#miles jones perspective

[inheartofwinter]

For @drarrymicrofic 's song prompt Guess Who's Back by Danko Jones. 390 | G.

My immediate though for this prompt was villain Drarry causing mayhem throughout the country. But I'm bad at writing actions and scaring Harry seemed fun, hence, this fic.

Guess Who's Back?

Harry fell off the chair before the door was fully opened. His elbow hit the floor painfully and the chair was digging his ribs but he could not care less. His eyes were glued on the man who had just stepped into the room.

“Ladies and gentlemen, guess who's back? Me!” shouted the man cheerfully, swinging a bag. He was sporting a smug grin. Along with his flashing gray eyes, it gave off the vibe of a villain in comics.

Draco Malfoy was back.

Leader of the Slytherin gang of bullies back at Hogwarts. Former Death Eater. Famous high fashion designer in the world. Harry’s ex. He was back.

Malfoy took a glance at Harry and smirked. “Happy that I'm back, Scarhead?”

Harry gulped. He didn’t think that he was happy. He wasn’t sure he wasn’t either. So he decided to ignore the question. “When—? How—?”

Malfoy, rude as he had always been, didn’t wait until he finished his sentence to throw himself on Harry’s table. “Spare me the niceties. Let’s get to the job.” Oh Gryffindor, from this perspective, Malfoy's legs looked like they were miles long. Harry could even see his milky skin through the opening of his trousers' legs— Harry needed to get up immediately. “What style do you want your robe to be?”

“My robe?” Harry blinked. Understanding descended upon him a minute later. He promptly turned to Luna. “You called him?!”

Luna smiled her familiar serene smile – the one Harry had started to dread. “Draco is the best designer and you need a nice robe for the upcoming ball.”

“But why—“ my ex? Why the man I accidentally drove out of the country with our disaster break up? The one person you know that I'm still dreaming of at night? Harry swallowed his thoughts back. As if he could ever say that.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. “Are you doubting my ability, Potter? For your information, you will not find anyone better than me in the Continent. In the whole world, I dare say.” Then, he smiled. “Or, are you scared?”

Harry was. But there was no way he would ever admit that to Draco Malfoy of all people.

“You wish,” said Harry, standing up.

“Then I'm looking forward to working with you.” Malfoy’s eyes glinted.

...Maybe Harry should have just admitted it.

[indigoandochre]

Hiya and hello! I hope you don't mind me asking a question here: From your perspective as an opera student, what does one look at to appreciate the artistry of opera? Acting? Voice control? Etc.?

Oooooh interesting question. Honestly? It's a mix of everything. I would say it works kinda like that self-actualization pyramid, but for making a great performance.

Each step builds on the last one.

Technique being wrong can be obvious to us who are train as we spot that 'pop vocal' breathiness a mile off. It can also be obvious based on projection. if you look at a live performance of any pop star, or quite a few of these hybrid singers [sometimes called 'Popera'], you notice something when you compare it to Cardiff Singer of the World performances, or Luciano Pavarotti, or Montserrat Caballé. The microphone distance for those properly trained is roughly 2- feet and at hip-to-waist height, as these are people who have projection training (which is something that naturally comes up in singing lessons) and need to fill a concert hall without mics- you don't always have that luxury.

Vocal control. Everyone has off-days, this just reduces the number of mistakes you'll make on off-days. If you can't control your voice, you have no hope of performing a written piece (I'm not saying this has to come naturally to you to be a good singer. There's singing teachers for that.).

  Pronunciation. This is important no matter what language you're singing in! At university, it has become a necessity for us to learn IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) so that we don't have to be fluent in a language to pronounce things correctly. Most opera songs are on OxfordIPA, so we just source from there or try and find someone who speaks the language if, by fluke, it isn't. It is key that the audience understands you. If it isn't the native language of the country your performing in, there is always a chance someone there knows that language. Text Comprehension. It's very clear when people know what they're saying, as it changes where they breathe and sometimes where they're placing emphasis in a line. It adds a lot to the performance, for similar reasons to Pronunciation. And finally, at the top of the pyramid, ACTING! there's no point pouring all your acting chops into a professional opera performance if you're going to ignore the previous steps. And it really elevates a performance! The Queen of the Night aria is a great example as many singers have to 'Park and Bark'[let movement and larger acting go for the sake of vocal quality] through it due to the challenge of the song. However, if you can do more than Park and Bark, it becomes magical. For the Queen of the Night aria, I highly recommend The Charismatic Voice's video on Diana Damrau's performance.

Of course, the acting can always be in the voice as well, especially if you don't have much to interact with. I bring to your attention, Winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World 2022, Gihoon Kim, and his performance of 'Mein Sehnen, mein wahnen' from The Dead City.

And the winner of the Audience Prize in 2022, Claire Barnett-Jones, for her rendition of Mon Coeur S'ouvre a ta voix, which legit made me forget I was watching a competition.

[cityandking]

photo album, mixtape, psyche, shooting star for minah, vesper, & caes!

tyyyyy!! // oc ask meme

photo album: describe one of your OCs’ favorite memories.

MINAH — answered! VESPER — sitting in solas' study talking about some semi-obscure magical theory and being delighted by the way solas approached it from his (assumed) hedgemage perspective and how that reframing added something she'd missed in her circle education. dorian, overhearing them, had leaned over the banister from the library above and was so insistent on getting in on the discussion that he was halfway through a lecture before solas asked if perhaps he'd care to join them for tea and scones, or if he was too loathe to abandon his pulpit. they'd been at it so late that leliana had dinner sent over, and vesper had just been satisfied and thrilled and grateful, which were novel and delightful things to feel in the middle of the war and the chaos. CAES — also answered!

mixtape: 5 songs that describe your OC(s) or songs they themselves would like.

MINAH — 1. bad blood - bastille (all this bad blood here / won't you let it dry? / it's been cold for years / won't you let it lie?) 2. part of me - noah kahan (even through the pain, I can't recall your face / just the ache of knowing everything was gonna change / I got so close to love with you, my dear / but I don't miss you / I miss the way you made me feel) 3. final girl - chvrches (telling all the tales took time that I just do not have / sifting further through the wreckage, I think you just have to laugh) 4. you can run - adam jones (truth gonna come out, someday / it's gonna wipe that smile right off your face) 5. liar - the arcadian wild (my life’s become this grand game of deception / my mind’s ignored all my heart’s good intentions) VESPER — 1. dear doubt - michael schulte (dear doubt, you wore out a path to my door / and it's needless to say that there's no way that I want you here) 2. make them gold - chvrches (we are made up of our longest days / we are falling but not alone / we will take the best parts of ourselves / and make them gold) 3. son - sleeping at last (so I will try, try, try to breathe / 'til it turns to muscle memory / I'm only steady on my knees / but one day, I'll stand on my own two feet) 4. woodblock - joe gil (I don't have to take my burdens home / I don't have to do this on my own) 5. be yourself - harrison storm (take on the colors on / and fire fight the winter storms) CAES — 1. everybody wants to rule the world - tears for fears (all for freedom and for pleasure / nothing ever lasts forever / everybody wants to rule the world) 2. forces of the unseen - cloud cult (I'm gonna make it through, you'll see / I swear I'll prove you wrong / you haven't seen the last of me / I am way too strong) 3. culling of the fold - the decemberists (listen up boy / and listen up girl / it's a shallow little trench / and it's giving off a stench / it's a shallow little world) 4. heat stroke - black math (you're breathin' hard but I still got a hundred miles / untouchable I live for this / I breathe for this / I bleed for this) 5. my songs know what you did in the dark - fall out boy (be careful making wishes in the dark / can't be sure when they've hit their mark / and besides in the mean-meantime I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart)

psyche: what’s their head space like? do they have any mental illnesses? how do they process difficult or emotional situations? what are their coping mechanisms?

MINAH — it... could be worse? like it's not great up there but she's perfectly functional. she just ignores some stuff (or obsesses over it too much, or swings wildly between the two). processing emotions is not really part of her skill set, so most of her coping mechanisms are rooted in avoidance, distraction, and deflection all piled together into a wobbly card tower of maladaptive techniques. but honestly, she's fine. VESPER — her headspace is mostly just bleak. kind of a constant churn of what-if and not-again. she's definitely got a bit of an undiagnosed anxiety thing going on, but she copes with it pretty well all things considered. her emotional processing works overtime to keep up with how much thinking she does all the damn time, and her coping mechanisms tend to be Working Even More. one of the upsides of the inquisition is that she finally gets a proper support network. CAES — pristine. you've never met anyone better at compartmentalizing. he's a horrible little man who doesn't know how to let go of a grudge but he will have it sorted by date, location, responsible parties, and weather at the time. I'm not sure he "processes" his emotions but he sure does Do Something About Them (exact revenge, be petty, plot people's downfalls, etc.)

shooting star: if your OC(s) could have one wish what would it be?

MINAH — she doesn't know. she's so torn about what she wants most that it would be almost impossible for her to choose just one thing to wish for. maybe to go back and do it all over again. maybe just to have all the facts, so at least she'd know what went wrong. VESPER — part of her would feel obligated to wish for things for other people—a stop to the fighting, peace in southern thedas, that sort of thing. I think probably in actually she'd wish for happiness, or the chance to talk to solas again—to try to change his mind, or just to understand why he's so determined to continue down this path. CAES — power, probably. the sort of power you can dangle over people's heads; the sort of power that works quiet and in secret and bends the world to your will. it's why he wanted so badly to join the magisterium—it may be cutthroat and bloody and twisted, but it's also the center of everything and a great place to be to get shit done.

[discluded]

i'd like to share my thoughts on the pfw styling...

going with what you said about MA's market reach and market value, it would make sense why Dior gives them the more "experimental" looks. we saw how a lot of (mostly) western outlets post about MA this time around because they likely saw how much reach their asian counterparts got when they posted MA before.

by giving MA the "less boring" men's looks, Dior gets to show the public their range (like how you can style their runway looks for the streets or events). from what i've observed with them in recent years, their male ambassadors tend to go with classic cuts and silhouettes, usually suits and the like.

while i prefer those looks to what we've seen recently (i liked Apo's outfit but Mile's wasn't doing it for me), i can see why a brand trying to keep relevant would want to dress two of their most popular ambassadors in their "less traditional" designs.

I like this line of thought. A lot of the criticism coming out about current collections in fashion is that they operate thematically (ie, the witch theme for this show) rather than/or more importantly push the boundaries of silhouettes and cuts in the shape of designs

that being said none of the shapes they put on Mile and Apo have ever been novel per se so much as shapes typically not done in Menswear (*edit for clarification: I mean that marrying more traditionally femme silhouettes into menswear rather than putting them into things that could be in women's collections but rebranding it with #male aesthetics like changing the colors to beige, grey, black etc. 😑)

I have a bit more to say, but I'll end with this:

"I hate the term street-wear,” says Kim Jones, who is the artistic director for Dior Men and Fendi womenswear and haute couture. “It’s not a term that I find interesting at all. You can wear couture in the street if you want.” (WSJ, Oct 2021)

and

Hype, created by purely artificial and planned scarcity, keeps the brands front and center, shielded by their vapid and hollow pieties about “democratization of fashion.”

One simple answer is, opt out. In terms of style, go your own way. Don’t let anyone, and especially anyone on Instagram, tell you what’s cool. After a withdrawal, you will find this liberating. And don’t give any validation to the hypebeast sheep. Validation is the engine that keeps the hype economy rolling and the erasure of streetwear culture along with it. Or as Bengtson emphatically put it, “If rich people need to buy expensive, rare shit to feel better about themselves or justify their obscene wealth or just flash their plumage to those who are into that kind of shit, fuck 'em. They're fucking followers themselves. Why follow them?” (The death of street-wear is a class issue, High Snobiety, April 2022)

tl;dr - imo brands are big mad that street-wear was the focal point of particularly menwear for the last 7 years and chased that trend rather than led it as has historically been the role of high fashion houses

Kim Jones in particular seems kind of big mad about it (from my perspective) and now he's trying to create an audience for looks and cuts that aren't there. there is no audience and there won't magically become one for that shapeless frock they put Mile in. street-wear didn't only lead to the democratisation of fashion, it also told people they didn't need to bow to the emperor's new clothes.

[rejo1ced]

STATISTICAL CHARACTER PERSONALITY TEST. take the linked quiz from the perspective of your character, then select 5 - 10 results from the complete matches list that you feel resonate with your character the most.

Fern (Nomadland): 85% Baby (Baby Driver): 84% Jughead Jones (Riverdale): 83% Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things): 82% Jimmy 'B-Rabbit' Smith Jr. (8 Mile): 82% Marianne (Portrait of a Lady on Fire): 82% Christian (Moulin Rouge!): 82% Janis Ian (Mean Girls): 81% Wyatt Langmore (Ozark): 81% Dara (The Witcher): 81%

tagging : you!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Long-Running Panel Show Friday: February 17, 2023

The News Quiz: This felt like a very old school episode; Hugo Rifkind, Angela Barnes, Zoe Lyons, Nish Kumar, and Andy Zaltzman were all people you’d expect to see in any given episode of the Miles Jupp era. They even threw in a Sandi Toksvig reference at one point. Aside from old school News Quiz, the Nish-Andy dynamic made it feel a little Bugle-like at times. And Angela Barnes throwing out whatever topical one-liners she’s come up with about the last few days, and then defending them when other panelists are surprised by her take, felt like Mock the Week.

As much as I liked this lineup, it did seem like a shame that they had their all-Scottish lineup last well, leaving an all-English one this week to discuss Nicola Sturgeon. It was nice, though. The Corbyn discussion was a bit contentious, and reminded me that that’s the one subject on which I don’t always love Hugo Rifkind’s perspective, but I see his points. There were a couple of particularly nuanced issues on the agenda this week, and I think the people they had were good ones for that.

QI: This is the second time in a couple of months that Ahir Shah has been the highlight of a panel show episode for me, the first being Catsdown. And that is impressive, because Rosie Jones is always great on panel shows and was on top form this episode. I’d really say Ahir Shah and Rosie Jones were competing to be the highlight of this episode, and being on the same side of the table made them both better. They paired really well, 40 minutes was not nearly enough for me to get tired of the way Rosie Jones would say something vaguely shocking, usually for a combination of being filthy and non-sensical, and he’d look at her incredulously.

Honestly thought, I’ve liked Ahir Shah for a while but I think this episode cumulates with a few other things to make him one of my favourite current panel show people. I think he’s one who got especially fucked over by the cancelation of Mock the Week; he’d just started to establish his status as a regular on there, and should have had more seasons to keep that up. But he’s been really good when I’ve seen him on other things. He has this sort of self-loathing cynicism about him that I really like (this is the sort of thing that highlights the clear distinction between self-loathing in comedy and self-deprecation, as Ahir Shah’s style is clearly the former), that feels like an undertone even when he’s on QI just talking about teaspoons. QI’s a good format for him, as it gives him some opportunities to show off his extensive knowledge, after running it through a lens of cynicism. Throw in a penchant for getting annoyed about things around him, and a competitive streak when it comes to points, and he is also working his way quickly onto my list of dream Taskmaster contestants. Incidentally, his stand-up special Dots is very good and everyone should watch it.

Would I Lie to You: Anything with Desiree Burch and Lucy Beamont is a strong lineup, and they were both great on this, but I felt like this episode was another one where Lee and David really carried it. They can set each other up so well, but also surprise each other, and have so many years of history to reference and draw on, that has comedy chemistry down to perfection. I think it’s been really strong all season, even more than the previous couple of seasons.

Having said that, Desiree Burch and Lucy Beaumont did not disappoint. I’ve always thought Jon Richardson pairs very well with Lee Mack on panel shows, and it turns out his wife does that almost as well. Lucy’s ability to crack Lee up was a delight to watch every time. Also, she is really good at playing her ditzy persona. Really good. That persona was perfect for WILTY, where all she had to do to get away with stuff was make people believe she’s really like that. Which worked on me repeatedly, even though I’ve seen enough of her to know how her persona works, and that would be why I finished with a terrible 2-3 record in the guessing. In my defence, I thought her story about the neighbour and the chicken couldn’t be true, because why would they have not used it on Meet the Richardsons?

I guessed correctly on Desiree for the opposite reason, actually. Desiree told her lie really, really well, but I also know she’s ridiculously intelligent, and was pretty sure she’d be able to come up with a lie that good, that fast.

It was the only one I got right aside from the last one, which was just a free point because obviously David was lying. That was a clear case of something that often gets overlooked on this show, which is the fact that the people on it are famous. A lot of these fake scenarios would not happen this way to a famous person. I remember one David story from an early-ish season, that involved him getting stuck on a diving board like Mr. Bean for a long time. They argued about it for so long, until finally a guest pointed out that if David Mitchell were stuck on a board in a pool full of witnesses, someone would have filmed that shit and put it on YouTube. So of course it was a lie. Similarly, if a restaurant had David Mitchell as a regular and he agreed to let them name a meal after him, they wouldn’t leave out the name “Mitchell”, missing out on the obvious marketing opportunity.

Anyway. I might be getting a bit too caught up in my own game with this show, and that isn’t supposed to be the point. It was a bad episode for my guessing, but a really good actual episode of television. Great back-and-forth among the regulars, great guests, great chemistry between guests and regulars. I’d happily watch many more episodes with this lineup.

And that’s it. No Last Leg this week, due to the Channel 4 comedy awards. Where, on the subject of what I just described, they agreed with me about Lee Mack still being excellent on Would I Lie to You, even after all this time. A bunch of those results were interesting. I mean, some were obvious. I recently made a Tumblr poll to find out people’s favourite panel shows, and I left Taskmaster off it because if you include Taskmaster, there’s basically no contest. Taskmaster just wins every time (seriously though, good for Alex Horne and everyone else). Though actually, they had Taskmaster in the entertainment category, meaning their panel show category did excluse Taskmaster, and Catsdown won. Though actually, according to the much more scientific poll on my Tumblr blog, that should have gone to WILTY.

My main takeaway from reading the list of winners is I was pleased to see Joe Lycett’s latest stand-up show got an award, given that it’s absolutely excellent and everyone should watch it.

[tomorrowedblog]

Friday Releases for January 20

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for January 20 include When You Finish Saving The World, Missing, Indiana Jones, and more.

When You Finish Saving The World

When You Finish Saving The World, the new movie from Jesse Eisenberg, is out today.

Evelyn (Julianne Moore) has devoted herself to helping people in hard times, but she struggles to connect with her son Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard), an aspiring internet star oblivious to the problems of the world.

As Evelyn attempts to become a parent figure to an unassuming teenager she meets at her shelter, and Ziggy fumbles through his pursuit of a brilliant and politically conscious young woman at his high school, this emotional comedy reveals a funny and sharply perceptive portrait of a mother and son who may seem at odds but who are more alike than either would care to admit.

Missing

Missing, the new movie from Nick Johnson and Will Merrick, is out today.

From the minds behind Searching comes Missing, a thrilling roller-coaster mystery that makes you wonder how well you know those closest to you. When her mother (Nia Long) disappears while on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend, June’s (Storm Reid) search for answers is hindered by international red tape. Stuck thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, June creatively uses all the latest technology at her fingertips to try and find her before it’s too late. But as she digs deeper, her digital sleuthing raises more questions than answers… and when June unravels secrets about her mom, she discovers that she never really knew her at all.

KIDS VS. ALIENS

KIDS VS. ALIENS, the new movie from Jason Eisener, is out today.

All Gary wants is to make awesome home movies with his best buds. All his older sister Samantha wants is to hang with the cool kids. When their parents head out of town one Halloween weekend, an all-time rager of a teen house party turns to terror when aliens attack, forcing the siblings to band together to survive the night.

Alone At Night

Alone At Night, the new movie from Jimmy Giannopoulos, is out today.

Vicky (Ashley Benson) is a young woman looking for an escape after going through a harrowing break-up. After retreating to a friend’s remote cabin in the woods to clear her head, she continues modeling sexy lingerie for her devoted followers on 18 & Over, an adults-only, live-streaming website. But when the power keeps going out, Vicky discovers something terrifying awaiting her in the dark — a masked killer wielding a crowbar who’s hellbent on bringing her night to a grisly end.

JUNG_E

JUNG_E, the new movie from Sang-ho Yeon, is out today.

In a post-apocalyptic near-future, a researcher at an AI lab leads the effort to end a civil war by cloning the brain of a heroic soldier — her mother.

Out Of Exile

Out Of Exile, the new movie from Kyle Kauwika Harris, is out today.

Recently paroled thief Gabe Russell is back at it again. After a botched armored car robbery turns up the heat from the FBI, he’ll have one last shot if he hopes to escape and provide a new life for himself and his estranged daughter.

Alice, Darling

Alice, Darling, the new movie from Mary Nighy, is out today.

In the taut thriller ALICE, DARLING, Anna Kendrick stars as a woman pushed to the breaking point by her psychologically abusive boyfriend, Simon. While on vacation with two close girlfriends, Alice rediscovers the essence of herself and gains some much-needed perspective. Slowly, she starts to fray the cords of codependency that bind her. But Simon’s vengeance is as inevitable as it is shattering – and, once unleashed, it tests Alice’s strength, her courage, and the bonds of her deep-rooted friendships.

Shahmaran

Shahmaran, the new TV series from Pinar Bulut and Umur Turagay, is out today.

When Şahsu goes to Adana for a lecture, it’s the perfect chance to face her estranged grandfather. But soon, she finds herself in the midst of a legend.

Shape Island

Shape Island, the new TV series from Ryan Pequin and Drew Hodges, is out today.

On a charming island, Square, Triangle and Circle seek adventure and connection while learning how to navigate each other’s differences.

Truth Be Told S3

The third season of Truth Be Told, the TV series from Nichelle Tramble Spellman, is out today.

Descend into the world of true-crime podcasts. This NAACP Image Award–winning drama stars Octavia Spencer as a podcaster who risks everything—including her life—to pursue truth and justice.

Fire Emblem Engage

Fire Emblem Engage, the new game from Nintendo, is out today.

In a war against the Fell Dragon, four kingdoms worked together with heroes from other worlds to seal away this great evil. One-thousand years later, this seal has weakened and the Fell Dragon is about to reawaken. As a Divine Dragon, use rich strategies and robust customization to meet your destiny—to collect Emblem Rings and bring peace back to the Continent of Elyos.

Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones, the new album from Boldy James and RichGains, is out today.

[undinegeist]

This isn’t really more content, I’m working on the edges of the next best thing - hopefully - but in the meantime I thought I’d suggest reading material for anyone who’s interested?

I just finished Bobbie Brown’s book - not makeup artist Bobbie Brown, devil help us, though until I read it I thought it was her - and it’s really great, Cherry on Top is its name…that’s for the Mötley Camp, she used to date Tommy Lee.

For the Pistols Camp, even though everyone seem to love to hate Nancy - I don’t, fyi - I’d really recommend her mom’s book, And I Don’t Want to Live This Life…it shows her as more than she’s portrayed to be, shows her as a real person, which is so important…that’s how I got into the Pistols thing, thanks to this book…and Machine Gun Kelly’s Sid and Nancy - twisted paths. I don’t really like Nancy’s mom - her family’s too straight for me - but she’s a damn good writer. As for Sid, books about him are so fucking hard to find digital - conspiracy? - but one that if you can get your hands on I’d recommend is by Alan Parker, Sid Vicious: No One Is Innocent…it helped inspire a few of the stories I’ve posted here. There’s also England’s Dreaming which is more about the band and the punk movement but I haven’t finished that, so I really can’t recommend it yet.

Hope you guys give some of these books a shot alongside the usual ones…which if you want in a vague list, though I imagine you already know them…I can only recommend the Motley stuff officially, I’m still making my way through the Pistols stuff, but:

- The Heroin Diaries (have read, it’s great, pretty fucking dark though hopeful at the end if you’re feeling good)

- Tommyland (have also read, not entirely sure how I feel about it, though worth a read for perspective’s sake, it is also kind of fun in a dirty way - which is cool sometimes)

- Tattoos & Tequilla (have also read, could have been edited better, I do love the input from all the people in Vince’s life outside the Motley guys though, worth a read)

- The *Infamous* Dirt (can’t decide which I love more, this or THD *affectionate name for The Heroin Diaries* though I’d say this is required reading, especially if you intend to write Mötley stuff, it’ll give you tons of material)

- There’s also a timeline type thing written by Paul Miles (can’t remember what they call it now, but the books are separated by ten year spaces, 80s, 90s and so on), which I’d really only recommend if you’re gonna write stuff about them, it’s really unnecessary otherwise (there are like six of them, I think, I’ve read them all, they’re good for - again - writing material). You can get these through Kindle Unlimited for free, unless you’ve used up your trial. Not that I’m advocating pirates but you can also run it through Calibre and a little drm thing, super easy to Google and do so you don’t have to worry about running out of time.

- This Is Gonna Hurt/The First 21 (these are good, but have a different vibe from The Heroin Diaries, overlap - especially The First 21 - with Nikki’s part in The Dirt).

- Living Like a Runaway (this one’s okay, not strictly necessary, it’s by Lita Ford, who mentions Nikki a couple of times, given the fact that they dated)

For the Pistols Camp, I’m planning to read these:

- Reckless by Chrissie Hynde

- Lonely Boy by Steve Jones

- Rotten by John Lydon

- England’s Dreaming by Jon Savage

Anyway. Not sure this is helpful to anyone. But for anybody wanting to start writing and needing inspiration, something that helps sometimes is figuring out when the person you’re writing about is born (with time too if you can get it) doing the astrology chart thing, reading everything there, then using it in your writing somehow…it feeds the muse. The muse must be fed. Never stop reading.

[pashterlengkap]

Homophobic GOP Senate candidate spent thousands in donor money on strip clubs & shoes

Last Saturday, the Minnesota GOP voted overwhelmingly to endorse Royce White — an avowed conspiracy theorist, homophobe, and misogynist — for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. Along with that considerable baggage, White carries a long list of probable campaign finance violations into his primary and the general election — if he’s the nominee — against popular, LGBTQ+ ally Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) in November. Related GOP endorses U.S. Senate candidate who calls his enemies “beta cuck f-gs” He is also a conspiracy theorist who wants to unseat pro-LGBTQ+ Sen. Amy Klobuchar. White, 33, made a national name for himself by leveraging his fame as an NBA basketball player for the Houston Rockets and his leading role in the Black Lives Matter protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, where White grew up. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today But now, as a Black darling of the far-right MAGA crowd and a true believer of former President Donald Trump, Royce has broadened his political ambitions. His past missteps and a history of abusive attacks — including social media posts calling people “f*g,” “c*nt,” and “r*tard” among them — are catching up with the 6’8″, 260-pound athlete. In 2022, White, with the backing of mentors like former Trump advisor Steve Bannon and anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, made a bid for the U.S. House seat in Minnesota currently held by “squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D). He lost in the primary. But you’d never know it based on his campaign expenses, which continued to pile up even after White lost. A week after his defeat, White’s campaign used donor funds to pay a bill topping $1,200 at the Gold Rush Cabaret in Miami, a “full liquor and full nude” strip club 1,800 miles from the congressional district he just lost in, according to reporting by The Daily Beast. The charge went through at five in the morning. But the strip club outlay is just one questionable expense in a mountain of unexplained payments to vendors over the course of White’s campaign that would make even George Santos’ treasurer blush. The questionable expenses include more than $100,000 in mysterious wire transfers and checks, reported as paid to the campaign; huge tabs at a long list of late-night hot spots; thousands paid to limo services and swank hotels in at least seven states; unexplained cash withdrawals; and purchases of shoes, clothing, and electronics that beg for an explanation that isn’t purely personal. “Misusing campaign funds can be a serious criminal offense — many politicians have gone to jail for diverting donor funds to personal expenses,” Brendan Fischer, a specialist in campaign finance law and deputy executive director of Documented, explained. “A close read” of White’s spending “suggests an incredibly long list of illegal expenditures.” Among the brands that the White campaign spent lavishly on: Heimie’s Haberdashery, K&G Fashion Superstore, New Balance (“shoe purchase for door knocking”), Nordstrom, Nike, Asos, Express, Crocs, and Lululemon. White’s donors reportedly footed the bill for more than $3,200 in purchases at Guitar Center, more than $2,500 at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and more than $700 at Sally Beauty stores in two states. When asked about his post-election strip club expenditure, White told The Daily Beast, “I like the food there.” http://dlvr.it/T7N6HB

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Tycho Jones new euphoric indie-pop single ‘Missing in Action’ clasps an addictive beat and soaring vocals in a narrative of loss without closure

Following two sold out London shows debuting his live band, the upcoming star Tycho Jones has finally shared the last instalment of his ‘Negative Space’ EP in the form of the anthemic tune ‘Missing in Action.’ Following previous singles ‘Pink + Blue’ and ‘Risk To My Reward’, Tycho offers a continued indie-pop flair and explosive but nostalgic sound you can never quite get enough of.

Tapping drums and synth whirs lead in the colourful indie experience that is ‘Missing in Action’ , immediately lacing in an upbeat momentum you can’t help but nod your head along with, eagerly ready to dance. Picked up by a quickly played electric guitar riff and a later added second layer of picked strings, the minimal and clean sound of ‘Missing in Action’ only continues to build the longer you listen through, somehow feeling both intimate and radiant all at once. As Tycho offers an almost spoken-sung leaning verse sound with speedily sung vocals, it’s easy to immediately want to sing along all the while Tycho soars through an ebb and flow of differing but always soft ranges. Clashing into an intermittent pre-chorus high, the drums thunderously smash into action amidst bright piano keys and synth pulsations before fizzling back down for an atmospherically led chorus. Pushed along by its quick beat, continued electric guitar riff, rising synth sparkles and Tycho’s positively infectious vocals, there’s not a second of this nearing three minute release that you won’t be completely mesmerised by. There’s nothing about it not to love, ‘Missing in Action’ is truly the peak of what every song aspires to create, forming a sound always evolving, continually fresh and both lighthearted in sound while staying personal all at once.

Watching a friend, lover or family member suffer through mental health struggles is one of the hardest challenges to face, unable to do anything to help except be there and hope they make it through, and Tycho has penned quite the unexpectedly poignant message on that within the deceptively vibrant soundscape of ‘Missing in Action.’ As someone he cares for dearly strays from contact and goes through their own wars behind the scenes, ‘Missing in Action’ lyrically speaks on those hardships that come with a complete lack of contact and unexpected distance thrown into both a platonic or romantic relationship when someone’s coping mechanism seems to be to extreme self-isolation. Lead in by the realisation that ‘it’s all too quiet, reckon you’ve been gone for days’, Tycho starts to recognise the patterns of a friend who’s disappeared from the scene, knowing deep down their return could be anywhere from days to months away. Asking ‘are you still hiding from demons that you can’t explain?’ almost to the ghost they’ve left behind, Tycho’s lyrics spill with all the unspoken words he can’t convey as they only grow further away from his ability to reach them, worrying about their burdens but being incapable of assisting. The chorus hook says it all, as Tycho sings ‘missing in action and you won’t come back… you keep on thinking that you’re under attack’, sympathising with their fears while being weighed by the loss of their company all the same, unsure if they’ll ever make their return like a solider gone to battle. Other lines like ‘lost in your head, you could be miles away’ almost add a differing implication though, in some ways inferring the person in question isn’t physically gone but mentally afar, as they’ve lost track of their identity and who they once were in their recurrent lows and represent just a shell of themselves. Carrying a heavy depth despite its gleaming sound, ‘Missing in Action’ is a track with a depth worth listening deeper to appreciate, capturing the often unseen perspective of someone on the outside watching a friend go through the wars.

Check out ‘Missing in Action’ here to dance along to Tycho’s euphoric sound and aching message buried within!

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

[sportsformula1]

Formula 1 demands $40 million in public money for Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023

Yes, Formula 1 has demanded $40 million in public money from Clark County, Nevada, for the construction of infrastructure for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $80 million, with Formula 1 latest updates expected F1 is to contribute the remaining $40 million.

The Clark County Commission voted 4-3 on Tuesday to enter into negotiations with F1 over the request. Commissioners Justin Jones, Marilyn Kirkpatrick and Michael Naft voted against entering into talks.

"I'm not really sure from the county's perspective how we really got to this point," Naft said during the meeting.

F1 has said that the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be one of the biggest sporting events of the year and will generate significant economic benefits for the city. The race is scheduled to take place on a Saturday night in November 2023 and will feature a 3.8-mile track that will wind through the Las Vegas Strip.

The demand for public money has drawn criticism from some local residents and politicians. Some have argued that the race will not generate enough economic benefits to justify the cost. Others have said that the money could be better spent on other priorities, such as education or infrastructure.

The Clark County Commission is expected to make a final decision on whether to provide public funding for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the coming.

[jp-hunsecker]

CODA Movie Review

CODA achieves the dubious feat of making deaf people seem as odious as Eugenio Derbez (and that’s saying a lot, since Derbez is nails-across-blackboard unbearable). Writer/director Sian Heder seems to think that their disability gives her characters a license to be crude and obnoxious, but the fact is that toilet humor remains the lowest form of comedy regardless of whether or not you can hear the flushing; moreover, suggesting that deaf people enjoy the smell of their own emissions (at the dinner table, no less) as some twisted way of compensating for their sensorial shortcomings is nothing short of demeaning. To put it in perspective, let’s consider Sound of Metal, a great film about deafness whose characters didn’t feel the need to describe their sexual organs as if they were different kinds of crustaceans. I guess it’s supposed to be funny that when Frank (Troy Kotsur) describes his and his wife’s (Marlee Matlin. I guess they never found another deaf actress) jock itch to a doctor, his hearing daughter Ruby (Emilia Jones) has to struggle to interpret this in such a way that the physician won’t think Frank is a complete asshole — but then Ruby is evidently grossed out herself, and so she should, and so should we, unless we too are assholes who enjoy laughing at a perfectly innocent person’s discomfort (instances of which abound in CODA). This misguided idea of humor that the movie has brings me back to Derbez, who plays Ruby’s high school choir director Bernardo Villalobos. When he meets Ruby’s family, Bernardo means to sign "nice to meet you" but instead signs "nice to fuck you," because he uses two fingers instead of one. I guess that’s why he teaches music and not math, though I have to wonder how he can do a count off when he obviously can’t even count. All things considered, the film is at least consistent in that even characters with no apparent physical disabilities are nonetheless intellectually challenged. For example Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), Ruby’s romantic interest, who incurs her wrath for mocking her parents (and, sadly, mockery is the only thing resembling humor that these characters inspire); she forgives him but not before Miles does a 40-feet dive into freezing water. Had I been in his place, that’s the moment I’d have asked Ruby "how do you say, 'screw this, I’m outta here,' in sign language?"

[tidalwavesmusic]

FREDDIE HUBBARD & ART BLAKEY ‘FEEL THE WIND’ (1989)

Welcome to ‘Feel The Wind’…maybe one of the greatest team-ups in Jazz history featuring jazz superstars Art Blakey and Freddie Hubbard!

Art Blakey (1919–1990) needs little introduction, the American Jazz drummer and bandleader made a name for himself in the 1940s & 1950s playing with contemporaries such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. He is often considered to have been Thelonious Monk’s most empathetic drummer (he played on both Monk’s first recording session in 1947 and his final one in 1971). In the decades that followed Blakey recorded for all THE labels that mattered in the field of jazz (Columbia, Blue Note, Atlantic, RCA, Impulse!, Riverside, Prestige, Verve, etc.). His collaborations were numerous and include working with equally legendary artists such as Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Chet Baker, John Coltrane….and countless others. Art Blakey was a major figure and a pioneer for modern jazz, he assumed an aggressive swing drumming style early on in his career and is known as one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. Blakey was sampled and remixed by major acts such as The Black Eyed Peas, Digable Planets, Buscemi, KRS-One and Madlib. The legacy of Art Blakey is not only the music he produced, but also the opportunities they provided for several future generations of jazz musicians.

Freddie Hubbard (1938-2008) also needs little introduction, he was one of the most renowned American jazz trumpeters who played bebop, hard bop and post-bop from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop. At the age of 20, in New York, he began playing and recording with some of the best jazz players of the era, including Don Cherry, Quincy Jones, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Oliver Nelson and Herbie Hancock. Freddie Hubbard recorded for labels such as Blue Note and Atlantic and he became a prominent member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Hubbard achieved his greatest popular success in the 1970s with a series of landmark albums. Hubbard’s trumpet playing was featured on the track “Zanzibar” from the 1978 Billy Joel album 52nd street (the 1979 Grammy Award Winner for Best Album) and in 1988, Hubbard played with Elton John contributing trumpet and flugelhorn solos. In 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts accorded Hubbard its highest honor in jazz, the NEA Jazz Masters Award. Freddie Hubbard was sampled and remixed by renowned artists such as Raekwon, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Jungle Brothers and Kamasi Washington.

On the album that we are presenting you today (Feel The Wind from 1989) , you’ll find six sublime tracks recorded in 1988 by renowned engineer Max Bolleman at the Studio 44 Monster in Holland. These recordings were originally released on the legendary Dutch jazz label Timeless Records (and produced by its owner Wim Wigt). Supporting Hubbard and Blakey is an all-star line-up of musicians from the likes of Leon Dorsey (Lionel Hampton), Lonnie Plaxico (Dizzy Gillespie, Ravi Coltrane), Benny Green (Joe Henderson, Houston Person, Milt Jackson), Mulgrew Miller (Frank Morgan, Donald Byrd) and Javon Jackson (Cedar Walton, Curtis Fuller, John Hicks).

The combination of this being one of Art Blakey’s final recordings near the end of his life and a glorious rejuvenating return by Freddie Hubbard gives us all the ingredients for a unique album that sounds as innovating today as back in the day when it was released. Expect supercharged hard bop with striking notes, no-holds-barred musicianship, high swinging solos, screaming choruses and plenty of solid virtuosity to spare. This release is not only a classic but also a bonafide hit and a must have for any self-respecting jazz fan or collector.

Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents this much-needed vinyl reissue that pairs up two iconic jazz legends at the top of their game. Originally released in 1989, this is the first time these unique sessions are being reissued as a deluxe 180g vinyl edition w/obi strip.

Available in stores July 28, 2023. Pre-order now from www.lightintheattic.net

An exclusive variant (#200 copies CLEAR Vinyl) is also available from www.lightintheattic.net

An exclusive variant (#300 numbered copies VIOLET COLORED Vinyl) is also available from www.vinylmeplease.com

[theloniousbach]

TIME FOR TYNER AGAIN?

I bought McCoy Tyner’s album with this name—a wonderful collaboration with Bobby Hutcherson—on vinyl when it was new(ish) as a young jazz fan. Tyner was anointed by his collaboration with John Coltrane and the power and movement he added to the modal exploration. Of course, that band shaped my aesthetic and, having missed the master himself, discovering what Tyner and other alumni were doing to extend Coltrane’s legacy opened doors. It helped that the modal seesaw evoked the long jams of the Grateful Dead.

But a little goes a long way and I limited myself to early 1970s albums like Sahara, Extensions (with Wayne Shorter), and a solo tribute to Coltrane. Oh yeah and Fly Like The Wind for its catchy title cut. I forewent the 1980s trio albums and generally thought of Tyner as a known quality, that when I wanted to listen to him, I knew where to go. And that was mostly to the Coltrane Quartet itself.

[Sidebar: I suppose my focus on pre-hiatus (1974 and earlier) Grateful Dead is a similar response.]

But a little goes a long way and, as inevitably happens, the Coltrane legacy’s long shadow means that people want to evoke him/them. The innovations in the hands of lesser but still worthy players can feel cliched. I find myself writing approving notes like “modal without Tynerisms” or ones less so with Tynerisms as a complaint.

While it is unfair to diminish the accomplishments of the innovator for what is done with the innovations, I also tend to the sparer side of piano players—Ahmad Jamal rather than Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans over yeah Tyner.

Leading me to think it was time for Tyner again were two essays by Ethan Iverson. First, he drew out a point re: Keith Jarrett who consciously turned away from Tyner to be “Bachian,” melodic and therefore missed “the real bebop.” And then one that celebrates Tyner as a revolutionary. Iverson is a fine fine pianist, but I may like him more as a critic. He’s certainly enough of a kindred spirit that when I get irritated at his being voraciously opinionated, it is a caution to myself.

Those opinions though are worth responding to. They’re more than a little cranky. They feel at odds with his own playing and there’s a tension between the scholarly approach he takes to the organic/folk traditions he (and I) value, “the real bebop.” In that, he perhaps extends his mentor/friend Stanley Crouch’s grouchy stance. I’ve been put off by Crouch the gruff personality to be oppositional to his perspectives. But I’ll read and take seriously what Iverson says.

Which brings me to this exercise in digging into Tyner’s Blue Note albums from the late 1960s, including the fine ones I had and, the real find of this exercise, The Real McCoy. That album with Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, and Elvin Jones and five exceptional tunes, including standards like Blues on the Corner and Passion Dance, joins Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage and Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil as desert island albums from the label. I regret missing it when I was coming into the music.

Tyner is fresh, varied, and vivid on that album and all of them. Tender Moments has a larger ensemble like the ones Herbie Hancock explored. In engaging with Hutcherson, Henderson, Shorter, and Gary Bartz, he needs and feeds very strong soloists to communicate his musical vision. The pinnacle is The Real McCoy which has a mix of blues, ballads, and modes. It is of course distinctively Tyner and, as such, a reminder that he himself is far more than Tynerisms.

These occasional retrospectives on Lee Konitz, Horace Silver, Andrew Hill in relation to Herbie Hancock, and, in the pipeline, Jarrett and Jamal in relation to Red Garland with Miles are attempts to talk myself out of limiting prejudices.

In this case, I’m ready to make time for Tyner again.

[notjustla]

Terry Jones' Great Map Mystery (Alan Ereira, 2008)

—Professor Ronald Hutton (University of Bristol) warmly commends the show on camera for “...actually managing to discover something about history.” Isn't this the real accomplishment for any director convinced that historical insights are more essential than manufactured dramatics?

A number of good points about medieval Wales and beyond:

—travelling between kingdoms in this period has a public reputation as so dangerous that travellers customarily fill out their wills before attempting to leave their village for another

—this show also implicates a really important point about the divergent scales of space and time between villages and cities, which have only grown more disparate in the last couple centuries of intense urbanization; walking the footprint of all these small villages and dealing with the precarious roads (or utter lack thereof) between the settlements reinforces the need to remember that the scale of the village has provided the standard metric of civilization to date, NOT the city; 

more precisely, what we consider “civilized” history is the history of the clearing of land for the gathering of persons; this point risks seeming quaint or outmoded from the perspective of modern academic thought. However, the relatively recent emergence of this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the academic formatting of information—and the ever-present oversight of publishers—has, since the Renaissance, usually always taken place in the largest cities in existence at any given point; from another point of view, the academic discourse has long since abandoned whatever sense of proportion was afforded to it in the secluded monastery, to say nothing of the small town, or burgeoning metropole;

In the present day, when we are experiencing more palpable tensions between “urban” and “village” timescales, the opacity is somewhat clarified by a consideration of this historical evolution, and the extent to which the representation of urban spaces have come to be over-represented to the disadvantage of the of non-urban spaces of gathering.

—Despite the bumbling narration and schlock comedy, this is really a fine ontology of roads; it demonstrates the way that the clearing of land for a road and its subsequent maintenance and enhancements and expansions always follow the lines of political ambitions; one could say that it shows how roads are an impetus of the future and how they are prepared forces that confront the future and attempt to subdue existing power structures. 

Following this, it allows one to better envision the transition from the tribal settlements (generally worshipping and feasting outdoors at ritual sites) to the village (with its inhabitants moving into the church to worship) to the feudal state (where a castle sits above the church) to the modern town (with a post office and/or town hall).

—The show, being set in Wales, does not miss the opportunity to observe how groups gathered at each point on the map mark space not only with a toponym, but with a native dialect that is reliably unique for every territory afforded substantial isolation from its neighbors. Wales is of course rich in dialectical substrates that have (not without some ferocity) survived assimilation and standardization over relatively long stretches of history, allowing the best possible insights in modern times to the edimentary history of the English language. For example, they note that what is today called “Welsh” (“Saesneg Gymraeg” to native speakers) was at one time actually called “British English”, as it did not undergo the degree of Norman and Frankish incursion as those in the Northern Isles;

—The map is also shown to be an index; a catalog of holdings of an imaginary realm; in this way, the surveyor map is also a treasure map in the hardest sense of the word

—We get some good technical information on the origin of the “imperial mile” that even today baffles the world with its irrational obscurity; 

—A smart nod to Robert Hooke in the 17th century, pointing out that his investigations with microscopy are directly related to the map-making impulses of a figure like John Ogilby; here, the map of the realm is comparable to the famous picture illustration of the flea that boggled minds so greatly in the 17th century; Hooke in other words, like Ogilby, rendered the very small for only part of his broader ambitions with metric and the man of her moment of distance and the movement into new scales of reality 

—Pilgrim paths, impassable by carriage, creating problems; Pilgrims rest myth, for example 

—the paths would often lead to a cathedral, with Earth floors and a semi ruinous state 

—Pilgrimage a Welsh perspective; 

—night rituals at the Holy Well of each village... 

—Intense anti-Catholic sentiments in 17th century England, Protestant William and Mary decreeing that no Catholic should have a rule Britain again 

—A bird whispering then shifts to the harp 

—Important point: the modern conception of a road is concretized (literally, in most cases) but that hitherto even the most well traveled roads were only well trodden paths across mudflats or fields

[shit-talk-turner]

Do you think that Alex and Miles ever made out or hooked up? 👀 I honestly believe they did at some point but I can't prove it ofc. Please answer only if you feel comfortable discussing this 😊 //

Not going to say much since I don't want to overstep, but I recently read an NME interview with Bill Ryder-Jones where he briefly discusses his sexuality. It was interesting to hear his perspective, given his background, connection to the boys, and the whole scene from back then as a member of the Coral.

Link for reference: https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/bill-ryder-jones-interview-yawny-yawn-2535547

It's an interesting read but we probably can't draw any conclusions about anyone else from his experience. Especially since they are apparently no longer friends.