#but the most consistently high quality photos are always gonna come from people who work diligently to master it

[quaranmine]

seeing people use photography as a defense in favor of ai art (photography is easy/photography didn't replace drawn art/they're both just machines humans put input into to create things) makes me sort of violent as an amateur photographer

i am not hiking out to places, literally laying on the ground to get angles, memorizing aperature and iso and shutter speed and white balance information to compensate for constantly changing real-world conditions, paying attention to specific compositions, etc just for u to say it's the same as feeding some prompts into a computer. respect the technical expertise that goes into it or die by my sword

[ngame989]

I'm new to writing fanfic, and always work solo, so when I saw you have a whole team at your disposal, it blew my mind. I've got a list of questions about that: 1. How did you guys find each other and get started? 2. How does your work flow look for a story vs. a page/chapter of the comic? 3. How much do you love having an editor? 4. How does your work change from draft to final? 5. The quality of your prose is very consistent, is that just you as a writer, or is it your team keeping you good?

1. Seddm, EA, and Dino were all good friends of mine from the fandom from before or during Season 3 (I started watching the show between 2B and BFM). Toxic started watching the show sometime in late 2018 and messaged me on Tumblr for some sort of formatting help, or tips and tricks for getting posts more noticed in the fandom or something? I don’t remember and Tumblr DMs are awful to navigate, but we quickly bonded over what really matters most.

Lawchan had been a longtime follower of the show and fanfic author who inspired me to get into it back after 3A and we started talking and became friends at some point in the last year or so. BMC popped into my askbox when I opened it up to headcanon suggestions and ended up sending me over 100 in a span of 3 days that were all wonderful and creative so we started talking more. This really is a “team” in a loose sense, I just have a ton of awesome and creative and supportive friends willing to help out with this.

Oddly enough, this project started less than a day after (and was inspired by) Lake House Fever. I had already been thinking about getting back into fanfiction writing after S4 ended and we were pissed and salty and just needed good Starco thoughts so I hit him up and we started chatting and thought “huh wait a Star and Marco section of a family photo album would be a cool concept for some sort of series” and it evolved from there. We’d planned out a lot of the basics for the comic before the show ended and were waiting on the canon resolution before going any further, and Cleaved shook a lot up for what the postcanon status quo would be, so my whole aforementioned group all sat in a Discord channel on and off for literally 8+ hours the day after Cleaved and roundtable’d the entire backbone of the Earthni timeline for almost every major character (so if there’s people in the credits for TGG that haven’t shown up directly in any works yet, that’s where they contributed).

2.  Overall I’m the project lead and head writer so the majority of specific ideas, what should this page have or where is the story going, etc, come from me although anything we do gets signed off on by at LEAST me, Toxic, and Seddm first.  For comics, I usually plan the concept (Star goes here, these people are talking to each other, happy or sad, etc) and then let Toxic do his thing - he’s great already but is SUUUUUUUUPER amazingly wonderful at reading my mind and making visuals that represent my thoughts even better than the visuals in my head for them. He’ll do a rough page layout and sketch, we workshop that, then he does line-art, we look for any issues or revisions there, then he colors as I make the dialogue.  Usually takes a few days of back and forth.

Honestly my workflow for writing fics is absolute ass and you should not learn from us (ESPECIALLY me) if you’re getting into the game, hahahaha. Every day that I say I’m gonna write something, I usually end up dicking around at my computer until 1 AM and THEN decide to write a little bit and lose sleep over it. A lot of Glow was written between 2 and 6 AM on a Saturday night. I’m ridiculously nitpicky of my own work and half the time before I even finish typing a sentence I’m already erasing it because I decided it was dumb or did something wrong, which makes drafts take F O R E V E R, but the silver lining is that my first draft is already very polished by the time it’s done.

Overall, we play to our strengths - Seddm and I are general idea guys, “wouldn’t it be funny/cool if X” or “we should tell a story about Y” etc, and Toxic is especially wonderful at coming up with fantastic visual designs or gags or whatever else. So there’s plenty of times where I’ll give him the rough outline for a comic page and he’ll slip in some goofy background thing that makes it so much better, or I’ll give him a joke idea and it’ll work amazingly. I also like to call Seddm my “internal debate moderator”. When I’m struggling to figure out what to do for something, I’m often torn between a few ideas. Getting outside advice on it can obviously be really helpful, but there are times that it leaves me even more confused about what to do. But because my and Seddm’s understandings of the characters and senses of design and humor are so damn similar, he can basically serve as both a neutral voice and still part of my own thought process at the same time, which really helps me get my own personal ideas in order before running them by others.

3. Editors are great and wonderful and perfect and I love my friends to death for graciously helping week in and week out with this when I ping them with “hey guys shat this out, sun has been up for an hour so im gonna go fucking die now bye”. As stated earlier, perhaps my need for one isn’t AS high because I self-edit so compulsively as I go, but it’s soooooooo easy to get caught up in your own head and intentions and not spot obvious issues with your own writing that outside voices help a ton.

4. Whoops I guess I answered already. Very little.

5. Given that edits don’t change much about the structure of my writing, I guess it’s me - thanks! But my team is great about keeping me in line with my own vision in editing and hitting any lines that just seem out of place. There was one particular cut line in Glow that I won’t post here that was easily a full standard deviation of naughty greater than the rest of the fic’s tone (unintentional, it was very late -_-) and that got caught and shot down real quick lmfao.

[mayfuji]

Oneus Twilight full comeback review

When I say full comeback review it’s because it’s a FULL comeback review. From the concept films to the Japanese verison, were gonna cover a lot so get a cup of something to drink cause this will be hella long aka Bible (I’m a nice person I’m telling you this beforehand).(You should do a Youtube video review then… nya… BORING)

So let’s begin. This is not the first time I follow a group comeback in real time… You know… Checking everyday the performances, so I kinda know how it works. We have gone through a lot of stuff… KARD You in Me, GFriend Fingertip, Red Velvet Peak a Boo, Dreamcacther as whole, BTS Fake Love, F(x) Dracula, BTS Wings album as a whole and last but far from least BTS Blood Sweat and Tears. I wouldn’t call some of them dark concept, I also wouldn’t call some of the sexy concept. By these examples you can see I have my standards pretty high. I’m that annoying perfectionist old uncle and declare myself guilty. For years Blood Sweat and Tears was the top song for me. (I’m a sane person ok… That doesn’t mean I listen to it 24/7). The MV had very beautiful aesthetics and I liked the lyrics and the song. Clothes were cool and the coreography too. F(x) Dracula would come in second and I never thought something could also join these two. Until… It happened. I knew RBW was releasing a new group but I just waited. Turns out I found out the group some months later then the actual debut. Oneus debuted with Valkyrie. The way they changed the coreography every stage, the amazing fashion sense, song was good quality. They had vocal thecnique, they had dancing it caught my attention and Valkyrie was straight to my playlist. Then… it happened. The group’s first comeback. I don’t know how, when or even who am I but I found out about the comeback EXACTLY AT THE RIGHT TIME (Technically not because I was 16 hours late). I know you know we know, we are not going retro like 80’s or 90’s. We are not going retro like acient Corea like BTS Idol. We are going retro 1500/1700 not Japan, not China, not Corea, EUROPE. Welcome to the renaissance. The MV was shot in Italy, the amazing fashion sense strikes again (I swear to God stylist min is communicating with me), the song, the lyrics, the coreography, the cool colored camera filters, I need to mention the vocal technique again, the rest of the album being consistently good (BingBing), I dare say nothing is perfect… But man… This gets 99,99% of what I call perfection. It’s a shame they didn’t win any music show… Because they are a newer group and still don’t have a large fandom? WHO CARES. Let me tell you something BTS sucess should have been in 2017 Wings… The high point of their artistity…  Ateez was also a newer group AND THEY DID WIN. I give congratulations to them but Oneus needed to win and it had to be with Twilight nothing changes my mind. (Don’t come to me saying we can give them their win next comeback, it won’t do it) This type of thing only happens once in a lifetime, why? Repeat and it gets boring, they can do the same concept again but it won’t be the same, same for BTS wings. It’s not about quantity is quality. Veiws never mattered to me and now I can say with all my mighty that wins do not make art. (I was never a fan of streaming but you count my ass off this mess cause YES I did some small streaming of the MV, I did my homework) (Take in account they did this comeback with BLOOD IN THEIR EYES) (Please give Dreamcather and KARD their first win too. Did you know that with You and I Dreamcatcher also had comeback with blood in their eyes??). Let’s start with the song name… Twilight. Remember 2009 movie sensation Twilight? Yup that’s it… I know you know we know, we are going deep in the vampire/ werewolf style in here and why I said I know you know we know? Xion posted about it on Twitter… 

THEY ARE AWARE therefore I know you know we know. JUST IMAGINE THEIR LIGHTSTICK AND FANDOM COLOR AND END OF YEAR PERFORMANCES. CHECK OUT ONEWE TOO.(I took the liberty of making a playlist with extra post promotion content (with English sub) - cause I know you all love content - linked below, you don’t need to thank me, not I’m not putting english girl, focus on Twilight)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTiTzw8HrCfxRiB1DyD77ktE9UQm6sBeQ

Just in case you haven’t watched this beautiful MV here it is.

Song, yes. Lyrics, yes, coreo yes, key point of coreo YES, Keonhee vocals YES (I trust this legend vocal thecnique more then I trust myself). Aesthetics? YES. Italy? I need to sneakly and illegally go there RIGHT NOW. This is a whole YES. ( Sir... If you think I haven't noticed the moon changed from previous album you are wrong cause I noticed. Sir are your albums going to complete the moon please say yes... Also... Have you noticed Woongie used the wet hair effect? + his brown eyeshadow is stunning.

Also line and center distribution is on the playlist for in deepth study... Twilight is basically Seoho eating up all the line AND center distribution and detail... the only thing he does is SING THE CHORUS. Also thanks Keone Madrid for making this coreo for Oneus (he also did BTS Blood Sweat and Tears -  DO YOU SEE THE PATTERN). Also rumors that Oneus actually created about 40-50% of the coreo so also thank you Oneus hehe.

Bitch it's me we are taking about do you really think I would miss a possible plotline?? Xion is with a red diamond and later he breaks it into dust (I'm scared). Keonhee is with a ring. Ravn is looking at his own reflection in the water and Seoho is looking at his own reflection through a broken mirror. Woongie is with a necklace. I guess the high point in Leedo's individual shots is the wolf (question mark)... Woongie and Keonhee are the only members that change the eye color. Seoho and Woongie are the only members that simulate super powers (question mark). Summary they all lost someone.... Silence is also a way of communication... I'm not a huge fan of theories or the fanfics I know ya'll write later in wattpad but fell yourself served, you're welcome, no need to thank me.

Now some highlights.

Ok this goes straight up to the hall of iconic earnings… (Man... But his walk was so POWERFUL)

How ASIA did not notice two SKULLS in here and how they are not SHOCK??? The ring is small… BUT POWERFUL.

Question time, if they had money to do the CGI then why didn’t they erase this little hairs in Leedo’s eyebrow?????? We’ll never know...

MV behind (english sub cause I love you all ~~ plays english girl in reverse in the background ~~)

Humanity mystery here. They recorded a version of the coreography when the sun was actually falling down in real life and we see those scenes in the MV. But if the whole staff was SHOCK about the key part of the coreography being extremely perfect and beautiful then why not use it on the MV? Sure the version they used outdoors was pretty too but this was ALSO awesome and I think I need as many version of the MV as I can.

Album review

Of course I would listen to the whole album.

Intro - What can I say... it fells so chill out, kinda minimalistic I just loved it. Twilight - Just amazing... I liked the dumbstep, the music is confusing witch I find extreamly cool. English Girl - Let em tell you not my type of song... but the lyrics are extreamly funny and relatable... so I forgive (I’m waiting crazy ho now Oneus, do not disappoint me) BingBing- YOU DON'T FREAKING START A SONG IN FRENCH IF NOT AIMING FOR TITTLE TRACK LEVEL. Ok and can we talk about the coreography???? BEAUTIFUL and I want to know the mastermind behind it. I just don't know why this was not above English Girl on the tracklist... White Night - Ok a more slow song but as always Oneus always delivers. (low key Red Thread sequel??) Now - This gives me Calvin Harris vibes. More dance eletronic standard pop but it's good...

PACKING-

Look... the CD case is very unique but think about it... if you take your album from above there is a risk everything wil fall... (1theK unboxing on the playlist, cause they were the cover for 1theK youtube chanel so 1thek is Oneus bitch)

1theK Suit dance and Dance cover contest

Please give Seoho something that WILL NOT FALL FROM HIS SHOULDERS cause clothes are made to be comfortable. What is the point to take off the jackets when the night is COLDER??? (Wait.. let me answer that one… cause you can’t see black in black… I get it… BUT REGARDLESS) one of the mysteries we’ll never know. (Poor ties must have suffered a lot in the middle of the harnesses)

Now before we jump into the important stuff let me tell you a secret… Keonhee is the most difficult member to dress… why? He’s 1,81 cm tall… anything you give him to wear can make him look even taller and his face is more projected (did you know he uses braces?) so you really need to pay attention to his hair. We’ll use this information latter.

So the first performance ever was… Guess what… Before the MV was released and where? JAPAN (My half japanese ass is shaking). So people there kinda received a spoiler (clothes too) and Mnet uploaded it in the same day of the MV release so other people that weren’t at the kcon wouldn’t receive a spoiler. No complains here except Ravn chocker being TOO BIG and Keonhee clothes making him look taller. (Nice expensive microphones you got in here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaxWHKRm9xo

Now the actual comeback in Corea begins. (Images cause tumblr won’t let me upload the videos) (I’ll upload the links below the image) (No… before you ask I’m not uploading english girl, too much work… focus on twilight) ( As I spoiled above English girl was the chosen B side. Look... I know it's us international fans unofficial anthem but c'mon... BING BING) (I know I'll miss camerawork in here but I'll eventually get the hang of it) (Don't ask me about make up cause unfortunately I don't have 4k 360° to get THAT close up. But from other close up photos I trust their make up artist) 

WEEK 1

31/05/19

https://youtu.be/qe2p_nKZ7uo

First choice was the ACDC Black in Black 1.0 clothing set from the MV, Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… Pretty clothes but… YELLOW LIGHTS??? with red?? is this ketchup and mustard? The lighting did not appeal to me and shout out to the physics mystery.

2:03 (Time stamp cause I love you all) HOW ON EARTH DID HIS EARPIECE END UP THERE? I guess we’ll never know.

01/06/19

https://youtu.be/adhuo5pMVbw

Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… but oh his hair was NICE… Fight me I’m the last person in the world to advocate in favor of coconut hair but it looks nice on him. No yellow lights so it’s a win situation, I like to call this the GLOVES set of the MV.

02/06/19

https://youtu.be/j7DhdicaV9I

Kudos for the physical scenario and Woongie earings (same as the MV). Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… no yellow lights… and this comeplete all the clothes they wore in the MV. Please… save Leedo from his chocker… too large.

04/06/19

https://youtu.be/Rl1f0vSxP14

THE SUITS a whole YES. Keonhee clothes were good but we got yellow in here and this is a NO, Woongie coconut hair was also a no but Seoho red highlights? YES. Also… Woongie… the harnesses should go UNDER the jacket not ABOVE it…

05/06/19

https://youtu.be/xmLNWuAyc9Q

Repeating clothes… but this doesn’t bother me. Ketchup and mustard lights is a no. Woongie earing yes and in case you haven’t noticed Seoho gold huge ass rings… blame the yellow lights. Keonhee hair was actually nice.

06/06/19

https://youtu.be/LcRe_SUL7Ok

Physical scenario yes, yellow lights no, clothing NO, Seoho huge ass rings YES. That’s the summary.

07/06/19 v1

https://youtu.be/hlrKa9b_P60

Uniforms? Approved, Leedo earing approved, Physical scenario approved. Orange? NO. Keonhee harmonizing with himself 1.0? YES

07/06/19 v2

https://youtu.be/3bI3GY4nALE

So… they blessed Japan with that set of clothes now it’s Corea time. Ketchup and mustard lights is a no. No earings or rings today… but  Keonhee harmonizing with himself 2.0? YES

08/06/19

https://youtu.be/0K1bhbuvYYU

You know what this SMELLS like? PERFECTION. Purple, black and red the holly trinity of colors. Keonhee clothes finally making justice to him, his hair was also nice. A LOT of light in the scenario to get THAT CLEAR LOOK cause I want to SEE things. Not a single yellow light… Woongie earings? YES. Please save Ravn from his chocker. Seoho dear… what is the point of wearing a black waistcoat… WITH A BLACK SHIRT? (But it’s approved regardless).

09/06/19

https://youtu.be/kf_C_GaCeGA

I present you Michael Jackson Black or White 1.0 clothing set. Woongie earing? YES. The light was a bit tricky. Chorus was beautifully black and white. We also had blue/green. In the red one we had yellow lights but it didn’t bother me at all. Overall it’s approved to me.

WEEK 2

11/06/19

https://youtu.be/eQcu7UH3354

They repeated clothes, but it didn’t bother me. Seoho rings? YES. No yellow lights. This is also super good and I can’t choose between the two times they wore this clothes.

12/06/19

https://youtu.be/DdI37HMWAJk

They repeated Michael Jackson Black or White 1.0 set. Ketchup and mustard? Purple? Lighting was a no. Seoho ring was a yes.

13/06/19

https://youtu.be/hBGhwPXRVec

New clothes yay. Keonhee hair and clothes were nice, I don’t know what to think about this set of clothes because I was never a fan of prints or this variations of cream and brown. The way the lights were positioned was tricky but the small amout of yellow lights didn’t bother me at all. No rings or earings today unfortunately.

14/06/19 v1

https://youtu.be/8jyzbTMMUgw

Clothes were repeated witch is a no. Do not think that instead of wearing silver or gold wearing black jewelry will make me forgive the clothes. No rings or earings today unfortunately. Ketchup and mustard lights is also a no. Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… This whole performance was a whole no.

14/06/19 v2

https://youtu.be/7fIFwRPK9tk

I present you Michael Jackson Black or White 2.0 set. IT’S HIGH END JEWELRY YOU WANT? IT’S HIGH END JEWELRY YOU’LL GET. Seoho rings (in both hands), Woongie earings, Keonhee double necklace, Leedo earings and TRIPLE necklace, do you know how powerful you have to be to use a triple necklace? The only things that killed it were the hand microphones and the yellow lights…

14/06/2019… I will never forget this day… How do they DARE to arrive at the recording… like THIS?

and when it’s performance time they step down the clothing? Well the clothes they were using ARE pretty but the ones they arrived? STUNNING ( aka ACDC Black in Black 2.0). Stylist min there are occasions you need to save the outfit to use… just arriving at the recording with those clothes is a waste of fashion. It could easily replace one of the times you repeated clothes. (I may say make up and contact lenses were on point too)

15/06/19

https://youtu.be/4LticXTZC8U

(Thank you music core for the low definition)

Yay new clothes, the hairs and clothes look SO FLUFFY. Seoho rings yes, Woongie earings yes, Leedo rings YES, lighting was good, no complains here.

16/06/19

https://youtu.be/z1A7pgFJMVE

First of all I’m really mad because they cutted the song. Second I’m really mad because they didn’t upload on YouTube. It’s seems like this is was pre calculated beucase it was EXACTLY WHEN THEY CHANGED THE COREOGRAPHY. I don’t know if they changed because they knew the song would be cut or if it was really a coincidence… humanity mistery again. Lighting was so beautiful until they came with the yellow… Woongie hair was so fluffy and earings was a yes. Clothes were Michael Jackson Black or White 3.0 and that’s it… That day I learned my lesson… you either are team rings or team gloves… there is no in between.

WEEK 3

18/06/19

https://youtu.be/xGnQRWIejOc

They repeated Michael Jackson Black or White 2.0 set. Yellow lights? This is a no.

19/06/19

SKIPPED CAUSE WEEKLY IDOL

20/06/19

https://youtu.be/uDQhH1X6SCk

I present you the new year eve set… Happy new year everyone, white and gold. From the same writers of black waistcoat with black shirt we have white waistcoat with white shirt. Ketchup and mustard lights? No. Seoho rings, YES. Woongie earing? YES. Shout out Ravn looks super good and Leedo chocker was middle term. Xion was not present and they had to do small changes (I SEE YOU SEOHO THANK YOU SIR)

21/06/19 V1

https://youtu.be/OOdS62gRMOg

Suits YES. Seoho rings, YES, we didn’t have earings… I’m sad. Ketchup and mustard lights? No.

21/06/19 V2

https://youtu.be/gU8cdpbEK0k

I’m sorry… WHAT????? Clothes are a no… Grey? With black purple and red? No. Noodle hair Woongie? NO. Woongie earing? Yes. Hand microphones? No. Yellow lights? Like…

SERIOUSLY??? NO.

22/06/19

SKIPPED

23/06/19

https://youtu.be/dBDRVdC9ntQ

(I’m so sorry for the low definition here)

Same old story. I’m mad they cutted the song, didn’t upload on youtube and exactly when they changed the coreography. On the other side we have new clothes yay. It’s not only black and gold powerful match. It’s black and gold with snake print cause I’m a bad bitch. It’s the only place where they NEEDED to use the yellow lights and I’m actually mad they used black and white. Someone save Seoho from his chocker. Color scheme was great but it’s not like the clothes desing are bad. I just feel it could have been better. We didn’t have earings or rings today BUT HEY, FANSING, BING BING HAS A COREO AND ITS AWSOME. 23/06/19 will be in my heart (even though it was just a sneak peak).

4 WEEKS BICTHES

Ya’ll misbelievers will hear this song untill your ears BLEED

25/06/19

https://youtu.be/rg_x8oKwibs

Woongie you really fooled me here I was scared. He only did the fingerheart cause it was their last performace at that specific program. Repeating clothes… Lighting was good, no earings or rings… Well really tricky. I don’t see roots so you all did a touch up on the hairs and Woongie got a little bit blonder… I don’t like it, it don’t think the color suits him. Keonhee hair got a little darker but no problems… That’s it.

26/06/19 

https://youtu.be/dMUSRroP1K0

Repeated the new year eve set. Seoho had to repeat the clothes for me to understand the clothes. Seoho ring yes, Woongie earing yes. Lighting was huge no, all crazy combinations like blue and yellow and purple and etc. But in the ending even though it was yellow the lighting was pretty.

27/06/19 ~~FINALE~~

https://youtu.be/TfEpkKwGQuA

We going Marilyn Monroe Woongie? His earings as always YES, Lithing... well… very tricky since we almost couldn’t see it but it didn’t look promissing. White and cream with black look more promissing then grey with black and red and purple… but not my favorite clothes, they have better weapons… Well… that’s it.

I wish they would go the whole week but they didn’t…

SUPRISE BITCH, YOU THINK 27/06/19 WAS OVER? THINK AGAIN

Oneus first photobook in Milano was announced. I won’t go into detail cause this is not the goal here... but we get it... YOU WEREN’T JOKING AROUND IN ITALY. Usually it takes a lot of time for a group to come up with a photobook so I’m proud and that was pretty smartass way to finish promotions if I may say...

Now… you have seen me against the yellow light for the whole post and you must be asking yourself WHY? Well… when you have the work to color correct the entire MV to cool colors YOU MUST AS WELL DO IT ON THE PERFORMANCES… that’s it… it’s called color pallet and you should respect it. Or in other cases like when they used black and gold respect the color palette of the specific performance.

Now let’s go to 05/07/19 Oneus is a newer group so I wasn’t even dreaming about this cause again... It takes a while for this to happened. My spider senses told me something was off when they announced they would be attending breakout in Japan and SURPRISE. Twilight japanese version was announced. Versions A/B/C and CD+DVD. Some questions were raised. There will be another version of the MV and new clothes? If yes I WANT SOMETHING ON THE SAME LEVEL. Will there be a instrumental version? Will they put Valkyrie japanese version too? They would all be answered later... AND MORE. They had the audacity to show BingBing complete coreo for the first time. They must really love Japan. Legends also say that they already performed the japanese version in this festival.

I was getting uneasy with the release date coming closer and no photos of the covers of the CD’s... then 25/07 they released a schedule... I wasn’t really expecting a schedule but I was happy cause next day we would have a teaser of the MV and surprise, it was basiclly the same thing. Good because is quality stuff but bad cause I was waiting somehing new... 29/07/19 We got tracklist and GUESS WHO WAS THERE?? EXACTLY, VALKYRIE JAPANESE VERSION +++++ TWO new songs.... We are blessed.. until 30/07/19 where we got what actually was happening...

IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL LIMITED CD+DVD? It follows Raise US desing but I wanted something more... It fells like it’s missing something...

Version A (Clearly Valkyrie) IT’S INSTRUMENTAL YOU WANT? IT’S INTRUMENTAL YOU’LL GET. But I’m sad... where are the other two new songs you may ask?

Verson B OOONNEEEE of the new songs (ok we also have it’s instrumental too and cover is ok)

Version C THE OTHER SONG (we have it’s instrumental too and I didn’t know people had silver skin...)

Do you see the strategy? Each version has one of the songs so you have to buy all the versions... And I didn’t like this...

07/08 The MV was released. They don’t have official youtube chanel so they uploaded in the company that represents them in japan.

The major changes were the individual shots as they had to sing in japanese. Nothing to complain in here, their pronunciation was good but the lyrics timing didn’t seem to match the song. Valkyrie had a better japanese version then Twilight... I loved the two new songs we got too.

(Bless the person who putted Korean and Japenese side to side, I saved the video on that huge playlist)

Also, can we appreciate how well Oneus and Twilight was received in Japan? They went to national television, topped Oricon AND Billboard Japan. Tower Records was EMPTY on the first day and they promoted for almost a whole month with shows. Japan basically adoped Oneus.

But nothing is flowers. It’s was extreamly difficult to buy this single online outside japan.LET ME TELL YOU. CD japan? Nothing, Amazon japan? Nothing, Yahoo Japan? Nothing. Rakuten? Nothing, YesAsia? NOTHING. THE ONLY PLACE I COULD FIND TO BUY THIS ONLINE IS TOWER RECORDS OFFICIAL WEBSITE WITCH GUESS WHAT IT IS IN JAPANESE. AND TO BUY OUTSIDE JAPAN YOU DON’T BUY FROM THEIR WEBSITE. IT’S FROM ANOTHER WEBSITE WITCH TOWER RECORDS THEMSELFS PUTED THE LINK IN THOSE HUGE ASS BANNERS IN THEIR WEBSITE. Summary it was  literally giving birth to buy this online.

I tought I could rest BUT NOT. They would attend Soribada Music Awards... THEIR FIRST AWARD SHOW. Look I love Valkyrie... but I want Twilight to be performed and I WANT FASHION OK. I’m full of expetations, do not disappoint me Oneus. The day of the award show came and well... I was actually disappointed. Simple suits and the performance clothes? They repeated one of the worst weapons in their closets. C’mon... if you are going to repeat you have better choices IT’S NO EXCUSE... that’s the summary...

Well, from now I have covered everything... Don’t sleep in Keonhee vocals, Oneus has TWO MAIN VOCALS, appreciate Woongie vocals, that’s it.

If y’all want in my research I have build a really small database of Woongie earings in this comeback, maybe in the future I can do a compilation.

And that’s the end… if you got here congratulations you are a warrior and me too for the hours of links, print screens and editions… Byeee

[theseventhhex]

John Moreland Interview

John Moreland

Photo by Joey Kneiser

Moving from Kentucky to Tulsa when he was ten years old, John Moreland fronted hardcore and punk bands throughout high school years before feeling the pull of the lyricism he heard in folk and country music. Moreland has been composing pointedly and prodigiously, releasing largely self-produced albums every other year since 2011. His fourth album and first with 4AD, ‘Big Bad Luv’, was recorded in Little Rock, AK, and mostly with a crew of Tulsa friends. Coming together in three sessions over ten months, which were sandwiched between touring dates and life, the final album was then mixed by Grammy winning Tchad Blake. Providing a unique and captivating experience to listeners, Moreland’s music consists of a welcome change in attitude, but his point of views remain compelling, engaging and showcase truly inspired songwriting… We talk to John Moreland about recording with a band, spirituality and basketball…

TSH: Having received such deserved and widespread acclaim for ‘Big Bad Luv’, when you overlook and assess this record now, what sort of emotions do you feel?

John: I’m still really proud when I look back on ‘Big Bad Luv’, it’s been out for a while and my feelings towards it haven’t really changed much over time. You know, the goal for me with each record is to make an album that I’m happy with and one that I feel like I’m going to look back on in many years down the road and at least not want to cringe, ha! That’s really all I’m thinking about, and I feel like we accomplished a record to be really happy and content with in ‘Big Bad Luv’.

TSH: With this album you recorded with a band in the truest sense, once it was done you felt it was such a welcome change to work in this way...

John: Yeah, totally. Working with a band helped to keep me from overthinking things. For example, I didn’t have to think about the bassline because the bass player was thinking about the bassline - he’s a good player and I trust him to play whatever he wants to play. This approach goes for the whole band I had on board, I had trust in my bandmates to deliver and get the job done. It almost felt like cheating, you know? I’m used to building up track by track and it can take all day, but to just go in there and play the song two or three times and have it done in this way almost felt like cheating. Regardless, all in all, I really enjoyed the chemistry and dynamic that we had playing together.

TSH: When it comes to songwriting, is your approach to not think about what you want to write about and just see where it takes you - knowing that this way of working offers a certain truthfulness present on each track...

John: Yeah, because that’s the only way that I can’t write in all honesty. If I feel like I’m going into my songwriting with a goal of wanting to write a song about a specific topic, then there’s an expectation and chances are I’m not gonna meet it, haha! I think there are people who are masters at writing songs in a predetermined way and they can totally pull it off but I don’t think it’s my thing. I just kind of approach my songwriting in a stream of consciousness kind of way, and like you said, I just see where things takes me and finish off by editing what I have down into a song.

TSH: As you went about sequencing ‘Big Bad Luv’ did you identify ‘Sallisaw Blue’ early on as the album opener?

John: Definitely. As soon as I wrote that song I knew it would be the album opener. It just set the tone for the rest of album. Also, it’s a way different start to a record than I had ever done before. All of my other records started with mellower songs. It was nice to mix things up and come straight out with a rock n’ roll song right away.

TSH: What do you recall about fleshing out ‘No Glory in Regret’?

John: That song just ended up being a solo recording; it was just me in a room playing it. With that song I kind of didn’t know what to do with it after bringing it to the studio and I actually recorded 3 to 4 different takes of it. The other guys didn’t know what to play on it either, ha! I think everyone just agreed to just leave it alone and have it be a solo track. Nonetheless, I ended up doing one more take of it at home and that’s the one that made the album because I didn’t like the studio versions.

TSH: You started off your career with a hands-on DIY approach: booking your own tours, handling merch and various other self-promotional methods. Knowing that this way of working served you well, do you still do what you can when it comes to the DIY output?

John: Yeah, I still do as much as I can with regards to taking a DIY approach with my musical career, but I can’t really book my own tours anymore. Also, I used to do all of my own merch mails orders and I don’t do that anymore because I can’t keep up with it. Then again, I still record demos at home and my wife sells a lot of my tour posters on her online store so we run that out of our house together. I guess it’s always good to make stuff in my own way and to know that I can get out there and do stuff however I want to.

TSH: Religion was a part of your life growing up, what does spirituality mean to you now?

John: Oh, man! I don’t know what spirituality means to me these days. I’m definitely not religious anymore. I feel like I’m trying to avoid the cliché of saying I’m not religious but I’m still spiritual, haha! I guess that’s true in a way for me though. You know, I just try to be a good person to those that I devote myself to and I don’t really think about things too much beyond that. I have the support of my lovely wife and I can always turn to my parents for good advice.

TSH: For you, life is very much about spending quality time with your wife, getting out in nature and occasionally watching some TV...

John: Yeah, precisely. I love spending time with my wife and getting out and about with her. Oh, and I’m currently watching Frasier. My taste in TV is to mainly get lost in early 90s sitcoms. We lead a very simple life back home - it’s nothing fancy, therefore it’s rather easy to remain grounded.

TSH: Do you keep up with the Oklahoma City Thunder games?

John: Absolutely. I love basketball. It’s been tough for OKC since Kevin Durant left, but Russell Westbrook is just a ridiculously amazing athlete. I’m just glad he’s still on our team.

TSH: What’s pleased you most about your progression and development as a musician in recent times?

John: I think just to have other artists and writers that I have admired and respected become my friends is so cool. Also, to hear that some of them admire and respect my work is very humbling, and I think that’s been the most gratifying and special part to me.

TSH: Your most recent European tour must have been so special too, having played in some spectacular venues?

John: Dude, the most recent European tour was so great and a lot of fun. Some of the venues we got to play in were insane. Playing the Union Chapel in London was amazing. I also played at an old battle fortress in Norway that is now a banquet hall - it was awesome. Man, they sure do let me play in some crazy places, haha!

TSH: Is your philosophy with future music still simplified by just doing the best you can do?

John: Yeah, I think that’s all you can do. The moment you start thinking about pointless distractions and irrelevant opinions, that’s when things don’t turn out so good. I just want to keep working hard and always make sure that I’m creating music that is an honest representation of who I am as a person.

John Moreland - “It Don't Suit Me (Like Before)”

John Moreland - “Cherokee”

Big Bad Luv

[auburnfamilynews]

https://twitter.com/bcsznn/status/1224832886727151616/photo/1

After a strong 2020 class, T-WILL is looking to follow up with a smaller but equally as talented group in 2021.

Over the next 2 weeks 2-3ish indeterminate number of weeks, we will be taking a position by position look at the top targets on Auburn’s 2021 board. This is a first pass at who might be looking at Auburn the hardest this early in the cycle and whom Auburn might have the most interest in. However, recruiting is fluid and these lists will likely change.

The 2021 class preview slogs on with a look at an interesting position this cycle. The 2020 class was both a success and a failure for Travis Williams. On one hand, he signed a loaded 3 man class of blue chip prospects that included a top 100 player in Wesley Steiner. On the other, he lost two top 100 players including 5* Trenton Simpson. It’s a great class that could have been the nation’s best last year.

This go around, the numbers are expected to be much tighter. The Tigers spend most of their time in a nickel package that features only 2 linebackers. With only 2 seniors departing after the 2020 campaign and consecutive 3 man linebacker classes, it’s likely Auburn will only sign 2 backers this cycle. While quantity will be low, expect the quality to be high as always. As always, T-WILL has his sights set on some pretty big fish.

5* Smael Mondon | 6’3” | 220 lbs | Dallas, GA

Recruitment

This one will be a tough pull with the instate Georgia Bulldogs the clear team to beat. But Mondon is close with Travis Williams and the Tigers are going to fight for his pledge up until he signs. This is a case where lack of visits could really hurt Auburn. If you remember, Auburn made their big move for Owen Pappoe in the spring when a handful of visits turned him from a Dawg lock to a Tiger pledge. If he decides to wait until taking visits to commit, I like Auburn’s odds of making this race very interesting.

Scouting Report

Mondon is an absurd athlete. He can do a bit of everything on the 2nd level of the defense and with his frame will be able to play at 220+ lbs without losing a step. What jumps out is his ability to cover so much ground so quickly. In today’s world of spread offenses, linebackers have to be able to play all over the field and Mondon has the athleticism to do it all.

4* Barrett Carter | 6’1” | 220 lbs | Suwanee, GA

Recruitment

Of the top 100 backers Auburn is in pursuit of Carter is the most likely to end up a Tiger but there’s a lot of work to be done for that to happen. UGA was thought to be the team to beat for the thumper out of North Gwinnett High School but Clemson has recently surged ahead in this race. Auburn though continues to be a threat and Carter is reportedly close with T-WILL. Again, the staff just really needs to get him back on campus.

Scouting Report

Carter is a heat seeking missile with bad intentions. The North Gwinnett standout is a versatile backer who does everything from rush the passer, to drop back in coverage, to stuffing ball carriers in the A-gap for his high school program. At the next level, he’s likely to grow into a MIKE backer. To me he’s the perfect fit for what T-WILL wants from the MLB position in his defense.

4* Xavian Sorey | 6’3” | 214 lbs | Graceville, FL

Recruitment

Graceville, FL is home to just over 2,000 people and plays 1A football in the state of Florida. It’s also home to one of the best prospects in the country. Sorey has landed offers from everyone and seems likely to land somewhere in the SEC. At this time, Alabama and Georgia look like the teams to beat but Auburn is a factor in this race. It’s going to take some work to crack that top group but this is the type of kid that would fit in well in the Auburn program.

Scouting Report

It’s honestly unfair some of these kids have to be on the same field as Sorey. A freaky athlete who plays on both sides of the ball for his program, Sorey’s future is undoubtedly on the defensive side of the ball where he could grow into an elite SEC outside linebacker.

4* Ian Jackson | 6’1” | 208 lbs | Prattville, AL

Recruitment

An Auburn legacy, Jackson might be the most likely target to end up in Auburn’s class of the names listed so far but this is no slam dunk. The Tigers took their time offering but did so after Alabama, Georgia and LSU all jumped into the race. The Prattville standout is also hearing plenty from Florida State and Oklahoma. But for my money, Jackson stays in state. If T-WILL decides to push, Auburn might be hard to beat.

Scouting Report

Jackson is another fantastic athlete who played all over the field in 2019. Not the biggest kid in the world, Jackson’s future is likely at OLB at the next level. He’s quick with outstanding closing speed and a great tackler. His size will likely keep him down in the rankings but I think he’s got the skillset to thrive in Auburn’s defense.

4* Deshauwn Alleyne | 6’0” | 210 lbs | Port Saint Lucie, FL

Recruitment

There hasn’t been a ton reported on Alleyne’s recruitment but in early March he dropped a top 5 of Auburn, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska and Kentucky. The Tigers offered last June and appear to have been quietly hard after this talented prospect.

Scouting Report

Alleyne is unafraid of contact, consistently showing a willingness to take blockers on head on. There’s a lot of “Downhill Britt” in his game as Alleyne excels as a run stopper in between the tackles. You know when he’s in on the tackle because ball carriers stop moving.

3* Raheim Sanders | 6’2” | 210 lbs | Rockledge, FL

Recruitment

Rockledge has been kind to Auburn the past two cycles. In 2019, Auburn signed 3* LB O.C. Brothers. Last season, Auburn landed my favorite player of the class in 4* DB Ladarius Tennison. Could they make it 3 straight years they poach the top defensive prospect from the Raiders’ defense? It’s definitely possible though they will have to fight off the likes of Florida State and Oklahoma to do so.

Scouting Report

Sanders is the most underrated prospect on this list in my amateur opinion. I get the same feeling watching his tape as did Jamien Sherwood’s which is simply, this dude is a football player. A lot of his tape is Sanders at wide receiver but the Tigers want him at linebacker. Given that frame and his explosiveness, it could be scary what he does at the next level. For my money, his upside is at the same level as guys like Barrett Carter and Xavian Sorey.

3* Timar Rogers | 6’2” | 200 lbs | Deland, FL

Recruitment

Rogers rating isn’t gonna turn any heads but Auburn offered him back in early April and has been hard after him ever since. His recruitment also was picking up before everything shutdown with Mississippi State, Boston College, Missouri and N.C. State all offering the Florida native. If the Tigers decide to push they will be a major factor.

Scouting Report

Rogers is more of a BUCK player for his HS defense but his future is likely at ILB at the next level. A solid frame at 6’2” 200 lbs, Rogers could put on 15-20 lbs without losing his explosiveness. Possessing outstanding closing speed, Rogers is at his best coming downhill with eyes on the ball carrier.

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/5/4/21227440/2021-class-preview-linebacker-smael-mondon-xavien-sorey-barrett-carter-raheim-sanders

[canaryatlaw]

okay. so today was good. I’m oddly tired right now, but whatever. I woke up to my alarm at 11, got ready, and left by 11:30 to go to my dad’s office by 12, because he was having his office christmas party today and wanted me to be there. not long after I got there we headed out to this old historical restaurant out here that’s pretty fancy and such. it was mostly the young people that work with him, which was nice. The girl I had been talking to last week when I was at his office talked with me for most of the time, we really hit it off, I think we get along very well. I got the pot roast grilled cheese for lunch, which was of course every bit as amazing as it sounds, and then of course got ice cream for dessert. when we finished we went outside and walked around the little “Christmas Village” of shops they have outside and took some silly pictures in the little stick your face in here photo displays. it was a little cold so we didn’t spend too much time there. Afterwards we went back to the office and I was gonna hang out there for a little while until I had to go to my doctors appointment which is closer to my dad’s office than home, so it didn’t make sense for me to go home and then back out. I ended up talking to the same girl for most of it, some stuff about jobs and then just about other cases and bizarre situations that we’d come across. apparently for the GAL’s office out here (so the equivalent of the Chicago office I interned in) will only hire like, people who have interned there, and they have like 5 spots open, which they’re already in 2nd or 3rd round interviews for, and they’ll probably be filled by January. so that’s....less than ideal, though at this point that particular job isn’t all that high on my preferred job list, but I’m still concerned about not being able to find one. my school is registered for a conference in February that’s like midwest public interest law and will be conducting some on site interviews with different organizations that you have to sign up for in advance, so that has some potential. I just know I’m gonna end up feeling so bad if I end up anywhere other than New York, because I know it’ll be a disappointment to my parents, who are apparently telling everyone I am coming back, and I really don’t want to do that to them...but New York jobs are somewhat limited. sigh. this isn’t easy. anyway. I left for my appointment with my psychiatrist and had to wait a while which is fairly usual, but I always like seeing him because he’s a really nice guy and he’s super understanding. he’s retiring soon so he’s been slowly handing off patients, and he’s already handed off my brother and my mom who were seeing him, but he agreed to see me through May at least, which I appreciated because I’m somewhat hesitant to trust anyone else with my mental health at this point, especially after this summer’s episode which was a intense reminder of just how fragile my brain chemistry is. But we talked, I said I was doing pretty well, which I am, so we could leave the meds in place, which he was happy about of course, now that I’m somewhat leveled off after the summer mess. my brother and his behavior towards me for most of my life came up at some point a few appointments ago and he’s been asking a bit about that every time, which I don't mind of course, it’s just kind of weird for me to be talking about it to another actual person like that (as opposed to just writing it on the internet for random strangers to see). and it’s an odd dynamic because he knows my brother, he used to treat my brother, but he’s been very calm about it and definitely believes what I say, so I appreciate that. He asks things like what do you think he would do if you brought it up with him now, and sadly I know the answer to that is he would laugh it off and refuse to take it seriously, because he doesn't think he’s done anything wrong, and I don't think there’s anything I can do to convince him otherwise (ugh, he’s such a narcissist). but anyway. good appointment. I stopped at Target quickly, planning just to get some red food coloring so I could finish icing my gingerbread cookies, but got bombarded by text messages from my family about bringing home more of their favorite seltzer brand, “Spindrift” which mixes in some fruit juice but no unnatural sugar and it’s pretty damn good. keep in mind I bought 16 cans of it less than a week ago, but they’ve apparently already been drank (the joys of living in a big family) so I brought them back 24 this time, and we’ll see how long that lasts lol. I also brought home some strawberry lemonade mix just so I could change it up on drink options. I was gonna get ice tea mix too, but I couldn’t find it other than like, crystal light, and I don’t do fake sugar so that wasn’t an option. Came home, had some leftover chinese food, then got to work icing the rest of my gingerbread cookies. It went pretty smoothly, the icing consistency between the two (the outline icing and the fill in icing) was pretty good so that worked. I need to get to work on more cookies on my list though if I’m gonna have them done by Christmas. I’ll definitely do some work on that tomorrow, although I’ll probably go with my sister to Ulta and potentially the mall at some point tomorrow. After I finished that, instead of sitting with my laptop with my parents watching HGTV, I decided to go in the back room where my younger brother (not the one discussed above) was watching a hockey game, and I figured sure why not we can change it up a little bit. I was mostly on my laptop, but I did still find the game to be fairly interesting, it obviously shares some qualities with soccer which I love of course so I could appreciate those aspects of it. I also think it’s kind of insane that people were like “hey, you know what we should do with this sport? we should put it on ice” (according to my brother it was the Canadians idea). but yeah, watched the game, where the NY Rangers lost in a shoot out, so that’s always disappointing. I stuck around for a little while longer while both of my brothers played video games, then headed upstairs to get ready for bed and here we are. Tomorrow like I said will probably be chill, do some baking and probably dye my sister’s hair, maybe do my own since it’s fairly overdue, and I have to actually wrap my presents at some point. so we’ll see how that goes. Like I said at the beginning of this post though, I’m tired and I can feel the melatonin making my eyelids heavy, so I’m gonna stop fighting it now and go to bed. Goodnight dolls. Have a lovely evening.

[thehumansenpaipede]

Técnicas de Fotografia

With the ease of cameras these days, it is extremely straightforward for your newbie individual to consider some terrific images without having a large amount of knowledge. Getting a superior quality camera will be the first action. Make certain that the digicam, lens and products are all from the reliable firm who helps make good quality photographic devices. 

With the ease of cameras currently, it is very uncomplicated for your novice person to just take some wonderful images and not using a lot of data. Getting a good quality digital camera will be the initial phase. Make certain that the digital camera, lens and equipment are all from a reputable company who helps make quality photographic tools. 

Be aware on the framing within your topic.  What what this means is will differ by subject.  For illustration, when you are having an image of 1 individual, obtaining a close shot in which the topic fills the body is your very best bet, because specifics are important.  Over the other hand, a landscape shot may profit from being further away, when you get the full scene by doing this.

Stop by us for more information: Como se Livrar do Stress

Really don't depend on the camera's zoom. Receive a near as you can before you start to make use of your zoom. Zooming in could be beneficial, but following a although the picture can get distorted. You happen to be superior off obtaining as near to the issue as you can before you decide to consider to zoom in on it.

Learn the way to enjoy along with the shutter velocity. You'll be able to decide on to snap a fast image or pick a slower exposure to seize a flow or motion in its entirety. You need to experiment using this and find what type of speed matches specified scenarios. This is the make any difference of non-public type somewhat than a normal guideline to observe.

Stay clear of capturing an overcast sky within your photos. Such as as well much of the grey sky can make your pics seem muted and washed-out. Black and white pictures may fit much better should you should shoot into an overcast sky. If your sky is blue and beautiful having said that, consist of it just as much while you want, but pay attention to your mild.

Should you are using pics in the sun throughout the spring or summer months, make sure you switch the flash on.  Failing to place the flash on the digital camera may result in a foul glare, which might taint your photographs.  When you convert the flash on, you'll be able to take pictures as you typically would.

Should you are having difficulty holding your camera straight, purchase a tripod. A tripod will go a protracted way in aiding to keep your digital camera in position, and that means you can aim on other variables in addition to harmony. Tripods work excellent in the event you are inside the wilderness or on an uneven terrain.

Be creative and one of a kind together with your subjects. You do not want to take the identical outdated image just about every other photographer has finished. Try to look for exclusive photographs that people haven't observed in advance of. Select appealing subjects that aren't gonna bore anybody who sees them. Should you choose to generate a title on your own, that is crucial.

One on the things that you are able to do if you find yourself using shots is usually to lean on one thing to obtain much better stability.  The more balance that you have, the much less motion the digicam can make, which often can make improvements to the sharpness of your respective pictures.  Sustain your equilibrium in case you motivation best photos.

Make sure you provide the suitable lights in advance of getting a photograph. Lights is perhaps an important aspect in manufacturing a great black and white photograph, because it influences the feel, contrast and shape of your image. Side lighting can produce some dramatic photographs because it generates shadows and highlights the perimeters of styles.

When getting pictures, be sure that your topic is as calm as feasible at all times.  A method that you choose to can enhance peace would be to use new music inside the background.  This could draw your subject's aim away from your relevance with the photographs so that you can accomplish the very best high quality picture.

In case you are serious about getting to be a photographer, it's important that you head to college. Most companies will likely not hire a photographer except if they have some sort of education and learning in images. You can find quite a few websites which will give you with all the ideal collgees all over the complete environment for photography.

To avoid pink eyes in your photographs, make sure that your digicam possibly has designed in crimson eye reduction otherwise you transform the way within your flash.  If you did shoot a photo and it incorporates purple eyes, you may effortlessly get rid of them as a result of using a graphics application these as Corel or Photoshop.

Pay a visit to us for more information: Curso Baixista Completo

Be mindful with the framing of one's subject.  What this means will differ by issue.  For instance, in the event you are using a picture of one person, finding an in depth shot the place the subject fills the body is your very best wager, since information are crucial.  About the other hand, a landscape shot may profit from getting additional away, while you receive the whole scene in this manner.

Take a look at us for more information and facts: Como Tocar Baixo

Don't count in your camera's zoom. Have a shut as feasible before you decide to start to make use of your zoom. Zooming in is usually useful, but following a though the image will get distorted. You might be superior off receiving as near for the issue when you can prior to deciding to check out to zoom in on it.

Find out how to participate in with the shutter speed. You can choose to snap a fast image or pick a slower publicity to capture a flow or movement in its entirety. You must experiment with this particular and come across what type of velocity matches particular circumstances. It is a matter of private design and style relatively than the usual general guideline to adhere to.

Prevent capturing an overcast sky inside your shots. Which include far too a great deal of a gray sky can make your pictures appear muted and washed-out. Black and white photography may fit much better for those who should shoot into an overcast sky. In the event the sky is blue and exquisite nonetheless, involve it just as much when you want, but listen into the mild.

In case you are taking pictures during the sunshine during the spring or summer months, you should definitely flip the flash on.  Failing to put the flash on your digicam may result in a foul glare, which can taint your photos.  When you change the flash on, you could acquire photographs when you generally would.

In case you are obtaining trouble keeping your digital camera straight, buy a tripod. A tripod will go a lengthy way in assisting to keep your digicam in place, therefore you can focus on other variables other than equilibrium. Tripods operate terrific if you are in the wilderness or on an uneven terrain.

Be creative and unique with the topics. You do not wish to take the exact outdated photo every other photographer has finished. Seek out exclusive pictures that men and women have not viewed just before. Select interesting topics that are not planning to bore anyone who sees them. In the event you would like to generate a title yourself, that is important.

One of the things which you can do when you're using pics is always to lean on anything to realize better equilibrium.  The more equilibrium that you have, the fewer movement the digital camera is likely to make, that may improve the sharpness within your pictures.  Maintain your equilibrium for those who need best pictures.

Be sure you hold the suitable lighting in advance of getting a photograph. Lighting is probably the most important element in producing a great black and white photograph, because it has an effect on the texture, contrast and form from the picture. Aspect lighting can make some dramatic photographs since it creates shadows and highlights the edges of designs.

When having photographs, make certain that your issue is as peaceful as possible at all times.  A method which you can increase peace should be to use music during the track record.  This can draw your subject's target absent within the worth with the images so that you can accomplish the highest high quality photo.

For those who are thinking of turning into a photographer, it is actually important that you go to school. Most corporations will not likely use a photographer unless they have got some type of schooling in images. You'll find many internet websites that will provide you together with the most effective collgees all through the full earth for photography.

In order to avoid pink eyes in the pictures, be sure that your camera possibly has developed in crimson eye reduction otherwise you change the way within your flash.  In the event you did shoot a photograph and it consists of red eyes, you'll be able to conveniently take out them by means of the usage of a graphics computer software this kind of as Corel or Photoshop.

Check out us for additional information: Curso Cara da Foto

[circlesandsoundwaves]

"Humor... puts things in to perspective.”: Interview with Rozwell Kid

Photo and interview by Molly Louise Hudelson.

Earlier this summer, Rozwell Kid released their latest album, Precious Art, on SideOneDummy Records. Don’t let the name fool you, though; rather than a high-brow piece of art that few are meant to understand, it’s down-to-earth and an incredibly fun record full of pop-culture references and plenty of self-aware humor.  That’s Rozwell Kid for you though; and in a way, the sheer absurdity of calling their album Precious Art- or making a music video that’s ten hours long- is exactly the point of doing so. Regarding the title, lead singer and guitarist Jordan Hudkins said, “You either get the joke or you think we are so full of ourselves. And that’s funny to me.”

While Precious Art, as well as antics like playing “Wish Man” three or more times in a row on stage, might make you laugh, it also might strike a chord deep inside. I met up with Hudkins for an interview before their recent Long Branch, New Jersey show, where we talked about using humor to cope, his love of The Simpsons, getting better at touring, and more. Read on for the interview!

CIRCLES & SOUNDWAVES: For the record, could you state your name, what you play in Rozwell Kid, and a fun fact about yourself?

Jordan Hudkins: Yes. I am Jordan Hudkins from Rozwell Kid and I play guitar and sing the vocals and write the songs, and a fun fact about me is I was valedictorian in my high school.

C&S: Really?

JH: Yeah. One of five, I think. We didn't have weighted grades so there were five people with a 4.0.

C&S: My high school did not do valedictorians at all. I hear stories about people competing over the valedictorian title; was it really competitive for you?

JH: I wasn't very competitive about it- I guess maybe a couple of people were. It was cool at the time, I felt proud, I guess- but it really isn't a big deal.

C&S: Did you give a speech at graduation?

JH: That was the only reason I wanted to be a valedictorian was to give a speech at graduation, and I did give a speech at graduation.

C&S: What'd you talk about in your speech? I always wished I could've been a valedictorian so I could've given some grandiose speech.

JH: I based my whole speech around some Clint Eastwood quote about buying a toaster.

C&S: Okay.

JH: Yeah, I don't really remember. [Laughs.] But I talked about toasters a lot. It was fun.

C&S: So you're currently out on your first proper full-US headlining tour- you've been touring pretty consistently for a couple years now, but how has it been being out on a headliner specifically?

JH: It's been really fun- it was nerve-wracking at first because I didn't know what to expect but all the shows have been great. We've been pleasantly surprised and it has exceeded our expectations.

C&S: Being in a band on the road, obviously shit happens and no band is immune to that. Having been touring for a few years now, do you feel like you can handle stuff better or when hiccups happen, like any kind of van issues or whatever, is it still a total freak-out?

JH: You know we've had our share of freak-outs in the past but I think we've gotten to a point now where we're pretty streamlined when it comes to dealing with the crisis. I guess we've done it enough to know what needs to get done and when it needs to get done and to quickly prioritize things and solve the problem as quick as possible.

C&S: Have there been any particular standout shows on this tour?

JH: Boston the other night was wild. Orlando was crazy. The whole East Coast has been great. The West Coast was amazing, Phoenix was really good… everywhere we went!

C&S: You just put out a record called Precious Art and I was reading other interviews where you said essentially, "Well, we're a rock band- if no one is gonna call what we make 'precious art', we might as well call it that." So it's that ironic, very self-aware humor I guess. Have people gotten that or do people ever actually think, "Wow, they really think this is the most pretentious piece of precious art?"

JH: I think for the most part, anybody who listens to our music and likes what we do seems to have the same sensibility that we do. So I think everybody gets it for the most part. I'm sure there's someone out there who doesn't know the band at all, saw the record title, and was like, "Who the hell do those guys think they are?" [Laughs.] Which, also, in a way, is pretty rock and roll and badass too, so I feel like it's a win-win title for us. You either get the joke or you think we are so full of ourselves. And that's funny to me.

C&S: There's a lot of humor on the record and in your music in general you tend to use humor to cope with and explain situations that are going on. Is that how you typically deal with things in life?

JH: Yeah. For sure. I mean- I don't make a joke out of everything and I know when to be sincere and treat things with the gravity they deserve, and maybe it's a defense mechanism or whatever- but I feel like humor is always my go-to just to diffuse a situation or to make me feel better about something that I'm bummed about, because it puts things in to perspective.

C&S: From my own experience, as I've been recovering from knee surgery the past several months- it sucks, but I'm making all these jokes about how like, "Oh, I get a frequent buyer card at my surgeon now" because I've had multiple surgeries.

JH: Right- there's nothing you can do to change your situation- you might as well…

C&S: Change how you look at it.

JH: Yeah, exactly! It can brighten your perspective a little bit and just make it not such a hellacious thing to deal with. It eases the pain.

C&S: Right- if you can't change your surroundings, ease the pain through humor.

You're a big Simpsons fan. What about The Simpsons is it that you enjoy?

JH: It's just some of the most unbelievably clever and hysterical writing that I've ever seen or heard. I feel like I've seen a lot of comedy, I've watched a lot of TV, but the writing on it- they had such an amazing team of writers in the first few seasons of that show, just these geniuses all working together in one room creating this phenomenal sitcom. And I know what people think about it now- whether or not the quality has dropped off- I don't really watch it anymore, I haven't watched it for years.

C&S: Will you still go back and watch reruns?

JH: Oh yeah, yeah- all the time. I have the DVDs up through Season 14. I've watched them so much that I go back and watch them with the commentary now. That's like, my new jam to chill out.

C&S: Well then you get to the level where- okay, so my favorite TV show of all time is Degrassi. I've gotten to a point with that show where I've watched every episode so many times that I'm starting to know the commentary. Have you gotten to that point with The Simpsons yet?

JH: No, I don't have the commentary memorized- not yet.

C&S: You'll get there!

JH: I will, I can't wait! [Laughs.]

C&S: It's a weird place, I will tell you.

JH: That's commitment. That's cool.

C&S: You put out a music video for "Wendy's Trash Can" that is ten hours long. Have you watched the whole thing through?

JH: No, I have not watched all ten hours. Someone live-tweeted themselves doing it over the last couple of days so I think there's a couple of people that have watched the whole thing- but I have not watched all ten hours.

C&S: I felt like I was slacking in my research that I didn't watch the entire thing straight.

JH: No, it's totally fine.

C&S: Well, the absurdity of the fact that it's ten hours is the point.

JH: And funny story about that- after the video came out I got a text from Tanner from You Blew It! and he said, "Dude, love the new video- I found the Easter egg in hour seven" and I didn't say anything. The next morning I got a text from him that said, "Hey, I just want to say that was a joke- I was joking about finding the Easter egg in hour seven." And I was like, "Okay, cool- I didn't want to admit that I hadn't watched my own ten-hour music video."

C&S: Whose idea was it to loop it for ten hours?

JH: We were brainstorming with Thomas, the director, about how to begin and end the video. We came up with the idea that it should end where it starts- and then Thomas just flippantly said, "Oh yeah and then we just loop it for ten hours" and we were all like- "Actually, yeah- let's do that. Can we loop the video for ten hours?"

C&S: Do people get that the whole point is just this complete absurdity or have people been like, "Come on, what are they doing?"

JH: I haven't seen any feedback where people have been upset about it, you know- I mean I'm sure there are people who have rolled their eyes at it, but I mean- whatever.

C&S: I'll be honest- when I first saw it, I was like, "Oh my god, Rozwell Kid made a ten-hour music video- I don't know if I can commit to that!"

JH: It's cool because I think we set people up with the headline and the video title, "Ten Hours"- and then when you watch it and you get that it's a loop, it's an emotional roller coaster. You're upset that you're gonna watch ten hours of a video and then you're relieved that it's looped over and over and you don't have to watch the rest- but if you wanted to, you could.

C&S: Unless you want to find the Easter egg in hour seven.

The song "Michael Keaton" is based on this idea you had for a screenplay about trying to meet him- if that screenplay were to actually be written and made into a movie, who would star in it? Would you?

JH: Michael Keaton. I think so- well, I don't know.

C&S: Would he play every role?

JH: Well, the main characters are children, so I don't think he could do that- I guess he could, I don't know. I figure Michael Keaton would be in it- but also, when I was thinking about the movie, I had this thought that maybe it would be kind of badass if they never found Michael Keaton. Like if he was the whole driving force behind the movie but they never actually met him. Maybe that would be cool. 

C&S: That would kind of tie in to that proverb of "life is about the journey, not the destination"- the search for Michael Keaton, not finding Michael Keaton.

JH: Yeah- Michael Keaton was in us all along. [Laughs.] Or the other idea was they get to Hollywood and he accidentally hits them with his car and then it's another three hours of courtroom drama.

C&S: As we talked about The Simpsons, if Rozwell Kid were to be in a Simpsons episode, what would you want the plot to be?

JH: I like the musical cameos that they always do, like where the Ramones played Mr. Burns' birthday party or where the Red Hot Chili Peppers were playing at Moe's bar - I'd like to do that. I wouldn't want to be a part of the plot, I would just wanna have a cameo playing in the episode.

C&S: It's less stress but it's still just as cool to be like, "Yeah, we were on the Simpsons."

JH: Yeah, maybe where we're playing a school dance or something, like a prom. Like Lisa petitions for them to have an elementary school prom.

C&S: You have a little bit left of this tour; what else do you have on the plate for the fall and the rest of this year?

JH: We're just gonna keep touring and touring. Try to go overseas [again] as soon as possible. We went to Australia last fall and we went to Europe last Spring.

C&S: How were those shows?

JH: It was awesome. It was really fun- we were in Europe with Into It. Over It. and The Hotelier, so it was a really lucky package to be a part of. In Australia, we toured with this band called The Bennies and it was just so much fun- it was amazing. I can't believe we got to go to Australia.

C&S: I've heard in Australia, everything is so far apart that you have to fly between a lot of cities.

JH: Yeah, we had to fly to gigs- it was cool.

C&S: Was that stressful? Anytime I have to fly with my camera gear, it's a little stressful.

JH: No, it wasn't that bad- I feel like their airport security laws are a little more lax there. It's not as much of a headache, and also everywhere we flew to there would be a backline of gear to use so we didn't have to take amps- just a bag and a guitar pretty much.

C&S: Did you do the koala thing in Australia?

JH: No, we did not- it was closed that day. I was bummed. Or we didn't have time- something happened.

C&S: Touring is weird because you travel and go all these places but you don't always actually get to do the fun thing.

JH: Yeah, that's what I've explained to people back at home. Someone's like, "Did you get any good food in San Francisco?"

C&S: It's whatever's across the street from the venue or like, Taco Bell or Burger King- whatever you find first on the highway. 

JH: Speaking of crisis solutions and solving problems on the road, another thing that you get good at after a while is figuring out how to make time to actually do shit and see stuff. So the more that we've gone out, the more that we're able to weasel our way around and do things.

C&S: Cool. Alright, well, thank you so much.

JH: Yeah, totally!

C&S: Anything else you want to say or anything else to add?

JH: No, I'm pretty good- thank you.

Thanks Jordan! You can watch the full, ten-hour “Wendy’s Trash Can” video here and listen to Precious Art on Spotify here. You can see a full list of Rozwell Kid’s upcoming shows (including a few recently announced shows for September and November) on their official website. Keep up with the band on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

[trilotechcorp]

New Post has been published on PBA-Live

New Post has been published on http://pba-live.com/damian-lillard-knows-the-power-of-social-media-for-athletes/

Damian Lillard knows the power of social media for athletes

Just a few years ago, social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram were used by athletes mostly for status updates at the spur of the moment, random photos at the gym or loose chats back and forth with close friends. But players like Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard have quickly learned how powerful those platforms can be.

Unlike players now, who have accounts before they reach high school and have massive followings by the time they’re making college decisions, Lillard didn’t take the plunge and create an account until some nudging from a friend at Weber State, which led to his aptly titled initial @MrWeberState Twitter account.

At the time, building his brand was a distant thought, and he mostly used the account to fire off commentary during live games, tweet out his favorite song lyrics and talk to friends.

“I never really dove into it,” Lillard said of his social media use in college, during a recent episode of the Nice Kicks podcast. “I was really just consumed with trying to make it to the league. I never paid attention to it.”

That all changed once he turned pro. After being selected sixth overall by the Trail Blazers in the 2012 draft — deemed a reach by pundits at the time — Lillard established himself on the court right out the gate, racking up countless awards in his first year. He won co-MVP of the summer league, was named first-team All-Rookie, and went on to win Rookie of the Year, all while leading the league in minutes played. He also won a much less publicized award that the league had quietly added to the mix: Social Media Rookie of the Year.

“When I got to the league, that’s when I realized how useful it could be,” said Lillard, “as far as growing your brand and allowing people to get to know you as a person.”

During his time in the NBA, Lillard has racked up a total of nearly eight million followers across his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels. That’s far from the most — LeBron James has a combined 80 million — but Lillard consistently ranks among the top handful of NBA players in terms of engagement and activity, an ever-valuable measure of influence online. He’s also taken up an interest and learned how to navigate each separate platform differently, working in tandem through the years with Nate Jones, his marketing rep at Goodwin Sports Management.

Part of the strategy involves weaving in his seven global endorsement deals and three regional sponsorships through his flow of social posts, while also keeping a tone that strays away from feeling too forced, pushy and promotional. Among all eleven current NBA players with a Nike, Jordan, Adidas or Under Armour signature shoe during this past season, Lillard had over twice as many branded Instagram posts as the next closest athlete, James Harden.

He was routinely featuring his “Dame” signature series and his Adidas association within his feed, amounting for more than 3.5 times as many branded posts as Nike’s signature stars Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, who ranked third and fourth. Nevertheless, he feels he’s mastered the balance of posting products, while also maintaining every brand’s favorite buzz word: “authenticity.”

“People know that what I’m doing, they know it’s going to be genuine. They know it’s real,” Lillard said. “I’m not pitching nothing at you. It’s never going to be fake. When I’m constantly posting stuff, it’s always related to me. It’s never like, ‘Sign up for this, and use my code.’ [laughs] It’s never like the corny stuff where you’re using people. It’s more inviting them. You’re inviting them to be a part of something, as opposed to just trying to sell something.”

Lillard’s deal with Adidas includes a set annual budget for his social media campaigns, encompassing anything from photo shoots for imagery to money used to boost reach and promote an individual post to a wider audience. Earlier this year, Lillard took an entirely unique approach to seeding his third signature shoe out to media members and influencers.

Rather than package the shoe in a grandiose box or include a gift card to a high-priced restaurant, as other athletes have done, Lillard provided a $500 charity donation card, nestled next to a pair of his new Adidas Dame 3 sneakers. Recipients were able to pick any charity or organization of their liking. The donation concept went on to benefit dozens of charities around the United States.

“The simple answer is four years of college better prepared Damian for the responsibilities that go with being a superstar athlete and pitchman,” said Eric Goodwin, who along with his twin brother Aaron, represents Lillard and other NBA players at their Goodwin Sports agency. “He understands the value of connecting with fans in authentic ways and there is no better way to do that today than through social media.”

As he’s grown more comfortable with sharing his voice, Lillard hasn’t shied away from using his platform to speak on social issues that he feels warrant his attention. Each spring on Instagram, he’ll often highlight and congratulate fellow family members graduating from high school and college, as he did. He’s a key global ambassador for the Special Olympics and an advocate for anti-bullying initiatives.

In addition to his community events centered in California and Oregon, Lillard has also built up an online community of aspiring musicians, through his own #4BarFriday concept. “Four bars” is a technical phrase in rap music, simply representing four lines of written lyrics. It also just so happened to fit perfectly within a 15-second video, the initial time limit when Instagram first introduced video to the platform in 2013. (Users can now upload videos up to 60 seconds in length.) Lillard came up with the concept himself while jotting down notes in his journal in his bedroom.

“I always share my ideas with Nate Jones, and he’s the person that brings it to light and makes it as strong as possible after I come up with the idea and my vision for it,” he says.

Since Lillard’s first post, rappers have posted their #4BarFriday submissions weekly, racking up almost 70,000 posts. Each Friday, Lillard will also re-post a few of his favorite raps on his own account, providing massive visibility to a sea of aspiring artists.

“It started off with me just saying, ‘I just want people to be able to hear me rap,'” Lillard reflects. “From there, it turned into people caring about what they submitted and taking pride in it.”

In recent years, it’s blossomed into more than just a weekly Instagram contest. Lillard now leverages his endorsement deal with JBL Audio to provide speakers and headphones to weekly winners. He’s even flown out #4BarFriday rappers to perform at concerts that he’s hosted during NBA All-Star Weekend. His willingness to share his own music has also grown each summer. He started out by posting a new song on Soundcloud each Monday during the summer of 2015. Last year, he released a full studio album, “The Letter O,” which quickly rose to No. 2 on the iTunes Hip-Hop chart.

While he’s grown to enjoy utilizing all of the exposure and visibility that social media has afforded him so far as a pro, Lillard is still wary of the effects and impact of too much attention for younger athletes, like prep phenoms Zion Williamson and LaMelo Ball. The duo faced off in an exhibition game in Las Vegas before Adidas’ annual summer championship AAU tournament last month. A livestream of the game on Facebook drew in as many as 75,000 viewers at once. Lillard arrived 90 minutes early to secure his front-row seat.

“All the other athletes [there] are fans of dudes that are the same age as them. I’m not used to that,” said Lillard of the frenzy caused by Williamson and Ball among their peers. “You’re supposed to look at them like, ‘They not that good!’ Almost hating on them. They’re competition. That was different. I think back to when I was in the 10th grade, and I went to a game with my boy P [Phil Taylor] and Jerryd Bayless was playing. They’re like, ‘He’s gonna be the No. 1 pick!’ We’re looking at him like, ‘He good, but he’s not better than me.’ [laughs] Now, these dudes have their phone out recording another 16-year-old.”

More than anything, Lillard knows firsthand just how ruthless people can also be at times online, whether it’s commenting to him on Instagram or Twitter when things don’t go right, or, even worse, sending harsh messages to a phenom still in high school. He expects both players to handle the pressures well, and continue advancing their careers. While everyone deals with naysayers in their own way, Lillard still enjoys firing back at critics online from time to time, pointing to the continual improvement he’s made each year in the NBA.

“People tell me all the time, ‘Man, you don’t gotta respond to it.’ But I’m always going to say something,” Lillard said. “Sometimes, that’s the last thing they expect. Or, they don’t want to have to explain what they said, or they don’t want that type of confrontation.”

Regardless, Lillard doesn’t stress it, because his routine doesn’t allow him to lose sight of his priority: the game of basketball.

“It’s easy for me to dismiss, because I know the first thing that I do every day is get up and go work out. I do my conditioning, and I’m in the weight room. I know first things are always first,” he said. “And then, I can go rap as long as I want to [laughs]. If I put out a quality album, and then I come out and have my best season … How much weight does what they’re saying have?”

Nick DePaula is the creative director for Nice Kicks and former editor-in-chief of Sole Collector Magazine.

Author: Nick DePaula Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/20258850/damian-lillard-knows-power-social-media-athletes

[lindafrancois]

Want to Get Bigger? Avoid These 9 Mistakes Skinny Guys Make Trying to Bulk Up!

If you’re here because you want to go from skinny to muscular, you’ve come to the right place!

I know exactly how you feel.

I was once a very thin guy struggling to put on muscle! Hell, my “before photo” below on the left below is after a decade of training and “eating a lot.”

It took me 10 years of struggle to crack the “bulk up” code, so don’t beat yourself up if you’re really struggling to put on mass.

We’ve helped people just like you get bigger in our Online Coaching Program: we use the same tactics and strategies I’ll discuss below!

Want to be told exactly how to eat and train to bulk up? We’re really good at this stuff. Learn more:

Okay, let’s get into it! Click any of the links below to learn about the 9 key mistakes skinny guys make when trying to bulk up:

Not eating enough (What to eat to grow big)

Setting unrealistic expectations (How fast can I grow muscle?)

Not having a solid plan (How to go from skinny to muscular)

Not doing enough (How to grow muscle)

Going too quickly and getting injured (Being safe)

Not following a sustainable strategy (Consistency)

Not making it a priority (Remember your training)

Sweating the small stuff (Keep it simple)

Not recovering enough (Get sleep)

How I put on 25 Pounds of Mass

Let’s get right to it!

1. Not Eating Enough (What to Eat to Grow Big)

If you’re not getting bigger, you are not eating enough.

This one solution will account for 95% of most skinny men and women who are looking to get bigger.

When I started lifting weights, I spent 5-6 days a week in the gym following a bodybuilder workout routine from various fitness magazines.

Over the next 6 years, I put on maybe five pounds total, even though it felt as though I was eating a lot.

Turns out, I was eating 500-1000 less calories per day than I needed to stimulate muscle growth.

It wasn’t until after college that I simplified my workouts (lots of barbell lifts), doubled the amount of calories I consumed, and I was able to put on about 18 pounds in 30 days.

This is back in 2006:

I didn’t put the weight on a necessarily healthy or sustainable way, but after 6 years of struggle, this experience solidified the connection between diet and getting bigger.

It finally made sense.

If you don’t eat enough calories, you won’t get any bigger.

So if you are not getting bigger and more buff, then you are not eating enough.

It’s science.

If you’re trying to gain weight: when in doubt, eat.

Some of my favorite techniques are in my “How to Bulk Up Fast” article.

YOUR GOAL: Add 200-300 more calories per day until your stomach gets used to it, and see how the scale changes.

What should you be eating?

Depending on how skinny you are, you can get away with eating junk food as long as you’re getting enough protein and calories.

Liquid meals are your friend too for squeezing in extra calories every day – here’s my favorite high-calorie protein shake recipe!

Here are some high quality, high-calorie foods:

Sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and yams.

Rice or quinoa of any variety.

Oats, instant or steel-cut.

Peanut butter, almond butter.

Walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews.

Cheese, milk, eggs.

Eat lots of high-calorie foods, get plenty of protein, and don’t forget the veggies!

I know how overwhelming this stuff can be, which is why we have a Coaching Program that kicks ass.

We also have a printable “Get Bigger” Shopping List and Bulk Up Cheatsheet when you join our email list in the yellow box below.

Download our free skinny guy’s guide to putting on muscle!

  Enter your email below to download now

  The Nerd Fitness "Get Bigger" Shopping List

Bulk like the Hulk with our rules for getting bigger

  2. Setting unrealistic expectations (How Fast Can I Grow Muscle?)

We live in a world of instant gratification.

People have unrealistic expectations thanks to marketing when it comes to weight loss (“Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!”).

Unsurprisingly, people also have unrealistic expectations when it comes to NATURALLY building muscle as well. This is why we get served ads like this:

“Scientists don’t want you to learn this trick to pack on 40 pounds of muscle!”

These ads are designed to sell supplements, not make you bigger or get you results.

Most supplements are garbage.

The only supplements I recommend taking: protein and creatine.

We cover this extensively in our “how do I build muscle fast?” article:

Under optimal conditions, you’ll most likely be able to put on 1-2 pounds of muscle per month.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t make tremendous strength gains – you’re just not going to build 50 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks.

So start by having proper expectations: don’t try to “Put on 50 pounds” by the week or month. It’s time to think in terms of days and years to make your progress permanent:

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and muscle isn’t built in a matter of days either. It’s going to take months of sustained effort, and it’s going to take consistency and patience.

But you can get there.

If you struggle with not seeing results, and you want a Yoda in your pocket (that sounds weird…) to help you bulk up fast, our online coaching program fits that exact scenario

Work with our coaches to get bigger, quickly and safely. Learn more here:

3. Not having a solid plan (How to Go from Skinny to Muscular)

If you want to go from skinny to buff, you need a plan.

A plan that is balanced, and provides you with big movements that stimulate growth all over your body.

If you just wander into the gym without a strategy, you’re going to struggle to get bigger.

Then you’re gonna have a bad time…

It’s better to pick a basic plan and stick with it for months and months and months, than jump around from week to week chasing the newest shiny object.

As we lay out in our Strength 101 series…

Get freaking strong at the following movements, eat enough, and you will get bigger:

Squats

Deadlifts

Overhead Presses

Rows

Pull-ups (can be weighted)

Dips (can also be weighted)

What plan to follow?

No idea where to start? Read our free Strength 101 series, and pick a workout program from our Beginner Strength Training Workouts.

Work with our coaching staff! We’ll build a program and offer nutrition guidance so that you actually start to see results right away.

Pick one of the 6 levels of workouts in our Beginner’s Gym Guide article to get you comfortable and in a routine.

If you’re not ready for barbell workouts, start with bodyweight training!

Other great barbell-based programs are Stronglifts 5×5, Wendler’s 5/3/1 program, and Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength program.

I started with basic barbell training, then moved into more of a hybrid barbell/bodyweight program (thanks to my Online Coach).

Which should you pick?

Honestly, any of them will work – you just need to start, and stick with it for months at a time, focusing on getting stronger with each movement.

You can also download our Strength 101 Guide when you sign up in the box below:

Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

Everything you need to know about getting strong.

Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.

How to find the right gym and train properly in one.

4. Not Doing Enough (How to Grow Muscle)

If you are trying to get bigger, you might not be doing a tough enough workout in the gym or in the park to stimulate muscle growth.

No matter what, you need to be doing heavier weight, or doing more repetitions in order to challenge your body, breakdown muscle fiber, and force your body to rebuild stronger.

This is called “progressive overload,” and it’s the only way you’re going to build size in the right places.

To answer your first question, you can get bigger doing just bodyweight exercises.

Take one look at gymnasts – these dudes have built their muscle through years of intense bodyweight training like handstands and muscle-ups on the gymnastic rings:

However, you must be scaling these exercises constantly to make them increasingly more difficult, which many people struggle to do.

Just doing more regular push-ups, bodyweight squats, and pull-ups is a good way to get conditioned, but after a certain point, it most likely won’t produce muscle growth without increasing the challenge.

That’s when you need to progressively overload your muscles with a more difficult movement.

I detail this during my “stay in shape while traveling” post, in which I packed on a few pounds of muscle while ONLY doing bodyweight exercises.

I started by doing just pull-ups and dips.

Now I’m up to doing pull-ups with 60 pounds on a weight belt, and dips with 70 pounds on a weight belt.

I used to just do push-ups and pull-ups, now it’s parallette gymnastic complexes:

  View this post on Instagram

  A post shared by Steve Kamb (@stevekamb) on Jan 7, 2015 at 10:37am PST

And muscle-ups on gymnastic rings:

  View this post on Instagram

  A post shared by Steve Kamb (@stevekamb) on Dec 15, 2014 at 1:43pm PST

So, YES it can be done!

You just need a solid plan that allows you to consistently push your muscles further.

Looking for a plan to gymnastics mastery? Outside of our coaching program, our new app will show you exactly how to start training with rings.

You can try out your free trial right here:

5. Going Too Quickly and Getting Injured (Being Safe)

In the age of instant gratification, we always want more, now now now.

Over the past decade, I followed a terrible cycle of setbacks and injury:

Try to get bigger. Eat lots of food, and put on some weight.

Ramp up my workouts too quickly.

Sustain some sort of injury from trying to do too much.

Take a month off to recover.

Start back at #1.

Repeat the process.

Have patience.

Start out with easy weight, and get a teeny tiny bit better every single day.

In fact, it wasn’t until I stopped chasing fast goals and instead focused on tiny habits that I went from Steve Rogers to Captain America.

Back when I started deadlifting again, I kept thinking “I can do more! I can go heavier!” – but I patiently forced myself to go just a tiny bit further than the week prior.

Live to train another day, and just focus on the process:

“Hit the gym 3-4 times per week, get a tiny bit stronger. Then go home and eat!”

As bodybuilder Lee Haney says, “Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate.”

Getting yourself to slow down and put faith in the process is really difficult. It’s why everybody fails at diets, and why nobody can get results that stick.

They try to do TOO much, TOO soon, and keep falling back to square one.

If you are tired of falling back to square one and want somebody to help you make sustainable, permanent progress towards bulking up, check out our coaching program!

No more frustration or confusion, just results. Learn how we can help you bulk up in our Online Coaching Program!

6. Not Following a Sustainable Strategy (Consistency)

Just like losing a bunch of weight by running on a treadmill and starving oneself is not sustainable in the long term, neither is making yourself miserable for a month just to pack on some size.

As soon as you go back to “eating like normal” and “exercising like normal,” you’ll lose all of your gains!

For me, I’ve found sustained success by doing the following:

Eating roughly the same meals every single day.

Getting enough sleep by going to bed at the same time each night.

Training 4 days a week for about an hour.

As a result, I’ve been able to make consistent progress for the past 4 years, and my new “normal” is progress and strength improvements!

What I’m trying to say: be honest with yourself.

If you can’t work out six days a week for the next year, DON’T train that way!

Start with twice a week, doing a basic weight training program, and dump the extra time you would have spent training into eating more or getting more sleep.

If you can train three days a week, that should be plenty to make you bigger: muscles are made in the kitchen, after all!

Remember, if you’re not getting bigger, you’re not eating enough!

Eat more.

It might take you 6+ months longer than if you went all-in and did nothing but eat and lift all day every day, but you’ll actually KEEP the progress you’ve made rather than giving it all back.

This was a brutal lesson I couldn’t learn until I hired an online personal trainer who helped me get my mindset right, and put the right systems in place!

Hack the Matrix and learn to bulk like the Hulk in our Online Coaching Program!

7. Not Making It a Priority (Remember Your Training)

After telling myself “I want to get big and strong,” I realized that for much of the past decade, it wasn’t really a priority.

I put work, messing around on the internet, video games, and going out and drinking ahead of my training on my list of priorities.

Since 2014, I’ve made it a point to see what I could accomplish if I made getting bigger and stronger a priority in my life.

Most importantly, I started taking this seriously and hired an online trainer that I’ve been working with for 5+ years.

It’s what allowed me to deadlift 420 pounds at a bodyweight at 172 pounds:

Here’s what I did to prioritize my transformation and training:

I ate extra meals even when I wasn’t hungry.

I rearranged my training schedule so work would NEVER be an excuse.

I said “no” more often to staying out really late and drinking.

I programmed my workouts into my calendar.

I had my coach keep me accountable.

I scheduled Saturday morning workouts so I wouldn’t go out drinking on Friday.

I made fitness a priority.

Is this goal of going from skinny to buff truly a priority for you? If it’s not, you’re going to give up when you’re tired, or not hungry, or don’t want to exercise.

As we talk about in our “How to Get in Shape” article, you need to have a BIG WHY: the reason you’re doing this!

I wanted to get bigger so I could be more confident when going on dates.

What about you? Why are you here?

Write down your reason, stick it on your bathroom mirror or laptop, and use it as a reminder.

Because this isn’t going to be easy!

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.

And if you want to GET bigger permanently, you need to do things differently, consistently, and permanently.

Never forget why you are doing this! 

I did this journey alone for a decade before I finally got some help in staying accountable and keeping me on track.

If you’re looking for somebody to keep you accountable, tell you exactly what to do in the gym, and tell you how many calories you should eat, we can help there too.

No more guesswork. Let our Coaching Program tell you exactly what to do!

8. Sweating the Small Stuff (Keep It Simple)

Bicep curls! Forearm curls! Calf raises!

“Should I target all three heads of the triceps muscle?”

“I see the big guy over there doing 8 types of bicep exercises – should I do what he’s doing?”

“Does chest day need to be bench, incline bench, decline bench, cable chest flys, dumbbell flys?”

“How many sets and reps should I do? Should I do 6 sets of 8 reps or 5 sets of 5 reps?”

Forget all of that stuff!

If you want to get bigger, focus on getting stronger in one of the few big, basic movements.

Once you have a solid foundation, then we can start targeting specific isolated muscle groups like the bodybuilders do.

Always start your workout with the basics of strength training (noticing a theme here?):

Squats

Deadlifts

Bench Press

Overhead Presses

Rows

Pull-ups (weighted)

Dips (weighted)

“But where’s my bicep curls, tricep extensions, ab work, etc.!?!?!”

ALL of those muscles get worked incredibly well with the above exercises, so don’t worry about isolating.

Instead, just get strong.

When you can lift heavy things or complete intense bodyweight exercises, your body needs to adapt.

If you want to do things like bicep curls or triceps extensions, great.

Just do them AFTER doing the big important workouts.

As long as you are eating enough to fuel your recovery and following the Bulk Up Like the Hulk Axioms, you’ll be good to go! (Covered in the free download when you join our email list in the box below!)

Download our free skinny guy’s guide to putting on muscle!

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  9. Not Recovering Enough (Get Sleep)

I used to pride myself on not needing a lot of sleep.

I also used to be dumb, apparently.

Since putting a focus on getting bigger and stronger, I’ve had to considerably up my sleep time.

When you strength train, your muscles break down and need to rebuilt over the next 24-48 hours.

Sleep is a key part of this process.

Without it, your body can’t recover, and you can’t grow.

I find I am exhausted the day of really heavy max deadlifts, so I prioritize more sleep on those days!

Muscles aren’t made in the gym, they’re made while you’re resting.

So make sleep a priority! 

How I Put on 25 Pounds – My Last 18 Months

I’m really proud of what I’ve been able to pull off over the past few years, and I’m excited to see what the next 18 months bring.

Here are two recent photos to highlight how I’ve transformed in 6 months:

Photo on the left: 171 pounds

Photo on the right: 194 pounds

The best part is that it was all done in a healthy, sustainable, natural way.

Since then, I’ve actually worked on leaning out too (while getting much stronger).

This was all done under the supervision of my Online Personal Trainer and Coach, Anthony

If you are somebody who wants to get bigger, and go from skinny to buff, make sure you don’t make the 9 mistakes I used to make!

And if you want results, here are 3 options we offer:

1) If you’re tired of the guesswork and just to be told exactly what to do, consider checking out our 1-on-1 online coaching program! We create custom programs and nutritional guidelines for people like you struggling to put on size.

No more guesswork. Just results. Build muscle and build confidence in our Nerd Fitness Coaching Program!

2) If you want a roadmap for home workouts, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Try your free trial right here:

3) Join the Rebellion! We have a free newsletter that we send out twice per week with new content helping you build muscle and level up your life.

Sign up the box below and I’ll send you a bunch of free guides!

Download our free skinny guy’s guide to putting on muscle!

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  I’d love to hear from you in the comments below:

What are your biggest struggles when it comes to bulking up?

Have you had success as a skinny dude or lady and made great progress?

Have you struggled your whole life with being skinny and still can’t seem to crack the code?

Let me know how I can help!

-Steve (former Steve Rogers, current Captain America)

PS: Check out these other articles in our “Build Muscle Fast” Series:

13 Tips for Guaranteed Weight Gain.

Ultimate Skinny Guy’s Guide to Bulking Up Fast.

How to Build Muscle Quickly.

Strength 101: How to Get Strong.

How to Find a Good Trainer.

All photo sources can be found right here: [1]

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

Pickle Jar, Lego Chopping Bacon, fotogestoeber © 123RF.com, Pencil and Paper, Army Push-Ups, X-Ray, Plan B, Deadlifting, Ladybug, Sleeping cat,

Want to Get Bigger? Avoid These 9 Mistakes Skinny Guys Make Trying to Bulk Up! published first on https://dietariouspage.tumblr.com/