#crayon pop paved the way

[0o111]

lady gaga + crayon pop

crayon pop was the opening act for gaga’s artpop tour in 2014

[barnesbabee]

I need all kpop stans to hear this loud and clear

BTS did NOT pave the way for kpop 

that’s right I’m taking that jab after tiktok made me very mad, but let me explain because I know I’m right

BTS did not pave the way for kpop because 1. They’re a fairly new group, and 2. they exploded in popularity not that long ago 

yes, they debuted in 2013, and if you told me that they INSTANTLY became huge hits, I might give that one to you, but no. They started growing in popularity (in korea) around I NEED U era. They weren’t popular, they started being known. Then in 2015 they became quite big with fire. And after blood sweat and tears they exploded.

Some of kpop’s biggest groups are TVXQ, BigBang, SHINee, Girl’s Generation, 2NE1 and SUJU. Up until this day, you say these names and even new stans know who they are. So how is it that all of these groups were huge even before BTS debuted, yet BTS is the one that paved the way? 

No. BTS didn’t pave the way for kpop. 

BigBang brought you the lightstick. TVXQ brought you photocards The first group to be on a talk show and performing in america was a girlgroup (I think it was 9muses but don’t hold me to that) Crayon Pop was one of the first, if not the first group to have a concert with a western artist, as they opened a concert for Lady Gaga. GD and CL collabed with Skrillex (western artist) in 2014.

All of this to tell you that THESE were the people that paved the way. The people who blew up kpop for the first time and made it be heard, and created new things for this genre. 

Paving the way and helping a genre become international are NOT the same thing.

A genre does not need to be overhyped by the westerners to be considered ‘good’ or ‘big’. It’s in korean. The fact that before idols had all of this exposure and media were able to get that far is impressive.

That’s also something you should consider, which is how easily media has made it for idols to perpetuate their music and careers, which is good, but it’s something to look at before you disregard old bands, which new stans love to do. 

What you can say, however, is:

‘BTS had a big part in helping kpop become international and more known to the world’

because it’s true. They’re super influential and they deserve the hype and they deserve the recognition because they’ve done great things.

However, notice the words ‘a big part in helping’. Because they didn’t do it alone. EXO is huge. Blackpink is huge. Just to mention 2 that also helped immensely in spreading kpop around the world.

BTS did nothing on their own because no kpop group did nothing on their own. They had help, they were influenced, and kpop grew little by little. 

How would you feel if a 5th gen group came along, made kpop even bigger and suddenly their stans started saying ‘THIS GROUP BASICALLY INVENTED KPOP’

It would feel like shit, right? Like, your group worked so hard and helped kpop so much, and these new stans are shitting all over it when my group literally had a part in makingn kpop what it is?’ That’s exactly what 2nd gen stans feel when kpop stans ignore older groups and shit all over them as if theyre nothing. 

no group did anything on its own. no group alone paved the way for anything. and no group made kpop international. All groups helped kpop become what it is.

Thank you for your time

[johns-anilog]

Post 23: Congratulations

Well, they weren’t kidding when they said by the end of Eva they resorted to using markers and crayons to finish the show due to budget and time constraints. 

Jokes aside, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a show I’ve been meaning to watch for a very, very long time, and I’m glad I finally got to get a taste of it. The majority of the final episode resonated with me deeply, as someone who’s struggled with their own sense of self-worth and purpose in life. That final episode, especially how it ends, has been very contentious ever since its release, understandably, but when viewed as a summary of this deeply introspective show, I think it works very well. Knowing that much of this show was meant to be a reflection of the creator’s own struggles and more of a quiet reflection on that than anything else (ironic since its setting subverts this notion at times), it’s definitely won me over. There’s no question why this show is such a landmark in anime history; literally, it revolutionized what a creator could do on a broadcast anime, and it paved the way for other deeply exploratory series such as Revolutionary Girl Utena (created in the immediate wake of this show). Additionally, it’s no surprise why this is one of the most iconic anime of all time, and its influence on pop culture still resonates to this day (I mean, just look at the gif below this).

Or how it’s used as a representative of Japanese consumable pop-culture in the music video for Me Me Me (also animated by Gainax, the video serves as a harsh critique of the dangers of overindulgence in otakudom and self-isolation). Though, this reflects more of an unwanted reality by Eva’s creator: that a lot of people see the series as not much more than any other mecha anime and focus on the action and cute girls (and ironically enough, Gainax is responsible for using Eva as a cash cow).

[Fair warning for those who haven’t seen Me Me Me and are curious, it does have some nudity, so probably best not to watch that in class.]

[materializingthedisembodied]

Lessons From 1982

Text by Passport To Dreams Old And New: 

“In our memories, EPCOT Center often seems to be a greater accomplishment than maybe it was. As I hope I've demonstrated here by going through every aspect of it's message content piece by piece, in terms of actively looking towards the future, the park presented ideas which ranged from fantastical (Horizons) to retrograde (Universe of Energy) to incoherent (Travelport?). Despite this, in my opinion EPCOT Center was the highest, furthest, most effective summit the entire category of themed design has ever scaled since the opening of Disneyland. Despite its questionable corporates messaging and nonsensical product plugging, EPCOT Center was no less scattershot than it is today, yet something for those first twelve years held the center together in a way it does not now. And here at last we will try to pinpoint it. I. Embrace Warmth and Human Scale EPCOT Center was massive and monumental. The size of the walk around World Showcase is still enough to make adults cry. The architectural statements of each Future World pavilion were huge and impressive, but never leaned towards brutalism - instead falling into the Henchman abstraction that I like to call "theme architecture". Yet these gigantic blocks were dropped with symmetrical precision into a landscape which perhaps more than anything suggested a bucolic college campus - with ponds, fountains, rolling lawns and spreading trees.

But inside each pavilion, everything suddenly became warm and intimate. CommuniCore offered its visitors handmade art objects like the Population Counter and Fountain of Information, simply there to be enjoyed. Natural daylight, terraced seating areas, varnished wood and wall carpet offered a pleasing sense of tranquility. Subdued lighting and peaceful music complemented the uncluttered, enticing atmosphere. Everything about EPCOT Center's gathering spaces - The Land interior, Communicore, the Fountain of Nations, the Imagination lobby, the World Showcase courtyards - contrasted textures, tactile pleasures, and colors to create environments which invited you to linger. Through the 90s, the scale of these interiors, once criss crossed with walls, plants and natural dividers, ballooned until most of EPCOT today resembles a cross between an industrial trade show and a Wal-Mart Super Center. Tarps, canopies, and unrelated nonsense clutter the sightlines of those monumental pavilions. Carts, pop-up stands, and pin carts dot every walkway. Of all of the parks, Epcot's aesthetics respond the least well to these sorts of theme park mainstays, and they really should be elimiated. You need to give people a reason to get inside and sit down, to get away from the crowded tarmac. EPCOT Center's walkways may have been stark and simple, but once you actually got into each pavilion, you could spend an hour or more in air-conditioned comfort without ever stepping outside. To me this comes down to respecting your audience as well as having respect for the human scale. Disney needs to accept what tens of thousands of locals and fans already know: Epcot is the ultimate hang out park. Each pavilion should be honeycombed with small exhibits, fun diversions, little places to relax and maybe get a drink, in a classy, clean atmosphere. If you give people places they like to be, you'll be surprised what they'll reward you with. II. Maintain the Ecosystem of Aesthetics This is a big one, and it's a place where Future World needs to entirely start from scratch. As these articles have pointed out, EPCOT was a hive of competing ideas, companies, and ideologies, yet it seemed to speak with a single voice. That single voice is so strong that today is still reverberates in the public mind, twenty years long gone. How many still know it as EPCOT Center, and how many still associate it with some kind of learning experience? That's power. That's power than usually only public figures usually attain, never mind a dorky theme park peddling corporate messages and sentimental songs in equal measure. And one reason the voice of EPCOT Center still speaks through time to us is because its message was scrupulously, carefully aesthetically organized and unified. This is something that got stripped out of EPCOT piece by piece in such a way that it was gone without anybody really noticing it was leaving yet. The demise of Horizons and Journey Into Imagination was only the final piece that fell into place, but just as important to reducing the overall impression of a unified whole was touches like replacing the original wooden railings and carpeted walls in The Land with metal railings and painted walls. Yes, the current look of The Land is, on a micro scale, more modern, but it's less human on a macro scale. The paving of Communicore Central and the removal of all of Hench's softening trees, bushes and ponds is another. Bit by bit, piece by piece, Epcot of today is a far bleaker, harsher place than it was even 15 years ago. All of this is a result of different design agendas within the company. EPCOT Center was unified in 1985 because it was all built at the same time. The Epcot of today is the result of hundreds of different design teams with different project leaders, budgets, expectations and goals. While an organic environment like Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom presents areas where one design tough or another is unambiguously out of place or not, there's no generally agreed upon single system barometer for what EPCOT should look like. It's really easy to, say, replace one railing in one place and bump that single pavilion out of line with the rest. This is how you end up with signs that look like they come from the cover of Dreamcast games or random wavy descending walls, a sure sign of a lost and bored designer.

Disney needs to write this barometer, then. Every sign in Future World must have specific size, color, and font approved choices. Every pavilion must have a dedicated color palette, approved patterns, approved typefaces, and so on. This is why the Future World pavilion icons worked so well as an organizing principle: pictures require no language translation, and sleek icons are even better. There should be no need for flashing LED billboards to help guests find their way to attractions if there's a streamlined, iconographic wayfinding system.

Writing such a manual will inevitably limit the creative freedom of the individual designers creating facilities for Future World, but I cannot see how this would in any way be worse than the garish mishmash we ended up with. The way forward on Future World can be as simple as a start with a strict design standards document, and spread through the rest of the park. III. Don't Let Them Off the Hook Disney is really good at talking down to their audience, and their audience really loves it. There will always be a contingent of Disney fans who love toothless pablum like Wishes, but in Future World and EPCOT in general are going to ever coalesce into what it is in the minds of the public, Disney really needs to commit to taking Epcot, and the Epcot audience, seriously. Taking an audience seriously does not per se mean being humorless or dry. The 1982 version of Spaceship Earth was exactly that, which is why it was reworked to more closely resemble Horizons only a few short years after it opened. Horizons was, despite its eye popping visuals and reassuring message, astonishingly hokey, H.G. Wells by way of Father Knows Best. World of Motion was very funny, Kitchen Kabaret was weird. These attractions offered hopeful apology for their sloganeering, a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. Symbiosis, The American Adventure, Spaceship Earth '94 and to a lesser extent The Living Seas all put it to their audience to be ready to make the world a better place - they didn't let them off the hook. And despite all of that, EPCOT Center did have a profound effect on a generation of a certain age. Yes, it was kids who dreamed of piloting the Enterprise instead of kids who fantasized about having tea with Belle, but isn't that still an accomplishment? Even the lightweight Journey Into Imagination packed an ideological punch. For this five year old child, who didn't much care for science and technology trappings, I walked away floored by that attraction's insistence that I could and should use my creativity to "start making new things". Returning to my ranch house in Connecticut, I scrawled out the lyrics to the Sherman Brothers' Imagination song in black crayon on a piece of construction paper and stared at it for days. That attraction instilled in me at age five the awareness that only I was responsible for getting the ideas in my head out into the real world, and on that wave of inspiration I began drawing volumes. The blog you read now is a direct result of that experience. I may be a castle park kind of person, but Journey Into Imagination changed my life for the better.

Thing is, I am in no way alone. You can't swing a cat in the Disney online community without hitting somebody of a certain age who will readily and loudly tell you that EPCOT Center rewired something inside them. This more than anything is the proof in the pudding that Michael Eisner was dead wrong, that EPCOT Center was relevant, and did matter. These two articles have been intentionally limited in their scope - I haven't attempted to re-concieve what Future World should be for 2020 audiences from scratch, for example, but then again that never was the point. The point was to become clearer and reach conclusions on what Future World was really saying, and how it said them. And the conclusion I've reached is that EPCOT Center came pre-packed with a sort of aesthetic toolkit, and it's a toolkit that nobody has used since the 80s. But those tools still work. They can still make muddled messages sing and send the next generation home with the sort of elevating experience I had. Kids need to see a place that doesn't just tell, but show them that science and technology make our lives better - they needed it in the 80s, and they need it today. It's never going to be perfect, but the next generation deserves a demonstration of mankind's better nature. "If you can dream it, you can do it" may not have been said by Walt Disney, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth saying.“ (x)

[motherindia411]

                                       12 Best Gifts for 2 year old

As your toddler turns two its time to introduce some fun elements that initiate learning, play, and exploration for the little one. What is better at that age than to gift your peach some fun toys that are perfect for her age. If you are looking for the ideal gift for a two year old, here are some of the best picks to choose from. The options include developmental toys, puzzles, imaginative toys, and educational toys for two-year olds. Books This is the right age to initiate kids into the world of books, to help develop healthy reading habits. Initially you may have to read out to your little one to instill this habit. There are a number of books to choose from. Touch and feel books, sound books, pop up books, and bedtime stories are great choices to pick from. Puzzles This is the right age to introduce puzzles to your kids and make them understand that smaller parts fit with the bigger ones to make them whole. You will get puzzles with 2 to 5 pieces, which are apt for the kids this age. This will help them to concentrate and be constructive. Art materials One of the perfect 2-year-old birthday gifts is arts and DIY kits. These are a great way to develop creativity in your child. Play doughs, giant crayons, paper tearing crafts, mega color books, sticker activities, are good options to start with. A Tricycle Tricycles make for fun gifts for two year olds. They pave way to good physical activity, while instilling a sense of control and balance in the child. Giant Lego Blocks Lego is one of the best gifts for two-year-old boys and girls as it helps to develop creativity and also helps enhance focus and concentration while your little one stacks and joins these mega blocks. These blocks come in different sets as per the age groups. Therefore, you can keep increasing the complexity as your little one grows. Ride-on toys Ride–on toys are a great physical activity for two-year old kids which can prove to be very useful to keep them busy and give a relax time for their mommies. There are many ride-on cars, bikes, bus, and jeep and so on. These can be with kinetic energy as well as push toys. Matching the cards This is an indoor game in which we need to match the cards as per the instructions. These can be animal and kids cards, matching cards, color matches, number matches, fruits and vegetables matching cards. This game develops concentration, thinking, and imagination power. Scooters and Mini scooters A lightweight scooter (2 wheels at front and 1 at back) is designed for 2 year olds, which are best sellers as gifts for these toddlers. They come with a foot brake and lean-to-steer mechanism. Zingo This is one of the favorite board game for all the kids and it has sets as per the age groups. It is best educational toys for 2 year olds as it has simple rules. This game is interesting for the elders as well. Doodle board A doodle board is a magnetic slate, which is a wonderful way to keep your child engaged for long. While the child is busy scribbling, paper wastage and color stains are not a worry anymore. This slate can be used to write as well as draw and it comes with 1 magnetic pen and 3-4 magnetic shapes. Alphabets magnets This has a set of 26 magnetic alphabets, which come with a board. It makes an ideal gift to initiate your toddler into the world of learning and recognition. This toy makes for a versatile addition to your child’s collection and can be used even as she learns spellings and makes sentences. Leaptop This is a kid’s laptop, which is very interesting. It is a perfect 2-year-old birthday gift as this is something every kid will want to have. It has a screen, which shows shapes, animals, play music, and teach the alphabets and numbers as well. This has multiple functions, which make learning more fun for the kids and the lightweight feature adds up to make your travel time easy.