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noelacciari · 7 years

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Beth! I must tell you my story: I used to think that Tyson Barrie was kind of weird looking and now, thanks to you and your love for him, I want to, like... Ride him

oh my god - you made my day with this, i kept thinking about it and laughing while grocery shopping and probably looked like an idiot but it’s FINE

and listen, i hope this ends up being my legacy on this blue hellsite, but falling in love with Tyson Barrie happens in several stages:

1. #RELATABLE - you discover Tyson Barrie in some gifset looking at Gabe Landeskog with heart eyes, describing frozen yogurt toppings in depth, or getting called out for hitting on all the boys instead of interviewing them. He refers to Landeskog as “a stallion” on camera, while blushing. You think wow, this is the first hockey player you can really relate to on a personal level, as you too, engage in at least 2 of the 4 above activities on a regular basis.

2. Smile City Bitch - it happens slowly, but you begin to realize that watching videos, looking at pictures of, or just seeing Tyson’s name brings a smile to your face. It’s weird, because he’s not even that good looking - you think - but you kind of just like looking at his face and the sound of his laugh. It’s fine, really. This is the part where you probably discover his epic friendship with Nate MacKinnon and you’re like… why do I find these average looking, ridiculous white boys so endearing? You don’t even like the Colorado Avalanche, you live on the other side of the country (or the world) and they aren’t winning games and… IT’S FINE

3. Hockey Shit - So now you’re an Avs fan, you’ve fallen in love with their rookies and know that there’s only one goalie that matters on their roster (it’s Bernier, for the record) and low and behold, Tyson is actually pretty good at hockey. Like, one of the team leaders in assists, top scoring defenseman, shit like that. It’s… it’s fine, okay, and it’s not like you have a competency kink or anything. Obviously.(Of course, Tyson also can’t play at worlds because he injured himself WRESTLING IN HIS HOTEL ROOM and you wonder if there’s something the opposite of a competency kink?? An incompetency kink??)

4. Oh no, He’s Hot - For me, it was this godforsaken video. Who knows what it will be for you, but you’ll just randomly come across a photo of Tyson and get this feeling low in your belly that only means bad, bad things. All of a sudden his smile gives you butterflies, and you could write sonnets about his eye brows and his cheekbones and the way his hair looks (sometimes lol). You don’t know if it’s his charisma or if you were just blind this entire time, but Tyson Barrie is hot, and you think that maybe everyone tricked you into thinking Gabe was the hottest Av.

5. #MARRIED - This is it, Beth Status. You’re listening to games, cheering when you get a notification on your phone that Tyson got a goal or an assist. You’re a little bit in love with half the Avs roster, but everything Tyson does makes you kind of want to die. Things like weird christmas work out videos, awkward boyband style photo shoots, game day suits, and being a dick to people on insta/twitter have you freaking out and sending links to your friends that you have dragged into this mess with you. You’ve reblogged every post featuring Tyson several times. You own at least one item of #4 Avs merchandise. You want to like, ride him. Welcome to hell.

#god im a mess #but like whatever #me and em created a specific category of hot #on our other blog #because of tyson #tbear #hockey #mine #mine:hockey #avs #tyson barrie #Anonymous #beth's got mail

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tfw-needs-baby · 5 years

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sam winchester | internet personas

based on my own experience.

read on ao3?

Sam Winchester and his brother stumbled upon fanfiction and the fandom a while ago. He swore to himself that he would never, ever go back and visit the crazy people that existed there.

Well, sitting in his room in the bunker, he was bored and had nothing much to do because the supernatural had been pretty quiet for the past month or so and he was scrolling aimlessly through new articles and finding nothing. He doesn’t know how or why the idea popped into his head, but it came and he was curious at the time, so why not?

‘Best places to’ Nope, delete that.

‘Where to join a fandom’ Delete that too. That just sounded stupid.

‘Fandom friendly sites.’ Yeah, that sounded about right. He clicked onto the first link, and it immediately brought him to a site called ‘Fandom.’

How ironic. Although it didn’t exactly help him much, it was just an explanation guide to their platform and what it had to offer. The rest of the links weren’t much help either, and he sighed. Alright, how to find the fans...wasn’t there something called livejournal?

According to a couple of articles, old and inactive journals had been purged, but were still doing pretty well. And then, the Winchester searched up ‘best places to read fanfiction.’

A couple of suggestions appeared underneath ‘Popular on the web.’

‘Wattpad - tumblr - kindle words - deviantart - archive of our own - asianfanfics’

Huh. Visiting a couple of sites, Wattpad and Fanfiction.net and Archive Of Our Own popped up frequently, so he decided to visit Wattpad first. He went to browse works and choose fanfiction, and it brought him to a selection of hot and trendy stories with millions of views on them. Woah. It ranged from k-pop to a selection of animes to CBS shows and weird crossovers. The ‘x reader’ tag seemed very popular and he shivered, reminding him of Becky.

Signing up wasn’t hard either. It had only taken him a couple of minutes. But when he was reading a selected few from the hot section, they didn’t exactly grab his attention. A lot of them seemed to be written by younger ten to fifteen year olds. They did have a large amount of potential and amazing storylines, he’ll give them that.

Then he wandered over to Fanfiction.net. The sign up process was easy, but the site was a bit more historical and a bit more him. There were multiple forums, and he scrolled down and viewed a couple of them. Oh. They were similar to roleplay, but just - more building along a storyline with it, if that made any sense. The sign up was pretty easy here too, and he smiled as two notifications popped up in his gmail for both sites.

Backtracking now, he went off to ‘archive of our own,’ nicknamed ‘ao3’ for short and a paragraph popped up and he skimmed through it quickly. It was just a warning that everything could be viewed by whoever and whatnot. The writing here definitely seems way more advanced, way more complex and interesting, with canon divergences going all out and unheard au’s. And the cliche plots we’re simply adorable.

He went over to sign up, and raised an eyebrow when it stated that you needed to get an invitation, and all you had to do was enter in an email. And wait a day for an invitation.

Hopping onto tumblr, he made an account quickly and started scrolling through it, and everything seemed different somehow. Like, more modern day than the last time he came to the page. The fandom had definitely become smaller due to a ‘nsfw ban’ and he couldn’t decide whether that was a good or bad thing. They had gifsets of memories that had happened about three years ago, with their final stand against Chuck, and he smiled as he went through year’s old blogs that never updated anymore, reblogging everything ‘Supernatural’ underneath the username ‘babytrenchcoatnougat’ and he started to tear up when he stumbled upon a post where they had created a small art of playing the rainbow slinky with Dean based on a gifset of a memory. He still remembers how happy Dean had been when he got it just for him, he played with it for the next week.

A couple of week’s later, Sam want’s to do more than reblog and comment on content. Sam does have artistic potential, and he could definitely look into that. Although, writing seems easier at the moment, and he scrolls through an endless amount of fanfiction on archive of our own - ranging from major character death to general fanfiction - from his brother and best friend sleeping together to him turning into the boyking to high school universes to Apocalyptic worlds where they have failed.

He wants to write his own world, where they’re all happy and care-free and able to actually live happily, where no one he’s loved has died. Making a post on tumblr he states: By any chance, is there anyone on this platform that can help me with a non-romantic general Supernatural fanfiction?

He places a couple of normal tags that fit into the category, then presses post. About an hour later, he gets a reblog from someone called @ misha-moose-dean-burger-lover [and wow, that sounds like a handful] offering to help.

I’m available if you need me to, @ babytrenchcoatnougat ; what’s the plot? We can discuss more in DM’s if you’d like! Besides, I’m free for the week, but if you need a beta reader I can offer a couple of people that I know.

Sam sends her a message.

babytrenchcoatnougat: can you give me some advice or writing tips if you have any? i'm not looking to make any implied romantic pairings in the fic

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: well, that depends, what’s the fic going to be about?

babytrenchcoatnougat: i don't know yet, maybe team free will 2.0 just taking a roadtrip to nowhere without a destination in sight after defeating chuck?

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: eeeeee

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: that sounds like a awesome idea misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: you're definitely going to want to have specific destinations in mind, and only a hint of angst, and what they’re going to do at these locations

misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: use transition words and make sure it doesn’t repeat often, descriptive details but don’t use it in every scene, and make sure there are frequent movements in the characters so they don’t sound so stiff, and make sure to slowly transition into the next scene, as time skipping to every scene will make the story seem boring. misha-moose-dean-burger-lover: make sure the characters aren’t ooc either!

And so, Sam writes. He writes until his eyes hurt and he definitely needs some sleep, so he sends a quick message to a beta to read it over for him and they do, gushing about how the plot was wonderful and badly needed after all the terrible angst that occurred this season. He smiles, giving his thanks before uploading the first chapter out of 15, 13k words, onto ao3.

[He checks over the grammar and tags over fifteen times.]

He can hardly contain his excitement, jumping around happily all day, even baking Dean a pie which makes him get sprayed with holy water and go through every test just to make sure he isn’t some supernatural creature.

Later that afternoon, he checks his ao3 underneath the same username and finds out it’s gotten about 150 hits, and 38 kudos, which makes his heart swell. He’s also gotten a comment, and he presses comments eagerly.

‘Kill yourself, psycho virgin fag.’

He re-reads the comment a couple of times, eyes tearing up and dropping his phone onto the kitchen table recklessly. What the fuck. Was his story really that bad? Did those people who didn’t leave a kudo really hate his story that much? Did the fans think his story was too child-like? Badly written? OOC? Do they really hate him that bad that he actually should commit-

Sam breaks down right then and there, pushing his computer aside, placing his head down and crying softly. Castiel and Dean don’t find him until an hour later, and he’s still softly crying. They rush over to him, Dean quickly sitting to the right while Castiel sits to the left. “Sammy? What happened?” Dean asks, and the younger Winchester shakes his head.

“N’thing.” He mumbles, and the older Winchester sighs. He’s just being stubborn, when he doesn’t want other people to worry about him, afraid that he’ll give them his problems. “Sam, please, if you talk to us, then we may fix the problem together. Remember, we made that promise two years ago, to be more open with each other.” The former-angel now archangel says, pushing Sam’s hair out of his face. Sam takes a shaky breath, pushing himself off the desk and grabs the laptop, opening it up to the recent fanfiction he had written, and Castiel and Dean both skim through it before Dean snatches the laptop. “Is this a fanfiction?” He looks at him as if he’s crazy, and Sam slowly shakes his head in agreement. Castiel walks over to Dean, both of them reading the first chapter silently, and everytime he glances over to see their reactions it seems unchanged. His brother probably thinks he’s weird, and Castiel is going to find him crazy-

“Damn, Sammy, you’ve got talent.” Dean says, and he actually sounds impressed. “W- what?”

“That is incredibly written and a wonderful idea, I think we should go on a roadtrip ourselves,” Dean nodded in agreement. “Is this why you’re crying? I think this is perfect.”

“Wait - you two do find it weird or anything?”

Castiel and Dean look confused. “Why would you think that Sammy? I like it.”

“You should uh - read the comment.” He says, and it takes the angel and older hunter a moment to find the comment section at the bottom, Castiel pointing at the button. Their faces turn into pure fury.

“I’m going to smite them.” Castiel all but growls out, and Dean shuts the laptop closed. “Don’t listen to ‘em, this is fucking amazing, got it? I want the second chapter. Don’t listen to what anyone else says, they're probably jealous that we’ve got a New York bestseller writer and all they can do is write the abc’s.” Dean hugs his brother, Castiel immediately joining right in and Sam sighs happily. They stay there for a bit, muttering out a ‘thank you’ before jumping up slightly, seeing that he’s gotten two more comments on his fanfiction, and nervously opens up the comment section to see that a user called ‘quicksilvermalec’ writing on how much they enjoyed the fic and can’t wait to read the second chapter while an anonymous user has attacked the one that insulted him, throwing a whole truckload of insults and Castiel smiles. “They got what they deserved.” The archangel says, and Dean shouts ‘damn straight’ joyfully. “Would the two of you want to write fanfiction with me, then?” Sam asks while writing the second chapter about an hour later, and the unison ‘yes’ gives him a warm feeling in his chest.

#sam winchester #dean winchester #castiel #jack kline #archangel!castiel #ficlet #gen fic #genfic #supernatural #fluff #representation week

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noredinktech · 4 years

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A QA Interview We Never Used

About five years ago I was working on a QA interview process and got the following suggestion: “You’ve just arrived at the airport and have two hours before your flight to Hawaii. Make a list of everything that could go wrong between now and when the flight lands.”

No information about how to assess the candidate’s response was provided, and I had another concern. I remembered growing up in Maine and taking a vacation once a year: we’d rent a house on a lake for a week and drive to it in the family car. For my parents, this type of vacation was a huge luxury, something the generation before had never been able to do; I doubt flying to Hawaii, or anywhere else, ever really entered their minds. At the age of 23, I had flown a total of three times in my life, and always between New England and Arizona.

All this is to say that I was worried about cultural bias in the interview, a worry I admit I wouldn’t had thought of if it had simply been presented as, say, a road trip. But it seemed that frequent flyers, who could readily access detailed images of airport parking lots, terminals, and the planes themselves, would have a distinct advantage that was unrelated to the testing skills I wanted to measure, so I didn’t include it in my set of interviews.

But there was something else I liked about the interview. It got at what it’s like to be a tester. Looking for risk and points of failure. Questioning assumptions. Viewing every transition from moment to moment or state to state (house, car, pre-security, post-security, boarding, flying, deplaning…) with skepticism, wondering where things might come apart and replaying them over and over, looking for faults. And as one of those people who often reflexively lists things that might go wrong in regular life for no reason and when no one asked, perhaps I felt this interview honored a behavior that annoys others. So a few years later, on a flight to San Francisco, I made my own version, which I then promptly forgot about. A few years after that, the QA team was redesigning parts of our interview process, and I remembered it and shared it with my colleagues.

Testing mindset interview

Introduction

In this interview, you’ll be presented with a scenario and asked to offer reasons for how the information presented in the scenario could be possible. To avoid a list of very similar reasons, we ask that you stretch your imagination and try to consider as many different categories of reasons as possible. What does categories mean?

Dividing anything into categories can be arbitrary, of course. To give you an idea of how we’ve divided things into categories, consider the example scenario below (we don’t want to spoil answers by discussing the real scenario yet). The example scenario is similar to the one we’ll present as the real interview question.

Example Scenario

Suppose you were asked to make a list of every danger you might face while hiking through a forest. To start, you might say, I could get attacked by a wolf, or trampled by a deer, or struck from above by a hawk. While these experiences are undoubtedly vastly different, they all involve an animal attacking you, and we’d say they fit into a single category. You might also suggest, for example, that you could be attacked by an empty suit of armor; while somewhat more poetic, this still falls, in our opinion, under the category of “something attacks me”, and doesn’t require a new category to hold it. If you mentioned accidentally ingesting a poisonous mushroom, though, we wouldn’t try to argue that the mushroom belongs in the same class as the other attacking entities — this is a new category, perhaps something along the lines of “ingesting dangerous things”.

For this exercise, try to keep our rough ideas of categories in mind. We’ll ask you to provide examples for a specific situation, and we’ll be looking for how many different categories your examples cover. While it doesn’t hurt you to list many things from the same category, it doesn’t help, either. We encourage you to write down everything that comes to mind, but focus on trying to think of new ideas that aren’t closely related to what you’ve already written.

The Real Scenario

You enter an empty cabin. The entrance is to a kitchen, where a table holds three identical bowls of porridge. On the stovetop, a much larger pot of porridge sits over a low heat. As you brazenly devour the porridge, you notice that the contents of the bowls are not identical after all — the porridge in the first bowl is scalding hot, while the porridge in the second bowl is freezing cold, and the porridge in the third bowl is a pleasant temperature, somewhere between the two extremes of the other bowls.

What are some possible reasons that the porridges were not all the same temperature?

I liked my scenario because I felt it didn’t require too much knowledge from any particular domain. Deep knowledge of cooking, heating and cooling, or fairy tales wouldn’t, I guessed, confer much advantage. It also offered a certain level of whimsy that I felt would serve as an appropriate warning for anyone who might have to work with me.

But a concern remained. It was one of my two concerns from five years ago: how to assess the candidate’s response? Was there a fair and objective way to do it? I intended to go through the candidate’s list (“someone added ice to one bowl and hot water to another”, “something is wrong with my nerve endings”) and check off every distinct category they’d identified (“interference from outside actor”, “error in measurement”), but even if I created a near-perfect list of categories (I felt close), could I really communicate what size of categories I had created to the candidate without giving away answers? (Probably not). When I actually practiced the interview with a colleague, things deteriorated further, as many of her answers fell into a gray area as to whether or not they should count for a particular category.

Time ticks on, cooling our porridge and bringing deadlines rushing to meet us. I kept thinking about the problem, but an epiphany never came. With no solution to problem of a fair scoring system, I scrapped the interview and wrote this blog post instead.

Do you give (or have you taken) any kind of QA interview like this? Let me know on one of the social platforms below.

Alexander Roy QA Analyst | NoRedInk

LinkedIn | Github | Twitter

Thanks to Kristine Horn for her help while I was still trying to salvage the interview, and to Michael Glass and Charlie Koster for reviewing this blog post.

#qa #interviewing #engineering

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theangrypokemaniac · 4 years

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Alola Forms don't make sense.

Exeggutor they focus upon, prod and poke in the classroom, solely because its mutation is the single example of logic in the olid morass.

It's become an unwieldy coconut tree, but excessive heat kills plants quicker than provoking a growth spurt.

Plus it's gone from Grass and Psychic to Grass and Dragon.

Why?

It's based on the dragon tree.

How is that applicable to the situation?

Why would Exeggutor's body, sensing the sweltering surroundings, think to itself:

This calls for a type change. I know: Dragon!

It would only be of use if, as in real life, dragons always breathe fire, thus possess supreme resistance to avoid auto-immolation.

Except that in this world, dragons aren't Fire Pokémon, thus it is pointless.

The sun nurtured its secret Dragon powers.

By 'secret' you mean nonexistent before the Seventh Generation.

Not much point in having 'hidden talents' if they're usable only in a specific point on the globe.

I could take it that Exeggutor's brain boiled like the egg it once was, with Psychic abilities atrophied...

Eh? You mean Alola both destroys and creates magic minds?

It's because of its diet.

But for the fact that Raichu now has them instead.

What, those special floating berries no one else ever consumed?

What really helps is natural endurance, something to aid a Pokémon's survival in the Alola climate.

The most obvious ploy would be for all of 'em to transform into Fire-types. No element is better equipped to thriving there.

How is flying through the air, levitating on his own tail, a response to the tropics?

How does this combat horrible conditions?

If you've got an inferno in yer innards a little excess warmth from the outside won't prove too taxing.

But no:

It goes to a hot country, for which it is suited, and its method of adaption is to develop a weakness instead!

Oh, but it probably lives in the snowy mountains.

You mean a Fire Pokémon, on arrival, decides the best thing is to deeply inconvenience itself by scaling the local peak, risking freezing to death, just waiting for blessed alteration?

Vulpix in Alola becomes Ice!

How did the first example there know it'd happen?

Come on Vulpix! Time to evolve! I spent me life savings on a Fire Stone! Oh...

And Ninetales is a Fairy, as if that boosts its chances.

What part of a suffocating island chain encourages the flourishing of more ethereal qualities?

Maybe if Ice, it cools yer down. The heliocentric Hell hole is taking its toll on the rest, but you exude chilly relief.

Why is it still furry then? Those tails are burden enough.

The other category with an inbuilt sturdiness is probably Ground. A habitat of molten earth and arid wastelands render one accustomed to baking beneath unforgiving weather.

Marowak had the right idea, following my advice and turning Fire, but he lost Ground in the process.

How is that an improvement?

Sandshrew and Sandslash converted to Ice and Steel, both of which melt in flames!

Why would sand on floor, in the trees, in the air even, blown to town by beach-skimming sirocco winds, wear away the Ground in him?

Absurdly, as a Ghost, seems the evolution rites are now so traumatic to a Cubone it dies on the way.

What kind of madness is this?

That's nice, innit? Kick 'im when he's down!

Diglett's sprouted a few comb-over strands and Dugtrio grows a full mane.

Of course it does. Everyone knows hair follicles are stimulated into overdrive by sweating.

Yeah, ones it didn't have in the first place.

And whilst Exeggutor's extra height is the feasible result...

Geodude and its evolutions not only lose their protective Ground type in favour of redundunt Electric, they all have jumbo eyebrows and hairy heads, arms and top lips.

That's the iron filings attracted to his new magnetic aura.

Rattata and Raticate sport moustaches whilst being fried in the fur by a heat-absorbing black coat.

Apparently the sensible thing to do when faced with burning skies is give oneself greater susceptibility to its draining effects.

Good job, now it's worse off.

What's the other aspect of this equatorial location?

The blinding, omnipresent light.

Well Rattata and Raticate, exposed to the sheer incandescent force, naturally bowed to convention to become Dark, the obvious reaction.

That's how you survive the furnace of Alola.

It might do. Perhaps changing to Dark is like a tan. Your body protects itself with it to limit the damage of the sun's rays.

Of course it is, and they kindly arranged themselves in limited amounts as manly additions, rather than coat him in a thousand spikes all over like a sea urchin.

Absolute blackness is bound to block out much of the harm.

And the facial hair? What assistance is that providing? And what of everyone else?

Grimer and Muk also went Dark, which is what happens should you leave the gloomy, nocturnal, poisonous factorial pit of Gringey City for the fresh air and clean beaches of Alola.

New shades of sludge are down to all the interesting variety of refuse it consumes.

What, a load of scotch pancakes?

Oh-oh! I knew arrogant Alola held a supreme fondness for praising itself, but now they've the nerve to claim better junk than us!

Yeah, it ain't just enchanted fruit, Alola is so orsum even its trash is superior to ours, since it produces coloured effects.

Either that or locals use a lot of industrial-strength synthetic dyes, more than they choose to let on.

Reminds me of the Good Old Days in the North when children would play by the canal, fall in, and come out blue, and no one thought anything of it at the time.

One wonders why every living thing isn't Ice and Dark, give that these types apparently work wonders for the host.

At least Rattata, Grimer etc. kept their original types.

Meowth and Persian were so consumed by the miasma of overflowing darkness they stopped being Normal altogether.

That's right, and the crushing gravitational weight of those wormholes bursting out all over squeezed their heads until permanently disfigured.

Anyone else recall that Meowths are naturally quadrupedal, being cats, and that our Meowth achieved his rear-legged stance only from a year's worth of strain, beatings, failure and agony?

Yet Alola Meowth gets it handed to him effort-free, with the achievements of ours diminished in the process.

Here we are then: a land of simmering sultry pressure causes foreign Pokémon to become Ice (cold, hard, unfeeling), whilst its constantly illuminated and long days made 'em Dark (crafty, self-serving, evil).

And so hirsute, like they're desperate for disguise, however much they suffer in the process.

After all, when incest is not only legal, but obligatory, what won't you condone?

Did we complain? No, because we were glad of what we had then. Not like kids today.

What exactly lurks beyond the superficial, ever-grinning, unblinking façade of Alola?

Something's gotta be going on behind the plastic smiles to encourage such a bizarre trend.

#Pokémon #Alola #Exeggutor #Raichu #Vulpix #Ninetales #Sandshrew #Sandslash #Marowak #Diglett #Dugtrio #Geodude #Graveler #Golem #Rattata #Raticate #Grimer #Muk #Meowth #Persian

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jlf23tumble · 5 years

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Fic rec anon here, I just read through your AU recs, and I need more, holy hell!? Do you have a similar list for canon fics? What are your favourite genres? You're one of the brave souls who posts about mpreg...what other kinks do you recommend?

Yessssssssss, a chance to do part two of my prison 25, fuck yeah!!! I edited this canon rec list down, and Jesus, that’s the hardest part of it. Luckily, I can save a lot of ‘em in other categories--and I have recs in just about any category, so lemme know if anything in particular floats your boat (I tend to bookmark/save in collections like mpreg, a/b/o, omorashi, daddy, toys, panties, phone sex, dirty talk, etc., but yeah, I can hook you up with allll kinds of fic, god bless the ao3 bookmark feature).

I’ll put the full list under the cut, in length order...in lots of cases, the author has done many, MANY more, so I’ll highlight that, too! Enjoy! (Oh, and check out the postscript at the end, too...a lot of these are older, but if you want newer, just give me your parameters/needs, and I’ve gotcha, bb)

Hello, Heaven (you are tunnel-lined with yellow lights), by objectlesson, 2.9k words (E). Or, Louis buys Harry things sometimes. (LISSSSSSSSSSSSSTEN, read every single fic Phoenix ever wrote, jfc, she’s so good, the stories are so good, and this particular one was a gift to me, so I’m biased, but it combines a lot of my fave kinks into one. I edited most of her stories in this fandom, which means I literally can’t pick a fave, they’re my step-children, but this one is noice)

so wicked in the way he moves, by ballsdeepinjesus, 3.6k words (E). Harry and Louis are parents at football practice. (don’t be scared; no kids, just hot van sex and banter, and this author EXCELS at sex/banter, so lots of gold here)

She Feels So Good, by zedi, 4.1k words (E). Louis knows that voice. Harry’s used that voice in his ear more times than Louis can count, said such sweet, naughty things while popping a hip out and pressing up against Louis. That’s the voice that comes out when Harry’s in a skirt, nails done and gestures soft and flirty. (Jumpsuit Harry on the Late Late Show)

like poison coursing through me, by orphan_account, 4.1k words (E). The one with copious dirty talk, Daddy Louis, and Harry wetting himself in the shower. (pee kink, but honestly, give it a try...it’s about desperation, and it’s so hot)

took me by the wrist, by tomlinzn, 4.2k words (E). harry's twenty-one; louis still loves him. there's birthday sex. (Hima’s legacy, god, it’s beautiful)

Take a Chance, Just Feed Me, by yeah_alright, 4.3k words (E). Louis needs some time alone with Marcel, and he’s hoping Harry will play along. (MARCEL COSPLAY)

Fertile Ground, by Blake, 4.4k words (E). Or, Harry doesn’t know what comes first: the lies that shape his want, or his want, which shapes the lies. He only knows that there’s lies, and want. And Louis, of course. (ANOTHER GOD-TIER PERSON TO READ EVERYTHING THEY’VE EVER WRITTEN, and this one has a big ole dose of angst, but it’s so fucking goooood, so real, sob)

You Don’t Need Me to Show You the Way, by LoadedGunn, 6.5k words (E). Or, 2011 fic where Harry rides dick for the first time and Louis appreciates technology. (X Factor era, and I think this was the fic that made me create a whole technology tag, lmaoooo)

Only Thing That Can Quench My Thirst, by eyesofshinigami, 6.5k words (E). Louis wouldn't exactly call it a thing, his newfound fascination with the curly trail that starts below Harry's bellybutton and disappears into his skinny jeans. It's definitely not a thing. It's just... Alright, maybe it's a thing. (the entire reason for pubefest2020, tbh, this is such a fave fic, sigh)

domesticated, by sky_reid, 6k words (E). nothing gets harry going quite like mentioning a marriage licence. (fluffy but still hot five times story)

Agent Provocateur, by orphan_account, 7k words (E). Harry looks like he's constantly about to drop into subspace when he's talking to Louis onstage. (you can kinda guess from the title, but this is panties panties panties, plus more)

let the only sound be the overflow, by sarcasticfluentry, 7.6k words (E; needs ao3 account). Harry and Louis explore new kinks while staying in Tokyo. (another AMAZING author, check out the rest of their fics; this one’s based on a specific video--read the notes--and you’ll never see Louis, Harry, or clothespins the same way again)

little black dress (it’s all right), by istajmaal, 8k words (E). harry is a girl sometimes. louis loves her all the time. (this one’s part of an ahead-of-its-time series featuring genderfluid harry)

horizontal like a quarter to three, by orphan_account, 8k words (E). The worst part is that Louis just wants to get really rough with him. He's wanted it right from the start, and it doesn't make sense, because Harry's always been so gentle and understanding and sweet, and yet all Louis wants to do is fuck him up. (some serious kink exploration nicely done)

give you my fever, by beautlouis @thelovejandles, 10k words (E). x-factor era. harry's never had an orgasm before, louis gives him his first (it is as it says, and it is INCREDIBLY hot/well done, as is everything beautlouis has ever written, immediately finish this one and then go read everything else)

shit, i still love you (still see you in my bed), by wankerville, 10.9k words (E). it's valentine's day and harry wants to be fucked in his gold boots. (another author I adore!!! this one is as it says, and wow, so visual)

Let Me Be Good for You, by onlyhuman, 11.9k words (E). Niall's only birthday wish is to go clubbing with his boys in Vegas. Harry ruins it all by wearing that god forsaken black sheer shirt. (I love some good hair-related porn!! This one features the bun, sigh)

Autumn at My Window, by TheCellarDoor, 20.4k words (E). a lot of pining, Louis' addiction to Harry's scent, and a whole lot of sexual tension that might just snap loose when they decide to spend some time together all on their own. (this is one of those canon-compliant AUs where you’re meant to ignore A LOT, but it’s still a good lil story with a lot of pining)

Maybe I Miss You series, by 13ways, 26k words (E). Louis is on his way back to London after the Hits Live Birmingham concert. Harry is flying to New York for the Met Gala. They connect. (a newer series that does a good job of weaving in all kinds of real emotion for an ultimately happy ending)

Nothing You Can Do (But You Can Learn How to Be You in Time), by Teumessian, 28k words (E; needs ao3 account). Louis braids Harry’s hair. There are good times, bad times, fancy houses, supportive bandmates, secret boyfriends, small rebellions, bigger revolutions, some nail varnish, ribbons, cute clothing, and a Pinterest. (THE PINTEREST FIC!!!! and another admittedly canon-compliant semi-AU...but then again, most of them are, right?? idk, idk, i just know this one’s very visual and oh so soft)

(your heartbeat) rang true inside my bones, by flimsy, 32.9k words (E). Harry goes as Louis' date for a weekend wedding. He ends up taking the role a bit too seriously. (touch o angst, but it kind of is as it says)

Drifting, Weightless, by @dinosaursmate, 41k words (E). Harry and Louis are exes with benefits until they're not, and the Mediterranean Sea might just be the perfect place to work through some unresolved issues. (this is actually a really funny one, in addition to being emotional and hot, plus I for one would take a One Direction cruise when they get back together in 15 years, sob)

the dark and the dentist, by sunshiner, 66.2k words (E). An account of the events of November 2014. (there are actually a few really big monster fics/series that cover this particular time, but I occasionally skim this one because I like the flashes of random domesticity)

To the Ends of the Earth, by stylinsoncity, 68.4k words (E). During a yearlong hiatus, Louis visits Harry at his cabin in Idaho, where long-buried feelings ignite like the fire keeping them warm. (THE IDAHO CABIN FIC!! And if you haven’t read it in a while, check out the new epilogue from earlier this year...or buy the whole thing on Amazon! Another great one that’s emotional, angsty, soft, and hot, all in one snowball)

Untangle Me, by suicxne, 100k words (E). The one where Harry and Louis finally get it right. (this is another one where you have to ignore A LOT, but it’s like reading a beautiful movie, jesus, I’m still so weak for this fic!! One of the first ones I read in this fandom, and I still randomly think of it every now and again)

Obviously, lots of old and gold here, but that’s because it’s the canon all stars, or whatever...I love a TON of newer fic for all kinds of reasons, so if you need some recs, say the word!

#fic rec #look at all this canon gold!#Anonymous

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kingofthewilderwest · 7 years

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thefuriousnightfury replied to your post: The more I watch, read, and get into Defender of...

So would you recommend I watch it? Cuz I tried and got stuck

Would I recommend Defender of the Universe? Depends on the person.

For some people, yes, I would recommend Defender of the Universe. I especially recommend DotU for people who can appreciate 1980s shows for what they are, are interested in Voltron’s origins, and wish to expand their lore knowledge for the franchise.

Characters are lovable and compelling. My favorites are Keith, Pidge, and especially Lance. Don’t expect them to be their VLD counterparts, though - there are some elements in common (ex: Lance flirting with Allura) but also notable differences (ex: Lance being hot-headed, semi-cynical, and sometimes assholish). I think characters are the biggest highlight of DotU.

Plot isn’t exemplary. I don’t watch this show for plot. But I do find myself watching every episode curiously to catch VLD Easter Eggs. The more you know about DotU and Beast King GoLion, the more you can enjoy those scenes in the latest reboot. For instance, characters/locations in BKG were often renamed for DotU... but both names appear in VLD! Emperor Daibazaal became King Zarkon, Prince Sincline became Prince Lotor, the planet Altea became Arus, Honerva became Haggar, and, of course, Ryou and Takashi Shirogane became Sven Holgersson. It’s really fun to pick up on small Easter Eggs down to Allura having the mice kiss one of the Paladins!

So here’s what I say about recommendations:

If you want to know all about the past of Voltron and are happy watching tons of material, watch Defender of the Universe THEN Beast King GoLion. Although BKG was created first and the Americans heavily edited it (and other shows) into DotU, watching the American version first... 1). allows you to understand the Voltron franchise phenomenon from the foundation, as this is where the rest of Voltron was based from and continued to expand. BKG was not what started the reiterations of Voltron; DotU is the popular/influential “starting point” of the franchise. 2). gives you more material. DotU actually incorporates several anime shows together. So if you only watch BKG, you miss important things like Pidge’s twin brother, Chip, given as Chip was not a part of BKG. 3). is less painful than going the other direction from Japanese --> American versions. Watching the Japanese original first can make the USA version awkward... as you are then overtly aware of the USA’s less-than-stellar censorship, scene splicing, and awkwardly changed dialogue.

If you want to watch a show to understand the past iterations of Voltron, watch Defender of the Universe. The American version of the show is where you’re going to get the main bulk of what Voltron has become.

If you want to watch a show that has better story, logic, production, intrigue, action, and maturity, watch Beast King GoLion. It’s the unedited, uncensored original that the story was intended to be Back In The Day. By that, I mean actual character deaths, gore, swearing, and more exciting, higher stakes. Not going to lie, the dialogue is hugely better in BKG than DotU.

But I would not recommend Defender of the Universe, Beast King GoLion, or one of the other starting anime shows to people who get put off by outdated shows or people who are only interested in watching Really Great Shows. Yes, DotU has a lot of love, respect, and nostalgia for people who grew up watching it, but it hasn’t aged well, and frankly there are lots of corny, sexist, or weird parts to it. And, again, it’s not that great in the plot category.

For you specifically @thefuriousnightfury, no, I can’t see you enjoying it. I imagine you wouldn’t have the patience for its outdatedness and very episodic, repetitious nature. Not many episodes develop plot. Most episodes are basically Zarkon/Lotor/Haggar sends a robeast to Arus and Voltron fights it.

So personally, I really enjoy reading the old comics and watching the old shows. But they’re not going to be for everybody!

If anyone’s curious about how different DotU and BKG are at any one scene, I’ve transcribed parallel moments from one part in the first episode (keeping character names the same to make it easier to follow). Yes, I swear, these are the same scene!!!

Beast King GoLion (Japanese original, English subs)

Hunk: Damned vulture, it’s waiting for the flesh to rot off our bones. Pidge: Don’t you toy with us! Get lost! Shiro: Not too bad, Shorty. Pidge: The Deathblack Beastmen are chowing down on slave stew. Hunk: Are we just gonna sit here and wait to be turned into those things? Dammit! Lance: You must be joking. I’d rather not have to eat slave stew. Keith: But if we resist Daibazaal, we’ll be killed. Shiro: We’ll break out. Lance: Say what? Shiro: The only way we’ll survive is by getting out of here. Lance: We’ll need a spaceship to get away from the Galra Empire. Keith: We can steal a slave ship. I took a look when I was outside for hard labor, and they don’t keep too close an eye on the hangar. We can make it. Hunk: The hard part is all the soldiers on guard in the corridor... Keith: We’re space pilots, aren’t we? Hunk: Let’s give it a shot! Lance: Yeah, but... they say nobody’s ever escaped from Slave Castle. Pidge: That’s what makes it interesting. Hunk: All five of us are as good as dead anyway. Lance: May as well. Keith: That decides it. We’re escaping! Now we just wait for nightfall!

Voltron: Defender of the Universe (USA English edited counterpart)

Hunk: Look at that window up there. If we could only reach it... Pidge: I can reach it! Sven: Ugly birds! Pidge: Ooh, wow. I can look right down into the monster’s feeding pit, and he’s eating up a storm. Let’s try to sneak out while the robeast is busy eating his lunch. Hunk: But before we leave, I’d like to get my hands on Zarkon. Lance: We’re in a pretty tight spot, but we’ve gotten out of worse before. Keith: Right! We’ll really have to use our wits to get out of this trap. Sven: I’m thinking. Lance: Me, too. Sven: When the guards come to take us to the arena, we’ll rush them! Lance: Real clever, Sven. Oughta be good for a million laughs! Keith: We could all use a laugh right now. We’ve got to use our heads! We can’t panic. We’ll find a way outta here. Hear anything, Hunk? Hunk: Quiet. Keith: We don’t have much time. Let’s think of something! Hunk: We gotta move, now! Lance: We’ll never make it! This is it. Fine. Finale. We’ve had it. Pidge: Hunk, could you twist those bars? Hunk: Yeah, I could bend ’em easy, if I could just get up there. Lance: Then go! Keith: It’s a long shot, but worth it. You’ll have to work very fast and quietly, Hunk. Sven and Lance, you take turns standing guard at the door. Pidge, you get that rope they had us tied up with when we came in. Nobody can keep us in a dingy hole like this! We’re space explorers, and we need space!

AGAIN, yes, I SWEAR, you can check for yourself, these are the same scene!

#thefuriousnightfury #long post #non-dragons #Voltron #Voltron: Defender of the Universe #DotU #Defender of the Universe #Voltron Defender of the Universe #Beast King Golion #BKG #analysis #my analysis #reply

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oracles · 7 years

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i was tagged by the lovely aneta ( @greenlantrens ), so thank you for that !!

O N E ⚡

name: ramasha || nickname: don’t really have one || zodiac sign: gemini

height: 5′7″ || orientation: bisexual || ethnicity: pakistani/white

favorite fruit: oh man .. i don’t really have one || favorite season: weather wise, winter or fall. but otherwise summer bc no school

favorite book: at the moment i’m really into six of crows by leigh bardugo and the raven cycle series by maggie stiefvater. i’m also enjoying like water for chocolate by laura esquivel || favorite flower: i honestly basically love ‘em all. but i suppose you can’t go wrong with the classic rose bouquet

favorite scent: i’ve been baking a lot and so i’ve really been loving vanilla and coconut scents. strawberries are nice too || favorite animal: this is so Difficult ... i can rarely ever pick a favorite anything from broad categories

coffee, tea, or hot cocoa? tea (chai specifically) and hot chocolate (i’m actually planning on having some really soon). i’ve never had coffee before tbh

average hours of sleep: 6-7 hours usually, i think

cats or dogs? i honestly love both but im gonna go with dogs

favorite fictional character: there’s a Lot but two some faves currently are sameen shaw, tony stark, elektra natchios, and like all of the birds of prey

dream trip: idrk, for me the company makes trips fun, not necessarily the destination

when was your blog created? sometime around july of 2013 though i’ve deleted a lot of my messy fandom posts from back then

what do you post about? mostly star wars, marvel, and dc but i’m truly a mulitfandom mess

do you get asks on a regular basis? not at all ; i can’t even remember the last time i got an ask. rip

aesthetic: i was actually tagged to make a personal aesthetic moodboard so maybe i’ll do that soon

favorite band/artist? i listen to so many people in so many genres so i can’t really choose. it changes all the time

fictional characters I’d date: refer to my fave fictional characters answer; it’s basically the same

hogwarts house: slytherin!

T W O 🌊

countries i’ve lived in: i’ve traveled to other places but i’ve only properly lived in the united states

favourite fandom: don’t really have one; at some point they all disappoint me

languages you speak: primarily english, urdu (which is sometimes a hybrid of urdu & punjabi), and french

favourite film(s) of 2016:

rogue one !!!!!

moana

arrival

the accountant

ghostbusters

deadpool

hidden figures (yet to see it but i Know im gonna love it)

+ more

last article you read: something for school probably

shuffle your music library and put your first three songs here: i actually have like maybe ten songs on my phone because 1) i have like no space on there and 2) im cheap and don’t wanna buy songs nor do i have the patience to download it so let’s just pass this for now

last thing you bought online: like water for chocolate ; since it was a required book for a class of mine

how would your friends describe you? heck if i know !

how would your enemies describe you? who cares?

who would you take a bullet for? my mom

TAGGING:

as usual, asides from friends, i had no idea who else to tag so a lot of these are just fave blogs of mine ; there’s no pressure in doing this so only do it if you want to 💖

@pamelaicley - @stanseb - @forever-and-almost-always - @dasyjohnson @rookbcdhi - @wonderboylouis - @timdrakee - @jacesimon - @adelaides - @thomasflint - @lindseymorgan - @buckky - @padmesanidala - @arkhamknignt - @tonystarkd - @murdockmatthew - @tyrionlannisler

#did i change the emoji's for some reason? Yes #about me #tag games

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ebthblog · 7 years

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The Most Treasured and Iconic Christmas Toys

Christmas toy fads have been a big part of the holiday season for the last few decades. Certain toys instantly remind teens and adults of their early childhoods during the magic of the holiday season, making them excellent finds for sentimental gifts. Refresh your memory on the following iconic Christmas toys and get your shopping strategy on point to bring home a few sentimental gifts for your loved ones.

Christmas Toy Trends Through the Decades

1960s

In the 1960s, kids were trying their hand at making bite-sized baked goods in Easy Bake Ovens and battling with Rock-em Sock’em Robots. Other iconic toys like G.I. Joe and Etch A Sketch also made a splash. G.I. Joe is especially notable as the first action figure, and originally came in Action Soldier, Pilot, Marine and Sailor.

1970s

A notable Christmas toy trend of the 1970s is the Pet Rock from 1975 ― a gag gift that took off thanks to its clever packaging, which resembled a small-animal carrier with breathing holes. By the late 70s, Star Wars action figures and other toys from the franchise, like metal lunch boxes, masks, clothes, and bedding, were hot items for Christmas, particularly in 1977, after the release of A New Hope.

1980s

Cabbage Patch dolls and Transformers action figures dominated the holiday toy scene in 1983 and 84, showcasing the fact that technology hadn't yet become a major part of toy design. But by the end of the 1980s, the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy portable video game console had become the dominant toys of the holiday gifting season, and not just for kids. Though other consoles were available, Nintendo dominated the U.S. market during the holidays.

1990s

Technology-focused toys were a major part of the 90s, with the Talkboy, a handheld recording device, that created mass sellouts and caused the manufacturer, Hasbro, to pull ads from TV in 1993 due to the lack of available inventory. Beanie Babies also hit the scene in 1995, with kids amassing large collections of these cuddly toys in the hopes of someday cashing in on a perceived investment. 1996 introduced the Tickle Me Elmo, a toy that remains one of the most noteworthy gift fads of all time due to the high prices commanded by scalpers on the pre-Christmas resale market.

2000s

Pokémon toys and trading cards held over as a top Christmas toy from 1999, but in the early 2000s Razor scooters and Bratz dolls reigned king of holiday toy sales. Sales for Razor scooter topped over one million scooters sold during the Christmas season, making America’s youth more mobile than ever.

Consider the Purpose Before You Purchase

No matter which iconic holiday toy you choose to gift, take some time before shopping to consider how the gift recipient will use the item. Highly collectible toys may sell for more when presented in "mint in box" condition, as these tend to be the most highly covetable items for serious collectors. When you plan to give the toy to a child who will actually play with it rather than simply display it on a shelf, you might not want to pay mint-in-box prices. An unboxed toy in good condition can be perfectly suitable for a kid who just wants to be able to play and have fun with their holiday present. When you're buying the toy for an adult as a sentimental reminder of their past interests and happy Christmases of their childhood, quality isn't as important as the accuracy of the item itself. Try to find out the exact model or version of a toy that person had so you can look for just the right match for their memories.

How to Find and Iconic Toys from the Past

Online marketplaces like EBTH are a great place to dig for surprising finds, with iconic toys like the Pet Rock or Tickle Me Elmo. You can search for specific toys using keywords or browse the Toys & Games category for great vintage finds. Detailed descriptions include specific identifiers like the year and make of a toy, as well as condition issues for more collectable-intended gifts. Detailed professional photographs will help you confirm which stuffed animal is cuddly enough, or which action figure has the most pristine packaging. Don't wait until December to shop the unique EVERYTHING BUT THE HOUSE auctions for iconic Christmas toys to delight your loved ones.

#EBTH #Features #Everything But The House #Christmas #holidays #toys #pokemon #beanie babies #game boy #star wars #GI Joe #Easy Bake Oven #rock em sock em robots

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iyarpage · 7 years

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Readers’ App Reviews – October 2017

Halloween is on its way, and apps by raywenderlich.com readers are spookier than ever!

OK, maybe they’re not that spooky. But they are still awesome! :]

Every month, readers like you release great apps built with a little help from our tutorials, books, and videos. I want to highlight a few today to give just a peek at what our fantastic readers are creating.

This month we have:

A compilation creation app

A Pirate Match 3 game

A Machine Learning camera app

And of course, much more!

Keep reading to see the latest apps released by raywenderlich.com readers just like you.

SnapThread

Sharing self-made video compilations with your friends and family has never been easier thanks to SnapThread.

SnapThread is an app that lets you select videos and live photos from your photo library, rearrange them into any order you’d like, and then share them across many platforms including Facebook and Snapchat!

Don’t worry, you will also be able to preview your creation before you send it to make sure it’s perfect. The app is very user friendly and you’ll be able to make the most out of it the second you launch it.

Honestly, this is one of the best apps I’ve seen for simple compilation creation. Download SnapThread and turn all your small clips into one awesome compilation of fun and enjoyment!

Author: Becky Hansmeyer @bhansmeyer

Most useful tutorial: no book; used free tutorial on raywenderlich.com

App Store Link: Check it out!

Pirates! – The Match 3

Match Three games have seen many iterations, but not many take on the stylistic qualities of everyone’s favorite scallywags, the pirates!

Pirates! – The Match 3, succeeds at stylizing the match three genre into a pirate theme. The art and music complement each other very well and set the tone for treasure hunting via the game’s match three mechanic.

There are over 130 levels to play, each with different goals to achieve. Some levels have you break open certain objects by making matches around them, while others have you clearing a background of sand in order to find buried coins. After you’ve completed those levels, keep a sharp eye on the horizon because more are coming soon!

Overall, Pirates! – The Match 3 is a fun game that I will definitely be playing more of. You should download it and play too!

Author: Tomas Rychnovsky @SBC_Games

Most useful tutorial: Unity Games by Tutorials

App Store Link: Check it out!

Conjugar

Learning the Spanish language can be difficult, especially when it comes to verb conjugations. That’s where Conjugar has your back!

Conjugar was made with verb conjugations in mind as it has a huge database of many Spanish verbs, some that follow the normal rules and some that don’t. This database shows you every conjugation of that verb and shows you the places where they don’t follow the normal conjugation rules.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the verbs, head into quiz mode and challenge yourself with a series of questions.

Download Conjugar today and see how high you can get your score. You will also learn a lot of Spanish along the way!

Author: Josh Adams @vermont42

Most useful tutorial: The iOS Apprentice

App Store Link: Check it out!

Sky Mice

We will never get tired of the run ’em and gun ’em style games and I know I won’t get tired of this one. SkyMice is an awesome game where you have to save your mouse friends from and evil crocodile commander in his sky castle.

You play as a mouse pilot named Wisk who must fight and conquer crocodile bosses through many different stages in order to reach the crocodile commander. There are over 50 levels for you to play through, each with a variety of enemies to fight.

Every ten levels unlocks a new area with new scenery to spice things up a bit. Along the way, look out for power-up drop boxes that will help you defeat your enemies quicker or maybe stop you from taking too much damage.

Your mouse friends need you! Download SkyMice and free your friends from the crocodile commander’s clutches.

Author: Gregorio Jemmott II @Gracco1025

Most useful tutorial: iOS Animations by Tutorials

App Store Link: Check it out!

ML Camera

Machine Learning is one of the hot new topics in today’s tech world and this app aims to show some of the capabilities of those systems through your phone’s camera.

ML Camera tries to classify whatever object is in its view using a list of over one thousand categories. The app also displays what the object is as well as how correct it’s prediction is. There are options for different types of classifications like whole scenes or just specific objects.

While the app itself doesn’t do anything more that that, it is a fantastic demonstration of how far machine learning has come and where it may be headed in the future.

See how many things ML Camera can classify correctly by downloading it and pointing your camera at everything you own. It’s fun to do, especially when it thinks your headset is a space shuttle!

Author: Joao Frasco @joaofrasco

Most useful tutorial: The iOS Apprentice

App Store Link: Check it out!

JQuest

JQuest is a fun twin-stick shooter with a fantasy or medieval art style, plus some role-playing aspects.

You can pick from three different character styles and delve into dungeons in search of gold. Watch out for the guardians of the gold though. They are pretty unforgiving and will take you out as soon as they get the chance.

There are twenty levels for you to play through, each getting increasingly difficult as you move forward. But there are upgrades that you can purchase with your gold to help you complete the more challenging ones.

JQuest is simple, fun, and a great way to entertain yourself. Download it and try to complete all 20 levels today!

Author: PJ Cook @software101couk

Most useful tutorial: 2D Apple Games by Tutorials

App Store Link: Check it out!

Coinski

Everyone knows the game show like game Plinko, where you drop a ball into a board filled with pins and it randomly reaches the bottom. Coinski is similar to that game but with the ability to shift the odds in your favor.

Coinski is set up like a vertical maze. There are vertical lines with gaps in between them for your coins to fall through. There are also platforms that stop the coins from reaching the bottom. If a coin falls past the platforms on its opposite side, it switches to that side instead.

It sounds complicated, but it is very easy to understand once you’ve played a game or two. Each player drops coins into whichever lane they want in an attempt to create a chain reaction that sends as many coins as possible to the bottom on their turn. The person who gets the most coins to the bottom wins!

Coinski is a fun game to play alone, with a friend, or even with two friends. Give it a try and shift the odds in your favor.

Author: Geert Docter

Most useful tutorial: 2D Apple Games by Tutorials

App Store Link: Check it out!

Where To Go From Here?

Each month, I really enjoy seeing what our community of readers comes up with. The apps you build are the reason we keep writing tutorials. Make sure you tell me about your next one, submit here.

If you saw an app you liked, hop to the App Store and leave a review! A good review always makes a dev’s day. And make sure you tell them you’re from raywenderlich.com; this is a community of makers.

If you’ve never made an app, this is the month! Check out our free tutorials to become an iOS star. What are you waiting for – I want to see your app next month.

The post Readers’ App Reviews – October 2017 appeared first on Ray Wenderlich.

Readers’ App Reviews – October 2017 published first on http://ift.tt/2fA8nUr

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challengeartistsimple · 7 years

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Everything You Need to Know About Summer In The City 2017

source

If you’re in the UK and a part of the YouTube community, you’ve probably heard of Summer in The City, which is UK’s largest YouTube and online videos festival. It’s the place to be if you’re a YouTube enthusiast, and officially begins tomorrow (August 4th)!

If you’re late to the party and haven’t gotten your ticket(s), entry passes can still be purchased here for a limited time! Alright, so we thought we’d create a guide for our vlogging community in the UK that’s attending Summer in The City 2017, covering all the information you need to plan ahead and prioritize your time effectively:

SITC 2017 Event Dates & Times

Industry Day: August 4, 2017

Creator Day: August 4, 2017

Summer in The City Community Festival: August 5-6, 2017

Attendance Options

SITC Weekend Entry

As one of the world’s largest YouTube events, SITC 2017 will bring together fans, communities, creators and brands on August 5-6, 2017 for an awesome weekend including:

Exciting live stage performances

Discussion panels and Q&A sessions,

Meet & greets with creators

Screenings

SITC 2017 awards show

and much more!

Creator Day

On August 4th, SITC will be hosting creator day to provide aspiring creators with educational panels, workshops, Q&A sessions, networking opportunities, and much more to build their online video presence.

Industry Day

SITC 2017 is also hosting industry-specific programming on August 4th for brand representatives and industry professionals to discuss online video insights, trends, strategies and much more. Industry tickets also provide full access to all three days of events, including Creator Day and weekend festival programming.

Summer in The City 2017 Schedule

Industry Day (Friday, August 4)

Time & Location: 11:00am – 7:00pm, London ExCeL

Full Program:

12:00pm – Welcome Keynote

12:15pm – Building a channel around a brand

12:45pm – Campaign Case Study: H&M Fashion Launch

1:15pm – MCNs to Management

2:00pm – Beyond Views & Subscribers: Are you working with the right creators?

2:30pm – Break & Networking Time

3:00pm – Let’s Talk about YouTube Algorithms

3:30pm – Campaign Case Study: Chupa Chups

4:00pm – The Future of Content Distribution

4:30pm – Campaign Case Study: NCS

5:00pm – Building Creator-Brand Relationships

5:30pm – Trend Surfing for Social Media Success

6:00pm – Industry Drinks Reception

Creator Day (Friday, August 4)

Time & Location: 11:00am – 7:00pm, London ExCeL

Full Program:

12:00pm – Diversity on Instagram (Panel Room B)

12:00pm – Working for Free?! (Gaming Stage)

12:00pm – How to Create and Grow Multiple Revenue Streams (Panel Room A)

1:00pm – Being Transparent with your Audience? (Panel Room A)

1:00pm – VR, AR & 360 Video (Gaming Stage)

1:00pm – Sweet Brand Collaborations : ASA & HFSS Guidelines (Panel Room B)

2:00pm – YouTube Video Making Essentials (Panel Room B)

2:00pm – Studio 71: A Masterclass in Working with Brands (Panel Room A)

3:00pm – Music Industry (Panel Room A)

3:00pm – Upscaling talent from YouTube to TV (Gaming Stage)

3:00pm – Working for YouTube Channels (Panel Room B)

4:00pm – The Rules for working with Brands (Gaming Stage)

4:00pm – Where Next for MCNs? (Panel Room A)

4:00pm – Management in Online Video (Panel Room B)

5:00pm – YouTube’s Unmissable Update (Panel Room A)

5:00pm – So you want to be an Online Journalist? (Panel Room B)

SITC 2017 Festival (Saturday, August 5)

Time & Location: 11:00am – 9:00pm, London ExCeL

Full Program:

12:00pm – Noodlerella Book Read & Q&A (Main Stage)

12:00pm – SORTEDfood Demo (Lifestyle Stage)

12:00pm – Disability and Disfigurement Online (Panel Room C)

12:00pm – Filmmaking Panel (Panel Room A)

12:00pm – Facebook Creators (Panel Room B)

12:00pm – Smash Bros Tournament! (Gaming Stage)

12:30pm – PokeTuber Panel (Gaming Stage)

12:30pm – Vania and Jodes / Q&A (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

1:00pm – The Creative Process (Panel Room B)

1:00pm – Building Confidence Online Panel (Panel Room C)

1:00pm – Rise of the Online Football Team (Lifestyle Stage)

1:00pm – Musicians on YouTube (Panel Room A)

1:00pm – Fashion & Beauty Q&A (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

1:00pm – Smash Bros Tournament! (Gaming Stage)

1:30pm – Daz Black Q&A (Gaming Stage)

2:00pm – Health & Fitness Panel (Lifestyle Stage)

2:00pm – Slurp Live with KickThePJ (Panel Room A)

2:00pm – Musical.ly Panel (Panel Room C)

2:00pm – Bullying and Harassment Online (Panel Room B)

2:00pm – Fashion & Beauty Panel (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

2:30pm – 1-2 Switch (Gaming Stage)

2:45pm – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Main Stage)

3:00pm – More than Make-up (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

3:00pm – Challenge and Reaction Videos (Panel Room C)

3:00pm – Growing up Online (Panel Room B)

3:00pm – We Need to Talk About Games with Dean Dobbs (Gaming Stage)

3:00pm – Football Videos (Lifestyle Stage)

3:00pm – Tomska Production Panel (Panel Room A)

3:00pm – LGBTQ+ Panel (Main Stage)

3:30pm – Outside Xtra – Q&A of the Weekend (Gaming Stage)

3:30pm – FamilyFizz Q&A (Lifestyle Stage)

4:00pm – Travel Panel (Panel Room A)

4:00pm – YouTube’s Creators for Change (Panel Room B)

4:00pm – Make Up Tutorial (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

4:00pm – Breaking Down the Gamer Stereotypes (Gaming Stage)

4:00pm – Science on YouTube (Panel Room C)

4:00pm – Comedy Panel (Main Stage)

4:00pm – Jamie Jo Live Painting! (Lifestyle Stage)

4:30pm – Streaming Q&A (Gaming Stage)

4:30pm – Lookbook Live (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

5:00pm – The Creator – Viewer Relationship (Panel Room A)

5:00pm – BookTube (Panel Room C)

5:00pm – Baking with Layton Live! (Lifestyle Stage)

5:00pm – Making Fandom Content (Panel Room B)

5:00pm – Men in Beauty and Fashion (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

5:00pm – Smash Bros Semi-Final & Final (Gaming Stage)

6:00pm – The Shades (Main Stage)

6:20pm – MyLifeAsEva Q&A (Main Stage)

6:30pm – Houssein (Main Stage)

6:40pm – Toby Randall (Main Stage)

7:00pm – Alex Wassabi, Fousey & LazyRonStudios Q&A (Main Stage)

7:30pm – Bethan Leadley (Main Stage)

8:20pm – Emma Blackery (Main Stage)

SITC 2017 Festival (Sunday, August 6)

12:00pm – ART & DIY (Panel Room B)

12:00pm – Mario Kart Tournament (Gaming Stage)

12:00pm – Popularity, Trends & Integrity (Panel Room A)

12:00pm – Online Familes (Lifestyle Stage)

12:00pm – Cosplay Panel and Q&A (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

12:30pm – Meet The Vloggers Q&A (Lifestyle Stage)

12:30pm – Vlog Stars Screening (Gaming Stage)

1:00pm – An Alternative Approach to Make Up (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

1:00pm – Couples & Relationships (Panel Room C)

1:00pm – Balancing YouTube and Life (Panel Room B)

1:00pm – Collaboration Panel (Panel Room A)

1:00pm – Let’s Play ARMS (Gaming Stage)

1:30pm – Storror Q&A (Lifestyle Stage)

1:30pm – SimTubers Q&A (Gaming Stage)

2:00pm – FIFA Q&Play (Gaming Stage)

2:00pm – Sammy Paul Screening / Q&A (Panel Room B)

2:00pm – Food Online (Lifestyle Stage)

2:00pm – YouTube Honesty Hour (Main Stage)

2:00pm – Ethnicity Online (Panel Room A)

2:00pm – Education on YouTube (Panel Room C)

2:00pm – Lookbook Live (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

3:00pm – YouTube as a Career (Panel Room A)

3:00pm – How to start your own Fashion & Beauty channel (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

3:00pm – Gaming Panel (Gaming Stage)

3:00pm – Mental Health (Panel Room B)

3:00pm – Women on YouTube (Main Stage)

3:00pm – Healthy Living Panel (Lifestyle Stage)

3:30pm – The Drowning of Arthur Braxton Screening (Panel Room C)

4:00pm – Cross Platform Creators (Panel Room C)

4:00pm – Cruelty Free Beauty (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

4:00pm – Gender Identity (Panel Room A)

4:00pm – Women who Write (Main Stage)

4:00pm – Hashtag UTD Q&A (Lifestyle Stage)

4:00pm – Let’s talk about pranks (Panel Room B)

5:00pm – Mario Kart Final! (Gaming Stage)

5:00pm – Body Positivity (Fashion & Beauty Stage)

5:00pm – #BlackGirlMagic (Panel Room B)

5:00pm – Cooking Demonstration (Lifestyle Stage)

5:00pm – Smaller YouTubers Panel (Panel Room A)

6:00pm – SitC Awards 2017 (Main Stage)

6:50pm – Jake Edwards (Main Stage)

7:30pm – K. OH! (Main Stage)

7:50pm – Talia Marr (Main Stage)

8:10pm – dodie (Main Stage)

Summer in The City 2017 Awards

Also taking place on Sunday, August 6th is the SITC Awards show! The event will celebrate awesome creators with awards being presented for nine categories on the main stage. Here are the nominees:

Vlogger of The Year

Alex Wassabi

Daniel J Layton

Emma Blackery

Millie T

Saffron Barker

Rose & Rosie

Creator Book of The Year

All That She Can See – Carrie Hope Fletcher

Dan and Phil Go Outside

Doing It – Hannah Witton

Generation Next: The Takeover – Oli White

Wilde Like Me – Louise Pentland

Song of The Year

6/10 – dodie

Call Me Out – Sarah Close

Grenade – GOAT (Jack & Conor Maynard)

Nothing Without You – Emma Blackery

Words Aint Enough – Tessa Violet

Creator Series of The Year

Baking with Layton – Daniel J Layton

BiSexy Series – Roxetera

Hormone Diaries – Hannah Witton

Jack & Dean of All Trades – Season 2

Last Week – Tomska

Film of The Year

Comfort Food – SuperSamStuff

Hot Mess – Hazel Hayes

My Sister – Bertie Gilbert

Perception – Mikey Murphy

Playground – Sammy Paul

Community Spirit Award

dodie

Em Ford

Kingsley

Scola Dondo

Saffron Barker

Breakthrough Award

Fashion & Beauty Award

Floral Princess

Jasmine Clough

Leyla Rose

LookingForLewys

Saffron Barker

Artisan Award

BananaJamana

BrizzyVoices

KickThePJ

Sorted Food

Topless Baker

For more details on the SITC awards show, visit this page.

SITC Areas

Main Stage

Panel Rooms A, B, and C

Gaming Stage

Fashion & Beauty Stage

Lifestyle Stage

Creator Village

Funfair

Craft Fair

Open Mic Dome

If you were selected for a specific meet & greet opportunity, you can find the schedule here.

You can also find the full list of SITC featured creators and guests here.

We’re less than 24 hours away – all the fun to everyone attending!

The post Everything You Need to Know About Summer In The City 2017 appeared first on Vlog Nation.

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wecappiam · 7 years

Text

‘Things Just Ain’t the Same’: HIP-HOP’s Reconstruction of the Gangster Rap Identity

Talib Kweli performing in Brooklyn/Red Bull Experiment (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gangster rap, or hardcore rap, is generally considered a sub genre of the larger category of rap music, which itself is a subcategory of hip-hop. Gangster rap is differentiable from other rap music in that it makes use of images of urban life associated with crime (Haugen, 2). According to the Encyclopedia Britannica definition of gangster rap, the top four images associated with the genre are violence, drugs, materialism and sexual promiscuity.

Gangster Rappers as Defining the Hip-Hop Social Group

As the hip-hop movement has gained recognition throughout the United States, it has established itself as one of the fastest growing social groups anywhere. In the late 1990s immediately following the murders of both Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace, two nationally known gangster rappers, a propaganda campaign escalated against rap music and the hip-hop culture (Slaughter). Although gangster rap only represented a small percentage of the hip-hop culture at the time, all hip-hop and rap music was instantly stereotyped negatively as being “gangter-like”. Why? Well, this gangster version of hip-hop was the highest selling and most recognized form of hip-hop music among the majority class. And many critics have determined that this is because America is in love with sex, drugs and violence (Whaley).

Hip-Hop’s Rejection of Inferior Social Group Status

Henri Tajfel, a social psychologist who developed a theory of inter-group relations and social change, argues that members of a social group deemed inferior by a majority class can either accept or reject their inferior position in society. If a group refuses to accept its inferior position in society as just, it will attempt as a group to change things (Coates, 8-9). A large number of hip-hop artists have used their musical lyrics to reject the inferior social status placed upon them by the majority class.

The Reconstruction of the Gangster Identity

I have found that hip-hop artists use lyrics, both musical and poetic, to redefine the negatives characteristics given to their culture by the majority class, and in the process, reconstruct the gangster identity. By examining these hip-hop and gangster rap lyrics as text, I will show ways in which the lyrics attempt to reconstruct the stereotyped gangster rap identity by examining different views of violence, drugs, materialism and sexual promiscuity. In the end, one tends to wonder: Who exactly are the real gangsters?

Violence

That the hip-hop culture represents gangster-like violence is perhaps the biggest disputed claim amongst hip-hop artists. In order to disprove this claim, many hip-hop artists have pointed to the violence that exists within the majority social group, and how it leads to violence all over the world.

In “Violence”, 2 Pac demonstrates his belief that violence was prevalent long before gangster rap existed:

I told em fight back, attack on society

If this is violence, then violent's what I gotta be

If you investigate you'll find out where it's comin’ from

Look through our history, America's the violent one

Here, the poet points to American society as “the violent one” and that he has to be violent in order to “fight back.”

In “Who Knew”, Eminem showed a similar viewpoint by expressing his belief that violence is a common occurrence in American society, yet not challenged in genres outside of the urban environment:

So who's bringin’ the guns in this country?

I couldn't sneak a plastic pellet gun through customs over in London

And last week, I seen a Schwarzaneggar movie

Where he's shootin’ all sorts of these bad guys with an Uzi

Here, the poet questions the existence of violence in a country that allows firearms and violent movies.

In “Casualties of War”, Rakim blames the United States government, specifically its Head of State, as the group causing the violence in society with their war-like ways:

I'ma get back to New York in one piece

But I'm bent in the sand that is hot as the city streets

Sky lights up like fireworks blind me

Bullets, whistlin’ over my head remind me...

President Bush said attack

Flashback to Nam, I might not make it back

In this text, the poet refers to our country’s decision to go to war as an example of the violence that exists amongst the majority social class.

In “The Watcher”, Dr. Dre redefines the negative characteristic of violence by pointing to the police force as the source of violence, and therefore, referring to them as “gangster-like”:

Things just ain't the same for gangstas

Cops is anxious to put people in handcuffs

They wanna hang us, see us dead or enslave us

Keep us trapped in the same place we raised in

Then they wonder why we act so outrageous

Run around stressed out and pull out gauges

Cause everytime you let the animal out cages

It's dangerous, to people who look like strangers

Here, the poet accuses the majority class of keeping them “trapped in the same place we raised in” and that the perceived violence is only due to the introduction of “people who look like strangers.”

These are examples of how hip-hop artists redefine the image of violence by showing how it exists or was created within the majority social group.

Drugs

Another common disputed stereotype of hip-hop artists is their use and distribution of illegal drugs. In attempts to redefine this negative characteristic, many hip-hop artists have pointed at the majority social group as the facilitator of drug abuse.

In “Justify My Thug”, Jay-Z speaks directly to members of government, raising questions about who has made the availability and use of these drugs possible:

Mr. President, there's drugs in our residence

Tell me what you want me to do, come break bread with us

Mr. Governor, I swear there's a cover up

Every other corner there's a liquor store - what is up?

In this example, the poet inquires as to why there is a liquor store in “every other corner” of his community.

In “I Want to Talk to You”, Nas uses the same approach to challenge the notion of drug distribution by asking his representatives what they would do in his situation:

Why y'all made it so hard, damn

People gotta go create their own job

Mr. Mayo,r imagine if this was your backyard

Mr. Governo,r imagine if it was your kids that starved

Imagine your kids gotta sling crack to survive

Here, the poet claims that the distribution of drugs is not only an effect of the poverty that exists in his environment, but also a means of survival.

In “Manifesto”, Talib Kweli actually accuses the government of being the body which allows drugs into the country:

Like the C.I.A. be bringin’ in crack cocaine bailin’ out of planes

With the George Bush connections, I push Reflection

Like I'm sellin’ izm, like a dealer buildin’ the system

Supply and the demand it's all capitalism

People don't sell crack cause they like to see blacks smoke

People sell crack cause they broke

In this example, the poet accuses the C.I.A. of flying drugs into the country, and again reiterates the point that it is a means of survival due to the “supply and demand” of a capitalist society.

In “Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangster”, the Geto Boys fully redefine the negative characteristic of drug distribution by accusing the President of being a drug dealer, and therefore, a gangster:

And now, a word from the President!

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

Getting’ voted into the White House

Everything lookin’ good to the people of the world

But the Mafia family is my boss

So every now and then I owe a favor gettin' down

Like lettin' a big drug shipment through

And send 'em to the poor community

So we can bust you know who

These examples show how hip-hop artists redefine the image of being drug dealers and users by again pointing to the majority class as the creator of the drug problem in this country.

Materialism

Hip-hop music is also seen by the majority class as a genre dominated by materialism. Again, artists point back to the majority class in an attempt to redefine this negative characteristic.

In “Respiration”, Black Star points to all the wealth surrounding urban areas, and how it absorbs the lower class in materialism, making them want parts of that wealth:

Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips

For profits, thirsty criminals take pockets

Hard knuckles on the second hands of workin’ class watches

Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of living

Is preposterous, stay alive, you play or die, no options

Here, the poet talks about various materialistic aspects of the majority class, and how the lower class must “play or die” to “stay alive.”

In “All Falls Down”, Kanye West actually blames this materialism on American society:

It seems we living the American dream

But the people highest up got the lowest self esteem

The prettiest people do the ugliest things

For the road to riches and diamond rings

In this example, the poet blames the “American dream” for materialism, saying it causes people to “do the ugliest things” for “riches and diamond rings.”

In “Los Angeles Times”, Xzibit also blames this materialism on the majority class, claiming that is what the youth are taught coming up in urban environments:

Welcome to L.A.

Where you can see the whole city burning

Cause the cops got Uzis and the dealers keep serving

And your kids ain't learning it, except this

Sex power and wealth, forget everything else

Here, the poet expresses his belief that certain aspects of materialism, including “power and wealth” are taught to children through occurrences in society.

These are examples how hip-hop artists redefine the negative characteristic of being materialistic by showing examples of how this materialism is prevalent in the majority class, and often created within that class.

Sex

And the final debated stereotype of the hip-hop social class is that they are sexually promiscuous, often leading to disrespectful treatment towards women. The poets also attempt to redefine this stereotype by blaming the core of the problem on society.

In “Pussy Galore”, the Roots claim that the country’s obsession with sex is pushed by sexually-driven marketing campaigns:

Lookin' out the limo window up at the billboards

200 miles, she was the only thing I saw

Promotin' everything, from the liquor to the nicotine

Cell phones, anti-histamines, chicken wings

You gotta show a little skin to get them listening

For real yo, the world is a sex machine

In this example, the poet retells a personal experience in which he saw sex advertisements as “promotin’ everything.” And in order to “get them listening”, he claims, “you gotta show a little skin.”

youtube

In “Get By”, Talib Kweli blames this sexual obsession on what we view on television:

The TV got us reachin’ for stars

Not the ones between Venus and Mars,

The ones that be readin’ for parts

Some people get breast enhancements and penis enlargers

Here, the poet expresses his belief that television creates a misconception of what people should be sexually, and that contributes to the promiscuity that is being blamed on the hip-hop movement.

Hip-hop artists have used their lyrics and poetry to influence the rejection and reconstruction of the gangster identity that plagues their social class. This is accomplished through the redefining of negative characteristics assigned by the majority class. In most cases, these redefinitions include pointing to the majority class as the real holders of these negative characteristics. The redefining of these “gangster-like” images through hip-hop lyrics helps to reconstruct the gangster identity by questioning “gangster-like” behaviors and which social class actually has these behaviors. So the question presented is: Who exactly are the gangsters?

Works Cited / Discography

2 Pac. 2Pacalypse Now. Jive Records, 1991.

Black Star. Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star. Rawkus Records, 1998.

Coates, Jennifer. Women, Men and Language. Longman Publishing, New York: 1993.

Dr. Dre. The Chronic 2001. Interscope Records, 1999.

Eminem. The Marshall Mathers LP. Interscope Records, 2000.

Geto Boys. Uncut Dope LP. Interscope Records, 1999.

Haugen, Jason. “‘Unladylike Divas’: Language, Gender and Female Gangster Rappers.” Popular Music and Society: December, 2003.

Jay Z. The Black Album. Def Jam, 2003.

Kanye West. College Dropout. Roc-A-Fella Records, 2004.

Nas. I Am. Sony Records, 1999.

Rakim. Don’t Sweat the Technique. MCA Records, 1992.

Rawkus Records. Lyricist Lounge Volume 1. Priority Records, 1999.

Slaughter, Peter. “Attack on Rap Music.” Barutiwa Weekly News. June 14, 1997.

Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek. Train of Thought. Rawkus Records, 2000.

Talib Kweli. Quality. Rawkus Records, 2003.

The Roots. Phrenology. MCA Records, 2002.

Whaley, Angela. “Hip Hop is Not for Sale.” Colorado State University’s Talking Back: Volume 3, Issue 1.

Xzibit. 40 Days and 40 Nights. Loud Records, 1998.

#hip hop #gangster rap

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largemaxa · 7 years

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Analytic vs. Intuitive Methods of Learning about Art

(Originally published 1/29/15 on old blog)

I started a close reading of EM Forster's Room with a View yesterday. By doing this, I'd like to increase my understanding of both the craft of story construction as well as literary aesthetics in general. My approach to reading so far has been something like: "just experience what you're reading, let the words wash over in waves and you will absorb what you need to understand". I've had a sense that I'm "missing something" in my understanding of literature, and from general knowledge as well as specific encounters with various critical perspectives have had a vague awareness that more deliberate techniques could be used. But I've been hesitant to go too far into such any such approach myself. On thinking about it, I realized that, over and above the chief obstacle of inertia, the hesitancy has to do with my surprisingly troubled relationship with the role of "analysis" in appreciating and creating "art" generally.

When I started studying jazz seriously in high school, I led myself down some dubious roads in search of musical enlightenment. For at least the first year or two, I'd practice mechanical exercises on relating scales to "chord changes", finding all possible permutations/inversions of various jazzy-sounding-jazz-chords, and so on, in a way that was totally removed from musical context. In short, I fetishized the trivially "intellectual" aspect of jazz that is fetishized by naive jazz students in the way it's most typically fetishized by naive jazz students. (To those who are unfamiliar with the world of insecure intellectual-aspect-fetishizing jazz students: this is a thing.) To my credit, I somehow managed to recognize that what I was doing was wrong ("not soulful"?), and attempted to correct it. At some point between my senior year of high school and freshman year of college, I fell almost entirely under the sway of a selective misreading of Marsalis family-camp** policy regarding jazz education and practice. This misreading heavily stressed listening and memorizing/transcribing notable jazz solos solely by ear - WITHOUT the sort of "analysis" that students usually perform on those works to extract musical information(identifying how the notes relate to the chord sequences, etc), instead paying much closer (aural) attention to subtle aspects of articulation and rhythmic placement. I spent a good part of my freshman year of college memorizing all of Louis Armstrong's solos on one volume of "Hot Fives" and Lester Young's solos on "Lester Young meets Oscar Peterson".

This misreading of their methodology combined with several abused/overextended mental images to lead to a dogmatic mental model of musical creativity that something like this: music is somehow "absorbed" and then "assimilated" by some sort of subconscious creative-musical-faculty. Through deliberate cultivation(like intensive listening, memorization, and reproduction) one could facilitate this process of absorbtion. Eventually, the subconscious creative-musical-faculty, in some mysterious way, projects "true music" forward through the instrument. The analytic mind could have nothing to do with any aspect of the process: seeking to mentally understand things and put them in the right place(like the transcription analyzing approach, the matching chords to notes approach) could only lead to a Frankenstein-collage of synthetic approximations rather than authentic, organic, soulful musical "speaking".

I actually made a great deal of progress with that dogmatic model. And, in fact, it led me to some areas of musicianship that many naive-jazz-students never get to - subtle issues of touch, phrasing and articulation. Most importantly, I learned how to "swing"(though a Marsalis family member may disagree). (I doubt you will find two people who give you the same definition of "swing", but I'll define it as a (surprisingly) subtle musical method of rhythmic placement, delivery, and attitude that is the key to "speaking" jazz authentically.)

But when I look back at the development of my playing, it's clear that a lot of the progress from that dogmatic period was built upon work from the intellect-fetishizing period - the fact is that I DID know the scales I should use and their sonic implications, even if I tried not to "think" about it, instead attempting to channel Sonny Rollins and Lester Young. And the fact that I wasn't willing to be "analytical" during this period held me back, even relative to the kinds of things I would have wanted to accomplish at that point. It's difficult to get to crazy layered substitutions a la Michael Brecker or Mark Turner without deliberate "analytic" cultivation. Interaction with Steve Lehman's spectral harmonies is not accessible through pure hearing. (***) I don't remember if my intent was not to deal with that sort of material, or if I believed I really could get there with the dogmatic approach, or if I thought I'd just approximate it with my methodology (possible, actually - though they'd be "organic" approximations rather than "plastic Frankenstein" approximations).

Around 2008, I took my focus away from music and directed it towards a lot of other things. I've developed no great capacities or bases of knowledge, but have managed to catch hold of "a certain way of thinking about things". Last year I read Against Method by philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend and encountered a phrase and formulation that summed up and clarified my approach to "thinking in general" - musical or not - during this post-2008 period: "methodological anarchy" - the idea that anything and everything can(not WILL) be useful in any individual case - and the details of each individual case do indeed make a lot of difference. Absolutely, learn a Ben Webster solo by heart, paying close attention to rhythm and articulation, and keep careful track of the influence of Charlie Parker on John Coltrane. But also feel free to analyze Coltrane's substitutions or develop theories of melodic/harmonic motion derived from any aspect of one's studies. (More generally, feel free to break out of the box this discussion takes place in and question to what extent "jazz" tradition and practice itself is a coherent entity.) If (when?) I take a deep dive into music again, all of these aspects (and more) will be a part of my approach.

I'd like to suggest (of course, ridiculously) that in this close reading of a classic early 20th century novel - the sort of thing that you'd find on a 19 year old's college syllabus - I'm attempting to channel a radical "methodological anarchist" spirit: I'm taking an approach to understanding the aesthetics and craft of writing that I haven't yet considered; a way that is (historically) considered suitable to it rather than a way that is in line with my preexisting conceptions. My approach to writing/reading has so far been guided by two things. First, there's a sense in which it's modeled on the (old) approach I took towards music: I concentrate on reading widely in an attempt to "absorb" whatever ideas and devices I'm able to; work with local properties, permutations of thoughts and words; issues of how to shape words around the contours of individual thoughts; and pay a lot of attention to the "flow" and "rhythm" of my language****. The second guide is what I call (in my internal language) "first principles analysis". Think: spending a lot of time pacing up and down a hallway with internal dialogues featuring phrases like "...what a story even IS..." - which often fruitless and frustrating (and incoherent), but enjoyable. I claim to get a lot of clarity out of this sort of exercise, but I can never point to what that clarity actually is, because it always seems to dissolve right back into what I already thought I knew about whatever I was thinking about.

But so far I've avoided historically accepted categories and concepts like 'plot', 'character', 'themes', 'social structure', 'textual structure'(at the level of 'paragraph', 'scene', 'chapter', 'work'), 'recurrent words'/'imagery' because knowledge about these aspects has neither "washed over me" nor been derivable (for me) from "first principles". I do have a concrete sense, though, that paying attention through deliberate analysis to these aspects of texts could be helpful. (And I seem to have enough will to get me through the next chapter or two, at the least.)

**Important note: there are socio-cultural-political overtones and debates around many of the issues implied here. Unfortunately I don't feel that I'm up to the task of creating a coherent narrative even of the truths that I do perceive about the situation. But very briefly, the Marsalis Brothers, Wynton and Branford, rose to public prominence in the 1980's as stellar jazz musicians and proponents of a neo-conservative narrative of the jazz tradition. A "pro": In addition to their numerous artistic successes, their advocacy work brought a great deal of attention to jazz and securing institutional funding and support, and, quite possibly, nursing jazz to whatever health it still has today. A "con": generations of jazz and jazz-affiliated musicians resent the simplistic narrative of "jazz progress" that left out incredibly important branches, streams, and musical/artistic values and served to further marginalize those branches by delegitimizing them.

***Branford Marsalis actually gets at essentially the entire world of harmonic/melodic freedom that I imply is hard to reach through "non-analytic" methods, while at the same time heavily (if not exclusively - I don't know ALL of his viewpoints) endorsing some of the "non-analytic" methods I described. So I don't want to say that it's not possible IN GENERAL to get to any particular destination by any particular method.

**** My use of "flow"/"rhythm" here is not abuse of a metaphor or weak analogy: I felt very concretely when I started writing more in 2013, after not having written much since high school, that I was very sensitive to the rhythmic and tactile elements of language in a way that I wasn't before, and it seemed to be directly related to my musical studies.

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