#Creative Kit 2016

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Gandersauce

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for<p>placehold://://er </p> my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in AUSTIN on MONDAY (Mar 10). I'm also appearing at SXSW and at many events around town, for Creative Commons and Fediverse House. More tour dates here.

It's true that capitalists by and large hate capitalism – given their druthers, entrepreneurs would like to attain a perch from which they get to set prices and wages and need not fear competitors. A market where everything is up for grabs is great – if you're the one doing the grabbing. Less so if you're the one whose profits, customers and workers are being grabbed at.

But while all capitalists hate all capitalism, a specific subset of capitalists really, really hate a specific kind of capitalism. The capitalists who hate capitalism the most are Big Tech bosses, and the capitalism they hate the most is techno-capitalism. Specifically, the techno-capitalism of the first decade of this century – the move fast/break things capitalism, the beg forgiveness, not permission capitalism, the blitzscaling capitalism.

The capitalism tech bosses hate most of all is disruptive capitalism, where a single technological intervention, often made by low-resourced individuals or small groups, can upend whole industries. That kind of disruption is only fun when you're the disruptor, but it's no fun for the disruptees.

Jeff Bezos's founding mantra for Amazon was "your margin is my opportunity." This is a classic disruption story: I'm willing to take a smaller profit than the established players in the industry. My lower prices will let me poach their customers, so I grow quickly and find more opportunities to cut margins but make it up in volume. Bezos described this as a flywheel that would spin faster and faster, rolling up more and more industries. It worked!

https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/10/at-amazon-the-flywheel-effect-drives-innovation/

The point of that flywheel wasn't the low prices, of course. Amazon is a paperclip-maximizing artificial intelligence, and the paperclip it wants to maximize is profits, and the path to maximum profits is to charge infinity dollars for things that cost you zero dollars. Infinite prices and nonexistent wages are Amazon's twin pole-stars. Amazon warehouse workers don't have to be injured at three times the industry average, but maiming workers is cheaper than keeping them in good health. Once Amazon vanquished its competitors and captured the majority of US consumers, it raised prices, and used its market dominance to force everyone else to raise their prices, too. Call it "bezosflation":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

We could disrupt Amazon in lots of ways. We could scrape all of Amazon's "ASIN" identifiers and make browser plugins that let local sellers advertise when they have stock of the things you're about to buy on Amazon:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/10/view-a-sku/

We could hack the apps that monitor Amazon drivers, from their maneuvers to their eyeballs, so drivers had more autonomy and their bosses couldn't punish them for prioritizing their health and economic wellbeing over Amazon's. An Amazon delivery app mod could even let drivers earn extra money by delivering for Amazon's rivals while they're on their routes:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

We could sell Amazon customers virtual PVRs that let them record and keep the shows they like, which would make it easier to quit Prime, and would kill Amazon's sleazy trick of making all the Christmas movies into extra-cost upsells from November to January:

https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D54P00007nmv9XSAQ/why-arent-all-the-christmas-movies-available-through-prime-its-a-pandemic-we-are-stuck-at-home-please-add-the-oldies-but-goodies-to-prime

Rival audiobook stores could sell jailbreaking kits for Audible subscribers who want to move over to a competing audiobook platform, stripping Amazon's DRM off all their purchases and converting the files to play on a non-Amazon app:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

Jeff Bezos's margin could be someone else's opportunity…in theory. But Amazon has cloaked itself – and its apps and offerings – in "digital rights management" wrappers, which cannot be removed or tampered with under pain of huge fines and imprisonment:

https://locusmag.com/2020/09/cory-doctorow-ip/

Amazon loves to disrupt, talking a big game about "free markets and personal liberties" – but let someone attempt to do unto Amazon as Amazon did unto its forebears, and the company will go running to Big Government for a legal bailout, asking the state to enforce its business model:

https://apnews.com/article/washington-post-bezos-opinion-trump-market-liberty-97a7d8113d670ec6e643525fdf9f06de

You'll find this cowardice up and down the tech stack, wherever you look. Apple launched the App Store and the iTunes Store with all kinds of rhetoric about how markets – paying for things, rather than getting them free through ads – would correct the "market distortions." Markets, we were told, would produce superior allocations, thanks to price and demand signals being conveyed through the exchange of money for goods and services.

But Apple will not allow itself to be exposed to market forces. They won't even let independent repair shops compete with their centrally planned, monopoly service programs:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/

Much less allow competitors to create rival app stores that compete for users and apps:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/#dma

They won't even refurbishers re-sell parts from phones and laptops that are beyond repair:

https://www.shacknews.com/article/108049/apple-repair-critic-louis-rossmann-takes-on-us-customs-counterfeit-battery-seizure

And they take the position that if you do manage to acquire a donor part from a dead phone or laptop, that it is a felony – under the same DRM laws that keep Amazon's racket intact – to install them in a busted device:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/27/24097042/right-to-repair-law-oregon-sb1596-parts-pairing-tina-kotek-signed

"Rip, mix, burn" is great when it's Apple doing the ripping, mixing and burning, but let anyone attempt to return the favor and the company turns crybaby, whining to Customs and Border Patrol and fed cops to protect itself from being done unto as it did.

Should we blame the paperclip-maximizing Slow AI corporations for attempting to escape disruptive capitalism's chaotic vortex? I don't think it matters: I don't deplore this whiny cowardice because it's hypocritical. I hate it because it's a ripoff that screws workers, customers and the environment.

But there is someone I do blame: the governments that pass the IP laws that allow Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and other tech giants shut down anyone who wants to disrupt them. Those governments are supposed to work for us, and yet they passed laws – like Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act – that felonize reverse-engineering, modding and tinkering. These laws create an enshittogenic environment, which produces enshittification:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/24/record-scratch/#autoenshittification

Bad enough that the US passed these laws and exposed Americans to the predatory conduct of tech enshittifiers. But then the US Trade Representative went slithering all over the world, insisting that every country the US trades with pass their own versions of the laws, turning their citizens into an all-you-can-steal buffet for US tech gougers:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/31/hall-of-famer/#necensuraninadados

This system of global "felony contempt of business-model" statutes came into being because any country that wanted to export to the USA without facing tariffs had to pass a law banning reverse-engineering of tech products in order to get a deal. That's why farmers all over the world can't fix their tractors without paying John Deere hundreds of dollars for each repair the farmer makes to their own tractor:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

But with Trump imposing tariffs on US trading partners, there is now zero reason to keep those laws on the books around the world, and every reason to get rid of them. Every country could have the kind of disruptors who start a business with just a little capital, aimed directly at the highest margins of these stupidly profitable, S&P500-leading US tech giants, treating those margins as opportunities. They could jailbreak HP printers so they take any ink-cartridge; jailbreak iPhones so they can run any app store; jailbreak tractors so farmers can fix them without paying rent to Deere; jailbreak every make and model of every car so that any mechanic can diagnose and fix it, with compatible parts from any manufacturer. These aren't just nice things to do for the people in your country's borders: they are businesses, massive investment opportunities. The first country that perfects the universal car diagnosing tool will sell one to every mechanic in the world – along with subscriptions that keep up with new cars and new manufacturer software updates. That country could have the relationship to car repairs that Finland had to mobile phones for a decade, when Nokia disrupted the markets of every landline carrier in the world:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/03/friedmanite/#oil-crisis-two-point-oh

The US companies that could be disrupted thanks to the Trump tariffs are directly implicated in the rise of Trumpism. Take Tesla: the company's insane valuation is a bet by the markets that Tesla will be able to charge monthly fees for subscription features and one-off fees for software upgrades, which will be wiped out when your car changes hands, triggering a fresh set of payments from the next owner.

That business model is entirely dependent on making it a crime to reverse-engineer and mod a Tesla. A move-fast-and-break-things disruptor who offered mechanics a tool that let them charge $50 (or €50!) to unlock every Tesla feature, forever, could treat Musk's margins as their opportunity – and what an opportunity it would be!

That's how you hurt Musk – not by being performatively aghast at his Nazi salutes. You kick that guy right in the dongle:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/26/ursula-franklin/#franklinite

The act of unilaterally intervening in a market, product or sector – that is, "moving fast and breaking things" – is not intrinsically amoral. There's plenty of stuff out there that needs breaking. The problem isn't disruption, per se. Don't weep for the collapse of long-distance telephone calls! The problem comes when the disruptor can declare an end to history, declare themselves to be eternal kings, and block anyone from disrupting them.

If Uber had been able to nuke the entire taxi medallion system – which was dominated by speculators who charged outrageous rents to drivers – and then been smashed by driver co-ops who modded gig-work apps to keep the fares for themselves, that would have been amazing:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/21/contra-nihilismum/#the-street-finds-its-own-use-for-things

The problem isn't disruption itself, but rather, the establishment of undisruptable, legally protected monopolies whose crybaby billionaire CEOs never have to face the same treatment they meted out to the incumbents who were on the scene when they were starting out.

We need some disruption! Their margins are your opportunity. It's high time we started moving fast and breaking US Big Tech!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/08/turnabout/#is-fair-play

[shapeshiftersvt]

Well!

This sucks.

In 2016, Shapeshifters was two and a half years old when the country we operate in seemed to elect one particular asshole. Today, this company is ten and a half years old, and the same damn asshole is back again.

Under that first term Shapeshifters went from a two-person, back-of-the-dining-room operation to a production floor in a converted warehouse to the beautiful studio we're in now. We sent chest binders in anonymized packaging all over the country and the world for those four years. We hired trans people in our town and purchased services from queer folks in our network. We left behind the landlord who objected to our Black Lives Matter banner and hired models for photoshoots who knew what we were about and were excited to join the work.

Then we took a damn breath. We found stability in our little studio, over the last four years. We experimented with prints and patterns and fashion lines. We worked on new projects with new people.

It sucks that we're back here again.

And: our job now, as always, is to connect you with what you need and connect each other with what we all do.

There's a lot of good advice out there about keeping yourself as safe and healthy and stable as possible, from a lot of activists and poets and people much better at it than me. I speak from my position as a business owner from a family of economists, who's been trained to watch the money. Buy queer when you can, buy local when you can. Keep the money close, trade the same $20 back and forth with your friends for services, re-use and repair what you have.

Buy a binder, or a sew-your-own-binder kit, ora sports bra, or a binding dress, or some cryptid art from us here:

Find a queer-owned business for what you need at Everywhere is Queer:

And also from Hey Famm:

If you are located in or near Western Massachusetts, find some queer folks to support via Bloom Local:

and if you have a few bucks a month to spare, maybe support a trans person on Patreon. I suggest friend of the shop @neolithicsheep :

and Mercury Stardust, the Trans Handy Ma'am, who is a great resource when you need to fix something yourself:

Spend your money for good whenever you have the chance. It matters.

And you matter, too.

Keep talking to us, keep talking to each other, keep in touch with your people. Keep building these systems and these structures and these networks. We're going to need all of them.

And, hey: if you're trans and starting a business, reach out. I'd love to help folks in the early stages, connect you to resources, pull you over some of the hurdles we faced. There's a lot more room for queer business owners now than there was eight years ago. Let's take up that space.

Keep building, fam. It matters and it's worth doing. Every time.

[thebroccolination]

CELEBRATE MARRIAGE EQUALITY (AND KEY'S SUPER DIGNIFIED MELTDOWN) WITH KRISTSINGTO

[Okay. Okay. I'm somewhat more emotionally collected now having had a few hours to compose myself. How cute I am when I lie.]

Krist and Singto dedicated a segment in PeBaCa’s concert to celebrating Thailand’s legalization of marriage equality on January 23rd, 2025. Complete with proposal!

[Yes, that's Krist-as-Himself proposing to Singto-as-Himself. No, I'm not the same person I was this morning, and as a matter of fact, I wave goodbye to that Key with nothing but fondness in my heart. I am now Feral Swamp Creature Key who subsists only off rainbows or bloodshed depending on my mood. Thank you for the wellness check.]

In the introduction to their segment, Krist and Singto acted out a reimagined scene from "Love of Siam" (2007), a pinnacle of queer Thai cinema that paved the way for "SOTUS" (2016) to even exist almost ten years afterward, so for KristSingto to show their respect to it was a beautiful way to start things off.

[Do you love the little plush of KingMan over Singto's shoulder as much as I do?]

It should be mentioned that from my passing familiarity with "Love of Siam," KristSingto went with something a touch more melodramatic. Considering how eager they always are to volunteer for the breakup songs and the angry exes series, they're basically theatre kids disguised as economics majors, so it's totally up their alley to take creative liberties with the dialogue and tone.

Of course, I'm also convinced that Krist just wanted an excuse to show off that he can cry on command.

Like, no one dies at the end of "Love of Siam," but Krist apparently decided he needed to for The Drama.

[Yes, your deductive reasoning looking at these two images is correct. Krist did have a heart attack because his boyfriend Singto broke up with him. He did indeed have the spotlight change to red to symbolize his very sad onstage death. I am never, ever exaggerating my love for this ridiculous human, y'all. I would punch a planet into the sun itself for Kit Krist Middle Name Perawat Sangpotirat.]

Granted, this is the same khuujin who put Krist's actual car accident into their meta series about their Extremely Platonic relationship (airing next month). This is very on-brand for them.

Oh, so then they jump into The Future, and yay, Marriage Equality is Legalized Now!

[I’m somehow on my knees screaming into a typhoon near a cliff by the sea while also simultaneously typing this on my phone in a quiet train car.]

I'm only going to get more feral about them from here on out, I'm afraid.

THE PERFORMANCE

Now you're ready to watch The Performance.

Armed with all this context, please go forth into their music number full of every possible fucking rainbow configuration imaginable starting with Krist proposing to Singto (WHAT EVEN HAPPENED TODAY), featuring a walk down the aisle in matching white suits (HELLO???), and ending with them kissing at their wedding (HELP????????):

Also, it cuts off too early in the above video to see the very end of the performance, but if you want to be super unreasonable and unhinged with me for a second, tell me on a scale of yes to obviously how likely it is that they Kissed for Real:

"But Key!" you say, being reasonable and hinged the way I wish you wouldn't be. "They don't kiss for real at these events!"

Maybe yours don't!

Mine do! \:D/

(Are we all fully understanding at this point why I've spent years so fixated on trying to show other interfans that they've been completely brainwashed and fooled by slander of my beloved biological son Krist? Look at that guy in the video who probably planned and staged the whole performance like he always does wearing a THOUSAND RAINBOW RIBBONS UNDER A RAINBOW DECKED IN RAINBOWS. At this point, Krist could marry Singto in a church and there would be three thousand English-speaking interfans commenting on the video going, "Okay, look, I admit he's committed to the bit, but I'm still not convinced." But that's why we block people. <3)

Ooh, fun tidbit for the road: see that place in the background swathed in all the rainbows? That's the area between Siam Center and Siam Paragon, two shopping malls adjacent to Siam Station. "Cutie Pie" (2022) also included this spot in its final scene along with a message of support for marriage equality:

The other fun bit is that that area is considered to be the center of Bangkok, so I've been told that using it as the backdrop for content supporting marriage equality is fairly symbolic.

KEY HAS A LOT OF EMOTIONS INSTEAD OF GOING TO SLEEP

This was going to be more structured but I'm sleepy and emotional and probably going to cry again so let's jump to the sloppy weeping in text.

This performance feels to me like KristSingto have come full circle from their SOTUS era while raising the standard for their next lap together.

Because in many ways, KristSingto will always be associated with beginnings. Their legacy is “SOTUS,” which wasn’t the first Thai BL but the first to gain widespread recognition and signal to the people with money that they could make more money by endorsing more series like it.

[If you've ever complained about the temperature and lack of tongue-inclusion during kiss scenes in early series, know that we have footage of a different KongArt kiss that had to be cut because it got too involved for what TV was allowed to show in 2016. Not just for queer couples. Anyone. It was a big deal that their lips were moving at all.]

They were also the first established khuujin at GMMTV—with all the pros and cons and psychological challenges that have come with it. They celebrated the establishment of the Peraya fanclub on April 19th, 2017 by exchanging rings given to them by their fans.

[Please explain to me how I'm meant to look at any of this and think Krist hasn't been nursing a crush on Singto since his past life. Look at his face. Look at it.]

They were also the first male-male pair to win KAZZ’s Best Couple Award in 2017, then they proceeded to win it three consecutive more times.

[Singto wasn't present for the 2020 ceremony because he was off kissing another man for "Friendzone." Choose your fighter: legend or scandal. (There's a correct answer and it's the first one.)]

And finally, if KristSingto weren’t the first to have an implied same-sex engagement scene in Kongphob and Arthit’s “Our Skyy” episode from 2018, they were among the first.

[Almost no one outside the KristSingto fandom ever includes this scene in the proposal scene compilations but it deserves to be.]

There are only so many firsts one can have in any given industry, and I think it's time KristSingto got to enjoy some of the established comforts available to them now considering how much trauma they both went through to carve the path for themselves and others.

[For one thing, let them kiss with tongue! (I think we can all agree it's an important one. They both kiss well and I would like them to get the credit they deserve for it.)]

Because the thing is, a lot of the really risqué, envelope-pushing, flagrantly queer series we’ve gotten in the years since 2016 were made partially thanks to these two. GMMTV really didn’t seem to want to give KristSingto anything but money-sucking top spender events and concerts because they had little to no faith in BL making substantial money. So they kept Krist doing lakorn series and they, in my opinion, cast Singto aside and let him do whatever he wanted because colorism. By the time GMMTV offered KristSingto “Be My Favorite” presumably in early-mid 2021, Singto was already looking for other opportunities outside the company, which left Krist to create the masterpiece BMF would become with a temporary partner.

So, see, one of the cons of KristSingto's path has been that because they were first, nothing has ever been certain for them, and almost everything has been a struggle until now rather than a guarantee. They were hit with widespread condescension as BL actors when "SOTUS" aired, then split up for profit, brought back together for cash-only events, and never got the second series they were asking for all along. Krist said it himself recently: their last full BL series together was "SOTUS S" which aired in 2017, so their fans have been waiting to see another series from them for seven years.

And yet, in all that time, even when Singto left to find different opportunities, they never gave up on each other or left each other behind. They stayed friends, part of the same group, and their friendship grew and matured. They didn't have to talk about work anymore, so they didn't.

Since they're a year apart, they'd never been equals as students, and at work they'd been colleagues. But when Singto left GMMTV, they became adults who stayed at each other's side by choice. And now that he's back, they're more settled than they were before, and, I think, happier for the years of separation from work stress and the constant spotlights on their relationship.

KristSingto were GMMTV’s faithless gamble, surprise success, and subsequent experiment, and only now are they being allowed relative security and opportunities they should have had all along.

That said, tune into their comeback series "The Ex-Morning" (2025) next month! \:D/

The whole post was an ad for their new series. Mwahahaha.

[mikufigureoftheday]

Hey, sorry if you've answered a similar ask before, but do you know of any clown/circus/carnival figures, or any generally spooky/ghostly/haunting/ethereal ones? Thanks in advance

I've answered the circus one before here: Link

But not the spooky ghost one〜(＞＜)〜

I posted this garage kit a while ago I'm still obsessed with

and a couple more that are kinda unsettling depending on

Calne Ca is always unsettling too even tho I love her 💖🪲

Hope you enjoy these, my friend!!!

[cityof2morrow]

Billionheir Shelves

Published: Simmons 9-24-2023 | Updated: 9-28-2023 SUMMARY “Billionheir Shelves by Selfless Salesman - cheap, modular shelves for shop owners with billionaire-like pride but broke down budgets. Combine two or more items to create unique commercial displays.” Cheap, weathered store shelves for shop owners who need to save some simoleons. Matching wall paneling and a handful of maxis-themed swatches are included. Combine items to create unique commercial displays.

DETAILS Requires All EPs/SPs. §50 | Buy > Shelves OR Buy > Sculptures §5 | Build > Walls > Paneling To streamline files/recolors, everything is repo’d to one of the Billionheir Pedestal Shelf 001 (wall/pedestal/shelf colors) – this item is REQUIRED for textures, etc. to display correctly in-game. Recolors files are combined so if you delete the “timber” recolor, for example, you delete it for all subsets/objects it applies to. Additional recolors will be available on this site under #ts2recolors and #co2recolors.

You’ll need to turn “move objects” ON if you want to place wall shelves away from walls. When placing Billionheir Pedestal Shelf 002 and 004, they need to be shifted upwards at least once.

ITEMS Billionheir Wall Paneling Billionheir Pedestal Shelves 001-004 (~250-270 poly) Billionheir Pedestal Wall 001-002 (258 poly) Billionheir Shelves 001-010 (~100-210 poly)

DOWNLOAD (choose one) from SFS | from MEGA

*A known game bug may disable some OFB shelf slots. Not all players experience this bug in the same way, but if you do – there is a long-standing fix for it. If you cannot access more than 2 slots on shelves, download ONE of these fixes: MORE_Custom-objects-placeable-on-shelves (Numenor, 2006) MORE_Custom-objects-placeable-on-shelves+LOCKEDTILES (Numenor, 2006) Object Freedom 1.02 (Fway, 2023) CREDITS Thanks: Kit Kat Crew. Sources: Any Color You like (CuriousB, 2010), Beyno (Korn via BBFonts), EA/Maxis, Offuturistic Infographic (Freepik), Kitchen Basic (Hafiseazale, 2016; BuggyBooz 2008), Kitchen Basic Extras (Hafiseazale, 2016; BuggyBooz, 2010), Mini Shelf (Gwenke33, 2011), Modular Shelves (Billionlioe, 2019 via Creative Commons Attribution).

[viola-verse]

VIOLA (비올라) is a South Korean-New Zealand singer, dancer and songwriter belonging to the now disbanded Big Hit girl group LE FLEURS. She made her solo debut on the 3rd of February 2023.

Stage Name: Viola Birth Name: Viola Ha-Neul Kwon Korean Name: Kwon Ha-Neul Birthday: Dec 26, 1993 Zodiac Sign: Capricorn Height: 163cm (5 ft 3) Weight: 45 kg (101 lbs) Blood Type: O- MBTI Type: INFJ Ethnicity: Korean-New Zealand European Solo Fandom: Violettes Instagram: @/violaverse Youtube: Viola Kwon Twitter: @/viola-verse Weverse: @/violakwon

Viola Facts: – Viola was born in Wellington, New Zealand. – She has 1 younger half-brother, Seong-Yu - 2003, and 1 half-sister Georgia (2016).  – She is cousins with SEVENTEEN's Hoshi (Kwon Soonyoung). – Her dad is Korean and Mum is NZ European. – She moved to South Korea with her father when she was 5 (1998) after her mum left dad and her. – She hasn't had much to do with her birth mother. – She said in an interview that if she wasn't a kpop idol she would be a photographer or dance teacher. – She loves songwriting and said she finds it therapeutic. – She loves doing anything creative like painting, making friendship bracelets, and other arts and crafts. – She was 14 (2007) when she started as a trainee. She was under Cube Entertainment before moving to Big Hit three years later (2010) with fellow Le Fleurs member Lee Jun-Ha . – She is trained in ballet, hip-hop and contemporary dance. – She was 7 when she started playing piano and 3 when she started ballet. – She gets her name Viola from her great-grandmother (Violet) on her mother's side. – Is fluent in Korean and English. She can speak some Japanese but isn't confident in her ability to speak it. – She loves taking photos and is often seen with a camera in her hand when she's not working – She debuted with her group Le Fleurs on Jan 16th 2014. They disbanded after three years (Sept 09th 2017). – Despite having not been a kpop idol since her group disbanded, she has many connections in the kpop world due to working for Hybe. – She broke her ankle in April 2017 and went on hiatus. Her group disbanded 5 months later. – She is still close friends with her Le Fleurs Unnies Lee Jun-Ha and Lee Su-Jo. – She is credited on two songs that she co-wrote with Suga (BTS) in their trainee days. The two have been close friends since they met in 2010. One of the songs is featured on the Le Fleurs debut album. – She's close with the BTS, SEVENTEEN and TXT members. – After she finished her rehab on her ankle, Big Hit offered her a job helping train the new trainees (2018). She also helps with choreography and has worked with some of HYBE's groups, including TXT & her cousin's group SEVENTEEN. – She loves Lego and will spend hours putting together a Lego kit. – She's good friends with Hwasa (Mamamoo). Their group promotions often aligned with each others so they quickly formed a friendship. – She was an athletic child and played cricket and netball in primary school. – In a poll, she was voted most biased in her group but she thinks she's the least biased. – She wanted to be an actress until she moved to South Korea and got more into KPOP. – She hates aegyo but would always give in to her fans and do it. – She loves kids and has said she hopes to have a family of her own one day. – On Dec 15th Big Hit announced that Viola, after 6 years, will be making her debut as a soloist in early 2023. They are quoted saying, "After a lot of convincing, former Le Fleur's member, Viola Kwon, will be debuting as a soloist early next year. No set date has been announced yet. Please go show her lots of support."

More facts about Viola

©️2025 @viola-verse & @dancinglikebutterflywings - Do not copy. modify and/or repost anywhere.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Now or Never!

Game: Splatoon Series et al

Hi :3 Mod Cat Flopter here. I was too busy sleeping in a sunbeam to post until now, but I’m here with an oddball.

Now or Never! is an iconic song by the band Squid Squad, one of the first popular rock bands in the Splatoon world! Now or Never plays in the last minute of a Turf War in all three Splatoon games, as well as at other times in other forms.

The first hint of Now or Never! that world saw was at E3 2014, a weird boogie that helped show off Splatoon (for the Wii U console!!)

The Beta version of Now or Never! is unavailable in a clean quality. Most of the footage has ink flying everywhere! However, one intrepid fan recreated the sound on youtube :3

The original track goes for even more of a hard rock sound than the final Now or Never! This song REALLY tells you to Ink or Sink down the rankings, and Splattack the enemy to win! However, it doesn't quite sound like a Squid Squad song to me, with a lack of their trademark vocalist and the synthesizers Splatoon is known for. Overall, I like the finished Now or Never! betta, but the changes have me Kracken Up!

The finished Now or Never! by Squid Squad, which debuted in Splatoon 1, is such an iconic piece of Splatoon that it's hard to imagine the game without it.

The track is high energy and establishes lots and lots and lots of Splatoon's sound, from the rock influences, to the synths, to the inklish vocals and the energy! To quote a cool video, it's loud, bold, and Booyah! (please imagine a guitar riff!) I'm just a little guy and I don't know music theory so please watch this video instead https://youtu.be/38h8eudzy7k

it's only 11 Now or Never!s long, it's a good use of your time.

Squid Squad is soooo creative for soming up with this song all on their own :3

Next is the Squid Sisters’ splatfest cover of Now or Never!

With more of a Jpop feel, the Squid Sisters change up the sound immensely, going for MORE synths and a BUBBLEGUM feel! It’s so cool. I bet the original creators of Now or Never! Were so happy when they heard this cover by a famous band!!

The next iteration is a slightly altered live performance by the Squid SIsters from 2016!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxkKUbNnXKE&t=326s

The song is modified to be extended in this version, although i have to say- too much of a good thing :c. The new sections that aren’t just a loop of the original song are interesting evolutions, but they’re sadly a small part of the performance.

Next up is an era shift! The Splatoon 2 Global Testfire (2017) had its own version of Now or Never! This came with a shift in bands and an overall higher push for Splatoon marketing within other Nintendo games, such as Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! Its so cool that Squid Squad let Wet Floor cover their original song, and I'm excited to tell you about it!

With an obvious and notable shift in vocals, the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire Now or Never! also brings a shift in energy from the Squid Squad version, slowing the song down and bridging the gap between the Squid Squad and Wet Floor versions of the song. It adds even more synths to the composition, pushing it towards a western poppy feel over the rock and jpop versions of Splatoon 1.

And here’s the finished version!

It pulls back on the synths to pre-splatoon 1 levels and boosts the crowd section, adding in a ska feel. The classic guitar and drum kit are even more prominent here than in the Squid Squad version, which has both benefits and drawbacks. For one, the Splatoon sound is a fusion of both rock and synths, so scaling it back to more conventional instruments for the genre it’s aiming for is to the game’s detriment. On the other, my cat flopther (father cat flopter) has made me a big fan of classic rock all my life, so I can’t be too mad at moving Now or Never! In that direction.

On the other hand, Off the Hook’s version of Now or Never is…

Oh. Oh no.

:c

It’s the same issue I have with the other version of Now or Never! In Splatoon 2, but it’s also I think a bad song for Off the Hook. Sorry to fans of lesbianism everywhere, but this just doesn’t sound like an Off the Hook song to me, and although the bubblegummy synth composition works for a Japanese pop band like the Squid SIsters, it doesn’t quite vibe for an American hip-hop, as well as pulling back on Splatoon’s unique sound. The brassy sound at the very beginning is cool, though, and the homage to Marina's inspriation is nice!

Although I’ve been speaking in timeline order up to now, I have to admit something.

I skipped two (2!) Now or Never!s. Actually, I skipped one Bouyant Bougie and I’m going to talk about Ebb and Flow as well in this section.

Being a story mode song, Buoyant Boogie appeared before the Splatfest exclusive Off the Hook Now or Never! on day 1.

Buoyant Boogie is a Now or Never!; it samples the Squid Sisters’ Now or Never! and even includes backwards vocals from Callie, hinting at her story mode fate, which is cool. :3 The song additionally only lasts one minute before looping. Also, Turquoise October ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

In Octo Expansion, the final battle is a Turf War on the NILS statue. For two minutes, Fly Octo Fly plays, then at one minute remaining, it transitions into Ebb and Flow. At the time, many people called this a Now or Never!

However, Ebb and Flow is NOT a Now or Never!. It’s an Ebb and Flow. Although it’s cool symbolically, it’s its own song and Off the Hook doesn’t need to be bound by tradition!! THEY GET TO MAKE THEIR OWN COOL MUSIC OK!!

sorry none of these videos are available btw

Okay so next is the first not a Splatoon game Now or Never!, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017)’s Now or Never!

This song plays on the Urchin Underpass battle stage when one minute is left in the match. Interestingly, this is the only Now or Never that is shorter than a minute- The Final Lap jingle takes up four seconds, so the song itself is sped up to accommodate. It’s modeled after Squid Squad’s Now or Never, which is fitting for a Splatoon 1 exclusive stage!

In fact, it feels like a lot of appearances of Now or Never! are almost identical to Squid Squad’s Now or Never!. Here are the rest of them:

Tetris 99 (2019)’s Splatoon Theme’s “10 players left” music

Wait, that’s it?

Yeah! Surprisingly, Now or Never! Is usually remixed. Even though Squid Squad’s iconic and original cover of the song is the most popular, most appearances pay tribute to them instead of keeping their sound 100% the same. Take Super Smash Brothers Ultimate’s Now or Never for example. It’s worse than the original! I’m not even going to pretend to link to it! It’s bad!

The Splattack cover, though, is fresh and new! A jazzy, big band vibe that samples Now or Never! in the same jazzy style. Although it’s far from my favorite Now or Never! it’s something new, something that I’d be excited to see in a Splatoon game. Perhaps an Ink Theory cover? Regardless, it’s an interesting evolution of this Strange Splatoon Entity.

Meanwhile, the The Super Smash Brothers Ultimate remix of Now or Never! itself is……….

….

…

…

bad.

it’s so bad

Sorry, Spikey, do I have to talk about this?

“Yes, Sorry Mod Cat Flopter! You said you wanted to talk about all versions of Now or Never!”

Ok, fine :(

I will continue not even pretending to link this. It’s so bad. zero tension. only nominally a Now or Never!. An infinite Now or Never! would be a good thing, you would think.

Next is the Taiko no Tatsujin Switch Splatoon 2 Medley. A compilation of two original Wet Floor songs (Rip Entry and Turf Master) and their Now or Never! cover. It starts about a minute into the song, not a minute from the end, strangely enough! It’s the middle song of the three!

Off the Hook Live! at Polymanga 2018 This is one of the BEST versions of this song. Take a listen for yourself: https://youtu.be/-i9GTp3Mp30

With the Squid Sisters and live band members here, they use ACTUAL INSTRUMENTS along with the synths, the Splatoon style that I love so much. With a fresh new intro to the song and lots of extensions that continue to ramp up tension, this version of the Squid Sisters’ classic is the height of this song in my opinion!! it’s sooooooo gooooood!! The record scratches in the beginning to lead into the song itself, the electric guitar, the DRUMS!! that kick in at around thirty seconds in. Pearl dabs. THIS is how you extend Now or Never! to four minutes.

Okay, now the SPLATOON 2 FINAL FEST CHAOS VS ORDER NOW OR NEVER!

A second collaboration between Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters, this Now or Never! takes after the Off the Hook cover of the Squid Sisters’ cover of the Squid Squad cover, with both bands providing vocals. With the Squid Sisters here, this version of Off the Hook’s cover is… less bad. Not as good as the other way around, but still better than before. I like it when squids sing :)

Fast-forward three years to Splatoon 3! The third game in the series had, fittingly, three versions of Now or Never! At launch.

First of all, the Deep Cut cover. This chaotic cultural fusion combines the Brazilian, Middle-Eastern, Indian, and classic Japanese influences of the three members of Deep Cut! I’m only one of those things, so I will not comment on how well they pulled this off! All I know is that I really like this song, and that Shiver and Frye are lesbians as fuck. The same guy from before has a video on this one too! I’ll link that instead of posting a not available image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ebqBmL53UQ

Now! Wham!

Flashback to when I posted about the Infinite Now Or Never in Smash Ultimate!

This one IS an infinite Now or Never! The Tableturf 3 turns remaining theme is a modified infinite Now or Never! In the Tableturf sound style, with Onward! cutting in multiple times through the song. If Now or Never! represents the Turf Warring denizens of the Surface, and Onward! represents the octarian army, this tune is perfect for the Splatlands, where both live in Harmony (tee hee! Get it? :3) and have for generations. Pretty cool if you ask me!

Last but certainly not least, but certainly not last-

C-Side’s Now or Never!

While writing this post (this has taken a long time!) New information came to light! Beika, the lead of C-Side, has claimed to be the first creator of Now or Never! THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!!! And it makes perfect sense! C-Side’s Now or Never! Is pure rock, a decision that sets it apart from other Splatoon music, which always involve synths!! This perfectly reflects the change in setting from the trendy high tech big city to the grungy desert! It’s SO GOOD!! Not the best Now or Never! (I do prefer Splatoon’s unique style!) But it’s hard to beat the original! But it’s also easy to beat the original! I love you C Side!!!!

Okay, this has been Mod Cat Flopter, Logging Off! :3 see you next week!!

p.s. ichiya is a stupid bastard

[pixiewishes]

.

small life update but i’ve been rewatching tangled the series and last night caught up to where i left off when i first watched! i was always really annoyed with myself for never finishing it and kept Wanting to finish it but my brain just wouldn’t cooperate with me 😭 but rapunzel and tangled has been feeling more comforting to me again after kind of feeling a little distanced from princess stuff for a while because [loud truck passes by] so it feels good to feel happy about it all again 🥹 i even got some tangled books from thriftbooks recently! although a couple of them i kinda wanna see if i can find in better condition in a local book store or something because they’re former library books and kinda got beat up as a result which is a little sad… but i got rapunzel and the lost lagoon, rapunzel and the vanishing village, rapunzel’s guide to all things brave, creative, and fun, and rapunzel’s amazing hair! plus i got a new copy of lost legends: the rise of flynn rider 🙂‍↕️ lots of stuff to read! oh and i also got a tangled the series rapunzel doll in the mail today! she’s dressed in her blue nightgown that i love so much :3 and i also had a moment where i may have cried my actual eyes out during the episode where axel the horse was mean to maximus and freaked out and had to buy a maximus toy to cope so i got a mini version of him :’) he’s my sweetie i love him and i hate anyone who’s mean to him >:( it breaks my heart!! ugh i’m just kind of sad tho bc i’ve loved tangled since it came out and rapunzel has been my favorite ever since then but because i was in burn out for so long post-2016 i had no idea there even WAS a show until after it ended so i missed out on all the merch while it was out… i even saw there was a create your own bag kit like rapunzel’s blue satchel from the show which i’m SOOOO upset i missed out on because every time i see her bag i want one too so bad it’s so cutie 😭 i’m like this close to learning how to make a bag myself even though i don’t know the first thing about making anything and have only ever mended little holes in my clothes using youtube videos 🗿 but anyway ! i’m on the final season of tts and i’m having a good time watching it! so excited to finally see how it ends after being dumb and putting it off for so long 👍🏻

[kitty-gray]

hey! as someone who hasn’t thought too much about how tda and tlh were shaped by their respective times (i read them both two years ago at the same time and am still not sure exactly when either were published), i’m so curious to hear your thoughts about this if you’d like to share? :)

First of all, I just woke up, so fair warning: brain doesn't work. That being said, put your seat belts on and go have a drink, this is gonna be a long ride. Thanks for asking.

TDA was published from march 2016 to 2018, which means LoS and QoAaD were written through the first half of Trump's first term. One of the main differences between TMI and TDA, and one of the most applauded aspects of the series, is that TDA turns heavily political. Much of the Cohort's speech mirrors Trump's, and many of its followers are built around the maga agenda. You even have Kit drawing parallels between them, the X-Men and Nazi Germany.

Now, TLH is a little bit more complicated.

Iirc, Cassandra hadn't planned to write about the TID's kids until she wrote James' story for The Bane Chronicles. Then she wrote tftsa and at some point announced she'd published the series alongside TDA (kind of how TID and the second half of TMI were published interspersed), which didn't happen. Right from the gate, the series was supposed to be THE tragic TSC series, that's why we have quotes like "my father was cursed. Whereas I? I'm damned" from back then.

For a reason or another, Cassie had a writer's block and couldn't write TLH. So she postponed it till after TDA was finished. At last, in march 2020, Chain of Gold was published.

And the pandemic hit.

Idk how much you know about Cassie's process, but she's a social writer. She travels, she does readings with her friends, she plans trips with a bunch of other writers so they can help each other out, she has fun with other people. She's talked about it multiple times, but the lockdown really affected her. She specifically talks about how horrifying it was to hear the statistics of casualties and fearing her friends and family were going to die every single day.

So, the tragic plotlines TLH was supposed to have? She couldn't bring herself to do it. The real world was already a blood soaking place, how could she make the fictional world like that too? So she shifted a lot of plotlines, dropped some of the themes ChoG had and wrote not one, but two books with her mental health hanging from a thread.

This is too the reason why we don't have TWP yet. TLH was pushed back a number of times, she took a sabbatical year and now she's back at the trenches. The strongest of our times fr.

So, I find it interesting to see how two different world crises played a completely different tool in her writing process. Where the Trump administration drove Cassie to add heavier politics to her books so she could take the chance to say "y'all this is fucked up. You aren't immune to propaganda and you need to learn history so you don't become the fascist in the story", the pandemic made her take the opposite road, so in TLH what she ends up saying is "look, this was going down. This was really going down. But there's hope, and there's love, and there's still good in the world, and we cannot give up. All of us deserve a happy ending. Let me give you this one at least" which would've fit perfectly in literally any other of her books, except TLH. This was written to be a tragedy, and all of its foundations promised that. So, many people got incredibly upset with her because the series didn't deliver and the plot line ended up feeling a little clumsy.

But I think it reflects how anger and frustration can feed art until a certain point before we need to push back. Art can be a reflection of the time we're living, but it can also be the breathing space we need to keep going. It doesn't matter how bright you are as a creative, you can't stop your humanity from showing up in your art. And I can't really blame Cassie for that.

[boonesfarmsangria]

If you spoke to Yannis Philippakis over the past seven years, chances are he would have mentioned a mythical, long-rumoured collaboration with the late, great Tony Allen. “I wanted to find a way to say goodbye to him within the music. It’s what felt right to do” 

“I would play the music at parties late at night,” the Foals frontman tells Rolling Stone UK from his Peckham studio, a cosy room packed full of synths and guitars that has birthed large parts of the new EP and countless Foals tracks. “My friends were sick of hearing it unfinished, but then after everything that happened… I felt a duty to finish it.” 

In late 2016, Philippakis had just come off a lengthy and draining tour behind Foals’ fourth album, What Went Down, the record that solidified the Oxford band as one of the most important UK guitar acts of a generation. As soon as he stepped off the plane, the opportunity was then presented to him to collaborate with the legendary Allen, an Afrobeat icon and close collaborator of the great Fela Kuti. 

“I went to Paris reluctantly because I’d been broken from this tour, and I’d done enough collaborations with people to know that it can often be quite a deflating experience that leaves you feeling quite cold,” he says. “The fact that this wasn’t the case with Tony was really, really exciting. There’s something that did just click in the room.” 

The trip to Paris was framed as Philippakis being one of a group of collaborators to go and work with Allen for an album where every track was a collaboration with a different musician. “I’d be like, ‘When’s Kevin Parker coming over?’” laughs Philippakis. “But I stopped asking after a while.” The pair ended up writing three tracks on the first day they were together. 

“I wasn’t really sure what would happen, and then the idea of this broader collaborative record stalled, but we were getting on well and wanted to do more,” he remembers. While the pair realised they wanted it to become a bigger project, Philippakis’ commitments with Foals and other projects stalled the pair’s progress. Then the pandemic happened, and it wrangled with Philippakis’ “fear of things remaining unfinished”, which he describes as “such a disappointing place for something to reside”. 

The idea of the project remaining unfinished was then amplified by the shock death of Allen in April 2020 from an abdominal aortic aneurysm at the age of 79. “It brought a whole other barrage of emotions to deal with,” reflects Philippakis. “It felt like this music would remain a myth for a long time.” 

Kit Monteith

Four years after the death of Allen, this much-teased and near-mythical music was finally announced in the form of Lagos Paris London, the debut EP from Philippakis’ new project Yannis & The Yaw. The five tracks on the EP are an irresistibly funky delight, bringing together two instantly recognisable musicians with no compromise from either. 

Even before Philippakis’ one-of-a-kind vocals come in on opening track ‘Walk Through Fire’, you know it’s him through the choppy, unique guitar tones that have defined Foals since day one. Behind him, Allen’s outstanding rhythm is equally identifiable. “The way that I play the guitar is a bit of a giveaway,” laughs Philippakis. “You can hear Foals’ DNA in this music. Because of my limitations as a guitarist, I play a certain way. Then obviously Tony. Tony plays like Tony. There’s only one Tony Allen.” 

Of the special and almost unexpected creative alchemy between the pair, Philippakis adds, “We’re both in the room and both dancing with each other, but there’s no necessity to dilute the intensity of each of the presences.” It’s heard on the slippery, dramatic ‘Night Green, Heavy Love’ and euphoric ‘Clementine’, the latter in particular serving as a delicious burst of pure joy. 

After Allen’s death, the feelings of grief and work on another Foals album kept the collaborative music in a box only brought out to tease friends with at parties. As time went on, though, the niggling feeling of dissatisfaction at leaving this music unfinished — as well as a desire to let the world hear some of the last music Allen worked on — led Philippakis to pick the project back up. 

“There had been a sense of duty to finish it anyway, but once he passed away, I realised that it really needed to be.” This sentiment was matched by a genuine excitement from the musician about what he had created with Allen. “For people who are fans of Tony’s, it’s an exciting collaboration to hear. You hear Tony Allen in a way that is different to his Afrobeat records, it’s different to the Jeff Mills stuff, it’s different to The Good, The Bad & the Queen. It’s some of the heaviest and angular stuff he’s been on. 

“It was an exciting, amazing thing that happened, and nobody had got to hear it,” Philippakis says. He remembers thinking, “We should put this out, partly to celebrate how versatile and amazing Tony is, but also to show this strange coupling of two people you wouldn’t necessarily predict, writing from different stages of their lives and from different cultures.” 

Ed Miles

Lagos Paris London would have never been completed, according to Philippakis, without the assistance of Allen’s engineers Vincent Taeger and Vincent Taurelle, affectionately known as The Vincents. Taeger served as the musical director for a number of memorial concerts for Allen, and they both play an ongoing role in the drummer’s legacy. 

After work on the music restarted following Allen’s death, the duo proved a vital connection between Philippakis and his late collaborator, as he explains. “I couldn’t have done it without them, and I wouldn’t have wanted to. They knew him intimately and acted as a bridge for me to be able to get on with Tony. I don’t even feel like he was super aware or particularly buzzed that I was there when I first arrived. I think somebody had talked to him about [Foals] in order for him to agree, but once we started playing, he started to get it.” 

While the basis of the music was already laid down from Philippakis and Allen’s short time together in the Paris studio, much of the production and the mixing of the songs was still to be completed. He particularly credits The Vincents with assisting him on mixing tracks and editing Allen’s drum parts. “It felt like quite a delicate thing to do,” says Philippakis. “It needed to be done correctly and with respect, but they also simply knew how Tony would want things to sound.” 

Philippakis says he didn’t feel he needed permission from The Vincents to finish and release the music — the initial ideas were brought into the studio by him — but felt a warmth and encouragement from their enthusiasm about sharing it with the world. “It made me feel like we were doing it for the correct reasons and that it was being finished in the right way,” says Philippakis. 

While much of Foals’ music features emotional and autobiographical lyrics from Philippakis, he wanted to take the opportunity to present a different slant on his storytelling with this music. At first, he expected to just be playing guitar and welcoming guest vocalists, but eventually got drawn towards the mic. 

“It didn’t feel like this record with Tony was the vessel for a personal, emotional kind of investigation,” reflects Philippakis. “When I had the first stab at doing the vocals with Tony there, there was definitely a dialogue between us about where the lyrics should live. It wouldn’t have felt right to be combing the detritus of my private life in these songs. There was a shared idea of where they should be.” 

These conversations led to lyrics that Philippakis doesn’t consider overly political, but to be “engaging outwardly with social issues, and what it means to be somebody alive in a city, in a society, in a population”. At the time of recording, Paris was experiencing a wave of industrial action, and Philippakis remembers walking to the studio past “huge mounds of rubbish everywhere”. “You had people very elegantly trying to sway through all this trash,” he says. “The juxtaposition of those two things and trying to write a record in the midst of it made me feel like these could be the lampposts for where the lyrics should be — out of one’s own mind and in the streets.” 

If one piece of introspection makes it into the album’s lyrical content, it’s in ‘Under the Strikes’, a song led by a giddy and fantastic horn line. Philippakis was finishing the track after Allen’s death and wanted the instrumentation to melt away and just leave Allen’s drums on their own “as a coda or farewell to him”. 

“I once thought we had time to spare,” Philippakis sings in lyrics he wrote after the passing of his friend as those unquestionable drums continue to rumble on. “I wanted to find a way of saying goodbye to him within the music,” he says. “It’s what felt right to do.” 

Yannis & the Yaw is, Philippakis is quick to point out, not the start of a solo career for the musician. What began as him working on Allen’s record ended up morphing into a more collaborative process, with Philippakis leading the songwriting. “There could have even been a world in which it would have been Foals featuring Tony Allen. It was open-ended, but quite quickly we realised it was a shared endeavour. If Tony was around now, maybe it would be called something slightly different, but it’s hard for me to know how he would have wanted it.” 

Lagos Paris London exists in the world as a five-track EP, but Philippakis says the excitement and creativity was there to make an entire album with Allen. It is being released as Yannis & The Yaw as an acknowledgement of the collaborative process with Allen and The Vincents, and to leave the door open for another collaborative project under the name with different musicians. 

Yaw is defined as a ‘swerve’ or ‘twist’, and Philippakis sees it as a signifier of the “orbiting collaborators” that birthed this project and will likely do so again in the future. His potential ideas for the future of the project include working with musicians from his native Greece, as well as something with Malian musicians he’s in touch with. “My listening habits in the last few years haven’t been that aligned to contemporary Western music or pop or indie music,” he explains. “I’m much more interested in learning about music from other cultures.” 

The release of the collaborative EP with Allen arrives during a time that Philippakis refers to as a “fallow year” for Foals, who last released an album in 2022 with Life Is Yours. Though he yearns to return to the road at some point, he is currently gaining excitement from tending to his garden at home in south London and writing music for musicals and plays. Upcoming projects include a score for The Other Place with playwright Alexander Zeldin, who he worked with last year on theatre piece The Confessions. “I get to write really heavy, savage, melancholic, ambient pieces,” he smiles of the welcome change of pace. 

For Foals, he sees their break as an opportunity to not slide into complacency and re-tread their steps. “We’ve been so productive and a victim of our own success,” he says of his band. “I find it baffling how productive we’ve been with Foals considering the touring. It’s been constantly fertile since we were 19. I am excited to do more but it’s important to have this brief inhalation and to look around and find out where we’re at.” 

Ed Miles

For now, the release of Lagos Paris London serves as the closing of a chapter in Philippakis’ creative life that has spanned a decade and is intertwined with memories, grief and joy. It’s released in memory of the incomparable Allen, a drummer and musical pioneer whose genius is written all across these five songs. 

“The first people that told me the news were The Vincents,” remembers Philippakis. “It was sudden. He hadn’t been ill; it just happened in a day. Even though he was old, it was surprising.” Even more than the sudden impossibility of finishing this music and losing a dear friend, Philippakis mourned the inability to go on tour with Allen around the music’s release, something the pair discussed animatedly while writing together. 

“We got on well in a gig environment. Whenever he’d play in London, I’d go and see him and we’d drink whisky,” he remembers with a smile. Philippakis will play a trio of shows in Amsterdam, Paris and London with the Yaw later this year, featuring musicians from the Lagos Paris London sessions and others from his wider creative orbit, all in service to the memory of his collaborator. 

“He was a larger-than-life character,” he says of Allen. “It was galvanising in the sense that we had to finish this music. We made something beautiful and imperfect and unfinished. If anything good was going to come from this, we had to finish it.” 

Taken from the August/September issue of Rolling Stone UK – you can buy it here now. 

Interview || Rolling Stone UK || Will Richards

[snakegirllovehandles]

found myself missing the old iron morningstar replacement texture for the iron sword from the old Painterly Pack resource pack. Turns out the customizing website went down sometime in 2016 (the author couldn't devote time to updating it anymore and the domain lapsed). Fortunately, he kept a full reference dev kit available for other people to use and modify. The Painterly Pack was mostly creative commons license, IIRC. It took some digging but I eventually found a still-live download link for it, provided by a good samaritan on the minecraft subreddit.

I'm so glad I have my morningstar again.

Here's a link to a download of the reference pack.

[the-apple-of-her-eye-au]

Since there's a few followers now, I figured I would introduce myself properly.

HI!

I'm Alice - yeah I know lol, ain't that ironic - I am 22, I'm from England but don't hold it against me lol, I am bisexual and the owner of many cats. I graduated from a writing and publishing uni course last year and am currently studying a master's in creative writing.

I'm a published author, the author of the Into the Eververse series. I've been writing fanfiction officially since 2016 - on ao3 I'm Fighting4Fandoms.

I work in a little cafe when I'm not writing.

My favourite singers are First Aid Kit, don't ask me what my favourite book is because I have no idea lmfao.

If there's anything else ya wanna know just ask ❤️

[stemrobotechnology]

The Evolution of Atal Tinkering Labs in India: A Journey of Innovation and Impact

In our modern era, often celebrated as a generation of miracles, we embrace innovation and creativity as powerful tools to inspire young learners. By nurturing their curiosity and encouraging initiative, we help shape the hearts and minds that will drive a progressive and forward-thinking society. While recognizing this, our Indian Government launched Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in 2016 under the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to nurture young minds and foster a culture of scientific curiosity where they learn to develop new technologies & gadgets for humankind. Over the years, this initiative has significantly transformed students’ perspectives toward learning. It has encouraged a more engaging and practical approach—especially in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)—which plays a vital role in their academic development and future career growth.Of course, when we talk about 2025 growth, the concept of Atal Tinkering Labs expands tremendously, reaching thousands of schools in the country.As we reach this pivotal point of exploration, let us delve into the remarkable growth of these labs from 2016 to 2025, the profound impact they have had on our students, and the promising future that lies ahead for this revolutionary, game-changing program.

Growth and Expansion of ATLs Over the Years

The vision of introducing Atal Tinkering Labs started to implement hands-on, experiential learning to school students. The first goal was to provide the requirement of kits & tools for students such as 3D printing, robotics, artificial intelligence, and IoT (Internet of Things). It helps them enable experimental learning, innovate new gadgets, and solve real-world problems.

In 2016 the Indian Government took the initiative where only a handful of schools were part of the program. However, the numbers grew rapidly such as if we study about year 2020, around 5,000 schools had ATLs, covering both urban and rural areas. After the good response from past results, it continues in 2023, and the rate of schools associated with this program is approximately 10,000, making this a big foot play that has been taken as the successful rate. This year, that is, 2025, the government plans target of establishing 50,000 more Labs over the next upcoming years and further plans to expand the reach of the initiative.

A significant aspect of this expansion is the inclusion of the program. More than 60% of Atal tinkering labs are in government and rural schools, ensuring that even students from rural areas or as we say underprivileged backgrounds also get access to advanced technology and all the learning resources that help them to grow towards a bright future.

Impact on Students and Education

ATL Impact on Students and Education The revolution of ATLs has led to a shift in advanced technology and education. With a balanced focus on theory-based learning, students are encouraged by the mentors in the school to experiment, tinker, and innovate. The results of this shift have been fruitful in its way :

Student Participation Increased

Approximately 1.1 crore students were actively participating in ATL activities. From competing in various competitions at the government level, etc, students now compete at multiple platforms to showcase their innovative projects and ideas to the world. This hands-on learning approach has significantly improved problem-solving skills, and expanded the exposure to critical thinking abilities among young learners.

Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide

One of the most interesting and remarkable aspects of ATLs is their ability to bridge the gap between urban and rural education where they are trying to break the barrier of education difference and providing the same essential knowledge at both the end. Before this, students in rural schools had limited exposure to advanced technology. However, with the introduction of ATLs, even children in remote villages can now code, build prototypes, and innovate new projects just like their urban counterparts where our young learners doing a fantastic job with the help of their mentors in the school.

Future Skill Development

In an era rapidly advancing toward automation and digital transformation, it can be challenging for students to acquire future-ready skills within the traditional school framework. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) bridge this gap by offering hands-on training in cutting-edge fields such as robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), ensuring that Indian students remain globally competitive and future-ready

Encouraging Entrepreneurship

When we talk about the concept of learning technical skills, it is necessary to understand the initial entrepreneurial mindset in students. Atal Tinkering Labs supports the idea that innovative projects may lead to patents and start-up ideas, proving that innovation at the school level also drives us toward real-world solutions. However, with the introduction of ATLs, even children in remote villages can now code, build prototypes, and innovate new projects just like their urban counterparts where our young learners doing a fantastic job with the help of their mentors in the school. Positive Outcomes of the ATL Initiative

ATL Lab Following the early integration of advanced technology through Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), the benefits of this initiative have extended far beyond the classroom. One of the most significant outcomes has been the growing student interest in pursuing STEM careers, with early exposure to high-end technologies making such paths more accessible. With the support of STEM educators and dedicated mentorship, ATLs are inspiring students to explore future-focused fields such as engineering, data science, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

This initiative not only contributes to individual growth but also strengthens India’s overall technological advancement and research capabilities. By aligning with national visions such as Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India), ATLs are actively fostering homegrown innovation. These government-backed platforms, in collaboration with STEM education companies, encourage students to design and build their own prototypes—reducing dependence on imported technologies and promoting indigenous solutions.

The social impact of ATLs is clearly visible in various student-led projects aimed at solving real-world problems. From designing affordable medical devices to developing sustainable energy solutions, students are being equipped with the skills and mindset needed to address everyday challenges and contribute meaningfully to society.

The Road Ahead: ATL’s Future in India

As India steadily transitions toward a knowledge-driven economy, the role of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) will become increasingly vital. The government’s ambitious plan to expand ATL coverage to over 50,000 schools by 2030 reflects a strong, long-term commitment to innovation-led education.

To fully realize the potential of this transformative initiative, several key areas must be prioritized:

Strengthening Industry Collaboration

Enhanced collaboration with STEM education companies and increased partnerships with private sector organizations can help bring cutting-edge technologies and real-world expertise into ATLs. This will allow students to build a strong foundation—from the basics of robotics to advanced concepts in artificial intelligence, IoT, and beyond.

Integrating ATL Curriculum into Mainstream Education

By working closely with STEM education partners, we can design structured annual learning planners aligned with student grade levels. Developing a robust Learning Management System (LMS) and formally integrating ATL activities into school assessments will help institutionalize innovation in mainstream education.

Increased Funding for Rural Schools

Special attention must be given to rural and under-resourced schools. Increased funding will enable these institutions to acquire modern equipment and essential resources for their ATL labs, ensuring equal opportunities for innovation across all regions.

Together, these efforts will empower the next generation of innovators, ensuring that India not only keeps pace with global technological advancements but also emerges as a leader in innovation and self-reliance.

Atal Tinkering Labs is favorable for our country’s education system, bridging gaps, educating our students for developing innovation, and preparing students for the future. With continuous support from the government & mentors. In such a way ATLs can help to develop a generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers.

[mikufigureoftheday]

Creepiest Miku figures you know of? Not like horror related, but uncanny, weird and unsettling.

The Clane Ca garage kit ones will always be top-tier creepy IMO

They're super cool, but also creepy 〜(＞＜)〜

[cityof2morrow]

Billonheir Shelves: 12 LACKesque Woods

Published: Simmons 9-24-2023 | Updated: 9-28-2023 SUMMARY “Billionheir Shelves by Selfless Salesman - cheap, modular shelves for shop owners with billionaire-like pride but broke down budgets. Combine two or more items to create unique commercial displays.” 12 LACKesque recolors for the Billionheir Shelves (Simmons, 2023) set. Remember - you’ll need to turn “move objects” ON if you want to place wall shelves away from walls. When placing Billionheir Pedestal Shelf 002 and 004, they need to be shifted upwards at least once.

DETAILS Requires All EPs/SPs. You need the Billionheir Shelves (Simmons, 2023) set. It contains the Billionheir Pedestal Shelf 001 (wall/pedestal/shelf colors) REQUIRED for these recolors to display correctly in-game. Recolors files are combined so if you delete the “yellow” recolor, for example, you delete it for all subsets/objects it applies to. Additional recolors will be available on this site under #ts2recolors and #co2recolors. DOWNLOAD (choose one) LACKesque from SFS | from MEGA CREDITS Thanks: Kit Kat Crew. Sources: Any Color You like (CuriousB, 2010), Beyno (Korn via BBFonts), EA/Maxis, Offuturistic Infographic (Freepik), Kitchen Basic (Hafiseazale, 2016; BuggyBooz 2008), Kitchen Basic Extras (Hafiseazale, 2016; BuggyBooz, 2010), IKEA LACK Color Actions (EA/Maxis via Michelle, 2016), Mini Shelf (Gwenke33, 2011), Modular Shelves (Billionlioe, 2019 via Creative Commons Attribution), Quake 4 (Evillaire, 2005; Philip Klevestav, 2013; 2010), Sci-fi/Industrial style textures from Quake 3 (Evillaire, 2003).

[designaldohas]

Graphic Design Trends (2011–2015) – The Fall of Texture, Rise of Flat

If 2016–2020 was the era of refinement, then 2011–2015 was the disruption phase. Digital design shifted dramatically, moving away from realism toward simplicity and usability. Flat design didn’t just arrive—it stormed in, kicked over the bookshelf, and changed everything.

📱 1. Flat Design Goes Mainstream

The early 2010s brought a rejection of skeuomorphism—the style that mimicked real-world textures (wood, leather, shadows). Apple’s shift from iOS 6 to iOS 7 in 2013 was the watershed moment. Suddenly, icons were flat, colors were bold, and gradients were exiled.

Why it mattered:

Flat design prioritized clarity and speed

It was easier to scale across responsive devices

It looked “modern” and digital-native

Popularized by: Microsoft’s Metro UI and Apple’s iOS 7. Google soon followed with Material Design in 2014 (but that’s more next article).

🎯 2. Focus on UI/UX Simplicity

As mobile apps boomed, user experience became the center of attention. Designers trimmed the fat from interfaces, removing clutter in favor of clean navigation and touch-friendly elements.

Key trends:

Larger buttons

Minimal menus

Icon-based navigation

Mobile-first mindset

Tools like Sketch (launched in 2010) gained traction as designers ditched Photoshop for digital-focused UI work.

🎨 3. Vibrant Colors & Minimal Palettes

This era loved two extremes:

Bright, punchy neons and primary colors (think Windows 8)

Or ultra-minimal color schemes (black, white, grey + 1 accent color)

Color wasn't just for decoration—it was used for hierarchy, feedback, and accessibility.

✍️ 4. Typography Goes Digital-Friendly

Web typography got a serious glow-up in this era:

Web-safe fonts evolved to include open-source options like Google Fonts.

Sans-serif fonts ruled: Helvetica, Open Sans, Lato, and Roboto were in every designer’s toolbox.

Designers used font weight and size creatively to guide user flow—bold headlines, clean body text.

It wasn’t fancy, but it was functional and consistent.

💡 5. Responsive Design Becomes Mandatory

The age of one-size-fits-all websites was over. Enter: responsive design. With the iPhone, iPad, and countless Android devices flooding the market, designers had to think in fluid grids, breakpoints, and scalable elements.

Milestones:

2010: Ethan Marcotte coins “responsive web design”

2011–2015: Every respectable site goes mobile-friendly or dies trying

🧰 6. Designers Shift Tools: Sketch Enters the Scene

Photoshop was great for photo editing. But for UI? It was... clunky. Enter Sketch, a vector-based tool tailored for interface and web design. By 2015, Sketch had become the go-to app for digital designers.

Why it changed the game:

Symbols and shared styles

Pixel-perfect precision

UI kits galore

🖌️ 7. Skeuomorphism Gets the Boot

Remember leather-bound calendar apps and felt-textured Game Centers? Yeah, Apple does too—and regrets it.

From 2013 onward, skeuomorphism was no longer considered “classy.” It was… cringe. Designers embraced flat shapes, simple icons, and clean surfaces.

Fun twist: That old leather calendar? It was actually based on the one in Steve Jobs’s yacht.

🤯 Unique Fact of the Day

When Apple launched iOS 7 with flat icons, it reportedly confused millions of users. The visual leap was so dramatic that many thought their phones had a bug. It sparked hundreds of memes—and a few app redesigns in panic.

🎨 Creative Challenge

Design a mock app dashboard using flat design principles:

No gradients, no shadows

Use bold color blocks

Stick to two fonts max

Keep spacing tight but readable

Extra credit: make it responsive across mobile, tablet, and desktop mockups.

https://letterhanna.com/graphic-design-trends-2011-2015-the-fall-of-texture-rise-of-flat/