#star treatment lyric analysis

[paperlovesadness]

Ah... I feel a bit strange doing this. Might just stay in the drafts forever. We'll see. But my hands itch to do it every single time I listen to the song so... So here's a lyric analysis of "Star Treatment" and how... it might?... be? A song... About... Miles Kane?? Maybe??? 🫣 (no executions please. I'm really not trying to push this narrative. These things just kind of jumped out at me & I felt an urge to write it down somewhere. And perhaps see if anyone agrees? Comments encouraged! If anyone ever stumbles upon this silly thing) This will get long... Cause that's who I am. And also it references other songs.

Disclaimer 1: I did see someone attempt this on reddit. It was a bit out there though... And maybe ironic? I do share a thought or two with them though.

Disclaimer 2, an Important one: this does rely on an implication that there was something more between the two sometime around/ between 2015-2017ish? I don't want to put any labels and try to stay away from any too specific guesses. But well, I suppose I do kind of personally believe there was something there. If you're not a fan of theories about private lives of real people... I'm sorry. This one's not for you. I really do try to do it as respectfully as possible though. At the end of the day - it's just a theory. And not a mean one. I understand it's all just something that fits together in my head and may be very far from any truth. Disclaimer 3: I know this album is a concept album centered around characters. But I'm analyzing the second, potential autobiogrophical hidden layer beneath the obvious first meaning

Okay, let us have a whack at it now:

I just wanted to be one of The Strokes Now look at the mess you made me make Hitchhiking with a monogrammed suitcase Miles away from any half-useful imaginary highway

This one is very on the nose. But quite literally sneaking in his name in the lyrics -- maybe? we know Alex loves playing with many meanings/hidden messages & double entendres. + the being away from any half-useful imaginary highway makes me think of when he spoke about the fact that he couldn't write any more love-related matarial after EYCTE. And someone encouraged him to just go a different route. That's how TBHC was born. But also implies some trouble in the love-related ascpects of his life around the time. Could've just been trouble around Taylor - who he broke up with soon after the album's release. There's theories about how that happened [current girlfriend invloved] - but maybe there was even more confusion & heartbreak in the mix (ending a tour with someone with whom the lovey-dovey jokes may have gone a bit too far/serious?)

I'm a big name in deep space, ask your mates But golden boy's in bad shape

this is just implying any sort of broken-heartedness.

I found out the hard way that Here ain't no place for dolls like you and me Everybody's on a barge Floating down the endless stream of great TV 1984, 2019

dolls = puppets. And how the industry / society isn't a good place for relationships like this. (People wouldn't understand the type of bond they share?)

Maybe I was a little too wild in the '70s Rocket-ship grease down the cracks of my knuckles Karate bandana, warp speed chic Hair down to there, impressive moustache

Miles and Alex have spoken many times about how their first album was heavily 60s inspired - Scott Walker, The Beatles, 60s Morricone.

What may be less obvious and spoken about is how EYCTE was sort of meant to take their work into the 70s. He spoke about it in an interview when asked about the album cover. It's a 1969 photo of Tina Turner - which Alex commented on by saying: "The idea was to move the artwork on from the ’60s feel of the first Last Shadow Puppets album artwork, so here is Tina on the very cusp of the 1970s" (They also chose to sing covers like Moonage Daydream and Is This What You Wanted during that tour. Both 70s songs from artists that defined the era). So this could be him reflecting on the EYCTE era and how things may have gotten a bit too far during the time. Going in to deep, crossing some boundries and definitions?

Love came in a bottle with a twist-off cap Let's all have a swig and do a hot lap

alcohol? pills? alcohol & or drugs clouding some judgement/helping loosen up and causing the crossing of certain [friendship] boundries?

So who you gonna call? The Martini Police Baby, that isn't how they look tonight, oh no It took the light forever to get to your eyes

It's not a particularly meaningful line in terms of this narrative - but I wanted to talk about it because I find it so beautiful but also so fuck*ng sad. Like - one of he saddest lines I've read. It just hit me in the heart straight away when I heard it. I feel like my personal interpretation is dead wrong. But still choose to see it that way. I also know of the story of how it's inspired by Alex's dad telling him about how we see the light of the stars the way it was in the past bc of how long it takes to reach us. The way I hear this line though is: seeing the bottomless sadness in the eyes of someone who had their heart broken. Someone whose eyes used to be full of happiness - and now it takes forever for any touch of happiness to show up in their gaze. Now a possible interpratation for a second meaning to this whole section could be: calling the martini police = grabbing a drink to help with hearbreak, when there's no other solutions left. Miles has sang in his breakup album Coup de Grace about how he drowned the sadness after hearbreak in alcohol and pills. Mixing stuff together like a mad scientist etc. (Also if you ever saw the interview he did with [the one and only] Martin on his CDG album... Oof... Yeah. There was no light in that man's eyes. Even Martin saw that pain and commented on it. It's a tough one to watch)

I just wanted to be one of those ghosts You thought that you could forget And then I haunt you via the rear view mirror On a long drive from the back seat

This is one of these sections that hits me the most. Cause to me it can be seens as: Alex being aware of how much pain he caused - all he could wish is that he was just another lover whom the hearbroken person [Miles?] could forget. But alas - he still haunts him. Here it gets interesting (or batshit crazy. Cause I might be). Beacause the use of "ghost" just absolutely sends me to Miles' song "Shavambacu" - where he describes the eyes/thoughts of an ex lover still being focused on him after the breakup (this song though could have a whole seperate post of it's own) While "haunting via a rear view mirror" made me jump up and recall lyrics from Miles' song "Dont let it get you down". I saw your reflection, in The backseat of a Chevrolet from Hollywood to East LA NOW - don't shout at me. I know timelines are important. Because Shavambacu and Star Treatment came out around a similar time period. But Shavambacu came out a little bit later. While DLIGYD came out completely after all of hits - this year. So first off - I'm considering the fact that Miles and Alex are clearly still friends and in contact. So could have shown each other songs earlier. But more plausible theory: if these songs are perhaps maybe inspired by one another - they clearly are gonna recall events and/or inside lingo and jokes they both used. Possible situation: post Miles-Alex hearbreak Miles stumbled upon Alex going somewhere in a car. They spotted each other. this also makes me recall the whole:

Swear I saw you smile You try to hide it well 3:15 on the wrong side Columbia Street line from "Killing the Joke". Which many think references the area that Alex lives in. They lived a few minutes away from each other around 2016-2017. So would obviously run into one another often. Even if they were going through something and taking a break/trying not to.

But it's alright, 'cause you love me And you recognise that it ain't how it should be Your eyes are heavy and the weather's getting ugly

This one is also way to sad if you place it in a relationshippy context. There's a few ways I see it: 1) it's alright - no matter what happens, because A. knows M. loves him and will understand why things ended like they did. It shouldn't be this way - but it has to be, because there's things standing in the way. He believes he'll understand despite the grief. 2) dramatic, sad version - the "it ain't how it should be" actually references the "love me part". So M. should understand that things ended because they shouldn't love each other this way. It's just now how it should be and A. believes M. recognises that.

So pull over, I know the place Don't you know an apparition is a cheap date? What exactly is it you've been drinking these days?

once again referencing bumping into each other randomly? And going with it - going some place; talking. Maybe about how Miles' is doing, the heartbreak, how he deals with it - the alcohol (once again - just referencing what he himself sang about in lyrics on his breakup album)

Jukebox in the corner, "Long Hot Summer" They've got a film up on the wall and it's dark enough to dance

"Long Hot Summer" - by The Style Council is actually a song Alex cited to be one of the main references/inspirations used when working on the EYCTE album. So is definitely a nostalgic/meaninful song between the two. They go to a place after bumping into one another - there's a jukebox with a nostalgic song. They can dance together - because it's an incognito, dark place.

What do you mean you've never seen Blade Runner?

Now the Blade Runner line is so clearly Taylor Bagley (the woman is a huge, huge fan of it, apparently) it did have me stumped for a while. But then - maybe it's a clarifying line? Like - if this were about Taylor he would definitely not say that to her. It's obvious she's seen it a million times. Maybe this is here to sort of clarify this?

Oh, maybe I was a little too wild in the '70s Back down to earth with a lounge singer shimmer Elevator down to my make-believe residency From the honeymoon suite Two shows a day, four nights a week Easy money

70s again - EYCTE era But after the tour ended it was time to go back to earth, back to being non-TLSP Alex. Running away from reality into writing music - writing about a make-believe residency (Tranquility Base) Time to leave the honeymoon era = the tour and shows TLSP had together. (also AM may be easy money? Their reputation [very well deserved] makes it so that it's easy - bc anything they come out with will be bought)

So who you gonna call? The Martini Police So who you gonna call? The Martini Police Oh, baby, that isn't how they look tonight It took the light absolutely forever to get to your eyes

...

And as we gaze skyward, ain't it dark early?It's the star treatment Yeah, and as we gaze skyward, ain't it dark early? It's the star treatment It's the star treatment The star treatment

a sad ending. It got dark. A bit too early. It's sad that it all ended. But that's how it has to be - in show buisness, in the industry. They're well known people and it could hurt their careers - also it would just get out easily, so there's no room for self-discovery and just trying it out. That's the star treatment. (This is also a theme I am seeing in Mr. Schwartz lyrics. But that's for another time) Am I crazy? Probably! Is this just accidental elaborate fan fiction? Maybe! But still...I don't know. Song theories are fun. I get that morally it's a gray / or maybe even red area - talking out loud, publicly about theories invloving specific names and relationships. But like... Sue me! Let's call it a guilty pleasure. If anyone ever reads through this wall of text... Hi! Thanks and sorry. And please share some thoughts! (Eh. May just delete this soon anyway) Peace and love

[pinkorchidsinspring]

I just would like to bring up this heavenly cover, (if you haven’t watched her cover of this you need to) because I have many things to say after reading comments, and just watching it.

(This cover aired October, 2014)

I love that she’s so “straight” that not only did she not change the pronouns, but her and the interviewer said the song was from a woman’s perspective.

Let’s simply go through the lyrics shall we? Here’s a little key for my organized babes reading my complicated explanation 😘

Orange: Karlie

Pink: Taylor

Blue: 1989

Green: evermore

I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations

Taylor was scared of pretty girls, does that sound like any supermodel we know?

This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City

Taylor quit her life back home in Pennsylvania & Nashville and headed to New York City, and lived near who? Cornelia street anyone?

This living situation obviously resulted in quite the album called “1989”.

This video came out on October 9th, 2014, it was obviously promo for 1989 which came out October 27th, 2014.

We obviously know and realize that part of 1989 is about Diana Aragon and Taylor’s relationship with her.

We also realize that by the time both this interview and 1989 came out Taylor had publicly known Karlie for 11 months.

However this Victoria’s Secret fashion show⬇️ was actually taped in November of 2013, so they had officially known each other almost a full year privately.

So the way she didn’t change any pronouns and was so happy singing it because of this lack of change, implys her happiness with whatever relationship they had going on. Whether that be platonic or romantic.

This cowboy's running from himself

Taylor is running from herself and the pain she caused herself with her last relationships. And of course Incidentally references her not yet planned 9th studio album.

And the song called “cowboy like me”

You're a cowboy like me, Perched in the dark

Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear

Eyes full of stars

Hustling for the good life (fame +riches)

Never thought I'd meet you here (at a VS fashion show? 😏)

It could be love

Wonder who that songs about… anyway-

And she's been living on the highest shelf

Karlie is a supermodel, she makes bank, and gets the highest tier treatment.

Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen

(Michelle pfeiffer left, karlie kloss right) If you skip to 2:20 in the video, Taylor cannot keep a straight face simply out of anticipation to sing this lyric. She’s grinning up to her eyes. 💗

A little bit self explanatory why this cover wasn’t done just for promo isn’t it?

Taylor communicates with us. People just don’t listen.

Link to my other song analysis’

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

Fool’s Gold — Lyrical Analysis

I’ve recently written about the lyrics (and feelings behind) Harry’s She Got Away (leaked) and Just a Little Bit of Your Heart. I think Fool’s Gold was written around the same time and looks at similar feeling and themes. It’s just 100x more devastating.

JALBOYH sings being willing to not be the only lover of the person you love, and being willing to take whatever they offer. On the surface, FG has the same throughline.

FG is from FOUR, and all of the 1D boys get song-writing credit. That made tons of sense to me initially, because of how the author speaks of his beloved. H always speaks of Blondie with near reverence in these emotional songs, and this seemed…harsher.

And then I read this quote from other credited songwriter Jamie Scott, a longtime songwriting collaborator for 1D. He told MTV about writing Fool’s Gold with Harry Styles.

“I was in the studio with Harry, kind of just recording vocals, and it happened so quick. It took on this amazing sound and meaning for me as a writer on this album.”

So this one is ALL HARRY. I’d guess the shared credit was to draw attention away from who wrote these lyrics, which are devastating. They are his deepest fears about the relationship articulated, a shocking display of vulnerability from someone who’s already willing to be open.

Harry will note in song that he’s hurting because of the relationship, but it’s almost always his fault or because of his actions - he was careless, he messed up, he’s eaten up with jealousy. But here he goes further, for the first time attributing some of the pain to *her treatment of him*.

The song opens by establishing familiar imagery, orienting us to the couple in question.

We begin with birds, which he often uses and are a nod to the swallows flying home to each other that he had tattooed on his chest in Nov. 2012.

Next is more nautical imagery with the familiar ship (another tattoo, too)

After establishing the ‘call’, we’re expecting a similarly rosy ‘response’. We don’t get it.

We get an inversion of his usual themes. In Gerry Rafferty’s Right Down the Line (a huge influence) we hear of her “being as constant as the Northern Star, the brightest star that shines”. But here, we get:

He’s doubting her love for him, her the veracity of her feelings.

And then - he tells us his fears, what it is costing him, and how he still cannot stop.

He is just someone she uses, he’s another in a long line, and yet he doesn’t regret loving her.

But though he’s a fool for this golden girl, is his desire for her to love him back akin to seeking fool’s gold?

Verse 2 has a similar pattern and inverted response:

He owns his contribution, and is also afraid that she will never Stay:

And the chorus again, leading him to the bridge where he lays out his deepest fear/belief he’s scared to say aloud, in light of his own feelings:

And he once again confirms that despite feeling used and afraid the love is unequal, he can’t stop or regret his love. He even affirms that YES, he feels this.

And 😭😭😭.

He eventually goes back to using lyrics to reflect on her constancy, how she is golden like the sun or a sunflower. But despite this, he is seems uncertain that his love is ever fully reciprocated or even recognized. And he opens up a bit here to show the toll it takes on him.

And this song? Was never performed live. Niall—whose acoustic guitar picking in the song is admittedly gorgeous—played it solo around 3 times, and that’s it.

It’s…a lot. Too much, too personal, to heart-wrenching to perform.

What are your thoughts?

[yellowloid]

hello dear! i just read your songs analysis and i think they’re really insightful and clever! i would be so happy to read other song analysis from you (both from tlsp and am)! also i love that you wrote the analysis from a personal view but not under the milex lens (although i would love to read your take on that version)!

hi anon, and thanks!! i'm happy to hear you appreciated my analysis, i love overanalysing lyrics so i'd be 100% down to make more. just drop the am/tlsp/mk songs you want me to analyse in my inbox (and whether you want the analysis to be strictly personal or you want me to go Full Milex Demon TM), and you can bet i'll end up writing a long-ass analysis post. i have so many theories (sometimes even different ones for the same song lmao like in this case) and they're just waiting to be put on paper.

now, since we're on the topic...

✨️mr. schwartz and body paint milex analysis✨️, by yours truly

(once again, this is just fan analysis. it's just as valid as any milex fanfiction i've ever written - meaning that it's completely fictional and i'm not in any way shape or form implying anything about them as real people. just having fun with lyrics and possible interpretations!)

(+ as i said in the other post, i'm analysing them together because there are so many interesting analogies between them and i think they might be connected. brace yourselves because this is gonna be long)

so in the other post i talked about anyways (and the ultracheese, but we could also add star treatment to the mix) as an introduction to the new album, how from what we've seen so far of the car it seems to be a very self-reflective album.

the vibes are quite similar, but if the tbhc self-reflection was done on purpose, almost calculated, the one that seems to characterize the car appears to be almost... annoyed. there's this subtone to it, a faint hue that gives it a sense of reluctant introspection. he's not doing it willingly - he's almost forced to do it, incapable of bottling his thoughts up any longer. like he finally understood he can't run forever (could be the effect of the pandemic, who knows). Also, the tbhc lyrics were absolutely cryptic, and even though the car ones are just as cryptic in some instances, we also find very straightforward, concrete lines ("come here and kiss me before it gets too cute / [...] and if we guess who i'm pretending to be / do we get a prize?" from Mr.S. as well as "watching your every move i feel the tears are coming on [...] and i'm keeping on my costume [...] and if you're thinking of me, i'm probably thinking of you" from BP). if tbhc had ten layers of mysterious metaphors covering it, the car has like... eight, i'd say. still very cryptic, but with a tiny bit more clarity to it. there’s still a lot of smoke covering it, but we can make out shapes a bit more clearly than we did in tbhc.

speaking of anyways specifically, i'd like to focus on that for a moment. everyone knows how it's a very, very personal song - but i don't see enough people talking about the evident parallels with see ya when i see ya:

"what a place for both the opposite sides of my double life to finally collide"

"you're feeling alive, a jekyll and hyde / [...] leading that double life"

like. do i even need to say anything. see ya when i see ya as a whole just screams of alex, but those lines? that's just miles telling everyone "yeah, this is about my absolutely platonic no homo bro", except it’s full homo and he knows he couldn’t make it any clearer even if he tried

also special mention:

"spilled the unspillable beans" (from the bourne identity)

"i put myself on mute before i spill the beans / oh, not again" (from SYWISY)

like. are you getting the vibe? because i sure as hell am

now, taking into consideration the whole discourse about double lives, masks and façades, let's get to Mr.S. and BP. as i said in the other post, in both songs it feels like he's talking to two different 'you's: himself (alternating it with 'i') and a mysterious interlocutor who appears to be someone he has history with. you and i both know who i’m thinking about lmao

body paint comes before mr. schwartz in the tracklist. he starts off strong, straight to the point:

"for a master of deception and subterfuge / you made yourself quite the bed to lie in"

these first two lines seem to refer to him not being able (or not being allowed) to be his true self; this is also confirmed by the 3rd and 4th lines, which are all about the need/urge to keep up (false) appearances and the misery that comes from it: "do your time traveling through the tanning booth / so you don't let the sun catch you crying". the sun could be spotlight, the media and the world's eyes on him, watching his every move. this whole “façade” aspect could easily be interpreted as him hiding his sexual orientation from the world for fear of being judged.

in the second stanza, this awareness also translates into self-deprecation (possibly internalized homophobia):

"my teeth are beating and my knees are weak / it's as if there's something up with the wiring / you can poke your head behind the mountain peak / you don't have to leak that you've gone into hiding"

he blames himself for this situation, for "having gone into hiding": the guilt takes up the form of physical symptoms and he asks himself whether there's something wrong with him ("something up with the wiring"), but at the same time he won't "leak" it, he refuses to admit it.

then there's a turn and he seems to be talking to the other person: "i know what you're thinking", which has Big Milex Telepathy energy, because who else could he share that kind of connection with?

now let's consider these lines from mr. schwartz:

"might be half a love song in it all for you / timing wise it's probably for the best / come here and kiss me now before it gets too cute"

at first he seems to be considering the possibility of giving himself and the other person a chance - the timing is right, they should just live in the moment without dwelling too much on anything else ("kiss me now before it gets too cute"). but then, after the chorus, this happens:

"gradually it's coming into view / [...] as fine a time as any to deduce / the fact that neither you or I has ever had a clue"

it's a bittersweet realisation slowly hitting him: right after he's almost been able to say fuck it and just live in the moment, he realises that neither he or the other person really knows what they're doing - what they've been doing all this time, maybe in terms of how deep they were really in, or how getting that deep would only inevitably end up hurting them both. he’s justifying them and at the same time almost criticising them, because they didn’t know what they were getting into and they really had no idea what they were doing (although, may i add, the other person might disagree on that. they certainly did know and he's just looking for excuses).

and then we have these lines from body paint, which seem to continue on that same route:

"watching your every move i feel the tears are coming on / it won't be long / it won’t be long"

he can't stop lingering on everything the other person does, almost obsessing over them - and at the same time this makes him even more miserable, because of two possible options:

a) he considers giving their relationship a chance, but fears it won't last

b) he feels like he's running out of time, and he needs to make a decision because the other person is still moving around, they won’t wait for him forever, and he feels "it won't be long" until they'll eventually move on. (may i add 2.0, if he thinks miles could ever move on and forget about him then he's even dumber than expected. oblivious king 😔)

however, stubborn as he is, he's choosing to keep up the façade despite his pain ("mr. schwartz is staying strong for the crew"; "and i'm keeping on my costume" in BP), keeping up his appearance ("wardrobe's lint-rolling your velveteen suit"), because he knows that's just how the industry works ("mr. schwartz is having tea with the grips / asking after all the wives and the kids / it's at the heart of what the business is"); he can’t live freely – he’s committed to the role he plays in the industry and he’s convinced breaking character and living his truth is simply not an option. neither he or the other person can change that, it’s just how things work ("there's not one god damn thing that you can do about this"; this also reminds me of these lines from star treatment: “i found out the hard way that / here ain't no place for dolls like you and me”).

but deep down he knows that, no matter how hard he tries to ignore his and the other person's feelings - it doesn't change the fact that those feelings are there, they exist and they can’t just pretend they don’t ("and if you're thinking of me, i'm probably thinking of you"). because that's what they've been doing for years – thinking of and obsessing over each other.

i also find this very interesting:

"and if we guess who i'm pretending to be / do we win a prize?"

it feels like he's responding to miles' attempts at deciphering him, of reading through his behaviour over the years after 2016 (through the entirety of coup de grace + some change the show songs). all these years, miles has been telling him through the veil of song to drop the façade and just be who he is, to stop being afraid and give them a chance, because no matter what he'll always be next to him. this is alex's reply: cynical, because the rose-tinted glasses (the same "rose tint" he mentions in mirrorball, perhaps) are gone, he can't see things the same way he did in 2016 because he forced himself to wake up from that dream. because he's convinced it was just that, a dream - one that could never come true.

but he knows the facts are there, he hasn't forgotten about the past and he knows miles hasn't either. and they can pretend everything is absolutely platonic on the outside, for the sake of their public image, but they both know what used to happen behind closed doors: "straight from the cover shoot / there's still a trace of body paint / on your legs and on your arms and on your face"; photoshoots representing their public side, and the two of them being the only ones who are able to see through each other's public façade. they marked each other in some way, and that mark is very much still there - but it's only completely visible to them, because they're the only ones who really know what happened. it's between them, a secret hidden in plain sight.

(+ these lines sound 100% fully sexual, i'm sorry it's the truth. we all thought about it and i won’t hear anything else about it) (also shout out to @haonsworld for speaking the truth about this part. you're braver than the us marines)

and yeah, alex may be skeptical about the possibility of them ever being something again ("having attempted twice, both incorrectly"), at the same time he can't let go of a tiny spark of hope, asking both himself and miles: "do we get a third try?"

this could also be interpreted as the other anon was saying - that is, them discussing the possibility of tlsp3, and how to make it happen.

either way, although a bit scared of failing, he's asking for a chance. he's hoping for it, despite maybe not knowing exactly how to handle it. but miles has been waiting for him all these years, hasn’t he? and he's ready to stand next to him in that journey.

after all, miles says it himself in caroline: "let me save you from yourself because / caroline, you're living on the edge this time / [...] take my hand / and go and lead the life that you've planned / 'cause you're gonna be just fine / my caroline" ❤️

[maybemoonout]

Something ive noticed in interviews and more recent things is whenever Alex and Miles are in the same room is theres this wall between them, and Alex is the one that is most likely to reach out and touch it. I am typically hypersensitive to body language and your song analyses seem to hint at the same thing that I am picking up that Alex is open and willing and Miles is drifting off further and further in a different direction. Theres times I see Miles and his body language suggests hes closed off in ways he didn’t used to be, those fools used to crawl all over eachother so its weird to see Miles constructing himself an extremely rigid personal space bubble. When Alex says stuff that even suggests something it gets worse- in more recent interviews theres always an elephant in the room-

Hi anon!

This is very interesting… I personally haven't seen much "recent" interviews where they are together? If you can possibly outsource these to me, or if someone could inform me about their recent interviews together, that would be greatly appreciated!

But based from what you said alone, that really is interesting. Now personally, I haven't made any actual song analyses so I'm assuming what you read from me was my previous ask post with the lyrics. Maybe I will do a song analysis one day, it was quite fun to write about!

Now back to you, I think their interviews always had some sort of elephant in the room. I don't know if anyone noticed or maybe if it's just me, but I kind of feel like the interviewer wants to ask a very desperate question but can't get themselves to do it. In some older interviews (e.i. interviews since the beginning to around ETYCTE era) They have always been quite, I'm not sure if "rowdy" is the word, more so "in their own bubble". But now that you say it, I kind off see how Alex seems to be a little more inclined to touch than Miles, even in older interviews. I have never seen any of these recent interviews, possibly the most recent ones I have seen are, again, ETYCTE era. So I can't answer you very well with the little knowledge I have.

Though if we were to look at the situation in a song perspective, Alex songs are definitely a lot more… possibly desperate? Apologetic almost? Needy maybe.

If we compare the tones of Coup de Grace and TBH+C you can kind of seeing where I'm getting at. Coup de Grace is a lot more heartbroken, despite a lot of it's songs being upbeat, you can feel the intense sorrow in it almost, Miles was definitely hurting, and if you watched this interview where Miles was interviewed by the infamous Martin, Martin actually says "I could still see the pain a little bit, in your eyes" in which Miles only smiles sadly and nods.

So Miles WAS HURT. We can kind of get the gist that Miles was "the hurted" in this situation. The question is, who hurt him? I think ever since Coup de Grace, there has this been wall formed around Miles that none of us can really read. Even in Change the Show, and the snippets he's showing us in his stories about a possible new album, we can hear from the lyrics the sort of anger and pain under all the catchy melodies.

Now, lets go to TBH+C and The Car, Alex's side of this story. The songs are very, self reflective. Incredibly self-reflective. Looking back on past mistakes, his regrets. He DID something, possibly hurt someone? We will never truly know unless Alex himself mentions it. TBH+C is a mix of very sad sounding tones of regret and guilt, and also songs of drifting away into space and daydreams. A fake reality, I like to think, an escape.

"Bear with me man, I lost my train of thought" // One Point Perspective

"Elevator down to my make believe residency" // Star Treatment

It gives me vibes of an escape world, one where he runs of too whenever problems (regrets and guilt) arise.

So in my mind, if anyone between the two wants forgiveness, something to take them back, for someone to go back to them, it would definitely be Alex. And if anyone between the two is still broken, someone who created walls to protect an already broken heart, oh most definitely its Miles. Make of that what you will, I suppose.

This kinda ended up being song analysis-y again, I apologize, but truly I haven't seen any recent interviews to better reply to you, so if you have any on hand, I'd love to see them and also see for myself what you have noticed concerning their body language! I'm incredibly interested and hope to hear back from you anon! <3 Thanks for a wonderful time

[sawdust-emperor]

There are a lot of things wrong with the show(s). Every masculine character is comically triangle-shaped, every other character is wasp-waist skinny, the few fat characters are not given the same treatment as the skinny ones (Greed and Mimzy are subjectively kind of annoying and objectively side characters). The noses as a choice bother me, because it highlights how small the faces are in comparison to the eyes and mouth when characters only have them in profile (and some don't have noses at all, which looks strange from the side). The writing often goes in circles to make sure you heard the important bit even if you were scrolling, the humor is often Rob Liefield's Deadpool-esque, the exposition is constant and obvious. Alastor's backstory is cool but maybe some hints IN THE SHOW that he was practicing voodoo/is half black/is from the deep South etc. might have been nice (even a flashback to him getting shot in the back of the head could have given plenty of hints to the Screenshot Analysis group on social media) Husker's design needed tweaking, most of the 'bug' inspiration doesn't come through unless you know what to look for, etc.

However I think to go full cinema sins on this is missing the point. The show is not Oldboy or Dr. Zhivago. It's borderline Bible fanfiction. It has that rich cheesy layer of creator influence protecting the writing from excessive editing, the sort of sitcom-ability to miscommunicate and obfuscate character feelings to each other but not the audience that's such a guilty pleasure in slow burn fics, the qualities we know and love in musicals that you just don't see on other shows. Family Guy is not trying to be earnest, and Hannibal is not trying to be funny. You very rarely get both in a satisfying way - this is not satisfying in the way The Bear is satisfying, rather, it's like eating an entire bag of caramel popcorn instead of a real dinner, but by GOLLY does it satisfy something. The same something soap operas do. Somehow, the show also managed to grab up a bunch of actual Broadway and voice actor stars, too, so even if the lyrics are shitty or dumb the singing is fucking great (with one exception where Vaggie is singing like two octaves too high for some reason?) which helps it go down.

We also wouldn't know the creator well enough to cancel her had this not aired during the age of social media, or (and this part peeves me off more) have well-meaning but misinformed people stepping up to cancel Angel Dust for "being bad SA rep" despite hypersexuality being a known trauma response. Not the ONLY response. But one that is sometimes observed. The show doesn't burst into a therapy session like Tuca and Bertie because it's set in Hell, and this isn't exactly an educational program, so I'm really disappointed that THIS is the part people are getting hung up on because it's a total nothingburger of a complaint. The kind of thing you could Google? Quite frankly Angel talking to Husk and describing his emotional need to be 'too broken to be fun anymore' for his abuser was plenty, I THOUGHT, a rare moment where the show didn't need to explain the idea twice to make sure you got it. But I guess that Bertie therapy session where the therapist is almost talking to YOU would have been necessary to get through to the 16 year olds who are not supposed to be watching the show and the 19 year olds who are but think it's below them despite having an Invader Zim phase that, by nature, was either way earlier or way later than they should have.

I don't know. I see cries for earnestness constantly and yet when a cheesy musical fanfic baby of a show tries to be earnest, it's laughed out of the ring. There's nothing. There just is not anything real anywhere. It's all run by money and attention. You may as well watch these toothpicks in their fuckass suits and bobs dance and sing who gives a shit if it's not good at least it didn't get made by committee I'd rather watch this than fucking whatever Marvel is squeezing out of the tube tomorrow

[katbrando]

✽ dinokat: the soundtrack ⋗

music is very integral to my self-ship, and this is the current lineup of my personal playlist. the obvious trifecta is arctic monkeys, the wombats, and catfish and the bottlemen, but i regularly find new songs that resonate with our dynamic. songs that are bolded and italicized are my personal favorites. you can totally pick my brain about any of these, as long as you aren't afraid of in depth lyrical analysis ;)

⋗ arctic monkeys

R U Mine? Knee Socks I Wanna Be Yours Dangerous Animals Baby I'm Yours Electricity She's Thunderstorms Reckless Serenade Suck It and See Star Treatment I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor Mardy Bum Stop The World I Wanna Get Off With You

[ entire playlist under read more ]

⋗ the wombats

Lemon to a Knife Fight Turn Ice Cream Glitterbug Give Me a Try

⋗ catfish and the bottlemen

Encore Cocoon Hourglass Business Anything

⋗ everything else

The 1975 - I'm In Love With You Adam Melchor - I CHOOSE YOU Allie X - Hello alt-J - Tessellate alt-J - Fitzpleasure alt-J - Warm Foothills Ariana Grande - Into You AWOLNATION - Handyman The Band CAMINO - I Think I Like You The Band CAMINO - Last Man in the World Bastille - Admit Defeat Billie Eilish - Ocean Eyes Blaenavon - I Want You Bleachers - Wake Me Børns - Electric Love BOY - Little Numbers COIN - Into My Arms COIN - Chapstick Corella - Do You Want It? Dagny - Come Over Drowners - Luv, Hold Me Down Echosmith - Shut Up and Kiss Me Feed The Biirds - Loud Foals - Milk & Black Spiders Foster The People - Lamb's Wool Foster The People - Broken Jaw Ghost Beach - Miracle The Greeting Committee - You've Got Me The Greeting Committee - Hands Down half•alive - Hot Tea HONNE - Good Together Hozier - Like Real People Do The Last Shadow Puppets - Sweet Dreams, TN Little Comets - American Tuna Little Comets - One Night In October Lizzy McAlpine - Pancakes for Dinner Love Fame Tragedy - Body Parts Malou Prytz - If It Ain't Love The Neighbourhood - Pretty Boy The Neighbourhood - Stargazing The Neighbourhood - Scary Love The Neighbourhood - A Little Death Nothing But Thieves - Impossible The Shins - Simple Song The Strypes - Eighty-Four Tears For Fears - Head Over Heels / Broken The Technicolors - Tonight You Are Mine Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now WALK THE MOON - Timebomb WALK THE MOON - Next In Line Winona Oak - Let Me Know Wolf Alice - Don't Delete The Kisses Young the Giant - Silvertongue Young the Giant - Simplify

[futurelibrariansstuff]

Bibliographic Data: Clap When You Land by Acevedo, Elizabeth. Quill Tree Books, 2022. ISBN 0062882775.

Plot Summary: Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash. Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered. And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

Critical Analysis: Clap When You Land is a moving novel that tells the story of two sisters who discover each other's existence after their father's tragic death in a plane crash. Once the two sisters find out about one another, they begin to form a bond that will eventually save lives. Told in verse, Clap When You Land switches perspective back and forth between the two sisters as they realize that their father is not only dead, but also has another family

Elizabeth Acevedo's writing is captivating and her characters are deeply nuanced and authentic, drawing the reader into their experiences and emotions. Each character is unique and has their own distinct personalities and how they deal with this life-altering news. Readers can see themselves in both girls, which makes them see even more real. Overall, this is an emotional story that teaches readers that life isn’t always what you expect, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be full of love and support.

Review Excerpt(s): "Tackles family secrets, toxic masculinity, and socio-economic differences with incisive clarity and candor... Every line is laced with betrayal and longing as the teens struggle with loving someone despite his imperfections. A standing ovation." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Returning to verse, Acevedo subtly, skillfully uses language and rhythm to give voice to the sisters’ grief, anger, and uncertainty; Camino’s introspective openness; and Yahaira’s tendency toward order and leadership. Raw and emotional, Acevedo’s exploration of loss packs an effective double punch, unraveling the aftermath of losing a parent alongside the realities of familial inheritance." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Acevedo's free verse poems for each girl share an easy cadence and thoughtfulness, yet each girl's perspective is clear: Camino is strong but fearful of the dangers that threaten her life and hopes; Yahaira's anger is palpable, but so is her tenderness and love for her girlfriend Dre.... Memorable for its treatment of grief, depiction of family ties, and lyrical strength, expect a well-deserved high demand." - Booklist

Connections: This would make a great mentor text when teaching high schoolers about the author's craft, word choice, understanding multiple perspectives, and themes.

Other books that teach similar themes:

The Headmaster’s List by Melissa de la Cruz

If Only by Carole Geithner

[theywontletmebeprincipal]

can you give me drowsy headcanons, ramble, or anything please, i am so deprived. do not be afraid to make it super long, the more the better, i just love drowsy chaperone and love to hear other people (plus you’re one of the only people i’ve seen who knows a lot abt it)

ASK AND YE SHALL RECIEVE

I’ll divide this into a few different parts, going from least to most excruciatingly sad :)

1. general headcanons

2. in canon things i noticed and think about daily

3. a full analysis of man in chair’s connections with the drowsy chaperone as an in universe show (trigger warning for abuse ment, alcoholism ment, suicide ment)

SECTION ONE: HEADCANONS

- okay the chaperone is trans I don’t make the rules

- also her name is ambrosia :) she forsook her last name :)

- she’s about 12 years older than janet and kinda hung with janet’s family after leaving her own for a while . essentially she’s a big sister to janet

- aldolpho has some lines where he asks if the bride is big and/or burly and while in canon this is supposed to show he’s kind of a womanizer I like to believe it’s because he was fully prepared to fight her if needed

- speaking of which Of Course janet is ripped she does gymnastics

- my batshit crazy headcanon for this show is that dee dee allen from the prom is a descendant of roman bartelli no I will not elaborate

- is aldolpho one of those bitches with pets that definitely shouldn’t be legal? yessir

- post show kitty becomes a star okay I just want her to be happy

- the “pastry chefs” do discover a love of baking post show and now run a shop along with performing in feldzeig’s follies which might maybe be a front for some crime too

- TRIX DROWSY AND ALDOLPHO WORLD TRAVELING POLYCULE CAUSING PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE

- underling’s name is james I will not elaborate on this either

- show never says what trix does so I’ve decided she’s an explorer. she charts maps and punches colonialists and drags her stupid friends along with her, the only bitch in the show with a braincell

- drowsy was a former vaudeville child star pre transition - she left the business but was a mentor to janet

- I do have a headcanon for mic’s name but in the spirit of every actor who’s ever played him I won’t fucking tell

SECTION TWO: SHIT I NOTICED

- robert refers to himself by full name a lot of the time which is v interesting given he’s named after the writer, bob martin (whose wife is also named janet van de graaf). the real bob martin is like five feet away at all times playing mic

- idk how to describe it but the dynamic kitty and feldzeig (VICTOR felgzeig. we have a name from one (1) line) have when talking to each other is so snappy and funny and good

- aldolpho’s lines in spanish are mostly romantic bullshit but his first one hints that he has/had a wife who, if we’re taking the translation literally, refused to touch him. yeah I’ll bring this up in analysis

- the “pastry chefs” provide liquor for the wedding even though it has absolutely no relevance to their mission of stopping it :)

- drowsy is like. SUPER endearing towards janet and despite her bad social skills it’s super clear she cares a lot about her

- robert speaks fluent french apparently

- everyone says “ew” after aldolpho reveals his affair with drowsy despite her being a certified milf

- the body language of drowsy in the end of the show where she takes mic’s hands and breaks the barrier between reality and fiction is just so good. she was iconic the whole show but I honestly think this final bit is what won beth leavel the Tony in the end

SECTION THREE: OH NO

before diving into the way the drowsy chaperone affects his character, we need to understand what exactly it’s playing off of. to fully understand mic’s attachment to the drowsy chaperone, we need to outline what led him to isolating himself and living in fiction to the extent that he does.

mic’s father left his family at an early age and his semi estranged alcoholic mother was the one who began his love for theatre. mic grew up in a broken household and eventually moved on to land in a one sided marriage, which lasted a few months until he slipped up and expressed his discomfort with the situation, after which he and his wife split. nowadays, he lives alone in his apartment surrounded by records he uses to escape to a better life - his favorite of which being the one his mother gave him, the drowsy chaperone.

symbolism in the drowsy chaperone regarding mic’s life can be split into two main categories - mommy issues and internalized homophobia. there isn’t nearly as much mom symbolism as there is the latter, so I’ll cover that first.

drowsy covers both bases, but she definitely has some undeniable mom symbolism going on. drowsy marries aldolpho and mom dreams of being swept off her feet by a latin lover, both feel they’ve wasted their chances at love, both drink to forget, etc. this is where the idea of the drowsy chaperone being mic’s ideal way for things to work out, a positive parallel, comes into play. given that we don’t hear too much about mic’s mom other than her connections to major life events and the record itself, we can assume they grew apart in one way or another. the key difference is that drowsy finds a happy relationship for herself and retains her bond with janet, unlike what we’re led to assume mom was like.

further elaborating on the drowsy chaperone representing mic’s ideal fantasy version of events is the wedding the drowsy chaperone’s plot centers around. here’s a list of the things that didn’t stop that damn wedding:

- a minister not showing up

- the groom cheating on the bride with the bride

- the bride having a complete mental breakdown

- indirect mafia interference

- direct mafia interference

on the flip side, what little mic says about his wedding indicates it sucked absolute ass. he spent the entire ceremony in internal distress as he went through with a life changing event he, at that point, knew at least a bit that he didn’t want. I think he also implies he had severe diarrhea on the wedding day? it gets worse when you realize mic’s relationship before the wedding wasn’t any good for him either - he was playing along the whole time because it would be cruel not to, right?

throughout the show, mic is pretty clearly shown as an extremely repressed gay man. there are five specific instances that point at romantic and/or sexual attraction to men directly and another moment outside of his commentary that pretty much confirms it if you look a little bit deeper. thus, here is what I propose - to mic, the drowsy chaperone’s wedding plot represents a world where he was able to ignore that part of himself and have a happy marriage with his wife despite all the overwhelming obstacles thrown at him. however, bits and pieces of that internalized homophobia manage to show themselves throughout the drowsy chaperone anyway despite its happy ending. here’s a rundown on a few significant instances:

- by the end of the show, the “pastry chefs”, who had literally been planning to kill feldzeig, have left their life of crime to perform with him. this symbolizes how in mic’s ideal world he would have been able to turn away from what he perceived at the time as living wrongly - his homosexuality

- at the same time, the “pastry chefs” have this line, spoken in regards to janet: “if she gets married and leaves the show... there ain’t no show.” this is a take on mic’s subconscious concern that he might lose himself if he goes on with his marriage pretending everything is alright - of course, as we already know, he doesn’t listen

- “cold feets” is a pretty obvious instance of mic’s hesitation

- aldolpho’s line in spanish regarding the wife who won’t touch him flips to reflect on mic’s treatment of his own ex wife - she was alien to him as a lover, just as aldolpho was to this woman

- janet recalls her meeting robert at a point in the show and states “we spooned, briefly, then he proposed.” though mic’s relationship pre marriage was much longer than that, it must have felt that way to him - just as quick and nonsensical as janet describes

- just as janet is caught in showbiz but has a toxic love for it, so does mic with his own repressed life

- janet has a line in “show off” that alludes to her experiencing harassment/assault: “I don’t wanna be cheered no more/ praised no more/ grabbed no more/ touched no more/ loved no more” , which I believe represents the way mic perceived his intimacy with his wife - labeled as love yet unenjoyable for him

- “I look into his eyes... I get all woozy. and that’s... love, isn’t it?” is another very clear nod to mic’s misconception of love based off the only thing he’s ever experienced, relationships with women he’s had to fake

- this is the part where I tell you the lyrics to toledo surprise are a metaphor for actively suppressing gay thoughts. I’ll just leave you with “if it tries to rise; don’t let it”. these lyrics are not comprehensive enough to make a dish - trust me, I have tried. it’s also notable that they serve a double entendre as instructions on how to beat the shit out of someone, but several lyrics are also directed towards the singer/audience. for example: “it’s a snap/ try it folks/ whip your whites/ split your yolks” is an easy metaphor for the unhealthy mental gymnastics required to repress oneself so wholeheartedly

it’s also worth noting the obvious just for the sake of it - mic copes with all this by isolating himself in a safe spot where he can use musicals to escape and live his ideal fantasy, even if it’s only for a short time. there are plenty of nods to this throughout the drowsy chaperone as well. in “as we stumble along” drowsy notes that “the best that we can do is hope a bluebird/ will sing a song/ as we stumble along” - to mic, musicals are his bluebird. while mic mostly indulges in these fantasies, he knows to a certain extent the sheer amount of time he’s spending in them is unhealthy. the first line of the show is “I hate theatre” and I think that to an extent? he does. obviously mic loves theatre as a concept, that can’t be denied. what he hates is the way he’s allowed it to confine him.

with all that out of the way, let’s move on to the most important moment of the show. if you’ve ever seen the show, you’ll know exactly which scene I’m talking about immediately. I’m referring to, of course, the infamous “l-ve while you can” scene. as janet stands at the alter she asks drowsy for one final word of advice, which is partially obscured by aldolpho dropping his cane. “l-ve while you can.” it’s a simple moment, but mic reveals to us that he’s been agonizing over it for years - did drowsy say “live” or “leave”? it occurs to everyone eventually, whether a couple days after the show like with me, or years after like with bob martin’s replacement on broadway that the most likely answer is that she had said “love while you can”. it’s this moment, when you realize why mic had never seen that as an option, that the drowsy chaperone’s status as a musical within a comedy within a tragedy is solidified. mic had no love in his life - his parents hated each other and he was forcing himself into relationships in which he felt nothing. to him, living and leaving were options, but loving never was. so he locked himself away.

as the final note on the record is playing, all power in mic’s apartment shuts down and the fantasy is ruined. the superintendent arrives and further invades his space, breaking the private sanctity he had built up for so long. she fixes the power and before mic can stop it from happening, the final note of the record plays. and the super recognizes it as a musical. she makes a remark about how much her wife loves musicals and leaves, completely unaware of what she’s just done.

mic sits in silence for a while. and then he begins to sing. gradually, the cast members begin to echo their songs, dancing around him but never touching him. then drowsy appears and sings harmony to mic. and she takes his hands. the show ends with the entire cast, including mic, taking off on trix’s airplane as the curtain falls, drowsy handing mic his record as the plane takes off.

some people interpret the ending as mic committing suicide, finally deciding between live and leave. I don’t personally believe that and neither does writer and original mic bob martin, but it’s still a valid interpretation. the drowsy chaperone’s ending is ambiguous, yes, but not to that extent. no matter what you believe the ending means, it was brought on not by the interruption of the fantasy, but by whatever realization the super’s remark about her wife triggered. as I see it, there are two main options here.

option one - mic realizes he still has time to live and to love. when he was younger the prospect of living as himself was unthinkable to him, yet now he sees that while he was spending countless years alone the world grew. drowsy offers mic her hand, an invitation to finally become what he had admired in her - someone who isn’t anywhere near perfect, but is damn well trying and living life without regret. he accepts.

option two - mic realizes that while he spent years alone the world moved on without him and he’s isolated himself so much from social interaction that he’d no longer be able to make a meaningful connection with anyone outside. so he stays inside instead, never trying, always trapped between live and leave. drowsy offers mic her hand - at least he’ll have a tune to carry with him.

I really want to believe we got option one. I think option one is the intended, really, given mic ends the show with a joyful goodbye to the audience. but the way that the ending is still left open for interpretation makes it so that we can never really know - we as the audience only get to be privy to a small part of mic’s life, and we don’t get the answers we want because at the end of the day they’re irrelevant to us - all we can do is make our own choice.

[bluewatsons]

Ronald W. Pies, Devil or Angel? The Role of Psychotropics Put In Perspective, Psych Central (March 3, 2008)

Back when I was growing up in the early 1960s, there was a popular song out by Bobby Vee, called “Devil or Angel”. I believe it contained lyrics along the lines of, “Dear, whichever you are, I need you.” The title of the song might also be a good summation of the way psychotropic drugs are portrayed in the popular press and other media. And, sad to say, even some of my colleagues in the mental health profession fall into one of two armed camps, when it comes to the role of medications for mood and behavior. This dichotomy parallels the schism described in Tanya Luhrmann’s influential study of psychiatry, aptly entitled, Of Two Minds. Very roughly, Luhrmann argued that the field of psychiatry is still divided between those who see mental illness as a psychological problem amenable to psychosocial therapies; and those who see it as a problem of abnormal brain chemistry, best treated by pharmacotherapy. Despite many attempts to bridge this conceptual chasm — Dr. George Engel’s “biopsychosocial model” is one example — the schism persists to this day.

And this is truly a shame. The “Angel or Devil” dichotomy does nobody any favors, and certainly does not help patients with serious emotional disturbances. In truth, the human brain is the crucible in which all the elements of our experience and sensation are transformed into thought, feeling, and action. We can affect the function and structure of the brain directly, by altering its chemical constituents; or we can affect its function and structure indirectly, by pouring helpful words into the ear of the patient. Speech, music, poetry, art, and a myriad of other “inputs” are all transduced into neuronal connections and electrochemical processes in the brain.

This does not mean that we ought to greet our patients by asking, “How are your serotonin molecules this morning, Mrs. Jones?” Part of our shared behavior as human beings is the use of language that speaks to our felt experience, not our neurons. But this does not mean that our experience is ultimately something over and above the workings of our brains. Moreover, far from being “cosmetic” in nature, many psychotropic medications work at the most fundamental level of the gene, actually increasing the production of nerve growth factors.

These are all reasons why we should not dismiss psychotropic medications out of hand. They are neither agents of the devil, as some extremist factions argue; nor are they angels of redemption, as one might conclude from the “rainbow and butterfly” ads put out by some pharmaceutical companies. Psychotropic medications, as I tell my patients, are neither a crutch nor a magic wand; they are a bridge between feeling bad and feeling better. The patient must still walk — sometimes painfully — across that bridge. This means doing the hard work of changing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Medications can often aid that process, and are sometimes needed to get the patient’s work in therapy moving. For example, some patients with very severe depression are so lethargic and cognitively impaired that they can’t fully engage in psychotherapy. After three or four weeks of antidepressant treatment, many of them are able to benefit from “talk therapy”, which then may provide long-term protection against depressive relapse. Some evidence suggests that initial antidepressant treatment can help “set up” the patient for subsequent long-term psychotherapy. As a recent review by Dr. Timothy J. Petersen [1] concluded,

“…sequential use of psychotherapy after induction of remission with acute antidepressant drug therapy may confer a better long-term prognosis in terms of preventing relapse or recurrence and, for some patients, may be a viable alternative to maintenance medication therapy.”

Other evidence indicates that talk therapy and medication work synergistically — one reinforcing the other. Medications may help more with “somatic” aspects of depression, such as impaired sleep and appetite; psychotherapy, more with cognitive aspects, such as guilt or hopelessness. Evidence from brain imaging studies suggest that each intervention may work through overlapping but somewhat different mechanisms: antidepressant medication seems to work “from the bottom up”, arousing lower brain centers associated with emotion. Psychotherapy appears to work from “the top down” by changing neural patterns in higher brain centers, such as the prefrontal cortex.

Given the huge literature on psychotropic medications, I am focusing on antidepressants in this essay — a diverse group of agents that has been the focus of tremendous controversy. In recent years, for example, questions have been raised regarding both the efficacy and safety of antidepressants. There is a voluminous literature on these topics, but here is my best professional synopsis. Antidepressants seem to “show their stuff” more robustly in cases of severe depression, but this may be partly an artifact of how most studies are designed and analyzed. For example, the most recent review from Kirsch and colleagues [2] suggests that in mild-to-moderate depression, antidepressants do not work better than a sugar pill (placebo). In very severe depression, Kirsch et al found, the newer antidepressants outperform placebo, though their benefits are not as robust as in earlier studies (1960s-70s) of the “old” tricyclic antidepressants.

However, we need to put these recent findings in perspective. Numerous posts on the internet have declared, based on the Kirsch et al study, that “Antidepressants Don’t Work!” But this is not what the study showed. Rather, it lumped together results from 47 antidepressant trials and found that the active drug showed a clinically significant “separation” from placebo only in the most severe cases of depression. This is actually much better than finding that antidepressants work only for very mild depression! That said, the Kirsch study attributed the apparent benefit of antidepressants in the most severely ill patients to reduced responsiveness to placebo rather than to increased effectiveness of the drug.

There are a number of problems with the Kirsch study, many of which are nicely discussed in Dr. Grohol’s recent blog (2/26/08) on this website. For one thing, the entire Kirsch study turns on whether a 2-point improvement in a single depression rating scale (the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, or HAM-D) amounts to a “clinically significant” (not just statistically significant) change. That is, of course, a matter of judgment. Second, the Kirsch study looked only at antidepressant trials in the FDA data base done prior to 1999; an analysis of more recent trials might have produced different results. Third, the kind of “number crunching” that goes on in any meta-analysis (basically, a study of studies) can obscure not only individual differences, but also subgroup differences. That is, a given patient with certain depressive symptoms—or a subgroup with certain features—may do quite well on an antidepressant, but the results are “submerged” in the overall mediocre success rate in the study as a whole.

There are many other reasons why studies of antidepressants may be yielding less than spectacular results in more recent decades, and the interested reader can find details in an editorial by Kobak and colleagues, in the February 2007 Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. These authors point out, among other things, that if the interviews producing HAM-D depression scores are not performed skillfully, the results of the study may be distorted. Kobak and colleagues pointed to several instances in which poor interviewing technique led to outcomes showing little difference between the antidepressant and placebo; conversely, good interviewing technique led to a more robust improvement rate (“effect size”) for the antidepressant. It is not clear how many such “junk interview” studies were included in the Kirsch et al meta-analysis.

Part of the relatively weak showing of antidepressants in recent studies (compared with those done in the 1960s and 70s) may be due to the increasingly “good show” put on by the placebos. What might account for this? My colleague David Osser MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, observes that placebo response rates have actually been rising in recent years, as confirmed by Dr. B. Timothy Walsh and colleagues (JAMA Vol. 287 No. 14, April 10, 2002 ). Dr. Osser thinks it likely that this “placebo inflation” is due, in part, to recruitment of less severely ill subjects for study. The less ill the subjects, the more likely a “sugar pill” is going to work for them. Dr. Osser points out (as suggested by Walsh et al) that subjects in modern studies are often recruited from ads in magazines, rather than from samples of “real” patients, who are often much sicker.

There is a larger point to be made about the kind of analysis Kirsch et al have done. Basically, it involved crunching numbers on trials in which, usually, a single antidepressant was tested over a period of a few weeks. But when psychiatrists use a “full court press” and treat depressed patients over many months, using various combination and augmentation strategies, we often see better results with medication. For example, a recent series of carefully-controlled, multi-stage studies known as STAR*D, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, looked at remission rates in patients with resistant major depression. These patients had gone through several levels of intensive antidepressant treatment, without full recovery. After the fourth and final “hoop” was jumped through, the cumulative rate of remission (few or no symptoms) was about 67% [3]. The nature of the STAR-D study precluded use of a placebo group. However, the cumulative remission rate of 67% is certainly much higher than generally reported rates of remission with placebo, which average around 30%.

To be sure, non-specific interventions, such as talking to a friend, taking up a hobby, joining a club, etc. might work as well as an antidepressant for many patients with mild depressive symptoms. (Many individuals with “normal sadness”, of course, will feel better simply by waiting a few weeks). But for those with the most severe types of depression — and certainly for those with psychotic depression — medication is often required, at least in the early stages of treatment. Patients with depression due to bipolar disorder (“manic-depressive illness”) will require special treatment using a “mood stabilizer”, and may actually become agitated or manic if treated with an antidepressant. It is critically important that the patient with depression is carefully evaluated to rule out a bipolar disorder [4].

With regard to safety, there is probably a very small subgroup of depressed patients who will worsen with an antidepressant. Data from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) suggest that a small minority of children and adolescents may develop suicidal thoughts or behaviors (“suicidality”) when treated in the short-term with an antidepressant. About 4 in 100 taking an antidepressant may develop these thoughts or behaviors, versus about 2 in 100 taking a placebo [5]. No actual suicides occurred, in the studies reviewed by the FDA.

Indeed, other lines of evidence from other countries call into question the association between antidepressants and suicidal behavior. For example, several studies from the Netherlands and other European countries suggest that as prescriptions for serotonergic antidpressants (“SSRIs”, such as Prozac and Zoloft) declined from 1998-2005, suicide rates actually rose in children and adolescents. Conversely, increased prescription of SSRIs is associated with decreased suicide rates in several European countries [6]. Moreover, results of a comprehensive review of pediatric trials conducted between 1988 and 2006 suggest that the benefits of antidepressant medications greatly outweigh their risks to children and adolescents with major depression and anxiety disorders [7]. Another study of over 226,000 depressed veterans found that SSRIs actually had a protective effect against suicide attempts, in all adult age groups [8].

In my own experience over the past 25 years, antidepressant treatment — usually in combination with talk therapy — may literally be life-saving for seriously depressed adult patients. I have also found that in many cases of “paradoxical” or adverse reactions to antidepressants, the patient actually suffers from an undiagnosed bipolar disorder. Although the use of antidepressants in bipolar disorder is controversial, I try to avoid it whenever possible.

So– “devil or angel”? Asking this of psychotropic medication is a bit like asking, “Will fire burn down my house, or will it warm it in the winter?” In this piece, I have focused almost entirely on antidepressant medication. If I were to go on at even greater length — discussing mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and anti-anxiety agents — we would see that pharmacotherapy is neither devil nor angel. It is merely one instrument in service of helping the patient. As such, it may do good or ill, depending on the skill of the physician, the constitution of the patient, and the nature of the illness. Medication may be over-sold and “hyped”, as it is by many in the pharmaceutical industry; or it may be vilified and disparaged, as it has been by some vociferous anti-psychiatry groups in this country. In the end, as physician and educator Alfred Stille (1813-1900) observed: “It is quite as necessary for the physician to know when to abstain from the use of medicine as it is…[to know] when medication is necessary…”

References

Petersen TJ: Enhancing the efficacy of antidepressants with psychotherapy Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 20, No. 3 suppl, 19-28 (2006)

Kirsch I, Deacon BJ, Huedo-Medina TB et al: Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. PLoS Medicine. Accessed at:

Rush AJ, Trivedi MH, Wisniewski SR et al: Acute and longer-term outcomes in depressed outpatients requiring one or several treatment setps: a STAR*D report. Am J Psychiatry 2006;163:1905-17.

Ghaemi, SN, Miller CJ, Berv DA, Klugman J, Rosenquist KJ, Pies R: Sensitivity and Specificity of a New Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale. Journal of Affective Disorders 2005; 84:273-77.

URL

Gibbons RD, Brown CH, Hur K et al: Early Evidence on the Effects of Regulators’ Suicidality Warnings on SSRI Prescriptions and Suicide in Children and Adolescents. Am J Psychiatry 2007; 164:1356-1363.

Bridge JA, Iyengar S, Salary CB et al: Clinical response and risk for reported suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in pediatric antidepressant treatment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. JAMA. 2007; 297:1683-96.

Gibbons RD, Brown CH, Hur K et al: Relationship between antidepressants and suicide attempts: an analysis of the Veterans Health Administration Data Sets. Am J Psychiatry 2007;164:1044-49.

[journalofsportsmedicine]

An Investigation on Factors that Influence the Customer Decision Making to Attend Sport Event and Product Differentiation Strategies Employed by Event Organizers-Juniper Publishers JUNIPER PUBLISHERS- Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports

For more Open Access Journals in Juniper Publishers please click on: https://juniperpublishers.comFor more articles in Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sportsplease click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/jpfmts/index.php For more Open Access Journals please click on: https://juniperpublishers.comAbstract

Product differentiation is a unique marketing strategy for attracting consumers to a particular product. Therefore, managers are promoting a special characteristic of their product. The Sport products are deferent from other consumer products and it has special features. Therefore, the purpose of this study in general terms, is to explore the unique selling points of sporting events. Also, this study investigates, as a research problem, what unique selling points influence the sport spectators’ decision to attend a sport event as well as what unique selling points used by sport event organizers differentiate their sport events. The study was consistent with both qualitative and quantitative research approached and was adapted to a purposive sampling method for collecting data. Structured questionnaires and semi- structured interviews were used for collecting data from a sample of University students at Northumbria University; to take part in the study, the participants had to be level six sport management students. The study used statistical tools such as T-test, and correlation for quantitative data analysis and thematic analysis used for qualitative data analysis. Results show that the age of the sport spectators does not render the event atmosphere significantly deferent, it means that the unique selling point of atmosphere holds equal importance for all age levels according to their purpose. Thus, the event profile, core product and hosing facility are very important factors for deciding whether or not to attend a sport event. In addition, in the sport organizers’ point of view, the event atmosphere is their unique selling point for differentiating an event. And the core product has been used as their event differentiating strategy. Furthermore, researchers suggest that future studies could be done using deferent sample and unique selling point to measure the perception of spectators’ decision to attend a sport event.

Keywords:   Event Management; Unique selling point; Marketing Strategy

    Introduction

In marketing and sport marketing fields, researchers have drawn attention to the product differentiation over the years [18]. Product differentiation is a marketing strategy which is used to attract and influence the customers on a product’s unique values whereby overcoming competitive advantages among similar products. Especially, product differentiation creates greater values in the customer’s mind when its attributes can be compared as more favorable than those associated with other products, using that strategy managers protect the demand of a product. Alpert [7] claims that a product’s salient characteristics are derived in consumer minds which may be based on their personal motives; customers often mentally process the products’ attributes in terms of their personal goals by associating personal values with product benefits before consumption. According to those explanations of product differentiation given by various researchers, it can be differentiated by packaging, distribution difference, and prestige of trademark, price, quality and trade name. In general, product differentiation genuinely responds to the customer needs, however sometimes it is artificially done by using marketing strategies.

In the last few decades, sport marketers and sport managers have dedicated time and effort to exaggerate factors that facilitated and promoted sport consumption. In particular, researchers have drowned their attention in variables that influence the direct sport consumption in the form of attendance at the sport event, while others have examined the effective factors or strategies that influence in attracting and participating or socio-psychological characteristics that influence in attending a sport event [9-14]. For instance, research indicates that weather and parking, ticket cost, promotional event, income, population size, team success, the presence of star players, personal involvement, Atmosphere, satisfaction, facility, Core product event profiles, added values and accessibility all play a significant role in sport consumption decisions [15-34]. And on other hand sport event organizers should take those factors into account for selecting unique selling points for differentiation of their sporting events.

Some factors were found to be of particular importance for the customers' decision to attend a sport event such as personal involvement, atmosphere, facility, core product, event profiles, cost and added values which represent other factors that affect the consumer decision. For instance, researcher Biscaia et al. [26] define that the core product is a sport event providing entertainment of competition based on uncertainty of the game outcome or physical goods/services association with the instigation of the sporting event. If event organizers are catering high quality goods or serves, it leads to; satisfaction, retaining their customers, generating long term benefits and surviving in the competitive market. In sport context, spectators' satisfaction is the most important factor for increasing the attendance of an event and revenues and from a managerial standing point, service quality is difficult to be controlled by event marketers that relates to stadium issues such as design, space, safety and atmospherics, supportive services, parking and accessibility [31]. Those are important factors for ensuring service quality of an event [35]. In addition, Ferreira [36] noted that core event factors that positively influence the students' decision to attend a college sporting event.

Furthermore, facility factors improve peripheral services of an event such as access, seat comfort, and cleanliness of the toilets, responsiveness of employees, facility space, layout, information signs, facility for children, and availability of food and drink which influence in creating an attractive game atmosphere, thus there are numerous ancillary service at a sport event including security, promotional activities, fun environment. Also, the attractiveness of team colors and logo helps to increase quality of facility and atmosphere. As Matsuoka et al. [24], Biscaia et al. [26], Yassim [33] and other researchers have indicated, those factors of facility and atmosphere have led to customer satisfaction, that has a strong link with the intention to attend future sport events and recommendation of attending others [37-39]. Moreover, Speed [40] reported that personal involvement of an event affects consumers in deciding to attend an event which means the event should be attached to some social values (Charity event) and communicate them to consumers' mind for identifying through their self-expression about the event. Filo et al. [6] notes that this enhances the spectators' motivation and recommendation to others to attend a charity sport event due to their feeling of personal involvement by the social values that are included in the event.

Added values factor is another considerable matter for sport consumers to make the decision of attending a sport event. Yassim [33] clearly argue that incentive (special ticket with meal in the concession area), discount (ticket for family or group) seasonal ticket, inducement and other promotional activities (display the lyric of club’s anthem or family song) are spotlights for spectators to gain different experiences from the event, which motivate them to attending future events. In addition, event profile is another influencing factor for the decision to attend an event. The literature identified that general motivation factors for spectators to attend an event are: festival, rituals, atmosphere, patriotism and nationalism etc, apart from that especially, it has the influence of event profiles such as the scale of the event, global attraction, international dimension of game and opportunity for seeing sports legends. For instance, people attend the Olympic game for the sake of a once-in-a-life-time opportunity.

In conclusion, understanding the factors that influence the sport consumers' decision to attend sport events is fundamental to understanding sport consumption decision patterns. Previous research has explained the consumers’ decision as a binary process, with the choice between either attending or not attending a particular sport event. Therefore, it is unclear what factors determine the consumers' decision regarding choice among different sport event alternatives and also in a managerial perspective, insight of consumes’ decision making process and factors that determine the customers' choice are both important for product differentiation in a competitive market. However, there is limited research on unique selling points that have affected the decision of a university student to attend a sport event. Therefore, this study investigates as a research problem, what unique selling points influence university students’ decision to attend a sport event as well as what unique selling points is used by sport event organizers that differentiate their sport event. As unique selling points of core event factors, facility, personal involvement, added values, cost, event profiles, and atmosphere would be examined in this study.

    Methodology

This research study is based on deductive research approached and based on primary sources of data, which were collected by using mixed method, qualitative and quantitative data. The mixed method is used here in order to have a better understanding and for providing a reliable investigation for the research problem. Structured questionnaires and semistructured interviews were used for collecting data from a sample of University students at Northumbria University; to take part in the study, the participants had to be level six sport management students.

The quaternaries were consisted of three parts; the first part was covered by the bio-data of the participant; the second part was dedicated to core event factors which were collected data regarding experience of the last attended sport event, while the third part determined the service quality of the event in relation to the decision of either attending or not attending the sport event. The practical investigation of this study employed and collected forty-seven questioners from the level six students in the sport management degree programmed. This included 36 male and 11 female students. All these quaternaries were statistically analyzed according to the research purpose by using SPSS 21.0 software. To measure core event factors and service quality in relation to unique selling points that influence on the decision to attend a sport event in a consumer perspective, the questioner was adapted to a few research articles, which included 45 items of questions that represented six dimensions under the two major parts such as core event factors and services quality [41-47]. The six dimensions are personal involvement, cost of event, facility, event profiles, atmosphere and added values. The Likert type scale was used to obtain a response from the questioner excluding bio-data of the respondent. In the first part, responses were instructed to indicate importance of each item using a five-point scale ranging from 'no importance' (1) to 'high importance’ (5) [10]. The second part was ranging from 'no influence (1) to 'high influence' (5). This study selected the non-probability sampling technique for collecting data from participants and the initial questioner was reviewed by the research process module tutor of MSc sport management degree programme at Northumbria University, if the questionnaire effectively measured the selected topic.

    Results and Discussion

Results

The purpose of this study was to explore unique selling points of sporting events. The present study is two-fold and seeks to explore and identify the factors, from a consumer perspective that influence the decision making process that they go through when choosing to attend sporting events. This study was also exploring the differentiation of strategies implemented to attract consumers, from an event organizer’s perspective.

For understanding the first part ofthe research purpose, three hypotheses were constructed; to test if there was a significant difference in perceptions of game atmosphere between ages 18-20 and 21-23, an independent t-test was carried out. There was NO significant difference between the scores of age 18-20 (M = 3.85, SD = .51) and age 21-23 (M = 3.94, SD = .69), t (39) = -.48, p = .62. Therefore, ages between 18-20 do not consider the importance of the atmosphere differently from ages 21-23 when considering the unique selling points of the event.

To test if there was a significant difference between the event profile and the facility hosting the event when deciding to attend an event, a paired samples t-test was carried out. There was a significant difference between the influence of event profile (M = 3.6, SD = .61) and the facility hosting the event (M = 3.4, SD = .58), t (46) = 2.42, p < .005. Therefore, the event profile is more important when deciding whether to attend an event. And to test if there is a significant relationship between how an individual importance of core product and the facility hosting an event when determining whether or not to attend an event, a Pearson correlation test was carried out. There was a positive significant correlation between the core product and facility (r = .68, p <.01). Therefore, the core product and the facility have positively influenced people's decision on attending a sport event. For complete SPSS statistical analysis refer Appendix II.

In addition, for investigating the second part of the research purpose, qualitative data was gathered by five semi- structure interviews. The results show that event organisers basically took into account seven unique selling points to differentiate their sport event; Price, location, added values, event profiles, atmosphere, core product and personal Involvement. Event organisers have given weight to those unique selling points according to their purpose. All event organisers have used atmosphere to differentiate their event, who have tried to create a fun atmosphere. For instance, when asked "what kind of atmosphere do you want from this event?" from participants, "mainly fun and enjoyable", p5, "we want it to be fun and enjoyable", p4, "A fun atmosphere, not too serious an event," p3 (Appendix III). And also every organiser had expected to differentiate their event through the factor of added values, for example, p1; "if people dress up like with themes", "he will get a T-shirt and a medal," p2, "goody bags, just a bottle, token etc. vouchers," p3 (Appendix III).

Furthermore, according to the event, organisers have used different strategies to differentiate their sport event, most of them mainly used atmosphere and core product for this, for example, when asked "how is your event different from other events", participant 1 stated, " the idea of the costumes, dressing up to the themes", "it is the colour aspect that makes it... a bit different, p2", "it'll be a fun event... not many people have done dragon boating before, p3" and "fun event... different fancy dresses, p5" (Appendix III). However, only one manager used location (facility) as the main different point of his sport event, “facilities here at Northumbria are like one of the best in north east... a chance to use the facilities, really really good facilities, like thousands of pounds, like millions of pounds" (Appendix III).

The event organisers have used different selling points to differentiate their sport event, through which they try to create a different experience for the customers. Event organisers' differentiation strategies differ depending to their target audience. However according to this study most of the event managers have tried to differentiate their event through the atmosphere and core product. Although the event organiser should do some proper market research before selecting the unique selling points for differentiating an event.

Discussion

The results of this study suggest that different age groups do not perceive the importance of atmosphere differently. Reference to the Biscaia et al. [26] reveals that the event atmosphere is a fundamental factor for the customers to make a decision on attending an event, however, that decision does not affect their gender or age. Turning to the qualitative data analysis, it was found that most of the event managers planned to differentiate their event from other events through the atmosphere and core product. For instance, participant 2 stated that "the idea of the costumes, dressing up to the themes", "it is the colour aspect that makes it... a bit different", "it'll be a fun event... and "fun event... different fancy dress, p5" (Appendix III).

In addition, findings reveal in this study, that the event profile is more important when spectators are deciding whether to attend an event rather than facility. This finding is also supported by the results from Lee 1990 and Neirtti et al. [1] study suggesting that the event profile (sport legend, global dimension, attraction of event, scale of event) is one of the major influencing factors for consumers to attend an event and also once-in-a-lifetime opportunity affects a fan's decision to attend an event. It means that people like to participate in the most popular, most competitive and world class sport events because sport spectators like to consume rare opportunities. Also, a world class sport event would be held in world standard sport facilities. Therefore spectators are not that concerned about facilities when deciding to attend a world class event.

Furthermore, the present study found out that there is a positive co-relation between core product and facility; therefore core product and facility have positively influenced people’s decision of attending a sport event. A study by Theodorakis et al. [35] found that a quality sport facility environment contains elements such as aesthetics, accessibility, security, space/ function, and the employees have a direct link with spectator attendance at sport events. Supported to above findings of Theodorakis et al. [35] present study found out that one of the sport event managers used the facility as his event's major differentiation factor, that event manager hopes to provide an internationally standard facility for their target market, through which they expect to provide a different experience for them. For instance, participant 4 stated that "chance to like use the facilities, like really good facilities, like thousands of pounds, like millions of pounds” (Appendix III). In addition, the opinion of Koo et al. [31] is that providing a product of quality would lead to customer satisfaction, customer retention, and recommendation for other people to take part and influence to attend future event.

In summary, spectators have different reasons for attending a sport event. Previous studies reveal various factors that have affected spectators to attend a sport event and also the present study found factors affecting sport event consumption; those factors mention that early part of this study as well as understand what unique selling points event managers used for differentiate their event. After the analysing previous studies and present study findings, in managerial perspective managers tried to differentiate their product according to their target market as well as consumers’ perspective they are perceived every factors as important for get decision on attend sport event. Therefore, event managers should do market research and need to be concern consumers’ needs and wants before selecting unique selling points for their event [36].

    Limitations

The present study of investigating factors that influence the customer’s decision making process to attend a sport event and the product differentiation strategies employed by Event Organizers had several limitations. The sample size of the interviews section is significantly small. A small sample size directly affects the findings of this study; therefore the inability of collecting data from a sufficient sample had led to the problem of generalization of the findings [48-54]. In addition, the quantitative data collecting part was limited to the Likert- scale measuring method and the present study was limited to six factors that influence the customer's attendance at a sport event. The qualitative part of this study has interviewed students who have planned to conduct an event as their assignment which could also affect the findings as it does not provide clear perception of the event manager due to the lack of practical experience.

In conclusion, the findings of the present study is not generalized according to the sample, therefore another researcher can conduct a similar research using different samples and by using event managers who are working in the sports sector. Furthermore, this study used six factors for measuring customer perception of attending an event; therefore researchers suggest that future studies could be done using different factors that influence the sport spectators’ decision on attending a sport event.

For more Open Access Journals in Juniper Publishers please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com

For more articles in Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports

please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/jpfmts/index.php

For more Open Access Journals please click on: https://juniperpublishers.com

[365footballorg-blog]

Player Playlist: That time Ilie Sanchez saw Coldplay with his mom

August 1, 20183:13PM EDT

As part of the squad for the 2018 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, Sporting Kansas City’s Ilie Sanchez is earning some much-deserved attention for his skills as the team’s top holding midfielder. The 27-year-old Barcelona native has solidly and humbly held down SKC’s defense this year in a season when the back four has battled injury issues. All of this, Sanchez has said, is about getting SKC “back to [its] essence,” he told MLSsoccer.com this week.

But as he preps to hit the field and put in work, Sanchez, like most skilled footballers, gets hyped up with music. Here’s what he had to say about what’s playing in his earbuds and in the locker room as he gets ready.

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What’s your earliest musical memory?

Songs that my parents sing to me before bed.

Were they nursery rhymes or famous singers or stuff they made?

No just typical kid songs. Sometimes might just invent the song. Lyrics about going to bed. They used to sing songs together. Like a train. My dad in front, my brother in middle and my mom the last words so we just went from the living room to our room singing this song.

So who is your favorite musician?

I have a Spanish singer/producer. He’s called Juan Magan. He’s more South American than Spanish but he’s born in Spain. I like his music.

Who picks the music in the locker room?

I don’t want to be part of the choice — I’d rather be talking to everyone or doing my treatment. But last year, they always played this one song last and I actually hated it — I don’t even know the name, but hearing that song would make me get ready mentally for the game.

What’s the best concert you ever attended?

Maybe Coldplay, in Kansas City at the Sprint Center. I went with my mom. I didn’t even know about the concert, but I just got out of training and she was waiting and let me know we were going. She was the one who really wanted to go after she saw the sign!

I loved it because of the lights, and also, Pep Guardiola used to play their songs [when he was coaching, and I was playing, in the Barcelona system].

Series: 

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Player Playlist: That time Ilie Sanchez saw Coldplay with his mom was originally published on 365 Football

[fashiontrendin-blog]

The Best New Menswear Pieces To Buy Right Now

http://fashion-trendin.com/the-best-new-menswear-pieces-to-buy-right-now-14/

The Best New Menswear Pieces To Buy Right Now

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Having trouble viewing? View in Browser Thursday, November 9, 2017 Welcome to Fox News First. Not signed up yet? Click here.   Developing now, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017: Fox News Interview: Donna Brazile accuses Clinton campaign of being "condescending and dismissive" of her U.S. Navy to run rare 3-carrier military drill amid North Korea tensions Senate to unveil its version of a tax reform bill The co-founder of the firm behind the Trump dossier agrees to return to Capitol Hill to testify CMA Awards poke fun at Trump as Garth Brooks wins Entertainer of the Year THE LEAD STORY: Donna Brazile appeared to back away from some of the harshest claims made in her new book about last year’s presidential election in an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson. The former interim head of the Democratic National Committee lamented the Clinton campaign was "condescending and dismissive" toward her and complained that she didn't have total control of the party's resources ... In the wide-ranging interview, Brazile described her book as a "forensic examination" of the failures of the DNC and Clinton’s presidential campaign. Previously released excerpts from Brazile's book accused Clinton's top male campaign staffers of sexist treatment. But in the "Tucker Carlson Tonight" interview, Brazile characterized her conflict with campaign manager Robby Mook as a "generational" difference. When asked why she leaked questions at a Democratic primary town hall to members of Clinton’s campaign, she said she didn’t want the candidates to be "blindsided" - eliciting laughter from Tucker Carlson. Michael Goodwin: How Brazile's book exposes liberal media's Hillary health coverup Fox News Opinion: Trump's first year: Liberals keep screaming (and dreaming) FLASHBACK: Watch Election Night meltdowns over Trump by mainstream media U.S. NAVY SHOW OF STRENGTH: Three U.S. military aircraft carriers are heading to the same part of the world at the same time, to take part in a rare military exercise not seen in a decade ... The USS Ronald Reagan, based in Japan; the USS Theodore Roosevelt, based in San Diego; and the USS Nimitz, based at Naval Base Kitsap at Bremerton, Washington, will commence the strike force exercise in the Western Pacific Saturday through next Tuesday. The units will conduct coordinated operations in international waters to demonstrate the U.S. Navy’s unique capability to operate multiple carrier strike groups as a coordinated strike force effort. The announcement of the military exercise made no mention of President Trump's trip to Asia. But the maneuvers are connected with a string of moves to showcase U.S. military strength as Washington and its allies put diplomatic pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program and cease the testing of ballistic missiles. Trump to North Korea: 'Do not underestimate us' In Beijing, Trump presses China on North Korea and trade TAX REFORM PUT TO THE TEST: House and Senate Republican leaders were hoping to be united on tax reform to avoid a repeat of this summer’s ObamaCare repeal debacle. But that plan will be put to the test as the Senate prepares to unveil its version of the tax bill today, which reportedly could eliminate popular state and local tax deductions and include additional changes from the House bill … Any big differences between the competing bills could slow or sideline the legislation, though leaders are aiming for swift passage. Senate Republican leaders reportedly are considering the elimination of the state-and-local tax deductions, while the House is pushing only for a partial rollback and still deliberating in committee. FUSION GPS CO-FOUNDER RETURNING FOR MORE TESTIMONY: The co-founder of the opposition research firm behind the unverified and discredited Trump dossier has reached an agreement with the House Intelligence Committee to testify voluntarily on his involvement in the controversial project ... The Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson last appeared on Capitol Hill in August, when he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for 10 hours. His new testimony, scheduled for next Tuesday, comes following recent revelations that the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign funded the dossier. Fusion GPS official met with Russian operative before and after Trump Jr. sit-down Fusion GPS's ties to Clinton campaign, Russia investigation: What to know   THE 2017 CMA AWARDS IN REVIEW: The 51st Annual CMA Awards saw the best in county music come together, but it was Garth Brooks that took home the top prize, being crowned entertainer of the year ...  Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley hosted the show for the 10th consecutive year. They opened the show on a somber note by listing off recent tragedies, such as last month's mass shooting in Las Vegas and Texas church shooting last Sunday.  But then the show pivoted to political quips, with Paisley and Underwood poking fun at President Trump. The stars commented on the recent controversy surrounding the CMAs press guidelines, noting that the show is supposed to be free of politics. Paisley lamented not being able to sing topical songs such as, "Way Down Yonder on the Scaramucci," "Hold Me Closer Bernie Sanders," "Harper Valley DNC" and "Stand by Your Manafort." Paisley then strummed a guitar and sung a parody of Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” with lyrics aimed at President Trump. 2017 CMA Awards: And the winners are... CMAs 2017 In Memoriam pays special tribute to Las Vegas victims   AS SEEN ON FOX NEWS BANNON DOWNPLAYS DEM VICTORIES: "What we had [in Virginia] was an establishment candidate in Ed Gillespie ... Virginia, because of Northern Virginia, is a blue state. Gillespie needed to embrace Trump more." – Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, on "Hannity," refuting liberal claims that Democrats' Election Day victories were a rebuke of Trump. WATCH POLITICS AND THE LAW COLLIDE: "We're going into a very dangerous period where we are using criminal laws as an extension of politics. There's this cottage industry coming up with crimes you can charge President Trump with." –  George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley, on "The Story with Martha MacCallum," reflecting on new calls for President Trump's impeachment and Hillary Clinton's imprisonment. WATCH   ACROSS THE NATION Mexican citizen executed in Texas for decades-old killing vows he 'will be back for justice.' Benghazi militant charged for providing material support, resources to terrorists. Expert team prepares to retrieve remains of fallen WWII servicemen from up to 350 feet below ice.   MINDING YOUR BUSINESS General Electric signs $3.5 billion deals in China. U.S., AT&T at odds over CNN in Time Warner deal. Panera Bread to buy Au Bon Pain, CEO stepping down.   NEW IN FOX NEWS OPINION Judge Napolitano: What if government stinks at keeping us safe but is great at invading our privacy? Gregg Jarrett: Did Comey obstruct justice by protecting Hillary Clinton from prosecution? Rep. Marsha Blackburn: To save lives and money, we must cut off federal funding for sanctuary cities.   HOLLYWOOD SQUARED Kevin Spacey cut from movie coming out in December Will anti-Trump CNN Boss Jeff Zucker kill $84.5 billion deal? Terry Crews reportedly files a police report over sexual assault.   DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS? Pennsylvania man charged with DUI after showing up to vote a day early. Oregon police respond to call for help, turns out to be pet parrot.  Dolce & Gabbana is releasing a $110 pasta collection for the holidays.   STAY TUNED On Fox News: Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Actor and GOP congressional candidate Antonio Sabato Jr. talks about Trump's presidential election victory, one year later, Democrats in chaos over Donna Brazile bombshells and more; Fox News' Lea Gabrielle gives  guide to Veterans Week events. Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4 p.m. ET: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise takes on Election Day fallout, tax reform latest, the Texas church massacre and more. Special Report, 6 p.m. ET: Bret is on the scene in Beijing on President Trump's trip to Asia with live analysis and breaking news. On Fox Business: Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan sounds off on the state of the economy, President Trump's pick to succeed Janet Yellen and more; and Jim Reid-Anderson, Six Flags CEO, Chris Waldeck, Lee Jeans president and Rep. Roger Williams of Financial Services Committee take on tax reform and Trump's trip to Asia. Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET:  Former Reagan economist Art Laffer takes on Trump's trade talks with China; James Kallstrom, former FBI assistant director, sounds off on new questions on James Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email case. The Intelligence Report, 2 p.m. ET: House Budget Chairwoman Diane Black on the state of tax reform. On Fox News Radio: CHECK IT OUT  - Fox News Radio has launched the Fox News Rundown! This long-form podcast features insights from top newsmakers, along with reporters and contributors from across all Fox News Channel platforms. All episodes of this podcast can be found at: www.foxnewsrundown.com. Want it sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.   #OnThisDay 2012: Retired four-star Army Gen. David Petraeus abruptly resigns as CIA director after an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, is revealed by an FBI investigation. 1989: Communist East Germany throws open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West; joyous Germans dance atop the Berlin Wall. 1620: The passengers and crew of the Mayflower sight Cape Cod.   Thank you for joining us on Fox News First! Enjoy your Thursday and we'll see you in your inbox first thing Friday morning Unsubscribe | Contact Us ©2017 Fox News Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10036. Privacy Policy.

[inbonobo]

I doubt Cuspert cared much about being under FBI investigation.. :) “An FBI translator with a top-secret security clearance traveled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, CNN has learned. The rogue employee, Daniela Greene, lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.”

Greene's saga, which has never been publicized, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBI—an agency that has made its mission rooting out ISIS sympathizers across the country.It also raises questions about whether Greene received favorable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offense, then asked a judge to give her a reduced sentence in exchange for her cooperation, the details of which remain shrouded in court-ordered secrecy.

The man Greene married was no ordinary terrorist.He was Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned ISIS pitchman, whose growing influence as an online recruiter for violent jihadists had put him on the radar of counter-terrorism authorities on two continents.

In Germany, Cuspert went by the rap name Deso Dogg. In Syria, he was known as Abu Talha al-Almani. He praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former President Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene, 38, seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities. She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.

The FBI, in a statement to CNN, said as a result of Greene's case it "took several steps in a variety of areas to identify and reduce security vulnerabilities. The FBI continues to strengthen protective measures in carrying out its vital work."The FBI did not identify what steps were taken and declined further comment."It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official. He said he suspects Greene's entry into Syria required the approval of top ISIS leaders.Most outsiders trying to get into an ISIS region in Syria risk "getting their heads cut off," said Kirby, now a CNN commentator on national security matters. "So for her to be able to get in as an American, as a woman, as an FBI employee, and to be able to take up residence with a known ISIS leader, that all had to be coordinated."In court papers filed in US District Court in Washington D.C., prosecutors characterized Greene's conduct as "egregious," deserving of "severe punishment."

Assistant US Attorney Thomas Gillice said Greene had "violated the public trust, the trust of the officials who granted her security clearance, and the trust of those with whom she worked and, in doing so, endangered our nation's security."Even though Greene's "conduct skirted a line dangerously close to other more serious charges," the prosecutor argued she should receive a lighter sentence because of her cooperation.Greene's two-year sentence was less than punishments given other defendants charged with terrorism-related crimes.Even failed attempts to travel to Syria and join ISIS have earned defendants much stiffer prison sentences. Americans convicted in dozens of recent ISIS prosecutions received an average sentence of 13 1/2 years in prison, according to an analysis in April by the Center on National Security at Fordham University.A Justice Department official, however, said Greene's sentence was "in line" with similar cases, but declined to cite examples.After Greene finished cooperating with authorities, prosecutors asked the judge to unseal portions of the court file, including Greene's identity."Unsealing these documents will allow appropriate public access to and knowledge of the circumstances of this case," prosecutors stated.Greene, who now works as a hostess in a hotel lounge, said in a brief interview with CNN that she was fearful of discussing the details of her case."If I talk to you my family will be in danger," Greene said. She declined further comment.

CNN is withholding Greene's location in the US and has obscured her face in photos and videos due to concerns raised about her safety.Her attorney, former assistant federal public defender Shawn Moore, said he could not comment on details of the case, citing attorney-client privilege constraints and national security restrictions.He described Greene as "smart, articulate and obviously naïve." He said she was "genuinely remorseful" for her actions."She was just a well-meaning person that got up in something way over her head," Moore said. He declined further comment."She was a really hard worker..."There is nothing readily apparent in Greene's past to suggest she would one day find herself the bride of an international terrorist.Born in Czechoslovakia and raised for a time in Germany, she married a US soldier at a young age and moved to the United States, several friends and acquaintances recalled. She went by the nickname Dani.She attended college at Cameron University in Oklahoma where she was on the dean's list. She then went to graduate school at Clemson University where she earned a Master's Degree in history."I could see she was a really hard worker," said Clemson Professor Alan Grubb, who advised Greene on her thesis, which explored "racial motivations for French collaboration during the Second World War.""She was one of our better graduate students, I thought," he said.Grubb recalled writing a letter of recommendation for her for a job that involved translating for a federal government agency.

Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011. It was a job that, following a grueling application and vetting process, came with a top-secret national security clearance.Greene was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A."CNN identified "Individual A" as Cuspert using court documents, newspaper articles about his music career and transformation to jihadist, government bulletins, videos and other sources. His identity was ultimately confirmed by a source familiar with the investigation.From Gangsta Rapper to Jihadist

Before Cuspert became a front man for jihadists, he was known as Deso Dogg in Germany. Tattoos on each hand spell out the image he cultivated in the mold of American gangsta rappers."STR8" was inked on one hand, "THUG" on the other.One CD cover featured Cuspert with a menacing glare, holding a gun to his own head. His image was backed up by a real life rap sheet with a string of arrests. He had a lean, muscular physique and trained in various martial arts.Cuspert never achieved star status in the music world, but he did enjoy some success: In 2006, he opened for popular US rapper DMX.

A near-death experience in a car accident prompted Cuspert to turn to religion, according to numerous press accounts. In 2010, he quit the rap world and converted to Islam. He traded his hard driving gangsta-style lyrics for Islamic devotional songs called Nasheeds, including one that praised bin Laden.Cuspert gained some notoriety as an extremist in 2011 after he posted on Facebook a fake video purportedly showing US soldiers raping a Muslim woman. The video motivated a man to carry out a terrorist attack on the Frankfurt airport, killing two US airmen and wounding two others, according to The New York Times.In 2012, Cuspert fled Germany, reportedly spending time in Egypt and Libya. The following year, he arrived in Syria, where he would emerge as "ISIS's Celebrity Cheerleader," according to a report from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a group that monitors various topics in the region, including violent extremism.

As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file.Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state.It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.He called ISIS "the state that no one can stop," adding, "we will continue to build it until it reaches Washington... Obama!" He then made a throat-cutting gesture with his finger, according to the MEMRI report.On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad.Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterized her travel on the form as "Vacation/Personal," court records show."Want to see my family," she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany.She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014. But her destination wasn't Germany. She flew instead on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey, where she had reservations at the Erguvan Hotel. From there she traveled to the city of Gaziantep, about 20 miles from the Syrian border.She contacted "Individual A," the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him.Shortly after, Greene sent emails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law."I was weak and didn't know how to handle anything anymore," she wrote on July 8. "I really made a mess of things this time."

In another email the following day she wrote: "I am gone and I can't come back. I wouldn't even know how to make it through, if I tried to come back. I am in a very harsh environment and I don't know how long I will last here, but it doesn't matter, it's all a little too late..."On July 22, 2014, she again wrote to the unidentified recipient: "Not sure if they told you that I will probably go to prison for a long time if I come back, but that is life. I wish I could turn back time some days."While Greene was expressing regrets, Cuspert was actively fighting ISIS's battles.

A video from July 2014 "showed glimpses of him in the bloody aftermath of the ISIS takeover of the Al-Sha'er gas fields in Homs," according to the MEMRI report on Cuspert. In a field covered with dead bodies, Cuspert "is seen for several seconds beating a corpse with a sandal," the report said.Back in the USIt is unclear from the court file precisely when or how authorities learned of Greene's actions, but on Aug. 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest."At that time," prosecutors would later write, "the defendant was at large in Syria or Turkey in the company of the leader of a terrorist group."After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on Aug. 8, 2014.In November that year, with Greene in custody and cooperating with the government, prosecutors argued for the court file to remain sealed: "Publicity regarding the arrest of the defendant or the charges against her would contribute to a substantial likelihood of imminent danger to a party, witness or other person as well as a substantial likelihood that the ongoing investigation will be seriously jeopardized."What ensued was a succession of secret hearings and court filings.Then, on April 17, 2015, prosecutors told the judge Greene's cooperation had concluded. The following month, portions of the case file were unsealed, though the judge kept some material secret. Gillice, a prosecutor in the National Security Section of the US Attorney's office in Washington D.C., wrote that Greene placed herself and her country in serious jeopardy."She endangered our national security by exposing herself and her knowledge of sensitive matters to those terrorist organizations," he wrote. "Her escape from the area unscathed, and with apparently much of that knowledge undisclosed, appears a stroke of luck or a measure of the lack of savvy on the part of the terrorists with whom she interacted."In his argument for a reduced sentence, Gillice noted that Greene immediately began cooperating with authorities. Her cooperation was "significant, long-running and substantial," he wrote."After the egregious abuse of her position, the defendant attempted to right her wrongs, and to ultimately assist her country again," the prosecutor wrote.

(via Rogue FBI employee married ISIS terrorist she investigated - CNNPolitics.com)

[ralphmorgan-blog1]

The FBI translator who went rogue and married an ISIS terrorist

An FBI translator with a top-secret security clearance traveled to Syria in 2014 and married a key ISIS operative she had been assigned to investigate, CNN has learned.

The rogue employee, Daniela Greene, lied to the FBI about where she was going and warned her new husband he was under investigation, according to federal court records.

Greene's saga, which has never been publicized, exposes an embarrassing breach of national security at the FBIan agency that has made its mission rooting out ISIS sympathizers across the country.

It also raises questions about whether Greene received favorable treatment from Justice Department prosecutors who charged her with a relatively minor offense, then asked a judge to give her a reduced sentence in exchange for her cooperation, the details of which remain shrouded in court-ordered secrecy.

The man Greene married was no ordinary terrorist.

He was Denis Cuspert, a German rapper turned ISIS pitchman, whose growing influence as an online recruiter for violent jihadists had put him on the radar of counter-terrorism authorities on two continents.

In Germany, Cuspert went by the rap name Deso Dogg. In Syria, he was known as Abu Talha al-Almani. He praised Osama bin Laden in a song, threatened former President Barack Obama with a throat-cutting gesture and appeared in propaganda videos, including one in which he was holding a freshly severed human head.

Within weeks of marrying Cuspert, Greene, 38, seemed to realize she had made a terrible mistake. She fled back to the US, where she was immediately arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities. She pleaded guilty to making false statements involving international terrorism and was sentenced to two years in federal prison. She was released last summer.

The FBI, in a statement to CNN, said as a result of Greene's case it "took several steps in a variety of areas to identify and reduce security vulnerabilities. The FBI continues to strengthen protective measures in carrying out its vital work."

The FBI did not identify what steps were taken and declined further comment.

"It's a stunning embarrassment for the FBI, no doubt about it," said John Kirby, a former State Department official. He said he suspects Greene's entry into Syria required the approval of top ISIS leaders.

Most outsiders trying to get into an ISIS region in Syria risk "getting their heads cut off," said Kirby, now a CNN commentator on national security matters. "So for her to be able to get in as an American, as a woman, as an FBI employee, and to be able to take up residence with a known ISIS leader, that all had to be coordinated."

In court papers filed in US District Court in Washington D.C., prosecutors characterized Greene's conduct as "egregious," deserving of "severe punishment."

Assistant US Attorney Thomas Gillice said Greene had "violated the public trust, the trust of the officials who granted her security clearance, and the trust of those with whom she worked and, in doing so, endangered our nation's security."

Even though Greene's "conduct skirted a line dangerously close to other more serious charges," the prosecutor argued she should receive a lighter sentence because of her cooperation.

Greene's two-year sentence was less than punishments given other defendants charged with terrorism-related crimes.

Even failed attempts to travel to Syria and join ISIS have earned defendants much stiffer prison sentences. Americans convicted in dozens of recent ISIS prosecutions received an average sentence of 13 1/2 years in prison, according to an analysis in April by the Center on National Security at Fordham University.

A Justice Department official, however, said Greene's sentence was "in line" with similar cases, but declined to cite examples.

After Greene finished cooperating with authorities, prosecutors asked the judge to unseal portions of the court file, including Greene's identity.

"Unsealing these documents will allow appropriate public access to and knowledge of the circumstances of this case," prosecutors stated.

Greene, who now works as a hostess in a hotel lounge, said in a brief interview with CNN that she was fearful of discussing the details of her case.

"If I talk to you my family will be in danger," Greene said. She declined further comment.

CNN is withholding Greene's location in the US and has obscured her face in photos and videos due to concerns raised about her safety.

Her attorney, former assistant federal public defender Shawn Moore, said he could not comment on details of the case, citing attorney-client privilege constraints and national security restrictions.

He described Greene as "smart, articulate and obviously nave." He said she was "genuinely remorseful" for her actions.

"She was just a well-meaning person that got up in something way over her head," Moore said. He declined further comment.

"She was a really hard worker..."

There is nothing readily apparent in Greene's past to suggest she would one day find herself the bride of an international terrorist.

Born in Czechoslovakia and raised for a time in Germany, she married a US soldier at a young age and moved to the United States, several friends and acquaintances recalled. She went by the nickname Dani.

She attended college at Cameron University in Oklahoma where she was on the dean's list. She then went to graduate school at Clemson University where she earned a Master's Degree in history.

"I could see she was a really hard worker," said Clemson Professor Alan Grubb, who advised Greene on her thesis, which explored "racial motivations for French collaboration during the Second World War."

"She was one of our better graduate students, I thought," he said.

Grubb recalled writing a letter of recommendation for her for a job that involved translating for a federal government agency.

Fluent in German, Greene went to work for the FBI as a contract linguist in 2011. It was a job that, following a grueling application and vetting process, came with a top-secret national security clearance.

Greene was assigned to the bureau's Detroit office in January 2014 when she was put to work "in an investigative capacity" on the case of a German terrorist referred to in court records only as "Individual A."

CNN identified "Individual A" as Cuspert using court documents, newspaper articles about his music career and transformation to jihadist, government bulletins, videos and other sources. His identity was ultimately confirmed by a source familiar with the investigation.

From Gangsta Rapper to Jihadist

Before Cuspert became a front man for jihadists, he was known as Deso Dogg in Germany. Tattoos on each hand spell out the image he cultivated in the mold of American gangsta rappers.

"STR8" was inked on one hand, "THUG" on the other.

One CD cover featured Cuspert with a menacing glare, holding a gun to his own head. His image was backed up by a real life rap sheet with a string of arrests. He had a lean, muscular physique and trained in various martial arts.

Cuspert never achieved star status in the music world, but he did enjoy some success: In 2006, he opened for popular US rapper DMX.

A near-death experience in a car accident prompted Cuspert to turn to religion, according to numerous press accounts. In 2010, he quit the rap world and converted to Islam. He traded his hard driving gangsta-style lyrics for Islamic devotional songs called Nasheeds, including one that praised bin Laden.

Cuspert gained some notoriety as an extremist in 2011 after he posted on Facebook a fake video purportedly showing US soldiers raping a Muslim woman. The video motivated a man to carry out a terrorist attack on the Frankfurt airport, killing two US airmen and wounding two others, according to The New York Times.

In 2012, Cuspert fled Germany, reportedly spending time in Egypt and Libya. The following year, he arrived in Syria, where he would emerge as "ISIS's Celebrity Cheerleader," according to a report from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a group that monitors various topics in the region, including violent extremism.

As part of the FBI's investigation into "Individual A," Greene identified several online accounts and phone numbers used by the terrorist, according to the court file.

Among them were two Skype accounts. She maintained "sole access" to a third Skype account, the records state.

It was in April 2014, during Greene's work on the investigation, that Cuspert appeared in a video declaring his allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

He called ISIS "the state that no one can stop," adding, "we will continue to build it until it reaches Washington... Obama!" He then made a throat-cutting gesture with his finger, according to the MEMRI report.

On June 11, 2014, Greene filled out a Report of Foreign Travel form -- a document FBI employees and contractors with national security clearances are required to complete when traveling abroad.

Greene, who was still married to her American husband at the time, characterized her travel on the form as "Vacation/Personal," court records show.

"Want to see my family," she wrote. Specifically, Greene said, she was going to see her parents in Munich, Germany.

She boarded an international flight on June 23, 2014. But her destination wasn't Germany. She flew instead on a one-way ticket to Istanbul, Turkey, where she had reservations at the Erguvan Hotel. From there she traveled to the city of Gaziantep, about 20 miles from the Syrian border.

She contacted "Individual A," the documents state, and with the assistance of a third party arranged by him, crossed the border into Syria. Once there, according to the court records, she married him.

Shortly after, Greene sent emails from inside Syria to an unidentified person in the US showing she was having second thoughts and suggesting she knew she was breaking the law.

"I was weak and didn't know how to handle anything anymore," she wrote on July 8. "I really made a mess of things this time."

In another email the following day she wrote: "I am gone and I can't come back. I wouldn't even know how to make it through, if I tried to come back. I am in a very harsh environment and I don't know how long I will last here, but it doesn't matter, it's all a little too late..."

On July 22, 2014, she again wrote to the unidentified recipient: "Not sure if they told you that I will probably go to prison for a long time if I come back, but that is life. I wish I could turn back time some days."

While Greene was expressing regrets, Cuspert was actively fighting ISIS's battles.

A video from July 2014 "showed glimpses of him in the bloody aftermath of the ISIS takeover of the Al-Sha'er gas fields in Homs," according to the MEMRI report on Cuspert. In a field covered with dead bodies, Cuspert "is seen for several seconds beating a corpse with a sandal," the report said.

Back in the US

It is unclear from the court file precisely when or how authorities learned of Greene's actions, but on Aug. 1, 2014, five weeks after she left for Syria, federal authorities secretly issued a warrant for her arrest.

"At that time," prosecutors would later write, "the defendant was at large in Syria or Turkey in the company of the leader of a terrorist group."

After about a month in Syria, Greene somehow was able to leave the war-torn country and returned to the United States. She was arrested on Aug. 8, 2014.

In November that year, with Greene in custody and cooperating with the government, prosecutors argued for the court file to remain sealed: "Publicity regarding the arrest of the defendant or the charges against her would contribute to a substantial likelihood of imminent danger to a party, witness or other person as well as a substantial likelihood that the ongoing investigation will be seriously jeopardized."

What ensued was a succession of secret hearings and court filings.

Then, on April 17, 2015, prosecutors told the judge Greene's cooperation had concluded. The following month, portions of the case file were unsealed, though the judge kept some material secret.

Gillice, a prosecutor in the National Security Section of the US Attorney's office in Washington D.C., wrote that Greene placed herself and her country in serious jeopardy.

"She endangered our national security by exposing herself and her knowledge of sensitive matters to those terrorist organizations," he wrote. "Her escape from the area unscathed, and with apparently much of that knowledge undisclosed, appears a stroke of luck or a measure of the lack of savvy on the part of the terrorists with whom she interacted."

In his argument for a reduced sentence, Gillice noted that Greene immediately began cooperating with authorities. Her cooperation was "significant, long-running and substantial," he wrote.

"After the egregious abuse of her position, the defendant attempted to right her wrongs, and to ultimately assist her country again," the prosecutor wrote.

2011

Daniela Greene joins the FBI as a linguist

January 2014

Assigned to FBI Detroit bureau; investigates "Individual A," an ISIS terrorist

June 2014

Travels to Syria, marries terrorist

August 2014

Greene flees Syria, arrested in US

December 2014

Greene pleads guilty after cooperating with authorities

August 2016

Greene released from prison after serving two years

A Special Designation

A month after Greene secretly pleaded guilty in December 2014, an item appeared in the US government's federal register about the man that only handful of people knew she had married.

It was a notice from then-Secretary of State John F. Kerry dated Jan. 9, 2015.

"I hereby determine that the individual known as Denis Cuspert, also known as Denis Mamadou Cuspert, also known as Abou Mamadou, also known as Abu Talha the German...committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States."

The obscure posting was a precursor to the State Department declaring Cuspert a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in February 2015 in a bulletin on the agency's website.

The bulletin cited his oath of loyalty to ISIS and his appearance in a video in which he held a severed human head he said belong to man executed for opposing the group.

It called Cuspert "a willing pitchman for [ISIS] atrocities" and said he appears to be a recruiter with a special emphasis on recruiting German speakers to the terrorist organization.

The bulletin made no mention of him having recently married an employee of the FBI.

But days after the State Department bulletin was posted, a German newspaper published a report saying Cuspert had married an FBI spy.

The report, citing unnamed US and German intelligence officials, did not name the spy.

The report was also at odds with Greene's case on a fundamental level: It described the operation as an FBI-sanctioned plot in which Cuspert was duped by a spy, not as the work of a rogue employee who broke the law and betrayed her country in the process.

Several news outlets ran brief stories summarizing the German report. The FBI declined comment and the matter died without Greene's identity or true role being revealed.

In October 2015, the Pentagon said Cuspert was killed in an air strike near the northern Syria city of Raqqah.

Nine months later, on August 3, 2016, the Pentagon released a statement reversing its assessment of Cuspert's death: "It now appears that assessment was incorrect and Denis Cuspert survived the airstrike."

One day later, Greene was released from federal prison, records show.

CNN's Eric Lichtblau, Curt Devine, Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin, Collette Richards, Tal Yellin contributed to this report.

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