#please keep the physical market alive i am begging you

[gikairan]

With Alan Wake 2 not getting a physical release to "save money", and a potential lack of physical release for Starfield (we're not sure at this point in time after a deleted support tweet said it wouldnt have one)

I am literally on my hands and knees begging people to care about physical game releases

Physical game releases save you money!! Digital store fronts do not reduce the price of games over time. They never have. They never will. Hate the $70 price point for new generation games? If gaming goes full digital, nothing will ever get cheaper outside of store sales.

Physical game prices drop because they take up actual physical space. And stores that sell them reduce the price to get rid of inventory, to make room for new inventory.

Physical space is not a barrier to digital store fronts, so they do not need to reduce prices. EVER.

Dont believe me? Heres the current price for NBA 2k23 on PS4 on the UK Playstation Store (Ignoring the game is currently free on Playstation Plus as of typing this):

And heres how much it costs to buy NBA 2k22 AND NBA 2k21 on the UK Playstation store:

Theyre the same price. Despite the fact that 22 and 21 are "old" sports titles that are no longer getting updates (because 23 was released)

Right now, a physical copy of NBA 2k23 costs less than £20:

(I cant find physical listings for Brand New copies of the older games. But trust me... its not £59.99)

And sure, this is a game you probably dont care about. But this is also a game where a new version gets released every year, where the physical price crashes every year. And yet the digital store front is still charging Full Price for a version 2 years out of date.

Its not just crappy sports games that fall into this Bad Digital Pricing. Heres a game that came out 6 months ago:

Youre paying almost half to buy a physical version.

How about something critically well received?

And one not on sale:

The list goes on and on and on. And this is me comparing to Game.co.uk. .... Generally considered one of the most expensive places to buy physical video games. If i were to go onto Amazon, TheGameCollection, Hit.co.uk.... i'd probably find all of those games even cheaper.

This isn't even getting into the fact that when you buy a digital game, only you can play it. You cannot give it to a friend. You cannot sell it to a company to get a bit of cash for the next big game. You're stuck with it. Forever.

But what about sales? Steam is 100% digital, and they have Good Sales, right?? Wrong. If you were following Steam sales over a decade ago, you'd see they were a totally different beast to what they are now. Steam Sales a decade ago used to be a 75% discount on AAA games 2-3 years old. Youre lucky to get 50% on something 5+ years old these days. Most things are really only 25-50% discounts. Once Steam had gained a virtual monopoly over the PC game market, they dramatically scaled back the savings on their sales. Sales on the Epic Games Store tend to be more dramatic than Steam sales these days.... because they're doing the same thing Steam did. Offer ridiculous discounts in order to gain market share. Once they have the market share, they will stop offering such good discounts.

Refund rights with digital storefronts are also pretty poor. Here in the UK, if you buy something online... you have 14 days to send it back to where you brought it from if you dont like it. Brought that shiny new game but realised after 5 hours of play during the weekend that you didn't like it? You can just send it back and get a refund. It might be store credit instead of cash, but at least you can do it. Physical stores vary, but you usually get 48 hours to return something. Again, might be to store credit - but you still get your money back in some form. .... With a digital storefront, you only get 2 hours to play the game and decide if you want to keep it. Once you have played more than 2 hours, youre no longer eligible to refund the game.

.... 2 hours isnt a lot of time when you think about it. The FF16 demo is about 2 hours long, and most of it is watching cutscenes with very little gameplay! :D

And none of this is talking about how peoples literal jobs and livelihoods depend on the physical stores they work in. If physical games no longer exist, people will lose their jobs. Or how physical copies preserve games for the future, as digital store fronts on older consoles get sunsetted. And you cant expect a 20+ year old console to occasionally receive security patches so your card data is safe on their digital store fronts. You can always stick a physical version of a game into a console, but there wont always be a storefront to download it from. ...... Or the game could just be pulled. For good. Usually, this is due to licensed music expiring. Or it could be like PT.... where it was pulled, and literally removed from your library so it could never be downloaded again. If you own the physical copy, none of that matters. You can play the game for as long as the copy works.

A digital-only future for AAA gaming is something we need to be actively condemning

Dont buy digital-only consoles. Don't buy a digital game when a physical copy exists. Buy from your local video game store instead of Amazon.

[kravitzkrusher]

One of my coworkers is fasting for his health and he keeps bringing it up and asking me to try it with him. I said no. I was polite about not wanting to every time he asked me. Until the last time. I completely broke. (tw: ed) (tw: depression)

I was like STOP ASKING ME TO FAST IM NOT GONNA. I've been badly recovering from anorexia for the past 12 years and all I do is relapse. It's not an option for me.

He kept pushing back and going but we ALL eat too much sometimes and we ALL could use time without food so we can focus on life-- bro he wasn't listening.

I was trying not to cry having to hold back all these horrible traumatizing emotions around food while he kept telling me I should starve myself for my health. I am shaking like bitch I cannot physically do that.

People fast because it doesn't feel good and it forces them to remember what's important like health or family or Jesus or whatever. When I start restricting, it feels amazing. I'm not trying to lose weight. It's a chance to give in to my depression and hurt myself in a nonviolent way. I am so happy to suffer, you have no idea. When I'm starving, I'm telling my depression YES YOURE RIGHT AND YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT LETS GO TO DISNEYLAND (aka heaven)!!

I am a much more radiant person when I have zero energy whatsoever because I feel like I'm getting what I deserve: nothing. My brain lights up with happiness!! I'm finally dying again! Hell yes! It wants me to keep going! Have a BLAST! I will lose control and go off the deep end. It's all fun and games and everyone's supporting me and cracking jokes. It's "haha! give that skinny bitch a cheeseburger!" Until I need to be force fed my first meal in six days. And I'm having to be held down in front of a plate. And I'm crying and vomiting and yelling at the people helping me because I don't want to be alive anymore and I was succeeding and they're fucking it up 👿👿👿.

Don't give everyone you meet the option to restrict their diet.

Please.

I had to beg this boy to leave me alone.

Fasting is not for everyone.

Food is not a distraction from God, it's not a great evil we should avoid. People need to eat to survive. It's not just "skipping a meal lol" food has valuable nutrients in it and we need those. For folks like me, every bite is like torture, they can't taste any happiness in what they're chewing because eating is not a good time. It's serious. My body is a science project now. It's biology. I am carbon based life form and I have to eat or else there's a knife against my throat🔪. That's not fun. That's extortion and I feel like I'm being held hostage. Eating is not something I personally can get addicted to because I hate it so goddamn bad, starving is fun as hell. I don't need a break from food. I've had more than enough breaks.

I couldn't tell my coworker all this. It was none of his business. And I shouldn't have to reveal trauma and depression and pain and eating disorders to have my "no" be respected.

Don't market fasting like it's easy and everybody can do it.

You have no idea what people are going through.

[whorphydice]

Bread When I’m Hungry

Happy Re-opening, Heres a new fic. 

Bread When I’m Hungry

Those were words that, in the dead heat of summer, have Orpheus waking from a dead sleep. Somehow, despite the blazing temperatures, he wakes in a cold sweat. Fear likely responsible for the chill he felt in his heart at the memory.  It was a nightmare, quite literally, that he would never recover from. Eurydice, clinging to his hand, begging him to just listen please, we need food. A nightmare, a memory, that every night now, he experienced again in his head. Eurydice, his wife, his love, starving in front of his eyes.

Even when he woke, breathing hard and heart trying to beat itself out of his chest, he cannot shake the feeling. He always looks to his right, where his wife is there in the flesh, alive. The gentle rise and fall of her shoulders with her breathing comforts him, bringing him out of his fear. Yes. She was alive, she was here, and she was safe.

And yet, despite the very physical evidence of her beside him that they were safe… it all ate at Orpheus. The memories, the nightmares.  The look on her face when he had come for her, the hope in her eyes when she told him she needed so little-- bread, fire-- so long as they were together. He owed her- he owed her the most basic of comforts.

He had promised to see her needs, to meet them. He would be damned before he failed to provide for her again.

It is that next morning, right after the peak of summer, when he kisses his wife’s sleeping face, whispers a promise of “I’ll be back soon,” and slips out towards the door. The fact doesn’t escape him (he’s gotten better at remembering important things) that his wife had mentioned she was going to be helping Persephone and her mother with gardening all day and likely would not be home until that evening. Perfect.

He is the first person at the market that morning, with a cotton tote over his shoulder. He makes a beeline way directly to the corner stand that is filled with freshly baked goods, leavening agents, and a plethora of flour products. It’s earlier than he’d wake normally, but he can remember hearing about baking early in the day, and bakers waking before anyone else. Yes, this is what he had to do. What he wanted to do. He practically runs up to the stand, absolutely beaming at the town baker, despite the early hour.

“Good morning!” Orpheus greets, pulling a notebook from his pocket, as well as a pencil. “I have some questions for you.”

The baker, an older man, who had been baking in the town before Orpheus had even been born, looks up over his shelves of goods, a curious expression on his face. “Why, good morning Orpheus! What are you doing here so early, and where’s that girl of yours? Unlike you to be alone!”

A warm blush comes to Orpheus’ face, as he fiddles his pencil between his thumb and forefinger. “That’s actually what i’m here about. I want to learn to bake. Bread, actually. I promised her she’d have a home with warm bread. I need to make sure I keep that promise.” He gestures to the flours and sugars around him. “And, to be quite honest, I don’t even know how to start.”

The baker is a kind man, and he chuckles under his breath. It was just very..Orpheus..to take on a project and a promise with no idea of how to go about completing it. He wipes his hands on his apron and holds out both hands, gesturing for Orpheus to hand him the note pad and paper. “You’re the only man I know like you.” He remarks, scribbling down instructions on the notepad. “You’re going to start simple, alright? No starter, no add ins. Just a basic, white bread.”

Orpheus nods excitedly, clasping his hands infront of him. “Yes, yes, thank you! I appreciate it, and Eurydice will too.” It was fact, in the town. That Eurydice was nearly as beloved as Orpheus, maybe even more so, for the way she brought him the joy that she did. He is glancing around at the ingredients around him, trying not to show the level of overwhelmed he felt. “I can- what do I need to do that?”

“I’ll set you up right, don’t worry about it. And when you’re done here you’re gonna stop down there for your butter. It’ll be nice and fresh. Melts real well on the warm bread. And stop and grab some fresh eggs too. You can make a real nice toast for your girl in the mornin;.” The Man hands Orpheus the list back, and then begins to hand him the proper products he needs from the document. “If you really want to impress her, You make a few loaves, then it pushes you through the week. Shows forethought.”

Orpheus gives the man a genuine thanks and exchanges payment, before he carries on stopping at the rest of his target vendors. He grabs the additional ingredients, careful to follow the instructions exactly. He has to make sure Eurydice enjoys it, he has to make her see that he listened to her needs. 

Orpheus enjoys the walk home, noting to himself how melodic the birds sound. He finds himself humming in response, a beautiful distraction to exactly how exhausted he is. The combination of the lack of sleep from the nightmares and the early start to the day are surely to catch up to him. But for now, in this moment, he is simply too excited to surprise his wife.

Orpheus arrives home, tossing his shoes to the side as he soon as he passes the threshold of their apartment. They’ve lived above the bar since their return, Orpheus himself having lived their longer. They’ve talked about looking for more of a home, with a yard for their own garden, space out of the town where they could be alone. There was no rush, though. They were together, they were each other’s home. The four walls around them wasn’t what mattered most, anymore. 

Eurydice is gone, he can tell that much in their studio space. Besides the obvious of the lack of her physical presence, he notices the lack of her boots, the absence of her laugh, the missing smell of warm spices and earth. It used to be that her absence, even temporary, would set a panic in his chest. She’s gone, she’s never coming back. She left again. Doubt plays on repeat in his head, time and time again until he finally broke down to Eurydice one day.  He verbalizes his fear, and doubts, and through more than a bit of tears from them both they made it through. He can rationalize now, that when she went out to work with Persephone, she’d return at the end of the night. 

Now the pang he felt was just that he always did, when she was gone. Just a feeling of a  man who loved his wife and missed her presence.

Orpheus sits his groceries in their kitchen, setting them out before him. He grabs his work apron, the only one he had, slipping It over his head and then tying it behind his back. He re-reads the instructions diligently (one, two, then three) times before he begins preparing his work station and beginning his first loaf.

~

Maybe it was the summer heat beaming down on her all day, or maybe it was the practically sun up to sundown shift she worked today, but Eurydice was exhausted. Not that she was ungrateful, no not that at all. She thanked Persephone, and often her mother, profusely for allowing her to come help work around the farm and assist the goddesses. Yes, Eurydice was exceptionally grateful for all the opportunities Persephone helped to provide her with.

Eurydice’s thankfulness did not negate that sometimes, at the end of a long day in the field, she was bone tired.

“Love.. I’m home..” She pushes the door open, and after settling her keys on the table right inside their door, she has no chance to drop her bag or shoes before she is met by her husband directly inside.

He stands there, directly on the other side of the door, a goofy, proud smile on his face. He is still wearing his work apron from earlier, though rather than the usual drink stains, he is covered in a light flour dusting. Most importantly, now, is that Orpheus holds his arms out fully extended to her, with a steaming golden loaf of bread in his hands. “Look! ‘Rydice I did it!’

Eurydice looks out in-front of her, eyes going incredibly wide when the situation processes through her head. Bread. That is fresh bread. That is fresh, steaming homemade bread. That is fresh, steaming homemade bread created by her husband. Orpheus made this for her. Her husband did this for her. “You.. did that? Orpheus?” She’s in disbelief as she drops her bag carelessly and reaches out her hands to wrap around his. Her dark eyes flicker between his hands and meeting his face. Once she truly realizes what’s happened, the brightest smile spreads from her mouth to her eyes, and a little laugh of disbelief coming out. “you made us this?”

He nods so quickly that his head barely can move, gently transferring the loaf to her hands. “I wanted you to know I remember. I remember the promises I made you. I promised you would always have bread when you are hungry- and I am going to keep my promises, this time.“ Orpheus leans in and wraps his now free (but still warm) hands around her cheeks, holding his entire world in them. “I will always make sure you have enough to eat, Eurydice. I promise.” He leans in, now, to give her a kiss on the center of her forehead. His lips linger for a few moments, before he pulls back. He rests his forehead on hers for a few minutes, hands still cupping her cheeks.

Orpheus is struck with recollection, then, as he pulls back from his wife. “oh! And follow me! I have some fresh butter for you. I have a few more loaves to finish, but you can eat that one while the others bake. They told me, at the market today, to make a couple so we can have them all week!” He gestures for her to follow him towards the kitchen area where, on their dining table, flour is spread out after a few smaller piles of raw dough.

He goes back to kneading, as Eurydice follows him into their home. If he notices her tears forming, he does not mention it. Eurydice breaths deeply as she stares at the loaf in her hands, thumbs brushing over the golden crust. It is heavy and warm, fresh but ready to be eaten, in the palms of her hands. She would love to blame the feeling in her chest as a mix of exhaustion and love but Eurydice knows that, really, it’s the feeling of love and adoration alone that Orpheus is so capable of making her feel. No, exhaustion is not why her heart felt so heavy now.

And here he was, providing for them. Not that she had doubted his dedication, no, and she wasn’t expecting him to support her entirely either. They were a team. They worked together to meet the needs of them both.  Yet this loaf of bread in her hands made by the man kneading another small portion at the table, was a far cry from the boy who didn’t hear her pleas for food and firewood not that many seasons ago.

Eurydice wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand, directing her attention instead to her husband and his work.

She couldn’t help but stare at him, now. The way his hair had just a bit of sweat on the ends, a result of the hard work he had put into the heat of the kitchen all day. Then there was the way he bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. The way his arms from his shoulders, the muscles of his upper arm, to the tendons in his lower arms twisted and contorted with his effort into the dough. His stature now, also, was quite a development in comparison to the thin, frail boy who came to hell and back for her. She supposed a healthy harvest and work did wonders for the body. Most of all, she was not ignoring his skilled fingers folding and flexing in the bread dough, as he incorporated extra flour. Kneading, she realized, was just another thing to add to the list of the things Orpheus’s nimble fingers were so good for.

Eurydice snaps herself out of her reverie, breaking the bread in half with her hands. The crackling of the crust has him looking up at her, and he gives her one of the most brilliant grins she had ever seen. “Is it good?”

Without even tasting it, Eurydice just nods. “Wonderful.”

[professorbellarke]

Honestly a bit disappointed in the “traitor you love” moment. Am I crazy for wising it had been a quieter character moment instead? I love soft bellarke so much. Please convince me I’m wrong! im begging you, I don’t want to be a negative Nancy :(

OHHHH. Oh sweet honey baby, you have come to the right person! And I hope you have some time to relax and pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents the thesis you didn’t ask for! This is going to be a long one.

Because I loved everything about that scene. Honestly, I loved the entire episode top to bottom, and I’ll tell you why. Because this story is a genre story. It is science fiction. And while good genre stories have intimate character moments and connections as the…I don’t know, the flesh and blood of a story, the BONES of genre fiction must be plot. And sometimes, it feels like The 100 carves away too much of that flesh and blood to focus on the bones, when the blood is what makes us care about the bones (this metaphor went cannibal places, oh no). BUT THAT MOMENT! Ohh, that moment, sweet anonymous, was the perfect fusion of flesh and bone. Heart and head. Plot and character. In other words it was our beloved Bellamy’s favorite thing:

!!!!!!HIGH DRAMA!!!!!!!!!!

One of the things I love best about genre fic is that everything—even and especially emotional revelations and turning points—must be done in the most dramatic way possible. It’s ingrained in the dna of the genre, and I’m always disappointed when sci fi and plots take the easy way out. No, I don’t want a magical amulet that’ll just fix everything! YAWN AND SNOOZE AND OO. The 100 never does this, which means it always pushes its characters into impossible corners, forcing them to make unthinkable choices, and that is what I love. If there’s an easy way out, like say, a space station that can shelter Skaikru from the radiation, THE 100 BLOWS IT UP. I LOVE WHEN SHOWS BLOW THINGS UP! I want the drama so explosive that my nose is three inches from the screen because I’m so eager for what’s next that I’m trying to physically leap into the story. I like the stakes SO HIGH that I’m in a constant state of tension. It’s why I’m obsessed with this show. It’s why it’s also not for everyone.

But like I said, this show is at its best when it has the character stakes and the plot stakes working in harmony. 5x08 was a masterclass in that.

For an example in how stakes make a story, Clarke’s radio could have worked (ignore science, I don’t know her, I know only story.) So Spacekru could have known she was alive the whole time, she and Bellamy could have had merry chats across space, she could have told them about her berries, they could have laughed together about that time Murphy slid into a coma, lol, classic Murphy. Then Spacekru could have come bback down when the five years were up, because of course they had enough fuel, and then Clarke would be waiting for them and yay! Good times.

Good snooze.

I have read really good fics that are about this exact thing. They’re cozy, dreamy, romantic, and beautiful. They fill a crack in my heart formed by the agony of Praimfaya. They are also NOT MARKETABLE GENRE STORIES BEING EXPLORED ON THE SCREEN. There are certain expectations there. You need obstacles before you earn the payoff. Bellamy must think Clarke is DEAD!!! And learn to move on without her! And Clarke must talk to him EVERY DAY because the thing that keeps her going is that he’ll come BACK TO HER! BUT THEY CAN’T GET BACK BECAUSE NO FUEL!!!! BUT CLARKE IS IN TROUBLE AND NEEDS THEM NOW!!! Ahhh! The stakes raise with every plot twist. And we’re personally invested to boot.

Bellamy could have learned Clarke was alive in a million ways, by stepping out of the dropship and seeing her waiting, by hearing her on the radio, on and on. But it’s so much better that they reunited in the climactic scene of the WHOLE EPISODE. That the first time Clarke sees him in six years is through a haze of pain, when all hope is lost, and then there is hope. Her drama bae. Dramatically saving her life like no time at all has passed. The whole plot of 5x03 was Bellarke reuniting! That’s what the stakes were. Will Bellamy get to Clarke in time? First he must overcome the fact that he’s stuck in space, and then that he thinks she’s dead, and that Diyoza will kill him, and ack it’s getting harder because Clarke is getting in deeper water by the second!

I LIVE FOR THIS. Those are the moments I watch over and over and over again.

So Octavia could have thrown out that “lol, you love Clarke, you’re so lame, sick burn Blodreina well done have a humansnack ration” at any time in the episode to try to get a rise out of him. But they saved it. For when it counted most. For when it would have the most impact for us and for them.

Bellamy (and the writers) didn’t just not deny that Bellamy loves Clarke. No, Bellamy’s love for Clarke was declared by the narrative while he was POISONING HIS SISTER to SAVE CLARKE’S LIFE as the FATE OF ENTIRE SOCIETIES AND THE LAST LIVABLE PLACE IN THE WORLD HANG IN THE BALANCE. BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS AS MUCH AS HIS LOVE FOR CLARKE! HIS LOVE FOR CLARKE WAS THE FINAL PLOT TWIST, THE TURNING POINT, THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE BELLAMY’S BACK! BELLARKE WAS THE PLOT!!! THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PLOT!!!!!!

That is my ABSOLUTE JAM RIGHT THERE oh my god. Oh my god I can’t even word about it. Yes, I love quiet character moments. I love them so much. And this show could use more of them. Honestly, this episode was so strong because it not only HAD them, but it let us feel them: Bellarke in the tent, Monty and Harper planning their happy farmlives, Emori and Murphy having a very sad second breakup in the woods while McCreary cursed his entire existence, Raven and Echo holding hands, Raven breaking down with Zeke at the end. From a character point of view, this episode was a gift.

But one of the things I’ve always loved best about Bellarke is that their emotional beats are TIED DIRECTLY INTO THE PLOT IN THE BIGGEST WAY. The stakes in their relationship are literally world-changing, life or death, apocalypses and war and, well, epic, in the Logan Echolls sense. What’s the first time the word love is used in connection to Clarke’s feelings for Bellamy? WHEN SHE’S SENDING HIM TO SACRIFICE HIMSELF IN MT WEATHER. When is the first time Clarke realizes how much losing Bellamy will hurt her? When she closes the dropship door on him and believes she has just killed him herself. Who is the one person on earth Clarke cannot sacrifice, even if THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE HANGS IN THE BALANCE? Bellamy freaking Blake, that’s who. Your OTP could never.

I love quiet, subtle, low drama Bellarke in my fan fiction, so very much. They deserve to have a break and so do we. But there’s a reason that never happens on screen—because that’s not Story, in the classic way of sci fi and fantasy, where the stakes are magnified. I had a writing professor who liked to use the common writing adage Twist the knife. You stab them right where it hurts, but you don’t just leave it there. You twist it. You milk it for everything its got.

Everything in genre fiction must be bigger. It takes the themes of our world and blows them up by adding bloodier stakes. It’s the same interpersonal struggles, but instead of you losing a job or a friend, you lose a kingdom. You lose a planet. Genre stakes are both personal and external, and the really good genre stories manage to fuse them—which is what they’ve done with Bellarke since day one. The fate of the hundred, of skaikru, of spacekru, of humanity, rested on Bellamy and Clarke being able to forge a working partnership.

And, spoiler alert, they did. And now they have to fucking kiss, hopefully in a moment of high plot-related drama as well.

I know fiction is objective and you super don’t have to agree with me. But I’m a high stakes ho, and 5x08 gave me my high stakes fix. Thank you for coming to the TED talk you only a little bit asked for.

[fadinginfluencerblaze]

Fallen Dreams

 Disclaimer~ Art is devised by me and all editorial work is a solo operation. “Fallen,” will be my last publication before my vacation: https://adventvoice.newgrounds.com/news/post/1057611 If you would like commissions or requests for art work done please visit my patreon  account   https://www.patreon.com/AdventVoice  https://adventvoice.newgrounds.com/news/post/1057550      https://adventvoice.newgrounds.com/news/post/1057522

From several authorities of art and creativity, I’ve heard something after completing “Loving My Dragon,” something I’ve not heard since I was sixteen. My ability in the arts is worth more than a few hearts, likes and the endorsements of a few passerbys. It is better than what people have been forced to digest in the past twenty four years. Could be longer really. Depends on your tolerance for main stream media.

Forced to settle, due to never being exposed to minds similar to my own. Which there are a lot of us. I’ve realized as I dig deeper into the internet, blogs, and journals of other dreamers.

There was a study, a social experiment really, given by Facebook and other online platforms, seeking to gauge how to rate worker performance by emoji. Wanting to reward creative minds who earn the most accolades and applause of the people. It can become rather addictive and I find I may be falling into that same trend. Advertising more or less for the approbation of people and not so much for pay.

I explained this to a few supporters and they were shocked. Believing me to be worth far more than the few seconds of increased impressions on twitter and the level of dinner table conversation I can influence with a few well directed bards and illustrations of the latest trending topic.

Now if only I could find a paying sponsor that believes the same thing. Then me and the Dream Weaver would really go places. Here’s the thing about me, that is different from your average ambitious and dedicated creator. I don’t want to go anywhere my friends won’t be invited to reap the benefits.    

I’ve seen too much in this life to believe I can do anything on my own and be a success at it. You know I remember a time when people could have 500+ Facebook friends and no one spend a dollar with or on each other. On anything that could turn a profit. Nearly a thousand people talking, interacting, mingling and no money is made on the effort. Oh there is a lot of sexy talk, a lot of people locked up cause the girl is underage and the guy is enthralled with her pictures. Oh there was a lot of room fo shows like “Cheaters,” to corner a market in tracking people via location recognition devices on the broadband signatures, but for nearly ten years, no one was making any real money that would put them on the Forbes list as the best entrepreneur, besides those buying out all of the larger retail stores and Disney. Could be why I spend so much money on everyone else and not on myself. Makes me feel like I am saving the small business owners world, one click at a time.

The loss of Tina-Raze  on the                                         internet and access to her work has really made me appreciate the gift of visibility attributed to my own work. Sure I desire a physical gallery, but that cost money and you need dedicated staff. An online gallery is a one man show that will last as long as I have material, drive and an interactive audience. But when outside forces wage against one’s output and you are forced to erase everything and the years put into a showcase are no longer accessible; there is something daunting in the realization that everyday I have a chance to present anything, it should not be wasted on the trivial.

That is a sharp word because I highly doubt any of us have the authoritative right to define what is relevant or trivial to a creator. We can choose to interact with a product of not but we can’t say what someone was seeking to share has no value and thus erase them from existence. Not if we have any respect for the sanctity of the culture of art and the freedom in which we universally share this gift.      

~ I can never say enough of how much I appreciate the time we shared and I hope you return to the creative scene soon Tina-Raze.~

 I was reviewing “The Action Bible,” published by David Cook and illustrated by Sergio Cariello. It is an extensive publication that sought to illustrate the entire Bible, without the mistakes seen in previous renditions. It really took that whole group a while to find the best method to bring the Bible to life for young and old readers. I enjoyed their expressive illustrative skills and dedication to keeping to as much as can be had with a book as fantastic as the Bible.

What surprised me was the decision to eliminate the wings of angels and go with the ‘golden locks,’ signature.  For years the wings of angels and demons played a big part in aiding people in separating the two worlds. Without the wings, we are no more than disembodied spirits, ghosts of our formers selves and have a long journey yet to that pinnacle of glory that awaits the faithful. So it was taught to me at least.

There were a lot of ideas shared with me as boy that I spend little time contemplating now, because I am a man and more than assured of where I will be regardless of the mistakes in this life.

Others may doubt. Others may seek to clip my wings as I ascend. Others may project their insecurities and through bitter imaginations suggest that because of the curse of Ham, and Nimrod, the black race will never have a place in heaven. Some may build a whole world of fantastical proportions and place compartments, as zookeepers, locks and doors upon the gates, with signs that say, “If you never drank yourself into oblivion while on earth, you go here, you never loved anyone but God you go here, if you never where tempted to fuck a woman in the ass, though she begged for it, you go here.”

Another sign reads, “Collect your white wings for perfect attendance on the earth, to every Sunday meeting.” In this corner of heaven, you should have received a notice in your casket upon death, we were sure to send Gabriel, who after years of working for God, never got his golden winged promotion.

All who have been the black sheep of the family and have been to prison more than once in their life time be sure to collect your “black wings,” down isle five. Five is the number for grace and that is the only reason you’re hear, so don’t be cute and try to steal the ‘white wings,’ from your betters, who happen to shine a little sharper in hue and have more gold flakes in their hair.  

Those who were on earth and always fought for a righteous cause but failed to achieve any victory and remain angry behind the loss, you will receive your ‘red wings,’ in the dust falcons chamber. Some of you were clumsy on earth. Always bumping into things. Could never walk in heels or win a fashion show. Never turned the heads of men or appealed to women. Had a haunch in you back from never learning poise and posturing. Be sure to pick up your set of ‘spotted owl,’ wings, found in the east gate.

God is a god of order and angles never complain about their lot in heaven. There in whatever state they are in, there, they are to be content. There is a hint of a karmic code in association with the hue and colors of heaven and I was never one to believe in eastern influences when it comes to what my place in heaven would be like. I bend so far on earth, doing what I am told, I will go to heaven with white skin, white wings and all curse will be lifted from my body upon death and the curse of the previous life that marred me and made me black, while I was alive.  

I don’t think so. No, I’ve believed for a long time now that even black angles deserve to fly.   https://avproductionsblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/03/even-black-angels-deserve-to-fly/   https://avproductionsblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/you-read-it-here-first-black-amethyst/

I know I am not one to be denied.

Those of you that know how to twirl and twerk and shake your tail feathers, to win the Twerk Team Auditions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rba9Z0CcWwQ&list=PLxwfHzPeMrG0N0E5Q3hBI_vRjXl-BqJAR or hang out with DJ UNK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeLdCPINh6M and earn 15 minutes of fame for being a video vixen with a phat ass, you can gather your eagle wings in the North tower. You should notice the Notorious BIG Smalls in the butlers uniform, set to serve and assist you wonderful ladies in fitting for your wings. He was always so good at zipping up Faith Evans dresses, we thought he’d like doing that for eternity.

Just stand there and zip wings.

He was way too dark and ugly so he never earned his own, but Puff Daddy sand and danced enough to ensure he’d make it in.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LHyvFryW2M

What a joke, eh that might have been a cheap shot to bring Puff Daddy and Biggie into this conversation, it’s just, I am so sick of color being a barrier for people I guess. But as long as there are people, it will play a part in the minds of men and women that hold their minds hostage and will build politics and kingdoms centered around it. We will split God into figures of hued stone that resembles us in some fashion and suggest if he looks like me, then he is the one that created me. Odd considering how I can create characters of different races, backgrounds and love each with as much joy as the next. Why would I doubt God would love me less because my hair is not wavy or red and ruddy and my skin is not peached or pinked, but bronzed and red? Why is my tolerance for people and the curves, shapes and hues greater than that of a god and I am a mere man?

King Solomon, black but comely: I am glad I’ve never heard it taught, due to Solomon’s hue of skin the temple came down. Why are we so caught up with color that we would actually base our safety on it, risk our lives for it? When in the middle of turmoil, pain, upheaval, or simply in a moment of benign joy during an annual parade in the city, color should be the last thing discussed.

Ever since I was a boy, I’ve held a rigid position on color talk. I had to be set because all of my friends where white. My first love was a gothic princess, that used to put a cat collar and a leash around my neck. I lived in New Jersey and traveled to upstate New York and Ohio all the time and had so much fun playing video games, poker or reading comics with white people. Lived in Kansas where they tried to make me where a confederate uniform for the JROTC program. I did not know if it was a joke of if they really felt I would be honoring someone’s death by wearing that uniform.

I sought to be above the barriers poised by classification and color because I am an artist.  Because I am a storyteller and find relevance in people and can’t deny anyone based on my insecurities. I would not want someone to look at me and deny me access to anything. A communicable discussion, a forum, anything political, or my own comfort and what I believe to be good for me because of my color, because  their preconceived beliefs  denotes I should be marginalized.

I laughed myself into stitches, when during my junior year of highschool I realized all of the black children expected me to eat my lunch on the wall and away from the ‘preppy-white,’ children because they decided to self-segregate. Because they felt they did not have a life style or come from a family that could afford to play golf at the local country club. That they would not and were not admitted to be  apart of a society setting our grandparents and great grandparents were conditionally denied. I was infuriated by the idea of having to defend my home and right to existence, from people of my own color, if I ever married an Asian, white, Indian, Arab, anything besides a black woman. Especially to look at me, you’d never out right believe I was of African decent until I grew out my hair, which I would wear proudly, long and wild.

Fredrick Douglas had nothing on me in my desire to topple the walls the youth of my generation would build around themselves for the sake of traditions that should have been long dead. I would have loved to ignore this conversation, but it is all over the conservative radio, it is misdirected or used callously on liberal stations and it’s become too easy to degrade someone you might disagree with on a benign social discussion, as a racist.

It is too easy to believe I don’t attribute credibility in the claim when you call me an Uncle Tom because I speak well and try very hard not to curse when it would be so much more convenient to do so.          

https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/730095

Honestly in the world of art this should never be a discussion and if life truly imitated art in this dynamic the world would be a better place. At least confrontation and schisms would not be as prevalent as it is today. To me it is like we begin the topic of hues and what is beautiful or seen in heaven, because we don’t have anything else to talk about.

I illustrated “Fallen,” as a response to how ridiculous of an idea of not being accepted by God or anyone would feel that way, because they are black. That someone would use the Bible to teach that and we would stop illustrating wings when talking about angels, in order to unify the spectrum of colors that make up our world into the kingdom of Zion.

Hard to imagine; in some aspects we still can’t agree on a marketable environment that unites black, white, Asian, and Indian dreamers.      

[byronwright-blog]

MADE IN DAGENHAM BLOG 2

1.          Very very briefly say what work was completed in the session. Including the warm up and any meetings. Outline the tasks. This should only be a few sentences, no more! Discuss how you used any source material e.g. script, image, mask, issue or piece of music.

 We continued practicing the song Made in Dagenham and some other songs also, making sure we knew the lyrics, what was happening in the scene and working on looking and reacting to what’s being said. Also, starting to plan marketing for the fundraiser we are doing in the heart space and I continued to work with Joe, Lewis and Sam on act 1 scene 3 and my part in pay day as chubby chuff.

  2.          Discuss what progress you made. How you felt. How the work was developed or how it moved forward. What new work or new ideas were created or developed? How are you interpreting your roles and the scene? Skills and acting technique used.

 I’ve been working mainly on trying to make both my characters (Sid and Chubby Chuff) different from each other but act the same when it comes to women and them wanting equal rights till the finale of the show. For Sid, he quite patronising with the character Monty and acts a little more serious when Hopkins arrives but still sneakily teases Monty, while Chubby Chuff is the bee’s knees and believes his jokes are fantastic so when he gets heckles by Rita and Beryl he stays calm and tries to turn the tables on them by making jokes about Rita

 I came up with some ideas about in the song Made in Dagenham, some men in the song should mess about with the new guy, that being Barry (Played by Declan) who has tyres put on him to trap him and then during the song I steal his thermos cup so he can say ‘my half pint thermos’.

  3.          What was the effect of what you did?

 This helped show how much of a ‘joking character’ Sid is, how he likes to tease the workmen especially the new worker, also for chubby chuff it showed that the two characters are different from each other but still have the same mind set on women and them wanting equal pay.

 4.          Evaluate how effective the work completed was and say why it worked well / less well.

 We got a lot done, we went through almost of the songs in act 1 and a few in act 2 This is America and Viva Eastbourne. We didn’t have Johnathan as much but we still pushed through rehearsed the songs, just need to work more on reacting to each other in the songs as if it’s the first time hearing it , this is because of going through songs multiple times so we’ve kind of forgot how to always react to what’s being said . Need to work on Payday more acting more as if the song is always playing. Dancing and talking other people, making it look more like a night out at the local bar rather than it looking like a rehearsed scene with people waiting to react

 5.          Discuss strengths and weaknesses. (These should be targeted in your rehearsal schedule each week.)

 Strengths-

 Focused on my character chubby chuff more, making him different to Sid giving him an accent and way of reacting to people

 I’ve improved in my pitch when singing, I can be singing higher than I could before I began practicing with Jonathan.

Weaknesses-

       Need to improve on the cockney accent as I when I’m Sid I don’t sound like I’m from Dagenham, also being able to hold it as well  

 Making sure that I am reacting to other characters when I hear them so it doesn’t feel like I’m just a prop in the scene rather than a character.

   6.          Discuss the levels of professionalism from yourself and the group. How suitable is the work at this stage for a public audience?

 For myself I believe I work well, I focused I lessons, trying to push through scenes quickly with myself in but can still easily work more when not needed for scenes

 As a group, we work fairly well with scenes, but we need to work on acting more in the songs keeping it alive and interesting for the audience rather than it just being singing.

 7.          What do you personally need to improve on? Think about attitude and skill. Listen and respond to your feedback your director is grading you! Use correct terminology for movement, vocal, characterisation and stage techniques

 I personally still need to work on Sid’s accent, making sure it sounds from Dagenham and I stay in the accent, also work on the character a bit, making him more patronising and teasing Monty, making him more disliked by the audience

 For Chubby Chuff, I need to make the character over the top and have the audience see him as a club comedian who thinks his cheap sexist jokes are hilarious, also having a Yorkshire accent.

 Singing I need to work on projecting more so I can be heard better and still improve on pitch so I can sing higher notes.  As a group, I need to go over parts of songs so I can harmonise with everyone better so the songs sound fantastic.  

 8.          Discuss how your character has developed. Talk about vocals, your physicality and general characterisation. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!

 Worked on Sid character more, having him tease Monty and act as Hopkins friend to get Monty into more trouble as my character finds it amusing. Needed to work on projecting more so I can be heard by everyone on and off stage, plus I still need to work on my accent as I’m not sounding from Dagenham as I keep turning the accent northern. Physicality is relaxed as Sid likes to do nothing that makes him get out of his chair, prefers to seat drink tea and eat biscuits, I show this with my legs wide open and with relaxed arms to show I like sitting in the chair and plan on being there for a long time throughout the day. When I’m talking to Monty I lean towards him rather than getting up to show how lazy I am.

 For Chubby Chuff , I’ve began to work on his character having him talk in a Yorkshire accent and also quite relaxed when talking into the mic, showing this isn’t his first time telling jokes to an audience. I’m using a lot of gestures when talking about people pointing behind me to say as if that person is there but isn’t, this is to show the character is comfortable with his stories and the punch line in the jokes. I need to work on telling the jokes, working on the comedic timing so the jokes are better understood by the audience.    

     9.          What performance techniques have you used during the rehearsal process? What was the result of this?

 Work on Improvisation as Chubby Chuff, helping me get a better feel for this character as he is an over the top character, and working with how I tell the jokes so they work better for the audience giving them time to react to them.  Improved on my facial expression for Sid when being annoyed with Monty for not having the girls be fine with a grade B, also making facial expressions big for chubby chuff as well, over the top laughing after each joke to make it seem that they were hilarious which helps the audience laugh/react to them better.

    10.      Briefly discuss what needs to happen next lesson or what you need to remember to do, bring or complete for next session. Always do this in the form of an action plan. Please don’t write gain more confidence or learn my lines. Be specific and pinpoint exactly what you need to do and why. When and how you will do it between sessions.

 1-I need work on my accents and facial expression, making my character belong in Dagenham more, holding the accent

2- Making Chubby Chuff more over the top, making the jokes sound as if they are the best he has made, super friendly to the audience at the begging trying to make them comfortable with him , if he succeeds or not

3- Also as a group we need to focus on harmonising in songs so they sound much better.

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