#The Video of The Month

[ofmanycol0rs]

↶*ೃ✧˚. Hello everyone! Welcome back to another video with LuckieDuckie. Today we will be discussing Rainbow Entertainment’s Best Eras!

As a disclaimer so people don’t come for me in the comments: this is in no particular order. I’m not ranking these eras, just factually stating that they are the best. Also, if you don’t agree with me, I don’t care. Keep it to yourself, I don’t want to see a million comments like “Duckie! Where’s blah blah? Where’s… Chu?” It’s up your [redacted]. Don’t try and tell me I’m wrong either because respectfully… I’m not. Anyway.

Starting off strong, we have LOVE DIVE!

LOVE DIVE! Is That Girl for a reason. Not only was she literally SOTY (4 times btw), but she had the vibes to back it up. I was a big fan of the ethereal cupid aesthetics they had going on and the styling just always looked so expensive. I’m a Chaehee stan, but Blue’s Hime Cut look was literally unmatched. Even the b-sides went crazy this era, with the iconic Sour Grapes taking over everyone’s For You pages. This song was actually inescapable for months, so of course this era had some iconic moments too. My personal favorite moment was Summer’s solo live ban being instated after she called Angelico’s Jinhwa a “fucking weirdo” in front of 45 million Dream. Free her tbh, she did nothing wrong!

Next up… Neverland’s Sugar Rush!

This song was so addicting honestly, the concept, the vocals, the dance, the silly little whistle chorus, it all ate down. We all know where we were when those shirtless concept pics dropped. The whole Peter Pan vibe obviously went with their concept as a whole, but how do I get to that woodland raver’s paradise? Where do I buy tickets? One thing about Neverland is they’re throwing a party and I need an invite. Speaking of parties, the iconic MakoDae club pics dropped this era. All I’m saying is that you can’t prove the girl throwing ass on Mako isn’t me.

Next, we have my favorite Eunji era, Forgive Me.

Honestly, I don’t really stan Eunji like that. I won’t deny that she is the superior Golden Goose producer, of course. But I don’t know all that much about her. What I do know is that whoever this song is about is going straight to hell. She ate them up, your honor! The rock instrumentals had me so shaken when I first listened to this song that I couldn’t stop listening to this song. Ginger Eunji in her rockstar era was peak cunt, The Revenge Era was so serious for her. Not to mention, this song had the most iconic performance of all time. If you haven’t seen it yet, immediately look up Eunji Halloween Bash Forgive Me Carrie. It will change your life. Miss girl is a performer.

Next up is one of Lucky’s most iconic eras, which is difficult to say because they’re all so iconic, I know… but I mean Ping-Pong! 

This era could get the title solely from the styling. So many people love to hate it, but they just do not see the camp of it all! The bright pink and blue hair duo lives in my head constantly. I fear Kpop may never see styling so creative and unique again… Someone please rescue Hidae from 4Luvs because they are literally the most hated duo even though they make the cuntiest comebacks! I need them back together asap. Not to mention, these two have the best chemistry. And who could forget the iconic Twister video dropped this era. This video was so divisive among fans but I personally think they looked like they were having a lot of fun answering all the questions while playing Twister. We all know how those two treat competitions and they were undeniably getting flirty up in there, liiiike…

The Song of the Summer is up next… La Vie’s Fruit Salad!

This song is It. One of Rainbow’s most iconic songs by far. I don’t think there’s a single kpop stan out there that doesn’t know this song or even this dance. Honestly, they were the queens of summer before, but this song just solidified their title and made them simply unbeatable. No one else can ever wear the crown when this song exists. The concept and styling is also so perfect, one of my favorites out of La Vie, with the bright colors and quintessential summer vibes. Red-haired Tomi still rules my heart, honestly, and Sohee’s baby bangs were so quirky and cute. One of my favorite variety shows from RBE also comes from this era, I find myself rewatching Lovie’s Fruit Stand all the time. I think it’s so nice to see them getting time to rest and doing fun summer activities together, and its just so nostalgic to me.

Next we have Roly Poly by XOX!

Listen… I know they were flops. But they served with this one, I can't lie! They had no budget, no fans, and no future. All they had was a dance floor and a dream, and yet they still had fun with it. This was the age of camp and techno and XOX ran with it. And in doing so, they created every single RBE idol’s go-to karaoke song. It almost seems like an inside joke at the company because there is at least 2 videos of every single group covering or dancing to this song. And now she’s made her way on to TikTok and the legacy lives on. Everyone say RIP XOX, you will always be famous. Kind of.

Up next is Thee Lucid! Era… TOMBOY!

This is their most iconic era by far and if you think I’m wrong then argue with the wall or something. The song, the styling, the lyrics, the message, the music video, the performances, the moments… need I go on? I fear they ate the whole industry up with this comeback and the industry knew it too! I guarantee you that every single one of yall’s favs was caught doing this dance. Just the sheer amount of people, specifically men, that this song pissed off already puts her high up on my cuntiest songs roster and that was before they went on national television and said fuck! Speaking of fuck, Lucid! did not give a single one this era. My personal favorite Blue moment happened this era when sasaengs leaked pictures of her and Youngho leaving practice for together before their collab stage dropped and sparked dating rumors, and the Next Day she posted “ew wtf? him of all men?” on her public Instagram story on accident… which then started a nuclear fan war on Twitter. Dare I say; iconic. The Tomboy vibes had possessed the whole group I fear, because even Chaehee got man-hating rumors after she ignored Haruki’s hand to help her down the steps at a music show. Not to mention, Minji’s rap verse got so much shit and yet every single time she took her cutesy ass to center stage and ate down. I could literally go on and on about how much I love this era for hours, so if you want to hear more, click the link in the description for my full explanation on why it was the best era kpop has seen from the fourth generation.

Anyway. Next up is La Vie’s Fancy You!

This era was directly after Fruit Salad which means they had a tough act to follow… yet they absolutely came through. They were giving galactic space princesses, rulers of the cosmos, sparkling amongst the stars. Basically… they served. Tomi and Mari’s pink and purple hair duo is still one of my favs and don’t even get me started on the styling. Gogo boots and sequins and hot shorts, god. It was so cunty. And this era isn’t one of their best just because of the concept (even though that is one of their best too) but the vibes. The song and instrumental produced by the iconic ROZE Mari duo that gags to this day. It seems like every 6 months the song is back on TikTok for its cunty instrumentals or choreography. The Anya Kai dating rumors first started this era and you really just had to be there. The entire kpop world imploded on itself. Speaking of Anya Kai dating rumors, my favorite Sol video of all time is from this era in her cute blue highlights making a face in the back of an interview when Kai is brought up… EXO-Ls came for her for weeks until she finally took to Twitter to tell them she doesn’t give a shit about boy groups and their stans with internalized misogyny complexes! If that’s not mother I don’t know who is.

Next, we have DAZED, a Neverland classic.

Remember when I said that one thing Neverland is gonna do is throw a party? Well this is That Party. Out of all 130 million views of this mv, I’m probably 26 million of them. It’s so addicting with the concept and the cinematography… like what are you doing if you show up to this hot guy’s rager birthday party and find out that him and his friends are faeries after you drink their wine and dance for eternity? The ACoTaR girlies (me) went wild for this one, let me tell you. I loved the way they took their whole Neverland Lost Boys concept and twisted it to give us faeries which totally works but it’s also something new? They gave the girls what they want! Howie absolutely owned this era, especially after an edit of him as Rhysand went viral and he had to google the series on live when people asked him about it. I still think about that clip of him saying “What do you mean fairy porn?” every single day.

Finally, last but certainly not least, is the best Rainbow era of all time. NEW WAVE.

I know I said I wasn’t ranking them and all that and that is still true, but… this era is inarguably the best out of all of them so I had to put it last. And of course I'm not biased just because I ult Lucky. I’m convinced that Jung Jisoo tried acid for the first time and then came up with this concept based off of that. And I support it. She was Euphoria before her time, a true masterpiece of neon glitter and debauchery. If I could pick one place anywhere on the space time continuum to live out the rest of my days, it would be the set of this mv. They were literally taking shots in the making video. This song was nearly banned from broadcasts and I’m still surprised that Lucky hasn’t had one of their songs banned yet. Queens Eunbi and Jisoo just know the exact line between cunt and can’t, I guess. This era gave the vibes of the early 2000s club craze tabloid era in the best way both in the concept and for the members. The rumor mill was working over time going after them! Angel was accused of sleeping with fans and cheating on Jennie even though the dating rumors didn’t exist until after the cheating rumors? Sunnie’s gay rumors started this era, although she has since been pretty clear that they weren’t just rumors, LOL. Even baby Han got into one of his first scandals after he got caught with a pack of cigs in his back pocket. The most groundbreaking scandal this era though, one of the only times Lucky has had to issue an apology over the years despite being notorious for saying fuck it, Hiro’s infamous AKB video. Iconic or not, it had impact! But it wasn’t just bad things that came out of this era, of course. It was their most successful ot4 comeback, winning 8 music show wins and PAK as a full group. Plus, they still make room for it on every set list, so they clearly feel the same way about it as 4luvs do. You cannot deny that this era is the most iconic eras of both Lucky and RBE as a whole.

Thank you for tuning in to this video everyone! Feel free to comment below which of these you think is best, or even another one I didn't mention, I guess. But I don't want to see any fighting about it!

Til next time! Mwah!!

find more mentions of jinhwa in the myahverse @venusvity and haruki at @intoloopin !!

[bieups]

6월 - June

A new month means I'm that much closer to summer vacation~

What's going on this month?

6일 - 현충일: Memorial Day; a day to remember those who died for their country (this is a "red day"/public holiday)

6일 - 망종: barley harvest season (one of the 24 seasonal divisions)

10일 - 6.10민주항쟁기념일: Anniversary of the June 10th Democracy Movement; this was a period of nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations that lasted from June 10~29th, 1987.

A Brief Overview of the June Democratic Struggle [CW: police brutality, death] January 14th, 1987 - 21 year old SNU student Park Jong-Cheol was tortured to death by police because he refused to give up information about fellow activists. (The Korean CIA ran the "Anti Communist Investigative Office" where many activists were tortured.) May 18th - the Catholic Priest Association for Justice revealed that the government had been covering up the details of Park's death. In response, a nationwide protest in his honor was planned for June 10th. June 9th - as more people started protesting, Yonsei student Lee Han-Yeol was hit in the head by a tear gas grenade during a protest at Yonsei Uni. He became another symbol of the pro-democracy movement. Lee died from his injuries on July 5th and over 1 million people attended his funeral. June 10th - over 200,000 people attended nationwide demonstrations against the government's use & concealment of torture. On the same day, President Chun Doo-hwan (responsible for the Gwangju Massacre in 1980) announced the nomination of his ally Roh Tae-Woo as the candidate for the ruling Democratic Justice Party (essentially naming him as the next president). During the next three weeks, over a million people took to the streets to fight for democracy. June 29th - Roh Tae-Woo issued the June 29th Declaration (6.29 선언), where he promised democratic reforms such as direct presidential elections and freedom of the press. He ended up being elected as president at the end of the year, leading to the Sixth Republic (the current government). (The movie 1987: When the Day Comes is based on the events leading up to June 10th and is worth checking out)

21일 - 하지: the summer solstice (one of the 24 seasonal divisions)

22일 - 단오: the 5th day of the 5th lunar month; this used to be celebrated with traditional games & wrestling (씨름) and women washed their hair with sweet flag (the plant) water...probably some people still observe this day, but it's not a public holiday

25일 - 6.25 한국전쟁일: Day of the Korean War ("육이오 전쟁")

The Korean War was/is a war between South Korea & North Korea. It's also sometimes seen as a kind of proxy war between the US & China/the Soviet Union. It officially began on June 25th, 1950 with North Korean forces invading the South, and it "ended" when an armistice agreement (not a peace treaty) was signed on July 27th, 1953. So technically, the two countries are still at war and this fact influences the politics & culture of South Korea today. (For example, yesterday at 6:41 am the Seoul gov. sent out a "wartime alert" and sirens were blaring telling people to take shelter. Plenty of people just silenced their phones and ignored it due to being desensitized to news about NK missiles or whatever, but others worried we were truly about to be bombed. Then 30 min later another alert came out to say "sorry, false alarm" and life just went on as usual.) I know war is quite a complicated topic, but I recommend learning at least the main events along the timeline of Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945 up to the war and the ceasefire. People often mention how Korea developed into a capitalist hell Joseon 1st world country so quickly, but learning about the impact of the war and the conditions people endured really helps put into perspective just how amazing it is. I think this video is a good introduction/summary.

[ffssinternship]

Communicating with Family

This week has been quite different from the rest. At the end of last week, Dr. Lyons and I reached out to a family member for James ‘Bobby’ Maddox on Ancestry. She had not logged in since 2012, but it was worth a shot. However, she responded and has given us more information and documentation than what we could have ever hoped for. Sarah is the niece of Bobby. Over the last few years, she has compiled information on her uncle out of curiosity and remembrance. All throughout the week, she provided more and more useful information to include. While I am included in every email, most of the correspondence is between her and Dr. Lyons. This has been more helpful than I expected. I am learning how to communicate with family members on such a delicate subject. Even though Sarah never knew her uncles, it is clear she still loves them very much and wants them to be remembered. She and her brother are even working to get Maddox into his high school’s hall of fame.

Speaking with the family has really humanized this project. Primary sources and newspaper articles usually help, especially if the veteran is quoted in an article or a photograph is included. However, once I get into the general movements of his military division, it becomes less about the individual and more about the unit. Maddox has been a unique case in many ways. As mentioned last week, he was hospitalized after an injury in Italy. He spent months in the hospital recovering and only saw combat for another month before passing away. His church in Tallahassee wrote letters to the soldiers overseas. Sarah was kind enough to get in contact and pass us along to their historical records department who has graciously provided videos about the letters as well as looking into finding some from Maddox. I’m sure other veterans have similar stories and ties to their community that we just do not know about.

The story about James ‘Bobby’ Maddox has truly enriched this experience for me so far. Not only can I see the impact it makes on his relatives he never knew, but also shows all the additional information not digitized and published on genealogy websites. Sarah is also working on getting her other uncle, Billy Maddox’s, grave labeled. He currently only has a temporary civilian grave marked. While there is no telling what we can do to help get him honor appropriately, at least we can also tell a part of his story through his brother. Hopefully, if only a little, this project helps the family know their loved ones are appreciated and valued for their service.

[girlactionfigure]

‘We Are All Jews Here’

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, one of five American Righteous Among the Nations, never spoke about the 200 Jews he saved

BY

PATRICK HENRY

As of Jan. 1, 2020, there were 27,712 persons named Righteous Among the Nations (Righteous Gentiles) by Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. All of them are non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Five of them are American.

In 1994, Varian Fry was the first American named to the list. A New York City native and Harvard graduate with a degree in classics, Fry had volunteered with the Emergency Rescue Committee to go to France to help rescue victims of Nazism. Planning on staying for a month, he arrived in Marseille in August 1940 with $3,000 and a list of 200 Jews he hoped to save. Soon, however, he understood the enormity of his task and judged it “criminally irresponsible” to return home. He stayed until he was forcibly expelled from France 13 months later “for having protected Jews and anti-Nazis.” Fighting the Vichy regime and the U.S. State Department, which tried repeatedly to have him sent home, Fry carried a gun, arranged smugglings into Spain, obtained foreign passports and visas, hired a forger, and with a small staff saved over 2,000 refugees. Mainly interested in writers, artists, and intellectuals, this passionate anti-fascist rescued Marcel Duchamp, Marc Chagall, Jacques Lipchitz, Max Ernst, Hannah Arendt, Max Ophüls, Arthur Koestler, André Breton, and several other surrealist artists.

Martha and Waitstill Sharp were named Righteous Among the Nations in 2005. Waitstill was a minister in the Unitarian Church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and his wife, Martha, was a noted social worker. They agreed to go to Prague in February 1939 to help members of the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. Once there, they helped smuggle Jews out of the country that had been taken over by the Nazis the month after their arrival. They experienced dangerous encounters with Nazi police but managed to return safely to the United States in August. Once again, however, in late spring 1940, they returned to Europe to help rescue Jewish people from France where they worked with Varian Fry, Hiram Bingham IV, and others smuggling Jews, many of them children, into Spain and Portugal.

Lois Gunden, named “Righteous” in 2013, also rescued Jews in France. Born and raised in Goshen, Indiana, Gunden went to France in October 1941, at the age of 26, to work with the Mennonite Central Committee. Fluent in French, she headed the Ville St. Christophe Children’s Refugee Convalescent Home in Canet Plage in the south of France. It was a 20-room mansion that housed 60 children, mostly those of Spanish refugees from Franco’s Spain and Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe being held in the nearby Rivesaltes internment camp. Gunden continued to run this safe haven for refugee children even after November 1942 when the Germans occupied the entire country. She managed to hide many Jewish children in the home and save them from deportation to Drancy and then Auschwitz. In January 1943, she was detained as an “enemy alien” and transported to Germany. In March 1944, she was released in a prisoner exchange.

On Memorial Day 2021, 76 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, let’s remember the heroics of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, the fifth American Righteous Gentile and the only one to have saved the lives of American Jews.

In early December 1944, the 106th Infantry Division, which comprised the 422nd, 423rd, and 424th Regiments, landed in France and traveled by truck across France and Belgium, reaching the Schnee Eifel area in Eastern Belgium near the German border. On Dec. 10, they took up their positions. On Dec. 16, the 422nd was attacked by the Germans in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge, during which the Germans would capture 20,000 GIs. Although they were cut off and surrounded, the part of the regiment that Edmonds belonged to held out until Dec. 21 when they surrendered to the Germans. After having been forced to march 50 kilometers to Gerolstein, Germany, the men of the 422nd Regiment were loaded into box cars with no food or water and traveled for four days until they reached Bad Orb, Germany. They spent several weeks in Bad Orb, after which they were divided into three groups (officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted men). Roddie Edmonds’ group, the NCOs, were then shipped to Stalag IXA in Ziegenhain. There were 1,275 men in this group and Roddie Edmonds was the highest-ranking NCO among them.’

It was German policy to single out Jewish POWs and send them to extermination or slave labor camps. Accordingly, in January 1945, the Germans announced that all Jewish prisoners in Stalag IXA would report the following morning. Twenty-five-year-old Master Sgt. Edmonds, who was responsible for all the POWs in Stalag IXA, ordered all prisoners, Jews and non-Jews, to fall out. When the German officer in charge, Maj. Siegmann, saw all the prisoners lined up in front of the barracks that next morning, he said to Edmonds: “They cannot all be Jews.” Edmonds responded: “We are all Jews here.”

Siegmann then pointed a pistol to Edmonds’ head, but Edmonds, refusing to back down, replied: “According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank, and serial number. If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us, and after the war you will be tried for war crimes.” The German major turned and walked away. Edmonds had saved the lives of the roughly 200 Jewish prisoners among the 1,275 American POWs.

Edmonds, who was named “Righteous” in 2015, did not speak much about his experiences. His family only knew that he had been taken prisoner by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and that he had survived 100 days of captivity before returning home. His son, Baptist Rev. Chris Edmonds, mentioned that when he would ask his father about the war, he often told him only that “Some things were too difficult to talk about.” When Roddie died in 1985, his wife gave her son, Chris, two of the diaries he had kept as a POW.

Yet it was only in scouring the internet many years later that Chris discovered the exact story of his father’s heroism. In 2009, Chris’ daughter, Lauren, was given a college assignment to do a video history project about a family member. Lauren opted to work on her paternal grandfather. Chris decided to lend a hand. He googled the words “Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds,” expecting that it would lead to Army records or the Battle of the Bulge. Instead, it led to a 2008 New York Times article about a New York City lawyer, Lester Tanner, who had sold his Manhattan townhouse to former President Richard Nixon. What could have possibly been the link between Edmonds and the sale of a townhouse to Nixon? Tanner mentioned in the article that Roddie Edmonds had saved his life and that of many other Jews during WWII.

This led Chris Edmonds to Lester Tanner and other Jewish POWs saved by his father, one of whom was Sonny Fox, the American television host and executive. These POWs and in some cases their families filled in many details completely unknown to the Edmonds family. Tanner told them that he admired Roddie for the way he led: “He never threw his rank around ... and was a man of great courage.” Tanner told Yad Vashem that they were all aware at the time that the Germans were murdering Jews. They therefore understood that the order to separate the Jews from the other POWs meant that the Jews were in great danger. “Master Sergeant Edmonds,” he said, “at the risk of his immediate death, defied the Germans with the unexpected consequence that the Jewish prisoners were saved.”

Another of the Jewish POWs saved by Edmonds, Paul Stern, explained that when the 422nd Regiment got to Bad Orb, lower-ranking Jewish POWs from another stalag were in fact sent to slave labor camps where many of them died. Stern, who had learned German in college, could understand what the Germans had in store for the POWs. He also stated that the conversation between the German commandant, Maj. Siegmann, and Roddie Edmonds was in English. “Although seventy years have passed,” Stern claimed, “I can still hear the words he said to the German camp commander.” Finally, Hank Freedman, another POW rescued by Edmonds, told Chris that his father’s faith impacted and emboldened all his men, whether they were believers or not.

On Jan. 27, 2016, in a ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., attended by then President of the United States Barack Obama, Master Sgt. Edmonds’ son accepted the Righteous medal and the certificate of honor awarded to his father. Roddie Edmonds has twice been nominated for the Congressional Gold Medal “in recognition of his heroic actions during World War II.” So far, no action has been taken. But Chris’ hope has hardly been extinguished. He wants his father to be awarded the Medal of Honor, our country’s “highest award for valor in action against an enemy force.” The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous’ short but powerful documentary on Edmonds, “Following the Footsteps of My Father,” would offer a great deal of compelling evidence.

In the JFR’s documentary, we learn that Roddie Edmonds might very well have also saved the lives of hundreds of his men by refusing to evacuate the camp where they were being held. The Germans knew the end was near and they did not want to be around when the American soldiers arrived. They told Edmonds to get ready to evacuate. Edmonds told the German officers that his men were too weak to evacuate the camp and begin a long march. The French POWs moved out along with the British POWs. The German officers told Edmonds that the camp was his: They were leaving.

Shortly thereafter, on March 30, 1945, Stalag IXA was liberated by American forces. It was the second day of Passover. As Sonny Fox remarked: “It was the day of our freedom.”

[daleisgreat]

Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased

WWE has release a few Shawn Michaels DVDs over the years, but continuing on the theme of my last few wrestling-centered entries, WWE Home Video stuck with their “unreleased” brand of DVDs in 2018 with the three-disc release of Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased (intro - I could not locate a trailer for this anywhere!). In that clip Shawn quips that the producers deserve an award for finding previously unreleased matches. I believe the criteria for this release is still similar to previous “Unreleased” collections where they may have aired on television (and thus likely in the WWE Network archives) or long discontinued VHS tapes, but this DVD will mark the first time the matches are available on disc. Also included is a new interview with Michaels that they broke up in several parts and sporadically inserted throughout the collection. The first disc is something special as it essentially is a “Best of Rockers” DVD. The first two matches are from Shawn’s rookie year in 1985 for Mid-South in quick enhancement matches for Hector & Chavo Guerrero and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Matches serve their purpose, but it is nonetheless fascinating to see how Shawn had that already apparent potential in him way back in 1985. The remaining 11 matches on the first disc are all Rockers matches, with the first three tag matches being from their Midnight Rockers AWA days with two bouts against Doug Summers & Buddy Rose and one more with Brian Knobbs & Dennis “I’m not booked” Stamp. The two Summers & Rose matches are show-stealers that had exhilarating beginning/middle/end structures, and was fun to watch the 1980s crowd go nuts for.

The first disc is almost all AWA & WWF Rockers matches!! For the eight WWF Rockers matches, they consist of almost an all-star lineup of a golden age for WWF tag teams where they square off against the likes of Demolition, Brain Busters, Hart Foundation, Natural Disasters and Legion of Doom. The sad thing about The Rockers back then is that as charismatic and agile as they were back then, they mostly made other teams look good in their WWF run and that is the case here as they lose six of those eight WWF matches. Even worse is the two matches they win is a DQ win against the Rougeaus after Jimmy Hart’s megaphone is used, and a countout win against the Orient Express. That said, a lot of the other matches are pretty damn good, with high honors going to the Brain Busters bout, two Demolition matches and surprisingly working in a lot of good stuff against Legion of Doom. Worth pointing out is another good match against the Hart Foundation where it seems noticeable the teams missed their cue to go home because the match starts to feel there is no end in sight when out of nowhere during an abdominal stretch a bunch of wrestlers run in and an awkward impromptu brawl ensues and the match is declared a draw.

Disc two has 12 matches from Shawn’s first singles WWF run from 1992-1998. Some highlights from this are an unsurprising technical showcase with Mr. Perfect, oddly having a positive dynamic with Bret Hart to team up against the Blu Brothers in 1995 and predictable-yet-high quality formula matches during his first WWF Title run against 1-2-3 Kid and Steve Austin. Disc two has a disappointing triple tag elimination match with Shawn, Diesel and Undertaker against Psycho Sid, Tatanka and Kama filled with lots of stalling and headscratching booking for the eliminations. There is also a questionable match against Vader a month after their controversial-yet-excellent Summerslam match, where in this match Shawn takes 95% of the offense and quickly squashes Vader in three minutes. There is also a fascinating bout against Yokozuna from the summer of 1996 in Kuwait, when Yoko is nearing the end of his WWF run due to him putting on excess weight, and the match kind of expectedly plods along, until something must have clicked for Shawn to motivate Yoko into a pretty watchable match in the back half, and the two show respect afterwards which was awesome to see….until Yoko suddenly darts off to the back like he really has to go to the bathroom. The third disc consists of 10 matches from Shawn’s return run to WWE from 2002-2010. All the matches here are from RAW, so that means they follow the formula that still holds true for WWE TV main events today where it is either a cobbled together tag match, or a really good one-on-one match with interference or a hokey finish. There are a couple exceptions with worthwhile clean matches against Ric Flair during a Japan 2005 tour and against Christian in 2004 when he was building momentum with Tyson Tomko by his side. HBK’s matches against Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho are the highlights on disc three, but all three contests have varying degrees of interference to effect the finishes, and in some cases it actually benefits the match as is the case with Angle with the story they were telling. I was delighted to see a post-RAW dark match included with Shawn teaming with Batista against Triple H and Edge. WWE is notorious for usually doing a fun untelevised promo or bonus match for the fans after the cameras go off the air with some quirky moments that would never fly in a televised match. That is the case here with Triple H doing lots of exaggerated selling and fun jawing with the crowd that absolutely ate it all up for a fun time.

Shawn didn't disappoint in his 21st century run, with matches included here that don't disappoint against Ric Flair and Kurt Angle. A couple of promos are uncovered like Shawn doing an open Q&A with the fans when Sensational Sherri was managing Michaels early in his singles run. Another amusing bonus promo is Shawn and Diesel doing a Times Square workout session to hype up their upcoming WrestleMania 11 match with the one-and-only Todd Pentigill hosting. The several interview clips inserted throughout the DVDs has Shawn hitting on certain parts on where he was at that stage in his career and reflecting on the infamous Barber Shop break-up with Marty, his 2002 return, rebooting a less edgy, more goofball version of DX in 2006 and retiring in 2010 (this was filmed before his ill-fated Saudi Arabia return match). From these series of introspections, it was fascinating to hear Shawn think back on why he was not all-in for teaming with Jose Lathario in his WWE Title run, and hearing him settling on being a family man in retirement and turning down multiple

WrestleMania return matches. There are also a few sets of interviews with NXT talent commenting on how lucky they are to have Shawn as a teacher at the WWE Performance Center. Shawn comments a few times here too on being proud of passing on his knowledge, and it is obvious he is genuine on his passion for his new role building talent in NXT. WWE has once again amassed another recommended collection of un-vaulted matches. I am digging this format following the Piper and Macho Man sets where they break up the action every few matches with a set of interviews. Wort mentioning is about a quarter of the 35 matches here have no commentary because they were either dark matches, or from arena shows WWE use to film at regionally in the 80s and 90s and never recorded commentary for and/or lost the rights for the commentary. While there are some skippable matches, the good-to-bad ratio is largely in the positive here, and the not-so-good bouts usually at least have an entertaining backstory or era they emanate from. This all adds up for Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased being another must-have installment of the Unreleased branding. Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 Eric Bishoff: Wrestlings Most Controversial Figure Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story For All Mankind Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Hulk Hogans Unreleased Collectors Series Impact Wresting Presents: Best of Hulk Hogan Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT: From Secret to Sensation NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Hall: Living on a Razors Edge Shawn Michaels: My Journey Sting: Into the Light Straight Outta Dudley-ville: Legacy of the Dudley Boyz Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Then Now Forever – The Evolution of WWEs Womens Division TLC 2017 TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania III: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

[daleisgreat]

Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper

A few months ago I covered the DVD set WWE released chronicling the ‘unseen’ matches of “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Today I continue that trend covering those lines of DVD collections with 2019’s Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper (trailer). Like with WWE’s other ‘unreleased’ line of home videos, all the matches and segments featured in here have never been released on video before. With WWE already releasing a comprehensive three-disc DVD set to Piper with 2006’s Born to Controversy, that means we are getting a collection full of deep cuts here. This two disc DVD is compiled similarly to the Randy Savage set where we get original, newly recorded interviews intersperse with the archival content. The interviews are from Piper mega-fan, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey which are mixed in with archived home video interviews with Piper for added context. There are six sets of Rousey interviews, and they are sporadically inserted throughout the collection which also features 19 matches, nine promos and 12 editions of Piper’s legendary interview show, Piper’s Pit. WWE has established that Rousey is essentially the endorsed successor to carry on the Piper legacy, with Ronda paying homage to “The Hot Rod” by rocking her version of Piper’s entrance attire and carrying on his nickname. With that in mind, having Ronda being the featured new set of interviews to draw from seems like a fitting choice to commemorate Piper’s career here and are nice ways to mix up this collection.

Ronda’s interviews are insightful on how she drew on Roddy for inspiration on MMA needing an antagonist, and how excited she was to finally meet him. I presumed she maintained a close relationship with Piper, and was surprised to learn in Rousey’s interviews here that she only met him once early in her MMA career when she got the blessing from Roddy to use his nickname and then a second time when she appeared on Pipers podcast, which was just a month shy of his death in July of 2015. Rousey went on to say one of her biggest regrets is not having a close relationship with him. There is a nice variety of the nine Piper interviews/promos included. There is a handful of the vintage Rock ‘n Wrestling era promos where Piper bellows out promos in front of a blue screen backdrop. A nice nostalgic bonus is a few vintage commercials where Piper maniacally shouts at you to purchase the latest WWE action figures. There are a few standout go-home PPV interviews here where Piper is on fire and by the end of them he got me just as fired up as Virgil for his upcoming WrestleMania match against Ted Dibiase, and on top of that is an especially intense promo with Bret Hart leading up to their WrestleMania VIII battle. There are three Roddy promos from his late 90’s WCW days, with a bewildering rant from a cell in Alcatrez and Hulk Hogan provoking Piper to cut loose on him and Bishoff in front of his son, Colt, standing out the most. These WCW promos have boisterous crowds capturing the high times WCW was riding at that time in the ‘Monday Night Wars.’

It is no surprise that Piper’s rougher, brawling style will not warrant many five star classics, but a fair amount of his 19 matches here have crowds eating up the chaos Piper is delivering. I have only seen a handful of Piper’s early NWA work before, so seeing a few more of his NWA matches unearthed for this set was a treat, and his match against Jay Youngblood is a smashmouth brawl that goes to a time limit draw, and I loved seeing Piper tag with Ole Anderson against Mike Davis and Buddy Landell. There are a lot of the big arena house show matches here that were previously televised only in local markets, and like a lot of those matches in other sets, usually feature good action until a hokey finish. That is the case here with a killer clash against Paul Orndorff in 1985 fresh into their rivalry, with the crowd going bokers for them until a double countout finish. Just as riveting is Piper’s match in this set against Rick Rude where the crowd is losing it throughout, but a lot of tomfoolery I will not even begin to explain transpires and is the catalyst for one of the strangest DQ finishes I have seen.

Piper teaming with Eddie and Blue-tista, looking like gold! Piper feuding with the nWo had the crowd on its feet! There are two matches on here against Mr. Perfect worth going out of your way to see. I know Mr. Fuji was an accomplished wrestler in the 70s, but never seen him in a match until this set where he is pummeled for a couple minutes against Piper until his fellow managers run in for the save. A lot of the latter matches in the back half of Getting Rowdy are quick TV matches with wonky finishes unfortunately, but for what it is worth, still draw rabid crowd reactions. There are two Nitro bouts included against Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in 1998, but both bouts have several nWo run-ins that result in both matches being thrown out. I forgot about Piper’s brief 2003 run with Sean ‘O Haire, so it was nice to see those two again when Piper had a short encounter with Rikishi. The last match is an awesome impromptu bout against The Miz for $5000 of The Miz’s money, with Alex Reilly (remember him!?) as guest referee in 2011. I have zero recollection of this match, and even at a couple minutes long it was an absolute delight!

Getting Rowdy was jacked with 24 installments of Piper’s Pit, but WWE had quite a few more to draw upon from the vault with 12 more here. Some of the early ones in this collection that were a riot were where both Jimmy Hart and the Brooklyn Brawler ruthlessly provoke Roddy to giving them a a well-earned beatdown. There are a bunch in the second half of this set when Piper would periodically show up on RAW and SmackDown for a special Piper’s Pit. Two that really got me were one with John Cena where Piper does a tremendous job at needling Cena into living up to his then-current t-shirt slogan, ‘Rise Above Hate’ and another where Roddy moderates AJ Lee attempting to get back into Daniel Bryan’s good graces after costing him his WrestleMania match against Sheamus. I enjoyed this collection more than I anticipated. As I mentioned earlier, Piper was not known for his epic wrestling abilities, so I was not letdown from the wide range of match quality from the 19 matches in the set. There are a few matches that are hidden gems in here for what it is worth, but the real reason everyone should check out Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper, is for the many unreleased promos and Piper’s Pit interviews. While he may not have been a five star wrestler, Piper was easily a five star entertainer, and that is readily apparent from beginning to end in this collection.

Those Piper action figure commercials are iconic, and this set is full of iconic promos I have never seen before where the Hot Rod made Virgil look like a million bucks! Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 Eric Bishoff: Wrestlings Most Controversial Figure Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Hulk Hogans Unreleased Collectors Series Impact Wresting Presents: Best of Hulk Hogan Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT: From Secret to Sensation NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Hall: Living on a Razors Edge Shawn Michaels: My Journey Sting: Into the Light Straight Outta Dudley-ville: Legacy of the Dudley Boyz Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Then Now Forever – The Evolution of WWEs Womens Division TLC 2017 TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania III: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

[lordgeebsdom]

2019, a year in review: Superlative Edition

-Gareth Bill

Athlete of the year:  Lamar Jackson - QB Baltimore Ravens.  HM: Kawhi Leonard - SF Toronto/LA

Lamar Jackson came out of nowhere to light the league on fire in 2019 breaking Michael Vick’s all-time record for rushing yards by a Quarterback and redefining the position in the process.  From his five touchdown performance in Miami to being the assumed MVP, there wasn’t a week where Lamar Jackson didn’t dominate headlines and he continues to show superiority as Baltimore has secured the Number 1 seed in the AFC.  Honorable mention goes to Kawhi Leonard for producing the first ever buzzer beater in a game 7 in NBA history and for also bringing Canada their first NBA title.  Even against a Kevin Durant-less Golden State Warriors team, Leonard stepped up and delivered when it counted most.

Song of the year: Lost Lately- San Holo.  HM: Daemon Veil - EPROM & G Jones

Sander van Dijck, better known by his stage name “San Holo” surprised us with “Lost Lately” in June of this year.  A melancholic and melodic ballad of discovery and feeling “lost in aftermath of a breakup” spoke to feelings of insecurity and extends a friendly hand to those in need.  From an endearing marketing campaign featuring “lost” posters where fans could call a “helpline” to hear an exclusive sample of the song, to a music video taken straight from EDC: Bitbird executed an almost perfect build and drop for “Lost Lately.”  Great followup work to last years “Album1” and I definitely am excited about his future projects for 2020.  Honorable mention goes to the IDM monster “Daemon Veil” by EPROM and G Jones.  Plain and simple, I loved this ear worm.  There’s so much going on from the initial baseline drop to the stuttering minefield of drops and turns that follows before a calming conclusion.  Every time I hear this track, I see it too: the flying snares, the zips, zooms and wubs, the story it tells me….its captivating and satisfying.  While it isn’t as friendly for casual listening like my 2018 song of the year “Time” (also by G Jones), Daemon Veil is an IDM banger that I’ll continue to blast well into 2020 and beyond.

Album of the year: Good Faith- Madeon.  HM: Hollywood’s Bleeding - Post Malone

This was a tough call for me, there was a lot of great albums that came to us in 2019 but Madeon’s “Good Faith” stands tall above the rest.  From the initial singles of “All My Friends,” and “Dream, Dream, Dream,” to the unexpected bangers of “Miracle,” and “No Fear, No More,”: “Good Faith” makes a solid argument not just for album of the year but possibly even for the decade and I simply cannot recommend it enough.  Honorable Mention goes to “Hollywood’s Bleeding” by Post Malone.  Like many, I have thoroughly enjoyed the evolution of Post Malone from SoundCloud sensation to certified super-star, and “Hollywood’s Bleeding” continues to show us that this artist is just getting started.  I loved “Goodbyes,” “Circles,” “Sunflower,” and many other tracks on that album, and I’m confident many others did as well. Rapper, Rockstar, Soul-singer and bro: best of luck in 2020 and beyond Post, we’re all eagerly watching.

Movie of the year: Its a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.  HM: Avengers: Endgame

Easily the most contested category of the year and the hardest decision made in these superlatives.  2019 produced some awesome films but Tom Hanks’s take on Fred Rogers gave me chills that I hadn’t felt since seeing Christopher Reeve’s Superman as a child.  Like Superman, his presence among adults and children alike would universally cause awe and calm, almost god-like tranquility through security. In a year that was defined by division, unrest, cruelty, and anger: Fred Rogers reminds us that there’s still a great deal of hope for humanity, and it all starts with being a good neighbor.  Young, old and everyone in between can learn something from this deeply affecting story about humanity and connection.  Honorable mention goes to Avengers: Endgame for managing to be the only major franchise ending this year (Game of Thrones, Avengers, Star Wars) that managed to do it with a consensus BANG!  It was a 3 hour film that somehow felt like an hour and half, and when Captain America held Mjornir with every Avenger ever at his back and said “Avengers, Assemble!”, I couldn’t help but fist pump with a grin from ear to ear.  Tony Stark’s dying words of “I am Iron-Man,” gave me goosebumps and Black Widow’s death made me feel genuine loss: The Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to execute a singular plan and vision over 23 films and that is truly exceptional. 

Actor/Actress of the year: Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur/Joker.  HM: Florence Pugh - Midsommar

Joaquin Phoenix’s long anticipated and controversial performance as Joker was the best singular work I saw this year.  Authentic, gut-wrenching, thought-provoking, and anything but boring: Joker gave us the next step in comic book cinema and a new cultural icon in the process.  Arthur Fleck is a poster child for mental illness, something that currently is at the forefront of our society and gave the general public a poster child for such conditions.  Phoenix’s Joker will one day be recognized in the same light as we currently see Che: an underdog figure of resistance and revolution standing against a seemingly unstoppable status quo and inspiring the unseen masses in the process.  Honorable mention has to go to one of my new favorites in Florence Pugh and her performance as Dani in “Midsommar”.  Her pain, confusion, and ultimate triumph that unravels throughout a trip to a small village in Europe during their mid-summer festival is the stuff of “slow-burn horror” wet-dreams.  There’s a scene early on where her character has to convey immense grief after suffering a personal tragedy and I can still hear that crying in the most haunting way.  Pugh’s performance stuck with me in a year full of great ones, and I’m very excited to see her future work including “Black Widow” in May.  

Television show of the year: Watchmen- HBO.   HM: Good Omens - Amazon Prime

Watchmen blew my mind, and I the less I say about it, the better.  A continuation of the story told in my favorite book of all-time, “Watchmen” managed to tie together many loose plot threads from that story while also moving the universe forward in new and exciting ways that matched the tone of the graphic novel.  Regina King’s “Sister Night” was a complex, likable, and tragic protagonist uniquely qualified to walk us through this new chapter, and without spoiling things anymore than I already may have: YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS.  Honorable Mention goes to Good Omens on Amazon Prime.  To any familiar with the story or Neil Gaiman’s work in general, you know what to expect: deep stories, complex and likable characters, and witty dialogue that will make you pause and think or laugh feverishly in equal measure.  Its only 5 episodes, so there’s really no excuse to not dive into this one and see how the world ends…..or rather was supposed to…

Game of the year: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - PS4/XboxOne/PC. HM: Apex Legends - PS4/PC/XboxOne

From Softwares’ “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” stands tall in a year that finally saw long awaited projects like Obsidian’s “Outer Worlds” and Kojima’s “Death Stranding” get long-awaited releases.  An exciting and more stealthy evolution of the Dark Souls combat system made me feel like a real Ninja for the first time since Ninja Gaiden Black on my original Xbox.  The demanding, but fair gameplay combined with a variation of environments including haunted Japanese forests, Sengoku Temples, Palaces and gory battlefields came together to give the most complete package I played in 2019. Just don’t be too surprised if the final boss gives you problems because that f***er can almost made me break a controller.  Honorable mention goes to the game that managed to dethrone “Fortnite” as the most popular game for like a whole two months.  Respawn entertainment developed the awesome Titanfall series that I personally enjoyed and rumors had been circulating for quite awhile that they were looking to expand Titanfall into the booming genre of BR or Battle Royale.  Apex Legends is the answer to those prayers and still continues to push out new skins, content and weapons at a regular rate.  Did I mention it is also completely free to play? 

Story of the year: President Trump becomes the third President to ever be impeached 12/19

HM: Henry Nobrega wins the fucking BVN Football Fantasy Football title. 11/19

To be perfectly honest, this is the first category that really could have gone either way for me.  President Trump becoming the third President in US history to be impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of congress was massive; regardless of how you feel about President Orangutan.  His tenure as President has produced a number of newsworthy moments but this story stood out among the others for sheer importance and international embarrassment.  Speaking of embarrassment, that’s essentially what my good friend Henry’s fantasy football team has managed to be every year that I’ve played with him.  A perennial basement dweller that typically auto drafts due to some BS excuse, and a resident near the bottom of our power rankings but this year he flipped that script on its head.  He managed to draft my Athlete of the year, Lamar Jackson, and the last great white running back in Christian McCaffrey.  Not only did Henry surpass his preseason ranking of bottom, he managed to win both regular season and postseason titles and beat a solid team by Graham Heck in the process.  I got love for you bro, but I’m still perplexed on how your season managed to be as dominant as it was.  Sorry Greta Thunberg, but these stories had my jaw on the floor, maybe next year lil’ Queen.

Meme of the year: Baby Yoda of the Disney+ show “The Mandolorian” 

Was there every really a doubt here?  Baby Yoda or “The Child” as he’s known on the show is the biggest pop culture icon born on the internet in 2019.  The gap between Baby Yoda and what I considered to be an honorable mention was so wide that he will officially stand alone in this category.  Baby Yoda’s cuteness managed to melt even my stone cold heart this year and that is absolutely an achievement.  What made this creature so endearing was the universal applicability though music, sports, culture, and food: Baby Yoda was everywhere and the internet found common ground and shared meaning through sharing little graphics everywhere prominently featuring him as the centerpiece.  Well played Jon Favreau, we love this little guy and everyone thanks you for creating him.  

[idolizenews]

MAY SCHEDULE

Each schedule post provides a snapshot into the way the company is marketing your group as a whole, the expectations they have for your involvement in the industry, and so forth. They’ll range from fun things like CF deals to run of the mill events like fan parties, concerts, or rest time. We’ll be varying things across the board and using this as a way to tease upcoming plot lines for groups. Schedules illuminate the often difficult realities of being an idol, and because of that we award +5 exp / + 5 sp to those who complete a 350+ 4/4 thread or a 500 word solo. Solos must be completed during the three week run of the schedule, but threads may be finished after the end of the prompt provided they were started well in excess of the end point (e.g. finishing up a reply or two after is fine, but posting the starter right before the next prompt goes up is not). These needn’t be taken extremely literally when threading and are open to tangential preparation threads and other flexibility.

OLYMPUS

May will be a busy month, in the midst of promotional activities for Tempo, but the boys are rumored to be absent from many of the variety shows on this run as a result, skipping out on some of the more “lower profile” endeavors like Idol Room. How your muse feels about that is, of course, up to you, since for many their main variety opportunities are on these group targeted promotional shows. Olympus will also be filming the music video for their chain station track “Power.” The Power filming is slated to take the better part of a day and be knocked out at once, since for the most part it involved numerous green screens. They recorded the vocals for the song last month.

JINX

With the other three company groups undergoing promotions, comeback preparation or wrapping, or overseas debuts, there’s not a lot of attention being afforded to JiNX as a group, this month. The members are encouraged to pursue their individual schedules and to rest up a bit, since rumors of a July comeback are bright on the horizon. Rumor has it the song has been chosen and the choreography is being finalized, but the girls won’t be brought in to work on it just yet. There’s likely to be an air of hope around the JiNX practice rooms right now, as this is their first positive sign of a track release this year, a rarity in stalled promotions for a Midas group.

TITANIUM

Titanium is at the tail end of their promotions and unfortunately, due to Olympus’ overlapping comeback, do not appear to be coming out of things with a trophy this time around either. Reactions have been largely positive however and the song had a catchy enough hook that it charted the best out of their recent efforts, perhaps to the surprise of the members who might be feeling a bit underwhelmed by the group’s performance in general. Midas has been hinting to the members that solo opportunities and individual careers are gradually becoming a possibility, but that they’ll be more sparsely promoted until Titanium as a whole can prove themselves worthy of the investment- a perhaps paradoxical claim; how can work from a less popular group’s single member get good traction if they’re not being aggressively promoted by the company?

AURORA

In honor of Aurora’s 4 Year Anniversary, the girls are holding a birthday party/fansign in Seoul at a modestly sized venue, to encourage a close and cozy feeling between girls and fans.  It’s a special single day event that will involve a few performances of their hits, a special stage or two from the girls, and lots of talking/ment time for the members and fans to enjoy. They are, simultaneously, preparing for their Japanese debut, which will hit in the second half of May. They’ll be finishing up the final touches on videos, promotional photobook shoots, and so on. They’re definitely a busy group this month, though how the members feel about being shipped to Japan while at a point to solidify their status in Korea still is up to you.

NEON

Following senior group Aurora’s footsteps, the girls will be doing a photoshoot for Cosmopolitan Magazine with the brand MAC, which is a pretty big opportunity for them! They’ve landed a group cover as well, as a testament both to the general interest in the song so far and the sway of Midas as a company. Fans are quick to point out that they were on the very edge of snagging a win before brother groups Titanium and now Olympus began promoting. This might look like a team-kill from the outside, but a) no one expected the overwhelming support of the girl’s debut and b) it’s been a great opportunity for Midas to media play group selcas with Neon and the senior groups, which are guaranteed to bring in further attention. For reference to the photoshoot, click here.

HEAVEN

Heaven is, for once, not appearing to be gearing up for a summer comeback. That baton is being passed, it seems, to their upcoming junior group Dynamo. Perhaps influenced by the lackluster performance of recent comebacks, 99 Entertainment is hedging their bets and leaning on the one realm they know Heaven will never let them down: CF deals. With the summer months ahead, Heaven has been chosen to endorse Coca Cola’s Golden Peak Ice Tea in Korea. While there is no dedicated commercial being filmed yet, they’re going to be in for a lot of photoshoots on the topic, as promotional materials will be distributed far and wide, from corner marts to bus stop advertisements. Reference for the endorsement can be found here. 

POIZN

Perhaps in light of the recent success of Nitro and Heaven units, as well as Nightmare’s recent unit experimentation, the boys of POIZN have been brought in to the the company for a meeting. They’ll be working to debut some of the boys as a unit, but here’s the catch- they haven’t decided which members will be involved, just yet. It’s clearly a tactic to keep the boys on their best behavior and to pit them against one another, to a certain extent. They’ve been encouraged to work with producers and choreographers to discuss style and preferences. Granted, none of this will be guaranteed to make it to the final work, but they’re clearly being vetted in terms of what they can provide to the creative process, and how they’re behaving around the media. It’s a good month to work on proving yourself, if you’re looking for unit work.

CELESTE

In a bid to get the girls a higher profile and to lean in to their sexy but funny image, the girls have taken up the offer from Chicken Mania for an endorsement deal. They’ll be shooting a commercial with a prominent (and unfortunately not so attractive) comedian who each of the girls will be attempting to get back to their house, with various insinuating questions and excuses. Of course, nothing will work until the lead dance spot mentions chicken! It follows up with a throw back to their younger days with an aegyo close up for each girl, so be prepared to leave your shame behind, ladies. It’s a good opportunity one way or another! A reference for the cf can be found here. 

DYNAMO

The summer comeback baton appears to have been handed off to Dynamo this year. The co-ed group is gearing up in a big way and the pressure is undeniably on. 99 Entertainment has made it clear that after Celeste’s lackluster performance, Imperial and POIZN’s myriad scandals, and with Heaven’s overall age increasing, it’s time for someone to pick up the slack. And that someone, they’re hoping, is going to be Dynamo. Of course no one can know for sure, and Celeste or the boys still have time to turn the tables, such as in POIZN’s unexpected redemption with last year’s breakout hit, but the fact is that Dynamo has been heavily pressured to come through with this comeback, despite the potentially divisive concept. 99 Entertainment is known for high impact summer hits and they’ve gotten the best producers in they can to work on this one. No pressure, Dynamo, but it’s time to sprint for that debut finish line.

IMPERIAL

The boys of Imperial aren’t facing a comeback until fall and have been doing pretty well in terms of endorsements lately, so for this month, with their attentions heavily invested in Dynamo and pushing a new facet to the sexy image onto Celeste, Imperial has been left to their own devices. Members have been encouraged to take some time for vacation, visiting family, and so on, and have been strictly instructed to lay low in their personal lives. The last thing the company needs is more negative attention on the company with Dynamo’s comeback on the horizon. There are rumors of more CF deals on the horizon, should the boys prove that their personal scandals have calmed down a bit. After last month’s successful deal and as sales numbers role in in the wake of that, 99 Entertainment is negotiating hard on behalf of the boys with various companies, who may have been worried about the impact of various scandals from the boys on their brand.

INDIGO

indiGO hits a major milestone this month, as they prepare for their first ever group concert. The concert will cover three days in the middle of May, over a weekend. Namely from May 17-19th, at Jamsil Indoor Stadium. They will be performing a wide host of songs and performing a total of 4 shows, with 2 on Saturday, one on Friday, and one on Sunday. This is notable as it’s their first concert done entirely on their own since their debut in 2014. In light of the occasion, they also released a new light stick and a new opening for members of their fanclub. Numbers have been exploding, as this is it’s first opening since the airing of RE:group. It's been rife with media play about the massive, surprise success they’ve found after their relative obscurity prior.

CHERRY BOMB!

With Peekaboo promotions wrapped up and comeback months away, the girls are being given time to focus on individual schedules, for the most part. However, they are also tasked, this month, with filming the vocals and video for their contribution to the upcoming Season 2 of Chain Station. The filming, done in slow motion in a singular setting, should be quite easy- a few takes in the single outfit necessary should cover it all, and isn’t expected to take more than a few hours. The girls will record the vocals first, obviously, earlier in the month.

1NFERNO

1nferno will be taking advantage of current promotional activities to guest on a show featuring a senior artist from their company, hitting up Weekly Idol to show off their close relationship as rookie artists, and hopefully getting some preferential treatment out of it, as is the way of major companies. They’ll be doing the usual, popular corners- random play dance, and 2x speed dance of their current song, and some exciting games that put their company card on the line for various rewards and punishments alike. It should be a good chance for 1nferno to get a little more solid, domestic exposure to go along with international interest.

MAYDAY

It’s a big month for MayDay as the girls have, as their name would suggest, their one year anniversary on their hands! The girls will be filming a Vlive themed around the concept of a Pajama Party! They’ll have cute decorations, cute pajama sets, play games, do a few vocal only acapella covers, and so on. As well as eating plenty of cake! It’s sure to be a really sweet and fairly easy filming session, which is suitable for their one year anniversary. It’ll be sure to bring in some more attention and solidify their fan base in the present, as well, which is good news because they’re also gearing up for a comeback that MSG truly believes has a huge amount of promise for the girls, with a bright and surreal image that should really appeal to the current market.

ATLAS

Atlas is, perhaps predictably, in the throes of gearing up for a comeback. Members will be finalizing song and lyric contributions and tracks are being recording for their most recent full length album. Rumor has it the boys are gearing up for a more palatable, fresh and chill summer release direction, with the potential for a collaboration on the title track. As they prepare for the comeback, they’ve been releasing more “personal vlog” style content onto V-live, reflected in some of the more a-traditional productions, from mukbangs to closet tours and so on.

JAWBREAKER

Jawbreaker is on the verge of greatness these days, or at least that’s the hope over at KJH. The girls are putting out a new single this month, which promises to be a catchy and memetic release with its repetitive chorus and driving beat.  Debuting in the first half of June, the song is expected to perform well, now that the girls have some exposure and their first win under their belts. The single has less songs associated with it than last comeback’s mini album, perhaps because of the time crunch to prepare for the upcoming concert, and perhaps due to the relatively quick turnaround, but it does leave fans wondering if the girls will be able to maintain a consistent output in the same way as Atlas.

SIGNAL

Debut is on the horizon- or so the boys thought. KJH is throwing them a curveball, however, in that they’ve introduced the boys beginning this month via a “trainees versus KJH” format, competing to debut as a full group. Instead of each trying to survive the show on their own and then becoming a team, they’re being given missions to work together to prove themselves as a unit to their company staff. The first episodes are covering getting to know the contestants and their backstories, how they were cast, what they’ve done in the industry so far, and so on. They’ve also been tasked with working together to construct a demo stage around a self-composed song.

NITRO

The boys of Nitro are putting two good things to use this month: their fresh and boyish image and their recent brand power. They’re taking both of those things to mix them together into a cheerful, casual, decidedly attractive commercial deal with The Face Shop, for whom they’ve just been signed as models. Their first CF series features a behind the scenes photoshoot vibe with interspersed voice overs that spotlight each member in a brief “interview” format, obviously focused around skincare and the like, for the most part. It’s a CF that really shows the masculine, clean cut, boy next door image that toes the line between handsome and cute with marvelous success. Reference for the cf can be found here.

XLNC

The boys of XLNC are riding high after significant public approval of their stages in Chile, proving perhaps that they should have been given a bit more freedom to perform in Korea as well as overseas. Regardless, Koala.T is ready to capitalize on that by pushing their debut in Japan to the fullest extent, adding on a few more performances at smaller sized rock clubs, where the boys will finally be given reign to perform as intended, without any need to hand sync their instruments. It’s a risky move on behalf of the company but the boys are sure to appreciate it. Brush up on your Japanese fast, kids, because the plane is about to take off.

NIGHTMARE

The girls will be taking on a commercial for Nature Republic this month, with a bright and softened image that their core group sound was never going to afford them the opportunity to tackle. Perhaps, at least from this standpoint, their prior units have brought in some success. Reference for that CF can be found here. Furthermore, the much anticipated final unit will be making their debut this month, and preparations are being finalized, finishing touches made, and choreography relentlessly practiced.

[hypeathon]

What Have I Been Up To After RWBY Volume 6?

If you started or have been following this Tumblr page, chances are you did so because of my various posts about RWBY’s production. Maybe you became interested because of my volume 6 production analyses or my CRWBY coverage before that or my posts on RWBY’s cinematography before that or even my Animator Spotlight posts before that. Whatever the case, I imagine that at least a few of you have been wondering why content has been so barren for past several months.

First off, I do deeply apologize for disappearing the way I did. Though there are a few reasons why hardly anything has appeared on this blog page.

1) Hiatus period. As a RWBY fan, you probably know that once a volume ends, it goes though it’s “off-season” for several months. It use to be between November and July during the first two volumes, but that has since changed to between the months of February and October. Without any new RWBY episodes, that means less content to write about. That’s not to say I didn’t have any ideas for blogs to write about, but that all changed due to reason #2...

2) Controversies. I don’t think it would be off-base to say that the fandom is in the middle of a “civil war” right now. On the last month of volume 6’s premiere in January, there have been greatly divisive opinions on the execution of the last third of that phase in the story. And things have only gotten worse since February. You might’ve heard of a certain person formerly part of the cast be the center of hostile discussions and how that created a chain reaction of other names, directly or indirectly related to RWBY’s production get heavily criticized. You may have even seen some fans decide to drop the show like a bad habit as a result.

I definitely have my own opinions on these issues and have butted heads with certain people on one or two of them at one point. But I am NOT interested in sharing them and this is not the place to go in-depth on those controversies. What I will say though is that paying so much mind to all of it has been extremely tough and taxing and it has essentially made the idea of wanting to do any blog posts about RWBY very discouraging.

Though I have not become completely inactive. Over the past few months, I have been sharing content from one or two RWBY fans who I feel have given great insight, namely Joshburger. He does great videos that analyze the theory in RWBY’s background music and songs and how they associate with certain characters. One of them, titled “Similar But Different - RWBY OST Analysis”, I even helped a bit with on providing sources for. So give that a watch as well as his other videos whenever you have time. I’ve also been updating a few of my posts, specifically the RWBY Animators Spotlight posts. as of May of 2019, I added links to clips of sequences with anecdotes to various RWBY blu-ray audio commentary tracks, and replaced a majority of other links by adding new footage to better observe the animations from certain animators. So for the most part, you don’t have to wait for a commercial ad before watching a small sequence in a RWBY episode. Also, I added headline pictures to make the Animators Spotlight posts as presentable as most of my other content. So check them out whenever you get a chance.

RWBY Animators Spotlight #1 - Joel Mann & Harley Dwortz

RWBY Animators Spotlight #2 - Ian Kedward & Millivette Gonzalez

RWBY Animators Spotlight #3 - Dillon Gu & Austin Hardwicke

RWBY Animators Spotlight #4 - Honorable Mentions

RWBY Animators Spotlight #5 - Asha Bishi & Kim Newman

There were other ideas for RWBY blog posts that I was ruminating on doing, some of which I felt really gung-ho about getting started with. You can even find me mentioning these in the comments of one of the volume 6 Production analyses I crossposted on Reddit. Though, like I said, the controversies and heated debates within the fandom kinda ruined things for me lately. So I didn’t feel as up for doing a bunch of small, fun write-ups. However, I have been involved with something else RWBY-related and even more than the vibe in the fandom, it’s the main reason why I’ve been so inactive lately.

3) A really big, ambitious RWBY project. I’ll admit, I’m not the most confident at committing to projects, depending on the scale. That said, I think now is as good of a time as any to bring this up.

Not long after this hiatus started, I did have one idea for a project that I contemplated on whether to do or not. It wasn’t until March that I kicked-off the idea in secret and have been working on this project for nearly 3 months as of the time this blog piece gets posted. I’ve even teased about it on Twitter in a post or two (yes, I am on Twitter now). I won’t go into detail on what it’s about, but I can say the following:

In terms of scale, it is probably on par with all the volume 6 production analyses combined while the subject matter is arguably far more important.

It will be in 3 parts.

Do keep an eye out for when it comes out not just here, but on other platforms (but due to the subject matter, it might not end up on Reddit).

Expect to see it some time later this June.

And that’s all I’ll say for now. I know that all seemed pretty cryptic but I don’t want to risk biting off more than I can chew. Hopefully, I’ll update on when the project itself will drop. Until then, stay tuned!

[ayearofpike]

The Starlight Crystal

Pocket Books, 1996 195 pages, 49 chapters + epilogue ISBN 0-671-55028-4 LOC: CPB Box no. 327 (Stored at Landover) OCLC: 34074707 Released February 1, 1996 (per B&N)

Paige Christian knew she was going on the anthropologist’s starship that would use near-lightspeed travel to jump ahead generations. But that didn’t stop her from falling in love before she left. It’s that love that keeps her going — through ship problems, interstellar war, the end of the universe itself — because of a promise she made. She can’t stop and won’t stop until she gets there, because Paige’s love exceeds the boundaries of space and time.

That one-paragraph summary sounds existential and metaphorical, but actually Pike is being painfully literal with these devices. It’s maybe the first hard sci-fi he’s given us since The Tachyon Web (which, by the way, would be re-released a year after this one). And now that I look back on what I’ve read, for someone who named himself after a Star Trek character, Pike hasn’t really done much in the hard-SF realm. The aforementioned two, Eternal Enemy (the second half, at least), maybe See You Later and The Visitor (both of which probably have too much spirituality and mysticism to qualify, even if there are spaceships) and The Star Group coming up (maybe, let’s see — I don’t remember it at all). Interesting how half of that output comes during the Spooksville years. Maybe he had enough supernatural horror going on in the kidlit division and needed to drop some science on teens to balance it.

We’ve seen this title crop up a couple of times before. It’s Mark’s video game in See You Later, and Shari Cooper wrote a short story with this title as the bulk of Remember Me 3. (I feel like it might be in another one, but I don’t want to dig through this whole blog for it.) This story has more in common with the latter than the former — vindictive aliens who only want to wipe out humanity, a universal presence that we are invited to join — but it does take Paige (as Mark indicates the size of his game) “to the ends of the known universe” (SYL, 10). In more ways than one. But let me not get too far ahead of the recap.

At any rate, I liked this one more than I remembered, and then I remembered liking it back when it was released. Yeah, it’s kinda sappy — one girl’s love pushes her farther than any human has ever dreamed of going! — but it hit me at the perfect time, having just started college and being a romantic in general and trying to figure out my own relationship status. Isn’t it worth it to pursue true love across the distance, when the reward upon reunion will be so sweet? The truth is that for me it wasn’t actually true love at the time, but the idea of it, the concept of sharing my life with one who could share my heart forever. But don’t try to tell eighteen-year-old me that; I wasn’t ready to grasp the difference between loving the idea of being in love and loving an actual person I wanted to spend time with. I’m not sure Paige does either, but maybe that’s why it resonated with me then.

Let’s jump into the recap and you can decide for yourself. It starts the way so many early Pike first-person novels started, with an acknowledgement that this tale is being written or told after the events we’re about to see. And again, the narrator conveniently forgets this frame as soon as she starts telling the story. In fact, the only place this has been fully effective was Remember Me, because Shari never forgot she was telling a story from the end. Ultimately I think what it’s there for is to impress upon us the enormous span of Paige’s life (nine billion years!) and the vastness of her experience, but it’s less foreshadowing and more straight up telling (and in some ways, misleading).

Oh, I should mention before we get too deep: the protagonist of this story is named Paige Christian. The book itself is dedicated to Paige Christian. I can’t find any evidence that Pike named his character for a real person, but it wouldn’t be that weird. Like, look back at The Midnight Club, and how he said it was inspired by a storytelling group at a hospital, and how specific he was about his main character’s origins and ethnicity when he’d never really done that before. That’s a clear case of trying to respect and honor a source. It’s not really that big of a step to just using their name.

So anyway, Paige kicks off her story by talking about the day she met her true love. She was coming out of a library and met some weird lady wearing sunglasses but who otherwise seemed familiar, who suggested Paige go check out the pond in the park across the street. When she gets there, a dude suddenly emerges from the water. This is Tem, and Paige feels an instant and inexplicable connection to him, as he does to her. Unfortunately, they’ve only got a week together, as Paige is set to blast off with her dad, the captain of the study vessel. So they promise to exchange letters once a month for the rest of their lives, which for Paige sucks because she’s gonna be writing to a dead dude before a year is passed for her.

So she gets on the ship and works in the gardens and writes her letters, but quickly starts to regret her choice. She asks her father to please stop and take her back to Earth, which ... have you ever tried to get a bureaucrat to listen? He can’t compromise the mission for one person’s feelings, even if that one person is his daughter. Plus, this has been a problem for him before: he was captaining another ship where the engine went haywire and they had to abort the mission then. So obviously he wants to have a successful one, never mind that it will throw a wrench into his daughter’s true love for a dude she knew all of one week. What I’m saying is I’m having a hard time sympathizing with Paige right now.

They get through their time dilation, spending two weeks at a speed sufficient to observe 200 years passing on Earth. Which: I don’t actually know how this would work. When the engines are on, they can’t receive transmissions. When they get to their target speed (99%+ the speed of light) and are coasting, wouldn’t they be going TOO FAST to receive transmissions? Let’s gloss over that and get to the important part: the attack! Yes, Earth is attacked and destroyed just as they are starting to decelerate. These alien warships have the technology to keep up with Paige’s ship at its high speed, and they catch it and send a boarding party. Paige’s dad plans to blow up the ship so that they can take out the alien commander (like in Shari’s story), but she (the commander) kills him before he can trigger the explosion and takes Paige hostage.

However, the guard who is supposed to take Paige to their ship instead takes her to the engine room, where he says he has a power source that will accelerate their ship away from the attackers. He climbs down and inserts a green crystal into the power core, upon which he is killed by his captain. She levels her weapon at Paige, but the ship’s first officer cuts her down before she can fire. Then they check their instruments, and sure enough: the alien warships are gone, and their ship is infinitely approaching the speed of light, and their engine can’t produce the power required to slow them down, to the point where they will simply outlive the universe. (I’m also not sure that this is factually possible, but I don’t care to do the math.)

It’s time for Paige to write another letter to Tem, but she doesn’t see the point. (We’ll learn in a little bit that he only wrote to her for five years.) She’s talking about it with her friend in the garden, when all of a sudden her friend is ... possessed? a channel? At any rate, she starts talking from a larger group consciousness that wants humanity to unify with it, to drop its illusions of desire so that it can truly find love and joy. Sound familiar? This is the primary tenet of the Eastern religion that Pike loves to scatter around his stories, or at least his version of it. But they also say that there is another ship of humans nearby, one that this crew will have to assist in decelerating so that they can then start a new human colony. The new captain is adamant that there’s no way there could be another ship of humans, which, like ... fucker, there’s been 200 years of progress on Earth since you left, you seriously disbelieve they could have made ANOTHER spaceship?

But anyway, they scan for it, and they find it, and then the presence comes back and tells them how to manipulate their technology to slow down and dock with this other ship. Specifically, they tell the scientists to clone the dead alien and have Paige interact with it, and then she will activate its genetic memories and remember herself. (More greatest hits!) So they go through the contortions to put a cloning womb in a shuttle fired at a slightly lower velocity and recapture it after enough time has passed for the clone to be an adult. (Time out: if there are shuttles on this ship, why couldn’t Paige just have taken one back to Earth instead of trying to get the captain to scrub the whole mission?) Under the guidance of the other, Paige takes the alien’s hands and concentrates on the connection between hate and love (yep, it’s back) and suddenly knows how to make the green crystals that will help control their engine. Along with a whole host of genetic manipulation techniques that will come in handy later.

Meanwhile, this universal presence is trying to teach the humans how to become one with it. It talks about understanding the difference between truth and illusion, and about the importance of love. But it won’t tell them the rest until after they recover the other ship. It turns out to be a colony in extended hibernation (with the propulsion end mysteriously missing) and check it out! Tem got on! Huzzah! Only he’s not waking up. In fact, out of more than 20,000 colonists, only two didn’t survive: Tem and one other woman. He death-cheated on Paige, that bastard!

But so the upshot is that Paige still isn’t satisfied, but her desire for this physical love with one human person that she can no longer have is getting in the way of her ability to achieve otherness. They’ve come back into real time now (this is the nine billion years she spoke of at the beginning), and they’re planning to colonize the dying Earth and live it out, but Paige wants to bury Tem first. Only he sits up and starts talking to her once they’re on the surface. Of course it’s the universal consciousness channeling through his body, and it tells her that everything is destined even though we’re not supposed to feel like it, and her destiny isn’t over yet. Paige is supposed to get back on the ship, empty it out, and take off with more green crystals, wait out a cycle of death and rebirth in the entire universe, and then come back to Earth the way she left it the first time.

So she does.

So if she went on and watched the universe start over, a span of who knows how long, why at the beginning did she say she’d been alive nine billion years? It’s never addressed! Let’s move on.

Her first thought, upon returning to Earth, is to break the cycle, to say fuck you to destiny and keep herself from having to suffer. So she gets a gun and some sunglasses and finds herself outside the library. But she can’t pull the trigger. Instead, she directs herself to the pond, just as before. Then, six months later, she goes to the pond, where Tem is diving again, and she befriends him and tries to start a relationship, all the while hoping that he won’t give up on Paige-on-the-ship for hiding-older-Paige-on-Earth. And he doesn’t. So she tells him something that only they could possibly know, a promise that she whispered to him on a deserted beach before she got on the ship. And now he knows that even though she’s got a different name and is older than she’s supposed to be, she’s back for him.

But Paige also knows that she’s got another responsibility. An awesome and terrible one. And it goes along with the genetic memory thing from earlier — how could she remember what the aliens knew unless somewhere along the line they had a gene in common? In fact: it’s hers. Part of her cycling around through a new universe was so that she would know that humanity needed a calamity to kick them forward toward the universal consciousness. And so she genetically creates the aliens. But that’s not all! She clones herself and Tem, in her own womb, and then when they all get on the colony ship and drop into hibernation she sets herself to wake up early so she can do what needs to be done. First, she disconnects the propulsion end of the colony ship and shoots it off into space to evolve its “aliens.” Then she wakes her children and joins hands with her daughter, who is actually her, and gives her shared consciousness. (No, she hasn’t accomplished unity, because it’s still just her and not the universe.) She can’t make her son into her partner, so he’ll always just be her brother ... another cockblock. But she does put them into a shuttle bound back for Earth, and then kills off this iteration of Tem and herself, because it is necessary for her growth.

A lot of tragedy going on here! Don’t worry — even though this is the end of the numbered chapters, it’s not the end of Paige’s story. As soon as she’s an adult, she and Tem enlist in the space army to try to track down and kill the menace of the aliens (which didn’t exist yet, but remember she already knows it’s coming). She uses her billions of years of smarts to work her way into command of a fighter, and then puts it into position to be captured by the aliens. But she’s got a radio in her pocket that basically EMP-bombs the aliens’ genetic code and kills them all. Then they fly the alien ship back to where Paige knows their home planet is (the one she sent them to in the first place) (and yes, she needed an alien ship to make it through their defenses undetected) and plants a bomb made of green crystals on the surface, one strong enough to destroy the planet itself. She intends to set it off herself, but surprise! Tem stowed away in her shuttle, and here he cuts off his foot so that she can’t make him leave, so that he’ll save her life and be the one to perish when the alien planet explodes.

Obviously this is the end of Paige’s career in the military, as well as the end of her hanging on to a love that wasn’t ever supposed to be. She finds a home with a primitive people on a distant planet, where she learns to weave rugs with such clarity and scope that the local shaman asks for a meeting. To get there, Paige has to hike for six days, each day overcoming another step on the journey to universal oneness. When she gets to the elder’s house, no one is there but a ten-year-old kid, who slowly reveals himself to be the elder, one with the universe, and tells Paige that she’s almost there if she will just accept it. And she starts to feel it, more strongly than ever before, strongly enough that she does finally believe him. When she leaves, the wind kicks up the surrounding dust, which forms into the shape of Tem, and they leave the physical realm hand in hand, together in love at last.

I know, it’s pretty sappy. But The Starlight Crystal is a solid synthesis of everything I liked about Pike’s early years, brought back with the skill (and, yes, some of the tropes) he’d develop over a decade of writing. It’s the love story I liked about the earlier lonely sci-fi novels, enough mysticality from the later stuff to make it feel more heavy and more real, and it ties together better than a lot of his other recent work. Maybe the math doesn’t hold up, but the feeling of want, of love, of a need to belong, does.

[illusoryteam]

Rant: Take Responsibility for Your Actions, Part 4

Writer: okbdsm Source: Multiple sources (including FetLife) Date: August 29, 2018 Errata: This is the final part of a series of rants regarding the importance of taking responsibility for your actions because whether you’re in individual, a small business, or a major corporation, if you are not going to honor your commitments, then you are putting your own personal and professional reputation at risk.

In 2012, one of my friends on FetLife would end up telling me about a camming Website called MyFreeCams. Either that same year or a year later, I would end  up discovering another camming Website called Chaturbate. Fast forward to 2018, I would dive into the world of Patreon.

This is actually going to be the longest of my rants, so the rest of it can be viewed via the Read More link.

So, what are MyFreeCams, Chaturbate, and Patreon?

Here are the descriptions from the HTML meta tags of each Website:

MyFreeCams: MyFreeCams is the original free webcam community for adults, featuring live video chat with thousands of models, cam girls, amateurs and female content creators!

Chaturbate: Watch Live Cams Now! No Registration Required - 100% Free Uncensored Adult Chat. Start chatting with amateurs,  exhibitionists, pornstars w/ HD Video & Audio.

Patreon:  Patreon is empowering a new generation of creators. Support and engage with artists and creators as they live out their passions!

I will get to Patreon in a little while.

In regards to MyFreeCams and Chaturbate, the vast majority of the Webcam feeds that are broadcasted on those sites are of a sexual nature where models would do things such as flashes, teases, dances, blowjob shows, masturbation (cum) shows, and the list goes on. Models would often offer various forms of content for sale on MyFreeCams and Chaturbate in exchange for the virtual currency known as Tokens. No matter how much a person spends when it comes to purchasing tokens on both Websites, whenever models are tipped on MyFreeCams and Chaturbate, they would earn 5 cents per Token. From models’ perspectives, this is how much they would have to make to get a certain dollar amount:

1 Token = $0.05

20 Tokens = $1.00

200 Tokens = $10.00

1,000 Tokens = $50.00

2,000 Tokens = $100.00

10,000 Tokens = $500.00

20,000 Tokens = $1,000.00

Now, how much do people on MyFreeCams and Chaturbate spend on the Token packages? Well, as of this writing, here are the current prices for the Token packages on each Website:

MyFreeCams:

10 Tokens for $1.49

15 Tokens for $1.89

20 Tokens for $2.49

25 Tokens for $2.99

30 Tokens for $3.49

35 Tokens for $3.99

40 Tokens for $4.49

45 Tokens for $4.99

50 Tokens for $5.49

55 Tokens for $5.99

60 Tokens for $6.49

65 Tokens for $6.99

70 Tokens for $7.49

75 Tokens for $7.99

80 Tokens for $8.49

85 Tokens for $8.99

90 Tokens for $9.49

95 Tokens for $9.99

200 Tokens for $19.99 (~$0.10 per token)

550 Tokens for $49.99 (~$0.09 per token)

900 Tokens for $74.99 (~$0.08 per token)

1875 Tokens for $149.99 (less than $0.08 per token)

3775 Tokens for $299.99 (less than $0.08 per token)

7575 Tokens for $599.99 (less than $0.08 per token)

Chaturbate:

100 tokens for $10.99

200 tokens for $20.99 (5% Bonus)

500 tokens for $44.99 (22% Bonus)

750 tokens for $62.99 (31% Bonus)

1000 tokens for $79.99 (37% Bonus)

1255 tokens for $99.99 (38% Bonus)

2025 tokens for $159.99 (39% Bonus)

4050 tokens for $319.98 (39% Bonus)

There are models that will also accept things such as Amazon e-Gift Cards, GiftRocket, PayPal (which is highly discouraged since they do not allow their services to be used in exchanged for sexual services), Circle (which is highly discouraged since they do not allow their services to be used in exchanged for sexual services), etc. in lieu of people purchasing Tokens.

For the most part, if I tip a model a certain amount of Tokens, provide her an Amazon e-Gift Card, GiftRocket, etc. for certain content (for example, photo sets, videos, Kik access, Snapchat access, cell phone numbers, Skype shows, etc.), most models that I visit will deliver on that content in a prompt and timely manner. However, I have run into three models on MyFreeCams and Chaturbate that I have either purchased content or won contests that they ran and still have not (as of August 29, 2018) received any of the content I’ve purchased and/or won.

Here is a list of some of the content that one model (I’ll call her the 2013 model for the sake of convenience) has owed me since 2013:

Fan Art

Fan Art

Photo of my screen name on the model's body

30 minute dildo masturbation video

Two photo sets

Upgrade from Beginner to Elite Four (some Pokémon themed profile club with certain benefits and features)

Music playlist

One photo set

Boyfriend for a week

Shower point-of-view video

Song request via a Clear the Board/Token Keno game (some chat room game)

Crazy request via a Clear the Board/Token Keno game (some chat room game)

Custom drawing via a Clear the Board/Token Keno game (some chat room game)

Mini song playlist via a Clear the Board/Token Keno game (some chat room game)

One future video via a Clear the Board/Token Keno game (some chat room game)

2 minute video via a Clear the Board/Token Keno game (some chat room game)

Valentine's Day picture via a Clear the Board/Token Keno game (some chat room game)

Song request

6 hours and 35 minutes (335 minutes of Skype time)

Additionally, I have entered a raffle that the 2013 model ran from November 25, 2013 to December 31, 2013 called the Rainbow Holiday Raffle. I actually managed to win The Blue Set which is supposed to contain the following content:

Ten different videos of unreleased content

A 60 minute Skype date

Two unreleased photo sets

A special Christmas card sent by E-Mail or through the mail

A special baked gift

To date, I have not received any of the content from the 2013 model.

Then, we have another model (I’ll call her the 2016 model) that owes me content that I have either purchased and/or won from raffles. This is just a small sample of items that the 2016 model owes me:

A handwritten letter letter (Valentine's Day related raffle content)

A dozen or so Fan Signs

Special Handmade Custom Valentine's Day Card (Valentine's Day related raffle content)

Goodie box with brownies or cookies (This was from a raffle titled the Raffle Raffle Raffle, but I mentioned to the model that I did not want the food, but what I did not tell the 2016 model is that since I never received the special baked gift from the 2013 model, I doubted that the 2016 model would mail them to me either)

A letter (This was from a raffle titled the Raffle Raffle Raffle)

10 minute custom video (This was from a raffle titled the Raffle Raffle Raffle)

All current content (This was from a raffle titled the Raffle Raffle Raffle)

Cookies, handmade Pokémon + Poké Ball & 20 personal pictures (This was from a raffle titled Raffle Me This)

Care package for the highest cumulative tipper in either July 2017 or August 2017

A southern fan sign

Southern post card

2 outdoor Polaroids (Up to 6 per person)

Any photos/videos that she took while she's back visiting home

Skype movie night for buying the movies Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas

Skype time to watch movies

90 minutes of sexual Skype time

HT wins secret print

Personal 10 picture custom set

BJ Snap show

Butt plug show (I'm assuming this is on Snapchat)

Sticky candy video (I'm assuming this is on Snapchat)

Candy Cane Cum Show (I'm assuming this is on Snapchat)

Personal show on Snapchat

HT gets a full size drawing + 2 polaroids! HT @ 160

Santa's Helper! 200 tokens - Santa's helpers get my Sweater photoset and an exclusive Christmas drawing sent to them (drawing can be sent digitally if you don't want it mailed!) + your name here showing my appreciation for your help this month!

These are custom videos that I am owed by the 2016 model (Note: one of these videos is from the Raffle Raffle Raffle that I haven't received yet):

Point-of-Video Dildo Fuck Video with the squirting dildo; seeing you with a shibari rope bra and nude beyond that

Double Penetration Video with the anal plug, the Bad Dragon dildo, and the Hitachi Magic Wand Massager; seeing you naked, of course

Cowgirl Fuck Video with the fuck doll, the sexy halter fishnet lingerie crotchless body stocking, studded spikes punk leather choker collar, fuzzy wristband handcuffs, nipple clamps, and the Hitachi Magic Wand Massager

Hitachi Cum Video with the Bad Dragon dildo and clit rubbing; with the exception of the cosplay restraint bondage sexy bra lingerie, punk goth heart-shape lock link leather collar choker necklace, fuzzy wristband handcuffs, and the nipple clamps, absolutely naked in that video as well

With the final model (I’ll call her the 2018 model), she said that she offers Private Shows on Skype at a low cost of $25 for 30 minutes. I’ve had a few sessions with her, but to date, there are three that still have not been done yet. So far, that’s $75 down the drain.

Finally, we get to Patreon.

I’ve been a Patreon of one of my local friends for nearly three months, and in this particular Tier (the Knight Commander Tier), I am supposed to receive the following:

1 8.5x11 lewd Print

Access to a special division of my Snapchat

Monthly special video chat 

Lewd videos

Access to my NSFW snapchat (which is updated super frequently with tons of exclusive content)

1 4x6 lewd print 

4x6 autographed print with handwritten personalized letter

Access to lewd photosets

Early access to all other Photo sets

Help me decide cosplays & Coordinates!

Lewd photo set previews

Access to Photo set bloopers

Access to exclusive LiveStreams

Added to my Patron exclusive Discord

Access to full cosplay photo shoot sets

Access to my Patreon exclusive feed

1 Digital Print each month

With my friend's Patreon, it's a bit of a mixed bag because while I have access to her current and previous photo sets, Snapchat (which I don't see the difference in the Snapchat content since I'm subscribed to her highest Tier), Discord, and lewd videos, I have not been mailed any of the physical rewards nor have I been reached out to regarding the monthly video chats. Overall, it feels like she completely overextended herself regarding the Patreon rewards because of how many have not been fulfilled.

I can understand that people can be busy. I wholeheartedly understand that. However, it is absolutely inexcusable for me to have to wait over a year (in the instance of the 2013 model, over five years) for me to receive content that I have paid for and owed. I really don't care how busy someone is, they should have time to be able to make and send the content that they owe someone.

What really pisses me off with the 2016 model is that while she is so busy that she hasn't worked on my backlog of items, she has somehow managed to find time to organize raffles in 2017, come up with holiday plans, and get on Streamate to try to earn more funds before the end of the year.

Myself, I don't charge for any photoshoots that I do because it's a hobby. I attend anime conventions, comic book conventions, and other activities frequently, and I can take well over 2,000 pictures a year. However, after any convention or event I attend has concluded, I diligently work on editing and uploading the pictures to Facebook within one week after the events have concluded.

I also know how to run contests and raffles.

In 2014, I did two contests on my personal Website, and those are the following:

Nintendo 3DS XL Contest

The Great Anniversary Contest

For the Nintendo 3DS Contest, I gave away a Nintendo 3DS XL. For The Great Anniversary Contest, I gave the 1st place winner a Nintendo 3DS XL, and the 2nd place winner a Nintendo 2DS. The prizes were immediately mailed after the contests were concluded.

I didn't charge for entry into the contests.

I did not have any sponsorship deals for the contests.

I paid for the prizes out of my own pocket. I took a financial loss doing the contests.

I largely did the contests as a way to drive traffic to my personal Website, and I hoped that people would be encouraged to check out my professional Web Design and Web Hosting Website so I can try to obtain clients.

I'm not going to lie. I've spent a lot of money on MyFreeCams, Chaturbate, and Streamate. While I don't have all of my data for the 2013 model (I know that I've tipped her over 60,000 Tokens), with the 2016 model, after converting the Token amounts to the actual amounts that she's received, she has received the following from the various sources:

200,000 Tokens (which equates to $10,000.00) from the amounts I've tipped on MyFreeCams and Chaturbate from 2015 to present day

$234.08 from the amounts I've spent on Streamate since starting in 2017

$2,039.25 of products from Amazon.com from 2015 to present day

A $1,034.00 customized computer from iBUYPOWER

This does not take into account of any gift cards I've sent on other Websites, any funds that I've sent on Circle, any funds that I've sent on Snapcash, and other things that I have not tracked.

All and all, if people cannot find time to work on content that people have paid for, they should not sell content. They should not do contests. They should reevaluate their business practices because they are accepting funds for services.

I have lost money by loaning/letting friends borrow money and never got paid back (for more information, please refer to Rant: Take Responsibility for Your Actions, Part 3).

I have lost money from models on MyFreeCams (the 2013 model, 2016 model, and 2018 model are on that site).

I have lost money from models on Chaturbate (the 2013 model and the 2016 model have accounts on Chaturbate as well, and I supported both of them on those Websites).

I can’t say that I’ve lost money with my local friend’s Patreon because I have received some of the content, but she either needs to keep better records of what she owes or she should not offer so many things if she does not have time to deliver on them.

Overall, I’m glad that the Illusory Team blog exists because I feel like I can finally post these things that I’ve been wanting to say for the past several years (mostly the contents of Rant: Take Responsibility for Your Actions, Part 3 and Rant: Take Responsibility for Your Actions, Part 4) that I feel like have been largely ignored by those that I should read it. Personally, I do not like ranting about things because I feel like many of my rants and complaints go unnoticed, so we shall see how well my rants and complaints are received here.

[dipulb3]

$200,000 streaming rigs and millions of views: inside the cottage industry popping up around SpaceX

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/200000-streaming-rigs-and-millions-of-views-inside-the-cottage-industry-popping-up-around-spacex/

$200,000 streaming rigs and millions of views: inside the cottage industry popping up around SpaceX

Beyer, a Los Angeles-based photographer and contributor to the space news site NASASpaceflight.com, had by that point been staying at a South Texas hotel for a month, watching and waiting and filming as SpaceX prepared to launch the prototype — an early iteration of Starship, the spaceship that company founder Elon Musk envisions will one day land the first humans on Mars — on a doomed test flight.

On this particular day, Beyer had his camera up on his car roof, pointed at engineers and construction workers as they tinkered with the rocket or prepared to pour concrete to expand the vast launch site.

The size and passion of Musk’s fandom means people like Beyer can earn decent money doing that job. They may have to spend thousands of dollars on camera equipment, but in return they get access to hundreds of thousands of doting fans, and millions of YouTube views.

That Saturday it seemed like there might be only a couple of days left before the rocket prototype, which was known as SN11, was launched on its test flight. Ultimately, though, Beyer had to remain in Texas for two more weeks before the launch actually happened on March 30.

The early morning launch proved to be a dud as far as visuals went: An early morning fog rolled in and obscured any chance at clear views of the launch site. Beyer watched the launch from a nearby park as the cameras rolled.

Then, at some point during its landing, SN11 exploded.

On another day, the explosion could have been good — if disappointing — footage for the NASASpaceflight team and others documenting the launch. But the fog meant that NASASpaceflight’s stream, which stayed live, offered only brief glimpses of smoke and flame. Worse, shrapnel from the explosion nearly knocked out thousands of dollars of camera equipment. One of the solar panels Beyer uses to keep the equipment running, was knocked out by the blast, but, luckily, the rest of the rig was spared.

A few days later, the NASASpaceflight team was already livestreaming the assembly of SpaceX’s next prototype — SN15.

Beyer said a local resident, who goes by the name “BocaChicaGal” online, is the linchpin of NASASpaceflight’s video operation. She began recording SpaceX’s operations near her home, which is sandwiched between SpaceX’s launch pad and manufacturing facility, before the news outlet began conducting regular livestreams, and she now works as a NASASpaceflight contributor. She declined an interview with Appradab Business.

Beyer said the channel’s contributors are paid for their work, though most of them keep side gigs to pay the bills. But lately, Beyer has made it a full-time job.

“It’s not a full-time job in terms of…I don’t get a salary or anything. I don’t get like health benefits, right? That’s normal,” he said. But lately he’s been working 40 to 80 hours a week on SpaceX-related content, and his online profile has grown to the point where he has a steady stream of donations and monthly income from Patreon, which allows fans to donate directly to their favorite online creators.

“It’s an insane amount of hours, but I will work my fingers to the bone. I don’t care,” he said. As a lifelong space fanatic, Beyer said, he would rather be in a dusty Texas town watching rocket prototypes explode than anywhere else on the planet.

NASASpaceflight is prolific. The team, which has about 10 contributors, is known to spend up to nine hours hosting livestreams as they await test flights. One NASASpaceflight stream of SN11 rolling down the street toward the launch pad, for example, got 1.5 million views in two months.

The contributors to NASASpaceflight aren’t the only ones doing this. Tim Dodd, who uses the moniker Everyday Astronaut, has amassed nearly 1 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. He began streaming the launches SpaceX conducts out of Florida and producing educational videos in which he delves into the physics of and design choices made for modern rockets.

Dodd previously worked as a photographer, shooting weddings all over the world, until he began airing his love of spaceflight through a series of Instagram posts in which he donned an old Russian flight suit. That evolved into a full-time YouTube career. He’s now set up a new studio space just a few miles from SpaceX’s South Texas launch pad, where a rear balcony gives him a clear view of SpaceX’s prototypes glinting in the sun. Though an Iowa native, Dodd has stayed in Texas for months tracking the company’s progress through a few previous rocket prototype launches.

Dodd has more than 5,000 Patreon supporters, and the donations roll in regularly during his YouTube livestreams — $5 here, $50 there. One subscriber sent a $250 gift with the note, “dinner is on me tonight.”

Though he pays producers, editors and other collaborators to help, Dodd mostly runs a one-person shop. He describes himself as an audio-visual perfectionist: He’s put more than $200,000 toward the cameras and equipment he uses to livestream the test launches, including new gear he recently ordered that will allow him to webcast in 4K.

“That’s where every dollar is going,” he told Appradab Business. “Scarily, every penny that I’ve ever made is in this right now.”

His efforts have paid off. He’s won the support of Musk himself, who frequently replies to Dodd’s questions on Twitter, has been repeatedly photographed wearing Everyday Astronaut merchandise, and has sat for interviews for Dodd’s channel.

Musk has also tuned into a 24/7 livestream of SpaceX’s South Texas operations that was set up by Louis Balderas, an IT consultant who lives on South Padre Island in South Texas, Balderas told Appradab Business. Balderas has for more than a year kept several high-end security cameras, which he said are together worth about $50,000, perched on nearby buildings or empty land. He uses them to stream an endless picture of SpaceX’s launch and manufacturing facilities on his YouTube channel, LabPadre.

“[Musk] said it’s easier for him to get an update on what’s going on rather than to pick up the phone,” Balderas said of what Musk told him about his stream during a 2019 meeting.

(SpaceX has not responded to interview requests or inquiries from Appradab Business in nearly a year.)

Last month, Balderas said, SpaceX employees took down a key camera — the one capturing the closest view of the launch pad — just before SpaceX’s SN10 rocket prototype was slated to lift off. The camera was perched on a piece of property he used to lease, but SpaceX had taken it over, and it took down the device without telling him beforehand. Then some of Balderas’ fans complained on Twitter, and power tweeter Musk personally intervened.

“First I’ve heard of this. We’ll fix the situation,” Musk tweeted at Balderas. Within a day, SpaceX had given him his camera back and replaced the rig he used to keep it elevated, and the feed was back up, Balderas told Appradab Business.

SpaceX and Musk rarely share their own updates about what’s happening at their South Texas facilities, which lie less than half a mile from a public beach called Boca Chica. That’s made streamers like Everyday Astronaut, NASASpaceflight and LabPadre an essential source of information about the operations.

When a prototype rocket is ready to launch, the YouTubers post feeds captured through remote cameras often set up days in advance. They go live hours before launch — long before SpaceX publicly confirms such tests are even happening.

Dodd, Beyer and other NASASpaceflight contributors keep their feeds filled with nearly constant analysis. Even without guidance from SpaceX, they’re able to post estimated countdown clocks ahead of launch solely by tracking observable changes to SpaceX’s fueling tanks and ground systems.

Unofficial livestreams of the SN10 prototype launch, which saw the vehicle soar about six miles high before landing upright on a nearby ground pad, wound up being key. SpaceX had wrapped its official livestream before the rocket exploded just a few minutes after landing, while independent streamers kept rolling, capturing the sudden eruption.

Musk himself said nothing until hours later, cryptically acknowledging the blast by posting a tweet that read “RIP SN10, honorable discharge.”

If it weren’t for the webcasters, the public — and many journalists who routinely cover SpaceX — might not have known until Musk tweeted that SN10 had exploded.

The cottage industry of SpaceX observers have gained new prominence on social media platforms at a time when the space community — mirroring political Twitter — is more divided than ever. There’s constant infighting among space fans, many of whom come in the form of anonymous accounts that rally around SpaceX and Musk as diehard defenders, levying threats or insults at those who critique the company. And there’s an emerging counter-movement, which is known to accuse SpaceX fans of being sycophants.

Dodd and Beyer both said they try to keep their heads above the fray. Their goal is to rally excitement around space exploration and to educate the public. They rarely mention the SpaceX controversy du jour. But the online “toxicity” does occasionally seep into the streamers’ comments sections, Dodd said.

“It sucks,” Dodd, who has nearly 400,000 Twitter followers, said. “I hate division. I hate tribalism. And I’m witnessing it happen more and more every single day…I don’t want to be thinking about negative things. I want to be excited about the future. And for me, that’s space.”

Evidence of the super-fandom the SpaceX YouTubers feed is visible on days when Boca Chica beach is open and rocket fans come by the carload, pulling off on the narrow roadway to snap pictures of the rocket.

On that Saturday last month, the fans flooded in, cameras at the ready. Brothers Matthew and John March said they had flown in to Austin and then drove nearly six hours south to stand beneath the massive steel vehicle. Philip Bottin, who lives in Washington State, said he drove practically from the top of the country to the bottom — his second pilgrimage to SpaceX’s South Texas launch site — to get a glimpse at the SN11 rocket and the remaining scraps of SN10, which were still visible near the landing pad.

Beyer said that after SpaceX’s first high-altitude test flight in December, which ended with prototype SN8 smashing into its ground pad and erupting into a ball of flames, there were maybe five people that drove out to the beach to get a glimpse of the wreckage.

After the test flight of SN10, however, “there was like 50 or 100.” Beyer said he’s even started having fans recognize him by the sound of his voice. (NASASpaceflight contributors provide audio but don’t appear on camera.)

“I say to people when they come up to me, ‘I’m so glad you’re excited about this because if people weren’t, there’s no way we’re going to Mars,'” Beyer told Appradab Business.

Getting to Mars is something Beyer, a lifelong space fanatic, hopes to do before he dies. But whether or not SpaceX is ultimately successful is only part of his motivation.

“There’s only going to be one moment like this in my lifetime, and this is it right now,” he said. “You have to strike while the iron is hot.”