#our christmas-related holiday (the spanish thing we do) is in 3 days and i HOPE i'm not so sick by then

[lovvelorrn]

i'm SICK. i'm back to WORK. i hate IT here

[stonerbughead]

writing tag game

finally getting around to this! thanks to @acenancy @thetaoofbetty @iconic-ponytail @imreallyloveleee and @satelliteinasupernova for the tags!

How many works do you have on AO3?

19! when did that happen?

What’s your total AO3 word count?

555,869 holy yep

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

on AO3, only 2–riverdale + my one nancy drew cw nace fic! however back in the ~day on FF.net I wrote for Harry Potter and I def wrote a Zoey 101 fic too L O L

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Exhale (stoner bughead college AU with demi jug)

if it feels like a home (canon divergent bughead getting back together fic with a SEVEN YEAR TIME JUMP I DID IT FIRST @ RVD WRITERS)

betty, it’s legitimately cold outside (snowed in bughead christmas oneshot. aww this was my first holiday bughead fic)

do you like or like like me? (my class of ‘12 high school bughead field hockey AU)

love in the time of coronavirus (the omg they were quarantined fic I wrote from march-june 2020)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

yesss! comments make my heart soar, and i love to reply to them and especially to take the time to respond in depth to longer comments. also, as a comment-leaver i like seeing replies when people get around to it! which leads me to my next point...often it takes me forever to reply but i always get there eventually!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

i don't do angsty endings bc i personally am writing fanfic for happy endings tbh but i WILL say the biggest angsty cliffhanger i've ever left my readers on was the end of ch 3 in do you like or like like me? i intended to go only a week between ch 3 and 4 but then didn't...so that's probably the angstiest i've ever left bughead if that makes sense lol

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

hmm, i feel like all my stories have happy endings! but maaaaaybe a merry little retail christmas, since they end up with their own bookstore and jughead proposing to a very surprised betty in said bookstore as he reveals they own it?

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

does my riverdale O.C. AU count as a crossover? bc if so then yes. also i really want to do a nace/bughead crossover at some point. @heartunsettledsoul and i have discussed this a tiiiiny bit but nothing specific.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

not hate exactly, but i have gotten people kind of bluntly asking me to include particular characters in a fic that are either a) already in the tags or b) not in the tags for a reason, and that's not...my favorite thing, ngl.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

yes, yes i do! i guess i'm usually solidly in the M side of things rather than the E side, and it's typically equal parts horny and fluffy since it's always between characters who are ~in loooove! i did write a kink week oneshot entirely as an ode to the Satisfyer, a sex toy i highly recommend to anyone who owns a clit.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of! so god i hope not!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

nah

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope

What’s your all time favorite ship?

bughead, for sure. see the 18 fics / thousands on thousands of words i've written about them. and the podcast (@bodysuitsforbughead) i put their name in the title of!

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

eek okay so it's ~possible~ i'll never finish love in the time of coronavirus bc idk if i want to/am capable of going back to that headspace of early pandemic but A L S O i maybe will? chapter 8, the only unfinished chapter, is supposed to be a time jump epilogue so you never know, an idea might inspire me to write it at some point in the future! maybe it's meant to be written at a point in the future that's ~actually post pandemic, you know? we shall see.

What’s your writing strengths?

oh god, this is a hard one. i feel like i'm good at dialogue? it's hard to self evaluate!

What’s your writing weaknesses?

describing people!!! why am i so bad at it? i'll never know. however i do think it's part of the appeal of fanfic for me, bc everyone kinda already knows what characters look like so you can get away with the least amount of physical character description more so than original fic.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don't really know any other languages besides English besides some rudimentary/faded italian and the amount of spanish you get in middle school, but if the character calls for it, like a stray Lodge family "mija" and such, i do that? but i think it's super cool when others who are bilingual, multilingual, etc. incorporate other languages!

What’s the first fandom you wrote for?

WAIT lmao @iconic-ponytail my answer is identical to yours: Harry Potter on fanfiction.net. For me, which is apparently unpopular in our fandom, it was all about Romione.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

hands down, do you like or like like me? it just captured a lot of things i've always wanted for high school bughead in that fic AND the process allowed me to get out a lot of angst and nostalgia about my high school years, which was super cathartic. and the fact that i seem to have produced something that a lot of people could relate to as former nerdy teen girls makes me really happy. Exhale is a close second favorite, and probably mainly because i have a lot of anxiety attached to Exhale bc i never update it as fast as ppl want me to.

i'm late to the party so idk who has or hasn't done this yet, but i guess i'll tag some writer friends who *didn't* tag me? lmao @heartunsettledsoul @literatiruinedme @bugheadsextape @sullypants @fallout-mars @go-ldy

[thestudyingapollo]

Wow I didn't know some unis required studying during the summer! Were you given the material before and told to study or are you self-learning?

Aaaah this is a complicated thing to explain??? Okay, I’ll try to do my best because I’ve noticed that the system Spanish universities follow is different from the rest of universities??? So, here’s how it works:

Each school year starts in mid-September and ends the lasts days of June, and they’re divided in two semesters. Each semester is roughly 5 months long, and they consist of 4 months of classes (all of them are on-site classes, which means we need to go to university if we want to attend those lectures, no online classes options for us), practices at the hospital (or wherever you’re required to depending on your career choice, I’m talking about medicine here because that’s what I study) and seminars (which are mostly a complimentary class for normal class, you get the idea). SO. HERE COMES THE COOL THING.

We have 6 opportunities to sit each subject, which means we have 6 opportunities to take the exam related to one subject until we pass. We call these opportunities “calls” (which would be the English word for the Spanish “convocatoria”). Okay, you following me? Nice.

NOW. Each school year we can sit the same subject TWO TIMES. Each subject is equal to a number of what we call “credits”. We have 3, 6, 9 and 12 credits worth subjects. Depending on the number of hours of classes, practices, seminars and hours we’re supposed to work on that subject, as well as how long the material we need to study is, each subject is assigned a number of credits, and each school year has subjects that sum up a total of 60 credits. SO. 1 year=60 credits. 6 years of Med School=360 credits in total. BUT we can choose to take up MORE credits than that if we’ve fallen behind on some subjects. So, this year, since I took my fourth year to regroup because I had 5 subjects left from my third year (which I had failed, I’ll talk about that in another post), and I wanted to pass those, My fourth year consisted of re-taking those classes (I didn’t really need to ACTUALLY re-attend those classes, I just enrolled them again but I already had the materials and my practices done from last year) plus 4 more subject from 4th year.

Okay, a bit confusing? Let’s see if I can make it clear. As I’ve told you before, we have TWO opportunities to sit a subject’s exam during a school year, BUT we can choose WHEN we want to take the exam. We have three choices :

January call/June call (which is what we call “the ordinary call”)

September (which we call the “second ordinary call”)

November (which we call the “extraordinary call”).

Each enrollment allows you to choose when you want to take the exam. Most people take them during the ordinary call, that is, right after we’ve finished the semester. But some people, for different reasons (they didn’t feel prepared, they wanted to get super good grades and therefore decided to leave one or two subjects for September voluntarily, they didn’t have time to study and they failed the ordinary call…) take the exam in September, or even in November.

So, I said before that each year has a number of subjects that sum up a total of 60 credits. Since there were three subjects I didn’t enroll in last year (two 12 credits subjects, and a 9 credit one), I had a total of 90 credits to pass. Those are a lot. Like, A LOT OF MATERIAL. It is humanly impossible to pass ALL THOSE SUBJECTS in the ordinary calls. That’s why I designed my strategy like this:

In the January call, I would take 3 exams (two of which were the midterms of two 12 credits subjects, that are taught half during the first semester, half during the second semester). I passed them all.

In the June call, I would take 5 exams (two of them were, again the second midterm of those 12 credit subjects. Lucky me I had passed the first midterm, or I would have had to sit THE WHOLE SUBJECT again in June). I have passed all of them

I will take two exams in September (a 12 credit subject -which will be like taking two midterms on the same day regarding the same subject-, and a 9 credit subject). I’m hoping I’ll pass them both.

I will take 2 exams in November, in the extraordinary call, of two 9 credit subjects. If I pass them, I will be done with university exams FOREVER.

This is why I’m studying during the summer, because I WILLINGLY DECIDED to leave two subjects for the September call, since our university gives that these options. After the November exams, I will be already enrolled in my sixth and last year of medical school, which will mostly consist of hospital rotations and preparing for two major events: my TFG (which would roughly translate to “End of Degree Research Project”) and the MIR exam (it stands for “Intern Medical Resident”, and which is a Public State ran exam that ALL Spanish medical students need to sit to obtain a number from 1 to 6000 -each year there are more than 13.000 candidates, tho- depending on the grade they get in this exam, and that will allow them to choose a position in the specialty of their choice in a Public Hospital of Spain and become a Medical Specialist).

So, in conclusion: 

All my classes are in-person classes, or “master classes”, as we call them. My uni doesn’t offer online classes, and we’re never examined on material we haven’t been taught by a professor in class or a seminar. 

We can choose in which call we want to take an exam. 

This is not required, most students take the exams at the end of each semester and they don’t have to study during the summer (summer holidays last the whole months of July and August, and the first two weeks of September), unless they fail any of those exams. 

We have our first term exams after Christmas, so we NEED to study during the Christmas Holidays, which is shit but what can you do🤷🏻‍♀️

Each exam period lasts a month, and we have an exam a day on a designated day, which means we normally have 3-4 days to revise between exams. 

I’m going to be done so soooooon. But the hardest part is yet to come!! We will be living that here in the blog! 💖

Phew, that was a mouthful. I think you didn’t expect to get this much information on the Spanish educational and healthcare system!!! I hope you mildly enjoyed it at least!!

[newstfionline]

Sunday, January 3, 2021

States Are Shutting Down Prisons as Guards are Crippled By Covid-19 (NYT) Battered by a wave of coronavirus infections and deaths, local jails and state prison systems around the United States have resorted to a drastic strategy to keep the virus at bay: Shutting down completely and transferring their inmates elsewhere. State and local officials say that so many guards have fallen ill with the virus and are unable to work that abruptly closing some correctional facilities is the only way to maintain community security and prisoner safety. Experts say the fallout is easy to predict: The jails and prisons that stay open will probably become even more crowded, unsanitary and disease-ridden, and the transfers are likely to help the virus proliferate both inside and outside the walls. There have been more than 480,000 confirmed coronavirus infections and at least 2,100 deaths among inmates and guards in prisons, jails and detention centers across the nation, according to a New York Times database. Among those grim statistics are the nearly 100,000 correctional officers who have tested positive and 170 who have died.

Once a model, California now struggles to tame COVID-19 (AP) Ambulances waited hours for openings to offload coronavirus patients. Overflow patients were moved to hospital hallways and gift shops, even a cafeteria. Refrigerated trucks were on standby, ready to store the dead. For months, California did many of the right things to avoid a catastrophic surge from the pandemic. But by the time Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Dec. 15 that 5,000 body bags were being distributed, it was clear that the nation’s most populous state had entered a new phase of the COVID-19 crisis. Now infections have been racing out of control for weeks, and California remains at or near the top of the list of states with the most new cases per capita. It has routinely set new marks for infections and deaths. California’s woes have helped fuel the year-end U.S. infection spike and added urgency to the attempts to beat back the scourge that has killed more than 340,000 Americans.

D.C. is becoming a protest battleground (Washington Post) For years, West Coast cities have borne the brunt of violent confrontations between far-right extremists and counterprotesters who come to meet them. Brawls broke out in Berkeley, Calif. White-supremacist rallies in Sacramento ended in bloodshed. Violent clashes have become common in Portland, Ore., where gunfire broke out at demonstrations over the summer. Demonstrators in Olympia, Wash., recently fired weapons into a crowd, wounding at least one person. Up and down the western United States, protests have devolved into violent clashes replete with thrown rocks, exploding fireworks and streams of chemical irritants. But the nation’s capital—with its strict gun laws and history of orderly, peaceful protest—has largely avoided these violent conflicts. Until now. Experts warn that D.C. is on a path to become the next battleground in increasingly violent confrontations between right- and left-leaning demonstrators. During two weekends of pro-Trump demonstrations in November and December, violent melees spilled into the streets of downtown Washington. More confrontations are expected in January.

Gibraltar Gets Its Own Last-Minute Brexit Deal on Borders (NYT) The recent Brexit trade deal generated relief in Britain and the European Union, but some issues were left on the negotiating table—including what to do about Gibraltar, the British territory at the southern tip of Spain whose sovereignty has long been disputed by Madrid. On Thursday, the Spanish foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, announced a last-minute agreement with negotiators in Britain and Gibraltar that avoids the possibility of travelers and goods being stranded at the border. The draft agreement will allow passport-free travel between Gibraltar and Spain. As part of the deal, a European agency will monitor sea and air arrivals in Gibraltar. People arriving from Britain will need to go through passport control, as they do now. “We believe that we may now be able to reset our relationship with Spain and cast it in a more positive light,” Fabian Picardo, the leader of Gibraltar, told a separate news conference after the deal was struck. “We are going to avert the worst effects of a hard Brexit.”

China senior diplomat says U.S. relations at ‘new crossroads’ (Reuters) China’s relationship with the United States has reached a “new crossroads” and could get back on the right track following a period of “unprecedented difficulty”, senior diplomat Wang Yi said in official comments published on Saturday. Relations between the world’s two biggest economies have come under increasing strain amid a series of disputes over trade, human rights and the origins of COVID-19. In its latest move, the United States blacklisted dozens of Chinese companies it said had ties to the military. Wang, China’s state councillor and foreign minister, said in a joint interview with Xinhua news agency and other state media outlets that recent U.S. policies towards China had harmed the interests of both countries and brought huge dangers to the world. But there was now an opportunity for the two sides to “open a new window of hope” and begin a new round of dialogue, he said. The election of Joe Biden as U.S. President has been widely expected to improve relations between Washington and Beijing after four years of escalating tensions under the administration of Donald Trump.

Bangkok to close schools for two weeks as number of COVID-19 cases rise (Reuters) The Thai capital of Bangkok will close all schools for two weeks after the New Year holiday as it tightens measures to control a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the city said on Friday. All schools, daycare centres for the young and elderly, preschool and tutorial centres will be close from January 4 to 17 while other public facilities including amusement parks, playgrounds, public baths and massage parlours will be closed starting from Saturday, said Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, the spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. Pongsakorn also said the city is considering restrictions on eating-in at restaurants.

In Abrupt Reversal of Iran Strategy, Pentagon Orders Aircraft Carrier Home (NYT) The Pentagon has abruptly sent the aircraft carrier Nimitz home from the Middle East and Africa over the objections of top military advisers, marking a reversal of a weekslong muscle-flexing strategy aimed at deterring Iran from attacking American troops and diplomats in the Persian Gulf. Officials said on Friday that the acting defense secretary, Christopher C. Miller, had ordered the redeployment of the ship in part as a “de-escalatory” signal to Tehran to avoid stumbling into a crisis in President Trump’s waning days in office. American intelligence reports indicate that Iran and its proxies may be preparing a strike as early as this weekend to avenge the death of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Senior Pentagon officials said that Mr. Miller assessed that dispatching the Nimitz now, before the first anniversary this Sunday of General Suleimani’s death in an American drone strike in Iraq, could remove what Iranian hard-liners see as a provocation that justifies their threats against American military targets. Some analysts said the return of the Nimitz to its home port of Bremerton, Wash., was a welcome reduction in tensions between the two countries.

Reginald Foster, Vatican Latinist Who Tweeted in the Language, Dies at 81 (NYT) Reginald Foster, a former plumber’s apprentice from Wisconsin who, in four decades as an official Latinist of the Vatican, dreamed in Latin, cursed in Latin, banked in Latin and ultimately tweeted in Latin, died on Christmas Day at a nursing home in Milwaukee. He was LXXXI. A Roman Catholic priest who was considered the foremost Latinist in Rome and, quite possibly, the world, Father Foster was attached to the Office of Latin Letters of the Vatican Secretariat of State from 1969 until his retirement in 2009. By virtue of his longevity and his almost preternatural facility with the language, he was by the end of his tenure the de facto head of that office, which comprises a team of half a dozen translators. If, having read this far, you are expecting a monastic ascetic, you will be blissfully disappointed. Father Foster was indeed a monk—a member of the Discalced Carmelite order—but he was a monk who looked like a stevedore, dressed like a janitor, swore like a sailor (usually in Latin) and spoke Latin with the riverine fluency of a Roman orator. He served four popes—Paul VI, John Paul I and II, and Benedict XVI—composing original documents in Latin, which remains the Vatican’s official language, and translating their speeches and other writings into Latin from a series of papal languages. (He was also fluent in Italian, German and Greek.)

A high school student needed help with tuition, so an unlikely group stepped up: Prison inmates (Washington Post) Shortly before Sy Newson Green’s sophomore year in high school, a family health crisis ate up the money that would have paid his tuition at the private Catholic school he’d been attending for a year. His father needed a heart transplant, his mother lost vision when a softball hit her eye—and both parents lost their jobs. Sy was thriving and happy at the all-boys Palma School, in Salinas, Calif., and the school could provide some scholarship help, but not enough to cover the $12,900 annual tuition. That’s when an unlikely group of people stepped up with the remainder of the tuition: inmates at the nearby Correctional Training Facility, also known as Soledad State Prison. Inmates pooled the money they earned bit by bit from doing prison jobs such as cleaning and clerking. They raised a total of $32,000 over about three years—a remarkable feat considering prisoners in California earn a base wage of 8 cents an hour for many of their daily jobs, such as mopping the floors. “I broke down and started crying because I knew where it was coming from,” said Sy’s father, Frank Green, about the donation.

[damianatx]

Hahaha, well that asshole brought us into the semis in 2014 and made us almost world champion in 2010, wouldn't it be for Casillas' (the Spanish goalie) toe though 😆. So, you don't hear me complaining😀. Have you ever visited Europe? (1)

I guess we have to discuss that annoying (😉) narrator later on, I have some questions about that part and maybe you can help me out. But because of spoilers I can’t put the question out now. I am for sure part of the group not liking SciFi, I didn’t even know there is a movie called Rogue One. Yep, sometimes I live under a rock 😉 Nice gifset though, which number is Rogue One?

You and your wife both have great jobs, both helping the society 👍! Haha, who doesn’t love socks! And you have a kid, awesome! How old is he (don’t share it if you don’t want to)? (3 , forgot to add number 2)

I have a 17 months old nephew. We have a holiday called Sinterklaas (do you notice the resemblance with Santa Claus, which is be said to be a copy of our Sinterklaas) which we celebrate at the 5th of December. We buy each other gifts then. My sister bought him a vacuum cleaner because he loves  the big one, turned out he is scared as hell by the small one 😂. He also got a pots and pan play set and as a good aunt I taught him how to bang the lids to make some noise (my sister loves me 😂). (4)

Some last Chtismas related questions: do you have a favourite Christmas movie? You have a Christmas (family) tradition? How thougtful of you to use metric 😀. On the 21th of December our winter starts, but looking outside it’s more fall than winter. 8 Degrees,  rainy and windy and for sure no white Christmas for us this year.  Merry Christmas enjoy the company of your family and friends 🎅 (Since we have two days of Christmas, the 25th + 26th, I probably just return here on the 27th) (5)

___

😆Neither of those movies in that gifset is Rogue One. Rogue One stars Felicity Jones & Diego Luna. The giftset is episodes 1-6, Rogue one is a prequel to episode 1. Its a great film. 

Sam is 6yo going on 16 🙄 could use a little less attitude tbh 😆He’s learning to speak Spanish and this is is the first year we’ll celebrate El Día De Reyes on Jan 6th. The day when the Three Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem, arrived bearing their treasured gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the Baby Jesus. Oooo you bad auntie 😆 don’t piss off your sister, being a mom is already hard enough 🙂

I grew up in both countries, when I went to school in Mexico I used the metric system when it comes to weather it’s the only thing that stuck 😂 it was a dreary 21 degrees today, gadamn climate change. I don’t think I have a “favorite” Xmas movie but I do like Elf a lot and growing up, we’d watch a Christmas story and this old Mexican film called “Santa Claus”. As far as traditions, I mean I guess celebrating Xmas on the 24th. so, my brother, his GF and my mother were in town. I hadn’t spent Xmas with them in a long while and since I’ve been with my wife, we’ve celebrated Xmas the “normal” way. go to bed and then it’s Xmas, right? well I had to take a nap after dinner last night and come back down before midnight because it didn’t really cross my mind that my Latino family was opening presents at midnight 😂

Hey, I hope you also have a merry Xmas with your family and friends, as well!🎄😄

[helpersofindie-archive]

It’s 11:27 and the inbox is now open again! We closed the inbox on February 1st, and we’ve now had it closed for almost three weeks which has given us time to work through requests and get the inbox count down. We have gone from having 508 messages to 130 ( which is honestly amazing, that means we’ve managed to get through 378 asks). We now have 312 drafts instead of the original 370, and our current queue has 3 things in it. 

We’ve also accepted 11 new helpers into hoi, which is super exciting! They’re all super precious, so please give them a warm welcome! We’re all very happy to have them join the hoi team and I hope you all enjoy the resources they release on this blog!  While we have gotten the inbox count down to 130, we feel that we need a fresh start ( and a lot of the messages left now are old ones that no one has claimed ). Thus, we have decided to delete the inbox, so the inbox count is now at ZERO. A list with the deleted requests can be found below the cut. We ask that you do not resend the ones that weren’t aimed at a specific helper, BUT if you really want a request that you requested from someone you can resend it to someone else (or without a name).

We’d like to thank everyone for their patience during these 3 weeks, and also ask that you remain patient, since we still have a lot of requests in the drafts, and quite long to do lists. We hope everyone is having a good week and we’re excited that the inbox is now open once again.

remember, if you see your request in this list and would still like them to be done, then feel free to resend the request and hopefully one of the helpers will complete it for you! 

edit: only requests that were directed to specific helpers******

Hello! Could any of the helpers please make a gif hunt of Jonathan Hyde as Eldritch Palmer from the Strain? They can be normal and don't need any style. Thank you in advance!

Could someone familiar with wrestling do some rp icons of Randy Orton? More recent ones preferably. Thanks a million!

Can I request a manip of Ciara Baxendale and Grant Gustin? Thank you so much.

to anyone, I was wondering if someone could possibly make some 100x100 plain icons of tyler young in eyewitness? thanks if anyone can!

Hi! Could I request some icons of Ayase Haruka? If possible, from the movie "Umimachi Diary (Our Little Sister)". If not, any role would be perfect! Thanks!

Hi helpers, happy holidays<3 I was wondering if I could have a crackship of Tyson Houseman and Evan Peters please?

hello helpers! is there a helper who'd be willing to possibly help me out and make some base icons of Melanie Tran? ;w; And if not, could you please direct me to where I might be able to find some? Any help is appreciated! <3

Hi guys, I was wondering if I could request some icons of Tanc Sade in his role in Gilmore Girls pretty please?

Hey! Can i please a crackship of Finlay MacMillan and Freya Tingley? Thanks!

hey can i request an aesthetic of m/m interracial couples from lottie if she doesn't feel way too busy? thank you

Hi! Can I please get a manip of Jeremy Irvine and Xavier Dolan please? Thank you in advance!!

Could I please get a lovelt mannip of cory michael smith and eiza gonzalez? <3 <3 <3

Can I please request Rahart Adams icons from Every Witch Way, Liar Liar Vampire, and Nowhere Boys? Preferably border-less 100x100 HQ/HD? Forgot to add border-less in. x.x

Hey Gillan! Can you make some circular icons of Mune from Mune Guardian of The Moon?

Dear Jay and smutty-gif-hunt-anon, Thank you for helping out with what I'd be too embarrassed to request!! Rock on!

Hello if possible could I get gif icons of James paxton of eyewitness. any style works who ever seems inspired to do this works. thank you. I'm easy to please. Thank you again for all your hard work.

Will you make some Faith Wladyka icons?from Blue Valentine? Only if you're up for it :)

Hi Jay! Since you're the resident wrestling related helper I was wondering if you could help me with something. Could you make me a manip of Taylor Swift with the Raw women's title, please? Something similar to when Charlotte visited Today after wrestlemania? I didn't see manips on your WID, but I thought I'd seen you do a manip request before. Thanks in advance for your time!

I don't know if my request was received before or after the inbox was deleted so my apologies if this is a duplicate. Can I please get some roleplay icons of (Tristan Milligan) Lyle Lettau from season 13/14 of Degrassi? Thanks! <3

could i request some Darby Stanchfield rp icons as her role from abby whelan in scandal? preferably 70x70 white a light grey psd thank you so much in advance and god i love this blog - the indie community salutes you

Good evening HOI, could I request a man up of Shin Hye-Jeong and Jessica Parker Kennedy please?

Hi, Lottie! May I request some RP icons of Ryan McCartan as Brad Majors in the TV version of Rocky Horror Picture Show in style "scarlett," please? Thank you so much!

Hey guys! I was wondering if you could please do a manip of Kacey Musgraves and Derek Theler of them and some party or award show? Thanks, love ya bye!

Hey! I'd pretty please like to request plain static rp icons of Korean actor Jo Jung Suk if possible!

Hello! Could I please request an icon pack with Lily James in Downton Abbey using Blue's B6 style? Thank you so much! <3

This message is to anyone who has space on their todo. Culd i request some rp Icons of Keir O'Donnell on Wedding Crashers please ?

hey lovelies! I was wondering if someone was willing to do a manip of Emily Rudd and Matthew Daddario for me (sibling/friends vibes)? thank you in advance :)

hey there lovelies!! could i please request plain 100x100 rp icons made of christina masterson? thank you so much lovelies!

Hey there Samantha! Just wondering if you were up to making a gif icon hunt of recent Kat Mcnamara? Thank you! xxxxx

May I please request standard sized gif icons of Laura Vandervoort from the film Damage, please?? :333 Thank you, and Merry Christmas! <3

Thanks for being helpful and understand about my technical issues & letting me send my gif pack request here (Which admin would you like to complete the request? Anyone What is the url from the video? If it’s about a movie/tv show, tell me which the name of the movie/tv show+episode so we can find suitable download links.- skins 6x07 "alo" Who's the faceclaim?- holly earl as poppy champion Any specific PSD? Vibrant, Pale, Dark, or a link to one posted. " just 160x160 QUOTE text moodboard gifs

Hi Maxie! Could I request some icons of Taylor Dearden as Ophelia Mayer in Sweet/Vicious, in the mx17 style? Thank you!

Hello Ellen. Is it possible that I could het Dylan O'Brien gif icons in EL*013? Thank you in advance! :)

Hey Helpers! Is it possible I can get a twin Lin Miranda manip, one with short hair and one with long? Thanks!

May I request some Amy Nelson rp icons? [ underused face claim ] in any psd you want, I would appreciate it :D

Hello! Is it possible I could get roleplayable icons of Kalel Cullen? With a light psd and such?

Hello lovely helpers, can I please request for a manip picture of Elizabeth Olsen (brunette) with Evan Peters please? As a couple. Thank you so much. <3

Super random but can you pretty please make me some gifs of matthew daddario doing magic. Like instead of crackship gifs of him with another person , it would be of him and a faceless gif of magic aka gifs of wizard matthew daddario lol.

May I request a family template for Rachel Hilbert fc?

Hi, can i please request gif icons of Travis Fimmel in her role in Vikings (Ragnar)??? Thanks you very much. Oh, without border pls.

may i have a family template for sarah shahi? if you can, could her father be the one who's persian/iranian and her mother be the one who is spanish? but, if not, that's totally fine! thank you so much, helpers! xx

May I pretty please request a moodboard or aesthetic of Matthew Daddario and Cameron.Monaghan as Even x Isak from skam ?

Hello, there! First of all, I absolutely love your icons! I was just wondering if it was possible to ask for gifs/icons of Daniel Miller from Berlin Station? Thank you. Have a lovely day! :)

hey helpers! i'm currently working on creating a werewolf multimuse, and i want to have two packs represented- but for the life of me i can't think of pack names beyond the cliche "moonstone/bloodstone" kind of thing. so could you help me come up with names? if it helps, the packs are kind of opposites- good vs evil kind of thing. thanks so much!

Hello!! I was wondering if you guys could make me a manip of Tom Felton as Draco and Elle Fanning. As siblings.. Please and thank you! :3

Ayo! Can u make manip of Luke Hemmings and Dua Lipa, pls? Ty. ♡

Hi I was wondering if someone could make an Angelique Boyer gif hunt? I'm wanting to use her as a FC but realized there's hardly any gifs of her out there. I would appreciate it so much <33! Thank you to whoever decides to take it on.

Hi anyway! Can i request some Jun-ji hyun gif icons from The Legend of the Blue Sea please?

Would anyone be willing to make a gif hunt of Travis Fimmel in the the 2003 Tarzan, please?

You all are super talented and super awesome. i was wondering if any of you helpers could possibly do a manip or aesthetic of david gandy and helen owen as a power couple. Whichever would be easier. It's for a story i am currently writing.

Hello, can I please request icons of model and actress Nicole Fox? For whomever reads this I know her movies can be potentially triggering, so if you aren't comfortable with those, that's completely fine (frankly I'm just glad you're reading this). She was also in s13 of ANTM. If there's anything problematic about her, I am not aware, but please let me know. Thank you very much and have a great day x

Hi! I was wondering if any of you would be willing to do a family template for Romanian Actress Madalina Ghenea.

can i please request herman tømmeraas gif icons? thank you in advanced !

may i please request icons for maxence danet-fauvel?? Thank you!!!!

Could you please make some static rp icons of Ben Barns from By The Gun? Thank you!

Sorry, ignore my last message. Could I please request crackships of Britt Robertson and Jeff Goldblum from around Jurassic Park and The Lost World era? Thank you!

hey babes! i love all the manips you all do, so i was wondering if i could request a romantic-y manip of alec lightwood and max ehrich? preferably from under the dome for max, but really anything is fine for him! thank you so much

hello helpers! would someone be willing to make plain 100x100 icons of tom austen in his role as jasper frost from the royals?

I hope I'm not bothering any of you. I hope you all have a great holiday season. I was wondering if anyone would do a manip of Jessica Lowndes and David Labrava as a couple. You all do amazing work and should get more credit for all the hard work you guys put in. You are all talented.

Hey! I was hoping one of you would have the time to help me out with something. I've got all the human icons I need for my muse, but I'm seriously lacking in phoenix icons. I know there's Fawkes in Harry Potter, but I was hoping there would be manga/anime and/or other movies/shows with phoenixes in them that I could get icons from? Or if there are any icons/gifs out there already? Anything would help, please and thank you.

Hello is it possible to get Henrik Holm RP icons in G15 from his role as Even in SKAM?

do you guys make rp icons of animes and mangas? If yes can I ask for rp icons of Sarada Uchiha please? With a tiny white and grey border?

happy 2017 helpers ! hope you all are well c: i was wondering if i could possibly request a manip of seola from cosmic girls and hyungwon from monsta x ? please and thank you so much !

Hi there, can I please request a gif hunt of Jonas Nay from his role in Deutschland 83?

If possible could I get some Icons of the French Model Johan Akan the 3d scan for Nyx Ulric of Final Fantasy XV Kingsglaive? Please and thank you

Hello lovely helpers, can I please request for crackship gifs of Lily Collins with Evan Peters? They relationship is similar of Rosie and Alex's relationship in Love, Rosie. Thank you. <333

I lovely helpers! I was wondering if I could please request a manip of David Giuntoli as an X-Wing pilot from Star Wars? Thank you for your time <3

Hi :) Could you please do some Brent Antonello icons from the tv show Hit the Floor? I'd love that.

Hey helpers! Can I request a manip of Freddie Highmore as a Blue Lantern (or a green lantern if it's easier)?

Good morning helpers! Can I ask for a manip of Hunter Parrish and Robbie Amell please?

Can I have a manip of Kristine Froseth and Evan Peters? I'd like it if it was done mid-90's Polaroid style with using Evan's AHS Season 1 resources.

Hello helpers can someone make a manip of Zach Roerig and Matt lanter as best friend please?

hi, could i possibly get crackship gifs of america ferrera with long hair and chris (the guy) from the tv show skam? thank you in advance xx

Hey guys. I was wondering if any of you would do a manip of Rhiannon Fish and Scott Eastwood as a couple.

hello ! first of all, i'd like to thank all of u for putting in time to make resources for the indie community ! u guys are awesome ! secondly, i'd like to ask if any of you would be willing to make a manip of herman tømmeraas and ariana grande as friends ? thank u in advance !

Hello, can I please request a romantic "instagram-post like" manip of Zendaya and Cristiano Ronaldo? Thank you!

hi there! i hope you're all having a lovely day! could i please request gabi demartino gif icons?

Hey helpers! Can I request a (romantic) manip of Keahu Kahuanui (preferably with facial hair) and Nick Jonas? Thanks!

Hi, can I please request rp icons of Vika Bronova?

Hi guys, I was wondering if you could help me with a url for a Lord of the Rings elf original character, I'm using Emilia Clarke, primarily in her role and Daenarys Targaryen? thnx

Hi Helpers! I would like to know if any of you could do somes gif icons or icons of Trè Samuels, if is not a trouble. Thank you very much in advance <3

Hello! Could you guys suggest first and surname's for Naressa Valdez? ( I'm not sure if this counts as two asks? ) Thank you so much!

Hello, may I please request plain ( with pixel texture) gif icons of Jan Lisiecki ? Thanks in advance !

hello dearies! can i request some plain icons (bases, to be clear) of spencer macpherson in american gothic please?

could you please give me some ronan lynch urls? tysm, i love your blog!!

Could someone pretty please make a manip of Eva Green and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, by any chance? Thank you

hi love, can you do some gif icons of ryan gosling with beard and some from crazy stupid love? tysm <3

Hello can someone please make me some crackship gifs where it looks like Matthew Daddario has super powers.

hi i'd love some simple rp icons of alex steele in her role as tori santamaria in degrassi please <3

Oops! Sorry, I didn't realize there was a form! I recently changed my mind, though, and was wanting just plain RP icons (Robby Benson from The Chosen). Is that doable? Ahh sorry and thank you!

Can I pleeaaasseee get 100 x 100 black and white light textured rp icons of Amandaschronicles/Amanda Mckenna? It would mean so much to me! Thank you sm for all you guys do!

Could I please request some rp icons of Rodrigo Santoro? Thank you!

May I have an aesthetic (or a moodboard which ever you'd like to make) of Kristine Froseth and Evan Peters (AHS season one resources pls) as heads of a mafia known as the Gemini Mafia pls?

hello, could i request icons of Çağatay Ulusoy in a plain style, please? hope you guys have a great day and thanks for all that you do!! ♥

Can I please request some gif icons or a gif hunt, I'm not sure which is easier/preferred, of Raúl Esparza, please?

Hi! I was wondering if it was possible for someone to do a manip of Lady Marian (BBC Robin Hood) and Prince Arthur (BBC Merlin) ? Thank you. :)

Hello, yes! If you're still dong manila, can I have one of Katey Sagal (as Gemma Teller) and Norman Reedus. Preferably as a couple.

Is there any chance you could do a faceless gif hunt of a couple with a blonde female and a male who has dark skin? Thank you so much in advance!

can i request a manip of ryan potter and keiynan lonsdale?

can i please get a dominic sherwood x ashley moore manip? thank you

Hello helpers! I was hoping someone would be able to make regular, 100x100 RP icons of Morgan Lily! I would be much appreciated! Thank you for all of your help!

I'm not sure If you are still doing manipulations but if you are could I please request one of Matt Ryan and Marie Avgeropolous. Thank you. You guys are flawless.

hello! hope you're all doing well! i would like to request icons of Sophie Stuckey (from any and all ages, please). I did put in a request before, but i'm not sure if that's been done (and i haven't seen them) or rejected or forgotten about? so if anyone could make them or direct me to them or .. anything else? that'd be greatly appreciated. <3

Hi helpers! I was wondering if I could ask one of you lovelies to make a family template for Alex Brooke? Thank you so much!

could i ask for billy cranston from mighty morphin power rangers (David yost) icons? thank you thank you thank you :)

hey lizzie! thanks for opening your requests again. could i please request some icons of daniel sharman in the style L6? thanks so much!

hi lizzie!!! hope you're having a brilliant day! could i please ask you for some icons of jeremy irvine in the style L7? thanks so much!

hi hello lizzie! hope this isn't too much of a bother, but would it be possible for me to request some icons of Sean O'Pry in L7? thank you x10000 !!!!

lizzie could you pls make rp icons in L7 of chris wood as jake riley? :)

hey lizzie, could i please get rp icons of ivana baquero as eretria in L1?

could i please request gif icons of bellies during various stages of pregnancy? in short, gif icons of pregnant bellies? nothing fancy style-wise, but maybe a light texture, since i think those look best! thank you so much to whoever takes this up! (and another thank you to the rest of you, since you guys help the community so much!)

Hello! I have been unable to find any resources of Maeda Goki. He's a sadly underrated FC. If you know of some that already exist, could you link me please? And if not, could you please make some plain (no texture/border) icons of him from any role? Thanks for your help!

Hi Lia, could I possibly re-request the Toby Regbo as young Jaime Lannister aesthetic I asked for, if you'd like to do it?

can you make some icons of dean and renee kissing on total divas plkease??

I'm not sure if you've answered this but I I use Marie Avgeropolous as an fc and I know Olivia Steele-Falcone played young Octavia in The 100 but I don't know if she has enough films to create an icon pack.I know you have a gif pack form but I didn't see one for icons. Is it possible for anyone to do these for me, I would much appreciate it. Or if you have already done them can you link me? Many thanks in advance. You guys have been fabulous so far.

Is it possible for someone to make some PNGs? I need some supernatural creatures/scared/crying PNGs but I can't really find any. A mix of those would be great but just scared/crying PNGs are absolutely cool too.

hello! I was wondering if i could please request some icons of Tahlena Chikami? Possibly base icons? Or at least very little editing? I'd really like to use her as an fc, but she has almost no resources that i could find. thank you for your consideration and your time!!

would anyone be willing to make a manip (preferably a selfie) of cody saintgnue and ashley moore? :)

Could someone possibly make a manip of Jon Hamm and Michelle Forbes? They are married in my roleplay so possibly something of them cuddling or anything would be fine. Just a picture of them together would be amazing all together.

hey there lovely helpers!! i was hoping i could please request some 100x100 plain rp icons be made of ming na wen in joy luck club? thank you so much!!

Hello! If icon requests are open, may I please request plain 100x100 icons of Lulu Antariksa as Rowan in t@gged? It's on go90 :)

[jugs-and]

2016 through music.

I wouldn’t say that music has become less of a thing for me in 2016. Music is great, it’s how I’ve met a lot of people, but I feel I hit a lot more musical dead-ends than previous years. There was this point--multiple points--where I couldn’t really figure what music I liked. It was different from previous years, as I spent more time in search of new music, than having a lot of playlisted albums to listen to. 

Music did not necessarily feel less important to me, it merely was not quite the marker for passage of time as well as previous years. As a consequence, my music tastes were a bit all over the place: I feel I began the year listening to a lot of UK hardstyle and  grime, then I went through a period with very dark, industrial techno, gabber beats--not related to any life event, it was just what I enjoyed at the time. Beyond that, I dabbled in some folk and country towards the end of the year, with some rap/gospel-- a la Chance the Rapper, A Tribe Called Quest both releasing excellent albums. This year ended with a lot of musicals and show-tunes to finish it off.

January - Of all the celebrity deaths this year, nothing topped David Bowie for me on the 10th of January. I actually was listening to “Blackstar” on Spotify the days leading up to his death, after hearing to the title track premiere on BBC Radio in December. I make it sound like a competition, but no other death even came close in 2016. The thing about Bowie was how timeless his music was in its ability to be “pop” and just something off-the-wall completely. It was always so recognizably “Bowie” but never quite tame or relaxed, his music always seemed tense as if in some sort of dichotomy. So long, Starman.

Honestly, the only person that I would be more upset about is if Brian Eno died.

 Lazarus - David Bowie

February - From the sunny glory of January, I got into the groove of a lot of UK hardcore and classic happy hardcore. 

It was really warm this month. I remember trying to build my PC, and walking to R-’s house to borrow his battery pack. That same weekend, I was browsing the hardcore section at Real Groovy. I remember this story specifically because I told this story for Rd- at work. A 30yo.+ guy started chatting to me recommending <those> hardcore mixes--the ones with the salacious covers with cartoon fake tits with suspicious names like DJ Candylicious. I swear I didn’t know this guy.

The gateway into this genre was a RobDaBank mix I was listening to on Spotify, there was an Elf Kid track. I loved the flow and sense of genuine fun, I want to note that I liked it before it became super cool. I can literally trace it back to that one track which made me pull out old Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Basement Jaxx, Skepta, DJ EZ albums, and ultimately into UK hardcore.

Golden Boy - Elf Kid

March - Early March when I went to see Sufjan Stevens. I went by myself because I bought my tickets incredibly late, it was amazing. The set was the material that dreams are made of, my dreams specifically.

He played through most of his new album with bombast and sincerity. There was a certain restraint to his set considering the content concerning the death of his mother. His encore set was a sparse affair with a three man band armed with mandolin, trumpet and double bass--tracks from Seven Swans, Michigan, Illinoise e.t.c.

I cried a little when Chicago played.

Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens

April - April was uneventful, I don’t remember very much specifically about these days. I know I actually completed Fallout 4, the first video game in years that I’ve committed time to actually complete. It wasn’t even that great of a game, I generally don’t have the patience or the time to commit to something like that. I tried to replicate this with The Witcher 3--multiple times in 2016, but I have not found success so far.

The Irish flatmate had just moved in and he made it clear that I lacked a certain finesse around preparing potatoes. He set down his phone, he often walked around the flat with music blaring from his phone as if to announce his entrance.

Baz Luhrmann - Wear Sunscreen (Mau Kilauea’s Tropical Remix)

May - A lot of late nights at work. I don’t even remember what I was working on that was so important to warrant late nights. I’m trying to be a lot better with leaving work if I don’t need to do it till the next day. The late nights, I listened to a lot of mixes, and Traumprinz’s RA mix really stood out to me as well as his Giegling mix. There wa s a lot of distractedness digging through his discogs and finding his EPs.

There Will Be XTC is my favourite track that I’ve heard this year. The drum loop is so simple and emotive, the whole track is just so heavy.

Traumprinz - There Will Be XTC

June - While I did say Bowie’s death was incredibly upsetting, I feel the death of Christina Grimmie was probably the most devastating death this year. I don’t think she is quite a celebrity, outside of youtube I don’t think she was particularly well known. The nature of her death was just devastating, and so completely bizarre that it really bothered me for days. The whole fragility and unpredictability of human life still really bothers me.

I remember going to work on Monday after following the news stories, and just completely numb. I don’t really follow her music much at all, she was a relic of a time past. The month just went by quickly marking the halfway point in the year, I worked on some pretty good projects.

Just a Dream - Christina Grimmie and Sam Tsui 

July - Family holiday in New York, we were all walking on the boardwalk at Coney Island and this was playing. It’s all a bit nostalgic, though I’d never been there before in my life. I’d seen the landscapes and the pier that reaches out into the water in so many movies.

The “Cyclone” ride was all the more exhilarating because I feared for my life and safety on that rickety timber framing, than any intended thrills. It was an excellent ride though, there is a certain art to it all.  

Kent Jones - Don’t Mind

August - A close friend got married this month in Devonport.

It was an awesome wedding, it made me really hopeful. The wedding was basically crowd-sourced, and put together for nothing. The entire thing was  fueled by the generous giving of the church I attend. In fact, the wedding date was only decided two weeks before because the church hall they were interested in had an opening.

I woke up early the morning of the wedding, and caught the sunrise from the North Head. The ferry I wanted to catch, I actually missed, and I sat in McDonalds, I bought two Egg and Bacon McMuffins. My headphones had Azealia Banks playing and I remember wearing my Sunday best while clambering up the grassy bank, trying not to mess up any of my clothes.

But oh my gosh, I love this track. It’s so braggadocio and so unashamedly AB.

Azealia Banks - Big Big Beat

September - I did my second Tongariro Crossing. A lot has changed since I did it last--dare I say, it’s a lot easier now, a lot of stairs instead of clambering up half-formed tracks. It was starkly empty compared to the summertime I completed last time. We hired crampons and ice-axes and climbed up Mount Doom. It was a great time, though the weather for long periods of time made it seem unlikely.  

In the car ride down, I sat with Colin. I fell asleep in the front seat, and did that thing where you jerk awake. I also assumed someone’s name wrong because he was Spanish and another guy in our group was Spanish, and they both looked the same. There were a lot of other episodes, including driving down a country road in pitch darkness for fun, and Lady Gaga was playing on the radio inbetween Te Kuiti and the backpackers.

Lady Gaga - Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) 

October - I ran a half-marathon this month, it was a week after my birthday. My training up to the marathon was a bit stunted with an injury two weeks before the run cutting my plans to a half. The entire run, I was listening to hardstyle, which I hastily downloaded beforehand. There was a Kutski mix from a Dublin show--I was mostly too tired to concentrate on it too much, I remember having to constantly increase the volume higher and higher to keep it having any relevance to my motivation.

Donald Trump won the US Presidential Elections as well this month. I’m probably more upset about it now, than I was on the day itself. His cabinet picks are <incredibly> establishment. It’s all rather disappointing, I just look forward to the resounding loss that the Republican are going to receive next election.

The second Presidential Candidate debate based within a town hall meeting, some writers suggested Donald Trump’s performance was akin to the single mom was summoned to the Harper Valley PTA. Donald Trump was the mirror that highlighted the imperfections of the Republican Party and I’m not sure if I agree. It’s a bit of a desperate comparison, but that Loretta Lynn album is great. 

Loretta Lynn - Harper Valley PTA

November - I went to a Nina Kraviz show. I followed a lot of artists on her Trip label and adored her sets on the BBC Radio Residencies. I actually missed out on tickets initially, I don’t keep up with local music gigs. I don’t keep up because I find Auckland, in general, to be very thin on culture per capita. I did end up snagging some at the last minute off facebook, someone was offering tickets and I messaged him within a minute.

It was great, I loooooove techno a lot. It’s dark, it’s cerebral, it’s spiritual--I just lose myself in it. I missed the set by Bjarki which I am slightly peeved about because I slept from 11pm - 1am because I’m not a weirdo who parties all night. I’m the weirdo on the dancefloor just in another world--actually, I guess there are quite a few of those but on ecstasy.

Ghetto Kraviz - Nina Kraviz (Regal Sad Remix)

The days seemed to be going by so slowly at work. Christmas felt all so close and yet so far away. Desperately slowly. I occupied my days with headphones at work, keeping a low profile and listening to Hamilton. There were days where I would listen to the soundtrack three times to mark the passage of time. When the third listen finished, it was time to go home. Wait For It really stood out on first listen, but Satisfied is the best track for sure, and there are so many good tracks in there. The whole track is just reminiscent of sitting at the office, which is an unfortunate thing. 

Wait for It - Lin Manuel Miranda

December - The last month before the new year. Contrasting the previous month, this seemed to all pass so quickly. Especially that last week, the entire office was rushing projects one after the other for three important client meetings.

At the end of year party, I think I was a bit intoxicated. I hadn’t eaten anything and drank two beer and left pretty early, forgetting my Secret Santa gift and my plane itineraries. I’m back in Wellington for Christmas, my brother is here as well. I’m kind of sick at the moment--I just started sneezing on Sunday, hay fever on Boxing Day, and it just never stopped with the running nose and sore throat.

The first day I felt maybe over 50%, we drove up to the Tararuas yesterday, and just jammed Eminem and twenty one pilots--all the greatest road trip music. I do like this twenty one pilots track a lot--though, I am extremely unlikely to watch Suicide Squad ever.

Heathens - twenty one pilots

Wow. That was long. Hi. 

tl;dr - playlist. 

[eurolinguiste]

I’d like to welcome you to #clearthelist. If you’re new around these parts, #clearthelist is a linkup where we share our monthly goals, and by we, I mean myself, Lindsay of Lindsay Does Languages, Kris Broholm of Actual Fluency, and Angel Pretot of French Lover.

We’d absolutely love for you to a part of our community. You can join us by adding a link to your own goal post below.

So let’s get started, sharing our goals and motivating one another to #clearthelist!

Please feel free to tag your posts or photos with either #clearthelist on your favorite social media channels!

Last Month’s Highlights on Instagram

A photo posted by Shannon Kennedy (@eurolinguiste) on Jan 1, 2017 at 1:14pm PST

Last Month’s Blog Highlights

Travel

Tiananmen Square // Things to do in and around Beijing, China.

Language Learning

Why You Should Record Yourself Speaking Your Target Language // Because this is an incredible way to improve across the board.

Last Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // My list of words is slowly building. My WeChat account is constantly buzzing with answers about the words and phrases that I’ve asked friends for help with.

Read one more language related book. // Started one. It’s a grammar book, so there just wasn’t anyway I was going to finish this in a month since I’m actually doing all the exercises.

Keep playing Zelda Ocarina of Time in Mandarin Chinese. // Yup.

Get ahead reading my language reading challenge books. // I started working on my reading for this, but I wouldn’t say I’m ahead.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // Slow and steady.

Start reading my other Pooh Bear book in Chinese // I’m on Chapter 4!

Find a new resource for Spanish. // I found one and now I just have to order it. The holidays have got me like *wait… where did the month go*.

Have something I’m reading that’s in French or Spanish. // Yes and yes. But I can’t tell until I start sharing the Language Reading Challenge posts.

This Month’s Goals

Continue filling the gaps in my Mandarin vocabulary I’ve noticed since Little Linguist’s arrival. // As long as I’m still speaking to Little Linguist in Chinese, this one is here to stay.

Read one more language related book. // Get through at least six chapters of my grammar book that I started.

Keep playing Zelda Ocarina of Time in Mandarin Chinese. // It’s all about making language a part of my day-to-day life.

Get ahead reading my language reading challenge books. // I’ve been reading too many other things that were on my Want to Read list. It’s time to focus, now.

Keep working through my YouTube Queue.  // Because there are just so many language lessons in there I need to do!

Keep reading my other Pooh Bear book in Chinese // Since I did four chapters last month, my goal is to do another four chapters this month.

Actually order that new resource for Spanish. // Maybe I’ll have an Amazon gift card I can use from Christmas.

Have something I’m reading that’s in French or Spanish. // There’s this science fiction book I’ve been reading in French and I decided I don’t like it, so I need to stop trudging through it and either hurry up and finish it so I can read something I like better or just stop reading it and read something different.

Resources I Used This Month

A quick recap on the materials I am using.

What I Am Using to Learn Chinese

iTalki Lessons – I have weekly Chinese lessons

Pimsleur (I bought IV and V for Black Friday!)

Memrise

ChineseClass101

Melnyk’s

Antosch & Lin email newsletters

FluentU – I watch anywhere from 3-6 videos per day and then work on the “Learning” section for each of the videos

Pooh Bear and Baby Bear

DramaFever

Chinese version of the Nintendo 64

What I’m Using to Brush Up/Improve My French:

Immersion (we speak franglais at home)

Reading books written by French authors

Listening to French radio/podcasts

Chatting with family

Watching movies and other video in French

What I am Using to Learn Russian:

Perfectionnement Russe

RussianPod101

iTalki Lessons

The penmanship practice books from Russian Step-by-Step (a lot of you have been asking me about these)

Memrise

Pimsleur

What I am Using to Learn Korean:

Memrise

Assimil’s Korean Phrasebook

Pimsleur

Practical Korean from Tuttle Publishing

Making Out in Korean

What I am Using to Learn Spanish:

Language Hacking Spanish by Benny Lewis

Lingoda (use code FM2J6Y )

Coffee Break Spanish

The Biggest Lesson I Am Taking Away from This Month

I just really love languages. I love everything about them – the learning process, speaking them, meeting new people. Sometimes it’s just good to soak that in and appreciate that love so that it doesn’t burn out. I’m finding the more that I invest into my language learning, the more rewarding it is and the more I love doing it. Even the dreaded grammar exercises. And even if I’m not a professional translator or interpreter, sometimes it’s nice to just spend time working on things that make you happy BECAUSE they make you happy.

Don’t forget that I would love to hear all about your goals for this month! Please join us by adding your post to the linkup below! 

Clear The List Linkup Rules:

1. Share your goal post whether it includes your aspirations for the month or year. Submissions unrelated to the theme or links to your homepage will be deleted.

2. Link back to this post. You can use our button if you wish.

3. Follow the hosts: Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages, Shannon from Eurolinguiste, Kris from Actual Fluency, and Angel from French Lover.

4. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: Please visit the site of the person who linked up immediately before you and leave them an encouraging comment! By hosting this linkup, we’re hoping to create a positive community where we can all share our goals. If you do not do this, you will be removed from the linkup.

5. Share on social media using #ClearTheList

An InLinkz Link-up

Get the Button:

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The post Language Learning Strategies | #CleartheList January 2017 appeared first on Eurolinguiste.

[fotokids]

Flying over Rome ©Werner Monterroso/Fotokids    Fotokids Staff Exhibition 2016

Letter from the Founder N. McGirr

Looking back on our 25th anniversary year, it was rosy one, for the most part. Our exhibits drew in new people and inspired renewed in our loyal followers.

Our last exhibition in November coincided with the day after the U.S. elections. Attendance lagged at first, then I think most people showed up for a drink. (The Panza Verde Gallery graciously serves wine at their openings.) The work showcased photographs taken by the staff, young people who have been with Fotokids since primary school and are now in their 20’s and 30’s.

Since we generally spotlight only the children’s work, many of the photographs taken by the staff on trips to Europe and the U.S., (and later work) have never been exhibited. Images in the show ran the gamut from Paris at night, to Ugandan displaced camps, to the colours of Guatemala. You can see more of their work on the last page or on the web site www.fotokidsoriginal.org

Houseboats on the Seine, Paris ©Werner Monterroso/Fotokids 2016

Personally, it was a busy and emotional time for me as I transition out; trying to take a measure of when to offer advice and when to step back. Establishing a rhythm for working at home, where I allow myself the freedom not to concentrate solely on Fotokids, will take some training. I will still be writing the newsletter and fundraising but hope to do some of my own writing as well.

Guatemala’s school year starts in January. The staff spent 4 days in December at a planning retreat, doing a class-by-class curriculum. Everyone is excited about this upcoming year.

Fotokids is undertaking a new girls gender and vocational program in Santiago Atitlán that will expand our already successful Save Girls program. We began our first gender-based technology program in 2007 for young women from high-risk areas.

The Save Girls program, a 3-year technology course, teaches web design, flash, graphic design, illustration, video production, photo story narration and commercial studio photography. The goal of the program is to give young women entering the job market added skills, thus making them more attractive to potential employers.

Innovative plans this year call for Guatemalan women speakers presenting their work and how they got their start in non-traditional careers, writing short radio dramas based on the gender material studied, including issues of discrimination, racism, and machismo, and exploration of how women are portrayed in the media. Life skills will also be taught; how to apply for a job, the interview, employers expectations and responsibilities, along with practical things like how to open a bank account.

The younger children in Santiago will continue to produce e-books based on explorations of their environment as it relates to them. This year they created photographic e-books on exotic plants of Santiago A. and traditional plant medicine.

Ericka who is studying design at the university has created a syllabus for the students that is both professional and motivational. When she presented it during the retreat I thought, this sounds great; I’d love to take this course.

I’m very proud of our teachers who enthusiastically look for creative approaches to teaching. Rocio created two assignments that I particularly found insightful. In the first, the group of middle schoolers chose a magazine photo that appealed to them. They then had to forage through the school and pick out objects that echoed the forms reflected in the image and reconstructed them using Photoshop. By German©copyright Fotokids/2017

The second assignment was a study of three painters, Vermeer, Magritte and Picasso. The students then went out and re-enacted a selected painting in a photograph.

Vermeer©Matias/FotokidsTierra Nueva 2016

 Tierra Nueva, the gang-dominated area where we work in Guatemala City, presents its own challenges. It is basically a violent hellhole where dead bodies pop up on the streets like earthworms after a rainfall. Do you remember Jonathon who had his both parents killed by a gang? Well, despite all we could do, (which is a struggle as we have the kids for only 5 hours a week. The remainder of the time (163 hours) they are submerged in an environment of violence and poverty). Jonathon finally succumbed to joining a gang.

Right before Christmas, his little 11-year-old brother, Michael, received a wrapped present delivered to his house. When he opened the box, an explosive device blew up in his face. He had burns across his nose cheeks and forehead. Luckily his eyes were spared. Michael was in the hospital for over a month. Both boys live in a humble shack with their grandma who suffers from diabetes and is losing her sight. Fearful of retribution, she covered up what we believe to be an attack by a rival gang and didn’t report it to the police. I really don’t know what kind of a future Michael will have if any. Your donations though are helping pay for the medical bills, rehab, therapy, school fees and extra food.

We are doing very well with fundraising. There are still have some children who need scholarships, but by and large with the two online fundraisers we do each year; one in May, Local Giving Day and the other in November, Giving Tuesday, you all have come through with flying colours and donations have reached a new high.

I thought this morning of the meeting I had with the children’s fathers in Santiago Atitlán when we began our program there in 1997. We were packed in a little cement block classroom at the public school, the fathers in their traditional embroidered pants and straw hats. One dad said to me, in a stiff, formal Spanish, how thankful he was for the project and that “We can only give them a hoe and you are giving them …a camera.” At the time, I smiled to myself saying, hoe-camera, hoe-camera, and the hoe no question about it, came up as the superior, most useful tool!

But the camera, the camera is the watering can that lets those seeds of curiosity, self-expression and creativity flourish. That’s what you have done. When people ask why Fotokids is successful, there are a few answers to that question, but undoubtedly it was your support and long-term commitment that made that happen, so once again take a bow.

If you have read this far in the newsletter you deserve to finish on what can be conceived as a more light-hearted note.

Andres Sosof, the innovative director of our Santiago Atitlán program, (he began with Fotokids when he was 9 years old and now is 26) had his students write down all the superstitions (or sayings) from the village and then illustrate them. I thought you would enjoy knowing some of these so that you can avoid falling into the following traps.

You shouldn’t eat the tip of the chicken wing because when you marry your husband or wife will be jealous and follow you around all the time.

A child should never eat inside a temascal (sauna)  because if they do, all their teeth will fall out when they reach adulthood.

It’s not good for a boy or teenager to put a wooden spoon in a pot of herbs because when he is older, he will become a womaniser

Girls shouldn’t save jocotes (a small oval acidic fruit) that are bifurcated, in their blouses because if they do, they will have big breasts when they are older.

It is prohibited for children to run, shout or cry at twilight because the evil spirits will imitate them, and frighten them in the patios of their houses.

If a person breaks a stick of tinder in two with their hands, their husband or wife will die an early death (authors note, do watch out for broken twigs around the house).

It’s not good to throw food at someone, and if you do, you will live far away from your home and village when you marry.

A pregnant woman shouldn’t step on fish scales, or when her baby is born it could have scabies

If a girl eats fish eggs in her future she will have lots of children

When a child has a fall, the parents should go to the site of the accident, preferably under a guayaba tree, and lash him to the tree to ease the pain.

If a young woman gives a photo of herself to her boyfriend and later deceives him, he can take the photo to Maximón (Pre-Spanish conquest deity) on a night when she is asleep. Upon awakening in the morning, she will find herself not in her house, but at a street crossroads, tied up, and naked.

When someone loses their dog, they can get him back home calling his name into the water jug.

Take your clothes off when you come across drowned people (I think there might be something missing with this one) BUT it was followed by!

On Drowned People’s Day?! (Is that like a national holiday or just local?) the drowned take to the streets singing, but if you come across them at midnight, you must take off your clothes and lay in the dirt so that they will pass by without taking you.

And finally: When a person eats rotten beans, he always forgets things.

I think these helpful hints should go a long way toward keeping you out of trouble this upcoming year.

Information: All past newsletters (and additional material) can be read on this secret supporters website www.fotokidsinsider.wordpress.org

Images and more info on www.fotokidsoriginal.org

How you can Help (if you’ve been left out). We still need some scholarships, Educational $600 year, Fotokids $300.

Don’t forget to put us in your Will (definitely you 1%ers –you know who you are…though on second thought, not sure you read this newsletter) Our legal name: Fotokids Inc. 45-1261970 (IRS#)

Out of every dollar that you donate to Fotokids, 97¢ goes directly to our programs and services.  You may donate online at www.Fotokidsoriginal.org, on our Fotokids FB page, or make checks out to: FOTOKIDS

Send Holiday cards and any donations to: Fotokids/Walt Trask, 1333 Jones St. #1001, San Francisco, CA 94109

AMAZON- If you use Amazon be sure to sign up for Amazon Smile –costs you nothing and they contribute a portion of each purchase to Fotokids http://smile.amazon.com/ch/45-1261970 

More Photographs from The Staff Exhibit November-December 2016

San Francisco ©Jessica Lopez/Fotokids 2012

If I could change my life ©Gaby Romero/Fotokids 2012

El Barco©yenifer Heredia/Fotokids2016

Captain of the Clouds ©Rocio Auyón/Fotokds2016

© Werner Monterroso 2016 Lightning on the roof

  Winter Quarterly Newsletter 2016/2017 Flying over Rome ©Werner Monterroso/Fotokids    Fotokids Staff Exhibition 2016 Letter from the Founder N. McGirr Looking back on our 25th anniversary year, it was rosy one, for the most part.

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The Halfway Mark-Post Semester Reflection

SO sorrrryyyyy that I am like the WORST blogger on the face of the Earth. Thank god I have a “wait-list” more or less about the places I want to talk about and the different kinds of posts that I want to do, but this post holds some priority over the others (I’m still late on this one as well haha..more or less). I have been extremely lazy this winter break, so that also has some role-playing into why I haven’t really done anything on here either. 

Anyway, I wanted to do this entry because I am OFFICIALLY half-way through my year abroad! (WOOO!! and NOOO!!). I wanted to take the time to talk about and reflect on what I have seen, done, learned, etc., as well as cheer to what the next semester has in store.

So first! What has all happened? Well:

1.) I FINALLY got to complete a dream of mine that I have had since high school, which as mentioned several times before, my dream of coming to Spain. 

2.) I got to explore the vibrant capital of Madrid, and eventually reached my program city, met my amazing host family, and started classes.

3.) I got to explore the BEAUTIFUL Basque Country, as well as some other parts of Spain as well like Navarre and Barcelona, and one trip outside of Spain to Austria too. 

4.) Have pushed my Spanish-speaking, and my skills as a person to the extreme, practically to the breaking point, and the results have been pretty good, if I must say so myself. 

5.) I had an...interesting..semester of classes (mad it out with an A, 2 B’s, and 2 C’s, so I am content that I at least survived). 

6.) Experienced culture shock

7.) I only cried 2 times during the semester and winter break, so kudos to me, I think?  

And last, but not least. 8.) Met some AMAZING new people that I get to call friends, and made some wonderful memories for life with them. 

This semester has most certainly been a roller-coaster of both events and emotions. I have been spending this entire winter break here in Getxo, mostly by myself in terms of spending time with other Americans. I’m too poor at the moment to be traveling Europe, BUT, it has been extremely nice to relax after a crazy semester, and I’m not completely alone. I still have my host parents and my host sisters that are visiting for the holidays; but, let me tell you...I don’t think I have ever felt so ALONE in my life at this moment, and it has definitely been really hard lately. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my host family..but they are Spanish..they are not American, n’or are they students studying abroad right now. There’s just certain things that they can’t necessarily relate to at this moment, even as host parents, and I also don’t want to have my issues burden their lives either (they always ask if I’m okay though..UGH they’re so sweet!). So a lot of this time for reflection has been one that has been done personally and internally, and I think that this time to myself, alone and away for home, is essential for me; after all, I most definitely needed a break from Boise, from Idaho, and from the U.S. 

To describe the roller-coaster that I was talking about, it’s just a constant fight between the negative, and the positive moments. Some moments I’m spontaneous, and then some moments I’m scarred to do things and just wanna hide in my room. Some moments I love the Spanish people and their culture, and then some moments I absolutely want to punch every single one of them in the face. Some moments I am productive, and then some moments my ass is at home all day. Some days my Spanish is on-point, and some days it is complete shit. Most of all, the feeling that overwhelms me when I think about it the most, is that some days, all I want to do is go home... because I miss my family and friends so much, and I crave the structure, customs, and securities of my life back in the States; but then, the moments that I love the most, are the ones that contradict my homesickness, and make me realize where I am at and what I am doing with my life. It’s little moments like walks around the town that I live in, with a gorgeous sunset, the ocean, and the mountains; moments like going to the phone store and SUCCESSFULLY communicating that I needed a new phone; moments like my host family giving me Christmas gifts and telling me that their house is my house; moments like watching soccer games here in Spain and how CRAZY dedicated the fans are here!; moments like watching my new favorite Spanish tv shows; moments where I wake up from my first dream that I had IN SPANISH!; moments like going to Fever and other clubs and getting wasted with my friends and dancing the night away; moments like drinking wine in the streets because of no open-container laws; moments like BARELY catching my flight in Barcelona literally as the door was closing; and moments where people at the bars on New Years eve told me that my Spanish is awesome and that I must be enjoying my time here in Spain....well, they’re so right! 

The truth is, through thick and thin, I have looked back on this semester, and YES there are times where I absolutely just wanna go home, but then all of these little moments make me realize how incredibly blessed I am to be here, and how much I truly adore Spain. These little moments make me realize that for some (ahem...ME) I am living a dream come true! I have been obsessed with Spanish culture for some time, and every day here makes me enjoy it even more and more. I’m having so much fun practicing speaking, learning, reading, listening, seeing, basically breathing in Spanish every day. It makes me realize how everything that I have been working for is paying off, and I honestly couldn’t be more happy. I miss home...but once May comes..I’m not so sure if I am going to want to come home JUST yet. 

I have had a lot of learning outcomes from this semester, such as that being away from home, you start to realize some of the things that you took for granted, and I know that I am going to appreciate them a lot more when I’m back. I’ve also learned that one person does not represent an entire group of people, and even though there might be different cultures that seem to make us SO different, at the end of the day we are all just people..and to be honest we have more in common with each other than our differences. I have also learned more about myself, and can feel myself growing as an individual too...I know that sounds all dramatic..but it’s true..and this is only one semester, who knows what I will be like at the end of this journey. I finally feel like I am accustomed to living here in Spain now..and people don’t look at me like a foreigner as much anymore. Using all of this that I have experienced this past semester, I am going to apply it to the next semester, and now that I know the ropes, I am sure that this next semester is going to be a BIG one...and I am so freaking excited.

So a salute to this past semester, and cheers to the next one. I am ready for what it has to offer. Thank you for reading my dramatic post everyone, I hope it wasn’t too much of an eye-soar and that you got some enjoyment out of reading it. Stay tuned for some more posts! My next 3 will be: New Years, Barcelona, and Thanksgiving (I feel like I need to say adios to 2016 asap so that’s why I am doing it before I talk about my Thanksgiving here in Spain). 

Thanks y’all!