#and fwiw i do enjoy a lot of his other videos! this one was just like. buddy... you just missed the point from the start huh... i'm sorry...

[queerholmcs]

hbomberguy's thesis is Flawed. also i don't remember him ever mentioning gatiss

LITERALLY!!! he spends an hour and fifty minutes complaining about how he hates moffat like he's the only person responsible for the show and his entire beef with the show comes down to "i have only engaged with the material on a very surface-level reading and i think they're clever little detective stories and i want any adaptation of the material to be a detective procedural done as a serial with isolated episodes. how dare you call the show SHERLOCK (in all caps) and then spend the majority of the runtime showing us the characters and not the crimes. also john watson literally serves no purpose and sherlock himself is just an absolute asshole all the time, we know this because he says he's a sociopath and also here are three clips of him being a pedantic dick, i am very good at engaging with media. tsot was a stupid episode because it opens with an insanely overproduced and high-effort scene for the sake of one stupid joke about how sherlock is thoughtless about other people's lives and then most of the episode is just sherlock standing in a room talking, he's not even solving crimes." and i'm like. literally What Are You Talking About shdkshdkdhdk. did we watch the same show. i have never watched someone be so wrong about so many things with such conviction.

[darlingpoppet]

any updates on wtdf? i hope u have a wonderful day 💕

Hi anon! Thanks so much for checking in! And thanks for doing it on tumblr, this is a good opportunity to push me out of lurk mode and refill my queue while offering some much needed updates!

Anyways, the short answer is: WTDF chapter 8 is coming along, albeit more slowly than I intended, and it might still be another month or two before it’s finally done.

The longer explanation is this: Chapter 8 is another doozy like chapter 4 was… if you read the notes for chapter 4, or read my other WTDF-related posts here on tumblr, then perhaps you’re familiar with the fact that completing that chapter was also a protracted process that juggled a different fic project with a fixed deadline, a bout of writer’s block, and inspiration wandering to some different one-shots before ultimately getting me back on-track. I’m a bit sorry to say that I seem to be unintentionally experiencing an exact repeat of last year 🥲💦

In April, when I was still on-track to finish the chapter within my self-imposed deadline, a friend asked me to pinch-hit for their zine, and I was happy to put all my own projects on the back burner for a couple of weeks while I helped out a friend in-need. Once that project was finished at the end of April I immediately got back to work on WTDF, but less than two weeks in (right around the time Hades II Early Access dropped, so I was already a little bit distracted lol) I got saddled with a leadership position preparing for an event at my kid’s kindergarten, which took up 100% of my free time as well as the complete use of my hands (because A LOT of crafting was also involved lol.) So for the rest of May, zero writing got done (though I listened to a lot of podcasts and youtube video essays during that time, I’m thinking of making a rec list sometime of the stuff I enjoyed just for fun!)

And now here we are toward the end of June and the chapter still isn’t done. Even now I keep huffing the copium by telling myself I can finish it by the end of the month, but I’m gonna be honest: all of the interruptions & delays have left me struggling to get back in the right headspace for this story & at this point I admit that I seem to have fallen into another writer’s block 🥲 The last couple of weeks have been me making incremental progress while also trying to refill my cups.

I really hoped I could finish it this month because I’m already planning on doing camp nanowrimo in July to FINALLY finish the draft for the dreamers AU that has also been in the works for over a year now. And tbh that’s the story that I’m now daydreaming about as I start to get myself back into the writing zone. So I think I just gotta Trust The Process on this one and strike the iron where it’s hot for now, because at least I can point to my experience last year and give credit to my fics Closest & Flourishing for giving me the needed momentum to finally get WTDF Ch 4 over the finish line (followed by a streak of productivity that lasted me pretty much up until this point!)

So while I’m sorry that this means WTDF Ch 8 is gonna continue to be delayed a bit longer, I also think it’ll be worth it in the end when I have both these projects finished and I’m feeling good about the direction the inspiration is taking them. FWIW a lot of the ideas & themes I’m thinking about for the dreamers AU—such as prolonged periods of transition, coming of age, and the liminal qualities of queerness & gender identity—they are helping ideas coalesce in my approach to WTDF Ch 8, which, as I may have mentioned before, is a treatment of the Skyros arc. It’s actually fitting that I’m working on these projects both at the same time because I think they’re actively making one another better, which means I’m getting even more excited to complete & share them! The dreamers AU seems likely to be split into two parts at this point, so it makes sense to me to sandwich the WTDF update in between those. I can never really make concrete promises about my publishing schedule anymore, but for now at least, that’s the plan.

Anyways sorry for the longwinded & possibly boring explanation/list of excuses. But I appreciate your ask, it means a lot to know that people care 🥹🙏 Thank you everyone for their patience so far!!! I know I’m slow haha but everyone has been nothing but kind & understanding about it <3

You have a wonderful day as well ❤️

[imathers]

2022: Aidan Baker Corner

I’ve mentioned this in, I think, several reviews I’ve written of records Aidan Baker plays on at this point, but dude is very prolific. Like I suspect most listeners I first encountered him in immense drone doom duo Nadja but he’s in a bunch of other groups/duos/etc as well, and puts out lots of solo material as well. At the end of the year he made an Instagram post listing all of his 2022 releases and even though I’d heard a ton, I think I was still under half?

I do like a lot of his stuff; he tends to work in genres and modes I enjoy, and he’s very good at them. But at this point putting a bunch of them on my “top 40″ feels vaguely counterproductive (only in terms of covering what I listened to this year). (This also can make it hard to review, because I’ve said a lot about his music at this point and don’t want to repeat myself.) But he also consistently makes some of my favourite records of the year. So who knows how often I’ll listen to and love enough of his work that a lil’ mini-list just for him makes sense, but I was kind of amused that it did even just for one year. After the cut, a quick roundup of what my top picks for 2022 were, with links to the Bandcamp pages.

Aidan Baker — The Evelyn Tables

Named after the earliest known “anatomical preparations” in Europe, the track titles here are things like “CNS” and “Distribution of Veins“ and the sound (based entirely I believe around guitar, both electric and acoustic) is “textural ambient drone.” Very gentle and soothing, kind of crepuscular, potentially more background-y than even his other ambient stuff but in a very successful way. Has he done soundtracks? Someone should get him to do soundtracks.

Aidan Baker — Tenebrist

A solo power trio record, instrumental again but a lot more riff-based and fuzzy. Still textural (and FWIW, still excellent working music in my opinion), but maybe textural sludge instead of ambient. Heavy in a very basic, direct way and I mean that as a compliment.

Baker Ja Lehtisalo — Crocodile Tears

This is an interesting one; Lehtisalo is the main guy from Circle, a pretty interesting Finnish metal/experimental band who’ve been around for a while an done a lot. I’m not super familiar, but if you haven’t heard the record they did a few years ago with Richard Dawson, you should. He and Baker both play a bit of everything here, with Lehtisalo’s keyboards and vocals being the most audibly distinct new bits. These are palpably songs but long, dense, repetitive ones; the 14.5 minutes of the opening “(And I Want Your Perfect) Crocodile Tears“ (longest song on the record!) should tell you whether you’re on its wavelength.

Nadja — Labyrinthine

I didn’t save the two records from arguably Baker’s “main” gig with partner Leah Buckareff for the end; we’re doing alphabetical order, as always. But I did include a video for (half of) one of the tracks from this record at the beginning of this post because it’s my favourite, and honestly one of my favourite records of the year, full stop. It’s also, along with the Hatchie, the one I’m the most sad and frustrated that I couldn’t pull together a review of. At least in this case it’s partly because I reviewed another (excellent) Nadja LP in 2022. The fact that the two “main” Nadja LPs in 2022 included distinctly novel elements for the duo (four guest vocalists here, a drummer on Nalepa) is not, I think, an indication that the core concept of the band is lagging or running out of steam. I mean, I thought Luminous Rot kicked ass too! But it’s definitely exciting to see what four very different vocalists brought to Nadja’s music here, and how the duo changed things up to match each singer. The biggest praise I can give: I would listen to full LPs by all four of these distinct “bands.”

Nadja — Nalepa

Okay, so this one I reviewed. And if I wound up slightly more excited by Labyrinthine, more bands should strive to have something this good be the second-best thing they’ve released recently. Record live in studio, Ángela Muñoz Martínez brings a lot to this record. I frequently find myself wanting to compare Baker’s work in this mode (with Nadja or elsewhere) to, like, storm systems and this one really keeps putting that in my head. I also liked his solo accompanying LP of the same name but it felt like cheating to include that here too and these mini-lists already feel enough like cheating.

[forestwater87]

Okay, for all of you who don't feel like watching Miles RP as David

Here are some of my favorite quotes. Context may be added if I feel like it. Reactions are my goblin brain screaming. All of these came from a discord so if they don't make sense . . . see goblin brain comment.

(That link should start directly at the point where he becomes David; if it doesn't, skip to 1:40:33)

In roughly chronological order:

David: "Teachers are sort of like camp counselors during the rest of the year."

The thing is David is absolutely up his own ass enough to think this.

David: "Trail mix is expensive!"

^ said to show he understands why not everyone can donate to the charity for teachers. Very adorable, am crying.

David's "ooooh" seeing one dude was extremely non-heterosexual. Fucking bicon. Him losing his mind that one of the arenas is called "Survey camp"

David: "A person's hitting me -- I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry this is just pretend!"

This is just canonically how David plays video games. Either this or he's unwilling to commit violence at all, but I'll defer to Miles.

David: "That's very goat of you!"

Spencer: "Is David popular amongst his campers?"

David: "I like to think so! There's only 3 staff members, so I'm definitely in everyone's top 3."

"That also means you're in the bottom 3."

David: "Well, I choose not to think of it that way."

(I have to keep adding reacts so you can tell when one quote ends and another begins. Judge not lest ye be judged)

I think the other person in the stream is named Spencer. Friend of Miles. I know literally nothing else about him and am not even confident on those facts.

Every time he says something so non-David in his David voice I die: "I have a lot of grenades!"

David: "Oh my goodness, would you look at this beautiful scenery! Can we hike that mountain?"

This is so goddamn cute. I am dying. Miles looked at his fans and said "they will eat tonight" and I am so relieved.

David: "Not to be a couple of Greedy Garys, but I say we get this [care package] and then I'll drop another one!"

The fact that Miles is grinning like a lunatic the entire time is very good. (Also if this is formatted badly then I'm sorry but not all that sorry. I'm doing my best and David would be proud of me.)

David: "Didja getim? Didja getim? didja getim? How 'bout now?"

Spencer: "I didn't get 'em."

David: "Well, you tried your best and that's all that matters."

He calls healing "a little health kiss." I'm not sure why but it's very important to me.

David: [while jumping to murder someone] "Hi! Scuse me!"

(i just need something to separate the quotes okay)

David: "Well you know what gang, we did our best. You don't always win the 3-legged race. You did a wonderful job!"

Then there's a bit where they talk about Spencer's time at summer camp:

David: "ooooh hand-holding's pretty serious!"

David is too pure.

David: [dreamily] "Did you fall in love, Spencer? A summer love?" [puts hands up to his face]

Then there's the fact that David/Miles gets to pick where they play each round, and he keeps insisting on going to the one called "Survey Camp" every single time because it has the word "camp" in it.

David: "Now, I don't like to disagree, but . . . I was thinking we could go . . . to Survey Camp!"

Spencer reminds him that technically since David's the one with the power to choose, his opinion is the only one that matters:

David: "Everyone's opinion matters. And my opinion is we're going to camp."

David just steamrolling over Spencer's interests is very good. There are these little selfish nuggets sprinkled in among the wholesomeness that really capture the full David experience.

David: "Well, he's climbing up . . . he's coming my direction . . . oh, he looks scary . . ."

Spencer: "Is he coming towards me?"

David: "Oooh, I don't know. I'm dead!"

The positivity is relentless. I think Miles said on twitter afterwards that this whole thing was exhausting and I can see why. Being David is no picnic . . .

David: "I have a question: do we have to shoot each other in this game?"

And then a few seconds later:

David: "I'm just wondering if maybe there's a way we can, you know, help others. Talk through our issues."

And a few seconds after that:

David: "I was asking if they wanted to be friends in the game!"

I believe that moved killed him, too. Precious.

Also we're interrupting the real Miles!David content to share something my friend suggested to me while I was watching this and giving her quotes; she said that maybe David just calls everything camp to make life more fun, and then sent me this imaginary exchange that actually killed me all the way to death:

David: Gwen Santos would you go to marriage camp with me

Gwen: I'm going to have to change this story when I tell everyone

It made me laugh quite a bit.

Anyway, back to the video!

Spencer: "How do you sign up for [Camp Campbell]?"

David: "Well, um, you can fax, uh, an application to CameronCCampbell@hotmail.realwebsite.noreallyrealwebsite.com. And . . . you can know that myself and Gwen and Quartermaster and sometimes Mr. Campbell will do our best to make sure they get what they need! Which more than anything is love and support. And friendship."

Spencer: "How many dollars does this camp cost?"

David: "You know . . . it is, um . . ."

And then the conversation switches subjects and David breathes a sigh of relief.

Very shortly after this he changed his character from a woman (she was wearing a yellow shirt, which he liked because the campers wear yellow shirts) to "a Forward Scout with a positive attitude!"

"I like his style."

Spencer: "Does everybody abuse David verbally?"

David: "You know, sometimes people have harsh words. Mostly Max, and Neil, and Gwen, and Quartermaster, and Nurf."

Spencer: "Did you just list almost everyone?"

David: "Mmm . . . I'd say maybe a third."

Poor David. Somebody please protect him.

Spencer: "Yeah, I think people abuse David. I get that vibe. Or at least, I feel it in my heart. Like I wanna put ants in your bunk or something."

David: "Well, I think that says more about maybe some of the hurt you're carrying with you. And sometimes when people don't know how to process that, they act out. Do you want some trail mix?"

David just said his favorite part of trail mix is the raisins which is so cute. "They have a little bit of salt on them, which isn't typical for a raisin."

And he keeps telling chatters to watch their language.

David: "Who is my favorite camper? Aww, you know I couldn't pick a favorite! . . . But I know who has the most potential, even if he doesn't want to admit it."

I KNEW IT!!!!!

I've been saying for years that David doesn't have a favorite and gravitates towards the ones he thinks need him the most AND I FINALLY GOT ONE RIGHT!

David: "Well you know, Gwen swears and that's okay."

shipping intensifies

David: [gasp] "The moss is growing on the north side of the rock!"

Every time he nerds out about weird shit in the game I gain 3 seconds to my life.

Spencer: "Did you get teabagged?"

David: "What's that?"

Spencer: "It's where somebody places their most intimate bits on you for . . . friendship."

David: [softly] "Oh, I don't know about that."

Also David confirms that the whole show has been a single summer, so please see the "vindication" gif above.

David: "I know a lot of fun camp songs."

Spencer: "Sing 3."

David: [starts singing] "Bum-bum-bumblebee, bumblebee tuna, I love bumblebee, bumblebee tuna . . ."

Spencer: "Okay, please stop. I immediately regret this decision."

David: "Max said the same thing! One of my campers. And, uh, and my co-counselor, Gwen."

He's literally made of sunshine. I would die for this fictional man.

Spencer: "Are people at camp against their will? I feel like they are."

David: "No! . . . They don't always like it immediately, but it grows on them."

Spencer: "It sounds like they're there against their will."

David: "Well I just think that's a negative way of looking at it."

FWIW Spencer makes an excellent foil to David. Not as aggressive as Max or as dour as Gwen, but he brings a very . . . like, straight-man energy to the conversation. Like how a normal person would react to David IRL. I'd enjoy seeing these two interact more.

Spencer: "It's like your overpositivity is wanting me to balance it out with negativity."

David: "You know, I feel like that dynamic's pretty popular with me."

eeeeeeee <3

And the last one that I personally found noteworthy:

David: "One day we'll be able to afford safety equipment. Until then, we'll just have to deal with Quartermaster's Ropes Course. And a lot of pillows."

There's point near the last 20 minutes where either it got kinda boring or I just got too tired to keep track. But if there are any quotes you think I missed, please share them! This was a really lovely bit of content to feed our starving maw, and I appreciate Miles very very very much for taking one for the team.

[jlf23tumble]

If it's okay, how was Louis' concert ? Did it exceed your expectations or?

Hello, and of course it's okay! I'll give you my rando thoughts below, and it exceeded my expectations ONLY because I heard that a lot of the crowd vibes in the early part of the tour were quote rancid, and yeah, having lurked, HARD AGREE, but I saw the final show, didn't have on my best clothes, and thought it was pretty damned great! Rando thoughts under the cut:

Sunday night capped off a rollercoaster birthday weekend in the best kind of way, so it's gonna be aimh for that reason ALONE.

I went with my best friend, who is always endlessly amused/confused by my descriptions of fandom dynamics on EVERY FUCKING LEVEL (she knows Louis from when I made her watch XFUK and from every 1D song video ever and from this album, period)...I could give you her reactions to things, but those are hot real takes you need a galaxy brain to handle and say, yes, yeah, uh huh, EX-FUCKING_ACTLY.

He did his T pose/Christ pose, like, seriously a LOT, so much, a real staple!

He sounded so fucking GOOD, and we were especially thrilled when he sang our faves (my friend: We Made It, me: Always You, both of us: Copy of a Copy....).

I am 100% convinced he can't read signs past the second (first???) row--he sees someone with a sign, points, gives a smile and a thumbs up, perfect amounts of crowd service, A+, king.

ZERO BANTER, which was a shame, just the usual "sing it!" "[redacted voice] I'm only here because of you, we couldn't do this without you, thank you, etc." "the crew is amazing [paraphrasing]"

I truly HATED the fact that the monitors weren't synched with him, that just reeks amateur hour, and I blame it on the venue--maybe other venues had it working??? But come on, this is LA.

Speaking of, it's definitely just me, but this venue gave me so many Orange Country vibes that whenever he mentioned "Los ANGELES!", I was like, please, my god, don't gas up the OC this way, we are in Anaheim, for chrissakes, until I realized, hey wait, we're five minutes from the Forum and LAX, he's right!! This venue is cursed!

The crowd was an interesting yet fairly specifically skewed mix of ages and outfits (granted, I only had drinks in one section, for like 20 minutes, but I think I saw only a handful of Harry- or 1D-related stuff). Lots of Louis 2012 cosplay (red pants, striped shirts), but that's it beyond "lookin' to pull" gear,...whither the track suits!! I think Harry makes it way easier, you dead-ass have to own some of these rare vintage Louis shirts vs. finding a green boa at Michael's or wherever.

His aesthetics are so muted, considering this is still a big show, but I also think it's related to his current public image, so I get it. It's interesting, though, how stripped down it is...and I wonder how deliberate that is. And I think it's hella deliberate, fwiw.

ETA: I REMEMBERED!! The venue had one (1) merch booth, and it was outside, and it was fucking FREEZING. Why not bring it in or have more options??? Bad call.

...I have other thoughts, but they're escaping me, and I have to chat with a friend in a sec, so enjoy this venue picture, we had killer seats!!!

[templeofshame]

Idk why I’m saying this to you, I just usually like your takes on this kind of stuff, so I’m going to ramble for a second.

I’ve been seeing a few people mentioning that this new video phil did for google, specifically the parts where he’s playfully snuggling up to his co host, made them really uncomfortable, and I… don’t see why. It’s a video. It’s a professional setting, it was all in good fun, so what’s the problem? Is it just because it’s not Dan? Would it be less uncomfortable to see phil snuggling up to Dan? Is it just general homophobia? I don’t get it. Not to mention that most of the people I’ve seen being uncomfortable with it are totally fine with Dan making horny jokes on Twitter. Why is it okay for Dan to go online and talk about wanting a daddy to beat him up or whatever, but phil even jokingly leaning on a man crosses some sort of line? Phannies are weird.

End ramble, thank you for your time

I don't know what you're seeing, but the only thing I've seen is the but-what-about-Dan discomfort (not that there can't be homophobia in the phandom, but I haven't seen any on this topic), in a way that I see very similarly when Dan makes jokes about looking for casual sex. I honestly barely noticed anything cuddly in the vid (I just noticed the head-on-shoulder bit) because the vid did not attract much of my attention, but the responses I've seen have been what I would predict. Obviously there's a lot of variation within a fandom of this size, but a lot of us are here at least partially because of the appeal of D&P's relationship and chemistry, and especially now that they've acknowledged that, seeing them joke-flirt/pretend to be single/etc. is likely to set off some not totally happy sensors in our brains. (Obviously there are some people who panic like D&P must have broken up every time something like this happens, but I honestly don’t see that in my corner and I’m very much not that.)

For me, it's a giant eyeroll. It just feels forced and awkward and I don't really get why they still do it (I know it's at least part about different audiences, but we're there for all of it and there's whiplash there). To me it seems extra weird how Dan doesn't get mentioned in these very performative Google-promotes-boring-stuff videos and in Phil's other content, he tends toward bringing Dan into things where he kinda isn't even that relevant and without explanation. (It's forced in both directions in this one, with the thing of Harold being overly complimentary about watching Phil's stuff all the time, but then he's unfamiliar with the word "yeet" and also with the fact that Phil doesn't upload very often in terms of Youtuber norms.)

Fwiw I am definitely team they're grownass men who can do what they want with their brands, and Dan's hookup jokes are more annoying because they're more played out, but I generally find any humor that leans on any level of pretending like they're not in a committed relationship just feels really fake and kinda reminds me of closeted times in a way I don't enjoy.

[serendipitous-magic]

when you were talking about stylistic influences, you said that you found it hard to do comedy. would you mind elaborating on that? i also find that there's very little writing that makes me LOL, and most of what does is fanfic. have you seen comedy done well in writing (novels, fic, etc.)? how do you approach it yourself? (btw fwiw i think your comedic sense is great)

Writing comedy is like writing a sex scene. You have to maintain tension. Except, I find comedy 200% harder, because with sex scenes you can rely on physicality. It’s a momentum built on what and how the character feels. There’s expectation and payoff, just like with comedy - except, in comedy, the payoff often hinges on surprise. A reversal of expectations - or, if not a reversal, simply something you didn’t expect. A huge amount of comedy is made up of the unexpected. We laugh because we’re taken off guard.

Ex:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D61dV18TNE

Ex:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBJU9ndpH1Q

Ex:

Ex:

Now, not all humor is based on shock or Wacky Zany Unexpectedness, but I would argue that all humor relies on a sort of momentum, a tension. It’s something you have to actively keep up throughout the duration of however long the humor is supposed to last - and if you’re writing a comedy, that’s the whoooole thing. It’s performative, in a way. You can’t create comedy passively, even if part of the humor relies on silence or expectant pauses; you have to be engaged, start to finish. It takes a lot of creative energy, even for people who have a gift or passion for it.

And moreover, even for people with a natural gift for comedy, it’s a skill. You get better at it when you practice. There are rhythms and shortcuts and rules of thumb.

I would say this may be especially true when you’re writing, because (unless you’re working with a co-writer), writing is just you. If you’re an actor or performer you have your co-stars to play off of; or, at the very least, you likely have an audience. Humans naturally feed off of each other’s emotional states. We’re herd animals. Ever noticed how it’s 1000% easier to laugh when you’re around friends than when you’re alone? For me, it’s even much easier to laugh when I’m listening to a podcast or watching a video than when I’m reading, because hearing human voices tricks my brain into thinking, “Oh, it’s Social Time!”

I personally find writing pure comedy difficult because it’s just me, sitting alone in a room typing words on a screen. However, I also haven’t done much comedy, and like I said it’s a practicable skill, so I’m sure I’d get better at it if I made a real effort to practice.

Comedy well done in novels:

Douglas Adams! Especially The Hitchhiker’s Guide series. Classic touchstone of literary comedy in my opinion. 

“The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.”

“For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.”

“In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”

Terry Pratchett also does a great job at humor - I especially enjoyed his team-up with Neil Gaiman for Good Omens:

“All tapes left in a car for more than about a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums.” 

“Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft are written by men.”

“The Kraken stirs. And ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengeance.”

They also do a fantastic job with situational humor, such as Crowley’s car being on fire and the one random guy giving directions completely ignoring it because he’s like “Well, surely he must know his car is on fire.” 

Rick Riordan:

“Ever come home and found your room messed up? Like some helpful person (hi, Mom) has tried to “clean” it, and suddenly you can’t find anything? And even if nothing is missing, you get that creepy feeling like somebody’s been looking trough your private stuff and dusting everything with lemon furniture polish?”

“I’ve met plenty of embarrassing parents, but Kronos, the evil Titan Lord who wanted to destroy Western Civilization? Not the kind of dad you invited to school for Career Day.”

“He’d changed since the last summer. Instead of Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt, he wore a button-down shirt, khaki pants, and leather loafers. His sandy hair, which used to be so unruly, was now clipped short. He look like an evil male model, showing off what the fashionable college-age villain was wearing to Harvard this year.”

“We only came close to dying six or seven times which I thought was pretty good. A minute later Annabeth hit a slippery patch of moss and her foot slipped. Fortunately she found something else to put it against. Unfortunately that something was my face.”

J.K. Rowling:

I love me a smart-ass narrator.

“This is night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this.”

“Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. 'So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —' 'Jordan!' growled Professor McGonagall. 'I mean after that open and revolting foul —' 'Jordan, I'm warning you —' 'All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession.”

-_-_-_-

I’m having trouble finding the funniest quotes, but y’all know what I’m talking about.

As far as how I approach it myself:

Well, see the top up there. (Waaaaay up there before my whole lecture, lol.) If I’m trying to write something humorous, I approach it from an angle of momentum or energy. Keep up a kind of tension, even if the scene itself is fairly laid-back, and play on unexpectedness - sometimes situational, sometimes in phrasing or dialogue. A snarky narrator is always a good way to add an edge. 

Basically, if I’m trying to be funny in my writing, I write as if I’m joking around with a group of friends - the group of friends being my audience. Same ballpark. Reference inside jokes (which were established earlier in the story), play on repetition and reversal of expectations, joke around about “relatable” things (much of early meme humor relied on this), be sarcastic or dry or exaggerated as the situation calls for. Even if there’s no one really there and I’m just typing words on a page, I find it much easier to approach humor if I come at it from a perspective of kidding around with my audience and having fun with them, instead of just sitting by myself at my desk writing words.

Well that was kind of all over the place but hopefully it answered your questions!

I should start a consistent tag for these asks where I accidentally write long-winded essays on how I write.

[annashipper]

Sorry Anon

Sorry, I find it hard to be sarcastic or facetious in a text. I was saying that I think the BS about rigging RT is just that, BS. I won't go so far as to say the rumor was started in the PR department of Marvel, but fuck, that got everyone's dander up didn't it? There's a gazillion "woke" people on Tumblr (I'm one), who would rise up ready to battle for a movie that's being ruined by a bunch of racists. If somebody on earth (hiding under a rock) had not heard about BP, or was  iffy about seeing it, what better way to get them interested about the movie and decide to go see it for themselves? If Marvel’s PR department didn’t start the rumor, paid some interns mess with RT (or say they were) to get the public's awareness of it, well, they should have. And if I can think of that, I’m sure Marvel could have as well. After the shit casting of Dr. Strange, they know the backlash of anger at anything that smells of racism. I'm not saying it was good, it was gold!

I know that the RT attack was reported on a lot of news pages, and even RT tagged in, but all of that can be faked, and I can't find that FB page anywhere (but even if it did exist, how hard is it to start a new FB page?). As I said, Marvel may not have started it, but they couldn't have had any better publicity if they paid for it (which, I'm still not convinced they didn't). FWIW, that didn't make me buy a ticket, the trailers and story did.

Sorry, I just wanted to be clear that I'm not writing any of this to hurt BP, embarrass or shame anyone. It's just that I have been coding for 40+ years now and I know how easy it is to start any rumor about anything on social media, which RT now is. ONE bad joke on a tweet ruined a life and caused a suicide. So don't get me wrong, I LIKE that this is making so much publicity for the movie. I HOPE it gets a million more people to watch it 'cause I WANT to see BP II, III, IV etc. 

OK, to make up for the confusion on my other posts I'm giving you this link. "Emergency Awesome" is a GREAT YT site. He does all the geek reviews (as well as GOT), he has an "in" with all the big studios and sees shows before they're released 'cause he has 2.2M followers. I promise you will love this video, in it he calls BC, RDJ, & JG the "3 of the most interesting people in the room". www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=agU0twlESYM. Love to my favorite blogger, enjoy!

Just to say, I really do spend my life saying "I'm sorry". My big old foot never leaves my mouth. I'm not good at judging when my words might have a negative effect. In person you can see I'm a big dufus, goofy and never take myself seriously. My tongue, also, never leaves my cheek. But reading something flat can make a difference in interpretation. So, sorry, again, I hope I didn't hurt anyone's feelings, I really, really don't mean to.

You might like this list of Emergency Awesome's videos on both Dr. Strange and Sherlock. He does all the geek things, "easter eggs", etc. www(.)youtube(.)com/user/emergencyawesome/search?query=%22Dr.+Strange%22. He's also the #1 fan of Dead Pool - you can search his site here: www(.)youtube(.)com/channel/UCDiFRMQWpcp8_OK, I know I'm being hyper tonight, you might want to put all these asks into one post, that's if you want to post them at all. You'll still be my favorite blogger.

BTW, Charlie (EA) calls BC "one of the greatest actors in the world. In this teaser breakdown of Dr. Strange way before it was released. So I kind of think of him as "one of us" skeptics but he NEVER goes into any of the actors' private lives, he comments on work only. www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=LmfKqIpyNUY

Last one, I promise. This was a really interesting video about some of the "behind the scenes" story of how we almost lost RDJ, Spide-rman, and Dr. Strange. Whew! I'm glad the movie fans won. www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=ZK516xj6VkU

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry Anon, although I wouldn’t put anything past anyone, Marvel had no reason whatsoever to go to such lengths to promote Black Panther.  

The way I see it, people have been excited to see a standalone Black Panther movie since it was first announced.  For good reasonS.

Also, Marvel is not really in the business of creating negative press about their movies in order to get people talking.  If anything, they don’t like controversy when it comes to what they put out, which became more than obvious with the way they basically ignored the minimal backlash they got for casting whitewashing The Ancient One character.

MFA told me she heard Kevin Feige acknowledge their mistake on a podcast he was featured on, but I haven’t heard it myself, so I can’t offer any more information on that.

Anyway, having gotten that out of the way, I discovered Emergency Awesome when I was geeking out on Game Of Thrones last year and have been subscribed to his channel ever since  ;o)

P.S.  Are we related?  Cause I tend to apologise about 10 times in the course of an hour in real life.

[sternbilder]

the games i played to completion in 2017, ranked in order of how much i liked them

mostly for my own reference and i’m gonna try to keep this out of the tags but read on if you want to read about me getting super excited about video games i guess

p/ersona 5 - look i know this wasn’t a perfect game like there are Several Large Complaints i would like to file regarding plot and pacing and premise even but this was. still my favorite game of 2017 and just such an enjoyable 120 hours to have spent holy fuck?? like everyone’s always talking about how stylish p5 is and goddamn are they right like it’s such a gorgeous game!! the loving detail they put into every aspect of the UI, the beautiful character sprites, that effortlessly cool contemporary tokyo vibe that oozes into every aspect of the game!! and the gameplay (which i played on normal difficulty, being a series beginner) was both challenging and rewarding and both the dungeons and the school life segments (considering the sheer variety of Shit You Could Do not to mention all the charming-ass characters with compelling sideplots) were just. an absolute treat?? plus the soundtrack to this game was just killer so there’s also that

n/ier: automata - SPEAKING OF GAMES WITH GR8 SOUNDTRACKS. i think this game’s soundtrack probably ranks up there with my favorite video game OSTs of ALL TIME FOREVER like seriously. it is so so good. anyway friends it took me four (4) days to beat this game and another full 24 hours just to process this game like. y’all know i’m always a slut for sad robots and BOY HOWDY did this game have that thing. not only is the game itself gorgeous but i’m pretty much in love with the Entire cast (but especially 9S, who is my special son) and i’m crying,, eternally,, about the c/d/e routes and even though it probably wasn’t the Most impressive and best written game Ever it had a lot of good twists and revelations and a real sense of weight and suspense esp. in the later playthroughs which i am ALL ABOUT. not being much of an action RPG person i never really fell in love w/ the combat but it was fun enough even though it got kind of repetitive and too hack-and-slashy for my taste after a while?? actually fuck the bullet hell hacking minigame tho if i’m gonna be real

f/ire emblem fates (birthright, conquest, and revelation) - listen i know this game was like objectively garbage but i’m still trying to justify having spent a literal 1/3 of my year playing it so bear with me for just 2 hot seconds. first of all hi yes there’s a running theme here bc i dig the shit out of fe14′s OST?? also even though the plot was kind of a mess the characters and supports still grew on me a lot after a while and actually the gameplay was really fun?? maybe it’s bc i played it on hard/classic (as opposed to fea which i played on normal/casual) but i really enjoyed the combat a lot more in these games than fea--actually i do think there’s actually a lot of actual improvements here, especially with all the new classes, the improved dual guard/dual strike rules, and no fucking weapon durability, etc. as well as a lot of the more unusual victory conditions (in conquest and revelation, not so much in birthright) like i feel like there were a lot of highlights and i genuinely enjoyed the battles in fe14 a lot and sure the whole waifu nintendogs concept is creepy as hell and babyrealm is a fucking joke but i still thought this was a Pretty good or at least enjoyable game so you can fight me on that front

d/anganronpa v3 - ok let me me the first to admit that i honestly?? don’t really like dr as a franchise very much and the only real reason i got into it in the first place is to fill the ace attorney-shaped hole in my heart in between releases thereof (as well as superficial similarities to other games i like, like ze) and while i still enjoy the gameplay and investigating and mystery-solving parts of it and those aspects i still find very enjoyable and well-written a lot of the rest of the games really kind of fall flat for me?? like tbh i’m not a huge fan of the art style, the sense of humor and localization don’t really do it for me, the characters are cute but kind of over-the-top and not super relatable to me personally, and honestly the whole ~evil mastermind did it for the lulz~ trope being played super straight disappointed me a lot about the first game especially?? that being said i know this is a bit of a base breaker but i actually really liked the direction that sdr2 took with its ending and it made me hopeful for the sequel, which brings me to drv3 which surprised me in a lot of pleasant ways?? like personally i think it’s the best dr yet and while i can see why people would be disappointed with the ending and feel like it may be a cop-out i think it was still clever enough that i appreciate it for trying?? or maybe it’s just bc i didn’t like the original so much and the departure from that felt like kind of a breath of relief but that’s just me idk

f/inal fantasy x - guess who was late to the party and played her first final fantasy in this year of the lord 2017!!! it’s me!!! honestly i was expecting more from this game overall in terms of plot just because it’s such a Classic and all but fwiw i still liked it?? i didn’t super love any of the main characters and the story was a little predictable and even though i played the remaster it’s still an obviously dated game but NEVERTHELESS it was still just a solid RPG and i genuinely enjoyed playing it!! i should play the sequel sometime but. i’ll get to it after i clear out this massive backlog i have currently as we speak sobs

the witness - i don’t talk about this game enough bc honestly it isn’t the kind of game that can have a real fanbase (no real characters or plot, etc.) but i still enjoyed the fuck out of this, holy hell. i mean it’s i guess kind of an open-world exploration-slash-puzzle concept which sounds kind of boring but the world is gorgeous and the way the game presents these puzzles for you to solve and teaches you the rules in a way that’s entirely self-explanatory and intuitive but still super difficult and ultimately rewarding is just so gratifying and i was just so so impressed at how creative they got with these puzzle designs and the way the world seems to unfold itself the more you unlock its secrets?? anyway i know this is near the bottom bc i do love me a video game story and this particular game doesn’t have that but PLAY THIS GAME IF YOU LIKE PUZZLES IT IS JUST SO COOL AND FUN AND GOOD

the n/onary games (999 only) - this is a replay but still worth mentioning i think?? obviously 999 is one of my favorite games of all time and i was super pumped about the remake and while i didn’t quite enjoy it as much as the very first time i played 999 on my DS it was still a good game!! tbh i mostly just played this game for the voice acting which i was pretty impressed with, and also i got to pick up a lot of the bilingual bonuses i obviously missed while playing my localized copy of the original game which was cool!! i wasn’t as impressed with the updated sprites unfortunately, i felt like their quality was inconsistent and some of them looked like kind of a rush job to me but ymmv i guess?? i think overall i still prefer the DS version even with improvements like the flow chart in the newer version, mostly because 1. i actually appreciated having to literally replay parts of the game in the former bc i feel like it’s more in the spirit of the game if you know what i mean, and 2. some details near the ending that they changed, which you definitely know what i mean if you played the game. still, i appreciate that it’s made the game more widely accessible and if you haven’t played the game pls go play this game i’m literally begging u,,

u/mineko (question arcs only) - ok the only reason i have this 8th on this list is just bc i haven’t technically finished it yet and BOY am i the kind of person who lives entirely for that sweet sweet payoff but there really isn’t THAT much i can say?? like thanks to the ps3 patch the art is pretty decent i guess?? i’m liking all the characters so far?? there’s a whole lot of Bullshit that doesn’t make any sense at this point but i’ve been promised metagame and mindfuck in due time so i guess i’ll just have to see?? yeah this is more of a tbd review than anything i don’t really know what to say besides i’m just so eager to play the other half of this game and get the answers to all these gotdamn MYSTERIES already

braid - i mostly just played this bc i knew it was made by the same person?? studio?? as the witness and while i liked braid and i really enjoyed the puzzles it was just too short for it to have really made an impression on me?? like i know that there is a story and a Twist but it didn’t really do much for me with how abstract it was and just in terms of sheer volume of content it doesn’t quite compare to the other games on this list like don’t get me wrong it was still good!! and if you need a way to kill an afternoon i still highly recommend it but it just wasn’t as memorable to me as p5 or nier was unfort

[sejinpk]

Top 5 pre-2000 manga/anime, for the ask meme?

Thanks for the ask! I’ve read almost no manga, so this is gonna be all anime. Instead of just making a list, I thought I’d go into more detail on what I like about these shows that makes them my top 5. I actually keep going back and forth about which I like more between my #1 and #2 picks, so you can probably consider them a tie for #1.

1. Great Teacher Onizuka

Great Teacher Onizuka is easily one of the funniest things I’ve seen, whether animation, live-action, Japanese, or non-Japanese. Onizuka’s faces and the noises he makes are absolutely priceless. Uchiyamada’s (the Vice Principal) faces can be equally priceless. The English dub isn’t *good* (and they have a handful of VAs doing multiple roles), but that just adds to its charm for me in this case (I haven’t seen the Japanese dub). I like how Onizuka helps his students through their problems by teaching them how to become good people, not just good students, even though he’s not necessarily a good role model himself. I like how he views them as people, not students. I like how the show keeps its characters around, and doesn’t sideline them after they’ve had their feature episode(s), so we can see how they interact differently with each other as they grow and change.

FWIW, Urumi Kanzaki and Onizuka are tied for my favorite character from the show.

2. Belladonna of Sadness

Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no Belladonna in Japanese) is an absolute visual treat. Its visuals can be incredibly surreal and metaphorical/symbolic, which I tend to find inherently interesting aesthetically. They can also be pretty psychedelic/mind-trippy at points. The movie was released in 1973, and had never had a U.S. theatrical release until last summer (apparently it had a limited screening here in 2009), when it was restored and shown in 4K. Unfortunately, no theaters in my area showed it, which is a huge shame, as I think it would’ve been incredible to see on the big screen.

I like how the movie handles misconceptions of sexuality as inherently bad: The setting of the story is feudal, so its world’s ideas about sexuality, especially for women, are incredibly limiting. The main character, Jeanne, has internalized that mindset, so she views her sexual awakening as being brought on by the devil. There’s a lot that I’m leaving out, but eventually she makes a pact with the devil, and expects to be thrown into a world of fire and darkness and evil, etc. etc. as a result, but she wakes up and it’s springtime, and it’s lush and green and vibrant. I love that way of conveying Jeanne’s misconceptions about (her own) sexuality and her realizations that her previous mindset was wrong.

Jeanne’s journey and growth and change over the course of the story is something I really enjoyed watching and found very gratifying, both emotionally and thematically/ideologically.

I feel like there’s a lot more I could say about the stuff I mentioned above, including about the movie’s source, and how that informs the movie. I’ll probably write a post about it at some point.

I should also mention that this movie is INCREDIBLY sexually explicit. It had a red band trailer, and is rated Rx on MAL (that’s the rating they give to hentai). I’ve heard it also inspired Kunihiko Ikuhara, one of my favorite anime directors, to work in anime, though I don’t think that’s something he’s confirmed.

3. Mega Man

Mega Man is the first anime I ever saw, well before I even knew what anime was. I remember getting up super early before Sunday school literally every week when I was a kid (I wanna say it was like 5 a.m.), just so I could make 110% sure I was awake when Mega Man started. Like, it was usually about an hour early, because I distinctly remember watching episodes of two other shows before Mega Man came on.

I don’t think it holds up well in terms of “objective” quality, but at the same time, I also don’t think there’s really anything bad about it. It’s a very average, typical, episodic kids’ show. The animation and (especially) art quality can vary wildly from one episode to the next. The one-liners can be pretty bad, though I have a massive tolerance for (read: love of) bad puns, so that doesn’t really bother me. XP

It’s simple fun soaked in nostalgia, but I also love some of the really silly/doofy absurdities here and there. For example, in one episode, a vampire robot created by Dr. Wily hypnotizes a human character into believing she’s a vampire robot. And she actually turns into a vampire robot somehow, even shooting lightning from her fangs. XD In that same episode, Dr. Wily creates a werewolf robot that actually transforms based on moonlight. In another episode, a robot dinosaur lays an egg, which hatches. And in yet another episode, there are lion men who shoot eye beams that turn humans into lion people.

This isn’t the case anymore, but when I was a kid, my favorite episode was the one where Mega Man X, Vile, and Spark Mandrill from the Mega Man X video game make an appearance. As a kid, the Mega Man X games (at that point it was just the first three on Super Nintendo) were my favorite, so I thought that the episode with Mega Man X was the best thing ever. :’D I still want a full-fledged Mega Man X cartoon/anime, preferably based on the earlier games (up through X4 at the latest).

My favorite bad robot used to be Elec Man, because I thought he looked really cool, and also Vile and Spark Mandrill when they had their one-off appearance. More recently (yes, I do still re-watch this show from time to time), I’ve come to really like Proto Man. In general I enjoy his attitude, and I find it amusing that he compliments Mega Man from time to time. I’ve also come to like Roll quite a bit.

4. Yu Yu Hakusho

Of the really long-running (70 to 80+ episodes) shounen stuff I’ve seen, Yu Yu Hakusho is easily my favorite. I love the English dub (I’ve never seen it in Japanese), as well as the English-dubbed versions of the OPs and EDs (man, I miss when companies did that). I really like how much character work and moments there are in the relationships between characters. For a show that has the oft-used theme of friendship that so many shounen shows have, I like how Yu Yu Hakusho handles it, where it’s not just characters supporting each other, but it actually feels a bit more…real? Like, I can easily see these characters hanging out or interacting in very normal circumstances. It’s not just, “Yeah, you can do it! Keep going!”

These are the relationships that have stuck out to me the most:

Yuusuke and Kuwabara

Yuusuke and Keiko (mainly in the 4th season)

Yuusuke and Genkai

Yuusuke and Younger Toguro

Genkai and Younger Toguro

Yuusuke and Raizen

Kuwabara and Shizuru

Kurama and Yomi

There are just so many good moments, too. Some of my favorites are Genkai’s “final” words to Yuusuke in season 2 about having to fight with time to find your place in the world; the stuff between Genkai and Younger Toguro (especially in Spirit World) and their backstory; the stuff between Yuusuke and Keiko before he leaves for Demon World in season 4; Sensui’s final moments; the stuff between Yuusuke and Raizen.

I love how the characters all have such distinct voices and perspectives. Like, Genkai’s views of Toguro, what he did, and why he did it are different than Toguro’s views of those things, and both characters’ views of their own past and present are surprisingly nuanced and complex, given the rather limited screentime those things get. And I love how they both, in their own way, sort of become surrogate parents to Yuusuke. And then, at the end of the series, he also has Raizen, and I love the dynamic the two of them have.

I think maybe the best I can explain what I like so much about Yu Yu Hakusho is that it has the fun stuff that a lot of shounen shows have, the fighting and the superpowers and overall energetic tone, but it also has a lot of meat under the surface, and that meat is woven throughout practically all of the character work in the series, which I think is part of what makes the character interactions and friendship themes in the show seem more real and true to life, somehow, than many of the other shounen shows I’ve seen (I think the English dub helps with this a lot, too).

For a long time, Kurama was one of my absolute favorite anime characters because he embodies what I think is sort of the pinnacle of humanity: he has great intelligence, wisdom, and logical abilities, but he also has tremendous warmth, empathy, and caring. And he sort of uses them to augment one another, like a synthesis/harmonization of these two general aspects that we all have.

5. Princess Mononoke

(Sorry there’s no video here. I couldn’t find an AMV I liked, I can’t think of a particular clip that would be fitting, and I wasn’t too fond of the movie’s trailer, either.)

It’s been a long time since I last watched Princess Mononoke, so this entry is shorter and less detailed and/or in-depth than some of the others.

Generally speaking, I like how the man vs. nature theme is handled. It wasn’t simply man = bad, nature = good. Both sides are given depth and nuance. Further, I like how the nature side is depicted as such, where the animal gods behave more…beastly? animal-like?, if that makes sense.Like, I’m thinking of the way that Moro talked to Ashitaka the night after he’s saved by the Forest Spirit. Nature isn’t humanized, but it’s still presented in a way that you can empathize and sympathize with it.

I like how the movie doesn’t sugar coat anything, as well as how the ending doesn’t tie everything up nice and neat with a bow. The way it ended felt very realistic, which I thought was very much in keeping with the movie’s overall approach.

Honorable mentions:

-Revolutionary Girl Utena

-Serial Experiments Lain

-Neon Genesis Evangelion

-The Vision of Escaflowne

These aren’t actually “honorable mentions,”but I couldn’t think of a succinct way to put it. Rather, the first three of the abovetitles are shows that I feel like, based on my first viewing, if I understoodthem better, could very likely have made it into the list. I think this isespecially true for Revolutionary Girl Utena, based on my first viewing, as well as things I’vecome to understand in retrospect about both the show and itswriter/director/original creator, Ikuhara. As for The Vision of Escaflowne, I’m currently watching it, though I’m only seven episodes in.

Again, thanks for the ask! I had a lot of fun writing this! :)

[derekdbx]

A Gift List For a Dude In His Late 30s

I’m a dude in his late 30s, and these are things that I use that I think would make for good gifts. For reviews of specific types of gadgets and housewares, I strongly recommend checking out The Wirecutter. I don’t work for any of these companies, and I didn't get paid for any of this. Enjoy.

Marpac Rohm Portable White Noise Machine - $35 - Have you tried white noise for sleeping, working, studying, or drowning out background distractions?  It’s probably not for everyone, but I keep a white noise machine on most of the time. I’ve always liked the manual fan version, like the one you see in a therapist office’s hallway, the MARPAC Dohm, but they’re too heavy to travel with. The same company makes an electronic USB-powered version, and it sounds just as good as the manual fan and it is much smaller. A must-have for hotel stays.

Groom Mate Platinum XL Nose & Ear Hair Trimmer - $19  - Take care of that schnoz, Wolfman! This manual nose hair trimmer will help keep your nose from looking like the ornaments on top of a car dealership. It’s not pain-free, but it’s less painful than tweezers or others I’ve tried. No batteries needed, never dulls. I’ve had mine since 2013, works great. 

Anker USB Multicharger - $20-$50 - The only charger I carry in my work bag. It charges my usb-c laptop and my phone, and a strangers phone in an airport. This is best for a traveler, because you don’t have to carry multiple chargers, just enough cables for your stuff. Could also be used for a docking or homemade valet station. They make a bunch of different sizes, colors, shapes, and port density. FWIW, I’ve had good experiences with both the Anker and Cable Matters brands. 

Ray-Ban Wayfarer Folding Sunglasses - $120-$160 - My wife gave me a pair of folding Wayfarers for my birthday several years ago, I wear them daily and love them. They’re portable and have taken a lot of abuse. Ray-ban has several other styles available for folding. Tip: It’s cheaper to buy direct from Ray-Ban, and you can order some cool customizations. 

Apple AirPods - $159 - If you have an iPhone, these buds are ridiculously worth it. They sound excellent and I don’t know how they don’t fall out. The noise-cancellation for phone-use is outstanding. I carried on a conversation while walking through a Vegas casino floor on the phone with these in, and the other person had no idea. The earbuds have their own carrying case which has it’s own battery and acts as the charging station (same lightning-usb cable as the phone). I’ve had times where I’ve been on back to back conference calls and had to charge one earbud at a time, and they charge fast. This is the coolest thing I purchased in 2017.  

Mack Weldon Undershirts - $32 -  Wait, how much for an undershirt? For real? Yeah. It’s a splurge. It is a luxury purchase, down to the packaging it arrives in. They used to make these v-necks in black and I wish I would have ordered a truck load...they still make white and grey, and they’re great. I’ve worn my black one at least weekly for 3 1/2 years and it is still in great shape. They make standard collars and tank versions if you’re not into the v-neck. So what’s so special? They’re extra long so they stay tucked in, they’re stretchy, not shiny, the collars last, they're very breathable, they do some mild moisture wicking  (but they don’t feel weird like a DryFit shirt), and after wearing them all day+night, they’re not rotten. Their boxers are pretty good too, but this undershirt is perfect. I recommend wash cold/cold, hang dry - treat your clothes right!

Angel’s Envy Bourbon - $50 + Peychaud’s Bitters - $10  - This is a damn fine bourbon. Add a dash of bitters and 1 large cube of ice, for a perfect sipping cocktail. If you see the rye version, skip it, unless you like the sweetness of rum. Their classic bourbon is the way to go, it has a soft, pillowy mouthfeel, a slight upfront sting, and a smooth finish. I like to enjoy it with a dash of bitters, and while Angostura is great and available everywhere, Peychaud’s is a little lighter and worth trying. I didn’t include a link to the large ice trays, as there are too many cool molds out there (cubes, spheres, Death Stars).

Raspberry Pi 3 (Canakit) - $70 + USB SNES Controller - $10 - You don’t have to be a Linux expert if you can read/follow How-To guides or watch YouTube videos on setting up RetroPie. This combo makes for a great retro-emulator gaming console project. 

USB Guitar Cable - $30 - There are cheaper versions of this available, but this is what I have and I’ve been happy with it. The cable plugs your electric guitar into a USB outlet, primarily to be used with the video game RockSmith on most any platform (it’s like RockBand/GuitarHero but for a real guitar). It can also be used with GarageBand (Mac) to play/record straight into your laptop. 

AEM DryFlow Car Air Filter - $30-60 - Maybe this is weird to include in a gift guide, but if you’re not buying this at the 30,000 mile mark of your car, you’re fucking up. For the cost of your first air filter replacement at a dealership, you can replace it with this bad ass one that is washable, and you don’t have to clean it for years, if ever. My skill level for working on cars is non-existent, but YouTube got me through the 10-minute task.

ChefAlarm by Thermoworks Digital Oven Thermometer & Alarm - $50-$60 - If you fry things or cook meat of any kind/any method, this takes the guess work out of “is it done yet?”. I learned about this gadget in an interview with Jeff Potter who wrote “Cooking for Geeks”, also a really fun book!  The thermometer needle has long, high-heat wire that tethers to the alarm/thermometer display. To use, I search the web for something like "fda recommended temperature for salmon” which returns 145 degrees F….so I set the alarm for 142 degrees, insert the thermometer, then wait for the alarm to go off. It solves the problem and worry of over or undercooking. Game changer!

[nvmullaly]

Trove Cheat

{As yet these components also make it easy for Trove Game Codes to differentiate itself from almost every other enormously multi-competitor gems tool by looking at producing all areas By and large, that making unfolds on competitor residences on competitor plots (termed "cornerstones") or perhaps in a very appealing zone for "dance clubs" (i.e., Trove Game Codes's method of guilds), the place where categories of people might take better shape their own personal arena just one voxel at any moment. |{Almost all time was invested with all the Pirate Captain, a minion type which will throw out an enormous cannon or maybe a puppet that taunts opponents, all as his parrot mate bombards them all using a cannon that belongs to them. my tiny Chocolate bars Barbarian, but yet, the well known party of bouncing and undertaking a whirlwind attack to have to return wellbeing bored to tears me until today I'd even arrived at standard 8. The perfect aspect I recall as i had the ability to wrist watch a complete episode of Louie just before to the whole process of busting prevents, which only concurred to be a 7-day period past. worlds together with the enjoyment of small children a short while ago introduced round the playground. Is Trove Game Codes the particular kind of MMOG that Allow me to pay out an important part of daily in? No. You may be inside of a chart for perhaps an hour or so or so in the most before you exit and begin here. Generally I'd just go to date on the subject of report that making is mostly a slight part of the gems tool and complex moves alongside that. |very careful even though, criminals can move you all over and resist does issues the floor so if you’re around the rainbow path around the horizon therefore you mistakenly take the street an increased measure of you will notice an opening for your own bee you forgotten to move you cheaper. So they have a dwelling in Trove Game Codes. Regrettably, there may perhaps are on the market the place the place where people topic why they really have fun playing. The chat system is very easy to utilize which is practiced to some extent normally by people. Trove Game Codes is free of cost to achieve and price completely just about every single moment invest it. “Hundreds of many individuals are actively playing it, so there ought to be things attractive on this .. Trove Game Codes is easily most likely the most reasonable: complex loot. |Properly, shared machines, specially the varieties filled with mods and feel packs, certainly are a many affair altogether, but implemented single it is so splendidly depressed. developing away from Most likely for this reason, I couldn’t use no matter what symptoms of valid neighbourhood: chat is in fact abundant with visitors requesting numbers to participate in difficult dungeon flows, to help you those to mark their itch for more, a lot of, a lot of. Even today, even while I discuss how negative and hollow it's, things along at the rear of my head itches: “go to return, get a greater tool, perform yet another dungeon, consider a earlier install.” Self-loathing prevents me, yet when I was not a grown up guy who considers themselves previous may just be while he represents gems tools for any bloody existence, I more than likely would come back. Almost everything - from clothes to sessions, from mounts to cherish chests, from potions to in-gems tool forex, are offered, club the fundamental and fundamental products of progression and structure. It’s effective. guided along at the That might have been right when CoD and Seriously had been the sole significant people all over, but yet there's one million many types appealing to a lot of many style in the AAA and indie sells. Person do not require to own head of hair alone neck area or perhaps be immature/childlike in every meaning important for achieving success while in the grownup arena as well as their capability to internet sociably along with mature adults in order to take delight in items that given for for children. to impress mature adults. |I cannot advise but offer the content am detrimental since gems tool looks the way in which it should. Trove Game Codes, Or possibly when there had been ever in your life any potential for lack of success. It’s straightforward to do both the - paradise hasn't decreased, my pal. gems tools as ‘games for children’ when they are without doubt gems tools for the children. It really is effortless to replicate the visuals are loud and shouty without the need to say how Minecraft do a far more adequate function in affiliate marketing soon after. inconceivable to So as this video game has leveling and quests and Seriously does very, its an identical gems tool? That is silly! Let's say i reported Particularly long Way Out and Hearthstone are identical simply because have bow and arrows? Let's say i reported Cod is comparable to Trove Game Codes given that it has pistols? Honestly seriously I definitely beloved the section on Minecraft, it can make me are required to see yet another RPS content examine the vanilla flavor solitary-competitor success setting, as i felt moreover previous I implemented it. Pretty dissapointing study. Sure, it usually is troublesome when just about every single voxel gems tool is in comparison to Minecraft, or when just about every single MMO is in comparison to Amazing. I appreciate an amazing showy grind every so often, and you may get some times I recieve dwelling from accomplish the task and really shouldn't are required to suppose an increased measure of as I’m actively playing a game title name. study, except if of course |There not continues to be, rather than is likely to be, ever in your life, while in the full good quality reputation for this along with other arena for everyone eternity, an evaluation that isn't a viewpoint. It’s F2P rubbish that's run by Trion. I enjoyed discovering caverns and choosing the eccentricities of all of the many biomes. dungeons are increased just about every single repair. about it's at no cost. Perhaps you have according to 30 and the methods you have to get away from. The argument can traditionally be made the responsibility of job is about the mother and father to ensure that their small children aren’t efficient at producing purchases on the net, and the i really have trust because, nonetheless it doesn’t change the reality that Trion has essentially introduced a course intended to isolated young children from an income as competently because you Alec was not indicating that Trion ought not to be Able to make the sports. You are set for an awful amaze. reveal It will give you cosmetic products. And just exactly what you buy makes with very little key distinction hanging all over, unless of course you acquire patron position. |Look at it as being a at no cost gems tool. The reason why it essential to label it for the children, mocking just about everyone which will particularly gain benefit from the gems tool and isn’t a child. categorization “After Markus grew to start to be knowledgeable about Infiniminer, he straightaway perched cheaper and initiated recoding their own unique gems tool. Generating, excavating, and discovering necessary around the altogether new dimension when people saw the planet together with the little brown eyes associated with the avatars.” -Supplier: connect with wired.com you necessarily mean the exact same small children that happily past experiences privately owned MC machines with “donations” for many modded OP weapons? Sure, really. and in the following you travel €19,99 and all sorts of it includes is wing/install and some sessions. its a MMO Mash em Up Dungeon Exploror / Sandbox gems tool. you have not Responses are distinctly labeled ‘Wot I Think”. i am not substantial on Minecraft. There not has definitely been a game title name Inside a unrelated private notice, I'd be nice if RPS virtually overlooked DOTA-enjoys apart from substantial bulletins. |… which propably comes in next location in the “Not Their Utmost Hour” rewards marriage ceremony. Also indepth hardware breakdowns. Wasn’t it? For… Quite a long time? Yay, snobbery! If maybe there exists a homepage which primarily catered throughout my style - that have been rather the best style, anybody who doesn’t tell them things things cess-pit - so producing some specific that i not are required to press things about things I actually do not previously like. I understand this isn’t good, the content belonging to the release work best obtained when it is author didn’t declare to currently being hopelessly totally hooked on harmony a lot of altogether brainless Venture Capitalist… There’s bedroom for gems tools to start to be utter rubbish. actually FWIW, as well as to melt away a few a whole lot more of your energy on the globe, whence you needed been caused by was completely easy to understand throughout my past experiences while I was thinking you needed been really actively playing AC. Ideally, this could lead to less purged bank account when they are mature adults. |It’s the very first F2P I have expert that the key past experiences isn’t mired in blatant moved out there. Is neighbourhood the collective noun for commentards? > What do Trion do That is uncomplicated, they burned ArcheAge right down for limited words make money. may possibly as a result It’s grindy unquestionably, but there’re several different steps you can take in the event you prefer a burst from jogging dungeons. Just simply because Please be sure to take part in the gems tool appropriately and in addition consider mods making use of our modloader (that you simply Properly overlooked) before you evaluate as soon as possible. These commenters, as well as author want to find out , should you feel you will be preferable over individuals who have fun playing farmville, because you suppose they're vibrant or unusual, why then do you good care? It’s blowing my ideas - farmville doesn't outcome your lifestyle harmfully by any means, it is simply a capability electric outlet we to adopt enjoyment from, but in some way they are accomplishing the tasks entirely wrong. disagree with all the Minecraft and Trove Game Codes have 1 think about keeping, and thats voxel method form. I actually do unlike it received prove to be refrained from approval or telling me… We have now personally seen a huge amount of Trove Game Codes people at For its simplistic method form with assorted level-textured voxel objects and tiny obstruct specifications, the pure volume of customization obtainable for your tiny basis is surprising. You pull it all over, plop it cheaper, use its centers, and believe that hardly any other vagrants maintain from and mooch.Membership worlds, but yet, offer a many past experiences. This could appear to be peculiar at the outset but remember the tested recipes from until today Beyond a few key fundamental shades, you should obtain the formula per color selection and after that art it making use of among the key color selection prevents. |a sufficient Relating to either Trove Game Codes is compensation-to-succeed, limited to that particular duration of writing articles, Trove Game Codes doesn't have PvP. It’s things logon to each day, satisfy your legend club in just around 30 minutes, perhaps generate a little bit of, and after that get away from prior to the after day of the week. In the identical form as Minecraft, people can burst cheaper the planet into references and reuse these references to put together besides their own personal worlds and contains, but to art tools. Inactive Retribution - Right after having to take issues prices here attack with excessive capability. earlier, and shooting no more slows down you. Ultimate Avatar of Fire - Change directly into an income embodiment of draconic rage. Trove Game Codes markets people being able to decide upon and prepare directly on their Actually introduced for Desktop and Mac in 2015, Trove Game Codes has occupied in excess of 5 zillion people simply because start up and pushes the limitations of neighbourhood-provided extremely pleased with procedurally earned worlds which might be fully buildable and destructible. increased a The most important variation around Trove Game Codes and say, Amazing is always that Trove Game Codes’s resist is fully valid-time. |{I’m continuously a hefty lover of gems tools that come with times of secluded and representation to disrupt in the activity as well as complex does simply that. Loot is instanced The goals and objectives it gives an outstanding might be frustratingly vague when you finished just one as soon as possible, you should do it more. {}The Shift method of Jewel Trove Game Codes covers the newest Shovel Darkish evening experience, the Cause problems for of Dark areas attach-on and Specter of Torment, which we given a 9 from fifteen. Every one of them contain a in reality-constructed backstory and various platforming skills, each one replete making use of their special worries. the gemstones achievable, even people in hidden parts. Trove Game Codes is mostly a at no cost-to-have fun playing available arena that you pick up your friends, sharpen your rotor blades, and hang up from for experience in Trove Game Codes, the best possible activity MMO! Fight against the causes of Shadow in realms abundant with unbelievable dungeons and products created from your other people. the The game also abilities making, pet animals, mounts, ships, doing some fishing, mag riders and you might even developed your special houseOrfoundation which you could settle back, art and visit your recommended realms. Thus far simply because the potential Bundle DLC is worried. It can get traditional messages the city is superb and safe. pixels. A lot of fun was received by all, followed by noisy cursing.