yngercreep

[esse-lunam]

an introduction to: my 90s fame dr!

please read this god please there's art in here also ive put 5+ months of work into this dr at this point so i swear that there's interesting shit in here yall I SWEAR I AM NICHE.

reblogs greatly appreciated! this took me forever teehee

ohhh my god this is a long time in the making, ive put this off for so, so long and i really couldn't tell you why. this can act as a script me into ur dr post if you like as well!

for starters, you can find my pinterest board for this dr here :3 just in case u want some cool visuals i guess :3

-

so lets get the basics outta the way shall we?

full name: marley jo veitch

nicknames: mar, marley barley, mars bars, tink (reserved for s/o), living poet (public figure nickname type deal? yknow how stevie nicks gets called the white witch? yeah that)

pronouns: they/she

DOB: june 1st, 1970 (which makes me a gemini btw!)

occupation: musician (piano, violin, guitar n bass, some drums, and saxophone), poet, author (fiction and nonfiction), actor on occasion, also a comedian that one time

skills: all things music + writing basically, film analysis, pop culture analysis i guess, home decor, drawing, fashion?, and being the most autistic person in the multiverse

appearance stats: 5'3", 145ish lbs, long brownish-reddish hair with some light brown highlights in there, sorta wavy but barely

body mods: COVERED in tats (theres a tattoo section on the pinterest board but i also drew some so), septum piercing, snake bites, and a fair few ear piercings. and also i have glasses but thats not a body mod thats just a thing on my body.

"workin and workin't? you have a job?" more on that later!

-

relationships and such! with photos!

s/o: robert sean leonard

"hey, do i recognise this guy?" you might! he played notable roles such as neil perry in dead poet's society, claudio in much ado about nothing, and james wilson in house md!

best friends: dylan kussman, allelon ruggiero, alexandra powers, and kimya dawson

"do i recognise more of these people?" again, probably! dylan, al, and alex were all in dead poets society, and kimya is a musician best known for her indie songs, some featured in the movie juno!

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my career! (oh good lord)

writing based - undedicated musings

(1986-1993)

alright so this is a bit hard to explain, bear with me. undedicated musings is an anonymous newsletter-based poetry... publication? run by me, under the pen name 'chartreuse', and the whole shtick is that i write poetry, love letters, and whatever else to the person i'll end up spending my life with, but the recipient of said writings is completely unknown, even to me, so im kinda just writing to nobody. until! i actually set my eyes on someone (obviously rsl) and then the writings start to get a bit more specific and yearn-y and personal. since the recipient is anonymous, all the writings are written for a 'vermillion'. both chartreuse and vermillion's identities are revealed when we get married in 1993. and no, rsl doesn't know that i'm chartreuse, nobody does until i reveal myself. i think its kinda cool :3

film based - dead poet's society

(1988-1989)

so for starters, i was part of the crew that worked on the set of dead poets society, now all my friends (except kimya, her and i become friends in the late 90s) make sense! my actual job on set is kind of a vague be-here-and-do-a-bit-of-everything type deal, so there's no set title beyond "assistant to lead" even tho it's essentially government assigned 'friendship' LMAO. but! me and the cast get on like a house on fire, so i kinda just get to tag along on their wacky teenage-ish boy adventures. this totally does not stem from a desire to be part of a teenage boy friend group, and i am, in fact, totally cisgender. i am also lying. anyway, without going into too much detail, me and my s/o-not-yet-s/o (will be referring to him as rsl from this point on) sorta have a painstakingly long will they wont they type deal, because i guess i like torturing myself. we meet a day before all the actual film stuff starts just as a sort of preliminary get to know eachother because you'll be in close proximity VERY often for months. thats some time in march - june-ish? of 1988 (i shift to my dr the day before!) and we don't actually get together until june of 1989. so.

also! some changes to the movie because i can make those: knox overstreet is now played by matthew lillard instead of josh charles, because josh charles is a fucking zionist and i dont want to associate with him in any reality! knox also isnt a b plot to the movie at all, instead focusing on meeks and pitts because i find them much more interesting! and also knox's b plot is creepy as hell! also, the racism against natives (read this!) is completely gone! no thanks!

music based - MAURZI

(1988-2004 technically)

strap in boys because this is the main event of this dr and the lore is VAST. MAURZI (must be spelled in all caps, like MF DOOM) is a sort of musical person/character i've made to tell the story of via a series of albums. i release my first single in october of 1988 titled "lunarian", which is a fun little song about a being from the moon arriving on earth and having some inter-planetary culture shock. and thats the only song i've actually planned! i release 6 total albums that map out the MAURZI storyline kinda

- MAURZI (1989)

- GONE TO SHIT! (1991)

- Charmed (1992)

- I found Him in Santa Barbara (1995)

- Waterworks (1998)

- also bibliography (2004) but those are released as songs By Me and not MAURZI, just released under the same artist. MAURZI storyline ends with Waterworks.

now here's where you get the very extensive MAURZI lore. MAURZI is a sort of alternate-universe representation of me, where in i'm much more famous than i actually am in my dr, and i am absolutely RUINED by my fame in a fuck ton of ways. each album is a different section of her life so i'll explain it album by album. also for reference, in my dr capitalism/ currency isnt a thing, but in the MAURZI... verse? it is. because i like anti capitalist art! same goes for most other media im in/ participate in, actually. MAURZI uses she/her pronouns btw, i dont.

MAURZI - my self-titled album is about as close and personal to my life as i'll get, which an average amount because i still throw in some songs about shit that i have not at all done/ experienced. (ex. songs about cheating, toxic relationships, and things along those lines. thankfully ive had a mostly healthy relationship with relationships! except that one time!) MAURZI is new to the music scene but she's here to make some lovely tunes to help process some stuff! artists im taking inspiration from include (but are not limited to): sarah kinsley, dodie, jeff buckley, tv girl, mitski, and peach pit.

GONE TO SHIT! - MAURZI's first album blew the fuck up! now she's thrown into the midst of dealing with an incomprehensible amount of attention on her at all times, which she was absolutely not prepared for. what does she do to cope? sex drugs and rock n roll, baby! she also gets addicted to 2 outta those 3 things! can you guess which ones?? now, obviously, this album is entirely fictional and is only tangentially inspired by some life events, heavy emphasis on the tangentially. artists im taking inspiration from include (but are not limited to): the nonstick pans, panic! at the disco, forest, david bowie, chappel roan, and king gizzard & the lizard wizard.

Charmed - the love song album! this is basically comprised of songs i sorta wrote about rsl, but changed up a fuck ton because i wrote them while i was pining and did Not want him to knkw who they were about. in terms of MAURZI stuff, she meets someone just after deciding that she's gotta clean up her act if she wants to exist healthily. recovering alongside a loved one and them being a motivator for recovery! now i should specify here that MAURZI's s/o is not the same as mine, and is entirely gender neutral/ doesn't even have a canon(?) human appearance at all. they're named Vermillion because we love a callback! artists im taking inspiration from include (but are not limited to): the smiths, siouxsie and the banshees, james blake, queen, laufey, and her's.

I found Him in Santa Barbara - yknow how when a banana ripens too much and it starts to tuen brown? yeah imagine that logic but applied to recovery, i guess. NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO REITERATE THAT MAURZI AND I ARE TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND MAURZI IS JUST A CHARACTER. essentially MAURZI had a spiritual awakening and "found god." but what that ACTUALLY means is that she started viewing vermillion as a sort of god? but she's keeping it on the down low (making an album about it) because she doesn't want vermillion to thing she's CRINGE. themes of loving a god, being IN love with a god, being in lust with a god, temporarily thinking youre a god? stuff along those lines. its a bit intense, VERY experimental and.. heavy? both in themes and in musical style for some portions. this is my fav album out of all of them if you couldnt tell. artists im taking inspiration from include (but are not limited to): sleep token, WILLOW, type o negative, slipknot, lemon demon (specifically songs off spirit phone), hozier, violent vira, pierce the veil, gorillaz kinda, bjork, kate bush, deftones, destroy boys, and rammstein probably.

Waterworks - so yknow how MAURZI was having a whole trouble with god moment? yeah well thats gone now, no i haven't figured out how that'll work narratively, thats for me to figure out in like 10 years from now (now being 1988, naturally.) we've returned to our self-titled roots in terms of musical style! now we've just got some fun themes of trauma and such! and then that's the and of MAURZI as a character story wise, as i said earlier the album after this one is just a Me album. same artist inspo as self titled!

and guess what! music lore isnt even fuckin done! my music in this dr is a multiverse in itself goddamn. so basically the album covers for each album tell a completely seperate story about a completely seperate alter ego/ character/ whatever named Moonzi. name given by my audience (which is my excuse for coming up with such a shitty name and then keeping it.) the story of moonzi, without going into too much detail because i dont wanna type it all out, is a sci-fi type story about a being from the moon (lunarian callback!) on a quest to bring this space artifact back to its original place, basically. a bit more on it later, emphasis on a bit. also! each album cover is drawn by a different artist, and each album artist animates one official music video off their respective album, just cuz i like art and stuff! those music videos kinda follow the moonzi storyline loosely, but incorporate MAURZI elements. is this confusing? hope not. drawings!

writing based - novels

can you believe im still not done? like not even close? certified yapper. anyway! my 3 fiction novels (Manchester, NH - 1991, Curator Rye, 1997, Sand Dollars + Pearls - 2008) are about my ocs basically! thats it really, i dont feel the need to share the plots of those tbh.

writing based - autobiographies

two? yep! one is a fictional autobiography about MAURZI (MAURZI - 1999) and one is a non fictional autobiography about me (Radio Free Marley - 2012.) take a shot every time i say MAURZI and you will need to get your stomach pumped. she just. she means a lot to me :3

film based - doctor who

(1994-1999)*

*these dates are when im on the show btw, not its total runtime, same applies to other cr existing shows.

big disclaimer: never seen doctor who. dont know the plot, dont know which doctor i'm gonna be, i just wanna be in it.

so! my version of the doctor is kinda weird. its one doctor, but played by two people, but theyre one person. we're both the doctor. and by we i mean both me and rsl, obviously. the viewer sees the doctor as two different people, but NOBODY ELSE IN THE DAMN SHOW besides our little companion buddy guy (played by my cr friend fish!) SEES, ACKNOWLEDGES, OR IS ABLE TO VIEW THE DOCTOR AS TWO PEOPLE. its really complicated and i really did not have to make it that way, but its cool to me so i really dont care. also we're breakjng the doctor who cycle of boring suit and tie (this is NOT about you 15 <3) and going steampunk-esque. again, cuz i wanna.

film based - house md

(2005 - 2010)

marley veitch be in a show without rsl challenge (failed.) i play a character i made up named Nanette Amesbury who is essentially wilson's first ex wife. does he have a canon first ex wife? think so (i actually havent finished house oops.) do i care? you can take a guess. nanette (nicknamed ninny - which im well aware means dumb) is the director of the pediatrics department at princeton plainsboro and she kinda has a fwb type deal with wilson before figuring out shes a lesbian, having a crush on cuddy, being besties with kutner, then leaving the show in season 6. (zeth if ur reading this yes i made her show up for more than 2 seconds she just. means so much to me. also i want cudbury content.) im also a writer for the show so im there for its entire run time :3 i really like this show :3

film based - moonzi

(2016)

YEAHHHHH BABY SHES BACK!!! moonzi's storyline gets adapted into an adult swim animated tv show! i do screenwriting, stiryboarding, and voice acting! style wise, think teen titans mixed with bojack horseman mixed with archer. sick space visuals also!

comedy based - dying art

(2020)

idk i wanted to do a standup special! dunno what it's about. ill leave that up to future me to decide because this isn't happening for 32 damn years and i really just dont wanna come up with a standup special rn.

film based - radio free marley

(whenever)

i wanted a biopic, but i wanted it to be both about me and MAURZI, and how points in my life influenced or inspire songwriting. so the episode structure is like

ep 1: about me, point in my life

ep 2: about MAURZI, point in her life thats sorta related but not entirely to the events in ep 1

ep 3: about me, point in my life

ep 4: about MAURZI, point in her life thats sorta related but not entirely to the events in ep 3

ep 5: you get the idea

and then this goes on for 12 episodes and ends with the MAURZI story wrapping up and with me sorta retiring kinda. dont know when it'll be made, probably at some point in my 60s or whatever. im permashifting if you couldnt tell btw.

and thats it! after all this im just kinda existing and living life and whatever else. so with that outta the way i'll list some fun facts and i'll FINALLY BE DONE JESUS CHRIST IVE BEEN WRITING THIS FOR LIKE 3 HOURS.

- i live in new york city! manhattan to be specific

- i also have a lake house in new hampshire because i Need to be in a rural area at some points

- my house's interior design is very 70s themed and its WHIMSICAL AND FUN! maximalism, whimsigoth, nooks and crannys to be in, fun and varied seating options, conversation pit, loft bedroom, whole 9 yards. ive also got a gazebo on my roof!

- i have 2 siblings in my dr (not here im an only child in my cr womp womp) named lia and monty, theyre my best friends in my cr!

- ive also got a cat! she's a ragdoll kitty named yvonne, shes a sweetheart!

- i scripted out light pollution so the sky is all pretty at night, highly recommend you do the same

- im in STOMP at one point, dont know or care when, i just wanna be in it

- robin williams........... he is a father figure to me................ sniff sob

- yes i scripted out his death i simply cannot deal with that

- PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND WALKABLE SOCIETY!!!!! NO MORE CAR BASED US SOCIEY WOOOO!!!

- i cant fucking believe i havent mentioned this yet but im scottish?? im not scottish in my cr i was just thinking about david tennant when i was forming the dr idea back in january and it stuck. MAURZI is american tho

- hilson is canon in my dr LMAOAOOA

- thats all i got

sweet lord in heaven above if you've read this whole thing im giving u a big kiss. this is so long and i really dont wanna proofread it so im not gonna, excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes.

[daisyishedwig]

Chapter 8 is up!

A Place to Call Home (19842 words) by Daisyishedwig Chapters: 8/20 Fandom: Glee Rating: Explicit Warnings: Rape/Non-Con Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Sebastian Smythe, Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel/Sebastian Smythe, Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel, Blaine Anderson & Sam Evans, Jeff/Nick the Warbler (Glee), Unique Adams/Trent (Warbler) Characters: Blaine Anderson, Sebastian Smythe, Kurt Hummel, Sam Evans (Glee), Nick the Warbler (Glee), Jeff (Glee), Trent (Glee), Tina Cohen-Chang, Marley Rose, Unique Adams, Sebastian Smythe's Parents, Burt Hummel, Carole Hudson-Hummel, Eli.C (Glee) Additional Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Angst, Depression, Panic Attacks, Dubious Consent, Statutory Rape, Lack of Communication, Homelessness, Seblaine Roommates, Fix-It of Sorts, Polyamory, Blaine is kicked out, Hurt/Comfort, Blaine Anderson-centric, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Blaine transfer to Dalton, Friends to Lovers, disowned Blaine Anderson, trigger warnings listed in the notes on specific chapters as well Series: Part 1 of A Place to Call Home Summary: In a matter of days Blaine's whole world falls apart and everything he does to try and stay afloat only seems to make matters worse. A call to Sebastian Smythe is his last resort, and maybe the one that actually starts to make things better.

Chapter snippet below the cut

Sebastian settled himself on the floor where he could hear Blaine behind him, talking oh-so-quietly to Marley. He strained his ears to hear what was being said as he worked the controller in his hands, but he could barely make anything out besides a reassuring tone. He tried to lose himself in the game, but it was only two races later when Blaine settled himself on the floor beside Sebastian. He reached across to grab the bottle of wine, filling his own glass and then offering a sip to Sebastian. 

Sebastian avoided his gaze as he took the proffered drink, pretending to be very focused on his driving and like he wasn’t hyper aware of exactly how close Blaine was sitting. Their sides were pressed flush from shoulder to hip, and the way Blaine had his knee propped up, his leg was half on top of Sebastian’s. Every point of contact felt electric and Sebastian knew all too well that while the alcohol hadn’t hit him quite yet, he really needed to be careful if he wanted to keep himself under control.

Blaine propped his elbow on his knee, pressing his leg more firmly into Sebastian’s thigh. He watched the game, casually sipping his wine. “Are you really playing as Bowser?” he questioned, side-eying Sebastian. 

“That’s just who Trent was playing as, I didn’t get to choose when he decided to go flirt,” he said the last part loud enough for Trent and all three girls who were now deep in conversation to hear.

“Bowser is Thicc Boy Solidarity!” Trent shouted back.

[clouseplayssims]

Oregon Trail TS3 Sim Narrowdown

Cut for length.

The Altos

"An utterly ruthless businessman, Nick Alto, along with his wife, has plotted the misfortune of almost everyone they've met."

"As charming as she is unscrupulous, it is highly unfortunate for all of the town that Vita Alto is a politician with any sort of power."

"Holly somehow managed to develop the polar opposite moral code of her parents and is constantly striving to turn them to good."

The Clavells

"Bessie lives modestly with her husband and grown son. She mostly stays home and takes care of her men. She is somewhat of a wallflower and others sometimes take advantage of her."

"Buster has had a full life, but now he just wants some peace and quiet. The only problem is that his grown son is still living at home and always seeming to create a racket."

"Xander still lives at home with his parents. He's a grown man who likes to party and have a good time; he's in no hurry to face life out on his own. And why move out if he's not even planning to get married?"

The Hansons

"Larry will do anything to make his family happy. Can he keep up with Shauna's elitist needs?"

(No other descriptions provided.)

The Harts

"Bebe Hart has a hard time as the only responsible person in the entire Hart lineage. It's no secret in the neighborhood that both of her parents are slightly insane, so Bebe feels that the neighbors' eyes have been scrutinizing her for ages, just waiting to see if she'll crack too."

"Dorie doesn't seem to have goals. Her clothes don't match and she seems to prefer odd hairstyles. She's friendly and enjoys company, but isn't always on the same page as everybody else; some suspect she may have some mental issues."

"Although Gus acts childishly and somewhat oddly, he is charismatic and very family-oriented."

The Idahos

"Running the town's newspaper has been Irwin's passion, but he's looking forward to retiring soon. He wished Marie was more interested in books if for no other reason than to improve her grades."

"Georgia enjoys her friendship with her husband but thinks he doesn't spend enough time at home with Marie and herself."

"Marie would rather run around outside and play in the mud than be cooped up all day with a book! Books are great and all, but they just are not what Marie looks forward to in life."

The Keatons

"Top-notch police woman, Justine has to control her hot-hotheadedness at work. Will becoming a mother help her to have more patience?"

"An all-around great guy, Marty's one drawback is that he is somewhat neurotic. He doesn't think it interferes with his life too much, though, so how would having a baby in the house be any different?"

"If the pregnancy is left alone, the baby tends to be born a boy, with the virtuoso and loves the outdoors traits. The baby will be born with dark skin, like the parents. However, the hair can be either brown or black, depending on who it is inherited from."

The Lums

"Lawrence Lum is a bright, friendly teen with outgoing parents. Will he take after his computer whiz father or social climbing mother?"

(No other descriptions provided.)

The Monroes

"Herger hopes to follow in his dad's footsteps and start a career in law enforcement after graduation. But he keeps that from his mother so she won't worry about it. For now, he's just happy to have fun playing with his brother."

"Marcella Monroe is still grieving the loss of her husband. At least she is blessed with two well behaved boys who are always ready to help her around the house."

"Randy shares his mother's love a good book. He's happy his best friend and brother Herger is their to help him take care of their mom."

The Wainwrights

"Blair Wainwright, youngest member of the household, was an only child and somewhat of a loner, so she's a fish out of water living with five strangers. Is she a fool to think that her brains alone can see her through difficult times?"

"Boyd spends his work day sitting at a messy desk, typing away at a computer. He spends his days off at home sitting in a messy living room, typing away at a computer."

"The only thing that keeps Susan working such long hours is that she likes having expendable Simoleons to spend on all her toys!"

The Williams

"Aimee Williams is a marvel in the kitchen, but her husband Marley is a bit of a dreamer. Will he be able to support the two of them and little Malika, or will Aimee have to use her skills to earn some dough?"

(No other descriptions provided.)

[whatilistenedtoatwork]

Last 100 Songs on my Radio Show

Around a year ago, I was invited to make a weekly radio show by a friend who had set up an online radio station. A year on, the radio station has now ceased to be. Here's a list of the last 100 songs I played on my show.

The Mountain Goats – This Year

Boogie Down Productions – My Philosophy

Aphex Twin – Windowlicker

Bob Dylan – Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands

Grandmaster Flash – White Lines

Big Daddy Kane – Ain’t No Half-Steppin’

Nirvana – All Apologies

The Shirelles – Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

Belle & Sebastian – The Boy With The Arab Strap

Junior Murvin – Police & Thieves

The Magnetic Fields – I Don’t Want To Get Over You

They Might Be Giants – I’ve Got A Match

Sleaford Mods – Five Pound Sixty

Digable Planets – Where I’m From

Johnny Cash – One

The Ronettes – Be My Baby

Jurassic 5 – Jayou

Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – Happy

The Mama’s & The Papa’s – Monday Monday

Tom Waits – Downtown Train

Funkadelic – (Not Just) Knee Deep

American Music Club – Johnny Mathis’ Feet

Pop Will Eat Itself – Get The Girl, Kill The Baddies

Alice Cooper – Big Apple Dreamin’

Snippet – Today I’m Gonna Be Happy

The Supremes – Baby Love

Electric Light Orchestra – 10538 Overture

Siouxsie & The Banshees – Peek-A-Boo

Planxty – The Good Ship Kangaroo

Dementio13 – Granadaland

The Faces – Stay With Me

The Crystals – Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)

Underworld – Born Slippy (Nuxx)

The Wonder Stuff – Circlesquare

Andy Breckman – So Far So Good

Eric Matthews – Fanfare

Leon Rosselson – Harry’s Gone Fishing

Slade – Everyday

Squeeze – Tempted

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Ship Song

Stereolab – Cybele’s Reverie

Royce Da 5’9” – Power

Serge Gainsbourg – Intials B.B.

Fatima Mansions – The Door To Door Inspector

Roy Bailey – Rolling Home

Terry Hall – No No No

Suede – Metal Mickey

Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back In Town

Royskopp – Eple

The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry

Whodini – The Haunted House Of Rock

Billy Bragg – Tank Park Salute

The Temptations – My Girl

The La’s  - There She Goes

Roy Orbison – Only The Lonely

The Beach Boys – God Only Knows

June Tabor & The Oyster Band – Love Will Tear Us Apart

Queen – Killer Queen

Mary Wells – My Guy

The Rutles – Another Day

The Vaselines – Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam

Lindisfarne – Meet Me On The Corner

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (Live, Olympia, Paris, 1995)

David Bowie – Starman

Daft Punk – Around The World

Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through The Grapevine

The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Waiting In Vain

Buffalo Tom – Late At Night

Eric Bogle & John Munro – Bloody Rotten Audience

Oasis – Sad Song

Flight Of The Conchords – Carol Brown

Kurtis Blow – 8 Million Stories

Kate Rusby – The Radio Sweethearts

Fatboy Slim – Rockafeller Skank

The Zombies – This Will Be Our Year

The Bluetones – Bluetonic

Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – My Wife & My Dead Wife

Ray Charles – Hit The Road, Jack

Picturebox – I Got The Pox

A Tribe Called Quest – Scenario

Led Zeppelin – Gallows Pole

Weird Al Yankovic – You Don’t Love Me Anymore

Badly Drawn Boy – Promises

The Prodigy – Voodoo People

Massive Attack – Teardrop

Tindersticks – Marbles

Chas & Dave – Ain’t No Pleasing You

The Fall – I Am Damo Suzuki

The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset

XTC – Senses Working Overtime

Steeleye Span – Dark Eyed Sailor

New York Dolls – Trash

Arctic Monkeys – Mardy Bum

Run The Jewels – Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)

Sharon Shannon – The Diamond Mountain

The Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever

The Stranglers – Duchess

The Eagles – Journey Of The Sorcerer

Fairport Convention – Meet On The Ledge

[han-bou]

Hi everybody !

Let's talk about the relationship between Levi Ackerman and Hange Zoe

Everything mentioned below is canon.

As we can see, they are very close and know each other very well, even surpassing the phase of best friends.

And we can also see them always next to rach other, Whether during or outside of work, in good or bad times.

It is said by isayama that levi once tried to kill himself but was stopped by hange and erwin.

Also, when levi arrived at the Survey Corps with his friends, Hange was the first one to be kind and spontaneous with them, to the point of leaving Levi surprised by her upbeat and energetic attitude (choice with no regrets manga)

And let's not forget the fact that levi often knocks hange unconscious, so he can bathe and clean her (hange's interview), so he saw her many times naked since he is the one bathing her.

Now let's see levi's reactions whenever he sees hange around another guy (except Erwin and Moblit)

When she was trying to get information out of pastor Nick :

And when they captured Nicholas, she tried to negotiate with the Marley soldiers :

We can clearly see that levi is somehow jealous and angry at the way hange behaves with them, even going so far as to touch them in front of him.

Levi and Hange are very important to each other, they are always worried and scared when one of them is in danger :

Hange even protected him with her body, risked her life and escaped with him from Zeke, Floch and the yeagerist.

Levi is known to be a cold, serious and intimidant person, no one dares to respond or argue with him, But with hange, it's different, she gives him back his shit jokes with more shit jokes, she changes his plans for Eren without asking him, and he just lets her get away with it without saying anything, He knows it's her just by the way she knocks the door, they always drink tea together in their break, she's the only one that he allows to touch him, once, he grabbed her by her hair and bring her closer to him (her hair being known as canonically greasy, he does'nt care even if he is a freak clean), She knew that Levi lived with Kenny when he was a kid, that means he talks with her about personal things .....

They are the exact opposite but complete each other, that's what attracts them

Levi being a cold, distant person, having no energy obsessed by cleanliness

In the other side there is Hange the Energetic, friendly and curious one.

Even in their injuries, Hange loses her left eye, Levi losing his right one, Together united forming a pair of eyes and wings, wings of freedom, like a real Jian Bird

After saving him from Zeke and healing him, once he woke up, they opened their hearts to each other and expressed their frustrations, Hange even wished to live just with Levi, alone in ​​the forest, but they couldn't let the rest of their comrades die, because he was humanity's strongest, and she was the commander, they carried heavy responsibilities on their shoulders.

However, that didn't stop them from giving each other warm, heartwarming looks.

[thewipartist]

On a lighter note: Some little Marley Melody trivia!

- Marley is cannonly Genderfluid! The most common pronouns used are he/him, but is comfortable with other pronouns!

- Marley's emotional state is either "none at all" to "Oh god he's a volcano now". Due to how Mortimer brought him to life and having an "Unfinished" body" to work with.

- The mask isn't actually his face. He often switches between other masks to "express" himself. Even sometimes applying make-up for more expressions. Nick gave him the first mask Marley ever owned. It is the same mask that he is often depicted with.

- He functions a bit like a ghost in a weird sense. The face area can give you and him a strong case of phantom touch despite not existing. So if you stick your hand in his head, it'll be a very uncomfortable feeling for him and you'll feel a presence inside. It won't hurt him though.

- Marley is very possessive over his make-up, to an unhealthy extent. The make-up he rarely does find helps him to express himself properly, as he does have emotional issues. He doesn't mind sharing some if you ask. Infact he gets excited and offers to do your make-up, he sometimes goes overboard though.

- Nick and Marley was originally supposed to hate each other, due to a number of reasons. One includes the fact Marley was a "beta" version of Nick, but was essentially scrapped for the Nick we know. Nick gave Marley a mask so he would at least have a face like the others. Marley experiencing Mortimer and Riley, he felt emotions for the first time that didn't involve fear. It was the first time he was treated like a friend and not a reject. So, he became close with Nick and gets very protective of him and tried learning origami to make flowers for him.

- Originally, in the show, he was created to show kids that it is okay to express yourself in anyway you want. Along with singing melodies to help kids learn better. While him being Genderfluid wouldn't be straight up mentioned, it would be hinted at with the crew refering to Marley with different pronouns.

- Marley cannonly likes to date men more then women. He still finds them pretty, but he's more picky with women overall. Marley needs much more of some sort of attachment to date them.

- Nick is one of the only people that allows Marley to genuinely to be able to feel emotions properly. While he may not understand why Nick draws and paints, he respects the craft since it makes him happy. He's also one of the few people who can calm Marley down if he snaps in anger.

- Marley cannonly has a crush on Nick. He doesn't express it as much, nor really thinks into it too deeply. Ever since Nick started to give him more masks to help express himself, Marley felt safe and happy with him. That Nick actually enjoys performing with him. That he likes Marley's company. That despite seeing the worse of Marley, Nick is still there for him. Marley often makes himself flustered and somewhat realize he has a crush on him of he thinks about the good memories between the two.

- He would never tell Nick. He wants to respect him as a dear and close friend. Marley would do anything for Nick as well. It will kill Marley if something did ever happen to Nick.

- Marley is taller than Daisy, but shorter then Riley. He doesn't mind being on the smaller side, as he can fit into more clothing.

[eleanor-flanagan]

I’ve taken a brief reprieve in the form of a social media hiatus to get the things that I’ve promised done and after much work and a few additional rewrites, I have the lists I took names for last week. This list is not finite! If you would like to be added to any of the sections below, all you have to do is tell me and I’ll add you in as an edit. I will be pinning this to my blog as well, for easy access. 

THOSE WILLING TO SUBMIT TO ORDERS: 

To be clear, this is their written consent to have Dominants give them orders without asking if they consent first. They don’t need to because this is already their consent, so there’s no need to be shy about it if you don’t want to be. The point of having this list is to never risk running into the word no, so please do add anything you’re not willing to do when you approach about being added to this section. 

Artie Abrams (not sexually)

Valeria Aguirre

Rebekah Berry

Ambrose Eliot-Abrams

Claire Eliot-Abrams

Parker Chang

Hana Cohen-Chang

Sang Cohen-Chang

Eleanor Flanagan

Jamie Huggins

Kurt Hummel

Isabela Lopez

Mason McCarthy

Astrid Porter

Polo Villlada

THOSE WILLING TO OPENLY DOMINATE:

These are people that you can go to when you need to submit, whether that be needing to fill the itch to take care of someone via chores, cooking, daily service, or sexual interaction. These people can also be approached with problems, or asked for guidance if you’re not sure if you’re making the right choices or just want some guidance. 

Malakai Abrams (only for the obedient)

Zoe Abrams

Nick Andros

Patrick Blanco-Smythe

Campbell Clarington (not sexually)

Deven Clarington (not sexually)

Lillian Crawford

Nick Duval

Declan Flanagan

Nikolai Flanagan

Killian Flanagan

Oakland Gilbert (not sexually)

Felix Hudson

Alexus Jones

David Karofsky (not sexually)

Gaston Lefevre

Two-Bit Mathews

Madison McCarthy (not sexually)

Roswell Meeks

Remy Navarro

Marley Rose (not sexually)

Mickey Rutherford

Ahsan Singh

Beau Smythe

Sebastian Smythe

Vic Sterling (not sexually)

Theo Sterling

Sophia St. James

Kady Wilde

SWITCHES THAT ARE INTERESTED IN BOTH SIDES:

Perhaps you would like to begin cultivating a D/s dynamic, relationship, or scene with someone that could take either role. 

Darrean Anderson

Ari Cohen-Chang

Blake Evans

Maggie Fuller (apprehensive but looking for experience, approach gently)

Remy Smythe

Dahlia Wilson

[i-arch-my-backula]

hi !! could i get a match up for the lost boys ??

i have no gender pref and i am fem ! i tend to be a sort of 'doesn't talk unless spoken to' kinda person bc i have horrible social anxiety but otherwise i'm really loud n obnoxious n absolutely love bothering people when i'm close to them. it's such a big switch it's kinda funny. i'm pretty protective over people i care abt n would absolutely fight someone for someone else. i kinda just get along w everyone honestly, like im decently well known at my school n i don't have beef w anyone so yk. just kinda friends w everyone there. i love play fighting w people n pulling pranks, i always have bruises or somethin from my friends bc we're constantly play fighting for no reason at all over absolutely any excuse we can manage n i have like no limits w play fighting it's horrible. i am mostly quiet though, id rather just observe most of the time but it does not take long for me to just get a lot of energy n go absolutely crazy

my pref in a partner is to just care abt me n he respectful honestly. plus a sense of humor i could not date someone without a sense of humor</333 i prefer people who also love to jokingly fight n pull pranks, but other than that i don't rlly care, i just either end up liking them or i don't. like seriously i have multiple types it's a struggle. my love languages are kind of everythibg idk 😰😰 i love being close to people physically though so ig touch is my main one. hugs, cuddling, just sitting by each other is enough for me to be rlly happy honestly i love it

uhh my style mostly consists of the 70s and 80s, sort of a mix between your basic metalhead and bohemian style but really it's all over the place who knows. i have a 70s shag haircut as well n wear a lot of rings n chains whenever i can, they're always a must 💪💪 i normally wear boots, sometimes platforms as well. my music taste for the most part is metal, rock, n the occasional bob marley. i also specifically have a stevie nicks obsession, i love fleetwood mac but she's my favorite person ever genuinely

uh anyway for my future career i have no clue LOL but i'm most likely gonna go w something related to music. i play flute love to march, n im also trying to get a new guitar since i have absolutely no clue where my old one went um. i like to sing too but that's probably not what i'm gonna end up doing 😭 ive always wanted to specifically be an actor, that's like my MAIN career choice that i rlly wanna do but i get so nervous doing stuff sometimes so idk. i have no problems marching n performing in band but i feel like acting would be a bit different, rlly trying to work on it though

I match you with......

Michael Emerson

Michael can handle you when you're more quiet and shy at the beginning of the relationship and when you're more loud and chaotic as well. He'll happily play fight and pull pranks on you too. He likes your style because it's something new. He's used to more trending styles in Arizona but you and your nature like metalhead look really interests him. He might take a bit to warm up to your music but otherwise he likes it. I feel like Michael can play some kind a istrument or something like that so he'll also happily play along with you.

[marmarparadoxa]

I always read opinions about hanji post time skip and ch 132 they say her decision to sacrifice herself was the decision of a suicidal person because of how inadequate she felt as a commander and unable to live up to erwin’s legacy or things like yams ruined Hanji’s character and was treated by him as unimportant character useless weak or gave up easily and was just there until armin grow up to be commander. As a hanji fan I feel so disappointed in hanji's treatment. What do you think?

Hi! I’m sorry to hear you feel like that as an Hange fan, and I’m aware that you’re not the only one who sees it that way. However, I felt very disoriented at first, when I started reading these opinions, because my experience about Hange’s character in reading the manga was very different from yours. Although I also have my complaints, I actually think that Hange had their time to shine in the last arcs, and moments and scenes and speeches for which I think I came to understand them better, and loved them and all the more felt proud of them, so I can’t say I feel disappointed by their treatment.

For one thing, I don’t think their decision to sacrifice themselves was the decision of a suicidal person. Hange never manifested any sort of suicidal ideation to begin with (as for instance, obviously Reiner did, and somewhat Armin - when he said, in reference to the serum bowl, that it wasn’t him, the one whom they should have revived), and overall, they never gave me the impression of someone willing to throw their life away. It’s true that they didn’t feel worthy of Erwin’s legacy, and blamed themselves for not having been able to show Eren alternative solutions. You can see, in certain moments, how much these thoughts made them doubt their value as commander. However, Hange was not the type of person who would let themselves be led astray by these thoughts, nor shy away from their responsibilities, to cry over themselves - and back to chapter 71, we can see what was their opinion of people who’d do that, in their reaction at Keith Shadis’ story.

Shadis shirked from his role as commander, because he wasn’t “special”, because he didn’t feel equal to his role. In learning that, Hange, for once, was not very sympathetic, but reacted very harshly, and labeled Shadis’ motivations as “childish reasons” and “inferiority complex”. And I think it was not only because they used to admire and have a crush for him once that they felt so outraged at that point, but mostly because of the kind of person Hange had always been. They were an incredibly strong-willed, resilient and self-denying person, who fiercely believed in the ideal they decided to dedicate their life to, and thus felt offended in learning about Shadis’ petty self-concern. And this is how Hange concluded their tirade against the poor Shadis that day: “Isn’t that what it means to cast away your own life and dedicate your heart to the greater good?”. And this leads to a further important point.

Being suicidal, or more or less actively seeking your own death for the sake of your own death, is a different thing from being prepared to altruistically give up on your own life, for the better good. And in view of the above, I’m convinced that Hange’s sacrifice falls under the second sort. In their very last moment, Hange was not thinking about their own misfortunes, but was still looking for the plan to take off, because they wanted to make sure that they could save their friends, and with them, the last chance for salvation for humanity.

So I didn’t like the briskness of the chapter, and I had a hard time suspending my disbelief at Floch having survived Gabi’s shot, and throughout the whole trip of the ship. That was not good-writing, and obviously Isayama wanted to kill off Hange, for whatever reason. But their readiness to take up their responsibilities, and sacrificing their life, was nonetheless consistent with the kind of person Hange has always been. When I think about their sacrifice, their speech to pastor Nick, on top of the walls, in chapter 34 always comes to my mind: “Do you know what exactly we in the Survey Corps have spilled our blood for? To take back the freedom the titans stole from us. For that cause...our lives were a small price to pay.” The Survey Corps required its members to devote their lives, their flesh, their hearts to its cause, and Hange was aware of that.

And when it comes down to it, what exactly could have Hange done to avoid their sacrifice? They couldn’t send any precious titan shifters (to Reiner’s chagrin) and of course they wouldn’t have sent any of the remaining kids (Mikasa, Jean or Connie), to go sacrifice themselves, instead of taking responsibility for their decisions. Levi, at that time, could barely stand up straight. So it had to be them.

I think that Hange was even more courageous, and their sacrifice was all the more admirable (and more painful for me) if you consider that Hange, though willing to take their responsibilities, and committed to their purpose, didn’t actually want to die. Their leaving the kids was so swift, rushed, and they didn’t show how scared they were. But it became manifest when they were asking Levi to let them go, and when he put his fist above their heart, and told them to dedicate their heart, their lips curved downward, and then they laughed it off, and flew away. They downplayed their feelings and rushed, so to be able to leave Levi and the kids - the people they loved - behind. Death, for them, didn’t come as a release from sufference or a crushing burden, but they accepted and went toward it nonetheless.

Then, if we want to address Hange’s character general treatment post time-skip, I think it’d be better to first briefly observe what was Isayama’s general treatment of all Paradis characters, post time-skip. My general impression is that, having come into play all those new different characters from Marley, which asked for narrative space and development, and the plot which had to keep going on, somehow there wasn’t space and time to a proper treatment of the old cast, so that its members, more or less, became rather static and passive.

However, I didn’t perceive Hange’s character as being “unimportant, useless, weak, or giving up easily, who was just there until Armin grew up to be commander”, as you said. In those four years, Hange had a most important role - they were the one who directed their first encounters with Marleyans ships, and talked to their members, and initiated their alliance. Among all Paradis’ political figures, together with Pixis Hange was the one who most took part in negotiations and diplomacy, and worked hard to give Paradis a future. They were shown happily getting excited over Marleyans’ inventions, overcoming  Marleyans’ hostilities. And then there’s that beautiful scene, when they restored hope for the kids, proposing the trip to Marley, and then expressing the Survey Corps’ ideal.  Later on, when Eren betrayed them in Liberio, when in the dungeon he threatened them, and then when the Jeagerists organized and Floch sequestered them, of course Hange felt let down, disheartened, and powerless, and doubted their value. However, given the circumstances, I wonder how these reactions would spoil Hange’s character, where in fact they are most understandable, and human. It made me sad to see Hange suffer that way (the scene where they were shooting at those SC soldiers and crying, and then seeing how Sannes’ words were still haunting them was painful to see), but it was also interesting to see more of their vulnerable side. And so, it was even more remarkable to see what they were able to do, despite the seemingly hopeless conditions, after Eren initiated the Rumbling - Hange didn’t give up easily at all. It was them who gathered the Alliance. They spoke with Magath, and Pieck, and thus persuaded previous enemies to join forces. Then they went and found Mikasa and Jean, and asked them to help them. And, in the morally wavering atmosphere after the start of the Rumbling, the scene of “I’m not accepting genocide!! You’re not getting me to agree with any reason to support this!!”, and their following speech was so powerful, meaningful, and important.

In conclusion, Hange kept on being Hange till the end, I think - they were still the playful, optimist crazy titan scientist (I mean, they asked Pieck’s Cart titan if she ever brushed her teeth in her titan form XD), and, in the bleakest moment, they didn’t lose hope (“It might not work out today...but maybe someday”), they were still keeping on looking to the future.

And I want to add one more thing, in regards to the “afterlife” scene. I imagine that a lot of people (myself included) felt let down when Isayama stated that it was only a “revolving lantern”. But now I think that it doesn’t really matter whether that's just something Hange’s mind created, or an actual afterlife plane. It was an unexpected act of kindness from Isayama, which completed Hange’s arc in a somehow uplifting note. Hange got reunited with their friends, and saw the plane, flying above them (so they knew their sacrifice was not in vain). And then Erwin told them “You did well”. That’s the message Isayama wanted to give us about Hange, and, if nothing else, I feel grateful for that.

[path-of-my-childhood]

Taylor Swift: Pop Star of the Year

By: Jonathan Dean for The Sunday Times Date: December 27th 2020

Rather than hunker down, the singer put out two albums in 2020 and won over new audiences. She’s the pop star of the year.

Taylor Swift met Paul McCartney in the autumn for a big interview in Rolling Stone. The two would have headlined Glastonbury this summer. Who knows if they will do that next year. Anyway, both recorded albums in lockdown, working from home like the rest of us. When they spoke, though, Swift had a secret. As well as Folklore, released in July, she had a follow-up record in the pipeline — Evermore, which was released this month.

Swift noted that the former Beatle was still so full of joy. “Well, we’re just so lucky, aren’t we?” he said. “We’re really lucky,” Swift replied. “I can’t believe it’s my job.” And she is right. Being a pop star is an extraordinary way to earn the living she does. But rather than accepting luxury and letting this tough year tumble on, Swift is also keenly aware what music means. Sad songs soothe, happy songs make us dance, but as fans of most artists waited for something — anything — this year, this 31-year-old released two albums that broke chart records, were critically adored and introduced her to people who once thought that she wasn’t for them.

“I’m so exhausted!” she said to the American chat show host Jimmy Kimmel, laughing, a few weeks ago, when asked if she had a third new album planned. “I have nothing left.” In addition to Folklore and Evermore, she filmed a TV special and even started rerecording her back catalogue, after a volatile dispute over who owns her work. By October I’d just about cobbled together my first sourdough loaf.

A decade ago Swift moved firmly into the limelight thanks to a squabble with Kanye West entirely of the rapper’s own making. In 2009, when Swift — then a nascent country music star — won the best female video award at the VMAs, West stormed on stage, grabbed her microphone and said that Beyoncé should have won. Swift was 19 — West was 32 — and she looked scared. This wasn’t just about her biggest moment yet being stolen, but also about her position in the pop hierarchy being questioned, very publicly, from the off. She stood there as that man bullied her. Apparently she left the stage in tears.

Years later West released Famous, with its infamous lyric “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ Why? I made that bitch famous.” The alt-folk singer Father John Misty also wrote about sleeping with her. Every time that sort of thing happened, a powerful man in Swift’s industry was reducing a successful, talented, younger female to the level of a sex object. It was back-in-your-box belittling — as it was when a TV host groped her. (She successfully sued him.) While Swift herself would retort to West, as her music became less country, more slick pop, such retorts felt forced and gave the rapper too much of her oxygen. A nod to him on Folklore comes with the “Clowns to the West” line, but it is a sideshow now, not a headline.

Not that Swift’s life is entirely her own. She’s been one of the world’s bestselling female artists for a decade, coupled with curiosities such as a well-orchestrated relationship with Tom Hiddleston that kept her in the spotlight. Like many twentysomethings, Swift spent her youth apolitically, only to receive flak for staying silent during the 2016 US election. This year she endorsed Joe Biden, but what if she had wanted to stay quiet? Would the media have let her? She is under so much scrutiny that, after she made an innocuous hand gesture in a recent TV interview, similar to one women make to draw attention to domestic abuse, this headline ran: “Some people think Taylor Swift is secretly asking for help in her latest interview.”

Like many at the start of the pandemic she felt listless. The world we were used to was a wasteland, and we could only find the energy to watch Normal People. Swift’s ennui, though, was, well, swift. Stuck in LA, she emailed Aaron Dessner of the beloved beardy indie band the National to see if he fancied writing with her. No fool, Dessner said yes and, mere weeks later, the duo — with help from Swift’s regular collaborator Jack Antonoff as well as Justin Vernon, from the beloved beardy indie band Bon Iver — released Folklore. The gang just carried on working and, five months later, gave us Evermore.

Creativity is not on tap. Indeed, this year is not one for judging what others may or not have achieved. However, the silence of many big pop stars is striking because they know that even a single would make someone’s day; distract for a while.

Everyone needed to adjust to working from home, but Swift was one of the only musicians who did and, by eschewing the arena pop of recent albums for something more subdued, organic and folky, she gave the sense that she was letting fans in more than ever. She was at home, like us. This is who she is, and the first single from these sessions was so cosy, it was even called Cardigan.

“I just thought, ‘There are no rules any more,’” she told McCartney. “Because I used to put all these parameters on myself, like, ‘How will this song sound in a stadium?’ If you take away the parameters, what do you make? I guess Folklore.”

Maybe it is tedious, for a deft writer with a career of varied, brilliant songs — Love Story, I Knew You Were Trouble, Blank Space — to find respect from some people only when artists who appeal to middle-aged men start to work with her. On the other hand, pop has never been particularly welcoming to many until it sounds like something you are used to and, with delicate acoustics and gossamer-like piano, Swift’s two new albums recall, sonically, Nick Drake or Kate Bush. Thematically, lyrics seem to come from anywhere. Daphne du Maurier, for one. Even the Lake District and its poets.

Some songs are personal. She is dating British actor Joe Alwyn, and on one track she sings, “I want to give you a child.” Make of that what you will. But these records’ highlights are not about herself, but others. “There was a point,” she told Zane Lowe on Apple Music, “that I had got to as a writer, [where I was only writing] diaristic songs. That felt unsustainable.” Instead, she does what the best writers do and mixes subjective with objective. The Last American Dynasty is a terrific piece of writing about the socialite Rebekah Harkness, who lived in a Rhode Island house that Swift bought and was, by all accounts, a bit scandalous. Swift tells her story almost with envy. Imagine, she seems to say, that freedom.

“In my anxieties,” she said in Rolling Stone, “I can often control how I am as a person and how normal I act. But I cannot control if there are 20 photographers outside in the bushes and if they follow our car and interrupt our lives.”

Then there is Epiphany. The first verse is about her grandfather, who fought in the Second World War; the second about frontline workers in hospitals now. Sung in a high register, it is suitably choral. Marjorie, on Evermore, is even better. It is about her grandmother, an opera singer who died in 2003. “What died didn’t stay dead” is the repeated line, and it is eerie, gorgeous. Swift sings how she thinks Marjorie is singing to her, at which point some vocals from the latter’s recordings waft in. Touching, but the real power is in Swift writing about vague memories of a relative who died when she was young. “I complained the whole way there,” she sings. “I should’ve asked you questions.”

In person she is warm like this, and funny. When Kimmel told her there were far more swearwords on Folklore and Evermore than previous records, she replied: “It’s just been that kind of year.” She is also odder than people realise. In the way pop stars should be. Obsessed by numerology, she wrote, on the eve of her birthday when announcing Evermore: “Ever since I was 13, I’ve been excited about turning 31 because it’s my lucky number backwards.” When I turned 31 I just wished to be 13 again, with all that youth, but then, maybe, she is just joking. “Yes, so until I turn 113 or 131, this will be the highlight of my life,” she said. “The numerology thing? I sort of force it to happen.”

Swift, of course, is far from the first pop star to become public property, or have a close bond with fans. This year, however, she was one of the few to show that such adoration is not one-way. She is, simply, a fan of her fans ��� from planting secrets in her artwork and lyrics, to recording two albums of new music as a balm for them when real life became too deafening.

“One good thing about music,” sang Bob Marley. “When it hits you, you feel no pain.” The 80.6 million who streamed Folklore on its first day will attest to that idea. So will the four million who bought it. Swift is pop star of the year, no doubt — leaving her peers in her wake, on their sofas, rewatching The Sopranos.

[sandy-sims]

September 2007, Willow Creek: Louisiana

🏡🚕💼 

Previously | Next | Beginning 

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

When It Started: Julian Casablancas

The Strokes lead singer was born on August 23, 1978 in New York City. His father John was the founder and owner of Elite Model Management, while his mother Jeanette worked as a Danish model and former Miss Denmark. At the age of eight, his parents would divorce. His mother would later marry painter Sam Adoquei, who heavily influenced the young Casablancas by introducing him to classic rock artists such as the Doors. Julian has several half brothers and half sisters through his father’s multiple marriages. The future frontman of the Strokes would attend a variety of schools throughout his early life, which led him to meet many of the future members of the band through schools such as Lycée Français de New York, the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland, and the Dwight School in New York. At the latter, Julian would start to informally play music with Nick Valensi and Fab Moretti, which ultimately was the beginning of the Strokes. The singer would never finish high school, but did receive his GED in place of it. He would later attend music classes at Five Towns College, which became the very first time that Casablancas actually enjoyed going to school.

Throughout the history of the Strokes, Julian has served as the principal songwriter for the group. Some have said that he would insert a large measure of control over the music, but he and other members have said that does not seem to be the case anymore. Each member of the group brings their own ideas about future songs, then the band decides what to use and what to discard. Nick Valensi would say this about the singer. “His ear is so sharp. He's the one with the ear for detail in this band. Creatively, he is a force to be reckoned with." In 2009, Casablancas released his first solo album entitled Phrazes for the Young through RCA. He would talk about releasing music as a solo artist versus material from the Strokes. “It’s like touring with me or with five of me." The singer would also go on to say that as a solo artist he is able to experiment with his music and lyrics in ways that he would probably avoid in the Strokes. He has always been quite adamant the brand name that is the band should be protected. The title of the album had been inspired by the Oscar Wilde book, Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young, while the album itself embraced a very 1980’s new wave sound that had a heavy emphasis on the use of synthesizers. He talked about this new direction in his music. “I would've gone weirder with the music, but I wanted to be smart. I didn't want people to say, 'Okay, this is his weird abstract thing,' and dismiss the album. I worked too hard on it for that to happen... I wanted to be crazy original and bridge the gap between traditional music and modern music." The LP would be recorded in New York and Omaha, Nebraska with producer Jason Lader and some additional assistance from Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes. A tour would follow the release with a backing band called the Sick Six including Jeff Kite (keyboard), Nelson London (synthesizer), JP Bowersock (guitar), Danielle Haim (percussion) and Alex Carapetis (drums). The first major shows in North America took place over the course of a month at the Downtown Palace Theater in Los Angeles. This venue had been previously used in the Michael Jackson “Thriller” music video.

In 2013, Julian began another side project called Julian Casablancas + the Voidz. Other members of this new band included Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter and Amir Yaghmai on guitar, Jacob "Jake" Bercovici on bass (as well as synthesizer), Alex Carapetis on drums and percussion, and Jeff Kite on keyboard. In 2017, the group wanting more recognition as a band rather than a side project changed its name to simply the Voidz. The goal of the group was to create music that represented a quality of being both very aggressive and quite complex. As lead vocalist and songwriter, Casablancas began to explore musical scales within Middle Eastern music, not any traditional Western scales. Jake Bercovici has said, they are interested in “exploring [music] from the margins.” The singer looked upon the group as a vehicle in which he could create music that embodied characteristics much more experimental than anything that the Strokes ever offered. Their debut album Tyranny was released in September 2014 through Casablancas’s own record label, Cult Records. The album would also feature an 11 minute single entitled ���Human Sadness,” which Julian actually wrote originally for a short documentary film about his stepfather, painter Sam Adoquei. Their second album would be released in March 2018 entitled Virtue, which took on a much stronger political point of view emphasizing the paradox between truth and lies.

Over the years, Julian has collaborated on a number of tracks with other artists. In 2006, the Strokes teamed up with Eddie Vedder and Josh Homme for a cover of “Mercy Mercy (The Ecology)” by Marvin Gaye. On the track, Vedder sang backup vocals, while Homme would play drums. In 2008, he recorded a collaboration with Pharrell and Santigold for Converse on a track called “My Drive-thru.” In 2009, the singer lent his vocals to the comedy trio the Lonely Island for a parody song on their debut album Incredibad called “Boom Box.” The Strokes frontman would later record a cover of another Saturday Night Live parody, “I Wish It Was Christmas Today.” He would eventually perform the song live with Jimmy Fallon, Horacio Sanz, and the Roots on Fallon’s talk show. In 2010, Casablancas sang vocals for the track “Little Girl” on the 2010 Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse album Dark Night of the Soul. In 2011, Julian performed the song “Rave On” for the release of a Buddy Holly tribute record. In 2013, he would also provide vocals, lyrics, and guitar to the Daft Punk song instant crush on their 2013 record Random Access Memories. The album would go on the win the Grammy for Album of the Year, which he would receive recognition for his work on it. In 2015, Julian created a cover with Jehnny Beth of the 1983 song Boy/Girl, which would be released through Cult Records. In 2016, he would also provide covers for the soundtrack to the HBO series Vinyl performing three tracks by the Velvet Underground, “Venus in Furs,” “Run Run Run,” and “White Light/White Heat.” That same year, the singer would pen a song for Har Mar Superstar on his album Best Summer Ever entitled “Youth Without Love.”

In 2009, Casablancas started his own music label, Cult Records. The company currently includes a roster of The Growlers, Har Mar Superstar, Songhoy Blues, Rey Pila, Karen O, Promiseland, The Strokes, The Voidz, Exhibition and Cerebral Ballzy. Past artists were Albert Hammond Jr., The Virgins, Reputante, INHEAVEN, Exclamation Pony and Nelson London (C O L O R). The company first began as an imprint in order to release his first solo album Phrazes for the Young. As for his influences, the earliest ones were the Doors and Velvet Underground. He would say this about the latter group. “The way Lou Reed wrote and sang about drugs and sex, about the people around him — it was so matter-of-fact. He could be romantic in the way he portrayed these crazy situations, but he was also intensely real. It was poetry and journalism." Other influences include Bob Marley, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. He would later say that the song “Yellow Ledbetter” inspired him to start making music. In his personal life, the singer would marry the Strokes assistant manager, Juliet Joslin in 2005. They have two sons together, but divorced in 2019. In the early days of the Strokes, Casablancas struggled with drinking, but he has been completely sober since 2009. Julian would say in an interview about trying to quit drinking, he was “hungover for five years.”

[ericsonclan]

We Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Summary: Marley and Raylan stay up and hide by the staircase to spy on Santa when he comes to visit.

Word Count: 1533

Read on AO3:

“Shhhh, do you want Santa to hear you and not even come?” Marley glared at her older brother as he plodded over in his onesie and joined her by the banister above the staircase.

Raylan cocked his head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t he come just cause he heard me?”

“He’d be hearing you spying and spying is bad,” Marley lifted the binoculars to her eyes and looked down at the first floor, keeping an eye out for any movement.

“Well, if spying is so bad, why are we doing it right on Christmas Eve? We could lose everything!”

“Bad stuff only counts if you’re caught. So don’t get caught,” Marley eyed the baby monitor expectantly. “Is the spy gear working?”

Raylan nodded excitedly. “Yeah. Both sets needed new batteries, but I found some. I took them out of the smoke alarm in our room,”

“Smart,” Marley chuckled to herself as she scoured the lower floor through her binoculars. “We’ll be able to hear Santa the second he comes down the chimney!”

The children waited in silent anticipation from the dark second floor, listening for any sign of jolly old Saint Nick. They could hear their mom in the kitchen heating up hot cocoa and talking excitedly to Rosie.

“That’s right, Rosie! One more night then you and Ferdie get to open up your very own stockings and eat all the treats you can fit in your mouth!”

Ferdinand the Japanese Chin who’d been asleep at the foot of the stairs perked up at the sound of his name and padded over toward the kitchen. As he passed down the hallway, Marley and Raylan rolled back and curled up in tight balls, afraid that Ferdie might spot them and bark, revealing their location. Once the coast was clear they unrolled themselves and crawled back over to the banister.

“Wanna switch?” Raylan held out the baby monitor from which faint, garbled static emitted.

Marley considered the offer for a second then nodded, handing over the binoculars. She sat with the baby monitor cradled against her ear, desperately listening for ant sort of sound that might mean Santa was near.

Suddenly there was a knock upon the front door that just about scared the pair out of their skin. They scooted back on their butts out of the light, looking at one another and wondering who could be coming to visit so late at night – it was almost 10.

“Oooh, we’ve got company!” Sophie scurried over to the front door and opened it without hesitation. There stood Marlon, decked out in a full Santa suit, beard and pot belly with a huge sack of present slung over his shoulder. Sophie smiled at her husband mischievously. “Why, Santa! I was hoping you’d come around tonight,”

“Ho ho ho!” Marlon carefully navigated the sack of presents through the doorway then shimmied forward. He was about to lean forward and steal a kiss from his wife when Rosie and Ferdie came barreling toward him, barking joyously. Marlon knelt down to pet his dogs and chuckled as they tried their best to lick his face through the beard. “What good dogs you have!”

“The best in the world,” Sophie smiled as she watched Rosie do her best to topple Marlon to the ground while Ferdie tried to climb his back.

“A little hand?” Marlon looked up pleadingly though the twinkle in his eye told Sophie he was enjoying the attention.

Sophie picked up Ferdie in her arms then whistled for Rosie. “Come on, you two, let’s give Santa a break and let him get to work,” She headed toward the kitchen while Marlon toted the sack of presents into the living room. “There’s milk and cookies waiting for you in there, Santa, and I’ll bring you some hot cocoa in just a minute!”

Marley and Raylan watched in wonder as their mom and Santa chatted together like old friends.

“Dude,” Raylan whispered excitedly, “Mom knows Santa?!”

“Maybe he knows all the parents,” Marley replied, her eyes still glued to the mythical figure. “Y’know, so they’ll let him in the house and stuff.” She turned to her brother in confusion. “But why didn’t he come down the chimney? Santa always uses the chimney. That’s part of his magic!”

“Shh!” Raylan pressed a finger to Marley’s lips, worried she was getting too loud. Marley was perplexed for a second but then nodded in understanding and returned to observing Santa.

Santa was in their living room now, placing presents around the tree. Ferdie had returned and was still trying to climb Santa but his leaps in the air couldn’t rocket him farther than Santa’s butt. Santa would turn around from time to time and give the dog a few pats, commenting on what a good boy he was.

Meanwhile their mom was bringing in hot chocolate which she set beside the sugar cookies and milk. She joined Santa in unpacking presents and sticking them under the tree. “I see you’ve been sampling the sugar cookies already,”

“Yep, I couldn’t resist. They’re delicious, ho ho ho!”

Marley and Raylan beamed at each other. They had worked all morning making the cookies with Mom for Santa’s arrival tonight. They listened with rapt attention as Santa went on about how good the cookies were, the binoculars and baby monitor cast aside and forgotten.

Once the presents had all been tucked under the tree, Santa joined their mom over by the fireplace to enjoy the rest of the milk, cookies and hot cocoa. The siblings strained to hear the conversation, their faces poking as far out as they could between the rails on the banister. Suddenly Santa burped then clutched pot belly. “Ho ho ho, what a delicious meal! Well, I should be off. There’s still plenty of houses to visit tonight,” Lifting his now empty sack, he headed toward the front door but their mom stopped him in the hallway.

“A kiss for the road?”

“I don’t see why not,” Leaning forward, Santa caught their mom’s lips in a kiss.

           Raylan and Marley looked at each other in horror. Santa was kissing Mom! What would Dad think if he saw? They had to put a stop to this!

The “goodbye” kiss was warm and wonderful. Pulling back, Sophie smiled at her husband. “Who knew kissing Santa would be so sexy?”

Marlon waggled his eyebrows. “Would you like another?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Sophie closed her eyes, leaning in for another smooch when suddenly a wild ruckus came from upstairs and Marley and Raylan came flying down the stairs.

“Get away from my mom!” Raylan yelled and kicked Marlon right in the shin.

“You’re gross, Santa! You’re the bad man!” Marley cried, punching Marlon’s gut before pulling at his beard. The cheap beard came off in an instant though and she pulled back in shock. “Dad?!”

Raylan pulled back from his latest kick, his mouth gaping open in confusion. “You’re not Santa?”

“Oof, no, I’m not, buddy,” Marlon groaned as he plopped down on the floor; the kids had really given him a walloping. He quickly noticed the concern in Sophie’s eyes though and amended his statement. “I mean, I help Santa sometimes on years when he gets really busy,”

“That’s why you came through the front door instead of the fireplace?” Marley asked, looking uncertain at this sudden turn of events.

“That’s right, honey,” Marlon smiled at his daughter, reaching out to gently take her hand. “Don’t worry, the real Santa will be by later to drop off the rest of the presents. I was just helping him out a little,”

Raylan’s eyes widened in excitement. “So if we stay up later that means we’ll get to see the real Santa come down our chimney?”

“Oh no,” Sophie came up behind her son, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Santa comes by reeeeally late at night, far too late for you two to be staying up,”

“Awww, but now we’re too excited to go to sleep!” Marley protested, making her best puppy dog eyes.

Marlon and Sophie shared a look; Sophie sighed. “Fine, you can stay up five more minutes,”

“Yus!” Raylan pumped his fist in victory. “Let’s go shake our presents and guess what’s inside!”

“Oh no you don’t,” Marlon caught his son and gently redirected him towards the kitchen. “You both can have a cup of hot cocoa then back to bed,”

“But Daaaaaaaad,” the kids whined.

“Don’t push your luck,” Sophie gave her children the best stink eye she could muster before her expression melted into a smile once more as the kids raced each other to the kitchen. “Careful with the ladle!” she called after them.

Marlon chuckled and wrapped his arms round his wife from behind, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “That was a close one,”

“Yeah. But they still believe in Santa and that’s what matters,”

“And we gave them a memory that will last a lifetime,”

“Speaking of, are you gonna need an ice pack?”

“Yeah,” A soft groan left Marlon’s lips but his eyes were still bright with laughter. “Merry Christmas, Sophie,”

Sophie grinned and kissed her husband’s cheek right above his lopsided beard. “Merry Christmas,”

[popculturebuffet]

Battle of the Episodes: Celebrity Deathmatch: Rockstarmageddon Vs When Animals Attack

Hello all you happy people! And welcome to a minty fresh new segment on the blog cooked up by longtime fan and friend of the blog weirdkev27, named by me: BATTLE OF THE EPISODES! In this new segment I take two similar episodes from a show or franchise and put them up against one another and see which ones better. He pitched the idea to me for something he could do, he had two patreon reviews free so I suggested why not do it in April and here we are! 

Before I begin I will admit I’d forgotten PieGuyRulez had done a similar idea with his podcast ReCast, which I’d never seen and only vaugely heard of. However I feel what i’m doing here is still diffrent enough to keep doing, I have nothing but respect for the guy, and I promise to not do any topics he’s done. If you have any suggestions for this new segment, i’d love to hear them. I already have another one in mind for when I have a free moment on the schedule that I simply didn’t get around to next month.

But for our innugural contest, Kev being the one who pitched it picked the show and it’s a show i’m only passingly familiar with as I did see bits of it growing up: Celebrity Deathmatch. Celebrity Death Match was a late 90′s and early 2000′s tv show on MTV with a revivial on MTV2. It was born both out of a short done for MTV’s Cartoon Sushi, their equilvent of Oh Yeah Cartoons! and What a Cartoon, pitting Charles Manson against Marilon Manson, and that short was popular enough to lead to a special after the superbowl. Said special ended up being the highest rated progam MTV had broadcast at the time, so naturally it got a four season series.

The premise is exactly what it says: two celebrties battle it to the death in goofy claymation fights, one shall stand, one shall fall. Meanwhile our hosts Johnny and Nick banter and set up the fights, talk to interviewers etc. It’s essentially a combination of wrestling and celebrity mockery, and unsuprisingly given MTV’s teen audience who loved pop culture and a bit of the ultra violence it was a massive hit. 

The show later got a revivial a few years after it ended on MTV2, which fans often derided and which I saw more of as I was watching MTV2 at the time... look i’m not proud of the fact i watched “Where My Dogs at?” and i’m even less proud I watched “The Adventures of Chico and Guapo”. But with shows like that you can imagine how high quality the reboot was and how much fans flocked to it. Me I never took to either incarnation. I don’t HATE the show and do appricate it’s gorgeous claymation and copious use of Stone Cold Steve Austin. I love that beer drinking, hell raising, boss humliationg hellion, it’s just the combination of modern celebrity mockery, something that rarely ages well unless the joke is just funny on it’s own, and ultra violence never appealed to me as I was a pretty squeamish kid and teen.. i’ve grown out of that, but I just had no real desire to go back. It’s not a bad show but it’s not really one for me, but I get why i’ts well loved and popular. 

But being a death match fan, and given the similar premisses, Kev picked this to be our inagural contest. Pitting the original against the reivvial. For this he went with two death match time machine episodes: the original’s finale rockstarmageddon and the revivial’s when animals attack. Each episode has it’s own unique theme within the general theme of a dead person versus their successor... and a very much alive person one or both of the hosts thought was dead versus their succesor as a joke: the first is about rockstars and their supposed imitators, the second is about putting two animal themed people against one another.

Each Battle of the Episodes will have diffrent comparisons as every show or franchise is different, comics are also open for this by the by. So for this one i’ll be comparing time machine use, the person explaning the machine, individual episode theme, the joke about one of the “dead” combatants turning out ot be alive, and each of the three matches.  How many will also very, either 5 or 7 depending on how many talking points i have. So with that in mind LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE under the cut and see which episode walks away a champion and which episode walks away a bloody pile of clay on the floor. 

Doing the matches first as a lot of this stuff overlaps with the later bits. 

Round 1: Lenny Kravitz Vs Jimmy Hendrix VS Horatio Sanz Vs Chris Farley Whelp this was a bad start to BOTH episodes as these matches are the worst of each episode and all 6 matches period. So it’s less which is better as both are a black hole of comedy.. and more which one sucks slightly less. 

The Jimmy Hendrix vs Lenny Kravitz bout is just.. a black hole of comedy, It’s VERY clear the writers hated Kravitz but to me in 2020.. it just hasn’t aged well. I just don’t CARE about Lenny Kravitz. He had maybe one good song, are you gonna go my way, and that’s it. He was not good.. but he was an easy target for the time and an easily forgotten one now. It’s not smart, clever or even cathartic to watch him die. He’s also nowhere similar enough to Hendrix for the comparison to work: for one he had a vastly diffrent look most of the times and for another at most both played guitars and were not white. That’s it.  It just dosen’t work. 

The finisher here is just also... one of the objectively worst grossout bits i’ve seen in animation and i’m almost 30. That’s a LOTTTT of stupid gross gags that aren’t funny. The two vomit into each others mouths. Yes really. Not only is this really disprectful to hendrix death, as ODing on drugs is not something I really find funny nor the show makes funny, but it’s just.. horrifying to think about and gross and makes me want to , ironically enough, vomit thinking about. it’s just deeply unpleasant easily the worst thing i’ve encountered in my time reviewing so far, and it’s going to be a hard bar to clear. This match sucked and it left a bad taste in my mouth. 

Now as for the Horatio Sanz vs Chris Farley Match...

I honestly have never seen Horatio Sanz that i’m aware of and unlike Kravitz who at least is mildly memorable if not a very good musician, Sanz has just been.. forgotten. I don’t know anything about him and once again it feels like the show punching down, picking an easy target versus a legend. 

And speaking of easy targets the entire segment is just fat jokes. Just a ton of fat jokes. No really, it’s a battle of “Hog vs hog”, chris eats a lot and hte main joke is Chris Farley can’t stay alive long enough to fight. That being said while I find the joke in VERY poor taste, as Farley died of a heart attack and was a really good person and having his death be a punch line just bothers me.... I’ll admit it’s at least clever to have one of the death match time machine contestants come back again, and again, and again. It’s not Funny, it’s horrific.. but I can at least say they put in some effort ofr that one gag and given the horrifying lack of effort for the other match this one BARELY gets the W Winner: When Animals Attack: 

Round 2: Shaggy vs Bob Marley VS Christan Bale vs Adam West

This one’s a no contest... seriously the gulf between jokes is wide and deep.

The Shaggy Vs Marley bout is the best of Rockstarmageddon. It’s funny, the target actually deserves being made fun of as Shaggy was a talent vacum and is memorably bad in comparison to Kravitz, so I still like seeing him get roasted, and they find a lot of funny jokes to do with Bob Marley. I only have a passing familiarity with the guy and while they do the obvious weed joke, they also have him ask for a tiny hammer or a small axe, beat shaggy with his dreads and after using a ring post to kill him, MAKING HIS REMAINS INTO A BONG (hilariously called a “legal novelty smoking device by the commentators). This match shows me why the show was popular: not every match was GOOD.. but the ones that were were creative and a joy to watch. While I sitll feel it’s mildly punching down, it’s funny enough I don’t care. 

Bale Vs West just sucks both by comparison and just in general; The IDEA of having the current Batman at the time and the 60′s one duke it out is great.. but it’s very clear they didn’t like Batman begins nor have any actual christian bale jokes. While this was pre terminator rant and the much more iconic dark knight, if they didn’t have any good jokes , why do this. They just have nothing and are insulting a legitimately good movie instead of making anything funny and making cracks about everyone thinking Adam West is dead. More on that in a bit, but it’s just really not funny and really wasted my time... though West turning him into a batsignal of the cross was clever i’ll admit. 

Winner: Rockstarmageddon

Round 3: Dave Matthews vs Keith Richards VS Jamie Fox vs Ray Charles

Another mistmatch.. but this time in the opposite direction.

Dave Matthews Vs Keith Richards sucks. While there are some good gags up top, we’ll get to that in it’s own section, the match itself just isn’t funny and I really don’t get comparing the stones to dave matthews band. the two bands aren’t remotely similar. The most clever it gets is Dave injecting Richards with his blood, which mellows him out but also revitalizes Richards. There’s a few good jabs at richards but otherwise just nothing of susbtance and like Kravitz Dave Matthews Band has been largely forgotten and unlike Kravitz or Shaggy, just doesn’t seem like as valid a target.

Fox vs Charles on the other hand was a great misdirect, changing his opponent and “punking” fox, forcing him to go from someone he was ready to throw down with to someone he rejects. There are way too many mr mcgoo style I’M BLINDDDDD gags, but Fox is a much more deserving target, and they had far more clever gags, with charles pulling out a cat o n grammys, and using a piano to finish Jamie. It’s nothing GREAT... but at least it’s actually funny and actually picked a good target for the time, if not one that has aged well. 

Winner: When Animals Attack. 1 to 2

Round 4: Who Used the Time Machine Better?

Narrowly .. rockstarmageddon. While it had the same justification for it, the original taking on an upstart attempted replacement, the keith richards gag we’ll get to in a second is better than the farley gag for not being grossly insensitive and unfunny. But neither really use it well; Rockstarmageddon just uses it to mock artists they like and Animals uses it because the first one did. Neither really had a clever idea for it other than “get it this person sucks compared to that one. 

Winner: Rockstarmageddon. 2 to 2

Episode Theme: 

Similar to the time machine, this one comes down to which one had the better indvidual theme... and i’d have to say it’s Rockstarmageddon. It used the theme POORLY, but at least it both had an interesting idea, dead rock stars vs their successors in modern day, versus an easy one (animal matchups) it abandoned for the final match and used REALLY fucking insultingly in the first match. Seriously I don’t mind a WELL done fat joke, as an overweight guy myself, but this was just...

In it’s purest form. 

Winner: Rockstarmageddon 3 to 2

Special Guest:

Each episode had a guest for the time machine... and this one is again no real contest, Rockstarmageddon wins. 

For Rockstarmageddon the show brought back frequent guest star , wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin, who I enjoy and was indeed part of my childhood and star of many video games and one of my brother’s all time favorite wrasslers. The show contrasts his blue collar hellion image with him having made the machine, getting quantum mechanics and unlike nick getting that Keith Richards is dead. Austin clearly gets the show, is fully on board playing along and has fun escorting Hendrix back to the machine and getting his revenge on Nick for doubting him that Keith Richards was alive. He just fits perfectly into the show. 

The revival.. could not get him, likely because he didn’t want to or saw the script and rightfully stone cold stunnered them, i.e. what he shoudl’ve done when Adam Sandler offered him Grown Ups 2. Seriously Adam why bring him in if he’s not going to do something wrestling related to you? This is why people don’t like your films. That and you keep giving your old buddy rob increasingly racist work. And david spade work. And nick swarsdon work. Please do keep giving Shaq work though he’s actually not half bad. 

So instead they bring in Einstein and the joke.. is that he swears a lot and drinks a lot and pulls his pants down at the end.> That.. that’s it. I mean the original , at least the episode given to me, didn’t make a GREAT impression, but at least it was creative. The Reboot came off as shockingly lazy and half assed, with lesser voice actors for our hosts and far less effort put in and this is the biggest emblem of that. Soooo

Winner; Rockstarmageddon 4 to 2

Final Round: Their Not Dead

The final round is a short one and while the winner is already decided, might as well. Both episodes do a joke about one of the guests NOT being dead.. but once again Rockstar is more clever about it. Nick is CERTAIN Keith Richards is dead, and forces Stone Cold to bring him to the present... only for Keith to show up, and there be two keiths. One fades away due to time travel stuffs, a REALLy damn good gag, and Nick’s dogged instance he’s not dead despite everyone knowing he isn’t is just damn funny. 

IN contrast all they have for the late great Adam West.. is insisting he’s dead. That’s it. that’s all they got. It’s not funny, it’s disprectful to Adam who while not an a list actor did a ton of stuff after batman. I mean the simpsons alone should shut them the fuck up...

This one short gag is a MUCH better one than that entire 7 minutes. It was also DEEPLY uncomfortable now Adam’s passed. So naturally

The Winner of this Segment and Overall; Rockstarmageddon. 

I wouldn’t say I LIKED either episode this go round, both had some pretty bad spots..but it’s very clear that while the original had it’s flaws, it was creative, had tons of energy, and a great voice cast. The revivial... has a good chris farley impersonator and that’s it. It’s very clear the people behind the reboot just don’t get the show and are doing the lazy bare minimum. While I didn’t LIKE most of the matches in Rockstarmageddon, I can at least respect the craftmanship: the animation, host jokes and energy is just BETTER. There’s a care and craft the revivial dosen’t have and the drop in quality is noticeable. 

So yeah overall the original wins.. but the episode chosen clearly wasn’t it’s best. That being said both had some good moments, and I would be open to watching more if any one wants to comission it. This experiment has been intresting so let me know in the comments if you want to see more of these and i’ll see you at the next rainbow. And please join my patreon at patreon.com/popculturebuffet. 

[drneilfox]

Scarlet's Swords: Music Films Book Blog 10 (July 2021)

A rollercoaster of a month emotionally with ‘the book’. So many moments of insecurity and anxiety washed away by a series of related and tangential moments and experiences. I went on annual leave finally, to await the arrival of our new baby and to spend a few weeks as a family with little to no responsibility or expectation beyond that. It was freeing to put on my out of office at work and simultaneously put a quasi-OOO on the book for the foreseeable. It might have been foolish given how far behind where I wanted to be I am currently, but it was liberating.

It caused me to rethink my approach, or at least know I need to (I haven’t done it yet because I’m stepping back a tad). In the downtime away from writing I have been tinkering and moving forward at a snail’s pace. One thing I did was to map out all the films I still need to see or see again, or at least have told myself I need to see or see again. It’s up near the 300. Obviously I can’t watch that many and write and read and edit and submit my first draft in February 2022. So I stopped worrying that I had to. I have been prioritising viewing and making peace with the fact that I can’t see everything. It’s weird how pervasive that sense is when writing about cinema and how hard it is to escape. The feeling that I am writing about something I love and want to share with people is subsumed beneath the fear of being ‘tested’ on my knowledge and the facts of it all (even though I’m not presenting fact) and what ‘gaps’ might tell people about me. This is sometimes stronger than the feeling that I am just a terrible writer writing a book no one has any interest in ever reading. I wonder if that’s my age, or the social media age, the fact that it’s taken me so long to get to this point or some wretched combination of all three.

The writing of the list certainly helped put the next few months into focus and my sketch of a new plan, once I am back in earnest at the desk, looks ok. I’m excited to work through the final films and get the book into even better shape. Other events in July certainly helped. One was finishing a draft of the fifth chapter on my list, on films about making music. It was a slog time wise, because of so many interruptions, but I got there on the final day of ‘work’ before annual leave. So it felt momentous and a good way to sign off for a bit.

There was also the arrival of some films from the U.S. I took advantage of the Barnes and Noble 50% off Criterion Collection sale and the fact that I have a dear, dear friend in New York (thank you JC!) to post stuff to me that would mean avoiding import tax, to get my hands on some classic films. I mainly wanted them for the extras but also because I love them. I picked up A Hard Day’s Night, Gimme Shelter (a July rewatch), Transes and one I’ve never seen, Murray Lerner’s Festival. I also picked up maybe my favourite ever music doc, Les Blank’s A Poem Is A Naked Person, and a box set of Blank’s work which includes a ton of music, music-centric, or music related works that I can’t wait to get stuck into. Blank is fast becoming one of my favourite filmmakers.

July’s watchlist was heavy hitters galore as I was watching and rewatching for my Milestones chapter so films and filmmakers included The Last Waltz and other Scorsese works (is Rolling Thunder Revue his best music film maybe?), Jonathan Demme, Julien Temple and films about the Beatles, Stones and Bob Dylan. Big. One such film was Demme’s beautiful concert film Heart of Gold, focusing on Neil Young not long after surgery for a brain aneurysm. It’s a warm and soulful film and one I saw on DVD, in New York, on a lazy afternoon before heading home, while staying with my friend John Carlin (the JC who sent posted me some DVDs this month). I was tired, I was all New York-ed out, and John put it on and we loved it. It meant a lot, maybe more, than it would normally had because a couple of years earlier I had written a play called How It Plays Out, that John travelled to Luton to perform in as the lead, and in the play he performed a Neil Young song, Only Love Can Break Your Heart. John Carlin is a brilliant songwriter in his own right. Check out his work here and buy Songs From The Black House, it’s one of the best records ever made, Fact. I love him.

I also read the first book that will feature in my book since I started writing back last year (nearly 12 months ago!), Thomas F. Cohen’s Playing to the Camera: Musicians and Musical Performance in Documentary Cinema. It was invigorating. Not only is it a great book, but it reminded me why I am working on mine. I want to be in dialogue with these other works that exist, reach out to and pull from them and survey the land of ideas that is music documentary and the writing on it. I loved Cohen’s style and confidence too. It gave me strength to be more confident about my own writing. It was also nice to see so much time dedicated to Shirley Clarke’s Ornette: Made in America, a truly magnificent doc I loved writing about.

So over the next few months I shall be reading more and more for the book. I am excited. That trip to the BFI library (where I learned of Cohen’s book), really galvanised me, in ways I’m becoming more aware of as I think more and write less.

Don’t forget, you can track what I’m watching (and maybe try and work out which films I’m referring to above and in the note fragments below) via my Letterboxd list, here.

Don’t forget you can listen in to my book themed playlist here.

Here’s what I was listening to while writing in July:

Finally, a bit of fun. Here are my favourite notes from this month’s viewing sessions:

Demme knows

“I just wanna play well and share the stage with my friends”

“He had a lot of ukeleles in the trunk”

Imagine booing one of the greatest live shows ever by one of, if not the, greatest rock n roll backing bands of all time.

Joan Baez’s Dylan impression is bang on.

“I don’t even wanna get in tune”

People lying around everywhere.

Need a shower after watching this.

Babies, planes and Nick Cave

Bob Marley tats and flags

Coke in the nose

Clapton - boring

Bob looks amazing!

“you booed!”

Keroauc’s grave

“I don’t want this shit to work. I hate it”

Bawdy

Ludicrous outfit Mick

Chilly at the heliport

[papermoonloveslucy]

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE SITCOM

 August 17 - 21, 2020

The series is presented on BBC Radio 4 in five 14-minute segments over five days: August 17-21, 2020. 

Synopsis: The onscreen pairing of Lucille and Desi is brilliant, but the American Network is doubtful.

Written by Gregg Oppenheimer based on his book “Laughs, Luck and Lucy” Directed by Martin Jarvis Produced by Rosalind Ayres

CAST

Anne Heche (Lucille Ball / Lucy Ricardo) made her TV debut playing twins Vicki and Marley on the soap “Another World” from 1987 to 1991. Since then she has mixed TV roles with film and Broadway with equal success. Ironically, she auditioned for the role in I'm Not There (2007) that went to Cate Blanchett, who has been mentioned as the next person to play Lucille Ball on film. In 2000 Heche won a Lucy Award (named for Lucille Ball) for developing and directing the HBO movie If These Walls Could Talk 2.

Wilmer Valderrama (Desi Arnaz / Ricky Ricardo) got his start on TV playing Fez in “That ‘70s Show”.  In a 2001 episode of the series, Fez dreamed he was Ricky Ricardo married to Donna (Laura Prepon). In 2008 he traveled to Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown to present "A Tribute to Desi Arnaz" as part of Lucy-Desi Days. Valderrama (born in Venezuela) said he's always been inspired by Arnaz as a performer and Hispanic American. I think 'I Love Lucy' was one of the most influential pieces of work in any decade. He claims that watching sitcoms like "I Love Lucy" helped him learn English. He said it was exciting to see a Hispanic actor established on television so many decades ago and to see someone who looked and sounded a little like himself. 

Jared Harris (Jess Oppenheimer) is the son of legendary Irish actor Richard Harris. In 1966, when Jared was five years old, his father and Lucille Ball both guest starred on the new��“Milton Berle Show”. In addition to his many film roles, he was part of the award-winning cast of “Mad Men” and the recently acclaimed “Chernobyl.” 

Alfred Molina (Harry Ackerman) was born in England in 1953 but first came to the attention of film-goers through his small role in 1981′s Raiders of the Lost Ark. He has since been successful in both comedy and drama, as well as doing voice-over for animation. Molina is now a hit with a new generation of movie fans as Doc Ock in the Spider Man films. In “Feud: Bette and Joan” he played film director Robert Aldrich, who started out as second AD on Lucille Ball’s 1942 film The Big Street. 

Mike McShane (Hubbell Robinson) was born and raised in the United States, but has acted extensively on stage and screen in Great Britain.  Fans of TV’s “Seinfeld” may recognize him for his two appearances as Franklin Delano Romanowski. In 2006/07 McShane voiced the ravenous plant in the London stage revival of Little Shop of Horrors. The musical famously includes a reference to Lucille Ball. 

Matthew Floyd Miller (Don Sharpe) reprises the role he played in the LA TheatreWorks production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To the Sitcom” in 2018.  

Janine Barris (Betty Garrett) was raised in Fairlawn, New Jersey. She is best known for playing Heather in the film Crazy Stupid Love (2011).  Barris’ great uncle was George Barris, who was famous for photographing Marilyn Monroe, a star Lucy Ricardo emulated and even dressed as on one occasion. Janine Barris plays Betty Garrett, who appeared with Lucy in 1978′s “Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena”. 

Stacy Keach (William Frawley / Fred Mertz) is an acclaimed stage and screen actor who won a Golden Glob and an Emmy nomination for playing Ernest Hemingway on television in 1988. He shared the screen with Lucille Ball at the 1984 and 1986 Emmy Awards telecasts. He is currently seen on “Blue Bloods” and “Man With A Plan”. He is probably best known for playing “Mike Hammer” from 1984 to 1987. 

Anna Mathias (Vivian Vance / Ethel Mertz) was born in San Francisco, California, and fittingly made her screen debut on a 1975 episode of “The Streets of San Francisco”. In 1985 she worked with Lucille Ball’s friend and colleague George Burns. She now concentrates on voice-over work.  

Matthew Wolf (Marc Daniels) 

Mark Sullivan (Richard Denning)

André Sogliuzzo (William S. Paley)

Others: Anna Lyse Erikson, Allegra Riggio

The book was first published in 1996. It took Gregg Oppenheimer seven years to write. An audio version was first presented in Los Angeles in 2015.

And then again in 2018.

It was recorded for audio in front of a live audience. Starring (in alphabetical order): Ron Bottitta as William S. Paley, William Frawley, and others; Seamus Dever as Jess Oppenheimer; Sarah Drew as Lucille Ball; Abigail Marks as Vivian Vance, Betty Garrett, and others; Matthew Floyd Miller as Don Sharpe, Bob LeMond, and others; Rob Nagle as Hubbell Robinson and others; Oscar Nunez as Desi Arnaz; and Nick Toren as Harry Ackerman.

Author Gregg Oppenheimer with Lucille Ball. 

LISTEN TO EPISODE ONE BY CLICKING HERE!