#anyway i love the sheer insanity of this podcast

[silly-goofy-mood]

It's kinda wild when you're used to dnd podcasts that follow rules more closely and then you listen to dndads and they're fighting against Papa John's cheese web in their Pussy Wagon with Hermie the Unworthy and adding friendship bonuses to their rolls

[henrysglock]

High Existence and ZeroSpace: The First Shadow and NINA May Be Massive, Immersive Drug Trips

The blurb in last Friday's video from TFS sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. I found a lot of sites quoting The Alchemist about the universe conspiring to give you what you truly want (which is similar and it's probably what I was thinking of when this blurb registered as familiar), but I couldn't find this exact quote:

Well...not at first, anyway. I decided to stick every word I could make out here ^ into my search bar...and I found where the blurb comes from:

This blog post is quite literally the only source I could find for it, and the whole damn thing is directly lifted.

Right off the bat, the site fucking jump-scared me:

And it doesn't end there. Let's dive in, because this rabbit hole is a trip unto itself...no MDMA​ ​required.

1. The Fucking Website...#1 (HighExistence.com)

High Existence is a sort of drug-induced-spiritual-trip centered self-help site.

It's got blog posts and podcasts and all that jazz. Here are some of the highlights:

Wow! That was...a lot. A lot of words from the word show, too:

Wholeness, heroes, ancient aliens, prisons of politeness, and the fucking Shire, too, I guess. Why not?

(An Aside: I've included the VR in here too because of the sheer similarities between Henry's experience with the Shadow in VR, El's experience in NINA, and The First Shadow in general.)

Like fuck it, why not keep going, these posts date back to at least 2017:

And don't let me start in on that Creel boy and Faust...

[Jason voice] "[Eddie] made a deal with the devil and now he has his powers!" (Also we get it, one of them is neurotic and the other is psychotic. I've been saying this since like...forever)

Of course, all that insanity aside, the Russian base arc has just...an insane amount of ST4 and TFS stuff packed into it in general:

(And this isn't even all of it. I know others [cough] Stav Heroesbyler [cough] have covered it even more...but bro it is THERE)

But most importantly for the NINA arc:

Three things: Dialogue doubling (there's the one I showed, plus a) Robin yelling "Wipeout!" at Steve which has the pipeline -> "Wipeout!" at Rink-O-Mania -> 002-005 bullying El in a very similar manner and b) Steve's "that's amazing" line about the water fountain -> "This is amazing!" not only from Alice irt the Creel house but also from Mike irt Will's painting on their way to save El from NINA. Again, these are just a few of MANY instances), makeup doubling with the bloodshot eyes, and my beloved: set/prop doubling.

I love that beautiful framing on the nearly-identical square clocks. I have so much to say about that clock, but specifically:

The clocks being set 9 minutes apart, which happens to be the exact length of time from the end of Vecna's voiceover in 4.07 to the start of the fight sequence in 4.07 (aka the length of One's frozen-clock monologue).

Not only that, but the clock isn't even right. It says it's 3:55, but it's definitely not 3:55 AM (see: movie theater scene) but it's also not 3:55 PM:

(And why do we have a clock in an elevator anyway? That's the real question. That thang only exists to deliver subtext, baby! It exists to connect the two scenes further!)

Anyway, as you all likely noticed, this site mostly deals in psychedelics, stimulants, and empathogens.

link

Hell, you could even pull One's bit on the ecosystem into it, since he's describing connections between beings that are being disturbed/destroyed by humanity.

Anyway, the site tends to center specifically on DMT and MDMA...so let's talk about those:

MDMA & DMT An aside: Interesting to me that psychosis here can be counteracted with sedatives. Makes me wonder if whatever happened in 1979 could have been halted if they'd just tranq'd One. Hm.

First off: Did I read that right? Piggy-backing? Damn, son. 4.09, The Piggyback, is pictured in that paragraph. So is Brenner's candy bit with the children -> "candy flipping" vs LSD use in Brenner's lab.

Second: Ah, how nice. Intravenous/injectable. Just like how El is constantly being shot up with...something...to enter NINA.

Now, nearly all psychedelics can induce psychosis, but especially so if they're combined with other psychoactive substances and/or if the user has a history of psychosis (either themselves or in their family).

However, MDMA specifically has been posited as a treatment for PTSD and retrograde/traumagenic amnesia:

link Like...wow. Okay, I guess!

tl;dr: One seems to have been tripping fucking balls during the monologue. Literally every fucking version of him. El likely is as well. Funny how that works. Was any of that real? [smash cut to the way blood pours down the walls and the dead children dance around in the VR version of NINA] And either way, Henry in TFS isn't far behind with his hallucinogenic moments.

The connection? Whatever the hell is going on in Hawkins Labs...and symptoms of drug use.

I was not expecting to get this much out of a single rabbit hole. But...that's life with this show, isn't it? And this is only Part 1.

2. The Fucking Website...#2 (Futurism.com)

The guy who made that original post that TFS lifted the blurb from (Jordan Lejuwaan) runs a couple different websites. The most interesting one is Futurism, which is basically an online version of the Weekly Watcher:

It won't let me filter by date, but it seems to have been founded in 2017, stemming from an infographic subreddit. (Now, it says it's a trustworthy news source, and maybe it is, but... Do your own assessment of that. I'm not your mother, yknow?)

Jordan Lejuwaan was also involved in something far more interesting irt Stranger Things...

3. Zero Space

Jordan co-founded an immersive, interactive theater experience called ZeroSpace back in 2018. As we all know, TFS was just in the beginning phase of its creation around this time.

So...This was like a brick to the skull:

"Alice in Wonderland" (don't get me started: rabbit fuckery, DRUGS!!!!!, clocks/being later, Alice Creel, Fringe connections (Through The Looking Glass and What Walter Found There being the episode about the pocket universe where 20 years passed in 5 days...and also wherein we find out about him hiding away an Observer child that he will later time travel with to save the world from the Observer takeover...erasing himself from time/the timeline by doing so...there is SO much) not to mention the "one pill makes you larger/smaller" vs teen El and baby El...it's too much to try and fit in this post), "ALIENS AND LASERS", "stretch the perceived reality of the sense", "art, actors and your own mind converge to prompt MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS" (which was a common complaint about TFS: it leaves people with more questions than answers).

("See you on the other side" being an in-show line from Henry in the lab to Patty in the void, but this image is ripped directly from the same promo video that the High Existence blurb appears in.)

Here's a little taste of what ZeroSpace is like, but I suggest going to the actual page to see it in action:

It's heavily heavily reminiscent of TFS, even just in the content warnings...

Not to mention the actual show content SFX:

However, the goal of TFS isn't to stretch our senses. We're just watching. We are not the volunteer seeing the other side.

For most of the show, that person is Henry (except the first 5 mins, when it's Cptn. Brenner and his crew literally experiencing the other side). Henry is doing the experiencing. He's the one breaking the fourth wall by picking at/breaking the sets, the one running through the audience and leaving out the theater doors (only to end up right back on stage just like El in the Rainbow Room in 4.05).

With each bit of info I find out adjacent to the play, the more convinced I am that this is some secret third boy's experience in a NINA-like simulation.

Overall—

a) TFS most likely isn't wholly real, and it seems very likely that it's the same kind of simulation as NINA.

b) El was probably drugged up with some kind of empathogenic psychedelic going into NINA, likely with the goal of setting her up to form emotional connections quickly and deeply only to rip that deep connection away in order to bolster her abilities.

c) NINA is not, then, wholly based in truth. Parts of NINA (staring at the bullying from 002-005) may have been generated from El's memories of the outside world.

d) With NINA and TFS seeming so similar, I wouldn't be shocked if parts of it are just one massive empathogen trip (staring at how quickly Henry and Patty bond, similarly to how quickly Henry and El bond in NINA).

e) Whoever is in NIA with teen El is also tripping balls, most likely, and may have gone off the rails in that regard. However, that's in a simulation...hard to assign guilt or blame for things done in a fictional/unreal world.

f) Whoever was with baby El in 1979 may have been in a similar situation "moving chess pieces"-style instead. Read: drugged in order to put him in a situation where he would bolster El's latent abilities...and it went wrong (see also: Walter Bishop's orchestrated/fake massacre meant to bolster Olivia's latent abilities.)

g) Richard Brenner having been the head of narcotics makes me question which Brenner we're seeing at any given time: Martin, or Richard?

[thearchivistsmanyeyes]

So uh springtime in boggs holler is what got me through the week

[bondsmagii]

kinda about the whole therapy thing in a way, but man, the way people treat the spiral in TMA drives me fucking nuts. Some people seem to forget how terrifying it is to have a mental illness sometimes? like the worst of it are the moments of lucidity where you realise you are lost in it. And while I love Michael and spiral, but sometimes the way people treat it as like """weird core""" or make genuine despair into an aesthetic rubs me the wrong way. Anyway maybe I'm just too mentally ill to chill about it idk

some of the dumbest takes I've seen have been re: the Spiral and Michael in particular. like. holy shit. you have to laugh :) <- me saying this through sheer rage

I think many people misinterpret the Fears in general to be honest, but some of them get it worse than others. a lot of people seem to think that the Spiral is kind of wacky fun times and don't really appreciate how insidious it is; nor do they seem to respect the fact that out of all of them, the Spiral is probably one of the more tangible ones that exists pretty closely to real life. of course all the Fears are rooted in actual fears/phobias, but a lot of the manifestations in the podcast are very extreme. the Spiral has a lot that can literally Just Happen, and probably has to many listeners. losing one's own mind is a fear that many have, and it's also something that statistically a lot of people will have to face. and that's not even counting the people who, while they might not experience it first hand, will have a loved one who does.

I will say, however, while I'm on my high horse, that the discourse about it being ableist to draw Michael in bright colours is absolutely fucking insane. it makes me laugh so much because I myself am absolutely balls to the wall insane, and the common depiction of Michael is exactly how I dress. I love seeing people be like "mentally ill people would NEVER dress like this because it ENCOURAGES THE BELIEF WE'RE ALL WACKY AND SILLY" and there I am, in at least four clashing patterns and brighter than the sun, like "relax" lmao. it's like what I was saying earlier in the therapy discussion: as soon as you start putting things into boxes, there immediately becomes a "right" way and a "wrong" way to do things. in this case, people are literally stating there's a "wrong" way to be insane, which is just about the stupidest thing I can imagine.

finally, because I'm apparently Bad Mentally Ill Rep all over, I'm of a mixed opinion about romanticising/aestheticising mental illness/despair/etc. I find it in poor taste and very disrespectful if it comes from somebody without these issues, who looks at genuine human suffering and thinks it can just be an aesthetic to try on or imitate. however, if somebody is actually suffering with these issues themselves, I think they should be able to do what they want with it. whatever works for them, you know? I know that romanticising/aestheticising things has been the one thing to get me through some really tough times in the past, and if I didn't have my self-depreciating humour, I would really struggle with the bullshit I have to deal with daily. I respect if it's not for other people, but it works for me. this is yet another reason why these vast generalisations are overall a bad idea: how many people who might have benefited from these techniques will not allow themselves to do it because they've internalised the idea that it's somehow inherently harmful? what works for some people doesn't work for others, but these generalisations seem to chronically forget that.

[normal-person-wannabe]

Talk less, smile more (LMM/reader)

Chapter 1

Warnings: swears, smut implied

Author's note: It's my first ever fic, so be kind lol. Anyways, if you'd like, leave some feedback, I want to know where I can improve

"You know me, you know I am the most bothersome blabbermouth, the very queen of ramblings without an end, princess of procrastination and empress of making a fool out of myself in every possible way known to humans and even aliens, but believe me when I tell you, sis, at Maya's wedding, that night, that beautiful night, I was at a loss for words. I mean, I was my regular self for a while, but then... Dear God, I was so happy I fell silent." 

"Oh, please tell me you ended up screwing each other's brains out. Y/n, your endless frustrated rants made you sound like a horny Mrs Andrews, from middle school. Remember her?" "I'm gonna take that as a compliment, I really loved that woman. Crazy as a stoned baboon, but a charming teacher nevertheless. Anyway, it's a long story, and I'll tell you everything, but you need to let me do my shit and take the long, winding road to the end.” "I know, but tell me, I can hardly wait to know... Is he hot? With a chiseled jaw and, I don't know, a Greek god's body? What was it like? Hot and heavy like a passionate quickie in the hotel's bathroom or like a romantic slow-burning flame?" "Damn, calm down, Let me-" "I want every single detail, starting from the size of his-" "Stop! Please, let me start from the top.” "Fine, but-" “Yes, I will make sure to include every sordid detail, I promise. But you will have to wait until tomorrow. Certain things cannot be told over the phone. Okay? See you tomorrow. Usual table at Antonio's?" "Oh, so there are filthy details! And of course, I'll pick you up at seven.” "Perfect" "Don't be late, or-" "Or you will slap me with Antonio's menu when I least expect it, I know. Don't worry. I'm dying to tell you the whole story." "Ok. I love you, even if you're a fucking mess of a sister" "I know. Love you too. G'night" "Night". You put the telephone down and you let yourself fall on the bed. You hoped to hear him chuckle against your lips, once again, in your dreams. - The next morning flew by, between work and the frequent flashes of his face buried between your legs, while his eyes scanned all your movements looking for the spots that would leave you breathless. And God knows he found them. You desperately tried to set the thought of him aside, forcing your gaze to stay focused on the screen. At some point during the morning, between a yawn and a contemptuous glance from your boss, you felt your phone buzz from inside your bag. Your heart skipped a beat. *Asked Maya for your number. I finally found you. You can't rid yourself of me that easily. Btw I have the answer to your question: I would definitely be a wombat. I hope to see you soon.* *-Lin* “Oh, shit,” you thought “I’m fucked. Really, really fucked”. It's not that you didn't want him to find you; you knew that sooner or later the aura of mystery you had created around you would disappear. But that's beside the point. You're scared. Scared of the insane amount of passion, of sheer pleasure, of intimacy that you shared that night. This isn't just another random one-night stand. That's a hell of a lot more than that. And you're afraid of its consequences. You tried to compose yourself, inhaling and exhaling slowly, as all your mindfulness podcasts have told you to do. “Hi wombat, happy you found me. Hope you’re ok. Ps. You know wombats poop cubes, right? I just googled that. -Your cockatoo.” “Yes! Which is why I love them! Are you free on Saturday? Wanna grab dinner?” "Of course you knew that. Nerd. Btw, I don’t know. Have to check my very-busy-woman schedule. I'll get back to you.” “Liar.” "OK, fine, I just wanted to sound like a grown-up. I want pizza though. And some dessert. Ice cream or waffles. Or you.” "Sounds like a perfect night to me. Bring your brightest smiles, please. I miss them.” “Will do. Now, let me do my very annoying grow-up stuff, my boss already hates me.” "Sure, Miss grown-up. But if I were your boss I'd question my sanity. How could I hate such a wonderful human being, whose smile I'm sure it's lighting up the whole fucking city? I know 'cause I can see it from here." "Stop it, you creep. But I am smiling, thank you. You've made my office hours less of a bore." "Any time. See you on Saturday :))))" Yep. You're fucked.

[ofcloudsandstars]

IMBOLC was so MAGICAL!! Oh my goodness!!

It's a bit of a long story and I don't want to leave out too many details but I am so glad it all turned out more than ok!! I did not have enough time to put everything together easily and I had to whip up a ritual last minute and I was staying at a coworker’s BOUGIE apartment that is BEAUTIFUL and Ideal for an Imbolc setting (the color scheme is like all white, gray and cream with TALL ceilings, Huge french windows, fluffy white carpets, fireplaces I could put white pillar candles in, long sheer white curtains, you get the point lol) but literally I had a witch gathering party at his place while he was away and I had to make it look like nothing. ever. happened.. the next morning.

I bought these string candle-lights which everyone was laughing at how in theme it was but I strung some across window sills and over the fireplace that I've stuffed white pillar candles in. I stuck tea lights everywhere and found some silvery tealights at a corner shop that were "spa scented" which sounds weird but!! They smelled fantastic and made the space feel calmer. I topped those with sage leaves. I used vanilla incense sticks and this other scent called 'Divine' (that stamford masala incense brand you might see at every spiritual shop) that really elevated the space and made it feel calm and angelic. The whole apartment felt very angelic, light, white and fluffy. On their large screen TV I made a visual playlist on youtube of timelapse videos of nature thawing into spring and frost melting or flowers sprouting from the ground. I played a lot of winter meditative tracts and purifying binural beats.

I pulled strings to get out of work early so I could run to my coworkers place, feed his cats, and get to cooking!! I made a spread of cheese, (mostly brie), coconut cheese, cheese infused crackers and poppyseed crackers, black sable grapes and blueberries that I sprinkled silver bonbons in.

I prepared 3 tonics as a welcome drink that my witch friends could choose from to what potion will aid them for the seeds they are sowing and the cycles to come. They were syrups that were agave based and infused with herbs overnight. There was one for clarity to know what steps to take to achieve goals and that was an infusion of sage, juniper berries and rosemary. There was one for inspiration and sudden muse or creativity to help complete projects and that one was an infusion of valerian root, chamomile, blue poppyseeds and caraway seeds. (Seeds were also symbolic in this one lol), then lastly there was one for inner fire and a wake-up call to get the drive going to get tasks done. That was a black breakfast tea leaf with a sprinkle of pepper in it. They were mixed with Gin (gin being a juniper infusion actually has an interesting history with being used as a cleanser and medicine though its obviously not used that way anymore) and tonic so they were all really herbal and refreshing (non-alcoholic drinks were just gin-free) and they all had a pretty light golden clear color. The clarity one was the most popular though I wish I drank some of the wake-up call one myself.

For food I made baked macaroni and cheese with mozzarella, sharp cheddar, brie, sweet sauteed white onions, black pepper and truffle oil. The plant-based option was stuffed cabbage rolls made with this BEAUTIFUL cabbage I had no idea existed (it caught my eye in the store) called sweetheart cabbage. It was snow-white colored and each large leaf was somewhat heart-shaped. I stuffed it with a sauteed combo of white sweet onions, white mushrooms, chopped parsnips, cauliflower rice and coconut cheese. Lastly I made a salad of chopped fennel and the smaller leaves of the sweet heart cabbage and raw parsnips.

The whole table's food had a white and beige theme lol. We all caught up about our lives and ate food and coo-ed over the cats. When everyone arrived we got to the ritual which I dressed his coffee table in different tea lights and bigger candles. Since I am WIZENED from many previous disasters with candles on tables and witch shenanigans, I put SEVERAL covers on his glass coffee table which consisted of 1- bamboo mats, 2- a white blanket as table cloth (mostly for aesthetic) 3- a coat of aluminum foil 4- 2 layers of cream table cloths. Just to ensure nothing could damage his table.

I am not the biggest fan of leading ritual cause it feels uncomfortable to me to 'lead' everyone's energy but its nice cause this is the third sabbat in a row I've hosted and I guess my friends get the gist now so they all kind of contribute their own parts to it which is.. WHAT I WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE lol. I take initiative to host sabbats or gatherings or create a community so sometimes people think I am a leader cause I am initiating something but honestly I just want to hold space for others. Anyway the ritual started off with us cleansing baggage from our previous cycle so we can move into the next one purified. I had a juniper bundle I bought in glastonbury that I smoke cleansed everyone with.

Then we spoke about what Imbolc meant for us and how its also reflective on the cycle of life and death when the spirit enters the womb and how seeds of life and hope are stirring. I asked them each to take a tea light and visualize it as a goal or project they wanted to accomplish for this year and to dress it in herbs and oils. I had sage for clarity, rosemary for abundance, blue poppy seeds for growth and inspiration, tea tree oil for protection etc and they could carve in symbols to their candle or whatever. When they were working on that I read everyone's spirit's incarnation crosses from their human design since I knew everyone's birth time lol. The incarnation cross uses some astrology to take into consideration the position of the planets during your third trimester when it’s believed that the spirit enters the body in the womb. It’s to illuminate what your spirit’s intention in this incarnation seeks to fulfill. 

Before we lit the candle my best witch friend took us on this AMAZING guided mediation that was so creative and visual and wonderful. We grounded ourselves but she took us on this story-telling guided meditation journey of us being deep in the earth and smelling the damp soil but having our goal be this light or seed within us that grows and expands until it pushes us up and out through the soil into the wintery forest air. I really felt like some reborn forest faerie sprite after that like she should record meditation podcasts.

We then lit our candles and we used the flame to light the biggest pillar candle as our combined hope and it lit ABLAZED. One of my friends couldn't get her candle to light and we did divination for her to find out what was blocking her and did a road opening spell for her so that she could overcome the obstacles.

After we wanted to do some candle scrying so another friend who does these amazing sound healing ceremonies (I went to glastonbury with her) lead the candle scrying and Y'all.. it was INSANE Like none of us were READY for the fucking adventure.. Basically we thought we'd all be staring into a candle in a trance quietly but it literally felt like something took hold of her like a greater spirit used her as a vessel and it was incredible. She told us all to hold hands and we closed our eyes and did some breathing. We all had to pulse each others hands and visualize a white thread locking us together for protection and creating a circle. She then called on to our higher guides to protect us and create this link to our higher spirits to open a channel so that we may see and allow the fire to guide us. She then was speaking so fast but also with such precision on how the light is opening a door and whatever we will see will help us unlock our true potential and see how we are the light etc for what felt like 6 minutes nonstop and it was so hard to stay on cause I had the WORST PAIN come up in the center of my back where my heart was and I was feeling like it was the culmination of energy being blocked (I have been doing sound healing there to help my heart energy but its been a rough journey), and the fire just felt like it could not channel through me cause of that blockage, but though the knot still hurts even as I type this, I could not break the circle lol. My best friend to my right was staring so intently I knew she was off like astral projecting into this fire, and as I would catch glimpses of others around me everyone was just like.. ON a Journey. I felt like it was like that scene in Harry Potter when they took the port key like we were all locked in and spiraling through time and space and I just had to wait until it was done. I looked at my friend to my right and she was beaming with TEARS covering her face, and my other friends looked windswept for some reason?? We were all like goddamn.. Everyone had Some Shit they've seen in the fire. Even if some of us didn't see something we saw a lot of colors which I mostly saw since I was really focused on the pain in my back. My friend leading the scrying said that the back area I pointed out was a channel that was blocked and is connected to my throat energy so once I fix that it can be aligned/opened but its like.. healing is so hard guys haha.

Anyway we grounded ourselves after the ritual with dessert! :) There was cheesecake (of course) I decorated with white chocolate star sprinkles and the same silver bonbon sprinkles and pavlova that could be topped with blueberries. I also had a cookie spread of butter cookies, white chocolate chip sugar cookies and white chocolate twix bars. The rest were mostly vegan desserts which were lovely. I bought coconut rice pudding but my other friends got vanilla cupcakes with thick white vegan buttercream, there was vanilla soy icecream that was really creamy and light and my aries witch friend I went to Berlin with made home made vegan tiramisu which was fantastic! She also bought red wine.

We spent the rest of the evening chatting, playing with the cats and laughing about whatever, my Aries witch friend was upset I made the dresscode all-white but she was wearing her 'artist' shirt she does painting in so she didn't care that she got tiramisu ALL OVER IT lol. (which we pointed out that no one else had stains on their white outfits but I mean she's an Aries what do you expect), and when we were all getting drunk and sleepy I asked my best witch friend if she wanted to tell a story and Oh My God she fucking DELIVERED

Basically she took us on this adventure retelling the story of Baba Yaga cause it was a tale that does also have to do with crone passing power to a maiden and a cycle re-continuing. Plus it's a midwinter tale involving fire and illumination. Anyway I used to think about how sad it was that back in the day people didn't have movies and had to like tell stories and shit but she was so good at telling this story I was like damn I get it now why people just used to sit around and tell stories together cause this shit is lit.

Before everyone left I forced people to take home food (I mean I had to get rid of all evidence of anything happening in my coworkers house) and I made everyone white paper lanterns with goodies inside and I stuck an electric tealight in it so it glows. I put a bathbomb in there, white chocolate, mint crumbles, buttermints for the non-vegans and tiny spell-jars filled with salt flakes.

When I was finally alone and had to do cleanup it took me nearly three hours but I was also drunk at that point lol. I now have left-over mac and cheese for days but gladly my aries witch friend is vegan and took the cabbage rolls with her and everyone helped take everything else.The cleaner came in the morning and essentially all evidence of anything ever occurring in that apartment was cleansed away...

I hope everyone else had a fantastic Imbolc!! It was on such a perfect moon phase too since it's the first quarter moon!!

[0poole]

Northernlion

There’s a serious oversaturation of people trying to live off of playing games on Youtube/Twitch. Really, it’d take a lot to get me to watch anyone new, just because the people I already follow already check off all necessary boxes I’d want in a channel, pretty much. Not to mention that no one (and I do mean “no one”) could top Northernlion. He’s easily my favorite of all #gamer Youtubers/Twitch streamers, and it definitely wouldn’t be wrong to say he’s my all-time favorite of those (although it’s hard to be sure because the previous favorites either stopped uploading stuff or started uploading a lot less/different content).

And, since Youtube is trash for fiscal purposes, I finally went and bought a subscription to him on Twitch. Really, the only thing holding me back was the scary commitment of a monthly payment, as I’m sure many feel. It’s made worse by how I don’t have a steady income yet.

Anyways, there’s something subtly unique about Northernlion (AKA NL) and his friends. It’s kind of hard for me to say exactly what makes him likable. Other content creators try to be unique by being really good at a game, having a more unique set of humor, or even doing skits outside of the gameplay (of course not to say any of that’s bad), but I think what makes NL different is that his “gameplay” content is practically a podcast as well. 

Literally any moment of his videos, he can divulge into either an anecdote or some random thought he had about whatever and why it’s odd. That’s the selling point of his 1000+ episode Binding of Isaac series, which he’s played enough of for some of the more complicated actions and choices to become second nature, letting his mind wander. Then, on his live shows, he has a handful of his friends to bounce off of. 

His live shows are easily his best content, thanks to every one of his cohosts bringing their own flair to whichever show they’re on, ranging from the insane Josh to the innocent Hafu. People always act like some shows are ruined by one or two specific cohosts being on, but honestly I can’t see any of them actually ruining the show. Obviously no one is perfect, but saying something like that just makes you a supreme asshole. See: Nick.

It’s funny, because they have a habit of revealing a lot about their day-to-day life, meaning people should see them as actual people and not just a mindless funny-machine. 

One of the big things about NL specifically, though, that is a serious breath of fresh air in the modern Youtube landscape, is that he doesn’t edit his videos at all. Literally no editing is done in his videos, and when there is a single jump cut or something, people make a spectacle about it. That means if he ever has to take his cat off of his keyboard, let it out of his office, talk to his wife, whatever... it’s all recorded, and seamlessly put into each video. Sometimes his wife will even sort of join in on the commentary for some videos. It’s so casual, not just in the commentary but in the whole entire presentation. His titles are even casual, where they’re basically just the usual “The Binding of Isaac: AFTERBIRTH+ - Northernlion Plays - Episode 1,000,000″ with a completely random keyword for each episode. Absolutely no clickbait, or even remotely interesting content presented, apart from the idea that NL is playing the game. 

Obviously it wouldn’t be as fun if the community around him and his show wasn’t both big and involved. It’s crazy, I go to the streams of other people outside of the NLSS crew and the chat is just in disarray. No one’s really talking about what’s going on, or even especially reacting to it. Even the smaller streamers basically just have people asking occasional questions, with a bit of reaction. Not to mention that other streamers feel the need to shout out each and every one of their supporters the instant they support them, making their streams feel so choppy. I get why they do that, it’s just seriously annoying. Some of the NLSS crew do that too, but during the shows they go as far as to mute themselves to do it. That kind of respect for the show makes me (and probably a lot of other people) respect it a lot more.

Back to the community, though... It’s insanely active. Every meme that comes about on each show is marked by the sheer amount of posts and comments people make about it. Even in a live chat, everyone can seem so unified in how they’re responding to the humor. It kinda helps my monkey brain enjoy the probably really low brow parts of their show, just because it knows so many other people find it funny too. Sometimes, while I have their show in the background, I’ll occasionally tab back in just to see chat react to a funny thing they’ve said or done. 

If I had to pick a specific running joke that’s the best, it has to be calling NL an “egg” just because he’s bald. I feel like he deals with that joke in the best possible way: obviously not getting super annoyed about it, but not going so far as to make it his entire brand as well. He’ll definitely acknowledge it when it comes up, and he might get playfully annoyed about it, because a hint of anger does make things funnier. Of course, he doesn’t go around calling himself an “egg” a lot either, so the humor in the joke sort of stagnates with the fandom and isn’t driven into the ground by his overuse. Really, that’s how a lot of their memes go. They mine it for a bit, then resent it, then mine it resentfully. They’ll even sometimes keep the meme alive by calling back to it every once in a while. It’s like the perfect method for humor, at least in their scenario.

As for a favorite? It’s actually seriously hard to say, considering almost every single one has driven me to actually laugh out loud (which, for someone as quiet as I am, shows a lot). Dan, for sure, has to be the source of most of that laughter, since he’s such a strange person. He’s the perfect hypeman, and doesn’t shy away from an odd bit, making him a total gem to have on anything. Every time he Cracks Open a Cold One for their tuesday shows, he just gets me super excited, even if I’m not into the game they’re playing for that. It’s crazy. I especially love it when people compare his laugh to a hyena’s. It’s a perfect analogy.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED Talk, etc. etc. and go watch his/their stuff.

[migleefulmoments]

Even if Mia did choose not to wear a bra for attention, it's Halloween and a lot of women choose to dress in more revealing costumes for the holiday. She was honestly covered up and that was the only part of her body that was really showing (nipples). So who the hell cares? They literally just look for anything to pick apart, it's insane!

We live under patriarchal rules that women’s breasts and specifically nipples are to be covered at all times-including while feeding infants- because they are sexual playthings to be hidden from men lest they go mad with lust and lose control. Men controlling out bodies and making us feel bad because they cannot control their own sexual impulses is outdated and always been so damn wrong . In 2019 we still have women hiding in public bathrooms to nurse their infants because men can’t handle the very idea that they are forced to think about the nipple being suckled. 

One of Abby’s followers wrote a brilliant take down of Abby’s outdated diatribe but ruined it by ending it by slut shaming Mia anyway.  Abby gave her an perfectly patriarchal answer proving she DOES NOT get it at all...she gave a “I agree BUT....” answer.

Anonymous asked:Just saw the snap chat “kiss” pic... why isn’t anyone talking about the fact that you can literally see thru her top! And no bra?! Seriously? How can she walk out in public like that?! Maybe at a private party but in public with pics?!! I’m no prude but she might as well have gone topless — even the stripper in the vids has her nips covered! (if your comment is a denial of the label followed by a “but” you are exactly that person) 

ajw720 answered: Oh we talked about it Sunday, she is not wearing a bra and the top is COMPLETELY see through.  I honestly didn’t even realize how much until she posted this set of photos.  And I never needed to see this.  Guess I am not woke.  And she is a super feminist that likes to flaunt her body. You know, a feminist that 100% utterly and completely relies on a man to be relevant and has ZERO accomplishments of her own.  (Again none of these things you mention preclude her from being a feminist.  Feminists can flaunt their bodies, have sex with men, love men, own a business and live with a man, even be stay-at-home moms and still be feminists). What a role model!!

lrpbabyy This is something that I totally disagree with. Wearing a bra is in fact a debatable thing inside feminism.We have to ask ourselves women why we have to use them when they are really unnecessary. Of course there are cases which women have big breasts and it hurts or it makes hurt their backs so, yes, they wear bras because it helps and it fulfills a purpose. Besides that, it’s an imposition. The patriarchal society imposes us women to use bras. We use them because our breasts and nipples are sexualized; because most men seem to not know how to act in a civil way whether they see covered or not boobs; because men think they own our bodies and its purpose is to satisfy them, they are happy to see boobs only when they are for their “consumption”, if not, they call us sluts and body-shame us; because that’s our occidental objectifying culture. Other cultures such as African tribes in which women go around with free nipples and men don’t drool over themselves, harass women or just act like dogs in heat because they are seeing their tits out. It’s a cultural thing and we have to educate and be educated. (Yes, all excellent points!) You can say well our breasts are different than men’s. Yes and no. We share the same ducts and mammary glands, they are just bigger. Although, men’s breasts can be used for a sexual purpose, they are still not sexualized like ours, so that’s why they can show them freely.So what I’m trying to say is that our bodies are not obscene, our breasts are not obscene by default, they are sexualized by our society.So going back to M, yes she’s a despicable woman, she is not decent, she has no class, she has poorly behaviour and she hurts D (No, those are all lies Abby tells you. Find one example of these behaviors that wasn’t told to you by Abby or DisneyPrincess)  But that has nothing to do with her decision to use a bra or not.  She objectifies herself and tries to sell her body? Yes, and that’s sad. (*What the actual fuck? As a feminist she CAN objectify herself because SHE OWNS her sexuality- men don’t. But that said, when does she do anything that could label as objectifying herself? And sell her body? WHAT? Lies lies lies lies. You lost your feminist credibility with this last part).  But I don’t feel disgusted by her boobs, I feel disgusted because she’s just a horrible person.. Finally, I want to clarify that I’m not making this a rant or whatever, this is my point of view and I just think that it’s always a good time to talk about feminism and learn and speak about what happens to us women and how we still live submitted.

notes-from-nowhere Precisely this.What it doesn’t come out from what is written is that the issue is not wearing or not a bra and if this is something that makes you a feminist. (the following nonsense is all about how the coven  know Mia’s motivation for everything she does and she isn’t a feminist but of courser that is under their misunderstanding of feminism) The issue is that M uses this trick to bring attention to her, she exaggerates behaviors (No, actually you all can’t stop staring at her, searching her out and obsessing about her. Mia has backed off and made her social media private to keep away from you all) and exposes herself and her body not because she wants to fight women rights or because she wanted to be free from others claims, she does it because this way she is talked about. The worst part is that she is not honest enough to admit that she wants attention (that still is a legit and harmless desire) but she sells her behavior as feminism. It’s wrong, it’s dangerous, it’s pointless and it’s doing the exact opposite of what feminism is about. And her young fans don’t bother to check facts, they just believe what she saying and so they grew up with the idea that being a feminist means to run around with no bra, to insult people, to spread love like legs.(How the hell would anyone “fact check” Mia’s motivation for behavior? Mia doesn’t have public social media, a podcast or a blog. There is no place int which to fact check Mia except Abby’s mind. Forgive me for not believing Abby has insight into Mia’s behavior) The bra is not the problem but it become one when she tries to say to people she doesn’t wear one because she is a feminist instead of an attention seeker.(Oh the bra isn’t the problem BUT....)

ajw720@ lrpbabyy I agree with you, I do and I know sometimes I sound harsh when it comes to M.  But the issue here, is she is not doing this, as @notes-from-nowhere said, because she is a super feminist who wants to show she is equal to a man. (another ”I agree with you but....” statements and again Abby knows Mia’s motivation. This is fundamentally impossible since Mia has not spoke publicly about her motivation or beliefs in many years,)  She is doing it for attention, plain and simple. (Oh but Abby, you give her more attention than any one emotionally-healthy person would ever want) This is a desperate cry for people to stop focusing on D and his accomplishments and C and his accomplishments and saying “talk about me, talk about me” and by doing things like not wearing a bra with a sheer white shirt, she knows we will react and then her stans will defend her and call her a feminist and say we are not “woke” (I don’t get that word at all).This is her tactic as opposed to actually trying to accomplish something that would garner her praise.M is the opposite of a feminist and a role model (But Mia isn’t looking for your praise Abby. She doesn’t even know you exist- you just WANT her to need your praise.).  And it must be continuously emphasized. Using your body for attention is wholly different than feeling than not wearing a bra for all the reasons you describe.  (Damn, you just don’t get it. It must be continuously emphasized that you really don’t understand anything about feminism). And I too am tired of her being held out as this role model when she is in reality an utterly deplorable person that uses a man that hates her and that she is actively oppressing for relevance and is willing to do nearly anything to get attention including forcing D to remain in the closet (So stop stalking her. Your anxiety would be so much better).

[saverichardcampbellganseyiii]

Olivie Blake... How do I begin to explain Olivie Blake?

Olivie Blake is flawless.

I hear her hair’s insured for $10,000.

I hear she does quidditch commercials… at Beauxbatons.

Her favorite movie is At Last.

One time she met Henry Cavill on a plane… And he told her she was pretty.

She’s never punched me in the face... But if it happened, I’m sure it would be awesome...

But in all reality,

Happy Birthday @olivieblake!!! Here’s to another year of Olivie-ness, podcasts, and ships that take everyone by surprise as well as to an exciting year for ORIGINAL WORK!! (yay yay yay)

Sally asked if I would *just, like, briefly* talk about my fave fic of yours and I was like cool, ok, I’ve got this, let’s do it, but because I’m super sentimental, it just ended up being a long-ass love letter.. But:

I don’t remember how I ended up on the Olivie train..I’m assuming I must’ve seen something about your work reblogged on my dash, and the rest is history. All I can say about being part of the the fanclub is, it’s like the mafia... y’know, once you get in, you never get out.

Out of all of your fics, Clean and Marked remain my favorites. I don’t disagree that your writing style has matured and improved and all that jazz compared to those two fics (I mean, Nobility was just on another level, and How To Win is kind of perfect in every way, and Nightmares and Nocturnes actually murdered me and then brought me back to life, and I’m obsessed with how you weave together Modern Romance, and Ride or Die was the wildest ride of all), but Clean and Marked will forever hold a special place in my heart.

They’ve pretty much replaced canon in my mind. I think they're just such a beautiful story about two people who challenge each other and change each other and bring out the best in each other and also.. just.... *flails* And I also fell in love with Theo and what would I ever do without your Theo? And the snark. But, for me, the best thing is that since the whole culmination of the plot leads to the idea that Draco & Hermione will be drawn to one another in this world or any other, it’s become the framework in my mind which all the other Dramione fan fiction I read (most of all of which, these days, is yours) gets inadvertently built on top of. Whether I’m reading Nobility or H2W or Ride or Die or HP for real, I’m subconsciously always thinking about the two being pulled together whether it’s by fate or by choice, etc. And overall it’s just such a versatile theme and I’ve latched onto it and will probably never let go. AND let’s not get started on the plot twist at the end, because it was heartbreaking and it killed me and then chapter 36 was like twisting a knife in my heart and then there was 37 and the epilogue and all was right in the world again and I’m all sorts of obsessed with it.

But I’m hopelessly drawn into every drabble & fluff & every au you write cause your writing is just magnificent. Your Dramione work is out of this world, but when it comes down to it, I think we all originally came for the Dramione and ended up being held captive because of your insane, amazing, and frankly kind of frightening writing abilities (also because deep down we (well, I) hope you’ll write more Parkweasel). You’re so funny and talented and clever and it shows in how to weave together and tell your stories; I love anything and everything you write simply because of how well it’s done. Also I love the sheer number of inside jokes in, like, all of them (*cue Michael Scott*).

And yeah so it feels like I’m part of one with you and everyone who reads your fics and it’s awesome. So anyways this thing is getting excessively long and it’s really turned into of a senseless rant more than anything, but I am really really suPREMELY excited for Masters of Death and am looking forward to getting my hands on it (I ORDERED IT TODAY BUT AS I AM KIND OF BROKE I DIDN’T SPLURGE ON SHIPPING SO I MUST WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEDNESDAY TO GET IT BUT anyways SO EXCITING) but let me just get to the point already,

Olivie, thanks so much for being your wonderful and TALENTED self; thanks for being our Lord and Savior and for gracing us with your presence; and thank you!!! a million times over for giving us your one-of-a-kind fics and for continuously telling stories about and re-creating the world and characters we all (obviously) love so much and hold dear. Thanks for the sleepovers and answering all our weird asks [sidenote: I was like, huh, what’s Olivie’s fave movie and you answered (*thanks*) but then I went looking in your gratuitous personal info tag and you’d answered that question like 5 times already *whoops*] and for being half of probably the best podcast to grace this website in the history of ever. Happy birthday one more time! Wishing you tons and tons of happiness and good luck in the coming year.

Ok sorry this was so dAMN long I tried to cut it down but I just couldn’t stop (also is it just me, or did i say your name like 2 million time in this post, which seems weird) (and xo, obviously)

[eggnogdoubt38-blog]

Reading Recap: August 2018

At the end of every month, I take a look back at my reading journal and share the books and my thoughts on them here. The comments below are excerpts from my full reviews on Goodreads; you can always keep up with my reading in real-time over there.

My Goodreads goal for the year was 71 books, and I hit it this month! So I’ve increased my goal to 91 books—this is the most I’ve ever read in my life, and I’m loving it. After being a guest on the What Should I Read Next? Podcast, I decided to start treating my love of reading as a hobby. Prior to that—for reasons I can’t articulate—I just didn’t see reading that way. It was something I did around the edges of the day, but it wasn’t a primary activity.

Since we moved to Prague, that’s changed. I watch only 1 hour of TV each day—and don’t read that in a snooty voice! I pass no judgment on TV-watching; I love TV-watching. I just like reading more. By the by, we usually work our way through a series, one episode per day until we’re done. Just finished season two of Riverdale, and I love it so much OMG. So campy and over-the-top. LOVE! I cannot wait for season three. Give me more Cheryl!

Anyway… back to reading. I deleted Twitter and my RSS reader from my phone so I don’t get sucked into the vortex. I always have my Kindle in my purse so I can take advantage of unexpected bench-sitting time or a long line. I listen to audiobooks and literary podcasts on my daily walks. And I read every night before bed, sometimes at lunch, and sometimes for 30-60 minutes in the morning, if I wake up before 6:00 a.m.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book nerdiness.

Pachinko byMin Jin Lee | 3 1/2 stars I really wanted to love this book, but for me, it was good, not great—which makes me feel kinda dumb because it received so many prestigious accolades. I respect it, but it didn’t touch my heart. To be fair, I’m beginning to think that sprawling family dramas are not for me. I prefer to be really connected to a smaller cast of characters in an atmospheric setting. There were so many people in this book and the way I thought of them was “the one that owns the pachinko parlor,” “the one that wants to be a scholar”… they never moved past 1-liners into real people for me. (My Goodreads review provides more detail, but also spoilers; proceed with caution.)

This book’s biggest strength—and it’s significant—is the way it brings an unknown-to-me part of history to light. I was only vaguely aware of the events leading up the U.S. Korean War, and it was fascinating—and sobering—to learn about the tensions and discrimination between the Korean and Japanese people.

Favorite highlight: “People are rotten everywhere you go. They’re no good. You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let’s see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants.”

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter  by Theodora Goss | 4 stars Just as Pachinko helped me realize multigenerational family sagas aren’t really for me, this book reinforced how much I love stories about found families. Set in Victorian England, this romping adventure includes not one, but FIVE plucky heroines, and I am here for it. If you enjoy the Veronica Speedwell series—A Curious Beginning, A Perilous Undertaking, A Treacherous Curse—then you will probably enjoy this one, too.

I don’t want to give too much away because the surprises are fun, but this story includes Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, the danger of poisoning, literary references, a traveling circus, an insane asylum, potentially evil nuns, and family secrets. What’s not to love?! (I also treated myself to the sequel European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman because it’s described as a “madcap romp” and the action takes place in Paris, Vienna, and Budapest.)

Favorite highlight: “No wonder men did not want women to wear bloomers. What could women accomplish if they did not have to continually mind their skirts, keep them from dragging in the mud or getting trampled on the steps of an omnibus? If they had pockets! With pockets, women could conquer the world!”

I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel | 5 stars It’s no secret that I adore Anne Bogel’s podcast What Should I Read Next? so I had high expectations for this collection of essays. On her podcast, Anne is just the kind of person with whom you’d want to discuss books: opinionated but not pushy, insightful, relatable, and quick to laugh—all of that warmth and intelligence and sheer book love comes across in these essays. I read it over the course of a month or so, dipping into the essays between the other novels I was reading to cleanse my palate and to revel in the book nerdiness of reading.

I sometimes have a difficult time talking about my favorite books, or even really sharing how much reading means to me as a human—it feels too personal, makes me vulnerable in a way I’m not really ready for. But reading this book made me realize that there are legions of us out there: People who find friendship, solace, adventure, challenge, grief, joy—the whole gamut of human emotions—in the books that we read. And sometimes, they’re just damn fun.

I’d Rather Be Reading is just like that: lots of feels and damn fun.

Favorite highlight: “Old books, like old friends, are good for the soul. But they’re not just comfort reads. No, a good book is exciting to return to, because even though I’ve been there before, the landscape is always changing.”

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel | 4 stars Food, love, magic, and passion color this luscious family saga set in a Mexican border town around 1019, so the intimate story of the family is played out against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution. The tale reads like a family legend that’s been passed down through generations, and it centers on the forbidden love of Tita and Pedro. As the youngest daugher, it’s Tita’s fate to forsake love and to care for her dominerring mother Mama Elena until her mother’s death. But Tita and Pedro fall madly in love: When Tita felt Pedro’s gaze on her “she understood exactly how raw dough must feel when it comes into contact with boiling oil.” To be close to Tita, Pedro marries her older sister, and no one’s life remains untouched by this flawed decision.

Tita’s life is spent in the kitchen—both a gift and a curse to her—and her cooking is infused with deep emotion and magic. To Tita, food is life, and each chapter represents a month of the year, opening with a recipe that intertwines with the characters’ lives. Tita’s tears wept into wedding cake batter induce a devastating sense of longing in the guests who take a bite, and a delicate sauce made of rose petals inspires dangerous passions around the dinner table.

As the plot traces Tita and Pedro’s lifelong love, we see its impact on the rest of the family and the village: Tita’s sisters, a kindly doctor, bouncing babies, and Mexican revolutionaries. It’s a delightful—and sad—story of family obligation, the things that feed us, and a passion that could not be extinguished.

Favorite highlight: “When the talk turns to eating, a subject of the greatest importance, only fools and sick men don’t give it the attention it deserves.”

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier | 3 stars I went into this novel expecting a dark gothic adventure—thanks to previously reading Rebecca https://amzn.to/2BVakpp—and that’s exactly what I got—for better and for worse. Our heroine is definitely a damsel in distress, all muddle and forbidden love and quivering fear. I think I would have loved this book if Mary had some spunk, but instead, she kind of just bounces her way through the story. I found I enjoyed giving daily updates to my husband about what was happening a lot more than I actually enjoyed reading it. But for pure camp, it’s great: creepy isolated house, desolate moors, shady characters, an is-he-or-isn’t-he love interest, locked doors, a big character reveal, and plenty of stormy nights.

Favorite highlight: “The driver, muffled in a greatcoat to his ears, bent almost double in his seat in a faint endeavor to gain shelter from his own shoulders…”

Prague Spring by Simon Mawer | 4 1/2 stars Yay for British release dates: I got to read this book in time for the anniversary of Prague Spring on August 21—it’s available for pre-order now in the U.S.

This books examines what people are willing to risk for freedom and love. And if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to accidentally get caught up in a potentially dangerous spy mission, this is the book for you.

It’s the summer of 1968—the summer of love—even, for a while, in communist Czechoslovakia. As tensions rise between Moscow and Prague in the background, this story follow the misadventures—romantic and otherwise—of two groups of people: an on-again-off-again British couple who cross the Iron Curtain on a lark as they listlessly backpack through Europe, and a group of Czech youths—eager to test the limits of the Czechoslovak “socialism with a human face”—who find themselves in an unexpected friendship with a British diplomat.

There are also world-famous musicians, bugged rooms, larks into the countryside, and secret meetings. The various threads of this sort-of spy story come together in a satisfying, heartbreaking way. There’s plenty of intrigue, interpersonal sparks, romance, adventure, and irresistible descriptions of Prague, as well as a cast of characters you won’t soon forget. (I also LOVED another book by Simon Mawer: The Glass Room.) http://meljoulwan.com/2018/07/23/reading-recap-june-2018/

Favorite highlight: “You haven’t lived here long enough,” Zdenek said. “No one can live in this place for long and still believe in reality.”

FIND ALL THESE BOOKS AND MORE IN MY AMAZON STORE!

Source: https://meljoulwan.com/2018/09/03/reading-recap-august-2018/

[davidslampstand]

My faith habits

I thought I’d share what kinds of podcasts and publications I read and absorb as a habit.  I met a friend of my nephew recently at a party, learned he was Christian, and we had a terrific conversation on theology and misc subjects.  I told him I’d send him some resources that came up in the conversation, and send him an email. I thought about it, and thought “why not send this to everyone via my blog, and I’ll send him the link?  This way everyone can potentially see it.”  The lampstand thing.  So here it is:

Podcasts, I listen to at least a couple daily on my commute:

Reasonable Faith - William Lane Craig

Cold-Case Christianity - J. Warner Wallace

Cross-Examined - Frank Turek

Let my People Think - Ravi Zacharias

Stand to Reason - Greg Koukl

The Bible Answer Man - Hank Hanegraaff

Truth for Life - Alistair Begg

Above and Beyond - Brock Huard

Faith-based Youtube Channels, I like to binge watch these to wee hours of the morning:

drcraigvideos - All videos William Lane Craig, debates, interviews.

ReasonableFaithOrg - Yes I love WLC and the way he defends the Christian faith, and gives you courage in your beliefs because you know how to defend them.

Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D. - Sheer knowledge of scripture and translation.

Acts17Apologetics - David Wood, specializing on witnessing to Muslims.

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries - Can’t get enough.

Living Waters - Ray Comfort.  I learn so much about interactions with the public through him.  Very encouraging.

Hugh Ross - Scientist and Christian, fascinating facts about how much the bible actually aligns with science.

Anything resulting from the youtube search “Atheist vs Christian debates”.  Brain candy for me, I love love love listening to these.

Books I would recommend:

Cold Case Christianity - J. Warner Wallace

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist - Norman Geisler

The Evidence That Demands a Verdict - Josh McDowell

God’s Crime Scene - J Warner Wallace

The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel

The Mystery of Providence - John Flavel

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus - Nabeel Qureshi

The Insanity of God - Nik Ripken

On Guard - William Lane Craig

and on and on.  My Amazon Kindle wishlist is a mile long, as I read I’ll update this blog.

Anyway here is a partial list of what kinds of media I consume.  Of course, all of this matters not if you do not digest, regularly, if not daily, the word of God.  I make it a habit of reading scripture after going to bed and before turning off the light, about 15-30 minutes or more.  I choose this time because I will without question always go to bed every day, guaranteed.  So what better time to build in my reading time.  Just my strategy for discipline.  Also there’s the added benefit of the fact that your mind tends to hold and entertain what you last consumed before sleep.  I don’t have any scientific data on this, but I have more than once awoke to the memory of what I read 8 hours before.  But contrast that to if you ask me what I had for breakfast after a work day.

I hope you got something out of these and share back any you would recommend!  I am always seeking new material to read,

Podcasts and Misc

I listened to Ravi Zacharias today on the way home, and podcast called “The pursuit of truth”.  He pulls no punches on where relativism leads you.  I always get something from listening to him, whether it be his actual logic or his delivery.  The facts cannot be disputed.  Always so mentally stimulating and satisfying to listen to his irrefutable reason.

I also listened to Greg Koukl in the AM, the STR podcast.  He had a person on talking about terrorism in Sri Lanka, and how the words of the Quran actually commands this behavior.  This is what is “good” in the eyes of Islam, and Allah.  I am learning a lot about the teachings of Islam, and how they view Jesus.  It’s quite odd that they think he’s a great and revered prophet, but deny his deity.  I find this strange because Jesus claimed he is “the way, the truth, and the life”, predicted his own resurrection, and claimed to be the son of God in front of the Sanhedrin.  If they deny his deity, it would make more sense that they thought him a lunatic, and not a revered prophet.  I think C.S. Lewis said it best regarding this:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

[davidslampstandold]

My faith habits

I thought I’d share what kinds of podcasts and publications I read and absorb as a habit.  I met a friend of my nephew recently at a party, learned he was Christian, and we had a terrific conversation on theology and misc subjects.  I told him I’d send him some resources that came up in the conversation, and send him an email. I thought about it, and thought “why not send this to everyone via my blog, and I’ll send him the link?  This way everyone can potentially see it.”  The lampstand thing.  So here it is:

Podcasts, I listen to at least a couple daily on my commute:

Reasonable Faith - William Lane Craig

Cold-Case Christianity - J. Warner Wallace

Cross-Examined - Frank Turek

Let my People Think - Ravi Zacharias

Stand to Reason - Greg Koukl

The Bible Answer Man - Hank Hanegraaff

Truth for Life - Alistair Begg

Above and Beyond - Brock Huard

Faith-based Youtube Channels, I like to binge watch these to wee hours of the morning:

drcraigvideos - All videos William Lane Craig, debates, interviews.

ReasonableFaithOrg - Yes I love WLC and the way he defends the Christian faith, and gives you courage in your beliefs because you know how to defend them.

Pastor Melissa Scott, Ph.D. - Sheer knowledge of scripture and translation.

Acts17Apologetics - David Wood, specializing on witnessing to Muslims.

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries - Can’t get enough.

Living Waters - Ray Comfort.  I learn so much about interactions with the public through him.  Very encouraging.

Hugh Ross - Scientist and Christian, fascinating facts about how much the bible actually aligns with science.

Anything resulting from the youtube search “Atheist vs Christian debates”.  Brain candy for me, I love love love listening to these.

Books I would recommend:

Cold Case Christianity - J. Warner Wallace

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist - Norman Geisler

The Evidence That Demands a Verdict - Josh McDowell

God’s Crime Scene - J Warner Wallace

The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel

The Mystery of Providence - John Flavel

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus - Nabeel Qureshi

The Insanity of God - Nik Ripken

On Guard - William Lane Craig

and on and on.  My Amazon Kindle wishlist is a mile long, as I read I’ll update this blog.

Anyway here is a partial list of what kinds of media I consume.  Of course, all of this matters not if you do not digest, regularly, if not daily, the word of God.  I make it a habit of reading scripture after going to bed and before turning off the light, about 15-30 minutes or more.  I choose this time because I will without question always go to bed every day, guaranteed.  So what better time to build in my reading time.  Just my strategy for discipline.  Also there’s the added benefit of the fact that your mind tends to hold and entertain what you last consumed before sleep.  I don’t have any scientific data on this, but I have more than once awoke to the memory of what I read 8 hours before.  But contrast that to if you ask me what I had for breakfast after a work day.

I hope you got something out of these and share back any you would recommend!  I am always seeking new material to read,

[kroncreative-blog]

Top 10 Saviours of 2016

I’d like to start off 2017 by taking a brief trip down the 2016 section of memory lane. 

2016 was a mind trip of a year. From the stacks of shocking political moves, across the globe, to the sheer number of legends taken from us, this year has been a lot.  On a personal level, the trials and tribulations of the year were made a little easier because I started dabbling in a little self care. It wasn’t a conscious decision: it just kinda happened. Some of my fav artists dropped gems, lost a little weight, started sleeping a little more. These all helped pull me through. They were so helpful in fact that I am bringing some into 2017. So here is a list of my top 10 saviours of 2016. 1. Lemonade by Beyoncé Unless, it has not yet been made clear, I am a HUGE Beyoncé fan.  This album and accompanying film was easily one of the highlights of my life never mind year. The album itself is a stunning showcase of Beyoncé’s range and ability - not that we needed any more reminding. ‘Freedom’ and ‘Sorry’ are two of my personal favourites from the album. The visual element of this album is simply beautiful. The way Warsan Shire’s words and the imagery were weaved together was just out of this world.  One of my absolute favourite things about this Bey project though? Was seeing the joy and elevation it brought to the Black women in my life and those I follow online. It was genuinely a heart warming thing to see.  2. ANTI by Rihanna The release of Rihanna’s eighth album at the top of the year was an absolute delight.  One of the highlights of this album was actually the way the album was promoted. The launch of ANTIdiaRy in November and all of the rooms really helped build up hype which this album DEFINITELY followed up on. “Higher”,  “Love on the Brain” and “Kiss it Better” are my jams.  A particular shout out to the opening track “Consideration” with SZA. The way their vocals merge together is like honey.  This album really made me feel like Rihanna is an artist who even with eight studio albums behind her has not yet peaked.  3. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin Embarrassingly, despite having a degree in English Lit, 2016 was the first time I had picked up this book by Baldwin. And flipping heck! Why this book is not taught as part of the school curriculum is a down right mystery to me.  The way Baldwin writes is simply astounding. In Giovanni’s Room he deals with the complexities of David’s relationship with Giovanni and others around him in such a palpable way. His articulation of David’s immersion in French culture, his love for Giovanni and in particular Giovanni’s love for David are highly emotive. I felt as if I was going through these experiences with David. Such is the capability of Baldwin.  “I thought of the people before me who had looked down at the river and gone to sleep beneath it. I wondered about them. I wondered how they had done it--it, the physical act. I simply wondered about the dead because their days had ended and I did not know how I would get through mine.”  4. 6,741, S05E04, Person of Interest I could, and perhaps at some point will write an entire in depth blog post on this exhilarating episode, but it was too important to miss out of this list. This was one of the most highly anticipated episodes of this season as it marked the return of Sameen Shaw (played by Sarah Shahi). 

6741 is a mind bender and mirrors the episode If-Then-Else which marked Shahi’s temporary departure from the show.  The way this episode was directed by Chris Fisher and written by Lucas O’Connor and Denise Thé and the concept of it is just phenomenal. Also shout out to Shahi’s fantastic acting skills which heightened the impact of this highly emotive hour of tv. One of the most beautiful aspects of it was the exploration of the depth of Shaw’s feelings for Root. The use of simulation to expose the audience to this was not only creative AF but inline with Shaw’s type II personality disorder.  “Do you know where we are? What they did to me? The torture? I told you I couldn’t escape it. But when things got to be too bad there was one place I would go to in my mind. Here. With you. You were my safe place.” 5. Grayish Black by Devyn Springer I received this poetry collection as a present from a good friend. And my days! What a present it turned out to be.  Everything about this poetry collection is stunning. The cover is black which is intentional. “Your fingerprints are all over this book now. It is all you can see across all the cover.” There is something about this notion that personalises the collection straight away and immediately makes it feel more intimate.  Something which builds upon this intimacy, is the photographs. When I first flicked through, the photographs took me surprise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen photographs in a poetry collection before. There’s also photocopies of some of Springer’s poetry/stream of consciousness/drawings which again add to the intimacy of this collection. The actual poetry though? I found it to be very raw and extremely evocative. There were a few instances where I had to close the book and set it down and come back to it later because the feelings brought to the surface were just too much (in a good way). But such is the power of Springer’s writing. Just so damn beautiful and breathtakingly honest. Again this is probably another piece where I will have to do an in depth blog post just to encourage people to go out and buy this piece and read it. 

“It seems all of the things I hate about myself have latched their claws into my skin, planted seeds in my bone marrow,  built hones in between my ribs, and decided to stay for a while.” 6. Dreamland by Mic Righteous This is one of my many musical highlights of 2016. Not only because I have been waiting for this album for the longest time but because it was entirely worth the wait. Straight out of Margate, Mic Righteous has an undeniable talent. His flow is effortless and his wordplay is genius. And his storytelling ability is insane. Every track on this album tells a story, just a tiny segment of different aspects of his journey. Highlighting his difficult childhood in Margate to his outsider status in the UK Scene.

This album also has a strong set of accompanying videos. Not every track has a video but some of my personal favourites are the passion filled ‘Gone’, party vid, ‘I Turn Up’ and the highly personal ‘Kids’. Stand out tracks are ‘All Dressed Up’ and anthem ‘Tempo of the Dance’. This is an album that you’ll just have to check it out for yourself. 

“My family don't get why I'm dead broke I'm deffo on my arse I guess that's the tempo of the dance I'm certain of my future like a psychic read a palm Maybe it's the patience that's ringin' red alarms I don't wanna see a sceptic have the last laugh Nearly spent seven years to perfect my every part Thinkin' of my examples and I don't get very far Because not many of them last or achieve What they set out from the start Selling out, dwellin' on what could be I live to prove people wrong because they overlook me I live to see my son smile, father livin' cushty” 

7. The Friendzone Podcast Hosted by Dustin, Assanté and Fran, this is one of my favourite podcasts and it’s one that just keeps getting better and better.  As is no secret to anyone, 2016 was hard. But this endearing yet hilarious podcast was something that helped keep me grounded and not get too consumed by the nonsense of this year.  This podcast is primarily concerned with “mental health, mental wellness and mental hygiene because who in the hell wants a musty brain?” Every weekend brings a wellness segment brought to you by Fran of Hey Fran Hey fame which aims to help you increase your wellness. One of the coolest things about this wellness segment is that everything that is recommended is trusted and used personally by Fran. Not only that the segment is well informed providing scientific research where necessary. Some of the things I have incorporated from the show are Palo Santo, weighted blankets, journal work and the Forest Productivity app.  Assanté is the musical maestro bringing us musical recommendations and has put me onto some flames music including Isaiah Rashad and Xavier Omär. His vulnerability adds an extra layer of familiarity to the show. 

Dustin. Sir Dustin is a law unto himself and keeps the show real and hilarious. His speciality segment is reality tv. Every week he gives the lowdown on shows such as Married to Medicine Atlanta and the Real Housewives franchise. His knowledge is encyclopaedic. Also the intro freestyle every week has a special place in my heart. Its literally lit every week and I haven’t heard a dud one yet.  8. Coloring Book by Chance The Rapper Listen. I was BEYOND hype about ‘Chance 3′ since I first heard ‘Ultralight Beam’. Which was also a freaking bop! It was so much of a bop in fact that I am yet to listen to the rest of TLOP. And my favourite part about it was Chance’s verse. Anyway, back to Coloring Book.

Coloring Book is beyond amazing. I am in love with the mixtape, the cover, Chance’s voice, the beats, the production, EVERYTHING. Chance even had me singing along with Bieber in ‘Juke Jam’.

Even though I’m not a Christian I really love the Gospel influence and features on the mixtape. Although the presence of Gospel in Hip-Hop/Rap is not new, I feel like Chance really elevated it. And his level of faith is inspiring.  Every single track is astounding. And to be honest, I know that I’m going to be listening to this for a very long time. I also know that there are not enough words for me to do this mixtape justice.  9. The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla With Brexit and the election of Donald Trump largely played to the tune of ‘fear the foreigner’ 2016 has taken a toll on this particular second generation immigrant.  Just when the rhetoric of British Values began to feel like almost like a vaguely defined threat, this little gem came along. This collection of 21 essays hit me right in the heart. These essays represent and validate the breadth of the experience of immigrants in this here United Kingdom. The blurb boldly asks “What’s it like to live in a country that doesn’t trust you and doesn’t want you unless you won an Olympic gold medal or a national baking competition?” Although it is worth noting that even these people have been exempt from racism.  Anyway, pretty much every essay in this book was relatable and made me feel some form of validation and acceptance. One essay which resonated with me deeply in particular is ‘Going Home’ by Kieran Yates. Yates details her perspective of the British Asian experience and learning how to navigate society, family and personal spaces and all the spaces within these spaces. The difficulties which sometimes arise like the ability to make a round roti. Yates highlights how she doesn’t feel a split between her Indian culture and British culture when she can take the best bits of both. “But for me, there is no neat duality; no neatly sliced elements of my identity that are in opposition. There is no hollow insecurity about rootlessness because these additional details and stories I’ve learned are additions to our identity, not losses.” This is something that took mea long time to realise and I’m still learning to be entirely honest.

10. The Get Down, Netflix Oh My Goodness. 

This series yeah? This series is already one of my fav tv shows ever.  Anyone, who knows me, knows I love Hip-Hop. This musical series loosely explores the origins of this spectacular and beautiful art form including, DJing, Graffiti, B-Boying and of course rap. It stars Justice Smith, Shameik Moore and Jaden Smith. The show was created by Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis. I can’t lie, as soon as I heard Luhrmann’s name I was sceptical. I mean I love Moulin Rouge and his adaptation of Romeo and Juliet but I wasn’t sure how this would translate to 70s South Bronx. I was wrong, this series is visually gorgeous.  The raps in this series are largely written by Nas. Not only does this make the series feel more genuine but it made me fall in love with Nas’s own discography again. It also reminded me of the poetic nature and roots of Hip-Hop. There is a scene of Zeke’s teacher reciting one of his pieces to him in the opening episode and it is just breath taking. One of my favourite things about this series though, even though it deals with some really heavy social issues, it is infectiously hopeful. It can’t help but inspiring hope and looking forward. I feel like, in the coming months, this is something we will all need more of.