#it is much more... upbeat throughout the first season. until the reveal.

[the-faultofdaedalus]

i hate this. but i am thinking too many thoughts about hilbert and victor parallels

[reversemoon255]

Mashin Sentai Kiramager

I’ve always had the opinion that the best formula for a successful Sentai is to either lean heavily into the comedy or the drama. If your cast of characters is typically serious, when they encounter a humorous situation it’s all the funnier, and when you have a comedic cast and they encounter a dramatic situation it feels all the more dire. Now, this is certainly impacted by the acting, script, etc., but if you look back at some of the better seasons (Shinkenger, Go-Busters, ToQger), you’ll see that a lot of them have that type of lean. And Kiramager has the later feel, standing out as a good season with few low points; ultimately sitting in the upper half of the show’s history.

The Good: One of the big things I talked about when I went over Ryusoulger was the episodic nature of the writing. It felt like it was made to be inviting to first-time watchers for the majority of its run, regardless of their jumping-on point. Self-contained episodes, very few ongoing plot threads, and very trope heavy for the sake of introducing a new audience to the show’s basic concepts and themes. And while I like what Ryusoulger was trying to do, I feel that Kiramager takes those concepts and improves upon them.

While the majority of the episodes were still self-contained, the episodes in Ryusoulger were very focused on fighting enemies, the stresses and one-off characters, and very light development of the main characters with primary focus on Red and Gold. In Kiramager there is much more focus on the main cast, with almost every episode being used to develop a Ranger or their relationships between each other, with the lack there of being one of my biggest complaints with the last season. It also feels like there are more multi-parters and micro-plots throughout the show, which rewards me as a viewer for continuously watching the show, and we don’t get when things are more segmented.

Another of my big issues with Ryusoulger was how heavily it focused on their Red and Gold Rangers. They nixed that out the gate with this show, having a zeroth episode the focused on everyone except Red. And Jyuru was a good Red. Definitely a lot goofier than most, but had a strong personality, was willing to work with and defer to the rest of his team when he needed to, and developed a lot of confidence throughout the season. Tametomo was a lot of fun, too. He was the straight man to everyone else’s silly behavior, but could also pull off a strong gag by himself. He was also very intelligent and a great tactician. Sena was probably the weakest of the main cast, but that was only because her character was more one-note than the others. Upbeat and outgoing at all times, there were very few times where we saw a darker side to her, but those moments were handled well and displayed a depth to her character we could have used more of. And while she isn’t our first female Green, she is our first on a five-man team, and I enjoy seeing them swapping out the usual colors like that. Shiguru started the show as the most serious of the team, but quickly revealed himself to be a lovable goof. The juxtaposition between him trying to act cool and caving into his baser natures was very funny and made for an entertaining character. Sayo was skilled, determined, intelligent, but could also be air-headed. I would describe her as a Yellow Precure turned Pink Ranger, if that makes sense. She usually filled the role an episode demanded of her, but it never felt out of place for her. Takamichi was a decent character, but in a season of funny people, he was the least so. His habit of adding “Wonder” to everything was meh, but he certainly pulled through in the serious moments. I’m a little sad Mabushina’s development didn’t end with her also becoming a Ranger, but she was a good secondary. She could easily hold an episode on her own, and her voice and suit actresses both managed to do a great job of bringing a literal stone-faced character to life.

And then there’s the villains, who did a good job of being just as entertaining and in some cases be as deep as the main cast. Just about everyone was a pretty simple, but fun character that didn’t get too complex until near the end of the story when the core audience would be established. I have mixed feelings about this, as nothing felt too out of place, but it would have been nice to get some build up to this earlier in the story. Kurantula was the team monster maker, and was childish and over-the-top. Whenever he decided to go down and do the dirty work himself, they were usually his crazier schemes. Near the end of the show he expressed the desire to create because he enjoyed it, which put him at odds against his boss and aligned himself with the heroes for survival. Yadonna was a nice mid-addition, shaking up the established dynamic Kurantula and Garuza had. She was so over-the-top evil without being a monster that it was hilarious to watch. I’m a little sad at her ultimate fate, as I would have liked to have seen a turnaround after she was betrayed by Emperor Yodon; have her turn sides, maybe actually get some payoff for that crush Tametomo had. (Eh, there’s always the V-Cinema.) Garuza was the stick-in-the-mud that made everyone else get serious, but could still occasionally crack a joke. He was a great antagonist, and while I like that he turned around at the end, it really needed more buildup. Still, the fact that I wanted all the bad guys to turn face is a testament to how likable they were.

The Bad: I’ve already gone over a few of my problems, but let’s go over them in more detail. Characters have a tendency to be a little one note, like with Sena or Takamichi. Episodes where they explore the depth to those characters are good, but the standard episode has them basically the same character throughout.

And as I mentioned, the big developments for the villains were heavily regulated to the last few episodes. Kurantula didn’t have any signs of being in a slump until the last 5 or 6 episodes, and Garuza turning good isn’t brought up until the 3rd-to-last, and is a bit of a cop out. “Oh, I was brainwashed.” If that had been hinted at at all it wouldn’t be a problem, but I don’t recall any signs of it before episode 43.

Now, these aren’t terrible things, they just could have been done better. It’s part of the downside to the writing style they’ve been pushing to improve ratings. It’s definitely a step forward from Ryusoulger, and they addressed a lot of the issues I had with that season, but they haven’t quite found a pace balance that works for that style and for both new and old fans. If they try this style again with Zenkaiger, hopefully we’ll see some improvements on the formula, but at the same time, since it’s an anniversary season, I’d like if they had a more dynamic and connected story.

Won’t lie, climax was also a little meh.

Overall, Kiramager is definitely a great first Sentai, and a fun one for older fans if you like the more humorous seasons. It has good characters, good (but evil) villains, and silly plots. I really had to think hard about what I didn’t like about the show, and I doubt you’ll notice any of it while you’re watching.

And, as always, if you didn’t pick up any of the toys this year, here are my recommendations if you want to start collecting post-show: Kiramajin (fun toy, fun gimmick), 1 OR 2 copies of Express King (giant T-Rex AND a robot mode), and Zabyuun (adds a lot of play to Express King as well as Kiramajin). I like the toys from this season a lot, but a lot of them are weapons, Gigant Driller is a little disappointing, and Grateful Phoenix is cool but passable. Only go for him if you like what you already have.

[jessconrad]

Fine Line by Harry Styles: The Sunshine We Needed Through A Very Dreary Year

Or An Album Review (One Year Later)

On December 13, 2019, Harry Styles graced the world with his second studio album, Fine Line, and I don’t think it has ever left my Recently Played section on my Spotify account since its release.

I honestly don’t know how I would have survived 2020 without this album. As I reflect on everything this year had to offer, I realized this record will always shine through as it is tied to my best memories of the year.

I listened to this album a lot, with three of my five top songs from my Spotify Wrapped coming from Fine Line. (They were “Sunflower, Vol. 6″, “Golden”, and “To Be So Lonely”, respectively, if you were curious!)

I spent dull afternoons in January walking around the freshly snow covered ground on my college campus blasting “Lights Up” in my headphones. This single was released in October 2019, two months prior to the release of Fine Line, and had been a top favorite of mine with its 70s soulful style. Not to mention, the small choir of backup singers and layering synth gave me an almost nostalgic as the Christmas season started to come to an end. This song was all about finding who you are- and I was starting to figure out who I am with it.

The next month I visited Denver for a conference and I began noticing how this record was starting to become the soundtrack to my year. February’s track was “Sunflower, Vol. 6″ where I started to feel my attachment to this song. I am not sure if it was the mesmerizing lyrics, the drums, or even the Indian instrument known as a sitar that made me really hooked to this song... But as I walked through the streets of rainy Denver (which would normally make me feel very gloomy), I couldn’t help grinning from ear-to-ear as I listened to this song. It’s the feel-good musical track you listen to, in whatever mood you’re in.

Sometimes I can’t fathom how apocalyptic March felt. The beginning of March was completely normal, and I was at my peak. Looking back now, I can’t wrap my head around that I attended five live shows within one week during that month. But all good things come to an end, right? And of course suddenly, it all came crashing down. I was sent packing up my college freshman dorm and moved back home with my parents while juggling all my courses remotely. There was a song that I was always replaying though, and that was “Golden.” Arguably one of the most upbeat tracks on Fine Line, next to “Sunflower, Vol. 6,″ but the lyrics say otherwise. As the opening track, it has a very chill pop vibe, but listen closely to the lyrics. The contrast pulls at my heartstrings every. single. time.

“Cherry” and April go hand-in-hand for me. As I continued to navigate my thoughts and feelings with the pandemic, struggling with the course load of online courses, and overall the anxiousness of all the unknowns- “Cherry” was the comfort I needed. With its soft acoustic guitar, it is the perfect song for any in-your-feels playlist. And trust me when I say that the fragility of “Cherry” really helped me when I was in my feels. 

Arguably the biggest summer hit of this year was “Watermelon Sugar,” and my go-to anthem of wanting to feel any normalcy of a summer that I stayed mostly indoors for. I remember when the music video dropped in May, I was grabbing coffee with a friend and begged her to watch the video with me. We sat in her car in the middle of a park, watching the YouTube video count down to the premiere of “Watermelon Sugar”. That “this video is dedicated to touching” opening message made me laugh and realized how truly brilliant Harry’s mind is. The warm, very enjoyable tune made this the perfect summer anthem with its really good electric guitar and slide guitar mixed with the horn. It’s the one song that will stay in your head for weeks.

Another song that feels like summer to me is “Canyon Moon.” In the end of June, I went ‘glamping’ (otherwise known as glamorous camping, we stayed in a very nice tiny house in the middle of the most wooded area that Nebraska could get) with my family. It’s a very upbeat song with a nostalgic feel, and the fun instrument rhythms can’t help but make you beam. The song also experiments with a dulcimer; a musical instrument with a long rounded body and a fretted fingerboard played by bowing, plucking, and strumming. I think this is what makes the song more upbeat and happy, especially the beginning as well as the slide guitar giving it unique sounds throughout. It personally is one of my least favorites on the album, but it does make me think of warm summer days and spending time with family every time I do listen to it.

July was starting to feel a little rough for me again. I was really getting tired of staying indoors and barely seeing any of my friends. I was really longing to go back to school and being around my people again. “To Be So Lonely” was a song that felt like it really understood me. Harry revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that the song was composed on a guitalele, which resembles the sound of guitar, for that light and upbeat tone that the chords give off, backing the lyrics. It’s the perfect song you listen to when you’re sad, and you’re ready to push past it. And I knew that I was ready to push past my sadness because I had one more month until I was surrounded in community.

“Adore You” was the second single of Fine Line that was released. This song is filled with so much love and passion- and it was the same immense feelings I had in August when I got ready to move back to my college town and see all my friends again. As I packed my bags and moved into my sorority house, I constantly played this song. What can I say? This was a really great song to vibe with, especially with the opening keyboard and the consistent bass that you cannot help but groove to!

Out of all the months of this year, surprisingly September was one of my darkest. With only two weeks living into my sorority house, I made the decision to move out for the safety of mine and my family’s health. I moved back in with my parents again during this month, and I felt completely lost. “Falling” had the same underlying message of being lost. This love ballad displays a theme of brokenness and creates a tone of unhappiness- the perfect song for a post-breakup or an in-your-feels playlist. I had this song on repeat more times than I can count- the soft piano setting a broken and lonely tone. 

The beginning of October began to really turn around for me. I moved into an apartment with one of my best friends and I was back in my college town. I was starting to find community again and “Treat People With Kindness” became this month’s anthem. Coined after Harry’s Treat People With Kindness (TPWK) campaign, this song has a 1970s sound and makes you want to dance along with the catchy choir lyrics such as “Maybe we can/Find a place to feel good/And we can treat people with kindness”. The lyrics were very prevalent in my life, especially with the amping news of the presidential election and the continuation of the pandemic. This song was the best reminder to be kind to myself, and those around me. And let’s not forget the conga sound throughout! I believe Queen would have been very proud of this underrated track.

The timeless mature sound of “She” could have not fit November anymore. I celebrated my twentieth birthday this month (which of course included a Harry Styles themed birthday party with my roommate and some close friends). The guitar kicking in at the chorus giving so much emotion to Harry’s voice, and that’s exactly how I felt around my birthday. Lots of emotions. Not to mention, the guitar solo played by Mitch Rowland sounds like it could have been something that was released years ago, with a little modern touch. It’s growing to be one of my personal favorites on the album.

Lastly, we get to December and I felt as if this year was the longest year of my life (but also flown by way too quick). The song that resonated with me most this month was “Fine Line,” the last track of the album (and the longest at 6 minutes and 16 seconds). My favorite memories in December consist of driving around with my friend, looking at all the Christmas lights as we drink hot cocoa and blast “Fine Line”- singing our hearts out to the repetitive lyrics of “we’ll be fine line” and “we’ll be alright.” Harry discussed in an interview with Capital FM that this song would always be the last on the album, and how fitting that I resonated with this song most in the last month of the year. “Fine Line” represents the ups and downs of life, and the thin line that separates the two. This song that includes an orchestra, drums, horn, acoustic guitar, and melodies building in the background, it could not be the most perfect finale to the album- and to the year 2020.

Today is December 13, 2020- exactly one year after Fine Line has been released. Since then, Harry Styles has made headlines from petty to political. He has shown up for Black Lives Matter, cared for our sleeping habits by releasing an audio bedtime story, made us feel confident in wearing whatever we want as he appeared as the first solo male on American Vogue- all while accomplishing some of his greatest achievements with this album: releasing five music videos, being nominated for three Grammys, and climbing the music charts and catching the hearts of critics. 

But Harry accomplished something even greater- he made an album that made us feel good when it was nearly impossible to. To put it frankly- Fine Line was my comfort album, and I know that it was a lot of other people’s too. And as we step into the new year, with the help of this album, it does in fact feel like... we’ll be alright.

[syncogon]

[QZGS meta] what’s in an OP? dawning glory (pt 2)

(a continuation of part 1 here) (part 3 here)

{The King’s Avatar Season 2 premieres in less than 12 hours!}

Last time we covered just up to around the halfway point of this OP. We’re picking up again right at the start of the second verse, where a new singing voice kicks in.

After reminiscing on the past, we come to Ye Xiu again as he puts on his headphones - he’s smiling, he’s doing what he loves, he’s ready to go forward. His smile here is an act of defiance against those who tell him that he should be stopping in his tracks.

The change of singer here is very noticeable, as they have very different-sounding voices. However, this is something we’ll talk about more later. 

In this section, we cut smoothly between the real and the virtual worlds. Lord Grim, too, faces forward resolutely, despite the naysayers referenced in the lyrics - “they say I shouldn’t go forward, they say I should just say goodbye, they say there’s no tomorrow, only night.”

Again, we focus on his hands - his left hand positioning on the keyboard in the real world, his right hand in the game world hoisting his weapon. They both extend from the upper left side of the screen, which allows our brains to follow the visual connection easily without being too overt about the parallel. Ye Xiu’s preparations for his comeback help to build our anticipation for the action that’s to come.

The red palette used for these in-game shots in this segment is an interesting stylistic choice. It’s a more nuanced version of the red-palette style used for the entirety of the OVA OP. Red is the color most commonly associated with Ye Xiu, it’s the color of both Team Happy and Team Excellent Era, it’s Lord Grim’s main color due to his scarf, and of course it’s associated with things like passion, fire, blood, etc. The red is also a nice contrast to the darkened, navy-blue setting of the real-world internet cafe - the lighting makes it seem like it’s nighttime again - and the red of Ye Xiu’s hoodie serves as a nice visual bridge between worlds.

Because this segment of the OP cuts between the game and real worlds so quickly, I think it’s good that they distinguish the game world here with these colors, as it makes the jumps easier to follow and understand. 

“They say there is no tomorrow, only night,” as reflected light flashes across the umbrella. Maybe it’s night in the internet cafe right now, but certainly not for long. And even if it’s night for Su Muqiu, his creation will see the light of day.

“Crossing the frozen finish line” - Lord Grim steps out in a wide, battle-ready stance, emphasizing the sense of motion inherent to the word “crossing.” In the background of the music, you can hear the growing sound of what sounds like rushing wind, in time with the wind whipping Lord Grim’s scarf about, and it continues to build up the energy of this scene.

The “frozen finish line” here refers to his unwilling retirement on that snowy night; it’s an ending that he was forced into, not the goal that he was striving for. But the point that the lyrics make here is that this unwilling end merely becomes the new starting point for his dream. 

The animators are really milking his windswept bangs, but honestly the animation looks good, so I can’t complain.

As Lord Grim narrows his (vibrantly red) eyes and tenses in preparation, we fade to Ye Xiu making the same motion, once again emphasizing the real-virtual parallel. Just this small motion is enough to make us, too, brace ourselves in anticipation. And as we mentioned earlier, you can really see here how the red hood of his sweatshirt is a nice connection to Lord Grim’s scarf, standing out against the colors of the rest of the image. 

The music feels like it’s going to crest at its peak here, but it’s actually a fakeout - accompanied by a key change in the music, the intensity suddenly backs off. Instead of the climax we’re expecting, we’re instead shown a montage of mostly-still images.

This is actually a good demonstration of how this OP follows the effective “interest curve” fairly well. You can’t continuously build hype throughout a piece, because that quickly becomes exhausting and boring for the audience. Instead, you have to have your peaks and valleys. At the very beginning of the OP, we started off with a crescendo to the first peak where the beat kicks in. We had a fairly upbeat instrumental section, then we dropped off as we entered verse 1. The Happy player segment is relatively chill overall, with its own small ebbs and flows. Then when we enter verse 2 with the second voice, the excitement level is a step up from what it was before. The second half of this segment gradually builds up in intensity until suddenly, here, we drop off. We’ll come back to this curve later to see the fuller picture. 

So we have this montage of the major pros, Ye Xiu’s closest friends and toughest opponents (note the first half of the lyric here is “even if it’s dangerous”). Although these are just still images, they still efficiently reveal information about the characters and teams in question - both when you consider them individually, and when you look at the patterns as a whole. Let’s take a look.

In all of these shots, the captain is the largest figure, and always on the center-right side of the screen. Even the last shot of Ye Xiu’s face before this montage places him at the center-right, giving us the exact starting-off point we need. This means that our eyes don’t have to do much work - we naturally trace a path to follow the most prominent figure in every image. 

Tyranny’s Han Wenqing, of course, strikes the most intimidating pose. Just from how they’re positioned, you can get a sense of how the two of them work together as partners - Han Wenqing in front, aggressive, Zhang Xinjie only a step behind, more defensive. They appear to be the pair that’s second-closest to each other in terms of physical distance, as they have a fairly balanced partnership. They’re angled toward each other, implicitly acknowledging each other without actually overlapping. 

Blue Rain is famed for their dual-core, and this image makes it abundantly clear, with captain and vice-captain featured equally prominently, standing right next to each other, back to back, almost the same size on screen. Looking closely, you can see that the two of them are moving together in the same direction as a unit. This is in contrast to the other teams’ characters, who are all sliding across the screen at slightly different speeds and directions from each other. Yu Wenzhou holds his clipboard, an instant clue toward his tactician style. Huang Shaotian is at a side profile, reflecting his unconventional, opportunistic, assassin-like style. And with his casual gesture and a wide grin, you can immediately get a sense of his personality. 

In Tiny Herb, Wang Jiexi is king (pun intended). Out of all the team pictures, he is the largest figure. This reflects how he is the sole pillar of Tiny Herb as of now, and it hints at just how (unsustainably) deep the team’s reliance upon him runs. Behind Wang Jiexi, we see his successor Gao Yingjie. Although Gao Yingjie is smaller for now, the angle of the shot makes it seem as though he is rising above Wang Jiexi - and this, of course, is exactly what the captain is trying to make happen. 

Behind these two is a third figure. At first I’d assumed it was Liu Xiaobie, but he doesn’t have the trademark headphones, so I think it makes more sense that this is actually Qiao Yifan, still in the team. With how he’s half-hidden in Gao Yingjie’s shadow and not even looking at the camera, you get the sense that even in this little picture, he doesn’t quite have a place here.

Samsara features Zhou Zekai and Jiang Botao. When these images were initially previewed during the live ED performance, there was a lot of backlash because a) Jiang Botao’s design had changed, b) their jackets spelled “samsaea”, and c) there was a coloring error on the collar of Zhou Zekai’s shirt. Fortunately, it seems all of these flaws were addressed. 

Zhou Zekai is the second-largest out of all the featured characters, reflecting how Glory’s number one player always dominates the battlefield. Jiang Botao’s design here sweeps more hair out of his eyes, which suits his character well by giving him a more open, friendly, approachable appearance. Although he’s positioned far back from the camera relative to Zhou Zekai, he seems content where he is - he has a perfectly fine view of the camera and surroundings, and here he can serve as the tether connecting the powerful Zhou Zekai to the unseen rest of the team. 

Next we see Thunderclap - I was actually somewhat surprised to see them featured now, but I suppose we need to establish Xiao Shiqin early on. I’m also surprised that they have four members here… I don’t think I could name four Season 8 Thunderclap members off the top of my head, I’m sorry ahaha. We have Xiao Shiqin and Dai Yanqi obviously, I assume the third is Fang Xuecai, but I don’t know who the player with his back turned is supposed to be. Maybe they included a lot of team members to emphasize how, more so than any other team, Thunderclap’s strength is when they’re playing together as a team. You can also see this in how, unlike all the other teams except Blue Rain, all four of the characters are sliding across the screen in the same direction (right), although the parallax makes their speeds appear slightly different. 

That being said, with the hand adjusting his glasses and his thoughtful look to the side, Xiao Shiqin very much gives off the studious tactician vibe. Still, his smile is warm, not cold and calculating. Behind him, Dai Yanqi is just adorable.

Finally, we have Hundred Blossoms. Coming off of Xiao Shiqin’s smile, Zhang Jiale’s shadowed half-frown stands in sharp contrast, even though the viewer has only a fraction of a second to take it in. Angled at a full 90 degrees from the camera, Zhang Jiale stares at his right hand, a sort of frozen sadness on his face. What could he be thinking about? Reflecting on his continued inability to take the final step to the championship? Reflecting on the hand injury that tore his closest friend and partner away from him, leaving him to shoulder the burden alone? In this image, it seems as though it’s the Hundred Blossoms’ shining logo itself that is casting his face into shadow. He undoubtedly has many conflicted feelings about the team he gave six years of his life to, and ultimately abandoned. 

Visually, Zhang Jiale appears to be facing a deep blackness; the design places no decorative accents on that corner of the screen. Perhaps he sees no way forward. Perhaps he sees the way forward, through to the team with black as its color, and the betrayal that choice would mean. 

Behind him is Sun Zheping. Interestingly, he’s fully illuminated by the light of the Hundred Blossoms logo. In Zhang Jiale’s mind, perhaps he still is that light, a light now lost to him. Although Sun Zheping is also looking away, his body is angled more forward toward the camera, reflecting how he has a better sense than Zhang Jiale does of what it means to cast off doubts and charge forward into the future. 

In a sharp contrast to every other team picture, note that neither person in this image is looking at the camera. Whereas the other teams are unified and focused in their pursuit of the championship, both Zhang Jiale and Sun Zheping are lost. In fact, neither is even currently a member of this team that they founded together. And, of course, there’s a distance between them, as they look off in opposite directions, and this distance only grows as Zhang Jiale slides toward the right and Sun Zheping toward the left. Overall, the mood this final team image conveys is drastically different from the rest.

I also found it interesting to note here that, although all of the teams’ uniforms got redesigned in the donghua (for instance, official novel art always portrayed them with collared polos, not t-shirts), the Hundred Blossoms uniform here appears to be unchanged from the original.  

As a final thought, I do love the background designs in each of these shots, working in the team colors and the motifs of the logos. I wish they’d release these as desktop wallpapers, they’re really nice. 

So that’s enough words about these three seconds of the opening. Let’s (finally) keep going.

This is a good place in the OP to insert a reminder of the final goal we’re working toward - the championship. “As always we charge forward, we’ll ultimately be crowned,” here at the summit of glory. 

Something about the faded filter over these two shots gives it an almost mystical, imaginative quality. Or maybe it’s the feeling of a memory long past. This stage, this place of legends, it’s still a ways off for our protagonists for now. But they’ll find their way here in the end.

Team Happy! When it comes to illustrating Happy’s in-game characters in an action group picture, this sort of composition - side view, all of them leaping into action toward one direction - is fairly common, even just in official art. Still, it never gets old, and it’s nice to see it here, especially as the music crests. The lyric “we’ll be crowned,” which bridges us from verse 2 to the chorus, is timed with the very first large group picture we get in this OP. It’s a proud and triumphant declaration as we see our protagonists finally united for the first time, arrayed for battle.

With that, just before we enter the chorus section, we’ll pause here for now. Part 3, which will cover the last 20 seconds or so, will probably go up after the episode premieres. I’m also interested to see how they’ll work the credits into this OP; hopefully they do something interesting, or at least make it look nice. 

Thanks for reading! 

(part 1) (part 3)

[dimensionsunited]

FEBRUARY 2020 DIMENSIONS ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of March 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: January schedule posts are due by the end of February 7 KST.

Overall Company

February is a big month for Dimensions and its employees. Starting from the beginning of the month, operations will begin moving over into the company’s new, bigger building in Samseong-dong. By the final day of the month, all day to day operations will be officially moved into the new building. The new building is much larger than their previous one and is newly built. That’s not the only change this month, though. After news of their acquisition of Z Entertainment and Dimensions Soloist 3, it’s clear Dimensions is reinvesting its recent profits. Artists under the label may have heard rumors of the news in the week or two before the news was officially released through company gossip or seeing the new soloist and producers around the building.

Important dates:

February 29: Official move-in date for new building.

Dimensions Soloist 1

Her first schedule for the month is to film a Guerilla Date interview appearance where she’ll meet with fans near the Han River at night time and then talk with the host about how far she’s come since debut, but three days later, she’ll have the opportunity to meet with even more fans for a Valentine’s day fan meeting. She’ll perform all of her singles since “Gashina” as well as older favorites like “Bloom” and “24 Hours” and get a chance to interact with fans that haven’t seen her for a while. To welcome their new soloist, she’s also encouraged to make an appearance on Dimensions Soloist 3′s video diary if they happen to be in the building at the same time.

Important dates:

February 11: Guerilla Date filming (to be aired: February 25).

February 14: Valentine’s Day Fan Meeting at Yes24 Live Hall in Seoul, South Korea.

Dimensions Soloist 2

While he continues recording for his upcoming comeback mini-album this month, the fan meeting in Bangkok on the twenty-second is the more important February schedule for the company, so he spends as much time in the practice studio rehearsing his performances for that as he does recording new songs, if not more. To welcome their new soloist, he’s encouraged to make an appearance on Dimensions Soloist 3′s video diary if they happen to be in the building at the same time.

Important dates:

February 22: Be Happy fanmeeting at GMM Live House in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dimensions Soloist 3

She didn’t have much time to adjust to her new company before getting thrown into solo debut preparations, and she already began recording her her debut solo album and attending concept meetings last month, which will continue through into this month. Dimensions has asked her to keep a video diary of her solo debut preparations for them to cut together and release leading up to her debut to increase hype, and she’s encouraged to include other Dimensions artists in some of the videos in order to naturally integrate her into the company “family”.

Important dates:

N/A

Gal.actic

It’s comeback season! That means music shows and fan signs as usual, and the song does better than expected, peaking on the charts around the same position as “Be Ambitious” did (and without all the controversy!), but Gal.actic will also do a special eight hour live stream for their fans for Valentine’s Day from 2PM KST to 10PM KST. The full group will participate for an hour at the beginning and the end, but in between that, each member will get an hour on their own to entertain fans for an hour with talking, singing, cooking, or anything else that fits the format. The assigned time slots are as follows:

2PM-3PM: Full group

3PM-4PM: Leader/main vocal

4PM-5PM: Vocal

5PM-6PM: Main rapper/main dancer/vocal

6PM-7PM: Lead vocal

7PM-8PM: Lead rapper/lead dancer/vocal

8PM-9PM: Maknae/vocal

9PM-10PM: Full group

Important dates:

February 12: Release of “B.B.B.” & mini-album showcase, promotions continue until March 12.

February 14: Special Valentine’s Day livestream show.

February 16: Fan sign in Yeouido, Seoul.

February 22: Fan sign in Gangnam, Seoul.

Alien

Tour is winding down and after next month they’ll get an extended break from touring before they hold an encore concert in Seoul, but for now, they have two concerts this month before returning to Seoul, where they’ll record a new English single “Who Do U Love?” and then film the music video for it later in the month. It’s a different sound from their recent releases in Korea, but Dimensions and Alien’s American label hope it’ll be a more radio-friendly sound in the west. They’ll do some performances for it in the spring as a part of American promotions so there’s choreography to learn as well.

Important dates:

February 7: We Are Here tour concert at Espacos Das Americas in São Paolo, Brazil.

February 9: We Are Here tour concert at Teatro Metropolitan in Mexico City, Mexico. 

February 25: “Who Do U Love ft. French Montana” MV filming.

February 26: Release of Alligator Japanese single album.

February 29: Performance at The Fact Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (also attending: WISH, 7ROPHY, Origin, Fuse).

MARS

Now that their concerts are finished, it’s time for the members to begin preparing for their first comeback of the year. The album will include the last two singles they released, making it a repackaged album, but they’ll need to record the new songs off of it throughout the month, including their next title track, which has a new sound from anything they’ve done before. It’s not necessarily another cute concept, but it is more upbeat and less conceptually intense than their most popular comebacks, so it’s something new for the group to tackle.

Important dates:

N/A

7ROPHY

It’s clear even at the beginning of the month that “Me” failed to live up to the success the group had found in the past year or so. They have a Random 1Line Dance video to film while they’re at the SBS building for Inkigayo, but as the month goes on, management is eager to move past the era and while have plans for their next comeback entirely complete before 7ROPHY even finishes their promotions for “Me” and they’ll only get the last week of the month for “Me” to rest some before they begin work next month toward yet another comeback.

Important dates:

February 9: Random 1Line Dance video filming.

February 22: End of music show promotions.

February 29: Performance at The Fact Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (also attending: WISH, Alien, Origin, Fuse).

Unity

The modeling opportunities keep rolling in in the absence of a comeback and Unity has been chosen as new ambassadors of NBA’s apparel line in Korea, which they’ll shoot a photo shoot for with Dazed Magazine. BC Soloist 1 will join them for the photo shoot to showcase the cross-gender appeal of the line. Their fourth anniversary is approaching in April, which means more personal freedom for the members contractually, but also comes with the expectation to give back to fans. This will be achieved in the form of a special gift song and video release. They’ll record the song early in the month and film the accompanying video at the end of the month. The two main vocals and the leader have also been chosen to record an OST for the upcoming drama School 2017 this month.

Important dates:

February 13: Dazed Magazine March Issue photo shoot with BC Soloist 1.

February 27: Dream Come True anniversary MV filming.

              ↳ CHAMPION

With the album all recorded, that means it’s time to learn the choreography for “Jopping” and “I Can’t Stand The Rain”, the main performance tracks but the applicable members will need to learn choreography for “Super Car”, “2 Fast”, and “No Manners” as well. Dance rehearsals will be done at BC Entertainment’s building as the dance studios there are larger, and near the end of the month, BC will leak pictures and video of all of the CHAMPION members arriving at the building to spark discussion before the sub-unit is officially announced in a few months. For three days, all six members of CHAMPION will be sent on a bonding retreat in Jeonju to strengthen their bond as unit members. This is a genuine effort on the companies’ parts to create better group chemistry, so the will not be filmed during the retreat, although a manager from each group will accompany them on the trip.

Important dates:

February 22-24: Bonding retreat in Jeonju, South Korea.

Lucid

Their extended fan sign run ends on the second day of the month, but the Lucid members are nowhere near a break as they prepare for their second anniversary (which will involve a special fan meeting where they’ll reveal their fandom name and light stick and perform their special second anniversary song for the first time to tease the return of their dark concept, so the members will learn the choreography for it in the first two weeks of the month). They’ve been booked for every university orientation festival Dimensions could shove into their schedule, but they’re also busy with concept meetings and studio recording for their next comeback.

Important dates:

February 1: Fan sign in Daejeon, South Korea.

February 2: Fan sign in Suwon, South Korea.

February 3: Second anniversary fan meeting teaser photo shoot.

February 16: Release of “Full Moon” second anniversary single.

February 16: Second Anniversary Fan Meeting : REVERIE at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea.

February 24: “Full Moon” performance video filming.

February 25: Performance at Cheongju University Orientation Festival in Cheongju, South Korea.

February 26: Performances at Seokyung University Orientation Festival in Seoul, South Korea, and Bucheon University Orientation Festival in Bucheon, South Korea.

February 27: Performances at Sangmyung University Orientation Festival in Seoul, South Korea, and Dongseo University Orientation Festival in Busan, South Korea.

February 28: Performances at Sunghsin Women’s University Orientation Festival in Seoul, South Korea, Hyundai Technical College Orientation Festival in Seoul, South Korea, and Seoul Hoseo Technical College Orientation Festival in Seoul, South Korea.

February 29: Performance at Hongik University of Science & Technology Orientation Festival in Seoul, South Korea.

[vmheadquarters]

Twelve years, two books, and one Kickstarter-funded movie later, one of TV’s greatest shows has made its triumphant return. Veronica Mars season 4 is just what Marshmallows around the world have been waiting for.

It’s hard to believe that a Veronica Mars season 4 exists, let alone that it has been twelve years since we all first thought we were saying goodbye forever to one of the wittiest, smartest, and most heartfelt shows to have ever been created. Who would have ever thought that a show that struggled to stay on the air as long as it did would have had such a well-deserved comeback?

I, for one, never imagined it. The hope of a small reunion, a one-off, was a glimmer on the horizon for the longest time. And then the announcement of the Veronica Mars movie came and it seemed like we hit peak-Veronica Mars revival culture. But then came the books. And the whispers of a new season.

But with every shiny new Veronica Mars property that came out, the question of “Could it possibly be as good as the original series?” always lingered in the background. Especially with this new season.

‘Veronica Mars’ season 4 review

Suffice it to say that Hulu’s Veronica Mars season 4 revival combines everything you love about the original run of the show with everything you enjoy about binge-worthy television. Updated to reflect the current world climate and to fit into the true crime era we’re now living in, this new season of Veronica Mars feels exactly like how you think a modern run of the show should.

Veronica Mars season 4 picks up not too long after the events of the movie, so a few years at most. Veronica and Keith Mars are working cases side by side, struggling as ever to keep business afloat. Though Veronica’s takedown of Bonnie DeVille’s murderer shone a bit of a light on Mars Investigations, business isn’t really booming. That is until a serial bomber threatens the lives of numerous young people and, even worse, the livelihood of Neptune: Spring Break.

Pooling their resources, connections, and keen instincts for detecting mischief and wrong-doing, Veronica and Keith set out to unmask the bomber before any more lives are lost and the 09ers achieve the return to the “idyllic” and clean (read “white” and “privileged”) Neptune they’ve been fighting so hard for.

There’s quite a lot going on in Veronica Mars season 4. So much so that it doesn’t waste any time jumping in to the conflicts or adding in any gratuitous (Marshmallow) fluff. In fact, this is probably the property’s leanest bit of storytelling as practically every scene and encounter serves a purpose in driving characterization or one of the two main plots (the bombings and the excess gentrification). Though they were also focused on one or two main plots, as well as character development, the movie and the books didn’t feel nearly this streamlined.

That could partially be due to the immense fan service those three bits of storytelling felt compelled to do. While the movie and the books trotted out fan-favorite character after fan-favorite character, there’s quite a bit less of that in this new season of Veronica Mars. While there are some beloved characters that make appearances from time to time, there are fewer of them and they’re not around as much as you’d expect.

In fact, there are perhaps more cameos that feel like they’ve come out of left field than there are appearances by some of the more well-known supporting cast. Without revealing anything, I’d say it’s important going into this season without high expectations of seeing a lot of your favorite supporting characters (if they even show up at all). Their absence is jarring at first, but, once the story gets going, it’s clear that they just don’t fit in well with the current story and shoehorning them in as fan-service just wouldn’t work.

Honestly, Veronica Mars season 4 is less about fan service and more focused on getting back into the groove of the show. Like the series’ original run, this new Hulu season is the perfect mix of darkness, laugh-out-loud comedy, and heartfelt moments. Veronica’s personal mantra that “the people you care about most will always inevitably let you down,” while not as prevalent, still very much lives in the shadows of every interaction she has and relationship she develops.

That being said, while it does work hard to return back to the show’s roots, this season isn’t an exact return to its original form. Given just how much time has passed since the show went off the air and how different the world is today, there’s no way it could be. For all of the way it emulates and pays homage to what has come before, this revival season demonstrates just how much the show, as well as the characters, has evolved.

There’s no better example of this evolution than by tracking all of the different iterations of the show’s theme song, “We Used to Be Friends.” It first changed in the show’s third season, after Veronica Mars‘s move to The CW where the story arcs and overall season structure, not to mention the setting, shifted. The Veronica Mars movie then introduced a more stripped-down and slightly upbeat version which matched the film’s fan-service/reunion vibe.

Now, in this revival season on Hulu, the theme shifts again, this time to a more haunting, ethereal, and noir-ish rendition by Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. It takes an episode or so to get acclimated to (after all, the original theme is a classic), but it perfectly conveys just how much Veronica and the show have grown in the past fifteen(!) years. It’s sophisticated and dark yet still playful, just like this season. And it matches the stunning new opening credits perfectly.

Another example of the show’s evolution, as well as its return to form, is Keith and Veronica’s relationship in this new season. They may not have seen eye to eye on Veronica’s decision to stay in Neptune and officially join the family business, that storm cloud that hovered over their relationship in the movie has since dissipated. It’s clear that Keith still doesn’t agree with Veronica giving up her fast-paced lawyer life in New York, but he respects her decision. He makes one remark to his daughter about joining a law firm but ultimately drops the argument.

The show is all the better for this. The moments between Keith and Veronica are some of the best of the season, if not the entire series. They’re just as witty and sharp when interacting with each other, and yet there’s a more mature tenderness that has developed between them since we last visited Neptune, thanks in large part to the fact that they’re now equal business partners. Their relationship isn’t too mature, however, to not have at least one “Who’s your daddy?” quip!

Oh, and there’s a hilarious “cuss war” between Keith and Veronica that’s introduced in the first episode and runs throughout the duration of the season. Presumably, it’s a direct reference to Kristen Bell’s role as Eleanor on The Good Place, but, while it’s an allusion to the NBC show, it fits perfectly here. It’ll seriously have you laughing out loud every time it comes up.

For all of its similarities and callbacks to the previous seasons and stories, there are some pretty drastic differences between Veronica Mars season 4 and its predecessors.

Perhaps the most notable difference this season is the lack of “cases of the week.” Personally, I’m a huge fan of the “case of the week” structure because it’s a fun way to test our characters and reveal different facets about their personalities and relationships with one another. The cases also usually give the overarching mysteries and storylines space to breathe so that when those reveals do come, there’s no emphasis lost.

Additionally, these mostly self-contained mysteries provide a helpful background in distinguishing between episodes. As is so often the case with shows that are meant to be binge-watched, the episodes in Veronica Mars season 4 all run together and don’t have all that much to distinguish themselves from one another. It’s honestly hard to recall which episodes I enjoyed the most out of this season because the entire thing is a blur.

Though I do think there’s a bit of the Veronica Mars charm and cleverness that’s lost without the inclusion of smaller cases, there just wouldn’t be any room for them here with the way the season is plotted out. After all, it’s doubtful that Veronica or Keith would even dream about taking on additional cases after fully entrenching themselves in the case of the spring break bomber.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot packed into every episode of Veronica Mars season 4. Each episode is at least 50 minutes long, which means that, even though this Hulu revival season has a total of eight episodes, it’s almost like we’re getting nine and a half episodes worth of classic Veronica Mars (or about four movies).

It’s hard to determine whether or not the amount of episodes we get this season is optimal or not. On one hand, there’s just the right balance between effective character moments and plot. But on the other, this season’s plotlines don’t land quite as hard as past ones, at least on first watch.

The most drastic difference between Veronica Mars season 4 and the rest of the series is the fact that Veronica has less of a personal connection to the overarching mystery this time. Sure, she puts herself in the middle of everything and the bombings impact her daily life. But she takes the case because it’s the right thing to do, not because she or someone she cares about has been directly affected by the bombings.

Her lack of attachment slightly lowers the stakes for the season, which is kind of disappointing that the season focuses solely on the one mystery. Yes, people are being murdered by explosive devices. My observation here isn’t meant to make light of that. But, because Veronica’s personal stakes are generally lower throughout the season, the impact of the mystery is lessened considerably and the “whodunnit” just feels less pressing than usual.

Veronica Mars season 4 also deviates from the norm in its commentary on class and privilege. The plotline about the 09ers working to re-gentrify Neptune and drive out the “riff raff” (including the yearly spring breakers) is an underlying current, but it focuses more on how selfish the “haves” are rather than the impact all of this has on the “have nots.”

Though the movie indicated that a pretty big class war was on the horizon, that tense atmosphere seemingly evaporated in the time since Deputy Sacks was murdered in that “car accident,” most likely due to the sheriff’s department actually being not that corrupt this time around (which is a pretty big shocker).

It’s a small difference that perhaps I’m being too picky about, but after the movie did a great job discussing the racial inequality in Neptune and setting up the town itself as a bomb that was about to explode, the discussions in this new revival season are anti-climatic at best.

And then there are two side plotlines, one involving a senator and the other a Mexican cartel, that just don’t mesh well with the rest of the season at all. They’re directly connected the bomb and 09er plots, but really serve as nothing more than a distraction from everything else that’s going on. Yes, they (sort of) play their part in the season’s climax but are otherwise equal parts pointless and frustrating.

That all being said, the bombing storyline is definitely captivating from start to finish (and then some). The threat this season is no joke as the explosions come without warning and in crowded areas. The bomb that detonates in 4×04 is particularly gruesome and hard to watch, especially in the immediate aftermath. Not only that, but they’re hard to track. Many times, mysteries can be pretty easy to figure out but, true to form and thanks to a few pretty big twists, this Veronica Mars mystery will keep you guessing and feel like you’re missing something until the very end.

New to this season, Patton Oswalt’s pizza delivery guy character introduces a “true crime” element into the Veronica Mars universe which, honestly, I can’t believe we haven’t seen before. He follows all of the bombings going on, as well as the other cases Mars Investigations has taken on in the past, and adds a layer of skepticism. Not only that, but he also serves as a way of legitimizing just how intelligent Veronica is and how perfect she is in the role of a private eye, rather than a lawyer.

In this era of true crime that we’re all living in, it’s easy to forget that there are real people involved in the crimes and real lives at stake. While it’s not an official plotline for the season, one of the effective underlying currents is the slow takedown of true crime enthusiasts and just how much harder it is to solve crimes in real time and in the field rather than from a couch or a cell phone.

Speaking of characters with notable storylines, what would an article about Veronica Mars be without fangirling a bit over Logan Echolls and LoVe? After everything he has experienced in his life (especially the last few years), it makes sense that Logan we meet in Veronica Mars season 4 is quite different from the Logans we knew in previous seasons. Still a United State Naval Aviator, this Logan is regimented and reserved. He’s still witty and charming, but in a more subtle way.

However, Jason Dohring and Kristen Bell’s chemistry is still as sizzling as ever. Each scene they share is incredibly nuanced and emotional. Logan and Veronica may say one thing or act one way to each other, but their body language and facial expressions many times tell completely different stories. And yet, there’s still a sense that these two are not only completely meant for each other, but also that they’ll figure out some way to make it work.

This season takes extra care with Logan’s character, fleshing him out and bringing us all up to speed with just who he is at his point in his life. No longer surrounded in controversy, we’re able to see Logan the man rather than the Logan who’s almost always at the center of a storm. Not only that, but this season gives us a better understanding of who Logan is outside of his relationship with Veronica (or really, any other regular characters from the show). We get to see Logan for Logan. Jason Dohring gives his best performance as Logan in this season and, honestly, he’s a joy to watch.

And then there’s Veronica.

Veronica Mars is no longer the brooding teen and town pariah she once was. She’s all grown up now. Of course, Veronica still has her flaws (mainly her penchant for distrusting just about everyone and her unyielding pride), but she knows who she is and accepts all of the aspects of herself, for better or worse. This Veronica is self-aware enough to know when she’s in the wrong and she’s getting better about owning up and apologizing for it.

Also, although she tries to put up the same sharp, prickly front, it becomes increasingly apparent through the season that Veronica has softened considerably. Sure, she still just as witty and clever as she always was, but her second chance at love with Logan as well as her father’s brush with death has made her more of a marshmallow than she was before. Veronica wears more of her emotions on her sleeve and isn’t as quick to dismiss others as she has been in the past. In fact, dare I say, she’s more trusting and lets people in a lot more than she used to.

Veronica’s character development from the movie to now and all throughout this season is incredibly gratifying to watch. Following her trajectory has been a bit of a frustrating struggle sometimes, but this season makes it all worth it.

Veronica Mars season 4 has been a long time coming and, now that it’s finally here, it’s hard not to love it. This season is by no means perfect, but it feels like a proper return to Neptune and all of the characters we Marshmallows care so much about. Plus, it’s quite an enjoyable and emotional ride from start to finish with some pretty big twists and major events along the way (two in particular that will most likely set the internet ablaze).

Fans of Veronica Mars as a whole won’t be able to get enough of this fresh take on the show and will surely be clamoring for more as the final episode’s credits roll.

Random spoiler-free notes from watching ‘Veronica Mars’ season 4

The first episode makes it feel like truly no time has passed since the show went off the air. It sets up all of the season’s conflicts and storylines as effectively as its 1×01 and 2×01 predecessors.

OMG DICK.

I’ve never been more turned on by a Frank Sinatra song since 10 Things I Hate About You.

Wait, is this show actually introducing capable semi-capable local law enforcement with a sheriff that isn’t completely self-involved?

So Logan is effectively Veronica Mars‘s version of the Bruce Banner?

This season is very Jessica Jones-like in its story-telling. There are no “cases of the week,” but there is a lot of sardonic commentary to go around.

OMG THE BOOKS ARE OFFICIALLY CANON!

Is this show introducing a “new generation” here or something? Could you ever have Veronica Mars without Veronica Mars?

‘Veronica Mars’ season 4 will be streaming exclusively on Hulu starting Friday, July 26, 2019.

[shirtlesssammy]

7x23: Survival of the Fittest

The Road So Far:

I just want to give a GIANT shoutout to everyone in fandom that survived this and stuck around. I know in my heart my interest would plummet without Cas. Season 7 was brutal.

Now:

We find Crowley and Dick Roman sharing a business Scotch and negotiating how they’re going to divvy up Earth once the Leviathan master the human race. Demons get Canada. Leviathan need America though. (“They’re so fat.”)

In return for this generous offer? Crowley must give “Frick and Frack” imposter blood (as part of the cocktail that will kill Dick Roman.) They agree, and because Dick Roman doesn’t “kiss on the mouth” to seal his deals, Crowley unfurls a standard writer that stretches 10 feet. Lol.

Sam and Dean, meanwhile, are on the road trying to locate a righteous bone. Sam suggests contacting Cas again. For the record, I believe when Dean says “Dude, on my car” he’s making an oath that Cas made an appearance naked and covered in bees, not that he showed up naked, covered in bees, on Dean’s car. Either way, Dean was there and Cas was naked. But there were bees.

The boys arrive at a nunnery crypt and find the perfect bone, Sister Mary Constant. “Let’s bone this nun.” Oh Dean, always a way with words.

Crowley and Roman finish their negotiations.

Sam and Dean perform a summoning spell for Crowley. (Ah, was it during Dean and Crowley’s summer of love that they finally got him on speed dial?) Crowley doesn’t show, but Meg does. And she has a friend along with her: Cas.

He’s currently jamming out to some serious emo soft rock in the car. 

(Sidenote: Cas and Jack wave the same way. My heart.)

Dean is showing very, very, very little patience for his dear, damaged friend, but I know he cares so I’ll let his posturing and toxic attitude slide for right now. Cas does have serious questions about monkeys and cosmetics. Indulge the angel, Dean.

Once inside, Cas continues to act and say strange things. In his own broken way, he lets the brothers know that the angel garrison protecting Kevin is gone. Dean, in his usual football coach aggression, scares Cas, who does not want to deal with conflict. (I do love Dean’s line “We’re worried.” His worry manifests itself through anger throughout the series.)

Meg notices the demon summoning spell materials and is about to ditch when Crowley finally makes his appearance.

Crowley is less than pleased to see the angel. Cas dives into a nice, rambling diatribe about insects and honey (and a THOUSAND Cas + bees fics were born.) There is meta out there about this but I just can’t find it right now. Sigh, it was really good. Crowley doesn’t want to torture Cas if he’s not all there, so he hands the boys his blood, or is it? He says it is, but also says not to trust anyone.

He then tells Meg that she can stay with Cas until they handle Dick Roman.

Meanwhile, Bobby in the body of a hotel maid, is well on his way to becoming a vengeful spirit.

Dick Roman makes plans in case Crowley double crosses him. It involves an arm.

We briefly check in with Kevin Tran at SucroCorp Headquarters. His allies aren’t the sharpest blades in the drawer.

The brothers soak the righteous bone in the blood.

Nothing happens so Sam and Dean have no idea if it worked. Cas flaps in (I miss his wings) to present the (I proofread that as “his”. Brb, weeping) brothers with sandwiches. (His monitoring of the ingredients and comforting the pig before slaughtering it? Don’t touch me.) 

And when Dick Roman asked for the arm, he meant a literal frozen arm, wristwatch still intact.

While Kevin awaits his fate, he’s presented with dinner, a Biggerson’s burger. “I’m a vegan.” Not for long, buddy. You’re going to be living off of hot dogs soon enough.  

Kevin escapes with the help of his purloined hairpins and overhears a board meeting fronted by Dick Roman. He's discussing business strategy, including how they're going to divide America up to perfect their plan of industrialized leviathan feeding. This is all delivered in a cheerfully upbeat business-speak manner as they enjoy sushi made from fresh orphan.

When Kevin's heard enough, he heads straight for the exit, but is confronted by Dick's assistant.

Dean and Sam sit in a car and tap into Sucrocorp's security cameras. (They thank Charlie for it and I smile just to hear her name mentioned.) To their dismay, they discover that Sucrocorp is now overrun with Dick Romans, or a bunch of dicks, as the show might phrase it.

In the boardroom, Dick has Polly take off her dress and draws attention to her slight build. (Gross) He injects her with a drug that will be targeted to all skinny Americans. As it takes effect in Polly, she begins to spasm and foam at the mouth. She collapses quickly to the floor.

Sam notices a truck pull up outside of Sucrocorp and recognizes the maid as she gets out of the truck. He sees ectoplasm dripping from her, puts two and two together, and bails on the stakeout so he can go retrieve Bobby. He confronts Bobby in a back alley as the security camera whirls around. Bobby brandishes the knife at Sam, telling him to leave. When Sam refuses, Bobby slams Sam against the side of the car and chokes him. It's only when Bobby sees his reflection in the side of the car that he withdraws, horrified.

Back at the cabin, we learn that the woman Bobby possessed is doing much better. Sam then switches over to talking about the leviathan hunt and reveals the multiple Dicks. Cas looks perturbed by the news. “Hey, Shifty, what's your problem?” Dean asks. DEAN

“Do we need a cat? Doesn't this place feel one species short?” Cas says, deflecting. (Me: But seriously, YES) He refuses to get involved since he destroyed everything.

“Nobody cares that you're broken, Cas. Clean up your mess,” Dean shouts. This causes Cas to flap off and Meg informs Dean that Cas is the only one who can recognize the real fake Dick. They need him.

Later, Sam and Dean spin their wheels trying to figure out how to tackle their Dick problem when Bobby appears. He tells them he's going vengeful now that he's in the Veil, and begs them to burn the flask. Cut to a little while later, standing around a bed of hot coals. It's all feelings and no hugs in this little funeral scene and Dean chucks Bobby's flask into the coals. As the flask burns, a light illuminates Sam's and Dean's face. And then...Bobby is gone.

Jump to later, where Cas is busily playing games when Dean approaches him for help. He's not asking for a soldier. Instead, he just needs a lift to get to his car. They flap into a little storage garage with a covered car. Cas muses on their approaching assault on Sucrocorp. If Sam and Dean die, they're heroes. But if Cas dies he's just doing what he can to fix his own stupidity. Although, he also entertains the possibility that he'll die and get brought back again. “It's a punishment,” he tells Dean about his last three resurrections. OUCH, man.  

Dean delivers his own brand of pep talk in reply. “I'd rather have you, cursed or not. Nut up, alright? We're all cursed. I seem like good luck to you?” He's angry and defensive, but Cas starts to smile anyway. He detects a note of forgiveness in Dean. Cas vows to go with Dean and help out.

It's gray, it's rainy, but that doesn't stop Baby from squealing tires and generally being amazing. The Impala tears into Sucrocorp headquarters to the strains of Born to Be Wild.

Meg emerges, armed with borax and a knife. Dean, Castiel, and Sam are already inside, having slipped in while Meg distracted security outside. They hastily go from room to room checking for Dick Romans.

Outside, demons accost Meg. Crowley is moving in.

Sam rescues Kevin, who convinces him to stick around and blow up Sucrocorp's lab. In the lab, Dick is delicately sampling lethal creamer when Dean and Cas show up and slice up the chief lab tech leviathan. 

Dean pulls out the bone weapon, Dick lunges for Dean, and Cas tosses Dean out of the way and hurls himself at Dick. Dick easily chucks Cas across the room. This gives Dean the perfect opportunity to stab Dick right in the chest, but it seems to have no effect. Dick's still walking and talking and being smarmy. But then Dean opens his jacket and pulls another sharpened bone from a front, inner pocket vast enough to hold and conceal a giant bone (who MAKES these coats and where can I find one?) Cas pulls Dick's head back, baring his throat long enough to allow Dean to stab Dick right through the neck.

Dick Roman snarls angrily and begins to pulse with energy. He cackles before exploding into black goo.

Sam picks up his head to look around the lab moments after the explosion. It's empty of anyone but him and Kevin. While it's spattered with black goo, Dean and Cas are gone.

Enter Crowley, who happily tells Sam that without Dick Roman leading them, the leviathans are easy picking for his demon army. The bone weapon had a kick and dragged Dean and Cas off to Purgatory. Crowley nabs Kevin for his own, then leaves Sam alone in the lab as he silently freaks out.

Dean wakes up in a forest to Cas tersely ordering him to wake up. Cas tells Dean that they're in Purgatory and it's full of monsters and...even worse...leviathans. Dean turns to see red eyes glowing in the woods and tells Cas it's time to go...but Cas has already flapped away, leaving Dean alone. 

Random findings and food for thought:

7x23/13x10 parallels

Dean needs Cas to get Dick

Starry, Starry Quotes:

Here we are, negotiating like proper psychopaths.

Let's bone this nun

Go ask him, he was your boyfriend first.

How important is lipstick to you, Dean?

You have no sense of poetry.

Where's the fun in clobbering a ball of wet fur? Text me when Sparkles here retrieves his marbles

Please accept this sandwich as a gesture of solidarity.

We should play Twister.

I see now. It's a punishment resurrection. It's worse every time.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

[aion-rsa]

Schitt’s Creek: The Tragic Backstory and Glorious Redemption of Twyla Sands

https://ift.tt/3w8aa61

Given the title is basically a Schitt pun, it’s perhaps surprising that Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek is one of the sweetest most nuanced shows around. Written by and starring father and son Eugene and Dan Levy it follows the Rose family, once extremely affluent, now entirely bankrupt after a tax scandal, the only asset they are allowed to retain is the town of Schitt’s Creek which Johnny Rose bought for his son David as a joke.

If you haven’t seen the show – well go and watch it immediately (and also spoilers) but know that it takes a couple of episodes to really get into it. Once you’re in, you’re in.

Though there are many things to celebrate throughout the six seasons of the show – its incredible focus on inclusivity and how it handles its LGBTQ+ storylines, Moira and Johnny’s loving and supportive marriage, Alexis and Ted’s heartbreaking romance, David and Stevie’s friendship, Moira’s wigs and much more, there one character who is often on the sidelines who very much deserves to be celebrated. 

Twyla Sands, played by Sarah Levy – sister of Dan Levy, daughter of Eugene – is the manager of the Cafe Tropical, apparently the only diner in the town of Schitt’s Creek. She’s a woman with a semi-tragic backstory and a relentlessly sunny disposition – a twist on how the character was initially imagines, according to Sarah Levy.

“She was very nerdy and introverted and there was a sadness to her,” Levy explains on the Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell documentary. The decision to turn Twyla into a far more cheerful character brought much humor to the show, so although her brilliant one liners hint at a very dark past her upbeat outlook allows us to laugh rather be disturbed.

When we meet her, Twyla is dating Mutt (Tim Rozon) but it becomes clear quite early on that there’s chemistry between Mutt and Alexis. Mutt isn’t great at communication and it seems like he doesn’t appreciate that true brilliance of Twyla’s asides. During a dinner party hosted by Ted the two bicker when Twyla attempts to introduce one of her anecdotes:

Twyla:I had a best friend that hooked. She married one of her Johns on my birthday

Mutt: It’s not the time, Twyla.

Twyla: You don’t talk all dinner, and now you’re telling me I can’t talk about Trixie?!

Mutt: I’m sorry, it’s just I think sometimes you have a tendency to say the wrong thing, that’s all.

Twyla: Is there a right time to talk about being a hooker?

Could this best friend be the same one she mentions in a later episode?

“My best friend in kindergarten ran away, and her parents didn’t notice, and she ended up getting adopted by this really rich Asian family in Vancouver, but then they had their own kid, so she kind of got neglected a bit, and I can’t remember whether she’s back on the streets now, or…” 

Though Twyla is initially planning to write a song for Mutt for his birthday, Alexis learns that he’s planning to break up with her. Instead she encourages Twyla to get in there first and end things with him. It’s an act of kindness, although Alexis does then date Mutt herself.

It’s ok though. Twyla, who has a strong spiritual side (she can see ghosts who are usually angry, has an aunt who has a ghost in her house that keeps leaving dimes everywhere, can read Tarot cards given to her by one of her mum’s ex-boyfriends who predicted to when he would leave her mum, to the day), knows that Mutt was just a ‘placeholder’. Her tea leaves told her that the man she’s supposed to marry is Black.

Twyla’s parents

Twyla’s dad, we learn, is in prison and it’s not clear exactly what for. We do know that he used to be a roadie for the band Fleetwood Mac, though, and that they took out a restraining order against him.

Read more

TV

Schitt’s Creek Season 6 Review

By Kayti Burt

Twyla’s mum has a fairly terrible track record with men, and has had numerous failed relationships. She was engaged to two pizza delivery guys, she dated a magician and gambling addict and she was also engaged to a satanist whose snake ate her turtle dove on Valentine’s day. The gambling addict might be the reason why Twyla has been banned from numerous casinos for being an unaccompanied minor. We also know Twyla’s mum is still dating, but these days half the time she thinks Twyla is her cousin Angela. When Twyla’s end of show twist is revealed (more on that in a bit) we also learn that Twy’s mum spent the money Twyla gave her on “a lot of snow mobiles”.

At least Twyla’s mum always comes to her murder mystery nights, even if she does bring whoever she’s dating, and that person usually brings a young friend…

We also learn that one of her step siblings is probably, dead after she and Alexis swap jewelry and Alexis gets her step brother’s dog tags. We said it was dark.

Her extended family is messed up too

Twyla has aunts, uncles and cousins who have equally dark backstories. This is kind of Twyla’s schtick and it’s introduced in episode one when she offers cold comfort to Johnny Rose, after his family has lost everything.

Twyla: I had a second cousin in Elmdale who did telemarketing, he made a ton of money. It turns out his entire business was illegal, and he lost everything.

Johnny: Hm. Not quite the same.

Twyla: Yeah, no, he went to prison, which is terrible, but… But he is learning Spanish, “No mas, le duele!” I think it means, “Stop, it hurts.”

Her uncle also has had problems with debt, she shares

“Between you and me, I know how hard it can be to pay off debt. My Uncle Ken only has three fingers now, which is too bad, because he’s deaf, and he only speaks using sign language, but he made his choices.”

Is this same uncle that had a parrot that kept telling her to take her bra off?

Her cousins don’t seem to have much luck either. We learn that one was in Riverdance until she got trampled.

The Cafe Tropical

Though Twyla has run the cafe for a while and works extremely hard, the cafe tropical, despite apparently being the only place to eat out in Schitt’s Creek isn’t exactly a culinary paradise, and at least part of that is down to some bad decisions on Twyla’s part.

There was the time she bought black market milk and a lot of people got sick. In hindsight it probably wasn’t even cow’s milk – is elk’s milk a thing?

Then there’s the meadow harvest smoothies, which are exactly what they sound like and change every day. And probably don’t order the soup to go – it comes double bagged with a spoon or straw.

Twyla’s glorious redemption

Fittingly, though, by the end of series six, we learn Twyla isn’t such a tragic character after all. In fact, before the Roses even arrive in town she won the lottery, splitting $92 million with one other person. She doesn’t work in the Cafe Tropical for the money, she just enjoys it. By the end Alexis has convinced her that it’s ok to use the money to treat herself to something that she wants. What Twyla wants is the cafe so she purchases it outright, with plans to rename it as Twyla’s Cafe Tropical. And why not?

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It’s a perfect ending for a character who we have grown to love – she might be ditsy and prone to bad luck but she’s also emotionally intelligent and empathetic often offering good advice to Alexis, showing support and enthusiasm to Moira and bonding with Johnny even though they don’t necessarily always deserve it.

Twyla loves where she lives. She loves her life and loves where she works. Twyla is a wonderful example of a person who knows herself, doesn’t need attention but is a great success without having to shout about it. We should all be a little bit Twyla.

Like Twyla, Sarah Levy isn’t in the spotlight but she’s still a part of the Schitt’s Creek family, so to give her her own joyful denouement is just right. Twyla Sands, we salute you.

The post Schitt’s Creek: The Tragic Backstory and Glorious Redemption of Twyla Sands appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3w8CKUL

[lonestarpost]

Brotherly Advice by @mtnofgrace - Review

Word Count: 1,707

TK gives Judd advice about talking to Grace. Coda to 2.05.

“Brotherly Advice” is an interesting take on the dynamics between T.K. and Judd. This gives a coda to season two’s fifth episode that takes a unique perspective to many of the fics that were written this week. In this story, the writer tells a story about T.K. wanting to help Judd but initially not knowing how. The conflict is T.K. trying to figure out what is wrong without wanting to overstep his boundaries, but T.K. cannot resist trying to get Judd to confide in him, and T.K.’s persistence allows him and Judd to have an important conversation, which shows the closeness of the two men.

The story begins with T.K. noticing that something is off with Judd during their call with Grace’s dad. T.K. doesn’t know what’s wrong at first, and he’s not as fast as Paul to pick up on what’s happening, but he notices enough to know that he has to do some further investigation and see what’s happening with Judd. T.K. makes some attempts to get Judd to talk to him. The attempts start small, like T.K. asking Judd if he is okay, but Judd gruffly shakes off these efforts. It’s clear he doesn’t want to talk, but it’s also clear that Judd needs to talk because he’s holding a secret inside, which T.K. surely knows doesn’t help anyone. T.K. does a little sleuthing, and he watches as Judd goes. Even when Judd has left to take the rest of the day off, T.K. still worries and wonders what is happening.

Eventually, Judd comes back, and you can feel how demure the shift has become with the absence that Judd has left. They all know something is up, and how much detail they know varies. Most of them stay away from Judd, wanting to give him his space, but T.K. keeps at Judd, and he finally gets him alone for a talk. When T.K. confronts Judd, Judd acts like T.K. is a pesky little brother, which he is, but they’re able to have a heart-to-heart. T.K. is empathetic, and his ability to listen to Judd shows major growth from when he and Judd first met. To make Judd feel at ease, T.K. reveals some personal details of his parents’ relationships, and with that sharing, Judd realizes what he has to do, and he knows that somehow he’s going to have to tell Grace the truth about her dad.

One of the best elements of this fic is the dialogue. Judd especially comes off as true to character. T.K. has a lot of moments to shine in this story when he gives words of wisdom to Judd. Usually, fics show Judd as the one giving words of wisdom, but this story makes it clear that T.K. and Judd’s brotherly relationship goes both ways, and no matter what, they are both there to listen, even if they cannot do much to fic the circumstance. As much as T.K. would like to take away Judd’s pain, all he can do is be supportive and try to tell Judd what he needs to hear, but of course, Judd doesn’t take T.K.’s advice without a little brotherly jeering. Throughout this work, the thoughtful dialogue keeps the tone upbeat but still thoughtful, and it’s exactly the kind of dynamic that Judd and T.K. should continue to have on the show.

Another part of this fic that makes it so strong is that it focuses on the uncertainty T.K. has as he tries to figure out what’s wrong with Judd. What is bothering Judd is no mystery to the audience, who already has those answers, but T.K. is left to wonder. He knows just enough to be dangerous. He doesn’t want to pry, but he also doesn’t want to let whatever the problem is go. T.K. gets snippets of how Judd is feeling, and he starts to put the pieces together, but until he confronts Judd about what’s going on, he cannot have full clarity, and he cannot confirm how Judd is feeling. So, he’s left to wait, and the readers are left to wait with him, and we can feel the tension and worry building up in him as it builds up in us. With the build-up of T.K.’s feelings, the resolution to the conflict feels that much more cathartic. The motivation to keep reading is in the hope of release, and the author does not disappoint in that respect.

The author knows how to write a compelling brotherly dynamic. T.K. and Judd tease each other. Their banter feels lighthearted, even as they try to handle some less happy truths. They’ve both been through a lot, and their trauma makes them similar in many ways. It causes them to butt heads, but it also helps them understand one another better and grow their relationship into something more mature and that gives them both a brotherly outlet whenever it is needed. It’s clear that they would both lend a listening ear to one another, but they would also call each other out if they needed to do so. Their dynamic is so well-written, and it allows this work to be so heartwarming. Both Judd and T.K. feel more at ease when the truth is out and they’ve had a meaningful conversation, and it just goes to show how important it is to surround yourself with loving and supportive people.

This fic is creative, and it elaborates on a dynamic that we need more of in the show. It shows the brotherly love between Judd and TK in such a gentle but joking way that feels true to their relationship. You can see how much both of these men have grown since the first episodes, and it’s great to see how they have developed and how they have evolved both as individuals and as family. This fic has all the found family elements that you could want, and it’s those elements that make it stand out, along with the writing style that perfectly echoes sibling relationships.

[prohomebuyers14-blog]

Find Out The Top 9 Reasons For Home Buyers To Buy A Home This Winter

click to read more professional home buyers

The most recent inquiry we have been posed to a few times from home purchasers is "We need to hold up until the following spring to purchase a home, for what reason should we purchase a home this winter?" This is a generally excellent inquiry and my colleague and I have incorporated a rundown of more than 25 reasons and afterward we limited our rundown to the Top 9 reasons why land home purchasers should purchase a home this winter.

1) Home Prices are lower now then they will be this spring

For what reason should a home purchaser purchase a home now as opposed to holding up this spring? Purchasing a home currently will set aside the purchaser cash. At present there are less purchasers now then during this past spring or summer. There are more purchasers searching for homes during the hotter seasons. Genuine home venders will have more strain to sell when homes deals are more slow. Genuine home venders will either be posting their homes underneath market or bringing down the rundown costs of their homes to draw in purchasers. With lower costs, purchasers will right away spare. A week ago I was working with a purchaser who limited their rundown down to two homes. Subsequent to taking a gander at examinations we saw that the two homes were estimated under market by $10,000-$15,000. We chose to make a proposal of $30,000 under rundown cost on our main decision. The merchant was extremely distraught. We chose to take a gander at the number two decision home again and make a proposal on. We did likewise. We made an offer, $30,000 off of the posting cost. The dealer countered at $15,000 under rundown cost and we countered at $20,000. During the evaluation today, the appraiser assessed that we purchased the home $35,000 underestimate for a perfect home recorded under $190,000. Do you think the purchaser is upbeat?

2) Home merchants are increasingly passionate

With many home dealers encountering high money related obligation, their lone way out is to sell their home. Any individual who has encountered the perpetual loan boss calls will comprehend what stages an individual will take to end those calls. Catch a dealer who could without much of a stretch tackle their issues by selling their home and you will in all probability get a decent arrangement. Subsequent to demonstrating 20 homes this end of the week, I got 8 calls from edgy dealers saying that they expected to sell now and would take a gander at practically any offer. Three merchants said that they had some outrageous obligation to result. I will recall these homes for future purchasers who need to get some great arrangements.click to read more professional home buyers

3) There is more enthusiasm on the web

Numerous organizations have their migrations made arrangements for directly after the first of the year, such a large number of moving workers will utilize the special seasons to design exploratory visits and looking through the web. By having your home available and web now, purchasers will have the opportunity to see your home when they are increasingly loose and have the opportunity. The previous two years the hits on our site have significantly increased from mid December to the furthest limit of January.

4) Some home merchants will be in an ideal situation selling now

As per the CPA's and money related organizers we work with, many home venders would be vastly improved off offering currently to show signs of improvement charge derivation. Catch a merchant who might profit by a gigantic duty derivation and they might be progressively debatable to sell quick.

5) Buy now and move after the special seasons

Experience reveals to us that modern home purchasers comprehend that they can make a buy now at an incredible cost and move after the special seasons. Get an incredible arrangement now and move when things delayed down. Home purchasers who purchase new homes currently can get the year's end specials and move when the house is finished this following spring. The purchaser has the control in the present purchasers advertise. In the event that pleasant terms are not settled upon, the purchaser can generally go to the following home.

6) Capture a lower loan cost

As of now we are encountering low loan costs. Experience discloses to us that financing costs fire edging up the finish of January. A complex home purchaser might want to catch the lower financing costs by securing on the low rates while they are still low. A few loan specialists have lock and shop programs. Lock in on a low financing cost now and shop for the following scarcely any months' sans weight for their fantasy home.

7) Get direction and help

During the Christmas season all things considered, loved ones can visit during your home shopping visits. The more guidance you can get, particularly in the event that you are a first time home purchaser, from individuals who know you the almost certain you will commit less errors. First time home purchasers now and again think that its hard to pose the correct inquiries. By having a relative or companion around who realizes what to ask or who knows your needs, the procedure can be simpler.

8) Home developers are encountering pressures

Throughout the winter time, the measure of new homes sold goes down. One new home operator detailed that his deals are a fourth of what they were this late spring. With manufacturers building costs and the expense to get cash expanding, developer are bound to haggle on the offer of their new homes now. Commonly, developers haven't haggled on value the previous 4 years. Today I got 3 flyers from new home specialists with value decreases on their stock.

9) Lower installments

We are getting reached on a week after week premise of new and better advance projects that will help bring down the regularly scheduled installment the home purchaser will pay to the home loan organization. Banks have the opportunity to discover better credit programs for home purchasers now. In the event that a home purchaser held up until this spring to converse with a moneylender and they will undoubtedly converse with another advance official who has restricted opportunity to work with you and constrained understanding to locate the best credit program. One home purchaser we worked with spared $234 month to month by finding a superior credit program. What might you do with an extra $234 every month?

Adroit home purchasers like to purchase when home costs are lower and the measure of purchasers is lower. As of now, in many markets, the quantity of homes available to be purchased is down 10% and the quantity of purchasers searching for homes is down 60%, contrasted with this past summer. A keen land purchaser might want to get a lot. With the land showcase being a solid wide open market, for what reason would a purchaser need to hold up until the market movements to a merchants advertise?

On the off chance that you are a first time home purchaser or a climb home purchaser and you might want to get a decent arrangement, we would be glad to work with you. With abandonment postings at an unequaled high, we are certain that the following best arrangement is directly around the bend.

[kayomielatoro]

Saiyuki Livewatch: Episode 1: To the Distant West

First time posting on this tumblr but welcome to my blog! I figured, since Saiyuki Reload Blast, part of a series that I’ve loved since my teenage years, is coming out WITH a dub this year I’d go ahead and just watch what came before to prepare for that. And I mean EVERYTHING. I might not cover Requiem until at least after Reload and Reload Gunlock but we’ll see. And I’ll be going by the dubs because 1 it’s what I grew up listening to and 2 I just perfer dubs. That means I will be commenting on the change in cast when we get to Reload and how I feel about them. My overall plan is to talk about at least one episode per day until I’m all caught up. But with all that out of the way, let’s get started!

First things first: I LOVE the first op. I used to have the thing memorized and it is now my current ringtone. It’s catchy, it’s upbeat, and just gets you ready for the show that’s coming up.

I love the line that explains how the relationship between demons and humans changed. "Humans became Abel to demons' Cain" Aaaand cut from doom and gloom to Goku munching on holy peaches in the temple courtyard. XD And gives 0 shits about the monks's whining. Hello, Greg Ayres! 

For those not in the know, I actually was not aware of this particular actor until this role. And frankly I adore Greg and I LOVE this role.  David Matragna takes a few episodes to fully settle into the role of Sanzo but once he does, he's a great pick for the prickly priest.  And I just really like Illich Guardiola as Sha Gojyo. He balances the pervy side of Gojyo and his more heroic aspects. What there is of him. ( ....I have no idea why Gojyo's hair is fucking pink though. We SEE red in this series. I don't know why they thought to make his hair pink) And a hello to a rarely seen VA Braden Hunt as Cho Hakkai. He's easily my favorite, balancing the darkness in his soul with the facade of a polite, cheery young man. 

*squee* And there's the ever adorable Jeep/Hakuryu. Depending on which you saw first, the manga or the anime, he's the transportation that the guys are gonna use to head west. The names differ because, well, licensing.   

XD Took almost ten minutes but we get our first whining from Goku about how hungry he is. This is a constant gag that still gets a giggle out of me. 

Hello floating heads. I was wondering when you'd show up. I'm...not a hundred percent sure if they're gods or something in between god and human or what. However they give Sanzo his quest to save Shangri-La, which I'm still not 100% sure is just the name of the world or the country.  

Regardless, long story short: Sanzo is off to prevent the revival of an ancient demon named Gyumaoh that took the War Prince of the gods to finally put down. What's causing the demons to go mad is the combination of science and dark magics that is being used to revive Gyumaoh.

The reason why Sanzo brought the others? It was an order, otherwise he more than likely would have done it alone and also more than likely gotten his holy ass killed. Because Sanzo is a loner and really doesn't like being around the others save maybe Hakkai. Mostly because Goku and Gojyo argue a lot and they generally just aren't quiet. Hakkai is and knows to give him his space. Goku and Gojyo? Not so much.

And the introduction of Sanzo's gun. It's easily one of the most powerful weapons in the show because of how it works. It's a banishing gun and, at least for the first season, completely atomizes demons. It’s actually a plot point for a future episode if my memory serves correctly.

Aaaaaand that line from Hakkai about being the only demons to still have their sense of self turns out to not be entirely true. Other demons are out there who have some semblance of sanity. They just generally either choose to work for the enemy, who will be revealed in due time, or they lose it shortly after meeting the Sanzo party. 

And why these four are sane? They all have a tragic past that connects them not only to each other but to their humanity. Plus, well, Gojyo is only half-demon which could be the main reason why he’s sane. Although you can make an argument for if that’s gonna stay that way.

....No I totally haven't overthought this shit at all since I saw it as a teenager. What are you saying? ....Yeah I've seen it. Repeatedly. At least the first two season. I can’t say the same about Reload and Gunlock.

It's easily one of my favorite anime. It's not the best written or necessarily the best acted or best animated. But I adore the characters yes, even Gojyo who is my least favorite, but we'll explore that as we learn more about our heroes throughout the series. 

So until next episode, remember to be attached to nothing and to hold no side but your own! ....Yes these are main themes of the series.

[njawaidofficial]

‘Black Mirror’ Season 4 Episodes: Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones Interview [Spoilers]

http://styleveryday.com/2017/09/03/black-mirror-season-4-episodes-charlie-brooker-and-annabel-jones-interview-spoilers/

‘Black Mirror’ Season 4 Episodes: Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones Interview [Spoilers]

Black Mirror viewers were thrown for a loop when the third season of the horror anthology series delivered a happy ending.

The season three episode, “San Junipero,” became an instant cultural phenomenon and nabbed creator Charlie Brooker two Emmy nominations for standing out among an otherwise tantalizingly bleak universe of techno-paranoia. The 1987 California-set episode — with its neon palette, nostalgic soundtrack and oceanside optimism — came at the perfect time and in the wake of both the U.S. presidential election and Brexit. Brooker, who along with executive producer Annabel Jones, brought his BBC dystopian series to Netflix with the six-episode third season in late October 2016.

“It was the first episode I wrote for season three and it was a conscious effort to blow up what I thought a Black Mirror episode was,” Brooker told The Hollywood Reporter during a recent sit-down with Jones. The pair stressed that if nothing else, their intent is always to deliver the unpredictable.

Throughout its three-season run, Black Mirror has delivered twist after shock ending, with much to say about society layered between. The series launched with a commentary on social media that saw a U.K prime minister having sex with a pig on live television. The episode, “The National Anthem,” is now fondly known as #piggate among the Black Mirror audience. Brooker writes every script and among the 13 episodes, many of his seemingly far-fetched ideas — from apps to VR to personal tracking technologies — have later made headlines for being in development. Most notably, however, he foreshadowed the rise of President Trump with 2013’s “The Waldo Moment,” which saw an outsider who voices a cartoon bear winning an election by utilizing anti-establishment rhetoric. 

The highly anticipated fourth season, which doesn’t yet have a premiere date but is set to launch on Netflix later this year, recently released its cryptic episode titles, cast and directors. Among the group, Jodie Foster will direct an episode starring Rosemarie Dewitt and Fargo stars Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti, along with Westworld‘s Jimmi Simpson, join the roster. Past cycles have starred Jon Hamm, Bryce Dallas Howard, Michael Kelly, Wyatt Russell, Kelly Macdonald, Domhnall Gleeson, Daniel Kaluuya, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis, to name a few.

In the conversational chat below, Brooker and Jones take THR through the method of their madness when it came to plotting the new season (which finished shooting its six episodes ahead of summer), weigh in on the call for a “San Junipero” sequel and whether or not it inspired them to infuse more optimism in season four, and reveal if all those Black Mirror Easter eggs hold any weight. The duo also calls the upcoming season their most ambitious yet, tackling new worlds, tones, themes and episode lengths to create “timeless” stories — whether they end up predicting the end of days or not.

“San Junipero” ranks as both a critical and fan hit. I spoke with the episode’s director, Owen Harris, and we mused about ways San Junipero could be revisited in the future. Have you thought about a sequel or any crossovers?

Charlie Brooker: We’ve thought about it. There were aspects of the story that I took out. For instance, I’d originally written a scene where Gugu’s character, Kelly, is in a kindergarten and there are children there and when you realize what’s going on, it’s that these are deceased children. It was too sad and too poignant of a note to hit in that story, but I kept thinking about how that felt like a whole world in and of itself. I think we almost might do it in a completely different form if we were doing a straight sequel, if that makes sense. Maybe not even as a normal episode.

Like a standalone episode?

Brooker: Like a thing. An experience.

Annabel Jones: Like, for real.

Brooker: That’s exactly what I was going to say. We should do it for real. (Laughs.) We do like to drop Easter eggs every so often in other episodes, so we may be referring to San Junipero again. It’s difficult because I don’t think we’d revisit those characters. That felt like such a story and we wouldn’t want to open it up again.

The episode had a surprisingly happy ending, the first ever for a Black Mirror episode. Why?

Jones: There were a few bumps along the way, and a few question marks and sacrifices. [Kelly] is not whole-heartedly saying, “This is everything I want for the future.”

Brooker: It’s not Rainbow Island. It’s not perfect. It’s been very gratifying how people have taken that episode to heart, though.

The season and that episode came out shortly after the U.S. election and not long after Brexit. Do you think the optimism of the story contrasting with reality is what made it such a fast favorite? There were T-shirts and San Junipero Easter eggs in other TV shows.

Brooker: We saw a reference in The CW’s Riverdale, where a character gets on a bus to go to San Junipero. And there was a reference in a Saturday Night Live sketch. That sort of thing is quite daunting and quite eerie.

Jones: One of the things about being a Netflix show is that you’re not quite sure of the cultural impact of things, or when it will pick up momentum.

Brooker: We had started seeing fan art, all things that we love. And there was a guy who was doing comic book covers who we actually roped into do some stuff on the next season. It’s been interesting. When writing that episode, I was quite nervous because it had a different tone. Because I saw people moaning that the show was going to Netflix and was going to get all Americanized, I said, “Okay. Set it in California.” We also set ourselves the challenge of doing a period episode and I was nervous because it was ultimately a love story between two women — and I’m sitting there in London, a 40-something guy thinking, “Can I pull this off? I don’t know!” So I was relieved to have gotten away with it and then gratified that people took it to heart and that it resonated.

Jones: It was also an opportunity to show that we, and the show, are not anti-technology. Sometimes people think that the show is completely waving its fist at it. Actually, we all love technology and that’s why we’re making a show about it. We’re just sort of exploring some exaggerated stories .

Brooker: I do think it’s interesting that when someone does a show about the supernatural, no one is asking, “Why do you hate the dead so much? What have you got against ghosts?”

Did the reception of the happy ending influence you when it came to plotting the next season?

Brooker: Yes and no. Certainly, I would say that because it was a departure in tone — the fact that it had an upbeat ending was a way of me resetting what I thought the scripts were — and the fact that that worked definitely had some bearing on where my head is at, script-wise. Looking at the world, it’s hard to know quite how to react because the situation keeps changing every 15 minutes and you don’t know what mindset people are going to be in come when we release the season. So it’s had some bearing. We decide the order of episodes after we finish shooting. When something like that lands really well — and people love or hate all the episodes — but since that one resonated so much, you don’t want to hit the same bell again, even though it’s tempting. We have to be unpredictable with the show. We’re kind of back to doing more different things, again.

Jones: The more episodes that we do, the more we challenge our perception of the show as well and what we’re likely to do. I think that was an, as you say, experiment in whether we can keep that sensibility and have an upbeat ending, so it sort of increases the scope.

Brooker: That was the thing. It’s making sure that every story is idiosyncratic and has its own flavor, but that it still feels like it’s got some Black Mirror DNA, somewhere. That is quite a challenge sometimes and can make it a bit tricky. But that’s part of the fun of the show, is that we blow up the world, basically, at the end of each one. 

You have spoken about predicting the rise of Trump but when you wrote this season, Trump had risen. Did that making writing this season different going back to it?

Brooker: That’s a good question. In the U.K. I host a comedy show, Wipe, and I do an annual one where I sum up the year. Because 2016 was so horrible, at one point I rang Annabel up and said, “I’m not going to do it.” For my own mental well-being. Then she reminded me that contractually, I had to.

Jones: Yes, I was a very sympathetic shoulder to cry on: You have to do it, so there!

Brooker: After doing it, the immediate after of having to immerse myself and think about it, I was genuinely depressed for a while. Then I thought, “Oh no, that was character building and I think it was useful.” If it made one more person feel a little sane, then that was worthwhile. It’s slightly different with fiction. When returning to writing, I didn’t know if I wanted to completely immerse myself in nihilistic sequels at the moment when I can get that on the news! So there’s a degree of defiance that creeps in.

Jones: That’s reflective of the human spirit as a whole. People are slightly more politicized at the moment and it’s bringing people more into the political fold more than ever before, so there are always positive stirrings.

Brooker: There’s a determination that is empowering. Things that speak to the precise moment? It’s tricky to know what those are until the dust has settled a little. What we don’t tend to do when coming up with the stories is look at the news or the tech pages. We don’t do that and ask, “What’s our take on this?” That’s all stuff that’s percolating around our heads anyway and I guess it comes out in the scripts. There are probably a few explicit references to a few things, but it’s always going to be oblique.

Jones: Most of the stories are small, personal stories and they’re not overtly political. Or they’re not overtly commenting on corporations or government. It tends to be more about the individual so in that sense, there’s a timeless quality to them.

Brooker: Hopefully.

Many of your episodes have made headlines after the fact. “Hated in the Nation” centered around bee terrorism and there were stories about how that could become a reality shortly after you released the season.

Brooker: After San Junipero, there was a story about a hospice in the U.K. that’s using VR nostalgia therapy for their patients.

Does that challenge you even more when thinking up the next season? Or is the fun of it seeing how close this fantasy world merges with reality?

Brooker: We probably push it even further. I remember when we started doing season three, which was the first Netflix season, I said to myself that people always think we’re predicting the future and that we weren’t this time around. I felt that it was so far-fetched. But then, like you say, robot bees become a thing. So I keep thinking that this next season is pushed even further and there’s no way. But you can bet within five minutes Elon Musk is going to pop up with something. We should basically be in product or app design and should be patenting these things.

Jones: We should have a Black Mirror department that we can head up.

Brooker: Where we just 3D print these things so they pop up and land in your lap at the end of each story. (Laughs.)

There is an avid Reddit subculture that exists around finding and deciphering your Easter eggs.

Brooker: Oh, they’ll love the next season then!

Are you increasing the Easter eggs moving forward?

Brooker: I think it’s fair to say that there is one episode where we’ve just opened up an Easter egg hose and fired away. 

Is that just a fun nod to the fans, or are you really connecting all these episodes into one Black Mirror universe? And if so, is there an end game to that?

Brooker: My answer to that has changed, actually. It always used to be that it’s just a bit of fun. But then sometimes we’ve done some things where we did explicitly refer to other episodes. I think the rule is that when a character says something that explicitly refers to something else, it’s canonical. Also, they follow the same dream universe. That’s the other thing that I tend to say. There’s a line in “Hated in the Nation” where someone refers to a crime that happened in “White Bear.”

The Twitter feed in “Hated in the Nation” also referred to the prime minister who had sex with a pig in the series premiere.

Brooker: We love doing that. I love all the product design and UI side of it. We’ll sit there and dissect type face. It’s always about stripping it down. But we write Easter eggs to put in there specifically and sometimes there’s gags for people who press pause.

What about your social media strategy? On the day of the U.S. election, your account was trending for tweeting: No, this isn’t a Black Mirror episode. Are you involved in that strategy and linking it with the personality of the show?

Jones: Netflix handles that and we trust their judgment. It does fit with our show. We were sort of conscious on what that day meant to America and we wouldn’t want to think that Black Mirror was promoting itself off the back of it. They were sensitive and responding to other tweets, so they put something out. I think it’s important to be responsive rather than being opportunistic.

Brooker: They were probably typing it with shaking hands, like everyone was while sort of feeling a bit dizzy and unreal. I think they do a really good job with the social feed, as well as the video that mashed up Orange Is the New Black with the “San Junipero” episode. They came to us and we shipped the neon sign over. We should do more mashups with other shows, that would send the Easter egg people into overdrive.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt did a crossover with Orange Is the New Black in their last season. Is crossing over within the Netflix universe something that interests you?

Brooker: Well, we’ve had [Kimmy Schmidt star] Jon Hamm!

Jones: I don’t know. I think it’s fun to do in the guise of a trail or a one-off.

Brooker: An interesting mental challenge would be to think about how to work that into a Black Mirror story where it’d be a way of breaking the fourth wall. We’d probably do it where someone finds themselves trapped in House of Cards or something, where they know it’s a fictional show they are trapped in. That’s probably the way we would do it. Talk about having difficulty about stripping reality.

The last season of House of Cards spurred similar questions to your last season, about how the shows predicted reality. Getting you two sets of showrunners together would make for an interesting dinner conversation…

Jones: It would be the bleakest evening ever.

With season four, how did you go about picking your directors and actors and are you getting pitched at this point, have you had to turn people down?

Jones: Oh, we wouldn’t turn anyone down.

Brooker: Well, we would turn down random strangers.

Jones: With the directors, it’s quite different to plan with an anthology show. Charlie is writing all of the scripts and comes up with all of the ideas, so when we start the season, we don’t have our six scripts on the table. We’re often a little last minute, shall we say? So he brings the scripts and tells bits and pieces and then we figure out the director. We respond to the script and find the best director for that episode who responds to the material. There’s lots of ways of interpreting the worlds, so you just want to make sure someone is feeding off the same things that inspired you in that script. Then actors will work with our wonderful casting director in the U.K., Jina Jay.

Brooker: When we did “San Junipero,” Owen Harris had directed a previous episode for us, “Be Right Back,” the other tender episode of the series. So that’s why we thought he’d be a good fit. And he loves ‘80s movies and music. The musical debates we would have on that show. The only song we couldn’t clear on that playlist was a Prince track. You have to clear the songs for 15 years or so because of Netflix and I remember at some point “Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths plays as a little joke for about five seconds before she switches it off and it was an outrageous amount of money! It was like shoveling bank notes into a fire.

Jones: It was indulgent but at the same time, it was so important that we set up that era so it felt different. We felt like we had to do this properly.

Brooker: That was one of the things that was a happy accident. I picked 1987 fairly arbitrarily. In the original draft of the script when Yorkie [Davis] was walking in, there were very specific movie posters that she would see that I specified in the script and I was obsessed with the fact that it would be specific weeks of 1987 on the news. So I was looking at the charts and while I was doing that I made a Spotify 1987 playlist and that Belinda Carlisle track, “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” came up while I was running. I thought, “This is the perfect song to the whole thing!” Then I got panicky in case we couldn’t clear it. I didn’t know what I would have done. 

What can you tease about the genres and stories of season four?

Booker: Well we can’t say anything.

Jones: Yes, we can’t. But I would say it’s some of our most ambitious films in the next season. Very exciting. We do take on new genres and some new tones.

Brooker: We’re trying not to repeat ourselves, basically. So it’s different in that we’re tackling worlds, tones, themes and looks we haven’t done before. Durations we haven’t done before. Jodie Foster’s episode has the feeling of an indie movie, I can say that without saying literally anything else.

If you got another season, is the six episode model something you plan to stick to?

Brooker: It’s a good number.

Jones: It puts us just on the cusp of a nervous breakdown, so it’s working! I think even a number seven would just do us in.

Brooker: There’s always a point in the middle of the production where we’ll have four or five of them live at any given point and I’ll be writing a script for the next one while doing rewrites on the previous one. There’s a point in which you go, “I can’t keep all these six stories in my head.”

Jones: But we do.

Brooker: But if it was seven, would our brains pop?

So if Netflix came to you and said they want a 12-episode season, it would be a hard no?

Brooker: I think because I tend to be so obsessive about the script and what can work and not, and that’s one of the things that keeps the tone of the show, even though the variety is quite marked, it probably makes it feel all like one piece. Most of it has come out of here.

You also had a mini-movie with “Hated in the Nation.” Will you continue to push the lengths in season four?

Brooker: It was 75 minutes. We may beat that this season. And we also may massively undercut that. We could keep one on an infinite loop! You could do that on Netflix — make one a Groundhog Day that literally never stops. And disable the “back” button for viewers. That’s something to think about. We did talk to some of the tech people about things we could do. When we were doing “Playtest,” the video game episode, I wanted to do it in nightmare mode where after you watched it once, if you watched it again it was different.

Black Mirror

#4 #Annabel #Black #Brooker #Charlie #Episodes #Interview #Jones #Mirror #Season #Spoilers

[flint-fox]

R.E.M. - Reveal (2001)

1) The Lifting; 2) I’ve Been High; 3) All the Way to Reno (You’re Gonna Be a Star); 4) She Just Wants to Be; 5) Disappear; 6) Saturn Return; 7) Beat a Drum; 8) Imitation of Life; 9) Summer Turns to High; 10) Chorus and the Ring; 11) I’ll Take the Rain; 12) Beachball

After Up's deeply personal, soul-cleansing exercise, Reveal carries an aura of reconnection with the greater world. As incredible as Up was, the primary impression it leaves is its very insular sound and mood, where you have to dig a little deeper to find the still strongly beating heart of R.E.M.'s songwriting. Reveal, then, presents as much of an 180 turn as Up did. The traditional band roles in more prominent display again again (including an increased presence of session drummers), even if there's still a lingering element of R.E.M. taking cautious steps forward as a three-person incarnation in tune with Up's soundscapes, with programmed drums, frequent synthesizers and emphasised keyboard parts making up much of the album. But as albums, they're night and day - where Up was the melancholy late hours spent awake lost in thought; Reveal is the brand new morning. It's a decidedly more upbeat album, full of harmonies rather than controlled chaos. There's a clear desire for the band to smile again, resulting in a shift in gears to a more traditionally R.E.M.-esque album. Even the opening song welcomes you in: "Good morning! How are you? The weather's fine, the sky is blue..."

"The Lifting", the said opener, is a grand start and continues with the band's tradition of strong openers, and is in fact one of the best in that regard. It's light as a breeze, bouncing on every step like a liberated free spirit, throwing an infectious hook after another as Buck's familiar jangle appears and the drums carry an infectious rhythm. Stipe has entertained the thought that the song is about the same overworked soul as Up's "Daysleeper", and thus it's another semi-intentional shedding of the previous album's weariness, bringing the melancholy narrator to the open sunlight. It's an overwhelmingly joyous song above all, but doesn't aggressively try to be one, like e.g. the decidedly hyper-upbeat "Stand" or "Shiny Happy People". There's genuinity to it and its spiralling conclusion, with Stipe yelping full of energy, is a moment of honest delight - and in that sense, it leads the way perfectly. Reveal is open and inviting, in tone and in music - positive, melodically rich and full of hooks. After Up's experimentation Reveal places simple songcraft back in the spotlight, and while there's still great importance placed on the production of the material, the songs presented here are first and foremost guided by their melodies.

Much of what makes Reveal jump alive is still how the band treat the studio as an integral instrument in its own right, and the ambience that's pushed through the ideas making up the album's world of sound. There's a level of obsession in details prevalent throughout, carefully layered sounds and minor parts forming into a greater whole as R.E.M. seek a particular feeling throughout. Reveal is a pastoral album, a record aimed for summer through and through - the cover, the May release date, the constant lyrical references to the season and especially overt touches like sampling crickets make it abundantly clear, and the sound itself is appropriately lush, warm and inviting. The production is pristine enough to let all these details come through clearly, but there's not a trace of studio sterility. The instrumentation emphasises bright keyboards, clean guitar parts and gentle touches of electronic programming, with Up's dissonance brushed away as far back as possible. Even in its more introspective moments the band reach out their hand rather than wallow away.

The production's other main role is tying together Reveal's different strands. R.E.M. are in transition here, with one foot in the electronic soundscapes they've played around with for the previous couple of years, while the other foot is kicking back for a full band feel. Thus Reveal is, despite its unifying atmosphere, a diverse album. The traditional R.E.M. band sound makes a comeback frequently, but with a twist in how it goes about its arrangements, though there is a precedent. Before Reveal, the band released the (fantastic) soundtrack single "The Great Beyond", re-introducing R.E.M. as a full-band rock act but one with an expanded sonic palette built upon Up's studio wizardry and the willingness to tap into new soundscapes through precise arrangements, and it's like the blueprint that Reveal's foundations are based on. Thus for example the guitar-driven "Disappear" and "She Just Wants to Be" sound like natural extensions of where the band were in the 90s, but there's a kind of grace and aural richness that sounds new. It's at times akin to a 21st century update on studio magic of 60s classic pop psychedelia years.

The first two singles, "Imitation of Life" and "All the Way to Reno", are such great examples of this - and they are among the band's most obvious hits in how irresistibly melodic and sing-along-y they are. To R.E.M.'s credit they don't sound remotely like they were engineered to be so and instead they are, once again, rich and soulful. The former is an unashamed pop anthem with one of the band's most simply thrilling choruses (and some fine, contrasting lower-end string stabs and the suddenly bittersweet bridge cutting through the song and reducing the risk of saccharine overload). The latter is a relaxed, effortlessly lush melodic stroll rich in harmonies and arranged gorgeously: of all the songs in Reveal, it carries the strongest comparison to "The Great Beyond" and goes for the same almost-wistful euphoria, successfully as well. In complete contrast, "I'll Take the Rain" is a gut-puncher - a bittersweet, heartaching ballad among the band's most fragile, swerving Reveal's final run with a sudden emotional curveball. With one of their most poignant choruses, it goes all the way to the top, its sadness piercing through with Buck's chiming guitar lines (and an actual guitar solo!). It's a powerful song, utilising Reveal's warmth in a wholly different way than the rest of the album.

The keyboard/synth-oriented songs on the other hand are dreamy, serene moments of still among the lively full band cuts. "I've Been High" is arguably the most extreme of the lot, as there's nary a trace of live instrument in its pseudo-synth pop sound. It's a colossally beautiful, haunting deep cut however, full of graceful melancholy and soothing dreaminess breaking through the sad haze - and its last minute, from its career standout bridge to the rise it takes in its finale and Stipe's evocative lyric lines, is absolutely incredible. "Beat a Drum", "Summer Turns to High" and "Beachball" on the other hand are prime examples of what I mean when I talk about Reveal as a summer album, evoking the spirit of the season and the lazy holidays with their warm sound. The latter two directly make the comparisons, the electro-acoustic "Summer Turns to High" obviously so while the mellow float of "Beachball" somehow manages to take the feeling of watching the sun go down at the end of a perfect summer's day and turn it into music, gently bobbing along with its minimalistic beat. "Beat a Drum" is a little masterpiece as well, with Mills taking control through his softly swaying bass riff, the gentle piano leading the song and enriching the chorus through his backing vocals. The chorus, incidentally, is another one that manages to evoke so much so effectively through what is in the end a very few lines and a fairly straightforward progression; and yet, it's one of the album's most magical moments, a true blooming of warm summer air in music.

The one song most driven by the production, "Saturn Return", is a little marvel on its own: all tightly-wound atmosphere with little elements bouncing back and forth between the headphones, constantly switching its lead instrument from Buck's feedback-heavy guitar line to Mills' delicate piano, floating on top of a persistent drum machine up until the near end when the live drums kick in for a moment. It's the most Up-esque moment on Reveal, a bridge between the two that reminds the band haven't completed moved away from it. It's quietly one of Reveal's key tracks: an unassuming oddity at first, eventually revealing itself to be an integral centrepiece and a curious shadow cast over the album's summer day.

The one remaining song, "Chorus and the Ring", is a strange one, not really going anywhere yet towards its end it reaches a certain kind of crescendo of its own ilk where you find yourself strangely captured by the song. It's an odd one out on an album that otherwise has a very direct touch with its songwriting ("Saturn Return" included), and perhaps the only slightly dimmer spot in what is otherwise one of R.E.M.'s very finest records. That's not a light statement, but it feels almost borderline obvious, because Reveal seems to have it all. Stipe is in brilliant lyrical form, with so many great lines that lead your imagination flying, the production is golden and everyone involved with the actual playing of the music are delivering a sharp performance. And as an album, Reveal is certainly one of their most melodic: it embraces a type of songwriting which leans on harmony and goes for hooks within hooks, almost overwhelmingly so. That's always been a strength for R.E.M. and Reveal revolves around it, making it the core theme for the album together with the lushness and the summer vibe. If you can think of a picturesque sunset on a peaceful summer's evening following a pleasantly hot day, and experiencing that comforting feeling of everything being perfect and carefree in life like the best summer vacation you've had - that's where Reveal wants to take you. And it does. "Beachball" closes the album with Stipe repeating "you'll do fine" as the sun goes down in the horizon, and you can tell that after all the sadness and uncertainty, there was hope again in the band's ranks.

[ianmkeenan]

SinMint Cookies

Information about SinMint Cookies:

Effects

Fragrance

Flavors

Adverse reactions

Medical

Growing

Flowering time

It is difficult to find fault in a strain like Girl Scout Cookies. It has a massive amount of THC that induces a long-lasting high that lingers even after the last puff. Moreover, its signature flavor of fresh-out-of-the-oven baked cookies is highly cherished by enthusiasts all over the world.

Sin City Seeds, however, wanted to add a citric component in its terpene profile by crossing a forum cut of Girl Scout Cookies with their fan-favorite Blue Power. An Indica-leaning strain, it has a body-crushing buzz and a subtle cerebral high that relaxes users all throughout.

SinMint Cookies does justice to its parents’ reputations. It is equally potent with THC levels usually averaging between 15% and 16%. Moreover, its smoke is sweet with a tinge of lemons but more obvious notes of cookie batter. Though it is most notable for its recreational effects, its soothing high provides a reprieve against various afflictions and is of therapeutic value to many patients.

Information about SinMint Cookies:

ORIGIN Girl Scout Cookies and Blue Power EFFECTS Relaxed - 10 Euphoric - 9 Happy - 6 Sleepy - 5 Uplifted - 3 ADVERSE REACTIONS (NEGATIVE) Dry mouth - 10 Dry eyes - 7 Dizzy - 4 Headache - 2 Anxious - 1 FRAGRANCE Mint, sweet, cookie, nutty, kush FLAVORS Mint, sweet, nutty, cookie, lemon, berry MEDICAL Pain - 10 Stress - 6 Insomnia - 6 Muscle spasms - 5 Fatigue - 4 FLOWERING TIME INDOORS 7 to 9 weeks FLOWERING TIME OUTDOORS Late September to mid-October PLANT HEIGHT 3 to 7 feet THC CONTENT % 15% to 16% INDICA / SATIVA % 60%/40% INDOOR YIELD 11 to 18 ounces per square meter OUTDOOR YIELD 11 ounces or more per plant CLIMATE Warm climate GROWTH LEVEL Some experience needed

* 10 is the highest * 1 is the lowest

Effects

SinMint Cookies has a reputation for being a slow starter. For this reason, users should be wary of consuming too much all at once as the effects can be quite overwhelming. In moderation, however, its heavy-hitting effects can be quite enjoyable.

TIP: Looking to buy SinMint Cookies seeds? Check out this marijuana seed shop

During the initial onset, a rush of cerebral euphoria creeps in. It clears the mind and brightens the mood. Once it spreads to the deepest recesses of the mind, a change of behavior becomes immediately noticeable. Feeling upbeat, users radiate with a happiness that can only come from within.

SinMint Cookies Effects - Image powered by Seedfinder.eu

After a few hours, the same mentally uplifting buzz trickles down from the temples. It surges through the muscles in waves until one is enveloped in full-bodied relaxation. In all likelihood, a heaviness that plants itself in the limbs eventually anchors users to their couches where they are eventually lulled in to a deep sleep.

Due to its Indica-leaning effects, SinMint Cookies is better used at night since morning or noontime consumption may hamper productivity.

Fragrance

SinMint Cookies blends together the scent of mint, sweet citrus, and freshly baked cookies. A whiff of the bud reveals subtle hints of hazelnuts. Crushed and combusted, a strong aroma of Kush fills the air.

Flavors

Drawn in, the strain swarms the palate with the cooling taste of mint and a subtle sweetness reminiscent of baked cookies sprinkled with nuts. On the exhale, it leaves an earthy aftertaste with a tinge of lemon and berries.

Adverse Reaction

The moisture-inhibiting cannabinoids in SinMint Cookies interfere with the body’s natural ability to salivate. It also affects the tear ducts which usually leads to dry eyes. Due to their inevitability, it is necessary to stay hydrated during and after consumption.

SinMint Cookies Adverse Reaction - Image powered by Hightimes.com

Used excessively, it can bring about dizziness and a mild headache. At times, the keen awareness can exacerbate into a feeling of anxiety. Thankfully, these side effects are rare. Still, marijuana must always be paced and used with caution.

Medical

Stress relief is commonly cited as the main reason for using marijuana. In fact, in the United States alone, at least a third say they use it for that very reason. To this end, SinMint Cookies works perfectly.

TIP: Looking to buy SinMint Cookies seeds? Check out this marijuana seed shop

It delivers a calming high that eases overwhelming anxiety from work or school while simultaneously enhancing the mood. Similarly, SinMint Cookies also works as an anti-depressant that helps temporarily manage turbulent emotions common among users with mental health issues like depression or PTSD.

SinMint Cookies Medical - Image powered by Livwellstrains.com

A versatile strain, SinMint Cookies works effectively against different kinds of body aches and pains as well. In the stomach, for example, it relaxes muscular contractions that usually have a nauseating effect on users. Its antiemetic properties help cancer patients deal with the intense aftereffects of chemotherapy. The freedom from both mental and physical conditions usually lulls many to sleep.

Growing

SinMint Cookies has a typical Indica structure. It is naturally branchy and relatively short. Although, at times, it may require height management techniques like early topping. This will keep the plant short so it can fit in truly limited spaces.

With that said, SinMint Cookies is fairly sturdy. It can withstand various problems caused by high levels of moisture in the air, strong gusts of wind, and fluctuations in temperature. And while it prefers warm climates, it has no problem thriving in colder weather.

In spite of its impressive performance outdoors, many commercial growers still prefer cultivating their batch indoors. A less volatile environment assures users of a stable chemical profile regardless of when a batch was created.

Once it fully flowers, SinMint Cookies yields eye-catching mint-colored buds. Each is densely packed and come with a hefty coating of crystal trichomes as well as long amber hairs.

Sin City Seeds has made seeds of SinMint Cookies available in regular and feminized form. The latter optimizes the growing process by producing an all-female batch and is a good choice for beginners. The former requires the expert care of a seasoned grower as it is quite tedious to cultivate.

Flowering Time

Indoors It takes approximately 7 to 9 weeks for SinMint Cookies to flower indoors. Once mature, it yields 11 to 18 ounces of buds per square meter. However, growers can apply techniques like the Sea of Green or wait for a week longer to increase yields.

Outdoors In the northern hemisphere, SinMint Cookies flowers around the last week of September to the second or third week of October. It yields at least 11 ounces of buds per plant once ready for harvest.

Have you ever smoked or grown your own SinMint Cookies? Please let me know what you think about this marijuana strain in the comments below.

Robert

The post SinMint Cookies appeared first on I Love Growing Marijuana.

[antonintalkswine]

Präsentation der Traditionsweingüter 2018/REPORT

As a pretty big follower and overall dedicated fans of the wines of Austria, recently moved to the country, I immediately saw the new vintage release event of the Erste Lagen as something I could not miss out on.

Back in the 1990’s, what started as a tiny group of passionate winemakers in Kamptal/Kremstal under the name ‘Traditionsweiguter’ discussing vineyards and soils, later on turned into something much bigger; 

Fast forward to present day, the organization has successfully brought surrounding winegrowing areas together under one roof, Osterreichische Traditionsweinguter. Now at 30+ members including Kamptal, Kremstal, Wagram, Traisental and more recently, Vienna.

...WHAT FOR?...

Indeed, as many reckoned the Burgundian pyramid system (Village, 1er cru, Grand Cru) as a success for preserving identity and terroir, this is the main goal the organization has intended to pursue down its path but more specifically: How does one map out individual identities within an old implemented system?

Well, they did just that. Setting out to promote and highlight every vineyard worthy of being granted a Erste Lage (Premier cru) or Grosse Lage (Grand cru) status. Although the Erste Lagen sites were finally revealed in the early 2010’s, the Grosse Lagen could still be another few decades.

As a matter of fact, this type of classification has led to the fame of certain sites such as Heiligenstein or Lamm in Kamptal, which the organization can be credited for.

...THE EVENT...

-Friday, September 7th 2018 was the day of the event (last day open to the public)-

...Set every year, the organization has set a rule for the new vintage not released to the market until the event taking place, which means all upcoming notes will be on the 2017 vintage...

Set in a gorgeous setting out in the Kamptal area, I could not have thought of a better place than Schloss Grafenegg for hosting the event.

I’m immediately handed a glass as I walk in and make my way to the main hallway, where most producers could be found. Indeed, the event was spread around the castle into a few rooms and further divided into site names on each booth.

First off I have to say, hats off to the event planners people as this put the emphasis on the vineyard and not the winemaking team, also leaving room for comparison.

KAMPTAL/

I’m first greeted by the team from Hiedler, hosting the Heiligenstein booth, among other wines such as Jurtschitsch, Bründlmayer and Schloss Gobelsburg. 

After about a few short conversations and what felt like half an hour of sampling, what I tasted were wines were of extremely high quality.

Most described 2017 as a very forgiving vintage, with long warm days throughout the season, which ended in rainy days closer to the picking date, leading to freshness and longevity in the wines.

Overall, what had me divided was rather immediate appeal vs. non-approachable, cellar worthy. 

I found all wines, especially from Jurtschitsch to have an appealing, fruity aspect but found myself more attracted to the more obscure, youthful Riesling Heiligenstein from Hiedler… Quiet and closed but I would gladly come back to them in a few years.

KREMSTAL/

As I move further back to the Kremstal room, I notice a sudden decrease in space for producers as maybe for lack of fame? Who knows. 

Looking around, I already had Stadt Krems and Salomon as the two names I wanted to taste from.

I then proceeded onto sampling through a lineup from both and although, Stadt Krems have remained among my personal favorites, here Salomon stood out.

Gruner Veltliner VON STEIN had to be the freshest and most pure GV I have had. Spiciness in the background but lifted by great acidity and moderate body (which most producers overdo). Great stuff.

All remaining Riesling, including Pfaffenberg were among other outstanding examples.

As most would compare the Kremstal climate similar to the one of the Wachau (also for its similar soil structure) and its wines at times heavy, I here found the complete opposite.

WAGRAM/

Last but not least in my limited amount of time, I managed to squeeze in one stop at OTT.

One of the famous names here, I believe in the Wagram having opened up to the world map of wine thanks to OTT. 

Gruner Veltliner ROSENBERG again blew me away. Amazing freshness and laced with citrus peels, spices and well, warm welcomes go a long way!

...CONCLUSION...

 I have to quickly make my way out, I wrap up this event on a upbeat note for wines to come from Austria and especially from these areas.

What came out of a few conversations was never has a focus been put so much on quality, care and identity from all producers. Based on what I had sampled prior to the event alongside all wines sampled, I cannot help but remain highly optimistic about the future of Austrian wine.

[kevinmoyer]

Best Weddings of 2017 :: Romantic Black Tie Wedding in France :: Eva & Jon

If you’re dreaming of a destination wedding in France then this next wedding from our Best Weddings of 2017 will make you want to pack your bags tomorrow! Photography by Greg Finck.

Happy New Year! And a very special welcome our newly-engaged couples out there who had an extra special holiday season. We are kicking off 2017 with this wedding that ticks every box you might ever have dreamed of. Destination wedding in France? Stunning historic venue? Delicate Monique Lhuillier number? Luscious blush florals we can’t stop thinking about? And finally, dancing the night away with your new spouse in a gilt-edged ballroom? This classic, romantic black tie affair has it all in spades!

Bride Eva designed all of the beautiful stationery and paper goods herself. She tells us: “as a former stationery designer, the design of the invitation was very important to me and I wanted to create an elegant suite that captured my aesthetic. It was so nice to finally be able to execute my own invitation, instead of ones for other couples, and I designed our save the date in less than an hour! I’ve been a letterpress printer for several years, and printed the save the dates myself. I had the rest of the designs foil stamped by a local company, and the calligraphy was done by Rachel Carl, who I’ve worked with before on other projects.”

The Ceremony

Why did you choose this location for your ceremony? It was important to us that our wedding venue be both elegant and intimate, as well as have a beautiful outdoor location for the ceremony. As soon as we saw the Pavillon de Musique de la Comtesse du Barry, we knew it was the perfect spot. The building is magnificently decorated, needing little added embellishment, and it has a big, gorgeous terrace with a view of Paris. It also happened to be the perfect size for the number of guests we were expecting.

What was your ceremony music? Our ceremony music was played by Jazz Around Midnight’s Gypsy Trio, led by Alex Beker. They played high tempo swing music with two acoustic guitars and a double bass. We wanted a French sound that was fun and relaxed. The trio was just right. The music before the wedding was mostly Django Reinhardt hits. Our families walked down the aisle to La Vie en Rose. When I came out, the band played an acoustic version of Etta James’ At Last, which they learned specifically for our wedding.

Who officiated your ceremony? How did you choose him/her? Jon reached out to his longtime college friend, Brian, about officiating our ceremony. Brian is a an extremely gregarious and versatile character, who previously worked as a standup comedian, before becoming a lawyer and technology executive. We didn’t think twice about asking him, because we knew he would be cheerful, funny and professional. It was the right choice, and he hit it out of the park!

How did you go about planning your ceremony? Our officiant actually planned most of the ceremony! He had never officiated before, but he called on a few friends he knew who had. From their suggestions he wrote a wonderfully funny and light ceremony that was exactly the right tone for us.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share about your wedding ceremony? We decided to forgo bridesmaids and groomsmen, and to have only the Best Man and Maid of Honor. These two are our closest, most important friends and it felt right that they should be the ones standing next to us as we got married.

What was your favorite thing about your wedding ceremony? Our officiant sent us a few questions before the wedding to answer and keep hidden from each other. He only revealed what each of us had said about the other during the ceremony itself. It was some of the most heartfelt, loving words I’ve ever heard from Jon, and to hear it in front of everyone we love was very moving. Of course, I also really loved my dress and the flowers!

Did you include any traditions in your ceremony? We wanted a lighthearted and non-religious ceremony without any traditional expectations. The only exception to this were the vows.

What were your vows like? This was the one traditional thing we wanted! We stuck with the traditional vows: “I, Jon, take you, Eva, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part…” It’s an honest and heartfelt classic that never goes out of style.

What were your ceremony readings? I found a letter from Johnny Cash to June Carter that I felt was honest and relatable. It was true to our relationship, and Jon, who identifies with Johnny Cash, felt it suited us. The letter contained the right amount of mushy sentiment while letting Jon still feel manly.

Your ceremony in three words. Romantic, funny, honest.

You can read Eva & Jon’s full ceremony script right here!

What was your recessional music? After the ceremony, Jon and I walked down the aisle to Moppin’ the Bride, which was the upbeat exit we wanted.

What was the best advice you received as a bride? Don’t buy a wedding dress you need to change in any way. At one stage I was considering a dress that had sleeves, and I thought I might prefer the dress with them removed. My sister, a fashion designer and Parson’s graduate warned against making major modifications to a dress. I think it was excellent advice!

What advice do you have for other couples in the midst of planning a wedding? When it comes to vendors, hire professionals, stick to your vision, don’t hire anyone you have doubts about. As for the trickier, more emotional things: don’t be too concerned about what other people think, make sure you take care of each other’s needs first (f the groom wants something reasonable, he should have it!), don’t be afraid to break tradition, and only have there those who make you happiest.

What was your favorite moment or part of the day? The most rewarding part of the celebrations was seeing many of our friends meeting and enjoying each other’s company for the first time.

The couple included hand lettered love quotes throughout their day – so romantic! (This Gone With The Wind quote is a special favorite of ours, too, and we featured it in our Words To Love By series.)

The Reception

How would you describe your reception? The reception was romantic and elegant in an incredibly French setting.

What inspired you when you were planning your wedding? I was inspired by the beauty and sophistication of Paris and old world France. I love traditional French decor and I wanted the style of our wedding to be classic without feeling dated. I chose colors I thought would feel timeless and flowers that felt romantic and whimsical.

Having been a wedding stationery designer for many years, I’ve worked with couples from the beginning of their planning until the day of the wedding. I also have three sisters that have been married before me. This gave me several years worth of experience of how to plan a wedding! Over the years, I developed a taste for what appealed most to me.

I knew finding a venue was the first step that would inspire everything else, so that was our focus. If you can find a great place that fits your vision, there’s less work to be done elsewhere. Once we nailed down the location, both Jon and I were on the same page in terms of style. The most important thing to me was the visuals. I wanted to create a mood that was romantic, vintage-inspired, and elegant. I cared a lot about the paper items and calligraphy, the flowers, and the ambiance. Jon cared more about the music and the food. We both worked very hard to keep the guest list small, so the celebration felt intimate and personal. We committed to finding the best vendors to work with, while making sure that their taste was in line with ours.

Do you have any budget tips for other brides? I think it’s very important to know your budget, how flexible it is, and where you really want to spend the money. Be prepared to do your homework! For several months, we collected quotes from multiple good vendors for almost every aspect of the wedding, and then compared prices and styles. We negotiated hard, made sure we were only paying for things we really wanted, and requested changes to the wording of contracts when necessary. It’s important to realize that vendors make packages for simplicity, but you should only pay for the things you actually want. At the same time, we were happy to pay for good work and excellent products. It’s a balance of both cost and value, but in most cases we found that the best vendors were not the most expensive. Lastly, keep a detailed spreadsheet of your vendors and costs. You don’t want surprises when it comes to the budget.

What type of cake or dessert did you serve? We decided to ditch the classic wedding cake, which neither of us like, and instead opt for what the French do best dessert-wise: elaborately decorated pâtisseries! We ordered from two vendors, L’Éclair de Génie which makes the most incredible, unorthodox éclairs, and Carl Marletti, who make miniature edible masterpieces. We also had delicious fresh fruit, including some of the best strawberries any of us had ever tasted.

What was your first dance song? Father/daughter or mother/son dance? We skipped the traditional father/daughter and mother/son dances. Our first dance as husband and wife was to The Wedding Samba by Edmundo Ros (as featured in the movie A Good Year, which also inspired much of our honeymoon). We took dance lessons to learn a Rumba routine and spent weeks practicing almost daily in our basement.

If you had it to do over again, is there anything you would do differently? Nope. It was better than I ever imagined! (Although the day before the wedding, I’d probably skip the 8-hour tour of Versailles in 90-degree heat.) Truly though, the pictures speak for themselves. This wedding was worth the 11 year wait!

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