#but like are they just being the apple of the gaming industry or am i missing something??????

[moe-broey]

At the risk of revealing I know very little about things in general, I really don't understand why Nintendo is shutting down online support for the 3DS/Wii U? Or that like, they can even Do That? Cause like, to me it makes sense that they'd have control and the say-so on the eShop, that's like, something they run as a company and Yes it absolutely sucks ass they nuked it for profit but like. Idk if I'll even phrase this right LMFAO but it seems like something they run themselves so it makes sense that they have complete authority over it. It's in their jurisdiction.

But like??? In my mind, if you have A Device that can connect to the internet it just. Should? Like I don't need a phone plan/data to use my old phone as a Youtube running device, as long as I'm connected to the internet. Like, the internet is a third party almost, one that you pay for personally and separately from any device you can use it with. I don't understand how Nintendo can intersect that and cut it off for their devices, specifically. Like, even if they have servers??? Idk how any of that works tbh I was just under the impression that if you have a device that you own and internet access. It's just those two things. Maybe it gets more complicated when it comes to games like Splatoon, but still....

[spiderfreedom]

i notice a lot of tumblr users seem convinced apple is the only company that uses unethically sourced electronics materials and foxconn, and i'm sorry to say that's not true

every nintendo console since the gamecube has been produced by foxconn

sony's playstation consoles are produced by foxconn

the xbox consoles are produced by foxconn

like basically every major tech company you know of has worked with foxconn, xiamoi, nokia, sega, google, the blackberry

and that's just foxconn, that's just the people putting the stuff together. (to read more on this, I strongly recommend the book "Dying for an iPhone", which is a history of Foxconn and Foxconn's relation with Apple)

resource extraction is an even uglier game with fewer players. I'm sure you guys have heard about the congolese protests recently due to the mines expanding

nothing about the technology supply chain is clean or ethical. now, lots of supply chains are unethical and involve slavery or exploitation in some way or another - see the supply chain for textiles. but whereas an especially motivated and well-off person could buy from small farms for wool, the capital requirements to extract rare earth metals are so large that only large firms can afford to do so. firms with no incentive to increase the price of these operations by voluntarily caring about safety or ethics. the countries that are being extracted from are so poor and exploited that they have no real way to fight back, either.

i know we've all grown up with console wars and mobile phone wars and nintendo vs sony vs microsoft, nintendo vs sega, android vs iphone, but i'm sorry to say that it's all marketing, and all these companies play the dirty game of forced labor in their supply chain.

i can't tell you what the solution to this because 1. i am not an expert in international business? and 2. when transnational entities get involved, things very quickly become way out of the reach of what an ordinary citizen or even groups of citizens can do. foreign policy and business is out of our sphere of influence.

that's not to turn everyone into doomers, but to give perspective. there's no ethical console war here. if you're a student and you want to make this your career path, study economics, law, transnationalism... I recommend the book "Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry," which is from 2006 but still relevant. (if you are in university, check jstor, your uni may have the book!)

[exhausted-archivist]

Tastes of Thedas Lore:

New Fauna, Food, Ingredients, and General Lore Introduced by the Cookbook

I'm putting this all in one list separate from the master list so it will be easy to find. I am also including all the information we've known from the sample pages for completeness. Source of all this information is from Dragon Age: The Official Cookbook: Taste of Thedas.

I have not included anything that was mentioned in previous media, for a complete list of all the lore mentioned in the cookbook as well as the other sources that mention it, please see this post. I'm putting all this below the cut in case you are trying to avoid spoilers, as well as the post itself is long.

NOTE: I did not include any of the ingredients from the recipes themselves, just the lore blurbs as it has been made clear the recipes not only do not match up, but are also rooted more in reality than Thedas.

Culture

Anderfels has a robust pig farming industry, the climate being well suited for them to grow to a generous size.

Kirkwall is known for their crab cakes.

Nevarran's culinary practices view food to be a feast for the eyes and mouth and thus place heavy importance on plating.

Orzammar holds a competition for the Best Sauce and participants will hatch plots to steal recipes of competitors. Leading recipes to be closely guarded secrets.

Some Orzammar dwarves insist that the proximity to lyrium and darkspawn only improve the flavor of edible deep mushrooms.

Tevinter seems to be the origins of cupcakes. They historically would use them to poison people.

There are custard connoisseurs across Thedas.

General Notes on lore

Isabela has a drinking game based on the number of enemies one has. The game has killed at least one man.

Krem suggested that Bull and the Chargers use the rice they were paid with to make rice pudding.

Krem seems to hold knowledge of all dishes the Chargers eat.

Varric and The Iron Bull love sweets.

Vivienne eats croissants every morning.

Vivienne is known for dressing blancmange with white chocolate curls and whole jasmine flowers, serving the dish on a black plate.

Wyverns, like phoenix, can be deadly if not prepared right.

Fauna

Ayesleigh Gulabi Goats - Rivain

Cuttlefish - Waters around Antiva

Poussin - I want to note this is usually a term used for a young chicken or spring chicken used in a recipe, but the lore blurb alludes to it being the name of an actual bird.

Prawns - Waters around Antiva

Shrimp - Waters around Antiva

Flora

Bitter Greens - Nevarra

Black Cherry - Orlais

Black Lichen - Orzammar/Deep Roads

Blood Orange - Nevarra

Chickpea - Rivain

Leek - Unclear origins, likely Antiva

Lemon Verbena - Rivain

Lentil - Universal staple, unclear of origin

Mango - Unknown origin, but it is a common enough ingredient for Orlesian nobility.

Nettle - Mentioned to be in Ferelden, unclear if that is the only origins

Red Grapes - Unknown origin, but it is a common enough ingredient for Orlesian nobility.

Rhubarb - Ferelden

Sweet Cherry - Orlais

Spinach - Unclear origin

Watercress - Frostbacks in origin potentially

Food Dishes

In the cookbook, it does note that there are multiple varieties across Thedas for certain dishes. I listed the regions given for the recipe provided in the cookbook as they are either "classics" or traditional for that region. The ones with multiple variations that are mentioned, I have marked with a **.

Apple Grenade - Antiva

Bark Bread - suggested alternative to black lichen

Black Lichen Bread - Orzammar, as it is also plainly referred to as "lichen bread"

Blancmange - Orlais

Blood Orange Salad - Nevarra

Couscous Salad - Rivain

Crab Cakes - Kirkwall

Crouton - Unclear, simply mentioned one needs to cook chickpeas to a "crouton-like crispiness."

Crow Feed - Antiva

Eggs à la Val Foret - Orlais

Ferelden Farmer's Pie - A term for a type of pie; such as the nug bacon and egg pie.

Fish Pockets - Seheron

Flat Bread - Nevarra

Forest Fruit Cobbler - Dalish

Found Cake - Ferelden

Fried Crab Legs - a substitute version of fried young giant spiders, Orzammar in origin, but substitution created by Devon

Fried Young Giant Spiders - Orzammar

Gnocchi - Antiva

Goat Custard - Rivain **

Grilled Poussin - Chasind

Gurgut Roast with Lowlander Spices and Mushroom Sauce - Avvar

Hearty Scones - Ferelden

Honey Carrots - Orlais **

Lamprey Cake - Not actually made with lamprey, just themed. Recipe created by Devon.

Lentil Soup - City Elf **

Merrill's Blood Soup - Dalish

Nettle Soup - origins unclear

Nug Bacon and Egg Pie - Ferelden

Paella - Antiva

Pastry Pockets - recipe originates with the Grey Wardens, cookbook notes of the Orlesian Grey Warden variation **

Poison Stings - Unclear, presumably Tevinter as they were Dorian's snack when traveling from Tevinter.

Potato and Leek Soup - Ferelden

Pumpkin Bread - Tevinter

Red Grape Compote - Unknown origin, but it is a common enough in use for Orlesian nobility.

Rice Pudding - Unclear as rice comes from Rivain and Antiva, but Krem supplies the recipe.

Roasted Prawns - a substitute for cave beetles, Orzammar in origin, but substitution created by Devon

Snail and Watercress Salad - Avvar in origins, but created by Devon with the Avvar to make snails more palatable to lowlanders.

Sour Cherries in Cream - Orlais

Spiced Jerky - Dalish **

Strawberry and Rhubarb Cobbler - Ferelden

Stuffed Cabbage - Ferelden

Stuffed Deep Mushrooms - Orzammar

Stuffed Vine Leaves - Tevinter

Sweet and Sour Cabbage Soup - Ferelden

Traviso Energy Balls - Antiva

Tzatziki - Tevinter

Turnip and Mutton Pie - Ferelden

Unidentified Meat - Tevinter

Yogurt Dip - Nevarra

Food Ingredients

Couscous - Rivain

Nug Bacon - Ferelden

Peanut Butter - Unknown origin, presumably Seheron as peanuts are mentioned in Sten's dream or Antivan given the recipe mentioning it.

Puff Pastry - Orlais

White Chocolate - Unclear the origins, but is used in Orlesian cuisine.

Whipped Cream - Unclear origins, potentially universal but noted to be used in Orlesian cooking.

Suggested Food

As in these might be eaten or not, it is unclear if the narrator was simply suggesting them out of pure speculation due to the dish's mystery.

Dracolisk

Dragon Urine - Suggested that the drink name may or may not be figurative.

Giant

Additional Notes

I included fried young giant spiders on this list because it is technically different from the roasted giant spider legs we see in the TTRPG adventure Buried Pasts.

Stuffed Vine Leaves may have appeared previously in the comic Deception. However I didn't feel I could make that determination unlike the desserts clearly shown in the comic Magekiller that are easily identified to me.

Quillback was mentioned in Unidentified Meat but isn't included as suggested or speculated food due to it being eaten by Inquisition soldiers in the Western Approach.

Saffron isn't a new spice to Thedas, as it was originally mention in the Last Court. It's origins seem to come from Antiva both due to the recipe and the fact they import most spices from Antiva in Serault.

Roasted turkey was first mentioned in the Dragon Age TTRPG. Thought it is common in the Free Marches, this dish is also popular among the Chasind.

Cupcakes seem to originate from Tevinter, as Cherry Cupcakes have been tied to them both in the cookbook but also the comic Magekiller.

Pumpkin Bread referenced to Tevinter, however we know that other nations such as Ferelden and Orlais, also grow pumpkins. The dish likely originates from Tevinter given the reference of it being used to tempt one to visit the Imperium. But thought it would be worth noting that pumpkins also exist in the south.

Licorice is previously mentioned by Dorian, referencing salted black licorice candy. But it may very well come from Riviain as the Rivaini tea blend has a variation that uses licorice root and they export the tea blend.

Additionally it seems peppermint and oregano also originate in Rivain.

Chocolate is not a new item to Thedas, however it is known to be imported to other nations from the Donnarks and Rivain.

Wanna support this blog? You can check out my ko-fi.

[wrenhavenriver]

Top 5 Dishonored missions (from all games including DLC)?

yeeeeees i'm always glad to answer dishonored asks!!! i've been asked this one a few times over the years and my answers shift slightly each time but there are a few common threads - basically any level that has a fuckton of ways to resolve things, any level featuring one of my Fave characters, or any level where the vibes/art design/dialogue/etc gives me the Shivers. off the top of my head right now i'm feeling:

high overseer campbell - the sheer variety of methods you can use to deal with campbell and/or save curnow is so fucking satisfying, my go-to is smashing the glasses in the meeting chamber, following campbell and curnow down to campbell's secret room, waiting for campbell to start sneaking up on curnow with blade in hand, then turning off the music that's playing so curnow is alerted and turns around and shoots campbell down himself. "now the rats can fight over your guts" is such a metal thing to casually say over the body of the guy who just tried to murder you? and speaking of great lines, this level also features one of my fave outsider shrine dialogues: "I'm older than the rocks this place is built on, and even I didn't see that coming."

lady boyle's last party - yeah we all knew this was coming, it's practically obligatory, right? the masquerade ball. the nobility being delighted that you're "dressed up" as the guy who's been killing them. the fireworks outside and that one weeper standing sadly staring at them through the gate. the sister you're targeting/their outfit colors changing with each playthrough. signing the guestbook. "drunkenly" confessing to the guard that you're an agent of the outsider. the "there's a hole in the world" graffiti which has become my singular defining personality trait/philosophy for the last ten years! that one guard getting pissed off at you for eating his apple. [stefon voice] this level has everything. will always regret the non-lethal approach was so fucken gross but even the devs acknowledge they fucked up on that one, so i guess that's some small comfort.

a captain of industry - the number of ways you can get into the slaughterhouse in the first place. billie's report about the man off the shore watching the place and her deeply sarcastic "if i weren't so young and pure of heart, i'd suggest he's up to no good." said man being reverently fearful of daud and very efficiently establishing that daud has a reputation as a fucking scary dude. abigail ames full stop - but especially her casually murdering rothwild with a screwdriver if you leave them alone. being able to mercy kill the poor whale - and blowing up the whole fucken place afterward to boot.

eminent domain - introducing thalia and roland, both of whomst i love. the beautiful genius of roland's revenge scheme, and the hilarity of the scene of timsh being arrested. the truly eerie speech thalia gives describing the séance. "i thought only the dead appeared at séances" is such an understated line but it inspires so much dread.

the good doctor - just feels like a massive level with all the floors and secret rooms and the partially flooded basement? and i'm a sucker for a good jekyll and hyde homage. most importantly tho: HYPATIA MY BELOVED. admittedly one major grievance: in the non-lethal route we literally just leave her sitting on the floor of her gore-stained laboratory in horrific shock, what the hell's up with that.

[harrowharkwife]

mercymorn for the character game :>

aust!!!!!! hello!!!!

favorite thing about them: what's not to love. she's a bitch and a nag (affectionate, joking). she's the patron saint of women in stem. her best friend was a nun. she's terribly unpleasant. she's hysterical. she's so cunty. if you think about Anything about her for more than ten seconds you will just become so, so terribly sad. she would've loved fiona apple. she hated the sexy parties :(. she's responsible for the eighth house being Like That. she's the anatomist. patron saint of perpetuating the cycle. she refused to be a part of a plan that perpetuated reproductive injustice. she misses cristabel like a lung. she socked augustine in the jaw. she killed god.

least favorite thing about them: i mean, the complicity and active participation in imperialism. (she DOES get some points for actively scheming to kill john, in the end there, but that doesn't negate the harm done.) her treatment of harrow throughout HtN. i'd go on but i support women's wrongs <3

favorite line: her clenching her jaw so hard it sounded like ball bearings fed through an industrial grinder. "yuck!! pfaugh!!" "silly buggers" "it's a resurrection beast, honey!! next!! thank you!!" "you're on amphetamines and coke." "alecto! alecto! alecto!" the entire "critical mercymorn, unlovable mercymorn" monologue. ugh i love her so bad

brOTP: cristabel

OTP: cristabel, but also i've been mercymorn/wake-pilled as of late

nOTP: i mean. john jtdtdmdnttnsxrn. dios apate is Fascinating to think about but also i hate him for her rhdxntxjt. id say augustine but mercystine is a huge slay if you love toxic divorce which. i do. so,

random headcanon: was in love with cristabel and never did anything about it. singlehandedly reinvented the concept of faking orgasms, post-Resurrection.

unpopular opinion: loving her instead of giving her the "she's a bitch and a nag and i hate her" treatment, i guess?

song i associate with them: not about love by fiona apple, under the table by fiona apple

favorite picture of them: i am never not thinking about @franzias-cave 's "it is finished" mercymorn gif. horrifying. gorgeous. obsessed

thanks aust!!! i love her this was so fun

[groovesnjams]

33 / 50

"Ah!" by Jaloo

MG:

This year, I learned about Mr. Beast. But before I learned about Mr. Beast, I learned that I am no longer experiencing pop culture or society or the information drip in the same untranslated, mainstream way I was a few years ago. There are a lot of factors, it’s not simply aging, and I’m intensely satisfied by the way I just do not know about shit like Mr. Beast or the bird test or rizz until it filters down to my chosen sliver of reality. Mr. Beast was already all around me but I was unaware. I use YouTube daily but he’s never suggested to me. I go to the grocery store almost daily but I’m conditioned to ~shop the perimeter!! And tune his cookies or energy drinks or whatever out of my perceived existence. Anyway, all this to say, Mr. Beast is someone who decoded and subsequently gamed the YouTube algorithm to become a ubiquitous presence, a cultural force, a mirror to our monkey brains. There’s a lot that went into making Mr. Beast that I don’t really want to think about or engage with, but one seemingly small but frankly huge and insidious piece is sound effects. Whistles, hands clapping, kazoos buzzing, doorbells, explosions, anything in the Apple ringtone arsenal, etc. Mr. Beast did not invent plunking these sounds every, I don’t know, 15 seconds of “content” (Mr. Beast did not invent anything) but he is responsible, inadvertently, for my own raised consciousness. Once you become aware of sound effects you become aware of how constantly, how pervasively, how insidiously your awareness is being remotely manipulated. Sound effects (I think even more than blue light or screens or whatever) are responsible for our profoundly broken attention spans because while we may be addicted to clicking our phones on and off, we have no fucking say in how often a little noise demands “look!” and it is ALWAYS. 

So, the sound effects aren’t going away. Good luck muting literally everything. I am, instead, choosing to learn to love the bomb. If I must be surrounded by the sound of tiny plinks and rocks hitting the ground, I want it to be in the context of a Jaloo song. Every element of “Ah!” is an attention directive, not just the production, but Jaloo’s voice and his cadence, too. It’s the passive aggressive counterpart to nihilist screaming and industrial noise. It’s irritating your brain but if you can prefer that irritation then your DNA can mutate and your children can better survive.

DV:

Not having had a phone that makes alert noises for at least a decade now, I still hear "Ah!" as built out of silliness and irritants. But while I'm not totally confident about the lyric's nuance based on reading translated Portuguese, "Ah!" is definitely a song about a drunk guy trying (and failing, because he's too drunk?) to pick someone up because he's bored and doesn't have anything better to do. The song sounds like cell phones because the singer is making a call; it sounds persistently annoying because like any drunk dialer, he is annoying. It's instrumentation as punctuation, as context, as theme. The guy isn't calling us, after all, and bad hookup attempts don't sting when they're experienced secondhand. "Ah!" is an annoying story, well told, its production funky and bouncy enough to ingratiate and its punchline difficult to resist.

[tangibletechnomancy]

Lately I've been seeing an argument that essentially says okay, well, fine, take away the copy-paste myth and point out that expanding the definition of plagiarism is worse for small artists rather than better, prove you do Real Work AND demonstrate that the argument that Real Work is relevant to the Validity of art is dangerous anyway, demonstrate that the labor issue is one better managed by unions than criminalizing tools, I still won't budge because the reason AI isn't Art, let alone have the POTENTIAL to be radical Art, is because the companies that make the tools are Bad-

But let's look at where else this might apply.

iPads are popular tools for digital art - we all know what Apple's business practices are like.

Adobe is considered industry standard for many artistic purposes, and is otherwise best known for predatory pricing, anti-competitive practices, and lax security.

If we look beyond just 2D painting and illustration, the Singer sewing machine company is responsible for the likely extinction of an entire species.

And, possibly the most egregious (yet thankfully most avoidable) case on this far from exhaustive list: Noodler inks - a popular brand for calligraphy and ink drawing - turned out to be run by a neo-nazi.

Are you beginning to see the problem with "oh, well, OpenAI is an unethical company, so nothing ACTUALLY artistic let alone radical can be made using their products"? Beyond the fact that OpenAI isn't even the only name in the game?

(Hint: "And yet you live in a society! Curious! I am very smart!")

Microsoft, Adobe, Apple, Google, Amazon, etc. are NOT actually Better companies than even OpenAI. Tools being made by garbage people and companies does not change the value of the work done with them.

Some people make what they can with what they have. Some people strive to make the most ethical individual choices they can with their tools. Some people try, but find that the choice is between a tire fire, and a burning tire factory (we all know that the consumer electronics industry is a nightmare; anyone who owns a graphics tablet is in this position at best). Some people have no idea what's going on when it comes to making their tools, not for lack of caring! Some people even choose to use products made by unethical companies - obtained legally or otherwise - in a way that very deliberately flies in the face of everything that company stands for.

For me, while they'll never be my first choice (for enshittification reasons as well as ethical ones), I'll still buy Singer products if I have an emergency and they're the only game in town too. I'll still use my Google Android phone to draw on manually and take photos with while I'm out and about.

And I'll still use AI for my surrealism, because it's REALLY damned good for that.

If we've debunked all the other myths about why the tech is seeecretly inherently evil, then I just plain don't see a difference.

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

tagged by @ragnarokhound <3

name: kai (yes im a trans man named kai, its a good name, okay?)

pronouns: he/they

where do you call home: eh the general answer is west of england, midlands and up. theres a sentimental answer but its a pretty small area so im not gonna potentially dox myself in a tag game dhdjsjs

favourite animal: walrus all the way, baby! although my url is actually unrelated to my love of walruses. theyre just the best animals, theyre big old chunky boys with two big front teeth that can grow to over 3ft in length. when on land, they huddle together in cuddle piles. AND mama walruses can use their flippers to pick up their babies and cuddle them to their chest; tell me thats not the cutest thing youve heard today.

cereal of choice: im not really a cereal person or like a breakfast person at all, but if im having it, golden nuggets or nothin'

visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner: ...all of them? idk, it depends on what im learning. auditory probably less so than the others just because my auditory processing isnt just trash, its trash the binmen wont take.

first pet: my parents had four cats before they had me and my brother so i guess them? they were thomas, alfred, cally and misty. my uncle, who incidentally doesnt believe in seatbelts, named alfred.

favourite scent:

no but seriously i have a very strong scent of smell which is part of why im such a picky eater like im yet to meet a food that smelt bad and tasted good, but i just,,,, dont have a favourite scent?

my brother gave me a lynx body spray of his he didnt want pretty soon after i came out the third time, as trans this time, and its definitely a he got the spirit moment so i guess that.

do you believe in astrology: nah, its not my thing really. all the more to you if its yours as long as you dont try to ascribe my behaviour to me being a taurus, thats the mental illness or the autism or the adhd or the neurological disorder thats pushing my eyes out of my skull very slowly.

how many playlists on spotify/apple music: 28 which is more than i thought i had. right now, theres only like 3 im cycling through named dead reckoning, the old swan, and dutch angle / danish pastry.

sharpies or highlighters: yeah so like, we could never afford sharpies in my house so its highlighters my default. sharpies are like mega expensive in the uk and by mega expensive, i mean unaffordable for a child of a working class single parent.

songs that make you cry: hmm. thats kinda difficult because whether i cry depends almost entirely on my mood. if i had to name some, i guess id go with:

a little fall of rain, turning and empty chairs at empty tables from the london cast recording of les mis (its vital to specify this, okay?); george blagdens secret? recording of drink with me; breathe from in the heights; flowers, doubt comes in, promises, gone im gone, and we raise our cups from hadestown (are you sensing a theme yet?); unruly heart from the prom; here i go again specifically from the rock of ages musical (and NOT the tom cruise movie, i saw this musical live and i cried); i know where ive been by queen latifah, and also from pretty much any hairspray cast recording; if i met myself again, ugly in this ugly world and hes my boy from everybodys talking about jaime and i have sobbed at all three of these songs.

and finally: grandmas song, deep into the ground, he could be a star and once we were kids from billy elliot, and yes i cry at most of act 2, i was raised working class in a working class area that was once revered for its industry and has since been forgotten and left to drown in poverty, how am i meant to not cry at it?

songs that make you happy: hmm again. throw the entirety of the first mamma mia soundtrack onto the list. then welcome to paradise & coming clean by green day (when i was a very depressed teenager, listening to green day always made me feel better, both about the world and about myself); the irony of choking of a lifesaver by all time low because its moms favourite song of theirs and weve gone to see them live five times together; merry christmas maggie thatcher from billy elliot because fuck that bitch; legend of coco chanel from everybodys talking about jaime; sexy from the mean girls musical; do it for your lover by manel navarro; strangers & i dont want to talk about me by stereo jane (the strangers music video is so fucking bisexual yall); king of my heart by sub-radio; ghost ship of cannibal rats by billy talent; carpe diem by joker out; who the hell is edgar by teya and salena; let me entertain you by robbie williams because i sang it in karaoke as a 7 year old who did not know the words and then proceeded to get obsessed with robbie fucking williams for a while; slipping away by materia; and 68 guns by the alarm which is a funny little one because it reminds me of my dad but i still enjoy the song and ive made a conscious choice not to limit my music taste just because some asshole whos not even a good hobby ghost hunter likes it too, you know?

do you write/draw/create: all three! granted i havent done much of the first two in a while, but on my defense, losing 7-8 months worth of your memories kind of fucks you up and its oddly time consuming. also developing fainting attacks and spending a week in hospital while they fail to figure out whats wrong with you other than weirdly low blood pressure does not help. but i do have a drawing planned out to do and while i went a little too much detail on one small detail (i will justify it as soon as i actually finish it), im going to finish it. i also do origami pretty often as well as baking, and i am currently building a wooden replica of the titanic AND LISTEN, i started before the titan submersible stuff happened and i havent touched it yet because it just feels weird to, you know? also, i didnt even want to do the titanic, but like, good luck finding any starter kits that arent a) titanic and b) upwards of a £100. i would love to do a ss malolo or a mts stockholm but that aint happening and while i might be able to find an ss normandy or ss united states, im not gonna be able to afford. its titanic or bust which sucks.

tagging but no pressure: @bottlesandbarricades @vaellusvitutus @rad-roach

[obiternihili]

i am in Immense Pain due to Health is Shit so I'm going to recount my understanding of something pointless and boring to organize my thoughts and Distract Myself from Feeling Pain and then i'm gonna post it because deleting a lot of writing even if pointless feels bad

Original computers of course were basically one program one machine. Reprogrammability came quick, but still, basically ran one program at a time, kinda like a nes.

As they grew bigger they started to make machines that could access libraries of programs at a time, the line between program and function not being that clear yet

These were eventually developed into the first operating systems by the late 50s. The 60s saw the beginnings of things like Xerox's OS as the technology tried to focus on making OSes shareable - able to be operated by multiple users at once at different terminals. Bell created Multics around this time which introduced the idea of privilege tiers for users or something, but the project was a mess because Bell was kind of a mess and some defectors created Unics, that is Unix, with similar concepts and such. The do one thing and do it well attitude was kind of born out of the Multics thing. IBM also got involved with the OS/360 stuff

Running internal networks in offices and such was the driver for early computers. Throughout the 70s saw Bell license out UNIX, Xerox license out it's OS, IBM did its thing, and competitors emerge at that level. The first GUIs started to become things making the systems more user-friendly.

The rise of home computing upset things a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. IBM launched the PC on its 8086 architecture. Microsoft entered the picture with its UNIX system, Apple launched its Xerox-derived things, popularizing the GUI desktop concept. Linus Torvalds got frustrated with Microsoft's UNIX derivative not being able to support his machine to its full potential and created a free UNIX-like OS with some tools in part written by a crazy man and made GNU/Linux. The x windowing system was ported to Linux. Microsoft dropped its UNIX derivative to work on IBM's DOS, Gates' mother was on the board for IBM I think. That led to Windows.

Other home computers of note were things like the C64. Which didn't have a whole lot in terms of the OS but basically would drop you into a live BASIC environment which was enough for what it was.

The 90s was tough and MS gradually outcompeted other OSes in part because they had such a close relationship to IBM and the most popular flavor of DOS, in part because of dick moves. Apple managed to survive somehow, but barely, mostly by providing cheap mainframes for schools and certain businesses. Commodore went on to Amiga with its own GUI and everything, I think, but failed to win a market and the rights to Amiga OS are split between like 4 companies. UNIX systems managed to be popular as server OSes, because of features going back to the early days. MS and IBM got mad about windows and led MS to rewrite its OS and created the NT family and IBM developing OS/2 that kind of went nowhere.

Apple lost a ton of market space and let go of powerpc architecture and its Xerox-descended OS for intel's 8086 derived architecture and ended up forking BSD for darwin and then OSX which is basically what macs run now. MS dominated everything and were terrible and here we are. Linux established itself as a good thing to build cross-industry shit on and later android was derived from it.

As gaming started to adopt OSes instead of just BIOS (like boot processes) launching programs you'd see the dreamcast i think working on 86 stuff just a few steps aside from MS, which made it easy to port to xbox when the dreamcast died and why xbox is the way it is. xbox is of course windows nt derived. sony adopted a bsd derivative and licensed direct x from ms. nintendo did their own stuff for the powerpc based consoles and suffered security holes for it. ds was similarly in house with arm hardware, as was the 3ds. The switch derives from the 3ds software, with some adapted BSD and android code (but not a lot). steam os i think is just arch linux

i need to map out linux also

because of how modular linux is and because no one can tell you don't do that everything is customizable basically. a really good thing about linux is the concept of a package manager which installs or manages software on the computer in a neat, organized way

the first of these was basically slack back in the 90s. other package managers started coming with fancy things like conflict resolution or dependency management. basically what makes a linux distribution is its package manager; everything is relatively superficial, since in principle you can run any desktop manager your computer can build or whatever.

there's still something to other spins. ubuntu basically forked debian's packages and features more cutting edge software, also canonical's decisions. linux mint forked ubuntu by just adding a layer of decision makers between canonical and the user.

main distros i think are arch, debian, ubuntu, mint. memes meme gentoo and it's probably the most widely supported source based os, but, like, it's a bad idea to do this in ways you can only really learn from experience. there's sabayon which simplifies gentoo but defeats the purpose by existing. redhat was one of the biggest popularizers of linux in the enterprise and other space deserves mention, fedora being the free version, suse is also there, these are fine and cool despite the unfortunate name for fedora

there's a bunch of little spin offs of arch and other distros aiming to make them simpler or provide a preconfigured gui. largely pointless but whatever, sometimes you just want a graphical installer, manjaro's there for you

[marshmellowtea]

willy clarke all prompts for the character ask thing?

YES MY BOY MY BABY BOY

there's a couple questions on here that were also on the last ask game i did with him so prepare for some repeats lmao. also prepare for a lot of rambling because jfc i could not shut up about him </3

1. Favorite food?

y’know favorite food headcanons are stupidly hard for me for no reason other than me overthinking things too hard lol so i’m just gonna steal some headcanons from the discord server and say that he really likes salty snacks like chips and pretzels, he’ll eat whole bags of them in one sitting if he’s not paying attention. i also think he has a soft spot for apples and vanilla ice cream (the latter occasionally with sprinkles, if he’s feeling feisty or regressed lmao).

2. Morning or night person?

i'm gonna lean toward night person, i can see him staying up way too late and finding peace in being up at midnight when the world feels still…..buuut i can also see a case for him being a morning person, like he's used to getting up early, so he tends to wake up before the sunrise most days....this question is weirdly hard to answer for him tbh i really can see him going either way hfgkljKLDF

3. Favorite color

idk if he has a specific fave but i get the vibe that he really likes soft colors, shades that are easy on the eyes. i'm particularly thinking about pastel/really gentle shades of blues, purples, greens and grays, buuut i was also talking to someone in the server (waves at purple if you're seeing this hi <3) about him liking the color pink and that's also a cute headcanon i hold close to my heart hglkdsajf :’)

4. Headcanon(s)?

once again gonna do five here!

i assign this headcanon to all my faves but.....transfem genderfluid will lives in my head and my heart rent free. william can have a little gender okay, as a treat <3

the poor kid is absolutely touch starved, after his mom dies he doesn't really have anyone around to just give him a damn hug (and i have uh. thoughts about the nature of touch in their relationship too but we're gonna put that aside for now ghlkdsajf). the first time tanya holds him he almost starts crying on her shoulder, it's a little overwhelming for him :')

he's autistic! everyone and their mother has this headcanon ik but that's only because it's a good one lmao. i also think he has cptsd (i have THOUGHTS about his childhood okay) and suffers from periods of depression because.....yeah. yeah

i mostly have this headcanon because projection and also i think it's kinda funny hgkljKLDSF but i really like the idea that to the surprise of fuckin everyone, will really likes intense music like industrial or noise music. he'll put it on his headphones and aggressively stim to it, it just scratches a part of his brain for some reason ghdslkjf

basing this off my brother's boyfriend here lol sorry man but while he wears a lot of dark colors, he doesn't actually like wearing them all the time, lmao. he'd like to wear other colors, he just buys a lot of gray and black clothes (when he does have the money to buy clothes at least) because they're comfortable and they match all the other dark clothes he doesn't enjoy wearing, ghkdjf. i'd like to think that in a fix-it au his friends would help him develop a wardrobe that's both comfortable AND more interesting/fun for him to wear <3

5. Sexuality?

asexual! whether his romantic attraction is bi/panromantic, aromantic, or lesbian is kind up in the air for me and/or depends on the au though ghlkadsjf

6. OTP?

i am so fucking weak for willtanya it's not even funny. i am in hell over them <3

7. NOTP?

as stated before i am not big on romantic willmartha.....they're cute and all but hglkdsjf. they just don't do it for me i like them more as friends RIP

8. One way I relate to them

socially awkward neurodivergents. he doesn't know how to talk to people and neither do i goddammit ghkdalsfjKJSD

9. Are they in my top 10?

YES god yes. he's easily top ten in characters in this game, and while my top ten characters of all time tends to shift around depending on my hyperfixations, currently he's definitely up there he's just. waugh. i adore him :")

10. Favorite thing about character?

he's literally just. genuinely a sweet kid. he makes some bad decisions, sure, but i swear basically every interaction we see the real him have with other people is just him being the kindest little guy and i'm hgngnfd ;_; he's fucking baby and he deserves the w o r l d

11. Do they roast their marshmallows until they’re black, or golden brown?

i think he tries to get them golden brown but he almost always drops them in the fire on accident instead RIP

12. Secret special talent?

not roasting marshmallows that's for sure LMAO uhh i think he's actually a fairly good creative writer, both prose and poetry. i also think he's really good with animals as well (something something farmwork in the lawrence fraternity), and he's a surprisingly good singer, though he doesn't sing often. and yes i did put three here i couldn't decide between them ghlkasdfjlk

13. Do they sleep with socks on?

depends on how cold it is, i can see him going either way

14. Are they the type that takes games to seriously?

not at all, no. i think he's mostly just happy to be included most of the time ahh :')

15. What are they like when they’re happy?

canonically he kinda struggles to express himself so i don’t think he’s too different from how he is normally, buuuut i do think he finds himself smiling absently and stimming more often when he’s genuinely happy and content 🥺

16. Excited?

STIMMY BOY!! think hands flapping, bouncing in place, pacing around the room, he just can't keep still and it's so cute 😭

17. Sad?

i think he gets really quiet, tends to shut down and collapse in on himself. i think it can be hard to tell for people who don’t know him well to tell when he’s sad or upset, but with people he’s close to or trusts they tend to pick up on it pretty quickly because he’s a bit clingier/seeks out physical affection with them more than he normally does in addition to him being quieter than usual okay that last bit is more self indulgent than canon based but i think it’s really cute okay ;_;

18. Angry?

mmm this one's a bit difficult but honestly i can like. see him not really being sure what to do with himself when he's angry. i think he gets a bit terse with people, and maybe even lashing out if he's pushed hard enough, but mostly i just see him just bottling it up and stewing in it, trying not to really let himself feel it, if that makes sense. i don't think he gets angry very often, but when he does, i feel like he gets really uncomfortable with himself over it, y'know? i do have some reasoning behind this headcanon but this post is long enough as it is and idk if i can really articulate it properly so ghlkdsjf

[neon-lights-and-glitter]

you anons don't hate taylor swift being at the game, you just hate her period. it's very evident in the way you talk about her, "skinny white girl", "annoying cheerleader", "her existence just ruins everything".

maybe you should address why someone (who you don't know, mind you) triggers such a reaction out of you? i am also going to bet that most (if not all) of the anons are girls / women. the fact that you can sit here and casually discuss another woman in such a hating manner says more about you than it ever will about taylor.

sincerely, (a person who doesn't even watch / care about football, but is disgusted to see such behavior).

This!!!! 100% this!!!

You don’t even have to like Taylor’s music, but to respect her as a person or as an artist is a completely different thing.

She has done so many things that have impacted other artists and made the industry better for artists, why hate someone who has made it more fair to your favorite artist? Does your favorite artist of music on Spotify or Apple music? Then she’s benefited their career.

[realhankmccoy]

Sheesh, am i tired, kids. That's nothing new, but America's a tiring place. When I walk 6 miles in a day these days, it's still a drop in the bucket compared to my days of jogging half marathons after an 8 hour day of work in Minnesota.

plans to live -- in Carbondale and Springfield -- are on hold, possibly forever. for what i'd have to pay to Airbnb them... deffo not a wise use of money. wouldn't be so bad to rent in for a year tho.

life in Urbana has been peachy so far. i'll go back to the winter market this weekend, most likely. i've been knocking items off my to do list here pretty quickly. the Anita Purves nature center and a hike in Busey Woods was nice. I saw two horse apples in the woods.

what else was I gonna say? I don't know. i had a great sex chat last night that must have went almost 8 hours. one of my roommates right now is very much on the same political page than me -- pretty close fit there, which is rare, but he's a professor at the university here or something I think, so he's obviously not ignorant.

as far as my to do list goes, i'm behind schedule on a few things -- muscle, resume, logging my films into imdb... that's about it tho, otherwise am on task. even nailed my lease for next year earlier than planned. still feel pretty much useless... i guess i am, but it's an ignorant time and people just want to be cucks parroting stupid things all day within the range of the aperture of a useful idiot who keeps vested American power interests pleased and thriving. trump's cuck for example would be a banker's ideal cuck, that sort of strung on the laundry line middle ground babbler who says Trump is Biden, which is an ideal situation for the US Stock Market, which is always trying to keep people strung, confused, between the two parties, thinking there's no real moral difference between a total complete insane narcissistic fuckface billionaire in the pockets of the oil industry and an entrenched career politician with soft-spoken self-erasure in the pockets of teachers slowly passes back and forth between the net and there's no real action and the game just keeps going - nothing is ever disrupted this way, and all that sort of cuck -- being Trump's cuck -- will never get its ass in the street and do a real live protest even. they're far behind any sort of grassroots freedom-oriented revolutionary action, which i guess is my realm of behaviour, given my history of getting out in the streets and in the protests -- and will never be theirs.

what a bunch of cuck

but it takes a particularly dumb cuck to say Trump is Biden, and I guess in many ways that sort of sissy toddler cuck is like those toddlers who just see TWO BAD MEN up there and say OH WHATS THE DIFFERENCE

well, i mean any actual man can see there's a huge difference, about as easy to spot as a camel compared to an humpback whale

but i mean, some spoiled little girls have no Vision and should work on it instead of just trying to please their Nazi dom and rectify / square their parents with the world like a good cuck tries to do, so they basically put out their own eyes and write IM A CUCK! IM A CUCK! THE BAD MAN! I THINK IM SMART I SHOULD KNOW, I KNOW THAT A POLITISHUN IS BAD WHO KNEW? PROBABLY NOBODY EVER HAD THAT THOUGHT BEFORE THAT A POLITISHUN IS BAD? AT LEAST NOT SINCE RONALD REAGAN WHICH... IM A CUCK OF, IM A CUCK OF! which is all that comes across.

the only similarity between Trump and Biden is how Biden mirrors the Trump xenomorph in debates with Trump, offering behaviour roughly as immature and Springer show shitty as Trump himself.

that's a modality shift that's interesting, one enough to make you think the dim bulb of Biden isn't as dim as they say it is. but really, to mirror Trump's behaviour isn't hard cuz it's just shitty monkey mind crap asshole behaviour and that's one of the easiest things for any a-hole to do.

where was i with this again... it's so easy to get lost in how i was way more ahead of Trump's cuck than i ever thought would be possible and some kids are cucked just as much as 44 yr old females from my town were -- those Republican parent-pilled people always follow the exact same nonthought patterns of replicating American idiocy for the bankers, don't they kids? Where was I? hmm.

I know i was going to talk about something. i think it was about, oh, wondering where ill be living this August. Calgary for a month, Chicago for a year, Carbondale for a year are all options. Montevideo and Buenos Aires are options, too.

I dunno, it's hard to know exactly what to do with a life.

At least I'm not far behind schedule, and tomorrow -- Boneyard Creek, Champaign County History Museum, Urbana Library, Pour Brothers Taproom... Champaign Visistors' Center, it should be a pretty full day. Just gotta make sure i don't sleep in too late, and that means setting an alarm -- funny how loathe i am to do that these days, set an alarm...

Lotta work to do to keep meeting my goals. We'll see what I can do and how and when I finally flame out. Maybe I already have, but I took a beautiful pic of Chicago the other day that pleased me.

i'm not sure where the wisest place would be for me to settle in Illinois long term. there's a lot of options in this state, so that's good. Wisconsin never seems to have options to me other than Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay. Maybe / probably that's a flaw in the way I see it, but I dunno. You never know how flawed your own mind turns out to be. Mine's prob pretty flawed.

[hectormcfilm]

ATTACK ON TITAN RANKINGS

Despite only recently writing a 5000 word analysis of all 4 seasons of this exceptional TV show I’m not done talking about it. Since I have fully reviewed the show and given my opinions on its highs and lows I now want to take some time to deeper analyse the openings and the music.

I mentioned the music briefly in my main review, claiming I didn’t think season 4’s music was as good as the first 3 seasons mainly because Sawano’s soundtrack is just unrivalled in the anime industry. Attack on Titan easily has the best music in anime history, having in my opinion the third greatest soundtrack in Television, only just behind Game of Thrones and Succession. Attack on Titan’s music manages to combine tracks of pure unbridled excitement and hype, songs made for intense and action and thrills with unbelievably emotional and well written lyricism spanning three different languages. The best pieces of music throughout the show for me are: YouSeeBigGirl T:T, Apple Seed, Before lights out, Ashes on the Fire, Barricades, Cost of Freedom, Vogel im Kafig, Beast Titan, Zero Eclipse and so many more. I listen to this soundtrack non-stop.

7. Jiyuu no Tsubasa

The second of opening of the show is the only opening I dislike, everything else even if it is low down on my rankings is of a high standard and has a lot of great qualities. This opening I just find very dull and repetitive, it doesn’t capture the same excitement of the first opening but also doesn’t reach the beauty of some of the later ones. The lyrics are all pretty standard, the chorus is triumphant but doesn’t compare to any of the others for the levels of hype. Visually this one has the repetitive style of an image fading over another, most the images not really meaning anything, it also uses a lot of CGI which I’m really not a fan of. This opening just isn’t as vibrant or exciting as the others and is overall forgettable, reflecting how this section of the story is also the most forgettable.

6. The Rumbling

This opening has become very popular in the fandom but I don’t completely understand the hype, I think it is a pretty good opening but I have some problems. To start with I simply prefer the WIT art style and think it works better for openings, secondly I am not a big fan of heavy metal music so this song is very much no my style, I also don’t think the part of the song used is the best part. Despite saying that I enjoy the visuals a lot, especially the shots of each Titan shifter very desaturated, cutting between them and their titan. I also love the shot of Ymir floating and flashing as the tree flickers in the background. Overall it fits with the tone of the ending arc very well.

5. Red Swan

This is where I think all the opening become amazing, this one is easily the most emotional opening. I really like the song and appreciate it uniqueness to the others, being more slow and profound compared to the usual hype. Visually I like seeing the characters reflecting on their younger years and especially adore the shot of young Eren bashing into his older self. However, I simply don’t think this opening has as much to offer as the ones above it since it doesn’t create the same instantly recognisability and passion.

4. Shinzo Wo Sasageyo

This is easily the opening which creates the most mystery, showing the Titan’s face within the wall and having the sequence of the best Titan running with multiple animals and a dinosaur, completely confusing  the audience as it its origin. Similarly, it gives lots of subtle hints towards certain twists like Reiner and Bertolt not being part of the triumphant team line up. This opening also has the most impressive piece of action, having the scouts charging Titans on horses, then seeing Mikasa and Eren lunge in the air, Mikasa grabbing Eren spinning him and throwing him as he transforms, its unbelievably impressive and gorgeously animated.

3. Shoukei to shikabane no michi

This is definitely the most underrated and underappreciated opening, I have lots of bias towards it as it takes place during the Return to Shiganshina, my favourite arc but even without bias think its exceptional. The use of colour in this opening is striking, the sky and borders have an intense green and blue colour palette, with some rainbow effects as well making the opening feel like a painting. This also has lots of hints towards the reveals later in the season and I love the reverse technique used in the end, taking the audience back to the basement. This is also my most listened to song out of any Attack on Titan opening, I love the raw excitement it creates.

2. My War

When this opening first released I wasn’t a big fan, I didn’t like how different and almost unrelated it seemed however over the past two years my appreciation for this opening has grown exponentially and this and no.1 are very interchangeable for me I adore them both. This opening is easily the most atmospheric and mysterious, giving the least away and not even showing any characters faces. The completely white background and lack of details add a disorientating and confusing effect reflecting the horror and confusion of war. The contrast between the vibrant multi-coloured explosions almost appearing like fireworks to the blank backgrounds is visually striking. The music is also so haunting, sounding like a children’s nursery rhyme at first but combined with some electronic elements, screaming and rock, creating an idea of destroyed innocence, it is brilliant. Finally the ending shot of Eren’s titan looking like a beautiful sculpture is just perfect. Similarly, the way every human and living creature is a lifeless statue who’s animation style contrast the background creates an effectively disturbing atmosphere.

1. Guren no yimiya

Despite this being the first opening it stays the best, there is definitely some nostalgia and bias in this decision but the first opening is just undeniably amazing, turning into one of the most iconic and beloved openings of all time. The music is perfectly exciting, the visuals introducing every aspect of the worldbuilding, illustrating how terrifying and imposing the titans are as well as how impressive the ODM gear is. This also has the best climax of any opening building up the Eren killing a titan, creating a mini narrative within an opening which is very impressive. I just love this opening pure and simple.

[dramaintherain]

I've been watching dramas for a decade and a half and it's not about the quality of just netlix dramas ( although most of them look very nice but have the substance of a paper back and the writing quality of a 12 yo writing fanfic for the first time) because like you said there isn't that many of them compared to everything but how they influenced the kdrama industry just like they influenced hollywood (there are multiple articles and industry writers/actors talking about netflix and streaming by extension because companies tried to follow them and the irrevocable damage it has done to how hollywood functions not just for the quality of the art but the livelihood of writers and actors they went from big writers rooms and residuals and recurring spots to mini rooms where they do a huge amount of free work basically no residuals and actors getting paid dust here's one https://www.vulture(dot)com/2023/06/streaming-industry-netflix-max-disney-hulu-apple-tv-prime-video-peacock-paramount.html). No one is saying kdramas were perfect there were a lot of bad shows like there always are, a lot of misogynistic writing a lot of exploitation and there still is, here's how netflix is treating korean labor ( https://www.latimes(dot)com/world-nation/story/2023-08-07/south-korea-actors-netflix-pay-dispute-union). But netflix has changed the game and unlike hollywood which it started disrupting a long time ago it's relatively newer to kdramas, much shorter shows regardless of the story being told ( the actual main leads of song of bandits complained how the show got cut in half after being filmed just... because) and networks are popping out 12 ep shows like clockwork when it should be based on what the story is, 12, 16, 20? Like some of the greatest kdramas of all time weren't 20+ like six flying dragons, reply 1988, cruel city, chief kim, prison playbook, we used to get 20 ep shows and 16 and 12 and for sageuks 30 and 50, now 20 is extinct and the only show doing it is my dearest and it's the biggest rating hit, it should always be a variety, a huge number of shows getting filmed and shelved because networks have cut their slots, westernized shows masquerading as kdramas, shows getting multiple seasons when the story really doesn't call for it. Of course there are still great shows but that's not because of netflix it's in spite of them and just like Hollywood are barely starting to recover due to labor standing up for themselves with the strikes, Korea is gonna take a few years before it looks around and says wtf has happened to us, we had a model that while not perfect, worked and now... It's capitalism through and through and tech bros f*cking up another industry for money.

I have been watching k-dramas for eight years now, and the same critique of "shiny coat of painting but terrible story writing" can be applied to various dramas broadcast outside netflix so I really do not see where this thought is coming from other than narrow nostalgia.

At the same time it is nothing but ludicrous to blame the woes of Hollywood on streaming services as if there were no major issues already. Since the late 1970's-1980's western cinema became monopolised and dependent on blockbuster films based on intellectual property.

Today we are witnessing the zenith of this circumstance as the majority of films available at cinemas are nothing more than reboots or sequels, particularly the super hero gene. This has also spilled over into television series as now there are countless, fast food like shows of a certain Mickey Mouse brand that has accumulated a great deal of intellectual property when it comes to comic book characters.

I am not arguing that streaming services are less exploitative or that they have not taken opportunity of local labour laws and so on with the objective of profiting: that is how they function, just like television networks. The shift towards pre-produced k-dramas is a positive one nonetheless as it is less taxing on those involved in producing k-dramas. "Some of the greatest k-dramas of all time" were shot live and under excruciating conditions for labourers, and this model is and remains unsustainable.

It's a shame "Song of the Bandits" had several of its episodes cut during editing but this is something that happens under any production, be it from a television network or a streaming service. And that often happens because there are doubts whether a show will be successful or not. But none of this suggests that k-dramas are being "westernised" -- these shows reflect South Korean culture and history.

South Korea already has a plethora of national streaming services like TVING which is already planning to expand to the American market in a year so I do not understand why all these changes are being exclusively blamed on one streaming service when this is part of one big wave across the world and television networks are also having their share of the pie. You are effectively romanticising the exploitation of South Korean workers for your own personal consumption while deriding any changes that contribute to lessening their payload: think about that.

[greensparty]

Documentary Review - The Lost Weekend: A Love Story / We Are Not Alone

This week I got to review two very different documentaries now available on home entertainment.

The Lost Weekend: A Love Story

May Pang is such a fascinating figure within The Beatles' history. She started as a music industry receptionist working for Apple Records in the early 70s just as The Beatles broke up and John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr's solo music was being released under Apple. This lead to her becoming the personal assistant to Lennon and wife Yoko Ono. During the couple's "lost weekend" as it became known, Ono encouraged Pang to go out to L.A. with Lennon. In that time from mid-1973 to early 1975, in addition to working with Lennon on his releases, they fell in love. As we all know, Lennon and Ono reconciled in early 1975 and the relationship with Pang ended. Since then Pang has been a footnote in Lennon-related documentaries, but now it is her turn to tell her story with the documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, released earlier this year and dropping on blu-ray and VOD this week.

blu-ray cover

In this doc, Pang narrates and appears in both new interviews as well as archival interviews telling her story of that "Lost Weekend" that lasted 18 months. In that time period Lennon did the albums Mind Games, Walls and Bridges and Rock 'n' Roll. Lennon partied and collaborated with the likes of Mick Jagger, Alice Cooper, Elton John and more. There's stories within stories of stories here. It also shows how Lennon and Paul McCartney began talking and spending time together again. But one of the most touching parts of this doc is how Pang helped Lennon reunite with his son Julian (his son from his previous marriage to Cynthia Lennon), who appears in this doc as well. There is a great deal of Pang's own photographs, mind-blowing archival footage, animation to fill in certain anecdotes and more.

Lennon and Pang circa 1973

As I've said many times before, I am a firm believer that if you are going to make a documentary about The Beatles, the filmmaker needs to shine a light on some new aspect of The Beatles’ history or present something new, otherwise they are just reiterating what was already said with the 1982 feature The Compleat Beatles and 1995′s doc mini-series The Beatles Anthology, which were the most comprehensive Beatle docs ever. Close collaborators like George Martin are perfect subjects and one of my favorites was Good Ol' Freda about The Beatles' secretary and fan club president Freda Kelly. Pang's doc treatment is thoroughly intriguing (especially for Beatle fans) but I actually wanted it to go on longer beyond Lennon's death in 1980. The doc doesn't get into her being a published author, a photographer who has had photo shows all over, designed jewelry, and hosts a web radio show. I kind of wished it had showed what she has done since then. But there is a touching moment towards the end, where it breaks down the 4th wall of the documentary in a truly beautiful way (tried to not spoil it). Hopefully they make a sequel or an extended cut.

For info on The Lost Weekend: A Love Story

4 out of 5 stars

We Are Not Alone

I've always had a fascination with alien and UFO encounters. In college I did a paper about society's fascination with aliens and specifically the incident in Roswell, NM in 1947 when the U.S. government acknowledged a flying disc, but then retracted the story saying it was part of a weather balloon. Conspiracy theorists since then have had a field day with what is to be believed government cover-ups. At a time when there have been government hearings about UFOs recently, the new documentary We Are Not Alone hit VOD earlier this month.

movie poster

Director Michael Mazzola follows investigative filmmaker and reality TV star Serena DC as she explores UFO and alien encounters. There are a number of interviews with UFO experts as well as a better understanding of why they have visited Earth.

This doc is good, informative and is never boring. But the problem is, I've seen a number of docs about alien encounters and I didn't feel that this shed new light on the subject. Some of the interviewees had some interesting insight, but it wasn't anything new per se. If you are just starting to go down the UFO sighting rabbit hole, this would be a good place to start though. But it will make a believer out of skeptics. I've always believed it's a little ludicrous to think based on the vast canvas of outer space that Earth would be the only one with inhabitants, and this doc certainly makes that case as well.

For info on We Are Not Alone

3 out of 5 stars

[kazuyummy]

going anon on this bcs am too shy to get off anon LOLL 😭 hope the request match ups are still open!

fandom: daiya no ace

matchup: awkward, responsible, warm, aloof

drabble / detail: 🍎 apple - hm, probably Different Lives by Fly by Midnight with a male daiya char, please. And genre's up to you! (okay, anything else but nsfw .. yeah ... ;;)

thank you if ever you do get to this! (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

ehehe no worries, i'm happy you requested! the song you chose is like a movie soundtrack, gave me such good vibes 💫

i would match you up with KAMIYA CARLOS TOSHIKI. he gives me a carefree, teasing vibe that i think would complement your initial aloofness / potentially awkward first impression (that he would definitely think is cute more than anything), but also the warmth that follows after. you're both a bit enigmatic in that sense - an unexpected but surprisingly cohesive couple. i think where the two of you would have a bit more tension is where he's more laidback with responsibilities and you're, well - responsible! still, he'll teach you that sometimes it's okay to let things go, and you'll hold him accountable and help him grow as a person. he'd certainly admire you for all your intricacies.

bit of drabble below the cut! 💖

❀ NEVER KNEW (I'D BE THE ONE TO FIND YOU)

the first time you met kamiya carlos toshiki was outside the doors of inashiro industrial when he nearly ran you over - a speedy, sweaty bullet of a man, shirtless and shining under an unrelenting sun

he had winked at you with a, "sorry, sweetheart", and continued dashing off to wherever the hell he'd been going - cue eyeroll

after that, high school with him had been filled with some cheesy pick up lines on his end, inviting you to watch his baseball games, and interrupting your lunch in the caf with friends to yell a hello at you

it's not that you ever particularly disliked him - you just didn't know how to respond to such forwardness and decided to keep your distance from that cocky smirk. he was certainly a kind person, if not a bit perplexing at times

he'd had a reputation of being a bit of a playboy - with that smoulder, admittedly nice body, and outgoing personality, it wasn't a secret that he was well-liked among the school population

so when you end up recognizing him years later - behind the hoodie and sunglasses he sports as he stands in line for his coffee in front of you, you can't help but whisper-yell, "carlos?"

he tenses up, and you realize your mistake - after becoming a pro player in japan, he's definitely trying to stay on the down low

but when he turns around with a nervous grin, it slowly melts into a bright one and he calls out your name as if it's refreshing and familiar all in the same - like a spring breeze after a cold winter

you actually expected him to be the type to revel in all the attention, and you're sure he has his share of fangirls - but when he asks you a specific question on a project you've been working on only known to people on your socials, your interest is piqued - had he really been keeping up with you this whole time?

he has an air of maturity to him now, you note, as you fetch your drinks and begin walking outside. you expected some sort of line from him like, "it was always you", but the conversation flows naturally and effortlessly

"hey, listen. i have an interview to get to, but... can we do this again next time? like, longer? i know a good sushi place."

"like, a date?" you blurt out, and you see the always-confident carlos smile bashfully with a small nod.

something in your heart skips, telling you to take a leap. and you love the excited light in his eyes before he dashes away again when you smile,

"... i'd like that, carlos."

i feel like "meeting up with an old friend into possibly something more" was the vibe i got from the song, so i just went with it ehehe. also carlos is super underrated and tbh i'm jealous i gave him to you here LOL. hope you enjoyed!

read completed matchups here 💫