#but there's no reply

[still-single]

Records I Am Glad to Have Found in 2023: Part 2

"Part" may be the wrong way to express this as a series but it's too late now.

Superdragons – "Super Dragon" promo 12" (Mercury, 1976)

There's a shop north of Chicago that's the kind of place where the immediate charms of digging for wild records are often rewarded. I have a regularly scheduled appointment out near this shop, which gives me an excuse to stop in every few months and see what's changed. Every time I go, I seem to clean out a section that doesn't immediately get replenished, but in typical crypt-style record store fashion, there's always something more to find.

In recent years, that section has been their 12" singles. If this is the thing you're looking for, record shops with heavy inventory truly cannot be beat. You won't typically have much competition getting down on the floor and looking under the browsers or whatever dusty, low-traffic area this format is typically relegated to.

Which is to say, on a previous visit I found a promo-only Bohannon single and was regaled with a story about The Gilbert Kong collection. Kong was a Mercury Records mastering engineer who at some point dipped out to work on his own, but I'm told he kept his contacts and worked with the label steadily throughout the '70s. His craft is most readily apparent on a series of 12" promo singles, pressed for radio and disco use, which were generally not for sale. A relative who had inherited his collection wound up selling it to this store, they found an acetate of the first Rush album out of it (which they donated to a Rush museum, apparently, after being rebuffed when presenting UMG with the chance to use it for a reissue), and most of the 12"s quietly went out for sale.

You can identify these records by their monochromatic, plain sleeve art, and a catalog prefix of MK. In every instance I've come across, the record is mastered LOUD, with incredible fidelity and bass response. Kong had no compunction about spreading three minutes of music across an entire side of a 12", and the results are about as deep and rewarding as you'd expect from an audio standpoint. Whether the music – typically disco records pushed by the PolyGram fam, top 40 hopefuls, and sampler albums – is your bag, that's another thing. A frequent target of bootlegging, these promos weren't pressed in significant quantities; the appeal of DJing with a really full, loud copy of, say, the Osmonds "I, I, I", as opposed to the squashed fidelity of the same song on the LP, cannot be overstated. Second-market pricing on these varies wildly, from a few bucks to a few hundred.

I grabbed a bunch of these releases on my last visit, sound unheard. The bare, red print of "Super Dragon DISCO VERSION" by Superdragons did its best to blend in, but the anonymity of it all, a heady year of release, and a production credit for Bunny Sigler held promise.

Did it ever! Clearly a product of Philly's finest studio musicians, "Super Dragon" looks to glom as many popular song ideas together as a single track could hold, with panicked, immediate strings, parping brass, rolling rhythms and virtually nothing at all to say. "Draaa-gon! Draaa-gon! Super dragon, super dragon." That's all you get! You also get notions of Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street," Rhythm Heritage's "Theme from S.W.A.T.," and Steve Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle," three tracks I wouldn't have thought should go together until now. "Super Dragon" is a full-tilt disco hustler with big main title soundtrack energy, and I wasn't surprised to find out it was used for just that (an excerpt turns up in a Bruce Le movie, 1978's Bruce and Shaolin Kung Fu).

Superdragons left it all out on the field after this one; the B-side contains the same song, in case you wear it out. Apart from a customary pressing as a 45 (with Part 1 and Part 2 indicators), this was it. This 12" presents a unique disco mix with no side break, and at 5+ minutes runtime gives you everything you came for and a little more.

Crown Heights Affair – "Say a Prayer for Two" b/w "Galaxy of Love / I'm Gonna Love You Forever" promo 12" (De-Lite, 1978)

Probably don't need to say much about this known disco slammer, presented here with a little more of an intro. The bass response on this one is fucking insane, and if this isn't getting your floor moving/potted plants dancing off the shelf, you might be doing it wrong. A high point in these Mercury promo offerings, and my favorite song from this group.

City Boy – "5.7.0.5." promo 12" (Mercury, 1978)

Loved this song from the first time I heard it. City Boy's biggest hit, this has some real right place/right time energy, the vaguely new wave screamer ELO never really had in 'em (at least not in '78). Grooves on this one are cut so wide you can almost sightread them from across the room. I was hoping one of these would be in with the rest at this shop.

(Doug Mosurock)

[emjaydoubleyou]

this post is fearmongering. the results of this study are concerning and should definitely be a matter of public discussion, but this is certainly not the conclusion the researchers came to.

the point of the study was to assess the risks of exposure to toxic metals- something one of the co-authors notes are “ubiquitous” fwiw- via menstrual products. Their research confirmed that these metals are indeed present in tampons, but no further conclusions are drawn. it is possible the metal entered into the cotton from the soil, which is a well-known phenomenon; cotton is so good at lifting heavy metals that it has actually been suggested as a part of the solution for revitalizing polluted ground.

the authors conclude with an acknowledgement that the study should be repeated- their sample size was 60 tampons- and a suggestion that further testing ought to be done to indicate whether or not these metals can even leech out of the tampon in the first place, let alone whether or not such leeching could occur at levels deleterious to human health.

there is, in fact, a body of research- too small, for sure, but much larger than this single study- indicating that long-term proper tampon use has no observable negative impact on health. i am grateful and thrilled that more research is being done and i hope that this study is the first of many on this line of questioning, but i am really frustrated at this post and the response it got.

obviously, if this study alters your approach to menstrual health, more power to you. consumers should be informed-risk-takers, and menstrual health is double-obviously a very personal choice. but it definitely wasn't the researchers concluding that you ought to “avoid using tampons at all cost," only this tumblr user did. the lead author of the paper, in fact, specifically says that she hopes people do NOT panic about the results.

(the notes of the post were disappointing. people affirming that they knew they were right to be suspicious of tampons all along, or even recommending alternatives that actually have very little to no research regarding the safety of long-term use, etc. it’s a different conversation, but categorical distrust of tampons is old-school misogyny. you certainly shouldn't wear them if you don’t want to, but there is nothing inherently scary or wrong about them, and people who prefer them are not being reckless or crass.)

((if you're really worried about exposure to heavy metals, you may want to turn a critical eye to fast fashion, as an aside))

[envelopandkissme]

this fucks

[bob-artist]

Since the Canada griffin was proudly mentioned recently I figure it can’t hurt to ask if you do happen to have plans to design Canada griffin goslings at some point in the future? (muse permitting)

I DO NOW.

I present to you

honklings

[marisatomay]

twitter is hell but i really hope it doesn’t actually die because this is in contention for the funniest thing i’ve ever read in my life

[spinejackel]

What are dead man walking tornadoes? :O

it’s a multi-vortex tornado. i dont remember the tribe it originates from (i think it was cherokee), but there’s a native american legend…? saying? that goes “if you see a man in a tornado, you are about to die.”

the most infamous shot of a dead man walking tornado hit jarrell, texas in 1997

it did so much damage to the town it caused the scale that tornados are measured by, the fijita scale, undergo revisions, and it made anchoring buildings in the tornado alley region pretty much mandatory. (it took the entire town off the map. only those who had taken shelter outside of the town or in underground bunkers survived.)

two more examples of dead man walking tornadoes looking like a person are a tornado from 2011 that hit cullman, alabama

and a tornado from 1975 that hit xenia, ohio

edit: it has been brought to my attention that the native american “legend” part of this post was a rumor spread by a documentary.

i have been asked to remove it, but i believe in letting my errors stand because i’m not perfect. i make mistakes

[alfea]

PLEASE go donate some esims if you’re able to

[chase-prairie]

Loving reminder from your land history auntie:

North American golf courses have had 50-100 years of arsenic and mercury based fungicide and herbicides applied to their soils.

Do not eat anything that has been grown on a golf course or downstream from a golf course. I know it sounds cool and radical, but you are too valuable to poison yourself with heavy metals.

Protect each other, turn your local golf course into a pollinator garden, not a sex forest or community garden.

[museaway]

I hope the fic you are working on right now finds a reader who will think about it constantly for years

[sw33tcheese]

Still the funniest panels “dude no way you would do all that work just to be friends with me that’s so stupid” and then he gets decked like, there is more going on but also it’s so funny to just think Kabru was annoyed that Laois was making fun of his friend making skills and just punches him

[kuuhaiyu]

i really can't emphasize how heartbreaking it is that the recent harassment campaign against @/90-ghost (among others; see: 1, 2, 3) has led to well-meaning people telling others not to listen to him. he is one of the most visible survivors of the genocide here on tumblr. his entire journey of escape is so well documented! and yet, it only took a few people confidently pointing fingers to create an entire witch hunt accusing him and other palestinians of being disreputable scammers and liars.

i can't help but feel like the reason why people were SO eager to believe those accusations, is because it was uncomfortable to see posts from palestinians every day asking for our time, attention, money, and support; so when someone presented the perfect excuse to ignore all those posts and asks while also taking the high ground, people just LEAPED onto it. they wanted to believe it, because it would be more comfortable.

honestly, i understand feeling overwhelmed by bad news, by the number of asks and messages in your inbox, and so on and so forth. i understand needing to set boundaries for yourself so you don't get burned out. i think this is really when you have to have a set of principles to fall back on, even when you're tired, uncomfortable, angry, and/or sad. so here's the one i suggest, which has been working for me best: don't make your discomfort with this situation into someone else's problem, and for god's sake don't make it a public problem.

if you hate seeing fundraiser posts or news about gaza, i can't emphasize this enough, JUST MOVE ON. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND SCROLL PAST! all you have to do is absolutely nothing. which is what you were doing anyway, so it shouldn't be hard. if you don't have the heart to read, or reblog, or share, or donate, or support in other ways, at the very least, don't obstruct the efforts of people who ARE trying to make a difference. this is, quite literally, the least you can do.

[tofixtheshadows]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.

Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.

Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.

Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.

I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.

He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).

First, we get this:

Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.

They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.

It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.

We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.

What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?

He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.

In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.

Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!

...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.

Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.

And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.

I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.

And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.

Meals are the privilege of the living.

[angleofmusings]

(only superficial damage)

[sunflower-spots]

Messaging a girl and she referred to her conversation with me as "just playing with her food" and I nearly moaned out loud anyways what about you guys how have your days been

[rabbitmotifs]

[ebi-noodle-doodles]

Miku art compilation

Commissions open: xixiriima.carrd.co