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[nesoenaj]

little bit from a salad fingers wip

[rigelmejo]

Reflection on Japanese Progress (so far)

I wanted to make something more coherent on my thoughts on how my japanese progress has gone lately, because in some ways its better than I expected. I think part of it has to do with better study methods being used right now compared to the first time I studied japanese, but another large part of it I think is my experience with chinese affecting my japanese. 

Prior Japanese Progress (2.5 years)

When I first studied Japanese seriously I took 1 college class, then continued to self study. Generally 30 minutes to 1 hour per day, some weeks/months no study, sometimes more study. I studied like this for 2 years. Then the final portion, year 2 - 2.5, I immersed and studied more like 2 hours per day and that’s when I saw the fastest progress as far as milestones. 

The reasons my progress went so slow up until year 2 are pretty clear to me. I had very little study time per day and japanese simply takes a lot more hours to hit milestones than french. The other thing slowing me down is that japanese has few cognates with english (compared to french). 

When I read The Word Brain recently, it said for languages similar each other (like english/french) you need to learn around 5000 new words, and for less similar languages like chinese and japanese you need to learn 15,000. So for Japanese I needed to learn more words before I could hit the same milestones of “read a comic ok with a dictionary” or “read a comic comfortably without a dictionary” or “read the news with only occasional word lookups” etc. French having more cognates and similarities benefited me quickly - I could start reading comfortable with occassional dictionary look up (and follow the overall main idea fine) after learning ~500 words. For Japanese, I was expecting the same kind of results from a few hundred words when that wasn’t realistic. 

I also remember I held myself back a lot with Japanese - I didn’t want to learn more words until I’d learned 1000+ kanji lol. Guess who never did. The closest I got was I borrowed a Tuttle book from the library and learned the meanings of 300 kanji. I tried Heisig’s RTK book and barely learned any, I never got past a couple hundred. I tried KKLC and my tendency to “over memorize until I’m perfect” meant I also never got past a couple hundred. In 2 years, I knew a few hundred words and a few hundred kanji, and it was not nearly enough to hit the same milestone I’d hit in French in 6 months with 500 words. 

I didn’t make progress until year 2 in studying japanese, when I started Nukemarine’s Memrise LLJ decks and got through around 500 kanji, 500 other words, and a few hundred example sentences. It’s not surprising in retrospect that its at that point when I saw the same milestone I hit in french 5 months in. I finally had ~1500 ish words I knew from various resources. 3 times as many words as I knew in french when I could hit the same milestone (very basic reading skills with a dictionary of overall main idea). 

At year 2 I made another major change that helped a lot - I started immersing. Before that, I’d “assumed” japanese would be too hard until I “learned more kanji, more words” and basically refused to challenge myself. But I learn best by doing. I remember best by doing things that make what I’m learning necessary to know. So immersion helped a LOT, it made remembering kanji much easier because I constantly needed them, it made picking up words easier too because I had reasons to know them. 

I also started using more audio materials. It wasn’t a significant part of my study, but I remember I’d started using JapaneseAudioLessons.com’s lessons. I did 20 of them during that time period. What was useful, is I was practicing listening (which I later learned in Chinese really helps me specifically remember things better), and I had found a study method I could do when walking or doing other things. I’m very bad at sticking to flashcards or apps, which is why I always burn out on srs flashcard courses after a few weeks to a month. But just listening to files? If I manage to remember to, I don’t get burned out as easy, and its a good way for me to review and do new study regularly when I can’t carve out the time to sit down. Also again - in retrospect I think listening helps me learn a LOT better, which is something I didn’t really realize about myself until studying chinese later. But I think the regular audio exposure of japanese from year 2 - 2.5 helped a lot. Just like when I started japanese, my beginner college class made us listen to dialogues and shadow them constantly - which really helped.

So in retrospect, year 2 to 2.5 I made the quickest progress in japanese because I started prioritizing learning a LOT of words over learning them ‘perfect,�� and I got willing to just challenge myself and actually use the language regularly by trying to read manga and play a video game. I also realized at that time, that japanese was going to need more hours of study on a regular basis if I wanted a faster progress rate.

After 2.5 years, I stopped studying japanese. Because I was going to school full time, working 50 hours a week, and I knew I had no time for it. 

During the study gap (2+ years)

I only engaged in japanese a little bit during the break where I no longer actively studied it. Every few months I’d try to read a manga - either one of mine or ones I found in thrift stores. I think I was hoping that like my french, reading once in a while would maintain it. But I knew a lot more french before I went down to not studying and only reading occasionally. So I did lose a lot of japanese. 

I stopped remembering some verb endings, although in the middle of reading I could still recall a lot of them in context okay and understand what they meant. I forgot some particles - which again came back ok while I was reading. Word order I somewhat forgot. Hiragana-only words I FORGOT the most. Kanji for the most part I managed to keep remembering, so I suppose reading helped me keep remembering them. I am not sure if this occasional reading helped me review japanese year quicker and get back to progressing from where I left off. 

The most noticeable thing was when I started learning Chinese, about 1 year after stopping Japanese. When I started learning chinese, some of the hanzi I learned ended up making manga more comprehensible to me. I remember maybe 6 months into chinese study, japanese manga (especially easy ones like School Rumble, Ranma 1/2, fan comics) had started to get understandable enough that I could sometimes follow chapter main overall ideas without a dictionary. So not the specific details - although sometimes I could pick up a few. But I didn’t need a dictionary to follow the main idea with simple manga anymore. Whereas at 2.5 years into study, I could follow the main overall idea of some simple manga chapters with a dictionary - that was the extent of my reading comprehension. So this was a significant improvement, a milestone I noticed. I know chinese hanzi study was indirectly benefiting my japanese reading skill a little bit. 

In retrospect, I think it was giving me more ‘near cognates’ to rely on when reading. Since I didn’t know the new japanese words, but knowing the meaning if it were a hanzi gave me an idea of what to Guess the word might mean in the context of a manga chapter I was reading. Which helped a lot compared to having no information at all to rely on to figure out new words. With french, so much having latin and english similarity gave me a lot more tools when I was trying to figure out new words in context. So I think hanzi knowledge in the same kind of way was giving me more information, more related meanings, to pull from and make guesses. For me, that kind of information helps a lot when I study. its how I learned a lot of words in english - I’d relate them to english words I already knew, that they seemed similar to or written with something in common etc. So I could finally start relying on the same strategies I am more used to using for vocabulary figuring-out in japanese.

Current Japanese Progress (picking it up after a couple years gap)

I started trying to study japanese again I think in March or April 2021 - the exact month’s on this blog somewhere. So that’s 4 months as of now that I’ve studied japanese again. It took about 1 month to review the information I already knew - I just reread the beginning portion of Tae Kim’s grammar guide, and did the old lessons I’d done before in Nukemarine’s LLJ memrise decks. 

At the very start of review, I just reread the intro of Japanese in 30 Hours (which I’ve read before), and listened to the first 15 lessons in japanese pimsleur. This was all audio or romaji so I didn’t confuse it with chinese. And it reminded me of the particles and general basic grammar. This mainly-audio portion of review was easy to just do while I was walking or playing video games. 

After that, I went and reviewed old words and specific grammar using Tae Kim and Nukemarine’s memrise decks (which had text). 

Then I was doing new stuff.

I had a goal to play a video game within a few months of restarting japanese - I met that goal about a month after reviewing. So May I think? I wrote down the exact month in previous blog posts. 

It was easier than during my initial study at 2.5 years. It was still intense and draining though lol. However, I realized I didn’t actually need a dictionary to follow any main ideas. The biggest issue was either taking a long time to read for detail directions (very draining mentally), or trying to speed read for key info so I could get to a save point faster (draining mentally because I have less info and time to comprehend the info I’m reading). Anyway, not needing any dictionary for following the main overall ideas was a HUGE difference from my last japanese comprehension milestone at 2.5 years into study.

I am pretty sure its hanzi recognition that really boosted my reading comprehension in japanese. I know around ~1500-2000 hanzi in chinese right now, and a decent amount more I can comprehend pretty well if they’re in compound hanzi words (so context clues to figure out which word the ‘unknown’ hanzi is making the new compound word) since I read in chinese a lot. So in japanese, many of the most common kanji are similar to hanzi I’ve already learned well, and a lot of the compound kanji words are also pretty easy to guess a meaning for. And when the kanji doesn’t mean the same thing as the hanzi would, the prior context I have for these video games such as setting (and some knowledge of them in english playthroughs) and a similar-hanzi’s usual general meanings, means I can usually guess what the new japanese word might mean. Like japanese uses some kanji for somewhat different meanings than chinese (but a speech radical still means its probably talking related) then I can figure out from the scene how it might be a different speech-related word etc. 

This past month, June 2021, I did two more things that boosted my japanese comprehension.

1. I’m playing a video game now that I know the story of really well. So I know the english lines almost by heart for most scenes, so if I don’t know a word in a sentence or don’t know the grammar pattern going on? I have a much better chance of figuring out what it might be. As a result I’m comprehending nearly all the details and words, nearly all the grammar roughly, so there’s very few portions of the game that I’m running into where I don’t have a good guess about every single part of a sentence or at least nearly everything. It’s Kingdom Hearts 2 I’m playing, and I am not surprised lol to realize I played that game So Much growing up I really do know all the lines by heart once I see them. KH2 is the game I initially played 2 years into studying japanese, and could somehow manage to function playing - probably because I know the game so well. So now? Now of course its the first japanese video game where I can follow nearly every part of it in japanese. It’s? A fun experience?? It’s kind of bizarre to me?

This is my favorite game, THE game when I was little that initially made me want to learn japanese. The game I wanted to play in japanese one day and understand and get to see the differences. It is an odd experience to be actually DOING what I wanted to do since I was 11. Over half of my life I’ve wanted to play this game in japanese! ToT I learned to draw people because of this game! It is absolutely surreal to me to be able to DO it. To be doing it. 

Anyway back to study reflections ToT

2. Katakana english cognates and near cognates are galore in KH2 which makes navigation and playing easier than it could be, and my hanzi knowledge also helps with a lot more ‘near cognates’ I can recognize now compared to when I played 2 years into study. Reading Tae Kim’s grammar guide and Cure Dolly (and @yue-muffin telling me iru gets used like ‘ing’ in verbs like ‘doing’ versus to do) also have made the grammar somewhat easier to parse.

2. Clozemaster has ultimately been helping a lot. Clozemaster is definitely a contributing factor to having made KH2 easier to play for DETAIL understanding. I’ve been reading manga lately - which helped me practice parsing grammar in real life versus in textbooks a bit. Grammar and formality in manga like Yotsuba is informal and has these like slang-mood endings to sentences that I never see in grammar books I’ve read or in Nukemarine’s memrise decks (because they’re made from learner materials). But manga is easy to figure out context now, so I was getting used to grammar used in Reality. 

Clozemaster is actually really good for practicing this too - and like with french or chinese, I think an upper beginner will be able to use it much better than a beginner. It changes formality, it changes how much slang is in a sentence or how polite, at random. Not all the translations are literal. You need a basic comprehension already to use clozemaster sentences somewhat. I did 632 sentences in clozemaster this past week. That was a LOT of practice with actual words regularly used in sentences, in dialogue, in various levels of formality and with words being hiragana or kanji depending on the specific sentence. So when I started KH2 again? Now a lot of endings that seem to convey moods, and words that I struggled with (like ‘a lot’ ‘always’ ‘because of’ ‘from’ ‘until’ ‘but’ ‘kedo’ ‘dakadesu’ ‘dakada’ etc) I am more used to following what they mean in a sentence. I’ve just seen a LOT of examples of them. Clozemaster also highlights verb endings sort of like their own ‘helper verb’ and while I don’t know if its actually grammatically true, it helps conceptualize stuff like verb tenses for me a lot easier. So now I am having an easier time recognizing them attached to verb stems, and recognizing the point the conjugation is getting across. 

The main thing though is its just a lot of very focused practice on recognizing words and grammar in the context of regular sentences instead of learner material. Learner material tends to show one aspect at a time, not mix lots of things together since its giving examples, etc. Clozemaster does mix up the examples a lot - but while still generally having an easier ‘difficulty curve’ than an actual web novel or visual novel etc. Clozemaster will have a lot going on in a sentence but it will all be very common basic stuff where at most half is new stuff, and eventually only 1 is a new thing. Whereas if I just dived into regular materials it could be a bunch of “I know very little” sentences. Manga is good practice for this too - its just you see less text per minute in manga. In Clozemaster you see a lot of text and its generally at my reading level so it feels ‘graded’ but less learner-material perfected, which in this case makes it good for getting used to the variety. I think overall THAT is how Clozemaster is helping right now. Its also helping because of common words - but a lot of what I’ve seen so far has been review too, so I think its the exposure to different sentences and odd things in them that’s been most helpful in translating to making video games feel a bit easier.

I’ve been doing the “most common” word tracks in Clozemaster’s japanese lessons, and I think they’re more useful to me immediately than the JLPT track. The fast track is kind of useful, but it doesn’t expose me to as many sentences to really drill aspects. I took someone’s advice and have been doing listening mode, so I listen then listen a few times and identify words THEN read it and answer the cloze. They also said to do the full ‘most common words’ tracks, and so far that advice has been good. The JLPT track is good too - and matches up more with words I had to learn in my other lessons and textbooks, combined with more complex sentences with more stuff going on in them at once than some learner materials. But since I’m trying to study to understand japanese games, not take the JLPT, I think right now that track less useful to me. In the Common Words track I immediately learned a lot of ‘filler’ words that imply meanings and are important but weren’t in my textbooks, even though I hear them constantly when watching things or playing games. So because of that, right now I’m sticking to the common words track. 

Summary: using kingdom hearts 2 is a good immersion material right now since I know the context well, it feels almost ‘graded’ for me since I can comprehend it much easier than other things I know less well (like Crisis Core which I love but requires much more focus and is more mentally draining since I have to re-figure out the initial context of scenes before i can focus on what the specific words mean). And using audio materials, clozemaster, has helped. Also just... I was wondering why lately handling japanese stuff has been easier (compared to previously for me) and I think a huge part of it is that for me hanzi knowledge really helped give me more near-cognates from kanji i can rely on now. Which makes japanese seem much less opaque as far as me trying to use context clues to understand things and learn new words. And since I prefer to learn by DOING, its valuable to me that now I have enough surrounding context and context-hints from kanji to start learning by guessing words in context a bit more. Also, in KH2′s case a huge benefit is the large amount of katakana words that I know what they’re meant to be in english, which are pretty much cognates, and both recognizing kanji a bit and also knowing the rough-english they Should be corresponding to (if its different than the chinese hanzi meaning). 

I’m going to keep playing KH2 lets see if its the first Game I can finish in Japanese (which it may well be lol). Also I just... genuinely think that for myself, among the other things I learned about How I personally learn through the years of trying to learn this, I think for me learning some chinese first really helped. 

I know books I used to have used to encourage me to learn kanji first, but that always just ended up holding me back from studying more because I just could Not handle a kanji with no sound attached solidly in my mind. And then when I did brute force just study words anyway, it helped, but I still had a much fuzzier way of handling and relating to kanji. And in general just was learning them from nothing as a prior basis.

With chinese, just one sound matched to most hanzi really like clicks with how I remember? And when there are pronunciation changes in my brain it just clicks a lot more like how english word-parts change pronunciation depending on the word - it makes a kind of pattern sense to me I guess? And the logic of sound+meaning for most hanzi formations means I finally get why certain radicals are in things - because it got simplified, or used to hint at sound, since they don’t All have all radicals relating to meaning only. Whereas when I studied kanji prior all the books would try to get me to associate all the radicals with meaning (but sometimes if a radical in hanzi come from a sound they don’t have to do with the meaning). And I guess it was just so much harder for me to stick the information solidly in my brain.

Now? Now I’m finding putting kanji pronunciations to different words is making a bit more sense to me. Like I already have a base to attach it to, so its less hard to add “this extra pronunciation for japanese word X” rather than just “this ONE pronunciation for this BRAND NEW kanji+hiragana word!” Because attaching an extra pronunciation to something I Already know? Is not too hard - I did it in english word-parts for my whole life, I did it with hanzi occasionally in chinese. So now attaching sounds to kanji feels more like something I’m used to doing and know how to do - instead of learning lots of new stuff with no idea how to mash it together and remember it. 

Also now the ‘chinese like’ pronunciations for some words stick out to me much clearer in japanese, since I can tell when the pronunciation is similar to a hanzi in chinese versus not. Which makes those words much easier to remember, those pronunciations easier to remember, and it much easier for my brain to distinguish between ‘when to use this pronunciation versus another for this kanji.’ Also just grammar of course, knowing how the pronunciation changes in different forms also helps make it easier to think ‘ok this might be why the kanji sound changed when this verb is in a new conjugation.’   

I just. If I would have told myself over 2 years ago that 1. I’d even learn some chinese, and 2. it would help my japanese this much (to a noticeable amount) I would have been really ???

Another thing I think helped is a Decent Solid sound base in chinese - I generally have a sound associated to all hanzi already that I know so I do not ‘confuse’ them with japanese words. Which would definitely happen if my listening wasn’t as solid. I worked on chinese listening a lot the past few months and it helped a LOT with keeping the languages as very distinctly different so I don’t mix up kanji/hanzi (also the fact kanji don’t have tones the same way helps me separate the sound when I hear so I don’t mix up what I’m listening to, which if me listening wasn’t as practiced I think mixing up would happen more - tones really help me clearly keep my brain from even thinking I’m hearing chinese when I see a kanji and hear pronunciation).

[five-wow]

10.14!! i watched it!! here are some thoughts!! (actually a lot of thoughts because looking back it kind of got away from me in a big way, wow.)

i did NOT know the episode was going to cold open on eddie running straight into traffic and steve being a heroic idiot who manages to save both his dog and his own life more through sheer luck than any particular skill, but oh dear god, that was intense.

and then we have danny sitting in a bar somewhere and staring down a glass! looks like they’re both putting their morning to great use.

this woman who comes in and starts talking to danny? i love her. she is awesome. (i know she’s going to die based on the episode description, but for now, i’m choosing to ignore that and just enjoy her presence.)

ALSO the lady bartender who tells danny he should listen to the woman because she sounds like she knows what she’s talking about? i love her, too. she only gets to say maybe three sentences but i’m already mostly convinced that danny’s mystery woman should probably ditch him for this bartender lady. mystery woman is doing ALL the work here, and danny is just kind of present.

fjdkfdjk danny excusing himself for the phone call with “it’s a work thing” and then the VERY FIRST THING steve says is “relax, it’s not a work thing”. i’m laughing so hard, but also, that’s just ?? genuinely like they’re reading each other’s mind from opposite ends of the island, or wherever danny may currently be. (AND an immediate sign that danny’s excuse to pick up steve’s call in the middle of a conversation was not a good one, or true, for that matter. i wouldn’t necessarily call this a lie, but with danny’s track record when it comes to telling women he’s dating the truth, this is also not the greatest start of a relationship, maybe, omg.)

danny, just after a really awesome and super pretty woman approached him in a bar even though he’s got basically nothing going for him at the moment, offers to come home because eddie isn’t feeling well. and. i mean. it’s not that that’s not sweet or that it’s not a good offer to make because maybe steve needs emotional support even if eddie doesn’t, but it also really really sounds like danny is kind of hoping for a reason to fully excuse himself from his impromptu date.

also, fdjkf, danny teasing steve about the pretty vet lady is cute but confusing to me, because steve met her right before he spent upwards of a month stalking his mother in columbia and he can’t have been a great person to be dating right after that, either, so how is that relationship even still going? i just assumed that was a casualty of life getting in the way, but apparently this vet is either a very, very patient woman or almost creepily invested after just a single date, if she’s giving steve this much time to just randomly disappear on her.

AND THEN steve asks danny if he wants to join steve to grab a bite to eat and finally, finally! danny mentions that there might be someone waiting for him, and this is low key hilarious to me all over again because i’m sure it’s not really meant this way, but i’m reading this now as danny going “no! i totally am not looking for an excuse to get away, because i am having a great time!” while also  feeling a need to reestablish his own dating prowess after steve’s last date was just mentioned and/or hoping to maybe make steve a little jealous for that same reason.

danny starts telling mystery woman how he’s deduced that she must be new to the island! i really like this, both because danny is finally contributing something to the flirting (he has a personality!) and because it makes such perfect sense for that to be something danny picks up on, considering his own history when it comes to integrating on hawaii.

danny: “[hawaii] grows on you.” yes, mystery woman! all you need is to find another woman you can have strong sexual tension with for a decade while raising two kids together, moving in a couple of times and getting mistaken for a couple regularly while also clinging to your heterosexuality like it’s a life raft even though you keep ignoring all your heterosexual partners, and you’ll feel right at home, just the way danny does!

WHOOP. they’re making out in the bathroom now. that escalated quickly, fjdkf.

they were giggling and moaning and talking loudly the entire time, but when danny tries to leave through the door mystery woman needs to check if the coast is clear first or they’ll get busted. oh, you guys. i think poor bartender lady already knows, as basically the only other person in this empty bar.

also: danny has a rental car?? from steve suggesting food i kind of assumed danny is still on the island and in the area, but apparently he couldn’t take either his own car or steve’s truck, because then it would get wrecked during the car crash that’s scheduled later on in this episode, i guess. good thinking, danny!

they have baseball and the east coast in common! that’s cute! (though i also can’t help but be reminded of melissa, who was from new york, and feel like this woman is turning into melissa 2.0, gosh. this first meeting is better so far, though! danny is not creepily car stalking a much younger woman he only met for two minutes at a gas station - well done, danny.)

they have a Moment and then someone coming towards them on the road is being an idiot and danny swerves and the car FLIPS and i don’t think danny is getting his deposit on this rental back.

the pretty doctor is making a house call for steve and steve is too anxious about eddie to even think about the fact that this should probably be a little awkward somehow, oh my gosh. he just rambles ahead about eddie’s problem, like a good dad.

danny and mystery woman are both looking very banged up and bloody, but mystery woman has part of the license plate number of the car that nearly hit them and tells danny to give it to the police so nobody else will get hurt! she continues to be awesome.

fdjfkdjkfdj, so steve gets an answer about eddie (he’s showing signs of post-traumatic stress) and he and the doctor have a serious conversation about that and then he walks her to the door and THEN he goes “emma, before you leave, i feel like i should probably bring up the, uh-” and she fills in “how you never called me back”. oh my GOD, steve. he went on a date with this woman, never called her again (somewhat understandably from his side, but still) and then DID call her, but to ask her to come make a house call because his dog is acting weird, and she granted him this favor and acted like not just a professional but a really kind one. WHY do these disaster men get paired with these perfect women, fjdk.

steve!! tells her!! he has issues balancing work and personal life!! and it honestly isn’t that much because it’s missing huge chunks of what really went down, but oh boy, this is already A Lot and i’m surprised we’re getting this much and i’m proud of him!!

she’s seeing someone! she tells him no hard feelings! she tells him she believes him when he says it’s not about her but about his problems! GROWN UP RELATIONSHIP TALK. i mean, there was never much of a relationship here to start with perhaps, but STILL, i love this. very good. A+.

steve’s face after she leaves though, oh my gosh. he seems a little shellshocked that he actually just had that conversation, maybe a little disappointed in himself that he let things happen this way.

lou is at will’s college for parents weekend! and there is talk of decorating will’s dorm room, which is cool, but also confuses me a little bit because i’m assuming will’s been living in that room for many months by now.

wait, okay, i’m more confused: lou is calling about eddie because tani texted him that eddie wasn’t feeling well, which is cool! family keeping family in the loop! except then steve says that the vet just left and said it might be pts, and then lou suddenly says he knows someone whose expertise is in military working dogs, and he already reached out to him and that’s the part where i go ? because how did lou already know it would be pts, or anything of the sort? what was this specialist supposed to do if the vet had just diagnosed eddie with some regular dog disease?

i was so caught up in the euphoria of steve attempting to communicate emotions and the whole ohana pulling together to help eddie that i almost forgot about the car crash, oh shit. danny of course can’t get cell service, because these things always happen in the middle of nowhere in fiction, because it would have been too easy if he could have just called an ambulance.

the new vet super clearly telling steve that this is in no way his fault and that he shouldn’t feel wrecked with guilt over eddie’s pain is !! very good!!! this episode is about eddie’s pts, but steve’s getting to work through some issues too, here, wow.

steve calls tani on the way back home with eddie and tani is just randomly in a car with quinn?? i love it. it’s super unclear to me if they’re working today or if they’re just hanging out in a car, plus quinn doesn’t say a single word in this entire scene, but i love that she’s there, regardless.

OOF. mystery woman has been impaled on some thing that stuck through the back of her car seat, and yes, that’s definitely some great drama and not something i saw coming, but also. oh my god. i don’t think that should be a thing that happens if you’re in a crash that left the car pretty well intact overall, so who the hell designed a car that sometimes sticks something metal through the passenger seat if it rolls?

mystery woman: “just tell me. just don’t lie to me, please don’t lie to me now.” OKAY a) this is very brave of her and i still love her a lot, b) PLEASE DON’T LIE TO ME is a very loaded thing to hear one of danny’s love interests tell him to his face because of danny’s aforementioned penchant for lying to them. this is a very different situation and he was just trying to keep her calm, but still.

“it’s a little bad” is both objectively the truth (well done, danny, proud of you too this episode) and a hilarious way to describe the situation. unintentionally hilarious, for sure, but hilarious.

the guy tani and quinn talk to at the base is really helpful and nice! “i hope the warrior is better soon”, aww.

tani, reporting on eddie to quinn: “mcgarrett was trying to settle him for a nap. he did lap up some of the water from the bowl that i brought though, so that’s good.” quinn, with absolutely no change in expression: “huh, that’s weird. did you tell him the water was for eddie.” i am. i am giggling so much. this is exactly my kind of humor and it was perfectly timed to release the pent-up tension from everything that is happening, thank you, quinn.

tani and quinn have a talk about tani’s worry about junior and HOW is this episode suddenly so filled with absolutely awesome moments for female characters, i am flabbergasted. i mean, really really happy because i love the mystery woman and the vet was perfect and now we’re getting some beautiful tani & quinn interaction while they’re helping steve out, but this was not what i expected to find in this episode.

everybody wants to help eddie and it’s making me cry, ahhh.

AHA. danny and mystery woman talk about rachel!! danny says they’ve been “sorta trying to work it out for the last year or so” and then that “we’re better of as friends” and on the one hand i’m REALLY GLAD we’re getting some kind of word on this, because it was odd enough as was but now that danny seemed to be open to dating someone else it was even more necessary to know he’s not still dating rachel too, but on the other hand i’m kind of sad it’s second-hand? i’d have liked an episode with rachel actually in it to work this out.

ohhhh god. danny hears a car so he wants to go up to the road to stop it, but mystery woman tells him to stay, but he goes anyway, so wanna bet that when he gets back after he probably doesn’t even manage to stop the car, mystery woman is dead? eep.

oh! that went a lot quicker than expected and mystery woman is in fact still blinking when danny approaches the crashed car again, so she is not dead yet! good news! now danny gets to watch her die, hooray!

tani and quinn walk onto steve’s beach and that’s such an odd sight but also a really nice one!

ohhh, they were headed for the neighbor. and then they say hi and introduce themselves as people who work with steve and this woman immediately starts rambling about the biodiversity of hawaii, no holds barred and with the hugest smile about it, and here we have ANOTHER woman i immediately love with all my heart, holy shit.

i was a little afraid that they might have to fight the lovely neighbor to get the plant that triggered eddie’s pts removed, but they DON’T, they really really don’t have to fight her because she immediately gets it and says she’ll get rid of the plant in question and that makes me very happy on so many levels.

danny manages to stop a truck!!! and this guy asks zero questions about all the blood on danny’s clothes, but i guess that’s a good thing at this point.

!!! eddie and steve are cuddling on the couch and quinn goes “aww, look at you two. love is real.” and YES. i RELATE.

okay, everything about this scene is perfect, actually, because tani jumps in to agree with quinn and then quinn says the chasing somebody to the airport like they do in romcoms is a little psycho, and that really doesn’t absolve the h50 writers of slightly psycho things they’ve done when it comes to romantic relationships but i like the burn anyway, ha.

STEVE OPENS UP TO QUINN AND TANI about relating to eddie’s panic and feelings of being lost and he’s basically saying “yeah, i know what pts is like” and i just. i am full of emotions. thank you, whoever wrote this.

oh gOD though, tani asks steve how danny is and steve says “i spoke to him this morning, he is good” and that’s obviously a painful moment to be saying that seeing as we, as the audience, know how danny is actually doing at that moment.

and then there’s a knock at the door and quinn says “maybe that’s him now” and steve gets up as he says “not unless he forgot his key” and i SCREAM. it makes total sense that danny would have a key, and doubly so because he’s literally been living at steve’s for months, but they WAY they just casually had him throw that out there is QUITE SOMETHING.

oh danggg, it’s adam.

huh. steve welcomes him home and hugs him and i’m a little confused because wasn’t there still a criminal investigation pending for adam’s actions? did that get resolved? wasn’t steve still a little mad at him and completely unsure what was happening?

ah, we get a somewhat dramatic zoom on steve’s face that tells us that steve definitely still has questions.

so danny climbs back down to the crashed car after calling for help and he tells mystery woman that his name is danny and THEN she dies, right before she can tell him her name. at this point i’ve been expecting it for ages and it’s not exactly a shock, but jfc, they definitely managed to pick a very traumatic moment for this to happen.

danny just... gets back up to the road and starts walking away as the ambulances arrive and that’s a nice and symbolic end but also, uh, some poor emt is going to have to jog after him and try to wrestle him into an ambulance to get himself checked out. danny. danny, come back.

in the end, i !!! REALLY LOVED this episode. i didn’t expect to, because i was pretty sure mystery woman would die and i wasn’t into the idea of introducing a love interest for danny and then killing her off. truth be told, i’m still not into that and i hate that she had to die to give danny a painful episode (and that we still don’t know her name, which i get from the storytelling perspective because it adds a layer of pain but it also feels kind of bad from a please-respect-women perspective that she’s quite literally nameless), BUT at least i really really loved her character, which is honestly already more than i thought would happen, and THEN there was the other plot this episode!! the one with steve working through trauma and eddie getting help from everyone and tani and quinn being awesome and us getting to meet one of steve’s neighbors for the first time and her turning out to be an adorable plant nerd, and all of that, i adored it. i know danny’s car crash was supposed to be the center of this episode, but for me it kind of got swept aside by my elation over what was happening in steve’s house, and all the really awesome women this episode threw at us, holy shit.

[vennfiction]

Flirting, Fighting and Faking Your Way Through College Pt.4

Summary: Roman, Remy and Dee get back on the field for some football training, after all the finals only 4 games away and they have to make it through. Too bad they get a bit distracted

A/N: Wow I’m a huge prick sorry, school kicked my ass but I’ll have new parts out regularly. Sorry y’all, love ya’s

Story Text:

“Roman Prince! Late again!” Coach Anderson shouted, shaking his head, disappointedly at the young footballer.

“Ah you love me coach!” The student called back, throwing his jacket and bag down with the others’ belongings.

The coach laughed. “10 laps then join Remy and Deceit for drills. Next time it’ll be 30,”

“You got it boss!”

It had been about an hour and a half since training started and they were doing a test game. They’d gone over some plays so Coach decided that this was a well deserved break. The team was split in half and the game started. By now there were a couple of people in the stands, mostly player’s partners and thirsty girls who had nothing better to do with their time but among them were Virgil, Logan and Patton. Virgil was also there to be thirsty and Patton and Logan were just there to support their friends... Just kidding they were there because Virgil dragged them by their ears so as not to be alone.

This would all be completely fine if halfway through the match a fight didn’t break out. All that could be seen from the stands was:

-Terf Minetta, the teams star linebacker, being tackled by Remy during the game.

-The attacking man, instead of getting up and letting the play restart, throwing some punches.

-Mark, Iggy and Nate, two players from Terf’s side and one from Roman’s starting to kick and beat Remy. This started a dogpile of fighting with almost every person on the field joining in.

-Coach Anderson calling time and trying to pry apart the punchup

-Deceit and Roman pulling Remy off of Terf, with a struggle.

-The Crowd screaming and egging on the violence

Of course that’s not the whole story. Mere minutes before the punchup Jon, a player from Remy, Roman and Dee’s side of the split was sent off with a broken nose and some severe bruising. That’s because, if we rewind a bit, this is what happened on field.

The game was in play. Roman passed to Remy, Remy to Roman, Roman to Dee, Dee to Jon. Jon ran through to the touchdown line, almost making it before Terf ran in front of him and grabbed his jersey, two others from his side grabbing hold and quickly dragging him to the ground. Unbeknownst to the audience Jon’s face was smashed into the ground on the way down, very intentionally so, and though Terf stood quickly he took a moment to whisper something to Jon. “Hey Jonny, gonna score the touchdown for your boyfriend, eh fagboy? You know you’re not good enough for this team, keep your dragshow off the field”

This was just loud enough for Remy and Deceit to hear and it was the last straw. Terf was, in the bluntest terms possible, a bigoted thick-headed petty asshole and Remy had had enough. He ran into the play trying to control himself but gave up as soon as Terf was down.

Fast-forward back to the present and the players were back and lined up on the halfway line. Luckily for them most of the spectators were gone at this point, unluckily Coach was pissed.

“Right, I want you all doing laps for the rest of training after that little stunt! You’ll be scrubbing gum off the bleachers if it happens again! Terf, Remy, Roman, Deceit, you’re staying with me for a little talk,” The four stayed back as Coach Leo Anderson bores holes into them with his glare.

“Ventii,” he said, addressing Remy by his last name “Mind telling me what in the name of all that is sane caused that little outburst?!”

“Coach I-“

“Did I ask you Seit?” Leo said interrupting Deceit before he could barely begin and Terf put on his signature shit-eating grin. “And don’t look so smug there Minetta, you just got the crap beat out of you by a dance minor with back problems,”

Remy tried his best not to chuckle at that and instead addressed his response to his Coach. Fiddling with his sunglasses he began “Well sir I-I just- I let my emotions get the better of me. I guess I felt that it was my la-“

“What he’s trying to say sir is that Terf started it,”

“Prince, shut your trap. I don’t care ‘who started it’. How old are you? I asked your teammate a question, he has a mouth, let him answer,”

Roman nodded but Deceit spoke up.

“Sir before you punish Remy I would like you to know that it was somewhat Terf’s fault. He provoked it, he harassed and injured Jon,”

“Now is that so? I knew you couldn’t spend 15 minutes without being a dick to someone Minetta. What’s the story this time?”

“He called Jon slurs, he’s been an ass since day one and there’s no way that that fat-mouthed son of a bitch didn’t intentionally break his nose,” Remy spat.

“I asked Minetta,”

“Well Coach,” Terf started “I was just playing as normal, I said a few teasing words and I kept on. I’m the victim here! These fucking dykes are trying to throw me under the bus!”

An argument broke out between the 4 teammates as Remy began to see red and Roman cracked his knuckles. Deceit almost hit Terf again before Coach Anderson stepped in.

“Dean Ananasi Seit, touch him again and you’ll be cleaning the storerooms for the rest of your college career! As for you Terf, that language and behaviour is not tolerated, you’ve had your warnings-“

“But sir!”

“You’re off the team Minetta, I expect your jacket and your gear handed in by Monday. Now get out of my sight,” Coach finished as Terf turned and started walking off, cursing angrily under his breath as he went. Deceit, Remy and Roman high-fived and cheered quietly.

“Don’t think I forgot about you lot. As much as I hated having that bigot on my team Remy you were still violent and I’m going to have to ban you from playing for the next three games. Roman, Dee you’re lucky I still need a full team, keep it in check next time,”

Remy gawked in shock, anger flooding his face momentarily before he felt Dee’s hand on his back. He sighed in defeat, what was done was done.

“Now head off you lot, I don’t want to see your faces again until practice in two days,”

Part 1: https://vixtricksandfanfics.tumblr.com/post/188041128031/flirting-fighting-and-faking-your-way-through

Part 2: https://vixtricksandfanfics.tumblr.com/post/188105222756/flirting-fighting-and-faking-your-way-through

Part 3: https://vixtricksandfanfics.tumblr.com/post/188150565841/flirting-fighting-and-faking-your-way-through

[kiramekisakurai]

Takumi, Odin and Xander? I like reading what people think about Xander, lol.

Hello! Likewise; reading about Xander has almost become a pastime of its own for me as of late. :P Interesting stuff. -And now, here’s a very long post.(^_^)

1. How I feel about him/her

Thiiiis guy. At first, I couldn’t help but be annoyed when he wouldn’t freely give me his trust as all the other Hoshido siblings had, (then Xander came along, and) but should I have been in his place, what would I have done? Excellent question. Considering the placement of events he wouldn’t have been quite old enough to remember Corrin, and will have already had his own reasons to bear distrust (more explanation below with sibling relationships).

He’s a slow-burning character with development (and flaws, which make him all the more easy to relate with), more so than the other Hoshidan royals, as far as I’d noticed at this moment.

2. Who I ship him/her with romantically

I ended up marrying him to Azura in Revelations, but I’m not quite sure why; I want to say it’s because when I played Birthright first had saw her heal him with her song, I was quite moved and kept this alternate storyline point in the back of my mind.

3. Who I ship him/her with platonically

Leo. 8| They’re frenemies and hate different things for the same reasons, but sometimes hate the same things and that’s how they bond.

4. What do I like about this character

There’s a lot to love about Takumi, from my perspective. He’s got the burden on him of being the younger sibling, always standing in the shadows of his older brother (much like his Nohrian equivalent, Leo), and as a result may sound like he has a somewhat jaded outlook on certain things at times in addition to being overly competitive as well as a perfectionist. While I don’t have siblings, I do have peers and often feel as though I’m “shrouded by the shadows of my predecessors” in different circumstances, but am often told I have nothing to worry about because there’s only one me, much like there’s only one Takumi. Besides, Takumi is the one who often saved me during many missions. :’D

His endearing fatherly relationship with his son(s) is also fantastic too (which in my case, is both Shigure and Kiragi).

5. Would I marry this character

When I play through Birthright once again, I very well may marry him (but it’s a tough choice, because there’s also Jacob, who I also adore).

6. What would I do if this character was real

I’d tell the poor guy to chill a little, but I’m a 100% pure®︎, verified✔️non-confrontational™️person by circumstance. Regardless, I might want to try to approach him to make small-talk (unusual for me!) but knowing him, I’m sure he’d give me his Tacomeat Face®︎ and take wide strides to avoid me thinking I’m Nohrian based on the way I dress and my general disposition.

1. How I feel about him/her

He reminds me of all the kids I used to hang out with back in middle school, junior high, and high school who were involved with band but also regularly brought their entire Pokémon/Yu-Gi-Oh!/Digimon/Magic card decks to school with them to duel/show off. They somehow also memorized every artillery, weapon, and aircraft used by the US and German military during WWII and could emulate sounds for each one of them. Oftentimes, they had a disposition to speak in role-play (they did that too), but excelled in both school and in social life. I did not always know what they were talking about when they went on their great digressions, but I always listened; in return, they listened to my digressions of similar interests. Many of them have gone off to become writers, software designers, public representatives, and actors. These people, each and every one of them, resonate with me as the Odins of my childhood.

2. Who I ship him/her with romantically

I had no idea who to marry this guy to, since “aching blood” seemed too strong for many, but Selena ended being a great match for him! Coincidentally enough, I was just asked about Selena and talked about this a little while ago.

3. Who I ship him/her with platonically

His “retainer buddy” Niles, because someone has to balance sinnamon rolls with cinnamon rolls.

4. What do I like about this character

I implicitly and talked about this in a nostalgic way back in the first prompt, but this guy reminds me of childhood acquaintances, which reminds me of simpler times, as a result.

Here’s something curious: during the A support conversation with the Avatar, Odin finally comes up with a name for his incredible pose, which just so happens to be “Shadow Glitter.” Alright, so this doesn’t sound so spectacular for me to mention on the surface, one would think, but it is. You see, he named it after me. Yup, it’s true. More specifically, he named it after my in-game character, Kirameki (キラメキ), which means “glitter.” I didn’t even know of this support when I named my character. Goodness, I’ve used “Kirameki” for years (look at my blog’s name, after all). It’s coincidental, but I think it’s adorable and made me really smile that day, which I needed x100.

5. Would I marry this character

I’m not sure, but there’s always a chance.

6. what would i do if this character was real

We’d probably become fast (platonic) friends interested in pretty similar things, but he would do most of the talking, I’m afraid!

1. How I feel about him/her

I apologize in advance, yet I couldn’t help but get a little personal here. It’s not often I find a character with whom I can relate with on such a deeply personal level, down to the very point that it’s physically and emotionally painful (which I admit is embarrassing, but hey I’m going through some rough times and ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), but here one is.

H o w e v e r . There are several stark contrasts between him and I, mostly surrounding the circumstances of immediate family: I have no siblings, and have an excellent relationship with both my parents, which is stronger than any bond I’ve shared with anyone else in this life I’ve lived. They’re also my best friends, after all. In some ways, I’m as much “their retainer” as they are “my retainers.”

Furthermore, I was born more like Leo: school came easy for me, and I continue to excel without too much of a struggle (but of course, grad school does indeed require more work). Because of this, however, here’s where the likeness to Xander comes in: being an only child, being the first-generation to go to and graduate from college, being the first in the entire family to go to grad school, living around resentful family members who wish for your ruin, and finally the lament of your own by-gone dreams ever lingering on the edges of your mind can make you feel like a battle-worn crown prince/ss. Like Xander, it has fallen upon me, partly due to my own aspirations but somewhat by fate, to shoulder heavy responsibilities which may ultimately overwhelm me —and like Xander again, he doesn’t know who or what he has to turn to, only that it is HE who must overcome it all to fulfill his oath. What a feeling.

2. Who I ship him/her with romantically

On a lighter note, Corrin. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’ve been reading so much cute, fluffy doujinshi over on Pixiv, you have no idea

3. Who I ship him/her with platonically

I adore the strong bond he shares with his siblings; I’ll never know what that feels like, and it’s such a dear thing [insert the adorable and incredibly well-done Nohr sibling group hug fan art here].

4. What do I like about this character

Yet again, I spent the first prompt talking about this a little bit, but let’s see if I can get some new information flowing.

He’s awkward. We can tell he’s not comfortable getting out of his teeny-tiny comfort zone (“elbow-room?! What elbow-room!? Referring to one of his skills), but dear goodness, does he try. He tries for his loved ones, for his country, and for the good of the future. But he’s still so awkward at making small talk, it’s adorable; I get second-hand embarrassment and realize I’m hypocritical feeling this way considering I’m terrible at small talk too; “let’s talk business or let’s adjourn so I can do more business elsewhere.”

He’s genuine. Long story short, he’s got no time to be anything but, again, for his loved ones and his kingdom.

He’s respectful, —to both his friends (no matter the social rank) and foes. Regardless of the odds, he’s as diplomatic and respectful as he can be under the nasty circumstances.

He’s a workaholic, much to his own undoing. (Hey look, I too am one and also don’t know when to stop. What a coincidence.) Note: while useful, this is not always a good trait and is one which can be very, very easily taken advantage of. He’s found himself at the mercy of this situation often, much like I have, as many of us have.

He’s highly intelligent, yet often oblivious (especially in commoners’ ways, thanks to his early sheltered life).

He’s apparently got great handwriting, which for me is a treasure; I too take pride in my handwriting, and really liked reading this little note about him. (*^_^*)

He’s not just another cold, cardboard, bland, stoic, big brother stock character added to the story. Instead, he’s got a story of his own which he’s willing to share, while he listens to yours and even attempts to offer some advice. (I’m remembering his support logs with Hinoka, Sakura, Kaze, Mozu, and Felicia here).

He’s pretty (/^/ω/^/)

5. Would I marry this character

I did. Twice. And I’ve only played all three games once so far. c:

10/10 would marry again

6. What would I do if this character was real

[Kirameki.exe stopped working. Please contact system administrator for assistance.] Which is strange, considering he’s not quite my type in the physical sense, albeit quite close. Fun (but unchecked) facts: if he was indeed real, he’d easily be more than 12in (30.5cm+) taller than me. That’s more than enough reason for my graphics driver to crash, amirite? *ba dum tshh*

Levity aside, and should I already have a good idea of what his real-life personality is like based on the games (rock-solid logic, here), I really would “want to get to know him better” in not quite yet in the ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) way (yeah yeah I know what you’re thinking), but rather in a friendly manner. He’d make a warm companion, and I admit that it would be nice to finally share with someone these aspirations and pains. I would just hope he’s more forthcoming than I am and also approach me somehow, considering I’m far more shy than I sound here.

[betweenthenotesblog]

Just What The World Doesn’t Need - Another Top 10 Band List

For going on two years now, since I first started this music blog, I’ve been fighting the urge to publish my all-time top 10 favorite artist list.

There are many faults in publishing a favorite artist list. First off, when the entity doing so (me), doesn’t have the street cred, a favorite artist list can fall flat. Let’s face it, I’m no Pitchfork or SPIN Magazine columnist. Also, such lists are very subjective. Finally, proclaiming a top band list can be seen as a tad narcissistic because who really cares what a blogger like me thinks?

That said, I’ve often wondered how I’d rank my favorite artists/bands. When I think about that, I can certainly come up with a few top candidates right off the bat, but after the first three or four obvious artists come to my mind, filling the list out seems difficult. I also struggle with how to rank those bands I loved when I was young versus those I gravitate to as I am close to entering my sixth decade of life.

Answering this question really isn’t as easy as it might seem. 

But recently, I  attempted to find my answer. I tried to do so as objectively as I possibly could. This is where my long-time, trusted friend comes in - “The Weighted Average.”

In an attempt to objectively determine who my top 10 favorite artists are, I did what I often do when making a big decision, things like purchasing a car or changing jobs. I developed a weighted-average spreadsheet to help bring objectivity to the answering of this question.

The spreadsheet I built involved quantifying the number of iTunes songs I have in my catalog for each artist, along with the breadth of each artist’s overall number of published songs and finally, and most highly weighted, I tried to rate the amount I listen to each artist at the present time. I weighted this factor more because I believe that anyone’s favorite artists can fluctuate based on their current listening habits. What I mean by that is if I were doing this list when I was 18 years old, Led Zeppelin and The Police would have made the cut. Now? Not a chance because I rarely listen to either of those bands, despite the respect I have for each.

Anyway, I used those factors to create a weighted spreadsheet using a 5-to-1 scale to try to officially quantify my top 10 favorite artist list. Those ten artists with the highest average score made the cut.

Without further explanation for how I got there, here is a look at my current Top 10 favorite artist list, subject to change.

# 10 - J Cole

I can thank my son Jonathan for bringing J Cole’s music to me. That boy has been singing J Cole’s praises for the last few years. I find myself listening to J Cole’s 2013 release Born Sinner constantly and his newer stuff is almost as good. Considering I’m an older Gen-Xer who missed the rap revolution by about five years, I was surprised and somewhat delighted to see a rap artist make my top 10 list.

Jim’s Favs: 1) Born Sinner, 2) 2014 Forest Hills Drive

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/j-cole-mn0001089515/discography

#9 - Husker Du

I am definitely a product of the mid-to-late 1980s pre-alternative music explosion and in my world, Husker Du was a big part of that. I still listen to their albums fairly regularly, especially their 1987 swan swan song double-album Warehouse: Songs and Stories. Most of their catalog still holds up, if you can get past the poor production quality that makes virtually every song sound like it was recorded inside an extra large tin can. I never saw them live, but have seen their lead singer Bob Mould play countless times. 

Jim’s Favs: 1) Warehouse: Songs and Stories, 2) New Day Rising, 3) Flip Your Whig

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/h%C3%BCsker-d%C3%BC-mn0000639053/discography

#8 - Pixies

See my Husker Du commentary for why a guy like me might fall in love with an awesome band like the Pixies. The Pixies changed the college music game for my generation like few others. I still listen to their albums quite often. There might not have been a Nirvana without these forebears who hit the scene a few years prior to the Grunge movement. They reunited a couple of years ago and while the new albums don’t move me as much as the older stuff, it is good to see them be able to still put out quality music.

Jim’s Favs: 1) Doolittle, 2) Trompe le Monde

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/pixies-mn0000895136/discography

#7 - Wilco

Where do I start with Jeff Tweedy and his revolving door of mates? As I reviewed my spreadsheet findings, I quickly realized that this band would have been in my top three just five years ago, as I really don’t listen to them as much now as back then. But, I certainly have a lot of their songs in my iTunes catalog and that counts for a lot. I have also seen them live 5+ times and although I’ve passed on doing so that the last couple of Kansas City tour stops, they are a great live band and definitely worthy of being in any top 10 artist list.

Jim’s Favs: 1) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, 2) Summerteeth, 3) Sky Blue Sky

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/wilco-mn0000254215/discography 

#6 - The Good Life

I would not have guessed that this Tim Kasher side-project would make my top 10 list. But indeed, the spreadsheet tells me they are worthy. The Good Life, which doubles as the state motto for Kasher’s (and my) home state of Nebraska, has been described as the “softer-rock” side of Kasher’s artistry. Tim Kasher’s primary fame (if you can call it that) is for the work he has done with his band, Cursive. He started The Good Life in 2000 and they still put out great music out as evidenced by their under rated 2015 release Everybody’s Coming Down.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that The Good Life made the list. After all, they are one of only four bands, the others being Husker Du, The Afghan Whigs and Radiohead, for which I have adorned a band sticker on my car. Currently, a The Good Life sticker is attached to my Volkswagen GTI.

Their 2003 release Album of The Year is considered their finest work. It is a story of a lost soul, played out on the streets of Omaha and Council Bluffs. Just the recipe for a guy like me who grew up in Nebraska. 

Jim’s Favs: 1) Album of the Year, 2) Everybody’s Coming Down

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-good-life-mn0000059700/discography

#5 - The Afghan Whigs

Oh yes. The Afghan Whigs. 

There was a time in my life when this band meant everything to me. While most people have either never heard of, or are only vaguely familiar with, The Afghan Whigs, there are those among us who just can’t get enough of them. This is evidenced by the 1,384 ardent members of “The Congregation” a very active Facebook group for hard core fans like me. I never saw them live during their heyday, but when they reunited in 2013 after a 12-year hiatus, I flew to Atlanta with my college buddy and fellow Whigs disciple Tim, to see them play. That show and that album Do to the Beast proved that The Afghan Whigs are one of the best bands and live acts around, even as they enter the AARP zone. The Afghan Whigs will release a new studio album later in 2017 and I can’t wait to listen to it.

Jim’s Favs: 1) Gentlemen, 2) Black Love, 3) 1965

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-afghan-whigs-mn0000602859/discography

#4 - Cursive

Cursive is another former alt-music media darling that has never had legit mainstream success. But, that doesn’t diminish their greatness. These Nebraska natives and flag bearers for the critically acclaimed Omaha music scene have made a national impact and still sell out clubs all over America.

There are two main reasons why I love this band. First, there is Tim Kasher’s lyrics. This guy can tell a story like few others and it is usually a very twisted one. Several of their albums are concept works in nature. Secondly, the sounds this band creates using dissonant guitar chord progressions is very unique. Their sound is an acquired taste, for sure. This is one of those bands that I absolutely love, but that few of my contemporaries have ever gotten into. 

Despite that, I always feel solace when I either attend one of their shows or I read that they’ve sold out famous clubs in Chicago, LA or New York. This underscores the fact that there are others who also see this band’s brilliance. I find strange comfort in that.

Jim’s Favs: 1) Happy Hollow, 2) I AM GEMINI, 3) The Ugly Organ

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cursive-mn0000138271/discography

#3 - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Make no mistake. I’ve had a man crush on Stephen Malkmus and his guitar work for over a decade. It all started in 2003, when I saw Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks open for Radiohead in St. Louis.

I didn’t even know Malkmus’ name prior to that evening. I knew of his ‘90s band Pavement, but never really listened to them. 

It is pretty rare for an opening act to make an impact, but I was immediately struck by the sounds Stephen & The Jicks made that night. From there, I purchased a couple of his solo albums and eventually became hooked. 

While Stephen Malkmus is most known for fronting the 90s alt-rock band Pavement, I would say that his post-Pavement solo albums have showcased his guitar playing more than much of his Pavement work.

Beyond the excellent guitar sound, his unique song structures and quirky lyrics make him an acquired taste. But if you like excellent alt-rock guitar and unconventional lyrical structures, this guy just might be for you.

Jim’s Favs: 1) Real Emotional Trash, 2) Wig Out at Jagbags, 3) Stephen Malkmus (self-titled)

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/stephen-malkmus-the-jicks-mn0002016143/discography 

#2 - Pavement

If you’ve gotten this far, you know that I knew of the band Pavement before I ever knew who their frontman was. 

And when I say I “knew Pavement,” I really didn’t really know them when they were an active band. Pavement was a living, breathing thing from 1992 to 1999 but my only real knowledge was their radio hit “Cut Your Hair” which I never really cared for.

But after seeing Malkmus live, I went back and started listening to Pavement’s catalog, the whole time wondering what the hell I was doing in the 1990s to have not listened to them when it was all actually happening. 

I love Pavement for many of the same reasons I love Stephen Malkmus. It is the unique song structures combined with the incredible guitar playing. This band also had a penchant for long guitar outros, always a plus in my book. But something else that I found enduring with Pavement was the low-fi sense about them. Many of their early albums sounded like they were produced in a garage. The music was almost Guided By Voices-esque (another band I truly adore). 

Low-fi or not, Pavement is a great, great band. One that I wish I had gotten into when they were still producing albums. Luckily, they made Kansas City a reunion tour stop several years ago and played an excellent sold out show at The Uptown Theater.

JIm’s Favs: 1) Wowee Zowee, 2) Brighten the Corners, 3) Slanted and Enchanted.

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/pavement-mn0000752314/discography

#1 - Radiohead

To give you a sense for how much I love Radiohead, here is a stat for you. As I dug into my iTunes library to see how many songs I had downloaded for each artist, Radiohead’s total number came in at 181 songs, including bootlegs. The next closest band, Wilco, was at 105 songs. These 181 Radiohead songs did not include the countless dozens of songs I’ve downloaded that pay tribute to Radiohead. Compilations and albums like Radiodread, Strung Out On OK Computer “Radiohead Dubs” AmpLIve’s RainyDayz Remixes, etc. 

The sheer number of Radiohead or Radiohead inspired songs I own is maddening. Combine that, with the fact that the only time I have ever gotten choked up at a concert was when Radiohead played “How To Disappear Completely” the first time I saw them play live. That happened despite me being a guy who never cries. Yet there I was, getting all kind of the feels.

Knowing that Radiohead is my all-time favorite band is the easy part in my mind. The hard question I often ask myself is why? Why do I love Radiohead so much?

A skeptic would tell you that their songs are depressing, that many of their albums sound the same, that they’re a bit pretentious. And those observations aren’t necessarily off base.

So why do I love them? As I thought about this more, there are a myriad of reasons:

Radiohead aren’t has-beens. Instead, they have constantly worked to re-invent their sound, the way they release albums, how they do business.

They are arguably the best live band in the world.

They are all incredible musicians. Listen to their “The King of Limbs” album (my least favorite of theirs, by the way) and tell me that these guys aren’t world-class musicians.

They are nerdy, in the coolest way possible.

The sound of Thom Yorke’s vocals. Oh, that voice. It speaks to my soul.

Jonny Greenwood - He is timeless in every imaginable way. The creativity he brings to making interesting sounds is unmatched.

Longevity - They’ve stayed together, while remaining relevant for going on 26 years.

Tonight at Sprint Center will be the fifth time I’ve seen Radiohead play live. 

Great bands like Radiohead don’t last forever. I don’t foresee, nor do I even want Radiohead to hang on like The Rolling Stones or The Who. The reality is that I am getting older. And they are getting older. I get the sense that this may be one of, IF NOT THE last time, I’ll ever see them play. That is why I plan on getting as close to the stage as I possibly can this evening.

It’s not every day you get to see your all-time favorite band play music. So I’m going to make this count.

Jim’s Favs: 1) OK Computer, 2) In Rainbows, 3) The Bends, 4) Kid A

Discography: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/radiohead-mn0000326249/discography