#also some cats have distinct features most artists keep so its not THAT hard to recognise them. like if its a twink with a spiked collar

[tasmanianstripes]

Redesigning characters is FINE. It's FUN. You need to fucking calm down if you think otherwise.

There's nothing wrong with that as long as it's not done to somebody's oc (without consent) or they don't imply it's "fixing" the characters.

Some artists like to see themselves as characters they love, so they'll change their skin colour or body type or ethnicity or something else about them. It's FINE, it's just done for fun, as long as it's not done for clout chasing (often done by people who, for example, are skinny but redesign characters to be fat just to seem progressive) and the artist doesn't say they're "fixing" them it's FINE.

Some media, like animation, are limited in the designs they can portray. Artists don't have the same limitations as animation or movies have, so it's fun to draw characters with more detailed designs! For example, MLP characters partly so simplistic in their design so it'd be easier to animate them, but when you don't have to draw them 25+ times just to make a second of animation then it's fine and FUN to make their designs a little more complex! Sometimes the designs that are intentionally simplistic for animation look boring or flat in drawing because it's a different medium, so artists might want to redesign them slightly so they look better for that specific medium!

HELL, sometimes artists just like having artistic freedom and like to redesign characters because they prefer that type of design choice. Sometimes, like in book series designs, artists like to be more original with their depictions of certain characters. I'm gonna draw Mapleshade as a white cat with black and ginger freckles instead of a mostly black calico, who the fuck cares!

IT'S NOT A BAD THING.

[nightsblessed]

mega-questionnaire ✿ lance

► BASICS.

FULL NAME: Lancelot Apollinaire Chavers.

NICKNAME: Lance, Blondie.

AGE: 24.

BIRTHDAY: May 5th.

ETHNIC GROUP: Midlander Hyur/Wildwood Elezen.

NATIONALITY: Gridanian.

LANGUAGE/S: Common, semi-fluent Elezen. Capable of understanding any language.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual with a heavy male lean.

GENDER IDENTITY: Agender. He or they pronouns. 

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Taken.

HOME TOWN / AREA: Lavender Beds, Gridania.

CURRENT HOME: Rising Stones. Lavender Beds.

PROFESSION: Scion of the Seventh Dawn, Free Paladin, High Serpent Commander. Baker.

► PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Blonde, about shoulder length, shaved sides. Slightly shifting shades, darker towards the roots but brighter and highlighted on top where more exposed to the sun.

EYES: Green, odd-eyed. Right eye is darker, left is lighter. Both are a saturated bright green, slightly upturned and a little rounder than almond shaped. Epicanthic folds and monolids. Long eyelashes.

FACE: Rectangular/square head. Strong jaw, high cheekbones, dimples. Long-ish nose, slight hook to the bridge, wide nostrils. Rounded chin. Pointed Elezen-like ears.

LIPS: High cupid’s bow/”uni-lip”. Wide mouth and full lips, slight pout. Very kissable.

COMPLEXION: Warm brown. Freckles, the occasional mole. A little pink across his cheeks and nose from the sun.

BLEMISHES: None prominent. Very rarely a faded acne scar.

SCARS: Misc battle scars. Distinct gnarled and faded scar on lower back. More recently, long scars across his legs and torso.

TATTOOS: Small tattoo on inner right bicep, two snakes entwined around a sprig of lavender.

HEIGHT: 6’5”. (198cm)

WEIGHT: 190lbs.

BUILD: Athletic, muscular but young. Broad shoulders and back, narrower waist, muscular thighs. Very physically fit. Think hockey players body. 

FEATURES: Height, Elezen features i.e pointed ears and graceful look, odd eyes.

ALLERGIES: Lactose intolerant.

USUAL HAIR STYLE: Topknot/undercut ponytail. 

USUAL FACE LOOK: Friendly smile, a little airheaded. 

USUAL CLOTHING: Armor-wise, typically heavy plate or scale mail, green and bronze with fur trims and a long cloak. Civilian-wise, has a wide variety of clothing but sticks to light colors, simple patterns, and casual/sporty aesthetics. 

► PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Enclosed spaces, being crushed, isolation, abandonment. Being unable to save or help the people he loves. Fish.

ASPIRATION/S: To be a good son, help the Alliance and save Eorzea, to do right. Deeply desires to be a good husband and parent in the future as well.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Kind, compassionate, friendly, polite, overwhelmingly sweet and affectionate, charming, loyal, brave, protective, creative, nurturing. 

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, slow, clumsy, can be pushy and overbearing, overprotective, emotionally intense and sensitive.

TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine. 

SOUL TYPE/S: Caregiver/Spiritualist.

ANIMALS: Deer, dog, snake.

VICE HABIT/S: Overeating, sugar in general.

FAITH: Nophica and the Elementals. 

GHOSTS?: Yes.

AFTERLIFE?: Not really.

REINCARNATION?: Yes, in the sense that his aether will return to the Lifestream.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Eorzean Alliance. 

EDUCATION LEVEL: Highschool-ish. Decent at math, has a good head for history, but dyslexia has kept his reading and writing level generally low.

►FAMILY.

MOTHER: Georgene “Georgie” Chavers.

FATHER: Pace Chavers.

SIBLINGS: None.

EXTENDED FAMILY: Bertille, maternal grandmother. A couple aunts and uncles, a few cousins, none he’s particularly close to.

NAME MEANING/S: 

Lancelot - Land, Lance, Spear

Georgene - Farmer, Earthworker

Pace - Peace

Bertille - Bright, Famous

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: None.

► FAVORITES.

BOOK: Family cookbooks.

DEITY: Nophica.

HOLIDAY: Moonfire Faire.

MONTH: May.

SEASON: Spring.

PLACE: Gridania.

WEATHER: Sun and rain.

SOUND/S: Birds chirping, night rain, laughter, wind through trees.

SCENT/S: Petrichor, cut grass, fresh baked goods.

TASTE/S: Sweet cream, berries, toasted nuts, herbs.

FEEL/S: Down, soft fur, cotton, moss, tree bark.

ANIMAL/S: Rabbits, cats, deer.

NUMBER: 2.

COLORS: Green, yellow, white, brown.

► EXTRA.

TALENTS: Highly talented baker and chef, great still life artist. Near-prodigy level grasp of conjury and white magic. Well trained with sword and shield, very comfortable with melee combat and heavy armor.

BAD AT: Not tripping over his own feet, most battle magic, archery or any kind of marksmanship. Reading any sort of long form text, focusing on tasks that don’t interest him, sitting still.

TURN ONS: Red hair, short guys, sass and banter, a cute laugh, friendship first.

TURN OFFS: Rudeness, lack of empathy, negativity, being boring. 

HOBBIES: Baking, crochet and knitting, embroidery, painting, sketching and charcoal drawing.

TROPES: Dumb Jock, Dark-skinned Blond, All-Loving Hero, The Empath, Badass Native, The Paladin, Green Thumb. 

QUOTES: “I want to leave no one behind. To keep & be kept. The way a field turns its secrets into peonies. The way light keeps its shadow by swallowing it.”

► MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1: If you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about? 

A1: oh wow what a question. i think i’d really like to have his stormblood arc in a movie because it’d be half action adventure fantasy shit being up fascists but it’d also have a lot of his growth as basically a soldier and a young adult and his love life, going through a cute enemies to lovers thing with his boyfriend/future boyfriend. no clue what it’d be called though but i think either live action or semi-realistic cgi/animation for sure.

Q2: What would their soundtrack/score sound like? 

A2: probably pretty light and sweet instrumentals, lots of woodwinds and strings, the occasional more somber and heroic tracks. ori and the blind forest would be a good comparison, something that would evoke a lot of naturey vibes while being magical.

Q3: Why did you start writing this character? 

A3: im in love with @emet-selch ‘s character avis and wanted to make him the perfect boyfriend

Q4: What first attracted you to this character? 

A4: i generally really like pure of heart dumb of ass characters, soft jocks are some of my favorite characters both to read and write, so i packed a lot of tropes i really enjoy into him cuz i just wanted him to be very sweet and loyal.

Q5: Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5: honestly i havent had a big chance to write him in more serious/hard situations but while in plotting and just thinking about him, i think he can big a big stubborn asshole and its a little annoying.

Q6: What do you have in common with your muse? 

A6: fire venus. though fr i think mostly lance and i are just very affectionate and loyal! and love sweets and baking.

Q7: How does your muse feel about you? 

A7: im pretty nice to him and i let him have a very good life so i think we’re very chill

Q8: What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?

A8: again i haven’t really had interactions with a ton of characters but i do like putting him in situations with other really extroverted characters, especially around his age cuz he turns into a dumb impulsive jock instantly.

Q9: What gives you inspiration to write your muse?

A9: honestly mostly the msq, strangely enough? a lot of it gave me inspiration for him and his story so doing it on alts always makes me consider and think about what he was doing then!

Q10: How long did this take you to complete? 

A10: about 3 hours before formatting and posting!

[scriptstories2-blog]

Screenwriter

The Invisible War

Feature Film – Supernatural Spiritual Suspense Drama

 Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis (Ghostwriter) & Jesse Battle

“The Invisible War is a supernatural spiritual drama that follows the life of a struggling black artist reluctant to believe in God after being abused as a child, who suspects he is being stalked by a threatening woman who possesses a demonic spirit.  Scenes often deliver on this high expectation and highlight the risks to the protagonist who derives tension from these obstacles effectively. Action relates well to the core concept, and the characters have room to be exploring their emotions as well as convey meaningful subtext.  As Jesse is repeated stalked by Simone, who is hell bent on converting him towards occult and Satan, Jesse soon finds himself turning to religion in an effort to get her out of his life.   Jesse is further educated in ways of demons by Born Again Christian, Angela, who works with Jesse at a hotel and who offers Jesse advise on how to deal with them through Bible teachings about ‘Spiritual Warfare’.  Through a series of compelling encounters with Simone and her ‘fellow’ demons, Jesse soon discovers his true ‘gift’ of discern ‘demonic spirits’ living inside human beings — a gift he possessed as a child but has since forgotten.  This ‘gift’ also proves to provide another spiritual awakens when a message is relayed to him from God that he has been chosen as the ‘Last Prophet’ to rid New York City of its demonic presence.  As Jesse struggles to deal with this revelation he turns towards Christianity itself to bind the evil sprits around him. As the battle escalates between Simone, and her fellow Satan/occult worshiping roommate, Caesar, Jesse is lured into a den of evil in a tent located at the Brooklyn Trinidad Street Carnival where attendees offer human sacrifices to Satan.  Here Jesse confronts all the demons, including the Satan himself, in a climactic scene, which proves to be both realistic and breathtaking.  This script deserves high marks.  Great writing!”

RECOMMEND – Reader from Specscout.com

Sunnycrest Farm for Boys

One-Hour TV Series – Family Period Drama (1960s)

TV Series Development, First Episode & Treatment by Suzanne Gillis (Ghostwriter) & Michael Jackson

“There is solid potential in for this TV Series premise, particularly in the nostalgic feel and the transition 12 year-old Michael makes from a dangerous urban area environment to the pleasant life on a rural farm. The contrast between life in the North Philly projects, complete with broken elevators and aggressive gang members recruiting young kids, to life in Quaker/Amish Lancaster County – with swimming/fishing holes and feeding livestock – is quite effective. The meeting between Big Momma and Miss Stuckland effectively sets up the action and change of location that follows.  Once Michael arrives at the farm, the writer does a solid job drawing him out of his shell and showing him form friendships with the other orphaned, neglected and abused boys.  The bonds are formed and the storyline is engaging at all times. The strong characters who encounter bullies, negro girls at a neighboring farm for girls who they engage with through weekly dances, as well as the many other adventures highlighted in the additional episodes, makes this TV Series stand out and highly unique.”

Reader NSP – ScreenplayCoverage.com

Sunnycrest Farm for Boys

One-Hour TV Series – Family Period Drama (1960s)

TV Series Development, First Episode & Treatment by Suzanne Gillis (Ghostwriter) & Michael Jackson

“

SFFB’s main characters are charming. A young boy from the projects of Northern “Philadelphia is lucky to have a grandmother, Big Momma, so determined to protect him from gangs that she talks her grandson’s way into a three-year program with the Quakers that teaches academics and farming life far away from the inner city projects. The writer shows a strong ability in good storyteller, as Michael’s journey to Sunnycrest Farm is both touching and engaging.  You have set up a family that you can really root for – which viewers will want to tune in to find out what happens to the family and to Michael on a weekly basis.  There is a Family Television feel to your script as well as a unique and lively family that we can really care about root for right away. Despite the danger lurking in the Projects, your script has a very warm and hopeful feel to it, which a viewer can easily share with his whole family.  There is no visual violence from the gangs in North Philly, but only sounds and threats made, which makes Michael’s stay at Sunnycrest seems like a bucolic, adventurous journey full of boyish scuffles and challenges free from violence.  Since this is also autobiographical, we eagerly anticipating Michaels ‘weekly’ adventures. The strength of a family is a good theme — especially the strength of the women – Big Momma, Van, and Miss Stuckland. Michael having doubts about leaving his family to take advantage of Sunnycrest is every child’s experience on leaving home for the first time.  The importance of having good friends around him is also a theme for Michael – as well as sharing his family with his newfound ‘orphaned buddies’ who never grew up with families of their own or the experience ‘loving relatives.’ The overall tone of your TV Series is youthful and one of discovery.  This could be a great TV show for the entire family.”

Reader SLT – ScreenplayCoverage.com

Sunnycrest Farm for Boys

One-Hour TV Series – Family Period Drama (1960s) 

TV Series Development, First Episode & Treatment by Suzanne Gillis (Ghostwriter) & Michael Jackson

“The drama centers on the journey of a young boy, who struggles with the joys and the heartbreak of growing up in the 1960s in the North Philadelphia Projects and at Sunnycrest Farm for boys. The time-period and culture feel authentic and the tone is consistently dramatic. The pilot offers a cast of likable and charming characters driven by the emotional goals and struggles.  The opening is strong and easily pulls the audience into the pilot as well as nicely sets the tone as well as firmly establishes the culture and time-period. The image of opening with JFK speaking in the North Philly projects to a mostly Negro crowd is smart.  The main characters opening voice-over is also sharp as it introduces the audience to Michael’s ordinary world.  The idea of Michael attending Sunnycrest Farm is the pivotal event that changes Michael’s life forever.  The rest of the pilot is driven by Michael’s struggle to adjust to his new world full of farm life, Quaker values, the surrounding Amish community and the orphan boys, some of who becomes his most ‘trusted’ friends against the many orphaned and abused bullies.” 

 Reader TZ – Screenplayreaders.com

Bon Appetite'

Half-Hour TV Series – Live Action-Animation for Pre-Teens

TV Series Development, First Episode & Treatment by Suzanne Gillis (Ghostwriter) & Lennox Blackwood

“Thank you, Suzanne, for all your talent in helping me develop this pre-teen animated and live action TV series kids show.  Your contribution to the characters and story was extremely appreciated as well as your attention to many fine details.  You somehow took my strange animated ‘cooking utensil’ characters and brought them to life — giving them each very distinct voices with personalities, which exceeded my expectations. They are now equal to many famous animation TV shows and movies of our times and completely unforgettable. I also enjoyed the process of working with you, which helped me to better understand the entire TV SHOW development process.  It allowed me to walk away with the TV script that I truly love as well as an incredible first episode.  I am grateful to you for all your hard work and additional help after the project was finished.  Your suggestions on how to prepare material for marketing were extremely helpful. Can’t wait to use you again on more future projects!”

 Lennox Blackwood, Client, Creator and Writer – London, UK

The General's Wife

Feature Film – Period WWII Suspense Thriller Drama (1940s)   

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Charles Gibbs

“This WWII drama has a compelling premise — a high-ranking Nazi General is married to an American wife who is secretly working with the Allies, and their teenage son who is torn between his parents.  The concept provides lots of narrative tension and forces you to care deeply about Kurt’s untenable position trapped between his feelings for both parents whom he deeply loves. I also enjoyed the similarity to Alfred Hitchcock’s NOTORIOUS, in which Nazi Claude Rains discovers he is married to an American spy played by Ingrid Bergman and the tension of how it played out once she entered his house. The dialogue has a formal quality to it, which is appropriate to Europe in WWII. “I have no intentions of abandoning my wife now, or in the future. Nor do I feel my son would approve of such an arrangement.” None of the dialogue jarred me out of the time and place of the story, and in my experience is a rare achievement. The complicated climax was well choreographed; with the writer deftly keep track of the movements of over a dozen characters. Well done!”

  Reader 8204 – The Blue Cat Screenplay Contest

The General's Wife

Feature Film – Period WWII Suspense Thriller Drama (1940s)

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Charles Gibb

“Gripping and intense in a number of respects, this script begins with an innately high-stakes scenario and builds upon it a storyline that remains energetic and fairly harrowing throughout its duration. The opening immediately establishes the tone and historical backdrop of the story, following Nancy as she is exiled and Kurt begins growing up without her. As she attempts to reach out to him, first pulling Kurt into a more rebellious mindset, the story advances toward its second act, following both of them to a surprising turning point as Albert essentially decides to join their cause.  At every turn, it feels as if Kurt, Nancy, and even Albert are risking their lives in the name of completing increasingly valiant deeds, and this sense of imminent repercussions creates a natural investment in their actions. Some solid character beats, funneling toward a conclusion that seems fast-paced and action-packed; this script deserves credit for rendering a narrative with some intrinsic, gripping appeal, and a broader presentation that comes across as entertaining throughout its duration.”

Scriptshark.com – Reader EK – CONSIDER

The General's Wife

Feature Film – Period WWII Suspense Thriller Drama (1940s)

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Charles Gibb

“THE GENERAL’S WIFE has an intriguing, evocative premise that remarkably hasn’t been done before to this reader’s knowledge, despite the plethora of films about World War II.  It’s got a universally understandable dilemma for all three lead characters – Albert, a Nazi, his wife Nancy who works for the Allied forces in secret, and Kurt their son, who is stuck in between his two parents and pulled in both directions. The script structures itself around this setup smartly, with Albert’s turn not coming until midway through the story, at which point the family is united in purpose against the Nazis, culminating in a climactic wedding sequence that is rich with tension.”

 Specscout.com Reader

The General's Wife

Feature Film – Period WWII Suspense Thriller Drama (1940s)

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Charles Gibb

“Utilizing a fascinating concept within a proven genre, THE GENERAL’S WIFE unfolds a sweeping insight into a family torn apart and ultimately finding redemption within humanity’s most brutal setting. Within this rich tableau, the screenplay conjures fascinating character dynamics, reveals unique perspectives, and weaves these elements into an engrossing, entertaining, and fiercely cinematic screenplay.  It is abundantly clear that THE GENERAL’S WIFE is a great screenplay with a solid structure and the writers’ outstanding prowess is evident throughout.”

 Scriptshark.com – Reader GM

The King's Rook

Feature Film – Sci-Fi Action Thriller

Story Development & Rewrite by Suzanne Gillis

“Thank you so much for all your hard work in this difficult rewrite.  You addressed all our main concerns as well as fixed all the character issues which were holding back the story and did it all in record time to meet our shooting deadline.  Your suggestions and insight were dead on and exactly what we needed and helped to make this a much stronger script from start to finish.  We will certainly be looking forward to working with you again on other future projects.”

STELLAR FILMS – PRODUCERS Liv Zheng & Zane Thomas

The Naughty Boy

Feature Film – Holiday Family Fantasy Adventure

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Kyle Watson

“This has great potential as a movie about a boy who decides to reclaim the true spirit of Christmas and remind people what the holidays are all about – family.  It’s a great theme and sadly often overlooked during the holidays.  These days, Christmas seems to have become all about the presents.  I like that the writers are able to take the story to the extreme point of James stealing presents in an attempt to make parents and kids realize that they need to communicate better. The parents realize that they’ve been interfering with Santa by buying presents for their kids.  That’s all great and really hits the theme.”

 Scriptshark.com – Reader EK

The Naughty Boy

Feature Film – Holiday Family Fantasy Adventure   

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Kyle Watson​

“Suzanne, I wanted to say that I believe in you. You are an extremely talented writer and are always in tune with every aspect of this screenplay project, even aspects that often elude me. This script is already incredible and I believe that a lot of that is purely you. You probably already know that, but I felt compelled to say it now so maybe there is a reason for it. I look forward to seeing the final draft and getting this project into the movie theaters very soon.”

 Client, Co-Writer & Co-Developer – Kyle Watson

The Naughty Boy

Feature Film – Holiday Family Fantasy Adventure

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Kyle Watson​

“A fun holiday family film with enough whimsy and wit to appeal to both children and adults, THE NAUGHTY BOY creates a vivid fantasy world but populates it with believable, complex characters. James is a wonderful protagonist, and his growth from insensitive lout into a caring person is affecting because he is such a nuanced character, with complicated emotions just like a child in his situation would be. The other characters are likewise immediate and emotionally real, so the dramatic stakes of the story always feel important. THE NAUGHTY BOY has a number of great ideas percolating through it, and is packed with wonderful characters.”

John Papapvolos, Gallagher Literary Agency – RECOMMEND

My Grey Alien

Feature Film – Musical Sci-Fi Romance

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis (Ghostwriter) & Jeffrey West

“First of all, I want to say how much FUN I’m having with this project.  It has been an extraordinary experience for me and it’s just the beginning. I feel CONNECTED and ENGAGED in the creative process again and I’m LOVIN’ it!  I have no idea how you did it, but you took my crazy idea about a Musical love story with an AWOL Alien who sings lead in a Country Western band and falls in love with a female SINGER — beyond what I had ever imagined.  The characters are incredible now!  Thank you! You really ramped it up this fantastical story and made sense of all the crazy elements — including developing an incredible cast of characters — and turned it ALL into an enormously workable and entertaining movie! And as for the MUSIC, you even encouraged me to WRITE TWO NEW songs, which pulled it all together even more, in terms of the emotional elements, needed to round out this incredible CAST of unique characters.  Outstanding JOB!”

Jeffrey West – Client, Co-Writer/Creator & Songwriter – Santa Cruz, CA

Dog Gone Dubie

Feature Film – Comedy Romance Adventure

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Craig Frankel​

“Bright, funny, and playfully optimistic in tone, this script begins with a unique concept and builds upon it a touching romantic comedy scenario. Excellent characters, a subtle and elegant overall delivery, and a strong sense of cinematic storytelling further bolster a finished product that feels as if it possesses an innate and natural sense of commercial appeal. In its quirky, offbeat sensibilities, and its distinctive style and written voice, it proves thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.”

CONSIDER – Scriptshark.com – Reader EK

HONORABLE MENTION – The Happy Writer’s Screenplay Contest

Dog Gone Dubie

Feature Film – Comedy Romance Adventure

Story Development & Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis & Craig Frankel

“With her knowledge of screenplays, Suzanne was able to take my story and create a screenplay that has structure, style, and flow. She created the dialogue that helped the characters have an endearing nuance to them. She was able to build character arcs that allow the story to be told in such an engaging way that the personalities of the characters literally jump off the page at you. I highly recommend Suzanne! “

Craig Frankel – Client, Co-Write & Co-Developer

Cupid's Day Off

Feature Film – Holiday Fantasy Adventure Romance

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“Suzanne, this was a really cover-to-cover fun read and a story that I believe will find a home. It reminds me a great deal of an old Jack Benny movie, ‘THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT’. It is about Ethanial, an angel, sent to blow Gabriel’s horn at midnight, thus ending the world. Naturally, he fails and it is a hilarious look at the fish-out-of-water among humans in New York City. It also reminded me a bit of MICHAEL, but the more innocent side.”

Joseph Pillitteri – Professional Screenwriter

Mr. Anonymous

Feature Film – Romance Comedy 

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“Big Plusses! This is a romantic comedy that has a very clear, original, highly clever premise. You know how to create believable characters and walk them through very funny situations. The script has a definite appeal over and above the average romantic comedy because of the mortician and sperm donor angle. This is a topic not many dare to tackle. Great job!”

CANE 49 – Screenwriter & Mentor

Mr. Anonymous

Feature Film – Romance Comedy

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“Every once in a while a script comes along that is fresh, original, and just a lot of fun to read! This was that script. I loved the characters and the funny aspect of the story had just enough seriousness to not be too cheesy. It’s obvious that the writer is experienced as this was a breeze to read. Well done!”

Joseph Pillitteri – Professional Screenwriter

The Mother Load

Feature Film – Family Romance Comedy  

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“First off, I really enjoyed ‘The Mother Load.’ It was indeed one of the most entertaining scripts I’ve read in a long while. The prize of the script is the characterizations. Especially the quirkiest characters like Marion, the mother, who manages to keep the story flowing rather nicely along. The characterizations are almost good enough to sell the story on their own.”

Alfredo Fortuna – Professional Screenwriter

Undatable You

Feature Film – Romance Comedy  

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis ​​

“Wow, Suzanne, this is a terrific screenplay and the best I’ve read on this Web site. I can understand why producers are interested in reading it. You take a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy and deviate from its standard procedure producing an entertaining and lovable script. You really describe your characters accurately and paint an excellent picture of them in the reader’s mind. Great premise, great chemistry, and a great plot. Congratulations!”

Justin Kremer – Screenwriter

In-Between

Feature Film – Fantasy Black Comedy Drama

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“Great Originality. I love this kind of story that takes us out of the everyday world into the strange unknown. There are other scripts about the afterlife, but this one has a ‘spark’ because Sam isn’t your average Arch Angel. He’s mean, grumpy, self-absorbed and hates dead kids. His inaction practically jumps off the page when he does nothing but get pissed off at his fate in the ‘in-between’ afterlife, while being forced to do good for the newly dead whom will all have far a better death than he ever will. Bryan is his final chance at redemption, but Sam doesn’t know this.  Once Bryan figures out Sam’s dark past, the premise of ‘what happens to a guy who never had a chance to do any good in life – suddenly turns into a great story to watch. Seeing the living and dead interact in the tiny rural town of Hadleyville, NY helps makes Sam and Bryan’s journey all that much more fun and terrifying, and gives great scope and depth to their final mission.”

Joseph Pillitteri  – Professional Screenwriter & Mentor

The Gamekeeper

Feature Film – Fantasy Family Action Adventure

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“The driving concept is a young boy in the 1980s that is trapped in a board game that teaches him how to become a man while also learning the harsh lessons of reality that his father is trying to teach him.  The premise is easily delivered and is accompanied by a compelling structure that is consistent from start to finish. There is also a strong theme that stems from a premise about the power of imagination and staying true to one’s inner self.  A slew of added characters in the fantasy world mirror similar characters in the boy’s world, which adds extra flavor to the story, which delivers on its many expectations.  The film contains elements of other such commercial hits as BACK TO THE FUTURE, JUMANJI, A KID IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT, HARRY POTTER and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  The tone is effective within its genre and creates a world that is both mystical and fresh.“

RECOMMEND  – Scriptshark.com – Reader BN

The Gamekeeper

Feature Film – Fantasy Family Action Adventure

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“The combination of characters and setting help create a most original premise which is set in the 1980’s in Northern California.  A teenage boy spends his day’s obsession with the famous board game Dungeons and Dragons, which forces his father to make a decision to take the game away.  Distraught, the boy soon purchases another even more elaborate game from a local junk dealer unaware of its dangerous powers.  Soon the boy’s three-year-old brother is sucked into the game where an evil sorcerer uses children’s fingers to gain his evil powers which force the boy and his two friends to try and rescue him — all while his parents are busy attending a neighbors Halloween party nearby and are unaware of what is going on at their home.  The characters and dialogue are greatly distinguished from each other and do not fall prey to the typical high school stereotypes.  Conflict is presented right from the beginning and accompanies a strong and compelling structure.  The writing is presented in a professional manner from start to finish and possess a highly original and vibrant tone.”

RECOMMEND – Specscout.com – Reader TH

Under My Skin

Feature Film – Romance Comedy

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“I liked this. You have a knack for picking out risqué topics and giving what you write that extra punch to it. Originality! The script wins big prizes for this. Tyrone’s character makes the script very original.”

Joseph Pillitteri – Professional Screenwriter

Under My Skin

Feature Film – Romance Comedy

Original Screenplay by Suzanne Gillis

“I’ve read comedies on this site, but this one absolutely cracked me up. This is a movie that has to get made! Anything less would be a sin. All the characters were well developed, each one with their own distinct voice–some with much higher ones than others. This was an entirely new spin on the Romantic Comedy! Great idea.“

RECOMMEND – Reader Scriptshark.com

TOP TEN – Triggerstreed.com (2 years in a row)

 About Author:

 General Background

 Professional Screenwriter since 1995.  Professional Screenplay Ghostwriter since 2007. Experienced in Comedy, Family, and Adventure, Suspense, Drama and Spiritual films.  Specialize in Story and Character Development for feature film screenplays and new TV Series.

Suzanne has written over fifty screenplays, including scripts which have been optioned, produced and/or in development.  She has previously lived in Los Angeles and New York City and is currently residing in the Boston area where she is originally from.  She offers screenplay ghostwriting and TV writing services to a vast array of clients, including helping clients to write and develop new screenplays and TV shows.

 Education

 Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts, NYC Film Division – MFA in Screenwriting Graduated with Honors (3-year program)

Hampshire College, Amherst, MA – BA in Narrative Film, Screenwriting & Playwriting

[antiquery]

el’s guide to the lovecraft mythos

hey! so this is mostly a post for my dear friend will @wellsforboys, who asked for a primer of sorts on the best lovecraft stories, because his collected works are such a doorstopper, and reading them all in chronological order is quite an intensive task. these are, in my opinion, the cream of the crop; keep in mind that, for a lovecraft fan, my tastes tend towards the unconventional, and if you ask someone else you might get a very different list. i’m going to try my best to avoid the most intensely, egregiously bigoted, but if there’s something i feel merits inclusion despite the aforementioned bigotry i’ll include a warning. i’ll also provide links to all of these stories through the free online archive, but if you’d like to get a hard copy and delve deeper, i recommend this one from arcturus or this one from barnes & noble. if you’re strapped for cash and/or would prefer to read more online, here’s the link hub for the complete works. let’s get started!

lovecraft stories are typically broken up into two categories: the “mythos” stories, and the “dreamlands” stories. the former are the stories you typically think of when you think of lovecraft, if you know weird fiction— they tend more towards hard sci-fi, and usually deal with doomed scholars, hubris-ridden scientific exploits, the massachusetts countryside, outer gods, and various types of aliens. they’re far more famous than the latter, most of which concern the adventures of various vaguely keatsian protagonists in a narnia-ish realm dubbed the dreamlands, which is internally consistent and frequently cross-referenced. the distinction between these two types of stories is only a very broad one, though; characters, locations, and themes. frequently appear in both. the term “mythos” is rather misleading— all the stories take place in the same ‘verse, with the same gods and the same cosmology. really, it’s a division of style and subject material. personally, i prefer the dreamlands stories, but most lovecraft fans (unsurprisingly) prefer the mythos tales (which i will admit are more technically, narratively apt). i’ll try and include a roughly equal amount of both, so that you can get a feel for what you prefer.

so, without further ado, here’s the list! in chronological order:

the statement of randolph carter: first story, first appearance of my boy! here he’s wracked by ptsd from the great war and the recent eldritch demise of his boyfriend research partner; the story is told in the form of a police statement. this is one of the most gothic of lovecraft’s tales, and also the one with Alternate Universe Florida. it’s a fave.

celephais: sort of a dry run for the dream-quest of unknown kadath, but clever and unique in its own humble way. it’s got the same themes of refuge in dream, and it’s got a sweet ending that’s cleverly subverted by the protagonist’s later appearance in the dream cycle.

from beyond: people have mixed opinions on this one, but i’m fond of it. while usually classed as a dream cycle tale, it has that element of scientific hubris that pops up so often in mythos stories, and an absolutely chilling central premise.

nyarlathotep: first appearance of probably the most well-known mythos baddie after cthulhu. here he’s terrorizing innocent humans in the guise of Eldritch Modernist Nikola Tesla. will, for you specifically— if you like nikola orsinov from the magnus archives, you’ll like nyarlathotep (both the character and the short story).

the nameless city: this might just be my favorite one-off tale (though i am fond of the lovecraft reread’s hypothesis that the unnamed protagonist might be our boy randy carter, because this is precisely the kind of stupidity he’s so prone to). top-notch archaeological horror about exploring a deserted city that might not be as empty as it seemed.

the music of erich zann: lovecraft doing chambers, basically. it’s a clever little tale, and has an innovative use of auditory horror, which wasn’t all that common for hpl.

hypnos: probably the second most homoerotic story lovecraft ever wrote (though there are a lot of those, surprisingly enough). local keatsian meets a supremely beautiful, nameless man, they fall into dreaming (and opium addiction) together, things go downhill from there.

herbert west— reanimator: this one’s a bit longer, but it’s a cult classic, adapted into a delightfully campy 1985 film starring jeffrey combs. it’s about a scientist who goes Too Far, in the frankenstein sense, in pursuit of...well, you can guess from the title. it’s a fun modern (for the twenties) twist on the gothicism of mary shelley, and the title character is so much fun.

the hound: another super-gothic tale, and probably the single homoerotic story lovecraft ever wrote. actually, it’s kinda like a mini the secret history via poe. local decadents get into the occult over their heads, pay the spooky spooky price. gotta love it.

the rats in the walls: this one’s another classic poe-esque story, pretty clearly a riff on fall of the house of usher. it’s a wonderfully psychological piece of gothic horror, but huge trigger warning for The Infamous Cat Name. aside from that bit of unpleasantness, this is one of the first pieces where lovecraft handles the horror of ancestry well, with the classic conceit of a literal decaying house (or priory, as the case may be), and it’s pretty cool to see him really come into his own with something that’d so fundamentally define his work.

the unnameable: another carter story! this time he’s acting pretty transparently as lovecraft’s author avatar, talking about the value of horror fiction and, uh, fainting in terror at the slightest hint of any actual horror. better luck next time, randy. we’ll check in with him again in a few.

the festival: first canon mention of the necronomicon! exciting! and, if i recall correctly, the only story actually set in kingsport, one of the small massachusetts towns (along with arkham, dunwich, and innsmouth) that make up the major landmarks of lovecraft country. it’s about, as the title suggests, a Nefarious Ritual, and also astral projection? cool. it’s a pretty neat bit of creepery, nothing really special, but a good example of the kind of regional horror lovecraft was starting to handle particularly well.

the call of cthulhu: i’m basically obligated to include this one, though to me it’s not really a standout, because it’s so damn famous. it does get points for a clever and thematically intelligent narrative structure, and the astoundingly creepy idea of artists’ dreams being influenced by an Imminent Horror. 

pickman’s model: another super chambers-esque story, and one where the monologue formatting works loads better than it did in statement of randolph carter. like in music of erich zann (and, to some extent, call of cthulhu) this is lovecraft wrestling with the cosmic-horror implications of the fine arts. it’s also got a lovely twist at the end, one of those really chilling clincher lines lovecraft is starting to develop a knack for.

the silver key: chronologically the third carter tale, though no one’s entirely sure where it fits in the narrative sequence of his stories. it’s basically a modernist diss track, wherein our boy wrestles with the ennui that comes from, uh, reading t.s. eliot? (funnily enough, this is basically “the hollow men” via keats.) it’s not really a horror story, but it’s one of my favorites nonetheless.

the dream-quest of unknown kadath: FINALLY, we get to my favorite. this is a short novel chronicling randolph carter’s adventures in the dreamlands as he seeks out a dream-city that the gods have denied him. it’s the odyssey via lord dunsany, with a few twists— carter’s not really an epic hero, polutropos or otherwise, and it’s fun to watch him navigate a treacherous landscape in such an unconventional fashion. it has an excellent, atypical twist ending, and my favorite appearance of nyarlathotep ever. it’s also the chronological end of the carter cycle,* and our boy goes out with a very pratchett-esque bang.

the case of charles dexter ward: a lengthy slow-build tale of an evil necromancer and his impressionable descendent. it moves somewhat slowly, but it’s so delightfully atmospheric that you don’t really mind. bonus points for the clear riff on wilde’s the picture of dorian gray. also, first appearance of mythos deity yog-sothoth!

the dunwich horror: aaaand now we get into the string of very well-known mythos tales that lovecraft wrote around 1930. this is a classic, about an insular family with a destructive predilection for the occult.

the whisperer in darkness: a lovely slow-build and partly epistolary tale, featuring the classic Intense Stupidity of mythos protagonists. also featuring aliens from...pluto? and the first real appearance of the theme of bodily dissociation, which lovecraft got super into near the end of his career.

at the mountains of madness: this one’s so good. it’s more of a novella than a short story, about a doomed expedition to the antarctic sponsored by our favorite Dark Ivy, miskatonic university. it’s an awesome piece of worldbuilding about the pre-human earth, and a near-unique bit of sympathy for the non-human. it was also the inspiration for john carpenter’s 1982 classic the thing, as well as a tragically abortive guillermo del toro adaptation.

the shadow over innsmouth: i’d call this the climax of lovecraft’s writing on hereditary horror, and it’s brilliant. the ending is one of my favorite final paragraphs in all of lovecraft, maybe surpassed only by dream-quest. the story proper is about a young massachusetts native investigating the strange coastal town of innsmouth, and just why, exactly, something isn’t quite right about it. it loses points, though, for a truly horrible and lengthy application of dialect, and for being a very obvious metaphor about interracial marriage. sigh.

the dreams in the witch house: probably my favorite story after dream-quest of unknown kadath. it’s...kind of dark academia-y, actually, about a miskatonic undergrad who moves into a house formerly owned by a famous witch and discovers a method to travel to other dimensions— at a price, of course. lovecraft was never good at character building, but he did manage to create a genuinely sympathetic protagonist in walter gilman, which makes the ending all the more chilling. there’s also an awesome rock opera adaptation of this story, which i highly recommend.

the shadow out of time: another favorite! it’s the culmination of lovecraft’s late-career fondness for body-swapping horror, and as well as being genuinely cosmically terrifying (and wondrous) it’s quite psychological, in a way lovecraft wasn’t usually very apt at. it’s got alien civilizations! anticipatory soviet terror! the horrors of interplanetary colonialism! awesome libraries! what’s not to love?

the haunter of the dark: the last independent story lovecraft wrote before he died in 1937, it’s a beautiful send-up of providence, hpl’s hometown, and a delightful final appearance of my man nyarlathotep (albeit in a new form). plus...eldritch journalism? it’s great. also, i can’t mention this story without referencing this fic, which you should absolutely read immediately after the actual tale. 

and that’s it! happy reading!

* you can read “through the gates of the silver key” if you want, it’s technically the culmination of the carter cycle, but it was mainly written by e. hoffman price and edited by lovecraft, and i (along with plenty of other hpl scholars) don’t really consider it canon. it was lovecraft’s first real foray into body-swap horror, but because he’s trying to shove it into a character arc that’s already over and done with it doesn’t do very well. you get essentially the same narrative with “the shadow out of time,” done much more skilfully. to me, “gates” smacks intensely of derleth, lovecraft’s “posthumous collaborator” and Mythos Manichaean, which...ack.

[awildhanmonster]

More Ado about Characters:

Alright, now for round 2!  The following characters are all more one-offs and have no direct relation to each other quite the same was as Nell/Leonora/Barnes do, so let’s see if I can keep this under novel length.  

Remy Green, aka Remy:  17 years old in current canon, and still in the last leg of high school, Remy is, for lack of any better term, a reverse werewolf: perpetually stuck in the form of a gangly wolfdog monster on all nights save the brightest of full moons.  Originally just a “normal” human kid just trying to survive through graduation, her entire life wound up turned on its head when an out of control werewolf attacked and bit her while out with friends one night.  He was subdued and arrested, even later charged for the negligence and violent assault, but the damage had been done and the virus passed on— in the worst ways.

Remy essentially suffered the equivalent of a severe allergic reaction and anaphylaxis during the first shift, which took hours (normal were shifts should be minutes) and resulted in her parents frantically driving her to the ER in tears.  She survived, though the diagnosis— for a fragile kid with shaky self esteem— was, at the time, seemingly a fate worse than death.  Despite her form, she never seems to suffer the loss of mindfulness or weakened inhibitions of most werefolk during “peak” moon periods.  

Remy has since started learning how to cope with life in a new form she didn’t really want or ask for, and she has the full, unwavering support of her parents, though it’s still a lot for a teenaged kid to handle.  I’m pretty sure she wound up being pulled from high school and is trying to finish out her last year and a half or so at home, though she could really use some friends she doesn’t think are “obligated” to love her like her parents are.  I think she’s pretty lonely and dealing with a lot of depression issues.  Luckily she’ll fall in with Wayne at some point, who’s like a sweet (greasy stoner) older brother, and he and the rest of the Losers can adopt the hell out of her as a little sister and teach her how to not give a fuck about what humans think when you’re a weirdo.  She’ll earn her happy ending eventually.  

Rose Lund:  Absolutely 100% a retooling/transplant of one of my dearest, most beloved, super shitty/earnest self-insert characters as a 12 year old on Neopets and I have NO SHAME AT ALL.  Rose is a human mage (they do exist!) around 30 or so, a pale/skinny English-Caucasian mutt with green eyes, straight brown hair, and a penchant for fancifully extra looking dyed bang fringies because she’s stopped giving a fuck.  She’s one of those rare people who can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, blessed by a very… unique way with words that’s unintentionally contributed to her internet fame as a slice of life blogger about the day to day trials of pet dragon (well, wyrm) ownership.  

Rose has been passionate about rare and magical exotic creatures since she was a wee girl, and developed an obsession with dragons (‘wyrms’ being the correct term for all non-sentient varieties) before she was out of grade school.  In college she double majored cryptobiology and spell artistry, then upon graduation, acquired a pair of rare pygmy wyrms— from temperate and tundra subspecies— respectively, as pets, both for personal reasons and to aid in her pursuit of a master’s degree in cryptobiological husbandy.

Pygmy wyrms, it should be noted, are generally terrible pets.  While only growing to approximately the size of a house cat (10-12 pounds on average) and sporting the appearance of beautifully miniaturized mythological six-limbed dragons any fantasy nut would fall in love with, they are far from domesticated, exasperatingly precocious, and have the charming habit of expelling flammable gas from a myriad of orifices when startled.  They have a distinctive, vaguely musky sulfurous smell about them regardless of cleanliness and are just clever enough to ignore training commands when convenient.  Imagine giving a very ornery, very clever raccoon flappy wings with a several foot wingspan, feeding it rotten eggs, and strapping a flamethrower to both ends, then rigging it all with an excitable hair trigger.  That is a pygmy wyrm.  Rose owns two in an apartment complex: Ice Pack (Packy), who is a pale milk white/ice blue, and Sharky (Sharkbite), who is black and burgundy/red.  

Needless to say they’re the loves of her lives and she revolves around them, having garnered a massive internet following thanks to her daily posts about their antics and the realities of exotic pet care.  They’re harness trained now and reasonably polite, though this is only due to years of hard work and constant reinforcement.  She hopes one day to breed more biddable specimens and help contribute to the conservation of the species worldwide.  Also, they’ve made her very good at anti-flammability hexes.  

Shun —: known only by her first name, a kitsune who moved into the apartment complex fairly recently with her pet pipe fox, Yuzu.  It should be noted that kitsune are particularly long lived among mythicals, though how long exactly that is tends to be hotly debated and unknown by all but the foxes themselves.  What is known is how they are extremely slow to age after reaching their peak maturity/fitness, with certain individuals reported over 500 years old and, apparently, showing very little of their age beyond a massive swath of grown tails (nine being the highest on known record).  Kitsune typically grow to around 30-40 lbs, outwardly resembling a much large. leggier, more willowy silhouette than traditional foxes, and will begin life with a single tail that splits or “buds” and multiplies over time.  

Neurologically they are fairly unique among mammals, possessing a kind of distributed intelligence throughout the body that can give the tails a “mind of their own”, so to speak, in much the same way as octopi or other related cephalopods do.  In fact, due to the extremely slow rate of cell death/turnover, a severed kitsune tail will continue to move and attempt “functioning” for weeks, even years by some reports, under correct conditions.  Which I’ll get into shortly.  

Swerving back to Shun herself, she’s an artist by trade who zigzags between traditional and digital freelance work for a living.  Conservation of mass is still in place for humanoid shifts— which all kitsune can voluntarily assume— with predictably small, delicate, androgynous bodies that rarely get above 4’5’’ or so in stature.  Features like pointed ears or slit pupils/exposed tails can be morphed or shown as desired, though the chronic perception of being childlike or “cute” regardless of how old they are is a pretty common occurrence.  Shun is no stranger to this either, and hates shopping for clothes at non-mythical-specific places because she has to do so in the *really* young children’s department for anything to fit.  

Back on the subject of pipe foxes, though— Shun is a kitsune with 3 and 3/4 tails.  She had an unspecified accident several years ago in which she lost the final quarter of her fourth tail, but managed to retrieve the piece after several weeks of searching, at which point it was already trying to become a pipe fox.  Pipe foxes (at least in this world) are the result of a severed kitsune tail’s survival instincts going horribly wrong (or right) and attempting to restructure themselves for survival, and the amount of tail there (i.e. how much was separated from the body) will determine what becomes of it, though the “starting” process is pretty identical no matter what you do.  

If a severed piece of tail has no food, eventually, with time, it will die.  If, however, you keep it somewhere safe (like a drawer) and you present it with food (which could be, I don’t know, a chicken leg), it will sense it, and you will see the start of a small, gaping fanged mouth begin to grow from the stump.  Once this has formed, the tail will wriggle itself to its prize and devour everything it can, sustaining it.  Keep feeding the tail and it will continue to grow legs, organs, features, and a face— though not necessarily in that order.  Eventually, you will have a small— usually mouse to rat sized— beautiful white magic fox, prized heavily by black market collectors for its splendor and apparent luck giving properties.  A true quarter-tailed pipe fox will live somewhere between 5-40 years, unpredictably.  The distributed intelligence of the tail will reform/conglomerate into a brain relatively on par with a modern pet dog, possibly smarter (or much dumber) depending on your luck.  

If, however, there is MORE than roughly a quarter tail chopped off, with more of the nervous tissue and mass intact, the pipe fox resulting may appear larger and more robust.  Many exotic buyers have been lured into purchasing these creatures from traders without realizing, and years later the unlucky recipient will find their precious fox’s skin suddenly flaccid on the ground like a shed cocoon, having erupted into 75 tinier pipe foxes that will summarily swarm the accessible property to spirit off with literally anything they decide is valuable, never to be found again, often raging like an infestation for days or WEEKS before vanishing forever.  

Rumor has it that feeding an entire severed tail will result in 75 tiny pipe foxes bursting forth from the cocoon shell that will each burst into 75 more bug sized foxes each, resulting in a plague of nigh biblical proportions.  But that’s never actually been confirmed on record.  

Needless to say the kitsune have a lot of protocols for dealing with severed tails and will usually destroy half-formed pipe foxes of unknown origin on the spot.  Shun keeps Yuzu as a pet due to being intimately aware of the little rat-sized creature’s origins, and she still had to sign SO many extra insurance papers and wavers before the complex would let her move in.  

I am not good at keeping it short, am I?  Wow.  Well, there you have it!  I’d be happy to answer any extra stuff I forgot too if someone has a question.  I do love these nerds.  

[life-in-the-monster-haus]

Monster Haus Reviews: Super Monsters

Since Monster High (and Ever After High) have no animated specials lined up at this current moment. I’m going to start reviewing Monster High adjacent properties. Today I’ll be reviewing Netflix Original Series Super Monsters!

It’s a show about the children of famous monsters in pre-school learning how to control their super natural powers before they get into kindergarten. This show debuted on Netflix October 13th 2017, I’ve watched a few episodes and the show is pretty much Monster High for very little kids, it’s cute, colorful, inspired and has a lot of heart in it! But I wouldn’t exactly call in ground breaking it’s got some cute lessons in it for little kids (such as encouraging manners and tidying up)  The kids start the day as humans and at night they turn into their true monster selves.

The main cast is 6 kids and 2 teachers.

The teachers are Igor (the most good looking version of an Igor I have ever seen) and his Granddaughter Esmie. She is adorable but it’s hard for me to stomach the idea that Igor reproduced to have grandchildren, even this newer handsomer Igor. But she’s super cute! I like the idea of a gothy Pre-school teacher!

I watched the whole first season and part of the show I do not understand is why the kids start the day as humans, Their parents don’t seem to need to hide or transform so why do the kids? I wouldn’t even mention this is it wasn’t such a big part of the show, every episode consists of two 11 minute episodes and each episode has 2 transformation sequences in it. They say “Sun Down! Monster up!” when they turn into monsters and “Sun Up” when they turn back into humans and go home for the day. They don’t specify why they need to hide as humans at all, I wanna say to avoid prejudice from real humans but they don’t state that, that kind of thing happens in this universe so I’m left a little confused. They go out in public on field trips and to pizza parlors run by humans and no one seems to have a problem with them being monsters...so why the transformations?

The kids are sweet no matter what form they take, human or monster they are both painfully precious.

The designs range from super cool! to super samey.

Let’s go over each kids name, design, personality and super powers!

Cleo Graves is the daughter of the Mummy! she’s adorable and all but we’ve seen her hundreds of times in media, her name is Cleo and she’s an Egyptian princess. I feel like every time we see a female character from Egypt her name has to be Cleo or she loses her street cred. There are other female rulers of ancient Egypt that could be explored here. in Monster High we have our own Cleo after Cleopatra and Cleo's sister is named Nefera after Queen Nefertiti. If I was going to name this little mummy I would have went with naming her Hattie, after Hatshepsut. I’m also super over the Egyptian princesses as a personality trait thing, Where are the ancient Egyptian punks!? brats? athletes? nerds? spooky weirdos? class clowns? None of these concepts are new, they’ve been around as long as school has and I wish we’d take advantage of that more often.

Her super power is perhaps the most unique thing about her, they say in the show she controls wind but she’s been shown making clouds that rain and controlling sand so I think her power is more like control over the weather and not just the wind.

*pinches nose bridge* This kids name is Drac Shadows...Drac... Who keeps thinking this is a good name for anyone but Dracula!? There’s tons of old school vampire names out there, Vlad, Ixion, Vincent, Roman, Sterling, Talon etc etc. and they go for Drac, since it’s a kiddie show I would have kept it simple and went with Vlad or Bram. His personality is he’s very self absorbed, He’s a very gifted flyer and has a tendency to show off.  He also tends to jump into situations without fully considering them first. He’s still growing his fangs in (he only has one) and his power is flying...duh. Not a ton to say about him really.

Katya Spelling has one of the more unique names! She’s a witch and her power is magic (duh) but her personality is very shy, cautious and considerate! Her mother has instilled in her that good witches use their magic to help others and she takes that advice to heart. Shes learning how to fly her broom, no one else is allowed to touch her wand and her familiar is a cat that turns into a plush when she’s in her human form. (pic shown further down)

*rubs temples* a Frankenstein named Frankie...ground breaking, I’ve never heard that one before. Frank and Frankie seem to be everyone's go-to when naming these types of monsters and I get why but it’s also so painfully over done, they could have at the very least named him Hank or Francis. I really wish they would have kept his glasses when he transforms or the unibrow when he’s in his human costume. they’re both unique features and it’s a shame that he has to trade one for the other. His power is super strength, He’s very sweet but very clumsy and doesn’t know his own strength yet, I appreciate that he’s kind and not just some big dumb doofus.

Lobo Howler is a werewolf! His power is super speed! I don’t really understand this trend with making werewolves fast, yea they run faster than humans do but it’s not like they're the fastest land animal (that distinction belongs to the cheetah) Wolves aren’t even in the top 25 fastest, so why is it so common to make them fast??? But that’s the only thing about him that’s predictable, he’s an athlete (he wears a varsity jacket) he’s got ants in his pants, he’s hyper active, inquisitive and confident! I have no beef with his name it’s just wolf in Spanish but at least it’s not super common and it makes his ethnicity un-disputably Latino which as I’ve seen many times in cartoons if a character is ambiguously brown people will just say they’re a tanned white person and its important to all little kids to see themselves in media! I don’t really like that his eyes change from brown to green when he’s in his wolf form, Green eyes aren’t even common in wolves (not impossible like blue eyes are, but still very rare) common eye colors in wolves are yellow, amber, orange and brown. so this design choice seems odd.

Zoey Walker is a zombie! and her power is that she can see and walk though walls! Zoey is by far my favorite character in the group! she is so adorable! She’s an artist (she paints) and she’s book smart! (she likes to read) and she’s considerate of others! I LOVE her design so much! she is so colorful! However what I love the most about her design is also what I dislike the most about it - while she’s very cute she looks nothing like a zombie, as soon as I saw her I assumed she was a living rag doll but they call her a zombie in the show??? I don’t understand it but she’s perfect everywhere else so I’m not going to question it. Zoey the Zombie is a great example of how to name a monster with it being close but not too predictable! Also her last name is hilarious if you are a fan of The Walking Dead.

Like Lobo her eyes also change color when she transforms and just...why!?!?! why green!? is green a more dead-friendly color? it’s cute on her, but why!?

They also have a class pet (Glorb the Hampster) and Katya’s familiar (Henri the cat)

In the season finale in they introduce a new character: Spike the Dragon! He’s only in the finale so we don’t know much about him yet other than he’s Chinese (stated that Chinese new year is a big deal in his family)  and his power seems to be to summon clouds and make waves. He’s a little cutie pie! I love his design!... But I really wish they would have went with a different name.

All in all the show is very cute! I highly recommend it if you have little ones around or if you’re just into spooky cartoons! (like me) It’s a Netflix original show and I really hope it gets picked up for a second season!

The animation is really cute if not a bit boring but that’s kinda the standard of 3-D cartoons these days, I’m not sure if being 2-D would help or hinder this show.

I really wish there was an explanation for why they have to change into humans, I just don’t get it. Monsters and humans seem to peacefully coexists in this world. The werewolf kids dad works for the fire department and his fellow fire fighter is a human woman, They took a field trip to a pizza place run by a human man, Their veterinarian is a human woman (she may not be human he name is Dr. Jekyll ) and so far none of them have freaked out in the company of monsters... In fact They went out trick or treating to human houses to show off their powers to “trick” the humans and the humans seem to love them!?!?

This is not the face of someone whose shocked and afraid of being in front of a zombie. In fact they invite the humans to a Halloween party and they all go, no questions asked, no conflict started. I do not get the transformation sequences at all.

But it’s fun to see what the kids would be as humans. My favorite part of any non-human media!

[laetro]

Casey Robin: Observing the World Firsthand

Illustrator and designer, Casey Robin, recons she will run out of time on this earth before running out of inspiration. She has not only illustrated for film, books, toys, and fashion but also teaches and curates gallery shows. Creator of the #MarchOfTheFairies Insta challenge. That art can enable better connect with our fellow humans and help set a new vision for the future is something Casey trusts in.

LA-based illustrator and designer, Casey Robin loves to draw fauns, cats, mermaids and adorable girls. Cal Arts CSSSA, Studio Art Centers International and The Illustration Academy at Ringling are only a few of the institutes she’s formally studied art and animation at. With an equally diverse clientele – Walt Disney, Animation Studios, Disney Publishing, Goldie Hawn, Breyer Horses, and Pinup Girl – Casey has explored various roles as an artist through her journey so far.

Styles: Organic, Digital, Illustrative, Flat, Realistic

ORDER A CUSTOM ILLUSTRATION

Q. What made you want to become an illustrator?

Casey Robin: When I was about two years old I had a hard time sleeping. Hoping to get a good night’s sleep, herself, my mom dumped heaps of crayons and paper and armfuls of picture books into my crib. I devoured them, then called out, “More colors! More books!” I’ve been in pursuit of illustration ever since..

Q. How do you define your style and what do you consider its distinct characteristics?

Casey Robin: An episode of Japanese Ninja Warrior provided my ethos: “Her secret weapon is cuteness.” While my style encompasses a wide range of looks, it is most often described as cute, pretty, whimsical, and other pleasant words. I design my art to feel like a hug because there are a lot of people out there who need a hug. There is also a more elegant side to my work, drawn from thoughtful observation of nature. I tend to favor simple forms and flowing linework over fussy detail. I keep my colors pure, airy, and vibrant.

Q. What is the process like when drawing from other mediums life films, books, toys, etc?

Casey Robin: I tend to draw from imagination, observation, and photographic reference. I may look at books or movies for inspiration, but I seldom draw from them. More often, I take a walk and observe the world firsthand. I may take pictures for future reference or I may just let it all wash over me. If I need to draw something I don’t have access to, I turn to photography as a reference. I always try to see the gesture first, then the big shapes, light and shadow. Detail usually comes last. I often inject flourishes drawn from pure imagination.

Q. How do you ensure and practically achieve the balance between your vision of a project and the client’s brief?

Casey Robin: When reading a brief, I note the client’s needs. What do they need to communicate, and to whom? I then try to imagine I am a member of the client’s key demographic, coming upon this art as part of my interaction with the client’s messaging. What do I expect to see? What do I want or need? What colors and shape language will speak to me on a subconscious level and entice me to keep looking? From there, I plan my design.

Q. What do you look for when choosing clients to work with?

Casey Robin: I hope for interesting clients with an open imagination and deep respect for their audience. If they are also whimsical and childlike, all the better. I, myself, am quite whimsical and childlike. It is important to note the distinction, in this case, between being childlike and being childish. A childlike person is able to tap into their deepest, earliest experience and see the world with fresh eyes. They retain their adult sense of reason but pair it with youthful wonder. A childish person, on the other hand, lacks emotional maturity. The childlike artist will paint you a fresh and lovely picture. The childish artist will wail and throw her paint at the wall.

Art helps us set a new vision for the future which can motivate, calm, and encourage us in the midst of uncertain times. It also sparks joy, stirs emotion, and help us better connect with our fellow humans.

Q. What was it like working with Disney?

Casey Robin: Working with Disney has been a tremendous growth experience. I have been fortunate to have worked with them in a number of different roles and capacities. Some fit me like a glove and others like a pinching 4-inch stiletto heel. I learned to honor my natural rhythm as an artist, and that Story and the Story Room are not the same things. I learned that the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but time and chance happen to them all. Ultimately, my experiences with Disney taught me to value myself as an artist and work to develop my unique voice.

Q. What kind of projects excite you the most and why?

Casey Robin I am most excited by visual development for animated features because of these light-up parts of my brain don’t always get to come out to play. The animated feature is – among other things – a marriage of many art forms. It incorporates visual art, naturally, but also writing, acting, sound and music, dance, pantomime, and improvisation. It marries abstraction, color theory, observation, and imagination in a way that makes my neurons dance. I also enjoy storybook illustration because it is deeply satisfying to develop charming visuals with which to relay a simple story.

Q. What would you say are your strongest skills and most vital lessons you’ve learned?

Casey Robin: I am particularly skilled at observing the natural world and translating it into simple shapes and colors. I excel in gesture drawing, which gives all of my work dynamic rhythm. I also have a keen sense of color, developed over many years of digital and traditional painting. Still, the most vital lessons I’ve learned have been intangible: things like how to build and maintain a professional network and how to use social media without destroying my mental health. I’ve learned that sometimes the best thing to do is to take a walk.

Q. What do you consider to be the most significant achievements as an artist?

Casey Robin: Truthfully, I am still young in my career. My most beautiful achievements are just around the bend. To date, though, I am proud of developing and co-directing the animated short “Chalk” during my time at Disney feature. I am proud of my output of personal work – pinup girls and mermaids and fairies – and the community that has gathered around that work. I’m still tickled that I got to design a Pinup Girl dress for ladies to flounce around in. Most recently, I’ve been excited to develop animated characters in collaboration with Goldie Hawn and also to help with character designs for Breyer’s new preschool IP, Piper’s Pony Tales. Additionally, I am pleased to have originated the drawing challenge #MarchOfTheFairies, which has become a bit of a thing on Instagram.

Q. What do you do to keep growing and evolving in your craft?

Casey Robin: I draw and paint almost every day. Lately, I have enjoyed drawing live for my audience on Instagram. These little warm-ups keep my pencil moving and help me clarify my thought process as I narrate the thoughts running through my head as I make the picture. I also take in a lot of excellent art and keep setting myself new projects and challenges. There is no shortage of wonder and challenge in the world. I will run out of time on this earth before I run out of inspiration.

ORDER A CUSTOM ILLUSTRATION

[aion-rsa]

Ma Rainey’s Life and Reign as the Mother of the Blues

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom stars Viola Davis as one of the most influential blues singers of all time. The real Ma Rainey was the first stage entertainer to bridge the gap between the white and the Black performance circuits. “If you don’t like my ocean, don’t fish in my sea,” Rainey warned in her 1927 song, “Don’t Fish in My Sea,” but the crowds couldn’t stay away. She was one of the first entertainers to play integrated shows in the Jim Crow South, and the first popular singer with authentic blues in her setlist.

“Madame” Gertrude Rainey was the “Mother of the Blues,” but the world knows her as Ma. She wasn’t the first woman to sing the blues. She’d actually heard it while playing vaudeville, tent shows, and cabarets. Rainey wasn’t even the first woman to record the blues. She began recordings when she was 38 in 1923, three years after Mamie Smith’s Feb. 14, 1920 recordings of “That Thing Called Love,” “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,” and “Crazy Blues” for Okeh Records in New York City.

A Georgia Cakewalk and Some Alabama Fun Makers

Ma was born Gertrude Pridgett on April 26, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia, or September 1882 in Alabama, according to a later census. Her parents were minstrel troupers Thomas Pridgett, Sr. and Ella Allen-Pridgett. She began singing professionally in 1896, after her father died. Her first public performance was in the 1900 stage show, “The Bunch of Blackberries,” at the Springer Opera House in Columbus. Pridgett soon performed on the tent-show circuit with troupes which set up their own stages.

Pridgett first heard country blues in 1902 while she was on the road, according to Sandra Lieb’s Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey. At a stop in Missouri, she saw a young woman singer accompany herself on guitar playing a song in a pentatonic scale with blue notes. Pridgett added the song to her repertoire as an encore. The everyday anguish and joy resonated with audiences. Pridgett would continue to add songs she heard in the towns she played. 

In 1904, Pridgett married a singer, comedian and dancer named Will Rainey, and they toured as the duo Ma and Pa Rainey. “Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues” played regularly until the pair separated in 1916. Ma went solo, touring with her own tent show, Madam Gertrude Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Set, which included a chorus line of male and female dancers. The traveling troupe spent winters in New Orleans where Ma mingled with the cream of jazz masters.

In 1923, she was signed to Paramount Records by Mayo “Ink” Williams, who was the most successful blues producer of his time, the first Black producer at a major label, and the only person ever inducted into both the National Football Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. Pianist Thomas A. Dorsey entered Rainey’s world in 1924. Dorsey, who would later go on to gain fame as a gospel songwriter, was also her manager and musical arranger, much like the trombone player Cutler (Colman Domingo) in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He spotted the talent for Rainey’s touring ensemble, the Wild Cats Jazz Band. The musicians played blues, but also performed written sheet music to play contemporary jazz.

During Rainey’s five-year recording career at Paramount, she recorded with a rotating crew of musicians in various musical settings, but who all laid down genuine rural blues songs of heartbreak, betrayal, drinking, superstition, prison road gangs, and hard and easy loving. 

Rainey wrote or co-wrote about a third of the 92 songs she recorded for her label. With her strong voice, unapologetic lyrical sexuality, and onstage abandon, “the Paramount Wildcat” devoured contemporary women blues singers like Ida Cox and Sippie Wallace like appetizers. Ma wore that tag as proudly as the gold she adorned herself with after she became famous and became the “Golden Necklace Woman of the Blues.” Her only competition was known as “The Empress of the Blues,” and it was a very friendly rivalry.

Bessie Smith

Ma was performing with the Moses Stokes’ Traveling Show when she met Bessie Smith, the troupe’s new chorus girl dancer, in 1912. Ma was 26 and Bessie was 18. Chattanooga, Tennessee-born Bessie Smith had spent her childhood performing on street corners. Both her parents and a brother died by the time she was nine years old. Smith went on to be the highest paid African American performer of the “Roaring Twenties.” 

According to the book Bessie, by Chris Albertson, legends persist that Rainey kidnapped Smith, forced her to join the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and taught her to sing the blues. Bessie’s sister-in-law Maud Smith says the legend isn’t true, but it made for great publicity. While there are some accounts that Rainey was Smith’s vocal coach, it appears her suggestions were more about vocal stylings and performance. Both were virtuoso singers with distinct and personal deliveries. Ma’s slow driving moan and Bessie’s vibrant contralto were signatures. They performed together regularly and the two artists remained lifelong friends.

Both singers expressed themselves boldly, their lyrics were masterpieces of double entendre, and their lives were as risqué as the songs. The two Jazz Age divas proudly proclaimed their bisexuality. While neither confirmed rumors that they were lovers, Smith bailed Rainey out of jail when the Chicago police busted in on the singer in the middle of some erotic personal entertainment with some of her female dancers. And Rainey’s bisexuality comes through in her songs.

“It’s one of the things that I really loved about Ma Rainey,” George C. Wolfe, director of the movie version of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, tells Den of Geek.* “One of the songs that she records… is a song called ‘Prove It on Me [Blues],’ in which she sings these incredibly bold, very unapologetic lyrics such as, ‘I went out last night with a bunch of friends. Must have been women because I don’t like man.’ And that was one of her hit songs in the 1920s. And so she lived her life unapologetically that way.”

And it’s not that she didn’t “want no man to put no sugar in my tea,” as she sang in “Bo Weavil Blues,” but “some of them’s so evil, I’m afraid they might poison me.” On some occasions, however, they came up with something interesting. “My man says sissy’s got good jelly roll,” Rainey confessed on her 1926 song “”Sissy Blues.”

In other songs she admits a fondness for younger men. Colman Domingo, who plays one of Ma’s band members in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, tells us the power of Ma’s life was that she could make these things happen in a country with systems as stacked against her 1920s America.

“I love in the film how she holds her woman with her nephew right there,” Domingo says. “And everyone knows that Ma is gay as well. I love that August is examining that, that she created her world. And in her world, she is the queen, and everything she says goes as well. They know. They know Ma’s proclivities in every single way. And that was also that pioneering spirit. She was fighting so many systems at that time, being a woman, being a gay woman, in a male dominated industry. She’s a true champion.”

In her 1998 book, Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, Angela Davis sees Rainey as a revolutionary who embraces heterosexuality and lesbianism, and observes the women in Rainey’s songs “explicitly celebrate their right to conduct themselves as expansively and even as undesirably as men.” Davis sees Rainey, as well as Smith and Billie Holiday, as inspirational models for how African American women can overcome racism, sexism, and capitalism.

Louis Armstrong

The iconic jazz legend Louis Armstrong was so inspired by Ma Rainey, he stylistically paid homage to her every time he put down his horn to sing. Even his facial expressions were reportedly reminiscent of Rainey’s. “Satchmo” played cornet on Rainey’s songs “Yonder Comes the Blues,” “Jelly Bean Blues,” “Countin’ the Blues,” and “Moonshine Blues.” The 1927 re-recording of that song is featured in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, but the original 1923 version was done with him, May, and Lovie Austin and Her Blue Serenaders.

Armstrong was also part of Gertrude “Ma” Rainey & Her Georgia Band’s rendition of the now-standard piece “Stack O’Lee Blues.” Ma was one of the song’s early interpreters, though her rendition actually carries the melody of the song “Frankie and Johnny.”

Along with Charlie Green on trombone, Buster Bailey on clarinet, Fletcher Henderson on piano, and Charlie Dixon on banjo, Armstrong also played cornet for Ma in mid-October 1924 for the blues classic “See See Rider Blues.” The song has been covered over 100 times. Rainey’s was the first version, and her recording was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2004. She holds the copyright.

Legacy

The singer, songwriter and astute businesswoman helped make black female autonomy mainstream. The horsehair wigs and the gold teeth she wore on stage empowered her fans. In Black Pearls, author Daphne Harrison said Rainey’s voice was “a reaffirmation of Black life.” Alice Walker cites Ma Rainey’s music as a cultural model for her novel, The Color Purple. In the song “Tombstone Blues” from the 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan pairs Ma Rainey with Beethoven. 

Rainey’s songs inspired poets like Sterling Brown, whose 1932 poem “Ma Rainey,” describes one of her concerts from the eyes of her audience. “When Ma Rainey comes to town, folks from anyplace miles aroun’ flocks in to hear Ma do her stuff,” he enthused.

Rainey also inspired the 1982 August Wilson play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In spite of Levee’s protests in that play and its Netflix movie adaptation, she did play Harlem. Ma did shows at The Lincoln Theatre on 135th Street near Lenox Avenue.

Cause of Death

Rainey retired from music in 1935, after the death of her mother and sister. She settled in Columbus and spent her time running the two playhouses she owned: the Airdome and the Lyric Theater. Ma Rainey died from a heart attack on Dec. 22, 1939 in Columbus, Georgia. “People it sure look lonesome since Ma Rainey been gone,” blues guitar legend Memphis Minnie bemoaned on her 1940 tribute “Ma Rainey” before humbly promising the good works of “the Mother of the Blues” would go on.

“Ma” Rainey was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. “To tell the truth, if I stop and listen, I can still hear her,” Langston Hughes wrote in his 1952 poem “Shadow of the Blues.” Madame “Ma” Rainey cast a long one.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom premieres on Netflix on Friday, Dec. 18.

*Additional reporting by Don Kaye.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Ma Rainey’s Life and Reign as the Mother of the Blues appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2LRXvS3

[houseofvans]

SKETCHY BEHAVIORS | Jennifer Parks (Portland, OR)

We’ve been following the magical and mystical artwork of Portland artist Jennifer Parks whose drawings of witches, women, and woodland creatures bring a dark delight to our sensibilities.  Not only does Jennifer create these fantastical illustrations and ceramics, but also helps to curate and organize shows at the artist run space, Pony Club in Portland.  We’re excited to feature Jennifer’s art and talk to her about her influences, artistic process, and find out more what she’s up too in the rest of 2017! 

Artist portrait by Richard Darbonne | Images courtesy of the artist

Who are you and what do you do?  

My name is Jennifer Parks and I make drawings and ceramic things. I’m also a gallery owner, cat mama, part-time bartender, and believer of ghosts and magic.

When did you first come across art or find yourself making stuff? What it something your parents encouraged or were you always a doodler type of person?

I was always a doodler. I started drawing as soon as I could pick up a crayon. I think pre-school was when I realized I was sort of good at it and started to get encouragement from my parents and other adults.

Did you go to art school or take classes for illustration? What’s your art background?

I took art classes in high school, and junior college and that led me to the Pacific Northwest College of Art here in Portland. I majored in illustration with a focus on storytelling.

Your artwork has a distinct flavor to it that we love–not only is it filled with fauna, nature, but a female character often surrounded by magical and mystical elements.  Can you tell us a little bit about how your illustration and artwork reached this point?  

It was a natural evolution I think. I learned to draw girls by drawing my mother’s porcelain doll collection. She had a lot of these dolls which were pretty but also kind of creepy. They all had on fancy victorian dresses with lace and floral patterns. I think that led to my interest in old black and white victorian photos which then led to my interest that dark era of witchcraft, seances, and ghosts.

Ive always had a fascination with death and the idea that its not the end, so it just felt natural to start adding those elements to my drawings. Plus, at some point I got tired of people telling me my drawings were “pretty’ and “cute”. Adding some dark and mysterious elements to them made me feel more comfortable.

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest about 13 years ago, which is just surrounded by lush wilderness, I started including those elements as well. I think its hard to live here and not be inspired by our surroundings. They are pretty magical.

What inspires the imagery and symbolism that we find throughout your illustrations?  

I am totally fascinated by death, the afterlife, and anything supernatural. Ghosts, aliens, magic, etc.  I think there are so many things around us that we can’t see and I like to include some of that magic and mystery in my drawings. The world is kind of boring without them.

We’re always curious about an artists’ process. What’s your process like? Sketchbook, night owl, or scheduled drawing time?

I’m such a night owl. Its sad really. My best drawing hours are somewhere between 8pm and 3am. I will sit at a desk all day with coffee, listening to podcasts, trying to draw, but I really don’t get started until the sun goes down.  

What’s a medium you’ve yet to try and want to start dabbling in?  Any specific reasons?

I really want to learn how to do intaglio or lithography. I love printmaking and how involved the process can be. Intaglio has been around since the mid 1400’s and lithography since the late 1700’s… It would be amazing to learn such an old process.

Not only do you make some amazing illustrations and murals, but your ceramic pieces are insanely cool and rad.  Tells us a little about how you got into ceramics? What do you love about that medium that maybe you can’t achieve or don’t necessarily get from illustration?

I had been collecting these vintage plates and painting faces and designs into them for awhile. It was a lot of fun, but I wanted to take it to the next level and actually make the plate as well. So I decided to take a ceramics course at my local community college. I immediately fell in love with it. I had dabbled in clay before but nothing felt like ceramic clay. Its so soft and easy to work with. I took a morning class because it was the only thing that worked with my schedule and even though its so hard for me to be awake and functioning that early I found it very calming and therapeutic. Now I have my own kiln. If I don’t feel like focusing on drawing, I will just grab my clay, make some shapes, and carve into them. I don’t have to think too hard about the imagery. Thats one of my favorite things about it. I feel like I can zone out and just carve anything into them and it looks cool. Working with ceramics has taught me to be less uptight and less attached to my work. Im clumsy and break so many pieces after hours of working on them. All I can do is shrug it off and start over.

What’s your studio or creative space like? What would we find in there–what do you keep around for inspiration or do you keep it minimal?

My studio space is pretty cluttered with things. I have so many art supplies, frames, paper, old drawings, prints, etc. I have a big drawing table and a big ceramic table. I have lots of art up for inspiration, some plants, and of course a few cats running around.

Does music play a role in your artistic process? Does it inspire you or is it more of something that keeps you company while you work?  Can you share with us what your top 5 songs/bands that you are currently into?

I do listen to music while I work, but honestly not very often. I find music very intense and very distracting when Im trying to focus. Im better off having a documentary of some sort playing in the background while I draw.

You also run a gallery space called Pony Club where you support and show artists!  How did this idea come about for Pony Club and when did you start it and how has that evolved?  What’s  been the most challenging part of running a space? What’s been the best part of it?

I got lucky enough to be invited to join the gallery in 2009. Its a collective of 6 artists that work out of the space, curate shows, and help run the shop. It started off as a gallery run by a group of cartoonists who catered heavily to that scene. It hasn’t changed too much, except that the members are different and we began to focus more on illustration.

I would say the most challenging part is trying to run/manage a small group of artists. We all have our own careers and ideas that we are trying to focus on. It can be challenging to find the time focus on the space, promoting other artists, and taking care of other business-related responsibilities.  

The most rewarding part is being able to provide a venue for young new illustrators, printmakers, and cartoonists.

Who are your top 5 favorite artists (past or contemporary?) that folks should check out.

Right now Ive been drooling over works by Alex Kuno, Andrea Wan, Tran Nguyen, Saddo, and Bill Crisafi.

Lots of times artists aren’t just one thing, what do you do when you’re not making art or helping out at Pony Club? How do you spend your free time?

Im usually practicing witchcraft or hanging out in the forest.

If folks wanted to follow in your footsteps, what advice or what would you tell folks?

Make sure your in love with what you do, and that your not doing it for the wrong reasons. If your stuck in a rut, go outside to find some inspiration or try a new medium.

Never stop creating.

Tell us about the art community in Portland? Seems like a tight community of talented folks.  Who are some of your local favorites?

The art community is pretty amazing here. It feels like we are all part of this very supportive, very talented and caring family. It can be a little overwhelming to have so many awesome artists around you, but it helps to keep you motivated and doing your best.

Some of my favorite local artists are Mark Rogers, Christina Mrozik, Lauren Gonsalves, Martin Ontiveros and Susannah Kelly.

What’s are your favorite Vans? How would you describe your personal style?

My favorite vans are the old school retro looking hi-tops. I wear a lot of black. My style is somewhere between artsy, witchy, and lazy.

What’s your favorite art secret that you’d like to share with folks?

Its not really a secret but artists are really magicians.

What’s coming up for you in the rest of the 2017 year that folks should stay tuned in for?

I will be painting a mural in August with my awesome buddy Meg Adamson for the Forest For The Trees Mural Fest. And hopefully, I will also be learning to tattoo!

Follow Jennifer Parks Website: www.spectralgardens.com Instagram: @spectralgardens

[operationrainfall]

Title Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 Developer Inti Creates, ArtPlay Publisher Inti Creates Release Date July 10th, 2020 Genre Platformer, Retro Platform PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One Age Rating T for Teen – Blood, Violence Official Website

One of the most blockbuster reveals recently was the announcement that Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon was getting a sequel. The first game was a very faithful retro platformer, set in a similar style to Castlevania III. But I never in my wildest dreams imagined we’d get a Curse of the Moon 2! Though in many ways CotM 2 follows in the footsteps of the original, it also sets itself apart in a few ways. For one, there’s a new team of demon hunters joining Zangetsu on his mission. For another, overall I found this to be a meatier experience. The real question then is, was Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 better than the first game? Or was it merely a glimmering echo?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

First things first. If you played Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, you might have certain expectations after hearing that Dominique is playable. All I will say is put your expectations aside, because Curse of the Moon 2 constantly surprised me as I played. While Zangetsu was playable in the first game, here he’s playable the entire time. Other than Dominique, joining him are newcomers Robert and Hachi. Robert is an expert marksman who can snipe foes from half a screen away, crawl through narrow apertures and wall jump, but is otherwise incredibly frail. Hachi is literally a flying mecha operated by a corgi. No, I’m not sure how that happened either; all I know is Hachi is amazing. He can hover and utilize weapon points that other characters need for subweapons to make himself temporarily invincible. That sounds overpowered, but you’ll really learn to rely on it. He can also smash walls to open up new pathways. Also, since this was already revealed by Inti Creates, I can confirm the other demon hunters from the original game, Miriam, Gebel and Alfred, return at a certain point. I won’t reveal where, other than to say their portion was my favorite part of the entire experience.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One thing that Curse of the Moon 2 does exceptionally well is make every teammate count. Nobody is a clone of anyone else, and each has their strengths and weaknesses. Some are physically stronger, others are faster, some jump higher and others can play crowd control. The first time you play, the end of each boss fight will be punctuated by the arrival of a demon hunter, who slays the boss in epic fashion. After you’ve recruited the core group, the game starts to change things up, and really forces you to alternate wisely and strategically between them. Thankfully that’s done easily by pressing L or R to shift between the group, and it freezes time for a brief second while it happens. A good example of how this mechanic works is against the gigantic mummy boss. He forces you to avoid spears and lightning while trying to scale moving platforms so you can reach his weak point. To do so, I went invincible with Hachi, then got up close and personal with Dominique’s spear, and if the boss ran, I would snipe him with Robert. This system isn’t overwhelming either, and rewards you for being creative. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. That said, this game is inspired by hardcore retro NES games, so do expect to get frustrated by several bosses. Thankfully there was nothing here I couldn’t figure out how to overcome.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I will say, I really grew to appreciate Dominique during my first playthrough. Her healing spells and powerful attack magic, along with her multifaceted lance, made her a true MVP. This turns out to have been a deliberate choice, since later on you won’t have her at your disposal. I really don’t want to ruin any of the story beats here. All I will say is that you won’t see the true ending for Curse of the Moon 2 for a while. To unlock it, you’ll first have to unlock various episodes and beat them. While you can beat any of the episodes in about 4 hours, my total playtime was around 14 hours. And I should mention, each episode has different quirks that make things a bit more interesting and challenging, such as harder attack patterns for bosses. Hell, one episode even practically turns the game into a Metroidvania, which I enthusiastically approve of. The main thing that changes in each episode is the final boss fight. Outside of that, you’ll have about eight stages to get through each run, complete with branching paths and hidden goodies, including items which permanently power up your team’s stats.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Though Curse of the Moon 2 is made with a certain audience in mind, it’s also approachable to less confident or patient gamers. Though I played on Veteran, which keeps features like enemy knockback, you can play on easier modes that are much more forgiving. Regardless of mode, you can earn extra lives by scoring enough points from collecting items or defeating foes. Either way, the controls in the game are well implemented, and each attack has a distinct audio cue and range. You’ll grow to appreciate the various subweapons at each character’s disposal, such as Robert’s dual lances, Zangetsu’s burning scrolls or Dominique’s wall-crawling lightning. With the exception of Hachi and Gebel, each character has a variety of subweapons they can use. The controls all work marvelously, so you can only blame yourself when you fall into a pit or get skewered by a foe. One nice modern convention is you’ll come across candles that serve as checkpoints. They keep you from having to play entire levels over from the beginning once you die (and you will die). But like in the first game, each character essentially serves as an extra life, so you won’t have to use a continue until your entire team perishes, which will restart the stage.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Speaking of bosses, all the bosses in Curse of the Moon 2 are epic. I’ve always appreciated Inti Creates’ artistic flair, and whether using pixels or sprites, they do incredible work. Each monster is complex and full of detail, and there’s some nightmarish beasts here. Take the first boss, which is a green wyvern. At first it looks somewhat standard, until the red skeleton parasite lodged in its throat breathes fire, or its eel-like tail spits electricity at you. Besides looking epic, all the bosses pose a significant threat, and will force you to learn their patterns and act quickly. Thankfully, I feel the bosses here are more well balanced than in the first game. Some of the original game’s bosses were near impossible without the right demon hunter, and many were hard even with your full team. I didn’t have nearly as much trouble with these bosses, with the exception of the numerous final bosses you’ll face. Those will stress you to the maximum, many with multiple phases, and will require every bit of skill and strategy to defeat. That said, these battles were definitely a highlight of the experience.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The exploration in the game is also a step up from the first game. Many stages are built with dual paths in mind, and some won’t be accessible til you get the entire team of demon hunters together. These paths show off how expansive the stages are, and there’s plenty of hidden rooms full of rewards as well. Every stage is bristling with monsters, and they will do their level best to kill you, especially on Veteran. I got knocked into bottomless pits more than once by flying foes, and raced frantically across disappearing platforms. I will say, Hachi really helps you safely explore, since not only can he hover over pits, he can literally crush deadly spikes underfoot. While his large size makes him an easy target for foes, he’s still pretty invaluable. It’s a lot of fun switching between characters to help you explore stages and combat threats.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Visually, I never have any complaints with Inti Creates, and that doesn’t change with Curse of the Moon 2. Not only is the artwork reminiscent of classics I love, but it is full of its own personality. Take the way each character poses after beating a boss, such as Zangetsu rapidly sheathing his sword or Hachi bouncing out of his mech to bark triumphantly. Even when you’re on the map screen, you’ll see the team interacting on the bottom. One of my favorite moments was traveling to an ice stage, with Hachi shivering until Robert put a blanket on him. These little touches just go to show the attention to detail present, and I love it. I already said how amazing the bosses look, but that goes for every other element of the game too. While it might not be completely faithful to NES restrictions, I could care less. I love how the game builds drama with background animation, such as sinister shadows watching you and then flying off to cause mayhem, or lightning strikes revealing hideous sea monsters. Thankfully, the sound design is also tremendous. There’s lots of distinct sounds that help differentiate the stages, and the grunts of your team lend them lots of personality. Each foe has audio cues as well, and the bosses roar demonically and make lots of noise to show how powerful they are. Honestly, the visual and audio design here is some of the best work I’ve yet seen from Inti Creates, and it’s a large reason why I keep coming back to their titles.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I honestly have no real complaints about Curse of the Moon 2. It doesn’t trip over itself or make any obvious mistakes. The closest I could come to one is saying that it may be too challenging for some gamers, but that’s really not a problem. No game is for everyone, after all. Besides that, the only minor quibble I have is that I feel the true final boss of this game was somewhat less impressive than the first game. But in every other aspect, Curse of the Moon 2 outdoes its predecessor.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Curse of the Moon 2 is great however you slice it. It’s not quite perfect, but it’s so damn close that it barely matters. For $14.99, it’s a bit pricier than the original, but still a great bargain. I enjoyed all the time I spent with the game, especially since there’s more to unlock. I have two mystery modes I’m working to open up, but even then there’s a lot of replay value here. You have multiple endings, as well as plenty of ways to progress through the game, and if a friend is close by, you can also enjoy the co-op mode, which looks really fun. You’ll even unlock cool features like the ability to play as Ultimate Zangetsu, who is even more of a badass than usual. While I would have appreciated a feature like an art gallery or bestiary showing all the enemy names, there’s very little to complain about here. If you like classic platformers and love Castlevania flavor, you absolutely need to own this game. Now I’m just hoping to get an announcement of a Curse of the Moon 3, cause frankly I enjoy these side stories more than Ritual of the Night.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4.5″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 Title Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

[jazzworldquest-blog]

CANADA: Canadian Songwriters Honored In US-Based International Songwriting Competition (ISC)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Candace Avery

International Songwriting Competition

615.251.4441

press@songwritingcompetition.com

www.songwritingcompetition.com

Canadian Songwriters Honored In US-Based International Songwriting Competition (ISC)

Judges Include Lorde, Hardwell, Tom Waits, Nancy Wilson (Heart), Ziggy Marley, Kaskade, The Mavericks, Martie Maguire (Dixie Chicks), Bastille, and More

April 18, 2018 -- The International Songwriting Competition (ISC is pleased to announce its 2017 winners. Created in 2002, ISC is widely recognized as the most prestigious and respected songwriting competition in the world and received more than16,000 entries from almost 140 countries. Prizes include more than $175,000 in cash and merchandise.

The Grand Prize winners this year are Nicholas Miller (better known as Illenium), Annika Wells, Kate Morgan, and Michael Biancaniello for the song “Crawl Outta Love Ft. Annika Wells." The Grand Prize consists of $25,000 in cash (USD) and over $35,000 in additional prizes.

Winners hail from all over the world (61% of this year’s winners come from outside the USA) and range from talented amateurs to seasoned songwriting veterans. The 23 categories include all genres of contemporary music, from Rock to Pop to Country to R&B/Hip-Hop and more.

Canadian songwriters fared extremely well in ISC, garnering four First Places and three Third Places. Canadian winners also received 39 Honorable Mentions.

“This marks the first time in the competition’s history that Canadian songwriters have scored four First Places in categories,” says Candace Avery, ISC Founder and Director. “It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to write great songs, and ISC is honored to throw the spotlight on these talented Canadian songwriters and their achievements.”

Over the years ISC winners have included: Vance Joy, Bastille, Passenger, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lindsey Stirling, Gotye, The Band Perry, Kasey Chambers, Lupe Fiasco, Rachel Bloom, Gin Wigmore, Kimbra, Gregory Porter, Kehlani, For King & Country, and many more.

For a complete list of ISC 2017 winners and to hear the winning songs, go to: https://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.

The complete panel of judges includes:

Recording Artists

Lorde; Tom Waits; Ziggy Marley; American Authors; Nancy Wilson (Heart); Martie Maguire (Dixie Chicks); Booker T. Jones; The Mavericks; Sara Evans; Bastille; Keane; Hardwell; Danilo Perez; James McNally (Afro Celt Sound System); Billy Cobham; Gerald Casale (Devo); Natalie Grant Lee-Phillips; ; Krewella; Matt Nathanson; Amadou & Miriam; John Tibbs; Kaskade; John Mayall; Joe Louis Walker; Nicholas Gunn; Ashwin Batish; Lonnie Liston Smith; Walter Trout; Trilok Gurtu; Tommy Chong; and Tony Joe White.

Industry Executives:

Gregg Nadel (President, Elektra Records); Seymour Stein (Chairman/CEO, Sire Records); Daniel Glass (President, Glassnote Records); John Esposito (Chairman/CEO, Warner Music Nashville); John Burk (President, Concord Label Group); Ed Vetri (President, Wind-Up Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Steve Yegelwel (Sr. VP, Island Records); Nate Albert (Executive VP of A&R, Capitol Records); Jacob Edgar (Founder, Cumbancha); Aaron Bay-Schuck (President of A&R, Interscope Records); Mike Easterlin (President, Fueled By Ramen/Roadrunner Records); Josh Bailey (Senior VP of A&R, Word Entertainment); Gordon Kerr (CEO, Black River Entertainment); Richard Stumpf (CEO, Atlas Publishing); Steve Greenberg (CEO, S-Curve Records); Kim Buie (VP of A&R, New West Records); AJ Tobey (Head of A&R, Rough Trade Publishing); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Angel Carrasco (Latin Music Consultant); Julie Kertes (Editor/Manager, Hot Diggity Media); Laura Margolin (Publishing, Glassnote Records); Leib Ostrow (Founder/CEO, Music For Little People); Katherine Danes (Co-President, The Children’s Music Network); Claire S. Green (President, Parent’s Choice Foundation); Benjamin Groff (Founder, The Brill Building); Sas Metcalfe (President, Global Creative, Kobalt Music); Golnar Khosrowshahi (President, Reservoir Media Management); Carianne Marshall (Partner, Songs Music Publishing); Tamara Conniff (EVP, Roc Nation); Dara Frank (Head of Comedy Central Records/Viacom); Carl Caprioglio (Founder/CEO, Oglio Entertainment); and Elena Epstein (Director, National Parenting Product Awards).

ISC is sponsored by: AKG By Harman; Berklee College of Music; Celebrity Access; D'Addario; Dark Horse Institute; Disc Makers; Eventric; Gig Salad; JBL Professional by Harman; Lurrsen Mastering; Merch Cat; Musician Wellness; Musician’s Institute; ONErpm; PreSonus; SongU.com; Sweetwater Sound; PAWW Premium Sound; and Tunedly.

Entries are now open for the 2018 competition. For more information and to enter, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com.

For low-res photos of all winners, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners

For high-res photos, please contact Candace Avery at press@songwritingcompetition.com

The list of 2017 Canadian winners is as follows:

First Place Winners

“Knock On My Door“ – Faouzia Ouihya (Faouzia) Carman, MB, Canada – Teen

Born in Morocco and raised in the Canadian prairies, Faouzia is a young artist who is wowing audiences and industry alike with her contemporary pop hooks and heart-wrenching lyrics, not to mention a voice that is truly distinctive with a huge range, taking on subtle trills and stylings. Her first single “Knock On My Door” found its way onto regular rotation at Canadian radio, and the follow up “My Heart’s Grave” is already seeing adds in both Canada and her native Morocco. Already a multiple award winner in ISC, as well as the Grand Prize winner of the 2017 Unsigned Only Music Competition, Faouzia is an up-and-coming artistic force whose star just keeps shining brighter.

“Sheep“ – Darrelle London Toronto, ON, Canada – Children's Music

A piano pop singer/songwriter, Darrelle London is known for her clever quirkiness and has performed at festivals such as Lilith Fair, Canadian Music Week, Pop Overthrow, and more. She was named the Toronto Lilith Talent Search winner and the BellMedia Emerging Artist. London has attracted some celebrity supporters along the way, including fellow Canadian songstress Chantal Kreviazuk who discovered her music and collaborated with her on several songs for London’s album Eat A Peach. The celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has also been a vocal champion of her music. Her latest album is a lullaby EP entitled Sing To The Moon.

“This Little Light“ – Jaylene Johnson Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Christian

Jaylene Johnson, is a singer/songwriter based in Winnipeg, MB. Her song, "Fallin'" took second place in the ISC last year in the Christian category. Her work has been heard on network TV shows including “Pretty Little Liars”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, and “Degrassi: The Next Generation”. Co-written songs have been recorded by artists including JJ Heller, Amy Sky, Brian Doerksen and Luke McMaster among others. Her most recent album, Potter & Clay, was nominated for a Juno Award, a Western Canadian Music Award, and several Covenant Awards. Two of her songs earned songwriting trophies at the Covenant Awards this year.

“Untouchable“ – Dylan Edward Roberts (King Dylan) Calgary, AB, Canada – Music Video

The winner of the Music Video category for his stop-motion animation video of the song “Untouchable,” King Dylan (the King didn't give himself that name - it was written in his high school yearbook) is best described as if Blink 182 had a lovechild with Eminem and Lady Gaga's backup dancers. This one-man machine has performed live for thousands across Canada and released a handful of albums and music videos. Previously he played bass guitar in the hard Rock band Broken Ride (Regional Radio Star winners 2013), performed in and produced the hip hop group The DC Show, and played piano for the band Lost In Film at CMW 2014. Dylan has also just finished a new full-length album featuring "Untouchable" and eleven other hard-hitting tracks. The award-winning video utilized over 4,000 photos of legos taken over the course of 450+ hours.

Third Place Winners

“Backroads” – Jimmy Zee (The Jimmy Zee Band) – Vanvouver, BC, Canada Blues

“Never Have Time” – Jared Salte, Bethany Salte (The Royal Foundry) – Sherwood Park, AB, Canada – Rock

“Tequila” – Johnny Simmen, Hunter Leath, Matt McGinn – Toronto, ON, Canada – Country

Honorable Mentions

“A Flat Miner” – Troy Kokol – Calgary, AB, Canada – Comedy/Novelty

“Ambition” – Soul – Toronto, ON, Canada – R&B/Hip-Hop

“Ask Too Much Ft. Spence Holden” – Spencer Heaslip, Spence Milne-O'Neil (Taabu) – Dundas, ON, Canada – EDM (Electronic Dance Music)

“Baby, I Understand” – Kat Goldman – Toronto, ON, Canada – Folk/Singer-Songwriter

“Beautiful Thing” – Aaron Buchholz, Ian Eskelin – Langley, BC, Canada – Christian

“Booger Song” – Tim Machin (Sing Along Tim And The Pacifiers) – Toronto, ON, Canada – Children's Music

“Campfire ” – Dinah Desrochers, Aaron Cadwaladr, Phil Wipper, Jocelyn Hallett (The Kerplunks) – Gabriola Island, BC, Canada – Children's Music

“Chills” – James Barker, Donovan Woods, Travis Wood, Gavin Slate (James Barker Band) – Toronto, ON, Canada – Country

“Ciento Viente” – Roman Smirnov – Newmarket, ON, Canada – Instrumental

“Don't Give Up” – Maggie Szabo, Stefan Lit, Chaz Mason – Dundas, ON, Canada – Pop/Top 40

“Eleven! ” – Dylan Bell, Ed Hanley, Suba Sankaran (Autorickshaw) – Toronto, ON, Canada – Children's Music

“Fall In Love Again” – Chris Graham, Mikalyn Hay (Xtro And Mikalyn Hay) – Toronto, ON, Canada – Teen

“Firetruck Firetruck” – John Donnelly (Rockin' Robin And The Magical Tree) – Delta, BC, Canada – Children's Music

“Freedom” – Ariana Gillis – Vineland, ON, Canada – Folk/Singer-Songwriter

“Gamblin Man” – Richard Tichelman – Surrey, BC, Canada – Teen

“Good Thing Go” – Powell Peebles, Brett Sheroky, Andy Wills (Powell Peebles) – North Vancouver, BC, Canada – Country

“House On Fire” – Don Oriolo, Jason Gleed, Chris Bolger – Toronto, ON, Canada – Rock

“I Don't Want To Lose You” – Luca Fogale – Burnaby, BC, Canada – Performance

“Knock On My Door” – Faouzia Ouihya (Faouzia) – Carman, MB, Canada – Unsigned Only

“Lay It Down” – Jordan St. Cyr, Jaylene Johnson, Ben Calhoun, Taylor Watson – Niverville, MB, Canada – Christian

“Love It Up” – Tyler Lorette, Roberta Quilico – Courtice, ON, Canada – Performance

“Lowdown” – Matt Zimbel, Doug Wilde (Manteca) – Toronto, ON, Canada – Instrumental

“Move On Down The Track” – Spencer Mackenzie, Rich Mackenzie (Spencer Mackenzie) – Ridgeway, ON, Canada – Blues

“My Heart's Grave” – Faouzia Ouihya (Faouzia) – Carman, MB, Canada – Pop/Top 40

“My Heart's Grave” – Faouzia Ouihya (Faouzia) – Carman, MB, Canada – Teen

“Nosotros” – Christopher Alexander Gaitan Valencia (Ness El Digital) – Montreal, QC, Canada – Latin Music

“Roses” – Gus McMillan, Robyn Dell'Unto – (Gus McMIllan) – Toronto, ON, Canada – AC (Adult Contemporary)

“Sanctuary City” – Cat Toren (Cat Toren's HUMAN KIND) – Vancouver, BC, Canada – Jazz

“Sing For Kwanzaa” – Chris McKhool, Richard Bona (Sultans Of String) – Toronto, ON, Canada – World Music

“Summer” – Paula Eve Kirman – Edmonton, AB, Canada – Lyrics Only

“Temptation” – Debra Power – Airdrie, AB, Canada – Blues

“The Pee Song” – Jason Gleed (Redd Butts ) – Toronto, ON, Canada – Comedy/Novelty

“This Little Light” – Jaylene Johnson – Winnipeg, MB, Canada – Unpublished

“Three Words” – Sara Diamond, Austin Tecks, Noah Barer (Sarah Diamond) – Montreal, QC, Canada – Unpublished

“Unsure” – Sara Diamond, Austin Tecks, Noah Barer (Sarah Diamond) – Montreal, QC, Canada – Unsigned Only

“Untouchable” – Dylan Edward Roberts (King Dylan) – Calgary, AB, Canada – Unsigned Only

“What's A Boy Gotta Do” – Sean Thomas – Langley, BC, Canada – Teen

“When You Think No One Loves You ” – David Leask, Daryl Burgess (David Leask) – Mississauga, ON, Canada – Performance

“Worth It” – Wes Mason – Rockwood, ON, Canada – AC (Adult Contemporary)

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2vp16yd

[crookedtalks]

Bookish Thoughts: Absolute Power: Tales of Queer Villainy

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33789743-absolute-power

Goodreads synopsis:  DANGEROUS WOMEN: TALES OF QUEER VILLAINY—edited and with an introduction by lesbian comics tastemaker Erica Friedman—brings you thirteen short stories of power, destruction and chaos by women who love other women almost as much as they love taking over the world! These 238 pages of deliciously dastardly stories of super-powered villainy are contained in a wraparound cover by artist Agnes Czaja (Anything That Loves) and contain contributions from a group of visionary writers.

Well, this book took me a lot longer than I thought to finish reading. ^^; This is the second anthology I’m reviewing on this blog, and I must say I enjoyed this anthology more than the previous one. I would give this anthology a 3.75 stars out of 4, but it’s not quite a 4 star read - so only a 3 star on goodreads (why no half-star system goodreads??).

I got this ebook from the kickstarter campaign and I was very excited to read it, and to support it, not only because it features queer characters (as main characters) and queer romance, but it is also written by queer authors, which is even rarer, and I feel that it is important (personally) that these books get read and reviewed too. I feel like book reviewers whether on social media platforms like youtube, or book bloggers can do a bigger part to lend their voice to these more neglected books, and I want to do that more on this blog, starting with this book.

I really loved that the queerness of the characters wasn’t the whole/sole plot point for the stories (as if that’s the only reason why queer characters are protagonists) and that the queer characters in this anthology are all spread across a spectrum of moralities (the villains and the heroes). The stories were also very different from each other, with each of the stories having their own colourful worlds and and uniquely powerful voices. Overall, it was a fun ride, much like a rollercoaster at a theme park. I’ll definitely me checking out more releases by North West Press in the future. In bold are the stories that I particularly liked (keep in mind that I have a preference for more serious stories), with a small comment on each of the stories in the collection. 

1. Final Grades by Erica Friedman

This story had a really interesting setting of a supervillain school, which I thought gave the reader a very interesting “frame” going into the story. There’s a plot twist at the end which was not completely unpredictable though, since it was already revealed at the start of the story that only a single person has ever graduated from the supervillain school. 

2. Date Night by Tristan J. Tarwater

Another classic supervillain story, where the supervillain goes on a date which gets interrupted by her sidekick. Her date though turns out to be someone unexpected. A fun, fast paced short read with some somewhat predictable twists (which kept the story moving and interesting) and flashy action near the end.

3. Eden’s Revenge by Missouri Vaun

Unlike the previous two stories, this is not a supervillain story but more of a vengeance story where our protagonist/villain is seeking revenge against the man who caused her sister’s suicide. It was all right, I didn’t really gel with this story as well though for some reason. Part of it could be because I didn’t really care for the protagonist - again, most likely a personal preference thing. Not sure about how I feel about the protagonist’s revenge plan being explained as “insanity” at the end of the story though...

4. Gentleman Jack by Barbara Ann Wright

Our protagonist/villain, a smug cross-dressing robber with charm abilities, meets her match in a stubborn, slightly uptight law women armed with science. This has potential to be a satisfying rom-com plot. I kind of wished that the story was a teeny bit longer just to see their cat-and-mouse relationship develop, but at the same time it ended at a place where it felt right. Great character chemistry.

5. Fallen by Audrey Chase

A much more serious story than the previous ones (which were all pretty light-hearted), which also has the gore factor turned up significantly higher. The grittiness and violence in this story was a refreshing change, and showed how terrifying and devastating a villain’s actions can be. This story, I feel, has one of the more interesting “grey” villains, with less clear-cut motives and “evilness”, which I really liked, but may not be for everyone. I would say this is the first story in the collection that I would peg as a tragedy.

6. The Devil Inside by JD Glass

A reporter visits hell to interview the devil herself, then gets interrupted by a mutiny. It was a fun read at first, with the little quips and jokes (eg. hell monsters needing moisturizers for their dry non-human skin), but it soon got on my nerves when the jokes started to get a bit too repetitive/play too much into stereotypes/too random and irrelevant to the plot, only present to provide some cheap humour, and it felt like the writer is a bit too confident of how funny they are and is smugly rubbing it in your face; however, humour is a very subjective thing and it might just be that it didn’t hit the right buttons in me. I felt like the “twist” at the end was confusing and didn’t make any sense/fit into the plot too. 

7. Glitter Bomb by Emily Kay Singer

A fun, nonsensical read that relishes in just how absurd its own plot is. Obviously, this is not a story you read for a “deep” plot, or even a plot that makes sense, which is fine because the author is obviously aware of that, and plays around with the common “superhero story” tropes, which makes it even more entertaining. It ends with a tidy, sweet and romantic ending (for people who like happy endings).  

8. For Want of a Heart by A. Merc Rustad

Oh man, this story made me cry a few tears. Maybe because for a moment I really clicked with the protagonist and identified with what she was going through in the story. Not a happy ending (no spoilers though!), but I really loved the use of language, in this story for some reason. I feel like this is a bud that could have been expanded into a much longer, more elaborate complex story, with more fleshed out characters and more complex motivations, which in some ways is a shame. Personally, probably up there as one of my favourites in this anthology, although I felt that the ending was a bit rushed which made the reveal at the end less impactful.

9. Absolution by Claire Monserrat Jackson

You can tell that the author has really put some thought in terms of world building - the history that was briefly mentioned, the magic system etc. This story takes place in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world where the Fae (fairy-land) has sort of burst through into the human world and caused all sorts of problems, and our protagonist in this story is a spunky (presumably powerful) for-hire problem-solver with magic powers, who has a undead “Afterlife” chain-smoking sidekick. I really liked the characters and the world-building, and there seems to be an entire novella the author has written based on this world, which I will definitely be checking out.

10. So Many Things Seem Filled With the Intent by Jude McLaughlin

Our main protagonist visits the lab of an evil mad scientist with her girlfriend, which is great because all the previous stories have yet to feature an evil mad scientist. This story felt like an small exploration of the “mad scientist” trope, featuring both a “good” mad scientist (our protagonist’s girlfriend) and an “evil” one, but at the same time, the scientist characters felt distinct from each other and developed enough. I liked the sense of rivalry between the scientist characters, and personally I liked the main protagonist quite a bit. 

11. The Prado By Chance by Leia Weathington

Our main protagonist is an underpaid, underappreciated, and unabashedly corrupt FBI agent who one day gets a little surprise on one of her under-the-table “missions”. I like how our protagonist needs to rely mainly on her cunning to manipulate and carry out her plans and not any kind of super power or ability like the other stories; it makes the protagonist feel immediately a few degrees more human and closer to home, especially since greed and corruption are very human in nature. 

12. Jaguar Light by Susan Smith

Our protagonist, a petty criminal who lives in accordance with her desires and fancies, teams up with her nemesis when another villain gains power that gets out of control. I really liked the incorporation of Aztec mythology as the source of power for our protagonist in the story; I also thought that the main villain was pretty lame (and I’m not just referring to her name), because there I didn’t feel any real punch behind her desire for power. She’s pretty flat as a character, and with such weak motivations that I didn’t feel that threatened at any point in the story at all. Her connection to the protagonist was also kind of explained in a one-liner which feels a little too casual. However, I liked the dynamics and contrasts between the protagonist and her nemesis.

13. Chrome Crash by Mari Kurisato

This story is a little messy and hard to describe but I’ll try my best: the story splits into two at the beginning, following the history of two girls with powers who seem to be unrelated at first, but we discover their connection to each other as the story progresses. It sounds vague I know, but I had the feeling of looking into murky water when I was reading this story. One thing that confused me the most was that at the beginning of the story we got a whole chunk of a part of one of the girls’ pasts, which I thought was her origin story at first in relation to the rest of the story, but upon nearing the end I realized that it had no bearing on the original plot of the story at all - it was not an origin story, nor explained any of the character’s personality, traits, trauma, etc, etc, and that whole chunk could have been taken out with no change to the original story. Also, regarding the connection between the two girls as mentioned earlier: the whole time when I was reading the story, I was asking why? What is the purpose of their connection? What I feel, is that this story is some sort of chopped up lite version of another story where important bits that make the story coherent are missing, which is such as shame because I really like the villain characters, small traces of the what is good and what is evil debate, the exploration of the involvement of politics and the military in superpowers etc. It had such great potential.

This review is a lot longer than my usual review and took much much longer than I thought it would to write. I may be slightly harsh in my comments on certain stories, and I’m certainly biased towards some stories than others, so I’ll say again here that I enjoyed this anthology and would encourage anybody who would like to read short stories about lesbian villains to pick this up. 

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: Mourning eBay’s Days as the Internet’s Kitschiest, Most Surreal Mall

Screenshot via eBay

Artists, bohemians, obsessive collectors, and idlers have long frequented bazaars, curio shops, yard sales, and other offbeat emporia in search of the Marvelous, as the Surrealists called it, hidden in the everyday.

In the late 1920s, cultural critic Walter Benjamin had the arcades of Paris — glass-roofed pedestrian passageways lined with shops, which sliced through city blocks. Turn-of-the-century forerunners of the department store, the arcades were slipping into decrepitude by Benjamin’s day; T.J. Clark, the art historian, memorably described them as “dusty covered shopping streets with greenhouse roofs, most of them built in the 1820s, which still dreamed on in the Jazz Age, cluttered with stores specializing in trusses and life-size dolls and used false teeth.” Regarding the arcades with a Freudian as well as a Frankfurt Marxist eye, Benjamin saw in their battered mannequins and rickety zoetrope theaters the urban unconscious laid bare. “Dada was the mother of Surrealism,” he wrote in his unfinished magnum opus, The Arcades Project. “Its father was the arcade.”

Truth be told, the Surrealists preferred “Les Puces,” as the flea markets on the outskirts of Paris were called. Andre Breton, the group’s self-appointed leader, wrote in his novel Nadja that the market at Saint-Ouen was “an almost forbidden world of sudden parallels” and “petrifying coincidences,” where unexpected encounters with dreamlike objects lurked around every corner.

EBay, the first e-commerce site, was until recently the web’s kitschier, crummier answer to Benjamin’s arcades or Breton’s Saint-Ouen. In its early years, its hit-or-miss search engine was conducive to close encounters of the absurd kind. Stumbling around the site, you’d find yourself in some obscure corner, staring in slack-jawed amazement at William Shatner’s kidney stone (auctioned off in 2006 for $25,000) or a Lilliputian suit of armor handcrafted to guinea-pig proportions, guaranteed to keep the dauntless rodent “protected and secure in all situations.” Unlike its sleeker competitor, Amazon, whose algorithms ensure you only see things like those you’ve already seen, eBay seemed, for a while, to facilitate chance meetings with the offbeat and the downright bizarre.

Screenshot via eBay

Screenshot via eBay

Lists of the most curious, absurd, abject, and grotesque eBay auctions have taken their place in the folklore of consumer culture: the grilled cheese sandwich miraculously emblazoned with an apparition of the Virgin Mary, which sold for $28,000; four golf balls (not just any golf balls; they’d been surgically removed from the belly of a python, who’d mistaken them for hen’s eggs); your advertising slogan tattooed, for $10,000, on some cash-strapped woman’s forehead; a corn flake shaped like the state of Illinois; a Dorito shaped like the pope’s miter; the meaning of life, on offer from a seller who claimed to have “discovered the reason for our existence” and was “happy to share this information with the highest bidder” (which he did, for the dispiritingly small sum of $3.26).

These days, eBay’s corporate overseers are dedicated to remaking public perceptions of the site. “The business is very different than I think people historically thought of it,” said Devin Wenig the company’s CEO, in a 2014 interview. “Over 70% of what we sell is new, fixed-price; the distinct minority are auctions, the distinct minority are consumer-sold used goods. EBay is the world’s largest mall. We are in essence an enormous mall that holds 25 million sellers, reaching 145 million consumers every month.”

Screenshot via eBay

All true, no doubt. Still, the metaphor falls short of most users’ experience of wandering around the site. If eBay is a metastasizing megamall, it’s one where slick, name-brand storefronts sit cheek-by-jowl with halfhearted garage sales, “junk drawer lots” of worthless oddments, and the sort of Weird Stuff, Really Weird Stuff, and Totally Bizarre Stuff (actual eBay categories) that wouldn’t be out of place in a wunderkammer curated by John Waters. Shatner’s kidney stone (and Justin Bieber’s hair clippings, and Justin Timberlake’s half-eaten French toast, both of which have also been auctioned off) are not-so-distant cousins of the religious relics given pride of place in Baroque curiosity cabinets. Likewise, the perennially popular category, Things That Look Like Other Things — the corn flakes, Doritos, and other humble objects that, if you squint hard enough, seem to resemble famous people, places, or things — have their parallel in the “figured stones” treasured by premodern collectors of curiosa, surreal minerals “in which cats, dogs, fish, and humans were ‘sculpted by nature,’” as the historians of science Lorraine Daston and Katharine Park write in Wonders and the Order of Nature.

While the look and feel of its archrival Amazon is all efficiency and buttoned-down professionalism, eBay, with its sleeve-tugging sellers and fannish communities of obsessive collectors, retains a flea-market raffishness. Some of its shadier sellers — traffickers in animal specimens of dubious legality, dealers in fine-art “originals” of questionable authenticity — have a whiff of the carnival midway about them, if not the black market. Robert Hughes’s characterization of Les Puces in The Shock of the New fits eBay to a T: “It was like the unconscious mind of Capitalism itself: it contained the rejected or repressed surplus of objects, the losers, the outcast thoughts.”

Screenshot via eBay

Screenshot via eBay

EBay may be “the world’s largest mall,” but it’s one where a click of the search button can take you to what feels like a trailer-park version of a Moroccan souk or one of those last-chance moving sales where a house disgorges the lives of its inhabitants onto the front lawn. Auctions of “consumer-sold used goods” may account for a “distinct minority” of the site’s listings, but they’re still a presence, hawking their wares in typo-ridden, semiliterate come-ons, luridly tricked out in a variety of eye-jangling colors and typefaces. Wenig envisions eBay reborn as a virtual-reality department store in which “shoppers browse merchandise via augmented reality, a flavor of VR that lays computer graphics over the real world.” He hopes to harness AI to intuit what you want to buy before even you know you want to buy it.

In a world where algorithms guard against experiences that don’t fit our past preferences, some of us yearn for the delights of getting lost. Disorientation is the equivalent, in space and time, of the visual defamiliarization that was the 20th-century avant-garde’s job description. Yet the code behind our online lives is designed to thwart disorientation. On Amazon, helpful suggestions swarm like gnats on every page, lists of “featured recommendations inspired by your browsing history” and items “customers who bought this item also bought.” But what about those of us who can’t be defined by our browsing histories because we rejoice in the wrong turn that takes us outside our comfort zones? Even more confoundingly, what about those of us who aren’t here to fill our shopping carts but rather to drift, to idle, to consume only images? The flâneur regards the world with a camera eye, as Susan Sontag notes in On Photography: “The voyeuristic stroller … discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. Adept of the joys of watching, connoisseur of empathy, he finds the world ‘picturesque.’”

Screenshot via eBay

Screenshot via eBay

Of course, the cyberflâneur I’m eulogizing has been dead and buried for a while now. Evgeny Morozov, a critical observer of digital culture, performed last rites for the type in a 2012 New York Times essay, attributing the species’ extinction, as I have, to the commodification of our online lives and the ever-smarter algorithms that shape our experience of the web. “Transcending its original playful identity, [the internet is] no longer a place for strolling — it’s a place for getting things done,” Morozov wrote. “Hardly anyone ‘surfs’ the Web anymore. The popularity of the ‘app paradigm,’ whereby dedicated mobile and tablet applications help us accomplish what we want without ever opening the browser or visiting the rest of the Internet, has made cyberflânerie less likely.”

The terminus of this trajectory is the technology blogger Robert Scoble’s ghastly vision of the web as one-stop shopping for couch potatoes — “The new world is you just open up Facebook and everything you care about will be streaming down the screen” — which, as Morozov notes, is the exact opposite of flânerie. “The whole point of the flâneur’s wanderings,” he emphasizes, “is that he does not know what he cares about.”

All that said, the passing of the old eBay — for some of us a cheesier, Tron-like update of Benjamin’s arcades — is worth noting, I think. It’s the last nail in the cyberflâneur’s coffin. Ironically, it was the arcade itself that foretold the flâneur’s passing. The bustling outdoor marketplace tamed and sealed in a vitrine, it paved the way for the department store, which would put “even flânerie to use for commodity circulation,” as Benjamin wrote in Reflections, in Marxist Jeremiah mode. “The department store is the flâneur’s last practical joke.” To Benjamin’s jaundiced eye, the arcade marked the historical shift from a culture of production to a culture of consumption.

Screenshot via eBay

Meanwhile, back in downwardly mobile working-class America, the smell of economic desperation wafts off all those eBay listings for yard sale detritus and swap meet “collectibles.” This is the America of the padlocked factory and the moribund Main Street. It’s hard to have a consumer culture when you’re all out of consumers. Behind the site’s newly renovated front page, past the established merchants selling “new, fixed-price” goods, the hand-me-down myths of postwar America — middle-class dreams of job security and a decent wage, the virtues of conspicuous consumption and the disposable lifestyle, the equation of net worth with self-worth — are on the block at Buy It Now prices.

Perversely, Benjamin’s flâneur may be reborn in the dead malls that dot the Rust Belt desolation between the coasts. Across the country, zombie malls totter on, their escalators running, their Muzak humming, their anchor stores gone, nobody home but a few forlorn tenants clinging to life. Increasingly, as online “everything stores” like Amazon and eBay kill off brick-and-mortar retail and the service jobs it generates, the ghost mall is becoming a distinguishing feature of the heartland. Pioneered in the mid-1950s by Victor Gruen, an Austrian-born architect who dreamed of importing the community vibe of the European arcade to America’s suburbs, the shopping mall’s final role is that of tombstone of runaway consumption, cenotaph to sprawl.

In Autopsy of America, an essay in guerrilla photojournalism, Seph Lawless documents this phenomenon. Prowling abandoned malls slowly being reclaimed by weeds and vermin, he captures images of trash-strewn food courts, frozen escalators, and mannequins seen through dust-streaked windows, their jaunty poses mocking the runaway consumption postwar America was built on.

Here, in the haunted arcades of Trumpland, urban explorers are the new flâneurs.

The post Mourning eBay’s Days as the Internet’s Kitschiest, Most Surreal Mall appeared first on Hyperallergic.

from Hyperallergic http://ift.tt/2q4gpVj via IFTTT

[atticusblog2016-blog]

New Post has been published on Atticusblog

New Post has been published on https://atticusblog.com/cats-had-clout-long-before-the-internet/

Cats Had Clout Long Before the Internet

Nine lives before Grumpy Cat; way earlier than Keyboard Cat performed her first word, tom cats had been respected by means of visible artists—even without the means to put up them.

Long before the Internet made their regular quirks and delights feasible to move viral, artists drew—and drew proposal from—cats of every kind. Cats, first depicted by Egyptian artisans around 3100 B.C., are the situation of a new survey by means of the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.

“Before Internet Cats: Feline Finds from the Archives of American Art,” on view in the Lawrence A. Fishman Gallery at the Smithsonian’s Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, consists of works dating to 1870 and decided on from its 6,000 collections of American artists.

From the ones predicted 20 million gadgets, archivists located plenty of proof of cats as extra than fashionable studio partners, however inspirations as well.

“The aim of the exhibition is based totally on the concept that the Internet is this sizable, countless supply of statistics that has this unofficial mascot—the kitty cat,” says Mary Savig, the Archives’ curator of manuscripts, who helped assemble the display.

“Everywhere you go on the internet you’ll discover cat memes and cat videos, and we’re attempting to say the Archives is comparable,” she says. “It’s this community of interconnected information in which you could find out something you want to recognize approximately American art history, and also happens to be populated by these types of cats.”

The display includes a young Jasper Johns interacting with a cat in his studio. Louise Nevelson is seen wearing white, protecting a black cat in the front of considered one of her all-black wall sculptures in a photograph by way of Geoffrey Clements.

Quick Facts About Siamese Cats

Siamese cats are very regal, clever and playful pussycats

They can speak with their companions and love spending time with them. They can be easily identified by way of their awesome body type and a laugh personalities. Siamese cats have an extensive range of pores and skin colorings and markings. Let’s examine a few more cool information approximately them.

The Siamese cat is at the beginning from Thailand, previously referred to as Siam. They are one of the oldest domestic cat breeds. In Siam, they were taken into consideration a member of the royal own family. You can discover them depicted in historical manuscripts relationship again to 1350. They had been so well appreciated that, in 1871, this blue-eyed cat became on show in the Crystal Palace in London. There become so much interest created through this show, the Siamese cat increased in popularity.Cat behaviors and what they mean.

These kitties can create an extensive variety of vocal noises.

This enables them to explicit what they need to their owners. The Siamese are not recognized to be very affectionate but love human beings. They are very smart cats and may be taught easy tricks consisting of fetch.

Siamese kittens are born white. They develop their markings at about 4 weeks. Their coloring will appear at the cooler elements of their body. This is a result of a partial albinism gene of their frame this is sensitive to heat. As they age, their coloring gets darker.

Siamese cats have the longest lives of domestic cats. They name to live up to twenty years. The Siamese is a surprisingly healthy cat with few issues. These cats have a tendency to have some gum problems so that you will want to comb their enamel weekly. A veterinary goes to may be needed if their mouth will become indignant.

These cats have beautiful blue eyes, creamy colored coats and darkish markings at the coats, referred to as points. There is a wide range of color markings in this own family. The Seal Points have darkish brown marks at the same time as others may also have blue factors with grayish marks. They also can vary from chocolate points to purple factors and even lilac factors.

There are also exclusive frame kinds of those stylish cats. The traditional Applehead has a spherical head much like an apple and is the largest breed. The smaller cats with a triangular face are a part of the Classic breed. The Wedgehead, or Modern breed, have a look that is a mixture of the Classic and Traditional looks. All of the breeds have lengthy noses, pointed ears, and glossy bodies.

Siamese cats love companionship. They become very connected to their proprietors and do not do properly if left alone for long hours. Having a playmate or cat sitter available for those extra lengthy days will help maintain your kitty glad.

The Siamese cat is a famous breed for lots motives. Their noticeably social behavior helps cause them to admired for many households. Bringing one into your property will sincerely deliver introduced pleasure for your circle of relatives.

Long Term Care

What is Long Term Care?

Long time period care involves a variety of offerings designed to satisfy a person’s fitness or non-public desires for the duration of a short or lengthy time period. These services assist humans to live as independently and properly as possible while they are able to not perform regular sports on their personal.

Most Long Term Care is Provided at Home

Long term care is supplied in distinctive locations by way of unique caregivers, relying on someone’s wishes. Most care is provided at home via unpaid own family members and buddies. It also can be given in a facility which includes an assisted residing facility, nursing home or within the community, for instance, in a grownup daycare center.

The maximum commonplace form of care is personal care assist with ordinary activities, also referred to as “Activities of Daily Living.” These activities encompass Bathing, Dressing, Grooming, Toileting, Meal Planning & Preparation, and shifting around, for instance, getting away from the bed and right into a chair. These are offerings furnished through in-home non-public care companies.

Ongoing help additionally includes network services which include meals, adult day care, and transportation services. These offerings can be furnished loose or for a price.Long jewelers Winston Salem NC.

Health Drives the Need for Care

People frequently need ongoing help after they have a serious, ongoing health situation or disability. The need for this care can arise all at once, consisting of after a coronary heart attack or stroke. Most frequently, however, it develops regularly, as human beings get older and frailer or as an illness or disability receives worse.

How Long Does Care Last?

Long term care can ultimate a short time or a long time. Short term care lasts several weeks or some months whilst a person is improving from a sudden illness or damage. For example, a person may additionally get quick term rehabilitation remedy at a nursing facility after hip surgical treatment, then pass domestic.

Long time period care may be ongoing, as with a person who’s seriously disabled from a stroke or who has Alzheimer’s sickness. Many people can remain at domestic if they have to assist from family and pals or an in domestic personal care enterprise. But a few human beings circulate completely to a nursing domestic or assisted living facility if their desires can now not be met at home.

Internet – A Boon Or a Curse?

The Internet has entered lives of tens of tens of millions of people and efficaciously remodeling their complex obligations into less difficult ones. Earlier doing research includes several tiring library journeys. But, with the appearance of the internet, it seems like a fab breeze. Similarly, before the advent of internet communicating your distant dwelling cherished ones became a tedious as well as the pricey project. But, emails have made matters less hard and less expensive at the equal time.

In advance instances, navy intelligence used to keep the offerings of an internet.

But now feasible effects discover the whole our on-line world with PC linked with the modem and a smartphone connection. The Internet has made the sector a smaller location to stay. Moreover, individuals who are a fulfillment sooner or later of this net increase have additionally made quite accurate cash.

Web browsers for windows 8

The Internet is absolutely supplying a whole lot of blessings but there are negatives too. The personal verbal exchange is being affected the maximum. Another extreme hassle which is developing adversely with the net is pornography. A currently executed survey has discovered that about 30% of internet sites convey intercourse based stuff that is an excessive threat for our future generations. It absolutely desires some straight away step and look out for the proper remedy.

In order to keep take a look at on such websites censorship software is likewise to be had within the market, collectively with NetNanny, SurfWatch and so forth. But, sadly authorities isn’t always taking the problem of pornography on net considerably and it’s miles affecting the younger minds adversely. They have become addicted approximately it and also are getting distracted from their studies. Thus, it’s far a severe depend on wide variety and desires to be considered successfully.

On the opportunity hand, the net is also playing key feature inside the continuously growing financial system as innumerable internet based totally absolutely corporations are evolving and giving business organization further to employment. Although internet gives a few thoughts boggling blessings, however, its negatives are unavoidable and desires to be considered instantly.