#ion mind i love seeing art in the wild

[guiiay]

Hello! Could I use your art as an icon with credit?

go ahead!

[thepixelpenguin]

EXOGARDEN LOG #1

From the maker of innumerable unfinished projects and a guy somewhat obsessed with speculative evolution, comes a (hypothetical) simple gardening game with exoplanet exploration! Think a fusion of Slime Rancher, Outer Wilds, and, uh, Stardew Valley? You know, making your own little garden to take care of, wandering alien environments to document new species, and filling the Almanac with the plethora of species and hybrids to discover! No clear goal in mind, but why not discover everything, right? You’ll have to if you want to explore everything

Essentially it is Scientific curiosity: the game! Which suits me quite well :P

Of course it's the plants themselves which will be the star of the show, and I had a ton of fun coming up with all these ideas! That's kind of what I do: world-building and theory-crafting just because I can. In fact, I think I had a bit too much fun, there's like 70 of them now???

Anyway...

How about I show off one of my personal favourites, the first encounter of alien botany, and the emblem of the game?

🌼 Foreign Flyer 🌼

Xenoanthus velus

Home planet: Eden

A tall, airy, vibrant red or pink flower with eight sail-shaped petals and pennant-like anthers which can take root almost anywhere. When it's pollinated, it detaches the entire inflorescence which catches the wind, frequently travelling to distant lands.

Of course, if I only showed them off one by one, I think I'd never finish...

🌼 Violet Burst 🌼

Litoris montecchi

Home planet: Penglai

A bluish purple flower with eight long thin lightly-creased petals and a large ruffle of leaves. It is an excellent photosynthesizer, always taking the sunny spots at the beach, making it compete with the Scarlet Burn. It often gets poisoned by the chlorine in the seawater, however, so it doesn't live long.

🌼 Scarlet Burn 🌼

Litoris capuleti

Home planet: Penglai

A mostly dark red flower with four short wide slightly-curled petals and a flared stem. It has an incredible excess of roots, preventing it from being washed away by waves and getting water and ions from the saltiest of seawater. It often competes with the Violet Burst for space, but cannot photosynthesise nearly as well.

And now to show off one of my favourite things... Hybridisation!

🌼 Lovers Tango 🌼

Litoris × cordatus

Home planet: Penglai

A chimera flower with two spiralling stems and hearty mottled red and indigo petals. It has ample roots and wide leaves, gathering enough nutrients and light to be in full bloom all the time. The conditions for such a flower to compete with either of its parent species must strike a precarious balance, however, so its population always dwindles when either's niche dominates

I LOVE the concept of fusion in fiction and in art, it's so fun to see how distinct elements of design can be carried into an entirely new complete package. So, of course, the fact that we can do it IN REAL LIFE had to be included somehow! The other hybrids are... less orthodox than this one. But that's just because I'm not making more than one species in any other genera...

Okay, one more, this time a bit more... alien.

🌼Perennial Reactor🌼

Nanophyllus nuclei

Home planet: Ketumati

An unassuming tiny three-leaved plant which produces bright golden flowers with hundreds of petals, so small that they visibly blend into one. Unusually, it uses nuclear radiation in stimulating photosynthesis, to make up for its tiny surface area and limited chlorophyll, which can sustain it for thousands of years.

That'll do for post #1. I'm pretty new to this digital art thing, if you couldn't tell, but honestly, I kinda like the amateur-field-guide-in-progress vibe I'm producing. Fits the concept, you know?

I have no idea when I'll feel like posting more of this stuff so uhhhh bye!

[urbvnny]

What is your impression of the vampires? I figured you like aaron (coughing) but I want details gurl. Long texts, rants, come on!!!! I really like seeing ur content bc it's just you not trying hard and chilling lol

Thanks for following my shitshow lol if I try people will hate me. You want rants? You got them.

Aaron:

I absolutely adore him and his route so much that I'm afraid they'll fuck it up in EVERY single episode that comes out.

He's absolutely *breathes in* stunning and handsome and beautiful and kind and serious but he's easygoing and cute and sincere and calm (but he's too impulsive when he loses his cool, that's no good! >:C) *suffocates*.

Dummy thicc and just dummy when it comes to more delicate feelings too. A great himbo specimen just like Bel.

I love how his route isn't a perfect relationship where there are NEVER problems, he's willing to try and pour himself out (even though it's hard) to make this work.

I secretly wandered to the garden and the fireplace at all times in Vladimir's route just to talk to him more and more and I was sooooo in love lol I would forget about Vladimir (insert ugly wheeze).

He's the only one we actually invite to our room so far lol he's the king of consent at all times.

Eloise is just head over heels for him and she isn't panicking constantly about not knowing anything bc again, even though he's flawed, he tries his best to make everything work and they talk constantly.

I wish he'd be more attentive, bc that would make life easier for him lol. poor man can't read the stuff between the lines to save his life. That might cause some hurting, bc he has a mentality of doing "what has to be done" and forgetting about the rest.

He also needs therapy. I worry a lot about him.

BUT DAYUM, Eloise is his first girlfriend and my man is already getting the hang of it real good.

I might bawl my eyes out in all three endings.

IF YOU'RE GOING TO PLAY THIS ROUTE: kiss him, pet him, compliment him, hug him, say you love him. He deserves it.

hmmm, he's so fine!

now the other ones without pic or cursive sorted by favourites most to least.

Vladimir:

He's sooooo handsome and he has a really pretty body but not in a sexual light, he's just incredibly beautiful. Like a work of art.

I love how he doesn't think twice about Eloise's safety in ways that don't come from survival. And I love how he just laughs and blushes. I love his done expressions too and how he tilts his head and he trembles when he's angry lol boy gonna explode soon.

I don't like the way he acts like a clam lol he shuts himself out after opening up and he also lies to comfort himself too much. He likes to tell Eloise that she only means a source of food to him but he's got it bad for her really fast and denying that is very hurtful behavior. I do get that he's having a really hard time, but he's grown enough to listen to her attemps.

I also hate how he still thinks he's living in the past and he behaves like Eloise doesn't know jack shit when the girl has been through a lot.

I don't think his feelings on his good ending change out of nowhere too??? But I'm not gonna go there in this post, I just relate, yk?

Raphael:

baby is sooooo sweet! he's really nice all the time and he always listens and worries about us, and he loves to gossip but not about himself, he's an absolute king lmao.

I don't think he's nice all the time. I think he hates talking about himself so he might get angry at Eloise if she tries to barge into his life too fast, so I'll not be to quick to act lol

He talks and talks and talks sometimes and the dialogue bar gets thicc lol I love to see his train of thought go and goooooo

His clothes are simply beautiful and he's so smart and educated.

I feel like he has a hard time when he thinks about his blindness and art. In Aaron chapter 5, if Eloise chooses to talk to him instead of the "shadow person", she asks him why he seems uncomfortable and her mind is somewhere else, but she hears him talking about something sparkling in a ballroom. I think he was probably saying it was a shame he couldn't see the party.

Super powerful and capable baby! He knows how to fight, reads a lot and is super articulated! I love him sooo much :(

Beliath:

This corny, monochromatic himbo. I hated him in the beginning but it was until he pushed the couch and said the dead donkey line lol.

I love how people say just anything and he's like "ion care lol", he never gets offended and he knows what he's doing

I kinda wanted to slap him in the first 3chapters bc he's acting like we're prey while we're just there like "AAAAAARGH LISTEN TO ME UR ENLARGED PIECE OF-"

his hair is good and he's absolutely stunning, specially his smile. He's just incredible.

I didn't like how he treated Eloise when she freaked out (I hated that too bc I wouldn't react like that) when she saw Ivan in the staircase with Raph. It isn't easy to get over the fact that you just died.

I think I'll end up more infatuated with him than with Vladimir, but I'd never be head over heels for him like I'm with Aaron.

Ivan (I'm still bitter)

I like how he sees Eloise and he just says it without any fears or whatsoever, and I like how he's not afraid to say he's sorry but he doesn't expect to be forgiven or for Eloise to like him in any routes.

BUT. He was a big disappointment bc he was just all messy, doing stuff without thinking first, and he never really stopped to think about his surroundings. Yes, I'm saying he's selfish.

The way he was "I can see my ex errday but you can't say shit now let's move on and just live with me hung up on somebody else" also irked me.

His sprites are SOOOOO cute! he's all blushy like ":3 I wuv how positive and shiny u are, Eloise!"

The endings were just utter bullshit and depressing tho. They just did everything wrong when this could've been a route where two very young people that had a BIG altercation involving freaking (bats, I love halloween) DEATH learn to forgive, heal and love each other when they're facing new lives in all ways possible. It was a disappointment.

... ethan. *big fat sigh*

I like how he is nice in Bel's route but in the other ones he's all nuts and talks loads of shit and gets beaten, runs in the sun and he even dies once like???? He's in for a wild ride don't go off like that I'm serious.

He's mad handsome tho and I love me a wavy hair but damn is he a jerk. He tries to kill us many times too, that's hella annoying. I don't like entering a room and seeing him.

I really wanted to help him in the kitchen dialogue when he had that PTSD episode, but he shuts us up. I feel very sorry for all he had to see.

Although I love the parts where we jab and kick his shins and stomach, he was a nice man once and I really hope he can find at least a bit of himself again in his route. He deserves it, even if I don't like the way he acts.

Have I said I love to kick and jab his shins?

[botslayer]

Top Ten games of the 2010′s

This trend seems to be doing the rounds at the moment and seeing as I’ve been gaming for about as long as I can remember, It just feels right. So, let’s get into it. But first, worth saying: These aren't really in any specific order, it's just the games I've personally had the most fun with overall, but it's pretty hard to decide what the hard numbers on things you enjoy for different reasons are if that makes any sense. 10. The 2010's weren't exactly the best time for anyone, I think. For me they were a slog of finding myself and learning things I wish I didn't. Amid all those things I wanted some levity. The world needs something and stupid. We got a lot of it ion 2013 but I feel like we could have used it scattered around a bit more. In that spirit, allow me to show you one hell of a pick me up:

Saints Row 4

Saints Row 4 does not give a fuck. It is aggressively demonstrating that the entire time you play. It doesn't care in the slightest what you think or why, It just wants to show you cool, if juvenile, and interesting, if weird shit. It's the finer points of Ratchet and Clank's arsenal, SR3's humor, And superpowers that genuinely put Prototype and Infamous in a blender and tell you to go ape shit with them. The soundtrack isn't top shelf, it's the roof of the building the shelf is in. Saints Row Two had a better story overall but SR Four's was just plain fun and a solid enough story to still be invested.

The DLC was just as irreverent and madcap, Featuring everything from an evil Santa Clause to evil Gimps on Game of thrones chairs made of dildos Or Tropey-ass costumes and weapon reskins that I'd be genuinely surprised the game dev didn't get sued over. It has earned its place in my top 10 and I will die by that decision.

9.

2016 saw the advent of a new genre. They blended TF2 and MOBAs, and we got hero shooters in their first AAA forms, Overwatch and Battleborn. But neither of these games is on this list, much as I liked them. Partly because the whole time, I kept thinking of one simple question: "Why do I keep thinking of...?"

Anarchy Reigns

Anarchy Reigns is my favorite Platinum game. Full Stop. The Story mode is interesting and has genuinely good character moments, the characters themselves are completely mental, ranging from a mercenary with a bionic cat leg that secretly has a gun built into it to a giant cyborg bull-man with a jet-powered hammer. The soundtrack is mostly angry hip-hop, making every song a banger and fittingly speedy for things like random bombing runs from jet fighters that come from absolutely nowhere.

There are giant monsters, cars with mounted flame throwers, giant robots, and the online is still pretty sweet because even when abandoned, loading it up with bots still rules. I regularly have more fun with this than I ever did with Overwatch, and I don't care how insane that sounds.

8.

Some games want to make you feel something and fail. Some games make you feel some things accidentally, for example, a desperate need to laugh. This game made me feel like a human blender. Like a Chthonic god of mangled flesh and raw destructive power. Nyarlathotep ain't got nothing on me. I speak, of course, of...

[Prototype] 2

There's no end to the absolute destruction you feel like you're causing in this game. It feels more fluid than the first, the main character is a pinch more relatable, and all the body horror, superpowers, zombie hordes, and big old monsters make for some of the most memorable and fun moments and fights in gaming. The DLC is also pretty solid, adding new fun side challenges, and new powers and weapons that elevate you from "Flesh god" to "Screw physics, I made them" Omnipotent. Best god/monster simulation of all time.

7.

Sometimes some games are at an honest tie in your mind. Be it that you like them for essentially the same reasons, or for completely different reasons, but the overall total joy or entertainment they bring is roughly equivalent. Here, we have a case of the former:

Furi/Cuphead

Both games have a tight focus on giving players a unique, boss-centric challenge, both have interesting, somewhat minimal narratives, and both are absolute eye candy.

Furi has a more "Samurai Jack" Quality to me. A complete badass on a relatively simple quest with a somewhat minimalistic art style learning some things as he goes.

Cuphead on the other hand, nails that rubber hose animation style, and the fun levity of such animations while still making the player's ability to interact with the world damn impactful and fun.

They share a spot in my soul, games I love everything about but will never be able to finish. Hats off to both dev teams.

6.

Now here we have another tie. Mostly because the games are so close together, they need to be evaluated more or less as one product IMO, not enough changed for me to consider them separate games, fortunately, that is the furthest thing from an insult it can be in this situation. I present to you, my next pick(s).

Costume Quest 1/2

Now, This might seem pretty random considering my other picks, but honestly, I love Halloween, I love creative madness, I love subversion, I love good characters, and I love cool action, these games have all these things by the bucketload.

The first game is a wild ride through Halloween in multiple very lively locations and the second, slightly confusing as it is, is pretty awesome for the things it introduces, including time travel. Other elements, like the battle stamps, the truly epic forms of everything in the fights, The ability to customize your costumes, etc. they blur together in a pretty big way, but again, there's not a thing wrong with that when both games rock like crystal candy. 

5.

Now, if you hadn't noticed, all of the games on this list have had some hard action at their core, and while I don't HATE calmer games, a lot of the time, so many are kinda dull to me in that with the exception of easter eggs of some sort, most farming sims, for example, just have you doing normal farm stuff with very few twists, may as well start a real farm in that case. My most chill entry is a game that tosses that to one side, asks you to grab a suck cannon, and start harvesting gelatinous monster poop.

Slime Rancher

While you don't spend a lot of time actually interacting with other characters, they just talk at you, the story of the game is pretty effective, the player character of Beatrix has left Earth for a simpler life of Slime Ranching, which entails the raising of alien crops, delightfully derpy and colorful chickens, and going all around in an attempt to farm new breeds of slime for their genetic material to sell off or trade-in for the creation of gadgets while being surrounded by a cast of interesting characters. It's all very wholesome family fun.

The game looks great, has great ideas, and is genuinely the best farming game I have ever played. @ me all you want.

4.

The 80's are almost fetishized nowadays. Given all the property reboots, games that go for the vibe and aesthetic of the time, etc. It almost seems as though the eighties vibe train ain't gonna stop rolling any time soon. But we owe it to ourselves to remember the first big swipe of madcap neon-colored actiony B-movie bullshit and how mind-meltingly epic it was. Ladies, Gents, and whatever else, I present:

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Blood Dragon's story is relatively simple, you play Sargent Rex "Power" Colt (A name said in full so many times I thought his last name was "Powercolt" for the longest time), a former "Omega force" cyborg. Rex and his friend "Spider" were sent into a secret island base to investigate the supposed defection and treachery of their old commander, Ike Sloan. It turns out he has gone rogue and taken an army of "Mark 5" Omegaforce cyber-soldiers with him. What follows is a long story of betrayal, science fiction of the highest nonsensical level, comedy, and brilliantly cathartic action.

The collectibles range from data on animals, to research notes from a scientist, to literal VHS cassette tapes that have full descriptions of movies that I would legitimately watch if I could. "You may now kill the brides" is not a real film and I am angry for every day that that is true. Anyway, play Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, I dunno if it's on PS4 but it's one game I'd buy a new/old console for.

3.

A lot of superhero games NEED to railroad you. Your goals MUST be to save the lives of the people and help the weak and all that. But one dev asked the simple question: "What if it didn't?" "What if the player chose how to use their power? What if the player could be as evil or as good as they damn well pleased?" One game gave you the powers of thunder and lightning and asked what you'd do with it. It's sequel asked you the same, but against more... interesting forces.

InFamous 2

InFamous 2 is a game about making choices, just like the first one, also just like the first one, it can have an effect on gameplay. That effect went from "What does this particular power do in this allignment?" To "Which new set of NEW powers would you like?" The forces of the last game went from “Three flavors of gun-toting whackos” To “Possibly an allegory for the Klan, Swamp monsters, and Ice-powered super soldiers.”

This was, and still is, the best game in the whole series, The powers felt distinct from anything else and still do, the story is solid as a rock, and the enemy types were still varied enough to be interesting, I miss the Reapers from the first game, but that's about it. Everything else was a massive step up. If you have something that can run it, play it.

2.

Action is something I think we can all appreciate on some level. We can understand when it does or does not work, we can understand when we do or do not like how it feels when we are the ones partaking in it. EX: Any schlep can tell you when the weapons in your game lack impact, or when your character moves too slow for the game to be fun. The following game is something I can't say anything of the sort about. And it's kind of like Wolfenstein, when you have enemies this bad, who the hell cares how many you kill?

Doom 2016

Y'all are lying if you say you didn't expect this one. It's DOOM 2016. This game is made of hate and fuck. AND I LOVE IT. You move so fast, you may as well be half cheetah and half sports car. You slaughter the dregs of hell by the dozens and even the biggest, baddest things this game throws at you can be beaten with the starting pistol if you have the stones for it. It looks amazing graphically, the demons all look appropriately threatening, and even the Multiplayer is a great deal of fun in my book.

Something worth noting: The story presented by default is pretty barebones, but that's where supplementary material fills in the gaps, the difference between supplementary material in most games and supplementary material here is the material is till IN THE GAME. You're free to ignore most of the plot as it happens around you, and even interesting tidbits of the lore like how certain demons function. Not only are these things missable collectibles, prompting continued play to find them, they are also pretty interesting reads. So yeah, just about everything you could want in a sequel/remake, builds the on lore and gameplay very organically. 

1.

And here we are, the last game I'd put in this category. An entire decade, and here, we end on the last game that left such an impact I'd put it in my top ten. But first, let's talk about expectations and delivery: When you say a game is coming out, there are certain expectations you have for gameplay, EX: I say "Ratchet and Clank" and you expect a TPS with platforming elements and crazy guns. I say "Gears of War" and people expect something to do with lumbering about in big armor, dismembering things with a chainsaw gun and otherwise shooting them to paste. We might also expect changes to things, better graphics, innovations in grenade variety, something as that franchise goes on.

After the last game in this series was released, there were tons of people who felt let down and disappointed by it. Then they released the still somewhat disappointing special edition of it. They were both still fun, but neither really felt like the full next step in the series. After a failed reboot, they returned to the original story and the lot of us rejoiced. And when it finally came out? It was a step up in most, if not, all regards, to its predecessors. You know what this last one is. Please, give a warm round of applause to:

Devil May Cry 5

A game that was not only a return to form, but a major escalation in gameplay for one character, and a new style of gameplay all together by way of yet another new character. It didn’t exactly hurt that the story kicked ten kinds of ass and that the game looked spectacular in both the design of everything and the actual graphical fidelity.DMC 5 is, like DOOM, Like InFamous 2, Like [PROTOTYPE] 2, everything you want in a good sequel. It built very well on already solid foundations and it was generally just a fun, slightly goofy, massively stylish, and ultra badass ride. I recommend this, and all these games, to anyone.Good night everyone, have a great 2020. And the rest of the decade, for that matter. 

[ibythetidepromotions]

An interview with: Wax Vessel

Could you introduce yourself to the readers?

Nik Velleca - Founder/Owner/waytolongofaresponder

What led to the inception of Wax Vessel?

It’s actually a story in a couple of parts: the name (which is not interesting), the year before it started (mildly Interesting) and then the actual launch! Maybe two years ago I really wanted to get in to the whole Instagram vinyl collection showcase scene. Made a second account called Wax Casket (because it sounded cool) and did a couple hundred posts. No big deal. But at that time, it kind of out the inkling of an idea in my head. Fast forward a year or so, and Simon from WFAHM and I were taking about how literally every influential album from 2000-2010 was never pressed on vinyl. We thought about teaming up to do Ion Dissonance in vinyl (which is still a huge goal). It never materialized, so the label pages (renamed to Wax Vessel) kind of got shelved. Speaking of the name Wax Vessel (rant incoming) I landed on that name because I’m so fed up with the start of digital. MySpace deleting song libraries. Hard drives crashing. CDs getting bit rot. The only try archival format is vinyl. You could pull a WV release of a shelf in 2219 and it would still play. It’s a “time capsule” or “Vessel” for preserving history. Anyway. Fast forward to like 5 months ago - I had just stumbled upon PRR and they told me they were doing Destroyer Destroyer. I asked if I could just press the records to accompany that release, and viola! Here we are!

Wax Vessel is very unique, you what always comes to mind when I think of extremely rare and beautiful presses. What process goes into getting your visions to come together properly at the pressing plant?

So I’m glad you touched on this, because artisanal (barf) pressings are one of the tentpole features of WV. There’s so much that can be done with the format that it seems like an insult to just do single color records. I figured if I was going to bring all of these albums back from the dead after decades of never having a physical release, it might as well be in style! Otherwise someone will just repress it hah. But each release is its own project. My goal are always to have the color play with the album art, while also pushing the physical medium itself. Everything is very case-by-case, with the number of variants and the type of variant really just being subject to my mood haha.

Recently announced was the pressing for Dr. Acula’s S.L.O.B, congratulations on making it to WV007! From the posts I’ve seen on social media, you guys are really excited about this release. How would you describe Dr. Acula to someone who has never heard of them before?

Thanks! Dr. Acula was a huge one for me, they’re one of the forefathers of Deathcore in my opinion. They’re that early, wonky type of proto-Deathcore that uses a lot of samples before breakdowns and has a lot of inside jokes. It’s just fun, without taking itself too seriously.

They obviously got much bigger later, but SLOB was such a classic album, and a standout release from 187 records at the time (who really deserve all the credit for basically being the label pioneers of the genre along with Debello and BMA).

Wax Vessel focuses on pressing music from the MySpace era of metal. What about that era made it so memorable  and dear to your heart that you decided to resurrect it in the wax form?

Man, prepare to watch me get spun up on this, haha. I’m really terrible at organizing my thoughts in to a cohesive essay on the topic, so as a kind of “stream of conciseness” ramble please accept this: 2000-2010 was just peak music. It was a digital Wild West with a bunch of talented Midwesterner pioneering new sounds for niche audiences. It was a perfect storm of a bunch of cultural factors playing out all at once. Literally all of these trailblazing bands were pushing envelopes and rail blazing new genres for No monetary gain and no fame. Every single review form music media was “this is unlistenable garbage”. They absolutely did not get the recognition they deserved at the time. I mean the “scene revival/20-9-scene” is more popular than the actual scene at the time! So what happens when you mix this new way to make music (digital production) with a new way to reach fans (social media/MySpace)? You get a fucking no holds barred race to make the most niche, unlistenable music in existence. The decade was a fucking blip in music history and then was lost to the ages. The internet was too young to preserve it, and to young for anyone to really use to their advantage. Just a lost decade. So I think that’s worth preserving. Especially since YouTube rips are the only thing left.

The default vinyl color of black is never an option with your releases, always seeing high quality, creative options for your limited presses. What is the reasoning behind this stylistic choice?

Black is such a fucking cop out. It’s only to save money. It’s lazy and requires no finesse or imagination. If you’re going to press records, go all in. Like imagine building a house in 2019 with all the modern amenities and building materials we have at our disposal and just building a 6-sided box. So boring. And for everyone who says it sounds best - black (carbon) is an additive for strength. Natural PVC is additive free and sounds better. So when I need a cheaper variant to offset the cost of some of the more expensive ones, natural PVC is always my go-to.

Have there been any challenges so far with the process of mastering these old files on vinyl? Were any of the music files hard to come across?

You have no idea! I feel like a lot of people see WV and then want to start a vinyl label, haha. But there’s so much craziness behind the scenes! Let’s start at the top - WV will only do a release if the band is on board, and the rights are retained. Mechanical licensing retained. Full quality tracks hunted down and mastered for vinyl. New art made (no one has their old art files) and laid out for vinyl. Then after all that, I have to drop $4k at the plant to get it pressed. Then promos and art made, coordinating with ZBR on timelines, etc. But none of that can happen without the tracks. Most of the time the band will have the master bounces, and it’s not that difficult. But on a couple of occasions I’ve had to rip old demos from personal CDs. I’ve even had to pay for a hard drive to be recovered for a band member so we could get tracks! I really believe that vinyl isn’t just for the fashion, so having great sounding records is top priority. Can’t do that with a YouTube rip! If we can’t get the best quality tracks, I won’t do it!

Any possibility of there being Wax Vessel merch down the road?

I mean I’m not sure anyone would give a shit! But if like 10 people messaged me and said they wanted a shirt, you bet! We would whip up a cool “no represses” design or something, haha. Maybe 2020!

With a new year right around the corner, what are some goals for kicking off the new decade in 2020?

2020 souls have some cool “firsts” for sure! I’ve got our first multi-LP box set dropping. First project with a hand-painted cover. First modern release (under a different side name, don’t want to dilute the WV name haha). Really what if love to do in 2020 is press Psyopus to round out the techgrind section. That’s a big goal! I’d also love to have a both and sell LPs at like a festival, but they all sell out too quick!

Anything else you would like to tell the readers before we go? Just a couple of blurbs! People always forget that wax Vessel is a non-profit and we give 100% of the money to the bands. So remember that the next time you think I’m an asshole for not doing something you like! We got a lot of hate mail about not doing represses, haha. To that point, there will never be represses. It’s a sticking point. I don’t want to make records that end up in dollar bins and eBay lots. I’d rather leave money on the table. I want to great collector items that will be cherished. All of these bands have been defunct for a decade. No one is coming back to just to try and make a quick buck. These are all swan song little fun presses for the core group of fans. For the 200 weirdo left who still care about early 2000s techgrind and vinyl, haha. It’s niche, but no one wants to make any money. It’s just a fun thing for the scene. Remember this is all for fun! Additionally, I see a lot of miscommunications that I’d like to get on the record! Please remember: Wax Vessel is its own thing. Not an imprint or affiliated with anyone. I shoulder all cost, design, etc for everything! So it’s very much WV as the label. I hate shipping and fulfillment, so ZBR [Zegema Beach Records] is WV’s official store. The mega studs over there (Dave and Dave) definitely allow WV to exist. If I had to ship everything, it would be one release a year haha. And super not last, WV couldn’t exist without Ryan Peter. I have absolutely no scene Fred, and Ryan gets fucking results. He almost single-handedly spreads the word and gets bands on board. Literally invaluable. All the records in the world mean nothing if you can’t get any bands to agree to get pressed! He’s a MySpace madman!!

Wax Vessel Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Website [Coming Soon]

Big Cartel [Coming Soon]

Merch through Zegema Beach Records

[xeford2020]

We’ve Got Your Back: Here’s How Ford Is Making Electric Vehicle Charging Easy

By Matt Stover, Director of Charging, Energy Services and Business Development, Ford Motor Company

Whenever I talk to people about electric vehicles, which is pretty often in my world, their eyes light up at the possibility of driving a car that embodies innovation within our industry. I love getting to explain to friends and family that these vehicles are fun to drive, easy to own and because of no gas, have zero emissions coming from the tailpipes. In fact, they don’t even have tailpipes!

We recently shared some information from an independent global survey commissioned across Europe, China and the United States that identified a number of myths and misconceptions around electric vehicles. We learned a lot, but mainly we found that many people are not aware of how great these vehicles can be. And sure, I may be a little biased, but next year Ford will show the world just how cool they can be when our all-electric Mustang-inspired SUV goes on sale.

As part of this survey, one thing came across loud and clear: There is still a lot of apprehension out there surrounding the availability and speed of electric vehicle charging. Are charging stations easy to find? How often do I actually need to use one? And just how long will it take to charge up my battery?

Let’s take a look at a few of these concerns — and what Ford is doing to make living an electric lifestyle easy.

Almost 40 percent of people are concerned (and confused) about the need to charge their vehicles frequently.

We get it. For new electric vehicle owners, the act of charging their car is a whole new ball game. But it doesn’t have to be a scary one. In fact, owning an electric vehicle can actually make your life easier in many cases. According to U.S. Department of Energy, more than 80 percent of electric vehicle owners currently charge at home, which is why we’ve made it a top priority to give our customers total confidence on that front.

The good news is that our all-electric, Mustang-inspired SUV arrives with a targeted EPA-estimated 300-mile range.¹ Think about how far you generally travel to and from work every day. Chances are those 300 miles may be able to get you through a whole lot of weekdays.

Whenever you do want to charge your vehicle, though, Ford has you covered. The beauty of how we’ve approached charging your electric car at home is that, just like doing anything at home, you can do things entirely your way.

We are making home charging as easy as charging a smartphone. In fact, we’ll have several options for you depending on just how fast you want your vehicle to charge.

For many customers who want their ride fully rejuvenated every night, we’ll offer the Ford Connected Charge Station, which is loaded with connected features and is estimated to add an average of 32 miles of range per charging hour.²

While we think a Ford Connected Charge Station will make charging as fast and easy as possible, we’ve got you covered with other options as well. Every Ford electric vehicle will come standard with a Ford Mobile Charger, which will work with either a 120-volt or 240-volt power outlet. No extra cords to deal with. Just plug it in and move on with your day

On a higher voltage 240-volt electrical outlet, which you’ll typically see used by large appliances like clothes dryers, you can add an estimated average range of 22 miles per charging hour back to your vehicle’s range². And if customers ever need to use a standard 120-volt electrical outlet, that’s possible too and will result in an estimated average range of three miles per charging hour.²

To make life easier, Ford has teamed up with Amazon Home Services to offer easy installation of your home charging setup. Whether you need a 240-volt outlet installed or you choose the Ford Connected Charge Station option — which can be financed through Ford Credit — we’ve got you covered. Ford customers will be able to see upfront pricing estimates and schedule a licensed and vetted electrician online, all with just a few mouse clicks or swipes on your smartphone, or through your Ford dealership.

Through the FordPass™ app, you can even track your vehicle’s charging progress so you’ll always know where you stand.³

Among people who already own or want to purchase hybrids and electric vehicles, almost half (48 percent) say that a lack of charging stations is one of their main concerns.

This is obviously a real worry for people, and it makes sense considering that spotting an electric charging station isn’t quite as easy as spotting a gas station out in the wild. The last thing anyone wants to do is get stranded without power.

Which is why my team and I have worked hard for years to make owning a future Ford electric vehicle as hassle-free as possible. By teaming up with Greenlots and Electrify America, we’ve brought together multiple charging providers to develop the FordPass Charging Network. Ford customers will have confidence with simple and easy access to the largest public charging network of any automotive manufacturer that sells all-electric vehicles in North America, with more than 12,000 charging stations (and over 35,000 individual vehicle plugs) and growing.⁴ That number of charging stations makes these locations as commonplace as some of the most popular coffee and pharmacy chains.

Even better is that the number of available charging stations will just increase going forward. Relatively speaking, the entire industry is still in the early stages of building out charging infrastructure. As electric vehicles become more popular and more charging stations come online, we anticipate adding additional locations all around the world to the FordPass Charging Network for even better coverage.

And thanks to the FordPass app, paying for charging will be incredibly easy. No more rummaging through your wallet. Just charge your vehicle and watch the payment seamlessly go through via your smartphone.

More than 75 percent of Americans would rather pick a gas-engine vehicle instead of an electric one to take on a long road trip, while 62 percent would simply not feel comfortable driving an electric vehicle on a road trip.

This one is not as simple as letting people know that there are plenty of charging stations around. To really give people the confidence we want them to have in our electric vehicles, they need to know they’re covered whether they’re driving through the bustling streets of San Francisco or the great plains of Kansas.

Of course, the first key factor was designing an electric vehicle with a targeted EPA-estimated range of at least 300-miles, like our Mustang-inspired SUV that goes on sale next year. The second factor was enabling charging capability that could use DC fast charging to power up your electric vehicle in minutes, not hours⁵. But even with a state-of-the-art all-electric vehicle and North America’s largest public charging network, we know we still need to deliver even more to give you total peace of mind for those long trips.

So, in addition to letting you pay for and track charging through FordPass, we’ve built in a powerful new feature called FordPass Power My Trip. This tool will let you plan your trips right on your phone or in the car, taking your vehicle’s current range into consideration to determine exactly when, where and how long to charge to make your trip as efficient as possible.²

Additionally, through this tool FordPass or your car’s on-screen dashboard will also tell you whether a charging outlet is available or in use (if data is made available by a charge point operator). Like gas stations, most charging stations have multiple charging outlets. Perhaps just as important is that Power My Trip will highlight different points of interest around the charging stations it recommends, including restaurants and shopping centers, so that you can make the most of your time while your car powers up.²

At one of the FordPass Charging Network’s Electrify America fast chargers, customers can add an estimated range of 47 miles in approximately 10 minutes, and can charge their battery from 10 percent to 80 percent full charge in 45 minutes². That’s about the same time it takes to stretch your legs and grab a fast-casual meal. After all, you’ve got to recharge, too.

At Ford, we’re committed to offering the infrastructure and resources needed to put people’s minds at ease and let them enjoy the real benefits of electric vehicles — including great perks like even faster acceleration, powerful towing capabilities and more.

But that’s me getting ahead of myself. We’ll have a lot more to say before you know it.

¹ Based on full charge. Targeted range applies to an available configuration. Actual range varies with conditions such as external elements, driving behaviors, vehicle maintenance, and lithium ion battery age. Final EPA-estimated ratings available in the 2020 calendar year.

² Range and charge time based on manufacturer computer engineering simulations and EPA-estimated range calculation methodology. The charging rate decreases as battery reaches full capacity. Your results may vary based on peak charging times and battery state of charge. Actual vehicle range varies with conditions such as external elements, driving behaviors, vehicle maintenance, and lithium-ion battery age. In vehicles with the premium 300 mile extended-range configuration.

³ FordPass, compatible with select smartphone platforms, is available via a download. Message and data rates may apply. FordPass Connect (standard on select vehicles) and complimentary Connected Service are required for remote features (See FordPass Terms for details). Connected service and features depend on compatible AT&T network availability. Evolving technology/cellular networks/vehicle capability may limit functionality and prevent operation of connected features. Connected service excludes Wi-Fi hotspot.

⁴ Based on automotive manufacturers that sell all-electric vehicles and have publicly announced charging networks. Department of Energy data used.

⁵Charge time based on manufacturer computer engineering simulations. The charging rate decreases as battery reaches full capacity. Your results may vary based on peak charging times and battery state of charge.

#1 Ford Daily | Đại lý – Showroom ủy quyền Ford Việt Nam 2019 Ford Daily là showroom, đại lý Ford lớn nhất Việt Nam: Chuyên phân phối xe ô tô FORD như: EcoSport ✅ Everest ✅ Explorer ✅ Focus ✅ Ranger… info@forddaily.com 6A Đường Trần Hưng Đạo, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh 711240 0901333373 https://forddaily.com/ https://forddaily.com/xe/ https://forddaily.com/dai-ly/ https://forddaily.com/bang-gia/ https://forddaily.com/tra-gop/ #forddaily #dailyfordhcm #fordshowroomhcm https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ford+Daily/@10.7693359,106.696211,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x1f188a05d927f4ff!8m2!3d10.7693359!4d106.696211

[foodgemsg]

https://ift.tt/38vkbhR Read on our visit to Bacha Coffee | Teleport To Marrakech Coffee Room And Boutique by FoodGem

Media Tasting at Bacha Coffee

Rejoice to all coffee lovers, it’s time to treat yourself with some amazing doses of caffeine all hailed from Marrakech. Bacha Coffee sets its foot at Ion Orchard, being the first coffee room and boutique outside of Marrakech. Think of 100% Arabica coffee beans sourced from the world’s mostreputed coffee-producing countries like Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Asia, hand-roasted beans in Singapore, bespoke grinds and traditional preparation. Don’t be surprised to see over 200 single origin coffees, fine flavoured coffees, fine blended coffees and even naturally C0₂ decaffeinated coffees.

Spoilt for chances with so many coffee options available like Single Origin, Fine Flavoured Coffee and more. I’ve tried the Sidamo mountain single origin coffee from Ethiopia. It gave a full complex, crisp with a fragrant aroma and a hint of floral notes. My favourite goes to the full-bodied Seville Orange Arabica Coffee with a nice mix of zesty orange and cocoa, totally distinct and likeable. Ladies can unwind as you set your mind aside with the popular pick 1910 flavoured coffee evocative of fruity taste of wild strawberries and heavy cream. It is more acidic as compared to the rest, we enjoyed better with some cracked vanilla bean and rock sugar. My friend who enjoyed a stronger coffee, preferred the single-origin full-bodied coffee. We also had fun creating different flavour profile by adding raw sugar, cracked vanilla bean or the Signature Chantilly whipped cream.

The croissant treat is a good complement to the coffee. Let’s take a look at the different types of croissant like butter, chocolate, raspberry & cinnamon and orange almond. The croissants are fantastic, but the orange almond version elevates them, browned crispiness on the outside yet moist on the inside. It puffed up perfectly into delicate layers with a rich butter taste and not in the least bit greasy. Taste of the sun with this orange almond croissant that is complex in flavour and texture. Comes with a gently sweet and citrusy taste, serving as the antidote for winter blues. However, it’s kinda pricey for 2 pieces of croissants.

Croissant at S$8.00 (2 pieces); coffee at S$9.00 per pot.

Tried a few savoury dishes like scrambled eggs with black truffle and traditional Moroccan kefta meatballs, gravy, straw potato fries. The scrambled eggs were too moist and runny, probably not my type. I would prefer the traditional Moroccan kefta meatballs that come with a pleasant savoury dimension and very well-marinated.

Scrambled eggs with black truffle S$24.00.

Traditional Moroccan Kefta meatballs, gravy, straw potato fries S$28.00.

The cheese can be overpowering for some but it works fine with this pandan cheesecake. Creamy light cheesecake complements the light pandan fragrance.

Pandan Cheesecake at S$9.00.

This bittersweet tiramisu melts in the mouth with a strong expresso based taste and crunchy coffee jelly.

Tiramisu, Rwanda Superior Coffee at S$12.

Not forgetting the elegant interior decor featuring an art of refined living, with carved and painted cedar wood ceilings, black and white chequered marble flooring, saffron-stained porticos and some of the country’s finest and most colourful zellige mosaics. Time to pamper yourself or gift your loved one this “tai tai” high tea experience with assorted gourmet sweet croissants, coffee cakes, savoury mains, dessert with a nice cuppa of Arabica coffee. The tables are pretty close to each other and I’ve accidentally overheard the conversation from the next table.

*Service charge(10%) and GST(7%) applicable.

Share this post with your friends and loved ones.

You have a chance to vote for this food article. Simply leave your vote/s and comment below.

Budget Per Pax

S$12-S$30

How to go Bacha Coffee

Operating Hours

Daily 10AM–10PM

Address and Contact

2 Orchard Turn, #01-15/16 ION Orchard Mall, Singapore 238801

Tel: +65  6363 1910

Reservation is allowed.

Travel and Parking

Parking available at Ion Orchard.

Travel via public transport.

From Orchard Mrt Station (North-South Line)

Exit E; Walk 102 m (about 5 minutes) to ION Orchard.

The post Bacha Coffee | Teleport To Marrakech Coffee Room And Boutique appeared first on foodgem: Food & Travel.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND July 19, 2019 – DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME, THE LION KING

Before we get to the big studio release… which I haven’t seen… I’m gonna focus on a new doc opening in New York and L.A. on Friday, DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME (Sony Pictures Classics). Directed by A.J. Eaton and produced by Cameron Crowe, this movie surprised me first and foremost because I never really had much interest in Crosby Stills and Nash, so I wasn’t sure if I’d really care much to hear Crosby’s story. (Granted, one of my favorite bands, Yes, was hugely influenced by CSN.)

Much of the film is made up of interviews with Crosby conducted by Crowe, who first interviewed Crosby when he was a young journalist in the ‘70s. There are some real revelations in the film – similar to the recent Marianne and Leonard– including Crosby admitting that he got a number of girlfriends hooked on drugs. He also lost a girlfriend in a car accident that deeply affected him, although it’s also interesting to hear from some of his bandmates like Graham Nash, who claim that Crosby is not the nice guy some might perceive.

Whether or not you’re interested in Crosby and his life/career, Remember My Name is a fascinating look at a pivotal person from the ‘60s and earliest days of rock, another great doc from Crowe, who should really be doing more about the history of music.

I may have mentioned before that I have practically zero interest in Walt Disney Pictures’ THE LION KING, even though I am a long-time fan of director Jon Favreau’s work… except The Jungle Book, in which I was disappointed. Maybe it’s just because I was such a fan of the original animated movie and Rudyard Kipling’s book, but not having any immediately connection to the 1994 Disney animated movie, nothing has really gotten me excited to see this one.

You can actually read more about The Lion King over at The Beat.

Bleecker Street also hopes to expand Jesse Eisenberg’s dark comedy THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE nationwide into over 500 theaters, which seems a bit forward, considering that it didn’t fare nearly as well as A24’s The Farewell in limited release last weekend.

LIMITED RELEASES

Before we get to the regular fare, on Wednesday, Trafalgar Releasing is the Trey Anastasio doc Between Me and My Mind in theaters across the nation on Wednesday night. Being a fan of Trey and Phish and having seen this at the Tribeca Film Festival, I can say that it’s a MUST-SEE for anyone who has ever enjoyed Trey’s vast output both with Phish and his solo groups. Besides showing Trey in the writing and production process for his latest solo album, it also shows him and the members of Phish preparing for the 2017 New Year’s Eve run at Madison Square Garden. Director Steven Cantor was given amazing access to Trey, as he also filmed a few personal conversations the singer/guitarist/songwriter has with his parents about their history together. I’m actually going to see it again tonight.. but if you’re in the New York area, go see it at the Alamo Drafthouse, where it’s hosted by the awesome Jordan Hoffman. (6:30pm show is already sold out but they’ve added a 9:20 showing.)

A couple other docs this weekend include Radu Jude’s Romanian dark comedy I Do Not Care If We Go down in History as Barbarians, which opens at the IFC Center. It’s about the dictator Marshal Ion Antonescu, who started a program of ethnic cleansing in the summer of 1941, something that’s recreated in present day by an idealistic theater director, causing controversy. It opens at the IFC Center on Friday.

Also opening at the IFC Center is Tilman Singer’s German horror film Luz (Screen Media), about a young cab driver who has been contending with a possessed woman who can endanger many lives. Lastly and also at the IFC Center, there’s Paddy Breachnach’s Rosie, the story of a mother trying to protect her homeless family, covering their struggle over 36 hours.

Joe Manganiello from Magic Mike and his wife Sofia Vergara from Modern Family star in  Raymond De Felitta’s Bottom of the 9th (Saban Films) about a baseball player named Bobby Setano, who ends up in jail at the age of 19 just as his career is taking off. 20 years later, he is tryng to win back everything he lost in this movie from the director of the excellent City Island and Rob the Mob. It’s in select theaters, On Demand and digital platforms.

There are two new docs opening at the Metrograph Friday:

Martin Bell’s Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell is a follow-up to his 1984 film Streetwise (see “Repertory” below), this one following up on that film’s 14-year-old subject “Tiny” and what she’s been through since then, going from drug addiction to poverty, having given birth to ten children. There’s also Marie Losier’sCassandro, the Exotico! (Film Movement) looking at the 47-year-old Saul Armendariz aka Cassandro, the openly gay champion of the Mexican exotico wrestling circuit, which features competitors in drag. The film is shot entirely on 16mm.

I just want to draw special attention to New York’s Village East Cinemas, which really has turned itself around with the variety of films and programs it’s offering, partially to compete with some of the new and revitalized arthouses. This week, it has three new movies, beginning with At War (Cinema Libre Studios), the new film from French filmmaker Stéphane Brizé (The Measure of a Man), once again teaming him with  Vincent Lindon as Laurent Amédéo, the spokesman for a company that is going to shut down its factory, putting over a thousand employees out of work.

The Village East is also one of the theaters showing Aaron Harvey’s Into the Ashes (RLJEntertainment), starring Luke Grimes as former criminal Nick Brenner who believe he has escaped his past until his old crew shows up for the money he stole from them, taking  Nick’s wife and putting him on a path for revenge.

I know very little Steve Barron’s Supervized except that it’s about four aging superheroes in an Irish retirement home and it stars the likes of Beau Bridges, Louis Gossett Jr., Tom Berenger and Fionnula Flanagan.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

This weekend at the IFC Center is the first-ever 51 Fest, honoring the “female majority on screen” by paying tribute to the women of the world with an amazing line-up of films.  The fest opens at the SVA Theater on Thursday night with Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story and then continues at the IFC Center with the New York Premieres of Bart Freundlich’s After the Wedding remake starring Julianne Moore, Paul Downs Colaizzo’s terrific Brittany Runs a Marathon (with a QnA hosted by my pal Ophira Eisenberg), Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts’s doc For Sama and more. The fest will also host the World Premiere of Lisa Cholodenko’s episode of the Netflix series Unbelievable with Cholodenko and actors Kaitlyn Dever, Danielle Macdonald and Merritt Weaver appearing in person. In general, this seems like a strong new festival with lots of talent attending, so here’s hoping that this becomes a regular annual thing.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Premiering on Netflix Friday is Peter Sullivan’s suspense thriller SECRET OBSESSION, starring Brenda Song (The Social Network) as a newlywed who is brutally attacked at a rest stop leaving her with amnesia. As her husband (Mike Vogel) takes care of her at home, a detective (Dennis Haysbert) goes looking for her attacker who also might have kidnapped his daughter.

I’m more excited about the return of Jerry Seinfeld’s series “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” with its new season, as it’s one of my favorite Netflix series by far.

REPERTORY

Although there aren’t a ton of limited releases this week, it’s an exciting time for repertory fans for reasons you’ll discover as you go through the entries below.

METROGRAPH (NYC):

To tie-in with the release of Tiny (see above), the Metrograph is also screening of a new restoration of Martin Bell’s 1984 film Streetwise, about the kids who would gather on downtown Seattle’s Pike Street. This weekend’sLate Nites at Metrograph  is the movie musical classic, Alan Arkush’s 1979 movie Rock ‘n’ Roll High School starring the Ramones!Playtime: Family Matineesgoes with Disney’s 1979 film The Black Hole on 35mm, and you can bet I’ll be there for that.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

As we get closer to the release of Tarantino’s 9thfilm, his rep theater will continues its James Bond series with Thunderball as the Weds. matinee and then both Weds and Thurday night is a grindhouse TRIPLE FEATURE (!!!) of Curtis Hanson’s 1972 film Sweet Kill with 1973’s Soul Hustler (with Larry Bishop in person) and the 1971 film Sweet Saviour.  The Friday/Saturday double feature is Mervyn Le Roy’s Gipsy (1962) with Sidney Pollack’s This Property is Condemned (1966), while Sunday and Monday is a Fabian double feature of Ride the Wild Surf  (1964) and Thunder Alley (1967), the latter co-starring Annette Funicello. This weekend’s KIDDEE MATINE continues the Love Bug series with Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo from 1977. Tarantino’s own Django Unchained is the Friday midnight movie with something called I Love You, Alice b. Toklas (1968), starring Peter Sellers (!), on Saturday at midnight. Monday’s matinee is the 1995 film The Basketball Diaries, starring a VERY young Leonardo DiCaprio. Tuesday night’s official GRINDHOUSE triple feature is Joe Namath’s CC & Company(1970), along with two Jack Starrett films, The Losers  from 1970 and Hollywood Man from 1976. I understand that many of the films being programmed are ones that had an influence on Tarantino’s upcoming film Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood, which hits American theaters across the country next week.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Not be outdone by the younger New York “upstart-house” theaters, Film Forum is kicking off a month-long Burt Lancaster seriesbeginning with a week-long 4k restoration of Robert Siodmak’s (1946) The Killers, starring Lancaster and Ava Gardner. The series will then continue with classics like the Sweet Smell of Success and From Here to Eternity starting Friday, July 26, so check back next week for more on this series. Mikhail Kalatozov’s The Cranes are Flying (1957) will end Thursday to make room for above.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

On Wednesday, comedian Greg Proops screens the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factoryas part of his “Greg Proops Film Club.” The “Highballs and Screwballs” series continues Thursday with Humphrey Bogart’s Key Largo  (1948) with The Palm Beach Story  (1942). On Friday, the Egyptian does a “Mikhail Kalatozov double feature” of The Cranes are Flying  (1957) and I Am Cuba  (1964), Saturday afternoon is the latest in the “Style of Sin: Pre-Code Film with Kimberly Truhler” series with two starring Kay Francis, Girls about Town (1931) and Jewel Robbery  (1933), both in 35mm, while Saturday night is a screening of Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 classic Stalker.

Just a reminder that the AERO is closed for the month of July for “repairs and upgrades” but will be back in August with its own entries in the “Highballs and Screwballs” series.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

I’m pretty excited about the second part of the Quad’s Fresh Meat: Giallo Restorations Part II, starting on Friday. I havent’ seen a single one of the movies but with titles like The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire and Strip Nude for Your Killer, I have to try to see some of these for sure.

FILM OF LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

FilmLinc’s new summer series is This is Cinema Now: 21st Century Debuts, which is fairly self-explanatory but features fairly new films including Barry Jenkins’ Medicine for Melancholy, screening in a double feature with Damien Chazelle’s Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Andrew Bujalski’s Funny Ha Hawith Maren Ade’s The Forest for the Trees, Shane Caruth’s Primer with Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko, and many more with many screening  twice but a lot only screening once. Some of them are playing as two-for-one double features and if I wasn’t dealing with Comic-Con stuff, I’d totally go see the Damien Chazelle/Barry Jenkins double feature on Saturday night.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

On Friday, BAM begins a series called “Intimate Epics” which includes everything from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia  (1999) to Hu Bo’s very recent Elephant Sitting Still to Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai (1954). It runs through the weekend until Tuesday.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

On Friday, IFC Center will present a 60thAnniversary revival of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic North by Northwest in a new 4k restoration. Still no word on when it’s new series will begin but presumably soon.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The Astoria arthouse begins a retrospective called “Barbara Hammer, Superdyke” on Friday, which runs through Sunday, July 28, honoring the late filmmaker with a number of shorts series under the titles “Mediated Sensuality,” “Ecstatic Subjectivity,” “Hall of Mirrors” and more. I really don’t know anything about her films but you can learn more at the link above.

ROXY CINEMA# (NYC)

Weds. and Sunday, the Roxy shows a 35mm print of the 1964 thriller Marnie, while on Thursday, there’s a very rare screening of Roman Polanski’s 1967 dark comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is Gaspar Noé’s Climaxfrom earlier in the year.. so not old enough to be considered “repertory,” huh?

Next week, it’s all about Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood! (Seeing it Monday and I’ll have a review next Tuesday.)

[rubberneckdiary]

January 2nd, 2018

I guess I never really introduced myself properly, did I? I guess that’s something I should do, this being a diary that I’m sharing with the world and all. Many of you may not know who I am at all. I had a lot on my mind yesterday, I’m sure you all understand. But, that’s no excuse for today! 

My name is Rubberneck. That’s it, just Rubberneck. I don’t have a middle name, or a last name as many others might. My name is distinction enough, honestly. There’s not exactly a ton of tan unicorns named “Rubberneck” with a pair of sun-glassed eyes on their ass, now is there?

I’m not poetic, I’m not very skilled in most areas, and writing is new for me. I mean, yeah I had to do a pathetic amount of creative writing in school but I never was any good at it. I like writing about real things, daily things that happen that sometimes people don’t think about. Like, my family.

Oh, yeah, I have a pretty big family. My parents are still married. I have a older brother, two younger brothers and a little sister. We were all born and raised on the country side, and sometimes I catch myself spurting out country lingo or I’ll catch myself saying something I might not say much with a little country twang to it. But, living in the city and being stuck in a school full of kids with a serious lack of a country background... it’s been washed out of me pretty well. 

City people have real weird accents, though. Sure as hell have weird ass challenges and such as well. Somebody today told me about some dude wandering into some forest or something and recording a dead body because they were going to do some sort of challenge to stay over night or something. Dumbest shit I think I’ve heard since I was pulled from my mother’s womb, but y’know what? Stupid city boy done did it.

Also what is with their lingo? I’ve never heard the word “ion” being used outside of science class and suddenly I got 16 year old’s talking about how “ion wanna hit up that wack ass shop”? The fuck are you saying? Go back to English class, and for the love of all things green in this world stop acting like some gangster, you are the size of my arm.

Ah, my intention wasn’t really to bitch and whine about things, though. It was about telling y’all about myself, right? Let’s go back to my family.

My mama stays at home tending to her mini-farm most of the time. She loves raising live stock and tending to her flowers. My dad is a geologist, my older brother is an astrologist. I’m... well, during the day I manage a mall kiosk across from that signature pretzel place I can never care to remember the name of, and at night I’m a male stripper. But ask my parents and I’m a art critic... ma and pa don’t need a heart attack, thank you very much.

My younger brother, well the older of the two younger ones. He has Spina bifida. He got real lucky with his condition and all. Basically, spina bifida is where your spine and spinal cord don’t develop properly. A lot of kids with it can’t use their back legs, or have a hard time using them. Some legs stop growing, some legs grow weirdly, but it’s not just limited to that. Some go numb so you can’t feel bowel movements, or when you have to pee. Some are paralyzed partially or completely, you can get intellectual issues from it, things like that. 

My brother, Bumble Bee, he only has a numbness so he can’t feel his restroom movements, so he’s gotta use things to help him out. He also has issues with his skin on his tail, so he can’t grow hair or nothing like that and it’s always wrapped up in a bandage. Past that and stiff movement on occasion, he’s fine, though. He’s really lucky. He is super fixated on bee’s and wasps. I don’t know why, but I read somewhere that hyper-fixation on something can be a sign of autism? I told ma she should have been checked out just to be safe but she passed. I didn’t push, it’s not like he’s so bad he needs any professional help. I could be wrong, anyway. Maybe he just really, really, really likes bees.

Then there’s my younger sister, she’s the second youngest. She loves to paint, I think she likes painting more than she likes herself. She’s pretty full of herself too, and extremely sassy. But hey, she’s only got brothers so it’s no wonder she’s growing up to be a tough one.

Finally, my youngest brother. He’s still pretty little, but he comes up to visit me sometimes. I’m his favorite brother, apparently. He’s yet to learn who he is as a individual, I think, though.

Anyway, so I grew up in the country and all that and always dreamed of a big city. Pretty lights, dazzling performers, attractions that normally attract bored country kids to the city, y’know? So, while my brother was attending college, I moved into an apartment with him and got myself a job. Then I needed two because he was finishing up his senior semester for his final diploma and such, so I went ahead and became a stripper. Started taking classes to improve my pole dancing, but really it’s mostly in the hips when it comes to basic strip dance. I am very fluid in the hips, girls go nuts for it.

However, I’ve always had a small interest in mixing drinks. Even as a kid I’d try wild combinations to see if it’d be a good drink. One time I tried mixing fruit punch with orange juice. I don’t recall the flavor but I remember the texture was just... ew. I’d shove a bunch of veggies and fruits and such into a blender and pop out with different smoothies. Some were good... some made my brother puke. 

I guess after middle school I stopped toying with it, though. Most the good mix drinks seem to come from soda’s which weren’t readily available to us and alcohol, which we never had access to. So I focused on other things, took culinary classes for a little bit, took art classes for a little bit, things like that. Tried to learn another language one time, that bombed.

Sometimes after my shift I’ll head to the bar in the club and order a mixed drink. They’re good, and I really like watching the tenders mix and do tricks with their bottles and glasses. It made me consider taking some classes and looking into being a bar tender. Though, I can’t afford that right now.

I have a routine in place. I get my schedule every Friday, and I try to figure out when I can sleep, when I can eat, when I can shop, things like that. It’s a struggle, and I’ve tried finding a smaller, more affordable apartment but they’re all snatched up right quick. So... it’s either be broke and exhausted or homeless. I chose broke and exhausted, so here I am taking naps between shifts and on breaks just to make it through each day. How I manage to look decent, I don’t know.

Sometimes people will ask about myself, and I’ll never know what to say, but writing it now it seems so easy. Isn’t it weird how that works? It’s like a test. I’ll be fine doing the same questions while studying but as soon as somebody else asks me something my mind goes blank. I’m not sure if that’s normal, honestly. Maybe everyone’s just a little bit mentally fucked up but the worlds so fucked as a whole that ain’t nobody taking real notice.

So... yeah, that’s all you really need to know, I suppose. You’ll learn more about me as these entries go on, I’m sure. Nothing super interesting happened today, though. So I suppose we’ll just end it here and hope tomorrow’s more interesting.

- Rubber

Art by misiekpl

Written by Rosario-Red

Rubberneck by Rosario-Red

Artists Notes -

So today I talked a little bit about Spinda Bifida, which is a very real medical condition. Now, the reason I have a character in Rubberneck’s life with this condition is it’s a bit of a nod to my little cousin who, like Bumble Bee, was born with Spina Bifida and has some issues because of it. Her conditions are much like Bumble Bee’s, she cannot control bowel movements, she has to use a catheter to urinate, and one of her feet grow oddly. Past that, she’s fine. She is extremely lucky, and when she was a baby the doctors thought she wouldn’t be able to walk at all. She did cheer leading, gymnastics, takes riding lessons on horses, all sorts of stuff. A few years ago my family went to a Spinda Bifida walk and it really brought to light just how lucky we were that she is as good as she is now. 

As she gets older, she’s beginning to realize that she’s not... like everyone else. Sometimes she gets bullied when she has a accident, as like I said before she has no control, and no feeling. So I kind of wanted to take this introduction of Bumble Bee to encourage others to learn about Spina Bifida, and teach others around you about it as well. Many people don’t even hear the words Spina Bifida until it happens to somebody in their family being born with it, or through other tight-knit relationships, and I feel it’s something that should be learned about.

That’s all for that! Hope you guys have been enjoying these entries so far, I know there’s only two now, but I do plan on releasing some more tomorrow!

- Rosario-Red