#convention mobile bar

[portablebar]

Why Mobile Portable Beverage Bars Are a Game-Changer for Conventions

In the bustling world of conventions, making a lasting impression is crucial. A standout feature that can transform any event is the mobile portable beverage bar. These innovative setups are revolutionizing the way beverages are served at conventions, offering both functionality and flair.

The Rise of Mobile Portable Beverage Bars

Mobile portable beverage bars have quickly become a favorite among event planners and organizers. Several key factors have contributed to their increasing popularity:

Flexibility: The ability to set up and relocate the bar as needed.

Customization: Tailoring the bar to fit the theme and requirements of the event.

Efficiency: Streamlining beverage service to handle high volumes with ease.

Key Benefits of Mobile Portable Beverage Bars

Mobile beverage bars offer numerous advantages, making them an essential component for any successful convention.

Enhanced Mobility

One of the most significant advantages of a convention mobile bar is its mobility. Unlike traditional stationary bars, these units can be moved to different locations within the venue. This flexibility allows for optimal placement, whether in high-traffic areas or near specific event zones.

Adaptable Layouts: Move the bar to match the flow of the convention.

Strategic Positioning: Place the bar where it's most needed, such as near main entrances or exhibit halls.

Efficient Use of Space

Space is often at a premium during conventions. Mobile portable beverage bars are designed to maximize space utilization.

Compact Design: Many units are compact and fit into tight spaces without sacrificing functionality.

Smart Storage: Features like built-in storage compartments help keep everything organized and accessible.

Customizable Features

Convention mobile bars come with a range of customizable options to enhance the event experience.

Design Variations: Choose from different styles and finishes to match the convention theme.

Branding Opportunities: Many bars can be customized with branding elements, ensuring your company's logo and colors are prominently displayed.

Streamlined Beverage Service

Speed and efficiency are crucial in managing large crowds. Mobile portable beverage bars are designed to handle high volumes effectively.

Quick Setup: Many units can be assembled and disassembled quickly, reducing downtime.

High Capacity: Designed to accommodate a large number of guests with ease.

How Mobile Portable Beverage Bars Transform Conventions

Incorporating a mobile portable beverage bar into a convention can significantly enhance the overall experience for attendees.

Creating a Memorable Experience

A well-designed beverage bar can become a focal point of the event, creating a memorable experience for guests.

Visual Appeal: Attractive bars draw attention and can become a conversation piece.

Interactive Elements: Some bars offer interactive features, such as mixology demonstrations or custom drink options.

Boosting Efficiency

Efficient beverage service helps maintain a smooth flow of the event and ensures that guests are well taken care of.

Reduced Wait Times: Efficient setup and service minimize wait times, keeping guests satisfied.

Effective Crowd Management: Strategic placement helps manage large crowds and reduces congestion.

Enhancing Brand Visibility

Customizable convention mobile bars offer an excellent opportunity for brand visibility.

Branded Bars: Displaying logos and branding elements on the bar increases brand recognition.

Engaging Experiences: Interactive and visually appealing bars create memorable brand experiences.

Practical Tips for Choosing the Right Mobile Portable Beverage Bar

Selecting the ideal mobile portable beverage bar for a convention requires careful consideration.

Assess the Venue

Consider the venue's size and layout when choosing a bar.

Space Requirements: Ensure the bar fits comfortably within the available space.

Accessibility: Choose an easily accessible location for guests and staff.

Determine Your Needs

Evaluate the specific requirements of the convention to choose the best bar.

Beverage Types: Determine the types of beverages that will be served and select a bar with appropriate features.

Capacity: Choose a bar with sufficient capacity to handle the expected volume of guests.

Consider Customization Options

Explore the customization options available to make sure the bar meets your event's needs.

Design: Choose a design that complements the convention theme and overall aesthetic.

Branding: Incorporate branding elements to enhance visibility and recognition.

Conclusion

In the fast-paced world of conventions, a mobile portable beverage bar is more than just a service feature—it's a game-changer. With benefits ranging from enhanced mobility and space efficiency to customizable features and streamlined service, these bars offer a compelling solution for managing beverage service at large events. By choosing the right bar, convention organizers can elevate the guest experience, boost efficiency, and enhance brand visibility, making any event a standout success.

[clockways]

After undergrad, I was done living with people. People didn’t turn off alarm clocks or clean up their messes or, perhaps, people even blamed you for their mental breakdown. I had had enough of people.

But I couldn’t live alone.

Luckily, I knew the perfect solution. See, other than the semesters of undergrad, I had always lived with cats. There were also dogs and hamsters and reptiles, but cats were the constant. It was a noble line going all the way back to Yoda, whom my mother got to be her cat in college.

It was only the start of summer, and I was already surreptitiously walking past the adoption area of the pet store. It was a good thing I did.

There in the cage, the only animal in the whole adoption area, was a tiny kitten. As soon as he saw me, he started to meow and kneed and reach through the bars. It was probably as close to love at first sight as I will ever get.

After finding out when adoption was and leaving and coming back at what was the wrong time and talking to the kitten through the glass—I finally was able to hold him.

He was perfect.

This little kitten with brown so deep it was black and a white underside and a very pink nose settled right into my arms and purred up a storm. I adopted him then and there.

Depressingly, with this adoption center, the little boy had to go back to get sniped before I could take him home. I often joked that the poor guy never had a lick of testosterone in his body with how early it all happened. (That didn’t stop in from growing into quite a tall, long cat, mind you.)

While he came home without his balls, he also came home with a kitten cold. My poor little perfect boy was sick to the point that he could die. Cats, if you didn’t know, don’t eat if they can’t smell. Stinky food was bought, force feeding was attempted, and in the end it was some Vick’s in hot water that cleared his sinuses up enough to eat.

Now that he was well, it was finally time to find the right name. Name is a process in my family. In rather reverse fae rules, by giving the pets the right name, they are cemented as family. My mother even adds them to the family bible.

This boy took two tries.

His first name was Underwood as you see, once he got is energy back, he was constantly walking across my lap and the laptop that had a pretty permanent place in it. My friends swiftly got used to getting ‘kitten messages’ sent to them. Annoyingly, some of the same friends wouldn’t stop calling him Carrie, even after I asked them not to, and I decided that I wasn’t going to put up with that for the next fourteen plus years.

As he was my ‘squirmy worm’ for his lack of desire to be held and ability to pop right out of a hold due to his silky fur, I combined the two and, finally, he found his right name of Wormwood. (This also, unbeknownst at the time, started the naming convention for my next two cats.)

Wormwood and I went off to graduate school not much later. The old but passable apartment I was in had a (rather shoddily) screened in porch. It became Worm’s favorite spot to sit, even in the middle of Texas heat.

Paper balls were discovered to be his favorite thing, followed by very tiny pompoms. If I was ignoring him, he’d knock my remote off my table to play. Even with that playing, I often joked that Worm was my semi mobile throw pillow. He loved to lounge and nap to the extreme, even for a cat.

Worm never wanted other cats in his life, though he managed to accept Bugsy—my Siamese mutt—into our home in time, though Worm never ceded the foot of the bed to him. Together, we three moved back in with my parents (to total a too many five cats) until I could afford my own place. Worm had to suffer through another new brother, Beetle, about three years ago. Then not quite two years ago we moved to a new state.

All three boys did wonderful on the very long drive, and I like to think that it was worth it because of the fabulous sunroom in the new house. All of them had their favorite spots to sit out there and soak up the sun.

This winter, Worm took a turn. He dropped some weight while I was gone on a trip. I got him a heated bed that became his very favorite thing in the whole house. He would just melt into it.

Then it got worse.

I took him to the vet, and he had gone from about fifteen pounds down to five and a half. Blood work was clean though, so we increased his food and changed some things around.

Tueaday he was quite ill.

Wednesday was the first time there was a moment where he wasn’t there mentally. It felt like it was going to be time.

Thursday, today, I found him laying in a sunbeam. He didn’t even ask for food. At eleven today I took him to the vet. For about an hour before I held him, resting against my chest, and the two of us sat in the sun, listening to the birds.

I think he was ready to rest. He hardly moved at the vet during the shot and then… then he was gone.

And I had to leave him.

For sixteen years, nearly half my life, he has been my family and one of my best friends. I would have been so lost without him. I’m so sad to have to say goodbye, but I’m glad that he can rest now.

I’m glad that it was a pretty day and that we got to sit in the sun together and listen to the birds.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Lil Kalish at HuffPost:

The first-ever mobilization of trans voters around a presidential candidate took place on Zoom on Tuesday, as around 1,000 transgender people, including lawmakers, advocates, health care workers and celebrities, logged on to show support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the presidency. Trans Folks For Harris was one of numerous identity-based webinars to support Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month. Over the last few weeks, many LGBTQ+ advocates have embraced Harris, touting her decadeslong record of supporting LGBTQ+ rights, and her decision to make Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who transformed the state into a “trans refuge,” her running mate. This came just after Advocates for Trans Equality released a report showing that 75% of eligible trans voters turned up to the polls in the 2020 presidential election, compared to 67% of the general U.S. population — and that trans voters make up a crucial part of the electorate.

“We know our rights and our progress are on the line, but so is our very sense of belonging,” said Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride, who was elected as the first openly transgender state senator in the country. If McBride wins her bid for Delaware’s open House seat, she would become the first transgender member of Congress. “We have the opportunity, but more importantly, the responsibility in this election to show a trans young person who fears that the heart of this country is not big enough to love them too, that no matter what extremists say or do, our next president and vice president continue to have their backs,” McBride continued. The Harris-Walz campaign has yet to release any concrete policy plans on civil rights ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week, but advocates say Harris and Walz have demonstrated their commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ rights, access to abortion and the rights to bodily autonomy overall. A draft of the Democrats’ platform, which was released in July, outlines their fight to restore reproductive rights, address racial inequalities, and protect democracy.

“It’s a step forward to ensure that trans people, especially Black and Brown trans women, have the representation and the resources they need to live with dignity and pride,” Zahara Bassett, CEO of Chicago trans advocacy organization Life Is Work, said on the call. “We need to make sure that our future is one of equity, justice and liberation for us all.” Harris was one of the first elected officials to publicly back marriage equality in 2004, and she refused to defend Proposition 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban, in 2008. As a prosecutor, she also led the charge to end the so-called gay and transgender “panic defense,” a legal strategy often used to seek a lesser offense for perpetrators of anti-LGBTQ+ violence or murder by claiming that the victim made same-sex sexual advances. In June 2023, Harris became the first sitting vice president to visit the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement, and the site of the historic 1969 uprising of LGBTQ+ people fighting back against police raids in the New York City bar. And earlier this week, Harris released a video on X outlining how former President Donald Trump vastly restricted LGBTQ+ rights while in office — and how he would do so again if elected. Trump has already promised to roll back several policies, including blocking access to gender-affirming care for minors and rescinding the Biden administration’s Title IX rules that expand protections for transgender students. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, introduced a bill in the upper chamber to criminalize gender-affirming care for trans youth.

[...] Today’s embrace of Harris is in stark contrast to how some LGBTQ+ voters remembered her last bid for president in 2019. Back then, some advocates took issue with Harris’ tenure as a prosecutor for how she pushed for criminal penalties for parents of truant children and which led to the arrest of many Black and brown people. Many also noted how as attorney general, Harris’ office denied an incarcerated trans woman’s request for gender-affirming care. Harris has since apologized and said she takes “full responsibility” for her office’s actions. But still, not all LGBTQ+ voters are convinced. Harris’ support for the Biden administration’s policies towards Israel’s war in Gaza has alienated some of these voters. In the Democratic primaries this year, hundreds of thousands of voters cast “uncommitted” ballots as a form of protest to push for a cease-fire and end U.S. weapons transfers to Israel.

For the first time in American Presidential history, an organized mobilization effort for trans Americans to support Kamala Harris’s Presidency bid has cropped up, featuring a Trans Folks For Harris Zoom call. 🏳️‍⚧️

[thegildedbee]

Journey: May 30 Prompt from @calaisreno

This latest chapter and the previous ones are here at ao3.

(I'm a bit distant at this point from May, I know! . . . and there's one more prompt still to go, but then I'll finally be caught up with everyone else :-) ..................................................... As the train moves through the wintered fields, stations shuttered long ago flicker past, punctuated bits of expired time. An hour out from London, they begin to slow on the approach to Swindon, coming to a stop in a four-minute flurry of going and coming. Gathered round the door are a dozen or so lads in football kit with red dragons across their chests, waiting for the woman and the little boy who had been a few seats down from John to step off from the carriage. They scramble aboard, noisily pleased with having won their match, bringing in a blast of cold air that reaches in and chills John underneath his neck. They muck about as they jostle each other, eventually more or less coordinating their sprawls amongst extra rows of seats beyond what's necessary, some of them popping up to take selfies and shoot videos.

A faint smile whispers and shuts in an instant across John’s face at their exuberance, and he plugs his earphones into his mobile. He dithers about what to listen to, finally settling on a playlist that comes up after he types “welsh music” into the search bar, and then closes his eyes and slackens against the back of his seat as the train pulls away from the station and they resume their journey.

He’s vaguely bemused by young people's social media, especially their attachment to filming their lives; quite different from people his age, who've never been much fussed about having a camera to hand. He does regret, though, that he doesn’t have many photos of Sherlock; he always felt he needed to be surreptitious about taking shots, as if doing it in plain view would disturb their balancing act as flatmates. There are two amongst the small number that he likes very much: one of Sherlock facing the window while playing his violin, sunlight bringing out coppery glints in his dark curls; a second of him laid out on the sofa, allegedly in his mind palace, but actually taking a kip like an ordinary mortal. He doesn’t think Sherlock knew that he had a small set of photos – they were transferred to his laptop and sequestered several levels down inside a folder titled “Household Chores”– but since the git seemed to think that whatever was John’s, was his as well, he wouldn’t be surprised if somehow Sherlock had come across them one day when he was poking his nose about where he shouldn’t.

That thought begets another (didSherlockevertakeanypicturesofJohn?) although he decides to duck out from under that one straight off and leave it behind.

As the soft, plaintive reverberations of a pavane-like harp play inside his head, he recalls with chagrin how he jollied Sherlock into attending the media events that occurred in that last span of their time together. Clients had wanted to thank Sherlock for his successful efforts on their behalf: the rub was that they wanted to do so in front of the press. There was an auction house director for whom he’d retrieved a stolen painting worth nearly two million quid, and the big cheese banker who had been kidnapped, and then rescued by the detective.

The amount of interest Sherlock had in attending these: nil.

But he eventually complied, as he usually did when John asked him to do something; that hadn’t meant, however, that he’d play nicely. He had been cuttingly deductive, peevishly stating at the first event that the gift box held out to him contained diamond cufflinks – adding dismissively, “all my cuffs have buttons!” – and offering a similar pronouncement at the second, giving the box a shake and sharing the reveal – “tie pin!" – adding dismissively: “I don’t wear ties.”

John had intervened, correcting and redirecting Sherlock to concede to propriety and conform to convention, saying pointedly to the auction house director: “He means thank you,” to which Sherlock had snarked, “Do I?” to be countered by John pushing back: "Just say it.” In the second event he just gave it up as a bad job, and . . . shushed him.

The regular way of their world, right? Sherlock being an arse, John trying to save his arse.

As time had passed, however, John had begun to think that his attitude had been flirting at condescension, in a way that hadn’t been there at the start of their work together. When had he shifted to focusing on Sherlock as being deficient as a human being in social situations, as opposed to seeing Sherlock’s idiosyncrasies as indicative of degrees of comfort (or not) with those he perceived as outsiders?

To be fair, Sherlock’s disdain for the gifts was defensible: he didn’t sport the posh affectation of cufflinks for every day; nor had he ever been seen to wear a tie. If it was “the thought that counts,” then the thought appeared to be that, beyond his utility, Sherlock-as-individual was a human-as-null-placeholder.

In being thrust into the spotlight, abetted by John, Sherlock had been diverted from his own circumspect path, onto the one controlled by the ravening press, where it was they who decided on the right of way, whether there was safe passage to be had, and, if so, at what cost.

What if, in running interference in a way that placed John close to the side of propriety and conformity, he’d instead put his thumb on the scale for Sherlock?

It might have gone perhaps something like this: [Sherlock speaks] [John: subtle nudge, subtle nudge] [John (sotto voce): “What a wanker, eh?”] [Sherlock smiles at John] [John smiles at Sherlock] [John and Sherlock are pleased with themselves, and each other, two-of-a-kind people who laugh together at crime scenes, without giving a hang about proper decorum] [Sherlock feigns politeness] [Social order is maintained . . . a bit].

And, actually, for whose benefit were these thank-you events? Looking back with a skeptical eye, John sees them now as highlighting the givers: it was the poncy auction house director and the illustrious banker who were preening in front of the cameras – Sherlock was a pretext, surplus to requirements. Neither of the worthies needed to stage a press availability to thank Sherlock: appreciation could have been conveyed privately.

The simp of an art dealer, smarmily posing beside the “masterpiece by Turner,” with Sherlock off to the other side, while the public relations cameraman snapped images suitable for public distribution. Turning that skeptical eye on the whole scenario, the painting would now command likely a doubled sold-at-auction price, given the publicity and the story surrounding it having juiced up the intangibles that make up any artwork’s value on the open market.

The self-important banker, posed on the stairs within the embrace of his loving family – several steps higher than the detective, turfing him out onto the pavement. The journos gossiping that Mr. Something-or-Other-in-the-City was ready to climb the greasy pole, to one day get himself slotted in as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a launching pad for Prime Minister, as Major, Brown, and Sunak had done. Among the side effects of the kidnapping as media spectacle had been the boost it had given to the financier’s perceived significance, valor, and . . . name recognition.

John’s mind is expletive-strewn as he speculates how it was that these Sherlockian triumphs were choreographed by the hand of the consulting criminal, who likely pulled off a doubled win: had he inveigled the auction house to allow its painting to be stolen, and the aspiring government minister to allow himself to be kidnapped? (And therefore pocketed a tidy fee for the planning and execution of these gambits?) These events set in motion by him toward achieving the objective of setting up Sherlock to be sucked into the publicity maelstrom, as the “hero detective” became giddily glorified by the press? The bastard had probably even conspired with the unscrupulous publishing baron, Magnussen, to stage-manage the journalistic hue and cry to his specifications.

The ramping up of the press frenzy was the piece de resistance: all the fawning adulation naming Sherlock as a hero pivoted on using the Met as a foil, painting them as hapless and ineffectual, turning the table upside down by portraying them as the true amateurs, and Sherlock as a professional disguised as an amateur. Sherlock's overnight overnight celebrity ensured that his detractors at Scotland Yard would become ever more enraged at Sherlock’s existence, increasing their seething resentment and desire to take him down. The deerstalker was the Yard’s I.O.U.

John allows that he may be on the verge of losing himself in the land of the paranoid, but he wonders if Moriarty even stage-managed the thank-you events himself, through a word in the ear of those in charge, ensuring the planting of certain details. To wit, Moriarty, in his Vivienne Westwoods and beyond-bespokes: his shirts were fastened with cufflinks, his always-tied-up self flaunted tie pins. Moriarty knew that eventually Sherlock would wonder if these two data points were taunts that meant Moriarty was lurking just beyond view. And Moriarty would have felt as blissed-out at Sherlock’s sartorial humiliation as his target would have felt beleaguered, cursed as he was forevermore to be crowned by the misbegotten deerstalker in press photos.

He suspects now that Moriarty had drilled down into John’s psychology with a cleverness equal to his emotional profiling of the public, the press, and the Met, and had foreseen that he could steer John into unknowingly working with him, prompting him into facilitating Sherlock being fed into the maw of the beast by providing a platform that tapped into John’s desire to see Sherlock get his due in public.

As twisted as the maggot was, he seemed to know more about John’s and Sherlock’s emotional landscapes than perhaps they did themselves.

What had Moriarty known about John and Sherlock, the each of them? What had Moriarty known about the two of them together? And when? And why had they been blindsided?

............................... p.s. The shooting script at the BBC for S2E3 uses the term "auction house" at one point, and I've used that tiny blip for my between-the-lines jumping off point use of "canon" here, in case anyone wonders :-)

......................................

@calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @friday411 @peanitbear @original-welovethebeekeeper

@helloliriels @a-victorian-girl @keirgreeneyes @starrla89 @naefelldaurk

@topsyturvy-turtely @lisbeth-kk @raina-at @jobooksncoffee @meetinginsamarra

@solarmama-plantsareneat @bluebellofbakerstreet @dragonnan @safedistancefrombeingsmart @jolieblack

@msladysmith @ninasnakie @riversong912 @dapetty

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[sasaranurude]

I'm a loser who both spends too much time playing gacha games and loves to hear myself talk, so here's another game review style post, this time covering my first day playing Break My Case. This time I'm not even being a little hater! I'm a lover! I'm cringe! I'm free! I love you Coly! I love you ikemen gacha games!!!!!!!

Break My Case is a new puzzle-music-adventure mobile game from Coly, the developers behind Mahoutsukai no Yakusoku and On Air. More relevant to BMC/BreMai is their game Stand My Heroes, with which it shares a writer, some gameplay elements, and of course a naming convention. Coly has developed a bit of a cult following for their unique status in the Japanese mobile gaming world: they're a company that was founded by women and hires women to make games for women. They put a lot of soul into their games. From the start, BMC is no different!

"Could you have pulled a clean version of this image from the internet so it didn't have all the game junk" no. it's my tumblr and you get my screenshots.

I (with help from friends) overviewed the initial Break My Case announcement back when it dropped. You can read that here! I said in that post that I thought a "dark rhythm game" would be a really cool direction for the game… and that's more or less what we got! GO ME!!!!!

First: the game's presentation is fantastic. Super slick graphical design and just amazing atmosphere. The sound design of this game is incredible. Genuinely. Really, really, good. All the music is amazing—I'm not knowledgeable enough to say anything other than "IT SLAPS!", but it totally does slap. The illustrations for the cards are all wonderfully atmospheric in and of themselves, and are just a delight to look at on the homescreen with its chill background music. Even just navigating menus is a sleek, seamless experience. The live2d is well-done, although it clashes a tad with the art style for a bit of an uncanny look at times. 

The atmosphere! The atmospheeeeeeere!!!

Of course, the draw to this game is the characters and story, so let's jump into that. I'll admit right now that I read the story through a machine translation—I have aaaalmost enough Japanese knowledge to fill in the gaps, especially since the story is fully voiced, but I'm definitely not getting the full nuance of the story that someone fluent in Japanese is going to get. THAT SAID, after completing the prologue, I was definitely intrigued enough that I want to continue slogging through the MTL just to read more! There's a great setup, centered around the bar Aporia and its three modes—a daytime cafe, a nighttime members-only bar, and, secretly, a "fixer" service who'll help anyone with any problem. Our main character, a woman who was just forced to quit her job at a corrupt company, gets hired to replace Aporia's eccentric owner while he goes on a who-knows-how-long vacation. The owner also has the role of "tail"—as in, the tail a lizard sheds to avoid being eaten. If anything in the fixer service goes wrong, it's the owner who takes the fall and the blame. This hasn't come to mean much in practice yet in the (quite short) prologue, but it's a fascinating setup. The story promises to touch on themes of the threads that weave our lives together, how small meetings can lead to massive life changes, and whether any human being is truly replaceable, even in our modern corporate world where people are treated like cogs in a machine. According to a staff interview, there are a handful of references to Stand My Heroes in BreMai, but the games' settings aren't otherwise closely linked.

Rough translation in alt text. The Aporia manager Ai may be the most mysterious, intimidating character, but he also beefs with a parrot the first time you meet him, so...

All the characters are staff at Aporia with various unique roles and background. The prologue just gives you a little bit of each of them, but everyone does show up, and they all have interesting dynamics with each other already. Ai, the stern manager, has some history with the MC that he refuses to divulge, and goes so far as to force psychologist Riku to agree to not look into it. The range of relationships among the staff run the gamut from the calm and mature friendship between fortune teller Kiho and art teacher Kyoya, to the unfaltering dedication of Yu to his ex-mafioso savior Tomose, to the ridiculous Takeru and Soyogu who spend their first appearance waking up after having gotten black-out drunk together the night before. My favorite dynamic of all so far is that of Kou and Mao—Kou is a playboy who insists he's not a playboy, and is introduced evading a woman by… asking the icy Mao to pretend to be his boyfriend so that she thinks he's taken and gay and leaves him alone. Which Mao exasperatedly agrees to, telling Kou that he's used up his allotment for this month which ohmygod how often does Kou do this. Kou if you're asking this guy to pretend to be your gay lover so often he gives you a monthly limit I think you might just have to admit you want him to actually be your gay lover, Kou, oh my god— 

Rough TL in alt text. Kou is letting the implication do all the heavy lifting here. He technically never said he was dating Mao. Technically. 

On to the gameplay. There's gameplay! Unique gameplay! Good unique gameplay! Oh my god, uncharted joseimuke territory! The main gameplay mode is a match-3 puzzle game with rhythm elements. As in other rhythm games, each song in the game is its own level, more or less. (Each character has two unique songs, and three songs shared with the other members of their unit.) You set up a team with cards you've collected from the gacha, which determine your power level and special skills. The "leader" of the team has to be the character whose level you've selected. The puzzle gameplay is a tile-swapping match 3—think bejeweled or candy crush—but the tiles you've matched are only cleared once a bar sliding across the screen hits them, clearing them in tune with the song. Everything cleared in a single swipe of the bar ups the combo counter. There's also a life system, where if the bar slides across the screen without clearing a single match, you lose a life… But the bar moves pretty slow. You're not likely to game over or even lose a single life any time soon. There are more difficult versions of the levels I've yet to unlock, so I'm sure the life meter becomes relevant then. There's also "auto" and "loop" features if you want to grind a level over and over for exp and items, but, of course, the computer can't score as high as you playing it yourself.

And, really, it's fun to play, so why would you want to!? The sound of matches clearing with the music is so satisfying and really makes you want to combo as high as possible. Once you've matched some tiles, you can't move them again, nor use them in a second match (eg, in a cross shape), so if you want to maximize your combo and make as many matches as possible with what's on the board, you have to think ahead about which matches you're going to make. The bar slowly crossing the screen adds a visual timed element that gives some urgency to putting all the matches together. It definitely feels like a game you can pick up an instinct for over time, which is super fun. 

All in all, a really solid, enjoyable little puzzle game. It would be fun to play even without the promise of anime boys. Stand My Heroes is also a match-3, for the record, which is what really cements the two games as being part of the same series.

Admittedly, the anime boy staring at you while you play musical candy crush is a little disconcerting.

The second gameplay mode is "Snap'n Spin", a… gameplay-lite mode that just puts chibi characters in random strange situations and lets you take pictures of them. The mode is explained to be a video game within the world of BreMai, so it's not even trying to be realistic or relevant to anything else in the game. Once you take your pokemon snaps of the boys, they get a fun little caption. You can save up to 40 pictures in your album. Other than being cute, the main way this mode interfaces with the rest of the game is that it's the primary way to unlock card stories for the cards you pulled in gacha. 

This gameplay mode is... cute? I guess? It being so disconnected from the style and aesthetics of the entire rest of the game felt weird. The chibis are adorable, so it has that going for it. And I do like some of the captions you get on the photos afterwards. My favorite were the scenes you catch of a character drinking, and then the caption reveals their current favorite drink. That's a delightful detail for a game set in a bar. Mostly, though, this mode left me wondering "why?" ...And I imagine the answer is something like "because merchandisable chibi characters are a requirement for joseimuke games." This mode could've been anything so long as these cute, starry little dudes were in it.

Urara here hated the drink and the caption revealed that, lately, his favorite thing is sparkling water. He's the youngest character in the cast, so I guess he hasn't grown into booze yet...

One last feature I want to mention is the jukebox. Like many games, BreMai has a music player that lets you listen to tracks from the game… But its music player is, genuinely, a fully-featured music player app with shuffle, repeat, lyric displays, and even background play that works when you're in another app or your phone is off. What! Wild! When I first learned a few days ago that BreMai had a built-in player for its BGM tracks, my first thought was "Well, what's stopping someone from downloading the game just to use the music player and never spending a cent on it? Wouldn't you rather have the songs on spotify so you at least get a pittance of ad revenue, in that case? It's more than nothing."

But having played the game now, I see what they did to prevent that, lol. You don't unlock the songs in the jukebox until you get an SS score on the song's level. Which, I mean, that's normal rhythm game stuff, of course. Can't fault that decision. But, as in other gacha rhythm games, your score in a level depends on the power of your team of cards, and the cards you get from the initial handful of pulls aren't gonna get you anywhere near an SS score without significant investment. So you're either buying in-game currency to buy upgrade items, more gacha pulls, or both. Of course, you can also put a bunch of time into grinding for upgrade items—they drop from levels. Gacha currency is harder to come by. So you're not getting songs in the player without actually playing the game lmfao. The character solo songs in particular (the ones with vocals rather than just instrumentals) also require you to build up rapport with that character—the game calls it "Nice". You build up Nice with them by playing their other songs and using their cards in levels. It takes 1000 Nice on a character to unlock their song. In my first day of playing, I was able to get one character to about 250 Nice, another to 200, and a handful more with a few points, so it builds at an okay pace. There's ways to pay to speed up the grinding for Nice and for upgrade items with things like level skip tickets. So, basically: you're not getting that music player to a useful state without investing either money or time, lmao. Is paying-or-grinding to get cool music you can listen to while not playing the game more "worth it" than the usual freemium game goals of better units, new in-game outfits, or prettier card illustrations? ...Honestly, maybe it is? It's novel, at least.

All gacha rhythm games have the same card select screen, don't they. These were my cards' levels after my first day of play, and you can see they didn't quite reach a suggested score of "A", much less the maximum "SS".

But I do want to stress, the monetization is, for the most part, pretty easy to ignore. Nothing in-your-face. The button to go to the shop screen is a different color, but it's not flashing with an eternal indicator, it's not popping up at every second, it's just sitting there alongside all the other menu buttons. The game isn't shoving timers in your face at all times—there's a stamina meter, which is mildly annoying, but you get ten plays when it's full, and if you're just playing casually you're probably not going to want to play the puzzle game over and over enough to fully deplete that. I know the bar is on the damn floor here but Tokyo Debunker seriously made me realize how bad it can be with mobile game monetization. BreMai is freemium, yeah, but as far as dark patterns go, it's not egregiously bad.

So, the verdict: if you're a joseimuke game fan and aren't afraid to play a game that probably won't get an English port and doesn't even have a fan translation yet (which I realize is already counting out 99.99% of people), definitely give this one a try. See if you like the gameplay—it really is worth trying—and do check out the story if you've got the ability. Or just look at the pretty anime boys. 

[mariacallous]

Fortnite maker Epic Games publicly lashed out at Apple on Friday, after its latest proposal for a rival iOS App Store was rejected by the smartphone maker. The company said on X that this rejection was triggered after Apple argued the design of Epic’s app store too closely resembled its own.

This decision follows Epic’s attempt to submit an iOS version of the Epic Games Store last week, a move that would make it possible for iPhone and iPad users to download games onto their device without visiting Apple’s App Store.

“Apple's rejection is arbitrary, obstructive, and in violation of the DMA [Digital Markets Act],” Epic said on Friday in a statement released on X, adding that the company had already shared its concerns with the European Commission. Apple has rejected Epic’s Game Store notarization submission—a process where apps are submitted to the company for review—twice in the past week, Epic spokesperson Elka Looks told WIRED.

The case is part of a wider battle over who gets to control the apps available to hundreds of millions of people. In a blow to the U giant, Apple has been compelled by the Digital Markets Act, new EU rules, to allow alternatives to its own brand app store on European iPhones and iPads since March.

“Apple has rejected our Epic Games Store notarization submission twice now, claiming the design and position of Epic’s ‘Install’ button is too similar to Apple’s ‘Get’ button and that our ‘In-app purchases’ label is too similar to the App Store’s ‘In-App Purchases’ label,” the company said.

Epic explained its naming conventions echoed Apple’s because it was “trying to build a store that mobile users can easily understand.” Apple did not reply to WIRED’s request for comment.

There are more than 100 million people who use Apple’s App Store in the EU. The launch of the Epic Games Store would, for the first time, give those users a choice of where they want to download apps.

That moment is eagerly awaited by lawmakers who argue that the tech giants are repressing competition by blocking rivals’ access to their users. “The launch of an alternative app store within the Apple system would create a huge proof, that the DMA can stimulate competition and thereby bring down prices for consumers,” Andreas Schwab, a member of the European Parliament who helped negotiate the DMA, told WIRED.

Epic and Apple are longtime rivals. In 2020, Epic filed a lawsuit against Apple in California, arguing the company’s grip over the iOS market was “unreasonable and unlawful.” Apple came out of the US case (mostly) victorious. But in Europe, Epic has become part of a vocal community of developers who are seething about the power they perceive Apple’s App Store to wield over their businesses and the commission the company charges on in-app purchases.

“Apple holds app providers ransom like the Mafia,” Matthias Pfau, CEO and cofounder of Tuta, an encrypted email provider, told WIRED earlier this year. Epic’s alternative app store proposal is a test case for the possibility of other alternative app stores that could reshape the relationship between Apple and developers.

The Epic Games Store is already available on PC, Mac, and Android, but not on Google Play. Now, the company plans to continue seeking approval for its iOS version, it said: “Barring further roadblocks from Apple, we remain ready to launch in the Epic Games Store … on iOS in the EU in the next couple of months.”

[fitnessnirvana]

ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS

WHAT IS A ROMANIAN DEADLIFT?

A common deadlift variation that works the muscles of the lower body, especially the erector spine, hamstrings, and glutes, is the Romanian Deadlift, or RDL for short. Standing up, the RDL concentrates on the eccentric (muscle-lengthening) phase of the lift before the concentric (muscle-shortening) phase. Less weight may be lifted in the RDL due to the restricted quad and adductor support found in other deadlift variations such as the sumo and conventional deadlifts. When changing the weight in this version, more control should be used.

An additional challenge to this variation is that in a Romanian deadlift, the barbell does not rest on the floor in between reps. A similar movement sequence is used in a stiff leg deadlift, however, the barbell does rest on the ground. It also begins with the feet down, not the feet up.

WHAT DO A ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS WORK?

Almost all of the body's muscular groups are worked during Romanian deadlifts, but the hip extension exercise specifically targets the hamstrings and glutes. It strengthens the forearm and grip strength, as well as the back and core muscles.

ARE ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS BAD FOR YOUR BACK?

RDLs are not intrinsically harmful to your back; in fact, they will improve hip mobility and strengthen the muscles that support your back. As with any workout, your risk of injury will rise if you are not paying attention to proper form and are making mistakes. When performing RDLs, use a moderate weight and maintain a neutral spine the entire lift to protect your back.

IS ROMANIAN DEADLIFT A COMPOUND EXERCISE?

Exercises called compound movements work several joints simultaneously. One of the best ways to train is to incorporate complex exercises into your workouts. The RDL is a compound exercise since it involves activating many joints and muscles, including the knees, hips, and posterior chain group, even though it isolates the hamstrings more than a traditional deadlift does.

ARE ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS HARDER THAN REGULAR DEADLIFTS?

RDLs aren't inherently tougher than deadlifts, but because your quads and adductors aren't working as hard, you won't be able to lift as much weight as you could in a conventional or sumo deadlift. Since it simplifies the motion of a traditional deadlift, this variation is actually a wonderful place to start for beginners since it helps them understand the hip hinge and intended bar route.

It is noteworthy that the Romanian deadlift presents a distinct muscular difficulty compared to other variants. A comprehensive training regimen must incorporate a variety of deadlift variations!

ROMANIAN DEADLIFT TIPS

The hip hinge movement is the main focus of the Romanian deadlift, while the back is kept straight. Before trying an RDL, it's critical to learn hip hinging because improper execution under high load can cause lumbar spine injury. By facing away from a wall and moving your hips back until you touch the wall, you can practice the hip hinge. Step forward and try again if you don't feel much of a stretch in your hamstrings!

Maintaining upper body tension throughout the exercise is a crucial component of RDLs. While performing the RDL, it can be tempting to set the bar as low as possible, but this is not required. As your hip hinges, maintain a neutral spine and only let the barbell drop until your hips are unable to retract any farther. This will reduce the chance of injury and maintain the tension in the glutes and hamstrings.

[merbear25]

Two Truths and a Lie Tag Game:

Thanks so much for the fun tag: @indydonuts

Your answers:

My bestie, who has mobility issues, and I got into a wheelchair race with another guy and his aide when we visited Universal Studios. They rolled up next to us, the guy said, "Wanna race?" and his poor aide went, "No, not again!"

Once, at a family reunion when I was little, my cousins and I discovered a litter of baby opossums and spent the next few hours taking turns feeding them from the buffet. My mom only caught us because I'm a picky eater, and I was putting way too much on my plate.

I took a trip to Budapest with a friend. On our first night there, we ended up getting goulash and potatoes at an American Western-themed bar that was recommended to us by some very drunk British guys. Our ticket read 2 tourist specials.

Reading the comments on your post, I already know which one is true. I really want the first one to be true, so I'll go with the family reunion.

Mer's Two Truths and a Lie:

I used to have night terrors and one night I woke up to something grabbing my leg. I screamed and kicked it off, and when I looked in the far corner of my room, I saw a dark hunched figure. Staring at it for a few moments, it finally crawled towards the door and inched it open. My door remained ajar for the rest of the night.

My older brother and I used to go on a lot of late night runs to the stores to buy video games during summer vacation. One of those nights, we were driving down a country road with the windows down. We heard faint wailing in the distance and assumed it was an animal. However, further down the road a figure in white appeared on the shoulder. Slowing down so as not to risk hitting them, we passed by only catching a glimps of a faceless woman.

I transfered during my higher education a couple of times and one of those was a Catholic college, which at one point was a convent. It had a cemetery on the premises and many students over the years had reported eerie experiences. In the middle of the night, I woke up needing to use the restroom. The floor was quiet as I passed through the communal space. While in the stalls, I heard footsteps coming from down the hall, stopping at the entrance of the bathroom. Trying not to feed into the negative energy I was sensing, I did my best to ignore the dark figure I could see in my periphreral. Laying in bed, I worried that thinking about what'd just happened would inadvertently invite it in.

Hope you enjoy ghost stories!!

Tagging: @karusenka @lady-of-endless @escenariosinfumables @actuallysaiyan @rosydolly @help-i-lost-my-sock

[scorchedthesnake]

February 20, 2012

On New Year’s Eve… so many things had happened. The countdown began with Hecate and a mass of red balloons (and an embrace with Careena that made the press kit photo collection); Kelly as the Bald Witch with boxing gloves; a very scantily clad William Popp; a goat-mask conga line. And then the bar lines were so long I was separated from my friends at actual midnight. But, late in the night, shortly before William had a pizza delivered into Manderley and ordered us to eat of it, I remember passing through Lady M’s dressing area and seeing a very beautiful, very tired looking red-haired man sitting on a couch talking with a friend among the stewards. 

And then I didn’t come back for a little while. NYE was expensive, and the next show I came to, Hecate’s Valentine, included an awesome, small afterparty, featuring Zebra Katz in the rep bar, and Dita von Teese was there too, doing 2:1s with Careena in Hecate’s lair. Finally, on February 20, it was back to just a plain, normal visit to my favorite place.

I had been going on about this show for nearly a year now, so when my parents came for their annual February city visit to see me and my brothers (all three of us were in New York at this point), I decided to be brave and bring them along. They love musicals, and fairly conventional theater, but are also extremely mobile and physically active for their age, so I gambled they might actually enjoy it. But mostly, I needed them to know what it was I was constantly babbling about.

I don’t remember giving them any guidance, but I figured for the first loop I’d keep a fairly close eye on them to make sure they got to some key scenes. I realized I should have asked my dad, a Vietnam veteran, if strobes were going to be okay, since I really wanted to make sure they got to the rave so we could have an awkward moment of recognition about it afterwards. So they came down to the ballroom with me after entering, since by that point it was common practice to beeline the ballroom and take stock of the casting.

And that’s when I saw him.

That very beautiful, red-haired man from New Year’s Eve was Macbeth. And I proceeded to two-loop Macbeth for the only time in my life – and my parents came along for the first half of that, which worked out well for seeing the major scenes of the show. Here he was, with this solemn and serious face, vocalizing terrifying things at every turn, turning placid and ethereal in the walled garden. Menacing and malevolent, and desperately sad in the woods when he reached out to me, accursed by fate.

I had to pull myself away to check on my parents – who had made their way back to Manderley and were thoroughly enjoying the music there. So I came back in and tried to see a few other highlights as there were some casting surprises that evening (Careena as Matron; Jeff as Taxidermist).

After the finale I came back to the bar to debrief with my folks, who said they had genuinely enjoyed the evening – probably not so much they’d return, but they said they could certainly see its appeal for me. And as the crowd thinned out, the cast began to arrive (this happened so quickly and so regularly back then, as Manderley began to establish itself as an actual bar and event space of its own). So when I saw him idle up to the bar, I told my parents to please excuse me for a bit, I needed to go embarass myself. 

I introduced myself with some sort of line like, hi, I’m Evan, I come here a lot so I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you but just wanted to say what an absolutely mindbending performance that was, and was he new? And he introduced himself as Paul and “sometimes I play this guy now.”

And that’s how it was that I came to know the kind and gentle Paul Zivkovich, and it’s fair to say that, plainly, he was the most significant of the many new friends I was making in the building, and that the contours of that friendship would have a tremendous impact on the course of my relationship with the show and the institution over the coming years.

[brookston]

Holidays 3.17

Holidays

Buy Women Owned Day

Camp Fire Girls Day

Children’s Day (Bangladesh)

Day of Comics & Comic Books (Spain)

Doctor-Patient Trust Day

Ennensaii (Kyoto, Japan)

Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, MA)

Glider Day

Kustonu Diena (No Planting Day; Ancient Latvia)

Mobilization Employee Day (Ukraine)

National Children Day (Bangladesh)

National Muay Thai Day

National SBCD Day

National Slime Day

Patrick Star Day (SpongeBob)

Psyche Asteroid Day

Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Day (Philippines)

Rubber Band Day

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Day (Bangladesh)

Social Care Day of Remembrance & Reflection (UK)

St. Carl’s Day (Sacrilege Brewing)

St. Patrick's Day (a.k.a. ... 

Corned Beef & Cabbage Day

Green Ribbon Day

Irish Coffee Day

Irish Stout Day

Lá Fhéile Pádraig

St. Catrick’s Day

Submarine Day [also 4.11]

317 Day (Indiana)

Vanguard I Day

Violet Day

Wood Anemone Day (French Republic)

World Maritime Day

World Shale Energy Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Irish Coffee Day

Irish Stout Day

National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day

National Irish Beer Day

National Irish Food Day

3rd Sunday in March

American Chocolate Week begins [3rd Sunday]

Buzzard Sunday (a.k.a. National Buzzard Day) [Sunday after 15th]

Root Canal Awareness Week begins [3rd Sunday]

Silly Sunday [3rd Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning March 17 (3rd Week)

American Chocolate Week [3rd Full Week]

Clutter Awareness Week [3rd Full Week]

Consider Christianity Week [begins 2nd Sunday before Easter]

International Goof Off Week [3rd Full Week]

Jobs for Teens Week [3rd Full Week]

National Agriculture Week [3rd Full Week]

National Animal Poison Prevention Week [3rd Full Week]

National Anonymous Giving Week [3rd Full Week]

National Bubble Week [1st Week of Spring]

National Button Week [3rd Full Week]

National Clean Out Your Closet Week [3rd Full Week]

National Fix a Leak Week [3rd Full Week]

National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week [3rd Full Week]

National Introverts Week [3rd Full Week]

National Poison Prevention Week [3rd Full Week]

National Surveyors Week [begins 3rd Sunday]

Passion Week (thru 3.23) [Week before Holy Week; Christianity]

Passiontide (thru 3.30) [Passion Week + Holy Week]

Schools Library Media Center Week [3rd Full Week]

World Folktales & Fables Week [3rd Full Week]

Independence & Related Days

North Albania (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

Republic of Abrus (Declared; 2018) [unrecognized]

Venice Republic (Declared; 1848)

Festivals Beginning March 17, 2024

Austin Fringe Festival (Austin, Texas) [thru 3.24]

Kegs & Eggs Bar Brunch Block Party (Atlanta, Georgia)

NIOP Convention (Palm Springs, California) [thru 3.19]

St. Patrick’s Day Festival (Dublin, Ireland)

St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Birmingham, UK)

St. Patrick’s Day Parade (New Orleans, Louisiana)

St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Feast Days

Agricola (Christian; Saint)

Alexius of Rome (Eastern Church)

All Snakes’ Day (Church of the SubGenius)

Damballah’s Day (a.k.a. Damballay Weddo; primordial snake of life Iwa; Vodou)

Dave the Dog (Muppetism)

Feast of the Blessed Leprechaun (Church of the SubGenius)

Gertrude of Nivelles (Christian; Saint)

Hans Namuth (Artology)

Jean Baptiste Oudry (Artology)

John Sarkander (Christian; Saint)

Joseph of Arimathea (Western Church)

Kate Greenaway (Artology)

Liberalia (Ancient Roman festival of Liber Pater)

The Martyrs of Serapeum (Christian; Martyrs)

Mikhail Vrubel (Artology)

Noah Entered the Ark Day (Middle Ages Christianity)

Patrick of Ireland (Christian; Saint) [Ireland] *

Paul of Cypress (Christian; Saint)

Shabbat HaChodesh (שַׁבָּת הַחֹדֶשׁ) [25 Adar]

St. Patrick’s Day Excuse (Pastafarian)

Tacitus (Positivist; Saint)

Trefuilnid Treochair (Feast of Triple Bearer of the Triple Key; Ireland)

Orthodox Christian Liturgical Calendar Holidays

Forgiveness Sunday (Orthodox Christian) [Last Sunday before Lent]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sakimake (先負 Japan) [Bad luck in the morning, good luck in the afternoon.]

Very Unlucky Day (Grafton’s Manual of 1565) [16 of 60]

Premieres

The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone (Novel; 1958)

American Hot Wax (Film; 1978)

Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub-Zero (WB Animated Film; 1998)

Beezus and Ramona, by Beverly Cleary (Novel; 1955)

Bound for Glory, by Woody Guthrie (Autobiography; 1943)

Bowery Bimbos (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1930)

Break Like the Wind, by Spinal Tap (Album; 1992)

Breathless (Film; 1960)

The Champion of Justice (Might Mouse Cartoon; 1944)

Circle of Friends (Film; 1995)

Dial “P” for Pink (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1965)

Erin Brockovich (Film; 2000)

Final Destination (Film; 2010)

Fletch Lives (Film; 1989)

Goofy and Wilbur (Disney Cartoon; 1939)

Gym Jam (Fleischer/Famous Popeye Cartoon; 1950)

Iron Fist (TV Series; 2017)

iZombie (TV Series; 2015)

The Little Princess (Film; 1939)

The Magician’s Elephant (Animated Film; 2023)

Maiden Voyage, by Herbie Hancock (Album; 1965)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (TV Series; 2017)

Minx (TV Series; 2022)

Naughty Number Nine (Multiplication Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1973)

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, by Frederic Chopin (Piano Concerto; 1830)

Plane Crazy (Disney Cartoon; 1929)

Purple Haze, by Jimi Hendrix (UK Song; 1967)

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (Film; 2023)

Son of a Son of a Sailor, by Jimmy Buffet (Album; 1978)

The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers, by Will Durant (Book; 1926)

Thank You for Smoking (Film; 2006)

This Year’s Model, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1978)

Traffic Troubles (Disney Cartoon; 1931)

Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, by Patrick Hamilton (Novel; 1935)

V for Vendetta (Film; 2006)

William Gibson (Writerism)

William Tell, by Friedrich Schiller (Play; 1804)

Yakety Yak, recorded by The Coasters (Song; 1958)

Today’s Name Days

Gertraud, Gertrud, Patrick (Austria)

Domagoj, Gertruda, Hrvatin, Patricija, Patrik (Croatia)

Vlastimil (Czech Republic)

Gertrud (Denmark)

Gerda, Gertrud, Kärdi, Kärt, Kerli, Kert, Kertu, Ruta, Ruuta, Truude, Truuta (Estonia)

Kerttu, Kerttuli (Finland)

Patrice, Patrick (France)

Gertraud, Gertrud, Patrick (Germany)

Alekos, Alexios, Alexis, Gertrude (Greece)

Gertrúd, Patrik (Hungary)

Patrizio, Teodoro, Wanda, Vanda (Italy)

Gerda, Ģertrūde, Karīna (Latvia)

Gendvilas, Gertrūda, Patrikas, Varūna, Vytė (Lithuania)

Gjertrud, Trude (Norway)

Gertruda, Harasym, Jan, Patrycjusz, Patryk, Regina, Rena, Zbigniew, Zbygniew, Zbyszko (Poland)

Alexie (Romania)

Ľubica (Slovakia)

Patricio (Spain)

Gertrud (Sweden)

Oleska (Ukraine)

Paden, Pat, Patrice, Patricia, Patrick, Patsy, Patti, Patty, Trish, Trisha (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 77 of 2024; 289 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 11 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Fearn (Alder) [Day 1 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Ding-Mao), Day 8 (Geng-Chen)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 7 Adair II 5784

Islamic: 7 Ramadan 1445

J Cal: 17 Green; Threesday [17 of 30]

Julian: 4 March 2024

Moon: 59%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 21 Aristotle (3rd Month) [Socrates]

Runic Half Month: Beore (Birch Tree) [Day 8 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 88 of 89)

Week: 3rd Week of March

Zodiac: Pisces (Day 28 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Fearn (Alder) [Celtic Tree Calendar; Month 3 of 13]

[99griffon]

Jolene and Kenny lore?? Uh oh!

....once again just rambling on mobile hehehe....

Their song is In Spite of Ourselves but it's too far out of the 30- early 70's range 😔

Jolene and Kenny have been together since they were teens, before the war. Their love has been burning for over 200 years and it doesn't seem like it's gonna go away any time soon! The pair dropped out of high school, stealing away to the abandoned house that became the starting point for the Rainbow Garden.

In high school, Kenny always skipped classes. He was a smart kid, maybe a little too much for his own good. He was upset by the state of the world and felt like the system was just trying to mold him into a soldier for the war. Well, he wasn't entirely wrong there. He'd often disappear for days at a time, traveling around the state in a hand-me-down truck from his grandpa.

He spent a lot of time with the tribes in the state, which gained him a lot of 'points' the other hippies in the area. He genuinely wished to learn and doesn't flaunt around a 'spiritual journey' like some of the others who had done the same did. He often protested alongside them, as the wartimes had led to worse treatment of Native Americans by the US government.

He enjoyed hiking and doing art in his youth, though those times have drastically changed.

Jolene had a fairly decent life in high school, if not a little sheltered. Perhaps a lot sheltered, even. She grew up in wealth, always comfortable, however her father was strict. He chose the types of folks who could come near the house, not afraid to flash a firearm their way if they insisted. Her father was a veteran, an angry patriot. He wanted to be certain the people she hung around were patriots as well. This led to some issues making friends, much less a romantic partner. Kenny wasn't afraid of her father, however. He would spend time with her at school or even drive her around.

Jolene learned a lot from him, for better or for worse. She kept her mouth shut when around her dad, but eventually she and Kenny even went to protests together. She became more bold, staying out and spending time in town and with Kenny far more often. They went to drive-in movies and went painting in park. They towed the line between the conventional and unconventional, but they were absolutely in love.

She had a few girl friends, and they all supported her, especially when she finally started staying out and spending time with them as well. As the boys their age were picked up by the military, many of the girls at Jolene's school started to make a fuss. Boyfriends, brothers, fathers... everyone was faced with loss. Loss that would only grow worse and years ticked by.

•◇•◇•◇•

Tensions rose between Kenny and Jolene's dad, though the breaking point would only come when Kenny and Jolene were arrested together at a protest in Tulsa. They were accused of being communists, disturbing the peace, what have you. Jolene was immediately bailed out by her father, though Kenny was stuck behind bars at the local jail for a few days after.

Jolene's dad threatened Jolene near immediately, promising to kill Kenny if he ever saw the boy again. Jolene told Kenny the next time she saw him at school, and Kenny immediately resolved that they needed to run away together. He declared that he had connections and he knew where they could go, and all she needed to do was pack up her things and meet him before school. Sure enough, she met him in the parking lot behind the school, packed and ready. From there, they took the drive down to Arcadia, where they settled down in an abandoned house. They avoided the public eye, Kenny's connections getting them anything they would need while they lay low.

They stayed that way until Jolene had turned 18, then the pair would go out on their own. Over the years, as they continued to protest and even go to local arts events and farmer's markets, the pair made more than a few friends. Their pair grew into a community. As more hands joined them, they gradually became self-sufficient.

Kenny was out in the city when the bombs dropped. He was gone for some time as nuclear winter struck. In the garden, many fell ill from the radiation all around, many assumed Kenny and all others that were away from home were dead. In reality, he had been ghoulified instantly, injured greatly from the ensuing chaos.

When he returned, Jolene greeted him with open arms, regardless of his change in appearance. She, along with some others that had been with her, were slowly ghoulifying. Kenny and Jolene supported each other throughout the whole ordeal, snuggled under his winter coat during the cruel nuclear winter.

[portablebar]

Elevating Convention Experiences with California's Mobile Bar Phenomenon

California's Love for Mobile BarsAs a business enthusiast, one of the most exciting trends I've noticed in recent years is the rise of mobile bars in California. It's a phenomenon that's not just about mixing drinks; it's about creating unforgettable experiences. Especially in the realm of conventions, where the atmosphere can make or break networking opportunities, having a mobile bar at an event is becoming a game-changer.

The Convenience of Mobile Bars

Imagine strolling through a convention center, browsing booths and engaging in discussions, when suddenly, you come across a beautifully designed mobile bar. It's not just any bar; it's a sleek, fully equipped setup ready to craft your favorite cocktails or pour a refreshing glass of wine. The convenience of having such a service right in the midst of a bustling convention is unparalleled.

Here's why mobile bars are making waves in the convention scene:

Tailored Experiences: Each event is unique, and mobile bars cater to this by offering tailored experiences. Whether it's a themed cocktail menu to match the convention's focus or signature drinks branded for the event, these bars add a personal touch that attendees remember.

Professional Bartending: Gone are the days of basic drink options served in plastic cups. Mobile bars bring skilled bartenders who can whip up craft cocktails, offer wine pairings, and even provide insights into the art of mixology. It's a touch of class that elevates the entire convention experience.

Networking Hubs: Convention floors can get crowded, and finding a space to network comfortably can be a challenge. Mobile bars act as natural gathering points where attendees can mingle, exchange ideas, and forge valuable connections over a drink.

The California Vibe

What sets California's mobile bars apart is the undeniable vibe of the Golden State. Whether it's a beach-themed event in San Diego or a tech-focused convention in Silicon Valley, these bars capture the essence of California living.

Fresh and Local Ingredients: California is known for its vibrant agriculture, and mobile bars take full advantage of this. From farm-fresh fruits for cocktails to locally brewed beers, the emphasis on freshness adds a unique Californian flair to the drinks served.

Outdoor Events: With its year-round pleasant weather, California is a haven for outdoor events. Mobile bars fit right into this setting, offering open-air options where attendees can sip their drinks under the sun or stars.

Innovative Designs: Creativity is at the heart of California's culture, and mobile bars reflect this spirit. From retro airstreams turned into bars to eco-friendly setups made from recycled materials, these bars are a visual delight that adds to the event's ambiance.

The Impact on Business

For businesses hosting conventions, incorporating a mobile bar can have numerous benefits that extend beyond just serving drinks. It's an investment in creating a memorable experience for attendees, which can lead to:

Increased Engagement: When attendees are relaxed and enjoying themselves, they are more likely to engage with exhibitors, speakers, and fellow attendees. A mobile bar creates a laid-back atmosphere conducive to meaningful interactions.

Positive Brand Association: Hosting a convention is not just about the event itself; it's also about how attendees perceive the brand. By offering a premium experience with a mobile bar, businesses can leave a lasting positive impression.

Boost in Attendance: Let's face it, a convention with a mobile bar is much more appealing than one without. It can be a deciding factor for attendees, especially those looking for a unique and enjoyable experience.

Choosing the Right Mobile Bar Service

If you're considering adding a mobile bar to your next convention, here are a few tips on finding the right service:

Experience and Reputation: Look for a mobile bar service with a solid track record of catering to events. Check reviews, ask for references, and ensure they have experience working in convention settings.

Customization Options: A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work for conventions. Ensure the mobile bar service offers customization options for drinks, menu designs, and branding to align with your event's theme.

Logistics and Setup: Discuss logistics well in advance to ensure a smooth setup on the day of the event. Consider factors such as space requirements, power sources, and any permits needed.

Budget Considerations: While a mobile bar can add immense value, it's essential to balance this with your budget. Get quotes from different services and compare offerings to find the best fit.

Conclusion

In the vibrant landscape of California's convention scene, the presence of mobile bars is more than just a trend—it's a statement. It's about blending convenience with luxury, creating experiences that linger in the minds of attendees long after the event is over. As businesses seek innovative ways to stand out in a competitive market, incorporating a mobile bar into conventions is a step towards elevating brand perception and fostering meaningful connections. So, the next time you attend a convention in California, keep an eye out for that stylish mobile bar beckoning you to indulge in a sip of the Golden State's charm.

[broadlyepi]

MMWR Booster #39:  A Health Equity Approach for Implementation of JYNNEOS Vaccination at Large, Community-Based LGBTQIA+ Events — Georgia, August 27–September 5, 2022

Top 5 Takeaways

High Impact on MSM: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly Black MSM, were the most affected by the 2022 U.S. monkeypox outbreak.

Targeted Vaccination Efforts: Georgia implemented a targeted vaccination campaign using JYNNEOS vaccine at large LGBTQIA+ events, focusing on equity in vaccine distribution.

Effective Collaboration: Collaborative efforts between Georgia Department of Public Health, local health departments, and community organizations facilitated the vaccination of vulnerable communities.

Outreach and Access: Innovative strategies, including mobile vans and pop-up events at bars and clubs, were used to enhance vaccine reach and accessibility.

Challenges and Adaptations: The campaign faced challenges like vaccine hesitancy and logistical issues related to administering second doses, prompting ongoing efforts to improve equity and access.

Note:

This MMWR Article was created prior to the conventional renaming of Monkeypox to its more standard and appropriate name, Mpox. To avoid confusion, Monkeypox is retained when writing this article, but all future works should use Mpox.

Full summary link: BroadlyEpi.com

Enjoying these summaries? Check back every day at 8am and 4pm Pacific Time (UTC - 8) for a new MMWR Booster. A reblog would also be greatly appreciated, and thanks to everyone who already has! BroadlyEpi hopes to make Epidemiology and Public Health more approachable to anyone who's interested.

[eastercon]

Join us at Conversation 2023!

I figure there’s a good chance you’re at least a little bit interested in science fiction, history, fantasy, art, and all that good geeky stuff - which we’ll have, in person and online, in abundance for all FOUR days of 7-10 April 2023.

And if that’s not enough, I (the Programme lead, open to suggestions for what you want to see on programme) will definitely share photos of my cats on demand:

But if even Titus Pullo’s big round face isn’t convincing enough, here’s a ton more reasons to attend:

- Four days of panels, talks, signings, readings, workshops, and more! - Fantastic guests of honour: award winning authors Zen Cho, Ursula Vernon, and Adrian Tchaikovsky, editor for the ages Niall Harrison, scandalously talented academic Kari Sperring, and game design legend Jennell Jaquays - Additional guests speaking on everything from the history of octopus intelligence to the future of African science fiction. - 100% streaming parity. All those panels, readings and talks? Will be streamed! And if we can’t stream something like a workshop? We’ll do our best to stream something else in that slot so you never miss out! - An Art Show, with a gallery tour and both prints & original pieces available - At least one family-friendly stream during all daytime time slots, suitable for families with children. - A creche, quiet room, real ale bar, games room, and alcohol-free social space. - A dedicated Access team to make sure that whether you have allergies, mobility requirements, or sensory needs, we can do our best to help. - A bursary to help under-represented groups attend and be at the heart of the con. - A convention owned and run entirely by fandom, for fandom since 1955- which means that members can vote on how the convention runs, who runs it, or even step up and volunteer to run parts of it themselves. Including you! - rewards for volunteering: badges, t-shirts, and some years even enamel pins or exclusive discounts with tables in our dealers’ room

So... want to join? Right now it’s only £70 for all four days (and half that for online membership)

[swampgallows]

hello! ive been curious about going to a rave - some time in the nebulous future, as it's not something that's feasible for me rn + covid - but i do use a cane. do you have any thoughts about if that would impact a rave experience a lot? + if it's not too invasive, do you have any thoughts about raving while disabled/disability and the rave scene in general? thank you, and have a good day!!

this is long, but hopefully informative!

raving with mobility aids is definitely a thing!! one of the longtime DJs in the soCal scene, DJ Alexander, was the first cane user i thought of: he also throws events with Technostate in addition to playing at them. i also know some candy kids who are wheelchair and cane users, and i've seen occasional crutches and boot casts. i also know neurodiverse ravers who have sensory sensitivities, ravers with invisible illnesses that need accommodation, and ravers with mental illness such as myself. for any kind of disability i'd say it really depends on the venue. in my "going raving alone" post i mention gauging your own comfort level and preparing accordingly, and a lot of times that boils down to the location.

underground raves happen in cool but sometimes inaccessible areas. outdoor parties can happen in forests, open fields, mountains, beaches, deserts, and even on top of a dried up dam. indoor venues can be places intended for music events, like concert/banquet halls, elks lodges, galleries/studios, arenas, convention halls, and bars/clubs, but underground events can be in trickier places like airplane hangars, old warehouses/factories/stores (god i wish i had pics of the rave inside the abandoned mall), industrial district apartments, trainyards, or even under a freeway overpass.

i'm including my old posts partially as a trip down memory lane but also so you can see the variations in space, crowdedness, ventilation, lighting, etc. the following is a quick n dirty list of how things usually go, but are not necessarily guaranteed:

outdoor events -- pros: lots of space, (people won't trip over your cane or knock you over); open air ventilation; you can bring whatever you like (food, drinks, chairs, even a tent); the music is loud enough to hear from a good distance away, so you don't have to be crowded by the speakers; no rules for when you arrive or leave; earplugs always recommended but not required if far enough away. neutral: sometimes outdoor parties are multi-day events. plan beforehand for how long you will want to stay and what supplies you will need. cons: ground could be uneven; chance of wild animals/bugs; no bathrooms; VERY little lighting (sometimes none at all); subject to weather changes; anything you need you have to bring with you; car required.

indoor events -- pros: bar or access to drinks/water and snacks; atmospheric (but dependable) lighting; house sound; accessible via transit in the city; "repeat" venues lead to familiarity with the venue itself and the surrounding area so you know what to expect. neutral: there are bathrooms. sometimes they are indoors with running water, and sometimes they are port-o-potties. cons: stairs only; hundreds of people in a limited space can lead to crowding; "no ins-and-outs" = people tightly packed inside; amateur sound and/or lighting rigs might be overstimulating or painful; potentially very unsafe in general (e.g. abandoned warehouse); poor ventilation = smoky, humid, and hot; fog machines are the devil; NO seating/chairs; exposure to dirt, dust, mold, trash; spilled drinks + sweat + darkness + mobility aid = slipping hazard; EARPLUGS ALWAYS. to emphasize: indoor underground venues are dirty as hell. your toes and snot will be black with filth in the morning. [these cons are worst case scenario but i have experienced all of these things at one point or another. also sometimes there is violence and/or crime. it's rare, but it has happened.]

hybrid/corporate events (EDC, Ultra, and other arena-style events) -- pros: designated accessibility areas and amenities (elevators, escalators, etc.); medics on site; bathrooms with running water; access to food and water/drinks; seating; paved pathways; cleanup crews; professional sound; accepts both cards and cash; accessible via public transit and has ample parking. neutral: these tend to be multi-day events, sometimes with corresponding apps on your phone for a map, timeslots, digital ticket, etc. treat it more like a convention or music festival than a rave party. cons: THOUSANDS of people; extreme lighting rigs might be overstimulating; difficulty traversing the grounds due to sheer size of the event; a rave-adjacent experience but not necessarily the same vibe or community as an underground rave; corporate greed and poor management has infamously led to overcrowding and medical emergencies; expensive as hell (ticket, hotel, travel, etc.). (these are less disability-specific but I feel they're important to mention).

---

you can always scope the venue beforehand for accommodations, at least for public venues. underground events oftentimes will not release directions or an address until the night of the party to keep away undesirables. however, in my experience if you contact the crew (or even one of the local DJs) they'll be happy to give you the rundown (e.g. bathroom situation). also, i think most modern day events don't use map points anymore, so that eliminates a layer of complexity.

if you're not sure what your tolerance level might be, keep an eye out for day parties. these are usually at public parks or beaches, so there's plenty of parking, lots of space to spread out, and the sound isn't too amplified. they also rarely reach more than a few dozen people, as anything else requires a permit and risks being broken up by authorities. day parties are generally more chill and low-key, sometimes serving as an afterparty for a "real" rave the night before. this is a nice way to test the waters and to spend an afternoon meeting people, making kandi, or having a picnic, all while enjoying sets from local DJs.

there are also "raver day" meetups at places like amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, and other places that offer group discounts without strict dress codes. as part of "magic in the making" my buddy vince organizes biannual (summer and winter) raver days at disneyland, which i have loved and attended nearly every year (pre-pandemic) since 2004. we wear our favorite outfits, trade kandi made just for raver day, and meet new people. if you don't know anyone in the scene, doing a big group activity like a meetup is a great way to introduce yourself.

--

i do have many thoughts about disability and the rave scene, especially in this " "post"-covid era" (please imagine infinite quotation marks around "post"), but this answer is long enough already. all i can say is that some crews have done their due diligence in promoting the safest atmosphere possible, requiring proof of vax/negative covid tests (and actually checking them), masks while in indoor/crowded areas, and installing upgraded HEPA filter ventilation systems in their venue—but that was about a year ago. now, as we approach the end of 2022, many raves and their crews are not concerned with whether or not their events are accessible. in my opinion, that is a major detriment to the scene's unity, and it effectively prohibits me from attending any events for the foreseeable future. i miss raving more than anything, but i am currently not willing to risk lifelong disability or death to return to it prematurely, or to return to a scene that i, frankly, no longer recognize as the community that once loved me so much in return.

on a positive parting note, here is the late rave legend Keith Flint of the Prodigy greeting and embracing some disabled fans (0:45, warning for flashing lights from 0:00 - 0:50). He was the realest dude there ever was:

i can't wait for you to make your foray into the scene once it is safe for us both :)

[argumate]

Russian nuclear use would therefore be a massive gamble for limited gains that would not achieve Putin’s stated war aims. At best, Russian nuclear use would freeze the front lines in their current positions and enable the Kremlin to preserve its currently occupied territory in Ukraine. Russian nuclear use would not enable Russian offensives to capture the entirety of Ukraine (the Kremlin’s original objective for their February 2022 invasion). Russian military doctrine calls for the Russian Armed Forces to be able to effectively fight on a nuclear battlefield, and the “correct” doctrinal use of tactical nuclear weapons would involve tactical nuclear strikes to punch holes in Ukrainian lines, enabling Russian mechanized units to conduct an immediate attack through the targeted area and drive deep into Ukrainian rear areas. The degraded, hodgepodge Russian forces currently operating in Ukraine cannot currently conduct effective offensive operations even in a non-nuclear environment. They will be flatly unable to operate on a nuclear battlefield. DNR/LNR proxy units, Wagner Group fighters, BARS reservist units, and the depleted remnants of the Russian conventional units that actually exercised fighting on a nuclear battlefield in annual exercises—not to mention newly mobilized replacements shipped to the front lines with less than a week of training—will not have the equipment, training, and morale necessary to conduct offensive operations following nuclear use. NATO is additionally likely to respond to Russian nuclear weapon use in Ukraine with conventional strikes on Russian positions there.  Russian use of multiple weapons (which would be required to achieve decisive operational effects) would only increase the likelihood and scale of a Western conventional response.

The more confident Putin is that nuclear use will not achieve decisive effects but will draw direct Western conventional military intervention in the conflict, the less likely he is to conduct a nuclear attack.

biggest game of chicken in the world