sunsets, a rental car turns every day into an unforgettable adventure.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Orquesta Akokán Interview: How Will This Work with Clave?

Orquesta Akokán

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Perennially in search of the magic combination of old and new, Orquesta Akokán may have finally found it. Last July, the Latin jazz ensemble released their third album Caracoles (Daptone), and first with new lead singer and lyricist Kiko Ruiz, a composer and priest who practices a religion as grounded in Benny Moré as in any sort of divine entity. He's the perfect fit for Akokán, which was started by arranger and pianist Michael Eckroth, producer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Plasse, and vocalist Jose "Pepito" Gomez in 2016. Back then, the three traveled to Havana to record a big band mambo album in the style of Moré and Pérez Prado; Irakere's Cesar Lopez helped them form a band and navigate the logistics of recording in an unfamiliar country. Daptone signed Orquesta Akokán in 2018 and released their self-titled debut later that year and follow-up 16 Rayos in 2021. However, with Ruiz now leading the pack, Eckroth and Plasse have discovered someone with a like mind, the ability to innately feel the past and manifest music from it.

Simply put, the instrumentation on Caracoles is on point, from the classic blaring horns and skittering percussion on album opener "Con Licencia" and Gaston Joya's limber bass on “Pan Con T​í​biri”, to Lopez's alto sax call-and-response solo on album closer “Do​ñ​a Felipa”. But it's the way that Ruiz performs in conjunction with the rest of the band that's transcendent. On the title track, he sings in Congo dialect, sharing the history of the genre of mambo itself, inviting the audience to join in: "This mambo is for you." The band changes tempo in between verses, embarking on breathtaking breakdowns, Evaristo Denis's baritone saxophone shining as Ruiz delivers raspy trills. It's both storytelling and improvisation, exemplary of Akokán's ethos.

Last year, Plasse spoke to me over Zoom from Calgary as he was visiting family. Like Eckroth, he lives in New York, but as so many of the band members live in Cuba, whenever they play live, it's an event. "We can't just say, 'Here's a gig, let's get on an airplane.' We have to fly 12 musicians," Plasse said. "People are coming from Cuba, so there's a lengthy visa process whenever they come here. It's always a challenge to get them here, but it's always worth it, because the music is so good." Indeed, the stage is where Orquesta Akokán jump to the next level. "These [songs] are meant to be heard live," Plasse said. "It's a pretty faithful reenactment of what you hear on the record, just much louder."

If you're in New York, you can catch Orquesta Akokán tonight at Lincoln Center for free. If you're in Austin, you can catch them tomorrow at the Austin Blues Festival. Below, read my conversation with Plasse, edited for length and clarity.

Caracoles album art

Since I Left You: How would you say that Caracoles fits with your overall approach to what you try to do with your albums in general? How would you say it's unique?

Jacob Plasse: I've always been obsessed with Cuban music and [this] time period of Cuban music. The first [record] was almost a recording project, sort of. I was told, "Do not do this, it's a terrible idea. If you go to Cuba, it just won't work out. It's too difficult trying to get this done in a communist country, with rolling blackouts and people not showing up, and trying to do a big band record." It all sort of came together, luckily. The band started touring. The second album, [16 Rayos], we tried to sort of explore more of the folkloric aspects of where mambo was coming from. [Caracoles], they let me double down on the original intention of making a dance album. Over the years, we've learned a lot, both me and Mike in terms of how to approach recording this and how to arrange and write for this type of ensemble. We were also really thrilled to work with this new singer Kiko Ruiz. He had a different interpretation of how to do that, more of an Afro-Cuban religious rumba background. It was amazing to see our collaboration with him evolve.

SILY: How did you first come in contact with Kiko and the players on the album?

JP: It was all through Cesar Lopez, an incredible alto saxophone player from Irakere who I met through other musicians. He runs ship there. He made all this stuff possible that wouldn't have been possible without [him.] It's not just about working with great musicians, but whether they all get along and whether they play well as ensemble musicians. It's not always the case. He called his crew, and it became Akokán. We're really lucky to have him. He was also able to make sure we were in the best studios, calling ahead and making sure studios were actually working. We did this one in Abdala studios, which is the biggest recording studio I've ever been in. I'm from New York, but most of the really big rooms have closed down. Abdala is three times the size of anything I've been in. It's perfect for a sound that requires so many musicians playing together to get that gigante sound you get on those Benny Moré records, whether they're recorded in Cuba or Mexico. Cesar is an incredible saxophone player. None of this would have been possible without him. We're really lucky to have him.

SILY: Did he help you avoid any potential issues recording in Cuba, the type that the skeptics telling you not to go there were referring to?

JP: It's good to have someone on the ground for sure. He just made sure that all the musicians were there on time, the studio was cool, there was a good vibe in the room.

Nobody knew who we were when we made that first record. There wasn't really a plan, but I showed it to the guys in Daptone, Neal [Sugarman] and [Gabriel Roth], and they were so supportive of the whole project.

SILY: The videos for "Con Licencia", the album's first single and opener, and the title track show that the music you're making is inseparable from dancing and ritual. [The former portrays Ruiz’s daily gunpowder ritual, in which he calls the dead to free him from negative energy.] Was any of the thought process there to highlight the unique perspective of Kiko, of music as this ritualistic thing?

JP: Yeah, definitely. That song is about asking license of the gods to go through your day, and asking your ancestors for a blessing. That's a big part of his religion. It makes the most sense to focus on that for the video. I like all the songs on the album, but his performance on that one is really incredible. It's not really what you would think of as an Akokán single, if anybody thinks about that. It's sort of a slower groove, more stately, I guess. It just gives him room to really fly. There's the body of the song, and there's the call and response that's improvised. I've listened to so much Cuban music, I can hear how he's coming out of Benny Moré and [Miguelito] Cuní and Cuban singers, but having his own take on it.

SILY: You released an instrumental version of your debut record. Here, Kiko is so embedded in the music and integral to the record's sound, whether it's the syncopation or his trills, do you think that would be impossible to do?

JP: I don't think so. I was surprised Daptone [released an instrumental version], actually, in a certain way. Kiko is definitely integral to the writing, but the arrangements really hold up on this one, too. They sound better than the earlier albums. The rhythm section of this one, to me, is the most swinging out of all of them. Gaston has recorded on everybody's albums in Cuba from the 90's on. Yuya Rodriguez. The secret weapon behind all of this is Keisel Jimenez, who lives in New York now but is Cuban. We brought him down. He has this fire to the way he plays. These records really showcase that aspect to his playing. We all play to a click, so there are certain limitations when that happens. You're always slave to stay in the same tempo. Everything speeds up, but it feels natural. It feels exciting. His drive and swing is a real force in this, I think.

SILY: I was excited when this album was announced, and I saw that Carolina Oliveros from Combo Chimbita was going to be on a song, “Cha-Cha-Cha Pa’Ca”. To me, it seems like they're a band that might not sound that much like Orquesta Akokán, and you might be coming from different perspectives, but you both play traditional music in non-traditional ways. This album is very 2024, and their stuff is very contemporary. Do you think of them as like-minded peers?

JP: I hope so. I've known those guys forever. They're 3024. They're doing big stuff. I've been a fan of that band and her forever. I think she's incredible because she knows so much about the tradition, different ones: cumbia, bullerengue, rumba. What she's able to do with bringing that into modern sounds, I don't know anybody like that. We've become friends over the years. We did a couple shows with her other bulleengue band, Bulla en el Barrio. Through that, we became friends. I'm just such a fan. Getting her to do this really made sense. Originally, it was Kiko singing the whole song, which was cool, but me and her have been working on other music for a while, so it was fortuitous she was on this album. It sounds like it was meant to be from the start.

Orquesta Akokán

SILY: Do you hope in any capacity to educate folks with this album? Obviously, one can dance to it, but a track like the title track is referential to the history of mambo and what it really means. I'm not sure if that's something most listeners will pick up on, whether or not they know Spanish or the Congo dialect. Do you want listeners to do research about mambo alongside this record?

JP: That's such a deep question. Even if you don't know where something is from, you can hear it's coming from a different place. You can hear the magic in there. I don't know if I want to educate listeners, but for me, even before I knew where a lot of these rhythms or ideas were coming from, I'd think, "This is special." What Benny Moré and Pérez Prado were doing, there's something deeper here going on I'm not hearing in other music. Cuban music in particular has sort of resisted pop music because it comes from such a different place. A lot of world music, you hear a backbeat to. In the 90's, you'd hear music from Turkey and Thailand, and you could put a backbeat to it, so it ended up sounding like other music that was popular at the time. You can't really do that with Cuban music. It doesn't fit really, having a backbeat behind Pérez Prado or salsa. It was always clear to me there were other influences and traditions happening in Cuban music before I knew what they were. That's what I was able to take away from it. It's coming from a different place. It's not soul music or from New Orleans. While all these things intermingle, there's something special about Afro-Cuban music from the 40's and 50's. My goal is for people to enjoy the music so much, they're like, "Where is this coming from? I want to know more."

SILY: Whenever I hear Cuban Spanish, I hear something similar. It's unique. It's different from when I hear someone from Mexico or Peru speak Spanish.

JP: That's a good point. And in the language, there are these signifiers of other cultures influencing Cuban music. Kiko goes really in on the Congo dialect. There's a lot of standard street slang or common words that are African in nature, from Congo or from Nigeria.

SILY: Do you have a favorite track from the record to play live?

JP: I like the title track. It has all these different moods, the intro with the horns, and Kiko swirling around. I love the percussion solo in the middle of it. It hits all the things for me.

SILY: His voice is so raspy on that song sometimes, it really grounds it.

JP: Yeah, he's really going in. It's always hard, playing live, because when you put something in front of people in the recording studio, it's new, and they play with a certain energy that sometimes dissipates live. After you play a song live a bunch of times, it grows and takes on new meaning. People add things, and stuff develops. We sometimes think, "Maybe we should have toured this and then recorded it." We should do a live album at some point. There's definitely some stuff on the internet from a show in Chicago. We played at a couple radio stations. We did something in Colorado, and New Sounds in New York with John Schaefer.

SILY: Are you and Michael always writing the next thing for whatever shape this ensemble takes? Or do you have to sit down and know the players that are going to be there and the concept of it?

JP: At this point, we're always sending each other things we think are cool, different musical ideas or tracks that are inspiring. It's always sort of been like that for me composing. Rarely is there something where the heavens shine down, the door opens, and there are beautiful ideas. Something gets stuck in my head. It might not even be mambo. Lately, I've been into that [Charles] Mingus album The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. It can come from other places and [make me think,] "How will this work with clave?" Mambo and Cuban music is all about clave. It is this rhythm of, "dot dot, dot dot dot," but it's also the idea of a bar of tension and a bar of release, or a bar of release and a bar of tension, a bar of more downbeat-oriented, and a bar of more upbeat-oriented. [I think about] how to take a Mingus thing [and] how that could fit in, or how we could orchestrate that for mambo. The first album was definitely a lot of, "I love this particular Benny Moré track, so let's take the lick from that and turn it into another song." I'm always listening to so much amazing music, and so much amazing Cuban music, it's never hard to be inspired. We're always sending stuff back and forth, and now, we'll send stuff to Kiko. I'm more interested in exploring this next album, how mambo entered American music in a weird way. I'm into this Rosemary Clooney and Pérez Prado record [A Touch of Tabasco] that verges on cheesy, but when they get it right, it's really powerful.

SILY: How mambo entered American music is just as much part of the Cuban American experience.

JP: Mambo took over pop music back in the day in the 40s and 50s. It came out of jazz and Cuban music, and back to America, it was finding it's jazzier, big-band roots: the cross-continual pollination of mambo music. There's a golden age of cumbia big band music, and everything's coming out of Benny Moré and mambo. You sometimes hear the singers sing...the things Benny used to say. I'm interested in how it's spread, I guess, and how it changed.

SILY: Is there anything else else you've been listening to, reading, or watching lately?

JP: I've been listening to this particular Celia Cruz record, Sabor y Ritmo de Pueblos. I've been listening to Motomami by Rosalía since it came out. We did these covers of her before the album came out. There's a 45' of us doing "Con Altura" and "TKN".

SILY: That's another artist taking traditional music and doing something new with it!

JP: Totally new. She's a genius.

The Benny Moré con Pérez Prado record, El Bárbaro del Ritmo, I'll never stop listening to that record. It's so perfect. The Tito Puente and Celia Cruz record Cuba y Puerto Rico Son... is very great. His big band was so swinging. Akokán focuses more on the Cuban end of things, but all of Tito Puente, who was more well-known that Benny Moré and Pérez Prado, he's taking that Cuban sound of Benny Moré's and figuring out how it works in New York. People are still playing that music in New York. The Mambo Legends Orchestra is amazing.

I kind of just listen to the same thing I've been listening to for the last 20 years, plus Motomami.

SILY: When something new comes out that catches your ear, it has to be unique.

JP: The new music that comes out that interests me is somehow taking the past and doing something new with it. Reggaetón is cool to hear in the club, but I'd never put that on, particularly.

SILY: Is there anything else I didn't ask about that you wanted to say?

JP: It's funny: You hear the record, you have all these ideas, you tour it, you play live, and you hear all these new things in the music. I haven't listened to the album in a couple months, and I listened to it yesterday, and I feel like it's a culmination of all these years on the road playing with these guys. We've finally figured out a sound close to what I think of as mambo, but it's its own thing. It's figured out its own identity.