#april colors 2021

[shevvys-pictures]

'Look Up Now'

[lizzybennets]

baba, today is my birthday. kiraz.

[coraleeannibal]

view from maggie point / hike along the coast, april 21 2021

if you like what I post, please consider sending me a tip on ko-fi!:

society6 - 1: https://society6.com/product/maggie-point_print?sku=s6-24209852p4a1v45

3: https://society6.com/product/hike-along-the-coast_print?sku=s6-24209897p4a1v45

[rabbitcruiser]

National Peace Rose Day

National Peace Rose Day is on April 29 and today we honor and celebrate this hybrid tea rose. These light-yellow or cream-colored flowers have petals with flushed crimson-pink edges. Not only are they beautiful but they are known to be hardy, vigorous, and highly resistant to disease.

HISTORY OF NATIONAL PEACE ROSE DAY

Francis Meilland, a French horticulturist, developed the Peace rose by crossing a hybridized tea rose known as the Margaret McGredy rose with another seedling. He named the rose Madame A. Meilland, after his late mother.

However, before the German invasion of France, Meilland sent the cuttings of the rose to his friends in Italy, Turkey, Germany, and the United States to protect the new flower. It is in these different countries that the rose was given other names. The official name for the rose in France is still “Madame A. Meilland”, in honor of the breeder’s mother. In Italy, it was given the name ‘Gioia,’ meaning ‘joy.’ In Germany, it was called ‘Gloria Dei,’ meaning ‘glory to God.’ In the United States, it was named the Peace rose.

In the United States, Robert Pyle of the Conard Pyle Company, based in Pennsylvania, gave it its American name in 1945. While the war raged on in Europe, Pyle cultivated the rose and sent the samples to the American Rose Society for review. After Germany left France, he contacted Meilland and informed him that the rose would be introduced to the American public as the war ended. The name ‘Peace’ was given to the rose by Pyle in honor of the impending global peace. These roses were given to each delegate at the inaugural United Nations meeting in 1945 in honor of Germany’s surrender.

It is since then that National Peace Rose day is celebrated to mark the day that this rose received its American name and the symbolism behind it.

NATIONAL PEACE ROSE DAY TIMELINE

1930s

The Invention of the Peace Rose

French horticulturist Francis Meilland develops the Peace Rose in France by mixing different breeds of roses.

1945

Peace Rose at the United Nations

Peace roses are given to delegates at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations with a note that reads: “We hope the Peace rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace.

1976

Rose Hall of Fame

The Peace rose is chosen as the World’s Favorite Rose and gets inducted into the Rose Hall of Fame.

1992

One Million Plants Sold

The Peace rose sells in quantities of over a million and gains more popularity.

NATIONAL PEACE ROSE DAY FAQS

Does the Peace rose have a scent?

Yes, the Peace rose has a very sweet and fruity scent that can range from mild to strong. 

Is the Peace rose extremely popular?

Yes, the Peace rose has gained significant popularity over the years and even won awards such as gold medals in Lyon (1942), Portland (1944), and The Hague (1965) and was named the Most Beautiful French Rose in Lyon (1942) and World’s Favorite Rose (1976). It was included in the All-America Rose Selection in 1944.

How big does a Peace rose grow?

The Peace rose can grow up to five or six feet tall and has large foliage with big multi-petaled flowers that are up to five inches across when fully opened.

HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL PEACE ROSE DAY

Plant your own rose: What better way to celebrate Peace Rose Day than sharing the love and peace amongst your friends and family? Why not send them a Peace rose plant as a gift? Or plant it in your own home and see it grow and blossom.

Visit a rose garden: Why not spend Peace Rose Day in a rose garden? Visit a nearby rose garden or a nursery that houses roses and spend time with these beautiful flowers. They will instantly uplift your mood.

Read a book about roses: You can even indulge in some reading about roses such as “Roses” by Peter Beales. In fact, in his book he even states that the Peace rose is without a doubt, the finest hybrid tea rose ever cultivated and will remain a standard variety forever.

5 FACTS ABOUT ROSES THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND

World’s oldest rose: The world’s oldest rose is believed to be 1,000 years old and grows on the Cathedral of Hildesheim in Germany.

World’s most expensive rose: Juliet, a 2006 variety of rose by renowned rose breeder David Austin is the world’s most expensive rose, and breeding it amounted to $5 million.

Tallest rose: Roses, in general, can grow quite tall and the tallest rose ever recorded stands at over 23 feet tall.

Long lifespan of roses: Roses are known to have a rather long life span and, interestingly, there are rose fossils that were discovered that date back 35 million years.

No black roses: While there are a plethora of colors available in roses, there are no black roses, and if there are roses that look black, they’re actually a dark red.

WHY NATIONAL PEACE ROSE DAY IS IMPORTANT

It encapsulates life and history: The Peace rose was sent off to different parts of the world during the Second World War for its protection and thus it makes us remember and honor our history

It promotes peace: The rose was literally named after the impending global peace and thus this day marks a day of harmony and peace. You can offer a Peace rose plant to your nearest and dearest and manifest peaceful energy.

Roses are beautiful: Roses are an absolutely beautiful flower and they also promote and symbolize love. The Peace rose, which looks exotic with its crimson-pink edges, can make anyone fall in love with it and evoke a sense of calm.

Source

[maddy-ferguson]

nine years of my life isn't that crazy

[shesnake]

Spider-Verse Artists Say Working on the Sequel Was ‘Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts’

Why don’t more animated movies look this good? According to people who worked on the sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, it’s because the working conditions required to produce such artistry are not sustainable.

Multiple Across the Spider-Verse crew members — ranging from artists to production executives who have worked anywhere from five to a dozen years in the animation business — describe the process of making the the $150 million Sony project as uniquely arduous, involving a relentless kind of revisionism that compelled approximately 100 artists to flee the movie before its completion.

While frequent major overhauls are standard operating procedure in animation (Pixar films can take between four and seven years to plot, animate, and render), those changes typically occur early on during development and storyboarding stages. But these Spider-Verse 2 crew members say they were asked to make alterations to already-approved animated sequences that created a backlog of work across multiple late-stage departments. Across the Spider-Verse was meant to debut in theaters in April of 2022, before it was postponed to October of that year and then June 2023 owing to what Entertainment Weekly reported as “pandemic-related delays.” However, the four crew members say animators who were hired in the spring of 2021 sat idle for anywhere from three to six months that year while Phil Lord tinkered with the movie in the layout stage, when the first 3-D representation of storyboards are created.

As a result, these individuals say, they were pushed to work more than 11 hours a day, seven days a week, for more than a year to make up for time lost and were forced back to the drawing board as many as five times to revise work during the final rendering stage.

"For animated movies, the majority of the trial-and-error process happens during writing and storyboarding. Not with fully completed animation. Phil’s mentality was, This change makes for a better movie, so why aren’t we doing it? It’s obviously been very expensive having to redo the same shot several times over and have every department touch it so many times. The changes in the writing would go through storyboarding. Then it gets to layout, then animation, then final layout, which is adjusting cameras and placements of things in the environment. Then there’s cloth and hair effects, which have to repeatedly be redone anytime there’s an animation change. The effects department also passes over the characters with ink lines and does all the crazy stuff like explosions, smoke, and water. And they work closely with lighting and compositing on all the color and visual treatments in this movie. Every pass is plugged into editing. Smaller changes tend to start with animation, and big story changes can involve more departments like visual development, modeling, rigging, and texture painting. These are a lot of artists affected by one change. Imagine an endless stream of them."

"Over 100 people left the project because they couldn’t take it anymore. But a lot stayed on just so they could make sure their work survived until the end — because if it gets changed, it’s no longer yours. I know people who were on the project for over a year who left, and now they have little to show for it because everything was changed. They went through the hell of the production and then got none of their work coming out the other side."

[likeadevils]

Midnights Timeline

This is a very long post that puts all the songs on Midnights in order of Taylor creating them. I’ve also included a few other songs she worked on while writing Midnights and quotes from Taylor and her collaborators talking about her process.

If you don't want to read all that, check out this playlist of the album in order, or this playlist of her entire discography. (warning: there is a very large chunk in the middle of Midnights that I have no information on (Maroon-Dear Reader. On the playlist not the album I have guesses for more than one song)).

I’ve also added this color coded scale of how sure I am of the date: 

Confirmed: There is some type of official source for the date

Inferring: Nobody has officially said “This is when we wrote it,” but all available evidence points to that date

Speculation: This date is based off pure vibes and guesswork and is highly likely to change.

Unknown: All that is known is the year (from the US Copyright Offices

Renegade: March 7-15, 2021 (Confirmed)

Aaron: “I wrote the music [for Renegade] at some point after we finished [evermore], and sent it to her, because she was inspired by a llot of the Big Red Machine stuff we were working on. And she had already sung on Birch, a song that hasn't come out yet but is one of the major ones on the record. And I think she wanted to write a song for Big Red Machine. She very much feels like part of this community to me. So I wrote Renegade, the music, and sent it to her. And not unlike a lot of the things we've done together, one day I woke up to a voice memo from her and she had written this incredible song about how anxiety and fear get in the way of loving or being loved. And she was clearly thinking about Big Red Machine. And then we recorded her vocals and everything the week of the Grammys, when I was there in LA, and it was really nice to have something to think about that wasn't related to the Grammys - just to make music because you feel like making it." (transcript from jaimie)

High Infidelity and Would've Could've Should've: March 7-15, 2021 (Confirmed)

Aaron: [Would've Could've Should've], we wrote that song together, and recorded it while we were together in LA for the folklore Grammys. It goes back that far. And the same with High Infidelity. Those songs, we actually recorded in her house, the vocals, we recorded them then. And I just kept making music, and it was kind, after we had made folklore and evermore, I started to have ideas which I would share. And eventually, she obviously made most of Midnights with Jack, and it became something different. But High Infidelity, and Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve, and The Great War, and we made Hits Different with Jack and Taylor and I also, and it was great to be part of that record in that way. (transcript from @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes)

The Great War and Hits Different: between April-October 2021 (Speculation)

In the above quote talking about his songs on Midnights, Aaron says "Eventually, she obviously made most of Midnights with Jack, and it became something different," implying his stuff was written before the bulk of midnights in fall. He also says High Infidelity and Would've Could've Should've "[go] back that far," which implies they were some of the earliest stuff on Midnights, so it's safe to assume TGW and Hits Different come sometime afterwards.

Summer 2021: Jack has a session with Sounwave, Sam Dew, and Zoe Kravitz, where the instrumentals for Lavender Haze and likely Glitch are written

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: Before Antonoff began to work on Swift’s tenth album, he was cooking up tracks with Spears, Dew, and Zoë Kravitz [...] During a brainstorming session, the quartet put together a track that would eventually become “Lavender Haze.”

November 3 2021: It was announced that Joe has been cast in Stars at Noon, alongside Margaret Qualley, Jack Antonoff's then girlfriend now wife. Since Joe was parachuted into the film last minute, filming had already started, making it likely he left as soon as possible.

Taylor: We’d been toying with ideas and had written a few things we loved, but Midnights actually really coalesced and flowed out of us when our partners (both actors) did a film together in Panama. Jack and I found ourselves back in New York, alone, recording every night, staying up late and exploring old memories and midnights past.

November 8: Jack gets back from touring with Bleachers. Let the games begin.

Vigilante Shit: November 2021 (Speculation)

Vigilante Shit is the sole solo writing credit on the album, which implies it was written before her and Jack were holed up together 24/7. Also Scooter and his wife divorced in July. Beyond that there's no evidence this is early in the process, besides it making sense that Taylor wrote this alone, brought it to Jack, and then fell into a creative inferno.

Maroon, Anti-Hero, You're on Your Own Kid, Midnight Rain, Bejeweled, Labyrinth, Mastermind, Paris, and Dear Reader: November/December 2021 (Inferring)

I don't have enough info on the making of any of these songs to give them each their own little blurb, but if anything pops up I will update this post and reblog it letting y’all know.

Question..?: After November 21, 2021 (Inferring)

We know Rachel Antonoff, Dylan O'Brien, and Austin Swift were there the day they recorded it thanks to this behind the scenes footage of them recording the cheering vocals. Dylan was filming The Vanishings at Caddo Lake in Louisiana sometime between October 5 and November 20. I don't know exactly which dates he was filming-- he was in New York for All Too Well filming in late October and to attend the premiere on November 12, but since we know for sure he was in Louisiana on the 20th, I'm just gonna Occam's Razor it and say Question was written sometime after he got back from that.

You're Losing Me: December 5, 2021 (Confirmed)

December 17, 2021: Filming wraps on Stars at Noon, and with it the bulk of recording for Midnights.

Lavender Haze: Early 2022 (Speculation)

Lavender Haze, Snow on the Beach, and Karma are the only songs to have Henson Recording Studios credited (I can't find studio credits for the 3am tracks so there is possibly more on there). This could point to them all being recorded around the same time time, or it could be in reference to Jack and Sounwave's original recording sessions taking place at Hensen. I lean towards the former, since 1) it seems like the Winter 2021 sessions were mostly between Taylor and Jack, and the spring sessions have other collaborators, and 2) the tabloid rumors about Taylor and Joe getting engaged really started heating up in February 2022. On the other hand, Sounwave implies that there was a notable stretch of time between Lavender Haze and Karma, so I totally understand if you want to put it with the rest of the Winter 2021 sessions. Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: A few months [after Jack and Sounwave wrote the instrumentals], Antonoff reached out to Spears, Dew, and Kravitz to see if he could pitch [Lavender Haze] to Swift, who loved it immediately. She wrote lyrics inspired by a Mad Men scene, numerous tabloid rumors and online gossip about her relationship status, and “1950s expectations.” “When Jack brought us in the hear for the first time, all our mouths dropped. She took it to a whole new world and made it her own. She created different pockets we did not hear.”

Glitch: Early 2022 (Speculation)

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: "Glitch,” one of the bonus songs on the Midnights (3am) edition, was born from the same studio session as “Lavender Haze.” I don't know if this means the instrumentals to Lavender Haze and Glitch were done in the same session, Taylor wrote the lyrics in the same session, or both. For the same reason as Lavender Haze, I lean towards this coming later in the process, as well as Glitch mentioning being together for six years, and in November 2021 Taylor and Joe had been together for a little over 5 years. That being said, Taylor could've assume the album was going to come out in 2022, and that she would stay with Joe until then, and bump up that date a bit. It's still very up in the air.

February 5, 2022: Taylor is photographed leaving Jack's house holding a keyboard.

Sweet Nothing: Spring 2022 (Inferring)

Joe is a co-write on this, meaning they likely wrote it after he got back from filming. It also mentions their trip to Ireland in 2021 and refers to it as "last July", implying it was written in 2022. While I was writing this timeline Taylor liked this post on twitter, implying that at least the second verse is in reference to Paul and Linda McCartney. The quote is from his poem Blessed, which you can read in this interview (TWs for death and cancer)

Bigger Than The Whole Sky: March 2022 (Inferring)

Claire Winter, a close friend of Taylor's, posts on Instagram that she miscarried. (I toyed with whether or not to add this, but seeing as Claire Winter made the information public herself, I decided to put it in. If she ever takes that Instagram post down, let me know and I'll delete this part.)

Snow on the Beach: April 1, 2022 (Inferring)

On April 1, Lana Del Rey posts a video on Instagram of Jack in the studio with an unidentified female voice in the background. Two days later she posts this photo, which Taylor and Jack both include in posts about Midnights/Snow on the Beach. Lana: Well, first of all, I had no idea I was the only feature [on that song]. Had I known, I would have sung the entire second verse like she wanted. My job as a feature on a big artist’s album is to make sure I help add to the production of the song, so I was more focused on the production. She was very adamant that she wanted me to be on the album, and I really liked that song. I thought it was nice to be able to bridge that world, since Jack [Antonoff] and I work together and so do Jack and Taylor. Taylor: And with Snow On The Beach, which features the genius Lana Del Rey, very lucky to have collaborated with her on that. And Dylan [O’Brien] was actually in the studio with me and Jack, because a lot of the time we record at his place, and Dylan was just hanging out, drinking wine with us, and listening to stuff, and he was just trying out the drum kit there. He wasn't serious. But we were drinking wine, and we were sort of like, 'We haven't recorded the drums for this one yet! See if you want to...' and he played the drums on the song. Sometimes it just happens like that. (transcript once again from jaimie)

Karma: Spring 2022 (Speculation)

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: The bubbly “Karma” came later [than Lavender Haze and Glitch], when Antonoff reached out to Spears for any other ideas he may have to contribute to the album and its synth-pop vision. “‘Karma’ was just a last-minute Hail Mary,” Spears says. “I remembered I was working with my guy Keanu [Beats] and had something that was too perfect not to send to her. As soon as I sent it, Jack was instantly like ‘This is the one. Playing it for Taylor now. We’re going in on it.’ The next day, I heard the final product with her vocals on it.”

April 19, 2022: Elle's interview with the Conversations with Friends cast is released, and when Joe is "asked if he hopes to continue writing songs, Alwyn simply says, “It’s not a plan of mine, no.”" It's possible this means Sweet Nothing was yet to be written, but I think it's more likely Joe was just denying in order to not create hype around a song that wasn't officially announced yet.

May 2022: Taylor teases Labyrinth lyrics in her NYU Commencement Speech and says m i d n i g h t very prominently on this instagram post, meaning by early summer she was likely confident in the album's name and which songs would make the tracklist.

And that's all for this timeline! Check out my others:

TIMELINES: debut • fearless • speak now • red • 1989 • rep • lover • folklore • evermore • midnights PLAYLISTS: debut • fearless • speak now • red • 1989 • rep • lover • folklore • evermore • midnights • entire discography GENERAL: tag

[inprogresspokemon]

#Uhhh - Salazzle are a female-only species of Pokemon that utlize a powerful pheromone to attract and control male Salandits; competitions between Salazzle is decided by which one has amassed the largest reverse harem of underlings. If a Salazzle begins to grow, lighten in color, and develops an unusually provocative behavior, something is clearly wrong because it may in the process of turning into a Basilust, and later a Lovander. Once a Salazzle has begun this transition, is it still even a Pokemon? Is it a Pal? The lines are a bit blurred here. It's advised to keep your distance from this nocturnal creature, which will be begin to actively pursue other species to join their inner circle of attendants.

Named: Salazzle - Basilust - Lovander

This April Fool’s Day addition is featuring my artwork of Lovander, a "Pal" from Pocket Pair's 2024 game Palworld.

Happy April Fools! Previous years: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023

- - - - - - - - - -

Follow for more In-Progress… Palworld Pokemon?? evolutions!

FAQ | Social Media | Pokemon Index | Commission Information

[yurimother]

English License of Viral Yuri Manga 'The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All' Rumored

Sumiko Arai's popular Yuri manga Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta (The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All) is allegedly licensed in English.

This information comes from manga publisher Denpa, which replied to a post on X (formerly Twitter) saying that the series was already licensed but that they could not say who due to legal reasons, as at the time of writing, the license has not been officially announced.

The manga follows high school student Aya Oosawa, a gyaru with an interest in rock music who develops a crush on a "boy" at a music store, not realizing that the "boy" is actually her female classmate Mitsuki Koga. As the girls grow closer at both the music store and at school, Mitsuki works to keep the truth of her two identities a secret.

Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta was initially posted to Twitter in April 2022, where it gained immense popularity for its story and striking visuals, including its use of black, white, and green coloring and character designs. The series is based on a 2021 manga Arai uploaded in 2021, although the original only had a few episodes before the relaunch.

The popularity of the series on Twitter led to Kadokawa picking it up for print publication. The first volume was released in April 2023, and the second in February 2024. The first volume sold over 150,000 copies within the first week of release. Additionally, the series won the 2023 Next Manga Award in the web manga category.

A drama CD is scheduled for release in Japan on March 27. The drama CD features Akari Kitou as Aya, Mariye Ise as Mitsuki, Kenjiro Tsuda, and Tasuku Hatanaka.

If the series is licensed in English, we can hopefully get an official announcement soon.

Sources: Denpa Books Twitter

[day6source]

[Exclusive] DAY6 to make a comeback as a whole group in March

Band DAY6 will return as a whole next month. According to a report by this newspaper on the 16th, DAY6 will make a comeback as a whole in the middle of next month. Currently, DAY6 is filming a new music video ahead of their comeback. DAY6's full-length comeback is more than three years after its 7th mini album "The Book of Us: Negentropy - Chaos Swallow Up in Love," which was released in April 2021. Since the release of the album, DAY6 has completed their military service, with all members entering military service starting with member Sungjin in the same year. They ended their military service in November last year when Wonpil, who joined the team for the last time, was discharged from the military. This comeback is expected to be the first full-length album by DAY6 since the end of their military service. Another reason to look forward to DAY6's comeback is that they have secured a strong fandom and popularity by toppling the charts with songs such as 'You Were Beautiful' and 'Time of Our Life' during their military service. Expectations are high on what kind of music they will perform in their comeback in more than three years, who have built their own musical colors with their own songs.

[imnothereokuwu]

《My Fairy Tail Fanart Collection! (Pt.3)》

May 2021

We skip from March to May! I was pretty busy on April so I didn't draw anything (I remember it was junior high graduation exams back then). So I pretty much went ham on May xD.

Zervis is THE best. If it wasn't for NaLu they'd be my top 1 ship. The 100YQ Beta Heaven chapter gave me LIFE.

There's that one Jerza art I made as a DTIYS entry @/cagysole16 on Instagram! Jerza is my 3rd favorite ship after NaLu and ZerVis.

It's interesting but expected to see some different coloring styles here, I've always loved experimenting. I should do that more actually...

[mariacallous]

The European Union today agreed on the details of the AI Act, a far-reaching set of rules for the people building and using artificial intelligence. It’s a milestone law that, lawmakers hope, will create a blueprint for the rest of the world.

After months of debate about how to regulate companies like OpenAI, lawmakers from the EU’s three branches of government—the Parliament, Council, and Commission—spent more than 36 hours in total thrashing out the new legislation between Wednesday afternoon and Friday evening. Lawmakers were under pressure to strike a deal before the EU parliament election campaign starts in the new year.

“The EU AI Act is a global first,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on X. “[It is] a unique legal framework for the development of AI you can trust. And for the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses.”

The law itself is not a world-first; China’s new rules for generative AI went into effect in August. But the EU AI Act is the most sweeping rulebook of its kind for the technology. It includes bans on biometric systems that identify people using sensitive characteristics such as sexual orientation and race, and the indiscriminate scraping of faces from the internet. Lawmakers also agreed that law enforcement should be able to use biometric identification systems in public spaces for certain crimes.

New transparency requirements for all general purpose AI models, like OpenAI's GPT-4, which powers ChatGPT, and stronger rules for “very powerful” models were also included. “The AI Act sets rules for large, powerful AI models, ensuring they do not present systemic risks to the Union,” says Dragos Tudorache, member of the European Parliament and one of two co-rapporteurs leading the negotiations.

Companies that don’t comply with the rules can be fined up to 7 percent of their global turnover. The bans on prohibited AI will take effect in six months, the transparency requirements in 12 months, and the full set of rules in around two years.

Measures designed to make it easier to protect copyright holders from generative AI and require general purpose AI systems to be more transparent about their energy use were also included.

“Europe has positioned itself as a pioneer, understanding the importance of its role as a global standard setter,” said European Commissioner Thierry Breton in a press conference on Friday night.

Over the two years lawmakers have been negotiating the rules agreed today, AI technology and the leading concerns about it have dramatically changed. When the AI Act was conceived in April 2021, policymakers were worried about opaque algorithms deciding who would get a job, be granted refugee status or receive social benefits. By 2022, there were examples that AI was actively harming people. In a Dutch scandal, decisions made by algorithms were linked to families being forcibly separated from their children, while students studying remotely alleged that AI systems discriminated against them based on the color of their skin.

Then, in November 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, dramatically shifting the debate. The leap in AI’s flexibility and popularity triggered alarm in some AI experts, who drew hyperbolic comparisons between AI and nuclear weapons.

That discussion manifested in the AI Act negotiations in Brussels in the form of a debate about whether makers of so-called foundation models such as the one behind ChatGPT, like OpenAI and Google, should be considered as the root of potential problems and regulated accordingly—or whether new rules should instead focus on companies using those foundational models to build new AI-powered applications, such as chatbots or image generators.

Representatives of Europe’s generative AI industry expressed caution about regulating foundation models, saying it could hamper innovation among the bloc’s AI startups. “We cannot regulate an engine devoid of usage,” Arthur Mensch, CEO of French AI company Mistral, said last month. “We don’t regulate the C [programming] language because one can use it to develop malware. Instead, we ban malware.” Mistral’s foundation model 7B would be exempt under the rules agreed today because the company is still in the research and development phase, Carme Artigas, Spain's Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, said in the press conference.

The major point of disagreement during the final discussions that ran late into the night twice this week was whether law enforcement should be allowed to use facial recognition or other types of biometrics to identify people either in real time or retrospectively. “Both destroy anonymity in public spaces,” says Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at digital rights group Access Now. Real-time biometric identification can identify a person standing in a train station right now using live security camera feeds, he explains, while “post” or retrospective biometric identification can figure out that the same person also visited the train station, a bank, and a supermarket yesterday, using previously banked images or video.

Leufer said he was disappointed by the “loopholes” for law enforcement that appeared to have been built into the version of the act finalized today.

European regulators’ slow response to the emergence of social media era loomed over discussions. Almost 20 years elapsed between Facebook's launch and the passage of the Digital Services Act—the EU rulebook designed to protect human rights online—taking effect this year. In that time, the bloc was forced to deal with the problems created by US platforms, while being unable to foster their smaller European challengers. “Maybe we could have prevented [the problems] better by earlier regulation,” Brando Benifei, one of two lead negotiators for the European Parliament, told WIRED in July. AI technology is moving fast. But it will still be many years until it’s possible to say whether the AI Act is more successful in containing the downsides of Silicon Valley’s latest export.

[thelibraryghost]

A Young Person's Introduction to Late 19th-Century Western Fashion

hello fellow youths

General information Banner, Bernadette. "Exposing Victorian Influencers Who 'Facetuned' Their Photos. (Photo Manipulation was EVERYWHERE)." YouTube. July 17, 2021. English Heritage. "Fashion Through History: Episode 1 – Victorians." YouTube. February 9, 2023. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Fashion // The Fashionable Plus Size Silhouette from 1820-1910." YouTube. June 5, 2021. Victoria and Albert Museum. "100 Years of Fashionable Womenswear: 1830s – 1930s | V&A." YouTube. July 18, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Victorian Fashion Is Not What You Think It Is." YouTube. March 19, 2019.

Accessories Banner, Bernadette. ""Afro-Victorian": Bringing Historical Black Women's Dress into the 21st Century w Cheyney McKnight." YouTube. October 20, 2021. Cox, Abby. "A Fashion Historian Explains the History of the Handbag." YouTube. January 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Dangerous Things in Victorian Pockets : Mens Pocket History." YouTube. March 2, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Controversial History of Color Season Analysis." YouTube. November 4, 2023. Zebrowska, Karolina. "Disgusting and Creepy Victorian Fashion Trends." YouTube. October 17, 2018.

Bustles and hoopskirts Donner, Morgan. "Weirdest Victorian Invention: The Bustle-Chair (and we made one)." YouTube. November 20, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "100 Years of Underwear // The Changing Plus Size Shape from Regency to Victorian to Edwardian." YouTube. May 1, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About Bustles! A Deep Dive into 1870s Fashions." YouTube. December 26, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why were Victorian Hips Controversial?" YouTube. September 12, 2021.

Cosmetics Birchwood, Vasi. "1800s Makeup Is Not What You Think." YouTube. July 21, 2023. English Heritage. "Queen Victoria Makeup Tutorial | History Inspired | Feat. Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth." YouTube. May 20, 2019. Zebrowska, Karolina. "I Used Only Victorian Cosmetics For a Week." YouTube. July 26, 2023.

Fabrics Rudolph, Nicole. "Did Silk Spontaneously Combust in the Victorian Era?" YouTube. August 8, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Elastic." YouTube. July 4, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Truth About Arsenic in the Victorian Era." YouTube. January 24, 2021.

Gowns Bullat, Samantha. "Dress Historian Analyzes Victorian Mourning Clothing of the Mid-19th Century." YouTube. March 14, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "All About 1860's Fashion // What did Civil War-era fashion look like?" YouTube. November 12, 2022. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How did fashion evolve from 1850-1859? // 1850's Fashion Deep Dive." YouTube. October 1, 2022. Rudolph, Nicole. "Victorian Fast Fashion? The Truth about the History of Disposable Clothing." YouTube. February 6, 2022. SnappyDragon. "Were the Pre-Raphaelites painting accurate medieval dress . . . or Victorian fairtytalecore?" YouTube. April 26, 2024. Zebrowska, Karolina. "19th Century Fashion - How To Tell Different Decades Apart?" YouTube. November 17, 2017.

Hair care and styling Banner, Bernadette. "Following a Victorian Home Made Hair Care Routine (1889)." YouTube. September 11, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in an 1888 Daisy Costume // Easy Bustle-Era Hair Tutorial." YouTube. November 13, 2020. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "Getting Dressed in the 1870s & 1874 Hairstyle Tutorial." YouTube. February 23, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "Why did Victorian Women Cut their Hair Short?" YouTube. December 18, 2022. Laundry and housekeeping English Heritage. "A Tour of the Laundry - The Victorian Way." YouTube. September 6, 2019. English Heritage. "How to Wash Up - The Victorian Way." YouTube. March 18, 2021. English Heritage. "Laying the Table at Christmas – The Victorian Way." YouTube. December 14, 2022. Walkley, Christina, and Vanda Foster. Crinolines and Crimping Irons: Victorian Clothes: How They Were Cleaned and Cared for. Peter Owen Limited: London, 1978.

Outerwear and working wear Birchwood, Vasi. "What Irish Working Women Wore in the Late 19th Century | I Made the Clothing of My Irish Ancestors." YouTube. June 23, 2023. English Heritage. "The Real Mrs Crocombe | Part Four: A Victorian Cook's Outfit." YouTube. July 5, 2018. Stowell, Lauren. "It's Hot: Let's Look At Some Bathing Suits." American Duchess. August 18, 2023. Rudolph, Nicole. "The History of Jeans, T-shirts, and Hoodies: Time Travel 101." YouTube. March 20, 2022. Zebrowska, Karolina. "The 1851 Women's Pants That Made The Victorians Go Crazy." YouTube. March 2, 2020.

Shoes Rudolph, Nicole. "100 years of Antique Boots." YouTube. February 10, 2024. Rudolph, Nicole. "How to Make Regency & Victorian Shoes: Beginner Shoemaking." YouTube. June 27, 2021. Rudolph, Nicole. "The Myth of Tiny Feet "Back Then"." YouTube. September 26, 2021.

Undergarments Banner, Bernadette. "I Wore a (Medical) Corset for 5 Years. How do Victorian Corsets Compare?" YouTube. November 7, 2020. Banner, Bernadette. "Making Some Frilly Victorian Underwear || 1890s Combinations." YouTube. February 9, 2019. Birchwood, Vasi. "What Victorians Wore to Bed." YouTube. May 5, 2023. Cox, Abby. "I made weird Victorian underwear (it's a knit onesie) & a pretty 1890s corset || historical sewing." YouTube. March 21, 2021. Lady Rebecca Fashions. "How 8 Different Historical Corsets Affect the Same Plus Size Body." YouTube. December 12, 2020. Rudolph, Nicole. "100 Years of Corset History: How 8 Corsets affect the same body." YouTube. November 29, 2020. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Ladies Stay Warm in Winter? || THE EXPERIMENT." YouTube. January 22, 2021. Zebrowska, Karolina. "How Did Victorian Women Deal With Their Periods?" YouTube. October 17, 2019.

[yyh4ever]

Yoshihiro Togashi Handwritten Letter

Togashi sent a handwritten letter to the idol Yumiko Seki, answering 11 questions. The letter was read aloud in the Iwakura and Yoshizumi's Show, on TV Asahi, on November 14th and 21st, 2023.

There's already a translation of the Q&A by the hunter fandom (please read it), but I want to share my favorite parts and maybe some interesting info that was said during the TV program. You can watch the full version on bilibili. The whole film studio was decorated with Hunter x Hunter manuscripts and figures, and BGM from both versions of the anime was played during the broadcast.

The MCs of the show are two female comedians, Yoshizumi and Iwakura. The guests were Yumiko Seki (former Sakurazaka46); singer Toshiya Miyata (Kis-My-Ft2), a huge Hunter x Hunter fan; and the comedian Shintaro Morimoto (TONTSUKATAN) who read Togashi's letter and served as moderator.

At the beginning of the show, Seki-san revealed she met Togashi in a Sakurazaka46 live concert.

Everyone was shocked to learn she met him face-to-face!

Then, Seki-san showed an autographed shikishi Togashi-sensei gave her when she graduated from Sakurazaka46. (T/N: She announced her graduation on December 13, 2022, and graduated on April 30, 2023 at the Sakurazaka46 3rd TOUR 2023).

Killua: "Graduation is the starting line!!"

It's interesting to add that Killua is Seki's favorite character and orange & white were her penlight colors, also her favorite colors. That's why Togashi drew Killua holding a bouquet of orange and white flowers.

Miyata joked that he will make sure that everyone knows he loves Hunter x Hunter by the time he graduates from Kis-My-Ft2 boy band. Morimoto told him "don't graduate just to get a shikishi" (LOL).

By the way, Miyata loves Kurapika, so I hope Togashi gives him a Kurapika shikishi one day :P

Here's Togashi's huge letter!

Before reading sensei's answers, they anticipated the huge success of the show, and came up with the hashtag #冨樫先生からのお手紙 (letter from Togashi-sensei).

It was a success indeed, trending all over social media.

Then, Morimoto started to read the Q&A.

The second question was about the Hunter x Hunter character setting. Before reading the answer, they showed a Togashi's memo containing a detailed timeline of each character that he uses in order to develop the story without creating any contradictions. There's a timeline of the Chimera Ant Arc, and a table of the princes' entourage, allowing Togashi to distinguish them. He even drew characters that didn't appear.

Miyata left his seat and came closer to the monitor, so he could see the memo better. He's a crazy HxH stan just like us.

This material is actually from Jump Ryu's booklet (2016). You can also watch the Jump Ryu video with subs on YouTube, where Togashi explains better how this character table works.

Here's the part of the answer Togashi talks about Killua's inspirations. I am a huge fan of MDP Psycho!

The author of "Toy-y", Atsushi Kamijo, thanked Togashi on his Twitter. He also wrote that he loves Level-E.

When answering question 4, we found out Togashi-sensei watched Sakurazaka46 New Year's special feature in 2021, when Seki-san asked for the complete set of Hunter × Hunter.

But, because Togashi-sensei is such an introvert, he thought he would make her feel uncomfortable by actually sending it. It took him two years to finally decide to send it.

Miyata laughed so hard, saying: "Togashi-sensei is such an otaku!!" (LOL)

Seki-san confirmed Togashi really sent the Hunter × Hunter set to her ^^

The 5th question was about Togashi's favorite nen ability. Seki-san and Miyata also shared their favorite type of nen.

Seki-san loves Killua, thus she likes transmutation. She also likes Hisoka's analysis about nen, and thinks Killua fits his description about transmuters perfectly.

As for Miyata, he loves Kurapika, therefore he likes the conjurer type. He remembered that in order to conjurer chains, Kurapika had to imagine, touch, draw, and even licked real chains.

He was curious if Goreinu, a character that appears in Greed Island, had to do something similar and touch gorillas in order to be able to materialize them.

Miyata is a crazy HxH fan, he came up with many curious tidbits and did a deep analysis of the series. It's not confirmed in the manga or any databook if Goreinu is really a conjurer, but I really liked his point of view.

Question 7 about Meruem's final moments was really touching. After hearing Miyata's explanation about Meruem and Kogumi, Iwakura almost started crying.

Tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw the double spread of Meruem's final moments.

The funny thing is, at the beginning of the show, she told us she had only read the first chapter.

So, Morimoto joked: "Why did you have to stop at volume 1!!?" XD

Morimoto also revealed that Togashi-sensei's favorite scene is Meruem and Kogumi double spread.

Question 8, what does Togashi do on his days off? Morimoto asked Seki-san's opinion. She imagines Togashi having mandarin oranges on a kotatsu table, and talking to cats on the porch.

T/N: Eating oranges while sitting around a kotatsu table is a japanese tradition during the winter.

Togashi didn't mention anything like that in his answer, but there's an interview with Naoko Takeuchi (WITH magazine, May 2022) where she says, "We have been married for over 20 years. Although we have small fights sometimes, my husband is extremely kind and quiet, like a hermit (...) The house we have lived for 20 years is also a place of healing. Sometimes we have meals or tea in the garden". So, I can totally picture Togashi-sensei eating oranges in the winter and talking to cats.

Togashi-sensei stated he is the type of person who always has sound playing while he is working, just like Yoshizumi-san. She was happy she was acknowledged in his letter!

The question 9 was about manga that Togashi-sensei found interesting recently. Miyata remembered that Togashi had wrote a recommendation on the obi of Kimestu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) volume 4, praising the series. I had completely forgotten Togashi loves Demon Slayer!

In his letter, Togashi-sensei wrote he couldn't give the name of the series he's currently into, since he would get criticized. But he left some clues. Yoshimizu said the crazy amount of ッッッ (small tsu) used in his answer was maybe a keyword, and that the fans would probably figure it out. She had no idea what manga he was talking about, though.

Togashi-sensei also wrote this manga is a true story published in 2023. So, many fans came up with the Autobiography of Keisuke Itagaki (author of Grappler Baki): an autobiographical manga depicting the harsh life experienced by Keisuke Itagaki in the "JGSDF 1st Airborne Brigade" that consumed his youth!

I started reading it, and the author really loves to use "ッッッ" at the end of the sentences. I don't think it's the kind of content I would recommend to an idol like Seki-san. Anyway, I don't know whether that's the correct answer or not, but it seems so.

The manga that Togashi-sensei ended up recommending was "Oi! Tombo". It has been serialized in Weekly Golf Digest since 2014. An anime is also scheduled to premiere in 2024. I was happy to see that the Golf Digest X Account mentioned his letter!

Seki-san was introduced to an unexpected golf manga, but she immediately became interested, saying, "I really want to read it'' and "I want to buy it right away.'' I guess we all felt that way. I'm definitely watching the anime!

The 10th question was about the ending! The reaction of the guests and MCs when Morimoto read there's an Ending D in case Togashi-sensei dies was priceless.

Before Morimoto could read the "Ending D", Miyata recalled he went to watch the Hunter × Hunter movie "Phantom Rouge", and received a copy of Volume 0. He grabbed it, and showed the Q&A with Togashi-sensei, highlighting Question 4: What will end up happening to Kurapika and the Phantom Troupe? A: "They will all die."

He was really looking forward to knowing the ending of Hunter × Hunter, but not this one (LOL). Morimoto and Miyata were too nervous, they took a sip to calm down before reading the "Ending D Pattern".

The final question was about the amount of text in volume 37. Miyata commenting that his answer also had an incredible amount of text made me laugh so hard. It was a huge answer indeed.

Togashi's last words were:

"Words are da best!" (Words rule/Nothing can beat words/Only words wins/ whatever sounds better in english).

Everyone laughed so hard, because this is actually a slang used by young people or fandom to say someone or something is the best. He wrote the letter in polite japanese, it was fun he ended it with a slang. By the way, Togashi-sensei loves slang, specially fandom unique vocabulary, as he usually uses it Hunter x Hunter. He's a fan of Keyakizaka46/Sakurazaka46 after all.

Miyata was excited to hear that Togashi-sensei himself is "bugged", which makes him want to continue reading HxH even more. One thing that caught Miyata's attention during this final question was the part Togashi-sensei mentioned he needs to settle many issues during the voyage of the Black Whale ship. Actually, the word "settlement" (解決) captured the attention of many fans, as they posted a lot about that on social media.

Miyata thought about people on board the ship whose fates needs a resolution. He wondered if this was about Kurapika and The Phantom Troupe since the conditions to what Togashi-sensei said in volume 0 (everyone's gonna die) are right there to happen soon.

He showed his Volume 0 again. LOL, I hope Togashi-sensei was just joking.

Of course, let's not forget that are many other unfinished business that needs a solution in this arc, we have a whole succession to the throne war in motion. But, Miyata was really hyped about Kurapika and volume 0.

The show ended with a big thanks and bow to Togashi-sensei!

Miyata said he has been reading HxH for more than 20 years, since he was in elementary school. No matter how old he is, he still gets excited about it! He loves Hunter × Hunter!

Morimoto asked Seki-san to say some final words to Togashi-sensei. Besides showing all her love for Hunter × Hunter, Seki-san was really cute and asked Togashi-sensei to take really good care of his health!

That's it, sorry for being like Togashi-sensei and writing too much. Although my posts are more about Yu Yu Haksuho, I feel I needed to address his letter too. I didn't take the Ending D too serious, since it was discarded. However, I think it was a cute closing to HxH. Like Miyata-said, everything went back to the beginning, The Whale Island where it all started.

I just want Togashi-sensei to live long and write his favorite ending!

There were other interesting parts, like Seki-san telling Togashi-sensei to make a DVD BOX of the TV show. In the end, everyone wanted to make one ^^ (me too). It is a really precious letter. I hope Seki-san frames it and make an altar :P

Thank you very much, Togashi-sensei!

[odinsblog]

The Justice Department has had a pattern or practice investigation ongoing into the Louisville Police Department since April 2021.

The federal charges against officer Joshua Jaynes, former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett and officer Kyle Meany allege that they violated Taylor's 4th Amendment rights when they sought a warrant to search Taylor's home while knowing they lacked probable cause, and that they knew their affidavit supporting the contained false and misleading information and omitted other material information, resulting in her death. Goodlett and Jaynes have been charged with conspiracy for allegedly falsifying the affidavit for a search warrant, according to the justice department.

The federal charges allege that police officers falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Taylor's home and that this act violated federal civil rights laws, resulting in her death. Former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett and officer Joshua Jaynes have been charged with conspiracy for allegedly falsifying the affidavit for a search warrant, according to the justice department.

Charges have also been filed against Brett Hankison a former Louisville Metro Police officer who was involved in the death of Breonna Taylor. Hankison has been charged in a two-count indictment for deprivation of rights under color of law, both of which are civil rights offenses.

"We share, but we cannot fully imagine, the grief felt by Breonna Taylor's loved ones and all of those affected by the events of March 13, 2020. Breonna Taylor should be alive today," Garland said during a press conference.

👉🏿 https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-announces-charges-connection-raid-killed-breonna-taylor/story?id=87926113

[eregyrn-falls-art]

Here's my 2023 Art Year in Review!

Oof. Yeah, not a great year for output. As you can tell by my having to put in some photos I took for May and October, since I didn't have any drawn art for those months. What I used for January and Sept. is definitely fudging things (in a "hmm close enough" way.)

So, here's the damage: 15 pieces total (all but one full background and color); 54 individuals.

BUT.

I'm not going to be super hard on myself, because this year is when I organized a big fan project that I'd been wanting to see get done for years and years -- the "Trouble" multi-artist lyric comic. (Art here, video version here by the amazing @stariousfalls.) As I've said before, absolutely awesome seeing 72 people step up wanting to do a big GF fan project in 2024! I was truly blown away by what a spectacular job everyone did.

And while I'm noting some of the stuff I can feel good about, I was happy to finish the Stan Twins meet the Jersey Devil comic that I'd also been meaning to finish for years.

So, not a great year personally, but some things to feel satisfied about.

Saying it here: my new year's resolution is just to DRAW SOMETHING in every month. Even just one thing!

Links below the cut.

2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

(For this year's images, I am in the process of updating the original posts with image descriptions in the image ALT text. I should have all of them done by the end of tomorrow, January 4th.)

January: Fiddleford as Disney Mirrorverse Kermit

February: GF Finale 7th Anniversary

March: Not What He Seems 8th Anniversary

April: DTIYS: Mystery Farm AU Stan and Jackie

May: (a photo I took of a sunset that I didn't even post, lol)

June: The Pines family and Paul Bunyan Day

July: My Portal Ford page for the "Trouble" lyric comic

August: A pinch-hit Stan page for the "Trouble" lyric comic (collab with @stephreynaart)

September: My polaroid for the "Trouble" lyric comic

October: Sunset photo from LBI in October

November: Fiddleford Friday - father and son fishing

December: The Pines family around a Winter Solstice campfire

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